Enterprise Shamefully Advertises Cars In Disabled Parking Spaces

By Stephen Anthony Campbell

Everybody does it right? It's no big deal parking in the handicap space. It's not like someone will actually use it. It's a waste of a prime parking space. I'm sure those are some of the reasons people who are not disabled use when they park in parking spaces assigned for person with disabilities or "handicap." It's shameful when an individual does it knowingly, for the sake of convenience. It takes on a disgraceful and just plain mean tone when a company violates the use of the space.

It’s July 4, 2009, and my uncle and I were looking to rent cars for the weekend. My uncle is a long haul truck driver, his truck is being repaired in Wisconsin, and so he was able to get a ride down to Georgia from another driver heading to Florida. We were going to book a car for Friday July 3, but my uncle was running late and didn't get into town until after midnight. The airport location was sold out, so I looked for locations that would be open on Saturday 7/4 and found the Atlanta, 303 Courtland Street location open and they had available cars.


When we pulled into the parking lot, I couldn't help but notice that someone at Enterprise had parked two of their cars in the disabled parking spaces, with signs that said "Rent Me 404-659-6050." I found this to be really distasteful. Perhaps they thought that because it's the 4th of July, that disabled people would be interested in renting a car there. Perhaps they thought that no one would be offended by this.

I find it amazing that management at Enterprise would allow this kind of behavior. It's practically a slap in the face of people that utilize those parking spaces. I think the most sickening thing is not the fact that they parked a car there, but they are using the space to advertise. Needless to say, I decided to not rent the car. I didn’t need to rent a car that bad that I'd give this company my money. So I only got out of the car to take a picture of what this Enterprise location did. Enterprise really should be ashamed of their actions. I don't know if I will ever deal with this company again. I'll wait to see what Enterprise's corporate management has to say before I make a decision.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

It's 2009

Out with the old and in with the new as they say. As we say goodbye to 2008, I look back to see what made it the worst year in recent memory and also why it’s been the most interesting year.

City Of Atlanta Budget Cuts
Mayor Shirley Franklin broke the news that the city would have a $60 million budget deficit in 2008. She warned that city would have to make drastic cuts. Apparently while she was traveling all over the country accepting awards for being a great Mayor, she had been neglecting books. When questioned how she could let this happen a second time under her watch, she would deflect the question by saying something like it doesn’t matter how we got here, what matters is how we get out of it. In actuality it does matter how this happened. By knowing what caused this problem it can help competent leadership avoid this happening again and may also help in fixing the problem. The city laid off hundreds of workers, furloughed workers, closed fire stations and cut city services in an effort to save money. A second slap in the face came when Mayor Franklin announced that the deficit was even bigger than first thought. An effort to remove her from office would probably have been started if it weren’t for the fact that such an effort would put a strain on the city’s finances to recall the Mayor and hold a special election. At least there is good news, this is her last term in office.

The State Of Georgia Strapped For Cash
Even the great state of Georgia finds itself affected by the current financial crisis. Governor Sonny Purdue has ordered State agencies to cut spending up to 8% in an effort to beat a $1.6 billion deficit. The economy has been so bad, state tax revenue intake has been very slow. It didn’t help matters when the Georgia DOT announced that an audit revealed the agency had more than $450 million budget shortfall. The shortfall threatened many current and future projects for 2008. Among some of the state’s cut backs in spending are new hires, pay raises and non-essential purchases.

Brian Nichols
An Atlanta jury spared Brian Nichols from death in 2008. The trial finally started and concluded in a guilty verdict for the 2003 courthouse shooter. Nichols killed 4 people as he tried to escape the Fulton County Courthouse. He shot and killed Judge Rowland Barnes, courtroom reporter Julie Brandau, Fulton County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Hoyt Teasley and U.S Immigration and Customs agent David G. Wilhelm. The trial and conviction was more than fair. There was a huge backlash from legislators and the victims families about the jury being deadlocked on whether or not to sentence Nichols to death. Some Legislators even suggested that the law be changed so death is carried with a minimum of 10 Jurors voting in favor. I think it’s a bad idea. Although we put a lot of faith in the legal system, its not perfect, and innocent people are often found guilty. Taking someone’s life is huge, because that sentence one it’s been carried out can never be appealed. It should take all 12 jurors agreeing that this person should die for this crime. A person’s life is too precious to leave any room for doubt or errors. It’s all for or life in prison.

