Not a Word from Property Manager or C.A.T.C.H.

Above are a couple of video stills of just some of the Bedbug bites I received. I don't have any shots of the ones I got on my arms, right hand, and both sides of my BUTT!


The following are some of the random thoughts and questions I've had since my last post. I'm waiting for some contact by MB Management but to date there has been a disturbing absence of any communication whatsoever. Obviously I could just call, but that's not the point..

Some thoughts below might be redundant but for my scatterbrain it's more important to get this posted.

Questions for Southern New Hampshire Pest Control and MB Management:

1. When vacuuming should we leave the edges/crevices/heater pipe (& housing) alone?
2. Should we avoid vacuuming completely for a while?
3. There was/is a white powder-residue lightly covering all the flat surfaces. What is it? Is it harmful to electronics, photos, camera lenses, humans? What about air conditioners? (My filter was plugged-up with white powder!)
4. When vacuuming with anything but a true HEPA vacuum cleaner that white powder gets blown into the air. That doesn't seem safe, is it?
5. Upon returning to my apartment after the treatment the carpet and tile was tacky. Is it OK to mop? (I left it [for now] because I thought that by doing that it might hinder the re-emergence of new bugs)
6. It looks like my dresser drawers were treated with something. Is it safe to put clothes back into them? (I have skin problems that might be affected by pesticide)
7. Are the Endicott's laundry rooms safe to use? Were/are they infested?
8. If we have to keep clothes, bedding, towels etc. bagged, how long is it going to be?
9. In the 'follow-up' treatments do we have to follow the same instructions?
10. The initial episode was extremely difficult and tiring (physically and emotionally), not to mention disruptive and expensive.
___________________________________________

- There has been NO contact from management to date other than the instructions given to those scheduled for treatment. No apologies for the disruption and expense, no visit from management, nothing. What does that say to the residents? It says to me that management (and the company as a whole) doesn't care..... Now that I think of it there's been NO communication from CATCH either. Of course they hired MB Management to manage their properties, and naturally expect that job to be done competently. This situation is a difficult (if not impossible) one to avoid totally, but the gauge will ultimately be how it was handled.

- I would think that 'best practices' in a situation like this would be immediate contact by management, first by a quick note, and followed up with visits by management. Asking what assistance is needed if any to prepare for the pest treatment, informing the resident what help is available, and what the resident should expect as far as future communication both by management and the pest company. Also what's entailed in the treatment of their apartment both initially and in the future. Empathy for what the resident is going through and assurance that the situation is being taken seriously (followed by prompt and effective action). Apologies for the resident having their life disrupted shouldn't even have to be listed here.. CATCH should be involved in most of the above too..
_____________________________________

Other questions that need to be investigated/answered:

- Were there inspection procedures in place to identify this issue?
- When was it first noticed?
- Who noticed it, a tenant or employee?
- Was it reported by a tenant or employee?
- Once the issue was noticed what was done?
- Was the problem recognized and treated as a serious one that required immediate attention in order to avoid a full-blown infestation? The company rep quoted in the paper said that they were relying on the advice of the pest company they have used for years.
- What was the pest company initially told?
- What was the advice given to MB from the pest Co.?
- Was MB given 'options' ?
- Did MB accept the full recommendations/plan of the pest Co. ?

OR

- Did MB decide on something [less] after consultation w/ upper mgmt.? (No accusation, just wondering..)
- Did the pest Co/MB act promptly/responsibly?
- Did the pest Co. use the best/most effective treatment available?
- Was MB given the correct information in order to recognize the seriousness of the problem and what would happen if it wasn't addressed immediately?
- What was MB's [legal] responsibility regarding communication to CATCH, residents of the Endicott, and state agencies? Was it done?
- What local, state, and federal laws apply to this situation?
- Was proper consideration given (by MB) to the impact on residents, financially, physically, and emotionally given the varied conditions of the residents?
- Should MB Management or CATCH pay to replace discarded items of residents (morally/legally)?
#######################################
- (What is the law regarding this and all of the other issues? There should be plenty of precedent set in this area as it's certainly not a new issue!) #######################################
- What assistance is [required] for disabled residents to deal with this? (*is* any required?)
- What assistance is available from local organizations and agencies?
- Are there any local organizations that could assist with furniture for residents who have to throw theirs away (like Harold)? ------------------------------------------------------
Potential expenses incurred by residents:

Mattress, box spring, and pillow allergy covers.
Bags (for discarded items and for cleaned items).
Laundry.

