PUBLICATION: The Village Voice
DATE: October 28, 1997
SECTION: New York Mirror; Pg. 22
BYLINE: Linda Stasi
DATELINE: New York, New York
The Village Voice printed an editorial in which the writer discusses New York City's proposed new noise ordinance, which would set expensive fines on noise violations. The writer describes the ordinance and goes on to worry that it will be difficult to enforce.
According to the editorial, the city council has proposed large fines for those who make excessive noise, including noise from jackhammers, radios, car horns, car alarms, animals, motorcycles, bars, and air conditioners. For example, a car alarm going off for more than five minutes could bring a fine of up to $250. A second offense would carry up to a $500 fine, and a third would cost up to $750.
However, the columnist goes on to say, she applauds the proposed new measure. She says she has "no patience for egomaniacs who make noise." She wonders why she has to listen to other people's music choices, why people scream outside bars, why people allow their dogs to bark all day and night, and why people honk horns in gridlock when it achieves nothing.
But it may be difficult to enforce the proposed new ordinances, the editorial argues. The writer points out that there are only 34 environmental officers who give out fines in a city of nearly 8 million people (not counting commuters). The police can't keep up with the quality-of-life crimes that already happen, the writer says, let alone the ones that would be added from the new ordinance. Because New Yorkers keep being told there's no more crime in the city, the writer proposes that the police force be cut in half and the laid-off cops be assigned to the quality-of-life patrol. That way, she says, no one will ever again be able to say, "You can never find a ticket-giving environmentalist when you need one."
PUBLICATION: AP Worldstream
DATE: October 26, 1997
SECTION: International news
DATELINE: Bangkok, Thailand
AP Worldstream reports that according to newspapers on Sunday, Chamni Saisuthiwong, chief of the Mae Wong National Park in Thailand, banned a fleet of off-road vehicles from entering the wilderness core of the nature reserve on Saturday. The 127 vehicles in the "Caravan" motor rally were stopped from traveling along a 28-kilometer (17-mile) dirt track inside the park. According to the English-language daily, The Nation, local environmentalists had complained that the loud noise and music from the car rally would frighten the park's wildlife.
According to the article, the ban was the latest incident in a battle to keep motor rallies out of national parks. The parks already suffer from poaching, illegal logging, and encroachment by both poor peasants and rich developers, the article notes.
But the organizer of the motor rally, Prachin Eamlumnow, said "noise doesn't kill animals." He went on to say, "Maybe the animals like the music, the gibbons may come down and learn how to sing along." (A gibbon is a small ape living in the forests of Southeast Asia, the article notes.) "I don't think cars damage nature. We go slowly and come only once a year," he insisted. Prachin publishes Off Road Magazine, which sponsored the rally along with the oil company Esso Standard Thailand. A huge stage was set up for the rally with floodlights and loudspeakers, the article says. About 300 people attended the rally and participated in a contest to see who could yell "Off Road" and "Esso" the loudest.
The article also notes that the park is located 370 kilometers (230 miles) northwest of the capital Bangkok in mountainous terrain. The park is home to tiger, aur, elephant and other endangered species, the article concludes.
PUBLICATION: The Denver Post
DATE: October 26, 1997
SECTION: Perspective; Pg. I-03
BYLINE: Richard Roeper
DATELINE: New York, New York
The Denver Post printed an editorial which ridicules the new law that triples the fines for repeat offenders of noise violations in New York City. The columnist says that the goal of reducing noise pollution is laudable, but it will prove impossible to catch offenders and prove that they're violating the law.
According to the editorial, New York City's new measures stipulate that owners of car alarms that go off for more than five minutes are subject to a fine of $100 to $250 on their first offense, and up to $750 for their third offense. In many cases, the writer points out, car owners are more than five minutes away from their parked cars. City Councilors should be thinking up new ways to target car thieves rather than car owners, the writer says. Plus, the writer argues, the city's garbage and recycling trucks are much louder than a car alarm.
The editorial goes on to argue that it will be difficult to impossible to enforce the new anti-noise laws. The writer said he pictures the NYPD Blue officers standing next to a car alarm going off, holding a stop watch and waiting for the five-minute mark so they can write a ticket.
The editorial also lists some of the noises targeted by the new ordinance, with the maximum fine for each:
Barking Dogs: $525
Car Alarms: $750
Boom Boxes: $1,050
Car Horns: $2,625
Jackhammers: $4,200
Motorcycles: $4,200
The editorial writer admits that the noise produced by the above devices is undeniably a nuisance. The people who produce such noises on a regular basis should have their sleep interrupted for a month by the very noise they inflict on the rest of us, he opines.
But it will be very difficult to catch offenders and prove they're too loud, the columnist writes. The process is too subjective, he believes. He concludes by giving his own list of noise violators who should be fined, along with the minimum fines they should receive:
Sweaty Drunken Loud-Mouthed Heckler Guys At Football Games: $250.
People Who Talk About Their Personal Lives on the Train or Bus: $300.
Regis Philbin: $500
Numbskulls Who Talk During A Movie: $750.
Street Musicians Who Know Only One Song: $1,000 and Confiscation of Instrument.
Any Random Promise Keeper Who Weeps in My Presence: $1,200.
Pompous Executives Who Talk on Cellular Phones in Restaurants: $1,500 (they can afford it).
Jerry Springer: $10,000 - just on general principle.
PUBLICATION: The Houston Chronicle
DATE: October 26, 1997
SECTION: Travel; Pg. 2
DATELINE: U.S.
The Houston Chronicle reports that starting this month, first-class and business-class passengers on United Airlines' international flights will be able to reduce flight noise with special anti-noise headsets. The airline is the first to purchase and install headsets with the technology, which creates sound waves that cancel out sound waves from the engine.
According to the article, United is installing headsets made by Noise Cancellation Technologies, a Stamford, Connecticut company. Pilots of military and small planes have long used such headsets to reduce engine noise, paying up to $1,000 apiece for the technology. Noise Cancellation Technologies also sells a consumer version of its headset, the article notes, which is available in electronics stores for about $60.
PUBLICATION: The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
DATE: October 26, 1997
SECTION: Local/Region, Pg. B3
BYLINE: Martin Pflieger
DATELINE: Allentown, Pennsylvania area
The Morning Call reports that ten homes surrounding the Lehigh Valley International Airport near Allentown, Pennsylvania are receiving free soundproofing in a project to demonstrate the effectiveness of soundproofing homes against aircraft noise. After work is completed, noise levels will be measured inside the homes, and the data will be used to apply for more federal funding to expand the program.
According to the article, the $320,000 program involves soundproofing three homes are in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, two in Hanover Township, Northampton County, three in Catasauqua, and two in Whitehall Township. The project is being paid for by the federal government and the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, which operates the airport. According to Lawrence Krauter, director of facilities and planning for the airport, the homes were selected because they are located in noisy areas and they have varied construction. "We wanted to know what it takes to do a brick home, an apartment, a townhome, maybe a combination of wood and brick, or siding, and what it would take to do a wood frame," Krauter said.
Under the project, the article explains, homeowners have agreed to act as model homes for others living near the airport who want to experience how noise can be reduced. Krauter said, "We want homeowners to be able to inform people who are interested about the process. We feel they will be the best source of accurate information on how the program works. The consultant and the airport can describe it a certain way, but the homeowner has to live through the day-to-day modifications."
The article reports that John Yawney of Grove Road in Hanover Township is one resident whose home is being soundproofed. His home has received new insulated windows and doors, central air conditioning, and dry wall covering the plaster walls and ceilings. Yawney said before the soundproofing, the chandelier would shake and the whole house would vibrate when a plane passed overhead. He could be sitting six feet from his TV with the volume turned all the way up, he said, and he still wouldn't be able to hear the show when the fully loaded Federal Express jet departed nightly from the airport. So far, Yawney said, the soundproofing has been an improvement, and the three weeks of inconvenience from the construction work has been well worth it.
PUBLICATION: The Orlando Sentinel
DATE: October 26, 1997
SECTION: Seminole Extra; Pg. K11
BYLINE: Elaine Backhaus
DATELINE: Lake Mary, Florida
The Orlando Sentinel reports that two Commission incumbents in Lake Mary, Florida are facing criticism over their lack of action on reducing aircraft noise from the Orlando Sanford Airport. The criticism came during a recent debate with their opponents in preparation for the November 4 elections.
According to the article, incumbents George Duryea and Sheila Sawyer were criticized for too much talk and not enough action while they have been in office. Duryea faces three opponents in the race for a sixth two-year term for Commission Seat 2, while Sawyer faces one opponent in her third-term race for Commission Seat 4. During the debate held at the Timacuan Country Club, candidate Jeff Deen said the Commission has not fought to reduce noise generated by the growing number of flights at the airport. Another candidate, Al Crump, said he also was concerned that the city has done little to curb airport noise. But incumbents Duryea and Sawyer both insisted the commission is taking steps to reduce aircraft noise, and Sawyer urged more citizens to get involved in pressuring airport officials to direct air traffic away from Lake Mary.
PUBLICATION: Chicago Tribune
DATE: October 26, 1997
SECTION: Real Estate; Pg. 5R; Zone: C
BYLINE: Jane Seaberry
DATELINE: Chicago, Illinois and Dallas, Texas
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Joyce Lockley, vice president, North Park Love Field Civic League
The Chicago Tribune printed an article in which an in-depth comparison is made between the Love Airfield in Dallas, Texas and the Midway Airport in Chicago, Illinois. Both airports are located in inner-city neighborhoods, and both play second fiddle to two of the world's largest airports. While Midway has experienced a small, but promising revitalization in recent years, Love Field's re-development is in an earlier stage. However, Congress currently is debating whether to make changes to the Wright amendment, a federal law that restricts flights from Love Field to destinations within Texas and its four neighboring states. Changes to the Wright amendment could improve the revitalization prospects for Love Field. Meanwhile, some Dallas residents oppose any increase in flights to and from Love Field because of increases in noise, pollution, and congestion.
The article reports that the origins of Love and Midway were similar. Love was the major airport for Dallas until the Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport opened in 1974, at which time all the major airlines transferred to Dallas/Fort Worth except Southwest. Currently, there is much decaying development around the two-runway Love Field, including aircraft-related services, small shops, heavy industrial and distribution plants, and clapboard houses. But, the article says, there also is some newer development, including a Home Depot store south of the airport. In addition, Southwest Airlines has invested millions of dollars into the area, building their corporate headquarters and a major maintenance base at Love Field. Development in the works includes a body shop and used-car dealership, and a new hotel the owners hope to sell to a major chain.
The article goes on to say that according to economists and Veletta Lill, a City Councilor, not much else is going on in the area except for improvements to the streets leading to the airport. Lill said the improved infrastructure may attract some more development. Meanwhile, some neighborhood leaders said they have been complaining to the city about crime, building code violations at dilapidated residences, and other problems in the area for years. Joyce Lockley, vice president of the North Park Love Field Civic League, said, "We have a block of land a broker was trying to negotiate on in the last month, and we were told the total deal for one of the clients was about $13 million. It didn't go through because we have not been able to eradicate the drug users and criminal activity near the airport and to get programs that would allow code enforcement compliance to occur." Bernard Weinstein, an economist at the University of North Texas, said, "The main reason we've seen an economic deterioration around Love Field is it isn't what it used to be. It isn't even what it was five years ago. There are so many pipe dreams that haven't been realized. We need to expand commercial air business at Love Field and attract more cargo."
