Lessons in Bad P.R.
From the great state agency that initiated a LiteBrite-induced bomb scare (found by a transit worker) and a fatal ceiling failure at one of the largest public works projects in the country, we bring you news that flags on overpasses will no longer be tolerated.
Last year the Highway Department in Massachusetts (a division of the Executive Office of Transportation) ordered all the flags and signs that hung on the outside of various overpasses to be removed as a highway hazard, but allowed ones that were well-secured to the inside of barriers (like chain link fences) to stay. Once the publicity died down, they changed their minds and ordered everything off. To try to woo the people who hung flags and yellow ribbons to comply with the standards they introduced last year, they're going to put up posters inside rest stops welcoming the troops home. That's totally the same as hanging a flag on an overpass to commemorate the son who was kidnapped in Iraq, right? Ramon "Andy" Jimenez, the father of a soldier kidnapped in Iraq, says it's not , but, you know, what the fuck does he know?
How Bloggers Worked the Bomb Hoax [Christian Science Monitor]
Big Dig Ceiling Collapse Full Coverage [Boston.com]
Overpass flags, troop tributes to be removed [Boston.com]
Overpass tribute to troops comes down in Methuen [Boston.com]