State and local governments and power companies were tested by the blizzard of 2010, and Washingtonians — hundreds of thousands of whom spent the past weekend without heat or power, their streets unplowed, public transit shut down, and their nearest neighbors unreachable — were ready to hand out their grades.
— Fairfax County: B
Faifaxians may not be thrilled with their unplowed streets and their useless Metro stations (see below) but they were able to grumble about the snow after making their commutes into work.
“It’s the storm of the century and it’s going to take us a while to get out,” County Supervisor John Cook, R-Braddock, said.
— Dominion Power: B-
More than 54,000 saw their lights go out at the peak of the storm. Dominion executive Joe Woomer said his agency has “mustered up a pretty good contingent … and we’re getting lights on at a pretty good pace.”
— Virginia: C+
State Sen. Chap Peterson, D-Fairfax, said from the Senate floor Monday that hundreds of thousands were still stranded in their Northern Virginia homes and that they couldn’t wait for the commonwealth to get its act together.
— Federal government: Incomplete
A year ago, President Barack Obama mocked Washington for lacking “flinty Chicago toughness” in a snowstorm.
Now the administration is waving the white flag: The federal government shut down Monday and Tuesday — with further closures possible after another anticipated storm.
— Pepco: C-
Tens of thousands saw their power go out just as the storm was getting bad.
“We are restoring more and more customers every hour,” spokesman Clay Anderson said. “My power’s out. I do understand. But we’re working as hard as we can.”
— Prince George’s County: C-
Residents there weren’t as hard hit by power outages, but roads were still unpassable and cul-de-sac residents were all but buried.
— Montgomery County: D+
One of the nation’s wealthiest counties was whited out by the blizzard.
“In a lot of the subdivisions in the suburbs, nothing’s happening. People can’t get food, they can’t leave their neighborhoods,” Greater Greater Washington Web writer David Alpert said.
— Maryland: D
As rough as Virginia had it, Maryland was in even bigger trouble: The state government had already $50 million of its $60 million snow-clearing budget before a flake had fallen over the weekend.
— District of Columbia: C-
D.C. became capital of the region’s outrage after the weekend blizzard. Mayor Adrian Fenty’s street was well plowed, but hardly anyone else’s were.
“I appreciate the many workers who have worked long hours to plow the streets,” said Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-at large. “But in my hour-and-half walking to work, I didn’t see a single plow.”
— Metro: D
Few residents or experts interviewed for this story could pronounce the beleaguered transit agency’s name without spitting.
“Metro, of course, is a tragedy,” K Street lawyer Ron Henry said. “They’re completely useless for most folks who want to get to work.” The above ground stations were closed at least until Tuesday morning — with more snow coming.
— Examiner intern Alana Goodman contributed to this story.
