Government (federal/state/local)
Government computer glitch left thousands in N.C. without food stamps
Thousands of people went without food stamps in North Carolina last year after government computers across the state crashed, according to the Huffington Post. According to the report: “The food stamp delays can be traced to troubles with a computer system designed by Accenture, one of the world’s largest consulting firms. The company is among…
Read MoreOfficials were warned about dangers of Wash. mudslide area
Snohomish County officials in a 2010 report were warned that neighborhoods along the Stillaguamish River were ranked “as one of the highest risk areas for deadly and destructive landslides,” according to The Seattle Times. The document contradicts claims from an emergency-management official that the area “was considered very safe” and that the slide “came out of nowhere.”…
Read MoreAlabama State audit shrouded in secrecy and confusion
As the cost of a forensic audit of Alabama State University nears $1 million, the investigation into the potential fraud it has uncovered is shrouded in secrecy and confusion.
Read MoreResidents of ‘uninhabitable’ Calif. public housing complex to be relocated
Following a report by the Center for Investigative Reporting, the City Council of Richmond, Calif. voted to give residents of the Hacienda public housing complex vouchers to move into private housing. Tim Jones, executive director of the Richmond Housing Authority, called the bulding uninhabitable, and dozens of residents have complained of health problems due to…
Read MoreNASA spends millions to fly first and business class with little oversight
NASA officials say they’re working to resolve “widespread” errors in travel disclosures dating back to at least 2009, according to a report from Scripps News. Problems range from lax oversight – some NASA travelers booked upgrades costing thousands of dollars – to missing or error-riddled reports. The federal agency is required each year to disclose all upgraded…
Read MoreGovernor Chris Christie cuts private deals and government contracts to his inner circle
The governor has allowed political cronyism to continue and even flourish, rather than stamp it out, with some of his closest confidants enriching themselves through millions of dollars in state contracts, and legal and lobbying fees, an Asbury Park Press review of thousands of pages of campaign, lobbying and contracting documents found.
Read MoreChris Christie cuts private deals and government contracts to his inner circle
The governor has allowed political cronyism to continue and even flourish, rather than stamp it out, with some of his closest confidants enriching themselves through millions of dollars in state contracts, and legal and lobbying fees, an Asbury Park Press review of thousands of pages of campaign, lobbying and contracting documents found.
Read MoreNational Flood Insurance Program, taxpayers around $24 billion in debt
There are 534 properties in New England alone that are considered Severe Repetitive Loss properties, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which manages the insurance program. Often, these National Flood Insurance Program-insured properties have had four significant flood claims – two within one decade. Nationwide there are about 12,000. Scituate has 112 of them.…
Read MorePentagon slow to identify remains of missing service members
The Pentagon spends about $100 million a year to find men like World War II POW Arthur “Bud” Kelder, following the ethos of “leave no man behind,” ProPublica reports. Yet it solves surprisingly few cases, hobbled by overlapping bureaucracy and a stubborn refusal to seize the full potential of modern forensic science. Last year, the military identified just…
Read MoreAfter NYT series, officials to transfer hundreds of children out of ‘deplorable’ shelters
City officials are moving more than 400 children and their families out of two city-owned shelters in the wake of a New York Times series about homeless children. “For nearly three decades, thousands of children passed through Auburn and Catherine Street, living with cockroaches, spoiled food, violence and insufficient heat, even as inspectors warned that…
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