The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Government (federal/state/local)
Some of the worst roads bypassed by stimulus funds
Brad Heath of USA Today reports that “nearly $10 billion in stimulus aid to repair the nation’s tattered highways has largely bypassed dozens of metropolitan areas where roads are in the worst shape.” Stimulus funds are intended to be spent quickly and repairs to many of the worst roads would take too much time and…
Read MoreTrust Betrayed series
A sixth-month, statewide investigation into Florida’s child care centers, nursing homes and assisted living facilities by Sally Kestin, Peter Franceschina and John Maines of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel found that Florida laws have often placed children and the elderly in the hands of habitual criminals. The first of a three-part series includes a database of…
Read MoreMajority of health care lobbyists are federal government veterans
“Of 2,737 lobbyists hired to promote the interests of drug companies, insurers, hospitals, health professionals, industry groups and business organizations, 1,418 — or 52 percent — have worked for Congress, the White House or federal agencies. That includes 55 former members of Congress.” reports Jonathan D. Salant and Lizzie O’Leary of Bloomberg.com.
Read MoreRetired state workers collect pension, paycheck
An investigation by The Hartford (Conn.) Courant shows that more than 500 of the 3,856 state employees who participated in the state’s Retirement Incentive Program are receiving bi-weekly paychecks in addition to their pension. The retirement incentive was intended to cut annual salary costs, but the state has rehired over 500 retirees for “temporary” work. …
Read MorePrivate security firm bought weapons on Iraqi black market
An investigation by T. Christian Miller and Aram Roston for ProPublica shows that Triple Canopy, the top private security contractor in Iraq, “swapped booze for weapons and supplies from the U.S. military” and purchased arms on the Iraqi black market. Previously undisclosed documents reviewed by ProPublica point to continued difficulties for the by the U.S…
Read MoreWater tainted with mercury ignored by government
Abandoned mercury mines in California are contaminating many of the state’s waterways, reports Jason Dearen. An investigation by the Associated Press found that “the federal government has tried to clean up fewer than a dozen of the hundreds of mines – and most cleanups have failed to stem the contamination.”
Read MoreAccuracy of Florida school safety reports called into question
WFOR-TV (Doral, Fla.) conducted a six-month investigation into school violence in Florida and discovered “wide discrepancies” between the numbers of violent incidents reported on the state’s Department of Education website and actual police reports filed about violent incidents at schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The state claims that the discrepancies can be linked to…
Read MoreFormer governor scored deal on coastal property
Reporters Jay Price, J. Andrew Curliss and Joseph Neff of The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) broke the story of how former Gov. Mike Easley and his wife Mary accepted a $137,000 discount on a coastal lot from a developer who had gotten key permits from the Easley administration. The story continued a string of…
Read MoreMassachusetts slow to discipline problem lenders
An investigation by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University (NECIR-BU) shows that regulators in Massachusetts have been slow to discipline problem mortgage brokers and lenders compared to other New England states. “Between January 1, 2007 and June 1, 2009, The Massachusetts Division of Banks took its most stringent actions against less…
Read MoreLoophole allowed illegal immigrants to register vehicles in Ohio
Randy Ludlow of The Columbus Dispatch revealed “a loophole in an Ohio policy allowed thousands of undocumented immigrants to register cars and get license plates even though many did not have valid Social Security numbers or car insurance.” He reported that Ohio officials delayed a crackdown on illegal immigrants registering their vehicles with fraudulent power-of-attorney…
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