The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Government (federal/state/local)
Report shows FAA behind in training new air traffic controllers
An inspector general’s report shows the Federal Aviation Administration is hiring more air traffic controllers than it can effectively train, reports Michael J. Sniffen of the Associated Press. “The Transportation Department’s inspector general said the Federal Aviation Administration is so swamped with new hires that it has exceeded its own maximum trainee numbers at 22…
Read MoreOvertime a strain on workers, county budgets
Mary Beth Pfeiffer and John Ferro of the Poughkeepsie Journal compiled a two-part report examining overtime at the Dutchess and Ulster county governments. The report found correction officers and deputies at the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office earned $3.9 million in overtime in 2007 – a 21 percent increase from 2006 at a time when the…
Read MoreTaken for a ride
An investigation by reporter Larry Lebowitz of The Miami Herald shows that local taxpayers were promised massive improvements to the county’s mass transit system when they approved a sales tax six years ago, yet those promises have not been fulfilled. Local leaders have already spent half the money on routine maintenance, 1,000 new jobs, and…
Read MoreUtility fund lines pockets at customers’ expense
Michelle Breidenbach and Tim Knauss, of The Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.), examined the previously undisclosed accounting of the National Grid fund, a little-known fund run by the power company. It spent $25 million of its customers’ money on economic development projects — including image-making and branding, parties and promotion, and such gimmicks as a local public-TV…
Read MoreObscure public agency lines pockets of private businesses
Brian Joseph of the Orange County Register investigated the California Statewide Communities Development Authority, a public agency founded to finance “projects of public value.” The agency “issued about $4.2 billion in tax free bonds in 2007, ranking behind only the states of California, Ohio and New York.” Analysis of financial documents showed that much of…
Read MoreStudents investigate the suicide of a mentally-ill inmate
A three-month investigation by journalism students at Humboldt State University looked into the suicide of James Lee Peters, a mentally-ill Native American inmate at Humboldt County Jail. With few people willing to talk, the students relied on public records obtained through the California Public Records Act to piece together what happened to Lee, and how…
Read MoreTaxpayers foot bill for game warden convention
A North American game wardens conference in St. Paul last year cost taxpayers nearly $400,000, even though it turned a profit for the convention organizers, reported David Shaffer of the Star Tribune. “Some of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ 204 conservation officers also solicited private donations for the conference — a practice one official…
Read MoreRace track deal emerged at great cost to taxpayers
A Charlotte Observer investigation by Adam Bell revealed what happened behind the scenes after a race track owner threatened to move his speedway following a dispute with a community over plans to add a drag strip there. The billionaire owner landed $80 million in taxpayer incentives in exchange for staying in town. A review of…
Read MoreCity repair fund provides scant relief to tenants
In a fourth installment of The Washington Post‘s Forced Out series, about abusive landlords who drive tenants from rent-controlled apartments, Debbie Cenziper and Sarah Cohen report that D.C. government has widely misused a multi-million dollar fund to repair buildings when landlords refuse to do the work. “In the past three years, the (city) spent $617,000…
Read MoreThe global food crisis
A series by The Washington Post explores the causes and implications of the current global food crisis, the likes of which have not been seen since the 1970s. “A complex combination of poor harvests, competition with biofuels, higher energy prices, surging demand in China and India, and a blockage in global trade is driving food…
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