Megan McArdle summarizes the post-”snowmageddon” state of Washington, DC, which isn’t good:
You will probably have noticed that I did not post this morning. That’s because sometime before 8 am, I decided that I should get to the grocery store and pick up my lung medicine in the hiatus between snows.
Four hours later, I returned with a trunk full of whatever could be scavenged from the grocery store shelves. You have never seen a city as completely incompetent at dealing with snow as Washington DC.
I mean, two feet of snow is inconvenient anywhere. But in DC, only the main streets have been plowed. And by “plowed”, I mean that one meager lane has been cleared, so that even major arteries like New York Avenue frequently narrow to one lane. The side streets have been turned into defacto one-way streets–except that no one knows which way. The result is a lot like driving on a country road in Ireland, where you are apt to come upon someone going the other way, and then spend precious moments staring at each other until one party reluctantly backs up to a wider spot.
In fairness, a jurisdiction that gets massive snowstorms as rarely as DC can’t be as well-prepared for them as a northern city. If it was, that would be a sign that DC authorities have invested too many resources in snowstorm preparation. That said, things are a lot better where I am in northern Virginia. Until the second round of snow began tonight, the main roads were completely cleaned, and I was able to drive out to buy last minute supplies in Arlington and Falls Church with minimum trouble. Our own street (a small side street) was only just barely driveable, but still could be used. Much of the difference between DC and Virginia is probably attributable to DC’s famously incompetent municipal government. I’m very glad that I “voted with my feet” against them when I first moved to the region.
Megan also describes major shortages in DC stores. Again, things seem to be less bad in Northern Virginia. We were able to buy many things in Whole Foods and Safeway yesterday and today, though only Trader Joe’s had salad greens available. After searching several stores, I was even able to restock my supply of ice-melting salt at Bed, Bath & Beyond, which had a large supply. Apparently, many Virginians don’t realize that you can buy such supplies there.
We did have an interesting adventure trying to purchase ice-melting salt at Home Depot earlier. The salesperson there said they were all out, but advised us to come back Wednesday morning when they expect to get a new shipment in. I pointed out that another major snowstorm will be raging at that time, and asked if I might be able to come back on Thursday. He said the new supply would probably be exhausted by then. If they expect the new shipment to be exhausted that quickly, why not simply order more to begin with? The Bed, Bath & Beyond people told me that they got a new shipment in this afternoon, which leads me to wonder why Home Depot couldn’t get equally prompt suppliers.
Ultimately, however, it’s understandable that businesses, consumers, and local governments would make mistakes in reacting to such a rare event. At least in Virginia, things haven’t been as bad as I might have expected. Of course, I may change my mind once I get down to the work of scheduling makeup sessions for all the classes I had canceled this week….
A reader says:
I think part of the grocery shortage we’re experiencing here in the Dupont/Adams Morgan/Logan Circle area (all I can speak to) is that the stores were hit by young professionals who are used to getting take-out rather than eating at home and thus didn’t have many reserves on hand. At least that was the situation with a number of acquaintances and co-workers I talked to about it.
The roads are indeed not great. But then, I’m still able to get around unlike some friends in College Park or Takoma Park who are dealing with unplowed roads and Metro stations that have only been open for 12 hours in the last four days. You could argue that plowed roads are simply less critical in large swaths of D.C.
February 9, 2010, 10:01 pmCaleb says:
Here is a suggestion, don’t drive inside the city. That is why DC has this fabulous underground subway system that functions even in two feet of snow. Granted, you will not be able to get to parts of Virginia or Maryland but it is an emergency…so stay home.
February 9, 2010, 10:07 pmRoger the Shrubber says:
Clutch the pearls!!
February 9, 2010, 10:09 pmRainerK says:
Well, DC residents, if it helps your feelings, you are not alone. I live in the eastern panhandle of WV and here the difference between privately maintained roads (Clear and clean) and public roads (Inches-thick washboard of ice) is strikingly apparent.
