Month: March 2024

Blizzard conditions have continued to slam the Northern California region throughout the weekend with damaging winds and heavy snow, shutting down roads and ski resorts across the area.  Around 6.5 million people were under winter weather alerts across the Mountain West, with blizzard warnings still in effect for the Sierra Nevada, who have experienced the most extreme weather including whiteout conditions and hurricane-force winds.

The blizzard closed a 70-mile stretch of Interstate 80 near the Nevada state line for more than a day, with the Weather Center adding that “extremely heavy snowfall rates of 2-6 inches an hour combined with very strong winds exceeding 100 mph at times will maintain impossible travel conditions in the Sierra Nevada” and warned of “high to extreme” avalanche danger in the Central Sierra and Greater Lake Tahoe area. About 5-12 feet of snow was forecast to fall along the crest of the Sierra with damaging wind gusts “possibly in excess of 75 mph” expected across the Intermountain West.

Numerous ski areas were closed over the weekend including at Palisades Tahoe, Sierra at Tahoe and Mammoth. The National Weather Service said on Sunday that “winds will wane in intensity, though some additional heavy snowfall is expected through the day, particularly for the southern Cascades/Sierra, Wasatch, and central Rockies.”  Extreme snowfall and roaring winds in the Sierra and parts of the northern ranges mean blowing snow and whiteout conditions making travel “impossible.”

While the storm was expected to wind down on Sunday, it will be followed by a new system on Monday, the National Weather Service said.

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According to an administrative memo that was released, the University of Florida has terminated all of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) related positions to comply with a new state law that bars state colleges from using state or federal money to fund the programs. The Florida Board of Education implemented the law January, saying that strict regulations would be put on the Florida College System about the use of tax dollars to support DEI. The board said DEI programs are “programs that categorize individuals based on race or sex for the purpose of differential or preferential treatment.” The rule will affect 28 of Florida’s state schools.

Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz Jr. said at the time of the rule’s announcement that the actions will ensure taxpayer money won’t be spent on DEI and “radical indoctrination that promotes division in our society,” adding that higher education needs to return to its “essential foundations of academic integrity” instead of “being corrupted by destructive ideologies.

The University of Florida memo states that they have closed the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, “eliminated DEI positions and administrative appointments, and halted DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors.”  University employees who lost their positions will receive the standard twelve weeks of severance pay and are encouraged to apply for “expedited consideration for different positions currently posted by the university.” The school’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer will reallocate about $5 million formerly funding DEI expenses like salaries and expenditures to now go to a faculty retirement fund.

The memo said: “Finally, the University of Florida is — and will always be —unwavering in our commitment to universal human dignity. As we educate students by thoughtfully engaging a wide range of ideas and views, we will continue to foster a community of trust and respect for every member of Gator Nation.”

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