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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of 6.6 million lives in the Boston metropolitan area. The eastern half of the state consists of urban, suburban, and rural areas, while Western Massachusetts is mostly rural. Massachusetts is the most populous of the six New England states and ranks third among U.S. states in GDP per capita.
Massachusetts boasts one of the five active FRONTLINE Units in the United States, along with New York, California, Florida and Virginia. Since the midtown explosion of 2006, Massachusetts has seen a boom in population and business activity in direct proportion to New York City's economy declination.
Furthermore, the city of Cambridge Massachusetts (Home of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is the seat of power for the Department of Defense's Commonwealth Institute which specializes in Evolved research and study.
Major IC Events
Places
Massachusetts in the News
May 5, 2009
MASSACHUSETTS - Scientists at MIT have put out a report on Monday indicating that the national percentage of reported Evolved births for 2008 was down almost 16% since 2007. This marks the second year of steady decline in reported births of children to registered Evolved parents. While this number may not be indicative of an overall drop in population density of the Evolved, due to lack of nationwide support for Registration and proper recognition of Evolved births in all states, it does serve as an eye-opener towards potential answers to the mystery of the Evolved.
Professor David Levey indicated that one MIT professor of statistics who departed the university in late 2008 had been working on what professed was a global patterning to Evolved births surrounding instances of full solar eclipses.
These journals originally published in 2007 by Doctor Edward Ray indicated the possibilities that unknown environmental conditions linked to the events of total solar eclipses have matched records in the governments Registry of Evolved for dates of first manifestation of abilities, as well as births of Evolved individuals.
While Doctor Ray's research was never finished, Professor Levey insists that the recent decline in reported births since the last total solar eclipse in the United States in 2007 could potentially mean that another population spike could occur during the next total solar eclipse scheduled to occur over India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, the northern tip of Myanmar, central China and the Pacific Ocean, including Ryukyu Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati. Totality will be visible in many cities such as Surat, Varanasi, Patna, Thimphu, Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Hangzhou and Shanghai, as well as over the Three Gorges Dam.
June 28, 2009
WASHINGTON D.C. — To thunderous applause today, the FRONTLINE Act passed by landslide margins. The brainchild of Vice President Andrew Mitchell, the FRONTLINE Act is the beginning of a revolutionary restructuring of the United States Armed Forces designed to effectively utilize Evolved citizens in the protection and security of national borders and cities.
Under Title I of the FRONTLINE Act, the United States Government now has the authority to draft United States citizens listed on the Registry of the Evolved as members of a specialized evolved-only task force that will begin in July with FRONTLINE Unit-01 deployed in New York City as part of a probationary period of three months. Following this, FRONTLINE Units 02 through 05 will be deployed in Massachusetts, California, Florida and Virginia, respectively. Following an additional three months probationary period, there will be an additional five states appointed in 2010, and complete nation-wide FRONTLINE support by 2014.
The FRONTLINE Act is a part of Vice President Mitchell's "Evolved Initiative" which includes plans to create special prisons designed to safely contain Evolved prisoners, schools for educating Evolved-Americans in the use of their abilities, and special financial aid for Evolved who willingly enlist for military service.
The "Evolved Entitlement Bill" is slated to run through congress as soon as August, with FRONTLINE's success serving as a keystone for Mitchell's plans.
December 2009
REUTERS — A holiday blizzard walloped New York and New England on Friday with up to 3 feet of snow, shutting down airports, closing major highways and causing widespread power outages from the mid-Atlantic states to Maine. At least 28 deaths were blamed on the slow-moving storm, which forecasters said was the worst to hit the East Coast in twelve years.
The swirling blizzard, which drifted north after burying Washington, D.C., in snow 24 hours earlier, turned New York into an eerie white ghost town, as snowdrifts piled high on major avenues and only a handful of people ventured out, some on skis and snowshoes.
City officials declared an emergency, recommending that all nonessential vehicles stay off the roads, and said it might be several days before the city could dig out.
