The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Government (federal/state/local)
EPA fails to warn families of lead contamination where smelters once stood
“USA Today’s investigative team found the EPA failed to tell people about or take action on hundreds of former lead smelting sites they’d known about for years. Alison Young and Pete Eisler tested the soil around former plants in 13 states and found potentially dangerous levels of lead remain in people’s yards and in parks.”…
Read MoreJustice Department fails to inform convicted defendants of flawed forensics
“An investigation by The Washington Post has found that Justice Department officials have known for years that flawed forensic work might have led to the convictions of potentially innocent people, but prosecutors failed to notify defendants or their attorneys even in many cases they knew were troubled.”
Read MoreObama Administration silently diverting funds to IRS to enact Health Care Reform
The Hill has uncovered that the Obama administration has been quietly diverting funds to the IRS in order to implement their new health care reform law- to the tune of around $500 million. The report states that the funds are being provided outside of the normal appropriations process and the $500 million is only part…
Read MoreHundreds of traffic tickets dismissed by municipal judge
Through a public information request The Monitor has found that a municipal judge, in Hidalgo, Texas, doesn’t mind handing out favors. From January 2010 to April 2011 839 citations were submitted by local politicians and city employees, mostly traffic tickets, to the judge for special consideration. The list obtained, kept by the court administration, revealed…
Read MoreOhio businesses abusing disabled vet funds
“A Dayton Daily News examination has found that federal agencies have awarded tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded contracts to businesses operating in Ohio that claimed to be owned and controlled by military veterans with service-related disabilities, only to conclude the companies lied to the government when they said a disabled veteran was in…
Read MoreNew York’s Freedom of Information Law fails concerned parents
Elmira Star-Gazette reporter Jason Whong showed that despite having the benefit of the newspaper’s archives and knowing where to look and which dates to research, New York’s Freedom of Information and open records law couldn’t help him — or any parent — find much evidence of an accused sexual predator’s history of similar crimes and…
Read MoreJustice program fails to commit nation’s most dangerous sex offenders
Six years ago, the federal government set out to indefinitely detain some of the nation’s most dangerous sex offenders, keeping them locked up even after their prison sentences had ended. But despite years of effort, the government has so far won court approval for detaining just 15 men. Far more often, men the U.S.Justice Department…
Read MoreDocuments further confirm surveillance of Muslim-Americans
The Huffington Post reports that the New York Police Department collected information on businesses owned by second- and third-generation Americans specifically because they were Muslims, according to newly obtained secret documents. They show in the clearest terms yet that police were monitoring people based on religion, despite claims from Mayor Michael Bloomberg to the contrary.
Read MoreRural schools and communities lose billions in funding
An expired federal program aimed to benefit former logging communities means massive budget wholes for hundreds of schools and communities across the country, an investigation by California Watch found. The Secure Rural Schools and Communities Self-Determination Act provided nearly $3.8 billion for schools and roads in more than 700 counties in 42 states in the…
Read MoreFlorida police officers face few penalties when they cause crashes
“An investigation by the Orlando Sentinel found that police cars in Florida are crashing at the astonishing rate of 20 a day, resulting, over a five-year period, in thousands of injuries and more than 100 deaths. The findings led to a three-part series, “Collision With the Law,” which began Sunday, Feb. 12.” “Rene Stutzman and…
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