talkback...

88.1 is not empty air

"Underground Airwaves" (1/30/02) by Amanda Nowinski did not reveal the vital fact that 88.1 is not an "unused frequency." With all due respect, Pressure FM is currently encroaching on a licensed community/volunteer radio station underwritten by a school district, grants, appropriate donations, and listeners.

A relatively under-known station even among media journalists and the industry, 88.1-FM is licensed as a nonprofit public radio station to West Contra Costa Schools. The station has been on the air since 1978 and broadcasts 24-7 as a full-service community radio station, offering jazz and world music, blues/gospel, and talk in languages important to our diverse service area around the inner Bay rim.

We express all due respect to the intention and spirit of positive "pirate" radio stations, along with all serious public-spirited media. However, it remains questionable to encourage or promote a "dose of renegade flavor" when renegades are encroaching on a nonprofit community station.

Philip Morgan 88.1 KeCg Radio El Cerrito

Leno's transgender agenda

While I was disappointed that the Guardian chose to endorse my opponent, Harry Britt, I appreciate the supportive things the endorsement had to say about my candidacy ["Endorsements," 2/6/02]. The Guardian recognizes my many accomplishments, including our city's transgender health benefit, Proposition B (the solar revenue bond I authored, which was approved by voters last fall), my work on affordable housing, and my support for public power. We do share a great deal in common in our progressive agenda for San Francisco.

I did want to make one point of clarification. There was a misstatement made that I would not be "pushing for transgender rights" on the state level, while I have, in fact, already been advocating for changes in state law that would benefit the transgender community and will continue to do so if elected to the assembly.

Current California law prohibits local governments from enforcing civil rights laws that extend to groups which are not protected by state civil rights law. This legislation spearheaded by Pete Wilson needs to be overturned so that our local laws protecting transgender people can be made enforceable. I will make that legislation a high priority if elected.

Additionally, I passed a resolution urging the state to adopt A.B. 2142, which would have added gender identity to the list of groups protected from housing and employment discrimination. I will support A.B. 2142, which advances civil rights for the transgender community, if I am elected.

Sup. Mark Leno San Francisco

Leno to moderate

So Mark Leno will take a moderate approach to legislation if elected to the state assembly ["Endorsements," 2/602]. Does that mean, in addition to avoiding transgender rights, he will also shy away from gay marriage and queer-rights issues in general? Will he work to repeal Costa-Hawkins or the Ellis Act, two state anti-tenant laws?

San Francisco needs and deserves a legislator who will dare to dream the impossible and push to make it happen. That's why I'm backing Harry Britt for assembly.

Tommi Avicolli Mecca San Francisco

Burton does the right thing

I was quoted correctly in Melissa Houston's piece ("Kimiko's Burden," 1/30/02) as responding to Senator Burton's quip that I should call Jeff Adachi if I needed anything in Sacramento. My rejoinder as quoted was "I haven't called you in 30 years"; the rest of the sentence was "because you always do the right thing." John Burton is an excellent legislator and spokesperson for progressive and labor causes, and has never required coaching and lobbying to do right in Sacramento.

David Novogrodsky Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21 San Francisco

For the record

In last week's cover story we misstated the mayoral endorsement of the Alameda County Central Labor Council. Although the Service Employees International Union county caucus, which includes Oakland city employees, endorsed both Mayor Jerry Brown and challenger Wilson Riles Jr., the Labor Council endorsed only Brown.

In last week's Alerts we used the headline "Terrorists Are Us" above an item on a demonstration by the Partisan Defense Committee to indicate that the Bush administration's antiterrorism laws could make criminals out of many of us. We didn't mean to suggest that the demonstration's organizers were terrorists.