Let's Get Honest! Absolutely Uncommon Analysis of Family & Conciliation Courts' Operations, Practices, & History

This post was promised earlier in a sort of mini-series of posts published in early May, 2019. It has been referenced in some of them.  Here’s that follow-through.

What’s ARKANSAS** got to do with H.Con.Res.72? (Passed 2018, U.S. Congress Senses that State Courts Sorta Oughter Better Prioritize Child Safety in (and IMPROVE) Custody and Visitation Adjudications) (Published May 26, 2019]. ” (-9Ot)

My revision history shows last viewed or saved May 19, then May 1, except now (May 26) adding a PREFACE with (1) a short section with link to some my previous statements why I as a domestic violence and family court survivor (and mother) oppose H.Con.Res.72, and the people who have let Congress off so easily without exposing the networked interests in waging continued war against women and for men, classic “divide-and-conquer” methodology, to the point that no one, essentially, seems to be following the accounting trails, structured similarly, funding both sides of that “war.” (2) some connecting comments (that happen to relate to more recent examples I’ve seen) and (3) what I consider related, a section on BCCI, seeing as this topic includes a state where that played a key role in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s — and in who’s been U.S. Presidents since.

Today’s PREFACE is about one-quarter of the total post written almost a month earlier. At that time, I drilled down only until bogged down on the subject matter of the post title: “What’s ARKANSAS got to do with it?” Overall, not just in this region, the situation is disturbing and alarming.

What’s such a powerful person** with Clinton Administration connections (like his father) doing on the board of such a tiny nonprofit (and if the topic is that important, why is it so tiny — and why is its own website so incomplete? (Naming only one of two related entities that are obviously connected — as a look at tax returns quickly shows)…  [**Nelson Edward Peacock]. [<~~ that ‘Legistorm’ bio includes Congressional and Lobbyist Involvements, including for (I just noticed) “BSNF Railways” in 28 states and three Canadian provinces; just bought by, or became a subsidiary of, Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett) in 2010] What’s with the Wal-Mart heirs in that area seeking to regionalize it across the state border by way of the Urban Land Institute and other public/private projects which just cannot be tracked, really, although they certainly can be advertised.

In fact, what’s with Arkansas?

See my Sticky (now about 3rd from the top of this blog) post called:

Screenshot from my May 2, 2018 Sticky Post, screenshot of my section with reasons why I object to H.Con.Res.72. Annotated image to lower left shown nearby (for May 26, 2019 new post on Arkansas & H.Con.Res.72

In 2018, Clamors to Fix, Reform, or Make Kids Safe WITHIN Family Courts STILL (Abusively, Territorially, and Intentionally) Limit Possible Answers by Censoring Terms Admitting Other Historic Evidence — About The Courts (not “Batterers!”) AND Government Itself — while Coaching (even Certifying) Others to Imitate. (Published May 2, 2018) (shortlink-ending “-8Ly”)

On that link, for my take on this Resolution, scroll down (considerably) to a portion that looks like this: (see screenshot to right with two enclosed images.  I realize they’re too small to read; annotated image and its caption inset lower right also provided below-left, along with reasons (3) and (4) (in green) for my objections:

{Pls. Click Image to Enlarge if needed} HouseResolutn72@Congress’gov (115thCongress, Bill Summary), with my indignant annotations. Proofreading Correctn to Top Comment: “politically viable” should be “politically VOLATILE.” (my “word-o”|uncorrected it reverses my intended meaning!). The pink underline (mid-image) should also cover “perpetrators” on following line, to the end of that sentence.

(3) Seeks to create more specialized professionals and pay or incentivize them with more public funds to detect and address abuse (see annotated image below).  As did the Family Court Enhancement Project already….

and,

(4) Continues an existing uniform, unilateral derailment of any purposeful consideration of the economics | built-in-by-design conflicts of interest typical of a typical family court jurisdiction.

And this PREFACE, which summarizes my sentiments and the difficulties of presenting this information to a public which has been (often) conditioned to respond more to the graphic/ photographic, big words, big pictures, bright colors, and a series of pre-fabricated, allocated across party line acceptable issues to debate and protest in public.  No one, particularly, is protesting that constant “deficit” talk itself conceals just how much infrastructure and assets all government entities (federal, state, others) are completely controlled by the United States of America — not by its own citizens.  (see “CAFR” concepts generally, or on this blog 2012ff).

Who cannot, citing mainstream media and the favored, or favorite-to-despise, “independent” (but still partisan) media, come up with a quick list of what is the progressive position on issues A,B,C,D, and probably E — as opposed to the conservative one?  Mostly, we can.

Now, who can tell a public entity from a private one and point a friend, or enemy, to where to look for its financials, and how to construct from  public records, some sort of chronology of the entity — and identify what might be a front operation– or even cause — from those records, or lack thereof?  When you see the spiderweb, what is likely to get trapped in it or concealed from it (like, the spider)?

When someone else starts talking about this, do your eyes start to glaze over, or does your mind wander?

When you, seeking to connect some basic, what should be simple, public funding dots, a funding trail to private organizations, instead see a maze, full of dead-ends, and with many of the components (tax returns) exhibiting signs of either incompetence, or “fixing/obscuring” exactly where that money went and was spent, then logically, who, with what kind of mentality or purpose, would be (or years ago, have been) constructing this type of maze, a landscape systematically littered with obstacles to normal, honest people knowing “where-the-_____” their local government employees are when protection is needed, and “where-the-_____” all the tax receipts over years of their working lives went, and continue to go?

The thing is — who even continues to look, overall, and for specific areas of interest?  The whole system discourages outside examination and defies comprehensive accountability while pretending to provide it.

Basic (il)literacy about accounting (public, private, and “public/private), about what, in fact, philanthropy does to the concept and practices of “accountability” and lack of interest in even learning to spot where and how accountability drops off, continues. Somehow it’s either deemed a waste of time, or just undervalued.  BUT,  to the extent children ARE unsafe because they are being trafficked — the purpose is for ongoing profit, just as it is for trafficking anything else.  

So what can in fact be more important, especially when systems fail to protect (or stop trafficking or worse, facilitate it), than following the money?  Especially where public resources, ongoing, are blended with private and neither, really, can be or is properly accounted for to the public?  

PREFACE:  BCCI in ARKANSAS (for example….)

USA map (detail) from Geology.com (map, 2007, viewed 2019). Arkansas is directly above Louisiana (the “L” shaped state), colored green in this map

Wikipedia “Arkansas” map inset showing state location in red

Why I’m including this:  Looking into the nonprofits which DO have something to do with H.Con.Res.72 (and Arkansas — and a few other nearby states), I ran across dead-end accountability, cross-continental connections, the Urban Land Institute, Northwest Arkansas/Oklahoma regionalization funded by Walmart heirs, involving bike paths and airport development, networked chambers of commerce, and press coverage of much of this which simply did not call companies by their right names.

MEANWHILE, COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS + DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ADVOCACY (Wisconsin) 

Between drafting this post in late April (first two days’ worth of it) and my blogging since, in the process of looking up to illustrate specialized terms such as “QIC” or “Coordinating Councils,” “Collaboratives” and “National Clearinghouses on [fill in the blank],” I found another DV organization (End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin) project website** showing backing of a “Greater Milwaukee Foundation” network whose financial statements seem to specialize in losing substantial millions of dollars investments (per their tax returns), while claiming to be delivering multi-millions of dollars ($32M, $56M, etc.) to grantees — but the tax returns either lack this information, or refuse to provide it in form visible to the naked human eye.

I found it shortly after starting a post to supplement “Women Judges….Funky-filing Nonprofits to run Fatherhood programs” (published May 25, 2019), and left a footprint/bookmark for the upcoming “(in an ideal world….)” post I’ve called:

The “clearinghouse” in question I’d never heard of — ever, and I follow DV organizations across the country, generally speaking, including through their name-changes, and some of the funding also.  I’ve posted on the CADV networks previously.  But I just hadn’t run across a “National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life.”  Perhaps because Wisconsin’s CADV was not one of the larger designated “resource centers” like “Futures without Violence” or the Family Violence Hotline (in Texas), or the groups in Minnesota (DAIP, “theDuluth Model) then “BWJP” (Battered Women’s Justice Project) not to mention Minnesota’s own version of the “CADV”), “PCADV” or even NCJFCJ, I hadn’t watched Wisconsin’s typically much smaller one too closely.  It’s a lot to watch(!).

But here was a website reflecting it, and claims it’s been funded and around since the early 1990s.

EndAbuseWI.org “Resources” page (beneath the Homicide Reports and Coalition Chronicles) has a short section of Annual Reports (but no Form 990s offered). Annual Reports sometimes are numbered to reflect “year-end” elsewhere, but when bothering to name a year’s report, why not attach it to the correct year? (“2014 Transformative Work in Progress” reports on Year 2013, not 2014).

(**End Abuse Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s Annual Report 2013, apparently uploaded in Nov. 2018? per its URL references it under “2014 Transformative Work in Progress”  (next two images).

The website is poorly organized; its Annual Reports (in fine print at the very bottom of “Resources” page) have titles.  However, State WDFI (business entity search) shows its recent name (formerly Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence) acquired in 2013.

EndAbuseWI.org Annual Report 2013 (labeled 2014) references NCALL (viewed/annotated May 27, 2019)

(Image gallery of EndAbuseWI (2) corporate records  and Greater Milwaukee Foundation (2) below has 4 in a row).

