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 "revitalization" ...
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Rio Nuevo Audit
The series was the first audit for the general public of how much money Tucson has spent time from its Rio Nuevo redevelpment fund to revitalize Downtown. This was the first time the public learned how much money was spent,w hat the money was spent on and who received it. The results produced outrage from residents over the waste of tax dollars on studies, public relations, travel and projects that stalled or were canceled.
Tags: Tucson; redevelopment; revitalization; construction; taxpayer money; public relations; audit
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The Town the Law Forgot
LA Weekly chronicled "the intersection of organized crime and public corruption in the Hispanic suburbs of Los Angeles County and in revitalized downtown Los Angeles. ... The overarching conclusion is that local law enforcement's piecemeal approach to gang and drug-related crime is not sophisticated enough to make a dent."
Tags: crime; drug; urban; elected officials; attorneys; political operatives; lobbyist; corruption; police department; city
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New Visions of Vine Street
Investigation of how city leaders and concerned citizens are trying to revitalize the urban core of Cincinnati, Ohio. The investigation began in 2001 following race riots in Cincinnati. An hourlong documentary aired in 2001 sparked changes and initiatives to revitalize Vine Street. This new documentary shows what has happened in the past five years.
Tags: race riots; urban renewal; Ohio; Cincinnati;
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Overtown and the CRA: Agency May Have Wasted Millions
When Oscar Corral of the Miami Herald began questioning the location of parking lots being built by the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), he quickly realized something was "seriously awry with the CRA's management." The nearly year-long investigation that followed centered on Overtown, one of Miami's poorest neighborhoods -- and discovered "a pattern of mismanagement, questionable spending decisions and failed projects. The result: The community has virtually nothing to show for $70 million in spending over the past decade," and the neighborhood "remains a near-wasteland of poverty and substandard housing." The primary program charged with "revitalizing the neighborhood" spent millions of dollars, but "completed only five of 36 proposed projects and has not pushed a single housing initiative." What's more, back-door dealings resulted in dubious contracts being awarded, some of which were never fulfilled despite the CRA paying for them -- and the nepotism even included the hiring of a former prostitute and thief to run errands for the CRA chairman. More than 50 interviews with frequently elusive sources, along with numerous documents and computer-assisted analyses of databases including enforcement cases, delinquent loans, property records and building demolitions, went into getting the stories -- which resulted in city, state, and FBI investigations into the CRA.
Tags: development; business; neighborhood; economic; housing; public body; nepotism; mismanagement; building; parking lot; Florida; Miami; Overtown
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Failed Empire
Jack Kemp, a Buffalo congressman, initiated an enterprise project - the Empire Zone program to revitalize decaying urban areas. As the reporters from the Buffalo News found out the finances allotted for this project was used to provide tax breaks to law firms, fast-food restaurants and other corporations. After this series of articles were published, the speaker of the New York State Assembly proposed changes in the Empire Zone program
Tags: Jack Kemp; Buffalo congressman; Empire Zone program; tax breaks to firms; fraud with funds; New York Assembly
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Florio's help has price for Camden
One of the poorest cities in the nation with a rich political history, Camden, N.J is in the process of being revitalized. But a part of its present beleagured condition, residents say, can be attributed to the absence of an effective tax collection system. A fitting but dubious complement to this are the misdeeds of local political headhonchos who spare no effort in deepening their own pockets. A classic case in point is erstwhile Gov.Jim Florio who's firm has been contracted to collect the city's taxes. A hidden deal in this contract is the 25 c per dollar return that Floria's firm would encash. And while Floria is looking at a making a sweet $5 million from this exercise, impoverished residents are on the verge of losing their homes, thanks to their inability to pay steep tax amounts.
Tags: Neill Borowski; Elaine Curtis; X-spand
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In The Hood
The Community Reinvestment Act is under attack by US Senator Phil Gramm who derides the law as a way to encourage extortion of banks to invest in local communities. People like Steve Culberston, of the Frankford Group Ministry, sees the law as a way to rebuild or support failing urban areas. Frankel anaylzes one of the first major mega bank mergers to see if CRA did what it was supposed to or not.
Tags: CRA; banking; community investment; urban revitalization; urban sprawl; Community Reinvestment Act
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Land Use. The Trouble with Zoning
Governing reports how most city zoning codes are relics of the fifties based on ideas from the thirties and forties. They do more to frustrate creativity and renewal than to encourage them.
Tags: city zoning ordinance; City Hall; Minneapolis zoning law; Neighborhood Revitalization Office
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Chicago Hope
This article examines HUD's latest effort to house the poor and replace deteriorating, high-rise projects. Focusing particularly on Chicago, the Section 8 voucher program and HOPE VI revitalization initiative are highlighted.
Tags: HUD; housing; projects; Chicago; Mayor Daley; Cabrini-Green; public housing; Housing and Urban Development Department; HOPE VI; Section 8; Chicago Housing Authority
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The betrayal of Basra
This Mother Jones' investigative report exposes the desperation of Iraqi people "after ten years of American-sponsored sanctions." The story describes the suffocating air in Basra's pediatric hospitals where thousands of children die because of malnutrition and lack of medicines. The article follows the history of Iraq in recent decades from the standpoint of ordinary people, who have survived in a struggle with poverty and Saddam Hussein's regime. The reporter points to examples of how Iraq cannot use its oil money to pay wages, to finance public-works contracts, to run hospitals or to revitalize the welfare state. A major finding is that this lack of cash flow makes it easier for the regime to monopolize access to all essential goods and services. "And, as the United States learned on September 11, that sense of injustice can fuel a desperate desire for revenge," the author concludes.
Tags: poverty; terrorism; United Nations; Children's Fund; Saddam Hussein; weapons; Gulf War; Bush; Dick Cheney; restrictions; sanctions; oil; energy; Baghdad; Iran; Kuwait