My Weekend with Irene

A 13-hour air shift.  Constant worrying about my house, my family (safely 200 miles inland), and my car (in the shop for three days before the storm and still not fixed).  Such was my weekend with Hurricane Irene.  In additon to the damage, I'm sure Irene can be blamed for a few new grey hairs on my head.

I spent my Saturday at the radio station, essentially jotting down notes from various resources and sharing those stories on 92.9 The Wave for 13 hours.  Here's some of what I noted, along with some follow up details.

The power outages away from the coast went up surprisingly fast.  It was in the afternoon when outages from the Richmond area eclipsed those in Hampton Roads.  Today Richmond outage numbers are still three times higher than in Hampton Roads. 

Dominion Virginia Power has fixed more than 800,000 outages since the storm but for some people, it hasn't been fast enough.  James City County Administrator Robert Middaugh complained during a Board of Supervisors meeting that he feels line workers will leave his county for last.  And the Richmond Times-Dispatch has reported on complaints of utility workers caught taking catnaps in their trucks.  A spokesman for Dominion Power said that while napping isn't condoned, the company doesn't begrudge workers from taking a break during 14-hour workdays.

River flooding was a concern as early as Friday.  Keeping an eye on the radar during the storm and watching band after band of torrential rain fall on Western Tidewater, I was worried about the town of Franklin, which was swallowed by flood waters after Hurricane Floyd 12 years ago.  Today, forecasters have downgraded the risk of flooding in Franklin.  The Blackwater River is expected to crest below moderate flood stage.

Virginia Beach was not represented well during its time in the national spotlight.  I refer, of course, to the streaker who interrupted a live Weather Channel report from the Oceanfront.  Click here if you haven't seen it.  There was also the looting that was caught on camera during another live TV report from the Sandbridge area.  That footage can be seen here.

Then there was the dramatic rescue from a drifting sailboat in Norfolk's Oceanview neighborhood.  Rescuers were able to pull a couple and their cat to safety after the storm blew the boat onto the beach.  Today, the man who was rescued has gotten into more trouble on land.  The Virginian-Pilot reports Michael Calabrese was arrested Saturday for trespassing at a city shelter.  And the city has told him to move his wrecked sailboat from the beach within a week, or it will be cut up and hauled away. 

I don't know how many times I've read stories on the air about carbon monoxide poisoning over the years but I know I warned at least three times on Saturday:  don't use generators indoors.   A Chesapeake man nearly killed himself running his generator in his garage.  The Virginian Pilot reports Patrick Akers woke up with a splitting headache Sunday morning, went to check on his generator, and passed out in the garage.  Miraculously, he came too, managed to open the garage door, and then collapsed again in the driveway, where he was found by a neighbor.  He is fully recovered.  In Maryland, though, one person was killed and five others hospitalized because of improper use of generators.

How much water does it take to put out a peat moss fire in the Great Dismal Swamp?  More than a hurricane's worth, apparently.  After an estimated one foot of rain fell on Suffolk, firefighters still counted 30 smoldering hotspots.  At least when the winds shift southwest, there won't be as much smoke drifting into my neighborhood.

After initially saying Hurricane Irene was a threat to Florida, South Carolina or Georgia, hurricane trackers had Irene steering in our direction and up the East Coast.  That forecast, issued three days before the storm made landfall on the Outer Banks, was almost dead on.



Meanwhile, we are now watching a new storm way out in the Atlantic.  Katia is at least a week away from threatening anyone, but it is moving in the general direction of the Southeast Coast. 

By the way, after hearing meteorlogists on WVEC and WAVY pronounce the storm's name a couple of different ways (cat-EE-ah, CAT-e-ya), I bothered to look it up.  It's pronounced KAHT-ya, like a Russian name.  

Hurricane Irene a Blessing? Hardly...

To the people who are saying that Hurricane Irene was not that bad and to the commentators who say Irene didn't "measure up" as a disaster...what were you watching Saturday night, Comedy Central?

The truth is, Hurricane Irene was not that bad here, in my adopted hometown of Virginia Beach.  Yes, we had sustained winds of 40-50 mph and yes, we had some very heavy rain.  But there were also times Saturday in Virginia Beach when Irene seemed nothing more than a mild Nor'easter, with gusty winds and light rain.  The damage in my neighborhood was nothing compared to 2003's Hurricane Isabel, the real measuring stick for severe weather in this area over the last two decades.

