Noah Schuchman posted the following on Gary Schiff's Behalf: >From Council Member Gary Schiff: "To set the record straight: I never told Dan McGrath that all truckers should get out of the City, a sentiment he attributed to me 2/5/05."
Here's what I had posted: "I wrote Gary Schiff about the issue, and his attitude is essentially that truckers should get out of the city." Here is the pertinent portion of Gary's email to me on the matter: "You are absolutely right about why truckers keep their trucks idling. It's why truck stops are the perfect place for this kind of activity, not across the street from single family homes. New plug-in heaters are also available on the marketplace as well, the State of California now mandates them at all truck stops. The result of the ordinance will be: either truckers or businesses invest in the plug-ins, resulting in quieter neighborhoods and cleaner air, or the drivers will sleep at truck stops. Either outcome is preferable." It's worded nicer than "Truckers get out," but the meaning is the same. I did not quote Council Member Schiff as saying anything. I summarized the attitude and intended effect of the message and proposed ordinance. "Truck Stops are the perfect place for this kind of activity not across the street from single family homes...The result of the ordinance... invest in the plug-ins...or the drivers will sleep at truck stops. Either outcome is preferable." The meaning reads like "get out of town" to me. In my email to Gary Schiff, I also asked him if he actually talked to any truckers before writing this ordinance. Note he didn't deign to answer that question. I did talk to some truckers. I just received an email from one today, in fact. Here are some pertinent excerpts from his email: ____________________________________________________________ "The only option to idling is an independant generator. I have heard the adage (which I found to be true) that "shutting down a diesel is only asking for trouble." "[describes several mechanical problems]. Also the trailer-track system required for our level of government work bleeds the system. Needless to say, we are loath to shut it down." "When the temperature goes under 20 degrees, a significant proportion of trucks won't start after being idle all night. This is just feeding truckers as fodder to the basically criminally oriented truckstop repair industry." "And ... just to prove how stupid the DOT can be, they went and created something called IdleAir, which if you look at it has to make you wonder. It combines air conditioning, heat, TV and Internet at a cost of several million dollars. I rather you just go look at it and then decide for yourself that the forces controlling trucking are simply insane." "I also think it is the responsibility of the government to provide parking, which they could easily do along the sides of the highways. I say it is necessary because, by not providing parking they are forcing truckers to keep moving in violiation of the service of hours laws. This is entrapment on such a grand scale it violates several sections of the constitution." __________________________________________________________ Dan McGrath Longfellow http://www.smokeoutgary.org REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
