Posted on 12/06/2003 7:29:58 AM PST by BigWaveBetty
People walk down a snow covered sidewalk on New York's Fifth Avenue, December 5, 2003. The New York area is expected to get up to eight inches of snow in the next two days. REUTERS/Jeff Christensen
Northeast this season was threatening near whiteout conditions from New Jersey to Maine on Saturday after burying Pittsburgh under 7 inches of snow, delaying flights from Boston to Washington, D.C., and creating hazardous driving conditions blamed for at least five deaths.
As much as 2 feet of snow was forecast for Massachusetts by the end of the weekend, and northern Pennsylvania was bracing for as much as 20 inches.
"We're hoping the forecasters are wrong, but if they're not, we're trusting that people will be staying home with their families and off the road so we can get our job done," said Anna Farneski, spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Drivers on Friday braved slick highways, and commuters shuffled along frozen sidewalks as they tried to make their way home through the wind and snow. In New York City, traffic slowed to a crawl.
"The salt is here, the trucks are ready, the chains are on, and New York is prepared for the assault," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday.
The storm was blamed for at least five traffic deaths, including the 74-year-old driver of a van that collided with a school bus in Pennsylvania. None of the three dozen children on the bus was hurt. Two people were killed in Virginia and two in New Jersey.
More than 80 fender-benders were reported on the New Jersey Turnpike, where the speed limit was reduced from 65 mph to 35 mph because of dangerous conditions.
The storm brought several inches of snow to Virginia and Maryland on Friday, and road crews were preparing for a second onslaught with flurries overnight expected to turn to heavy snow. Four to 8 inches was expected in the Baltimore region.
Dave Martin, a National Weather Service (news - web sites) Meteorologist in State College, Pa., said the two-day storm was dumping a large but not overwhelming amount of snow on an area stretching from the Carolinas to New England.
"What's unique is the fairly big accumulation, but what's making it relatively easy is that it's over two days," Martin said Saturday.
Forecasters predicted accumulations of up to 20 inches in northern Pennsylvania, up to 15 inches in New Jersey, and 12 to 18 inches in New York City and its suburbs by the end of the weekend.
Flights were delayed or canceled early Saturday at Logan International Airport in Boston, where wind gusts were at 35 mph, an airport spokesman said. Cancellations and delays also were expected Saturday at New York's La Guardia and John F. Kennedy airports and New Jersey's Newark Liberty International, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
About 100 flights were canceled at Philadelphia International Airport on Friday, and some flights were delayed at Washington Dulles International Airport.
While the storm disrupted or postponed outdoor plans — including Frederick, Md.'s downtown Kris Kringle parade, which was delayed for a week — some people embraced the seasonal weather.
"We're loving it," said Tana Graham, visiting New York City from Jackson, Miss. "It's putting us in the Christmas spirit."
Others were dismayed at the prospect of digging out. Sucie Stevenson looked dejected while inspecting a shovel she had just bought at a home and garden center in Orleans, Mass.
"I love storms, but I don't like shoveling," Stevenson said.
Many schoolchildren got an early start to their weekend when dozens of schools closed early on Friday. Some high school students got a lucky break when several schools canceled Saturday's scheduled Scholastic Aptitude Tests.
Good morning, everyone. Put up the tree last night. Still haven't decorated it, but I did note that kitty was sleeping under it at 3AM. Awwwwww.
I awlays enjoy the Christmas pics you post T, thanks!
Poor John 'the Fbomb' Kerry, after a nonimee is picked I predict that JFK will get the Lifetime Yawner Award!
AKE BUENA VISTA - Maybe Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry was looking to appeal to a younger crowd when he introduced his lunch guest - Orlando's own Chris Kirkpatrick of the band NSync. The audience, however, seemed more interested in the food and Kerry's positions on certain issues, including his reasons for voting for the war with Iraq. After lunch, Kirkpatrick didn't even have to be ushered through a back entrance. Few people noticed when he casually walked out of the building through a crowd of people waiting to see Kerry. Link
Lake Buena Vista, Florida — (12/06/03)-- White House hopeful John Kerry says Florida is "where America's democracy was wounded." Kerry, other presidential candidates and Democratic leaders have accused President Bush of stealing the 2000 election in Florida.
