Alternates Voting
To the editor:
Thank you for your coverage of the recent Provincetown Planning Board elections [“Mulliken Quits After Failed Bid to Become Chair,” July 11, front page]. I would like to offer a few points of clarification.
The issue in question is the voting rights of alternate members of the board on administrative as opposed to official matters. The planning board members asking that they be allowed to vote were not advocating for alternate members to vote on all matters, including applications for special permits. They asked only to continue the precedent set by the planning board (as well as other regulatory and nonregulatory boards) in which alternate members historically voted on all administrative functions.
A review of planning board meeting minutes from the past five years finds that all members voted on administrative functions, including elections. It is worth noting that all administrative votes that took place during Mr. Milliken’s tenure on the planning board included alternates and that there were no objections to the practice by Mr. Milliken or any other board members at the time.
Furthermore, a cursory review of the meeting minutes of other boards, including the board of health, the licensing board, the historic district commission, and the zoning board of appeals, confirms that alternate members voted on administrative matters, including elections.
If there is a gray area, as town counsel suggests, regarding the appropriateness of alternate members voting on administrative functions, I would welcome an amendment to the town charter to codify what has been precedent all these years. It is imperative, however, to recognize the precedent of alternate board members voting on administrative matters as this issue moves forward.
Michael Gaucher
Provincetown
The writer is an alternate member of the Provincetown Planning Board.
Priapism on Page One
To the editor:
A letter writer in the July 11 issue suggested that “a medical journal would be a more appropriate place” for your article on priapism from improper use of TriMix [“When Recreation Wrecks Your Erection,” July 4, front page].
Priapism is a serious medical condition that calls for emergency measures. As a retired medical officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), I promise you that this was exactly the right place to get the word out about a public health emergency from misuse of a medical treatment. Your coverage of the story can make a difference.
The CDC publishes the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) to get urgent public health messages out. But how many members of the public actually read the MMWR? Very few, I suspect, and even fewer would read a medical journal in which articles that are submitted take many months, if not years, to get cleared for publication.
Thank you for getting our attention in a timely manner that may prevent more cases.
Joanna Buffington, M.D., M.P.H.
Eastham
It’s Newsworthy
To the editor:
In her July 11 letter, Dotti Freitas objects to an article about the deleterious effects of penile injections being shared and misused by Provincetown partiers, saying, “I don’t think your readers want to know about priapism,” and suggests that a medical journal would be a more appropriate place for this article.
Priapism is a urological emergency that is excruciatingly painful and can result in lasting erectile dysfunction and, in rare cases, gangrene. In addition, priapism is associated with increased long-term risk of heart attack and stroke. Dangerous, avoidable medical conditions that directly affect the readership of the Independent, who are unlikely to read medical journals, are newsworthy and deserve front-page coverage.
Eliza Miller, M.D.
New York City
*****
Letters to the Editor
The Provincetown Independent welcomes letters from readers on all subjects. They must be signed with the writer’s name, home address, and telephone number (for verification). Letters will be published only if they have been sent exclusively to the Independent. They should be no more than 300 words and may be edited for clarity, accuracy, conciseness, and good taste. Longer pieces (up to 600 words) may be submitted for consideration as op-ed commentary. Send letters to [email protected] or by mail to P.O. Box 1034, Provincetown, MA 02657. The deadline for letters is Monday at noon for each week’s edition.
