A new streetlight repair and wire restoration project will allow streetlights to be fixed in 90 days instead of a year after having their copper wiring stolen, since the City Council gave the nod to spend $2 million on a wire restoration project Tuesday. The City Council voted unanimously to allow funding for the project, which will provide the resources needed to complete repairs already scheduled, as well as put future repairs on a 90-day wait list. The current backlog is a staggering 12-month wait for neighbors to have streetlights repaired, according to Department of Transportation spokeswoman Linda Tucker. “The city has had more than 325 reported locations of stolen wire since 2010

The Del Paso Boulevard corridor between Globe and Baxter avenues will be getting a makeover this summer in a $1.5 million dollar streetscape project set to begin in May. The project will include safety improvements at intersections and new on-street parking to the 1000-block of Del Paso Boulevard, according to city Department of Transportation Assistant Engineer Matthew Johns. The city received federal community development grant funds in 2009 to construct streetscape improvements between Arden Way and State Route 160. Before construction could begin, the project had to go through various stages of planning, design and environmental review. The project got the final go-ahead from the Ci

For residents who care about their local parks, the city’s budget cuts to parks maintenance could mean that volunteering may become a necessity instead of an occasional activity. A few neighborhood groups are now talking to city staffers about how they can volunteer to maintain parks, according to Parks and Recreation Director Jim Combs. In one of its many budget cuts, the city slashed the parks department by $8.3 million for the 2009/2010 fiscal year. Pink slips were sent to 65 workers in the department; they are scheduled to be laid off Thursday. The total number of parks workers to be laid off this week was unclear, but acting city spokeswoman Wendy Klock-Johnson said the layoff figure