LittleSis is excited to announce a new partnership with the Responsible Endowments Coalition (REC). REC trains and supports college students making social change by pushing their universities to make responsible investment common practice.

I got to meet a bunch of these students at their retreat in Brooklyn last weekend. They are working on some really great projects – from establishing responsible investment committees to engaging with less-than-responsible companies.  I joined them to share some of the LittleSis expertise on researching the decision-makers at their schools. When REC students head back to their campuses in the fall they will be able to us LittleSis as a research tool and as a place to store their findings. If you are a student and want to use LittleSis to help you win on your campus, get in touch with erin [at] Littlesis [dot] org.

The White House and Senate Democrats may consider splitting the health care bill into two pieces to get GOP support on at least one of them. (WSJ)

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will travel to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for the Fed’s annual meeting. (NYT)

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced $1.2 billion in grant money to help train hospitals to use electronic health records, fulfilling an early Obama campaign promise. (Reuters)

Senator Ted Kennedy sends a letter to the State Senate, asking them to quickly name his successor who can get to work in Washington. (WSJ)

A report says government jobs have grown since the recession, but big cuts may on the horizon. (NYT)

Yesterday, I heard billionaire Steve Forbes speak in Buffalo, NY, as part of a traveling motivational seminar. I was on assignment for Artvoice, Buffalo’s alternative weekly newspaper. Forbes shared the bill with the power elite: former Secretary of State Colin Powell, football great Joe Montana, and former mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani. The “Get Motivated!” seminars rent out sports stadiums around the country for all-day sessions and offer discounts to employers who take their whole office as a substitute for a day’s work.

Here’s what Forbes — the editor of Forbes magazine and CEO of Forbes Inc. — said to the 19,000-plus Buffalo crowd:

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In an era where the traditional means for funding journalism projects have all but evaporated, David Cohn has a sharp sense of where the future of journalism is heading. As the founder and ringleader of Spot.us, David’s ideas have materialized into an open source platform that has pioneered an innovative, original model of”community funded reporting”:

Through Spot.us the public can commission journalists to do investigations on important and perhaps overlooked stories. All donations are tax deductible and if a news organization buys exclusive rights to the content, your donation will be reimbursed. Otherwise, all content is made available to all through a Creative Commons license. It’s a marketplace where independent reporters, community members and news organizations can come together and collaborate.

We dig it so much that we have launched a LittleSis project on Spot.us.  Titled “Who’s Behind the Bay Area’s Most Powerful Companies?, we’re leveraging synergy between the Spot.us and LittleSis communities to investigate and articulate the networks of wealth and influence that sustain the most powerful companies in the Bay Area.  Specifically, here’s what we’re hoping to cook up:

1. A database containing in-depth profiles on at least 25 Bay Area organizations, 100+ executive board members, and 1,000+ inter-connections with affiliated organizations and personnel.
2. A visualization (map or interactive graph) depicting the most noteworthy connections
3. 2-3 news-style reports and informational press releases related to our findings.

We Need Your Support. Our ability to complete this project directly relies upon small donations from supporters of LittleSis fans, like-minded organizations, and individuals with a vested interest in the Bay Area Community.  Visit the pitch page on Spot.us for more information.

The pressure will be on key Democrat Harry Reid emerge as a Senate leader and pass the health care bill. (WSJ)

Senator Chuck Grassley launches a protest against the practice of doctors putting their name on ghostwritten medical reports produced by drug companies. (NYT)

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis recently hired 670 regulators to enforce tighter business regulations. (WSJ)

Oil companies are spending mountains of money to protest the proposed climate bill. (FT)

In an op-ed, billionaire Warren Buffett warns that federal stimulus money will have a negative effect on the rest of the world. (NYT)

In response to a couple of questions I’ve received from analysts lately, I wanted to provide a simple set of instructions for profiling investors on LittleSis.

Why Profile Investors?

When prominent investors such as John Paulson make investment decisions, it can have a large impact on the public perception of a given industry.  For example: a recent article on SeekingAlpha.com demonstrated that his investment in the CBG sparked a 15% share increase on June 11th.  Moreover, shareholders with a significant stake in a company often gain the right to give input on key business decisions.

How to Track Investments:

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rallies Democrats to support keeping a public health care option. (NYT)

Senator Kent Conrad defends his plan for government-backed insurance co-ops. (WSJ)

New AIG chief Robert Benmosche will be paid at least $7 million a year. (Bloomberg)

The SEC curbs short-selling in an effort to prevent another stock market collapse. (NYT)

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay agrees to make a fool of himself on “Dancing with the Stars.” (NYT)

Our analysts participating in the Healthcare Lobbyist Challenge have been hard at work.  Thanks to them, our list now features 175 staffers-turned-lobbyists.  Our lead analyst, @ddwriter has earned more than 1,000 points while our runners up @Reed.Young and @Priscilla have made some valuable contributions.

If they stay in the lead, they’re going to win some great prizes. First place is going home with a LittleSis tee, an assortment of health care and new media books and be featured in our blog.  Second and third get We the Media, and the t-shirt.  And all three will be featured in Adam’s health care blog at the Huffington Post.

And we’ve decided to give away more stuff! We’re sending every analyst that reaches 150 points a LittleSis tee to say thanks.

Read more…

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says the government may drop the public option in effort to compromise on reform. (WSJ)

On “Meet the Press,” Howard Dean calls the public option “indispensable.” (AP)

Education Secretary Arne Duncan is pushing for stimulus funding to reform education policy. (NYT)

Companies like Goldman Sachs and Prudential are getting a boost from the biggest stock rally since the 1930s. (Bloomberg)

The Fed will extend TALF through next June to cushion the growth of the real estate industry. (Bloomberg)

Senators Herb Kohl, Bill Nelson and Chuck Grassley investigate the process of purchasing medical supplies in an effort to keep taxpayers’ health costs down. (NYT)

Virginia Senator Jim Webb visits Myanmar to meet with junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe. (NYT)

Refused a government bailout, the Fed orders struggling CIT Group to submit a capital plan for paying off their debts within 15 days. (Reuters)

Merrill Lynch is pouring money into recruiting new financial advisers, offering signing bonuses larger than those in 2006 and 2007. (FT)

Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman earned $702 million last year, making him 2008’s highest paid executive. Congrats, Stephen! (Bloomberg)