“I’ve got a bike, you can ride it if you like/It’s got a basket, a bell that rings and things to make it look good/I’d give it to you if I could, but I borrowed it.” 

– Pink Floyd, “Bike,” 1967. 

Though Syd Barrett may have penned the words to the ditty above 33-odd years ago, Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean’s set of wheels for Tuesday morning’s “Bike to Work Day” ride concurred on all counts. 

The first bike the mayor has pedaled in 40 years did indeed have a basket, a bell that rings and lots of things to make it look good (glitter, streamers and a set of day lilies on the handlebars Dean assured were “real, not plastic”). 

To top it off, the bike – actually, adult trike – was on loan from Rahila Jarret, who uses the cycle to deliver Daily Planets and to pedal her 7-year-old daughter, Arlice Hague, to school. 

“We’re hoping that Bike to Work Day will encourage people to ride bikes. This is a very good way to travel,” said Dean, who wore a bright yellow construction hard hat with “MAYOR DEAN” emblazoned on the sides. “Berkeley has one of the highest bike-riding rates in the state, and the highest in the Bay Area.” 

Of course, correspondingly, Berkeley also has one of the highest tallies of bicycle accidents in the state, and Tuesday’s procession from the intersection of Channing Way and Milvia Street to temporary City Hall a few blocks off was also intended to bring attention to steps the city is taking to increase bike safety. 

“We do have one of the highest rates of bicycle accidents in the state. But logically, if you have five times the number of people biking, you’ll have five times the accidents,” explained Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who rides his bike to work nearly every day, and even takes it on buses and BART throughout the Bay Area. “There are ways to make it safer to ride bicycles. Bicycle boulevards will be a major thing.” 

The city plans to create additional “bicycle boulevards,” bike-priority streets. Not coincidentally, the launching point of Tuesday morning’s ride was at the intersection of two already existing bicycle boulevards. At the junction the Bicycle-Friendly Berkeley Coalition set up an “Energizer Station,” handing out drinks, food, stickers and various other bicycle paraphernalia (including wildly popular temporary tattoos) to any passing cyclist. 

“The bicycle boulevard plan is what Berkeley is doing to make the streets safer,” said Caycee Cullen of the BFBC. “Most people don’t choose bicycle (transportation) because they fear it’s unsafe. People can feel wherever they are in the city, they can ride on a bicycle boulevard and get around safely.” 

In addition to Dean and Worthington, Councilmember Betty Olds also rode in Tuesday’s procession, hitching a ride in the back of Bill Mitchell’s baby blue pedicab. 

Mitchell, an industrial hygienist, last pedaled as a “cabdriver” four years ago. Working out of the MacArthur BART area in Oakland, Mitchell charged four to five dollars a mile, and averaged about eight-to-10 mph. 

Wednesday, May 17 

Chinese Club meeting 

1:15 p.m. 

Caregivers group for Alzheimer’s/Dementia 

1:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

Commission on Aging 

1:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

The agenda includes discussion of the warm water and the rent ordinance proposal which would protect seniors and the disabled from owner move-in evictions. 

Berkeley Housing Authority meeting 

6 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

This is the first in a series of Town Hall meetings to discuss the Berkeley Housing Authority - how it operates now, how we as tenants can help to improve it and impact its planning process for the federally-required Public Housing Authority. 

1-800-773-2110; 510-549-2970 

Citizens Humane Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

The agenda will include the euthanasia policy at the Berkeley Animal Shelter and a discussion of a revised spay/neuter ordinance. 

Special Planning Committee Meeting 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

The commission will hold a public workshop on the relationship between the Southside plan and the Underhill Area Project and continue the public hearing on the Underhill Area Project. 

BUSD school board meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Board/Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Improvisational theater 

7:30-9:30 p.m. 

The “Improvsters” is a group of intermediate-level improvisational players who meet weekly. The group is looking for additional members; there is no charge to join them. Call the group for specific location. 

510-848-4357 

The French Revolution, Napoleon and the Jewish People 

7:30-9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 

This two-session course will be led by Lee Marsh, chair of the Jewish Learning Center. Cost is $12 for BRJCC members, $15 for the public. The second session will be held May 24. 

510-848-0237, ext. 236 

Thursday, May 18 

Playground construction 

8 a.m.-9 p.m. 

East side of Aquatic Park 

Today is the first “build day” for the new community playground at Aquatic Park. The Dream Land for Kids – its name was chosen by 9-year-old Joseph Newell – is designed by and for Berkeley’s schoolchildren and will be built entirely by the community. Build days continue through Sunday, and a second series of days will be held May 31 through June 4. Everyone is welcome to volunteer, regardless of age or skills. Older children can help, childcare is provided for younger, toilet-trained children. Bring work gloves and tools if you have them. Lunch is at noon, Dinner at 5 p.m. Bring a dish to share or a sack lunch if you can.  

510-649-9874; http://www.bpfp.org/AquaticPlayground 

Free computer class for seniors 

1-4 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited; the class is offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Call ahead for a reservation. 

510-644-6109 

Film: “Housing is a Human Right: Housing and Section 8” 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

The film will be shown and housing activist Helen Lima, will discuss this documentary. The video is closed-captioned, and the program is free. Lima began the Save Low-Income Seniors’ Section 8 Housing movement in 1997 as a self-help, grassroots effort in behalf of low-income “seniors” who rent - or need to be able to rent - federally-subsidized apartments. 

510-549-2970 

Prostate support group 

3 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

“Education for Social Justice: Teaching the Next Generation of Activists” 

7:30 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 

As part of its 25th anniversary series, La Peña is sponsoring this event for and by teachers. Educators will share and discuss ideas that connect students to issues in their world and motivate them to work for social justice. Admission is $3 donation at the door. 

510-653-7882 

Design Review Committee 

7:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Among the projects to be reviewed by the board is the construction of a four-story, 47 unit mixed-use project, with ground floor retail space at 2700 San Pablo Ave. and the design of 801 Grayson St. 

Jews ‘n’ Jazz 

7:30-9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 

This three-session course will examine the role that Jewish immigrants at the turn of the century played in the developing musical genre of jazz. The first session examines “Background and Theory.” The second session, on May 25, looks at “Early Jewish Jazz Pioneers.” The third session, on June 1, focuses on “Swing, Bebop, Latin and Modern.” Performer and educator Mark Levy leads the series. Cost is $25 for BRJCC members and $30 for the general public. 

510-848-0237, ext. 236 

Friday, May 19 

City offices closed for Malcolm X Day 

Playground construction 

8 a.m.-9 p.m. 

East side of Aquatic Park 

Today is the second “build day” for the new community playground at Aquatic Park. The Dream Land for Kids – its name was chosen by 9-year-old Joseph Newell – is designed by and for Berkeley’s schoolchildren and will be built entirely by the community. Build days continue through Sunday, and a second series of days will be held May 31 through June 4. Everyone is welcome to volunteer, regardless of age or skills. Older children can help, childcare is provided for younger, toilet-trained children. Bring work gloves and tools if you have them. Lunch is at noon, Dinner at 5 p.m. Bring a dish to share or a sack lunch if you can.  

510-649-9874; http://www.bpfp.org/AquaticPlayground 

“Women’s Role in China” 

Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. 

Annie Soo, historian with the Chinese-American Historical Society, will speak during this week’s meeting of the City Commons Club. Social hour begins at 11:15 a.m. Luncheon is served from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Speaker starts promptly at 12:30 p.m. Lunch is $11 or $12.25; admission to the speech is $1, free for students. 

510-848-3533 

“From the Ground Up” 

11:30 a.m. 

KQED, Channel 9 

A documentary produced by Berkeley filmmaker Yoav Potash will be broadcast at this time. The film follows the work of a multicultural group of UC Berkeley students who helped rebuild burned African-American churches in Alabama. The documentary is being broadcast during this time slot to allow schools to show it during the school day. 

www.jfed.org/groundup 

Circle dancing 

7:45-10 p.m. 

Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St. 

This session will feature simple folk dancing in a circle, with a certain attitude (Findhorn style). Beginners are welcome, and a variety of dance styles will be demonstrated, including Scottish, Israeli and Greek. The event is sponsored by the Bay Area Circle Dancers. 

510-528-4253

THEATER 

IMPACT THEATRE 

“The Wake-Up Crew” by Zay Amsbury, May 5 through June 3. A comic book on stage that pits unemployed UC Santa Cruz grads against the forces of chaos and destruction. 

$10 general; $5 students. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. La Val’s Subterranean Theater, 1834 Euclid Ave., Berkeley. (510) 464-4468. 

SHOTGUN PLAYERS 

“The Skriker” by Caryl Churchill, through June 4. In this ecological play, faeries are damaged due to polluted rivers and woods, and are forgotten. 

$15 general; $10 seniors and students. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. The Warehouse Performance Space, 1850 Cesar Chavez St., San Francisco. (510) 655-0813. 

MUSIC VENUES 

ASHKENAZ 

Tom Rigney and Flambeau, May 17, 9 p.m. $8. 

Wawa and The Oneness Kingdom, DJ African Riddims, May 18, 9:30 p.m. $8. 

Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, May 20. 9:30 p.m. $11. 

Victor Essiet and The Mandators, Mondo Ragga Samba, May 21, 7:30 p.m. $10. 

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5099 or www.ashkenaz.com 

BLAKES 

Third World with UC Buu, DJ Add, Jah Bonz, Big Willie, May 17. $5. 

Ripe, Quimbombo, May 18. $4. 

Songo, Invisible Inc., May 19. $5. 

Most Chill Slackmob, LZ and Ezell, May 20. $5. 

The Spectors, Paradigm, May 21. $3. 

For age 18 and older. Music at 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0886. 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE 

Margot Leverett with Gerry Tenney's California Klezmer, May 17. $14.50 to $15.50. 

Chris Hillman, May 18. $16.50. 

Tempest, May 19. $14.50. 

The Nigerian Brothers, May 20. $15.50. 

John Haley-Walker, May 21. $14.50. 

Music at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761 or (510) 762-BASS. 

LA PEÑA CULTURAL CENTER 

Taller Boricua, May 18, 9:30 p.m. $3. 

Rompe y Raja, May 19, 8:30 p.m. $12. 

Rafael Manriquez, Lichi Fuentes, Jorge Tapia, Fernando “Fena” Torres, May 20, 8 p.m. $8. 

Omar Sosa's “Bembon,” May 21, 8 p.m. $15. 

3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

924 GILMAN ST. 

Submission Hold, Tragedy, Honeysuckle Serontina, Manchurian Candidates, Vae Victas, May 20. 

$5. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. (510) 525-9926. 

THE STARRY PLOUGH PUB 

Ceili Dance featuring Brian Theriault and Friends, May 17. Free. 

Noche Flamenca, May 18. $5. 

Ninewood, Spezza Rotto, May 19. $6. 

The Unreal Band, May 20. $5. 

For age 21 and over. Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9:45 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082. 

MUSEUMS 

UC BERKELEY ART 

MUSEUM 

“Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition,” May 20 through July 2. The 13th annual exhibit of work by candidates for the Master of Fine Arts degree. Artist Talk, May 21, 3 p.m. At Gallery 2. 

“Anne Chu/MATRIX 184 Untitled,” April 16 through June 18. The exhibition features a selection of Chu's T'ang dynasty funerary figures sculpted following her travels to Xian and Guangdong. The wooden figures range in height from 28 inches to over six feet.  

“China: Fifty Years Inside the People's Republic,” through June 18. The work of 25 Chinese and Western photographers explores half a century of social and political upheaval in this unusual exhibit. The 200 photographs, both black-and-white and color, cover the many regions, cultures and people that make up China as well as the mix of traditional life and the modern one. 

“Autour de Rodin: Auguste Rodin and His Contemporaries,” through August. An exhibit of 11 bronze maquettes on loan from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation in Los Angeles. The bronzes range in style from the artist's classically inspired “Torso of a Woman” to the anguish of “The Martyr.” Some of the maquettes were cast during Rodin’s lifetime, others have been cast fairly recently under the aegis of the Musee Rodin which alone is authorized to cast his sculptures posthumously. 

$6 general; $4 seniors and students ages 12 to 18; free children age 12 and under; free Thursday, 1 1 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-0808. 

HALL OF HEALTH  

2230 Shattuck Ave. (lower level), Berkeley 

A hands-on community health education museum and science center sponsored by Children's Hospital Oakland and Alta Bates Medical Center. 

“This is Your Heart!” ongoing. An in teractive exhibit on heart health. 

“Good Nutrition,” ongoing. This exhibit includes models for making balanced meals and an exercycle for calculating how calories are burned. 

“Draw Your Own Insides,” ongoing. Human-shaped chalkboards and models with removable organs allow visitors to explore the inside of their bodies. 

“Your Cellular Self and Cancer Prevention,” ongoing. An exhibit on understanding how cells become cancerous and how to detect and prevent cancer. 

Free. For children ages 3 to 12 and their parents. 

(510) 549-1564 

LAWRENCE HALL 

OF SCIENCE 

“Dinosaurs 2000,” through June 4. An exhibit featuring 16 lifelike robotic creatures, fossils, activities to compare yourself to a dinosaur, and daily live demonstrations. 

“The News About Dinosaurs,” through June 4. Learn more about the “Dinosaurs 2000” exhibit with live demonstrations exploring recent paleontological discoveries and how scientists know what they do about prehistoric creatures. Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. 

$6 general; $4 seniors, students and children ages 7 to 18; $2 children ages 3 to 6; free children under age 3. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Centennial Drive, University of California, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 

PHOEBE HEARST MUSEUM 

Kroeber Hall, UC Berkeley 

“Modern Treasures from Ancient Iran,” through Oct. 29. This exhibit explores nomadic and town life in ancient and modern Iran as illustrated in bronze and pottery vessels, and textiles. 

“Pana O’ahu: Sacred Stones – Sacred Places,” through July 16. An exhibit of photographs by Jan Becket and Joseph Singer. 

“Phoebe Hearst Museum-Approaching a Century of Anthropology,” a sampling of the vast collections of the museum, its mission, history, and current research, with selections from ancient Egypt, ancient Peru, California Indians, Asia (India), and Africa. 

“Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture,” Ishi, the last Yahi Indian of California, spent the final years of his life, 1911 to 1916, living at the museum, working with anthropologists to record his culture, demonstrating technological skills, and retelling Yahi myths, tales, and songs. 

Wednesday through Sunday 10 am -4:30 pm; Thursday until 9 pm (Sept-May) 

(510) 643-7648 

HABITOT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 

Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 

A museum especially for children age 7 and younger. Highlights include “WaterWorks,” an area with some unusual water toys, an Infant Tree for babies, a garden especially for toddlers, a child-scale grocery store and cafe, and a costume shop and stage for junior thespians. The museum also features a toy lending library. 

Exhibit: “Back to the Farm,” open-ended. This interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels like an earthworm, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and much more.  

Admission is $4 for adults; $6 child age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child.  

Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

(510) 647-1111 

JUDAH L. MAGNES 

MUSEUM 

2911 Russell St., Berkeley 

“Telling Time: To Everything There Is A Season,” through May 2002.  

An exhibit structured around the seasons of the year and the seasons of life with objects ranging from the sacred and the secular, to the provocative and the whimsical. Highlights include treasures from Jewish ceremonial and folk art, rare books and manuscripts, contemporary and traditional fine art, video, photography and cultural kitsch. Through Nov. 4: “Spring and Summer.” 

Free. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

(510) 549-6950. 

GALLERIES  

A.C.C.I. GALLERY 

“The Garden Show,” through May 20. A group exhibit of landscape paintings, ceramics and garden sculpture. Free. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-2527. 

BERKELEY PUBLIC LIBRARY, SOUTH BRANCH 

“You’re Blase: The Art of Nick Mastick,” May 15 through June 15. An exhibit of collages. Free. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 1901 Russell St., Berkeley. (510) 644-6860. 

GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION 

“On Common Ground.” through June 23. This exhibit is a portrait of faith-based communities in Los Angeles. 

“Finding the Sacred Mountain,” through June 20. An exhibit of sumi-e and watercolors by Robert Kostka. 

Free. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd., Berkeley. (510) 649-2541. 

KALA ART INSTITUTE 

“High Touch/High Tech: Crossing The Divide,” through May 26. An exhibit of juried and invited artists. Free. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Workshop Media Center Gallery, 1060 Heinz Ave., Berkeley. (510) 549-2977. 

NEW PIECES GALLERY 

“Rock, Stone, Masonry and Mosaics,” through June 1. An exhibit of quilts by Charlotte Patera. 

“The Rhapsody of Dolls,” through June 1. An exhibit of dolls by Patti Medaris Culea. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

A PIECE OF ART 

Jane Fox, Mixed Media Works, April 27 through June 10, with an artist reception from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 1. Ongoing new works by Gallery Artists in ceramic, metal, glass, wood and works on canvas and paper. 

Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment. Closed Monday and Tuesday. 

701 University Ave., in the parking lot across from Spenger’s. (510) 204-9653. 

TRAYWICK GALLERY 

“nudge,” May 17 through June 18. An exhibit of new work by Terry Hoff. Reception, May 17, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Artist Talk, June 9, 10:30 a.m. 

“minimalPOP,” April 15 through May 14. A group exhibit of a variety of media. 

Free. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1316 10th St., Berkeley. (510) 527-1214. 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). Calendar items should be submitted at least one week before the opening of a new exhibit or performance. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information. 

Look up “moral victory” in the dictionary, and you might find a description of the Berkeley High softball team’s hard-fought, 1-0 defeat at the hands of first-place Foothill on Tuesday afternoon.  

The ’Jackets, who were blanked by the Falcons, 8-0, in their first meeting on April 13, stepped up their defense in a big way at James Kenney Park, committing just one error on the afternoon. After keeping the league co-leaders scoreless through three innings, BHS pitcher Lilli Bermeo finally allowed a run in the fourth, as Lindsey Jones singled to right to produce the game’s only RBI.  

“We’re not really disappointed. We did pretty well against them – that’s proof right there we’re a good team,” BHS shortstop Jasmine Jew said. “(We’re) trying our hardest, what more can you ask for? I’d get angry if I thought this team wasn’t doing their best.” 

Empty basepaths spelled doom once again for the ’Jackets, who were limited to two total runners – on basehits from Alice Brugger and Bermeo. The result marked the second straight game in which Berkeley High has lost by a single run. After the game, Foothill coach Ray Alsdorf admitted his squad had underestimated BHS, and commended the ’Jackets for their stingy defense. 

“What a good ball game,” the coach said. “Berkeley played very well defensively. It was a fine effort against us.” 

“At the end of the game, the Foothill coach came up and said what a great team we had,” BHS coach Elena Bermeo added. “That was a huge compliment. It was the closest we’ve ever played them. The story of this season is (lack of) hits.” 

Lilli Bermeo went the distance in the seven-inning showdown, inheriting yet another loss not reflected in her brilliant ERA. With regular starting catcher Alice Brugger playing third base, Emily Friedman took over behind the plate, calling an almost perfect game and gunning down all three would-be Foothill base thieves at second. 

“(Emily) stepped up today,” Elena Bermeo said about her usual third-baseman. “She has a strong arm, but bad knees. Last time (we played Foothill) they got around the bases a lot more.” 

With just two games remaining in the 2000 campaign, Berkeley High hopes to close out the season with at least one more league win – against either San Ramon Valley today, or California High on Thursday. Today’s opponent dealt Berkeley its worst loss of the season – a 10-0 shutout – on opening day, giving Bermeo’s girls special motivation to bring their best game to the field. 

“That was our worst loss of the season, I’m really looking forward to playing them again,” the BHS coach said. “We’ve been losing 1-0 the past two games – we’re definitely due.” 

Lilli Bermeo is once again slated to start for Berkeley High in today’s matchup, beginning at 3:45 p.m. at the Wolves’ home field in San Ramon.

A recommendation to cut $1 million from next year’s budget goes to the Berkeley Unified School Board tonight, even though the governor has proposed higher spending for California’s schools. 

The list proposes several cuts at Berkeley High School, including the full-time equivalent of four teachers and half of the funding for the athletic directors’ positions. But the overall cuts are about half of what the district was considering just a few weeks ago. 

The Berkeley Unified School District is facing budget shortfalls of around $3 million between the current and upcoming fiscal years. Technically, the district is not in the red, although expenses are outpacing revenues this year, and the trend is expected to continue next year under the district’s original budget. 

But the BUSD is legally required to maintain a 3 percent reserve fund. So, while the district is projected to end the current fiscal year with a positive fund balance of about $1.7 million, that’s $829,000 short of the mandated reserve level. 

Earlier this week, Gov. Gray Davis announced the May revisions in his proposed state budget for the 2000-2001 fiscal year, which begins July 1. A significant portion of the money would be discretionary funds for school districts, meaning no strings would be attached to how the money is used. Other increases Davis is proposing fall into the categorical areas, which means districts must use that money for specific purposes or programs. 

The district estimates that it will gain $3.2 million in additional revenue next year from the state, if the governor’s proposed budget is adopted. It still must go through the state Legislature, where changes could be made. But with the state looking at a $12 billion surplus over the next two years, lawmakers will likely pass most of Davis’ proposals. 

The discretionary money is good news for the BUSD, and the proposed allocations allowed Superintendent Jack McLaughlin to reduce the amount of money in his proposed budget cuts. 

Earlier this month, he presented the school board with a list of cuts totaling just over $2 million. Tonight’s proposal has been decreased to just over $1.1 million in cuts. 

A financial issue in everyone’s mind is the state of negotiations between the school district and the Berkeley Federation of Teachers. Salary agreements for the current fiscal year already have been reached with other unions, but the BUSD-BFT negotiations hit an impasse in March and are currently in the mediation stage. 

A mediation session between both sides is scheduled for this morning. 

Last week, the state mediator declared a “press and information blackout” on all issues related to those negotiations. But one piece of information emerged last week and slipped under many people’s radars. During a budget workshop last Wednesday, a document distributed by the district reported that the “cost of the current salary offer to BFT for 1999-2000” was $665,000. 

That document also states that the district is setting aside $1.9 million in the 2000-2001 fiscal year for salary increases, presumably for all of the unions, not just teachers. 

Tuesday night, during the final regularly scheduled meeting of the Blue Ribbon Budget Advisory Committee – formed earlier this year to examine ways the district could restructure its budget to save money – McLaughlin told committee members that officials would be “scrounging, squeezing and cleaning the budget” to fund salary increases. 

“If we keep the status quo, we’ll never get ahead,” McLaughlin said. “Not only do we have to fund the offers on the table, we have to go forward if we’re ever going to have competitive salaries for our teachers.” 

The board meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be held in Board/Council Chambers in Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. 

The meeting is scheduled to be broadcast over B-TV, Channel 25, and 89.3-FM, KPFB. 

The Berkeley High baseball team’s 17-7 overall record wasn’t enough to get it into North Coast Section playoffs last year, so it seems logical that this year’s record – currently at 11-9 with two games to play – will yield a similar postseason fate. But as long as his Yellowjackets aren’t mathematically eliminated, BHS coach Larri Gordon still considers them on the playoff bubble. 

“It’s a long shot, but if we win our remaining two, and (the Foothill Falcons) lose their remaining two, we have a chance (at NCS at-large selection),” Gordon said.  

In order to keep their postseason chances from sliding from slim to none, the ’Jackets must win today’s showdown with third-place Foothill, a team that had little difficulty defeating BHS, in their last meeting on April 14. Berkeley enters today’s showdown at the Falcons’ home field riding the momentum of an 8-7, come-from-behind victory over Granada achieved last Friday at San Pablo Park. 

“It’s a big, big game at their place,” Gordon said about today’s East Bay Athletic League matchup, beginning at 3:30 p.m. “Foothill put some good numbers up on us last time.” 

All year, the ’Jackets have been characterized by streaky play, with the lineup exploding for double-digit runs on one day, and being shut down the next. According to Gordon, this is testament to the youth of a BHS squad that graduated 12 seniors last year. 

“We’ve always been up-and-down, like Jekyll and Hyde,” the coach said. “I hate to admit it, but it is a rebuilding year. We’ve had some tough times coming down the stretch, but he players have handled it well.” 

After today, Berkeley begins to gear up for its regular-season finale, hosted by California High on Friday.

The body of an unidentified man was found floating in the bay Tuesday morning near the rocks along West Frontage Road about one-quarter mile south of University Avenue. 

The Harbormaster at the Berkeley Marina received a call from police about 9:30 a.m. requesting a harbor patrol boat to transport the body from that location and take it to a public dock where it could be removed from the water. 

Crime Scene Unit officers were present at the dock, along with a Berkeley Fire Department truck and an ambulance. 

Lt. Russell Lopes said a fisherman had discovered the body “half in the rocks and half in the water,” earlier in the morning. The man is described as an African-American male in his mid-20s, about 6 feet tall and well-dressed in blue jeans, a shirt, and work boots in good condition. 

The police department’s homicide detail is working on the case, said Lopes, although at present they don’t know if a crime was committed. 

“Now it’s a suspicious death,” he said. 

The dead man could have been a fisherman washed up from San Francisco, although he wasn’t dressed like one, he said. 

“He could have been put into the water anywhere in the bay. It depends upon the currents and the tides,” Lopes said. 

The man had been in the water less than three days, said Alameda County Deputy Coroner Charles Brewer. 

There are no knife or bullet wounds in the man’s body and his death may not be the result of foul play, but it will be investigated unless evidence indicates otherwise. 

Brewer said the man could have fallen or jumped into the bay. Fingerprints and missing person reports are the primary leads that the coroner’s office can use to help identify him. 

Anyone with information about the victim or this incident is asked to call East Bay Regional Park District Detective Ron Anderson at (510) 544-3105 or King at (510) 881-3103.

OAKLAND – A jury heard closing arguments and began deliberation Tuesday on charges that KPFA supporter Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi obstructed or delayed a police officer during protests last summer at the listener-sponsored radio station in Berkeley. 

In their summation to the jury, the prosecution and defense agreed on a key point debated by the two sides in the trial’s opening arguments last week. Both had come to agree on the defense’s assertion that Jacobs-Fantauzzi’s actions leading to his arrest on July 21 took only a few seconds – not the minute or more originally argued by the prosecution. 

The two sides, however, continued to debate fiercely over whether Jacobs-Fantauzzi blocked a police officer in the course of his duties. 

