With his wife and children by his side, environmentalist and three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, David Brower, 88, died quietly Sunday afternoon in the Berkeley home he built a half-century ago. 

“His spirit and love for the earth and wilderness lives on in all of us who were blessed to know him,” wrote his son, David Ross Brower.  

Even in the last days of his fight against cancer, “he remained so very engaged in the world,” said his daughter Barbara Brower, adding that her father had even  

voted absentee.  

“He got his Ralph Nader vote in.” 

Brower transformed the Sierra Club from a small hiking group into a political powerhouse during his nearly 70 years of environmental activism. 

Helen Burke, 16-year director on the East Bay Municipal Utility District and member of the local Sierra Club chapter’s executive board, worked with Brower for 30 years on environmental concerns.  

“It’s a great loss,” Burke said, “He is – was – an icon with the environmental movement.” 

Brower had a way of making people feeling uncomfortable, “of making you feel you should do more,” Burke said.  

Brower became the club’s first executive director in 1952, when it had 2,000 members. When he left, the first time, in a dispute with the board in 1969, it had 77,000 members. It now has more than 600,000 members and influence in Washington and in state capitals throughout the country. 

Burke told the Daily Planet, that among the criticisms Brower had of the Sierra Club, was that it had become too bureaucratic and had lost its activist edge. “He was always pushing the Sierra Club to the left. He wanted the club to be more radical.” 

He rejoined the Sierra Club and helped it celebrate its 75th birthday last year, but once again broke with the club in May over its endorsement of Al Gore for president and other issues. It was the third time he left the club. “He was always breaking with the Sierra Club,” Burke said. 

Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader counts himself among Brower’s devotees, calling him “the greatest environmentalist and conservationist of the 20th century. He was an indefatigable champion of every worthwhile effort to protect the environment over the last seven decades.” 

Despite the Sierra Club’s ups and downs in its relationship with Brower, the organization claims the environmentalist as its own. 

“The world has lost a pioneer of modern environmentalism,” Sierra Club President Robert Cox said. “Like the California redwoods he cherished, David towered above the environmental movement and inspired us to protect our planet.” 

Brower also drew praise from President Clinton, who called him “one of the earliest and most ardent defenders of the extraordinary natural heritage that enriches and unites all Americans.” 

“Over more than half a century, from Cape Cod to the Grand Canyon to the Alaska wilderness, he fought passionately to preserve our nation’s greatest national treasures,” Clinton said. “His fiery activism helped build and energize the modern environmental movement, rallying countless people to the defense of our precious planet.” 

An avid mountain climber and skier who dropped out of college as a sophomore after studying butterflies, Brower served in the 10th Mountain Division during World War II and had an outdoor adventure career that took him around the globe. He joined the Sierra Club in 1933 and quickly moved into its leadership, but his greatest influence came after he became executive director. 

He led a campaign to block construction of dams in the Grand Canyon and persuaded skeptical board members to go ahead with the expensive, but successful, “coffee table” books of Ansel Adams’ photographs of park and wilderness areas, which awakened environmental leanings in thousands of readers. 

Brower also led Sierra Club efforts to pass the Wilderness Act, halt dam construction in Dinosaur National Monument, and create Kings Canyon, North Cascades and Redwoods national parks and Point Reyes and Cape Cod national seashore. 

Brower dropped his opposition to construction of a dam in Arizona’s Glen Canyon in order to stop dam construction in Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado. The trade-off haunted him, said his son Ken Brower. 

“Glen Canyon was what he considered his biggest mistake and the worst loss that happened on his watch,” Ken Brower said. “It ate at him considerably and it became an object lesson that he taught, which was ’Don’t compromise.”’ 

He was forced out of his job as executive director in 1969 by board members unhappy that he made major decisions without consulting them. But he went on to found Friends of the Earth and the League of Conservation Voters. 

He resigned from the board of Friends of the Earth after a battle for control in 1986. He also founded the Earth Island Institute. 

“The world is burning and all I hear from them is the music of violins,” Brower said, when he resigned from the Sierra Club in May. “The planet is being trashed, but the board has no real sense of urgency. We need to try to save the Earth at least as fast as it’s being destroyed.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this story

Tuesday, Nov. 7

Zonta Club dinner 

5:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

$20 per person 

Dr. Sylvia Earle, a marine bioligist, author and Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, will be the featured speaker. 

For more information call 845-6221 

Exercise for Seniors 

10 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Exercise to music with Doris Echols. Free 

“How Can We Restructure  

Civilization?” 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose) 

Informally led by Robert Berend, former UC Extension lecturer, this group aims to have intelligent discussions on a wide range of topics. They stress that there is no religious bent to the discussions and that all viewpoints are welcome. Bring light snacks to share with group.  

Call Robert Berend, 527-5332 

Bayer’s Biotechnology Center Groundbreaking 

1 p.m.  

Seventh & Grayson 

Seventh & Dwight 

Call 705-7880 

Home Design Workshop 

7 - 10 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Instructed by architect/contractor Barry Wagner, this class runs four consecutive Tuesdays through Nov. 28.  

$150 for all four classes 

Call 525-7610 

Wednesday, Nov. 8

Tinnitus & Hyperacusis  

Sufferers Support Group 

10 a.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Public Works Commission Special Meeting 

5 p.m.  

Engineering Conference Room 

2201 Dwight Way 

Discussion and prioritization of Commission work plan priorities for Public Works.  

Board of Library Trustees 

7 p.m. 

South Branch 

1901 Russel St.  

Discussions will include the November election results and electronic classroom policy.  

Homeless Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Police Review Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St.  

Planning Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Waterfront Commission 

7 p.m.  

His Lordships Restaurant 

199 Seawall Drive  

Commission on Disability 

6:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Thursday, Nov. 9

The Life and Art of Chiura Obata 

7:30 p.m.  

North Berkeley Public Library 

1170 Alameda (at Hopkins) 

A slide show and lecture presented by Obata’s granddaughter, Kimi Kodani Hill, celebrating Obata’s book, “Topaz Moon: Chiura Obata’s Art of the Internment,” and the retrospective exhibit of Obata’s work to appear this Fall at SFs De Young Museum. 

For details call 644-6850  

From Morgan to Modern 

“Bay Area Modern” 

7:30 p.m. 

The Hillside Club 

2286 Cedar St. 

$10. 841-2242 

ESL Teacher Job Fair 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Adult School 

1222 University Ave., Room 7  

ESL program representatives from adult schools in Alameda and Contra Costa counties will provide information about desired qualifications, current job openings, credentialing requirements, and more.  

Call Kay Wade, 644-6130 

“Feeding the Moon: A Nutritive Approach to Feminine Fertility” 

Learn how fertility is affected by the environment and how it can be enhanced by healthy lifestyle choices 

7:30 to 9 p.m. 

The Ecology Center 

2530 San Pable Ave.  

558-1324, free 

“Diabetes: What to Know Head-to-Toe” 

Health Education Center, 400 Hawthorne Ave. 

12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Free 

869-6737 

Love and Betrayal: A Musical Journey 

7:30 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Mezzo Soprano Sylvia Braitman discusses the role Gustav Mahler, Kurt Weill, Arnold Schoenberg, and Hanns Eisler played in the development of modernity in German, Austrian and Western music.  

Tuition: $8 for general; $5 JJC members (class code A101-BJ) 

Call 848-0237 for more info.  

Hour of the Furnaces 

4:30 - 6 p.m. 

Hewlett Library, Dinner Board Room 

2400 Ridge Rd.  

Renny Golden, poet, liberation theologian, and professor of social ethics at Northeastern Illinois University, will read from her new book on the Central American experience of struggle.  

649-2490 

Meeting Life Changes 

10 a.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With John Hammerman. Free 

Become A Travel Photo Expert 

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Professional photographer Richard I’Anson, who has taken photos all over the globe, shares highlights and insights from his book, “Travel Photography: A Guide to Taking Better Pictures.” Free 

Call 527-7377 

Community Health Commission 

6:45 p.m. 

Mental Health Clinic 

2640 MLK Jr. Way 

Zoning Adjustments Board 

7 p.m. 

Old City Hall 

Council Chambers, 2nd Floor 

2134 MLK Jr. Way 

Friday, Nov. 10

Dragon and Phoenix Banquet Cooking Contest 

7 p.m. 

Oakland Museum  

1000 Oak St.  

Students from Bay Area cooking academies present original dishes based on the “Dragon and Phoenix” theme to a panel of celebrity judges. Fee and price of admission to museum. 

Reservations: 238-2022  

Women in Black 

Noon - 1 p.m. 

Bancroft at Telegraph 

Women for peace in the Middle East  

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra 

8 p.m. 

Hertz Hall 

UC Berkeley 

Performing the music of Ronald Bruce Smith, Beethoven and Elliot Carter. 

$19 - $35 

Call 841-2800 

Korean Literature Seminar 

10 a.m. - 8 p.m.  

7768 Duke Ct.  

El Cerrito 

Korean writer and professor Do Chang Hoi will speak on the topics of creative writing and modern Korean literature. Sponsored by the Korean Literary Art Fellowship. Continues on Saturday, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.  

Call 559-7856 for more info.  

PC Users Group 

7 p.m. 

Vista College 

Room 303  

2020 Milvia St.  

A groups of PC users who help each other solve problems. They introduce their members to new software, hardware, and invited speakers and technicians from various PC related companies. Meet the second Friday of each month.  

Call Melvin Mann, 527-2177 

Cultural and Historical View  

of the Dalmation Islands, Croatia 

Luncheon served, 11:15 a.m.  

Speaker, 12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave.  

Byron Bass, archeologist with the URS Corporation will speak. 

$11 - $12.25 with luncheon 

$1 general for speaker only, Free to students  

Call 848-3533  

Saturday, Nov. 11

Moonlight on Mt. Diablo 

1 - 10:30 p.m.  

Hike up the Devil’s Mountain by daylight, catch a glorious sunset and hike back by the light of the moon. One in a series of free outing organized by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call: 415-255-3233 for reservations 

Kitchen Design Fundamentals  

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar taught by independent kitchen and bath designer Beverly Wilson.  

$75  

Homeowner’s Essential Course 

9 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

The annual six-Saturday intensive with lectures, slides, and demonstrations taught by professional builder Glen Kitzenberger. Six Saturdays through Dec. 16.  

$425 per person, including textbook 

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Get Your Garden Ready for Winter 

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

UC Botanical Garden  

Ted Kipping of Tree Shapers will offer advice on pruning your shrubs and trees, while Anthony Garza of Magic Gardens will suggest how to improve the health and appearance of your plants. Free, but space is limited.  

Call 287-0591 

Sunday, Nov. 12

Views, Vines and Veggies 

9:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.  

Climb Bald Mountain in Sugarloaf State Park and peer down upon the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Then please your palate at the Landmark Winery and visit Oak Hill organic vegetable and flower farm. One in a series of free fall outings organized by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call: 415-255-3233 for reservations 

“Time Across Cultures” 

2 - 4 p.m. 

St. Clements Church 

2837 Claremont Ave.  

The annual Roselyn Yellin Memorial lecture with a slide-illustrated panel discussion. Also a tour of the “Telling Time” exhibit at the Judah L. Magnes Museum followed by a reception at the museum, 4 - 5 p.m.  

More info: 549-6950 

Buddhism & Compassion 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Psychiatrist and teacher Bobby Jones on “Healing through Compassion.” Free.  

843-6812 

“Road To Mecca” Auditions 

2 p.m.  

Live Oak Theatre 

1301 Shattuck (at Berryman) 

The Actors Ensemble of Berkeley is auditioning roles for two females, 60-70 and 25-35, and one male, 60-70. Auditioners should prepare a monologue no longer than two minutes. No appointments. 

Call Debra Blondheim, 667-9827 

Solar Electricity for Your Home 

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar instructed by engineer Gary Gerber of Sunlight and Power.  

$75 per person  

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

Parenting Book Club 

11 a.m.  

Cody’s Books 

1730 Fourth St.  

Take part in a discussion of “The Good Enough Parent” by Bruno Bettelheim. New group members always welcome. The group meets the second Sunday of each month.  

Call 559-9500 

Carpentry Basics for Women 

9:30 - 4:30 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

A hands-on workshop taught by carpenter Tracy Weir. This workshop is a two-day workshop and runs Nov. 12 and 19.  

$195 per person  

Monday, Nov. 13

An Evening with Barbara Kingsolver 

7:30 p.m. 

King Middle School 

1781 Rose St. 

Barbara Kingsolver’s works include “Animal Dreams,” “High Tide in Tucson,” “The Poisonwood Bible” and “Prodigal Summer” 

free parking $10 in advance, $13 at the door 

Benefits KPFA and Urban Ecology. 

848-6767 

From Rossi to Bernstein 

7:30 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Bay Area musician Mark Levy discusses the works of Jewish classical composers beginning with the sixteenth century. The first in a series of three Monday evening classes on music.  

Tuition for all three classes: $30 general public; $20 JJC members, seniors and students  

Individual classes: $10 general; $8 JJC members, seniors and students 

Call 848-0237 

Berkeley Preschool Fair 

7 - 9 p.m.  

Epworth United Methodist Church 

1953 Hopkins St.  

Sponsored by the Neighborhood Parents Network, this fair features representatives from local preschools. The topic will be how to evaluate preschool education philosophies and make the most of the admissions process. A fair featuring many local preschools will follow panel discussion. 

$5 non-members; Free to NPN members 

Call 527-6667 or visit www.parentsnet.org 

“Timber Framing - Ancient and Modern” 

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar led by contractor/Timber Framers Guild member Doug Eaton.  

$35 per person 

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

Soulforce Candlelight Vigil 

6 p.m.  

SF Chancery 

445 Church St.  

San Francisco  

In conjunction with an action by Soulforce/Dignity in Washington D.C., at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, to stop spiritual violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, local members of Soulforce will be holding a vigil to demonstrate their solidarity.  

Call SF Dignity, 415-681-2491 

Tuesday, Nov. 14

Take a Trip to the Steinbeck Museum and 

Mission San Juan Bautista 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

This is an outing organzied by the Senior Center.  

$40 with lunch, $25 without  

Call Maggie or Suzanne, 644-6107 

Three Little Pigs 

3:30 p.m. 

Berkeley South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St. 

Roger Mara and his Snapdragon Puppets perform.  

649-3943 

More Little Pigs 

7 p.m.  

Berkeley North Branch Library 

1170 The Alameda 

Roger Mara and his Snapdragon Puppets huff and puff and blow the house down.  

“The Hand of Buddha” 

7:30 p.m.  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 

1385 Shattuck (at Rose) 

In her new book poet, columnist and travel writer Linda Watanabe McFerrin explores the lives of women from different ethnic backgrounds and in moments of crisis. Free 

Call 843-3533 

Quest for Justice 

6:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

Bade Museum 

1798 Scenic Ave. 

A reception and discussion with the artists of “Quest for Justice: The Story of Korean Comfort Women as Told Through their Art,” an exhibit on display at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery.  

849-8244 

Even Seniors Get the Blues 

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

A holiday blues support group with Lyn Rayburn.  

Recognizing Alzheimer’s Disease 

10 - 11:30 a.m.  

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center 

Summit North Pavilion 

Annexes B & C  

350 Hawthorne Ave.  

Oakland  

Susan Londerville, MD, Gerentologist, will discuss how to recognize the signs and common symptoms of Alzheimer’s and how to distinguish them from normal aging. Free 

Call Ellen Carroll, 869-6737  

Wednesday, Nov. 15

Even More Little Pigs 

3:30 p.m.  

Berkeley Library Claremont Branch 

2940 Benvenue Ave. 

Roger Mara and his Snapdragon Puppets help Little Red Riding Hood get to Grandma’s house.  

Healthful Holiday Cooking 

11:30 a.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With Natalie. Free 

Community Action Commission & 

Berkeley Homeless Commission  

Joint Public Hearing  

7 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. (at Ashby) 

The purpose of this hearing is to allow low-income residents of Berkeley, and people who use the services to inform these agencies about what services they need.  

Call Marianne Graham, 665-3475  

Making Additions Match 

7 - 10 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar taught by architect/colunist Arrol Gellner.  

$35 per person 

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

Thursday, Nov. 16

Reminiscing in Swingtime 

7:30 p.m.  

North Berkeley Library  

1170 Alameda (at Hopkins) 

George Yoshida, author and jazz drummer, presents a multi-media program recounting the big band experience in the Japanese American internment camps. The presentation will be capped with a set of live jazz by the George Yoshida Quartet. 

Call for more info: 644-6850 

Berkeley Metaphysic Toastmasters Club 

6:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. 

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysic come together at Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters. Meets first and third Thursdays each month. 

Call 869-2547 or 643-7645 

Free blood pressure screenings 

Health Education Center, 400 Hawthorne Ave. 

free 

869-6737 

Three Little Pigs  

3:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Library West Branch  

1125 University Ave.  

Roger Mara and his Snapdragon Puppets perform.  

Tai Chi for Seniors  

2 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With Tai Chi master Mr. Chang. Free 

Sea Kayaking in the Bay Area and Baja 

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Mitch Powers of Sea Trek Ocean Kayaking Center presents slides of some of his favorite paddling destinations and gives tips on selecting gear, paddling safety and planning trips. Free 

Call 527-4140 

HVAC for Beginners 

7 - 10 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning for beginners seminar taught by contractor/engineer Eric Burtt.  

$35 per person 

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

Friday, Nov. 17

Community Dance Party 

7:45 - 9:45 p.m. 

Live Oak Park 

1301 Shattuck (at Berryman) 

Come learn to dance with easy instructions presented by the Berkeley Folk Dancers.  

Teens $2; Adult Non-members $4 

Information: 525-3030  

California Energy Re-Structuring 

Luncheon served, 11:15 a.m.  

Speaker, 12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave.  

Severin Borenstein, director at the UC Energy Institute will speak.  

$11 - $12.25 with luncheon 

$1 general for speaker only, Free to students  

Call 848-3533  

Women in Black 

Noon - 1 p.m. 

Bancroft at Telegraph 

Women for peace in the Middle East  

Housing Clinic for Seniors 

3 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

A housing clinic with the East Bay Community Law Center. Free  

Saturday, Nov. 18

S.F. Stairs and Peaks 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m.  

Begin the day with a visit to the farmer’s market, then meander up the stairways and streets of Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower. Then up Russian Hill, descending to Fisherman’s Wharf for a ride back on the new historic streetcar line. One in a series of free fall outings organized by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call: 415-255-3233 

Berkeley Free Folk Festival 

11 a.m. - 1 a.m.  

Ashkenaz  

1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Fourteen hours of free concerts, workshops, jam sessions and to top it off a Saturday night dance. The fifth annual Folk Festival will feature Shay & Michael Black, Spectre Double Negative & the Equal Positive, Larry Hanks, Wake the Dead and many others. Sponsored by Charles Schwab and the City of Berkeley.  

More info or to volunteer: 525-5099 

Berkeley Video & Film Festival 

2 - 11 p.m. 

2451 Shattuck Ave. 

Screenings of 35 documentaries, features, short features, animation, comedy, commercials, educaitonal and art video and film works. Featuring a number of local filmakers.  

$8  

Call 843-3699 

Zuni Fetish Show  

10 a.m. - 6 p.m.  

Gathering Tribes  

1573 Solano Ave.  

Fresh from a trip to Zuni, Janet & Diane from Beyond Tradition will have new fetishes and jewelry. This is the last fetish show of the year for Gathering Tribes.  

Call 528-9038 

Sunday, Nov. 19

Soprano Deborah Voigt 

Cal Performances  

3 p.m.  

Voigt’s performance is a postponment from her original Oct. 15 date. The program will remain unchanged. 

$28-$48 For tickets call 642-9988 or e-mail tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Mt. Madonna & Wine  

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Hike through evergreen forests and visit the remains of a 19th century estate, then finish the day with a visit to Kruse Winery. One of many free fall outings organized by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call: (415) 255-3233 for reservations 

“Drawing Marathon”  

Merritt College’s Art Building 

Live models, group poses.  

$12 for half a day, $20 for a full day, senior and student discounts available. No cameras or turpentine. 

523-9763 

Berkeley Video & Film Festival 

2 - 11 p.m. 

2451 Shattuck Ave. 

Screenings of 35 documentaries, features, short features, animation, comedy, commercials, educaitonal and art video and film works. Featuring a number of Berkeley filmakers.  

$8  

Call 843-3699 

Monday, Nov. 20

The Music of Israel 

7:30 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Bay Area musician Mark Levy discusses the music of Israel, from the early pioneers of Palestine to the latest rock.  

Tuition for all three classes: $30 general public; $20 JJC members, seniors and students 

Individual classes: $10 general; $8 JJC members, seniors and students  

Call 848-0237 

Tuesday, Nov. 21

Fibromyalgia Support Group 

Noon - 2 p.m.  

Alta Bates Medical Center, Maffly Auditorium 

Herrick Campus 

2001 Dwight Way 

Call D.L. Malinousky, 601-0550 

Environmental Solutions! 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose) 

Informally led by Robert Berend, former UC Extension lecturer, this group aims to have intelligent discussions on a wide range of topics. They stress that there is no religious bent to the discussions and that all viewpoints are welcome. Bring light snacks to share with group.  

Call Robert Berend, 527-5332  

Saturday, Nov. 25

Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Get map from: 

1250 Addison St. #214 

or download at: http://www.berkeleyartisans.com 

Over one hundred professional artists and craftspeople open up their studios and workspaces to the public. All styles of artistic expression are represented. Runs Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 17. 

Call 845-2612 

Monday, Nov. 27

To Make the World Whole 

7:30 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Bay Area musician Mark Levy discusses songs of peace, protest and change from labor, feminists, peace, and environmental activists of the past 125 years, that inspired others to action. 

Tuition for all three classes: $30 general public; $20 JJC members, seniors and students 

Individual classes: $10 general; $8 JJC members, seniors and students  

Call 848-0237 

Educational Philosophies Roundtable 

7 - 9 p.m.  

Epworth United Methodist Church 

1953 Hopkins St.  

At this roundtable, Sponsored by the Neighborhood Parents Network, parents will learn about the following educational philosophies: Developmental, cooperative, Montessori, bilingual, Waldorf, religious, homeschooling, and charter schools.  

Free to members; non-members, $5 

Call 527-6667 or visit www.parentsnet.org  

Wednesday, Nov. 29

Wanderlust: Tales of Adventure and Romance 

7:30 p.m.  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 

1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 

Jeff Greenwald and other travel writers discuss the art of writing travel literature and how to make a living doing it.  

Call 843-3533 

Thursday, Nov. 30

Pro Arts Juried Show Reception 

6 - 8 p.m.  

Pro Arts 

461 Ninth St.  

Oakland 

With the work of 70 artists, this annual show features the work of emerging and mid-career artists. The show runs through December 30. See A&E calendar for details.  

Snowshoeing Basics  

7 p.m . 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Professional snowshoe guide Cathy Anderson-Meyers gives basic instruction on how to get out and experience Tahoe’s winter terrain on “shoes.”  

Call 527-4140 

Compiled by Chason Wainwright 

Dear readers: to give a fair shot to last-minute letter-writers, we’re trying to include as many election missives as we can. We’ve cut them all, probably evoking equal anger among the writers.  

Judith Scherr, editor. 

Yes on V 

Editor: 

If you love your library, as I do, be sure you vote YES on Measure V, which does not raise taxes, but allows the Library to spend the Library Tax. 

If you have been around as long as I have, you remember Proposition 13, which cut library hours and money for books, and devastated city services. We passed the Library Tax to insure that we would have our library, but must renew the tax every four years.  

I love my library because it is the original recycler, providing all those books, magazines, newspapers, and cassettes for us to use and reuse thousands of times. None of us has money to buy or space to store all the information and entertainment we need and want, and our library helps us get what we need.  

Join me in voting YES on V to continue that service.  

Art Serna 

Berkeley 

Yes on P 

Editor: 

We all value our library, and want library facilities to be seismically safe and accessible to the disabled, and to have modern computer technology.  

Four years ago, Berkeley voter passed Measure S, to renovate the Central Library and City Hall. 

Our libraries provide outstanding services, and our greatly appreciated by the community. Last spring, Berkeley voters supported Proposition 14, the State Library Bond Act, by an overwhelming 87 percent.  

The State list of libraries needing renovation includes all of Berkeley’s branches. To apply for state renovation funds, we need local matching funds. For those libraries which receive funding, the state would provide 65 percent of construction costs, and local funds would provide the matching 35 percent. Measure P would provide local funds allowing Berkeley to apply for state or other matching funds.  

The library has been accountable in using tax money. Let’s improve our Branch Library facilities by supporting Measure P.  

Glen Gilbert 

Berkeley 

No on P and V 

Editor: 

The Daily Planet has been a valuable addition to the Berkeley landscape. However, your front page article in last Friday’s edition headlined “Measures P and V will keep Berkeley libraries healthy” makes a mockery of journalism, in my judgment.  

It was not a news article; in was an editorial encouraging voters to tax homeowners to fund a library. City bureaucrats and council members are not ignorant. Elections to heap special taxes on those making mortgage payments are always planned for times when there are the most voters in town when the University is in session.  

The article, artfully states that measure P will cost the average Berkeley property owner about $1 per month. It conveniently omits the cost for Measure V – in my own case, an annual library tax of $312.64. Like the sales tax, these homeowner fees can be highly regressive with no relationship between wealth and income, and an ability to pay,  

Indeed, these tax measures are placed for the most poetic of causes: books, pretty trees and toasty warm swimming pools for the disabled. Never will you see a measure to impose a special tax so that Berkeley can maintain the highest employee/resident ratio in the state.  

Bruce McMurray 

Berkeley, 

Yes on S & W 

To the Editor: 

The value to a community of parks that are well maintained is incalculable. Clean, inviting open spaces make a town more livable. Many thousands depend on parks for active recreation while others enjoy them for walking or picnicking. Even those who rarely use a park benefit from the urbane beauty it provides to all passers by. 

Now is the chance for Berkeley’s voters to make a real difference in our quality of life. Make sure that all our public open spaces are properly cared for.  

Support our parks. Vote yes on S & W. 

Carol Thornton 

Berkeley 

Yes on S & W 

Editor: 

Measures S & W for our parks have an impressive, bipartisan endorsement list that includes Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Assemblymember Dion Aroner, Mayor Shirley Dean, Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek, and Councilmembers Olds, Worthington, Maio, Breland, Spring, and Armstrong. These parks measures have the support of both the Berkeley Democratic Club and Berkeley Citizens Action, as well as the Cal Berkeley Democrats and the Green Party of Alameda County. 

Perhaps even more telling, they have the enthusiastic support of environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, the Golden Gate Audubon Society, and the Urban Creeks Council of California and volunteer groups such as Berkeley Partners for Parks, the Association of Sports Field Users, Habitot Children’s Museum, and the Albany-Berkeley Soccer Club. 

Nancy Carleton 

Chair, Support Our Parks 

Vote Nader 

Editor: 

Ralph Nader is not accountable for the politics of George W. Bush and those who chose to vote for him. That is their own choice for what they think we need in this country, just as it is my choice to vote for Nader. I am voting for Nader because he is the only politician who has ever said anything even remotely close to what I feel.  

I am inspired by his words and think that if given the chance he will stand by them. 

I feel the presidential election is there so that we the people can elect a leader to represent us. To chose someone who’s beliefs resemble our own. I can not change by beliefs and in turn I cannot change my vote. Lately as the election draws near I have been receiving an onslaught of opinions from Gore voters claiming that I must vote for Al Gore, for no other reason than to prevent Bush from getting into the white house. I don’t like Bush Jr. just as much as I don’t like  

Bush Sr., but my dislikes have nothing to do with who I think should be president. For far to long the American people have fallen into believing that we have a two party system. The belief runs so deep that even the newspapers refer to “the two candidates” as if there were no one else running.  

Isaac Jones 

Berkeley 

The problem is not Nader, it’s the system 

Editor: 

A vote for Nader is NOT a vote for Bush. Nader’s candidacy is not the problem, the problem is that in the current system of voting, you can choose one candidate only. The Green Party has been proposing for several years now a system of voting under which you can rank the candidates:you would indicate on the ballot your 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice etc. 

The candidate who got the least of the 1st choice votes is eliminated and then you examine the 2nd choice votes and you distribute them appropriately to the other candidates according to what was the 2nd choice of each of these votes. 

This procedure is repeated until 1 candidate gets over 50 percent of the vote. This way, if your first choice does not win, your vote still goes to the second choice or third choice. 

Perhaps it is too late to implement this voting system this election. However, Gore could promise that such system will be in case THE NEXT ELECTION. 

Ghaouar Camij Toschian 

Rivera  

Dear Neighbors, 

I am writing to ask for your support in my campaign for re-election to the Berkeley School Board. From the very first day I took office in 1996 I have been working hard to improve Berkeley’s public schools. As a teacher I know what works in the classroom and how to get results. 

