EXXON: FOUR (4) OIL SPILLS IN ONE (1) WEEK!

 

ExxonMobil's oil spill in Arkansas was all over the news last week. But there were 3 other spills that you might not have heard about.

Learn more about them: http://bit.ly/16NxeDk — with Keith Lee, Michael Quinn and Kenneth Quinnell.





This fact was especially evident last week, when Exxon’s Pegasus pipeline spilled over 150,000 gallons of toxic tar sands crude oil into Lake Conway and adjoining neighborhoods in Mayflower, Arkansas.

Exxon's tar sands spill in Mayflower, Arkansas

However, Exxon’s Mayflower spill is not an isolated incident. In fact, there were three other significant oil spills that occurred last week.
The spills, which were the result of both train derailments and pipeline ruptures, spilled many hundreds of thousands of gallons of toxic crude oil in and around neighborhoods, marshes, and rivers.
March 26 – Train Derailment in Minnesota – 30,000 gallons of crude oil spilled
Last week’s cacophony of oil industry irresponsibility began with a train derailment in Minnesota, which spilled 30,000 gallons of crude oil. The oil was from Canada which has become a top exporter of crude to the United States because of their exploitation of the tar sands in Alberta.






In a fit of ill-timed opportunism, supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would pump tar sands oil from Canada to the gulf coast, used this this spill as a justification for building the tar sands pipeline. A spokesman for North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, who has been one of the chief political proponents of the Keystone XL pipeline, had this to say:

“It should be clear that we need to move more oil by pipeline rather than by rail or truck…This is why we need the Keystone XL. Pipelines are both safe and efficient.”

March, 29 – Lake Conoway, Arkansas - 156,000 gallons of tar sands crude oil spilled
In an incident that should make anyone question the “safety and efficiency” of oil pipelines, Exxon’s Pegasus Pipeline spilled 157,000 gallons of tar sands crude into Lake Conway and surrounding neighborhoods in Arkansas. Since the spill, Exxon has limited press access to the spill site, oiled animals, and even the skies above the spill area. Exxon has even claimed that Lake Conway has been unaffected by the oil spill, though Arkansas Attorney General Dustin Mcdaniel has set that particular record straight.

“Of course there’s oil in Lake Conway”

Mcdaniels said.


April, 3 – Houston, Texas – 30,000 gallons of crude oil spilled
Four days after Exxon’s Pegasus pipeline ruptured and seven days after Keystone XL pipeline proponents claimed “pipelines are both safe and efficient,” a Shell pipeline running through a bayou outside of Houston spilled 30,000 gallons of oil into the Texas marsh. The actual amount of oil spilled by Shell’s West Columbia Pipeline is still unknown, as the cause of the leak has not been released by Shell.
April, 3 – White River, Ontario – 16,642 gallons of crude oil spilled
At the same time that Shell was spewing oil into the wetlands of Texas, a train derailment in White River, Ontario was leaking oil in Canada. Most people know White River as the original home of Winnie the Pooh, but it is also a major train depot for shipping crude oil. The company responsible claimed that 4 barrels of oil were spilled, though the actual number turned out to be 100 times larger, at 400 barrels. That’s 16,642 gallons of toxic crude oil. Sorry Winnie.
As the oil industry proved this week, they are incapable of protecting people and the environment from their product. As Micheal Brune of Sierra Club said:

“In Ontario, the company said it spilled four barrels when it had actually spilled 400. In Arkansas, Exxon learned about the spill from a homeowner but kept pumping tar sands crude into the neighborhood for 45 minutes, and is bullying reporters who want to tell the public what’s going on. In Texas, a major oil spill came to light that Shell had been denying for days. Transporting toxic crude oil — and tar sands in particular — is inherently dangerous, more so because oil companies care about profit, not public safety. This is why Keystone XL, at nine times the size of the Arkansas Pegasus pipeline, must never be built.”

If built, the Keystone XL pipeline will spill. Stop the Keystone XL pipeline.
Get the latest updates on this spill and related news here.

EXXON: Now Dictates What the Press Can Report?

 

"10 SECONDS TO LEAVE OR YOU WILL BE ARRESTED," DEPUTY SHERIFF TO MEDIA COVERING EXXON'S OIL SPILL IN ARKANSAS. MEDIA BANNED/BLOCKED FROM NEWS COVERAGE BY EXXON. #NOKXL #IDLENOMORE
-via LOrion

Reporters Say Exxon Is Impeding Spill Coverage in Arkansas
Reporters covering the oil spill from ExxonMobil's Pegasus pipeline in Mayflower, Arkansas, are reporting that they've been blocked from the site and threatened with arrest.

On Friday morning, Inside Climate News reported that an Exxon spokesperson told reporter Lisa Song that she could be "arrested for criminal trespass" when she went to the command center to try to find representatives from the EPA and the Department of Transportation. On Friday afternoon, I spoke to the news director from the local NPR affiliate who said he, too, had been threatened with arrest while trying to cover the spill.

Michael Hibblen, who reports for the radio station KUAR, went to the spill site on Wednesday with state Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. McDaniel was in the area to inspect the site and hold a news conference, and Hibblen and a small group of reporters were following him to report on the visit. Upon arrival, representatives from the county sheriff's office, which is running security at the site, directed the reporters to a boundary point 10 feet away that they should not pass. The reporters agreed to comply. But the tone shifted abruptly, Hibblen told Mother Jones on Friday:

It was less than 90 seconds before suddenly the sheriff's deputies started yelling that all the media people had to leave, that ExxonMobil had decided they don't want you here, you have to leave. They even referred to it as "Exxon Media"…Some reporters were like, "Who made this decision? Who can we talk to?" The sheriff's deputies started saying, "You have to leave. You have 10 seconds to leave or you will be arrested."
Hibblen says he didn't really have time to deal with getting arrested, since he needed to file his report on the visit for both the local affiliate and national NPR. (You can hear his piece on the AG's visit here.) KUAR has also reported on Exxon blocking reporters' access to the spill site.

