The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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Problems plague Georgia’s food safety system
A report by Alan Judd of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reveals that the food safety system overseen by Georgia’s Agriculture Department is riddled with problems. Only after a fatal outbreak of salmonella was tracked to a Georgia peanut processing plant did the Agriculture Department develop guidelines for inspecting such plants. “The lax oversight of Peanut Corp.’s…
Read MoreContaminated properties ignored for more than a decade
Sharon Coolidge of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that a “review of city health records found that 55 of the 268 properties identified as having lead hazards have been on the city’s books since before 1999. Yet the properties have not been cleaned and the owners have not been prosecuted.” Families have continued to move into…
Read MoreDisparity found in college choices for students in state-funded program
Students in a state-funded program that sends them from the city to suburban high schools are far less likely to attend top-tier colleges than are the suburban residents of the schools they attend, a study by The Boston Globe has found. Almost 90 percent of the students enrolled in the program go to college. But…
Read MoreAgencies question ability to meet public’s need for assistance
A report by Steve Eder of The Toledo Blade shows the federal and state governments spend more than $800 million each year in Lucas County, Ohio, on programs for low-income residents. Even with the large infusions of cash, people working with the poor say they have grave concerns about the county’s readiness for aiding the…
Read MoreMexican drug war creates new class of refugees
As part of the Los Angeles Times’ continued coverage of the drug war in Mexico, Andrew Becker and Patrick J. McDonnell report on a new class of refugees seeking asylum in the United States. Law enforcement officers, business owners and journalists are increasingly trying to escape the violence and danger linked to Mexico’s drug war.…
Read MoreAttorneys help screen employees who could later oversee their work
Voice of San Diego reports that lawyers from a firm that has received millions of dollars in business from a public agency have, at least twice, helped the agency screen potential employees who later oversaw outside attorneys’ work.
Read MoreFederal car seat tests results raise safety questions
A Chicago Tribune investigation raises serious questions about the rigor of safety standards for infant car seats. Thirty one such seats either flew off their bases or exceeded injury limits in a series of frontal crashes conducted by federal researchers using 2008 model year vehicles. The test results were never publicized. Car seat manufacturers question…
Read MoreGregg had stake in aid for base
President Barack Obama’s former nominee to become commerce secretary, Sen. Judd Gregg, steered taxpayer money to his home state’s redevelopment of a former Air Force base even as he and his brother engaged in real estate deals there, an Associated Press investigation found. Gregg has collected at least $240,017 to $651,801 from his investments there,…
Read MoreArmy charity holding onto millions of dollars
The biggest charity inside the U.S. military has been stockpiling tens of millions of dollars meant to help put returning fighters back on their feet, an Associated Press investigation shows. Between 2003 and 2007, Army Emergency Relief grew into a $345 million behemoth. During those years, the charity packed away $117 million into its own…
Read MoreDonations increasingly go to telemarketers in California
If you give to a charity over the phone, there’s a growing likelihood that most of your donation will go to the telemarketer instead, according to an investigation by The Sacramento Bee. More than a third of California charity telemarketing campaigns sent less than 20 cents on the dollar to the charities during 2007, the…
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