Jolagh

((This thread is a second attempt at documenting the life of Hank Miller, a Journalist for Los Santos Insider))

To OP I actually understand what you are saying. My advice would be to join a smaller faction with a unique and interesting character. The rest is confidence really. My latest character talks to anyone, and tends to be able to build connections. Going to the same bar or business when it is open, is always a great way to get people familiar with you character. But also you need to be patient. Connections rarely just happen, they need to be nurtured over time. Just stick with it you will get there. When you are building connections I tend to ask an open question, make two statements agreeing with them and then ask another to keep the conversation going. Best of luck pal

Nice - I have tried doing this, but kept failing miserably. I'll add you.

City Hall Sets Sights Sky-High Written by Hank Miller, April 2024 At tonight’s Los Santos City Council meeting, Mayor Hank Preston and Nienke Elijzen set out a lofty ambition to uphold the seventeen principles outlined in the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Council Proposal 003, titled “2030 Sustainable Development Goals Commitment” was passed by a unanimous vote among the councilors. In 2015, the United Nations, and all countries within it, set out and agreed an agenda for sustainable development, which would act as, and I quote, ‘A shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.’ At the heart of this blueprint lies seventeen goals ranging from the eradication of poverty, ensuring the health and well-being of everyone no matter their age to ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. This evening, the Los Santos City Council pledged their support to do their part to meet these goals. The proposal outlined by Municipal Affairs Delegate Nienke Elijzen, who had worked previously with the UN at promoting the initiative, insisted that the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda offers a solution to the various issues which the city and the world face. ‘I’ve seen economic disparities, social inequalities, public insecurity, where the complexities of modern urban life demand bold and visionary solutions. The 2030 Agenda offers such a solution. Rooted in the principles of inclusion, sustainability and resilience, this global framework provides a road map for tackling the most pressing issues facing our world today.’ It is indeed an admirable aspiration for the city’s Mayor, Hank Preston, and co-author of this proposal, to throw his weight behind. But as Southern District Councilor, Frank Buntz pointed out, sometimes the best of intentions without a solid plan, often don’t get the momentum needed to achieve their target. ‘I’ve always had the deepest respect for the United Nations and what these ideas represent. I’ve also seen how often noble ideas such as curing poverty fail to take off‘ Miss Elijzen made it clear that a plan was in development and would adopt a multi-agency approach with both public and private stakeholders involved, to work towards the target. Whilst no detailed specifics were shared, Mayor Preston insisted that the 2030 agenda was very much about continuous improvement. ‘I understand the goals for this resolution may sound ambitious…The 2030 Agenda is about making small efforts count. This is a commitment to furthering those ideas, implementing the ‘little things’ that affect everyone’s quality of life.’ Pictured: Los Santos City Council Chambers To sum up, it is commendable that the Los Santos City Council is supportive of the Sustainable Development Agenda, as it only promotes positive things for the citizens of Los Santos, wider San Andreas and, frankly, the world. However, the devil is in the details. How are the goals outlined in the agenda going to be translated from this high level, world viewpoint, to a national level and perhaps more importantly, what is the plan and road map to work towards these goals? Watch this space! Link to Proposal - C.B 003 - 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Commitment Comments Are: Enabled Name: Comment:

Trucking Turmoil: Economic Headwinds Slam Industry Written by Hank Miller, April 2024 Members of the public often ignore the brightly coloured sprinter vans and lorries which scurry around our great state. Going to and from the port at all times of the day and night, sometimes at great speed. However what is often underappreciated is that trucking companies are the backbone of our economy and whilst undervalued, without them, businesses would cease to trade. In the last three years the industry has undergone massive change from at it’s peak heavy competition and a large pool of drivers to where it is currently, in which there is a lack of competition, tight profit margins and a small driver pool.I sat down with the two major trucking companies in the state to discuss the valuable work that they are conducting and ‘chewed the fat’ over the current state of the industry. I sat down with self confessed logistics expert Steve Hasington, who is currently the director of Senora Logistics, based in Sandy Shores. He has worked in the industry since 2019 as he reminisced about the industry back then. ‘Three years ago, we must've had well— five or six companies at any time.I was running Bluewater Logistics, and we must've been the biggest, if not on par with the largest at the time. And there were always several companies going that we were competing with. Kazanov, IMEX, Palmas, Rock Solid Logistics, DELTA Logistics, APEX. It was great fun, you'd see various coloured trucks coming and going through the port. Running a large HR team was a blast and we had a constant supply of new drivers. However since the end of last year, trucking companies have been working in a somewhat different environment, largely due to tight profit margins and ever increasing startup costs stifling the market. Many perceive the industry as being a bit of a cash cow, especially when you have big corporate businesses such as IMEX dominating the market down at the port. However the lack of competition in the market is not by chance and this is largely due to a race to the bottom in terms of the amount of commission trucking companies take per delivery. Back in 2019-2020 all of the logistics businesses agreed on a standard rate of commission that the drivers would receive. Meaning that companies could make a reasonable profit, whilst at the same time, drivers had a choice about what type of company they could join. However, as Steve described, it wasn’t long before commissions for drivers started to increase, resulting in tightening the profit margin, with trucking businesses going out of business soon after. ‘Back in 2019 actually, all of the executives of the trucking companies got together and we all agreed to match down to 80% commission. So we'd get 20$ per box. It worked for about a month, we had record profits, really rewarded the team with bonuses and it was amazing. Then, one of the competitors jumped back to the original 95% and we began to lose drivers to them. It's /huge/ for the drivers, so that was the end of that. People think that we sort of "sit back" and make millions, and it's just not the case. (Pictured: Senora Logistics HQ) However, lack of profit is just one of the elements which is resulting in reduced competition. High start-up costs are further compounding the issue, putting off much fresh blood into the industry who could potentially offer innovative new services, or offer alternatives from a large corporate business. Why does any of this matter? Lack of competition, leads to complacency and to lack of choice for both drivers and for businesses. This uncertainty within the business is making recruitment an increasingly challenging issue, this was echoed by both IMEX and Senora. Logistics appears to be very much a numbers game when it comes to resourcing and lack of consistently open businesses within Los Santos, is resulting in fluctuating demand for deliveries. We struggle at times with no deliveries on the system at all. It's always had it's ups and downs over the years but this year has been the worst I've seen.I think lack of business in Los Santos - there's just a lack of it completely.. This was echoed by IMEX’s chief pilot, James Mclennan. He indicated that the industry took a hit at the back end of 2023, however he was optimistic about the future as he felt that business was starting to pick up, both from the traditional trucking side of the business but also on their relatively new aviation business deftly labeled ‘IMEX Air’. The driver shortage came in very suddenly. I think people are just largely becoming disillusioned. However we've got more people out at the moment with a convoy out delivering to our clients. Recruitment remains a challenge that the logistics industry as a whole face and a story which is not unfamiliar to IMEX Air. With pilots being notoriously difficult to recruit, as was experienced at the infancy of the aviation side of the business. However things are starting to change with IMEX Air is now seeing a couple of new recruits a month. Some external, but mainly from inhouse recruits who are looking to swap four wheels for being up in the sky. (Pictured: IMEX Logistics HQ) Overall, I would say that the mood in the industry is cautiously optimistic after going through a turbulent period, which has impacted choice and competition in the industry. With Senora opting for the more traditional approach of advertising themselves as a family business to attract new drivers and an increasing HR department to support the hiring process and IMEX continuing to grow their aviation division, whilst they continue their natural growth path following their success in the industry. I will however leave his question for the government, where is the choice for businesses and drivers when it comes to what company they want to be supplied by? Or, which company a driver wants to drive for? It could be argued that should the government be supporting the sector, to encourage new startups across the industry, to promote competition, which can only be good for the consumer. Comments Are: Enabled Name: Comment:

Congrats all :)