Loss of:
Discarded items (bedding, clothes, cushions, furniture, rugs)

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In the future:

- Should apartments be required to be [fully] inspected monthly by a pest company?
- Should residents be required to have all used furniture inspected/treated before bringing it into the Endicott?
- Do new laws need to be written?
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Questions about Bedbugs & eradication/control treatments:

- What does the latest research tell us about the most effective methods to control and/or kill Bedbugs?
- Who is doing the research?
- Is the treatment used at the Endicott safe? ------------------------------------------------------
When thinking about everything required AFTER the fact, what mandates might be adopted to compel landlords and/or property management companies of apartment buildings to do everything possible to identify & treat pest issues like this? And what guidelines should be developed and provided that would assist them?

This issue is something I've heard and read about, but in 52 years have never experienced. I'd think that by now there would be established and effective treatments for Bedbugs. I'd also think that those involved in the hospitality and apartment rental businesses would have both the identification and treatment procedures in place as well as trade publications communicating the latest news & information.

The infestation at the Endicott is likely a failure on multiple levels. I expect that after a full assessment it will be found that the problem should have been identified sooner, taken more seriously, treated sooner and more comprehensively.

Whatever agencies are responsible for oversight should at the very least re assess their procedures to check whether there were any failures and to see if any could be improved.

If negligence is found the appropriate penalties need to be enforced.
Unfortunately it seems that most businesses only follow mandated practices when compelled* to do so and when the penalty is sufficient to have the desired effect.

It's also unfortunate that low income housing (especially when there are a number of psychiatric out-patients as residents) is all too often treated* as less important than higher income apartments. Even more unfortunate is the reliance (by some landlords*) on the fact that low income and disabled residents are much less able or likely to protect their legal rights.

I want to be fair, but I also want the responsible parties to be held accountable where it is called for, and for everyone involved to use this as a learning experience to improve actions in the future. There has to be a better way..



*[I want to make it clear though, that I am not saying that this is necessarily the case in this instance.]

Penny Wise and Pound Foolish

Above is the three page document I was given (on Friday) with the time of my pest treatment (the following Tuesday) and the preparation instructions required. The attached bugs are some that I captured with tape as I saw them and wanted to save to show management/pest personnel. If you click on the individual images they will open up into a full-sized (and clear) image.



It was bound to happen.. When The Hodges Co. was replaced as the property management company for CATCH's properties one of the things that changed was our monthly pest inspections. I was promised by the new property manager that they would be resuming the apartment inspections at some point. That was at the end of 2007 and now the Endicott is experiencing a Bed Bug Infestation.

I've lived at the Endicott for just under seven years and have never had a problem with pests of any kind. After spending 1994-1997 in Ft. Lauderdale it's been a welcome change! Frankly I was surprised that such an old building didn't have any noticeable pest problem.What I'm not surprised by however, is the fact that we developed a problem after the apartment inspections were stopped.

When Hodges was our property manager we also had quarterly safety inspections. Now those inspections are few and far between, and the items checked are much fewer. I tend to notice things like that because I worked for Concord Royal Gardens inspecting apartments.

Now I'm no 'Mr. Clean' but I keep my apartment generally free of leftover food or anything that might attract bugs. I vacuum and dust when I get ambitious and generally keep things clean, which isn't easy when you've inherited your father's belongings and live in a one bedroom apartment. Through my experience inspecting other people's apartments I know how bad conditions can get, and I can only imagine what can happen if the inspections are stopped or reduced.

When I heard about our bed bug problem I did some research on the Internet, and one of the first things I noticed was news articles about 'the recent increase of bed bug infestations'. I wonder if the issue was covered by the property management trade publications. I haven't asked around but if the subject hasn't been covered it should be.

