Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Friday January 04, 2008

AUTO BURGLARIES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

My neighborhood on the South Berkeley/ North Oakland border has seen a huge number of auto burglaries and break-ins in recent weeks. Your paper also reported the escalation in thefts of catalytic converters from automobiles. I want to offer an effective strategy to help prevent such auto burglaries during times when an owner’s car is parked sufficiently close to their home or place of business for this method to work. There is a product called the REPORTER available from Radio Shack (I am not affiliated with Radio Shack or this product) which functions as a wireless motion detector that operates both day and night. It can be placed inside a car, or in a trunk, or in a way that would detect motion if someone crawled under the car to remove a catalytic converter. When it senses motion it causes a receiver that you have in your house/business to either issue loud beeps, or, if you choose to plug something into it, it can turn on an item such as a loud TV or radio to wake you. Thus the car owner can be alerted if anyone either breaks into or crawls under his/her car. This product has many other uses. It can be placed in a garage to detect break-ins there: it can be set up to guard perimeters of your property to detect trespassers: one receiver works for up to four transmitters so you can monitor four different locations. Cost is $60-200. Other wireless motion detectors could function similarly, although as far as I know only this product works during the day as well. The more everyone does to safeguard their property, the more whole neighborhoods will benefit, since confrontations or lack of success in their “business” will dissuade thieves. Then too, I wanted to comment that a huge increase in catalytic converter theft could be considerably ameliorated if scrap metal buyers, aware of the problem and willing to be part of the solution, simply began to refuse to buy catalytic converters.  

Deborah Cloudwalker 

Oakland  

 

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KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing to ask your readers to help prevent the sickening atrocities to animals for which Kentucky Fried Chicken is responsible. If you know about the way these animals live and die, you know it’s wrong. They are bred and drugged to grow so fast that many become crippled under their own weight. They live in sheds so crowded they barely have room to spread their wings. They are de-beaked without painkillers in order to stop the neurotic cannibalizing behaviors that such overcrowded conditions engender. They are brutally slaughtered and many are scalded while they are still conscious. These practices are horribly cruel and make a mockery of life. 

You have the power to make a change. There are many other food choices you can make that are healthy, humane, and even convenient. Please boycott Kentucky Fried Chicken. 

Isabella La Rocca 

 

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OPTIONS RECOVERY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As the new year approaches and I’m among those thinking about all sorts of hopes and dreams we’d love to have fulfilled in the future—many grandiose (like peace on Earth, social justice, and husbanding Earth in such a way as to ensure the well-being of all of its creatures). However, my most immediate hope and dream for 2008 is that Berkeley’s recycling program be radically altered. 

By now, probably everyone has heard that noise pollution and insufficient sleep are serious problems in our society. Berkeley’s recycling program has been a huge contributor to both of them, and is in fact a public nuisance that should be stopped. 

From its inception, the recycling program created a cottage industry of nocturnal nomads roaming the town, clanking shopping carts in tow during the wee hours, leaving streets and sidewalks strewn with litter and broken glass in their wake. From what I’ve seen over the years, nothing that the recycling trucks pick up has any value unless it is indeed sent somewhere other than to the dump. 

The rattling of shopping carts is a minor disturbance compared to the town’s recycling behemoths that roar around my neighborhood—often as early as 6:15 a.m.—three or four times a week. Apart from the noise made by virtue of their construction and the speed at which they are driven, it seems the drivers are trained to drive in reverse in most circumstances. As a result, we are treated to a pre-dawn symphony of trucks’ engines and clanking, augmented by the noise-maker that warns everyone within a couple of miles not to go sleepwalking behind one of them. (Just how many lives have been saved by those noise-makers versus how much they have added to the stress level of city living is a question for another day.) 

Yes, I’m cranky from suffering the un-necessary noise pollusion and lack of sleep caused by the recycling program. It’s im-possible to contact anyone there. Maybe someone with influence will read this letter? 

Nicola Bourne 

 

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PARKING AND BRT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

If the commentary by Sharon Hudson represents the core of opposition to BRT, then there is only one issue—parking. 

If one is convinced that any parking loss will be detrimental to business activity and residential convenience, then the question is whether the benefits of the BRT will reasonably balance the detriments. 

