Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Tuesday March 20, 2007

NO TEARS FOR BARNES AND NOBLE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In your article about the closing of the Barnes and Noble store, statements were attributed to me that I did not make (I was not interviewed for the article). If I had been asked, I would have made a few specific points: 

Barnes and Noble opened that store, a dozen years ago, solely and specifically to be as close to Cody’s as they could get. Because the chain store model does not require that any individual location be profitable, Barnes and Noble were able to open in an unpromising location and keep their doors open as long as it took to wear out the competition, which by contrast does need to be profitable in order to exist. Meanwhile, they were building two bigger stores a few miles a way against the day when they could abandon downtown Berkeley. Et voila, Cody’s closes, mission accomplished. (In San Francisco, Borders has opened a second huge store about five minutes away from their first huge store—the second store being coincidentally just down the street from Cody’s on Stockton.) Don’t’ shed tears over Barnes and Noble closing a store—they sure didn’t. 

Because of the Internet, the physical bookselling world has lost a big chunk of business over the years. Even in Berkeley there isn’t enough trade for the number of booksellers that used to be able to coexist here. That’s just a fact. If someone had to bow out, I am glad that it wasn’t us, and for a minute I get to be gleeful that it was a chain store. And then it will be back to business for us, keeping the shelves filled, keeping staff in medical benefits and reading copies, keeping the landlord sweet, and keeping the idea of a lively, vibrant bookstore alive for another score of years or so. 

And I would have like to see, just once, the headline from my dreams: “National chain retailer blames store demise on the strength and diversity of local independent booksellers.” 

Amy Thomas 

Owner, Pegasus and Pendragon Books 

 

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THANKS FROM MOE’S 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Hello to the good people of Berkeley, 

Thank you so much for your kindness and warmth. 

Since spring 2006, when the rumors of the crisis on Telegraph Avenue came into focus, we at Moe’s have felt an overwhelming warmth and affection from our friends. People have come from all over to see that we are well. We have smiled and said “Thank you.” It has meant so much to us. 

Independent book selling is at risk in the world. Internet machines like Amazon have changed the way that people buy books. Retail stores, like Moe’s, need to find a balance between the real and the online world. 

Because of the nature of our stock—we have hundreds and thousands of titles, used and new—we are confident that we can survive in this new environment. We plan to thrive. 

We are also confident that there are book lovers everywhere who will soon remember that the experience of a great bookstore is a pleasure not to be missed. 

Thanks again to the good people of the East Bay for supporting Telegraph, the heart of our history, and being here with us at Moe’s. 

Doris Moskowitz 

Moe’s daughter 

 

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ABAG, PANORAMIC INTERESTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In Kathleen Cha’s letter defending ABAG’s funding of the Pentagon, she says that $78 million of ABAG financing has gone to projects in Berkeley. A quick look at the ABAG website (www.abag.ca.gov/services/finance) reveals that $72 million of the $78 million has gone to Patrick Kennedy/ Panoramic Interests, a commercial for profit developer. Is this the type of financing that the voters and taxpayers of the Bay Area really intend for ABAG to do? The name of the ABAG service is the ABAG Finance Authority For Nonprofit Corporations. The questions raised in the original Planet article (Feb. 27) still have not been answered. Maybe our elected officials would like to chime in. 

Anne Wagley 

 

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HOUSING AUTHORITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I want to personally thank you for carrying news about the Berkeley Housing Authority saga. 

It means a lot to me to know what is going on with BHA because I am on Section 8. I can’t that news anywhere else. 

Thank you. 

Wilma Tichy 

 

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FACT CHECK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Today Douglas Allen-Taylor wrote that Franklin Roosevelt ran for a third and fourth term in the midst of war. Roosevelt ran for his third term in 1940, more than a year before the United States entered World War II. 

John McDougall 

 

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FIRST PERSON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In your March 13 edition you ran something with a subheading of “First Person,” which I gather is a feature where you simply let whoever it is write whatever they want about themselves. To say that the piece you ran in your March 13 edition was offensive is not quite it. Unaware comes to mind, bad thinking comes to mind, repulsive comes to mind, but what I really want to say is that I hope you give a child psychologist equal time to comment on what this person seems to think is wonderful behavior for a mother. As his justified reaction shows, the only grown-up in the story was the young boy who was so recklessly intruded upon. 

