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 "New Jersey" ...
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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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N.J.'s "last resort" auto policies
New Jersey has a “dollar-a-day” insurance program, which essentially gives poor drivers a legal insurance card. But this insurance doesn’t cover any costs if the driver happens to cause an accident. Furthermore, this system would leave the victims of the accidents paying for the damage they didn’t cause.
Tags: New Jersey; car accidents; insurance; motorists; program; FOIA; unprotected; drivers; damage
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A Life at Sea, A Life at Risk
In one of the most dangerous occupations in America, the fishing industry is facing government regulations which obstruct the industry and make it more dangerous. This series also focuses on the economic impact, which extends far beyond the sea to the seafood that is reaching consumers. Furthermore, the challenges facing the US fishing industry are foreign competition and changes in trends and technology.
Tags: fishing; New Jersey; safety; ocean; sea; seafood; economy; regulations; fisheries
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Fighting New Jersey's Tax Crunch
The series provided a detailed analysis of New Jersey's dysfunctional property tax system, which has the highest costs in the nation. Using U.S. census data, IRS data, 10 years of local tax information, and more than 40 databases of local and state employee payrolls, we found that the system had evolved into a juggernaut that was destroying the fiscal and social fabric economy of the state.
Tags: property tax; racial disparity; assessments; tax breaks; economic segregation;
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Fire Department Corruption
This investigation revealed that hundreds of commercial building and large apartment buildings in New York City have been allowed to operate with defective and potentially dangerous fire alarm systems despite obvious violations found by Fire department civilian inspectors. This includes some hospitals, schools and department stores. Two inspectors alleged that, because of corruption, the fire department allowed buildings to get letters of approval needed for legal occupancy even with numerous fire alarm safety violations when certain former inspectors, working as consultants or expediters, were hired by the buildings' owners. Because of this investigation, the city council will hold public hearings on these allegations and comptroller William Thompson has turned over information from this investigation to "criminal authorities."
Tags: fire departments; New Jersey; corruption; dishonest hiring; building inspections
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Death by Detention
Boubacar Bah slipped into a coma at an immigration jail in New Jersey after hitting his head while in custody and then shackled in a disciplinary cell for 13 hours.
Tags: Central Falls; Rhode Island; customs enforcement; skull fracture; comatose;
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A Troubled Diagnosis
"Overcrowding, violence and drug abuse have made New Jersey's Ancora Psychiatric Hospital a place where no one is safe. The report triggered a U.S. Civil Rights investigation into the hospital, plus reform bills in the Legislature."
Tags: mental health; asylum; clinical evaluation; DeWitt Crandell; human services; psych ward; suicide; mental illness; neglect
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Fixing New Jersey
New Jersey's government turned from fiscally sound to being one of the worst in the nation. The state is tens of billions of dollars in debt, a rapid change in less than a decade.
Tags: state budget; pension cost; grants; tax system; economy;
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PharmaWater
"The year-month long project by the AP National Investigative Team found that drugs- mostly the residue of medications taken by people, excreted and flushed down the toilet- have gotten into the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans in at least 24 major metropolitan areas, from Southern California to Norther New Jersey." A follow-up was written after the original series.
Tags: health; pollution; medicine; water; drinking water; urban; city; sewer system; waste management; pharmaceuticals; wildlife; fertility; birth control; estrogen
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Illegal Methadone Sales
Fox Undercover found that methadone was being "openly sold and consumed on a Camden New Jersey Street right in front of a methadone clinic and just yards away from the Camden County Prosecutor's Office."
Tags: methadone; narcotics; drugs; dealer; methadone clinic; illegal drug; security