Bill Frye Goes to Columbia (City Council)
This podcast episode centers around Bill Frye's recent experiences regarding parking issues in Columbia, South Carolina, particularly highlighting his engagement with the city council. Bill articulates the challenges faced by app-based delivery drivers, such as himself, who encounter substantial difficulties in finding appropriate parking. He recounts his own encounter with a parking ticket while fulfilling a delivery, which prompted him to initiate a petition advocating for more equitable parking policies. The discussion reveals broader implications for the community, emphasizing the necessity for systemic changes to ensure accessibility and fairness for all residents and workers. Join us as we delve into these pressing issues and explore potential solutions that could enhance the urban landscape of Columbia.
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Transcript
The All About Nothing podcast may have language and content that isn't appropriate for some.
Speaker A:Listener discretion is advised.
Speaker A:Welcome nothingers, to the All About Nothing Podcast.
Speaker A:This is episode number 254.
Speaker A:I am Barrett Gruber.
Speaker A:I'm joined by Mr.
Speaker A:Bill Frey who we're going to talk about some of the stuff that has gone on in and around him lately.
Speaker A:Let's just say our, our, our.
Speaker B:Our.
Speaker A:Our good friend Bill Frey has been causing a ruckus.
Speaker B:And call it good trouble.
Speaker A:Yeah, good trouble.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:Please subscribe and share the show.
Speaker A:That's how we get new listeners.
Speaker A:Also, please consider supporting the show financially by visiting theallaboutnothing.com and becoming an official member and proudly calling yourself a true Nothinger.
Speaker A:We'll have more details on that at the end of the show.
Speaker A:If you can't do that, please give us a five star review a like and follow us across all of social media.
Speaker A:You can find links@theallaboutnothing.com I want to remind you to check out ZJZ Designs.
Speaker A:Whether you're looking for a perfect graphic tee to show off your style or something unique to wear on any occasion, ZJZ Designs has you covered.
Speaker A:From bold designs to creative prints, they offer a range of apparel that is all about making a statement.
Speaker A:And if you love standing out in the crowd, check out their collection today@zjzdesigns.com Trust me, you don't want to miss out on what they have in store.
Speaker A:ZJZ Designs where fashion meets fun no matter the season.
Speaker A:Also want to thank everybody that voted for the All About Nothing podcast or at least nominating us for the Best of Columbia.
Speaker A:That has ended the the actual voting period will start in, I believe the end of May.
Speaker A:I believe the end of May and that'll probably run through about the midway point of June.
Speaker A:So we will be asking everyone to please vote for the All About Nothing podcast as well.
Speaker A:If you know and if you don't want to, I get it, you know, but we're gonna put links.
Speaker A:There'll be links in the show notes when that time comes up for everybody to do that.
Speaker A:Also want to thank Melissa Gainey for being on the last week's episode.
Speaker A:She administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment on me and some of the feedback I got was people really disappointed that I didn't get 30 out of 30.
Speaker A:I didn't.
Speaker A:I did mess up a little bit on the tapping, but it was basically the idea was if you listen to it, if you haven't listened to it, Go back and listen to it.
Speaker A:I think it's extremely.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:It's extremely interesting way of assessing someone's cognitive abilities.
Speaker A:I think that it isn't really appropriate for someone who is the President of the United States, but it might be appropriate for someone who has reached an age where you're concerned about their ability to drive themselves or, you know, take care of their daily life functions on their own.
Speaker A:But anyone can go and take a look and even take the test themselves.
Speaker A:You don't have to have a professional licensed.
Speaker A:A licensed professional counselor or therapist or anything like that.
Speaker A:But Melissa Gainey, it was fantastic, and I really appreciate her for being on the show with me and doing that.
Speaker A:We're going to have more from Melissa coming up.
Speaker A:Melissa also does a lot of work when it comes to children in domestic situations.
Speaker A:She works with the court system sometimes and things like that.
Speaker A:But we're going to sit down with Melissa again to discuss some of the gaps that South Carolina has when it comes to taking care of children in the state.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:And protecting them.
Speaker A:We're going to do that here probably in the next few weeks.
Speaker A:Also have a lot coming up.
Speaker A:The Soda City Comic Con is coming up in August.
Speaker A:We're going to have more details on that.
Speaker A:I know, right?
Speaker B:That's almost been a year.
Speaker A:I know Soda City Comic Con comes up in August, and then in October, it's going to be the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk Comic Con.
Speaker A:But we're going to have Brock on at least.
Speaker A:At least one or two more times between now and then.
Speaker A:They haven't made any major announcements since he broke the news on this podcast about the, the.
Speaker A:The big guest, the big get, which of course is Sackhoff.
Speaker A:What's her name?
Speaker A:Katie Sackhoff.
Speaker A:So she will be at the Soda City Comic Con coming up in August.
Speaker A:I think it's the 23rd and 24th.
Speaker A:Don't quote me on that.
Speaker A:I'd have to look it up.
Speaker A:I don't have it in front of me.
Speaker A:I have not created a card with it yet.
Speaker A:So that's.
Speaker A:That.
Speaker A:That's my lacking.
Speaker A:But, you know, there will be plenty of guests that are going to be lined up for it, all of the vendors.
Speaker A:I mean, Comic Con is just a fun event to go to, regardless of whether you're.
Speaker A:Whether you're attending it for very specific reasons or not.
Speaker A:So we will.
Speaker A:We will definitely be discussing that.
Speaker A:So Bill is back with me this week.
Speaker A:He was not with me last week.
Speaker A:You weren't with me the week before either, were you?
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:Yeah, we know.
Speaker A:We did We.
Speaker A:That the week before was the.
Speaker A:The kickball game we did.
Speaker B:Yep, that's right.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:The last.
Speaker B:I mean, that was already two weeks ago.
Speaker B:That's crazy.
Speaker B:Honestly, it feels like it was longer, but it hasn't.
Speaker B:Everything felt like it's been way too long.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker A:Well, if.
Speaker A:If we really want to get into telling them how the sausage is made, we actually did that episode almost three weeks ago.
Speaker A:More than three weeks ago, because there was a gap week where I didn't record anything.
Speaker A:So now we're caught up to more current events.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And in that time period.
Speaker A:And in that time period, I've made an attempt to catch up on your beard.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I got to do more work on mine.
Speaker B:Mine's got to come down just a little bit.
Speaker A:You got to get one of these brushes and just sit at your desk and do this all day.
Speaker B:It's crazy.
Speaker B:I have one wavy bit just that, like, to curl.
Speaker B:I don't understand.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know, beards.
Speaker A:I have a.
Speaker A:I have a.
Speaker A:I have a hate.
Speaker A:Hate relationship with my beard.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:You know, the only.
Speaker A:The only decent part is it covers up most of my face, but at the same time, like, if I turn my head one angle or the other, it winds up making it.
Speaker A:Making my head look thicker than it probably actually is.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's.
Speaker B:I've really come to love mine more, mainly because of how angry it makes some of my family for.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Please explain that.
Speaker A:Why does your family get angry about your beard?
Speaker B:I won't say who.
Speaker B:I won't say who, but there are certain family members that believe that I don't have a official career job yet because I have a beard.
Speaker A:That is an interesting theory.
