MAILBAG - Feb. 7, 2009
Cell tower isn’t a harmless installation
Dorothy Dash asks, “What is the difference between a cell tower and the thousands of telephone poles throughout Glendale carrying TV cables, telephone and electric lines?” (“Cell towers won’t stand out much,” Mailbag, Wednesday).
The basic answer to the question is that the telephone poles are benign, passive objects, while the cell towers are not. The cell towers are emitting strong electromagnetic waves and, furthermore, are supported by large underground machinery nearby, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The underground machinery includes large air-conditioning units and generates noise 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
This is an industrial installation that requires maintenance and the associated noise and disturbance in the neighborhood at any hour of the day or night.
At present, we do not know what the long-term effects of these emissions are on humans, including children and even pets.
Past experience has proven us wrong in many instances where certain materials or situations were declared “safe,” only to be proven tragically otherwise several years later.
Examples abound, such as the exposure of people to radioactivity in the atom bomb tests of the 1940s and exposures to asbestos, lead, mercury, trichloroethylene, Agent Orange, DDT, tobacco and many others. It took decades to realize the devastating effects of these on people, including children and children’s children.
The aesthetic aspect of these antennas in a nice residential neighborhood should also not be ignored, as also should not be ignored the effect on property values. Who would want to buy a house with a cellular antenna a few feet away?
These are the differences between telephone poles and cellular towers, and these are the reasons why we do not want such installations a few feet from our homes and our children and pets.
THEODORE POLYCHRONIS
Glendale
Drop this plan in the Dumpster
Regarding opening the city-owned Scholl Canyon Landfill to other cities to offset revenue loss (“Budget gap is gaping,” Wednesday): Recently, I took a tour of the landfill.
It was my understanding that in only a few short years, the landfill will be full. We then will send our trash by rail to the desert.
Why would we cut off our nose to spite our face? Opening the landfill to other cities just hastens its closing and will force us to use the rail system of disposing of trash. That system will most certainly cost more.
I would say “no” to opening Scholl Canyon Landfill to other cities. It may be more cost-effective right now, but not in the future.
LYNDA HESSICK
Glendale
Not everyone’s listening to the law
It seems that the cell-phone driving law does not apply to the city of Glendale (“In uniform, police catch few drivers texting,” Jan. 21). Every single day I see drivers, especially youngsters and women, happily talking on the cell phone while driving.
What is it that needs to be done in order to enforce this much-needed law? The meager $20 fine for the first offense is not helping. These drivers are not too worried about being pulled over once or even twice because the fine for the second offense is just $50. It will be too late by then.
An innocent child or a family could be killed. We cannot wait for another fatal accident to justify the need to enforce a stricter law and hefty fine for using a cell phone while driving.
The fine for the first offense needs to be at least $200.
Also, there needs to be more patrolling in order to keep a check on drivers using cell phones.
Secondly, I have seen drivers crossing red lights way too often in recent times. Some of these intersections are photo-enforced, and I hope that these rash drivers received their tickets/fines in the mail.
The intersections that do not have the photo enforcement are the ones that drivers take advantage of. Hence, there needs to be more patrolling at these intersections.
We have enough accidents caused every day involving young and rash drivers in the Glendale area where innocent pedestrians are being killed or injured while crossing the road.
Glendale is a wonderful city, and the Police Department is doing a great job. I hope the cell-phone law is strictly enforced here to make it safer.
SANJAY DIAS
Glendale