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A USA TODAY examination shows that thousands of “green” builders win tax breaks, exceed local restrictions and get expedited permitting under a system that often rewards minor, low-cost steps. Meanwhile, companies that make “green” products and materials are profiting handsomely as the building boom takes off.
Read MoreTransparency Watch is an occasional series from IRE tracking the fight for open records. If you have a story about a quest for public records you’d like to share, email us at web@ire.org. This past summer, I reported for The Oregonian on the issue of child labor on farms, specifically the health and safety risks of such work and…
Read MoreIn this in-depth investigation of a $25 billion national settlement between five of the United States’ largest banks and forty-nine states and the District of Columbia, ProPublica uncovers that the state of Florida was keeping $300 million meant to help needy homeowners on the brink of foreclosure. ProPublica’s investigation uncovers that Florida’s attorney general had not revealed…
Read MoreIn August, reporter Kate Martin of the Skagit Valley Herald analyzed salary data for mayors across Washington state and ended up with a story about mayors from small towns in her coverage area — Mount Vernon and Anacortes — who had salaries on par with mayors from cities several times larger. In reporting the story,…
Read MoreMark Lagerkvist of New Jersey Watchdog reports that the State of New Jersey is suing itself over a possible release of records to the website. Lagerkvist reports that on Oct. 15, the state attorney general filed a motion seeking to stop the state Government Records Council from reviewing files, which on Aug. 31 had ordered state…
Read MoreThe Workplace Safety database from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has just been updated in the NICAR Database Library. WHAT’S IN IT? This ten-table database holds information on workplace inspections performed by both federal and state OSHA offices in all states and U.S. territories, from 1972 to Oct 2011 – just under 4…
Read MoreUpdate: application deadline has been extended to Nov. 16. Investigative Reporters and Editors is launching a new fund that will provide crucial support for journalists working on data projects. The fund will allow more news organizations or individual journalists to work on investigative projects that involve data analysis. IRE will award grants thanks to a $50,000 donation…
Read More“A review of government corruption cases by The Clarion-Ledger, including a dozen listed in today’s edition, indicates public officials tend to get off easy when they’re caught with their hands in the till. It shows a trend of light sentences and early release, inequity of sentences, lack of prosecution and expunged records.”
Read MoreFor decades, they have added an extra layer of eyes and ears on the streets, supplementing the sworn police force at no cost to taxpayers and protecting some of Baltimore’s most venerable institutions. But some of the officers have also faced lawsuits and resident complaints, leading city police to re-evaluate whether to continue the program. City…
Read MoreBuying sprees by billion-dollar hedge funds and real-estate investment firms have investors owning nearly 20 percent, or one out of every five, of the region’s single-family houses and condominiums, according to an Arizona Republic analysis of recent sales data. That’s double the number of rentals considered normal in metro Phoenix in 2000, according to housing-market analysts.
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