Bob La Trémouille reports:
1. White Geese observed at Magazine Beach.
A. Background.
B. Sightings.
2. Matters of consideration.
A. 95% of Magazine Beach still barred to and from the Charles River.
B. Coming plans for destruction.
C. Training of the Charles River White Geese by 20 months of starvation tactics.
3. The Bumpy Memorial Goose Pond.
4. Clean up government, the banks of the Charles River and the destructive plans for the Charles River.
1. White Geese observed at Magazine Beach.
A. Background.
For quite some time, we have been getting occasional reports of White Geese being seen in the early morning in the eastern end of Magazine Beach.
I have viewed them there in increasing numbers over the past three weeks.
This is the area where Cambridge and the state bureacrats destroyed five healthy trees to put in an artificial puddle perhaps 20 feet from the Charles River. Once they put in their puddle, they had to put in a bridge. Since they put in a bridge, they advertised it as for bicycles, but made it dangerous for bikes. In recent weeks, the new, expensive pathway which replaced the inexpensive asphalt pathway and replaced wetlands has been washing away.
B. Sightings.
First I observed a momma, poppa and four adolescent babies at about 8 am on June 9. They were east of the bridge between the puddle and the Charles.
On June 15 at about 7:15 am, there were perhaps 20 geese, including a number of this year's babies, in the same area. They looked quite lovely and were enjoying the puddle.
Friday, June 23 at 6:55 am, it appeared that the entire gaggle was resting west of the bridge between the puddle and the Charles River. They did graze on the grass between the parking lot and the softball field. They went further from the river in this area than I have previously seen them. That was rather necessary because the area nearest the puddle is badly worn.
Access from the Charles was obtained in an area between the bridge and the Charles and in an area just to the west of that location which has been worn down.
2. Matters of consideration.
A few very major matters of consideration:
A. 95% of Magazine Beach still barred to and from the Charles River.
First and foremost, approximately 95% of Magazine Beach to which they had access is still barred to them by the bizarre designer bushes and by many other pieces of obstructive ground vegetation, none of which has ever been seen on the Charles River before.
Just as access to Magazine Beach from the Charles River is barred, access to the Charles River from Magazine Beach is barred. This is by a project which was launched with a media event of people swimming in the Charles River in a location where passage is now blocked over 95% of the frontage.
Swimming in the Charles? Nonsense!!
Concern for the environment and for animals in the environment? Nonsense.
Similarly, it is silly to think that access to a tiny part of Magazine Beach gives the Charles River White Geese access to the entire area.
These are prey animals. They are very much in danger from attack by carnivores such as dogs or irresponsible humans. Whenever they go on land from the Charles, they are very much aware of the possible dangers. They always keep a convenient route handy by which they can escape a predator by retreating to their beloved Charles River.
That wall of bizarre vegetation denies them retreat in about 95% of Magazine Beach.
B. Coming plans for destruction.
But it gets worse. The plans are yet in place to destroy all the grass at Mazazine Beach to put in grass and sprinklers. Cambridge and the state bureacrats want the sprinklers because they have been / are destroying wetlands and because the contractor lobby likes work.
C. Training of the Charles River White Geese by 20 months of starvation tactics.
Next, the Charles River White Geese have been trained by 20 months of starvation tactics. They have been trained that their 25 year feeding grounds is no longer their feeding grounds. This would explain why they only come in the morning instead of all times of the day, as they did in the past. They need to be untrained.
And they need their access restored. Everywhere.
3. The Bumpy Memorial Goose Pond.
But they did love that puddle.
I would suggest that the puddle be renamed the Bumpy Memorial Goose Pond to reflect the importance of the Charles River White Geese to the Charles River and to memorialize the political killing of their longtime leader in 2001. But also to reflect the fondness of the Charles River White Geese for the puddle.
The money has been spent. The Geese like the result. Memorialize them by naming the puddle for them.
