The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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TRAC files suit for release of information
David Burnham and Susan B. Long, co-directors of the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, are suing the federal Office of Personnel Management for “unlawfully withholding information it normally provides the public about some 900,000 of its civilian employees, including those working for such agencies as the EPA, OSHA and FEMA.” The suit was filed under the…
Read MoreRequests to seal divorce records on the rise
Tresa Baldas of The National Law Journal reports that corporations are increasingly requesting that judges seal “the divorce records of top executives to protect trade secrets or crucial financial information from leaking out, or simply to avoid embarrassment.” The article cites examples from across the country, including California, New Hampshire and Connecticut.
Read MoreFrist’s votes benefit HCA
Todd Pack of The Tennessean examined the voting record of Sen. Bill Frist (R) over the past 11 years, finding the senator has a pattern of supporting bills friendly to HCA Inc., the Nashville-based hospital company that is the foundation of the Frist family’s wealth, and to hospitals in general. Frist has faced criticism in…
Read MoreMost Tasered suspects unarmed
Richard D. Walton and Mark Nichols of The Indianapolis Star examined the use of Tasers by Marion County law enforcement officers. “At least 112 unarmed suspects were Tasered while fleeing IPD or sheriff’s deputies. At least 87 people were shocked while handcuffed. And only one in 12 Tasered suspects was reported to have been armed.”…
Read MoreCorrespondence school offers speedy academic makeover
Pete Thamel and Duff Wilson of The New York Times used academic transcripts and documents obtained through a freedom of information request to show that University High, a correspondence school which has no classes and no educational accreditation, offered students little more than a speedy academic makeover. "Athletes who graduated from University High acknowledged that…
Read MoreReport looks at colleges with highest violent crime rates
ABC News used data reported by the country’s universities and analyzed reports of campus crime to determine which colleges had the highest reported violent crime rates. The analysis divided the schools into four categories — largest to smallest and were available from 2002 and 2003. "In the smallest category, schools with 2,100 students or fewer,…
Read MoreData on European farm subsidy payments made available
Farmsubsidy.org is a project coordinated by the Danish International Center for Analytical Reporting (DICAR) and EU Transparency, a nonprofit organization in the United Kingdom. The Web site obtains detailed data relating to payments and recipients of farm subsidies in every EU member state and makes this data available to European citizens. Subsidies paid to farmers…
Read MoreLack of federal oversight of theme park rides
Florida Today and WKMG-Orlando used data from a 3-axis accelerometer and data collection device to test the effects of Central Florida’s G-forces on theme park rides. They also examined figures on estimates of injuries and deaths involving fixed-site rides and found that state and U.S. agencies only inspect and regulate mobile amusement rides, the kind…
Read MoreThousands of dollars collected in per diems
Steve Neavling, formerly of The Bay City Times, reviewed records to show that Bay County paid more than $350,000 to citizens and politicians for serving on its boards in the past four-and-a-half years. Many of these meeting lasted less than 15 minutes and dozens lasted less than five minutes. "A bulk of the per-diem payments…
Read MoreD.C. officials violate spending laws
Dan Keating and David S. Fallis, with contributions from Bobbye Pratt, of The Washington Post used District of Columbia purchasing records to show that of $2.5 billion in purchases last year, the city spent roughly $425 million in unauthorized payments and no-bid contracts. "District officials routinely violate city spending laws by avoiding competitive bidding, masking…
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