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 "economic development" ...
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A Trail of Broken Promises
The story follows an agency, known as the Southeastern Economic Development Corp., as the president used a legal settlement to get a small business owner to remove its claim on a piece of coveted land. The agency then ignored the settlement and allowed a developer with business ties to the chairman to take over the land. The broken settlement cost the small business owners their expansion plans and their business.
Tags: small business owners; broken settlements; corporate malpractice; land development; Southeastern Economic Development Corp.
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Affordable No More
The Southeastern Economic Development Corp. had been tasked with "redeveloping one of San Diego's poorest neighborhoods," with the goal of building affordable housing. But people with close ties to this public agency abused the system, selling homes for much higher prices than had been approved in the agency's contract, and also "failed to file the proper deeds on the subsidized homes in the project," allowing the houses to be flipped for a profit.
Tags: Southeastern Economic Development Corp.; redevelopment; affordable housing; property flipping; fraud; title registration
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Afghan Poppies and US Policy
"What had been a bright spot in the war on terror, the ouster of the Taliban and the effort to build a democratic Afghanistan, is in jeopardy, partly because an exploding drug trade is funding and fueling the insurgency while undermining efforts to bring order and economic development to Afghanistan. We investigated U.S. efforts to curb the illicit narcotics industry and found major problems, some because of flawed policies, some because of the incredible complexity of the problem, some due to inherent contradictions between fighting terrorism and fighting drugs in Afghanistan."
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Win, Lose or Draw: Gambling for Jobs
This series examines Kentucky's economic development program's failure to create jobs and alleviate poverty across the state, and especially in the poorest areas. Incentives given to businesses for more than 14 years did not result in the contractually agreed-upon number of new jobs. The state program was loosely monitored and shrouded in secrecy. Funds allocated for high tech job training were diverted to creation of malls and industrial parks that remained mostly vacant. Overall, after 14 years, Kentucky's poverty ranking was not improved by the development programs.
Tags: poverty; economic development; job creation; incentives; tax breaks; industry; Kentucky; FOI
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The Final Frontier
This investigation looks into the Chicago Housing Authority and demographic changes that have occurred with the destruction of public housing. Starting with 1995, The Chicago Reporter analyzed residential property transactions and home mortgage lending data, as well as Census data to track significant racial and economic shifts over the years.
Tags: Chicago Housing Authority; public housing; real estate; home mortgage lending data; CAR; housing developments; FOIA; Census 2000
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The Deputy Mayor and the Olympics
Although Bloomberg accepted no campaign contributions since first running for New York City mayor in 2001, Bernstein shows that his deputy mayor, Daniel Doctoroff, represented a conduit for donations from bankers, real estate developers and others with economic interests. While leading NYC 2012, an organization established to raise funds to bring the Olympics to New York, Doctoroff convinced many people who wanted to do business with the city of New York to donate to his pet organization.
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High Price of Blight
This investigative story focuses on a tax scheme called tax-increment financing (TIF) that was developed in California to help "blighted, economically depressed" neighborhoods. Currently, however, the law is being used in Texas to give tax breaks to huge corporations such as RadioShack, Pier One, Cabela's and NASCAR so that they will build in Fort Worth or remain if they are already there. Furthermore, none of the businesses are being built in blighted or depressed areas.
Tags: FOIA; TIF; tax-increment financing
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Was it worth the cost?
The Kansas City Housing and Economic Development Financial Corp recently spent $600,000 to buy and restore two houses. This wouldn't be so outrageous, except that the original combined value of the two homes was only $46,000. Many critics say that restoring the houses was a waste of money. Furthermore, the Housing and Economic Development Financial Corp has not paid the property taxes on these buildings. Further investigation revealed that, in fact, the agency neglected to pay the property taxes on 134 of the 287 properties it owns.
Tags: housing; real estate; property taxes; property assessment; HUD; Ken Bacchus
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"Yonkers Inside Out"
While examining the politics, economics and development efforts of Yonkers as it rebuilds downtown, the newspaper found a history of legal disputes and financial difficulties with a high-profile developer. The investigation raises questions about how Yonkers picks developers for large projects. A related story shows how state officials plan to sell an 84-acre office park for less than $9 million to a private corporation set up by city officials. The corporation, independent of the city and not subject to local oversight, might resell the property for more than 10 times the purchase price.
Tags: developers; development; city government; quasi-government; arson; Department of Housing and Urban Development; HUD; baseball stadium; Local Development Corporation; taxes; business incorporation records; OSHA; campaign finance
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Overtown and the CRA: Agency May Have Wasted Millions
When Oscar Corral of the Miami Herald began questioning the location of parking lots being built by the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), he quickly realized something was "seriously awry with the CRA's management." The nearly year-long investigation that followed centered on Overtown, one of Miami's poorest neighborhoods -- and discovered "a pattern of mismanagement, questionable spending decisions and failed projects. The result: The community has virtually nothing to show for $70 million in spending over the past decade," and the neighborhood "remains a near-wasteland of poverty and substandard housing." The primary program charged with "revitalizing the neighborhood" spent millions of dollars, but "completed only five of 36 proposed projects and has not pushed a single housing initiative." What's more, back-door dealings resulted in dubious contracts being awarded, some of which were never fulfilled despite the CRA paying for them -- and the nepotism even included the hiring of a former prostitute and thief to run errands for the CRA chairman. More than 50 interviews with frequently elusive sources, along with numerous documents and computer-assisted analyses of databases including enforcement cases, delinquent loans, property records and building demolitions, went into getting the stories -- which resulted in city, state, and FBI investigations into the CRA.
Tags: development; business; neighborhood; economic; housing; public body; nepotism; mismanagement; building; parking lot; Florida; Miami; Overtown