Save Nick's Cove

I have spoken with some of you and left messages with others, or this is new news to you:

Pat Kuleto is attempting to purchase and develop Nick's Cove on Tomales Bay into a "hunting lodge."

Kuleto is infamous for creating astounding and theatrical restaurant atmospheres such as Farallon, Boulevard, and Jardiniere, all highly rated for their fine food. His McCormick and Kuleto restaurant make over at Ghirardelli Square was one of the few failures for his excessive style.

You may be thinking that this is great, just what we need here on Tomales Bay. At last a great San Francisco restaurant in West Marin!

Or, you may be concerned that the charm and historic significance of Nick's Cove is about to be lost and replaced by a high-end, high style, high priced trophy restaurant and resort with valet parking.

Either way, please eMail Kuleto at nganner@napanet.net

Welcome him to our quiet shores

Or...

Let him know that his signature disneyesque make over and marketing prowess is not welcome in this quiet outpost of natural beauty and local history.

Save Nick's Cove!

Restrain Kuleto from initiating the beginning of the end.

Preserve Coast integrity.

Please help.
Tom Dorn
415/663-0312
tomdorn@aol.com

Write to:

Pat Kuleto, Suite A 201, 900 North Point, San Francisco, CA 94109. Call- 415/474-9669, fax- 415/474-9159
Also let the Point Reyes Light, the Marin IJ, and the Chron know you're concerns:
David Mitchell at the Light: editor@ptreyeslight.com
Independent Journal: opinion@marinij.com
Chronicle: chronletters@sfgate.com

P.S. Background Note
Over the past eight months, Renata and I have been working to save Nick's Cove and reopen its historic over-water fishing cottages. Last Wednesday, Nick's Cove's owner and we were in the attorney's office to seal the deal when Kuleto's big cash offer was presented. The owner suspended our dealings and went off to investigate Kuleto's offer.

Reportedly, Kuleto is investigating his prospects for a project at Nick's Cove and will finalize his purchase of Nick's Cove within a week or two. So you should know that our concern to save Nick's Cove involves our own prospective investment.

Joan Reutinger's Book

I am trying to locate a copy of the book "Memories of Willow Park" by Joan Reutinger.

It was mentioned in her obituary, and I am interested in the history of the area.

If you could help me out, I would appreciate it.
Laurie Chaikin
laurie.chaikin@gte.net
Editor's Note: Stinson Beach Books in Stinson and the Stinson Beach Historical Society have the book available.

And Justice For All

Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee held its very first confirmation hearing for judicial nominees this year. With a vacancy rate of over 15%, the dismal records of the 106th and 105th Congresses in this regard fall even below the past Democratic Senates of both the Bush and Reagan administrations-marking an all-time high, or rather "low" in our justice system.

Despite strong criticism from the Chief Justice of the United States over a year ago, the federal judicial vacancies in this country are abysmal, due to the failures of the 105th and, thus far, 106th Senate to even hold confirmation hearings for the numerous highly qualified nominees of this administration.

In the very words of Chairman Orrin Hatch just two months ago, it is "this Committee's constitutional responsibility" to consider judicial nominations as a "serious responsibility of this Committee" -- regrettably all talk, no action.

In view of the Chairman's recently divulged intentions to run for the presidency - now is the time for Ranking Minority Member, Senator Patrick Leahy, to step forward and get this important Committee in gear!

As Senator Leahy stated to the Senate Judiciary Committee, "Our independent federal judiciary sets us apart from virtually all others in the world. Every nation in this century that has moved toward democracy has sent observers to the United States in their efforts to emulate our judiciary. Those fostering this slowdown of the confirmation process and other attacks on the judiciary are risking harm to institutions that protect our personal freedoms and independence."

With less than 14 weeks left in session for the Senate to hold hearings, facing 72 vacancies (which number has increased from 50, since Congress recessed last year), a continuation of this dastardly course threatens us all.
Teirra M. Vituscka
Riverside, NJ

A Hopi Elder Speaks:

"You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that t h i s i s t h e H o u r. And there are things to be considered...

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?

Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the
leader." Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, "T h i s c o u l d b e a g o o d t i m e!"

Wisdom Of The Elders

There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift, that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate.

At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally. Least of all, ourselves.

For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over.

Gather yourselves!

Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are The ones we've been waiting for.
Oraibi, Arizona
Hopi Nation

Intractable, Noisy Neighbors?

