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 "state bidding" ...
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The Gravy Train
An in-depth look at the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad revealed $100,000 of questionable purchases on the general manager's public credit card and a blatant disregard for state and city public bid laws.
Tags: railroad; bid laws; spending; taxpayer; public entity; New Orleans
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Watchdog website and its web pages
The Oklahoman/NewsOK.com started this project in 2008 with the Right to Know page, a collection of databases developed internally to go along with stories and links to relevant public information. That site became part of the Watchdog page in 2009. In 2010, the staff continued to evolve the Watchdog page with "mini-sites" of investigative topics, such as a political corruption case at the Oklahoma Legislature; the staff's FOI fight over the birth dates of public employees; and allegations of bid-rigging with a married lawmaker and lobbyist for a private company seeking a state juvenile justice contract. Other "mini-sites" under Watchdog include ongoing coverage of the state Department of Human Services and the federal stimulus package.
Tags: continuous coverage; online; watchdog; bid-rigging; Department of Human Services; federal stimulus; FOI; Right to Know
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CHP Contracting
Bee reporters investigate the California Highway Patrol, reporting on topics including "favoritism in bidding practices to ongoing instances of CHP pension fraud, and efforts to crack down on it." As a result of the Bee's work, the state legislature and administration called for further investigations to discover and fix the problems.
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Hillsborough County School District Land Investigation
The ninth largest U.S. school district, Hillsborough County (FL), in 2006 was "growing fast enough to fill five new schools" per year. To meet the demand, Hillsborough county used the services of 4 private real estate brokers, without using bids, in violation of its own regulations. Three of the four brokers have records of criminal, legal and financial problems. Some of those brokers simultaneously represented the sellers, or flipped the land themselves, resulting in land purchases often made substantially above appraisal values. Reporters from the St. Petersburg Times documented swampland purchases, and school sites surrounded by the homes of sexual predators.
Tags: land; school board; school district superintendent; real estate brokers; realtors; swampland; bidding practices; state FOI; land flipping; rezoning applications; condemnation; assessments; appraisals; financial investigations; land records; wetland maps; FBI investigation; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; Excel; Matthew B. Cox; Chester B. Luney; Fred Edmister; National Realty Associates; school planning; Wilson-Miller; Florida Real Estate Commission; 2606 East Caracus Land Trust; Laurence E. Fuentes; Fuentes and Kreischer Title Co.; Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
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Jail Problems; Day Care; VITA; Dog Laws
In a story about the jail locks, reporters found a major issue at the jail that had been known by the sheriff for years. In the story on day care, the reporter found that though parents could learn whether their children's centers had code violations but couldn't find out if anything had been done about them. In the story about information technology bids, the reporter revealed the scope of the proposed handover of the state's contracts, what it would cost and how many employees might be affected-- all despite official secrecy. And a little-known loophole in state law may be closed as a result of the story about dog attacks.
Tags: jail; day care; code violation; information technology; dog code violations
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The Governor and His Judges
The Rio Grande Sun investigated the puzzling appointment of their new county judge: Arizona Gov. Bill Richardson appointed Thomas Rodella to the bench despite reports that Rodella had fixed tickets for people during his time as a state police officer in order to get votes and backing for his wife's bid for state office. After the Sun published their expose, the judge was forced to resign.
Tags: politics; state government; Arizona State Police; election campaigns; judicial appointments
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Potpourri
Not really a series, this is an assortment of stories by reporters at the Times-Dispatch. One is on locks in the city jail that don't work; one is on a web site that tells parents about code violations at day care centers but not about what actions were taken in response; one reveals secret details about bids for state information technology contracts; and one is about efforts to make the owners of vicious dogs criminally liable for the dogs' behavior.
Tags: animal control; state government contracts; city jails; day care centers
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UConn 2000
This series investigated the construction program at the University of Connecticut, exposing significant flaws, safety violations and cost overruns in the $2.5 billion program, the largest public building project in state history. The Courant found that the university ignored recommendations from auditors on construction and budgeting issues, resulting in cost overruns and safety violations that will cost millions to correct. The university withheld critical audit findings from the state legislature even as it was requesting more than $1 billion in additional public funding. The university changed the dimensions of a student-housing complex to bypass state fire inspections that would have delayed construction. The university handed out no-bid contracts, in some cases to contractors who increased their donations at the time they received the work.
Tags: University of Connecticut; UCONN; safety violations; cost overruns; public construction; auditors; budget; Connecticut state legislature; public funding; contractors
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Turmoil at UMDNJ
This extensive nine-month investigation into the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey first began with a "mysterious check made out to a dead man." What resulted were more than 70 stories uncovering years of corruption, political patronage, conflicts of interest, millions of dollars in no-bid contracts and bonuses for administrators and more. At the end of the investigation into UMDNJ, the U.S. Attorney ordered a federal monitor to take over--the first time ever that a state university had to be taken over by the federal government.
Tags: fraud; Medicare; Medicaid; corruption; James McGreevey; contracts
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Youth Charity Falls Short of Promise
The Florida Youth Conservation Corps is a nonprofit designed to provide life-skills training to disadvantaged youth. For these ends, the organization is given millions of dollars in no-bid roadside maintenance contracts. However, this investigation found that the money seems to be going towards travel, sponsoring a little league baseball team in the Dominican Republic, and employing relatives of the executive director, rather than to disadvantaged youth.
Tags: charity; 990s; nonprofits; FOI; backgrounding; education; youth services; state government