Tuesday, October 30, 2012

NJ Levee Breaks: Affecting Little Ferry in Bergen County

This morning, October 30, 2012, comes the news that a levee has broken in North Bergen, Hudson County, New Jersey.

This levee breach affects Little Ferry and Moonachie. Little Ferry is adjacent to the Hackensack River.

The Tappan Zee bridge over the Hudson River has reopened.

Some New York City bridges, including the East River bridges, have reopened.

Monday, October 29, 2012

11 am 10/29 update: LATEST Hurricane Sandy maps, evacuation, other details

Track the Hurricane Sandy storm live with maps.

BREAKING - HURRICANE SANDY IS AT 86 MILES PER HOUR (MPH), 9 DEGREES SHORT OF SAFFIR CATEGORY 2 - IS MOVING AT 20 MPH, 205 MILES SE OF ATLANTIC CITY, NJ

The projected path of Hurricane Sandy, as projected at 11:00 am EDT, Monday, October 29, 2012.

Storm tracking details at Reuters, Tracking Storm Sandy, as of 11:00 am Monday, October 29, 2012: Latest information on Hurricane Sandy (as of 11 am EDT):
• LOCATION: 37.5N 71.5W (205 miles southeast of Atlantic City, NJ and 260 miles South/Southeast of NYC)
• WIND: Max sustained winds at 90 miles per hour (150 km/h)
• MOVING: North/Northwest at 18 MPH (30km/h)
• BULLETIN: Click to read the full National Hurricane Center bulletin

[Source: National Hurricane Center, as of 11:00 A.M. ET Monnday]
Resources: Track Hurricane Sandy with our targeted Twitter List
NYC evacuation zones, ordered per mayor Michael Bloomberg
by matthew.keys edited by anthony.derosa 11:51 AM, 10/28/12


Thanks to WNYC for map of the Zone A, zone B, zone C New York City evacuation map. It includes evacuation centers.

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg declares mandatory emergency evacuation zones; orders New York City schools to close, in 11:30 am Sunday news conference.
Zone A areas mandatory to be evacuated to include City Island, the coast of the Lower East Side, the Battery, South Street section, parts of Long Island City and Greenpoint surrounding Newtown Creek, Red Hook, the western, southern and eastern shores of Staten Island, all of Coney Island, all of the Rockaway Peninisula of Queens. Click on the map to get a closer view of zones.

*NATIONAL: VISIT READY.GOV for making a plan and packing a go kit.

*DELAWARE: Governor Markell declares a 'Level 2 Driving Restriction' provides that no person shall operate a motor vehicle on Delaware roadways other than essential personnel. 'Essential personnel' includes those employees necessary to maintain the core functions of government and maintain health and safety by providing utility services, healthcare services, and food and fuel deliveries.

*LONG ISLAND (NASSAU COUNTY, SUFFOLK COUNTY) EVACUATIONS, EMERGENCY MEASURES
Click to this site at North Fork Patch site.

*MARYLAND EVACUATION INFORMATION

Baltimore Sun: Ocean City mandatory evacuation of city's southernmost blockas, but some choose to remain.

*NEW JERSEY EVACUATION INFORMATION

*PENNSYLVANIA: SEPTA suspends services. Flights in, out of Philadelphia Int'l Airport cancelled for Monday. Pres. Obama approves governor's state of emergency.

AFL-CIO Community Services blog with FEMA and American Red Cross links

AlterNet: Combining weather conditions make Hurricane Sandy a Frankenstorm.

From Democracy Now: Hurricane Sandy kills 21 in the Caribbean

AFTER THE MAPS, Cultural impacts of Hurricane Sandy

As of 9:20 AM, Saturday, October 27, 2012, Hurricane Sandy remains a Category 1 storm. The northern tip of the storm is off Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and the southern end is off the coast of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It is currently making landfall from Kitty Hawk, down to Hilton Head, South Carolina. Much of the eastern interior of the Carolinas is affected by the rain.

Weather Underground's (wunderground.com) Wundermap

The Weather Channel's Weather.com's classic map

The Weather Channel's Weather.com's interactive map

Wunderground Maps using NOAA'S SLOSH (Sea, Lake, and Overland Surge from Hurricanes) storm surge projection models

Weather Underground Georgia, Carolinas Storm Surge Model Maps, for the four Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scales

Weather Underground Middle Atlantic (VA, MD, DE, NJ, NY) Storm Surge Model Maps

Weather Underground New England (CT, RI, MA, NH, ME) Storm Surge Model Maps

First major property casualties:
Downtown Atlantic City, New Jersey flooded: (Twitter.com/hoeboma)
Eastern pier, off Ocean City, MD boardwalk is lost. (WGMD radio, Rehoboth Beach, DE)
Cultural impacts of Hurricane Sandy
It is projected to hit New England and New York State on Halloween or the day before. The storm will have resolved prior to the final weekend before the 2012 presidential and general election.