February 9, 2010, 10:22 pmOur road department isn’t even able to plan priorities (inclines, major intersections). Three days later not even the Interstate is cleaned. Unfortunately the local media are engaged in the usual fawning explaining to the weary public how difficult the job has been. No wonder, no accountability – no results. Public services can do no wrong.
lucia says:
People who live in places where it snows also have the good sense to stock the pantry so they can hold out for 3 days. In winter, I make sure I have an extra box of cereal in the pantry. I also keep a couple of tins of tuna, pasta, canned tomatoes and a variety of things at all time. It doesn’t hurt to stock some veggies with decent shelf life like squash and potatoes instead of living on lettuce. Our stores rarely close during snow storms, but I never want to take otherwise unnecessary drives when the streets aren’t cleared.
If I needed essential medicines, I would fill the prescription ahead one week (unless that’s really not possible.)
Stores run out of salt everywhere. That’s something you need to learn to stock in advance assuming you use it. We rarely use it.
February 9, 2010, 10:26 pmWes says:
I live in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula near Munising. And as much snow as I see;last year 300 inches, I can recognize that what has happened in the DC area is a very major snowstorm. Something that would cause major pain even up here on the Superior shore. But… I have to say this… I about rolled out of my seat reading the following:
Megan also describes major shortages in DC stores. Again, things seem to be less bad in Northern Virginia. We were able to buy many things in Whole Foods and Safeway yesterday and today, though only Trader Joe’s had salad available.
Salad? Oh my God! No Salad! No Salad unless you can get to Trader Vic’s! Times are tough, do something somebody, anybody!!!
All kidding aside. Hang in there it will melt. And it will also give you something to talk about next year. Any day you remember makes your life that much longer.
February 9, 2010, 10:29 pmIlya Somin says:
People who live in places where it snows also have the good sense to stock the pantry so they can hold out for 3 days.
True, but such massive snowfalls are extremely rare in this area. No one was expecting either 1) a 20 inch snowstorm, or 2) another massive snowstorm within 2 days. The former was by itself one of the 5 biggest storms in DC history, and having another big storm occur so soon afterwards may be completely unprecedented in the region.
February 9, 2010, 10:30 pmorca says:
A Libertarian complaining about a lack of government service when in impacts them?
There’s a shocker.
February 9, 2010, 10:33 pmMaryG says:
Ah, memories of the salad days!
February 9, 2010, 10:36 pmpete says:
Sorry, but I live in south Texas where it pretty much never snows and I have the good sense to stock the pantry so that I can hold out for a lot more than just 3 days. Maybe it is because I grew up in Southern California where I was taught that you should always have a couple of weeks worth of supplies, including fresh water, because with a major earthquake it could be weeks or longer before all major services get restored.
February 9, 2010, 10:37 pmChris Travers says:
Is DC better or worse than Toronto (the laughing stock of Canada in this regard) in this regard? If you don’t know what I mean google “Toronto Snow Army 1999.”
Honestly I am sure they are better than Seattle (where “snow management” means “pack it onto the roadway into a hard surface”….)
February 9, 2010, 10:40 pmwm13 says:
Yeah, well, the voters of Washington get what they vote for, and they deserve to get it good and hard as far as I’m concerned. This is especially true of Megan McArdle, a total squish, who doesn’t like the sort of competent mayors New York City has had recently, because they are “creepy,” and therefore gets sensitive incompetents. It’s kind of like dating.
February 9, 2010, 10:42 pmIlya Somin says:
A Libertarian complaining about a lack of government service when in impacts them?
I would be very happy if the roads and snow removal were privatized. Since they haven’t been, however, I have no choice but to depend on the government.
February 9, 2010, 10:46 pmgeorge weiss says:
true that part of the problem is incompetent dc government but another part is that its a lot harder to clear a more densely packed city like environment (with transportation headaches that are bad even in clear weather) than a suburban one with less bad transportation problem generally.
February 9, 2010, 10:49 pmRainerK says:
The tender feelings of some commenters towards us poor folks hit by 30 inches of snow are appreciated.
February 9, 2010, 10:51 pmBut that in no way absolves the State Highway Department from the duty of proper planning and the best job within proper economical boundaries. Storms like the last one are not unique here, they do occur every 10 years or so. It is all too easy and self-serving to demand proper planning and foresight form citizens but not live up to the same standards. Why do public services do that? Because they get away with it. Time to end that cycle.
Josh B says:
On Sunday evening, I found that major surface streets in Arlington compared favorably to DC, but I-395 (a responsibility of VDOT, not local authorities) was the worst of all.
February 9, 2010, 10:59 pmChris Travers says:
Agreed. You could always adopt the Toronto approach….
February 9, 2010, 11:05 pmLarryA says:
In D.C. roads blocked with snow so trucks can’t get through might also contribute to the problem.
I’m really not snarking, but don’t you usually have canned vegetables on hand with a shelf-life of at least months? It doesn’t snow down here in Texas, but we usually have a minimum of a week’s food in the house.
Of course we also tend to freak out if the roads ice over.
Stuff Happens. Not just snow.
When we lived in Grand Island, Nebraska, one night a dozen tornados came through. We were without electricity for almost a week, had no running water for just over a week, and had no sewer service for ten days. What cooking we did was on our charcoal grill. Everyone had enough food to get by until streets were cleared of debris and the stores opened. We couldn’t complain, though. Houses three blocks north of us weren’t there any more.
OTOH, we did have to lend our manual can openers to several neighbors who only had electric. Maybe it’s my Boy Scout/Army Infantry background speaking.
February 9, 2010, 11:11 pmsmarticus says:
It’s bad enough that we have no congressional voting rights; that much of the property within our little district doesn’t support the city through property taxes (as part of federal government or non-profits); that many of the people working here don’t pay local income taxes (as Maryland or Virginia residents); that we have no Members of Congress to bring home pork to pay for capital projects; and that we suffer the ills commensurate with being in a city; but the implication that we somehow *deserve* getting socked with the biggest snowfalls in our history — that no political entity could reasonably have prepared for — because we were allowed the right to vote for our own mayors is preposterous.
Like everyone, we have our faults, but there is no need to add insult to repeated injury. And were we all to take the advice of what the likely rejoinder will be — “vote with our feet” — the District would sink back to the hellhole it was until the late 90s, property prices and congestion would increase in the suburbs, and the federal government would be even more sensitive to the weather as commutes becomes longer and more tenuous.
And for the putative libertarians out there — DC is the perfect example of the free rider problem that libertarianism does little to address.
February 9, 2010, 11:15 pmJay says:
In Virginia, the only counties with roads that aren’t the responsibility of VDOT are Arlington and Henrico. Otherwise there are no county road departments. (Of course, you may well be in Arlington County.) It’s an oddly centralized state.
February 9, 2010, 11:22 pmMCM says:
Didn’t we just have a post about how hard it is to get snow-removal services? I seem to remember a couple of them. I have no idea what makes you think privatized roads would be any more likely to be plowed than public roads, when those roads are in areas that don’t frequently have this level of snowfall.
February 9, 2010, 11:22 pmRainerK says:
@smarticus
Fair enough, your point about local income taxes. But hey, it’s getting old! I used to hear the same tune in the late 70s living in DC. 30 years later the DC government is still corrupt and inept. Clean your act and you will get some respect.
Yep a little Torontoesque (ain’t that a great word?) humour in tense situations is good for health, but it wears thin when days of work and pay are lost.
BTW, it has already dumped 4 more inches tonight and still coming down. Heh!
February 9, 2010, 11:24 pmRainerK says:
@MCM
The visible evidence! See my post above. Private roads and surfaces clean – public roads a mess. ’nuff said!
February 9, 2010, 11:30 pmLet’s try private snow removal. I bet the State bureaucrats will have no problem regulating and nitpicking the private guys into economic distress.
MCM says:
I don’t think you read the posts to which I was referring. Just a bit ago Ilya was complaining that there is no private market for HOME snow removal (eg, your driveway) because snow is so rare in his area.
Why expect a functioning private market in road snow removal when there is hardly any road snow?
February 9, 2010, 11:37 pmBK says:
Hell yes! Living in DC or Maryland is a mistake. Virginia rules!
February 9, 2010, 11:40 pmMaryG says:
The tender feelings of some commenters towards us poor folks hit by 30 inches of snow are appreciated.
Please let us know your GPS coordinates, because help is on the way!
We Midwesterners are organizing for tomorrow morning a Salad Drop — green shoots dropping from the sky like snow.
