The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Extra Extra
Records show California lawmakers increased staff pay
Despite a huge budget deficit, an Associated Press review of legislative pay records showed that many California lawmakers had given pay raises to their staff in the first half of 2009. These pay increases came at a time when the state had to make “some $30 billion in cuts over a two-year period to education,…
Read MoreHealth care lobbyists number six per lawmaker
Jonathan D. Salant and Lizzie O’Leary of Bloomberg.com report that there are approximately 3,300 lobbyists currently working on the issue of health care. “That’s six lobbyists for each of the 535 members of the House and Senate, according to Senate records, and three times the number of people registered to lobby on defense.” During the…
Read MoreMany Dallas-Fort Worth graduates struggle in college
Holly Hacker of The Dallas Morning News looked at new data compiled by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that showed how Texas public school students from the Class of 2007 fared in their first year at Texas public universities. Analysis showed that “at some North Texas high schools, half or more of graduates who…
Read MoreAccused killer had history of arrests, parole violations
The accused killer of Los Angeles teenager Lily Burk “was set free in June 2009, despite failing to report to his parole agent for weeks, being a wanted fugitive on two different arrest warrants, and being arrested three times on drug charges and testing positive for cocaine — all in a matter of six months,…
Read MoreGovernor’s former staff skirt law through indirect lobbying
Jeremy Finley of WSMV-Nashville, Tenn. tracked the former staff of the governor’s office and found many of them active in “indirect lobbying” for special interests. A state law says no members of the governor’s staff can lobby for a year after they leave office.
Read MoreMilitary suicides a mounting problem
An article by Erica Goode of The New York Times reports on the mounting number of soldiers committing suicide, detailing the stories of four soldiers from the 1451st Transportation Company. “The four suicides, in a unit of roughly 175 soldiers, make the company an extreme example of what experts see as an alarming trend in…
Read MoreRigged Privilege series
A three-part investigation by the East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.) looked at Arizona’s Private School Tuition Tax Credits program. “The tuition tax credits law was supposed to revolutionize school choice for disadvantaged children. Instead it fostered a rigged system that keeps private education a privilege for the already privileged.“
Read MoreReport shows missteps by Army left troops vulnerable in Afghanistan
Hal Bernton and Cheryl Phillips of The Seattle Times reported on an unreleased study that concluded Army missteps directly contributed to one of the bloodiest battles in the Afghanistan war. Army historian Douglas Cubbison “noted suspect decisions by commanders, who allowed an understaffed platoon to plant itself in hostile territory without adequate support.” Nine soldiers…
Read MoreMany bad bridges not receiving stimulus funds
“Tens of thousands of unsafe or decaying bridges carrying 100 million drivers a day must wait for repairs because states are spending stimulus money on spans that are already in good shape or on easier projects like repaving roads, an Associated Press analysis shows.” An interactive map gives details state-by-state on bridge projects funded by…
Read MoreSome rape victims failed by Violence Against Women Act
A report co-published by ProPublica and the Huffington Post Investigative Fund found that “15 years after Congress passed a law to ensure that rape victims would never see a bill, loopholes and bureaucratic tangles still leave some victims paying for hospital expenses and exams, which can cost up to $1,200.“
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