GAO Is Asked to Study Weather Tower

A Senate panel has requested the federal General Accounting Office investigate the performance of a controversial National Weather Service tower in the Upper Ojai that residents have railed against for years.

The Senate Appropriations Committee made the request at the behest of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-California).

“That means the GAO is now instructed to conduct a study of the weather tower’s effectiveness,” said Boxer spokesman David Sandretti. “She’s acting upon requests from constituents that live in the area . . . Coupled with reports that this thing isn’t doing its job really calls into question whether we need this weather tower.”

The request doesn’t ensure an investigation will be conducted, but the federal agency usually tries to accede to such overtures.

Boxer cited a recent report that questioned the tower’s effectiveness at providing accurate reports of impending severe weather, including flash floods, as partly justifying the need for an investigation. The report was written by Milton Kramer, a veteran political campaign manager who was hired by a local group that opposes the tower.

Nearby residents of the 68-foot-high tower, erected in 1993 on Sulphur Mountain, have called the tower ugly and a possible health hazard.