We are staying up all night bagging. (think TeaPartiers, but green.) A fellow citizen in need is a fellow citizen indeed!
February 9, 2010, 11:42 pmMaryG says:
* Please East coasters; don’t be choosy about the salads you get. And dry-cleaning apologies in advance for Mrs. Gunderson, who insists we drop her famous strawberry jello salad to you too.*
February 9, 2010, 11:45 pmJohn Burgess says:
According to these DC traffic cams, the major arteries certainly look clear enough for safe driving. Side streets are a different matter.
I find interesting the scattershot way in which sidewalks are cleared. DC law requires that snow/ice be removed from the sidewalks–by the owner of the property in front of which those walks run–within eight hours of the snow’s ending. As I recall, the fines are pretty hefty, too, around $500. This doesn’t address the issue of legal liability for falls or other accidents caused by the snow.
I get a particularly bitter chuckle when I see uncleared sidewalks in front of attorneys’ offices and only wish I had a sufficient lack of morals to accidentally ‘slip’.
February 9, 2010, 11:51 pmRainerK says:
Thanks Mary, truly very patriotic of you!
February 9, 2010, 11:52 pmI did make it to the store this morning and to my dentist appointment. In retrospect staying home would have been less painful.
With this, happy morning shoveling to everyone affected.
JKB says:
Yeah, by the weekend we’ll be hearing about the food shortages. You have to clear the roads to get the supply truck into the urban utopias. Something that hasn’t happened in DC yet. A second wave of snow will delay the trucks further. Yet, we keep being told how everyone should live in dysfunctional urban environments. Oh and the Metro, only useful if you live in the city center, if you live in NE your screwed since it’s all above ground north of Union station.
But where are all those DC global warming panickers? Shouldn’t they be protesting the use of barrels and barrels of oil just moving snow which if left in place would eventually melt anyway? Funny how global warming is only a crisis on sunny days. What is the carbon footprint for snow removal?
Funny I don’t see the Green Police out helping people through this eco-emergency. But the Hummers seem to be coming in handy.
February 9, 2010, 11:54 pmAvid reader, reluctant poster says:
Read McCarthy’s The Road - even once – and you’ll learn to always have a good supply in your pantry, regardless of pending weather. The alternative seems to be to capture slaves and hack off body parts as necessary — which makes canned goods look like a bonus.
I will join the chorus condemning your lament for salad greens.
February 10, 2010, 12:17 amJustin says:
Criticism of the DC government is easy but unfair. The city’s tax base is small due to longstanding poverty, and yet DC is thriving as far as historically poor cities go.
February 10, 2010, 12:39 amravenshrike says:
Don’t many state governments make it illegal for the common citizen to drive a snow plow on public roads? I think they do.
February 10, 2010, 12:57 amKirk Parker says:
Why would you buy less than 3 days’ supply of anything in the first place? Don’t people have refrigerators for the perishable stuff?
LarryA,
Uhhh, based on the one fall semester I spent in Dallas, it doesn’t even require ice–mere rain is enough.
Now that’s an interesting merit badge!
February 10, 2010, 2:03 amRandy says:
Oh please. I heard about the snowfall possibly being a record breaker on Thursday. So Friday I went out to the markets and stored up for the week. I bought a big chicken, plus plenty of chicken parts. A roast chicken, stuffed with lemons and garlic, will give me three meals. Then I make stock out of the bones and parts (which is on the burner now) so that I can get at least two meals of soup, and two meals of a fine risotto. Plus plenty of veggies to roast, and apples, pears and oranges for dessert. While snowed in, I made homemade croissants and bread, which keeps me in clover for the week. We also made snickerdoodles, but unfortunately they only last us two days. Wine and beer is always on hand for just such emergencies, and plenty of firewood for the fireplace.
I’ve gotten my car out of terrible snow banks by shoveling and rocking the car — almost never had I need for a push. Plus, you learn to figure where the snow will likely pile up and avoid those spots.
Once you grow up in a place like Buffalo, you learn to rely on yourself. It’s not like these are skills only a Boy Scout learn, or native Americans. Any American can do it. It’s just that we rely too much upon *others* to make our meals, do our shopping and planning ahead. Isn’t that ultimately what libertarianism is about? Why would I want to trade my dependence on government for dependence upon the private sector. Both are highly capable of letting you down at critical moments.