Assistant District Attorney David Lim told the jury that Jacobs-Fantauzzi did just that. 

Prosecution witness and arresting officer Sgt. Randolph Files testified last week that on the morning of July 21, in the 1900 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way in front of the radio station, Jacobs-Fantauzzi twice placed himself between Files and a protester who had illegally erected a tent on the sidewalk. 

Files testified that when Jacobs-Fantauzzi blocked his path, the officer told him that he was violating the law but attempted to go around Jacobs-Fantauzzi, without arresting him. 

When the officer stepped to the side, Jacobs-Fantauzzi stepped once again in front of him, blocking his access for the second time to the protester with the tent. 

The officers “were hindered by the defendant. They were obstructed by the defendant,” Lim told the jury in his summary. 

In mid-July, KPFA had been boarded up, and its staff and volunteers locked out of the station as part of a conflict with the Pacifica Foundation, which holds the license to the 50-year-old station. There were almost daily demonstrations with numerous acts of civil disobedience at the station. 

Although some 100 arrests were made, charges were dropped against almost all of those arrested. Just a handful of protesters pled guilty to jaywalking charges and were given “time served” for the several hours they spent in jail. 

Defense attorney Richard Krech told the jury his version of the story of Jacobs-Fantauzzi’s arrest. He said his client was exercising his free speech rights and acting as a police liaison on behalf of the protesters, when he approached police at about 7 a.m. that day. Within seconds of his brisk approach, police “took down” and arrested Jacobs-Fantauzzi, Krech said. 

“There is no dialogue, no warning, no blocking of the path, no legal arrest,” he said. 

Then Krech used the phrase he would repeat throughout his closing arguments: “There was no time to commit the crime.” 

Krech repeatedly attempted to show the jury that that Files, who was the arresting officer and the chief prosecution witness, had contradicted himself a number of times and had given false testimony. 

“He lied to you ladies and gentleman,” Krech told the jury. 

One way Krech tried to discredit Files was by attempting to show that Files may have misspoken when he said that he had not talked to fellow Berkeley police officers about the facts of the case. Krech reminded the jury that a fellow officer had testified that “he would not rule out that he had talked about the facts of the case with Officer Files.” 

Krech pointed out that Files had said there were only four officers on the scene at the time of Jacobs-Fantauzzi’s arrest, but noted that a videotape showed numerous officers at the van to which Jacobs-Fantauzzi was carried after his arrest. 

“He does not tell the whole truth,” Krech said. 

Central to Krech’s argument was Files’ contention that the incident with Jacobs-Fantauzzi took from 40 to 60 seconds. 

Testimony from defense witnesses and a video of the arrest show that the incident took only a few seconds, Krech noted. He told the jury that Files was a skilled and experienced witness, trying to mislead them. 

“This case is about an illegal arrest,” Krech said. “(Files) made a bad call and is trying to cover it up by convicting my client.” 

Krech said the jury should conclude that there was “reasonable doubt” in the prosecution’s case and asked jurors to rule his client not guilty. 

After viewing a videotape provided by the defense and hearing defense witnesses, Lim told the jury that he had come to believe that the overall incident, from the moment Jacobs-Fantauzzi approached the officer until the time of his arrest on the ground, took just a few seconds. 

Files had said the incident took much longer, but Lim explained his witness’ perspective. The officer was paying attention to the bystanders and Jacobs-Fantauzzi’s use of a bullhorn, rather than noting the precise amount of time the incident took, Lim contended. 

“The officer just testified to his best recollection,” Lim said, reminding the jury that in moments of distress, persons will swear that “my life flashed before my eyes.” 

Toward the end of closing arguments, Lim appeared to agree with Krech’s assertion that Files was not a thoroughly credible witness. 

“If Sgt. Files were the only person testifying...there would be enough reasonable doubt,” he said. He asked the jury to evaluate the sum of the evidence. 

“Luckily, your job is to look at all the facts from all the witnesses,” he said. 

Lim pointed to testimony of two of the character witnesses, UC Berkeley Professor of Education Pedro Noguera and Councilmember Kriss Worthington. Both had testified to the defendant’s truthfulness and to his political zeal. 

“A truthful person can obstruct a police officer,” Lim said. “Especially a truthful person who believes in his cause.” 

It is that fervor, that “passion for his cause (that Jacobs-Fantauzzi attempted) to stop (police) from what he thought was an egregious wrong,” Lim said. 

In closing, the prosecutor pointed to Jacobs-Fantauzzi’s 1997 arrest at UC Berkeley, when he was demonstrating in support of affirmative action. 

“You know what he’s done in the past,” he told the jury. “You can extrapolate.” 

The Claremont-Elmwood Neighborhood Association will hold its annual meeting at 7:30 p.m. on May 24 at the Palache Hall of St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, Claremont Boulevard at Russell. 

Deputy City Manager Phil Kamlarz is scheduled to make a presentation on how bond measure funds and tax assessments are currently spent, and what new bonds, fees, assessments, and taxes the City is contemplating putting on the November ballot. 

Fire Chief Reginald Garcia will present the situation and answer questions about the neighborhood’s protection against fire and emergencies. 

A small fire at Washington Elementary School was quickly doused Sunday evening. 

A resident reported seeing smoke from the campus, which covers parts of two blocks at the intersection of Bancroft Way and McKinley Avenue. Fire department crews found a small stack of newspapers that had been set on fire outside one of the school’s bungalows on the west side of the campus. The fire caused minimal damage.

Firefighters arrived at the Cal Hotel at 2008 Shattuck Ave. about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday to find that a fire in a mattress and box spring already had been extinguished with a dry chemical. 

Capt. Malcolm Greene from Fire Station 2 said a smoke alarm had alerted the son of the hotel’s manager. A tenant in a studio in the residential hotel apparently was smoking in bed, Greene said, and threw his cigarette toward the trashcan but missed 

Firefighters made the standard initial response to what is classified now as a Condition A or minimal fire, Greene said. 

A box spring with a burned off cover showing the wooden slats underneath was brought down into the street with the mattress, but the damage from smoke was negligible as it was from water. Greene said the firefighters used about one gallon of water inside. 

Citizens have clashed with UC Berkeley once again. 

This time the disagreement has nothing to do with housing vs. parking or where the university ought to locate facilities outside its traditional boundaries. 

This dispute – which a university planner says is merely a misunder-standing – centers on the restoration of Codornices Creek, west of San Pablo Avenue. 

Codornices Creek is the most “daylighted” creek in the city – the one least encased in pipes. It’s the only Berkeley creek where steelhead are believed to reproduce. 

Below San Pablo Avenue, where sections of the waterway have been made almost straight - especially between Sixth and Eighth streets - the creek demarcates the Berkeley-Albany border. The university controls the Albany side of the creek, between San Pablo Avenue and the railroad tracks, adjacent to UC’s University Village. 

Members of Friends of Five Creeks and the Urban Creeks Council have been meeting with university planners and Albany and Berkeley city staff for a year, pressing the university to participate in the creek’s reconfiguration. They want to see the creek restored to a more natural “meander,” and they want to see a trail built alongside the creek, so that skateboarders, sportsfield users, birdwatchers and people with strollers can go safely from San Pablo Avenue to the new fields being built between Harrison Street and the creek, and between Fifth Street and the Railroad tracks. 

Susan Schwartz, president of Friends of Five Creeks, and Carole Schemmerling, Bay Area coordinator for the Urban Creeks Council of California, however, contend that the university has recently shut them out of planning meetings. Moreover, they say, in a letter to Chancellor Robert Berdahl, that the university is pushing forward with a plan which would “straightjacket the creek in a riprapped (concrete) channel for a block and a half, allow only a five-foot trail squeezed dangerously between fence and steep bank in one block, and provide no trail at all in the two blocks between Ninth (Street) and San Pablo (Avenue).” 

Jacki Bernier, the university’s principal planner on the project, counters that the public has not been shut out of meetings. Community people were not invited to certain meetings – to which she said they came without an invitation – because these were of a technical nature. 

Moreover, she said there is no plan keep the stream on a rigid course. She says, in fact, that there is no plan at all at this point – just drafts, which she was not prepared to share with the Daily Planet. 

“It’s still evolving,” she said. 

Bernier stressed, however, that the community needs to be ready to compromise. For example, to allow the stream to meander and build an adequate trail beside it, would mean that the university would have to move a maintenance building and a children’s playground. These are expensive measures, she said. 

“It can’t be perfect for everybody,” she said. 

She further noted that on the Berkeley side of the stream, there are commercial buildings that butt up against the stream, so that the university, alone, is being asked for its flexibility. 

Bernier said, however, that the university is not ruling out future restoration of the creek in that area. 

And that’s exactly what Susan Schwartz says she wants to hear. 

The community wants the university to write the restoration of the creek and the trail into its plans for the future. 

“No one’s saying the university has to do that now,” she said. “I don’t see this as insolvable.” 

At the City Council meeting tonight, the council will vote on a resolution proposed by Mayor Shirley Dean, to write a letter to Chancellor Robert Berdahl expressing “concerns about the current plans” and asking university planners to meet with a delegation of Berkeley and Albany city officials, staff and community to discuss creek issues. 

Tuesday, May 16 

Berkeley police answer seniors’ questions 

11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

Free computer class for seniors 

1-4 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited; class is offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Call ahead for a reservation. 

510-644-6109 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 

510-548-3333 

Berkeley Living Wage demonstration 

6:30 p.m. 

Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Activists will hold a demonstration before the City Council meeting to show their support for a Living Wage Ordinance for Berkeley. 

Redevelopment Agency/City Council Meeting 

7 p.m. 

City Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

The council will hold public hearings on the 170-foot communication tower at the new Public Safety Building and increases in permit fees. 

“What Makes You Laugh?” 

7-9 p.m. 

Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut Ave. 

This is a discussion group that is open to everyone regardless of age, religion or viewpoint. Even though the group meets at the JCC, there is no religious bent to the discussions. The group is led informally by Robert Berend, an investment adviser and stockbroker in Kensington. He has been involved with these discussion groups for eight years. He helped establish similar groups in several other communities. A different topic is discussed during each session. The event is free. 

510-527-5332 

BAHA Spring Lecture Series 

7:30 p.m. 

The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. 

Richard Mohr will discuss “West By Northwest: Great Lodges in the Arts & Crafts Tradition.” This is the final lecture in the spring series sponsored by the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association. Tickets are $10 each. Tickets available at door or in advance. 

510-841-2242; 510-652-0975 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips. 

510-531-8664 

Yiddish Humor and Jewish Humor 

7:30-9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 

This two-session course will examine the humor of East European Jews as one form of adaptation to their lives from the pre-World War I period to today. Cost is $15 for BRJCC members, $18 for public. The second session will be held May 23. 

510-848-0237, ext. 236 

Berkeley Chamber Performances 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. 

Citywinds will present a wind quartet program of works by Hyo-shin Na, David Maslanka, Paquito d’Rivera, and Paul Hindemith. Tickets $15 general; $12 seniors and students. 

510-525-5211 

Wednesday, May 17 

Chinese Club meeting 

1:15 p.m. 

Caregivers group for Alzheimer’s/Dementia 

1:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

Commission on Aging 

1:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

The agenda includes discussion of the warm water and the rent ordinance proposal which would protect seniors and the disabled from owner move-in evictions. 

Berkeley Housing Authority meeting 

6 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

This is the first in a series of Town Hall meetings to discuss the Berkeley Housing Authority - how it operates now, how we as tenants can help to improve it and impact its planning process for the federally-required Public Housing Authority. 

1-800-773-2110; 510-549-2970 

Citizens Humane Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

The agenda will include the euthanasia policy at the Berkeley Animal Shelter and a discussion of a revised spay/neuter ordinance. 

Special Planning Committee Meeting 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

The commission will hold a public workshop on the relationship between the Southside plan and the Underhill Area Project and continue the public hearing on the Underhill Area Project. 

BUSD school board meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Board/Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Improvisational theater 

7:30-9:30 p.m. 

The “Improvsters” is a group of intermediate-level improvisational players who meet weekly. The group is looking for additional members; there is no charge to join them. Call the group for specific location. 

510-848-4357 

The French Revolution, Napoleon and the Jewish People 

7:30-9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 

This two-session course will be led by Lee Marsh, chair of the Jewish Learning Center. Cost is $12 for BRJCC members, $15 for the public. The second session will be held May 24. 

510-848-0237, ext. 236 

Thursday, May 18 

Free computer class for seniors 

1-4 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited; the class is offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Call ahead for a reservation. 

510-644-6109 

Film: “Housing is a Human Right: Housing and Section 8” 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

The film will be shown and housing activist Helen Lima, will discuss this documentary. The video is closed-captioned, and the program is free. Lima began the Save Low-Income Seniors’ Section 8 Housing movement in 1997 as a self-help, grassroots effort in behalf of low-income “seniors” who rent – or need to be able to rent – federally-subsidized apartments. 

510-549-2970 

Prostate support group 

3 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

“Education for Social Justice: Teaching the Next Generation of Activists” 

7:30 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 

As part of its 25th anniversary series, La Peña is sponsoring this event for and by teachers. Educators will share and discuss ideas that connect students to issues in their world and motivate them to work for social justice. Admission is $3 donation at the door. 

510-653-7882 

Design Review Committee 

7:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Among the projects to be reviewed by the board is the construction of a four-story, 47 unit mixed-use project, with ground floor retail space at 2700 San Pablo Ave. and the design of 801 Grayson St. 

Jews ‘n’ Jazz 

7:30-9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 

This three-session course will examine the role that Jewish immigrants at the turn of the century played in the developing musical genre of jazz. The first session examines “Background and Theory.” The second session, on May 25, looks at “Early Jewish Jazz Pioneers.” The third session, on June 1, focuses on “Swing, Bebop, Latin and Modern.” Performer and educator Mark Levy leads the series. Cost is $25 for BRJCC members and $30 for the general public. 

510-848-0237, ext. 236

A recent study published in the Journal of Housing Research titled Rent Regulation’s Pricing Effect in the Uncontrolled Sector concludes that rent controls, designed to lower the cost of housing for renters, may have the perverse effect of increasing rents for tenants in the unregulated sector. The study concludes that unregulated rents (such as those for vacancy decontrolled units in Berkeley) are $100 greater than they should be if rent controls were not in effect. 

Cal students are becoming increasingly aware of this phenomenon without the benefit of studies. Daily Californian columnist Brook Shaaf in his May 12, 2000 feature states: “The city can do its part by getting rid of all rent control. When people pay below market they hoard apartments, which means higher costs to everyone not squatting for decades, i.e. students.” The study and Brook Shaaf merely lend credence to the often heard Berkeley landlord lament: “I’d love to rent to the class of ’04 but I’m still renting to the class of ’78.” 

The study also mentions that if new construction is allowed to compensate for the supply and demand imbalance caused by rent controls, the gap is closed in 20-30 years and eventually this $100 gap disappears. That is good news for the Cal class of ’30. For now, today’s students must resign themselves to paying at least $100 more than they should for Berkeley private rental housing. 

However, Berkeley is notorious for its obsessive contempt for apartments, apartment owners, and new construction (even if delivered by the non-profits.) According to the current General Plan project, Berkeley is the only Bay Area city to have lost housing since 1980. Furthermore, developers are loath to invest here since the City of Berkeley has a full-time paid lobbyist in Sacramento whose No. 1 goal is the repeal of Costa-Hawkins, which mandates not only vacancy decontrol, but also guarantees that new construction will not be recaptured by rent regulation. To developers Berkeley is too politically risky a city to invest in. 

Year one, of the 20-30 years of new construction necessary to compensate for rent control’s negative effects, is not yet on the horizon. 

One could actually postulate that since the beginning of vacancy decontrol (1/1/99) Berkeley tenants, including the Cal class of ’03 and other recent arrivals, who began renting after that date are paying on average more than the study’s $100, since the trickle of new construction has negligibly affected the massive loss of rentals due to owner occupancy conversion of the Eighties and Nineties. For example, according to the U.S. Census, Berkeley had 4,900 rented single family houses in 1980, compared to less than 800 today, representing an 84 percent loss in rental housing in that category. Hence, as a corollary one could project that the $100 gap will actually continue to widen as this city clings to a paradigm that refuses to allow new construction to compensate for job creation and an increased university enrollment. 

It is truly astonishing that the Progressive majority of the Berkeley City Council continues to ignore the perverse effects of rent controls which benefit an increasing number of middle- and upper-income renters –who need no subsidies – at the expense of the poor, the elderly and students for whom $100 is a significant portion of their income and makes a huge difference in their quest for housing. 

Robert Cabrera is president of the Berkeley Property Owners Association.

René Magritte was the rugged individualist among surrealist artists and has endured as one of the most interesting. Now the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has a vast retrospective exhibition of some 65 paintings covering his whole mature career, from 1926 until his death in 1967, including many unfamiliar examples from private collections. It offers us a very special opportunity, through September 5th. 

Born in 1898, Magritte began with conventional academic training but gravitated toward avant garde literary circles. As a young man he tried various modern styles and was particularly influenced by the cubists and futurists. Then he learned of De Chirico’s paintings of apparently real objects hauntingly detached from their normal context; at first he knew only a black and white reproduction in a magazine but that provoked a new vision of distorted reality with strange powers of suggestion. 

The exhibition opens with a gallery of strangely distorted figures in weird landscapes painted in a prosaic manner as if this were reality. These are from the years 1926-7 when he was still working in Brussels, relatively isolated and overwhelmed by ideas developed from De Chirico, and some also from Max Ernst. Then he moved to a Paris suburb for three years and gradually worked his way into the surrealist group organized by the writer André Breton. 

His paintings began to look simpler but the ideas behind them became more complex. He introduced words in script that seem to be labels but that contradict the objects or amorphous forms they are attached to, and he gave his paintings titles with still different implications, all this in keeping with surrealist doctrine. 

The most celebrated of these is called “The Treachery of Images;” it shows a briar pipe painted in the manner of a commercial photograph, suspended against a tan background, and labeled on the canvas in artificial script “Ceci n’est pas une pipe.” There is no use reproducing this painting because it seems no one has photographed it in its large gilded frame of classical design. When you see this wonderful framed painting three feet wide hanging on the wall, casting a shadow, you know intuitively that it is not a pipe; it is a painting depicting a pipe. But reproduced in a book it becomes inconclusive; it could be an advertisement in a magazine or on a billboard, and this has led to endless portentous writing. In actuality it is a delightful one-line visual joke. 

Magritte tired of the personality clashes within the Paris group and withdrew to Brussels permanently in 1930, where he was the center of a smaller group of writers, where he developed his own version of surrealist ideas. One of the best of these is a painting entitled “The Rape” (1934), which shows the head of a young woman with tousled hair, but her face is her nude torso in which her pubic area becomes her mouth, her breasts her eyes. This is a case of a directly expressive surrealist transformation, one easy to understand, for the resulting face has an appropriately alarmed look. A drawing of it was used for the cover of Breton’s pamphlet explaining Surrealism and Magritte maintained some contact with the Paris group. 

As he matured, Magritte tended to rely more on purely visual devices. “The Listening Room” (1952) shows an apparently normal interior, with a window at the left looking out on idyllic country, but the room is filled from floor to ceiling with a green apple. A more subtle elaboration on this idea is the fine painting from the same year recently bought by our MoMA, “Personal Values.” Here the walls of a room have become a blue sky with cumulus clouds, with a bed in one corner, an armoire with mirrors in the other, but the rest of the room is filled with colossal versions of objects of everyday use: a comb, a bar of soap, a shaving brush, a match, and a small wine glass. 

One of the most thought-provoking of these later works, which are contemporary with the masterpieces of Jackson Pollock and others in New York, is “Golconde” of 1953. The setting is the upper stories of a street of houses in a northern European city like Brussels, stripped of any identifying detail, and a pale blue cloudless sky above. But the painting is covered with repeated figures of a man standing, wearing a long dark coat and a bowler hat. These figures are suspended in three layers of depth: the nearer ones are slightly smaller than they should be to match the building but the second layer, which overlaps the building and casts shadows on it, has figures only about a quarter the size they should be for the building, and the third layer, which the building overlaps, has diminutive figures in the distance. 

It is easy to think that it is raining little men, but it is clear that the men are standing quietly in suspension; they are nearly identical but they are turned at different angles. These men are Magritte’s Everyman, who often appears in his later work, normally one or two at a time. They are so characteristic of his work that photographers frequently got Magritte to pose wearing a bowler hat, but they are not a self-portrait, for Magritte did not wear a bowler hat, rather a Trilby, a soft felt hat, and the faces on these men do not resemble him. The title was chosen by his close friend Scutenaire, a surrealist poet, and refers to a ruined city in India, legendary for its phenomenal wealth of gold and diamonds in the early modern period. It is a powerful image; it stays with us, but image and title do not resolve into a simple answer. Magritte would not have wanted

The Foothill Falcons may have had the right cards to win April 13’s showdown with the Berkeley High softball team in Pleasanton, but now the Yellowjackets have an ace up their sleeve. 

Star pitcher Lilli Bermeo, held out of last month’s meeting due to injury, has been dominating opposing lineups ever since her return, and is slated to take the mound against the Falcons in this afternoon’s showdown at James Kenney Park. In her last start, against Granada last Thursday, Bermeo tossed seven innings of shutout ball before finally yielding a run to drop the decision in the eighth. 

“Against Foothill (last time), we were missing two starters: Lilli and (shortstop) Jasmine (Jew),” said BHS coach Elena Bermeo. “Two key role players weren’t there, and there were a lot of people out of position.” 

With Lilli Bermeo back in the lineup, pitching has been the least of Berkeley’s problems in the second half of the 2000 season, which concludes this Thursday at home against California High. Having failed to score a single run in the past two games, the ’Jackets have lacked the run support to complement Bermeo’s dangerous arm. 

“They were hitting (vs. Granada). We got on base – even a few runners on third base, in scoring position. We’re like the Bad News Bears,” the coach said. “(The problem is) there’s no one player that’s too consistent. At any given time, a girl can do anything. We don’t have a go-to player.” 

Besides the physical health of Bermeo and Jew, the ’Jackets may have a slight mental advantage over the last time they faced the Falcons. Prior to the April 13 game, Berkeley High was evacuated due to the rekindling of a fire ignited the day before. Though the commotion did not keep Berkeley from making the trip to Pleasanton, the players admit they did not have their minds completely on the game. 

“It was a hectic day. People didn’t know where to go, and we weren’t really prepared,” catcher Alice Brugger said. “(Today) we’ll be more focused.”  

“I think it’ll be a shock (to Foothill),” Elena Bermeo added. “The second time around (the EBAL schedule), we’ve been playing each team better. It’ll be a closer ballgame.” 

The San Francisco Board of Education has decided that the superintendent of the Washington, D.C., school system is the best candidate to lead the San Francisco Unified School District. 

Arlene Ackerman was one of three finalists interviewed by the school board on Sunday. The other two were Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Jack McLaughlin and Henry Der, a deputy superintendent with the California Department of Education. 

But Ackerman’s selection still isn’t official. On Monday, SFUSD spokesperson Elaine Koury said Ackerman, who previously worked as deputy superintendent in Seattle, is now in negotiations with the district over salary, timing and length of contract, among other matters. 

Koury said Ackerman was selected Sunday by consensus as the seven-member board met at the district’s Franklin Street headquarters, but the formal vote 

confirming her appointment will not take place until a 6 p.m. closed session meeting today. 

Apparently, the other candidates won’t be notified until today either. As of early Monday evening, McLaughlin hadn’t received any phone call from the SFUSD about a decision – “but I’ve heard the news on the TV,” he told the Daily Planet. 

Koury admitted that officials were not expecting to release the news Monday, but word leaked out before the contract could be finalized. 

“It’s not a done deal,” she said. “We’re very, very hopeful that this will, in fact, be completed.” 

Ackerman will take over for Linda Davis, who has been serving as interim superintendent since Bill Rojas left the job to run schools in Dallas. 

“Her work in Washington and Seattle have earned her the reputation of being a knowledgeable, creative, no-nonsense leader,” Koury said. “Her first task in Washington was to close – in seven months – a $62 million deficit caused by years of fiscal mismanagement.” 

Koury declined to draw parallels with San Francisco’s problems, although budget woes in the 65,000-student district are well known. 

“It was a difficult decision because there were some good, qualified candidates and each of the finalists would have brought significant strengths and skills to the position,” Koury said. “We are very proud of the process and the choice.”

The Berkeley High boys volleyball team’s postseason fate, which has hung in the balance since the regular-season finale on May 11, was finally decided on Sunday, as the North Coast Section seeding committee rejected the Yellowjackets’ at-large bid for a playoff spot. 

At 12-9 overall and 6-6 in league, BHS coach Justin Caraway went into the three-hour meeting believing his team’s numbers could compare favorably to those of other schools from different leagues. Though his squad’s record and quality of competition ranked among the four schools selected for the last four slots, Caraway admitted that there were just too many deserving teams to do justice to everybody. 

“There were a lot of very good teams there. I think, when it came down to it, our record against (top) teams wasn’t good enough to get us in,” said the coach, whose ’Jackets split series with Amador Valley and James Logan – two schools that were also overlooked at the seeding meeting. “I’m a little disappointed, I thought we’d improved so much over the past year. (But the NCS) put together a very good field.” 

Since Sunday, Berkeley High has received a glimmer of good news, as senior D.Q. Li was named to the all-league team by unanimous decision of the East Bay Athletic League coaches. The vocal court leader was one of just five athletes to appear on every coach’s ballot. Fellow senior Mason Chin garnered honorable mention honors.

Members of the public will get their chance tonight to tell the City Council what they think about the police communications tower, which some Public Safety Building neighbors are calling the “Eyesore Tower.” 

One can expect, however, that the McKinley Allston Addison Grant Neighborhood Association won’t confine itself to complaining about the 170-foot antenna tower that took them by surprise. The neighborhood’s got some specific proposals about how to replace the tower. 

Neighborhood activist Dave Williams has come up with a proposal on how the city can disperse its antennas and replace the tower with a 120-foot pole. In a memo to the council, Williams points out that the university recently “chose to disperse their emergency communications (among) six sites...for security reasons as well as to provide back-up in case one or more antennas go down.” 

Williams is proposing that the city do the same, siting a number of antennas on buildings around Civic Center and installing a 120-foot pole on which several of the antennas would be mounted. 

