Look at the plans, Premier
July 27, 2007
Dear Sir,
This is an open letter to Premier Dr. Ewart Brown:
Dear Premier,
Before you reassured the public yesterday at your brown bag lunch about the Southlands tunnel perhaps you should have looked at the development plans that were about to be broadcast to the entire island on all local TV stations the same evening in a Government TV programme that you yourself also appeared in. These plans clearly showed that South Shore Road will be going under several tunnels. In the broadcast The Minister of Works and Engineering also described the tunnels in depth and completely contradicted what you had said earlier in the day.
The fact that you are so mistaken about the tunnels leads me to beg the question. Have you actually seen the plans for this resort that is apparently of "national importance"?
Yours Hopefully,
LISA VICKERS
Smith's
Editor's Note: The Premier's Press Secretary Glenn Jones yesterday said the Premier may have misspoken at a recent public event on the proposed road plan for the Southlands Resort. Mr. Jones sad: "The Premier indicated, and I'm paraphrasing here, that hotel guests would have to go under South Road to get to the beach. That statement is incorrect. The road plans call for hotel guests to go over South Road on a pedestrian overpass. I hope this statement might clarify any confusion."
Ministers are developer's lackeys
July 26, 2007
Dear Sir,
The Bermuda Government misunderstands its role in the controversial Southlands development. Premier Brown and his Ministers are forcefully marketing the development against the tide of revulsion that most Bermudians feel over the project. This is a mistake. Government's role is to represent the interests of the populace and to exercise the sustainable development of our community, not to act as the developer's lackey. And certainly not to waste our tax dollars on showy TV productions justifying their anti-democratic actions.
I, like many Bermudians, am tired of being told that Dr. Brown knows what's best for me and my children.
GRAWLIX
Warwick
Speak up now on Southlands
July 24, 2007
Dear Sir,
Speak up Bermudians before it is too late.
I have heard the granting of the SDO for Southlands is imminent which I certainly hope is not the case as there are many things abhorrently wrong with the proposed development. An SDO should only be issued if the application is "of national importance". I certainly do not think Southlands fits this criterion. We do not need another hotel with fractional share/condo units! Off the top of my head I can think of several developments of this type already in progress or due to start (1) Lantana, (2) additions to the Reefs, (3) Sonesta/Wyndham (4) Southampton Princess (5) The Golden Hind Site (6) Belmont/Newstead (7) the new hotel in Hamilton (8) Club Med, (9) Ariel Sands and (10) Tuckers Point which is due to open in 2008. Southlands would mean an 11th hotel and expensive fractional share development!
How on earth is Bermuda's small infrastructure supposed to support all of these developments? We certainly don't have the tourism numbers or the local work force for all these developments. How exactly is this development suppose to benefit the average Bermudian and Bermuda ¿ hence the reasoning behind issuing an SDO? It appears the only people to benefit from the SDO are the developers. This seems to be a ploy (the fractional share units) to be able to sell Bermuda to foreigners bypassing the new laws that have just been put in place to stop this from happening.
Nelson Hunt, one of the three main developers, stated that the property was private property and the owners should be able to develop it as they wish. Well that is not exactly correct ¿ none of us have that right, we all have to submit plans to the planning department and adhere with the rules that are in place. Quite a large section of Southlands is protected by Section 34 agreements (put in place for a good reason and which the developers knew were in place when they purchased the land). The developers are trying to bypass the planning process and have these agreements overturned by asking for a SDO. If they submitted the plans that they have to the planning department ¿ as everyone else who lives here has to do ¿ they would obviously be turned down, the current plans do not adhere with a lot of current planning rules and I've not even mentioned that tunnel. People who live in that area imagine what traffic is going to be like while that is being developed ¿ you're getting a taste of what happens when the roads are partially blocked by the work that is going on in Paget at the moment, imagine if you couldn't even use South Shore Road for months.
