Your cat's up a tree and won't come down. Your mom's not home from work at her usual time, and you're worried. Who ya gonna call?
If you said emergency 911, listen up. Last week a new number was set aside for nonemergency calls for help: 311. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees telephone services, said that dialing 311 to get a little help will keep 911 lines clear for urgent calls about crimes, fires and medical emergencies. Last year in Los Angeles, 325,000 people dialed 911 and could not get through because the lines were jammed.
So far, only Baltimore, Maryland, has its 311 service in place. After last week's decision, other calling areas must now consider whether or not to use the service. Will your hometown get 311?