Local News

I decided to check up on news from my hometown in the states and I found this article that seemed to be of interest since the power is always out in downtown Masaya during the day. No joke, from 7 am until 2 pm the power is out and there's definitely no article in El Nuevo Diario about how the three people at the relojeria near the market were inconvenienced. The last guy in the article's got the Nicaraguan spirit, though. He would fit right in.

Blackout interrupts workday downtown
Amos Bridges
News-Leader

Work ground to a halt when an electrical transformer caught fire downtown Wednesday.

Many downtown businesses and city and county offices went without power for more than two hours in the afternoon — the second time in less than two weeks for some.

Power was restored just after 3 p.m., but several government offices remained closed because employees had been sent home for the day.

The blackout, which began about 12:20 p.m., had been expected to last into the early evening as City Utilities crews made repairs to a substation that had been damaged by lightning Aug. 20.

The outage caused significant disruption at area businesses, with many closing early. "You just realize how much you rely on technology," said Andy Marquart, museum manager for the Discovery Center, 438 St. Louis St. Marquart said only two families were touring the center when the lights went out, but the outage still caused frustration for the visitors.

The outage disrupted a speech by Gov. Matt Blunt, who was at the Springfield Expo Center to announce grants to assist several area towns with downtown revitalization. After several seconds of darkness, some lights came back on, but the sound system did not — forcing Blunt to raise his voice to be heard by the 300 attendees.

Store owners on Boonville Avenue adapted, as well. Edgar Hagens, owner of Rock's Dress Out Fashion and Jewelry, said the outage didn't bother him at all. "It was kind of a dead time — I just got a little hotter," he said. "I had to take my shirt off."