A report in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reveals that the iconic stainless steel Gateway Arch is corroding. Reporter Nick Pistor reviewed engineering documents, which indicated corrosion, some of it feared aggressive, and severe discoloration of the stainless steel skin have long been present. The National Park Service allowed the newspaper to inspect a corrosion investigative [...]
Archive for the ‘Government (federal/state/local)’ Category
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Small Business Administration failed hurricane victims in Gulf
August 24th, 2010 
Beth The Associated Press investigated how the Small Business Administration responded to the hurricanes of 2005, and the impact on the Gulf Coast five year later. The yearlong investigation by Mitch Weiss, Michael Kunzelman, Holbrook Mohr and Cain Burdeau found that loan officers rejected loans they should have approved, deleted loan applications for no valid reason, [...]
InvestigateWest:Cruise Ships Dump Waste To Dodge Laws
August 18th, 2010 alecia An InvestigateWest report on the billion dollar cruise ship industry in the Washington-Alaska cruise market found that most ships avoid tougher state regulations and dump their waste in Canadian waters between the two states, despite state efforts to adopt stricter standards for sewage and wastewater discharge.
Trouble plagues N.C. State Bureau of Investigation
August 10th, 2010 Beth A 4-part series by The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) reveals deep trouble at the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The series finds an agency in line with prosecutors wishes, agents and analysts who ignore or twist the truth, and reliance on junk science. The director of the SBI was removed from her post [...]
Insurers profit on policies of fallen soldiers
July 29th, 2010 Beth An investigation by David Evans of Bloomberg found that Prudential Insurance has been profiting on life insurance policies of deceased veterans. The funds are held in “Prudential’s general corporate account, earning investment income for the insurer.” According to regulatory filings from 2008, survivors were being paid 1 percent interest on their Alliance Accounts, while Prudential [...]
Food service at stadiums often riddled with health code violations
July 28th, 2010 Beth A story by Paula Lavigne, of ESPN, reveals some unappetizing realities about food service at the 107 stadiums used by the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL across the country. Through a review of inspection records from local health departments, Lavigne revealed that at “30 of the venues (28 percent), more than half of the concession [...]
Whistleblowers defenseless against retaliatory suspensions
July 28th, 2010 Beth A report by Mike McGraw of The Kansas City Star shines a light on “a loophole in America’s whistleblower protection laws.” Whistleblowers have nowhere to turn when they face retaliation for their actions. McGraw’s story focuses on George Sarris, an Air Force employee whose security clearance was suspended after he pointed out life-threatening maintenance problems [...]
Credibility of airline passenger advocate called into question
July 27th, 2010 Beth A profile by Michael Fabey in Travel Weekly explores the credibility of Kate Hanni and FlyersRights.org. Three years ago, Hanni, a realtor-turned-lobbyist, stormed Washington on a crusade that wound up changing the way the Transportation Department makes airlines handle long-term tarmac delays. It appears Hanni misled Congress with false reports, data and statements. FlyersRights.org, the [...]
Texas governor linked to questionable real estate deals
July 27th, 2010 Beth An investigation by The Dallas Morning News found evidence that Gov. Rick Perry’s biggest real estate score was enhanced by a series of professional courtesies, and personal favors from friends, campaign donors, and the head of a Texas family with a rich history of political power-brokering. Together, they may have enriched Perry by almost $500,000, [...]
Classified documents provide window into realities of Afghanistan war
July 26th, 2010 Beth “A six-year archive of classified military documents made public on Sunday offers an unvarnished, ground-level picture of the war in Afghanistan that is in many respects more grim than the official portrayal,” reports The New York Times. The documents were released online by WikiLeaks.org, but The New York Times, the British newspaper The Guardian and [...]
