Washblog

The Next Big Storm

Summer is winding down and the mid latitude storms will soon be cycling through Seattle.

Are we any more prepared this year than we were last year for a big blow?

My answer is an emphatic NO.

The same bozos that fumbled the ball last year are still sitting in the captain's chair. The same loyalty to share holders vs. customers is keeping the trees around the power lines ungroomed; a disaster waiting to happen.

I grew up in Chicago where the weather is much more severe and lived in San Francisco where I experienced 100 mph winds and no loss of power.

I lived in SE Utah at an elevation of 7000 feet where were subject to capricious mountain weather. I was cozy when 4 feet of snow dumped on us. It only took them a day to open the roads.

The performance of the Seattle Area power grid is by orders of magnitude the worst I've seen in any of the places I've lived. Repair trucks were as scarce as hens teeth. No one seemed to know what was going on in the field. Outsourcing tree removal slowed everything down.

The State agencies were just as bad. There were no shelters to speak of. They didn't declare an emergency for nearly a week. They should have been able to provide generators for vital services such as fuel and food supplies.

Governor Gregoire has admitted that Washington State is ill equipped to handle a severe emergency. The deployment of many of the National Guard to Iraq has left us vulnerable.

Is this the best we can do?

Shouldn't we have had some accountability for the fiasco last winter?

Shouldn't we have a new game plan?

If we don't, history WILL repeat itself.

Davey

< Congress, is this your legacy? | Rodney Tom drops out of race for US Congress >
Display: Sort:
Display: Sort:

PNW TOPIC HOTLIST

 

 

Login

Make a new account
Username:
Password:

 HELP

Recommended Diaries

Related Links

+ davey's Diary

Washblog RSS Feeds

Political Contacts

Local Media

Coastal/Grays Harbor
Aberdeen Daily World
Chinook Observer
Montesano Vidette
Pacific County Press
Willapa Harbor Herald
KXRO 1320 AM

Olympic Peninsula
Peninsula Daily News
Bremerton Sun
Bremerton Chronicle
Gig Harbor Gateway
Port Orchard Independent
Port Townsend Leader
North Kitsap Herald
Squim Gazette
Central Kitsap Reporter
Business Examiner
KONP 1450 AM

Sound and Islands
Anacortes American
Bainbridge Review
Voice Of Bainbridge
San Juan Journal
The Islands' Sounder
Whidbey NewsTimes
South Whidbey Record
Stanwood/Camano News
Vashon Beachcomber
Voice Of Vashon
KLKI 1340 AM

North Puget Sound
Bellingham Herald
The Northern Light
Everett Herald
Skagit Valley Herald
Lynden Tribune
The Enterprise
Snohomish County Tribune
Snohomish County Business Journal
The Monroe Monitor
The Edmonds Beacon
KGMI 790 AM
KELA 1470 AM
KRKO 1380 AM

Central Puget Sound
King County Journal
Issaquah Press
Mukilteo Beacon
Voice of the Valley
Federal Way Mirror
Bothell/Kenmore Reporter
Kirkland courier
Mercer Island Reporter
Woodinville Weekly

Greater Seattle
Seattle PI
Seattle Times
KOMO TV 4
KIRO TV 7
KING 5 TV
KTBW TV 22
KCTS 9
UW Daily
The Stranger
Seattle Weekly
Capitol Hill Times
Madison Park Times
Seattle Journal of Commerce
NW Asian Weekly
West Seattle Herald
North Seattle Herald-Outlook
South Seattle Star
Magnolia News
Beacon Hill News
KIRO 710 AM
KOMO AM 1000
KEXP 90.3 FM
KUOW 94.9 FM
KVI 570 AM

South Puget Sound
The Columbian
Longview Daily News
Nisqually Valley News
Lewis County News
The Reflector
Eatonville Dispatch
Tacoma News Tribune
Tacoma Weekly
Puyallup Herald
Enumclaw Courier-Herald
The Olympian
KAOS 89.3 FM
KCPQ 13
KOWA FM 106.5
UPN 11

Cascade/Okanogan
Ellensburg Daily Record
Levenworth Echo
Cle Elum Tribune
Snoqualmie Valley Record
Methow Valley News
Lake Chelan Mirror
Omak chronicle
The Newport Miner

Spokane/Palouse
The Spokesman-Review
KREM 2 TV Spokane
KXLY News 4 Spokane
KHQ 6 Spokane
KSPS Spokane
Statesman-Examiner
Othello Outlook
Cheney Free Press
Camas PostRecord
The South County sun
White Salmon Enterprise
Palouse Boomerang
Columbia Basin Herald
Grand Coulee Star
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Yakima Herald-Republic
KIMA 29 Yakima
KAPP TV 35 Yakima
KYVE Yakima
Wenatchee World
Tri-City Herald
TVEW TV 42 Tri-cities
KTNW Richland
KEPR 19 Pasco
Daily Sun News
Prosser Record-Bulletin
KTCR 1340 AM
KWSU Pullman
Moscow-Pullman Daily News