50 Years Ago
President Richard Nixon threw his full support behind the Point Reyes National Seashore purchase yesterday, thus practically ensuring its funding in time to save the 53,000-acre scenic wonder from subdivision.
…Thus another small step for man and another giant leap for mankind seems on the brink of happening.
…Nixon’s statement of support neatly disposes of the opposition to the parkland purchase by Robert Mayo, director of the Bureau of the Budget, who serves at the pleasure of the President and is expected to do his bidding.
—Alice Yarish, 11/19/69
40 Years Ago
The longest school strike in California history came to an end last week — a grueling nine-week walkout by teachers and office workers of the Jefferson High School District in northern San Mateo. Two weeks before, the San Francisco Federation of Teachers was fined $3000 for its refusal to obey a Superior Court order halting a September strike against city schools. Both strikes were marked by scenes of bitterness and violence. Jefferson officials plan to press criminal charges against 20 teachers for infractions committed in the heat of the strike. And in San Francisco, striking teachers were accused of slashing tires, blocking milk and food deliveries, and marching into school buildings and frightening the children.
Such reports cannot help but add to the growing disenchantment with public education. It becomes difficult for parents, even liberal pro-union parents, to reconcile the teacher as the purveyor of civilized ideals with the teacher-activist defying the law.
—Linda Xiques, 11/16/79
30 Years Ago
Ross got tough on smoking. The council unanimously passed an ordinance that bans cigarette smoking in all indoor public areas. That includes restaurants, shops and medical offices. Council member Peter Barry’s measure hadn’t looked like a winner until backers collected 200 signatures supporting it in a six-hour stint in front of the post office.
—Newsgram, 11/17/89
20 Years Ago
Homeless people were dealt a blow recently when the Supreme Court left standing a Florida law that prohibits people from panhandling or soliciting change around the beach. This seems like a blatant form of discrimination against the poor, especally when you consider that for most of us, the bulk of what we do each day in some way involves asking for money.
…This Supreme Court inaction follows on the heels of a report that the Contra Costa County Public Health Department is doing a documentary on the homeless, and is on the lookout for some, and I quote, “good homeless families.”
Well, there you have it. The homeless problem isn’t that we have lots of homeless people on our byways, it’s that the ones we have aren’t aesthetic enough. They beg. They’re rude. They look unsightly. They’re just … yuchy. We don’t want to see ’em.
—Stan Sinberg, 11/17/99
