Obama Continues Presidential Tradition

A presidential tradition that dates 100 years will continue Monday: President Obama will throw out the first pitch before the Washington Nationals take on the Philadelphia Phillies.
John Odell, curator of history and research at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, said President William Howard Taft was the first to throw an Opening Day pitch in Washington in 1910.
"Washington has been the historic place for presidential first pitches," he said.
When there was no baseball team in Washington, it sometimes went to other places such as Baltimore, Maryland, or Cincinnati, Ohio, long host to the first baseball game each season. "President Nixon went to his home state of California," Odell said.
Presidential pitching styles can vary, with some better than others.
"President Dwight Eisenhower may have been the best," Odell said. "It was rumored he played for a semi-pro team while at West Point."
When members of the White House press corps asked questions, Odell said, "they were told not to look into it any further."
Presidents Truman and Ford threw out first pitches both right- and left-handed. Odell said President George W. Bush "had particularly good form."
Presidents have not always thrown the first pitch from the mound. In fact, that tradition didn't start until recently. It used to be that a first toss was thrown from the box seats, as Taft did in 1910.
Although this tradition goes back a century, sometimes a president can't make Opening Day because he's just too busy. In 1912, Taft couldn't throw out the first pitch because the Titanic had just sunk.
"President Franklin D. Roosevelt made it a regular habit during his early years in office," Odell said, "but during the war years, he didn't."
Many times, when the president is otherwise engaged, he sends the vice president or a member of his Cabinet. President Carter never threw out an Opening Day pitch while he was in office, Odell said. "Carter once told a friend the demands of the White House and the presidency were too busy by coincidence during those times."
Carter later threw the first pitch for a World Series game after he was out of office.
"A first pitch says a lot about how a president ought to behave," Odell said. "we want him to take the job seriously but not so seriously that he can't take a few hours to come out and be a regular guy like the rest of us and enjoy our national pastime."
As for Obama, he has a history of throwing out first pitches. He did it at a Chicago White Sox game in 2005, while he was a U.S. senator, and again at last year's All-Star game in St. Louis, Missouri.
Obama "needs to work on his form," Odell said, "but he's had plenty of time to do that, and we'll see how he does this year."

Rhode Island Flooding

Recovery from Rhode Island flooding could take months

Flood-weary residents in Rhode Island surveyed the damage as waters started receding, with officials saying Thursday the long-term recovery could take months.
"The Pawtuxet River, which impacts our community, crested," said Fire Battalion Chief Joseph Greenwell. "But at this point, there's widespread damage throughout the city from the river, which overflowed its banks."
The Northeast, particularly Rhode Island, battled flooded roads and basements for most of the week. Many of the schools in the region remained closed Thursday.
"We haven't had anything that's physically washed away yet, but the impact of the floodwaters rushing over the bridges and eroding the foundations of the bridges," Greenwell said. "The water is still too high to determine exactly what the damage is going to be once the floodwaters recede."
A rainstorm formed earlier in the week and soaked the Northeast on Tuesday, exacerbating the remaining effects of another major storm from two weeks ago. Rhode Island appeared to fare the worst.
"It's too early to tell (the financial impact of the floods), but I would guess it will be well into the millions, without a doubt," Greenwell said.
The storm dumped 8.75 inches of rain in East Providence, 7.6 inches in downtown Providence and 5 inches in Cranston, all in Rhode Island, said Tom Econopouly, a senior hydrologist at the Northeast River Forecast Center in Taunton, Massachusetts.
All eyes were on the Pawtuxet River, which runs through Cranston. The river crested at 20.79 feet Wednesday, nearly 12 feet above flood stage, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Advanced Hydrometeorological Service. The water level has started a slow decline.
"Pawtuxet River is now falling ... it will remain in major flood status until about midday on Friday," the National Weather Service said. The river will likely not fall below flood stage until Sunday.
Cranston Mayor Allan Fung said the city was facing "dire circumstances," even though the weather was cooperating.
In Warwick, police and fire officials said they are getting a lot of calls.
"We're still handling a lot of pump issues, utility issues," Greenwell said. "This has impacted a number of individual homes with utility issues, flooding in the basement, gas shutoffs, electrical shutoffs, that sort of thing. So it's impacted the utilities quite seriously."
Earlier in the week, President Obama extended a state of emergency for the entire state, freeing up federal dollars to help with relief efforts.
A spokesman for National Grid Energy Services said 12,000 to 14,000 customers were without electricity in the Cranston area, where a substation was underwater.
The police official said a lot of infrastructures were damaged.
"Our sewer plant, for one, is submerged. Interstate 95 has been closed down from the impact of the flood," Greenwell said. "(There are) some serious issues for the community, both in time and expense."