The “NCALL” which I just heard of yesterday, they claim is 20 years old — and was the project funded by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation: (from their “2018″ Annual Report which title references “NCALL”)

In the 1990s, End Domestic Abuse WI (End Abuse) became known nationally for its expertise on the issue of abuse in later life. WI became one of the first states to develop programming and resources specifically geared towards serving older abused adults. In 1999, End Abuse initiated the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL), a national training and education resource center focused on the very specific needs of older victims of familial domestic and sexual abuse.

Since its formation, NCALL has trained thousands of law enforcement, prosecutors, adult protective services workers, health care workers, and advocates throughout the United States and the US territories. NCALL also supports communities to develop coordinated responses to abuse in later life by assis ng them to develop policies and practices to identify elder victims and to respond appropriately. By creating videos featuring older survivors and subject matter experts, NCALL celebrates the strengths and resiliency of this population.

The same thing described on the website ‘NCALL.us‘ I’d run across from a basic word-search “National Clearinghouse” admits, at least, to it being a PROJECT (and not an entity) and funding from the Dept. of Aging, the USDOJ/OVW and what was then called simply The Milwaukee Foundation, and at least acknowledges that “EndAbuse” had a former name, and that it was in fact in response to interest by others including AARP– not its own initiative, and the original impetus was on older women who’d been (recent or long ago, not mentioned) battered by their spouses, not “Abuse in Later Life” generally speaking.

In 1990, the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV) (now End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence), was funded by the Milwaukee Foundation to create a report based on interviews with 21 older women who had been abused by their spouses/partners. As a result of this project, in 1992 Bonnie Brandl was invited to participate on a national panel sponsored by AARP that focused on older battered women.

In 1993, WCADV worked with AARP to create a paper on older battered women and a small resource guide of existing programs. In 1994-1996, WCADV was one of six national demonstration projects funded by the Administration on Aging to create training curricula and provide technical assistance on working with victims of abuse in later life. During 1996-1999, the results of this project were disseminated throughout the country while the statewide work in Wisconsin— at the intersection of domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse — continued.

{{Quote continued after these next comments//LGH}}

The funding centralizing control of federal response to DV nationwide into legislatively mandated special resource centers AND (with lower levels of funding) Statewide Coalitions (such as WCADV) had been in place since 1984.  The years 1994-1996 represent, during President Clinton’s White House Administration (i.e., during his Presidency) a battle was being waged across Democrat/Republican party lines around welfare (i.e., “PRWORA” was being passed) as fathers’ rights groups gained political ground.  I know little so far about the Administration on Aging (it hasn’t come up yet), but I do know that most statewide coalitions are not independent actors.

If they want their funding to continue, they do not report on the funding streaming to father-focused systems change — through HHS and DOJ.  WCADV if it had been run by more independent personalities instead of “go with the flow — who’s got the money?” leadership (capable of or diligent enough to fill out tax returns properly, which, as I’ve recently seen them, I’ll say, this group doesn’t) might have mentioned the Wisconsin presence of the AFCC (Association of Family and Conciliation Courts) and paid some attention to it, or connected the dots between one of their own board members (currently) who’s also on the board of a known fathers’ rights nonprofit with historic connections to U Wisconsin Madison’s “IRP” (Institute for Research on Poverty), etc.

Quote from NCALL.us, “About Us” Page (although it’s not an “US” but an “it”), cont’d.

In 1999, the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence created the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL) with funding from the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). Since 2002, NCALL has been providing technical assistance to OVW’s Enhanced Training and Services to End Abuse in Later Life Program. Today, NCALL is a nationally-recognized leader and comprehensive resource center focusing on program development, policy, technical assistance, and training that addresses the nexus between domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation

The NCALL.us website has more information and a few pdfs on its position as “technical consultant” to national grants of $38.4 million since 2006 (I see now!).  The description continues to refer to NCALL as an entity doing things, and only fine-printing notation (on some of the pdfs) that it’s in fact a project.

Too bad the USDOJ (last I looked, and I’ve looked periodically over many years) doesn’t provide any fully-functional database of its own grantees, by “functional” I mean — in one place with enough fields to sort and select, and for users to gain some sort of overview on who’s running the various fields it supports, with concrete searchable terms to actually get to the amounts donate, on which dates, etc. as the USDHHS at least makes a good-faith (?) effort to pretend to do!

Finding a grant on a Greater Milwaukee Foundation (or “Milwaukee Foundation” if much older) tax return TO the Wisconsin CADV (and whether they are continuing to fund such causes more recently) shouldn’t require surgical investigative skills and a magnifying glass plus a few days of dedicated surveying the landscape.  That’s BASIC information Forms 990 are supposed to provide, at least those donating direct to other 501©s.

… ALL I’d wanted to do was connect (see) the claimed sponsorship the Wisconsin-based DV organization said came from the Milwaukee one (assets now pushing $750 million, i.e. ¾ billion).

This “take it on faith” routine is getting a little old. Somehow between 2014- and 2015 the (larger) foundation suddenly recorded, on their tax returns, $100M more contributions (than the usual $20-$30M), and the very next year, lost a substantial amount of this.  Meanwhile, separately, a “Holding Company” (related entity) was specializing in LOSING value on behalf of the organization it was supposedly supporting, starting precisely one year before the 2007 recession. I.e., It received $470K in a RE transaction, sold it the next year for a substantial loss.  In FY2017, some accounts started showing up (for the first time, on those tax returns) in the Cayman Islands, Jersey, the UK.

I wonder who keeps getting the “upside” of all those assets for philanthropies sold at a loss.  …The public website to the community foundation doesn’t provide records as far back as 2014: only 2015 (and those, again, do not present their actual grantees visibly — in 9pt font or larger — or in any way a normal person could scan the list for organizations of interest, much less for a general overview).  Nor does their on-line “look-up show anything remotely comparable or comprehensive.

(END, mini-section “COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS + DV ADVOCACY (Wisconsin), expanded post-publication”

Then people want to know why institutions or organizations named after addressing problems in a favorite issue (cause) area don’t ever seem to successfully get to the bottom of them — or at times even address them.  JUST POSSIBLY they were not put there for that purpose in the first place! 

Impenetrable mazes of non-accountability is only a problem for people seeking accountability.  It’s no problem at all for those seeking to hide influence, pay bribes, or set up evasive, networked relationships to launder money obtained illegally under some respectably framed business (including nonprofit-businesses organized for advocacy) purpose. The evasion possibility is built into the DNA of the tax-exempt system.  Add to this mega-dollars in the form of institutional (pension, state agency, etc.)) funds and control of their investments and you can see what a major temptation for the wrong personality types these are.

Do yourself a favor, if unfamiliar with the BCCI (Bank of Credit and Commerce International) saga, also colloquially called the “Bank of Crooks and Criminals International.”

This “follow the money” presentation is from AFPN (who I don’t follow), but it puts names, dates, and basic understanding to the general concept, i.e. impenetrable, spider-like structures, functioning in areas outside government regulation and (where not doing so) bribing regulator and other officials…

I am seeing this in the tax-exempt sector. I’ve seen it in the DV sector as controlled regionally and state-wide both.  I’ve seen it in the fatherhood-promoting sector; it is very much as standard part of the USA today. That’s a problem!

Bank of Credit and Commerce International)

BCCI’s unique criminal structure — an elaborate corporate spider-web with BCCI’s founder, Agha Hasan Abedi and his assistant, Swaleh Naqvi, in the middle — was an essential component of its spectacular growth, and a guarantee of its eventual collapse. The structure was conceived by Abedi and managed by Naqvi for the specific purpose of evading regulation or control by governments. It functioned to frustrate the full understanding of BCCI’s operations by anyone.  …

Unlike any ordinary bank, BCCI was from its earliest days made up of multiplying layers of entities, related to one another through an impenetrable series of holding companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, banks-within-banks, insider dealings and nominee relationships. By fracturing corporate structure, record keeping, regulatory review, and audits, the complex BCCI family of entities created by Abedi was able to evade ordinary legal restrictions on the movement of capital and goods as a matter of daily practice and routine. In creating BCCI as a vehicle fundamentally free of government control, Abedi developed in BCCI an ideal mechanism for facilitating illicit activity by others, including such activity by officials of many of the governments whose laws BCCI was breaking.

BCCI’s criminality included fraud by BCCI and BCCI customers involving billions of dollars; money laundering in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas; BCCI’s bribery of officials in most of those locations; support of terrorism, arms trafficking, and the sale of nuclear technologies; management of prostitution; the commission and facilitation of income tax evasion, smuggling, and illegal immigration; illicit purchases of banks and real estate; and a panoply of financial crimes limited only by the imagination of its officers and customers.

Among BCCI’s principal mechanisms for committing crimes were its use of shell corporations and bank confidentiality and secrecy havens; layering of its corporate structure; its use of front-men and nominees, guarantees and buy-back arrangements; back-to-back financial documentation among BCCI controlled entities, kick-backs and bribes, the intimidation of witnesses, and the retention of well-placed insiders to discourage governmental action.

