Bob La Tremouille reports:
In last Thursday's Cambridge Chronicle, October 12, 2006, the Editor had an editorial praising an initiative by recently elected Councilor Craig Kelley. This initiative would reallocate moneys from the Affordable Housing portion of the "Community Preservation" Tax to Open Space. The voters of Cambridge imposed this tax on themselves by referendum. The Housing allocation of tax moneys is at the maximum allowed by law, the open space allocation at the minimum.
I very strongly want real open space improvements in Cambridge, as do the average voters. Trouble is nine city councilors, including Kelley, certainly look like they are destroying the environment in Cambridge in the name of "improvements."
Next to the editorial was an cartoon blasting Harvard for destroying ONE excellent tree in its project in a residential neighborhood between East Harvard Square and the Charles River.
This is a standard game by the nine environmental hypocrites on the Cambridge City Council. Yell like mad about one individual tree that SOMEBODY ELSE is proposing to destroy. DEAD SILENCE on the City of Cambridge's gross environmental irresponsibility and massive tree destruction.
The combination is the flat out lie that a city government, which is grossly and belligerently irresponsible when it comes to its own back yard, is in reality pro-environment.
The following is a letter I have submitted. This is version 2 submitted. The first version omitted a few short but key words.
I saw another omission or two which I have corrected below. I do not have the nerve to formally submit a third version.
Nothing in this letter or this report is intended to be at all derogatory to the Cambridge Chronicle editor. The combination of actions raises an excellent example of what gets done to well meaning people in Cambridge. In Cambridge, good people get shafted by these shell games.
The letter was printed by the Chronicle in its November 2, 2006 edition.
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Editor, Cambridge Chronicle
It is ironic to see you editorializing in favor of more money for Cambridge's Community Preservation Act open space money and to see you post that editorial right next to a cartoon lambasting Harvard/Cambridge's destruction of ONE tree.
To see what Craig Kelly, the City Manager and the rest of the City Council mean by their expenditures of open space moneys, you only have to go to the area between Concord Avenue and Fresh Pond. There is more than one big sign there which includes the name of Craig Kelley.
The first trees destroyed on Concord Avenue were mature, healthy trees. Tree destruction will easily run into the thousands by the City of Cambridge in this one project. Those healthy trees are in the way of saplings. Cambridge brags of saplings. Cambridge does not count massive slaughter of mature, healthy trees which are in the way of their saplings.
Go to Harvard Street at the former location of City Hall Annex, a supposed new park. Nine out of ten healthy, excellent trees in the first block of Clark Street were destroyed. Those excellent trees were "in the way" of the new park.
Go a few blocks to the west, Squirrel Brand. A grove of 8 to 12 four story high trees were casually destroyed to put in grass. There are not that many trees in the entire park.
Magazine Beach saw destruction of animal habitat and starvation of beautiful, valuable animals, to put in a wall of expensive designer bushes which have no business on the Charles River.
All the playing fields at Magazine Beach are slated to be dug up to be replaced with playing fields such as that between the MGH and the Museum of Science: new dirt, poisons to protect against insects (not currently needed) and sprinklers to replace wetlands. The entire Charles River from the Mass. Ave. bridge to the Dam was rendered dead the day after poisons were placed on that rebuilt field that are prohibited near bodies of water.
Or go to the area between Magazine Beach and the Longfellow Bridge: more than 449 to 660 trees slated to be destroyed and Kelley and the others do not want to know it.
Or go to Lincoln and look at the water resource property purchased with 1.1 millions of "community preservation" moneys.
Craig Kelley wants moneys to be spent with regard to the environment. So do I, but I do not want moneys for the destruction of the environment and I know the record of the people involved.
Taxidemists work on animals in the same way as the City of Cambridge works on the environment.