February 10, 2010, 2:08 amRandy says:
Prof: ” I’m very glad that I “voted with my feet” against them when I first moved to the region.”
I always feel sorry for people who believe this. I know that we all have different things that are important to us, but I have voted with MY feet and moved from Maryland to DC. I can’t stand anything about Virginia (except the lower taxes), but more importantly, NoVa is just a huge suburb. Living on Capitol Hill, I have Eastern Market, which is a 19th century food market operating just a few blocks from my house, where I can get virtually everything I need for the pantry just by walking there. I can walk to museums, businesses, metro lines, and friends’ houses, and so my car is used only when business takes me deep into the burbs. The quality of life simply can’t be beat when you know all your neighbors and you live in an historic house.
Sure, there are problems in DC. But so there are in every place I’ve ever seen, and NoVA has problems that for me are deal breakers. (The state’s hostility to gays being another factor). I guess it comes down to which problems bug you the most
February 10, 2010, 2:15 amDan Simon says:
I blame it all on political ignorance.
February 10, 2010, 2:18 amReports from the Front Lines of “Snowmageddon” | Liberal Whoppers says:
[...] the article here: Reports from the Front Lines of “Snowmageddon” [...]
February 10, 2010, 2:35 amorca says:
No you don’t…grab a shovel.
February 10, 2010, 2:37 amIlya Somin says:
No you don’t…grab a shovel.
A ridiculous claim. One individual can’t shovel out an entire street, even assuming that it would be legal for me to block it for as long as it took to do so.
February 10, 2010, 3:05 amorca says:
Aaah, but what a publicity coup if all the D.C. area Libertarians gathered together and cleared a single street in our nation’s capital. Even a few blocks cleared by a group of hardworking private citizens would be newsworthy…it’s not too late!!
February 10, 2010, 3:18 amIlya Somin says:
I always feel sorry for people who believe this. I know that we all have different things that are important to us, but I have voted with MY feet and moved from Maryland to DC. I can’t stand anything about Virginia (except the lower taxes), but more importantly, NoVa is just a huge suburb. Living on Capitol Hill, I have Eastern Market, which is a 19th century food market operating just a few blocks from my house, where I can get virtually everything I need for the pantry just by walking there. I can walk to museums, businesses, metro lines, and friends’ houses, and so my car is used only when business takes me deep into the burbs. The quality of life simply can’t be beat when you know all your neighbors and you live in an historic house.
I certainly agree that each person has their own priorities, and I don’t claim mine are right for everyone. NOVA is indeed a “huge suburb.” But it’s also right next to DC. I get many of the advantages of DC (museuems, historical sites, etc.), without the costs (high taxes, abysmal government services). I don’t set much store by knowing all my neighbors, but I generally find that it’s easier to do that in a suburb than in a big city.
Sure, there are problems in DC. But so there are in every place I’ve ever seen, and NoVA has problems that for me are deal breakers. (The state’s hostility to gays being another factor).
Virginia isn’t as gay-friendly as it should be, no question. On the other hand, DC public opinion is at least as hostile to gays as VA opinion, and probably much more hostile than that in generally liberal northern VA.
February 10, 2010, 3:53 amMaryG says:
Virginia isn’t as gay-friendly as it should be, no question. On the other hand, DC public opinion is at least as hostile to gays as VA opinion, and probably much more hostile than that in generally liberal northern VA.
Please note:
EVERYONE is eligible to participate in the Salad Drop. REPEAT: There will be no discrimination, or special preferences, for anyone who wants to participate in this morning’s Salad Drop.
We just ask: please, don’t be naked when you go outdoors to collect your goods. Now if everyone has sent their proper GPS coordinates, let us commence countdown!
February 10, 2010, 5:10 amMaryG says:
One Love! Many salads.
(THat’s our motto, folks!)
February 10, 2010, 5:11 amMaryG says:
We were able to buy many things in Whole Foods and Safeway yesterday and today, though only Trader Joe’s had salad available.
Oh goodness! The word “greens” was later added to the post.