Mr. Hunt stated that if we wanted to save the land to buy it! Well we should ¿ it should be purchased by Government and the public through the National Trust and turned into a park for everyone to enjoy. We all know that the three main developers are not hurting for money. I think it would be a show of good faith by them to prove that they care about the environment, as Mr. Hunt stated they did, to sell the land to the National Trust at a reduced price as Mr. Kevin Cross, President of WhiteCross Development did with the land in Southampton (absolutely amazing for a developer and applauded). One developer in particular has been very quiet and behind the scenes. Mr. Brian Duperreault should be ashamed of himself. I wonder what Sir Crispin Tickell, who was invited to give a talk about how Bermuda should protect their green spaces, felt when he found out that the chairman of the organisation who invited him to Bermuda is one of the main developers who is trying develop the last largest green area of Bermuda.
As a neighbour of Southlands I have objected to this development. I do not want to live next to or in a concrete jungle. Our little piece of Bermuda that my husband and I own (and believe me in comparison to Southlands we are a speck) will probably have more plants and trees around it than the entire Jumeriah Hotel will have.
All Bermudians who have a concern about this development need to start making noise and not leaving it for a select few to stand up for them hoping they will do it for them. Remember once it is gone it is gone ¿ there is no replacing trees that are hundreds of years old during your life time. You need to do something now to protect this land for you and for future generations.
R. POWELL
Warwick
Solar energy options
July 15, 2007
Dear Sir,
First let me say how delighted I was on July 10 to see the items regarding renewable energy. I have personally been campaigning for this for at least the last 17 years.
However, I am concerned that there still appears to be some confusion in the community about solar energy. This can do two things, one, by direct heat to Solar Thermal panels it will heat copious quantities of hot water; two, by use of an entirely different type panel, known as a Photovoltaic panel, it can generate electricity. The two are entirely different and not as yet interchangable.
Solar water heating is entirely free for every day that the sun shines for five or six hours. (once you have invested and set up the system). Heating anything by electricity is very costly in fossil fuels and dollars. The small amount of power needed to run the pump which carries the water up and around the panel is negligible but this can be run by a small PV panel too. The specially constructed solar hot water storage tanks have only one heating element in the top of the tank and are entirely redundant for about 90 percent of the year ¿ yes that does include the winter months when the sun shines. Solar thermal panels generally function well, without problems for as much as 30 years!
The nearest and most convenient place from which to buy your solar thermal water heating system is AET Solar in Jacksonville Florida (www.aetsolar.com). You can get advice, a good range of tanks and panels and prompt shipping. Their prices are very fair, the shipping costs are however likely to double the first cost, so be prepared!
Photovoltaic panels and wind generators are perfectly wonderful devices for doing anything other than heating water! You can run your compact fluorescent lighting, ceiling fans, house water pump, either from your house tank or your well, on a daily 24/7/52 basis as long as you have an array of batteries to store the energy in, so that it is available at night as well as in the day. In the event of a Belco outage this system can be switched to power your fridge too, giving you lights, fans, water supply and refrigeration for your food. Check the Internet for the nearest companies selling PV too. Put in FL 32254 (Jacksonville) and search to keep your shipping costs to a minimum!
Keep in mind that your solar energy will not be compatible with your household appliances, so you will need a qualified electrician to install an inverter and allied equipment to enable you to make full use of this totally renewable, non-polluting energy. The best way to achieve this is to buy the factory assembled kit. Additionally, keep in mind that in Arizona, California and various other States in the USA the grid accepts solar electricity and operates a reverse metering system. This is a well established technology and should present no problem to a company as influential as Belco.
I have been pleading for years for Belco or the Government to undertake to commit Bermuda to becoming an example for the world as a non-polluting community. It probably needs legislation to require Belco to accept input to the grid from the solar energy generated on individual homes all over the island, and then it calls for a far sighted company to import the panels in bulk to reduce the shipping costs of individual systems, either for thermal water systems or for electricity generation. Is it time for Besco to come to the wicket?
