Oriental Croaker Fest 2012

A bit hot, but the opening of the Croaker Fest at 4:00 today went well and was enjoyed by all. Good music. Tasty food. And I loved the root beer floats (they benefit Hope Clinic, but they are not just morally good - they taste great!)

South Avenue

Last Tuesday night, Oriental Town Attorney Scott Davis at one point said he's convinced there's a legal way for the Town Board to close South Avenue and other streets and obtain the waterfront parcel on Raccoon Creek that Chris Fulcher offered to donate the Town. So do I and for the past six months I have been quietly feeding information to the Town Board along those lines.

But the Board seemed committed to the existing contract which barters rights of way held in trust for the public for property rights held in fee simple which the Town can sell at any time. I remain opposed to that scheme, as I wrote in yesterday's County Compass.

There are signs at least some commissioners may be rethinking the issue. I hope so.

Big Science And National Security

Remember the scenes early in "2001: Space Odyssey" when the fictional troubleshooter sent to the moon encounters Russians along the way? Any contemporary update to that movie would have to encounter Chinese in space.

Why are they there and what does it mean for us? Here is a good article in today's New York Times with one answer. It need not be the only answer.

Big science is expensive. Nations will have differing priorities for their scientific endeavors, but be assured of one thing: their first priority will not be to compete in markets. It will be to gain a security advantage.

There are different ways to accomplish this. When the Space Station project became too expensive for an increasingly parsimonious America, we turned it into the International Space Station. Today, without Russian participation, we wouldn't be able to get astronauts to the station.

In the early 1990's as the Superconducting Super Collider was running into problems with Congressional appropriations, an effort was made to internationalize the project. The effort proved too little and too late.

It might be better to think "international" at the outset. Now, at the Large Hadron Collider, we are the tail instead of the dog.

Higgs Boson

The recent cautious announcement that scientists at Europe's Large Hadron Collider may have found the elusive Higgs boson reminds me that this important step in high energy physics could have occurred in the United States except for partisan and regional politics.

More than twenty years ago, at a project in southern Dallas County and Ellis County, Texas, the United States had dug an enormous circular tunnel deep underground near Waxahatchie, Texas, for what was known as the Superconducting Super Collider. This was to be the showcase of US high energy physics, and was a project of the Department of Energy.

I was briefly involved as a contractor working for SSC's project management office.

When completed, the SSC would have been three times as powerful as Europe's Large Hadron Collider, and would have been in operation more than a decade ago. The Higgs Boson would have been old hat by now, and Waxahatchie, Texas rather than Geneva, Switzerland, would be the research center drawing physicists from all over the world.

But by 1990, US research budgets became tighter, other massive projects such as the International Space Station and other scientific communities competed strongly for the dollars. Each of those projects also had supporters in Congress. Just at that time, the Texas Congressional delegation became particularly vocal about balancing the budget. As a result of all of that, coupled with resentment by other members of Congress, support for SSC evaporated.

The project was cancelled in 1993.

An enormous hole in the ground remains under Ellis County, Texas.

No one knows what discoveries the SSC would have achieved by now. Almost certainly the Higgs boson would have been among them.

Since I posted this observation July 5, NYTimes  columnist Gail Collins on July 6 posted a set of more humorous observations about the Higgs, Waxahatchie and American Politics. Worth reading here for a chuckle, but a serious thought as well.

On Patriotism

This fourth of July, Robert Reich has published a thoughtful piece here on patriotism.

There's nothing I can add to it, so I won't try.

South Avenue: Heart Of The Matter

Last night I received an e-mail from Mayor Bill Sage responding to earlier e-mails from me. What I learned from his e-mail is that he and the commissioners seem bound and determined to be able to sell the parcel the Municipal Corporation will receive from Chris Fulcher in exchange for the public rights of way the town holds in trust for the public.

The mayor's mantra: "Don't tie our hands."

My mantra: "Don't violate your trust."

