A scheduler spent $4,000 on a week in the U.S. Virgin Islands to prepare for Ryan Zinke's trip -- a cost one appointee said would draw an inspector's attention.
He stood, as if to acknowledge the inspector's attentions, but didn't glance upward, possibly not wishing to incur rebuke, or perhaps he had merely grown incurious about what were, for him, routine operations.
Investigators say they are also exploring allegations that top inspection officials in the region have stifled the efforts of a few inspectors to call attention to unsafe practices.
Jack Lavers, a sixth-generation rancher whose family has run cattle in the mountains north of Bakersfield since 1858, said that when electronic identification tags were instituted in Australia, brand inspectors stopped paying attention to brands.
Aides to the mayor sought yesterday to turn back the clock somewhat on Mr. Bloomberg's comments regarding the inspectors, drawing reporters' attention to a news conference on Sept. 27.
These include radon, asbestos, well-water contamination, termites and other wood-chomping insects, all of which inspectors can call attention to so problems can be addressed before a property changes hands.
It is Ofsted that decides whether a school is "outstanding", "good", "requires improvement" or is "inadequate", and whose inspectors pay close attention to the data that teachers now spend endless hours compiling.
Other F.D.A. work passes with little attention: inspectors "routinely sniff black tiger shrimp from Thailand and select samples of crabmeat to test for botulism"; cases of grapes are opened to be scanned for rot and mold; and inquiries are begun to stop rumors, as occurred when the agency disclosed a hoax about syringes in Pepsi cans.
And along those halls, one thing grabbed Inspector Donohue's attention -- the unusual sight of open classroom doors.