4. Clean up government, the banks of the Charles River and the destructive plans for the Charles River.
Additionally, we need nine city councilors who are protecting the environment in Cambridge, rather than playing their political con game of destroying Cambridge's environment while claiming to be defending the world.
And we need to get rid of very destructive state and city bureacrats.
A nice start would be to move those bizarre designer bushes which are creating the bizarre starvation wall.
A good new location would be someplace where that vegetation makes sense. Danehy Park in West Cambridge comes to mind. It certainly makes no sense on the Charles River at Magazine Beach.
But first and foremost, the coming destruction must be cancelled. It is a strikingly silly waste of money.
Additionally, and by no means the least of considerations, interference with animal feeding must be ended.
Mankind and the wild have shared this area for the better part of a century. Mankind has no business destroying it.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Storrow Tunnel Reconstruction Related to Memorial Drive and to Harvard Expansion in Allston
On June 13, 2005, Marilyn Wellons submitted the following objection to the ENF on the Storrow Drive Reconstruction project, submitted to the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency:
*************
Public comment on the Storrow tunnel ENF closes today, before the release of the Harvard University-funded EOT study of transportation alternatives in Allston. Harvard proposes to use either Storrow Drive or the Mass Pike to connect its Allston campus to MIT and Cambridge over the BU or Grand Junction rail bridge. Although Harvard's website, www.allston.harvard.edu, shows this connection as part of a public transportation project, the Urban Ring, no such access (except for eastbound Storrow traffic to the BU Bridge) is now possible from either Storrow or the Mass Pike, nor are there official plans for any. The EOT study will consider such a connection and bear directly on the Storrow tunnel's environmental issues. Because of closed public comment on the tunnel, however, its findings will escape public comment and, possibly, MEPA's consideration.
Like the proposed work on the Storrow tunnel, the DCR claimed its work on Memorial Drive ("Historic Parkways Restoration") between the BU and Longfellow Bridges improved Charles River parkland. In fact, the project has already limited access to Mem Drive, instituted two westbound turns outbound from the Mass. Ave. bridge, and will destroy hundreds of trees and straighten the Drive to improve sight lines. These long-planned changes will allow Memorial Drive to handle a greater intensity of traffic for any temporary diversion of traffic during work on the Storrow tunnel. If the state accepts Harvard's plans for its new "Urban Ring" river crossing, the diversion will be permanent.
Is is possible the DCR did not know about the apparent need to repair or replace the Storrow tunnel when it changed Memorial Drive? Claiming an increase in parkland, the DCR is working on both sides of the Charles to transform the transportation network and divert public resources to subsidize Harvard's development in Allston.
Because the EOT study of transportation alternatives in Allston will reveal Harvard's plans in greater detail, and because Harvard's plans are driving the DCR's plans, please do not act on the submitted ENF until you have this information and additional public comment informed by it. MEPA needs them to assess the Storrow project properly.
*************
Public comment on the Storrow tunnel ENF closes today, before the release of the Harvard University-funded EOT study of transportation alternatives in Allston. Harvard proposes to use either Storrow Drive or the Mass Pike to connect its Allston campus to MIT and Cambridge over the BU or Grand Junction rail bridge. Although Harvard's website, www.allston.harvard.edu, shows this connection as part of a public transportation project, the Urban Ring, no such access (except for eastbound Storrow traffic to the BU Bridge) is now possible from either Storrow or the Mass Pike, nor are there official plans for any. The EOT study will consider such a connection and bear directly on the Storrow tunnel's environmental issues. Because of closed public comment on the tunnel, however, its findings will escape public comment and, possibly, MEPA's consideration.
Like the proposed work on the Storrow tunnel, the DCR claimed its work on Memorial Drive ("Historic Parkways Restoration") between the BU and Longfellow Bridges improved Charles River parkland. In fact, the project has already limited access to Mem Drive, instituted two westbound turns outbound from the Mass. Ave. bridge, and will destroy hundreds of trees and straighten the Drive to improve sight lines. These long-planned changes will allow Memorial Drive to handle a greater intensity of traffic for any temporary diversion of traffic during work on the Storrow tunnel. If the state accepts Harvard's plans for its new "Urban Ring" river crossing, the diversion will be permanent.
