This was the best I could do on short notice.
Posted on 12/21/2006 8:31:19 AM PST by freedomdefender
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper is in his office, dialing talk radio stations for interviews and defending the work of the city's snowplow fleet during Wednesday's blizzard.
He's about to head out for another trip around the city to check out the road conditions himself, but first he wants to see if someone can donate some sleds. Fast.
Hickenlooper wants to sponsor sledding at four parks around the city Thursday, serving hot chocolate and offering sleds to anyone who doesn't have them.
Wednesday's blizzard stranded thousands of travelers on highways and at the airport, virtually shut down government, businesses and shopping five days before Christmas and had the National Guard patrolling suburban highways in Humvees rescuing stranded motorists.
But the mayor doesn't want people to see the storm just as catastrophe. He's hoping that stories of people having fun in the snow will spread around the city.
Hickenlooper asks a staffer to contact the CEO of a large retailer he thinks might be willing to donate sleds. Then he dons a baseball hat and a wool dress coat over his suit before heading downstairs to his hybrid SUV.
"We should find where there's a silver lining," says Hickenlooper, an offbeat Democrat who got his start in public life as a brew-pub entrepreneur.
Denver political legend has it that at least one mayor -- Bill McNichols -- was booted from office for his slow response to a Christmas Eve blizzard in 1982. A successor, Mayor Wellington Webb, was blasted for failing to keep the airport roads clear in an 1997 snowstorm.
But Hickenlooper doesn't appear worried the sled strategy will backfire. The city's snowplows are going full-tilt, he says.
"We can't do any more than what we're doing on the streets. But for a few hundred dollars, not a lot of resources, I think we can let people have a chuckle," he says.
Hickenlooper has built his brief political partly on chuckles.
In his first try for public office in 2003, he made his mark with TV ads making light of the city's unpopularly high parking meter fees. Later, backing a bipartisan ballot initiative on the state budget, he appeared in an ad skydiving in a business suit.
Out on the streets Wednesday night, it's a little more serious. The mayor's Ford Escape slides a little trying to stop at some red lights. Main thoroughfares like Speer and Federal boulevards are still snowpacked but passable in four-wheel drive vehicles.
Then the mayor spots two teenage boys at the top of a steep hill. One is sledding and the other is riding a snowboard and he tells his driver to stop.
Hickenlooper gets out and talks to the boys about the conditions. Then he suggests they make some money by shoveling but he runs into more skepticism.
"When it stops snowing," one of the boys quips.
"It will stop snowing," the mayor said before heading back to his SUV.
The city's residential streets are in worse shape but Hickenlooper says the city can't get to them until the main streets are cleared, something he conceded probably wouldn't happen until Thursday, when the storm is forecast to slacken.
He vows to do what it takes, even if it means millions of dollars in overtime, to clear the streets on Thursday and Friday so businesses dependent on holiday shoppers can get back to normal.
"We have to make sure that the impact on small businesses is minimized," he said.
At a news conference later announcing the sled event, Hickenlooper defends the snow-clearing effort.
"We could have three times the number of snow plows and it wouldn't make any difference," he says. "This is nature throwing a full left hook to your chin and you've got to pull back and deal with it."
Correction -- Denver area blizzard warmings still in effect. Some southern CO areas have had there's dropped.
Hickenlooper wants a company or some individuals to DONATE sleds, so he can "sponsor" a sledding party, and apparently give the sleds away too. Interesting concept.
I could "sponsor" some great parties myself, if some rich corporation would just donate all the fixings. All you have to do is come up with the idea, right? It's someone else's responsibility to actually PAY for it.
Hickenlooper denies any knowledge that Denver might be a sanctuary city for illegal aliens too, don't forget. And he thinks building housing for homeless is a terrific solution too. Sleds and homes for everyone! And don't forget the hot chocolate. Ho ho ho.
A number of years ago, Colorado switched from salt to magnesium chloride. Truck drivers don't like it, because they said it's causing corrosion to the wiring and brakes on their trucks.
Here in Golden (Coors brewery location), we got 34 inches. Have been stranded from work. Have to get to Phoenix via Sacramento tomorrow. Looks like I'll be driving to Albuquerque and flying from there to PHX.
Which is it that truck drivers don't like? The salt or the magnesium chloride?
That's what I was thinking.
Thanks for the link!
"Here in Colorado, I've never seen a worse job of snow-plowing. I don't know why, and I'm not blaming anybody. But the snowplow guys really have had a bad time with this storm. The main streets are still bad, well over a day after the storm hit."
Things are ok up here in Longmont. We got the main and secondary roads plowed. The only thing that seems to be causing a problem is people with vehicles that aren't appropriate for the conditions getting stuck all over the place. I'ts supposed to deep freeze tonight which should be interesting.
"The streets around Boulder are in a mess. No Postal service yesterday and likely none today either. A lot of the malls had to close down early yesterday. This last week before Christmas is make or break for some retailers."
Look on the bright side. Most of the Trustafarians and their eco cars are off the streets.
ABQ in good shape and I-25 should be o.k. once you get over Raton pass. Colorado Springs airport is open but have no idea what flights, if any, are available.
I wouldn't mind the game being delayed for a day, since the Bengals played on Monday night.
Toilets, murders, rapes, bodies in freezers, just like Katrina.
;-)
This was the best I could do on short notice.
They don't like the mag chloride.
LOLOLOLOL...
I LOVE it...I am sorry I just got back on the computer.
Thank you.
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