Posted on 02/09/2013 5:12:55 AM PST by CharlesThe Hammer
BOSTON (CBS) – Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts Friday afternoon for the blizzard that could bring up to 3 feet of snow.
He also announced he has signed an executive order to ban all travel on all roads in the state starting at 4 p.m. Friday.
There are some exceptions to the ban, including emergency workers, those who work in hospitals and media, and others required to be at their jobs.
The governor said rapid snowfall of 2-3 inches per hour will make for, “extremely dangerous conditions,” and will “make safe travel nearly impossible.”
This is the first time that a Massachusetts governor has issued an executive order like this since the Blizzard of 1978.
But back then it was put in place after the storm.
Patrick did not say when this ban would be lifted.
If you don’t have an exemption and you’re caught on the road, the penalty could be as steep as a $500 fine or, at worst, a year in jail.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.cbslocal.com ...
I want a 4wd Hoveround with a lift kit too, sounds kinda cool.
Wow, 44 inches and those kinds of winds. Scary.
I don’t quite understand the national media attention to this area either, I mean it is mostly a local problem, we’ll make it through. I guess because a large number of people are impacted? CNN covering it doesn’t really help me any. I still have 300+ feet of driveway to clear with 30+ inches of snow.
“I really hope there are a few people left in Massachusetts with brain cells who will challenge this assclown over this “edict”.”
Actually most people had ALREADY decided to call it a day before the emergency order was declared - it wasn’t really required - they are already talking about lifting it as the storm ends - just when people come out of there homes anyway.
No big deal.
Howdy from off the edge of the known world There-They-Be-Dragons-Land.
It wasn’t on ABCBSMSNBC, no mediots deigned to record themselves in it, no Urgent Edicts only applicable to the little people were issued.
Didn’t happen, therefore.
Seriously though, that’s some rough weather. However have Yoopers survived all these years without media and government telling them what to do?
I don’t really see it any different than gun issues. Our constitutional rights are all equal and no event justifies taking them.
The Sandy Hook Shooting no more justifies withholding rights from gun owners than a snowstorm justifies impeding a right to travel. Both require self responsibility and an acceptance of consequences.
Dood.
That’s a TEOTWAWKI-mobile if I ever saw one, especially with a wet bar.
I’ve been through both. This has twice as much snow.
Who is panicking now? No one I know.
I think I see clear sky peeking through. Snow seems to have stopped, about 28 hours after it started.
It actually is a big deal. Acquiesce to a total travel ban due to a snowstorm now, don’t be surprised when the precedent is extended. We’re talking about the bureaucratic mindset, here. It’s a promotion for them.
This deserves all the catcalls and hooting down that can be mustered.
Great words and absolutely true, HOWEVER not an equal comparison simply because of the numbers involved. Both the raw population numbers and the economic impact are orders of magnitude larger here. There are more people without power right now in Southern New England than live in the entire UP (and could probably include everything north of Bay City) at the peak of summer. Where is the official line between “downstate” and “up north” these days?
Back in about 95 when I was living up north there was a storm that dumped 6 feet in the area of the Mackinaw straits area north to Sault Ste Marie. The bridge was shut down and the National Guard were fueling tractor trailers along the road so they could keep running for heat.
Fortunately it wasn’t quite as bad where I was but I got caught walking in that storm. I had taken a bus north from down near Jackson and my girlfriend was going to pick me up at Claire but she ended up snowed in. Fortunately the NG found me wading through 2 and a half feet of snow on the interstate. They took me the 20 odd miles right to my front door.
Did they charge you for your rescue?
No, I was right on the way to where they were headed.
The snow doesn’t bother me much. Ice storms on the other hand, suck big time.
“It actually is a big deal”
No it’s not, it is well within the power of the office of governor of Mass to declare a state of emergency, close bridges, evacuate flood areas, declare travel bans.
That’s the law. Again the law.
Do I think it was silly since 95% of the people were and are still at home by their own choice, yes.
In Arkansas we leave work to hunker down if snow flakes or ice starts falling. lol...you don’t want us driving in any of it!
We owned a pair of Yamaha snowmobiles during our Minnesota years. When we got a really big snow, everyone in our Prior Lake neighborhood made a beeline to the grocery store or bar on their sleds. The sheriff never objected to snowmobiles on the road during these big snow events.
A year in prison. Let that soak into you little imagination. One complete year of your life for defying the edict of your ruler.
This represents yet another crossing of a line and people, even people who consider themselves libertarian, have no problem with it.
The inversion of power is pretty much complete and it’s clear, and our rulers make clear all the time now, that we are on the bottom.
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