This evening, I have emailed the following to each member of the General Court (legislature) of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the email addresses posted at: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/emails-for-all-massachusetts.html.
************
Dear Legislator:
Governor Patrick's proposed bond bill is highly destructive to the environment of the Charles River in Cambridge and Boston.
The proposal is opposed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to the extent the proposal has not been kept secret.
MassDOT opposes the $ 2 million line item for supposed underpasses for the River Street, Western Avenue and the Anderson Bridge. These "underpasses" have been rejected outright by the Department of Transportation in their ENF for the River Street and Western Avenue Bridges Rehabilitation Project, EEA No. 15029. The ENF is posted at http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/26/docs/Western_River/river_western032213.pdf.
A $24 million dollar line item has been kept secret. This would destroy hundreds of excellent trees between the Longfellow and BU Bridges, destroy wetlands, destroy the Charles River, destroy animal habitat, and further the ongoing abuse of the valuable and beautiful 32 year resident gaggle of the Charles River White Geese.
Governor Patrick has been provided with the DCR’s tree destruction plans as part of a formal objection. His response was nonsense. The exchange is posted at http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/governor-of-massachusetts-responds-to.html. This includes a very specific objection letter and the governor’s nonsensical response.
Governor Patrick’s proposal is wasteful and destructive and an excellent example of government conducted in secret.
The last time the DCR sought money for destruction of these hundreds of trees was Obama moneys in President Obama’s early highway expenditures. The DCR flat out lied that all these excellent trees were diseased. Their filing with the Cambridge Conservation Commission proved the diseased claim to be just another lie.
I strongly encourage you to remove both these bizarre initiatives from Governor Patrick from consideration.
Thank you.
