The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Extra Extra
Mistakes in radiation treatments can be dire
A report by Walt Bogdanich of The New York Times looks at the risks associated with radiation treatments. Advancements in how radiation is administered have made it a more effective treatment. “The Times found that while this new technology allows doctors to more accurately attack tumors and reduce certain mistakes, its complexity has created new…
Read MoreJudge orders Tacoma City Council to record executive meetings
The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) won what may be the first court ruling of its kind in Washington state, when a judge ordered the Tacoma City Council to video and audio record its executive sessions. The newspaper’s lawsuit comes on the heels of reporting by the News Tribune‘s Lewis Kamb on the city council’s appointment…
Read MoreMisuse of funds compromised tribal welfare program
An investigation by The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.) uncovered problems with the taxpayer-funded Torres-Martinez tribal welfare program.”Beneath the surface of rampant poverty and joblessness on one of California’s poorest American Indian reservations is nearly a decade of mismanagement and misuse of millions in taxpayer dollars meant for those needing the money most, federal and…
Read MoreHead of D.C. Metro system resigned
On January 14, the general manager of Washington D.C.’s Metro system announced he is resigning, bringing to five the number of top executives who are leaving or have been reassigned in response to a Washington Post series on safety lapses in the nation’s second-busiest subway system.
Read MoreMany children lack second dose of H1N1 flu vaccine
As many as 80% of children in some states who received a first dose of H1N1 vaccine haven’t received a booster dose that’s necessary to fully protect them from swine flu, according to a USA Today review of immunization registry data from 10 states. State health officials are worried growing public complacency could put these…
Read MoreFeds make collection firms open debt sale records
Isaac Wolf of Scripps Howard News Service in Washington reports that “federal authorities have issued a sweeping order for some of the nation’s largest debt-collecting companies to open their books. In its first investigation of the $60 billion consumer debt resale market, the Federal Trade Commission has directed the nine companies that buy the most second-hand…
Read MoreAthletic departments thrive on subsidies while universities struggle
“More than $800 million in student fees and university subsidies are propping up athletic programs at the nation’s top sports colleges, including hundreds of millions in the richest conferences,” according to a report by Jack Gillum, Jodi Upton and Steve Berkowitz of USA Today. At the same time, many of these school are facing financial…
Read MoreExecutive at housing nonprofit pulled in $685,000 in 2009
A watchdog report by Ellen Gabler of The Chicago Tribune revealed that Christine M.J. Oliver, the president of the nonprofit Chicago Dwellings Association, was paid about $685,00 in 2008. Experts say this amount was nearly three times what other executives were paid at housing nonprofits in the area.
Read MoreMistreatment of inmates at Chino prison investigated
KPCC.org, the Web site for Southern California Public Radio, investigated allegations of inmate mistreatment at the California Institution for Men in Chino following a bloody 11-hour riot Aug. 8, 2009. The riot left some 200 men injured. It took authorities until sunrise to contain the violence. In interviews and in letters obtained by KPCC, inmates…
Read MoreLobbyist investigated for ‘straw donor’ scam
Chuck Neubauer of The Washington Times reports that “superlobbyist” Paul Magliocchetti “is now the focus of a federal investigation into whether he made illegal campaign contributions by reimbursing people, or ‘straw donors,’ who made contributions in their names to his favored candidates – helping the lobbyist avoid federal limits on his personal donations.“
Read More