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The Sunlight Foundation was founded in 2006 with the goal of using technology to enable citizens to learn more about what their elected representatives are doing, to help reduce corruption, ensure greater transparency and... [more]
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Alaska
Former Murkowski aide admits conspiracy guilt
Written by Paul Blumenthal on March 4, 2008 - 11:13am.
Read more: Alaska | Frank Murkowski | Jim McCrery | VECO (see all terms)
Read more: Alaska | Frank Murkowski | Jim McCrery | VECO (see all terms)
Source Name
Alaska Daily News
Snippit
The federal corruption investigation reached into the office of former Gov. Frank Murkowski on Monday when his chief of staff, Jim Clark, agreed to plead guilty to a felony conspiracy charge involving the defunct oil-field company Veco.
Alaska delegation promises to publicize every earmark
Written by Paul Blumenthal on March 3, 2008 - 1:31pm.
Read more: Alaska | Don Young | Earmarks | Lisa Murkowski | Ted Stevens | Transparency (see all terms)
Read more: Alaska | Don Young | Earmarks | Lisa Murkowski | Ted Stevens | Transparency (see all terms)
Source Name
McClatchy
Snippit
Citing a new era of "sunlight and transparency," Alaska's congressional delegation will begin disclosing every request from the state for specially earmarked federal money. A $20 million earmark sought by the Mat-Su Borough for a ferry project? A $15 million allocation for dredging in the Port of Anchorage? $1.6 million for National Weather Service data buoys in Alaska?
Lots Sunshine in Alaska
From Jacob Wiens at POGO:
This week, the state of Alaska launched a website that tracks every state expenditure of over one thousand dollars, as reported on today's NPR Morning Edition. This makes Alaska the tenth state government to provide such a service to its taxpayers. On a side note, Alaska also has the lowest individual tax burden of any state in the U.S.Alaska calls its website "Checkbook Online." According to the state, this service "...is part of a national trend for governments to develop websites that allow constituents to view financial information in searchable formats. Such websites are widely considered to improve transparency into the financial operations of government."
Written by Ellen Miller on February 7, 2008 - 6:16pm.
Read more: Alaska | POGO | Sunlight Foundation | Transparency (see all terms)
Congressional earmarks lose luster for Alaska
Written by Paul Blumenthal on December 10, 2007 - 11:48am.
Read more: Alaska | Earmarks (see all terms)
Read more: Alaska | Earmarks (see all terms)
Source Name
Alaska Daily News
Snippit
The Palin administration, citing a need to improve the state's credibility, plans to ask Alaska's congressional delegation for far fewer earmarks in the coming year.
Alaska corruption scares off energy company
Written by Paul Blumenthal on December 4, 2007 - 10:15am.
Read more: Alaska | Alaska Ethics Investigations | Corruption | VECO (see all terms)
Read more: Alaska | Alaska Ethics Investigations | Corruption | VECO (see all terms)
Source Name
Alaska Daily News
Snippit
A major Midwest energy company cites Alaska's political corruption scandal for its unexpected decision not to submit a natural gas pipeline application.
Oil, Politics, & Bribes
Last Friday, PBS' NOW with David Brancaccio covered the VECO Alaska oil corruption scandal. If you're new to the scandal that has enveloped these non-continental politicians and is creeping up on Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young this video is the place to start. Below is a 6 minute clip from the full video. Watch the full video here.
Written by Paul Blumenthal on November 27, 2007 - 12:52pm.
Read more: Alaska | Alaska Ethics Investigations | Bill Allen | Don Young | Ted Stevens | VECO (see all terms)
Golf Tournaments Eyed in Corruption Case
Written by Paul Blumenthal on November 15, 2007 - 11:04am.
Read more: Alaska | Alaska Ethics Investigations | Don Young | VECO (see all terms)
Read more: Alaska | Alaska Ethics Investigations | Don Young | VECO (see all terms)
Source Name
AP
Snippit
The Justice Department is investigating whether an Alaska oil contractor used golf tournaments to funnel cash to Rep. Don Young, people close to the corruption investigation said.
'I'll Sell My Soul to the Devil'
Written by Paul Blumenthal on November 13, 2007 - 11:28am.
