So some of us here in Austin have been without power for 3 or more days now, and the shit heads on charge at Austin Power have no clue when they’re going to get all the service restored. You would think that after the last shit show in 2021, they would have trimmed trees and been better prepared. Also according to a report by KUT Austin; back in 2007 the rich fuckers over in West Austin whined about their trees being trimmed. So the city decided to relax the tree trimming ordinance… so fuck the rich shit stains in Austin too!
I thought Austin was the oasis of sanity in Texas.
You would think that, but instead it is more like a Portlandia skit when it comes to how the city is run.
[sigh]. Yes, as much as conservatives have done to fuck up this state, Austin shows that entrenched liberal governance is little better.
Many of the people who have moved to Austin in the last several years are from places that don’t have winter so there’s a lot of people that don’t know how to function in the cold and ice.
Power utilities should be held responsible for prolonged outages that could be prevented. I don’t know about the current situation in and around Austin, and whether trimming some number of trees would have prevented it from happening, or being as bad as it is. The senior executives should be fired and replaced with people who are familiar with climate change and are preparing for the worst.
From your lips to God’s ears!
FTR, my Austinite friend said that in the area they live (adjacent to the Domain) that the frozen trees snapping and falling sounded like gunshots. But of course, that area has money, thus pull, and so they were only without power for 12-16 hours. Also thankfully, he’s a former Coloradan like me, so he had heavy jackets, blankets, butane single burner stove, and other supplies.
My sympathy to @Nightaudit and all others who are once again left high and dry by the PTB.
I work over in Bee Cave, we just got power back at 10am today.
Wouldn’t be surprised that the domain got power back faster than most.
Are you a henchman for a supervillain?
The Texans who’re familiar with climate change are very few in number. Those who even acknowledge teh possibility think winter will end forever in Texas in another decade or so, so any money spent hardening against ice & snow is pure waste.
Utilities tend to be…cavalier when it comes to mutilating and clear-cutting trees to protect their power lines (and profits). I doubt it was just The Rich in Austin who were upset about tree-mangling.*
There was recently a contentious dispute in Lexington, KY about utility tree clear-cutting practices.
“The city sued last year after an uproar from residents upset that big trees were being axed in yards across the city and an unheeded request from the city for KU to stop.”
“With the mutually-agreed upon plan reached, the city opted to drop its lawsuit.”
“In July, KU initially conceded and agreed to make changes to its tree-cutting policy, which resulted in an estimated 50% reduction in the number of trees clear cut and an increase in monetary compensation to affected property owners, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. The city, in turn, agreed to hit pause on its lawsuit.”
*I doubt that the less-well-off in Austin are pleased at the idea of their trees being hacked down to please the power company, losing their shade and seeing their spring-summer-fall AC bills shoot up.