Westport
in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Sunday,
January 17, 2016
photos/EverythingWestport.com except as noted
Quick
Article Index . . .
Trust
calls for support of affordable apartments being planned at Noquochoke Village
on Rt. 177.
New
debit card scam hits unwary shoppers at large volume
retail stores.
Letter to the editor: Westport beekeeper
expresses alarm, urges action.
3000
beekeepers submit framework for Mass official Pollinator Protection Plan.
|
Trust calls for support
of affordable apartments being planned at Noquochoke Village on Rt. 177. A February 9th
public hearing has been scheduled by the Planning Board to review the updated
plans submitted by TCB. EverythingWestport.com Sunday,
January 17, 2016 The Westport Affordable
Housing Trust Fund would like to publicly express its support for the special
permit application submitted by The Community Builders, Inc. to the Planning
Board for the proposed Noquochoke Village housing development. The non-profit
company has been working with the Town, the community, and the Trust for the
past four years to plan for the construction of 50 units of new, mixed-income
family housing in Westport on town-owned land off American Legion Highway. The proposed
apartment units will be affordable for individuals and families across a wide
range of income levels, and will address the state's longstanding priorities for
creating permanent affordable housing opportunities in every community in the
Commonwealth. The need for such
affordable housing opportunities in Westport has been demonstrated in the
town's Housing Production Plan, approved by the state Department of Housing
and Community Development, which lists the specific strategies planned to
address the town's housing needs. The construction of 50 new affordable
housing units at Noquochoke Village is one of those key strategies. Last spring, the Board of Selectmen voted to extend the closing date
with The Community Builders beyond December 2014. In May, Town Meeting voted
to support the Trust's request for Community Preservation Act housing funds
to maximize the greatest possible mix of income levels among future residents
of the apartment village. The Community Builders has conducted environmental
testing and dug soil test pits at Noquochoke Village needed to prepare the
septic system design plans for the apartment village. The Westport
Affordable Housing Trust Fund has thoroughly reviewed The Community Builders'
recent application for a special permit for this development, which has been
prepared in compliance with the company's response to the town's original
Request for Proposals and the purchase and sale agreement, signed by the
Board of Selectmen in 2013.
Design revisions
have included more one-level, one bedroom apartment units suitable for
residency by residents with disabilities, as opposed to the multi-level
townhouses originally proposed. The six buildings and community center planned
will be clustered on the eight-acre front portion of the site, known as the
Perry Farm, with about 22 acres near the Noquochoke River known as the Quinn
Property to remain undeveloped for passive recreation. A February 9th
public hearing has been scheduled by the Planning Board to review the updated
plans submitted by The Community Builders in order to help Westport create a
new, much-needed affordable housing option for its residents. For more
information on the project, contact Westport Housing Specialist Leonardi Aray by calling
617.270.3912, or email to Leonardi@larayarchitects.com. New debit card
scam can hit unwary shoppers at high volume retail stores. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, January
17, 2016 Sgt. J.R. Simmons
(NBPD Ret.), Harbormaster for the Town of Mattapoisett recently sent out an
email warning shoppers to pay attention to their receipts. “Check your
receipts before leaving any cashier's station; do not wait until you get
home.” This scam can be
done anywhere, at any retail or wholesale location when using a debit card.
She did not ask
for cash back! My coworker
called Wal-Mart who investigated but could not see the cashier pocket the
money. She then called her niece who works for the bank and her niece told
her this is a new scam. The cashier will key in that you asked for cash back
and then hand it to her friend who is the next person in line. Please, please,
please check your receipts right away before leaving a cashier’s station when
using credit or debit cards! This is not limited
to Wal-Mart, although they are the largest retailer so they have the most
incidents. I am adding to
this.... my husband and I were in Wal-Mart North, Salisbury and paying with a
credit card. When my husband went to sign the credit card signer, he just
happened to notice there was a $20 cash back added. He told the cashier that
he did not ask nor want cash back and she said this machine has been messing
up and she canceled it. We didn't think
anything of it until we read this email. I wonder how many
seniors have been, or will be, stung by this scam.”
Editor’s Note: Never use debit cards to shop if you can avoid it, either at a brick
and mortar store and especially on-line. Their use is open to fraudulent
activity, and once cash is gone through a scam, it’s gone. Use a standard
credit card and then pay the bill within 30 days to avoid interest charges.