Here is the heart of my letter in response to the mayor:

"Bill:

"Thank you for your reply. I am pleased the Town is in contact with David Lawrence, and I look forward to reading the written exchange with him. I am interested in his response to your questions and any citations he provided. I would also appreciate copies of any correspondence with other professors contacted at the School of Government, and with the Legal Services Department of the North Carolina Department of Justice....

"Please bear in mind I am neither opposing nor defending the Wisdom of the transaction. I am questioning the Rightness of the contract.

"Each Town Board must make decisions concerning the Public streets based solely on the long-term traffic use interests of the Public.  In this case, the long-term interest that matters most to me is public access to public trust waters. You and the Board clearly intend to close the South Avenue Right of Way which you hold in trust for the public and to replace it with a private asset not held in trust, but free to be sold by the municipal corporation at any time. I conclude from your e-mail that this is not just an unintentional result, but has been central to your deliberations. That violates the responsibility of the trustee. That is wrong.

David Cox"

Here is the heart of Mayor Sage's e-mail to me:

"David,

 

"Thank you for your letter and materials concerning the South Avenue transaction.  I am sorry that you feel compelled to oppose a transaction that I believe will benefit the town and its citizens and visitors immensely.  You are correct that process is important and the town attorney has consulted at great length with several of the professors (and retired Professor David Lawrence) at the UNC School of Government.  All agree that the end result under the contract is legally achievable, but they disagree on the best procedure to follow to get there.....

"You now seem to be taking the position that this board has a duty to “tie the hands” of all future boards, no matter the circumstances.  Will a town board 50 years hence be thanking us for “tying their hands”  if the circumstances then facing them (which we cannot possibly foresee) make it imperative that the property be closed as public access to Raccoon Creek.  Should it then revert to the Fulcher heirs because we didn’t trust future boards to be as sensitive to the public good as we are?....

"We cannot judge from this vantage point the circumstances they may face in making those decisions in the future.  I know there is often a strong urge to “carve things in stone,” but I truly believe that most of the time the urge should be resisted for the good of all.

 

"I have long been impressed by your thoroughness and seriousness of thought.  I simply and respectfully disagree on this matter.  Thanks again for your input.

 

"Bill Sage

  

  My original e-mail:

"From: David Cox
To: bob maxbauer ; Bill Sage ; Warren Johnson ; cechele@yahoo.com; barbara venturi ; larsum@aol.com
Cc: letters@towndock.net; Maureen Donald < editor@pamliconews.com >; Charlie Hall < chall@freedomenc.com >
Sent: Sat, June 30, 2012 11:27:55 AM
Subject: contract between town of oriental and chris fulcher

Some of you know I have been uneasy with certain aspects of the contract between the town of oriental and Chris Fulcher. I have been especially uneasy over what appears to be a sale of town rights of way, contrary to the law of streets. I am also concerned that acquisition of waterfront property under the contract provides no protection to the public interest comparable to the status of a right of way.

"I intend to speak on the subject at Tuesday's public hearing.

"In the meantime I wish to share my thoughts and some relevant information with you in advance of the meeting. I will deliver a hard copy to Town Hall Monday morning.

"Many years ago when Ben Hollowell was town attorney and the issue of South Avenue arose, he consulted with David Lawrence of the school of government and received Professor Lawrence's views in writing. Those views remain a matter of record at Town Hall. Likewise, Mr. Hollowell contacted the attorney general concerning some legal aspects of a right of way leading to the water. The attorney general responded with an advisory opinion, which is also on record at Town Hall.

"I strongly recommend the town board table consideration of the contract and intended street closures pending written consultation both with the School of Government and with the North Carolina Attorney General.

David Cox"

 

Second Primary: One Stop

As of noon today, nineteen voters have voted at our one-stop site in Bayboro for the North Carolina Second Primary (runoff) election.

South Avenue: Don't Sell Our Streets

If you want to understand the legal issues surrounding the proposed closing of South Avenue, here is a thoughtful though detailed discussion of the issues.