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 "charleston" ...
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Wired for Waste
A Charleston Gazette investigation found the state of West Virginia used $24 million in federal stimulus funds to buy oversized routers that weren't needed. The high-end routers were designed to serve research universities, corporations and major medical centers, but the state installed the pricey devices primarily in small schools and libraries. The routers cost $22,600 each. The newspaper discovered that a high-ranking state technology office administrator warned that the routers were "grossly oversized," but the state's homeland security director and commerce secretary ignored the warning and authorized the purchase.
Tags: Federal funds; routers
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As Mine Protections Fail, Black Lung Cases Surge
A joint investigation by NPR and the Center for Public Integrity mined government databases and analyzed together for the first time ever, coal dust enforcement records and black lung occurrence data. We compiled what appear to be the most comprehensive accounts to date of an unexpected reemergence of black lung, sharp increases among younger miners, rapid progression to the most serious stages, widespread fraudulent coal dust testing by industry, weaknesses and loopholes in federal regulations, and ineffective enforcement by federal regulators. We asked Ken Ward Jr., the veteran coal industry reporter at the Charleston Gazette, to contribute web and print stories about the history of failed government regulation, as well as fraudulent coal dust testing specifically at the Upper Big Branch mine, where 29 miners died in an explosion fueled by coal dust in 2010. Our reporting prompted the Labor Department to establish an internal team to review the agency's enforcement of coal dust regulations, according to internal agency e-mails obtained by NPR. Federal regulators stepped up coal dust enforcement, targeting mines with a history of violations. Members of Congress cited the series in calling for tougher regulations, and one group launched a petition drive demanding action.
Tags: mining; miners; black lung disease; coal dust; government
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The Well Connected
The Gazette revealed how a developer in Charleston improperly secured $3.67 million in federal stimulus funds to build a low-income housing project with help from West Virginia's treasurer.
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Failing our students
"An in-depth narrative of a high school student who couldn't read led to a year-long investigation revealing that 20 percent of incoming freshman in Charleston County read on a fourth-grade level or worse. The newspaper's discovery prompted the school district to make literacy its No. 1 priority.
Tags: Charleston; high school; reading; literacy; students;
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Grants, Graft and Greed at Workforce West Virginia
Mary Jane Bowling, an employee at the Workforce West Virginia office, secretly distributed federal grant money to her son's company, Comar, Inc. Martin Bowling then used the money to pay for travels to conferences that ultimately helped expand his company. Reporter Eric Eyre later exposed an attempted cover-up of the mishandled money by Mary Jane Bowling and her housemate, Christine Gardner, who ran the West Virginia State University's Economic Development Center in Charleston.
Tags: MetroValley Magazine; WVSU; Comar; Christine Gardner; Mary Jane Bowling; Martin Bowling; Albert Hendershot; Zi.ma; Mandi Felty
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Sofa Super Store Fire
"An ongoing investigation into what went wrong at the Sofa Super Store fire that killed nine Charleston firefighters on June 18, 2007. The Post and Courier's reports revealed numerous instances in which the fire department's leadership, training, equipment and tactics conflict with other area fire departments and national practices and standards. The newspaper also reported on shortcomings in the city's building inspection and water departments that contributed to the fire's rapid spread."
Tags: firefighters; city government; FOIA; 911; OSHA
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After Strom: Can a cracker-barrel fabulist capture South Carolina's Senate seat?
Profile of Alex Sanders, the Democratic candidate who sought to replace Strom Thurmond, when the elder Senator retired in 2002. "Sanders is sixty-three," writes Joe Klein, "but his sensibility seems much older--from the time before radio, where people entertained each other by telling yarns....Sanders is an estimable man, the former chief judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals and, most recently, the president of the College of Charleston." Klein provides a behind-the-scenes look at Sanders' campaign, as well as painting a vivid profile of the man himself.
Tags: south carolina; strom thurmond; senate; congress; alex sanders; charleston; campaign; politics; political; democrat
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The Long Haul and Broken Promises
During the 1990s, West Virginia school officials closed "one of every five schools in a massive consolidation drive." An investigation by the Charleston Gazette found that this action has forced more children to ride the bus longer. The consolidated schools were also supposed to provide advanced courses, but Gazette found that school officials broke that promise.
Tags: West Virginia; schools; consolidation; bus rides; advanced courses; 1990s; school consolidation; education; school cutbacks
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License to Steal
A expose of two years of illegal deal making between Charleston businessman Phillip "Pork Chop" Booth and his longtime friend, G.A. McClung, a top state school official. The men's dealings prompted a flurry of state and federal investigations, McClung's resignation, the cancellation of four contracts and major changes in how state government does its business.
Tags: Charleston; WV; Phillip "Pork Chop" Booth; G.A. McClung; state government; FEMA; education; West Virginia; corruption; ethics
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Mountaintop Removal
About a year and a half after federal regulators were supposed to release the results of a two-year study of mountaintop removal coal mining's environmental impacts, the Charleston Gazette published a series detailing the study's findings -- that is, after a dogged FOI fight to obtain the report. The Gazette posted the entire report on its Web site, in addition to publishing the series, which revealed that "without tougher limitations, mountaintop removal would destroy more than 230,000 acres of Appalachian forests."
Tags: mountaintop removal; coal mining; Appalachian forests; environmental impacts; FOI