Chicago Cubs were MLB’s biggest 2012 political giver

By   /  April 3, 2013  /  2012 General Election, Business, Elections, News, U.S. House of Represenatives, U.S. Senate, Virginia  /  No Comments

KCNavy

By Carten Cordell │ Watchdog.org, Virginia Bureau
ALEXANDRIA — Major League Baseball’s 2013 season may be under way, but the Chicago Cubs have already claimed one championship: biggest political spender.
Chicago’s North side baseball franchise dropped $13.9 million in political contributions during the 2012 election season, the bulk of which came from owner Joe Ricketts.
The Cubs’ political [...]

Read More →

Malt Shop Rebellion: Restaurant defies wage law

By   /  February 21, 2013  /  Business, Economy, Featured, Local Government, New Mexico, News  /  4 Comments

MINIMUM WAGE REBELS: The owners of a malt shop in Albuquerque have defied paying the increased minimum wage to tipped employees, saying it will run them out of business.

Folk heroes to some, villains to others, the owners of the Route 66 Malt Shop in Albuquerque have refused to abide by the city’s recently adopted minimum wage ordinance.

The increase, they say, would bury their 18-year-old small business.

Read More →

Faltering Minnesota muni telecom dips into $210k of city streetlight funds

By   /  February 19, 2013  /  Business, City Government, Featured, Free Market, Local Government, Minnesota, News  /  No Comments

Fiber Optics

By Tom Steward | Watchdog.org Minnesota Bureau
MONTICELLO — First, the troubled FiberNet telecom network tapped nearly $4 million of city liquor funds to cover annual operating losses and debt service before suspending further bond payments last year.
Now Monticello officials are drawing down $210,000 from the city’s streetlight fund in an urgent attempt to upgrade the city-run [...]

Read More →

Lawmaker wants to sharpen ‘claw-back’ provisions in NM

By   /  February 13, 2013  /  Business, Featured, New Mexico, News, Uncategorized  /  No Comments

CLAWING BACK: New Mexico state Rep. Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, has introduced a bill that ensures that companies that receive enticements with taxpayer dollars must agree to claw back provisions. Photo courtesy of New Mexico Watchdog.

By Rob Nikolewski | New Mexico Watchdog
SANTA FE — Freshman state Rep. Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, says he wants to encourage business development.
But at the same time, companies that receive taxpayer money should pay if they fail to make good on their promises.
“I consider myself a pro-business guy, but at the same time we want to [...]

Read More →

Liquor privatization could mean new markets for PA wineries

By   /  February 7, 2013  /  Business, Capitalism, Featured, News, Pennsylvania, State Government  /  No Comments

BOTTLED UP: Pennsylvania wineries, like Tamanend Winery in Lancaster, could find new audiences for their products if the state system was privatized.

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — If Linda Jones McKee wants to sell a bottle of wine from Tamanend Winery at liquor stores in Maryland, she knows just what to do.
Call up a distributor, and make an appointment. Bring in some samples to find out what the distributor likes. If they’re interested, negotiate a price [...]

Read More →

Watchdog.org Virginia Bureau, is in no way affiliated with "The Virginia Watchdog". Any similarities between Watchdog.org Virginia Bureau and "The Virginia Watchdog" is completely coincidental and unintentional. Any inquiries into "The Virginia Watchdog" may be done through their site.