"It’s very pretty, it’s very inconvenient and it’s very expensive," said New York City's Mayor, noting that the city would apply for federal funds to help defray the massive cleanup costs. Up to 20 inches of snow had fallen in Central Park by early evening when the storm unexpectedly picked up in strength, and reports of lightning strikes amidst the storm were reported around 5pm.
Elsewhere, the nation’s capital was paralyzed and in a state of emergency, much of it buried under up to 2 feet of snow. Malls, museums and monuments were closed, and officials announced that all federal offices and schools will be closed today.
The storm wreaked havoc up and down the East Coast and virtually shut down commerce in several states, where stores had been gearing up for heavy business with Christmas just around the corner. Large malls were forced to close from Virginia to Massachusetts, and smaller stores could not open.
Airlines had to cancel virtually all Monday flights out of Florida into the Northeast because major airports were closed. The East Coast closings also forced the cancellation of dozens of flights out of Southern California.
"We’ve handled a lot of complaints. We have a lot of distressed customers," said Steven Faulk, general manager for United Airlines at Los Angeles International Airport, which provided discount hotel coupons for stranded passengers.
By noon, United Airlines reported that nationwide it had scrubbed 358 flights into the Northeast, and Amtrak had to shut down most of its service heading south from New York. Thousands of commuters were stranded at airports from Boston to Miami, and airlines reported that normal flight schedules might not resume until Wednesday.
"I’ve been stuck here all day, and it’s not looking good for tomorrow," a forlorn Maria Foster, trying to get a flight to Florida, told reporters at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. "You know a good hotel?"
The blizzard had become "one huge, powerful mess," according to national weather forecaster Mike Jackson, who said the sprawling disturbance had become a snow-making machine that would "dump and dump and dump."
There were ripple effects far from the center of the storm, which combined cold fronts moving in from the South and mid-Atlantic states: Heavy rains and tornado watches were in effect for parts of Georgia and northern Florida on Saturday.
As the snow kept falling, the governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware declared emergencies.
Snow totals were wide-ranging. Forty-nine inches was reported in western Maryland, and 27 inches in West Virginia’s Berkeley County. The Seven Springs ski resort near Champion, in western Pennsylvania, recorded 48 inches.
Weather-related deaths from the storm as it moved across the nation included two in Illinois, one in Nebraska, five in Pennsylvania, six in West Virginia, six in Missouri, one in Ohio, two in Virginia, one in New Jersey and four in Iowa.
With schools and offices closed, families armed with shovels and sleds tunneled out of 3-foot snowbanks, chiseled cars from curbside igloos, then took to the gentle slopes of city parks. Hundreds of plows, bulldozers and salt trucks used the holiday’s empty streets to attack main roads and rail routes of the city and suburbs, working 12-hour shifts in an effort to open the city before today’s morning commute.
In the Boston area, residents who have already endured weeks of snow made preparations as the heart of the storm approached. At the Stop & Shop grocery store in Hingham, the parking lot was filled with cars at 10 a.m., and there were no shopping carts to be found.
People seemed to be shopping like it was the end of the world; carts were overflowing with bread, milk, eggs, cans of soups and other items. As winds howled up to 50 mph on the state turnpike, police warned people to stay off the roads.
Power outages from the storm included 100,000 customers in West Virginia, 62,000 in Ohio, 20,000 in North and South Carolina, and 6,000 in Virginia.
Despite freezing winds and blinding snow, many people were determined to enjoy the extreme weather. Ignoring official requests to stay indoors, some New Yorkers took to the streets for much of the day. Many shoveled snow and dug out buried cars; other rode skis down Broadway, walked quietly through empty downtown canyons and exulted in the novelty of a blizzard that lasted for most of the day and night.
"I’m not going to back away because of a little snow," said David Yaroslavsky, son of Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, as he pulled on a winter hat and scarf and set off from Manhattan’s Upper West Side for a visit to the temporary memorial site for the Midtown Bomb during the President-Elect's visit. "I’ve come all this way, and there’s no such thing as bad weather. Only bad clothes."
In Brooklyn, which received some of the city’s heaviest snowfall, many residents seemed to be heeding the Mayor’s admonition to "chill out" as the storm extended into its second day. Most people said they hadn’t even considered going to work, and on Flatbush Avenue only about one in three shops was open. Shopkeepers said few people were buying, but the atmosphere was festive.
