Sound Off for April 3, 2020

Banks essential

To “Send them home,” everyone doesn’t live in your world. I have four older siblings 80’s and 90’s — that have stopped internet access; it became too hard for them. They use the banks. There are some transactions that require people to be at the bank. I am sure that bank employees that are not required, are at home.

Federal law

Banks cannot close for more than three days in a row according to federal law. This law was put in place as a result of the Great Depression, so people have access to their money. Closing banks would have people racing to get cash for emergencies. This would cause a run on the banks and a financial crisis which is what happened in 2008. So yes banks are an essential service.

Apalled

I went to the Winn-Dixie in Long Beach to pick up medicine and I was appalled to see the packed parking lot and the store full of people. There was no social distance being performed, and the only people with face masks were a few cashiers. I don’t understand the carelessness of people with all the warnings about how deadly COVID-19 is. Don’t they care, even for themselves?

Spillway question

I have one question about opening the Bonnet Carré Spillway. What part and how much of New Orleans will flood if they don’t open those floodgates, as opposed to the further devastation of all of the fisheries and ecosystems of Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi Sound?

Leadership

All the mayors on the Coast have been very visible and hands-on during the COVID-19 crisis. One exception is D’Iberville. Where are our elected officials? Seems like the city manager Clay Jones is the only one we here from. Would be nice to see some leadership from the people we actually elected.

Smart move

Ocean Springs city government was smart. They used this time of low traffic to re-pave a large section of Government Street without inconveniencing people. This would also be a good time to improve congestion in downtown where traffic is very tight. Paint a bright yellow line in the center to straighten out traffic flow and white lines to denote parking lanes to reduce parking that encroaches on traffic flow.

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This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Sound Off for April 3, 2020."