It was everywhere but here that we saw Irene at her worst, especially away from the coast.  While Virginia Beach had occasional rain squalls, a swath more than 40 miles from the coast was hammered with continuous storm force winds and heavy rain, totaling a foot or more in Richmond, Petersburg, Suffolk and south into Bertie County, North Carolina.  About half of the Hampton Roads area lost power during the storm, but in Richmond, more than 80 percent of the homes and businesses were in the dark Sunday morning.

And we need look no further than portions of New Jersey and New York and the entire state of Vermont to see that Irene was truly disastrous.  I imagine the flood footage we've seen from Vermont is comparable to the Central Virginia floods in 1969 following Hurricane Camille, another benchmark disaster.

At least 40 deaths have been blamed on Hurricane Irene, including an 11 year old Newport News boy whose apartment was crushed by a falling tree.  North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue says the storm destroyed more than a thousand homes in her state.

Maybe Hurricane Irene didn't wreck entire cities the way Hurricanes Katrina and Andrew did.  But even as a Category 1 storm, Irene made her presence known to millions.

Hurricane Readiness

The boss asked me to record a video on preparing a hurricane readiness kit.  This has been posted on the station websites for 97.3 The Eagle, 92.9 The Wave, and Hot 100.5.  Now you know why I'm not on TV.

Earthquakes and Light Rail

Today has been a day of firsts for my family and me.  We've experienced our first earthquake.  And we rode Norfolk's light rail, The Tide.  Earthquake first.

We were on the second floor of the MacArthur Memorial, a large marble and brick museum in Downtown Norfolk, when the floor shook.  For a split second I thought something heavy had been dropped on the floor above, but it then occurred to me...I can feel it through the floor...it's an earthquake.  The cover of an exit sign fell down.  I saw the walls swaying slightly.  I was just about to push the family under an archway when the shaking stopped.  We finished our tour of the museum and went to exit.

It was outside that we came to understand just how startling it was.  Dozens of people had exited nearby high rise buildings and were milling about, buzzing about "the quake." 

We walked the short distance from the MacArthur Memorial to the MacArthur Square light rail station and caught the train.  We had planned to park at the Newtown Road station and take the train into Norfolk, but a long line there led us to drive to Norfolk.  We rode west from MacArthur Square to the end of the line, at Eastern Virginia Medical Center, and took the return trip to MacArthur.

First impression:  pretty nice.  The ride is smooth, the seats fairly comfortable, assuming you can get one.  The train was packed, as have most of the light rail trains since the system debuted last week.  The passengers were generally courteous; I witnessed more than a few people offering their seats to others. 

They were also very chatty.  I had a hard time hearing my wife, sitting across the aisle from me, because of the din.  Quite a change from my few experiences on the D.C. Metro, where the passengers mostly kept to the themselves.  It may have been the buzz of the recent earthquake; some, but not all passengers sitting around me were talking about the tremor.  Or it could have been the novelty of light rail.  I'm looking forward to seeing how The Tide is on future rides.

I have a number of questions for Hampton Roads Transit about light rail.  Once the free trial ends this Sunday, how will passengers buy and turn in their tickets?  Why did we have an extended stop, about five minutes, at the York Street station?  And, perhaps most importantly, is The Tide earthquake proof?

Hurricane Supplies

Hurricane Irene could be the first hurricane to hit the United States in three years.  And it could be coming in our direction.  Here's a list of what you will need to be prepared in the event a hurricane warning is issued for the Hampton Roads area.

• Water -- One gallon per person per day for at least three days.  This is in case the city water supply is compromised during the storm.  In 1999, water treatment facilities in Portsmouth and Wakefield were flooded during Hurricane Floyd, leaving thousands without tap water for several days.
• Food -- This would be non-perishable packaged or canned foods and snacks, including special foods if you have babies or an elderly person living with you.  And don't forget to have a can opener.
• Batteries and flashlights
• Battery operated radio
• First aid kit -- Make sure to include any necessary prescription medications.  
• A fully charged cell phone
• A traditional landline phone (not cordless) -- If you lose power, a hardline phone may still work.
• Extra cash -- Banks and ATM's may be inaccessible for several days if the area loses power.
• Toys, books and games -- You'll need something to do if the power goes out.
• Fully fueled vehicles -- Again, if the power goes out, it could be days before the gas stations are operational.
• Food for your pets.
• Clean blankets and pillows

Let's hope that Hurricane Irene does not repeat what Hurricane Isabel did to Hampton Roads.  On September 18th, 2003, Isabel flooded the Midtown Tunnel and knocked out power to more than one million Dominion Virginia Power customers.  It was a month before all electrical service was restored.

