Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Effective Jan. 1, 2013, you won't be able to purchase non-sparkling, unflavored drinking water in polyethylene terephthalate bottles of one liter or less.
The Attorney General's Office today issued its approval of Concord's water-bottle banning bylaw. The bylaw, adopted uner Article 32 at annual Town Meeting earlier this year, will prohibit the sale of non-sparkling, unflavored drinking water in a polyethylene terephthalate bottle of one liter or less. According to a letter to the town announcing the approval, the analysis and approval was influenced by the Supereme Court's decision that a Minnesota law banning retail sale of milk in non-returnable, non-refillable plastic containers did not violate the federal equal protection or due process clauses or unlawfully burden interstate commerce. To read the AG's letter, click the PDF posted to your right. Martha Coakley's office has previously …
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Does another year without an expanded bottle bill affect your feelings about Concord’s own battle with the (water) bottle? Are you more or less likely to support a local bylaw that banning the sale of single-serving water bottles?
An expanded bottle bill died in conference committee earlier this week, but Concord’s water bottle bylaw’s fate is yet unsealed. So while Massachusetts is likely looking at at least another year without a 5-cent redeemable deposit on plastic bottled water, juices, teas and sports drinks, it’s still very possible Concordians may not be looking at bottled water much at all. Earlier this year, Concord’s annual Town Meeting voted to pass a bylaw banning the sale of single-serving water bottles of less than 1 liter (34 ounces). And news of the expanded bottle bill’s failure to make it into the Senate jobs bill came just days before the original due date for Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office to deliver its determination on whether the …
Monday, July 2, 2012
Ballot to be finalized by AG's office on July 3.
Of the 31 initiatives put forth for the fall ballot, only four both have enough signatures and been certified by Attorney General Martha Coakley in order to make it on the ballot by the July 3 deadline. And of those, one looks likely to be resolved by the Legislature before that date. The initiative that appears likely to reach resolution is called "An Act Promoting Excellence in Public Schools." Backed by Stand for Children Massachusetts, it involves retaining and promoting teachers based on performance reviews and test scores rather than seniority. Proponents say it will raise teaching standards and make it easier for schools to fire ineffective teachers. But opponents, which include the Massachusetts Teachers Association, say that …
Rich Lyons
9:36 am on Monday, September 10, 2012
A complete mockery of common sense - an utter waste of time and energy - a blemish to all historic Concord represents and I could go on and on regarding the absurdity of this idea. While I agree we have an obscene problem with plastic polluting the environment, the tiny town of Concord creating looney laws to combat the issue is not going to have any measurable impact on the problem. Let's work … more ›