2 • THE DAILY BEACON
Wednesday, January 22, 2014 Editor-in-Chief R.J. Vogt
IN SHORT
rvogt@utk.edu
Managing Editor Melodi Erdogan merdogan@utk.edu
Beacon Flashbacks Jan. 22, 1975 In the 82nd issue of its 10th volume, The Daily Beacon reported on President Gerald Ford’s stern comments about the 1973 oil crisis; he said he would rather see gas prices increase than implement a mandatory fuel rationing program. Ford said a gasoline rationing program would have to stay in effect for five to 10 years and would limit motorists to approximately nine gallons of gas per week. Ford also said mandatory rationing would be unfair to commuters and rural Americans. On Dec. 31, 2013, CNN reported a decrease in gas prices, and also reported they were set to go lower in the New Year. CNN also reported that Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for AAA and GasBuddy.com, said the boom in North American oil production in recent years has given the U.S. the lowest price for crude oil anywhere in the world. Such is a relief to American motorists who have felt the sharp increase in gas prices in recent years. As of Dec. 31, the average price for gas in Tennessee was $3.11. In other news, the 1975 Beacon staff reported two tavern operations on the
Another snowstorm hits urban Northeast Associated Press
Strip were arrested the previous day for allegedly bribing a Knoxville police officer. The article reported the two men offered a weekly payoff to Officer Billy McCoy in order to illegally continue paying off customers who were using gaming devices.
For more interesting and unusual crime, check the Crimelog on Fridays in The Daily Beacon and online at utdailybeacon.com. This Beacon Flashback was complied by Online Editor, Samantha Smoak.
PHILADELPHIA — A swirling snowstorm clobbered parts of the mid-Atlantic and the urban Northeast on Tuesday, grounding thousands of flights, closing government offices in the nation’s capital and making a mess of the evening commute. The storm stretched 1,000 miles between Kentucky and Massachusetts but hit especially hard along the heavily populated Interstate 95 corridor between Philadelphia and Boston, creating perilous rides home for millions of motorists. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said 10 inches of snow had fallen just outside Philadelphia in Drexel Hill by Tuesday evening and there was about 6 inches in Philadelphia. The National Weather Service said parts of New York City also had about 6 inches. The snow came down harder and faster than many people expected. Forecasters said some places could get 1 to 2 inches an hour, with wind gusts up to 50 mph. A blizzard warning was posted for parts of Massachusetts, including Cape Cod. Highways in the New York City metropolitan area were jammed, and blowing snow tripled or even quadrupled drive times. “I just want to get to the Bronx,” motorist Peter Neuwens lamented. “It’s a big place. Why can’t I get there?” In Jersey City, N.J., Stanley Gaines, wearing just a thin jacket and huddling
beneath an overhang as snow stung his face, said he had been stuck for more than an hour waiting for a ride home from his appointment at a Veterans Affairs clinic. “I’m waiting on anything I can get: a taxi, a shuttle, a bus,” Gaines said, squinting to read the destination on an approaching bus in near white-out conditions. “I didn’t really pay attention to the weather this morning because there was no snow on the ground, and now — this!” In White Plains, N.Y., Anthony Schirrone pulled over his car to scrape snow from the windshield. “I just did this five minutes ago,” he said. “But it’s coming down too fast.” Forecasters said the storm could bring up to 14 inches of snow to Philadelphia and southern New England and up to a foot in New York City, to be followed by bitter cold as arctic air from Canada streams in. Washington was expecting 4 to 8 inches. As of Tuesday evening, there was mostly light snow across Connecticut, Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts from the Boston area southward. Snowfall totals in the region ranged from about 5 inches to 6.5 inches. In Maryland, 8 inches had accumulated in Westminster and at least 7 inches had fallen in Frederick. The storm was blamed for at least one death in Maryland after a car fishtailed into the path of a tractor-trailer on a snowcovered road about 50 miles northwest of Baltimore. The storm was a conventional one that developed off the coast and moved its way up the Eastern Seaboard,
pulling in cold air from the arctic. Unlike the epic freeze of two weeks ago, it wasn’t caused by a kink in the polar vortex, the winds that circulate around the North Pole. Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation said it had already blown through more than half of its $189 million winter weather budget. “Lots of nuisance storms this season have meant that PennDOT crews have been plowing and treating roads more frequently this winter,” spokeswoman Erin WatersTrasatt said. About 3,000 flights for Tuesday were canceled, with airports from Washington to Boston affected. More than 1,000 flights for Wednesday were called off as well. Amtrak planned to cut back train service. The rush to get home early by many workers was evident in Philadelphia, where many commuter trains were packed. The storm put a damper on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s inauguration, forcing the cancellation of an evening party on Ellis Island. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick postponed his annual State of the State address, and the Philadelphia Flyers postponed their Tuesday night game. Schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky stayed closed for an extra day after the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday or sent students home early. Some parents kept their kids home all day, unwilling to put them on slippery roads for a few hours of school. Federal workers in the Washington area also were given the day off.