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Pentagon's logistics concerns mean profit for transportation companies

Air freight companies are profiting from the war as the Pentagon increases its investment in logistics, reports Michael Fabey for Air Cargo World. "Contracts and contract modifications for companies flying cargo and passengers to the war zones in 2006 and 2007 totaled about $5.6 billion, according to an Air Cargo World analysis of data."

Data for this story was provided by NICAR.

Qualifications of some D.C. special ed teachers called into question

An inspection by the U.S. Department of Education revealed that "D.C. school administrators can’t verify that their special education teachers are certified to serve the city’s most vulnerable and costliest student population," reports Dena Levitz of The Washington Examiner. The State Superintendent's Office has listed some special education teachers as qualified despite not having proper training in the specialty.

$85 million in supplies meant for Katrina victims declared surplus

An investigation by CNN's Abbie Boudreau and Scott Zamost discovered that FEMA gave away $85 million of new supplies meant for Hurricane Katrina victims. The items, ranging from clothes to cleaning supplies, sat in FEMA warehouses for two years before being declared federal surplus by the agency. The merchandise was then offered for free to other federal and state agencies, ending up in prisons, schools, the post office, and other agencies — but not Katrina victims. CNN also found that Louisiana declined the free items because an official there had not been contacted by any agency who wanted them, but community groups in New Orleans told CNN they desperately still need those supplies.

Report shows FAA behind in training new air traffic controllers

An inspector general's report shows the Federal Aviation Administration is hiring more air traffic controllers than it can effectively train, reports Michael J. Sniffen of the Associated Press. "The Transportation Department's inspector general said the Federal Aviation Administration is so swamped with new hires that it has exceeded its own maximum trainee numbers at 22 percent of its 314 air control facilities. The FAA uses a database replete with erroneous information to manage the training program and has failed to implement remedial steps the agency itself promised in 2004, the IG report added."

Marine life jeopardized by record crop sizes

A report by Kent Garber of U.S News & World Report shows that U.S. farming policy, which is leading to record crop sizes, is having a negative impact on marine life. With more land being planted, more chemicals are leaching from fertilizers and passing on to streams and rivers creating vast "dead zones" in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico and Chesapeake Bay. Conservation practices meant to protect waterways are falling to the wayside because there is greater profit for farmers in planting more land.

Requirements sacrificed in selection of new rescue helicopter

An investigation by Michael Fabey of Aerospace Daily and Defense Report delves into the selection process of the Boeing HH-47 (CSAR-X), the U.S Air Force's replacement for its Combat Search and Rescue helicopter. Interviews with experts and the review of extensive documents revealed "how the acquisition was skewed in favor of certain helicopters from the very beginning by lawmakers and Pentagon officials, regardless of the requirements set forth by the Air Force’s own CSAR experts."

Overtime a strain on workers, county budgets

Mary Beth Pfeiffer and John Ferro of the Poughkeepsie Journal compiled a two-part report examining overtime at the Dutchess and Ulster county governments. The report found correction officers and deputies at the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office earned $3.9 million in overtime in 2007 - a 21 percent increase from 2006 at a time when the sheriff's payroll grew by less than 4 percent overall, and that a nursing home accounted for more than one quarter of all overtime in Ulster County.

Taken for a ride

An investigation by reporter Larry Lebowitz of The Miami Herald shows that local taxpayers were promised massive improvements to the county's mass transit system when they approved a sales tax six years ago, yet those promises have not been fulfilled. Local leaders have already spent half the money on routine maintenance, 1,000 new jobs, and office furniture among other things. "At the heart of the matter: The 2002 campaign avoided any mention of chronic financial problems that had plagued the transit agency, and it promised far more improvements than the tax could possibly deliver." County commissioners are now considering other options, such as a steep fare increase, to fund improvements to the transit system.

Borrowed Time

An investigative series by The Columbus Dispatch analyzed the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis in central Ohio, as well as the future impact to the region. "A wave of foreclosures during recent years has pushed property values downward for the first time in decades," the Dispatch analysis found.

Utility fund lines pockets at customers' expense

Michelle Breidenbach and Tim Knauss, of The Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.), examined the previously undisclosed accounting of the National Grid fund, a little-known fund run by the power company. It spent $25 million of its customers' money on economic development projects — including image-making and branding, parties and promotion, and such gimmicks as a local public-TV "American Idol"-style show for small businesses. Government regulators who required the program provided no oversight on the spending, and the utility continued to keep secret many of the recipients.

Toxic Neighbors

A Dallas Morning News investigation has found dozens of sites with hazardous chemicals that are in close proximity to residential neighborhoods. It is a problem throughout Dallas County. In some cases, plants and warehouses are within blocks — and even across the street — from homes, apartment complexes, and schools. Of the over 900 sites that story hazardous chemicals in Dallas County, 52 have quantities high enough that they must submit a worst-case scenario plan to the Environmental Protection Agency. This investigation explores how it happened and what can be done.

House of pain

Cary Spivak and Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detailed how a motley collection of individuals and firms made money off one suspicious real estate deal in which a learning disabled man ended up buying a run-down inner city home. The newspaper hired a handwriting expert who determined that signatures may have been forged in the loan process and that a mysterious $38,000 payment was made to the loan broker, a felon under indictment at the time.