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Time to take those noisemakers off the street
"If this is too loud, then you are too old" reads the license plate frame on an SUV. No, I'm not too old (40-something), but at least I can still hear. Can't say much about the driver of this SUV -- cruising down our city streets trying to entertain the world, with the 2,500-watt stereo system; that's enough to power a cappuccino maker, microwave and blender. By the time he hits his 40s, there will definitely be a hearing aid attached to his ear.
Fresno police traffic enforcement has had a significant impact on speeders. How about going after some noise pollution? Equip them with decibel meters alongside their radar guns. What people listen to is their business, but when I can't hear my own TV, sitting in my home with dual-pane windows, we have a problem.
I happen to have a neighbor who also likes to entertain the world. I have called police numerous times, but they show up after the car battery is already dead. No noise then -- at least until the car battery gets recharged.
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'Music to my ears'
Tony Cruz's letter Jan. 16 describes a plague that has descended over this entire country: vehicles rigged with stereo amplifiers so powerful they can rattle windowpanes several blocks away.
Boom-box vehicles have given birth to an entire subculture dedicated to offending any thinking person's sensibilities. The sole purpose of these ear-splitting stereos is to draw attention to the driver -- "Look at me! Look at me!" -- while he or she travels down the road with the windows rolled down, even in sub-freezing temperatures. They'll park outside of a convenience store and leave the "thoomp! thoomp! thoomp!" on while they go inside, in another vain attempt to show the rest of us just how cool they are.
There is a solution: Give any driver with a vehicle playing amplified sounds in excess of 80 decibels a summons: a $250 fine for first offenders; multiple offenders would face confiscation of their vehicles. New York and Chicago have these anti-boom box ordinances, with Chicago having impounded thousands
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Honduras takes Brazil to world court over Zelaya
Honduras' interim government has filed a case at the U.N.'s highest court accusing Brazil of meddling in internal Honduran affairs by allowing ousted President Manuel Zelaya to stay at its embassy in Tegucigalpa, the court announced Thursday.
The administration of interim President Roberto Micheletti asked the International Court of Justice to order Brazil to stop granting Zelaya refuge in its diplomatic mission.
Zelaya has been holed up at the Brazilian Embassy since sneaking back into Honduras on Sept. 21. The army forced him out of office on June 28 after he defied Supreme Court orders to cancel a referendum on rewriting the constitution.
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Enforce the law
After reading the letter Jan. 19 by Michael Kincheloe, I say hooray to New York! Hooray to Chicago! It's about time that somewhere in this country some people are doing something about this hideous assault upon our peace and quiet.
In our city and state the problem [of loud auto music systems] exists because of a lack of enforcement by local police and the California Highway Patrol. The state Vehicle Code prohibits operating a vehicle upon a public road while operating a sound amplification system that can be heard 50 feet from the vehicle. Let's enforce it and give Fresno some class.
Louis Takacs
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Artists you should know: Robert Trebor
Count Robert Trebor and his band among the handful of local musicians playing at this weekend's Thunder in the Park motorcycle and music festival at Kearney Park.
Trebor plays today, a prelude to the night's headliner, Foghat, which hits the stage at 5:30 p.m.
Don't consider Trebor just another local musician, though. He has spent the last couple weeks recording in Hollywood with rock producer Stevie Salas. Here's his recount of what's happening.
Recent Bee letter writers believe police need to crack down on the loud music pumping out of cars on city streets. Sometimes the music is so loud I can't hear my cell phone ringing. Oops. I guess we're not supposed to do that either.
I'm not joking. I've missed calls when driving because the music is so loud. Oh, that's right. That's my stereo.
Seriously though, after many years of playing in a rock band and running power tools, my hearing is so bad I miss a lot of what is said. This all came before modern stereos that can blast higher volumes without blowing out their own speakers. I can only imagine the hearing problems many of today's youngsters will experience in later years after living with Walkmans attached to their heads and concert-type speakers that barely fit under the backseat, in their cars.
Do you think if I got one of those I wouldn't have to turn the stereo up so loud? I love music. Scary to think that in a few years I might not be able to hear it. Ya gotta feel the beat!
Bill Ferguson
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