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Projects get stimulus funds despite limited economic impact
A report by Michelle Breidenbach of The Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) shows that in many cases stimulus funds funneled through the National Institutes of Health are going towards previously unfunded proposals with no regard for job creation or economic impact. In one example, a formerly wait-listed grant for $500,000 was awarded to Cornell University for the…
Read MoreRecords cast doubt on money manager’s claims
Claims by Bo Beckman, a Twin Cities investment manager, to be among the top money managers in the United States led to an investigation by Dan Browning of the Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.). Among other things, he found that Morningstar says it never rated Beckman, and his own mother sued him twice.
Read MoreNurse drug prevention program loosely monitored
In their continuing investigation into failed oversight of California’s nursing board, ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times found problems within the state’s drug diversion program. Diversion is intended to help nurses overcome substance abuse problems without losing their nursing license. The investigation found “participants who practiced while intoxicated, stole drugs from the bedridden and falsified…
Read MoreViolence follows some soldiers home from war
A two-day series by Dave Phillips of The (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Gazette retraces the steps of soldiers who have returned from war and ended up incarcerated for crimes they committed upon their return to civilian life. Ten soldiers from Fort Carson’s 4th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team have “been arrested and accused of murder, attempted…
Read MoreDunlap, convicted of killing Don Bolles, died in prison
The Arizona Republic reported that Max Dunlap, convicted of killing Don Bolles, died at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson on Tuesday. “Dunlap, 80, was convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in 1993. He was serving a life sentence. Dunlap was unresponsive Tuesday morning in the Rincon medical unit in Tucson. Staff performed CPR…
Read MoreMany Pentagon contractors go unnamed
“The Pentagon’s unnamed contractors placed 14th on the Defense Department’s ranking of top contractors for 2008, according to an Aerospace Daily analysis of an independent national database of government contracting data,” reports Michael Fabey. The analysis also showed that all work associated with these unnamed contractors was completed in either Iraq or Afghanistan. The Federal…
Read MoreQuestions remain about Wisconsin’s proposed high-speed train
An investigation by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and University of Wisconsin-Madison journalism students found gaps in one of the state’s biggest proposed stimulus projects: a half-a-billion-dollar high-speed passenger rail line between Madison and Milwaukee. They found that in some cases, the trains wouldn’t match current commuting and travel routes. And officials are calling…
Read MoreProperty flipping took toll on Florida housing market
The Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune reviewed 19 million Florida real estate transactions to determine the impact of housing fraud on the collapse of the housing market. “The year-long investigation found that more than 50,000 Florida properties were flipped under suspicious circumstances from 2000 through 2008. Those flips artificially drove up housing prices and tax bills and…
Read MoreCity loses money as lenders abandon foreclosed properties
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters Cary Spivak and Ben Poston uncovered the latest fallout from the mortgage crisis: foreclosed properties abandoned by lenders, also known as “walkaways.” Using city and county databases the reporters found that walkaway properties were already costing the city of Milwaukee more than $400,000 in back taxes, fees and demolition costs. The…
Read MoreCompensation for those wrongly convicted slow, unequal
Clark Merrefield, along with fellow CUNY graduate students, analyzed New York state’s compensation program for those found to be wrongfully convicted. Their findings showed that it takes years for recipients to receive their compensation, and the payment rates are wildly uneven despite promises to the contrary.
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