2. BCCI SYSTEMATICALLY BRIBED WORLD LEADERS AND POLITICAL FIGURES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

BCCI’s systematically relied on relationships with, and as necessary, payments to, prominent political figures in most of the 73 countries in which BCCI operated. …

Now, go back to that link and search just the single word, “Arkansas” which shows up 8 times on the very long page.  Starting with the second usage (search function should highlight each occurrence for easy viewing on a page).  (The first usage referenced Mena, Arkansas):

Understand that BCCI owner/operator goals were to purchase banks in the USA (prior success in other countries having already been obtained).  Notice also, part of the surrounding text, “Jackson Stephens” and just read how much of which Presidents’ (plural) and governors campaigns were financed with Stephens, BCCI’s US agent, help. The Rose Law firm is in there, and you’ll also see a pattern of income losses being bailed out (involving Bush, Harken Energy etc.) then these individuals coming to the rescue — and getting positions on the board of directors.   Debts are owed by political figures; political figures are helped to be placed in high (state governor, U.S. President(!)) positions, and starting back in the 1970s.

The BCCI affair

CARTER, REAGAN, BUSH,
CLINTON, BUSH, AND BCCI

THE GREATEST FINANCIAL scandal in history — the BCCI affair — left American participants virtually untouched. The media covered the scandal poorly even though, according to one investigative journalist, up to a hundred Washington politicians and lawyers might have been criminally liable.

As a result — much like Clinton and the Dixie Mafia — Americans have but the vaguest notion of what happened. In fact, the two stories overlap. And like many contemporary sagas of corruption, the two stories reached deep into both the major parties. In fact, if George W. Bush is elected, we will be entering our fifth consecutive presidential administration (two Democratic and three Republican) with direct ties to leading figures in the biggest financial scandal of all time.

This time line suggests some of the interplay of individuals and parties:

POST AS WRITTEN LATE APRIL/VERY EARLY MAY BEGINS HERE:

**Arkansas?

Yes, I show below, through ONE unpaid member, working 1 hour/week on a board of directors of a Tennessee (at least street address) entity whose name came up on OpenSecrets.org associated with a lobbyist (lobbyists apparently are real people, not business entities) working to pass this recent Congressional Resolution, working in that purpose alongside a California entity and like it determined to impose their solutions (top down, out-side in) on the nations’ “State courts adjudicating custody and visitation,” which basically is a barely concealed way of saying, the family court system which is under state court systems.  I say “basically” because other courts (like dependency) also adjudicate custody and visitation.  Prosecution of certain crimes also come under state, not federal jurisdiction (NB:  I’m not a lawyer!).

Arkansas is the home state of the board member, and he’s just traveled from a highly placed position in the University of California Office of the President to accept the CEO of what appears to be a regional business council backed (along with the individual, along with the University of Arkansas business school from which he graduated) by the family who founded Walmart.

Through exploring that, I did eventually see his connection to the H.Con.Res.72-pushing (Tennessee Corporation) which apparently keyed off a 2008 act passed in the twilight of the Bush (Junior) White House administration. I did not find how far back he goes as also board members of the mini-“protect children from predators” nonprofit with a Tennessee street address.

I’ll show you in this post, written over about two days only.

In compiling this post, so far I have looked up four nonprofits, checked some of their prior tax returns and attempted to reconcile public face (the organizations’ websites) with those tax returns.  I’ve not yet (as of April 30, 2019) even gotten to corporate filings (and certainly don’t like to do so with such small entities). I did notice that neither website associated with either (set of) nonprofits is very big on adding links to the narratives.  The websites don’t seem that active, and in general, the impression is of a “closed corporation — we’re the best — but don’t ask too many questions” presentation.

RE: My general impressions: websites come in all shapes, sizes, and degrees of complexity, including whether the statements are a flat “dead-end” assertion/description — or whether links are included to lead to more information, or enable fact-checking.  I read websites continually (every single day) in looking at organizations specifically for how transparent and complete they are — and usually, looking to get an EIN# or owner name and legal domicile out of them.

So, for such a major influential organization (in Northwest Arkansas, dealing with it says chambers of commerce) when I say, the primary impression was how LITTLE it actually revealed about the organization.  — Certainly nothing that wouldn’t be “take it on faith.”  Like some financial statements — it’s not my idle speculation. It really does withhold key information.  For a nonprofit with such ambitious projects for an entire region (involvements spanning more than one state) and with such high-profile people involved (i.e., a former state legislator originally, and this other individual I mentioned above), the nonprofit’s website shows little beyond summary posts, none of which encourage or enable further fact-checking. I call that “dead-end” or “flat” reporting.  Even mainstream media news articles usually have an internal link or two.  These posts don’t...

I also recall from California metropolitan region (SF Bay Area, “NoCal”) how complex it was to drill down on its various business roundtables, metropolitan councils, and planning organizations, and how the region infrastructure and development has been controlled from the private planners, with restricted memberships, including government entities (and thus, their representatives, like mayors or county supervisors).  So, the concept of “business roundtable (which its own history says this regional council came from) is not a new phenomenon.

However I did notice quickly that at the Arkansas level, this seems to tie into the theme of regionalization and, given who’s big on that in Arkansas, the Walton family — several generations’ worth of Walmart billionaires —  who have also been [I learned] key contributors to the University of Arkansas.  Between that awareness and at least two other VERY famous Democrats from Arkansas with the same last name (because they’re married and one a former governor), I decided to look closer to see what kind of ties there might be among the leadership, as well as looking at those (4) sets of tax returns with one board member in common.

I also looked briefly (for the common board member) at his Legistorm profile, which yielded a wife’s name, apparently Iranian, and the name of who HE was a registered lobbyist for (2013-2014).  I also looked at at some of the profiles of people named on the Arksansas nonprofit’s books, including one (shown below) who turned out to be a (now retired) respected Democrat state legislator, Uvalde R. Lindsey.  I didn’t know Uvalde R. Lindsey by name — I just read the tax returns and saw he was handling the books.

Regionalism typically also involves public/private investments in vertical control of an entire region’s infrastructure — for its own good of course. We are right in the middle of it here. The question (MY question) is — what is the apparently powerhouse (if not, certainly very well-connected) individual on the board of a minuscule “Special Technology to Protect The Children” nonprofit (dyad — two of them, one charity 501©3, the other lobbyist 501©4) which, despite its claims, doesn’t seem to have gotten very far in the past decade-plus of its existence and is trying get somewhere with almost no employees, staff, or budget?

How did this tiny organization’s lobbyist, somehow, with outside help, get its name on a Congressional Resolution passed in 2018 and what does the Arkansas and fairly powerful connection on its board (even though a 1.0 hour/week volunteer position) signify for planned “improvements” to “state court adjudications of custody and visitation”?

Usually groups with such connections are capable of raising funds, or try harder to.  This one hasn’t.

Many of us already know what two small, “barely-there” but collaborating and rather pushy nonprofits California barely formed in the 21st century and not paying attention to what happened in the last one-half to one-quarter of the 20th century and ESPECIALLY not in its last decade, the 1990s, has to do with H.Con.Res.72.

In this brief drill-down of the other registered lobbyist for H.Con.Res.72, that is, “Camille Cooper” of the National Association to Protect Children and/or National Association to Protect Children – Education Fund, Inc., it’s not openly mentioned (though is available to figure out) on their website, I now realize how the states of Tennessee and North Carolina feature in cooperating, it seems, with the Californian (501©3s) who’ve had a habit of establishing cross-continental connections, inciting mothers to try to take their courses to the federal courts, sponsoring others who refuse to talk about some BIG elephants in this room (“custody and visitation adjudications as it impacts child (and other adults) safety.  Key connections with both (actually, especially) those in the field of psychology and some lawyers focused on the appeals process are reasonably known by women following family court matters on-line.

Another reason I followed up was the association (through sponsoring this bill) with…

…the only other registered lobbyist, per OpenSecrets.org, for H.Con.Res.72, Kathleen Russell (citing Center for Judicial Excellence, Inc., “CJE” for short) but it’s fairly well known that while CJE is not run by and was not started by people with any known direct connection, or stakeholders in, the family courts, or for that matter the issues of incest and domestic violence which intersect with their major stated concerns, California Protective Parents Association, Inc. (NoCal, Sacramento area) was.  They’ve been tag-teaming and working in tandem for many years.

CPPA’s Connie Valentine has more legitimate credibility with mothers, and the mothers are referred to CJE as the powerful, and litigation-free (i.e., available for the conference circuits, with an existing budget and the organization having started with a $90,000 allowance) spokesperson with connections to Congress and others. That is, Ms. Russell, not being herself a mother, divorcee (that we’re aware of), or even having dealt personally with domestic violence and (it would take being a parent to be dealing with others’ abuse of one’s child), does not have the “cred” as a member of the classes CJE policies continue to claim concern about. CPPA the organization is, at least at the tax return level, showing next to no revenues, expenditures or assets.  Their value is, again, in trawling for trauma, and gatekeeping (directing people to other organizations).

I certainly have blogged it, but this other organization NAPC (both its 501©3 and 501©4) are just so small (compared to the major foundations involved in the same fields!) I hadn’t paid much attention to it, when the name even came up (it didn’t, very often).

That changed yesterday when I saw the lobbyist registration and, naturally, just took a closer look.

I did so in the middle of another post and had written this much before extracting it.  Understand, please ,that once you start looking, it doesn’t take THAT long to start unearthing relevant details which shed light on at least a blank slate of ignorance, and possibly on alternate motivations, or at least shedding enough light to say — with ALL the child protection and family court reform organizations already in place (I’ve named them, I have a post “Basics We Should All Know By Now” re-capping them ready to go — almost, I periodically check in on spin-off entities or projects by them) — what does this tiny organization really expect to do with so little funds?

It doesn’t even seem big enough to reasonably be a profit motive behind the child support technology being promoted.  It is “recalcitrant” it seems on producing timely tax returns, (none beyond FY2015, either the 501©3 or the 501©4) and this entity also only started in the early 2000s..  What is it about and what is it there for?

