Jan. 28, 2005

Oversight of the big picture

David Thomson's letter clearly illustrates that, even with all the great minds huddled in this institution, and for all the talk about safety, there appears to be little real oversight of the big picture.

So many months after it was taken down, I am still amazed that the metal shelter for park-and-ride was demolished, given how easily and quickly it would have been to simply ground the structure.

I realize that the very size of this institution makes it difficult to see the forest for the trees; however, it makes it doubly difficult to take all the admonitions about safety seriously when even the Laboratory is unable to untangle contradictory regulations and policies.

"World's Greatest Science Protecting America," indeed.

--Luce Salas