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Maio’s proposal is intriguing 

As a shopkeeper in Berkeley, I appreciate efforts to encourage local shopping. I read the article in last week’s Daily Planet (June 24) concerning Councilmember Linda Maio’s proposal. Several comments/suggestions come to mind. 

1) Setting criteria would be a major dispute. Besides that, who or what committees will set the criteria? 

2) Fourth Street is a wonderful place to shop because of the atmosphere (clean, neat and with pleasant architecture and plantings) and the variety and quality of merchandise. It does not depend on government issued validation stickers. 

3) Downtown needs a better atmosphere and a wider variety of merchandise. New sidewalks, trees and lampposts will help, but what is in and on the buildings is more important. 

4) Please enforce existing laws before spending $25,000-70,000 on another program. Laws are on the books to limit window usage to a percentage of its square footage - not enforced. People living in stores and operating without a permit was not enforced recently. The tenant was subsequently arrested on an unrelated charge and is in jail. 

5) Maintenance of storefronts and buildings should be encouraged (not necessarily with gifts) if not required, of merchants and property owners. 

6) Please talk to us (merchants) more frequently. The DBA should not be our only direct/indirect interface. I hope this reaches your attention. I will be interested. 

Carl Pearson 

Berkeley 

Some merchants expect too much 

The co-owners of Nfusion Inc. (Letters, June 30) took exception to Carol Denney’s letter in last Tuesday’s issue of The Daily Planet for suggesting that she didn’t want her tax dollars handed out to Berkeley merchants to promote their businesses. I couldn’t agree more with Ms. Denney, but I am not surprised that Ms. Lee and Ms. Siador believe that their gourmet tea emporium deserves money from the city at a time when summer jobs programs are being defunded and people are living on the street for lack of decent housing. This is a curious merchant mindset – that somehow owning a business is more virtuous and of greater service to the community than simply working for a living. 

These two purveyors of gourmet teas complain that they have a zero budget for promoting their products. They bemoan the fact that they must provide employee training and wages – but I notice they didn’t mention health insurance or other benefits for their workers. Perhaps they have forgotten that in a free enterprise system the advertising budget and other expenses come out of pre-profit income. Perhaps they will have to raise the price of their gourmet teas in order to convince consumers that we should be drinking more of their product. 

I think the two owners of Nfusion need an infusion of reality. Myself, I’m on a budget so I don’t believe I’ll be buying much gourmet tea in the near future. Likewise, I don’t enjoy subsidizing their businesses with my tax dollars. 

Joe Cadora 

Berkeley 

Promoting shops is misuse of funds 

While the owner’s of Nfusion and other small businesses may appreciate the large sums of money that the City regularly hands them for promotion, many of us see this practice as a misuse of public funds (Letters, June 30). Does the City expect to recover this money if and when these businesses profit? Are we to assume that any business given this money does not also enjoy a profit simultaneously? Is it a matter of the profit not being large enough? 

The federal government is also notorious for this practice; subsidizing the meat and dairy industries to the tune of billions of dollars per year (otherwise your hamburger would cost roughly $79). Without this subsidy, both industries would clearly fail (and they should). More times than not, businesses fail, not only because of the high costs associated with operation and promotion, but because there is simply not enough demand to support the product or service they provide. So, instead of realizing this fact, government has created an artificial market of businesses and industries (at our expense) which could not, in today’s world, exist on their own. As a natural foods cook and free-lance musician, I have not been offered one cent from the City to help me with my “business.” I don’t expect the City to prop me up; others shouldn’t either. 

Michael Bauce 

Berkeley 

Suggestion was not organic 

I was glad to see your article about composting in the June 30 edition. However, your suggestion to add a layer of 10-10-10 fertilizer over the top of the rotting matter is not in the spirit of composting, which is to use organic materials and let ages-old natural processes unfold. For organic gardeners, this would create a product we wouldn’t want on our crops. 

Carol David 

Berkeley