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BISBEE WIRE #69/12 houses sold, economy, stuff around town, council agenda, Roka for sale, and lots more!


editor: fred miller           March 15 ,2023              #69/March/2024

Hello,



One of the problems of having limited mobility-although that has been changing-is that I been reading a lot. As you can see by the length of this issue. Take what you want.  Stay tuned in a couple weeks for my annual April 1 issue, I'll unveil some startling changes going on.


In some good news, the wonderful Pan Terra and Killer Bee shops have reopened, yea! Soap and Sundry main store is closed but they have a booth in Peddlers alley next to Poco. Mayor's update is below.


Anyone running for any office, city, county, state, must submit paperwork by 5:00 on April 1. I'll have a rundown on who wants to do what to us if they get in office sometime in April.


Mike Thornton of KBRP magazine and I have been talking about doing interviews or round tables or something with candidates. Plans not yet firm. There are many significant challenges facing the city that should be addressed by any candidate including: siting of the county jail, lack of tourism planning, replacing fire suppression system, how to read a budget.


Speaking of KBRP, I will resume my every other Friday 10 am segment of the KBRP magazine on March 22. Mike runs a good informative show every Friday from 9-11 am. Listen up.


Sign up for ballot trax here Secretary of State Fontes has instituted a tech system that is easy to use and works well.


I'm selling a 600 gallon Water catch tank.Very good condition. Works well. Slimline snugs against a house, $550. New, the slimline tanks are about $1100-1600. It is big, heavy, and stores water very well. Cut $$ from my garden watering bill.

Dimensions  2 1/2' deep, 6 1/2' wide x, 6 1/2' high

If interested, contact me at bisbeewire@gmail.com

    

fred

................​AROUND TOWN................

THE LATEST ON THE MAIN ST. BUILDINGS


From a facebook post by mayor Ken Budge 3/9

The latest I know​, so you will know​, about the Main Street situation. We have a contractor setup to come in and stabilize the upper brick walls​, which would allow us to open one lane of the street and pedestrian traffic on the opposite side from the fire. However the asbestos report from the testing that was done in only three days was received by us ​Friday night. The good is there is no asbestos in the brick, mortar or the inside plaster. That will allow the contractor to drill into and bolt through the brick​ for what needs to be done to stabilize those walls, then which will allow us to investigate the cause. The bad thing is for them to do that there are levels of asbestos throughout the inside of both buildings​, where they need to be to do the work, mostly in the ashes and roofing material that are dangerous.

One more step needs to be taken which will be to​ stabilize those inside work areas from ​that asbestos becoming a hazard to those construction workers. We have a list of certified abatement people who can do this for us and are working on that now. ​I do not have a time frame at this time, as weekends are tough to contact people for formal commitments. However, rest assured we are on this and will not rest until we get this done ​in a safe manner for the workers and our community. ​

I truly appreciate our community's support and understanding as we work to re-establish Main Street as best as it can be after this truly tragic fire.

............


KIDZ! MAKE STUFF FESTIVAL

March 23rd  10:30am - 3:30pm  Central School!

..........

FREEPORT/LOCAL FIRST GRANT/PROJECT WORKSHOP FOR ORGANIZATIONS

Tuesday March 26 at Copper Queen library.

These workshops are for community organizations that pursue competitive grants to fund their projects and work. ...how to develop a project that will have the greatest impact on a community need and covering tips and tricks on how to make a grant application competitive.

(Through the Arizona Economic Resource Center, Local First Arizona offers free grant writing and related services to rural and tribal communities and nonprofits. The services are free through the support of sponsors like Freeport-McMoRan. )

Go here for info

..........

ELECTION NOMINATIONS DUE APRIL 1

April 1, 5:00 is the deadline for filing papers to run for any office anywhere in the state. I'll have a rundown of who has turned in the necessary paperwork.

The city charter defines the conditions for office...

Council Members shall have physically resided in the City of Bisbee and the ward from which they were nominated and elected and/or appointed for at least one year preceding the date of such election or appointment. Council Members must reside within the City and the ward from which they were nominated and elected and/or appointed during their term in office.

for Mayor: Must live within the city limits for at least one year. The petition or petitions for nomination of Mayor shall contain the signatures of qualified voters, aggregating not less than five percent nor more than ten percent of the total number of electors voting at the last preceding municipal election for the office of Mayor.

for Council: The petition or petitions for nomination of a Council Member shall contain the signatures of qualified voters aggregating not less than five percent nor more than ten percent of the number of electors voting for Mayor in the nominee's Ward at the last preceding election at which a Mayor was elected.

