Noe Valley Voice October 2010
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The Voice welcomes your letters to the editor. Write the Noe Valley Voice, 1021 Sanchez Street, San Francisco, CA 94114. Or e-mail editor@noevalleyvoice.com. Please include your name, address, and phone number. (Anonymous letters will not be considered for publication.) Be aware that letters may be edited for brevity or clarity. We look forward to hearing from you.


The Other Side of Prop. B

The September Voice contained a half-page paid advertisement for Proposition B, a charter amendment on the Nov. 2 ballot that would require city employees to contribute higher amounts to their pension and medical costs. The ad and measure were sponsored by San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi. Here are three letters we received responding to the ad’s content:

 

Bad Medicine

Editor:

Jeff Adachi, in his recent advertisement about Proposition B, attempted to focus on facts; however, like all lawyers, Mr. Adachi twisted his words to provide a false picture of Prop. B. I want to share with your readers how Prop. B will hurt our citizens.

1) Prop. B will unfairly impact workers making the least amount of money (gardeners, nursing assistants, and custodians).

2) Prop. B will dramatically increase the cost of health care (as much as $500 per month) and force working families to make tough choices between providing medical insurance for their children and putting food on the table.

3) City employees have taken voluntary pay cuts of over $250 million over the past few years to help balance the budget.

4) The city controller has refuted Adachi’s claim of how much Prop. B will save. The  Health Service System [which administers non-pension medical benefits to city employees] stated clearly that Prop. B will cost the city money.

5) Prop. B says nothing about money going to other city services.

Proposition B is bad medicine for San Francisco. It doesn’t fix problems; it punishes city workers for a situation they did not create; and it will dramatically increase healthcare costs for children.

Please join me in voting “No on B.”

Garry Bieringer

Staples Avenue

 

City Workers Deserve Support

Editor:

Jeff Adachi claims that Prop. B will create a reliable source of funding to help solve the city’s deficit. It does this by doubling the cost of dependent health care for city workers.

Let’s remember that it was banks and Wall Street, not public employees, who brought down the economy and created a fiscal crisis for our cities. City workers include police, firefighters, teachers, nurses, sanitation workers, and custodians who provide vital services that we want and need.

In the past nine years, city employees, through their unions, voluntarily gave back $750 million in wage and pension concessions to help the city.

Prop. B now seeks to balance the budget on the backs of public employees, many of whom earn less than $40,000 per year—not the $93,000 salary that Adachi would like you to believe. The costs cited in Adachi’s advertisement are deceiving, and most readers will not do the math required to calculate the total cost for heath care. A single parent will pay up to $5,600 more per year for health insurance, in addition to the $8,154 they already pay. The total yearly amount for a family, already struggling to afford rent and childcare, will be $13,754.

San Francisco led the way to providing universal health care for our citizens. Lawmakers did not envision doing this by doubling the cost of health care for city workers, which Prop. B will do. City workers deserve our support. Vote NO on Prop. B.

Mary Marzotto

Guerrero Street

 

S.F. Has Higher Standards

Editor:

Mr. Adachi’s suspiciously funded Prop. B deserves a NO vote because it is a mean-spirited attack on San Francisco city workers as if they were the cause of the city’s fiscal problems. In his advertisements he never mentions the causal effects of the greedy and dishonest big operators from here to Wall Street.

How unfortunate that he compares the city’s employee medical insurance benefits to the “only 60 percent of San Francisco businesses that offer healthcare benefits for employees” (or the 40 percent that don’t). San Francisco seeks a higher standard in many areas, including medical coverage for its employees and their dependents. Why compare her to employers that don’t?

Adachi argues that San Francisco is extravagant in her coverage of her workers’ dependents. According to the Kaiser Foundation, the average employer covers 73 percent of family health premium costs; the City of San Francisco covers 74 percent. San Franciscans are proud that their city is above average in many ways. We should not regress! Vote NO on B.

Anthony C. Bazan

Addison Street

 

Mission Accomplished

Editor:

Thank you for running the story and picture of Nosheen Hydari. She ran the Chicago Half Marathon Sept. 12 and finished in under her three-hour goal!

Diane DaCruz

Executive Director

Non-Profit Chiropractic Organization

Chicago, Illinois

 

Crazy About That Crossword

Editor:

Love the answer [to the crossword by Michael Blake in the September issue]! Bravo to the puzzle master!

Suzana Seban

 

Editor’s Note: If you missed it, you can find the September crossword, along with other gems in Michael Blake’s collection, on the home page at www.noevalleyvoice.com.


THE NOE VALLEY VOICE
P.O. Box 460249

San Francisco, CA 94146

www.noevalleyvoice.com

The Noe Valley Voice is an independent newspaper published monthly except in January and August. It is distributed free in Noe Valley and vicinity, on or before the first Friday of the month. Subscriptions are available at $30 per year ($25 for seniors) by writing to the above address.

The Voice welcomes your letters, photos, and stories, particularly on topics relating to Noe Valley. All items should include your name, address, and phone number, and may be edited for brevity or clarity. (Unsigned letters will not be considered for publication.) Unsolicited contributions will be returned only if accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

The Noe Valley Voice is a member of the San Francisco Neighborhood Newspaper Association.

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