http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Extra! Extra! is your guide to the latest investigative work. Send comments and suggestions to extraextra@ire.org. en-us support@ire.org 2008-06-13T09:10:05-06:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_06.html 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... 2271@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Military 2008-06-13T09:10:05-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_06.html 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... 2269@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Broadcast 2008-06-12T09:40:16-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_06.html 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... 2268@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Workplace 2008-06-12T09:17:41-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_06.html 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... 2265@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Government (federal/state/local) 2008-06-10T10:31:03-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_06.html 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.... 2264@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Transportation 2008-06-10T10:13:14-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_06.html 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... 2262@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Government (federal/state/local) 2008-06-04T09:39:57-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_05.html Brian Joseph of the Orange County Register investigated the California Statewide Communities Development Authority, a public agency founded to finance "projects of public value." The agency "issued about $4.2 billion in tax free bonds in 2007, ranking behind only the... 2256@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Government (federal/state/local) 2008-05-23T14:37:58-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_05.html KSTP-Minneapolis investigated Minnesota's School District Integration Revenue, a fund intended to enhance diversity in schools across the state. "Experts say that money has been budgeted with no clear purpose." A line-by-line evaluation of one district's budget revealed questionable spending, such... 2251@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Education 2008-05-19T10:43:58-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_05.html A three-month investigation by journalism students at Humboldt State University looked into the suicide of James Lee Peters, a mentally-ill Native American inmate at Humboldt County Jail. With few people willing to talk, the students relied on public records obtained... 2249@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Government (federal/state/local) 2008-05-19T09:48:32-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_05.html An investigation by WTTG's Rick Yarborough and Tisha Thompson revealed serious security problems in the nation's capital. From the metal detectors that protect city government buildings to the firearms training of the D.C. Protective Service Police, WTTG's undercover and hidden... 2248@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Broadcast 2008-05-15T11:38:05-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_05.html A North American game wardens conference in St. Paul last year cost taxpayers nearly $400,000, even though it turned a profit for the convention organizers, reported David Shaffer of the Star Tribune. "Some of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources'... 2244@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Government (federal/state/local) 2008-05-12T12:04:43-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_05.html A Charlotte Observer investigation by Adam Bell revealed what happened behind the scenes after a race track owner threatened to move his speedway following a dispute with a community over plans to add a drag strip there. The billionaire owner... 2243@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ First Amendment & FOIA 2008-05-12T10:35:35-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_05.html In a fourth installment of The Washington Post's Forced Out series, about abusive landlords who drive tenants from rent-controlled apartments, Debbie Cenziper and Sarah Cohen report that D.C. government has widely misused a multi-million dollar fund to repair buildings when... 2239@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Housing 2008-05-05T15:34:50-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_04.html Michael Montgomery, of American RadioWorks, and Mark Schapiro, of the Center for Investigative Reporting, teamed up to explore the growing nuclear black market which is making it difficult to contain the proliferation of atomic weapons throughout the world. "Experts cite... 2234@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ International 2008-04-29T10:17:27-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_04.html A series by The Washington Post explores the causes and implications of the current global food crisis, the likes of which have not been seen since the 1970s. "A complex combination of poor harvests, competition with biofuels, higher energy prices,... 2231@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ International 2008-04-28T14:45:11-06:00