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FEMA aid distribution uneven to victims of NY storms
Patrick Lakamp, Mary Pasciak and Susan Schulman of the Buffalo News report on FEMA’s uneven aid to areas hit by a surprise storm last October. “Almost one-half the nearly 18,000 residents in Western New York who applied for FEMA money got some help. But in Buffalo, one-third of the applicants received aid.” In North Buffalo,…
Read MoreSubprime crunch felt on Jersey Shore
The Asbury Park(N.J.) Press analyzed federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data to report that in Monmouth and Ocean counties subprime lending accounted for one out of five mortgages in 2006, a total of $3.1 billion. Reporter Jason Method found “the income of subprime borrowers was 5 percent lower than those taking out traditional mortgages, yet…
Read MoreDiscipline system for teachers, staff flawed in Ohio schools
The Columbus Dispatch delves into Ohio’s flawed system of disciplining and tracking teachers, coaches, aides, counselors and administrators. The Web site for The ABCs of Betrayal includes asearchable database of Ohio educators disciplined since 2000. The 10-month investigation found educators remained in the classroom despite misconduct such as theft, assault and abuse of children.
Read MoreMore questionable deaths uncovered at Wisconsin psychiatric hospital
Using police and coroner records, Mary Zahn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found three more deaths at a state psychiatric hospital involving questionable medical decisions. One woman complained she was paralyzed after a fall, but doctors and nurses at Winnebago Mental Health Institute didn’t believe her. They waited six days to take her to a…
Read MoreSouth Florida feels crunch of exotic loans
Jack Dolan and Matt Haggman of The Miami Herald reported that home buyers in South Florida have been signing so-called toxic mortgages at rates far higher than buyers in other areas of the country. Unlike the well-publicized problems with sub-prime loans, these toxic mortgages are concentrated in some of the nation’s most affluent and desirable…
Read MoreBad loans spread problems across U.S.
Rich Brooks and Constance Mitchell Ford of the Wall Street Journal examine the sad state of the country’s mortgage markets, finding evidence to dispel the conventional wisdom that subprime loans mainly were given out to low-income borrowers who can’t afford the payments. Instead, the newspaper reports that “. Although the concentration of high-rate loans is…
Read MoreDiploma mills help firefighters boost pay
The Sacramento Bee‘s Andrew McIntosh reports that “16 Sacramento city firefighters together pocketed $50,000 in extra pay after using bachelor’s degrees purchased from online diploma mills to obtain raises.” In the end, 28 firefighters, including eight captains, tried to obtain a five percent education incentive raise with questionable academic credentials. New York City penalized a…
Read MoreFlorida faces downturn in real estate, jobs
Florida Today published a three-part report on how the local economic boom has gone bust. “The shifting real estate market has spooked homebuyers, frustrated sellers, stalled new development and trapped some residents with mortgages they can no longer afford.” Reporters John McCarthy and Scott Blake, and assistant managing editor Matt Reed examine the trends and…
Read MoreDeveloper blows whistle on City Hall shakedowns
Reese Dunklin of The Dallas Morning News tells the story of developer Bill Fisher, who became an FBI informant after his low-income apartment complex projects were rejected by the Dallas City Council. Before the vote, Fisher was told that in order to get millions of dollars in economic incentives, he would have to do favors…
Read MoreDemographic analysis shifts Dallas crime ranking
A database analysis found that while the city of Dallas is once again ranked among “the worst large cities for violent crime,” the numbers change when the sample is more closely examined. Jennifer LaFleur and Tanya Eiserer of The Dallas Morning News used “statistical tools that correct for the effect of factors such as poverty,…
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