The recent bribery conviction of a California businessman, found guilty of paying inducements to a campus police chief in exchange for automobile towing referrals, highlights just how much money is at stake in the wrecker business -- and how closely it needs watching.According to trial testimony, Morgan McComas of Pirot Towing in San Jacinto, Calif., gave gifts -- including free rims for a personal pickup truck -- to the then-head of the Mount San Jacinto College Police Department to induce the chief to steer business to the Pirot firm.
Tag: Transparency Tuesday
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Are college sports really a cash cow? More like a cash tapeworm.
College athletics are perceived as a cash cow, a profit center for Division I schools that justifies the substantial image risk that many schools incur by enrolling "students" of dubious academic merit, and by associating themselves with the sports agents and high-rolling boosters who are drawn to college athletes like flies.The numbers, however, often tell a different story. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that most college athletic programs in Ohio -- with one notable exception: Ohio State -- are not financially self-sustaining from ticket sales, merchandise royalties and other self-generated revenues.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: The “open investigation” that never closes, a frustrating FOI loophole
A few weeks ago, a vigilant reporter for George Mason University's Broadside newspaper picked up on a one-line entry in a police blotter that turned out to be national news.The blotter wasn't very informative -- a suspect's name, a criminal charge, the location of the jail.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: For teaching hospitals, a dose of sunshine is just what the doctor ordered
Anyone who spends billions of dollars in taxpayer money needs watching. People who are convinced they are spending the taxpayers' billions doing the Lord's work saving lives need extra-close watching, because they are able to convince themselves that any amount of corner-cutting is justified by the importance of their mission.America's teaching hospitals owe their existence to government subsidies -- directly, to the tune of $10.9 billion a year from Medicare to subsidize medical education, and indirectly, to the largesse of the colleges that host them, receiving everything from free land to subsidized insurance to participation in state retirement plans.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: “Texting while legislating” is dangerous — and maybe illegal, too
Ever go to a museum of modern art, or an avant-garde film festival, and have the feeling that there's something going on beneath the surface that you're just not getting?Some government meetings are like that, too.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: The hand that feeds you is sometimes begging for a good biting
Few services that schools and colleges offer have as much gut-level impact -- literally -- as campus dining.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Get dialed into what’s behind the sale of your college radio station
From Boise to Sioux Falls, student-run college radio stations are going on the auction block, a casualty of tight campus budgets that at times is rationalized by reference to declining listenership and the availability of online-only broadcasting alternatives.If your college radio station gets sold without advance warning -- especially if you are at a state institution that must obey public-records laws -- then it's time to go into document-gathering mode.First, find out whether your state has a law governing colleges and universities that requires competitive bidding before valuable state assets, such as the license and equipment of a radio station, are sold.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Who’s throwing a fiesta at taxpayer expense? FOI tips for covering the college bowl game.
It's college football season again, and the start of competition should also be the kickoff for sports journalists to start asking questions about the business side of major college sports.In Arizona, the Fiesta Bowl -- one of four major bowls that alternate hosting college football's Division I national championship -- is facing tough questions about its finances thanks to some aggressive public-records crunching by the Arizona Republic newspaper.Bowl organizers already were under scrutiny by Arizona's attorney general, who is looking at whether the bowl's organizing committee broke any laws by spending money on expensive gifts and entertainment for VIP's and on campaign contributions.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Is your school passing or flunking? Accreditation reports grade the graders.
At least once a decade, virtually every degree-granting college -- public or private -- goes through the equivalent of a full-body MRI scan: Accreditation by a regional nonprofit inspection team.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: School, college legal bills can reveal more than just attorneys’ fees
People enjoy bashing lawyers for the handsome hourly rates they charge, and stories about how much government agencies spend on legal fees can give the lawyer-bashers endless hours of "$250 an hour for WHAT?" enjoyment.