2. My letter, addressed to Governor Patrick and to the head of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.:
3. The governor’s apparent answer.
1. Introduction.
I have just received an email from the governor’s office. I am not positive, but I think it responds to my snail mail letter transmitting to the governor the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s tree destruction plan associated with his bond request on the Charles River.
2. My letter, addressed to Governor Patrick and to the head of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.:
Gentlemen:
I have received the following notice from a group which falsely calls itself the Charles River “Conservancy.” The brackets constitute my modification in the name of accuracy. The comment is buried in a much longer communication.
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As our legislative leaders prioritize investment decisions, now is the time to let them know that their constituents [oppose environmental destruction included in the Patrick budget]. Governor Patrick's proposed bond bill includes a $2 million line-item for construction of bridge underpasses on the Charles, as well as over $24 million for the paths.
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Please be advised that there is a serious problem with flat out lies and lies of omission practiced by the DCR, Cambridge and their friends in their actions for environmental destruction and heartless animal abuse / killing.
This outrage is also exemplified in their ongoing destruction of the Alewife Reservation using a different fake group as front there.
Please note that your bond bill is for $2 million for bridge underpasses and $24 million “for the paths.”
That is one very major multiple of 12 going from what should be (and is not) a larger project to a smaller.
The reality is that the project includes usual heartless animal abuse plus the destruction of hundreds of trees between the BU Bridge and the Longfellow Bridge.
Enclosed are their tree destruction plans. Some of the smaller trees being destroyed are perhaps 50 years old. They are a magnificent grove of 105 trees at the Memorial drive split. Destruction targets approximately 80 to 85 of them.
The DCR previously sought Obama moneys for this outrage. The flat out lie at that time was that all of the targeted trees were diseased. That flat out lie was disproved by their filing with the Cambridge Conservation Commission.
The project would further decimate the habitat of the 32 year resident, very valuable and very popular gaggle of the Charles River White Geese. The DCR and Cambridge have been deliberately starving them through bizarre aspects of the Magazine Beach project, aspects which were achieved through flat out lies in their supposed master plan. They walled off Magazine Beach with a master plan calling for a lawn to the river. The key manager has emphasized their value by his non stop lying of “no intent to harm.” He has publicly bragged that he is starving them.
The secret fine print of the DCR plans call for killing off all animals in the Charles River Basin by their definition of “parkland.”
You reversed responsible members of your team by allowing space to be left open for the “underpasses” which did not mentioned the outrageous environmental destruction and continuing heartless animal abuse. I hope you will rejoin those responsible members.
3. The governor’s apparent answer.
From: Webmail, Gov (GOV)
TO: boblat
RE: Your message to Governor Patrick
Dear Robert,
On behalf of Governor Deval L. Patrick, thank you for your letter regarding the FY2014 budget. Governor Patrick welcomes your thoughts on the state spending initiatives that are important to you.
The Patrick-Murray administration has proposed a balanced, responsible budget that makes investments in education, innovation, and infrastructure that will grow jobs and opportunity in the near-term, and strengthen our Commonwealth in the long term. We have also proposed a series of reforms to change the way government does business to achieve savings, improve performance and renew trust in government.
We have made great progress to responsibly address our long-term liabilities. We have taken steps to control growth in health care costs and address the deficiencies in our transportation system. Yet, even with these reforms the state budget is challenged to make critical investments in our economy, particularly those in education and transportation.
Our budget calls for such investments and pays for them with a thoughtful and responsible revenue p r oposal . The result will be a more progressive, equitable and transparent tax structure. We do not submit this proposal lightly and understand that many households in Massachusetts continue to struggle under the economic consequences of the Great Recession. But Governor Patrick firmly believes that investing meaningfully today in education and transportation will significantly improve our economic tomorrows.
In fiscal year 2014, we will continue to use the budget as a vehicle to reform state government. This year the budget is presented in a new program format for the first time. It will provide comprehensive information on how taxpayer dollars are being spent, making the budget more accessible and transparent than ever. To review the budget proposal in its entirety, we invite you to v isit www.mass.gov/budget/governor .
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our office direct at 617-725-4005.
Sincerely,
Governor Patrick's Constituent Services Office
617-725-4005
www.mass.gov/governor/contact
