Creepy to read this, but fascinating nonetheless

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

Government at its best

 

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/07/10/worries_about_lights_were_kept_in_the_dark/?page=full

 

Selected quotes:

 

“The public has a right to accurate information,’’ Mullan wrote, “and we also have an obli gation not to shout fire in a crowded theatre when there’s no fire.’’

 

But the engineers in charge kept quiet. They filed no written report. They didn’t brief their boss. And when they asked federal regulators for money to fix a corrosion problem that “could’’ lead to falling light fixtures, they didn’t disclose that one had already fallen.

 

“I have a hard time believing [Mullan] didn’t know,’’ said Ernst, chief engineer of the region that includes the Big Dig. “I wish he had just stuck with the first [story] and been done with it . . . You don’t push your problems down to the employee below you because your job is at risk.’’

 

After years of scandals, bad press, and lawsuits alleging shoddy work, engineers freely admit they don’t like to write things down, prompting one transportation consultant to compare the atmosphere to President Nixon’s White House.

 

Ernst explained that engineers have become wary of writing things down since the 2006 ceiling collapse that killed Milena Del Valle because written records can become fodder for lawsuits.

 

The consultant, Taugher, wrote in his report about the light fixture incident that Ernst’s engineers told him “leaks are [a] huge issue. Air ducts are 80 percent full of water every night. Someone quitting could send a photo [to] the press and blow the thing up.’’

 

Tramontozzi cared most about getting credit for 10 weeks of unused vacation time, which would make him eligible for a state pension. Tramontozzi said that Mullan seemed amenable, even sending Tramontozzi an e-mail the next day urging him to “hang in there.’’

[KD in CA]

The Big Dig -- most corrupt project ev-ah!!

 

 

Yet another example of Big Government in action, doing what they do best.

 

 

[DC Tom]

That's less a problem with government than it is with American society in general.

 

 

 

And it's still not NEARLY as corrupt as New York's timekeeping project.

[whateverdude]

I'd tell you what I think but I'm reluctant to write it down

[UConn James]

I'll just say that when Mitt Romney became Mass. governor, he wanted to fire the head of the MTA who oversaw the Big Dig for this and other reasons.

 

Contemporary NYT article

Gov. Mitt Romney, who has long criticized the management of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, a quasi-independent agency which oversees the Big Dig, said Tuesday he would take steps to fire its chairman, Matthew J. Amorello.

 

“People should not have to drive through the turnpike tunnels with their fingers crossed,’’ Mr. Romney said. He added, “I don’t think anyone can feel safe driving through a tunnel system where just last night someone got killed by a 3-ton piece of concrete falling on their car.’’

 

Mr. Amorello, for his part, repeatedly asserted today that “these tunnels are safe,’’ and said “any shortcoming, any short cut that was made’’ will be uncovered. "This was a horrible horrible event, and it was an anomaly, and we will get to the bottom of what happened," he said.

 

This is only part of the reason that I'm voting for Romney in the Republican primary. He has a knack for entering situations that are FUBAR, identifying what's wrong, deciding what needs to be done to remedy it, and then get out of the way. I was impressed with how he handled the 2005 "hundred year" flooding that saw a major dam collapse near a sizable city. In trying to fix the Big Dig and change the culture of the DOT/MTA, he got stalled at every turn by the supermajority Democrats, who were overjoyed to play politics and maintain a non-accountable system even after a woman was crushed in a panel collapse. (Moreover, Amorello was a former Republican state senator, which made me even more impressed with Romney. He doesn't put up with failure, no matter the politics.)

 

The legislature controls the turnpike authority and Amarello was like a cockroach who could survive a nuclear blast. In no way shape or form did they want to give Romney a "win" on this, so they stonewalled him at every avenue in trying to get rid of this dude and fix the MTA. Romney took it to the court system, where he was denied. He tried to demote Amarello (ostensibly to hire someone else as the director) which was met with a 'Nope.' He tried to shame the legislature in the media, which didn't work because they're shameless. He tried seven ways to Sunday, and nothing worked. He was constitutionally unable to do anything about an incompetent department head, and the Democrat legislature refused to do anything about the incompetence until after a woman was pulverized. Amarello finally resigned a couple of months after the collapse. Panels checks and repairs were made and iirc the Big Dig firm was held liable. Romney was given a small measure of control via the DOT and hired a guy who streamlined repairs and instituted a "Fix it First" policy.

 

When Deval Patrick (D) was elected governor, he magically was able to toss Romney's guy and get his own man to head the MTA. (He also magically recovered the ability to appoint an interim U.S. Senator after Ted Kennedy died... an authority the legislature had taken away the minute Romney had been elected.)

 

Doesn't surprise me a bit that this culture is back (if it ever left among the lower tiers of management and DOT workers).

 

Mass Democrats: POLITICS over public safety.

Edited July 16, 2011 by UConn James

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

All pf the light fixtures need to be replaced: $54,000,000

 

http://articles.boston.com/2012-04-05/news/31295327_1_new-fixtures-entire-fixture-light-replacement-project