The whole point of the federal stimulus program was to spend a lot of taxpayer dollars in a hurry. Our leaders desperately hoped to create jobs at a time when every economic indicator seemed to be in free fall.
At that moment of crisis, scrutinizing this massive government spending program took a back seat to cutting billions of dollars in checks. Many experts were convinced that if the government didn’t move quickly and boldly to boost the economy, the United States risked falling into a full-blown depression.
The unavoidable downside of the spend-it-quick approach has since become obvious. Not every multimillion-dollar stimulus project has proved effective at creating jobs. And as California Watch’s Will Evans reported earlier this month, some big stimulus contractors have a history of pollution violations and allegations of fraud.
One $54 million stimulus contract that has attracted significant criticism is a project in Napa. The contractor refers to it as “the Napa Valley Wine Train Segment 3 Relocation.”
Napa badly needs relief from winter flooding, and an innovative flood control project is under construction. A big, expensive piece of the job involves rebuilding infrastructure used by the Wine Train, a privately-owned tourist attraction.
In December, two Republican senators, John McCain of Arizona and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, included the Wine Train project on a list of 100 stimulus projects that they derided as “silly and shortsighted” and a waste of money.
Napa Valley Wine Train
Other critics joined in. Morton Zuckerman of US News News & World Reports, cited the Wine Train job as evidence that the stimulus program had “degenerated under a welter of pork and earmarks.”
The locals resent the criticism: After all, the money was going to flood protection, not rich tourists. The train’s marketing director wrote an “open letter” to McCain, accusing him of getting his facts wrong. The chamber of commerce convened a press conference.
CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” program broadcast a report dismissing critics of the project: Reporter Randi Kaye pointed out that no stimulus funds were being paid to the Wine Train’s owners.
California Watch began an inquiry into the Wine Train stimulus contract in November, as part of our effort to scrutinize government spending in the Golden State.
The results of our investigation will be published Saturday night on our Web site, and in Northern California newspapers on Sunday. Highlights of our report are also to be featured on KQED radio’s "California Report" and on KQED television’s “This Week in Northern California” program.
The backdrop of our story is a controversial federal program that, in hopes of redressing grievous historic wrongs, has given corporations set up by Alaska Natives unusual access to lucrative federal contracts. Critics say the program is rife with waste and does little to benefit the people it was supposed to aid.
Our story focuses on one such corporation, whose shareholders live in the outback of western Alaska, and how it came to obtain the stimulus contract for the Wine Train construction project.
In the end, it’s a story about how federal contracting actually works – and, perhaps, about how even the most well-intentioned programs and worthwhile projects can wind up costing taxpayers a fortune.
Listen to Lance Williams discuss the Napa Valley Wine Train project on The California Report
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