the BScubed/Monkey Business Award goes to...

the news media (print, TV, radio, internet) which have, for more than a year, and hundreds of stories, reported all of the Baseless Self Serving Statements in Montgomery County press releases and public statements of County officials, but failed to report "the story behind the story" with the Silver Spring Transit Center, all the while touting that they report "in-depth" and ask "probing questions". 

http://silverspringtransitcenter.blogspot.com/2014/06/silver-spring-transit-center-how-it.html

Congratulations, news media. The BScubed/Monkey Business Award is yours.

On a personal note, it's been frustrating to read and listen to all the "experts" make public statements regarding the safety of the SSTC, and other matters, while lacking basic technical knowledge on the subject--"talking through their hats". Public officials making public statements, especially regarding the safety of the SSTC, should KNOW that their public statements are technically accurate BEFORE they make them. If public officials lack the technical knowledge in construction and engineering to know that the public statements that they make are accurate, then IMHO they shouldn't make them.

The news media have reported numerous times that David Dise, Director of the Montgomery County Department of General Services, says: “The SSTC will absolutely be safe”. HOGWASH! Dise can't guarantee that the SSTC will be safe, any more than ANYONE can predict the future. Dise may THINK that the SSTC will be absolutely safe; but, he doesn’t KNOW that the SSTC will be absolutely safe. It’s Dise’s OPINION that the SSTC will be safe. And, we all know what they say about opinions—they all stink. Stick to the FACTS, Mr. Dise. If you choose to make your OPINIONS public, then be clear to the public that it's your OPINION, NOT A FACT.

What news media haven't reported is the rest of the iceberg.

The public was promised a brand new, unflawed transit center. The public got a severely flawed, overbudget, overdue, $120+ million LEMON that needs more than $10 million in "repairs" (that don't address the source of the severe cracking--the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints) before it even opens. What a ripoff!

The Baseless Self-Serving Statement (BScubed) "Epitome" Award goes to...

the District of Columbia.

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/26577558/dc-councilman-leads-hearing-on-report-regarding-relisha-rudd-case

"Top D.C. officials defended the findings of a report on 8-year-old Relisha Rudd in a somewhat contentious council hearing on Friday.

The report found the District could not have prevented the girl's disappearance."

You can look at this two ways: 

1 - either it's the epitome of a Baseless Self-Serving Statement (BScubed)

or

2 - there's great truth in that statement--the most inept, poorly run government in the world couldn't have done anything to prevent Relisha Rudd's disappearance.

either way, it's the epitome of a Baseless Self-Serving Statement (BScubed).

Congratulations, District of Columbia. The Baseless Self-Serving Statement (BScubed) Epitome Award is yours.

the BScubed/Structural Expert Award goes to...

update, 9/3/14:
http://silverspringtransitcenter.blogspot.com/2014/09/stop-purple-lines-public-private.html
*******************************************************************************
update, 8/31/14:
http://pileofsteamingbs.blogspot.com/2014/08/controlling-silver-spring-transit.html
*******************************************************************************

The Silver Spring Transit Center (so-called) structural experts: 

• Montgomery County council 
• Montgomery County staff
• Montgomery County paid consultants
• Montgomery County pro bono advisory group to the Montgomery County Executive

The citation for the prestigious BScubed/Structural Expert Award reads:
“The KCE report that Montgomery County commissioned to investigate the SSTC’s severe cracking (that Montgomery County posted on their website in March 2013) notes that the 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC has no expansion/contraction joints ALL structural experts know that expansion/contraction joints are needed for large structures subject to temperature changes. In their design and construction standards, to which the SSTC was supposed to have been designed and built, WMATA requires that expansion/contraction joints be located no more than 100 feet apart. The SSTC has none!

Despite this glaring oversight, Montgomery County and its band of experts are proceeding with a “repair” plan, costing ten$ of million$,  that doesn’t address the core problem—the SSTC’s complete lack of expansion/contraction joints.

Congratulations, (so-called) structural experts! The BScubed/Structural Expert Award is yours.”