Having had my last of a five year battle with a neighbor who's dog barked at every falling leaf, feet from my home office window, I finally pulled up stakes and moved to my present, quiet home.

When you're a renter, it's easy to move. However, I am now financially prepared to buy a home. The possibility of having an intractable noisy neighbor move in next door, once I have purchased property in an quiet neighborhood is more than unsettling.

It is time for direct political action, ballot propositions, and far, far stronger ordinances in Marin County against intractable neighbor noise.

It is time we join together online and educate one another about effective steps to take against intractable neighbor noise, short of when weighing your net worth against theirs for legal costs makes moving out your only option.

No one needs a barking dog for home security anymore. There are extremely economical alarm systems with full power failure backup and highly effective nonlethal personal protection devises available for that.

Have these people not heard of security technology? Or do they simply prefer to source their imperial sense of self from neighboring properties by sonic occupation?

Let's organize folks.

If you are angry enough to stop the martyrhood and take direct: personal, educational, and political action - email me at: quiethomes@aol.com
Joel Black
Sausalito

Pay off the National Debt First

When we have a 5 trillion dollar national debt there is no government surplus. Surplus is the money you have after your debts are paid off. Before the Republicans start giving out tax breaks for the rich, and Democrats find new ways to spend money, we should go with Clinton's plan and pay off the national debt in 15 years.

More than 20% of every tax dollar goes to pay interest on the national debt. That's more that one trillion dollars every year. If we paid off the national debt we would be eliminating 20% of the cost of government and could then give everybody a 20% tax cut without reducing any services, and we would be debt free.

It's politically easy to be for tax cuts. No one wants to pay taxes. However, we need to be responsible first and pay back the money we owe. If we can't pay down our debts when things are good then when will we pay down our debts? We're not going to have social security 20 years from now if we're not responsible today.
Marc Perkel
Springfield, Missouri

Write A Letter About Genetically Engineered Foods

Greetings! We urge you to join us in a letter writing campaign which is calling for the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. This form letter will be sent to our respective elected officials, as well as the Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Dan Glickman... Click below:

Letter Writing Campaign
Through this powerful grass-roots effort, we have a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate the power of positive social action in assuring ourselves and future generations of a healthy, organic food supply. The importance of this issue is clearly expressed below:
Mr. Robert Shapiro, C.E.O.
MONSANTO CORPORATION
800 N. Lindbergh Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63167

Dear Mr. Shapiro:

Greetings!... On behalf of myself and the holistic, environmental and organic communities, I am writing to voice our profound concern regarding your company's flagrant disregard for the health of the Global Community, and the health of the Planet itself...

As you are well aware, there is a growing resistance both here and abroad for genetically engineered foods. The key to feeding the world lies not in genetically engineered foods, but in the implementation of sustainable, organic farming practices... Make no mistake about it, healthy soil and healthy plants create healthy people... Awareness is growing, and being confirmed by the objective scientific community, that the dramatic increase in cancer is directly related to the increase in environmental toxins - as found in our air, water, soil and food...

No amount of "green washing" is going to convince me and millions of other health conscious people that genetically engineered foods are life sustaining... I can assure you that allowing the free market "free reign," you will discover that people want organic food. I realize this is a threat to your profits, and hence you are caught in a profound dilemma, since you have "bet the bank" that bio-engineered foods are the key to solving the world's future food requirements... I, along with millions of health conscious people worldwide, support the awareness that the key to personal and planetary health and prosperity lies in sustainable agriculture, the under-consumption of food, and the availability of healthy and vital organic foods for everyone...

On June 3rd, I attended the "Hazards of Genetic Engineering on Our Health and the Environment Conference". I was shocked to learn that Monsanto, with the "blessings" of the FDA, is apparently illegally circumventing existing laws designed to protect and safeguard our food supply. In light of this and other disturbing scientific revelations, we are holding Monsanto and the FDA accountable for the immediate labeling of all genetically engineered organisms, along with a moratorium on the further introduction of genetically engineered organisms... In addition, we are demanding strong scientific evidence as to their inherent safety, and that the valid ecological concerns regarding these new products are scientifically addressed... I can assure you that until these issues are honestly addressed, there will be progressive and intense resistance to genetically engineered foods...

On Thursday, June 17th, Mothers For Natural Law delivered 500,000 signatures to the President, Congress, USDA, FDA and EPA, calling for the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. Need we say more?

In Service To Humanity,
Da Vid, M.D.
Medical Director, The San Francisco Medical Research Foundation
Founder, The Light Party
Mill Valley

Federal Judge suspends Civil Rights for Springfield Missouri

Federal Judge Scott O. Wright of Kansas City made a very controversial decision that effectively suspended the rights of the citizens of Springfield Missouri to be secure in their homes under the forth amendment to the Constitution.

On July 22nd 1999 Judge Wright issued a summary judgment against Marc Perkel, a Springfield resident and in favor of the Springfield Police Department over the legality of a controversial arrest. Marc Perkel was sitting in his home on September 8th 1998 when the police came to his home to arrest him. The police had neither an arrest warrant nor a search warrant. Nonetheless they took Marc Perkel into custody and threw him in the drunk tank overnight. Marc Perkel was the Democratic candidate in the general election for United States Congress at the time he was arrested.

Perkel sued the Police Department and the City of Springfield over the arrest and asked for summary judgment in his favor. The city argued that the arrest was legal claiming that when Marc Perkel came to the door of his home and opened it, that the arrest was now a public arrest rather than a home arrest. Judge Wright agreed and ruled summarily against Perkel. Judge Wright ruled that when a person answers a knock on the door of their home and opens the door, he surrenders his fourth amendment right to be secure in his home.

This decision is outrageous because it allows any police officer, without an arrest warrant, to go to any home in the Western District of Missouri in the middle of the night and arrest the occupants and drag them off to jail for the night. The court has given police officers the green light to make warrantless arrests in the home without having to seek the approval of a judge or magistrate. Arrest warrants are no longer necessary to make an arrest. Arrests are now left up to the discretion of the police officer. If a cop doesn't like you, he can decide to enter your home and drag you off to jail. And according to Judge Wright, it's perfectly legal.

I'm sure by not you might find this decision hard to believe. I'd find it hard to believe if I was reading it. However, I have fully documented it on my web site and you can research it and find out that it's true. All the details are covered. Here are the links:
http://www.perkel.com/pbl/city/index.htm - overview and main links.
http://www.perkel.com/pbl/city/sjudge.htm - Judge Wright's order.
http://www.perkel.com/pbl/city/briefsup.htm - Case law on Warrantless Arrests
http://www.perkel.com/arrest/index.htm - the arrest itself.
http://www.perkel.com/pbl/city/sumfinal.htm - summary judgement argument
Marc Perkel
Springfield, Missouri

Cemetery Update

Since the Kleiders won't budge, two lawsuits have been filed to force them to use their other entrance and abandon their private driveway through Bolinas Cemetery. In addition, the Kleiders have sued their realtor, Remax.

In their complaint against the Kleiders, the Cemetery Board points out that the offending easement was crossed off the Kleider's Grant Deed and that "these facts were never disclosed to Plaintiff." [p. 2] Had these facts been disclosed, there would have been no private driveway through the Cemetery.

In their initial complaint against Remax, the Kleiders admit that everything we've been saying for the last 10 months is true. "The true facts are," they write, "that Albright did not have title to any access easement... The true facts are that Remax knew that Albright did not have good title to the easement and that Albright had informed Remax that Albright was not certain that Albright had good title to the easement." [pp.4,8] In an amended complaint, they take back part of what they said, but continue to insist that "as a consequence of the absence of title to the access easement...plaintiffs have been damaged in a sum in excess of $250,000." [p.6]

The Cemetery Board has better ways to spend their money than paying lawyers. The good people of Bolinas who are paying for the 24-plaintiff second lawsuit also have better ways to spend their money. The dirty little secret here is that the Kleiders need this waste of money from the rest of us in order to collect money from someone...sometime. When it's all done, the Kleiders will probably be made whole while the rest of us will be out of pocket.

So goes it.

Meanwhile, the County has moved against the Kleiders on two grounds. They (1) built a non-permitted building and (2) flattened with bulldozers the site for their 4,564 sq. ft. residence, erasing the natural contours of a meadow in violation of Coastal Commission regs and Marin County rules. As with their driveway through the Cemetery, "Oklahoma-ing" a building site is cheaper. But it sure wrecks the environment. In a letter dated April 15th, county planners wrote:

An unknown amount of fill has been placed on the building site for the primary residence, contrary to the Coastal Permit/Design Review findings and approval. Therefore, the amount of fill placed on the site which raises the natural contours of the downsloping lot and forms a "nose" on the downslope side must be removed and the hillside must be recontoured to its natural state.

There's a problem.

Without permission, the Kleiders took soil from the Cemetery and put it under their completed second unit and into the "nose" described above. The Cemetery wants it back.

Meanwhile, building is stopped on the site. Should a building permit ever be issued, it will be challenged by Friends of the Bolinas Cemetery before the Planning Commission, and if necessary, before the Board of Supervisors. Ultimately, any decision by these bodies can be appealed into the court system where building will be stayed until the case is resolved.

We hold no ill will towards the Kleiders. We simply want our Cemetery back the way it was before they illegally cut their private driveway through it. They won't budge and therefore the good people of Bolinas will have to pay for two lawsuits to force them to use their other entrance, a driveway which meets all County requirements. Meanwhile, because of their violation of County rules and opposition from the rest of us, they will be prevented from building. All these problems would go away if the Kleiders would give back to the Cemetery Board title to their illegal easement-title they acquired by not showing the Board their Grant Deed with the crossed-off easement!
-Friends of the Bolinas Cemetery
Louise I. Pepper
Josiah Thompson

County Jail Videotaping

Evidence that was turned over to me and my defense team during my criminal case in Marin included videotapes filmed by Sheriff's Department cameras in the county jail's booking area. I am very certain that the cameras used to film this evidence related to my case are the same ones used to film the booking process and alleged use of force in the Ager marijuana case. The videotapes turned over to me through the Sheriff and District Attorney showed several different camera angles as the system used at the jail rotates the views from one camera to the next and so forth. The entire booking area including the main desk, holding cells, phones and seats are shown in the tapes provided in my case. The tapes also show views of other prisoners I was not among.

Mr. Ager and his attorney sought to have the videotape of his booking process turned over in order to support their claim of illegal use of force by the Sheriff's Department. The Sheriff did not want to have to turn this particular tape over, and this caused there to be a hearing in the matter before Judge Sutro. The Sheriff's Department cited jail security and the privacy of other prisoners as reasons why the court should not order that the tape be turned over to Mr. Ager and his attorney. Judge Sutro ruled in favor of the Sheriff, so the videotape showing what did or did not happen was successfully suppressed as evidence by the Sheriff and the court.

Approximately 18 to 24 months ago the government-controlled Marin Independent Journal was used to tout a story about the jail. Included in the IJ article was information that the booking area of the jail is, in fact, monitored by audio and video equipment. At the time I read the article I saw a possible legal issue revolving around attorney/client confidentiality since often the first call an arrested person makes is to a lawyer. The telephones are right there in the monitored area of the booking area of the jail and thus a person's right to confide in privacy with counsel is violated. But more relevant to my point: The IJ article cited a Sheriff's Department source saying that the audio and video monitoring of this particular area of the jail would be used to counter claims of prisoners saying they had been the victims of force used upon them by jail staff. Deductive logic dictates very loudly that the only reason the Sheriff fought to suppress that tape in the Ager case is because it supports rather than refutes Mr. Ager's allegation. I also point out the obvious that no such concerns for "jail security" or "privacy of other prisoners" were cited when identically filmed videotapes were turned over to me in my case.

Coastal Post readers have heard me and others say that the judicial branch of government is rubber stamp endorsing whatever police and prosecutors do these days. The judges supposedly have a solemn duty to conduct proceedings before them with a view towards the ascertainment of truth but instead often intentionally murder it in concert with police and prosecutors. There is not one single thing "honorable" about judges covering up crimes and the systematic violation of constitutional rights committed by police and prosecutors. Why turn over film from the exact same source in my case and not in Mr. Ager's? Why tell the taxpaying/voting public through the IJ that the monitoring system in the booking area would be used to disprove claims of abuse and then not use the tape to do so in the Ager case? Yes, these are IQ test questions and ones I am certain the Marin judiciary does not want the public thinking deeply about. Nothing that police and prosecutors are doing in recent years has had to be legal or make sense because the scumbags costumed in black robes on the bench have made white-washing with official airs their forte instead of justice. They (judges) represent the sort of authority (corrupt) that needs to be knocked down and have it's face spit in. Today's judges do not possess the courage or the integrity to hold their brethren in government accountable and the result

is a legal system that is decaying and infected with dishonest people. The judges seeing it all right in front of them are the worst. They endorse systematic wrong-doing under color of law and that is pure evil.
In contempt of court,
James Korr
Centinela State Prison

Zionists And Nazis

I have not read as infamous a piece of diatribe in this paper as that by Barry Smail (July 1) for a long time. Smail assailed historically correct Karen Nakamura for likening murdering, torturing, land-robbing Israeli Jews to Nazis. Nakamura should have added that such miscreants, of whatever origin they may be, are the low life, barbaric scum of this earth and should be prosecuted under the precedent of the Nuremberg Trials. Smail assails Nakamura with one of those famous Zionist freedom of expression muzzling terms, in this case, "intellectually dishonest filth," designed to stifle any criticisms of Jewish wrong-doing.

I am pleased, too, that the editor of this fine newspaper, who refuses to allow it to degrade into a propaganda paper, invited Smail to contribute his "alternative," i.e., propagandist, views on the Middle East. That will give me and others who know the truth about that region an opportunity to expose his self-serving rantings.

My response to Smail's letter can fill pages, but for the sake of brevity, allow me to share the views of more truthful, honorable, well-known Jews regarding the issue of "Zionist Jews are like Nazis."

Prof. Israel Shahak: "Unless we recognize the real issue-which is the racist character of the Zionist movement and the state of Israel and the roots of this racism in Jewish religious law (halacha)-we will continue to be unable to understand the truth of our situation." (Kol Ha'ir, 1-6-95) Dr. Shahak also equates the brutal Israeli seizure and rule of Arab territories to Hitler's Enabling Act. "Exactly the same type of act was passed by the Knesset (Israel's 'Parliament')...granting the Israeli governor and his representatives the powers of Hitler, which they used in a Hitlerian manner." (Palestine, Vol 12, 12/83)

Dr. Martin Buber: "Only by an internal revolution can we have the power to heal our people of their murderous sickness of ceaseless hatred. It is bound to bring complete ruin upon us. Only then will the old and young in our land realize how great was our responsibility to those miserable (wronged) Arab refugees in whose towns we have settled Jews who were brought from afar; whose homes we have confiscated, whose fields we now sow and harvest; the fruit of whose gardens, orchards, and vineyards we now gather; and whose cities that we robbed. We put up houses of education and prayer while we babble and rave about being the 'people of the book' and the 'light of the nation'!" (Ihud's Ner Jan-Feb '61)

Dr. Buber once told an audience in New York: "When we (followers of prophetic Judaism) returned to Palestine...the majority of Jewish people preferred to learn from Hitler than from us." (6-2-58)

Prof. Alfred Lillienthal: "We came and turned the native Arabs into tragic refugees. And we still dare to slander and malign them, to besmirch their name, instead of being deeply ashamed of what we did and trying to undo some of the evil committed. We justify our terrible acts and even try to glorify them." The Zionist Connection II, p 152

Moshe Menuhin, father of the recently deceased and honored violinist, Yehudi Menuhin, wrote in his book, The Decadence of Judaism in Our Times, that he preferred the former title Jewish Nationalism: A Monstrous Historical Crime and Curse. In a letter to the famous Jewish author, Grace Halsell, he wrote: "Jews should be Jews-not Nazis."

In her book Israel's Sacred Terrorism, Jewish author Livia Rakach quotes former Israeli prime minister Moshe Sharrett: "All this (moral corruption) must bring about revulsion in the sense of justice and honesty in public opinion, it must make the state (of Israel) appear in the eyes of the world as a savage state that does not recognize the principles of justice as established and accepted by contemporary society." (p 33)

There is a huge amount of public criticism of Jews' wrong-doing that escapes the average reader. Among them are Noam Chomsky, Yehudi Menuhin, Rabbis Lynn Gottlieb, Joe Asher, Elmer Berger, et al., Micha Pelled, Rachelle Marshall, Felicia Langer, Lea Tsemel, Eduardo Cohen, Jeffrey Blankfort, Prof. Joel Beinin, Marc Bruzonsky, Dina Horowitz, and on. But alas, people like Smail refer to them as "self-hating Jews." Even Albert Einstein refused to accept the presidency of Israel because of its Nazi-like conduct.

In defense of Karen Nakamura, I construct a logical syllogism: All groups of people that torture, murder men, women, children and babies, rape, beat and denigrate another people (media files would fill volumes), ethnically cleanse and steal their land, homes, and belongings (cf. alleged Nazi theft of Jewish gold and art and David Ben Gurion's call to "cleanse," verbatim, Galilee of Arabs), and commit crimes against humanity (with impunity thus far) are like Nazis. Zionist Israeli Jews have done all the above. Therefore, Zionist Israeli Jews are like Nazis.

