Amy Julia Harris

How the IRS’s Nonprofit Division Got So Dysfunctional

propublica.org — Moves launched in the 1990s were designed to streamline the tax agency and make it more efficient. But they had unintended consequences for the IRS's Exempt Organizations division. Checks and balances once in place were taken away. Guidance frequently published by the IRS and closely read by tax lawyers and nonprofits disappeared.

California homebuying program for veterans hands out few loans

cironline.org — California homebuying program for veterans hands out few loans

The Unsettling Truth Mary Roach Wants Us to Accept

eastbayexpress.com — It's worth mentioning that I read Mary Roach's latest zippy science journey, Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, entirely on a series of lunch breaks. The book chronicles, in Roach's signature wide-eyed-yet-tongue-in-cheek tone, everything from our first sniff of a meal to its passage through the assorted mixers, tubes, and pumps of our gastrointestinal machinery, wrapping up with its none-too-elegant exit.

Forcing landlords to accept vouchers won't help the poor

baltimoresun.com — In a recent letter to the editor, Johns Hopkins professor Stefanie DeLuca recently suggested that many landlords refuse to rent to people with Section 8 housing vouchers because they are unfairly prejudiced against those prospective tenants ("Mossburg misrepresents research on vouchers," May 8).

Hole in California law allows sex offenders to become addiction counselors

cironline.org — Hole in California law allows sex offenders to become addiction counselors

U.S. Secretly Obtains Two Months of A.P. Phone Records

nytimes.com — WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.

Resources for Investigating Tax-Exempt Organizations

propublica.org — In addition to our Nonprofit Explorer interactive database, here are some resources for researching charities and other tax-exempt organizations. The News Apps Team Comment 1 Comment Follow @kleinmatic Liz Day is ProPublica's Director of Research. She previously worked in research for NBC Universal and as a Carnegie Fellow with the investigative unit at ABC News.

IRS Office That Targeted Tea Party Also Disclosed Confidential Docs From Conservative Groups

propublica.org — The same IRS office that deliberately targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status in the run-up to the 2012 election released nine pending confidential applications of conservative groups to ProPublica late last year. The IRS did not respond to requests Monday following up about that release, and whether it had determined how the applications were sent to ProPublica.

The Wilderness Next Door

opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com — MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. - You're on the crater rim of a volcano that is in a tenuous snooze. You expect the few burps of steam coming from the lava dome down below. You expect the sense-surround view of the Cascade Mountains on a day from perfection's vault.