Marta’s Budget Woes
Marta, Atlanta’s rapid transit authority has announced its money problems and is not looking for ways to not only save money, but help generate revenue. Marta is looking into allowing vendors to sell food and drink inside rail stations. In order to do this, Marta would have to repeal its policy of food and beverage in stations, trains and buses. Marta is also looking at charging for parking, cutting bus and rail service to save money. A few years back, Marta spent an insane amount of money for a new fare collection system. Replacing the old token based system, that was said to allow for easy fare evasion. To solve the fare evasion would have simply assigned a gate monitor at stations for a fraction of what the new system cost. Money saved by doing that alone. Marta’s problems wouldn’t be so bad if it had more support. Part of the problem is that Marta is only operation in the immediate metro Atlanta areas of DeKalb and Fulton Counties. The other counties have long expressed no interest in bringing Marta to their community. However these counties have very recently started their own transit systems. The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority is an agency with the state of Georgia that helps fund the transit systems in Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton counties. If this agency were to merge with Marta, and expand, maximizing the state’s money in transportation, We would have a transit system that connects more counties seamlessly. By combining agencies and resources the system would have a better chance of surviving the current financial crisis than going it alone.







Financial Meltdown
With the new year, say goodbye to some companies that were once staples in the financial world. Bear Stearns closes its doors. Bear Stearns was once the one of the world's largest investment bank and brokerage firms collapsed because of sub-prime mortgages.

Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan and Wachovia both two of more than a dozen of banks that failed in 2008. WaMu was bought by JP Morgan Chase. Wachovia was purchased by Wells Fargo, and will over the next three years assume the Wells Fargo brand.

The big dips in the stock markets cause many Americans investing their pensions to lose a substantial amount of money. Although many experts predict that the market will correct itself and that people will get back most of the money they lost, at the moment that path looks far away.

2008 saw the largest increase in gas prices. At one point each week brought new record in gas prices. The rise in prices started with the damage Hurricane Katrina made when it hit the gulf coast. After the disaster oil speculators drove the prices even higher, all to make a profit for themselves.

Increased gas prices ensured prices of almost all other consumer goods would also rise, especially food. 2008 saw the largest and fastest increase in food prices in history. In an economy where the bottom has fallen out, people where making hard choices on weather to buy food, medicine or gas to get to work. It's probably the top thing people will not miss about 2008.

Home foreclosures skyrocketed in 2008 especially in Dekalb County. As most sub-prime loans interest rates adjusted, most homeowners could no longer make their mortgage payments leading to beginning of the current financial crisis.


Store Closings
The economy's slide south proved to be too much for some major retailers. Circuit City filed for bankruptcy and is closing over 100 of its stores nationwide including all Atlanta area stores. KB Toys filed bankruptcy for a second time and closed its doors at many of its mall locations. The country's financial woes are also pushing a lot of other stores out of business like Mervyns Department Stores, The Sharper Image, Linens 'n Things, Value City, Bill Heard Automotive, The Bombay Company, Steak and Ale, Shoe Pavilion, and Levitz Furniture.

Michael Vick
What does a man do when he has fame and fortune? He runs a dog fighting ring of course. Michael Vick shocked many of his fans when it was discovered he funded an illegal dog fighting ring on his property. His arrest led to him being let go from the Atlanta Falcons and fired from endorsements. He is currently serving time in federal prison.

President-Elect Barack Obama
Senator Barack Obama made history by being the first black candidate to win a major party nomination. He went on to become the nation's first black President. He also set records in fundraising during his presidential campaign. President-Elect Obama will be sworn into office on January 20, 2009.

