X-Message-Number: 2432
From:
Subject: CRYONICS Flying Rumors About Arizona
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 93 01:29:45 PDT
To CryoNet
>From Steve Bridge, President
Alcor Life Extension Foundation
October 6, 1993
In answer to Message: #2428 - Delays in the Arizona move
Date: Mon, 04 Oct 1993 22:46:35 -0400
From: "Perry E. Metzger" <>
>I've heard rumors to the effect that Alcor's move to Arizona is being
>delayed by the fact that Arizona prohibits the moving of human remains
>in unsealed containers, and a dewar is technically an unsealed
>container. Is this true, and if so, what will be done about it, and
>why wasn't this dealt with before the closing on the Acoma building?
>
>Perry Metzger
I have been amazed at the rumors flying around in the past few weeks.
I am also amazed at the level of detail everyone wants. Apparently a
number of members want to know the contents of every conversation I have,
every letter I write, and every problem that occurs. In the course of
business, especially in terms of a major project like the move, dozens of
problems occur. I don't post every problem to the net, and I don't
announce every problem at the Board Meetings; but I do try to *solve* the
problems. Most of them require more than a day or two to solve,
especially when dealing with slow-acting (slow-thinking?) bureaucrats.
So I'll tell you all what I know about this specific situation and
clobber a few other rumors while I'm at it.
There was a minor concern about six weeks ago about an Arizona
regulation prohibiting bodies from being stored longer than 15 days,
except in hermetically-sealed containers. Keeping liquid nitrogen in a
sealed container is obviously a very bad idea. This regulation was part
of the *funeral* laws, however, and we and the Arizona Department of
Health Services had agreed that our patients were Anatomical Donations and
came under different regulations. Please note that this is NOT a "law"
but an "administrative regulation."
We thought we HAD worked it out before we closed. A few days after
the LLC closed on the building, we got an additional letter from ADHS
saying they were still concerned about the whole bodies. Apparently they
were willing to conceed neruopatients as anatomical donations but were
having trouble with whole bodies and thought they still might need to be
in sealed tanks. (This is the exact opposite of the last conversation we
had with them where they had no trouble with whole bodies but were
concerned about the neuropatients.)
After some conversations with Arizona attorneys about this regulation
last week, I don't believe this will turn out to be a significant problem.
Both attorneys agreed that the Associate ADHS Director in charge of this
case was looking at all possible regulations that might interfere so he
could cover his backside (apparently he has a reputation for such
behavior). There are other regulations dealing with anatomical donations
which can be used; and I think it is comparatively simple to show that
public health concerns are unwarranted when dealing with -196 C storage.
I really think this will be a minor bureacratic aggravation with some
attorney fees for research, and will not be a major stumbling block that
will cause weeping and hysteria. But no one said cryonics was easy.
Much more aggravating to the move is finishing off our business with
California's DHS, who truly want us to leave but can't seem to give up
their bureaucratic knee-jerk spasms in order to simplify our paperwork.
Will any of this delay the move of patients? First of all, we did
not expect to move the patients much before the end of the year anyway.
There are a myriad of practical details to be worked out in the move.
(For instance, we have spent many hours with possible professional movers
and have made the probable selection of one with experience moving
equipment for NASA. One of the first steps will be a "test move" of a
Bigfoot dewar, filled with LN2 but not with patients.)
Second, for reasons of patient security, we will not TELL anyone when
we are moving the patients. Having recently read Sterling Blake's novel,
*Chiller*, I am properly paranoid about onlookers and media being present
at the Big Move.
Any delay caused by working out the "sealed tank" problem is likely
to be insignificant in comparison with all of the other potential for
delay. We are going to do this carefully.
Other wild rumors:
1. That the Board knew about this four months ago and ignored it.
*** Completely untrue. We learned about it six weeks ago, but thought
it was solved.
2. That Allen Lopp had bravely fought the Board on this four months
ago and that's why he was voted off the Board.
*** The Board did not know about it four months ago. Allen did not fight
the Board about it; he didn't know either. Allen's lack of votes to be
re-elected had NOTHING to do with this incident, and little if any to do
with the move to Arizona at all (in my opinion).
3. That Dave Pizer was secretly partners with the previous owners of
the Acoma Drive building and made a killing off the sale.
*** Totally untrue and a particularly vicious rumor which accuses Dave of
secret dealing, an illegal activity. Rumors like this are part of a
pattern of accusation based on the assumption that if one Director
disagrees with another, it must be because someone is lying or being paid
off. This shows a ridiculously limited knowledge of human nature.
4. That Dave Pizer is being paid $6,000 per year to manage the LLC.
***Complete untrue, as anyone would know who read the prospectus. *I*
will be paid $100.00 per month to manage the LLC, and I will also receive
one Interest in the LLC, which will "vest in his ownership over a five
year period. He will be vested with 20% of the Interest after each year
that he serves as Manager." I recently donated my shares in Symbex to
Alcor's Building Fund. I have no idea whether or not I will indeed manage
the LLC for five years or whether I will retain ownership of any Interest
I receive. That seems like a long time from now.
Dave Pizer is co-managing the LLC for FREE. He has not charged any
of his expenses to Alcor, and he put several of us up in his home for free
while we went to Phoenix to work on various things. He has put in
hundreds of free hours in the past four months on the building purchase,
so much so that he may be hurting his own business. In addition, Dave
took an $18,000 loss to make this work. He sold his Symbex shares to
Alcor's Patient Care Fund for $38,000 (the same amount he had paid). He
then donated $4,000 back to Patient Care in case the Riverside building is
sold at a loss. He also donated $14,000 back to Alcor's Building Fund,
and he invested $20,000 in the LLC. This was a big benefit to Alcor.
5. That realtor Sterling Johnson is making a huge commission from
the building sale.
*** Not huge. He didn't get the commission from US; the seller pays the
realtor. He agreed to take only 3 1/2 %. And he agreed to have his
commission held up in escrow until he had rented the empty spaces in the
building. He has worked VERY hard for a year and a half (counting the
attempt to purchase a building in 1992) for that commission and he has
treated us very fairly, especially for one-half the amount that most
realtors would have received.
Rumor and gossip are part of human nature, and I guess we can't stop
them. People like juicy scandal and if they can't find enough they will
make some up, especially if it is about someone they don't like anyway.
But the kinds of tales being told about this move are especially harmful
to Alcor. They cost us in member trust and in dollars as well.
For quite a while there has been a mindset where some Members are
angry at Alcor's Board or individual members of the Board for various
things. So they look at each new fact they hear about Alcor or its
Directors, ignoring the positive things and only scanning for some
potential problem or negative situation that they can use to slam Alcor or
the Director they don't like. The impression given to other Members is
that EVERYTHING Alcor does is wrong. No company can exist with this kind
of attitude.
I would really like to know the source of some of the rumors above,
so the irresponsible people who began them might be set straight. Perhaps
it is hopeless to think that I would be given that information. But if
you readers know who told YOU, please send the truth back up the line.
And become a bit more careful not to believe everything you hear.
Thank you.
Steve Bridge
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