Pulling the Plug

To the list of individualists that Boston's Beacon Hill has nurtured over the centuries, add Richard White, 24, a day laborer, writer and naturalist who shuns, literally, current affairs: his apartment on Myrtle Street has no electricity or gas. He explains: "I eat only natural food, and I buy enough to last me only a day, so I don't need a refrigerator. I don't need gas because I don't believe in heating food. It destroys the nutrients."

Last year, when White decided he wanted no electricity, his meter was removed. Last month, on unrelated business, a housing inspector came by and politely asked him to turn on the lights so he could get a better look. No lights, said White. Informed that he had 24 hours to get the juice back on or he would face a fine of up to $500 a day, White asked for a hearing. But the Boston housing inspection department reread its regulations and last week decided that White had a point. He is still in the dark, leaving Housing Inspection Director Frank Henry thoreauly mystified. "Today," he said, "the average person wants lights on." It was noted that the naturalist had no radio or TV. "Well," said Henry, "maybe he's ahead, huh?"

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