The big story for this Monday is Irene, and how nice she was to some of us here on the East Coast over the weekend. Although there was a significant amount of flooding and more to come — Yardley expects to flood today, and our haunt, the Yardley Inn, had circled the property with a barrier — those who were prepared seem to have made it through OK. I lost power at my home from 3 a.m. Sunday until about noon and then it went off again after the storm (lots of wind) at about 5 p.m. Sunday to about 8 p.m. At WHQ, we lost power at about 4 a.m. Sunday until about 4 p.m. Sunday. But at both places, back-up generators kept the water at bay — a huge amount of rain was the gift of Irene to an already waterlogged area. It also appears that the Outer Banks was given a pass in many areas, though some got slammed. The storm had a more westward direction, offering the beach less of a hammering . . . but not everywhere. My little stretch in Kitty Hawk was not damaged — as far as we can see today — and the dunes are in place. It just goes to show what a terrible time we will have if a Category 3 or higher hurricane hits the East Coast. The storm disrupted travel from subways to airports. Many airports are now reopening after 10,000 flights were canceled. Our own Patty Mahlon is trapped in Mexico until Wednesday — her flight was canceled on Sunday, and Wednesday is the first flight she could get back — this is the product of the storm: more people traveling and less flight options . . . a world we live in today. Irene was mean to some, though nice to us . . . but still, good riddance! — Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO