Editorial

Beware the Ides of March

David A. Lombardo

It is a little known fact that when the Soothsayer warned Julius Caesar to "beware the ides of March," she was referring to an impending snow storm. Caesar, like Michael Bilandic, was sacrificed over a really bad snow removal policy. So as I write this on March 15th, with the vernal equinox poised to spring Spring upon us, the forecast calls for yet more snow. 

 The very thought of more snow is beyond comprehension as one can only imagine the carnage as a result of the Irish driving on Saint Patty's Day in fresh snow. Will Chicago's Mayor Emanuel dye green both the Chicago River and the entire south side of Chicago from pub to pub? 

 The Chicago Tribune recently had the poor taste to tell Chicagoans this hasn't been the worst winter on record, but to Chicagoans all the signs are there. The number of lawn furniture pieces holding shoveled parking spaces is up 25%. 

 And make no mistake, there's divine intervention in all this. Snow, one of the lesser known plagues visited upon the wicked, may not be as flashy as frogs falling from the sky or everything covered in locusts, but Chicagoans know this winter's snow is really payback for breaking up the '98 Bulls.

The real measure of Chicago's waning greatness is the old Chicago mob would have had Punxsutawny Phil whacked before the rodent ever saw his own shadow. What started out last November 11th as a mystical blanket of beautiful, white snow enticing Chicagoans to build snowmen has eroded into five foot walls of black sludge and deranged Chicagoans waiving chicken claws and chanting pagan rituals to ward off the evil snow demons. 

 And in a twist of fate that had to be inspired by the snow demons, after riding with Gretchen countless times, slipping and sliding in the snow at speeds only slightly below warp one, some deranged woman ran into her car on what was probably the only clear, sunny, dry day of this winter. 

The problem isn't simply that students have had so many school snow days that parents are entering rehab to get off the tranquilizers. The real problem is the never-ending overcast days and temperatures colder than Alaska. When you operate a shooting school that uses an outdoor range, below zero temperatures and 50 mile-an-hour winds can have a chilling effect on getting students to sign up for classes.

Having said that, we pride ourselves on braving the elements and always conducting the shooting regardless of a few lost fingers and toes along the way; we're hard core. Well, "we" may be a bit of a stretch. I stay in the office to do really important paperwork and send Gretchen out with the students to do the shooting. Come on, everyone knows women are better at handling pain than men. 

When all is said and done, this winter's been flat-out miserable, and there doesn't appear to be a break in sight. Last week it was so cold that my car battery went on vacation to Florida with Jim Oberweis, leaving me stranded in my own house. 

Now, on the ides of March, the weather report predicts yet more snow and below freezing temperatures. It leaves me worried my car will again give up the ghost despite the reassurance by the Ides of March that it is my vehicle, baby, and it will take me anywhere I want to go. Personally, I think the Ides of March are full of crap.

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NY Putnam County must release

pistol permit records to press

A New York state judge has ordered Putnam County to turn pistol permit records over to The Journal News, which sued for the data last fall after the county denied the newspaper's Freedom of Information Law requests. In a five-page decision Wednesday, Supreme Court Justice Robert Neary cited the NY-SAFE Act, a sweeping series of gun-control measures that allowed gun owners to remove their names from a public database after the law was enacted in January 2013. Neary ruled that the names remaining on the database-those who did not ask to be removed from it-are a public record and therefore subject to open disclosure laws. Westchester and Rockland provided the records, but then-Putnam County Clerk Dennis Sant denied the newspaper's request as well as a subsequent appeal for the information, saying it would endanger permit-holders. The Journal News' 2012 report, which allowed residents to determine if there were gun permit holders in their neighborhoods, included a map listing the names and addresses of permit holders in Westchester and Rockland. In the months that followed the newspaper became the target of intense criticism and even threats from gun advocates. The report also led to the enactment of NY-SAFE. Passed in January 2013, the law gave pistol permit holders a 120-day moratorium to request that their identifying information be removed from the public list. When that period ended May 15, 2013, The Journal News filed new requests for the names of those remaining on the database. Putnam and Rockland both denied those requests. The Journal News filed its lawsuit against Putnam County in October, and last week filed a separate suit against Rockland for its records.