Economy
Detroit landlords cash in on rent aid, ignore tax bills
A Detroit News investigation found about 1 in 4 Detroit landlords paid to rent to poor families through the state’s Housing Choice Voucher program collectively owe the city at least $5 million in back taxes and probably much more. Federal and state guidelines for the rental assistance — known as Section 8 — don’t require…
Read MoreSuicide rates increasing in region of New York
Craig Russell Wishnick is one of 238 residents of Dutchess and Ulster counties to die by suicide in the five years ending in 2011, 73 more than in the five years ending in 2003, according to a Poughkeepsie Journal analysis of death certificates over a 13-year period. That is an increase in harder-hit Dutchess of…
Read MoreCasinos main source of income for Wisconsin-based tribes
Today, American Indian gaming is the biggest economic engine for the Menominee, and the other 10 Wisconsin tribes. Twenty-five licensed Class III casinos across Wisconsin generated more than $1 billion for tribes in 2011. About $52 million of that money went to the state of Wisconsin’s coffers, the latest figures from the state show. The Ho-Chunk also…
Read MoreSeattle school managers get questionable OT payments
A KIRO 7 investigation finds that some at Seattle’s schools may be violating the HR policy by paying overtime to select district managers who aren’t entitled to make extra money. A months-long investigation reveals a radio station supervisor is the exempt manager making the most OT, banking about $70,000 in the last 2 ½ years.…
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Faking the grade, mug shots online, pharma payments and the politics of mental health care
How Sunrise police make millions selling drugs | Sun Sentinel“Police in this suburban town best known for its sprawling outlet mall have hit upon a surefire way to make millions. They sell cocaine.” How safe are Indiana day cares? | Indianapolis Star“Indiana spends about $2.5 million inspecting and licensing more than 4,000 day cares that…
Read MoreHow Detroit went broke: The answers may surprise you
Detroit is broke, but it didn’t have to be. An in-depth Detriot Free Press analysis of the city’s financial history back to the 1950s shows that its elected officials and others charged with managing its finances repeatedly failed — or refused — to make the tough economic and political decisions that might have saved the…
Read More$45 cost one woman her home
“In part three of Homes for the Taking, The Washington Post’s Debbie Cenziper, Mike Sallah and Steven Rich found the District’s tax office has risked 1,900 houses to foreclosure by mistakenly counting property owners as delinquent even after they paid their taxes, forcing them to fight for their homes in grueling legal battles that persisted…
Read MoreGoliad’s $1 million mess
“An extensive Victoria Advocate investigation reveals a program started to promote economic development has instead been riddled with poor record-keeping, questionable loan practices, missing documents and virtually no accountability.”
Read MoreA closer look at the black budget
The Washington Post takes an in-depth look at the “black budget” which spans over a dozen agencies to make up the National Intelligence Program. Wilson Andrews and Todd Lindeman use data visualizations to lay out what the $52.6 billion is spent on.
Read MoreExtra paid sick days costing city millions
“According to a Los Angeles Times examination of data obtained under the California Public Records Act, Los Angeles’ Department of Water and Power has paid thousands of employees a total of $35.5 million since 2010 in extra sick days under an unusual program that the utility’s top executive acknowledges has been vulnerable to abuse.”
Read More