The benefits of BRT, not at all considered in the Hudson commentary, are based on a reduction in the number of cars on our roads, which means less congestion, less air pollution and a net reduction in GHG emissions. 

Does the exclusive focus on parking mean that there is no value to any of these BRT benefits? Perhaps these benefits are illusory—they will not happen as a result of deploying the BRT? 

We have three nearby deployments of something close to BRT—in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Eugene. All of these appear to have dealt with the parking issue without destroying local business. Have these BRT deployments reduced local car traffic? That’s the question we should be asking, not endlessly worrying about preserving parking spaces. 

Steve Geller 

 

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ANIMAL INJURIES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I have in hand copies of the 2007 rodeo animal injury reports submitted to the State Veterinary Medical Board, as required by law (Penal Code 596.7). 

Are you ready? A grand total of only two! NO reports were submitted in 2006, and only one in 2005. Not possible. 

Rodeo injuries are commonplace. What with some 250 rodeos held annually in California, there should be at least several dozen such reports every year. It’s clear that the “on call” veterinarian option allowed by current law isn’t working. Vets are not being summoned, and injured animals are suffering needlessly. 

There’s an easy fix: State law should be amended so as to require an on-site veterinarian at every rodeo and charreada (Mexican-style rodeo)—“on call” not allowed. Rodeos already require on-site paramedics and ambulances to care for injured cowboys, and rightly so. Surely the animals deserve equal consideration. 

There’s good precedent. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) requires on-site vets at all their rodeos, as do Alameda and Contra Costa counties, the Hayward Rowell Ranch, the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles, the Solano County Fair, and the California State Fair. So do all horse shows and thoroughbred race tracks. It’s common sense. 

Ask your state reps to introduce and/or support the needed humane amendment. All legislators may be written c/o The State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814. 

Eric Mills, coordinator 

ACTION FOR ANIMALS 

Oakland  

 

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CALIFORNIA CAUCUS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Why all the media coverage, frantic in-tensity and TV news truck gridlock over presidential primary caucuses in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada? Supposedly because they are early, thus bellwethers. 

But it could be that the caucus system is open and hard to control by political pros and thus represents a democracy that frightens the powers into attention. Selma Vincent’s friend in Las Vegas, Phyllis Needham, recently attended a “Mock Caucus” of near 70 supporters of Obama. “We all met in this big house. The host had a large spread of hors d’oeuvres, and since we were all for Obama, we decided to vote for our preference in the hor d’oeuvres. I picked the meatballs. It turned out that meatballs and jalapeno poppers grabbed the most votes. Those who voted for an hor d’oeuvre that didn’t get the minimum 15 percent were made to go line up by the wall and we came and campaigned at them to change to meatballs or poppers. Meatballs won 35-34.” The caucus was not winner take all, so, Phyllis informs, the 20 mock delegates were distributed 10 to meatballs, 10 to poppers. 

How about bringing the caucus system to California. If not now, then after the revolution. 

Ted Vincent 

 

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WEAR WHITE AT NIGHT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

If pedestrians in Berkeley expect to live through the dark, cold wet weather of winter, they will wear WHITE AT NIGHT. It seems as if people believe that if they exist they must be seen even if it’s pouring rain and all their clothes look black—not true. Add many other factors such as speed, inattention and blinding glare and it’s a wonder any pedestrian (or bicyclist for that matter) makes it home. Dumb luck. 

Jean Lieber 

 

take all, so, Phyllis informs, the 20 mock delegates were distributed 10 to meatballs, 10 to poppers. 

How about bringing the caucus system to California. If not now, then after the revolution. 

Ted Vincent 

 

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CELL PHONE TOWERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

People who don’t like liberals or progressives often say that as soon as they get power and start to smell money, they are no better than the Republicans. That certainly seems to be the case in regard to the proposed battery of cell phone towers to be erected on the old Bekins building in South Berkeley. 

It is well known that the radiation from towers like these might be the cause of increased cancer rates among people living in close proximity. Yet the developers and the cell phone corporations have said, “We want!” and our beloved mayor and City Council have replied, “You shall have!” 