I think the Arkansas Connection in the new board leadership (of a Tennessee organization with roots in North Carolina), the person involved seems to be a powerhouse beyond the smallness of the organization involved.   The haunting issue of “Mena, Arkansas” seems within range of this topic (it was, after all, dealing with airport transportation, though of drugs).

So that’s my intro, and so far, this is what I have, 4/29/2019…all compiled yesterday only.

I am a ten-year witness now, and outspoken opponent, of family court advocacy “wheel-spinning” and several elements of withholding and dishonesty in reporting all, everything relevant, the standard advocates in fact know, about possible/likely contributing causes to the problems they (as it so happens) are selling solutions to, solutions promoted and branded with mutual group and personal names, and characterized by encouraging women, in particular, to file lawsuits, signing on to amicus briefs (as to some groups) on their behalf, usually FAILING, and using that failure to seek more resources to try it again.

It’s taken time, but the intent to “fast-track” and to “bypass informed public support” still apply when solutions promoted bypass honest assessment of the problems referenced.

H.Con.Res.72 is one.  (Open Secrets on H.Con Res.72 shows only two lobbyists, one of which is “Center for Judicial Excellence” (Kathleen Russell) and the other, “National Association to Protect Children Education Fund (Camille Cooper),  and despite sponsor 86 co-sponsors (slight majority Democrat) the sponsor, Patrick Meehan (R-PA) was in office 2010 – April 2018, when he resigned). (Use tabs at the above link for this information).  This resolution expresses “the sense of Congress” which “expressed sense” costs the legislators next to nothing, but is a reputation-builder for those who helped get it passed…Who is going to vote AGAINST prioritizing child safety (undefined) in “custody and visitation adjudications”?  See “Footnote H.Con.Res.72” and/or my comments on this on the blog home page/s (scroll down)

Clients lobbying on H.Con.Res.72: Expressing the sense of Congress that child safety is the first priority of custody and visitation adjudications, and that State courts should improve adjudications of custody where family violence is alleged.

“Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: info@crp.org”

The other listed lobbyist is the 501©3 “National Association to Protect Children – Education Fund” which corresponds to the (per Wikipedia) name-changed since 501©4 “National Association to Protect Children” now called simply “Protect.”  Going down (or is it up?) that thread — given its parallel work with a California-based nonprofit also registered as a lobbyist for H.Con.Res.72 — is a fascinating story which leads back to, I guess you’d call it the Southeast (Tennessee and Arkansas, including Clinton Admin professionals) and more regional development — by way of California, if you count Nelson Peacock, one of its board members.  Having just looked (for an hour or two) I’ll set that discussion aside for now… after the next 5 images (second row is an image gallery, 3-in-a-row).

{{=Let’s Get Honest comments after a few hours of looking into this on-line}}

As of 2013 (per Wiki side-bar inset, above image, which unfortunately omits “legal domicile” and any EIN#) says it had just 1 employee and 24 volunteers, and under $200K revenues. Under “Grassroots Support” it lists a metallica band and ONE survivor of child abuse as an actor.  The “Financial & Legal” page under “Protect.org” cite the 501©3’s (not 501©4’s) EIN#74-3127927, at least on the top level) and mention Copilevitz & Canter as the registered agent.  That law firm name continues to come up in my blogging, and I blog primarily fathers’ rights and marriage/grantee organizations and networks.  Hmm.  The organization’s address and probably legal domicile is TENNESSEE.

Total results: 3. Search Again.  NAPC in TN, EIN# 743127927, Year-End Sept. (since 2013).

ORGANIZATION NAME	ST	YR	FORM	PP	TOTAL ASSETS	EIN
National Association to Protect Children	TN	2017	990	36	$1,020,722.00	74-3127927
National Association to Protect Children-Education	TN	2016	990	38	$746,175.00	74-3127927
National Association to Protect Children-Education Fund	TN	2015	990	42	$751,989.00	74-3127927
National Association to Protect Children-Education Fund	TN	2014	990	?	??	74-3127927
National Association to Protect Children-Education Fund	TN	2013 short yr (YE Sep)	990	?		74-3127927
National Association to Protect Children-Education Fund	TN	2012 YE Dec	990	?		74-3127927

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The related 501©4 (not mentioned on the current website) is or was EIN# 113666574, and formerly called “Promise to Protect, Inc.”.  IN 2010, the 501©3 claimed NC legal domicile, but its related entity TN (both under Grier Weeks).  The related entity claims 2002 startup. Hard to find the earliest returns, but through FYE2015 (probably fiscal year 2014 only), they are:

Total results: 3. Search Again. NAPC (the 501©4) EIN# 11-3666574, NB no returns showing for YE2016 yet.

ORGANIZATION NAME	ST	YR	FORM	PP	TOTAL ASSETS	EIN
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION TO PROTECT CHILDREN – PROTECT INC	TN	2015	990EO	5	$18,006.00	11-3666574
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION TO PROTECT CHILDREN – PROTECT INC	TN	2014	990O	23	$46,165.00	11-3666574
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION TO PROTECT CHILDREN INC	TN	2013	990O	25	$28,427.00	11-3666574

From the entity website, briefly (Protect.org), I looked at the board of directors (didn’t recognize any of them).

But it turns out one of them has come recently from California, although I found this out when he became President & CEO of “Northwest Arkansas Council” in June 2017, which it says started in the 1990s, but was foreshadowed by the Arkansas Business Council (see “The Walton’s” and banker connections who wanted better infrastructure (airport, highways, water authority) for their area and would of course expand the employment base in the process. Nelson Peacock was in the White House and Homeland Security under Barack Obama before he was helping run UC-Irvine and government relations (see link for better description), but he hails from Arkansas originally and (eventually I saw) his father Joe was a city attorney from 1972-2010 (when his long-time wife died), and had also been a state representative.

Here’s from that announcement of hiring Peacock away from University of California in 2017, linked above:

…Peacock will soon leave his position as senior vice president government relations at the University of California Office of the President.  In the role, he oversees all aspects of state and federal governmental relations for the $32.5 billion University of California system, which includes 10 UC campuses, five academic medical centers and three national laboratories.

Prior to this, Peacock was appointed by President Barack Obama to lead the Office of Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In this role, he was responsible for all aspects of the department’s interactions with Congress on issues related to counter terrorism, immigration, cyber security and natural disasters. Peacock oversaw the congressional teams of seven operational agencies of DHS, including the United States Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Secret Service, Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Administration.

Peacock also served as senior counsel to Senator Joe Biden on the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate where he advised the future Vice President on homeland security, crime and intellectual property issues.

Peacock is just the third president and CEO hired to lead the 27-year-old Northwest Arkansas Council. The first was Uvalde Lindsey, currently a state senator who led the Council from 1990-2005. Peacock replaces Mike Malone, who was the Council’s president and CEO from 2006-2016. Malone resigned to become Northwest Arkansas coordinator for Runway Group, LLC in Bentonville

{{Hold that thought, I looked for the Runway Group, LLC and what it represents, the day after writing this section..//LGH}}

The ARKANSAS connection is also in part possibly (and it seems here as to serving in those White House administrations, before serving in the Obama admin) a Clinton Connection. As such, it’s worth looking into, especially when there are any other even partial red-flags, like why two tiny (respectively speaking) nonprofit leaders were able to get a resolution passed with endorsement (86 co-sponsors) by so many legislators — even though a Resolution expresses intent.  It doesn’t activate anything directly — and I’ll bet plenty of those signers also signed resolutions to promote fatherhood.

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Nelson Peacock (says another 2017 announcement on his appointment) was a graduate of “Walton College” at the University of Arkansas, that is, at the School of Business named after Walmart founder’s Sam Walton, also influential (says its own “history” page) in the establishment of the Northwest Arkansas Council which apparently replaced a pre-existing business council.  Some things never change…. In browsing the history timeline, though the Waltons were involved since (at least) the 1970s it was that $50M upfront cash gift to the school of business in 1998 (from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation) which got it renamed the Samuel M. Walton College of Business Administration. (History timeline links to the article announcing this (NYTimes Archives, Oct. 7, 1998, By WILLIAM H. HONAN and citing other large gifts to public business schools (Emory University got the largest) and other Walton gifts and things named after them at the University of Arkansas).

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Form 990s Name Search; the top two results are nonprofits working on regional planning and development: Northwest Arkansas Council (a 501©6, (EIN#710693739) FY2016 Form 990O  1990ff, {{see also Sam Walton & friends wanting an airport and roads in the region) & Northwest Arkansas Council Foundation (a 501©3 EIN#460807914, FY2016 Form 990 supporting the 501©6 through untrackable “other expenses” 2012ff, active 2014ff). The older organization recently (2017) elected former Californian (but Arkansas-raised) Nelson Peacock as its new Pres. and CEO, which I learned because Peacock is also on the board of a nonprofit (per OpenSecrets.org), one of only 2 lobbying for “H.Con.Res.72.” Said nonprofit (National Association to Protect Children Education-Fund, Inc.) seems to be in TN. The other lobbyist listed for this resolution, Center for Judicial Excellence, is from California (NB. Lobbyists are individuals not organizations; they are listed in link provided to OpenSecrets.org)

I found the 501©6, “Northwest Arkansas Council” and its related 501©3 “Foundation (Images to the right).

