Last Wednesday, Washington, D.C., shut down — federal workers told to stay home, schools closed — for a storm, trumpeted as the “Snowquester,” that turned out to be a light rain with a gentle breeze. North Korean despot Kim Jong Un, full of crazy bluster, must have been pleased to see that so little was required to humble the mighty American superpower.
The next day the same storm system showed up in New England and blew the region away, with destructive winds and a surprise, heavy snowfall starting Thursday night that blanketed streets and snarled Friday traffic. Yet Boston’s schools stayed open, giving us the incongruous sight of Mayor Tom Menino warning folks not to drive even as yellow buses were picking up their kids.
Comments
Wow! Very Deep and insightful.
Skippy, excellent example of the attitude that makes difficult decisions by public persons all that much more difficult. "Everyone is stupid except me!" Didn't Homer Simpson say that?
AT 6:45PM Thursday the National Weather Service in Taunton (not Channel 7, or 5, etc) issued a Winter Storm Warning for Boston (had previously been a winter weather advisory..before that a Winter Storm watch) and the warning stated that 8" of snow was exptected overnight Thursday night in Boston. Depsite Channel 7 (most overhyped), 5, or 4 said...from Wednesday to Friday - this was the first storm WARNING issued from the NWS - the City should have acted on that information - not the local guys who keep discouting the European Model.
I was always under the impression the the BPS had until 5 a.m. to cancel school. I looked out of my window at 3:30 in the morning and could see that it was going to be a very bad day on the roads and sidewalks. I understand the concern for parents having to arrange childcare, but isn't that preferable than trying to arrange for what could happen as a result of dangerous roads? And it's just not the students, it's all of the teachers and staff also trying to make their way in to school. And we all know traffic is much worse on a school day than on a day that school is not in session, increasing congestion in the city. Keeping the schools open during severe weather is bad for everyone.
It was a snow storm. The "experts" are right 30% of the time. Give the mayor a break, it is a big decision. Lots of people don't have day care. Wow, it wasn't even a big snow storm.