Signs of new times

John Weeks, Staff Writer

Have you seen the new electronic billboard on Interstate 10 near the Riverside Avenue off-ramp in Rialto? It's big, and two-sided, and it features an ever-changing montage of video images.
I love it. I also love the new video billboard for Arrowhead Credit Union Park, home of the Inland Empire 66ers baseball team. The billboard is located on Interstate 215 near the Second Street off-ramp in San Bernardino.

I'm totally stoked by both of these signs. I promise you, when I become Emperor of the Inland Empire, we'll see a lot more of these.

I know, I know, billboards are a touchy subject in this region. A lot of people complain about the strip club signs along I-10. And we've never heard the end of the uproar caused by the billboards on the Guthrie Interchange of I-10 and I-215. The controversy over those signs became the centerpiece of a county government scandal that cost many people their jobs, and even sent a few people to jail.

So, yes, I know I'm going out on a limb when I talk enthusiastically about billboards of any kind.

But these new ones, with their digital effects, their swirling images, their bright colors, are exciting, I think. They add a sophisticated, big-city touch to our community.