November 3, 2001

But Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said there's no "universal blueprint" for deciding whether to publicize threats. Because federal investigators released information about the threats to various West Coast law enforcement agencies, the information might have become public without Davis.

Robyn Pangi, a domestic preparedness specialist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., said the public has received too many mixed messages since the Sept. 11 attacks and the more recent anthrax incidents from officials including President Bush, Ridge and Davis.

"You've got one person saying, 'Go along with your lives,' another saying 'Don't cross a bridge,"' she said. "People want to know what's going on, but when you're not giving them any advice, it's not doing them any good."  Announcements, however, can make the public more vigilant, said University of California, Irvine political scientist Mark P. Petracca, who defended Davis.  "I think they have a moral obligation to let people know, even if it increases anxiety," Petracca said.

Bush, a Republican, backed the Democratic governor yesterday as he promised continued cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies despite the FBI's fears that Davis might have compromised its investigation.  "Part of the homeland defense is active and strong communications so that governors and/or local authorities can harden targets, respond to uncorroborated evidence and to protect their people," Bush said during a Rose Garden appearance.

As Ridge mentioned, some of the information was already leaking out, said San Francisco Police Chief Fred Lau, adding that he was preparing to release the information himself Thursday after learning that East Coast corporations were already warning their western employees of the threat.  Lau said he wanted to keep his announcement low key, because "we didn't want to overreact and cause a panic."

Alameda County Sheriff Charles Plummer, Northern California's liaison to state emergency officials, said Davis' information was so nebulous that it just "scares people to death."  Davis yesterday again defended his decision, which he said was based on written warnings from three federal agencies.

"This one was time-specific and location-specific and I felt it was appropriate to tell people what I was doing to prepare for that threat and to fully inform them," Davis said at an economic summit press conference in Burbank.  "We do have to find a way to balance the seemingly competing concerns of keeping people safe and restoring confidence so they can go about their lives. This is not an easy line to walk. There is no playbook to guide us," Davis said.

Despite the FBI's concern for its investigation, disclosure could stop the attacks if terrorist know their plans are no longer secret, Davis said.  Davis and California Highway Patrol Commissioner  D.O. "Spike" Helmick said their listing of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge, the Vincent Thomas Bridge at the Port of Los Angeles, and the San Diego Coronado Bridge as possible targets was only done to cite examples. They said they wanted to assure motorists extra care was taken and not to panic.

Yet the governors of Washington and Oregon chose not to issue warnings, and Seattle's mayor held a news conference to downplay the threat only after Davis' announcement.  The warning was sent Wednesday to law enforcement agencies not only in the three West Coast states, but to Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Montana and Idaho.

Bechtel Inc., the engineering company that built the Bay Bridge, gave its 1,200 San Francisco employees the option of working from home or taking time off for the next few business days after Davis' warning. Officials should limit the number of announcements they make to avoid crying wolf and diminishing their future credibility, said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat whose district includes the potential targets.

"The purpose of terrorism is to instill fear," said Pelosi, a top House Democrat and her party's top member of the House intelligence committee. "They engage is disinformation and deception by throwing out more threats than they are capable of." Despite Bush's emphasis on constant communication, Plummer said California could be cut off from future warnings.

"Do you think the FBI is going to tell the governor anything from now on?" Plummer asked. "I think he just burned his bridge."

Armed National Guardsmen were among the extra security at the Golden Gate Bridge yesterday.

Photo: Marian Little Utley

A new surveillance system being installed on the bridge, CHP helicopter flyovers, added patrols and new security procedures at bridge construction sites are all part of the new security mix.  "The level of coordination has been great," Kupersmith said. "The Y2K training and preparation has really paid off, everyone knows each other and there is an openness and a good exchange of information, which is key. The FBI is talking to us directly."

Bridge board members met yesterday morning in a closed session to discuss the threats disclosed by the Gov. Gray Davis against four California bridges and other security issues. Bridge officials were still perplexed as to the source of the governor's information.

"We do not know anymore about the threats than we did (Thursday)," said Bridge Manager Kary Witt. "The FBI is scrambling, trying to trace back where this information came from. But it is not becoming more credible as a result of the work by intelligence agencies, and that is a relief. We have and we will remain at a high level of alertness until someone tells us it is absolutely not credible and even then we are not going to stand down."

Dietrich Stroeh of Novato, who sits on the Bridge District board of directors, said he is comfortable with the level of security on the bridge.  "We can assure the people of Marin County they can cross that sucker. It's as safe as its going to be, it is as simple as that," said Stroeh, a member of the bridge's security committee.

Among the steps taken is the installation of a network of surveillance cameras on the span. The bridge board approved the new cameras six months ago as part of an increase in security that was prompted, in part, by a prank pulled by a group of Canadian college students in February.

The engineering students, from the University of British Columbia, crept onto the bridge on the early morning of Feb. 5 under the cover of thick fog and within minutes suspended the shell of a red Volkswagen Beetle from the span.

"That incident certainly was a factor," Witt said. "The equipment is being placed all over the bridge, but I wouldn't want to be specific."  Stroeh was confident that once completely installed, the equipment would provide another measure of security.  "There will be better ability to watch the bridge, not only up on top, but underneath," he said.

"There are more security procedures," said Denis Mulligan, the bridge's engineer. "An extra set of gates has been added as well as concrete barriers in the work area. Badges are required for all the contracted employees."  Trucks making deliveries to the site are also stopped and inspected and security guards have been added, Kupersmith said.  

Away from the bridge, along Highway 101 in Marin, large trucks are being inspected at weigh stations when they are open, which is normal operating procedure, said Lt. Charles McLaughlin.

When asked if more inspections are being conduced in the wake of threats, McLaughlin responded: "'I'd rather not comment on what level we are at with that."  "The bridges are well-protected and people should feel comfortable and safe in using them," he said.

Despite security steps, officials say there are places to inflict damage on the bridge. "There are ways, and those are the places where we focus attention," Mulligan said.  And despite added precautions, some commuters were wary about crossing the bridge.

Yesterday morning's commute saw about a 7 percent drop in drivers who crossed the bridge between 6 and 9 a.m. On a typical Friday there are 14,700 cars crossing the bridge, southbound. Yesterday, there were 13,660.  An extra 800 people on the district's ferries out of Larkspur during yesterday morning's commute, necessitated another ferry. An additional 464 riders took the Sausalito ferry.

"We were maxed out," Kupersmith said. District officials have announced two added ferry runs for Monday out of Larkspur, one at 7:45 a.m., the other at 9:35 a.m. Officials are advising ferry riders to take shuttles to the Larkspur terminal. Work at that lot has limited the number of parking spaces.

Kupersmith said the district will do what it can to keep the bridge secure.  "This still is an unsubstantiated threat, but people need to be reassured," she said "The credibility of the threat is now a separate issue. Once it was made public, it becomes an alarm issue. There is alarm now and we want to respond appropriately and that's what we see happening."

This information is the property of the Associated Press 
and the Marin Independent Journal.

"Return Home Safe"