Publication Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Letters
Letters
(September 14, 2005)
Newspaper breakdowns
Editor,
I enjoyed Don Kazak's column about "Grade the News" and its critique of the Palo Alto Daily News (Weekly, Sept. 7). Last week, in an idle moment, I did my own analysis of the Friday, Sept. 2, Daily News, trying to determine what percentage of the paper's space was devoted to what type of material.
My impression has long been that the Daily News is mostly an advertising sheet with some news thrown in, and I know that it takes me 10 minutes at most to digest the meat out of what by Fridays can be a 100-plus page paper.
So I estimated the percentage of each page devoted to various types of content and came up with the following (for a 92-page issue): News: 10.7 percent; Features (including the "story" portions of "Buzz"): 9.6 percent; Op-ed: 1.6 percent; Paid ads (excluding real estate and cars): 54.9 percent; Real-estate ads (especially featured late in the week): 14.1 percent; Auto ads (also a Friday feature): 9.1 percent.
That totals 21.9 percent news and other editorial content, 78.1 percent advertising. According to your article, the 21.9 percent is generous since much of that content comes from the advertising department.
How does the Palo Alto Weekly compare? Here are the comparable percentages for the Sept. 7 Weekly (48 pages): News (including cover story): 18.6 percent; Features (including cover photo): 11.0 percent; Op-ed: 6.4 percent; Paid ads: 44.2 percent; Real-estate ads: 19.8 percent; Auto ads: 0 percent. Summary: 36 percent editorial content, 64 percent advertising.
Better, but still heavily advertising oriented.
I usually spend a half an hour reading each issue of the Weekly. The news might not be as fresh (the nature of a twice-a-week weekly vs. a daily), but the stories usually go into greater depth.
I also have the impression that there is greater separation between the news and advertising departments, though the Weekly's "Around Town" column often has the look of the Daily News' advertising produced "Town Talk" column.
Joseph Haletky
Webster Street
Palo Alto
Off-hand remark unneeded
Editor,
I couldn't be happier for the new owners of Vero restaurant reviewed by Dale Bentson in the Sept. 9 Weekly. It is exciting to know that a new Italian trattoria serving simple, authentic fare will thrive on Bryant Street.
I found, however, that the reference to my restaurant, L'amie Donia (1994-2004), as lacking warmth and "chicness" was unnecessary and mean-spirited. Ironically the "contemporary tables, chairs and booths" and "the newly installed wood wainscoting" were designed by our architect, Mark Stevens, and purchased and installed by me in 1994. The wainscoting, however, was not stained a dark color.
My staff and I prepared thousands of meals tirelessly and lovingly for 10 years. We gave Palo Alto a destination restaurant, the first to be reviewed by Gourmet magazine. We made numerous donations to Palo Alto schools. We put tax dollars in the city coffers.
We deserve better than an off-hand remark like that.
Donia Bijan
Former chef/owner of L'amie Donia
Alameda de las Pulgas
Menlo Park
Hopeful 'Keplerite'
Editor,
I lived in Menlo Park from 1982 to 2000. In 2000, I moved myself and my kids to Utah (mostly for the skiing). However, I am still a "Keplerite" at heart.
So it was a blow on Sept. 1 when I read that Kepler's had closed. I immediately contacted a friend here in Utah who also used to frequent Kepler's. He moved to Utah many years ago and hadn't been to Kepler's since they moved to the new location, but he had already heard the news.
I slowly, over a few days, absorbed the idea of another great thing gone.
Then I saw the article titled, "Nearly 450 rally to help 'save Kepler's'". I enlarged and looked at the picture of Clark Kepler surrounded by his supporters to see if the photographer had happened to catch someone I knew.
As I looked at the picture I almost expected a bell to ring. I think the article should have been titled "It's a Wonderful Life."
Holly Ausbeck
Butler Avenue
Salt Lake City, Utah
Wasted opportunity
Editor,
The New Orleans disaster has little to do with partisan rhetoric and more to do with action. The United States could not have asked for a better scenario to test the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and general disaster preparedness.
We ignored the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), 30-plus years of warnings and 10 days to prepare for this drill. The United States could not have had a more perfect pitch over home plate.
The problem is no one was even aware of the field of play. The subsequent failure to respond in any cohesive fashion clearly demonstrates we feel no threat internally or externally. The simple fact is that FEMA was absorbed by the DHS.
Surely the motive was operational efficiency. The truth is that a natural disaster would be managed no differently than a terrorist event. This makes perfect sense. It could have been a bomb that destroyed the levees as easily as the hurricane.
All systems and personnel required are the same players by design.