What I learned on the first web site I checked for information about the little buggers was not comforting. Once an infestation gets going it's very hard to stop. Bed bugs can live for up to 18 months without food. It only takes one male and one female to survive somewhere in the building to quickly repopulate, so they're really hard to totally eradicate. They're small and fairly flat (especially the young ones!) and can crawl through some stitching holes in furniture and things like mattresses. The one [fairly] good thing I learned was that they don't transmit diseases when they bite. That's a small consolation to ponder while you try not to scratch the bites..

Climbing into bed and going to sleep isn't something to look forward to when you know that during the night these little blood suckers will go to work, and the next morning you'll likely have groups of bites somewhere on your body. The itching usually takes a while to start and once it does it lasts for days, although regular applications of something like hydrocortisone ointment or Bactine™, or one of the many other 'bug bite' products can help quite a bit (depending the location of the bites).

The history of my experience started with a visit from our maintenance man and a guy from a pest control company. They asked to look under my mattress and the subsequent inspection turned up no bugs. That was a number of weeks ago. Recently I started to see what looked like ticks crawling across the carpet. One, then another until I it was almost daily. Each time I'd grab a piece of tape and catch it then tape it to a sheet of paper (originally to show to a pest specialist but quickly became a 'collection'!). I started hearing about people's apartments being sprayed for bed bugs here and there and soon I started feeling the itching and seeing groups of red bumps on my feet and legs.

In the last 2-3 weeks it hit my floor. The first apartment I heard about was my former neighbor Hazel. They treated her apartment, and I'm not sure about the exact time frame but [days] later she couldn't be contacted by friends or relatives (the Concord Police knocked on my door asking if I'd seen her) and later unfortunately was found deceased in her apartment (I'm going to miss Hazel).

Then Tony in the apartment across the hall from me told me (after asking him if he had any problems with bed bugs) that no, he hadn't seen any but that pest control had come in and 'bombed' his bedroom. He said that's the only room they treated and that he had to leave for several hours.

That brings me to last Friday when our maintenance guy knocked on my door and handed me three sheets of instructions regarding preparations required before the treatment of my apartment the following Tuesday at 9:30 AM. He emphasized that all the instructions had to be followed precisely prior to the appointment, I had to arrange to be gone for 3/6 hours (I'm not sure which, and the instructions said 3 hrs on one page and 6 on another) and that they were 'doing the entire building' instead of the previous approach.

I wasn't able to even start the massive preparation until Monday evening. I literally worked through the night and thought I was almost done by the 9:30 AM appointment time. The instructions included stripping the bed, discarding and/or washing everything then securely bagging the items, emptying all drawers inspecting and bagging everything, vacuuming, and removing every outlet cover (among other things like moving all the furniture away from the walls, oh and also make sure there's room for the pest control folks to work!).

Did I mention that this is a one bedroom apartment?

The way I read the instructions and the fact that the guy across the hall only had his bedroom 'bombed' led me to believe that just the bedroom & closet was to be treated and that the room had to be empty except for the mattress and box spring (and the cloth removed from the bottom of the box spring). Thus everything from my bedroom (and packed BR closet) was in the living room area.... 9:30 arrives and the maintenance man shows up, looks around, and tells me that the entire apartment is being treated and that the bedroom didn't have to be emptied just things piled in the center of the room!

By that time I was so tired and soaked in sweat I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I looked around in disbelief trying to figure out how that was even possible. After working frantically all night and being so tired my disbelief started turning into mild rage. He said "keep on working", he now had to call the property manager and talk to the pest control guys who were on the floor below to figure out how to proceed, then he left.

Did I mention that I have heart problems including high blood pressure, Type-2 Diabetes, and Chronic Depression? - Yep, and right about then I wasn't sure if I was going to have a stroke or a nervous breakdown or both..