In a poem written by Prof. Dan Almagor, Israel's famed lyricist, titled "We Shoot Children, Too, Don't We?" these excerpts warn Israelis of their impending punishment for war crimes and Nazi-like behavior. "Let us start preparing our defense. We will need it soon enough. All those who actually did it and those who still do. And those who hushed it up and those who still do. And those who said nothing," and "Yes, we'll all get our summons one day. The Colonels' trials are coming. Their time will come, it must be so," and "Who do we think we are? Who gave us the right to be so deaf, so dumb?" Mr. Smail can no longer say, "I didn't know."
Yousef Salen

NRA, AMA And The AG

The Molly Ivins column published June 14 in the Chronicle apparently referred to NRA's view on our individual right to arms when Ivins mentioned "their pea-brained interpretation of the Second Amendment." The Chron will doubtless bury my letter, so I hope you won't.

I've asked her Ft. Worth Star-Telegram editor to inform pea-brained Molly Ivins that the U.S. Supreme Court, in at least 18 cases which I have personally identified in the Marin law library, has acknowledged that we do indeed enjoy an individual right to keep and bear arms. Former Chief Justice Warren Burger in his dotage said NRA's individual right claim was a "fraud," even though two of those 18 cases were in his own court and he himself met late night callers with his own loaded revolver in

hand.

For editorial files and Ms. Ivins' belated education, I sent them a summary report on those 18 cases. Readers wishing a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped long envelope to me at Box 150368, San Rafael 94915.

I've heard that a university law journal will soon publish an article identifying not 18 but 28 such cases.
* * *

The guns of Columbine, Paducah, Conyers and other school shootings would probably still be unfired but for the real culprit, exposed in June 28 Insight magazine. Consider:

¥ Eric Harris, 18, the older Columbine shooter, was on Luvox.

¥ Kip Kinkel, 15, Springfield, Oregon school shooter, was on Ritalin and Prozac.

¥ School shooters Shawn Cooper, 15, of Notus, Idaho, and T.J. Solomon, 15, of Conyers, Georgia, were both on Ritalin.

¥ Mitchell Johnson, 13, older Jonesboro, Arkansas shooter, was under psychiatric counseling. His attorney refuses to say if he was on prescription drugs, calling it "confidential information."

¥ And doubtless others, still secret due to juvenile privacy laws.

This matches data on adult shooters on prescription drugs, including John Hinckley (Valium), Patrick Purdy (Thorazine and Elavil), Laurie Dann (Anafranil and Lithium), Joseph Wesbecker (Lithium, Restoril, Cogentin and Prozac), James Calvin Brady (Prolixin), James Wilson (withdrawing from Xanax, earlier treated with Thorazine, Valium, Halcion, Mellaril, Vistaril and Lithium), and many other who used weapons other than guns.

Guns don't kill people-psychiatrists do, creating walking time bombs by prescribing mind-altering anti-depressant drugs to unsupervised outpatients. * * *

Attorney General Janet Reno, on the Good Morning America show June 18, talking about gun bills before Congress, said: "We've done the math. If a murderer was convicted on April l9th, he would be able to buy a gun today if the waiting period is only one day, but not if it's three days."

Would AG "Waco Butcher" Reno care to explain exactly WHY a convicted murderer is out on the street on June 18, only 70 days after his murder conviction?
Fielding Greaves
San Rafael

Health Care And The Grand Jury

I read with interest Linda Remy's article concerning the pending litigation between the Marin Healthcare District (of which Ms. Remy is a trustee) and MGH/Sutter. Ms. Remy apparently is of the view that the Marin County Grand Jury "missed the big picture" with regard to the lawsuit.

The "big picture," however, consists of more than Ms. Remy's views, or even those of the Healthcare District, concerning the management and operation of Marin General Hospital. The "big picture" includes the views of BOTH sides to the litigations, specifically including the contentions of the Healthcare District's tenant: The Marin General Hospital Corporation.

The Grand Jury quite deliberately chose NOT to take sides with regard to the merits of the litigation. We have no comment, therefore, as to the substantive points Ms. Remy discusses in her article. Rather, the Grand Jury chose to highlight and bring to the public's attention the several-year history of the dispute between the Healthcare District and MGH/Sutter in the context of recommending that BOTH sides submit the matter to binding arbitration.

