"Taxpayers in Colorado's largest school districts have spent more than $5.8 million during the past five years to subsidize the activities of local teachers unions.

The expenses resulted from years of agreements that require tax money to pay for everything from full-time union leaders' salaries and benefits to providing leave for some teachers to attend union conferences, a Denver Post analysis of the 20 largest school districts with collective-bargaining contracts found."

Two women who worked for the Department of Workforce Services conspired to create a list of undocumented immigrants who were receiving state assistance. Leah Carson was reluctant at first but was eventually convinced by her co-worker, Teresa Bassett to help create the list. Bassett's intent was to hand the list over to immigration officials. The women were caught and fired after the list was released. Carson stepped forward to work with investigators and admitted her mistakes. Bassett has been less willing to cooperate.

This report by The News Leader reveals that the Valley Community Services Board offered top dollar to a job candidate with no mental health experience. The board was facing a $1.8 million budget gap, though still wanted to pay $162,000 to hire an executive director. The proposed salary is just slightly less than "the head of the state's biggest community services board," as revealed through a Freedom of Information Act request. The VCSB chairwoman, who is married to Waynesboro Mayor Frank Lucente, recommended the new executive director. The community of Waynesboro also "contributes to Valley CSB's ... Read more ...

The Tennessean's three-part series on gangs reveals a growing problem across the state, particularly in suburbia and small towns. Law enforcement is overwhelmed and schools are ripe recruiting grounds in what's part of a national trend of gangs expanding their influence to areas outside the urban core to sell drugs. The newspaper gained access to gangs, taking readers inside their world, while providing the most complete public accounting to date of gang activity across the state. Included in the online presentation is an interactive map of known gangs that operate in each of Tennessee's 95 counties. Relying ... Read more ...

San Diego's First 5, a social service program focused on early childhood development, is under scrutiny for the disproportionate allocation of grant money to organizations linked to its advisers. "The county's First 5 Commission has awarded at least $67 million in the past three years to nonprofits and other groups that employ people who serve on its top advisory committee, according to an analysis by The San Diego Union-Tribune. The share of early childhood grants given to groups with ties to insiders has grown over the years, from 37.1 percent three years ago to 59.6 percent ... Read more ...

The last three decades have seen the Seminole Tribe of Florida ascend from extreme poverty to substantial wealth thanks to their lucrative Indian gaming endeavors. A South Florida Sun-Sentinel investigation found that, while this wealth is shared throughout the tribe, a "a handful of tribal leaders have especially benefited, steering millions of the tribe's money and business to themselves, their families and their friends." As a sovereign nation, the Seminole's are not obligated to open their records, but the Sun-Sentinel obtained thousands of pages of documents and conducted extensive interviews providing a rare glimpse inside the tribe.

St. Petersburg Times reporter Sydney Freedberg, with CAR analysis from Connie Humburg and research from Carolyn Edds, investigated the dealings of the Orlando-based Enterprise Florida -- "a public-private partnership that helps determine where incentive money gets spent to create jobs in the state" -- and found questionable dealings. Their "investigation shows that a corporate seat on the board - which in most cases requires a $50,000 annual donation - often benefits board members' companies." Included in the report is an illuminating sidebar outlining who makes up the Board of Enterprise Florida.

Staff at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, along with Aaron Kessler used the social network analysis program UCINET and more than 50 interviews to investigate who really wielded power in Richmond, Va. The series includes a story about the four men central to Richmond's power, a story about minorities and how political influence does not equal power, as well as a sidebar on how the series was done. The series includes an interactive network map detailing the Web of power.

Daniel Chacón of the San Diego Union-Tribune analyzed county grant receipts finding a multimillion-dollar system riddled with shoddy bookkeeping and lax oversight. The investigation "found that records for 54 grants totaling nearly $1 million are missing. Receipts that have been collected show that money has been spent on everything from Cheetos to seared ahi crostini." Many of the organizations receiving grants are considered grassroots organizations and don't have paid staffers to handle financial reports.