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About 90 members from both chambers collected a government pension atop their taxpayer-financed $174,000 salary in 2012, National Journal found in an examination of recent financial records. The practice is called “double-dipping.”
Read MoreIn a state with some of the nation’s loosest laws, fireworks stands pop up this time of year like weeds in your garden — in strip malls, abandoned big-box stores and under tents by the side of the road. Millions of dollars are spent, an estimated $50 million annually in this state alone, on fireworks…
Read MoreAn ongoing investigation by The Oregonian into the Employment Department shake-up shows that familial relationships figured prominently as the agency’s top tier unraveled. The director is retiring after a state probe, the deputy abruptly departed for a lower-paying state job, and the No. 3 was fired as Gov. John Kitzhaber’s administration cleaned house.
Read MoreThe U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has locked up more than 1,000 people using controversial sting operations that entice suspects to rob nonexistent drug stash houses. See how the stings work and who they target in this USA Today report.
Read MoreHis supervisors and fellow officers praise Officer Lucas Peterson as a courageous and exemplary cop. Court records offer a different view — an officer whose aggressive methods frequently cross the line, according to a Star Tribune report. Since he joined the force in 2000, he has been named in at least 13 excessive force complaints…
Read MoreThe Koch Club | Investigative Reporting WorkshopKoch foundations gave more than $41 million to 89 nonprofits from 2007-2011, part of a wide effort at funding organizations with public policy, education and political interests that align with those of Koch Industries, run by Charles and David Koch. The Investigative Reporting Workshop examined Internal Revenue Service documents…
Read MorePhoto courtesy of the Incident Information System. Editor’s Note: As the Yarnell Hill Fire continues to blaze, mourning begins for the lives of 19 firefighters lost in the battle. Reporters are beginning to dig into why this disaster happened. Nate Carlisle, justice editor at The Salt Lake Tribune, has covered wildfires since 2005 and completed…
Read MoreAndy Hall, of the Wisconsin CEnter for Investigative Journalism, addresses IRE members at the 2013 Awards Luncheon on June 22 in San Antonio. Photo by Travis Hartman The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Wisconsin State Journal report that Gov. Scott Walker has decided to veto a budget measure that would have forced the nonprofit Wisconsin…
Read MoreBy Zachary Matson Each year local and state governments provide private companies with billions of dollars of tax credits, subsidies and other forms of incentives to mover or open new facilities in their communities. These deals are shrouded behind layers of quasi-public agencies, weak disclosure rules and secretive businesses, but rarely the economic benefits turn…
Read MoreBy Syed Tawseef Ali The web is not a desktop — it is an interweave of phones, tablets, TV’s, laptops and desktops of every shape and size. Accessibility of the content is an important factor. During a panel entiled “Demystifying mobile for investigations” at the recent IRE Conference in San Antonio, experts in web design…
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