Page One

SUPPORT FERRY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Those who oppose ferry service from Berkeley to San Francisco are correct on one point: Ferries are not a cost-effective way to relieve traffic congestion. We have a bridge and a tunnel, and better use of these resources would be a better way to solve our traffic congestion problems. 

But this doesn’t mean that ferries don’t have an important role to play. The real purpose of the Berkeley ferry is to provide an attractive alternative to existing modes of transportation and to address transportation problems not being met by other modes. 

The remarkable thing about a new ferry service from the Berkeley Marina to San Francisco is that so much of the system is already in place. We have deep water right up to the east end of the fishing pier. We have at least 600 existing parking spaces, mostly unused during the week, in close proximity to the site. We have frequent bus service all day right to the site. And we even have an existing pier ready to serve as a ferry terminal with relatively inexpensive additions. 

The distance is only 5.6 miles, and this is covered in only 20 minutes at 17 knots. By modern standards this is a relatively slow, economical and energy-efficient speed. (See the Berkeley Waterfront Web site at www.BerkeleyWaterfront.org for more details of the Berkeley Pier low-speed ferry proposal.) 

Is a ferry service elitist? The cost of moving a passenger from Berkeley to San Francisco by ferry is approximately $6.50. This is about the same as the cost of a BART ride. If the ferry is elitist, then so is BART. 

Also, ferries carry bicycles during commute hours, allow dogs on outside decks and can accommodate wheelchairs with no delay in service. This is not elitism, this is serving the mobility needs of a diverse community. 

Will a Berkeley ferry have negative environmental impacts? 

By the twisted logic of the Sierra Club, anything that accommodates parked cars is an environmental negative. Never mind that each car parked near the ferry replaces one that would have driven to San Francisco in heavy traffic. Never mind that travel by ferry enforces a non-automotive mode of transportation for at least one end of the trip. Never mind that the Berkeley Marina site has absolutely no effect on the Eastshore State Park. The Sierra Club is opposed, and it will take a significant show of local support to overcome this opposition. 

The issue is not traffic congestion or air pollution. The issue is the quality of life in Berkeley. And the issue is mobility for people not served by existing public transit. 

The Berkeley Ferry was once a valued public amenity for everyone who lived here and in nearby communities, and it can fulfill this role again. 

Paul Kamen 

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MATH MISTAKE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

There must be a mistake in your article about the mayor’s personal investigation of homelessness in Berkeley. If there are 1,000 to 1,200 homeless in Berkeley and the city applies $10.3 million to the problem, that works out to over $85,000 per homeless person. That’s nearly three times my annual salary, and I have a home, health care and enough to eat. 

Sometimes I give money to people selling “Street Spirit.” How can they possibly need a handout from me? 

Robbin Henderson 

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APPALLED 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As the father of a girl with cerebral palsy and as a person who was involved with the disability access review of a potential site for this year’s Berkeley Free Folk Festival, I was appalled when I read the commentary that Carol Denney wrote in your pages last weekend. For Ms. Denney to attack the festival with such vicious and untrue words is just not right. 

Few event planners have done more to address the concerns of those with disabilities than the organizers of this year’s festival. The site visit I was part of was led by wheelchair users and disability rights advocates Marissa Shaw, Karen Craig and the ADA Compliance Officer for the city of Berkeley, Don Brown, who is also a wheelchair user. 

These advocates all contributed fully in the final selection of Malcolm X School as the site that best meets the needs of the disabled community as well as the needs of the festival. These are strong, active and vocal people who are hardly terrified of speaking their minds to make sure accessibility issues, comfort and the law are not just considered but dealt with. 

Carol Denney’s claim that disability rights advocates have been intimidated, blacklisted or subject to retaliation by folk festival organizers is patently false. Far from being blacklisted, Ms. Denney is playing the main stage of the festival in exactly the prime time slot she requested. 

I hope that no one in the Berkeley community will be turned off to the festival by Carol Denney’s libelous screed. The Berkeley Free Folk Festival this year promises to be the best ever. There are multiple stages, workshops of all kinds, children’s activities and a wealth of diverse local talent that really highlights why Berkeley is so special. The festival is free and completely accessible to all. 

Timothy Lynch 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

This coming weekend, a wonderful event will take place. The Berkeley Free Folk Festival will be held at Malcolm X School on Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4, from noon to 9 p.m. This event is free and open to the public, and presented as a gift to the entire community. To see a schedule, go to freightandsalvage.org/bfff and view the complete program, including two stages, music and dance workshops, kids’ activities, an open mike and a jam 

room. All participating in any way, from organizers to performers, are donating their time to make this happen. 

I was both distressed and saddened by the commentary by Carol Denney that was published in 

last weekend’s Daily Planet, and I would like to address what was written. I have never taken part in any “campaign of retaliation” against anyone, and those who know me think it strange for me to be accused of such. I 

certainly never acknowledged having participated in such a retaliation, although I did apologize to Carol, both personally and in a letter she asked me to sign, for anything that I or anyone from the festival might ever have done to contribute in any way to divisions in the community. It is unfair to make accusations about the present staff when the past directors are no longer even involved, and everything has been done by open process. All issues raised have been addressed and no one I know of (except Carol) feels retaliated against or terrified of bringing anything up. 

