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San Francisco Puts Moseley Over Some Jumps Of Its Own
By J.D. O'Connor
September 19, 2005
Organizers backing Olympic skier Jonny Moseley's much ballyhooed aerial exhibition down one of the city's steepest - and poshest - streets sought to address public concerns about the event at an open meeting Thursday night.
They got an earful, San Francisco-style. A crowd of about 100 turned out to air their concerns about the jump-off, postponed since Aug. 27 and now tentatively scheduled for Sept. 29.
"We understand this is an inconvenience to you," said Glen Griffin, director of the Nevada ski-wax company sponsoring the event told the crowd. "But we hope you see the positives outweigh the negatives."
If there were any advantages to be seen, many of the residents living in one of the most photographed and filmed neighborhoods on the planet wouldn't admit to it Thursday.
"I love the quirkiness of this city, but I just don't understand the point of this event," one neighbor said. "It's cool to ski and jump a hill, but you can do that in Tahoe."
Neighbors also expressed displeasure with the reason for Icer Air 2005 - billed as a celebratory jump off in honor of Moseley's 30th birthday.
"For my 30th birthday, I went to Mexico, got drunk and learned how to surf," one said to applause. "It didn't affect anyone."
Applause for her comments were drowned out when Salim Madid, who said he fell in love with San Francisco and its hills after watching the movie "Bullit" back in his native Iran, shouted: "I can't help but wonder if there is a starving child in Africa or Taiwan, who will watch this event and be drawn to San Francisco to make it their home."
Icer's Griffin said the firm is addressing many of the crowd-control and support issues expressed by detractors, and has secured a $2 million insurance policy to support the event. Although Icer Air 2005 is creeping toward its Sept. 29 planned jump-off, the company must still clear two more permit hearings, one for sound concerns, the other for traffic.
In San Francisco, as anyone who lives there will tell you, anything can happen and it usually will.
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