potrero view

April 2009

Letters to the Editor

Editor,


I wanted to thank you for the lovely piece done on me by Gina Poggi (“Former Hill Hairdresser Styled More than Heads,” March View).  However, there’s a section about my salon that states that I attracted celebrities, which was very true, but also says that queens lined up, which is not.  As I explained to Ms. Poggi when she interviewed me, my salon mainly provided services to middle-aged and older heterosexual women, a few heterosexual men and a very few, then in the closet, regular-looking gay males.  

I feel that for anyone who is still alive who knew or went to my salon it is a disservice to imply that only queens came to me.  In fact, though most of my customers lived in or around Potrero Hill, I had women that came from Marin County, Noe Valley, San Jose, Palo Alto and even Lake Tahoe once a month for my well-known haircuts.

The past is gone, I know, but due to the fact that I have a web site that deals with history and tributes I try hard to be as accurate as I can.  I am sure you want the same to be true for your fine newspaper.


Thankfully yours I remain,

David /Heri

 

Editor,


Thank you so much for including the very informative “San Francisco Attempts to Reduce Pollution at New Residential Developments” by Andrea de Brito in the View’s March issue.  Since the major pollution sources for Dogpatch, Potrero Hill and Mission Bay are generated by the freeway(s), it would be helpful if the View could let readers know about the efforts being made by the California Air Resources Board to reduce emissions, particularly diesel, and by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in terms of retrofitting or replacing diesel trucks with poor emissions controls.

The other two local emission sources are the Mirant plant and Caltrain’s diesel engines.  Hopefully Mirant will be closed before too long and an alternative source of energy production will be found.  In terms of the trains, the great hope is Caltrain’s electrification by 2015, which will reduce emissions by 90 percent or more.  This change is not a done deal, and will need to be encouraged and supported continuously.  In the meantime, the Caltrain Working Group was established last June.  We meet every two to three months, and work on small, manageable improvements.  I believe (hope) that the residents living around the station’s southside (Mission Bay North) have noticed changes in the last eight months.

So far, we have been unable to find out if the various improvements have had an effect on air quality. If the View could find a way to learn that information, it would be greatly appreciated.


Toby Levine

Berry Street


Editor,


California State Senator Mark Leno has reintroduced Senate Bill 810 (formerly SB 840), a single-payer, universal health care bill, originally authored by termed-out state Senator Sheila Kuehl.  The California legislature has twice passed SB 810; Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed it both times.  

SB 810 would be financed by taxes paid by individuals and businesses.  These funds would be pooled into a single fund from which all medical bills would be paid.  This single-payer system would remove insurance companies as middlemen in health care and eliminate the enormous administrative overhead and profit associated with the operation of thousands of health plans in California.

Critics of a single-payer system call it socialized medicine or government-run health care.  In fact, all health care providers, both pubic and private, would remain as they are now.  Californians could pick their own doctors, dentists, hospitals and pharmacies, unlike the current situation where insurance companies tightly regulate choice.

SB 810 would provide Californians with comprehensive, affordable health care. No one would be denied care because of pre-existing conditions.  People could change jobs without worrying about losing coverage, and be assured of medical care if they’re laid off.  Universal access to primary and preventive care would save billions of dollars now spent on Californians who rely on emergency rooms for treatment of acute conditions that could have been prevented. No longer will millions of insured Californians go bankrupt because of high deductibles and copayments.

SB 810 provides affordability, establishes shared responsibility, and promotes healthier living.  It’s good for the California residents and businesses.  For more information, contact www.singlepayernow.net, or 695-7891.


Bonnie Baron

Wisconsin Street

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