The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Government (federal/state/local)
Breakdown: Traveling dangerously in America series
A 23-story package investigates the state of travel in America uncovering a breakdown of safety systems across the board. Safety recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board are taking over 5 years to implement leaving people vulnerable from air to rail, road to sea. This investigative package was conducted by journalism students from 11 universities…
Read MoreSpecial treatment ran deep for OneUnited
A report by R. Jeffrey Smith of The Washington Post reveals that OneUnited Bank “received special treatment that went beyond what the Treasury Department or the bank and its political supporters have previously disclosed.” Despite multiple internal warnings, Congress and regulators “broke with customary practices” to award the bank federal bailout funds. The story includes…
Read MoreHistoric Hawaiian homes get big tax breaks
Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter Rob Perez found that owners of million-dollar historic homes on Oahu were getting major property-tax breaks without meeting a key requirement of the exemption program — that the homes be visible from public streets. He also found that the city did not verify the owners’ required statements that the pre-exemption level of…
Read MoreCalifornia dependent on immigrant labor
A four-part series by Ronald Campbell of The Orange County Register describes California’s extraordinary dependence on immigrant labor. Immigrants comprise a third of the state’s workforce a higher proportion than any other state and almost any developed economy. They dominate lower-paid jobs but also play huge roles in technology and health. The Register analyzed nearly…
Read MoreEfforts of USDA egg graders called into question following recall
Alison Young of USA Today reports that food safety watchdogs are critical of the U.S Department of Agriculture staff on site at the two Iowa egg processors linked to the recent egg recall. They “question whether USDA egg graders should have noticed the vermin problems cited by the FDA, potentially preventing the recall of a…
Read MoreCorrosion could threaten structure of Gateway Arch
A report in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reveals that the iconic stainless steel Gateway Arch is corroding. Reporter Nick Pistor reviewed engineering documents, which indicated corrosion, some of it feared aggressive, and severe discoloration of the stainless steel skin have long been present. The National Park Service allowed the newspaper to inspect a corrosion investigative…
Read MoreSmall Business Administration failed hurricane victims in Gulf
The Associated Press investigated how the Small Business Administration responded to the hurricanes of 2005, and the impact on the Gulf Coast five year later. The yearlong investigation by Mitch Weiss, Michael Kunzelman, Holbrook Mohr and Cain Burdeau found that loan officers rejected loans they should have approved, deleted loan applications for no valid reason,…
Read MoreInvestigateWest:Cruise Ships Dump Waste To Dodge Laws
An InvestigateWest report on the billion dollar cruise ship industry in the Washington-Alaska cruise market found that most ships avoid tougher state regulations and dump their waste in Canadian waters between the two states, despite state efforts to adopt stricter standards for sewage and wastewater discharge.
Read MoreTrouble plagues N.C. State Bureau of Investigation
A 4-part series by The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) reveals deep trouble at the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The series finds an agency in line with prosecutors wishes, agents and analysts who ignore or twist the truth, and reliance on junk science. The director of the SBI was removed from her post…
Read MoreInsurers profit on policies of fallen soldiers
An investigation by David Evans of Bloomberg found that Prudential Insurance has been profiting on life insurance policies of deceased veterans. The funds are held in “Prudential’s general corporate account, earning investment income for the insurer.” According to regulatory filings from 2008, survivors were being paid 1 percent interest on their Alliance Accounts, while Prudential…
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