Links:

Emergency supply kit information from the National Hurricane Center

National Hurricane Center 

Another useful hurricane information site.

Light Rail Arrives

Yes, it was millions of dollars over budget.  Yes, it's a year behind schedule.  And yes, voters in Virginia Beach rejected a referendum on it more than a decade ago.  But look at that, the city of Norfolk has a real, working light rail system.

The Tide launched at 6am Friday with a train packed with people and dozens more awaiting their turn at the Newtown Road station.  As of 10:30am Friday, the trains were so busy that Hampton Roads Transit had to put a 7th train into service, the Virginian-Pilot reported.  The interest could be due to the trains'  novelty or the fact that the rides are free during the debut weekend.  It will be a couple of weeks before we'll know how popular The Tide really is.


What struck me about the debut was the presence of a few protestors at the Newtown Road Station.  One was holding a sign reading, "Light Fail."  I understand that you and many others were opposed to the project.  It is a huge expense on a transportation system that we just don't know how many will use.  But to the people picketing the train itself...are you hoping light rail fails?


I plan on riding The Tide into Downtown Norfolk this weekend, assuming the area is clear of smoke from the Great Dismal Swamp wildfire.  I'll write about the experience next week.

Links:
GoHRT.com
Interactive Light Rail Guide from The Virginian-Pilot
Virginian-Pilot article on the smoke issues in some parts of Hampton Roads.

Walk to End Alzheimer's

This week on Hampton Roads Topics, I talk with the Executive Director of the Alzheimer's Association of Southeastern Virginia, Gino Columbara.  Gino, who lost his father to Alzheimer's several years ago, has been a frequent guest on the program over the years.  He is an enthusiastic advocate for Alzheimer's research and support for Alzheimer's patients and their families.

Also on the program is Rona Altschuler, who heads the Peninsula Walk to End Alzheimer's, one of five benefit walks the Alzheimer's Association will stage between mid-September and late October.  The Peninsula walk has seen substantial growth in recent years, going from 300 walkers in 2007 to more than 900 last year.

The walks are designed to raise funds for the Alzheimer's Association, but Rona and Gino say more importantly, they help educate the public about the disease and its effects on patients and their caregivers.  Currently there are an estimated 5.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer's, but with an aging population of Baby Boomers, that number is projected to jump to over 16 million in the next 40 years. 

The local Alzheimer's Association chapter is also participating in the National Alzheimer's Project Act, or NAPA.  From the group's website:  "The National Alzheimer's Project Act will create a coordinated national plan to overcome the Alzheimer crisis and will ensure the coordination and evaluation of all national efforts in Alzheimer research, clinical care, institutional, and home- and community-based programs and their outcomes." 

The Alzheimer's Association is hosting two "Listening Sessions" to get input from Alzheimer's families.  The first will be August 30th at the chapter's main office and the second will be September 1st in Williamsburg.

Follow the links below to join a Walk to End Alzheimer's, participate in an input session, or learn more about the Alzheimer's Association.

Alzheimer's Association of Southeastern Virginia homepage:  alz.org/seva
Walk to End Alzheimer's Main Page:  alz.org/walk
Alzheimer's Input Sessions:  alz.org/seva/in_my_community_18505.asp

Hampton Roads Topics airs Sunday's at 6am on these MAX Media stations:  92.9 The Wave, ESPN Radio 94.1, 97.3 The Eagle and Star 1310.

Ground Beef Recall

Three major grocery chains are involved in the recall of ground beef packages due to the possibility of e-coli contamination.  Two words in the reports caught my attention:  "Kroger" and "Southeast."  Did that mean the contaminated meat was sold in my area of Hampton Roads?  The answer:  maybe, and even that was somewhat difficult to find.

