1. Over half a million dollars was spent to replace the windows in a visitor center at Mount St. Helens. The only problem is that center closed nearly three years ago due to lack of use.
  <-- Waste in our own backyard!


2. Three-quarters of a million dollars went to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to create a computerized dance-choreography program. The university's overhead is 44 percent of the grant, the report stated.



3. $62 million was allocated for the North Shore Connector, which provides light rail transportation to a casino and two sports stadiums in Pittsburgh. In February 2009 Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, called the project a "tragic mistake."



4. $7.3 million for the construction of two fire stations in San Antonio, Texas. The senators report the city was about to build the stations itself when the federal funding came along. Since then, compliance with federal regulations has caused so many delays no one is sure now when the stations will be built, they say.



5. Some $1.2 million was set aside to convert an abandoned train station into a museum in Glassboro, N.J. Federal authorities provided $250,000 to buy the structure in 2002, but little or no work has been done there. Now they're going to invest another $1 million to change the graffiti-riddled station, which was built in 1860, into a "museum and welcome center."



6. Nearly $2 million is going to the California Academy of Sciences to send researchers to island in the Southwest Indian Ocean and to East Africa to photograph ants. The pictures will be posted on a Web site devoted to ants.



7. A $1.8 million road project in Ohio is being built so close to a pastor's house that it has cracked his foundation, and a massive crane has struck his front porch twice.



8. In 2004, the federal government provided $661,000 to refurbish the old Fitchburg Furnace building in Fitchburg, Ky. The treasurer of the Friends of Fitchburg organization, however, says much of that money was lost due to "bad stewardship of money." Now, thanks to the stimulus, the project is receiving another $350,000.



9. In Kern County, Calif., the government is investing $308 million for a power plant to "generate more environmentally friendly electricity by capturing carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels." It's hard to see how the money will stimulate the economy … groundbreaking isn't scheduled until December 2011.



10. Folks in Boynton, Okla., are perplexed because their town won $89,298 to build a quarter-mile long sidewalk. The new sidewalk leads to a ditch, and replaces one still in good condition that was built just five years ago.

So far the state has paid $1 million for four of the nine. When problems cropped up, the state threw more money at the project.

In 2007, a million dollars was spent on a design change.

Last year, they spent $100,000 on consultants hired to find ways to fix the mistake.

So far the cost to taxpayers is $2.1 million. That number could grow to millions more to pay TECO-Westinghouse for work already performed.

In 2008, ferry engineers began to suspect the generators were too powerful to be used. The state hired the engineering firm Siemens Energy and Automation to conduct an analysis.

In February 2009, Siemens reported to WSF that, indeed, the switchgear on the boats could not handle that powerful of a generator.

State ferries didn’t scrap the project just yet. They hired another consultant - the Seattle-based naval architectural firm Guido Perla and Associates - to look for ways to allow the generators to interface safely with the cable connectors.

On April 28, 2010, Guido Perla reported to the ferry system that nothing could be done: "There is no viable, economically feasible device or technology that can safely (fix the problem)," wrote Perla engineers.

It wasn’t until three month later, in July, that state ferries officially told TECO-Westinghouse to pull the plug and stop all production.

Ferries Director of Vessel Maintenance Paul Brodeur signed off on the original order. He declined our requests for an interview.

KING-TV uncovered something else that’s troubling. The generators that are currently on the Kaleetan and the Yakima, and have been for ten years, have the same potential to cause an electrical explosion. Siemens Energy and Automation discovered and reported this safety concern to WSF a year-and-a-half ago.

Ferry officials tell us they're concerned but say nothing like that has ever happened and that their safety record is stellar. They also say that after a year-and-a-half, they're still working on a plan to solve the problem.

The Coast Guard tells KING 5 that just today WSF officials alerted them to the potential hazard and that they will be working with ferry engineers to mitigate the situation.

As for the unusable generators, four remain in boxes in a Seattle warehouse. The other five are at TECO-Westinghouse, nearly completed. It’s unclear how much the state will end up paying the manufacturer. The five generators at TECO-Westinghouse will remain in Texas. They are preparing to box them up and put them in a storage facility there until WSF decides what to do with the unusable equipment.

Statement to KING-TV from Assistant Secretary for Washington State Ferries David Moseley

Washington State Ferries has an unparalleled safety record. I would never put our passengers or employees at risk; safety is the number one priority of the organization. In the nearly 60 years that we have operated the ferry system, our safety record is equal to or exceeds any other ferry system in the world. Our 23 million annual passengers can count on our state ferries to deliver them safely to and from their destinations.

We have excellent engine room staff responsible for operations on the Super class vessels. There are no reports concerning any safety issues regarding the propulsion generators on the Kaleetan and Yakima.

Furthermore, the potential for this issue does not exist on any other vessels in the fleet because the nature of the power and/or the configurations of the propulsion plants on other vessels are different.

In 2007, Secretary Hammond demonstrated the department's willingness to put safety first when she withdrew the Steel Electrics from service when there was an issue of concern. Any suggestion that the ferry system would ever compromise the safety of our passengers or employees is unfounded as demonstrated by our record and actions.