Media Watchdog 5777

As the self-storage industry permeates our communities, it receives increasing attention from mainstream media outletsand not always favorably. As industry professionals, we should be aware of how self-storage is presented to the public. Media Watchdog is devoted to policing and summarizing general news coverage.

Explosives Found in Storage Unit
KPHO-TV, 12.13.06 

Glendale, Ariz., police successfully removed and detonated explosive devices found in an abandoned storage unit at Cactus Self Storage. Officers were called to the facility after managers found suspicious devices in the unit. The Glendale Police Departments explosive-weapons disposal unit X-rayed the devices and found a number of explosives. The items were transported to a remote site in the desert and safely detonated.

Storage Break-Ins Prompt Concern 
Times Record, 11.27.06 

In November, approximately 16 storage units rented from Grand Central Storage in Fort Smith, Ark., were broken into late at night and either ransacked or robbed, but the locks securing the units were neither broken nor picked. The men suspected of breaking into the facility allegedly climbed through a 3-foot-high space between the wall tops and ceiling of a unit and proceeded to scour through the belongings of several storage units.

Wetlands Reduces Storage Project Plan 
Marin Independent Journal, 12.19.06 

The developer of a controversial baylands property in Novato, Calif., offered to reduce the size of his self-storage project once again in a bid for zoning approval. A 29-acre plan for the property has been reduced to a 9.5-acre project with 80 percent of the parcel turned into tidal wetlands. The changes would reduce the number of storage units from 685 to 380. Several county officials have argued the proposed self-storage facility would be better for the environment than other uses allowed by zoning.

Stabbed Woman Locked in Storage Unit 
Richmond Times-Dispatch, 12.31.06 

A woman was locked in a unit of a Public Storage facility in South Richmond, Va., after being stabbed more than a dozen times. She managed to escape from the unit and was found by the facilitys manager. Police said the attack apparently stemmed from a domestic dispute. Warrants were issued charging a suspect with abduction and malicious wounding.

Storage Facilities Targeted by Arsonists 
The Times-Tribune, 12.17.06 

Madison Township, Ohio, police suspect a fire at Allstore Inc. was the result of arson. The following night, Mount Cobb Self Storage in Jefferson Township was vandalized and almost set on fire. Because only two storage facilities have been vandalized in the area recently, police believe they may have been targeted. Thirty Allstore units were destroyed and the other four units had smoke damage. The next morning, 12 doors at Mount Cobb Self Storage were ripped off with a forklift and the facility was vandalized.

Free Storage for Florida Storm Victims 
Daytona Beach Journal, 12.27.06 

Edgewater Self Storage of Daytona Beach, Fla., is offering a storage unit free for one month to any victim of a storm that ripped through the area on Christmas Day. Storm winds up to an estimated 120 mph caused millions of dollars in damage.