Critics question timing of AccuWeather donation, Santorum's bill

[Bluebear]

Prelude:

WASHINGTON - New radars installed by the National Weather Service in the 1990s are saving nearly 80 lives a year that would otherwise be lost to tornadoes, a study concludes.

The radars allowed forecasters to issue warnings for 60 percent of tornadoes, up from 35 percent before the instruments were installed, and the average lead time rose from 5.3 minutes to 9.5 minutes, according to a study published in the June issue of the journal Weather and Forecasting.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050628/ap_on_re_us/radar_lives

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Under the proposed legislation, the weather service would be allowed to offer particular types of services only if the private sector does not offer them.


WASHINGTON – Two days before Sen. Rick Santorum introduced a bill that critics say would restrict the National Weather Service, his political action committee received a $2,000 donation from the chief executive of AccuWeather Inc., a leading provider of weather data.

The disclosure has renewed criticism of the measure, which Santorum, R-Pa., maintains would allow the weather service to better focus on its core mission of getting threatening weather info out in a "timely and speedy basis."

Opponents say the bill would endanger the public by preventing the dissemination of certain weather data, and force taxpayers to pay for the data twice. The bill would prevent the weather service from competing for certain services offered by the private sector....

"It certainly raises questions about motivation as to why someone would push a policy that is so obviously crummy," McLaughlin said.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050526-2334-santorumsstorm.html