On the dot

Across the road from the Park Towers Supermarket, in Psaila Street, Birkirkara, is a broken stretch of pavement. There have been several near-accidents because people tend to use exactly that point to cross the road in order to do their shopping. The sooner it is fixed, the better.

In flight

In February 2007, another section of the press was asking a question it had often asked before, whether too much money was being spent on flights by ministerial and other delegations. The National Audit Office report now informs us that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lacked adequate control on travel expenditure, leading to an increase of 25 per cent over its original budget. Further comment would be superfluous.

Noises

The manhole in Cannon Road, Sta Venera, a stone's throw away from the entrance to the parking lot of the Consumer Protection Department, has worked itself loose again, no doubt owing to the heavy traffic passing through this junction at all hours of the day. This means that at night, bone-jarring noises annoy the residents - and the suspension units of cars are damaged.

Ruined

Leaflets posted some time before delivery informed residents that their Yellow Pages would be collected for recycling when the delivery of the current issue was effected. However, some areas had these directories plonked in their front gardens, where the rain seeped through the plastic covers that were not properly sealed. This made people regret having relinquished their old, dry, copies.

Roaming

A packet addressed to Fleur-de-Lys, Sta Venera, with the correct postcode, ended up at the addressee's house with "Birkirkara", "Ħamrun" and "Qormi" scribbled on it, and the former town's name being crossed out. Needless to say, the packet took longer to arrive than another, posted on the same date, bearing the address without any additions in ballpoint.

Coded

One notes that whenever changes to a postcode are made, entities such as hospitals, banks and government departments have to be informed by the members of the public. Could a system where this is done automatically be devised? The chances are that mail to be delivered to addresses with a redundant postcode takes longer to arrive when the sender is unaware of the change.

Flashing

Several people look upon it as their duty to report each faulty street light - often to have to do it again and again, through several methods, until it is repaired. This aggravation would not be necessary if every defective or broken light were to show up in some kind of computerised grid - and repaired within 48 hours at the utmost.

Rubble

There was a time when the push for restoring rubble walls was so great that, as happened on the road to Rabat, even tree trunks that had become bent over were incorporated into the walls. Now it would seem that this issue has died the death and walls that collapse - or are dismantled - are left in a state of disrepair. One hopes that the enterprise will be resurrected soon.

Return

Recycling is not only going to the bring-in sites with sorted bags of rubbish. It is also donating things that have become superfluous, but still in very good shape, to organisations or people who will put them to good use. There are even persons who will collect these items and deliver them to their destination at no charge to either party, simply because they go out of their way to help. It is worth asking around, before one discards these objects.

Online

Some time ago, government employees were forbidden from using sites such as Facebook. This was reasonable, given that taxpayers' money was in fact being used to fund the time spent networking by people who ought to have been working. However, this type of policing is not the solution to stop people wasting time.

Yellow

Are yellow lines on roads still legally binding on motorists? If not, they should be removed. If they are, the traffic norms should be enforced. In St Anne Street, Floriana, which handles 30,000 cars every day, one can notice cars parked on the yellow lines, day and night, for long periods of time. The Floriana police station is on that same road and quite a number of people in authority drive past.

Deputies

It is the duty of parish priests to attend annual spiritual retreats or live-in ongoing formation seminars. It is also pastorally healthy for them to lead pilgrimages to the many Catholic shrines abroad. They also have to find the time to relax. But they also have to see that on these days, away from their parish communities, the parochial office should not remain closed.

Benefits

The festa season is over and pastoral operators can resume their evangelising giving due attention to those who are seriously seeking God, to those who have swayed away from the Church, to those who are suffering etc. A serious evaluation of the festa season should be commissioned to see what pastoral good came out of them.

Complexity

Mepa has prepared a development brief for the redundant Ħal Ferħ tourist complex and its immediate surrounding areas in Għajn Tuffieħa in order to direct the sustainable development and future use of the site. Well and good. And what about the White Rocks Holiday Complex, in St Andrew's?

Safety

Action is being taken by the Government Property Division to guarantee public safety with reference to a derelict building at Għajn Tuffieħa. But this depends on the first hearing to be appointed by the law courts in the "coming weeks". And if some fatal or non-fatal accident happens, who will take the blame?