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OGD: Transportation's tire rankings posted on Data.gov
By Bill Allison Jan 22, 2010 4:23 p.m.It hasn't been officially branded a high value data set by the Dept. of Transportation yet, but the Uniform Tire Quality Grading System, which provides results on federally mandated tests done on tires by manufacturers to check for things like traction performance and tread wear, is on Data.gov now. (A number of stories have mentioned it though, including this one.)
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OGD: Labor releases open government page
By Anupama Narayanswamy Jan 22, 2010 3:34 p.m.The Department of Labor is one of the few agencies that has its "/open" page up and running as part of the Open Government Directive. One of the datasets they have featured as a high value dataset is the "weekly reports of fatalities, catastrophes and other events." The data, compiled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, briefly describes workplace accidents, identifies the company at which and the date when the accident occurred; the data can be downloaded as a csv file. Although this dataset is available on Labor's Web site, it doesnt seem to be uploaded on the data.gov Web site yet.
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We're tracking the open government directive
By Bill Allison Jan 22, 2010 10:02 a.m.Today, federal agencies are releasing three high-value data sets to comply with the Obama administration's open government directive (in fact, some of those datasets are already online). The Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group will be spending some quality time looking at each agency's "high value" data sets, describing what's there, what the formats are, how easy they are to download and use, and their potential newsworthiness. We'll also note whether the data is new, improved, or simply re-released.
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48 hours = six days?
By Luke Rosiak Jan 20, 2010 10:24 a.m.Disclosure of campaign contributions and expenditures hold candidates accountable -- but after the votes are in, it's often too late for the scrutiny of watchdogs (and opponents) to make a difference. That's why in addition to quarterly reports, candidates must report large contributions made in the final days of the campaign within 48 hours of receiving them.
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Database used to track contractor fraud poorly managed, filled with inaccuracies
By Anupama Narayanswamy Jan 14, 2010 1:03 p.m.Congressional watchdogs have often criticized the online tool maintained by the General Services Administration to prevent the award of federal funds to banned individuals and companies. A Sunlight Reporting Group review of the sites data finds that it continues to be badly maintained, with rampant problems including omissions, inaccuracies and other data quality issues.
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FDA's transparency effort has new features, old content
By Nancy Watzman Jan 12, 2010 6:26 p.m.Hot off the cyber-presses is this new Web site section from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), designed to tell us viewers what the agency does and how it does it, in plain and simple language. The agency says this is its first step in its transparency initiative, and that it represents its response to comments from the public, which wants "basic information about the agency in a user-friendly, accessible format."
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Chiropractics lobbied for special student loans, defaulted in droves
By Luke Rosiak Jan 12, 2010 11:01 a.m.The chiropractic industry counted a win after it successfully lobbied for inclusion in a federal student loan program for those studying health-related professions. Decades later, though, significant numbers of chiropractors have defaulted on their loans, leaving Uncle Sam to make up the difference.
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OOIDA spells it out
By Bill Allison Jan 9, 2010 10:24 p.m.The Real Time ticker kicked out this new filing with the Federal Election Committee--the OOIDA PAC, which stands for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Political Action Committee. I googled "OOIDA" and found the group's Web site -- it's a remarkable model of candor:
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TARP Money Funds More Politically-Savvy Banks
By Aisha Qidwae Jan 7, 2010 2:30 p.m.Under-performing banks that are politically connected received more bailout funds, according to a study by the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.
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Remembering Dodd in headlines
By Bill Allison Jan 6, 2010 7:23 p.m.Considering the year Sen. Chris Dodd had in 2009, it's perhaps not all that surprising he's stepping down from the Senate. Some headlines--most from Connecticut news organizations--quickly culled from Lexis-Nexis, remind one of the importance of the press in covering Congress, and that informed voters are really the only ethics committee that Congress needs:
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A new year, a new look and a new URL: Reporting.SunlightFoundation.com
By Luke Rosiak Jan 6, 2010 2:02 p.m.Nearly three years after the Sunlight Foundation's Bill Allison and Anupama Narayanswamy began sleuthing for the Real Time Investigations blog, we're unveiling a new look, a new name--the Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group--and a new Web address: Reporting.SunlightFoundation.com. Old links should still work, but you're encouraged to update your bookmarks and tell your friends!
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Texas politico rapidly rises to No. 1 overall donor, now No. 1 bundler
By Luke Rosiak Jan 6, 2010 1:52 p.m.What does the single largest donor in federal politics do when the maximum allowed by law just isn't enough? He collects contributions from others, becoming the single biggest bundler. What won't surprise you is that the person in question is a lobbyist. But what might surprise you is that he's based in Texas, and chances are good you've never heard of him.
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FDA Holds Back Information on 9 of the 25 Most Prescribed Drugs
By Nancy Watzman Jan 6, 2010 10:17 a.m.When your doctor makes a decision about which popular prescription drug to give youwhether you're suffering from high cholesterol, asthma, ulcers, or some other common ailmentit's quite likely that he or she lacks easy access to basic research data about the drug.
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Who gets excluded from Medicare?
By Bill Allison Jan 4, 2010 6:20 p.m.The Office of Inspector of the Dept. of Health and Human Services maintains a database of people and organizations excluded from receiving payments from Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health programs. The LEIE--List of Excluded Individuals and Entities--includes individuals excluded for everything from failing to pay off student loans to physically abusing patients to fraud (a complete table of offenses is listed here).
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