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 "Roanoke" ...
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Carilion Concerns
The Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital is under investigation by several agencies for how the quality of care to patients. A suicide in the emergency department raised questions about the acre, and it was determined that the hospital is not in full compliance with Medicare regulations.
Tags: Health and Human Services; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid; health care; Federal Trade Commission;
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City councilman forced to resign over double billing
Acting on a tip from an anonymous source, the newspaper began an investigation of travel and meal expenses by members of the Roanoke City Council. The focus quickly shifted to councilman Alfred Dowe. Travel expense forms, receipts, credit card statements and other documents showed Dowe spent nearly $15,000 on city-related meals, lodging and travel in 2007 - almost as much as the other six council members.
Tags: city council; city government; travel expenses; Virginia; reimbursement; expenditure
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Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority Investigation
"These stories detail a history of public contracting at the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority that is at best sloppy and at worst rife with favoritism and conflicts of interest. An audit of the authority by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development confirmed the problems with contracting practices at the authority and asked for $2 million to be repaid because the money wasn't spent properly."
Tags: housing; local government; federal government; housing; local politics; FOIA; public records; government spending
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Small-Town Election, Big-Time Trouble
The stories chronicled election fraud in two small communities. In the first community, one candidate's mother headed up the registrar's office, while in the other community, Gate City, the mayor manipulated the absentee voting system to his advantage, sometimes filling the forms of elderly absentee voters himself.
Tags: election fraud; absentee voting; voter registration; Roanoke; Scott County; Gate City; Willie Mae Kilgore; Charles Dougherty; Jerry Kilgore; Terry Kilgore; State Board of Elections; campaign donations; Republican Party
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Dangerous Sealant
Based on a tip from a viewer, KCNC investigated the toxicity of a bathroom tile sealant called Tile Perfect Stand 'N Seal. They found numerous complaints from across the country about the sealant making people ill. The safety labels on the cans did not match the sealant producer's internal documents about product safety. The producer, called Roanoke Companies, announced a recall of 300,000 cans of sealant on the day the story aired.
Tags: poison; hazardous materials; household chemicals; sealant; Tile Perfect; product recall
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A Coalfield legacy: black lung
The Roanoke Times looks at the common complaints of Virginia miners who go through the federal black lung program. "Passed more than three decades ago to lower levels of dust in coal mines and to compensate miners suffering from black lung, the program has fallen far short of its goal. Since 1982, between 92 percent and 96 percent of all Virginia miners who applied for black lung benefits were denied. Most were turned down because they failed to produce enough evidence that they had the disease. But few miners are able to prove they have black lung because they often lack the financial resources to hire medical experts." In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor does grant temporary benefits to miners after the examinations are doctor approved. However, when coal companies appeal, the doctors are not present to back up their decision. Instead miners end up losing their benefits due to the lack of experts on their side, and ultimately end up paying the government back.
Tags: black lung; U.S. Department of Labor; Black Lung Benefits Act; mining; coal companies; company doctors; miners; testimony; medical experts; Coal Mine Health and Safety Act; Mine Safety and Health Administration
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Supermax Prisons
Roanoke Times investigations of the Wallens Ridge and Red Onion state prisons reveals that guards at both supermax facilities use excesive force in dealing with inmates. The Times also discovered that inmates at these facilities receive poor medical treatment.
Tags: Supermax prisons; Wallens Ridge State Prison; Red Onion State Prison; guards; inmates; mistreatment; excessive force; death; stun guns
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Who killed John McCloskey?
The Roanoke Times takes a look at the suspicious death of John McCloskey. The medical examiner concluded McCloskey's injuries were inflicted while he was in the custody of either the sheriff's department or the state mental hospital.
Tags: Police brutality mental health unsolved assault criminal justice system internal investigation
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Toxin Data Kept Hidden
The Roanoke Times reports that "for five years, top managers at the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) withheld data and misled other agencies and scientists about the availability and status of that data. Many people were told that the data had been destroyed, was too old, or in an inaccessible format. The database, which cost millions in taxpayer dollars, sat unused in a safe at the agency. An EPA official summed up the importance of the database in a 1998 memo: Without this data, we will not be able to characterize toxic conditions in Virginia waters, which would limit our ability to effectively target monitoring and management actions."
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"The Fight in the Forest: The Battle Over Virginia's Logging Boom
The Roanoke Times reveals that rapid growth in Virginia's logging industry has led to increased environmental and economic problems in a region of the state already suffering from the effects of decades of coal mining.