Homicides on the rise in Milwaukee

John Diedrich and Bob Purvis at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detail a sharp rise in the number of murders in Milwaukee this year, finding that "through Friday, 72 people have been killed this year, compared to 49 at that time last year. In response, police last week beefed up patrols in the hottest parts of Milwaukee and community agencies increased their presence, trying to address social and economic issues underlying the violence."

Alan Levin and Robert Davis of USA Today reviewed hundreds of documents on air ambulance crashes and analyzed a database they created from the documents. They found that since "2000, 60 people have died in 84 crashes — more than double the number of crashes during the previous five years." Despite this surge, air ambulance companies and the federal agency that oversees them failed to take steps that might have averted tragedy and saved lives. The FAA issued a warning to air ambulance companies requesting that they adopt better safety practices, following this investigation.

Clifford J. Levy and Michael Luo of The New York Times used state Medicaid data to find that "the program has been misspending billions of dollars annually because of fraud, waste and profiteering. A computer analysis of several million records obtained under the state Freedom of Information Law revealed numerous indications of fraud and abuse that the state had never looked into." Examples of the potential fraud include a dentist who billed for as many as 991 procedures a day and a Buffalo school that sent more than 4,000 students "into speech therapy in a single day without talking to them or reviewing their records." Medicaid fraud has turned into a $44.5 billion target and the Times investigation uncovered "numerous indications of fraud and abuse that the state had never looked into."

John W. Allman and Michael Fechter of The Tampa Tribune investigated the activities of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Sarasota/Tampa Bay, finding that:
"For much of that time, it used money intended for sick children to pay for questionable expenses such as lavish dinners for chapter leaders and volunteers. It permitted and covered up a rogue fundraising operation in Sarasota through which hundreds of thousands of dollars passed, some of which has never been accounted for. It failed to comply with state and federal laws regulating charities. The charity says everything is as it should be now but refuses to substantiate that." Many of the details came from a former executive directory who was jailed for making personal use of her foundation credit card.

Maxine Bernstein and Brent Walth of The Oregonian investigated Portland's police and firefighter disability progam, finding that "the city's system is an open checkbook, with rules that allow injured police and firefighters to collect checks until they retire, even if they can earn a living in another job." One in nine Portland police officers and firefighters is on disability and half of those have been receiving benefits for more than 10 years. "A claim for lost wages in Portland costs $37,390 a year on average — seven times that of police and firefighters statewide.' Trustees of the program sued to prevent the paper from obtaining certain financial records.

Reporter Christina Murphy and Assistant City Editor Jennie Coughlin of The Daily News Leader analyzed five years' worth of Department of Labor and Industry inspections obtained from the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration. They found that "many businesses are not inspected each year. In fact, the labor department performed too few safety inspections between 1999 and 2003 to reach even a quarter of the construction businesses in more than a third of the state, though construction is considered a high-hazard industry." The story includes a section on how the investigation was done. (Editor's note: IRE and NICAR offer the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Workplace Safety Database for purchase.)

Joel Rutchick of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer used local school financial records to show that "the Cleveland Municipal School District has lost out on as much as $14 million in potential investment income over the last three years by investing most of its idle cash through local banks - which have paid lower interest rates than those available elsewhere." The switch to the local banks apparently happened without competitive bids, a normal industry practice. Income from the investments "has lagged well behind that of Cuyahoga County and other urban school districts - such as Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo - all of which invested well within the safety parameters outlined by Ohio law."

Jeff Stensland of The State reviewed financial disclosure forms from South Carolina state legislators to find that "about 20 lawmakers raked in more than $2.4 million in attorney fees by representing clients in front of state boards and commissions last year." Many of the cases involved worker's compensation claims but others were before the state's insurance or revenue departments. The paper listed each of the lawmakers and their fees.

Pauline Arrillaga and Olga R. Rodriguez of the Associated Press reviewed court records from Mexico and the United States as part of an investigation into "the many pipelines in Central and South America, Mexico and Canada that have illegally channeled thousands of people into the United States from so-called 'special-interest' countries - those identified by the U.S. government as sponsors or supporters of terrorism." Individuals affiliated with Hezbollah and the Tamil Tigers were among those who attempted to or were able to cross the border into America. "Even when caught, illegal immigrants from those countries and other nations are sometimes released while awaiting deportation hearings, then miss those court dates, according to the AP's investigation, which also documented deep concerns about security threats along the lightly patrolled, 4,000-mile U.S.-Canada border."

David Madrid of The Arizona Republic reports on the results of a public records request the paper made asking council members in Surprise, Ariz., "to verify the miles and percentage of driving they do for city business" since the council was set to approve a 289% increase in car allowances. The paper's request "was denied on the grounds that the information is not a public record. Council members aren't required to keep track of mileage or to document auto expenses."