Hurricane Center Chief "Reassigned"

From the AP by way of AM New York:

Hurricane Center Chief Reassigned

MIAMI (AP) -- The director of the National Hurricane Center was reassigned Monday, four days after many of the center's employees called for his removal because of his comments about an aging weather satellite. More than 20 of Bill Proenza's nearly 50 staff members signed a statement last week urging federal officials to dismiss him. They said Proenza had undermined the public's confidence in the center by exaggerating the forecasting problems scientists would face if the satellite failed.

It seems odd to me that a vocal critic of the "administration's" funding, especially to replace an aging satellite that helps map hurricanes, would now be 'reassigned'.

I heard this first on The Weather Channel.

I know this is a short diary, but I wanted to provide a platform for discussion of this 'reassignment' of the Key hurricane predictor in the country's Weather Service.

Links to the backstory:

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Orlando Sentinel

(Update:)

See this comment for the real story and some facts about Mr. Proenza. H/T to Catte Nappe

See thiscomment for more about the satellite concern. H/T to terrypinder

•  Tip Jar

  Please be kind, I don't publish diaries very often. :)

  Thanks for reading!

  Mark

  by Dems2004 on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 02:59:51 PM PDT

•  Truly a timely diary. thanks

  Can't quite get the gist of whether he was 'reassigned' because he complained about the age of the satelitte and the bushies did not like him complaining (and his fellow Bushie employees agreed) or he is truly not up to the job.

  I can see fellow workers complaining about a bush appointee not being up to the job, but all the employees wanted this so...

  Ummm is all I am left with saying.  Still a good diary.  About another agency whose efficiency is being downgraded to cater to what the republicans want.

  by GrandmaJ on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:03:56 PM PDT

  •  As Far As I

    can tell, the complaints of Proenza had merit, that is, if you like science.

    I wonder what the affiliations are of the people who called for his job last week.

    ummmmm is right......

    by Dems2004 on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:07:25 PM PDT

    •  Obviously

      I was misinformed, sorry for the ignorance snark.

      by Dems2004 on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:33:11 PM PDT

•  Makes one wonder if these

  25 who signed the letter were bush plants or, was there a real problem?

  by Owllwoman on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:07:44 PM PDT

  •  The names I saw were top notch

    The people I saw quoted last week were some of the best in the business.  Guys like Lixion Avila and Jim Franklin were among the ones speaking out.  Both of those guys have been doing NHC forecasts for decades and they have a lot of credibility.  If you read the NHC forecast discussions about any Atlantic hurricane, you've read their work.  They are not political hacks by any means.

    by Hoya90 on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:33:18 PM PDT

    •  Thanks for that info.

      I wasn't sure what to make of this news at all.

      The Bush Administration has been trying to shut down NOAA since they came in in hopes of moving the "service" into the private sector so I was warry that he was fired for speaking out about a real problem stemming from their under funding and cuts to the program.  Then I was totally confused by the fact that his ouster seemed to come from the scientists who've been there a long time.

      So much treatchery in this government that it is always hard to read a situation on a few bare facts out of context.

      by inclusiveheart on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:53:58 PM PDT

•  Very odd

  There have been one or two diaries about the Proenza situation, but only about his speaking out on the need for funding. What makes no sense at all is that nearly half his "staff" petioned for his removal? For undermining confidence in their mission? Most employees I know cheer ludnly when the boss goes to bat to get more money or support. Very odd. Did I already say that? Just in case I didn't mention it, this sounds very odd.

  by Catte Nappe on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:08:02 PM PDT

  •  Loudly

    Usually the employees cheer loudly. If some cheer ludnly I admit I have never heard them do so.

    by Catte Nappe on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:09:31 PM PDT

•  Also

  Hurricanes are a real concern in Virginia, even where I live in Central rural Virginia.

  There was one that made it here a few years ago, not my first, but hopefully my last.

  by Dems2004 on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:08:48 PM PDT

•  I'd also like to know more ...