Our first festival meeting was June 1 in accessible City Council Chambers. Meetings were announced in The 

Planet and any member of the community was welcome to attend. The date for our initial meeting had actually 

been arranged with Carol to make sure she could come. (The date of the November public meeting was changed 

to accommodate Carol when she realized that she would be out of town on the initial date scheduled.) The festival was originally supposed to take place in November 2002, but was moved ahead to May 2003 — in large part due to input that it was hard for people in wheelchairs to attend festivals during the rainy season.  

On October 9, a tour of possible school sites for the festival was arranged. Both Carol and Marissa Shaw of the Disabilities Commission went around with me to check accessibility, and we were all satisfied with what we saw.  

Carol asked for several meetings with her personally, which I agreed to. I met with her at least five times. Three of those meetings were attended by mutual friends of ours, invited by Carol. When she e-mailed me that she wanted yet another meeting with our two friends, I got in touch with them but neither was interested in attending. The issues had all been discussed and acted upon. At one point I suggested that we have a “talking stick” meeting in the community with people who’d had misunderstandings or problems with Carol so that we all could straighten things out. She declined this suggestion. By now I had spent months dealing with this, and I needed to get on with festival business.  

While Carol says that she has been blacklisted, she has played at several of the festivals, including this 

year where she will be on the main stage at 7 p.m., a prime-time spot she had requested. I must now get back 

to the business of the festival. It will be wonderful, accessible, inclusive and most of all, fun. 

Hali Hammer is a singer-songwriter, 

Festival Coordinator and Berkeley resident and 

activist. 

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TITLE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As an “old-time Wobbly,” I was delighted to read in your April 25-27 edition that employees at the East Bay Depot for Creative Re-Use had voted to unionize with the Industrial Workers of the World. The Planet erred in calling it “International Workers of the World,” a redundancy. This rank-and-file run union, Industrial Workers of the World, is popularly called “IWW” or “The Wobblies.”  

Workers at two other nonprofit Berkeley recycling shops are under IWW contracts, “Curbside Recyclers” with The Ecology Center and Community Conservation Centers, or “Buy Back.” 

Harry Siitonen 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I read with great interest Angela Rowen’s article of April 22 about the persistent problem of racial disparities in community health, despite the declining overall death rate in Alameda County. I agree that the education and prevention initiatives being undertaken by the city of Berkeley and Alameda County are important means to remedy this crisis. I also wish to point out that making high-quality treatment options available regardless of insurance status will also go a long way toward solving the problem. 

I work at LifeLong Medical Care, where we offer the same, state-of-the-art treatment options and personal attention to our uninsured clients as we do our insured clients. East Bay African-Americans comprise 34 percent of our client base, making them the largest population we serve. Over 41 percent of our clients have no insurance at all, and only 12 percent of our clients have private insurance. Lack of insurance often equals lack of quality medical care for most Americans, but LifeLong is dedicated to the health of the entire community, not just its insured members. 

Clearly all health care providers need to improve the care they offer to those who suffer from racial inequities, and we need to find a way to provide universal health coverage for all. The current state budget crisis, the war in Iraq and the President’s proposal to cut taxes further will mean that LifeLong and other safety net providers will have to turn away people who need basic health care to the detriment of the community. Individuals in the East Bay generously give their time and money to help LifeLong provide care. We welcome and are grateful for that support, and we know 

that everyone wants to be part a healthy community without continued inequities based on race. 

Jessica Matthews 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In the April 25 issue, there were a couple of letters decrying the many so-called exotic species of plants that now grow in California. In particular, the blue gum tree (Eucalyptus globulus), was singled out for abuse. The fantasy that the heavy frosts of 1990 killed off many blue gums was based upon ignorance of how the tree grows. If its smaller outer branches are damaged by heavy frost, it merely grows back from the large branches, the main trunk and the 

surviving root system.  

My survey of the literature plus personal observations have shown that the Blue Gum tree has provided useful food, resting, roosting and living habitat for many species of animals including about 20 species of insects, several 

species of spiders, four amphibians, 10 reptiles, three mammals and over 50 species of birds. Hummingbirds and orioles utilize the nectar of winter flowers for food. Vultures, hawks, owls, woodpeckers and other birds use the blue gum for nesting and roosting purposes. The monarch butterfly has long since adopted the blue gum for its overwintering 

roosting and feeding.  

There seems to be a severe double standard here: People who are born in the United States are considered 

native-born. Plants that sprout here from seed as still labeled as “exotics” or “aliens” or worse. These blue gum trees are a magnificent addition to the landscapes of coastal California. They have done yeoman service in many unpleasantly windy areas by slowing down the summer winds. So lighten up, folks, and enjoy the pungent scent of the blue gums.  

James K. Sayre 

Oakland 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Thank you for printing Zac Unger’s garden column “Cheering for the Intruders Among Us.” It's nice to see someone express appreciation for the entire spectrum of vegetation around us — so refreshingly different from the “ethnic cleansing” approach favored by many of our fellow Californians. 

Aija Kanbergs