ECLIPSE COINCIDES WITH FRET AND CONSPIRACY

The moon and its pending eclipse of our sun have me recalling the end of the last millennium and the fret, worry and conspiracy theories that came with it. ● I was a mere two years into my professional journalism career and landed one of the shortest straws: working like it was 1999 instead of partying. ● I spent that New Year’s Eve at a Walmart just outside of Mansfield waiting for the run for toilet paper before the so-called millennium bug shut down all computers and the apocalypse started. ● Nothing happened when the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2000. There was no rush for TP and, as far as I can tell, the Earth and its computers kept spinning like always.

Is fear, dread and hype about April 8 eclipse overkill?

It is not to the level of Y2K, but a new date has some fretting, worrying and conjuring up conspiracy theories: April 8, 2024.

Monday is the day of the long-anticipated and much-hyped 2024 total solar eclipse. It is anticipated to start in Ohio at 3:08 p.m. and end at 3:19 p.m.

Government officials worry about traffic jams and large crowds. State lawmakers for instance earmarked $1 million in the budget to reimburse communities that incur emergency response costs connected to the few minutes of total darkness.

Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine signed an executive in March directing state departments and agencies “to be ready and prepared to ensure the health and safety of all Ohioans and visitors before, during, and after the eclipse.”

Eclipse states of emergency have been declared in Indiana, Canada’s Niagara region and several other places in preparation for the influx of eclipse watchers.

In a press conference with other state officials Friday, Dewine said the Ohio National Guard would be standing by in case issues arise. Eclipse enthusiasts were advised to fill up gas tanks in advance, not to drive wearing eclipse glasses and to carry paper maps, but no statewide emergency was declared.

The Ohio city of Riverside near Dayton declared a weeklong state of emergency due to expected heavy traffic near Wright-patterson Air Force Base and National Museum of the US Air Force.

Columbus Dispatch USA TODAY NETWORK JOURNAL SENTINEL CALVIN MATTHEIS/ KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL Amelia Robinson Opinion Editor TOP: Mina Mares (clockwise from upper left), Amalia Baumann, James Mares, 8, and Ilary Toro, 9, look at the solar eclipse n protective eye wear, outside the Milwaukee Public Museum in August 2017. MICHAEL SEARS/ MILWAUKEE RIGHT: Callum Renner, 11, of Gahana, Ohio, looks through his solar glasses during the total solar eclipse festival in Sweetwater, Tenn., in 2017. The sky won’t fall on April 8 but besides potential traffic problems due to the expected influx of out-of-town eclipse fanatics, there are good reasons to exercise caution and prepare: Your eyes.

DAVE WHAMOND/CAGLE CARTOONS