At the San Francisco Passport Agency, numerous travelers describe scenes of chaos, with scanty signage and extensive queues, even people lining up luggage in tow, hoping to still catch flights.

"It's a true mess,'' said David Hochschild, a San Francisco resident who works in solar energy. While he was trying to renew his passport for a trip to China last month, a fire alarm went off and the office was evacuated. After the alarm ended, Hochschild wound up at the front of the line. When he left the building, passport in hand, he was stunned to see hundreds of people still milling around outside.

"No one had told the crowd that the fire alarm was over -- no one had unlocked the doors to let them back in,'' he said. "It struck me as being a Third World situation. The passport itself is beautiful, but I'm glad I don't have to renew it again for 10 years.''

"It's been a banner year,'' said Karl Duckworth, a department spokesman.

"We are hearing of some issues; that's why we hired more people,'' said Duckworth.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGDEQ6SFU1.DTL

Note: The article did not mention the most important thing...going to your Congressman.