|
In Arizona all my life we just accepted the fact that
when summer comes it gets hot.
The only question is how many days will you have over 110°F
an how many hot days will you have over 115°F.
I never had needed a government nanny from the weather bureau to tell me it is hot and I need to drink more water. Beleive me that is something I have been able to figure out with out the help of some silly government nanny. Of course it seems the government is using this an an excuse to create a jobs program for weathermen to issue these silly "Heat Alerts"
Weather service issues excessive heat warning by Sherry Anne Rubiano - Jul. 11, 2009 07:58 AM The Arizona Republic The National Weather Service in Phoenix has issued an excessive heat warning effective 10 a.m. Saturday to 8 p.m. Sunday. This weekend will bring the hottest temperatures so far this year to the area, according to the National Weather Service. High temperatures are expected to reach 114 degrees Saturday and Sunday. Low temperatures will range from 79 to 89 degrees Saturday and Sunday nights. The National Weather Service offered these tips to beat the heat:
This is the silly Excessive Heat Warning issued by NOAA
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NORTHWEST MARICOPA COUNTY-GREATER PHOENIX AREA- ...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM MST SUNDAY... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM MST SUNDAY. THE EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. STRONG HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT CENTERED OVER WEST TEXAS WILL BRING THE HOTTEST TEMPERATURES THUS FAR THIS YEAR. FORECAST HIGHS OVER THE LOWER DESERT WILL RANGE FROM 110 TO 116 DEGREES TODAY AND SUNDAY. THE FORECAST HIGH TEMPERATURE AT PHOENIX SKY HARBOR AIRPORT IS 114 DEGREES TODAY AND SUNDAY...WITH AN OVERNIGHT LOW OF 89 DEGREES SUNDAY MORNING. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... IT WOULD BE WISE TO COMPLETE AS MUCH OUTDOOR ACTIVITY AS POSSIBLE IN THE EARLY MORNING WHEN THE SUN AND HEAT ARE LESS INTENSE. DURING PERIODS OF EXCESSIVE HEAT...INDIVIDUALS CAN SUFFER HEAT-RELATED ILLNESS WHEN THE BODY CAN NO LONGER COOL ITSELF. IF YOU PLAN TO BE OUTSIDE FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME IN THE AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING...STAY IN THE SHADE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AND DRINK ABUNDANT AMOUNTS OF WATER. WEAR LIGHT-COLORED AND LOOSE- FITTING CLOTHING. IF YOU WEAR A WIDE-BRIMMED HAT...YOUR HEAD AND BODY WILL BE MUCH COOLER. STOP OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES...DRINK LOTS OF WATER OR OTHER NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES...AND IF POSSIBLE...SPEND MORE TIME IN AIR-CONDITIONED OR WELL-VENTILATED PLACES.
Do these reporters and government nannies think homeless people are too stupid to find a drinking fountain? Why on earth do I need bottled water when I can go into Circle K and get a free cup of ice water? Or go to a park and use a drinking fountain. Opps I forgot the government nannies turned off the water fountains in many of the parks to drive us homeless people out. Fears for the homeless rise as deadly temperatures move in by Dianna M. Náñez - Jul. 11, 2009 12:00 AM The Arizona Republic Don Wall knows finding shade and keeping his water bottle filled are a matter of life and death. This is his second summer on the streets, and he's watched the heat take a toll on the Valley's homeless. "I saw a couple pass out. We had to get the paramedics," he said. "You've got to stay hydrated." In 2005, the sweltering Valley heat killed 32 homeless people like Wall, and politicians, charities and faith groups vowed it would never happen again. But with temperatures soaring as a July heat wave brings the hottest days of the year so far - a high of 113 is expected today and Sunday - officials worry that the safety net they created is fraying. Because of the economy, donations of bottled water have dropped, and up to 20 percent more people are living on the streets. Several emergency hydration sites around the Valley have reported that they are running out of water and may not be able to continue operations. "The economy has less people donating and left more families homeless. . . . The heat is coming, and we need water donations," said Tempe Vice Mayor Shana Ellis, chairwoman of the Maricopa Association of Governments Continuum of Care Regional Committee on Homelessness. Ellis recalled the 2005 nightly newscasts reporting that public-safety agencies had found another homeless person's body. That summer saw 24 days above 110 degrees, which contributed to one of the hottest and deadliest Julys on record. Nighttime temperatures were also above normal all summer, giving people without shelter no relief from the heat. "It was horror, shock . . . because it was all preventable," Ellis said. "Just the thought of not having access to water in this heat, it's awful." In response, MAG set up a