It’s the safest way to shop, especially since some clever store clerks have
implemented this devious scheme to steal your money. Westport
beekeeper expresses alarm, urges action. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, January
17, 2016 Letter to the
editor: During the
holiday season we celebrate harvest gifts from nature, from pumpkins to
apples to cranberries. There are growing signs of trouble that the winged
workers who not only pollinate our food supply but are essential to our
ecosystems, are in trouble. Bees are responsible for one out of three
bites of food we eat and without bees, we would lose some of our most
delicious and nutritious foods. This past year,
Massachusetts beekeepers lost more than of 46 percent of their hives, on
average. This is higher than the 2014-2015 Left: Toxic pesticides are killing honey bees. Pests, diseases,
and changing climate have all been identified as contributing factors to bee
decline, however a growing body of scientific evidence points to a class of
neurotoxic pesticides related to chemicals produced by tobacco plants called
neonicotinoids (neonics), as a key factor in colony
collapse disorder. Neonics are the fastest-growing
class of synthetic pesticides in history, and imidacloprid
– Bayer Crop Science’s top-selling product – is the most widely used
insecticide in the world. Neonics are used as seed
treatments on more than 140 varieties of crops, as well as on termites, cat
and dog flea treatments, lawns, landscapes and gardens. Neonics are persistent and
last for years in the soil. They permeate the entire plant and are expressed
in pollen, nectar and dew. Because they can’t be washed off food, we are all
ingesting them daily. Nor is their use limited to commercial crops: Many of
the plants and seeds we buy from nurseries have been pre-treated with these
pesticides, at doses up to 120 higher than are used on farms. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency conditionally approved these pesticides based
on the company’s own studies despite mounting evidence, including a memo by
the EPA’s own scientists discrediting Bayer’s original study. Recently, the
9th Circuit Court suspended the EPA’s approval of sufloxaflor,
a neonicotinoid, concluding, “Leaving the EPA’s registration of sulfoxaflor in place risks more potential environmental
harm than vacating it.” Last April, the
EPA placed a moratorium on new and expanded uses of neonicotinoids and other
cities, states and universities have passed measures to address the use of
these pesticides to protect bees. Other parts of the world are acting too.
The European Union has banned several neonicotinoids and Ontario, Canada has
restricted neonicotinoid coated seeds. We must act to address current use of
these pesticides in the state.
Above: Lucy Tabit at the Westport Town Farm fall festival. The
Westport beekeeper’s hives have suffered severe declines she attributes to a
class of pesticides, specifically neonicotinoid’s used in soybean, corn,
canola, and sunflower seed production. Massachusetts is
in a unique situation to be a leader in pollinator protection. Massachusetts
beekeepers, including eight county beekeeping associations and the
Massachusetts Beekeepers Association, representing more than 3,000 beekeepers
across Massachusetts, created a Pollinator Protection Plan Framework which,
if adopted by the Commonwealth, will provide a comprehensive approach to
protect pollinators. On November 17,
the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and
Agriculture reviewed several pollinator bills, including H.655-An Act
Protecting Massachusetts Pollinators, which would limit the use of harmful
neonicotinoid pesticides. As a co-chairs of
the committee, Representative Paul Schmid and Senator Anne Gobi can help
protect Massachusetts bees, our food supply and our environment by urging the
Department of Agricultural Resources to adopt the Eight County President’s
Beekeepers Pollinator Protection Plan Framework created by Massachusetts
beekeepers and help pass H.655 out of committee and to the House and Senate
floor of the legislature. As a beekeeper I
urge Representative Schmid and Senator Gobi to stand with beekeepers across
Massachusetts and act fast to protect our industry by supporting these
measures. We can all work together to make a change in the health of
our pollinators before it’s too late. Lucy Tabit Westport Editor’s
note: At the end of July, 2015 Representative Paul A. Schmid (D-Westport)
co-chaired an oversight hearing to discuss the phenomenon of honey bee colony
collapse disorder in front of the Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural
Resources, and Agriculture. The Committee heard various
bills this session relative to bees, including regulating the use of
pesticides, specifically neonicotinoids, which are often linked to the
decline in honey bee populations. As bees are vital to pollination and
the production of fruits and vegetables, colony collapse disorder could
potentially threaten our supply of locally grown crops in Massachusetts.