The BS cubed Structural Expert Award Selection Committee would like to point out a couple of notable exceptions to the very public group of bureaucrat/politician structural experts who, without fanfare or notoriety, got it right. Namely, on April 7, 2010, more than FOUR YEARS ago, Montgomery County building inspector George Mavroumatis asked whether the SSTC's design will cause the concrete to crack at the edge of the bus deck. (KCE attachments, vol. 2, p. 84.) http://www.actfortransit.org/purple_transit_center.html

Besides Mr. Mavroumatis, the committee would also like to acknowledge WMATA's engineers who have repeatedly told Montgomery County's council that the severely cracked SSTC will be expensive to maintain and operate. This, despite the fact that WMATA's general manager, and bureaucrat/politician, Richard Sarles, backpedaled from his engineers' testimony before the County council, and assured the council that WMATA would accept the severely flawed SSTC. The BScubed/Spineless Award committee is considering Mr. Sarles for recognition.
http://silverspringtransitcenter.blogspot.com/2014/02/wmatas-engineers-are-right.html

The committee would also like to recognize the media, whose “in-depth reporting” and “probing questions” have failed to uncover the failure of the award recipients to recognize the obvious, and to come up with a “repair” plan that addresses the core problem—the SSTC’s complete lack of expansion/contraction joints.

the BScubed/Snow Job Award goes to...

the Silver Spring Transit Center "team": 

• Montgomery County MD's Executive, Council and staff (notably the Department of General Services, and its director, David Dise, Edward Blansitt, Montgomery County MD Inspector General, and Timothy L. Firestine, Montgomery County MD Chief Administrative Officer)
• WMATA
• Federal Transit Administration
• Maryland Transit Administration
• Montgomery County's paid consultants (Parsons Brinkerhoff, KCE)
• Montgomery County's pro bono advisors
• and the news media--print, TV, radio, internet--who haven't reported "in-depth" and who haven't asked "probing questions" 

for endorsing repairs to the SSTC that won't fix the problem 
and for not holding public meetings where those paying for the SSTC, the public, can ask their questions and make their comments on the public record. 

A latex concrete overlay won't fix the SSTC's extensive concrete cracking. External steel braces on under-designed beams from which 3-inch thick pieces of concrete have fallen (according to reports in Engineering News Record) won't fix the SSTC's extensive concrete cracking either; but, the SSTC "team" endorses these "repairs" anyway.

The SSTC's extensive concrete cracking is likely caused by its total lack of expansion/contraction joints, a serious defect identified in KCE's March 15, 2013 report. WMATA's design and construction standards, to which the SSTC was supposed to have been designed and built, require expansion/contraction joints be placed no farther than 100 ft. apart. The 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC has NONE. We ALL know what happens to large water mains in freezing temperatures--they break. And we ALL know what happens to concrete roads without expansion/contraction joints when it gets hot--they buckle. HUGE forces can result from temperature changes in large structures without expansion/contraction joints. Cracking concrete is no surprise.

How does one retrofit expansion/contraction joints into an existing (albiet unopened) 315 ft. by 580 ft. hardened concrete structure that has none? Can it be done? Is this perhaps why the SSTC "team" is endorsing repairs that won't fix the problem? to "snow job" the public?

Congratulations, SSTC "team". The BScubed/Snow Job Award is yours. 

the BScubed/You've Got To Be Kidding Me Award goes to...

Delaware transportation secretary Shailen Bhatt who told the AP: "We closed the bridge in time. We did not have a failure. That bridge is still standing and nobody has been injured. I'm happy to accept responsibility for this agency's actions."

http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Businessman-I-reported-bridge-problems-in-April-5534046.php

Thank God that there wasn't a failure and nobody was injured, Secretary Bhatt. Don't thank the Delaware DOT employees who didn't act on the "heads up" that they got from a citizen MORE THAN 8 WEEKS AGO.

Secretary Bhatt, in the future, in the interest of brevity, please use the number from BScubed's List of 99 Standard Baseless Self Serving Statements, e.g., "#1" (which happens to be "it's all good").

Congratulations, Secretary Bhatt, the BScubed (Baseless Self Serving Statement)/You've Got To Be Kidding Me Award is yours.

the BScubed/Clueless Award goes to...

Edward Blansitt, Montgomery County MD Inspector General, and Timothy L. Firestine, Montgomery County MD Chief Administrative Officer, for the IG's report ("Project Management Deficiencies in Constructing the Paul S. Sarbanes Silver Spring Transit Center") and Firestine's response (included in the report).

This 165-page .pdf document deals mostly with recommended measures for future projects; but, does not deal with why and how the Silver Spring Transit Center became severely flawed. The report fails to address why and how Montgomery County selected the SSTC's builder/contractor, engineer/designer and concrete inspector/tester and special quality inspector. Were these selections, made sole source with a public-private partnership, political "favors"? 

