October 6, 2003

Dear Sir,

While riding my bike into town today at about 9.35 a.m., a Zip-X van turned in front of me into RenaissanceRe's parking lot - had I not slowed down, I would have crashed into the van.

As the van was turning, I slowed down and beeped my horn in protest - the driver looked at me and slowed his van down during mid-turn, as if daring me to crash into it. I slowed down almost to a stop and veered off to the right of the van to avoid crashing into it. So much for the call for safer driving campaign. Who can I report incidents such as this?

If I call up Zip-X to report their bad driver, I have a feeling they'll pretend to care about my complaint, and then laugh at the call after they hang up.

October 5, 2003

Dear Sir,

Well, it has now been a month since Fabian visited. However it has been much longer that mismanagement at BTC has provided Bermuda an unsatisfactory phone service.

Needless to say, BTC may even reconnect my phone tomorrow - or will they? It is interesting that Belco and even Cablevision gave the public updates on repairs and restoration of service on an almost daily basis, while it took BTC weeks before they made a public statement which amounted to an admission that they are unable to cope with the number of subscribers they have on their books. While electricity is a much larger concern than phone service in the initial stages of restoration work, I am sure phone service is more essential than cable television! Can the Government even dare to question BTC on their record in regards to restoration of service?

While I am not an invalid, and can inconvenience all my neighbours to use their phones, I wonder if there are shut in people who have no voice because they cannot call 611, or maybe someone has tried to call for them and had the phone ring off the hook, like I have.

I guess BTC is not ready to answer the queries of customers who would like their phones reconnected before Christmas. I wonder if this must be what it is like to live in Cuba? Or maybe our other new Caribbean "allies" to the south were willing to send up phone repairmen, but BTC and the Bermuda Government said: "No thanks - we can handle it". Could someone at BTC inform the public about what is happening since you won't answer 611?

October 5, 2003

Dear Sir,

Government is considering a "youth curfew". While I can understand the reasoning behind it, I honestly don't think that this is a Government problem.

I think that this is a parental problem. If parents haven't been able to teach their kids right and wrong in 15 years, how is Government (and, by inference, the poor Police who are going to get lumbered with enforcing this curfew) supposed to do it in 15 minutes?

I have to repeat (yet again!) the words of MP Terry Lister after the last New Year's Eve fracas: "It's time for parents to reclaim their children."

While we're on the subject of parents and children, consider this paradox. You need to be a certain age, and have some sort of certificate of competence, to do virtually anything in this world except the most difficult thing of all: to be a good parent. And yet the birth rate, particularly among the youth, keeps on increasing. Why should this be? Any ideas?

October 2, 2003

Dear Sir,

In response to Mr. Gary Madeiros' Rotary speech, and your subsequent editorial on October 1, 2003, in regards to underground trenching, I think that it is absolutely ridiculous to suggest that the consumers would be 100 percent liable for paying the estimated $250 million for underground trenching.

Belco is a private enterprise, and as such, owns the power lines, poles, transformers, etc. If we consumers as suggested, paid the estimated price, would we then own the cabling infrastructure, and be free to start our own utility company, or companies within our neighbourhoods? I think not.

Belco is a utility service provider, no different from BTC or Cablevision, in that, once either party terminates the service agreement, any equipment provided is to be returned to, or maintained by the service provider.

Ignoring the issues of land-ownership and easements, all of the primary trunk lines are the responsibility of Belco, and subsequently they should pay for this trenching. We the consumers should only be financially responsible for trenching along the private lanes, which feed our homes, as we now do for road paving along these lanes. If neighbours don't agree or want trenching to their homes, then they would continue to face the consequences of downed poles.

In closing, I agree underground cabling will not guarantee against outages, however trenching of the primary trunk lines will greatly lessen the occurrence of outages every time the wind is above 50 knots, and reduce the time that it now takes to restore power when poles and lines are down.The reason why the talk of underground trenching seems to fall off, is that it seems that when suggestions are made by ordinary folk, if the powers that be don't agree, it becomes a waste of time and energy to keep talking!

October 1, 2003

Dear Sir,

I read with dismay the article in today's (October 1, 2003) regarding Belco putting in cables underground.... "as a private company, could not and would not undertake such a mammoth programme" ..."We do not believe Bermuda should invest $250 million on an underground electrical system...." These amazing statements followed the devastation to the Island and its' people by "Fabian".

Well knock me over with a feather. Belco once again reminding us of how much all this work will cost Bermuda. Well, Belco - in case you didn't know it, Bermuda has had hurricanes for many many years and for many many years the people of Bermuda have been asking the same question: "Why doesn't Belco put the lines underground" and for just as many years, Belco has been saying, cost, cost, cost.

Well Belco, the time has come to 'fess up' so to speak. Let's all be honest here. Your shareholders do not want to lose any money, or make any less a profit. That's really what it is all about. Sure wish I was a shareholder, but seeing as I am just a poor working resident of Bermuda trying to pay Belco's bills I don't have enough left over each month to buy shares in Belco!!!

Okay Belco, here is my suggestion. Place all main lines underground. Case closed. Let the residents/homeowners etc. etc. be responsible for putting their lines in at their expense. You would end up charging us for that anyway - so why not take the initiative and just do it.

I don't know what other people in Bermuda feel about this situation, but I for one am just fed up with Belco's long year-after-year same old excuses. It's about time you were honest with us - we have no other choice but to get electricity from you - you are the one and only provider of this source. Hurricanes have been hitting this Island for many years - you have been saying the same things for years. I'm tired of being held hostage by a company that will do nothing to better serve this Island. It's become old and stale and disgusting.