Posted on 12/30/2010 2:37:20 PM PST by SmithL
Two West Marin women were arrested Wednesday for standing in front of trucks delivering Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s SmartMeters to Inverness.
It was the third consecutive day that a group of West Marin residents have attempted to stop employees of Wellington Energy from installing meters in Inverness. Wellington was hired by PG&E to do the work.
Katharina Sandizell, 41, of Point Reyes Station and Kristin McCrory, 32, of Inverness were arrested by Marin County sheriff's deputies, said sheriff's Sgt. Gary Wilbanks. The women were handcuffed and taken to the sheriff's office in Point Reyes Station, where they were issued citations for impeding traffic and released.
"We're just responding," said Sandizell, co-director of West Marin Citizens Against Wireless Smart Meters. "I'd love to work out a peaceful solution where people's concerns are honored. We certainly don't want to get arrested. We want to be home with our children."
McCrory said, "This is not anything I've done in the past. I don't consider myself an activist. I'm just an individual acting on a gut instinct to protect the health and civil liberties of my family and my community."
Opponents of the wireless electric and gas utility meters have raised questions about radiation from the devices and their accuracy.
The two women who were arrested, both mothers of young children, were among a group of about 20 West Marin residents who gathered at 12301 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. near Perry's Delicatessen in Point Reyes Station and stood in the road to block a convoy of eight Wellington Energy trucks as they headed toward Inverness at about 9:45 a.m.
Sandizell said the group had been expecting Wellington's return to Inverness on Wednesday. On Monday, she and other members of her group tried to prevent four trucks from installing meters in Inverness. On Tuesday, Wellington upped the ante to eight trucks.
Sandizell said, "At first we thought everything was going to be fine."
Two sheriff's cars arrived and Marin County sheriff's deputies told the Wellington truck drivers to turn around, Sandizell said. Six of the trucks did so. Two others, however, kept moving forward. She said the protesters kept moving backward to give the trucks more room to turn around.
"Finally, we had to stand in front of them because they had a straight-away," she said. That is when she and McCrory were arrested.
The remaining trucks then continued on to Inverness. The remaining protesters gave chase and did their best to stop them from installing meters, Sandizell said.
Responding to word of the arrests, PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno said, "We still invite our customers to call us directly if they do have SmartMeter concerns."
Sandizell said, "PG&E says it wants to take people's concerns to heart and listen to people, but the way they act is another story."
And so it begins....
Morons...
Radiation? They probably live with a cellphone or bluetooth headset plugged into their ears and worry about radiation? Maybe we should start teaching science again...
Pick your battles ladies...this one shouldn’t even make the list.
What begins?
I wonder. Do they have Wi-Fi routers in their house. Do they have Cell Phones or Cordless Phones? Do they use Garage Door Openers?
Don’t tell these ding-bats about wireless routers, cell phones, laptops, microwave overns, hair dryers, Bluetooth headsets, remote controls, satellite TV, ....
Radiation? Pah!
What they should fear is government diktat over energy use.
I’ve read that people’s bills have gone up astronomically after these things have been installed.
Not totally surprising. Marin County is basically San Francisco without homeless people and smelly hippies.
LOL, well if they had figured how to run the old ones backwards, maybe. It is possible that if your meter readings had been regularly estimated then a big jump could occur, I guess.
All the so-called “smart meters” have that the others don’t is a clock that determines how much energy you use at a particular time of day. If you can schedule high energy usage at off peak hours (generally 6-9 am and 5-8 pm) then you can actually save on you power bill.
Thats not why they were protesting, but yes they have went up ,double and tripled in some areas.
“Don?t tell these ding-bats about wireless routers, cell phones, laptops, microwave overns, hair dryers, Bluetooth headsets, remote controls, satellite TV,”
Do those have radiation and cause cancer? Are you relying in bs research?
Sort of a red-light camera for electricity.
There's money to be made in micromanaging the peasants!
You got to impoverish the peasants some way or they will be a burden on the environment and an inconvenience to the ruling class.
Absolutely
One was installed at our place less than a month ago.Will take note.
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