They made the allegation at a gathering of 5,000 delegates at the Florida Democratic convention.
Congresswoman Carrie Meek brought activists to their feet by encouraging them to seek revenge.
The U-S Supreme Court halted the 2000 recount of Florida's ballots after five weeks, with Bush ahead of Gore by just 537 votes out of six (m) million cast. The state's 25 electoral votes put Bush in the White House.
Six presidential candidates are attending the gathering. Carol Mosley Braun is said to be ill. And Al Sharpton is hosting N-B-C's "Saturday Night Live."
Teresa hides behind her sign as the couple campaign.
Funny how they never mention the FLORIDA Supreme Court. (I wish I could find that old picture of SCOFLA where all the justices have donkey heads.)
JAMES Carville and Al Franken dining together at Steak Frites in Union Square . . . (Page Six)
The San Francisco mayoral race sounds like a circus to me:
Newsom also mentioned his endorsement from the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his support from comic Eddie Griffin, who joined him at the Fillmore event. He also said that former President Bill Clinton is expected to come by his campaign headquarters Monday. A visit from Clinton "will give us momentum and punch hours before the polls open,'' Newsom said. "There's no one better at getting a crowd motivated.''
Gonzalez, a Green Party member, had his own feeling about Clinton's expected visit. "I don't think anybody in San Francisco is going to decide how to vote in this race based on what Al Gore or Bill Clinton thinks,'' Gonzalez said. full story
MEET THE PRESS
Dude, I see Britney nipplage.
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My goal in life is to boycott all her products so her career tanks and she gives in to Hugh Hefner's offer to pose buck nekkid. |
We all need dreams.
Someone on another thread said her pink jacket reminded them of a bathrobe and on close scrutiny, it does look like a fleece type material.
It just boggles my mind that she does not have someone help with her choice of clothes....
Evidently, when asked about her non-patriotic statements in Iraq, she replied that a soldier asked her a question and she could not lie to him....why not, she certainly lies about other things. Besides she did not have to lie, she could have replied "the people back home support the troops"...she did not have to embelish her statement.
Unfortunately, this was the weekend of the Holly Fair, a Christmas craft fair my daughter's Senior Scout Troop sponsored in our town in MA. The traffic was minimal yesterday, but picked up today because it was held in the basement of our parish church, and lots of folks came down after Mass.
It has snowed continually since 3pm on FRIDAY, but we only have about 8" on the ground! I think most of it got blown down into CT from here! The wind has been howling for two days!
I love that Old World Santa, by the way. One of the things we had at the Holly Fair was "Pictures with St. Nicholas", and our St. Nick's costume is very much like the one in the picture, except ours doesn't have the 'Nitecap', only the hood, and the robe goes all the way to the floor. It is a gorgeous costume!
In one particularly expensive episode, Tonken wrangled a private jet to fly...Cher...to Atlanta so she could appear at a fundraiser for the Dallas-based Children's Craniofacial Assn. Tonken wasn't directly connected with the event, but he believed Cher would return the favor by performing at his own Los Angeles Kids Campaign gala, to be built around the Dallas charity and other philanthropies. The gala never occurred.And it gets better....lots of celebs have been pocketing big bucks for "receiving a community service award". LOL!Once in Atlanta, Cher told Tonken that she wouldn't need his chartered Gulfstream for a return flight, so he let the plane go, even though he was obligated to pay for a round trip, according to people familiar with the situation. The singer then changed her mind and asked for a plane to return home — so Tonken chartered another jet, raising his total cost to more than $63,000. But Cher decided not to use the second jet, once sent.
An attorney for Cher declined to comment about the trips.
I know a lot of you don't (won't) subscribe to the LA Times. But, given the delicious nature of this story....not to mention Aaron Torkin's relationship to Shillery...this one is worth the free registration.
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