Is is possible the DCR did not know about the apparent need to repair or replace the Storrow tunnel when it changed Memorial Drive? Claiming an increase in parkland, the DCR is working on both sides of the Charles to transform the transportation network and divert public resources to subsidize Harvard's development in Allston.
Because the EOT study of transportation alternatives in Allston will reveal Harvard's plans in greater detail, and because Harvard's plans are driving the DCR's plans, please do not act on the submitted ENF until you have this information and additional public comment informed by it. MEPA needs them to assess the Storrow project properly.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Cleaning up the Homeless, Alewife, Cambridge, MA
Bob La Trémouille reports:
1. Introduction.
2. My proposed letter: Cleaning up the Homeless.
3. Dan Geer - Endangered Specie.
4. Roy Bercaw - Police, Bread and Jams.
A. Roy.
B. Your Editor.
C. Roy - Email for Bread and Jams.
5. Cambridge Chronicle.
A. Publication.
B. Editor's Explanation.
6. Letter to Boston Globe.
1. Introduction.
The Cambridge Chronicle printed a letter to the editor in its June 1, 2006, edition on behalf of the “Friends of Alewife Reservation.” The letter may be found at http://www.townonline.com/cambridge/opinion/view.bg?articleid=507167.
A typical piece of its sort, patting themselves on the back for a very destructive cleanup of the Alewife reservation.
I responded with a letter to the Cambridge Chronicle. Roy Bercaw and Dan Geer responded with their comments on my response, all below.
2. My proposed letter: Cleaning up the Homeless.
The following was sent by your editor to the Cambridge Chronicle for publication. This includes one further edit by me.
***********
Taken from a Chronicle letter:
"The most remote part of [several ponds] . . . got cleared from trash . . .
"Huge amounts of homeless shelter debris, some abandoned, was cleaned up. [Name withheld] commented: 'It was so sad being involved with the homeless possessions and their makeshift shelters. What can we do when they don't want to be with society.'"
Apparently these seven people went to about as wild an area as they could find and destroyed the meager possessions of homeless people living as far away from humanity as they could get.
And these seven people are spouting pious about how sad it is to destroy the meager possessions of these homeless people who went as far away as they could go to be out of people's way.
That people could publicly spout pieties about such behavior is a condemnation of our community.
Fresh Pond is seeing thousands of trees being destroyed by our city council and its friends. All wetlands and animal habitat on the Charles and hundreds of trees are being destroyed by our city council and its friends. Beautiful animals are being deliberately and heartlessly starved. Deliberate starvation is inflicted on the white geese on the Charles. Deliberate starvation is inflicted on untold numbers of unseen other beings on the Charles River and on Fresh Pond. By our city council and its friends.
And these seven people are bragging in public about destroying the meager possessions of homeless people who did nothing worse than try to live away from humans. It is very clear that these seven people are the sort of people nine city councilors are trying to please.
Those nine city councilors spout comparably lovely words while they lead the charge to destroy anything and everything in Cambridge which dares to be different, especially parts of our environment.
These seven and the nine city councilors will all be very pleased to tell you how much they are improving the community.
And they will all tell you how much they are concerned about the environment of our world and about improving the lot of the needy people in our world.
While they destroy what little has not been destroyed of the world around us, and destroy the meager possessions of their homeless victims, and they deliberately starve their victims, as with the Charles River White Geese, or with the homeless whose meager possessions are now casually destroyed and their tormentors spouting pious.
Cambridge has gone a long way. The lovely words are still here. The actions are strikingly different.
3. Dan Geer - Endangered Specie.
Bob,
Think of homeless people as a species. Note that 90% of all endangered specie are so endangered by habitat destruction. Assume that City Father (the one) is not stupid. The rest follows.
--dan, who does have a dog in this fight
[Ed. I assume the "City Father" is City Manager Healey.}
4. Roy Bercaw - Police, Bread and Jams.
A. Roy.
I saw your letter about removing the belongings of the homeless in Alewife. It is a matter discussed by the Council previously for the city parks, especially Cambridge Common. There is a system for the police holding their belongings when they are found.
It is a matter for the homeless advocates like Bread and Jams. You can leave them a message or any of the shelters perhaps the Multi Service Center also and On the Rise. They should be at the Council each week to embarrass the Council.
B. Your Editor.
I would agree with Roy that Bread and Jams should be constantly on top of the City Council. Regrettably, in response to his comment, I have gone to their website and determined that they do not allow emails to be sent to them. You have to fill out their form. That says too much. [ed: on looking at the website closer, if you know what you are doing, you can figure out the email address.]
With regard to police holding the possessions. Once again regrettably, this is not a police matter. This is a matter of "volunteers" cleaning up the wildest part of Cambridge, MA and trashing everything they consider not in place. These are the sort of people who have been running around the Charles River for the past four years poisoning every goose egg they can get away with.
C. Roy - Email for Bread and Jams.
One email address for Bread and Jams is: kmccraw@breadandjams.org.
5. Cambridge Chronicle.
A. Publication.
The Cambridge Chronicle published this letter on June 8, 2006, minus the paragraph that starts "Fresh Pond is seeing thousands of trees being destroyed . . ."
Ed. Note: The Fresh Pond reservation is located about half a mile south of the Alewife reservation which is the principal subject of this entry.
B. Editor's Explanation.
I posted the following on the Cambridgeport list on June 8, 2006:
The Chronicle is to be commended for its prompt printing of my response to the homeless attacks.
Reading that letter, it became painfully clear to me (as a bcc has commented) that the letter was excessively wordy. The editor responded to the length of the letter by deleting a paragraph which tied in nine councilors' destructiveness and which made the matter more relevant to Cambridgeport.
If you are interested, the full letter (with comments) is the first entry on the Charles River White Geese Blog, address below.
I did not include on the blog the communication on the length in the comments I published, nor did I include another responding to that communication or a third responding to the second because the three communications went afield and included somewhat personal comments, plus really were not on point. I had the same problem this listserve has had on occasion and I was aggressively trying to calm things down (I thought).
6. Letter to Boston Globe.
On June 11, I submitted the following to the Boston Globe (with some clean up edits):
**********
The following letter is submitted responding to the racism letter in today's Globe:
**********
Editor
City Weekly
Boston Globe
The real attitude toward diversity in Cambridge is demonstrated by the following statement by Cambridge "leaders" which appeared in a recent Cambridge Chronicle letter. They went out to Alewife and cleaned things up. They commented in their letter:
"Huge amounts of homeless shelter debris, some abandoned, was cleaned up. [Name withheld] commented: 'It was so sad being involved with the homeless possessions and their makeshift shelters. What can we do when they don't want to be with society.'"
The homeless apparently in large numbers went to as wild a part of Cambridge as they could so that they could find a place to sleep with their meager belongings.
The homeless were followed by "improvers" who destroyed those meager belongs and spout pieties about it.
The reality is that most residents of Cambridge say terrific words, and most mean those terrific words. There is very major trouble, however, with too many people in Cambridge who call themselves "leaders." The people who did this attack on the homeless have very major connections among the most visible of Cambridge residents.
Pieties are lovely. Reality is what these "leaders" did to the homeless at Alewife and then bragged about in the press.
*************
For more details, please see my blog, below which ties the problem into the behavior of the Cambridge City Council. See also the letter in question, posted on line at http://www.townonline.com/cambridge/opinion/view.bg?articleid=507167.
Signers were: ELLEN MASS, Cambridge; JOHN WALKER, Cambridge; STEW SANDERS, Belmont; OAKES PLIMPTON, Arlington; ANN TENNIS, Cambridge; KATHY CONNELLY, Belmont; DON BOCKLER, Belmont (taken from the on line citation).
Robert J. La Trémouille
875 Massachusetts Avenue, #31
Post Office Box 391412
Cambridge, MA 02139-0015
617-283-7649
visit our blog: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com
visit our website: http://www.charlesriverwhitegeese.org
1. Introduction.
2. My proposed letter: Cleaning up the Homeless.
3. Dan Geer - Endangered Specie.
4. Roy Bercaw - Police, Bread and Jams.
A. Roy.
B. Your Editor.
C. Roy - Email for Bread and Jams.
5. Cambridge Chronicle.
A. Publication.
B. Editor's Explanation.
6. Letter to Boston Globe.
1. Introduction.
The Cambridge Chronicle printed a letter to the editor in its June 1, 2006, edition on behalf of the “Friends of Alewife Reservation.” The letter may be found at http://www.townonline.com/cambridge/opinion/view.bg?articleid=507167.
A typical piece of its sort, patting themselves on the back for a very destructive cleanup of the Alewife reservation.
I responded with a letter to the Cambridge Chronicle. Roy Bercaw and Dan Geer responded with their comments on my response, all below.
2. My proposed letter: Cleaning up the Homeless.
The following was sent by your editor to the Cambridge Chronicle for publication. This includes one further edit by me.
***********
Taken from a Chronicle letter:
"The most remote part of [several ponds] . . . got cleared from trash . . .
"Huge amounts of homeless shelter debris, some abandoned, was cleaned up. [Name withheld] commented: 'It was so sad being involved with the homeless possessions and their makeshift shelters. What can we do when they don't want to be with society.'"
Apparently these seven people went to about as wild an area as they could find and destroyed the meager possessions of homeless people living as far away from humanity as they could get.
And these seven people are spouting pious about how sad it is to destroy the meager possessions of these homeless people who went as far away as they could go to be out of people's way.
That people could publicly spout pieties about such behavior is a condemnation of our community.
Fresh Pond is seeing thousands of trees being destroyed by our city council and its friends. All wetlands and animal habitat on the Charles and hundreds of trees are being destroyed by our city council and its friends. Beautiful animals are being deliberately and heartlessly starved. Deliberate starvation is inflicted on the white geese on the Charles. Deliberate starvation is inflicted on untold numbers of unseen other beings on the Charles River and on Fresh Pond. By our city council and its friends.
And these seven people are bragging in public about destroying the meager possessions of homeless people who did nothing worse than try to live away from humans. It is very clear that these seven people are the sort of people nine city councilors are trying to please.
Those nine city councilors spout comparably lovely words while they lead the charge to destroy anything and everything in Cambridge which dares to be different, especially parts of our environment.
These seven and the nine city councilors will all be very pleased to tell you how much they are improving the community.
And they will all tell you how much they are concerned about the environment of our world and about improving the lot of the needy people in our world.
While they destroy what little has not been destroyed of the world around us, and destroy the meager possessions of their homeless victims, and they deliberately starve their victims, as with the Charles River White Geese, or with the homeless whose meager possessions are now casually destroyed and their tormentors spouting pious.
Cambridge has gone a long way. The lovely words are still here. The actions are strikingly different.
3. Dan Geer - Endangered Specie.
Bob,
Think of homeless people as a species. Note that 90% of all endangered specie are so endangered by habitat destruction. Assume that City Father (the one) is not stupid. The rest follows.
--dan, who does have a dog in this fight
[Ed. I assume the "City Father" is City Manager Healey.}
4. Roy Bercaw - Police, Bread and Jams.
A. Roy.
I saw your letter about removing the belongings of the homeless in Alewife. It is a matter discussed by the Council previously for the city parks, especially Cambridge Common. There is a system for the police holding their belongings when they are found.
