Gustav and Ike and the aftermath

Things are finally back to normal here in Charlotte in regards to gasoline supplies. It was rough for about 3 weeks with 90% of gas stations having no fuel and police being deployed at all stations that had fuel for sale to maintain order. Traffic cones and police tape were used to mark off the stations on busy corners so that people wouldn't block traffic checking. If anyone saw one car in a gas station, another 100 cars would gather thinking there was fuel even if the first guy was just buying some beer and smokes. The cheapest gas you can buy is now $3.39 which is a fair bit lower than it was 2 months ago. During the hurricanes the high was $4.59 and the longest I had to wait was 90 minutes to get a tankful. Early on all the stations ran out of regular and had only plus and premium for sale then no stations had any fuel except sometimes diesel. There were periodic shipments of regular gasoline over the next couple of weeks but the anxiety continued just short of panic and rioting. The mayor chastised the media for causing panic and overdramatising the situation.

We had the advantage of eyes on the ground and our manager made almost 100 phone calls to keep up on which stations had fuel. I wonder how much gas was used idling in lines for gas or driving around, looking for stations that weren't empty or driving out to neighboring areas that had fuel.

There is some concern voiced about economic conditions because Wachovia employs close to 1% of the people in Charlotte. The big companies here are Microsoft, Coca-cola, Wachovia, Bank of America, Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) and Lance (crackers). It still seems like 30-50% of the businesses here have positions available and some still have to actively advertise to fill positions. I visit a great deal of businesses in our 80 square miles and I keep my eyes open for these sorts of things. I'm sure collections and repo agencies are hiring in record number. Bilingual is a huge plus. All in all, people seem in reasonably good shape. I haven't seen any forclosed properties though I noticed Java Detour and Tijuana Flats on the corner of 51 and Park have closed up. All the other restaurants on 51 have drive through. I wonder if that is a requirement to be successful there. A big sign that people recognize might be the other important factor because I can name all the other restaurants from Red Lobster, Starbucks, IHOP, McDonald's, KFC, Bojangles, Jack in the Box, Waffle House, Chic-fil-A, another Starbucks, Caribou Coffee that are on 51 between South Blvd and Carmel Rd.

That's all for now.