PWCS: Better school closing decision-making in the future, please!

MoonHowler

eli bus

Tuesday morning was a disaster in terms of the weather related traffic mishaps.  Despite snow and freeze warnings issued on all major news programs, the  major Northern Virginia jurisdictions chose to open school on time.  This decision did not bode well for Prince William County Schools and its students and faculty.  At least 12 accidents reported  across the county involved school buses.  Students waited in sub-freezing weather at bus stops for buses that never arrived.  Where were the thought processes of those making these decisions?

Apparently the NoVA schools  followed a  monkey-see, monkey-do  approach to decision -making in a sea of rather unwise monkeys rather than smartly assess the current weather situation of  rapidly falling snow and sub-freezing temperatures.

Students who even got to school  spent the day in cafeterias across the county watching movies.  Many of their teachers couldn’t get to school on time.   Classrooms doubled up.  In general, things were a mess and Prince William County wasn’t alone in what has to be one of the biggest blunders in a long time.  According to the Washington Post:

The first snowfall of the new year was heavier than expected, prompting apologies from several of the region’s school systems and wreaking havoc with the morning commute Tuesday as icy roads and hundreds of collisions snarled traffic.

With forecasts calling for one to two inches of snow, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties opened schools on time and later came to regret it. Students were left waiting for buses that never came. Schools reported that buses were stuck in traffic or unable to navigate icy hills. The decision to open infuriated parents, who accused school officials of being reckless and putting students in unnecessary danger.

 

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McDonnell sentenced

MoonHowler

Governor Robert McDonnell has been sentenced to 2 years in prison and 2 years probation.

The judge told him that his wife may have let the serpent into the Governor’s Mansion but he let him into his business affairs.

It’s a sad day for the Old Dominion and its a sad day for the McDonnell family.  I would have gone with 6000 hours of community service.  I think that would be using McDonnell’s skills for good.  Sending him to prison does nothing.

Many people will disagree, but I don’t believe this man belongs in prison.  It really serves no purpose.

You will not hear me crying over his wife, however.

Officer Liu’s funeral: A time for grieving, not grievance

MoonHowler

officer Lui

Another heart-breaking funeral is underway.  Officer Liu’s father spoke in Cantonese.  It was soul crushing even though I don’t understand Cantonese.  Officer Liu was an only son.  His wife also gave a beautiful tribute to her husband.  It was full of love and friendship and honor.  I felt like I knew this slain man personally as I listened to her words.

 

Jet Blue donated 1,100 seats to officers from around the country to come to NYC to honor this officer.  The streets were lined with blue as far as the eye could see.  Tens of thousands of officers were out there to show respect to the fallen officer.  The officers in front of the funeral home did not turn their backs on DeBlasio, who also spoke.  However, down the street, a large contingent of officers did turn their backs, even though they had been asked to be respectful by their CEO, NYPD Commissioner Bratton.  Some of those who turned their backs were from out of town.

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Loudoun Legislators attempt to block in-state tuition for illegal immigrant kids

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

Two lawmakers from Loudoun County are pushing back on the extension of in-state tuition at Virginia’s public universities for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.

Legislation filed in advance of the 2015 General Assembly session would explicitly bar any resident granted temporary legal status from paying in-state tuition. The bills challenge a recent directive from Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) that said young immigrants granted legal status under a 2012 presidential initiative could apply for in-state rates. The status has been approved for more than 9,000 such residents.

Del. David I. Ramadan (R-Loudoun), who filed a bill in the House of Delegates, said he has heard more from voters on this issue than almost any other. A ban “is what constituents want; this is what Virginians want; this is what my constituents are telling me — people who work hard and earn their money and earn their status,” Ramadan said.

A nearly identical bill was filed in the state Senate by Sen. Richard H. Black (R-Loudoun).

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What are the real sordid details behind a proposed substation in Haymarket!

Elena

Town Hall Meeting

January 6th

7 pm

Battlefield High School, 15000 Graduation Drive, Haymarket

It is imperative as many people as possible attend the January 6th Town Hall Meeting, 7pm at Battlefield High School.  Anyone who cares about due process, anyone who cares about the rights of personal property, anyone who cares about the historical and cultural resources in the Haymarket area, anyone who cares about the integrity of the Rural Crescent should make their voices heard to our elected leader so we can help them push back against this power line route. The only acceptable route is the I66 hybrid alternative.

When Dominion Power, with no notification to residents, during the Thanksgiving holiday,  included a new power line route traversing the Rural Crescent , they had every intention of submitting that route to the SCC in mid January. It was only two weeks into a citizens outcry, beginning Dec. 7th, they finally changed their submittal date to “likely after the first quarter”. To date, the citizens along the newly proposed New Road Route, have had no direct notification from Dominion Power.

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Ultra-othrodox Jews delay flight

MoonHowler

The Independent:

A flight from New York to Tel Aviv was delayed by half an hour last week after a group of male ultra-Orthodox Jewish passengers refused to sit next to women, the third such incident in recent months.

The cabin crew on the Delta flight out of John F. Kennedy Airport tried to find seats for the men, but were met with refusal by other passengers, some of whom who took a dim view of the reasoning behind the request.

The incident took place on Delta flight 468 on 20 December, the Israeli publication The Times of Israel reports. An American passenger ultimately switched seats with the men.

This is the third widely reported incident in the last few months in which ultra-Orthodox Jewish men have delayed a flight by asking to be segregated from women.

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