talkback...

Joplin and the Cockettes

Nineteen sixty-nine found me living as the only straight member in the Gay Liberation Commune on Waller near Webster in the Lower Haight ["The Acid Queens," 5/8/02]. Hibiscus and Scrumbly stand out in my mind as being visitors in my home. One Saturday night we all trouped down to the Palace to catch the show and see what the hell these Cockettes were all about. They were all new and all mind blowing (to say the least).

I was so impressed I persuaded Janis Joplin to catch a show with me. During most of the performance she just sat there with her mouth open. As we were walking up the aisle after the curtain I heard her mutter to herself, "That's one act I would never follow, no way, no how." From then on, as I recall, she added all the feathers and beads to her getup.

Bambi Kornoelje San Francisco

The dog eviction

I find it ironic that two of the four landlords who are attempting to evict Guy Lowe are attorneys who advocate on behalf of children with disabilities ["Saving Sophie," 5/15/02]. I find it incongruous that two seemingly compassionate and intelligent people should allow fear of what might happen to compromise their humanity.

But they are not alone, unfortunately. Lately, I have observed some of the most unlikely people making some very outrageous proposals regarding dogs. For instance, a couple of months ago I read a letter to the editor in the San Francisco Chronicle in which the writer, a person who I know to have been active with a human rights organization, proposed that "perhaps its time to phase out Fido" and that "folks wanting pets for affection and companionship can make due with cats." Talk about being ruled by your fears!

Yes, I am a dog owner. I have a beautiful two-and-a-half-year-old female brindle pit bull-mastiff who attended obedience school as a puppy and has been brought up with love and discipline. When we go on our twice-daily leashed walks, I make a point of demonstrating to strangers and neighbors that I am in control by using the classic command to sit, lie down, and stay. Those who know us, particularly some of the children in the neighborhood, will stop and pet her, something we both appreciate. Despite these efforts, some people are still afraid and will cross the street to avoid us. At those times she will look up at me quizzically as if to say, "I don't understand why they don't like me – I like them!"

The tidal wave of public paranoia that the Knoller case has spawned seems to be creating draconian public policy and legal precedent. I implore the four landlords to put aside their fears and not evict Mr. Lowe simply because he has a dog that is part pit bull who has not snapped at people – but could.

Michele Hurtado Daly City

HOPE and hype

Thanks for running the op-ed piece about the HOPE hype by Tom Wetzel ["Beyond HOPE," 5/1/02]. It was one of the sanest pieces I've seen on the topic. HOPE is a hype. It will benefit landlords and the real estate industry more than it will tenants.

Under HOPE, landlords will have tremendous incentive to condo convert to get rid of rent control on their buildings (under state law, buildings that condo convert lose rent control) and to displace tenants who can't afford to buy their units in order to sell them at a high price tag to someone else. The easiest way to get rid of a tenant is to buy them out, as is done now. Offer them a few thousand to move. Lifetime leases will mean nothing. Lower-income tenants who can't afford their units will end up displaced for higher-income homeowners. Just like in the dot-com boom.

As Wetzel said, what works better is a community land trust model that keeps the housing affordable forever, that maintains it free of real estate speculation, and that gives people of all incomes a chance at homeownership. In a community land trust, no one gets turned down due to their income level. No one gets displaced. Everybody wins.

Tommi Avicolli Mecca San Francisco

Hire Ron Chun

I understand from the newspaper that City Assessor Doris Ward has offered a job to her opponent in last fall's election, Ronald Chun. Politics aside, the city of San Francisco needs someone of Mr. Chun's qualifications and caliber to serve in the Assessor's Office. Chun is a CPA and an attorney, and has served on the Assessment Appeals Board. He is the best person for the job. Doubtless Ms. Ward made the offer to Mr. Chun in order to enhance her own standing in the upcoming runoff campaign. Regardless, I for one urge Mr. Chun to take the job, because the city of San Francisco needs him.