WEATHER TROUBLES * USA - Steps taken to keep school buses running in the cold

Saint Paul,MN,USA -KSTPTV -13 Jan 2009: -- The extreme cold could've kept First Student school buses from rolling off their lot in St. Paul, Tuesday morning. But workers took steps to make sure that didn't happen... Frigid temperatures can cause diesel fuel to gel up and batteries to freeze... To prevent those problems, First Student workers left about 50 buses running all night... Another 150 buses were left running until 12 a.m. then they were plugged into outlets. Crews came in at 4:30 a.m. to restart those buses... The precautions worked. Not a single bus needed a jump start... (SEE VIDEO)


* City Council snowstorm briefing: Who saw the “big picture”?

Seattle,WASH,USA -West Seattle blog -January 12, 2009: -- Quick notes from this morning’s Seattle City Council briefing on snowstorm response, third one in one week (our coverage of the previous two: Monday 1/5 and Tuesday 1/6). Today, councilmembers heard from - and questioned - city Emergency Management director Barb Graff. Here’s what it all came down to: Who really had a handle on the big picture, the fact that the roads were in bad shape, buses weren’t running because of that, and more reinforcements needed to be called in? Read on for what was said, who said it, and what next:.... (Photo by Raymond Overgaard)