- May 5, 2024
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We are not fooled by those unreasonably scared of smart meters
Dear Editor:
Edward C. Scott wrote in a recent letter: “Last time I checked online, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, etc. … are not on board or planning to incorporate these smart meters.”
Strange! Last time I checked Italy was the leading country in Europe with 85% of households using the smart meters. In 2003 Sweden made the decision to have all customers using smart meters by 2009, followed by Finland. Denmark took off in 2004; Norway is set to go in 2013. The deadline for Spain to have all households equipped with smart meters is 2018. You didn’t check France, Malta or Ireland, either. Europe had a summit in 2011 about the subject, as did Australia and New Zealand. Korea, Japan, China, India, Singapore and many more countries in Asia have had large seminars and/or implementation of those smart meters.
Just for fun for the fear creators out there, a study from the Californa Council of Science and Technology and an expert testimony before the Public Service Commission of Maryland, radio frequency emitted by smart meters is well below the limits set by Federal Communications Commission, and it is below levels produced by other common household devices like cell phones, baby monitors, satellite TVs and microwaves. In fact, you would have to be exposed to the radio frequency from a smart meter for 375 years to get a dose equivalent to that of one year of 15-minutes-per-day cell phone use.
Personally I have no plans to stand in front of a smart meter for 375 years.
Europe took another step forward by using dual meters, meaning lower price during off-peak usage, a very smart way to go. I have lived with it, and it makes much sense.
It is OK to disagree with Florida Power & Light and its statements if you use facts, but your information certainly was outdated and inaccurate.
Viviane Lindeolsson
Palm Coast
Political signs are stolen on both sides of the spectrum
Dear Editor
I agree with Valerie Ottley’s letter saying that people are emotional about their candidates. I also believe too many political signs on both sides are ugly.
As for stealing signs, in every election this is a practice that both sides should take responsibility for. On Sept. 29, in broad daylight, Romney/Ryan signs displayed on private properties were stolen throughout a targeted area in the C-section. Romney/Ryan campaign literature distribution sites are visited daily by citizens seeking replacement signs for those stolen from their businesses and private properties.
I agree when any individual, party, or organization opens up doors where the soul is in true jeopardy it diminishes us all.
Anne Martone
Palm Coast
Please use better judgment when trying to drive through intersections
Dear Editor:
In regard to the person that wrote in on Saturday, Oct. 20, about her dislike of the red light cameras in Palm Coast: This person was not nearly killed because of a red light camera, but by her poor judgment.
By being the second car in line after the light had already turned yellow, she should have prepared to stop no matter what the car in front of her did. It’s a wonder she hasn’t already caused an accident.
The new cameras are put in place to protect people, and probably saved her from getting a ticket.
Cathy Ingham
Palm Coast
It's 'preposterous' to think that 'normal' drivers speed up at yellow
Dear Editor:
In regard to the letter from Charlotte Smith in the 20 Oct. edition of the Palm Coast Observer:
Smith wrote: “We did what every normal driver does: We sped up to make the light.”
What a preposterous assumption. There is absolutely nothing “normal” about the behavior she defends. “Normal” is recognizing a caution light for its intent: Slow down, and be prepared to stop. Current guidelines for yellow-to-red timing states three seconds minimum/six seconds maximum. In other words, unless you have stop-watched every intersection in our community, you have no way of pinpointing where you and your vehicle are in that three-second variable. The presumption is that most of us can read and, therefore, know the risks of running a red in this city. However. If you are an habitual offender or an out-of-towner who can't read? Sorry for your luck.
Installation of red light cameras in other communities has met with mixed reviews. Those of your readers who have a computer (or a friend with one) can readily access both fact and fiction on this subject. As ever, education leads to enlightenment. The number of camera does seem excessive; however, the end game is — and should be — reintroducing the traveling public to the rules of the road. It has nothing whatsoever to do with “greed.”
The assertion that the installation of these cameras is going to “turn us into a police state” is, frankly, laughable. And, by the way? Our deputies do, in fact, continue to monitor our dangerous intersections, complete with radar guns. Good for them. On all levels, forewarned is forearmed.
Laurie Ferguson
Palm Coast
'I wish there were cameras at every red light'
Dear Editor:
I have to laugh at the hubris of some people. A writer commented that a red light camera “caused my accident.” But in her own words she admitted that she “did what every normal driver does (at a yellow light): We speed up to make the light.” The writer needs to attend traffic safety classes. A yellow caution light does not mean speed up! It means “be prepared to stop.”
I wish there were cameras at every red light. Then maybe unsafe, ill-trained drivers like your writer will learn the rules of the road. These cameras are like having a traffic cop at every intersection, but at much less cost.
Don't do the crime if you can't pay the fine.
Richard Calderwood
Palm Coast
This is exactly why the cameras are needed
Dear Editor:
Your letter writer may need a refresher about safe driving after driving for 50 years. I'm impressed that she has been appointed as spokesperson for all normal drivers, but before she takes advantage of that position she should re-read the drivers handbook.
A yellow light does not mean “speed up to make the light” as she contends. It's a caution indicator that the light is going to turn red whether or not there is a red light camera present. Whose life is so important that two minutes at a traffic signal light is going to cause a problem?
Intersections are the places where the majority of accidents occur; therefore, it's a bad idea to speed up when approaching one at any time.
It's every driver's responsibility to keep an adequate distance from the car in front, so that if that car suddenly stops there will be enough room to avoid an accident. The avoidable accident is going to waste more time, and maybe lives, than sitting at the light.
Drivers like her are the reason the cameras are there.
Ray Gourlay
Palm Coast
City of Palm Coast used be a great place to retire
Dear Editor:
Over 10 years ago, my wife and I decided to retire in Palm Coast. This was before Palm Coast became a city. It was a wonderful place with just the right mix of city and country and population density. It had nature, trees and water.
Much to our dismay, Palm Coast became a city and the problems began. First came the added expense of an additional layer of government, which we certainly didn’t need. Then all the other expenses required to build Palm Coast into a city. Our politicians were spending our money like there was no tomorrow, and many fell under the spell of less-than-honest developers, and the cry of the day was: “We want money and growth.”
This was a step in the direction of destroying the main reason people moved to Palm Coast, which was that this place was the right size and didn’t need change.
My wife and I have watched a bunch of greedy government leaders systematically destroy our wonderful city by wasting money, while repeatedly raising our taxes even in bad economic times. Now they are limiting our social freedoms, requiring garage sale permits, which punishes all for the infractions of a few. This is bad leadership.
Sadly, what disturbs us most is seeing residents sit back and do nothing about what is going on. Shouldn’t we the people be part of what’s happening in our city?
Maybe the time has come for a little civil disobedience, and for the people to rise up and take charge of the direction Palm Coast is heading. It’s time we get rid of the people that are ruining our city and replace them. After all, they are supposed to represent us.
Karl Bradley
Palm Coast
