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LAKEVILLE - One doesn't normally think of a radio station as a good place to learn about interesting new books. And one doesn't normally think of a small-town radio station as a place to hear bestselling nationally (and internationally) famous authors being interviewed.
But that's the Northwest Corner for you - full of surprises. Actually, "hearing" about good books isn't such a strange concept. After all, between Amazon's Kindle and the abundance of books (new and old) on tape and CD, readers are as likely to listen to a book as they are to read it.
And it's logical, when you think about it, for authors to promote their new titles on the radio: They can do it, with ease, from anyplace on the planet that has telephone or cell phone service.
This is also a fertile market for authors. The libraries do a brisk business, book clubs are well-subscribed and there is the always-busy Oblong Books and Music in Millerton. People in this part of the world like to read.
Of course, many promising plans wither for lack of someone to execute them. But Joe Loverro and Thia Tarrab, the morning voices of radio station WQQQ-103.3 FM, have turned this promising plan into a successful regular feature.
On any given morning, between 8:10 and 8:30 on weekdays, listeners can hear Loverro and Tarrab bantering with the likes of Janet Evanovich, Dean Koontz and Nelson DeMille.
"One of our most recent guests was Douglas Preston and his book, 'Blasphemy,'" Loverro said. "It's a thriller that centers on the conflict between religion and science, it's fascinating. I got really wrapped up in it."
Other readers must be enjoying it as well: It was number 10 on the Hartford Courant bestseller's list.
One of the most popular interviews in the series so far was with local author and famed astrologer Barbara Hand Clow, who talked about her book, "Catastrophobia: The Truth Behind Earth Changes in the Coming Age of Light."
Evanovich is a favorite
The interviewers, of course, have their own favorite authors. Both agree that Evanovich, author of the massively popular Stephanie Plum stories (she's a tough-talking Jersey bail bondsman who can't quite seem to get anything right, especially when it comes to her love life) is particularly fun.
"Janet is my favorite," Tarrab said. "She's like a character in her books, very funny, very girlfriend-y."
"She's feisty," Loverro added.
When her new title, "Plum Lucky," came out a few weeks ago (it shot up to number three on the New York Times bestsellers list), Evanovich phoned in from her home in New Hampshire to chat with the Lakeville radio hosts. Loverro, who hails from Philadelphi, particularly enjoys the setting for the Stephanie Plum novels: the backstreets of Trenton and Newark, N.J.
"I know Hamilton Township and all the places she writes about," he said. "They're all real places, real things."
Except much funnier than in real life.
Though his books don't hover in the sales-list stratosphere, George Minkoff of Alfred, Mass., is another favorite at the radio station. He is the author of a series of historical novels about John Smith and the founding of the Virginia colonies.
The authors seems to enjoy their time with the hosts as well.
"We try to make them comfortable, inject some humor into the conversation and make them feel as though they're having a chat across the kitchen table."
In the book-tour world, authors don't always get to talk to people who have actually read the book, as is always the case with the WQQQ crew. Of course,sometimes some genres appeal more to one interviewer than another. Thrillers seem to be popular with both Loverro and Tarrab. He leans more toward science fiction.
Don't give away the ending!
"I like espionage, murder, mystery and romances," Tarrab said. She also is a fitness buff and enjoys books about health and exercise.
One of her favorite titles was "Blood Lies," by Daniel Kalla.
"It's a wonderful book," she said enthusiastically. "You wanted to keep turning the pages. And the ending! I usually guess the end, but this time I had no clue. I gasped when I figured it out. I still stay in touch with the author. He has a couple other titles, mostly psychological thrillers. He was an ER doctor in Vancouver. His books are all really good.
"Another one I really liked was 'The Husband' by Dean Koontz. We've been lucky enough to have him on several times."
Koontz was, in fact, one of the first authors to appear on the show, when it began four years ago. It all started when public relations firms began to send notes to the radio station suggesting they do some on-air interviews. Some were famous, most were less famous.
At first the author appearances were sporadic. Then as the interviewers - and the authors - began to enjoy the program, they became more frequent.
"Now they [the publicists] offer us almost everyone," Loverro said.
Tarrab produces the 20-minute morning segment (which is sponsored by Salisbury Bank and Trust Company) and tries to put together a mix of subjects and personalities. When it comes to books, she seeks out writers from the Northwest Corner as well as national names.
The most recent interview, on Feb. 13, featured Maria Snyder, author of "Fire Study" and "Magic Study" ("You know your life is bad when you miss your days as a poison taster," reads the book's teaser).
Coming up on Feb. 27 is Susan Schaab, who will talk about "Wearing the Spider."
