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The daily filler titled "News of the Weird" represents at best a misjudgment of what will earn the respect and readership of Berkeley, but what's in it (Thursday, April 11th) is seriously offensive.  

What is weird about a man who is blind and deaf training as a gardener? This follows an earlier story where it was a man with no legs robbing a liquor store. At least in that case the behavior was reprehensible. But both stories' point is that a person with a disability engaged in a common activity is bizarre. 

God knows that's a common enough attitude, but in Berkeley, there are ample opportunities to learn better, and I sure wish whoever is deciding what padding to print would note that many people with disabilities read, and shop, and are thus a part of your target audience. And I am one of them who won't be saying anything nice about the Planet soon. 

Ann Sieck 

Berkeley