Where is the report?

This report was due by October 1. Does someone know if the panel has even ever met? http://www.nucleardiner.com/index.php/archive/item/nnsa-governance-panel-named What is done in intractable situations that Congress can no longer ignore is that a committee is formed, and Congress formed the Congressional Advisory Panel on the Governance Structure of the National Nuclear Security Administration. The panel’s charter is to assess the feasibility and advisability of, and make recommendations with respect to, revising the governance structure of the National Nuclear Security Administration to permit the Administration to operate more effectively. A report is required 120 days after the panel members have been named. They now have all been named, so the report is due a little before October 1. The twelve members of the panel have been selected. They are: Co-Chairs: Former Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine and former Strategic Command chief Richard Mies. Augustine was selected by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) and House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) Mies was selected earlier by Republican lawmakers. Four former legislators: Heather Wilson (R-NM), Ellen Tauscher (D-CA, and State Department official), John Spratt (D-SC), and David Hobson (R-OH). Former NNSA Naval Reactors chief Adm. Kirkland Donald, former Bush Administration national security expert Frank Miller, former Reagan Administration Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology William Schneider, former Deputy Energy Secretary T.J. Glauthier; former Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko, and former Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Director Michael Anastasio. A number of similar panels have been convened over the years to address the direction and governance of the national laboratories, particularly the nuclear weapons laboratories. They have contributed little to improvements in morale and organization within the laboratories or the effective use of taxpayer money. There is no reason to expect anything else from this panel.

NNSA site office

Does anyone have the numbers for how many local NNSA site office personnel were deemed essential to operations during the government shutdown? Were all of them sent home?

Another project over budget and behind schedule

Another project over budget and behind schedule Department of Energy Inspector General AUDIT REPORT: OAS-L-13-15 September 26, 2013 The Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility Replacement Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (Los Alamos) primary responsibility is to ensure the safety, security and reliability of the nation's nuclear stockpile. To meet its mission, Los Alamos stores, treats and disposes of low-level waste and transuranic liquid waste (TRU) at the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility (RLWTF). The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Los Alamos have been planning a replacement project for the RLWTF since 2004, have made multiple changes in the design of the facility with plans to construct two facilities in 2005, one facility in 2006, and then returning to the two facilities approach in 2011. The current two facility design has a total estimated project cost as much as $214 million and respective completion dates of 2017 and 2020. While NNSA has recently taken action to address RLWTF replacement project issues, we observed that the NNSA and Los Alamos had not effectively managed the project over most of its lifecycle. Despite more than 7 years of effort, and the expenditure of $56 million, design work for the TRU facility has not been completed and the project's completion date is 11 years behind schedule. Furthermore, the total estimated cost for the replacement project has increased from $86 million to as much as $214 million, a 149 percent increase. Additionally, independent peer and internal control reviews have noted that NNSA and Los Alamos had not developed reliable life cycle cost estimates, used a Risk Management Plan, and applied Value Engineering principles to optimize the design of the facility. NNSA and Los Alamos have made improvements in the project management of the RLWTF; however, we made suggestions for further improvement.

Charlie McMillan Plays Dead in Arsenic and Old Lace

LANL's Charlie McMillan Plays Dead in Arsenic and Old Lace Arsenic and Old Lace returns to the Los Alamos Little Theatre stage 69 years after its 1944 Los Alamos debut as the opening production of LALT’s 70th season. In the opening production of Arsenic, the dead body was played by none other than J. Robert Oppenheimer, a role reprised Sept. 14 by current Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan. McMillan was deemed a standout in his realistic portrayal of a dead man. http://www.ladailypost.com/content/lanls-charlie-mcmillan-plays-dead-arsenic-and-old-lace

Parney and Ed

Parney Albright and Ed Moses, two peas in a pod. Read this blog http://www.dickdestiny.com/blog/2006/08/war-on-terror-will-be-very-very-good.html and you will understand where LLNL is headed. Is LLNL working in the national interest? Is LLNL a national asset or a national liability? Why are you still working at LLNL? These are questions that strike at the core of the issues that surround the deterioration of what was once a very important laboratory.

AKIMA layoffs

Has anyone looked into the layoff Akima has been doing for the Lab? Are they in violation of Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)? Just curious, seems there were constant layoffs going on and they always kept the numbers low so as not to enact the above law (aka staged layoffs). No notice is given to workers on pending layoffs, you get notified the day you are laid off.

Is the oct 1st 2012 rumor still a rumor?

Hey, anyone remember this rumor? Is it still rumor or fact and if so why. I think it funny. http://llnlthetruestory.blogspot.com/2012/08/ed-moses-is-resigning-as-of-oct-1st.html