I don’t want to get the reputation here as a Washington Post basher – when I moved here from Miami I was delighted to be somewhere with a paper superior to the one from my home town that I felt was somewhat trashy – but the Post’s page 5 placement of this story on radio system being deployed by the DOJ made me raise my eyebrows.
The story reveals that Justice has spent almost 2/3 of their allocation these past six years for this project to maintain their old system rather than making progress on the new one. DHS is setting out on their own to set up a system because they claim they can’t wait. The new system is currently 15 months behind schedule.
The article only makes passing mention of 9/11 as an issue here with the statement “The need to upgrade and unify emergency law enforcement communications has long been identified by emergency personnel as a major problem, one underscored by the confusion seen in the response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.” More accurately, there’s a strong belief that the state of the NYC radio systems was a major player in the number of deaths – particularly among the fire department – that happened that say.
As a resident of what is arguably the #1 terrorist target city in the nation, I’d like to see this system come together expediently… particularly since the target date – which is apparently already in danger of not being met – isn’t till 2021.
Am I being overly reactionary in thinking this should have been front-page news?
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
Well I used to say something in my profile about not quite being a “tinker, tailor, soldier, or spy” but Tom stole that for our about us page, so I guess I’ll have to find another way to express that I am a man of many interests.
Hmm, guess I just did.
My tastes run the gamut from sophomoric to Shakespeare and in my “professional” life I’ve sold things, served beer, written software, and carried heavy objects… sometimes at the same place. It’s that range of loves and activities that makes it so easy for me to love DC – we’ve got it all.