The suspect beef was sold in Kroger, Publix, Winn-Dixie and Wal-Mart stores in several Southeastern states, but not in Virginia.  However, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service website lists Sam's Club locations in a number of states, including Virginia, as a retailer involved in the recall.

Before you become overly alarmed at the prospect of another food recall, know this.  There have been no reports of e-coli poisoning connected to the affected food.  And this recall so far involves about 60,000 pounds of ground beef.  Compare that to the Hallmark Meat Packing recall of 2008, which targeted  140,000,000 pounds of meat.

Links:
USDA report on the recall
List of retailers affected by the recall (PDF)
Consumer Reports with details of the recall.

Ziggy

To paraphrase the guys on Top Gear, 
"Some say he's an overstuffed throw pillow covered in fur.  All we know is, he's called The Zig."

Ziggy, who may well be the nicest cat I've ever known, lives in Amherst with my mom.  He can usually be found in his favorite cardboard box.

The USO of Hampton Roads

For many people, their knowledge of the USO begins and ends with Bob Hope entertaining the troops.  I, myself, was among the under-informed until recently.

This week on Hampton Roads Topics I interview Karen Licari, the Chief Operating Officer of the USO of Hampton Roads.   Bob Hope was the face of the USO nationally for many decades.  The USO of Hampton Roads is one of a number of local chapters in various parts of the country.

The USO of Hampton Roads has 11 centers in Southeastern and Central Virginia that offer service and support for military members and their families.  The organization depends on volunteers and charitable donations to provide emergency housing, special military-only events, local information and other services.  Their service centers at the Norfolk and Newport News airports offer military members a place to relax and unwind between flights.

Also on the show is Kristin Doehring of Dunkin Donuts, which began a program last year to donate one pound of coffee to the USO for every pound of coffee they sell.  That donation now totals more than 7,000 pounds of coffee.

This edition of Hampton Roads Topics will air Sunday, August 14th at 6am on these MAX Media stations:  92.9 The Wave, ESPN Radio 94.1, 97.3 The Eagle and Star 1310.

Link:
USO of Hampton Roads

Bubba Smith: 1945-2011

I am too young to have seen him play (he retired in 1976, when I was 10), but I remember developing a particular dislike for Bubba Smith because, well, he had played for the Baltimore Colts, a former division rival of the team I root for, the Miami Dolphins.  Smith, the 6-foot-7, 280 pound NFL legend who some say redefined the defensive end position, died this week at the age of 66.  His highlight reel includes one clip of him absolutely crushing the favorite player of my youth, Bob Griese.

My attitude towards Smith softened when he turned to acting.  Bubba's appearances in the Police Academy movies and in a series of Miller Lite beer commercials revealed him to be soft-spoken, articulate man with a sense of humor.  He was a gentle giant, really, even when he was memorably ripping the top off a beer can.

Smith displayed his principles when he stopped he being a spokesman for Miller Lite.  I remembered reading something years ago about how Smith was appalled that college students were so immersed in the beer culture that he was then a part of.  It took some digging but I found an article that detailed his inner conflict.

Smith was the grand marshal for the homecoming parade at his alma mater of Michigan State, The Los Angeles Times reported in September of 1986.  Smith told the newspaper that students along the parade route and at the football stadium were drunk and that many of them were chanting Miller Lite's slogan, "less filling, tastes great."  He said he felt like he was contributing to alcohol.  Smith, who said he loved making the commercials, decided not long after not to renew his lucrative contract with the beer company.  I learned today from that same article that Smith himself hardly ever drank alcohol.

The L.A. Times today reports Smith's former NFL colleagues are remembering him as a "good guy, great athlete."  That's how I will remember him, too.

Link:
Bubba Smith's obituary in the Baltimore Sun
L.A. Times article from 1986

School Supply Season

By now you've seen the three words that children and teachers dread every summer...

BACK TO SCHOOL

This weekend, August 5th through the 7th, marks Virginia's Annual School Supply Sales Tax Holiday.  School supplies costing less than $20.00 each and clothing items less than $100.00 each are exempt of Virginia's 5% retail sales tax.

