The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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Residents near Lake Taneycomo, MO urge victims to rethink taking small business disaster loans.
A KY3 investigation reveals that fewer than half of the people who applied for U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans after severe storms and flooding in southwest Missouri in 2008 got loan approvals and took the money. We started looking into the effectiveness of the program after our latest round of severe weather. We found…
Read MoreDespite transparency laws, many New Orleans court officials spend millions behind the public’s back.
“At least $26 million a year – and likely much more – is being spent on judiciary-related offices without the public involvement required by state law, The Lens has determined after a six-month analysis of records involving 11 agencies or offices. The review included five court systems, the Public Defender’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office…
Read MoreHaitian earthquake relief reaches impasse
This report by the Haiti Grassroots Watch and two students from the “Laboratoire de Journalisme at the State University of Haiti,” seeks to identify why reconstruction has not started in downtown Port-au-Prince, the location hit hardest by the earthquake in 2010. Numerous meetings and discussions have been held, but no plan of actions seems to…
Read MoreDepartment of Juvenile Justice psychiatrists possess troubled pasts
In the latest installment of the series “Drugging Delinquents,” by the Palm Beach Post, reporter Michael LaForgia reveals that several doctors who counsel and medicate minors in state custody have their own troubled pasts. Psychiatrists with various legal transgressions have been hired by Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice and work directly with jailed children. Dr.…
Read More“U.S. Navy Radar Testing Center Goes Dark”
Michael Fabey tells the story of the “Taj Mahal,” a building that “features a full-scale aft-face replica of the DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer deckhouse, complete with operating radar arrays.” The U.S. Navy says the building itself costs $19 million. However, the cost of its “radar-suite” would “dwarf that number.” The building was originally built to house…
Read MoreIranian women share details of prison torture.
“Thousands of Iranians took to the streets in 2009 as part of the Green Movement to protest a disputed presidential election. The government crackdown that followed included some women being imprisoned, tortured and raped. This report shares some of their stories.” Jeffrey Brown with The Center for Investigative Reporting and PBS NewsHour reports on the…
Read MoreRetirement means big payouts for some in Erie County
In this series by the Buffalo News, reporter Aaron Besecker revealed that the “highest paid local government employee in Erie County last year” was Kenneth K. Hycner, a police lieutenant who did nothing out of the ordinary except retire. This investigation reveals that several local governments in Erie County often give police officers hefty “parting…
Read MoreInspections show Idaho nursing facilities filled with flaws
In this report by the Times-News of Twin Falls, Idaho, journalist Ben Botkin reveals alarming statistics when it comes to the care provided by nursing facilities. In “2010, more than 57 percent of Idaho nursing homes provided unnecessary drugs to patients, according to inspection reports filed by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.” Inspection…
Read MoreBPU members rack up hefty, questionable travel bills
The NBC Action News team reveals that taxpayers in Wyandotte County, Kan., are being billed thousands of dollars for out-of-state trips taken by elected members with the Board of Public Utilities. All six members of the BPU racked up hefty charges in airfare, hotels and transportation fees. A records request for the “itemized 2010 travel…
Read MoreViolent behavior overlooked by the system
A Journal Sentinel investigation into the violent life of Markus Evans reveals a series of “miscalculations by law enforcement and poor communication between authorities.” Evans’ violent background began as early as kindergarten, when he stabbed a teacher with a pencil. He was arrested twice before the age of 10 and shot a cousin in the…
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