Speaker B:It is.
Speaker B:I think.
Speaker A:The aesthetic of Bill is inappropriate for a professional job because you have hair growing out of your face.
Speaker A:That's an interesting theory.
Speaker B:There's other aesthetics about myself that I believe would.
Speaker A:You know what?
Speaker A:Here's an idea.
Speaker A:Patreon goal.
Speaker A:If we get enough people to join the membership for the All About Nothing podcast by going to our website between this episode dropping and, let's say, the end of May, if we get 10 more members to the podcast, then the member that.
Speaker A:We will randomly select one of the members, and we'll get Bill up to the studio and we will shave his beard.
Speaker B:Oh, my God.
Speaker A:Bill has not agreed to this.
Speaker B:I have not agreed to this at all.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:I'll tell you this month for.
Speaker B:Give me 100.
Speaker B:100 people.
Speaker A:100 people.
Speaker B:100 people.
Speaker B:And I'll do it.
Speaker B:All right, you can find me 100 people.
Speaker B:10 people, 10 people here.
Speaker B:If 10 people hear this and my family, they're just going to join.
Speaker A:Oh, okay, that's fair.
Speaker B:I have, I have more than 10, I have more than 10 family members that might join just for that.
Speaker A:I understand, I understand the caveat.
Speaker A:I understand the necessity to have additional members.
Speaker A:All right, 100, that's a big 100.
Speaker A:Who I may not have to work anymore.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So Bill, you've had, you've had quite the interesting past couple months and I won't give it all away.
Speaker A:I'll let you explain what's been going on, but Bill, in his, in his part time life is, is delivering for doordash.
Speaker A:We've talked about this before and you know, it's an industry that is, I think that has made things a lot better.
Speaker A:Better as far as you know, because I've had doordash delivered a few times when I couldn't get out and it's, it definitely makes life a lot easier.
Speaker A:I think that there is a vital need in our economy for DoorDash and Uber Eats and you know, these, these other instacarts and Walmart delivery.
Speaker A:Like ultimately in the end it saves my family money having Walmart deliver our groceries because we're not walking through the grocery store and being like, oh, we should get that know, just seeing the random things that we need.
Speaker A:And, and doordash I think makes, when I work in the office, the idea of having doordash available where I can just walk down to the lobby and get my, you know, my meal delivered to me without me having to leave the office.
Speaker A:The simplicity of it, doing it on the phone is, is, is vital.
Speaker B:And you're right, I will say that doordash has a lot of problems.
Speaker B:A lot of problems as a, as a business corporation.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:Just a lot.
Speaker B:That is.
Speaker B:They're very, I would say they're very anti worker in America, at least in other countries where there's door dash that they are pretty much forced to make sure that their cars can be taken out because it's all wear and tear on my own vehicle.
Speaker B:The tips can be garbage.
Speaker B:I mean just people don't tip most of the time or they think that they're tipping because they're paying so much more.
Speaker B:But doordash takes a lot of it.
Speaker B:And the mileage.
Speaker A:How much do you actually earn on a delivery anywhere?
Speaker B:So I was a platinum member, I will say.
Speaker B:I'll also mention that I have been able to Slowly back away from that.
Speaker B:From doordash over the past month because I've started my own business.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:A branch of my own business.
Speaker B:But I'll stick to the doordash point.
Speaker A:We'll talk about the business part in a little bit too.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So over.
Speaker B:Over doordash.
Speaker B:I would say that when I was a platinum driver, I was making more.
Speaker B:So it was between sometimes I would get $3 orders and if I wanted to keep my acceptance rate at a certain level, I would decline it.
Speaker B:But if I couldn't, I would have to take it even if it was five miles away, just because I wanted to be able to continue making money.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:And honestly, I would say that between I would always work lunch and I would drive late at night for several hours out the month because essentially what I have been doing is I would just do doordash in the mornings, come back, write cover letters, apply for jobs.
Speaker B:I've applied for 50 jobs in the past four months, by the way.
Speaker B:Very difficult to get into Columbia, but I have.
Speaker B:I would do that, drive back, try to spend some leisure time with my friends or family, depending on the weekday.
Speaker B:If not, I was driving late at night, I mean, into midnight.
Speaker B:And honestly my goal was.
Speaker B:It's hard to say a per delivery because it's so random.
Speaker B:I've gotten some orders that are like $30, especially on Valentine's Day.
Speaker B:I made like 130 bucks in like five hours.
Speaker B:It was great.
Speaker B:But then there's days where I make under $40 and I'm driving five hours a day.
Speaker B:My goal.
Speaker A:Almost all of that on gas, I.
Speaker B:Assume on gas for sure.
Speaker B:And I had a flat tire.
Speaker B:I had a flat tire.
Speaker B:And I mean, that was.
Speaker B:That messed up my day.
Speaker B:I got that from a nail on Main Street.
Speaker B:And then of course the parking ticket.
Speaker B:Honestly, when I got the parking ticket, the.
Speaker B:That was a point where I was like, okay, I'm furious and I can't do this anymore.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Even though that was.
Speaker B:Doordash allowed for me to make rent and have money into the next month.
Speaker B:So I'll give them that.
Speaker B:But again, it's also self employment because you're an independent self contractor.
Speaker B:You're not actually an employee for doordash.
Speaker B:So you're paying a self employment tax and they don't pull that from you.
Speaker B:You have to save that back.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:For me, honestly, I'm very open about the financial stuff, especially being a Gen Z postgraduate person trying to make it in America.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I was able to save back collateral, which.
Speaker B:Well, actually I saved Back my taxes.
Speaker B:And then I was trying to build credit.
Speaker B:So then over, I know like over six to eight months it takes me to build credit through their, my bank's like, credit stuff.
Speaker B:So I save back enough collateral that's going towards my credit, but once I get that collateral back, it's all going towards taxes just off of what I've done.
Speaker B:So it's very difficult.
Speaker B:But I've been able to make my rent, which rent is also very high.
Speaker B:A whole other thing about Columbia, I pay.
Speaker B:I'll go ahead and get to that too.
Speaker B:I pay $824 a month without electric in Columbia with one roommate.
Speaker B:And I'm like, I'm thinking now I'm probably going to have to drop my lease for the next year because I just cannot continue paying that.
Speaker A:And just to explain, that's more than $800 a month for your rent on an apartment.
Speaker A:I assume that's costing somewhere between.
Speaker A:Just for the rent, not the electricity, but that's that.
Speaker A:We're talking more than $1,600 a month for rental of a two bedroom apartment.
Speaker A:Yeah, see, here's, here's the crazy part.
Speaker A:When I first moved here to Columbia, I stayed in an apartment that was right off Broad River Road, right above the Broad River.
Speaker A:So I was on Broad.
Speaker A:I was right off of Broad River Road.
Speaker A:And it was an apartment that wasn't great.
Speaker A:I mean it wasn't a great neighborhood.
Speaker A:There was a, I checked it out.
Speaker A:There was a decent amount of crime.
Speaker A:You know, it wasn't, it wasn't great.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'll just say my area is not the greatest either, by the way.
Speaker B:It's better than other places where I could pay $400 a month, but I might get shot.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So see that was, that was what I was going to say was that I was staying and I had, I had a rental that was two bedrooms, two baths, eight.
