2017 - Checks and Balances Project

C&BP Calls Upon Florida International University and American Hotel & Lodging Assn. to Release Grant Application Records for $68K Study

2017-07-20

Checks and Balances Project (C&BP) today called upon Florida International University (FIU) to immediately release both the initial and final grant applications to help to erase any question of the integrity of FIU research funded by the hotel lobby. The request includes all communications and documents relating to a grant proposal that resulted in a… Read more »

Realtor Lobbyist Denies Fix Is In For Bakersfield City Council Vote to Kill Homeowners Program

2017-07-19

We had the opportunity to talk with realtors lobbyist Kim Schaefer today on KERN AM Radio. Previously, Ms. Schaefer had privately claimed that her organization was promised votes by local elected officials to kill the popular home improvement financing program (PACE) in exchange for political cover. You can see her claim here: If true,… Read more »

Checks and Balances Project Demands Kern County Board of Supervisors Cure and Correct anti-PACE Program Vote

2017-07-18

Checks and Balances Project demanded answers to possible illegal contact by members of the Kern County Board of Supervisors with the realtor’s lobby before the Board killed a popular program that homeowners use to finance energy efficiency, renewable energy and seismic improvements.

Why Did California Realtors Do an About Face on PACE?

2017-07-11

Checks and Balances Project received a reader tip in May alleging the California Association of REALTORS (C.A.R.) has subjected Bakersfield, California, among other localities, to an intense anti-PACE campaign. PACE or Property Assessed Clean Energy programs provide homeowners in California, Missouri and Florida with upfront financing for energy efficient and renewable energy improvements to their… Read more »

Hotel Lobby Expands Pay-to-Play Research Campaign to Florida International University

2017-07-11

Purpose is to buttress testimonial campaign to undermine home-sharing in South Florida Last October, Checks and Balances began investigating the university-corporate partnership between Penn State University and the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), the primary lobbying arm of the hotel lobby. In April, we expanded our inquiry to three additional universities, including Florida International… Read more »

Koch Brothers Growing Control Extends to 16 Federal Departments

2017-07-5

Behind the Scenes, Koch Strength Increases (For a printable version of this graphic, click HERE.) America is transfixed by the Trump circus. But with little notice, the Koch Brothers are getting stronger. Their decades-long quest to reorient the economic philosophy of the Republican Party and allied organizations to an extreme, anti-government Libertarian philosophy that benefits… Read more »

Penn State Stonewalling on Pay-to-Play Academics Hits 250-Day Mark

2017-06-28

For more than 250 days (roughly eight months), Penn State has been unable or unwilling to answer basic questions on how Professor John O’Neill’s pay-to-play research by meets University ethics guidelines.

New Documents Raise Question of What Role Hotel Lobby’s Chair Played in Penn State Pay-to-Play Scheme

2017-06-23

Recently uncovered documents from the hotel lobby show that Penn State Professor John W. O’Neill was hired for pay-to-play academic research. According to the briefing book American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) provided in 2014 to a meeting of its board of directors, the Professor was engaged to come up with a study with a… Read more »

2017-06-20

Kochs Grow Stronger: Why It Matters (For a printable version of this graphic, click HERE.) While people are focused on President Trump, day-by-day, with little notice, the Koch Brothers are getting stronger. And their deep ties to Vice President Mike Pence are paying off. David Koch has demonstrated his appreciation of Pence by giving him… Read more »

Bakersfield CA Councilmember Bob Smith Subject of Public Records Inquiry

2017-06-14

A Local Spotlight on the National Effort to Undermine Property Assessed Clean Energy Recent reports have called our attention to what appears to be a coordinated attack on Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE). PACE allows homeowners to finance residential and commercial energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, as well as hurricane-mitigation and other improvements, through… Read more »

Yearly Archives: 2017