Councilmember Dona Spring is asking the council to earmark $10,000 for a consultant who would provide expert advice to the neighborhood and the council on reconfiguring the tower. 

In a separate public hearing, the council will consider increasing engineering, zoning-related, and toxics management fees. 

The goal of the increase is so that the fees will cover a greater proportion of the actual expenses they incur. 

But before the regular council meeting even begins, the Redevelopment Agency will take its turn. The RA consists of the councilmembers and approves items relative to the city’s Redevelopment Area, which is close to Fourth Street, north of University Avenue. 

A resolution by the Parks and Recreation Commission to reallocate $3 million currently designated for a West Berkeley parking garage is sure to spark discussion among agency members. Commission members want the funds spent on the I-80 wheelchair/bike/pedestrian overcrossing. The report noted that some parks commissioners said that additional parking would simply bring more cars to the area, and some said “that although Fourth Street generates substantial sales tax for the city, it is poor public policy for the city to fund a garage to support the Fourth Street retail district.” 

The agency members will also talk about spending other redevelopment funds on the I-80 overpass. 

Other items on the council agenda include approval of: 

• A program to give low-income people help in weatherizing their homes. 

• Plans for a traffic signal at Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Center Street, where there were four collisions in the period between May 1998 and July 1999, including two collisions with pedestrians. 

• An endorsement of House Resolution 40, co-sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, that would establish a commission to study a reparation proposal for African Americans. 

• An inquiry into a citizen’s allegations that files were misplaced in the Building Department. 

• Support for a state Senate bill that would require on-site veterinarians at all rodeos. 

The Redevelopment Agency meets at 7 p.m., with the start of the City Council meeting immediately following. The meetings are in the City Council Chambers at 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way and broadcast on KPFB at 89.3-FM and televised on Ch-25. 

The entire Alameda-Contra Costa Athletic League got a dose of the Panthers’ depth on Saturday, as the St. Mary’s High track and field team dominated the league championship meet, winning both the boys’ and girls’ titles at Piedmont High.  

Though the Panthers’ dominance was expected, the final score still managed to turn heads, with St. Mary’s winning the boys’ championship by a gaping 118 points, and the girls’ crown by 93. The boys’ contingent swept the hurdle events, with Solomon Welch winning the 110, while also getting a first-place finish from Chris Dunbar in the 400. The girls’ win was highlighted by a variety of big efforts, including first-place finishes for distance runner Bridget Duffy, thrower Kamaiya Warren, and sprinters Danielle Stokes and Tiffany Johnson.  

Both St. Mary’s squads have earned spots in the three-day North Coast Section qualifying meet, beginning this Thursday afternoon at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill.

A surreal robbery and kidnapping experience early Friday morning left a Berkeley man with several minor injuries and without his wallet. 

The series of events, in fact, sounds difficult to believe, but Berkeley Police Capt. Bobby Miller said his department took the report as a “valid claim” based on the available evidence. 

Here’s what happened, according to the victim’s report. 

The 28-year-old man was riding his bicycle west on Ashby Avenue around 1:30 a.m. Friday. While he waited for a red light to change at the intersection with Telegraph Avenue, a vehicle drove up alongside the man – he described it as a blue, four-door Chevrolet, perhaps a Nova – and an occupant demanded he turn over his money. The man refused. Two or three men jumped out from the vehicle, pulled the man off his bike, and put him and his bike inside the car. The report wasn’t clear on whether the bike was placed in the trunk or the back seat. The suspects also took the man’s wallet at that time. 

The victim told police that his kidnappers then drove him around, and ended up “somewhere” in West Oakland. During that time, one of the suspects showed him a black semiautomatic pistol. He was also subjected to a series of punches and kicks while in the car, and he was hit in the head with some kind of hard object. 

The suspects eventually dropped him off somewhere “near the freeway” in West Oakland, and they gave him back his bike. The man walked back to Berkeley with his bike, and got home between 6:30 and 7 a.m. A friend took him to Alta Bates Medical Center, where a staff member contacted police to take the report. 

Miller said the victim sustained a 3- to 4-inch laceration above his left eye, a contusion on the bridge of his nose and a series of other bruises. 

The man, who spoke to officers through a Spanish-speaking translator, couldn’t tell police exactly how many suspects were involved in the kidnap and robbery. He said they were Hispanic males, around 18 or 19 years old, and he thought two of them had moustaches. 

The man’s wallet, which contained his identification, ATM card and just a few dollars, wasn’t recovered, Miller said.

The East Bay Community Law Center announced a new partnership last week that serves Alameda County families moving from welfare to work. 

The Family Advocacy and Services Team (FAST) is an ongoing project that will offer an innovative approach to helping families receiving CalWORKs, the state’s welfare program, achieve greater economic stability. 

“The Family Advocacy and Services Team was started in order to meet the needs of families facing barriers in moving from welfare to living wage jobs,” East Bay Community Law Center director Bernida Reagan said in a news release. 

“We’re very excited about the project, and believe it will help hundreds of families make the welfare to work transition over the next several years.” 

Since 1996, 2,000 of the families that are recipients of CalWORKs have had their grants reduced because they do not meet work requirements. Many of the recipients do not work because of language barriers, health problems, substance abuse, or domestic violence. 

Five community organizations joined to form FAST, which will offer services available in each client’s native language and try to reach as many families as possible. These organizations are The East Bay Community Law Center, The Homeless Action Center, Travelers Aid Society, Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency, and the Center on Poverty Law and Economic Opportunity. 

The California Endowment and the Alameda County Social Services agency have separately awarded grants totaling $668,700 for FAST. 

The California Endowment, the largest private health fund organization in the state, gave FAST over $500,000 in three-year funding.

Two men stole a car driven by a woman who visited the Berkeley Marina to relax early Sunday morning. 

The incident occurred around 1:45 a.m. near H’s Lordship’s restaurant, on the south side of the Marina. The 22-year-old Pinole woman had driven to the waterfront and had left her car for about 20 minutes. As she returned, two men approached her and one asked if she had a light. She reached inside her purse to get a lighter, and the man pulled out a silver handgun and pointed it at her. 

The man ordered her out of the car, a 1993 Honda Accord, and then threatened to kill her after she hesitated, according to Berkeley Police Capt. Bobby Miller. The suspect told her to leave her purse and cell phone inside the car, but she inadvertently kept the phone in her hand. As the two men drove away in her car, she used her cell phone to call police. 

The suspects were described as African-American men. The suspect with the handgun was in his early 20s, around 5 feet, 9 inches tall, 180 pounds. He was wearing a black windbreaker jacket and black jeans. The other suspect was in his late teens or early 20s, around 5 feet, 6 inches tall, 150 pounds. He also was dressed in all black clothing.

A team of five art experts walked along Addison Street from Milvia Street to Shattuck Avenue last Monday afternoon, scanning the streetscape to develop plans for embedding art in the sidewalks. 

They were in the first stages of determining where to place the works of eight Berkeley artists recently selected by the Berkeley Civic Arts Commission to design art for the Addison Streetscape Project. 

The underfoot art will be created in a range of materials and textures in panels of varying sizes that meet structural, aesthetic and disability standards. It will include sections of thick glass, blue ceramic tiles, and concrete laced with rusted steel and stone. 

The entire block, which constitutes the Downtown Arts District, will display art in the sidewalk. A serpentine concrete ribbon, contrasting in color from the sidewalks, will tie in all the elements. 

This visual and tactile art will accompany the expansion of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, whose new 600-plus seat house will help solidify the theater as the Arts District anchor. 

Another theater venue will join the neighborhood when the Aurora Theater Company moves to a new home in the Kress Building on the corner of Shattuck and Addison. Its entrance will be in the landmark Golden Sheaf Bakery building on Addison next to the Kress Building. 

The music dimension arrives via The Freight and Salvage Coffee House, which is buying the old Stadium Garage with financial assistance from the city. The Capoeira Arts Café already provides a Brazilian dance studio. 

“We want to make it an environment, not just a destination,” said Mary Ann Merker-Benton, civic arts coordinator. 

People can experience different art techniques, so the street becomes a living area, she said. The city is making a major statement on this street, she said, and turning the whole sidewalk into a work of art is part of the very ambitious project. 

“I think we’re creating an environment for people to be surprised,” said Susan Medak, managing director of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. 

A huge portion of the street’s footpad art will be literary. Robert Haas, an English professor at UC Berkeley and former poet laureate of the United States, is editing and selecting poems to be placed in squares near the sidewalk edges. 

He is selecting poems that bear some relationship to life in Berkeley and evoke a sense of place, said Michael Caplan, the city’s economic development coordinator for downtown. 

Caplan said the material for the 2-foot by 2-foot squares has not yet been determined, but the poetry excerpts may be cast in bronze or etched in stone, ceramic material or glass or a combination of several media. 

The current sidewalks on the block will be removed and the poetry squares and the 12 art panels will be embedded in new sidewalks after construction work on the street is completed, probably spring of next year. 

Last Monday afternoon, the Public Art Team along with Merker-Benton stood outside the Capoeira Arts Café, looking at the construction site of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. 

Landscape architect John Roberts said its façade would contain large panels of glass and the effect would be “very light.” 

Scott Donahue, an Emeryville public artist and a consultant for the Addison Streetscape project, said it might make sense to match glass (sidewalk art panels) with glass. 

The team had only recently seen the samples of the sidewalk art, and their job is to make the best aesthetic placement possible. 

Questions they needed to answer include determining how the art relates to the buildings next to it, the themes expressed in nearby poetry squares and the other art panels on the street. 

“I think we should honor the artists’ work as much as possible,” said Merker-Benton. “They put their heart and soul into it.” 

With a background in painting and mixed media, Merker-Benton has been the city’s civic arts coordinator for two years. 

She was hired to establish a Public Arts program using Measure S bond issue funding, and in that role her job is to keep politics and art separate. She said she came in when the groundwork for public art here already was established. At the city’s request she wrote a new ordinance requiring the city to contribute 1 1/2 percent of the cost of each new structure it builds to public art. 

The California Association of Local Arts Agencies has chosen Berkeley as a model project by including the entire call for artists as an example in the city’s tool kit sent to l00 cities throughout the state in cooperation with the California League of Cities. 

“Art is now recognized as playing a very important role in the revitalization of cities,” she said. 

People come to California for the geography and the culture, she said, describing the opposites of opera and Yosemite and the effect of tourism on local economies. 

Caplan said the conception for the Arts District emerged from many conversations among city planners who realized they already had the anchor component in the Berkeley Rep.

Monday, May 15 

Acupuncture and Chinese herbology 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

Free Copwatch Class 

6 p.m. 

Copwatch office, 2022 Blake St. 

Learn about police accountability, your rights when dealing with the police and how to stop police brutality. Sponsored by Berkeley Copwatch. 

510-548-0425 

Write Your Own Story 

7:30-9:15 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 

Published poet and journalist Reuben Halpern will lead this workshop on writing your own stories, including poetry, short stories, diary or prose. This series continues through May 22. 

510-848-0237, ext. 128 

Tuesday, May 16 

Berkeley police answer seniors’ questions 

11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

Free computer class for seniors 

1-4 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited; the class is offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Call ahead for a reservation. 

510-644-6109 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 

510-548-3333 

Berkeley Living Wage Demonstration 

6:30 p.m. 

Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Activists will hold a demonstration before the City Council meeting to show their support for a Living Wage Ordinance for Berkeley. 

City Council meeting 

7 p.m. 

Council Chambers, Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

“What Makes You Laugh?” 

7-9 p.m. 

Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut Ave. 

This is a discussion group that is open to everyone regardless of age, religion or viewpoint. Even though the group meets at the JCC, there is no religious bent to the discussions. The group is led informally by Robert Berend, an investment adviser and stockbroker in Kensington. The event is free. 

510-527-5332 

BAHA Spring Lecture Series 

7:30 p.m. 

The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. 

Richard Mohr will discuss “West By Northwest: Great Lodges in the Arts & Crafts Tradition.” This is the final lecture in the spring series sponsored by the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association. Tickets are $10 each. Tickets available at door or in advance. 

510-841-2242; 510-652-0975 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips. 

510-531-8664 

Yiddish Humor and Jewish Humor 

7:30-9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 

This two-session course will examine the humor of East European Jews as one form of adaptation to their lives from the pre-World War I period to today. Cost is $15 for BRJCC members, $18 for public. The second session will be held May 23. 

510-848-0237, ext. 236 

Berkeley Chamber Performances 

8 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. 

Citywinds will present a wind quartet program of works by Hyo-shin Na, David Maslanka, Paquito d’Rivera, and Paul Hindemith. Tickets $15 general; $12 seniors and students. 

510-525-5211 

Wednesday, May 17 

Chinese Club meeting 

1:15 p.m. 

Caregivers group for Alzheimer’s/Dementia 

1:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

Berkeley Housing Authority meeting 

6 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

This is the first in a series of Town Hall meetings to discuss the Berkeley Housing Authority - how it operates now, how we as tenants can help to improve it and impact its planning process for the federally-required Public Housing Authority. 

1-800-773-2110; 510-549-2970 

BUSD school board meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Board/Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Improvisational theater 

7:30-9:30 p.m. 

The “Improvsters” is a group of intermediate-level improvisational players who meet weekly. The group is looking for additional members; there is no charge to join them. Call the group for specific location. 

510-848-4357 

The French Revolution, Napoleon and the Jewish People 

7:30-9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 

This two-session course will be led by Lee Marsh, chair of the Jewish Learning Center. Cost is $12 for BRJCC members, $15 for the public. The second session is May 24. 

510-848-0237, ext. 236

Not many attended the studio Open House held recently (May 8) by the University’s “New Century Plan” staff. In fact, in the hour I was there, only one other non-staff person was present. 

Exhibited on the wall were architectural renderings of low-rise structures not more than four stories high, depicting interestingly articulated buildings for student housing. All other structures shown were said to be non-residential, multi-story buildings that needed retrofitting. 

When questioning the staff as to whether the University was pressuring Berkeley planners to increase density and scale in the south of campus area, the answer was denial, saying that it was the city’s domain. No new residential structures were portrayed over four stories in the exhibit. One staff member said that students didn’t want to live above four stories. 

It was perhaps wishful thinking that “the big U” had come to their senses and had decided not to endanger hundreds of more students by housing them in dense, high-rises adjacent to the Hayward fault. 

Some days following the Open Studio event, I closely questioned the exhibit’s presentation, and learned that only Phase One (the low-rise structures) was shown. Not on exhibit was Phase Two, consisting of structures up to seven stories high intermingled with existing high-rise dorms. I was not told about these seven-story residences since they were not considered high-rises because they were lower than the nine-floor dorms on the same site. “The big U” has been known to use deceptive techniques when pursuing their development goals... and the list is long! 

In another obvious omission, the University planners had ignored their own recent, seismic warnings about the earthquake fault running through the campus. In fact, neither the Hayward Fault nor the Alquist-Priolo Zone was shown on a map in the exhibit (or in the Draft Underhill Environmental Impact Report). When this significant fact was brought to their attention, the Public Relations staff dutifully drew in the location of the fault. The Underhill EIR Draft had been written before the newest seismic information was published forecasting a disastrous impact on the campus and its surrounding community. 

These situations make it all the more important that the City of Berkeley’s maximum building height not be increased, as some are urging in the south of campus area. (A proposal to regulate building height was submitted to the Planning Commission on May l0 spelling out the existing height limits for each part of the city.) 

Future planning could be sorted out more successfully if the commissioners support at least a five-year moratorium on exceeding current zoning heights. There are real problems to incorporating 4,000 new Cal students, their faculty and staff not to mention retrofitting 640 existing apartment buildings because of weak first stories likely to collapse in the next quake. 

Martha Nicoloff is a former member of the Planning Commission and was co-author of the Neighborhood

THEATER 

IMPACT THEATRE 

“The Wake-Up Crew” by Zay Amsbury, May 5 through June 3. A comic book on stage that pits unemployed UC Santa Cruz grads against the forces of chaos and destruction. 

$10 general; $5 students. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. La Val’s Subterranean Theater, 1834 Euclid Ave., Berkeley. (510) 464-4468. 

SHOTGUN PLAYERS 

“The Skriker” by Caryl Churchill, through June 4. In this ecological play, faeries are damaged due to polluted rivers and woods, and are forgotten. 

$15 general; $10 seniors and students. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. The Warehouse Performance Space, 1850 Cesar Chavez St., San Francisco. (510) 655-0813. 

MUSEUMS 

UC BERKELEY ART 

MUSEUM 

“Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition,” May 20 through July 2. The 13th annual exhibit of work by candidates for the Master of Fine Arts degree. Artist Talk, May 21, 3 p.m. At Gallery 2. 

“Anne Chu/MATRIX 184 Untitled,” April 16 through June 18. The exhibition features a selection of Chu's T'ang dynasty funerary figures sculpted following her travels to Xian and Guangdong. The wooden figures range in height from 28 inches to over six feet.  

“China: Fifty Years Inside the People's Republic,” through June 18. The work of 25 Chinese and Western photographers explores half a century of social and political upheaval in this unusual exhibit. The 200 photographs, both black-and-white and color, cover the many regions, cultures and people that make up China as well as the mix of traditional life and the modern one. 

“Autour de Rodin: Auguste Rodin and His Contemporaries,” through August. An exhibit of 11 bronze maquettes on loan from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation in Los Angeles. The bronzes range in style from the artist's classically inspired “Torso of a Woman” to the anguish of “The Martyr.” Some of the maquettes were cast during Rodin’s lifetime, others have been cast fairly recently under the aegis of the Musee Rodin which alone is authorized to cast his sculptures posthumously. 

$6 general; $4 seniors and students ages 12 to 18; free children age 12 and under; free Thursday, 1 1 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-0808. 

HALL OF HEALTH  

2230 Shattuck Ave. (lower level), Berkeley 

A hands-on community health education museum and science center sponsored by Children's Hospital Oakland and Alta Bates Medical Center. 

Free. For children ages 3 to 12 and their parents. 

(510) 549-1564 

LAWRENCE HALL 

OF SCIENCE 

“Dinosaurs 2000,” through June 4. An exhibit featuring 16 lifelike robotic creatures, fossils, activities to compare yourself to a dinosaur, and daily live demonstrations. 

“The News About Dinosaurs,” through June 4. Learn more about the “Dinosaurs 2000” exhibit with live demonstrations exploring recent paleontological discoveries and how scientists know what they do about prehistoric creatures. Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. 

$6 general; $4 seniors, students and children ages 7 to 18; $2 children ages 3 to 6; free children under age 3. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Centennial Drive, University of California, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 

PHOEBE HEARST MUSEUM 

Kroeber Hall, UC Berkeley 

“Modern Treasures from Ancient Iran,” through Oct. 29. This exhibit explores nomadic and town life in ancient and modern Iran as illustrated in bronze and pottery vessels, and textiles. 

“Pana O’ahu: Sacred Stones – Sacred Places,” through July 16. An exhibit of photographs by Jan Becket and Joseph Singer. 

Wednesday through Sunday 10 am -4:30 pm; Thursday until 9 pm (Sept-May) 

(510) 643-7648 

HABITOT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 

Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 

A museum especially for children age 7 and younger. Highlights include “WaterWorks,” an area with some unusual water toys, an Infant Tree for babies, a garden especially for toddlers, a child-scale grocery store and cafe, and a costume shop and stage for junior thespians. The museum also features a toy lending library. 

Admission is $4 for adults; $6 child age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child.  

Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

(510) 647-1111 

JUDAH L. MAGNES 

MUSEUM 

2911 Russell St., Berkeley 

“Telling Time: To Everything There Is A Season,” through May 2002. An exhibit structured around the seasons of the year and the seasons of life with objects ranging from the sacred and the secular, to the provocative and the whimsical. Highlights include treasures from Jewish ceremonial and folk art, rare books and manuscripts, contemporary and traditional fine art, video, photography and cultural kitsch. Through Nov. 4: “Spring and Summer.” Free. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (510) 549-6950. 

GALLERIES  

A.C.C.I. GALLERY 

“The Garden Show,” through May 20. A group exhibit of landscape paintings, ceramics and garden sculpture. Free. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-2527. 

BERKELEY PUBLIC LIBRARY, SOUTH BRANCH 

“You’re Blase: The Art of Nick Mastick,” May 15 through June 15. An exhibit of collages. Free. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 1901 Russell St., Berkeley. (510) 644-6860. 

GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION 

“On Common Ground.” through June 23. This exhibit is a portrait of faith-based communities in Los Angeles. 

“Finding the Sacred Mountain,” through June 20. An exhibit of sumi-e and watercolors by Robert Kostka. 

Free. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd., Berkeley. (510) 649-2541. 

KALA ART INSTITUTE 

“High Touch/High Tech: Crossing The Divide,” through May 26. An exhibit of juried and invited artists. Free. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Workshop Media Center Gallery, 1060 Heinz Ave., Berkeley. (510) 549-2977. 

NEW PIECES GALLERY 

“Rock, Stone, Masonry and Mosaics,” through June 1. An exhibit of quilts by Charlotte Patera. 

“The Rhapsody of Dolls,” through June 1. An exhibit of dolls by Patti Medaris Culea. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

A PIECE OF ART 

Jane Fox, Mixed Media Works, April 27 through June 10, with an artist reception from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 1. Ongoing new works by Gallery Artists in ceramic, metal, glass, wood and works on canvas and paper. 

Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment. Closed Monday and Tuesday. 

701 University Ave., in the parking lot across from Spenger’s. (510) 204-9653. 

TRAYWICK GALLERY 

“nudge,” May 17 through June 18. An exhibit of new work by Terry Hoff. Reception, May 17, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Artist Talk, June 9, 10:30 a.m. 

“minimalPOP,” April 15 through May 14. A group exhibit of a variety of media. 

Free. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1316 10th St., Berkeley. (510) 527-1214. 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). 

Calendar items should be submitted at least one week before the opening of a new exhibit or performance. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information.

Five individuals representing the Berkeley High girls lacrosse team literally put the icing on the 2000 season on Saturday, taking part in the annual league all-star game – an event so informal that it degenerated into a cupcake fight after the final horn sounded.  

The battle of baked goods highlighted an afternoon of friendly competition on the BHS football field, on which the top players from each league team were mixed up into two squads – blue and orange. Berkeley junior Jamie Lee and senior Dani Ganes competed for the blue squad, while seniors Naomi Coffman, Catherine Etzel and Rory Satran helped team orange to an offense-fueled 17-11 victory. BHS coach Lia Farley coached the orange squad.  

“I thought it was good to play with people from our league, and have more fun with it,” Etzel said about the traditionally relaxed approach to the all-star game. “The level of play was really high, it’s nice to see how much high school lacrosse is improving. The level of play in California lacrosse is really stepping up.” 

“You basically just go out there to have a lot of fun,” Ganes said, while attempting to wash cupcake icing from her skin and clothes. “It worked out fine – it’s a fun way to end the season.” 

All three of Berkeley High’s offensive players netted at least one goal on Saturday, with Ganes netting four of the blue team’s 11 goals in the losing effort. After the game, the coaches announced this year’s all-league selections – chosen by a vote of each head coach in league. Three of the Yellowjackets’ five all-stars would garner such honors, with Lee, Ganes and Etzel earning spots on the all-league attack, midfield and defense, respectively. 

“(They’ve been) very crucial to the team,” said Farley about her all-leaguers, also referring to Coffman, who made all-league last year, and Satran. “The past few years have been big building years for women’s lacrosse. They’ve been pioneers.” 

Though 2000 leading scorer Lee will be back as a senior for the 2001 campaign, Ganes, Coffman, Etzel and Satran are all slated to graduate, along with four other seniors: Alana Perley, Caroline Fletcher, Ellie Smith and Claire Williams. Since the eight-player exodus effectively guts the 2000 starting roster, Farley looks at next season as a chance to reload with junior varsity talent. 

“It’s a rebuilding year next year. There are a lot of (promising) players on the JV team,” the coach said. 

“Because the JV program was so big (this year), I think there’ll be some good players stepping up,” agreed Etzel, who will play lacrosse at Columbia University next fall. “There wasn’t even a JV program in my first year.”

A principal described by his teachers as a "superlative" administrator was honored Friday as the Berkeley Public Education Foundation’s educator of the Year. 

“He goes far beyond the job description of principal,” King Middle School drama teacher 

Richard Silberg said of Principal Neil Smith during last week’s BPEF luncheon. “He’s the ‘prince’ in ‘principal.’” 

In addition to honoring Smith as educator of the year, the Foundation presented UC Berkeley education professor Pedro Noguera with the “Rise to the Challenge” Special Award and gave the Distinguished Business Partners awards to Bruce Ackerman of Ackerman’s Volvo Service and Andrew and Sally Han of Elmwood Stationers. 

Smith has been King School’s principal since 1989, after spending 10 years as vice principal of San Ramon Valley High School and principal of a small parochial middle school in San Francisco. 

During his tenure, King has been recognized as a California Distinguished School, has integrated “ecoliteracy” into the curriculum through the Edible Schoolyard and has served as a model school for its English curriculum. 

A small booklet distributed at Friday’s luncheon, held at H’s Lordships restaurant, included words of praises from teachers and from Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse and founder of the Edible Schoolyard. 

A recurring comment from all the respondents was Smith’s willingness to listen to everyone – not just hear, but listen – and then provide honest feedback and search for ways to meet a need. 

“This is what I love so much about Neil: Somehow he manages to be entirely honest and straightforward and, at the same time, deliberate, authoritative and judicious,” Waters writes. “He meets problems head-on, spontaneously, by dipping into his great well of understanding.” 

In his acceptance comments, Smith emphasized the importance of building a strong team, which is the key to a successful school. 

“My primary accomplishment at King has been attracting and recruiting highly talented teachers,” he said. 

The other educator honored Friday was Noguera, a former school board member and a highly vocal critic of institutional racism in its various forms. 

He’s been active in Berkeley since 1981, when he moved to town to pursue a graduate degree in sociology at UC Berkeley. He became executive assistant to Loni Hancock when she was elected mayor in 1984, and he served on the school board from 1990 to 1994. In 1990 he also joined the faculty of the Graduate School of Education at Cal. 

In her introduction of Noguera, UC Berkeley Community Relations Director Irene Hegarty said that throughout her many interactions with her colleague – at the university, in the community, during their shared tenure on the school board – she has seen an unswerving dedication to improving public schools for all children. 

