Snowpocalypse Now – Kady’s up to her belly in snow!
February 6th, 2010
Kady is from Georgia originally, though she spent almost a year on Long Island. She does NOT like snow. Today, Alan opened the door, and unlike Krie, she always calmly stands in the doorway and surveys her world, then CALMLY and SLOWLY walks down the stairs (what a dog!!). Today, as she surveyed the world, she looked up with a big “WTF” look!
She went down the shoveled path and with some encouragement went into the snow, over her belly. Some of the yard is almost bare, but some has pretty deep drifts, like 4′, and in the back corner up against the back door, all the windows have a curtain of snow, and the drift is 5-6 feet high. Official tallies are 21″ in Newark (DE), 20″ in Wilmington, 18″ in Bear, New Castle Airport 18″, Dover 15″ — snowfall totals predicted is now up to 24.5″ for NEW CASTLE COUNTY< @&” for Kent Count and 27″ for Sussex… though it doesn’t seem like much deeper than a foot overall here. It was very warm when it started so probably much of it melted. The numbers for accumulated snow are much lower in the south end of the peninsula, and it was over 30 when this all started.
This will shut down Delaware for a month! Time to underground those distribution lines, eh? Here, I’ve
Power’s out just about everywhere:
CLICK HERE for Delaware Electric Cooperative map
CLICK HERE for Delmarva Power outage map
TIME TO UNDERGROUND THE DISTRIBUTION LINES! Click on the Delmarva Power or DEC link, go to map and put cursor n location to see number of customers out of service. What I don’t get is the areas where there are so many more customers out of service than they have customers.
The view out the office window about 9 a.m.:
And now look at it… a couple hours later ~ 1 p.m.m it’s coming down, heavy thick blobs of snow, and it’s coming down FAST, none of this “winter wonderland” routine, it’s intense:
State of Delaware
Executive Department
DoverDECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY
FOR THE STATE OF DELAWARE
DUE TO A SEVERE WINTER STORMWHEREAS, a severe winter storm with significant snowfall accumulations expected in all three counties of the State of Delaware, and blizzard conditions expected in Kent and Sussex counties has begun; and
WHEREAS, the predicted weather will likely create dangerous and life-threatening conditions and result in additional public safety responses from treacherous road conditions in all or parts of each county; and
WHEREAS, the weather conditions have the potential to cause additional safety issues to our citizens as well as damage and destruction to property; and
NOW THEREFORE, I, JACK A. MARKELL, pursuant to Title 20, Chapter 31 of the Delaware Code, do hereby declare a State of Emergency for the entire State of Delaware. This State of Emergency is effective at February 5, 2010 at 8 p.m. E.S.T. and continuing until terminated as provided under state law. The nature of the emergency is heavy snowfall, potentially high winds, whiteout conditions and minor to moderate coastal flooding. Along with such other actions authorized by Title 20, Chapter 31 of the Delaware Code, I specifically direct and authorize:
1.All departments and agencies of the State of Delaware shall assist in response and recovery activities, as directed by and in coordination with the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of Safety and Homeland Security, necessary in those areas affected by the storm.
2. As of 10 p.m. February 5, 2010 and until further notice, no motor vehicles are to be operated on any road in the state of Delaware, unless such vehicles are being operated by authorized personnel responding to the State of Emergency or other emergency situations. Essential personnel who are traveling to assigned work locations for critical facilities operating on a 24/7 basis are exempt from this order and must carry credentials identifying them as employees of such facility. Private sector businesses are strongly urged to consider the safety of their employees and the restriction of travel during the storm when deciding whether to remain operating.
3. In order to enforce paragraph 2 of this Order, state and local officials are directed to remove abandoned vehicles from roads in the State of Delaware at the expense of the vehicle owner.
4. The Delaware National Guard shall take precautionary or responsive actions directed by the Director of the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of Safety and Homeland Security, upon request by local authorities.
5. Government entities subject to bidding requirements are exempted from those bidding requirements for the purpose of purchasing materials necessary for responding to this snow and wind emergency.