Every citizen of Berkeley should be gravely concerned about this latest cave-in to developer and corporate interests, because if the towers are allowed to go up in South Berkeley, there will be absolutely nothing to discourage the same companies form putting additional ones up in neighborhoods throughout the city (including affluent neighborhoods). 

We should be marching on City Hall. We should be demanding, at the next City Council meeting, that the City just once have the guts to say no to the big money, and start thinking of the health of Berkeley citizens. 

Peter Schorer 

 

 

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FOXY MAYOR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Berkeley’s internationally famous again! Fox TV recently celebrated Santa Mayor Bates and Berkeley as the city that’s most ruthlessly cracking down on the appearance and manners of the holiday season’s most helpless and ill—the homeless. The Scrooges of the entire world now know the secret that Berkeley has been trying desperately to hide. It is no longer the famous cultural and political tourist magnet, tolerant and “How Berkeley Can You Get” eccentric. Those people, including some of our most honored teachers and well-known artists, civil rights and free speech activists are being systematically kicked out of the city they made famous. 

How? They can’t afford the rents and as most of them get older or disabled they’re forced onto Section 8 housing. There a nasty fall awaits them. If they’re in one bedrooms or studios Mayor Bates, City Manager Phil Kamlarz and new Housing Director Reynalda Mary will jack up their rents as much as $100 per month. This may be happening in order to give those Berkeley residents’ housing vouchers to Berkeley’s developers. They then use HUD vouchers as a legal loophole excuse to build more and more empty “skyscrapers,” It’s certainly what’s happened to Berkeley’s Housing Fund, which could have saved many people from homelessnes. Fox News’ (admittedly sometimes shaky) statistics alarmingly claim that while Berkeley is only 7 percent of Alameda County, it contains 40 percent of its homeless. And it’s rapidly rising as our developer-rubber-stamp, sadly corrupt officials continue breaking city, state,federal and HUD fair housing and discrimination laws.With one hand they punish the homeless, while the hand hidden behind their backs floods our streets with a holocaust of new homelessness. 

And we Berkeleyites who are left for now in homes? Are we flooding those officials with e-mails, protests and easy discrimination lawsuits? Or like good Americans are we only following orders? Who’s next?  

Philip Ardsley Smith  

Berkeley Citizens for Fair Housing Endorsed by Berkeley Grey Panthers 

 

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TWO MEN FROM HOPE 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

The two men from Hope, Arkansas, both men of faith, couldn’t be more different. 

GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has flipflopped into the mold of an anti-immigration extremist, is a non-believer in evolution and is a religious conservative who puts George Bush to shame. Bill Clinton was inclusive, cooperational, and non-adversarial as president. 

Will Huckabee as a Republican president strive for deficit reduction, health care insurance for all Americans and work for a more bipartisan approach to government as Clinton did in office? 

Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee can’t hold a candle to former President Bill Clinton and it is still hard to figure out whether Huckabee is running to be pastor or president of the United States. 

Ron Lowe  

Grass Valley  

 

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APPRECIATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It would appear that our previously responsive mayor and City Council have rescinded their basic responsibilities to the citizens by capitulation to the Powers That Be, in this case the telecommunications industry. 

In 1996 the Federal Communications Commission stipulated that the erection of transmission antennas for cell phones, laptops, and all the other wired and wireless gadgets could not be opposed by an municipality for health reasons. They were to be placed in commercial areas where people were working for only part of the day. Why? Did they know something then that we are just beginning to learn about now? 

For several years now these antennas have been going up on Shattuck Avenue commercial buildings, many of which are only a short distance from residences. The recently approved antennas for the UC Storage building on Shattuck and Ward is the latest example. The French Hotel on Shattuck/Vine and possibly the commercial building that houses Prudential real estate on Rose/Shattuck. 

With the consistent exception of Council member Max Anderson who is prepared to actively protest this ruling, the mayor and council say they are sympathetic with the concerns of those who oppose the antennas, but legally powerless to oppose the practice. 

IF we had any responsible leadership in this town, we might hear them invoke their basic responsibility to act in the best interests of our citizens by making every effort to protect our health and safety. There are some tools—the Precautionary Principle—where threats of serious or irreversible damage to people exist the lack of full scientific certainty relating to cause and effect shall not be viewed as sufficient reason to postpone measures to protect human health. 

