Verizon

Every morning after her alarm goes off, Rhodessa Bender gets up, makes the bed and reaches for the telephone. "I call the weather and decide what I'm going to put on for the day," she said. "The weather" is Verizon's telephone weather line, 936-1212. Since the days of rotary dials in the 1930s, it has been providing telephone users with the local temperature and forecast. And even today it comes not from robots, but from real people with names and, some say, personality. But on June 1, they're going to fall silent in the Maryland and Washington area codes, along with the phone company's dial-in time service — 844-1212.

I have to admit that even though "Second Hand News" is a great way to kick off a night of what was clearly going to be hit after hit of A+, No. 1, solid-gold Fleetwood Mac tunes, hearing Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks sing the first few measures put a little stone in my throat. Lindsey sounded ragged and rough: Did he give too much to Madison Square Garden the night before? Perhaps over-carousing? Does Lindsey deign to carouse? And Stevie, oh Stevie, the top range of her uniquely fluid yet meaty voice clipped.

Do you remember the schoolyard bully? That is what is happening in the case of Verizon's contractual dispute with its union workers ("Howard senior citizen facility feels effects of Verizon strike," Aug. 12). A tiny percentage of Americans like Ivan Seidenberg are compensated like Saudi princes not because they are vastly more productive than their employees, but simply because they possess the power to take what they want. They employ two basic strategies to justify this behavior: They claim that their compensation is commensurate with other executives who also possess the power to take what they want.

Eileen B. Graeff, a retired Verizon marketing and sales associate, died Feb. 18 from breast cancer at her Ellicott City home. She was 66. The former Eileen Buss was born and raised in Hagerstown, where she graduated in 1964 from North Hagerstown High School. Mrs. Graeff earned a nursing degree in 1967 from the Sinai Hospital School of Nursing, and after nursing briefly, decided on a career change. "She went to work for the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. and the only job open was for a nurse.

45,000 Verizon workers are now on strike to stop the attack on the middle class. The reason? Despite record profits, Verizon is refusing to bargain and is demanding that its workers add to those profits from their own pockets. In the last four years alone, Verizon made more than $19 billion in profits and compensated their top five executives more than a quarter of a billion dollars. But apparently that's not enough. Now they're refusing to bargain. Starting on June 22 Verizon pushed proposals that would let them outsource more jobs, including sending jobs overseas, slash sick days, terminate pensions, eliminate benefits for workers who get hurt on the job and cut the health-care benefits they promised retirees.

State regulators proposed on Wednesday that Verizon's ability to raise rates on some basic telephone services be directly tied to the telecommunications giant's efforts to improve customer service – a potential outcome that would be a regulatory first in Maryland. The proposed order from the Maryland Public Service Commission comes amidst several ongoing cases dealing with complaints from tens of thousands of customers who experienced lengthy delays in customer service in 2007 and 2008.

The Howard County Office of Consumer Affairs is investigating Verizon's sales practices after the office received a half-dozen complaints, county officials said. Officials allege that the company's sales representatives have attempted to confuse customers and overcharge them for services they did not ask for when selling packages for cable, phone and Internet service. Sharyn Tolkach, a teacher from Columbia, said she saw an item on her bill called "cyber tube" for five months before she could get Verizon representatives to remove the $14.95 charge from her monthly statement.

Emails and phone calls from readers of this column who have had an unsatisfying experience with Verizon continue to come in — and Saturday, a pleasant woman who walks regularly through my neighborhood stopped by to tell me all about her unpleasant business with the humongous telecommunications company. She'd made a couple of appointments to have a Verizon technician come to her house to investigate a staticky line, and the tech never showed. That's a common complaint. I described a couple of frustrating experiences with Verizon customer service in columns in January and February — complaints that, placed alongside tsunami in Japan, seem wholly trivial.

Dan Rodricks is indeed a lucky man. He received an apology from Verizon, and they are "reviewing his experience in order to learn from it and prevent similar situations … in the future" ( "Verizon to Rodricks: We're sorry," Feb. 28). Wow! Perhaps Mr. Rodricks should ask others to share their Verizon stories, which could be printed as a special edition to The Sun. These would be reviewed as a learning experience for Verizon. And maybe we could all get an apology. Peg McAllen, Towson

State regulators proposed Wednesday that Verizon's ability to raise rates on some basic telephone services be directly tied to the company's efforts to improve customer service - a requirement that would be a regulatory first in Maryland. The proposed order from the Maryland Public Service Commission is in response to complaints from nearly 80,000 customers who experienced lengthy delays in customer service in 2007 and 2008. "We're hoping that now this will provide the path for Verizon to remedy its long-standing statewide ... service problems," said Theresa Czarski of the state Office of the People's Counsel, which represents consumers' interests before the PSC. "This time Verizon won't be able to increase prices until they show they've made real strides in fixing service quality problems."