The report also fails to address reimbursement of federal (53%), state (11%) and county (36%) public funds wasted on the $120+ million, lemon Silver Spring Transit Center.

Congratulations, Messrs. Blansitt and Firestine. The BScubed/Clueless Award is yours.

the BScubed/Hat Trick award goes to...

David Dise, Director of Montgomery County's Department of General Services, for his statement concerning the Montgomery County IG's report on failures in project management for the Silver Spring Transit Center.

"While this added oversight is useful, by itself this measure would not have detected or prevented the major flaws in this project any sooner than the County's and WMATA's own efforts."

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/05/report-problems-with-silver-spring-transit-center-may-have-been-known-years-ago-103358.html

Here at BScubed it's not often that we find a Baseless Self Serving Statement (BScubed) that meets all 3 of the Hat Trick's criteria:

1. 100% Baseless
2. 100% Self Serving, and
3. 100% Absurd

Congratulations, Mr. Dise, the BScubed/Hat Trick award is yours.

"It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one."
George Washington

the BScubed/Putting Lipstick on a Pig Award goes to...

Metro General Manager Richard Sarles
Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Floreen
Tim Firestine, chief administrative officer for Montgomery County
"Short" (Charlie Scott?, senior government relations officer with Metro)
Montgomery County Council member Roger Berliner
David Dise, general services director for Montgomery County
news media (print, TV, radio, internet)

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=46&sid=3618969

When asked about Metro's decision to wait until repairs are complete, Metro General Manager Richard Sarles told reporters "It will be opened, and it will be safe."

Councilmember Nancy Floreen pressed for an answer to the question. "You know, at the end of the day, people want to know, so, when are we going to be able to get in there?"

Tim Firestine, chief administrative officer for Montgomery County, told the council, "Our goal, still, is to complete the center and turn it over to Metro by the end of the year."

Short (Scott?) said it would depend on the course of the repair work but added, "We'll do everything we can to expedite" the opening of the transit center.

Council member Roger Berliner, who leads a county committee on infrastructure, joked, "What time is your meeting? Maybe we'll all just sort of hang out."

After the council hearing, David Dise, general services director for Montgomery County, was pressed yet again on when the project and all the needed repairs would be completed. "We won't know the full details until we have finalized the current design and worked with the general contractor on that." Dise has repeatedly told the county council that taxpayers would not be on the hook for the cost of remediation and repairs at the Silver Spring Transit Center, but when asked directly if those costs wouldn't have to be made up front with taxpayer dollars, he conceded. "That may be required, yes." But he then insisted that it's the county's position that taxpayers should not have to cover those repair costs. However, Dise said he fully expects it will take lawsuits to recover the cost of repairs. Of the contractors who could be held responsible by the county, he said "I would expect that they're all working through counsel that are making sure they keep their hands in their pockets."

The citation for the BScubed/Putting Lipstick on a Pig Award reads: "Especially noted is how such a large group of supposedly responsible people can be so concerned with making themselves look good, and when the SSTC will open, and so blase about public safety."

Congratulations to all of you. The BScubed/Putting Lipstick on a Pig Award is yours.

the BScubed/Hypocrisy award goes to...

the news media (print, TV, radio, internet) for claiming that they provide "in-depth reporting" and ask "probing questions", and then failing to do so.

For more than a year the news media have been reporting on the serious problems with the yet-to-be-opened, $120+ million Silver Spring Transit Center (3-inch pieces of concrete falling off, extensive cracking, total lack of expansion joints, thin slabs, exposed reinforcement, missing reinforcement, understrength and overstressed concrete, suspect concrete test reports, underdesigned beams, etc.). Not once in the hundreds of reports that I've seen have the news media asked these questions:

• Why are there serious flaws with the brand new, yet-to-be-opened, $120+ million Silver Spring Transit Center? 
• Do the SSTC's serious, documented flaws suggest that there are other, perhaps even more serious problems with the SSTC that haven't been discovered yet?
• How can the brand new, yet-to-be-opened, $120+ million SSTC have all these documented problems before it even opens? The SSTC hasn't seen its first car, much less its first fully-loaded bus! 
• Who was looking out for the public's interests (53% federal funding, 11% state, 36% county) during design and construction?
• What does the SSTC experiece say about the practice of using public-private partnerships to design and build public works projects?