6. I authorize the Delaware Department of Transportation and the Delaware State Police, in consultation with the Delaware Emergency Management Agency and the Secretary of Safety and Homeland Security, to order such bridge and road closures as necessary to protect the health and safety of the public.
7. The Delaware Emergency Management Agency shall activate the State Emergency Operations Plan and cooperate with federal entities in making applications, if necessary, for relief and assistance for those towns and communities adversely affected by snow, winds and coastal flooding, pursuant to the State Emergency Operations Plan of the State of Delaware and any potentially applicable federal disaster or emergency relief laws, including, but not limited to, the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. The director of DEMA, or his designee, shall be the Governor’s Authorized Representative with respect to interaction with FEMA.
8. I reserve the right to take or direct state or local authorities to take, without issuance of further written order, any other necessary actions authorized by Title 20, Chapter 31 of the Delaware Code to respond to this emergency.
APPROVED this 5th day of February, 2010, at 4:45 p.m.
Jack A. Markell
Governor
A storm of biblical proportions…
February 5th, 2010
SNORT!
CLICK HERE FOR THE NEWS JOURNAL SLIDE SHOW
If you’re from the Midwest, you’ll see why I don’t believe the hype.
There’s really no snow to speak of… But what do they do in Delaware?
ECONOMIC STIMULATION, they scream SNOW and everyone runs to the store, literally, shelves were empty, lines going way back, cashiers frantically calling for every employee in the store to open a register.
THE GOVERNOR SHUT DOWN THE STATE, nobody’s supposed to travel after 10 p.m.
and not just Delaware:
Washington, D.C., is supposed to get 24-30″ which begs the question — is hell freezing over?
Maybe they’re planning for us to freeze in the dark in an incubator without a job. Tomorrow morning will tell…
Getting railroaded?
February 2nd, 2010
We all know what a pain in the patoot siting transmission is (particularly when it’s not needed). And now for something completely different — an interesting and seemingly probable theory:
ARE Y’ALL PAYIN’ ATTENTION??!!!?!?!?!
This is one of those pieces that I want to preserve to take out and reread in the not too distant future:
Buffett’s Semaphore Signal: Should Burlington Northern Shareholders Think Again Before Saying ‘Yes’ To Berkshire Hathaway?
Author: Daniel Sinclair
Reasons commentators ascribe to Buffett’s offer to acquire one of North America’s largestrail networks, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) are now familiar. Growing global trade, continued reliance on (especially low sulphur) coal, a resurgent and growing US economy (without needing to pick product ‘winners’ and ‘losers’), a low risk way to gain exposure to any rising process for commodities, a hedge against inflation given rail’s pricing power, a competitive advantage in rail’s oligopoly and high barriers to entry, more productive rail with more efficient and technologically advanced operations and a rise double-decker railway carriages, a way to play higher oil prices and cap and trade or carbon tax laws given that rail is 3 to 4 times more fuel efficient than trucks.
Those reasons are all good, and they have been part of the core investment thesis for rail. But, it is submitted, there may be something extra that offers compelling upside to rail that has Buffett excited. Think about all the land that rail owns. BNSF, for example, operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America with about 32,000 route miles of track plus an additional 23,000 miles for other rail related infrastructure and property. Much of this land is of relatively little value beyond the use of rail. No one is going to build condos or hotels or new subdivisions along side railways.
Now think again. You think Boone Pickens has an ambitious plan for wind farms? Wait until you see what Buffett could do right across the US with his investment in BNSF. This land might become prime property for alternative energy generation including from wind and solar farms either side of rail tracks. With much of rail land in the middle of nowhere, there are few worries about the ‘not-in-my-back-yard’ crowd and more difficult regulatory approvals. Small wind mills and solar panels might be placed on the trains themselves to generate energy.
Live from the PUC!
February 1st, 2010
Except that now there’s a delayed start, we’re missing a Commissioner…
Here’s some notes, we’re taking a break — I’m missing some parts, but here we go:
OK, the “ROUGH notes” are their in toto, but hey, I’ve got something better:
HERE’S THE MEETING – February 1 Agenda Meeting
You may have to download “Silverlight” to view the meeting.