Watchdog Bytes

U.S. government says its Energy Star program ruined by marketing games

[From Star-Telegram Watchdog columnist Dave Lieber]

Those Energy Star stickers you look for on high-dollar appliances, light bulbs and other products you buy? We were told they mean that we are buying products with efficient energy usage. Well, not so true anymore.

The Government Accountability Office has studied the program. Greg Kutz, managing director of GAO's Forensic Audits & Special Investigations, says the GAO set up four bogus companies to test the certification process. All four fake companies were accepted for Energy Star certification, a program run by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy.

Fifteen of 20 products submitted were approved.

"Some of the products took a matter of a few minutes" to certify, Kutz says. "Meaning, it's not clear whether human beings got involved or whether the system had certain edit checks and accepted the product. But certainly in a few minutes you can't do any validation.

What can be done.

Kutz says, "It is more of a self-certification process, so ifyou're going to call it a certification process, our view would be you need to have some sort of risk-based certification controls in place."

He concludes that "there's a little bit of a buyer beware behind this to make sure that you know that the products you're buying are what they say they are and not necessarily to pay a lot more for an Energy Star product unless you're certain that it truly is more efficient than the competitive product."

You can listen to the audio interview with Kutz on this subject here.

You can read more here.

###

Dave Lieber is The Watchdog columnist for the Star-Telegram. Read the latest Dave Lieber columns here.

At last, government wants to speak clearly

[From Star-Telegram Watchdog columnist Dave Lieber]

    The Texas Board of Education may have voted to cut Thomas Jefferson from a list of historical figures whose writings inspired the world, but that hasn't stopped another Texas government agency from showing its literary side.

    The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has sent out a press release worthy of the Paris Review.

    The first two paragraphs state:

    "In the heat of a bitter literary dustup, Ernest Hemingway once said, `[William] Faulkner thinks I don't know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and better words. Those are the ones I use.'

 

"

   "Nearly 70 years have passed since Hemingway delivered his famous smackdown of overwritten prose, but it's as relevant as ever to HHSC employees who are trying to make plain language a defining feature of all agency communications."

    Now, frankly, that's the best press release I've read in a long, long time.

    Smackdown? Overwritten prose? I think I'm in love.

    Then the news release gets serious. Turns out staff members are rewriting existing applications, letters, brochures, video scripts and Web content so that people can actually understand the words.

    Welcome to the "No-Jargon Zone" as the state health agency proclaims. "HHSC takes steps to clean up its language."

    This gets better.

    The statement describes a "less-is-more" philosophy.

    And better.

    "Telling people more than they need or want to know is something we are often guilty of," HHSC spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman says of government communicators. "Someone asks what time it is and we tell them how to build a watch. It's important to know when enough is enough."

    And better.

    "We aren't just talking about letters, brochures and forms. We want the idea of clear, direct communications to permeate the entire agency culture."

    Agency leaders say clients were confused about forms to fill out. Here's an example of what they are trying to do:

    The old form:

   "I authorize this individual to make or give any request or notice; to present or elicit evidence; to obtain information; and to receive any notice in connection with this Appeal or Complaint wholly in my stead."

   Became this:

    "I allow this person to do all of the following on my behalf for this complaint or appeal:

   - Make or give any request or notice

   - Present, gather or give up any information

   - Receive any notices or requests for more information"

    Here's how HHSC describes the success of that editing process:

    "Although the word count actually is higher in the plain-language rewrite, the new version communicates the key ideas far better. Most folks are clearer on the meaning of 'gather' than 'elicit.' Non-lawyers will appreciate the absence of stilted phrases such as 'wholly in my stead.' And no English majors will be offended by pointless capitalizations of words such as appeal and complaint."

    All true, but we can do even better. When you are The Watchdog columnist for the Star-Telegram, you are trained to take complex ideas and share them in a handful of words.

    I'd change it to:

    "I give this person permission during this process to represent me in the sharing of information in any and all manner as required to make my case."

    Boom.

    Or even better:

    "I give this person permission to represent me during this process."

    Bada-bing-bada-BOOM!

 

 

 

Read the latest Dave Lieber Watchdog column here. Contact Dave at watchdog@star-telegram.com.

Millions of stimulus dollars spent on screen doors, decorative fence, security cameras

The Fort Worth Housing Authority has spent or obligated about $2.4  million in stimulus money, including expenses such as $247,000 on screen doors, $109,000 on a decorative fence and $168,000 on security cameras.
  The money didn’t create any new employment, but housing authority officials said it enabled private companies to retain about 50 employees “that were in jeopardy of losing their jobs.”
By tying up the funding within a year, the authority and others across the state avoided allowing the feds to take back the money and redistribute it. (The man pictured left lived at a housing authority unit in 2000.)
That brings us to this week’s Watchdog’s Stimulus Report.
In Texas, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s awarded $118.3 million capital improvement funds.
Jobs created: 562.
Average spent per job: $210,000.
Public housing units given “Significant improvements”: 6,700
The stat blast comes as HUD announced that 351 Texas public housing authorities had successfully met the funding deadline outlined in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.
Of the money awarded nationally to 3,134 public housing authorities, $2.9 billion was been obligated and $3.2 million voluntarily returned.

