The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Government (federal/state/local)
Child Protective Services fails children in Fresno County
Following a disturbing pattern of child deaths, Brad Branan of The Fresno Bee investigated the Fresno County Child Protective Services. “Among California’s 20 biggest counties, Fresno County is one of the worst when it comes to meeting standards for child protection, The Bee found in an analysis of state data. The county’s Child Protective Services…
Read MoreProblems plague Georgia’s food safety system
A report by Alan Judd of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reveals that the food safety system overseen by Georgia’s Agriculture Department is riddled with problems. Only after a fatal outbreak of salmonella was tracked to a Georgia peanut processing plant did the Agriculture Department develop guidelines for inspecting such plants. “The lax oversight of Peanut Corp.’s…
Read MoreContaminated properties ignored for more than a decade
Sharon Coolidge of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that a “review of city health records found that 55 of the 268 properties identified as having lead hazards have been on the city’s books since before 1999. Yet the properties have not been cleaned and the owners have not been prosecuted.” Families have continued to move into…
Read MoreAgencies question ability to meet public’s need for assistance
A report by Steve Eder of The Toledo Blade shows the federal and state governments spend more than $800 million each year in Lucas County, Ohio, on programs for low-income residents. Even with the large infusions of cash, people working with the poor say they have grave concerns about the county’s readiness for aiding the…
Read MoreAttorneys help screen employees who could later oversee their work
Voice of San Diego reports that lawyers from a firm that has received millions of dollars in business from a public agency have, at least twice, helped the agency screen potential employees who later oversaw outside attorneys’ work.
Read MoreFederal car seat tests results raise safety questions
A Chicago Tribune investigation raises serious questions about the rigor of safety standards for infant car seats. Thirty one such seats either flew off their bases or exceeded injury limits in a series of frontal crashes conducted by federal researchers using 2008 model year vehicles. The test results were never publicized. Car seat manufacturers question…
Read MoreGregg had stake in aid for base
President Barack Obama’s former nominee to become commerce secretary, Sen. Judd Gregg, steered taxpayer money to his home state’s redevelopment of a former Air Force base even as he and his brother engaged in real estate deals there, an Associated Press investigation found. Gregg has collected at least $240,017 to $651,801 from his investments there,…
Read MoreTexas homeowners paying more for less coverage
Jennifer LaFleur and Ed Timms at The Dallas Morning News have found that, despite legislation to reform homeowner insurance coverage, many Texans pay some of the country’s highest premiums but receive below-average coverage. The story also includes an explanation of the computer-assisted reporting for the piece. This is the fourth and final installment in the…
Read MoreMillions lost in overpayment of child care subsidies
In a third installment of the series “Cashing in on Kids,” Raquel Rutledge of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found that the state of Wisconsin has overpaid parents and child care providers more than $13 million in recent years – including millions of dollars for bogus child care. But the state has a poor record of…
Read MorePhoenix emerges as kidnapping capital of U.S.
“In what officials caution is now a dangerous and even deadly crime wave, Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City and over 370 cases last year alone,” according to a report by Brian Ross, Richard Esposito and Asa Eslocker…
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