Micheal Giron and his wife were paying their tab after dinner the evening of Feb. 25 when they witnessed an encounter between the manager and a woman who was getting a takeout order of a large salad and two slices of pie.
When she attempted to use a $5 bonus card to pay for the pie, the manager said the card was only good for a dinner order, not for pie. As they argued, Giron looked at the card and confirmed that it was for pie, with no stipulations.
The manager, in so many words, told Giron to butt out.
When the woman finally told the manager to forget it and she would go somewhere else, he refused to give her back her coupon, saying it was his now.
She tried to grab the coupon, they struggled and knocked over some boxes of food, according to Giron. The woman left, but the manager chased her outside, yelling a racial insult.
Giron contacted the restaurant chain's home office and received a reply from corporate executive James Dowd thanking him for his e-mail and assuring him that such behavior by employees is not tolerated. No word yet on the night manager's ultimate fate.
Legislative game playing: Rep. Stephen Sandstrom was one of the biggest surprise votes in favor of vouchers, which passed the House by one vote this year.
The Orem Republican received support from the UEA and the PTA in the GOP primary against voucher champion Jim Ferrin, the incumbent, after he told the education groups he was opposed to vouchers.
Then HB461, which was sponsored by Sandstrom, made its way through the legislative process. The bill appropriates $2.5 million to public education for a reading readiness program and shows Sandstrom's former supporters what a pro-education guy he really is.
The bill was introduced Jan. 26, but only had a number, with no substance, until Feb. 13, when it finally included language. That was after the voucher bill passed.
HB461 passed on the last day of the session, after Sandstrom was heard wringing his hands and complaining about all the negative e-mails he had received over his voucher vote and was reassured by knee-patting legislative leaders that everything would be OK.
All at once: Here is an idea that has been circulating among Mormons around the Internet: The 2008 presidential election could make history because of the possibility of electing the first black president, or the first woman president, or the first Mormon president. Why not kill three birds with one stone and elect Gladys Knight?
Can't be tardy: Bruce Huber was driving eastbound on 3500 South next to a Granite School District bus about 6:30 a.m. last Monday when the light at 900 West turned yellow.
Huber, realizing he couldn't make the light, stopped. But the school bus, No. 480, kept plowing along, blatantly running the red light.
p.rolly@sltrib.com
