You don't have to read too many of the comments from the good folks in Ferndale, Wash., to come to the realization that radio towers proposed for Point Roberts are bad news.
Many in Ferndale have been voicing their frustration for years over towers used to broadcast a South Asian radio station that's based across the border in Richmond. The broadcaster wanted to increase the wattage at night, but American authorities refused, so a more out-of-the-way location was found in the tiny peninsula just south of the international border.
In what appears to be a skit from one of those Rick Mercer specials, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has shown a breathtaking ignorance of Canadian geography by approving relocation of the towers despite the fact they'd be on the doorstep of a community of more than 20,000 people.
Whatcom County still has to sign off on the proposal, so there's hope it can be derailed, which is heartening because there's absolutely no way that Tsawwassenites would want to endure what their American counterparts have been dealing with for years.
Most of the complaints emanating from Ferndale have to do with the interference these towers cause with almost every type of electronic device imaginable. Annoying, frustrating, irritating ... statements describing life adjacent to the towers ooze with exasperation from people who find simple, everyday activities - answering the phone, logging on to the computer, watching TV - are compromised in some way.
It's eye opening to see just how pervasive a problem these towers have become in that Washington town of about 12,000.
From interference so bad you can't hear the dial tone on the phone to a constant hum in the house to the radio station playing in the background on every TV show or on the computer, the impacts are widespread. One resident had to turn off their front doorbell because the radio station was coming through it, while another had to abandon using a baby monitor because it picks up the station.
These towers have generated a litany of complaints to the point where it would be grossly unfair to relocate them, and all the baggage they bring, in proximity to any populated area. And as much as American regulators might think that Ladner is the first Canadian community north of the Point Roberts border, we all know otherwise.
It's time that common sense took hold of this issue and the towers are moved to what's truly an out-of-the-way location.
