THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY MAY 1 2007
TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2007
NEWS
5A
KATRINA CORRUPTION
Alex Brandon/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Work continues around the pumps and locks of the 17th Street canal at Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans Monday.
Pumps scandal arises
Army Corps of Engineers accused of placing unfair bid
BY CAIN BURDEAU ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS — When the Army Corps of Engineers solicited bids for, drainage pumps for New Orleans, it copied the specifications — typos and all — from the catalog of the manufacturer that ultimately won the $32 million contract, a review of documents by The Associated Press found.
The pumps, supplied by Moving Water Industries Corp. of Deerfield Beach, Fla, and installed at canals before the start of the 2006 hurricane season, proved to be defective, as
the AP reported in March. The matter is under investigation by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.
In a letter dated April 13, U.S. Sen. David Vitter, (R-La.), called on the
specifications. The phrase should say "abrasion resistant steel." An incorrect reference to the type of steel that would be required apparently was also lifted.
Eugene Pawlik, a Corps spokesman in Washington, said the agency is working on a response to Vitter's letter.
MW1 declined to discuss how it won the contract. GAO would not talk about its probe.
The Corps' January 2006 call for bids for 34 pumps used the wording on how the pumps should be built and tested, with minor changes, found in MWI catalogs.
Richard White, a federal contracting expert, said it is "not unheard for a spec to be copied, in particular in cases of emergency purchases."
The specifications were so similar that an erroneous phrase in MW1 catalogs — "the discharge tube and head assembly shall be abrasive resistance steel" — also appears in the Corps
Corps to look into how the politically connected company got the post-Hurricane Katrina contract. MWI employed former Florida Gov, Jeb Bush, President Bush's brother, to market its pumps during the 1980s, and top MWI officials have been major contributors to the Republican Party.
"Are you folks aware that the specifications that you folks put out was a copy of the specifications in the MWI catalog?"
While it may not be a violation of federal regulations to adopt a company's technical specifications, it is frowned on, especially for large jobs like the MWI contract, because it could give the impression the job was rigged for the benefit of a certain company, contractors familiar with Corps practices say.
"It's not a good practice, but it's
BOB PURCELL FPI Salesman
not anything egregious, especially if the Corps allowed other companies to negotiate to change it," White said.
After Katrina swamped about 80 percent of the city. Congress appropriated $5.7 billion to
rebuild New Orleans' flood protection systems. Vitter and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, (D-La.), have excoriated the Corps over its workmanship since Katrina.
In his letter to the commander of the Corps, Vitter said the bid solicitation for the pumps "includes specifications identical to those written and marketed by Moving Water Industries." In addition, "the testing specifications are also identical to the testing specifications developed and authored by MWL"
A May 2006 memo by a Corps inspector working on the project, provided to the AP earlier this year, warned that the pumps were faulty and would not work if needed to remove water during a hurricane. GAO opened its investigation after the memo surfaced.
The Corps and MWI insist the pumps would have worked, but last year's mild hurricane season never put them to the test. The pumps have been overhauled and are being reinstalled.
The Corps withheld about 20 percent of MWI's contract price
— including an incentive of about $5 million to deliver them by June 1, 2006 — until the flaws have been resolved. But the Corps also spent $4.5 million for six additional MWI pumps for use in troubleshooting the defective ones.
The Corps contract officer overseeing the January 2006 bid, Cindy Nicholas, was told about the copied specifications during a conference call with FPI Inc., a Florida company that also bid on the project, shortly after MWI was awarded the contract. A recording of the briefing was provided to the AP by FPI.
"Are you folks aware that the specifications that you folks put out was a copy of the specifications in the MWI catalog?" asked Bob Purcell, who was an FPI salesman at the time the bids were taken.
"No, I'm not aware of that," Nicholas replied.
Corps official Dan Bradley said during the briefing that consulting engineers had a hand in drawing up the specifications.
Purcell then complained: "We were forced to meet someone else's specifications in entirety." He said the consultants did not cooperate with FPI, and he charged that MWI was given "a head's up" about the job. That, he said, was evident by MWIs order for pump engines before the contract was even put out to bid.
"I don't know anything about that, sir," Nicholas responded. She said that if MWI ordered the engines ahead of time, "they took a big risk."
