See for yourself!

-- Little Pig (littlepig@brickhouse.com), December 29, 1999

Answers

where? i don't see it!

-- nuttygirl (aminuts@y2k.com), December 29, 1999.

I went to the Drudge site and saw the headline but he didn't have a link to an article from it.

-- Paula (chowbabe@pacbell.net), December 29, 1999.

k, i found it (reloaded). maybe he's working on the link.

-- nuttygirl (aminuts@y2k.com), December 29, 1999.

What in the world are you talking about?

-- wspoon (wspoon@concentric.net), December 29, 1999.

wspoon go to www.drudgereport.com

-- nuttygirl (aminuts@y2k.com), December 29, 1999.

There is no link on www.drudgereport.com although it is the headline. Also there is nothing on www.nytimes.com.

-- Matt (mattd97@hotmail.com), December 29, 1999.

His headline reference the New York Times. All I could find is this. (He loves a good screeDecember 29, 1999

NEEDIEST CASES When Fear of Contact Threatens Loss of Power

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- Related Article Make a Gift to the Neediest Cases Fund ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- By AARON DONOVAN t can be hard enough to deal with the long lines and confusing rules at the electric company, but add a fear of interacting with people, knees that lock in place when a person stands and a tendency to stammer under pressure, and someone may put off paying bills.

Bob Egbert found himself in danger of having his electricity cut off -- not because he did not have enough money but because he dreaded going through the bill-paying process itself and neglected to get in touch with Con Edison for months at a time.

"I kept getting all these letters, and I didn't want to go out to see these people," Mr. Egbert said. "I was just going to go upstairs and lay down -- that's what I do."

But Mr. Egbert had to do something, so he summoned up his courage and went to a place he heard could help him, the Community Service Society of New York.

The society, one of the seven local charities supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, has a program to make bureaucracies accessible to people who are intimidated by them and at risk of losing their benefits or services. In some cases, like Mr. Egbert's, they even help with utilities.

A volunteer at the agency's Advocacy Counseling Entitlement Services program helped Mr. Egbert keep his electricity turned on and his food stamps and Supplemental Security Income payments coming to him.

"When you're in need, when you're ill and you need to deal with the entitlement offices, it can be very, very, very difficult," said the volunteer, Marie Aquino.

Mr. Egbert, 59, a retired secretary from Staten Island, has rheumatoid arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, heart palpitations and mild agoraphobia -- the fear of large, open spaces. But he said his most debilitating ailment was social anxiety disorder.

"I would go down the street and if there was a person walking down the street I would come back inside, hoping that they would be off the street when I went out again," he said.

The Community Service Society's program trains volunteers, who are mostly retirees. The volunteers spend about five hours a week helping people learn what government benefits are available to them and making sure that the ones they do have are not cut off. In cases like Mr. Egbert's, a long-lasting, helpful relationship can develop.

Mrs. Aquino, 68, a retired special education teacher's aide, joined the program when she retired because, she said, "I was petrified of becoming a couch potato."

Mrs. Aquino said she watched Mr. Egbert's condition improve once the stress of paying bills was eased and his S.S.I. was no longer in danger of being taken away.

"Bob has come a tremendously long way," she said. "He's now leaving the home. He's developed more acquaintanceships and friendships. He's got a life."

For Mr. Egbert, who has seen the number of people living in his house dwindle from seven when he was a child down to just himself, Mrs. Aquino's help was a lifesaver.

"I was very nervous the first time I went there," he said of his first visit to the agency seven years ago. "If it wasn't for her taking care of me, I don't know where people would go. People get overwhelmed by all the paperwork."

Through the years they have been working together, Mrs. Aquino has helped Mr. Egbert with several large problems and a few small ones, too.

"Tell them about the Pepto-Bismol, Bob," Mrs. Aquino said.

Mr. Egbert's dogs were once sick.

"She suggested that I should give them one of the old-time home remedies," he said, adding that despite his skepticism, he had trusted her advice.

"It worked, it really worked."

cher).

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), December 29, 1999.

http://www.drudgereport.com/matt.htm

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1999 13:20:09 ET XXXXX

CONFUSION AFTER NYT REPORTS POWER MAY BE CUT IN NEW YORK

Glitches in nonessential computer systems could "cut off power for a few minutes" in New York City on New Year's Eve, claimed a published report on Wednesday.

The NEW YORK TIMES [Section B; Page 3], citing "officials" from CON ED, reported the lights might go off in the city during Y2K-- a report CON ED strongly denies!

"That is not our position," boiled a spokesman for CON ED. "No one here believes the power is going to be cut. The statement may have been made by 'outside officials'. We expect no glitches at all."

