Straight Talk: Traffic lights update Published Oct. 20, 2011 By Col. Stacy L. Yike 66th Air Base Group commander HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- I have just returned from a wonderful week of rest and relaxation in South Carolina with family. Recharging your batteries and getting away from the stresses of workplace life is a must for all of us. Take a peek at your leave balance to remind yourself that perhaps you tend to save it all for a rainy day, and then go ahead and schedule yourself some down time. Life only gets busier as the holidays approach. If you are crazed this week, it is unlikely you will find much rest before the New Year. Do something to take care of you! Weekend Events Events this weekend offer a wide range of options. The Hanscom Spouses Club Minuteman Thrift Shop has its grand opening at the new location Saturday. Stop by to check out the new digs. HSC sponsors many wonderful projects all over base, including scholarships for many of our children. At the Minuteman Commons we have Comedy Night on Friday and Football Frenzy on Sunday. Downtown this weekend is the famed Head of the Charles Regatta - a must-see Boston event! Traffic Light Update I want to give you an update on the traffic light situation, as I know many of you are excited about the improvements we expect with the new system. The improvements are coming, but it is taking a bit longer than expected. We thought the Barksdale and Forbes streets intersection would be complete last month. The stop lights are in, but we ran into a snag with all the fancy functionality due to some old wiring and conduits that are inadequate for the new controller system. This means that our pedestrian crosswalk lights aren't working yet and you are still sitting at a red light on Sunday morning. But never fear; your amazing base civil engineering team is working the problem and you will have your blinking yellow lights yet. I promise! The Barksdale and Grenier streets intersection should be complete with all functionality by the end of the month and Barksdale and Forbes streets a bit after that. Dining Options Feedback We have received great feedback from many of you on the programming and catering at the Minuteman Commons. We appreciate all your feedback, both on what we are doing well and where we need improvement. We are making changes every day to get better. I had dinner at Duke's last night. It was also delicious. They have implemented many of the menu changes you asked for with smaller portions, lower prices and more vegetarian options. Stop by and check it out for yourself.