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SCHOLARSHIP AVAILABLE

Bisbee Woman's Club announces the opening of scholarship opportunities for current or former graduates of Bisbee High School. Applications are available on the Woman's Club website at

www.bisbeewomansclub.com

Applications must be submitted by April 1 and will be awarded in May.

.........

ORGANIC ORCHARD UP FOR AUCTION

Wanna farm? There is a a 400+ acre organic orchard in Wilcox up for auction April 4. Online prebidding has begun. Go here for details

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BEISBAL BEEN BERRY BERRY GOOD TO BISBEE

Vintage base ball returns to Bisbee’s historic Warren Ballpark April 6th and 7th. Teams from Bisbee, Tucson, California and the Phoenix metro area take to the field to play in the 13th Copper City Classic Vintage Base Ball Tournament at Bisbee’s 114-year-old Warren Ballpark. Dressed in uniforms dating back a century or more, team will play by rules in effect when Abraham Lincoln first ran for president in 1860. One of the teams, the Maricopa Maidens, is an all-female team from the Phoenix metroplex that plays in uniforms identical to those worn by women in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the 1940s and 50s.


Play gets underway at 10 a.m. Admission is $10 for one day or $15 for both days. Children 12 and under are free with an adult ticket. With gratitude, active military and Department of Defense employees are admitted free with ID. Donations will be gratefully accepted. Beer and concessions will be sold. All proceeds from the event will be used to pay for renovations and improvements at Warren Ballpark. For more information about the event, go to www.friendsofwarrenballpark or contact Patrick Murphy at 520-366-1545. pmurphy2896@gmail.com

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$15,000, 5 MONTH ELECTION FELLOWSHIP AVAILABLE NOW! An excellent opportunity....The 2024 County Election Administration Fellowship Program offers current college students and recent college graduates the exciting opportunity to spend five months working with county election officials throughout the state.Fellows will learn the democratic process from the inside while helping to ensure that our election process is secure and accessible by providing adequate staffing to county election administration offices. Apply by April 12 for first consideration here .......... COMING EVENTS.... Go here for the weekly lowdown of who is doing what where. These events are coming to our lil burg

The Prowl Motorcycle Show March 16 (mostly on the gulch) Alice in Bisbeeland April 19 – 20 Mile High Music Festival 4/20 April 19, 20,21, 26,27,28   Rita Verri show “The Rhythm’s of Bisbee 2024” has six dates at Central School. Always entertaining and a delight to see the talent in Bisbee, Rita gives a good show for the dough. Give it a go! Tix at ritaverriproductions.com Riot GRRL Fest May 3 – 5

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BISBEE MEDIA MENTIONS

Read about cheap lodging $48-$55! Ha!

https://www.thetravel.com/small-arizona-towns-to-visit-for-less-


Pan Terra featured on Channel 4

https://www.kvoa.com/news/bisbee-clothing-store-gets-creative-after-fire-forces-shop-to-close/article_20a0c61c-da96-11ee-a9ba-9364686143ef.html


Cop wannabe in Warren; threatening drivers, License # 13ROC/Red Rav 4

https://www.myheraldreview.com/news/cochise_county/bisbee-residents-report-encounters-with-police-imposter/article_43791e32-da5a-11ee-ba80-5f4172b7aed3.html


Water Woes in Pearce, vid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcLKp0vDBT0


Cheapest rent in AZ

https://www.thetravel.com/cities-with-the-cheapest-rent-in-arizona/#bisbee


Blurb

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/9-best-small-towns-in-arizona-for-retirees/


Blurb

https://www.travelandleisure.com/arizona-travel-guide-8558231

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WHOOPS! PREMATURE COMMUNICATION ABOUT HWY 90 WORK

ADOT now says there is no start date for work on the gnarly 90/92 intersection in SV.   Previously the county said it was going to start in March. “The project is too far out to have a starting date and starting location,” said ADOT spokesperson Garin Groff. "Once we have a start date, we'll be putting out a news release and traffic alerts to inform the public." There was no public explanation of the delay or the faulty communication by Cochise County. Once commenced other work will include 'rehabilitating' the road to milepost 325-the BP check point.

Late flash...ADOT now says the work is on schedule and planning has begun, but there is no timeline.

............

DO THIS NOW PLEASE, IT'S EZ

These are statewide positions in the Arizona Corporation Commission. DEADLINE IS APRIL 1st!   Help protect Arizona‘s energy and water future by signing ACC candidate petitions for all Democrats HERE

Joshua Polacheck, Jonathon Hill, and Ylenia Aguilar

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RENT YOUR PLACE THROUGH ZILLOW

So Zillow:

If you have a house to rent or are looking for a rental. Zillow property manager is a good resource.  A local owner looking for someone to rent their place  for a few months while they were out of the country, had a response within minutes of posting their ad, and after 8 days had a choice of three viable tenants.

