The Mosquito Issue

I usually avoid the comment sections of the Patch and the various posting boards around town, but I couldn't resist twice this year. Both times someone named Jimmy Donnelly posted a link to a Herald article that ranked school department pensions. That really put me in the dumps, JimDo! I'm #8 on the list and drive an 8 year old Ford instead of that new Lamborghini, that the Howie Carr crowd thinks all us teacher retirees have. Thanks very, very much to the former student who posted in support.

That's not the crux of the issue, however, JimDo called me a "glad handing Town Hall groupie." I knew I should have trademarked "curmudgeonly Town Hall stalker." Just want the folks at Town Hall to know that I won't be asking for their autographs any time soon and I'll continue to look at that half glass of water as totally empty. And, damn it, put a clock in the Mary Connolly Room!

Anyway, what got me in trouble with JimDo was a moderately positive response to a letter to the Patch from Gil Heino of the Board of Health. There's nobody who takes his town position more seriously than Gil so I thought I'd give some strong support to the folks on the BOH and some qualified support to their "curfew" proposal.

Back in 1918 the town had the right to quarantine people in their houses during the Great Flu Epidemic if anyone in the family had the disease. I thought the Board of Health inherited those strong powers, but Gil has explained that with EEE, the BOH only has the right to suggest evening activity limits. In order to actually ban activities they need to issue a regulation, hold a hearing, and then vote the regulation, a process that takes a couple of weeks. Meanwhile many people continue with group outdoor activities on public property in peak mosquito hours.

To expedite the regulatory process, the BOH posted a boiler plate regulation on their website which has been roundly criticized for its potential $1000 fine and vague assumption of power. Further, the right wing nutballs have seized on this as another example of Obama socialism (what about the Patriot Act and the Republican abortion platform, you nimrods?) Strangely, dear nutballs, I share your fear of federal power. The further government gets from the people the more likely the abuse of power, but with town government it is us ruling ourselves. If we can't pragmatically work out solutions to our local problems without being straightjacketed by ideologies, then things really are hopeless.

Last year I blogged about the very low risk of getting triple E and my scepticism regarding spraying. Gil got sick of hearing me list the things you were more likely to die from than EEE: Bee stings! Snakes on a Plane! Adam Sandler movies! But the bottom line has always been that while the risks of contracting EEE are generally low, the results of contracting it are completely devastating. What the BOH faces each year is a tricky calculus of risk assessment, and this year the threat level is the highest ever according to experts at the state-a higher % of bugs with the disease earlier than ever. As individuals we all do the same calculus. I was working outside yesterday without spraying with DEET; the risk assessment proved to be faulty when a mosquito showed up. Only I was involved in the potential consequences, however.

The reason we need a stronger, but still limited, regulation is that there are people in town who run programs for others who do the same calculus without the level of knowledge that has been given to the BOH. You know who I'm talking about and the people at risk-kids. Sure parents are responsible for their children, but the group think of "all the other kids are doing it" is a powerful thing especially in groups were placements are being won or lost. I'm not suggesting those adults are being callous-there have been lots of ground spraying, public and private, and insect repellent is readily available (one wonders about those consequences). Still I see nothing wrong with a narrowly tailored regulation that would give the BOH the right to put a curfew on outdoor programs on public property when the state raises the EEE threat level to severe. A $1000 fine is excessive, but probably grows from the fact that potential violators are likely to be organizations rather than individuals. Since all regulations need a fine to mandate enforcement, it should be lowered to $25.

Once we get past this regulatory flap. The town can proceed to develop safe alternatives like the School Department has done.

JimDo and his friends probably missed an article that fluttered under the radar this week. A scientist studied the sighting records of the Massachusetts Butterfly Society for the last 40 years. It was discovered that more butterflies from southern regions are moving into Massachusetts while butterflies that have a more northerly distribution are moving out. In other words, the climate change that the right wing denies is causing changes in the pretty bugs. Ya think that the sudden change in the pattern of EEE infestations might be linked to that "imaginary" problem?


PS: Nimrod was a great grandson of Noah. The original meaning of the word nimrod was "a great hunter." In current slang it means a simpleton. In future I'll only use the word in connection with members of the NRA.