• This pothole, at the corner between Triq l-Università and Triq Salvu Azzopardi, in the Tal-Qroqq area, had been reported several weeks ago to the Msida local council and also to the online complaint handling section at gov.mt. No action was taken, so the written complaints were followed up with a phone call. Again, no action was taken and the rains have made it larger and deeper. Being in a corner, it constitutes an additional hazard for two-wheeled vehicles.

Obstruction

• Another altercation, replete with several blasphemies, took place in the early afternoon on Tuesday at Triq il-Palazz l-Aħmar, Sta Venera. The driver of a white van on his way to work found his way blocked by the usual queue of minibuses parked in the middle of the road, awaiting students from a school near by. The street is already narrow, yet parking is allowed on both sides. This, of course, is mostly taken up by people who work in the general area.

Example

• Two women were fined an exorbitant sum for selling local produce during a fundraising activity in aid of their church. Whereas it is understandable the magistrate who presided over the case has to go by the provisions of the law and might also wish to use it as an example unto others, it might be opportune to consider whether certain events such as this one to be made exempt from such taxation.

Jammed

• A huge amount of oranges was allowed to fall, wasted, into the soil at Romeo Romano Gardens, Sta Venera. Surely, the fruit could have been collected and used for the common good, on the lines of the lemon jam being sold by Nature Trust?

Lighting

• It is easy to surmise, albeit perhaps erroneously, that the roadworks in progress in Sliema, especially those in Bizazza Street and Qui-Si-Sana, are wreaking havoc with the street lighting system in the locality. It is not the first time lights have been left on during the mornings. Is it possible no one is available to run a physical check every so often on whether the system is working perfectly?

Uptight

• The bad decisions connected with the Valletta City Gate project continue. The pathway through which buses enter and leave the terminus is only just wide enough for two vehicles to go through, within a hair’s breadth of one another. Will it take two large buses razing the sides of one another for it to be realised that this, too, was a mistake?

Inconvenience

• Public conveniences are a very important part of the local amenities in any town or village. As it is, some people find themselves having to purchase a beverage from a bar in order to qualify to use the toilets in the establishment. How about making sure this need not happen?

Solidarity

• Air Malta staff have done themselves proud with the sterling service they gave both Maltese and other persons during the crises obtaining in Libya. They risked their lives in order to help others reach safety.

Hunting

• It is heartening to see that the hunters’ association Kaċċaturi San Ubertu has gone on record as strongly deploring the shooting of spoonbills at Delimara. Their insistance that “this senseless act” of shooting protected birds during the close season within the boundary of an inhabited area be punished at law must be echoed by all those that profess to exist to protect the rights of animals.

Volunteering

• Home-Start is another venture by Sedqa, being set up with a view to offering parent-to-parent support. It is a well-known fact that some people, perhaps through no fault of their own, find even ordinary circumstances overwhelming and whenever something untoward happens the effect upon them is devastating. This is another area where people with social nous and empathy can offer their time for the service of others.

Screening

• Health Minister Joseph Cassar has described the national breast screening programme as an example of empowerment. He also said the cancer plan published by the government acknowledges that tackling cancer aggressively and holistically over a five-year period is a redoubtable challenge that entails a huge expense. One wonders whether the Department of Health has a database of the relatives of all those who have died of cancer, in any form, within the past 10 years and, if so, whether priority invitations are being issued to relatives of the victims for them to decide whether or not they want to be screened.

Missing

• To date, residents in some areas have not received their copies of the Yellow Pages. Unfortunately, many people had taken their old copies to the bring-in site on the premise they would not be at home when the new copy was delivered and they did not want to advertise this fact to passers-by. All those advertisers who paid good money to have their business advertised have therefore automatically lost a good chunk of their potential markets.

Trees

• Many words have been written about how trees are being pruned to within an inch of their lives. The other side of this sorry tale is that huge branches that have been almost wrenched off trees after Friday’s high wind remain attached solely by bits of bark. Should another storm happen before they are cleared away by the respective local councils, they will cause a lot of damage.