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AG CRACKS DOWN ON RENT GOUGING

If you are a renter and think your rent has been unfairly raised , you can file a complaint with the AG's office. Go here She has filed a suit against eight of the largest rental companies that she charges have increased rates from 50-100%. Only one of those companies is hq'd in Arizona. An article in AZcentral quotes several people who have had their rents raised by more than $1000  in a two year period. The culprit, is a firm called RealPage.com that provides data to landlords that increases costs and fixes prices. That firm is also under scrutiny at the national level.

...........

COMMENT ON ADOT FIVE YEAR PLAN

The 2025-2030 plan projects $108,000,000 spending in Cochise County for the first three years and nothing the last two.

Of interest:moon canyon bridge scheduled for $750,000.

Hwy 191 railroad overpass $41,250,000 SR 82, San Pedro river bridge, $11,800,000

I-10 bridge @ Wilcox $2,000,000 San Simon scale and inspection pit $4,800,000

I-10 west of Bowie MP 345-356 pavement $41,262,000 Stronghold Bridge Hwy 80 MP 303 $6,000,000

This is the plan

This is the comment form

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DOUGLAS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY LOANS $15 MIL TO DAIRY

Riverview Dairy, owner of 51,000 acres in Sulphur Springs Valley and yearly revenue of $230,000,000 received a promise of a loan of $15 million to expand their dairy activities. The project is 80% completed and the loan would reimburse the company for money already spend! This was after the dairy tried to wheedle $25 mill out of SV development. WTF Douglas?

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CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY MARCH 19, 7 PM

Background & Agenda here

Of interest:

#1 How your money is spent in accounts payable

#5,6  Changing the zoning and city codes. abolishing streets and infrastructure committee.

#8 Structural repairs at the pool

#9,10, 11 the Bisbee Bikeway project. Preliminary engineering agreement; coop grant agreement with CoB and Ecotopia/dba as Bisbee Bikeways; approval of a grant for feasibility study for transportation network-$11,400 as part of a $660k+ grant from transportation board.

#13 Discussion on the current grants received and grants that have been applied for to include discussion on grants writers


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...............BISBEE ECONOMY................

Cafe Roka at 35 Main has joined the list of ten other commercial buildings/businesses for sale in Old Bisbee.The new listing for $1,650,000 includes the restaurant, name, equipment, and building. The turnkey operation in the 5600 sq ft. vaguely art deco building, has 3 1/2 floors; first floor, mezzanine, and second floor have been in use for the restaurant, the third floor has been as an apartment.

(Sigh, 28 years of my life were spent in that building, anchoring the bar in the center of the main floor, up and down 2 or 3 flights of stairs. Lotsa fond memories including many with readers of the Wire... I hope it sells rapidly so Sally and Rod can move to the next chapter.)

The other properties for sale are: Copper Queen Hotel 11 Howell ($12,500,000,  Art Home building at 79 Main ($625,000), Santiagos/San Ramon 1 Howell $1,670,000), Grand Hotel 61 Main ($3 mil), Acacia building 69 Main ($800,000), Convention Center 2 Main ($1,800,000), Stock Exchange 15 Brewery ($1,750,000),former Artemisia Gallery 27 Main ($690,000), 6 Naco Road ($1,200,000)

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City Treasurer's report

With 67% of the fiscal year gone, tax revenue is about $400,000 above projections. Unfortunately ambulance revenue is running about $65,000 below budget projections.

General Fund summary, Overall expenses are at 59% or about $770,000 under what was expected for this point in the year. Almost all departments have contributed to this under expenditure, but Police and Fire, with the largest budgets in the general fund, have a combined total of $565,000 under budget. With $175,000 ahead in revenue this leaves a net revenue over expense of about $945,000.

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HOUSES SOLD

Twelve houses sold in February, the most activity in that month in two years. The houses were listed $3,387,300 and actually sold for a bit less, $3,268,500. Days on the market varied, with the longest  a property that sold for $830,000 that was on the market for 11 months. Conversely a 'cheap' property was on the market for only 27 days. The average house was up for sale for about four months. Most properties sold were in OB and Warren.