Some supporters of Love Field believe the key to the area's problems is the Wright Amendment, which has prohibited a growing economy in the area. Love currently offers flights only to Little Rock, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, and most large Texas cities. According to economists, the article explains, flights to and from nearby cities don't generate the hotel, office, or other airport-related development nearby. Others, however, believe that repealing the Wright Amendment would not solve the area's problems. Councilor Lill said, "I know there are people who believe if we lift the Wright Amendment, all types of things will happen. I'm not sure that's the case."
As a possible first step in a repeal of the Amendment, the article says, Legend Airlines is trying to win the right to fly long distances from Love Field by using large jets modified to have no more than 56 seats. Congress currently is debating whether that strategy meets the technical requirements of the Wright Amendment. Economist Weinstein said in a report prepared earlier this year for Legend Airlines that allowing the airline to launch service from Love Field could bring 97 jobs and almost $8 million in economic benefits to the Dallas economy in the first year. If Legend continues to grow, the airline could bring as much as $484 million and 6,000 jobs annually to the city by 2005, according to the report.
Weinstein went on to say that repealing the Wright Amendment could bring increased growth, but "it won't change the course of history." "I don't think any hotel developers are going to rush in there the day after the amendment was repealed," Weinstein said. "They'd want to see what Southwest did, what other airlines did." But he added that if Legend operated from Love, more aviation-related businesses probably would locate around the airport and perhaps a couple more hotels and restaurants. "One of the reasons you have so many businesses located in the northern suburbs and around D/FW Airport is the proximity to D/FW," Weinstein said. "D/FW was one of the drivers of commercial developers in Las Colinas. Opening up Love Field would help resuscitate the central business district."
However, the article reports, some residents oppose any changes to the Wright Amendment that would bring more airport traffic and noise. Lockley of the North Park Love Field Civic League said she and her neighbors will fight any attempts to repeal the amendment. She said, "You have noise; you have pollution. When you go out, you can smell it. You have the safety issue. You have traffic gridlock."
The article goes on to discuss similarities and differences between Love and Chicago's Midway Airport, saying that Midway's experience may help illustrate the economic impact to the Love Field area if the Wright Amendment is repealed. In the 1930s and 1940s, Midway was surrounded by farm fields, and for three decades, it was the busiest airport in the world. Then, in 1962, all commercial flights were transferred to O'Hare International, adjacent to Chicago's west and northwest suburbs. The article reports that O'Hare had longer runways and plenty of room for growth, and when it opened, it shut down Midway virtually overnight. After O'Hare opened, the old motels and other development around Midway got seedier, the article says. The airport was virtually deserted until 1979, when the new Midway Airlines started service with three planes. The original Midway Airlines went out of business six years ago, but since then, Southwest Airlines has stepped in. Now the airport is almost as busy as it was in 1959, when it handled a record 10 million passengers, the article says. Midway now offers daily non-stop service to destinations such as New York, Denver, San Francisco, Miami and Washington, D.C. Since 1993, more than 2,000 employees have been added, helping contribute more than $2 billion to the city's economy.
However, the article says, in spite of Midway's rebirth, the development of the surrounding neighborhood has occurred slowly. Troy Deckert of the Cook County Office of Economic Development, which oversees the airport along with the city, said the development of the area hasn't been fast, but has been steady. During the 1990s, the article notes, the city undertook a $722 million project to rebuild passenger terminals and add gates to Midway. In addition, the city purchased land once occupied by rundown motels and stores. An elevated train was recently built as part of Chicago's public transit system, connecting the airport to downtown. And retail businesses are growing slowly along South Cicero Avenue between Midway and Ford City mall, a converted Ford plant 10 blocks away. Four chain hotels and motels have been built in the last two years, the article notes. And although there is still much decay in the area, officials hope that the economic renewal isn't over. Deckert said, "If Midway's capacity to handle passengers continues to grow, you may see additional hotels in the area."
The article notes that noise problems are similar in the area surrounding Midway. The city scrapped a plan to soundproof hundreds of homes around Midway when the first ten homes soundproofed in the program cost $50,000 each, the article explains.
PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald
DATE: October 31, 1997
SECTION: City News; Pg. B2
BYLINE: Sasha Nagy
DATELINE: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Dawn Nielsen, resident
The Calgary Herald of Calgary, Alberta, reports that residents of a southeast Calgary neighborhood will seek legal advice in an effort to rid their lawns and streets of hundreds of noisy teen smokers.
When the Catholic School Board decided to ban smoking at the Father Lacombe High School, students began to congregate on Radley Cres. S.E. to smoke. One of area residents' complaints is the noise that the students make while they smoke. Radisson Heights resident Dawn Nielsen said, "There's been too much violence, too much garbage and too much noise. We're looking to see what our rights are."
According to this article, area residents recently confronted the students with placards and a protest. On the following day, they met with the school board. "The meeting solved nothing," complained Nielsen. The article reported that Ted Sullivan, chairman of the Catholic system's board of trustees, said he understands the residents' concerns, but believes they have exaggerated the students' role in causing noise and litter.
PUBLICATION: City News Service
DATE: October 31, 1997
BYLINE: Jason Leopold, City News Service
DATELINE: Burbank, California
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Bud Ovram, Burbank City Manager; Perry Rosen, attorney for Burbank
City News Service reports that a Superior Court judge ruled that the city of Burbank, California, has authority over a proposed passenger terminal expansion by the Burbank Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. The Airport Authority says it will appeal the decision.
According to City News Service, Superior Court Judge Carl West told Airport Authority attorney Richard Simon, "This isn't just about noise. You can't take away from the community and local government the right to have a say in an expansion which might take away houses and businesses.''
Burbank City Manager Bud Ovrom said the city is willing to compromise on the expansion. Ovrom said the city wants a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew on flights leaving the airport, and to restrict the expansion from 27 to 19 gates. "The problem is the Airport Authority won't budge,'' he said.
To justify restrictions, Ovrom cited the John Wayne Airport that supports the entire Orange County economy with a curfew and 14 gates. "Maybe our victory will be a wakeup call for the Airport Authority,'' he said.
The article goes on to say that the Airport Authority cited the need to expand as a matter of safety. Their attorney said Burbank Airport's terminal is 313 feet from the center of the runway, and the Federal Aviation Administration recommends that it be at least 750 feet. "When it comes to safety, the FAA has the right to step in and take control,'' Simon said. This is a sheer noise issue for the city. The FAA might have to close it (the airport) down if it can't expand there.''
But Burbank's attorney, Perry Rosen,, said if there was a safety hazard, the FAA would have moved the airport long ago. He said airport-related noise is a major issue for the city and its residents -- but not the only one. Traffic and pollution are concerns as well. Burbank city officials are confident the appellate court will uphold Judge West's ruling. The two sides will meet again in Burbank Superior Court on Dec. 12.
PUBLICATION: The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas)
DATE: October 31, 1997
SECTION: News; Pg. 34A
BYLINE: Christopher Lee
DATELINE: Dallas, Texas
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Rudy Longoria and Russ Jewert, co-chairs of the Love Field Citizens Action Committee
The Dallas Morning News reported that Dallas, Texas, Mayor Ron Kirk will ask the City Council to consider updating the city's noise and traffic studies of Dallas Love Field Airport. Behind the Mayor's request to update 5-year-old studies was the Love Field Citizens Action Committee. The Committee of residents have concerns about the impact of expanded airline service on their neighborhoods, specifically noise, traffic and safety issues. More flights are possible, according to this article, because Congress recently added Kansas, Mississippi and Alabama to the list of destinations allowed under the Wright amendment, which had previously limited passenger service from Love Field to destinations in Texas and its four neighboring states.
Love Field-area residents complain that they have been left out of the debate. "We're really disappointed in the Congress taking such an arrogant attitude," said Rudy Longoria, a resident of the Love Field West neighborhood for 39 years. He along with fellow co-chairman of the neighborhood committee Russ Jewert, want new studies to measure noise levels around the airport and to assess the impact that more flights may have on traffic and air pollution. The Citizens Action Committee want the council to research noise -control programs at other airports and ask the Federal Aviation Administration for a briefing on the state of air-traffic control systems in North Texas.
PUBLICATION: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
DATE: November 2, 1997
SECTION: Pg. 1
BYLINE: Sam Martino
DATELINE: Eagle, Wisconsin
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Carl Seitz, resident; William Grotjan, resident; Al Gagliano, business owner
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that some residents of Eagle, Wisconsin, are upset about a proposal from a private gun club, the McMiller Sports Center, to use state land for a sporting clay pigeon range. The land is in the Kettle Moraine State Forest.
Carl Seitz, a town resident, said the noise problem began when the clay range was added to the center three years ago. The Journal Sentinel says that was when the state Department of Natural Resources leased the center to Wern Valley Inc., to operate both a gun range and a sporting clay range. Currently, the sporting clay range is closed because town officials refused to grant a one-year conditional use permit in July for continued operation because of objections from town residents over gunfire noise. "The clay thing is just too loud," Seitz said.
The article reports that those in favor of the proposal feared denying the gun club additional use of the center would mean the facility would close. About 20,000 shooters used the McMiller center in 1996. Resident, Gordon Hanna, urged town officials to seek a compromise. "We have to do a little bending," Hanna said. According to the article, Wern Valley has proposed reducing the days and hours for operation of the clay range. Some people blame the DNR for illegally granting Wern Valley a five-year lease for the center without getting the town's permission in the first place. The DNR has filed a suit against the town for halting the sporting clay operation.
But the article quotes another longtime resident William Grotjan as saying, "They (the shooters) are disturbing the hell out of us. Peace and quiet is literally shattered." Al Gagliano, owner of the Kettle Moraine Ranch, a riding stable close to the center, also opposes the center. "It's like a war zone. People are afraid to go out in the woods," he said.
PUBLICATION: The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
DATE: October 31, 1997
SECTION: Local/Region, Pg. B3
BYLINE: Martin Pflieger
DATELINE: Northampton, Pennsylvania
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Walter Lysaght, Member of Board of Governors of Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority
The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania, reports that the Lehigh Valley International Airport agreed to re-examine its efforts to reduce aircraft noise after complaints from longtime critic, Walter Lysaght. At issue is what can be done to steer jets away from residential developments.
The article says the airport will review whether noise-reduction measures put into place five years ago are working and report back to a Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority committee in 90 days. Lysaght, a member of the authority's board of governors, contends that the airport has failed to put in place some of those noise-reduction measures approved by the Federal Aviation Administration in 1992. In addition, Lysaght wants the airport staff to seek approval for the measures the FAA previously rejected. "There are a lot of things in that report that would have gone a long way toward reducing noise, " said Lysaght.
The article notes that Lysaght lives in a housing development in Northampton County, about a mile from the end of LVIA's main runway. Lysaght said planes fly so low over homes in his development that they light up bedrooms at night. Use of his outdoor deck is impossible because of the noise. Residents of this area have been instrumental in forcing the airport to reduce noise. In the past five years, the airport has limited corporate jets to a designated runway. Military training flights were curtailed. Pilots were informed of noise-sensitive areas around the airport and the appropriate departure routes to use to avoid them. And the airport is buying adjacent land to prevent incompatible development.
While these measures will be examined for their efficacy and to see whether more can be done, George Doughty, executive director of the airport authority, objects to one measure Lysaght believes will effectively reduce noise. Lysaght wants the airport to seek FAA approval to make jets turn northward as soon as they take off to the northeast to prevent them from flying over his development. Doughty says if airport ever builds another runway north of Race Street, jets turning northward from the existing runway would interfere with the new runway's flight path. Even if the FAA approved such a departure route, changing it back to make way for a new runway would be difficult, Doughty said. "The turn to the north benefits only a small group of people and has serious implications to the future development of the airport." But Lysaght replied, "I don't see a runway for 15 to 20 years. Meanwhile, we have people who are suffering."
PUBLICATION: Rocky Mountain News
DATE: October 31, 1997
SECTION: Local; Ed. F; Pg. 56A
BYLINE: Marlys Duran;
DATELINE: Denver, Colorado
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Clark Upton, candidate and noise study committee member
The Rocky Mountain News printed an article about a three-way City Council race in Denver, Colorado's populous northeast corner between two incumbents and one challenger. The lone incumbent , Clark Upton, is opposed to expansion at Centennial Airport. This is the only contest on District 4's Nov. 4 ballot.
The article names the three candidates for this City Council seat as Don Morrison, Stanley Ward, and Clark Upton. Upton has been the city's point man in the battle to restrict growth at nearby Centennial Airport. He will represent Greenwood Village on a five-member committee determining the scope of a federally funded noise study at Centennial. ''The noise study is by far the most significant thing that has ever happened at the airport,'' Upton said.
The article goes on to note that the three District 4 candidates seem aligned on key issues, such as funding solutions to rush-hour commuter traffic that clogs East Belleview Avenue en route to the Denver Technological Center.
PUBLICATION: The San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco, California)
DATE: October 31, 1997
SECTION: News; Pg. A18
BYLINE: Susan Sward; Jim Doyle
DATELINE: Sacramento, California
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Jeff Cutler, assistant director of The League to Save Lake Tahoe; John Kelly, resident biologist at the Audubon Canyon Ranch; Environmental Protection Agency
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the nation's jet ski industry filed suit in federal court in Sacramento, California, against Lake Tahoe's ban on personal watercraft. Watercraft manufacturers challenged the suit by arguing that the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency exceeded its authority when it adopted the ban, to take effect in June 1999. According to this article, the Lake Tahoe case is of particular importance because as "one of the nation's natural jewels," Lake Tahoe gives this fight "great visibility and importance."
On one side are conservation groups who feel confident the ban will be upheld. Jeff Cutler, assistant director of the The League to Save Lake Tahoe said, "Once again it will be clearly established that there is no right to make your living by polluting Lake Tahoe." Critics of personal watercraft sold under names such as Waverunners, Jet Skis, and SeaDoos, say the crafts pollute water supplies, have unacceptably high accident rates, cause tremendous noise pollution in natural settings and endanger or damage wildlife. ''Unlike other motorized watercraft, jet skis are particularly disturbing to wildlife,'' said John Kelly, resident biologist at the Audubon Canyon Ranch near Point Reyes. ''This is because of the excessive noise, high speeds and unpredictable movements.''
On the other side, The Chronicle reports, is the $1.2 billion watercraft industry which includes Bombardier, Kawasaki and Yamaha. Manufacturers fear the effect the Lake Tahoe prohibition might have in other areas across the country. Last year, conservationists petitioned the federal government to ban jet skis in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. No decision has been made on that petition. Since 1992, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary has restricted personal watercraft to four harbor areas, closing many popular beaches in the Monterey sanctuary to jet skiers.
John Donaldson is executive director of the Personal Watercraft Industry Association in Washington, D.C., one of the groups filing the suit. The article quotes him as saying, ''I can line up experts saying that the impact on water quality by recreational boating is imperceptible." But before it adopted the ban, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency heard experts' testimony that two-stroke engines return 25 percent of their unburned fuel into the water and air. The agency's staff estimated that meant hundreds of gallons of fuel were funneling into lake water each day.
Industry representatives have argued that scientific evidence cited by conservationists on jet skis is weak and that concerns about the crafts' accident rates are overstated. They insist that jet ski accident rates are comparable on a per hour of use basis to other watercraft. Larry Hoffman, an attorney representing watercraft rental concessionaires who joined in the suit, said the Tahoe ban amounts to the unlawful taking of private property and violates equal protection guarantees under the Constitution. He added that the ban also ''is in direct collision'' with emission rules adopted recently by the Environmental Protection Agency. ''I know the industry is doing everything it can -- on the noise side, safety side and emission side -- and will continue to work on it,'' Hoffman said.
PUBLICATION: The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona)
DATE: October 30, 1997
SECTION: Business; Pg. D1
BYLINE: Catherine Reagor
DATELINE: Phoenix, Arizona
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Peter Drake, resident and member of the Camelback area's village planning committee
The Arizona Republic reports that after months of negotiations, developers at the Camelback Esplanade have struck a deal with neighbors and are pushing ahead to build two more office towers. Neighbors fought the project because of the noise and traffic associated with an office complex the size of the Esplanade. "It was certainly a long process, and the neighbors used all of their political clout to get what they wanted," said Tom Roberts, president of one of the developers, OpusWest. "But at the end of the day, it worked out." Opus West and other developers of the project have agreed to nearly $1million in concessions, including planting trees and building speed bumps. When the development is completed, it will have five office towers, two parking garages, two hotel towers, a 24-screen movie theater, shops and restaurants.
The article points out that in this battle, residents initially won few concessions. One of their only early victories was to limit the height of the first two towers to 11 stories, but they continued to fight. "Most neighbors are now satisfied because many of the major problems brought on by the development have been mitigated," said Peter Drake, a member of the Camelback area's village planning committee and a resident of the area. Noise was one of the major concerns of some of the people who live near the project. "They don't want to be awakened at 2 a.m. when hundreds of people are leaving a late movie or the restaurants and bars are closing," Drake said.
The article reports that the neighbors of the Esplanade took the opportunity to speak up last year when the Esplanade's new developers tried to change zoning to add another office building. The most recent settlements are solutions to problems neighbors have been complaining about for years
Neighborhood residents were awarded the following kinds of help: Developers are abandoning the alley behind the Esplanade and giving it to homeowners to enlarge their back yards. People whose homes are directly behind the project can have three trees planted in their back yard, paid for by the developer. Walls behind the project are being raised to 10 feet from 6 feet in some places and 8 feet in others. On the weekends, the top floor of the parking garage under the movie theater will be off limits late in the evening to reduce traffic noise. Neighbors will receive money to build speed bumps, cul de sacs and other street improvements.
PUBLICATION: The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee)
DATE: October 30, 1997
SECTION: Neighbors; Pg. GC1
BYLINE: Linda A. Moore
DATELINE: East Collierville, Tennessee
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: John Walko, resident; Pam Moore, resident; Pat Sebring, resident; Collierville Mayor Herman W. Cox Jr.
The Commercial Appeal reports that many East Collierville, Tennessee, residents are working hard to persuade state officials to keep the proposed Collierville-Arlington Parkway as far away from them as possible. To the more than 1,000 citizens in East Collierville, the new road will mean pollution, noise and potential danger to themselves and nearby school children.
According to the article, Collierville residents submitted a petition to Gov. Don Sundquist last week with about 1,300 signatures asking that the Tennessee Department of Transportation realign the proposed road so that it will not come within 400 feet of some backyards and about 1,000 feet from the school, as it is now planned. ''What do you hear now?'' asked John Walko while he stood out on his back deck listening to the silence. ''It won't be that way if this road comes in.'' Behind his back deck is a field planned for a city park. Beyond that is a clump of trees where a portion of Collierville-Arlington Parkway will cross through a section of the town.
The article goes on to say that while noise is expected to be a problem, residents' main concern is the students at Tara Oaks Elementary School. ''You have to consider that there are 1,000 to 1,100 kids who go to this elementary school,'' said resident Pam Moore. Neighbors are also concerned that hazardous materials will be carried on the road and that it will make for easy access for criminals. In addition, residents also aren't sure what the four-lane highway will do to the value of their property. ''I think I could sell my house and come out OK even now,'' Moore said. ''When they start construction, I don't think so.''
The article points out that according to TDOT, the proposed road has been on the books for about ten years. But as recently as only five years ago, none of the affected east Collierville homes had been built. While the road alignment could change, TDOT spokesperson, Luanne Grandinetti, said ''It may move, but it would only be a matter of some feet.''
This article quotes some homeowners as saying they weren't told about the four-lane road, while others say they were told it would be much farther away. ''I was told no closer than a mile,'' said Pat Sebring, Walko's neighbor. ''I would guess 80 percent of the people over here didn't ask the right questions,'' she said. ''I asked the right questions.'' Last year in a letter to the TDOT, Mayor Herman W. Cox Jr. also asked that the road be moved away from the subdivisions.
It's reported that road construction is still years away, and TDOT does not have a date for when the road will be completed. East Collierville residents don't think they can stop the road from being built, but the absence of final plans and funding gives them encouragement that they the can force the road to be brealigned. Their hope is to convince the state to move the road farther east and away from the location they see as a ''planned mistake.''
PUBLICATION: Dallas Observer (Dallas, Texas)
DATE: October 30, 1997
SECTION: Letters
BYLINE: Ed Frick, resident
DATELINE: Dallas, Texas
The Dallas Observer printed a letter from a Dallas, Texas, resident who responded to an earlier article by Ann Zimmerman, titled "The (W)right to Fly," an article concerning Dallas' Love Field Airport. Here follows the letter written by Dallas resident, Ed Frick.
"Ann Zimmerman's 'The (W)right to Fly' has me totally confused with one exception--it clearly outlines an alleged conspiracy on the behalf of American Airlines. I'm confused because the article states that there are no noise problems related to Love Field today, and that there won't be any tomorrow with increased air traffic. If there is no noise problem, then why must all air traffic take FAA-mandated routes between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.? Why was the fact printed that Legend Airlines planned to lease six jets and overhaul them, adding engines with the quietest noise level, if noise is not a consideration? Why have Dallas taxpayers been stuck with a school sound-proofing bill for students attempting to study in the Love Field area? Why must I, residing 12,672 feet from the busiest Love Field runway, yearn for the day that I can conduct an uninterrupted conversation with my neighbor in my own yard?
