re: #119 Backwoods_Sleuth

He’s a power lineman (IBEW).
When there’s a storm, he’s one of those peeps working 12-18 hours a day in terrible weather to get those magic lights turned back on.

Speaking of, our local utility is busy installing new taller power poles. They’re supposed to improve service and reduce outages due to downed trees (the lines will be above the tree line.

So what is happening a few towns over? A few people are complaining because the new poles are towering over everything else. They’re calling on PSEG to stop installing the new poles, even though it will improve the chances the lights stay on in bad weather. One lawyer was complaining that this somehow violated zoning rules (they don’t btw, and the town approved the move in any event). Other nearby towns (including ours) had no issues with the new poles going up since it meant that we might get to keep the lights on in storms like Sandy or the ice storm a few years back.

NIMBYism run amok. They don’t want to see the improvements they’ve been demanding when the lights are out, but don’t want to either spend the money to bury the lines, and move to stop installation of the very systems that will prevent the lights from going out.