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 "residential" ...
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Forced to Fight
The original story documents how a remote facility for foster children with developmental disabilities forced to fight each other for the staff's entertainment, then rewarded the winners with snacks. The subsequent stories exposed a history of abuse and neglect at the facility.
Tags: neglect; foster care; developmental disabilities; Dystar Residential
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"Arrested Developments: Crime Streets of Athens"
The staff of The Red & Black spent several months collecting and compiling crime documents from law enforcement departments throughout Athens, Ga. The student reporters wanted to find and report current information on the "most crime-ridden residential streets in Athens-Clarke County," which is where the University of Georgia is located. The UGA population (students, faculty and staff) makes up a "big chunk" of Athens. The Red & Black takes a look at crime in the area to see whether or not the higher crime areas have an affect on those who "attend and work" at the university.
Tags: UGA; University of Georgia; Athens; Athens-Clarke County; Athens Housing Authority
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Joint Investigationby Oklahoman and Tulsa World
Reports from the Oklahoma Health Department found more than 830 violations at the residential group homes for the mentally ill and elderly. The reports showed residents were found covered in feces, stolen from, or sleeping on dirty mattresses.
Tags: mentally ill; mentally disabled; oversight; elderly; group home
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Steamrolled
The story documents how Houston residents are being exposed to industrial pollution with no protection from state and local regulators. Because Houston does not have zoning laws, industrial plants can be built in residential neighborhoods.
Tags: pollution; industrial plant; neighborhoods; residents; housing
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"Logan Canal Collapse Investigation"
A massive mudslide that destroyed numerous residential homes and killed a mother and her two children could have been prevented. According to an investigation by The Salt Lake Tribune, the owners of the irrigation canal that collapsed and caused the mudslide neglected to fix existing problems with the waterway, or warn residents of the potential danger. Meanwhile, Logan city received warnings that the canal posed a threat to residents, but did not act upon them.
Tags: Logan Utah; mudslide; bluff; landslide; waterway; irrigation canal; Logan City
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Backyard Bombs
In 1983, two boys were killed in San Diego as a result of old munitions explosion in a nearby canyon. San Diego County has a long military history of training camps and defense sites which have been turned into residential neighborhoods, but traces of that past are still seen today as some explosives were never removed.
Tags: weapons; shell; shell shock; debris; Department of Defense; obstacle course; practice field;
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The Real Estate Meltdown
"Did Appraisers Juice the Market?" showed how appraisers overstated home values. Using disciplinary records and interviews, Shanklin and McClure found appraisers who exaggerated condo sizes, appraised homes without seeing them and stated that condos were worth the $240,000 sales price even though the price was padded with $40,000 of incentives. The "Subprime Mess" package was based on more than 2 million records and showed how unconventional loans moved from low-income, inner city neighborhoods to the burgeoning suburbs. "How Investors Helped Overheat the Market" explored the role of investors in Central Florida's real estate meltdown by analyzing hundreds of data records and found that sales of non owner-occupied homes grew from 25 percent of all local residential sales in 2002 to 70 percent in 2006.
Tags: real estate; investors; lenders; purchase prices; subprime loans; adjustable-rate loans; high-interest loans; housing scam; vacant housing; condo conversion; development; property values
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School of Shock
This story investigates the Judge Rotenberg Center, a residential special education school in Massachusetts that treats students' problematic behavior through the use of controversial aversive therapy -- mainly in the form of electric shocks applied to the skin. This piece traces the history of aversive techniques and explores the question of when, if ever, they are appropriate; tells the story of the school and the man who founded it; explains the tough choices facing parents who consent to getting their children shocked; and describes in detail the methods used and the concerns regulators have about them.
Tags: education; therapy; psychology; alternative treatment; child abuse
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Dangerous Dams
There are several "high hazard" dams in Maryland which the state Department of the Environment considers unsafe and a threat to public safety. Some of these dams are in imminent danger of failing. A "high hazard" dam indicates that a collapse would cause loss of life and damage to residential, industrial or agricultural areas, public utilities and infrastructure. The story detailed lax enforcement of rules and regulations when a dam owner is told by state inspectors to fix problems.
Tags: Dams; safety; breach; unsafe; high hazard
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Public Protection, Private Abuse
This series revealed how a costly state-funded program for dangerous developmentally disabled adults called the Community Protection Program is putting its own clients at risk of abuse and neglect in the name of protecting the public. The state is paying private residential companies to provide 24-hour supervision of 381 clients at an average annual cost of $93,000 per person while providing little oversight of how public dollars are spent.
Tags: abuse; neglect; Community Protection Program; developmentally disabled; corruption