Whether you love it or hate it, tomorrow at 2 a.m., our clocks change as Daylight Saving Time comes to an end. On the positive side, we get an extra hour!
Note that we are using the word “Saving” not “Savings.” Last year we used the word “Savings” and a reader corrected us. Of course, they were right, the singular is technically correct, but the plural form of the word is so common that it’s considered acceptable. Whew!
Last year we reported our clock-changing tradition could come to an end. In March of 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously, (yes, unanimously!) passed a bill to end the seasonal time shifts and make Daylight Saving Time permanent. The bill was not passed by the House and seems unlikely to at the moment given the current state of affairs in Congress.
Still, not giving up, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., reintroduced the bill this March, and it was sent to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation where it is sitting. A companion bill, introduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., is similarly stuck in committee at the House level, according to NPR.org.
We are ready and waiting here in California to dump the time-changing activity. In 2018, voters overwhelming approved Proposition 7 authorizing the legislature to change the dates and times of the daylight saving time (DST) period, consistent with federal law establishing permanent, year-round standard time or permanent, year-round DST (if federal law is changed to allow for permanent DST).
Until then, though, don’t forget to change your clock – that is, if have you any! As my daughter told me, “Thanks for the reminder, but I literally don’t own anything that won’t reset itself!”
Even our local Larchmont community clock! John Miron, a local accountant who served as president of the Wilshire Rotary and spearheaded the installation of the clock tower in 2005, told the Buzz, that the clock automatically resets for seasonal time changes, thanks to a computer chip.
The idea for the clock came from Wilshire Rotarians Sandy McClean, Earl Vaugh and Elsa Gillham, who was also a member of the Larchmont Boulevard Association, as way to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wilshire Rotary. At the time, the project cost about $15,000 to complete.
Check it out tomorrow and see if the time is right.
Institutional knowledge – the kids board their school bus in the early light of day. There is always a quid pro quo, but I defer to the kids.