On the dot

In summer, construction works were being carried out at a leisurely pace at Ġian Franġisk Abela Junior College. These were not finished in time before the commencement of the new scholastic year. As a result, staff and students are being bothered by the airborne dust and noise that these works entail. Perhaps some of the work could be done on Saturdays, at a steady rate, in order to facilitate matters.

Zebras

It would be a good idea to exchange the Belisha beacons at the top of Cannon Road, Sta Venera (near the Bank of Valletta centre) with traffic lights. Vehicles, especially those the drivers of which are using mobile telephones, and trucks and other heavy plant, have been known to rush by without even realising that there are people waiting to cross. The situation is very difficult for people taking children to school or those wanting to walk to the nearest bus stop. Moreover, customers of nearby shops often park on the zebra crossing lines by the pavement.

Helping

The University Students' Council is to be lauded for the launch of the Student Opportunity Fund. This is €25,000-worth, divided between semesters, intended to help all University of Malta students, provided certain conditions are met, to advance in their specific fields of study. One hopes this will encourage all those to whom expenses not covered by their smart cards or incomes from part-time jobs were hitherto a deterrent.

Lights

Certain outlets go all out to ensure customer loyalty by introducing savings schemes, air-conditioning and slashing prices to the barest minimum. However, the managements sometimes fail to realise that when their outlets are serviced by fans, and these are on a lower level than the ceiling lights, the flickering lights that obtain may induce headaches, migraines or even epileptic fits in people who are susceptible to them. A client may be embarrassed to point this out.

Water works

Water has been leaking out of a damaged pipe in Victory Street, Ħamrun, for quite some time now. Several phone calls have been made to the Water Services Corporation, by different people, and each time the reply is merely a confirmation that the report has been lodged and that, soon, it will be acted upon. However, this is not followed through. Meanwhile, clear and probably potable water is being wasted.

Journeys

The driver of the 8.45 a.m. direct bus from Mqabba to Mater Dei Hospital stopped in a traffic jam at Luqa a few paces from a bus stop last Monday. He yelled at an elderly man and woman who tried to board the bus from there, saying he would get a ticket if he allowed them to do that. So they had to wait in the sun for the next hospital bus due in another hour's time, thereby probably risking missing their appointment. Ironically, however, a couple of roads later, the bus driver stopped to pick up a friend, several metres away from a bus stop. They gossiped away happily for the rest of the trip.

Rescue

The press reported that another 105 illegal immigrants were rescued offshore when their rubber dinghy engine developed a fault. The rescue vessel had been conducting a routine Frontex patrol, which means that the dinghy had approached within the prescribed limit without it having been noticed before. One would have thought that the best thing to do was to get someone to mend the engine and send them on their way, if that is what the occupants of the boat really wanted. If they were content to be rescued, then the issue of engine trouble ceases to have logical meaning.

Cleansing

The sandy beach behind the public convenience in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq is again in a sorry state. After the last storms, heaps of seaweed have been dragged ashore. But sand has been dredged down to the sea, owing to the wide swathes that were created some years ago. Rainwater cascades down the steps, sweeping away all the sand it finds in its wake. The beach now consists of silt, stones, soil and seaweed and this happens after every rainfall. Further neglect will soon make this beach a bare patch of rock.

Pollution

How effective are petitions at law? Because the SMS system for reporting polluting buses and other vehicles has failed dismally, one notes that the number of vehicles emitting thick black fumes is as great as it ever was. A petition about this, mentioning the fact that particulates are carcinogenic, is doing the rounds, but it is doubtful whether this carries any weight. What people want to see is action.

Mysterious

A high-profile person involved in a particular service industry was arraigned last week and charged with a serious offence. The magistrate ordered that nothing whatsoever, not even the charge, could be reported by the press. Is that legal? Can the director general of the law courts kindly look into it and inform the public accordingly?

Database

A rap on the knuckles is what the Data Protection Commissioner recently gave a newspaper editor who was found to have breached the law. The ruse of printing people's personal information on a newspaper had been tried before, albeit with different intentions. One never knows what is going to happen when certain information is given freely to people who may have malign intentions, especially if these consider themselves vigilantes who take the law into their hands because of reasons they alone know. This is unfair, especially considering that journalists are in duty bound to protect their sources and that even revealing their names, let alone addresses, would be contrary to journalistic ethos.

onthedot@timesofmalta.com