I’m afraid we have no choice but to drop the potato salads too! The ladies won’t allow the food to spoil, and we will feed our capitol city denizens.
(That was the humor in the salad joke, btw: The stores running out of the singular “salad”, the assembled version of lettuce + vegetables. Keep your spirits up, and your eyeballs: the salads are coming!)
February 10, 2010, 5:43 amMatej says:
Reading about the discussion, I see that even snowing seems to both show us our universal equality and point out cultural differences. In Slovenia, we have also had quite a lot of snow this winter, and more is on the way. And often, particularly if it snows into Saturday or Sunday, early morning is a time of many social encounters as people come out on to the streets, chat and shovel away, and sometimes smaller streets are kept in shape precisely because of that.
On the other hand, at least the major cities here seem to be well equipped with plows and what-not, so traffic is rarely critically affected. And the salt (or at least a reasonable quantity thereof) is available for free – I normally never use it, but a week ago I drove to the city depot, was directed to the containers (one containing salt, another sand), opened a sack and shovelled in as much as I thought was needed.
So, apart from helping joke about the quality of the US health system by pointing out that it is right next to that of Slovenia on the WHO world ranking, Slovenia also has some extra grains of salt to spare.
Of course, as with everything, I guess knowing how to use it is key. I remember living in London a few years back when the Underground (sic!) was crippled by (a few inches of) snow because a special dusty chemical concoction that was put on the tracks in the open-air areas which was supposed to melt the snow was blown away by a few measured gusts of the wind, so when the snow fell, there was a wonderful patch of “dry” land a few feet away from the snow-covered tracks…
February 10, 2010, 6:44 amPorkchop says:
After the blizzard of ’79, my roommate and I and a number of our Arlington neighbors got together and cleared an entire block of our street. It took three days, but it was clear the plow wasn’t going to get to our block anytime soon.
February 10, 2010, 8:16 amWidmerpool says:
Who needs grid-lock when you can have snow-lock? I’ll gladly consider your jobs bill Tuesday for a snow shovel today.
February 10, 2010, 8:25 amegd says:
Did you opt for the Mango-Kiwi salt or the Strawberry-Banana?
February 10, 2010, 8:54 amJust a Lurker says:
Who do you think cleared the streets of Houston of the tons of debris left after Hurricane Ike? Unusual circumstances require unusual actions. “Grab a shovel” is good advice.
February 10, 2010, 9:01 amjohn smith says:
When I was living in DC some years ago, I observed that the city seems to have acquired their snow removal plan from Tahiti.
One factor which complicates snow removal in this region is the habit people have of abandoning their cars on the road. I can certainly see how a person, unused to snow driving, without snow tires, might find it prudent to abandon the car.
What I could not and can not fathom is that they don’t bother moving the cars to the side of the road first. Cars are abandoned in the traffic lanes. Clearing snow thus becomes an exercise in threading the snowplow through the minefield of abandoned vehicles.
February 10, 2010, 9:03 amEric S. says:
For all of the things Chicago does poorly, it shines when it comes to snow removal (though this becomes obvious once you learn a former mayor lost his job over the issue). Yesterday was Chicago’s 7th largest single day snowfall in history and was coming down hard when I went to bed. I rode my bike seven miles to work today.
And really, if you want to talk about incompetence, I think you need to look west to Seattle. Apparently for enviromental reasons, the city fathers decided to use sand (which doesn’t actually melt snow) instead of salt on the roads. You can imagine how well that worked out during their freak storms last year.
February 10, 2010, 9:23 amRichao says:
A ridiculous claim. One individual can’t shovel out an entire street, even assuming that it would be legal for me to block it for as long as it took to do so.