Congratulations, news media. The BScubed/Hypocrisy award is yours!

Silver Spring Transit Center: damaged goods--return to sender

The BScubed/Patently Absurd Award goes to...

Montgomery County, MD for trying to sell the public the severely flawed, unsafe, supposed-to-be-brand-new, lemon, Silver Spring Transit Center.

If someone(s) tried to sell you this car,

would you buy it?

Of course not!

... but, that's what Montgomery County MD wants you to do with the severely flawed, unsafe, supposed-to-be-brand-new, lemon, Silver Spring Transit Center.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/transit-center-report-public-at-risk-from-falling-concrete-without-additional-repairs/2014/04/29/90bdf8a2-cfca-11e3-a6b1-45c4dffb85a6_story.html

"The public will be at increased risk from falling chunks of concrete...

... But Augustine’s report strikes a markedly different tone, calling the problem “a structural integrity issue as well as a potential local safety issue for the general public.”

... falling concrete could pose a danger to some of the estimated 30,000 commuters who are expected to use the bus-and-train hub each day.

“Any dislodged pieces of concrete could pose a potential safety hazard to pedestrians walking below an area where [falling concrete] occurs,” the report says.

“... we do see a safety issue...” 

Metro, which is supposed to take possession of the center and operate it when repairs have been completed ... has shared Parsons Brinckerhoff’s concern about possible damage from the reinforcement work. 

Leggett said Tuesday that he’d reviewed the report but that ultimately it was up to Metro, as the county’s “customer,” to decide what to do. He said he was prepared to pursue one of two options.

If Metro decides the beam and girder issues are not urgent, the county will complete the remaining scheduled work this spring. That involves placing a new layer of latex-modified concrete on all three levels of the center to address cracks. Under that scenario, the county would turn the building over to Metro this summer for a possible early-fall opening.

The county is negotiating a surety bond — a form of binding financial assurance — from Parsons Brinckerhoff to guarantee that it will pay for any shear and torsion issues that might arise in the future.

The other option is for Metro to decide to go ahead with beam and girder reinforcement prior to opening the facility. That would push the opening into late 2014 and possibly early 2015.

“I’m prepared to go forward. We’ll do whatever they want,” Leggett said.

Council member Roger Berliner (D-Potomac-Bethesda), chairman of the council’s transportation and environment committee, said it is time for Metro to make a decision.

“I think we’re at a fork in the road,” he said. “It is time for them to tell us which of these two paths to go,” he said.


There you have it! It's Metro's decision. 

In essence, Montgomery County is saying to the public (like Mr. Goodwrench): "You (the public) can pay me now, or you can pay me later. Either way (whatever Metro decides) you're going to buy a severely flawed, clearly defective, lemon. And, by the way, the 'rigourous safety inspection program', that Augustine says will be necessary in the future to prevent chunks of concrete from falling on your (the public's) heads, is going to cost you (the public) a ton."

Such a deal!  

Not only does the public get a severely flawed, clearly defective, supposed-to-be-brand-new, lemon, transit center; but also, we (the public) get, at our (the public's) expense, an expensive future "rigourous safety inspection program" (that goes with this supposed-to-be-brand-new lemon) that is needed to keep chunks of concrete from falling on our (the public's) heads in the future. ... Oh! And, by the way, this fabulous deal isn't Montgomery County's decision; it's Metro's.


It was a tough decision here at BScubed deciding whether to award Montgomery County the BScubed/Patently Absurd Award or the BScubed/Brass Balls Award. It was a close vote. 

Congratulations, Montgomery County, the BScubed/Patently Absurd Award is yours.

The Prestigious Platinum Pinocchio award goes to...

“The Silver Spring Transit Center Masters of Deceit”: Montgomery County officials, staff, consultants and others who have been making public statements about the status of the Silver Spring Transit Center and the news media for spreading the deceit by failing to investigate this story “in-depth” and to ask “probing questions”.

Listen carefully to this tape: http://www.mymcmedia.org/valerie-ervin-on-silver-spring-transit-center-video/ 
(Valerie Ervin is a former Montgomery County councilwoman who resigned her seat in December 2013.)
Pay close attention to the “code phrases”.

“...a lot of the story is still underneath the surface...”
Translated: We haven’t been told the whole truth.