Houses sold near you:

Original/list/sell price

19 B Clawson Ave

80k/80k/70,000


7 Cochise Row

109,500/99,900/85,000


308 Powell St.

225k/159k/137,000


41 Hillside

155,000


611 Tombstone Cyn

158,000


119 Van Dyke St

259k/259k/252,500


24 Mason Addition

339k/263k/257,000


19 Wood Canyon

279k/279k/270,000


576 E. Mulberry Ln

285k/285k/278,000


602 E. Vista

420k/399,500/375,000


317 14th Terrace

299k/299k/402,000


860N. Highland Trl (at the end of West blvd)

850k/850k/830,000

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 BUILDING PERMITS

The City installed HVAC units in both fire stations as well as the library spending $731,262 in the process. Badly needed upgrades. Removing city spending, commercial permits continued to indicate very little rehab activity for commercial buildings.


There were 35 residential permits issued for $400k+. A bit down from past months, but indicative of home owners continuing to upgrade and remodel their properties.

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SALES TAXES

(February report is for actual spending two months prior in December)

The bed tax brought in $29k, another big month, although restaurant/bar and retail sales declined $4k from the previous month.

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ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

Twin Dragon Studio and Landscape

36 E. Hwy 80

Milo Mietzner

 

Warren Peace Cafe

205 W. Vista

Rebecca Skinner

..............ELECTIONS...............


COCHISE COUNTY ADDS 1000 JOBS

From CC Economic News

"The number of nonfarm jobs in Cochise County was up by 1,100 in the 12 months ended January 2024 for job growth of 3.2%, according to data from Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. 

Cochise County’s private sector grew by 800 jobs (3.4%) in the 12 months ended January. Goods-producing jobs were up by 300 (11.1%) with 100 new construction and mining jobs (5.0%) and 200 new jobs in manufacturing (28.6%)."  read more here

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THOROUGH STUDY DEBUNKS CLAIMS THAT MAIL IN BALLOTS LEAD TO ILLEGAL VOTING

https://thefulcrum.us/electoral-reforms/voter-fraud-3287905

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REPUBS WANT TO NIX  EARLY VOTING BY MAIL

Yeah right, even though it is heavily used and would cost taxpayers more money for elections....Every state House Republican approved a bill that would end no-excuse early voting by mail, even though 75% of Arizona’s voters used mail-in ballots last year, the Arizona Mirror’s Caitlin Sievers reports. The bill would also force counties to use precinct-based voting instead of vote centers. While the bill is veto bait for Gov. Katie Hobbs, Sievers notes Republicans first popularized no-excuse early voting in 1991 until election misinformation took over the GOP’s brand.

Arizona Agenda

..............COCHISE COUNTY................

Attorneys for supes Judd and Crosby are asking a judge for dismissal of charges for their clients. A hearing set for April 19 will hear arguments for not only dismissal but for misleading grand jury instructions, prosecution misconoduct and legislative immunity. It is the 'lets throw poop at the wall and see what sticks', legal strategy.


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COUNTY PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS CHALLENGED


Two differing actions regarding the handling of, and response to, public records requests by the county attorney's office are moving through the judicial process. In one, watchdog group Open Secrets is seeking action on a request thay made several months ago aobut election related information. Another is in regards to phone records.  Go here for info.

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STEVENS DIDN'T ANSWER CNN WHETHER BIDEN WON IN 2020

Sheesh! Once again David Stevens is featured on national news, this time about the security ballot paper ordered and unused. When asked about the grant and the paper sitting in a warehouse, he just said he wants it to go away. Among other questions, he said he was not a conspiracy theorist, but when asked directly if Joe Biden won the 2020 election, he avoided a direct answer and deflected the question.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUGQ1dsc66U

...............THE LEGE AND THE STATE ................

HOBBS SHUTS OFF THE WATER TO SAUDI COMPANY

Saudi Arabia owned Fondomente has ceased pumping ground water in Butler valley/La Paz County, after Hobbs ordered the AZ State Lands Dept to cancel or not renew the leases. The ASLD issued the pumping permits to Fondomente in 2014 after they bought the land. They began growing Alfalfa and shipping it to the middle east. Successive state legislatures have failed to regulate rural water use. It wasn't until an uprising by residents in Sulphur Springs valley established one AWA in the Douglas basin. Another was voted down in the Wilcox basin-the area with the most depleted aquifer from ground water pumping.

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THIS IS WHAT REPUBLICANS REALLY THINK OF WOMEN

Sen. Sonny Borrelli, the No. 2 Republican in the state Senate, responded to a question about whether he would oppose future efforts to restrict access to emergency contraceptives by saying that women wouldn’t need contraceptives if they weren’t so promiscuous.