"As for former city councilman Jerry Bartos (a staunch supporter for 'repeal' of the Wright Amendment) building a home a half-mile from Love Field as a statement about the noise factor, this is blatantly misleading! How much noise is there parallel to airport runways as compared to actual flight paths? It is far different when you live under the flight path, like I do. Even though I live 2.4 miles from the busiest runway at Love Field, I'll still trade locations with Mr. Bartos. In fact, Mr. Bartos could save a lot of money building his new house in our area where the real estate gets cheaper by the decibel. Then to print the Wright Amendment opinions of Congressman Joe Barton (I will never forget his scare-tactic TV commercials in his unsuccessful bid for a U.S. Senate seat), it's really scraping the bottom of the barrel of controversy.
"You printed the claim of Legend's president, McArtor, that there is no safety problem (in spite of the ever-increasing congestion relating to both commercial and residential communities surrounding Love Field--plus the presence of public schools). This all reminds me of the politician who will promise anything to get in, and the jailbird who will promise anything to get out.
"Too many speak in terms of "convenience" and "price," yet none speak in terms of general welfare--because thousands upon thousands of human beings are adversely affected by Love Field's presence. Should you part the curtains of fact, you will doubtlessly see a gold-plated cash register!"
PUBLICATION: The Evening Post (Wellington, New Zealand)
DATE: October 30, 1997
SECTION: News; National; Pg. 5
BYLINE: Hank Schouten
DATELINE: Lower Hutt, New Zealand
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Steve McCarthy, environmental health manager
The Evening Post of Wellington, New Zealand, reports that Lower Hutt dog owner, Michael Edney was ordered to remove all dogs from his property after numerous complaints from neighbors. After Edney's objection, he was told he could keep one dog. But Edney is not happy at having to put a collar on his dog that gives it an electric shock when it barks.
According to the Evening Post, there had been more than 14 dogs on Edney's property in the past three years. At a recent Hutt City Council hearing, environmental health manager Steve McCarthy said Edney's neighbors complained of barking, howling and dogs rattling a corrugated iron fence. Animal control staff had spent a great deal of time with Mr Edney to ensure minimum standards were maintained, to stop a noise nuisance complaint about barking, and to ensure no more than two dogs were kept at any one time. Although improvements were made following complaints, they were not maintained and within a short time, and neighbors were again complaining of "a disgusting mess and noise."
The article reports that Mr Edney objected to the order and asked that he should at least be able to keep one dog, his pit bull. "She was not dangerous or noisy - she barked only three or four times a day." Edney said he is upset at being harassed by neighbors since moving into his rented home in Brees St, Mitchell Park, three years ago. He has given his landlord notice but is having trouble finding another landlord who will take him.
PUBLICATION: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
DATE: October 31, 1997
SECTION: Metro, Pg. 3
BYLINE: Sam Martino
DATELINE: Eagle, Wisconsin
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Brian Rudy, resident; Department of Natural Resources
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that a shooting permit request by the McMiller Sports Center, located in Eagle, Wisconsin, was revived when McMiller agreed to trim hours and days of operation for a clay pigeon range after a year-long dispute over gunfire noise from the center.
According to the Journal Sentinel, in July the Eagle Town Board rejected a renewal for a conditional permit for shooting clay pigeons. Neighbors of shooting range complained that gunfire from both the clay range and another range for target shooting was too loud. Brian Rudy, a neighbor of the range, led a petition drive two years ago against the noise after clay shooting was introduced at the center. Steve Williams, owner of Wern Valley, said, "Given the nearly 50% reduction in proposed days of operation, some area residents will hear no noise from sporting clays range activity during some months as wind will make it impossible for this to occur."
The Journal Sentinel says town officials will meet again at 8 p.m. today to hear a proposal from Wern Valley Inc., the operator of the center, to reopen the clay range with reduced hours of operation. has proposed operating the range for 39 days or 156 hours per year. Under the former conditional use permit, the sporting clay range was granted 156 days or 1,468 hours of use. In 1996, the range was used 79 days for 434 hours.
According to this article, Eagle town officials have pressured the DNR to reduce noise. Two experimental sound abatement shooting stations for sporting clays were built earlier this year by the DNR and Wern Valley. "Both proved to be failures, in that, if the station is designed to be safe and usable, it is not effective at reducing noise," Williams said. The DNR also has appointed a 17-member task force to study the noise as well as use of the Kettle Moraine State Forest surrounding the range.
The article notes Williams leased the popular shooting center from the state Department of Natural Resources three years ago. Initially Williams said reductions in days and hours of operation "would cause extreme economic hardship." The center also has a fixed gun range where handgun users, sports shooters and hunters take target practice. The shooters pay various fees to the center operator to use the ranges. Williams estimated 20,000 people used the center in 1996.
PUBLICATION: The Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina)
DATE: October 30, 1997
SECTION: Downtown Charleston, Pg. 1
BYLINE: Laura Willoughby
DATELINE: Charleston, South Carolina
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Delbert DuBois, resident and adviser on the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council; Environmental Protection Agency; Four Mile Hibernian Neighborhood Association; Bernie Mazyck, Senior Program Officer of The Community Foundation; Community-Based Environmental Protection
The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina, reports that resident turned activist Delbert DuBois has taken action on several environmental problems, including noise and industry contamination, in his Four Mile Hibernian neighborhood. And now DuBois will get the chance to influence environmental decisions nationwide. Starting in November, DuBois will serve as an adviser on the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, a branch of the EPA.
The article says DuBois first started noticing environmental problems when he returned to his Charleston neighborhood after a 13-year absence. Factories were closer to neighborhoods, different smells drifted into the area, thick dust enveloped homes, and people in his neighborhood and family were sick a lot. In the mornings, noise from company trucks wakened residents. Through his neighborhood association, DuBois received funding to weatherproof houses to help keep the black dust and some of the noise out.
The article goes on to report that as president of the Four Mile Hibernian Neighborhood Association, Dubois start to seek answers about the impact of surrounding factories on the neighborhood. DuBois says the factories continue to move closer to the neighborhoods. As families moved out, he says, factories have moved in, taking away what he refers to as "buffer zones" between industry and housing. In the Four Mile neighborhood alone, DuBois estimates factories outnumber houses five-to-one. It's a trend in many of the surrounding neighborhoods and DuBois wants to know how it happened. "One of the things I'll be pushing researching is to find out exactly how it is our community can be cut up in so many different tracts," he says.
The article notes that in his desire to find answers, DuBois visited other communities in the area and eventually in other states. "We started pretty much educating other communities. We found they had the same issues but no avenue to get the issues addressed," he says. In the beginning of his quest to improve his community, DuBois got help from The Community Foundation, an organization set up to help communities get the resources they need and to help provide funding for neighborhood projects. "What we try to do with neighborhood leaders is show them various strategies they can use to improve the community," says Bernie Mazyck, Senior Program Officer. DuBois became well-known by "asking questions, asking more questions and contacting various agencies until he got the answers he needed," says Mazyck.
Now DuBois is opening a way to get issues addressed through CBEP (Community-Based Environmental Protection). A division of the EPA that is still in the beginning phases, the group will pool the resources of surrounding organizations to help address problems in Charleston and North Charleston. DuBois is on the advisory council. Currently, DuBois is concentrating on a new factory on the way. The Palmetto Lime Company is planning to build on an abandoned tract of land that used to be zoned for family dwellings but is now zoned for industry. He's been granted a public hearing with DHEC. "This can happen to other communities if people aren't paying attention as industry moves closer and closer to communities," he says.
PUBLICATION: The Press (Christchurch, New Zealand)
DATE: October 30, 1997
SECTION: Pg. 5; Regional News
BYLINE: Peter Christian
DATELINE: Granity, New Zealand
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Vicki MacDonald, resident
The Press of Christchurch, New Zealand, reports Granity residents are opposed to a proposed West Coast Coal Terminal site. Yesterday, these residents were given the opportunity to address the hearing for the proposal. Residents cited a number of concerns ranging from endangerment of wildlife to increased noise and air pollution.
According to the article, resident Vicki MacDonald said the terminal would threaten the habitat of the endangered fish species, the rare short-jawed inanga, because the nearby lagoon would be subjected to discharges from the coal storage facility's settling pond. Other residents said the lagoon area was also home to endangered birds, including the black oystercatcher and bearded dotterell. Residents said they were not opposed to the mining or rail cartage of coal. Opposition centered on the terminal's site and the building of a 2km long jetty. The residents claimed the terminal would create a coal dust problem, which in turn would pollute the area's land and waters. Increased noise and traffic problems as well as the visual impact the coal storage facility would have on the environment were other factors. Birchfield farmer Bob Smith said speeding trucks taking coal to the jetty would endanger local children, and constant road noise made by a continuous stream of heavy truck and trailers would also detract from the area's charm. Other issues of concern included community compensation, ballast water discharge, the jetty structure, property valuations, and lifestyle changes.
The Christchurch Press relates that Ms MacDonald said she had felt intimidated by Solid Energy regarding land and joint access matters. Solid Energy had offered to let her occupy and use part of the land they identified as theirs, provided residents withdrew their opposition. Solid Energy will be given the opportunity to reply to the allegations when company representatives sum up before the hearing in Westport this week.
PUBLICATION: The San Diego Union-Tribune (San Diego, California)
DATE: October 30, 1997
SECTION: Local; Ed. 2,3,4,5; Pg. B-1
BYLINE: Chet Barfield
DATELINE: Fallbrook, California
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Cathy Giorgi, resident; Delbert "Blackfox" Pomani, religious leader; American Civil Liberties Union
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Cathy Giorgi of Fallbrook, California, was arrested and ordered to appear in court on a noise issue. Giorgi, a follower of Delbert "Blackfox" Pomani, a Hunkpapa Dakota Indian, built a teepee in her front yard, where she and other followers worship regularly from dusk to dawn. As a member of the Native American Church, Giorgi insists she has a constitutional right to practice her religion. But some of her neighbors object, saying all-night singing, drumming and chanting are disrupting their sleep.
The article quotes Jean Fulgenzi as saying, "It's about noise." Mrs. Fulgenzi, along with her husband, Nick, moved to Fallbrook seven years ago for some peace and quiet. She said. "I don't care what religion it is, you can't do it this way. . . . You can't make that noise all night." According to the article, every few weeks members of the Native American Church set up a teepee in Giorgi's front yard, build a fire inside and with 15 to 20 other followers, participate in all-night ceremonies. Among the rituals performed is the singing of songs and pounding of a drum made from a cast-iron kettle. "We're not bothering nobody," Pomani said yesterday. "We're just praying and trying to practice our religion and culture." But the teepee is only about 25 yards from the bedroom of the Fulgenzis. "The chanting doesn't bother me," Jean Fulgenzi said, "but the tomtoms --it's enough to drive you crazy when you try to sleep."
