Both Obama and McCain came out against these independent message groups last spring.

NPR: Liberal 527 Groups Target McCain With Ads

Actually two Tuck Business School students, Christopher Halstedt and Brad Callow, did an independent study this past spring with Senior Associate Dean Bob Hansen and Gregg on exactly this topic.

FORBES: Success and Social Value

They are Shawn Kelley, Cody Eppley, Jim Miller and minor league lefty Vidal Nuno, a heretofore unknown pitcher out of the independent leagues who has impressed this spring.

WSJ: Yankees Facing Multiple-Choice Test

An independent review of the Wales audit office was carried out in spring 2009.

BBC: Audit committee

And even though the calendar still says spring, one summer outdoor movie series is officially underway, spotlighting independent films at unlikely sites across the city.

BBC: Fresh-air flicks with a twist in New York City

The industry's leading trade group, the National Association of Campus Stores, tested a Web-site hosting service for independent campus stores at five schools for several months and announced a widespread rollout of the program set for spring.

CNN: Online booksellers go back to school

The NHS regulator, Monitor, has commissioned an independent review of all the trust's services, the results of which it said would be published by next spring.

BBC: Buying Cannock hospital 'not an option' for council