Only up through the FY2016 is showing (Under “Foundation Center”) and this council is fairly low-profile membership organization with big plans (this was the year before Mr. Peacock became Pres. & CEO).  Fiscal Year = Calendar Year and I’m quoting from FY2016 Form 990O (EIN#710693739). As expected, working closely with planning authorities and not leaving much of a footprint (nor are its financials posted on its website I saw, above):

IN 2015, THE COUNCILS THREE-YEAR PLAN WAS UNVEILED WITH THE FOLLOWING GOALS (1) LEAD THE TRANSITION TO A BEST-OF-CLASS, DEMAND-DRIVEN WORKFORCE MODEL TO INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF APPROPRIATELY SKILLED LABOR THE COUNCIL WILL PROVIDE ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, RESEARCH, PROMOTION AND STATE LOBBYING FOR THE ON-GOING EFFORTS OF THE EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE WORK GROUP (2) INVEST IN PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL ENABLE SUSTAINABLE LONG-TERM GROWTH AND IMPROVE COMPETIVENESS THE COUNCIL WILL PARTNER WITH THE NORTHWEST ARKANSAS REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION TO INITIATE A MULTI-YEAR EFFORT TO PLAN FOR FUTURE INFRASTURE NEEDS THE COMMITTEE HAS ACTIVELY BEEN WORKING TO ADD A LOW COST AIRLINE TO XNA IN ORDER TO ADD AFFORDABLE AND ADDITIONAL FLIGHT AVAILABILITY TO THE NORTHWEST ARKANSAS AREA (3) ENHANCE THE PROACTIVE REGIONAL APPROACH TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TO GROW AND ATTRACT TARGETED, CAREER LADDER-JOB OPPORTUNITIES THE COUNCIL WILL CONTINUE TO PARTNER WITH GROUPS TO ENHANCE THE ENTERPRENEURSHIP CAPACITY OF THE REGION AS WELL AS SUPPORT THE EMPLOYER RETENSION AND EXPANSION PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LOCAL CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE (4) CHAMPION PLACEMAKING AND PROVIDE LEADERSHIP, COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY, AND RESOURCE ALIGNMENT TO ENSURE THE REGION REMAINS A VIBRANT, ATTRACTIVE COMMUNITY FOR BUSINESSES AND PEOPLE FOR DECADES TO COME

I just looked through the supporting 501©3 Northwest Arkansas Council Foundation (established 2012 only), which: put “N/A” under website (in header information), lists 5 contractors (total expenditures well under $750K, and those 5 contractors, starting with the planning commission, are named Chambers of Commerce (Chambers of Commerce seem to be the member organizations of the 501©6 “Northwest Arkansas Council.”

There were no grants, Part VIIA employees minimal, which and that leaves the basic equation at:

• + $2.69M revenues (almost all Ln.8 contributions, not Ln.9 program service revenues)
• – $2.49M Ln. 17 “other expenses”** =
•   $0.241M (that is, $241K) Ln. 19, “Revenues minus expenses.” (Page 1).  Oddly, ALL expenses shown on page 1 come under “Other”

**(per Part I, page 1, Part 2 Program Service Accomplishments, no grants are listed. At the very bottom of Part IX, “Statement of Expenses” where expenses would be more normally distributed, at least a LITTLE bit, throughout the 25 lines available for itemization, here, the majority are listed simply under Line 24, a,b,c,d,e with generic names.  These cannot be matched 1:1 with the amounts cited as independent contractors, and there are “0” employees (other than the listed officer/employees on Part VII).  (etc. I looked at tax returns retroactive for both organizations).

Books habitually in the care of Uvalde R. Lindsey, (Arkansas Democrat Gazette, June 10, 2017, “Fayetteville’s Lindsey to Retire from Senate“) whom I finally looked up (He served in the Arkansas legislature is an Army Reserves veteran).  From this announcement:

Uvalde V. Lindsey held the books to both Northwest Arkansas Council (and its Foundation), I believe, while also in office and functioning as Community Development Consultant, sometimes running unopposed, but is now retired, says Arkansas Democrat Gazette (Doug Thompson), June 10, 2017, “Fayetteville’s Lindsey to Retire from Senate“) 

“Lindsey is one of nine Democrats in the 35-member Senate. He was elected to the House in 2008 and to the Senate in 2012. He represents Senate District 4, which includes Fayetteville, Farmington, Greenland and a part of Washington County.He has a career in public service extending to the 1970s, and was once the budget director for Gov. Bill Clinton. He was executive director for the Northwest Arkansas Council, a coalition of business and community leaders of the region, in its successful efforts to create the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport and to build the northern Arkansas portion of Interstate 49.

“Uvalde has served our state well for many years, and it has been a pleasure to work with him,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said. “Even though we are on opposite sides of the political fence, we always worked together to do what’s best for Arkansas. I wish him the best in this next chapter.”

Hutchinson is a Republican who worked with Lindsey when Hutchinson was U.S. House member for Northwest Arkansas’s 3rd District. … Lindsey is well known and prized for this advocacy for children, particularly in education and those with medical needs, said Tyler Clark, chairman of the Washington County Democratic Party. “He’s a leader and a statesman” and has been for decades, Clark said. The chairman also described Lindsey as one of the state’s foremost experts on state finance, “a brain who knows the budget inside and out.”

Lindsey is a member of the powerful Joint Budget Committee, where he is vice chairman of the subcommittees for personnel and rules and regulations. Each subcommittee has a House and a Senate co-chairman. … veteran of the Army Reserve.

Regarding Nelson Peacock (simply “Googling” for more information beyond his linkedIn and hometown/state summaries such as from the University of Arkansas business school from which he graduated, it turns out (per this March, 2018 Obituary of his father) that both Nelson and his brother Denver served in the Clinton administration — and that his father, Joe Peacock (died about one year ago, sadly after the death of his lifelong wife in 2010), only age 75.  Joe Peacock had been City Attorney in McCrory, AR from 1972 – 2010.

“Obituary: Ex-city attorney, former Arkansas representative, Joe Peacock hailed for service” (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Bill Bowden, March 7, 2018).”Joe Peacock was McCrory’s city attorney, a state representative, chairman of the state Claims Commission and a member of the Arkansas Parole Board.”

Legistorm on Nelson (Edward) Peacock shows his education, salary while in public office (bar chart) and even who he married, and when.  From that link on “Legistorm” other information (such as who he’s a registered lobbyist for (Cornerstone Group, Inc.) is available.  Legistorm, an LLC since (it says 2006) provides a helpful platform, at least LegistormPro:

LegiStorm Pro is a fully integrated, Web-based platform for government affairs professionals who need to accurately identify congressional staff, monitor activity on Capitol Hill, and engage with members and staff.

The core of LegiStorm Pro is the industry’s most accurate, timely and comprehensive database of contact and biographical data on congressional staff. We track legislative issues covered, roles and titles, education and work histories, disclosures, social media links, and other contextual information. This ensures that our clients accurately identify the correct staff across member offices, committees and caucuses. Our list-building capabilities allow our clients to quickly and easily create and export custom contact lists.

Additionally, LegiStorm Pro encompasses a broad range of services to meet the needs of our diverse client base. From hearing and town hall schedules to real-time monitoring of press releases and Twitter feeds, LegiStorm Pro provides our clients with a one-stop shop for the information they need to be successful.

The pattern of the foundation (501©3) funneling its expenditures into untraceable “other” categories (after it first received funding, according to tax returns, only in 2014) continues, making the 501©6 council seem larger.  They have the same (all but) leadership and share facilities and staff.  HOW exactly the over $1M/year is being transferred to the Business Council ©6 from the Foundation ©3 I don’t see. Their financial statements (available “on request” not posted voluntarily” it says are “consolidated” anyhow).

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(This is about where my original lookups stopped.  In other words, not including a few paragraphs of intro, that’s all the time (less than half a day) it took to find out that much information.  And post it…Why would anyone NOT be interested to follow through at least this far, I just don’t get….)

Continued lookups (April 29, 2019)…. I wanted to know who was Nelson Peacock’s wife, especially after noticing he got married only in 2008 and in California. At first a name search only brought up the name of a Libyan rebel, so I searched “Nelson Peacock to wed” and got the New York Times announcement under “Weddings.”  An announcement there usually indicates both of the couple has some important pedigree, (i.e., influence, or intergenerational potential), which was my interest.

Patience, readers! I have more relevant description of the bridegroom below some of the information on his (ten years younger and beautiful, apparently Republican) wife.

At this time, both his parents were still alive (sorry for your double-loss, if you’re reading this).  As it turns out, she is the daughter of the (late – 1994, only 51 years old?) Farhad Sheybani; her mother’s name is Vida. I cannot confirm that it’s the same person showing up continually as “Libyan Rebel” beforehand (very possibly not, except that 51 years old is way too young to die).

His bride (29 years old) had a mother, father and stepfather.  Usually people of this level (class, connectivity in politics) marry people within their social class or with some family influence also. Here, and recall that 2008 was a U.S. Presidential election year…

Mr. Peacock, 39, works for the Senate Judiciary Committee as the senior counsel to Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware who last week became his party’s nominee for vice president. He graduated from the University of Arkansas, from which he also received a law degree, and received a Master of Laws in international law from George Washington University.

He is a son of Ann Peacock and Joseph Peacock of McCrory, Ark. His mother handles title insurance and real estate closings for the law practice of the bridegroom’s father in McCrory. His father is also a member of the Arkansas Parole Board in Little Rock.

I just remembered that the pastor who married us many years ago was originally from Arkansas (Little Rock, too, as I recall).  I’m not naming him (no longer a pastor, last I heard), but, hmm.