In this writer's eyes, the Huffington Post is being unnecessarily alarmist with its Reuters story headlined, "Hurricane Sandy Threatens U.S. Presidential Campaign." Voters in the swing states of Virginia, North Carolina and Florida will have had their fill of campaign attention by this weekend. Additionally, the storm has skipped the Florida coast, so the Barack Obama and Mitt Romney campaigns can safely campaign there without fear of paltry crowds.

The storm could benefit Democrats as the storm moves the global warming discussion from theory to actual illustration. Additionally, all the cleanup and emergency assistance would be illustrations of positive government in action. However, there are the significant numbers of voters that cognitively fail to connect these actions to discussions of the worth of the role of government investment and spending.

More acutely, observers in Maryland are considering whether the storm will affect early voting in that state, Pikesville Patch reports.

Updated Frankenstorm or Hurricane Sandy images

A satellite tracking image of Hurricane Sandy or Frankenstorm, 10 pm, EDT, 10/28/12.
Storm tracking map of Sandy, from Wunderground.com, 10:59 AM, 10/29/12.
From Weather Underground.com, Wunderground.com, 10/28/12.

Fixed over the North Atlantic Ocean, poised to strike New Jersey in hours. West Virginia forecast to get two FEET, yes, that's feet of SNOW.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Amy Goodman's Democracy Now Expands Presidential Debate to Include 2 Third Party Candidates

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now did the great service of expanding the presidential debate to include two third party candidates, Rocky Anderson (Justice Party) and Jill Stein (Green Party). Video is posted at the right on this page.
As President Obama and Mitt Romney squared off for the first time on Wednesday night, Democracy Now! broke the sound barrier by pausing after Obama’s and Romney’s answers to get real-time responses from candidates Jill Stein of the Green Party and Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party. Stein and Anderson joined Democracy Now! for a live special just miles away from the Obama-Romney contest at the University of Denver. Many Obama supporters have expressed surprise that Romney was able to put the president on the defensive, while Obama failed to mention several of Romney’s potential weak spots, including including his record at the private equity firm Bain Capital, his vast personal wealth and offshore investments, and his recent remark that 47 percent of Americans are government dependents. Today, highlights from our "Expanding the Debate" special with the voices of all four candidates, showcasing the broadened perspectives on the critical issues beyond the Democratic-Republican political spectrum. [includes rush transcript]
Filed under Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Obama, Dr. Jill Stein, Rocky Anderson, Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama
Guests:
Dr. Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for president.
Rocky Anderson, Justice Party candidate for president.
Mitt Romney, Republican candidate for president.
President Barack Obama, president of the United States campaigning for re-election.
.Go to this site for a full transcript of the expanded debate, as broadcast at Goodman's Democracy Now.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Presidential candidates in NYS -including third party candidates; Last voter registration day for NYS, 2012

THIRD PARTY CANDIDATES ON NEW YORK STATE BALLOT

SEE LATTER PART OF POST FOR NEW YORK STATE REGISTRATION (HAS PASSED)

The main and third party or minor party presidential candidates on the New York state ballot include:
Virgil Goode, Constitution Party
Barack Obama, Democratic Party*
Jill Stein, Green Party*
Gary Johnson, Libertarian Party*
Mitt Romney, Republican Party*
Peta Lindsay, Socialism and Liberation Party (actually, too young to qualify)


Other candidates, unable to qualify for NY ballot; and running as write-in candidates:
(See this article on how to write-in candidates in New York state) Stewart Alexander (Socialist),
Rocky Anderson (Justice),
Roseanne Barr (Peace and Freedom)

* = Party has a candidate for U.S. senate, in the New York State ballot.

NEW YORK STATE REGISTRATION (HAS PASSED)

As you see at the New York City Board of Elections site, the final day for voter registration for the 2012 elections is October 12, 2012.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012 General Election Deadlines

MAIL REGISTRATION (N.Y. Election Law Section 5-210(3))
Applications must be postmarked no later than October 12th and received by a board of elections no later than October 17th to be eligible to vote in the General Election.

IN PERSON REGISTRATION (N.Y. Election Law Sections 5-210, 5-211, 5-212)
You may register at your local board of elections or any state agency participating in the National Voter Registration Act, on any business day throughout the year but, to be eligible to vote in the November General Election, your application must be received no later than October 12th except, if you have been honorably discharged from the military or have become a naturalized citizen since October 12th, you may register in person at the board of elections up until October 26th.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS (N.Y. Election Law Section 5-208(3))
Notices of change of address from registered voters received by October 17th by a county board of elections must be processed and entered in the records in time for the General Election.

2012 Voting by Absentee Ballot Deadline
Last day to mail an application for an absentee ballot: October 30
Last day to postmark a ballot: November 5

Other essential information for the NYC Board of Elections:
32 Broadway, 7th Fl, New York, NY 10004
TEL (212) 487-5300 - FAX (212) 487-5349