New York City and Austin Texas Battling Hazardous Issues

I am not one to be an alarmist, but this morning we are looking at 2 most like unrelated instances. But in these days of hyper awareness, coincidences can not be assumed.

Large Number of Dead Birds Close Part of Downtown Austin

Several blocks of Congress Avenue have been closed off to traffic because a large number of dead birds — reportedly as many as several dozen – have been found in the area. And if you work in the area, you’re being asked to stay home from work until at least noon. Congress Avenue and one block on either side of the street is shut down from Cesar Chavez to 11th Street until approximately noon. That’s because an unusually large number of dead birds were found Monday morning, with most of them concentrated on 9th Street. The birds are now being collected by workers in hazardous-materials suits and will be sent to another agency for further testing to try to find out why they died.

People over a large part of New York City are smelling a gas odor, but no cause has been identified. Numerous people have called 911 to report the odor. Con Edison, the Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard are investigating. The Fire Department began getting calls about the odor around 9 a.m., said spokesman Tim Hinchey.

PATH service has been suspended into the 33rd Street station. Service is still going into the World Trade Center station. People between Midtown and Battery Park are reported to be smelling the odor, which was also reported in New Jersey. In Jersey City, Maria Pignataro, the spokeswoman for Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, said officials were told the odor in their city was due to a gas leak in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.

Update: 10:50 AM – Bloomberg press conference says that leak is not natural gas but they are not sure what the gas is or the source.