Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/218901
4B Daily News – Thursday, November 28, 2013 Rain, snow hit East during the Thanksgiving rush PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A wet and blustery storm along the East Coast made driving hazardous and tangled up hundreds of flights Wednesday but didn't cause the all-out gridlock many Thanksgiving travelers had feared. Many travelers marveled at how orderly and anxiety-free the airports were during what is typically one of the busiest days of the year. One big question lingered in New York: Will high winds ground Snoopy and the other giant cartoon-character balloons at the Macy's parade on Thanksgiving Day? The storm for the most part unleashed wind-driven rain along the Northeast's heavily populated Interstate 95 corridor from Richmond, Va., to the tip of Maine. Emerging from the weather gantlet was Katie Fleisher, who made it by car from Portsmouth, N.H., through rain and fog to Boston's Logan Airport with little trouble and discovered to her amazement that the panicked, cranky crowds she expected were nonexistent. ''We thought it would be busier here. But there've been no lines, and it has been really quiet all morning,'' said Fleisher, whose plan was to fly to Pittsburgh. ''Our flight is still on time, but we are checking the app every couple minutes,'' she said. ''We are nervous, as we are traveling with two 1-year-olds, and any extra time on a plane would be horrible.'' The storm was expected to drop around 6 inches of snow in parts of West Virginia and western Pennsylvania and up to a foot in a pocket of upstate New York. Damaging winds gusting up to 60 mph were expected to rip through Boston and other coastal areas. Those winds could prevent the giant balloons from taking flight this year at the Macy's parade. Safety rules that specify wind speeds were enacted in New York after a spectator was killed in 1997 in an accident involving an out-of-control balloon. Flight cancellations piled up at East Coast hubs. By midday Wednesday, around 250 flights had been canceled, according to the tracking website FlightAware.com. But that was a tiny fraction of the nearly 32,000 flights that were scheduled to, from or within the U.S. on Wednesday, the site said. And the weather in many places was improving as the day wore on. Most of the cancellations involved Newark, N.J., Philadelphia and New York's LaGuardia Airport. The longest delays affected Philadelphiabound flights, which were being held at their points of origin for an average of about two hours because of the weather, according to the website. The Philadelphia area was under a flood watch, with 2 to 3 inches of rain forecast before falling temperatures turn precipi- tation to snow. Roads there were snarled. A deadly multivehicle crash that authorities said happened when a car hit standing water and spun out of control closed the westbound lanes of the Schuylkill Expressway for a while, and the eastbound lanes were shut down for several hours because of flooding. At a rest stop on I-95 outside Boston, a Vermont family traveling to Sharon, Mass., was relieved that the roads were not that congested — and the weather didn't prove to be too much trouble, either. ''We didn't think we were going to get out today because of freezing rain, but it has been great,'' said Liz Kleinberg. The storm, which developed in the West over the weekend, has been blamed for at least 11 deaths, five of them in Texas. But as it moved east, it wasn't as bad as feared. ''This is a fairly typical storm for this time of year,'' said Chris Vaccaro of the National Weather Service. ''Obviously, it's ill-timed because you have a lot of rain and snowfall in areas where people are trying to move around town or fly or drive out of town. ... But fortunately, we're at this point going to start seeing a steady improvement in conditions across the midAtlantic and Northeast.'' More than 43 million people are expected to travel over the long holiday weekend, according to AAA. About 39 million of those will be on the roads, while more than 3 million people are expected to fly. Travelers had some things to be thankful for this year. The Federal Aviation Administration last month lifted restrictions on most personal electronic devices during takeoffs and landings, and some airlines, including American, have already begun allowing passengers to stay powered up from gate to gate. And on the ground, gas prices dipped to an average of $3.29 a gallon. Health law business insurance site delayed 1 year CHICAGO (AP) — The Obama administration is delaying yet another aspect of the health care law, putting off until next November the launch of an online portal to the health insurance marketplace for small businesses. The move, announced Wednesday, was needed because repairs are still underway to the troubled HealthCare.gov website, which is the primary way for individuals to apply for insurance, and that has priority, federal officials said. In a conference call with reporters, administration officials said employers who want to buy marketplace plans for their workers now will need to go through an agent, broker or insurance company