And there are a number of scientific studies now emerging, mostly from the Sweden and Finland, that present evidence of rising rates of childhood leukemia, brain cancer, breast cancer, depression and other ailments. A recent report from Israel indicates that compared with the total population there are four times as many cancer cases among people who live near a cell phone transmitter station for three to seven years. (For much more information google “electromagnetic field emissions.”) 

Does this all sound familiar?—think cigarettes, asbestos, mercury, excessive antibiotics, etc. Since government seems to have formed a coalition with corporations, all we can do is protest and take care of ourselves the best we can. A sorry state of affairs as we enter 2008. 

Joan Levinson 

 

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DREAM OF SOLIDARITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Primary elections are coming soon. I would like to see initiatives from any party which can bring about peace and security, better health care and better education for all, and most importantly, better relations with all nations on the planet. I would like to see happiness on the faces of today’s youth and not traces of discrimination due to race or economic status. We need solidarity; the despair of the least among us matter to the rest of us. I would not like to say where my vote will go but I want to share my dream of a direction for our country. 

Romila Khanna 

Albany 

 

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CLEAN WATER CRISIS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Several recent reports on TV and in papers indicate that the supply of clean water in many countries is severely hampered by the many problems arising from the expanding uncontrolled dumping of organic wastes. I pointed out in a Nov. 30 commentary in the Planet that we could be getting some energy and reducing the carbon dioxide overload on the globe by using pyrolysis on our organic wastes. By using pyrolysis on wastes, we could cut water pollution greatly as germs and toxics would be destroyed. Further, we would stop the reemitting of carbon dioxide by forming inert carbon: that will be taking advantage of nature’s own carbon dioxide trapping system, which we foolishly disregard by composting, a process speeds biodegradation of plant materials and recycles that gas back onto the globe. Present handling of organic wastes in the developed countries costs megabucks both in maintaining dumps to prevent seepage and in running composting operations. Pyrolysis of thewastes would make some money from the energy as well as recover costs from not maintaining dumps to prevent seepage. 

If the people of Berkeley really want green action, they should call on their officials to get a pyrolysis program set up. I can supply more details if the Nov. 30 Commentary is not enough.  

Dr. James Singmaster 

Environmental Toxicologist, Ret.  

Fremont 

 

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POLAR ENERGIES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

“Liberal” and “conservative” are two polar energies that are always present in the public arena, as they provide checks and balances for each other. Liberals, or progressives, archetypically push for changing what is outworn and no longer needed in a society, while conservatives archetypically preserve what is best in society. 

Until we recognize and appreciate the contribution of each of these basic energies, we will remain in polarized positions and won’t draw out the best of each other to creat a higher synthesis. 

Liberals and conservatives keep arguing about the same things when the country wants to move on. We are encouraging either/or politics based on idelogical preconceptions rather than politics based on ideas that broadly unite us. 

Ron Lowe  

Grass Valley 

 

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CAMPUS WORKERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As Richard Brenneman highlights events and issues at UC Berkeley in 2007 (BDP v.9, #77) he omits out some good stuff concerning workers on campus. Local 3299 of AFSCME chalked up important achievements this past year, we won a pay equity struggle to bring the lowest paid food services and custodial pay up from poverty wages a dollar or so and established protection of workplace language rights and restitution of faulty pension calculations for employees at the International House.  

Numerous commencement speakers honored our request to stay away from graduation when informed of the equity dispute, and some Democrat candidates for president refused to come on campus. We would like to thank them for their solidarity. 

In other news, UAW-represented academic student employees won wage and contract improvements while the coalition of UC labor unions—including UPTE Professional and Technical Employees, CUE clericals, UC-AFT lecturers and librarians, UAW Academic student employees, AFSCME service workers and patient care employees and CNA—successfully blocked pension-withholding increases for all 10 campuses, took up the struggle of toxic pollution at the Richmond field station and are working across boundaries to help the unions that are currently in or soon entering in to contract negotiations. 

Hank Chapot, Oakland 

UCB central campus gardener