On the Dot

• Traffic policemen and wardens whip out their notebooks or palmtops often enough as it is. One wonders how will they react to this police car, parked in a way that is evidently obstructing the passage in Rudolph Street, Sliema.

Smoking

• As from 2012, in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration will require more prominent and graphic cigarette health warnings on all cigarette packaging and advertisements – the first changes actuated in more than 25 years. One hopes the same could be done here too.

Solid

• Thanks to CCTV footage we now at least know how one of the statues in Bisazza Street, Sliema was vandalised. However, it is still unclear how the second statue was damaged. What is certain is that the monument is made of rather fragile material, which is perhaps not ideal for something that is in the open.

Spectacular

• It is ironic that what is colloquially known as “lower Valletta” can double up for a warzone as is being depicted in the film World War Z being shot in Malta. This would seem to explain the reason why only the most derelict parts of the city slums in the area were torn down and rebuilt, so long ago.

Stealing

• Now that the alleged perpetrators of thefts from holy ground have been arraigned, one wonders whether, if found guilty, they will also be made to pay for the damages they caused. If the law does not allow for such punishment it should be changed. It is a well-known fact that some people go to extreme measures to build monuments for their dead.

Success

• The laboratory intended for use in IVF diagnostic and treatment purposes at Mater Dei Hospital remains unused, simply because the issue, as yet, is not covered by legislation. Is it remotely possible that the state-of-the-art equipment be used for other purposes, whether or not they are related to fertility issues?

Stagnation

• The Sliema local council seems to be issuing way too many permits for cranes to operate in the same streets, on the same days, at the same time. This is causing even more traffic congestion throughout the town. Most of the arterial roads there are under construction. To add insult to injury, one now has to make use of side streets that are also closed to traffic or are partially blocked. No wonder there are sporadic incidents of road rage.

Superimpositions

• A tax payer submitted his self-assessment IT return for 2010 to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue on May 27, within 24 hours of receipt. On June 18, he received an acknowledgement dated June 8. This is, indeed, a taxing situation.

Separations

• The much-debated divorce Bill – Act To Amend The Civil Code, Chapter 16 – was published in the Government Gazette soon after the referendum, showing that where it is necessary, fast-track legislation is available and doable. Now all that is left is to fast track a similar Bill that will see to the well-being of partners, usually women and children who are badly affected financially and otherwise because the couple is estranged.

Specifics

• Meanwhile, it is important to note that the National Council of Women Malta has worked long and hard on the draft legislation on domestic violence, and other violence against women, including harassment and stalking. This is another issue that must be addressed as soon as possible because justice delayed is justice denied.

Stoppage

• Some employees are taking it upon themselves to take a non-smoking break while their colleagues move to the open air for a cigarette break. This makes sense to them but it is also giving rise to a total downtime at specific moments. Is it not better to stagger such three-minute breaks?

Services

• Motorists and pedestrians often complain about the intervals allowed to them to use streets by traffic lights – ironically, both say that the time allotted to them is too short. However, if we all allowed common courtesy to rule, there would not even be any need for traffic lights – if each vehicle let one from the other side pass and cars stopped when there were at least four people waiting to cross the road, things would run more smoothly.

Security

• Customers tend to converge upon certain chain stores as if there were no tomorrow, especially when special offers are advertised. This causes havoc because, for some reason, clients prefer to park cars randomly in the streets and on the pavements around the area rather than in the designated car parks and booths. Surely these outlets can afford to employ an extra security officer to direct traffic rather than allowing people to double park in the streets.

Sampling

• Speaking of retailing, it is not unusual for shoppers to remove items from their packaging to have a closer look at them. This usually annoys sales attendants who would have to put everything back again. But would it not make more sense for a sample of every item on display to be made available for customers to see and touch? This could work wonders in big discount stores, for example.