"Effective immediately, new rules on allowable DOE/NNSA Contractor reimbursement of whistleblower related expenses"
According to the DOE "acquisition letter" dated August 4, 2016, all DOE and NNSA Contracting Officers must deem Contractor reimbursement fees for whistleblower related litigation expenses unallowable, if wrongful conduct on the part of the Contractor has occurred.
Reimbursement may still be unallowable if the Contractor gets off on a technicality, such as a statute of limitations ruling, IF wrongful conduct by the Contractor was likely, or if the Contractor has a history of wrongful conduct.
http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2016/08/f33/08-04-16_-_Acquisition_Letter_No._AL-2016-06.pdf
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Monday, August 29, 2016
NNSA Awards Nevada National Security Site contract
No official word on who else bid on the contract, other than NSTEC run by Northrop Grumman that will soon cease to exist.
Comments:
Anonymous said...This is more evidence that Lockheed is out of Sandia and will get LANL. The question is who is going to get Sandia, Northrop Grumman or Boeing? Since Northrop Grumman had NSTEC I would think the deal is that they are going to get Sandia. Another question is how will Lockheed run LANL? Science has pretty much died at LANL during last 10 years. Lockheed could try and make LANL a sort of Sandia northeast which would mean getting rid of the last little bits of science at LANL, but the bigger question is if LANL can do engineering or how long would it take to get LANL up to speed as an engineering lab. Another issue is that LANL would than be competing with Sandia.
A good strategy would be move as much stuff off from Sandia and transfer it to LANL at the contract change so that LANL could have a chance to compete with the new Northrop run Sandia. I would think this may be toughest on Sandia at first since Lockheed will push to move engineering programs to LANL which will mean a drop in funding for Sandia. A bone to be thrown to Bechtel and LLNL will be to move some non-engineering programs from LANL to LLNL and beef up the bonuses pay for them, also this might add some legitimacy to keeping LLNL afloat. It is in NNSA best interest to keep the complex as large as possible and every lab open, you know too big to fail and the bigger the object you manage the more money for high up managers, also you have to make sure that every corporate player gets some piece of the pie.
Anonymous said...
Northrop Grumman did a lousy job managing Nevada, which is why they lost. Lockheed meanwhile has a pretty good record managing Sandia, so they won. A new LANS minus Bechtel could be a contender for LANL, but there's no reason to think Lockheed won't keep Sandia just because they also manage Nevada. After all, look at Bechtel in LLNS and LANS.
Anonymous said...
Sandia will move move it's Senior Management Team to LANL when Lockheed wins the contract there. An aerospace company leading nuclear facilities. These folks have no idea what they are in for, Lockheed couldn't
A UC-Lockheed Martin owned LLC to bid on the LANL contract makes the most sense for UCOP if they want to continue major involvement in LANL. Making Bechtel the fall guy for the operational ills at LANL is UC's best and most logical move.
Friday, August 26, 2016
OIG report on LANCE radiation contamination
OIG report on LANCE radiation contamination of 27 employees
http://energy.gov/ig/downloads/inspection-report-oai-l-16-13
Every day, it is some LANL safety or security incident in the news.
http://energy.gov/ig/downloads/inspection-report-oai-l-16-13
Every day, it is some LANL safety or security incident in the news.
Monday, August 22, 2016
So much for 'saving money'
The cost of LANS managerial screw-ups with WIPP is quickly becoming yuuuuuge! It ranks among the costliest nuclear accidents in U.S. history according to the LA Times.
So much for 'saving money' by using a private, for-profit managerial contract for running LANL, huh, NNSA?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nuclear accident in New Mexico ranks among the costliest in U.S. history
Los Angeles Times - Aug 22nd
When a drum containing radioactive waste blew up in an underground nuclear dump in New Mexico two years ago, the Energy Department rushed to quell concerns in the Carlsbad desert community and quickly reported progress on resuming operations.
