This week Red Phone earned its paycheck by stepping up to deal
with complaints at both the local and national level. It’s hard
work, but somebody has to do it.
This week Red Phone earned its paycheck by stepping up to deal with complaints at both the local and national level. It’s hard work, but somebody has to do it.
Hurricane Help
We were more than eager to help our first caller, who is looking for a way to contact relatives in Louisiana.
“I have nine relatives and loved ones in the New Orleans area,” she said. “I just need a way to get in contact with them.”
Unfortunately, her options are slim. The area was so devastated by Hurricane Katrina that very few organizations have been able to set up communication lines. However, the Salvation Army has a program called SATERN – the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network. It’s been running since 1988 with a nationwide team of volunteers who specialize in communications and disaster relief.
To make use of the network, simply go to www.tsasw.org/qso/healthandwelfare.asp and fill out the form with information about yourself and the person you’re looking for. The e-mail is sent to a database and transmitted via radio to volunteers, who actively search for the missing persons when they enter the affected area, as well as to shelters and mobile canteens.
As Red Phone learns other means of contacting loved ones or ways to help pitch in with relief efforts, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
Fix the Pacheco Y
Our next caller is a tad distressed over the “Pacheco Y” intersection where Highways 156 and 152 meet, as we assume many of our readers are. It’s been an ongoing problem and she wants to know why the powers that be don’t just buckle down and put in a stoplight.
“Everybody’s going so slow anyway, so what does it matter?” she said. “I’ve been stuck in the left turn lane trying to get to Hollister at Christmas time. It only took me 30 or 40 minutes to get through.”
Having suffered the same wait a number of times ourselves, we got on the phone with Brandi Hall at the Valley Transportation Authority.
“A stoplight would be impractical,” she said. “It just wouldn’t work with the traffic flow.”
However, all hope is not lost. She was able to give us a rundown on the new project to improve the intersection.
“We’re in the final stages of a proposal to build a fly-over ramp to separate left turns from westbound 152,” she said. All they need to do is work out the last environmental impact details, and they should be ready to go – with a little help from their neighbors in San Benito County.
The county is pushing for an alternate proposal, but VTA believes the current plan is the safest and most environmentally-friendly. As soon as San Benito County can get on board, the project can start within the better part of a year.
Hall says it’s crucial that VTA and San Benito County reach an agreement soon, because only recently were state funds reissued for the project. The whole project will cost just over $11 million, but if it is delayed too long the funding could be taken away and given to projects that are ready to go.
Now is a great time to show your love for democracy and speak your mind. The county Board of Supervisors is supposed to represent you, so whether you support the VTA’s proposal or not, let them know.
We won’t let it
fade away
Our last caller brought up a favorite cause of the Red Phone – street improvements. The word “STOP” printed on the pavement at the intersection of College Street and Central Avenue is faded to the point of illegibility, he says, and at night it’s next to invisible. Sounds like a pretty straightforward request to us.
We called Public Works, as we do just about every week, and they were delightful as usual.
While Associate Civil Engineer David Rubcic wasn’t previously aware of the problem, he was more than eager to help. When we called on Thursday, he promised to inspect the intersection by the end of Friday. Assuming he agrees with our reader, a street team will be out to fix it by the end of the week.
Need help? Red Phone’s willing, and we’re cheaper than a psychic hotline! Give us a ring at 635-9219 to get some hard-hitting journalists doing your dirty work.
