Girl Scouts unable to sell cookies in front of founder's home

In Savannah, Georgia, a troop of Girl Scouts were unable to sell their famous cookies on the sidewalk in front of their founder's childhood home. This was due to a law which prohibits sales on public property. It was brought to the city's attention by someone complaining about them selling the cookies there. Jan McKinney, who heads product sales for the Girl Scouts in Georgia, says they sell about 250 boxes in three hours in front of the house. The city says that they can't allow them to sell because then other businesses will want to sell on sidewalks also. The girls decided to sell at the Springtime Made in the South Festival at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center over the past weekend. Luckilly for the girls the sales were still good, but they preferred selling in front of the home. There is talk about allowing them to sell the cookies during the Girl Scout cookie season.

                                                            The girls selling at their new spot.

This is really sad that society has come to not allow the Girl Scouts to sell their cookies in front of their founder's home. I understand that it is against the law but it only lasts about a month. They should allow them to sell their cookies. The Low home, the childhood house of their founder, brings in many tourists to Savannah. It's obvious that the Girl Scouts organization helps the city out so why can't the city help them. I also understand that other businesses might want to sell but this is only a temporary thing. The better question is who complained to the city about them? Either they are a part of the businesses that want to sell on public property or they don't like any of the Girl Scouts' cookies. The organization helps to teach young girls a lot of good qualities. Good for McKinney in taking the high road where she says that it is just a "real world experience" for the girls and to follow the law. Hopefully the city and the organization can resolve this thing. Maybe they could have the girls sell at the Low house so they would be off of public property but be able to sell at the home. The city did try to see if there was some space between the property line and the sidewalk but there wasn't. I think that they will resolve this to make both parties happy because it seems that the city is willing to work with them because right now it doesn't make them look too good.

                                                                          The Low house.

Student arrested in St. Petersburg police officer shooting

It was recently announced that 16 year old Nicholas Lindsay was the one who shot and killed Officer David Crawford. I don' feel that it is completely the parent's fault. He is 16 years old, two years away from being an adult. At this point he should know that shooting an officer is wrong. Anyways from the information that is coming out it sounds like he was raised to know right from wrong and that his parents were there for him. They could of watched him more and know exactly where he is but he could still disobey them. From reports that are out it sounds like the parents are doing the right thing and when Lindsay was questioned they encouraged him to tell the truth about what happened. This is refreshing considering that some parents wouldn't want them to talk, get a lawyer and have it last forever in a trial.

In preventing this it is currently unknown whether a bulletproof vest would of helped. Considering he was shot in the chest, it probably would of helped. As I stated before the parents probably should of watched over him more but sometimes you can't do anything. It is pretty much Lindsay's fault. He shot the officer about four times, so it is hard to say it is an accident or self defense. Overall I don't feel that there is much else that could of been done.

I feel that it is sad that there have been nine police officers killed in Florida in the past year. It makes you wonder whether it is a coincidence or a trend? Also whether law enforcement can do more to protect their people and prevent these things. But partly because of events like these the Bradenton Police department is going to require officers to wear bulletproof vests. Maybe other departments will do so also as St. Petersburg does not require their officers to wear a bulletproof vest. Hopefully tragedies like these will make departments do more to protect their officers.  

Pizza delivery driver saves customer's life

In Memphis, Tennessee a Dominoes delivery woman saved her customer's life. How so you might ask? The driver, Susan Guy, thought that it was odd how her customer, Jean Wilson, hadn't order a pizza in the past three days. Every day for the past three years, Wilson has ordered a pizza. Guy went out to her home and nobody answered. He asked a neighbor about her and called 911. The police broke into her home and found Wilson on the floor because she couldn't get up and call for help. Wilson is currently in a local hospital in non-critical condition. 
Now that is customer service. This is nice to see that a company is concerned about their customers. Especially since we live in age where if you want technical support you have to call a 1-800 number to someone in India. I am also glad to see that the reason she couldn't order her pizza was from the pizza itself. I remember less than a year ago, in Denver, a delivery person saved a customer's life when the man went into cardiac arrest. Wonder if they will deliver to the hospital?     

St. Petersburg officer shooting

On Monday night at about 10:30 p.m., Officer David S. Crawford was fatally shot near Eight Street and Third Avenue S. Officer Crawford was with the Police Department for 25 years. Officer Crawford was responding to a call to investigate a suspicious person. Officer Donald J. Ziglar also was called to check out the suspicious person. Ziglar found Crawford shot multiple times at close range near his car. At Bayfront Medical Center Officer Crawford was pronounced dead. Currently they are searching for the person who did this.

It is just another reminder of the risks these men and women go through every day. They risk their lives just to try and protect ours. I have the utmost respect for the people who do this especially since I have a family member that works in law enforcement. This is especially saddening considering that this is the third St. Petersburg officer killed in the line of duty in the past 30 days. No department should have go go through something like that. It is kind of scary for those around the Tampa Bay area considering less than a year ago two Tampa police officers were shot at a traffic stop. 

Possible 18 game NFL season

With labor negotiations underway between the NFL and NFLPA, one of the propsed changes talked about is an 18 game NFL scheedule. Most NFL owners are for the 18 game schedule which would eliminate two preseason games and add two more to the current 16 game schedule. The owners also would be excited about the added revenue an 18 game season would bring in. They could charge more for season tickets, get more revenue from concession and merchandise sales, and get a bigger TV contract from the networks. The players however, are against the proposed schedule. They feel it will add more risk to an already violent game. This could increase concussions and serious health risk while players are currently playing or afterwards. Expanded rosters would have to come into place if they the added two games.
The NFL should just stick with the 16 game schedule. Although expanded rosters would help with a longer season, the people who start the games will have more wear and tear on them and could shorten their careers. Instead of playing 16 years they could play 12. As the season goes on their quality of play will decrease also. A defensive lineman will be able get after the quarterback a lot easier at the beginning of the year than at the end. The star players, who put people in the seats, have a greater chance of getting hurt. The quality of the game will just be watered down.