Speaker A: It was: Speaker A:This is bigger than, than some people's homes, they, that they live in now.
Speaker A:But I was paying 499 for six months on two bedrooms, two baths.
Speaker A: This was in early: Speaker A: I'm sorry, early: Speaker A:It was, it was very inexpensive.
Speaker A:I got a bottom floor apartment.
Speaker A:So I had people that lived above me, I had people that lived across from me.
Speaker A:But I, what, but what really drew me to that apartment was the fact that it had a sunroom that looked out over the Broad River.
Speaker B:And I was like, I.
Speaker B:Sunroom apartment for $499.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:25 years ago, 25 years ago.
Speaker A:And it wasn't the closest to work.
Speaker A:Like, I moved here for a job.
Speaker A:I worked for ncr and I moved here for that job.
Speaker A:And I wasn't making a whole lot.
Speaker A:I think I was making like $15 an hour.
Speaker A:But I also got overtime on my hourly job, which made it much more comfortable.
Speaker A:But yeah, it was a really like, the deal on this apartment was fantastic, and there was no way I was going to pass it up.
Speaker A:So I lived in it for six months while I built my house.
Speaker A:But like I said, it was not a safe neighborhood.
Speaker A:It was, you know, like I would, I worked, I worked at night, so I was home during the day.
Speaker A:I didn't, I didn't recognize when I was there for the first few weeks until I got to like a weekend where I had, where I had two or three days off from a holiday or whatever.
Speaker A:I didn't recognize just how unsafe it was because I was home at night and I'd hear the gunshots or I'd hear the police sirens and I, or I, or I'd be taking trash out and there'd be seven or eight homeless people, you know, meandering down the street.
Speaker A:And so, you know, you know, and that's not to say all homeless people are unsafe, but I recognize that crime sometimes occurs in areas where there are more homeless than not.
Speaker A:Yeah, but, yeah, so you know, it, you know that, that's the difference between, that's inflation between.
Speaker A:Now that same apartment, if it's still there, I assume it is.
Speaker A: t now probably goes for about: Speaker A: e cost of what it was back in: Speaker B:So it's wild.
Speaker B:I mean, just in the past, I can't remember the years I think it was between, I think it was between 23 and 24, Columbia's rent average rent went up by 8%.
Speaker B:8%.
Speaker A:Most of, the, most of the available apartments, like in Columbia are almost all student housing too.
Speaker A:So like, like most of like, so, so not only are you having to pay for the living in Colombia, but you're also like, if the apartment isn't going to a student, like, is there a difference in cost between what a student pays for a student housing or what you would pay as a graduate for an apartment that would also potentially be considered student available student housing?
Speaker B:So for me, I don't live in the student housing.
Speaker B:I actually live immediately off campus.
Speaker B:I actually got, my apartment's nice because I live immediately off campus and there's nothing like that.
Speaker B:Most of the people living there are students.
Speaker B:I would say, honestly, almost all of them are students or post college grads.
Speaker A:Are you questioning not joining a fraternity where you could just.
Speaker A:Where you could have just lived at the fraternity for the rest of.
Speaker A:You know.
Speaker B:I am not a frat guy by any means.
Speaker B:I'm not a fan of fraternities.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:At any degree.
Speaker B:Well, academic frats, I'll say.
Speaker B:I'll put it that way.
Speaker B:I am a fan of academic frats.
Speaker B:I wouldn't.
Speaker B:I was not a frat guy.
Speaker B:I was friends with a lot of frat people, but yeah, only for my own opportunistic ways.
Speaker B:But there, for the most part, it was.
Speaker B:For the most part, I know that students that lived on campus.
Speaker B:I actually never lived on campus.
Speaker B:I lived in Lexington and commuted because I got my associate degrees at a different college, went, lived in Lexington.
Speaker B:And then once I started my Carolina news program is when I moved to Columbia.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And I know the people that were paying rent in Columbia for student housing.
Speaker B:650 Lincoln is a good example.
Speaker B:I'm pretty sure they were pulling anywhere between 11 and $12,000 a year out their tuition.
Speaker B:And that was for three roommates.
Speaker A:Goodness.
Speaker B:I'm pretty sure I, I don't want to be wrong on that.
Speaker B:Somebody can check me.
Speaker B:I'm pretty sure that is roughly what they were paying month.
Speaker B:And I think there, I think there was a break in the year maybe.
Speaker B:And also I know they.
Speaker B:The freshman, you know, issue with who's freshmen that can stay and who's getting kicked out of your stuff, that is a whole big mess at usc.
Speaker B:I mean it just truly is an absolute mess for housing.
Speaker B:And a lot of those people who are kicked out of the student housing to let incoming freshmen stay, I know they removed the mandate for freshmen at this point, but those people then flood nearby off campus housing.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So that's a racket.
Speaker B:That's layer and layer.
Speaker B:And we haven't even gotten to parking in Columbia.
Speaker A:Yeah, I was gonna say we completely, we completely went off topic.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But essentially just to get a background into the situation is what I'm looking for.
Speaker A:Because you.
Speaker A:So basically because you want to stay in Columbia.
Speaker A:I mean, unless a job presents itself outside of Columbia, you'd like to stay in this area.
Speaker B:And job jobs have presented themselves outside Columbia.
Speaker B:Charlotte has a pretty nice job market.
Speaker B:Most of the people I know that graduate from my program are getting jobs in cities like Charlotte.
Speaker B:And I mean, of course they're going further, like D.C.
Speaker B:i know some people.
Speaker B:I have a friend who's doing a graduate program where it's actually better for them to go to Ireland and study than to be here.
Speaker A:I'd have signed up for that one.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:If you can get the number on that one, let me know.
Speaker B:I don't know the master's, and I don't know if I want to do Internet.
Speaker B:I don't.
Speaker B:I would love to travel.
Speaker B:I love traveling, but the international work, I mean, I know this person has told me that they were essentially not planning on coming back to America, which is also fine, but.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I will tell you this.
Speaker A:An Irish summer is really good for your skin.
Speaker A:It's fantastic.
Speaker A:You almost don't age.
Speaker A:It's very beneficial.
Speaker B:But for the most part, I'm a family guy.
Speaker B:I just really am.
Speaker A:Your family's here?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I love my family.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:Columbia is a great spot for me.
Speaker B:I'm like, literally 15 minutes from my sister and my brother.
Speaker B:I'm an hour 10 out from my parents.
Speaker B:I can comfortably go back and forth.
Speaker B:That's another thing.
Speaker B:In my post grad life, beds don't feel like they're mine anymore.
Speaker B:It's like the bed in my apartment I sleep at.
Speaker B:Maybe for a week out the month, I will sleep on my sister's couch because I would do doordash stuff and also just go see family.
Speaker B:She just had a baby, so I love going over there just.
Speaker B:Just for that.
Speaker A:Congratulations.
Speaker B:And again, my business that I'm trying to work on is mainly in Barnwell, and I'm bringing it to places, and we can get into that later.
Speaker B:And then my friends.
Speaker B:Yeah, of course.
Speaker B:My friend's couches.
Speaker A:Fry daddies.
Speaker A:Fry Daddy.
Speaker A:And Hilda.
Speaker A:South Park.