network of hydration stations and donation collection sites at Valley churches, community centers, government buildings and other locations. This year, there are 76 hydration stations and 61 drop-off sites, double the number when the program started. But with the mercury set to rise above 110 this weekend, Ellis reports that donations have plunged just as the 25-year high in unemployment has caused a spike in homelessness. "We don't ever want to see a repeat of 2005," she said. Laura DiTroia, coordinator at the Lodestar Day Resource Center, a Phoenix day shelter at the county's Human Services Campus near 12th Avenue and Madison Street, has seen an increase of homeless people and worries about effects of the heat. MAG's annual January count found that there were 2,918 people on the streets compared with 2,426 last year. The number of people younger than 18 jumped 280 percent to 220 from 58. Those numbers do not include the thousands of people in Valley shelters. "Most people that graduate from high school graduate from a class of about 1,000," she said. "Imagine that every single person in your class is homeless. That's what we see here on a daily basis, and we're only seeing a fourth of the Valley's homeless population." The Human Services Campus also houses the Maricopa County Health Care for the Homeless program. That program has an outreach group that sends vans of volunteers and workers to Valley sites where people have reported homeless camps. Susan Stutenroth, social-services manager for the program, said the outreach depends on the public's water donations to help reach people who are either too ill or otherwise unable to travel to shelters. "With this economy, we have a lot of new homeless faces. More families and children, which is something we haven't seen as much before," she said. Stutenroth has traveled into river bottoms and washes delivering water and other basic services where homeless camps have sprouted. "Your water is saving lives. . . . It's going to the most vulnerable . . . people who are ill, children and the elderly," she said.
Man the reporters make it sound a 1000 times worse then it is! I never once had to go to a government nanny to get a drink of water! Beleive it or not most homeless people are smart enought to get a drink of water at Circle K or a gas station! As heat rises, so does need to reach the homeless by Connie Midey - Jul. 11, 2009 12:00 AM The Arizona Republic As temperatures rocket over 110 degrees this weekend, Ken Curry and his homeless-outreach team from Southwest Behavioral Health Services know what they'll find. There will be people with mental illness experiencing heat-triggered reactions to their psychotropic medicines. Diabetics who have given up even trying to keep a supply of insulin on hand. Disabled people in scalding-hot wheelchairs. Older people whose thinning skin makes them more vulnerable than most to heat-related illnesses, and perhaps even a family sweltering in a car. Team members will distribute seven to 10 cases of water to the people they find today, many of them wrestling not simply with homelessness but with mental illness or substance abuse. This is work that continues day and night, whether the weather is balmy or sizzling. "Our primary mission is to get them connected with medical care, housing or whatever services they need," said Curry, coordinator of the homeless-outreach team. "But in the summertime, we're basically trying to keep them alive." He remembers a summer when extreme heat claimed the lives of 26 homeless people, and another when 19 succumbed to unbearable temperatures. Those memories drive him and his 12 team members to scour alleys, river beds, parks and other hidden corners of Maricopa County, carrying donated chilled water, sack lunches and supplies such as hats, sunscreen and hygiene kits for the people they find. The water and other supplies are lifesaving, but in ways beyond the obvious. Because of their illnesses, Curry said, some of the homeless don't realize they need help and others don't know how to go about getting it. They appreciate the assistance, he said, "but it's more than just offering them water and helping them to continue on. It gives us a chance to build relationships with them and get them to the next step in their lives." Beds at homeless shelters fill quickly this time of year, so outreach workers search for space at smaller shelters and take people to Lodestar Day Resource Center so they can escape daytime heat. The outreach program has an office at Lodestar, in downtown Phoenix. Decades ago, Curry was homeless for about eight months in Madison, Wis., where cold winters were a far bigger obstacle than muggy summers for people in his straits. "That was a while ago," he said, "but the experience sears in you while you're going through it. It gives you a lot of empathy and the ability to look at both sides of the situation." Reach the reporter at 602- 444-8120 or connie.midey@arizonarepublic.com. |