I have to feel for Jerri Williams. Yesterday probably wasn't her best day.
I first got to know Jerri years ago when she worked in communications with the FBI. She was our contact as we followed cases through the court system.
These days she runs media relations for SEPTA.
You might remember that last week the transit giant initially rolled out their plans to sell special passes for the regional rails to be used on the two days of the visit by Pope Francis in late September.
The tickets are only being sold online. Minutes after the website went online, it imploded under an avalanche of people trying to access the site. After about an hour, SEPTA pulled the plug on the site and said they would work on it to get rid of the glitches. Only about 200 of the 175,000 tickets that will be available each day actually were sold.
Yesterday morning, SEPTA announced a 3 p.m. press conference to detail their plans to restart the online sales. They had promised to give the public at least 24 hours notice before putting the prized ducats back on sale. But about an hour later they announced that the press conference was off, that they were still tying up some loose ends, and they might be ready to announce their plans later in the week.
This whole thing has been a bit of a PR nightmare, and I'm sure Williams has had better days.
At the same time, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter was holding a press conference downtown to refute several maps that have turned up online purporting to show fences or other security perimeters tied to the pope's visit. Nutter assured everyone those plans have not yet been finalized.
I guess that gives him something in common with SEPTA.
Things seem to be getting a bit harried in terms of the planning for that big weekend on Sept. 26-27.
Maybe it's time for everyone to take a deep breath and relax.
That would include you, Jerri. I'm thinking of you.
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