Speaker A:Fry babies.
Speaker A:Fry babies.
Speaker A:Sorry, what did I say?
Speaker A:Fried daddies.
Speaker A:Fry babies.
Speaker A:Fry babies.
Speaker A:In Hilda, South Carolina, we still have not gone out there to do a remote, but I promise we will absolutely do that because I'd love to see your parents again, and not by dragging them to a Comic Con, but.
Speaker A:But, yeah.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So all of that to say Bill wants to stay in Colombia at least as long, you know, as long as there's not something that becomes extremely lucrative available outside of Columbia.
Speaker A:But, yeah, and I'm glad you're here because, you know, it's.
Speaker A:It's very easy to call on Bill when I need somebody to go do something with, you know, for the podcast or whatever.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:And I do love Columbia, but I would, you know, if anybody from the city is watching this, it is hard For Gen Z, it is extremely hard.
Speaker B:And I know that my generation also sucks at getting involved in politics.
Speaker B:I've seen it, I've heard it from people I know.
Speaker B:They're terrible at getting involved in politics.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:But if, hey, a little plug.
Speaker B:If you're looking for somebody who is deeply involved in politics and loves communications and public speaking, I'm here in Columbia.
Speaker A:Bill Fry can be reached through any of the links in the show notes.
Speaker A:Yeah, so let's, let's talk about.
Speaker A:I'll just, I'll just give, you give, give everybody a little hint.
Speaker A:Bill had to go before the city council this most.
Speaker A:I guess it was this recent meeting Tuesday.
Speaker A:Yeah, it was this past Tuesday.
Speaker A:So we're recording on a Friday, which normally we record on a Wednesday, but it benefited us to be able to record today because I definitely wanted to get into what it was that Bill had going on.
Speaker A:So in South Carolina, in Columbia, we recently have gone through some parking changes that I don't really think improve the situation.
Speaker A:They've updated their, their what we call the passport, which is the availability of being able to pay for a parking space in a section rather than just a parking space.
Speaker A:You are, you are using this app in a, like on a, on the side of a particular street and.
Speaker B:Zones.
Speaker B:Different zones.
Speaker A:Yeah, different.
Speaker A:Yeah, they call them zones.
Speaker A:And while I have never had a problem finding parking, I also have never had an issue with the parking meter running out because when I park in Columbia it's because I've gone to work in the office for the company that I work for and I get to work at 5:00, 5:30 in the morning, which the parking meters don't turn on at least weren't until 9am so from 5am until 9am I was parking for free in the space.
Speaker A:The app would allow me to pay for the first two hours in that parking space.
Speaker A:So it wouldn't kick in till nine and by 11 o' clock, if I was going in on a Friday, I was leaving the office at 11 o' clock because my day was basically over.
Speaker A:I had worked enough hours during the week that by 11 o' clock I was getting to leave.
Speaker A:So the parking situation never had any impact on me.
Speaker A:But because of your vicinity to Columbia, the availability of parking, but then you couple that with the doordash job, this created a situation for you big time.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, I, I went and I got a.
Speaker B:God, it was going to be great.
Speaker B:It was a, I remember it was a taco sushi delivery and they were like, it's a catering job.
Speaker B:$26, go pick it up.
Speaker B:And I was like, fantastic.
Speaker B:Going to Main Street.
Speaker B:And of course, Main street is so packed.
Speaker B:Is absolutely packed.
Speaker B:And I've done this before, by the way.
Speaker B:I pulled in to the median along Main street, as many dashers do, along with.
Speaker B:On the same street.
Speaker B:UPS usps.
Speaker B:And a Domino's.
Speaker B:Car was parked basically exactly where I was at.
Speaker B:Flashers on, flashers on, parked.
Speaker B:Run in.
Speaker B:They're behind.
Speaker B:They're saying, I'm sorry, we're behind.
Speaker B:We'll let you know when it's ready.
Speaker B:A guy runs into the store and goes, they're giving tickets on Main Street.
Speaker B:And I was like, what?
Speaker B:So I bolt out.
Speaker B:And every single car, the dasher that I was talking to, same guy, got a ticket, 50 ticket.
Speaker B:And I'm like, well, I gotta hop in my car.
Speaker B:I'm already told doordash, I'm at the store.
Speaker B:So I'm, like, upset.
Speaker B:It was funny.
Speaker B:There was one guy who was, like, trying to pretend that my car was his car, like, telling the meter maid not to.
Speaker A:So let me ask you this.
Speaker A:In.
Speaker A:In that situation, you've already gotten the ticket.
Speaker B:I've gotten the ticket.
Speaker A:What is the repercussions of just staying in that.
Speaker A:Staying.
Speaker A:Leaving your car where it's at to complete the order?
Speaker B:That's a good point.
Speaker B:Honestly, I was panicking.
Speaker B:That's honestly a good point.
Speaker B:I was panicking.
Speaker B:Cause I was like, my day is shot.
Speaker B:I mean, like, I think I had made $70 that day, and now I'm at 20 after working for five hours.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Especially knowing you're on a $26.
Speaker A:A $26 run.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And somebody pulls around, and I'm able to park back in the spot.
Speaker B:So I pull out the median, and then I run back in.
Speaker B:And then they're just like, we're sorry.
Speaker B:This is going to take 25 minutes.
Speaker B:And I'm like, great.
Speaker B:So I can't even get the money from the taco sushi delivery.
Speaker B:And I got a 50 ticket.
Speaker B:And I was like, I'm done for the day.
Speaker B:I'm rage quit.
Speaker B:And that's it.
Speaker B:And so I left and I tried to appeal the ticket.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And they were just like, sorry, it's the thought.
Speaker B:We followed the rules and you broke them, so you can't do that.
Speaker B:So then I write a letter to Mayor Rickman.
Speaker A:I was gonna say, hold on.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, go ahead.
Speaker A:They.
Speaker A:I was gonna say they followed the rules that they had written that benefit the city of Columbia.
Speaker A:I just Want to preface that?
Speaker A:Okay, please continue.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I.
Speaker B:I am extremely upset.
Speaker B:Of course.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker A:It was.
Speaker B:The dates are very clear.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I have the date on the same day I wrote the letter.
Speaker B:I posted it on Instagram.
Speaker B:And, yeah, I got a ton of traction.
Speaker B:I was very surprised.
Speaker B:And I just got message after message after message of people every day for a.
Speaker B:I mean, a solid week about their trouble with parking in Colombia.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I was like, this is.
Speaker B:This is a big deal.
Speaker B:I go to.
Speaker B:I also go to fry babies, and I get a bunch of cardboard, like, and I just start cutting because I'm like, we're putting flyers and stuff on all this.
Speaker B:We're gonna make protest signs.
Speaker B:And so within the day, Rick.
Speaker B:And then gets back to me, and it's just like, thank you very much.
Speaker B:There's no need to bring this letter in person.
Speaker B:Essentially went somewhere along the lines of.
Speaker B:Because at the end, I was like, I'm bringing this to you in person.
Speaker B:And then he was just like, this is.
Speaker B:Yeah, we're gonna consider.
Speaker B:Thank you for your, you know, feedback, and I'm gonna send you a reimbursement.
Speaker B:This is.
Speaker B:This is a funny part in the speech.
