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 "Moving System" ...
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Des Moines Register Reader's Watchdog
The Des Moines Register Reader's Watchdog column that takes on issues faced by individual Iowans who are at wits’ end and can't get answers from public officials, businesses and the justice system. Watchdog reporter Lee Rood's job is to give voice to readers who present important issues, to investigate all sides of those issues and to seek solutions that eluded others. This is a unique effort that both engages readers and values traditional watchdog reporting. At a time when journalists are seeking to remain relevant, build credibility and engage readers, she has launched this initiative that focuses not on the stories that she thinks are important, but on issues that are critical to our readers. In the past year, she wrote more than 60 columns, digging into watchdog issue brought to her by Iowans. Her work has put a new spotlight on wrongs that needed righting. Her work has led state lawmakers to propose legislation that requires Iowans to call 911 if they are present at the scene of an overdose. She has prodded the state attorney general's office to develop a plan to enforce laws that require companies to have worker's compensation insurance. She has fought through red tape for readers who didn't have someone in their corner to do so. Lee Rood's bold move to launch a new form of watchdog journalism for the Des Moines Register has made Iowans' lives better. Online, this body of work lives at DesMoinesRegister.com/ReadersWatchdog.
Tags: Public officials; businesses; justice system
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Medicare Fraud: The New Cocaine Cowboys
Medicare Fraud has become one of the largest organized crimes in America. The investigation revealed that it costs “US taxpayers $60 billion in fraudulent Medicare benefits filed every year”. As a result of the first story, many groups moved in to initiate new laws, which would regulate Medicare and who gets the money.
Tags: 60 Minutes; Department of Health and Human Services; congressional; health care; medical; medicine; schemes; insurance; clinics; system
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"Fighting New Jersey's Tax Crush"
The Abury Park Press takes an in-depth look at the tax system in New Jersey. Based on empirical evidence, reporters found New Jersey's system to have the highest costs in the nation due to property taxes being based on the "what the town says" is the worth of your house. Low- and middle-income homes are paying more than the wealthy, and many businesses are being forced to close or move out of the state due to tax increases.
Tags: Chris Christie; Ortley Beach; Ocean County Board of Taxation; Monmouth County; Lacey Tax Collector; Keyport; Chris Daggett; Jon S. Corzine; New Jersey State League of Municipalities
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The Financial Collapse
Among the findings in this package are: In February, Morgenson warned that the arcane contracts known as credit-default swaps were so volatile and explosive that they would "set off a chain reaction of losses at financial institutions." In May, she examined the moves by private investment firms to buy up hundreds of New York apartment buildings, betting that they could evict tenants and raise rents. In July, she reported on the enormous increase in consumer debt and the changes in the lending system that encouraged risky loans. In September, she dissected the small London Investment unit that had bedazzled the insurance giant AIG with its profits but soon brought it to its knees and helped trigger a widespread collapse. In November, she profiled the reckless executives who gambled on subprime home mortgages and led Merrill Lynch to its demise. In December, she held the credit-rating agencies to sharp account, in particular Moody's, showing how they had minimized or overlooked the dangers to investors.
Tags: AIG; credit-default swaps; Wall Street; Merill Lynch; Federal Reserve; columnists
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Who's Driving Your Kids?
KOMO investigated rumors of school bus drivers behind the wheel without valid driver's licenses. The school district operates on the honor system, relying on drivers to tell their superiors about moving infractions.
Tags: bus drivers; child safety; driving infractions; suspended licenses
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Broken Homes
The state of California created "a community care system for its developmentally disabled residents that is managed and operated by private entities," which moved residents of state-run institutions into these care homes. But "owned and operated by people with few qualifications, the system is dangerous, and even deadly, for the people it is supposed to protect." And often, the state has done little to check the system and ensure that people in need receive the proper care. The Tribune examines individual cases, including a mother who lost her adoptive son when his medical emergency was mishandled and a care home that housed a sex offender who allegedly abused another resident while living there.
Tags: special-needs care; developmentally disabled; misdiagnosis; lax medical care
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A Defective System
In the Kansas City Municipal Court, drivers who had committed offenses including "DUI, fleeing police, racing on city streets and speeding" were allowed to plea-bargain their offenses down to the much more minor "defective-equipment" violation. In some cases, drivers were obtaining up to five of these plea bargain deals in a year. The more serious offenses never showed up on drivers' records, and while these individuals avoided the hike in insurance rates that would have come with their violations, insurance company spokesmen informed the K.C. Star that everyone's rates were thus "being increased slightly to cover this uninsured risk created by the plea bargains."
Tags: DUI; moving violations; plea bargains; Kansas City Municipal Court; "defective-equipment" citation"; insurance rates; insurance rate hikes
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Registered Sex Offenders: Do You Know Who's Living Next Door?
This investigation exposed many of the flaws in the Nevada sex offender registry system. The state has major issues tracking sex offenders, does a bad job of making their locations known to schools and daycares, and does not account for sex offenders who might move in from other states.
Tags: sex offenders; Megan's Law; FBI
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Fostering Frustration
This story about foster children is a three part series. Reporters found that children in foster homes in the suburbs of Chicago moved from one foster home to another at a rate that was higher than their counterparts in other parts of the city as well as the state average. This story looks at the foster care system from the eyes of the children.
Tags: foster care; foster homes; children; Chicago children; changing foster homes; Illinois foster care system; Chicago suburbs; foster homes in Chicago suburbs
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Where's my stuff?
This hidden camera investigation uncovers a scam by internet moving companies. It found some of these internet moving companies stealing consumer's furniture and personal belongings, while overcharging them at the same time A lack of governmental oversight and ineffective federal regulations have created a vacuum that has allowed moving companies to prey on consumers. The laws are rarely enforced, and often times corrupt movers close up shop when there are too many consumer complaints and re-open under new names, making it impossible for consumers to check them out.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; internet moving companies; moving; moving industry; U.S. Movers; Ace Storage Facility; MovingAdvocateTeam.com; Majesty Moving and Storage; Apollo Van Lines; Moving System; AAA Van Lines; Advanced Moving Systems of Sunrise Florida; Department of Transportation; Ameri Van lines; Move-at-once; Adam Moving; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Motor Carrier Safety Administration; Moving Industry Fraud