Re: Highway 95 public meetings

[Ken Medlin <dev-plan@moscow.com>]

>If it is a "hearing" conducted like recent ones by ID DOT,
My own experience and what I've read in research reports over many years 
says:  these fed. and state hearing exercises are pretty much eyewash for 
the critical public which is usually the voting public to get its "say" 
in the process. The hearing records have no legal status or political 
weight, unless of course they rise to the Seattle-WTO levels of 
disturbance, or the public excercises a boycott, etc.  The only way, at 
this stage to get some influence over the process is to get lots of 
people out, to circulate petitions, etc. and/or to organize a citizens' 
lobby representing 100's of people, and submit demands in writing, thru 
the media, letters, etc. THEN, the politicians begin to listen because 
they realize that there are some votes out their they didn't count the 
last time around. I've been to so many hearings as an interested citizen, 
only to walk away not knowing what impact our presence made, and then to 
find out in the paper later that "everything went according to the 
planners' agemda, with much public participation." Amen.  

------------------------
William K. Medlin
Dev-plan associates
930 Kenneth Street
Moscow ID 83843
208/892-0148
dev-plan@moscow.com