Left In Lowell

I really like to use Facebook. That may not shock you, denizens of the blogscape or “Boggers” as Armand Mercier calls us, but suffice to say FB is often scoffed. Scoffed as a frivolous fad, and it may be. For me, however, it acts as a news aggregator. My “friends” on FB are mostly fellow polinerds. So my “wall” is a constant stream of videos, editorials, jokes and rants. My best “friends” can ball all those things together. ;v)

This morning, I found this: New Jersey Must Return $271 Million Spent on Hudson Tunnel, U.S. Insists

..
On Friday, the Transportation Department flatly rejected the state’s arguments for refusing to repay $271 million that was spent on a project, canceled last year, to build a pair of rail tunnels under the Hudson River. The message to Gov. Chris Christie was blunt: Repay now or we will collect the debt the hard way. Plus interest.
-snip
When federal transportation officials demanded that New Jersey repay money already spent on the project, Mr. Christie hired Patton Boggs, a Washington law firm, to challenge that demand. The lawyers, who reportedly have billed the state and New Jersey Transit about $800,000, argued that the state stopped the project because of unforeseen costs that were beyond its control. …

So Gov.Christie has found a conservative principle upon which he can crawl atop and strike a curious pose. Curious, I maintain, because of the unemployed construction workers languishing on “the dole,” skyrocketing fees to DC law firms and reported $50,000/day interest charges on the unpaid debt that is claim by DOT. Damn, Gov. Christie! That adds up to a lot of teachers, cops and firefighters.

If just the $50,000/day was considered, you could envision a line of NJ low salary workers walking out on a plank. Each day, one worker would step off into oblivion. How long that line is, is up to Gov.Christie and his principles.

I say this because locally we are faced with decisions to create our city and school budgets. Please consider, as our elected folks strike curious poses, what the hell the consequences will be.

Below are details of an important coming event. The thing I find most striking about this briefing is how it is happening under the shadow of a potential destruction of the history these projects seek to honor. Who wants to see a modern bladder dam? Who wants to see the crown jewel of corporate greed cemented over the snapped backbone of a city’s history?

So, go Saturday, please. Go see the investments being made that celebrate what makes Lowell unique. Then, after sharing this vision of Lowell with others, consider it bulldozed and broken under the hammer of profiteers.

Your history, our history is at stake. Please choose to honor and celebrate it.

What? “A Community Briefing on Pawtucket Falls Overlook/Spalding House Park Developments.”
Learn about exciting plans for improvements and upgrades that will enhance public access to and visibility of these significant historic locations on both sides of the Merrimack River at the falls.

When? Saturday, April 30, 10 am to 11.30 am

Both were on show tonight with the rather strongly worded public comment of a citizen over an item on tonight’s agenda, “C. Caulfield-Req. Mgr. report on Health Effects (if any) from Cell Towers on City Structures.”

I don’t blame Caulfield for bringing up a citizen’s concerns, particularly when I suspect without some major research, he wouldn’t have had any idea how to evaluate her claims about the health effects (hint: she believes there definitely are some! no really!! think of the childrens!!)

But her speech really sounded familiar. It reminded me powerfully of the people who claim there’s evidence that vaccines given to children causes autism. Immediately, my science bullshit meter went off.

The woman (sorry, I didn’t catch her name) mentioned some study claiming “double the rates of leukemia near cell towers.” If that were true, I don’t think there’d be any Big Giant Conspiracy™ in the world that would stop scientists from further studying the effects of cell towers.

This site cites a couple of studies (including the leukemia claim) regarding rates of cancer and cell towers, but for instance, one thorough vetting of the most “alarming” of the studies, that “a study by Dr. Bruce Hocking in Australia found that children living near Cell Phone Towers in Sydney had more than twice the rate of childhood leukemia than children living more than seven miles away” - turns out, there’s some caveats, and also, it appears that this study is from 1996.

The first caveat is that the study does not refer to cell towers. It refers to TV towers, which, as pointed out by this paper, are 15,000 times more powerful.

TV towers have a much higher power rating-and thus give out more intense radiation- than mobile phone towers. For example, the TV transmitter on top of Black Mountain, Canberra, is rated at 300 kilowatts. A typical mobile phone tower is emitting only about 20 watts, i.e. 15 000 times weaker. …

[…]

In comparison with the Australian Standard(3) (200 microwatts/square cm), a power density level of 6 microwatt/square cm from a mobile phone tower (said to be a maximum value) represents only 3% of the value of the maximum allowable power density. A more typical figure of 0.1 microwatt/square cm is only 0.05% of the standard.

Turning to larger TV broadcast towers, a person standing one kilometre away would expect to be exposed to a power density of 5-10 microwatts/square cm of radiation. At two kilometres this reduces greatly to about 0.5 microwatt/square cm. These figures are still far less than the prescribed limit of 200 microwatts/square cm.

