[Cincinatus' Wife]

Snowfall takes bite out of city budget "The snow sandwich that has forced Chicagoans to lean into their shovel handles and idle in slushy traffic jams with annoying frequency in recent weeks also has dug into the city’s winter street plowing budget.

Snow removal in November and December has cost $4.6 million, bringing the total for the year to $14.37 million, according to Streets and Sanitation Department officials. The city set aside $16.3 million for snow removal in 2013, leaving about $2 million to get through the rest of the month.

That money can get eaten up fast once the flakes start coming down: $1.06 million has been spent since Nov. 1 on overtime for plow drivers and other city workers responding to snowfalls and $736,000 has been spent on fuel and equipment. And the city used $3.5 million worth of salt and beet juice during that time to de-ice roads......."

[2ndDivisionVet]

Global warming.

[Yo-Yo]

The early pockets of ice have prompted one Chicago cruise line to cancel its New Year's Eve fireworks cruise for the first time in five years.

So it also happened five years ago? OH NOES!!!

[Reeses]

Other harbors have underwater tube systems around the docs that blow compressed air bubbles to break down the ice.

No fair! We must have underwater bubbles around our "docs" too. And ours will be wind turbine powered. Having the government spend more taxpayer money will stimulate the economy and reduce unemployment. </s>

[Artie]

Never ceases to amaze me how northern midwest cities never budget properly for wintertime weather events. One or two episodes and the hand wringing begins. Growing up in Detroit, I remember when the streets and the SIDEWALKS were plowed.

[randita]

Temps have been running 10-15 deg. cooler than “average” in western VA. Finally, this weekend, we’re getting some “above average” temps.

[Democrat_media]

global warming is a hoax

industry (CO2) has been growing for the past 300 years

AND there has been NO corresponding warming, NO sea level rises from melting ice caps (as al gore predicted 5 years ago the North pole would be ice free by this year).