Thursday, May 27, 2010
2010 Veggie Garden is Perking!
We are going great guns here with the garden. We've got nice garlic coming, which was planted last fall. Strawberries and a few blueberries are blooming. The darn deer ate most of the blueberry plants but the ones that survived have blossoms. We put in peas and potatoes in mid april and they are coming up nicely. Last weekend we planted 35 tomato plants and 7 tomatillos. Mike had started those in the greenhouse and they were over a foot tall...they are looking great! Marlena planted the beans. I planted lettuce, onions, spinach, bok choy, radishes, beets, and carrots. We still have to put in cucumbers, eggplant, peppers ( we have 50 various pepper plants!) squash, zucchini, and cabbage. We started by loosening the soil and they laying on 4 inches of 4 year old manure. It's very weedy...but man do the veggies love it! I am planting buckwheat between rows as a green mulch. Once everything is in, we get a short break and then go right into canning and freezing mode. Oh...and of course we eat fresh stuff all summer!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
New UDC will address cell tower issue
I am encouraged that the City of Duluth Planning department has contacted a local researcher for advice on how the new zoning code should address cell towers and our unique bird migration area! There are real signs that they are listening to citizen input about cell towers in our community. The proposed UDC also prohibits antennas over 50 feet, I sure hope that proposal makes it to the final plan! I'm sure a company could apply for a variance, but they'd have to prove they need it. According to City of Duluth CAO David Montgomery, the city is also planning on requiring third party reviews of all tower proposals. Currently no one on city staff understands the technical aspects of the proposals. I find it ironic that the city of Duluth has been basically doing what the federal government has done with offshore oil drilling proposals; taking the industry's word for it. There is no one on City staff who understands the documentation that communication companies submit to justify need for a tower. This comes directly from the CAO. Perhaps they are realizing that blind trust in the communication companies might not be a good practice. Especially when one of those companies plans to build a tower in what is on of the most significant low altitude migration paths in America. Let's tighten up the code now, and hold communication companies accountable to prove need over want!
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