True, one individual can’t. But you and half a dozen of your neighbors could. Out here in Annandale, that’s exactly what we did: banded together to shovel out 400 feet of our dead-end street on Monday so that we could get out and buy more food before today’s blizzard hit. (It was clear that no plows were coming our way anytime soon.) Then again, I suppose one of the advantages of living in Annandale as opposed to Arlington or Falls Church is that my neighbors are largely blue collar folk who don’t have the sense of entitlement, dependence on government, and disdain for physical labor that many of my lawyer colleagues have. I wonder what it would take to get a street-full of attorneys, lobbyists, and non-profit execs in Arlington or Alexandria to actually take the initiative to dig themselves out rather than waiting around for government to do it…
February 10, 2010, 9:27 amRichao says:
Not to harp on this or anything, but I wonder if Ilya’s comment shows a basic flaw in what I gather from reading his posts over the past couple years is his extremely individualistic form of libertarianism. I’m a pretty hard-core libertarian myself but believe that intermediary institutions and a non-governmental communitarianism are essential to making the libertarian vision of government possible. As Ilya himself points out, in many situations an individual acting alone has no choice – particularly when there’s a market failure – but to rely on government.
February 10, 2010, 9:38 amProf. S. says:
As a Midwesterner, this is all pretty funny to watch. 20 inches of snow here would mean a bad commute, some school closings (although not my elementary school, which I’m convinced never closed) and a snow emergency (where you move cars off the street so they can plow), but that’s about all. However, for our east-coast-centric media and bloggers, this is the end of the world.
Suck it up people. It’s winter. It snows. It sometimes even snows a lot. Deal with it.
February 10, 2010, 9:45 amRainerK says:
@Prof. S.
February 10, 2010, 10:11 amOh you rugged weather-hardened midwesterners! Got to admire them. I sure would like to see you send your children to school on a day like today where the situation has deteriorated to a full blizzard. You would be highly irresponsible.
One Man's View says:
Not an accurate description of my portion of DC. To be sure the side roads had not been plowed well (before the latest storm)but the main roads (Mass. Ave./Penn. Ave.) were 3 or 4 lanes wide and down to pavement. Both of my local grocery stores and my local market were crowded but well stocked. Where I live the electricity lines are underground so we have heat and power. The biggest problem is/will be getting rid of the plowed snow piles. That, and the fact that my satellite TV is not getting a signal b/c of the snow — but I have plenty of movies.
February 10, 2010, 10:20 amBen Oklan says:
I am a native Californian experiencing my first “blizzard” in New York. We are supposed to get 10-12 inches today and public schools have been preemptively closed. Needless to say, I am longing for my days at UCLA law when I could walk to class in January in shorts and flip flops. I am planning to spend the rest of today curled in a fetal position in my room crying in vain for Dean Liz Cheadle to save me.
February 10, 2010, 10:23 amPhil Smith says:
It’s been done.
February 10, 2010, 10:35 amDavid says:
DC government is elected and run by blacks, average IQ 85. Va. local government not. Not the only factor, and a taboo subject, but true.
February 10, 2010, 10:43 amChris Travers says:
I wouldn’t object to privatizing snow removal provided it was a competitive marketplace. For example, I think a mistake to replace a branch of city government with an unregulated business monopoly. Fortunately, the best approach here is just to allow each neighborhood negotiate their own contracts with snow removal companies, and make sure the city policy is there to foster competition.
February 10, 2010, 10:44 amMidwesterner says:
Not so much. There would be a two-hour delay on the start times of schools and some businesses, while snow plows cleared roads. If things deteriorated during that time, then they could cancel as needed. Some schools up here even have ‘snow homes’ or dorm-like buildings next to the more rural schools, so that if they did start school on time and the weather got worse, they can stay there safely.
It’s a matter of weather and what each place is used to seeing. However, after these two blizzards, I’d hope that D.C. would consider beefing up its snow removal plans, so that this situation can be avoided, or mitigated, in the future.
February 10, 2010, 11:03 amegd says:
Wouldn’t want an unregulated business monopoly to take over where the unregulated government monopoly has so obviously failed.
February 10, 2010, 11:34 amJoseph Slater says:
Ah yes, I remember living in DC in the 1990s, being hit by a big storm, and having Marion Barry say that his snow removal plan was “spring.” And many points to MaryG for ruling this thread.
Beyond that, however, there is far too much DC-bashing on this thread. I lived in Adams Morgan for over a decade and wouldn’t have traded that for VA or MD. And did I just read Ilya as essentially admitting to free-riding on DC’s various attractions?
Oh, and just to point out the obvious, “David’s” comment about the “taboo” subject is odious and racist.