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, last Sunday the Fulgenzis called the sheriff and had Giorgi placed under citizen's arrest. The 39-year-old computer software saleswoman was taken to the Fallbrook station, fingerprinted and released after being cited for disturbing the peace, a misdemeanor with a possible $500 fine. She's scheduled to appear Jan. 7 in Vista Municipal Court. "I'm going to fight it . . . all the way to the Supreme Court," Giorgi said. "I'm not a militant. I'm not an activist. I simply believe in my religion and want the right to pray."
The article quotes Sheriff's Sgt. Frank Adams as saying his officers were legally required arrest Giorgi on the citizen's arrest complaint. "Our obligation is to respond to a radio call for service and do what is mandated by law," he said. "Now it's up to those who complained and the person arrested to battle it out." Leader Pomani attributes the arrest to cultural and religious misunderstanding. "They just don't understand what we're doing over here," he said. "We feel really violated. Our civil rights were violated. The ceremony to us is very important." But Mrs. Fulgenzi said she and her husband have nothing against the Native American religion. "The Indians should know better. If it's a religious ceremony, it doesn't belong there," she said. "Can't they go out on a reservation?" Pomani said this church has no other land, but would be willing to move the ceremony if someone offered an appropriate site.
The article notes that not all of Giorgi's neighbors are as upset as the Fulgenzis. Opinions varied among several interviewed. Some said they heard the noise but it didn't bother them much; others said they, too, have been awakened and wish the group would take their ceremonies someplace else. The group's closest neighbor voiced strong support. "What they do is fine by me," said Scott Comaduran, 21. "If anybody has a right to practice their culture, I believe, it's them."
The article continued with comments from Jordan Budd, managing attorney for the San Diego-Imperial County office of the American Civil Liberties Union. He said constitutional protections for religious practices have been weakened by recent rulings. He said Giorgi's situation "is not a real clear-cut case" because of the time of the ceremonies and the close proximity of neighbors. "It is true that government has the right within certain important limitations to regulate where a church may be built and consider the noise and other factors," he said. But Pomani says the neighbors should be more tolerant. "They came to our country," he said. "They should respect us."
PUBLICATION: The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
DATE: October 30, 1997
SECTION: Local; Pg. B-1
BYLINE: Barbara Ferry
DATELINE: Tesuque, New Mexico
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: David Dougherty, resident; Assistant County Attorney Rosanna Vasquez; Chris Moore, Santa Fe city councilor and zoning board authority
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that neighbors of a foundry won a partial victory in their pursuit of peace and quiet . For the past five years, neighbors have complained about the noises coming from the Shidoni foundry in Tesuque, New Mexico. The foundry is located in a primarily residential area. On Tuesday night, David Dougherty, whose property borders Shidoni's, and other unhappy neighbors, won their noise battle. The city-county Extraterritorial Zoning Authority upheld an earlier ruling banning the foundry from working on its sculptures outdoors.
The article notes that Shidoni is a world class foundry, popular with artists, especially those who make very big sculptures. For the past five years, neighbors have complained about the annoying hammering, buzzing and screeching emanating from the foundry. "It's not just the noise, it's the quality of the noise, " said resident, David Dougherty. "It's metal grinding on metal. It's like sitting in the dentist's chair." Dougherty felt the decision resolves the neighbors' complaints of the neighbors, many of whom have repeatedly played tapes at meetings to demonstrate disagreeable sounds allegedly coming from the foundry.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Scott Hicks, president of Shidoni, said the foundry's ability to work on huge sculptures too big to fit through doorways has been one of its major draws. "We're pioneers in monumental sculpture," Hicks said Wednesday. "We can't survive with these conditions placed on us." Hicks said he has tried to appease neighbors by agreeing to other noise abatement measures, such as limiting work hours and building walls between his and the neighbors' property. He said outdoor assembly makes up only about 1 percent of the foundry's work. "But it's a critical 1 percent," he said.
The article cites on Chris Moore, one of two Santa Fe city councilors the zoning authority, as having said he was torn by his decision to deny the foundry outdoor privileges. "The work they do is really beautiful," Moore said. "I would like to be able to see them do these large jobs. I don't want to see them go out of business." But Moore said he was displeased to learn that Shidoni continued to perform outdoor work over the past few weeks, despite a decision by the zoning authority on Sept. 30 prohibiting it. At the Sept. 30 meeting, the zoning authority banned outside work at the foundry as a condition of permits for some of Shidoni's buildings built in the 1980s; neither the county nor Shidoni can find records of building permits. Assistant County Attorney Rosanna Vasquez said she received numerous complaints from neighbors during the past few weeks complaining that foundry workers were still working outside. Vasquez, who directs a team of code enforcement officers for the county, called Shidoni "an enforcement nightmare." Hicks did not say if the foundry will appeal the zoning authority's decision to district court.
PUBLICATION: The Seattle Times (Seattle, Washington)
DATE: October 30, 1997
SECTION: Business; Pg. C1f
BYLINE: Staff
DATELINE: Seattle, Washington
The Seattle Times reports that Sunjet, a public charter airline operated by World Technology System of Atlanta, is suspending flights between Seattle and Long Beach, California, tomorrow because its airplanes don't meet noise regulations in the city of Long Beach. Service will be reinstated when Sunjet can get three aircraft that can operate within the local noise ordinance, Sunjet spokesman Hank Ernest said.
The article goes on to report that Sunjet began operating one flight daily to Seattle on October 1, using 727s with installed hush kits, but the planes still exceeded Long Beach's maximum noise levels, leading to substantial fines to the airline and a temporary suspension of this flight.
PUBLICATION: St. Petersburg Times (St. Petersburg, Florida)
DATE: October 30, 1997
SECTION: North Pinellas Times; Pg. 1
BYLINE: Edie Gross
DATELINE: Tarpon Springs, Florida
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Cindy Domino and Karen Brayboy, city commissioners; David Fagen, president of Fagen Acoustical Consultants; Bob Sheriff
The St. Petersburg Times reports that residents of Stonehedge on the Hill in Tarpon Springs, Florida, are upset about the possibility of a dog kennel opening in a building north of their mobile park. Previously, this building housed a fish-packing plant that that caused residents to complain of a foul odor. Next the building housed a nightclub that residents say blared music until all hours of the night.
The article points out that residents have the sympathy of the Tarpon Springs City Commission. All five all commissioners voiced concerns about potential noise and odor problems. "I would have to have an absolute ironclad guarantee that standing outside the facility, you would not hear a peep, and I don't know if they can give us that guarantee," Commissioner Cindy Domino said. On Tuesday, commissioners reviewed Maritime Pet Kennel's request to open an obedience school and kennel in the Sunrise Cove Shopping Center on the west side of U.S. 19. Under current zoning, the kennel is not allowed. Commissioners will vote on the matter on Wednesday at their regular meeting. "I've got a big misgiving about the project because of the noise, " said Commissioner Karen Brayboy. "I wouldn't want to live near it myself. I think it's our responsibility to proceed very cautiously on this."
The article goes on to say Maritime Pet Kennel owner William Conway would like to prove he is a responsible business owner. Conway cited new double-paned windows and walls 3 feet thick walls in the 5,000-square-foot building to contain noise. Conway says he would have no more than 10 dogs in his training classes, and he doesn't plan to board more than 50 dogs at once. "Everything they've asked of me, I've delivered," Conway said of the sound-proofing. " Conway has hired a St. Petersburg acoustical engineer to help him soundproof the building. David Fagen, president of Fagen Acoustical Consultants, helped write the county's noise ordinance in 1974. According to Fagen, it is possible to insulate the building so that dogs could be heard only when a door is open.
But the article says Stonehedge residents are not convinced. They say they're afraid the dogs may bark all night when no one is in the building. "He (Conway) should give us his phone number so we can call him up at night," said Bob Sheriff, who lives about 30 yards from the proposed kennel's back door. "Maybe that would be a good way to keep it quiet." Residents of Stonehedge are at least 55 years old. Keeping them awake at night with loud noise borders on abuse of the elderly, said Sheriff.
PUBLICATION: The Washington Post (Washington, DC)
DATE: October 30, 1997
SECTION: Metro; Pg. D01
BYLINE: Eric Lipton
DATELINE: Fairfax County, Virginia
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Stuart Mendelsohn, (R-Dranesville) and Fairfax Supervisor; Pamela Browing, resident; Susan A. Fitzgerald, resident; Tom Ogle, director of the Montgomery County Noise Program; Sharon S. Bulova (D-Braddock) and Fairfax Supervisor
The Washington Post reports that Fairfax County, Virginia is considering enforcing weekend and evening restrictions on construction-related noise, due to a surge of building in older, established neighborhoods.
The Washington Post cites Fairfax Supervisor Stuart Mendelsohn (R-Dranesville)as saying about the proposed restrictions, "It is a quality-of-life issue. "We used to have development in wide-open areas where no one really lived next door. But now we have building on tiny lots in the middle of a bunch of homes." Mendelsohn has firsthand experience of how intrusive construction noise can be, because 16 new houses are going up behind his home on Wiesman Court in Great Falls, filling his household with noise starting at 7 a.m., six days a week. "I don't need an alarm clock," Mendelsohn said.
According to The Washington Post, the noise restrictions in Montgomery County were prompted by nighttime resurfacing of parking garages in Bethesda, near residential areas, which ruined evening hours for people like Pamela Browing of Elm Street in Chevy Chase. "We could not go out in our yards, and as soon as we sat down for dinner, the jackhammers started to go off," she said of the construction at the Montgomery Avenue garages. In April, Montgomery County restricted noisy construction to the hours between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Before the restrictions, construction noise could continue until 9 p.m., including on weekends and holidays.
The article says Fairfax, Great Falls residents recently complained to the Fairfax County board when they discovered that the only strict limits on contractor noise are from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., seven days a week. "Give us back the quiet enjoyment of our homes during evenings, holidays and weekends," said Great Falls resident Susan A. Fitzgerald in one of several letters to the board complaining about the work on a neighboring house. "These are the only hours many of us have after work to enjoy our properties." The Fairfax County board agreed Monday to review its noise ordinances to determine whether they should be modified to prevent conflicts in established neighborhoods like Fitzgerald's.
But The Washington Post says builders are worried that new noise restrictions could prevent them from working on weekends, as many routinely do. "If someone buys a piece of property and they want to build on it, that is an individual's right," said Robert Lawrence, president of the Fairfax chapter of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association. Another builder, Greg Jarvis, said he would not oppose a limit on construction noise on Sundays, particularly in the morning. But he believes builders should be able to work all day on Saturdays. "You might get rained out on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, so you work on a Saturday," said Jarvis, who builds additions to homes in the Mount Vernon area. "You have to be able to do that to keep the schedule going on time."
The article refers to Tom Ogle, director of the Montgomery County Noise Program who said striking a balance between residents and builders is difficult. "It was a classic conflict," he said. "I'll never in my life make everybody happy." Under Montgomery's new code, builders may cause noise that reaches 85 decibels from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays if they have an approved plan to muffle it with barriers or noise -suppression blankets. Otherwise they can produce up to 75 decibels. The levels are measured from 50 feet away, or at the property line of the closest residence. (A pneumatic drill or dump truck about 50 feet away produces about 85 decibels.) Construction is still allowed in Montgomery on weekends and holidays, but noise limits are as low as 55 decibels, the level typically heard in a business office.
