Luke Rosiak
Articles by Luke Rosiak
For student-loan repayments, an F at for-profit schools
At the Technical Learning Centers, a for-profit college in a dreary basement in downtown Washington where posters declaring "Optimism" and "Determination" line the walls, fewer than 1 in 20 students make payments on student loans several years after completion — the fourth-lowest rate of any school in the nation. Published July 1, 2012
Obama removes bundler as Holland envoy nominee
President Obama has withdrawn the nomination of one of his major donors for a cushy diplomatic post after the nominee was arrested on charges of drunken driving, speeding and resisting arrest. Published July 1, 2012
Top secret: $80B a year for food stamps, but feds won’t reveal what’s purchased
Americans spend $80 billion each year financing food stamps for the poor, but the country has no idea how the money is spent. Published June 24, 2012
Wealthy donors boost Romney’s cash flow
Mitt Romney outraised President Obama in 19 states in May, including four of nine critical swing states, records released Wednesday night show. But as the former Massachusetts governor solidified his position in the party and teamed up with the Republican National Committee, which can legally accept much larger checks than a candidate, his reliance on a few wealthy donors at the expense of a large base also grew. Published June 21, 2012
Obama campaign spending, fundraising show increases
President Obama's re-election campaign spent more in May than it did in the previous three months combined, records released Wednesday showed, as it ramped up an operation that has grown to more than 700 staffers across 44 states. Published June 20, 2012
Republicans oppose super PAC disclosure
For years, Republicans were staunch champions of transparency in money in politics. Disclosure, they said, was the surest antidote to corruption — more so than dollar restrictions on spending, which could drive illicit activity underground. But now that dollar restrictions have been lifted on some groups, Republicans have made an about-face. Published June 20, 2012
23 gravestones go missing from D.C. Civil War cemetery
Hidden from view in a forest on the campus of the nation's best-known psychiatric institute rest at least 300 fallen Civil War soldiers. Interspersed are warriors from the Confederacy and the Union, white and black. For years, this secret cemetery along the Potomac River just off of Interstate 295 has been closed to the public. Published June 11, 2012
GSA’s financial mess not limited to Vegas shindig
The dysfunctional culture that cost regional General Services Administration officials their jobs following the disclosure of an "over-the-top" Las Vegas conference extends beyond the Western states region and further back to previous GSA executives in Washington, records indicate. Published June 11, 2012
Congressional staffers, public shortchanged by high turnover, low pay
High turnover and lack of experience in congressional offices are leaving staffs increasingly without policy and institutional knowledge, a Washington Times analysis of a decade of House and Senate personnel records shows — leaving a vacuum that usually is filled by lobbyists. Published June 6, 2012
Discrimination lawsuits double as definition of ‘disability’ expands
The number of employment discrimination lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has nearly doubled in the past five years and seen a sharp increase in recent months, federal court records show, as the definition of "disability" has expanded and what many believe are baseless lawsuits are filed. Published May 31, 2012
Privacy veil lifted, 1940 census opens window to past
Maggie Evans, of the richest family on the block, can never go home. A clowder of feral cats roams the front yard. In the past two years, there have been five homicides within 1,500 feet of the house she once gave that name: Home, for her, no longer exists. Published May 27, 2012
Region was radically different in 1940
In 1940, the office-tower core of downtown Washington, D.C., was the black section of town; much of Southeast was entirely white; the suburbs did not exist and almost no one went to college. Published May 27, 2012
Romney super PAC donors put at credit card risk
The political fund that has raised more than $50 million to support Mitt Romney's bid for the presidency has been collecting money online with a system so insecure that it exposes donors' credit card information to even casual snoopers. Published May 3, 2012
Metro closes ranks against outside ‘attacks’
A top official at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, in response to a Washington Times investigation that found a lack of accountability and racism at the transit agency, has issued a memo to all rail employees quoting Whitney Houston and encouraging employees to band together against the outside world. Published May 3, 2012
Ex-Ward 5 ANC official sentenced for theft of public funds
An elected official who stole nearly $30,000 in D.C. taxpayer funds was sentenced to 15 weekends in jail Friday. Published April 27, 2012
Major Obama ‘bundler’ nominated for Dutch ambassador’s post
D.C. lawyer Timothy Broas, who has funneled more money to the political campaigns of President Obama than nearly anyone else, last week was recommended by Mr. Obama as the next U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands. Published April 27, 2012
Gingrich campaign spending, records raise questions
As the presidential campaign of Newt Gingrich persevered despite no realistic prospect of victory, the former House speaker spent lavishly on the trappings of a more-successful, high-profile campaign, spending more on travel and security in March than Mitt Romney did, records show. Published April 26, 2012
Romney lags in smaller campaign donations
More people gave sizeable contributions to the foundering Republican presidential campaign of Rep. Ron Paul last month than to presumed nominee Mitt Romney, according to new disclosures that highlight the difficulty the former Massachusetts governor has had in motivating wide swaths of the party base. Published April 22, 2012
Decades-old law opened doors for big-money donors
Despite sentiment that court rulings in 2010 gave rise to revolutionized super PAC campaign financing, three-quarters of the $86 million in ads this election cycle could have been purchased under a little-noticed, decades-old law. Published April 12, 2012
Excess McCain campaign cash goes to charity
The dormant 2008 presidential apparatus of John McCain this year transferred nearly $9 million in old donations to an educational charity run by three major political supporters that bears the Arizona senator's name, filings showed Tuesday. Published April 11, 2012