The Police Are Calling and It’s for You

On September 1, 2009, Connecticut is rolling out a Reverse 911 system. The state’s website is keeping quiet for now, but the Connecticut Post reports that residents can receive notices about emergencies on their home phones, cell phones, email accounts or fax machines (do people still use those?).

The article suggests that the program will cost $1.4 million in its first year and $650,000 each year thereafter. This program sounds swell and all, but having just posted about the state’s seeking a billion dollar loan and just read that we’re shedding another 1,200 public teaching positions, I have to wonder if this is really a necessity. Were TV, radio and the internet failing to spread the word? Are there people savvy enough to register an email address who are not savvy enough to turn on the local news? I suggest we put this back in the “what a lovely idea when there’s money to spend” file and open it up again when the Dow reaches 1200.

(phone man photo from KB35, flickr.com)