A precursor of things to come?
HIGHLAND, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
S.F.'s stance on military gains enemies
City bans trips to land of 'kooks' in wake of supervisor's resolution
Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Barber Daniel McGee, 22, stands outside his family barber shop with David Lam, 33, (in wheelchair), who works at a nearby business in the city of Highland, California. Chronicle photo by Chris Stewart
Highland, San Bernardino County -- The faded sign outside Kay's Cafe in the city of Highland sports a cartoon caricature of a grinning chef holding a frying pan.
City officials, who use the drab yellow diner as a kind of impromptu town center, are looking a lot like the diminutive chef on the sign these days as they hold San Francisco's feet to the fire.
The prod that woke this bedroom community at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains, whose 2005 population city officials estimate at 50,860, was a decision by San Francisco voters to pass an advisory measure banning military recruiters from schools.
Calling San Franciscans a bunch of "kooks and nuts" and castigating supervisors for their "tomfoolery," the City Council unanimously approved a resolution "prohibiting the expenditure of city funds for attending conferences, training seminars and/or workshops to be held in the City of San Francisco."
It was a bold move for a city that is virtually unknown outside of San Bernardino County, but it turns out little Highland was simply the first to pile on.
San Francisco Supervisors fanned the flames of middle American contempt for the city by the bay with talk about impeaching President Bush. Then Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval opened the floodgates of national ridicule this past week on the "Hannity & Colmes" show on Fox News when he said the United States should not have a military.
That did it. San Francisco, itself, is being depicted by conservative talk radio hosts all over the nation as a place full of loonies.
Highland, meanwhile, has been thrust into the public eye. The city hasn't gotten this much press, according to City Manager Sam Racadio, since 1992, when the city offices were temporarily moved into a building historically occupied by a mortuary.
Highland officials are eagerly passing out to the media, and anyone else interested, copies of e-mails they've received from people all over the country, many expressing support for their position.
San Francisco's government "is full of a bunch of whacked-out liberals," shrieks one e-mail from a resident of Napa.
Another commends Highland for boycotting "this city of derelicts, drug addicts and ultra-left-wing liberals" who should be "quarantined so (their disease) doesn't have a chance to infect any of our other cities."
Getting into the spirit of things, City Councilman Larry McCallon railed against San Francisco last week for sins including a lack of support for traditional marriage, family, the Bush administration and the military, if not God himself.
"I was raised in Kentucky and everybody all over that area calls California 'the land of the kooks and nuts' or 'the left coast' because of the things that happen in San Francisco," said McCallon, the retired owner of a laundry chain who does Baptist missionary work in his spare time. "There are a lot of people up there who have some weird ideas, who are extreme in their views."
San Francisco city officials have tried to shrug off the fiery rhetoric as the jealous rantings of extremists. Mayor Gavin Newsom referred to the council members in Highland as "errant leaders" and implied that they are out of touch with their constituencies.
"It is San Bernardino, after all," said Supervisor Tom Ammiano, adding that anti-gay protesters greeted him the last time he was in that county, about 10 years ago. "They're welcome to join us in the 21st century whenever they are ready."
Lady Liberty patriotically advertises the Liberty Tax Service company in Highland, California. Chronicle photo by Chris Stewart
It appears, nevertheless, that Highland is the community with the most to gain in this David and Goliath battle.
The community, once home to the Serranos Indians, was once one of the best orange growing regions in the world. The first oranges were planted there in 1859. By 1920, there were 3,500 acres of citrus in the area, which became known as the Highland Citrus Belt.
Highland was famous for its delicious navel oranges that were shipped around the world under the brand name Gold Buckle.
But by 1950, agriculture in the region was in serious decline. Highland's last great orange grove was sold in 1980.
The city, which incorporated in 1987, is like many suburbs, a flat monotonous expanse of mostly tract homes. Highland's busiest streets are a collection of auto shops, nail salons, diners and discount shops.
The closure of the Norton Air Force Base in 1991 was a major blow to the region, costing 10,000 jobs. City officials have worked hard since then trying to build Highland up as a good place for businesses to set up shop.
The passage of Measure I in San Francisco stuck in the craw of the many Air Force retirees living in Highland. The City Council first learned about San Francisco's stance against military recruiters after the infamous outburst by Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly. O'Reilly suggested after the vote that the rest of the nation should ignore an al Qaeda terrorist attack on Coit Tower.
"You want to be your own country?" he taunted. "Go right ahead."
Still, the imbroglio has had little effect on the regulars at the old Bella Highland Cafe and Bar, a crumbling, windowless place with a sign outside touting its tap beer.
The "Bell," as it is known to regulars, is one of the few remaining businesses in the historic downtown, a dusty collection of frontier-style wood, brick and stone buildings, some stuccoed over or boarded up. Bartender Kasey Glover said she hadn't even heard of the spat with San Francisco and doesn't much care.
"I've never been there," she said as she poured a morning beer for a tattooed patron. "I hear it's always cold there."
Most of the patrons and employees at Kay's one recent day said they supported the military but have nothing against San Francisco.
"I think they should allow recruiters on campuses, but I still like the town," said Linda Sparrow, 50, a waitress at Kay's and a longtime resident of Highland. "It's a pretty town, and it's fun to go visit."
Across the street from City Hall, on Base Line Street, Daniel McGee took a break from cutting hair to express his support for San Francisco's cause.
"I don't think the military should be in our high schools, and I don't think they should be in Iraq," said McGee, 22, an apprentice in his father's business, Plaza Barber Shop. "It's another Vietnam War. People are over there just dying for nothing and we're not taking care of anything over here in the United States. San Francisco is right."
Although most Highland city employees were supportive of the resolution, several confessed to being perplexed by the position of the Highland City Council.
"I like San Francisco," said one woman who works on real estate projects with the city and feared retribution if she openly expressed her opinion, "but don't tell anyone I said that."
The outspoken McCallon was not willing to cut San Francisco any slack, especially after Sandoval's statement.
"It's a beautiful city," he acknowledged, "but I subscribe that to God, not to anyone up in San Francisco.
"It's important to let people in the country know that the opinion of San Francisco does not represent the opinion of most Californians," he said. "The majority of Californians support our military and support traditional values and our way of life and our government."> |
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