| A flood of problems
MIDDLESEX COUNTY A fierce nor'easter pummeled the area Sunday, forcing street closures, the evacuation of four housing complexes and a dog kennel, the flooding of basements and the shutting of schools in at least two districts.
Woodbridge, Dunellen and Middlesex Borough had declared states of emergency by 9 p.m. Sunday, authorities said. And the flooding won't be any better today. "The worst is yet to come," said Rob Sklans, spokesman for the Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management. "Besides what's fallen already, we're still going to get everything from up river coming down the Raritan (River). So this is going to be with us for a bit." He noted rivers will continue to rise after the rain stops. Expecting problems to continue, Woodbridge and South Brunswick decided Sunday evening to close schools for today, while Edison posted a delayed opening, authorities said.
Nor'easter slams coast
TRENTON, N.J. - One of the nastiest spring nor'easters in years roared over the U.S. East Coast early today, bringing umbrella-breaking wind and relentless rain that forced evacuations from New Jersey to West Virginia.
Residents of many low-lying areas along the coast left their homes, hundreds of flights were cancelled, power was knocked out in pockets across the region and many roads were swamped.
''My one word of advice is to stay home,'' state Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri said Sunday. ''People think they can drive through flooding, and they get stuck.''
One person was killed by a tornado in South Carolina, and two died in car accidents - one in upstate New York and one in Connecticut. The storm rattled the Gulf states Friday and Saturday with violent thunderstorms, raked Texas with at least two tornadoes and was blamed for five deaths before heading northeast.
A piece of past is saved
A key piece of the history of the black population of Arkansas County received a second chance for life earlier this year when the former Immanuel High School was named to the National Register of Historic Places. For more than 60 years, the Immanuel School was the focus of education for most of the black children in Arkansas County outside the City of Stuttgart. In the days of segregated education, it was the only place most black children in the county could advance past grammar school or learn a trade. Although it has been closed for more than 40 years, it still has a long list of alumni in Arkansas County and elsewhere. "This is the oldest black-organized institution in Arkansas County," said Gladys Dodson Young, recording secretary for Citizens For Immanuel, a group comprised mainly of Immanuel alumni that has worked for several years to get the school placed on the National Register.
Manufactured Landscapes (Canadian Version)
It'll test your patience at times, but that certainly doesn't mean Jennifer Baichwal's Manufactured Landscapes (2006) isn't worth your time and attention. This slow-burning documentary combines striking images by Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky with footage shot at the original locations, creating what some might call a "moving exhibition". This series of photographs includes landscapes and people directly affected by industry---and though the initial idea came to Burtynsky in Pennsylvania over 20 years ago, it flourished more recently in enormous Chinese factories like the one above. The latter environment sets the tone for Manufactured Landscapes; during the opening sequence, a camera pans across the massive factory floor for roughly eight minutes. The scope of the workers' production is fully realized but never explained in detail; more than anything else, it simply shows consumers how their consumables are made.
|
