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Democratic donors rewarded with White House access
“During his first nine months in office, President Obama has quietly rewarded scores of top Democratic donors with VIP access to the White House, private briefings with administration advisers and invitations to important speeches and town-hall meetings,” reports Mathew Mosk of The Washington Times. Additionally, according to internal Democratic National Committee documents, access to top…
Read MoreThe Rise and Fall of Denny Hecker series
A special report by the Pioneer-Press (St. Paul, Minn.) explores the dealings of failed businessman Denny Hecker. Hecker’s business empire collapsed over the last year, and he filed for bankruptcy. Hecker is $767 million in debt. Many claim he “used his businesses as a personal piggy bank, siphoning money from his dealerships and rental-car companies…
Read MoreNonprofit a source of ready money for city officials
A Baltimore Sun investigation reveals that a little-known private nonprofit group formed to primarily benefit city programs for the underprivileged is a source of money-on-demand for city government officials with almost no oversight. City employees wield broad discretion over how money is spent from the Baltimore City Foundation and the foundation asks few questions. The…
Read MoreActivist tackles Miami’s housing woes
Paul Reyes, with support from the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute, reports on housing issues in Miami, Fla. where over 70,000 are on a waiting list for public housing. Additionally, Miami ranks fourth in foreclosure rates in American cities. Reyes followed community activist Max Rameau, founder of the organization Take Back the Land, as…
Read MoreRulings by California’s worker safety appeals board questioned
A Los Angeles Times investigation found that the Cal-OSHA Appeals Board “has repeatedly reduced or dismissed penalties levied by Cal-OSHA over the last few years, even in situations in which workers have died or been seriously injured.” Inspectors and labor advocates are critical of the board claiming that repeatedly appealing penalties undermines Cal-OSHA’s ability to…
Read MoreTipsheets from workshop now online
By Mark Horvit IRE Executive Director IRE’s Ethnic Media Watchdog Workshop series stopped in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17-18. Journalists from media throughout the area gathered at American University’s School of Communication for sessions including tracking federal stimulus spending, covering immigration issues and winning open records fights, in addition to computer-assisted reporting training. Several new…
Read MoreFresh tip sheets in the Resource Center
Several new tip sheets are available in the Resource Center from recent Ethnic Media Watchdog Workshops. Topics include tracking federal stimulus money, analyzing Census data, obtaining public records and honing interview skills. For the newest tip sheets, search for “ethnic media” and restrict the year to 2009. IRE members can download tip sheets at no…
Read MoreDrastic swings in test scores lead to questions of cheating
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation found 19 public elementary schools statewide with extraordinary gains or drops in standardized test scores between spring last year and this year — raising questions of cheating.
Read MoreHistorical records used to identify forgotten lead smelter
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is opening an investigation of possible lead contamination in an Atlanta neighborhood after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution unearthed old documents showing that a lead smelter spewed lead dust over the area for decades. Old smelting industry directories, property records and mothballed regulatory files were used to identify the old Evans Metal…
Read MoreQuestionable individuals retain U.S. pilots licenses
Analysis of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database made available to ABCNews.com showed that “a notorious drug kingpin, a convicted arms trafficker and several other individuals linked to aviation-connected crimes continue to hold FAA pilots licenses,” according to a report by Eric Longabardi and Joseph Rhee. The findings raise questions in the efforts of the…
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