Asad Hussien, 21, spent the morning leaning against the window of his family’s minimarket, watching children skitter past on the snow, dragging one another on sleds. Some of them had removed the wheels from their skateboards and were attempting to snowboard down the sidewalks.
Very few customers had come into the store, Hussien said, and those who did bought only hot coffee and cigarettes.
"No one in is buying anything. People are just playing," he said, gesturing toward the street. "Look at that! Just a million people out there playing, having fun."
Elsewhere, intrepid families ventured into empty neighborhood parks.
Neil and Suzy DeLance of Manhattan’s Upper East Side took their three children and a friend to Carl Schurz Park near the East River and had a snowball fight.
"Who wants to stay indoors on a day like today?" asked Quincy, 8. "This is so much fun."
But her father was grumbling after he spent 30 minutes searching in vain for his 3-year-old son’s white boot, lost in the snow. "Can you imagine doing this?" he asked. "It’s surreal."
Across the street, Frank Ochoa paused to catch his breath as he shoveled away snow that crept up to the windows of his sport utility vehicle. "My girlfriend and me have to drive to Pennsylvania on Wednesday morning," he said. "So I thought we’d get a head start."
A pedestrian paused to commiserate and Ochoa grinned, offering him the shovel: "Hey," he said. "Do you want to make a quick $1,000?"
As darkness fell, there were acts of kindness large and small. Bus driver Raymond Robinson made a slow crosstown run, taking longer than usual.
When he saw a mother and two children floundering toward him in the snowy distance, he waited patiently for them to get in.
"You don’t have the right fare, I’m sorry," he told another passenger who clambered aboard. "But this is not a normal day," he added with a sigh. "Get in."
The winter weather is expected to continue over next week, with snow falling sporadicly up until next Friday.
February 2010
CAMBRIDGE, MA — Early Tuesday morning a joint ATF/FRONTLINE operation in Cambridge Massachusetts, operating on information obtained through a six month long FBI investigation, raided a suspected methampetamine distribution ring. After the FBI's investigation turned up evidence of Evolved activity within the distribution operation, Massachusetts state police in cooperation with the ATF joined forces with FRONTLINE Unit-02 to help take down the operation. According to sources with the ATF and FRONTLINE Unit-02, the conflict resulting from the raid lasted two and a half minutes, following a debilitating shockwave that resonated through the building, generated by First Lieutenant David Rodgers that incapacitated both Evolved and Non-Evolved members of the meth ring shortly after the raid began.
This was Unit-02's first successful mission since their inception back in October. Maschusetts Governor Andrew Michaels said that "FRONTLINE is a shining example of how the Evolved and Non-Evolved can achieve great heights when working together." and went on to say later in the interview that, "I have high hopes that FRONTLINE Unit-02's display today shows the world that the Evolved are just ordinary people, blessed with an extraordinary ability. No different than a genuis scientist or a masterful musician."
April 4, 2010
April 4, 2010
Reuters
The first April blizzard to hit New York City since 1982 has crippled the city and much of the northeastern US under two new feet of wet, heavy snow that has added the total precipitation by this unnatural weather pattern to as much as 8 feet in the New York region. With winds gusting as much as 40 miles per hour, this tremendous new blizzard which began Sunday night has ground all transportation up and down the east coast to a halt.
The National Weather Service warned New York residents to brace for up to two feet of snow, but the sudden drop in temperatures coupled with the snowfall (dipping down to a bone-chilling -30 degrees Fahrenheit and lower) has literally frozen the big apple to its core.
Boston's Logan International Airport was shut down late Sunday night with wind gusts clocked at 70mph at the Blue Hills Observatory in Milton. The Massachusetts capitol was expected to get 36 inches of snow from this blizzard alone. Likewise, New York's John F. Kennedy airport has been closed since Sunday evening and is not expected to open again for several days given the current weather patterns and icing coupled with fierce winds and sub-zero temperatures.
New Jersey state police reported two people were killed in Newark when they were struck by a tractor-trailer after stopping to help a stranded motorist.