August 29, 2008, New York Times, under “Weddings” “Susan Sheybani and Nelson Peacock”  Was this a bipartisan wedding?  Perhaps…

Susan Sheybani and Nelson Peacock (wed, NYT Aug 29, 2008) in DanaPointCA (cf HConRes72, NAPC, Protect’org)(He’s a board member)

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Interesting wife’s last name: from that wedding announcement, some lookups, below which (more directly relevant to the post) her husband Mr. Peacock’s. It must’ve been hard to lose a father that young (he was only 51 it seems).Bride’s Stepfather Preston Walrath (which one?) There is a Preston Walrath Sr, Jr and “the II”.  I saw two 1980s article about college basketball player in Orange County (apparently a big guy); this “togetherweserved.com” shadow box of service record (1960s, USAF in Central Europe (field: Communications) started college in Oregon, more college several years later in Calif., which matches the football tackle’s (1986) description, possibly a son…); a Oct. 2015 Getty Image (I’m not going to take a risk copying!) showing the white-haired Sr. photographing the Jr. near a yellow AlphaRomeo in Santa Ana.  Caption reads:  “SANTA ANA, CA – OCTOBER 15 (2015): Preston Walrath, Sr, right, of Rancho Santa Margarita, gets his photo taken by his son, Preston Walrath, Jr, next to a Alfa Romeo on the first day of the Orange County International Auto Show at the Anaheim Convention Center.”  Here’s a Coldwell Banker Real Estate blog for Preston Walrath in Mission Viejo.

William Simpson & Associates Consulting Structural Engineers (Team) in Lake Forest, CA where her bio father used to work.

(Nelson Peacock, age 39, married Susan Sheybani, 29, in August 2008 (apparently a bipartisan marriage; he has Clinton Connections, she was working in Bush Admin?) This gravestone (“Sheybani” is Iranian name?), if NYT wedding announcemt is right, is for her late (d.1994 — too early!) father who also went by Fred. My interest in Apr. 2019 is ℅ HConRes72 lobbyist group (Protect.org) her husband Nelson Peacock is on.

Gravestone for Beloved Father and Husband, 1943-1994, Fred Sheybani in Lake Forest, CA

Some fairly amusing (?) Liberal blogs from All Spin Zone caught her  telling people dissatisfied with their jobs to either take a Prozac© or get another job.  (as Bush campaigner — she was I believe one summary said, assistant press secretary in (must’ve been early 2000s) Bush admin.  This also shows her interning at AEI (American Enterprise Institute).  Use the link to read the sublinks; this was 2004.

allspinzone.blogspot.com, Aug 2004, “Being Susan Sheybani” (light-hearted? ribbing by “TeamLib”) (light-hearted? ribbing by “TeamLib”)

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This Sept 11, 2011 article from the (Arkansas Democrat) Press Reader — pages slide right to left, it’s easy to view) give more background into, yes, the Clinton (and Biden) connections, the Peacock family and particularly Nelson.

About three pages (multi-column) in, a reference to the 2008 “Protect the children act” involving technology (“PROTECT” in there is an acronym:  “Providing Resources, Officers, and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats” with a particular emphasis on child predators) shows why he’d also be a logical choice for board membership of the NAPC. And how, despite very small town connection, he was very well connected locally (Arkansas, at this time) and Washington D.C. He did work in the Clinton Administration (thereby losing his job in 2000). See also parts where both he and his brother would “prepare the way” for the Clintons (or, Janet Napolitano) in advance of their travels.

That 2008 law is probably where the NAPC’s earlier name, “Promise to Protect” came from…  The images are in slideshow format (click on one and navigate to the others).

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I grabbed and marked up a few images, but it’s really best read directly from the link provided.  “PROTECT” passage is on 3rd image, see red annotations.  The blue band at top of each image is simply the url, which you also have above.  This article makes no mention of his time in California, which I guess came later.   In looking for that, I’m reminded that Janet Napolitano after her time as Attorney General, became President of the University of California System.  (slideshow)

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Above is an interesting (because it covers salaries at top private versus public institutions) short, 7/31/2016 piece requesting salary raises for the University of California’s “SMG” — Senior Management Group. The request is from Napolitano to the Committee that sets salaries.  It has some graphs and bar charts, and establishes that (in 2016)  (the year before he was appointed CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council — above) Peacock, not the highest paid, was making $280K; a request of raise to reflect general wages and cost of living increases to (for him) $288K is requested.

2 images for post (started) 4/29/2017, The Arkansas Connection (Mr. Peacock) to H.Con.Res.7s lobbyist nonprofit NACPN. General Background. This is a Apr. 3, 2017 ltr from his UC Officeexpressing concern about a bill.

2 images for post (started) 4/29/2017, The Arkansas Connection (Mr. Peacock) to H.Con.Res.7s lobbyist nonprofit NACPN. General Background. This is a Apr. 3, 2017 ltr from his UC Officeexpressing concern about a bill.

Next images show the stationery and a sample letter from the Office of Government Relations which Peacock was directing (he’s not the author, but is cc’d on it). Notice that his office is listed under “Office of the President.” April 3, 2017 letter from UC Office of the President to Hon. Ben Allen, Chair of Senate State Educational Committee, expressing concerns about a bill which’d allow the California Community Colleges to offer teacher prep courses, in conflict with a prior bill and the state master plan. As a former teacher and parent, I’d be concerned too (but I no longer live in the state and my kids are grown now…).

Just showing Peacock in context of Admin Officers of Univ. of California, I believe here 2015-2015 (and ℅ UC Merced).

Archived Catalog (2015-2016) at UCMerced (again, a name-search result only) lists the Administrative Officers of the University of California, which shows the group he was operating among, as well as Regents, Chancellors, etc.  Notice the President (Janet Napolitano) is listed under “Administrative Officers”.

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Yep (says enough references to Ms. Sheybani Peacock’s time interning at American Enterprise Institute while in the Bush, Jr. White House Administration), we seem to be talking conservative, generally.  Besides Susan Sheybani Peacock’s oft-repeated “let ’em take Prozac®” 2004 quote (while assisting Terry Holt), she’s listed 11th among a dozen interns that helped with AEI’s “The Feminist Problem:  When Success is Not Enough” by (see below):

 

 

 

 

BACK IN ARKANSAS — Runway Group, LLC (where Mike Malone, replaced by Nelson Peacock, has retired to)…..

I found air-craft related jobs at “The Runway Group” being advertised on-line (from a Texas address).Click here to see JSFirm.com’s Company Profile of The Runway Group in Bentonville, AR.

May 2, 2018, “Walmart Heirs Putting Arkansas on the Fat-Tire Map” (by Contributing Editor Andrew Tilin, in “Outside Integrated Media, LLC”) (Said heirs, in their mid-30s, are Tom and Steuart, grandsons of the founder). (Outside Integrated Media LLC seems to be in Illinois.

…In case you’re wondering: yes, Tom is one of those Waltons, grandson of Sam, founder of Walmart. And the modestly contoured Arkansas hills he’s hyping—maximum elevation maybe 1,500 feet—neighbor Bentonville, headquarters of the $500 billion company. The 34-year-old and his brother, Steuart, 36, are both cycling nuts, and they’re trying to do for mountain biking what the family business did for retailing: change everything. Today they’re giving me a cycling tour of their progress toward that goal—specifically, a portion of the 163 miles of Arkansas trails in and around their hometown that they’ve commissioned through the Walton Family Foundation. All told, they’ve helped pour some $74 million into cycling infrastructure for the region. …

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{{several paragraphs later..}} Neither brother has a day-to-day role at Walmart. Tom, a graduate of Northern Arizona University, runs Ropeswing, a local hospitality company. Steuart has a law degree from Georgetown and owns an aircraft-manufacturing startup. But you can’t help but think they’re keeping the family business in mind as they funnel money into Bentonville’s cycling infrastructure. Walmart is rapidly shifting to e-commerce, which means courting the brightest minds in technology. Bentonville still has some distance to go to compete with attractive startup locales like Denver, Seattle, and the Bay Area, but the younger Waltons seem bent on changing that. Tom has opened several upscale restaurants downtown, including Pressroom and Preacher’s Son. In 2012, the brothers donated nearly $300,000 each to Keep Dollars in Benton County, a political organization that successfully campaigned to change their home county from dry to wet.

What’s certain is that Tom and Steuart’s goal of making the region a cycling destination doesn’t end with tourism. They want Bentonville to be a magnet for the cycling industry, too. In February, the Runway Group, an organization the brothers created to develop quality-of-life initiatives in the region, hired Brendan Quirk as its cycling program director. Quirk cofounded Competitive Cyclist, a successful e-commerce site that launched in Little Rock. According to the group’s press release, he’ll be responsible for “positioning Northwest Arkansas as a leading region nationwide for the incubation and recruitment of cycling-related brands.”

{I chose a background color similar to the theme of the website the article was found on).

**Outdoor Integrated Media reminds me of the topic I have at the (originating) post, referencing media mergers and multi-media platforms used to rapidly incubate and disseminate entertaining information.  This can be a problem when it comes to reform initiatives not based on analysis, or building in-depth comprehension of the existing systems — but moving fast anyhow.  (Act first, think later, major blunders — continuing roadkill surrounding separation from abuse/dissolution/co-parenting mandates? “Oops, too late, we’re in motion….invested … politicized… got followers on board….”).

