Video Chain Quietly Changes Late Policy

The next time you go to rent a movie, your wallet might get a shock at your local Blockbuster.  Last night, an Annapolis resident was shocked that there was nearly $30 in late fees assessed for four movies that were a week late.

Five years ago, Blockbuster rolled out a consumer friendly plan where late movies would be re-stocked for a nominal fee. There was great fanfare and promotion of this new initiative. This time around, not so much. In a decidedly consumer unfriendly move, Blockbuster has reinstated (without much announcement) stringent late fees. We visited the Blockbuster on Hillsmere Drive in Annapolis and the only notice of the change was a photocopy of the new corporate policy taped to the door. It was hardly obvious. And in another non-obvious move, the video store changed their rental period from 7 days to 5 days. When we tried to obtain a copy of the policy (which is not readily available online) and the manager refused and asked us to leave.  When we attempted to take photographs of the policy through the window, he informed us that it was “illegal” to take pictures.

The new plan calls for $1 per day and after 15 days, Blockbuster will charge anywhere from $2.99 to $29.99 per film to your account–after which you own the film.

While Blockbuster claims that they initiated the new plan to remain competitive, many see this as a precursor to their demise.  Just two days ago, Blockbuster announced that they are considering bankruptcy.

It appears that Blockbuster is doing what they can to keep this hidden moneymaker a secret from their customers.

To read the vague text from their new policy, we have tried to transpose it from the photographs we were able to obtain. (after the jump)

Membership rules and certain restrictions apply for rentals.

Movie and Game Rantals: All movie and game rentals are due back at the date and time printed on the transaction receipt (the “Initial Rental Period”). For each day a member chooses to keep the item after the Initial Rental Period, the
member will be charged and additional daily rate (each, an “Additional Daily Rate”). If member chooses to keep the item for more than ten (10) days after the end of the Initial Rental Period, BLOCKBUSTER will convert the item to an automatic sale (AutoSale) and on the eleventh day after the end of the Initial Rental Period, charge the item’s AutoSale price to the credit card or check card on filer ot the membership account as applicable, subject to the return policy set
forth below.

AutoSale Price: The “AutoSale price” means the price, at the time of rental, for either the previously viewed product or the new retail product (whichever is lower) be charged by that BLOCKBUSTER store for the product, if the product is eligible for sale as a previously rented product at that BLOCKBUSTER store at the time of rental.If this product is not available for sale as previously viewed product at that BLOCKBUSTER store at the time of rental, then the “AutoSale price” will be the new retail price charged by that BLOCKBUSTER store for the product at the time of rental.

AutoSale Return: If a member returns the product within ten (10) days of the AutoSale, the member will receive a credit back in the amount of the AutoSale price to the credit card or check card on file or the membership account as applicable. If a member returns the product more than ten (10) days following the AutoSale but on or before thirty (30) days following the AutoSale, the member will receive a credit back in the amount of the AutoSale back to the membership account. Products may not be returned after thirty (30) days following the AutoSale.  PLEASE NOTE: For all movie and game rentals, if an AutoSale is required (as described above), the member will be credited back for the AutoSale price, but the member remains responsible for all accrued Additional Daily Rates incurred prior to the AutoSale.

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Ice Cream Weekend

Just a reminder for free stuff on Saturday, March 20, 2010.

All Rita’s Italian Ice stores are giving away a free water ice to everyone!

Bruster’s Ice Cream on Forest Drive will be giving away a free waffle cone to anyone in their pajamas!

Police & Fire Prepare For Possible Incident

Owing to the power of the Internet and the widespread publicity, Thomas Virts was captured a day after his photo was published!

On March 18, 2010, at approximately 3:30 p.m., detectives took Thomas Virts into custody without incident on the parking lot of Belle Grove Elementary in Brooklyn Park.

Regional News From WBAL-TV

Man Arrested For Robbing Annapolis Pharmacy Four Times. A Maryland man has been charged with robbing the same pharmacy four times in a six-month period.Charles Edward Lawrence, 34, is accused of robbing at gunpoint the Annapolis Professional Pharmacy, with the most recent of the four incidents occurring on March 12.The business is located in the 700 block on Giddings Avenue.Annapolis police arrested Lawrence on Thursday after executing a search warrant at his residence in Edgewater. (NOTE:  Eye On Annapolis has reported on this several times and this week featured photos of a suspected accomplice.)