The sales tax holiday in itself is not a big money saver.  Think about it...you save five bucks for every $100.00 spent.  But retailers take advantage of the attention the tax break brings to promote their own back to school sales, and that's where real bargains can be found.

For a list of qualifying school supply and clothing items, visit the Virginia Department of Taxation's website.

School Supply Drives


Meanwhile, a number of back to school supply drives for needy families are underway.

Dominion Virginia Power's Fill the Bucket School Supply Drive -- 
Friday, August 5th, 10am to 2pm, at Office Max locations across Hampton Roads

WAVY-TV 10's Operation School Supplies --
Now through the end of August at all area Langley Federal Credit Union branches, Priority Automotive and six local Office Depot locations.  Website

WVEC-TV's Write Stuff --
Now through the end of August at area Farm Fresh locations, Grand Furniture and other locations.  Website

Chesapeake Youth Committee --
Through August 26th, donate supplies at Chesapeake City Hall, the Chesapeake Public Safety building, or at any of the eight community centers in the city.  Donations will support needy students in Chesapeake Public Schools.  For information, call 757-382-6191.

Update: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Night Tours

Here's an update to Tuesday's post about the upcoming full moon night tours of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  The lighthouse is open for night tours every Thursday, full moon or not, at 8pm and 9pm.

Jami Lanier of the National Park Service tells me that tickets for the night tours go on sale Tuesdays at 8:15am and often sold out within two hours, so get to the ticket booth early.  The final night climb of the season is scheduled for September 1st.

For more information, follow the link below and mouse over a Thursday on the events calendar.

http://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/events.htm?month=8&year=2011

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Night Tours

On Saturday, August 13th, a few dozen lucky people get the chance to climb the tallest lighthouse on the East Coast on a full moon night.  The National Park Service will offer two full moon tours of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

The tours will be held at 7:30pm and 8:30pm and will be limited to only 30 people each.  Tickets will be available beginning Thursday, August 11th at 8:15am at the lighthouse ticket booth.  Tickets are $7.00 for adults and $3.50 for seniors and kids age 11 and younger.

If you do get a ticket, be prepared for a climb.  There are 248 steps to the top of the 200 foot tower, which has no air conditioning. Climbers are required to bring their own flashlights with fresh batteries.

Link:
The National Park Service page about the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse 

MTV Turns 30

Can you name the five original MTV VJ's?  I can, without googling, name them all. In no particular order...the perky Martha Quinn, Alan Hunter (who was featured in the video for David Bowie's, "Fashion"), the frizzy-haired Nina Blackwood, the curly-haired Mark Goodman, and the best presenter of the bunch, J.J. Jackson.

Today marks the 30th birthday of MTV.  The anniversary has given me reason to scare myself with just how much I can remember about the early days of the video music channel.

TBS, USA, and HBO (anyone remember "Video Jukebox"?) had been presenting music video segments for a while, but MTV was the first channel that devoted all of its programming to music and music videos when it signed on August 1st, 1981.  An unknown band called The Buggles became a footnote in history when "Video Killed the Radio Star" was MTV's debut video.

I can still recall the first time I happened on MTV; it was on my family's upstairs black and white TV.  The cable system in my hometown of Amherst was, to say the least, unreliable.  The first video I saw was "Big Log" by Robert Plant, only there was no audio.  MTV was silent for the first two days it was on in Amherst.

Because there weren't a lot of videos available at the time, I remember the early days of MTV featuring oddball music by avante-garde artists Laurie Anderson and The Flying Lizards.  The song, "Knights of the Round Table," from Monty Python and The Holy Grail was shown at least once a week.  And there was a LOT of British music, mainly because few American bands had produced videos for their music.

The term "New Wave" initially referred to the new "British Invasion" of bands like Soft Cell, The Human League, Eurythmics and The Fixx (I've just described most of my early tape collection).  But New Wave quickly came to represent the synthesizer-driven music those bands played.

I remember MTV's "Friday Night Video Fights" and my feeble attempts to vote in them using a rotary phone.  There was an hour long concert every Saturday night.  And I remember the guest VJ's, musical acts that would take over the channel for an hour and play their favorite videos.

MTV once stood for "Music Television" but the channel long ago dropped music videos for another innovation.  The network that first brought us music in video form was also the birthplace of "The Real World," America's original reality TV show.