MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
N.J. Eatery Writes 'Jew Couple' on Check
Aug 17
ALLENHURST, N.J.
The bill was a shocker, and not because of the amount. After eating at a Jersey shore restaurant, Elliott Stein and his girlfriend were handed a bill that said "Jew Couple" near the bottom, as a table identifier used by the waitstaff. The slur also turned up on Stein's credit card statement weeks later.
"My grandfather went through all that in old-school Europe," Stein, a New Yorker and a regular at the restaurant, told the New York Post. "But that happened more than 50 years ago. You don't expect it to happen in 2005."
The New Jersey Attorney General's Office said Wednesday it is investigating the July incident at Parkhill's Waterfront Grill through its Division on Civil Rights.
Stein, 23, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. He did not return two telephone messages left at his office.
The server, identified on the check only as Karina, is no longer working at the restaurant, general manager Malia Wells said Wednesday. Wells wouldn't say if it was because of the incident.
"We don't run our establishment like that," Wells said. "It was definitely poor judgment on her part."
Stephen Reid, a spokesman for the restaurant, said it had been the waitstaff's practice to use descriptions of diners to identify them on checks, instead of using the number of their table, as many establishments do.
He said racial slurs were never used to describe diners.
....................................................
In CT
Town of Wallkill – If you're a 7-year-old kid with cerebral palsy and autism, you have to take your laughs anywhere you can get them.
Just don't have too much fun at the local movie theater, or you might get thrown out.
That's what happened to young Anthony Pratti this week. To say his parents are upset about it would be an understatement.
Anthony, who uses a wheelchair, was with his parents, his sister and his grandmother at the Loews Cineplex theaters in the Galleria at Crystal Run Sunday, watching a 1:15 p.m. matinee of the G-rated film "March of the Penguins."
The family sat in the wheelchair section provided by the theater. Anthony was having a good time, said his mom, Gina Pratti.
"He was laughing, but he really wasn't much louder than any of the other kids," she said.
About 15 minutes into the film, one of the theater's managers approached the family, she said.
"He said our son was laughing too loud," Pratti said. "My husband told him Anthony didn't understand, that he was disabled, but that we'd try to quiet him down."
Not good enough, apparently – the manager brusquely told the family that Anthony had to leave, Pratti said.
Outraged, the family followed the manager to the lobby, where they were told they all didn't have to leave – just Anthony, Pratti said.
Pratti was dumbfounded.
"I said to him, what are we supposed to do, wheel him outside and leave him there?" she said.
The manager refunded the family's ticket purchase and sent them on their way, she said.
Pratti and her husband have spent the past three days making phone calls and sending e-mails, trying to get someone – anyone – from Loews to give them an explanation.
"Not one person from Loews has called me back," Pratti said.
When contacted by the Times Herald-Record yesterday, a representative of Loews corporate headquarters said the company is concerned by Pratti's story, and is looking into Sunday's events.
The company says it will issue a statement today.
Pratti has spoken with attorneys about the incident, but isn't sure she wants to pursue any legal action.
Meanwhile, Pratti says she hopes Loews will do whatever it takes to make amends.
"This was only the third movie Anthony had ever seen, and now we're afraid to go back because they might throw us out again," Pratti said.
Explanations aside, Pratti has a simple message for the manager she says publicly humiliated her son:
"Shame on you."....................
Middletown - Young Anthony Pratti just wanted to see a movie, but today, his story has turned into a kind of firestorm.
The happy 7-year-old, who spends much of his time in a wheelchair dealing
with cerebral palsy and autism, was ejected from the Loews Cineplex theaters in the Galleria at Crystal Run Sunday.
As Anthony was busy laughing and having a good time watching the film "March of the Penguins," a theater manager told his shocked family Anthony was laughing too loud, and that he had to get out.
Anthony's story, which made the cover of today's Times Herald-Record, has sparked a tsunami of supportive phone calls, Internet chat room postings and e-mails from around the region and the nation, along with a minor media frenzy.
Gina Pratti, Anthony's mother, spent most of today chasing hordes of television reporters off her front lawn.
At least seven New York City television stations, plus MSNBC, descended on Pratti seeking interviews. The story was carried on radio stations around the tri-state region, and was even picked up by the Drudge Report Web site.
" My phone hasn't stopped ringing," Pratti said.
For its part, Loews corporate office has apologized to Pratti for what happened to Anthony, and says it's taking steps to ensure it won't happen again.
"We may not have exercised the best sensitivity in handling this situation," said John McCauley, senior vice president of marketing for Loews Cineplex Entertainment.
McCauley said the company would offer more training to employees in how to better deal with touchy situations.
"We welcome the Pratti family back to our theaters, and we hope they'll give us a second chance," McCauley added.
Anthony's story prompted a deluge of messages of solidarity, sympathy and support - and some generous offers.
Keith Lipsey, a Washingtonville police officer and martial arts teacher who works with autistic children, said he was incensed by Anthony's story.
