The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Government (federal/state/local)
Prisoner complaints ignored by officials
Norman Sinclair, Melvin Claxton and Ronald J. Hansen of The Detroit News report that “Michigan lawmakers and prison officials have stymied investigations of sexual abuse in women’s prisons, stifled inmate complaints and stripped away the rights of assaulted prisoners to sue for damages.” Ten years after federal officials highlighted a problem with assaults of female…
Read MoreFormer security chief spent thousands on state issued gas card
Eric Eyre and Scott Finn of The Charleston Gazette continue their investigation of Neal Sharp, West Virginia’s former homeland security chief, reporting that “Sharp purchased gasoline with his state credit card at least 30 times on days he wasn’t working.” In all, Sharp charged $6,764 to his state-issued credit card between July 2003 and March…
Read MoreGovernor ignores clemency board recommendations
Amanda J. Crawford and Ryan Konig of The Arizona Republic analyzed state records on clemency, finding that “the number of inmates recommended to the governor for shortened prison terms by the Board of Executive Clemency has skyrocketed” during the past 10 years. “But in the vast majority of cases, even in those where the trial…
Read MoreCities, counties ignore misdemeanor warrents to save money
Chris Halsne of KIRO-Seattle reports on why many criminals with outstanding misdemeanor warrants don’t have to worry about going to jail. The KIRO-Seattle investigative team analyzed 145,000 active misdemeanor warrants in Washington. They found “a growing number of cities and counties … don’t want to pay for the cost of jail time or transportation of…
Read MoreSheriff deputized friends, family, supporters
Christine Hanley of the Los Angeles Times reports on an Orange County Sheriff who deputized friends, family and political supporters. “Of the original 86 reserve deputies, 29 had contributed to Carona’s inaugural election campaign in 1998 and his re-election campaign in 2002.” The Times used hundreds of documents received through public records requests and provided…
Read MoreFelons registering, voting in Oklahoma
Nolan Clay and John Perry of The Oklahoman used state voter data to show that “about 2,500 felons may be registered to vote. About 1,100 may have voted in last year’s general election. An exact count is difficult — in part because voters sometimes sign the wrong lines in poll books.” The paper found that…
Read MoreSection 8 failing to provide adequate housing
Antonio Olivo, John Bebow and Darnell Little of the Chicago Tribune used local data to show that “private landlords are fast taking over government’s traditional role of housing Chicago’s poor. But these subsidized ‘Section 8’ landlords have been failing four out of every 10 inspections” during the last five years. “More than 6,000 landlords failed…
Read MoreFire district underestimates cost of helicopter
Andrew McIntosh of The Sacramento Bee used state public records to show that “the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spent at least $790,000 to refurbish and equip a military surplus helicopter for firefighting and rescues, more than twice the $300,000 budget its elected board originally approved for the project.” A member of the fire district’s board…
Read MoreState lobbyists on course towards record earnings
Arthur Kane and Mark P. Couch of The Denver Post used state records to show that “Colorado lobbyists have earned more than $7.5 million so far this year, sending some of the most influential people at the statehouse well on their way to another year of record earnings.” A worker’s compensation measure received the most…
Read MoreHeavy trucks wearing down roads
Pat Stith of The (Raleigh/Durham, N.C.) News & Observer reports on how the state relaxed laws to allow overweight trucks to destroy roads, while the enforcement of heavy trucks has also declined in the past five years. “… [S]tate lawmakers voted 10 times for bills that benefit trucking interests at the public expense.” Fines for…
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