Increase in heroin use brings longer waiting lists for addiction treatment centers in New York region

Today, the recovering addict climbs into a taxi cab at 5 a.m. every weekday for a 60-mile drive to Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, where he receives methadone treatment. And that came only after a two-month delay on the program’s waiting list, which is now often nine months or longer.

Across the Southern Tier, getting hooked on heroin is easy. Getting unhooked — in itself an onerous regimen — can be impossible because of the shortage of medication-assisted treatment programs.

In North Carolina, Medicare data shows spending on a $2,000-a-dose eye drugs topped $25 million in 2012. Yet a $50 "off-label" alternative – proven equally effective in multiple studies and manufactured by the same company – is rarely prescribed in North Carolina, according to a WRAL analysis of 2012 Medicare Part B spending data released by the federal government earlier this month.

Are you a journalist with less than 10 years of experience? Interested in attending the upcoming IRE Conference in San Francisco? IRE could pay your way.

In 2012 IRE added a new fellowship, created to honor the memory of longtime IRE member David Dietz, who succumbed to cancer in June of 2011. David served as president of the organization and gave a decade of service and more to IRE. Dave was a beloved colleague and friend to many IRE members, and was honored with IRE’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his many contributions. For over a decade, Dave worked as a San Francisco-based investigative reporter for Bloomberg Markets magazine. He had a 40-year career in journalism, including positions at TheStreet.com, The San Francisco Chronicle and The San Francisco Examiner. He won more than 30 national and regional reporting awards for investigating corporate fraud, judicial misconduct and civic corruption.

The fellowship honors his memory and legacy by helping a journalist who has demonstrated an interest in financial investigative journalism and who has fewer than 10 years professional experience. This fellowship covers IRE conference registration fees, provides $750 in reimbursed travel and lodging expenses and a one-year IRE membership.

The winner of this fellowship will also be enrolled in IRE's mentorship program and will be paired with a top investigative journalist in the field of financial journalism, for a year-long mentorship.

Applications can be emailed to IRE membership coordinator John Green at jgreen@ire. Materials must be received by Friday, May 2.

Apply to attend the 2014 IRE conference in San Francisco. 

More IRE Conference fellowship/scholarship opportunities:

IRE makes available certain fellowships and scholarships to allow professional journalists or students the opportunity to attend training events they would not otherwise be able to attend. Fellowships typically include a one-year IRE membership, conference or seminar registration fees, and reimbursement for hotel and travel expenses. The following scholarships will help send journalists to the upcoming IRE Conference in San Francisco:

• The James Richard Bennett Scholarships allows a limited number of college students in Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma or Louisiana to attend the annual IRE conference. The scholarships are made possible by a donation to IRE by Dr. James R. Bennett, professor emeritus of English, University of Arkansas. Apply.
• The Diversity Fellowships minority fellowship program was established by the Philip L. Graham Fund and IRE to allow a limited number of professional journalists to attend IRE's conferences. These fellowships are aimed at increasing the diversity of IRE's membership. Applicants for this award should identify themselves with one of the following minority groups: Black/African American, American Indian/Alaskan, Native American, Asian-American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino. Apply.
• The Jennifer Leonard Scholarships are available to women of modest means who are college students studying journalism or professional journalists with three or fewer years of working experience, to attend IRE's conferences. The scholarships were established by IRE member David Cay Johnston to honor his wife, the president of the Rochester Area Community Foundation and a national leader in promoting ethical standards for endowments. Learn more about Leonard and the scholarships. Apply.
• Godfrey Wells Stancill Fellowships help a limited number of journalists working for newspapers with Sunday circulation under 50,000 attend IRE's annual conference. These fellowships were established by IRE board member Nancy Stancill and her family to honor the memory of her father, Godfrey Wells Stancill, former editor and publisher of the Suffolk (Va.) News-Herald. Apply.

If it seemed as though some scenes of CNN's documentary series "Chicagoland" were coordinated by Mayor Rahm Emanuel's City Hall and the show's producers, that's because they were.

More than 700 emails reviewed by the Chicago Tribune reveal that the production team worked hand in hand with the mayor's advisers to develop storylines, arrange specific camera shots and review news releases officially announcing the show.

Read the story here.

The question of whether to pay for storage of a baby's cord blood is now routinely asked of expectant parents in obstetrician offices and hospital delivery rooms. Many states have passed laws requiring that doctors tell expectant parents their options for cord blood: discard it; bank it privately; or donate it to a public bank, which like a blood or organ bank helps people in need. The harvesting and storage of stem cells from the blood of umbilical cords has surged in the past decade to a $4 billion global industry.

But a Wall Street Journal analysis of government inspections and a review of lawsuits in the U.S. found problems in the loosely regulated cord-blood-banking business, including dirty storage conditions, leaky blood samples and firms going out of business.

Read the full story here.

By Hannah Schmidt

Joce Sterman of WMAR-Baltimore and Michael Pell of Reuters explain where reporters can find inspection data and how they can incorporate it into investigative pieces.

Sterman said one of the first hurdles for a journalist to overcome is the expense of gathering data. She suggested reporters haggle to bring down copy costs. And maybe invest in a scanner. 

In October, residental properties in Oregon were sprayed with pesticides meant for a nearby forrest. Residents say the pesticides caused health problems for themselves, their families and their pets. Oregon Public Broadcasting looked into what oversights allowed this to happen. They found lack of government funding to test soil and improper record keeping to be major factors on why the government's investigation took six months and why residents are still searching for answers. 

At least 40 U.S. veterans died waiting for appointments at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care system, many of whom were placed on a secret waiting list.

The secret list was part of an elaborate scheme designed by Veterans Affairs managers in Phoenix who were trying to hide that 1,400 to 1,600 sick veterans were forced to wait months to see a doctor, according to a recently retired top VA doctor and several high-level sources.

For six months, CNN has been reporting on extended delays in health care appointments suffered by veterans across the country and who died while waiting for appointments and care. But the new revelations about the Phoenix VA are perhaps the most disturbing and striking to come to light thus far.

Read the story here.

Starting May 1 we will begin accepting applications for candidates for the IRE Board of Directors. Seven of the board’s 13 seats are up for election.

For the first time this year, elections for the IRE Board of Directors will involve electronic voting only, and the polls will be open for about a month. The goal is to make it as easy for as many members as possible to vote.

The initial filing period for candidates is May 1-30. All candidates filing by this time will appear on the initial ballot when voting begins on June 9. 

While online voting will be open both before and during the IRE Conference this summer, we’re still holding a candidate forum at the membership meeting and hoping lots of members will come to learn more about the candidates. Information about each candidate will also be posted online for those who can’t attend.

As in the past, candidates may join the election after the initial May 1-30 filing period. However, voting will have already begun, which could diminish a late-filing candidate's chances of being elected.

To learn more about candidacy and IRE’s electronic voting system, click here.

By Hannah Schmidt

Jill Riepenhoff, a projects reporter at The Columbus Dispatch, and Tisha Thompson, an investigative reporter for WRC-Washington D.C., use consumer and professional complaints to fuel their investigations. In these audio clips the two reporters offer advice on where to look for complaints and how to use them.

In Columbus, Ohio, landlords allowing homes to become rundown is a major problem. Riepenhoff used complaints from homeowners and court documents to create The Columbus Dispatch’s “Legacy of Neglect” series.

She found the subject of her story, chronic offender Joseph S. Alaura, from court documents. He had gone to court multiple times after allowing his tenants to live in extremely run-down homes.