“I think it was a mistake for the County Executive to say that it will not cost taxpayers another dime...it's going to cost taxpayers a LOT of money until it is resolved”
Translated: Telling taxpayers that it isn’t going to cost them another dime is deceitful.

“...people have many reasons not to believe what they've been told..."
Translated: We’ve been lied to.

Congratulations, Montgomery County executive, council, staff, consultants and others, including the news media. The Prestigious Platinum Pinocchio award is yours.

SURPRISE!!!

http://www.mymcmedia.org/valerie-ervin-on-silver-spring-transit-center-video/

Listen to the video. This isn't what we've been hearing from Montgomery County and the news media (print, TV, radio, internet) for the past year since the serious flaws to the Silver Spring Transit Center were made public. 

Thank you, Ms. Ervin, for telling us the truth, something that Montgomery County hasn't been telling us, and that the news media hasn't been spreading (the truth).

"...questions...cost to taxpayers?...when will it be delivered?...is it safe?...who's to blame?...a lot of the story is still underneath the surface...a mistake for the County Executive to say that it will not cost taxpayers another dime...it's going to cost taxpayers a LOT of money until it is resolved...it's yet to be determined if WMATA will accept the building...people have many reasons not to believe what they've been told..."

I'm glad that you think that the building is safe, Ms. Ervin. I hope that you're right. Are you a licensed engineer? Do you have an engineering degree?

Those waiting for Montgomery County to voluntarily tell them the whole truth about the Silver Spring Transit Center have a long wait. The same goes for those waiting for the news media to uncover the whole truth. I agree, Ms. Ervin, it's not going to happen any time soon. If the whole truth ever does come out, it's going to have to be dragged out. It'll take lots of work. The whole truth about the Silver Spring Transit Center won't come out easily. Obviously, the news media isn't up to the challenge (where are Woodward & Bernstein when you need them?).

the BScubed/Goofy award goes to...

David Dise, Director of Montgomery County MD's Department of General Services. 

Mr. Dise, who has previously received BScubed awards for Baseless Self Serving Statements such as "The SSTC will absolutely be safe" and "We don't do well with unusual projects" and "We focus on delivering a first-class product in all the projects that we construct", has come up with the goofiest Baseless Self Serving Statement of them all:

"This structure's already survived an earthquake."

http://www.wtop.com/46/3599110/No-firm-date-on-troubled-Silver-Spring-Transit-Center

• The yet-to-be-opened Silver Spring Transit Center hasn't seen its first car, much less its first fully loaded bus. Mr. Dise's latest Baseless Self Serving Statement is like declaring a new ship seaworthy before it leaves drydock.

• All but a miniscule number of structures have survived earthquakes in the eastern US.

Mr. Dise, how about waiting until "independent engineering and construction experts", who don't consider the SSTC to be "unusual", declare it safe, and fully loaded buses start rolling across its cracked and thinner-than-they're-supposed-to-be decks, before you declare the SSTC safe (albeit "unusual")?

Congratulations, Mr. Dise, for the goofiest Baseless Self Serving Statement ever.

Montgomery Co. throws WMATA under the bus again

Look out, WMATA! Montgomery County is trying to throw you under the bus again! (Excuse the pun.)

In July of last year Roger Berliner, Montgomery County MD councilman, tried to throw WMATA under the bus by saying: “The notion that you (WMATA) have no less responsibility than our county does with respect to the current state of affairs is something where we would need to understand how you could take that posture." 

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/07/montgomery-county-wmata-fight-over-silver-spring-transit-center--91762.html

Mr. Berliner's Baseless Self Serving Statement (BSSS or BScubed) is absurd, of course, because the Silver Spring Transit Center is Montgomery County's project, and it's Montgomery County's responsibility to inspect and approve all construction in Montgomery County. 

Now, Montgomery County is trying to throw WMATA under the bus again. 

"The county builds projects such as libraries, police and fire stations, and recreation centers very well, but it tends to run into trouble when it tries to address unusual projects in the usual ways, said David Dise, director of the county’s Department of General Services." 

http://www.gazette.net/article/20140404/NEWS/140409374/1022/montgomery-looking-at-ways-to-avoid-cost-overruns&template=gazette

"...unusual project..." 

It's your fault, WMATA. 