“He has a sense of purpose about having a sense of commitment,” Hegarty said. 

Noguera – who is leaving Berkeley for a professorship at Harvard University – told the audience Friday that administrators come and go, school board members come and go, even teachers come and go. The only constant in a community is the community itself, and that’s where true change begins. 

“It’s so easy to get complacent, it’s so easy to accept the disparities (between students of different races) as being normal, and think that certain kids just can’t learn, and if we believe that, then we fail.” 

Both businesses honored last week have participated in the Foundation’s “Berkeley Businesses Support Berkeley Public Schools” campaign. 

Ackerman has been a longtime supporter of New Columbus Elementary School (now Rosa Parks Elementary School) in his neighborhood in West Berkeley. He also has been a core Foundation supporter. Throughout all of the year 2000, the business is giving customers the option of directing 5 percent of their service bill to the Berkeley Public Education Foundation. 

A similar effort has been undertaken by Elmwood Stationers, which contributed 10 percent of all sales from the back-to-school months of August and September. The store gives a year-round discount to teachers, and offers a deeper discount in August and September. The business also is frequently involved in school raffles and other fund-raisers. 

In his introductory comments on the two honored businesses, Cody’s Books owner Andy Ross noted that both are involved in giving back to their community. 

“Community businesses are the goose that lays the golden egg,” he said.

I read in the May 13th Planet that the “City eyes bond for warm pool” at Berkeley High main campus. The desired $3,000,000 would fund improvements such as lockers, a water distribution system, and an air circulation system. I support the warm pool users’ quest for such improvements. The pool will provide therapeutic benefits to the disabled citizens, special education students, and seniors citizens of Berkeley. 

The voters of Berkeley should be informed, however, that repair of specific deterioration has previously been funded. Approximately 18 months ago the BUSD in partnership with the City of Berkeley contracted with an outside firm to make repairs to the roof of the warm water pool. According to the City, the job was not completed satisfactorily. The ceiling, for instance, was left as raw plywood; not even a coat of paint was applied. Rightfully so, the city demanded the job be finished before reimbursing the school district the two-thirds portion of funding the city had agreed to contribute. Now 18 months later, “the paint is peeling off; the metal is rusting” consultant Sasha Fultran confirms in the Planet’s May 13th story. The estimated shortfall of $65,000 needed to repair the roof/ceiling will be absorbed by the future $3,000,000 bond money if voters approve. One might ask why hasn’t the school district attended to ceiling/roof repairs before now? One might ask how was a contract written that did not specify payment contingent on customer satisfaction? 

On May 23rd, the school district will come to the Berkeley City council to ask that they reopen a previously completed Environmental Impact Review of the controversial East Campus playing field project. The existing EIR process closed October 8, 1999. Coincidentally the price tag for extended staff and outside consultant fees is estimated to run $65,000. Rightfully so, the city staff has said enough is enough. The city has already expended $150,000 on the earlier EIR – whose findings the community still awaits. The financially strapped school district has offered to foot the bill by forgiving the city’s “debt” for work on the warm water pool. This is a blatant example of the classic “shell game.” No money ever passes from one coffer to the other, but it comes at the sacrifice of the disabled and senior communities, and ultimately the expense of voters who support schools and help for the above mentioned communities. 

If this is an example of how allocated funds are managed, is it any wonder the school district has found itself with a deficit budget? If this is an example of why the district must return to the voters to approve future bonds, I encourage citizens to demand accountability. Up to this point the city has stood firm, requiring the BUSD to be responsible partners in joint projects. I commend the city’s good judgment exhibited by withholding their portion of the pool roof repairs. I ask that the city continue to show good judgment, model good business and budget practices, and say no to the school district when they ask approval to reopen the East Campus EIR process. Agreeing to it would make them accomplices to the district’s mismanagement of funds.  

Pamela Webster is a Berkeley resident and the parent of a BUSD student.

With 15 years of coaching success under his belt, Berkeley High track and field coach Darrell Hampton has always represented a strategic advantage to his athletes. But in Saturday’s East Bay Athletic League championship meet, Hampton admits it was the athletes alone who kept the EBAL title from going to the Wolves. 

After entering the meet expecting to take first place by a landslide, the BHS girls were awakened by an overachieving performance on the part of San Ramon Valley, which employed a strategy specifically tailored to beat the vaunted Yellowjackets. When the dust settled on the Chabot College track in Hayward, Berkeley had squeezed by the Wolves by a much smaller-than-expected margin of 133-113. 

“San Ramon Valley did a great coaching job,” Hampton said after the near uprising. “We got outcoached, it just happened that I had better athletes.” 

Because Hampton’s focus all season has been geared away from league competition in favor of more prestigious meets, he admitted that he had not done enough homework on the possible challengers, expecting his girls to breeze through the EBAL meet. San Ramon’s diverse squad remained consistent through each event – making up for its lack of competitive sprinters with solid performances in the jumps and field events.  

“I didn’t do what I should have done (in selecting runners for events),” the BHS coach said. “San Ramon Valley was very close to us – that shouldn’t have happened.” 

Despite the unexpected challenge, the Yellowjackets were able to dominate the sprint events sufficiently to hold on to the narrow victory. Senior sprint star Aisha Margain took home “Female Track Athlete of the Meet” honors for her first-place finishes in the 100m, 200m and 400m, as well as her part in the first-place 4x400 relay. Margain and teammate Katrina Keith, who finished first and second in the 100m, both broke the meet record in that event, running 12.14 and 12.28 times, respectively. 

The ’Jackets also broke the meet records in both relays. Keith, Raqueta Margain, Tatiana Newman and Simone Brooks combined for a 48.8 to secure the 4x100 mark, while Keith, T’Carra Penick and both Margain sisters outran the 4x400 record with a time of 3:54.70. 

“The varsity girls didn’t have their intensity, but they were able to get by,” said Hampton, who admits to being a bit concerned about his girls’ reputations as “big meet runners.” “That scares me. I know they’ll step up for the state meet, but that’s where batons get dropped. You have to be afraid (regardless of the competition). I do use fear as a motivator.” 

Despite the lack of intensity, the BHS coach didn’t consider the meet a setback going into this weekend’s North Coast meet. Hampton expects San Ramon Valley to be among the toughest competition at NCS, and believes that his ’Jackets will run away with the girls’ title, regardless of momentum. 

“We know as far as this section, we’ll pretty much dominate,” Hampton said about this weekend’s events. “I think San Ramon is the biggest threat. In the sprints, I only see about two other people (both from James Logan) competing.” 

North Coast action kicks off at 2 p.m. this Friday at Diablo Valley College, and continues on Saturday morning,

A sizable crowd gathered in Martin Luther King Jr. Park under the sun and blue skies Saturday for the singing, dancing, and other forms of presentation at the sixth annual Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Festival. 

Put on by the Asian Pacific Islander Committee, which is primarily composed of Berkeley High School students, the festival experienced one of its best turnouts in six years of existence. 

The theme of this year’s festival was “Through Our Eyes.” Coralie Chan, a Berkeley High senior and co-chair of the Berkeley High School Asian Pacific Islander Committee, explained that the theme reflects how Asian and Pacific Islander youths feel about being the new leaders of their communities while at the same time trying to keep certain traditions. 

“Since it’s a new millennium, we as Asian youth want the public and the rest of our community to realize that this is how we’re seeing things: through our eyes,” Chan said. 

The festival kicked off with kung fu presentations and a lion dance, courtesy of the Ying-Hung Kung Fu Club, which has performed at many shows in over 20 years of existence, including at the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade.  

Patty Chu’s Dance Group followed the Kung Fu Club. The Dance Group members, all girls ranging from 5 to 12 years old, performed four different traditional dances. 

Chinese Folk Dance Association, another group of young girls, did several traditional Chinese dances during the second half of the four-hour festival. The dances were meant to reflect the traditions passed down through generations. 

The festival also featured some modern entertainment. Singers like Repatua, Realism, Jannel and Karen Mora took the stage several times throughout the afternoon. While almost all of the songs were done in English, Mora, a 16-year-old, sang one song in Filipino. Street Poppers, a group of break-dancers, also took a turn at entertaining the crowd onstage and then spent most of the rest of the afternoon practicing moves on the grass.  

The mix of traditional and modern forms of entertainment symbolized both the old – traditions of ancestors – and the new – customs of the current generation. 

“This year the turnout was good and there was a lot of energy,” said Chan, who has been involved in the Asian Pacific Islander Festival for the last three years. 

Mayor Shirley Dean, who gave a speech about the city’s observation of May as Asian and Pacific Heritage Month, noted that this year’s festival had a larger turnout and featured more culture than in the last five years. 

“I think (the festival) is getting better,” said Dean, who has attended the festival all six years. “It’s getting a bigger turnout and I’m really pleased to hear that because I know that the club works very hard to put this thing together. 

“The important thing is the heritage that they are trying to let everybody know about. And they learn about it as they tell everybody else about it. So I would like to see that kind of emphasis continue.”

Golly. The next time my car is broken into in the darkness on 10th Street I’ll sure be celebrating the new lighting fixtures downtown. Even though downtown is arguably the best lighted place in town next to the football stadium, my neighborhood should certainly wait for improved lighting until the downtown merchants get their Christmas lighting because, after all, aesthetics come first. 

Carol Denney 

Berkeley

It’s only May, but a coalition of progressive organizations came together last week to choose a candidate to represent students on a progressive Rent Board Slate in the November election. 

Paul Hogarth, a graduating senior in Political Science, got the nod of some 60 people who met in the ASUC chambers at a nominating convention called by Students for a Livable Southside, Berkeley Citizens Action, the Green Party of Berkeley, NAACP, Service Employees International Unions 535 and 616, Cal Berkeley Democrats, Associated Students of UC, Berkeley’s Renters Legal Assistance and other organizations. 

The groups, which plan a convention in July to nominate other candidates, wanted to nominate a student for the Rent Board slate before the summer break. 

“Rent control’s not dead,” Hogarth said in an interview Friday. “Vacancy control is dead.” 

That is why there needs to be increased vigilance against owner move-in evictions and illegal rent increases, he said. 

“Once a tenant has an apartment, the rent board has the power to regulate rents. Just cause eviction is still part of Berkeley’s rent control law,” he said. 

Hogarth, who will be looking for work, plans to continue to live in the student community. 

He said he wants to work for passage of a measure by the City Council, similar to one in Santa Barbara, where a city official videotapes newly-rented apartments. The purpose of the taping is to prevent landlords from withholding security deposits, by claiming that tenants have damaged the property, when they have not, Hogarth said. 

“I want to make sure tenants get their security deposits back,” he said. 

Hogarth also wants to educate people about their rights as tenants. 

“As long as tenants don’t know their rights, they get cheated,” he said.

Eight Berkeley artists were selected to create the sidewalk art for the Addison Streetscape. They are Lynne-Rachel Altman, Jenny Cole, Carolynn Haydu, Diana Maria Rossi, Rebecca Schwarz, Nancy Selvin, Sofie Siegmann and April Watkins. A selection panel that reports to the Civic Arts Commission chose their work from a field of 24 applicants. 

The artists have submitted drawings or samples of materials they will use in the sidewalk art consisting of 12 panels, five on the north side of the street and seven panels on the south side of Addison. 

The Streetscape Project was open to artists who live or work in Berkeley, but other public art projects both downtown and elsewhere in the city will be open to artists living anywhere in the world. 

Civic Arts Coordinator Mary Ann Merker-Benton said inquires about downtown public art drew queries from artists all over the country. 

She said the city’s aim is to have balance, to display the work of local artists and to help them develop, but also to bring in the work of people from other artistic environments. 

A stroke left John Terry aphasic and paralyzed on his right side a decade ago. And four years ago, at age 71, his wife, Ebba, who suffers from arthritis, fell and had to have a hip replaced. 

Ebba Terry wrote to the City Council, asking councilmembers to put a bond measure on the November ballot for improvements to the aging therapeutic warm pool located at Berkeley High. She said the couple’s doctors and adult children say that “our over all physical and mental health appear noticeably better when we are able to attend the water therapy sessions on a regular schedule, three times a week.” 

At its meeting Tuesday, the City Council directed its staff to assess what pool renovations could be financed for $3 million and what could be bought for more. 

A $3 million bond would cost homeowners, over a 20-year period, $2 per year if they own a house assessed at $100,000 and $8 per year if they own a house assessed at $350,000. 

Pool needs include a new water distribution system to clean the water every four hours and a new air circulation system, said Sasha Futran, a consultant working on the renovation project. 

The pool is kept at about 90 degrees and the environment is hot and humid. 

“The paint is peeling off; the metal is rusting; there are broken tiles; there are toilets without seats,” Futran said. 

The school district will be renovating the locker rooms and building a new school pool within the next few years and the current locker rooms will become unavailable. So new locker rooms will be needed as well as accessible toilets – only one stall is currently accessible. 

The school district uses the pool for 10-15 hours a week for its special education classes. The district has agreed to pay for the renovated pool’s utilities, although no formal agreement between the city and district has been signed. 

“This whole council’s for it. That in itself is amazing,” quipped Councilmember Betty Olds. 

In the next month or so, the council will formally vote on a number of ballot recommendations. 

The staff is working on wording for a parks and landscape tax, which would cost all homeowners $15 per year; a street lighting special tax, which would cost $5 per year; and a library tax, which would cost $4 per year for homeowners whose homes are assessed at $100,000 and $13 per year, for homeowners with domiciles assessed at $350,000. 

The staff is also working on wording for a ballot measure to increase the property transfer tax from 1.5 percent to 2 percent. Funds raised would be used for affordable housing. This measure was proposed by Councilmember Linda Maio, but has not yet been discussed by the council.

After striking out three times in his first three at-bats against Granada’s solid pitching staff in Friday’s home finale, Berkeley High first-baseman Greer Wiggins didn’t think it would be possible to erase the silver sombrero from the crowd’s memory in one swing. Turned out, he was wrong. 

With the Yellowjackets down by a run in the last half of the seventh, and runners on first and third, the senior slugger connected on a monster drive that cleared the Matador outfielders by 30 feet, and bounced from the grass onto the cement path beyond the home run line. After several minutes of debate between both coaches and the umpire, the ball was ruled live – as opposed to a dead-ball ground-rule double – and Wiggins stood on third base with the game-winning triple. 

“Granada pitched me real well today. Those first three strikeouts were in the back of my mind,” said the senior, whose seventh-inning shot scored teammate Noah Roper – the go-ahead run – from first base. “I knew it was out (of bounds) when I hit it. To me, it really does mean a lot, to win my last home game as a Berkeley High baseball player.” 

The clutch three-bagger completed a five-run, come-from-behind effort by the ’Jackets, who entered the final inning trailing the Matadors, 7-3. Dan Pfister, whose seventh-inning RBI single brought BHS within two, scored the tying run from third.  

Freshman hurler Sean Souders recorded the win for Berkeley, after taking over for starter Moses Kopmar in the sixth inning.  

“The entire year, we’ve seemed to start slow,” BHS coach Larri Gordon said about his squad’s recent tendency to sleepwalk through the opening innings. “The last two games, we’ve scored all our runs in the last two innings. That concerns me. I want us to start off hot early, and we don’t do that too often.” 

“At first, we weren’t making the plays we need to make,” Wiggins added. “We have a pretty good defensive team, but a couple of hops just went their way, and moved them along (the basepaths).”  

Friday’s win improved Berkeley’s overall record to 11-9, keeping the team on life-support in their hunt for a North Coast Section playoff bid. At 5-7 in league, the ’Jackets must win their final two games – both on the road - to even be considered for a third-place at-large bid. Their first challenge comes next Wednesday at Foothill – a team that currently occupies third place in the EBAL, and figures to beat out Berkeley for the postseason spot with a victory at its home field.  

“Foothill put some good numbers up on us last time we faced them,” Gordon said, referring to April 14’s loss to the Falcons at San Pablo Park. “It’s a long-shot, but if we win our remaining two games, and they lose theirs, we have a chance (at NCS playoffs). It’s a huge, huge game at their place.” 

Wednesday’s first pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 13 

Forum on city’s Arts Grants Program 

10 a.m.-noon 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

The Berkeley Civic Arts Commission, in conjunction with the City of Berkeley Civic Arts Office, will present this public forum to review new guidelines and grant applications for the city’s Arts Grants Program. The program distributes funds to eligible arts and other organizations operating within the city. 

510-705-8183 

Stop the War! The Vietnam Era 

10 a.m.-noon 

This walk is part of the Spring 2000 Walking Tours sponsored by the Berkeley Historical Society. With a limit of 30 people, the tour begins at the Free Speech Café in the Moffett Library on the UC Berkeley campus. Ann Marks, Berkeley Historical Society Board member, author, anti-war activist and curator of the Society’s Vietnam Anti-War Exhibit, will lead a walking tour of Vietnam-era protest and demonstration sites. The price is $5 per tour or $20 per season ticket for Berkeley Historical Society members. The price is $10 per tour for non-members. Call the Berkeley Historical Society for reservations. 

510-848-0181 

Berkeley Potters Guild Spring Show 

10 a.m.-6 p.m. 

Jones and Fourth streets 

This show-and-sale highlights work by clay artists, Ikebana demonstrations, one-of-a-kind bargains throughout the complex of art studios, and more. The event is free. 

510-524-7031 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

Center Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 

510-548-3333 

Sixth Annual Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Festival 

Noon-4 p.m. 

Civic Center Park, Downtown Berkeley 

Students from Berkeley High and other local schools are organizing this festival celebrating the diversity of Asian Pacific heritage. This year’s theme is “Through Our Eyes.” 

510-849-4898; 510-595-4645 

“School House Rock Live! Jr.” 

1 p.m. 

John Muir Elementary School Auditorium, 2955 Claremont Ave. 

This musical features an all-kids cast. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for children age 12 and under. 

510-762-2279 

Tiny Feet and Baby Shoes (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

2-5 p.m. 

Festival Gallery, 2216 Shattuck Ave. 

This will be a fun-filled program for the 0- to 3-year-old crowd, evoking the spirit of the old Huston Shoes site with stories, music, songs, skits, art projects and poetry all about feet and shoes. $6 adults, $3 children, FOF free. 

Capoeira Arts (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

5 p.m. 

2026 Addison St. 

Bahia Que Tem Dende, performed by Bira Almeida & Corpo Santo, a spectacular, action-packed program of dance and music of Brazil. 

510-666-1255 

“The Gate of Heavenly Peace,” Richard Gordon, Carma Hinton (US, 1995 - Berkeley Arts Festival) 

7:30 p.m. 

Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way 

Works in the Works 2000 (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

7:30 p.m. 

Eighth St. Studio, 2525 Eighth St. $8, FOF $7. 

Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

8 p.m. 

St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. 

Bach’s B minor Mass. Free. 

“The Love of Three Oranges” 

8 p.m. 

Live Oak Theater, Shattuck and Berryman 

Berkwood Hedge School students will present this unlikely comedy adventure of witches, wizards and princes. Tickets $4 per person. 

510-883-6990 

Chanticleer poetry event 

8 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way 

This is a program of poems of love by Guarini and Tasso titled “Ardo d’Amore.” The varied program will include traditional Renaissance madrigals and works by d’India, Monteverdi, Gesualdo, Hawley and Adamo, all using the romantic poetry of the 16th century Italian masters. 

415-392-4400; 800-407-1400 

John Santos and Machete Ensemble Tribute to the Master, CD release party (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

8:30 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 

$14, FOF $12. 

Sunday, May 14 

Mother’s Day tea and tours 

9 a.m.-4:45 p.m. 

UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley campus 

Tea, sandwiches, cookies and homemade breads will be served at three separate seatings for moms. Space is only available in the third seating, at 3 p.m. Tours will be offered throughout the day. Cost is $10 for Garden members, $15 for non-members, $5 for children 3-12. Call ahead for reservations. 

510-643-2755 

Berkeley Potters Guild Spring Show 

10 a.m.-6 p.m. 

Jones and Fourth streets 

This show-and-sale highlights work by clay artists, Ikebana demonstrations, one-of-a-kind bargains throughout the complex of art studios, and more. The event is free. 

510-524-7031 

Mother’s Day Picket 

11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Marina Radisson, 200 Marina Blvd. 

This picket is being organized by HERE Local 2850 to raise awareness about the union’s concerns with hotel practice and policy. 

510-893-3181 

Mother’s Day 2000 Picnic 

Noon-2:30 p.m. 

Civic Center Park, Downtown Berkeley 

Women for Peace and the Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom are sponsoring this event. Scheduled speakers include Medea Benjamin, Claire Cummings, Sally Light, Cathrine Sneed, Nadia Babella and Dena Adeeb. The acoustic trio Rebecca Riots will perform. This event is free. 

Million Mom March in Oakland 

12:30-3 p.m. 

Lake Merritt, Lakeside Park, Oakland 

This is one of 57 regional marches being held in solidarity with the Million Mom March in Washington, D.C. 

510-547-8087; www.mmmsfbayarea.org 

“The Love of Three Oranges” 

2 p.m. 

Live Oak Theater, Shattuck and Berryman 

Berkwood Hedge School students will present this unlikely comedy adventure of witches, wizards and princes. Tickets $4 per person. 

510-883-6990 

Rhyme and Reason Open Mike Series 

2:30 p.m. 

UC Berkeley Art Museum, 2621 Durant Ave. 

This free event will feature poet Max Schwartz. The public and students are invited. Signups for the open mike begin at 2 p.m. 

510-234-0727; 510-642-5168 

The First-Ever Berkeley Satirithon (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

3 p.m. 

Festival Gallery, 2216 Shattuck Ave. 

This free speech fiesta will feature Selma Spector, Ed Holmes, Stoney Burke, Carol Denney, Marc McDonald, Jennifer Stone and more. Another Arnie Passman House of Cards execution. $5-$10 FOF (Friends of Festival) free. 

Chamber Music Sundays 

3:15 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 

San Francisco Symphony Musicians will perform a program of works by Glinka, Tchaikovsky, and Brindel. Tickets $15 general; $12 seniors and students. 

415-584-5946 

Sundays at Four Concert Series 

4 p.m. 

The Crowden School, 2401 LeConte Ave. 

Francesco Trio will present a program of works by Mendelssohn, Ravel, and Cowell. There will be a pre-concert talk at 3:15 p.m. Tickets $10 general; free children age 18 and under. 

510-559-6910 

A Taste of China, Michael Lerner (US, 1984 - Berkeley Arts Festival) 

4 p.m. 

Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way 

Dave Eshelman Quartet (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

4:30 p.m. 

Jazzschool/La Note, 2377 Shattuck Ave. 

General Admission is $12; students and seniors, $10; Jazzschool students and children under 13, $6. Seating is limited and reservations are recommended. 

510-845-5373 

Organ concert 

6 p.m. 

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way 

Organist Joel Martinson will perform a program of works by Bohm, Pachelbel, Buxtehude, Bach, and Martinson. Donation for admission. 

510-845-0888 

American Bach Soloists 

7:30 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way 

Cathrine Bott, soprano, and Judith Malafronte, alto, will perform Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater” and “Magnificent Mozart.” Tickets $20 to $37. 

415-392-4400 

Works in the Works 2000 (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

7:30 p.m. 

Eighth St. Studio, 2525 Eighth St. $8, FOF $7. 

----------------- 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). Calendar items should be submitted at least four days in advance. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information.

The Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste (CMTW) has put forth a new teaching on tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. Before examining this new teaching, let me remind you that the CMTW preaches that tritium is the “baddest” of all radioactive substances and that the “evil” Department of Energy (DOE) has endangered the good citizens of Berkeley by locating a scientific laboratory that uses it in a “dangerous” earthquake and firestorm area. Although the tritium at Berkeley Lab is stored in the inert form of uranium tritide, this is never mentioned in the CMTW’s teachings. Furthermore, they suppress the fact that tens of thousands of curies of tritium are also stored in fragile glass tubes in public and private buildings throughout Berkeley. 

So how do the disciples of the CMTW justify this teaching that tritium is dangerous in the Hills, but not in the Flatlands? Could it have anything to do with the fact that both the CMTW co-chairs live in the Hills? Ms. Gene Bernardi (Perspective, May 11) squares this circle by preaching that Berkeley Lab is releasing tritiated water vapor which is “bad” tritium whereas the tritium in Exit signs is in the form of hydrogen gas and is “good” tritium. 

In putting forth CMTW’s new teaching, Ms Bernardi distorts the truth by not telling the public that the tritium released from both the Berkeley Lab and stored in EXIT signs consist of mixtures of both chemical forms. In 1999, Berkeley Lab released tritium, which was 70 percent and 30 percent in the water vapor and hydrogen forms, respectively. For a six -year-old EXIT sign, the fraction of tritium in these two chemical forms is typically 10 percent and 90 percent. Thus, the ratio of “bad” tritium released from Berkeley Lab to the “bad” tritium in EXIT signs is about a factor of 10 and hardly the tens of thousands trumpeted by Ms Bernardi. Furthermore, hydrogen in the gas form is readily converted to water vapor, sometimes explosively as in the Hindenburg blimp disaster. Finally the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains that all tritium in the hydrogen form is converted to tritiated water vapor in the atmosphere. For this reason, the EPA uses the biological effectiveness of tritiated water vapor for both chemical forms when estimating radiation exposures to the public. 

So how dangerous are tritium releases from the Berkeley Lab? In 1999, 30 curies of tritium or 3 EXIT signs worth were released. If all of this tritium were breathed by a single individual, he/she would receive a sizable radiation dose. What Ms. Bernardi neglects to tell you is that the released tritium is diluted by over a trillion times. As a result, the maximum dose a person at the Lawrence Hall Science (LHS) would be exposed to is over a thousand times smaller than the dose from environmental sources and a hundred times below the regulatory limit. Even to get this small dose, a visitor to the LHS must live there for 24 hours a day for a year. Clearly visiting school children who spend only a small fraction of year at the LHS are not at risk. Furthermore, the EPA has verified these dose estimates by directly measuring the airborne tritium concentrations at the LHS. 

