Link:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.palin26oct26,0,3488403.storyGov. Sarah Palin's signature accomplishment - a contract to build a 1,715-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from Alaska to the Lower 48 - emerged from a flawed bidding process that narrowed the field to a company with ties to her administration, an Associated Press investigation shows...
Despite Palin's boast of a smart and fair bidding process, the AP found that her team crafted terms that favored a few independent pipeline companies and ultimately benefited the winner, TransCanada Corp.
And, contrary to the publicity, there's no guarantee that the pipeline will ever be built; at a minimum, any project is years away, as TransCanada must first overcome major financial and regulatory hurdles.
In interviews and a review of records, the AP found that:
• Instead of creating a process that would attract many potential builders, Palin slanted the terms away from an important group: the global energy giants that own the rights to the gas.
• Despite promises and legal guidance not to speak directly with potential bidders, Palin had meetings or phone conversations with nearly every major candidate, including TransCanada.
• The leader of Palin's pipeline team had been a partner at a lobbying firm, where she worked on behalf of a TransCanada subsidiary.
• Under a different set of rules four years earlier, TransCanada had offered to build the pipeline without a state subsidy; under Palin, the company could receive a maximum $500 million.
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