The article goes on to quote Fairfax Supervisor Sharon S. Bulova (D-Braddock), who also supports the review of Fairfax's noise codes. Bulova said she received calls a few years back from residents in her district complaining about early morning construction of an office building on weekends. "They called me at home at 7 a.m., while pile driving was going on, and said, 'If we are up, we want you to be up as well,' " Bulova said.
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (Austin, Texas)
DATE: October 29, 1997
SECTION: Metro/State; Pg. B1
BYLINE: Scott S. Greenberger
DATELINE: East Austin, Texas
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Johnny Limon, president of the Gardens Neighborhood Association; Janie Rangel, resident
The Austin-American Statesman of Austin, Texas, reports that neighborhood residents in East Austin gathered to demand that the city award its 30-year curbside recycling contract to their old nemesis, BFI's Bolm Road recycling plant. In the past, the recycling plant has left wind-blown trash onto their lawns, annoyed them with crashing trash containers and sent trucks past their houses as many as 100 times a day. But residents and East Austin environmental activists urged the city to choose BFI, because the company has promised the neighborhood that it will move out if it gets the contract. BFI holds the current city contract, but it says the city's increasing recycling load would force it to move to a bigger facility if the contract is renewed.
The article says city officials are recommending that the City Council give the contract to Waste Management Inc., which submitted a much lower bid. The council will decide today whether to enter into negotiations with Waste Management. Residents are angry abut the city's recommendation. "We don't want the city to just look at the money. We want them to take the residents into consideration and give us back our community by helping BFI relocate,'' said Johnny Limon, president of the Gardens Neighborhood Association. Resident Janie Rangel said the city is missing a golden opportunity to help the neighborhood. All they're asking for is the 30- year contract,'' Rangel said. Push 'em out of here -- they're ready to go. We'll help.''
The article quotes Assistant Solid Waste Director Joe Word defending his department's decision. "The difference in cost between the two proposals was significant enough that we didn't feel like we could recommend going with BFI over Waste Management --especially for something that had no promise of being resolved anyway,'' Word said. Word suggested that BFI's promise to the neighborhood is not legally binding. Yet Limon and BFI officials said Tuesday that the company has promised, in writing, to leave Bolm Road, but the American-Statesman was unable to verify that Tuesday night. Word said the city staffers had residents in mind when they structured their request for proposals, so that city recycling no longer would be done at the Bolm Road facility. "In our view, we're solving most of the community's problems there,'' Word said. A large majority of the traffic and noise issues will be resolved.'' Word said officials judged proposals based on environmental impact as well as cost. Both BFI and Waste Management cleared the environmental hurdle by proposing to build facilities in northeast Travis County, away from residential areas. East Austin has more industry than the rest of the city, and much of it lies next to residential neighborhoods, according to a recent city land use study. Recently, the City Council has taken several steps to attack the problem, including changing the Bolm Road site's zoning so future owners can't recycle there.
According to the article, BFI officials said that it doesn't make financial sense to leave Bolm Road if the company doesn't get the city contract. "We'll be here if we don't get the contract,'' said BFI spokeswoman Lynda Rife. In recent months BFI has taken steps to minimize the noise and traffic emanating from the plant. Council Member Gus Garcia said he is undecided on the issue of the contract, but he questioned BFI's approach. "If BFI is out there politicking with the neighbors, that puts the city in a difficult position,'' Garcia said. "I think the city wants to see that facility close, but we don't want a gun to our heads.''
PUBLICATION: 'Ping Kuo Jih Pao' (Hong Kong)
DATE: October 29, 1997
SECTION: Part 3 Asia-Pacific; Hong Kong; Internal Affairs; FE/D3062/G
BYLINE: BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
DATELINE: Hong Kong
The Ping Kuo Jih Pao of Hong Kong reports that residents in the New Territories have complained about shooting practice noise from the People's Liberation Army [PLA] Hong Kong Garrison. Recent shooting practice, conducted day and night, makes it difficult for them to get to sleep. Residents are also concerned about other dangers from the firing range. Despite their complaints, the police are at a loss to know what to do.
The article says that according to residents in Siu Hang Tsuen, Lung Yeuk Tau, bordering the San Wai barracks in Fanling, the PLA forces have practiced shooting in the San Wai and Tai Ling ranges adjacent to the barracks. Recently the PLA garrison conducted shooting practice at night. Although the shooting ranges are 1,500 meters from residents, the noises were deafening. Villagers described the gunshots as especially loud and believed that they were not ordinary automatic rifles but heavy machine guns. Judging from the shell cases, military commentator Ma Ting-shing believed that the PLA forces use 2.7 cm heavy machine guns with an effective range of 2,000 meters for shooting practice. They can pierce a plate armor with a thickness of 0.5 inch within a distance of 800 meters. After hearing non-stop gunshots for two hours recently, some villagers called the police. But the police indicated that they were unable to help them, although they would like to.
The article says residents are concerned that after shooting practice, some children run to pick up shell cases regardless of danger. There are no barbed wire fences separating the shooting range from the areas outside it. There is a warning sign posted, but it has been overgrown with weeds, making it difficult to notice.
PUBLICATION: Chapel Hill Herald (Durham, North Carolina)
DATE: October 29, 1997
SECTION: Front; Pg. 1;
BYLINE: Leslie Weaver
DATELINE: Hillsborough, North Carolina
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Vance Barham, state traffic engineer; Janet Knight Ledbetter, resident; Nathaniel Eubanks, Hillsborough Police Chief
The Chapel Hill Herald of Durham, North Carolina, reports that after years of complaints about noise and exhaust of huge trucks rumbling through downtown, Hillsborough merchants and residents now hope to reclaim their streets. State planners have said that as many as 600 trucks may pass through Hillsborough in a day's time. In six weeks, the N.C. Department of Transportation will give Hillsborough the authority to restrict large trucks from traveling on Churton Street -- N.C. 86 -- through downtown. Since 1991, town officials have been asking the state to find a way to route truck traffic away from Churton Street. But until now, the state said there were no alternate routes.
The Chapel Hill Herald goes on to describe a new interchange at the intersection of I-85 and U.S. 70 near Efland that will make it easier for trucks to avoid downtown Hillsborough, according to DOT officials. DOT is currently erecting signs that would route heavy truck traffic to the interchange and away from Churton Street, which is maintained by the state. "We will implement a new ordinance in six weeks that will prohibit trucks with an axle weight in excess of 13,000 pounds and those not doing business in town from using Churton Street," said Vance Barham, a division traffic engineer for the state. Those trucks not using the alternate route could face a $ 100 fine. Trucks weighing less than the set limit and trucks doing business in the Hillsborough area are not restricted from Churton Street.
The article says the news is music to the ears of downtown merchants and business owners. "It's a major safety hazard for the pedestrians and cars that use it," said Janet Knight Ledbetter, who has a law office located on Churton Street. "Nobody will miss them." A wheelchair-bound Hillsborough woman died in 1993, crushed beneath a tractor-trailer rig while trying to cross North Churton Street.
According to the article some truck drivers are not pleased with the new restrictions. "I travel through this road about three times a day," said Paul Ashe, a truck driver for Smithely Logging, located in Reidsville. "If I had to take the alternate route it would cut down my production about two loads a day." For example: A truck traveling from Chapel Hill northbound on N.C. 86 would have to drive an additional five miles if it used the alternate route instead of going through Hillsborough. But during peak driving hours, Hillsborough is congested with truck and local traffic. But engineer Barham believes, "Time wise it probably won't make much difference what route they take, because they would be in heavy traffic in Hillsborough," he said.
The artlce goes on to note Hillsborough Police Chief Nathaniel Eubanks is glad to see that his department will have the authority to restrict the trucks, but he's worried that it might be a very difficult task. "Once the town passes the ordinance, we could begin to hold checkpoints. But that just does nothing but back traffic up," Eubanks said. Eubanks said the department might ask DOT to help enforce the restriction in some way.
PUBLICATION: CTK National News Wire
DATE: October 29, 1997
SECTION: General News
BYLINE: RJC
DATELINE: Prague, Czechoslovakia
CTK National News Wire reports that forty percent of the Prague, Czechoslovakia, population is exposed to noise levels exceeding 65 decibels during the day, compared to between 20 and 30 percent in other large towns in the Czech Republic, according to an Environment Ministry report submitted to cabinet and released to the press today. The report, which covers the year 1996, says that most noise pollution is caused by road traffic.
According to the article, the high level of harmful noise pollution in towns contrasts with the generally low level of negative effects from other forms of pollution on the health of the nation. The level of pollution found in the air, water and food has remained low.
PUBLICATION: The Daily News of Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)
DATE: October 29, 1997
SECTION: Editorial; Pg. N16, Valley Edition
DATELINE: Los Angeles, California
The California Daily News of Los Angeles (Valley Edition) recently printed an editorial expressing its views on a decision by a state court of appeal to overturn the Warner Center Specific Plan. Noise pollution at the schools is an issue. Herein follows the editorial:
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick had it right last week when she characterized a decision by a state court of appeal overturning the Warner Center Specific Plan as ''idiocy.'' The Los Angeles Unified School District claimed that the plan's environmental impact report inadequately discussed the potential impact of growth at Warner Center on Canoga Park High School and Parkman Middle School. A key issue was whether the city erred by failing to consider the feasibility of installing air conditioning to minimize the effect of air and noise pollution at the schools. But the LAUSD already got what it wanted in April when the voters approved a $ 2.4 billion bond issue, Proposition BB, partially on the representation that some of the money was needed to air-condition Valley schools. It was idiotic for the LAUSD to carry matters any further.
Beyond that, there's the potential impact of the decision on the future of Warner Center and adjacent neighborhoods in Woodland Hills. Chick correctly pointed out that the decision, which refers the matter back to Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne, overturns an eight-year effort by community members, property owners and developers to plan for the growth of Warner Center in an orderly way. And now that everything is in limbo, there is speculation that previous land-use regulations might go back into effect, permitting more development than what would have been allowed under the specific plan. That would be idiotic, too.
So what should the city do? We believe the City Council should seriously consider appealing the case to the state Supreme Court. There's a chance that the high court might go along with Judge Wayne, who had held that the EIR complied with the law. Further, the court might want to inquire into whether the LAUSD was negligent for failing to take steps long ago to protect pupils, employees and neighbors from noise and air pollution generated by the schools themselves. An appeal would be preferable to making a financial settlement with the LAUSD, which earlier had agreed to drop the case in return for $ 5 million. The taxpayers already have made a commitment to pay for the air-conditioning. We see no reason why the LAUSD should be paid twice.
Then there is the danger that a costly settlement might have a chilling effect on the planning process, discouraging the approval of beneficial developments for fear they might expose the city to liability. The schools also would be losers if that happens, since they receive a share of the tax revenues generated by new development.