Alcohol, Speed Cited In Hanover Wrong Way Crash. Police said a driver going the wrong way on an Anne Arundel County road hit another vehicle head-on, sending himself, his passenger and the driver of the other car to the hospital.The crash occurred just after 2:45 a.m. Thursday on Maryland Route 100.Investigators said Leon Franklin Medura Jr., 28, of Crofton, was driving a pick-up truck eastbound in the westbound lanes. Police said they had received calls about Medura just before the crash.Medura’s truck collided with a Toyota Camry driven by Olasupo Dosunmu, 36, of Hanover.

MD College Student Drowns In Mexico On Spring Break. A Baltimore family is mourning a son who drowned over the weekend while in Cancun, Mexico.Davon Green Franklin was on spring break when the incident occurred, his family members said.

USNS Comfort Returns Home Today. A Navy hospital ship is returning home to Baltimore after a two-month mission to earthquake-stricken Haiti.The Navy said the USNS Comfort will arrive at Canton Pier at 10 a.m.The nearly 900-foot floating hospital left Baltimore Jan. 16 and began treating patients off the coast of Port-au-Prince four days later. Cmdr. Tim Donahue, the ship’s director of surgery, said the Comfort treated 871 patients and performed 843 surgeries.

Following Immigration Raids, County Cites Owners For 20 Violations

County Executive John R. Leopold today announced that the Health Department and the Department of Inspections and Permits will be taking action against property owners for 20 violations ranging from unsafe structures to junk and debris discovered as a result of illegal immigration raids on three properties last week.

Employers must be held accountable for violating federal immigration laws as well as the negative impact they have on the community for forcing their workers to live in deplorable conditions.  Our local law enforcement and County agencies play an important role in making sure that these actions are not tolerated.

–Anne Arundel County Executive, John R. Leopold

On March 11, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents with support from 18 County police officers served warrants on Timbuktu Restaurant in Hanover and residences connected to the business. Twenty-nine people were taken into custody for immigration violations.

Each violation of the County Construction Code carries a possible fine of $500.  Violations of the Property Maintenance Code and Zoning Code carry a possible fine of $125 per day.  These violations can be enforced through injunctive proceedings or the issuance of civil citations.  If the zoning violations are not corrected and injunctive proceedings are initiated, the owner can be fined up to $500 per day.

The following violations were identified:

●       1738 Dorsey Road – untagged vehicle, junk and debris, illegal dwelling with no windows, sewage overflow, large amounts of garbage, garage used as a dwelling, rodent infestation.
●       1754 Dorsey Road – untagged vehicle, junk and debris, large amounts of garbage, two sheds in disrepair, rodent infestation
●       1704 Dorsey Road – junk and debris, unsafe structure
●       1726 Dorsey Road – untagged vehicle, junk and debris, illegal deck, unsafe structure with fire damage

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There and Back Again

It has only one name–the Chesapeake–but a solo sailing trip from bottom to top and back shows the author a Bay of many faces.

by Paul Clancy

It’s midmorning, the first of October. An early rain has given way to patches of blue sky and then a burst of sunshine that splashes millions of diamonds on silver-gray water. As I slip my mooring and pass the cargo terminal and naval base a gentle southwest breeze seems to whisper pleasant tidings. I’m anxious about all this, sailing alone from my home base in Norfolk to the northernmost reaches of the Bay, 200 miles or so at a notoriously fickle time of year. But the adventure tugs me along. What’s more, the following tide passing Old Point Comfort adds its small measure of encouragement.

I want to see parts of the Chesapeake I’ve never seen before, compare what I know of the wide-open southern Bay to the narrow chasms of the north. Learn a little something about self-reliance and taste one of the sweet adventures that living in this part of the world has to offer. And maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll run into some great people.

The Chesapeake is North America’s largest estuary, wheeling and dealing umpteen trillion gallons of water from its rivers and the sea, back and forth, fresh water, salt water, like an over-achieving horse trader. Once the riverbed of the mighty Susquehanna, geologists say, it grew ever wider as the river rose and spilled over its banks, and fifty tributaries joined the party.

Like the flood tide, I’m riding this highway from south to north. Where I’ve started, it might as well be the ocean. There are dolphins, sharks and sea turtles here, lots of them, and even an occasional whale. Off to starboard, black-tipped wings flashing, gannets are diving on schools of fish. I’m used to seeing them out on the deep ocean. Maybe they’re after the menhaden which migrate by the millions from the Bay to the ocean this time of year, close to the surface and vulnerable. I wonder if the gannets know this and return every year to this glutinous feast. Unlike the menhaden, I’m moving from dense salt water toward fresh, from pristine toward sediment- and nutrient-laden, from good visibility toward murk. At least, that’s the theory, although it’s hard to tell from three feet off the water. What I notice now is that the color changes with the direction of the light: green off to port, blue straight ahead, gray to starboard and aft.

