THE BIN BANDITS

Perhaps Patt Morrison’s Oct. 4 installment of Three on the Town (“See No Evil”) presented yet another pressing moral dilemma for our times. Yet, had she actually dialed the number on the side of her recycling bin, (800) CITY-SAN (at least in this part of Los Angeles), she would have heard a recorded message saying that the number had been changed to the less mnemonically viable (800) 773-2489.

Morally, Morrison can now rest easy (at least on this issue). By the time she or anyone else called the number on the side of the recycling bin, listened to the recorded message saying that the number had been changed, redialed the new number, been put on hold and then actually been put through to a representative from the Sanitation Department, the big-ticket items in her recycling bin would have already been redeemed for cash. Using this “temporal buffering,” the city has thoughtfully taken Morrison off the moral hook. No matter what the reasons for any actions she chooses to take (or refrains from taking), the result would always be the same: Nothing would happen.

This is another example of how the City of Los Angeles has quietly reduced the moral stress in our lives.

GARRETT AYRES

Torrrance