Wally Wise Guy's Wise Words of the Week: Keep the Water Flowing This Winter

Avoid expensive plumbing repairs, costly damage to personal property stored in unheated areas, and keep the water flowing freely in your home in the winter by following these easy-to-do tips to maintain home water systems:

• Shut off outside water faucets from the inside valves. To drain these faucets, leave the outside valves open.
• Keep the area around your water meter above 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Wrap your water meter and its connecting pipe with insulation.
• Caulk windows near water meters or pipes. Cover these windows with plastic.
• Replace or cover cracked or broken windows.
• Wrap and insulate all water pipes in unheated areas such as sheds, under kitchen floors, and in garages.
• Let water trickle overnight in extremely cold weather to keep your pipes from freezing.
• If the water service line or other internal pipes freeze or break, call a plumber to thaw the frozen water in the service line or to repair the damaged or broken pipe.

For more information on how to prepare yourself for the winter or any emergency, visit the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management at www.phila.gov/ready.

KYW Newsradio 1060AM Philadelphia - Special Report: Emergency! Is the Delaware Valley Ready?

The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management is included in the following special report:

Emergency! Is the Delaware Valley Ready?

Across the Delaware Valley, state and municipal officials are planning how to deal with terrorism, storms, pandemics and... the unknown.

Are we prepared for future disasters, natural or otherwise?

KYW Newsradio 1060 Philadelphia - A Special Report from KYW's Regional Affairs Council

Posted using ShareThis

Wally Wise Guy's Wise Words of the Week: Make Your Home Winter Ready

Take some time this fall to ensure a warm home this winter with these simple steps:

• Seal drafts: Use door sweeps, weather-stripping or caulk to close spaces around exterior doors or windows. Caulk or apply tacky rope caulk to drafty spots. Install outlet gaskets in electrical outlets that share a home's outer walls. Seal outside leaks with weather-resistant caulk or masonry sealer for brick.
  
• Insulate walls and attics.
• Check the heat: Turn your heat on now, to make sure it's working, before the bitter cold weather descends.
• Make sure your heating ducts are well connected and insulated. Repair places where pipes are pinched, which impedes flow of heated air to the house, and fix gaps with a metal-backed tape (duct tape actually doesn't stand up to the job over time).
• Install storm windows or use a window insulation kit to cover windows with plastic sheeting from the inside.
• Inspect chimneys and fireplaces before use.
• Reverse ceiling fans: By reversing its direction, the fan will push warm air downward.
• Run generators outside. Open windows and fans do not provide enough ventilation to prevent carbon monoxide build-up.
  

Wally Wise Guy's Wise Words of the Week: Develop a Pet Emergency Kit

Include your pets in your household emergency plan. If you must evacuate, you should evacuate your pets, too – it’s not safe to leave them behind.

Service animals as well as pets are allowed in certain shelters. Plan for your pets’ safety now, before an emergency and put together a Pet Emergency Kit with the following items:

• A three-day supply of water, food and containers, non-spill bowls, and a can opener.
• Sturdy leashes, harnesses and carriers/cages to transport pets safely and ensure that they cannot escape.
• Information on feeding schedules, medical conditions, veterinarian’s phone number, proof of vaccination, pet license numbers, and microchip numbers.
• Medication for your pet (if needed).
• Plastic bags, paper towels, and wipes for clean-up.
• Photos of your pet.

For more information, visit the Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team website at http://sart.cas.psu and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals website at www.aspca.org.

Wally Wise Guy's Wise Words of the Week: Travel Safely During the SEPTA Service Interruption

The following important service information contains useful travel tips to assist riders as Bus, Subway, and Trolley service is discontinued.

SEPTA reports the following services will not run:

• Broad Street Line and Broad-Ridge Spur
• Market-Frankford Line
• All City Transit bus, trolley and trackless trolley routes
• Frontier Division bus routes
  

The following services will run:

• Regional Rail
• Train service will be the best choice for travel in and around Philadelphia
• Suburban Transit
• Bus Routes 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109-114, 115, 117-120, 123 & 125; the Route 101 & 102 Trolley; the Norristown High Speed Line; and contract routes 204, 205, 306, 310 and 314
• Route service will change for those buses that normally travel into the City.
• LUCY (Loop through University City)
• Green and Gold Loop service will operate regular routing from 30th Street Station to selected University City destinations
• CCT Connect
• Regular service will operate for registered ADA and Shared Ride customers. There may be some delays due to increased demand and local street traffic
  

For SEPTA’s full Service Interruption Guide and other related information please visit www.septa.org/sip. To reach SEPTA Customer Service call 215-580-7800 (TDD/TYY 215-580-7853.

