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Letters to the Editor
CESAR CHAVEZ
Editors, Daily Planet:
I read recently in the Berkeley Daily Planet that the city is considering renaming a Berkeley street in honor of Cesar Chavez. While I greatly respect the accomplishments of Cesar Chavez, and believe that he is certainly a figure worth honoring, I would have to take issue with the idea that Berkeley should name a street after him.
I believe that if we are going to assign new names for our streets, they should reflect the unique history of Berkeley. Although most Berkeley citizens likely agree that Cesar Chavez was an extraordinary labor organizer and human being, he has no unique ties to Berkeley.
Our City has an exceedingly rich history of public figures that could be honored by having streets named after them. How about “Glenn Seaborg Blvd.” to honor the internationally known outstanding scientist, educator and Nobel Prize winner? Or “David Brower Street,” to honor one of the worlds best known and accomplished environmentalists? Or “Malvina Reynolds Way,” to honor the celebrated activist folk singer and song writer who immortalized the “Ticky,
tacky ... little boxes on the hillside?” Or even “Joseph Charles Street”, to honor the famous “waving man of Berkeley” who brought joy and a smile to countless thousands of Berkeley residents?
The idea of renaming a Berkeley street for Cesar Chavez shows a real lack of imagination on the part of city leadership. If there is a real desire to rename our streets, at least we should use the opportunity to celebrate the leaders, activists, scientists, and celebrities who called Berkeley their home.
Joel Myerson
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WHY INACTION?
Editors, Daily Planet:
The following letter originally was submitted to The New York Times in response to the front page article on April 12, “In Baghdad, Free of Hussein, a Day of Mayhem”:
Why have U.S. troops done so little to stop the widespread looting and chaos in Iraq’s cities? Perhaps their inaction is part of the Pentagon’s brilliant war plan. After all, once Iraqis get a taste of such anarchy they’ll be happy to welcome whatever puppet government the U.S. installs, as long as it restores law and order. And Iraqis will not soon demand the withdrawal of U.S. troops from their country.
Martin Schiffenbauer
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RAW DEAL
Editors, Daily Planet:
The confusion around BUSD’s current budget and the one for the coming year is great. We, Beebo Turman and Bobbie Dunston, don't understand why the top-level administration staff have such high salaries, while asking for teacher lay-offs and staff reduction of hours.
In San Francisco, the Superintendent has announced she’s taking a pay cut because of their fiscal crisis. Why isn’t the same thing appropriate in our district? Why do we need a third associate superintendent, at $155,000 a year?
When Laney College faculty members were told they had to reduce classes by 10 percent to accommodate their budget deficit, one department head said he would be happy to do that if the administration also agreed to cut their costs by 10 percent.
The teachers, custodians, food service workers, maintenance workers, after school care workers, and other staff members put in long hours with the students, making sure that no child is left behind in the "learning ladder." It has yet to be explained exactly what are the "administrative increases of about $400,000" that the district says will be part of next year's budget.
Fresno and San Francisco school districts have shown that there can be significant savings from administrative expenditures. Berkeley has only announced teacher and certified staff cuts.
If there are some good reasons for increases in administrative costs and salaries, then BUSD should explain them fully. If the district has a plan to reinstate teachers and staff when times are financially better, then we haven't heard of it. Until then, we feel irate that the teachers and staff are getting a raw deal, and are not being treated in a fair and honorable manner.
Beebo Turman, School and Community Garden Organizer
Bobbie Dunston, Food Service Satellite Operator
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MAYOR BATES
Editors, Daily Planet:
In his article, “Bates Gets Mixed Reviews In New Role as Mayor” (April 11), David Scharfenberg distorted my position on the matter.
I explicitly requested of Mr. Scharfenberg that if he gave my criticisms regarding Tom Bates as mayor that he also balance it and give my praise for him as well. The article unfortunately gave only criticisms and none of the many positive things that I said about Mayor Bates in the interview. If I am a "leading critic" of Bates, then he is in good shape because I appreciate the overall job he has been doing as mayor.
Mr. Bates ran for office because hundreds of people in the community, including myself, asked him to serve. Now Bates is doing this sometimes thankless and difficult job without financial remuneration, and he has dedicated his mayoral pay to hiring a school district liaison so that his office can work to increase opportunities for Berkeley’s youth.
I also pointed out that Bates’ years of legislative experience working with elected and community leaders is proving to be very helpful to Berkeley in these tough legislative times. He pulled off a remarkable feat just before getting elected by forging a compromise between environmentalists and playing field advocates at our East Shore State Park. The compromise was to locate playing fields on the North Basin Strip and to leave the Albany plateau as open space. He then had the political moxie and connections to secure the funding in Sacramento to purchase the property.
In addition, Mayor Bates’ recent votes on two land use matters pertaining to 1155 Hearst St. and for an EIR on the Seminary project on Benvenue Avenue, demonstrate that he can be sensitive to neighborhood concerns. I also relayed to Mr. Scharfenberg that I have been receiving reports that the mayor’s streamlining permitting task force has been more balanced in its approach and is not just pro-development. (Perhaps a major difficulty with his article is that Mr. Scharfenberg did his main interview with me so many weeks ago that the quotes he used were not current or in context.)
Despite my few differences with Mayor Bates, I think we are fortunate that he is willing to sacrifice his time and energy for service to our community.
Dona Spring
City Councilmember
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SJP CRITICISM
Editors, Daily Planet:
I am still reeling with laughter several hours after reading Henry Hart's condemnation of the UCB Jewish students' protest at a Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) rally on April 9. Mr. Hart termed the Jewish students' relatively low key protest “vulgar” and voiced his hope to “see a respectful enrivonment thrive here in the East Bay and especially at the university.” Alas, in his defense of free speech and the SJP, Mr. Hart is the “pot calling the kettle," for no group in Berkeley has abrogated free speech with greater virulence than his friends in the SJP.
Remember, dozens of SJP members were cited by the university for disrupting classrooms. Moreover, the SJP last year shouted epithets at Jewish students commemorating the Holocaust in Sproul Plaza. For many in the SJP, said commemoration of the vilest tragedy experienced by any ethnic group smacked of little more than a joke and they treated it as such. Finally, think back to two years ago when members of the SJP blocked the doors to Berkeley Community Theater, keeping those who wanted to hear Benjamin Netanyahu from entering the building. The pro-Palestinian demonstrators were so threatening that the police felt compelled to cancel the former Israeli Prime Minister’s speech.
Reflective of democratic Israel, Jewish students at UCB have never kept demonstrations nor speakers hostile to Israel from expressing themselves.
Alas, the same could not be said for the SJP, whose actions in torpedoing free speech, to say nothing of the very process of education at UCB, echo in full measure the repressive regime of their champion, Yassir Arafat.
Daniel C. Spitzer
The Planet encourages Letters to the Editor. Send them to opinion@berkeleydailyplanet.com, or to 3023A Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA, 94705. Include address and phone number.
