Speed bumps would help make Empire Center...

Speed bumps would help make Empire Center safer

Something needs to be done about the traffic at The Empire Center.

There is a 15 mph speed limit on the perimeter road that goes from

SportMart past several busy restaurants, and yet people drive as fast

as 30 mph, creating a hazard for anyone trying to enter the road from

one of the many parking lot areas.

The perimeter road that runs in front of Target and the other

large stores has several speed bumps to control the traffic speed.

Why not put speed bumps on the other side of the Empire Center as

well, to help protect public safety?

ESTHER PORTER

Burbank

City Council should focus on bigger issues

Would someone please explain to me why the Burbank City Council

has this obsession against temporary signs of any sort on their,

excuse me, our streets?

Of course Realtors should be able to post open house signs

directing potential buyers to homes for sale. How can you conduct an

open house without signs?

But I would like to see them go one step further by allowing

temporary yard sale signs too. We are the only stuck-up city in the

valley that has “yard sale police” who come around and either remove

signs or threaten a citation if they are not removed. Simply make

people take their signs down after the event. That’s easy enough to

do.

And may God help the poor soul who conducts a yard sale without a

permit. A permit for a yard sale? A permit is also needed to post an

open house sign. What’s going on here? When was our city hijacked by

the City Council? This is a perfect example of a government out of

control.

There are planes buzzing over our heads at all hours of the day

and night, homeless people needing assistance and traffic congestion,

yet Realtor open house signs are the council’s biggest problem?

What’s wrong with this picture?

I found it amusing that one council member actually wanted to “see

a survey done on what kinds of ordinances other cities have relating

to signs.” Hmmm. This sounds really serious. Better hold a special

City Council meeting to budget thousands of taxpayer dollars to study

this one.

The council is concerned about property values dropping when these

“illegal” open house signs are posted. Of course, the irony is that

these same signs bring in buyers who help keep property values up.

WILL RAY

Burbank

Less expensive guns needed for protection

I take exception to the opinion of state Sen Jack Scott

(D-Burbank) that appeared in the Oct. 15 Burbank Leader. Scott says

“we made guns safer.”

Not true. Indirectly, he made guns more expensive, like double the

price, and that hurts the people who need them most, single mothers

and senior citizens like myself.

By requiring expensive “safety” features, Scott deprives single

mothers and senior citizens of self-defense weapons on the pretext

that would make them safer.

Quite to the contrary, it leaves them wide open to home invasion,

rape, kidnapping, robbery and personal injury.

Sen. Scott forgets there are some very bad people out there with

deadly intent. To be safe from these beasts, it is absolutely

necessary that seniors and single folks be armed with lethal weapons.

This is what keeps criminals far away. Not only that, children are

safer from sexual abuse predators when their parents are armed.

Doesn’t Scott care about the children?

What Sen. Scott needs to understand is that we need less expensive

guns in order to save lives.

WILLIAM A. TRACY

Burbank