He said he's trying to arrange a special night out at the Destina Theaters in New Windsor for Anthony, his family, friends.
"We should see who can laugh the loudest," Lipsey said. "I'll have bunch of cops around them, I'll bring the whole autistic society in. We'll make it a laughing matter in a positive sense."
Another woman offered to start a petition drive, and more than one person offered to boycott Loews theaters in response. Mark Zurlo, president of Middletown Discount Cinemas, said Loews should have known better, and that the Prattis are welcome to come to his theater anytime as his guest.
"It's a shame that happened," Zurlo said. "It makes us all look bad. There are ways to handle situations - that was not the way to handle it."
.....................................................
Woman Gets Cable Bill With Derogatory Name
Wed Aug 17
LaChania Govan said she got bounced around by her cable company when she called to complain. She made dozens of calls and was even transferred to a person who spoke Spanish — a language she doesn't understand.
But when she got her August bill from Comcast she had no trouble understanding she'd made somebody mad. It was addressed to "Bitch Dog."
"I was like you got to be freaking kidding me," said Govan, 25. "I was so mad I couldn't even cuss."
Govan said the only thing she did to Comcast employees that might be considered rude came after a few dozen calls when she felt she was treated shabbily. "I did tell them, 'You know what, it has to be a qualification to work for your company that you have to be rude,'" she said.
Govan said she talked to a supervisor and he offered her two months free service, which she turned down.
Finally Wednesday, about two weeks after she got her bill, somebody from the company left a message on her answering machine in which the caller apologized.
Comcast officials said it shouldn't have happened.
"We only use the actual customers names on the bill," said Patricia Andrews-Keenan, a Comcast spokeswoman.
Company officials went through the records and identified two people who were involved with the name change and fired them, Andrews-Keenan said. It's unknown why the employees did it.
In another case, Peoples Energy customer Jefferoy Barnes started getting letters addressed to "Jeffery Scrotum Bag Barnes."
"I had no bad words at all. I guess the earliest letter is dated in May and from then on up until now my name has been listed as Jeffery Scrotum Bag Barnes and I have no idea why."
Barnes said he received an apologetic call from a company official. He also has contacted an attorney to determine if he can take legal action.
A Peoples Energy spokeswoman called the letter inexcusable.
Pratti said her family is very, very grateful to everyone for the support.
She said she didn't go into this wanting anything but an apology. "I thought this was just a simple thing, but obviously it's touched a nerve for a lot of people," Pratti said.
Aug 17
ALLENHURST, N.J.
The bill was a shocker, and not because of the amount. After eating at a Jersey shore restaurant, Elliott Stein and his girlfriend were handed a bill that said "Jew Couple" near the bottom, as a table identifier used by the waitstaff. The slur also turned up on Stein's credit card statement weeks later.
"My grandfather went through all that in old-school Europe," Stein, a New Yorker and a regular at the restaurant, told the New York Post. "But that happened more than 50 years ago. You don't expect it to happen in 2005."
The New Jersey Attorney General's Office said Wednesday it is investigating the July incident at Parkhill's Waterfront Grill through its Division on Civil Rights.
Stein, 23, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. He did not return two telephone messages left at his office.
The server, identified on the check only as Karina, is no longer working at the restaurant, general manager Malia Wells said Wednesday. Wells wouldn't say if it was because of the incident.
"We don't run our establishment like that," Wells said. "It was definitely poor judgment on her part."
Stephen Reid, a spokesman for the restaurant, said it had been the waitstaff's practice to use descriptions of diners to identify them on checks, instead of using the number of their table, as many establishments do.
He said racial slurs were never used to describe diners.
....................................................
In CT
Town of Wallkill – If you're a 7-year-old kid with cerebral palsy and autism, you have to take your laughs anywhere you can get them.
Just don't have too much fun at the local movie theater, or you might get thrown out.
That's what happened to young Anthony Pratti this week. To say his parents are upset about it would be an understatement.
Anthony, who uses a wheelchair, was with his parents, his sister and his grandmother at the Loews Cineplex theaters in the Galleria at Crystal Run Sunday, watching a 1:15 p.m. matinee of the G-rated film "March of the Penguins."
The family sat in the wheelchair section provided by the theater. Anthony was having a good time, said his mom, Gina Pratti.
"He was laughing, but he really wasn't much louder than any of the other kids," she said.
About 15 minutes into the film, one of the theater's managers approached the family, she said.
"He said our son was laughing too loud," Pratti said. "My husband told him Anthony didn't understand, that he was disabled, but that we'd try to quiet him down."
Not good enough, apparently – the manager brusquely told the family that Anthony had to leave, Pratti said.
Outraged, the family followed the manager to the lobby, where they were told they all didn't have to leave – just Anthony, Pratti said.
Pratti was dumbfounded.
"I said to him, what are we supposed to do, wheel him outside and leave him there?" she said.