Dennis White  

 

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AC TRANSIT BUSES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

About the recent letters on bus transit: Is there any reason AC transit doesn’t use Gillig buses? Why not buy local as well as American? 

Howard Carrington 

El Cerrito 

 

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OAKLAND WATERFRONT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thank you for having the courage to print the March 16 commentary by Akio Tanaka (“Oakland’s Waterfront Deserves a Better Plan”). His passion for the First Amendment rights of American citizens is real, and he is committed to giving the voters of Oakland an opportunity to decide on the future of their waterfront. 

Those who have worked so hard to keep the voices of people from being heard will one day ask the voters of Oakland to support them in their next political endeavor—Mr. Perata, Mr. de la Fuente, Ms. Kernighan, Mr. Russo, are you listening? Remember, all these citizens asked was to put the proposed development before the voters, and you very casually discarded their request. Twenty-five thousand and sixty-eight voters will not forget. 

Pamela Weber 

Oakland 

 

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GET OUT OF THE WAY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Republicans make what appears to be a strong argument against even setting a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq. They say that approval of a withdrawal plan would tell the terrorists that the United States doesn’t have the political will to support Iraq’s fledgling democracy. I think this is yet another framed argument. Some justified going to Iraq, expecting to be greeted by a fledgling democracy, in a scene like the 1945 liberation of Paris, once Saddam Hussein was deposed. The Iraq democracy isn’t “fledgling;” I don’t think it’s even a fertilized egg. The welcoming party for the coalition’s liberating armies was the insurgent terrorists with their roadside bombs and their sectarian strife. I think our continued occupation makes a bad situation worse, because the fighting factions in Iraq can point to a common enemy. If we leave, they have a choice of working together, or completing the destruction of their country. We Americans really don’t want the job of settling all the ancient Mesopotamian disputes, even if we could actually do so. What we need to do is get out of the way. 

Steve Geller 

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KUDOS TO POLICE DEPARTMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing to publicly express my admiration for the Berkeley Police Department. I was one of three people who witnessed an arrest on Sunday, March 18. The arresting officers acted with incredible restraint under difficult circumstances. The person they were arresting fought them aggressively and bit one of the women officers. The cops did not use their batons, fists or pepper spray. I cannot imagine the anger, fear and adrenaline one would feel if they were bit by someone with unknown health status, yet as I said, the cops remained incredibly restrained.  

My heart also goes out to the person arrested, who must have been extremely desperate, crazy, tripping, or drunk. But the thing that has stuck with me is that BPD has some of the bravest, best trained people I have ever met. I don’t know how you guys do it. 

Kevin Farrell  

 

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BEST FOR LAST 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I always look forward to reading the Daily Planet, and save the back page for last. It’s always a special treat, whether “Coots, Hawks and Gulls” or a series on local trees. 

Thank you. 

Carol Bleth 

 

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STREET PEOPLE MYTHS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I enjoyed reading your editorial regarding the pessimistic outlook of businesses and patrons in Shattuck and Telegraph avenues. I don’t think that street people really deserve the reputation they are often given. Maybe anti-homeless advocates exaggerate to make their point, but I think their perspective is not entirely factual. I don’t think that many of them commit the violent crime that would make people fearful, and not very many of them even ask for spare change; most of them have a sign and don’t really do more than sit there so that people read the sign. Despite what some say that they choose to live without a home and/or money, I doubt that many of them prefer to spend their nights outside in the cold weather of Berkeley, or enjoy having very little money to spend. Many complain that homeless people are becoming a disturbance at Willard park and making the bathrooms unclean, not only is it hard to say that the homeless are responsible for messing up the bathroom (which is cleaned and sanitized daily), I think the greatest sanitary problem at Willard is the dog urine one can smell at almost every tree and post and the occasional pile of feces which are normally not caused by homeless people (no one seems to be complaining about that). Additionally, a myth is that homeless people are harming business at Telegraph Avenue, I find that hard to believe, especially when, to paraphrase Kriss Worthington on KPFA, the four blocks of Telegraph generate more revenue than any other four blocks in the East Bay. I think that these myths and irrational fears surrounding homeless people amount to nothing more than old-fashioned scapegoating.  

Nicholas Russell 

 

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REPEAT? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

While walking across the UC Berkeley campus, I found a plaque commemorating a great president from the 1960s or ’70s.  

Building plans for the library were changed, a grove of old trees were preserved, and the grove was re-named and dedicated to Chancellor Roger Heynes. 

Can history be repeated for the oak grove? 

Mitch Cohen 

 

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IMPEACHMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Just this Wednesday, March 14, members of a Bay Area impeachment coalition met with Sandra Andrews of Barbara Lee’s staff and Jo Casenave of Pete Stark’s staff to lay out our position on impeachment. Both Stark and Lee’s offices called us to set up the meeting on a last-minute basis. Could this be a stirring of interest from the top? Impeachbush-cheney.com feels, as do many, that the last two years of this administration could be more disastrous than anything we have seen so far. Imagine what they will do when they no longer worry about re-election.  

We at www.impeachbush-cheney.com believe that not only will impeachment strengthen the political legitimacy of the party or politician that takes it up, but impeachment will be the best tool that person or party has to truly win battles in congress. Currently soft appropriations bills do little to affect real action or sway over the situations in Iraq and Iran. Resolutions voted into law matter little to an administration that is clearly willing to disobey the law and act with impunity.  

Impeachment should be reintroduced to the public not as a quagmire or an uphill battle. Rather, we believe that impeachment is currently becoming the best and most comprehensive way to battle all the battles that this administration has us fighting both home and abroad. In other words why chase after brush fires when there’s a guy standing there with a blowtorch. We also feel that though impeachment is rumored to be costly, it can hardly be any more costly than allowing this administration to continue unabated. Never in the history of impeachment has the evidence been more abundant and utterly convincing.  

For information, visit us on the web, come to our events and join our action team. We are urging for higher level meetings and more action to combat this administration.  

Evan Raymond 

 

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OVERDUE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

That this administration has not been held accountable for either this illegal war or for having broken both constitutional and international law is shameful. Impeachment proceedings are way overdue. 

David Melloy 

Oakland 

 

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MISQUOTED 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Richard Brenneman misstated my comments at the special Planning Commission meeting held to discuss the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s Long Range Development Plan, draft environmental impact report (DEIR) (“City Concerned Over UC Lab, Campus Plans,” March 16).  

Speaking as a member of the Community Health Commission (CHC), I stated the CHC was concerned about the health effects of particulate matter from diesel combustion produced by trucks and generators used in support of demolition and construction activities. I noted that the CHC had submitted similar comments in response to the proposed demolition of the Bevatron (Building 51) for which a separate DEIR has been published. The lab’s DEIR notes that the potential exposure to particulate matter is “significant and unavoidable” when its activities and those proposed in the university’s LRDP 2004 are aggregated. The lab’s DEIR states: “Even though cumulative emissions of toxic air contaminants would decrease, implementation of the LBNL 2006 LRDP, in combination with other potential contributing projects, would contribute to cumulative emissions of toxic air contaminants that result in an excess cancer risk that exceeds, and would continue to exceed, 10 in one million. (Significant and Unavoidable) (Pages IV.B-48-50). 

Speaking as a resident, I noted my concerns about the lab’s development plans in light of the city and state’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). The lab plans to add 1,000 employees, 660,000 square feet of new buildings, and 500 free parking spaces in the fragile and wonderful Strawberry Creek Watershed at the same time that plans are underway to accept $400 million from an oil company to create genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that will be used to develop new biofuels. My point was that I find it ironic that the lab’s development plans will add to the very problem that the oil money will probably not solve. While climate-altering GHGs (which are not considered in the DEIR) will rise considerably if the projects in the lab’s LRDP are implemented, the research and development of GMOs is risky, contentious, of uncertain value to GHG reductions, and for many in this community, unwelcome. 

Finally, I pointed out that, should a major oil company take up residence in our community where it would be aligned with the university and the lab, the city is likely to experience even greater political and economic pressures than are already exerted by the existing institutions. Such a powerful triumvirate, held together with free flowing oil profits, may be a bit more than our raucous, engaged Berkeley democracy can handle. I say “thumbs down” to that deal. 

Tom Kelly 

 

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LIBERALS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The “Ten Maxims for a Liberal Foreign Policy” by Bob Burnett (March 6) warrant a response. There are two types of liberal policy. Classical liberals favor liberty in all areas of life, in contrast to liberals like Burnett who favor a large authoritarian role for government. Authoritarian liberals seek to limit free markets and democracy, even though economies with more economic freedom have developed rapidly, while those with little economic freedom have remained poor or even gone backwards. Authoritarian liberals, in opposing free markets, favor policies that keep most folks poor and under the rule of elites. The viewpoint that folks in the third world are not ready to have freedom reflects the colonialist mentality of authoritarian liberals. Classical liberals favor free markets because there is no moral justification in forcibly preventing poor folk from working, getting educated, and being in charge of their own communities. 

Fred Foldvary 

 

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EXTREMISTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Bush promises immigration compromise. Compromise with racists, bigots and right-wingers who are pushing the anti-immigrant debate? Can you negotiate with extremists? 

Ron Lowe  

Grass Valley  

 

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OCEAN OF PLASTICS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A plethora of plastic is filling our oceans, from drinking bottles, plastic bags to toy soldiers. I’m referring to the Eastern Garbage Patch, a sea of trash floating around in the Pacific Ocean. This area is known as the North Pacific Gyre where currents move in a circular motion drawing in waste material. Over the years, massive amounts of plastic debris accumulated creating plastic waste twice the size of Texas! 

So not only is our ocean being polluted, but animals are dying mistaking the plastic debris as food. Albatross fly miles in search for food for their young and their path leads them to the garbage patch. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, their studies show that chicks died from plastic in their stomachs as well as those that died from other reasons. The garbage floating in our ocean is toxic to the birds and other sea life, something has to be done! 

What can we do? The easiest thing anyone can do is recycle! Another solution is switching to biodegradable plastic, plastic that decomposes in the natural environment. If we can push for the use of biodegradable plastic for restaurants, packages, and so forth, then it would be a huge step forward in reducing the amount of plastic debris that gets swept away into our oceans. It is a duty for everyone to protect our ocean and prevent the demise of the creatures of the sea. 

Min Song 

 

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BETRAYAL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

By being instrumental in supporting torture, spying on U.S. citizens, lying to get our country into an unnecessary and illegal war, Bush and Cheney betrayed the principals this country were founded on. 

Joanna Katz 

 

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OUSD LAND SALE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing regarding Oakland School Board Member Dan Siegel’s assertion that the proposal to sell OUSD surplus property failed, in part, because of my leaving office, implying my support or acquiescence of the proposal. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

In fact, when the proposal was made I wrote and spoke to California Superintendent of Education Jack O’Connell to share by concerns with the educational and economic viability of the plan. I made it clear that unless the process was transparent and made sense for students, parents, teachers and the community, I would oppose it. Without community buy-in and lack of detailed financials, it is not surprising that it did not go forward.  

Wilma Chan 

Assemblywoman, 16th District (retired) 

 

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KEEP IT UP 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thanks for continually interesting, informative, useful and concise news and commentary. Keep up the good work! 

Brian Lipson 

 

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NORTH AND SOUTH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I just got my purse stolen—again—down here in South Berkeley, where every day can be taut, a jangled nerve. How wonderful it must be to live or work in a neighborhood like North Berkeley where a really big issue apparently is fussing with one another over whether they should allow themselves a nice, grassy European-style piazza. 

Susan Leonard 

 

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AC TRANSIT SIGNS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

On the subject of AC Transit, I’d like to mention the electronic signs that are supposed to tell us when the next bus is coming in “real time.” Maybe in a parallel dimension it’s the real time, but here in the East Bay the signs are inaccurate and a waste of our money. I would like to know how much money is spent on this system and also why it doesn’t work. 

A.B. Fane 

 

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ROUNDABOUTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In response to Scott Prosterman’s letter on roundabouts from a few weeks back: Having attended two conferences on roundabouts, I can speak with some authority on them.  

According to a Nov. 27, 1996 article in the Los Angeles Times, Vail, Colorado had a diamond interchange similar to the I-80 Gilman interchange. Traffic was backed up half a mile and five policemen were needed to direct traffic. 

Afterward, the congestion was gone and the policemen were put elsewhere. 

Seattle has several hundred small circles at what used to be four-way stop intersections. They say that accidents have been reduced by 90 percent. 

The reason is that the number of conflict points are reduced from 32 at a four-way intersection to eight on roundabouts. 

The University of California Institute of Transportation Studies published Tech Trans No. 58 on Roundabouts. They will send readers a copy if readers phone 231-9590. 

Roundabouts are being used all over the world to make traffic safe and better. 

Charlie Smith