• In Msida, cars double park or park on double yellow lines in Triq it-Torri, making it impossible to drive in and out of Triq Zamenhof. The Msida local council and local law enforcement authorities need to give some attention to this state of affairs.
Shortcut
• A postman delivering mail took the easy way out, driving his motorbike on the pavements in San Ġwann on a recent Tuesday morning.
It’s all Greek
• Actually, it must be the Romanian language that cable TV subscribers hear when certain adverts/promos are aired. Not to mention instances where, for some unknown reason, a person interviewed in some foreign programme speaks in an unintelligible language with no dubbing in English being broadcast. Can the service provider kindly explain why this happens? The subscribers who pay for the service deserve an explanation.
Embellishing green areas
• This is a typical green area in Santa Luċija. It is not sown with turf, just wild plants that are mowed every so often. No fertilisation and no wastage of water in artificial irrigation. Well done to the Santa Luċija local council. Shouldn’t this technique be adopted to embellish central strips and roundabouts? Why do we continue the practice of planting turf in similar places?
Stand at ease
• A high-ranking military officer in civilian clothing was seen walking jubilantly in the middle of the road and shaking hands with people when Prime Minister Joseph Muscat took his oath of office and then walked to Castille on Monday. Given the very sensitive position he occupies, his conduct was certainly unbecoming. And that’s putting it very mildly.
Enough is enough
• Don’t the people deserve a break from politics after two long, interminable months of electoral campaigning and their bombardment with all sorts of information, admittedly not always of a political nature? An exception can be made to certain announcements directly related to the formation and workings of the new government but beyond that would be... well, cause for indigestion. The media, print and electronic, should take note too.
Hurdle track
• High garage ramps on the pavement in San Ġwann are preventing people from walking on the pavement and are making life difficult for people on wheelchairs and mothers with push chairs. This pavement is behind the old chapel in Triq Santa Margerita. This particular case was reported during last year’s locality meeting organised by the local council but nothing was done about it.
One mighty umbrella
• Manuel Mallia has been entrusted with a very interesting ministry. For the first time it brings together army, police and civil protection in a single portfolio. This is for “synergy” purposes in cases like immigration. State broadcasting also falls under this ministry, somewhat randomly. Dr Mallia is a very powerful minister.
Culture, where art thou?
• Joseph Muscat’s decision to appoint a parliamentary secretary for culture following years where the sector has flourished indicates that the Government has relegated an important area to a footnote. The fact that it is headed by an MP whose first comment on record was to say Malta should invest in popular culture like carnival is also worrying.
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