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April, 1960 |
I recently received an inquiry regarding fluoridation debates
published in the 1971 Enterprise. I
recalled nothing about them and I began to read that year’s paper.
April, 1964 |
Long story short, in reading one report after another back
in time it now seems there have been at least four significant episodes of
public contest and decision-making over fluoridating Davis water.
Taking the four as a unit of Davis history, the set provides,
in my mind, a vivid display of the long-standing nip-and-tuck divide we have seen
in the Davis electorate starting in the 1950s.
Each episode deserves its own post, which will be as follows:
Fluoridation One: Narrow Defeat in April 1960 (# 121 published
today)
Floridation Two: Narrow Win in April 1964 [# 124, June 9, 2013]
Floridation Three: Narrow Defeat in November 1964 [# 125, June 10, 2013]
Fluoridation Four: Shelved in August 1971 [# 127, June 16, 2013]
There are four and not some larger number of these disputes
because these are all I have found. If there are more, by all means let me know
and I will put them on the list.
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November, 1964 |
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August, 1971 |
My request for information is serious and not merely pro
forma. In a January 30, 1964 Enterprise
letter, the pro-fluoride Davis Dental Health Council refers to “two past
efforts to obtain fluoridation of Davis’s water supply.” I know of only one
previous effort as of 1964 (in 1960), so at least one more episode might still
be lurking in the mists.
(Recent activities are of course not yet “historical,” although
they will become so and earn the number five, six, or higher.)