“Like I said, Bayer Company invented aspirin. Put it between your knees,” he said, implying that, if women hold aspirin between their legs, they won’t be able to have sex and risk pregnancy.

as reported in the Arizona Mirror, March 7, 2024 <><> AND THESE BILLS ARE WHAT THEY THEY THINK OF ALL OF US Although it is too late to comment on these bill this week, this gives an idea of how unhinged some repugnicans have become.

...............EVERYTHING ELSE................

CONGRESS

One of the more perplexing things about politicians is that they sell out so cheap. Those million/billionaire donors  often get a good return on their investment. A couple hundred thousands can bring tax breaks of millions. For instance, out going Sen. Sinema received close to a million in donations from private equity firms in 2022. A reward for securing a bill that carved out a corporate exemption for those PE firms worth $35 billion. 


This sluggish do-little/shout a lot congress sent part of a budget (30%) to the prez; five months after it was due! If you would like to see what necessities and pork ($468 billion!) your hard earned tax dollars go to, a rundown is here  (At least some of that pork is coming to AZ and Cochise County) However there is little agreement on six other consequential appropriations bills, which are due by March 22 and include health, defense and homeland security programs.


The House, led  by the freedumb economic illiterates, want to cut the IRS budget, just when they are starting to gain traction in clawing back millions of dollars from high income tax avoiders and corporations.

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TRUMP SHOWS OFF HIS MEMORY

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TIKTOK TROUBLES

A House committee wants to ban TikTok if they do not divest from ByteDance, their Chinese corporate owner. They are worried about all that user info flowing to the commies. Go here for the story behind the story, it's not just about TikTok, but far ranging privacy protections being embraced by the Biden admin.


One corollary not discussed much is that China could certainly retaliate by demanding Apple ( and others) divest itself of it's american owners. Apple does about $20 billion worth of biz in China. The US has more to lose than ByteDance, the owner of TikTok.

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HOLY CHIT MON, CHECK OUT THIS SICK DANCE CHOREOGRAPHY

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DAILY MARIJUANA USE LEADS TO HIGHER PROBABILITY

OF STROKE/HEART ATTACKS

Adults who use marijuana daily are 25 percent more likely to have a heart attack than those who don’t use it, according to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association and funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The study also found a 42 percent increased likelihood of stroke linked to daily marijuana (cannabis) use.

The findings were based on data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2016 through 2020 from 434,104 U.S. residents, ages 18 to 74, considered a representative sample of the population. A WaPo summary is here

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ALL IN HER HEAD: WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE

A new book explores the history of discrimination in women’s health care and how it affects diagnosis and treatment today.

"For too long, doctors dismissed “what could be legitimate physiological problems as irrelevant, as hormonal, and therefore not important,” said Wendy Kline, a professor of the history of medicine at Purdue University."Book review/

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DON'T PAY MORE IN RENTAL CAR FEES

(from auto slash) (We have saved us hundreds of dollars using auto slash for car rentals.)

Common mistakes that cost you dough

...Overpaying for the rental car company’s collision damage waiver (CDW) or additional insurance products. This often happens because the renter is not aware of coverage you already have in your car insurance.

....Before you drive off the rental car lot, the agent will likely ask if you’d like to prepay for gas. Accepting this offer is usually a bad idea. Instead, decline the prepaid gas. But always take a picture of the dashboard showing the mileage and fuel level at the time of return.

...Another unwanted scenario is finding a surprise charge on the final bill for mystery damages. Luckily, this is avoidable. Before and after you take possession of the vehicle, make sure to take detailed photos of the inside and outside of the rental car for your records. Keep the photos for at least a few months after the final bill arrives, just to make sure you do not encounter any unwanted surprises.

...Another huge mistake is passing up discounts and special rates you’re entitled to. Costco, the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) are just some of the organizations that provide members with double-digit discounts.

...Check other locations.Rentals at airport locations typically incur special taxes and fees that neighborhood rental offices often do not charge. The price difference can be striking, even when factoring in the extra cost of transportation to get to an alternative location. So, always check both on-airport and off-airport locations and weigh the difference in cost versus convenience. Tip...Reserving a one-way rental, picking up off-airport and returning to the airport, can be a great way to save on taxes and fees and still have the convenience of returning the car back to the airport for your trip home.

...When requesting a quote from AutoSlash, try the so-called “half-hour hack”: Ask for a quote with your desired pickup time at, say, 9 am; then request a second quote for a pickup time one half hour earlier, 8:30 am, or later, at 9:30 am.

...Signing up for a rental car loyalty program is free, easy and often provides special perks, and yet many renters still leave it all on the table. Signing up for the rental car company’s loyalty program not only ensures that special promo codes end up in your inbox, but offers the possibility of nabbing free rental days or being able to skip the line and waive additional driver fees.

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