The lowly pothole. Much maligned and always on our minds (at least lately). Even our youth are lamenting the problem.

Consider this question, sent to me in an email from Edna Brewer Middle School sixth-grader Savanna Batto: “What do you think is the root cause of the pothole problem?”

“Roots could be the cause, but I am, by no means, an expert,” I replied. “I just let readers vent and occasionally make a call to the city on their behalf. But the proliferation of potholes is caused by a trifecta of things — heavy rains, heavy vehicles and city coffers too light to keep up with Oakland’s road repairs.”

Since this was a homework assignment, Batto asked me just who is put out by potholes.

“Everyone who drives,” I wrote back. “But think, too, of bicyclists. If they hit a pothole, they could be thrown off the bike and injured — even die if they were going fast enough.”

“What are groups doing?” she asked. I told her some neighbors are spray-painting potholes to mark them for drivers. A few weeks ago, several TV stations picked up the story and the city’s pothole supervisor sent a crew to fill all the potholes on Thornhill Drive, the street mentioned in my column and the TV reports.

Her last question showed wisdom beyond her young age. “What are at least three goals that would help address the issue?” she asked.

“The simple solution is for the city to make fixing roads a priority.” I said. “Hire and train pothole patrols to actively fill potholes each day. And, train citizens to ‘adopt’ a pothole and fill them themselves.”

Potholes — a deep subject on the minds of all Oakland citizens — young and old.

Email bag: Why punish a person for producing less garbage? Reader Victor Stevens says he got a notice from the City of Oakland that his monthly garbage pickup is increasing to weekly pickup, even though his family recycles and composts all but one kitchen bag of garbage a month. The city argues the move is for “uniform service” in Oakland, but that may sound like “rubbish” to Stevens. “Shouldn’t the families that generate less garbage pay less?” he asks. “We need a new incentive to encourage more composting/recycling,” he adds, and I agree.

On another front, reader Marshall T. has tongue firmly planted in cheek with an observation about people who leave their trash and recycling bins out on non-pickup days. He says perhaps the city should relax its blight laws so “more residents can feel comfortable taking part in this landscaping endeavor.” To this end, our reader suggests a monthly contest and perhaps a web page devoted to these “wonderful displays,” adding that the best arrangement of gray, green and brown bins may even make the cover of Home & Garbage.”

Zoo news: Four calling birds have a new aviary at the Oakland Zoo. So do two ground-dwelling companion birds of a different species, since macaws and currasow are both native to the same general area of South America. The progressive exhibit gives plenty of room for the macaws to fly, a big deal for these highly intelligent birds — all of which were former pet parrots. You’d expect nothing less from a zoo whose executive director is Dr. Joel Parrott.

Got news? You can reach Ginny Prior by email at ginnyprior@hotmail.com or on the web at www. ginnyprior.com.