The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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Historical records used to identify forgotten lead smelter
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is opening an investigation of possible lead contamination in an Atlanta neighborhood after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution unearthed old documents showing that a lead smelter spewed lead dust over the area for decades. Old smelting industry directories, property records and mothballed regulatory files were used to identify the old Evans Metal…
Read MoreQuestionable individuals retain U.S. pilots licenses
Analysis of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database made available to ABCNews.com showed that “a notorious drug kingpin, a convicted arms trafficker and several other individuals linked to aviation-connected crimes continue to hold FAA pilots licenses,” according to a report by Eric Longabardi and Joseph Rhee. The findings raise questions in the efforts of the…
Read MoreWasting Away series
In a city ravaged by the highest rate of AIDS case in the nation, the D.C. Health Department paid millions to nonprofit groups that delivered substandard services or failed to account for any work at all, even as sick people searched for care or died waiting. A ten-month Washington Post investigation found AIDS money was…
Read MoreEnvironmental violations continue due to uneven enforcement
A review of Pennsylvania environmental records by Christopher Baxter of The Morning Call (Allentown, Penn.) found eight years of stop-and-go enforcement by the Department of Environmental Protection that allowed a steel coating plant to continue operating despite violating dozens of environmental regulations.
Read MoreInternational adoptions fraught with problems
David Shaffer of the Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.) presented a detailed look at how foreign adoptions often lead to nothing but heartbreak for everyone involved, from the birth mother to the adoptive parent. The two-day series also exposed a glaring loophole in a newly implemented treaty aimed at cutting down on corruption in the international…
Read MoreChildren failed by Los Angeles County child welfare system
A report by Kim Christensen and Garrett Therolf of The Los Angeles Times reveals that the Los Angeles County child welfare system is riddled with problems. In many cases, children died with little notice by the system or the public. “At least 268 children who had passed through the child welfare system died from January…
Read MoreLoans brokered by nonprofits contributed to housing crisis
A review of government and court records by the Huffington Post Investigation Fund shows that two nonprofit groups worked closely with some of the nation’s biggest home builders to broker tens of billions of dollars in no-money-down mortgages. Now these loans are defaulting at up to three times the rate of other FHA loans, one…
Read MoreBureaucratic failings put childrens’ lives at risk
In their continuing series on child welfare in Wisconsin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters Gina Barton and Crocker Stephenson focused on the case of Will Robert Johnson who died at five months of age. After reviewing hundreds of pages of documents about the case — many of which are not public and were obtained from outside…
Read MoreSuite deal on stadium boxes for city officials
Cincinnati’s mayor and Hamilton County commissioners are among those who have taken advantage of an obscure provision in stadium lease agreements with the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals allowing them free use of a luxury box. The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Gregory Korte reported that politicians have used the seats — often for free, and with free food…
Read MoreNonprofit CEO waived some pay after compensation criticized
A recent investigation by The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer into Franklin Graham’s soaring compensation prompted the evangelist to give up much of his pay at the two Christian charities he leads. As president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, Graham received total compensation of $1.2 million last year. He was paid more than…
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