Search results for "taxpayers" ...
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Dialysis Database
This article lists career changes, awards and other news for IRE members.
Tags: dialysis; taxpayers; cause-of-death data
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Cash for Kids: Child-care fraud tops $20 million in Wisconsin
After a tipster notified Rutledge of a problem with a Milwaukee day care center, the reporter uncovered a series of frightening flaws in the entire child-care system. Taxpayers have been repeatedly cheated "out of millions of dollars" and the safety of the children has also been threatened. Rutledge also exposed the politicians and bureaucrats who allow the "fraud and mismanagement to continue."
Tags: child care; day care; Milwaukee; Journal Sentinel
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A costly temptation
In the wake of the Bell, Cali., scandal in which city officials brazenly hiked their salaries with taxpayer money, Charles Davis reminds us of the importance of watchdog journalism. Imploring journalistic scrutiny could prevent future episodes like that in California.
Tags: watchdog; LA Times; Bell; Arnold Schwarzenegger; taxes; California
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Costly Lesson
The Bethlehem Area School District financed more than $200 million "in school construction with variable-rate bonds and swaps" without really understanding how the swaps worked or the risk that accompanies them. As the financial market fell apart, The Morning Call reporters began investigating the school district's bond records and swap documents. They found that due to debt acquired by the school district, taxpayers "were on the hook for $25.5 million in fees."
Tags: Bethlehem Area School District; swaps; bonds; JP Morgan
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Military maneuvers: Private housing contract rife with cost overruns and delays
Nalder discusses his investigation into housing fraud involving military housing and a private development company. A whistle-blower alerted him to the contract between American Eagle Communities and the U.S. Navy. The private company hired to maintain existing military housing and build new homes was undercutting promises made in the contract, cheating taxpayers out of hundreds of millions. The project was riddled with cost overruns and delays. The investigation found 178,000 military homes that had been given to private companies to manage with little military oversight.
Tags: military housing; fraud; privatization; government programs; U.S. Navy; whistle-blower; housing;
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Tracking aid for storm survivors: Supplies meant for Katrina victims instead sold as surplus
A tip lead Zamost and Boudreau to the story of FEMA resources being sold as surplus instead of making their way to victims of Hurricane Katrina. "We would soon learn the items in question could have saved taxpayers millions of dollars and, even more importantly, could have helped Katrina victims rebuild their lives.
Tags: Hurricane Katrina; FEMA; Federal Emergency Management Agency; surplus; emergency response; military surplus
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Hoop Perks: Utility Sponsorship of NBA Team Nets Few Rewards For Ratepayers
Looking into the deals sponsors have with NBA team the Sacramento Kings, the Sacramento Bee found that SMUD (Sacramento Municipal Utility District) had "since 2002 spent more than $1 million in ratepayers' money on sponsorship deals with the Kings and . . . WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs." The deal included commercials during each game to promote SMUD, access to executive suites for some games and access to Kings receptions. According to McIntosh, "no other public utility in the United States has had a similar deal with an NBA team." Suite access was awarded to SMUD workers who recruited low-income households for the company's energy assistance program, in which consumers received a discount on their monthly bill. The article ends with advice on how to cover such a story.
Tags: Sacramento Kings; NBA sponsorship; SMUD (Sacramento Municipal Utility District); taxpayer money
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Killer Price: Murder costing taxpayers millions; wide variety of services impacted
The Tennessean investigated the cost of homicides in their community. They tabulated the cost of each murder to find out the price it exacted on the community. They evaluated the costs – ranging from the expenses incurred by public works for cleaning up the crime scene to payments of survivor benefits. The investigation found that the average cost of a murder was more than $626,648.
Tags: homicide; public works; The Tennessean; Melvin Claxton;
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Farm felonies: Crop fraud scams cost taxpayers millions, political connections hinder prosecutions
Burnett explains not only how crop insurance fraud is rampant in the industry, but also how to present the story in a way that will make the audience care. He found that there is little regulation in the crop insurance industry, and that thousands of people were ripping it off.
Tags: farming; agriculture; political scandal; campaign donations; PACs
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Rising Costs: Police overtime pay out of control as officers, prosecutors pass blame
Kandel explains how he used Microsoft Excel to calculate excessive overtime was costing the Los Angeles Police Department several million dollars more than the department's budget allowed. Kandel's analysis found that the biggest waste of money was paying officers overtime to go to court hearings.
Tags: salary; data analysis; taxpayers; courts; police officers; spreadsheet