FYI -- Work in Progress

Items of interest the have not been integrated in the rest of this site.


It’s that time of year. State and local legislators are convening their annual sessions and on the docket this year are some promising new bills to rein in the telecom industry’s rampant deployment of cell towers and antennas.

In New Hampshire, lawmakers are considering legislation that would require wireless telecommunication antennas to be placed at least 1,640 feet from residentially zoned areas, parks, playgrounds, hospitals, nursing homes, day care centers, and schools. The bill also would create a registry for anyone experiencing symptoms of radiation exposure. EHT’s Theodora Scarato testified to the committee considering this legislation.

In Scarsdale, N.Y., local council members passed an ordinance to limit cell antennas to 500 feet from homes, schools, and daycares.

On Feb. 2, the Board of Health in Pittsfield, Mass. unanimously voted to issue a cease and desist order to Verizon to shut down its tower located near a neighborhood where several families reported adverse health effects from the wireless radiation. This action is the first known cease and desist by a Board of Health in the United States.

The research continues to accumulate indicating serious safety issues with our love of technology. A systematic review by Pusan National University scientists found cell phone use associated with reduced sperm motility, viability, and concentration. A study by Chinese scientists using 5G frequencies of 3500 MHz on guinea pigs found results suggesting that oxidative stress is an important mechanism underlying the biological effects. A 2022 systematic review found cell phone radiation associated increased headaches.

EHT sent a letter to Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus and the CEO of T-Mobile U.S., asking for the company to pull one of its commercials that aired in the Super Bowl. Read EHT’s Letter to T-Mobile and EHT’s Letter to Miley Cyrus.


--------------- February 19, 2022

  • Case Reports in Medicine published reports in 2013 documenting four young women who developed unusual breast cancers located directly underneath the skin -where they placed their cell phones in their bra. EHT has now been contacted by over a dozen women.

  • A 2020 case control study published in Cancer Management and Research found cell phone use significantly increased breast cancer risk, particularly in women who used phones close to their breast.

------------------ February 19, 2022

And how much does it cost to have Andrew Capanelli or a telecommunications lawyer review your local code? He described exactly what happened to me. I told BOS 2 yrs ago that the county municipal lawyer was reading the TCA act incorrectly and that their hands were not tied. Then the municipal lawyer's staffer, some 20 something year old right out of college, told me if I didn't like the answer I got from them, to talk to my lawyer to sue them.

A version of this answer was consistent for all counties in VA that our members live in. In addition, SB255, a new bill that is currently under review in our state Senate is taking set backs and siting regulatory authority away from the localities and giving it to the state. So doesn't do much good to get a telecom lawyer to redo the local ordinances and pay all that money only for the result to be usurped by a new state law. Although after listening to Andrew's video, it seems like the state shouldn't be able to take jurisdiction away from the localities unless the TCA of 1996 removes those localities' reserved rights first, so are parts of SB255 in violation of the TCA act of 1996? See para A9 and B2 for setback and siting tower height state proposed restrictions here: https://legiscan.com/VA/text/SB255/2022 Your thoughts?

------------------ February 19, 2022

Fort Collins successful campaign to get fiber
https://content.blubrry.com/community_broadband_bits/comm-bb-bits-podcast-282-glen-akins_colin-garfield-fc.mp3

------------------ February 19, 2022

Crown Castle has appealed five residential neighborhood cell towers that were denied by our Planning Commission. The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council will hear all five appeals at a special City Council meeting on Nov 30th. Unfortunately, that is just the start of the bad news as our City Staff has stacked the deck against us.
Jeff Calvagna <jcalvagna@netzero.com>