Maybe it’s a mix of the return of Gilroy soldier Rene Arbizu,
the fact that we’re just two days away from the Fourth of July and
our insatiable craving or hot dogs and watermelon, but we’re
feeling pretty patriotic here at the Red (White and Blue) Phone
this week. With that in mind, our first caller this week had an
interesting question regarding the Stars and Stripes:
Maybe it’s a mix of the return of Gilroy soldier Rene Arbizu, the fact that we’re just two days away from the Fourth of July and our insatiable craving or hot dogs and watermelon, but we’re feeling pretty patriotic here at the Red (White and Blue) Phone this week. With that in mind, our first caller this week had an interesting question regarding the Stars and Stripes:
“Who raises and lowers our national flag, state flag and veteran’s flag – especially now that our flags are at half-mast – at our local parks?” our curious caller asked. “Who comes in at sunrise and who comes in at sunset?”
Well, first off, for those that don’t know, our flags are at half-staff (only flags on ships are put to half-mast, those on dry land are put to half-staff) and will continue to be until July 5, in mourning of the death of President Ronald Reagan.
Secondly, there are a number of people who are responsible for the raising and lowering of our city’s flags. For the most part, the unheralded but important job of taking care of our flags comes to the staff of Superintendent of Landscaping Chris Orr and Facilities Manager Rick Brandini. Our thanks to those city workers who do an important, and often overlooked, job.
* * *
School may be out, but another Red Phone caller wants to see some changes to the traffic problems at GHS by the time the bells ring classes back into session this fall.
“(I’m calling about) people making illegal U-turns after they drop off the kids at school, and lots of accidents and near-misses,” she said. “It would be really nice if we had no U-turns on Princevalle between 10th and Thomas while the school year is in because lots of kids are nearly killed.”
Traffic at GHS has been a problem, and the school district and city have gotten involved. However, the city is focusing its efforts on installing a median with a fence along 10th Street to deter jaywalkers, as well as improve the intersection at 10th and Princevalle. Whether any of that will help with U-turns and driver/pedestrian safety on Princevalle will be seen later.
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Finally, we had a long-time Dispatch reader ask about one of out People page columnists.
“I’ve been living here in Gilroy for about 20 years … and I was just wondering when you are going to move Robert Mitchell to the editorial page,” he asked. “I can remember back when he was funny.”
That’s a good question. How about a reader poll? Robert Mitchell readers (and non-readers), we want to know what you think. Call us up at the Red Phone and let us know. Does he fit better here on A2 or should he move to the editorial page? Not that our editor does everything we say, but then again, the air conditioning mysteriously did kick on Wednesday when we started whining about the heat …
