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04 Mar 2010 20:23

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U.S.: David Paterson’s bad day: The latest in the NY governor’s scandal

  • one His communications secretary resigned, saying he couldn’t “in good conscience” support Paterson.
  • two Paterson’s scandal continues to broaden, with ill-gotten World Series tickets under deep scrutiny.
  • three Paterson said he’d be governor Friday, but stayed silent when asked if he would be governor next week. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Oct 2009 15:15

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U.S.: The 1989 Bay Area quake, 20 years later: A live-on-TV disaster

Loma Prieta Earthquake, 1989

Twenty years ago today, one of the scariest events to hit the West Coast in the 20th century – the Loma Prieta Earthquake – hit the Bay Area. It was in the midst of a World Series that pitted the Oakland A's against the San Francisco Giants, so it literally happened live. (Al Michaels called the play-by-play on the incident. Or at least he tried.)
  • What happened? The quake was an iconic piece of the late ’80s. Among other things, it took out the Oakland Bay Bridge, a heavily trafficked bridge, at a time it was being heavily used. Despite the incident’s $7 billion in damage, only 63 people died. That’s because it hit in the less-densely-populated Santa Clara County, away from major urban areas. In a way, they got lucky. source
  • What happened? The quake was an iconic piece of the late ’80s. Among other things, it took out the Oakland Bay Bridge, a heavily trafficked bridge, at a time it was being heavily used. Despite the incident’s $7 billion in damage, only 63 people died. That’s because it hit in the less-densely-populated Santa Clara County, away from major urban areas. In a way, they got lucky.
  • What to learn Many lessons were taken from the incident – new buildings have to be made to code, for example, and much work is being done to inform people ahead of time – though the technology isn’t there yet. But many in-danger areas that haven’t had quakes in hundreds of years – St. Louis and Seattle, most notably – haven’t done enough to prepare. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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