This Week in History, Jan 5 - Jan 11

Jan 05, 1933
Golden Gate Bridge is born. On January 5, 1933, construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge, as workers began excavating 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the structure’s huge anchorages. Following the Gold Rush boom that began in 1849, speculators realized the land north of San Francisco Bay would increase in value in direct proportion to its accessibility to the city. Soon, a plan was hatched to build a bridge that would span the Golden Gate, a narrow, 400-foot deep strait that serves as the mouth of the San Francisco Bay, connecting the San Francisco Peninsula with the southern end of Marin County.

Jan 06, 1838
Morse demonstrates telegraph. On this day in 1838, Samuel Morse's telegraph system is demonstrated for the first time at the Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, New Jersey. The telegraph, a device which used electric impulses to transmit encoded messages over a wire, would eventually revolutionize long-distance communication, reaching the height of its popularity in the 1920s and 1930s. Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born April 27, 1791, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He attended Yale University, where he was interested in art, as well as electricity, still in its infancy at the time. After college, Morse became a painter. In 1832, while sailing home from Europe, he heard about the newly discovered electromagnet and came up with an idea for an electric telegraph. He had no idea that other inventors were already at work on the concept.

Jan 07, 1789
First U.S. presidential election. On this day in 1789, America's first presidential election is held. Voters cast ballots to choose state electors; only white men who owned property were allowed to vote. As expected, George Washington won the election and was sworn into office on April 30, 1789. As it did in 1789, the United States still uses the Electoral College system, established by the U.S. Constitution, which today gives all American citizens over the age of 18 the right to vote for electors, who in turn vote for the president. The president and vice president are the only elected federal officials chosen by the Electoral College instead of by direct popular vote.

JFK Airport was closed for a short time this morning following a Delta Connection flight, which skidded off the runway.

Airport officials have temporarily suspended flights from taking off and landing because of icy runways.

None of the 35 passengers were reported injured after Delta Connection 4100 landed this morning.

Federal Aviation Administration officials say the CRJ2 aircraft was turning off the runway onto a taxiway when it slid into the snow.

New York Governor says he has made up his mind. Andrew M. Cuomo is expected to announce an executive action that would allow limited use of marijuana by residents with serious illnesses.

Governor Cuomo, who is a Democrat had resisted legalizing medical marijuana, but his change of mind comes as other states are taking increasingly liberal positions on it.

In Colorado, thousands have bought the drug for recreational use since it became legal on Jan. 1.

A single engine small plane made an emergency landing in The Bronx on a major highway.

The Major Deegan Expressway was transformed into a landing strip after the airplane, which took off in Danbury, Conn., landed near East 233rd Street this afternoon.

Three minor injuries were reported in connection with the landing, but none of them were life threatening.

They were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx. where two men and one woman had refused treatment.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Maybe not... One mail carrier in New Jersey was trying to stay above water, while the postal truck he was driving got stuck in four feet of ice water in Monmouth Beach yesterday.

Public safety crews we dispatched to rescue the U.S. Postal Service worker and his truck after he got it stuck in ice water during high tide near the Shrewsbury River.

74 year old Phil Everly, who with his brother Don made up the Everly Brothers' exquisite harmonies and influenced the Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds and other rock, folk and country singers died Friday in Burbank, Calif., of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

If you think its' cold in the Northeast, think again. The weather warnings are dire: Life threatening wind chills. Historic cold outbreak. Why so cold? They call it The Polar Vortex which is expected to send freezing North Pole air down to the U.S., funneling it as far south as the Gulf Coast.

Prepare to bundle up to wear multiple layers to deal with the cold temperatures, for school snow closings, treacherous commutes punctuated by blizzard conditions, more slippery roads, and last but not least....Fender benders.

The National Weather Service is forecasting dangerously cold temperatures and wind chills tonight through Saturday morning. These conditions are dangerous to health and can worsen pre-existing medical conditions. Limit your time outdoors and dress in layers. Be sure to check on neighbors, particularly the elderly and medically frail. Report loss of heat/hot water, and un-domiciled individuals in need of sheltering and/or assistance by calling 3-1-1.