Read more: Alaska | Alaska Ethics Investigations | Bill Allen | Don Young | Ted Stevens | VECO (see all terms)
Read more: Alaska | Alaska Ethics Investigations | Bill Allen | Don Young | Ted Stevens | VECO (see all terms)
Source Name
Washington Post
Snippit
When the FBI came looking for corruption in Alaska politics, it found an excellent perch in Suite 604 of the Baranof Hotel in Juneau, the state capital. There, a profane septuagenarian named Bill Allen did business throughout a 2006 special session called to set taxes on the oil industry. With hundred-dollar bills in his front pocket for ease of access when lawmakers turned up with their hands out, the oil-services company executive turned in a bravura performance before the pinhole camera that federal agents installed opposite his favorite chair.
Stevens "Blackmail" in VECO Case
Former VECO CEO Bill Allen was on the stand today in the trial of Alaska state Rep. Vic Kohring and testified that his own cousin attempted to blackmail him over VECO's work on Sen. Ted Stevens' Girdwood, Alaska home. The Alaska Daily News is covering the trial:
Kohring Lawyer John Henry Browne asked Veco founder Bill Allen about something that came up at the corruption trial last month of former state Rep. Pete Kott. It was regarding Allen’s nephew, Dave Anderson.
Anderson was blackmailing you and you threatened to kill him? Browne asked.
“I was not going to kill him, no,” Allen responded
But that’s the information the government had, wasn’t it? Browne asked.
Allen went back to a point he made a number of times during cross examination.
That’s just part of the story, Allen said. “You have to do the whole thing.”
Anyway, what was Anderson blackmailing him about? Browne asked.
“Ted Stevens’ house,” Allen anwered.
Written by Paul Blumenthal on October 29, 2007 - 4:50pm.
Read more: Alaska | Alaska Daily News | Alaska Ethics Investigations | Bill Allen | Ted Stevens | VECO | Vic Kohring (see all terms)
Local Sunlight
Keeping track of congressional information starts at the local level, and blogs do a great job of informing people about what is happening in their own backyard. I have been reading local blogs for quite a while and have been very impressed with the coverage on local ethics issues and congressional information. So I would like to highlight every week some blogs that do a great job covering issues that deal with transparency, ethics, and corruption.
Written by nisha thompson on August 21, 2007 - 11:25am.
Read more: Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Corruption | Earmarks | Georgia | Local Sunlight | New York | Sen. Stevens | South Carolina | State Blogs (see all terms)
Current Projects
Fortune 535 Running the numbers on congressional wealth
PublicMarkup.org An experiment to open bills to online, public review.
Where Are They Now? Former Congressional Staffers head through the Revolving Door on to K Street.
Punch Clock Map: Putting congressional transparency on the map
Earmark Watch: Bringing Citizen Oversight to Congressional Spending
Wiki the Vote: Giving constituents the ability to report on candidates running for the House and Senate
A word from our Sponsor
Ongoing Projects
Realtime Investigations: Follow along as Bill and Anu detail their investigative reporting adventures.
LOUIS is the beginning of a comprehensive, completely indexed and cross-referenced depository of federal documents.
The OpenHouse Project: Working to identify areas where Congress can open up and improve access to relevant and timely information.
OpenCongress: Bringing together official government information with news and blog coverage to give you the real story behind what's happening in Congress.
Past Projects
Visualizing Earmarks: Select Visualizations of 2005 OMB Earmark Data.
Mashup Congress and Win:
And the Winner is... Unfluence! We received more than a dozen entries to Sunlight's first Web 2.0 Mashup Contest.
Congressional Web Site Investigation:Employing citizen oversight to find out if we are getting our money’s worth from congressional Web sites.