Ms. Bernardi implies that if a tritium-filled EXIT sign were to break in a schoolroom, it is not a cause for concern. Since a tritium-filled EXIT sign contains about 10 curies of tritium and a typical school room has a volume of about 100 m3, it is very easy to calculate the concentration that school children would be exposed to if a sign broke and released all of its tritium. Since 10 curies corresponds to 10,000,000,000,000 picocuries, by dividing the number of picocuries in the sign by the volume of the room, one obtains a tritium concentration of 100,000,000,000 picocuries/m3. Since the tritium concentration in a classroom from a broken EXIT sign would exceed those measured at the LHS by over a factor of a million, why is Ms. Bernardi not interested in these potential tritium exposures? Should not the CMTW be asking the EPA to declare all school buildings with tritium EXIT signs potential Superfund sites? Could it be that the CMTW is not interested in public health risks, but only in harassing the DOE? 

The proper way to evaluate the relative risks of tritium emissions from Berkeley Lab versus those from a broken EXIT sign would be to compare the respective radiation doses to a maximally exposed individual. In 1999 the highest potential offsite dose from Berkeley Lab air emissions was 0.1 mrem. An EXIT sign manufacturer estimates that the potential dose to an individual in a room with a broken EXIT sign would be 100 mrem, which is 1,000 times larger. Since the potential dose from a broken EXIT sign is a thousand times larger than that resulting from a field trip to the LHS, why is Ms. Bernardi not concerned about tritium that is actually in the classroom? 

With apologies to Leon Trotsky, “Everyone has the right to be wrong, but Ms. Bernardi abuses the privilege.” Perhaps, the CMTW should be called the Committee to Minimize Truth and Wisdom? For more on the CMTW Tritium Cover-up, stay tuned for a guide to the Tritium Hotspots in District 4. 

--------------- 

Gordon Wozniak, Ph.D., is senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and vice chair of the City of Berkeley’s Community Environmental Advisory Commission.

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE 

“Let My Enemy Live Long!” by Tanya Shaffer, April 19 through May 12. The story of an ill-advised boat ride up West Africa's Niger River to Timbuktu. 

$19 to $48.50. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 8 p.m.; Wednesday, 7 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; April 19, 8 p.m.; NO PERFORMANCES APRIL 25 AND APRIL 26. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 845-4700 or (888) 4BRTTIX. 

IMPACT THEATRE 

“The Wake-Up Crew” by Zay Amsbury, May 5 through June 3. A comic book on stage that pits unemployed UC Santa Cruz grads against the forces of chaos and destruction. 

$10 general; $5 students. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. La Val’s Subterranean Theater, 1834 Euclid Ave., Berkeley. (510) 464-4468. 

SHOTGUN PLAYERS 

“The Skriker” by Caryl Churchill, through June 4. In this ecological play, faeries are damaged due to polluted rivers and woods, and are forgotten. 

$15 general; $10 seniors and students. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. The Warehouse Performance Space, 1850 Cesar Chavez St., San Francisco. (510) 655-0813. 

Not every little leaguer gets the chance to hop the fence of his favorite team’s home field, take a couple of hacks off Randy Johnson or shag flies alongside Barry Bonds. 

Not every aspiring paleontologist gets the opportunity to dig up dinosaurs in the field, and chat about punctuated equilibrium over lunch with Stephen Jay Gould. 

And not every young musician gets the chance to sit in with the city’s symphony orchestra and blast out a trumpet solo – but some do, here in Berkeley. 

The expression “only in Berkeley” is usually uttered in response to protests, politically correct ordinances and the exhibitionism of the X-Plicit Players, but it is equally applicable in describing the city symphony’s work within Berkeley’s elementary schools. 

“As a youngster, I went to concerts for kids in the Paramount Theater. I remember getting on buses, getting in a really long line, a long ramp and how big the Paramount Theater was. But that’s all I remember,” recalls Randy Porter, founder of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Music Education Program. “That’s one of the reasons we don’t just do something really big for lots of kids. When you’re dealing with smaller people, the intimacy is really important to them being able to have a meaningful experience.” 

So Porter, an Oakland music teacher now in his seventh year as the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra’s education director, created a unique program in 1993 in which the orchestra doesn’t just play to the kids, but with them. 

“The Berkeley Sound,” a collaborative concert with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and the elementary school kids is the culmination of a six-odd week music program within the schools. The program runs in four city schools a year, two at a time. Both Oxford and Washington schools knocked off their collaborative concerts Thursday morning, bathed in the multicolored sunlight beneath the rose window of St. John’s Presbyterian Church. 

“The experience of making music is not limited to those who consider themselves musicians. Today, everyone’s a musician,” said orchestra conductor George Thomson following the Thursday morning concerts. “Part of getting people used to the experience of making music is to show them that it’s cool to do it.” 

Showing the kids music’s inherent coolness is not a rapid process. Following an initial, interest-piquing concert by the orchestra, the kids – including special education or hearing impaired students – grill Thomson and the orchestra musicians in “Q and A” sessions, write poetry and set it to music (using the five black keys on the piano to “write simple, pentatonic melodies,” as Porter puts it) and craft some of the many homemade instruments in Porter’s handbook leading up to the big collaborative concert. 

“One is a film canister with a balloon stretched over it half-filled with rice,” says Porter of one of the eight kid-crafted instruments in his guidebook. “You can shake it, or pluck it – and it’s very loud, actually. You can blow across it and get a really squeally sound. Or you can put two film canisters together and get an ocarina, a kind of circular, clay flute. Or you can cut a straw’s tip and blow into it like an oboe. Sometimes teachers take their own leads and let the kids invent their own instruments. Those can be extremely wacky.” 

And while the kids seem enthused to work with the professional musicians, it certainly seems that the adults are getting a blast out of working the children as well. At Thursday’s concerts, orchestra members often smiled proudly at their little proteges, and generally seemed to be having a splendid time of it. 

“The kids were very well prepared and well behaved. I really had fun and the program was great,” said orchestra violinist Eugene Chukholov following the Oxford School concert. “My father, who is a music professor, always said playing for kids is the biggest responsibility for the professional. They’re the most honest. They’ll obviously react positively to something that’s good. 

“(Wednesday’s) rehearsal was just wonderful,” continues Chukholov. “For a musician, to get to a rehearsal at 7 a.m. is torture, because you’re playing until 2 the night before. But the teachers were really involved and the students were very involved and the rehearsal was just a treat.” 

Chukholov et al accompanied the students in a program that, at the very least, could be described as extraordinarily eclectic. The orchestra backed the young musicians and singers in such tunes as “Twinkle, Twinkle,” Haydn’s “Surprise Symphony,” Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” and the old Woodie Guthrie number “Goin’ Down the Old Dusty Road” (with special guest Country Joe McDonald). The concert was recorded for posterity from hundreds of angles by hundreds of proud parents wielding hundreds of camcorders. 

“I want the kids to understand that ‘I could do that,’ that this is where all those people in the orchestra started when they were kids,” says Porter of his goals for the program. “Most orchestra musicians start in school music programs like what’s in place at Berkeley Unified. I want the kids to think that if this is something they love and could be passionate about they could do this if they wanted.”

Lighting was the highest priority of participants in public workshops last year where they identified preferences for streetscape improvements for downtown Berkeley. 

At the end of the month, construction will begin on the streetscape on Shattuck Avenue from University Avenue to Channing Way and on University from Milvia Street to Oxford Street. And lighting for pedestrians will take center stage. 

The project funded by the Measure S bond issue calls for new street lights, sidewalks, trees, public art and drainage systems. 

According to Michael Caplan, the city’s economic development coordinator for downtown Berkeley, $2.5 million is targeted for the complete project, with the funds coming from 1996’s Measure S. 

“We worked close with various commissions and met with the public and civic interest groups,” he said. 

Caplan said it was decided that high-priority items would be highly visible ones with impact and that “we should get a big bang for their buck because the money is limited.” 

The first things pedestrians will notice when the project begins, said Sam Lee, associate civil engineer and project manager, are the crews identifying and marking the surface above underground electrical utilities. 

Following that evaluation, the construction engineers will dig the trench for the utilities either in the street pavement or on the sidewalk. 

Construction will proceed block by block with crews completing all the work on one block before moving to the next one, he said. 

“We hope to be finished by the holidays,” Lee said. 

Holiday time for merchants translates as Thanksgiving, said Deborah Badhia from the Downtown Berkeley Association, which markets businesses and advocates for downtown improvements. 

She’ll be a liaison between the retailers and customers and residents in the area, getting weekly updates from Lee and providing information to mitigate problems caused by the construction. 

Caplan said signage will indicate the path to the stores, to make sure customers have access to businesses. Traffic may be delayed and street closures may be necessary. 

Additionally, on-street parking may be restricted. 

Work is scheduled to run from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

The contractor for the construction is Bauman Landscapes of Richmond, the company that designed Hilltop Mall. Frank Altamura, owner of Bauman Landscapes, declined to discuss the project until the contract is signed. 

The lighting for pedestrians is scaled more to human size than the large “cobra” lights currently over the intersections, said Badhia. 

Pedestrian lights like the ones to be installed on Shattuck Avenue and University Avenue already are in place on Center Street and Addison Street. The globes of those lights disperse light down to the street, Caplan said. And they evoke the turn of the century period providing a certain esthetic style. 

Additionally historical lights that originally were in place on San Pablo Avenue in the 1900s era have been transplanted to Addison Street and Shattuck Avenue as part of the project. 

Caplan said the company that made those lights, Union Metal in Ohio, still had the molds for the historic lights in its plant and made several new ones that will be placed at the intersection of Shattuck and University. They will replace the cobra lights there. 

Crosswalks will be improved on University Avenue to make them safer, and pedestrian “bulb outs” will extend the curbs into the intersection making pedestrians more visible in another safety measure.

The Yellowjackets may be out of the playoffs, but for five Berkeley High girls lacrosse players, the season isn’t quite over yet.  

Jamie Lee, Dani Ganes, Naomi Coffman, Catherine Etzel and Rory Satran were all voted on to the 2000 all-star roster by a consensus of league coaches last week, and will compete in today’s all-star game at the BHS football field. As in previous years, the game will involve two mixed teams comprised of players from all over the league, meaning the athletes may find themselves competing against members of their own team. 

“We just go out and try to have a good time,” said Lee, who will be making her second all-star appearance in two years. “It’s so much fun to be able to play with the quote-unquote best players in the league.” 

“It’s definitely going to be weird playing against our own team (and) playing with opponents,” said Satran, who was initially surprised to hear her name called among the list of all-stars. “I’m honored to be recognized (by the coaches). This means a lot to me.” 

A traditionally informal event, today’s all-star game is geared away from intense competition, and is intended more as an exhibition. Among the changes from typical competitive play are the decreased role of the coaches, who will be limited to making substitutions, and the positioning of the players, who will get the opportunity to play anywhere on the field they want. 

“We just say, ‘I’ll play this position’ and go out and play,” Lee said. “It was really fun last year.” 

“I had a lot of fun out there last year,” Coffman agreed. “I like it because we get to play with a lot of real good people.” 

Today’s game is scheduled to begin directly at the conclusion of the noon Monte Vista-St. Ignatius playoff game, hosted by Berkeley High.

Since the Alameda County Board of Education took action regarding the danger tritium emissions could pose to children on field trips to the Lawrence Hall of Science, people associated with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) have written opinion pieces attacking the credibility of the Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste. Although I’m not a member of the Committee, the tone and tenor of these attacks are such that I feel obligated to respond. The Committee is made up of citizens who volunteer their time because they are concerned about their community and the dangers posed by tritium. Although these folks are not scientists their belief that LBNL’s activities endanger this community has been confirmed on several occasions, such as when the Environmental Protection Agency, in response to a Committee complaint, put the lab site on the Superfund list because the tritium emissions were found to have exceeded federal cancer-risk screening concentrations.  

Contrast this with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), which gets millions of dollars to do tritium experiments, or the Lawrence Hall of Science, which makes money for each visiting student. We need not wonder if economic motives might one day cause the LBNL to deceive the public, they have already been caught misleading the public on several occasions. 

• On April 20, 1998 LBNL discharged 160 gallons of water contaminated with tritium, arsenic, mercury and lead into a storm drain and failed to report it, later claiming they were not required to. Nabil Al-Hadithy, Director of Berkeley’s Toxic Management Division, responded with a letter stating, “Since your communication sets a dangerous precedent in pollution prevention it is being forwarded to the District Attorney...” 

• On May 15, 1998 LBNL mixed tritium with toxic waste, mislabeled it, and send it to a facility that is not licensed to dispose of radioactive material. 

• When LBNL accidentally released tritium on July 24, 1998, they delayed taking urine samples from lab employees for three days and failed to report the incident to the public for six days. And these are just some of the things we know about!  

So when one is weighing credibility one should keep these facts in mind. Still it’s hard to decide who to believe. Both the members of the Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste, and LBNL supporters speak with a passion that comes from believing they are right. The difference in perspective comes down to something called the “precautionary principle,” a public health doctrine that states “When an activity raises threats of harm to the environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.” 

The “precautionary principle” has been used in Europe since the 1980s, and is a major reason European countries insist that bioengineered food products be labeled. In the United States, regulatory agencies often require “scientific certainty” of harm before declaring a chemical, product or activity to be dangerous. “Scientific certainty” is the approach that industry used for three decades to convince the Environmental Protection Agency not to regulate carbon dioxide emissions since there was no scientific certainty such emissions would result in global warming. Now that the evidence is in, no credible scientist disagrees that carbon dioxide emissions did resulted in global warming. 

But despite the lessons of global warming Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) opposes the “precautionary principle.” They don’t want non-scientists, such as teachers or parents, to make decisions that might cost Lawrence Hall of Science money unless it is “scientifically certain” that the levels of tritium the children are exposed to are dangerous. The weakness of the “scientific certainty” approach is that it will not acknowledge an activity or product to be dangerous until the damage is done. 

In this case children visiting the Lawrence Hall of Science are the guinea pigs. Decades from now, if they suffer from cancer or give birth to deformed children, “scientific certainty” will conclude that tritium levels were harmful. Considering that nearly 100,000 children a year visit the Lawrence Hall of Science the school board should not risk the health and safety of so many children. They should adopt the “precautionary principle” and suspend all field trips to the Lawrence Hall of Science until an independent study can determine to a “scientific certainty” that exposure to tritium does NOT pose a future threat to the health and safety of these young people. 

----------------- 

Berkeley resident Elliot Cohen has been involved in researching nuclear issues for more than 20 years. In the mid 1980s he worked for New York City Council Member Ruth Messinger as a environmental aide, where his duties included researching and drafting comments regarding low-level radioactive waste disposal. In Berkeley he helped organize the protest against the Cassini space launch, and has spent two years studying the Nuclear Free Berkeley Act.

ASHKENAZ 

The Johnny Otis Show, Clarence Van Hook, May 13, 9:30 p.m. $20. 

Caminos Flamencos, May 14, 7:30 p.m. $10. 

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5099 or www.ashkenaz.com 

BLAKES 

Nobody From Ipenema, Brazilian Dance Party, May 13. $6. 

Ten Ton Chicken, May 14. $3. 

For age 18 and older. Music at 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0886. 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE 

18.50. 

Robin Flower and Libby McLaren, May 13. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Kathy Kallick Mother's Day Show, May 14, 2 p.m. $5.50 kids/ $7.50 general. 

Melody of China with Wu Wei, May 14. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Music at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761 or (510) 762-BASS. 

LA PEÑA CULTURAL CENTER 

John Santos and the Machete Ensemble, May 13, 8:30 p.m. $15. 

Cafe Rumba, May 14, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.  

Cancionero, May 14, 8 p.m. $8. 

3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

924 GILMAN ST. 

The Oozzies, Trust Fund Babies, May 13. 

$5. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. (510) 525-9926. 

THE STARRY PLOUGH PUB 

The Damnations, TX, The Ex-Husbands, May 13. $7. 

For age 21 and over. Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9:45 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082.

Berkeley police are searching for a woman they believe is responsible for a strong-armed robbery late Thursday night. 

The incident occurred around 11 p.m. in the 2600 block of Regent Street, according to Police Lt. Russell Lopes. Two women were walking along and were approached by two other pedestrians. The female pedestrian suddenly accosted one of the women and attempted to steal her purse. During the struggle, the suspect managed to rip the purse away from the victim. The suspect, accompanied by a man, immediately fled the scene. 

The victim was able to call police right away, and a nearby officer tracked down the two suspects. As the officer was taking the man – 27-year-old Jesus Dickey – into custody, the female suspect managed to escape, and police were unable to locate her. 

Lopes identified the female suspect as 21-year-old Mukuta Francine Muanza, who apparently has had run-ins with the police department before. She is described as a black woman, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing around 150 pounds. She was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans, according to witnesses. 

Neither suspect has a permanent place of residence, Lopes said. 

Dickey was arrested on a charge of robbery. Muanza is being sought on the robbery charge and a $5,000 warrant for a prior misdemeanor arrest. 

The victim’s purse was recovered, Lopes said.

UC BERKELEY ART 

MUSEUM 

“Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition,” May 20 through July 2. The 13th annual exhibit of work by candidates for the Master of Fine Arts degree. Artist Talk, May 21, 3 p.m. At Gallery 2. 

“Anne Chu/MATRIX 184 Untitled,” April 16 through June 18. The exhibition features a selection of Chu's T'ang dynasty funerary figures sculpted following her travels to Xian and Guangdong. The wooden figures range in height from 28 inches to over six feet.  

“China: Fifty Years Inside the People's Republic,” through June 18. The work of 25 Chinese and Western photographers explores half a century of social and political upheaval in this unusual exhibit. The 200 photographs, both black-and-white and color, cover the many regions, cultures and people that make up China as well as the mix of traditional life and the modern one. 

“Autour de Rodin: Auguste Rodin and His Contemporaries,” through August. An exhibit of 11 bronze maquettes on loan from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation in Los Angeles. The bronzes range in style from the artist's classically inspired “Torso of a Woman” to the anguish of “The Martyr.” Some of the maquettes were cast during Rodin’s lifetime, others have been cast fairly recently under the aegis of the Musee Rodin which alone is authorized to cast his sculptures posthumously. 

$6 general; $4 seniors and students ages 12 to 18; free children age 12 and under; free Thursday, 1 1 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-0808. 

HALL OF HEALTH  

2230 Shattuck Ave. (lower level), Berkeley 

A hands-on community health education museum and science center sponsored by Children's Hospital Oakland and Alta Bates Medical Center. 

“This is Your Heart!” ongoing. An in teractive exhibit on heart health. 

“Good Nutrition,” ongoing. This exhibit includes models for making balanced meals and an exercycle for calculating how calories are burned. 

“Draw Your Own Insides,” ongoing. Human-shaped chalkboards and models with removable organs allow visitors to explore the inside of their bodies. 

“Your Cellular Self and Cancer Prevention,” ongoing. An exhibit on understanding how cells become cancerous and how to detect and prevent cancer. 

Free. For children ages 3 to 12 and their parents. 

(510) 549-1564 

LAWRENCE HALL 

OF SCIENCE 

“Dinosaurs 2000,” through June 4. An exhibit featuring 16 lifelike robotic creatures, fossils, activities to compare yourself to a dinosaur, and daily live demonstrations. 

“The News About Dinosaurs,” through June 4. Learn more about the “Dinosaurs 2000” exhibit with live demonstrations exploring recent paleontological discoveries and how scientists know what they do about prehistoric creatures. Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. 

$6 general; $4 seniors, students and children ages 7 to 18; $2 children ages 3 to 6; free children under age 3. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Centennial Drive, University of California, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 

PHOEBE HEARST MUSEUM 

Kroeber Hall, UC Berkeley 

“Modern Treasures from Ancient Iran,” through Oct. 29. This exhibit explores nomadic and town life in ancient and modern Iran as illustrated in bronze and pottery vessels, and textiles. 

“Pana O’ahu: Sacred Stones – Sacred Places,” through July 16. An exhibit of photographs by Jan Becket and Joseph Singer. 

“Phoebe Hearst Museum-Approaching a Century of Anthropology,” a sampling of the vast collections of the museum, its mission, history, and current research, with selections from ancient Egypt, ancient Peru, California Indians, Asia (India), and Africa. 

“Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture,” Ishi, the last Yahi Indian of California, spent the final years of his life, 1911 to 1916, living at the museum, working with anthropologists to record his culture, demonstrating technological skills, and retelling Yahi myths, tales, and songs. 

Wednesday through Sunday 10 am -4:30 pm; Thursday until 9 pm (Sept-May) 

(510) 643-7648 

HABITOT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 

Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 

A museum especially for children age 7 and younger. Highlights include “WaterWorks,” an area with some unusual water toys, an Infant Tree for babies, a garden especially for toddlers, a child-scale grocery store and cafe, and a costume shop and stage for junior thespians. The museum also features a toy lending library. 

Exhibit: “Back to the Farm,” open-ended. This interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels like an earthworm, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and much more.  

Admission is $4 for adults; $6 child age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child.  

Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

(510) 647-1111 

JUDAH L. MAGNES 

MUSEUM 

2911 Russell St., Berkeley 

“Telling Time: To Everything There Is A Season,” through May 2002.  

An exhibit structured around the seasons of the year and the seasons of life with objects ranging from the sacred and the secular, to the provocative and the whimsical. Highlights include treasures from Jewish ceremonial and folk art, rare books and manuscripts, contemporary and traditional fine art, video, photography and cultural kitsch. Through Nov. 4: “Spring and Summer.” 

Free. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

(510) 549-6950.

Ron Mix, founding publisher of the Berkeley Daily Planet, has resigned his position with Bigfoot Media Inc. to accept the position of Vice President/Chief Operating Officer with Pizazz Printing in Milpitas, the company that prints the Planet. 

“It has indeed been a pleasure being part of such a special project as birthing a community newspaper for a city such as Berkeley,” Mix said. “Despite a few bumps in the road up the hill, the newspaper is an unqualified success and has gained broad acceptance as the community’s daily newspaper. I believe we have shown Berkeley that it needed its own community newspaper, and the community has responded favorably with its support.” 

Mix was part of the team that launched the Berkeley Daily Planet on April 7, 1999. Assuming the title of publisher as of today is Bigfoot Chief Executive Officer Arnold Lee. Day-to-day sales operations will be directed by Lori O’Neill, the Planet’s new general manager. Formerly with McGraw Hill Publications, O’Neill is a Berkeley-area resident and is the former general manager of The Daily Californian, the student newspaper at UC Berkeley. 

News operations will continue to be directed by Rob Cunningham, who has served as editor since the newspaper’s launch last year. 

Mix cited personal reasons for leaving the Daily Planet. 

“For the past 15 months I have labored up to 16 hours a day producing what I believe is a fabulous community newspaper,” Mix said. “That has meant being away from my family for weeks at a time. My new position will allow me to be home every night. That means too much to me.” 

Mix and his family reside in the Central Valley community of Turlock, where his two daughters attend Turlock High School. His wife is employed by Valley Mountain Regional Center in Modesto. 

Prior to joining Bigfoot Media 16 months ago, Mix served as publisher of the Turlock Journal and general manager of the Merced Sun-Star with US Media Group. Before moving to California four years ago, Mix was editor and publisher of weekly and daily newspapers in Missouri and Illinois and owned community newspapers in Missouri. 

“Berkeley is about as far away and as different from Missouri as you can get,” Mix said. “But no matter what the locale, people need and want a good community source for news.” 

While Mix leaves Bigfoot Media Inc., he remains a stockholder in the company. 

“I wish to thank Ron for all of his hard work and effort in helping to found and grow the Berkeley Daily Planet,” said Bigfoot CEO Arnold Lee. “Of course, while it is never easy to see such a valuable colleague move on, we wish him all the best with his new career. At the same time, we are extremely excited and pleased to have Lori O’Neill on board as General Manager as she is already helping us continue to grow very rapidly as we have already successfully done in the past 12 months. 

“It also goes without saying that we continue (as always) to be committed to the highest quality of news reporting provided by the Berkeley Daily Planet.”

A.C.C.I. GALLERY 

“The Garden Show,” through May 20. A group exhibit of landscape paintings, ceramics and garden sculpture. Free. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-2527. 

BERKELEY PUBLIC LIBRARY, SOUTH BRANCH 

“You’re Blase: The Art of Nick Mastick,” May 15 through June 15. An exhibit of collages. Free. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 1901 Russell St., Berkeley. (510) 644-6860. 

GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION 

“On Common Ground.” through June 23. This exhibit is a portrait of faith-based communities in Los Angeles. 

“Finding the Sacred Mountain,” through June 20. An exhibit of sumi-e and watercolors by Robert Kostka. 

Free. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd., Berkeley. (510) 649-2541. 

KALA ART INSTITUTE 

“High Touch/High Tech: Crossing The Divide,” through May 26. An exhibit of juried and invited artists. Free. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Workshop Media Center Gallery, 1060 Heinz Ave., Berkeley. (510) 549-2977. 

NEW PIECES GALLERY 

“Rock, Stone, Masonry and Mosaics,” through June 1. An exhibit of quilts by Charlotte Patera. 

“The Rhapsody of Dolls,” through June 1. An exhibit of dolls by Patti Medaris Culea. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

A PIECE OF ART 

Jane Fox, Mixed Media Works, April 27 through June 10, with an artist reception from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 1. Ongoing new works by Gallery Artists in ceramic, metal, glass, wood and works on canvas and paper. 

Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment. Closed Monday and Tuesday. 

701 University Ave., in the parking lot across from Spenger’s. (510) 204-9653. 

TRAYWICK GALLERY 

“nudge,” May 17 through June 18. An exhibit of new work by Terry Hoff. Reception, May 17, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Artist Talk, June 9, 10:30 a.m. 

“minimalPOP,” April 15 through May 14. A group exhibit of a variety of media. 

Free. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1316 10th St., Berkeley. (510) 527-1214. 

--------------- 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). Calendar items should be submitted at least one week before the opening of a new exhibit or performance. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information.

When patrons of the Claremont Branch Library walk through the doors of the reopened facility Monday morning, they’ll find wider aisles, more accessible restrooms and improved wheelchair ramps and railings. 

And just as importantly, the “hideous” orange carpet has been replaced. 

“I think a lot of people will be happy to see that gone,” Audrey Powers, branch services manager for the Berkeley Public Library, said on a walkthrough of the renovated library Wednesday morning. 

While aesthetic changes will be appreciated by almost everyone, disabled and mobility-impaired patrons have particular reason to be pleased. The men’s and women’s restrooms have been redesigned and are now fully accessible to wheelchairs; an automatic-opening front door has been installed; aisles between shelves are wider, allowing wheelchairs to move smoothly through the library; new shelves are in place; and the children’s storyroom is now on the same elevation as the rest of the library. 