That’s why I played a key role in the funding and implementation of the District’s early literacy plan and have pushed for high standards, reliable assessments and genuine accountability. 

As your School Board Director these past four years, this last one as President of the Board, I have focused on the areas of academic quality and student achievement, including: Implementation of the District’s early literacy plan; adoption of world-class, high academic standards in English/Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Sciences and visual and performing Arts; Improvement of services for our English language learners; expansion of after-school programs and approval to teach Algebra to all students in the 8th grade 

Joaquín J. Rivera 

President Berkeley School Board  

Morton 

To my fellow Berkeley Citizens: My name is Sherri Morton and I am an African American parent of three children in the Berkeley Unified School District and a candidate for Berkeley School Board Director. 

I am a hard worker, ask my husband. I am a good mother, ask my children. I am a dedicated fighter, ask my friends. 

I have participated in myriad committees, served as vice-president of the PTA for Cragmont, and was this year president elect. I have made a number of contributions in the BUSD, but what I offer today are tangible results and a desire to continue in the fight for our children. I participated on the Cragmont II/USP (Immediate Intervention for Underperforming Schools Program) to ensure that while the needs of all children were being addressed, the needs of children of color were not neglected. While the target Academic Performance Index goal for our students was a ten-point increase, the actual increase achieved by the African American students was 117 points, and the overall increase was 124 points. These results demonstrate that with a receptive principal, concerned parents, a dedicated staff and community, we can raise the bar for all children.  

Sherri Morton 

School Board Candidate 

MEASURE Y 

We are seniors living in rented apartments in Berkeley. We are going to vote for Measure Y, and we urge all other voters to do the same. 

Measure Y protects seniors, the disabled, and long term tenants from owner, or owner relative, move-in evictions. 

We have all recently received 2 large slick cards in the mail which try to make us believe that Measure Y helps large landlords and hurts small ‘mom and pop’ owners. 

This is outrageous. These cards say, in very small letters, that they are paid for by ‘No on Y’. They do not give the name and address of the sender, which is required by law. But we do  

know that the ‘No on Y’ Campaign Committee is primarily financed, to the tune of more than $60,000, by the large landlords and Real Estate interests themselves! There is apparently no limit to the election deceptions and frauds of the 

Large landlords! 

Laurence Harris  

Frances Rachel  

Helen Lima, same,  

P&V 

The Daily Planet has been a valuable addition to the Berkeley landscape. However, your front page article in last Friday’s edition headlined “Measures P and V will keep Berkeley libraries healthy” makes a mockery of journalism, in my judgment.  

It was not a news article; in was an editorial encouraging voters to tax homeowners to fund a library. City bureaucrats and council members are not ignorant. Elections to heap special taxes on those making mortgage payments are always planned for times when there are the most voters in town when the University is in session.  

The article, artfully states that measure P will cost the average Berkeley property owner about $1 per month. It conveniently omits the cost for Measure V – in my own case, an annual library tax of $312.64. Like the sales tax, these homeowner fees can be highly regressive with no relationship between wealth and income, and an ability to pay,  

Indeed, these tax measures are placed for the most poetic of causes: books, pretty trees and toasty warm swimming pools for the disabled. Never will you see a measure to impose a special tax so that Berkeley can maintain the highest employee/resident ratio in the state.  

Bruce McMurray 

Berkeley, 

Measure Y 

Editor: 

I have been a renter in Berkeley for close to eighteen years, a community activist and former City of Berkeley employee. Measure Y on the upcoming ballot is an initiative that has the potential to make it better for all renters and will not affect small landlords. It was deeply disturbing to read the misrepresentations, half-truths, and blatant falsehoods in the “No on Measure Y” pieces that hit the mail this weekend. First of all, the direct mail piece is illegal since it carries no address or ID number for the "No on Y" as mandated by the State Elections guidelines. Next, the people represented in the various mailers are not in fact real Berkeley citizens, but actors poising as the personalities depicted in the pieces.  

Fact: Measure Y protects senior and people with disabilities who are renters! If Measure Y passes, tenants who are 60 years or older and have lived on the property for 5 years or are disabled and have lived on the property for 5 years cannot be evicted. The current law allows landlords to evict senior and people with disabilities who are tenants.  

The opposition’s reasoning that passage of Measure Y causes a loss of Berkeley rental units is about as logical as a starving person refusing food. The only way for rental units to go down is if landlords stop renting their units. Hello, does anyone think that landlords are going to stop renting units because of Measure Y? Hardly, landlords will continue to rent units at their inflated prices, but once Measure Y passes, they won’t be able to unfairly evict tenants who have been occupying units for 5 years under the guise of owner move in for a short period of time and then jack up the rent. 

Fact: Landlords who own 3 or fewer residential rental units in Berkeley and own no other residential rental units in Berkeley are exempted from Measure Y. Fact: A majority of No on Measure Y campaign contributions have come from parties OUTSIDE of Berkeley. $15,000 of the $54,643 raised against Measure Y was donated by the Issues Mobilization Political Action Committee, based in Sacramento is more than the total funds most City Council candidates have. Yes on Measure Y is a community based grassroots effort with contributions from people who live and work in Berkeley. 

Angela L. Johnson 

Long-time Berkeley resident  

36 not the answer 

Editor: 

California’s Proposition 36 has merit in that it will lower the number of people unjustly persecuted from going to jail. This proposition would also aid the state’s mental health providers. Where it fails is it implies anyone who uses drugs needs rehabilitation. 

Although it is the right direction it stops far too short. It is right to stop people from unknowingly hurting themselves, but it is unethical to deny them their civil liberties. What makes one happy is determined by ones own personal feelings and tastes. Truthfully, this decision should not be for anyone to decide but themselves. Intervention is necessary if the individual is clearly a danger to him or herself, the same as with any other mental illness. If the individual competently knows the dangers and accepts that risk, the decision is in their hands. It is acceptable to take risk doing many other activities that are potentially hazardous, so how is it unacceptable to use something proven safe? Drugs are not dangerous when used correctly. Education is the best way tostop drug abuse.  

Jim Jarboe,  

Berkeley 

Yes on all but C 

Editor; 

Berkeley voters have many city, county and school ballot measures to vote on. May I suggest an easy way to differentiate the good from the bad and the ugly. Please vote yes on A to Z except for C. THANK YOU.  

Kriss Worthington 

Berkeley 

Gore and Bush are different 

Editor: 

The current edition of Newsweek has an article by Jonathan Alter highly critical of Ralph Nader for “by refusing to admit there are deep differences between Al Gore and George W. Bush, by clinging to this emotionally satisfying but factually inaccurate notion of a “DemRep Party,” Nader is squandering his most precious asset-his intellectual honesty.”  

“Start with the environment, which the Green Party is supposed to be about. Beyond his support for gun control, why is Gore in such trouble in a state like West Virginia? Because he won’t roll over for the coal and chemical industries that run the state. They know he is the most serious environmentalist ever to run for president..... The Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth.........have enthusiastically endorsed Gore over a GOP candidate who argued in Texas that compliance with clean-air standards should be “voluntary.”  

“Or take campaign-finance reform, the signature issue of many Naderites. A recent poll showed that voters actually thought Bush would be better on that issue than Gore, though Bush opposes reform and Gore supports it.” 

Nader voters are under the illusion that a Bush era is somehow harmless to them-a mere interlude to rally their cause.  

Sig Cohn  

Berkeley 

Letter-writer does not understand 

Editor: 

I read Michael Larrick’s, “Vote no on school bonds,” (11/6/00) and as a parent who has worked actively in Berkeley schools for the past 6 years, I was offended.  

He trashes the schools, the district, and in effect all of us who work so hard for our schools and our community, but in six years I don't recall ever hearing his name or seeing him raise his hand in all of those meetings, where we have been working so hard to improve our children's schools. He talks about the billions of dollars spent on education as though it all goes to Berkeley students.  

He refers to State & Federal funds as though they are enough to pave the streets with gold. We have in California more students than any other state. And we spend less per child than most other states.  

I sat on the Superintendent's Blue Ribbon Committee on the Budget last year, and I don't remember the letter-writer offering solutions there either, 

The message, “Vote No On Education” is shallow and offensive. 

Mark a. Coplan 

President, Berkeley PTA Council 

Editor 

California’s Proposition 36 has merit in that it will lower the number of people unjustly persecuted from going to jail. This proposition would also aid the state’s mental health providers. Where it fails is it implies anyone who uses drugs needs rehabilitation. 

Although it is the right direction it stops far too short. It is right to stop people from unknowingly hurting themselves, but it is unethical to deny them their civil liberties. What makes one happy is determined by ones own personal feelings and tastes. Truthfully, this decision should not be for anyone to decide but themselves. Intervention is necessary if the individual is clearly a danger to him or herself, the same as with any other mental illness. If the individual competently knows the dangers and accepts that risk, the decision is in their hands. It is acceptable to take risk doing many other activities that are potentially hazardous, so how is it unacceptable to use something proven safe? Drugs are not dangerous when used correctly. 

Education is the best way to stop drug abuse. 

Jim Jarboe, Berkeley 

Dear Editor; 

Berkeley voters have many city, county and school ballot measures to vote on. May I suggest an easy way to differentiate the good from the bad and the ugly. Please vote yes on A to Z except for C. THANK YOU.  

Kriss Worthington 

Berkeley 

To the Editor: 

The value to a community of parks that are well maintained is incalculable. Clean, inviting open spaces make a town more livable. Many thousands depend on parks for active recreation while others enjoy them for walking or picnicking. Even those who rarely use a park benefit from the urbane beauty it provides to all passers by. 

Now is the chance for Berkeley’s voters to make a real difference in our quality of life. Make sure that all our public open spaces are properly cared for.  

Support our parks. Vote yes on S & W. 

Carol Thornton 

Berkeley 

Editor: 

Ralph Nader is not accountable for the politics of George W. Bush and those who chose to  

vote for him. That is their own choice for what they think we need in this country, just as it is  

my choice to vote for Nader. I am voting for Nader because he is the only politician who has ever said anything even remotely close to what I feel.  

I am inspired by his words and think that if given the chance he will stand by them. 

I feel the presidential election is there so that we the people can elect a leader to represent  

us. To chose someone who’s beliefs resemble our own. I can not change by beliefs and in turn I can not change my vote. Lately as the election draws near I have been receiving an onslaught of opinions from Gore voters claiming that I must vote for Al Gore, for no other reason than to  

prevent Bush from getting into the white house. I don’t like Bush Jr. just as much as I don’t like  

Bush Sr., but my dislikes have nothing to do with who I think should be president. For far to long the American people have fallen into believing that we have a two party system. The belief runs so deep that even the newspapers refer to “the two candidates” as if there were no one else running.  

Sincerely,  

Isaac Jones 

Berkeley 

Ghaouar Camij Toschian  

A vote for Nader is NOT a vote for Bush. Nader’s candidacy is not the problem, the problem is that in the current system of voting, you can choose 1 candidate only. The green party has been proposing for several years now a system of voting under which you can rank the candidates:you would indicate on the ballot your 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice etc. 

If any candidate x1 gets over 50% of the 1st choice vote, x1 wins. 

The candidate who got the least of the 1st choice votes is eliminated and then you examine the 2nd choice votes and you distribute them appropriately to the other candidates according to what was the 2nd choice of each of these votes. 

This procedure is repeated until 1 candidate gets over 50% of the vote. 

This way, if your 1st choice does not win, your vote still goes to the 2nd 

choice or 3rd choice. 

Perhaps it is too late to implement this voting system this election. However, 

Gore could promise that such system will be in case THE NEXT ELECTION. 

Ghaouar Camij Toschian 

Editor: 

Measures S & W for our parks have an impressive, bipartisan endorsement list that includes Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Assemblymember Dion Aroner, Mayor Shirley Dean, Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek, and Councilmembers Olds, Worthington, Maio, Breland, Spring, and Armstrong. These parks measures have the support of both the Berkeley Democratic Club and Berkeley Citizens Action, as well as the Cal Berkeley Democrats and the Green Party of Alameda County. 

Perhaps even more telling, they have the enthusiastic support of environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, the Golden Gate Audubon Society, and the Urban Creeks Council of California and volunteer groups such as Berkeley Partners for Parks, the Association of Sports Field Users, Habitot Children’s Museum, and the Albany-Berkeley Soccer Club. 

Nancy Carleton 

Chair, Support Our Parks 

Past President, Berkeley Partners for Parks 

Dear Neighbors, 

I am writing to ask for your support in my campaign for re-election to the Berkeley School Board. From the very first day I took office in 1996 I have been working hard to improve Berkeley’s public schools. As a teacher I know what works in the classroom and how to get results. 

That’s why I played a key role in the funding and implementation of the District’s early literacy plan and have pushed for high standards, reliable assessments and genuine accountability. 

As your School Board Director these past four years, this last one as President of the Board, I have focused on the areas of academic quality and student achievement, including: Implementation of the District’s early literacy plan; adoption of world-class, high academic standards in English/Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Sciences and visual and performing Arts; Improvement of services for our English language learners; expansion of after-school programs and approval to teach Algebra to all students in the 8th grade 

I would be very honored to have your vote on Tuesday. Thanks in advance 

for your support. 

Joaquín J. Rivera, President Berkeley School Board and Candidate for 

re-election 

Editor: 

The current edition of Newsweek has an article by Jonathan Alter highly critical of Ralph Nader for “by refusing to admit there are deep differences between Al Gore and George W. Bush, by clinging to this emotionally satisfying but factually inaccurate notion of a “DemRep Party,” Nader is squandering his most precious asset-his intellectual honesty.”  

“Start with the environment, which the Green Party is supposed to be about. Beyond his support for gun control, why is Gore in such trouble in a state like West Virginia? Because he won’t roll over for the coal and chemical industries that run the state. They know he is the most serious environmentalist ever to run for president..... The Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth.........have enthusiastically endorsed Gore over a GOP candidate who argued in Texas that compliance with clean-air standards should be “voluntary.”  

“Or take campaign-finance reform, the signature issue of many Naderites. A recent poll showed that voters actually thought Bush would be better on that issue than Gore, though Bush opposes reform and Gore supports  

it.”..........  

“Nader voters are under the illusion that a Bush era is somehow  

harmless to them-a mere interlude to rally their cause.  

Sig Cohn  

Berkeley 

MEASURE Y 

We are seniors living in rented apartments in Berkeley. We are going to vote for Measure Y, and we urge all other voters to do the same. 

Measure Y protects seniors, the disabled, and long term tenants from owner, or owner relative, move-in evictions. 

We have all recently received 2 large slick cards in the mail which try to make us believe that Measure Y helps large landlords and hurts small ‘mom and pop’ owners. 

This is outrageous. These cards say, in very small letters, that they are paid for by ‘No on Y’. They do not give the name and address of the sender, which is required by law. But we do  

know that the ‘No on Y’ Campaign Committee is primarily financed, to the tune of more than $60,000, by the large landlords and Real Estate interests themselves! There is apparently no limit to the election deceptions and frauds of the 

Large landlords! 

Laurence Harris  

Berkeley 

Frances Rachel  

Helen Lima, same,  

P&V 

The Daily Planet has been a valuable addition to the Berkeley landscape. However, your front page article in last Friday’s edition headlined “Measures P and V will keep Berkeley libraries healthy” makes a mockery of journalism, in my judgment.  

It was not a news article; in was an editorial encouraging voters to tax homeowners to fund a library. City bureaucrats and council members are not ignorant. Elections to heap special taxes on those making mortgage payments are always planned for times when there are the most voters in town when the University is in session.  

The article, artfully states that measure P will cost the average Berkeley property owner about $1 per month. It conveniently omits the cost for Measure V – in my own case, an annual library tax of $312.64. Like the sales tax, these homeowner fees can be highly regressive with no relationship between wealth and income, and an ability to pay,  

Indeed, these tax measures are placed for the most poetic of causes: books, pretty trees and toasty warm swimming pools for the disabled. Never will you see a measure to impose a special tax so that Berkeley can maintain the highest employee/resident ratio in the state.  

Bruce McMurray 

Berkeley, 

To my fellow Berkeley Citizens: 

My name is Sherri Morton and I am an African American parent of three children in the Berkeley Unified School District and a candidate for Berkeley School Board Director. 

I am a hard worker, ask my husband. I am a good mother, ask my children. I am a dedicated fighter, ask my friends. 

I have participated in a myriad of committees, served as vice-president of the PTA for Cragmont, and was this year president elect. I have made a number of contributions in the BUSD, but what I offer today are tangible results and a desire to continue in the fight for our children. I participated on the Cragmont II/USP (Immediate Intervention for Underperforming Schools Program) to ensure that while the needs of all children were being addressed, the needs of children of color were not neglected. While the target Academic Performance Index goal for our students was a ten-point increase, the actual increase achieved by the African American students was 117 points, and the overall increase was 124 points. These results demonstrate that with a receptive principal, concerned parents, a dedicated staff and community, we can raise the bar for all children.  

I am interested in working for the community as a whole and for those students that are underperforming in particular. I joined this race as a  

concerned parent, and have remained in this race, despite the politics, for  

the same reason. I am by choice, by nature and by design an active parent  

and an advocate for all children, particularly children of color. I ask for  

your vote. Thank you. 

Sherri Morton 

Please remember to support measures AA and BB, and vote no on proposition 38. 

November 4, 2000 

Dear Editor: 

I have been a renter in Berkeley for close to eighteen years, a community activist and former City of Berkeley employee. Measure Y on the upcoming ballot is an initiative that has the potential to make it better for all renters and will not affect small landlords. It was deeply disturbing to read the misrepresentations, half-truths, and blatant falsehoods in the "No on Measure Y" pieces that hit the mail this weekend. First of all, the direct mail piece is illegal since it carries no address or ID number for the "No on Y" as mandated by the State Elections guidelines. Next, the people represented in the various mailers are not in fact real Berkeley citizens, but actors poising as the personalities depicted in the pieces.  

It’s so important NOT TO BE FOOLED by such despicable tactics of tokenism, window dressing of putting people in wheelchairs (and a disable vet no less), and portrayals of inaccurate situations in ads to obscure the real facts. Let’s review the facts, shall we? 

Fact: Measure Y protects senior and people with disabilities who are renters! If Measure Y passes, tenants who are 60 years or older and have lived on the property for 5 years or are disabled and have lived on the property for 5 years cannot be evicted. The current law allows landlords to evict senior and people with disabilities who are tenants.  

The opposition claims, "Measure Y will hurt renters", I don’t see how protecting seniors and people with disabilities can hurt renters. In addition to the fact that there are housing discrimination laws against seniors and people with disabilities. Measure Y is supported by senior housing groups such as tenants at the Redwood Gardens and Strawberry Creek housing complexes and advocates for people with disabilities such as Miya Rodolfo-Sioson, Chair of the Commission on Disabilities. 

The opposition’s reasoning that passage of Measure Y causes a loss of Berkeley rental units is about as logical as a starving person refusing food. The only way for rental units to go down is if landlords stop renting their units. Hello, does anyone think that landlords are going to stop renting units because of Measure Y? Hardly, landlords will continue to rent units at their inflated prices, but once Measure Y passes, they won’t be able to unfairly evict tenants who have been occupying units for 5 years under the guise of owner move in for a short period of time and then jack up the rent. 

Fact: Landlords who own 3 or fewer residential rental units in Berkeley and own no other residential rental units in Berkeley are exempted from Measure Y. The opposition claims that "Measure Y only affects small owners" this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Measure Y assures single family homeowners and small landlords are not restricted from moving in to their homes. 

Fact: A majority of No on Measure Y campaign contributions have come from parties OUTSIDE of Berkeley. $15,000 of the $54,643 raised against Measure Y 

was donated by the Issues Mobilization Political Action Committee, based in Sacramento is more than the total funds most City Council candidates have. Yes on Measure Y is a community based grassroots effort with contributions from people who live and work in Berkeley. 

The argument that Measure Y is hard on landlords is bogus and insulting. Measure Y does not prevent a landowner from moving into their own property, but it does limit landlords who have other options because they own other units or other rental property from evicting long term, senior or people with disabilities in order to take advantage of skyrocketing rents at the expense of tenants who have lived in units for 5 or more years.  

Quite frankly I’m a little sick and tired of hearing how hard it is for people who have the privilege (and luxury) of owning property to rent units in Berkeley. Give me a break! Yes, people who own property have rights, but they shouldn’t have the right to evict someone from their home of years just because they want to greedily take advantage of the booming economy and make a fast buck by kicking out someone who has made their unit a home for years and is paying a lower rent. Remember, there was Costa Hawkins that set rents at fair market value (and instituted substantial increases), so landlords can hardly cry foul.  

Here are some more facts, the average market unit prices between January 1999 and July 2000 for a studio is $745; the average rent for a unit that has not had a vacancy since January 1996 is $512. The average market unit price between January 1999 and July 2000 for a one bedroom is $995; the average rent for a unit that has not had a vacancy since January 1996 is $602. For a two bedroom the figures are $1,367 and $748 respectively; and $1,745 and $1,068 for a three bedroom. Needless to say, without Measure Y, some landlords (the money-grubbing, absentee large landlords) would have the economic incentive to evict long-term tenants from their homes in order to rent units at markedly higher rents. We need Measure Y to protect tenants who have lived in their homes for 5 years or more; who are seniors or a person with disability. 

Read the City Attorney’s summary in the Voter Information Pamphlet and get the straight story. Don’t be fooled, vote with the people of Berkeley, not outside interest and large landlords who do not want to place any limitations on evictions. I encourage all renters including long and short term tenants, students, senior, people with disabilities, and small "mom and pop" landlords to get out and vote YES ON MEASURE Y! 

Angela L. Johnson 

Long-time Berkeley resident  

6 not the answer 

Editor: 

California’s Proposition 36 has merit in that it will lower the number of people unjustly persecuted from going to jail. This proposition would also aid the state’s mental health providers. Where it fails is it implies anyone who uses drugs needs rehabilitation. 

Although it is the right direction it stops far too short. It is right to stop people from unknowingly hurting themselves, but it is unethical to deny them their civil liberties. What makes one happy is determined by ones own personal feelings and tastes. Truthfully, this decision should not be for anyone to decide but themselves. Intervention is necessary if the individual is clearly a danger to him or herself, the same as with any other mental illness. If the individual competently knows the dangers and accepts that risk, the decision is in their hands. It is acceptable to take risk doing many other activities that are potentially hazardous, so how is it unacceptable to use something proven safe? Drugs are not dangerous when used correctly. Education is the best way tostop drug abuse.  

Jim Jarboe,  

Berkeley 

Yes on all but C 

Editor; 

Berkeley voters have many city, county and school ballot measures to vote on. May I suggest an easy way to differentiate the good from the bad and the ugly. Please vote yes on A to Z except for C. THANK YOU.  

Kriss Worthington 

Berkeley 

Gore and Bush are different 

Editor: 

The current edition of Newsweek has an article by Jonathan Alter highly critical of Ralph Nader for “by refusing to admit there are deep differences between Al Gore and George W. Bush, by clinging to this emotionally satisfying but factually inaccurate notion of a “DemRep Party,” Nader is squandering his most precious asset-his intellectual honesty.”  

“Start with the environment, which the Green Party is supposed to be about. Beyond his support for gun control, why is Gore in such trouble in a state like West Virginia? Because he won’t roll over for the coal and chemical industries that run the state. They know he is the most serious environmentalist ever to run for president..... The Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth.........have enthusiastically endorsed Gore over a GOP candidate who argued in Texas that compliance with clean-air standards should be “voluntary.”  

“Or take campaign-finance reform, the signature issue of many Naderites. A recent poll showed that voters actually thought Bush would be better on that issue than Gore, though Bush opposes reform and Gore supports it.” 

Nader voters are under the illusion that a Bush era is somehow harmless to them-a mere interlude to rally their cause.  

Sig Cohn  

Berkeley 

Letter-writer does not understand 

Editor: 

I read Michael Larrick’s, “Vote no on school bonds,” (11/6/00) and as a parent who has worked actively in Berkeley schools for the past 6 years, I was offended.  

He trashes the schools, the district, and in effect all of us who work so hard for our schools and our community, but in six years I don't recall ever hearing his name or seeing him raise his hand in all of those meetings, where we have been working so hard to improve our children's schools. He talks about the billions of dollars spent on education as though it all goes to Berkeley students.  

He refers to State & Federal funds as though they are enough to pave the streets with gold. We have in California more students than any other state. And we spend less per child than most other states.  

I sat on the Superintendent's Blue Ribbon Committee on the Budget last year, and I don't remember the letter-writer offering solutions there either, 

The message, “Vote No On Education” is shallow and offensive. 

Mark a. Coplan 

President, Berkeley PTA Council 

Supporters charge dirty tactics by opponents 

Supporters of Measure Y, which seeks to protect disabled and elderly tenants, called a press conference Monday to express outrage at the No on Y Committee for what they claimed were “desperate” and “dishonest” campaign tactics. 

The press conference was called by Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board directors and the Commission for the Disabled, contending there were misleading fliers sent out late last week by the No on Y Committee. They said the fliers were a blatant attempt to confuse voters. 

“We have to make it known that these fliers are illegal and full of mischaracterizations in addition to being obscene,” said Larry Buchalter a paraplegic who works for the Measure Y campaign. 

Measure Y is a pro-tenant measure that would restrict owner-move-in evictions of the elderly, disabled and long-term tenants. The measure would only apply to buildings of four or more rental units. 

Max Anderson, a Rent Board director and candidate for reelection, said the No on Y Committee, which is closely connected to the Berkeley Property Owners Association, pulled some dirty tricks late in the campaign in an attempt to fool voters.  

“The people who sent out these last-minute cynical mailers are in the most despicable category of this campaign season,” Anderson said. “These people can’t seem to resist maximizing their profit on the most vulnerable people in the community.” 

Supporters of Measure Y said at least three different fliers were sent out citywide. Proponents are especially upset that two of the fliers depict people confined to wheelchairs under statements that claim the disabled will be hurt by Measure Y. 

Critics of the mailing campaign said they doubt the two handicapped people pictured on the flyers even live in Berkeley. The two are only identified as Phil B. and Sarah J. The short biography of Phil B said he moved to Berkeley and could not find housing close to the Center for Independent Living. 

“The handicapped community is very tight knit and no one knows either of them,” said Marissa Shaw, of the Commission on Disability. “They don’t even look handicapped to me.” 

On another flyer there is the story of “Mary J.,” a retired teacher and widow who goes on sabbatical and rents her home out to “Fred” who refused to move out when she returns. Mary J. is forced to pay “Fred” $4,500 for moving costs due to Measure Y.  

Proponents of Measure Y say the hypothetical story is misleading because the measure only applies to buildings with four units or more and not to single family homes. 

Berkeley Councilmember Dona Spring, who is both a tenant and disabled, co-authored the measure and said the fliers’ claims are false. 

“I think this is the most cynical example of political double talk I’ve ever seen,” Spring said. “I wouldn’t want to be them, their going to have such bad Karma.” 

The No on Y Committee raised $54,643 as of Oct. 21. Over 60 percent of the money comes from sources outside Berkeley including $15,000 from an organization called the Issues Mobilization Political Action Committee, or IMPAC. The organization has a Sacramento address but there is no telephone listing. Measure Y supporters said it’s a real estate pack organization. 

Jo Ann Price, president of the Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville League of Women Voters, is also upset at the No on Y tactics. Price said that although the League supports the intent of the measure it does not support Measure Y itself. However, Price said the LWV never gave the No on Y Committee permission to use the League’s name. All three fliers state “The League of Women Voters urges a no vote (on Measure Y).” 

In an ironic twist, Price said she received a call at her home from someone who falsely claimed to be from the LWV and asked her to vote no on Measure Y.  

Price was able to trace the call back to the Tramutola Company, a political consulting firm in Oakland. Price said she discovered the owner of the company, Larry Tramutola, wrote the misleading phone script. 

“He called me back and apologized claiming it was a mistake,” Price said. 

But then Price said she saw the same misleading statements in an ad placed in the Daily Planet. The ads stated the LWV was against the measure and quoted her as saying “The League of Women Voters opposes Measure Y.” 

“If I didn’t have a cause before I do now,” Price said. “It’s not the organization anymore it’s my name and I never said that.” 

The ad was placed by Robert Cabrera, president of the Berkeley Property Owners Association. Several members of the No on Y Committee referred all questions to Cabrera but neither Cabrera nor Tramutola returned calls. 

Peggy Schioler, a member of the Berkeley Property Owners Association, who is running for a seat on the Rent Stabilization Board said she is against Measure Y but she is not a member of the No on Y committee. She said Cabrera is new to politics. “Maybe he chose the wrong tactics but I ascribe that to inexperience, he’s not an evil person,” she said. 

The No on Y Committee may also be in violation of state law. According to Berkeley’s Campaign Filing Manual, state law requires return address information including name, address and city on all mailings of 200 pieces or more. Whoever sent the fliers did not list any information about the fliers source other than “Paid for by No on Y.”  