Speaker B:I don't know if you caught it.
Speaker B:I told him to his face that he shorted me $7.
Speaker A:Yeah, I did hear that.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because a ticket.
Speaker A:A ticket doesn't just come as a ticket.
Speaker A:It's not just ticket.
Speaker A:There's a.
Speaker A:There's a.
Speaker A:There's fees and whatnot.
Speaker B:As a matter of fact, I have the.
Speaker B:I don't think.
Speaker B:Let me see if this is.
Speaker A:I was gonna say, as long as I don't have any personal information.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Doesn't have any personal.
Speaker B:I don't think it has any personal information.
Speaker B:I'll cover the chip.
Speaker B:And this.
Speaker B:This is the card I got that he gave me in the mail.
Speaker B:It was $20, and then he sent me $24 and 10 separate coupons amounting to 240 each.
Speaker B:I was just like, bro, you shorted me money.
Speaker B:And so I did bring that up in front of council as well, because I'm stubborn.
Speaker B:But it was.
Speaker A:You know what?
Speaker A:Before.
Speaker A:Before we go any further, I want to.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So essentially, Bill went before the city of Columbia council or the city council of Columbia, South Carolina.
Speaker B:So I started a petition first.
Speaker B:I got a good bit of traction, in my opinion, compared to some of the other petitions in Colombia.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:You can play the video.
Speaker B:I can.
Speaker B:I can.
Speaker B:I can stop talking if I can mute myself.
Speaker A:I want to.
Speaker A:No, no, you're good.
Speaker A:I want to.
Speaker A:I want to share.
Speaker A:I want to share this video because Bill did just an outstanding job.
Speaker A:I am absolutely floored by how well you did.
Speaker A:So here's, here's the video from the.
Speaker A:The Columbia City Council meeting just a couple days ago where Bill attended and.
Speaker A:And spoke during the public presentation or the public speaking part of the meeting.
Speaker A:Okay, so first we have Mr.
Speaker A:Bill Fry, and he's here to speak with council about parking.
Speaker A:And Rickman's the one in the middle.
Speaker A:So just so you know.
Speaker A:Look at you in a suit.
Speaker C:This is a $50 parking ticket that I got for no area parking.
Speaker C:I was working a door dash shift, trying to grab food from a restaurant downtown and get it to a customer on time.
Speaker C:The spot I used was the same one I've seen usps, UPS, and even Domino's drivers use.
Speaker C:But on that day, only those of us working app based delivery jobs got tickets.
Speaker C:I was frustrated, so I wrote a letter to Mayor Rickman, and I explained that I'm a recent college graduate working to make ends meet, and that a $50 fine isn't just annoying, but that it's a serious setback.
Speaker C:I asked the city to consider short term loading zones for app based drivers like me who are providing an essential service with nowhere legal to stop.
Speaker C:A few weeks later, I got a letter back and a reimbursement from the mayor.
Speaker C:It's a little short.
Speaker C:It's okay.
Speaker C:And while I was appreciated, and while I appreciated that response, it reminded me of something bigger.
Speaker C:Of a single $50 ticket sparked a personal exchange with the mayor.
Speaker C:Maybe this isn't just about one driver or one fine.
Speaker C:Maybe it's about a system that isn't working for a lot of us, time we talk about it.
Speaker C:And I'm not the only one who feels this way.
Speaker C:My name is Bill Fry, and in April, I started a petition calling for smarter fair parking policies in the City of Columbia.
Speaker C:And one month that garnered over 180 signatures from people across our community.
Speaker C:Residents, students, small business owners, and workers who are feeling the pressure of a broken system.
Speaker C:This is more than just about convenience.
Speaker C:It's about access, equity, and economic health.
Speaker C:And now, with over 700 USC employees being required to return to campus in July, things are only going to get worse.
Speaker C:That means that hundreds more cars, more congestion, and more competition for the same limited parking.
Speaker C:So what can we do?
Speaker C:Here are a few reasonable low cost changes the City of Columbia can implement right here, right now to make parking fair for everyone.
Speaker C:I've provided a list of some stuff.
Speaker C:By the way, thank you to the parking people.
Speaker C:They have reached out to me, so thank you again.
Speaker C:Update the Passport parking app to show that parking is free on weekends except in five Points.
Speaker C:I believe we discussed Bull street as well.
Speaker C:Offer a 10 minute grace period after a parking session expires.
Speaker C:As it stands, just being a few minutes late can lead to a $25 fine.
Speaker C:My parking just expired so I'm about to have to running and pay that.
Speaker A:Good example.
Speaker C:Allow more grace for delivery drivers who are stopping briefly to pick up food.
Speaker C:Improve signage and clarity around parking rules.
Speaker C:By the way, thank you again for posting some stuff on Instagram.
Speaker C:I saw some stuff that was clear but I'd like to see, I think everybody would like to see it a little bit more clear on the streets.
Speaker C:Promote that some city parking decks offer a free first hour.
Speaker C:Give local businesses more reliable parking access to their staff and customers.
Speaker C:Because when parking dries up, so does foot traffic.
Speaker C:And finally, reconsider the cost of tickets for a small mistake or first time violations.
Speaker C:$25 and $50 can be harsh, especially for students, workers and lower income residents.
Speaker C:With change, we can create a more efficient, fair and inclusive system that benefits everyone, residents, visitors, workers and businesses alike.
Speaker C:Let's make parking in Colombia work for all of us.
Speaker D:Thank you, thank you for being here, Mr.
Speaker D:Fry.
Speaker D:You know, some of these things that we've been working on already and will will be coming out, there are also loading zones that people aren't utilizing.
Speaker D:You know, there are things out there.
Speaker D:There's a lot of free parking across the city if you're willing to, to sort it out.
Speaker B:They had to defend themselves a little bit.
Speaker D:Places understand when they can use it, how they can use it.
Speaker D:And that's one of the things that we're working through since we just really are into the second month of the new process.
Speaker D:And your suggestions are great.
Speaker D:I think we're implementing some of them now.
Speaker D:Some of those will be some spots where doordash people can or any other delivery can pop in and out.
Speaker D:Loading zones.
Speaker D:Obviously a lot of people haven't been utilizing those as well.
Speaker D:And there have been people there parking.
Speaker D:So changing the hours on that too will help alleviate those folks who are dashing in and out.
Speaker D:But we're going to continue to improve the system, make it as best we can.
Speaker D:But you know, we end up having to to work together on this to solve our problems.
Speaker D:And thank you for taking the time to be here.
Speaker C:Thank you for reaching out to me.
Speaker B:Thank you very much.
Speaker E:Yes, I'd like to say, also say thanks.
Speaker E:You know, we went through a pretty substantial parking change after 20 years of no change.
Speaker E:So it was always meant to be a living, breathing, evolving animal.
Speaker E:So your input is.
Speaker B:Much.
Speaker E:Is very welcomed and we're going to continue to tighten up the process and make it where it is fair and equitable.
Speaker E:But it's also.
Speaker E:It came from such a bad place from where it was that it's going to take some time to hash out.
Speaker E:So thank you for your comments.
Speaker E:Anybody who has.
Speaker E:This is a pretty open council and anybody who's got similar comments or suggestions, complaints are also somewhat welcome.