But you cannot talk about RF (cell phone) radiation with discussing the actual radiation itself. From the same paper:

A significant division within the EMR spectrum is the frequency at about 10 million gigahertz above which waves become ionising in nature, i.e. they are capable of knocking electrons out of atoms to form ions. Thus ultraviolet rays, X-rays and gamma radiation are ionising because they are of greater frequency than 10 million gigahertz. When directed at the body, such radiation is known to be capable of initiating cancer through damage to genetic material (DNA). Too much sunlight, too many X-rays or too much exposure to the gamma-radiating isotope cobalt-60 can cause cancer.

That part of the EMR spectrum of concern in this paper is non-ionising and is known as radiofrequency/microwave radiation (RF radiation for short). […] The radiofrequency spectrum includes, in increasing order of energy, waves from AM radio, FM radio, TV (very high and ultra high frequency), mobile phones, police radar, microwave ovens and satellite stations.

[…]

Intense waves in the radiofrequency spectrum are readily able to raise the temperature of, say, a culture of cells brought near the source of radiation (the principle of the microwave oven) as wave energy is converted to heat energy on contact with the cells. This is known as a thermal effect. However, because the radiation is non-ionising there is no electron stripping of cellular DNA and therefore no direct initiation of cancer. Radiofrequency standards to protect health are totally based on avoiding thermal effects (see below).

Your microwave works on this principle - it can heat molecules, but it can’t mess with your DNA.

Also, cell towers point their radiation out into the air - horizontal to the ground at the level they are at. This is so their signals can reach further. So most of the radiation, even at the low range for cell towers, doesn’t even hit the ground around the tower itself, except, perhaps, at its base (you know, where they put a fence up to keep you out).

It’s easy to see why someone doing research would get concerned - the number of alarmist websites out there appear to outnumber real outlets of science and health organizations in the top rankings of the world wide internets. However, reading through some of these to get to a kernel of understanding, what you discover is that with RF and other low-spectrum energy waves, the worst thing you can do is crawl into your microwave because it can cook you - not turn your DNA into spaghetti. The studies that claim big negative effects from RF due to cell phones or cell phone towers apparently are not reproducible (a must if you’re going to get scientific acceptance). But the studies showing no correlation seem to be piling up year after year.

The World Health Organization has a great factsheet.

Finally, if you are so concerned about RF radiation, I suggest that you and your kids should stop watching the TV, using the computer, the microwave, or anything with wireless communication like your network or baby monitors. They all emit low-spectrum radiation including RF. Do you kids like to sit within feet of the TV? Do you have your wifi box near your home desk where you sit at the computer? Yup. All non-ionizing radiation, my friend.

It seems like being alarmist about health effects is itself a disease these days. It’s also good for selling snake oil protection charms as well. My google searches landed me at the same alarmist site I started with - trying to sell me a cheap-looking ceramic doodad to supposedly stop the big bad radiation.

Hey, health alarmism sells! Who wants to leave science to the scientists??

Don’t forget to vaccinate your kids.

Tonight’s kickoff event had a full Lowell flavor. The crowded room was busy with talk of kids, relatives and neighbors. So many hugs and laughs amongst long time friends, and a few new ones, too.

I was greeted by two nice ladies managing donations and sign up sheets. I asked where should I sign and they asked, “Do you want to volunteer?” :v0 “Um, I need to get to know Marty better before I go that far.” “No problem. Come on in and have fun,” was the reply. And I did. There must have been 2-3 pages of vols, so I bet Marty can hold out until I make up my mind.

Marty was introduced by his campaign manager Rob Clark, first, and then by Marty’s wife Lila. Each gave a heartfelt endorsement, short and to the point. I so love when speakers are succinct. Marty came up and spoke of his long time connection to Lowell and the communities that make it what it is.

I received a lifelong education of what a community is, how it breathes, and how it functions, and finally how it survives and moves ahead. I learned that the neighborhoods, the people, the families and the small businesses that serve their needs are the true fabric that holds the community together, it is that community we call Lowell.

I spoke a bit with Marty before I headed out. He is a down to earth guy. He speaks without hyperbole and sets realistic goals. He felt that over the course of the night, he had 100 or so people come by. But more important, in his view, was that he was seeing friends committed to supporting the effort in this undertaking. He felt lifted by those around him, knowing they would be there and that they would come through on the campaign.

That, Marty, is a great place to start.

Move Lowell Forward PAC has just launched our new website today (in the wee sma’s I can personally tell you) which is a much cleaner, streamlined system for posting news, reports from us, and information about the upcoming election. It boasts a nicer look (optimized graphically for the latest browsers, but if you’re not keeping up your browser, you’re asking for security problems anyway, and the site still works for the oldest browsers as well). But it also boasts the ability for us to have more control over its content much more quickly, which means timely postings of the things we’re working on or with.

So, we look forward to continuing to add information to the site, and hope it is more useful to you. Speaking of new things you might want to check out there, is our latest paper (to be presented tomorrow night at the Council meeting), “Renewed Economic Growth to Stabilize City Finances.”

One area we hope to get more content in is the “recaps” of committee and council meetings. When there’s a vote we find important, or an issue we think should have some airing, we’ll talk about it there.

