If you fill out the "Forgot Password" form but don't get an email to reset your password within 5-10 minutes, please email logistics@ire.org for assistance.
When San Bernardino filed for bankruptcy in August, the mayor blamed the city council and the police and fire unions. The unions blamed the mayor. Yet on close examination, the city’s decades-long journey from prosperous, middle-class community to bankrupt, crime-ridden, foreclosure-blighted basket case is straightforward—and alarmingly similar to the path travelled by municipalities around America’s largest state. A Reuters investigation of city data found San Bernardino succumbed to a vicious circle of self-interests among city workers, local politicians and state pension overseers. Little by little, the salaries and retirement benefits of city workers—and especially its police and firemen—grew richer and richer, even as the city lost major employers and gradually got poorer and poorer. No single deal or decision involving benefits and wages over the years killed the city. But cumulatively, they built a pension-fueled financial time-bomb that finally exploded.
“At a time when coal prices were at record highs, Vectren locked into expensive, multiyear agreements to buy almost all of its coal supply from its own wholly-owned mining subsidiary, Vectren Fuels. And ratepayers paid the price. Experts say Vectren disregarded the common industry practice of staggering its coal purchases through shorter-term contracts to hedge against unusually high prices.”
Welcome to IRE's roundup of the weekend’s many enterprise stories from around the country. We’ll highlight the document digging, field work and data analysis that made their way into centerpieces in print, broadcast and online from coast to coast. Coverage this week was dominated by the election, but there was some watchdog coverage to be found in other areas. In preview of the election, we've got a roundup of some of the data-driven work that's been done this campaign season.
Did we miss some? Let us know. Send us an email at web@ire.org or tweet to @IRE_NICAR. We’ll add it to the list and spread the word.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Atlanta police wanted helicopter replaced in 2001
"The Atlanta police helicopter that crashed Saturday night, killing two officers, was a Vietnam War-era chopper that city officials 11 years ago said had outlived its useful life."
The Indianapolis Star
Just 1 in 10 Indianapolis residents recycle. Why is that?
"Just 10 percent of households participate in curbside recycling. That means Indianapolis, which has been striving since 2008 to become 'the most sustainable city in the Midwest,' has one of the most underused recycling programs in the nation for a city its size."
The Milwuakee Journal Sentinel
With no oversight, police can ignore domestic violence laws
"Wisconsin's laws on how police must respond to domestic violence are among the most comprehensive in the country, but no one has the authority to enforce them, a Journal Sentinel investigation has found. And if the laws are ignored, there are no penalties."
The Houston Chronicle
Alleged HISD fee scheme detailed
"HISD trustee Larry Marshall voted repeatedly to award taxpayer-funded contracts to companies that hired his longtime business associate - who gave him a cut of her earnings, according to court records, deposition testimony and interviews."
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Parking ticket abuse rampant by Rochester Police
"A month-long investigation by the Democrat and Chronicle revealed that the Police Department routinely violated its own policies by fixing tickets for officers and their friends and relatives for flimsy excuses or none at all."
The Palm Beach Post
Felons, dead people are eligible voters on final Palm Beach County roll
"Peter Costello, a felon convicted of racketeering and fraud in 1998, has no right to vote because his civil rights never have been restored.But that didn’t stop the registered Republican from casting a ballot in the Aug. 14 primary, and, he said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post, submitting an absentee ballot for Tuesday’s election."
"Investigative reporter A.J. Lagoe, with WRIC TV8 in Richmond, Va, uncovers widespread fraud in Virginia’s court-appointed attorney system. Criminal defendants are lying about their assets in order to qualify for a free lawyer and all too often getting away with it thanks to a loophole in Virginia law."
Million of dollars in donations intended for charities have instead gone to the telemarketing firm soliciting the donations, an investigation from Bloomberg Markets found.
InfoCision Management Corp. claims on its website to raise more money for charities over the phone than any other company in the world. But one-sided contracts leave the majority of money donated to organizations like American Diabetes Assocation actually ending up with the telemarketer.
"Many of the biggest-name charities in the U.S. have signed similarly one-sided contracts with telemarketers during the past decade. The American Cancer Society, the largest health charity in the U.S., enlisted InfoCision from 1999 to 2011 to raise money.
In fiscal 2010, InfoCision gathered $5.3 million for the society. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers took part, but none of that money -- not one penny -- went to fund cancer research or help patients, according to the society’s filing with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the state of Maine."
Also see NPR's coverage of the investigation: http://www.npr.org/2012/09/12/160997044/when-telemarketers-pocket-money-meant-for-charity
Despite calls for strict voter ID laws, an in-depth study of American election fraud reveals that the rate is infinitesimal. Since 2000, News21 found 10 cases of in-person voter fraud, which only photo ID laws would prevent. That would be about one case for every 15 million eligilbe voters. News21 is a national program based at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
"The findings of this investigation of more than 100 prosecutions and decades of audits of this program already has generated strong reaction from Congress, including calls for legislative action and reforms from U.S. Senators and key House committee members."
The program, officially known as Supplemental Educational Services, is one of the lesser known and little scrutinized portions of No Child Left Behind. The investigation found that it has been lightly regulated by the feds and most states, which has allowed predatory and incompetent vendors to victimize the poorest students at America’s worst schools.
Click here to read part two of the story and here to read part three.
Looks like you haven't made a choice yet.