On a serious note, it doesn't say much for Montgomery County for them to admit that they are incapable of handling "unusual" projects. It just raises more questions that the news media (print, TV, radio, internet) won't ask:

• If Montgomery County can't handle "unusual" projects, then why did Montgomery County take on the SSTC, at taxpayer expense, in the first place? 
• Why did Montgomery County take on construction management for the SSTC, assigning a team of full time County employees to it? 
• How does Montgomery County define an "unusual" project? Is a skyscraper an "unusual" project? Silver Spring, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Rockville, etc. have plenty of skyscrapers. I wouldn't want to be working or living in one of them knowing that Montgomery County can't handle construction inspection for "unusual" projects.

Among other concerns, taxpayers should be concerned that millions in public funds (local, state, federal) have been wasted because Montgomery County can't handle construction management and construction inspection for "unusual" projects.

And, on a final note, the same guy who is saying that Montgomery County can't do "unusual" projects is widely quoted as saying "The SSTC will absolutely be safe."  

• Are you ready to "take to the bank" his Baseless Self Serving Statement (BSSS or BScubed) that "the SSTC will absolutely be safe" knowing that Montgomery County can't handle "unusual" projects?

You can't have it both ways, Montgomery County. If the SSTC is so "unusual" that it's beyond your expertise, then you shouldn't be making Baseless Self Serving Statements like "the SSTC will absolutely be safe".

It wouldn't be the first time in MD

"On October 10, 1973, Spiro Agnew became the second Vice President to resign the office. ...  Agnew resigned and then pleaded no contest to criminal charges of tax evasion,[25] part of a negotiated resolution to a scheme wherein he was accused of accepting more than $100,000 in bribes[26] during his tenure as governor of Maryland. Agnew was fined $10,000 and put on three years' probation.[27] The $10,000 fine covered only the taxes and interest due on what was "unreported income" from 1967. The plea bargain was later mocked by former Maryland attorney general Stephen H. Sachs as "the greatest deal since the Lord spared Isaac on the mountaintop."[28] Students of Professor John F. Banzhaf III from the George Washington University Law School, collectively known as Banzhaf's Bandits, found four residents of the state of Maryland willing to put their names on a case and sought to have Agnew repay the state $268,482, the amount it was said he had taken in bribes. After two appeals by Agnew, he finally resigned himself to the matter and a check for $268,482 was turned over to Maryland State Treasurer William S. James in early 1983. ...

As a result of his no-contest plea, the state of Maryland later disbarred Agnew, calling him "morally obtuse".[29] As in most jurisdictions, Maryland lawyers are automatically disbarred after being convicted of a felony, and a no-contest plea exposes the defendant to the same penalties as one would face with a guilty plea."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiro_Agnew

Why did Montgomery County, MD choose a public-private partnership to build the severely flawed Silver Spring Transit Center? Why wasn't the SSTC bid for construction, as has been standard practice for decades for public works projects? Why didn't Montgomery County use the decades' old, tried-and-true process for selecting professional services firms in selecting the engineer/designer and the concrete inspector/tester for the SSTC? Were political "contributions" part of the selection process? 

Is this Sprio Agnew all over again?

And, what has the news media been reporting on for the past year since the severe flaws in the SSTC were made public? Lately they've been running around measuring snow depths, reporting on whose streets have been plowed and whose haven't and counting potholes. Meanwhile, the hows and the whys of the $120+ million, overdue, overbudget, severely flawed SSTC remain unanswered. 

Nice job, news media!

Bottom line: Buying contracts is wrong. It was wrong in Spiro Agnew's day; and, it's still wrong today. ... So much for public private partnerships.

the BScubed/Pinocchio award goes to...

Montgomery County Director of General Services David Dise, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, and Montgomery County Council President Craig Rice

“Our job is to beat those challenges and overcome them and still focus on delivering a first-class product, which I believe we have done in this case and I believe we do in all the projects that we construct.”  (Really?!?)

“...we got it done right.”

 “We here in Montgomery County are really trying to see things through. ...it is great for us to say we delivered.”

http://www.thesentinel.com/mont/New-library-opens1-9-2014

How are those for Baseless Self Serving Statements (BScubed)?!?

more BScubed/Pinocchio awards...

for Maryland Transit Administration project manager Mike Madden, Montgomery County Council member George Leventhal, and "other officials...from state (MD) agencies"

"I believe the project will open on-time and on-budget. If there are delays, it will be on the company's dime," says Madden, referring to whichever company is involved in the public-private partnership.

"We need to restore some trust with the public. We need to ensure ahead of time that the government and the contractors are very much on the same page. We need to make sure through computer modeling and just dialogue to make sure all the kinks are worked out before the shovels hit the ground," says Leventhal.

