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Nine institutions for New York’s developmentally disabled get nearly $5,000 per person per day in Medicaid reimbursements. This is ten times what they received in 1991 when the state vowed that they would shut the sprawling, inefficient centers by 2000. According to a report by Mary Beth Pfeiffer, of the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal, the state…
Read MoreMapping Boot Camp August 13-15, 2010 (University of Missouri, Columbia, MO) Take your CAR skills to the next level by learning how to uncover the “where” in your data. Instructors Jennifer LaFleur of ProPublica and David Herzog of NICAR will show how to use ArcView geographic information system (GIS) software in this intensive three-day session. …
Read MoreThe Charleston Gazette’s investigation of federal grant misuse at West Virginia’s state employment agency culminated with four criminal convictions in federal court and a prison sentence for one of the people involved. Gazette business reporter Eric Eyre used a hex editor to analyze the contents of a computer file, showing that the state official in…
Read MoreA New York Times investigation shows that regulators knew there were problems with the blind shear ram, a “fail-safe” device intended to prevent disasters like the Deepwater Horizon blowout, yet failed to address them. “An examination by The New York Times highlights the chasm between the oil industry’s assertions about the reliability of its blowout…
Read MoreA Texas Watchdog review of three years of the Houston Independent School District’s travel records shows a penchant for pricey, last-minute tickets, and a toothless travel policy that allows teachers and staff broad discretion over travel spending. Reporters also spotlighted the school district’s use of a travel agency that adds $30 to every ticket issued by the…
Read MoreCalifornia Watch launched Politics Verbatim, a site that “collects and categorizes the promises, proposals, arguments and attacks” made by Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman in their race for governor of California. The site was launched with 300 documents and 1,000 excerpts that will be added to daily as the race progresses allowing voters…
Read MoreAn analysis of state data by Chris Serres and Glenn Howatt, of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, shows that “people are routinely being thrown in jail for failing to pay debts. In Minnesota, which has some of the most creditor-friendly laws in the country, the use of arrest warrants against debtors has jumped 60 percent over…
Read MoreAn investigation by The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer found that some dangerously ill patients who visit Charlotte’s psychiatric hospital are instead given medicine and sent home – sometimes with disastrous results. With perennial overcrowding at the county’s 66-bed psychiatric facility, few who visit the hospital’s emergency department are admitted. The result: patients like Kenny Chapman don’t…
Read MoreAccording to an investigation by Ryan Holeywell of BailoutSleuth.com, “At least one of every nine banks that got taxpayer investment through the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program was later cited by federal regulators for violating rules or failing to meet operating or financial standards.” This is in contradiction to Treasury Department statements claiming TARP funds…
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