Baby, it’s cold outside:
Strong winds and record cold plunged Chicago into a dangerous deep freeze Monday morning, closing highways and causing delays on the CTA and Metra. The temperature at O’Hare Airport hit minus 16 at 7:51 a.m., and wind chills dropped to minus 42 as Chicago turned into “Chi-Beria.â€
City officials did not mince words in warning of the public the extreme weather.
“If you can stay indoors. Please do so,†said Gary Schenkel, executive director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications. “Everyday activities may not be feasible.â€
Even my Samoyeds who normally relish temperatures realize that today’s temperature is just wrong. That’s consistent with our previous experience. Once the wind chill goes down to about -40°F even they generally seek shelter.
High of 64 here today, low of 47. Sunny but with enough cloud to give us a spectacular sunrise over the bay. I’ll be able to drive into the city for an appointment today with the top down, and crossing the Golden Gate in a convertible is very cool.
That’s for Drew, next time he speculates that high taxes will hollow California out. Not as long as the Pacific stays where it is and the wind keeps blowing west to east.
A balmy minus 12 when I got up this morning. Did a little morning exercise I’ve developed involving a shovel and specialized outdoor athletic wear. And then drove the car from attached garage to attached underground parking this a.m. and wondered what the fuss is all about. Oh yes, it turns out that the governor decided to close state offices after the workers showed up this morning. Nothing to do but howl and vent and vote for a millionaire Republican in November.
@michael, California is an outward migration state; its too expensive for the middle class.
“What has caused California’s transformation from a “pull in†to a “push out†state? The data have revealed several crucial drivers. One is chronic economic adversity (in most years, California unemployment is above the national average). Another is density: the Los Angeles and Orange County region now has a population density of 6,999.3 per square mile—well ahead of New York or Chicago. Dense coastal areas are a source of internal migration, as people seek more space in California’s interior, as well as migration to other states. A third factor is state and local governments’ constant fiscal instability, which sends at least two discouraging messages to businesses and individuals. One is that they cannot count on state and local governments to provide essential services—much less, tax breaks or other incentives. Second, chronically out-of-balance budgets can be seen as tax hikes waiting to happen.
“The data also reveal the motives that drive individuals and businesses to leave California. One of these, of course, is work. States with low unemployment rates, such as Texas, are drawing people from California, whose rate is above the national average. Taxation also appears to be a factor, especially as it contributes to the business climate and, in turn, jobs. Most of the destination states favored by Californians have lower taxes. States that have gained the most at California’s expense are rated as having better business climates. The data suggest that many cost drivers—taxes, regulations, the high price of housing and commercial real estate, costly electricity, union power, and high labor costs—are prompting businesses to locate outside California, thus helping to drive the exodus.”
PD:
I came across a study I’m too lazy to go find that California is a bare out-migration state — mostly for working class folks — but is not exporting jobs as fast as people. And that the peak of the out-migration occurred prior to the recession. So most likely caused by the simple fact that housing is damned expensive.
So, no argument that this is a tough state for working class people. But it’s not the recession or Jerry Brown doing it, it’s actually the very desirability of CA that jacks up prices and makes it hard for the working man.
Your point about density is interesting. My wife was just in Virginia where they’re building all sorts of stuff. By contrast we never see construction in the Marin. That’s some combination of density, NIMBY and people using zoning laws to protect their style of life.
But to hit tangentially on Dave’s belief that we are overbuilt on roads, getting a Target built in San Rafael was a labor of Hercules, with all sorts of objections, most of which probably boil down to: too damned much traffic. The 101 is okay, but all our feeder roads are tiny and cramped and often jammed. We could absolutely use some road construction here, but not federal, more county and state.
I have friends from L.A. (originally from IL and PA) who come stay every year for a visit, and it sounds more depressing every year. He has a graduate degree in engineering from a top ten school, working for a large, profitable corporation. He would move out of California if he could find a job that would allow him to take the loss on his real estate, a modest bungalow. The big issue is the L.A. schools, and this year they entered a program in which they bribed a neighboring school district to take one of their kids in what they painfully admitted was a racist program. They were looking to return to the Rust Belt (not because of the weather), but because it was closer to family and the expectations they grew up with, but they are now looking to the Southeast.
The big issue is the L.A. schools, and this year they entered a program in which they bribed a neighboring school district to take one of their kids in what they painfully admitted was a racist program.
Los Angeles schools, for the most part, are the pits — union-run, politically correct, and many class rooms simply out of control. It almost seems education is secondary to baby-sitting, especially in inland metroplitan areas. That’s why so many of the elite class bypass public education, and go directly to private education, i.e. Matt Damon.
Jan:
Actually, until quite recently Matt Damon lived in Florida. I believe he now lives in Pacific Palisades. If you look at a map you’ll see that the Palisades are only distantly connected to LA and much more directly tied geographically to Santa Monica, which is a different school district altogether. There appear to be no public high schools or middle schools in PP, which would mean he’d have to stick his kids in geographically distant schools where they would be separated from neighborhood kids.
I have one kid in an excellent public school and one in private school. I’m also interested in the public schools, and was even before we were directly involved with one. There’s nothing remotely hypocritical in wishing to make public schools better while attending a private school. He (and I) are both still paying for those schools via taxes, and we both still live in a society formed by those schools. You might as well argue that we have no interest in the condition of VA hospitals since we’re not in one.
So that whole Fox News meme–du-jour is really just stupid.
@jan
Being a heartless conservative, you do not understand what it is like for a rich liberal.
I am sure that Matt Damon wanted to move to Long Beach, but Snoop bought all the best property in LBC. Matt was so looking forward to having his little tots rubbing shoulders with the downtrodden, but alas, it was not to be.
He had to settle for a community with no schools. Let me guess – no blacks, no browns, no poor – liberal nirvana.