A few words for the people of Minneapolis

[proud2BlibKansan]

On July 16, 1981, a skywalk at the Hyatt hotel here in Kansas City collapsed during a tea dance, killing 114 people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse

Nearly everyone in this city knew someone who suffered a loss on that day. A good friend of ours lost both of his parents. Another friend knows a couple who married after their spouses died on that day in the hotel lobby. They had attended the dance together.

Once the initial shock of the tragedy was past, the investigations began. It took years to figure out what had happened.

The initial theories blamed the people who sponsored the dance and the people who attended. They had packed too many people in that lobby, they had allowed too many people on that skywalk.

But eventually, they found the fault was with the company that had built the skywalk. And this horrific tragedy led to change in building codes across the country.

So be persistent, insist on answers and hold your public officials accountable. This is a purpose of government - to take care of people. The best outcome of a tragedy like this bridge collapse is a change that prevents similar tragedies.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Our wonderful tax-cutting Republican governor

has a lotta 'splainin' to do. He has prevented the passage of transportation infrastructure bills because he is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the greedhead Randite Taxpayers' League. No matter how badly funds are needed, he refuses to allow any legislation to pass that raises taxes. And so this state, which once was one of the best-maintained states in the country, has become a mess of potholed roads and crumbling, overcrowded schools.

You damn betcha somebody is going to answer for this.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. You have my best wishes

Sounds like your governor has lots of splaining to do.

[myrna minx]

3. And he's mugging the cameras like he's the self-appointed

"America's Governor." You just *KNOW* we're going to get alot of attention because of the RNC convention and that Timmy the Tool is seeking higher office. Let's see he he can wriggle out his veto.

[northernsoul]

4. There's a devasting diary over at DailyKos

detailing how the politicization of MnDOT under Lt. Gov. Molnau + Pawlenty's vetos and shifty accounting = equal massive neglect of infrastructure.

[myrna minx]

5. Thanks. I'll check that out.

I just heard boosh blame the congressional dems for the bridge collapse. Can you believe it? He said the dems didn't give him a "fiscally responsible" spending bill. :grr:

[northernsoul]

10. Agent Mike won't like what I'm thinking right now

so I'll just keep my thoughts to myself. Glad you're OK.

[myrna minx]

11. It sounds like you had a near miss yesterday.

I'm glad that you're ok. It's so surreal. I can't believe that it even happened.

[northernsoul]

14. Well, I wasn't going to head up 35

but it's kind of eerie to know that I was probably pretty close when it happened.

[Beausoir]

6. I remember that sky walk collapse. Gave me nightmares for weeks.

Horrific accident.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Yes it was

And the impact on the rescue workers was especially horrific. Some committed suicide. Many never got over what they saw that day.

[lapfog_1]

8. I worked three block from the Hyatt

and my wife and I attended those tea dances routinely. That week we were on vacation in Colorado.
One of our co-workers was killed.

My company donated all of our time and resources (we had a collection of supercomputers, including a Cray-1 which was very "new" at the time, and we rented time on them to engineering firms and the like).

Turns out that as designed the skywalks would have been fine. The design called for one piece rods to hang from the ceiling and connect to the two bridges. However, the builder decided that installing such long rods would be to expensive (have to get a helicopter to pick them up and drop them into the building, as this had to be done after all of the other structural steel was in place). So he cut the rods into three sections and tied them into the decking of the bridges. But the computer analysis of what he did showed that the sky bridges would never hold, and it was surprising that they lasted as long as they did. The top sky bridge had to support its own weight AND the weight on the lower sky bridge! Add a bunch of people, some of them dancing...

Our entire national infrastructure needs billions of dollars of repairs and replacements, note the steam pipe explosion in NYC just a week or so ago, now a major bridge collapse.

When a major dam gives way (or the levees surrounding Sacramento CA)... it will be another "Katrina" scale disaster.

The money we have spent in Iraq could have already put us well on the way to fossil fuel free AND paid for $100 B or more of infrastructure (and hey, put $20 B into schools and health care too).

Sigh.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Did anyone ever serve jail time?

I remember at one time there was talk of prosecution but I can't remember if they did charge anyone.

[lapfog_1]

12. The general contractor took his liquid assets and fled

to South America. I believe that they finally got him extradited from Brazil or something and he did come back to KC to face charges and a civil suit. My wife and I moved away not too long after this and the national news soon dropped it as a story so I don't know what finally happened.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. Here is the company that was ultimately found responsible

http://www.havenssteel.com/

[lapfog_1]

15. Wikipedia has this

The Missouri Board of Architects, Professional Engineers, and Land Surveyors convicted the engineers employed by Jack D. Gillum and Associates who had signed off on the final drawings of gross negligence, misconduct, and unprofessional conduct in the practice of engineering; they all lost their engineering licenses in the states of Missouri and Texas and their membership to ASCE. While Jack D. Gillum and Associates itself was cleared of criminal negligence, it was stripped of its license to be an engineering firm.

At least $140 million was awarded to victims and their families in both judgments and settlements in subsequent civil lawsuits; a large amount of this money came from Crown Center Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hallmark Cards which was the owner of the actual hotel franchise (like most hoteliers, Hyatt runs on the franchisor/franchisee system). Life and health insurance companies probably absorbed even larger uncompensated losses in policy payouts.

The Hyatt tragedy remains a classic model for the study of engineering ethics and errors. Gillum's chief engineer continues to share his experiences with others, in the hope that the mistakes which led to the Hyatt disaster will not be repeated.

The reconstruction after the tragedy included fewer walkways, more strongly reinforced. As a result, some floors of the hotel now have disconnected sections on opposite sides of the atrium so that it is necessary to go to a different floor to get to the other side.

The hotel later reopened, and has been renamed Hyatt Regency Crown Center. It has since been renovated and now serves as one of the city's most luxurious hotels.

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

However, either Gillum or one of his associates did flee to South America, but eventually was brought back. Wikipedia doesn't mention that anyone served jail time, just loss of professional licenses and the monetary judgment.