Developing...

-- hmm (hmm@hmm.hmm), December 29, 1999.

Link on drudge works now...

-- Little Pig (littlepig@brickhouse.com), December 29, 1999.

thanks, but that article doesn't seem relevant??

-- nuttygirl (aminuts@y2k.com), December 29, 1999.

December 29, 1999

Con Ed Expects No Millennial Blackouts By JAYSON BLAIR onvinced that there is little likelihood that computer problems or an overtaxed power system will cause a blackout as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, Consolidated Edison officials said yesterday that they were focusing instead on security at their plants in the region and had asked law enforcement agencies for assistance.

Officials from Con Ed, which has about six million customers in the New York region, said they had all but ruled out any major power failures resulting from overuse or computer problems related to the year 2000.

In an interview, Eugene R. McGrath, the president and chairman of Con Ed, said that while demand was expected to be high on Friday and Saturday, it was not expected to approach the levels that contributed to an 18-hour blackout this summer in parts of Upper Manhattan.

At the most, officials said, they might have some glitches in nonessential computer systems that could cut off power for a few minutes. But over all, Mr. McGrath said, he expects the system to be running without incident before and after the 83,000-watt Waterford ball drops in Times Square.

Mr. McGrath, who came under fire from Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani after the summer's power failures, said that Con Ed's computer systems would not be affected by the Year 2000 computer problems, and that the company had taken "problems like we had last summer, and fed the information back into our system to fix the problems."

Amid concerns that terrorists could target New York City on New Year's Eve, Con Ed and the companies that supply its system with power are taking security precautions.

"We've worked with law enforcement throughout our territory to make sure certain security measures were taken," said Robert Leonard, a Con Ed spokesman. Mr. Leonard would not give specifics. But law enforcement officials said that they planned to monitor certain company sites perceived as "soft targets."

Deputy Chief Thomas Fahey, a New York Police Department spokesman, also would not comment on the arrangements.

But law enforcement officials said that their agencies had come up with lists of nongovernment buildings that could be targeted by terrorists. While cautioning that little can be done to prepare for all conceivable targets, law enforcement officials have said that in some cases, including Con Ed's, they plan to monitor operations.

Yesterday, Joseph Leary, a spokesman for the New York Power Authority, said that his agency, which supplies one-third of Con Ed's power, had prepared for the possibility of terrorist attacks. Mr. Leary said that his agency began preparing for the new millennium three years ago, and that in June the Electric Reliability Council, an industry group, certified all the company's critical systems as ready for the year 2000.

Mr. McGrath said there was no reason for concern. "Normally, at midnight on a winter night we would expect something around 5,000 megawatts on a peak load," he said. "We could have as high as 7,000 or 7,500 on New Year's Eve. That is quite a bit higher than normal on a winter night, but it is nowhere near our peak load of about 12,000 megawatts."

During the heat wave last summer, power use reached 11,850 megawatts, officials said.

Still, in the celebrations to greet the new year, an anticipated 225 million watts of electricity -- or enough to light 28 apartment buildings -- will be used in Times Square alone.

The red, blue, yellow and green ball, which Mr. McGrath will light at 6:57 a.m. on New Year's Eve when it becomes New Year's Day on the other side of the globe, will use enough energy to power 100 apartments, officials said.

-- C (c@c.com), December 29, 1999.

To paraphrase "if power goes out for a few minutes, it's minor y2k glitches, if it goes out and stays out, it's terrorists, not y2k"

The new party line....

-- C (c@c.com), December 29, 1999.

Why do you think all this terrorist crap has been dragged up? They can blame the whole damn thing on terrorists or hackers.

-- (Here@today.com), December 29, 1999.

I know the spinmeisters are trying to get the terrorist spin just right in case of blackouts, so here is what they need:

"Reliable sources have informed CSPIN News that terrorists are now using microtransmitters inside squirrels in a plot to destroy to the electric grid. We can now tell you that Ligerian terrorists were captured in Old York City carrying these transmitters that can communicate with the frontal lobe of certain rodents. Any suspicious squirrels should be reported to the authorities immediately!"

-- cgbg jr (cgbgjr@webtv.net), December 29, 1999.

I wonder if they're looking for Arabic persons seeking to enter he US from Canada with insulated boltcutters?

NYC has 12,000MW capacity into the city. The lines come down through Westchester and cross into Manhatten in very close proximity. It's a choke point that's an inviting target should you be interested in really terrifying a large number of people. Say, everyone in NYC and all those watching the ball drop from around the world.

Dr Evil should have had been so lucky to have such a great opportunity to demonstrate his power.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), December 29, 1999.