Other improvements include interior repainting, a new book drop, improved wiring system and, of course, that new carpet (instead of “hideous” orange, it’s now a more modern, multicolor mix). The library also now has some new, ergonomically sound furniture for the staff. 

Most of the $250,000 project was funded through the city’s ADA Building Improvement Fund, which is used to make city structures compliant with federal Americans with Disabilities Act standards. Remaining money came from the library’s budget, the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library, and the Claremont Branch Gift Fund, including a donation from Red Oak Realty. 

The library was scheduled to reopen a few weeks ago, but that was delayed because of problems encountered along the way, including roof leaks and extensive mildew. 

During Wednesday’s walkthrough with the Daily Planet, Powers pointed out some of the internal changes that have been made to the library’s book and periodical collections. For example, in the children’s department, two of the most popular sections – dinosaurs and animals, and fairy tales – are located along the widest aisle, thanks to the reconfiguration. 

And outdated reference books, some upwards of 30 years old, have been removed. 

“By virtue of our being closed, we had some extra staff time to do some collection cleanup,” Powers said. “It’s a much better collection, and it will be cleaner, nicer and more updated.” 

Other staff members seemed generally pleased with the changes to their library. Children’s Librarian Dawn Swanson said many parents will be glad that all of the picture books are now placed in the children’s storyroom. 

“I don’t think it will result in any changes in our programs,” she said. “But it’s great that it’s all accessible now.” 

The library at 2940 Benvenue Ave. reopens at 10 a.m. Monday for its regular hours: from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. 

By allowing the construction with virtually no public process of an immense industrial-style tower on McKinley Street, our highly competent City staff has created a huge, needless problem for itself. The thing is a desecration of the Civic Center in general, of Old City Hall in particular, which it looms over like a giant oil derrick, and an almost inconceivable affront to the residential neighborhood in which it stands. Because I have the highest respect for our staff, I am dumbfounded that they would commit such a foolish blunder. But there it is. They’ve done it. Their job now is to remove it with as little further disruption as possible for the rest of us. Neither Council nor residents should have to waste another minute assisting them out of their blunder. 

Berkeley’s commitment to careful regulation of new construction is very clear. Our process for granting approval for such construction is very clear. If the staff feels it needs such a thing, they should have no trouble finding out what steps to follow to have their application considered. How can we expect citizens to comply with our very carefully crafted land-use standards if our own government gets away with such a blatant flouting of those standards? 

The construction of this tower disfigures our civic life in two major ways. It places an unthinkably ugly structure at the heart of the city. And it reveals, amazingly, that the staff still does not understand the importance to Berkeley’s residents of appropriate process in relation to changes that have major impacts on our lives. 

None of us, including the Council, should have to get distracted into solving this problem for the staff along the lines suggested by a recent staff report. But because the staff has yet to acknowledge and accept responsibility for the enormity of its infraction, citizens and Council are being asked to endure a public hearing on the subject at the Council meeting scheduled for 7 o’clock on Tuesday, May 16. Those who value the integrity of our planning process, the architectural countenance of our Civic Center, and the livability of our neighborhoods should attend. 

I think the appropriate course is very clear. It has two parts. First, the Council should instruct the staff to remove the McKinley Street tower as soon as possible. Second, and equally important, the Council should do everything it can to ensure that the staff fully and finally understands the importance to Berkeley of following appropriate process where major construction is concerned, so that they spare themselves and us any other blunders on this scale. 

Rob Browning is a Berkeley resi

Just one day after Kevin Brown and Randy Johnson pitched a near-perfect eight innings apiece in the much-anticipated National League baseball showdown, Berkeley High’s Lilli Bermeo and Granada’s Sylvia Moses set out to make Thursday’s East Bay Athletic League softball matchup just as classic. 

It was déjà vu at the Matadors’ home field, as both pitchers matched Brown and the Big Unit in innings and effectiveness, each going the full eight in the extra-inning battle. And when you throw in Bermeo and Moses’ strikeout statistics – they combined for 10 – you might say it was “K”-ja vu. 

With two dominant hurlers on the hill, “run support” seemed to be missing from both teams’ vocabularies. Though both squads scattered baserunners throughout the afternoon, neither the Matadors nor the ’Jackets were able to get on the board in seven innings of regulations. Granada finally broke the dry spell in the bottom half of the eighth, manufacturing a run on a leadoff hit and a very costly Yellowjacket error. The 1-0 walkoff defeat dropped Berkeley High’s league record to 2-10. 

“My outfielder charged the ball, and it went about two steps over her head. It was just a lapse of fundamentals,” BHS coach Elena Bermeo said about the miscue – only the second of the entire game by the otherwise solid ’Jacket defense. “This game was really frustrating, because we played so hard.” 

“It was basic plays that should have been made – we had two runners picked off, people weren’t heads up enough on the bases,” junior catcher Alice Brugger added. “We played tight defense, and got out of a lot of situations. We had opportunities to get runners in, but we didn’t finish.” 

Moses piled up six strikeouts on the way to the winning decision, while Bermeo fanned four in yet another outing unsupported by offense. Though coach Elena Bermeo contends that her team has made marked improvement at the plate in the second half of the EBAL season, she admits that the lineup lacks a true RBI threat – a void that often results in multiple runners left on base. 

“They were hitting. We got on base – even a few runners on third base, in scoring position,” the coach said. “There’s no one player that’s too consistent. At any given time, a girl can do anything. We don’t have a go-to player.” 

According to the Berkeley High coach and players, the 1-0 defeat ranked among the worst all season, because of the sudden and heartbreaking manner in which it occurred. After the game, Bermeo shared in her players’ disappointment, but attempted to find a silver lining in the setback. 

“It was a hard loss, probably the hardest of the year. They knew they had that one,” the coach said. “We have to look at the bright side – that we did hold them that long.” 

“Lilli pitched a good game, and we played well (on defense),” Brugger agreed. “I think we’re gelling now that we’re set in our positions. Everybody’s focused on what we have to do. We want to go out (of the EBAL) with a bang.” 

The ’Jackets return to the diamond next Tuesday, hosting Foothill in a 3:45 p.m. home battle at James Kenney

THEATER 

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE 

“Let My Enemy Live Long!” by Tanya Shaffer, April 19 through May 12. The story of an ill-advised boat ride up West Africa's Niger River to Timbuktu. 

$19 to $48.50. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 8 p.m.; Wednesday, 7 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; April 19, 8 p.m.; NO PERFORMANCES APRIL 25 AND APRIL 26. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 845-4700 or (888) 4BRTTIX. 

IMPACT THEATRE 

“The Wake-Up Crew” by Zay Amsbury, May 5 through June 3. A comic book on stage that pits unemployed UC Santa Cruz grads against the forces of chaos and destruction. 

$10 general; $5 students. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. La Val’s Subterranean Theater, 1834 Euclid Ave., Berkeley. (510) 464-4468. 

SHOTGUN PLAYERS 

“The Skriker” by Caryl Churchill, through June 4. In this ecological play, faeries are damaged due to polluted rivers and woods, and are forgotten. 

$15 general; $10 seniors and students. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. The Warehouse Performance Space, 1850 Cesar Chavez St., San Francisco. (510) 655-0813. 

MUSIC VENUES 

ASHKENAZ 

Mutabaruka, DJ Zodiac Soundz, May 12, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. $11. 

The Johnny Otis Show, Clarence Van Hook, May 13, 9:30 p.m. $20. 

Caminos Flamencos, May 14, 7:30 p.m. $10. 

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5099 or www.ashkenaz.com 

BLAKES 

Orixa, Fuzzbucket, May 12. $6. 

Nobody From Ipenema, Brazilian Dance Party, May 13. $6. 

Ten Ton Chicken, May 14. $3. 

For age 18 and older. Music at 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0886. 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE 

Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, May 12. $17.50 to $18.50. 

Robin Flower and Libby McLaren, May 13. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Kathy Kallick Mother's Day Show, May 14, 2 p.m. $5.50 kids/ $7.50 general. 

Melody of China with Wu Wei, May 14. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Music at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761 or (510) 762-BASS. 

LA PEÑA CULTURAL CENTER 

The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, May 12, 8 p.m. $12. 

John Santos and the Machete Ensemble, May 13, 8:30 p.m. $15. 

Cafe Rumba, May 14, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.  

Cancionero, May 14, 8 p.m. $8. 

3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

924 GILMAN ST. 

Sangre Amado, Blood Hag, Noise of Struggle, May 12. 

The Oozzies, Trust Fund Babies, May 13. 

$5. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. (510) 525-9926. 

THE STARRY PLOUGH PUB 

Stikman, Faun Fables, Brian Kenney Fresno, May 12. $5. 

The Damnations, TX, The Ex-Husbands, May 13. $7. 

For age 21 and over. Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9:45 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082. 

MUSEUMS 

UC BERKELEY ART 

MUSEUM 

“Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition,” May 20 through July 2. The 13th annual exhibit of work by candidates for the Master of Fine Arts degree. Artist Talk, May 21, 3 p.m. At Gallery 2. 

“Anne Chu/MATRIX 184 Untitled,” April 16 through June 18. The exhibition features a selection of Chu's T'ang dynasty funerary figures sculpted following her travels to Xian and Guangdong. 

“China: Fifty Years Inside the People's Republic,” through June 18. The work of 25 Chinese and Western photographers explores half a century of social and political upheaval in this unusual exhibit. 

$6 general; $4 seniors and students ages 12 to 18; free children age 12 and under; free Thursday, 1 1 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-0808. 

HALL OF HEALTH  

2230 Shattuck Ave. (lower level), Berkeley. A hands-on community health education museum and science center sponsored by Children's Hospital Oakland and Alta Bates Medical Center. Free. For children ages 3 to 12 and their parents. (510) 549-1564 

LAWRENCE HALL 

OF SCIENCE 

“Dinosaurs 2000,” through June 4. An exhibit featuring 16 lifelike robotic creatures, fossils, activities to compare yourself to a dinosaur, and daily live demonstrations. 

“The News About Dinosaurs,” through June 4. Learn more about the “Dinosaurs 2000” exhibit with live demonstrations exploring recent paleontological discoveries and how scientists know what they do about prehistoric creatures. Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. 

$6 general; $4 seniors, students and children ages 7 to 18; $2 children ages 3 to 6; free children under age 3. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Centennial Drive, University of California, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 

HABITOT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 

Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 

A museum especially for children age 7 and younger. Highlights include “WaterWorks,” an area with some unusual water toys, an Infant Tree for babies, a garden especially for toddlers, a child-scale grocery store and cafe, and a costume shop and stage for junior thespians. The museum also features a toy lending library. 

Admission is $4 for adults; $6 child age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child.  

Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

(510) 647-1111 

JUDAH L. MAGNES 

MUSEUM 

2911 Russell St., Berkeley 

“Telling Time: To Everything There Is A Season,” through May 2002. An exhibit structured around the seasons of the year and the seasons of life with objects ranging from the sacred and the secular, to the provocative and the whimsical. Highlights include treasures from Jewish ceremonial and folk art, rare books and manuscripts, contemporary and traditional fine art, video, photography and cultural kitsch. Through Nov. 4: “Spring and Summer.” Free. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

(510) 549-6950. 

GALLERIES  

A.C.C.I. GALLERY 

“The Garden Show,” through May 20. A group exhibit of landscape paintings, ceramics and garden sculpture. Free. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-2527. 

GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION 

“On Common Ground.” through June 23. This exhibit is a portrait of faith-based communities in Los Angeles. 

“Finding the Sacred Mountain,” through June 20. An exhibit of sumi-e and watercolors by Robert Kostka. 

Free. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd., Berkeley. (510) 649-2541. 

KALA ART INSTITUTE 

“High Touch/High Tech: Crossing The Divide,” through May 26. An exhibit of juried and invited artists. Free. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Workshop Media Center Gallery, 1060 Heinz Ave., Berkeley. (510) 549-2977. 

NEW PIECES GALLERY 

“Rock, Stone, Masonry and Mosaics,” through June 1. An exhibit of quilts by Charlotte Patera. 

“The Rhapsody of Dolls,” through June 1. An exhibit of dolls by Patti Medaris Culea. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

A PIECE OF ART 

Jane Fox, Mixed Media Works, April 27 through June 10, with an artist reception from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 1. Ongoing new works by Gallery Artists in ceramic, metal, glass, wood and works on canvas and paper. 

Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment. Closed Monday and Tuesday. 

701 University Ave., in the parking lot across from Spenger’s. (510) 204-9653. 

TRAYWICK GALLERY 

“minimalPOP,” April 15 through May 14. A group exhibit of a variety of media. 

Free. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1316 10th St., Berkeley. (510) 527-1214. 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). Calendar items should be submitted at least one week before the opening of a new exhibit or performance. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information.

OAKLAND – The trial of middle-school teacher Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi, charged with obstructing a police officer in the course of duty, opened in superior court Thursday morning. 

Jacobs-Fantauzzi, 24, is accused of deliberately standing in the path of a peace officer, as part of the multiple acts of civil disobedience stemming from a conflict between KPFA and its governing board, the Pacifica Foundation. KPFA is a 50-year-old listener-sponsored radio station in Berkeley. 

A jury of 13, including one alternate - seven men, six women, of whom six appear to be African American, five appear Caucasian, one appears Asian-American and one whose ethnicity is not clearly evident – listened intently as Assistant District Attorney David Lim outlined the facts which, he said, would lead them to conclude that Jacobs-Fantauzzi is guilty of standing in the way of an officer who was trying to get to a protester, illegally setting up a tent on the sidewalk in front of the radio station. 

Lim said that the officer asked Jacobs-Fantauzzi to move and when he refused, he went around him in order to go to the protester. But when the officer moved to the left, Jacobs-Fantauzzi moved in order to stop the officer from accomplishing his mission. 

Jacobs-Fantauzzi’s attorney, Richard Krech, painted a different picture for the jury, contending that his client was illegally arrested. 

“The evidence will show that Mr. Jacobs-Fantauzzi did not delay or obstruct police officers,” he told the jury. 

To prove his allegations, Lim put Sgt. Randolph Files on the stand as his first witness. Files was the officer in charge of arresting Jacobs-Fantauzzi. 

Files told the jurors how he and fellow officers crossed the street, walking toward the protester who was setting up a tent. 

“Mr. (Jacobs-)Fantauzzi demanded to know why we were there and what we were intending to do,” he told the court, explaining that, after some dialogue, he told Jacobs-Fantauzzi that if he didn’t move, he would be arrested. 

“Mr. (Jacobs-)Fantauzzi was 2 1/2 to 3 feet away, a distance that makes me feel unsafe, invading my personal zone,” Files said. 

“In an effort to de-escalate (the situation) I stepped out of Mr. (Jacobs-)Fantauzzi’s way,” Files told the jury, demonstrating how he stepped to the left. “Mr. (Jacobs-)Fantauzzi stepped in front of me again,” he said. Then he said he told Jacobs-Fantauzzi, as he had earlier, that if he wouldn’t move, he would be arrested. 

Jacobs-Fantauzzi didn’t move and Files ordered his arrest. 

“The whole exchange took less than – or about – one minute,” he said. 

Files said that Jacobs-Fantauzzi first went limp, then stiff, then flailed with his arms and legs, making it difficult to arrest him. Finally, the officers picked him up and carried him to a police van. 

When it was time for his cross-examination, Krech tried to show the jury inconsistencies in Files testimony. In his March 6 testimony, during a pre-trial hearing, Files said Jacobs-Fantauzzi went limp, but in his police report, Krech said that Files wrote “we took him to the ground.” 

Files explained the apparent inconsistency by saying that Jacobs-Fantauzzi’s demeanor changed from going limp to being active and that officers needed to intervene. 

Later in the cross examination, Krech posed a number of questions, trying to ascertain whether the two officer-witnesses may have talked together about the facts of the case, thus leading to possible adjustments in one story or another. 

Krech had Files point out to the jury that, just that morning, Files and another witness, Officer Kevin Schofield, viewed a videotape of the arrest together in Lim’s office. This videotape has been entered into evidence. 

Files stated unequivocally that even thought the two witness officers viewed the tape at the same time, they did not discuss the facts of the case together. 

Files continues on the stand today at 9:30 a.m., Department 105, Superior Court, 661 Washington St., Oakland. 

Friday, May 12 

Berkeley Potters Guild Spring Show 

10 a.m.-6 p.m. 

Jones and Fourth streets 

510-524-7031 

“Russia Today” 

Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. 

Nicholas V. Riasanovsky, history professor at UC Berkeley, will speak during this week’s meeting of the City Commons Club. Social hour begins at 11:15 a.m. Luncheon is served from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Speaker starts promptly at 12:30 p.m. Lunch is $11 or $12.25; admission to the speech is $1, free for students. 

510-848-3533 

Berkeley Public Education Foundation Spring Luncheon 

11:30 a.m. 

H’s Lordships restaurant, 199 Seawall Drive 

This year’s luncheon honors Neil Smith, Principal, Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, as Distinguished Educator of the Year; Ackerman’s Volvo Service and Elmwood Stationers as Distinguished Business Partners; and Pedro Noguera, Professor of Education, UC Berkeley with a Rise to the Challenge Special Award. 

Fund-raiser for the Aquatic Park Children’s Playground 

6 p.m. 

Downtown Berkeley YMCA, 2001 Allston Way 

This event will help raise funds for the Aquatic Park Children’s Playground project. Build Days are May 18-21 and May 31-June 4. Volunteers (skilled and unskilled), food, beverages, and money are needed for that event. Sliding scale donation of $2 to $10 per person for the fund-raiser. 

510-649-9874; ZasaSwanson@EminentSoftware.com; http://www.bpfp 

To Live, Zhang Yimou (China, 1994 - Berkeley Arts Festival) 

7 p.m. 

Life on a String, Chen Kaige (UK/China/Germany, 1990) 

9:25 p.m. 

Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way 

Poetry reading 

7:30 p.m. 

Boadecia’s Books, 398 Colusa Ave. Kensington 

Monza Neff will read from her two poetry collections. 

510-559-9184 

Sub Human, Sea Tales from the Depths (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

8 p.m. 

Festival Gallery, 2216 Shattuck Ave. 

Ed Holmes’ one-man show is the true and salty tale of his journey from boy to sailor to performer. $7-$8, FOF (Friends of the Festival) free 

“The Love of Three Oranges” 

8 p.m. 

Live Oak Theater, Shattuck and Berryman 

Berkwood Hedge School students will present this unlikely comedy adventure of witches, wizards and princes. Tickets $4 per person. 

510-883-6990 

Ethnic Heritage Ensemble (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

8 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center, 3015 Shattuck Ave. 

This will be a jazz performance and discussion. $14 FOF $12. 

Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

8 p.m. 

St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. 

Bach’s B minor Mass. Free. 

Saturday, May 13 

Forum on city’s Arts Grants Program 

10 a.m.-noon 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

The Berkeley Civic Arts Commission, in conjunction with the City of Berkeley Civic Arts Office, will present this public forum to review new guidelines and grant applications for the city’s Arts Grants Program. The program distributes funds to eligible arts and other organizations operating within the city. 

510-705-8183 

Stop the War! The Vietnam Era 

10 a.m.-noon 

This walk is part of the Spring 2000 Walking Tours sponsored by the Berkeley Historical Society. Ann Marks, Berkeley Historical Society Board member, author, anti-war activist and curator of the Society’s Vietnam Anti-War Exhibit, will lead a walking tour of Vietnam-era protest and demonstration sites. The price is $5 per tour or $20 per season ticket for Berkeley Historical Society members. The price is $10 per tour for non-members. Call the Historical Society for reservations. 

510-848-0181 

Berkeley Potters Guild Spring Show 

10 a.m.-6 p.m. 

Jones and Fourth streets 

This show-and-sale highlights work by clay artists, Ikebana demonstrations, one-of-a-kind bargains throughout the complex of art studios, and more. The event is free. 

510-524-7031 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

Center Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 

510-548-3333 

Sixth Annual Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Festival 

Noon-4 p.m. 

Civic Center Park, Downtown Berkeley 

Students from Berkeley High and other local schools are organizing this festival celebrating the diversity of Asian Pacific heritage. This year’s theme is “Through Our Eyes.” 

510-849-4898; 510-595-4645 

“School House Rock Live! Jr.” 

1 p.m. 

John Muir Elementary School Auditorium, 2955 Claremont Ave. 

This musical features an all-kids cast. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for children age 12 and under. 

510-762-2279 

“The Love of Three Oranges” 

8 p.m. 

Live Oak Theater, Shattuck and Berryman 

Tickets $4 per person. 

510-883-6990 

Sunday, May 14 

Mother’s Day tea and tours 

9 a.m.-4:45 p.m. 

UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley campus 

Tea, sandwiches, cookies and homemade breads will be served at three separate seatings for moms. Space is only available in the third seating, at 3 p.m. Tours will be offered throughout the day. Cost is $10 for Garden members, $15 for non-members, $5 for children 3-12. Call ahead for reservations. 

510-643-2755 

Berkeley Potters Guild Spring Show 

10 a.m.-6 p.m. 

Jones and Fourth streets 

510-524-7031 

Mother’s Day Picket 

11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Marina Radisson, 200 Marina Blvd. 

This picket is being organized by HERE Local 2850. 

510-893-3181 

Mother’s Day 2000 Picnic 

Noon-2:30 p.m. 

Civic Center Park, Downtown Berkeley 

Women for Peace and the Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom are sponsoring this event. Scheduled speakers include Medea Benjamin, Claire Cummings, Sally Light, Cathrine Sneed, Nadia Babella and Dena Adeeb. The acoustic trio Rebecca Riots will perform. This event is free.

With Thursday’s three-game sweep over East Bay Athletic League rival California High in the bag, the Berkeley High boys volleyball team can only sit back and play a different game until Sunday’s playoff seeding meeting: namely, the waiting game. 

In attempting to put together a late-season run to impress the NCS committee, the ‘Jackets have seemingly lived up to their part of the bargain, winning three out of four matches to close out the EBAL season at 6-6. With a respectable 12-9 overall record, and split series with such powerhouses as James Logan and Amador Valley, Berkeley High believes it has done enough to slip into one of the final spots in next week’s NCS playoff draw. 

“We went 4-2 over our last six, and we’re playing better at the end than we were the first time through (the league schedule),” said BHS coach Justin Caraway, who expects the NCS to invite at least one additional EBAL squad, besides league champion Foothill and runner-up San Ramon. “Our records certainly aren’t stellar, but they’re probably good enough to get us in.” 

Should Berkeley qualify for the postseason, Thursday’s 15-11, 17-15, 17-15 defeat of the Grizzlies would figure to play a big part in restoring the Yellowjackets’ confidence, after Tuesday’s four-game loss to first-place Foothill. While Caraway saw room for improvement in the Cal High game – especially in passing and serving – he considered the triumph a mark of progress. 

“I think we did a pretty good job, in general. The scores looked a lot closer than they actually were,” the coach said. “We were ahead in all three games, and we did a pretty good job of siding out. Once we got to 14, we really stepped up.” 

If the NCS selection committee does deem BHS worthy of postseason play, the ‘Jackets would likely open the playoffs with a first-round road game on Tuesday evening.

Officially, no one from the Berkeley Unified School District or the Berkeley Federation of Teachers cannot discuss “all matters” surrounding the current state of mediation between the two sides. 

But that doesn’t mean they’re not delivering any messages. 

During Wednesday’s special meeting of the school board, both sides had an opportunity to make brief comments on the blackout imposed Tuesday by the state mediator. Board President Joaquin Rivera was the first to speak. He told the small crowd in the room – and those watching or listening at home – that he was unable to deliver on his goal to provide more detailed information on the offers being put forward by both sides. 

“I am still of that opinion, because I feel very strongly that without knowledge of where we are, the public cannot really judge us and really talk about our commitment to making sure that teachers are our No. 1 prior And in effect, he told the public that he disagreed with the blackout. He said that he knows the rules, and “sometimes I don’t agree with the rules and would like to figure out ways around them.” But Rivera said that because the mediator has declared a blackout, “I must do what he says.” 

BFT President Barry Fike, who noted that the board agenda didn’t include time specifically for any union or advisory committee to speak, was given the opportunity to address the board and the public. Unlike the passion and emotion shown in recent meetings, Fike was remarkably calm and collected Wednesday night. 

“I totally concur and agree with President Rivera’s comments tonight in terms of this blackout, called for by the mediator,” Fike said in his opening. 

He went on to read a letter that was being distributed to all teachers in regards to the blackout. The district distributed a message Wednesday to all district employees and board members instructing them not to speak about anything happening in negotiations for however long the blackout is in effect. Right now, the directive stands until next week, when the two sides hold their next mediation session. That blackout will be re-evaluated at that time. 

But, in an attempt to provide its own interpretation on the blackout, the BFT produced its own letter on Thursday, passing along the same direction for teachers to abide by the directive. It also seemed to speak to an issue that may have initiated the blackout. 

“Reports indicate that during the several days leading up to (Tuesday’s) negotiation session, leaks and/or a spreading of misinformation on current BUSD and BFT proposals beginning to occur at school sites and elsewhere,” Fike read from the letter. “The state mediator has indicated that a further spreading of false rumors and speculation between now and our next scheduled negotiation session may likely inhibit the process rather than help it.” 

The entire blackout marks a shift from comments made by the BUSD and BFT last week. Rivera said at last week’s meeting that he welcomed the opportunity to release more information to the public, and Fike said the union has been open to such an opportunity.

A proposal to raise fees for some planning and development permits will be the topic of a public hearing during next week’s City Council meeting. 

The resolution asks the council to adopt the fee schedule for the Permit Service Center Fund for all development-related services provided by the department. 

“We’re proposing to change just a few fee categories,” said Current Planning Manager Mark Rhoades, whose department proposes increasing about 12 of 40 fee categories. 

Fees went up two years ago across the board, he noted. This time the planners made an eight-month study of how much staff time is spent in determining if permits should be issued. “We’re trying to adjust the fees to pay for the time actually spent,” said Dan Lambert, senior management analyst in the Planning Department. 

The additional annual revenue from the proposed fee increases is estimated to be $326,999, and the total fee revenue is projected to be $4,324,262, according to the report on “Changes in Development Fees for the Permit Service Center Fund.” 

