The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Blog
A three-day series by The Columbus Dispatch explored a little-known facet of the Federal Housing Administration’s mortgage insurance, which, in addition the helping first-time home buyers obtain loans, insures $56 billion in outstanding loans for developers to build and renovate apartments for people of modest means. “Bad loans, no penalties” examined how developers who have…
Read MoreA story by Michael Jamison of the Missoulian (Missoula, Mont.) shows that the contracting scheme the federal government is employing to award stimulus contracts favors large corporations over small- and medium-sized firms. In an effort to speed up the bidding process, the federal government is using indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, or IDIQ, contracting. “An IDIQ is…
Read MoreHundreds of dedicated investigative reporters and editors will gather for the IRE Conference in Baltimore this week to hear from the industry’s biggest names, to honor the nation’s best investigative journalism and to brainstorm about ways to breathe new life into the profession. Already, more than 700 reporters, editors, journalism educators and students have pre-registered…
Read MoreAn investigation co-published by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica reveals that the Food and Drug Administration failed to prevent the distribution of tainted syringes linked to several deaths and serious illnesses. “Three months before the pre-filled syringes were shipped in October 2007, an FDA inspector visited the plant in North Carolina where they were made.…
Read MoreA USA Today analysis shows lobbyists paid $35.8 million in 2008 to honor 534 current and former lawmakers, almost 250 other federal officials and more than 100 groups, many of which count lawmakers among their members. “Despite a ban on gifts to lawmakers and limits on campaign contributions, lobbyists and groups that employ them can…
Read MoreSan Diego’s First 5, a social service program focused on early childhood development, is under scrutiny for the disproportionate allocation of grant money to organizations linked to its advisers. “The county’s First 5 Commission has awarded at least $67 million in the past three years to nonprofits and other groups that employ people who serve…
Read MoreA running investigation by The Fresno (Calif.) Bee found that Fresno County had millions of dollars worth of contracts with Genesis Family Center, a nonprofit social-service agency headed by two sisters who had been convicted of embezzling the agency’s money. Even after the convictions, the agency continued to engage in questionable spending practices, such as…
Read MorePresident Obama has nominated several top campaign contributors for ambassadorships, according to a report by Jonathan D. Salant and Julianna Goldman of Bloomberg.com. “Even with his pledges to change government, Obama is following the tradition of his predecessors by offering some ambassadorships to top campaign backers, including four of the 12 nominations this week. The…
Read MorePaul Sloth, a reporter with The Journal Times in Racine, Wis., proved that a little hands-on CAR training can go a long way. Less than a month after attending the optional CAR training at a Better Watchdog Workshop in Madison, he’s already completed two spreadsheet-based stories. After only a few hours of training in Excel,…
Read More“The Pentagon spent more than $2.7 billion on ‘miscellaneous items’ in 2008 for which the contractor was listed as ‘not available’ — a rare omission for Defense Department documentation — according to an Aerospace Daily analysis of an independent national database of government contracting data,” according to a report by Michael Fabey of Aerospace Daily…
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