The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Birmingham" ...
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Birmingham Mayor's Business Deals Snare Friend in Corruption Case
Mayor Larry Langford of Birmingham held ties to raising money for charities and businesses by tapping city vendors and local governments that he served. His friend John Katapodis was later charged in his role with one of the charities.
Tags: Fairfield; nonprofit; Jefferson County Commission; scholarship;
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Unpunished Killings
This investigation began with the 1989 release of the film "Mississippi Burning" because the author was outraged that so many crimes against civil rights workers went unpunished. Cultivating sources in the now defunct Mississippi Sovereignty Commission, a state segregationist spy agency, the author was able to gain access to sealed documents. These documents led to the reprosecution of Klansman Byron De La Beckwith for the 1963 killing of NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers.
Tags: civil rights; Mississippi; Ku Klux Klan; NAACP; crime; Mississippi Sovereignty Commission; Byron De La Beckwith; Medgar Evers; Hinds County; Sam Bowers; Edgar Ray Killen; Mississippi Department of Archives and History; Billy Roy Pitts; Vernon Dahmer; Deavours Nix; Bobby Cherry; Fred Shuttlesworth; Birmingham Church Bombings; Richard Barrett
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Tracking Sex Offenders
The Birmingham Post-Herald looks at the existing problems with Megan's Law, which requires convicted sex offenders to register their address with the state and notify their neighbors of their presence. The investigation showed that a number of these sex offenders have slippped between the cracks and how law enforcement has failed to track them.
Tags: Megan's Law; registered sex offenders; Alabama Community Notification Act
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Parking Tickets Unpaid
Motorists in Birmingham have gone years without paying traffic tickets. As this investigation finds out, people in the city owe over 12 million dollars for parking and traffic tickets dated back to 1989. As a result of this published article, the city is considering implementing an amnesty program to get motorists to pay up.
Tags: motorists; traffic tickets; parking tickets; amnesty program; Birmingham; Alabama; unpaid traffic tickets; traffic regulations
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Who Profits From Bond Issues?
The Birmingham News investigates Jefferson County officials who propose borrowing one billion dollars to raise funds for schools. But investigations show that the money raised would be beneficial to friends of county commissioners.
Tags: Jefferson County; Alabama; raising funds for schools; county commissioners; FOIA; banking industry; bonds; lobbyists
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Cost of Jefferson County Sewers
An investigation by the Birmingham News revealed that "nearly half of the $1.4 million that the Jefferson County Commission said it needs to finish a court-ordered sewer overhaul would be used for projects that have nothing to do with the federal order." In 1997, county officials launched the sewer repair program, estimated at the time to cost about $1 billion. "The program's cost has more than trippled now, now estimated in excess of $3 billion... The county, with little fanfare, launched its most aggressive sewer expansion program while also complying with the court order."
Tags: Jefferson County; sewer; court order; billion; cost; expansion; Alabama
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The Black Belt: Alabama's Third World
Twelve counties in Alabama make up "The Black Belt," a portion of the state with low life expectancy, high poverty and populated mostly by blacks. In this exhaustive investigation, the Birmingham News examines the plight of the Black Belt, the roots and the reality. Also, reporters found that the majority of land inside the area is owned by people who live in other counties, or, in some cases, other states altogether.
Tags: Race; poverty; illness; minorities
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County Commissioner Steers Money to Friends
The Birmingham News investigates Jefferson County Commissioner Jeff Germany who "used a social service agency to pass hundreds of thousand of dollars in discretionary money to friends and political allies."
Tags: county commissioner; Jefferson County; Alabama; Jeff Germany; money laundering; corruption; discretionary spending
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Investigation of governor's administration and his personal finances
A Birmingham News' investigation into Governor Don Siegelman's administration discovered lucrative state contracts awarded to Siegelman's friends and supporters, including his personal stock broker. The state dealings became part of a federal and state investigation into the administration's action and evolved into a criminal investigation into Siegelman's personal finances.
Tags: Birmingham; Alabama; state government; governors; Alabama governor; Don Siegelman; ethics; state contracts
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The Other Victims of Homicide
The Birmingham News reports on "the effect of homicide on children and family members in Jefferson County, Alabama's largest county." Birmingham is known for having one of the highest homicide-per-capita rates in the country. The reporters find that many families have seen family members die by murder generation by generation in a "cycle of violence", and that the state has failed to provide any counselling or financial aid to the survivors of homicide.
Tags: crime; violence; obituaries; public records; law enforcement; psychiatry; gangs; drugs; cocaine; criminal justice; CAR; database mapping project