The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Government (federal/state/local)
NY business incentive program wasted millions
Mike McAndrew of The Post-Standard used Empire Zone records obtained through Freedom of Information Law requests to show that New York’s program to attract new business spent $84 million in recent years on out-of-state power companies with old and dirty facilities and little or no job growth. For instance, taxpayers paid $22 million to NRG…
Read MoreCDC bonuses favor management, not scientists
Alison Young of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution analyzed awards recieved by the employees of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to show that the most frequent large cash awards and performance bonuses are recieved not by scientists, but mostly budget analysts, accountants, computer experts and other administrative managers. “The 72 CDC employees who received…
Read MoreGround war costs dominate defense budget
The most recent Pentagon contract data show more payments for logistics, support and ground vehicles and less money for aviation programs, compared to a year ago. “One year of wartime operations equals about four years’ worth during peacetime, analysts say. In Iraq, with the harsh environment, the ratio has been more like one to five.”…
Read MoreTen Miami journalists take U.S. pay
Oscar Corral of The Miami Herald reports that at least 10 South Florida journalists, including three from El Nuevo Herald, received regular payments from the U.S. government for programs on Radio Martí and TV Martí, two broadcasters aimed at undermining the communist government of Fidel Castro. The payments totaled thousands of dollars over several years.
Read MoreCouncil absences concern community
An investigative story by Daniel J. Chacón of The Rocky Mountain News examined the number of committee meeting absences among Denver City Council members. The newspaper went through the minutes of hundreds of meetings to determine the number of meetings each member was supposed to attend and how many each missed since mid-2003, when the…
Read MoreStudent data from financial aid forms shared with FBI
Jonathan D. Glater of The New York Times reports that, as part of post-9/11 counterterrorism efforts, that Federal Education Department shared personal information obtained on student loan applications with the FBI. “Under the program, called Project Strikeback, the Education Department received names from the F.B.I. and checked them against its student aid database, forwarding information…Neither…
Read MoreCity officials in Iowa generously compensated
“City managers and administrators in the Des Moines area and other large Iowa cities tend to be paid well above the national average – some by more than nearly double the national average,” reported Jason Clayworth and Melissa Walker of the Des Moines Register. By looking at the compensation packages given to city government officials,…
Read MoreValero seeks millions from TX counties
L.A. Lorek of the San Antonio Express-News reports that counties in Texas may end up paying Valero – the nation’s largest independent refiner – millions of dollars due to inflated property assessments. Valero contends that “most of its Bexar properties
Read MoreIndianapolis library expansion mired in mess of mismanagement
The Indianapolis Star’s Kevin Corcoran looks into the construction project to expand Indianapolis’s Central Library which is now two years behind schedule and more than $50 million over budget. An extensive review of documents and interviews with involved parties suggest that the Library Board’s decision not to employ a general contractor led to this debacle.…
Read MoreOrganic food standards backed by weak oversight
Paula Lavigne of The Dallas Morning News found that “the United States Department of Agriculture does not know how often organic rules are broken and has not consistently taken action when potential violations were pointed out.” Audits and inspection reports point to weak oversight of the certifying organizations that bestow official organic status on behalf…
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