Daily Feed: Five Must-See Photos of the Boston Blackout
Thousands Still Without Power After Back Bay Fire. Last night’s three-alarm fire that forced numerous evacuations, snarled evening rush hour traffic, and left thousands without power (including yours truly) started in two transformers in a building adjacent to the Back Bay Hilton on Scotia Street. It is unclear how the fire started, according to Steve MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department. The fire disrupted power service to 20,000 clients, and NStar restored power to 7,000 by this morning. The remaining 13,000 will have power restored by tonight, according to NStar. Thankfully, no one was injured — and that rank smell of fumes throughout the Back Bay and South End isn’t toxic, after all. [Boston.com]
Five Must-See Photos of the Boston Blackout. These five Twitpics and Instagram photos tell the story of the Boston blackout, from last night until this morning:
The damage at the NStar site of explosion and fire (via @SeanKellyTV): http://pic.twitter.com/diytZTcy
An up-close view of the scene at 12:45 a.m. (via @BostonFire): http://twitpic.com/8w1sr2
The Boston skyline, half lit (via @Lianimal_13): http://pic.twitter.com/cO8etF4h
A dark view of Boston, driving in from Cambridge this morning (via @Ameliaranne): http://pic.twitter.com/dlH3dlmG
Usually bustling in the morning, Boylston Street in the Back Bay was pretty quiet this morning (via @HeyRatty): http://instagr.am/p/IJryowN4I-/
NSTAR Has Used Twitter More in Past 24 Hours Than Past 24 Days. A lesson in crisis management, thanks to the power of social media. [Twitter]
MBTA One Step Closer to Deciding Fare Hikes, Service Cuts. MBTA secretary Richard Davey will offer his final recommendation to the board the last week of March, and the MBTA board’s deadline for a final decision is April 15. But it’s looking like subway fares (now $1.70 with a Charlie Card) could increase to $2.25-$2.40, and bus fares could increase from $1.25 to $1.50-$1.75. Service cuts are looking likely for the ferry service, the commuter rail, and some bus lines. Lots of pissed off people are looking likely for the MBTA. [WCVB]
First the Innovation District, Now the Innovation Economy. The 2012 Boston Indicators Report is out and challenges Boston to reinvent the region’s innovation economy. The problem? “The largest portion of new jobs and replacement jobs will be in the middle-skill job category, and we have not done as good a job as we could, and must, in training people for those middle-skilled jobs,” says Charlotte Kahn, the director of the Boston Indicators Project at the Boston Foundation, of middle-skill jobs like nursing, computer systems support, and hair styling. [WBUR]
