Introducing the 2026 IRE Conference Fellows!
Dave Kaplan kicked off his new Bad Guys blog on USNews.com this week with two entries on what the Mafia’s been up to since 9/11. Part One reveals its involvement in a new “Pizza Connection” case that links up the Sicilian and American mobs. Part Two reports on how the Mafia remains active in a…
Read MoreThe most recent Pentagon contract data show more payments for logistics, support and ground vehicles and less money for aviation programs, compared to a year ago. “One year of wartime operations equals about four years’ worth during peacetime, analysts say. In Iraq, with the harsh environment, the ratio has been more like one to five.”…
Read MoreMick Hinton, Randy Krehbiel and Curtis Killman of the Tulsa World used state campaign finance data to find the top donors to Oklahoma elections during the current cycle. Enid attorney Stephen Jones led the list with $73,600 in contributions this year, followed by energy and real estate executives. The reporters also noted, “Several of those…
Read MoreAndrew McIntosh of The Sacramento Bee reports on a real estate transaction by the city of Sacramento which netted an Orange County developer nearly $1 million. In failing to get the details on the property’s sale history, the city ended up paying a record price for the land – $218 per square foot when similar…
Read MoreOscar Corral of The Miami Herald reports that at least 10 South Florida journalists, including three from El Nuevo Herald, received regular payments from the U.S. government for programs on Radio Martí and TV Martí, two broadcasters aimed at undermining the communist government of Fidel Castro. The payments totaled thousands of dollars over several years.
Read MoreIn light of the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., several papers have run stories based on the data tracking how homeland security money has been spent in the last 5 years. Some of these include: “9/11 cash beefs up region” The Cincinnati Enquirer “Post-9/11 funds often used for routine items” Portland…
Read MoreIn a series for the The Daily Herald (Elgin, IL), Patrick Garmoe reports on the threat of water shortages in the several Chicago counties in the coming years due to suburban growth placing stresses on natural resources. “McHenry County’s Groundwater Resources Management Plan predicts the county’s population growth, and corresponding surge in water demand, will…
Read MoreAn investigative story by Daniel J. Chacón of The Rocky Mountain News examined the number of committee meeting absences among Denver City Council members. The newspaper went through the minutes of hundreds of meetings to determine the number of meetings each member was supposed to attend and how many each missed since mid-2003, when the…
Read MoreThe Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail‘s Ken Ward Jr. reports that a federal-state probe has found out why two coal miners died in a January fire at a Massey Energy mine in Logan County, W.Va. Contrary to federal law, the Aracoma Alma No. 1 Mine’s primary escape tunnel was not totally blocked off from a conveyor belt…
Read MoreSt. Petersburg Times reporter Sydney Freedberg, with CAR analysis from Connie Humburg and research from Carolyn Edds, investigated the dealings of the Orlando-based Enterprise Florida — “a public-private partnership that helps determine where incentive money gets spent to create jobs in the state” — and found questionable dealings. Their “investigation shows that a corporate seat…
Read More