6 January, 2000

Computer glitch delays East Coast flights

NASHUA, NH (AP) The Federal Aviation Administration has some new information about a computer problem that delayed scores of flights up and down the East Coast last night.

Spokesman Jim Peters says the main computer at the Boston air control center in Nashua, New Hampshire did not fail, as officials had suspected last night. Instead, Peters says a part failed, forcing technicians had to shut down the main computer to replace it.

In all, 125 flights were delayed, including several out of Logan Airport in Boston.

Peters says the failure had nothing to do with the Y2K bug.

[ENDS]

Thursday, January 06, 2000

Another 140 retirees in Roanoke and Roanoke County call board
More railroad retirees' checks are missing

The U.S. Treasury Payment Center mailed the checks to post offices across the country Dec. 29.

By LOIS CALIRI
THE ROANOKE TIMES

An additional 140 railroad retirees who live in Roanoke and Roanoke County called the Railroad Retirement Board Wednesday, complaining they had not received their pension checks -- more than doubling the number originally thought missing.

The board reported 120 lost checks Monday, based on the number of people who called to report their checks had not arrived in the mail.

They should have been delivered by the post office Jan. 3. Y2K glitches are not to blame, said Bill Poulos, spokesman for the Railroad Retirement Board. The checks are simply lost in the mail.

"I didn't receive my check. I was disappointed," said ER "Ed" Rumbley Jr., a Roanoke County resident who retired from Norfolk and Western Railway in 1982. He continues to wait.

Railroad retiree beneficiaries in Roanoke and Roanoke County can call the Railroad Retirement Board in Roanoke -- 857-2335 -- to report missing checks.

If the checks do not arrive by Jan. 8, the board will start procedures to provide replacement checks, said Poulos.

The U.S. Treasury Payment Center in Philadelphia, which distributes railroad retirement checks nationally, mailed the checks to post offices across the country Dec. 29, so they would be in post offices by Dec. 30 or 31 for delivery Monday, at the earliest. They went out a day earlier as a Y2K precaution.

Roanoke Valley's postmaster, Billy Martin, said the main post office on Rutherford Avenue has not received the checks.

[ENDS]

-- John Whitley (jwhitley@inforamp.net), January 06, 2000

Answers

I am sure interested there have been so many many many glitches since the first of the year, yet nary a on is related to Y2K. It will be interesting when damages claims from these glitches are brought before the insurance courts. Many of these biggies got reembursed for Y2K remedial repair, now they want to collect on the other side of the fence for the damages. It will be very interesting to see what these insurance lawyers will find out about these "non-Y2K- related,"damages.

-- Notforlong (Fsur439@aol.com), January 06, 2000.

Notforlong,

Would you clarify your statement: "Many of these biggies got reembursed for Y2K remedial repair, .." ?

Thank you in advance.

Jerry

-- Jerry B (skeptic76@erols.com), January 06, 2000.

I am not able to qualify the answer with a link. However I did see in the local ragsheet several days back that $700,000 had been paid for remedial repair, that it was cheaper than the damage repair, or words to that effect. I am sure sorry I did not keep that, but they would not have printed that bit of new if it had not been true I dont think.

-- Notforlong (Fsur439@aol.com), January 06, 2000.