Jan Schlichtmann, the 'real' attorney (played by John Travolta in the movie of CIVIL ACTION) talked to us last night at the Regent theater with perhaps 200 persons in Arlington, stating how it is best to get out and meet and talk about the truth of our threatening environmental matter than to wait for Justice to be served, but as we will also do. Monday we go to Rep. Brownsberger's office to deliver 1000 signatures from around the world stating the need to protect and preserve our local forest floodplain.

We come to the state house at 1:00 to his offices and legislators who signed onto the bill that was vetoed once by the Governor's office and ignored a second time, directing an appraisal request from EOEEA as a substitute.
The Bill was to purchase the land from O'Neill and the Governor passed this bill over, even though there was no money requested from the state.
We must continue to have the case heard because of the future of those who live in the area, and the many species that live and reproduce there.

Perhaps we have been snookered by the behemoth developer who has been buying property dirt cheap in the area since 2000 and building a billion dollar empire by acquiring devalued wetlands, and floodplain for himself and selling to himself with most of the land and buildings now owned by AP Partners, and O'Neill alias at exhorbitant sale value of perhaps more than a 100 times. The towns and city have turned eyes away from the floodplain and habitat abuse. Instead of valuing the land and waterways at a high value so as to protect them, they have been selling off to the highest bidder. As soon as one developer moves forward, all of the others will join in to destroy our rich urban wild, the largest untouched urban wild in the Boston area. And we citizens in Cambridge, Belmont and Arlington are also the victims as well as the fox, coyote, deer, birds and mink and otter.

Why doesn't someone investigate. As we go from state house office to state house office on monday we will be asking for an investigation into the practices of property robbery and business ownership transfers to itself and how can one without permits be buying a sewer pump station for the city of Cambridge at 2 million dollars. IT looks like Mr. O'Neill's company, AP Partners bought the station or shared it with the other 2 anxious to clear the land. Faces owner has for years been a spokesperson for the other 2 developers, the main one being O'Neill Properties from Pennsylvania. What is going on that no one knows or cares, or perhaps I am terribly naieve and do not know that this is 'business as is normally practiced'. Perhaps we should allow the business world to interpret all of this for us silly little citizens. I do wish some one would let me know that I am 'off base' and do not know the real circumstances and should be quiet. As a result, I would stop losing so much sleep over what may happen.

Jan Schlichtmann is a great hero to many persons in the Mystic River watershed because he forced the federal environmental agency of EPA to force payments to families for the dead children of Woburn. He continues doing the same thing with Tom's River where very high cases of Leukemia are found around huge industrial waste areas, still plaguing the watersheds of America. Once again, he says, don't wait for the courts, but talk about it and work towards an information blitz among concerned citizens as they will be the ones to inspire, continue to move forward, and keep the truth from being buried.

Thanks for meeting with us Rep. Brownsberger. We will want you to give us a meeting date where we can speak about how to move forward whether EOEEA gives us a low or a high appraisal of the land. This is for the future of our neighborhoods.

The present bacteria and sediment toxicity levels in Alewife Brook are not sustainable. The city and MWRA, in their new storm water project, however wonderful it will be to separate the sewer from stormwater, and retain the storm water in a basin, will require from our towns and city much more conservation work.
Abuse of our floodplain by owners in the area will have to stop to demand a sustainable region for the health and safety of we citizens.