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Texas senators play loose with payroll laws
“State senators may be violating a Texas Constitution ban on using taxpayer money for bonuses to government workers by approving temporary end-of-year raises to give staffers thousands of dollars in extra pay,” reported Matt Stiles of the Houston Chronicle. An analysis of a state payroll database obtained through the Texas Public Information Act showed a…
Read MoreFine reductions greater for labor chief’s contributors
Ames Alexander and David Ingram of The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported that North Carolina Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry has collected at least half of her campaign contributions from executives and managers of companies that have been inspected by her department. The newspaper’s analysis also found that while the Labor Department routinely reduces fines for workplace…
Read MoreAtlanta 911 center mistakes put lives in danger
An investigation by D.L. Bennett, Cameron McWhirter, Heather Vogell and data analysts Megan Clarke and John Perry of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has found that the apathy and negligence of workers at the Fulton County 911 call center endangered the lives of emergency workers and of those seeking emergency help. The reporters, who reviewed nearly five…
Read MoreWichita Watchdogs talk FOI
In Kansas, reporters often must wait for public records to be extracted from a salt mine. After a few years, records required to be retained are stored deep underground at a giant salt mine complex in Hutchinson. That’s one of the many tidbits we learned last weekend during a Watchdog Workshop at Wichita State University.…
Read MoreDangerous Fakes
“The American military faces a growing threat of potentially fatal equipment failure—and even foreign espionage—because of counterfeit computer components used in warplanes, ships, and communication networks,” according to a report by Brian Grow, Chi-Chu Tschang, Cliff Edwards and Brian Burnsed of BusinessWeek. The business of salvaging microchips from computer refuse is booming in China. Old…
Read MoreSave the Date – 2009 Conferences
2009 CAR Conference This year’s Computer-Assisted Reporting (CAR) conference is being held March 19-22, 2009, in Indianapolis, Ind., at the Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre. Registration and hotel information is available at www.ire.org/training/conference/indy09/. The conference will offer everything from cutting-edge technology to the basics on using spreadsheets, databases and online mapping. Learn from the best in…
Read MoreAIG benefited from founder’s Washington connections
The Washington Post‘s Carol D. Leonnig gives readers a glimpse into the power and influence Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg wielded as the CEO of the AIG financial firm. Under Greenberg’s leadership, AIG employees donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican and Democratic candidates who held key financial regulation positions. Additionally, Greenberg’s charisma and donations…
Read MoreRead Uplink
The free two-week preview of Uplink, our computer-assisted reporting newsletter, begins today at data.nicar.org/uplink.
Read MoreFederal report cites 94 percent of nursing homes for violations
Robert Pear of The New York Times reports that 94 percent of nursing homes in the United States violated federal health and safety standards in 2007 according to a recently released federal study. Although only 17 percent of nursing homes had violations that threatened the lives of residents, many were cited for abuse, neglect, confusing…
Read MorePelosi used PAC funds to pay husband
PAC to the Future, the political action committee of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, funneled almost $100,000 over the past nine years to her husband’s real estate and investment firm for rent and utility payments, according to a report by Jennifer Haberkorn of The Washington Times. FEC records indicate that the payments quadrupled when Paul Pelosi…
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