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 "coffee" ...
-
Excessive Speculation Distorts Commodity Markets, Harms Consumers
The topic of our series was excessive financial speculation in commodity markets. Throughout one year, I worked on a series of labor-intensive investigative pieces showing how the influx of financial speculators in the futures market had distorted the price of crude oil, coffee, cotton and other commodities.
Tags: fiancial speculation; commodity markets; crude oil; commodities
-
Excessive Speculation Distorts Commodity Markets, Harms Consumers
The topic of our series was excessive financial speculation in commodity markets. Throughout one year, I worked on a series of labor-intensive investigative pieces showing how the influx of financial speculators in the futures market had distorted the price of crude oil, coffee, cotton and other commodities.
Tags: fiancial speculation; commodity markets; crude oil; commodities
-
The Other Side of Mercy
"On Nov. 29, 2009, Maurice Clemmons shot and killed four Lakewood police officers in a Pierce County coffee shop, committing one of the worst crimes in the history of the Pacific Northwest. "The Other Side of Mercy" chronicles Clemmons' criminal history, exposing a variety of system breakdowns that set the stage for this shocking ambush."
Tags: Maurice Clemmons; police; murder; criminal history; criminal record; violence
-
Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce and Culture
"Starbucked explores the phenomenal rise of the Starbucks Corporation and the coffee-crazy culture that fueled its success. It combines a narrative of how the coffeehouse phenomenon took hold with an investigation into the ethical issues that swirl around the company."
Tags: coffee; culture; society; Starbucks; corporation; coffeehouses; ethical issues
-
"Uncertain Innocence: What Convicted Sue Reser"
This story is about the conviction of Pamela Sue Reser. She was sentenced to life in prison for sexual violence against her own children. After spending 3 1/2 years in prison, her kids recanted the testimony that put her in prison. An order by the judge set her free, and the charges were dismissed a month later. Her kids alleged that their adoptive mother's brother had done the molesting. He had brainwashed the kids into believing Reser had sexually abused them. The charges against their uncle were dismissed.
Tags: Coffee Creek Correctional Facility; Oregon Court of Appeals; polygraph; Yamhill County Jail; exoneration; Yamhill County; sexual abuse; incarceration; sexual violence.
-
"Winning Without Food and Cigars"
Using the face of Judy Taylor, a longtime Kentucky lobbyist, Swope describes the new world order under a strict statehouse lobbying law. The "no-cup-of-coffee" restriction barring gifts from lobbyists to legislators changed the Capitol climate, but Taylor says it's "more professional." Lobbyists must use new techniques, including getting into lawmakers' districts, to reach them in the new era devoid of lavish receptions.
Tags: lobbying; lobbyist; legislature; statehouse; capital; Capitol; Kentucky; wining; dining; ethics; ethical
-
Making Waves. As U.S. trade grow, shipping cartels get a bit more scrutiny. The price fixing pact hurt consumers, critics say; lines defend the system. How Philadelphia took a hit.
According to the article, "Every two weeks, in an unobtrusive office building here (in Rutherford, N.J.), about 20 shipping-line managers gather for their usual meeting. They sit around a long conference table, exchange small talk over bagels and coffee and then begin discussing what they will charge to move cargo across the Atlantic Ocean. All very routine, except for one detail: They don't work for the same company. Each represents a different shipping line, supposedly competing for business. Under U.S. antitrust law, most people doing this would end up in court."
Tags: U.S. trade; shipping; monopoly; business; boats; antitrust; cargo
-
Good Cops, Very Bad Man. Murders Put to Rest: The Untold Story of the Starbucks Triple-Homicide Investigation. When an odd couple of detectives stalked one of Washington's most notorious killers, they had to wonder: who was the hunter and who was the hunted? A Dance with Death.
This article explains how detectives worked on the infamous Starbucks Coffee triple-homicide investigation in Washington, D.C. The article cites dozens of sources and interviews.
Tags: Washington; D.C.; Starbucks; Starbuck's; Starbuck's Coffee; homicide; triple-homicide; murder; killer; gun; death; crime; robbery; cops; police
-
Wake up and smell the coffee: Starbucks says a company manager stole millions by simply forging a signature
Anderson revealed how a newly hired Starbucks' manager, Rosemary Heinen, "was on her way to ripping off a mind-boggling $450,000 a month from the coffee giant". Rosemary submitted phony outside consulting service invoices, approved invoices herself, and picked up payment checks in person. Unknown to Starbucks, Heinen's family had a history of money troubles, the Seattle Weekly reports. The coffee giant now attempts to recover its losses, and is reviewing the breakdowns in its internal financial controls.
Tags: court records; collection of property; obsessive- compulsive disorder; forgery
-
Would you like decaf with your golden egg? A feud between scientists, bureaucrats and business has cost UH talent -- and BIG money
The University of Hawaii's outdated patent and copyright policies have prevented it from reaping millions in royalties and licensing fees for technologies developed in its labs, Whitney reports. The university stood to profit from two discoveries: the development in its labs of a new mouse-cloning technology, and the creation of a caffeine-free coffee plant. The two leading researchers on the mouse-cloning project, who had won outside fellowships to work on the project, were not asked to make a written assignment of patent rights to UH. After UH tried to claim the rights to the mouse-cloning technology, one of the researchers sued the university. Later, UH announced the development of caffeine-free coffee plants before such plants existed (researchers had to wait until the cloned plants bore fruit). The Wall Street Journal reported that the plants would be available to commercial growers by 2003. In the meantime, ProBio, the company licensing the technology from UH, couldn't make its payments.
Tags: University of Hawaii; technology transfer; licensing; university research; Integrated Coffee Technologies Inc.; Laith Reynolds; ICTI; decaffeinated coffee plants; ProBio; Tony Perry; Teruhiko Wakayama