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Preserving theaters
is saving culture
Re: “Groups take up fight to preserve movie palaces” (Page B1, Feb. 11).
I’m a member of the campaign to save the historic United Artists Theater in Berkeley from being destroyed for an apartment tower. As a UC Berkeley student, of course I am concerned about housing. Yet that doesn’t mean we cannot retain buildings like the UA, an Art Deco treasure that is on the California Register of Historical Resources. Architecturally singular buildings make Berkeley more than just another suburb of San Francisco.
For a long time, the downtown’s unique collection of cinemas reflected a vibrant arts culture that was world-renowned. But that stature has greatly diminished. While the city’s Downtown Area Plan resolves to “retain and expand” cinemas, all of the commercial theaters closed during the pandemic with no objection from our city government.
Meanwhile, citizens are still fighting for the arts and historic preservation in the downtown. Please join us.
Cameron Danesh
Berkeley
Dogs in apartments
unfair to hounds, tenants
Re: “A doggone good idea?” (Page A1, Feb. 29).
I’ve owned rental property since 1978 and in my experience, it is “not a doggone good idea” to have dogs in apartments.
I love dogs, but it is not fair to the dog or the other tenants to confine canines to an apartment. Dogs left alone by their owners often whine due to loneliness, howl and bark, disturbing the other tenants. On many occasions, dogs have torn up the carpet, peed and defecated on the carpet and damaged wood doors and trim.
It is not a good provision of AB 2216 that a landlord can’t ask about pet ownership until time and money have been spent reviewing and approving an application.
Barry Walter
Fremont
Supporters of Palestine
complicit in the war
Re: “Albany joins Mideast cease-fire debate” (Page B1, March 7).
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Albany City Council members have been screamed at by pro-Palestinian people who feel it is their duty to shame our City Council members into signing a cease-fire resolution regarding the war that Hamas started with Israel on Oct. 7, when it invaded Israel and tortured and slaughtered the country’s citizens.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have achieved their goal of racking up propaganda points at some city councils, but not all. Their ultimate goal is to spread hate for Israel and sever the relationship between Israel and the United States. They accuse the City Council of being complicit in the war, but they never condemn Hamas for starting the war and committing horrific war crimes. They never demand that Hamas return the hostages and surrender. Therefore, they are the “complicit” ones.
Dorothea Dorenz
Berkeley
