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 "assessment" ...
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Hillsborough County School District Land Investigation
The ninth largest U.S. school district, Hillsborough County (FL), in 2006 was "growing fast enough to fill five new schools" per year. To meet the demand, Hillsborough county used the services of 4 private real estate brokers, without using bids, in violation of its own regulations. Three of the four brokers have records of criminal, legal and financial problems. Some of those brokers simultaneously represented the sellers, or flipped the land themselves, resulting in land purchases often made substantially above appraisal values. Reporters from the St. Petersburg Times documented swampland purchases, and school sites surrounded by the homes of sexual predators.
Tags: land; school board; school district superintendent; real estate brokers; realtors; swampland; bidding practices; state FOI; land flipping; rezoning applications; condemnation; assessments; appraisals; financial investigations; land records; wetland maps; FBI investigation; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; Excel; Matthew B. Cox; Chester B. Luney; Fred Edmister; National Realty Associates; school planning; Wilson-Miller; Florida Real Estate Commission; 2606 East Caracus Land Trust; Laurence E. Fuentes; Fuentes and Kreischer Title Co.; Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
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Money Down the River
"This package documented how an apartment complex built in a flood plain received $10.7 million -- more than twice its assessed value -- from the National Flood Insurance Program. Basked on figures obtained through FOIA, the story detailed how the federally backed insurance program allowed Willow River Apartments to rebuild time and time again in a flood-prone area where development is no longer allowed."
Tags: FEMA; weather; rain; flood plain; flooding; water damamge; insurance; natural disaster; government spending
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Clean and Green
Taking advantage of a state program designed to limit suburban sprawl and preserve open space, Pennsylvania's Allegheny County has been providing tax breaks for country clubs, developers, and owners of million-dollar estates. Under the law, which allows for property assessment breaks, county assessment officials have approved hundreds of new applications since 2003, increasing the number of properties in the program by 50 percent. In return for the tax break, owners had agreed to open their properties to the public. But land owners interviewed for the story asserted their right to declare their homes private property. In addition, the investigation discovered that 60 properties - 5 percent of those in the program - have unpaid taxes totaling more than $100,000. In the wake of the initial story, a followup reported that the government declared the properties open to the public, since they received a tax break like public parks.
Tags: Property taxes; tax breaks; country clubs; government; Allegheny County
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Threat Assessment
The First Coast News TV reporters investigated possible terrorist cells active in their area.
Tags: Terrorism; threat assessment; FBI; Super Bowl
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KC Federal Housing Series
A follow-up to an Oct. 2004 series, this investigation uncovers misspent federal housing dollars intended to benefit lower income families. Among their findings was a sale in which a local developer made a $156,000 profit by flipping the property the same day; a home-repair program which took advantage of home owners; and sweet heart loans to local politicians and business owners.
Tags: housing; real estate; property taxes; property assessment; HUD; restoration; CAR
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Children's Crusade: Who is watching Yale faculty's children?
This article explores Yale University's decision to hire a consulting firm to assess the university's childcare program. Krieger found that the CEO of the consulting agency also has an administrative role at the university. The author explores the various sides of this conflict of interest, and also traces the history of Yale's childcare program.
Tags: childcare; local government; conflict of interest; Bright Horizons
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A New Way of Judging How Well Schools Are Doing; A "Value-Added" Analysis
In response to a relatively new method of measuring student progression, or "value-added" data, Seattle Times investigates the effectivenss of this new metric in Seattle Public Schools. Value-added data measures how much each student progresses in a year by predicting what the student's next standardized test score will be. If the student achieves that score, the data states that the student if progressing at an average rate. If they score higher on the test, the data identifies how effective the school was in helping the student to progress at an above average rate. This investigation revealed that, just because students scored higher on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) does not necessarily mean that they learned more.
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Gas Company knew about defective pipe 30 years ago
Dyer reports that 750 miles of faulty gas pipes were installed by a Texas company in the 1970s. Thirty years later, these same gas pipes went unrepaired and eventually exploded, killing five people. Dyer raises questions about why these pipes were installed in the first place and why no one cared enough to fix the problem before it became dangerous.
Tags: gas; pipe; underground; explosion; regulator; assess; watchdog; safety; Austin; fire; Texas Railroad Commission; Lone Star Gas; Ensearch; TXU; polyethylene; utility
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Unbalanced Taxes
This five-article analysis of tax bills and assessments across New Jersey found a loosely regulated, unevenly enforced system allowing municipalities to calculate property tax bills using property assessments that in some cases are decades old. This article explores the implications of the problem and offers possible ways to reform the system. The series also exposes an inequality in the cost of property taxes in white and black neighborhoods. The cause of this imbalance are outdated tax rolls which may be in violation of federal civil rights laws. This tax discrimination can overcharge some homeowners anywhere from $400 to $1,400 per year. The series includes several graphics to illustrate the assessment and tax disparities in many New Jersey towns.
Tags: taxes; real estate; property; discrimination; assessment; revaluation
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Dubious Value
"The series was devoted to determining how inaccurate residential property assessments in New Orleans were, and why. The major findings: The average home sold for 70 percent more than its assessed value. Homes that sold recently were much more accurately assessed than those that hadn't sold for a generation. Political donors got favorable treatment. The results: Newcomers pay extremely high taxes, while the city overall has an anemic tax base and poor services. In addition to the main series we published four other exposes during the year involving particularly egregious assessment abuses."
Tags: property value; tax bills; New Orleans; district assessor; taxes; audit; campaign finance; neighborhood value