The early federal statements gave no hint that the blast had caused massive long-term damage to the dump, a facility crucial to the nuclear weapons cleanup program that spans the nation, or that it would jeopardize the Energy Department’s credibility in dealing with the tricky problem of radioactive waste.
But the explosion ranks among the costliest nuclear accidents in U.S. history, according to a Times analysis. The long-term cost of the mishap could top $2 billion, an amount roughly in the range of the cleanup after the 1979 partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.
The Feb. 14, 2014, accident is also complicating cleanup programs at about a dozen current and former nuclear weapons sites across the U.S. Thousands of tons of radioactive waste that were headed for the dump are backed up in Idaho, Washington, New Mexico and elsewhere, state officials said in interviews.
So much for 'saving money' by using a private, for-profit managerial contract for running LANL, huh, NNSA?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nuclear accident in New Mexico ranks among the costliest in U.S. history
Los Angeles Times - Aug 22nd
When a drum containing radioactive waste blew up in an underground nuclear dump in New Mexico two years ago, the Energy Department rushed to quell concerns in the Carlsbad desert community and quickly reported progress on resuming operations.
The early federal statements gave no hint that the blast had caused massive long-term damage to the dump, a facility crucial to the nuclear weapons cleanup program that spans the nation, or that it would jeopardize the Energy Department’s credibility in dealing with the tricky problem of radioactive waste.
But the explosion ranks among the costliest nuclear accidents in U.S. history, according to a Times analysis. The long-term cost of the mishap could top $2 billion, an amount roughly in the range of the cleanup after the 1979 partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.
The Feb. 14, 2014, accident is also complicating cleanup programs at about a dozen current and former nuclear weapons sites across the U.S. Thousands of tons of radioactive waste that were headed for the dump are backed up in Idaho, Washington, New Mexico and elsewhere, state officials said in interviews.
Friday, August 19, 2016
Motivational speaker at LANL
So LANS just spent a huge amount of money to bring on motivational speaker
Cam Marston to explain how the different generations of people are different. Nothing wrong with Cam but near as I can tell he is a stand up comedian who tells us the the most popular stereotypes about each generation that anyone who lives on earth has already heard about a million times. He provides no nuance or new perspective to this whatsoever other then telling it jokes most of which you have heard before if listen to the comedy channel. Did you know in the old days that TVs had bunny ears made of aluminum foil, however you have not have guessed this but millennials did not grow up with this. All of this is presented without any real evidence and for obvious reasons does not apply to Los Alamos or any other scientific workforce. But hey LANS needs to burn money somehow. By the way the only reason anyone went was because it fulfilled the ethics training requirement which we have to take thanks to some ethical lapses of our former deputy director Beth Sellers. Why to go LANS!!!!
Cam Marston to explain how the different generations of people are different. Nothing wrong with Cam but near as I can tell he is a stand up comedian who tells us the the most popular stereotypes about each generation that anyone who lives on earth has already heard about a million times. He provides no nuance or new perspective to this whatsoever other then telling it jokes most of which you have heard before if listen to the comedy channel. Did you know in the old days that TVs had bunny ears made of aluminum foil, however you have not have guessed this but millennials did not grow up with this. All of this is presented without any real evidence and for obvious reasons does not apply to Los Alamos or any other scientific workforce. But hey LANS needs to burn money somehow. By the way the only reason anyone went was because it fulfilled the ethics training requirement which we have to take thanks to some ethical lapses of our former deputy director Beth Sellers. Why to go LANS!!!!
LANL plutonium project called a house of cards
You know you are in deep trouble when even DOE can not come up with a justification for a new facility.
http://www.abqjournal.com/824737/lanl-plutonium-project-called-a-house-of-cards.html
http://www.abqjournal.com/824737/lanl-plutonium-project-called-a-house-of-cards.html
LANL didn't follow the rules
What? LANL didn't follow the rules. Shocking!!
