This
half hour documentary spans a period of 90 years and reveals the untold story
of the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. It is a chronicle of a San Francisco’s continuous misuse of power
and disregard for the law and the United States Supreme Court. It is San Francisco’s Broken Promise.
Produced
and directed by: Carol Lancaster
Mingus,
Associate
Producer: Barbara Dunton
A few bits about the
director: CAROL
LANCASTER MINGUS
Over the years has
won several regional awards including an Emmy nomination for directing. She left her job as a senior coordinating
producer for local programming at KVIE (PBS) in Sacramento 11 years ago to
teach Television and Film Production at Modesto Junior College.
This film is a production
of the Television and Film Department at Modesto Junior College
For
a copy of video send $15.00 (for recoupment
of
expenses) to:
Carol
Lancaster Mingus
Modesto
Junior College
435
College Ave.
Modesto,
CA 95350
(209)
575-6078
Trailer:
View
a Trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIw1Wf2FEcM
Screenings:
Sacramento
International Film Festival: http://www.sacramentofilmfestival.com/sfbrokenpromise.php
Pacifica
Film Festival
San
Francisco World Film Festival: http://www.sfworldfilmfestival.com/festival.html
Ojai
Film Festival: http://www.ojaifilmfestival.com/
Modesto
Junior College Civic Engagement Project – 2007 Spring Film and Lecture Series (1/25/07).
KTEH’s
(PBS-San Jose) video i - season 12 - episode
1204 (2-12-07): http://www.kteh.org/productions/videoi/season12_1204.html
Featured Video On:
Free
Speech TV: http://www.freespeech.org/fscm2/genx.php?name=featured_videos
Reviews:
See
a review at: http://www.sfbg.com/39/52/art_c_film_promise.html
Related Web-Sites:
Angela
Alioto: www.angelaalioto.com
Restore
Hetch Hetchy: www.hetchhetchy.org
The
San Francisco Bay Guardian: www.sfbg.com
Sierra
Club: www.sierraclub.org
Yosemite
National Park: www.nationalparkservice.org
Synopsis:
San Francisco's deep
rooted Political Corruption, National Deception and On-Going Defiance of a
United States Supreme Court ruling is the focus of this half hour documentary.
In
1913 San Francisco was granted the right to dam the Hetch Hetchy Valley
(Yosemite's twin) in Yosemite National Park.
This was in part to provide the nation an example of public water and
power.
After the dam was
built and the power lines were run to Newark, a town across the bay from San
Francisco, the San Francisco city officials said they were out of money and
could not afford to run the power lines to the city. San Francisco granted Pacific Gas and electric the exclusive
right to sell power generated by the newly created dam - a direct violation of
the Raker Act.
In 1940 the Supreme
Court found that San Francisco was not in compliance with the Raker Act because
of it's agreement with PG&E. To this
day San Francisco has failed to comply with this Supreme Court order and
establish a Municipal Power system.
As San Francisco
native, attorney, and former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors,
Angela Alioto, states in this documentary 'and no one is doing anything about
it.'
Background information of those interviewed for this film:
J.B.
(JOE) NEILANDS
Joe Neilands is a Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the
University of California, Berkeley. He has been an independent activist in the
San Francisco bay area for over Forty years. In the early 1960’s he
successfully fought to keep the Pacific Gas and Electric Company from building
a nuclear power plant upwind of San Francisco. Referring to Joe Neilands while
receiving the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993, Kary B. Mullis, a former
student of Professor Neilands, stated “I’m not even sure that Joe knew any
rules except the high moral ground of social responsibility and tolerance”.
ANGELA ALIOTO
Angela Alioto, a native of San Francisco, is the mother of four, attorney,
political writer and activist. She served on the San Francisco Board of
Supervisors from 1989 to 1997. In the two years she served as board president,
Angela introduced and passed more legislation than any other board president in
the history of San Francisco. She has also served as vice chair of the
California Democratic Party and on the party’s state executive board.
BRUCE BRUGMANN
Bruce Brugmann and his wife started the San Francisco Bay Guardian (local
weekly alternative newspaper) in 1966. Mr. Brugmann helped establish the
California First Amendment Coalition and continues to crusade for public access
information. In 2002 he received the Career Achievement Award from the Northern
California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for his long work
on behalf of openness in government.
BRUCE HAMILTON
Bruce Hamilton is the National Conservation Director for the Sierra Club. In
his current position, Mr. Hamilton has made many presentations on behalf of
this world-renowned organization. Included in these is his 2001 presentation of
“A Century of Wilderness Activism” at the 7th World Wilderness Congress in Port
Elizabeth, South Africa.
RON GOOD
Ron Good has been active in the Sierra Club for over 25 years as a volunteer
and as a staff person. He founded Restore Hetch Hetchy and served as its first
chair from January 2000 until July 2001 when he was appointed Executive
Director. He holds masters degrees in public policy and education, as well as a
law degree. He has made numerous presentations on behalf of Restore Hetch
Hetchy including a presentation during an environmental conference at the
United Nations.
SCOTT GEDIMAN
Scott Gediman has been a National Park Ranger for 14 years. He has worked at
Yosemite National Park since 1996 where he serves as the park spokesman and the
Chief of Media & External Relations. Previously, Scott worked in Glen
Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona and Utah and Rainbow Bridge National
Monument in Utah.