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NATIONAL BRIEFING

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Times Wire Reports

The administration used economic stimulus money to pay for 50 airport projects that didn’t meet the criteria for the $1.1 billion in grant money, a government watchdog said.

Among the projects that Transportation Department Inspector General Calvin Scovel said didn’t measure up was $14 million that went to replace an airfield in Akiachak, Alaska, a town of 659 residents. The town has a seaplane and is only 14 nautical miles from the state’s fourth-busiest airport.

Another Alaska town, Ouzinkie, population 167, got nearly $15 million to replace its gravel runway. The town has a float-plane landing area in its harbor. Barges also provide cargo delivery from Kodiak, 10 miles away.

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Transportation Department Deputy Secretary John Porcari said the grants criticized by Scovel were part of an effort to help small airports meet safety standards.

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