Don't Get Me Started
Coverage of Fay -- What a joke!
Don't Get Me Started
Coverage of Fay -- What a joke!
GLEN SAINT MARY, FL - Anyone who thinks that this column is about to make light of the dangers of Tropical Storm Fay and its affects needs to hit their "back" button right now. Don’t read any further. You already don’t understand that I am about to critique the coverage of the supposed crisis that hit our home.
First, let’s focus on some of the government hand-wringing. Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton seems to have forgotten what transpired almost four years ago. This area was more than prepared for Hurricanes Bonnie, Charlie, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne. How many of you remember being without power for a week or more when Frances made landfall? And when Jeanne came around a few weeks later, we had another three or four days in the darkness.
During that time, we citizens of the great state of Florida proved our greatness -- with patience, persistence, and neighborly charity. I recall using our gas grill to help feed next-door neighbors who weren’t as prepared. It’s what neighbors do. At the time, I was a host on the Bargain Channel Radio where callers were alerting everyone where bags of ice were available. I remember listening to then-Governor Bush who told us three things: 1) stay home, 2) be patient, and 3) leave the linemen alone; they’ll get to you as soon as they can.
And we overcame. A few lessons learned, but nothing worth panicking over. And this was a year before Hurricane Katrina.
Enter 2008. Mayor Peyton opens the Emergency Operations Center way too soon and at "level one," the highest state of emergency. Of course, he wanted to take the "cautious" route rather than be criticized for too little too late. It just seemed to me that there were much more damage and widespread problems four years ago with a host of consecutive hurricanes than a single tropical storm today.
In 2004, we had three of the four most costly hurricanes in history. Now, we have a storm that never reached hurricane status. And the city government jumps on the panic button like it’s a trampoline. Granted, this storm was unpredictable at best. A stationary storm that stalls off the coast is nothing to take lightly. But I was hoping for a little perspective to keep residents calm. There is more panic in the streets now than before.
Here are just a few headlines from a certain local web site in Jacksonville:
The chance of rain today is near 100 percent
Wow, if that isn’t the most profound statement ever in the history of weather-related journalism, then I don’t know what is! Now, I’m no journalistic scholar. I’ve never attended classes on how to report the painfully obvious. But this is so "duh" that I feel I’ve lost a significant amount of brain power. Let me see if I have this straight: We have a tropical storm that has been stalled near our region for three days. We have been getting rained on every day for the last few weeks just from thunderstorms alone (and believe me when I say that I am grateful for the much-needed precipitation). This storm has been dumping on us for 72 hours without any visible sunlight. And now we are told that our chance of rain is 100 percent.
Thanks for the info. I have no clue what I would have done without it.
Fay destroys sea turtle nests
Other than the few who are more concerned with the lives of turtles than humans, who really cares about "mother nature" conducting its fury indiscriminately? Is there someone out there willing to blame this on George W. Bush not signing the Kyoto treaty on "global warming"?
Power outages increasing
Now, there’s a shocker -- pun intended. Of course power outages increase with the onslaught of storms. But hats off to JEA, FPL, Clay Electric, and all the other power authorities for keeping on top of damage control. Already before the storms have subsided, the number of outages has actually decreased. Again, a little comparison to previous times shows that life is a whole lot better.
Clay Sheriff Rick Beseler reports no sign of tornado from his Green Cove Springs home on St. Johns River.
Why would anyone in the media call the Sheriff while he is at home, hopefully getting a little down time, just to see if he spotted a tornado? Why not instead check with the National Hurricane Center or another authority that can spot, track, and report them much more efficiently than asking the Sheriff? Leave him alone and let him have some dinner.
Dogs rescued from Fay
A family abandoned its two dogs when they left their home that was about to flood. Had Animal Control not rescued them, they would have likely died. I applaud the efforts of Animal Control and all others that had any hand in the rescue. And I am appalled that anyone would leave their pets to die. It’s not up to someone else to take care of your luxury items, including and especially your pets. But what bothers me about this headline is that it is the most prominent headline on the unnamed newspaper’s web site. With seven deaths reported throughout the state, why are we concerned about two rescued dogs? With down power lines and trees splitting homes in two, what does a pair of mutts have in major media coverage that other situations don’t?
Again, I am not making light of the storm and its affects. I’m just bothered by the lack of perspective and the overall panic. Calm down, folks. We’ve been praying for this rain.
Programming Note: Andy will be on First Coast News’ digital cable channel 25.2 and FirstCoastNews.com on Tuesday, August 26, from 7 to 11 p.m., evaluating the local election results and looking forward to the presidential election in November. Tune in.
