Perry writes:
> We've all heard about the cp enthusiasts (and members
> of the BACPS) who were charged with the violation of
> plant-smuggling laws. There was supposed to be a
> BACPS meeting a few weeks ago, and a subscriber to
> this group said he would post a summary of the meeting
> as regards this unfortunate incident. Has that account
> been posted yet? I am wondering about some of the details
> of the incident.
The talk did not occur at the last meeting for fear that there
would be members of the press present. There has been a lot of
very biased news coverage in the Bay Area. One of the headlines
read:
"Obsession with rare plants sends men into shadowy world"
and the front page of one of our local papers was titled:
"The obsessive lure of carnivorous plants"
With this kind of "objective" reporting, I very much understand
why the parties concerned wanted to postpone their talk.
Once their sentencing is over at the end of June, then we can expect
them to tell us the whole story.
We also have had a Government prosecutor subscribe to our list under a
pseudonym for the purpose of collecting information against Bill and
Curtis. Because of this, I think it best to wait until after they
are sentenced before we discuss the case so that we do not prejudice
the legal process.
I have also encouraged Bill and Curtis to write about their experiences,
and to help educated us all about what they have learned about CITES in
the process. Such an article may be forthcoming in CPN.
Steve writes:
> When is the next meeting of the BACPS? I'd like to attend a meeting
> to see what's happening with them.
The next meeting is Aug. 12 at (I think) Berkeley Botanic Gardens. Give
me a call just before the meeting to double-check.
There is also the Palo Alto Jr. Museum CP Show and Sale, Saturday, July
15 from 11 to 2 at 1451 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto. For directions
call (415) 329-2111. This is a good place to get reasonably-priced
plants for beginning enthusiasts.
Best regards,
-- Rick Walker