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 "Unified Government" ...
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The fine print: Bush forces a shift in regulatory thrust
This three-day series revealed how small, subtle regulatory changes by the Bush administration at three federal agencies have had large consequences for the American people. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has eliminated nearly five times as many pending regulations as it has completed. The Data Quality Act, slipped into an appropriations bill, directs the Office of Management and Budget to ensure all information disseminated by the government is reliable, but in practice it allows industries to challenge the need for stiffer regulations. A one-word change in another regulation accelerated "mountaintop removal" mining because the debris was reclassified from "waste" to "fill."
Tags: federal regulatory process; Occupational Safety and health Administration; OSHA; Office of Management and Budget; OMB; Data Quality Act; federal government; Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.
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Circuit Court
Pitch Weekly reports on the confrontation behavior of Mary Ryan, a member of the Board of Public Utilities of the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas. The story describes Ryan's sharp criticism of the board's general manager and other members, thus hindering the board's work. "No matter how bizarre Ryan's behavior, she remains an elected official of Wyandotte County," reports Pitch Weekly.
Tags: local government; public utilities; energy; electricity; litigation; elected officials; municipalities; elections
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Oh, Give Me Your Home
Pitch Weekly investigates the hidden scams landlords place on tenants when they offer contract for deeds on rental properties. The philosophy of the landlord- "buy low, rent as high as possible, don't spend a dime on repairs, then bail out before the place falls down." In 1995, the government signed into law a rental-licensing program. "It requires landlords to register properties, pay a modest fee and most important- submit rentals to annual inspections. . . But the landlords figured out a way around it. They started 'selling' their properties on contract for deed-sort of a homemade mortgage program in which the owner, not a commercial lender, accepts payment for the property over a drawn-out period." Pitch Weekly reports how often buyers get the raw-end of the deal.
Tags: housing; rentals; landlords; contract for deed; leasing; Unified Government; home-buyers; Kansas Consumer Protection Act; city inspections; real-estate