The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Government (federal/state/local)
Inspection data shows problems often found with pools
Michelle Keller and Kevin Spear of The Orlando Sentinel used county pool inspection data to show that “at least one in eight failed tests for chlorine, meaning they could pose a health risk for swimmers who use them.” The findings roughly mirror an early federal study and the paper’s previous surveys of inspection reports. “This…
Read MoreState, university employees’ salaries swell
Jane Stancill and David Raynor of The (Raleigh/Durham) News & Observer analyzed state payroll data to find that “there are already more than 2,200 state and University of North Carolina system employees who are paid more than $100,000 in state money a year; more than two-thirds of them work at the universities.” Pay for university…
Read MorePower for Jobs program flawed
Mike McAndrew of The (Syracuse) Post-Standard investigates the “Power for Jobs” program, finding that more than a third of the businesses receiving state-subsidized electrical power in the program failed to deliver the jobs they promised. Cooper Crouse-Hinds was awarded 5,000 kilowatts of subsidized power; in return they agreed to retain all of its jobs and…
Read MoreDisability program plagued with problems
Maxine Bernstein and Brent Walth of The Oregonian investigated Portland’s police and firefighter disability progam, finding that “the city’s system is an open checkbook, with rules that allow injured police and firefighters to collect checks until they retire, even if they can earn a living in another job.” One in nine Portland police officers and…
Read MorePrison chief drove state-issued car, despite suspended license
Brad Schrade of The Tennessean uses state vehicle fuel logs to show that Correction Commissioner Quenton White drove his state-issued car across Tennessee while his driver’s license was suspended for not paying a speeding ticket. “White, 45, who had headed the state’s prison system since 2003, turned in his resignation yesterday to [Gov. Phil] Bredesen,…
Read MoreMany businesses not inspected, study shows
Reporter Christina Murphy and Assistant City Editor Jennie Coughlin of The Daily News Leader analyzed five years’ worth of Department of Labor and Industry inspections obtained from the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration. They found that “many businesses are not inspected each year. In fact, the labor department performed too few safety inspections between…
Read MoreState wastes millions to acquire land
R.G. Dunlop of The (Louisville) Courier-Journal has a series on the state’s land condemnation system, finding that “Kentucky has squandered millions of tax dollars buying land for highway construction because of an outdated condemnation system that it has refused to fix for decades.” In some cases, the state paid owners much more than their land…
Read MoreEx-aides use connections to make money
James Drew and Steve Eder of The (Toledo) Blade traced the path of former Ohio state aides-turned-lobbyists who “have traded their official titles for personal riches and the influence that comes with helping select a U.S. president.” Some of Gov. Bob Taft’s closest aides have gone onto lucrative lobbying and consulting businesses; one “has raked…
Read MorePossible conflicts abound in South Carolina legislature
Jeff Stensland of The State reviewed financial disclosure forms from South Carolina state legislators to find that “about 20 lawmakers raked in more than $2.4 million in attorney fees by representing clients in front of state boards and commissions last year.” Many of the cases involved worker’s compensation claims but others were before the state’s…
Read MoreHuman smuggling networks linked to terrorist groups
Pauline Arrillaga and Olga R. Rodriguez of the Associated Press reviewed court records from Mexico and the United States as part of an investigation into “the many pipelines in Central and South America, Mexico and Canada that have illegally channeled thousands of people into the United States from so-called ‘special-interest’ countries – those identified by…
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