Island-Sity

The river reached record high levels in the worst flooding to hit the region in 150 years. It can usually be forded on foot during summer, but was flowing at 3500 cubic metres a second at the peak. The 100-year-old Salisbury Swing Bridge was also swept away, and the river had changed course in the lower Aorere Valley, Tasman District Council spokesman Chris Choat said yesterday.

It was not clear at this stage whether people were cut off, but 25 houses were affected. Farmers were worst affected in the Pelorus area northwest of Blenheim and the Marlborough Rural Trust was trying to get generators to dairy farmers. As well, drenched campers were forced to flee the Pelorus Bridge campground as the river surged through the ground, lifting a caravan and tents before receding. Other parts of Marlborough were also badly hit, including the Rai Valley, Canvastown and Northbank.

One site in the Marlborough Sounds measured 230mm of rain in 24 hours, Mr Wheeler said, and there was extensive flooding of small rivers and streams.

The rumor mill was also in full revolve with sniping from off-the-record sources who claimed to know for a fact that slowdowns and sickouts were under way. Deputy Mayor of Operations Stephen Goldsmith met yesterday with Harry Nespoli, president of the Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association, at City Hall to address the rumors of a slowdown.

Earlier this year, Goldsmith launched a plan to demote some Sanitation supervisors to work on Sanitation trucks to save money and to put more workers on the street.

Nespoli denied any concerted effort to sabotage the city's snow removal efforts, both to Goldsmith and the press.

"He assured that all his men were working as hard as they could," Bloomberg said at a press conference at the city Office of Emergency Management, where he was joined by Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty and others.

Doherty, a Great Kills resident, said there was "absolutely no evidence" of a slowdown. "There's all sorts of stories floating around," he said. "I have been through issues with unions and problems, I don't see that out there. Not from the men or the officers," he added. "There is no job action," union spokesman Jim Grossman told the Advance. "Somebody is making phone calls, stirring up trouble."

In September, Nespoli seemed almost prescient about what the Sanitation cuts would mean in a snow emergency, telling the Advance, "I don't know if we are prepared. We don't have the manpower. We've never rolled the dice with the snow before."

But the slowdown made sense to one Island political observer, who said, "The only time you get people's attention is when it hurts. They're teaching Bloomberg a great civics lesson. He wants to be remembered as the greatest mayor ever, now he has a snowstorm worse than Lindsay's."

That was a reference to the deadly 1969 snowstorm that nearly drove Mayor John Lindsay from office. Like Bloomberg, Lindsay also had his eye on the Oval Office, a dream that died when he ran unsuccessfully for president in 1972.Joseph Mannion, President of the Sanitation Officers Association, placed the blame squarely on Bloomberg, saying the mayor had "cut Sanitation employees without regard to safety and at the worst time."

"When you look around your neighborhood and wonder what the heck happened with the City's snow-fighting ability you don't have to look any further than City Hall," Mannion said in a statement released yesterday.

In one sign that the city may be losing the public relations war, a page demanding Doherty's resignation sprung up on Facebook yesterday.

Also shot down yesterday was a rumor that Goldsmith had changed response protocols so that workers no longer reported to the nearest Sanitation facility during an emergency.

One Advance caller said the new procedure meant that many workers were stranded trying to get to the facilities where they are ordinarily assigned instead of ones closer to their homes.

Grossman said the change "had nothing to do with Goldsmith" and "didn't have any negative effect" on storm response.

Doherty said there were 250 pieces of equipment out on the Island yesterday. Citywide, there were 2,400 workers, 1,700 plows and 365 spreaders on the streets.

Sanitation's strategy is to first clean the "arterial roads," such as Hylan Boulevard, then get to the secondary streets, which feed the arterial roads, followed by tertiary and residential streets. He said crews have been slowed by numerous vehicles stuck in the street, including 140 ambulances and 600 buses and that the priority has been to clear them.

Doherty also addressed rumors that Sanitation trucks could not get traction in the snow because they lacked chains on their tires or were using cheaper chains made in China. We have some new chains and we tested them for two years," he said. "We didn't find any problem with them."Often, chains on the tires break when they hit the blacktop, he explained, which is why some vehicles may have been missing them on the front or rear tires.

Bloomberg again defended City Hall's response to the storm.

"It's a bad a situation," he said. "We appreciate it. I have been to see it myself. Nobody suggests that this is easy. Nobody suggest that this is pleasurable. But I can tell you this: We are doing everything we can think of, working as hard as we can."Said Bloomberg, "We will pull together and get through this."That didn't wash for Island elected officials.

"For an administration that constantly talks about efficiency and effectiveness, I don't understand how this major failure occurred," said City Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore). Speaker Christine Quinn said that the Council would hold hearings on Jan. 10 about the city's response. "New Yorkers have serious questions about the City's snow emergency policy and response," she said. "We in the Council will seek forward-looking answers on behalf of our constituents."

Despite the heavy amount of snow, Curtain said they hope to have the entire mountain open today.

"We expect to have the resort in full operation by Boxing Day," said Curtain of the avalanche control required to make the area safe. "

We have never seen a start to the season like this in the resort's history."Other resorts weren't so lucky. A stalled warm and wet air mass hovering over North Vancouver on Friday forced Grouse to close its lifts for the day. By Christmas Day the resort was back in full operation. But nearby Mount Seymour resort closed its lifts on Christmas Day because of the rain hitting the mountain. Both resorts are expected to be fully open on Boxing Day.

And while the rain is causing problems with the ski resorts in North and West Vancouver, Whistler-Blackcomb now has a snow base of 260 (at Pig Alley) with the 44 cm of snow that has fallen in the last 24 hours. The resort is expected to get an additional 15 cm throughout Saturday. By Sunday the freezing level is expected to be about 800 metres.

"In Whistler village there is a mix of rain and snow and up higher the ski hills are getting pure snow," said Environment Canada meteorologist David Wray.

"It has been a great start to the ski season," said Jimmie Spencer, the president of the Canada West Ski Areas Association. Come January, Spencer said bookings for out-of-country skiers are expected to be good.

"We have noticed people tend to leave the bookings a little bit later as they want to check the snow conditions," he said. Wray says it appears the Vancouver area is going to remain warm and wet on Monday. The front may ease later in the day, but the warm weather hovering around B.C. is expected into next week.

At the Canadian Avalanche Centre, forecaster Matt Peter said the highest danger is the Coastal Mountains. The North Shore Mountains, he said, currently pose the greatest risk of avalanche.

"In the short term there will be a high avalanche warning for the North Shore Mountains," he said. "There has been so much new snow and it hasn't had time to settle or bond with the snowpack."

He says the boat wreck is a grim reminder of how deadly the sea can be, but the sailors are faring well considering the circumstances. "All of the reports that I have are they're in excellent shape. They're experiencing all of the reactions we would expect from people who have witnessed or partaken in this tragic event," he said. He has strongly defended the actions of sailors who rescued asylum seekers, saying those on board the Pirie responded as quickly as possible.

"I'm extremely proud of the way in which the ship's company mobilised and effected this rescue in such difficult and dangerous circumstances," he said. He says sailors will not be allowed to speak to the media about the crash until a coronial inquiry is completed. But he says he is not worried by what the inquiry might find.

"There are of course criminal sanctions for criminal acts, and indeed we would expect people to be treated accordingly," he said. "It doesn't matter whether they are civilian or persons serving from the military.

"[However] these are allegations, they are not substantiated. These matters are under investigation and until the matter is resolved, I won't comment."Figures released in June showed Defence had caught almost 600 servicemen and women taking illegal drugs and steroids in the past five years. Despite the latest revelations the Government says Australians can still have confidence in the Navy. Authorities says they are taking a strict zero-tolerance approach to drug use.

As an Apprentice fan, I often feel as if I've been put through the mangle myself after watching the hopefuls compete to win that week's task and then see the losing team troop back into the boardroom to face the wrath of Lord Sugar. Such is the tension, I reckon I deserve a day of five-star indulgence of my own to recover from the ordeal.

Well, the good news is you don't have to vie to be Lord Sugar's Apprentice to follow in Jo, Chris and Jamie's footsteps and be pampered in Jersey. The Atlantic Hotel, where the trio went for their treat, has set up a Decadent Lunch Date to mark its inclusion in the programme - and it's open to all.

Jersey is closer to France than to Britain, but by taking a private jet you and your friends (so much more relaxing to be with than arch-rivals) can be there in such good time for lunch that you can even help to choose the ingredients.

Thanks to the island's size, it takes only two shakes of a Jersey cow's tail to get from the little airport to the sleek Atlantic Hotel, situated at the southern end of St Ouen's Bay on Jersey's west coast.

There, my friend Gill and I were met by Mark Jordan, head chef at the Atlantic's Ocean Restaurant, and we set off with him to find the freshest ingredients for our meal. We drove along the sweeping arc of the bay - four miles of white sand and rolling waves dotted with surfers, and flanked by a solid concrete anti-tank wall. It was built by forced labourers under the occupying German forces during the Second World War in an effort to make the island a fortress.

Our destination was another relic of the occupation: a German bunker that once guarded the north point of the bay at L'Etacq but is now the home of Faulkner Fisheries. Just below the bunker is the beach where Jo, Chris and Jamie were seen meeting octogenarian fisherman Bill as he unloaded his catch of lobsters.

The sea was too rough for small boats to go out when we visited, so we stepped past a bubbling lobster cauldron into the chilly bunker to meet Sean Faulkner. Sean was brought up gathering shellfish for supper on this beach and he was only seven when he sold his first fish - a conger eel - to a local restaurant.

After six years at sea as a purser on P&O cruise ships, he returned to Jersey and in 1980 converted the long-abandoned bunker into a base for his firm. In the warren of thick-walled ammunitions stores and gunrooms he has built viviers - tanks filled with seawater - and lurking in one of them was part of our lunch.

Pulling out a lobster for us, Sean could tell just by turning it over that it was a male, about eight years old, and weighed approximately 4lb. Gingerly holding the lively creature, I was relieved to see that its huge claws were securely bound with rubber bands.

"Climate change for Samoa is not something that will happen in the future. We have already experienced destruction," said Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi of Samoa. "We need to move quickly, rather than spend too much time talking."

All five leaders blasted last year's controversial summit in Denmark that ended in the non-binding Copenhagen Accord that was cobbled together in the final hours.

"It fell well way short of [what is needed] to ensure the future survival of our countries," said Anote Tong, president of Kiribati.

Still, the island states are part of the 114 parties of the 193-nation UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that have formally associated with the accord.

Where's the Money?

Tong said they signed on only to get the $30 billion of "fast-start" finance that was agreed in the document.

The island states believed association by enough parties "would trigger the flow" of "the very generous funds made in Copenhagen," Tong said. "That has not happened."

So far, around $28 billion has been pledged publicly, though advocates claim much of the money is recycled aid, in violation of the accord. None of it has been dispensed. Negotiators are in a logjam of indecision over a "green fund" that would funnel cash to countries to mitigate their emissions with clean energy technologies and to adapt to climate impacts.

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