[Amc-list] Blue Angels Avoid San Fran Ban

["Bruce Hevner" <scramblr@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

	What's with the end of ROTC ??????????????

Blue Angels Avoid San Fran Ban
Military.com  |  By Kelly Johnson  |  August 16, 2007
Anti-war activists and a small contingent of San-Francisco city lawmakers
who wanted the Blue Angels banned from the city's "Fleet Week" celebration
in October suffered a setback Monday, with the city council tabling a
measure to ban the aerobatic show from Bay Area skies.
City Supervisor Chris Daly -- backed by the anti-war group CodePink --
sponsored a measure to cut the Blue Angels from Fleet Week for alleged
safety concerns, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
But the measure was tabled in a 2-1 vote on Monday by the Government Audit
and Oversight Committee.
An F/A-18 Hornet fighter from the Blue Angels crashed in Beaufort, S.C.
during a performance in April, killing the pilot and damaging surrounding
homes.
It was the first time a Blue Angel had crashed during a performance in
eight years.
"Think about what would happen if there was a crash in San Francisco
<http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,146033,00.html?ESRC=navy.nl>
. Obviously, there would be significant loss of life beyond losing a
pilot," Daly said in the Chronicle report.
Daly added that the noise created by the Blue Angels' jets, "terrorize
small children, seniors, pets, and local wildlife."
CodePink also launched an online petition, signed by more than 500 San
Francisco residents, requesting that city officials stop the air show for
safety reasons.
Members of the San Francisco Government Audit and Oversight committee did
view the air show as a safety risk, but said the measure did not address
the positive economic impact of the Blue Angels demonstration.
"The measure is a little fly-by-night - 'Let's do this because we think
this might not be safe,'" Supervisor Michaela Alioto-Pier told the
Chronicle.
Supporters of the show said passage of the measure would be an insult to
service members, particularly in the wake of the city's decision to end
ROTC programs in schools.
The city's school board eliminated high school ROTC programs in a 2-4 vote
last November.
But San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
<http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,146033,00.html?ESRC=navy.nl>
, as well as several other council members, support keeping the Blue
Angels demonstration in the Fleet Week program.
Daly remains vigilant in banning the Blue Angels, however. He told the
Chronicle that he will continue to push the measure if he can get three
other supervisors to support him.
If he succeeds, the measure will move to the Board of Supervisors for a
vote in the fall.

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