It’s still interesting (not the bright colors: black, yellow, big photos) and the list of young, vital-looking editors… It’s blurb:

… With in-depth narrative storytelling, profiles, video, and authoritative service, we explore the intersection between our lives and the natural world. Our writers bring their unique expertise, irreverence, and humor to the biggest stories, all told through an outdoor lens in print and on the web. We hope you find inspiration here, then take that wonder outside. [“OUTSIDEOnline.com/about“]  {{Scroll down further for “Who We Are” (circular thumbnails/headshots, names and titles in a sea of white).}}

This article, also basic search results on “The Runway Group” seems to confirm that “Runway Group, LLC” in Bentonville Arkansas (that Mike Malone who stepped down, at elast as CEO, from Northwest Arkansas Council in just 2016, to be replaced by Nelson Peacock, formerly from California, in the UC System, and family friend of the Clintons, politically connected, etc.) is the same as the two Walton Brothers here started.  It’s mentioned in the last paragraph of this Feb. 2, 2018 article in “Cycling Industry News,” about Brendan Quirk’s coming to work with them as referenced above…

Rapha North America President Departs to join Runway Group by Mark Sutton.

…“Tom and I are thrilled Brendan is joining the Runway Group,” says Runway Co-Founder Steuart Walton. “He will bring leadership and strategic thinking to our organization’s cycling work across many formats, and we’re thrilled to add another passionate cyclist to the Bentonville community.”

Quirk was co-founder and CEO of Competitive Cyclist, a Little Rock-based startup which eventually grew to become North America’s largest eCommerce cycling company. In 2011, it was acquired by outdoor eCommerce retailer Backcountry.com, where he served as Executive Vice President of Customer Experience. Most recently he served as North America President for Rapha Racing, LLC, a London-based brand of cycling apparel and accessories.

“Northwest Arkansas is setting an all-new standard for how cycling can meaningfully add to a community’s quality of life,” Quirk said. “The development of the Razorback Greenway allows residents of the whole region easy bike access to school or work or the grocery store. The Oz Trails network of mountain bike trails gives riders of all levels access to the sort of high–quality mountain biking you’ll otherwise only find in Colorado or Utah. And the region is integrating cycling into the Physical Education curriculum in the schools to ensure all kids have access to bikes, regardless of income level. In Northwest Arkansas, the opportunity exists for cycling to touch everyone’s lives.” …

Runway Group, LLC is a Bentonville-based organization focused on engaging civic and corporate leaders to develop public-private, quality-of-life initiatives throughout Arkansas

(interjecting this article found later: Rapha (UK-based, founded in 2004 by Simon Mottram) and Assos (Swiss, around much longer: 1976?) sportswear and companies described in Forbes, 2/14/2019, “A Tale of Two Premium Cycling Brands:  Assos and Rapha” by Rob Read (contributor)

Rapha is a young and modern brand that seems like it’s been around for 100 years. The company’s bold mission is to make cycling the most popular sport in the world. In this sense, Rapha positions itself as a cycling company that just happens to design and produce high-end apparel. It sells this apparel direct to consumers at great margins {{i.e., markups}} so it can afford to pursue its larger mission. This is realized through the Rapha Cycling Club (RCC), a semi-exclusive club with unique kits and clubhouses throughout the world where members can gather for group rides, drink espresso and watch pro races on TV. It was realized through Rapha Travel, which launched in 2011 and provided multi-day cycling adventures all over the world (though it was shuttered last year). And it’s realized by producing copious content in the form of coffee table books, blogs, podcasts and videos about the sport of cycling. In 2017, Rapha sold a controlling interest to private equity firm RZC Investments, which is run by the Walmart heirs (avid cyclists), for a reported $260 million. Mottram has remained CEO.

Seems the Walmart heirs run just about everything in Northwest Arkansas (at least).

Backing up about a year, in January 2017, here’s an article about a Northwest Arkansas Chapter of an organization which has been around since 1936.  Its first meeting entailed speakers (Mike Malone) from the Runway Group which, again, references how they plan to develop the region, and that Runway Group, LLC is in fact controlled by the Walton grandsons mentioned above.  URBAN LAND INSTITUTE (“ULI”):

By the way, the ULI is a nonprofit.  Obviously the LLC would not be… The NW Arkansas ULI group (spearheaded by a man who’s CEO of “Special Real Estate Group”) hosted a steering committee from the Oklahoma ULI to learn about how to get these things started.  Read the quote for more info on the Mike Malone/Walton heirs relationships and the beliefs about how private enterprise should be running (the show, essentially)…

TB&P (TalkBusiness.net) is a website I quotedUrban Land Institute NW Arkansas (Jan 27, 2017) re NW Arkansas Council and (its former CEO Mike Malone who resigned to help direct) Runway Group, LLC (sponsored by the mid-thirties cycling enthusiast Walton (Wal-mart) heirs Tom & Steuart Walton… (blog context, see also “Nelson Peacock” and “Protect.org” or NAPC (a TN corp associated with H.Con.Res.72) or LGH post “The Arkansas Connection to HConRes72” ca. Apr 29-30, 2019.

Urban Land Institute Northwest Arkansas Holds Its First Meeting, Seeks to be “Thoughtful” about Growth. By Paul Gatling (PGatling@nwabj.com), Jan. 27, 2017 in “TB&P” {{TalkBusiness.net, see Footnote “TB&P,” just making a point about media ownership//LGH}}

…ULI has about 36,000 members in nearly 100 countries around the world, and promotes best practices in land use and real estate. It was founded 80 years ago in 1936. …

“ULI is the largest professional organization in the world for land use and real estate professionals,” said Keaton Smith, commercial relationship manager at IberiaBank, and a member of the local ULI steering committee. “Given the past and continued pace of growth in Northwest Arkansas, we understand the need to be thoughtful about where and how we grow. ULI Northwest Arkansas will be a missing piece in these conversations – a private-sector driven organization providing thought leadership in the areas of land use, economic development and real estate.”

The two speakers at Thursday’s membership event were developer Kirk Humphreys, who was twice elected mayor of Oklahoma City and is the founding chairman of ULI Oklahoma, and Mike Malone, Northwest Arkansas director of Runway Group LLC, an entity controlled by Tom and Steuart Walton. They are the grandsons of Wal-Mart Stores founders Helen and Sam Walton and have taken a more high-profile interest in recent years in developing public-private quality of life initiatives.

They need to “take the region to the next level,” and who better to lead it than the Walton heirs to a $500 billion company?  (About now I’m also thinking about how Wal-mart stores were also not too long ago subject to a class action lawsuit on behalf of women retail employees.  The class action lost, but it still made its point, I feel.  Also, regarding taking coaching from Oklahoma (which, admittedly is a neighboring state) — Oklahoma has a horrible track record when it comes to treatment of women (see “Oklahoma Marriage Initiative, etc.”).

Malone, who spent 10 years as CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council, said where ULI fits in locally is to take Northwest Arkansas to the “next level.”

“I think that by bringing such a wide range of folks together – architects, designers, investors, bankers and other folks – we can really advance the conversation about innovative projects that meet the needs of our growing population,” he said. “And a more diverse population.”

During his remarks, Malone noted that 56% of the Northwest Arkansas population was not born in Arkansas, and the region is growing more diverse each day. Creating dynamic city centers that appeal to a wide range of residents looking for options will make Northwest Arkansas much stronger, he said.

/ / / /

Urban Land Institute searched at the IRS tax-exempt organizations level (name search) only came up with 8 results, yielding the EIN# of the main one (presumably) in DC.  Applying this EIN# to “FoundationCenter.org” database, I found not one came up with the actual name (the database’s face sheets is not a function of the IRS, or the filing entity, or their faults.  I am still puzzled by how they obtain SO MANY wrong names in their (free-search) database results….)….. It’s puzzled (and annoyed) me for years, and I have posted on the unreliability of such charitable databases too.

To show I’m not making that statement up, I’m providing it in both “png” image (of search results) and in interactive table format.  How in the heck is it one year (not the most current) “Urban Land Institute,” another (most current) “ULI Cleveland” and another (3rd most recent) “Urban Land Institute San Francisco” when in fact, its address is in DC?  Notice to find even three year’s results I had to use the EIN# search.  Right “EIN” column confirms that, despite the different “Organization Names” shown, it’s the same entity.

EIN# 5310598345 is THE “Urban Land Institute” per the IRS Search. But per (imaged here) Foundation Center — How in the heck is it one year (not the most current) “Urban Land Institute,” another (most current) “ULI Cleveland” and another (3rd most recent) “Urban Land Institute San Francisco” when in fact, its address is in DC?

Total results: 3. Search Again. Urban Land Institute, EIN# 530159845, Fiscal Year End, June 30 (i.e., “2017” represents “Fiscal Year 2016.”  (Click on org. name links to figure out how it’s set up, or identify any chapter’s names and for more details).

For most recent year, above, I see “Gross Receipts” (p.1 table header) are $73M.  Of those, $66M are “program service revenues” not contributions (or sales of securities or inventory) and $6.4M (let’s call it roughly 10% of PSRs) “contributions.  It should get interesting… Website is “ULI.org”  Of the $73M gross receipts (also total program revenues shown), Page 1 shows that $29M Salaries and $39.4M “Other Expenses.”  Page 1 shows that Revenues less Expenses for FY2016 alone were over $5M (the previous year they were in the red over $1M)

Question:  What, really, is it doing — and what will the Northwest Arkansas Chapter recently opened do?  Why it called “URBAN” land institute, etc.