Today's Ethics Watch
No money coming to Young’s legal defense: Alaska congressman Don Young (R) is having trouble getting contributions to his legal defense fund. A document filed with the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shows “no activity” since the fund was approved by the committee on Jan. 9. (The Hill)
Seats of Power: A Return to Skybox Lobbying?: Not long ago, lobbyists regularly entertained lawmakers and their aides in skyboxes at local sports arenas. But after a series of scandals on Capitol Hill, the law was changed to forbid congressional officials from accepting anything of value from lobbyists without repayment -- let alone the best seats in the house. (Washington Post)
Companies Start to Lift Veil on Political Spending: Ever wonder how much companies really spend to influence government through trade associations? Well, a few corporations are coming clean, or at least cleaner. (Washington Post)
Dems, GOP together nix Murtha earmark: Democrats and Republicans joined together to strip a pet project of Rep. John Murtha’s (D-Pa.) from the 2009 intelligence authorization bill — the same project Democrats defended last year. (The Hill)
NAPA launches collaboration Web site: If you’ve ever wished your federal agency could adopt wikis, use YouTube or delve into the virtual world but feared the security, technology and political barriers were too high to overcome, take heart. You’ve got supporters, and they have success stories. (NextGov)
Jefferson lawyers cite race case in change of venue request: Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) lawyers have asked a federal judge to reconsider a ruling denying a change of venue for his corruption trial. (The Hill)
Jefferson Tries New Argument: Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) has asked a federal court to use an international criminal law treaty to force the depositions of three people in Nigeria who have been implicated in corruption charges levied against him. (Roll Call)
Foreign Gifts Test Rules: Even as new ethics restrictions have made it difficult for Members and staff to accept gifts — aside from token baseball caps or T-shirts — one area remains where lawmakers and their staffs can collect trinkets more or less guilt-free: foreign travel. (Roll Call)
K St.’s ‘Max Out’ Crowd: The 20 top K Street donors this election cycle have handed federal candidates nearly $1.8 million in personal cash. The majority of that money, $1.3 million, has gone to help Democrats as the party in charge of Capitol Hill looks to expand its majority. (Roll Call)
Senator’s Ties to Real Estate Draw Criticism: He has made millions as a title insurance executive, landlord and real estate developer in this college town, where the economy, despite trouble nationwide, is still growing nicely. Now, as a United States senator, with the mortgage mess fueling a national economic slowdown, Richard C. Shelby has more say over the revamping of housing finance laws than almost anyone else in Congress. (New York Times)
Oil Lobby Reaches Out to Citizens Peeved at the Pump: Faced with a national outcry over the high price of gasoline and soaring profits for energy companies, the oil and gas industry is waging an unusually pricey campaign to burnish its image. (Washington Post)
[ More in the Archive ]
Seats of Power: A Return to Skybox Lobbying?: Not long ago, lobbyists regularly entertained lawmakers and their aides in skyboxes at local sports arenas. But after a series of scandals on Capitol Hill, the law was changed to forbid congressional officials from accepting anything of value from lobbyists without repayment -- let alone the best seats in the house. (Washington Post)
Companies Start to Lift Veil on Political Spending: Ever wonder how much companies really spend to influence government through trade associations? Well, a few corporations are coming clean, or at least cleaner. (Washington Post)
Dems, GOP together nix Murtha earmark: Democrats and Republicans joined together to strip a pet project of Rep. John Murtha’s (D-Pa.) from the 2009 intelligence authorization bill — the same project Democrats defended last year. (The Hill)
NAPA launches collaboration Web site: If you’ve ever wished your federal agency could adopt wikis, use YouTube or delve into the virtual world but feared the security, technology and political barriers were too high to overcome, take heart. You’ve got supporters, and they have success stories. (NextGov)
Jefferson lawyers cite race case in change of venue request: Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) lawyers have asked a federal judge to reconsider a ruling denying a change of venue for his corruption trial. (The Hill)
Jefferson Tries New Argument: Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) has asked a federal court to use an international criminal law treaty to force the depositions of three people in Nigeria who have been implicated in corruption charges levied against him. (Roll Call)
Foreign Gifts Test Rules: Even as new ethics restrictions have made it difficult for Members and staff to accept gifts — aside from token baseball caps or T-shirts — one area remains where lawmakers and their staffs can collect trinkets more or less guilt-free: foreign travel. (Roll Call)
K St.’s ‘Max Out’ Crowd: The 20 top K Street donors this election cycle have handed federal candidates nearly $1.8 million in personal cash. The majority of that money, $1.3 million, has gone to help Democrats as the party in charge of Capitol Hill looks to expand its majority. (Roll Call)
Senator’s Ties to Real Estate Draw Criticism: He has made millions as a title insurance executive, landlord and real estate developer in this college town, where the economy, despite trouble nationwide, is still growing nicely. Now, as a United States senator, with the mortgage mess fueling a national economic slowdown, Richard C. Shelby has more say over the revamping of housing finance laws than almost anyone else in Congress. (New York Times)
Oil Lobby Reaches Out to Citizens Peeved at the Pump: Faced with a national outcry over the high price of gasoline and soaring profits for energy companies, the oil and gas industry is waging an unusually pricey campaign to burnish its image. (Washington Post)
[ More in the Archive ]