The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Government (federal/state/local)
Domestic violence cases dropped despite attorney general order
Rick Brundrett of The State continued the paper’s investigation in South Carolina domestic violence cases, finding that “more than a third of the most serious criminal domestic violence cases statewide have been dropped in the four years since South Carolina’s attorney general ordered prosecutors not to drop any unless absolutely necessary.” That amounts to nearly…
Read MoreMany to blame for social programs mess
Karen Augé of The Denver Post used state records to show that “nearly every agency, contractor and department that touched the state’s new $200 million computer benefits system in some way contributed to its debacle.” Colorado’s new system was a year late when it came online last fall, and the contractor and state officials have…
Read MoreState senator makes big bucks with bank
Craig R. McCoy, Jennifer Lin and Mario F. Cattabiani of The Philadelphia Inquirer detailed the relationship between state Sen. Vincent J. Fumo and the bank he heads, finding that “PSB Bancorp Inc. has served one man especially well: its chairman, Sen. Fumo. The bank paid Fumo $709,800 last year. For a few years, it provided…
Read MoreIncentives pay millions, while companies fall short
Mike McAndrew and Michelle Breidenbach of The (Syracuse) Post-Standard report on how New York Governor George Pataki’s administration gives millions of dollars to businesses that promise to hire people, but often don’t. The Post-Standard uses the state’s Freedom of Information Law to obtain financial accounts, as well as records on companies’ penalties. “The newspaper’s review…
Read MoreDetroit mayor spends on city’s dime
M.L. Elrick and Jim Shaefer of The Detroit Free Press continues their investigation into personal expenditures made by Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on the city’s credit card. Numerous Freedom of Information Act requests uncovered expenditures including an $850 steakhouse dinner and $11,644 he spent on Super Bowl hotel rooms. On the mayor’s first day on…
Read MoreReview finds hundreds of deficient bridges in Utah
Lee Davidson of The Deseret Morning News used federal data to review deficient bridges in Utah. “Federal data, based on state inspections, show that 256 bridges in Utah were considered structurally deficient in 2004. Another 250 were functionally obsolete.” Despite the high number of deficiencies, Utah’s bridges are rated Ninth best among states, federal data…
Read MoreConfusing stats help mask plant deaths
Lise Olsen of the Houston Chronicle continues the Chronicle’s investigation into the 1995 explosion at the BP oil refinery. Olson used OSHA data to uncover why few deaths had been attributed to refineries in the past. “Increasingly, the accuracy of government safety statistics is undermined by the changing work force. These days, up to half…
Read MoreDelay gives more to colleagues than any other legislator
Jonathan Salant of Bloomberg Markets analyzed Federal Election Commission records finding that House Majority Leader Tom Delay “gave more money to U.S. congressional candidates than any lawmaker in the last decade … the Texas representative has contributed $3.5 million to 432 congressional candidates …” After Delay, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is next in helping…
Read MoreFront-runner grabs majority of contributions
Andrew Conte and Mark Houser of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review analyzed and mapped campaign contributions for the Pittsburgh mayoral race. They found that “nearly two-thirds of the $1.2 million raised by front-runner Bob O’Connor … has come from outside the city.” A lot of O’Conner’s contributions were found to have come in large chunks. The story…
Read MoreLAPD spends millions over overtime budget
Jason Kandel of the Los Angeles Daily News obtained overtime expenditures from the Los Angeles Police Department and used Excel to analyze the data. He found that the LAPD has already overspent their overtime budget by $8 million with two months still remaining in the fiscal year. “The Los Angeles Police Department spent $62.8 million…
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