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WPCNR MILESTONES. August 6, 2013:

Sixty-seven years ago, the Enola Gay, a single American bomber dropped an Atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The terrible effects of that single bomb are a horror that has never been repeated

A second bomber, Bock’s Car on August 9, dropped a similar bomb on Nagasaki. Unknown thousands of Japanese citizens’ lives were vaporized, burned,  and maimed and two cities leveled to the ground in an instant in both bombings.

To grasp what one atomic bomb did to Nagasaki. Readers may see the photographs Japanese photographer Yosuki Yamato took of the aftermath of Nagasaki the day it happened at http://www.exploratorium.edu/nagasaki/photos.html#journey/63.jpg

The decision to drop the bombs was made after the United States, Great Britain and the Republic of China demanded Japan  surrender in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26 or face  “prompt and utter destruction”. The Japanese government did not.

The United States deployed two nuclear weapons  dropping one on Hiroshimi today, 68 years ago and one on Nagasaki on August 9.

Over four months the bombs resulted in the deaths of   90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki, half dying the day the bombs fell.

The Hiroshima prefecture health department estimated that, of the people who died on the day of the explosion, 60% died from flash or flame burns, 30% from falling debris and 10% from other causes. During the following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness. In a US estimate of the total immediate and short term cause of death, 15–20% died from radiation sickness, 20–30% from burns, and 50–60% from other injuries, compounded by illness. In both cities, most of the dead were civilians, although Hiroshima had a sizeable garrison.

The horror of those two bombings and the aftermath, the injuries have created  an effort and reluctance on the part of nuclear-armed powers to avoid any nuclear attacks since that date.

Within a few days of those bombings, Japan surrendered unconditionally, officially ending World War II.

The decision to use the bombs by the United States has long been debated. A dialogue on what the bombs did, why the decision was made was collected in 1995, the fiftieth year since the bombings. It is available at http://www.exploratorium.edu/nagasaki/commentary/decision.html

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey  August 5, 2013 UPDATED AUGUST 6, 2013:

Unless a law firm and traffic engineering firm can complete their analysis of the French American School of New York consolidated campus plan for the defunct Ridgeway Country  Club property with weeks, it appears the Common Council will not make a decision on the FASNY project, or even take up the FASNY proposal for the Gedney Farms neightbor property until after the November city elections.

At the Common Council monthly meeting Monday evening, the council voted to extend the contracts the city has with Silverberg Zalantis and TRC Engineering to continue to review the project this fiscal year.

The contract with Silverberg Zalantis  is being being  extended to a maximum cost of $85,000 for the purpose of reviewing the FASNY Draft and Final Environmental Impact statements.

The Council will also extended the contract of  TRC Engineers, Inc., to continue to review traffic and transportation, noise and air quality issues that may be raised by the Final Environmental Impact Statement the school presented last April. TRC Engineer extended contract will be to a maximum of $90,000.

The French American School will pay the cost of both contracts.

Silverberg and Zalantis is the law firm that devised the proposed Recreation District Ordinance restricting setbacks on recreation properties (Westchester Hills Country Club, the Ridgeway property, Fenway Golf Club and areas adjacent the Hutchison River Parkway) in the city last year. The Recreation Ordinance has not been reintroduced after the draft ordinance was presented last fall. There has been no comment from the city whether or not a revised such ordinance will be reintroduced,  just that it was being “tweaked.” That recreation ordinance received strong objections from Westchester Hills Country Club which threatened to take the city to  court over the ordinance because the club felt it compromised the future value of their property.