The 2013 suit was about a complaint Irving made to his management about how rules concerning VIP visits weren’t being followed. Irving said as a result of his complaint, management called him a “troublemaker” and had him “removed from his security oversight role with regard to VIP visits,”
http://www.lamonitor.com/content/lans-responds-irving-lawsuit
The 2013 suit was about a complaint Irving made to his management about how rules concerning VIP visits weren’t being followed. Irving said as a result of his complaint, management called him a “troublemaker” and had him “removed from his security oversight role with regard to VIP visits,”
http://www.lamonitor.com/content/lans-responds-irving-lawsuit
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
More evidence of how great NNSA runs the program.
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/lanl-s-nuclear-bomb-trigger-production-questioned/article_51fcd996-af05-578d-95d4-d33f0e0be35f.html
LANL spokesman Kevin Roark referred questions about the GAO report to the NNSA.
He was probably happy to pas that one on.
LANL spokesman Kevin Roark referred questions about the GAO report to the NNSA.
He was probably happy to pas that one on.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
More LANL lawsuits to be defended
Do the taxpayers pay for these lawyers?
The 2013 suit was about a complaint Irving made to his management about how rules concerning VIP visits weren’t being followed. Irving said as a result of his complaint, management called him a “troublemaker” and had him “removed from his security oversight role with regard to VIP visits,” Gilpin said in Irving’s new lawsuit.
http://www.lamonitor.com/content/lans-responds-irving-lawsuit
The 2013 suit was about a complaint Irving made to his management about how rules concerning VIP visits weren’t being followed. Irving said as a result of his complaint, management called him a “troublemaker” and had him “removed from his security oversight role with regard to VIP visits,” Gilpin said in Irving’s new lawsuit.
http://www.lamonitor.com/content/lans-responds-irving-lawsuit
Saatchi & Saatchi Executive Kevin Roberts Resigns After Gender Diversity Comments
Saatchi & Saatchi Executive Kevin Roberts Resigns After Gender Diversity Comments
http://www.wsj.com/articles/publicis-executive-kevin-roberts-resigns-after-gender-diversity-comments-1470221483
In the interview with Business Insider published Friday, Mr. Roberts said with regard to gender equality in the ad industry “the f—ing debate is all over” and he doesn’t spend “any time” on the issue at his company.
He also said agencies are misunderstanding how women view success.
Mr. Roberts, was paid €3,055,854 ($3,420,660) in total compensation for 2015,
http://www.wsj.com/articles/publicis-executive-kevin-roberts-resigns-after-gender-diversity-comments-1470221483
In the interview with Business Insider published Friday, Mr. Roberts said with regard to gender equality in the ad industry “the f—ing debate is all over” and he doesn’t spend “any time” on the issue at his company.
He also said agencies are misunderstanding how women view success.
Mr. Roberts, was paid €3,055,854 ($3,420,660) in total compensation for 2015,
Any updates on the alleged federal fraud investigation on-going at LANL?
Well, the FBI needs to start from the top. Rich Marquez had two IT companies and was filtering contracts through Carolyn Zerkle (AD), John Tapia (Deputy Division Leader/Procurement) and Albert Giron, (one of the Division Leaders for IT). Four IT Division are under Carolyn Zerkle. Rich Marquez did not suddenly retire but was forced too! John Tapia is currently under investigation for several federal violations. Time Fraud was one. The other two hopefully are also being investigated.
"Stormin" Norm Pattiz
If there is one common "denominator" during the past 10-years, it's been "Stormin" Norm Pattiz. He's been at the rotten corrupt core of LANS. Another Donald Trump sleaze bag. You can bet Stormin made millions under the table from Becthel during the past 10-years on the LANS cash cow. Norm never came to speak face to face to the folks at LANL, he didn't want to get dust on his Italian Salvatore Ferraro shoes.
More on K. Roberts
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/31/saatchi-executive-chairman-kevin-roberts-put-on-leave-over-gender-comments
Kevin Roberts came across like a really creepy guy during the LANL presentation. The whole exercise at Los Alamos was a total disaster and highly demoralizing, oh and it cots many millions and millions of dollars to try and figure out what the purpose of the lab is. What did we get, a one hour presentation from a weird sleazy guy showing ads, talking about how the world is unreal, and rolling his r's in uncomfortable way. If you wanted some proof of how utterly out of touch, clueless and incompetent LANS is, there you have it.
Here are a few gems about him:
Asked about women campaigners such as the advertising consultant Cindy Gallop, who recently tweeted that sexual harassment was endemic in the media, advertising and every industry, Roberts said: “I think she’s got problems that are of her own making. I think she’s making up a lot of the stuff to create a profile, and to take applause, and to get on a soap[box].”
Arthur Sadoun, the chief executive of Publicis Communications, the division that oversees Saatchi & Saatchi, criticised Roberts heavily.
“The way Kevin’s remarks were expressed I find offensive in terms of language and tonality. Behavior like this is simply unacceptable in our Groupe,” Sadoun wrote in an internal note to staff.
“I am sorry that the comments made by Kevin have reflected poorly upon the Groupe and our culture. His views couldn’t be further from the truth about our commitment and feelings about gender diversity.
Kevin Roberts came across like a really creepy guy during the LANL presentation. The whole exercise at Los Alamos was a total disaster and highly demoralizing, oh and it cots many millions and millions of dollars to try and figure out what the purpose of the lab is. What did we get, a one hour presentation from a weird sleazy guy showing ads, talking about how the world is unreal, and rolling his r's in uncomfortable way. If you wanted some proof of how utterly out of touch, clueless and incompetent LANS is, there you have it.
Here are a few gems about him:
Asked about women campaigners such as the advertising consultant Cindy Gallop, who recently tweeted that sexual harassment was endemic in the media, advertising and every industry, Roberts said: “I think she’s got problems that are of her own making. I think she’s making up a lot of the stuff to create a profile, and to take applause, and to get on a soap[box].”
Arthur Sadoun, the chief executive of Publicis Communications, the division that oversees Saatchi & Saatchi, criticised Roberts heavily.
“The way Kevin’s remarks were expressed I find offensive in terms of language and tonality. Behavior like this is simply unacceptable in our Groupe,” Sadoun wrote in an internal note to staff.
“I am sorry that the comments made by Kevin have reflected poorly upon the Groupe and our culture. His views couldn’t be further from the truth about our commitment and feelings about gender diversity.
Saatchi executive chairman put on leave over gender comments
You simply can't make this stuff up:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/31/saatchi-executive-chairman-kevin-roberts-put-on-leave-over-gender-comments
This is the same guy who helped us get a purpose at LANL.
Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan unveiled the Los Alamos National Laboratory Purpose Statement during an all-employee meeting Monday (Aug. 24) in the NSSB Auditorium. McMillan has asked principal associate directors and associate directors in the days ahead to begin meeting with employees to discuss the purpose statement.
Kevin Roberts, executive chairman, global CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi, worked with the director and 70 Laboratory leaders and opinion leaders to develop the statement. During the all-employee meeting, Roberts explained a similar process that was undertaken by Procter and Gamble to development its own purpose statement.
Watch a rebroadcast of the talk on ViewIT on Demand and from the internal homepage.
updated 8/25/15 5:30 PM
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/31/saatchi-executive-chairman-kevin-roberts-put-on-leave-over-gender-comments
This is the same guy who helped us get a purpose at LANL.
Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan unveiled the Los Alamos National Laboratory Purpose Statement during an all-employee meeting Monday (Aug. 24) in the NSSB Auditorium. McMillan has asked principal associate directors and associate directors in the days ahead to begin meeting with employees to discuss the purpose statement.
Kevin Roberts, executive chairman, global CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi, worked with the director and 70 Laboratory leaders and opinion leaders to develop the statement. During the all-employee meeting, Roberts explained a similar process that was undertaken by Procter and Gamble to development its own purpose statement.
Watch a rebroadcast of the talk on ViewIT on Demand and from the internal homepage.
updated 8/25/15 5:30 PM
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