Page 2 (already) shows that rather than follow IRS instructions to reduce their self-description to the three largest programs by revenues and expenses — and summarize them in Lines 4a,b,and c (plus a Line 4d for the rest, to be described in Schedule O), the filing entity (looks like an electronic filing) has condensed the form to less than a full page (shorter than 11) and simply typed “See additional info” but leaving the numbers in place.  The most expensive programs cost $29M.  The print quality is also lousy, possibly a function of the IRS:  “To provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide.”

EIN# 531059835. (“ULI.org”) || Urban Land Institute (in DC), FY2016 (YE Jun30) a very fuzzy non-explanation (Pt. III pg 2) on a shortened page on how it spent its $54M. “Additional Info” on Sched O presumably will further clarify, possibly detaching reference to the associated $$ (+ – ) as intended by the IRS form design, from the program service accomplishments.Minor harassment/obstruction for interested members of the public.

If you compare the “Expenses” to the “Revenues” in Lines 4a,b and c, it seems that (rounding significantly) Line 4a, revenues fall short about $3.6M, Line 4b, revenues fall short also about $4.0M, but Line 4c, revenues exceed expenses by just over $10M. ($16.0 – $5.8 is obviously over $10M).  WOULDN’T IT BE RELEVANT TO KNOW WHICH ACTIVITY IN LINE 4c IS SUBSIDIZING (MORE THAN) THE OTHER TWO?

Meanwhile, if this page has any accuracy, Line 4d (the others) is the only one referencing any grants to others.  I’m magnifying the bottom of this Page 2 to show how a “See Additional Data Table” has been inserted under 4c (where the form designates the line 4d, “Other” and directs to put this “other” information onto a listed “Schedule O” (Supplemental information).  I’ve seen this before, and it’s a sneaky way of NOT explaining what’s listed under the Line 4d, as well as disobedient to form instructions.  What this might mean — the careful checklist (up front) of “Schedules Attached” (to the basic IRS Form 990, which is Parts I through XII, I believe), each with their specific function and categories to be addressed — gets bypassed into random pages labeled “additional tables.”  Then various posted versions of the tax return could include — or not include, without viewer’s awareness unless they have that calculator out, and a notepad handy, ALL THE TIME) that supporting detail has been omitted.

EIN# 531059835. (“ULI.org”) || Urban Land Institute (in DC), FY2016 (YE Jun30) a very fuzzy non-explanation (Pt. III pg 2) on a shortened page on how it spent its $54M. {{Magnified Excerpt of the bottom of Page 2 only; see post for further explanation of my concerns).

LOOK at the numbers on Line 4d — they show REVENUES exceed EXPENSES including the largest grants (over $1M) by (roughly) $9.4M (I rounded “expenses” up to $22.6M). This indicates the organization is running about a $10M profit in two categories, only half of which are likely to be explained in other parts of the return. ..

This is my first look at this Form 990, and I’m calling it out before even looking further onto the return. If I’m wrong, I’ll keep my above prediction in place, and correct it.

OK, having looked through the tax return and (as far as non-members are allowed, which doesn’t include looking up WHO THE MEMBERS ARE (!), I’ve seen enough (and am irritated enough) to stop here, with a notation (til further notice) that the 1916 — or 1936, depending on which source you believe — IL-based ULI and the 1970ff (per its IRS form) ULF (that is, its related foundation), legal domicile DC (per its IRS form) and to mention that a search for “audited financial statements” on ULI.org brought up only those from the foundation.  Also I’d like to note that Sched R Part I (for ULI) references to entities, 1 in Hong Kong, which controls another one in Shanghai, China, and Part II lists the foundation (which was how I got its EIN#).

Also found near the top under “Recent News” (mirrors the information, somewhat, from the TB&P article).  Dec. 18, 2018, by Caitlin Caruso, https://foundation.uli.org/top-stories/walton-family-foundation-supports-expansion-uli-oklahoma-northwest-arkansas/

I deduce from the various click-throughs that the Walton Family Foundation (assets over $3 billion per “Foundation Center” however its Form 990PF FY2017 (=Calendar Year, EIN# 133441466), posted on its own website says, $4.9 billion assets on page 1) is in fact supporting ULI-Oklahoma — through (FY2018, says its “Grants” website) $207.8K to, not ULI-Oklahoma directly, but to “ULI Foundation.”  It is the only result showing for any grant to “ULI Foundation” however (so much for that database’s accuracy) (Click Here to see).

I found on the Walton Family Foundation website’s Form 990PF posted (link above), scrolling through all the grants fine-print (they are at least listed alphabetically), one to “Urban Land Institute”  for $28,315 for “Housing.”  In fact  neither the purpose nor the actual grantee name in the database matches that in the tax return… The one for the same amount (2017) on the grants database is listed “special projects” and doesn’t abbreviate “ULI.”  Compare (I annotated both screenprints):

WaltonFamilyFoundation.org grants database search (annotated) showing small 2017 grant to ULI-Oklahoma.

WaltonFamilyFoundation.org “Reports-Financials” page provides links to 990PFs up thru 2017 only, and Annual Reports through 2018 (but no audited financial statements for any year). grants database search (annotated) showing small 2017 grant to ULI-Oklahoma. This “slice” of 70pp of grants (totaling over $500M) showing ULI-Oklahoma was taken from the FY2017 990PF (for my “Arkansas Connection” blog). Notice purpose is “housing” not “special projects.”

This enabled ULI-Oklahoma to hire a full-time staff member (announced this past April, 2019) to work on Northwest Arkansas ULI as a satellite of the Oklahoma one.  That is, across state borders, and is typical of regionalization to ignore such borders… (4-image gallery from two or three different sources; see captions):

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Also, having found  a “foundation.ULI.org” website, and clicked on “Institutional Partners” ( a very long list, it seems alphabetically, which puts Annie E. Casey Foundation right near the top, and the Walton Family Foundation in Bentonville Arkansas, near the bottom) — there is an admission that this Walton Family Foundation is responsible for helping ULI — with assistance from ULI Oklahoma — to get ULI things “up and running” for Northwest Arkansas.  I could/may upload the image, but for now, I’m just going to add the tax return tables for the related foundation and take a personal “time-out” while I further process this information.  I have done enough work on this post for a while, though more is in order.

Someone should check the state business entities registrations for the companies mentioned herein and find out what their real legal domiciles are, and as to “Runway Group, LLC” also age and owners (managers). (A note on Arkansas Secretary of State website says that LLC members are confidential as of 2007.  Not so in all states).  I also did not find any LLC (or fictitious name) called, specifically “Runway Group, LLC” searching “Arkansas” or “All States” (from Arkansas).

(I was generally of the situation some years ago, but focused on other studies).

For now I’m adding a slideshow (see esp. first two images; total of five).  Also, here’s the pdf printout **(found searching for “audited financial statements” and finding only the foundation’s), only 2pp, of the Institutional Partners.  I’m unsure how current it is, but judging by the Walton Family Foundation being on the list, probably within the last few years only…. (On the attached pdf, the “institutional” (really, it’s tax-exempt foundations) links (organization names) should be clickable, i.e., active.

**Institutional Foundation Partners – ULI Foundation (see Further Details) THis DC Domicile Fndtn said to have started only in 1970) LOOK AT THE LIST || (2019Apr30 printed) 
(Not working that well; try:  Foundation.ULI.org~MeetOurSupporters~Institutional FoundationPartners)

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FYI, ULI (FY2016) Balance Sheet (Part X) lists $39M in “Other Securities” translated (on Sched D) as “Beneficial interest in ULIF (i.e., ULIFoundation assets).  Meanwhile, for the same year, ULIF’s own Part X lists about $34M (by recall; see tax return to doublecheck) assets held in “Other Securities” about half of which is listed under closely held private equities ($18M). ….  Definitely a symbiotic relationship…. (you have the links; feel free to compare):

Total results: 3. Search Again.  Urban Land Institute Foundation, EIN# 237133957, 1970ff.

~ ~ ~

Footnote TB&P (i.e., Check the WindowFrames for more info on any on-line).

Identifying ownership of a website talkbusiness.net for Arkansas, which I quoted Apr 29, 2019, re NW Arkansas Council and (its former CEO Mike Malone who resigned to help direct) Runway Group, LLC (sponsored by the mid-thirties cycling enthusiast Walton (Wal-mart) heirs Tom & Steuart Walton… (see also “Nelson Peacock” and “Protect.org” or NAPC (a TN corp associated with H.Con.Res.72)

The usual logos didn’t or fine print at the bottom weren’t interactive leading to the info I wanted, nor was the “contact” link. I didn’t see any “Terms of Use” link so clicked on “ADVERTISE” at the top to identify who owned this platform. The platform is a product or service, not a company: It by definition has an owner. The footer listed a “© name, but not very convincing, so I kept looking (clicking). A few paragraphs (with no more hyperlinks, kind of like that Northwest Arkansas Council website) name a parent company, and it appears that “TBP” has been around since 1999. Although under what name isn’t that clear:https://talkbusiness.net/contact/ ~~> the “Advertise” link reads “contact” and the “Contact” link ends “…/contact-us”  Further information lists call letters (of radio or TV) and shows that the author of the article, Mr. Gatling, I quoted is the Business Journal editor.

Natural State Media (NSM) is the parent company for Talk Business & Politics and the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. NSM was the result of the October 2015 merger of River Rock Communications and TCW Media (The City Wire). The new company, Natural State Media, is headquartered in Fort Smith [Arkansas].