On the dot...

This dump is in Xandru Farrugia Street, Tarxien. It has been brought to the attention of the local council which, in turn, passed the complaint to the Health Department. So far no action whatsoever has been taken by the two entities. Meanwhile rats are having a "field day" and the residents keep on hoping.

Hard Cells

Despite repeated warnings and prominently-placed notices, some people still insist on leaving cellular telephones switched on while on visits inside hospital wards. This is amply demonstrated by the fact that when a muffled ringing tone is heard, someone is likely to pick up a handbag and rush off to the corridors to take the call. Don't these people know they can damage sensitive medical equipment, to say nothing of the patients' already frail health, because of this?

Clean Sweep

The Keep Malta Clean campaign was personified by a youth holding a cotton bud midway towards his ear, thus giving a bad example when he was supposed to have been giving a good one. This time around, we are being told that "it hurts" [the pocket] to be dirty, since fines are involved - but only if one is caught red handed. Cannot the golden mean be used to make a point in a reasonable manner?

Making Cents

Over a year ago it was being rumoured that Malta could well be in line for a third cellular telephone operator, within months of new licences being issued for 3G telephony. It appears that this was nothing but a "wrong number", or perhaps a "diverted call".

Germ Warfare

Some time ago, there was talk about combining the assets of different laboratories attached to government and parastatal entities with a view to centralising operations and not duplicating resources as this was leading to wastage. In the same breath, it was rumoured that the forensic laboratory system would be overhauled, towards justice and security. Whether it is justified or not, the worry about an avian influenza pandemic would be somewhat alleviated were these entities in full swing.

Chip Chop

The job done on Glormu Cassar Avenue, Valletta - the road leading to the Office of the Prime Minister - is very satisfactory. Alas, when tarmac was laid the edge of the newly laid pavement was badly dented in various parts.

Price Wars

Shopping on the internet, one often encounters a tiny box with the phrase "compare prices" upon it. Unfortunately, in real life, one is often unable to do this, either because in the shop-windows the tiny tags with even tinier digits are hung facing the wrong way, or because these do not exist altogether. Whatever happened to the law that says all prices must be exposed for the general information of the public, at all times?

Swing Low

The general area around the road leading from Paola to Fgura is as dismal as it ever was. The wall adjacent to the side boundary of the mosque, opposite the housing estate, is already half demolished; it should be removed altogether. The amount of garbage bags on the ground suggest the need for more skips, or for more frequent emptying.

Present Tension

Why is it that some people never learn? Some parents persist in making collections for gifts to be given to teachers, when this is absolutely prohibited. It is true that Lm1 does not seem like "a lot" to some people - but for those who have to count every penny, it may be the difference between giving a child a daily fruit for a week, or not. Sometimes, gifts are given to more than one teacher, compounding the problem.

Word Games

It would be pertinent to find out how often teachers - and students - in school environments that are considered "at risk", such as Marsa, are given health and safety tests with regard to respiratory tract infections and their general state of health. Students have to stick to their alma mater until they are of secondary school age; is there a regular turnover of teachers?

Flying High

The mayor of a suburb well-known for its pigeon population was recently quoted as saying that the only way to decimate the population is by not feeding them. This idea is mistaken - for the birds will venture even further out in order to scrounge food, before they come home to roost. The viable alternative is to feed them contraceptive grain; this will satiate them but not allow them to reproduce.

Out of Site

Residents of Valletta will be facing an extra problem when the Park & Ride scheme is finally set up. Will they have to pay inflated bills because engineers, technicians, and even hairdressers who do home visits, will plump up their fees in order to justify their house calls? Or will the whole structure be balanced by the issuing of a permit similar to that of GPs or people with different needs, to be attached to the windscreen as necessary? This exemption could give rise to abuses.

Collector's Items

Schoolchildren are being given sheets for fund-raising sponsorships, either for their own school, or for other worthy causes. There are some problems with this - in area schools, several children end up knocking on the same doors. When the children are from secondary schools, they often make their calls after finishing their homework, in some instances when it is already dark. This could be dangerous. Is it possible that the administration of some schools have not issued relevant instructions about these cases?