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Dubious charities raise millions
Ronald Campbell of The Orange County Register reviewed more than 10,000 pages of court records, financial reports and other documents and found that former associates of imprisoned charity telemarketing king Mitch Gold have raised more than $83 million in four years for dubious charities. Fundraisers and managers kept almost all the cash, leaving just 7…
Read MoreDam threats in Hawaii underassessed
Karen Blakeman, staff writer with The Honolulu Advertiser, used National Inventory of Dams data from IRE and NICAR for a story about the deadly failure of a privately owned dam on the Hawaii island of Kaua’i. Two bodies have been found and five others are missing. Blakeman reported that state safety inspections of dams across…
Read MoreDonations from gambling interests rise in Kan.
Steve Painter and Brent D. Wistrom of The Wichita Eagle analyzed campaign reports and found gambling contributions to legislative campaigns over six years were up by more than 300 percent, while the same period saw no change in Kansas’ gambling laws. Well-financed gambling interests are waging an increasingly expensive political war over where Kansans will…
Read MoreLA Fire Department faces costly lawsuits
Dan Laidman and Jason Kandel of the Los Angeles Daily News used records from the City Attorney’s Office to show that, despite a decade of efforts to end harassment and discrimination within the Los Angeles Fire Department, the agency still faces frequent costly lawsuits. The number has ebbed and flowed over the years, but rose…
Read MoreBadges awarded to campaign contributers
Stuart Pfeifer and Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times investigated Gary Nalbandian, a seemingly political fundraiser in Southern California, and found band of donors have gotten badges and titles from law enforcement officials after raising tens of thousands of dollars. The granting of badges and titles to political supporters creates the appearance that they…
Read MoreViolence spikes in Chicago high schools
Rosalind Rossi, Mark J. Konkol and Art Golab of the Chicago Sun-Times investigated Chicago’s public high schools that are troubled by incidents of violence. “Wells, Hyde Park and Clemente are among eight high schools that each received more than 150 students from the attendance areas of troubled schools now tapped for closure and eventual rebirth.”…
Read MoreSenator’s money goes to gifts, meals
Herb Jackson of the North Jersey Media Group analyzed five years’ worth of contribution and spending reports to show that, of the nearly $9.4 million Sen. Robert Menendez spent, less than one-quarter — or $2.2 million — went for expenses that most voters would consider actual campaigning, such as advertising, yard signs and bumper stickers.…
Read MoreStates make little use of provision to help hurricane victims
Jenni Bergal of The Center for Public Integrity reviewed health records to find that states have barely used $2 billion provided in an emergency bill passed by Congress to help low-income hurricane victims scattered across the country. “Any state that took in Katrina evacuees could tap into the money to offer cash to those who…
Read MoreProgram for disabled exploited
Jeff Kosseff, Bryan Denson and Les Zaitz of The Oregonian used hundreds of interviews, thousands of pages of documents and visits to more than a dozen charities in seven states to show that a program created to benefit Americans with severe disabilities is being exploited at the cost of the people it was supposed to…
Read MoreMd. churches violate law with political donations
John Fritze of The (Baltimore) Sun reviewed candidate finance reports to show that more than 100 churches in Maryland — including dozens in Baltimore — have made campaign contributions to political candidates in recent years, an act that is prohibited by federal tax law and blurs the line between politics and the pulpit. Some have…
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