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Telecom Reg’s Best Kept On the Books
When Connecticut land-use commissions update their regulations, it seems like a no-brainer to jettison old telecommunications regulations adopted decades ago during a short-lived period when municipalities had authority to regulate second generation (2G) transmissions prior to the Connecticut Siting Council (CSC) being ordered by a state court in 2000 to regulate all cell tower infrastructure as “functionally equivalent” services.
It is far better to update those regs instead, especially for macro-towers given new technologies like small cells. Even though only ‘advisory’ to the CSC, the preferences of towns by law must be taken into consideration in CSC decision making. Detailed telecom regs – not just a general wish list -- are evidence that a town has put considerable thought into where they prefer such infrastructure be sited without prohibiting service that many – though not all – citizens want and that first responders rely on for public safety.
Such regs come in handy when egregious tower sites are proposed in sensitive areas, typically on private land. The regs are a town’s first line of defense, especially when cross referenced to plans of conservation and development, P&Z regulations, and wetlands setbacks. They identify how/where the town plans to intersect with the CSC process. They are also a roadmap for service providers regarding preferred sites and sometimes less neighborhood contention. In fact, to have no telecom regs can weaken a town’s rights to protect environmental, scenic, and historic assets, and serve up whole neighborhoods to unnecessary overlapping coverage and corporate overreach. Such regs are unique to every town and should not follow anyone else’s boiler plate, especially industry’s.
Connecticut is the only state that has a centralized siting entity for cell towers. The good news is that applicants must prove need for new tower sites in an evidentiary proceeding and any decisions have the weight of the state behind them. The bad news is that the CSC used to be far less industry-friendly and rote in their reviews, which now resemble a check list. There is an operative assumption at CSC that if an applicant wants a tower, they must need it, otherwise why spend significant money to run the approval gauntlet? This reflects a subtle shift over the years at CSC from sincere willingness to protect the environment toward minimal tweaking of bad applications with minor changes. The bottom line is that towns really cannot rely on the CSC to do all the work for them.
What CSC issues telecom providers is a “certificate of environmental compatibility” after an evidentiary proceeding (not unlike a court case) with intervenors, parties, expert witnesses, and the service provider’s technical pro’s sworn in and subject to cross examination. Service providers get to do the same with any opposition from intervenor/party participants – like towns and citizens -- and their experts. It’s an impressive process whose ultimate goal is the fine balancing between allowing adequate/reliable public services and protecting state ecology with minimal damage to scenic, historic, and recreational values. They unfortunately often fall short of their mandate – like approving cell towers with diesel generators over town aquifers -- evidenced by CSC only rejecting about five cell towers in the past 15-20 years.
The CSC was founded in 1972 and clarified its mission in the 1980’s to prevent the state from being carved up willy-nilly by gas pipelines, high tension corridors, and broadcast towers. With the sudden proliferation of cell towers beginning in late 1990’s, it became the most sued agency in Connecticut by both an arrogant upstart industry if applications were denied and by towns/citizens when bad sites were forced on them. CSC gradually formed a defensive posture that drives their decisions toward industry with deeper pockets and attorneys on retainer.
For citizens, nothing can wreck one’s day like the CSC. It behooves towns to protect what little toolkit they have, and understand the legal parameters of the CSC’s playing field. The CSC is not a “normal” government agency where municipal/citizen redress is based on logic and local support. Their process is largely immune to everything but specific kinds of evidence – like town regs with setbacks/fall zones, radio frequency transmission signal strengths, sensitive areas identified, and detailed wildlife inventory, among others.
There is a current cell tower fight involving two intervening towns -- Washington and Warren; both with good cell tower regs – over a tower site within 1200’ of a Montessori School, near Steep Rock’s nature preserves with comprehensive geology/wildlife databases that include endangered, threatened and special concern flora and fauna, on established federal/state migratory bird flyways, within throwing distance to a historic site capable of being listed on the Underground Railroad, and with an access road on a blind curve entering a state highway that will permanently damage wetlands, vernal pools, and core forests. There are well credentialed environmental experts, including Dr. Michael Klemens, former chair of Salisbury’s P&Z, as well as the former director of migratory bird management at the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and an RF engineer testifying to alternative approaches, plus three attorneys representing intervenors. It is the most professional challenge I have seen at CSC since Falls Village successfully mounted one that protected Robbins Swamps several years ago.
The hearing is ongoing, with uncertain results. To see what it takes today to stop an inappropriate tower siting, see Docket #543 under “Pending Matters” at https://portal.ct.gov/csc before removing local cell tower regs – the lowest hanging fruit that any town can possess in case it’s needed.
B, Blake Levitt is the Communications Director at The Berkshire-Litchfield Environmental Council. She writes about how technology affects biology.