Some area hospitals asked people with four-wheel-drive vehicles to volunteer to pick up doctors and nurses to take them to work.
Most flights were canceled today at the Washington-Baltimore area's three main airports and at Philadelphia International Airport. At Dulles Airport outside Washington part of the roof of a jet hangar collapsed under the weight of snow but no one was injured.
Driving in the region was treacherous and authorities advised motorists to stay off the roads. Washington's Metro train service was operating only underground today.
Amtrak canceled a number of trains operating today between New York and Washington and also between Washington and some destinations to the south. More than 210,000 homes lost power in the Washington area because of high winds and snow on power lines.
The storm brought school closings and long lines at supermarkets yesterday as frenzied area residents rushed to stock up on groceries and other supplies ahead of what is expected to be further catastrophic weather conditions. The kickoff of the 2010 baseball season featuring the New York Yankees vs. the Boston Red Sox was postponed indefinitely due to the weather ravaging the country.
Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia each declared snow emergencies, allowing them to activate agencies, including the National Guard, to help deal with the wintry onslaught.
US government offices in the Washington area closed four hours early on Monday, while the Smithsonian museums and National Zoo were closed today in Washington.
The New York City public transit system has been completely shut down in light of the storm and many city roads are simply unable to be plowed. Public service workers are stretched to their limits trying to handle the influx of snow, but the blizzard conditions, drifting from the already accumulated eight feet of snow has been hampering efforts.
Monday morning rolling power outages began blacking out entire neighborhoods across Manhattan and Queens while some regions of Brooklyn are completely without power from downed power lines. The blackouts are expected to continue onward through the next several weeks as the New York City electrical grid — already severely damaged by the bomb and the destruction of Consolidated Edison in 2009 — struggles to shoulder the burden put upon it by the city.
Residents of New York City are recommended to take refuge in public shelters if they reside in regions without electricity in order to remain warm. At the current temperatures frostbite is a life-threatening danger and skin can begin to freeze on contact with the wind.
Unnaturally cold temperatures are expected in the storm's wake next week in the US northeast, which is the world's biggest heating oil market, and the Midwest, a large natural gas demand centre. The cold helped boost New York's spot natural gas market towards winter season highs yesterday.
"Once we get through the weekend storm, much colder air will invade the northeast and mid-Atlantic. The outlook for the northeast third of the country next week is looking much colder than normal," said Jim Rouiller, a senior energy meteorologist at at the National Weather Institute.
The same weather system brought heavy rains to parts of the southeastern US including the Carolinas and Georgia while fueling itself with fresh moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
May, 2010
Associated Press
May 25, 2010
With the stormfront clearing and weather beginning to normalize, citizens of New York City and the greater metropolitan area are beginning to see signs of something almost as elusive as sunlight has been: electricity. Across portions of lower Manhattan and Harlem electricity is being restored by Con-Edison line crews working around the clock. Emergency crews from thirteen additional states are assisting in this massive recovery effort that is spanning up and down the east coast from Virginia to Maine.
While damage estimates on the storm have not been calculated yet, analysis are expecting trillions of dollars of infrastructure damage spread out over the coastal portions of Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C.
The most severely hit regions of the country are centered around the state of Massachusetts which was the epicenter of the winter weather pattern, dropping over twenty feet of snow in most places. Maine, Connecticut, and portions of south-eastern New Hampshire were similarly hit hard. Areas like New York and New Jersey suffered moderately lighter snowfalls and similar temperatures, while the cold in Virginia never dropped below 20 degrees.
Weather experts are simply calling this event the "Great Storm" and experts from around the world are trying to determine just how vast the aftereffects of this storm will be globally outside of the context of alleged Evolved involvement.
In New York City alone, the cleanup effort for the Great Storm is expected to take up to two months to restore full power and functionality to the city and city planning officials are already trying to get ahead of the projected flooding that will severely hamper reconstruction efforts.
The world may have survived what could have been the coming of the next ice age, but the repercussions of this storm are far reaching and it will take more than just the melting of the snow to thaw the public's memory of what happened this year.