Neighbors in the Sandy Beach Neighborhood Association joined City Councilors Pat Casey and Joe Camara on August 16, 2008 at the foot of Mt. Hope Avenue to protest the establishment of an LNG loading facility nearby in Mt. Hope Bay. Joe Carvalho, president of the Coalition for Responsible Siting of LNG Facilities, a Fall River-based organization, also called for a flotilla of civilian watercraft to trace part of the route proposed for liquefied natural gas tankers. The  demonstration was intended to claim Mount Hope Bay and the Taunton River as “LNG-free zones.”  Weaver’s Cove Energy announced in March, 2008, that it wanted to construct an offshore facility where tanker ships carrying LNG could unload their cargo. The offshore berth would allow large LNG-carrying tankers to avoid navigating their bulk through openings in the new and old Brightman Street bridges, a feat which the Coast Guard has said is nearly impossible to do consistently. From the platform, the gas would be piped four miles to the proposed LNG terminal at Weaver’s Cove through a concrete-encased pipeline. For more information call (508) 646-3616 or e-mail the Coalition at nolng1@yahoo.com.