Alex Zorach

I have created @bPlantOrg, a twitter for bplant.org which is an ecology-focused plant website, with an emphasis on ecoregions. Please follow if you're interested in plants, ecology, and the like, and want to learn about this stuff and support this project!

In other news, it's still time to replace Biden, and there's still enough time. New from A.B. Stoddard: thebulwark.com/p/the-case-to-…

@rankthevotede Hey, is your organization active at all? I want to support Ranked Choice in Delaware and I was excited to find your website, but your movement looks totally dead, no activity since 2022. Is anyone organizing here any more?

@mobotgarden Your Plant Finder was down for many days with no mention or explanation on your website or social media. It looks like it's back up now, but can you be more proactive about announcements in the future? A lot of people rely on that tool and you left them hanging.

@Budget A problem with law enforcement too is that when drivers block the bike lanes, the response is often too slow to catch them. This is why I contacted you, it is unlikely that the police found this vehicle while it was still blocking the lane. But I want some action taken.

@cazort Hi Alex, We are sorry to hear that you encountered a long hold time, I will get this reported. Budget is not responsible for the actions of renters, if a car is blocking traffic you will need to call your local law enforcement agency. -Aisha twitter.com/messages/compo…

@Budget employees buying groceries at work. ATL

@Budget I don't like to involve law enforcement more than necessary, I think having you all contact the owner of the car, even if no direct enforcement action is taken, would be a good outcome. I just want them to get feedback that people are bothered by them blocking bike lanes.

@Budget Thanks much, I already did report it! And thanks much for passing on the info! I recognize you are not responsible for the actions of renters, but I do know that rental agencies will sometimes refuse to rent from people if they are caught breaking the law using their vehicles.

@Dylan_McDowell @harrisonfinberg Every pro-Palestinian protest I have attended and group I've been active in online has actively shut down antisemitic views. If it didn't, I wouldn't participate in it. Isolated incidents of antisemitism are being blown up by the Israeli hardliner lobby to discredit the movement.

@harrisonfinberg The media coverage is appropriately weighted for how much power and impact this person has. Meanwhile, people in charge are abetting war crimes. The focus should be on that until street protestors are actually shipping weapons to Hamas.

@Dylan_McDowell @harrisonfinberg Exactly. I am no fan of Hamas, but the US is approving a $14 billion aid package to the Israeli government, weapons used to indiscriminately massacre civilians including children, and destroy civilian infrastructure.

@Budget Also, can you please address whatever issue is causing 1 hour + hold times in your claims department? That is wildly unacceptable and knowing that makes me wary of renting from you in the department. Your parent company has a profit > $300M. Surely you can staff your call center.

@Budget I love you guys and have rented from you many times. Today one of your vehicles was egregiously blocking a bike lane in a way that created a safety hazard. I tried calling your claims department but there was a 1 hr wait time. This wait time is disturbing.

@Budget Can you tell me how to report the vehicle to you? I got its license plate and I have a timestamp of exactly when I observed it blocking the lane. I want to ensure the customer at least receives feedback that there was a complaint about them blocking the lane.

@Budget_Truck Also, can you please address whatever issue is causing 1 hour + hold times in your claims department? That is wildly unacceptable and knowing that makes me wary of renting from you in the department. Your parent company has a profit > $300M. Surely you can staff your call center.

@Budget_Truck Can you tell me how to report the vehicle to you? I got its license plate and I have a timestamp of exactly when I observed it blocking the lane. I want to ensure the customer at least receives feedback that there was a complaint about them blocking the lane.

I now have had a broken washer from @SpeedQueenHome for nearly a full month. Servicer came out and replaced the door sensor, it's still broken. Now we need to wait 7-10 days, a second time, for another part. The company doesn't even have the decency of answering the phone.

I tried calling @SpeedQueenHome today around 40 minutes before their supposed closing time (4PM EST) and they said that they were closed and their system just hung up on me. More disappointment, but not surprising. I feel so cheated having bought a washer from this brand.

@sp6runderrated A non-carceral solution would be suspension of the license and/or confiscation of the car. Use 1 day in jail only for people who later drive without a license.

We need to start arresting drivers to obscured license plates. I'm a bleeding heart so I don't believe in long criminal penalties but 1 day in jail and confiscation of your car for a month should do the trick. The only reason people buy these things are to speed.

A problem with PennDOT is Philly's district office is located within King of Prussia sprawl. Boston and NYC get it right: departments that serve a premier city should be within that city. How will people who live and drive in KoP know how best to spend billions in Philly?

@phlbikeaction Stuff like this, which I saw happen fairly regularly (all sorts of different offenses from overruning stop lines to blocking bike lanes) is a major reason why I found Philly so unpleasant to live in. I was stressed out any time I went for a walk or bike ride. I hated it.

In this video taken by one of our members you can see a sedan mounting and driving down a sidewalk at full traffic speeds. In the same video you can see another vehicle parked in the grade-separated two-way bike lane

@phlbikeaction I've seen people doing this too when I lived in Philly. This needs to be charged as a serious criminal offense, something like reckless endangerment. I want the person's license permanently revoked and car seized and auctioned off. It disturbs me how lawless Philly has become.