I decided to sit down and ponder the situation while I drank what must have been going on 3-4 gallons of water by that point. The temperature was fine, the A/C was set at 68 degrees but I'm so out of shape that I was sweating buckets and my back was hurting just standing up straight. After a while I started to think about how all of this might have been prevented if the monthly inspections hadn't been stopped, and started yelling out loud "How do they expect people (with all sorts of various conditions including age, physical/mental, etc.) to get all this done in such a short time?". "Damn it! This isn't my fault, if anyone's it yours/CATCH's, and if you hadn't tried to manage this property on such a low budget this might not have happened!". @#$%^&%*!

After a few minutes (and more water) I cooled off, got up and started moving things back into the bedroom, cursing only occasionally when the sweat blurred my vision or my back twinged. I slowly worked away and around noon I was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I was also wondering why neither maintenance nor the pest guys were there yet.

The maintenance guy never returned but around 1:30 PM the pest control guys showed up dressed in their space suits. I explained that I'd done the best I could but couldn't empty one closet because there was simply no space. They were cool with that and said that they were going to be returning (every week?) for a while anyway. They told me to leave and come back at 5:30 PM.

When I returned at around 5:20 they were gone. There was no note/paper work regarding safety instructions regarding treatment residue or their return date(s) and my door was left unlocked. After a while the apartment seemed to be unusually warm so I checked the A/C unit and discovered that the filter was totally clogged with a white powder. Elsewhere there was a very light amount of residue on surfaces and the floor was slightly tacky.

I'd forgotten to call in three of my prescriptions and ran out the day before so I picked them up while I was out. I took my meds, had a bite to eat, then I started the whole process in reverse....

Today I'm happy to say so far so good. I've only seen two bugs and both of them were dead! It was nice to wake up and not see or feel any bites! I do however feel like I ran a marathon yesterday. My body is sore as is my mind. This morning I finished up returning things to their places and by noon I was relaxing watching TV. I started to nod off and was just getting up to take a nap when there was a knock at the door.

Now I rarely get visitors, or even people knocking at my door aside from maintenance and occasionally Concord Police looking for someone, so the last one I expected was a reporter and photographer from the Concord Monitor.. and guess what she was asking about?
[UPDATE 8/28/09]: The article "Bedbugs infest Endicott" [by Amy Augustine] was on the front page of the Concord Monitor Online today. Thankfully there were no photos of me..

Evidently another resident in the building contacted the Concord Monitor and they were knocking on doors and asking about the issue. When they asked me if I had anything to say I was more than willing to tell them my experience and thoughts to date (even though I'd answered the door unshaven and in my boxers and a T-shirt).

Afterward I did wonder what the reaction from the property management company might be, but I have to hope that they will handle the situation maturely and professionally. Frankly I was impressed when I spoke with the new property manager on the phone. He was congenial and professional, and as opposed to the manager who preceded him seems in control and not hurried. Situations like this can generate a defensive response especially when it's an organization. Then multiple egos are at play and a lot depends on the management style of the company and how far that extends down the ranks.

This is a serious situation for everyone involved, from CATCH to MB Management, and also the residents of the Endicott. With an infestation the State of NH officials could get involved. Here's a quote from the New Hampshire Department of Justice web site 'DOJ > Consumer Protection & Anti-Trust Bureau > Consumer Sourcebook' >

Landlord Responsibilities: "[...]

RSA 48-A:14 sets minimum health and safety standards for rental property in towns that do not have ordinances that establish housing standards. An apartment does not meet these minimum standards if:

• It is infested by pests and the landlord does not conduct regular inspections and pest exterminations [...]"
  

Now it's my understanding that from this point forward regular inspections have been resumed which is great news. Lets hope that the pest control company can gain control of the infestation and ultimately eradicate all the bed bugs. That goal is going to be incredibly difficult to achieve from what my research into the subject tells me, and frankly won't be achieved without the residents active participation. Attentiveness and strictly adhering to the instructions provided are essential, as is frequent and open communication between management and residents. Assistance needs to be provided to residents who need help understanding what needs to be done as well as those who need help moving items. It's also a good idea to double check to make sure the required items have been done, well before the actual appointment. I realize that's not easy when you only have two maintenance personnel who I'm sure have a pile of job tickets to attend to.

