November 2nd Open House Cancelled

[Jim]

Fortunately, the Keck Center made it through the hurricane relatively unscathed but power in the surrounding cities is still out which means no traffic lights.

Next Open House is Fri, Dec 7th.

Hope all are well.

[Bonnette]

Really glad to hear that the Keck Center is okay!

[Wise Young]

Really glad to hear that the Keck Center is okay!

Thanks. We have power and heat at the Keck Center and research is going. We are lucky because many buildings in the surrounding communities (including my apartment) have no power. I flew into New Jersey last night and found a dark New Brunswick with only a few traffic lights working, streets littered with tree branches and fallen trees, and almost no traffic. Rutgers University closed for the week and asked its students to go home (those who cannot were moved to the Busch campus, where we have power and water although employees were expected to work today).

While we could have held the Open House on Friday, we thought that it would be better to postpone for the following reasons.
1. There is a significant shortage of gasoline in New Jersey. Relatively few gas stations have the gasoline or the electricity to run their pumps. At 2-3 am last night, I had to wait 45 minutes at a New Jersey Turnpike service plaza. During the day, I have heard horror stories of lines a mile long and waiting times of 4 hours.
2. Traffic lights are not working in many places. On Route 1, for example, many jug-handle turns (what we have in New Jersey for making left turns or U-turns) require a working traffic light. When the lights are not working, cars cannot make left turns, except every 2-3 miles, depending on traffic lights.
3. Friday is forecasted to rain. Emergency services are limited and street lights are still not operating. We are concerned with asking people to travel on wet roads after dark, especially when many street lights and traffic lights are not working.

Wise.

[Bonnette]

Prioritization must be an absolute nightmare. And all you need is yet more rain on Friday! Fingers crossed for power to be reestablished to your apartment, New Brunswick, and all the surrounding areas.

[Jim]

bump.