The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Government (federal/state/local)
Cost of Bay Area bridge project unprecedented
Patricia Decker and Robert Porterfield have found the construction project on the east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge will be the most expensive project ever done in the state of California. While overall costs have been presented to the public, Decker and Porterfield report that the interest on the money borrowed to pay…
Read MoreCompanies received vaccine when supply was scarce
Alison Young of USA Today reports that vaccine distribution data from three states shows that thousands of doses of the H1N1 vaccine went to corporate clinics when the supply was scarce. Walt Disney World, Toyota and Norwegian Cruise lines were three such recipients. “Of the 2.42 million doses in Texas and 2 million in Florida…
Read MoreMineral rights royalties poorly monitored in Virginia
A series by the Bristol (Va.) Herald Courier exposed problems with Virginia’s mineral rights leasing program. Landowners have been forced to lease their mineral rights to private companies with the promise of royalties in return. “But instead of reaching the pockets of mineral owners, the money is funneled into an opaque state-run escrow fund, where…
Read MoreCompanies receiving stimulus money failed to report violations
The New England Center for Investigative Journalism found that 13 of the 21 companies awarded federal stimulus contracts from the Massachusetts Transportation Highway Division failed to disclose serious pollution or workplace safety penalties leveled against them, as is required by law. Together, these companies have received $54 million dollars of federal money. As a result…
Read MoreAgent Orange series
A series by The Chicago Tribune traces the lingering impact of the use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The evidence of exposure can still be seen in the many who suffer serious health issues, and birth defects have carried the legacy forth into a second generation. With assistance from the Fund for Investigative…
Read MorePolice failed to track government-owned take-home vehicles
An investigation by Daniel Chacón of The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) found that the “Colorado Springs Police Department’s tracking of dozens of take-home government-owned vehicles is so incomplete no one can say if officers are using them to respond to emergencies, commuting or personal errands.” The police department was not aware of the issue until…
Read MoreRecall of tainted meat did not include beef provided to schools
Blake Morrison, Peter Eisler and Anthony DeBarros of USA Today report that a recall of tainted beef from Beef Packers of Fresno, Calif. did not include beef supplied to schools. Their investigation calls into question whether adequate steps were taken to ensure meat supplied for school lunches was safe for consumption. Beef Packers has had…
Read MoreShut out of Social Security
Mike Chalmers of The News Journal in Wilmington, Del., found a pattern of “denial and delay” among administrative law judges who have the power to grant or deny Social Security benefits to disabled workers in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The News Journal “analyzed four years of decisions by ALJ in every state, more than 1.7…
Read MoreLawmakers, state employees get millions in health insurance perks
Beth Reinhard and Marc Caputo of The Miami Herald report that Florida taxpayers foot the bill for the insurance premiums of Governor Charlie Crist and other high-ranking Florida officials. According to the article, 2,431 of the 27,479 government employees who receive this subsidy earn more than $100,000. The subsidy program costs about $45 million a…
Read MoreSchools not made aware of tainted food supplies
An investigation by Blake Morrison and Peter Eisler of USA Today illustrates failures in food safety programs as schools unknowingly continued to receive food from suppliers with a history of tainted products. Del Rey Tortilleria of Chicago was linked to illness outbreaks at over a dozen schools between 2003 and 2007. “And in a 2006…
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