"Mayor of City Hall" in hospital, looking
for some bedside love and cheer
Affectionately known by his colleagues and many friends as the
"Mayor of City Hall," custodian Linus Black recently
underwent surgery and is not expected to be gracing the halls
of City Hall with his presence for some time.
Linus, 60, has worked at City Hall for 29 years and is best known
for his loquacious upbeat nature.
One of his biggest fans, Sheriff Michael Hennessey went to visit
Linus yesterday. We can only imagine how uplifting Hennessey's
visit must have been for Linus.
"You might be having a really rough day," Hennessey
told Fog City, "but Linus has a priceless human quality that
will always find a way to put a smile back in your heart."
Sheriff Michael Hennessey witha big smile and heart of his own.
Hennessey said Linus is feeling a little lonely and blue after
his operation. But worst of all, Linus is missing the friends
he has grown accustomed to seeing on a daily basis.
"Paying a visit to see Linus will be a tremendous boost
to his recovery," Hennessey said. "You know how he loves
to chat."
Want to see what happens when you taunt a predator? Take a look
at the following video of a child who drew the attention of a
polar bear at the Memphis Zoo. The video clearly shows a girl
taunting a polar bear with her teddy bear, and the polar bear's
reaction to being taunted.
What is interesting about the video is that it clearly shows
what type of human behaviour is possible, and to a lesser extent,
expected, at zoos.
But, as this video demonstrates, the polar bear is prevented
from attacking its taunter simply because the exhibit enclosure
is designed to keep the predator from leaving its enclosure to
attack its taunters.
It is unreasonable for zoo officials to assume visitors will
not engage in taunting behavior. Likewise, it is unreasonable
for the San Francisco Zoo to assume that a known safety deficiency
will somehow protect visitors from being mauled to death after
an apex predator escapes from its sub-standard enclosure.
No matter how you slice it, the San Francisco Zoo - particularly
Director Manual Mollinedo - is on the hook for gross negligence
for failing to ensure public safety at the zoo. His failure to
act on warnings of safety deficiencies resulted in the preventable
deaths of 17-year-old Carlos Sousa and Tatiana.
We reiterate our call
for Mollinedo's resignation.
PRINT
THIS STORY