Berkeley Councilmember Kriss Worthington said the No on Y committee must have decided to release the false information at the end of the campaign because “they’re desperate and the organization was hoping there wouldn’t be time to counter their false claims.” 

“They know they can’t make a legitimate argument against the measure so they’ve decided their best chance is to try and confuse the voters,” he said.

A District 6 campaign war over signage, which has been brewing for several weeks, turned ugly early Saturday morning resulting in several hundred dollars worth of damage and a police investigation. 

Berkeley Lt. Russell Lopes said at about 5:15 a.m. Saturday a confrontation took place between two men near the corner of Walnut and Cedar streets that ended with one man wounded and the other with a dented car and four shattered windows.  

The incident took place when a longtime Berkeley resident and activist was removing Eleanor Pepples campaign signs and fliers posted on telephone poles in District 6 and was spotted by Carl Martineau, a volunteer sign poster for Eleanor Pepples.  

“I was removing signs and bills posted to the poles, like I’ve done everyday for about 13 years, and I heard a voice coming out of the darkness. The next thing I knew there was a bright light shining in my face and I was being interrogated and accused of campaign sabotage,” said the District 6 resident who asked not to be identified. 

The alleged victim said Martineau was holding a long metal flashlight two feet from his face. After exchanging words the victim said he retreated into his car. 

“That’s when the glass started flying,” he said. “First he kicked my car. Then he circled my car and bashed in my rear passenger windows, the front seat passenger window and shattered the front windshield with the flashlight. When I was speeding away I saw blood on the windshield.” 

Martineau said that his wounds were superficial, and he treated them himself. He declined to comment on the incident. 

The alleged victim said that he was within the law to remove the signs and that he has been “cleaning the poles” to help preserve his neighborhood. 

“I am not registered to vote in District 6. I am apolitical. I clean the poles and pick up trash because I want to keep my neighborhood clean and beautiful and it’s perfectly legal.” 

Lopes said that there are two possible crimes the department is investigating in connection with the incident.  

“One is going to be determined by the laws governing the posting and removal of campaign signs and the other is misdemeanor for property damage . . . possibly a felony depending on the amount of damage and intent,” Lopes said.  

Lopes said it is illegal to post signs on any pole in Berkeley with one exception.  

“Around election time it is legal to temporarily post signs on city-owned poles. That would mean metal light poles, not PG&E poles or other utility poles. It is also illegal to remove election signs from city-owned poles during election time.” 

Lopes also said it is illegal to post signs on any or all poles that are not owned by the city. It is legal to remove signs from those poles. 

In addition to allegedly bashing in car windows, Martineau admits to calling supporters of District 6 incumbent Betty Olds.  

After the car incident early Saturday morning, Martineau said he made several calls to people who have made campaign contributions to Olds and accused them of campaign sabotage. He admitted threatening to contact the American Civil Liberties Union to report alleged First Amendment violations and filing suit against her campaign and supporters. Martineau also said that he has contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigations in connection with the signage incidents. 

“He called me at 6 a.m. in the morning on Saturday,” Denny Abrams said. “He was telling me that because I have contributed financially to Olds campaign I am responsible for campaign sabotage against Pepples.” 

Abrams expressed anger at being jolted out of bed so early and said that he has known Olds for more than 30 years. 

“I can give my money to whomever I choose. He accused me of tearing down signs and was hysterical. He kept saying I was violating Pepples right to free speech. What about my right to a good nights sleep.” 

Olds, who was extremely upset that her supporters were being called and harassed, said she placed several calls to Pepples requesting that she “call off” Martineau. The calls were not returned, Olds said. 

Olds has also denied any involvement in the “sign wars.”  

“I would never ask anyone working for my campaign to take down signs on poles nor would I ever put a sign on a pole,” she said. 

In response to the car incident and early morning phone calls Pepples said Martineau was not working for her. 

“Carl Martineau is not acting on my behalf. Nor is he acting on behalf of my campaign. He is not connected to anything my campaign is about.” 

Pepples and Martineau do connect on one thing.  

Both feel that their First Amendment rights have been violated. Pepples said that she felt sorry, disappointed and disturbed about recent events. 

“My first amendment rights to free speech and those of my supporters have been violated. The signs are legal. I have serious questions as to whether this has been a fair election.” 

Martineau said and others he has a history of losing his temper. 

In an e-mail sent to numerous city officials Nov. 2, Martineau admitted to feeling an “uncontrollable anger” and to being ejected from a candidates forum at Cragment Elementary School after a verbal outburst.  

The alleged victim, who said he has had trouble with Martineau on two earlier occasions, filed a report with the Berkeley Police Department and will be asked to identify Martineau from a police line-up later this week. 

SACRAMENTO — With the presidential race and key congressional campaigns going down to the wire, tens of thousands of California political activists on Monday flooded phone lines, went door to door and cheered at rallies meant to mobilize voters. 

The Democrats who dominate the state’s elected offices barnstormed California to counter a multimillion-dollar advertising barrage by Republican George W/ Bush – a blitz that went unanswered by Al Gore. 

“We expect every single one of you to e-mail, fax, phone, knock on the door of every human being you can,” Gov. Gray Davis told activists in Sacramento. “Drag them, drive them, get in a taxi with them, get them to the polls!” 

Turnout is critical for the Democrats because Bush’s aggressive effort in the largest state has slashed Gore’s once-commanding lead in polls. Getting out the vote is just as crucial for Republicans, because Democrats outnumber them by 1.6 million voters. 

A Field Poll released Monday showed Gore leading Bush 46 percent to 41 percent among likely voters, an edge that barely exceeded the poll’s margin of error of 3.5 percentage points. 

Republicans said their polling showed the race between Gore and Bush a dead heat. “They may rue the day they decided not to advertise,” GOP consultant Sean Walsh said of Gore. 

“It’s a lot closer than I’d like it to be, and it’s a lot closer than it needed to be,” said Garry South, the political adviser to Gov. Gray Davis. South had complained previously that Gore had not fought vigorously enough for the state. 

Green Party candidate Ralph Nader drew 4 percent in the Field Poll, the same as he has in two previous Field surveys. That suggested a second problem for Gore: Nader’s supporters are sticking with him despite Democratic efforts to draw them back into the Gore fold. 

The Green Party was holding its own rallies up and down the state Monday. 

Republicans pressed for a come-from-behind win for their nominee. 

Bush was leading a rally via satellite at several California sites, and other Republicans were stumping independently at the 11th hour. 

Rev. Tony Lowden of the Calvary Christian Center said the black community shouldn’t blindly pledge its support to Gore. 

“They should look at how much their communities have improved in the past eight years. If they aren’t seeing improvements, they should be voting for Bush-Cheney,” Lowden said on the Capitol steps. 

“In terms of improving our communities and family values, Gore offers nothing and George Bush offers plenty,” said community activist Craig DeLuz. “Issues that are important to us aren’t important to Democrats.” 

Voters were also preparing to decide a long list of other races and issues on the California ballot. 

There are initiatives on school vouchers and bonds, campaign-finance reform and whether to require those convicted of drug possession to be placed in drug treatment rather than prison. 

At least a half-dozen tight congressional races could determine which party controls Congress. 

Republicans were trying to narrow the Democrats’ lead in the Legislature, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein was defending her seat against Republican Rep. Tom Campbell. 

“I know you’ve all got on your walking shoes and I think we’re going to show that this 800-pound gorilla, California, can really deliver,” Feinstein told more than 200 labor leaders and teachers in Sacramento. 

Both parties were mounting what they said were unprecedented efforts to turn out the vote. 

The GOP was blanketing the state with “millions” of phone calls and had about 25,000 volunteers getting voters to the polls, said spokesman Stuart DeVeaux. 

Bush’s wife, Laura, was among those who taped messages that were phoned to Republican voters, along with former Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf and Rep. Mary Bono. 

Democrats had President Clinton, Barbra Streisand and Rev. Jesse Jackson making automated phone calls, 20,000 to 30,000 foot soldiers knocking on doors, and other volunteers making hundreds of thousands of phone calls, said party spokesman Bob Mulholland. 

“We’ve got the candidates. We’ve got the issues. If we don’t win, it’s our own fault,” said Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. 

Davis warned against voter complacency that could come if “eastern pundits,” as he put it, begin airing projections of winners Tuesday/ 

That was one of many factors that made the election more volatile than anyone had expected. 

Seven percent of voters remained undecided, according to Monday’s Field Poll. Elections officials expected the highest turnout in 20 years — 76 percent — but no one knew which way they’d vote. 

More than a quarter of voters were casting absentee ballots, which was certain to slow disclosure of results. 

SACRAMENTO — Spurred on by fights for control of Congress and redistricting, California candidates could set records this year for the number of $1 million-plus campaigns. 

“I think we’re going to have more expensive races this year than ever before,” Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, said Monday. 

“I think there will be a legislative record set, (and) spending for congressional races is just off the chart.” 

One contest, the $9 million-plus U.S. House race between Rep. James Rogan, R-Glendale, and state Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, has already set a national spending record. 

And the state Senate battle between Sen. Richard Rainey, R-Walnut Creek, and Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Martinez could break the $6.37 million record for spending by two candidates in a legislative election. 

They’re not alone in spending big. 

At least 16 legislative candidates spent more than $1 million on their races and another eight to 10 were closing in on that total as Election Day approached. In 1998, 17 candidates for the Senate or Assembly spent $1 million or more. 

Fourteen congressional candidates, including Rogan at $5.7 million and Schiff at $3.3 million, had passed the $1 million mark by mid-October and another seven were closing in on that total. 

“There are an alarming number of multimillion-dollar campaigns that are taking place, said Jim Knox, executive director of California Common Cause, which supports limits on campaign contributions and spending. 

State election officials won’t know the complete totals until the campaigns submit their final 2000 finance reports by January 31. 

There are numerous reasons for this year’s spending barrage. Term limits have created more competitive legislative races.  

There’s also the possibility that Democrats could win a House majority, the fact that the next Legislature will control redistricting, a greater reliance on television, more wealthy self-funded candidates and the booming state economy. 

“Partly it’s inflation, partly it’s the good economy and people making more contributions,” said Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys.  

“I’ve been around the political process for 27 years, and when the economy is not doing well it’s harder for people to write checks.” 

There are donation limits for congressional races: $1,000 per election for individuals and $4-000 per election for political action committees. 

But there are no limits on donations to state campaigns except in midterm legislative races, and five- and six-figure contributions are common. Numerous efforts to cap donations have been rejected by voters or the Legislature, vetoed by governors or overturned by the courts. 

Most of the big money in the legislative races comes from corporations, labor unions, professional groups and other organizations that lobby at the Capitol. 

The record for spending by two legislative candidates over a two-year election cycle is $6.37 million by Sen. Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, and his Republican opponent, John Jordan, in 1997-98, according to Knox. 

Jordan, a member of a wealthy winemaking family, spent $3.7 million by himself in his losing bid. It’s possible that both Torlakson and Assemblyman Mike Machado, a Stockton area Democrat who is also running for the Senate, could top that. 

In addition to the million-dollar spending by indiwidual candidates, uhe Megislature’s top four leaders have raised millions of dollars to funnel to candidates in their parties. 

Overall spending in legislative campaigns rose more than 600 percent since the 1970s, to a record $105.1 million in 1995-96 before declining slightly two years ago. 

Spending on the eight propositions on Tuesday’s ballot isn’t likely to set any records although the spending per-measure could beat the corresponding amount in the record-setting year, 1998. Opponents and rupposters raised more than $120 million on seven ballot measures heading into the last two weeks of the campaigns. An eighth proposal, involving a veterans loan bond, hasn’t attracted any spending. 

The record for ballot proposition spending is $192.9 million, set in November 1998, when there 12 proposals on the California ballot. 

Candidates also are relying more on television advertising than they used to, which boosts campaign costs and fuels the drive for more money. 

“It’s ‘ medium uhat!peoqle use uo get their information more so than newspapers and the like,” Hertzberg said. And with cable TV, candidates can target specific audiences with each message. 

Campaign consultants who preach that “you can never have enough money” are another factor, Knox said. And they encourage candidates to go on television and radio because they get a cut of that spending. 

“It’s the industry practice that whatever the TV buy is the consultants get 15 percent off the top,” Knox said. “Radio, uhe same thing.” 

There’s also the keeping-up-with-your-opponent factor. Rainey predicted early in February that he would spend $2 million to $3 million and went on TV six months before him, Torlakson said. 

“I had no choice but to follow to stay competitive,” Torlakson said. 

———— 

On the Net: Read the campaign finance reports at www.ss.ca.gov and www.fec.gov. 

LOS ANGELES — Theater owners have adopted new guidelines restricting the viewing of trailers for R-rated movies and strengthening policies to prevent children under 17 from seeing restricted films. 

For the first time, the guidelines prohibit theaters from showing trailers advertising R-rated films before feature films rated G or PG. 

The National Association of Theater Owners, with 700 members in the United States, issued the guidelines Monday.  

The policy was unanimously approved at a general membership meeting held last week. 

The guidelines go beyond those adopted in September by the Motion Picture Association of America. 

The MPAA, which represents film studios, only urged theater owners to stop showing trailers for R-rated films before G-rated features. 

The movie industry is still struggling with intense criticism stemming from a report issued by the Federal Trade Commission in September.  

The report criticized the entertainment industry for marketing films, music and video games with violent and sexually explicit content to children. 

Congress intensified the pressure with hearings on the report, during which the movie industry was taken to task for its response to the FTC report.  

The NATO guidelines allow individual theater owners to decide whether to show a trailer for an R-rated film before a feature rated PG-13.  

NATO is requiring members to examine trailers to “ensure that their tone and content are consistent with the feature film and that nothing in the trailer itself is likely to offend the audience.” 

“The problem is the breadth of the R rating,” said John Fithian, president of NATO.  

“We believe some R-rated films are appropriate to advertise before some PG-13-rated films and that decision is best made on a local basis. What is controversial in Texas might be viewed differently in Massachusetts.” 

The NATO guidelines also require each member to appoint a senior 

executive compliance officer to enforce policies restricting access to R and NC-17-rated movies. 

The policy even urges members to post extra security outside theaters during the showing of “extreme R-rated films and all NC-17-rated films.”  

Movie studios will be asked to defray labor costs in such circumstances, the policy states. 

NATO members will also display posters explaining the ratings system in all theaters and urge newspapers to include the reasons for ratings in their movie reviews. 

It will now be up to individual theater chains to adopt specific policies based on the NATO guidelines, Fithian said. 

The United Artists Theatre Circuit Inc., one of the largest theater chains, will issue its policies in the next week or so, according to president and chief executive officer Kurt Hall. 

“We’re taking it very, very seriously,” Hall said. 

On the Net: http://www.hollywood.com/naun 

http;//wwv.mpaa.org

LOS ANGELES — The retail price of gasoline fell more than 1 cent per gallon nationwide due to a drop in crude oil prices, an analyst said Sunday. 

Dealers were able to save money on crude oil and passed the savings along to consumers, analyst Trilby Lundberg said. 

The average price of gasoline was about $1.60 per gallon on Friday, down 1.3 cents from two weeks ago, according to the Lundberg Survey of 10,000 gas stations nationwide. The national weighted average price of gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was $1.55 per gallon for regular unleaded, $1.65 per gallon for mid-grade and $1.74 per gallon for premium. At full-service pumps, the average was $1.89 per gallon for regular unleaded, $1.98 per gallon for mid-grade and $2.05 per gallon for premium. 

RANCHO PALOS VERDES — One of the nation’s best spots for whale-watching is off-limits for at least the next 18 months as governments debate over who will pay a $2 million environmental cleanup bill. 

The Point Vicente Interpretive Center has been closed since August 1999 because of lead contamination a World War II rifle range is believed to have left behind at the site. 

“This year I’m really sad,” said Holly Starr, the center’s recreation supervisor, told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s hard to see the interpretive center without any people in there. I just can’t fathom the reopening being that far away.” 

The contamination was discovered last year shortly after the city broke ground on a 7,000-square-foot expansion project. A test of the soil turned up bullets and lead contamination, which can cause brain damage in children. 

City officials have spent more than $800,001 disposing of the a hazardous waste landfill, but have determined it will cost another $2 million to finish the job. 

They have filed claims with the federal government and Los Angeles County, which owns the land, seeking money to help pay for the cleanup. 

“We really believe it’s the federal rifle range that caused the problem, and it’s on county property,” said Rancho Palos Verdes City Manager Les Evans. “We’re all in this together.” 

But county officials say their agreement with the city absolves them from any environmental cleanup liability. They have asked the Army Corps of Engineers to investigate whether the military is to blame for the contamination, hoping the federal government will foot the bill. 

A Corps spokesman said the agency expects to learn by the end of the year whether the site is eligible for funding under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program, which funds cleanup efforts at former military sites. 

But Evans said getting federal money could take years because the allocation would require congressional approval.  

And even if they get the money, the cleanup and expansion project would take a year and a half to complete. 

The center, which is owned and operated by the city of Rancho Palos Verdes, normally gets about 60,000 visitors a year and was supposed to be opened in time for the start of whale-watching season Dec. 1. 

It sits on a peninsula that juts into the paths of thousands of gray whales migrating between waters!off Alaska and Baja California.!During the December-to-March season, mother whales and their newborn calves frolic near the cliffs and rest in the kelp beds. 

“I don’t think there is another spot like it,” said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, project director for the Gray Whale Census Project. “Sometimes the whales get so close you hear them before you see them.” 

Without the use of the center, which opened in 1984, whale watching is tougher for both spectators and volunteers who help conducu an annual whale census. 

! 

LOS ANGELES — Jurors should believe gang members’ testimony and fear dishonest police more than gangs, a prosecutor said Monday during closing arguments in the trial of four officers accused of planting evidence and framing people. 

“You have seen how dishonest cops can manipulate the system and twist the truth so it is unrecognizable,” Deputy District Attorney Laura Laesecke told the Superior Court jury of seven women and five men. 

The prosecution began its closing arguments without ever calling disgraced ex-officer Rafael Perez to the stand to testify against Sgt. Edward Ortiz, Sgt. Brian Liddy, Officer Michael Buchanan and Officer Paul Harper. 

Perez, a member of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Rampart station anti-gang “CRASH” unit until he was caught stealing seized cocaine, was expected to be the prosecution’s star witness until an ex-girlfriend accused him of committing murders. 

Perez spawned the corruption case against the four other Rampart anti-gang officers when he began talking to investigators in exchange for lenient punishment. 

The probe of his allegations led to dismissal of 100 tainted criminal cases and the reorganization of all the department’s anti-gang units, including the name Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums and its more popular acronym. 

The prosecutor asked jurors to look skeptically at the police officers and realize that “putting on a uniform doesn’t automatically make someone trustworthy and honest.” 

“Somewhere along the line these defendants lost their moral compass. They began to think of themselves as above the law,” Laesecke said. 

She asked jurors to trust gang members who testified against the police and urged them not to simply say, “Who are we going to believe, cops or gang members?” 

“Yes, gangs are bad,” she said. But she claimed that the defense put too much emphasis on that fact. “They need!to dehumanize these witnesses and victims because maybe if you think of them as less than human you won’t care,” Laesecke said. 

The prosecutor drew objections from the defense when she compared gangs with other groups who could be framed by police simply because they don’t like them. 

“Where does it stop?” she asked. “What about homeless people? ... What about drug abusers? Should we frame them? What if officers don’t like blacks or Jews or lesbians?” 

A defense objection was sustained by the judge and the comment was stricken. 

“Gang members may scare you,” the prosecutor said. “What should scare you even more is dishonest cops.” 

The first day of arguments began after the judge instructed the jury to consider the case of each officer individually, as if there were four separate trials. The last evidence presented by prosecutors was an identification card obtained by Buchanan when he was 19 but indicating he was 21. 

Buchanan’s lawyer said fake identification is commonly used by youths to get into nightclubs when they are under age. 

The prosecution suggested that it showed Buchanan was willing to lie under oath. 

The officer briefly returned to the witness stand to acknowledge his youthful act and said he had never been asked about it during some 100 witness stand appearances on behalf of prosecutors in other cases. 

The defense called only the four defendants and one accident reconstruction expert during its one-week present‘tion. 

The final defense witness, Ortiz, said that during his tenure with Rampart CRASH officers handled all cases the same way and did not single out gang members for tougher treatment. 

A broken promise ten years ago is prompting the Berkeley City Council to cautiously endorse a $153 million bond measure that would renovate five Peralta Community College district campuses.  

In an 8-1 vote on Oct. 24, the City Council voted to endorse Measure E. The measure calls for a general obligation bond to renovate existing facilities and construct new classrooms at College of Alameda, Laney and Merritt colleges in Oakland and Vista College in Berkeley — all in the Peralta Community College District. Only Councilmember Maudelle Shirek voted no.  

Normally, such measures enjoy widespread community support. But Berkeley’s trepidation arose after concerns that the Peralta Community College District — which oversees the five colleges — will not fulfill their promise to build a permanent campus in Berkeley. 

Last week, Joshua Damankos, president of the Associated Students of Vista College in Berkeley, said he is voting against Measure E because of its loopholes. 

“Nowhere in the ballot language of Measure E is there language that would assure PCCD would build a permanent building for Vista College,” Damankos said.  

Currently, Vista leases two spaces in Berkeley as well as uses classrooms on Berkeley’s University of California campus.  

Damankos said he had tried unsuccessfully to get the PCCD Board to meet before the election to create a legally binding addendum to the measure that would ensure a permanent school. 

According to City Councilmember Kriss Worthington — who voted to endorse the measure — a lawsuit wasfiled against the district ten years ago after they broke a promise to build a permanent campus in Berkeley.  

This time, Worthington said the PCCD gave the Council every possible assurance short of putting binding language in the measure. 

Worthington points to a letter written by the State Community College Board which legally binds PCCD to build a college at 2050 Center St. Worthington said the Council also considered the PCCD’s investment of $2.5 million in the property, now a parking lot, as a sign of good faith.  

“If they don’t [build a permanent college campus in Berkeley], we will reinstitute the lawsuit and give them tremendous PR and legal grief,” he said. 

According to PCCD spokesperson Jeff Heyman, the purchase was specifically intended for construction at the the site.  

But Damankos said there is no binding agreement to stop the PCCD from selling the site after for a profit in the current hot real estate market. 

Heyman said there is no doubt Vista will get a permanent building in Berkeley. Chancellor Ronald J. Temple wrote a letter to the City Council that said explicitly “we are building a permanent facility whether Measure E passes or not.” 

Heyman said the PCCD already has $15 million to build the Vista facility and if Measure E passes there will be double that for construction. “Voters have to decide what they want, a $15 million school or a $35 million school,” he said. 

Measure E would cost homeowners $9.87 per $100,000 of assessed home value per year.

Monday, Nov. 6

Airports vs. the Bay 

7 p.m. 

Albany Community Center 

1249 Marin St.  

Albany 

David Lewis, Executive Director of “Save the Bay” will speak on the airports’ plans to expand into the SF Bay and other challenges to Bay restoration.  

Contact: Friends of Five Creeks, 848-9358 

Flu Shots for Seniors 

9 a.m. - Noon & 1 - 2 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

$2 for seniors. 

“The Weir” 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Director Tom Ross will discuss the Aurora Theater’s production of “The Weir” and will distribute 30 free tickets on a first-come, first-served basis.  

Youth Commission 

6 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Youth Center 

1730 Oregon St.  

Peace & Justice Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

Discussion for support of the city council proposal that Peace & Justice Commission review contracts with UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.  

Landmarks Preservation  

Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

Personnel Board Meeting 

7 p.m.  

Permit Center 

2118 Milvia St.  

Tuesday, Nov. 7

Zonta Club dinner 

5:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

$20 per person 

Dr. Sylvia Earle, a marine bioligist, author and Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, will be the featured speaker. 

For more information call 845-6221. 

Exercise for Seniors 

10 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Exercise to music with Doris Echols. Free. 

“How Can We Restructure  

Civilization?” 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose) 

Informally led by Robert Berend, former UC Extension lecturer, this group aims to have intelligent discussions on a wide range of topics. They stress that there is no religious bent to the discussions and that all viewpoints are welcome. Bring light snacks to share with group.  

Call Robert Berend, 527-5332. 

Bayer’s Biotechnology Center Groundbreaking 

1 p.m.  

Seventh & Grayson 

Seventh & Dwight 

Call 705-7880 

Home Design Workshop 

7 - 10 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Instructed by architect/contractor Barry Wagner, this class runs four consecutive Tuesdays through Nov. 28.  

$150 for all four classes 

Call 525-7610. 

Wednesday, Nov. 8

Tinnitus & Hyperacusis  

Sufferers Support Group 

10 a.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Public Works Commission Special Meeting 

5 p.m.  

Engineering Conference Room 

2201 Dwight Way 

Discussion and prioritization of Commission work plan priorities for Public Works.  

Board of Library Trustees 

7 p.m. 

South Branch 

1901 Russel St.  

Discussions will include the November election results and electronic classroom policy.  

Homeless Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Police Review Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St.  

Planning Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Waterfront Commission 

7 p.m.  

His Lordships Restaurant 

199 Seawall Drive . 

Commission on Disability 

6:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way). 

Thursday, Nov. 9

The Life and Art of Chiura Obata 

7:30 p.m.  

North Berkeley Public Library 

1170 Alameda (at Hopkins) 

A slide show and lecture presented by Obata’s granddaughter, Kimi Kodani Hill, celebrating Obata’s book, “Topaz Moon: Chiura Obata’s Art of the Internment,” and the retrospective exhibit of Obata’s work to appear this Fall at SFs De Young Museum. 

For details call 644-6850. 

Vote no on school bonds 

Editor:  

Vote no on all school bonds. The California public school system already receives 43 percent of the entire State budget! K -12 gets $34 billion and the U.C. system gets 9 billion dollars. The state budget is just less than 100 billion dollars. Add to this the $20 million a year the Berkeley school system gets from current bonds and then add the more than $6 million a year it gets from the federal government and one has to wonder — What do they do with that much money? Do not give them another penny. Make them accountable and make them do it with the billions they already have. If these numbers surprise you, they should. Call the Berkeley Unified School District. They told me all this over the phone. Also, read the California state budget, it’s all there. The left leaning Bay Area newspapers do not report stories which tell of the wasted money in our school system.  

Michael Larrick 

Berkeley  

Parks need to be maintained 

Editor: 

Measures S and W deserve the support of Berkeley voters who care about the livability of our community. For many years our parks did not receive the care and attention our residents desire and deserve. 

Through the efforts of many adopt-a-park groups and Berkeley Partners for Parks, the hard work of city staff has been supplemented to improve our parks far beyond what the city’s limited budget could afford. Thousands of volunteers have contributed to create such notable projects as the Fountain at Marin Circle, Halcyon Commons, and Dreamland for Kids at Aquatic Park. 

Berkeley’s park acreage has doubled in the last 23 years, yet the number of city maintenance staff is virtually the same. With many new projects under construction, it is vital that we provide adequate resources to keep all our facilities well maintained. 

Say yes to good parks. Vote yes on S and W. 

Gail Keleman 

Berkeley 

No room for humor in election 

Editor: 

Was Andrew Lam’s article on choosing Gore or Bush by means of astrology a joke? If not, it was frivolous and not helpful.  

I have an interest in astrology and the I Ching, but to choose a candidate this way is absurd. People have died for the right to vote, and we scorn their memory by making light of this opportunity to make democracy work. 

After 40 years of voting, I know people don’t always vote on the basis of issues, but I would like to make a plea for just that. Despite the fact that both parties are beholden to corporations, one party is pro-choice, one party gave us social security and seeks to protect it.  

Gore favors gun control, the NRA favors Bush. Gore opposes oil drilling in Alaska, Bush would do it. Gore opposes school vouchers, Bush favors them. To me, these are big issues.  

So while I am not a Democrat, I am a pragmatist. I lived through the Reagan-era, saw the elimination of beneficial social programs, the removal of environmental protections, the exaltation of corporate power and the dismantling of the labor movement.  

The power of the president is great. I would like to preserve what progressive measures we have, not see them taken away.  

Sallie Hanna-Rhyne 

Berkeley 

Open Letter to Ralph Nader 

Editor:  

I am writing to let you know that how sorry I was to hear you say to Sam Donaldson on ABC-TV on Sunday October 29 that you weren't very troubled at the prospect of Roe vs. Wade being reversed by the Supreme Court, since all that would mean is that “it just reverts it back to the states"(see ABC-TV website). If this was meant as a serious statement, it is incredibly foolish and insensitive; if it was meant as only a campaign ploy, then it tells us that the intense quest for “5 percent” of the votes has become an irresponsible obsession.  