PUBLICATION: Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio)
DATE: October 29, 1997
SECTION: Metro Today, Pg. 7B
BYLINE: Tom Belden
DATELINE: Dayton, Ohio
The Dayton Daily News of Dayton, Ohio, reports that United Airlines is installing an electronic noise signal to the headset at each seat in the first- and business-class sections of its 747, 767 and 777 widebodied jets. This new electronic feature should cancel out the noise from the airplane.
PUBLICATION: The Evening Standard (London, England)
DATE: October 29, 1997
SECTION: Pg. 6
DATELINE: London, England
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Tony Colman, Labour MP
London's Evening Standard reported that Labor MP Tony Colman advocated that the new mayor should get the power to limit aircraft noise in the capital. Colman also urged London Minister Glenda Jackson to ban all night flights.
The article further states that Colman, speaking during a Commons debate, asked the Government to "come to the rescue" of Londoners who were suffering from the noise. All flights between 11.30pm and 6am should be outlawed, he said. People in areas like Putney, Barnes and St Margarets are woken up night after night by jets flying into Heathrow. Responsibility for noise should, he said, should eventually be handed over to the mayor.
PUBLICATION: Kennebec Journal (Augusta, ME)
DATE: October 29, 1997
SECTION: Local; Pg. 8
BYLINE: Betty Jespersen
DATELINE: Farmington, Maine
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Department of Environmental Protection; Everett Vining, town selectman;
Anita Jahoda, town selectwoman
The Kennebec Journal reports that Jack Carrier, owner of the wood chip mill on Town Farm Road in Farmington, Maine, wants to double production and install more equipment in spite of noise complaints and the deterioration of the road leading to the mill, according to one Farmington selectmen.
The article says Carrier is in the process of applying to the Department of Environmental Protection for approval for the expansion, according to Selectman Everett Vining at the board's meeting Tuesday. The project had come into town prior to passage of the site review ordinance and only had to conform to DEP guidelines. Vining said, "There are 60 trucks a day going in and out of there. At 3 in the morning they're cranking their engines and they're hauling way into the night. That road is going all to pot. That road is getting dangerous. It's an old road, it's narrow and it wasn't made for heavy traffic."
The article went on to say that the Department of Transportation, which reviewed the original project and studied the wear and tear the truck traffic would have on the roadbed, has said any reconstruction project would be years off because of lack of funds. However, Vining charges the DOT was also pressured by downtown merchants because they didn't want Town Farm Road turned into an alternate road to Route 4 that would detour traffic away from the center of town.
Selectwoman Anita Jahoda said she's had numerous complaints from residents about the noise, which becomes worse when workers leave the chipper's doors open. She says she can even hear the racket at her home miles away on Route 2. "We were told (by Carrier) at the time that all we would hear is a buzz." Selectwoman Mary Wright agreed with Jahoda's experience, "Well, it's a lot more than just a buzz, " she said. Then she noted that, "They gave certain guarantees and they're not living up to them.
PUBLICATION: The Southland Times (New Zealand)
DATE: October 29, 1997
SECTION: News; National; Pg. 20
DATELINE: Queenstown, New Zeaand
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Alex Casey, resident
The Southland Times reports that a hearing into controversial air noise and runway issues at Queenstown Airport in New Zealand was delayed when the Queenstown Airport Corporation asked for more time to put its case together. The corporation had been scheduled to present technical evidence in relation to air noise boundaries and flight paths.
According to The Southland Times, the hearing coincides with a recent agreement between the airport corporation and neighboring developer Remarkables Park, clearing the way for a 392m main runway extension. Queenstown businesses support the extension, which they say will open up the airport for direct trans-Tasman travel and boost the economy.
But two days after the agreement, the article says, Air New Zealand withdrew its support for the extension, saying the airline no longer considered there was a market demand for further airport development. The hearing was also delayed because of a challenge by Frankton resident Alex Casey of the competency of the hearings panel to hear evidence on airport issues. Mr Casey said the council had instructed the corporation to sign the agreement with Remarkables Park, thereby involving itself in management of the airport body.
The article goes on to report that the corporation changed its schedule to give evidence on investigations into alternative airport sites, carried out by Airport Planning (NZ) Ltd. It found all the alternative sites, including the present Frankton site, were unsuitable for a variety of reasons ranging from airspace constraints to meteorological conditions. The hearing will continue on Monday when the Queenstown Airport Corporation is due to offer evidence on airport planning and environmental concerns.
PUBLICATION: Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
DATE: October 29, 1997
SECTION: News; Pg. 20A
DATELINE: Minneapolis, Minnesota
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Jay Krohn, resident
The Star Tribune of Minneapolis, Minnesota printed a letter from a resident who supports City Council Member Dore Mead. He sees her support of noise reduction and abatement with regards to the Metropolitan Airports Commission as one of her most important stances.
"Your editorial staff is way off the mark with the lukewarm endorsement for reelection given to City Council Member Dore Mead on Oct. 22, especially your criticism of her effectiveness, leadership, experience and depth of knowledge. Unfortunately for challenger Peter Koelz, and noticeably glossed over in your article, former 11th Ward Council Member Steve Cramer has given his endorsement to Mead. There are several reasons for this. First, Mead has exhibited tireless leadership on issues near and dear to 11th Ward residents. She continues to lead the challenge to protect the environment, property values, pocketbooks and souls of the residents who live among the jewels of the Minneapolis' crown, the chain of lakes and Minnehaha Creek, by holding the Metropolitan Airports Commission to its commitments to noise reduction and abatement in the southern wards. Your assessment that the airport noise battle is "over" doesn't take into account south Minneapolis' commitment to seeing this issue all the way through to a new airport site.
"In addition, Mead represents a constituency along Interstate Hwy. 35W that prefers not to have their homes condemned via eminent domain, or have lines-of-sight obliterated by additional freeway construction. I fail to see how representing her ward's concern can be construed in your editorial as ineffective leadership. Moreover, your staff recognizes the "independent voices" of Steve Minn and Robert Landis, so where is the fairness of not seeing it in Mead? No, Mead is not the most media-savvy of the lot. However, by also providing support and guidance in closing a brothel/sauna that was one half-block from Windom Elementary School; negotiating a dispute over the Pearl Park community center building plans; pressuring Cub Foods to provide streetscaping and a new bus shelter along Nicollet Avenue at 59th Street; working with local commercial businesses to be more neighborhood-friendly (Le Jeune Steel); opposing public funding of a new stadium when the money can be better spent on schools and infrastructure; and taking care of the mundane requests to have trees trimmed, streets repaired and graffiti removed, Mead provides leadership by example."
PUBLICATION: The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, British Columbia)
DATE: October 29, 1997
SECTION: News; Regional Roundup; Pg. B5
DATELINE: Coquitlam, British Columbia
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Claudette Friesen, petition organizer
The Vancouver Sun reports that the British Columbia town of Coquitlam has received a 500-name petition calling for the shut-down of a Town Centre bus service. The residents of Town Centre Boulevard complain that the bus service adds noise, congestion and the potential for crime in the area.
Accoriding to the article, petition organizer Claudette Friesen said residents are angry the bus service was added at the beginning of September without their input. The residents also complained that the city banned on-street parking along Town Centre Boulevard, apparently to make room for the buses. In a letter to Friesen, Jim Prokop, BC Transit's manager of service said the additional route is to accommodate students attending the new Douglas College. Prokop said that a formal review of transit services in north Coquitlam will be conducted next year.
PUBLICATION: The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia)
DATE: October 29, 1997
SECTION: Local; Pg. B1
BYLINE: John Murphy
DATELINE: Chesapeake, Virginia
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Mary Hawthorne, resident; Maury Gunn, resident; Michael L. Feris, representative of the Chesapeake Council of Civic Organizations; Maryland Hallman, resident
The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, Virginia, reports that at least 150 Chesapeake residents turned out for the Navy's final hearing on its plan to transfer up to 180 F/A-18 Hornets to Oceana Naval Air Station. The majority of the 15 people who spoke made it clear that more jets would not be welcome. The Navy's jets fly so close you can tell how recently the pilot shaved, one resident here complained. Others said the noise gets so bad they plug their ears when they go outside. And some residents worried that more jets would mean a greater danger of a crash in their neighborhoods.
According to the article, this meeting in Chesapeake was in contrast to a recent hearing at Virginia Beach Pavilion, which drew many supporters of the jets. All but a few residents who turned out in Chesapeake expressed their anger, frustration and fear over the Navy's plans. ''Virginia Beach may think this is a good economic move, but what will the citizens of Chesapeake gain from it?'' asked Mary Hawthorne, a Chesapeake resident since 1992. Others questioned whether the Navy should bring more jets to the area when, they argue, it has so much trouble controlling the planes it already has. ''It's free flying at Fentress,'' proclaimed Maury Gunn, a 14-year resident of Bedford Street in Chesapeake.
The article reports Michael L. Feris, a representative speaking for the Chesapeake Council of Civic Organizations, asked that the Navy set up a clear set of rules for flight patterns around Fentress. The Navy's plan to bring all 180 jets to Oceana would increase flight operations at Fentress by about 50 percent. Although representatives from the Tidewater Builders Association and the Tidewater Board of Realtors support the Navy in bringing the jets and their military personnel and families to the area, residents countered with the fact that there are things money can't buy - like peace and quiet in their neighborhoods. ''I think it is quite apparent . . . that the jet activity proposed is simply not compatible with human life,'' said Maryland Hallman, who lives on Pocaty Road near Fentress.
The article notes that the Navy was forced to move the jets after the Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommended in 1993 that Cecil Field be closed. While the Navy wants to move all 180 jets to Virginia, other options include splitting the F/A-18s between Oceana and installations at Cherry Point, N.C., and Beaufort, S.C. Regardless of the final plan, at least 120 F/A-18s will be based at Oceana. Under the Navy's current flight plan, 39,000 residents in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach and 23 schools would fall into high-noise zones or accident-potential zones. A final decision on where to relocate the jets will be made in spring 1998, with the goal to move the jets from Cecil Field by 1999.
PUBLICATION: The Washington Post (Washington, DC)
DATE: October 29, 1997
SECTION: Metro; Pg. B03; Metros in Brief: Virginia
DATELINE: Washington, DC
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Senator John W. Warner (R- Virginia); Senator Charles S. Robb (D-Virginia); Representative James P. Moran Jr. (D-Virginia)
The Washington Post reports that at a Capitol Hill hearing yesterday, Virginia Sens. John W. Warner (R) and Charles S. Robb (D), along with Rep.James P. Moran Jr. (D), bitterly renounced a proposal to relax federal flight controls at National Airport. They said this bill would mean more noise and congestion at the busy airport.
According to the article, the Virginians voiced their opposition to legislation introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would determine which airlines get access to about 700 daily flight "slots" at National, where takeoffs and landings are limited to keep down noise. McCain's legislation would relax the rule that limits to 1,250 miles the distance planes can fly from National. McCain is pushing his measure as a means to increase competition among airlines at National, and he says it would save area travelers millions of dollars a year. Opponents fear that McCain's bill would open National to more pressure for nighttime flights and that it could create crowding in National's new terminal.
