Mitch Blacher

07/12/2022

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05/23/2022

With schools failing to do mandatory safety drills ⁦‪⁦‪‬⁩ dug into all the reasons ⁦‪police‬⁩ get called to schools. We found thousands of calls for the emergencies fire and lockdown drills are made for. ⁦‪‬⁩

Bomb threats, shootings and brawls are among the 10,258 reasons the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has responded to D. C. Public Schools since 2018, 911 dispatch call records show. The 7News I-Team reviewed the thousands of 911 call records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request...

05/23/2022

Our latest digging into how schools
prep for emergencies found police racing to schools more than 10,000 times since 2018. Bomb threats, fights, gunfire and fire dept. help are among the 911 calls. Often police showed up to the same schools 7News DC previously reported failed to practice emergency drills. Our latest investigation premieres at 6pm on air and on wjla.com

05/03/2022

05/02/2022

First 7News DC found problems with schools practicing for fire emergencies. Our latest reporting shows safety issues in some schools run deeper.

03/24/2022

Since 7News DC reported one of DC’s busiest bridges is in “poor” condition according to engineers, urgent repairs are now underway. The bridge has been in bad shape for years. Tonight we’re trying to figure out what created the urgency.🤔

01/26/2022

Stairs broken and missing at a senior living complex got our attention. We’re hoping to get the fire marshals’. Our investigation Thursday on 7News DC

01/17/2022

Laws to help our schools stop hackers failed time and time again. Our investigation continues after on tonight.

01/11/2022

Our ⁦‪‬⁩ investigation continues looking into cyber security in our public schools. This time we found the federal government spending billions of dollars to get kids and teachers online - but what’s spent to secure the networks they use? 🤔

The numbers are stunning. Publicly reported school hacks have cost American school districts more than $6 billion since 2019. DMV schools were hit with 425 known cyber-attacks, compromising more than 300,000 student and staff records in that time. According to multiple cyber security experts, those....

01/05/2022

Virginia officials to investigate 50 mile interstate gridlock. My latest on 7News DC

Virginia’s Department of Transportation said a 50-mile backup involving thousands of cars and trucks in both directions on I-95 is the worst in state history. Governor Ralph Northam called it “an incredibly unusual event. ” Late Tuesday afternoon the governor said state officials k...

12/16/2021

The private information schools keep on us and our kids is a tempting target for hackers. My team’s latest finds most public school systems without the money or expertise to protect themselves. More to come on this story. 7News DC

Hackers cost American companies billions of dollars each year; but imagine if those attacks targeted you, or worse, your child. It’s happening to parents and their kids in the DMV. The attacks can be frightening, and cost local taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. We are not leaving you....