Priced out of museums in San Francisco

Photo: Liz Hafalia

Letter to the editor in Monday's SF Chronicle:

High price for admission

It’s nice to learn in “S.F. museums waiving fees for many” (Datebook, May 24) that San Francisco residents who receive public benefits will be given free admission to more than 15 city museums and cultural institutions.

However, those of us who struggle to pay high monthly rents and other expenses and who don’t receive public benefits might disagree with Mayor London Breed’s statement that “All San Franciscans, regardless of their income, should have access to the art and culture institutions that San Francisco has to offer,” since (as an example) it costs two adults $50 for regular admission to SFMOMA and $70 for admission plus the ability to see the current Andy Warhol exhibit.

Those prices aren’t accessible to average middle-class people living in a city well known for its art institutions.

Elliot Branca

San Francisco

Letter from San Diego

From a San Diego correspondent:

So the North Park Planning Association voted that night, after we all left, for the removal of all parked cars on 30th St. in order to put in protected bike lanes on both sides of the street. People suspected that, but figured if we all stayed they'd postpone the vote to when we weren't there or risk our ire anyhow, as they had clearly already decided by the smirks on their faces.

Then the next evening on the news we heard that the Mayor has passed it too. Nothing like the strong Mayor system. The KPBS story said "some people were opposed" without mentioning that "some" meant 80% of those who were there. 

But they have to dig up two or three miles of 30th to place pipes, so perhaps the business owners will have a chance to weigh in behind the scenes before they go out of business. Imagine Para's News without a green curb for morning commuters to swing into to collect their papers. 

Of course the bikers and the neighborhood association don't get their news from the papers because they are too cool for that. And did Para's News know about the meeting? Of course not. Nobody knew, but that did not stop "Main Street" from testifying that the business owners were behind it. 

Despite testimony from a woman who walked all the businesses in South Park on 30th and said none of them had been contacted by Main Street or Association and they knew nothing of this plan. But guess what? It is their own fault because in addition to running businesses they should be going to all the meetings for the North Park Association or at least going on their Web site every week. After all, who knows when a decision will be made that will kill all the businesses in the neighborhood?