Shortly before Christmas I got a phone call. The phone call was from a young lady who was about to buy a house in Newburyport, MA and wanted to know if it was safe to live here because of our Landfill issue.

Why in the world was she calling me?

She had called the Mayor’s office to ask this very question. I felt sorry for Lois, Mayor John Moak’s secretary, who apparently had the pleasure of trying to answer such an inquiry. My caller was not satisfied.

And she was told that our health inspector was “not available,” which he probably wasn’t, because he was probably out inspecting the work being done on the Newburyport Landfill.

So, low and behold, Google gave me up as a source of information on this subject. (There’s lots of information when one Googles “Newburyport Landfill,” not just moi, thank goodness.)

It was assumed that the “Newburyport Blogger” would have some answers for this much panicked individual.

Well, this Newburyport blogger knew that she was no source of reliable or informed information, and gave the young lady in question phone numbers of individuals who she felt would be able to impart educated, knowledgeable and fair insight into whether or not it was safe to live in Newburyport, MA.

Well, I live here, so obviously I think it’s safe.

However, the cautionary tale here is to the realtors in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The Landfill issue apparently appears to be hurting the realtor bottom-line, if people are Googling me for info and “guidance” on this stuff. Good grief.

So, I would suggest that it might be a good idea if the realtors in the region ban together and help the City of Newburyport, MA put additional pressure on the “powers that be” on the state level, so that the Landfill issue can get resolved, really and truly, real quick, and folks wouldn’t wonder if it would be a problem to live here health and real-estate-wise. My.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport