1. Report on the hustings.
2. Letter to the Editor in response.
Bob La Trémouille reports:
1. Report on the hustings.
A gentleman passing by at a visibility slowed down enough to tell me that the Cambridge Chronicle had published a favorable report on the destruction of Magazine Beach.
Marilyn found a copy on line and gave me a link.
It turned out to be what looks a City of Cambridge press release printed with minimal edits and no attempt at unbiased coverage.
We issued our press release, which is provided below at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/press-release-cambridge-council-and-dcr.html.
Cambridge’s was printed. Not only was our release not printed, it was not even used as a source to show the other side of Cambridge’s nonsense.
2. Letter to the Editor in response.
On November 3, I sent the following to the Cambridge Chronicle as a response. Since I use the phrase “flat out lies” in the conclusion, after proving contents of the press release to be such, it is possible that the letter may be deemed too intemperate for publication.
*************
Editor
Cambridge Chronicle
I was told about your buried report on the mudpit just created at Magazine Beach.
It turns out to seem to be a loosely edited press release with no attempt to be objective.
The City of Cambridge, in its press release, brags about a large number of municipal benefits from this project. It mentions exactly none.
The City of Cambridge brags about public meetings. To the extent the outrage on the Charles River has been discussed at public meetings, public input has been ignored.
To the extent the outrage on the Charles River has been mentioned in public meetings, the City of Cambridge has kept secret the important stuff:
1. Destruction of Green Maintenance to replace it with Chemical maintenance.
2. Poisoning of local birds feeding on the chemicals as part of an ongoing destruction of as much life as can be destroyed on the Charles River. Related is the annual poisoning of bird eggs.
3. The deliberate and heartless starving of the Charles River White Geese and the barring of them from 90% of their habitat.
4. The blocking off of the Charles from Magazine Beach by the construction of a bizarre wall of vegetation, at the same time as useful vegetation on the Charles needed for migrating birds is destroyed twice a year.
5. The destruction of all ground vegetation between the BU Bridge and the BU Boathouse except for vegetation being destroyed, needlessly or otherwise, in the BU Bridge reconstruction. Half of that destruction is for staging that could and should be placed under Memorial Drive.
6. Silly destruction of trees.
Agents of Cambridge / the DCR have bragged about the bizarre wall of vegetation. They conducted a media event to brag that it would help swimming. Walling off Magazine Beach helps swimming?
The DCR has spent something like eight years promising they would not harm the Charles River White Geese. Poisoning them is harm. Starving them is harm. Taking their habitat away from them is harm. Destroying the vegetation they live in in the tiny area which has been left to them as their ghetto is harm.
And nine city councilors create con game organizations saving the world’s environment and not wanting to know about the Charles River.
So the edited press release looks like Pablum based on flat out lies of public input and public benefit.
Business as usual from the environmentally reprehensible City of Cambridge.