+1

Daily Danger: Public Works Staff Brave Violence on the Job! Written by Hank Miller, March 2024 Graffiti needs cleaning from your home or business? Or is there a nuisance car which is parked illegally. A small, often overlooked group of people head out onto the streets and highways of Los Santos to deal with these everyday problems. Whether it be technicians or parking attendants, the tight knit staff at the Public Works are out and about day and night to fix these issues and keep the city running smoothly. I had the pleasure of spending an evening with them recently and it was certainly an eye opening experience. What struck me about the Public Works as an organisation is how small their team is, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in efficiency and personality. The people that work there are actually amazing, full of personality and a togetherness which tends to be lost in bigger organisations. This was summed up nicely by a sheriff during a towing job ‘Cleaning graffiti in a timely manner, helping us do a public service. We cooperate with Public Works often, really good guys.’ It isn’t a surprise though, when you scratch under the surface of the tow trucks, the parking fines and the roadwork, being a technician at the Public Works is a tough job by anyone’s standards. No matter the weather, the time of year or the time of day the distinctive white vehicles white vehicles of the Public Works can be seen out and about attending to the citizens of Los Santos and wider San Andreas. Pictured - Public Works Vehicles That being said, there are many challenges for the team with the most prominent being the danger of being assaulted, robbed or even shot whilst carrying out jobs. When speaking to one of the technicians he highlighted the issue ‘Our safety is starting to be an everyday issue. A lot of the graffiti we clean is generally in gang territory or contested neighborhoods. Each tag means something, in some way, shape or form. It is a form of communication, and unfortunately we do have to clean them off of public buildings and structures. So, of course people take offense to us doing our jobs, and that has lead to numerous employees being assaulted.’ I discussed this with the Director of Public Works, Miss Sophie Kaczynsk, at length. Whilst it is clear that she has the safety of her team at the heart of the decisions she makes, equally the challenge that the department faces is particularly troubling and somewhat out of their control. ‘Violence seems to be one of the bigger occupational hazards we are facing at the minute and it only seems to be getting worse’. Miss Kaczynsk recalled three incidents in recent memory where staff members have been either robbed, assaulted, incapacitated or the worst incident when a staff member lost their life, serving the city. ‘There was an incident where an employee was handling a task over at Legion Square. He was assaulted, being knocked unconscious and robbed. We had a parking inspector assaulted by being sprayed with some type of incapacitant spray and a technician who stopped to get some breakfast at a local store, then when he got out of his van he was held at gunpoint and robbed, whilst in uniform and outside his marked up government vehicle.’ ‘One of our employees was murdered whilst trying to stop somebody putting graffiti on the rear of our building. They didn't survive. Luckily, the LSPD was able to capture and arrest the perpetrator’. Shocking does not do these situations justice and according to the Director these situations are getting increasingly common and increasingly resources are being stretched. But what of the impact of these issues? Not only does it impact the staff but also impacts the service that the Public Works are providing as staff safety becomes even more of a focus. When asked, Miss Kaczynsk stated that some areas of the city are restricted zones, in which staff will not go into without a police presence. ‘I have already had to put a blanket ban on my team entering the South Central area unless it's been requested by law enforcement and they remain on scene. There are also some areas around Vespucci that are semi-restricted due to being gang areas. I have to protect my team first.’ Pictured: A Public Works Technician during a towing job. So not only are these criminal acts impacting the staff in the department, but it is creating an unequal service proposition across the city due to the risk. However, there is cross functional support with other departments in the city. Miss Kaczynsk described an operation with the gang division of the Police department in South Central. ‘A police officer in the gang division with LSPD contacted me to arrange a joint operation. We met up at Mission Row station before heading out in a convoy to the Carson Avenue area. Officers were walking the street, locating any graffiti, then my team went there with officers to clean it off. It was a successful evening and we made an impact. Whilst cross functional working can only be applauded, it is somewhat shocking that to clean graffiti the guys and girls at the Public Works require an armed escort, however this only underlines the gravity of the situation. To conclude, Public Works are an amazing group of people. Open, honest and hard working are the words I would use to describe them. They are also under-appreciated and often forgotten. Next time you see a staff member out and about on patrol, show your appreciation, because without them, this city and wider state would fall apart from disrepair. Comments Are: Enabled Name: Comment:

Rev Up and Roll Out: Cannonball Car Meet Hits the Streets! Written by Hank Miller, March 2024 On a busy Wednesday night in Los Santos, the Cannonball Raceway opened up for folks to bring their cars, connect with others, and have some races. I went down to check out why people come to these events and what they mean for the local community. As soon as I stepped into the raceway, I was hit with the smells, sounds, and visuals – bright colors, exhaust fumes, and tires screeching on the pavement. It was pretty exciting. What got me even more pumped was the obvious enthusiasm of the people there. They really love their cars. Talking to some attendees, it's clear their vehicles are more than just metal – they have deep sentimental value. Lisa, for example, shared how her Impaler has been a part of her family's history. ‘This Impaler was bought by ma' gran'father in the late sixties. Eventually, ma' father inherited the car n' now ah' own it. The car itself is history, and so is the family. We take care of it n' respect it.’ For some, it's about expressing who they are. Aimee, owner of Rex’s Diner, told me about the importance of her car's appearance. ‘Taking pride in anything...from clothing to cars is an expression of who you are.’ Others at the meet echoed this sentiment. Talking to a couple of regulars, they explained how it's both personal expression and the community aspect that they enjoy. ‘They can express their love for artistic styling, and putting money into a car is a status thing for them. To go with the trends of car culture and show their interests in and through cars.’ (Pictured: A selection of cars from the meet) The overall vibe I got from the meet was that people really care about their cars, but it's also about community – a sense of belonging, making connections, friendships, and even rivalries. Unfortunately, this sentiment doesn't seem to be shared by Vanessa Koehler, President of the Coalition Motorsport of San Andreas. When asked why she hosts these events, she kept it short. ‘We do car meets regularly, and we encourage people to race on track as well. This is purely business.’ Surprisingly, when asked if Koehler is passionate about cars, she responded with this short excerpt ‘I have one car, a Schlagen.’ I will leave the readers to make their own minds up about those quotes. However the one word I would use to describe our conversation would be 'cold'. This disconcerting dichotomy between community leaders and participants left an indelible impression. As I reflect on this, it is impossible to ignore the commendable spirit exhibited by the diverse array of individuals in attendance. From all walks of life, they converged, creating a nexus of connection, friendship, and rivalry. Their warmth, openness, and unwavering enthusiasm for showcasing their vehicles served as a beacon amidst the dissonance. Undoubtedly, I find myself irresistibly drawn to the allure of this passionate community, and will be sure to visit future events that promise to be nothing short of exhilarating. (Pictured: A classic muscle car from the meet) Comments Are: Enabled Name: Comment:

Congratulations everyone :)

I really like the idea of replicating IRL with points on your license leading to either license revoked for a period of time, leading to increased insurances and then having to reapply for your license (redo a driving test - it would need to be revamped though).

+1

Firstly admin can help in the event that you spawn in the wrong area by accident. Secondly, certainly at the player owned businesses it is a flat rate that is charged, not via the meter. I would suggest you just got unlucky with your taxi drivers. The reality is that /fixveh is a useful command when used for the right purposes, but it is abused and we all know it.

It's a tale as old as time. But I do think it should be restricted somewhat, as it is basically destroying taxi rp, passenger numbers for the buses as well. I think taxi rp in particular has so much to offer when done right. It's a great way to meet people you wouldn't normally meet and can offer good roleplay, again when done right, it's accessible and interesting for both old and new roleplayers. But I know personally how soul destroying it is being sat waiting or trying to make rp with people in the street, when others aren't really interested in talking to the random taxi man.

Sara back out of retirement!

L&A

-1 from me. Just over complicates stuff for the driver.

Congratulations all

That is 100% not how I picture Frank :)

I kinda understand what you mean about a character becoming boring. My main found herself completely consumed by her bar and that is all she tended to do. I have tried to change it slightly by only opening on set days, to then free me up mentally to do other stuff on the off days. I have also written a list of things I want to try and do/get involved with, almost like a list of goals, to help direct my gaming sessions, otherwise a lot of the time I end up doing nothing and getting bored, which then seems to compound my disinterest with my character. I tend to find that activity generates random events as well, which helps character development/story arcs etc

+1

Sara Bartlett