Tag day a success

December 28, 2003

Dear Sir,

The Sunshine League Children?s Home extends a heartfelt ?thank you? to all of those who assisted on our tag days held on December 5 and December 6.

We especially would like to thank the taggers, some of whom braved physical challenges, for making time in their busy schedules to tag for us and the members of the public who responded to them so generously with contributions exceeding $19,000.

Thank you to the managers/operators of the many businesses who permitted our taggers to use their premises and to the employers who allowed members of their staffs to tag.

May you all be blessed and prospered during the ensuing year.

Customer care-less

December 22, 2003

Dear Sir,

I would like to share with Bermuda another CableVision horror story. On Friday, December 19 at approximately 10.14 a.m., my son was enjoying Dragon Tales on Channel 5 and the screen went blank.

I called CableVision and waited on the phone for eight minutes before getting any assistance. When someone finally answered, I politely informed her that they were blocking out Dragon Tales and if, in fact, their intention was to block out Sesame Street, it airs from 9-10 a.m. and they had missed it.

She informed me that CableVision had an agreement with BBC not to show Sesame Street on Channel 5. Exasperated, I told her I understood that but Sesame Street had already gone off. We went back and forth for a couple of minutes before I asked to speak with her supervisor. Click. She had hung up on me, a paying customer. One of many who pay her salary.

Furious, I called Jeremy Elmas and left a voice message. To his credit, he returned my call in two minutes and I explained the situation to him. Although he was very courteous, he informed me that unless I had gotten her name, he has no way of knowing who had answered my call. OK, we can send men to the moon but you can?t pinpoint which Customer Care Representative answered my call on Friday, December 19, 2003 at 10:22 a.m.? Right, Mr. Elmas!

And what exactly is a Customer Care Representative? Is that some sort of joke because there is absolutely nothing caring about CableVision?s attitude towards their customers.

I say, bring on that competition! Bermudians hide behind the BIU as an excuse not to give their absolute best service to customers. No matter if I?m a slacker on the job, always calling in sick, or abuse my position, I know Derrick Burgess will defend me.

Renee Webb, I?m calling for you to support a bill that states that all Customer Care Representatives (not just at CableVision) need to give their name before addressing a customer.

I guess the girl who answered my call on Friday, December 19, 2003 at 10.22 a.m. would have said something like this: ?Hi, I?m so and so. I don?t care why you are calling. I?m here for a paycheque. Oh, and I?m a member of the BIU.?

Sure, would have saved me the trouble.

I?m going to hang up now, but I will give my name,

Caught in the crunch

December 30, 2003

Dear Sir,

What has happened to affordable housing. How on earth can an average family trying to purchase a home for the first time afford a mortgage of $7,000 (plus) per month?

I would truly really like to know how the real estate market in Bermuda has absolutely gone haywire. This is truly the new stock market. No one will be able to afford to live here soon.

We are looking for a home to buy and have been looking for a while. The prices are so outrageous that I really want to know who can afford these homes. I went on several sites this evening in desperate hopes of finding a reasonable home to purchase and if you call $1.2 million reasonable than that?s basically where you start.There was one for half a million and dare I say where ... you wouldn?t want to know!

Can someone honestly tell me what has happened to the market here in Bermuda so I can understand ? PLEASE. I spoke with an agent not too long ago and he tells us that the land is scarce and that?s why the prices are the way they are and we better buy now or we will never own anything.

My question to him and all the other agents and to the Government is who has allowed these prices to soar out of control? How can this have happened in just a few years. I think young Bermudians looking for a home better look overseas because you will not be able to own a home in your own land ? (become long term residents in another country and finally own some land).

And the Government wants to know why there is so much violent crimes etc. ? there are probably three and four families living together to pay one rent and the children have no where to go for privacy or the parents are out working five jobs and are not there for he children just to pay the rent. I think this problem will get worse if we don?t look at the issue of housing real soon. There is plenty of land on the old base lands.What?s up with that?

How can a first time homeowner, without any other real estate to sell, have a substantial down payment to apply to a home of $750,000 up and eat, educate their kids or have any quality of life. What has this Island come to?

People living in cars are going to be very common soon. I know I am seriously looking into a larger car.

Independence costs

December 29, 2003

Dear Sir,

So, the ?I? word rears its ugly head again, does it? I have nothing against the principle of independence, but (and it?s a big but) I think the following questions (doubtless among many others) have to be given very, very careful consideration:

1) From what or whom does Bermuda want to be independent? I wouldn?t exactly class the UK as an ?oppressive colonial power?.

2) What could Bermuda do as an independent nation that she can?t already do? Not a lot that I can think of, and anything that she does do is liable to cost Joe Taxpayer an awful lot of money. We?re in enough debt as it is, and any additional expense has to be recouped from somewhere: the obvious candidate is the man on the street. Either that, or we sink deeper into national debt. Neither alternative is exactly appealing.

3) What has Bermuda, as a nation, got that a) we can export and b) other countries want to import? The answer, regrettably, is ?nothing?. There?s only so much Bermuda cedar and pink sand to go around, and we simply can?t run a country on national pride.

Remember the last time the ?I? word popped up? Not only did it cost Sir John Swan his job, but it also had jurisdictions like the Caymans and the Turks & Caicos Islands rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of many exempt companies (the majority of whom chose to set up in Bermuda because we?re still a stable British territory) relocating to them because they weren?t even contemplating independence.

4) And, lastly, think of all the former British islands in the Caribbean which have gone independent over the past few decades. Are any of those islands better off now than they were while they were still British? I don?t think so!

I urge the entire Bermudian community to give very, very serious consideration to all the pros and cons of independence, and I would like to see any debate on the subject conducted openly and sensibly. This is a very important subject, and it should be remembered that the person who shouts the loudest is not necessarily the person who thinks the longest!

Bermuda street trash

December 29, 2003

Dear Sir,

Yesterday my husband and I were enjoying a beautiful day and walking to a restaurant across from the XL Building. We were approaching two girls who appeared to be in their early 20s. One of these girls was waiting on her bike for her friend who had just walked out of a restaurant with a take out order.

The girl with the order proceeded to open the bag and throw it on the sidewalk. She then picked through her hamburger and threw the lettuce, onion, and other condiments alongside the bag. The girl on the bike waiting for her disgusting friend did not even bat an eye. I stopped dead in my tracks, which were now covered in trash, and stared in disbelief as the two girls road off into the sunset leaving their filth behind for someone else to clean up. Across the street there must have been five trash cans within sight.

I am sure there is a fine for littering but does anyone ever get slapped with it? This revolting individual should have been issued an orange jumpsuit and made to pick up roadside trash every Saturday, rain or shine, 9-5, for the next year! Bermuda could be a beautiful place if only we could take the real trash to the dump.