Unlike some others, I am not asking you to withdraw from the race, which would be unrealistic. But I do think you owe your admirers a better explanation than I have heard so far of why you now think it okay to say just about anything in order to minimize the serious differences between Bush and Gore. Personally, I see no need to outflank Reverend Jackson, Senator Wellstone, the Black Caucus, NOW, Abortion Rights, Planned Parenthood, the Sierra Club, and countless others in the name of what you have called “conscience.” The gun lobby, the HMOs, the insurance companies, the pharmaceutical and tobacco Industry, the loggers, and other corporate interests all seem to understand the differences between Bush and Gore better than you do, as is easily seen from the vast amounts of financial support they are giving to Bush as compared to Gore. I guess I just don't grasp your use of the word “conscience,” since my conscience would really bother me if I voted in a way that contributed to Bush's election and to the policies that would follow from Republican control of all three branches of government. If the worse case scenario does happen (the one you like to pooh-pooh — a Bush-appointed Supreme Court), I am planning to spend what is left of my life — which is how long the reconstituted Supreme Court may last — calling it the “Nader Court.”  

Reginald Zelnik 

Berkeley 

Not just Roe Vs. Wade 

Editor: 

I have heard so many agonizing discussions on voting your conscience in the next election. The arguments seem to pivot largely on abortion rights since there is precious little else to distinguish Democrats from Republicans. For people who have declared their support for Nader yet will vote Gore because of the fear of new appointments to the Supreme Court who in turn, may reverse Roe Vs. Wade, I would like to expand the discussion beyond state and national politics.  

In 1996, the Republican National Party supported legislation to extend the Fourteenth Amendment protection to unborn children. If amended, childbearing women who accidentally become pregnant may have fewer choices for abortions. I had to look hard on the web to find this Republican position. It was not on the Bush-Cheney presidential site, nor was it on the official Republican Party site. I found it on Phyllis Schlafly's Republican National Coalition site. 

So, we vote Democratic and hold our nose to protect the right of some women who elect abortion as a family planning tool. I do not know the circumstances that would lead the state or federal courts to impose an unwanted pregnancy as a result of rape or that may, as a result, injure the mother; it is bad enough to limit remedies for mistakes.  

So we vote Gore, and we do so as we hold our nose because we understand the last eight years have brought us more African-American men in jail than ever before. Another few years of Democratic leadership and 40 percent of African-American males in southern states will be entirely denied the vote. We vote Gore knowing that Democrats are so supportive of capital punishment and incarceration for drug offenses that on these issues you should vote Campbell over Feinstein for Senate.  

If justice is your issue, a Democrat will certainly continue to blame the victim in Palestine because of contributions from the pro-Israel lobby. Democrats introduced the “secret evidence” laws and the profiling requirements for the aviation industry. 

The make-up of the Supreme Court is an important issue and I do not wish to belittle it, and maybe the Republicans will increase the limits on abortions that have started in the Clinton administration and this may lead to the loss of lives of some poor women. It is a hard choice to make but be certain, hundreds of thousands of non-Americans will die as a direct result of the sick foreign policy of the Democratic Party. 

Nabil Al-Hadithy 

Berkeley 

The Cal women’s basketball team overcame a shaky start and defeated the Bay Area Pro-Am All-Stars 77-72 Sunday in its first of its two exhibition games at Haas Pavilion. 

Senior forward Lauren Ashbaugh led the Bears with 23 points while grabbing six rebounds. Guard Becky Staubes and forward Amber White also finished in double figures, with 11 and 12 points respectively.  

But the Pro-Am nearly spoiled Cal’s first game under new head coach Caren Horstmeyer as the All-Stars led with 3:46 left to play.  

Ashbaugh scored the first two points of the game before Pro-Am — a team made up of players primarily from Northern California colleges — countered with nine unanswered points. 

“They were actually in a little better condition than I thought,“ Horstmeyer said. 

Pro-Am’s fast pace from the outset seemed to catch the Bears flat-footed.  

“We got off to a little bit of a shaky start,“ Horstmeyer said, adding that the team’s work ethic and hard playing set the tone throughout much of the game. 

Cal trailed by as many as nine points in the first half, but rallied late in the period to tie the score at 34-34 heading into the break.  

The All-Stars actually had a higher field goal percentage than the Bears, but Cal put up 23 more shots. Pro-Am hit 22-of-47 shots while the Bears netted 27-of-70. 

“I’ve built my teams on defense,“ Horstmeyer said. “(Pro-Am’s) 46 percent (from the field) makes my hair stand up a little bit.“ 

She added that Cal would work on forcing its opponents to take more difficult shots while putting more pressure on the ball to lower the opponent’s shooting percentage to 38-40. 

Pro-Am’s 6-foot-3 center Valerie Gillon from the University of San Francisco, was a force in the middle, hitting 4-of-4 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line as she posted team-high 16 points. 

But she couldn’t stop Ashbaugh down the stretch as the Bears’ 6-foot-2 star scored a bucket and was fouled with 2:52 left in the game to give Cal a 68-64 edge. She pulled down a key rebound with less than two minutes left and came up with a steal with 40 seconds remaining to seal the Bears’ victory. 

“A key was to be in close games and come out on top, be winners,“ Horstmeyer said. “Players were able to make some adjustments.“ 

The All-Stars kept pace with the Bears by pounding the ball inside, getting fouled and knocking down free throws. Pro-Am hit 24-of-29 from the foul line (82.8 percent), while Cal struggled, especially in the first half, hitting just 22-of-38 (57.9 percent). 

Cal’s rookie coach, who compiled a 221-124 record in her 12 years at Santa Clara, said she’s pleased with the way the team is playing this early in the season. 

“I’m feeling better about the work intensity we’ve established,“ Horstmeyer said. 

She added that she was excited about the team’s 13 assists, led by Staubes and Courtney Johnson with three each. “That goes to show we’re playing as a team,“ she said. 

The Bears also turned the ball over just 16 times while causing Pro-Am to cough it up 28 times. Following the first of Cal’s two preseason contests, Horstmeyer said the Bears needs to improve its passing. 

“I think on tape they’ll see that their passes weren’t crisp,“ she said. “That stood out glaring for me.“ 

Between a new coaching staff and the unavailability of Haas Pavilion for practices, Horstmeyer said that the team is still making adjustments on the floor.  

“We’ve only had 15 practices and the players are learning everything new,“ she said. “This is only our third day in Haas.“ 

The Bears return to Haas on Nov. 12 with its second exhibition game of the year before facing Rutgers on the road for its regular-season opener on Nov. 17.

Despite undergoing a $14 million three-year renovation, officials at a Berkeley technology magnet school announced Friday that it received two prestigious honors. 

The Longfellow Arts and Technology Magnet School was one of three middle schools in the world to be nominated to compete for the Smithsonian Award, the most prestigious technology award in the United States. Computer science students will also participate in the Association of Computing Machinery conference and exhibition scheduled for March 2001 in San Jose, according to Dr. Nancy Elnor, technology coordinator and instructor.  

“It’s wonderful to be recognized. It’s taken a long time to build this program and we’re hoping this will lead to more opportunities for our students,” Elnor said.  

The announcement was made at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the school’s new state-of-the-art computer labs, library, gymnasium, administration building, classrooms and renovated auditorium and cafeteria.  

Students will participate in the ACM conference — dubbed ACM1 — which will explore ways to inspire students and teachers to pursue math, science, and technology careers.  

“I’m thrilled we’re getting schools for the Bay Area involved,” Dave Kasik, ACM1 Exposition Chair said. “We can’t use cloning to keep up the momentum. We have to inspire new generations.” 

The students will demonstrate the principles of object-oriented programming, a program language that organizes information into portable objects, for more than 100,000 members expected at the conference.  

Longfellow is the first middle school to be chosen for the event and will be demonstrating alongside Alan Kay, the father of object-oriented programming, and students from the University of California at Los Angeles. 

Students and faculty are also busily getting ready for the Smithsonian competition. 

“We are currently awaiting the case study kit and plan on enlisting all 85 of our computer science students in the process,” Elnor said. 

If the school wins the award, their case study will become part of the Smithsonian’s permanent Information Age collection. 

Longfellow Arts and Technology Magnet School is currently the national test bed for Technology Learning magazine’s annual software award, home of the National Model Technology Middle School project and Sun Microsystem’s official world-wide site for Java education for young people. 

“Thirteen years ago we decided to build this program,” Elnor said. “And now, we’re doing technology big time.”

After going down 14-0 less than seven minutes into the game, the Cal Bears nearly pulled out a comeback win over No. 14 Oregon State Saturday, only to have the usually staunch defense let them down. 

Backup Beaver tailback Patrick McCall raced down the left sideline 27 yards to score Oregon State’s final touchdown of the game, giving them a 38-29 lead with just six minutes left a the game in which the Bears never had a lead. The Bears (3-6, 2-4 Pac-10) couldn’t overcome this final nail in their coffin, managing only another field goal before losing 38-32. 

On the previous play, a third-and-long for the Beavers, Cal safety Nnamdi Asomugha had OSU quarterback Jonathon Smith wrapped up in the backfield, but Smith slithered away and scrambled for the first down. 

“That really broke our back,” Cal linebacker Scott Fujita said. “About three guys had a shot at him, but no one got him.” 

Oregon State (8-1, 5-1 Pac-10) piled up 524 yards on the Cal defense, including 207 rushing yards. When the Pac-10’s leading rusher, junior Ken Simonton, went down with pulled muscles, McCall filled in ably, gaining 122 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Simonton, who didn’t play much in the second half, had 126 yards on 17 carries. 

“I don’t want to say McCall’s just as good as Simonton, but he’s awfully darn good,” Fujita said. 

The Beavers were able to get their tailbacks to the outside all game long, starting with their second play from scrimmage. Simonton burst left and turned the corner, rumbling 64 yards to the Cal 2 before being shoved out of bounds. Simonton dove over the goal line on the next play to give the visitors an early seven-point lead. 

“It’s really simple. If their linemen knock our outside guys down, their runners get to the edge. If our guys knock their guys down, they don’t get out there,” said exasperated Cal defensive coordinator Lyle Setencich. “There were about six big plays where we had them stopped, scheme-wise, but we just didn’t get it done.” 

On their next possession, the Beavers took to the air, with quarterback Jonathon Smith hitting wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh for a 36-yard gain. A Nnamdi Asomugha pass-interference penalty prolonged the drive on a key third down, and Simonton punched the ball in from three yards out to put the Bears in a 14-point hole. 

Cal quarterback Kyle Boller finally got the ball rolling on the ensuing drive, hitting freshman Chase Lyman on a slant for 47 yards, then threading the ball through two defenders to Chad Heydorff for a 10-yard score. The Cal running game, however, was stymied by a quick Oregon State defense for the entire game, rushing for just 94 yards on 30 carries. 

Cal’s Nick Harris became the all-time NCAA record holder for total punting yards with his third punt of the game. The senior has 13,161 yards in his career with two games left. 

“I didn’t really think about it a whole lot,” Harris said. “I’m just trying to pin the other team deep.” 

Cal was the recipient of some good fortune late in the opening quarter, as Oregon State long-snapper Tim Murdick launched the ball over punter Mike Fessler’s head and out of the end zone, giving Cal a safety and two more points. 

Cal came through with a 12-play, 59-yard drive that ended in a 23-yard Mark Jensen field goal, cutting the Beavers’ lead to 14-12. But big plays hurt the Bears again, and Smith victimized senior cornerback Chidi Iwuoma for two big gains on the next possession. Two short passes to wide receiver Chad Johnson turned into a 32- and 25-yard gains when Iwuoma missed tackles, and Simonton turned the corner once again to score for six yards out to open the lead back up to nine points. 

Boller threw an interception on the next play on an attempted fade pattern to Lyman, and the Beavers took advantage of the good field position with a 39-yard pass to wideout Robert Prescott and a three-yard dive by McCall for the team’s fourth rushing touchdown of the day. When kicker Ryan Cesca hit a 32-yard field goal with just 2:35 left in the half, the Bears were looking at a 19-point deficit. 

Boller cut into that deficit just before the half, hitting Lyman on a 30-yard slant that the freshman was able to take into the end zone, and the score was 31-19 going into halftime. 

“Kyle actually called that play himself,” said Cal head coach Tom Holmoe. “He suggested it to us, and we said ‘Alright, go for it.’ Boom, touchdown.” 

The Bears caught a break early in the second half, as Houshmandzadeh fumbled a punt that linebacker Matt Nixon recovered on the OSU 17-yard line. But a holding penalty knocked the Bears back to the 31, and they had to settle for a 39-yard field goal. 

After linebacker Chris Ball came up with an interception on the Cal 18, the Bears got a big play from wideout Derek Swafford. Taking an inside screen pass from Boller, who had a career-high 349 passing yards, the junior slid past two defenders, hurdled one of his own linemen and raced 82 yards to the end zone. Backup fullback Ray Jackson cleared Swafford’s path with a beautiful crackback block that took out two OSU defenders, and the Bears had cut the Beavers’ lead to 31-29 with more than nine minutes left in the game. But the Bears would never get any closer, as a late OSU interception sealed the deal and kept the Beavers in the Rose Bowl hunt. 

CAL NOTES: 

Cal defensive end Andre Carter tied the school record for career sacks late in the game, tallying his 28th with 3:33 remaining. He is tied with Regan Upshaw (1993-95). 

**** 

Wide receivers Swafford, Lyman, Heydorff and Sean Currin all set career-highs in receiving yards in the game. Swafford had 112 yards, Lyman 98, Currin 55 and Heydorff 45 against the Beavers.

LOS ANGELES – California voters will rule on more than 50 city and county growth measures Tuesday – the most land-use decisions they have had to make in a decade. 

The issues that drive the ballot items range from skyrocketing rents in San Francisco to containing development in San Luis Obispo County to developers’ proposals for a setirement community outside Sacramento. 

Urban growth is a becoming a coast-to-coast issue. 

A national survey commissioned by Smart Growth America, a coalition of more than 60 primarily slow-growth-minded public interest groups found that three-quarters of those surveyed think more needs to be done in their state to manage growth. The poll of 1,007 adults was conducted in September by the research and communications firm of Belden, Russonello & Stewart. 

With 35 statewide growth measures on the ballot in 23 states and hundreds more local initiatives, most American voters will help decide at least one growth-related issue Tuesday, according to the Brookings Institution of Washington, D.C. 

But no other state has the growing pains of California. The nation’s most populous state expects to grow by about 15 million people to 50 million by 2020, but already suffers from housing shortages that make it home to 14 of the country’s 20 least affordable metropolitan areas for housing, according to the National Association of Home Builders. 

With a total of about 65 land-use issues on ballots in California this March and November, 2000 is the biggest year for such measures since 1990, when voters decided 99 of them, said Raul Shihmdy, managing editor of the California Planning & Development Report. 

“More of these things pop up during good economic times,” Shigley said. “In the early ’90s people had other things to worry about,” and the improved economy of the last few years was slow in translating into ballot-box activity. 

Fifteen of the November items are on the ballot of just two cities. 

Voters in the San Diego County city of Escondido have nine land-use measures to sort through. 

San Franciscans will vote on six land-use measures, including two competing items aimed at reining in massive expansion of office space at the expense of housing. 

Proposition L, put on the ballot with voter signatures, would ban office development in some areas, set a development moratorium in others and restrict live-work loft buildings. 

Developers have poured more than $2 million into the campaign for Proposition K, a less restrictive measure proposed by Mayor Willie Brown. If voters approve both propositions, the one that gets the most votes will win. 

Another high-dollar campaign is raging in Sacramento County, where developers have spent $2 million trying to convince voters to approve a 3,000-unit gated retirement community near Rancho Murrieta. 

In an analysis of about 660 land-use initiatives on ballots in California over tid lart 15 years- Shifley&s montily odwsmduter goune that voters favored the “slow growth” side in 57 percent of them. 

But in the last four years, “pro-growth” and slow-growth victories have been even, mainly because proposals brought forth by developers have been more succesrful, Shigley said. 

Eleven of the measures on Tuesday’s ballot are variations of an oft-repeated controlled-growth measure called Save Open Space and Agriculture Resources, or SOAR. The initiatives establish urban growth boundaries and require public vote to approve development outside of the boundaries, or on property designated as farmland or open space. 

Shigley said the initiatives, which began with movements in Napa and Ventura counties, have passed 24 of the 25 times they’ve appeared on ballots in the state. 

The most closely watched of this election’s SOAR-type initiatives are in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the Sierra Club has led a million-and-a-half-dollar effort to set up growth restrictions in Alameda County.

The Cal women’s soccer team doubled their pleasure Sunday, beating Oregon 4-0 to set the school record for victories with 17 on the year, then gathering to watch the NCAA Selection Show at night. There the Bears learned they earned a first-round bye and the No. 8 seed in the tournament, assuring them of at least two home games to start the post-season. 

“Our first priority was getting that bye,” head coach Kevin Boyd said. “We got the seed too, and we’re happy with both.” 

The Bears (17-2-1, 7-2 Pac-10) will play the winner of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo-Santa Clara match taking place Wednesday. Boyd said Santa Clara should be the heavy favorite in the first-round game. 

Whoever wins the match will come into Edwards Stadium on Saturday facing a team that is looking forward to a long run in the tournament. 

“We’re confident we can go a lot deeper than the last two years (both first-round road losses),” said senior goalkeeper Maite Zabala. “This is the best team we’ve had in my four years here.” 

The Bears showed a variety of firepower in their game against the Ducks (4-15-1, 1-7-1). With sophomore Laura Schott, the nation’s leading scorer, out with a leg injury, four different Cal players scored goals in a fast-paced game.  

Schott sat out the game despite having a chance to break the Cal season scoring record. After scoring her 23rd goal of the year Friday against Oregon State, Schott is tied with Joy Fawcett at the top of the school’s record books. 

“Laura could have played, but we just didn’t want to put her in a situation where it could get worse,” Boyd said. “We were struggling whether to put her in for a shot at the record, but the conclusion was that we need her healthy for the playoffs. 

Senior forward Regina Holan didn’t score, but she dealt out three assists, including two great crosses in the first half that were finished easily by Lucie Brining and Krysti Whalen in the third and 25th minutes, respectively. Holan has battled injuries all season, and is just now getting healthy. 

“Reggie has been coming on strong in the past couple of weeks,” Boyd said. “We wanted to get her ready for the playoffs, and today is an indication that she’s ready.” 

The second half saw more scoring by the Bears, as freshman defender Kathleen Cain finished off of a nice through-ball from midfielder Jennifer Medina, who had two assists in the game. Just four minutes later, midfielder Lee Ann Morton pounced on a loose ball in front of the Oregon net and coolly slipped the ball past Duck ’keeper Jeanine Norstad for the final goal of the game. 

The shutout gave Zabala 26.5 in her career, extending her school record. Zabala made several point-blank saves, but only faced four total shots in the game as the Bears outshot their opponents 17-4. 

“The records are nice, but I’m just looking to help this team go as far as it can,” Zabala said. “Hopefully, that’s to the national championship.” 

The victory clinched second place in the Pac-10 for the Bears, as UCLA lost to Arizona State Friday.  

Seven Pac-10 teams made the tournament, the most ever for the conference and tops in the country this year. 

“There’s been a bias against the west in past years,” Cal sweeper Tami Pivnik said. “I think this shows that we’re the number-one conference in the country.”

Dennis Peron’s 20-acre farm north of Napa is a marijuana sanctuary. Pipes, bongs and joints are scattered throughout the property. Pot grown here hangs drying by its branches from the ceilings of 

bedrooms. Its remnants cover the floor of the main house — including the young adults who sleep there — in a light green dust. 

The twenty or so people living and working “The Farm” this season are rarely more than an arm’s length away from their own supplies of the pungent weed. Whether they are trimming, watering, or relaxing on some of the indoor-turned-outdoor furniture, weed is available. 

“You wouldn’t be on this farm unless you smoked pot,” says Peron, the author of 1996’s Proposition 215, which, under the banner of “compassionate use,” legalized marijuana for medicinal use in California. That initiative also allows him to harvest this year’s three-acre crop unmolested. 

Marijuana, he believes, is a medicine, not to be considered in the same category as harmful narcotics like heroin or crack. “I don’t believe in recreational use,” he says. “All use of marijuana has a medicinal component to it.” 

And so his farm has become a refuge of sorts, where the self-diagnosed, in exchange for their labor, can self-medicate. 

This philosophy makes Peron an easy target for Citizens United Against Drug Abuse. The organization, largely comprised of state law enforcement and criminal justice groups, is the strongest opposition to Proposition 36 that promises first and second time, non-violent personal drug users treatment instead of jail. 

But in this election cycle, Peron is on the side of law enforcement officials. 

“We already have a treatment program called incarceration,” he says flatly, smoking what appears to be a normal cigarette. “That’s how you get treatment for addicts.” 

Come again? Yes, the man who has dedicated the last 10 years of his life fighting to legalize marijuana, and stands snipping the leaves off his marijuana plants to encourage bigger buds, prefers jail time rather than treatment for those who use anything stronger than marjiuana. 

“Arresting addicts is a good thing,” he says. “In a way, it’s trying to save them.” 

Perhaps for the first time in his life, the one-time gubernatorial candidate and self-described “liberal Republican” finds himself agreeing with the narcotics officer, district attorney, and prison guard associations that largely comprise the No on 36 campaign. 

These are some of the same groups he battled against over Proposition 215 and his Cannabis Buyers Club in San Francisco. He opened the club in 1992 after watching his lover die of AIDS with no prescription medical relief available, and left it in 1998 after being closed down for the third time. 

He still holds some grudges against “the narcs,” as he calls them. “They’re still against us. They’re against the law I made.” 

Even so, he would consider the possibility of working with them against Proposition 36. “I’d rather not work with the narcs, but if they called…I don’t know.” 

The opposition is floored by news of Peron’s support. “I know Dennis Peron,” says spokesperson Jean Munoz. “That’s the most interesting thing I’ve heard all day,” she says, laughing in surprise but recovering quickly. “He probably understands that with Prop. 36 we’re talking about hard core drugs that are behind violent crimes. Do you have his phone number?” 

The fact is, Peron understands their view on hard core drugs like crack, cocaine and speed very well. He says these drugs, unlike marijuana, cause psychotic behavior and should never be legalized. 

This view also places him squarely in the opposition’s camp, which believes the real motivation behind Prop. 36 is drug legalization. 

“I’ve never been a drug legalizer,” he says. “I’m kind of against that.” 

He also echoes their view that intervention through jail time is often the best way to help addicts. 

“For some it’s a wake up call,” he says. “They can start a new life after that.” 

His fellow supporters on medicinal marijuana shake their heads.  

“Dennis has very valid points based on his experience with Prop. 215,” says Jeff Jones, Executive Director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Club. “But I would hate to see that shortsightedness about some changes we could make” in the current drug court system. 

But Peron is skeptical about all treatment, especially that meted out by California’s drug courts. 

Sitting in his front yard overlooking the small pond that irrigates his land, Peron says that the so-called “forced treatment” programs that Prop. 36 would create simply don’t work. 

“People don’t want to be junkies,” he says. “If it worked, no one would be on heroin, speed or alcohol. 

“It may sound cruel and cold-blooded,” he continues, but, “the only thing you can do in a free society is arrest somebody. Most people would just rather go through their time” than sit through forced treatment. 

Peron’s concept of a free society is the key to understanding the apparent contradiction in his beliefs. As a Republican, he believes in small government, which he thinks Prop. 36 would work against by creating more state-certified treatment centers. And as a drug user, he knows the power of stigmatization. 

“It sounds like they’re trying to do something to help people,” he says, “but it’s really an excuse to throw the book at someone. The treatment hacks just want to drum up business.”

LOS ANGELES – A woman who said she was knocked on the head and stuffed in the trunk of her own car when she tried to assist motorists by the side of a freeway was rescued after calling 911 on her cell phone. 

The woman said she pulled onto the shoulder of the 110 freeway shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday night because she saw people there she thought needed help, Los Angeles Police Lt. Roger Deranian said. 

Instead of accepting her offer of assistance, the people hit her on the head with an unknown object and put her in a car trunk, the woman told police. 

Deranian said he didn’t know whether the woman, whom he declined to identify except to say she was about 35, realized she was in the trunk of her own green Dodge.  

But she dialed 911 and gave a description of her car to California Highway Patrol officers, who passed the description on to police. 

The woman stayed on the phone with the highway patrol for about the next hour as she was driven around, Deranian said.  

Finally she reported that the car had stopped. Shortly thereafter she reported hearing sirens, and at about 12:15 a.m. Sunday police found her car in South Central with its parking lights on. 

The keys were in the car, and the woman was in the trunk, Deranian said. She was taken to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries. 

Deranian said police had no information about the suspects, except that there were at least two of them.  

He also could not say where the alleged assault took place, or what motivated the suspects to allegedly attack the woman and put her in her trunk. 

“It just reinforces that cell phones are a valuable tool,” Deranian said.

MOORPARK – An Amtrak train bound for Santa Barbara plowed into a gardening truck, killing the driver and critically injuring his passenger before jumping the tracks into a bean field. 

Twenty-eight train passengers and one crew member sustained minor injuries in the crash, the latest and most serious in a series of train accidents at several unprotected rural railroad crossings in Ventura County. 

“There was a loud jolt and next thing I knew the car that I was in was flying off the tracks and we came to an abrupt stop,” said train passenger Matt Williams. 

Three of the five passenger cars derailed in the accident, which occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m. Saturday. The bright orange gardening truck was chopped in half, spewing its load of wood chips all over the road. 

The county coroner’s office identified the killed truck driver as Sergio Vargas Mendoza, 29, of Santa Paula. He was married and the father of a 3-year-old boy. 

His passenger, Julio Corona Munoz, 23, of Ventura was airlifted to a hospital in Thousand Oaks, where he was in critical condition with severe head injuries. 

It was not clear why the truck, owned by Asplundh Tree Expert Co., was on the tracks about three miles north of the Moorpark station, where the train had just stopped. 

Amtrak officials said the train’s engineer blew the horn in warning when he saw the truck, and applied the emergency brakes, but could not stop the train quickly enough. 

“We wish we didn’t have to deal with these accidents but unfortunately we do,” said Amtrak spokesman Kevin Johnson. “People pulling in front of our trains is not an uncommon occurrence.” 

Amtrak officials said they did not know how fast the train was going, though the speed limit for trains in the area of the collision is 70 mph. Asplundh is contracted by Southern California Edison to clear tree branches from power lines that run over the tracks. 

After the accident, some people in the derailed cars scrambled out of windows and roof hatches.  

Injured train passengers were taken to local hospitals and most were released in a few hours. None of their injuries was serious. 

The Pacific Surfliner service between San Diego and Santa Barbara is the second-busiest Amtrak route in the nation, with more than 1.5 million riders last year. 

Ventura County Fire Department spokeswoman Sandi Wells said this was believed to be the fifth fatal accident in three years at crossings between Moorpark and Grimes Canyon Road.  

There are no mechanized gates in the rural area some 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles. 

Emergency crews were working to remove the wreckage, and officials expected the work to be completed at some point Sunday.  

An investigation of the accident was also underway. 

Meanwhile, train traffic into Ventura County was halted, and Amtrak passengers were being put on buses to their various destinations.

TIERRA DEL SOL – Bob Maupin carries a gun and sometimes drives an Army surplus halftrack as he guards his family’s 250-acre ranch along the U.S.-Mexico border from what he calls an invasion of illegal immigrants from the south. 

But the 61-year-old Maupin admits that few candidates share his concern this year. 

“They aren’t saying anything about immigration, which is very frustrating,” Maupin said. 

It’s a stark contrast from the mid-1990s. Back then, politicians routinely held news conferences on the border, jockeying to outdo the other in opposition to illegal immigration. 

But not this year. Pat Buchanan, the Reform Party candidate for president, planned a photo-op with Maupin and his halftrack, but then canceled at the last minute because of what his staff said was a scheduling conflict. The others have avoided the area and the issue. 

Fewer illegal immigrants may be crossing into California, and political candidates and analysts say the issue doesn’t resonate with voters like it once did. 

“It’s not such an in-your-face problem,” said Rep. Brian Bilbray, a Republican whose San Diego-area district includes a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Bilbray, who is in a tight race with Democratic state Assemblywoman Susan Davis, said some constituents and Border Patrol agents in his district have opposed a proposal to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants who have lived in the United States since before 1986. 

But the congressman isn’t hearing much more, largely because a U.S. border crackdown, known as Operation Gatekeeper, has pushed migrants away from San Diego to the mountains east of the city, where Maupin lives, and to the desert of Imperial County. 

A few weeks before Gatekeeper started in 1994, voters in California adopted Proposition 187, the ballot initiative that sought to bar most state services to illegal immigrants. Then Gov. Pete Wilson made the issue a central theme of his successful re-election campaign in the same year. 

But analysts agree that the political climate is different this year. Unemployment was 8.6 percent in California in 1994; today it’s 4.8 percent. 

“The economy is good and that papers over a lot of the problems caused by immigration,” said Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates reducing the legal and illegal immigrants who enter the United States. 

It’s not just California, but much of the nation that has lost interest in the debate, said Demetrios Papademetriou, a specialist in the issue with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.  

“We’re just too self satisfied at this time,” Papademetriou said. “The major party candidates aren’t stupid. They realize this.” 