So intent am I about the water, and somewhat blinded by my sails, that I don’t notice the boat passing on my right.

“Hey Paul!”

I almost jump out of my boat. Next to me is a classy Bristol 40 and its occupants–Sonny and Meriel Wright, returning down the Bay after a long cruise. My blue-gray hull and worn sails evidently have given me away. “We saw you coming a long time ago,” Meriel shouts. I jump up and down and wave with both arms like an idiot as they pass quickly and fall out of earshot. So glad am I for this unexpected sendoff, but at the same time I find myself already missing home.

It’s a long way, and this will be a lesson in patience. Like most people nowadays, I’m used to getting places at 65 miles an hour. Making a trip of two weeks or more at speeds that will average somewhere around four knots, 40 miles maximum each day, requires an attitude adjustment–and this ain’t happy hour. I was hoping to make it all the way to Deltaville on this first leg of the trip, but the late start makes that unlikely. Well, I’m doing four-and-a-half knots, I notice, thanks to a lovely southwesterly breeze, and don’t give a fig or a farthing for distance at this point. I’m on the Chesapeake and that’s all that matters.

click here to continue reading at Chesapeake Bay Magazine >>

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Local Woman To Compete In World Championship Windsurfing

Annapolis native, Farrah Hall, America’s top-ranked women’s windsurfer, will compete at the Formula Windsurfing World Championships on March 21-27, held on Lake Potrerillos, Argentina.

Farrah opened her competition year with two solid performances.  At US Sailing’s Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta at the end of January, she put in a solid performance to retain her number one American ranking.  She also won the Women’s Formula Class Midwinters title earlier this month, a competition held at Merritt Island, Florida and sponsored by Calema Windsurfing.

“Winning the Calema Midwinters title has been a goal of mine since I first competed there six years ago,” says Hall.  Being the last Formula Class regatta before the Worlds, many international pro windsurfers attended the regatta to test their equipment before heading to Argentina.

Hall, from Annapolis, MD, who has her sights set on representing her country at the 2012 Olympics in London, England in the one-design RS:X Class windsurfer, is enhancing her Olympic campaign to race in the Formula Class World Championship starting next week on a lake 50 kilometers from Mendoza, Argentina.

Follow Farrah’s journey to the Olympics at http://www.farrahhall.com and her blog at http://farrahhall.blogspot.com

2 Stable, 1 Critical

On March 18, 2010, at 2:46 a.m., officers  responded to the area of MD Route 100 westbound, west of MD Route 170 in Hanover for a report of a motor vehicle crash.

The initial investigation revealed that a 2006 Ford F150 truck was illegally traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of MD Route 100. The truck struck a 1999 Toyota Camry head on in the right lane of westbound MD Rt. 100, just west of MD Route 170.

The driver of the Toyota was transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma via helicopter with life threatening injuries. The driver and passenger of the Ford truck were both transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma via ambulance. The occupants of the truck were listed in serious, but stable condition.

Preliminary investigation indicates that driver error, excessive speed and alcohol were contributing factors on the part of the driver of the Ford truck and charges are pending at this time. The investigation is ongoing.

The driver of the pick up truck was Leon Franklin Medura Jr, 28, of 2903 Cold Spring Way in Crofton. The passenger was Ashley Lauren Patterson, 24, of the same address. The drive of the Toyota was Olasupo Dosunmu, 36, of 7505 Terrain Court, Hanover, MD

Hey there, Annapolis. I’m back, and I’ve got a few things to say about the recent illegal immigrant roundup.

I know that I’m just a young’un and should probably rejoin the hopscotch game, but I feel the need to toss in my two cents, especially since, according to our Top Ten of the Week, the announcement of the illegal immigrant roundup has garnered record views on the website.

I’ve seen a some of the postings in the comments section, which is why I feel a little wary putting my views out here–but we have to remember that this country was founded by immigrants. They didn’t need any papers. And they certainly didn’t like paying their dang taxes. (In fact, I can name a number of Americans who don’t like paying their taxes. But no matter how much I suggest it, the federal government still won’t deport Sarah Palin and the Tea Party to Mexico.)

