Council Approves Funds for City Arms Control Commission

Cambridge continued its leadership in the national grass-roots nuclear arms control movement, as the city council last night approved the first budget allocation for the city's disarmament commission and a city councillor successfully lobbied this week for a nuclear arms workshop at next week's National League of Cities conference.

The nine councillors voted unanimously to give Cambridge Commission on Nuclear Disarmament and Peace Education a budget of $500. The money was a donation from a private peace education group raised through the sale of paintings by one of its members.

Education

Formed by the council in September, the 20-member commission has worked to educate Cantabrigians about peace-related issues, and is responsible for developing a disarmament curriculum for the city's schools and printing informational pamphlets. The commission was not given any budget initially.

Cambridge grabbed national attention in the spring of 1981 when the council refused to approve emergency evacuation plans for nuclear attack developed by the federal civil defense agency, and instead printed a booklet explaining what the impact of a nuclear attack would be.

Lobbying

In a related matter, Councillor Frances H. Duehay '55 said last night that after a week of lobbying he has succeeded in scheduling a day-long workshop on nuclear arms issues for municipal leaders attending the Washington, D.C. conference that begins this weekend. He added that he will serve as moderator for the event.