There is no question that the governor and mayor of New Orleans were incompetent. However, it was FEMA's responsibility to test all assumptions and abilities at the state level. Back-up planning is not about letting the first lines of defense fail.
It all starts with a phone call, a checklist and alerting all responders that we have a problem.
This raises a very serious question for the Bush administration. If terrorism were as serious a threat as stated, then why not use the best possible situation to test or demonstrate that the Department of Homeland Security was up to the task? Now we have to wait for the unknown to test U.S. preparedness -- whether it be an earthquake that tumbles California or a bombing that threatens a part of our infrastructure and well being.
We squandered one of the biggest opportunities to test our response and infrastructure systems and save lives. We had the opportunity to show the terrorist world that we have our act together.
Now we look feeble and utterly disorganized. The problem is the systems were not there, nor was Bush and team.
It is also fair to state that the Democrats failed as well. I know of no one from the Democratic Party that tried to alert all that the sky was falling on New Orleans.
Brian Wax
Louis Road
Palo Alto
Unsafe administration
Editor,
Four years after Sept. 11, 2001, it seems clear the Bush administration has made us less safe. The slow, bumbling federal response to Hurricane Katrina is an international scandal.
Our nation responded more quickly and was more united after Sept. 11.
Congress should support Sen. Clinton's legislation calling for an independent commission modeled after the 9/11 Commission. The investigation must be independent of the politicians and have its own investigators, budget and subpoena authority to be believable.
We can't let one political party -- especially the one in the White House -- control the investigation.
This commission should also investigate why the Bush administration ignored repeated pleas to fix the decrepit New Orleans levees, cancelled or sliced funds to accomplish this, for several years before the tragedy occurred on Bush's doorstep.
Bernard Elspas
Janice Way
Palo Alto
Security?
Editor,
With the neo-cons, FEMA is part of Homeland Security -- so maybe we should start talking about that agency instead of helping to bury what is left of FEMA.
If this had been a terrorist attack, Homeland Security would have been just as criminally detached as they have been for this catastrophe, only they are letting FEMA take the fall for it.
I still think some public hangings will be in order when this is all over. But the relief workers are all just "following" orders of the hierarchy, doing as they are told. It is very Philip Zimbardo. Very Stanley Milgram. On the other hand, I have no idea what I would do if in the responders' shoes.
That Homeland Security expects the Palo Alto Police Department to build a new edifice partially to house their equipment is dastardly. I think we aught to recycle that equipment into metal parts. The neo-cons want to run our budget into the ground and the chief and some City Council members want to go along with it.
Perhaps they should pay out of their own pockets to create a police-homeland state. It is not the citizens that the council needs to fear, it is the racist cops who want to lead the way for Homeland Security.
I'm not sure what I'd do if I saw a frail 92-year-old woman, all alone, bent over and walking painfully, inch by inch, with the help of her walker along the sidewalk. I saw it last night on TV with a young National Guard watching as she approached. The guardsperson did not know what to do. Where could she have been headed? Even if you picked her up and carried her, where would you take her?
This is what Homeland Security is about.
Barb Dawson
Emerson Street
Palo Alto
Oblivious leader?
Editor,
George W. Bush appeared to be oblivious to the terrible happenings in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama after Hurricane Katrina. As though he may not have heard about the devastating break of the levees, the floods.
Now his administration is blaming the mayor and governor of Louisiana for not doing enough. FEMA has turned away a German planeload of goods for victims since they didn't have the proper authority on paper.
What is happening to our country with this administration? Tsunami victims didn't turn away help. I believe this is the most un-Christian-like administration ever.
Margot Johnston
Allen Court
Palo Alto
Bad timing
Editor,
It is obvious that the Bush administration appoints people to vital positions in government as payment for their political support. The current head of FEMA is obviously not qualified and made a mess of the Hurricane Katrina rescue effort.
The republicans want to cover up the failure of the federal government to act in a timely manner. We need an independent commission to investigate this scandal.
Eugene DeForrest
Woodland Avenue
East Palo Alto
'Hands-off' philosophy
Editor,
Why is everyone so surprised at the Federal Governments' slowness and lack of responsiveness to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina?
The whole philosophy of this very, very conservative administration is "hands off" in helping the underprivileged. This government is doing what it believes in -- only helping the rich and leaving everyone else to fend for themselves -- hence Bush's comment that he "can't wait for Trent Lott's house to be rebuilt so he can look out at the Gulf from the new porch."
Isn't that how we all live?
Lorri Holzberg
Sharon Road
Menlo Park
E-mail a friend a link to this story. | 
