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 "appointees" ...
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The Governor's Database
This story revealed that Texas Governor Rick Perry was compiling a massive database on Texas residents. A private contractor had been hired to collect personal information about millions of people. While the stated purpose of the database was homeland security, it was controlled by a political appointee working within the Governor's office, not by a law enforcement agency.
Tags: state government; privacy; public records; FOIA; homeland security
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Clipped Wings
White House appointees at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration were found to be limiting the flow of scientific information which has to do with potentially dangerous and growing human influence on the climate.
Tags: NASA; conservative; religion; Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Mars; moon
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Palace Revolt
This investigation, "tells the definitive story of how a small coterie of conservative Bush appointees led a quietly effective rebellion against the administration’s most controversial polices in the war on terror. Principally residing in the Justice Department, relying on the law and their conscience, these brave public servants took on powerful hardliners in the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, the Defense Department, and elsewhere.
Tags: politicians; politics; federal government; War on Terror; Iraq; Afghanistan
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U.S. Slow on Clean-ups
The Pentagon has resisted paying for clean-up of toxic substances from its former bases. Asbestos, perchlorate and trichloroethylene (TCE) have been deemed hazardous by the EPA and remain on lands previously owned by the Pentagon but that now house private families and schools. But the Pentagon has complained to the White House about EPA regulations and Bush appointees have responded by admonishing EPA officials, essentially creating separate and less stringent environmental standards for the military than for states, communities and private industry. Since 2001 clean-ups have slowed and an estimated 15 million acres of land remain contaminated with dumped munitions alone.
Tags: Military; EPA; contamination; toxic waste; military base closings; asbestos; TCE; Bush administration
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Erasing the rules; (Mostly) White House
This Newsday investigation finds nearly half of the Bush administration appointees come from corporations, law or lobbyists. This put them in a position where they could use the system to pass laws that helped their industries and in turn help their businesses. One of the instances that this story talks about is the regulations regarding pollution have been eased by the Bush administration. The administration turned over the federal environmental agencies to lobbyists that launched an effort to rewrite pollutions rules, ease curbs on the development of natural areas, and allow more drilling.
Tags: George Bush; Bush administration; Bush's lobbyists; corporations linked to George W. Bush; pollution laws; FDA regulations; control of reactive chemicals; walnuts; Boeing Co.; White House; FOIA
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A Changing Landscape
"These stories provide a portrait of the Bush environmental policies and the largely hidden political process that produced them. They also provide a window into the secretive administration's domestic-policymaking and its impact in the West and elsewhere. The reporters penetrated the federal bureaucracy to show how the White House and political appointees at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department manipulated science, circumvented the law and marginalized or steamrolled career employees. These reports detail how, in the process, the administration adopted regulations or policies that benefited its corporate patrons at the expense of public health and the environment." Also included is an update from February, 2005, that relates the results of a study done by Nikki Tinsley, the EPA's inspector general, at the request of seven senators who read the LA Times original series. Tinsley's report confirmed the LA Times findings.
Tags: environment; pollution; mercury; national Forrest; oil drilling; Halliburton; Clean Air Act; Clear Skies initiative; EPA
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"City Pensions"
Reporters from KTRK-TV's 13 Undercover unit go behind the scenes to find out the reason for the increased cost of providing pensions for city workers in Houston. What they found was an extravagant misappropriation of funds, illegal gifts to members of Houston Firefighter Pension Board , as well as the Houston Municipal Employees Pension System. Board members were accused of taking trips around the world with their spouses, using money from the workers' pension funds. As a result of their investigation, Houston's mayor notified board appointees of the consequences of illegal gifts, and an investigation has been initiated for one pension board.
Tags: municipal workers; illegal gifts; Houston Firefighter Pension Board; Houston Municipal Employees Pension System
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Some donors get new posts
The investigation found that people who contributed to Gov. Jeb Bush's campaign and major donors to the Republican Party of Florida were far more likely to get plum appointments to the state's powerful boards and commissions during the Bush tenure than those who contributed t the Florida Democratic Party of Bush's opponents.
Tags: Governor Jeb Bush; Republican Party of Florida; Florida Democratic Party; appointees; elected officials; Commission on Ethics; Division of Elections; Common Cause of Florida; Florida Prepaid College Board; Judicial Qualifications Commission; Land Acquisition and Facilities Advisory Board; Miami-Dade County School Board District; Governor's Mansion Foundation; Overseas Private Investment Corporation; Prison Rehabilitative Industries; Diversified Enterprises Board
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Wayne County Coverage
A collection of three series where FOI was used extensively. The first series delves into the executive officer of Wayne County, Edward McNamara, and his misuse of county funds for his friends. McNamara more than tripled the number of political appointees while serving his office. 112 of his appointees took in more than $100,000. At least 50 of these appointees received cars, while 117 others were paid a monthly allowance of $400 to $500 for vehicles. The second series revealed how Wayne County and Detroit went from trying to stop slumlords to becoming slumlords themselves. After seizing around 2,000 homes to keep them out of slumlord hands, the county and city spent $17.3 million fixing up 32 houses. Many of the promises that were made prior to taking the houses never came to be. The third series showed that the new runway at Detroit Metropolitan Airport had serious problems with the concrete. Forty five percent of tests on the concrete failed to meet FAA and Wayne County standards. There was no immediate safety concerns for the $225 million runway but it would have shortened life span due to the lack of quality. See 2001 contest entry #18626 for more information on the airport series.
Tags: FOI; FOIA; freedom of information; city government; landlords; slumlords; urban reform; FAA; runways; airports; corruption
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The Lush Life of Rudy Appointee
An investigation by the Village Voice revealed that the aide of former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani "had been on a virtual non-stop spending splurge while serving as head of a city agency dedicated to creating affordable housing. The aide, Russell Harding, is the son of Giuliani's political mentor, Liberal Party leader, Raymond Harding. The Village Voice learned of the younger Harding's spending habits three months after Giuliani left office, when the paper "succeeded in obtaining a long-denied Freedom of Information request."
Tags: Russell Harding; Raymond Harding; Rudy Giuliani; New York City; Politics; FOIA