Democrat Barack Obama’s plan to bring the debate over gas prices straight to the pumps hit a roadblock Wednesday.
What sounded like a great way to reach a captive audience as they pumped $4-a-gallon gas into their car crashed and burned quickly when the company that sells spots on small, gas pump televisions rejected the idea.
Drivers upset by high fuel costs would have seen an ad saying Republican John McCain voted against alternative energy and higher mileage standards as gas prices soared. As the dollars continued adding up on the pump, drivers would have then heard that Obama would give them a $1,000 energy rebate and make energy independence a priority.
But just as the campaign announced the ads were ready to roll in Tampa, Orlando and Miami, Gas Station TV decided to reject them.
The Michigan-based company’s CEO, David Leider, said the company was considering running campaign ads on the mini-televisions, but decided Wednesday that wouldn’t be such a good idea. That’s the same day he saw Obama’s ad, which says the candidate will seek policies that lower gas consumption.
Leider, though, said the decision had nothing to do with the ad’s message.
“We avoid politics in general,” he said.
But the Obama campaign said the company gave a different reason for rejecting the ad: It was too damaging to the oil industry.
“It looks like Gas Station TV doesn’t want the American people to know about Senator Obama’s plan to offer working families a $1,000 energy rebate that would be funded by a tax on oil company profits” said Mark Bubriski, Obama’s Florida spokesman.
Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore Among Those Who Lost Homes in L.A. Fires
Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events.
Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. Next week's Oscar nominations have been delayed. And tens of thousands of Angelenos are displaced and awaiting word Thursday on whether their homes survived the flames — some of them the city's most famous denizens.
More than 1,900 structures have been destroyed and the number is expected to increase. More than 130,000 people are also under evacuation orders in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, a number that continues to shift as new fires erupt.
Late Wednesday, a fire in the Hollywood Hills was scorching the hills near the famed Hollywood Bowl and Dolby Theatre, which is the home of the Academy Awards.
Here are how the fires are impacting celebrities and the Los Angeles entertainment industry:
Stars whose homes have burned in the fires
Celebrities like Crystal and his wife, Janice, were sharing memories of the homes they lost.
The Crystals lost the home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood that they lived in for 45 years.
"Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can't be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this," the Crystals wrote in the statement.
Mandy Moore lost her home in the Altadena neighborhood roughly 30 miles east of the Palisades.
"Honestly, I'm in shock and feeling numb for all so... Read More