City of Lithonia
2008 also saw one of the nastiest and most embarrassing squabbles in politics Mayor Joyce McKibben vs. the Lithonia City Council and Lithonia Police Chief Willie Rosser. All parties behaved badly after the brouhaha when the Mayor attempted to fire the police chief. The city council rehired the chief and proceeded to lock the mayor out of city hall. Lawsuits were filed, people were arrested and prosecuted. It led to city government grinding to a crawl. Lithonia became the fodder for You Tube entertainment and numerous news reports over the political conflict. Eventually the Mayor’s rivals mounted a campaign that was successful in her being recalled and a new Mayor was elected. It’s funny how the Mayor is the only one out of a job when members of the city council and the police chief deserve to be ousted as well. Still no one really acknowledges the reason the battle lines were drawn in the first place. The mayor accused the Police Chief of unauthorized purchases and hiring issues.

I'm A Radio Contest Winner

So Wednesday morning something really kool happened to me. To be honest I still can't believe it. The V-103 radio morning show, "The Frank And Wanda Show" are celebrating their 10th Anniversary. So they held a contest to pick 10 winners that will get Frank And Wanda's favorite things. It's a play on the annual Oprah's favorite things she gives her audience.

So I never expected to win the contest. Here is how I entered, I recorded 90210 Tuesday night on the CW69 on my desktop computer. So later that night I go to my computer and the TV version of the "Frank And Wanda Show" was still on. I watched it for a while. Towards the end a women called in because she heard her name. So Frank Ski was telling people how to enter the contest, so that is when I decided to enter. I said what the hell, why not. I entered via the web as instructed. The show pulls two names each morning during the anniversary week one at 7:30 and one at 8:30. So the next morning I forgot to listen in at the 7:30 drawing. So I was think what are the chances that I would win anyway. V-103 is like the number 2 station in Atlanta, with nearly a half million or more listeners. What chance do I have of winning, right? So I listen in at about 8:10-8:15. So They finally pull the last name for the day, and I heard them call Stephan. I immediately thought to myself who names their children Stephan? i have never liked that name. People always mispronounce my name Stephen as Stephan. So I didn't even hear the last name until they repeated it and I realized that they were calling me. I couldn't believe it. So you only have 10 minutes to call in and claim you prize. So when I called in they ask me if it was Stephen or Stephan? I was so excited that I won that I didn't even care about that anymore... simple mistake right?

So I guess you are wondering what the 10 favorite things are.... well let me tell you that they are some pretty awesome prizes. Here goes...

Frank and Wanda's Favorite things are:

1. $100 Kroger Gift Card- just in time for the holidays

2. Life size 4 foot stuffed Mickey & Minnie Dolls - my mom loves them on her bed.

3. A bottle of Jean Paul Gaultier Perfume - very nice scent

4. A Dinner at Carrabbas Italian Grill with Frank Ski

5. A Verizon Blackberry 8330 Smartphone

6. A Panasonic Lumix Digital Camera- Sweet camera, 8.1 megs

7. A Night out on the town with Frank Ski with a night's stay at the W hotel, dinner at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and VIP passes to the Velvet Room - Let say I haven't had a night like this is a long time.

8. A King Size Ralph Lauren Goose Down Comforter

9. A Trip to Las Vegas with Wanda Smith to see Cirque Du Soleil

10. A Trip to New York City with Frank Ski to see the musical Wicked

How cool is that? I hear that Oprah's prizes this year isn't all that. The Frank And Wanda Show winners were treated to a breakfast at Justin's restaurant in Buckhead. Young Jeezy mad an appearance. There was cake and champagne by Moet.

I have to say Frank and Wanda's gifts are great.... and I can't wait to get back to the cities that never really sleep, fabulous Las Vegas and lovely New York City. What a way to celebrate an anniversary. It should definitely be a fun trip.

The Atlanta Gas Crunch : The Good, The Bad And Just Plain Ugly

The gas situation seems to be getting better. Earlier this week Quick Trip (QT) vowed to has gas at 100% of its stations by Tuesday, and it looks like that kept that promise. Gas is flowing much better in Atlanta now. Stations that were without has for the longest time now have open pumps. Things are starting to get better, and it’s about time.

