Hurricane Sandy Could Wreak Major Havoc On City and State: Top Official to Gov. Cuomo Warns

hurricanes, I hope their predictions are off and all you guys in the storm's path get a lucky break!

Always better to be prepared and NOT NEED IT, than to NEED IT and not have it. Good luck and keep us informed of how things go for you.

Or Guinness...

I'm not sure how good they would taste with the Guinness, though. I suppose if you have enough Baileys first, you won't notice any taste differentials.

If you bought any bottled water, start freezing them. You can move frozen bottles to your refrigerator if the power goes off and help keep the food that much longer. I did that after Hurricane Ike and had ice water for a week

There's a lot of weird stories around about this guy -- much of it at conspiracy theory sites, but this is some of what's mainstream enough to pass muster.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Hauer

Hauer was the first director of Mayor Giuliani's Office of Emergency Management. He directed the agency since 1996, when Giuliani shifted responsibility for the city's emergency preparedness from the Police Department to the new agency – headed by Hauer. Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Hauer began their relationship in January 1996 when Mr. Hauer was hired to lead the new Office of Emergency Management, created to coordinate the city’s response to crises. Mr. Hauer, who was little known before he became a Giuliani aide, had previously run emergency management programs for the State of Indiana and IBM.

Jerome Hauer is best known for being the director of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) when he made the decision to build a $13 million crisis center on the 23rd floor at 7 World Trade Center. This crisis center was unveiled in June 1999, and became the subject of tension between the agency and the Police Department, whose own command center at 1 Police Plaza had until then been the focus of emergency preparedness operations.

As the first director of the new crisis center, "one of Hauer’s first tasks was to find a home for an emergency command center to replace the inadequate facilities at police headquarters," according to the Times.

Reports indicate that the OEM crisis center at the World Trade Center was not being used on 9-11 by the usual personnel. The center had been temporarily relocated to Pier 92 on Manhattan’s West Side, due to a FEMA drill scheduled to begin on the day after 9-11, according to statements made by Mayor Giuliani. The site was immediately controversial because it was part of the trade center, which had already been the location of a truck bomb attack in 1993. City officials, though, including Mr. Hauer, have long defended their decision, even after the command center had to be evacuated during the 2001 terror attack. The center was destroyed when the 47-story tower collapsed at about 5:25 p.m. on 9-11.


http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Homeland-security-chief-s-security-officer-is-a-3677771.php

July 2, 2012

During the past decade, New York City Police Department retiree William P. Cullen has received a series of waivers from the state Department of Civil Service so that he can work as a senior investigator for the attorney general without forfeiting his pension.

But he isn't doing anything for AG Eric Schneiderman, whose office justified the most recent waiver, which runs through May 2014. The arrangement lets Cullen draw his city pension and a state salary of $83,375, plus overtime.

The AG sought the "211 waiver" because Cullen provides skills needed by the AG's office to fill a position other candidates could not perform. But since January, he has not been serving in the job for which he was given a waiver. Instead, he has been "protecting" Jerome M. Hauer, the state commissioner of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Hauer said. The official says Cullen drives him on trips, provides protection, does some security analysis and speaking engagements, and helps connect him to law enforcement contacts. . . .

Hauer is the only cabinet-level official in the Cuomo administration with such security, which is typically reserved for statewide officers. Both Cullen and Hauer carry guns during their work hours. Asked why he needs all the protection, Hauer told a reporter to Google his name. He would not specify, but said he has received threats.

PLEASE EARLY VOTE FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA THIS WEEKEND! EARLY VOTING MAY NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE PLACE AFTER THE STROM HITS AND WE DON'T KNOW IF THE POWER WILL STILL BE OUT ON NOV 6, 2012! VOTE TOMORROW WHEREVER YOU CAN!

the storm will be long over by Election Day. NJ and Pa though should need your warnings.