Wedding date: Jan. 13, 2013 Wayne's story: Wayne Gooch, 58, grew up in Cleveland. He is retired from Verizon and regularly volunteers at food banks in Rehoboth Beach, Del. His father, James, and his mother, Julia, are both deceased. Russell's story: Russell Keys, 50, grew up in Baltimore. He is a communications representative for Verizon. His father, William, is deceased, and his mother, Carrie, is retired. Their story: Wayne and Russell met at a club in Washington on Jan. 13, 1989.

Police have reopened the 12900 block of Fork Road in Baldwin Tuesday morning after a several-hour closure caused by a car accident that brought down utility wires. Baltimore County Police Corporal John Wachter said Verizon repair crews are working between Cherry Hill Road and Abels Avenue, but traffic can now pass through. The motorist was driving on Fork Road at about 5:50 a.m. when he struck a utility pole, Wachter said. The motorist was not taken to the hospital, he said. No other cars were involved in the crash, Wachter said.

Taylor Swift, one of the only musicians still capable of going platinum in a week, will headline Washington's Verizon Center on May 11 and 12. Swift, whose new album “Red” will debut at the top of the Billboard 200 next week with 1.2 million copies sold, will bring Ed Sheeran along as the opening act. Since he sings on the “Red” track “Everything Has Changed,” Sheeran seems like a practical choice. Tickets go on sale Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. Local fans will have to head south to see the six-time Grammy winner, as there are no current plans for Swift to stop in Baltimore.

RANDOM UPDATE: The infamous all-meat dress Lady Gaga wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards will be displayed in a new exhibit, opening Friday, at the National Museum of Women in the Arts , according to the Associated Press. The meat has been dried and painted to resemble the raw meat's original color. -- Lady Gaga's "The Born This Way Ball" will make its way to North America next year, according to Live Nation. On Feb. 25, 2013, Gaga will perform songs from her first three releases at Verizon Center in Washington, according to a link the singer-songwriter posted to Twitter earlier today.

About 80 members of the Communications Workers of America protested at Baltimore City Hall Thursday against a deal between Verizon Wireless and cable companies that they said will hurt the city's chances of ever receiving the telecommuncation company's next-generation Internet broadband network, known as FiOS. In a deal with major cable companies across the country, Verizon Wireless plans to expand its fourth-generation wireless services after purchasing unused wireless spectrum from the cable providers.

No longer a boy, perhaps not yet a man but most definitely a pop phenom, Justin Bieber will bring his headlining "Believe" tour (named after his upcoming album) to Verizon Center on Nov. 5, according to a press release. Tickets go on sale June 2 at 10 a.m. at all Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com or via phone at 800-745-3000. Members of Bieber's fan club can log onto bieberfever.com (seriously) at noon today for presale tickets. Carly Rae Jepsen, the young singer with the current song of the summer ("Call Me Maybe")

Verizon Communications Inc., the nation's second-largest phone company, said yesterday that it would freeze the guaranteed pension plan covering 50,000 of its managers and expand their 401(k) plans instead. In freezing the plan, the company will pay workers the benefits they have already earned but will not let them build up additional benefits. Verizon also said it would contribute less to the health care benefits of those managers when they retire. Over all, the company hopes to save about $3 billion over the next decade by taking these steps.

The next phase of the telecommunications revolution got to my street a couple of weeks ago, but it showed few signs of dissolving "all of the monopolies and hierarchies and pyramids and power grids of industrial society," as techno-seer George Gilder predicted a decade ago in Forbes magazine. Instead, it was a dozen guys with shovels, working incredibly hard, digging 3-foot holes so one quasi-monopoly, Verizon, can swipe business from another quasi-monopoly, Comcast. Whatever. I'm willing to wait for postindustrial anarcho-nirvana if I can save $20 on my cable bill.

Et cetera D.C. United to play Juventus on July 28 D.C. United and Juventus, Italian soccer's most storied club, have finalized plans to play a friendly July 28 at RFK Stadium. A formal announcement is expected this week. The Turin-based team clinched its 28th Serie A title two weeks ago and recorded the first undefeated season (23-0-15) in the country's top division since 1992. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tickets, priced from $35 to $65 before service charges, will go on sale Monday.

Frequent Midnight Sun contributor Evan Haga caught the Red Hot Chili Peppers show in Washington last night. Here's his take: The most impressive thing about the Red Hot Chili Peppers' sold-out show last night at D.C.'s Verizon Center had more to do with what the band played than how they played it. The Chili Peppers formed in Los Angeles 28 years ago - an eternity in pop - and they're beginning to reap the nostalgic rewards of...