Hurricane Sandy

LIPA's COO resigned.

I heard on NPR that they were going to stop insisting on a home inspection before turning the power back on...which, under the circumstances, was quite simply a STUPID reason to slow things down.

I lived in Florida when the 5 hurricanes hit that one year.

Buildings stood empty for years after. Until they were knocked down.

I remember doing clean-up in the unbearable heat that year. Seeing those effected by Sandy face the cold make me grateful for that heat. I remember it being hard to sleep without the air conditioning. Can't imagine wondering if anyone in the house will freeze before morning.

Can't say I am surprised about the COO resigning. LIPA has been making promises they didn't keep.

When we drove home from NY we saw convoys of power company trucks headed North as Sandy headed North.

Georgia Power helped my power company get most of my area back operating.

My mom works right next to the local Air Reserve base and said she saw a bunch of Southern California Edison trucks and workers on the tarmac, getting ready to be airlifted (the day after Sandy struck). I also noticed EMTs from Northern California helping out on the news as well. This was truly a nationwide effort to help with the recovery.

I know a lot of people are hurting and are feeling like they've been abandoned, but the reality is this was large and fairly widespread disaster, unlike anything the region has ever experienced; despite the best efforts and enormous resources, it's simply unrealistic to expect thing to return to normal in such a short period of time. As you noted earlier, sometimes there simply isn't an option for recovery.

I guess the new normal for some is having to rent apartments with federal assistance for an unknown period of time, until their homes are finally inspected, repaired, and deemed safe. That could be a while, especially since there's been a lack of electricians mobilized to help speed along the process. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has gotten state and federal funding to do this, and Governor Cuomo has also pressed the city to allow in-state contractors to participate without the licensing normally required to work within the city (there simply aren't enough NYC electricians to deal with the issue). More on this story here.

North Shore Animal League is taking in pets to take a bit of stress of the people who have been devastated by the hurricane. They will care for the animals until their owners get back on their feet. So kind of them, especially since Long Island only had one shelter that permitted animals.

My understanding is that, if salt water hit the electrical systems in the homes, there are extremely high risks for fires.

Gov. Christie is opening Ft Monmouth to provide temporary housing for 400-600 families.

Yep. Any water immersing electrical and heating equipment has the potential to damage built in failsafes, cause gas leaks and short circuits and the like, but salt water is especially corrosive and damaging.

I love that man.

He's handled Irene, last year's Halloween ice storm, and Sandy well. Going to make it hard for people to remember what a fucking asshole he's been other wise. Let's not forget this is the same man who:
- sent letters to the NJEA pre-election making warm promises, only to viciously attack them after taking office;
- verbally attack war veterans;
- drag feet on implementing medical marijuana law signed before he came to office because feds say pot is illegal, but tells feds to "bring it on" over making sports gambling legal in NJ which is also against federal law;
- series of spiteful firings of state employees who are related to Democrat politicians or supporters;
- used state helicopter to attend son's baseball game, so he could be back at Governor's mansion for meeting with Republican fundraisers who were trying to convince him to run for president;
- reamed previous governor for cost of staff, while his own cabinet's salary is almost $100k higher.

The man is a douche bag and a bully, and it cannot be forgotten.

Everything MDF just said. As a NJ resident and a unionized public employee....Chris Christie is a fuckface. I openly give him credit for handling the hurricane pretty well....but that's kind of his job as Governor.

Like Giuliani before him, it seems the further away you get from the place the man is tasked to run, the better he looks to outsiders.

I don't really know him as well as you Jersey residents do, clearly. From what you said MDF he does sound like a fuckface.

I gave myself a Germs tattoo tonight, quoted Johnny Cash and kept all of my numbers in line while helping my local friends. Plus I get to adopt a cat and stay in Philly for as long as I please. I even got my own lawyer, mover and apparently a few local bars.

No worries...it's a common occurrence. I used to think Michael Nutter was a pretty good mayor....until I said it in the company of several Philadelphia residents. It's easy to form an incomplete impression of someone when you really only get news snippets & soundbytes.

You would think more shelters would house animals, especially since most owners wont abandon their pets.
Things are slowly improving around here. A lot of workers are gutting and repairing homes and food and blood donations are still needed.

Exactly. An outsiders perspective is going to be different from a residents since we don't reside under their jurisdiction.
I just hope that Chris Christie does right by the victims. They've been through so much.

Koch says "Suck it up" Sandy victims, because they are pushing the Republicans under their thumb to vote against any Sandy relief funding

Steve Lonegan is a steaming pile of dogshit. here's just a few choice ones