Subject:  Phone Tower in National Park Debated (DePippo)....
Date:     Wed, 28 Jul 1999 064232 -0500 (CDT)
From:     "Roy L. Beavers" <rbeavers@llion.org>
To:       emfguru <rbeavers@llion.org>
--------------------------------------------------


.......It seems that even the Washington Post has taken note of the
connection between the Democrats and telecom industry contributions.....

Roy Beavers (EMFguru)......
rbeavers@llion.org.......
.....It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.....
EMF-L web-site can be found at: 
EMF-L archives can be found at: 
..................PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROFITS..................

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 06:05:35 EDT
From: PDepippo@aol.com
To: rbeavers@llion.org
Subject: Phone Tower in National Park Debated


Phone Tower in National Park Debated

.c The Associated Press

 By JONATHAN D. SALANT

WASHINGTON (AP) - The warbling in Washington's Rock Creek national park won't 
all be from the birds if a senator has his way. Democratic leader Tom Daschle 
has pushed through legislation allowing two cellular phone towers to rise 
amid the trees.

Daschle successfully amended a spending bill for the District of Columbia 
earlier this month, requiring the National Park Service to permit the towers 
in the long, narrow park that bisects much of the nation's capital - despite 
opposition of local political leaders and environmentalists.

The House version of the bill, scheduled for a vote this week, does not have 
the cell phone tower provision.

Washington's legions of commuters bristle with warbling cell phones, and Bell 
Atlantic says many have complained about losing their signal when driving 
through the relative wilds of Rock Creek.

Daschle said park and city police want cellular technology in Rock Creek so 
they can respond more quickly to crimes and accidents there. A road running 
through the park is a major commuting route.

He offered his amendment shortly after the cellular telephone industry 
contributed $50,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Federal 
Election Commission records show.

Bell Atlantic gave $25,000 on June 22, nine days before Daschle's amendment. 
Bell Atlantic Mobile has been waiting for more than five years for permission 
to build the cell towers.

The tallest of the towers is 130 feet, no competition for the 555-foot 
Washington Monument that dominates the skyline. But with the park never more 
than a mile wide and often a mere swath, some worry that towers will spoil 
the sense of nature.

``This is about preventing an antenna farm,'' said Libby Kelley, an activist 
who came all the way from San Francisco to protest the plan.

Daschle spokeswoman Molly Rowley said the South Dakota senator was unaware of 
the donations to the Democratic committee. She said he called Bell Atlantic 
after hearing from officials concerned about safety.

Last December, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Daschle, complained to 
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt about delays in approving Bell Atlantic's 
request.

``Cell phones provide a real measure of safety,'' Daschle said.

He also said federal law requires federal property to be leased to cellular 
companies if the technology is environmentally safe. ``This application has 
passed every environmental requirement,'' Daschle said.

The issue has arisen in other national parks, vast ones.

Cellular companies are currently upgrading wireless equipment in Grand Teton 
National Park, and officials there are considering an application to build a 
new tower. Yellowstone National Park has three cell towers.     

AP-NY-07-28-99 0347EDT




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Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.feb.se/EMF-L/EMF-L.html