It is a matter for the homeless advocates like Bread and Jams. You can leave them a message or any of the shelters perhaps the Multi Service Center also and On the Rise. They should be at the Council each week to embarrass the Council.
B. Your Editor.
I would agree with Roy that Bread and Jams should be constantly on top of the City Council. Regrettably, in response to his comment, I have gone to their website and determined that they do not allow emails to be sent to them. You have to fill out their form. That says too much. [ed: on looking at the website closer, if you know what you are doing, you can figure out the email address.]
With regard to police holding the possessions. Once again regrettably, this is not a police matter. This is a matter of "volunteers" cleaning up the wildest part of Cambridge, MA and trashing everything they consider not in place. These are the sort of people who have been running around the Charles River for the past four years poisoning every goose egg they can get away with.
C. Roy - Email for Bread and Jams.
One email address for Bread and Jams is: kmccraw@breadandjams.org.
5. Cambridge Chronicle.
A. Publication.
The Cambridge Chronicle published this letter on June 8, 2006, minus the paragraph that starts "Fresh Pond is seeing thousands of trees being destroyed . . ."
Ed. Note: The Fresh Pond reservation is located about half a mile south of the Alewife reservation which is the principal subject of this entry.
B. Editor's Explanation.
I posted the following on the Cambridgeport list on June 8, 2006:
The Chronicle is to be commended for its prompt printing of my response to the homeless attacks.
Reading that letter, it became painfully clear to me (as a bcc has commented) that the letter was excessively wordy. The editor responded to the length of the letter by deleting a paragraph which tied in nine councilors' destructiveness and which made the matter more relevant to Cambridgeport.
If you are interested, the full letter (with comments) is the first entry on the Charles River White Geese Blog, address below.
I did not include on the blog the communication on the length in the comments I published, nor did I include another responding to that communication or a third responding to the second because the three communications went afield and included somewhat personal comments, plus really were not on point. I had the same problem this listserve has had on occasion and I was aggressively trying to calm things down (I thought).
6. Letter to Boston Globe.
On June 11, I submitted the following to the Boston Globe (with some clean up edits):
**********
The following letter is submitted responding to the racism letter in today's Globe:
**********
Editor
City Weekly
Boston Globe
The real attitude toward diversity in Cambridge is demonstrated by the following statement by Cambridge "leaders" which appeared in a recent Cambridge Chronicle letter. They went out to Alewife and cleaned things up. They commented in their letter:
"Huge amounts of homeless shelter debris, some abandoned, was cleaned up. [Name withheld] commented: 'It was so sad being involved with the homeless possessions and their makeshift shelters. What can we do when they don't want to be with society.'"
The homeless apparently in large numbers went to as wild a part of Cambridge as they could so that they could find a place to sleep with their meager belongings.
The homeless were followed by "improvers" who destroyed those meager belongs and spout pieties about it.
The reality is that most residents of Cambridge say terrific words, and most mean those terrific words. There is very major trouble, however, with too many people in Cambridge who call themselves "leaders." The people who did this attack on the homeless have very major connections among the most visible of Cambridge residents.
Pieties are lovely. Reality is what these "leaders" did to the homeless at Alewife and then bragged about in the press.
*************
For more details, please see my blog, below which ties the problem into the behavior of the Cambridge City Council. See also the letter in question, posted on line at http://www.townonline.com/cambridge/opinion/view.bg?articleid=507167.
Signers were: ELLEN MASS, Cambridge; JOHN WALKER, Cambridge; STEW SANDERS, Belmont; OAKES PLIMPTON, Arlington; ANN TENNIS, Cambridge; KATHY CONNELLY, Belmont; DON BOCKLER, Belmont (taken from the on line citation).
Robert J. La Trémouille
875 Massachusetts Avenue, #31
Post Office Box 391412
Cambridge, MA 02139-0015
617-283-7649
visit our blog: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com
visit our website: http://www.charlesriverwhitegeese.org
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