Montebello Declares Weekly “Litter Day”?  

Montebello has changed.  It has become acceptable

·        for throw-away newspapers to be thrown any which way, landing in the street, hedges, sidewalk;

·        for disposables from our fast-food restaurants to wind up curbside in residential areas, where people choose to clean out their cars without regard for the residents;

·        for nobody, be he or she on city council, among city staff, among service-club members or in affected neighborhoods, to say anything about it.  

Somebody will say that, if it had enough money, our city would attend to this.  I say that our city is not our god, that we should stop looking to government for a solution to all our problems.  First, government does not have the time and money.  Second, government’s hands are quite tied, by law or custom, an example of which is in this issue’s “Flashback Quarterback.”  

My concern is that (a) nobody cares or (b) nobody can care because the system makes it difficult to care.

If you answer the multiple-choice questions below and e-mail to lessonanswers@mymontebello.com with “Lesson answers” in the subject field, you will be credited toward a “certificate of recognition in community affairs” to be awarded in 2007 by a local nonprofit organization. 

1. What would be the purpose of “Montebello Litter Day”?

(a) To clean up litter.

(b) To acknowledge that littering has become worse over time.

(c) To put litterbugs on alert that there would be consequences.

2. If we chose 1(c), what might the consequences be, if we thought outside the box?

(a) Video surveillance of residential neighborhoods, with litterbugs fined.

(b) Lawsuits against newspaper companies for environmental degradation.

(c) The ability of neighborhoods to enact mini-ordinances to upgrade and enforce neighborhood beautification.

April 24, 2008