The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Extra Extra
Atlanta schools under scrutiny for how cheating is handled
A story by Heather Vogell of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution raises questions about whether Atlanta is doing enough to probe allegations of cheating on state tests at its schools. Vogell used the state’s Open Records Law to obtain more than 2,400 pages of internal investigations into testing misconduct at six large metro school districts.
Read MoreDetails revealed about deaths at Memorial Medical Center after Katrina
An investigation by Sheri Fink of ProPublica reveals “what really happened to some of the patients who died at New Orleans’ Memorial Medical Center in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.” Among her findings, Fink reports that more patients than had been previously reported were given lethal injections, and some of those patients were near death…
Read MoreChemical industry fought ban of bisphenol A
Reporters Meg Kissinger and Susanne Rust of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reviewed thousands of pages of public records, from IRS documents to financial disclosure filings, to get inside the chemical industry’s push to fight a ban on bisphenol A, a chemical used in hard, clear plastics, including baby bottles. Their analysis showed the industry has…
Read MoreThousands of petroleum leaks go uncleaned in Florida
Matt Dixon of The News Herald (Panama City, Fla.) reports that budget cuts and strict state regulations have prevented the clean-up of thousands of underground petroleum leaks throughout Florida. Analysis of discharge data maintained by the Florida Department of Environment Protection shows more than 17,000 uncleaned leaks dating back to the mid-1980s.
Read MoreCommon weed killer taints water supplies
As part of its ongoing series on water pollution in America, The New York Times looks at the impact of atrazine, a popular weed killer, on our water supply . Recent research indicates that exposure to low concentrations of atrazine may be linked to low birth weights, birth defects and menstrual problems. The Times investigation…
Read MoreFormer governor failed to report gift of $50,000 golf club dues
Andy Curliss of The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) reported that former North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley got at least $50,000 in free golf dues from an expensive club near Raleigh and did not report the gift on the required disclosure forms. The News & Observer‘s continued coverage of Gov. Easley has led to federal…
Read MoreRetreat pay a costly perk in UNC system
Dan Kane and Eric Ferreri of The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) took a look at a little known perk for University of North Carolina administrators known as “retreat rights” that paid them as much as a full year’s leave at their administrative salaries while they prepared for courses. In several cases, the administrators left…
Read MoreA look at the influence of foreign lobbyists on Capitol Hill
Analysis of foreign lobbying disclosure records by ProPublica and the Sunlight Foundation provide insight into foreign influence on Capitol Hill. “More than 280 lobbying firms collected $87 million in fees for representing 340 foreign clients, including governments, government-controlled organizations, political parties, separatist groups and a handful of for-profit firms.” United Arab a, principally addressing interests in…
Read MoreUniversity of Wisconsin linked to ghostwritten articles
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters John Fauber and Meg Kissinger reviewed unsealed court records and found that at a time when fears were growing about the link between hormone therapy and breast cancer a drug company paid the University of Wisconsin Medical School to sponsor ghostwritten medical education articles that downplayed the risk. The article is…
Read MoreBacklog overwhelms U.S. Patent and Tradmark Office
John Schmid and Ben Poston of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office “has become overwhelmed by the growing volume and complexity of the applications it receives, creating a massive backlog that by its own reckoning could take at least six years to get under control.” The also found that…
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