Speaker E:More suggestions than complaints because they actually make a difference.
Speaker E:So thank you.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker D:Thank you, sir.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker A:I was supposed to play a different sounder on that one.
Speaker A:I'm sorry.
Speaker A:That was.
Speaker A:That was my bad.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's still.
Speaker B:And there were a few things that I talked to the people after and they were just like.
Speaker B:I was just like, I will be in contact with you.
Speaker B:And they're going to message me back and forth about that.
Speaker B:Allegedly.
Speaker B:They're like, we're trying to reach votes and stuff and we're going to see what we can do out of this and yada yada.
Speaker B:I mean, it's.
Speaker B:You know, I gave him a month.
Speaker B:I get.
Speaker B:It's literally been a month since I started all that petition stuff.
Speaker B:At this point, it's got over 190 signatures.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:Phenomenal job.
Speaker A:I mean, I.
Speaker B:And I'm.
Speaker B:I held back a little bit because I was definitely upset at many other things.
Speaker B:But that was.
Speaker A:You presented such a professional appearance before the city council.
Speaker A:And the fact.
Speaker A:And I agree they're right.
Speaker A:You came in not just with complaints, but with.
Speaker A:With suggestions on improvements and legitimate improvements that could be made.
Speaker A:The city of Columbia doesn't count on parking to.
Speaker A:To fund a huge piece of their budget.
Speaker A:This is.
Speaker A:They.
Speaker A:They act as though that the city of.
Speaker A:And this is the same in a lot of different places.
Speaker A:I mean, we talked about Wilmington, North Carolina, where we went up for the, the.
Speaker A:The Wilmington convention.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:That was a matter of fact when I think we were talking a week or two before I started my letter and stuff, and we talked about the, the parking stuff.
Speaker B:And you were like, it was 25 just to park there for two hours, right?
Speaker A:Yeah, it was wild.
Speaker A:20, $22.30 or $22.50 for like one hour.
Speaker A:And it wasn't like parking that was on the street.
Speaker A:It's not like it was raided parking.
Speaker A:You were.
Speaker A:We were parking adjacent to what was the main strip.
Speaker A:And ultimately in the end we just decided we're going to get back in the car.
Speaker A:We're not going to, we're not going to park here.
Speaker A:We'll go find somewhere else to eat or whatever.
Speaker A:We didn't have to eat downtown.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:And that's what's happening to businesses.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker B:I could, I barely got to touch on businesses.
Speaker B:I talked to shout out to Copper Canyon Chance from Copper Canyon.
Speaker B:By the way, great soap as well.
Speaker B:I mean I'll go ahead and throw out there.
Speaker B:It's not sponsored at all.
Speaker B:But I love his.
Speaker B:But that foot traffic, they could be Copper Canyon.
Speaker B:Could be.
Speaker B:It could be.
Speaker B:But I was talking to him.
Speaker B:He has several complaints about customers having to park and then not knowing how to park and then not parking here and going somewhere else.
Speaker B:Shiv's Convenience Store.
Speaker B:Everyone knows Shiv down in Columbia.
Speaker B:He's down to two parking spaces and he's every day getting cussed out by doordash drivers and people looking for parking in the city.
Speaker B:Taking his spaces where he's like, I have two and I have a business to run.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And that whole area on Main Street, I'm all for beautification.
Speaker B:But they took up parking all the way down Main Street.
Speaker B:I mean traffic.
Speaker A:And you've got some spots on, on, on Main street that are, and I get that they're, they're short term parking.
Speaker A:Like, like ultimately I don't even know if they have like a parking.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:And some of the, some of those aren't even there anymore on the other side on the campus side.
Speaker B:It's all I was going to say.
Speaker A:But they're parallel to the, they're parallel to the road, which means that it's a vehicle pulls in, they're parallel to the road.
Speaker A:Their parking is taking up what could potentially be two additional parking spaces for this very short term.
Speaker A:And that's, and that's sort of just the problem is that the convenience of going downtown isn't, you know, with, with, with, with urban sprawl, people are moving further and further away from, and living further away from the actual town centers.
Speaker A:The town centers are becoming less convenient for us to use.
Speaker A:And if you take away parking or you make it more complicated by having to have an app, you have to have a car, a credit card or a debit card set up for.
Speaker A:You have to, you know, like I have, I have literally watched, watched one of the parking attendants walk up the street and have to.
Speaker A:And they made it.
Speaker A:And this is, I'm not, I'm not going to, I'm not going to make it sound like their job is awful.
Speaker A:I don't want to be a parking attendant.
Speaker A:But this is, this is a city of police job, a city of police, a City of Columbia job.
Speaker A:That, that they have to literally go behind every single vehicle and plug in their, their license tag in order to see if that, that, that license, if, if that particular vehicle is parked and whether their time is expired.
Speaker A:Which means.
Speaker A:Because so, so they've taken away the convenience for those particular employees to just look to see if there's a signage that says that the, the, the, the.
Speaker A:The, you know, that the time has expired off of the parking meter.
Speaker A:Yeah, right.
Speaker A:I mean, this is such a complicated way of doing really is.
Speaker B:And also again, the grace periods, there's none that I think again, like the, the city where it's.
Speaker B:You know, I've.
Speaker B:I've gotten tickets before.
Speaker B:This was back when it was, I think $12 ticket.
Speaker B:They would give me a ticket, literally four minutes I was doing reporting.
Speaker B:So I would park, pay my stuff, run to the State House.
Speaker B:Of course somebody would take too long, or if it's me rushing out, I run back and literally three minutes after my parking expired ticket.
Speaker B:And it's like that everywhere.
Speaker B:I pay everything.
Speaker B:Like just 10 minutes.
Speaker B:Just 10 minutes.
Speaker B:Give us 10 minutes to even think about it.
Speaker B:To think, oh, my parking's expired.
Speaker A:Like I said, if the city of Columbia has this grand idea that they're going to be able to operate on their budget or be able to operate their budget in, in.
Speaker A:In the black or whatever based purely on the collections of parking, not just, not just parking, but like the fees assessed from people going over on their parking.
Speaker A:Because I think, I think more often than not people go over time on their parking.
Speaker B:And that.
Speaker B:That is my biggest.
Speaker B:So in, in my opinion, I'll put this out there.
Speaker B:The fact that people are going to Colombia on Saturdays and Sundays, pulling up to meters and paying.
Speaker B:I can't tell you how many old people, not even old people.
Speaker B:People on campus.
Speaker B:I know people on campus.
Speaker B:I had a guy reach out to me and he said, I've been paying on Saturdays for over a year now.
Speaker B:That might be his fault for not reading, but either way.
Speaker A:But how.
Speaker B:Where's that money going?
Speaker B:Where is that money going?
Speaker A:How is he.
Speaker A:How easy is it to find that information when it comes to the parking?
Speaker A:That after 6pm on the weekdays and then no, and then on the weekends that parking's free.
Speaker A:As long as you can find a spot, parking's free.
Speaker B:And they make the argument there are stickers on the meters for the times and they have updated them, but it's still not enough, especially if you're making the city's parking.
Speaker B:They've started to make it solely based on the app.
Speaker B:I mean, they dug up all the meters on Main street, which is fine.
