Making Good on a Bad Deal
I wrote earlier about a newspaper investigation that found the organizers of the wildly popular Rock 'n' Roll franchise had made illegal charitable contributions to itself. That organization is now owned by the Competitor Group, which has since been paying for past misdeeds done by Elite Racing.
The full article is here.
And here's an excerpt:
I'm not sure if other cities are looking into Elite Racing's activities, but they should. And we, as consumers, should be careful where we spend our money. These races are often outrageously expensive, and we deserve to know where the fees go - particularly if a for-profit organizer claims it's doing this in the name of charity.
The full article is here.
And here's an excerpt:
Organizers of the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon sent about $212,000 to the city and county Monday, reimbursing taxpayers for inappropriate discounts and payouts received over the past decade.
Race officials mailed refund checks for $173,000 to the county and about $39,000 to the city of San Diego Monday, the last of a series of payments.
In all, the Competitor Group has returned $344,176 in public funds since The San Diego Union-Tribune reported in February that the private business profited off the marathon while receiving thousands of dollars in discounted police services and county grants through an affiliated foundation.
I'm not sure if other cities are looking into Elite Racing's activities, but they should. And we, as consumers, should be careful where we spend our money. These races are often outrageously expensive, and we deserve to know where the fees go - particularly if a for-profit organizer claims it's doing this in the name of charity.
