The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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Gambling with state pension plan may cost state jobs, services
Mackenzie Ryan of the Statesman Journal (Salem, Ore.) recently investigated a new and controversial financial strategy in Oregon that attempts to lower a public agency’s pension system. The arbitrage strategy – where cities, school districts and the state issued bonds and then invested the money – made pension costs more volatile because “an agency’s pension…
Read MoreJobs linked to aircraft production complicate attempted budget cuts
The Boeing C-17 is a $250 million aircraft used by the military to transport troops and supplies. Despite the Pentagon asserting it has plenty of C-17s in its fleet, Congress continues to approve funding for additional planes, according to a report by Ben Elgin and Keith Epstein of BusinessWeek. The 2010 budget has $2.5 billion…
Read MoreClean energy stimulus funds ending up overseas
The latest report from the Investigative Reporting Workshop at the American University shows that the majority of clean-energy grants paid out from stimulus funds have gone to overseas companies. “Of the $1.05 billion in clean-energy grants handed out by the government since Sept. 1, 84 percent – a total of $849 million – has gone…
Read MoreCost of U.S. Army aviation accidents on the rise
A report by Michael Fabey shows that aviation accidents have been much costlier in 2009 according to an Aerospace Daily analysis of Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center data. “The average cost per accident or incident for this calendar year was about $220,178 as of July 28, the last date for which data were provided, compared to…
Read MoreDemocratic donors rewarded with White House access
“During his first nine months in office, President Obama has quietly rewarded scores of top Democratic donors with VIP access to the White House, private briefings with administration advisers and invitations to important speeches and town-hall meetings,” reports Mathew Mosk of The Washington Times. Additionally, according to internal Democratic National Committee documents, access to top…
Read MoreThe Rise and Fall of Denny Hecker series
A special report by the Pioneer-Press (St. Paul, Minn.) explores the dealings of failed businessman Denny Hecker. Hecker’s business empire collapsed over the last year, and he filed for bankruptcy. Hecker is $767 million in debt. Many claim he “used his businesses as a personal piggy bank, siphoning money from his dealerships and rental-car companies…
Read MoreNonprofit a source of ready money for city officials
A Baltimore Sun investigation reveals that a little-known private nonprofit group formed to primarily benefit city programs for the underprivileged is a source of money-on-demand for city government officials with almost no oversight. City employees wield broad discretion over how money is spent from the Baltimore City Foundation and the foundation asks few questions. The…
Read MoreActivist tackles Miami’s housing woes
Paul Reyes, with support from the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute, reports on housing issues in Miami, Fla. where over 70,000 are on a waiting list for public housing. Additionally, Miami ranks fourth in foreclosure rates in American cities. Reyes followed community activist Max Rameau, founder of the organization Take Back the Land, as…
Read MoreRulings by California’s worker safety appeals board questioned
A Los Angeles Times investigation found that the Cal-OSHA Appeals Board “has repeatedly reduced or dismissed penalties levied by Cal-OSHA over the last few years, even in situations in which workers have died or been seriously injured.” Inspectors and labor advocates are critical of the board claiming that repeatedly appealing penalties undermines Cal-OSHA’s ability to…
Read MoreDrastic swings in test scores lead to questions of cheating
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation found 19 public elementary schools statewide with extraordinary gains or drops in standardized test scores between spring last year and this year — raising questions of cheating.
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