On the Dot...

It is a shame such a mess is allowed at the very entrance to the capital. This outlet in South Street, near the Opera House ruins, has been closed for some time. All sort of rubbish has been dumped/accumulated there either by man or the elements. The Valletta council has been informed about the sorry situation and yet...

Water Table

No fewer than 304 domestic electricity connections have been suspended, owing to non-payment of bills, apart from the 7,386 households that are in arrears with payments. It would be interesting to find out how many of the owners of these accounts are on the poverty line, and, perhaps, how many of them are owed money by other government departments, such as Inland Revenue.

Model Behaviour

Why is it that one cannot open a newspaper without finding adverts for so-called modelling and acting classes, all of which cost a pretty penny? Is this the future envisaged for today's children - when, of course, their heads are not being stuffed full of facts in a bid to turn them into fact-factories during the scholastic year? Whatever happened to good old inexpensive fun?

Paper Chasing

Newspaper reviews abound on different radio stations. Some of these are given an obvious, hefty political slant, whereas others make the point in a more subtle manner. Commentators pick and choose items upon which to report. But what is constant in all reports is that by the time the repetition goes on air, they are already covering stale news.

Wind Mills

The British Child Protection and Online Protection Centre, in Britain, have established a system wherein members of the Police Force man child-oriented websites in an effort to trawl paedophiles. In America, the same job is done by self-appointed vigilantes, with even more unpleasant results for criminals. One would appreciate knowing what the position is in Malta vis-à-vis chartroom moderators.

Fall Out

Bring-in sites can work and more people are resorting to them. However, these should not be discouraged by going there and finding the skips full to the brim. The bring-in site near the Attard state school is a case in point; waste is very often seen on the ground next to the bursting skips!

Faded Zebra

A zebra crossing on the Sliema - St Julians front has completely disappeared. Being the peak tourist season and the fact that the promenade attracts people from all over the island, urgent attention is needed to avoid some nasty accident.

In Touch

Some time ago there was a lot of talk about how public phone booths would be given a thorough going-over, with those that had been connected to the internet but not in working order being replaced. This, to date has not occurred. Besides, whatever happened to Maltacom coin-operated telephones? The only ones available belong to private companies, through which a local call is quite expensive.