Hispanic voters now make up about 15 percent of the California electorate (compared with 10 percent in 1990) and candidates don’t want to alienate them by harsh words about immigration, said Mark DiCamillo, director of the nonpartisan Field Poll. 

“It’s a divisive issue. The candidates don’t want to talk about it,” he said. 

California is home to more legal immigrants than any other state, 3.7 million lawful permanent residents or 35 percent of the nation’s total. In the 12 months that ended Oct. 30, the Border Patrol caught 389,427 illegal immigrants along the state’s 140-mile border with Mexico, compared with 477,806 during the same period six years earlier. 

But those arrests shifted eastward. The apprehensions around San Diego fell 66 percent to their lowest level in years, while there was an eight-fold increase in the Border Patrol sector to the east. Some of the traffic moved to Arizona, where illegal immigration has remained a political issue. 

Maupin says he sees them cross near his ranch in the mountain community of Tierra del Sol, about 70 miles east of San Diego. 

“They’re not as blatant about it as they used to be, but we see groups of 30 and 40 getting ready to come across,” Maupin said. “The invasion is still going on.” 

He and friends have detained groups of immigrants at gunpoint until U.S. authorities arrive.  

Chuck Dierkop, the agent in charge of the local Border Patrol station, said he’s asked Maupin not to take the law into his own hands and to call if he sees any illegal activity in the future. 

As for politics, Maupin said he likes Buchanan’s anti-immigration stance, but plans to vote for George W. Bush because he’s more likely to win and he hopes candidates will come around again to the issue.  

“The public is not aware of it because it’s coming through their yard,” he said.”

Democratic Party supporters, patiently waiting outside the Ronald E. Dellums Federal Building in downtown Oakland Friday, did their best to muster political fervor despite the early hour. But it wasn’t until shortly before President Clinton’s arrival that the crowd really came alive. 

MC, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, tried to rally the crowd of approximately 2,000, many of whom began waiting in line to pass through Secret Service metal detectors at 7 a.m. 

“We are here to continue Bill Clinton’s administration and that’s what this rally is all about,” Carson yelled into the microphones, visibly jolting some of the crowd. 

Clinton, and a impressive group of state and local politicians, appeared at the rally ostensibly to promote Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, for re-election to the 9th District. 

But the event was really a thinly disguised pep rally for Vice President Al Gore’s bid for the presidency. Recent polls of California voters show Gore, who had a large lead over Republican nominee Gov. George W. Bush in the state, is now treading water with a lead of 5 percentage points. 

Gore has said he wanted to run as his own man in the campaign and has distanced himself from the president. But with the race so tight in the state, which has 54 electoral votes – a fifth of the 270 needed to win the presidency – Clinton has been brought off the bench. The president appeared at three rallies Friday: in Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose. 

A string of the most influential Democratic leaders in the state took the stage to promote Al Gore. Berkeley’s Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek told supporters to remember to vote. “I want to especially remind younger African Americans, that people have died for your right to vote, so do your duty,” she said. 

Other speakers included Sen. Barbara Boxer, Lt. Gov. Cruz M. Bustamante, Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown. 

Despite the succession of state dignitaries and fiery party bluster, the crowd reserved most its enthusiasm for the president.  

Carson announced there would be a break before the president arrived and the Oakland Youth Chorus broke into song. The chorus was in the middle of Christmas rehearsals when the managing director, Bea Andrade received a last-minute call to perform at the event. Because of the rush, Andrade said the chorus did not have time to prepare a list of event-appropriate tunes. 

One of the five numbers the chorus performed was Antonio Carlos Jobin’s “One Night Samba,” which has a chorus of “Talk and talk and talk and never say anything.” Then, shortly after a secret service agent placed the Presidential Seal on the front of the podium signaling the imminent arrival of the President, the 30-member chorus began a lively rendition of the Fats Waller favorite “Ain’t Misbehavin.’” 

Once the chorus finished, a recording of “Hail to the Chief” blasted over the speakers and the president bounded onto the stage accompanied by Gov. Gray Davis and Rep. Barbara Lee. Davis and Lee said a few words of introduction and the president came to the podium and addressed the crowd. 

He acknowledged Mayor Jerry Brown as a longtime friend and speculated that “When I’m kicked out of office, maybe somebody will let me be a mayor somewhere.” 

Clinton strongly promoted Gore and also took the opportunity to run down the list of his administration’s accomplishments. He especially focused on unemployment saying that unemployment for blacks and Hispanics was cut in half during the last eight years. 

After the rally, Ann Collins, 64, was walking back to her job at the Federal Building. “This was the first rally I’ve ever been to and I was very proud to be able to see the president,” she said. 

She had decided to vote for Gore because of the president’s ability to appoint justices to the Supreme Court. But she said she has reservations about the Democrats’ penchant for estate taxes. 

Nine Berkeley Earth First members made their way to the center of the crowd and held up signs denouncing the Plan Colombian, a program in which the United States is giving millions of dollars to the Colombian military to fight the “drug war.” They also chanted “People before profits” and “Globalization sucks.” Supporters quickly pulled down their signs.  

Earth First member Elijah Corella, a UC Berkeley student, said they were threatened and one supporter purposely stepped on his brother’s foot. 

At the end of Clinton’s speech, in which he described the sustained prosperity during his two terms, he quoted President Harry Truman “Remember, if you want to live like a Republican you have to vote like a Democrat.” 

*** 

Across the Bay, Clinton’s appearance at the Moscone Center in San Francisco came off as a who’s who pageant of Northern California Democrats. Mayor Willie Brown hosted the rally, exhibiting his usual jocular showmanship. Brown joked, smiled, clapped and danced. He drew a lot of laughs when telling about a visit to the White House when he stayed in the Lincoln bedroom. Making a brief allusion to slavery, Brown said he chose to stay in that bedroom because he “figured I kind of owed him.” He said he took a picture of himself in the bathroom mirror so that he could prove he had stayed in the famed bedroom, and joked about taking lots of souvenirs with him when he left. “I walked out of there with everything that wasn’t tied down,” said Brown. “I’ve been giving White House Christmas gifts for years.” 

The mayor introduced Rep. Nancy Pelosi as the next House whip, and she spoke to the crowd about the importance of winning back a Democratic congress.  

The Rev. Cecil Williams and his wife, San Francisco’s poet laureate Janice Marikatani, also addressed the crowd. 

Two choirs performed before the President spoke. A high school ensemble, Touch of Class Choir, sang and danced some soulful R&B. The house choir from Glide Memorial Church sang gospel music and remained on the stage when President Clinton spoke. Willie Brown said that the ethnically diverse choir made a beautiful backdrop for the President’s speech in San Francisco .  

When Clinton finally came out – wearing Golden State colors with a blue shirt and gold tie, and brown cowboy boots – he was joined by Governor Gray Davis, businessman Walter Shorenstein and baseball great Willie Mays. Shorenstein started to introduce the President and an impatient crowd began to cheer for Clinton to speak. Shorenstein, a wealthy developer and major contributor to the Democratic party, used his introductory speech to derail the Republican platform. “I’m part of the group that would receive that greatest benefits from the Bush tax plan,” he said. “But I find it obscene.” 

Clinton began his speech by thanking many of the people who put on the event. He also thanked Willie Mays for attending, saying that Mays had been a hero of his for over forty years. 

Touching on issues such as economic prosperity, low crime, high levels of college attendance, and reproductive rights, Clinton drew wild cheers from the crowd. The good feeling continued as he talked about the recent census figures which indicate that California is the first state with no ethnic majority. “There is no majority. We’re all just here, folks,” he said. 

Outside the conventions center, supporters of both Nader and Bush staged vocal protests.

Saturday, Nov. 4

Breathtaking Barnabe Peak 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Hike through Samuel P. Taylor State Park’s lush forests and climb to the heights of Barnabe Peak, overlooking Point Reyes. One in a series of free fall outings organized by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call: 415-255-3233 for reservations 

Cohousing Tour 

8:15 am - ? 

Parker Street Housing Cooperative 

2337 Parker St.  

Join a Shared Living Resource Center organized tour of seven examples of Cohousing. The tour will visit the Doyle Street Cohousing in Emeryville, Swans Market Cohousing in downtown Oakland and three others, including North Street Cohousing in Davis. Bring a lunch. Advanced registration is required.  

$65 per person 

Call Ken Norwood, 548-6608 

Wild About Books? 

10:30 a.m. 

Berkeley Central Library 

2121 Allston Way 

Dublin Library’s resident storyteller and featured teller at the 1998 National Storytelling Festival tell kids aged 3 to 7 her favorite tales.  

Call 649-3943  

New Science & Ancient Wisdom Conference 

9 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

International Center 

2222 Harold Way 

Featured speakers include Father Charlie Moore speaking on “The Cosmic Origins of Man,” Dolores Cannon speaking on “Visions of Nostradamus,” and David Hatcher Childress speaking on “Technology of the Gods.” Event runs through Sunday.  

Pre-registration admission, $65; after Oct. 27, $85 

Call Charles Gotsky, 650-343-5202 

Installing Windows, Doors and Skylights 

9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar instructed by builder Glen Kitzenberger. Other seminars also scheduled.  

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

$75 per person 

Collecting Chinese Decorative Art 

10 a.m. - Noon 

Oakland Museum  

1000 Oak St.  

Dessa Goddard, director of the Asian Department at Butterfields, and a panel discuss. Followed by a collectors’ tea. Included in admission price to museum.  

Call for reservations, 238-2022 

“Broadway to La Scala” 

7 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Oakland 

2501 Harrison St. (at 27th St.) 

A benefit concert for the Oakland Lyric Opera featuring a selection of Broadway musicals and arias from operas, including “Madame Butterfly.”  

$25 Call 836-6772 

Nuclear Disarmament 

2 p.m.  

Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library 

6508 Telegraph Ave.  

Jackie Cabasso, Executive Director of the Western States Legal Foundation will speak on disarmament and proliferation.  

Life in the Pueblo  

10 a.m. - 6 p.m.  

Gathering Tribes  

1573 Solano Ave.  

Zuni Fetish carver Amos Pooacha and his sister, Linda Pooacha-Eli, a painter of miniatures on sandstone and jewelry sell and display their art. Also on Sunday, same hours.  

Call 528-9038  

Free Sundiata 

Noon 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Junior High School 

1781 Rose St.  

Berkeley Rep School of Theatre and Hilde Mosse Programs for Education present this free performance of Edward Mast’s play. The story is based on the ancient legend of Sundiata the Lion King. Free, but reservations are strongly suggested.  

Call 647-2972 

Who Owns America? 

An Anti-Racism/Oppression Gathering 

8 a.m. - 10 p.m.  

UC Berkeley Labor Center 

2521 Channing St.  

Trainings and workshops on identifying racism and oppression and building solutions. Organized by STARC, which is trying to build support on the West Coast. This event runs through Sunday, Nov. 5. Hot meals will be provided.  

$10 Call 869-2538  

Sunday, Nov. 5

Buddhist Psychology 

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Pl.  

Buddhist teacher Sylvia Gretchen on “Beyond Therapy and Into the Heart of Buddhist Psychology.” Free. 

Call 843-6812  

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour 

Downtown Berkeley  

Tour new construction, new uses, historic rehabilitation and public improvements that are completed or still in the works.  

Noon 

RSVP required 841-0181 space is limited. 

Tickets: $5 for members, $10 for non members. 

A Dispirited Rebellion 

10 a.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Author, television personality and columnist Gadi Taub will explore the literary and cinematic changes in Israeli society since the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin. A brunch will be served at 10 a.m.  

Admission: $7 non-JCC members; $5 members 

Call 848-9237 

Soprano Stephanie Pan Sings 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

1275 Walnut St. 

Soprano Stephanie Pan is joined by Meg Cotner on harpsichord, Salley Blaker on cello, and Alex Jenne on lute. They will perform the music of Barbra Strozzi, Jacopo Peri, Giovanni Felice Sances and others.  

$10 general; $9 students and seniors; under 12 Free 

Call 644-6893 

Stucco Repair 

9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Hands-on workshop taught by handyperson Jim Rosenau. Other seminars also scheduled this day.  

Call Sydney, 525-7610 $90  

“Bigger Things” 

7 p.m.  

La Pena Cultural Center  

3105 Shattuck Ave.  

Judith-Kate Friedman celebrates the release of her new CD.  

$12 general; $20 reserved seating 

Info and tickets: 654-7464 or 849-2568 

Women Warriors, Women Thinkers & Women Awliya 

3 p.m.  

St. Johns Presbyterian Church  

2727 College Ave.  

The final in a series, “The Feminine Side of Islam.” Refreshments will be served and donations are appreciated.  

Call 527-4496  

Playing Field/Skate Park Dedication 

1 - 3:30 p.m. . 

Harrison Park 

Fourth St. (at Harrison) 

This being the first new recreational facility built by the city in 30 years, they are pulling out all the stops. Performing will be the Berkeley High pep band and local band Mariachi Los Gavilances. Attending will be Mayor Shirley Dean and City Councilmember Linda Maio. An exhibition soccer game will also be played.  

Call 525-1734 

Monday, Nov. 6

Airports vs. the Bay 

7 p.m. 

Albany Community Center 

1249 Marin St.  

Albany 

David Lewis, Executive Director of “Save the Bay” will speak on the airports’ plans to expand into the SF Bay and other challenges to Bay restoration.  

Contact: Friends of Five Creeks, 848-9358 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Flu Shots for Seniors 

9 a.m. - Noon & 1 - 2 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

$2 for seniors 

“The Weir” 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Director Tom Ross will discuss the Aurora Theater’s production of “The Weir” and will distribute 30 free tickets on a first-come, first-served basis.  

Youth Commission 

6 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Youth Center 

1730 Oregon St.  

Peace & Justice Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

Discussion for support of the city council proposal that Peace & Justice Commission review contracts with UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.  

Landmarks Preservation Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

Personnel Board Meeting 

7 p.m.  

Permit Center 

2118 Milvia St.  

Tuesday, Nov. 7

Zonta Club dinner 

5:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

$20 per person 

Dr. Sylvia Earle, a marine bioligist, author and Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, will be the featured speaker. 

For more information call 845-6221 

Exercise for Seniors 

10 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Exercise to music with Doris Echols. Free 

“How Can We Restructure Civilization?” 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose) 

Informally led by Robert Berend, former UC Extension lecturer, this group aims to have intelligent discussions on a wide range of topics. They stress that there is no religious bent to the discussions and that all viewpoints are welcome. Bring light snacks to share with group.  

Call Robert Berend, 527-5332 

Bayer’s Biotechnology Center Groundbreaking 

1 p.m.  

Seventh & Grayson 

Seventh & Dwight 

Call 705-7880 

Home Design Workshop 

7 - 10 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Instructed by architect/contractor Barry Wagner, this class runs four consecutive Tuesdays through Nov. 28.  

$150 for all four classes 

Call 525-7610 

Wednesday, Nov. 8

Tinnitus & Hyperacusis Sufferers Support Group 

10 a.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Public Works Commission Special Meeting 

5 p.m.  

Engineering Conference Room 

2201 Dwight Way 

Discussion and prioritization of Commission work plan priorities for Public Works.  

Board of Library Trustees 

7 p.m. 

South Branch 

1901 Russel St.  

Discussions will include the November election results and electronic classroom policy.  

Homeless Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Police Review Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St.  

Planning Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Waterfront Commission 

7 p.m.  

His Lordships Restaurant 

199 Seawall Drive  

Commission on Disability 

6:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Thursday, Nov. 9

The Life and Art of Chiura Obata 

7:30 p.m.  

North Berkeley Public Library 

1170 Alameda (at Hopkins) 

A slide show and lecture presented by Obata’s granddaughter, Kimi Kodani Hill, celebrating Obata’s book, “Topaz Moon: Chiura Obata’s Art of the Internment,” and the retrospective exhibit of Obata’s work to appear this Fall at SFs De Young Museum. 

For details call 644-6850  

From Morgan to Modern 

“Bay Area Modern” 

7:30 p.m. 

The Hillside Club 

2286 Cedar St. 

$10. 841-2242 

ESL Teacher Job Fair 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Adult School 

1222 University Ave., Room 7  

ESL program representatives from adult schools in Alameda and Contra Costa counties will provide information about desired qualifications, current job openings, credentialing requirements, and more.  

Call Kay Wade, 644-6130 

“Feeding the Moon: A Nutritive Approach to Feminine Fertility” 

Lern how fertility is affected by the environment and how it can be enhanced by healthy lifestyle choices 

7:30 to 9 p.m. 

The Ecology Center 

2530 San Pable Ave.  

558-1324, free 

“Diabetes: What to Know Head-to-Toe” 

Health Education Center, 400 Hawthorne Ave. 

12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Free 

869-6737 

Love and Betrayal: A Musical Journey 

7:30 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Mezzo Soprano Sylvia Braitman discusses the role Gustav Mahler, Kurt Weill, Arnold Schoenberg, and Hanns Eisler played in the development of modernity in German, Austrian and Western music.  

Tuition: $8 for general; $5 JJC members (class code A101-BJ) 

Call 848-0237 for more info.  

Hour of the Furnaces 

4:30 - 6 p.m. 

Hewlett Library, Dinner Board Room 

2400 Ridge Rd.  

Renny Golden, poet, liberation theologian, and professor of social ethics at Northeastern Illinois University, will read from her new book on the Central American experience of struggle.  

649-2490 

Meeting Life Changes 

10 a.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With John Hammerman. Free 

Become A Travel Photo Expert 

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Professional photographer Richard I’Anson, who has taken photos all over the globe, shares highlights and insights from his book, “Travel Photography: A Guide to Taking Better Pictures.” Free 

Call 527-7377 

Community Health Commission 

6:45 p.m. 

Mental Health Clinic 

2640 MLK Jr. Way 

Zoning Adjustments Board 

7 p.m. 

Old City Hall 

Council Chambers, 2nd Floor 

2134 MLK Jr. Way 

Friday, Nov. 10

Dragon and Phoenix Banquet Cooking Contest 

7 p.m. 

Oakland Museum  

1000 Oak St.  

Students from Bay Area cooking academies present original dishes based on the “Dragon and Phoenix” theme to a panel of celebrity judges. Fee and price of admission to museum. 

Reservations: 238-2022  

Women in Black 

Noon - 1 p.m. 

Bancroft at Telegraph 

Women for peace in the Middle East  

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra 

8 p.m. 

Hertz Hall 

UC Berkeley 

Performing the music of Ronald Bruce Smith, Beethoven and Elliot Carter. 

$19 - $35 

Call 841-2800 

Korean Literature Seminar 

10 a.m. - 8 p.m.  

7768 Duke Ct.  

El Cerrito 

Korean writer and professor Do Chang Hoi will speak on the topics of creative writing and modern Korean literature. Sponsored by the Korean Literary Art Fellowship. Continues on Saturday, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.  

Call 559-7856 for more info.  

PC Users Group 

7 p.m. 

Vista College 

Room 303  

2020 Milvia St.  

A groups of PC users who help each other solve problems. They introduce their members to new software, hardware, and invited speakers and technicians from various PC related companies. Meet the second Friday of each month.  

Call Melvin Mann, 527-2177 

Cultural and Historical View  

of the Dalmation Islands, Croatia 

Luncheon served, 11:15 a.m.  

Speaker, 12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave.  

Byron Bass, archeologist with the URS Corporation will speak. 

$11 - $12.25 with luncheon 

$1 general for speaker only, Free to students  

Call 848-3533  

Saturday, Nov. 11

Moonlight on Mt. Diablo 

1 - 10:30 p.m.  

Hike up the Devil’s Mountain by daylight, catch a glorious sunset and hike back by the light of the moon. One in a series of free outing organized by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call: 415-255-3233 for reservations 

Kitchen Design Fundamentals  

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar taught by independent kitchen and bath designer Beverly Wilson.  

$75  

Homeowner’s Essential Course 

9 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

The annual six-Saturday intensive with lectures, slides, and demonstrations taught by professional builder Glen Kitzenberger. Six Saturdays through Dec. 16.  

$425 per person, including textbook 

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

Get Your Garden Ready for Winter 

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

UC Botanical Garden  

Ted Kipping of Tree Shapers will offer advice on pruning your shrubs and trees, while Anthony Garza of Magic Gardens will suggest how to improve the health and appearance of your plants. Free, but space is limited.  

Call 287-0591 

Sunday, Nov. 12

Views, Vines and Veggies 

9:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.  

Climb Bald Mountain in Sugarloaf State Park and peer down upon the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Then please your palate at the Landmark Winery and visit Oak Hill organic vegetable and flower farm. One in a series of free fall outings organized by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call: 415-255-3233 for reservations 

“Time Across Cultures” 

2 - 4 p.m. 

St. Clements Church 

2837 Claremont Ave.  

The annual Roselyn Yellin Memorial lecture with a slide-illustrated panel discussion. Also a tour of the “Telling Time” exhibit at the Judah L. Magnes Museum followed by a reception at the museum, 4 - 5 p.m.  

More info: 549-6950 

Buddhism & Compassion 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Psychiatrist and teacher Bobby Jones on “Healing through Compassion.” Free.  

843-6812 

“Road To Mecca” Auditions 

2 p.m.  

Live Oak Theatre 

1301 Shattuck (at Berryman) 

The Actors Ensemble of Berkeley is auditioning roles for two females, 60-70 and 25-35, and one male, 60-70. Auditioners should prepare a monologue no longer than two minutes. No appointments. 

Call Debra Blondheim, 667-9827 

Solar Electricity for Your Home 

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar instructed by engineer Gary Gerber of Sunlight and Power.  

$75 per person  

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

Parenting Book Club 

11 a.m.  

Cody’s Books 

1730 Fourth St.  

Take part in a discussion of “The Good Enough Parent” by Bruno Bettelheim. New group members always welcome. The group meets the second Sunday of each month.  

Call 559-9500 

Carpentry Basics for Women 

9:30 - 4:30 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

A hands-on workshop taught by carpenter Tracy Weir. This workshop is a two-day workshop and runs Nov. 12 and 19.  

$195 per person  

Monday, Nov. 13

An Evening with Barbara Kingsolver 

7:30 p.m. 

King Middle School 

1781 Rose St. 

Barbara Kingsolver’s works include “Animal Dreams,” “High Tide in Tucson,” “The Poisonwood Bible” and “Prodigal Summer” 

free parking $10 in advance, $13 at the door 

Benefits KPFA and Urban Ecology. 

848-6767 

From Rossi to Bernstein 

7:30 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Bay Area musician Mark Levy discusses the works of Jewish classical composers beginning with the sixteenth century. The first in a series of three Monday evening classes on music.  

Tuition for all three classes: $30 general public; $20 JJC members, seniors and students  

Individual classes: $10 general; $8 JJC members, seniors and students 

Call 848-0237 

Berkeley Preschool Fair 

7 - 9 p.m.  

Epworth United Methodist Church 

1953 Hopkins St.  

Sponsored by the Neighborhood Parents Network, this fair features representatives from local preschools. The topic will be how to evaluate preschool education philosophies and make the most of the admissions process. A fair featuring many local preschools will follow panel discussion. 

$5 non-members; Free to NPN members 

Call 527-6667 or visit www.parentsnet.org 

“Timber Framing - Ancient and Modern” 

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar led by contractor/Timber Framers Guild member Doug Eaton.  

$35 per person 

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

Soulforce Candlelight Vigil 

6 p.m.  

SF Chancery 

445 Church St.  

San Francisco  

In conjunction with an action by Soulforce/Dignity in Washington D.C., at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, to stop spiritual violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, local members of Soulforce will be holding a vigil to demonstrate their solidarity.  

Call SF Dignity, 415-681-2491 

Tuesday, Nov. 14

Take a Trip to the Steinbeck Museum and 

Mission San Juan Bautista 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

This is an outing organzied by the Senior Center.  

$40 with lunch, $25 without  

Call Maggie or Suzanne, 644-6107 

Three Little Pigs 

3:30 p.m. 

Berkeley South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St. 

Roger Mara and his Snapdragon Puppets perform.  

649-3943 

More Little Pigs 

7 p.m.  

Berkeley North Branch Library 

1170 The Alameda 

Roger Mara and his Snapdragon Puppets huff and puff and blow the house down.  

“The Hand of Buddha” 

7:30 p.m.  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 

1385 Shattuck (at Rose) 

In her new book poet, columnist and travel writer Linda Watanabe McFerrin explores the lives of women from different ethnic backgrounds and in moments of crisis. Free 

Call 843-3533 

Quest for Justice 

6:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

Bade Museum 

1798 Scenic Ave. 

A reception and discussion with the artists of “Quest for Justice: The Story of Korean Comfort Women as Told Through their Art,” an exhibit on display at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery.  

849-8244 

Even Seniors Get the Blues 

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

A holiday blues support group with Lyn Rayburn.  

Recognizing Alzheimer’s Disease 

10 - 11:30 a.m.  

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center 

Summit North Pavilion 

Annexes B & C  

350 Hawthorne Ave.  

Oakland  

Susan Londerville, MD, Gerentologist, will discuss how to recognize the signs and common symptoms of Alzheimer’s and how to distinguish them from normal aging. Free 

Call Ellen Carroll, 869-6737  

Wednesday, Nov. 15

Even More Little Pigs 

3:30 p.m.  

Berkeley Library Claremont Branch 

2940 Benvenue Ave. 

Roger Mara and his Snapdragon Puppets help Little Red Riding Hood get to Grandma’s house.  

Healthful Holiday Cooking 

11:30 a.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With Natalie. Free 

Community Action Commission & 

Berkeley Homeless Commission  

Joint Public Hearing  

7 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. (at Ashby) 

The purpose of this hearing is to allow low-income residents of Berkeley, and people who use the services to inform these agencies about what services they need.  

Call Marianne Graham, 665-3475  

Making Additions Match 

7 - 10 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar taught by architect/colunist Arrol Gellner.  

$35 per person 

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

Breland should oppose the 2700 San Pablo project 

Editor: 

Councilmember Margaret Breland recently held a news conference on City Hall steps calling for October to be “Stop Cancer Where It Starts Month”. 

She has voiced concern about the disparity of health levels between residents of West Berkeley and the hills of Berkeley and she voted for the recent City Council Resolution mandating the writing of a “Healthy Building Ordinance”. Ms. Breland seems to acknowledge that toxic contamination in our environment is a leading cause of cancer in our society.  

2700 San Pablo Ave is a proposed development including family housing which is supported by Ms. Breland as it has been presented. The site is a former gas station in the San Pablo Park neighborhood, which is predominantly African American. Ms. Breland ought to be aware that there is an addendum to the deed warning potential buyers that the property has a history of petroleum product contamination. Due to leaking underground fuel storage tanks, cancer-causing chemicals such as benzene, toluene, ether, xylene and MTBE leached into the soil and water table for decades. 

Although there was a partial cleanup of contaminated soil in 1995, testing showed that as of 1998 there was significant residual toxic contamination on site and off site. There is no reason to believe that this contamination has magically disappeared or abated in the intervening two years.  

Ms. Breland should be aware that the agency which residents of Berkeley depend on to protect our environmental health, has taken what could best be described as a position of “sedation” with regard to 2700 San Pablo. Toxics Management Division, under the aegis of the Planning Department, a proponent of the proposed development, would have us believe that putting family housing with a subterranean parking area dug into toxically contaminated ground is simply a routine matter. We are to believe everything will be OK if we just leave it up to the developers and their hired consultants to work out the details. Notably, Ms. Breland’s appointee to the Community Environmental Commission has been absent from at least five of the Commission’s meetings this year. It may be that this has contributed to Ms. Breland’s lack of education or lack of interest about this project, however it appears she has not taken the necessary initiative to become informed.  

The residents of District 2 should have a Councilmember representative who doesn’t just pay lip service to concerns about health and the environment. I believe Betty Hicks, who has expressed her opposition to the proposed development at 2700 San Pablo Ave. would conscientiously protect her constituents. 

Peter Teichner 

Berkeley 

School bonds may not be motherhood and apple pie 

Editor,  

In a letter in the Oct. 31 Planet, a supporter of the School Tax Measures on next weeks ballot directs people to the Campaign Committee’s web site for “details”.  

Unfortunately, for him, I did look at their embarrassing site. After wading through the “We love our children, motherhood statements,” which, after all, have worked to pass almost every school related tax measure, you encounter statements that push credibility to the limit. Consider the following claims that are supposed to explain the necessity for the new Bond and Tax Measures:  

The new Bond is for, “Buildings omitted from the Measure A …at Berkeley High this includes buildings “C,””A”, and the Donahue Gym…” The Green Book does not omit these three High School and other Buildings. It identifies from 1/2 million to over 4 million for each!  

“…The Green Book…was used a potent device for accountability!” This is impossible. It was fiction from the beginning, understating their program by over $159 Million. 

They also claim “unforeseeable changes…have caused a shortage of classrooms…new state law mandating smaller class size in grades K-3…” This is more fiction. Berkeley voters to their credit have been years ahead of the State in demanding and funding smaller classes. The primary focus of the existing School Tax (BSEP) is class size reduction.  

