Latest concerns

Road Markings are removed by scorching them off, releasing all kinds of hazardous by products, lead etc.

I've had occassion as a pedestrian to have to walk through the clouds that are produced, and this morning, an area of George Street was treated, and my flat was effectively fumigated.

The council's health and safety at work, must have looked at the impact on the workers doing this this job, so the data should be available?

Surely there is a better way of doing this than to force a (very local) population to be exposed to the equivalent of several thousand burning plastic bags?

Granted they did the work, at a very early time, but they don't always, and they didn't flyer the local residents.

Any idea how I proceed? Ideally they'd be required to change the methods through a court, but I have no idea how to start.

Thanks
ant

Or, that's what it seems like these days. Bad spelling is everywhere and most of it on professional websites promoting things!!!

Common examples are 'stationary' (not moving) where it should be 'stationery' (office paper etc), 'seperate' where it should be 'separate', the list is endless.

And don't get me started on the misuse, nay, abuse of the apostrophe!

What is most worrying is that it is apparent in normal business life, from reports, to shop signage, to advertising. This means no-one seems to care.

I'd like to state I am not a teacher, over 40, or one of those people who delights in spotting mistakes in films, just a regular Joe who had a decent English teacher.

Have other concerned citizens seen recent continuous examples they can list here?

Is banning children from creating Father's Day cards 'sensitive' or simply crazy?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2176315/Father%27s-Day-cards-banned-in-Scot tish-schools.html

While Edinburgh is reasonably served by cycle lanes, this is negated by cars parking in an ad hoc manner, making cyclists have to swerve out into the main area of the road dangerously. Double yellow lines should be in place where there are cycle lanes to avoid this.

At the moment, businesses around the West End of Princes Street are having a hell of a time doing any trade, due to the closure of the road and the fencing along the pavement.

Although 'business is open as usual', no number of posters saying so can make up for the reduction in passing traffic and pedestrians which are crucial to these businesses' success.

I propose that the businesses that need it are in some way subsidised in order that they can survive the tram works.

UPDATE: Leith Walk firm World of Gas has announced that it has to close its doors as a result of lost business due to the tram works. Delivery drivers have been unable to reach the business' premises, and the parking the firm provides is all but useless because of the restricted access.

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/12445/Firm-blames-tram-work-chaos.4191413.jp

Labour MP Roberta Blackman-Woods is urging her colleagues in the House of Commons to label lap-dancing clubs as 'sex encounter establishments', taking them out of the current licensing regime in which they are treated like ordinary pubs and clubs.

The change would put lap-dancing clubs in the same category as sex shops and sex cinemas, and would allow local authorities to more easily veto their establishment on grounds of impropriety.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7460302.stm

The SNP are considering raising the earliest age at which alcohol can be bought at off-licences from 18 to 21.

This follows a trial in Armadale which reportedly resulted in a reduction in alcohol-related antisocial behaviour.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7457089.stm

Described variously by Donald Trump as a "masterpiece", environmentally friendly and a source of "great pride, revenue and employment" in a letter to Aberdeen councillors, Trump International Golf Links certainly looks good on paper.

The planned development includes two championship standard golf courses, a 5-star hotel, state-of-the-art golf academy, turf grass research centre and many residential properties.

More details can be found at http://www.trumpgolfscotland.com/development_plans/development_plans.asp

Balmedie Beach
The proposed site at Balmedie Beach forms part of the Foveran Links Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has suggested that the mobile dunes at the site would be destroyed by the necessary stabilisation required for the construction of a golf course.

Economic impact
Those in favour of the Resort cite in support of it the estimated £1bn of investment into Scotland's economy which would be brought, along with an injection of jobs, and a boost to the nation's tourism and sports industries.

Politics
The issue has been 'called in' by the Scottish Parliament, for determination by the Scottish Ministers instead of local planning authorities.