Active Now

Element 99
Discussion » Statements » Rosie's Corner » The FBI is "looking into" the Whitefish Contract which has been cancelled. More heads will roll. Whose this time?
RosieG

The FBI is "looking into" the Whitefish Contract which has been cancelled. More heads will roll. Whose this time?

That was the $300 million NO BID contract to restore the electric grid on the island of Puerto Rico that was awarded to a 2-person company in Montana..home state of the Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke who insists he had nothing to do with it. Really? You believe him right? What could possibly have been wrong/criminal about it?

Posted - November 2, 2017
Tags : None

Responses


  • 34432
    So a territory cannot choose who they want to do work for them? I thought it was a free market. The PR power authority, PREPA, decided to use them.
    The company who has fewer employees than most because they choose to use contract labor. 
    They were the company who could start first and who agreed to the amount offered first as well. 

      November 2, 2017 6:04 AM MDT
    1

  • 19937
    If the contract was not put out for bid, how would we know whether Whitefish was able to start first?  When you put out a contract for bid, you don't tell them what you're going to pay, that's what "bid" means.  They tell you what they will charge.
      November 2, 2017 10:12 AM MDT
    2

  • 113301
    :):):)
      November 2, 2017 10:15 AM MDT
    1

  • 34432
    They said they could start and started within a week. Had 275 workers the first week with more workers clming in daily.
    Do you really want to put it through the Bid process? That would only prolong the people going without power for months. Because of red tape. Sometimes the early bird gets the worm because they can get it.
    Gov do in fact, tell contractors what they are willing to pay....by saying they will accept bids up to $x amount. Standard practice in fact. 
    Low bidder does not always get the job either....there can be preferences. This post was edited by my2cents at November 2, 2017 1:06 PM MDT
      November 2, 2017 12:03 PM MDT
    1

  • 19937
    I'm guessing you don't think there's anything at all fishy about a no-bid contract for $300 million being given to a company that had previously not done higher than a $1 million contract and that happens to be in Montana where Zinke is from?  I'm willing to bet that if this had been engineered by a Democrat, you'd be screaming bloody murder.
      November 2, 2017 1:00 PM MDT
    0

  • 34432
    Nope, they were there and willing and able to do the work immediately.  Nothing fishy about that. 
      November 2, 2017 2:39 PM MDT
    0

  • 19937
    No, nothing fishy about it at all. 
      November 2, 2017 7:21 PM MDT
    0

  • 34432
    Glad we agree....
      November 2, 2017 7:31 PM MDT
    0

  • 2500

    They already had "boots on the ground" there and had completed $10-million in work. Now they have to pull-out at great cost. It will also delay the project, and further delay the restoration of power to those currently without. WAY TO GO ! ! ! 
      November 2, 2017 1:05 PM MDT
    1

  • 19937
    See my response to my2cents.
      November 2, 2017 1:10 PM MDT
    0

  • 2500

    No, I don't think that there's anything "fishy" about a contract being awarded sans bidding in a dire emergency situation, particularly with so many condemning various government entities for not acting immediately. (I guess that the "authorities" in Puerto Rico don't have crystal balls?) I've actually had to enter into those kinds of contracts in the past myself. But in this case the libs seem to be ticked off because they're not getting their "cut".

    But that's OK. They've managed to cause a much further delay in getting power restored to those Puerto Ricans that are currently without power. And as if you say that power is super-critical critical to their very lives then that delay will condemn a lot more of them to a miserable, grizzly death. WAY TO GO!
      November 2, 2017 2:21 PM MDT
    1

  • 19937
    I'm pretty sure YOU were the one who said that electricity wasn't a necessity.  Now, you want the electricity restored immediately.  Now I can see why you're a Trump supporter.  Say one thing one day and the opposite the next. 
      November 2, 2017 7:23 PM MDT
    0

  • 2500

    Reading comprehension issues again, I see.  I suggest that you go back and actually read what I posted, maybe even offer something that proves what you're alleging about what I said. (Or are you just practicing that "liberal" art of "deflection"?) 

    What I said in a different thread thread is that electricity is not necessary for life to continue. What I did NOT say in any thread is that I demanded that power be restored in Puerto Rico immediately (although that would be great because while it's not a necessity, not having it is one hell of an inconvenience if you're used to having it).

    No, It was you and someone else on this WEB site that made that claim. going postal when my counter opinion was expressed.  
      November 2, 2017 7:54 PM MDT
    0

  • 19937
    A little difficult to do since your post was removed as was mine.  Good try, though.
      November 2, 2017 9:26 PM MDT
    0

  • 2500

    The "good try" was you trying to make up something based on information that apparently no longer exists. 

    But it's you that's quite wrong about what I said, and quite deceptive in your actions. 
      November 3, 2017 8:10 AM MDT
    0

  • 19937
    I really don't like the superior tone when you respond to me, so I have a suggestion - why don't we just ignore one another?
      November 3, 2017 8:25 AM MDT
    0

  • 7280
    I haven't kept up with this.

    But I'm just glad that PR didn't have to obtain medical services post hurricane by a bid process.
      November 2, 2017 1:08 PM MDT
    2

  • 2500

    Have any of you geniuses actually seen the contract, actually know what's in it scope-wise? Anyone actually know where the money is coming from or what the "terms" are (perhaps it's a "not to exceed" bid? Didn't think so.

    As to contracts . . . they're pretty much meaningless, particularly if they have a "change order" clause . No self respecting government contractor would accept a contract without one, knowing full well that there will be change orders, which is really where they make their money. And once the project starts they're not going to be cut loose in favor of the next lowest bid. (An Air Force friend re-counted the story of the mini-gun from GE. The first production run was bid at somewhere around $1,800 per weapon. The very first change order for something rather minor added another $2,000 to the weapon. I may be a tad off on those numbers but I do remember that the first change order more than doubled the price of the gun.)

    But I do have to congratulate the liberals that have scoffed about the contract, the one's that expected restoration work to commence as soon as the waining winds dropped to 20-MPH, but still want a 6-month "competitive bid" process (which is fast for a project of the apparent size of this one). If electric service is so critical to the lives of the good people of Puerto Rico then you've managed to kill over half the population of the island. WAY TO GO!
      November 2, 2017 2:02 PM MDT
    1