Silver Spring Transit Center: no news

originally posted 6/28/14
updated 7/4/14

It's been more than a month since there's been any news on the Silver Spring Transit Center. It's been more than a year since KCE's report was released containing numerous, serious design and construction flaws with the yet-to-be-opened, under "repair", $130+ million, lemon SSTC. Yet, there are MANY unanswered questions. For example:

• Why did Montgomery County select Foulger Pratt to build the SSTC, Parsons Brinkerhoff to design it and Balter Co. to provide concrete inspection and testing? Why didn't Montgomery County use normal competitive processes for selecting a builder (bid), an engineer and a concrete inspector/tester for this public works project? Were "political contribution$" part of Montgomery County's selection process, i.e. crony capitalism?    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crony_capitalism
• Why is Montgomery County making "repairs" to what's supposed to be a brand new, unflawed transit center? especially since the "repairs" don't address the source of the severe cracking? The 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC has NO expansion/contraction joints, despite the fact that standard design and construction practice is to provide expansion/contraction joints for structures exposed to temperature changes, And, WMATA design and construction standards, to which the SSTC was supposed to have been designed and constructed, require expansion/contraction joints to be spaced no more than 100 feet apart.    http://www.structuremag.org/article.aspx?articleID=1145  
• Why didn't Montgomery County, the Federal Transit Administration (53% federal funding) and the Maryland Transit Administration (11% state funding) hold public meetings to explain to the public why they are making "repairs" to the brand new, overdue, over-budget, seriously flawed, lemon SSTC? Why didn't they provide the opportunity for those who are paying for the SSTC (the public) to ask their questions (e.g., "why are you making "repairs" that don't address the source(s) of the problem(s)?") and to make their comments on the public record?    http://peretiredwhistleblower.blogspot.com/2014/07/why-do-structures-collapse.html 

Yet, in more than a year since the serious flaws with the SSTC became public, and hundreds of news media reports (print, TV, radio, internet) since, NOT ONE has addressed these questions. Contrast this with tropical storm Arthur where news media spent HUNDREDS of hours whipping the public into a veritable frenzy. for what?!? for nothing.

Why? Are news media just lazy? reporting weather multiple times each day in nauseating detail, potholes, "analysis", promoting themselves, etc.; but, they don't report "in-depth" or ask "probing questions" on a major story like the SSTC? even though news media tout that they report "in-depth" and ask "probing questions"? 

Are news media cooperating with government that doesn't want the public to know the answers to our questions? 

No news is bad news.