Ironically, when I asked “hasn’t increased State funding for smaller class size replaced BSEP class size reduction funds that can now be used for other needs, such as maintenance”? The response was, “Oh no, BSEP calls for much lower class sizes than the State requires and funds!” Thus Berkeley’s classroom requirements are not new and have nothing to do with new state mandates!  

A claim is also made that exception rates of Bay Area Construction inflation is a cause for the new Bonds. Measure A contained $24.6 million for construction inflation. The fact that $38 Million in Measure A Bonds have not been issued is hardly the action of an organization trying to replace funds that have been reduced by inflation. Rather, it makes one wonder if the remaining Bonds were not issued to avoid a major tax increase to homeowners just before an election featuring tax increases.  

Shame on the School Board for deceiving Berkeley voters to get passage of Measure A, shame on us if we let them do it again. Vote NO on Measures AA and BB. 

John Cecil 

Berkeley 

Don’t forget Measure Z 

Editor: 

The League of Women Voters says don’t forget the very important last measure on the ballot, Measure Z.  

Just as Berkeley citizens voted in 1977 and 1981 to approve development of low-income housing, we will once again authorize a public entity to develop an additional 500 low-income units in Berkeley by passing Measure Z. The private market will not provide the needed housing without some public incentive. All would have to comply with local laws including land use, housing, and building requirements. 

Almost 500 units have resulted from the voters’ earlier authorizations, but those are not enough. In 1999, there were 1,592 Berkeley resident applications to the Berkeley Housing Authority for low-income housing assistance. The League urges your YES vote on Measure Z for sorely needed low-income housing. 

Jo Ann B. Price, President 

Lois Brubeck, Action Vice-President 

League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville. 

Support parks maintenance 

Editor: 

S & W's passage mean that our parks and street trees will finally have adequate funding for their care.  

We want street trees that are healthy and regularly trimmed. The medians on our main avenues should be landscaped and tended so they show our pride in community. And every park should be safe and clean - welcoming and inviting to all our neighbors. 

If you want to guarantee that our public park facilities are clean and properly maintained, vote yes on S & W. 

Ted Gartner 

Berkeley 

Measure Y places reasonable restrictions on owner move-ins 

Editor: 

Measure Y would place reasonable limits on the ability of Berkeley landlords to evict senior and disabled tenants.  

Opponents of Measure Y are making a lot of misleading statements about what the Measure does, suggesting falsely that it poses a threat to homeowners and to the people it is designed to protect. Voters should ignore the last minute mailers financed by the city’s big landlords which are designed to create confusion and raise doubts about Measure Y. There’s a reason why these deceptive campaign pieces come out at the last minute; there’s no time for supporters to correct the misleading and flat-out false statements.  

Instead, take a look at the City Attorney’s impartial analysis in the Alameda County sample ballot which summarizes what the measure does. The passage of vacancy de-control by the legislature in 1995 has created an incentive for landlords to get rid of current tenants so they can charge full market rent which is now substantially higher than the rents in many rent-controlled units.  

The number of owner move-in evictions in Berkeley has more than tripled in the last three years. And seniors have been among the tenants targeted for eviction. In many cases, owners and their relatives only go through the motions of moving into the vacated unit or occupy it only briefly; the real purpose is to cash in on the windfall profits that come with rents that are among the highest in the nation. 

The 1998 Bay Area Economics survey of tenant households found that over half of Berkeley’s non-student tenants are low income; a third are very low-income, with incomes that are 50% of area median income or less.  

Many seniors and disabled tenants are among those with limited incomes and would find it very difficult to find another apartment in Berkeley that they could afford if they were evicted from their homes. Sixty-one percent of Berkeley’s senior tenants have lived in their apartments for ten or more years; forcing them to move would disrupt their lives as well as creating financial hardship. 

If Measure Y is defeated, it is inevitable that some elderly and disabled tenants will be forced out of Berkeley altogether. Measure Y would make a big difference for those elderly and disabled tenants who will otherwise face eviction. At the same time, it will have a very limited impact on landlords.  

Seniors make up only 4 percent of the tenants in rent controlled units according to the BAE survey. Measure Y doesn’t apply to small landlords with three or fewer rental units. Berkeley’s larger landlords have enough units that they shouldn’t need to displace an elderly or disabled tenant to find a place for a relative. In addition, landlords may displace an elderly or disabled tenant to make room for a relative who is over 60 or disabled. 

Measure Y is good policy; it strikes a reasonable balance between the rights of property owners and the need to protect our city’s most vulnerable citizens. 

Rob Wrenn 

Chair, Berkeley Planning Commission 

Letter against Measure R was misguided 

Editor: 

A recent letter to the Planet argues that renovation of the Warm Water Pool (Measure R) is misguided. The Pool takes up valuable Berkeley High School space, which should be allocated only to student use, and it and the Old Gym should be torn down. However, the BUSD School Board has strongly endorsed a plan to convert most of the Old Gym into needed classrooms (under Measure AA), and is supporting the city's efforts to renovate the Warm Water Pool, which is also used during school hours for Adaptive PE classes for disabled BUSD students. 

Further, Berkeley voters recognize that school facilities are part of the community. After all, the BHS Campus houses the Community Theater, and residents also use the running track and the tennis courts. 

Josephine Arasteh 

Berkeley  

Parks are our town squares, support Measures S & W 

Editor: 

I am writing to urge people to vote yes on Measures S and W. As a parent of two small children, I have spent many long hours in Berkeley's parks and playgrounds. I've seen the improvements that have been made at Totland, Thousand Oaks Park, San Pablo Park and many others by the sweat and commitment of many concerned citizens working together. The new Dreamland for Kids at Aquatic Park is a fabulous playground that will attract kids from all over Berkeley. These parks and playgrounds provide a safe, free place to play for kids of all colors, sizes and shapes, and serve as a town square where the incredibly diverse population of Berkeley can have fun together. 

Measures S and W are critical to maintaining and improving these resources for our families. Measure S is a small tax increase to pay for maintenance of the many new parks and playgrounds built in recent years. Measure W continues the existing parks tax. Please vote to support our families, our children and our future by voting yes on S and W! 

Richard Thomason 

Berkeley 

Community Values 

Dear Editor, 

The values of a community are demonstrated by the care with which public parks and open spaces are tended. 

Since Berkeley is a compact city with fewer parks than many, it isespecially important that our limited shared space be well designed and well maintained. 

Please help guarantee that Berkeley has the dedicated resources to be a good steward for our parks, medians, and street trees. 

Vote YES on S & W. 

Kate Obenour 

(h) 548-1707 

(w) 848-7200 

2001 Delaware St. 

Berkeley, CA 94709 

THOMAS G. KELLY – CANDIDATE, BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 5 

1809 San Ramon Avenue 

Berkeley, California 94707 

(510) 528-3949 

e-mail: jandtkelly@igc.org 

http://www.electtomkelly.org 

November 2, 2000 

To the Editor 

Judith Scherr, Editor 

Berkeley Daily Planet 

2076 University Avenue 

Berkeley, CA 94704 

To the Editor: 

Judy, a self-identified landlord from the "No on Y" campaign called me tonight to encourage me to vote no on Y. Her reasons for supporting this position were so galling that I thought I would share them with the residents of Berkeley. I have to paraphrase a bit because I started to get a little warm under the collar within the first few sentences and couldn’t keep track of all the reasons. Here they are in random order: 

1) People who live in rent controlled apartments are lazy. Judy has a cousin who lives in a rent controlled apartment and his low rent keeps him from getting a job or making something of himself. 

2) People who live in rent controlled apartments obviously need some type of help because they can’t make it paying market rate rents. Government rather than landlords should bear the burden of assisting them. 

3) Landlords will not rent to the aged and disabled if Measure Y passes. When I asked if she meant that a landlord would illegally discriminate against those the Measure was intended to protect, she said, "not intentionally". 

4) Berkeley is full of NIMBYs who will not allow higher density, mixed use housing to be built downtown Berkeley, and if I think otherwise, I’m an idiot. Those NIMBYs, according to Judy, include my neighbors on San Ramon Avenue. 

5) 10,000 rental units have been lost in Berkeley due to rent control. (According to the Draft General Plan just released, the number of owners now occupying rental property has increased, but nowhere near the 10,000 units Judy quoted.) 

Finally, Judy told me that she is a life long resident of Berkeley, except for the ten years she left the city so that her children could get a decent education. 

I mentioned to Judy that I thought that, if things were so tough on landlords in Berkeley, I would work to get the City to purchase their apartments and turn them over to non-profit developers who would make the buildings habitable, safe, and healthy – conditions that all residents of Berkeley are entitled to enjoy whether they own or rent their homes.  

Judy and the interests she represents are not concerned about the rendering of the social fabric of neighborhoods that evictions can cause or the distress people feel when they are faced with eviction. It’s up to the rest of us to prevent that kind of harm. That’s why I am urging you to join me in voting Yes on Measure Y! 

Sincerely, 

Tom Kelly 

Sophomore gets 23rd goal in win 

After tying Cal’s school record for goals in a season Friday afternoon, sophomore forward Laura Schott said she’s not done yet. 

“I’ve still got Sunday to beat the record, so I’ve still got some work to do,” Schott said following the 2-0 Cal victory over the visiting Oregon State Beavers. 

Schott scored her 23rd goal of the season during the match, tying Joy Fawcett’s 1987 season. Fawcett is one of the most decorated players in the history of women’s soccer who has played for the U.S. National Team for most of the past decade.  

“Right now I’m next to Joy Fawcett, who has been an amazing player for the past 10-plus years,” Schott said. “It’s a pretty cool feeling.” 

Bringing added drama to the game was the fact that Oregon State’s coach, Steve Fennah, was Schott’s coach at Jesuit High School in Wilsonville, Oregon. 

“She’s always had the ability to score goals,” Fennah said. “She’s so fast in tight space, she can get by you even when you think you’ve got good position on her.” 

Schott’s goal came in the 36th minute of the game. Cal sweeper Tami Pivnik fed her the ball at the top of the box, and Schott did the rest herself. She slid the ball between two defenders, then managed to dribble around OSU goalkeeper Jerika Duran and punch the ball into the back of the net. Her goal gave the Bears a 2-0 lead, which was never threatened by an outmanned Beaver squad. 

The Bears outshot OSU 18-3 in the game as the visitors were quickly reduced to clearing the ball from their own half as their only form of offense. Berkeley’s backline of Pivnik, senior Amy White and sophomore Ashley Mueller rebuffed nearly every attack the Beavers attempted, and goalkeeper Maite Zabala was sure-handed as always, calmly handling OSU’s long balls before giving way to backup Gabby Ronick late in the game. 

The Bears got on the board early thanks to midfielder Natalie Stuhlmueller, who slammed home a shot off of an assist from sophomore Brittany Kirk. Stuhlmueller came out on fire, as she dominated the first half with strong forward runs that left the Beaver defense bewildered. 

“My warmup was a little shaky today,” Stuhlmueller said. “Scoring the early goal gave me some confidence to take some people on.” 

Cal head coach Kevin Boyd was clearly impressed with his midfielder’s aggressiveness. 

“This was probably her best game of the year,” he said. “She was on fire, just shredding people all game long.” 

Cal finishes their regular season Sunday against Oregon at noon. The game will be played at Edwards Stadium, and will be followed by the Cal men taking on No. 3 Indiana. 

Sunday will also be the day Boyd’s team finds out who their first post-season opponent will be. The Bears should draw a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament, then play a home game on Saturday, Nov. 11.

As the booming economy drives home prices through redwood roof decks and developers dream of stately skyscrapers lining the city’s thoroughfares; while dot-comers search in vain for office space and fast-food operators pressure city officials for the right to ply their trade in town, the numbers of homeless and helpless on our streets doesn’t seem to diminish and the divisions in health and education outcomes between minorities who populate the flatlands and Caucasians living in the hills grows ever more stark. 

It is in this context that Berkeley residents will go to the polls Tuesday to select among 16 candidates for four council seats.  

What will it mean for the city, if the more moderate faction on the council, led by Mayor Shirley Dean, becomes the majority? 

“It’s a very exciting prospect,” Dean said, not so much for ideological reasons, than simply being able to get things done on the council. 

“I do not want Shirley Dean’s shadow,” the mayor said. 

Dean argued that in no way would she expect, or even want the candidates she’s endorsing – Mim Hawley, running for the District 5 seat, Betty Hicks, running for District 2 and District 6 incumbent Betty Olds – to walk lock-step behind her. 

However, those she is endorsing for the council “would be open to listening,” Dean said. The people she is supporting are individuals who would not claim, because of district elections and district representation, that they represent downtown or Telegraph Avenue or the South Berkeley commercial district. 

“These are citywide issues,” Dean said, arguing that the current council has reflected a parochial district-by district view and that is, in part, the source of friction among them. 

To adequately address upcoming issues – in particular, the selection of a permanent city manager and redistricting according to the new census figures – “we will need a united council,” Dean said. 

Although the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce does not take positions on council candidates, Reid Edwards, who chairs the Chamber board, sees distinct differences between having a Dean-led majority on the council or the current progressive-liberal majority. 

The moderates would focus more on the city’s economic development, Edwards said. They would “allow for more dot.comers to move into West Berkeley.” Zoning regulations now restrict them. 

They would also be supportive of streamlining the decision-making process on questions of development. “It takes months to get a decision,” he said. 

Parking is another big concern, Edwards said. “As Betty Olds said, she is not able to ride a bike.” 

The liberal-progressive faction has repeatedly favored spending city funds on projects other than parking, both downtown and in the Fourth Street area. 

Edwards added that he would like to see a council that demonstrates a greater understanding of the role of business in bringing revenues into the city: in addition to creating jobs for local residents, business taxes go directly into the city’s general fund. They are spent on council-determined projects. 

Naturally, Linda Olivenbaum, who co-chairs the liberal-progressive Berkeley Citizens Action, sees things quite differently. 

She said she fears that a moderate majority would mean “a shift away from the traditional values Berkeley citizens live by, values people move here for – especially economic, racial, ethnic diversity.” 

She points to the liberal-progressive faction’s emphasis on affordable housing and health care, and its attention to south and southwest Berkeley. 

Unlike Dean, Olivenbaum says the divisions among councilmembers are rooted in philosophical differences.  

“A lot of the factionalism on the council is not personal,” she said. “It has been a battle to maintain these types of values – we don’t want to become a Palo Alto.” 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington agrees that the council differences are based in a difference of values. 

“The single biggest issue is housing,” said Worthington, pointing to the millions of dollars the liberal-progressive faction has placed in the city budget for affordable housing. 

There are also environmental issues, he said, pointing to the liberal-progressives’ insistence that neighborhoods cannot opt out of street cleaning. The cleaning removes the dirt and toxins which would otherwise end up in the bay. “All the progressives stood up to the heat,” on this issue, Worthington said. 

Like Reid, Worthington points to parking as a critical issue. The progressive majority blocked $3 million in redevelopment funds, which others wanted to go to building a garage that would serve Fourth Street businesses, he said, calling the proposal a “$3 million give away.” 

“If Shirley Dean had the majority, we would have lost that vote,” Worthington said. 

Downtown parking will be on the council agenda in the coming months, Worthington said, with a battle waged over the parking lot at Oxford Street and Allston Way. The fight, he said, will be between those who want more parking on the site and those who want to develop low-income housing there. A Dean-led majority will go for parking, he asserted.

Everyone loves presents. Especially high school football coaches. First, the Berkeley High Yellowjackets (4-5, 4-1 ACCAL) gave their fans and student body a homecoming present with a grueling 12-7 victory over the El Cerrito Gauchos (5-4, 4-1). Then, just minutes after the emotional victory, senior linebacker Brian Everett gave head coach Gary Weaver a present of his own with a jumping high five and a hug. Most importantly, Berkeley finds itself in a tie for first place in the ACCAL... for the present. 

“On Homecoming, we have our most fans... we had to do it for our fans but especially for ourselves,” noted junior running back Ramone Reed.  

Berkeley sealed the victory with consecutive sacks by Greg Mitchell and Everett that forced El Cerrito into a 4th-and-35 situation on their own 15-yard line with 30 seconds left in the game. Weaver didn’t let up with his aggressive defense and called a blitz by his outside linebackers. Reed honed in on El Cerrito quarterback Tushambi Evans, whose pass was intercepted by linebacker Joey Terry-Jones. 

Reed was not particularly surprised by the blitz call. “We knew it was (Evans’) first attempt of the game,” said Reed, and indeed it was, as El Cerrito decided to replace starting quarterback Rickey Gatewood with Evans, who normally lines up as either a wideout or defensive back. Gatewood completed just seven of 18 pass attempts for 88 yards. Evans would fare no better, getting sacked and tossing a pick on his two adventures behind center. 

Reed racked up 105 rushing yards on 17 carries and scored a touchdown. Reed’s limited impact on offense early on didn’t affect his defense, though. On the opening kickoff, Reed flattened El Cerrito running back Chijioke Onyenegecha, who scored 4 touchdowns against St. Mary’s earlier this season. Berkeley held Onyenegecha to just 33 yards rushing and one touchdown. 

In fact, Berkeley held El Cerrito’s offense in check throughout just one week after giving up seven scores on 10 offensive possessions by Pinole Valley. This time, eight offensive possessions by the Gauchos netted five punts, a turnover on downs and an interception. A 65-yard drive that finished with a TD dive by Onyenegecha with 1:18 left in the first half would be El Cerrito’s only score.  

Berkeley’s success in stopping the potent Gaucho offense also reflected their ability to limit the one factor that has haunted them all season long: penalties. Berkeley’s four penalties for 52 yards all came in the first half, whereas El Cerrito’s eight penalties for 85 yards negated any chances for a Gaucho comeback.  

The Yellowjackets could have put the game away twice in the second half. But two promising drives were ended by Reed fumbles. El Cerrito’s second recovery led to its frantic comeback attempt. 

In addition to Reed, quarterback Nitoto Muhammed stepped up with 41 rushing yards and scored from nine yards out in the third quarter to boost Berkeley to a 12-7 lead.  

Berkeley hopes to remain in first place when it travels to Alameda on Nov. 10 to take on the Hornets.

SAN FRANCISCO — Daniel Ellsberg, the former defense worker who leaked the so-called Pentagon Papers to the New York Times in 1971, has said he is against a bill awaiting President Clinton’s signature that would expand criminal penalties for such acts by government employees. 

Ellsberg told The AP in a telephone interview Thursday the bill is “unconstitutional” and that Clinton would essentially be repealing the First Amendment if he signed it into law. 

“To sign it, he must know this bill is unconstitutional and he would be violating his oath of office to uphold the Constitution,” Ellsberg said from his Berkeley home. 

The bill would dramatically increase criminal prosecutions for those who leak classified documents, according to Attorney General Janet Reno. 

Ellsberg, who was eventually cleared of theft and conspiracy charges under the Espionage Act, said he would have defied the leaks law had it existed during the Vietnam War years. 

“I assumed that I would be sent to prison for the rest of my life,” Ellsberg said. “I was in a situation where 30,000 Americans had been led to death. But there could have been a lot more. It was worth my going to prison to do something to enlighten the public.” 

He pointed to the Iran-Contra affair and the Watergate scandal as examples of governmental misdeeds that might have remained under wraps if whistle-blowers had to fear criminal penalties for divulging them. 

“That’s exactly what these officials want to conceal. Evidence of their own failures,” Ellsberg said. “There should be a hundred times more unauthorized disclosure.” 

CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times and the Newspaper Association of America have all asked Clinton to veto the bill, fearing it could have a chilling effect on daring whistle-blowers and stymie efforts of the press to inform the public. 

Ellsberg worked for the U.S. Defense Department in 1964 and later was employed by the State Department. Troubled by U.S. policies in Vietnam, he copied a classified 7,000 page, 47-volume study of the U.S. role in Indochina and gave it to the Times, which published the “Pentagon Papers” in 1971. 

The case against Ellsberg was thrown out for government misconduct after burglars tied to the White House broke into his psychiatrist’s office. Ellsberg says they were searching for blackmail material. 

Now 69 and living in Berkeley, he’s writing a memoir of his Vietnam and Pentagon Paper experiences. He’s spent years campaigning against nuclear weapons proliferation, and recently joined protests against the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. 

“I can just see politicians saying ‘Let them blow their whistles in jail. They’ll find lots to complain about in there,’ ” Ellsberg said. “That’s not the kind of power we want to give officials in a country that wants to be a republic.” 

——— 

The bill number is H.R. 4392. 

On the Net: 

Search for bills at: http://thomas.loc.gov 

A pair of Olympic gold medalists, three Football All-Americans, two track and field standouts, an NCAA runner-up in women’s tennis and a long-time administrator are all represented in the 2000 class selected for induction into Cal’s Athletic Hall of Fame, the school announced this week.  

NBA standout Kevin Johnson is joined by Olympic gold medal-winning soccer player Mary Harvey and football All-Americans Joe Roth, Ted Albrecht and Talma W. Imlay for the induction ceremonies. Other selections to the ‘00 Hall of Fame class are former assistant athletic director Paul Christopulos, track and field stars Kenneth Churchill and Willie White, and tennis player Lisa Albano.  

The group was formally inducted on Friday at the annual banquet in the Club Room at Haas Pavilion on campus. They will also be honored at halftime during the Bears home football game against Oregon State Saturday.  

The class of ‘00 brings the total number of athletes enshrined in Cal’s Hall of Fame to 165 individuals and four crews, each of whom represent the best of Cal’s rich athletic heritage. The Cal Hall of Fame was inaugurated in 1986 and this year’s group represents the 15th class of inductees.  

Cal’s second leading all-time scorer with 1,655 points from 1984 to ‘87, Kevin Johnson rates with Jason Kidd as the quickest guards in Cal basketball history. Johnson earned first team All-Pac-10 honors as both a junior and senior, helping the Bears to NIT berths both years, the program’s first postseason appearances in 26 seasons. He averaged 15.6 points as a junior and 17.2 points as a senior and ranks on several Cal Top 10 career lists. He earned honorable mention All-America honors as a senior and was a lottery pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers, as the seventh player selected in the 1987 draft. Johnson was traded in 1988 to Phoenix where he starred for the next nine seasons, earning several NBA All-Star appearances and was selected as part of the U.S. Olympic team in 1992, dubbed the Dream Team II, winning a gold medal for the United State.  

Mary Harvey (1983-86) was a goalie on the U.S. Gold Medal team women’s soccer team in Atlanta in 1996. As a freshman at Cal in ‘83, Harvey was a starter on a Bear team that finished fifth in the NCAA Tournament and went on to lead the team to three additional NCAA playoff appearances. In 1984, she was named the NCAA All-Tournament goalkeeper and she was the National Goalkeeper of the year in 1986. Harvey had a total of 27 "caps" for the U.S. National Team during her career and maintained a 0.65 goals-against average as a national team goalie. In 1991, Harvey was the starting goalkeeper on the championship Women’s World Cup U.S. National Team. She still has four individual records at Cal: career saves (156), saves in a game (12 versus North Carolina, Nov. 1, 1984), season saves (71 in 1986), and shutouts in a season (nine in 1984).  

Quarterback Joe Roth (1975-76) directed Cal to the NCAA team total offense title in 1975, as the Bears averaged 458 yards per game that season. Cal was the Pac-8 Co-Champions that year with an 8-3 record as Roth passed for 1,880 yards and 14 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. A Sporting News first team All-America selection in 1976, he succumbed to cancer after the season and passed away. Roth’s No. 12 jersey is the only jersey ever retired by the Cal football program. He still holds the Cal record for the longest touchdown pass, an 88-yard hookup with Wesley Walker against Georgia in 1976.  

Ted Albrecht (1974-76) was a standout offensive tackle for Cal who earned Associated Press first team All-America honors in 1976 and went on to become a first round pick of the Chicago Bears. Albrecht was named first team all-conference in both 1975 and ‘76 and played with Joe Roth, Chuck Muncie, and Wesley Walker in ‘75 on one of the greatest offensive teams in Golden Bear history. He helped the ‘75 team to a Pac-8 Co-Championship while setting a Cal modern record for most points in a season (330). Albrecht played five seasons as a starter with Chicago, helping running back Walter Payton to the all-time NFL rushing record.  

A two-year letterman at halfback who played for the great Cal coach Andy Smith, Talma W. Imlay (1924-25) was named by Walter Camp as a third team All-American in 1924. Imlay’s running and pass catching abilities helped the ‘24 team post an 8-0-2 record and finish ranked second in the nation. He was selected to the second team on Cal football historian Brick Morse’s All-Time Cal football team and was chosen team captain of the 1925 team. Imlay played in the first East-West Shrine game, and he scored the first touchdown ever in that historic all-star game. 

Serving the Cal Athletic Department in several different capacities from 1947-64, most notably as Publicity or Sports Information Director, Paul Christopulos also served as an administrative aide to legendary football coach Pappy Waldorf. In late ‘40s and early ‘50s, Christopulos directed recruiting efforts for all sports, particularly football, basketball, track and baseball. Among those he helped recruit were Lon Spurrier, Leamon King, Don Bowden, Jim Monachino, Matt Hazeltine, John Olszewski, Joe Kapp and Craig Morton. Christopulos founded and organized the Sons of California, which features a yearly reunion.  

Kenneth Churchill (1929-31) won the NCAA javelin competition in 1930 with a toss of 204-2, and again in 1931 with a throw of 215-0. He earned All-America honors in both ‘30 and ‘31, and set an American intercollegiate record with a throw of 217-7 against Washington in 1931. Churchill came back to reset the record later that spring with a throw of 221-7 in the Big Meet against Stanford.  

Willie White (1958-60) was a member of two world record Cal sprint medley relay teams, helping the Bears post times of 3:19.8 in 1958, and coming back the same year to better that mark with a 3:18.8 in the spring. White earned NCAA All-America honors in 1960 by finishing fourth in the 100-yard dash and was sixth nationally in the 100-yard dash in 1958. He was also the Pacific Coast Conference champion in the 100-yard dash in 1958 with a time of 9.6. 

A four-time All-American in tennis, Lisa Albano (1989-92) was the NCAA runner-up for the singles title in 1991 as a junior, the only Cal women to ever reach the NCAA singles final. Albano was a finalist for the Honda Broderick Award in 1991 and was the ITA Regional Player of the Year in 1992. She was also a two-time All-Pac-10 selection and was named Cal’s Tennis Women Player of the Decade.

Berkeley resident Michael Moore, who has been in police custody for seven days was released Friday on bail, said his attorney Robert Beles. 

Moore was arrested and booked on suspicion of nine felony drug and weapons charges last Friday at his home in the Berkeley hills following a two month investigation conducted by the Oakland Police Department Narcotics Division. 

Friday, Superior Court Judge Marshall Whitley ruled that Moore was not a flight risk or a threat to the community. Marshall reduced his bail to $290,000 and approved a property bond on Moore’s $580,000 house. 

Beles said that his office has been inundated with calls from friends, fellow attorneys and supporters in the past week and is pleased that Moore is free to return to his home. 

“I hope he goes out and has a good dinner and relaxes.” 

Moore was diagnosed with Lou Gherig’s disease in 1997. The disease is currently in remission. Beles said Moore has been using medical marijuana to ease his muscular pain and discomfort. 

Beles said Moore is an avid gun collector and that the weapons found in his residence are registered to him and legal.  

Blair Thomas, attorney for the District Attorney’s office, declined to comment on the case. 

The next court date is set for Nov. 17. Beles expects the legal process to take a minimum of six months. 

The fight to keep in tact the fragile liberal-progressive council faction majority is being played out in southwest Berkeley’s District 2, and, to a lesser degree, in South Berkeley’s District 3. 

The five liberal-progressive councilmembers are Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek and Councilmembers Kriss Worthington, Linda Maio, Dona Spring and Margaret Breland. The more moderate faction consists of Mayor Shirley Dean and Councilmembers Betty Olds, Polly Armstrong and Diane Woolley. 

In District 2, the fight is being waged between Dean-backed Betty Hicks and progressive-backed incumbent Breland. 

Breland has come away with the lion’s share of weighty endorsers that include the four other progressive councilmembers, Congressmember Barbara Lee, Assemblymember Dion Aroner, former Assemblymember Tom Bates and former mayor Loni Hancock. Breland is endorsed by the Alameda County Central Labor Council, the Service Employees International Union 535 and 790, the Sierra Club, the East Bay League of Conservation Voters, the Green Party, Berkeley Citizen’s Action and the National Women’s Political Caucus. 

Hicks has grabbed the endorsement of Mayor Shirley Dean, the police and fire fighters associations and the Berkeley Democratic Club. 

The endorsements may be sparse, but they represent powerful foes for Breland. Hicks has raised about $20,500 for her campaign, while Breland has raised somewhat less, about $17,500.  

Signs representing both candidates dot telephone poles and glossy literature has been sent through the mail and dropped off by volunteers working diligently for one side or the other. 

