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 "southeastern" ...
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"NCAA - College Athletic Fees"
In this months-long report, USA Today analyzed hundreds of "financial reports" that college athletic programs are "required to release to the NCAA." They found that many schools are relying more on student fees to finance sports programs (without student's knowledge). The investigation also reveals a growing "unrest" at many universities in response to the financial "divide between sports and academics."
Tags: Football Bowl Subdivision; Coalition of Intercollegiate Athletics; Big East Conference; University of Cincinnati; Nebraska State; Louisiana State; Atlantic Coast; Big Ten; Big 12; Pacific-10; Southeastern
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NCAA: Mixed Messages
The series of nine stories focuses on the major changes in college athletics. “Academics and leaders of the reform movement have debated and lobbied for two decades about the need for change.” But the magnitude of college athletics suggests a change is impossible. This series focuses on, “the biggest and best football conference, looked at the money brought in and the issues raised by the rush to be successful, the disparity between coaching salaries and the scholarship money afforded the athletes, what top athletes might be worth in an open market, and the creative efforts universities go to in order to fund athletic programs.”
Tags: College; Athletics; Academics; Football; Southeastern Conference; FOIA
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SEUS Liquidation
"These stories detailed the events leading up to the court-ordered, Oct. 27 liquidation of Atlanta-based Southeastern U.S. Insurance Co. (SEUS) and the impact on its policyholders."
Tags: SEUS; liquidation; Atlanta; southeastern; insurance; workcompcentral; clark fain; SOWEGA; Georgia;
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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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One Small Lot, One Big Mess
Long Island development group Utopia Studios, Ltd. "proposed a major development for the southeastern Connecticut region," with their takeover of "one of the most vital pieces of property in the region" approved by Preston, Connecticut voters. Utopia promised "a $1.6 billion project with theme parks and movie studios and 22,000 new jobs" and thus gained a lot of political support. But the Day "discovered that the principle Utopia developer, Joseph Gentile, had been sued in conjunction with a condominium project in New York City." Reporter Paul Choiniere investigated further, and found that Gentile's dealings on that property were questionable.
Tags: developers; Utopia Studios, Ltd.; Joseph Gentile; condominiums; construction code violations; construction
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Protecting Wetlands but at a Price
This is a report about federal efforts to stop the destruction of wetlands in southeastern Virginia. The government policies, like the "no - net loss" policy, will affect developers, builders, farmers and, most importantly, taxpayers. One problem occurs when privately owned land is determined to be wetland, and developing the land is prohibited.
Tags: Army Corp of Engineers; Clean Water Act; EPA; pollution; real estate
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Fraud Outruns the Feds: Investors lose almost $1 billion in five years
According to the authors, "Federal watchdogs have been largely ineffective in combating securities fraud and helping victims recover their money. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's investigation of all 121 cases filed in the Southeastern U.S. by the Securities and Exchange Commission's Miami office during the past five years also found that 25 percent of violators had been the subject of at least one previous regulatory or criminal action involving fraud or economic crime; only 20 percent of the agency's cases against violators resulted in criminal prosecutions; and SEC violations resulted in $176 million in fines and penalties being levied, although only about $6.5 million has been collected. Investors losses in these securities fraud cases totalled at least $938 million."