Keep in mind that the efforts required of the residents for the treatment(s) are difficult for those in good health, and this is not our fault! Communication is so important in all facets of life and the lack of communication and outreach in this case is a perfect example. With it this could have been caught in time and stopped before it turned into an 'infestation' and a major disruption in the lives of the residents affected not to mention a giant and potentially legal headache on the management/landlord side.

The Endicott has a number of residents who have special needs and require additional assistance and monitoring. The man in the apartment below mine is in a wheelchair, and I learned yesterday his mattress was covered with literally hundreds of bed bugs. I don't know what kind of living assistance he has (if any) but I have to believe that his bug problem would have been caught much sooner if someone was at least checking in on him weekly. Others have psychiatric issues that affect their ability to recognize and communicate problems such as this. All this has to be taken into consideration, not just in this situation but to prevent other issues that can crop up in buildings that house people with special needs.

I realize that the current financial situation has an effect on everyone and that budget cuts have made an already under-resourced care system even worse. I expect that CATCH hasn't escaped the effects of the economic downturn and various budget cuts either. I think it's important to keep that in mind. But in some areas (like outpatient/independent psychiatric care & supervision as well as home health care for disabled low income people) some basic needs of our most vulnerable citizens aren't being met, and this incident is one example of that failure. Whether it's state agencies or whoever, nobody should be left to wallow in a bed full of bed bugs.

I'll try to update this post as I get more information from both residents and management. To date the only communication from management is the 3 pages of instructions delivered to me last Friday. I seriously hope there is much more to come. Back when Hodges Corp. managed us there was a steady stream of letters and other communication as well as a extremely friendly and welcoming staff. I wish that could be the case again.
I should note that yesterday afternoon I called Hodges Corp. to ask our former property manager some questions connected with this issue. She was evidently busy so I had to leave a voice message, but at the time of this post/3rd edit [3:33 PM] she's not returned my call.

[Update 8-29-09]: It's been nice not waking up with bites since they treated my apartment. I now have both the mattress and box spring enclosed in dust mite/allergy covers (@ $28 apiece..) and new [white] sheets. The white sheets will make it much easier to spot the little buggers if/when they return. I'm on constant lookout when I move around the place and wonder how long this respite will last. I'm also hoping that we're provided with instructions regarding future visits from the pest company, claims for expenses incurred, and maybe even some kind of letter from management or perhaps a visit from the property mgr.?

We'll see.. and I'll keep updating this post as events unfold.

___________________________________________
Here are a few links to information about Bedbugs:

"Bed Bugs - Description, Life Cycle, and Habits of Bed Bugs" [About.com]
"Getting Rid of Bed Bugs - Why Is Getting Rid of Bed Bugs So Hard?" [About.com]
"How to Kill Bed Bugs" [About.com]
"Bedbug Bites" [About.com]

What's That Smell?

On the drive back from shopping, somewhere around Dunkin Donuts on Loudon Rd. I began to smell smoke.

As I continued down the hill towards the arena the smell was so strong that I had to close all the car windows. I can't be certain because it's dark but I'm pretty sure there was the haze of smoke. As I drove on I was looking around for emergency lights or the light from a fire but nothing was visible.

The smell reminded me of a trash fire or something of that nature and the large area that I could smell it made me think it was serious.

Somewhere around the intersection of 93 a Concord police cruiser passed going the opposite way so at that point I figured that they might be going to check things out. Actually I thought (due to the intensity of the smell, etc.) that someone must have reported it to the police/fire dept. by that time so there was no need for me to call.

When I got home I decided to call anyway, mainly to ask what the source was, so I called the regular police number (not 911). When I did the woman who answered didn't seem to be aware of the situation and transferred me to the Fire Dept..

Strangely they didn't seem to know anything about it either which was troubling because it had now been close to 15 minutes since I saw the police cruiser driving into the area!

I find it hard to believe that the officer couldn't have smelled the smoke/fumes even if his windows were closed. I also find it disappointing that I was the first one to report something so obvious.