Ms. Remy concedes that multiple critics, including the Marin Board of Supervisors, have characterized the dispute as "tiresome," "contentious" and "divisive."

The Grand Jury was concerned, too, that the lawsuit has drained, and will continue to drain, significant assets from both the Healthcare District and MGH/Sutter-with no end in sight. As Ms. Remy suggests, the Healthcare District, should it lose in the lower courts, has every intention of "pursuing the matter to the highest courts."

Both sides have strong arguments to make with regard to their respective positions. The Grand Jury, moreover, did not see its role as second-guessing or replacing the parties' respective rights to adjudicate their differences in the civil courts. Rather, the Grand Jury simply wanted to emphasize the advantage, to both sides, as well as the public, is resolving this matter promptly, and equitably, through binding arbitration.
JOSEPH C. FRIEDMAN
Foreman
1998-99 Marin County Grand Jury

Corrections And Rewrite

Here's some additional and corrected information on "There's A Toxic Title Hanging Over Hamilton" by Stephen Simac. All records are on file on file.

2nd para: The 927 acres which make up the retired air base were originally given to the federal government in 1929 by citizens of Marin.

Fact: The 927 acres making up the original air base was given to the federal government in 1931 by the Bay Area business community,

Citizens boosters hoped to convince the War Department to choose Marin for one of three planned bomber air bases on the West Coast.

Citizen boosters hoped to convince the War Department to choose Marin for a fighter base as one of the three planned air bases on the West Coast in 1928.

3rd para: A group of businessmen incorporated as Marvelous Marin, Inc. and came up with the cash to buy a former cucumber farm. Marin County supervisors passed a 4.4 cent sales tax for the purchase, but never came up with one penny for the property, nor did they ever explain what happened to those tax monies.

Fact: A group of businessmen incorporated as Marvelous Marin, Inc, in 1927, and came up with the cash to buy 500 acres of land from a cucumber farm known as Marin Meadows, location of Marin County's airport. Marin supervisors passed a 4.4 cent tax for the purchase, but never came up with one penny for the property nor did they ever explain what happened to those tax monies.

4th para: Marvelous Marin bought the land and gave it to the county to offer to the Army as a carrot to build their bomber air base here. The stipulation agreed on was that when the Feds ceased to use the property, it would be returned to the County of Marin.

Fact: Marvelous Marin agreed to buy the land and give it to the War Department if the Army would build its fighter air base here. The stipulation of acceptance was signed by President Hoover that when the military ceased flying, the property would return to Marvelous Marin, Inc. In 1935, members of the Marvelous Marin agreed to retire their bonds and assign ownership to the citizens of Marin County.

5th para: In 1975 the Feds offered it back to Marin for the $1 they had paid for it, but Supervisor Robert Roumiguiere and the county commission refused it as a "white elephant." When a woman in L.A. read about their refusal, she sent in $1, and had to be paid $80,000 by the government to quit her claim for the pale pachyderm.

Fact: In 1974 the US Air Force declared Hamilton Field surplus to its needs and offered it back to Marin County for the $1 they had paid for it, but Supervisor Robert Roumiguiere and the good old boys refused it as a "white elephant." When a woman in LA read about their refusal, she sent in $1, and had to be paid $80,000 by the government to quit her claim for the pale pachyderm.

6th para: The Feds remembered that because in 1993 when the base was declared surplus property for real, the General Services Administration didn't return it to the county for a dollar. Marin supervisors didn't claim their land and it ended up with Novato, which (surprise) chose to develop the toxic waste site for housing.

Fact: The Department of Defense closed Hamilton to all military flying in 1993. Because of congressional interference, General Services was not able to carry out its mandate of returning the property to citizens of Marin County. Marin County supervisors failed to claim our land and bowed to the East Coast bankers and Novato, which (surprise) chose to develop housing on a toxic waste site and in a flood plain.

In spite of the fact that a joint military committee recommended that in order to avoid lawsuits, former air bases only be used for airports, recreation or industrial use because of their extensive contamination, families will be living on land, children playing in the dirt.

Fact: Livermore is a prime example of not heeding the above restrictions at Naval Air Station, Livermore. Livermore Labs has been under fire because of the high cancer rate to the civilian population surrounding their facilities. The young naval officer responsible for handing over surplus Navy property to the city fathers was powerless to enforce the Navy's agreement. After orders to Washington, DC, he was able to take part in pushing a congressional law for disposal of military runways.