Since the spill happened a week ago, cleanup crews have collected 19,000 barrels of oil and water.

Hibblen says county officials seem to be deferring to Exxon when it comes to reporters. "This gets back to who's really in charge, and it seems like ExxonMobil," he said. "When you throw the media out, that's when the media really get their tentacles up."

http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/04/reporters-say-exxon-impeding-spill-coverage-arkansas

Four Poins Sheraton, Ventura = 1.5 Points (Stars)

We should have known by the sign out front that there was something lacking in hotel upkeep.....

When we registered the young blond at the front desk (with the phony smile) wasn't friendly, she was rude about the $10 parking fee: "Its right there on the website under travel, next to the map & directions"... Well sorry, Missy, I didn't look at that part, as I know where this hotel is (I've been here 4 previous times) so I didn't look at the directions...   

As for staying 4 previous times: apparently I'm a SPG "GOLD"  member, but none of my points were on my account!  Unlike Best Western, SPG points expire every 18 months...so you never build any up, nor get to use the ones you did earn!

So then we went to our "Garden View" room, #104 and went to check out the view from our patio...

This was our view.....
Lovely Garden view! Which reminds me of the first time I stayed in a "Harbor View" room.... It was high bushes behind which was a parking lot & dumpsters!


When we looked up to relock the sliding glass door we saw:

 The holes where they mislaid the curtain tracks;
the paint slopped onto the sliding glass door frame; the peeling wallpaper next to the sliding glass door handle; and the paint drips on the sliding glass door frame!  Wow, what sloppy upkeep.....  
Then we were thirsty and wanted a bottle of water, well there was One (1) Free bottle of water, but two guests... and that was not even enough for the morning's coffee..... When we were out we came across a service woman, when we asked her for more water, she scowled at us, letting us know her obvious displeasure at our request, but she did begrudgingly comply.

 Because we were so very underwhelmed with the physical condition of the room, we decided to unpack and put out belongings in the dressing area.  Much to our surprise we found more problems:  Tiles loose & falling off; molding buckling; and the can light shoved in too big of a hole in the ceiling!

 

Looking around more we noticed a stained ceiling; more molding & wallpaper fail!

 

 In the morning I got up to make a hot drink and I was looking at our complimentary coffee & tea selection, which turned out to be a rather dismal offering:

Now there is a restaurant on site, Alexander's. I have eaten there before, but the prices are steep....  being Easter Sunday, they were offering a brunch, but the price was $30.99 per Adult....  Considering, I can not eat that much food (nor do I know anyone who can), the price was outrageously high.  Room Service is another waste of money. A $2.50 glass of milk is levied a $3.00 delivery charge, tax and an 18% gratuity! $6.00+ for a glass of milk, I say that is more than a gallon of gasoline!  But let me tell you this: the Restaurant Staff @ Alexanders' put the rest of the Hotel Staff to Shame...  Alexander's staff are polite, helpful, friendly and provide EXCELLENT Customer Service with a Genuine Smile!  I went in to purchase real milk for my morning coffee.... No charge and they didn't want to accept a tip either.....

The beds were comfortable, soft and the pillows were real pillows not those fake foam rubber neck breakers.

So upon leaving the next morning we were helped by Sylvia, with the graciousness to remove the $10 parking fee and help me with my SPG "GOLD" account, of which there were two both without any points....  Sylvia was more than willing to accommodate us, but her tone of voice was phony as was her manner & smile.  I want to know, who in the Hell trains these people and what the Hell is their problem.  I HATE phony smiles & voices... I Hate staff who talk down to me like I'm a child.... I HATE managers w/ surly attitudes and matching facial expressions.  I guess the attitude trickles down.

When I arrived home, I was asked by Four Points to review the Hotel. My review was Not Rude, but it was accurate and it was REJECTED with the reason being that I referred to a stay at another hotel, which of course was a lie,but they had to have some excuse for not publishing my review on their site.  I did get another chance, they e-mailed me and asked me to take a guest survey. So between their in-house guest survey, Trip Advisor, Fb, & this blog! All I can say is: GOTCHA!

 







 

                                        

Macaroni Grill: An 18% Forced Gratuity?

 

Dear Macaroni Grill:

Tonight, we spent the evening @ your Puente Hills restaurant.  I am so ANGRY! I Am a regular customer, I am well known, I Am MORE Than GENEROUS...and I drive 40 miles to eat at this Particular MacGrill.



Our bill w/ the 18$ FORCED gratuity was over $400!

1st: I bussed the table MYSELF during the Entire Meal and I had to get up & request clean dessert plates.

2nd: When we needed more drinks, I had to go find a wait person and ask for more, I requested that we be given the pitcher of Iced Tea, but I was ignored.

3rd: Our server was so busy w/ other tables, we rarely saw her.

4th: When you change a menu item and add Red Pepper to "spice it up", you need to add that to the item's description....Give me the option of eating spicy food or not.  I Do Not like the addition of red pepper flakes on my Warm Spinach Salad.

5th: When I spoke to the manager she apologized, but the 18% "GRATUITY" was not amended.

A "Gratuity" is EXACTLY That: An Optional THANK-You for GOOD Service.... The fact that I had less than average service did not merit or earn 18%.  If you believe that your servers merit more pay for a larger group, then Raise Their Salaries.... Do NOT Force your customers to pay extra for what is a persons' job.

Needless to say, I will not be returning to the MacGrill any time soon, if ever.