Another storm promises to cause more misery

The Northeast is now bracing for a potentially lethal nor'easter expected to bring rain, punishing winds and high tides that could add to the misery of residents still reeling from Hurricane Sandy and set back the restoration of power.

Forecasters are tracking a storm developing off the Southeast coast that is expected to make a turn northward and intensify Tuesday before hitting the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern States by Wednesday, and continuing into Thursday. The National Weather Service is predicting that the storm could produce sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph and gusts of up to 60 mph in the New York region by Wednesday afternoon. The storm could cause more power failures and minor to moderate flooding along the coastal areas that were devastated by the hurricane last week, said David Stark, a meteorologist with the Weather Service.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order allowing people to vote in Tuesday's statewide and presidential elections at any polling place in the state.

"Just because you are displaced doesn't mean you are disenfranchised," Cuomo said. "Compared to what we have had to deal with in the past week, this will be a walk in the park when it comes to voting."

In New Jersey on this November Monday, Halloween was officially celebrated, thanks to Gov. Chris Christie, who last week signed Executive Order 105, postponing the holiday because of Hurricane Sandy.

With one in five homes in the state still without electricity and trees still draped across suburban streets, it was a struggle to make the holiday feel like normal. Towns tried to redesign the celebration for safety, canceled it outright or postponed it yet again, turning Halloween into the Holiday That Refused to Die.

It was the second year of so much confusion over Halloween: Last year's freakish October snowstorm prompted many towns to try to postpone the holiday, only to be disobeyed in many places by defiant parents.

New York is investigating "hundreds of complaints" from across the state, mostly related to gas prices, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement Monday. New Jersey said Friday that it had issued subpoenas to 65 businesses. "We are actively investigating hundreds of complaints we've received from consumers of businesses preying on victims of Hurricane Sandy and will do everything we can to stop unscrupulous individuals from taking advantage of New Yorkers trying to rebuild their lives," Schneiderman said.

New York's price-gouging law prohibits merchants form taking advantage of consumers by selling goods or services for an "unconscionably excessive price" during "abnormal disruption of the market."