Features

CORRECTION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your short summary (in the Oct. 21 article “Council Adopts Condo Conversion”) of the City Council’s Oct. 18 action regarding 2901 Otis St. was incorrect. The City Council did not deny neighbors’ appeal of the Zoning Adjustments Board decision approving the “pop-up” conversion of the small Victorian cottage currently on the site into a three-story, three-unit condo and the conversion of the cottage’s rear yard into a paved parking lot. Neither did the council deny the developers’ appeal of the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s conflicting decision designating it a structure of merit. The council voted unanimously to set both appeals for public hearing at its Nov. 15 meeting. 

Robert Lauriston 

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UNITED NATIONS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is good to see an account of recent disaster relief work by United Nations humanitarian agencies, including that being done right here in the U.S. (“Accentuate the Positive on U.N.’s 60th Anniversary,” Oct. 21). 

This year, for the first time ever, 50 percent of the traditional Halloween trick-or-treat for UNICEF funds will be designated for children in the U.S. UNICEF boxes are available at the UNA Information and UNICEF Center, 1403-B Addison St., back of Adronicos on University Avenue in Berkeley. 

Dorothy P. Wonder 

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CLARIFICATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In your summary of City Council activity regarding 2615 Marin Ave., the comments could be interpreted that the project was approved one foot lower than the Zoning Adjustments Board’s previous approval and remanded back to ZAB. The project was approved with the one-foot reduction. Period. It was not remanded back to ZAB. Please clarify this point.  

David Richmond 

San Francisco 

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“REDSKINS” 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Clearly Ms. Garrett is wrong to suggest that other Native-Americans should not be insulted by phrases they find offensive, but she does not. They are offended; now what are we going to do about it? 

Coincidentally, a Cherokee woman who is a nursing administrator at NIH in Washington D.C. told me that the term “Redskin” was invented to describe natives who had been flayed; that is, who had been tortured by Europeans by having much of their skin cut off. While I cannot judge the historical accuracy of this claim, or Ms. Garrett’s, if many Native Americans believe this then the term is well beyond insulting to them. 

Robert M. Marsh 

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SHARING IS GOOD 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A corner store, a hot tub, a box to share clothes, neighbors that talk with one another, a music venue, a bulletin board, parties, public gathering spaces, artist colonies, community gardens, playgrounds. These are our treasures. These are the blooming of our community, the places where we meet others and share. They need to be honored, protected and improved. 

I am frankly alarmed at this malignant attitude that attacks our collective culture with a desire for silence and isolation. If you are new to Berkeley, try it on, meet people, help others. Don’t try to “clean it up” so it resembles some sterile gated community. What impoverished souls will be born by isolating ourselves inside houses or offices with no noises from outside, no conversations with strangers, no way to share with someone different. Urban living is by nature loud and complex. I believe we should strive for quality sound created by our collective closeness; bird songs and happy children playing, the soft and regular hum of the train or BART, brooms on the sidewalk, a conversation, hellos, meows, a violin. 

Our society is everyone. How the man on the sidewalk is doing is the measure of the health and joy of all. We cannot better this health by putting down others, ignoring people, hoping they go away. For they are us. We must not let the part of us that shares and cares go away. For that is the beauty of our kind. It takes grace and courage, patience and hope to open up to improving, not destroying for lack of perfection, our collective living. 

Support the local liquor store and encourage them to carry some organic produce and plum jam from the teenagers at the community garden down the  

street. Talk with your neighbors. Enjoy differences, respect the creativity of others. Thank them for the bench or fruit tree or bulletin board that they share with the neighborhood. Be nice. Maybe give a buck to the guy on the street. 

And support the free-box in People’s Park. That park is still a special place where sharing happens. What it needs to be better is you! Bring something to share, have a picnic or a game, plant a flower, talk to a stranger, make it better. 

Let a thousand sharings bloom. 

Terri Compost 

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NEW DOWNTOWN PLAN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Here is an idea for the Berkeley downtown that the university and the city planners are working on. Why not fill the whole area with 15-story condo buildings? Then the price of a 1,000-square-foot luxury condo will drop from $400,000 to $200,000. The new residents will then be able to afford to eat at the fancy downtown restaurants and perhaps attend the theater. And in thanks to the development dream team of Bates, Wozniak, Moore and Maio, the new residents will become life-long voters and campaign donors. And in thanks to UC Berkeley for the new downtown, they will become life-long Bears sports fans., Go Berkeley! Go Bears! Rah! Rah! Rah! 

George Tyler 

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INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The real solution to election problems is to count our first, second or third choice, whichever has widest support. The East Bay IRV movement was lead by Cal students in 2002-03, and your continued reporting is vital.  

This Tuesday, the California Senate elections committee will host a forum titled “Instant Runoff and Ranked Choice Elections: Will They Lead To A Better Democracy?” Participants will include Berkeley City Councilmember Kriss Worthington. The forum will be held at 10 a.m. at the Elihu M. Harris Auditorium, 1515 Clay St. in Oakland, with a rally at 1 p.m. This is an historical event for local and state-wide election reform leadership and progress. It’s only a short bus or BART ride to support real election reform state-wide. 

Sennet Williams 

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WILLIS-STARBUCK CASE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In P.M. Price’s opinion piece of Oct. 18, she labels my conclusions as to Meleia Willis-Starbuck’s culpability in her own death as “unjust.” No reasons are provided for this statement. Instead, Price seems more interested in attacking the Cal football players who may have been involved in this tragic situation, the integrity of the Cal football program, the University of California as an institution, and organized sports in America in general. He makes accusations about players withholding information, not coming forward etc. Is Price privy to the investigation of the case? How does she know about this?  

I’m not privy to the “facts” of the case, other than what I’ve seen in the media. However, let me refer to the statements made by Danielle Youngblood, a close friend of Willis-Starbuck who witnessed the events of July 18, as reported immediately afterward in the San Francisco Chronicle. She noted that the altercation began when Willis-Starbuck and her friends declined to “party” with a group of young men, who then used immature, insulting language (“bitches” appears to have been the derogatory term). An argument ensued, with the women explaining to the young men why such language was inappropriate. According to Youngblood, the men then apologized for their language and Willis-Starbuck continued to talk with them as her “brother” Christopher Hollis arrived and made the fatal shot into the crowd that killed the girl. 

At this point we don’t know who claimed that Hollis was asked by Willis-Starbuck to “bring the heat,” or if that even occurred. Hollis’ lawyer says it happened, and I guess we’ll find out at Hollis’ trial. But it does seem clear that Willis-Starbuck grossly overreacted by bringing a gun-carrying thug into a situation which in fact was not threatening, and lost her own life as a result. There’s nothing “unjust” about that conclusion. 

I don’t know why Price is trying to shift the blame for this tragedy to football players, other than to put up a smokescreen so that Willis-Starbuck’s memory won’t be “tarnished.” In any case, the “analysis” offered by Price is facile, to put it mildly. I may be wrong, but I don’t see sports entitlement to be related in any significant way to this story. However, other avenues are worth exploring, such as a degraded “hood” culture where calling women bitches is common parlance and guns are used without a second thought to settle the most minor disputes. 

But we can’t have that in Berkeley, can we? Why, it can only be racist to suggest it. 

Price made one correct statement in her piece: “We bring our life experiences and biases to every situation. Objectivity is more of a goal than a reality.” Perhaps Price ought to work a little harder toward that goal. 

Michael Stephens 

Chicago, IL