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 "building codes" ...
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Broken Homes, Broken System
The investigation examines the regulatory system that is meant to protect homeowners in Kansas. The system missed critical inspections, failed to take problem buildings to task, and ignored residents complaints.
Tags: homeowner; home; real estate; building codes; developer
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Moldy Metropolis: Homeowners Struggle with Leaky Concrete
Poorly built condominiums and the homeowners are now seeing the consequences of the poor construction. The condominiums have severe mold problems, which is a result from using a material called split-free concrete block. The story reveals the lack of building inspection since the blocks should be built without leaks and inspected for leaks. Furthermore, if the homeowners complain to the city, they are held accountable for the code violation.
Tags: masonry; developer; real estate; market; condos; water; housing boom; ordinance; city council
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Forced Out
This series from the Washington Post investigates the corrupt practices of landlords driving tenants from their homes under the guise of refusing repairs or forcing families to live without heat, hot water or electricity. This was in response to a law meant to give tenants a voice in the city's redevelopment. In recent years, tenants had fled more than 200 rent-controlled apartment complexes without the chance to vote on redevelopment. With empty buildings, landlords quickly reaped $328 million in condominium sales and avoided $16 million in conversion fees.
Tags: housing; tenant laws; redevelopment; housing-code violations; building inspections; negligent landlords; H.R. Crawford
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Curveball: Spies, Lies, and the Conman who caused a war
The book lays out the defining story of the pre-intelligence failure in Iraq. It focuses on CURVE BALL, the American-issued code name for a young Iraqi chemical engineer who defected to Germany in 1999. During dozens of debriefings with German intelligence officers, he claimed that he had helped design and build sophisticated biological weapons for Saddam Hussein." The story was a hoax, yet the CIA used this evidence as its pretext for war despite numerous warnings about the validity of the claims. Only after its invasion of Iraq did the US formally acknowledge that CURVE BALL was a fraud.
Tags: CIA; Iraq; weapons of mass destruction; WMD; war on terror; terrorism; George Tenet; George W. Bush; Colin Powell; intelligence; Dick Cheney; Bill Drogin; spies
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Housing Headaches
Since the balcony collapses of 2003 in Chicago, building codes and regulations have had to change because of the resulting deaths. The student rental properties' landlords are not maintaining the property or inspecting them every three years as they should.
Tags: student housing; rental; housing code; property damage; safety
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The buck stops where?
A commercial builder hired to construct a spa failed to conform to architectural plans and building codes, but the county inspector did not detect the failures. When this was discovered, all parties denied responsibility. Inspectors were cited for incompetence.
Tags: building codes; construction; inspection; inspectors; real estate; development; oversight; contractors
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Hurricane Coverage
Substandard and poorly enforced building codes led to houses that were unsafe during hurricanes in Mobile, Alabama. Gaps were also found in the county's evacuation plan and in the sturdiness of oil rigs constructed in the Gulf of Mexico.
Tags: hurricane; oil rigs; gas rigs; building codes; Hurricane Katrina
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The Weakest Link
The authors exposed a weakness in airport security when they found that security fencing around Phoenix's Sky Harbor airport was less than secure. Due to almost a mile of faulty fencing, highly sensitive areas were left vulnerable. The investigation also showed there was an awareness of this problem by officials.
Tags: Airports; fencing; security; Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport; building codes; FOIA
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Falling Apart/Licensed, Bonded, Unaccountable
The Oregonian revealed that new residential structures across the Northwest are suffering sometimes catastrophic damage from moisture not just due to poor workmanship, but also to shoddy construction, trouble-prone building materials, inappropriate design and unanticipated complications caused by energy efficient building codes. The stories detail the financial and emotional impact on homeowners, how their dispute with builders has clogged the legal system and how builders have turned to the Legislature for protection from a rash of litigation. In addition, the investigation reveals that the Oregon Construction Contractors Board, the state agency charged with protecting consumers from bad contractors, has allowed builders with histories of incompetence, insolvency and unethical behavior to continue building, without notifying consumers of the dangers.
Tags: CAR; Oregon Construction Contractors Board; Northwest; Portland; construction defect litigation; builders; Oregon Legislature; Construction Claims Task Force; regulation