Re: good luck with the travel…'historic' blizzard forecast...

If MIT is like CMU, they will only be closed on Monday if the Governor continues to request it. I doubt the Governor will decide until Sunday night, at which point it will be too late to react. Coming up with a backup plan if MIT is closed, including wifi and phone lines, seems like a prudent prerequisite for proceeding. 

~4000 flights canceled and Amtrack shut down [1]. Those still planning to travel are advised to check flight status prior to leaving for the airport.

I think the TPWG leadership has made the best decisions they can in the face of ever-changing forecasts. But now that we have more information, including the transit cancelations and Governor's response, I suggest the following:
	- Postpone the f2f.
	- Hold the normally scheduled Wednesday call.
	- Request from a waiver from the membership on the 8 weeks' notice requirement for an in person meeting. Take an actual vote on the call. If anyone has reason to vote to keep the eight week requirement firm, please speak up now.
	- Hold an event soon -- in March -- on the west coast. Google would be a lovely host, as they have graciously offered many times. I expect Berkeley and Stanford are reasonable fall back options. We have several other members with HQs out here that could potentially accommodate 80+ people for three days. I think we can work something out.

I know this suggestion is not optimal either. There will be people who can at least call in next week who may not even be able to call in for March. That's how large groups are. I support whatever choice is made. 

Personally, I would not want to mess around in Boston while the city freaks out. After the hurricanes we're going to see over-reactions on the eastern seaboard for a little while, and the snow may be as bad as feared. No way to know until it is too late to respond.

With the flights canceled, at least we all get our travel budget back to use the next time. Hotels are not likely to charge for cancelations either. 

	Aleecia
	[1] http://www.frequentbusinesstraveler.com/2013/02/major-blizzard-bears-down-on-northeast-4000-flights-cancelled/ 

On Feb 8, 2013, at 6:13 AM, Heather West <heatherwest@google.com> wrote:

> I was in Cambridge for years and this isn't "normal" - all the snow removal equipment will be out, but if the worst-case scenario happens here the city will be effectively locked down. I'll be honest, I'm pretty concerned that the airports won't have recovered by the time we're all flying in on Sunday, and that the area will still be in a snow emergency. 
> 
> What happens with our space and food if MIT is closed on Monday?
> 
> 
> On Fri, Feb 8, 2013 at 1:03 AM, Amy Colando (LCA) <acolando@microsoft.com> wrote:
> Not really normal -- governor has asked everyone to stay home, MIT is closed and public transit will be closed. However, hopefully people will have dug out by Monday afternoon.
> 
> Look forward to seeing you there.
> 
> Sent from my Windows Phone
> From: Thomas Schauf
> Sent: 2/7/2013 9:49 PM
> To: Thomas Roessler; Berin Szoka
> 
> Cc: Haakon Flage Bratsberg; Shane Wiley; singer@apple.com; public-tracking@w3.org
> Subject: AW: good luck with the travel…'historic' blizzard forecast...
> 
> Dear all,
> 
>  
> in my opinion it is winter and snow is “normal” – as Peter outlined the weather forecast  indicated snow for Friday and Saturday, but sun for Sunday and Monday. And temperatures are expected to rise to about 40-44 degrees F (approx. 5 C)
> 
>  
> Therefore, we should be calm and look towards the important f2f meeting next week.
> 
>  
> Best regards,
> 
> Thomas
> 
>  
>  
> Thomas Schauf
> 
> Senior Section Manager
> 
> Project Director Online Privacy Self-regulation
> 
>  
> <image001.gif>
> 
>  
> Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft (BVDW) e.V. - German Association for the Digital Economy
> 
> Berliner Allee 57, D-40212 Düsseldorf
> 
> Fon: +49 (0)211 600456-16
> 
> Fax: +49 (0)211 600456-33
> 
> schauf@bvdw.org
> 
> www.bvdw.org
> 
>  
> President: Arndt Groth
> 
> Vice-Presidents: Christoph N. v. Dellingshausen, Matthias Ehrlich, Harald R. Fortmann, Ulrich Kramer, Burkhard Leimbrock
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> Von: Thomas Roessler [mailto:tlr@w3.org] 
> Gesendet: Freitag, 8. Februar 2013 05:25
> An: Berin Szoka
> Cc: Haakon Flage Bratsberg; Shane Wiley; singer@apple.com; public-tracking@w3.org
> Betreff: Re: good luck with the travel…'historic' blizzard forecast...
> 
>  
> On 2013-02-07, at 23:18 -0500, Berin Szoka <bszoka@techfreedom.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> Could we please make a decision on this by COB Friday?  If this is off, I have another conference to go to on Saturday.
> 
>  
> http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-tracking/2013Feb/0034.html
> 
>  
> 
> 
>  
> On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 5:45 PM, Haakon Flage Bratsberg <haakonfb@opera.com> wrote:
> 
> Sounds like winter time. Windy and snow. Based on experience the Boston area has an insane amount of snow removing vehicles. More than I ever seen in Norway. 
> 
>  
> Haakon
> 
> 
> On 7. feb. 2013, at 23:17, Shane Wiley <wileys@yahoo-inc.com> wrote:
> 
> Thank you David.
> 
>  
> W3C Staff and Co-Chairs,
> 
>  
> When will you make the call on whether the F2F is a go or no-go due to severe weather? 
> 
>  
> Thank you, 
> 
> Shane
> 
>  
> Sent from my mobile device so please excuse brevity and typos. 
> 
> 
> -------- Original message --------
> From: David Singer <singer@apple.com> 
> Date: 02/07/2013 4:54 PM (GMT-05:00) 
> To: "public-tracking@w3.org WG" <public-tracking@w3.org> 
> Subject: good luck with the travel…'historic' blizzard forecast... 
> 
> <http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/winter-storm-nemo-20130206>
> 
> "The heaviest snow totals by early Sunday morning are expected in New England from coastal Maine to Connecticut, as well as the Adirondacks of Upstate New York, where over one foot of snow is expected!  Some locations, particularly in coastal New England, may top two feet of storm total snow!  The following cities are in the threat for at least one foot of snow:
> 
>         • Boston
>         • Hartford
>         • Providence
>         • Portland, Maine
>         • Burlington
> This has the potential to be a top 10 snowstorm all-time in Boston!  
> 
> …
> 
> Saturday: Heavy, wind-driven snow continues in New England much of the day, particularly along the eastern coast.  Snow ends in the morning around New York City.  Snow finally tapers off inBoston Saturday evening, and pulls off Downeast Maine after midnight Sunday morning.  "
> 
> 
> 
> 
> David Singer
> Multimedia and Software Standards, Apple Inc.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  
> -- 
> Berin Szoka | President, TechFreedom | @TechFreedom
> 
> bszoka@techfreedom.org | @BerinSzoka
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Heather West | Google Policy | heatherwest@google.com | 202-643-6381