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Illegal online payday loans thrive in New York
Payday loans — short-term, small dollar loans with exorbitant fees — are restricted in 18 states, and New York’s ban is one of the toughest. But reporter John Sandman found evidence that online payday lenders are circumventing these bans, illegally targeting potential borrowers in these states. The investigation, published by City Limits, was supported by…
Read MorePennsylvania open records laws exempt Penn State
Despite being supported by tax dollars, Penn State University is not subject to the state’s open records laws. Penn State’s records, including police records, e-mail, phone records, calendars and memos, are closed. Poynter’s Al Tompkins writes about how that exemption played a role in surpressing information in the Jerry Sandusky case. Tompkins quotes Sara Ganim, who won…
Read MoreTaking a look at how foreign-trained doctors impact a community
In a three-part series The Bakersfield Californian examines Kern County, California’s high number of foreign-trained doctors and the impact it has on patient care. Using the training she learned at an IRE Boot Camp, Christine Bedell, along with her colleague Kellie Schmitt, were able to make their own database to look at how many foreign-trained…
Read MoreThe value of adding CAR to your arsenal
John Diedrich of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recalls the moment everything clicked for him with computer-assisted reporting, at an IRE Boot Camp in 2010. When crash-course training didn’t stick with him, he convinced his bosses to send him to Columbia, Mo. What Diedrich left with were the skills that allowed him to produce ‘Wiped Clean‘,…
Read MoreBlack lung still threatening lives
“An investigation by NPR and the Center for Public Integrity found federal regulators and the mining industry are failing to protect miners from the excessive toxic coal mine dust that causes black lung. The disease is now being diagnosed in younger miners and evolving more quickly to complicated stages.” “The report also reveals widespread and…
Read MoreSchool Test Scores data now available at the Database Library
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, after releasing its “Cheating Our Children” series that identified suspicious test scores around the country, provided the NICAR Database Library with test scores data gathered from state education departments. From the AJC: “The data include state testing data paired in approximate cohorts by school, test subject and grade. An approximate cohort would…
Read MoreFlorida’s worst TB outbreak in 20 years ignored
“A Palm Beach Post investigation has found that a CDC officer had reported a tuberculosis outbreak in Jacksonville, Fla., one of the worst his group had seen in 20 years, but the report went unseen by key decision makers around the state.” “The outbreak, linked to 13 deaths and 99 illnesses, would require concerted action…
Read MoreCompanies failed to create jobs after receiving tax-payer funded grants
“A three-month investigation by The Tampa Tribune shows at least four in every 10 companies that receive grants from the state’s jobs incentive fund have failed to meet their obligations — some slightly, others by wide margins.” “However, Enterprise Florida, the state’s chief economic development agency, paints a rosier picture, concluding Florida is exceeding its…
Read MoreErrors found in nearly 25% of reversed cases
“The Texas Tribune analyzed 86 overturned convictions in Texas, finding that in nearly one quarter of those cases courts ruled that prosecutors made mistakes that often contributed to the wrong outcome.” “In a multi-part series Brandi Grissom explores the causes and consequences of prosecutorial errors and whether reforms might prevent future wrongful convictions.”
Read MoreColumbus schools caught ‘fixing’ attendance data
“The Columbus Dispatch has been told by four former district data analysts that a team of data-processing workers inflated Columbus schools’ attendance figures by routinely and purposely removing large numbers of absent students from the rolls.” “At the same time, district administrators summoned school principals to the Kingswood Data Center. There, they were schooled in…
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