Last weekend was pretty rough for motorists. The Georgia vs. Alabama game was Saturday, and hundreds flocked to Athens for the festivities. Out-of-towners were warned not to come to Georgia if they lived more than half a gas tank away because gas was scarce. Law enforcement in the Athens area said that they would be towing cars out of gas to make sure that the street remained clear of obstructions.

So amid the activity going on that weekend, I went to Wal-Mart with my uncle to pick up a prescription. He said that he needed to get gas, and I knew that that particular Wal-Mart had gas earlier that afternoon. So about halfway to the Wal-Mart we run out of gas. I was a little shocked, its been a very long time since I’ve been stuck on the side of the road with no gas. I knew that there was a CitGo gas station about a mile ahead. So my uncle decided to go for gas. On his way to the station, a man in a pick-up truck saw the car the car on the side of the road out of gas and my uncle walking and decided to give him a lift. The man happened to have two gas cans in his truck of gas and offered to give us enough to make it to the gas station. The man just happened to be headed to put gas in his work truck as well.

The man followed us to the Wal-Mart, and my uncle told him he would re-fill the gas can. So when we get to Wal-Mart there is a line of about 20 cars on each side of the station. It took us about 20 minutes or so to get to the front of the line. We finally became the third car waiting to pull up to a pump, when a man in a car speeds around every one in line and pulls behind a car about to pull away from the pump. I was in total disbelief. This guy couldn’t help but see a long line of people waiting their turn for gas. Was surprised me even more was that the guy that would have been next in line, didn’t really budge. The women in the car ahead of us got out of the car to confront the line breaker. She went over to the guy, and asked him “what did he think he was doing”, but she used some language that I would rather not repeat. He muttered something like he was out of gas, and needed it now. They started arguing at the pump. There was a man riding in the car with the woman, he went inside and told the cashier what happened. The cashier came out and asked the man to leave the pump and wait in line like everyone else or they would be forced to call the police. The man acted like his need for gas was far greater than everyone else’s need. The police were called and made the man leave. We got our gas. Amazingly the man that lent us gas to make it to the station refused us paying him back. He wouldn’t let us give him money or allow us to fill his gas can back up. That was really generous of him. I know that his kindness will be rewarded 10 fold down the line.

This incident reminded me that people are just people. Situations bring out the very best in some people and also bring out the worst in others. During this whole gas shortage I’ve seen people act aggressive trying to get gas, be very generous and helpful, and just outright mean. Life is just too short to bicker and argue especially over gasoline.

Atlanta's Gas Crunch

Most of Metro Atlanta’s motorists are feeling the gas crunch. Atlanta is experiencing a gas shortage that some compare to the 1970’s. Only this time people are confident that the gas supply will get back to normal much sooner. But as more and more stations run dry, people are playing musical gas stations trying to get fuel before their gauges hit “EMPTY.”

There are a lot of people pointing the finger, saying that the Governor didn’t have a plan and knew something like this could happen. One good thing is that the Gov, has asked the Environmental Protection Agency, to relax the rules for special fuel for the Atlanta area until the supplies stabilize. That will mean we will get gas from sources that we normally couldn’t use. That way we get gas in Atlanta, faster.

As we wait the situation out, people are obviously frustrated and its showing. I’ve herd on the news of police being called to stations that do have gas because of customer fights. I’ve seen something similar first hand. I was at a Quick Trip gas station in Dekalb County, and there were people screaming out the window. The lot of the station was just chaos. The station I was at wasn’t fortunate enough to have an employee outside directing cars like I saw on the news. We sure could have used one though, people were lined up in all kinds of ways trying to get to a pump. It almost seemed like the people waiting in line had their own rules for getting gas at this station. People that had pumped gas were blocked from getting out of the lot because people had started lines to try to force their way into the lines coming from the street. It was every car for itself. Well I’ll just end by saying it was a very tense situation. I pumped my gas and got out as fast as I could.

I think we should wait until this shortage is over before we start pointing the finger at who may or not be at fault for this. Perhaps Atlantans can punish those they hold responsible at the voting box this November.