”
It occurs to me that perhaps the Red Phone could explain the
history and current meaning of the term
”
lame duck
”
for any readers (or former readers?) who might not be familiar
with the term…
”
Lame duck or ‘flight challenged’
“It occurs to me that perhaps the Red Phone could explain the history and current meaning of the term “lame duck” for any readers (or former readers?) who might not be familiar with the term…”
Red Phone:
Certainly good caller, lame duck is not a pejorative term, nor is it used to describe someone doing a poor job. It is a historical term used to describe someone who will not be in power over the long term, but is in the short term.
Departing superintendent Edwin Diaz was tagged as a lame duck in a recent editorial that ran in the Dispatch entitled ‘The Search for a New Leader.’ Diaz is off to Pasadena shortly, in the midst of the school year, but the district must carry on.
in need of crosswalk
“If one wishes to use the Uvas Creek Trail safely, can the Red Phone folks find whoever it is who might explain why at the location where the trail crosses Miller Avenue, there is no public crosswalk?
The area where Miller Avenue meets Uvas has one crosswalk, but there is no four way crossing. Why is that? It means anyone wishing to cross Uvas from Miller has no choice but to jay walk. That makes no sense. Please let us know. Thank you.”
Red Phone:
Well concerned crossers, that trail was first built in the city by the army corps of engineers in 1989, according to city engineer Don Dey. He said it was a first in unique design for the city, and there were no guidelines and not a lot of anticipated traffic concerns at that time.
However, he has been told that the city master plan does include a look at future changes for this area in Christmas Hill Park. Dey said there are two options: One would be closing off Miller Avenue at the portion and it would just become part of Christmas Hill Park; kind of like a driveway leading into the park. The other option is to tie the trail closer to the intersection of Miller and Uvas Creek and creating a crossing there.
Dey said there is no specific time frame as to when this part of the master plan will be looked at and discussed, but a note or two to city leaders might help push the idea up the priority ladder.
delayed street lights
“Why do the stop lights take forever to change on the corner of 10th and Chestnut? In the morning making left turn, (going east), I have had to wait three or four light changes before my light turns green, very frustrating when going to work. Even when I wait at the inside lane hoping the “sensor” might set it to change, but nooooo.
It would be faster if I drive through the shopping center where O’Henry’s Donuts is and make a left turn from there, but it would be hazardous and police would ticket me for illegal turn, right?”
Red Phone:
Good caller, thank you for your patience in waiting for the light to change and abiding by the law. Red Phone asked city engineer Don Dey if he could look into it and help put a stop to your frustration.
“I had it checked, and the intersection is functioning properly, as far as testing the sensors, but one of electronic pieces did have a problem. Because they are electronic devices, sometimes these problems are hard to track down, just like a car, when you’re having intermittent problems it is harder to fix than when it’s totally failed,” Dey said.
He said because the problem seems to be intermittent, if anyone has this problem with the light again to please report it to engineering, their number is 846-0450.