The City of Philadelphia has relaxed some parking restrictions during this transportation emergency. For more information, download the list and map of Relaxed Parking Regulation Locations.

City Activates Emergency Operations Center for SEPTA Service Interruption

City of Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter activated the City’s Emergency Operations Center at 5:30 a.m. this morning to monitor and coordinate the City’s planning and response efforts due to SEPTA service interruptions in Philadelphia. Representatives from the Philadelphia Police Department, Philadelphia Fire Department, Streets Department, Licenses and Inspections, Fleet Management, Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, Philadelphia Parking Authority, Pennsylvania State Police, PennDOT, School District of Philadelphia, Delaware Valley Health Council, Center City District and SEPTA are staffing the EOC.

The following important service information contains useful travel tips to assist riders as Bus, Subway, and Trolley service is discontinued.

SEPTA reports the following services will not run:

• Broad Street Line and Broad-Ridge Spur
• Market-Frankford Line
• All City Transit bus, trolley and trackless trolley routes
• Frontier Division bus routes
  

The following services will run:

• Regional Rail
• Train service will be the best choice for travel in and around Philadelphia
• Suburban Transit
• Bus Routes 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109-114, 115, 117-120, 123 & 125; the Route 101 & 102 Trolley; the Norristown High Speed Line; and contract routes 204, 205, 306, 310 and 314
• Route service will change for those buses that normally travel into the City.
• LUCY (Loop through University City)
• Green and Gold Loop service will operate regular routing from 30th Street Station to selected University City destinations
• CCT Connect
• Regular service will operate for registered ADA and Shared Ride customers. There may be some delays due to increased demand and local street traffic
  

For SEPTA’s full Service Interruption Guide and other related information please visit www.septa.org/sip.

To reach SEPTA Customer Service call 215-580-7800 (TDD/TYY 215-580-7853. Extended hours will be in effect beginning at 6:00 a.m.

The City of Philadelphia has relaxed some parking restrictions during this transportation emergency. To download the list and map of locations, visit www.phila.gov/ready.

Normal parking regulations will be suspended in these locations only for the duration of the transportation emergency. All other regulations will be strictly enforced, except that vehicles will be permitted to stop briefly in bus zones to pick up or discharge passengers.

Managing Director Camille Cates Barnett has indicated that shuttle bus service from several remote parking lots and pedestrian pickup points to the Municipal Services Building is available for City employees (with City identification), employees of various Authorities and jurors. The parking sites for City employees opened at 6:30 a.m. These sites include Delaware and Spring Garden, 8th and Poplar, and Belmont and South Concourse Drive. Passenger transport vehicles will start at 6:30 a.m. and stop at 9:30 a.m. Evening pick up will start at 3:00 p.m. and stop at 7:00 p.m. There will be 12 vehicles at Delaware and Spring Garden; six will go up Spring Garden and six will Go Up Broad Street. Eight vehicles will be at Memorial Hall or Belmont and South Concourse Drive. Five vehicles will be located at Poplar Street.
Mayor Nutter encourages residents to be cautious and patient when traveling and asks them to leave early and get a head start when traveling. Residents should consider car pooling or bicycling to and from work. Mayor Nutter also reminds residents to vote early today as part of their civic duty.

Philadelphia public schools are closed today due to Election Day.

To get the latest information during the SEPTA service interruption, sign up for text alerts from ReadyNotifyPA at www.phila.gov/ready or following the Office of Emergency Management on its social media networking sites: Twitter, MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIn, or Blogspot also at www.phila.gov/ready.

Due to SEPTA Service Interruption, Parking Regulations Relaxed in Certain Areas

The City of Philadelphia has relaxed some parking regulations during the transportation emergency. For more information, download a list and map of the Relaxed Parking Regulation Locations.

Please note: Normal parking regulations will be suspended in these locations only for the duration of the transportation emergency. All other regulations will be strictly enforced, except that vehicles will be permitted to stop briefly in the bus zones to pick up or discharge passengers.

SEPTA Service Interruption in Effect

Transportation Workers Union, Local 234 announced a work stoppage as of 3 a.m, November 3.

SEPTA is prepared with an alternate service plan for their customers, but asks for patience and understanding as some of their services become unavailable and others that are running may experience heavier than usual customer use.

For SEPTA's full Service Interruption Guide and other related information, please visit www.septa.org/sip. Information is also available through SEPTA Customer Service by calling 215-580-7800.