"Obviously it was a risk that paid off, let's put it that way. They must have had some assurance!" Purcell exclaimed.
"Not from me," Nicholas said.
MWI would not comment on the alleged order for pump engines before the award of the contract.
Purcell, a former MWI employee, is a plaintiff in a federal whistleblower lawsuit accusing MWI of fraudulently helping Nigeria obtain $74 million in taxpayer-backed loans for overpriced and unnecessary pumping equipment. The U.S. Justice Department has joined the suit as a plaintiff.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - The evil Dr. Diabetes leaps from a hospital window, crashing through the glass, determined to infect anyone in his path with the chronic, debilitating disease from which he takes his name.
Diabetes was largely an unknown to the boy before a family trip to St. Louis in 2003 when Kamaal was taken to the emergency room after complaining of constant thirst and feeling ill. Kamaal's great-grandmother on his mother's side had Type 2 diabetes. But no other family members had the disease.
"I got really scared," Kamaal said. "I was wondering what would happen to me."
In real life, 13-year-old Kanaal Washington — one of the creators of the Dr. Diabetes comic book character — faces his own battle with diabetes. The Kansas City, Kan., teen said the adventures he and his 11-year-old brother, Malcolm, capture in their comic books are meant to spread awareness about the disease and empower those who have it.
BY ANDALE GROSS ASSOCIATED PRESS
so he can get a supply of insulin whenever he needs it, without having to receive shots. The pump includes a device about the size of a cell phone that contains insulin, with a thin tube that allows the insulin to flow from the device to Kamaal's stomach.
The diabetes books that doctors gave the boy, with their big words and medical terminology, weren't much help.
So Kamaal and his brother, Malcolm, were drawing one day and came up with a way to make it easier for kids to learn about diabetes and how to control the disease.
"You control the disease," says Kamaal, "don't let it control you."
The imposing, green, wild-haired monster scowls, punches the air and taunts, "I will make sure that everyone on the planet feels my pain. The whole world will have diabetes."
Comic entertains, informs
The comic books — which have gained national attention — tell the stories of children who learn they have diabetes and find themselves
Kamaial was 9 when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, which is most commonly found in younger children and teens and makes them dependent on injected or pumped insulin for life.
With this form of diabetes, the body's immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. As many as 3 million Americans may have Type 1 diabetes, according to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Kamaal and Malcolm are working on their third diabetes-themed comic. Slated for July, the comic tells the story of a politician who refuses to work to increase funds to find a cure for diabetes and the heroes' quest to change that.
Kamaal checks his blood sugar seven to eight times a day and must watch how much sugar and salt he eats. He wears an insulin pump
"We decided to do a comic book," Kamaal said. "We wanted it to be fun and educational."
visited by Dr. Diabetes. But his wicked intentions are foiled by the heroes of the comics, Omega Boy and later, Mighty Boy. The books are sold online but will be available soon at Walgreen and CVS shops in the Kansas City area and comic book shops nationally.
DIABETES
MENTAL HEALTH Involuntary patients can no longer purchase guns
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine issued an executive order requiring that a database of people banned from buying guns include the name of anyone who is found to be dangerous and ordered to get involuntary mental health treatment.
Seung-Hui Choi was told to get counseling in 2005 after a judge ruled that he was a danger to
no longer purchase guns RICHMOND, Va. — The governor on Monday closed the loophole in state law that allowed the Virginia Tech gunman to buy weapons despite a court ruling that he was a threat and needed psychiatric counseling.
"His lie on the form would have been caught" had the order been in place before Cho tried to buy the guns, Kaine said.
himself.
"Whether that treatment is to be provided in an inpatient or outpatient facility is of no moment," Kaine said.
Virginia has supplied more than 80,000 mental health records to the federal database. Twenty-eight states do not supply any records, either because they lack the technical ability or are barred by privacy laws.
But it would not prevent Cho from acquiring guns by several
Cho, a 23-year-old Virginia Tech senior described as a troubled loner, bought his guns legally through gun shops before gunning down 32 people on campus, then killing himself.
Cho did not disclose his mental health problems or the court-ordered treatment in a form he completed before buying the guns.
But because Cho was treated as an outpatient and never committed to a mental health hospital, the court's decision was not entered into the database, which gun dealers must check before selling a weapon.
Associated Press
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