Speaker B:I almost ran into them several times walking on during Soda City.
Speaker B:I have, I'll admit that.
Speaker B:But either way, there's still machines.
Speaker B:If we're going the parking app way show on the app.
Speaker B:If you're partnered with this whole thing that you don't have to pay on the weekends, here are the times that you have to pay and the time.
Speaker B:I will say the times have gotten better.
Speaker B:You actually, it does have a cutoff thing.
Speaker B:It's gray.
Speaker B:So I'll give them that credit.
Speaker B:But again, for weekends or in the zone, it's not that hard if you're, if you are in five points on a Saturday, do that.
Speaker B:And whatever other street.
Speaker B:I can't remember the other one they told me right before because I did talk to some people.
Speaker A:Bull street or something.
Speaker A:Bull street, which, by the way, there's not really that much parking on Bull street in the area where you potentially want to do parking because most of the businesses where there is parking to pay for on the weekends is, is actually, it's not part, it's not part of the Bull street district, which is where Segra park is and the restaurants and things like that.
Speaker A:Rei, there's.
Speaker A:There is available parking there that nobody has to pay for.
Speaker A:But, but even, even now, even now on Freed street, where, where the Segregate park is, those are all zone parking.
Speaker B:Yeah, that is like.
Speaker A:Yeah, like, that's one of the things that I have a difficult time with when it comes to like the Fireflies is that there used to be incentive to getting to the games early because you could potentially get a free parking space.
Speaker B:Yeah, I would park on the grass.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And that's not, that's not available anymore.
Speaker A:Like, is it not paying?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:You're either paying parking in the parking lot or you're paying for parking over.
Speaker B:Across.
Speaker A:I don't even know that parking is available across the street.
Speaker A:There's two parking decks now, which, which is nice.
Speaker A:I like the fact that there is.
Speaker A:There is legitimate parking for the businesses and for, for, for the Firefly Stadium and things like that.
Speaker A:But, but, you know, the City of Columbia just seems to be.
Speaker A:And this isn't to be accusatory, but the City of Columbia does seem to be moving towards this, we are reliant on parking fees for part of our budget, and I'm sure it's a part of the budget, but I don't think any city should encourage businesses to come in with tax incentives that benefit the city, but also benefit the companies to make, you know, rental fees on some of the.
Speaker A:On some of the businesses in Colombia, dilapidated buildings, like the infrastructure of some of these buildings is legitimately falling apart.
Speaker A:But the rental fees on those that the city is making tax money off of is astronomical.
Speaker A:I mean, some of them are 5,000, $6,000 a month for.
Speaker A:For a free.
Speaker A:For a location that you're having to fight with your landlord about the fact that the air conditioner isn't working and it's about to be June.
Speaker A:You know, Columbia has, Has.
Speaker A:Has.
Speaker A:There's a lot of momentum to make improvements and make Columbia, South Carolina, a place that is.
Speaker A:That is.
Speaker A:And I like the fact that there's a lot of walking.
Speaker A:You know, Columbia's got.
Speaker B:Oh, I love Columbia for that.
Speaker B:It's a walkable city.
Speaker B:At least out on Main street, on campus, you get more towards five points.
Speaker B:It gets a little iffy.
Speaker A:Yeah, I don't, you know.
Speaker B:You know, it's fair.
Speaker B:Whatever.
Speaker A:You gotta keep shots.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:But I mean, it has.
Speaker B:I love Colombia for that reason.
Speaker B:It creates.
Speaker B:I mean, I love big cities.
Speaker B:I love big cities.
Speaker B:I've.
Speaker B:I love places like New York.
Speaker B:I love places like dc, Barcelona.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Cities and just amazing places that I've been to.
Speaker B:But Colombia kind of creates this little illusion of a big city on Main street and on campus.
Speaker B:The campus is really a city in a city.
Speaker B:I mean, USC is really.
Speaker B:And again, to my point, 700 USC faculty are coming back July 1st because they're being forced to come on campus when most of these people don't even need to be on campus.
Speaker B:They're taking up the parking spaces for the faculty.
Speaker B:Then where does faculty have to look in the general parking?
Speaker B:And then there's.
Speaker B:I mean, come on.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:And faculty has to pay already for parking.
Speaker A:All signs point to the city of Columbia has an opportunity here to really improve the appearance of.
Speaker A:Not necessarily the aesthetic, but at least to really give the people that live in and around that do their shopping, their business, that work in offices in Columbia.
Speaker A:There's really an opportunity here to really fix things.
Speaker A:And kudos to you for.
Speaker A:For getting the petition going.
Speaker A:Going in front of the town, the city council.
Speaker A:I mean, outstanding.
Speaker A:I don't want to say it, but my little bill is growing up.
Speaker A:Congratulations.
Speaker A:I thought what you did was fantastic.
Speaker A:It was so, so good.
Speaker A:Ultimately, at this point, I think that what would be appropriate is if we try and get somebody from the town city council to come on the show and talk with us about some of the improvements.
Speaker B:Get Mayor Rickman.
Speaker A:I, I don't think, I don't think you would.
Speaker B:You don't think.
Speaker A:I think you think you would.
Speaker A:I think you would.
Speaker A:Especially if people vote for us for the best pod local podcast in Columbia.
Speaker A:That's right.
Speaker A:Some more weight because, because this one's getting.
Speaker A:This, this, this award's getting a little old.
Speaker A:So we'll, we'll, we need to update that with a five.
Speaker B:Again.
Speaker B:I was only permitted three minutes.
Speaker B:They let me speak about 10 seconds more.
Speaker B:I, my speech was actually five.
Speaker B:I had to cut a lot out of it.
Speaker B:But either way, like, I would love to have a conversation with them.
Speaker A:I've engaged with you more than I have seen town council or city councils and town councils engage with the, the people that come before and do the public speaking portion of their meetings.
Speaker A:So kudos.
Speaker A:I mean, you did, I thought you did a fantastic job.
Speaker A:So we'll, hopefully we'll get, we'll get some more updates on that as we go through.
Speaker A:But I know, I know Bill will bring that to us firsthand.
Speaker A:His experience as well.
Speaker A:So I did want to.
Speaker A:We did have a few things happen this week that I thought were notable that I did want to bring up at least at the end of the podcast.
Speaker A:North North Carolina Supreme Court is finally settled.
Speaker A:Jefferson Griffith conceded after six months.
Speaker A:I want to, I'll give you one guess on where you think his first name came from.
Speaker A:Jefferson Griffin out of North Carolina.
Speaker B:Thomas Jefferson.
Speaker A:No, I'd probably go.
Speaker A:Jefferson Davis.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker B:Jefferson Davis.
Speaker A:Sorry, my guess is I don't, I can't confirm that.
Speaker A:I don't know his parents, but I'm guessing that Jefferson Griffin was named after Jefferson Davis.
Speaker A:Just, I'm, I'm just, I'm just here in my hometown.
Speaker B:Jefferson Davis is a hero.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:But he decided not to appeal on the decision on Monday.
Speaker A:On Monday by the U.S.
Speaker A:district, Judge Richard Myers ordered that the state, or Judge Richard Myers of the state board, U.S.
Speaker A:district.
Speaker A:He ordered that the State Board of Elections to certify the election by incumbent Allison Riggs after 55 million ballots were counted.