Since then I haven't heard any sirens, which doesn't necessarily mean much, but does mean that there's nothing big going on anyway. I'll be interested to find out what the source was and though I'm tempted to call the Fire Department now I will wait until daytime.

Wait.... my brain just clicked into gear.. (D'oh!) I have a scanner stored [somewhere] that I haven't used since the police started using that 'trunked' system or whatever it's called (you could only hear one side of the conversation, which is annoying). Last I knew the fire communications didn't have that issue. OK, time to search the closets and hook that up..

I'll get to the bottom of this one way or another.....

UPDATE [8/27/09]: Since this incident I've noticed the same smell (albeit not as strong) when passing the Fire Dept. training area next to the Everett Arena, so unless I find out differently I'm going to assume that it's connected with that.

What Does The Future Hold For The Endicott?

The future is uncertain for residents here at the Endicott. This recent article in the Concord Monitor Online is the second that talks about what might be in store for this old building and it's residents. More to come as I speak to some of the people involved.

Same Old Story

Listening to the Diane Rehm Show this morning I hear some great discussion about the future of print journalism. Unfortunately it's obvious that some of the same attitudes that are contributing to their failure are still held.

I agree that a large percentage of quality investigative journalism is done by print. And what I put a lot of value in is persistence and continuity of a story. You rarely get that on TV.

The views expressed by one of the guests that some online blogs only repeat something that they heard somewhere else is entirely true. But while that's obviously true, there are millions of "Blogs", and they cover the entire spectrum from children to professional journalists.

Using that same criteria the same could be said of many "professional" news organizations.
I call it 'parroting', and it can be seen every day from TV news to online news to print. Sometimes it's checked for accuracy and sometimes it's not. Which makes me ask myself "what are all those researchers they have being paid for?". In the rush to compete, the 24 hour news cycle has done more to dilute the quality of the news than anything.

Add to that the consolidation of news orgs to the point that the small amount of "news" the average citizen makes time for is controlled by so few that the job of 'the 4th estate' is far from being served.

The reluctance of the 'dinosaurs' of journalism to change with the times is the greatest factor in their potential demise than anything else. By clinging to their arrogant and conceited attitudes regarding what they like to generalize as "blogs/bloggers" they're demonstrating that they just don't 'get it'. So much of the industry reacted in a defensive manner instead of thoughtfully and with open minds.

As I'm now learning personally and have observed with my father in his later years, (of course I'm generalizing here) the older you get the more resistant to change you become.
Things are changing so fast, plus, the perception of the speed at which things appear to change increases the older you get.

So is it inherent that organizations headed largely by an older generation are resistant to change, especially at the rate that's neccessary to change with the times and technology?

Trust in the accuracy of reporting is essential. Unfortunately that trust has been eroding for many of us that really pay attention to these things. Political influences have in all too many instances been injected into the process. 'Fair and impartial reporting' is hard enough to maintain through the process of delivering news. From the first person to tell others what happened on a hunting expedition to today it's a constant struggle to keep personal bias from unduly influencing the report. From the headline to the bottom line there are so many ways to influence a reader or viewer. I see too many similarities between the tactics of the advertising world and news organizations being used today.

If the majority of Americans were aware of the sloppy reporting and intentional deception as shown by people like those that run and contribute to "Media Matters" their trust would sink!

So as I hear these dinosaurs expressing the same ignorant attitudes today I'm not surprised one bit that their part of the industry is going the way of their namesake. It's a shame that they're taking a lot of good people below them down with the ship.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

I'm not sure how to describe what happened early this morning so let me start at the beginning....

I left my apartment to get some groceries and drop off my rent check a little before 5 AM.
My car was parked in the new parking garage. As I started to exit (I needed to go left on Storrs St. towards the intersection) I stopped because the road was blocked by a solid barrier of snow preventing me from going across to the proper lane and plows were plowing in the other.

In the lane closest to me there was a plow coming my way.

That plow driver went right by, oblivious to my dilemma. There was another plow around the intersection of Pleasant St. extension and Storrs St..

Still unsure what to do I pulled out and braced to blast through the pile of snow to get into the correct lane. Once I got further out into the road I discovered that there wasn't a lane on the other side of the snow pile.. just more snow!