"Other officials tell WTOP that state agencies pay close attention to what is happening in Silver Spring and Tysons and are confident the Purple Line will be well constructed and properly inspected."  (Really??? Why are "other officials" and "state agencies" so confident that the Purple Line will be "well constructed and properly inspected"? Specifically, what's changed from what was in place for the severely flawed Silver Spring Transit Center?)

http://www.wtop.com/654/3587776/Purple-Line-Officials-say-when-not-if

The BSSSs (Baseless Self Serving Statements) just keep on comin'!

and, not to be forgotten for a BScubed/Pinocchio award:

Montgomery County Council member Roger Berliner

“The notion that you (WMATA) have no less responsibility than our county does with respect to the current state of affairs is something where we would need to understand how you could take that posture,” Berliner said.

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/07/montgomery-county-wmata-fight-over-silver-spring-transit-center--91762.html

Mr. Berliner, The SSTC is Montgomery County's project, and it's Montgomery County's responsibility to inspect and approve all construction in Montgomery County. 

and finally, BScubed/Pinocchio awards to all of the media (print, TV, radio, internet) who failed to challenge these and other outrageous Baseless Self Serving Statements; and, who failed to ask "probing questions" and to report "in depth" on the severely flawed SSTC. Congratulations to all of you.

Government, the media & the truth about the Silver Spring Transit Center

So many questions...

So few answers.

When you search "Silver Spring Transit Center" on the internet, most of the results (with the exception of Montgomery County's website) are news media reports. For the most part, the news media simply print Montgomery County's press releases and Baseless Self Serving Statements of County officials. No "in-depth reporting", no "probing questions", both of which the news media tout in their own Baseless Self Serving Statements. As a result, Montgomery County's "positions" on the Silver Spring Transit Center go largely unchallenged.

Silver Spring Transit Center: Phase 2 of 7

The way that I figure it the Silver Spring Transit Center is somewhere in Phase 2. As far as when the remaining phases will begin, that depends on if or when Montgomery County officials realize that "You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time." (Abraham Lincoln) Who knows if or when that will ever happen? (However, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Phases 6 & 7 haven't already begun in Rockville.)

Here are some things for YOU to ponder. That's right, YOU!--EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the U.S. who pays federal taxes and user fees. Those of you who live in the Midwest and on the West Coast. We (the public) are paying more than ONE-HALF of the bill for the SSTC with the federal taxes and user fees that we pay. Those of us who drive cars--part of the gas taxes that we pay go to federal coffers where they get distributed to Montgomery County and the Silver Spring Transit Center. The same is true for those of us who use public transportation. ALL of us (the public) are paying for the SSTC.

How much will the SSTC end up costing us (the public)? $120+ million so far, and counting; but that doesn't include time that Montgomery County employees have spent and will spend defending the SSTC. That doesn't include future operation and maintenance costs, which will be considerable given the SSTC's numerous flaws. And, that doesn't include future litigation costs which will be considerable (an understatement). $200 million? $300 million? $500 million? Who knows? Do you feel like you’ve been (and are being) robbed? I do.

Is the SSTC safe? Is the SSTC the next Kansas City Hyatt Regency skywalk? Who knows? Experts (and so-called experts) can give all the opinions that they want; but, NOBODY knows what other hidden defects there are in the seriously flawed SSTC. NO ONE knows even if the defects that we know about may eventually cause the SSTC to collapse. The best physician in the world can't tell you how long you're going to live any more than an engineer can tell you that "The SSTC will absolutely be safe". There are NO guarantees.

At the very least, we, the public, have bought, and still are paying for, a lemon. A seriously flawed, defective, lemon--one for which we’ve paid and paid and will continue to pay and pay for well into the future. A lemon with numerous design, construction and testing flaws—some that are known that we’re paying to fix (?) and some that are probably unknown and may or may not be discovered in the future. A lemon that will be expensive to operate and to maintain. Do you feel like you’ve been (and are being) had? I do.

Finally, let’s pray that the worst doesn’t happen—that the SSTC collapses, and lives are lost. If the worst does happen, then there will be people with “blood on their hands”—ALL of the people who are trying to shove the severely flawed SSTC down our throats. Will we ALL have “blood on our hands”? That’s the way that I see it; because we ALL didn't say  "NO!" to the severely flawed SSTC.