RE: *EMCA* Response from Reliant

1. Are the questions those actually posed by someone outside Reliant, or
are they the sort of questions that PR departments typically compose in
order to emphasize the points THEY want to make?

2. The response talks about the cost-effectiveness of poles vs.
underground. It does not address the rumor about the lines going
underground at North and South Blvd. Was any question about the rumor even
asked? Is the North/South Blvd. routing part of the same overall
improvement effort?

3. Even though there was the implication that community input is not needed
for a project that will finish shortly, what about community input on (or,
at least, some better public dissemination of information about) the 10-year
plan mentioned in the email message of 3/4?

And, while we're on the subject of utility infrastructure ...

What can we learn about plans of Southwestern Bell to upgrade the phone
lines, particulary in EMCA? Every single technician I talk to confirms that
the equipment in what used to be the JAckson exchange (52_) is among the
oldest (if not THE oldest) in the city. Heavy rain brings on static and
outages. The lines are so decrepit that a technician attempting to repair
service to one address can accidentally disrupt service to a different
address. It's gotten so that whenever I see a technician on my street, I
make it a point to go out, nicely mention that I'm aware of this history,
and ask them to doublecheck the lines into my home while they're up there on
their ladders. Technicians also confirm that the work rules being imposed
upon them require them to move quickly from ticket to ticket, often forcing
them to perform only the most cursory of repairs and not solve the deeper
problems inherent in such aged equipment.

SWB has to be feeling the impact of all the growth in this area, not unlike
Reliant. It would be nice to know what they're doing to accommodate it?

John Borrowman
Damon Court