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 "Maryland" ...
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Voter Patrol
The NEWS4 I-Team dug through more than 600 phone and email tips to break three major election stories before, during and immediately after the presidential election. About two weeks before the election, we asked viewers to tell us when they saw problems when they voted. The response was immediate. Our two-man team went through every tip and beat out the AP, the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and other local stations on the biggest election stories in our area. Our first story revealed absentee ballots sent out in Maryland were missing their second page, which contained the most contested ballot initiatives including legalized gambling, same-sex marriage and the DREAM Act. This story was picked up across the nation and led to statements made by the Maryland Governor and the various interest groups involved in the ballot issues.
Tags: Elections; presidential elections; votes; presidential reporting; ballot issues
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The Crown Topples: The Swift Rise and Brutal Fall of Maryland's Latin Kings
An inside look at what happened when a national gang infiltrated two suburban counties. Major findings: in 2007 and 2008, the brother of a brutal gang member started a new Latin Kings "tribe" in Maryland and Washington D.C. The Royal Lion Tribe grew to nearly 200 members and initiated a bloody rivalry with the local branch of MS=13. A group of federal agents took down the gang from the inside after a minor crime brought the new gang into the spotlight.
Tags: Gangs; Gang Violence; Maryland; Royal Lion Tribe; Latin Kings;
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More Than 1,500 Homocides Grow Cold in Prince George's County
Prince George's County, Maryland has one of the nation's highest murder rates, and though the police department's clearance rates have improved in recent years, decades of solving less than half of the county's homocides has left thousands of family members still looking for justice for their slain loved ones.
Tags: Homocides; Prince George County; Murder Rate
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Judging the Judges
Investigation centered on complaints against Maryland's judges and how they are handled. WBAL-TV discovered that the process seems to be centered on keeping judges on the bench and most disciplinary actions secret.
Tags: Judges
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Drill Dangers
Gas industry-funded geologists announced a new estimate of 4000 trillion cubic feet of natural gas beneath the Marcellus Shale in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland, enough gas to satisfy the needs of the entire U.S. for up to 40 years. That estimate, combined with escalating natural gas prices, has caused a drilling boom in Pennsylvania. The stories discovered that Marcellus Shale drillers are drawing the millions of gallons of water needed for each well from streams, rivers and reservoirs, with no oversight or regulation. our report detailed how that practice has already caused at least two streams to run dry.
Tags: environment; natural gas; drilling boom; Pennsylvania's Right To Know Law; gas well permits; Marcellus Shale wells;
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Mortgage Meltdown
WMAR predicted the subprime mortgage crisis that began in 2007 after doing an in depth CAR analysis of the Maryland's mortgage data. With this data they created a map of "foreclosure hotspots," predicted minorities would be the worse hit, and much more.
Tags: subprime mortgage; housing; Maryland; foreclosure; minorities; loans; mortgage; computer assisted reporting; NICAR; federal government; state government
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Wounds After the War: Ryan's Leg
WBAL-TV examined the "medical treatment received by Maryland soldier Ryan Major," who lost a leg in Iraq. However, when he was sent to Walter Reed Army Medical Center they amputated his other leg as well. "Medical records indicate doctors may have failed to diagnose and treat a dangerous fungal infection," which resulted in the need to amputate.
Tags: health; veterans; Iraq; amputation; medical service; Walter Reed Army Medical Center; soldier; health care; doctors; paraplegic; military; army
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Air Wars
WBAL found that there was turf war between the Maryland State Police Aviation Unit and private air ambulance companies to transport trauma victims.
Tags: transportation; medical emergency; medivac; air medical transportation; state police;
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E-Z Pass Problems
Maryland's E-Z Pass system that "signals a computer as the motorists goes through a toll plaza to automatically subtract the cost of the toll from their E-ZPass holder account" has problems. WBAL found that batteries were wearing out but the state didn't send out notices and were denying fine appeals.
Tags: transportation; toll roads; state government; products;
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Maryland Corrections Reforms Yield Mixed Results
"This story covers problems with violence in the Maryland corrections system, which saw four inmates and two officers killed in 2006 and three inmates killed in 2007. An analysis of state records showed that despite a pledge by Gov. Martin O'Malley to reform the system and the closing of a notorious prison, violence was still rampant in many prisons. Overall, serious attacks on officers declined in 2007, but the rate of inmate-on-inmate violence was similar to that of 2006, considered one of the worst in Maryland history."
Tags: prisons; violence; corrections system; inmate violence; prison reform