CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : PIEDMONT : Voters Discount Racist Flyer

Residents of nearly all-white Piedmont voted to allow lights at the city’s soccer field, despite a racist flyer warning that black youngsters from inner-city Oakland would be drawn to the park for night games. Voters overwhelmingly defeated the controversial Measure A, which would have prohibited new lighting at public playing fields in Piedmont. There were 2,442 votes cast against the referendum measure and 1,421 votes in favor. No one took responsibility for the flyers, which said lighted fields in the wealthy city could draw “black disadvantaged inner-city Oakland youngsters, many from single head-of-household families and some from drug rehabilitation programs.” A non-existent group called “Blacks for No on A” was named on the flyer.