Saturday morning and all’s well in San Benito County. Red
Phone’s answering machine is still on the fritz, but don’t let that
stop you from calling in to the Crimson Crusader
– if you dial and hear a beep, rest assured that Red Phone is
hearing you. And, Red Phone is happy to announce a new answering
machine is on the way that will soon put Red Phone’s voice back on
the air. If you’re of a digital persuasion, try an e-mail to
re******@fr***********.com
. Got a question,
need an answer, call the Red Phone! Always waiting, always
online, always at 635-9219.
Saturday morning and all’s well in San Benito County. Red Phone’s answering machine is still on the fritz, but don’t let that stop you from calling in to the Crimson Crusader – if you dial and hear a beep, rest assured that Red Phone is hearing you. And, Red Phone is happy to announce a new answering machine is on the way that will soon put Red Phone’s voice back on the air. If you’re of a digital persuasion, try an e-mail to
re******@fr***********.com
. Got a question, need an answer, call the Red Phone! Always waiting, always online, always at 635-9219.
Parking problems abound
What would life be like if parking caused no problems for anyone? Boring says Red Phone, if it’s not a lack of spaces then it’s a lack of enforcement which is just what has one writer to
re******@fr***********.com
in a rage.
“I’ve got a complaint for the Red Phone about how people park downtown. Why is it that when people park along San Benito Street downtown they have to park in the red-curb areas? When they do that it makes it impossible to see if cars are coming if you’re trying to cross San Benito Street along one of the side streets without a stop light. It seems like people create a really big hazard for no reason. There’s plenty of parking in downtown if someone is willing to walk a few extra feet and it’s only a matter of time before somebody gets broad-sided because they can’t see the cars coming.”
The Crimson Crusader knows where you’re coming from. It seems local residents often pull into the red zone while they run into a local shop for just a few minutes. The video store just down the street from the Free Lance’s office on Sixth Street seems to attract many of the red-zone parkers who run inside to return their videos. Parking in the red zones can land you a $40 ticket if you’re caught by local police. If you see someone parking illegally sick the cops on them by calling the Hollister Police Department at 636-4331. The HPD says a report of a vehicle obstructing traffic will send an officer right away, but if it’s only someone parking in the red zone, an officer will swing by to write a ticket after they’ve responded to all of their high-priority calls. Red Phone bets one ticket would keep most poor-parkers in check.
Off the Hook: Track attack brings needed change
Excuse Red Phone for gloating, but the news that Union Pacific Railroad will finally fix the bumpy railroad crossing on Highway 25 just north of the countyline is worthy of celebration indeed. UP says they will comply with an order by the California Public Utilities Commission to fix the crossing by no later than May 17. The announcement came from UP’s Public Relations Director John Bromley earlier this week. Bromley said the order to repair the tracks had a lot to do with Red Phone readers calling both Bromley and the CPUC complaining about the tracks.
But no good deed goes unnoticed … or is that punished … when it comes to the Red Phone. Though it took much jabbing, griping and printing of every phone number related to Bromley over weeks and weeks, UP is doing the right thing by fixing the tracks before someone got hurt or worse. Hat’s off to Bromley and UP for stepping and promising the repairs will be made by the deadline instead of appealing the order or resisting it. Red Phone knows Bromley’s been through a lot since the Crimson Crusader started working on the problem close to a year ago, but John, if you’re reading, thanks for listening and more importantly acting to evoke these much-needed repairs. You’re off the hook, at least, unless the deadline is missed, but Red Phone trusts UP will get it done.
And thanks to the Red Phone readers who truly were the force behind the effort. Your many calls and complaints kept plenty of pressure on UP and ultimately brought about the change all residents knew was long overdue. There’s power when the public comes together – this victory is but another example of how we can control our own destiny. Call Red Phone with your quandaries, let’s put another local problem on hold and get something done about it.
