Notes from the newsroom

Last week, the weather was finally nice enough for me to skip the treadmill in favor of the pavement. I put my sunglasses on and turned up the volume on my iPod to hit the streets for a run. It was nice to be able to finally exercise outside without seeing my breath or having the fear of catching a cold.

Except that I had to fear for my safety.

There was so much traffic that I was playing Frogger every time I had to cross a street. The nice weather comes with a price: everyone else is outside as well, traveling to the park or a baseball game.

As a runner, I constantly look both ways before crossing the street, but as a driver I don't think I have as much awareness. In the upcoming months that include beautiful weather, both runners and drivers have to heighten their senses to avoid any sort of accident.

The summer months attract traffic from both the south and north, some that fly through Lake County while others take a more leisurely pace.

So this is a little reminder: Whether you are on the streets or behind the wheel, pay more attention to your surroundings.

The only collisions we want to report on is between a baseball bat and ball.