Tags: fraud; Florida; criminal; prosecutions; SEC; Securities and Exchange Commission; money; fines; penalties; federal; Miami
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Feed 5: Best of Show and Tell
1) Jennifer Kraus (WTVF-Nashville) This story exposes problems at the Nashville office of international charity "Feed the Children." In a four-month investigation, WTVF-TV's undercover cameras caught the charity's staff loading up their personal cars with donated items and taking the items home. 2) Deborah Sherman (WFXT - Boston) Costa Rican trips for child sex. Actually spoke with girls who used to get paid by American tourists for sex. Focuses on one area man charged with this crime. 3) Anna Werner, David Raziq (KHOU-Houston) KHOU-TV reports that "You're in physical pain. You need help. So you go to your doctor expecting needed relief and comfort. But what if in the process of treating you, you realize this healer's touch has become 'sexual?' That's what dozens of Houston women claimed happened to them when they were referred to a local health professional, a professional they claimed used their trust to molest and even rape them. His name is Shin Higashiura and he claimed to be a Master of Shiatsu, also known as acupressure, a Japanese massage therapy that promises health benefits...." 4) Jilda Unruh (WCCO-Minneapolis) An investigation reveals that automatic door sensors can't detect certain colors. The doors often close on elderly people, causing them harm. 5) Tom Merriman/Jeff Harris (WEWS-Cleveland) The story investigates how state-trained lifeguards perform on state beaches as compared to privately trained lifeguards on private beaches. Follows both teams though a simulation. The state team fails horribly and never recovers the dummy planted for them to rescue. 6) Jim Schaefer; Shellee Smith (WXYZ-Detroit) WXYZ-TV discovered that the leaders of Highland Park, a poor city surrounded by Detroit, had virtually ignored a major problem in the 911 emergency response system while continuing to enjoy the relatively expensive perks of their jobs. While claiming there was no money in the budget to fix the problem, the mayor leased a brand-new Lincoln with city cash. Undercover video found citizens at risk, fire fighters in danger and no one helping. 7) Drew Griffin (KCBS-Los Angeles) "The Real ConAir" Investigation reveals department of corrections transporting convicts on commercial flights. Passengers are not told who's sitting beside them. Planes are forced to land because of disturbances during the flight. A girl is sexually assaulted by one of these convicts. 8) Robb Leer; Maria Tomasch (KSTP-Minneapolis) Inmates can change their names on the taxpayer's dime. 9) Jeremy Rogalski; Bill Dutton; Gerry Lanosga; Kathleen Johnston (WTHR-Indianapolis) WTHR-TV reports that "a source mentioned to us that numerous DUI cases were being dismissed because police witnesses fail to appear in court... After we crunched a slice of our county's criminal justice data ... We found thousands of DUI cases - nearly one in ten - thrown out because cops didn't show..." 10) Wes Williams; C.J. Ward (KPNX-Phoenix) Security guards with criminal records have a "License to Steal." 11) Tony Kovaleski; Matt Goldberg (KPRC-Houston) Ninety-eight guns were discovered in schools in 10 of Houston's largest school districts -- that works out to 5,864 students per gun. 12) Phil Williams; Chris Clark (WTVF-Nashville) WTVF-TV's investigation into the backgrounds of school teachers found more than three dozen convicted felons working in Metro Nashville-Davidson County schools. 13) Chris Halsne; Kim Albro; Dave Weed (KWTV-Oklahoma City) Voters handed Oklahoma City Schools a 93 million dollar bond in 1993 to improve schools. The money is now gone, but many projects remain unfinished. KWTV-TV's investigation found millions of dollars in waste, fraud and mismanagement. 14) Laure Quinlivan; Jeff Keene; Ken Fulk; Mark Shafer; Scott Diener; Stuart Zanger (WCPO-Cincinnati) WCPO-TV's investigation "... to monitor County officials as they began spending nearly a billion dollars of taxpayer money... earmarked to build two, new sports stadiums for our city's professional sports teams, the Bengals and Red. As (the) investigation enters its third year, work on the first stadium is two-thirds complete and ground will soon break on the second. Already, our investigation has revealed broken promises, manipulation of numbers in official reports, political cronyism in contract awards, creation of 'pass-through' companies and other questionable and possibly illegal activities...." 15) Jim Barry; John Campbell; Sam Zeff; Jennifer Snell; Denise Haley; Brad Naw (WTXF-Philadelphia) After transit union strike crippled Philadelphia's bus and subway service for forty days, WTXF-TV investigated the region's transportation agency - Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. SEPTA is one of the largest and most expensive transit systems in the county. This investigation exposed a widespread culture of laziness and dishonest work habits that was allowing hundreds of buses with potentially dangerous problems out onto the street each day. 16)Darcy Spears; Kim Kruger (KVBC-Las Vegas) "Taken for a Ride". Taxi drivers getting kickbacks for taking clients to certain bars/stripclubs.
Tags: TAPE; Investigative reporting; computer-assisted reporting; IRE; FOI; CAR; no transcripts
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Report Card on the Schools
A major project comparing standardized scores and other data for the Philadelphia area. Also included are stories explaining how to understand the scores and general trends. This extensive four-part series includes the following sections: "Our Schools in 2002 - Increasing spending and implementing standards," "Understanding Test Scores - Determining what students know, and are able to show," "How does your school compare? - From across the Philadelphia area, data on teacher salaries, class size, e-mail and internet access, and more," "Profiles of the region's schools - South Jersey and Southeastern Pa, public and private, charter and tech." This story contains multiple charts with lots of data. It's an excellent resource for anyone doing any work related to education.
Tags: education; standardized testing; schools; teachers; class size; classrooms; report card; test scores; classes; Philadelphia; profiles of schools; teacher salaries