December 2016 - Checks and Balances Project

Who Is Investigating Questions about Professor O’Neill’s Ethics?

2016-12-29

Our reporting has found strong evidence indicating Penn State Professor John W. O’Neill is using his position at the School of Hospitality Management to bolster his consulting practice and credibility of his hotel lobby-funded research. If true, this would violate the university’s ethics standards. So, we were encouraged to learn via a Dec. 17 Centre Daily Times… Read more »

Coast Guard Still Searching for Records of “Study” that Undermines Offshore Wind Energy

2016-12-28

Over the past 10 months, we have uncovered the shipping lobby’s influence in the Coast Guard’s offshore wind energy study, known as the Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study (ACPARS), which was charged with balancing shipping navigation safety with the development of an offshore wind industry. Our reporting shows the study’s authors never visited an… Read more »

Questions About Penn State Professor O’Neill Referred to Ethics Office

2016-12-19

As state support for universities drops, there is a growing trend of corporate support in the form of specially designated departments, professorships, etc., often with alarming consequences.

Marriott’s Overseas Cash Pile Grows

2016-12-16

Will Hotel Lobby Giant Bring Money Home? The new, widely-popular, and more sustainable method of hospitality offered by home sharing is under attack by the hotel lobby. As we continue to examine the hotel lobby’s campaign, one giant of the industry keeps turning up. It’s the largest hotel chain in the world: Marriott International. Marriott… Read more »

2016-12-15

Romney as Audit Chair Saw Marriott Son of BOSS Shelter Defy IRS Bloomberg Pro By Jesse Drucker – Feb 23, 2012 12:01 AM ET Mitt Romney has long had close ties to hotel operator Marriott International Inc. (MAR) The candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, whose full name is Willard Mitt Romney, was named after… Read more »