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 "Orange County" ...
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Crimewise, OC ranks as peaceful area
Statistically, speaking, from a crime standpoint, Orange County is a tide pool in a turbulent ocean. None of the county's large cities ranks among the most crime-ridden communities in California. And crime rates elsewhere in the nation dwarf those in the county according to a Register analysis of the FBI's Uniform Crime Report.
Tags: crime rate; Stanton; Santa ana; Orange County; homicide; arson; Costa Mesa; FBI uniform crime report; statistics; Los Angeles; Inglewood; San Bernadino; Oakland; assault; gang shootings; break-ins
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Industries clean up act -- and OC
The Orange County Register analyzed EPA records for 221 businesses to find an overall decrease in toxic pollution, though emission of one particular suspected carcinogen increased. Lists the newspaper compiled show the biggest toxic sources in California, a ranking of toxic emissions by zip code, and the biggest toxic sources in Orange County. One story in the package discusses the limitations to the federal law that requires businesses that use one of 310 toxic chemicals to report any releases.
Tags: toxic pollution; Toxic release inventory; environment; toxic chemicals; Environmental Protection Agency
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Toxic Treats
Reporters at the Orange County Register perform an investigation into mexican candies which contain extremely high levels of lead. This six part series reveal that most mexican candies which are brought into the United States contain guajillo, a type of chilli. Though the fresh chilli itself has not been found to have high levels of lead, it's during the drying and grinding process high levels of lead exist. Investigators also tested the candy packages and specialty clay pots, which were decorated with a lead glaze.
Tags: mexican candy; California Department of Health Services; guajillo chilli
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Deadly Roads: A Special Report
A special report from the Orlando Sentinel looks at the number of fatal accidents in the lesser travelled highways in Florida. Deliberating on fatal accidents on the Colonial Drive in Central Florida, the in-depth report reveals that even though the traffic on the highways has lessened, the rate of accidents remains high. As a result of this series, the highway police are beefing up security in the area and there have also been initiatives to rebuild certain sections.
Tags: Transportation; road safety; Florida roads; Orange County; fatal road accidents; Colonial Dr; Central Florida; Florida Highway Police
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Building Homes: Building Problems-Follow the Inspectors
This story exposed a government inspection system that has no standards. The state building code, and the often overworked local inspectors who enforce it, offers little to no assurance that a buyer will move into a home that even meets minimum building standards. They found that in one county, in more than 400 instances, inspectors conducted 25 inspections a day or more. That is at least twice what is considered by experts to be a reasonable daily workload. On many occasions inspectors did 40-50 inspections in one day. And they missed violations.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; building code; inspections; home inspections; framing inspection; Orlando county; orang county; Osecola county; lake county; inspection quality; inspector work schedule; housing inspector records
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Lost Days in the Classroom
The Orlando Sentinel studies the preformance of substitute teachers (subs) in schools and comes up with some startling results. They find that children are often at a loss, when these subs surf the net, download online photographs or draw portraits of their students. Also, the Sentinel found, a lot of these subs were only high-school educated and incapacitated to teach students.
Tags: classrooms; students; Oak Ridge High; Orange County
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Hospital Report Card: Price Doesn't Equal Quality
The Orange County Register reporters rated the quality of care at 26 acute care hospitals in Orange County using a four-star system. They then compared the hospital's quality to the average prices they charged for care. The major findings were: "1) the best hospitals charged less per day than the county average and less than many of the lower rated hospitals. 2) all four of the top-rated hospitals were not-for-profit and all four of the lowest-rated hospitals were for-profit. 3) Tenet Healthcare Corp., the largest hospital operator in Orange county -- and second largest in the U.S. -- had mediocre quality at the highest prices in the county."
Tags: quality; health care; profit; Tenet Healthcare Corp.; Orange County; hospitals; Department of Health Services; CAR.
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Orange Schools Skip Fire Drills: More than a third of the county's 162 public schools failed to perform the safety measure the required number of times last year.
More than one third of Orange County schools have skipped mandatory fire drills. Shanklin talks with school officials and parents to get their perspectives.
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Danger Zones: Hundreds have been hurt or killed on roads where the state was warned of trouble but moved slowly on fixes
"At least 375 people were injured and four killed on stretches of highway where the state was warned of danger but took as long as 11 years to make fixes, an Orange County Register investigation found. After the trouble spots first were flagged, 816 accidents happened along 16 zones Caltrans identified as its top safety priorities in Orange County - almost four times as many crashes as would be expected if the roads were fixed promptly." Includes multiple detailed infographics.
Tags: highways; accidents; traffic; traffic accidents; roads; transportation; travel; crashes; cars; safety; safety priorities; California Department of Transportation; California; danger; Caltrans
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Two part series. Part 1: U.S. Olympians had failed drug tests: Documents reveal a reluctance to penalize athletes who tested positive before the Games. Part 2: Too Few Surprises: U.S. athletes don't face as many drug tests as those in other countries do. And they usually know it's coming.
The Orange County Register's stories are about special treatment for U.S. athletes during the Olympics. The stories explain how U.S. athletes are rarely given surprise drug tests. Story includes multiple graphics including a Question and Answer graphic, a graphic explaining how drug testing works, common drugs found in test results, and many more.
Tags: U.S. athletes; athletes; Olympics; drug testing; drug tests; sports; competition; drug screening; Olympic Games; athletics