Building permits would not increase, Lambert said. Those permits comprise two-thirds of the total revenue, he said, and the fees will not go up even though costs are increasing. 

The biggest changes proposed are in Current Planning’s permits, where only 40 percent of the cost is being recovered, he said, adding that these pose the most complex issues. 

While total fee revenue is $4.3 million, the expenditure budget including administrative and indirect costs is more than $5 million, according to the report. 

“Historically the City Council has subsidized zoning fees,” said Rhoades. To keep the process accessible to the public the city has provided about half the cost (from the General Fund). 

“We’re proposing an adjustment to get up to half and subsidize to the tune of 50 percent in most applications.” 

The proposal is expected to generate some opposition. Rachel Rupert, chief executive officer of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday that the Chamber was preparing a letter about the proposed fee increases. 

“You can’t tell just by looking at the fee structure what are the implications, and how far reaching they are,” said Rupert. 

“We wanted to see if the fee increases are legitimate and warranted and that we have explored them.” 

Chamber representatives are expected to be present at Tuesday’s hearing. 

At the present time Current Planning is recovering 40 percent of its cost. 

Rhoades said the fees charged by Berkeley, even with the proposed increases, are comparable to other local municipalities including Oakland, Emeryville and Fremont. 

One prominent category, Administrative Use Permits, which received 221 applications in the last fiscal year, is the most visible to the general public. 

Administrative Use Permits for altering buildings have three levels of review, said Rhoades, for commercial and industrial uses as well as residential. 

Rhoades said the city has determined in these permits that a public hearing is not needed, he said, but it needs review and posting in the neighborhood. 

Also the city gets the opportunity to add conditions of approval. 

Under the proposal, the permit for a major residential addition of 500 square feet or more would increase from $450 to $600. 

In the Design Review category, where permits are required for exterior changes to commercial and industrial buildings, increases include a change of $235 to $325 for signs and awnings, and from $380 to $400 for staff analysis of projects under $50,000. 

If the Design Review Committee studies an exterior change that will cost less than $50,000, the fee will increase from $570 to $750. However, if the change is greater than $50,000 the fee drops $55 to $900. There were 81 Design Review applications in the last fiscal year. 

In the category of Use Permits, which received 99 applications in the last year, Rhoades said there are seven types, and his staff is proposing to change only one of them. 

In a whopping increase the Use Permit that requires a public hearing would change from $675 to $2,000. In this case, the report indicates, the city is recovering only one-fourth of the cost of staff time. 

In explaining Use Permits, Rhoades said every zoning district has a threshold for public hearings for different kinds of uses. 

For instance, if the question is how many square feet of floor will be built, that is reflected in the zoning ordinance providing that certain projects need more review and public input, he said. 

Speaking in a general way about zoning, Rhoades said leaders of the city have recognized that Berkeley is a “very special city.” 

“It is fine-grained from a land use standpoint, and we want to be very careful about the type of use and development projects in the city, so we spend a lot of time looking at them.” 

Defending the increases, he said, “More things are subject to review and more staff resources are required to review them.” The significant level of public participation also plays a role in the process, he said. 

For several types of landmark permits sizeable increases also are suggested: Signs and Awnings up from $180 to $500, and Design Review alteration from $180 to $550. 

According to the report the department recovers less than 20 percent of the cost of processing these permits. 

Planners also are asking the city to rescind the $345,000 cap on all waivers and limit future waivers that are not funded, to seismic strengthening.

The Berkeley Civic Arts Commission will present a public forum Saturday to review new guidelines and grant applications for the Arts Grants Program. 

The forum will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at the North Berkeley Senior Center at 1901 Hearst Ave. The Forum is open to the public, and interested arts organizations, artists and all others are encouraged to attend. 

The agenda for the forum includes an explanation of the proposed changes to the city’s resolution for the grants program, questions from attendees and suggestions on the proposed drafts of the program components. The forum is being held now to give community arts organizations and artists the opportunity to give input to revisions to the program well in advance of the next funding cycle. The FY 2001 Arts Grants Program will take place from April 2001, when guidelines and applications are distributed, through August 2001 when awards are made. This will not apply to the current funding cycle. The City of Berkeley Arts Grants Program distributes funds to eligible arts and other organizations operating within the City of Berkeley. 

The nine-member Berkeley Civic Arts Commission implements this program supporting art and culture in the city. 

The Berkeley Civic Arts Commission oversees the Arts Grants Program, the newly initiated Public Art program, the existing City Art Collection, the Addison Street Window Gallery, and provides information to the public on the arts and culture in Berkeley, as well as support and technical assistance to artists and arts organizations.

There’s a twist some might call “ironic” in the case of Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi, accused of obstructing a police officer during the summertime height of the conflicts between KPFA “free-speech” radio and its governing board. Jacobs-Fantauzzi’s attorney Richard Krech subpoenaed photographs taken by The Oakland Tribune the morning of the arrest, but the newspaper’s chief photographer, Ron Riesterer, is refusing to turn them over. The Trib’s attorneys are evoking California’s shield law, which protects journalists, including photographers, from having their work used in behalf of a particular party. 

The law was written “so newspapers don’t become an evidence-gathering branch” of government, said Tribune attorney Duffy Carolan of Crosby Heafey Roach and May. 

In a hearing earlier this week, the court found Riesterer guilty of contempt. Carolan said the paper plans to appeal the decision, but no date for the appeal has been set. 

In a hearing Thursday, the court reduced the number of photographs under consideration from eight to four. 

Jacobs-Fantauzzi said he agrees with the paper’s First Amendment rights, but at the same time “if it will prove my innocence, I have a need to pursue it.” 

Krech argued that “the police are not telling the truth.” The photographs and videotapes will show that Kahlil was acting as a peacemaker when he was arrested, he said.

Another protest. Another forcible ejection by the authorities. Yet another opportunity for outsiders to exclaim “only in Berkeley” (perhaps condescendingly, perhaps not). Another odd amalgamation of anger, hope and happiness. 

Another convocation. 

Another class graduated at UC Berkeley. 

Security was tight at yesterday’s Class of 2000 Commencement Convocation anticipating protests of the keynote speaker, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Hordes of three-piece-suited Secret Service agents saturated the Greek Theatre crowd of roughly 5,000, joined by white-uniformed federal officers, UC police, security guards, a bomb-sniffing dog and various other authority figures. 

They needed them all. 

While the protests were nonviolent, they were loud, frequent and incredibly disruptive. In addition to the noisy protests in front of the theatre, 59 demonstrators were ejected from within the proceedings with no reported arrests. 

The many protesters – demonstrating against U.S. actions in the Balkans, Colombia and most especially the ongoing embargo of Iraq – immediately unfurled banners the instant Albright was introduced, chanting slogans and continually interrupting her speech with cries of “murderer” and “genocide.” A small propeller plane towing a banner reading “1.7 Mil(lion) Iraqis Dead – End Sanctions Now!” even flew over the theater. 

“I’m so glad to be at Berkeley,” exclaimed Albright while waiting for a particularly noisy protester to be shown out of the theater. “The United States is not perfect. Like other nations, we have had shameful periods and practices in the past. But I believe deeply in the fundamental goodness of our country, the immense value of our leadership in democracy, justice and peace. That, in a nutshell, is my story.” 

Albright, cheered by the vast majority of the crowd, received her loudest ovation when speaking of the advancement of women in politics and the world. 

“I’m often asked what it’s like to be a female in this job, and most people who ask expect me to say it makes no difference,” said Albright. “But after 63 male Secretaries of State, I was determined to make a difference. I’m proud of successes in the efforts to advance women in mainstream foreign politics.” 

Albright also received applause when she mentioned her attempts to curb abusive practices against women worldwide, and exited the stage to a standing ovation. Scheduled to appear last as keynote speaker, Albright actually spoke first and left the stage immediately following her speech. 

The change of plans was a surprise for the crowd, and even crossed up the speakers. University Medalist Fadia Rafeedie – a Palestinian-American and Arab activist – had hoped to bring up the Iraqi embargo with Albright, but found her intended audience had long since left the building amidst a sea of Secret Service agents. Rafeedie scrapped her planned speech and instead opted to “speak from the heart.” 

“I want to talk for a lot of my comrades out there who (were ejected),” said the history major. “I want to give them a voice. There are about 5,000 people here today. About that may Iraqis will die before we graduate. Commencement means beginning. Where civilization itself began, it’s now being destroyed. 

“I think the protesters didn’t embarrass the University, I think they dignified it,” continued Rafeedie. “Secretary Albright did not mention Iraq. Failing to mention things is like actually lying about them. The cancer rate in Iraq has risen over 70 percent since the Gulf War. The children dying of malicious diseases weren’t even born when the Gulf War happened. You gave a standing ovation to a woman who stands for everything I’m against.” 

Between the bedlam surrounding Albright’s appearance and Rafeedie’s heartfelt words, Professor Robert Berring and former Congressman Jerome Waldie served much the same role as the drunken doorman in “Macbeth” – much-needed comic relief. 

“You’ve actually lost something here at UC Berkeley. You’ve lost the right to ever say you don’t have a shot. That you don’t have a chance,” said Berring, a law professor at Boalt Hall. “Perhaps you’ve had something else taken away from you too – maybe a lot of things. Maybe a laptop! Maybe a calculator! Maybe a bicycle! I don’t understand bicycles; I’ve lost three now, where do they go? I wish you could just make a deal with the thieves to make a monthly payment from your MasterCard and keep your stuff!” 

Waldie, a member of the Cal class of 1950, represented Contra Costa County in the U.S. Congress from 1966 to 1974. He recalled his own commencement 50 years ago – and the cold beer he slipped in under his graduation robe. He also recalled seeing Richard Nixon politicking near campus in the late 1940s. 

“Some people were wearing gags to protest a law Nixon had proposed to limit free speech,” said Waldie. “I was not much impressed with Mr. Nixon that day, and I guess you could say my feelings reached their peak a quarter-century later, when as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, I voted to impeach the president.”

Thursday, May 11 

Orchestra concert with elementary students 

9:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 

The first part of the concert, at 9:30, will feature Oxford Elementary School students performing with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. Students from Washington Elementary School will perform at 10:45. 

Men’s chorus performance 

11:15 a.m. 

Movie: Outbreak 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

510-644-6107 

Jazzschool BART Plaza Concert (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

Noon 

The Brazilian Ensemble, under the direction of Marcos Silva, will perform. The concert is sponsored by the Downtown Berkeley Association, Amoeba Music, BART and the Berkeley Daily Planet. 

Free computer class for seniors 

1-4 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 

This free course offers basic instruction in keyboarding, Microsoft Word, Windows 95, Excel and Internet access. Space is limited; the class is offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Call ahead for a reservation. 

510-644-6109 

Berkeley Arts Magnet Instrumental and Choral Concert 

1:30 p.m. 

1645 Milvia St. 

Carefree Carfree Tour to Judah L. Magnes Museum (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

1:30 p.m. 

Meet at the Festival Gallery, 2216 Shattuck Ave. 

Berkeley Chamber of Commerce: Showcase 2000 

5-7:30 p.m. 

H’s Lordships restaurant, 199 Seawall Drive 

About 50 local businesses are sponsoring booths at this event, and Cal football coach Tom Holmoe will speak at 5:15 p.m. on “Recruiting the Best.” 

Community Health Commission 

6:30 p.m. 

Mental Health Clinic, 2640 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Among the items the commission will address are: the Health Access Report, the midwife crisis and the budget. 

Zoning Adjustment Board 

7 p.m. 

Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Among the items the board will discuss is a recommendation to deny a permit to demolish a 2,900 square-foot house on Woodmont Avenue and replace it with a 5,200 square-foot house. 

College Avenue repaving planning 

7 p.m. 

Willard Middle School auditorium, Stuart and Regent 

510-644-6398 

Update on Haiti 

7 p.m. 

Berkeley Unitarian Fellowship, Cedar and Bonita 

Members of a recent delegation to Haiti, including local activists Pierre Laboissiere, will be talking about their trip, the recent episodes of violence in that country and the upcoming elections. The event is sponsored by Global Exchange, the Bay Area Haitian American Committee and others. 

The Plight of the Redwoods 

7 p.m. 

Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 

Forest defender Redwood Mary, tree-sitter Nate Madsen (via live cell phone), and Chie Abad, human rights activist and former Saipan sweatshop worker will be on hand to explain the current campaign to focus attention on the connection between sweatshops, Fair Trade, and forest destruction. There also will be a screening of the 20-minute video “ Timber Gap” by the Headwaters Action Video Collective, about the efforts to save the last of Mendocino’s coastal redwood forest from overexploitation. 

510-548-2220, ext. 233 

Friday, May 12 

Berkeley Potters Guild Spring Show 

10 a.m.-6 p.m. 

Jones and Fourth streets 

This show-and-sale highlights work by clay artists, Ikebana demonstrations, one-of-a-kind bargains throughout the complex of art studios, and more. The event is free. 

510-524-7031 

“Russia Today” 

Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. 

Nicholas V. Riasanovsky, history professor at UC Berkeley, will speak during this week’s meeting of the City Commons Club. Social hour begins at 11:15 a.m. Luncheon is served from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Speaker starts promptly at 12:30 p.m. Lunch is $11 or $12.25; admission to the speech is $1, free for students. 

510-848-3533 

Berkeley Public Education Foundation Spring Luncheon 

11:30 a.m. 

H’s Lordships restaurant, 199 Seawall Drive 

This year’s luncheon honors Neil Smith, Principal, Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, as Distinguished Educator of the Year; Ackerman’s Volvo Service and Elmwood Stationers as Distinguished Business Partners; and Pedro Noguera, Professor of Education, UC Berkeley with a Rise to the Challenge Special Award. 

Fund-raiser for the Aquatic Park Children’s Playground 

6 p.m. 

Downtown Berkeley YMCA, 2001 Allston Way 

This event will help raise funds for the Aquatic Park Children’s Playground project. Build Days are May 18-21 and May 31-June 4. Volunteers (skilled and unskilled), food, beverages, and money are needed for that event. There is a sliding scale donation of $2 to $10 per person for the fund-raiser. 

510-649-9874; ZasaSwanson@EminentSoftware.com; http://www.bpfp 

To Live, Zhang Yimou (China, 1994 - Berkeley Arts Festival) 

7 p.m. 

Life on a String, Chen Kaige (UK/China/Germany, 1990) 

9:25 p.m. 

Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way 

Buses No. 7, 51, 64 

Poetry reading 

7:30 p.m. 

Boadecia’s Books, 398 Colusa Ave. Kensington 

Monza Neff will read from her two poetry collections, “Exultation: A Poem Cycle in Celebration of the Seasons” and “Healing the Womanheart.” This event is free. 

510-559-9184; www.boadeciasbooks.com 

Sub Human, Sea Tales from the Depths (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

8 p.m. 

Festival Gallery, 2216 Shattuck Ave. 

Ed Holmes’ one-man show is the true and salty tale of his journey from boy to sailor to performer. $7-$8, FOF (Friends of the Festival) free 

“The Love of Three Oranges” 

8 p.m. 

Live Oak Theater, Shattuck and Berryman 

Berkwood Hedge School students will present this unlikely comedy adventure of witches, wizards and princes. Tickets $4 per person. 

510-883-6990 

Ethnic Heritage Ensemble (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

8 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center, 3015 Shattuck Ave. 

This will be a jazz performance and discussion. $14 FOF $12. 

Bus No. 43 

Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra (Berkeley Arts Festival) 

8 p.m. 

St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. 

Bach’s B minor Mass. Free. 

Bus No. 51 

Saturday, May 13 

Forum on city’s Arts Grants Program 

10 a.m.-noon 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

The Berkeley Civic Arts Commission, in conjunction with the City of Berkeley Civic Arts Office, will present this public forum to review new guidelines and grant applications for the city’s Arts Grants Program. The program distributes funds to eligible arts and other organizations operating within the city. 

510-705-8183 

Stop the War! The Vietnam Era 

10 a.m.-noon 

This walk is part of the Spring 2000 Walking Tours sponsored by the Berkeley Historical Society. With a limit of 30 people, the tour begins at the Free Speech Café in the Moffett Library on the UC Berkeley campus. Ann Marks, Berkeley Historical Society Board member, author, anti-war activist and curator of the Society’s Vietnam Anti-War Exhibit, will lead a walking tour of Vietnam-era protest and demonstration sites. The price is $5 per tour or $20 per season ticket for Berkeley Historical Society members. The price is $10 per tour for non-members. Call the Berkeley Historical Society for reservations. 

510-848-0181 

Berkeley Potters Guild Spring Show 

10 a.m.-6 p.m. 

Jones and Fourth streets 

510-524-7031 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

Center Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 

510-548-3333 

Sixth Annual Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Festival 

Noon-4 p.m. 

Civic Center Park, Downtown Berkeley 

Students from Berkeley High and other local schools are organizing this festival celebrating the diversity of Asian Pacific heritage. This year’s theme is “Through Our Eyes.” 

510-849-4898; 510-595-4645 

“School House Rock Live! Jr.” 

1 p.m. 

John Muir Elementary School Auditorium, 2955 Claremont Ave. 

This musical features an all-kids cast. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for children age 12 and under. 

510-762-2279 

--------------- 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). Calendar items should be submitted at least four days in advance. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information.

At the School Board meeting on May 3rd, the board excepted the challenge of PFIST (Parents For Increased Salaries for Teachers) for a forum on May 16th, where both the union and the board could give some real answers to the community. Board President Joaquin Rivera, (a teacher himself) advised the community to put pressure on both parties, the board and the union, or the forum could be blocked. He pointed out that both sides would have to allow the mediator to lift the vow of silence that has kept us uninformed up until now. He also said that the public had a right to hear both sides, and that the board wanted for that to happen. The board spoke more freely that night than I have ever witnessed in my 5 years as a PTA officer, and I think they enjoyed that freedom. 

Barry Fike, president of the BFT (Berkeley Federation of Teachers), was there and challenged the board to listen to the community. 

Everyone left that night with a clear understanding that both the union and the board had committed to the forum, and the next day Joaquin Rivera began looking for a location, as PFIST had also requested that the district provide the venue. 

By Friday, Berkeley Arts Magnet had been selected, and PFIST had requested that the PTA Council sponsor the event. We immediately requested that the League of Women Voters moderate the event, as they are experts in this area. 

I was stunned when on Sunday, PFIST advised me that Barry Fike had informed them that the union had not actually been invited to a forum. I was stunned, because I don’t think that there was a parent or a teacher in that room who didn’t leave with the clear understanding that both sides had agreed to attend. 

I immediately wrote a letter outlining that understanding to Barry Fike, Joaquin Rivera, and to Jon Marley, founder of PFIST. Because I was occupied at the Capitol on Monday, I e-mailed the letter on Tuesday. 

Apparently my letter was too late, because a “blackout” has been declared on all communications, from all parties. It would appear that something has effectively blocked that critical forum from taking place, and we need to know what that was. We as a community need to put the pressure on. We have one week to have the blackout lifted, and the planing of the forum will continue. The forum will take place on Tuesday the 16th of May, 7 p.m. in the main auditorium at Berkeley Arts Magnet Elementary School. Volunteers will be needed for the setup and breakdown of chairs and tables, and possibly traffic and crowd control. 

I ask that the League continue planing the format for the event, as they will make all of the rules and set all of the guidelines. 

We must move forward, the forum must take place, because we as a community deserve to be informed. This forum is our only chance for that, and we must insist that the blackout be lifted, and the Forum go on as scheduled. I will be at B.A.M. on the 16th, either inside for the Forum, or carrying a sign out in front. I don’t think that I’ll be alone. 

I call on every man, woman, and child to write a letter demanding that the forum go on, and to make three copies: one for the board, one for the union, and one for the mediator. And ask for a response. 

---------------- 

Mark Coplan is president of the Berkeley PTA Council.

BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE 

“Let My Enemy Live Long!” by Tanya Shaffer, April 19 through May 12. The story of an ill-advised boat ride up West Africa's Niger River to Timbuktu. 

$19 to $48.50. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 8 p.m.; Wednesday, 7 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; April 19, 8 p.m.; NO PERFORMANCES APRIL 25 AND APRIL 26. 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 845-4700 or (888) 4BRTTIX. 

IMPACT THEATRE 

“The Wake-Up Crew” by Zay Amsbury, May 5 through June 3. A comic book on stage that pits unemployed UC Santa Cruz grads against the forces of chaos and destruction. 

$10 general; $5 students. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. La Val’s Subterranean Theater, 1834 Euclid Ave., Berkeley. (510) 464-4468. 

SHOTGUN PLAYERS 

“The Skriker” by Caryl Churchill, through June 4. In this ecological play, faeries are damaged due to polluted rivers and woods, and are forgotten. 

$15 general; $10 seniors and students. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. The Warehouse Performance Space, 1850 Cesar Chavez St., San Francisco. (510) 655-0813. 

The Berkeley High girls lacrosse team finally got the mixture of offense and defense it’s been searching for all year in Wednesday’s first-round playoff matchup with Monte Vista. But even the Yellowjackets’ best game against their league nemeses in three meetings wasn’t enough, as Monte Vista advanced to the second round with an 8-5 win.  

“We felt like we played them well. That’s something we emphasized before the game: playing proud, and they did,” BHS coach Lia Farley said after the game. “Our defense was playing spectacular. But they were beating us to a lot of ground balls, getting second chances.”  

Thanks to a stellar first half by goalkeeper Joanna Hoch, the ’Jackets went into the break trailing by just a goal, at 2-1. Though both offenses began to pick up in the second stanza, Berkeley managed to keep the game within one, until Monte Vista’s Noami Hites rifled in a goal at the two-minute mark to extend the advantage to 7-5. The Mustangs would score once more in the closing minutes to seal the playoff victory – their first in three years. 

“(The Mustangs are) definitely the best they’ve ever been, they’ve cleaned up a lot of their play,” said Farley, whose squad had defeated Monte Vista in the first round of the playoffs the past two years before Wednesday’s setback. “They don’t have great stick skills, they’re just really aggressive.” 

Hoch’s 15 saves highlighted the solid defensive outing, while junior attacker Jamie Lee led the BHS offense with three goals. Alana Perley and Dani Ganes also chimed in with a score apiece. Lee and Ganes were both named to the league all-star team, along with Yellowjacket standouts Naomi Coffman, Catherine Etzel and Rory Satrin. 

“It was pretty much a one-point game the whole way, until the very end,” Farley said. “Our defensive effort was the biggest factor in this game - holding them to two points in the first half was huge. Lots of people stepped up today.” 

Berkeley’s quintet of all-stars are scheduled to compete in one final game this Saturday. Though BHS hopes to host the annual All-star game, the event’s official time and location are yet to be announced.

Scores of protesters used Wednesday’s appearance by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as an opportunity to denounce this country’s foreign policy in several regions of the world. 

The activism began at noon with a protest and teach-in at Sproul Plaza, where some 300 people chanted such phrases as “NATO bombs won’t bring peace/in Serbia or the Middle East.” 

The invitation to Albright “is an insult to academic values represented in the classroom,” said Hatem Baziam, lecturer in Near Eastern Studies at the university, underscoring that he was addressing the crowd from the “Mario Savio steps” – Savio was a leader in the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s. 

Albright “stands for genocide,” Baziam said. “We tell the students not to cheat and not to plagiarize,” but by inviting Albright to speak, “we are saying it is acceptable to kill 1.5 million (Iraqi) children.” 

U.S. sanctions against Iraq contribute directly to children’s deaths from diarrhea, said Marzia Elterza, one of the protesters standing in the crowd. These deaths are attributed to a lack of clean drinking water. 

“The plumbing system was bombed during the Gulf War,” Elterza said. 

“Iraq cannot import new pipes to fix the problem. And adding chlorine to the water would help, but they cannot import it either.” 

Importing medicines such as penicillin and insulin is also prohibited, said protest organizer Snehal Shingari. “They might have military uses.”  

Amina Jandali spoke to the crowd, but addressed herself directly to Albright: “You target innocent children, who have a right to chalk, a right to pencils. How can you deny them basic human rights?” 

Resuming their chants, protesters headed toward to Greek Theatre where Albright was to speak. 

While one Vietnam veteran who now seeks a peaceful world said he wished more students had been present at the “unwelcoming” ceremony, it was clear that the several thousand people inside the Greek Theatre heard the message that the protesters delivered. 

Shouting from high-powered megaphones, protesters called Albright a war criminal and a mass murderer, and one sign even labeled her as a vampire. 

But the protest was peaceful and one onlooker early in the afternoon quipped that the protest was “puny by Berkeley standards.” 

By the time Albright arrived about 3:30 p.m. – accompanied by a police escort and sirens and was whisked into the theater wearing a cap and gown – the protesters had reached peak velocity. 

They massed on Gayley Road, and looking upward at the Greek Theatre, they booed Albright’s appearance loudly and used a megaphone to tell the audience inside: “Turn your backs.” 

A middle eastern woman spoke stridently into the megaphone as she led protesters with signs around and around in a large circle. 

“Where are your voices?” she asked. A student of international relations at San Francisco State University, Iman Farajallah, 29, was dressed in a black “hijab,” a traditional head to toe black veil worn by women. 

A member of American Muslims for Global peace and justice, she said in simple terms the sanctions against Iraq mean the country cannot export or import any kinds of goods, including medicines and food. 

“It is important to raise our voices to Madeleine Albright and say we are refusing your policies,” said Farajallah. 

“No justice, no peace, U.S. out of the Middle East,” protesters chanted as they circled for two hours. “More graduates, less caskets.” 

A woman dressed in a white evening dress handed out “congratulations graduates” leaflets that on the inside page opposed U.S. foreign policy. 

“Protest is a part of life in Berkeley,’’ said senior Colin Lober, an English major. Albright has the forum in the Greek Theater, he said. The protesters have the street. 

Speaking again of Berkeley’s reputation, Jonah Zern, 22, railed that “in the home of the free speech movement,” he was forcibly evicted even though he held a ticket to the event, because he spoke out against Albright’s policies. 

For one graduate in cap and gown the ceremony itself focused all her attention. Kiki Douveas, 55, a dramatic arts major from Walnut Creek, said she was following in her kids’ footsteps.

The Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste (CMTW) wishes Gordon Wozniak (Perspective, April 29) would do some thinking about a more serious radioactive problem instead of trying to distract the public with a sermon of his beliefs about tritium-filled exit signs. 

