Left: Before: Deep potholes and stagnant water in front of the Kingston Public Hospital last week.   Right: After: The road by Princess and North streets now that it is fixed.- Norman Grindley

AS A PART of our mission to be the People Paper, THE STAR has been highlighting problem areas across the island. Our reporter, Carolyn Johnson, along with photographer Norman Grindley, will focus on a particular area until the problem is fixed. Now we will have a rough idea of how long the relevant authorities take to deal with some of the problems affecting our country.

WOW! In less than a week the nest of sinkholes at the intersection of North and Princess streets, downtown Kingston, directly before the Kingston Public Hospital, has been fixed. In their place there is finally a road. The transformation was completed on Wednesday. We are very grateful for the prompt response from the National Works Agency (NWA). On behalf of the motorists and vendors who have been suffering for months, thank you. But what about the tree stump further up North Street? We don't mean to be a nag, but jus do de ting properly an done nuh.

Talking about nagging, unu figet bout de traffic light dung a Denham Town? Yes, de same one we a talk bout fi more dan 10 months, right a de intersection a Spanish Town Road and Industrial Terrace. Wat a gwaan fi it? Well, the latest from the NWA is that there are no new developments. So it would seem dat di parts wey dem orda fi de light from wen nuh reach ya all now. Again we ask, a wey dem dey parts dey a come from so?

You see, we have been trying for months to get the NWA's attention; hopefully speaking in patois or another language will do it. (We do know a little French, let's not resort to that.)

Back to the National Heritage site, St. William Grant Park, downtown Kingston. Adjoining the park to the west and north are open manholes on the sidewalk. These manholes, are a danger to children and the elderly. The scent from the open manholes is also a problem to the persons who work near the park. On a recent visit to the park, THE WEEKEND STAR team observed a wooden plate covering one of the deep holes. We beg the NWA to show the same efficiency they have applied to other projects.