Twenty Years Ago
When the [homeless] succeed, it’s despite public policy, not because of it. It’s up to them to build their own futures—and our community agencies, with our support, can supply them with the tools to do it. But government funding has been evaporating for years—not only for mental health services, but for drug and alcohol treatment and for housing assistance.
“We are not keeping up,” says Homeward Bound director John Wilson-Bugbee. “For many of us who are middle-class, things are actually pretty decent. But for the folks we serve, I can assure you, it has gotten a helluva lot worse. And we’re talking about one of the richest counties in the nation with one of the largest community foundations in the world. It’s not going well, and it’s getting worse.” —Jill Kramer, April 28, 1999
Forty Years Ago
Even opponents of helmet laws will often concede that the use of helmets makes sense. Still, they argue that a law would infringe on their personal freedom. “We believe brushing your teeth and locking your door before you go to bed is a good idea but we don’t believe you should have a law making it mandatory,” said Jim Bensberg of the American Motorcyclist Association in a recent interview with the Chronicle. —Greg Cahill, April 28, 1989
Fifty Years Ago
The combat center and the headquarters of the Fourth Air Force and NORAD’s Western Region will be moved out of Hamilton Air Force Base by September as a part of a nationwide tightening up of military bases. The base’s major unit, the 78th fighter wing, and other components will remain. The change will affect 841 people with an annual payroll of $5.7 million. Some will remain at the base in other jobs, however. Ben Ostlind, the outspoken former [Marin] County Aviation Commissioner and a longtime crusader for a civilian airport at Hamilton, said the changes back up his belief that the Air Force is abandoning Hamilton bit by bit. Air Force officials denied this. —April 30, 1969
Compiled by Alex Randolph
