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To the Editor:  

What is it with Art Goldberg and underground gasses? His threatened lawsuit against the city (Daily Planet, Oct. 22) over the alleged hazard of building on a site of a former gas station at 1797 Shattuck Ave. reminds me of another suit he threatened to bring.  

At a city Waterfront Commission meeting on an off-leash dog area in Cesar Chavez Park, Goldberg’s attempt to block the now-successful off-lease area included a threat to sue to get an environment impact report. He claimed that dogs digging in the park would release hazardous amounts of methane from the underlying dump – a claim belied by the fact that the dogs were futilely digging at gopher holes inhabited by gophers who were, wouldn’t you know it, completely unaffected by this great gaseous menace.  

I do think that something smells in all this, but it’s not methane or gasoline. It’s the stink of small-minded NIMBYism.  

Peter Moore 

Berkeley