By that time the other plow was coming towards me. I was in the center of the road, (semi-stuck) and the plow just continued on by, literally plowing snow within a foot or two of my car and scaring the crap out of me.

I yelled and waved for him to come help me. He backed up and basically yelled at me (something like 'what are you doing in the road!').

Stop and think about that for a moment.... I was leaving a city parking garage, they clearly saw me sitting at the exit wanting to get out but drove right by. They had snow piled up in a solid barrier blocking the north-bound lane (Storrs St.) and part of the intersection, no signs or any direction for drivers trying to navigate their maze of snow piles, and instead of stopping and providing me with some direction the driver yells at me? Then he makes my situation worse by plowing more snow around my car! All I could see was a pair of bright headlights coming at me, a huge plow, and I literally didn't know if I was going to get hit.

After that I managed to gun the engine and plow through the snow (that the plow had just made deeper) into the wrong lane and made it to the intersection. I headed up to Main St. hoping to find a Concord Police cruiser somewhere, drove by the police station but it was closed, drove towards the south end a ways but seeing no police I headed back towards Storrs St..

Why?

Well first of all I was fairly mad.... Though 'incredulous' would be a more appropriate word.

Second, I had a video camera (which [thankfully] had been recording since exiting the parking garage*) and I wanted to get more shots of the road including the entrances to the shopping center which were inaccessible.

Third, there is a part of me that seriously dislikes mean people and especially ones on the public payroll!
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If I just blew the incident off nothing would be learned and the same dangerous situation could repeat itself, possibly with disastrous results. This kind of behavior has to be punished and corrected so hopefully it doesn't happen again.
That is my goal.
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- So to continue.. I went back down onto Storrs St. and tried to see if the entrance to the shopping center down by the state liquor store was accessible. It too was blocked but not as badly as the others, so I made my way through the snow (almost getting rear-ended by some guy who stopped, honked, and yelled at me, failing to realize that he was going too fast and following much too closely for the conditions).

After that I got shots of the plows at work and the road conditions. At one point I tried to flag down one of the plow drivers (to ask why they hadn't assisted me) but he ignored me and drove right past!

At that point I decided to go on my way and do my shopping but there was one problem.. all the exits were blocked by the barrier of snow the plows created. After sitting at the northernmost exit (while the plows were driving past ignoring me) I had to get out of my car and gesture to one of the drivers to plow a spot in the snow so I could get through.

So there's your tax dollars at work....

And please don't get me wrong.. as I've said on this blog before, I have great respect for the plow drivers and other workers working long hours clearing the streets.

That said, some common courtesy, and a recognition of the need for public safety while they move the snow around is crucial. Ignoring drivers, yelling at them, and scaring them by plowing dangerously close to them is negligent and borders on criminal behavior, and I for one won't tolerate it.

I'm exploring different options at the moment, and I'm preparing (and making copies of) the video** for potential public display on the Internet, and/or as evidence to show relevant public officials/representatives if need be.

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Plus there are additional issues concerning the city's care (or the lack of) of the stairs next to the dumpster which (too many times) have been left unshoveled/icy, and extremely dangerous (as my sore tailbone can attest to!). Also the adjacent stairs leading down into the new parking garage have been left in a similar condition. That says to me that the safety of the citizens using that area isn't important to those whose job it is to maintain it.
Seriously, how much time and effort is required to clear the snow and/or spread some sand on the ice?

If necessary I'll suggest a meeting of all the people involved at some point this spring including CATCH/MB Management, relevant city department reps, and our Councilman Allen Bennett.

But that really shouldn't be necessary, should it?

I just want to nail down who's responsibility it is to keep the area clean and safe and have someone lite a fire under their butt to make sure it stays that way.

If there are city manpower/budget issues then some form of shared coverage by MB Management, The Green Martini, and The Lighting Place should be looked into.

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* I recently started taking a video camera every time I go out
(for many reasons).
So fortunately in this case it's not my word against theirs....

**For the moment I'm not going to post the video here
(or anywhere else) but that could change....
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