The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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Lottery sales slow in North Carolina
The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer analyzed North Carolina lottery data and found that fewer outlets and lower prizes accounted for the slow sales in the new state lottery. J. Andrew Curliss and news researcher Paulette Stiles found “the number of outlets for every resident in North Carolina is significantly behind the saturation levels of…
Read MoreCalifornia Department of Justice Hid Millions in Contracts
Michael R. Blood of the Associated Press found that the California Department of Justice improperly concealed tens of millions of dollars worth of contracts with lobbyists, consultants, legal firms – even couriers and parking garages – in violation of its own confidentiality rules. “An internal agency review, conducted at AP’s request, found information on scores…
Read MoreNFL On A Diet
Thomas Hargrove of Scripps Howard News Service found that the average weight of NFL athletes dropped more than a pound last year, reversing a 20-year trend in which pro football’s behemoths steadily gained bulk at the rate of more than a pound per man per year. According to the Scripps Howard News Service study of…
Read MoreWisconsin judges hear cases despite conflicts
Geoff Davidian of Milwaukee Magazine identified Wisconsin judges who frequently try cases involving companies in which they hold investments. Davidian analyzed all civil cases in Milwaukee from the beginning of 2004 through the first eight months of 2006 and checked them against the financial interest statements filed by the judges with the Wisconsin Ethics Board.…
Read MoreProbation Officers Overworked in Douglas County
Ron Knox of The Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World reported that probation officers in Douglas County were among the most overworked in the state – and by far the most overworked in similar judicial districts, based on his analysis of a state probation caseload database. Knox compared the number of adult and juvenile cases with the number…
Read MoreDodging Doomsday
Sam Roe of The Chicago Tribune exposes the story of America’s efforts to recover uranium that the U.S. government distributed to other nations in its Cold War-era “Atoms for Peace” program. The enriched uranium, suitable for making bombs, still circulates in politically unstable countries. “Today, roughly 40 tons of the material remains out of U.S.…
Read MoreIowa drivers dodge high fines, license penalties
The Des Moines Register used data on driving-related offenses in Iowa to identify 78,000 people who owe at least $500 in fines. Reporter Lee Rood and data analyst Michael Corey found “The outstanding debt that all Iowans owe for everything from overdue speeding tickets to drunk driving fines to law enforcement surcharges is at a…
Read MoreLicense to Carry
In a four-part series, Megan O’Matz and John Maines of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel examined Florida’s concealed weapons law and found that licenses have been issued to hundreds of people who, due to their criminal histories, wouldn’t stand a chance of getting them in most other states. Courts have found them responsible for assaults, burglaries,…
Read MoreNo Defense: Shortcut to Death Row
Stephen Henderson, Supreme Court correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers, evaluated the quality of defense lawyering in four states, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama and Virginia in a three-part series based on in-depth review of 80 cases from 1997 to 2004. By failing to investigate their clients’ histories, lawyers in these 73 cases fell far short of the 20-year-old…
Read MoreOhio workers comp probe continues
In a three-part series, Steve Eder and James Drew of The (Toledo) Blade report that, since early 2004, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has failed to fully investigate allegations of kickbacks and fraud in its managed-care section. The report, “Falling Down on The Job,” is the latest installment in The Blade‘s two-year investigation into…
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