Wozniak needs to get his priorities straight. His first warning to the public should be that the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is so radioactively contaminated that it is eligible to be considered for the Superfund National Priorities List for cleanup. The Lab is eligible because the amount of tritiated water vapor found in more than 50 percent of air samples exceeds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Cancer Risk Screening Concentration. This, despite the fact that in one of the years looked at, the National Tritium Labeling Facility (NTLF) was closed for at least six months. 

Wozniak, a Lab employee, when he warns of tritium exit signs in the flatlands being filled with tritium gas (doesn’t the Lab have exit signs?) conveniently fails to inform the public that tritium gas is a different order of hazard magnitude than the tritiated water vapor expelled from the NTLF’s stacks. Tritiated water vapor, unlike tritium gas, can be absorbed through the skin and lungs, and is 25,000 times more biologically harmful than the tritium gas (Journal of Health Physics, Dec. 1993, Vol. 65, p 598). The body cannot distinguish between ordinary water and tritiated water. That’s why tritium is used for labeling drugs, insecticides and pheromones in experiments testing the effectiveness of these substances in the body. 

Furthermore, when tritiated water is absorbed within the body it may become organically bound. Organically bound tritium is 250,000 times more biologically harmful than tritium gas (Kirchman et al, Journal of Health Physics, 1971, Vol. 21). This is the reason children and pregnant women should stay away from the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the Lawrence Hall of Science, because children and the unborn fetus are more vulnerable to the effects of radiation. Tritium can cause a female fetus to be born with fewer eggs than normal, thus affecting that female’s future reproductivity. Tritium also causes low sperm count, leukemia and other genetic mutations which may skip a generation. 

We appreciate Wozniak putting CMTW on the map. However, we want him to know that the Committee’s mission “is to eliminate toxic contamination of soil groundwater, plants and the atmosphere through remediation and by drastically reducing and eventually eliminating the generation and storage of hazardous, radioactive and radioactive mixed wastes.” Therefore, it is obvious we are concerned about other sources of radioactivity and not just tritium. 

The Lab’s representative also states “all air leaving this building is filtered.” However, tritium cannot be filtered out. The Lab, in converting tritium gas to tritiated water, captures some tritiated water on silica gel, but being extremely volatile, both tritium gas and tritiated water escape through the stack, only 110 meters from the Lawrence Hall of Science. As far as regulatory agencies go, the California Department of Health Services and Department of Toxic Substance Control have no jurisdiction over radionuclides, of which tritium is one. Our critic claims that the U.S. Department of Energy, which owns the Lab, and the U.S. EPA conduct regular reviews. However, those reviews consist of merely looking at documents provided by LBNL which does its own sampling, i.e. self-investigation. Nevertheless, the EPA is now conducting a site “investigation,” also based on LBNL’s own sampling, to determine whether to place the Lab on the Superfund National Priorities List for cleanup. The Precautionary Principle is in order here, that is, “When an activity raises threats of harm to the environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.” 

---------------- 

Gene C. Bernardi is co-chair of the Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste. She has worked as a research sociologist for UC Berkeley and the USDA.

ASHKENAZ 

Grateful Dead DJ Night with Digital Dave, May 11, 10 p.m. $5. 

Mutabaruka, DJ Zodiac Soundz, May 12, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. $11. 

The Johnny Otis Show, Clarence Van Hook, May 13, 9:30 p.m. $20. 

Caminos Flamencos, May 14, 7:30 p.m. $10. 

1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 525-5099 or www.ashkenaz.com 

BLAKES 

Ripe, Sol Fire, May 11. $4. 

Orixa, Fuzzbucket, May 12. $6. 

Nobody From Ipenema, Brazilian Dance Party, May 13. $6. 

Ten Ton Chicken, May 14. $3. 

For age 18 and older. Music at 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley. (510) 848-0886. 

FREIGHT AND SALVAGE 

Ferron, Lui Collins, May 11. $17.50 to $18.50. 

Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, May 12. $17.50 to $18.50. 

Robin Flower and Libby McLaren, May 13. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Kathy Kallick Mother's Day Show, May 14, 2 p.m. $5.50 kids/ $7.50 general. 

Melody of China with Wu Wei, May 14. $15.50 to $16.50. 

Music at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 548-1761 or (510) 762-BASS. 

LA PEÑA CULTURAL CENTER 

Zapatista Band Fest, May 11, 8 p.m. Featuring Venus Loon, Epidemia, Blasfemia, Caradura, Lodo y Asfalto. $8 to $10. 

The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, May 12, 8 p.m. $12. 

John Santos and the Machete Ensemble, May 13, 8:30 p.m. $15. 

Cafe Rumba, May 14, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.  

Cancionero, May 14, 8 p.m. $8. 

3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

924 GILMAN ST. 

Sangre Amado, Blood Hag, Noise of Struggle, May 12. 

The Oozzies, Trust Fund Babies, May 13. 

$5. Music at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. (510) 525-9926. 

THE STARRY PLOUGH PUB 

Hanuman, Shelley Doty X-tet, May 11. $5. 

Stikman, Faun Fables, Brian Kenney Fresno, May 12. $5. 

The Damnations, TX, The Ex-Husbands, May 13. $7. 

For age 21 and over. Wednesday, 8 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9:45 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-2082. 

The Berkeley High Yellowjackets aren’t big disco fans, but “Stayin’ Alive” will be No. 1 on their list of priorities, when they battle league rival California High in today’s regular-season volleyball finale. 

With a near-.500 record in the stacked East Bay Athletic League, the ’Jackets hope to close the season out on a high note, so as to attract a bid to North Coast Section playoffs, held later this month. BHS snapped a two-game winning streak on Tuesday evening, losing in four games at first-place Foothill, making today’s 5 p.m. showdown critical in its hunt for a postseason. 

“They know the importance. They know it’s on the line,” Berkeley High coach Justin Caraway said about his squad’s mental preparation for the Cal High match. “We talked after the (Foothill) match about coming prepared to play. We’ve got to do some things much better (against the Grizzlies).” 

Though Caraway was somewhat disappointed with Berkeley High’s play against the undefeated Falcons, he considers resilience one of his team’s best qualities, and expects them to regroup in time to take care of business against California High. 

“One thing we work hard on is making sure we know that once a match is over, there’s nothing we can do about it,” the coach said after the Foothill loss. “It does no good to dwell on a match. You’ve got to be ready for the next one.”

Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Jack McLaughlin will meet with the San Francisco school board sometime this weekend for a second interview for that district’s top job. 

But as of late Wednesday night, he didn’t know exactly when or where the interview was going to be conducted, and he didn’t know how many other finalists made this cut. 

McLaughlin told the Daily Planet that his wife received the phone call while he was at the special BUSD school board meeting. The only information relayed at that time was that the San Francisco Unified School District board was asking him to come back for a second interview. 

“My wife asked for a few more details, but they wouldn’t let her know,” he said. 

The SFUSD board had narrowed its field of candidates to six finalists earlier this week. Wednesday night’s closed-door session was expected to see that list narrowed further. 

The SFUSD job is the third superintendent post that McLaughlin has considered this year. In January, he met with the Oakland Unified School Board about its superintendent job but withdrew his name from the race. In February, he was one of three finalists for the top job with the Salem-Keizer School District in Salem, Ore. After a series of interviews and community meetings McLaughlin removed his name from consideration. He says the San Francisco job appeals to him because his career goal has been to oversee a large, urban school district. 

The 58-year-old McLaughlin has been superintendent of the BUSD since November 1994. Before coming to Berkeley, he was a superintendent in Hemet from 1987 to 1994 and in Sunnyvale from 1974 to 1987.

UC BERKELEY ART 

MUSEUM 

“Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition,” May 20 through July 2. The 13th annual exhibit of work by candidates for the Master of Fine Arts degree. Artist Talk, May 21, 3 p.m. At Gallery 2. 

“Anne Chu/MATRIX 184 Untitled,” April 16 through June 18. The exhibition features a selection of Chu's T'ang dynasty funerary figures sculpted following her travels to Xian and Guangdong. The wooden figures range in height from 28 inches to over six feet.  

“China: Fifty Years Inside the People's Republic,” through June 18. The work of 25 Chinese and Western photographers explores half a century of social and political upheaval in this unusual exhibit. The 200 photographs, both black-and-white and color, cover the many regions, cultures and people that make up China as well as the mix of traditional life and the modern one. 

$6 general; $4 seniors and students ages 12 to 18; free children age 12 and under; free Thursday, 1 1 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. (510) 642-0808. 

HALL OF HEALTH  

2230 Shattuck Ave. (lower level), Berkeley 

A hands-on community health education museum and science center sponsored by Children's Hospital Oakland and Alta Bates Medical Center. 

Free. For children ages 3 to 12 and their parents. 

(510) 549-1564 

LAWRENCE HALL 

OF SCIENCE 

“Dinosaurs 2000,” through June 4. An exhibit featuring 16 lifelike robotic creatures, fossils, activities to compare yourself to a dinosaur, and daily live demonstrations. 

“The News About Dinosaurs,” through June 4. Learn more about the “Dinosaurs 2000” exhibit with live demonstrations exploring recent paleontological discoveries and how scientists know what they do about prehistoric creatures. Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. 

$6 general; $4 seniors, students and children ages 7 to 18; $2 children ages 3 to 6; free children under age 3. 

Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Centennial Drive, University of California, Berkeley. (510) 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 

PHOEBE HEARST MUSEUM 

Kroeber Hall, UC Berkeley 

“Modern Treasures from Ancient Iran,” through Oct. 29. This exhibit explores nomadic and town life in ancient and modern Iran as illustrated in bronze and pottery vessels, and textiles. 

“Pana O’ahu: Sacred Stones – Sacred Places,” through July 16. An exhibit of photographs by Jan Becket and Joseph Singer. 

“Phoebe Hearst Museum-Approaching a Century of Anthropology,” a sampling of the vast collections of the museum, its mission, history, and current research, with selections from ancient Egypt, ancient Peru, California Indians, Asia (India), and Africa. 

“Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture,” Ishi, the last Yahi Indian of California, spent the final years of his life, 1911 to 1916, living at the museum, working with anthropologists to record his culture, demonstrating technological skills, and retelling Yahi myths, tales, and songs. 

Wednesday through Sunday 10 am -4:30 pm; Thursday until 9 pm (Sept-May) 

(510) 643-7648 

HABITOT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 

Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 

A museum especially for children age 7 and younger. Highlights include “WaterWorks,” an area with some unusual water toys, an Infant Tree for babies, a garden especially for toddlers, a child-scale grocery store and cafe, and a costume shop and stage for junior thespians. The museum also features a toy lending library. 

Exhibit: “Back to the Farm,” open-ended. This interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels like an earthworm, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and much more.  

Admission is $4 for adults; $6 child age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child.  

Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

(510) 647-1111 

JUDAH L. MAGNES 

MUSEUM 

2911 Russell St., Berkeley 

“Chagall: Master Prints and Posters, Selections from the Magnes Museum Collection.” Accompanying the exhibition is “Exploring Chagall and His Use of the Elements of Art,” a child-friendly Interactive Educational Room with five work-stations and a central activities space. 

Free. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

(510) 549-6950. 

The Cal basketball program recognized walk-on forward Ryan Forehan-Kelly’s 1999-2000 contributions on Wednesday, granting him a scholarship for the 2000-2001 season.  

Forehan-Kelly played a much larger than expected role for the Bears last season, shooting 50 percent on the year, while averaging 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. After playing in just 10 games in his 1998-99 freshman year, the consistent outside shooter played in all but three regular-season games last season, before starting in all three postseason NIT contests.  

“I feel fortunate that the coaches have given me this opportunity,” Forehan-Kelly said. “I’m happy that they’ve recognized my hard work and have rewarded me for it.” 

As a sophomore, Forehan-Kelly was especially dangerous from beyond the arc, hitting 24-of-53 three-pointers on the year to lead all Bears with a .453 percentage. The sophomore’s career-high came on March 11, when he nailed six treys on the way to scoring 20 total points. 

“I’m glad we had this opportunity to reward Ryan for his loyalty, leadership and dedication to the Cal basketball program,” Cal head coach Ben Braun said on Wednesday. “He has shown a strong commitment to the team, and his contributions have been invaluable.” 

Braun awarded a similar scholarship last year, to senior walk-on guard Robbie Jones. Though the coach still has one scholarship remaining below the maximum, he does not plan to use it before next season.

Opponents of a proposed University Avenue housing project aimed at housing persons with disabilities and limited income say they’re not NIMBYs – Not-in-My-BackYarders. 

Rather, they argue that their opposition to the project, proposed by Affordable Housing Associates at 1719-1725 University Ave., is based on both the would-be developer’s inadequate explanation of the project design and his reticence to be specific about the population expected to live there. 

Project supporters “are playing the NIMBY card” against neighbors, said Jim Wemmer, who lives directly behind the project. Wemmer contends that AHA Executive Director Ali Kashani is being deliberately obtuse, refusing to provide specifics of the project he wants to build. 

“I want to know who my neighbors are going to be,” he said, adding, “(Kashani) won’t answer questions. He says, ‘We’ll look into it.’” 

At its meeting Tuesday night, the City Council voted unanimously to delay voting on a request from AHA for $450,000 to help purchase the property. With Councilmember Linda Maio recusing herself from the vote – she lives nearby the project and has worked professionally with the project developer – the council has only four liberal/progressive votes from people who clearly favor the project. Five councilmembers are needed to approve the purchase of the property. 

The council will be asked to vote on the funding June 13, after the developer has met with neighbors and detailed his plans. If the council approves funding at that time, the developer will still have to get his plans approved by the Zoning Adjustment Board, whose vote can be appealed to the City Council. 

Kashani apologized to the council for the lack of specifics to this point, explaining that he originally had three parcels for the project, but lost one. 

“We changed the project because we lost part of the property,” Kashani said. 

The reconfiguration came about when the Flamingo Motel at 1761 University decided to take advantage of its first rights to purchase the parcel on which it is located, one of the three parcels on which Affordable Housing Associates had counted on for the project. The real estate agent, selling parcels of a deceased client, had not realized in the early stages of the deal that the motel held those rights. 

Kashani holds the right to purchase the two other parcels until the end of June. 

“We don’t know how big it’s going to be - five stories or two stories,” Mayor Shirley Dean said. “It’s a challenge to you, Mr. Kashani. Either you can meet the questions that are being thrown at you, or you can’t.” 

Kashani, however, says he is now able to outline his proposal: The project he hopes to build would be a four-story, 30- to 40-unit structure. The fourth floor would extend only to the northern half of the building, so that light would not be obstructed to the parcel behind it. 

About a third of the apartments would have three bedrooms. Rents would be affordable to persons earning 30 to 60 percent of the median income – that is a family of three which earns from about $18,000 to $35,500 annually. Monthly rents for a two-bedroom apartment would be $443 to $886 and rents for a three-bedroom apartment would be $513 to $1,025. 

There would be a resident manager and house rules would be enforced, Kashani said. 

“There’s nothing to fear from this project,” argued Councilmember Dona Spring, who noted the housing would be for the working poor, disabled people on disability insurance who have worked in the past, and retired persons. 

Councilmember Margaret Breland pointed to the three-bedroom component of the proposed project. 

“That’s something we need to see,” she said. 

Councilmembers grilled Kashani about what disabilities the population might have, whom he would serve. In particular, they said they feared that there may be drug addicts among them. 

“It’s been a long time since I have seen a project which has so very frightened people,” said Councilmember Betty Olds. 

Kashani told the council that the project is designed for people who can live independently – not for people who would need the kind of controls that a substance abuse program would provide. 

Moreover, these kinds of arguments are often a smokescreen, he said. 

“A lot of people who oppose low income housing don’t come out and say it. What people are raising is basically, that they don’t want this housing,” he said.

A.C.C.I. GALLERY 

“The Garden Show,” through May 20. A group exhibit of landscape paintings, ceramics and garden sculpture. Free. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 843-2527. 

BERKELEY PUBLIC LIBRARY, SOUTH BRANCH 

“You’re Blase: The Art of Nick Mastick,” May 15 through June 15. An exhibit of collages. Free. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 1901 Russell St., Berkeley. (510) 644-6860. 

GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL UNION 

“On Common Ground.” through June 23. This exhibit is a portrait of faith-based communities in Los Angeles. 

“Finding the Sacred Mountain,” through June 20. An exhibit of sumi-e and watercolors by Robert Kostka. 

Free. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd., Berkeley. (510) 649-2541. 

KALA ART INSTITUTE 

“High Touch/High Tech: Crossing The Divide,” through May 26. An exhibit of juried and invited artists. Free. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Workshop Media Center Gallery, 1060 Heinz Ave., Berkeley. (510) 549-2977. 

NEW PIECES GALLERY 

“Rock, Stone, Masonry and Mosaics,” through June 1. An exhibit of quilts by Charlotte Patera. 

“The Rhapsody of Dolls,” through June 1. An exhibit of dolls by Patti Medaris Culea. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

Free. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1597 Solano Ave., Berkeley. (510) 527-6779. 

A PIECE OF ART 

Jane Fox, Mixed Media Works, April 27 through June 10, with an artist reception from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 1. Ongoing new works by Gallery Artists in ceramic, metal, glass, wood and works on canvas and paper. 

Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment. Closed Monday and Tuesday. 

701 University Ave., in the parking lot across from Spenger’s. (510) 204-9653. 

TRAYWICK GALLERY 

“nudge,” May 17 through June 18. An exhibit of new work by Terry Hoff. Reception, May 17, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Artist Talk, June 9, 10:30 a.m. 

“minimalPOP,” April 15 through May 14. A group exhibit of a variety of media. 

Free. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 1316 10th St., Berkeley. (510) 527-1214. 

To publicize an upcoming event, please submit information to the Daily Planet via fax (841-5695), e-mail (calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.com) or traditional mail (2076 University Avenue, 94704). 

Calendar items should be submitted at least one week before the opening of a new exhibit or performance. 

Please include a daytime telephone number in case we need to clarify any information.

Former Cal football star Deltha O’Neal was awarded with a Pac-10 conference medal for his athletic and academic career on Tuesday afternoon, at the athletic program’s annual Academic Honors Celebration Luncheon. 

O’Neal, who was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round of last month’s NFL draft, was the Bears’ offensive and defensive leader in 1999, setting school records in interceptions returned for touchdowns and punt returns. The All-American cornerback majors in social welfare, and was selected for the accolade for his leadership, as well as field and classroom prowess. 

Cal swimmer Elli Overton took home the Pac-10 medal on the women’s side, after winning two conference titles in her career, and being named to the All-America team a staggering 14 times. Overton, a Sydney, Australia, native majoring in business administration, plans to swim in this year’s summer Olympics, hosted by her hometown. 

The luncheon also yielded Golden Bear Individual Awards – given to outstanding athletes with a minimum GPA of 3.2 – to athletes in each Cal varsity sport. Among the recipients were Yauger Williams, for football, Janet Franey, for women’s basketball, and Morgan Lingle for men’s basketball. Williams was also named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team for winter and fall sports, along with women’s basketball star Paige Bowie.

A passenger riding in the rear seat of a Saturn sedan was killed early Tuesday morning when the car collided with a bread truck at the intersection of University Avenue and Sixth Street. 

The man, identified as 26-year-old Christopher Michael Gum of Sacramento, was pronounced dead on arrival at Alta Bates Medical Center. 

He was sitting in the right rear of the vehicle with another passenger, Jasey Leigh McVicar, 24, of Sacramento. 

McVicar was admitted to Highland Hospital for treatment. The driver of the Saturn, Eric Case Nietzel, 24, of Stockton, was treated for cuts from glass on his face and arms. 

Rodolfo Gonzalez, 30, the driver of the Bread Works Ford Van and a Berkeley resident, did not require hospitalization. 

Capt. Bobby Miller of the Berkeley Police Department said that 5:30 a.m. when the accident occurred, the traffic lights for east-west traffic on University Avenue flash yellow caution, which does not require drivers to stop. 

The lights on Sixth Street at that time flash red caution, requiring drivers to stop and then proceed if it is safe to do so, he said. 

Miller said the Bread Works truck was going west on University Avenue when it collided with the right side passenger door of the Saturn that was going north on Sixth Street. The sedan was pushed into a utility pole. 

Miller would not release any other information about the accident pending investigation by the department’s Traffic Bureau. 

The team of investigators in the bureau will determine the circumstances of the accident such as how fast the cars were traveling, and if one or both of the drivers were at fault.

The owner of the Raja Restaurant at 2160 University Ave. was shot in the leg early Wednesday morning in an attempted robbery. 

The owner left his business about 2:45 a.m. and was confronted by an African-American male, 5 feet, 11 inches tall, 170 pounds, with a goatee. The suspect, wearing white shoes, blue jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt and brown cap, brandished a handgun and demanded money from the restaurant owner. 

The victim ran back into the restaurant and was pursued by the suspect, who was still holding the gun. The gunman overtook the restaurant owner and as they struggled the suspect shot the victim in the right calf. 

Police Capt. Bobby Miller said the suspect fled, getting no money in the attempted robbery. 

The victim drove himself to Alta Bates Medical Center.

A 10-year-old girl crossing the intersection of Alcatraz Avenue and Ellis Street on her bicycle around 3 p.m. Wednesday was hit by a driver in a Ford van but was not seriously injured. 

The driver of the van didn’t see her until it was too late to stop clear of the girl, said Capt. Bobby Miller of the Berkeley Police. 

Miller said the girl had looked both ways before crossing, and one car passed her. She entered the intersection but didn’t see the van coming in the other direction in time to avoid the collision. The driver hit the rear tire of her bicycle and it caused her to tumble over onto the street. 

She was taken to Children’s Hospital Oakland with a left leg injury, and it was not determined whether the leg was broken or not.

OAKLAND – Uncle Eye, a singing storyteller from Berkeley, will present an evening of Singable Stories and Soulfolk Tales on Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Cato’s in Oakland at 3891 Piedmont Ave. Tom Hallenback will join Uncle Eye on the cello and mandolin and perform an extra set of original songs at 8 p.m. 

An Oakland man was robbed early Friday morning in a parking lot on Fourth Street. 

The 27-year-old was sitting in his car around 4 a.m. when he observed the silhouette of another man near the exterior of the Takara Sake plant at the corner of Allston Way and Fourth Street. The driver decided to leave his vehicle, and when he approached the other man, the two struck up a conversation, according to Berkeley Police Capt. Bobby Miller. The men walked about a block away from the lot, then returned to the first man’s vehicle. 

Once they got in the car, the second man pulled out a handgun and told the first man to give him everything he had. The suspect took a backpack, jacket, wallet and yellow metal ring from the man. He also demanded that the victim give him the keys to the car, and then ordered the victim to walk away from the car. The man complied with both orders. The suspect fled from the scene with the stolen items and the car keys – but not the car. The suspect was described as an African-American male, between 25 and 27 years old. He was around 5 feet, 7 inches tall, with a thin build. 

Miller said that in the report, the victim did not explain why he was sitting in the parking lot at 4 o’clock in the morning.

The legacy of musician, professor and minister W. Hazaiah Williams will be honored during a memorial concert Saturday night at the Scottish Rite Auditorium in Oakland. 

Williams (1930-1999) played an influential role in the life of the Bay Area. He was the first African-American Impresario in the country of a major classical music concert series. For 40 years he presented world-class musicians in San Francisco, the East Bay, New York City and in Paris under the auspices of two organizations which he formed: Today’s Artists Concerts and Four Seasons Concerts. 

For 20 years Williams was professor at the Graduate Theological Union and was the founder of the Center for Urban-Black Studies. He founded and pastored the Church For Today in Berkeley for more than 40 years. He served on the Berkeley Board of Education for eight years and was active as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. 

Saturday’s night’s concert is titled “Three Generations: A Program of African-American Spirituals.” The three featured artists, all baritones, presented in this memorial concert were all part of Williams’ concert programming. William Warfield was presented in a solo recital on Williams’ first concert series at the Oakland Auditorium Theatre (now the Calvin Simmons Theatre) in 1958. Benjamin Matthews was presented many times by Williams, including his Carnegie Hall recital debut performance. Robert Sims joined Williams’ roster of artists in 1987 in a concert at Oakland’s Scottish Rite Auditorium. 

This concert is offered free of charge by its sponsors as a gift to the community, but reserved seat tickets are required. To reserve tickets, which will be held at the box office the night of the concert, call 510-451-0775, or e-mail foursc1@juno.com. Sponsors are: U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Berkeley Vice-Mayor Maudelle Shirek, the Scottish Rite Center, Marcus Book Stores, Pro Piano, The Church For Today, The Center For Urban-Black Studies, the Post Newspaper Group, Four Seasons Concerts, and Emeryville Performing Arts. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be held at the Scottish Rite Auditorium at 1547 Lakeshore Drive, Oakland.

A man was robbed in his apartment building on the 2500 block of Piedmont after returning home from a card club in Oakland about 2:40 a.m. Tuesday. He drove home and walked up to the second floor and was about to enter his apartment when he was suddenly accosted by two men in the hallway. 

Police Capt. Bobby Miller said the victim had not seen or heard anyone coming up behind him, so it is assumed the robbers were already in the building. They pushed the man against a wall and took his wallet. In the fray he suffered a cut lip. 

A witness said he heard a noise outside his door and looked out and saw the victim with two men huddled over him. One of the suspects is an African-American male, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, medium build, wearing a white T-shirt and blue nylon sweat pants. The only description provided on the second suspect was that he was an African-American male. 

In another strong-arm robbery, a man was shot near Strawberry Creek park about 1 a.m. Wednesday as he fled from two gunmen who demanded money. 

The man who was shot and another male victim and a woman were seated on a bench when the suspects brandished guns and threatened them. The victims fled on foot with guns pointed at them and one the rounds of bullets hit one of the fleeing victims in the buttocks. The suspects ran west on Bonar Street. 

The two suspects are described as African-American males. One of them is described as 26 years old, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, 160 pounds, wearing blue pants and a hooded gray sweatshirt. His gun was black, possibly a 9mm weapon, said Miller. 

The other suspect is described as 24 years old, 5 feet, 4 inches tall, 130 pounds with a mustache. He was wearing a black Raiders jacket, and his handgun may have been a .25-caliber weapon.