A lump of coal would have been too kind.
A row of unwanted ‘smart’ meters was placed carefully along with a Christmas poinsettia on the desk of CA state Assemblymember Bill Monning on Wednesday in Santa Cruz, CA. Assm. Monning has stood up for individual residents against PG&E, but together with North Bay Assemblymember Jared Huffman, sponsored a whitewashed industry-led report minimizing the health risks of ‘smart’ meters in January- at taxpayer expense.
About a dozen people gathered at Monning’s office on Wednesday to demand to keep their safe, reliable analog meters at no extra charge, and to pull the plug on the hazardous ‘smart’ meter mesh network.
The event follows a similar smart meter return on Dec. 7th when more than a dozen residents very publicly had their ‘smart’ meters removed, returning them to PG&E offices in Capitola. PG&E responded by cutting off their electricity, including to a 75 year old woman and a family with small children who suffered nosebleeds and headaches from sleeping next to the meter. Needless to say this didn’t go over well in the media (two weeks before Christmas) and PG&E were forced to re-connect the families- bizarrely with no meter at all.
PG&E’s media drubbing was so bad last week that on Monday they were forced to make what was billed as a major concession– they apparently now won’t shut off power to those who wish to keep their regular analog meter- as long as electro-sensitive people and others wary of having a carcinogen on their homes pay PG&E a protection racket of $100 to start and $20/ month. And this was supposed to make PG&E look good.
PG&E thought that by bullying people and switching off their power, they could suppress the movement. But instead they revealed just how low they are willing to go to prevent collapse of their stupid meter program, and how many ordinary members of the public would prefer living without electricity to continued exposure to ‘smart’ meter radiation.
More meter return events are being planned as we speak, to protest radiation emitting devices being forced on people’s homes. Stay tuned.
Media coverage
THIS JUST IN- meter return madness spreads to Southern California:
LOL, awesome video!!! Way to go guys!!! We need a huge outbreak of this!!!
Brilliant theatre of the absurd, and thank you. It is time to take our world back from the corporate thugs, and profiteers.
Past time actually.
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LEGAL RIGHTS OF PHOTOGRAPHERS in the U.S.:
Except in certain special circumstances (e.g. certain government facilities), there are no laws prohibiting the taking of photographs on public or private property. If you can be there, you can take pictures there: streets, malls, parking lots, office buildings, etc. You do not need permission to do so, EVEN ON PRIVATE PROPERTY.
Trespassing laws naturally apply. If a property owner demands you leave private property, you must. But if a place is open to the public (mall, office building, lobby, etc.) permission to enter is assumed (although it can be revoked). In terms of the law, trespass and photography are separate events: the former is illegal, but the latter is not. Only if the use of photographic equipment itself violates a person’s privacy (e.g. by using long lens to look into someone’s private room) might it violate privacy law. Further, while people have a right of privacy, businesses do not, except as it relates to trade secrets.
PHOTO ON, all. It is the primary tool of non-violent action.
I’m sorry but if I may offer a dissenting opinion this video of Jerry Day and his friends invading Edison with video cameras and acting like everyone should know what a bill of lading is makes us look like we are all a bunch of WANNABE LAWYERS pretending to know everything lawyers know. Picking on female employees who want to protect their privacy does NOT make us look good, Admin.
All this accomplished was the creation of a rather awkward scene that was left unresolved and will have to be sorted out by somebody on our side having to cough up plenty of $$$$ to hire a lawyer. Our opposition has way more money than us and this tactic of turning the meters in to the utility company resulted in people suffering by having thier power cut off. This would not have happened if we had gotten our local law enforcement involved to begin with. This is what happens when you go the “Civil” route rather than criminal.
Did anyone catch what Santa Cruz County Supervisor Leopold said at the board meeting earlier this month?.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIGqz_2uGTs&feature=youtu.be
(FFwd to minute 14:10)
Supervisor Leopold: “I can understand why some people are angry at the Sheriff… it’s the kind of thing where people would want law enforcement to get involved”
These meters should be held as evidence of trespass and criminal conspiracy and turned over to local law enforcement! We should not be acting like like we are know it all lawyers… All we need to do is go in get the names of the deputies on duty off thier badges and report violation of Ordinance 5084 AND California Penal code sections as noted below:
http://law.justia.com/codes/california/2009/pen/182-185.html
2009 California Penal Code – Section 182-185 :: Chapter 8. Conspiracy
182. (a) If two or more persons conspire:
(1) To commit any crime…..
(5) To commit any act injurious to the public health,….
“When they conspire to do any of the other acts described in this
section, they shall be punishable by imprisonment in the county jail
for not more than one year, or in the state prison, or by a fine not
exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that
imprisonment and fine”
. Then turn the tagged Smartmeter items over to the Sheriff or deputy on duty to be held as evidence in the criminal case against any identifiable Wellington or PG&E personnel participating or contributing to the conspiracy to endanger the public health, or to torture thier victims with freezing cold by removing thier access to heat. If the Deputies don’t like recieving the evidence that’s just their tough luck! Leave the damn things at the Sheriff’s station and be done with it! Let’s see if they issue us a citation for “Littering a sheriff’s station with E-waste”! (At least if that happens we will get a free day in court without having to hire a lawyer!)
As for PG&E we expect our local law enforcement to uphold the laws against Mayhem and torture, which PG&E enacted against thier paying customers by cutting off thier electricity in the middle of winter..
In addition to trespass and endangerment of the public health, PG&E and Wellington personnel should be charged as follows:
2009 California Penal Code – Section 203-206.1 :: Chapter 2. Mayhem
SECTION 203-206.1
206. Every person who, with the intent to cause cruel or extreme
pain and suffering for the purpose of REVENGE, EXTORTION, OR PERSUASION inflicts great bodily injury as defined in Section 12022.7 upon the person of another, is guilty of torture.
The crime of torture does not require any proof that the victim
suffered pain.
206.1. Torture is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison
for a term of life.
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Help! I refused a smart meter on our house back in the fall of 2011. It was not installed. We got a call from the installation co. employed by SCE who referred us to a customer service guy at Edison. He said he was going to put us on a delay list until the CPUC decides whether or not residents have a choice about the smart meter being installed. Last week we got a letter from SCE stating a smart meter is going to be installed. Our gate is padlocked because we have a spa in our backyard. I’m actually scared that they are going to come here and demand to be let in and install it. What do I do?? I am in contact with two news reporters already.