The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Posts by hdcoadmin
New reports fuel debate of whether Lisa Steed arrested innocent drivers
“This month, UHP provided The Tribune with more documents about Steed, including the Winward review and the internal affairs investigation undertaken before her firing last year. In the internal affairs investigation, UHP found prosecutors who had received complaints about the former trooper of the year, but some of those same prosecutors also praised Steed’s work.”…
Read MoreSouth Austin pastor lives lavishly while West Side project languishes
“In a rolling investigation, Chicago Tribune reporters David Jackson and Gary Marx examine government’s haphazard efforts to assist one of the city’s hardest-hit neighborhoods. Tracing where the money goes, their latest installment how a politically-connected pastor lives in a lavish suburban mansion while some tenants in his apartment buildings endure substandard conditions and go without…
Read MoreShocking cost investigation: Utility middle men charge renters inflated prices
“A 10-month investigation by The Dispatch found that residents pay markups of 5 percent to 40 percent when their landlords enter into contracts with certain submeter companies. If the customer fails to pay, the companies sometimes resort to collection tactics that would be illegal for regulated utilities, including shutting off heat in winter and even eviction.”
Read MoreFacing Foreclosure: Oklahoma’s mortgage settlement program benefits attorneys
“So far, the largest financial beneficiary of Oklahoma’s mortgage settlement program is a young attorney who used a system of vouchers and possibly a family connection to acquire dozens of clients.”
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Poverty and profits, innocent drivers arrested, asbestos lawsuits and neglected abuse fatalities
Facing Foreclosure: Oklahoma’s mortgage settlement program benefits attorneys | Tulsa World“So far, the largest financial beneficiary of Oklahoma’s mortgage settlement program is a young attorney who used a system of vouchers and possibly a family connection to acquire dozens of clients.” Shocking cost investigation: Utility middle men charge renters inflated prices | Columbus Dispatch“A 10-month…
Read MoreGW misrepresented admissions and financial aid policy for years
George Washington University admitted publicly for the first time Friday that it puts hundreds of undergraduate applicants on its waitlist each year because they cannot pay GW’s tuition.
Read MoreBP oil refinery waste piles up on Southeast Side
By the end of the year, the oil giant BP is expected to complete work on new equipment that will more than triple the amount of petroleum coke produced by its Whiting refinery on Lake Michigan, the Chicago Tribune reports. The project will turn the sprawling Indiana plant into the world’s second-largest source of petroleum…
Read MoreWhere to begin if you’re learning to code
Last weekend IRE hosted a new bootcamp for journalists to learn web scraping and programming in Python. IRE offers workshops like this often — check our events and training page for opportunities to learn new data skills. But if you were unable to make a bootcamp or just can’t wait until NICAR14 to start learning, here are some resources to help…
Read MorePortrait of an Afghan Assassin
Green-on-blue (or insider) attacks have been sweeping Afghanistan, leaving dozens of Americans dead, Mother Jones reports. The surge of internal attacks came out of nowhere. In 2007 and 2008, there were just six such attacks combined against members of the US-led International Security Assistance Force. The following year there were 8, the next, 15. In 2011, there…
Read MoreDeadline extended for NICAR T-shirt contest submissions
The deadline for submissions to this year’s NICAR T-shirt contest has been extended from Oct. 18 to Oct. 23. Remember to please send official entries to shirts@ire.org. Only submissions sent to that email will be entered in the contest. Designs will be posted online as they are received. Voting will open shortly after we’ve received all…
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