-- Darren Barbee

Project	Contract	Amount	Status
Software & Hardware Updates	Various Companies	$380,941.00	98% Complete
Security Cameras at Butler, Hunter, Fair Park & Fair Oaks	911 Security Cameras	$60,948.40	Staging
Chiller Replacement at Fair Park	Hidalgo Industrial	$141,200.00	85% Complete
Cavile Security Cameras Installation	Wireless Evolutions.	$107,255.00	100% Complete
Fair Oaks HVAC Coil Replacement	DMI Corp.	$201,128.00	100% Complete
Fair Park Decorative Fence Replacement	Blagg Building Co.	$109,500.00	50% Complete
Fair Park Exterior Renovations	Blagg Building Co.	$105,000.00	98% Complete
Hunter Plaza Elevator Installation & Replacement. Change order added for a wheel chair lift at the garden area	Fujitec Elevator	$760,120.00	15%  On Hold
Cavile Electrical Upgrades	Lone Star Electric	$131,165.00	100% Complete
Pavement Repairs at Butler	Pavement Services	$46,622.00	Staging
Hand Rails at Butler	Rockin N Lamp Ranch	$42,000.00	Staging
Replace Domestic Water Boilers at Fair Park	Hidalgo	$28,700.00	100% Complete
Replace Heating Boilers at Fair Oaks	Hidalgo	$41,900.00	98% Complete
Screen Door replacement at Butler, Cavile and Fair Park	Olney Sales	$246,800.00	Staging
		$2,403,279.40	TOTAL

Child molesting doctor who kept medical license loses it the old fashion way: on a technicality

A child psychiatrist sex offender who molested a 10-year-old girl had his license temporarily suspended this month for the one thing the Texas Medical Board just won’t tolerate: not scheduling an appointment with your psychiatrist.

Warning: This gets a bit icky.

In about 2003, Dr. William Robert Olmsted’s children and their friend, a 10-year-old girl, were watching television. The children fell asleep. Olmsted took the girl in his lap, put his hands inside her pants and rubbed her private parts, kissed her head and licked her toes, according to a Texas Medical Board agreed order. (He told the girl not to tell her parents about the toe-licking.)

The girl made an outcry in September 2006 and also accused Olmsted of touching her breast. That December he was arrested by Dallas police and charged with indecency with a child, according to board documents.

In January 2009, he pleaded no contest to indecency with a child by contact and received a six years of adjudication, the board documents state. Under the terms of his plea, he had to register as a sex offender, keep 1,000 feet away from any premise where children under 17 gather and was hit with a $1,500 fine and 240 hours of community service.

Olmsted was then whipsawed by the medical board: he was reprimanded, had his medical license revoked, effectively had his medical license reinstated, was placed on probation for 10 years and received a punishing $5,000 fine. Thanks for looking out for the patients, medical board.

 

This came to us from a board spokeswoman after this item ran: "The 2009 agreed order protected the public by prohibiting Olmsted from seeing any children at all, essentially ending his child psychiatry practice. Undergoing a psychiatric evaluation was another condition of the 2009 order."

When Olmsted, 46, had his license suspended for really crossing the line. He failed to comply with a 2009 agreed order requiring him to submit to an independent psychiatric evaluation within 30 days of the appointment of the psychiatrist and to continue with any treatment recommended by the psychiatrist, according to a press release.

"He failed to schedule an appointment and/or meet with the psychiatrist, and failed to obtain an independent psychiatric evaluation," according to the medical board.

 Olmsted, who lives in Georgetown, could not be reached for comment.

-- Darren Barbee

North Texas Tollway Authority votes to lower fines ... somewhat

[From Star-Telegram Watchdog columnist Dave Lieber]

If you thought you might get a big break on those excessive fines you get on the North Texas Tollway Authority roads, you were wrong.

On March 24, the authority board voted 8-1 to keep the current system of steep penalties in place. Fines are reduced, but they won't be going away. Only Tarrant County representative Victor Vandergriff voted against the NTTA-supported proposal.

The good news: The $25 "administrative fee" is reduced to $8.33 per transaction if the invoice is paid before the invoice is sent to the collection agency.

Other changes: Motorists can pay with the ZipCash process....An "ombudsman" job is being created to "ensure consistency and fairness" in the collection process. Read the NTTA's report on the meeting here.

The changes come after drivers complained that small toll charges of a few dollars would turn into hundreds of dollars in added fines and fees when the initial charges are not paid. Many drivers say they never received the original bills in the mail.

The NTTA promises also to beef up its address database to do a better job of mailing bills to drivers who don't have TollTags.

If you have a complaint about the NTTA's policies, please write to me at watchdog@star-telegram.com and also send your letter to State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, who is investigating the NTTA's billing practices and collecting complaints from consumers.

The senator says she plans to look at NTTA operations during the 2011 legislative session. Her e-mail address is jane.nelson@senate.state.tx.us.