We keep forgetting that immigrants from places like Mexico are the backbone of our economy. Who else will do the thankless jobs–empty our trash cans, work in our restaurants, clean our toilets? Deport them if you want, but they’re the foundation upon which our entire workforce is built. If you take away the foundation, the workforce will crumble. And if the workforce crumbles, our generation will have to fix it. The generation that made Twilight a cultural phenomenon. If you want to task us with rebuilding the economy from the bottom up, you’re crazy.

If you look at it the right way, illegal immigrants are some of our country’s best citizens. They work hard doing jobs that most of us wouldn’t dream of doing. They don’t get into trouble, because they know that any criminal activity can get them deported. And they’re focused on the true American Dream–a successful life earned through hard work–which many of us either take for granted or have forgotten while we scrawl mustaches on pictures of Barack Obama.

Of course, people are going to bring out the fact that none of these people pay taxes–but the reality is, some of them do. The reason most of them don’t is because the employers pay them under the table in cash. The reason the employers do that is because there are laws against having illegal immigrants on the payroll. The reason we have those laws is because our country has developed prejudices against illegal immigrants. And the reason for those prejudices (or so we tell ourselves) is because they don’t pay taxes. So, in reality, we have no one else to blame but ourselves.

And as long as we’re harping on where our tax dollars are going, who do you think pays the salaries and benefits of the ICE guys who are tasked with deporting these people? When you add up the costs of supplying, running, and staffing an entire federal department, the cost must be comparable–at LEAST–to the cost of supporting these illegal immigrants.

This is a moral issue here more than anything else. These people are human beings coming here to make an honest living, to support their families and have a shot at prosperity. These are things we take for granted in America, but everyone should have a shot at these no matter where they’re born. Seizing 27 people who are trying to make a better life for themselves and shipping them back into poverty is useless. Congratulations, 27 less people have access to quality emergency room care. Do you really feel good about yourselves? They were hanging back, doing our menial jobs, staying out of the way and doing no one any harm. It’s like calling the cops on the dust bunnies in the attic.

I don’t know what sort of feedback to anticipate on this post. I suppose I’m going to be called un-American. But, and even as someone who’s still in high school, I know nothing is more American than American values, and I don’t know anyone who, when asked to list the core American values, would honestly say “paying your taxes”. Mexican immigrants embody hard work, perseverance, and strong will–the values that America, in my opinion, was founded on. In my eyes, that makes them just as American as me or you.

Of course, even if we begin to accept illegal immigrants with an open mind and open arms, there will always be problems, which is why I bring you

Seth Perry’s Top 10 Ways To Solve Problems With Immigrants

10. Instead of giving them the jobs that are just dirty and low-paying, give them the jobs that no one actually wants to have, such as:

• CEO of a failing company
• Tiger Woods’ publicist
• Crash test dummy
• Ashlee Simpson
• Eric Massa staffer

9. Don’t worry about teaching them English, because everyone in America already knows it. Teach them concepts that are hard for us to grasp, such as opening window blinds and not thinking that artificial tanning looks cool.

8. Buy them all Lamborghinis. Taxpayers are liable to accept a massive amount of spending if it’s ludicrous enough (see: War, Iraq).

7. We need to improve the public image of all those of Spanish heritage—in other words, Antonio Banderas needs to make another movie. George Lopez, you’re making a valiant effort, but it would help if you were actually funny.

6. In an effort to curb anti-immigration sentiments, all racist xenophobes will be stripped of all their money and dropped into a foreign country where the only cultural aspect they recognize is tacos. Let them see how it feels.

5. To combat the threat of Mexican drug cartels spilling over onto American soil, we station America’s fiercest and scariest warriors at the Mexican-American border. By that, of course, I mean Rosie O’Donnell and all Rosie O’Donnell-impersonating drag queens.

4. Instead of letting anti-immigration activists and pro-immigration activists argue, we need to get them arguing about whether toilet paper is best rolled over or under. That way, if the anti-immigration activists get confused and keep shouting “send them back”, we’ll replenish our national forests.

3. Get John McCain’s take on the issue. Most people wouldn’t anticipate me saying this, and for good reason—I disagree with many of Mr. McCain’s policies. But if we want to deal with the biggest immigration rush since immigrants flooded Ellis Island in the 1800s, we need someone who was there in the 1800s.

2. Turn the illegal immigration process into a season of The Amazing Race. It’s on TV, so people will accept it.

1. Remind ourselves that all humans deserve a shot at prosperity. This may or may not serve the joint purpose of convincing all teenage girls that werewolves and vampires do not, thereby inducing the fall of the tyrannical empire that is Twilight.

My fellow Americans…Peace out.