Foes point to Hick’s support from Fourth Street interests that include $250 checks from Fourth Street property manager Mike Drew and separate $250 donations from a number of members of the Drew family, $250 contributions from Fourth-Street developers Denny and Elliot Abrams, $250 contributions each from Fourth Street’s Builders Booksource and Bette’s Oceanview Diner. (Hicks told the Daily Planet that she realized she wasn’t supposed to take funds from businesses, but that the business owners would be replacing the business checks with personal checks.)  

Hicks also has received $250 checks – the maximum one can give under the city’s finance campaign law – from three different Trasaction Co. officials, developer Avi Nevo and housing developer John Koenigshoter.  

In the same vein, Hicks supporters point to Breland’s $250 contributions from developer Patrick Kennedy and from his wife. Hicks is opposing the proposed four to five story building Kennedy wants to build at San Pablo Avenue and Carleton Street.  

Breland says she is prohibited from giving her opinion about the building, because the council may be called on to approve it. Foes of the building are supporting Hicks. 

Breland also received $250 from people closely associated with Berkeley Citizens Action such as former mayoral candidate Don Jelinek, Councilmembers Linda Maio and Kriss Worthington and former city Councilmember Nancy Skinner.  

Breland received $250 contributions from three unions: the Service Employees International Union No. 2 COPE-PAC fund, $250 from SEIU Local 790 and $250 from The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.  

In the District 3 race, should Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek be defeated by low-income housing credits consultant James Peterson, the balance would also shift to the moderates. Shirek, who has been undefeated since 1984, is backed by the same group of progressives that Breland is, while Peterson is endorsed by the Berkeley Democratic Club. Peterson’s candidacy has been marred by his accepting a campaign contribution from an applicant to the Zoning Adjustments Board of which he is a member. He has since returned the contribution and recused himself from the vote. 

. 

Gay people who financially support their partner and their partner’s children can file as head of household on their state income taxes, under a ruling finalized by the state’s tax board. 

The state Board of Equalization Wednesday upheld an earlier ruling that a lesbian supporting her partner and the child they conceived through artificial insemination could file as head of household, although the status was previously used by unmarried taxpayers supporting family members. 

Helmi Hisserich, a 37-year-old economic development consultant from Los Angeles, pursued the issue for three years after she was denied the filing status by the Franchise Tax Board. 

“This sounds corny, but I’m really a good citizen who contributes to society, and I felt I was really being wronged by the tax system,” Hisserich said. 

Two of the five board members issued dissenting opinions that said a ruling favorable to Hisserich and her partner, Tori Patterson, had no basis in tax law and would promote policies that discourage marriage and legal adoption. 

The ruling will save Hisserich about $1,000 a year in state taxes. 

It is unknown how many people will be affected by the rulng, said officials at the Board of Equalization.

VACAVILLE — A car crash that killed a 3-year-old boy and severely injured his mother has been blamed on recalled Firestone tires. 

California Highway Patrol officers said Thursday that Nicholas Terraszas’ father lost control of the family’s 1996 Ford Explorer when the right rear tire lost its tread. 

The sport utility vehicle rolled over two times and landed on its roof, said Chris Linehan, a CHP collision investigation officer. 

Terraszas died on Aug. 23, one day after the accident. Betsy Terraszas was in a coma for nearly three weeks. 

She is recovering at a rehabilitation center in Castro Valley and was only told about her son’s death about a month ago, said her husband, Steve Terraszas. 

The crash happened just three weeks after Nashville-based Bridgestone/Firestone recalled 6.5 million ATX, ATXII and Wilderness AT tires. About 120 people have died in crashes blamed on the tires and more than 500 have been injured. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a consumer advisory on an additional 1.4 million tires, and the company has offered free replacements to any customer who asks. 

The tires on the Terraszas’ car were made in Decatur, Ill., where many of the recalled tires originated. 

NEW YORK — Want to keep tabs on the state legislative races across the nation, or perhaps find out more about how your county sided for the presidency? 

Log on to the Internet on Tuesday night for the details that you won’t get on television. 

The TV networks will be focusing on the major races, but they won’t have much time left for local races and county-level details. That information will be provided online by several news organizations and state election officials. 

“It’s really offering a pace that is very similar to other media like television and radio, yet giving people options to get what they want, when they want it,” said Carin Dessauer, election director for CNN’s Web site. 

“You don’t have to wait for Peter Jennings to get to your state,” added America Online’s Kathleen deLaski, referring to the ABC News anchor. 

Web sites promised unprecedented coverage during the summer political conventions and the fall presidential debates, but many surfers found television much simpler. 

Election Day should be different, given the volumes of information and the extent of localized interest. 

“We’ve learned a lot during the primaries, the debates and the conventions,” said MSNBC’s political producer Craig Staats. “This is what we’ve been getting ready for all year.” 

Visitors to CBS’ Web site will get election numbers as the network’s own analysts get them, said Michael Sims, the site’s news director. And the site might even report on projections, he said, before anchor Dan Rather reads them on the air. 

USA Today’s site will carry results for nearly 6,000 state legislative contests, which are key in determining the party that will have the upper hand in redrawing congressional boundaries. 

MSNBC.com will link to sites for local newspapers and TV stations, offering coverage for races down to city council in many parts of the country. 

At The Washington Post, a “Channel Surfer” will compare how the four main TV networks and CNN are projecting individual states. C-SPAN’s Web site will offer continuous feeds from campaign headquarters for Al Gore, George W. Bush, the Green Party’s Ralph Nader and Reform’s Pat Buchanan. 

The WIRE, the news Web site of The Associated Press, will provide continuously updated results from all nationwide races, an interactive map of the United States showing state-by-state returns from the presidential race and a continuously updated graphic showing House and Senate results. The WIRE will also feature video and audio packages from key races. 

ABC News will post exit poll results with breakdowns by gender, income and other variables. The site will continually update a color-coded map showing whether Gore or Bush is favored for each state. 

Steve Jones, the Web site’s executive producer, said television can give meaning and insight to the numbers, “but you will not be able to park yourself in the results of your particular state for any period of time.” 

Although ABC and other sites are expecting record numbers, TV will still be the primary medium this year. Preston Dodd, a Jupiter Research analyst, said network news offers personalities and branding unavailable on the Net. 

On the net: 

Links to major news sites: http://webwhiteblue.org 

ABC: http://abcnews.com 

MSNBC: http://decision2000.msnbc.com 

Fox: http://foxnews.com 

CBS: http://cbsnews.com 

AP: http://wire.ap.org 

CNN: http://allpolitics.com 

C-SPAN: http://c-span.org 

USA Today: http://usatoday.com 

State election sites, through Federal Voting Assistance Project: http://www.fvap.ncr.gov

George W. Bush says he regrets driving under the influence of alcohol 24 years ago but also says the revelation of his arrest just before Tuesday’s presidential election will do little to change voters’ minds about him. 

At a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Friday, Bush drew thunderous applause when he said, “I made mistakes in my life, but I’m proud to tell you I’ve learned from those mistakes.” 

Bush earlier said he had been open about his alcohol use. 

“I have been very candid about my past. I’ve said I’ve made mistakes in the past. People know that. They’ve thought about that. They’re making their minds up now,” he said. 

Former First Lady Barbara Bush called the matter “Much ado about nothing,” while Bush campaign spokeswoman Karen Hughes said Friday at a brief airport news conference that Bush has not hidden his record. She said the only time Bush was asked whether he had been arrested for drinking and driving, he responded, “I do not have a perfect record as a youth.” 

She added, “He has made mistakes and has been very forthcoming about those mistakes.” 

Chris Lehane, a spokesman for Democrat Al Gore, said Friday that the vice president has never been arrested for drunken driving or any other offense. 

“I asked him yesterday if he’d ever been arrested – he said ’No,”’ Lehane said. 

The Sept. 4, 1976, arrest was first reported Thursday. Bush, who was 30 years old at the time of the arrest, said he chose to keep it private to protect his daughters, but his hand was forced by the news media. 

“I do find it interesting that it’s come out four or five days before the election,” Bush said. 

Tom Connolly, a Portland lawyer and Democratic activist who attended the Democratic National Convention, told The Associated Press on Friday that he was the source of the report. 

Connolly said someone who was in Biddeford District Court when Bush’s 1976 case came up was concerned that it had never been reported and alerted “a public figure” about the case. That person passed the word to Connolly, he said, though he would not name the public figure. 

Connolly, who ran unsuccessfully for governor two years ago, said he had been talking about the case at the courthouse Thursday. He said he had confirmed Bush’s arrest by obtaining a copy of the court docket which he gave to a local television reporter. 

“It’s not a dirty trick to tell the truth,” Connolly said, maintaining that Bush should have made the case known a long time ago. 

Lehane said the campaign had no involvement. “We had absolutely nothing to do with this,” he said. 

WPXT-TV reporter Erin Fehlau said she looked into the arrest after hearing a rumor at the Cumberland County (Maine) Courthouse. 

Hughes said Bush had no other arrests besides the drunken-driving case, and an incident in which he was cited for stealing a Christmas wreath as a Yale student. She said Bush was also involved in a fight for which he was asked to leave a college football game for disruptive behavior. 

At a Friday rally at Millersville State University in Pennsylvania, Bush running mate Dick Cheney told a crowd not to be distracted by last-minute allegations. “Now we’re coming down to the closing days of the campaign, and there’s all kinds of stuff flying around out there,” he said. “The important thing is we keep our eyes on the ball and we remember what we’re going to decide on Tuesday.” 

Cheney later questioned the timing of the revelation. 

“I think it is suspect in terms of the timing of the story,” he said. 

The Dallas Morning News on Friday reported that Bush was called for jury service in a 1996 drunken driving case in Austin, but was dismissed from the panel before potential jurors were questioned about their histories of drinking and driving. 

P. David Wahlberg, the defense attorney who struck Bush from the jury panel, said Thursday that his action followed requests by the governor and the governor’s lawyer to excuse him. 

Although Bush at first said he would perform jury service, Wahlberg said, the governor’s lawyer, Al Gonzales — later appointed by the governor to the Texas Supreme Court — argued it would be improper for Bush to sit on a criminal case in which he might be asked to grant clemency. 

Bush said he was not proud of the DUI arrest. 

“I oftentimes said that years ago I made some mistakes. I occasionally drank too much and I did on that night,” Bush said. “I regret that it happened. But it did. I’ve learned my lesson.” 

Aides said Bush was pulled over near his family’s Kennebunkport, Maine, summer home after visiting a bar with friends and a family member during the Labor Day weekend in 1976. 

Spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said Bush, who had been drinking beer, paid a $150 fine and lost his driving privileges in the state of Maine for a short period. His driver’s license in Texas, where he lived at the time, was not revoked or suspended, she said. 

The arresting officer, Calvin Bridges, told the AP in a telephone interview that he recalled driving home from work after midnight and spotting a car slipping briefly onto the shoulder before getting back on the road. 

Bush, the driver, failed a road sobriety test and a second test in the police station, registering a 0.10 blood-alcohol level — the legal limit at the time, Bridges said. 

Asked about Bush’s demeanor, the retired officer said, “The man was, and I say this without being facetious, a picture of integrity. He gave no resistance. He was very cooperative.” 

Bush, 54, has refused to answer questions about “youthful indiscretions,” including whether he used illegal drugs in the 1960s and early 1970s. He continued to avoid specifics Thursday night. 

Bush has said he quit drinking the day after his 40th birthday on July 6, 1986. 

LOS ANGELES — A small asteroid or piece of space junk recently discovered by scientists has a 1-in-500 chance of hitting the planet in 30 years, far greater odds than any similar object yet found, experts announced Friday. 

Though the chance of a collision remains small, it is about a thousand times greater than for any other asteroid-like object yet discovered, said Paul Chodas, principal engineer of the Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 

The object, designated 2000 SG344, is believed to be 98 to 230 feet long. It was discovered Sept. 29 through a telescope in Hawaii. 

Current projections are that it will reach Earth on Sept. 21, 2030, but miss the planet by 15 times the distance between the Earth and moon. 

However, scientists are uncertain about the exact orbit so cannot rule out a collision.  

The possibility of an Earth-impacting orbit was confirmed this week by experts at JPL and in Finland and Italy. 

More observations are needed to pin down the object’s size; right now, it’s just a bright spot in space.  

But if it turns out to be an asteroid – and a collision occurs – more than 23,000 tons of rocks could come hurtling through the atmosphere. 

“It would be equivalent to a fairly sizable nuclear blast” if it actually hit, said Donald Yeomans, manager of the near-Earth office. 

For now, though, that is “fairly low in terms of concern,” he said in a teleconference call. 

Scientists aren’t sure whether the object is a chunk of space rock or perhaps something manmade. 

The orbit – circular, close to the sun and in about the same plane as Earth’s – is unusual for an asteroid, leading to suspicions that it might be a used rocket stage, possibly one jettisoned from an Apollo launch in the 1970s, scientists said. 

In that case, the object would have much less mass and wouldn’t pose any danger in a collision because it would burn up in the atmosphere. 

The object currently is about 8.4 million miles from Earth and moving away.  

Further observations must be made before it drifts out of sight around the sun, which it orbits about every 354 days.  

The orbit is faster than Earth’s, so the object pulls ahead of the Earth, which catches up about every 30 years. 

The object’s discovery is the product of an asteroid-hunting program that found more than 8,600 more benign objects in September alone. 

Yeomans said that the odds of the object hitting the Earth actually are smaller than the likelihood of a collision “by an object of comparable size that we don’t know about” in any given year. 

“The interest in this object is that we know it’s there and we know it’s coming,” he said. 

On The Net: 

JPL: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov. 

VALLEJO — The City of Vallejo and the Navy reached an $80 million agreement for the environmental cleanup of Mare Island, which could allow part of the island to be transferred to the city ahead of schedule. 

The agreement, which came after six months of negotiation, will come before the city council for approval in mid to late November. 

The former Mare Island Naval Shipyard closed in 1996. The city is planning to develop six million square feet of commercial and industrial space on the island, which could create more than 6,000 jobs. 

In the agreement, the city would provide environmental services for the cleanup and in return the Navy would grant $80 million to the city. It is expected to take four to five years, which the city says is faster than a Navy cleanup. 

The deal would allow the environmental cleanup to be done at the same time as the construction phase of the redevelopment of the island, allowing a transfer before the cleanup is complete. Gov. Gray Davis must also approve an early transfer. 

“We hope the Governor will support this early transfer,” said Alvaro da Silva, Vallejo’s director of community development. “It looks good.” 

An early transfer of the land would be the largest in terms of cleanup costs since Congress granted authority for early transfers in 1996. 

BERKELEY — Alice Walker’s life has been one headlong charge against racial barriers. She overcame her sharecroppers’ childhood to emerge as a civil rights activist, and she challenged Southern law by marrying a white, Jewish lawyer. 

Years of pain and struggle brought her joy and Pulitzer Prize-winning success, but not without scars. Her marriage crumbled under the strain of passion and politics, violence and racism. And she wasn’t the only one left wounded – her daughter, Rebecca, grew up angry and confused. 

In a new, cathartic memoir, Alice Walker comes full circle, revealing details of her 10-year marriage and subsequent divorce from the man who nurtured her talent and celebrated her heritage. 

And this January, readers can get a distinctly different glimpse at the same family in the writing debut of her daughter: “Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self.” 

Both works are achingly personal as they tell a tried-and-true love story – meeting, marrying, creating a child – against the racially charged backdrop of Mississippi in the late 1960s and early 1970s. 

The 56-year-old Walker opens her new book, “The Way Forward Is With a Broken Heart,” with a note about her former husband, Mel Leventhal. She had spoken to him only rarely in 20 years. 

“Humor and affection joined us, more than anything. And a bone-deep instinctive belief that we owed it to our ancestors and ourselves to live exactly the life we found on our paths,” she writes. “It was a magical marriage.” 

The book, a series of essays she describes as “mostly fiction, but with a definite thread of having come out of a singular life,” ends a 30-year cycle of writing, she explains. Walker talks about her family and career in an interview at her home on a Berkeley hillside, where rooms are decorated with Native American and African art and stacks of books on the floor reveal a range of tastes from a biography of slain rapper Tupac Shakur to an artful look at dreadlocks. 

“Part of what I hadn’t written about was my marriage,” she says. “Writing about it has helped me a lot because there were some loose ends that needed to be tied off.” 

As a result, she now feels freer, she says. And her former husband has read “The Way Forward” and “loved it.” 

Exploring the pain of losing their love also helped her heal, she adds. “Whatever I’m writing about, there are people going through exactly that at that time,” she says. “It can be a real medicine.” 

At 30 years old, Rebecca Walker found she needed some medicine as well. 

“I want to be closer to my mother, to have something run between us that cannot be denied,” writes Rebecca, who took her mother’s last name when she was a high school senior. “I want a marker that links us tangibly and forever as mother and daughter. That links me tangibly and forever with blackness.” 

Educated at Yale University, she’s an activist who founded a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating young women’s leadership skills. Rebecca Walker refused an interview request. She explained through her publicist that she wants her work to stand on its own, not be propped up by the fame of her award-winning mother. 

Alice Walker, author of more than two dozen books of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, most notably 1982’s “The Color Purple,” says she and her daughter are close friends, live near each other in Berkeley and see each other often. Rebecca also has a good relationship with Leventhal, Alice says. 

She has read her daughter’s book, but refuses to discuss it other than to say she enjoyed it and she understands her daughter’s confusion and frustration about finding her place in the world. 

She has no qualms about how she raised Rebecca – she stopped working when her daughter was born to give “her a full year of my undivided attention. 

“It’s hard for her to understand all that we were trying to do ... to correct centuries of violence and abuse,” she explains. 

Alice Walker met Leventhal in 1966 while registering voters door-to-door in Mississippi. They moved to New York City where he was attending law school, then married and returned to Mississippi, where he defended civil rights cases and she taught school. 

“Part of the lure of our marriage was that it was illegal,” says Alice Walker, who now is in a committed relationship with a woman. “When it became weakened by the sheer stress of living there, it ended.” 

Rebecca Walker accepts that she was brought into this world, in part, to make a statement, to prove a point at a time when the Black Power Movement was on the rise and interracial marriages were suspect. (Mississippi did not officially legalize interracial marriage until 1987.) 

“Black on black love is the new recipe for revolution,” she writes. “The only problem, of course, is me. My little copper-colored body that held so much promise and broke so many rules.” 

She was in the third grade when her parents separated, after her father’s affair with a white, Jewish, woman. 

Her search for herself and her connection to her blackness, her whiteness, her separateness culminates shortly after high school graduation, one of the few events her parents attended together. 

“It all comes to this,” writes Rebecca Walker, who dedicates her first novel to both her parents. 

“I stand with those who stand with me. I am tired of claiming for claiming sake, hiding behind masks of culture, creed, religion. My blood is made from water and so it is bloodwater that I am made of. ... I exist somewhere between black and white, family and friend.”

It’s official, Berkeley High School students want Al Gore to be the next president of the United States.  

They also want to re-elect Dianne Feinstein, require probation and drug treatment for nonviolent offenders instead of jail time, throw the school voucher idea in the circular file and authorize bonds for school repair, construction or replacement with a 55 percent local vote. 

Now all they have to do is wait until they turn 18. 

Not so, says Helene Lecar, League of Women Voters educational liaison. “These votes may have an indirect impact on election day because this movement is national.” 

Lecar said Berkeley isn’t the only High School conducting a mock election. It’s happening nationwide as part of a campaign headed by the University of Arizona that aims to re-engage youth in the political process.  

The university compiled all the results and they were aired on CNN Thursday evening. 

“This year we’re going full boar ahead. We want the nation to know who these young people support and who knows . . . maybe they’ll think twice on election day,” Lecar said. 

In addition to voting for President, U.S. Senator and propositions 36, 38 and 39 the mock ballot also included a survey on national issues. 

The results:  

• Students feel the most important issue facing America is education and they think retaining the current educational system and increasing federal funding to schools is the best way to tackle the problem. 

• They feel the best change to make in the criminal justice system is to increase funding for prevention efforts. 

• As for restoring faith in government and in elected officials they voted to shorten the campaigns and use only public money to fund them. 

The results of the nationwide presidential mock election were strikingly different.  

According to the CNN tabulation at press time, students nationwide voted Republican George W. Bush into the white house.  

According to Michele Hanssen, faculty coordinator for student activities, they tried to mimic the real world voting process as much as possible. Students were required to register to vote by a specific date and make it to the polls on election day to cast their vote. 

“We don’t want to hold hands here, we want to teach students to do for themselves.”  

Many of the students at the voting polls credited the mock election process for teaching them about the political process and how to study the issues and vote. 

“It felt really good to vote,” sophomore Erik Frank said. “The results might actually effect the outcome and now I know what to do when I turn 18.” 

Freshman Francie Jones, 14, said that the election not only got her interested in the election process and also helped demystify the voting process. 

“It made it less scary for me. I’m glad I had the opportunity. Now when I turn 18 it won’t be such a big deal.” 

The polls, which were open from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., were manned by volunteers from the League of Women Voters who had lists of all registered voters. 

Anyone who wasn’t on the list was turned away and according to volunteer, Jim Lindsay, there were “hundreds of them.” 

“This is the like the real world. If you don’t register, you can’t vote.”

The Washington Generals would have been proud. 

Much like the hapless eternal whipping boys of the Harlem Globetrotters, the Los Angeles Stars put up minimal resistance in the opener of the Cal men’s basketball season. The Bears won the exhibition game Thursday night 88-61, shooting 50 percent from the field while holding their semi-pro opponents to less than 26 percent in a game marred by a total of 66 personal fouls, more than one and a half per minute of action. 

“The refs are going to call things tighter this year, that’s for sure,” said Cal head coach Ben Braun after the game. “Our players will have to make some adjustments.” 

“We had some idea what to expect from the officials,” said forward Sean Lampley, who scored 15 points to lead the Bears along with Joe Shipp and Brian Wethers. “These exhibition games will help us see how the refs will call things.” 

The Bears came out full of energy, and the Stars didn’t appear to know what hit them. The visitors missed their first 11 shots from the field, and didn’t score a point until Cal had already put 29 points on the scoreboard. 

The humiliation didn’t stop there for he Stars. Forward Sidney Faison managed to foul out in the first half, collecting his fifth foul with more than two minutes left in the half. With just a four-man bench to begin the game, Stars coach Dave Benezra was down to just eight eligible players, opposed to the 12-man squad at Braun’s fingertips. Braun was missing only forward Ryan Forehan-Kelly, held out because of a thigh bruise. 

The game was so out of hand by halftime, with the score standing at 50-19 in favor of the Bears, that the two coaches agreed to increase the number of fouls allowed per player from the standard five to an oversized seven. Although Faison never returned to the game, the extension allowed both Cal freshman Saulius Kuzminskas and L.A.’s Saipele Tuialii to play despite reaching the five-foul limit. 

Braun chose not to play Lampley or sophomore point guard Shantay Legans, who had three steals and three assists in limited action, for much of the second half, resting his starters and letting several freshmen get some experience. Newcomer Gabriel Hughes collected nine rebounds (along with four fouls) in just 10 minutes of play, and Kuzminskas finished the game with seven points, including a breakaway dunk.  

“We wanted to make sure some guys got their feet wet tonight, and we did that,” Braun said. 

The 6-11 Lithuanian import also had several moments where he played out of control, however, leading to three turnovers. The Bears committed 19 turnovers in the second half and managed to foul the Stars 21 times, and were actually outscored in the half 42-38. 

“That’s how you end up losing games. We have a system we need to follow, no matter who is in the game,” Braun said. “I’m glad we don’t have another game for a while, and I’m glad we have practice tomorrow.”

Friday, Nov. 3

Taize Worship Service 

7:30-8:30 p.m. 

An hour of quiet reflection and song. First Friday of the month. 

Loper Chapel on Dana Street between Durant and Channing Way. 

848-3696 

“Want to Transform your Dreams Into Reality?” 

7:30 p.m. 

Lecture by Leonard Orr, world known for creating the Rebirthing and Conscious Breathwork Movement. 

The Berkeley Friends Church, 1600 Sacramento St. 

$25, 843-6514 

Spanish Book Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Cody’s Books  

2454 Telegraph Ave.  

A discussion of the work of contemporary Mexican writer Ethel Krauze. New members welcome. The group meets the first Friday of each month.  

Call 601-0454  

Circle Dancing 

7:45 - 10 p.m. 

Finnish Brotherhoos Hall 

1970 Chestnut St. 

Simple folkdancing in a circle. Beginners welcome and no partners are required.  

Call John Bear, 528-4253 

Who Owns America? 

An Anti-Racism/Oppression Gathering 

2 - 10 p.m.  

UC Berkeley Labor Center 

2521 Channing St.  

Trainings and workshops on identifying racism and oppression and building solutions. Organized by STARC, which is trying to build support on the West Coast. This event runs through Sunday. Hot meals will be provided.  

$10Call 869-2538 

Marga Gomez 

8 p.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Comedian Marga Gomez was one of the founding members of Culture Clash and the Latino comedy ensemble. Part of the La Lesbian performance and film series. 

Call 654-6346 

Women in Black 

Noon - 1 p.m. 

Bancroft at Telegraph 

Women for peace in the Middle East  

Does Asian = Spy? 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Bade Museum  

Pacific School of Religion 

1798 Scenic Ave.  

Professor L. Ling-Chi Wang from UC Berkeley’s Ethnic Studies Department will lecture on the ramifications of the Dr. Wen Ho Lee fiasco.  

Call 849-8224 

“Re-Emerging Japan” 

Luncheon served, 11:15 a.m.  

Speaker, 12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave.  

James R. Lincoln, professor at UC Berkeley’s Haas Business school will speak.  

$11 - $12.25 with luncheon 

$1 general for speaker only, Free to students  

Call 848-3533 

The Next Ivory Trade? The Intellectual Property Rights of University Faculty 

A conference sponsored by the Berkeley Faculty Association/American Association of University Professors Coalition 

9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

UC Berkeley International House 

841-1997 

Putting Disability in Its Place 

9 a.m. - 7 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Student Union 

Pauley Ballroom 

Civil rights historians, scholars and leading 1960s activists explore the parallels and differences among social movements and how the disability rights movement fits into this larger context.  

Call 548-6608 

Saturday, Nov. 4

Breathtaking Barnabe Peak 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Hike through Samuel P. Taylor State Park’s lush forests and climb to the heights of Barnabe Peak, overlooking Point Reyes. One in a series of free fall outings organized by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call: 415-255-3233 for reservations 

Cohousing Tour 

8:15 am  

Parker Street Housing Cooperative 

2337 Parker St.  

Join a Shared Living Resource Center organized tour of seven examples of Cohousing. The tour will visit the Doyle Street Cohousing in Emeryville, Swans Market Cohousing in downtown Oakland and three others, including North Street Cohousing in Davis. Bring a lunch. Advanced registration is required.  

$65 per person 

Call Ken Norwood, 548-6608 

Wild About Books? 

10:30 a.m. 

Berkeley Central Library 

2121 Allston Way 

Dublin Library’s resident storyteller and featured teller at the 1998 National Storytelling Festival tell kids aged 3 to 7 her favorite tales.  

Call 649-3943  

New Science & Ancient Wisdom Conference 

9 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

International Center 

2222 Harold Way 

Featured speakers include Father Charlie Moore speaking on “The Cosmic Origins of Man,” Dolores Cannon speaking on “Visions of Nostradamus,” and David Hatcher Childress speaking on “Technology of the Gods.” Event runs through Sunday.  

Pre-registration admission, $65; after Oct. 27, $85 

Call Charles Gotsky, 650-343-5202 

Installing Windows, Doors and Skylights 

9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar instructed by builder Glen Kitzenberger. Other seminars also scheduled.  

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

$75 per person 

Collecting Chinese Decorative Art 

10 a.m. - Noon 

Oakland Museum  

1000 Oak St.  

Dessa Goddard, director of the Asian Department at Butterfields, and a panel discuss. Followed by a collectors’ tea. Included in admission price to museum.  

Call for reservations, 238-2022 

“Broadway to La Scala” 

7 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Oakland 

2501 Harrison St. (at 27th St.) 

A benefit concert for the Oakland Lyric Opera featuring a selection of Broadway musicals and arias from operas, including “Madame Butterfly.” $25 Call 836-6772 

Nuclear Disarmament 

2 p.m.  

Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library 

6508 Telegraph Ave.  

Jackie Cabasso, Executive Director of the Western States Legal Foundation will speak on disarmament and proliferation.  

Life in the Pueblo  

10 a.m. - 6 p.m.  

Gathering Tribes  

1573 Solano Ave.  

Zuni Fetish carver Amos Pooacha and his sister, Linda Pooacha-Eli, a painter of miniatures on sandstone and jewelry sell and display their art. Also on Sunday, same hours.  

Call 528-9038  

Free Sundiata 

Noon 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Junior High School 

1781 Rose St.  

Berkeley Rep School of Theatre and Hilde Mosse Programs for Education present this free performance of Edward Mast’s play. The story is based on the ancient legend of Sundiata the Lion King. Free, but reservations are strongly suggested.  

