arlwx Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Former weather service employees refuse to speak about ethics allegations By Timothy Cama - 07/15/15 03:31 PM EDT Two former employees of the National Weather Service (NWS) on Wednesday refused to speak with House lawmakers about allegations of misconduct concerning a consulting contract one of them had with the agency. Lawmakers on the House Science Committee accused Peter Jiron of retiring from the weather agency in 2010, and then coming back soon after as a contractor with a higher salary, under a contract he helped write. Jiron and his former supervisor, Robert Byrd, declined to answer any questions about the allegations, repeatedly invoking their Fifth Amendment rights to silence. (snip) Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) said the problems at the center of the hearing “are less about the specific conduct of one individual than a failure of judgment and oversight up and down the management chain in the National Weather Service,” but she said Republicans were not interested in hearing about that. The Commerce Department’s Office of Inspector General released a report in June concluding that Jiron, who was NWS’s chief financial officer, oversaw many aspects of how his contract was written. His salary was much higher as a contractor than as an employee, and the agreement entitled him to an apartment paid for by the federal government. “Today’s hearing was an opportunity for Mr. Jiron and Mr. Byrd to explain to us why taxpayers picked up the tab for an allegedly improper contract worth nearly half a million dollars,” Smith said in a statement after the hearing. (snip) http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/248048-former-weather-service-employees-refuse-to-speak-about-ethics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Marusak Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 why am i not surprised? if only there was more oversight on contractors, whether it's with defense, NWS, or any other agency. but then again, that would cost a few dollars to pay for the auditor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Smith Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I have often wondered this about the NWS -- why do their messages always appear four times instead of one? I have often wondered this about the NWS -- why do their messages always appear four times instead of one? I have often wondered this about the NWS -- why do their messages always appear four times instead of one? I have often wondered this about the NWS -- why do their messages always appear four times instead of one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohleary Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 I have often wondered this about the NWS -- why do their messages always appear four times instead of one? I have often wondered this about the NWS -- why do their messages always appear four times instead of one? I have often wondered this about the NWS -- why do their messages always appear four times instead of one? I have often wondered this about the NWS -- why do their messages always appear four times instead of one? What messages appear four times? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Smith Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Just about everything on their site seems to appear several times, four seems to be the median. Check it out and you'll see various messages appearing multiple times one after the other, like severe reports, state forecasts and hourly data. Maybe they just want to be certain everything gets posted. Here's one example from the New York state data, notice how many times the first group starting with Binghamton appears (this may change depending on when you click). http://www.nws.noaa.gov/view/prodsByState.php?state=NY&prodtype=state Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isohume Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Just about everything on their site seems to appear several times, four seems to be the median. Check it out and you'll see various messages appearing multiple times one after the other, like severe reports, state forecasts and hourly data. Maybe they just want to be certain everything gets posted. Here's one example from the New York state data, notice how many times the first group starting with Binghamton appears (this may change depending on when you click). http://www.nws.noaa.gov/view/prodsByState.php?state=NY&prodtype=state That's a regional server issue. Probably doesn't have much to do with illegal contract bids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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