Support The Gazette

Dear Sir,

It does appear that Freedom of the Press does not include The Royal Gazette. I do believe from my observations here in the USA that the prevailing Government is attempting through economics to silence and punish The Royal Gazette for their exercise of informing the public in a truthful way and their efforts and leadership for "Government in the Sunshine." This should come as no surprise to The Royal Gazette. After all if a sitting Government can highjack a man's Business because of the colour of his skin, why in God's name would said Government support a newspaper who insists on being the guardian of truth and ethics in Government and be a leader in the cause for "Government in the sunshine."

The very name The Royal Gazette upsets many in Bermuda's Governmental structure. Royal goes against their ideology! Tony McWilliams Bermuda Sun Editor considers the issue a beef or battle as he called it between The Royal Gazette and Government. I will not comment on the Bermuda Sun or their support base. What I will say to Mr. McWilliams is be careful Sir, in what you allow to be printed in your paper and your exercise of Freedom of the Press.

You could be next! It would not surprise me if there was not a Black enterprise in the back ground waiting to move in. The first thing they would do is change the name to The Bermuda Gazette. In closing I would urge the Bermuda people to support The Royal Gazette and not allow an intimidation factor to silence their VOICE of Freedom and Democracy. Respectfully,

MICHAEL PITTS

Inverness, Florida

P.s. There are many Son's of the Soil

Repair our roads!

April 2, 2008

Dear Sir,

Another thing to be looked at are the roads themselves. Some have big craters in them, some become swimming pools whenever it rains and others are paved making people wonder what's so wrong with the others? Look at Mission Lane, Pembroke and you'll see what I'm talking about in terms of holes. There are other hills with similar problems. Sunset View Road by Point Mart Grocery, which is located on St. John's Road.(a.k.a. NASCAR Road) always has a water problem whenever it rains, the portion of road leading into Marsh Folly from Pitts Bay Road is another obstacle and even the stretch by Bernard's Park is flooded whenever it rains. Speaking of this stretch why are cars still allowed to park on the left side heading toward Palmetto Road from Parsons Road if in the past people were being ticketed there?

Now I'm only hoping a tourist would avoid such areas when riding (it's bad enough some ride now despite being easily distracted). I only hope one day Ii can see changes happening to these roads because these are other factors as well.

PAVE OVER HOLES & END WATERLOGGED ROADS

Pembroke

Mayor is in the right

April 9, 2008

Dear Sir,

As a lover of animals and their welfare I must agree with the SPCA and The Mayor of Hamilton, both having very valid points why the Horses and Carriages should be banned from the City. the increase in traffic congestion plus the noise factor and the heat.

No one wants to destroy someone's livelihood but surely different venues can be located for the horse and carriage rides., on the Island, because the current route used in the city is the most unscenic view of Bermuda, all around an industrial area!

I also noted that during the interviews conducted by the media on the streets about this issue, only one person had any thoughts about the welfare of the animal. I can recall that over the years there have been incidents where horses have collapsed in the summer heat.

MONICA BERRY

Pembroke

Time for change in City

April 8, 2008

Dear Sir,

The Corporation of Hamilton is clearly broken, ineffectual, and unable to come to grips with the short and long term issues of the City probably because there seems to be major personality conflicts. It's not hard to come to this conclusion – Bermuda is a very small place and most of us know most of these people.

The problem is how to fix it and, to many, far more important is who should fix it – and be involved with the future management and control of Hamilton. Actually, those are not difficult questions to answer. In the first case, the legislature is the only group who can fix the problem because the Municipalities Act must be overhauled and they're the only one's who can do so. In the second case, I think it should be very clear to all of us that the Government of the day, or any Government in the future, should NOT be involved in the day to day operation of the City.

Having said that, it seems that the wider population should have some say in how the City is run and the obvious vehicle, in a democracy, is through it's elected representatives in the Legislature.

The City of Hamilton is a complex, sophisticated and financially challenging place. Even though the men and women of the Corporation may be successful business people, they should not be managing the day to day operations of a capital city. Developing policy and overseeing the financial well-being, absolutely, but leave the day-to-day to people who know what they are doing and are paid to do a job. What do these people actually know about running a City in 2008? Shoe stores, clothing stores, taking pictures, that's fine, but it's a little different when it comes to running a City ... or why else do all these places in North America and the UK have trained City managers?

I suggest a Board of Directors of the Corporation should be appointed for staggered terms and they should be an odd number, say, nine. I don't think elections are the right way to do this – see below. These Directors could be nominated to the Governor, say, four from the Government, four from the Opposition and the Governor appoints one person on his own – or some variation on that theme. I think that neither political party should have an advantage here but I do think that they should become involved in the process.

There's no question that anyone appointed to serve as a Director of a City Corporation should have an interest in that city. I suggest that those Directors must either own outright or represent businesses which pay City taxes. I do not think the current electoral system works at all. First of all, it's simply not fair that one family (use your imagination) should have so much control of the vote. Second, voting for the City representatives has to be more widely open and that seems impossible to do fairly – ergo, appointments by elected representatives seems fair (not necessarily perfect).

The day-to-day management of Hamilton must be in the hands of people who are experienced and know what they are doing. We already have a City Engineer, we need a City Planner and we need a professional City Manager – all with properly, professionally developed job descriptions.

Hamilton needs a more inclusive system of virtually everything, a more specifically trained management team and a policy and oversight group much like a company needs in it's Board of Directors. The people involved today are, no doubt, passionate but clearly we are not getting anywhere and the City of Hamilton just might be the most prized possession we have in Bermuda. The ability to see that there IS a problem, and the will to fix the problem, is the first hurdle but if this capital city is going to move forward properly, we really need to do just that.

JOHN FAIELLA

Southampton

A note of thanks

March 1, 2008

Dear Sir,

I am delighted to be in a position to praise The Department of Public Works and Engineering (Refuse Collection).

The truck knocked one of my trees down and the response from the team under Mr. Clayton Jones was both efficient and professional and an offer of a replacement, no less

The trained staff under Mr. Tear were exemplary and it is a great pleasure for me to record this. Such service I am sure gets little response for their efforts which cannot be the most pleasant occupation. Well done all of you, and thank you.

DIANA WILLIAMS

Pembroke