Monument or National Park?

There was a luncheon meeting where staff from Senator Udall’s office informed attendees about possible legislation to make the Colorado National Monument into a National Park. The Senator hasn’t decided if he will draft a bill to make that happen; he’s still in the information gathering stage. I learned some interesting things at that meeting:

Before the park service had money to manage the monument, it was managed by Grand Junction’s Chamber of Commerce. At one time the Chamber was in favor of national park status, but so far they haven’t committed to supporting any legislation that would make it happen.

The two largest concerns for the people who are against the proposal are the air quality and possible traffic congestion if visits increased. The park service is already planning for increased visits, mostly because the local population is increasing. It seems the Chamber is hesitating to jump on the bandwagon because of their concerns that designation as a national park would make it more difficult for the oil and gas companies to belch toxins into our air. (Note: I said that. The Senator’s staff made no mention of oil and gas or the motives of the Chamber.)

FRAM, LLC

The owners of drilling leases near Whitewater, in conjunction with the BLM hosted an open house at the Double Tree Hotel.  There was no official presentation, just easels with maps and information scattered around the room. There is an open comment period for this project. (Information linked in the Homework section.)

Occupy GJ

The Occupy Grand Junction folks had protestors in the parking lot of the Double Tree Hotel to greet the oil and gas industry as it arrived. TV News cameras showed up, and were interviewing people. (I just waved as I drove by.) As I was leaving the FRAM event, I overheard two policemen talking to the local BLM head honcho about how inappropriate it was for the protestors to be there. The tone of the conversation seemed to indicate that the protestors should have stayed downtown, and weren’t welcome at the ritziest hotel in town.

When did the right to assemble get taken out of the U.S. Constitution?

Home Depot Customer Service

The check is in the mail, and I’ve agreed to stop bitching until Thursday. If the check doesn’t arrive then, all bets are off. In the meanwhile, the store manager gave me $25 worth of merchandise just so that I would go away.

Homework

Monument or National Park

Contact Mark Udall

2010 Fram LLC Proposal

2011 Proposed Plan

BLM Seeking Public Comments on Fram Proposal Deadline December 1

Occupy Grand Junction on Facebook

From: tradepractice@bbbsw.org [mailto:tradepractice@bbbsw.org]
Sent: Sunday, November 06, 2011 6:55 PM
To: Konola@Bresnan.net
Subject: BBB - Web Complaint

Thank you for filing your complaint. As you requested, below is a copy of your complaint.

Within the next business day, you will receive an email acknowledging receipt of the complaint. That acknowledgment will also give you information on how you can track the status of your complaint through our website.

Complainant Information

Ms. Claudette Konola
Konola@Bresnan.net

Company Information:

Home Depot
2436 F Road
Grand Junction, CO 81505
Website:
Phone: (970) 244-8577

Complaint Text

On October 1, I ordered a bathroom vanity, advertised as "oak." At the time of the order, I paid in full. When the order arrived, it had more components made out of plastic than made out of oak, one of the braces at the top was broken out, and the drawers were not level. Then when I refused to accept such a piece of crap, after paying almost $1,000, I was told that there would be a "restocking" charge. It is beyond me to understand to who a broken piece of merchandise might be sold. But that is not even the point I'd like to make. I was told that I would have to come into the store in order to get my money back, since I paid cash. So I said I'd be there the next day to get my cash. I was told that the amount was too large for the store to give out cash, that a check would be mailed to reimburse me. Today I received, in the mail, a copy of that transaction which tells me that I could expect a check in 21 days.Already they had my money for 33 days, and I'll need to wait another 21 days. HOME DEPOT GOT THEIR MONEY ON THE DAY THE ORDER WAS PLACED. I'm an ex-banker, so I know that if you do that to all of your customers, you are making money on my money, but you are not giving ME any consideration at all. Now I can't order another vanity, because MY MONEY IS HELD BY HOME DEPOT. I will go through the holiday season without having my bathroom remodel completed.

Resolution Sought: I'd like them to fail and go out of business. But I'd settle for my money immediately instead of in 21 days.I paid cash 33 days ago and now have to wait until the store gets around to sending me a check because they can't pay out cash on returns this large. They are using my money, making it impossible for me to complete my bathroom remodel before the holidays. I will never do business with this store, or any Home Depot again. I also plan on telling everyone I can think of what bums they are.

Date Problem Started: 11/1/2011
Date of Transaction: 10/1/2011
Amount in Dispute: $956.90
Invoice Number: 1513273826
Complaint Type: Customer Service Issues
Product or Service: The product sucks.
The customer service sucks.

If you have any questions regarding your complaint, please contact the Complaint Dept. at (505) 346-0110 or email tradepractice@bbbsw.org.

Complaint Department

BBB of the Southwest