This may be my last hurrah, but I do hope somebody is listening! You may contact me if you need further information, but we don't sell or install any more, we have retired.
MARGARET FORSTER
Pembroke
Dejected by politicians
July 27, 2007
Dear Sir,
Having recently read both the text of the Premier's campaign speech and the current war of letters between Messrs Richardson, Simmons and Crockwell, I am quite frankly appalled at the state of politics on this Island.
For my sins, I am a guest worker (so please don't publish my name), and can therefore take no part in the forthcoming election when it is called, however were I a Bermudian I would be completely dejected at my voting options.
In a plea to these so-called politicians, rather than arguing in print whether it is nobler to commit multiple homicide, steal large quantities of narcotics or rob a bank, please could some of you actually discuss how you plan to turn around a failing public education system which appears to be the key reason for the widening gap between rich and poor?
I would like to think that all of you are in the business of politics because you love your country and not because you hate some of your countrymen, but as we draw closer to election time my optimism is waning.
Morality, accountability, honesty and discretion would be good qualities for election candidates, but for me the most important quality, especially on an island of this size, would be a love of your country, the only politician I have had the good fortune to really meet in my time here has been Dale Butler, and I would credit him with all of the qualities I've listed.
UBP, PLP, white or black, criminal record or no criminal record, please try and win this election based on policies and then do your utmost to keep your promises.
HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
Devonshire
Zoom is no bargain
July 25, 2007
Dear Sir,
Zoom or Bust! Or When is a bargain not a bargain?
My wife's step-brother and his partner recently visited Bermuda from Manchester, England. They had the holiday of a lifetime, buoyed by the best 12-day spell of summer sun this year and Horizons' wonderful food on two occasions.
Like all of us, they were thrilled to see airline competition come to part of the route they were travelling, from Gatwick to Bermuda. The alternative fare per person was about $200 cheaper each way which was more than enough to compensate for the free drinks on British Airways that are not available at the back in the Zoom 767.
The journey times, however, call in to question the honesty and integrity of the management of Zoom Airlines. Stated times for departure and arrival are almost never met. They're more often than not hours adrift. I could publish all their timing records but you can look for yourself on line at www.flyzoom.com and see for yourself their (post flight) admissions of their despicable record.
My wife's relatives were told the flight from Gatwick on July 8 would take off at 11 a.m. and land at 2.15 p.m. It took off at 1 p.m. and landed at 5.45 p.m. Work it out for yourselves and decide whether or not it's a better deal.
But first, add to that the return that Zoom said would take off from Freddie Wade at 7.30 p.m. on July 24 and land at 6.55 a.m. the following day. Online only, they later amended the estimated ETD to 8.20 p.m. and the ETA to 8.10 a.m. The actual: It took off at 8.15 p.m. and landed at 9.10 a.m., ten minutes after their connection to Manchester. I make that nearly nine hours flying time. No tail wind, I guess!
Upon late arrival the pair inquired of Zoom what they would do to make amends and, to fob off the tired couple, Zoom told them to check with the information desk at the airport. The desk party rightly suggested they check with BA, with which airline they held a ticket for a 9 a.m. departure to Manchester. BA firmly informed them that their e-ticket could under no circumstances be changed, offered them no alternative and charged them EACH $213.45 for the 29 minute airborne one-way flight to Manchester 5 hours later.
So, fly Zoom and you'll likely get a lot more time in the air for your money; but you might have to fork out the savings you possibly coveted on the connection you'll almost surely miss.
Is there a problem with overweight bags on the connection, though? BA lets you carry one bag of 23kg on domestic flights. Internationally, Zoom lets you have two bags up to a total of 20kg. Transferring on a different day European or UK connection from BA to BA could present a problem, too. You're allowed two 23kg bags from here to London in Economy but only one 23kg bag on the next unconnecting flight.
Have we made any progress, Mr. Editor?
TONY FORSTER
Pembroke