  ... about this.  From what I read, the employees claimed that Proenza's complaining about the degradation of the satellite tarnished their credibility with the public -- and they also claimed the satellite wasn't "that important."

  I dunno, it is a confusing story and I'd like to know more about it.  Something doesn't make sense here.

  by Nightprowlkitty on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:11:25 PM PDT

•  theres history behind this

  which you can read here

  and not to toot my own horn but here too:

  Proenza made some serious errors in judgment in spending too much effort on the QuickSCAT satellite. It's an important satellite, yes, but his overemphasis on it could have cost thousands of people their lives if Congress had decided to kill the aircraft reconnaissance program to rely only on satellites, a serious and grave error. And yes, there were some in Congress who considered just that after his testimony regarding the satellite.

  Lastly he relied on ONE paper to highlight his point regarding the satellite, a paper that has not yet even been published.

  I think his reassignment is the correct action. He has been a gadfly from day one, sometimes useful, but I can see the harm, especially with Cape Verde season about to open up. Ed Rappapport, the current interim Hurricane Center chief, is a very capable meteorologist, as are all of the forecasters down there. They only accept the best.

  by terrypinder on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:14:20 PM PDT

  •  Thank You

    so much!!

    I had heard some from both sides, but never really made up my own mind. That's why it is good to have this forum here to discuss it in.

    by Dems2004 on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:16:40 PM PDT

    •  Perhaps use some of this and of Catte Nappe's

      comment to update the diary?

      by PatsBard on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:19:00 PM PDT

      •  Thanks, yeah

        I need to, I am trying to be polite and respond...

        :)

        by Dems2004 on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:20:05 PM PDT

        •  S'all right

          Didn't mean to sound pushy or anything. Carry on!

          by PatsBard on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:21:26 PM PDT

  •  My understanding was that Mr. Proenza

    did not involve the employees at the Hurricane Center as his predecessor had.  He seemed more into making decisions on his own and did not quite get into the "team" aspect of decision making.

    This from NPR tonight.

    by funluvn1 on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:23:41 PM PDT

    •  that's it too

      he simply didn't fit in to the office culture down there, which is the sense i'm gathering and while yes he's bought some pretty valid concerns to the forefront (like NOAA's stupid effort to deal with its inferiority complex by renaming everything under its purview NOAA Such and Such) the rest has gotten in the way. We just don't know if this season will be as bad as 2005 or as quiet as last year and this is not the time of year to be having fights like this.

      by terrypinder on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:26:21 PM PDT

  •  Boss / employee situation

    I usually find that in a "staff mutiny", there's problem with management, not the employees.  It doesn't matter if it's Taco Bell or the Hurricane Center.  A bad boss will cause people to quit.

    That's my mostly uninformed empirical take on the matter.

    by ssmt on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:28:34 PM PDT

  •  beat me to the Masters link

    I agree with basically everything you said.

    The forecasters did not dispute that QS is useful, but they'd like to upgrade it....it misses a lot of things they'd like to see more clearly....and the Hurricane Hunter flights apparently are much more important to forecasting landfalling hurricanes....QS is more important for the agency (I forget the name) that makes marine forecasts, beyond the range of the HH flights.

    by nota bene on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 04:49:09 PM PDT

•  Aha!

  Reading the longer story at the Orlando Sentinal link in the diary, there is a lot more to this situation. First, a number of the staff who complained have been there 22 years; so it's not recent political belly-aching.

  1. The "hurricane hunter" program has been mentioned before as one that might be reduced. I can see their point there.

  2. The management style is a sure killer; and it must have been really, really bad for half the employees to officially petition up the chain of command.

  But center forecasters disagreed with his assessment, and most were dismayed he made such a public issue out of it. While they regard QuikSCAT as a valuable tool for detecting and assessing the strength of storms far out at sea, they rely on real-time data from "hurricane hunter" reconnaissance flights to track storms threatening the United States and the Caribbean.

