The blackout that swept 21,000 businesses and homes in Back Bay, the Fenway and the South End yesterday left apartment dwellers and hotel guests cold and angry, and office workers at home. Here's the top 10 effects of the whole frustrating to-do:
10. Everyone got a workout: "University of Central Arkansas college instructor Jessica Dulac was on the 29th floor of the Marriott hotel Tuesday—pushing the elevator button—when the lights went out. The hall went pitch black, the evacuation sirens sounded and Dulac ran down 28 flights of stairs." [Herald]
9. Smartphones, of course, comforted us: "When power was cut to Dillon’s Restaurant and Bar on Boylston Street Tuesday night, all customers could look at was the black smoke billowing outside and the glow of Amy Deveau’s smartphone." [Herald]
8. Some got a snow day after the mildest winter in ages: "Naturally, productivity without electricity doesn’t exist so? Fire Day! Literally, the only people pissed off about the fire were those who didn’t get work canceled." [BostInno]
7. Frozen food was a casualty: "'We had to lose a lot of frozen stuff, maybe $300 or $400 worth of stuff,' said Dilip Dis inside a darkened City Convenience store on Dartmouth Street, near the Back Bay T station." [Globe]
6. Everyone caught up on paperwork and things they'd been putting off: "Some businesses used the day to accomplish tasks that either would go undone—or done only after a long day. Shellee Mendes, owner of Salon Monét, caught up on payroll." [Globe]
5. The city lost money: "Officials at the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority estimated the fire cost the city at least $2 million from canceled events at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center." [Globe]
4. We learned Bostonians believe in karma, especially when it comes to Nstar: "The company’s critics had one thing to say upon learning Nstar was mired in the middle of its own blackout: Karma. 'What goes around, comes around,” said Buddy Empey, a bartender at the Cornerstone Pub in South Boston, which lost power..." [Herald]
3. Merchants and residents were reassured about their alarm systems: "Lights started coming back on along [Boylston and Newbury] streets down to Mass. Ave. around 11 p.m. And so did numerous burglar alarms. Police are going along Newbury now trying to figure out what to do about all those alarms." [The Hub]
2. We learned it pays to live in luxury: "The Mandarin Oriental, Boston, a luxury hotel and residence, used its backup generators to keep guests' and residents' lights on." [CBS]
1. Everyone wants answers: "Massive transformers and power stations scattered throughout Boston—including dozens under public buildings, hotels and even sidewalks—are not inspected by the state or city, prompting calls from lawmakers for tighter oversight to prevent blackout-causing blazes, overloads or even worse catastrophes." [Herald]
· Blackout’s ‘Survivors’ Look on the Bright Side [Herald]
· On a ‘Nervous’ Night, Phone Lights the Way [Herald]
· Sound the Alarm: Power Comes Back to Newbury, Boylston Streets [The Hub]
· Snow Day? More Like Fire Day! [BostInno]
· Back Bay, South End Await Power [Globe]
· Nstar Headquarters Unplugged Just Like Its Hub Customers [Herald]
· Fire Plunges Swath of Boston Into Smoky Darkness [CBS]