The manager refunded the family's ticket purchase and sent them on their way, she said.
Pratti and her husband have spent the past three days making phone calls and sending e-mails, trying to get someone – anyone – from Loews to give them an explanation.
"Not one person from Loews has called me back," Pratti said.
When contacted by the Times Herald-Record yesterday, a representative of Loews corporate headquarters said the company is concerned by Pratti's story, and is looking into Sunday's events.
The company says it will issue a statement today.
Pratti has spoken with attorneys about the incident, but isn't sure she wants to pursue any legal action.
Meanwhile, Pratti says she hopes Loews will do whatever it takes to make amends.
"This was only the third movie Anthony had ever seen, and now we're afraid to go back because they might throw us out again," Pratti said.
Explanations aside, Pratti has a simple message for the manager she says publicly humiliated her son:
"Shame on you."....................
Middletown - Young Anthony Pratti just wanted to see a movie, but today, his story has turned into a kind of firestorm.
The happy 7-year-old, who spends much of his time in a wheelchair dealing
with cerebral palsy and autism, was ejected from the Loews Cineplex theaters in the Galleria at Crystal Run Sunday.
As Anthony was busy laughing and having a good time watching the film "March of the Penguins," a theater manager told his shocked family Anthony was laughing too loud, and that he had to get out.
Anthony's story, which made the cover of today's Times Herald-Record, has sparked a tsunami of supportive phone calls, Internet chat room postings and e-mails from around the region and the nation, along with a minor media frenzy.
Gina Pratti, Anthony's mother, spent most of today chasing hordes of television reporters off her front lawn.
At least seven New York City television stations, plus MSNBC, descended on Pratti seeking interviews. The story was carried on radio stations around the tri-state region, and was even picked up by the Drudge Report Web site.
" My phone hasn't stopped ringing," Pratti said.
For its part, Loews corporate office has apologized to Pratti for what happened to Anthony, and says it's taking steps to ensure it won't happen again.
"We may not have exercised the best sensitivity in handling this situation," said John McCauley, senior vice president of marketing for Loews Cineplex Entertainment.
McCauley said the company would offer more training to employees in how to better deal with touchy situations.
"We welcome the Pratti family back to our theaters, and we hope they'll give us a second chance," McCauley added.
Anthony's story prompted a deluge of messages of solidarity, sympathy and support - and some generous offers.
Keith Lipsey, a Washingtonville police officer and martial arts teacher who works with autistic children, said he was incensed by Anthony's story.
He said he's trying to arrange a special night out at the Destina Theaters in New Windsor for Anthony, his family, friends.
"We should see who can laugh the loudest," Lipsey said. "I'll have bunch of cops around them, I'll bring the whole autistic society in. We'll make it a laughing matter in a positive sense."
Another woman offered to start a petition drive, and more than one person offered to boycott Loews theaters in response. Mark Zurlo, president of Middletown Discount Cinemas, said Loews should have known better, and that the Prattis are welcome to come to his theater anytime as his guest.
"It's a shame that happened," Zurlo said. "It makes us all look bad. There are ways to handle situations - that was not the way to handle it."
.....................................................
Woman Gets Cable Bill With Derogatory Name
Wed Aug 17
LaChania Govan said she got bounced around by her cable company when she called to complain. She made dozens of calls and was even transferred to a person who spoke Spanish — a language she doesn't understand.
But when she got her August bill from Comcast she had no trouble understanding she'd made somebody mad. It was addressed to "Bitch Dog."
"I was like you got to be freaking kidding me," said Govan, 25. "I was so mad I couldn't even cuss."
Govan said the only thing she did to Comcast employees that might be considered rude came after a few dozen calls when she felt she was treated shabbily. "I did tell them, 'You know what, it has to be a qualification to work for your company that you have to be rude,'" she said.
Govan said she talked to a supervisor and he offered her two months free service, which she turned down.
Finally Wednesday, about two weeks after she got her bill, somebody from the company left a message on her answering machine in which the caller apologized.
Comcast officials said it shouldn't have happened.
"We only use the actual customers names on the bill," said Patricia Andrews-Keenan, a Comcast spokeswoman.
Company officials went through the records and identified two people who were involved with the name change and fired them, Andrews-Keenan said. It's unknown why the employees did it.
In another case, Peoples Energy customer Jefferoy Barnes started getting letters addressed to "Jeffery Scrotum Bag Barnes."
"I had no bad words at all. I guess the earliest letter is dated in May and from then on up until now my name has been listed as Jeffery Scrotum Bag Barnes and I have no idea why."
Barnes said he received an apologetic call from a company official. He also has contacted an attorney to determine if he can take legal action.
A Peoples Energy spokeswoman called the letter inexcusable.
Pratti said her family is very, very grateful to everyone for the support.
She said she didn't go into this wanting anything but an apology. "I thought this was just a simple thing, but obviously it's touched a nerve for a lot of people," Pratti said.