The Committee promised to remain focused on this issue, and looks forward to
hearing from interested parties at future hearings. 3000
beekeepers submit framework for Mass official Pollinator Protection Plan. Joining
the voices raising awareness of declining pollinators is Deborah Weaver, Executive
director, Westport River Watershed Alliance in this Letter to the Editor. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, January
17, 2016 To the editor: Our organization
recognizes that bees and other pollinators are essential to one in every
three bites of food we eat, including key crops for Massachusetts such as
cranberries, apples and blueberries, and essential for preserving
Massachusetts agricultural economy and environment. Unfortunately,
Massachusetts beekeepers are experiencing unprecedented numbers of bee
decline. This past winter, Massachusetts beekeepers lost over 46 percent of
their hives, which is too high to be sustainable. These losses have and will
continue to result in harmful impacts on the state economy, including
Westport’s beekeeping and farming community. We believe the legislature can
help to reverse these declines by adopting the recommendations outlined in
this letter. “Massachusetts beekeepers lost over
46 percent of their hives, which is too
high to be sustainable.” - Deborah Weaver In October,
Massachusetts beekeepers, including beekeepers from Westport and other county
beekeeping associations, representing over 3,000 beekeepers, submitted a
framework to be used as Massachusetts official Pollinator Protection Plan to
the Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR). Our organization believes
this framework will help protect pollinators from the risks of systemic
pesticides and other factors locally contributing to their decline. We urge
the committee to request MDAR adopt this framework as Massachusetts official
pollinator protection plan by contacting Commissioner Lebeaux
and urging the agency to implement this plan. Additionally, we
recommend that H.731 and H. 3417 be rejected. These bills do not recognize
the appropriate parties to provide oversight to laws impacting beekeepers in
Massachusetts. Further, Colony Collapse Disorder is comprised of a specific
set of symptoms, which has yet to be seen in Massachusetts. We believe the
state would misallocate valuable time and resources if it studied this
syndrome. The state would be most effective if it adopts the beekeepers’
proposed framework and passes H.655 because, based on a preponderance of
evidence, we believe the recommendations outlined in this letter are the best
appropriate steps the state can take to immediately help bees, beekeepers and
farmers in Massachusetts. Based on a
growing body of scientific evidence, neonicotinoid pesticides have been
identified as a leading factor contributing to bee decline. While most
insecticides are toxic to pollinators, the neonicotinoid family of
insecticides stands apart from the rest. Neonicotinoids can kill bees
outright and makes them more vulnerable to pests, pathogens and other
stressors while impairing their foraging and feeding abilities, reproduction
and memory. Research has also shown they are harming beneficial organisms
including wild bees, birds, bats, butterflies, dragonflies, lacewings,
ladybugs, earthworms, small mammals, amphibians, and aquatic insects, putting
food production and the environment in jeopardy. This class of pesticides is
persistent, lasting for months to years in the soil. It permeates the entire
plant and is later released in pollen, nectar and dew. Because they cannot be
washed off food, it is likely we are eating them daily. Based on a growing body of
scientific evidence, neonicotinoid pesticides have been
identified as a leading factor contributing to bee decline. - Deborah Weaver. Bees are key
indicator species, and with roughly 80 percent of all flowering plants on
Earth reliant on pollinators to reproduce. If we lose bees we will also
likely lose a host of other important species. Bees are “canaries in the coal
mine,” and their rapid decline signals that our current agriculture system,
based on the use of toxic pesticides, is having disastrous consequences. We
must limit the use of these chemicals and shift to more sustainable forms of
agriculture. We know bee decline is complex, but scientific evidence clearly
shows that neonicotinoid pesticides are a key part of the problem and
something we can fix now. Passing restrictions on these chemicals, which
H.655 accomplishes, and transitioning to least toxic alternatives will help
bees and preserve our agricultural economy and environment for years to come. The Westport
River Watershed Alliance urges Massachusetts legislators to lead our nation
in protecting our food supply, agricultural economy and environment by
adopting the Eight County President’s Beekeeper’s Pollinator Protection Plan
Framework created and supported by more than 3,000 Massachusetts beekeepers
and support and pass H.655 – An Act protecting Massachusetts pollinators. Deborah Weaver © 2016 Community Events of Westport. All rights
reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