Speaker A:The difference between the two was 734 votes in favor of Riggs during this whole process.
Speaker A:After the election, which again six months ago, the election was decided by 734 votes.
Speaker A:But it was appealed and they did.
Speaker A:They.
Speaker A:You know, there were lawsuits and injunctions.
Speaker A:At one point, the Republicans had had attempted to decertify or throw out almost 750,000 votes, specifically from the western North Carolina area, which included Asheville, where the likelihood is, is that Rigs got a good chunk of their votes.
Speaker A:That what they were trying to do was actually incur.
Speaker A:They were.
Speaker A:They wanted voters to come in and certify their vote specifically, like they wanted.
Speaker A:They wanted voters to come in and say, yes, I voted for Riggs or yes, I voted for Jefferson Griffith.
Speaker A:And, and.
Speaker A:Which is absolutely insane to me.
Speaker A:The idea that you're going to force these people because ultimately in the end, this is.
Speaker A:This is another one of those voter suppression things, in my opinion, is that they're just trying to do a voter.
Speaker B:Recount, but we're going to have everyone who voted also who died between now and then.
Speaker B:There's.
Speaker B:I'm sure there's different voters, right?
Speaker B:I mean, come on.
Speaker A:At least a few.
Speaker A:I mean, you know, so especially in an area that was ravaged by Hurricane Helene, the flooding is in that area.
Speaker A:And then you're going to force people to come who.
Speaker A:Who already potentially risked or at least gave up something to place their votes initially.
Speaker A:Because Hurricane Helene was like September, late September, September 27th, 28th, 29th.
Speaker A:But the flooding.
Speaker A:And I mean, they're still rebuilding.
Speaker B:Oh, there's only maybe another year and they're still rebuilt and with FEMA being cut, I mean, come on.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:But there's only one lane of I40 running for the most part through most of that mountain area because of landslides and flooding and whatnot.
Speaker A:But there's only one.
Speaker A:There's two lanes, one west and east on I40 between Asheville, North Carolina and Knoxville, Tennessee, like, and this is a major thorough through for commerce and things like that.
Speaker A:So the idea of forcing people to come out and basically certify that that's who they voted for, it's almost like holding a reelection for a specific 750 people in a specifically mostly liberal area.
Speaker A:You know, it was very pointed.
Speaker A:But so.
Speaker A:So in North Carolina, the, The conservatives still hold because they get to run under.
Speaker A:Under their parties for Supreme Court, which to me is crazy.
Speaker A:I think, I think it's absolutely.
Speaker A:I think that the way that the Supreme Court for the federal government is picked, I think it being the benefit that it being one of the benefits of being president, I think is valid.
Speaker A:I think it's a good idea to have that available and that that's one of the things that the president has available to them.
Speaker A:So anyway, that's really all about that.
Speaker A:I know that I had some other things we were going to discuss, but I am going to have to cut it short because.
Speaker B:I'm sorry, Small by Dad.
Speaker A:No, no, no, you're good.
Speaker B:By the way, real quick.
Speaker B:I just remember because I'm about to leave for it.
Speaker B:Can I bring up my branch?
Speaker A:Please?
Speaker A:Please.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So instead of just doordash or relying on doordash, I'm looking to cut back on that now that I've saved back the collateral for a bunch of credit, you know, all that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:I am running a little branch, trying to bring it to Columbia and Casey.
Speaker B:The Casey area to run a cold food like Fry Baby Sugar Shack where I'm already selling.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:Snow cones and candy and just sweet stuff, lemonade and a whole bunch of stuff like that.
Speaker B:So I'll also be doing a little business entrepreneur, you know, whatever stuff while I'm also looking for a career job and I'll still be running that, by the way.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I've.
Speaker B:Some of the people that we've talked to have reached back out to me several times.
Speaker A:Times.
Speaker A:And that's awesome.
Speaker B:I'm setting that up for the summer.
Speaker B:So I'm.
Speaker A:Well, we'll put.
Speaker B:I'm happy about it.
Speaker A:We'll put the details in the, in the show notes so that, so that you can.
Speaker A:We can.
Speaker A:We can get more traffic pointed that direction.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Well, Bill, I really appreciate.
Speaker A:What is it called?
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:Did you give us a name?
Speaker B:I'm.
Speaker B:I am calling it Fry Baby Sugar Shack.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Very good.
Speaker B:Paper.
Speaker B:My business is Baby Fried Business Babies.
Speaker A:But that's fine.
Speaker A:That's fine.
Speaker A:That's very cool.
Speaker A:All right, well, is there an Instagram or any social media for it yet that if you haven't yet.
Speaker A:I need to do that.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:Yeah, I need to get on it.
Speaker B:I know there's Fry Babies Facebook and on there we've been putting some like of the snow cone events and stuff like that.
Speaker B:I'm about to go to shout out to Bar warhorses.
Speaker B:They let me set up my stand out there.
Speaker B:So it's, it's been, it's been.
Speaker B:It's been pretty nice.
Speaker B:Honestly.
Speaker B:I love selling stuff and so it's, it's fun.
Speaker B:I like it.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:Well, Bill, congratulations on your, your, your speech in front of the city council and as well as baby fries Sugar Shack.
Speaker A:I think that's awesome.
Speaker A:And there we go.
Speaker A:I Look, I look forward to some free snacks.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, don't worry.
Speaker B:I'll get a free snow cone.
Speaker B:I've got a.
Speaker B:I've got some.
Speaker B:What flavor, what flavor snow cone do you like the most?
Speaker A:Cherry limeade.
Speaker A:Can we do.
Speaker B:I can put that together.
Speaker B:I can put it together.
Speaker A:Fantastic.
Speaker A:Fantastic.
Speaker A:All right, well, we're gonna wrap up the show.
Speaker A:Bill Fry, again, always appreciative of you being on and, you know, thank you.
Speaker B:Very much as always for letting me rant.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:Thank you also again to Melissa Ganey for being on the episode last week.
Speaker A:Go check that out.
Speaker A:I took the cognitive test.
Speaker A:I think that it was fairly entertaining, but I think also enlightening as far as what it is that our president and even President Biden was tested on to show that their cognitive abilities are still intact.
Speaker A:So make sure you do that.
Speaker A:That was episode number 253.
Speaker A:Also want to remind everybody that the voting or the nominating period for the Best of Columbia is done.
Speaker A:The voting period is going to be starting on May 28th.
Speaker A:I think we'll have more details on that coming out.
Speaker A:Of course, if we get nominated, that's our hope.
Speaker A:But besides that, we're going to wrap it up.
Speaker A:Thank you very much again, Bill Frey, for being on with me to talk about everything that he had going on with the city council and, and the parking situation in the city of Columbia, South Carolina.
Speaker A:We'll do some follow ups on that coming up, I'm sure.
Speaker A:But again, Bill Frey, awesome.
Speaker A:And look forward to seeing him again very soon.
Speaker A:It's going to do it.
Speaker A:For episode number 254, links to all the past episodes, podcast platforms, merchandise and social media are available at our website, theallaboutnothing.com and if you think our financial model of giving away free content and entertainment is silly and you're in the giving mood, why not become an official nothinger and support the show?
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