Cheers & Jeers
Cheers: Unless you live deep in the woods and far off the grid, you’ve surely had the experience of wanting to speak on the phone to a customer service representative – a human being, for heaven’s sake – when your computer goes on the fritz, the shoes you ordered don’t fit, or any of a number of other issues that come with being a consumer in the 21st century. But, more often than not, you are sent through a maze of button-pushing and hold music, and sometimes never speak to another human at all. Spain aims to change that. The Associated Press reported this week that the country’s Parliament is considering a bill that would make it mandatory to have a flesh-and-blood customer service worker available if a caller requests one. Alberto Garzon, Spain’s consumer affairs minister, said companies “create bureaucratic labyrinths to stop you from exercising your right to service. These are difficulties which unfortunately waste an enormous amount of energy, time and money.” Amen.
Jeers: This is the season when grass grows fast and keeping up with your lawn is essential if you are a property owner. Unfortunately, this also is the season when some owners of now-closed commercial properties apparently decide that actually cutting the grass at those sites is too much of a burden and they let them go to seed. The grass climbs to knee level and litter accumulates, making the property unattractive and dragging down the value of those around it. We noticed a couple like this outside Washington, and this is all too common in other locations that have empty lots and shuttered buildings where bustling businesses once operated. The owners of these properties need to do better, and municipal officials need to pressure them to maintain their properties so they don’t become eyesores.
Cheers: Public swimming pools as we now know them have been around for more than 80 years. They were part of the New Deal-era drive to create public works, and they provided much-needed relief from the summertime heat for city dwellers before air conditioning became more widespread. They are still vital spots for recreation and community-building. After being closed for the last two years, Washington Park pool will reopen for daily use starting Saturday, and other pools throughout Washington, Greene and Fayette counties will also start their summer schedules. With most forecasters projecting this summer will be hot, we can be glad these pools are open once again, and fulfilling their promise to be open to everyone.
Jeers: The actions of Farley Toothman, the former Greene County judge, have tainted the trust that each of us should have in the judiciary. The state Court of Judicial Discipline found Toothman used his position to retaliate against a county employee and another person. He was sanctioned for “bullying” both of them and the court found his actions were “motivated by personal anger at two people who offended him.” In one of the cases, he ordered a woman who owed a $10 monthly fine to spend 25 days in the county lockup. In the other, he posted a union grievance filed by a county employee on a public bulletin board. When the allegations came to light last year, Toothman took a leave of absence, and then eventually stepped down. A recently filed right-to-know request showed he was stripped of his state pension. The damage, however, has been done. When those in power abuse it, it leaves a stain on the system in which the citizenry must have faith. Our judges must rule with impartiality and not allow personal feelings to taint their actions.