Yesterday two packages delivered by the U.S. Postal service were stolen from our front porch on Foster Street between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. I found the torn open boxes and their contents in a construction dumpster a few houses away. Apparently the thief was not interested in my children's holiday gifts. The police have been notified and took a report.

Many street lights on the Willow Street-Blatchely Avenue on and off ramps and the Willow Street bridge have been out for years. This makes driving challenging at night and may contribute to the problem of people living outside in those areas. Is this a city or a state issue? It needs attention but it may fall into some ambiguous jurisdiction because the highway may be state or federal property. If the city can help, that would be great.

Why is there no parking on either side of Foster Street on Tuesday? There are paper no parking signs on both sides of the street that were posted today.

I wished they had towed the three cars on the east side of Foster Street between Cottage and Canner Streets. Or better yet, the drivers had moved their cars. With those three cars buried in snow Foster Street cannot be plowed to the curb. The Yale Orange Line shuttle usually runs on Foster but if the street is not plowed it is difficult for the bus to get down the street and no room for oncoming traffic. It seems like Foster Street should be a high priority for snow removal given the shuttle route.

Many of the trees on Foster Street are tagged for removal or have recently been removed because they MIGHT have emerald ash borers. The tree in front of 151 Foster already HAS emerald ash borers. The attached image is a piece of an upper limb from this tree that shows insect and woodpecker damage. You might want to remove this tree while you are taking out the other tress.

For the second week in a row the city did not pick-up my trash although my neighbors' trash was collected. Please come empty my toter. Thank you.

Will the ice skating rink open this year? The last time I looked, it was closed. My family loves to skate at Ralph Walker Rink. It is a great place for exercise and recreation in the winter. The rink attracts one of the most diverse and varied groups of people in the city. With the re-opened State Street bridge and the new apartments the neighborhood looks great. It would be shame if the city leaves the skating rink closed for the season. Please find a way to open the ice skating rink.

A recently installed “no standing” sign at the northwest corner of Foster and Linden Streets points away from the corner but cars parked closer the corner have been ticketed for “standing.” Those cars are parked legally according to the sign. Cars should not be ticketed under the current circumstances. This has been a legal parking spot for at least 20 years and it is unclear why the sign was added. If the intention is to keep people from parking between the sign and the corner, the sign must be changed.

Furniture, clothing, etc dumped in front of my house. Whoever dumped this stuff should come get it. If you recognize this stuff (Buckeyes jacket, conference folder on Anglo-Boer war, car seat, dresser) tell the owner to get it. The police have been notified.

The traffic light at Edwards and Prospect seems to be malfunctioning lately. Sometimes traffic traveling West on Edwards has a very long wait for a green light and traffic backs-up down Edwards toward Whitney.

There is a trench for a drain or utility line in front of 120 Edwards that was not paved before the snow started and now it is a big hole that spans most of the east bound lane. I have watched school buses swerve to avoid it -- it should be fixed right away.

The storm drains at Foster and Willow are covered with snow and the street is flooded. We dug channels to the drains on both sides of Foster Street but I wish the city would do this so I do not have to.

The light has been malfunctioning for about four months. Occasionally it goes on, but it is off most of the time. There are several other lights that are not working near the I-91 off ramp but I do not know their pole numbers. Someone should survey the street lights at night to determine which are not working.