Friday, July 20, 2012
Arlington resident Rich Carreiro, a former Precinct 19 Town Meeting member, writes that members have near-zero accountability for their actions due to the current voting structure.
- OPINION
-
Friday, July 20, 2012
The following is a Letter to the Editor from Arlington resident, Rich Carreiro, a former Precinct 19 Town Meeting member. July 19th's vote on the leaf-blower ban once again shows what many of us have known for years -- Arlington's "representative" town meeting is anything but. Why? Because Town Meeting Members have near-zero accountability for their actions. If you want to know how your TMMs voted, the only way to even begin to have a chance to find out is to get a seat in the gallery at Town Meeting, hope that you can see your TMMs from where you are sitting, and when a counted vote comes along, see which way they vote. Good luck! Now, having said that I am nonethless firmly convinced that Arlington's Town Meeting is a far better form of …
Arlington resident Stephen Harrington, a Precinct 13 Town Meeting member, writes that the seasonal leaf-blower ban may have been upheld, but the special-election results speak for themselves.
- OPINION
-
Friday, July 20, 2012
The following is a Letter to the Editor from Arlington resident Stephen Harrington, a Precinct 13 Town Meeting member. On Thursday, July 19, 8,158 voters turned out for a special election deciding whether to overturn a ban that the 2012 Town Meeting had placed on private use of leaf blowers. More voters turned out for this referendum than in any of the last 10 annual town elections even with a six hour voting window, half that of a usual election; even though many people had vacation plans during this hot summer; even though most of east Arlington was in the midst of a clean-up from a devastating microburst less than 24 hours before. The result of the referendum was overwhelmingly in support of overturning this ill-considered ban. More …
A look at how Arlington's neighborhoods voted on the seasonal ban of gas-powered leaf blowers, which was upheld.
Seasonal Leaf-Blower Ban Upheld in Arlington 1
42.41631
-71.15687
Arlington Town Hall
730 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA
/articles/precinct-results-from-thursday-s-special-election
230699
/locations/7453585
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Opponents of the ban fell 241 "No" votes shy of a repeal.
Despite taking Thursday’s vote by more than a 2-to-1 margin, opponents of Arlington’s seasonal ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, which was passed at Town Meeting in April, fell 241 “No” votes shy of repealing the ban. State law required opponents to get at least 5,780 “No” votes, which represents 20 percent of Arlington’s 28,898 registered voters, in order to overturn the action of Town Meeting. Instead, they got 5,539, or roughly 68 percent of the 8,158 votes cast. There were 2,619 “Yes” votes. Thursday’s Special Election had 28 percent voter turnout overall. By comparison, April’s Town Elections, which featured hotly contested races for both the Board of Selectmen and School Committee, as well as numerous Town Meeting member races due to …
42.41631
-71.15687
Arlington Town Hall
730 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA
/articles/seasonal-leaf-blower-ban-upheld-in-arlington
230699
/locations/7453617
Opponents of the ban fell 241 "No" votes shy of a repeal.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Please use the comments section below as a forum to discuss Thursday’s vote on the regulation of gas-powered leaf blowers in Arlington.
The special election that will determine the fate of Arlington’s seasonal ban on gas-powered leaf blowers is Thursday, July 19. Residents will be asked to vote on the following question: “Shall the town vote to approve the action of the representative town meeting whereby it was voted to amend the Town Bylaws to prohibit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers on private property between May 15th and October 15th by a vote of 95 in the affirmative to 85 in the negative.” A “Yes” vote keeps the seasonal leaf-blower ban in place. A “No” vote overturns it. Polls will be open from 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday, and polling locations can be found here. Opponents of the ban have a tall task in front of them. In addition to winning the vote Thursday, they’ll …
The special election that will determine the fate of Arlington’s seasonal ban on gas-powered leaf blowers is Thursday, July 19. Polls will be open from 2 to 8 p.m.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Arlington resident A. Michael Ruderman, a Precinct 9 Town Meeting Member, writes that residents should vote to uphold Town Meeting's regulation of gas-powered leaf blowers at the Special Election on Thursday, July 19.
- OPINION
-
Friday, July 13, 2012
The following is a Letter to the Editor from Arlington resident A. Michael Ruderman, a Precinct 9 Town Meeting Member. In the July 19 Special Election, I urge you to maintain the regulation of gas-powered leaf blowers that we passed in our Annual Town Meeting. We heard many arguments in town meeting against leaf blowers: their noise, their engines’ pollution, their blasting of sand and grit into neighbors’ homes. Yet, we were mindful of these tools’ speed and ease in corralling broad expanses of leaves in the fall. So, we amended the original proposal and approved a compromise: no gas-powered blowers on private property, during the driest weeks of the year, when the fewest leaves are on the ground, and the most windows and porches are open…
Arlington resident Malcolm Hamilton writes that he's more concerned about the health impact on landscapers, than on him.
- OPINION
-
Friday, July 13, 2012
The following is a Letter to the Editor from Arlington resident Malcolm Hamilton. I haven’t closely followed all of the commentary about the leaf-blower-ban controversy, so others may have said this. When my landscaper arrives to mow and blow the debris away, I close the downstairs windows because of the gas fumes. But they are not at it in my yard for very long. However, the young men who do the blowing do this all day, and I am more concerned about the impact on their health than on mine. I have outdoor outlets, if he should want to switch to electric leaf blowers. Malcolm Hamilton 24 Elmore St. Have an opinion on the special election? You can submit a “Letter to the Editor” to Arlington Patch Editor John Waller at john.waller@patch.com…
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Today is Thursday, July 12. Here are five things you need to know.
1. Today should be sunny with a high near 86 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. 2. The special election that will determine the fate of Arlington’s seasonal leaf-blower ban is one week from today, Thursday, July 19. Polls will only be open from 2 to 8 p.m. Polling locations can be found here. Below is the exact text of the ballot question: “Shall the town vote to approve the action of the representative town meeting whereby it was voted to amend the Town Bylaws to prohibit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers on private property between May 15th and October 15th by a vote of 95 in the affirmative to 85 in the negative.” 3. Have an opinion on the special election? You can submit a “Letter to the Editor” to Arlington Patch …
Paul
1:23 pm on Thursday, August 30, 2012
How the governance of the Town morphed over 50 years from a simpler representative model to today's overly complex model of pure democracy is a topic for some political science student. We need to go back and to clean out all the layers and committees etc. if the Selectman screw up, vote them out in next election! It isnt the United Nations people.... It's just 4.4 sq miles of mostly a bedroom … more ›