The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Orange County" ...
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Betrayal of Trust
The Orange County Register detailed the culture of exploitation that surrounded young female gymnasts who have fueled the sport's success since the early 1980's. Specifically, the Register investigation revealed the coach of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team had sexual relations with three young gymnasts he coached.
Tags: Olympics; U.S. Gymnastics; 1984; Coach; Sexual Abuse
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Bad Detective
In Orange County, incarcerated defendants representing themselves in court had no choice but to hire one well-connected private investigator who mostly just pressured them to take deals offered by prosecutors. In at least one case, the investigator blackmailed an inmate to accept a plea deal.
Tags: courts; private investigator; blackmail; plea bargain; law enforcement
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OC Assemblyman In Bed With Lobbyist
When Michael Duvall, an Ex-Orange County assemblyman, described portions of his affair, he did not know it would be broadcasted for the public to hear. Duvall has been a consistent supporter for conservative issues and has long supported California families and their values. But after becoming the vice chairman of the Utilities and Commerce committee women, especially a lobbyist for the utility giant in California, began to notice him. This is how the affair started and resigning as assemblyman is how it ended.
Tags: Michael Duvall; Heidi DeJong Barsuglia; assembly district representative; conservative; Rules Committee; Republican; politician; affair; California
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Banking on the Badge
The Orange County Register exposes large pensions and incompetence of local public officials across agencies at a time when California is struggling to stay fiscally afloat.
Tags: orange county; public officials; watchdog; incompetence; pension; salary; costs; expense; executives; water board; police;
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The Bishop's Bad Moves
These stories include online and print coverage of the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Diocese of Orange County, California. "Major findings include the diocese paid an admitted child molester $100,000 to stay quiet, that the bishop tried to cover up a molestation allegation in his past, and that he also documented molestations but didn't report them as required by California law."
Tags: church; catholicism; religion; child abuse; molestation; cover-up; state government
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Justice By Geography
Years after the 2000 Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act passed in California, Orange County-area prosecutors "top the list of district attorneys who most use the discretionary waiver to charge teens as young as 14 as adults." The original act was meant to "target hardcore gang members and juvenile offenders who commit heinous, violent crimes." Among the stories is the tale of Rene Garcia, who faces a life sentence for murder, even though he did not pull the trigger.
Tags: juvenile justice; juvenile offenders; juvenile crime; juveniles charged as adults; accessory
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They Got the Sheriff
Orange County, Calif Sheriff Mike Carona was praised for values and ethics on a national level. However Moxley found that he had connections with a strip club owner "tied tot he Chicago Mafia," slept with women on duty and "promoted officers based on personal loyalty not competence."
Tags: police; sheriff; Mike Carona; mafia; strip club; Las Vegas; Orange County; Lebanon; anti-terrorism training exercises; police department
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Is Bigger Better?
When officials in Orlando decided to build a new convention center for the town (which will end up costing a total of $2.8 billion), they told residents that it would attract around 500,000 visitors during its first year. However, the center only attracted a mere 154,317 visitors and had a bad impact on Orlando's economy. Dan Tracy investigated and found that the numbers given by those who run the convention center are only estimates and educated guesses. He also found that it is becoming harder and harder for other cities to compete with Las Vegas, which is the number one convention destination.
Tags: The Orange County Convention Center; Las Vegas; tourism; Convention and Visitors Bureau
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Ex Cathedra: The Orange Dioscese Sex-Abuse Scandal
The Orange County Weekly investigates sexual abuse by catholic priests in the southern California region. This series that ran over a period of more than a year showed that the diocesan officials covered pedophilia by the priest and paid off some of the victims. After this spate of investigations, one Orange County dioscese fearing a public trial agreed to release personnel files on some of the priests accused of sexual misconduct as part of a $ 100 million settlement to the victims.
Tags: sexual abuse; Orange County dioscese; parish; Catholoc church; priests and sexual abuse; pedophilia; sexual abuse of children; child molestation; OC Weekly
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Moving out of Reach
This investigative report follows the results of the 1986 Census Bureau survey conducted about housing conditions in Orange County. Using CAR, Campbell's analysis revealed that "nearly a quarter million residents of Orange County--one family in nine--spend at least half their income on housing," which significantly exceeds the federal governent-recommended limit. This investigation also looked at te increase in tax-exempt bonds for luxury apartmet, despite a shortage of low-cost rental properties in the county.