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 "HUD" ...
-
Million-Dollar Wasteland
"This series investigates the federal government's largest housing construction program for the poor. It found that the program has squandered hundreds of millions of dollars on stalled or abandoned projects and routinely failed to crack down on derelict developers or local housing agencies that funded them."
Tags: HUD; housing; federal programs; urban housing
-
Bad loans, No penalties
The state of Ohio leads the nation in failed loans, which the federal government corrects while the communities suffer. One of the biggest stories, which led to the investigation and this series, was when “Columbus developers walked away from an apartment-renovation project and $26 million in government-insured loans”. Further, there wasn’t anything that held these developers liable to repay the money.
Tags: Federal Housing Administration (FHA); tenants; neighbors; local officials; foreclosure; taxpayers; property; Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
-
Section 8 Scandal
The series discovered that the person running the Section 8 housing program in New Orleans, was also living in the housing himself. This housing is intended for low income people and families, not those making "6-figure salaries". After this story, action was taken and new leadership was brought into the Section 8 program of the Housing Authority (HANO).
Tags: housing; government; Housing and Urban Development (HUD); federal; department; program; support
-
Demoted to Private: America's Military Housing Disaster
Political patronage, the zeal to privatize and a failure at background checks led to a disaster for taxpayers and military families in Pentagon housing programs in six states. All three branches of the service gave 8,000 military houses and billion-dollar contracts to a company headed by a politically-connected Texan involved in a messy bankruptcy and a Connecticut property management firm that had been previously suspended from HUD housing projects because it diverted millions to its own uses.
Tags: military; housing; privatization; Pentagon; government contracts; corporate abuse; whistle-blower
-
The Foreclosure Factory
"Using data analysis and interviews with those inside and outside the mortgage industry, Ron French and Mike Wilkinson revealed the roots of the housing meltdown in Detroit, where 260 homes a day receive foreclosure notices. Presumed to be merely a symptom of Michigan's dismal economy, the foreclosure crisis instead was being fueled by rampant fraud and poor policing of the mortgage industry."
Tags: housing; real estate; foreclosure; landlords; proprietory lending; HUD; state government
-
Closed Doors: Housing Discrimination Complaints on Rise Across Country
The reporters looked at records of more than 44,000 housing discrimination complaints filed with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development between 2002 and 2006. The analysis revealed many trends about discrimination in housing, including that discrimination is more prevalent in less diverse neighborhoods, and that complaints about disabilities are just as common as complaints about race.
Tags: Philip Meyer Award; discrimination; HUD; housing; landlords; racism; disability; database analysis; Census data
-
Nonprofit groups and Legal Action say Fire Department money is up in smoke
The Milwaukee Street Beacon uncovered thathundreds of thousands of Community Development Block Grant dollars went to play Milwaukee Fire Department staffers, instead of to neighborhood organizations.
Tags: HUD; Housing and Urban Development; Community Development Block Grants; Fire Fighters Out Creating Urban Safety; FOCUS; fire detectors; fire prevention; Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation; NICD; Merrill Park NEighborhood Association; Legal Action; Community Parole Watch
-
KC Federal Housing Series
A follow-up to an Oct. 2004 series, this investigation uncovers misspent federal housing dollars intended to benefit lower income families. Among their findings was a sale in which a local developer made a $156,000 profit by flipping the property the same day; a home-repair program which took advantage of home owners; and sweet heart loans to local politicians and business owners.
Tags: housing; real estate; property taxes; property assessment; HUD; restoration; CAR
-
"Travel Costs Mount for Easton Housing Authority"
Investigation of officials at the Easton Housing Authority, the smallest of the three agencies, found that it spent more of the public's money on travel in 18 months than their counterparts combined. It was also found that commissioners stayed extra days, brought their spouses, and used credit cards issued to them to buy personal items. Further investigation lead to the resignations of commissioners and the executive director.
Tags: public housing authority; travel expenses; commissioners; Department of Housing and Urban Development; HUD
-
Students Take Housing From The Poor
This investigation revealed that a lot of government housing near and in college towns is occupied by students. The HUD qualifications do not account for parents' income, so students often meet the income requirements and get away with renting an apartment for almost no money, while poor people who actually need the housing are put on waiting lists. Sometimes the students are athletes and already receive scholarships and financial aid. This story shares the perspective of the students, the tenants and the HUD officials.
Tags: Section 8; HUD; low income housing; real estate; poverty