Petrelis Files

Opinions, Not Facts From BAR Columnist

The Bay Area Reporter's relatively new political gossip columnist, Bill Barnes, a member of the local Democratic Party's central committee and former aide to ex-Mayor Willie Brown and Supervisor Chris Daly, recently ran an item trashing my comments at the July 11th meeting of the Ryan White CARE Council.

I doubt it's news to many that my agenda doesn't square with that of Democrats, the local CARE council, SF DPH and AIDS Inc, but Barnes nonetheless wrote nasty things regarding my call for a federal audit of AIDS epidemiology in San Francisco.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with political gossip columnists putting their agendas and opinions in their weekly columns and attacking their adversaries, but for once, I would appreciate it if the writer would acknowledge, in print, his own comments and political concerns to the same CARE council I addressed earlier this month.

If you read Barnes column about the July 11 meeting, you know that he wrote not a single word about his agenda that day. Because the B.A.R. is too cheap to maintain a web site, I can't link to an online version of Barnes' column so you can see for yourself what he wrote.

However, the minutes of the CARE council meeting have been posted to the web, showing Barnes spoke four times during public comment, and that he had his own agenda, which he conveniently neglected to write about.

Barnes is certainly entitled to share his opinions with readers. I just wish his editor would also require him to disclose facts about his own advocacy before government bodies.

Here are the sections of the July 11 minutes pertaining to Barnes and his agenda:

-- Bill Barnes discussed the City budget, and the proposed cuts of some $15 million. He emphasized that if some of the people who spoke earlier have their way, the cuts could be more. He added that it would be helpful to send a letter or email to the Board of Supervisors expressing support.

-- Bill Barnes commented on the usage of ADAP in other states, and suggested that the HIPP program has more value for the money.

-- Bill Barnes clarified Title I funding for Bayview had been funded in the past with general funds.

-- Bill Barnes commented that by standardizing the process it makes things easier, but if losing budgetary control then it can be problematic.

(Source: SF CARE Council)