I’d like to give a shout out to all my tea partying pals. I hope you told the birthers to go pound sand.

I digress:
Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan is stepping up his call for Congress to let the Bush-era tax cuts lapse.

“This crisis is so imminent and so difficult that I think we have to allow the so-called Bush tax cuts all to expire. That is a very big number,” he said, referring to how much the U.S. government could save from letting income taxes go back up to levels last seen under former President Bill Clinton. -snip

Of course, we know that POTUS will poo poo this to some degree ’cause he has his very own ‘read my lips’-esque campaign speak that draws a line at $250,000+/-. So, there is that.

Data, being ambivalent, only offers this guidance: Top 1% pay 28% of federal income taxes, and earn 23% of all income.

And finally, where is the rally that squawks about the $880/month I’m dolling out for crappy health insurance we can’t afford to use? Can I see a single payer plan that would spike my taxes by $5000? I’d be saving money then.

Kendall chatters:
I’m sorry to hear about the health problems of City Councilor Joe Mendonca. He has been a thoughtful, deliberate public official on both the School Committee and City Council. Hopefully the illness will not keep him from seeking another term.

Early on many political followers thought the action in this fall’s election would center on the School Committee, but I think we are going to see a more lively Council race.

I don’t disagree with Wallace, re: Mendonca’s qualities. He is that and more. Most of all, he is a decent guy. That quality is often missing from those that press in the scrum of local politics. Most possess decency at some level, but it is a quality that demurs out of a sense of survival. Not so with Joe Mendonca.

I love this City. And often I approach our electeds and the hired hands with the intent of getting blood from a stone. Lowell deserves their all. However, in such a case as Joe’s, it is the person and his family that deserves all our support. This is not about us, not one bit.

So, when Wallace tried to gingerly offer the consideration, it rubbed me the wrong way. Really? The campaign? How about we just take a deep breath and be patient. If for no other reason than to offer the man, and his family, the common decency that he shares with us, day in and day out.

Tonight, I attended the formal kickoff of John MacDonald’s run for City Council, which was held at the VFW on Plain Street. The event was fairly well attended, with a small gaggle of the “Lowell political crowd” on hand. Though most of the faces were new to me, I did recognize Sam Meas, Jon Golnik, Jeff Wilson and Matt Coggins. Oh, and the guy who owns Sal’s Pizza. He and MacDonald are close friends. From what I can gather, the two worked hard and succeeded at revitalizing a Mill complex in Lawrence. For a while there, I thought MacDonald was running for 5th Congressional District. Maybe later?

The event was staged in a very professional manner. Many of the details I have seen in national politics were covered. MacDonald had several speakers work in series, providing biographical details and third party validation. Behind the podium were notables, especially in Lawrence, holding campaign signs up “in the shot.” MacDonald had a rollout of supporter’s names and the roll each would play in the campaign. That list was long, with every imaginable position filled; from Campaign Manager to Blog/Facebook Director. Though John may want to consider whoever is in that role. No one came up to stroke Nutter, McDonough or moi. ;v) Suffice to say, MacDonald has seen a campaign before. This may be the first time he is running, but, it was clear he has pros on hand. And, this is not their first rodeo. He gets an “A” for execution.

On message? Yes. Starting with the e-mail I received from both CNAG & the PCC. It came to us from his wife, Dawn. Here is a snip:
“John can bring his business experience of bringing companies and jobs to the Merrimack Valley, now to Lowell City Council . Our children Shannon and Kerron were born in Lowell and both attend Lowell Public Schools. Both John and I would love to see them bring up their kids in Lowell someday. I feel John has the experience to build upon the progress already made and help shape a positive future for Lowell. I know he can serve us all extremely well and I know he wants to see our neighborhoods safe and prosperous.”
And tonight we heard more. Most intriguing to me was his concern for caring for the most vulnerable among us while balancing the City budget. That is a worthy cause.

At the end of the night, Mr. Lynne and I went up to shake hands and wish him luck. As I walked away, I said, “I’ll see you around.” MacDonald must have said something like, “I hope so.” I missed it exactly, in the din, but Mr. Lynne piped up, “Oh, you will. Jack goes to just about everything.” I turned back, and MacDonald said, “Oh, let me know if I should be someplace.” To which I, with a grin, spit,”No. Just be there.”

John MacDonald has a great resume and even better friends. I have three, maybe four, votes up for grabs. (I use all nine) One sure way MacDonald can earn one of my votes is for him to be ahead of me on the campaign trail. And he would be wise to pick up the pace. Because honestly, until tonight, I’ve not seen him anywhere before.

To our infrequent roster of myself and Mimi, we have added a new guest front pager. You already know him really well, and though it breaks up the girls’ squad here at LiL, we feel that he’ll breath new life into the blog and bring a new perspective from Centralville.

So, I hope you’ll all welcome Jack Mitchell here as a poster, and, play nice everyone!

Governor Deval Patrick was on last night’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He got a chance to brag about our state (like I love to do!), and of course, to hawk his new book, A Reason to Believe: Lessons from an Improbable Life.