PUBLICATION: Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin)
DATE: October 28, 1997
SECTION: Editorial, Pg. 11A, Reader Reply
DATELINE: Madison, Wisconsin
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Chuck Erickson, resident and member of the Vilas Neighborhood Association zoning committee
The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin, ran the following editorial written by a reader. The reader is Chuck Erickson, member of the Vilas Neighborhood Association zoning committee. Mr. Erickson responded to a recent column published in the newspaper about the city cracking down on noise from bars near Camp Randall Stadium. Mr. Erickson takes exception to what he saw as a mocking tone of the writer of the column in reference to residents who have complained about the noise.
In Dave Zweifel's column responding to the city cracking down on bars near Camp Randall Stadium, he seemed to make a mockery of legitimate neighborhood concerns by comparing residents who live near the stadium to someone who purchases a house near an airport runway. Zweifel's response demonstrates his ignorance on several counts: The history of the stadium surrounding residential areas and the intensity of the nuisances generated by stadium activities. The neighborhoods surrounding Camp Randall Stadium existed before the 1917 stadium and before it was enlarged. Within my six-year residence in my neighborhood (living a block from Regent Street), I have witnessed an alarming increase in the number of bars, and an increase in the size of the existing bars nearby that serve stadium clientele.
In addition to noise, more bars have resulted in rude behavior as bar patrons stumble to find their cars. This behavior consists of public drunkenness on our streets, people urinating in our alleys and on our properties, people littering, and vandalism in the neighborhood. Even more alarming is the fact that there have been proposals for more bars, which if approved would mean more outdoor seating, loud music and more stadium and bar activity noise during athletic events.
The noise disturbances from these bars are already intolerable. Two years ago, the restaurant Terrazzo's, located in the building of the former Brat and Brau and now the Oakcrest Tavern, patently violated its conditional-use permit and hired a live band for the entire Badger football season. The music was so loud that from a block away we could hear the music inside our house with all the doors and windows shut. This music lasted for several hours after the game and well after 9 p.m. More than a ''few hours'' after the game, as Dave Zweifel himself stated in his column. When residents contacted the city Planning and Development Department on one of these occasions, they were told that such infractions of conditional-use permits, such as live music vs. recorded music, as well as the volume level, were not monitored on the weekends. On another occasion when residents contacted the police, they were told that the Police Department did not have a copy of any conditional-use permits and therefore could do nothing about these infractions.
To their credit, the police have responded at times by providing a presence in the neighborhood during athletic events. However, the violations and the noise continue. With little or no recourse against these nuisances, it becomes extremely important to our safety and enjoyment of our neighborhood that the city does crack down on bars near the stadium.
Dave Zweifel also attempts to minimize the seriousness of disturbances generated by events at the stadium, stating that there are merely six football games a year. He fails to mention several other athletic events each year that have similar annoying effects on the surrounding neighborhoods. He is apparently only aware of the complaints resulting from Badger football games. The annual high school wrestling tournament usually results in uninvited cars parking in driveways of residents, and rude and obnoxious behavior as fans pass through the neighborhood on their way to the Field House. Over a year ago, as the Vilas Neighborhood Association Council was meeting right across the street, the back window of a resident's car parked in their driveway on Vilas Avenue, near the ''circle mound park,'' was smashed, just as a men's basketball game was starting. Other stadium events that Zweifel did not mention are high school football games. If you include every athletic event, the number of events affecting the surrounding neighborhoods is much more than just six football games.
It is plain to see that our neighborhood complaints of stadium- and bar-related activities are valid and reasonable. Granted, the stadium is located near residential neighborhoods. This, however, does not give license for stadium activities to jeopardize the safety and right to quiet enjoyment of nearby neighborhoods. Stadium- and bar-associated activities need to be monitored to maintain a safe residential environment. Whether the stadium or neighborhood was here first should not be an issue. Maintaining a careful balance between the desires of athletic fans and residents who live in these neighborhoods should be the issue.
PUBLICATION: The Christian Science Monitor
DATE: October 28, 1997
SECTION: Editorials; Pg. 20
DATELINE: New York City, New York
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Fiorello La Guardia, former New York mayor; New York City Council; Noise Pollution Clearinghouse
The Christian Science Monitor recently printed the following editorial whose subject was noise and the resulting "quiet crisis."
It's noisy out there. And not just in the city. Helicopters, airplanes, leaf blowers, lawn mowers, boom boxes, trains, trucks - something, somewhere, is always making noise. Some people have referred to the phenomenon as the "quiet crisis." It's not new, of course. A Monitor article told of New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia's decision, in the 1930s, to do battle against the loud sounds of the city, levying fines on urbanites for a variety of offenses. The experiment didn't last long, though. La Guardia went too far by suggesting that organ grinders be banned from the streets. New Yorkers protested that the grinders made a joyful sound. The city soon went back to being its noisy self.
This time, things might be different. Members of the recently voted to double and triple the fines for repeated noise violations. A first-time fine for cranking up the volume on a radio, for example, would range from $ 90 to $ 350, according to The New York Times; third-time offenders should be prepared to shell out $ 270 to $ 1,050. Steep, yes. But that's the point. Businesses - bars and nightclubs, for example - may have a hard time absorbing the higher fines and might, therefore, be more inclined to turn down the sound.
Some will cry foul, since certain loud noises can't easily be prevented. What if a car alarm goes off and the car's owner is nowhere to be found? For a first offense, $ 100 to $ 250. But if it happens again, $ 200 to $ 500. The measure, perhaps, is too broad, as a few council members argued. Car alarms are a good example. But there are noises - honking horns, cranked up stereos -that can and should be controlled to some extent.
In this country, and in others, noise is one of the most persistent forms of pollution there is. Towns and cities like New York are right to try and get people to pipe down. Now, there's even a Web site (www.nonoise.org) devoted to the issue. Thankfully, such no- noise advocates are no longer willing to keep quiet.
PUBLICATION: Congressional Press Releases (Washington, DC)
DATE: October 28, 1997
SECTION: Press Release
BYLINE: Senator John McCain (Republican - Arizona)
DATELINE: United States
The following press release was published in Washington, DC, by Senator John McCain who is sponsoring a bill to enhance aviation competition.
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today introduced the Aviation Competition Enhancement Act of 1997. The bill includes several pro-competition provisions such as slot auctioning at slot-controlled airports and exemptions to the perimeter rule, and addresses the issue of timely responses to predatory behavior complaints. "This legislation attempts to address the barriers to competition that remain in a deregulated aviation industry," McCain said. "The removal of these federal restrictions would benefit passengers and the overall economy with more convenient options and competitive air fares for travelers."
The legislation mandates a slot allocation for new entrants and limited incumbent air carriers (no more than 12 slots) by requiring the Secretary of Transportation to create new slots where possible. It authorizes the Secretary to grant exemptions from the perimeter rule which prohibits nonstop flights longer than 1,250 miles into or out of Washington National Airport. It would also. establish a 90-day deadline for the Department of Transportation (DOT) to respond to complaints of major air carriers' predatory behavior.
In the House of Representatives, Aviation Subcommittee Chairman John Duncan has introduced a similar aviation competition bill. Duncan said, "I look forward to working with Senator McCain in order to help improve air service for several communities by creating a more competitive airline industry which will hopefully lead to an increase in air service and a decrease in air fares."
Last year, the U.S. General Accounting Office released a report on the effects of airline deregulation. The report showed that while most cities and the flying public have benefited from deregulation, some have not received the benefits of increased service and lower fares. "I am pleased that Congressman Duncan has joined me in targeting remaining impediments to competition in the aviation industry," McCain said. "Although deregulation has benefited consumers in general, clearly there are areas we need address. Incumbent carriers should not be afraid of competition and should welcome these changes."
Summary of bill: Aviation Competition Enhancement Act of 1997 Slot Auction - The legislation mandates a slot allocation among new entrant and limited incumbent air carriers (air carriers that hold no more am 12 slots). The secretary of Transportation is to "create" new slots where possible. If it is not possible to create slots because of capacity and noise limitations, the Secretary must withdraw a limited number of slots (up to 10 percent initially, 5 percent every two years following) that were grandfathered to the major air carriers in 1995 and that remain with those grandfathered carries. The legislation or report will stipulate that the Department of Transportation (DOT) cannot withdraw slots that are used to provide air service to "under served" markets. The withdrawn slots then will be auctioned among only the new entrant and limited incumbent air carriers. A new entrant or limited incumbent air carrier applies to the DOT for slots, proposing the markets to be served and the times requested. The DOT must approve the application if it determines that the carrier can operate the proposed service for at least 180 days, and that the service will improve the competitive environment. The DOT can return the request to the applicant for further information. The DOT must prioritize applications that propose service between a high density airport (a slot-controlled airport -- National, Kennedy, LaGuardia and O'Hare) and a relatively small city. All slot auction proceeds will be deposited in the aviation trust fund. The legislation directs the DOT to institute action to ensure maximum slot usage, and to study the effect of the high density rule on airline competition.
Exemptions to Perimeter Rule at National Airport - Mandates that the Secretary grant exemptions from the perimeter rule to an air carrier proposing to serve Washington National from points beyond the perimeter, if the carrier's proposal would (1) provide service with network benefits, and (2) increase competition in multiple markets. The legislation or report will stipulate that the Secretary should not approve applications that propose to "trade" under served markets within the perimeter for long-haul markets that are well served from the Washington region. The legislation would not affect the cap on the number of hourly operations at Washington National Airport. All exemption operations would be limited to Stage 3 aircraft. The legislation would require the DOT to certify periodically that noise, air traffic congestion, airport-related vehicular congestion, safety standards, and adequate air service to communities within the perimeter have not been degraded as a result of this exemption authority.
Complaints Concerning Predatory Behavior - The legislation establishes a 90-day deadline for the DOT to respond to complaints of predatory behavior on the part of major air carriers.
For more information, contact: Pia Pialorsi 202-224-2610; Nancy Ives 202-224-7130
PUBLICATION: The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas)
DATE: October 28, 1997
SECTION: News; Pg. 1A
BYLINE: Sherry Jacobson
DATELINE: Dallas, Texas
ACTIVISTS, INDIVIDUALS, AND GROUPS MENTIONED: Becky Stannard, resident; Love Field Citizens Action Committee; Cay Kolb, resident and committee member; Pat White, resident; Veletta Forsythe Lill, city council member; John Loza, city council member
The Dallas Morning News of Dallas, Texas, reports that a number of residents who live near Love Field Airport say their noise and safety concerns are being disregarded while a congressional debate about changing the Wright Amendment which would allow expansion at Love Field proceeds.
The Dallas Morning News says no one who lives in the vicinity of Dallas Love Field expects peace and quiet, but residents of the surrounding neighborhoods complain they never got an opportunity to voice their objections to altering the Wright amendment, which would allow more flights out of Love Field. Now they say they are having difficulty convincing the Dallas City Council to seriously listen to their concerns. "There was no forum for fully airing this before the vote was taken