Rush hour solutions

August 20, 2005

Dear Sir,

It is not necessarily a car problem. It is more a rush hour traffic problem. Here are some of my solutions:

1) Revert back to the old system for second hand cars. i.e. If you sell your car you must wait 12 months before buying a new one.

2) Reduce the the maximum car size. There are too many Spacewagons & SUVs on the road. Their size means that their driver has a problem staying on their own side of the road. Just follow one on Harbour Road and count the number of times they touch the middle line.

3) Sticking with car sizes, reduce the annual TCD costs of A & B class cars. Increased E & F class, and as above, get rid of any car that is class G or above.

4) Reduce the number of parents that drive their children to school. The problem is mainly with the public secondary schools and the private schools as their students come from all over the island and most of them are in Pembroke. Introduce school buses for these schools.

5) During rush hour, anyone with a valid Bermuda driver?s licence should be given free bus and ferry rides

6) With all these companies talking about going green, how green is it to have your employees sitting in big cars in traffic? Introduce staggered work times. If your clients are in Europe, then work 6-2, in California, then work 12-8.

7) Companies should give incentives to employees that use public transportation or bikes or even walk. I personally ride a bike, occasionally I walk, luckily I live in Pembroke.

When I lived in Paget and Warwick I either took the ferry or rode my bike. I also work 8-4 which means there is less traffic on the road when I am travelling. As noted in the beginning these are only some of the solutions. Everybody needs to think about how they can help.

Amend housing laws

August 3, 2005

Dear Sir,

I want to enlighten the Bermuda Public on a particularly important housing (rental) dilemma that has persisted for years to the benefit of greedy and powerful landlords.

Rental deposits are a security device universally used to insure that in the event of damage to fixtures etc. by a tenant that said security will cover damages.

A security deposit never loses its ownership (tenant?s) only possession (landlord).

I have personally been the victim of three increases on my original deposit without any personal damage by be of any fixture to my rental unit.

After legal consultation and careful research of the Domestic Housing Act (which I?ve found to be woefully vague and just plan ineffective, my research led me to other jurisdictions such as England and Canada. In those jurisdictions rental deposits must be deposited whereby they accrue interest during the tenancy.

My attention was drawn this past week by a Bermuda Sun article written by a Mrs. Ebbin detailing some eye-popping numbers on the amount of rent paid by 64 percent of our international business sector (a whopping $75 million) and this was only 64 percent of those companies responding.

When you factor in Government Housing as well as the general population not capturing any interest on these millions of deposit funds but landlords reaping enormous windfalls, one can do the math as well as feel the out rage and passion regarding this regrettable rip off as I do.

I urge you to petition government or join me along with the Committee for Fairness in Housing (CFFH) to amend the Domestic Housing Act.

Strange justice

August 18, 2005

Dear Sir,

As strange as it sounds, we have an odd justice system:

1. Instead of the Government making a law to stop people from driving while on a cell phone, they are thinking of reducing traffic by removing cars from single people. How retarded can you get? People, whether they?re single or married need a car to buy groceries, pick up a relative from the airport, pick and drop off children (of course older children could always catch a bus, ride or even get towed to school) and other important things. Plus, it?s safe.

What?s so safe about people driving their cars while talking on a cell phone? Not much, if they are more concerned about who is on the receiving side than they are about you. I saw a woman this afternoon along Cox?s Hill (Nascar Road) driving this way. I smell accident. Don?t you, or you don?t care?

2. If a person murders someone he/she seems to gets less time than if he/she were to bring in drugs. Does that sound right? And if a person has had a previous record based on the same offence, he/she still gets the same sentence? What sense does that make? I mean,he/her didn?t learn from his/her first mistake so, basically, after that person does the time it?ll probably be Round 3.

Strange,very strange.

Send Idols to the US

August 19, 2005

Dear Sir,

The first Bermuda Idol and whoever wins this one should go to America for singing contracts (as long as they remain here they?ll continue to be not heard since HOTT 107.5 can?t set them up with a singing contract or a music video American style).

Whoever the first Bermuda Idol was, no one will never know because he/she doesn?t even have an album nor a music video. Since Bermuda is a small country with less ability to set up the winner so he/she will be actual singers, that person won?t be known to anybody but themselves,their friends or their families.

Talk about singing for nothing.