The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Government (federal/state/local)
Water supplies threatened by gasoline contaminates
Ron Hurtibise of the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports on Florida’s efforts to clean up gasoline leaks in Volusia and Flagler counties, finding that “In 20 years, the state has spent $2.3 billion on cleanup strategies that often haven’t worked. Old, steel gas station tanks, easily corroded in porous sandy soils, faithfully serviced generations of Florida…
Read MoreTow companies use vague laws to keep towed cars
John Dickerson of The Scottsdale Times investigates a nearly-legalized theft common across Arizona. “Several tow companies are literally keeping towed vehicles against the will of the owners and later selling them.” Tow companies are filing paperwork saying the vehicle has been abandoned and if that vehicle is not reported stolen within 30 days, the tow…
Read MoreDisgraced deputy beats system
Eric Nalder and Lewis Kamb of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer report in a three-part series on how a disgraced sheriff’s deputy beat the system. The report details the allegations made against the deputy, including drug use, theft, attempted stalking, conspiracy to promote prostitution and official misconduct. “For 14 years, the detective worked on his own, rarely…
Read MoreBill could make wetlands easier to destroy
Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite of the St. Petersburg Times used a social network analysis program analysis and documents to show that “a developers’ lobbyist helped write a state bill that would make it easier to get a permit to destroy wetlands of 10 acres or smaller. When it passed, the builders persuaded 15 members…
Read MoreAdoption deal raises concerns over surrogate program
Kevin Corcoran of The Indianapolis Star investigates a child welfare case involving a surrogate mothers program. The program granted an adoption to a 58-year-old, single, schoolteacher who was approved, despite “the absence of a legally required study of [Stephen F.] Melinger’s New Jersey home or a period of preadoption supervision by an Indiana-licensed agency, court…
Read MoreThousands of city employees tied to mayor’s re-election
Nearly four out of every 10 city employees in Chicago registered voters for groups that advocated for Mayor Richard Daley’s re-election, a Chicago Tribune investigation found. The Tribune compared city payroll data with the rosters of political groups that register voters in the city. “The analysis suggests extensive connections between city jobs and the mayor’s…
Read MoreCalif. donors use 527 groups to bypass regulations
Ronald Campbell of The Orange County Register analyzed California campaign finance data to find that the top 100 donors gave more than $150 million to candidates and political committees in 2003 and 2004. Donors also helped put California in the stem-cell business. “Some 26 wealthy couples and individuals contributed more than half the campaign money…
Read MoreLack of inspection data raises concerns for Utah school safety
Nate Carlisle and Jessica Ravitz The Salt Lake Tribune report on the state of fire inspections in public schools, following a fire that destroyed Wasatch Junior High School. The school was old and did not have modern fire safety features. “Yet state records show the last time inspectors examined the school was four years ago.”…
Read MoreFailed oversight helps surge in air ambulance crashes
Alan Levin and Robert Davis of USA Today reviewed hundreds of documents on air ambulance crashes and analyzed a database they created from the documents. They found that since “2000, 60 people have died in 84 crashes — more than double the number of crashes during the previous five years.” Despite this surge, air ambulance…
Read MoreMedicaid fraud plagued by lack of oversight
Clifford J. Levy and Michael Luo of The New York Times used state Medicaid data to find that “the program has been misspending billions of dollars annually because of fraud, waste and profiteering. A computer analysis of several million records obtained under the state Freedom of Information Law revealed numerous indications of fraud and abuse…
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