8th para: It's not the first or last time government officials didn't honor their agreements, but Alexander Coutts, a Marin resident, is suing the United States Government to hold them to their word. Like Don Quixote tilting at windmills, or in this case bomber planes, he's got a point. He provided documents to the Coastal Post and federal judges to prove his case on which this story of Hamilton is based.

9th para: He has been fighting the battle for 24 years, he writes in his court brief, and received only ridicule from the Department of Defense, Bay Area politicians, media, and members of Congress. He wants $10 million for that, plus another $10 each for the lying to the public since 1974 about Hamilton and for harassing a senior citizen, himself. (Note: Steve Simac writes: He says he's hoping to attract a lawyer with the scent of money, kind of like blood in water to a shark.)

Fact: He has been fighting the battle for 24 years, he writes in his court brief, and received only ridicule and stonewalling from the Department of Defense, Bay Area politicians, media, and members of Congress. He is asking for $10 million for that, plus another $10 each for their lying to the public since 1974 about Hamilton and for harassing a senior citizen, himself. He says while his work has been pro bono over the years, putting a money value in the suit is a carrot to bring legal action against the Congress for return of Hamilton to Marin County.

Steve Simac writes his thoughts in the 10th and 11th paragraphs.

10th para: Trying to stop the suburban dreams of Novato for Hamilton Air Base is like trying to stop the Buck Center for Aging, also in Novato, after they annexed both sites. Novato's motto is build out and they will come, and is drafted for projects that Marin County supervisors would like to approve but can't get away with.

Fact: Novato stands alone and must take full responsibility for their indenture to East Coast banks for years to come. Novato annexed Hamilton Air Base and Buck Center without a county vote and is solely responsible for any negative actions taken by their city residents. Supervisor Robert Roumiguiere wrote a letter to Washington, representing Marin County and handing Hamilton over to Novato. (A conflict of interest.)

11th para: Even though most Marin citizens didn't want either project, Bay Area money makers and shakers pushed them through, traffic gridlock and land use regulations and agreements be damned.

It gives me great pleasure to thank the Coastal Post and editor Don Deane for printing both sides of the story.

I have accumulated a paper trail that can back up all statements made above, and my fight is to keep monies made from Hamilton in the county. At present, 200 million has been spent by the Army in their attempt to decontaminate toxic waste from 800 acres held in trust by them. A point of interest: Little of this bonanza made it into the County's treasury.

Summary

2nd para: 927 acres owned by Marvelous Marin, Inc. was passed to the federal government in 1931 through Marin County Supervisors.

4th para: Property was owned by Marvelous Marin, Inc. until 1935 when ownership was assigned to citizens of Marin County.

5th para: In 1974, the U.S. Air Force declared Hamilton Field surplus to its needs and offered it back to Marin County for the $1 they had paid for it.

6th para: The Department of Defense closed Hamilton to all military flying in 1993.

10th para: Supervisor Robert Roumiguiere wrote a personal letter to Washington representing Marin County, relinquishing Marin County's claim to Hamilton and passed it on to the Township of Novato.
Alexander T. Coutts
Marin County

Carnage in Kosovo-History Repeats

Carnage, killing, murder, mayhem, rape, plunder, pillage, displacement. It saddens and sickens my soul to see man's continued and unrelenting inhumanity to man. It is a terrible commentary to see how cruel the human species is. Greed and territorial covetness casts a dark pall over the history and character of homo sapiens.

I am dismayed to see the innocuous phrase "ethnic cleansing" widely utilized in describing the current carnage in Kosovo. The aforementioned words are certainly more appropriate.

It is disheartening to know as we approach the new millennium, that violence and wars are still used to settle disputes. As weapons of mass destruction such as chemical, biological and nuclear become more prolific, the threat of annihilation and extinction become ever more foreboding.

What a sad legacy we have set. The Golden Rule has been replaced with an updated version... "He who has the gold and guns, rules."

Thank God, we're not like that! When we started our version of carnage, killing, murder, mayhem, rape, plunder, pillage, displacement of the Indian Nation, we used duplicity by giving it an even more innocuous and outrageous euphemistic name. We call it "Manifest Destiny."
Andrew C. Aguilar
Cloverdale

Hey Kirby

How about doin' a story about witchcraft in Bolinas? Do you have the stomach for it?
ANONYMOUS

Southern Cal Sub

I hear great things about you. Please sign me up.
Darrell Armstrong
Los Angeles