By:
Commentary Writer
01/04/12 9:05 PM
WHO: Antrim (Pa.) Township
WHAT: Plan to use a $700,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration to rehabilitate a 150-year-old covered bridge known as Martin's Mill Bridge.
WHY IT'S AN OUTRAGE: If Martin's Mill Bridge is such an important historic structure, let local and/or state taxpayers fund the rehabilitation.
WHERE TO VENT: Federal Highway Administration Media Relations Office at: 202-366-0660.
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By:
Commentary Writer
01/03/12 9:05 PM
Who: Department of the Interior
What: According to the agency's inspector general, the Interior Department spent $206 million on travel in fiscal 2009 in spite of owning $5 million worth of teleconferencing equipment.
Why its an outrage: Acting Assistant Secretary Pamela Haze wrote in a response to the report that the video and audio quality "does not remotely approximate face-to-face contact."
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By:
Commentary Writer
01/02/12 9:05 PM
WHO: Sponsors of the Brandon Regent Center in Tampa Bay, Florida
WHAT: Originally sold as a hurricane shelter, the center got nearly $7 million in local, state and federal funding.
WHY IT'S AN OUTRAGE: The center, which critics call a "Taj Mahal," is not listed by local authorities as a hurricane shelter. The facility is losing an estimated $72,000 per month, according to Tampa Bay's News 10.
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By:
Commentary Writer
12/31/11 9:05 PM
WHO: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
WHAT: Used $104,000 from the National Institutes for Health to study "energy healing"
WHY IT'S AN OUTRAGE: The study was based in part on the work of a woman who described herself, according to the Chicago Tribune, as a "healer, clairvoyant and medicine woman."
WHERE TO VENT: Call the NIH Office of Communications at 301-496-5787
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What: Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White must face trial next month on criminal charges for voter fraud that could lead to his removal from office. A judge denied his motion to have the charges dropped.
How: A grand jury indicted White on charges that he falsely used his ex-wife’s address on voter registration and other documents while running for secretary of state.
Why it’s outrageous: The grand jury alleged that White falsified his address so he could collect his Fishers town councilman salary after moving out of the district.
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What: Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., is charging House Republicans with pushing through 113 earmarks worth $841 million in a defense spending bill that has yet to come to a vote.How: McCaskill alleged that GOP leaders established slush funds to offset spending for pet projects and actively assisted lawmakers in setting amendments that got little or no debate.Denial: Republican representatives claimed those amendments aren’t “earmarks” because they aren’t tied to specific districts and require the Pentagon to issue contracts to the lowest bidder.
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What: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the reopening of a nuclear power plant near Toledo, Ohio, even before completion of an investigation of mysterious cracks in the concrete protecting its reactor.Why: The commission said the plant’s owner gave them “reasonable assurance” that the cracks don’t pose a danger. Meanwhile, the owners have until the end of February to find out what caused the sudden cracks.
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What: Just 34 percent of senior U.S. noncommissioned and commissioned officers making at least $50,000 per year said that they are very confident of their military retirement funding.How: The congressional supercommittee’s failure to reduce the deficit could trigger $500 billion in Department of Defense spending cuts. And a high-level DOD panel is looking at switching the military retirement system to riskier 401(k) plans.
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WHAT: Columbia University researchers say they discovered a security flaw that is so fundamental that it may impact tens of millions of printers and other computer hardware that use built-in “embedded” firmware programs.HOW: Many printers support automatic online “remote firmware updates.” Every time the printer accepts a job, it checks to see if a software update is included — but it typically doesn’t require a digital ID to verify the upgrade’s authenticity.
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WHAT: A Department of Justice task force celebrated the blockbuster Cyber Monday online shopping day by announcing the seizure of 150 websites accused of selling counterfeit goods.HOW: Most of the seized websites were based in China, and some of the counterfeit goods they allegedly sold included Puma sports sneakers, NFL pro football team jerseys and Ugg boots.WHY IT’S OUTRAGEOUS: Sales of pirated goods are huge. Since 2010, the federal task force has closed down some 350 domains. But Internet shoppers still tried to visit more than 77 million times.
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URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/archive/44232/44232?type[story]=story&quicktabs_6=1
