THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2010


KLMNO


EZ SU POLITICS & THE NATION


Critics target Bloomberg amid storm debacle N.Y. STILL


DIGGINGOUT


InN.J.,many question governor’s absence


FROM NEWS REPORTS Withplenty ofNewYorkneigh-


borhoods still buried under snow Wednesday, three days after a blizzarddumped20inches onthe city, residents are increasingly pointing blame atMayorMichael Bloomberg (I). And across the Hudson River,


New Jersey officials are raising sharp questions about the con- tinuing absence of Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno (R) as the state digs out fromthe storm. The loudest complaints


against Bloomberg have come from the city’s boroughs beyond Manhattan, where the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Is- land were reminded once again of their often-secondary status. In some outlying neighborhoods, nearly three-fourths of smaller roads were still covered, Bloomberg saidWednesday.


CHRIS HONDROS/GETTY IMAGES


Bystanders joined an ambulance crewin trying to free its stuck vehicle in BoerumHill, Brooklyn. Even the mayor’s allies are


“This is a mayor who prided


critical. One such ally, City Coun- cil President Christine Quinn, called for hearings on the city’s reaction. “I’ve never seen such gross


mismanagement and lack of leadership in my lifetime. People are furious,” said City Council- man David Greenfield of Brook- lyn, another supporter of Bloomberg.


himself on his ability as amanag- er. If we were grading himon his response to the snowstorm, he would get an ‘F,’ ” Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said. “Bloomberg wants to run for president, yet he can’t even han- dle getting the streets of the Bronx plowed? That is unaccept- able.” Not helping the situation were


DIGEST MICHIGAN


wanted to do, or as the city has the right to expect. We’ll figure out what happened this time and try tomake it better next time.” Bloomberg said he couldn’t


explain why this stormproved so tough, compared with earlier ones that seemed just as severe. “We had the same plan with


the same equipment,” he said. “The question is, ‘Why didn’t it work this time?’ ” In New Jersey, Senate Presi-


dent Stephen M. Sweeney (D) remained in charge of the state’s cleanup as acting governor. Both Christie and Guadagno left New Jersey before the stormhit,Chris- tie going on vacation to Walt DisneyWorld in Florida after the lieutenant governor had gone to Mexico to visit her ailing father. “We clearly made a mistake if


Bloomberg’s own comments. In remarks Monday that seemed to focus only onManhattan,he said: “The city is going fine. Broadway shows were full last night. There are lots of tourists here enjoying themselves. I think the message is that the city goes on.” But Bloomberg delivered a far


different message Wednesday, saying at aBronx hardware store: “We didnot do as good a job aswe


we createdthe office of lieutenant governor and wasted money if the lieutenant governor is not going to be here when the gover- nor is out of state,” Sen.Raymond Lesniak (D) told theNewark Star- Ledger. “It’s a big snow, definitely, but


the world is not coming to an end,” a Christie spokesman told the Star-Ledger. “We are a north- eastern state and we get snow — sometimes lots of it like this — and we will get through it just as we always do.”


Newark mayor receiving avalanche of attention for snowstorm tweets 6


BY KRISSAH THOMPSON NewarkMayorCoryBookerhas


beenbattlingthesnowonhiscity’s streets tweet by tweet — and get- ting a lot of attentiondoing it. Since the Sunday storm that


dumpedabout twofeetof snowon theNewarkarea,hehashelpedlift cars, shoveled driveways and promised to send road crews to clear neighborhood streets after someonetweets that theyhavenot beenadequatelyplowed. “Good 2 talk 2 u. Glad streets


now clear,” Booker (D) tweeted in responseto@bellygirl25,whohad


on washingtonpost.com A tale of two tweets


For a comparison of tweets by Newark Mayor Cory


Booker and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, go to wapo.st/snowtweets.


complainedthat IvyStreethadnot beenplowed. Not only do Newark residents


know that Booker is clearing the driveways of people with Twitter handles, so does much of the na- tional political twitterati,which is blogging abouthim.


Booker’s tweets, multiplied in


their reach through retweeting, have shown another aspect of so- cial networking’s political impact. “He’s doing something that is


very effective and verymuch capi- talizing on the potential of this media,” said Doug Guthrie, a George Washington University professor who has studied social media in politics. “The lesson for politicians is you have to engage it.”


Other politicians haven’t fared


as well in the snowstorm/social media vortex. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, both Republicans,


EnjoyExceptional Year EndOffers During the Mercedes-Benz Winter Event


have been dinged on Twitter and by local media for leaving town before the storm. Christie vaca- tioned at Disney World and Gua- dagno inMexico. Booker won a second termlast


spring, but with fewer votes than in 2006 amid complaints that he has not effectively tackled issues such as crime and joblessness in parts of the city. The constant tweeting during the snowstorm couldhelpboosthis image. On Wednesday, Booker — who


hasmore than 1million followers on Twitter — sent out this Tweet from a constituent showing him love: “RT@Yaki_Moto:Thanks to


Gas leak causes store collapse, evacuation Afamily-owned furniture store


in suburban Detroit collapsed in a natural gas explosion Wednes- day, trapping three people in the rubble. Hours later, a newgas leak was discovered, prompting the evacu- ation of a wider area and the Wayne,Mich., city hall for several hours. The morning blast critically


injured the store’s owner, and rescue crews are searching for two missing store employees. The massive explosion reduced


the once-sprawling, one-story Franks Furniture building to nothing more than a pile of wood, crumbled drywall and twisted metal with broken bits of furni- ture scattered about. —Associated Press


Texting subway driver sen- tenced: A Boston subway driver whose trolley slammed into the back of another one near an un- derground station, injuring more than 60 people, pleaded guilty to gross negligence Wednesday and was sentenced to probation. Au- thorities say Aiden Quinn was texting his girlfriend just before theMay 2009 rush-hour crash.


@CoryBooker 4 sendin a plow to St James Pl. Finally able 2 go 2


work . I♥MyMayor!J” InNew York,MayorMichael R.


Bloomberg’s weather-related tweets have been less personal, and he has taken heat fromsome residents who are complaining about slowsnowremoval. Bloomberg’s response to his


constituents on Twitter was staid in comparison with Booker’s. “I know some people are frustrated by the pace of the cleanup,” he wrote. “We appreciate your pa- tience & are working together to do everythingpossible.” thompsonk@washpost.com


Massager strangles woman: A Parkland, Fla., woman was stran- gled to death in her home on Christmas Eve by an electronic massager that became ensnared with a necklace she was wearing, the Broward County Sheriff ’s Of- fice said Wednesday. Michelle Ferrari-Gegerson, 37, had spent the evening wrapping gifts and had used the massager to relieve neck pain, authorities said.


Casino wants big chips cashed: The Bellagio casino in Las Vegas is discontinuing its standard $25,000 chip, and the owner warned that all such chips must be redeemed by April 22 or they’ll become worthless. The Bellagio was robbed of $1.5 million in chips, in varying denominations, earlier this month. —From news reports


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