At approximately 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12, the wind picked up and rain started pelting Greenbelt. Before the storm finished, trees fell on houses, power and cell-service stopped, wires blocked roads, and in general it was a mess.
On Wednesday morning, Mayor Emmett Jordan issued a statement saying “This morning, trees and numerous utility poles remain down throughout Greenbelt. Some of the worst damage is concentrated in Boxwood Village in central Greenbelt. … Residents are displaced from several building in Franklin Park. In the east, many trees are down and electricity remains off in Windsor Green, Greenwood Village, Greenbrook Village, and Hunting Ridge.”
Without addressing the bigger issues of the cost of clean-up, the problems of cancelled camp and the pains of dealing with unrefrigerated food, the News Review kept moving.
Usually, Tuesday night has the final editing tasks of the week. With power down, that didn’t happen. Instead on Wednesday morning, editors and layout crew decamped from their dark houses for McDonalds and Starbucks, where internet and power was available. Conversations happened through text. A make-shift office was set up on the porch of another staffer, who happened to have power and internet, so people could work safely unmasked.
The newspaper, our responsibility, goes to press, even with a storm and high-water. We did it this week. There may be commas out of place, but there is a paper!