The best way for Texans to save money

[From Star-Telegram Watchdog columnist Dave Lieber}

What's the best and easiest way for you to save money?

Saving on your monthly electric bill, of course.

If you shop around, you can cut your bill by 35 percent or more.

But a lot of Texans don't really know how to shop for electricity. It's complicated.

But now the state of Texas, recognizing this crisis in many Texas households, has taken an active role in leading a much-needed campaign. The state always sponsored its www.PowertoChoose.org Web site. But now the Public Utility Commission of Texas has also released a new brochure to show Texans how to shop.

Here is the link to How to Shop for a Retail Electric Provider. The rest of the state's resource guides are here.

You really can slash your electric bills -- if you are not in a mandatory electric coop.

Please share this information with your family and friends.

Bard to the bone? Feds slap Austin's Shakespeare with $260,000 fine

A plague upon it when thieves cannot be true one to another!
(Not that Watchdog is calling anybody thieves here, we just like the quote.)
Still, the federal government seemed to think Steven Leigh Shakespeare of Austin and his company, Guardian Futures, were worthy of an anti-fraud action and accusations of unauthorized trading of customer accounts.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced this week it obtained $260,000 in penalties and relief against Shakespeare.
Orders of permanent injunction found that Shakespeare & Co. committed fraud and made misrepresentations and/or omissions of material fact and knowingly made unauthorized transactions in the accounts of Plains Grain Company, Inc. and Evans Grain Marketing LLC, held at futures commission merchant Alaron Trading Corp, according to the commission.
Oh well, as the Bard once said, All that glitters is not gold. ... Fare you well; your suit is cold.

-- Darren Barbee

Psychologist math: Five-mintue session plus a one-hour bill to Medicaid equals three-year prison term

A Waco licensed psychologist was sentenced to federal prison this month for health care fraud and money laundering. Example: On 16 occasions, she billed Medicaid for more hours than possible (in a single Earth day, anyway) and often more hours than her business was even open.
Mercy Chieza of Hewitt, will serve 37 months in the big house and also have to make restitution of $664,215 to the Texas Medicaid Program for a long list of crafty crimes, including billing for services on weekends and holidays when she was so far out of town she was in a different country.
Senior United States District Judge James R. Nowlin also ordered Chieza to serve three years of supervised release after she is released from prison.
Chieza was accused of other assorted fraudish naughtiness. Here’s a good one: Chieza would see a patient for a one-hour session, then tack on another hour for family therapy that was, in reality, only about five minutes of “information exchange” between a child and his or her guardian.
Chieza owned and operated Chieza Psychological Services in Waco. She pleaded guilty in December 2009 and admitted that from at least 1999 until October 2007, her scheme defrauded Medicaid by submitting multiple fraudulent billings; filing claims for services rendered that were not personally performed by Chieza and filing claims for services that were not provided at all. 

Chieza faced up to 10 years in prison on each count. She'll be out in three years, but Watchdog thinks they should bill her for six.

-- Darren Barbee

Speaking of Delaware, why do 63 percent of Fortune 500 companies incorporate there?

And now it’s time for a quick Watchdog Aside: Why Do Businesses Incorporate in Delaware?

More than 850,000 business entities have their legal home in Delaware including more than 50 percent of all U.S. publicly-traded companies and 63 percent of Fortune 500 companies.

As one Web site puts it, Delaware laws help companies that plan carefully avoid those pesky lawsuits. (Note:the picture to the right is not meant to represent a CEO but rather depict the spirit of "doing for others" in an era unencumbered by judges or juries.) 

“One of the best reasons for incorporating, or forming a Delaware limited liability company, is to separate your personal assets from your company’s assets. If you conduct business without using a corporation, or limited liability company, you place your assets at risk. Separating your personal property from your business property, and using a legal form such as a corporation, can help protect your personal property.”
To put a fine point on it: Delaware uses a Court of Chancery (est. 1792) that the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court said means that most Delaware corporations never find themselves involved in lawsuits.
And, by design, the Delaware General Corporation Law is an enabling statute intended to permit corporations and their shareholders the maximum flexibility in ordering their affairs. As such, it does not purport to be a code of conduct. Indeed, it is written with a bias against regulation.

By the way, the document Watchdog is quoting in this post is also available in Chinese.

Xie xie, Delaware.

-- Darren Barbee

Delaware company spent $9 million for bribes, paid $40 million fine, collected $176 million in contracts

A chemical company accused of bribing its way into contracts under the United Nations Oil for Food Program and other allegations will pay $40.2 million to get regulators in the United States and United Kingdom off its back.

In what the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission calls “widespread bribery of foreign government officials in Iraq and Indonesia” an investigation uncovered $9.2 million in pay offs to state-owned refineries and oil companies.

The contracts that Innospec Inc. obtained in exchange for the bribes were worth about $176 million. The SEC  also said Innospec routinely paid millions of dollars in secret sweeteners to sustain its sales.
The company agreed to pay the global settlement to the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office.
Innospec, by the way, is incorporated in Delaware.

-- Darren Barbee