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Watchdog-Org

242 posts about Watchdog-Org, newest first.

Sep 28, 20153 min read

Erie consultant breaks the bad news: ‘The city is broke’

By Yaël Ossowski | September 25, 2015 | Watchdog.org The city of Erie is in desperate times, and a consultant hired to map a positive future isn’t optimistic. “The plan I am trying to write is a plan …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

Sep 17, 20153 min read

Erie’s 10-year ‘comprehensive plan’ consultants cost over $100,000

By Yaël Ossowski | September 18, 2015 | Watchdog.org Hoping to leap into the future, Erie will spend over $100,000 to pay consultants to draw up a 10-year comprehensive plan to revitalize the city and …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

Sep 14, 20153 min read

‘Vicious political campaigning’ backfired on MO unions

By Yaël Ossowski / September 15, 2015 / Watchdog.org They say it takes extraordinary circumstances to get ordinary people into politics. For Mary Hill, a registered nurse, that extraordinary moment …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

Sep 10, 20154 min read

Onetime supporter says ethics board devolved into ‘lapdog, not a watchdog’

By Yaël Ossowski | September 10th, 2015 | Watchdog.org The effort to reform politics in the city of Tallahassee in the form of an appointed board was not only undermined by mistakes but also devolved …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

Sep 7, 20153 min read

National ethics group broke state laws to acquire signatures

By Yaël Ossowski | September 1, 2015 | Watchdog.org Wherever it campaigns for political ethics reform, the activist group Represent.us seems plagued by legal and ethical challenges of its own. Earlier …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

Aug 31, 20154 min read

Anti-corruption group’s ethics boards face ethical problems

By Yaël Ossowski / August 31, 2015 / Watchdog.org Just eight months after it was created to eliminate corruption in local government, the Tallahassee Ethics Board seems to have ethics problems of its …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

Jul 30, 20153 min read

Western Pennsylvania school districts brought down by pension debt

By Yaël Ossowski / July 31, 2015 / Watchdog.org A frank assessment from Moody’s rating agency this week has given several Pennsylvania school districts sour financial notes, and western PA’s schools …

Yaël Ossowski

Pennsylvania

Watchdog.org

Jul 24, 20154 min read

Rand Paul’s ‘Economic Freedom Zone’ a fix for western PA?

By Yaël Ossowski | Watchdog.org Rand Paul wants troubled cities declared “Economic Freedom Zones,” with targeted tax cuts and reduced regulation to promote growth and spur jobs. So-called Economic …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

Jul 21, 20153 min read

Erie stocks up on prison gear after shootings, but leaves community without answers

By Yaël Ossowski | Watchdog.org In 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice awarded Erie, Penn., $600,000 to revitalize its crime-troubled Little Italy neighborhood, and another $300,000 to help combat …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

Jul 3, 20153 min read

Obama’s ‘girl power’ foreign policy boosts UN aid

By Yaël Ossowski | Watchdog.org The U.S. government’s ‘girl power’ foreign policy has been signed into law, boosting support for a UN aid project to empower girls in developing countries. Just last …

Yaël Ossowski

Obama

Watchdog.org

Jul 1, 20153 min read

Welfare program for laid-off workers doesn’t work; renewed anyway

By Yaël Ossowski | Watchdog.org A billion-dollar welfare program to help laid-off workers displaced by foreign competition has been saved from extinction, even though it’s been judged ineffective and …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

Jun 14, 20154 min read

Deval Patrick’s travel slush fund no longer secret

By Yaël Ossowski | Watchdog.org If your governor had a secret travel slush fund worth tens of millions of dollars used to jet set to Japan, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, wouldn’t you want to …

Yaël Ossowski

Deval-Patrick

Watchdog.org

Jun 1, 20154 min read

‘Another sad day for Connecticut’ as $2 billion tax hike set to pass

By Yaël Ossowski / June 1, 2015 / Watchdog.org He once promised to balance Connecticut’s books through spending cuts alone. Now Gov. Dannel Malloy says he’s ready to OK a nearly $2 billion tax …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

May 21, 20153 min read

At education summit, opponents protest success of charter schools in New Orleans

By Yaël Ossowski | Watchdog.org Charter schools in New Orleans have enjoyed growing popular support over the years, but at least one group is hoping to quell the praise for reforms. The Dignity in …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

May 13, 20153 min read

DISH CEO Charlie Ergen flooded GOP with cash while it held FCC

By Yaël Ossowski | Watchdog.org Anywhere the wind blows in politics, the money is sure to follow. As for DISH Network CEO Charles Ergen, a top political financier in the U.S. wireless broadcast game …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

May 11, 20153 min read

Charles Ergen dished cash to Dems to push FCC special treatment

By Yaël Ossowski / May 11, 2015 / Watchdog.org Dish Network founder and CEO Charles Ergen’s political giving reveals support for politicians who lobbied the Federal Communications Commission to …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

Apr 28, 20154 min read

Despite minority student success, charter school segregation narrative continues

By Yaël Ossowski / April 28, 2015 / Watchdog.org At the recent Education Writers Association national seminar in Chicago, a small breakout session asked the following question: Is school choice a tool …

Yaël Ossowski

Charter-School

Watchdog.org

Apr 21, 20153 min read

Duke researchers use race to attack charter schools

By Yaël Ossowski / April 21, 2015 / Watchdog.org There’s a puzzling charge being lobbed at charter schools in North Carolina by academic researchers: they’re reintroducing segregation. That’s the …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

Apr 21, 20152 min read

Advocates claim NC charter school segregation report ‘false and disingenuous’

By Yaël Ossowski / April 21, 2015 / Watchdog.org The charter school community in North Carolina is rising up against a study put together by Duke University scholars that argues charter school …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org

Apr 16, 20153 min read

New Orleans charter schools bring fresh air to devastated city

By Yaël Ossowski / April 16, 2015 / Watchdog.org After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans charter schools are giving students more hope for academic success than their peers, the latest …

Yaël Ossowski

Watchdog.org