  And they feared that Congress, hastily seeking money for a new satellite, might cut reconnaissance flight funds.
  On Friday, Franklin, Jorge and other staffers said the flap over the satellite was a symptom of a deeper leadership problem. Aloof from his staff, they said, Proenza rarely listens to or respects their opinions, and when he seeks them out, he misrepresents them.

  "We have people who won't meet with him in private because he misstates what it was they said," Franklin said. "There are people who will not talk to him without witnesses."

  by Catte Nappe on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:15:22 PM PDT

  •  Wow

    He sounds like a real piece of work.

    Better that they did complain and reassign rather than continue with a recalcitrant bureaucrat.

    by Dems2004 on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:19:24 PM PDT

•  The answer is in his picture:

  Here

  Now doesn't he look suspiciously like Rumsfeld and Gonzales' love child? Hmm?

  by PatsBard on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:16:40 PM PDT

  •  Stop scaring me on purpose, dammit! n/t

    by funluvn1 on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:25:05 PM PDT

    •  Am I right or am I right?!

      LOL

      Freaked me out, actually.

      by PatsBard on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:26:34 PM PDT

      •  Better throw in some Rudy n/t

        eeewwwww

        by Dems2004 on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:36:18 PM PDT

•  Was his nickname "Proenzie?" I guess he was not

  doing a heck of a job.  

  What happens if there are terrible hurricanes this year?    Another "Brownie" put in charge?

  by Do Tell on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 03:53:12 PM PDT

  •  Well, if there are any

    they'll be between August 25 and September 1, 'cause that's when I'm at the beach.  It's a law of nature.

    by escapee on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 04:07:33 PM PDT

  •  Not a political hack

    Looks like some substantial experience, coming up the ranks given this bio page (short pdf)

    http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/...

    by Catte Nappe on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 05:18:41 PM PDT

    •  thanks for the info. Of course, the competent

      ones are forced out before the hurricane.  I should have known.  

      by Do Tell on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 05:25:59 PM PDT

      •  Except

        The staff who petitioned against him are likewise very competent, with years of experience.  This may be an example of the Peter Principle

        Has he always been a difficult manager? If so his former subordinates may speak up in coming days/weeks. Maybe he was fine, until he got into a position where he could ride his favorite hobby horses into Congressional hearings. Maybe if he'd had more time to bond with his team before appearing in the spotlight. Maybe the new interim guy, Ed Rappaport, who has been deputy director for a long time was the staff favorite for the promotion.

        Whatever the backstory it seems like this was the best outcome - the start of hurricane season is not the time when you want the captain and crew of the hurrican center at each others throats.

        by Catte Nappe on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 05:35:05 PM PDT

        •  very wise words. thanks

          by Do Tell on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 10:19:49 PM PDT

•  Jeff Masters

  would be the go-to blogger here.

  His beat is hurricanes, and with the season being very slow so far, this is most of what he's had to talk about for a few weeks. His posts from 7/4 and 7/6 will explain the background a bit better.

  I don't think anybody knows why Proenza's been pimping the QuikSCAT so much....is he connected to the people that run QuikSCAT? Dunno. In any event, he did some scientific no-nos, and the NHC forecasters (not a political bunch) called him on it.

  by nota bene on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 04:46:02 PM PDT

•  Bad science and GADFLIES

   This is a very bad combination.

    But you really need to take time to understand the back story to understand why the staff was so unhappy with the former director -- thanks everyone for helping to fill in the missing bits.

    I have a feeling that gadflies can be found in many fields -- for instance in volcano/geology.

  by Carib and Ting on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 05:34:08 PM PDT

•  Imus

  I hope this is not another hit job and retaliation by Bush.

  by chigh on Mon Jul 09, 2007 at 06:35:47 PM PDT