this year, instead of using the government website. The administration said the plan will still allow small businesses to buy coverage but avoid slowing technical repairs to the hobbled federal online site. Under the law, most small businesses do not have to provide coverage. But firms with 50 or more employees face a mandate to offer insurance or risk fines from the government in 2015. The HealthCare.gov site, where individuals without employer-sponsored health care can shop for insurance, is now smoothly handling 25,000 users at the same time and is on track to meet its goal of handling 50,000 simultaneous users by Saturday, said administration spokeswoman Julie Bataille. ''We have a lot of work left to do in the next few days,'' she said. The small business marketplace, also called SHOP, was supposed to provide employers a new way to shop for coverage. The website was to make comparison shopping easier while promoting competition and keeping premiums down. The delay, which doesn't affect states running their own marketplaces, was met with frustration. ''It's disappointing that the online portion of the federal small business marketplace through Healthcare.gov will be delayed, and it's important it get up and running as soon as possible,'' said John Arensmeyer, CEO of Small Business Majority, an advocacy group that supports the health care law. ''However, it doesn't change the fact that the marketplace can offer the most competitive combination of price and quality for small businesses purchasing health insurance.'' The National Retail Federation, which has been working to ease the law's requirements for its members, was less generous. ''If the law is so burdensome for the administration to implement, just think how hard it is for small businesses, which are focused on growing a company, hiring new employees and assisting customers,'' said Neil Trautwein, the group's top health policy official, in a statement. Ohio's insurance director, Mary Taylor, a Republican who is also lieutenant governor, said in a written statement that the delay adds to the struggles of small businesses and ''only further complicates an already chaotic insurance market.'' Small businesses buying coverage will still be eligible for tax credits to bring down the cost, according to the administration. Starting next year, small businesses can claim a credit of up to 50 percent of their contributions to premiums for insurance purchased through the SHOP, and the administration is telling business owners that buying marketplace plans through brokers, agents and insurers will count for that tax credit. Top Ten Reasons to Shop Local in Tehama County! Red Bluff - Corning - Los Molinos 1. Put Your Taxes To Good Use! Local business anchors a city's infrastructure and supports the city and county tax base, from which public services like law enforcement and firefighters are paid. Local shopping ads substance and security to a community by increasing its revenue. 2. Buy Local-Support Yourself! Local business strengthens the economic base of every community. A good deal of the dollars spent with local businesses is used by those businesses to make purchases from other local businesses - creating a domino affect that can preserve a business market even during an economic slow-down. 3. Invest in Your Community! Most Local business owners live in the market they serve; this lessens the possibility of the business moving and increases the owners' investment in the future of the community. 4. Create More Good Jobs! Local business provide jobs for local residents. All together, independently owned businesses amount to one of the largest employers, nationwide. 5. Reduce Environmental Impact! 7. Support Community Service and Quality of Life! Local businesses on average support non-profit groups, organizations, youth sports teams and local "good causes" at a higher rate than big businesses. They are more likely to give back to the community. 8. Encourage Local Prosperity! Research indicates that entrepreneurs and experienced workers and professionals will more likely invest and live in communities that support locally owned businesses. 9. Keep Your Community Unique! Locally owned businesses cater to the cultural base of the market they serve. As local businesses diversity and adapt, residents can find new adventure in a familiar, nearby environment. Where we live, shop and play is the foundation of our communities. Unique businesses are vital to the diverse character of the place we call home. 10. Save Time and Money! If you don't have to travel an hour and a half round trip to make a purchase that can be found right in your town, you just saved a lot of time and gas money. For most of us life is busy. Why take the extra drive when you can find it close to home? When locally owned businesses, along with local residents, purchase locally, it results in less travel and reduced air pollution. 6. Get Better Service! Local businesses tend to hire people with some knowledge of the products they are selling and provide better service by giving locally-relevant attention to each individual customer. This message sponsored by The Daily News and www.redbluffdailynews.com