February 10, 2010, 11:35 amlucia says:
Ilya
I agree.
Also, while I prepare for snow and ice storms, I don’t really prepare for earthquakes. I do happen to have some jugs of bottle water in the basement because it’s left over from fall camping trips. But if this morning’s Illinois earthquake had been major you’d get to point out that people in California have the good sense to have water and propane to cook!
People with good sense prepare for what is fairly likely. The often don’t prepare for highly unlikely dangers.
February 10, 2010, 12:10 pmlucia says:
Others–
My pantry does hold more than 3 days of stuff; to some extent, this happens without even planning. I do, however, keep on eye on specific provisions like bread and ceral. When I was a starving graduate student, it didn’t necessarily hold weeks worth of stuff just by accident. The place was too small. Given that criterion, I kept an eye out for 3 days worth of stuff.
To the person who asked about canned veggies: The only canned veggies I eat are tomatoes. So, no. I don’t have weeks worth of canned veggies. If I ever need to go more than 7 days without groceries, my diet will be unbalanced but I won’t starve.
My sister and I have actually discussed the worst possible long term outages. Barring terrorist attacks, the biggest problem for those in the Chicago are would be if a huge devastating earthquake hit during winter that caused widespread collapse of homes and buildings and cut-off gas for heat and prevented travel in or out of the region. Most people have food to make it through a few days. But it would be difficult for millions to deal with below zero temperatures if they lost their domiciles.
February 10, 2010, 12:21 pmProf. S. says:
Like Midwesterner said, a lot of schools would declare a 2 hour delay (or possibly cancel school) and we’d move on. The stores would be stocked and we’d all go to work like normal (although, we may leave early because of the traffic). And we do get “full blizzard” warnings here quite often. You just don’t hear about them because it’s not the east coast.
Besides, how bad can it be in a densely populated city. Come back with me to my home town in rural Minnesota, where it would be -20 (air temp, not wind chill), blowing snow, dark, and we’d still be waiting for the bus.
February 10, 2010, 12:21 pmDavid says:
@Joseph Slater
Accurate, whether you like it or not.
Show me a black-run polity (with the possible exception of Barbados) anywhere in the world, that is competently administered.
February 10, 2010, 12:26 pmRandy says:
Prof: “On the other hand, DC public opinion is at least as hostile to gays as VA opinion, and probably much more hostile than that in generally liberal northern VA.”
Not sure why you would conclude that. DC has a very large gay population, and recent polls show that 56% of the population supports SSM, whereas 35% oppose. True, a slight majority of blacks are against SSM, 51%, but in terms of legal rights, gays are much better off than Virginia, which has no SSM, no recognition of domestic partners, no protections based on sexual orientation and so on.
Back on topic, I just have a problem with suburbs in general, which is why I live in the city. Personal preference, I know, but the urban environment for me is exciting and convenient.
February 10, 2010, 12:54 pmmikeyes says:
Cayman Islands.
February 10, 2010, 1:32 pmRandy says:
Cabin fever is officially settling in. Today I yelled at a friend of mine who had the temerity to complain to me. He went to the hardware store this weekend and was shocked, *shocked* mind you, to find that they were all out of snow shovels. this on top of the paucity of food at the local store.
So I rather sarcastically said, oh, so *everyone* else is supposed to be well prepared for this storm — the stores should hear about this storm well enough in advance to vastly increase their stocks of snow shovels, bread, milk, peanut butter and everything else so that you can just *waltz* in whenever you feel like it to get everything you need. In other words, everyone else should prepare for the storm except you!
Didn’t go down well. I did offer a cup of hot chocolate (flavored with a bit of rum) to make it all better, though.
February 10, 2010, 1:43 pmJoseph Slater says:
David:
The U.S. has a black president.
February 10, 2010, 1:49 pmJimmy Kingma says:
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February 10, 2010, 2:41 pmpc says:
Obama should declare the snow a terrorist threat and send it to Guantanamo.
February 10, 2010, 2:56 pmDavid says:
@ Joseph Slater
Mulatto (half-white), but I’m still tempted to rest my case. In fact, of course, the US government is ethnically mixed, as it should be, given our population. Doesn’t count.
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July 26, 2010, 12:56 pm