Opinion
State agency needs to apologize, make amends
Hard to imagine that the state agency we entrust with managing our shoreline is clueless about the fact that there are lots of recreational boaters off Salisbury Beach.
But that appears to be the case with the state's Coastal Zone Management agency, which is taking another look at its plans to potentially allow wind farms immediately off Salisbury's coast after receiving "new data" that indicates there's boating and lobstering going on out there.
What an outrageous joke to anyone who has ever been to the beach and witnessed the fishermen and boaters who frequent those waters, never mind the summertime Sand and Sea festival, in which the central event is a personal watercraft race. Clearly, this plan was not done with an inkling of "research."
It might be a humorous thing were it not for the fact that taxpayers are forking over millions of dollars to this agency to do its job. The joke's on those of us who are paying the bills for this low-quality work.
Coastal Zone Management should indeed immediately withdraw its plans for allowing turbines 1,500 or more feet off Salisbury's coast. And it should go one step further — it should make amends with Salisbury officials and pledge to work with them in the future.
Coastal Zone Management has long been an agency that town and city officials in this area have viewed with disdain. Whether it's an institutional prejudice against local officials or a general arrogance, the agency seems to think that it holds no accountability to locals. This latest example is a good illustration.
Plum Islanders may recall their run-in with Coastal Zone Management a few years ago, when the agency insisted that a map created by the water and sewer project's engineering firm be used to delineate the flood hazard zones subject to the most strict building controls. The firm was horrified, noting that the map wasn't drawn for such use, yet the agency ignored their pleas. Local officials and state Reps. Harriett L. Stanley and Mike Costello blasted the agency for misusing the map and urged it to use the federal flood maps that are the standard for such uses. Finally, after much public pressure, the agency relented.
The most troubling aspect of the Salisbury Beach situation is that the Coastal Zone Management agency didn't have the courtesy to let Salisbury town officials know what they were proposing. News broke last week, just days before the comment period on the plan was set to close. It wasn't the agency that made the announcement; rather it was Salisbury Selectman Jerry Klima, who learned of it from a colleague in Newburyport. Klima passed the information on to The Daily News.
Salisbury Town Manager Neil Harrington was justifiably angry, after fielding dozens of phone calls from worried townspeople. He was unable to give them an answer because no one from the state bothered to give him even the courtesy of call.
"It's an embarrassment for the town to have a state agency behave in this manner. It's rare and striking, actually, that a state agency would act this way," Harrington told The Daily News.
That's an unusually strong condemnation from Harrington, a cool-headed leader who has won great respect in this area for professionally managing the town. He certainly deserved better treatment than that. And so do the people who pay the bills for this agency.
-
-
Highway sound barriers deserve closer look
With Interstates 495 and 95 converging together in our region, there's plenty of unwanted highway noise to go around.
The noise serves as the background hum across a wide corridor of Greater Newburyport. Try walking through Newburyport's Maudslay State Park on a quiet fall day, or an Amesbury neighborhood near scenic Point Shore, or through Newburyport's West End, and listen. It is noise pollution that perhaps we've all gotten a little too used to. And it will only get worse as traffic numbers grow. -
Mass. education standards dropped for federal control
As we enter the back-to-school season, it is time to realize the public school in your town could dramatically change in four years due to a federal takeover. The case for national education standards might be rationalized by the need to remedy the inferior quality of some state standards and to equalize academic standards for all students. There is no doubt that the U.S. needs higher levels of achievement than its students currently demonstrate for it to remain competitive in a global economy. The common core curriculum academic standard is the federal math and English curriculum that many states are contemplating. Massachusetts recently adopted these along with 26 other states. Massachusetts will allow the federal government to dictate our education standards in order to receive the "carrot" held out: a $250 million grant Massachusetts had applied for through Obama's race to the top competition funded partially through the stimulus program.
-
Is it too loud or is it just me?
To the editor:
It's probably that I'm just getting old, of which there is little doubt. A recent hearing test indicated a small bit of hearing loss, especially at high frequencies. And my wife suspects deafness. -
What is Sarah Palin's agenda?
To the editor:
Sarah Palin walked off her job as governor of Alaska halfway through her term to go on a tour to promote her book and make a lot of money. Since then she has spent most of her time on expensive speaking engagements raking in more money. She loves to speak to Tea Party crowds, appear on Fox News and slam President Obama almost on a daily basis. Her slander, lies and put-downs are getting so aggressive that she actually said that he is missing an important part of his anatomy and is incompetent. -
Leasing the way to go with solar panels
To the editor:
I just read that West Newbury is installing solar panels on Pipestave Hill for a "low bid" of $19,400. I hope the contract hasn't been signed yet. I recently installed the same 3-kilowatt system on my house in Newburyport. Instead of buying it for $19,400, I leased it for a total of $8,000 for 18 years from a company named Alteris Renewables here in Massachusetts. At the end of 18 years I can have it removed by them or buy it then for $2,000. Aside from the reduction in cost, there is another big incentive to lease. During the next 18 years, if anything goes wrong with the system (such as the PV inverter that converts DC to AC electricity), the owners have to repair it, not me. - September 1, 2010
- Our View: Speaker needs to follow words with action
- Let's dress up Bartlet Mall and enjoy it more
- A great time at Old Home Days
- Beck offers the truth about government
- Blatant discrimination reigns
- Optical shop helps a visitor in need
- August 31, 2010
- Salem State turns another corner
- Saying goodbye to leading YH tours
- Summer reading program was a blast
- Thanks for making Ride for Education a success
- August 30, 2010
- Newburyport parking plan could be improved
- Good neighbors on Cutter Street
- Energy efficiency makes financial sense
- NHS Alumni Ballgame fundraiser a great success
- August 28, 2010
- Battles, both foreign and domestic
-
Highway sound barriers deserve closer look
