Government (federal/state/local)
Mass killing data records not being kept up to date
“USA TODAY examined FBI data — which defines a mass killing as four or more victims — as well as local police records and media reports to understand mass killings in America. They happen far more often than the government reports, and the circumstances of those killings — the people who commit them, the weapons…
Read MoreUS warship faces expanding list of problems
Tony Capaccio for Bloomberg reports that the “U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship lacks the robust communications systems needed to transmit critical data to support facilities ashore, according to an unreleased congressional audit, the latest in a succession of troubles for the $34 billion shipbuilding program.” “The program to build a total of 52 ships in…
Read MoreHealth-care Web site’s lead contractor employs executives from troubled IT company
The lead contractor on the dysfunctional Web site for the Affordable Care Act is filled with executives from a company that mishandled at least 20 other government IT projects, including a flawed effort to automate retirement benefits for millions of federal workers, documents and interviews show.
Read MoreUtility district manager’s retirement party cost customers thousands of dollars
Water customers at two Greene County utility districts helped throw a more than $6,400 retirement bash for the woman who helped lead the districts for many years, WJHL reports. Who authorized the expenses? According to the itemized receipts, Collins’ daughter, acting manager Kandie Jennings approved the expenses. Jennings is among the family members on unpaid…
Read MoreSeattle school managers get questionable OT payments
A KIRO 7 investigation finds that some at Seattle’s schools may be violating the HR policy by paying overtime to select district managers who aren’t entitled to make extra money. A months-long investigation reveals a radio station supervisor is the exempt manager making the most OT, banking about $70,000 in the last 2 ½ years.…
Read MoreThe secret, dirty cost of Obama’s green power push
The ethanol era has proven far more damaging to the environment than politicians promised and much worse than the government admits today. Farmers have wiped out millions of acres of conservation land, destroyed habitat and contaminated water supplies, an Associated Press investigation found. Five million acres of land set aside for conservation have been converted.…
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Poverty and profits, innocent drivers arrested, asbestos lawsuits and neglected abuse fatalities
Facing Foreclosure: Oklahoma’s mortgage settlement program benefits attorneys | Tulsa World“So far, the largest financial beneficiary of Oklahoma’s mortgage settlement program is a young attorney who used a system of vouchers and possibly a family connection to acquire dozens of clients.” Shocking cost investigation: Utility middle men charge renters inflated prices | Columbus Dispatch“A 10-month…
Read MoreBooming rental market makes it easier for neglectful landlords to ignore substandard living conditions
“A wide range of involved parties — City Council members, city Code Compliance officials, tenant advocates and real estate industry groups — agree that Austin’s real estate boom has made it possible for a subset of “bad actors” among rental property owners to ignore substandard conditions and tenants’ complaints. One indicator of the scope of…
Read More$1,100 an hour? Part-time service at little agencies means big bucks and benefits for politicians
“Even the elected officials who benefit were surprised by the hefty hourly rates, which this newspaper calculated through an analysis of government meeting minutes and the Bay Area News Group’s public salary database.”
Read More15 Years Later, Where Did All The Cigarette Money Go?
Fifteen years after tobacco companies agreed to pay billions of dollars in fines in what is still the largest civil litigation settlement in U.S. history, it’s unclear how state governments are using much of that money.
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