Call 647-2972 

Who Owns America? 

An Anti-Racism/Oppression Gathering 

8 a.m. - 10 p.m.  

UC Berkeley Labor Center 

2521 Channing St.  

Trainings and workshops on identifying racism and oppression and building solutions. Organized by STARC, which is trying to build support on the West Coast. This event runs through Sunday, Nov. 5. Hot meals will be provided.  

$10 

Call 869-2538  

Sunday, Nov. 5

Buddhist Psychology 

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Pl.  

Buddhist teacher Sylvia Gretchen on “Beyond Therapy and Into the Heart of Buddhist Psychology.” Free. 

Call 843-6812  

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour 

Downtown Berkeley  

Tour new construction, new uses, historic rehabilitation and public improvments that are completed or still in the works.  

Noon 

RSVP required 841-0181 space is limited. Tickets: $5 for members, $10 for nonmembers. 

A Dispirited Rebellion 

10 a.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Author, television personality and columnist Gadi Taub will explore the literary and cinematic changes in Israeli society since the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin. A brunch will be served at 10 a.m.  

Admission: $7 non-JCC members; $5 members 

Call 848-9237 

Soprano Stephanie Pan Sings 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

1275 Walnut St. 

Soprano Stephanie Pan is joined by Meg Cotner on harpsichord, Salley Blaker on cello, and Alex Jenne on lute. They will perform the music of Barbra Strozzi, Jacopo Peri, Giovanni Felice Sances and others.  

$10 general; $9 students and seniors; under 12 Free 

Call 644-6893 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Stucco Repair 

9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Hands-on workshop taught by handyperson Jim Rosenau. Other seminars also scheduled this day.  

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

$90 per person 

“Bigger Things” 

7 p.m.  

La Pena Cultural Center  

3105 Shattuck Ave.  

Judith-Kate Friedman celebrates the release of her new CD.  

$12 general; $20 reserved seating 

Info and tickets: 654-7464 or 849-2568 

Women Warriors, Women Thinkers & Women Awliya 

3 p.m.  

St. Johns Presbyterian Church  

2727 College Ave.  

The final in a series, “The Feminine Side of Islam.” Refreshments will be served and donations are appreciated.  

Call 527-4496  

Playing Field/Skate Park Dedication 

1 - 3:30 p.m. . 

Harrison Park 

Fourth St. (at Harrison) 

This being the first new recreational facility built by the city in 30 years, they are pulling out all the stops. Performing will be the Berkeley High pep band and local band Mariachi Los Gavilances. Attending will be Mayor Shirley Dean and City Councilmember Linda Maio. An exhibition soccer game will also be played.  

Call 525-1734 

Monday, Nov. 6 

Airports vs. the Bay 

7 p.m. 

Albany Community Center 

1249 Marin St.  

Albany 

David Lewis, Executive Director of “Save the Bay” will speak on the airports’ plans to expand into the SF Bay and other challenges to Bay restoration.  

Contact: Friends of Five Creeks, 848-9358 

Flu Shots for Seniors 

9 a.m. - Noon & 1 - 2 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

$2 for seniors 

“The Weir” 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Director Tom Ross will discuss the Aurora Theater’s production of “The Weir” and will distribute 30 free tickets on a first-come, first-served basis.  

Youth Commission 

6 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Youth Center 

1730 Oregon St.  

Peace & Justice Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

Discussion for support of the city council proposal that Peace & Justice Commission review contracts with UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.  

Landmarks Preservation Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

Personnel Board Meeting 

7 p.m.  

Permit Center 

2118 Milvia St.  

Stop the removal of Pepples’ signs 

Editor: 

We are supporters of the People for Pepples Campaign. Because we are excited about Eleanor Pepples and hope to see her elected as the new City Council Representative the Berkeley Hills, we have spent our free time distributing flyers and posting signs advertising her candidacy. In particular, all of us during the evenings and on weekends have spent our time posting signs not only to generate interest in her Campaign, but also to notify voters about the website: www.peopleforpepples.com where they can get more information about Eleanor Pepples and her positions.  

Unfortunately, the People for Pepples signs have been systematically removed. You may recall that in September, an employee from the Dept of Public Works removed our signs. Since that time, the department has acknowledged that this conduct is unacceptable and assured us that it would not happen again. Without question, the removal of the People for Pepples signs by government employees on city time violated our First Amendment rights as well as those of our candidate Eleanor Pepples and the local sign ordinance. We do not believe that is happening this time; however, someone is systematically removing our signs. For example, a number of signs posted last Saturday afternoon in the Walnut/Vine Street area and near Claremont and Ashby were removed by Sunday morning. As you can imagine, this is incredibly frustrating and we feel the tactic is designed to quell our full and active participation in the democratic process. 

For example, a number of signs posted this past Saturday afternoon in the Walnut/Vine Street area and by Claremont and Ashby were removed by Sunday morning. As you can imagine, this is incredibly frustrating and interferes with our ability to fully and actively participate in the democratic process. 

Removal of even one sign is illegal. They are election signs and under Berkeley's City Sign Ordinance, should stay posted until after the election. There is no basis for anyone to remove election signs from public utility poles or lamp posts. Both the City Attorney's Office and the Department of Public Works have acknowledged that the People for Pepples signs comply with all sign ordinances and that they should not be removed.  

We are concerned that the campaign staffs of other candidates may be involved in the illegal removal of our signs. We ask the other candidates in District 6 to issue a strong statement affirming their support of free speech in Berkeley, and denouncing the illegal removal of campaign signs.  

If you or your readers see anyone tampering with our signs, please notify either our Campaign (Tel: 510-528-2970) or the Department of Public Works, so that we can stop this kind of illegal and unfair activity. 

Al Arredondo, Sylvia Brownrigg, Terry Castle and 25 other individuals 

Selawsky experienced in school matters 

To the Residents of Berkeley: 

My eight years of working in Berkeley classrooms, PTA programs such as Reading Is Fundamental, on site improvements such as the renovation of Oxford School, and with and for parents, students, and teachers on numerous issues and problems has earned me support from many sectors of the community. I have the distinct honor of being the only School Board candidate endorsed by the Berkeley Federation of Teachers C.O.P.E. – of which I am most proud. Teachers deserve the best from us, as we expect the best from them. I have the endorsement of Berkeley Citizens Action, The Green Party of Alameda County, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian (which wrote that I am “the standout in this race.”). I have been endorsed by five Berkeley City Councilmembers (including Vice-Mayor Maudelle Shirek). Sheila Jordan, the County Superintendent of Schools, and Susan Duncan, Trustee on the Peralta Community College Board have recognized my commitment to quality public education and have endorsed me. 

My son currently attends Willard Middle School, which has allowed me the privilege of working directly in the classrooms and serving on the site committees, as well as serving as site representative on the Berkeley Schools Excellence Projects Planning and Oversight Committee. The past two years I have served as Co-Chair of that Committee (reviewing and advising the School Board on the allocation of about $8.5 million per year), which has earned me the endorsement of Co-Chair Nancy Riddle and PTA Council Co-President Mark Coplan.  

Serving last year on the Superintendent’s Blue Ribbon Budget Committee has extended my knowledge of the District budget process, with all its flaws. I have served as Chair of the City of Berkeley’s Community Environmental Advisory Commission. I have been a member of the District-wide Music Committee since 1994, helping to solidify and expand our elementary music program for all our students at all our schools when there was a move to limit it to magnet-schools or a limited number of sites.  

Because I care deeply about the equity of education, and opportunities for all our students, I worked last year to inform the Berkeley community and to galvanize community support about threats to the District’s 32 plus year commitment to integration in our Berkeley public schools; the School Board, by a 3-2 vote, approved continuing our integration policy on a year-to-year basis. I have worked hard and long for the good of all our students in the Berkeley schools because I believe that what is good for my son is good for all students, and ultimately what is good for all students is good for my son.  

Remember also to vote against state Proposition 38 and support Measures AA and BB here in Berkeley. 

John Selawsky 

candidate Berkeley School Board 

Breland helped reduce crime in neighbor 

Dear Editor, 

I am writing to express my support for Margaret Breland's re-election to District 2. Four years ago, when Ms. Breland took office, our neighborhood had a serious problem with prostitution taking place along San Pablo Avenue at the intersections with our neighborhood. Thanks to community meetings that Ms. Breland sponsored and chaired, we were able to voice our concerns to the police department's Area Coordinator for West Berkeley. I now find it ironic that the police have chosen to endorse Ms. Breland's opponent, when they know that Margaret has worked with them to lower the crime rate in West and South Berkeley. 

We are grateful to Margaret for bringing us this opportunity to solve a serious problem. Her persistent efforts to help us rid our neighborhood of this type of crime demonstrate her commitment to making West and South Berkeley a more livable community. I urge everyone in the district to vote for Margaret on Nov. 7. 

Cloé Guesdon 

West Berkeley Resident 

Foldvary will eliminate root causes of ills 

Editor: 

Because Democrats and Republicans create social problems such as poverty, pollution, and conflict with their policies, and because Fred Foldvary's libertarian solutions will eliminate the causes and remedy these social ills, District 9 voters who do not vote for Foldvary for Congress will be morally responsible for helping to cause poverty, pollution, congestion, 

high housing costs, and crime. To avoid this moral blame, you must vote in Foldvary for Congress. Media that do not publicize this will also be culpable for the social problems that plague us. Voters must be made aware of this fundamental choice and then decide whether to cause social problems or remedy them. (Those voting for the Natural Law candidate for Congress would also be absolved of responsibility - vote for the minor party of your choice!) 

Fred Foldvary 

Berkeley  

Sweeney knows city’s transportation issues 

Editor: 

Mr. James Sweeney is the only AC Transit candidate who lives in Berkeley and knows the issues here. He is the only candidate who actually attended any measure B meetings and supported Measure B with a personal donation.  

Sweeney’s experience includes being a manager/consultant to UC Communications and Transportation Department. The fact that he is the executive director of Oakland Independence Support Center and serves the dually diagnosed mentally disabled homeless, is a constant reminder of those in the society who are transit dependent.  

He strongly supports the maintenance and expansion of para - transit services for our seniors and disabled. He also supports a commitment to weekend and late bus service to assist our youth.  

James Sweeney’s credentials include a bachelor’s degree from UC Riverside, and a juris doctorate from UC Davis. He is currently chair of the board of trustees for New College of California in San Francisco.  

The Mayor of Berkeley, Shirley Dean endorsed Sweeney as well as the Mayor of Richmond, Rosemary Corbin, the Mayor of San Pablo, Barbara Vigil, the former Mayor of Albany and former AC Transit representative, Ruth Ganong, Alameda County Supervisors Keith Carson and Mary King, Berkeley city council members Betty Olds and Margaret Breland, and former Berkeley AC Transit director Jerry Wiggins.  

Frank Davis 

President 

Black Properties Owner Association 

Berkeley 

Nader should help Gore 

Editor: 

I think it is a disgrace that Ralph Nader will not release his votes to Al Gore. The Republican party is playing into it and couldn’t be happier.  

Each vote for Nader is a vote for Bush. It is sickening to think of George W. Bush being president for the next four to eight years.  

Andree Leenaer Smith 

Berkeley 

Berkeley residents have long demonstrated pride in their library system by showing overwhelming support at the ballot box. On Nov. 7 they will have the opportunity to do it again. Twice. 

Berkeley libraries are open seven days a week and offer the community many services. Besides lending over 500,000 books, magazines, tapes and videos, libraries provide other services including job training, computer access and children’s reading programs. 

Berkeley residents will decide on two library measures next Tuesday. One asks voters to re-authorize the library tax that will continue the current level of service in the city’s five libraries and the other would partially provide much-needed funds to renovate, upgrade and expand the four branches. 

Library officials estimate Berkeley’s library system needs $15 million worth of renovations, upgrades and expansions. Measure P would authorize the City Council to issue $5.2 million, or 35 percent of the estimated remodeling costs, in general obligation bonds. Like all general obligation bonds, the measure would have to pass by a two-thirds vote. 

However, if the measure passes, the bonds would be issued only when the city secures the other 65 percent of the estimate in matching funds. Sources would be the state, under Proposition 14 the State Library Bond Act or private donations and grants.  

“This is a win-win measure,” said the library’s branch service manager, Audrey Powers, “The bonds will not be issued unless we secure matching funds from either the state or other sources.” 

State Proposition 14 was passed last spring and will make available approximately $330 million for library renovation projects to qualifying cities. To apply for funds, cities must first raise 35 percent of their construction estimates through general obligation bonds. If library system applicants are approved by a state board they will receive 65 percent of construction costs.  

Cities across the state are putting library renovation measures on local ballots in order to be eligible for Proposition 14 funds.  

According to Berkeley library officials, 87 percent of Berkeley voters supported the proposition last spring. According to state election result records, Alameda County passed the proposition with 70 percent voter approval that was close to the statewide 69 percent. 

“The citizens in Berkeley clearly support library renovation,” Powers said.  

There were no arguments against Measure P on the ballot.  

Powers said the branch libraries, one of which has not been upgraded since it was built in 1936, are in need of renovations.  

“Our highest priority is to improve access for the disabled in all the branches,” Powers said. She said none of the branch libraries, except the Claremont Branch, are up to Americans with Disabilities Act standards. 

Powers said up to 1,000 people use the 64-year-old North Branch each day and there can be up to 200 children in a single youth reading program. She said there would be some modest expansion to create group meeting rooms. “We have people hanging off the rafters and to accommodate the kids we have to rearrange furniture and shelves,” she said.  

Other projects would include new plumbing, wiring and computer infrastructure. Measure P will cost the average Berkeley property owner about $1 per month. 

Measure V 

Measure V will ensure that Berkeley Public Libraries will be able to continue providing the same level of service. Measure V asks for re-authorization of a special tax approved by voters for the first time as the Library Relief Act in 1980. Special taxes are used for only one purpose and in this case it’s to maintain the city’s library system.  

As of 1988, the library tax is required by the Gann Initiative Two to be re-approved by voters every four years. Voters have upheld the tax three times since then. 

The measure will not raise taxes other than a slight increase to allow for inflation. If Measure V passes it will authorize the city to use the library tax funds through 2004. Also the city will be allowed to spend $9.7 million for fiscal year 2000-01. 

If Measure V, the soul source of support for the libraries, fails, it could mean a financial crisis for the Berkeley Public Library system because there are no funds allocated in the city’s general fund for library support. 

There are two arguments against measure V listed on the ballot. Opponents wrote that the reason the city needs a library tax is because of the City Council’s reckless spending. They said the possible passage of the measure “is akin to handing an alcoholic a blank check for more drinks in the hope it will end his craving.” 

The letter also says Berkeley’s annual budget was $69 Million in 1982 and that it has now more than tripled to $214 million and claims city services have “drastically declined.”  

The letter is signed by Mealie Morris of the California Neighborhood Association.  

The other argument against Measure V is signed by five individuals among which is John Denton, a former Berkeley Councilmember. Denton said he is not against the city’s libraries but rather the City Council’s excessive spending and their failure to plan for the future. “If they planned ahead they would easily be able to support the libraries out of the general fund,” he said. “As far as this City Council is concerned there’s no place for economy when it comes to the libraries.”  

Both Measures P and V are endorsed by more than 185 individuals and organizations, including the mayor and entire City Council, Board of Education and the Downtown Berkeley Association.

As more and more people move into Alameda County, residential and commercial developments are pushing into the area’s open spaces. 

On Nov. 7, voters will find two measures on the county ballot that claim to slow urban sprawl.  

Measures C and D have different plans to save the county’s landscape, and are in direct competition with one another. If both measures are passed Tuesday, the one with the most votes will prevail. 

The measures aren’t just trying to save the county’s pretty views. They’re part of an ongoing struggle to find a balance that supports farming, industry, affordable housing, and the environment. While economic growth in the county may be good for business, it has also led to a bitter struggle over new land development. 

“Right now, there’s a tidal wave of sprawl in eastern Alameda County,” said Steve Bloom of the Sierra Club, who helped draft Measure D. “We’ve come to the point where we have to decide whether the remaining space will be preserved or given over to sprawl.” 

Although both measures claim to curb growth, they represent the bitter struggle over how it should be done. Measure C is primarily backed by business and farmers. Measure D gets most of its support from environmental groups. 

Measure D supporters collected 63,000 signatures to require Alameda county to stop the spread of cities like Livermore and Dublin. “It doesn’t make growth impossible,” said Bloom. “It just makes it difficult.”  

Bloom said the measure forces cities to revise their growth plans to avoid spreading beyond their current boundaries. He said under Measure D, a city would have to annex new land to grow outward, and do so without subsidy from the county.  

One project that would be wiped out by Measure D is the planned construction of 12,500 homes in North Livermore, not yet a part of the city of Livermore. Tom O’Malley, president of the Tri-Valley Business Council, which got Measure C on the ballot, said the cancellation would be inappropriate. He said new growth boundaries should mark where previously-approved expansions end.  

“Measure C represents a build-out of approved general plans,” O’Malley said. He said the measure develops growth boundaries, but doesn’t infringe on growth that cities are already counting on. “These general plans have been through the public process,” he said.  

O’Malley said Measure C represents the needs of the community of Eastern Alameda County, and preserves the farmland and wildlife habitat. Measure C proponents say measure D will cause city housing costs to skyrocket, and will require county-wide voting for trivial changes in land use.  

Bloom said measure C is “an utter fraud.” He said it’s intended to look like it will slow growth, but it will actually give developers a free hand. Bloom said he’d rather see both measures fail than have measure C put into effect. 

A Berkeley teen-ager who disappeared Halloween night is still missing, according to police. 

Faith Brown, 15, 5 feet 4 inches tall, 160 pounds, was last seen near Sacramento and Julia streets at about 9 p.m. Tuesday.  

Brown was wearing her hair in a pony tail and dressed in a “ghetto spy” costume, wearing all black, with a fur coat. 

Her mother Elvita White said a neighbor stopped by and told her that Faith was down the street with a young man and “seemed disoriented.” White and the neighbor went to get her, but when they reached the corner she and the young man were gone. 

“Nobody recognized the young man and friends said that (Faith) didn’t even know her name,” White said. 

The last time White saw her daughter was about 5 p.m. 

“She was happy,” White said. “She was going to Iceland with her twin sister, Hope, and some friends and then trick-or-treating.” 

White said that she got separated from her sister at about 6:30 p.m. near their home in the 1500 block of Julia Street. 

Berkeley Police Sergeant Steve Odom of Youth Services said Thursday that the department had begun to distribute flyers that day with the girl’s description. 

Odom said Youth Services receives about 30 missing youth reports a month. 

“Ninety-nine percent of them turn up within 72 hours but until then we treat it very seriously. We have generated more than 250 flyers and are actively looking for clues.” 

Anyone with information about Faith Brown should call the Berkeley Police Youth Services Dept. at 981-5715. 

The City Council on Oct. 24 approved steps a citizens committee and city officials will take in an attempt to find design alternatives to an existing 170-foot communications tower next to the public safety building neighbors have nicknamed the “Oil Rig.” 

The triangular tower, with 13 vertical antennas, was built to enable the police and fire departments to communicate with their field personnel. The structure was designed to withstand a major earthquake.  

Neighbors have complained the tower destroys views and hurts home values. In addition they are concerned the electromagnetic radiation that would emanate from the tower may be a health hazard. Currently the tower is not in operation. 

The City Council has allocated $50,000 for a consultant who will prepare a study to examine alternatives. The content of the study will be determined by city staff and a six-member citizens committee.  

“The tower is just too demanding of your attention, it overwhelms the neighborhood,” said Carrie Sprague, a member of the approved six-member citizens committee and tower neighbor who is working with the city to find a solution to the tower design. 

The committee is currently considering a draft report outlining the issues the consultant will address. The draft, prepared by the Office of Capital Improvements, includes a thorough examination of the health risks presented by electromagnetic radiation, the possibility of moving or dispersing the tower and the possibility of camouflage. The study will also present a cost estimates for each option. 

Sprague said the committee is adamant that the tower’s visual impact must be addressed. One way of accomplishing that is to disperse the antennae to several locations in the vicinity of the Public Safety Building. 

Sprague said the committee understands the tower must remain in the area for technical reasons. “We know the tower won’t be moving and we would not inflict our tower on any other neighborhood,” she said. 

Sprague added that whoever is hired as the consultant will have to have experience in tower dispersal. 

City project manager, Joe Derie said he will meet with the citizens committee Nov. 8 and they will hash out the consultant’s responsibilities. “Once everybody is happy with the wording in the draft, we’ll go back to the City Council for their blessing and the next step is to find a consultant.” 

Derie said he did not want to estimate the cost of any of the mitigation options and that the city did not prefer one solution over another. “We want the neighborhood to be happy and that’s why we’re hiring a consultant.” 

Philosophical differences between faculty and teachers at Berkeley High School may have had an effect on the turn out of Thursday’s mock election, Helene Lecar, League of Women Voters educational liaison said. 

According to Lecar, this year’s student voter turnout was significantly lower than at previous mock elections. 

Lecar said that only 340 of the schools’ 3,500 students cast their vote this year compared to more than 700 during the previous election. 

“The difference this year was that some teachers chose to give students the opportunity to register in class and brought them to the polling booth and some did not. Leaving it entirely up to them, just like in the real world.” 

What many teachers may not have known is that this year the mock election was being sponsored by CNN nationwide. The mock election, which operates under rules set down by Congress, was designed to teach students and teachers about the voting process and the benefits of civic participation by involving them in a realistic stimulation of all aspects of the electoral process. 

“It’s unfortunate that so many students didn’t have that opportunity,” Lecar said. “But, maybe when they hear the results it will be a wake up call.” 

According to CNN the mock election drew more than 1 million voters, the majority of which voted for republican candidate George W. Bush. A technical problem, created by the large volume of participants, made the exact count unavailable at press time. 

“Students Natalie Magana and Anya Lopez were disappointed that they were turned away at the polling booth. 

“I wasn’t aware that the election was even happening. My second period teacher doesn’t always read the bulletin because it’s so long and by the time I figured it out the registration date had passed,” Magana said. 

Ben Giustine, 15, said that he didn’t vote because he didn’t know it was going to make such an impact. 

“I should’ve registered and voted. I didn’t have any of the information and no one let me in on where to go and what to do.” 

One teacher commented that in the real world people don’t register in groups and they don’t vote in groups. 

“If you don’t register, you can’t vote. That’s how it is in the real world.”

The state’s beleaguered Department of Motor Vehicles is looking to several big companies to help improve customer service. 

It’s part of a “DMV of the Future” project that will include shorter lines and more ways to get information, including over the phone and Internet. 

The department is looking to companies famous for their customer service to give them a few pointers. Disney, Nordstrom, and Southwest Airlines have been contacted. 

High-tech company Cisco Systems has also been asked to give department officials some ideas about how to boost Internet services, which could lead to fewer people stuck in long lines. 

It is unclear how much the project will cost, but state officials say the emphasis on customer service is important because Californians deal with the DMV more often than any other state agency.

ROHNERT PARK — A Sacramento man sought in the shooting of an 8-year-old boy and his father in an El Dorado County marijuana garden was arrested by Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies. 

The shootings occurred Oct. 8 when William Hunt, 42, and Matthew Hunt, 8, wandered into the pot farm while hunting deer on the Hunt family’s land. Both were treated and released from a nearby hospital. 

Investigators found about 1,200 harvested marijuana plants in the area and one man was arrested by El Dorado County deputies. 

But alleged garden owner Silvestre Gonzalez remained at large until Wednesday night, when he was pulled over near Rohnert Park by Sonoma County deputies. 

Gonzalez was booked for investigation of attempted homicide and carrying a loaded gun, a stolen assault rifle and six pounds of marijuana worth about $20,000, officials said.

SACRAMENTO — Carol Pope, a recently divorced single mother, was just out “browsing and wishing” for a new house when a real estate agent told her there was someone who would give her the money for a downpayment. 

Pope had a steady job at Sutter Health, where she’d worked for nine years, but she didn’t have the savings to cover the 3 percent down-payment required for a Federal Housing Administration loan. 

“It was hard saving the money, being a single parent,” said Pope, who works as a technician in the workers’ compensation department and has a daughter. 

Without the gift from the Sacramento-based Nehemiah Corp., which gives low-income home buyers the downpayments on FHA-guaranteed loans, Pope said she’d still be renting. 

But FHA officials say consumer complaints and possible abuse have led them to consider banning that financing technique, even though it helps the very people FHA programs target. A decision is expected by mid-month. 

The proposal would drastically affect the Nehemiah Corp., a nonprofit organization that grants gifts to those who have good credit and a steady income, but don’t make enough to save a downpayment. 

The program is funded by a 4 percent fee the property seller or home builder pays Nehemiah. Three-fourths of that fee is put into a trust fund for future gifts and one-fourth goes toward Nehemiah’s administrative costs. 

Under the proposed rule, buyers would not be able to use a gift from a nonprofit or charitable organization if the money came from the builder or seller, either directly or indirectly. 

FHA officials are concerned that the selling price is inflated to cover that fee, leaving the agency guaranteeing a loan that’s worth more than the property, FHA Commissioner William Apgar said. 

The FHA has had reports of companies offering two prices for the same house – with a higher price listed for FHA-approved buyers in gift programs, Apgar said. 

“Nehemiah has developed a pretty nice process, but not all the imitators have the same degree of community involvement and care that the Nehemiah people have,” Apgar said. 

People who put little or nothing down on a mortgage are considered risky for lenders because they don’t have much invested in the property, he said. 

The gift programs target low-income or first-time buyers who aren’t “the most sophisticated of buyers,” Apgar said. 

“You have to have safeguards so these people don’t get bamboozled,” he said. 

The 5-year-old Nehemiah program has given $34.4 million in downpayment subsidies to more than 7,350 families in California, said president and founder Don Harris. Nationwide, the program has helped more than 60,000 families with $200 million in gifts. 

“The largest zero-down loan program in America is getting money from mom and dad,” Harris said. “It doesn’t make sense that you have someone who is creditworthy and working, but are renting because they weren’t born into a family that can hand them a few thousand bucks.” 

Rita and Donald Price say the program was the only way they were able to buy a house. Rita Price earns minimum wage as a full-time caregiver for her husband. 

“My husband is disabled and on Social Security, so our income is limited,” she said. 

There are other companies that offer gifts for downpayments, but Nehemiah is the largest, FHA officials said. 

Apgar and Harris are optimistic that a compromise can be reached that will include greater oversight of the industry. 

Apgar said FHA has started tracking the gift programs, and will eventually be able to tell which programs have higher loan default rates. 

“Clearly, our intention is not to close down the legitimate nonprofit programs,” he said. 

The programs should be required to offer loan counseling for clients, appraisals that ensure the selling price hasn’t inflated the price and appropriate costs “so the buyer doesn’t have a bunch of fees tacked on,” Apgar said. 

Pope, who has been in her house for more than two years, said she still attends Nehemiah workshops on home improvement and gardening. She said she’d hate to see gift programs closed down. 

“There are so many people out there that really need it,” she said. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.hud.gov/ownahm.html 

www.nehemiahcorp.org

OAKLAND — Four Oakland police officers face a combined 49 felony charges including assault, kidnapping and filing false reports in one of the city’s biggest crackdowns on police misconduct. 

The officers – Jude Siapno, 32, Clarence Mabanag, 35, and Matthew Hornung, 28 – were arraigned Thursday in Oakland Superior Court. They wore jackets and ties and did not speak. Frank Vazquez, 43, was out-of-town and did not attend the hearing; a warrant was issued for his arrest, prosecutor David Hollister said. 

None of the officers entered pleas and they were expected to be held in protective custody until a bail hearing Nov. 9. 

The alleged misconduct took place against 10 men between June 13 and July 3 in West Oakland where the officers, who called themselves “The Riders,” patrolled late at night, Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff said Thursday. 

Vazquez and Siapno face the most serious charges of kidnapping and assaulting two men, including one who was beaten in the face, stomach, back and legs while handcuffed. Vazquez and Mabanag later intimidated him when their supervisor asked about his injuries, according to the complaint. 

The officers also were accused of falsely accusing several men of possessing drugs and weapons. 

Mabanag, a training officer, was accused of telling his trainee “not to be a ’snitch’ and that what occurred within the police car stayed within the police car.” Vazquez allegedly told the same man that he should “disregard all police training learned in the police academy, disregard probably cause and arrest suspects on contact without lawful reason,” according to the complaint. 

Mabanag’s lawyer, Michael Rains, said the officers are “both sad and anxious to have their stories heard.” Attorneys for all three officers, who remain on paid administrative leave, said they have seen no evidence backing up any of the charges against their clients. 

Orloff, who does not anticipate additional charges although the investigation is ongoing, said the alleged misconduct has “created a heightened sensitivity in all of us to scrutinize all situations.” 

He said 23 mostly drug possession cases in which the officers were involved have been dismissed. 

Oakland Police Chief Richard Word said he’s confident the four officers’ misconduct was isolated, but the department has implemented additional protections – including a strengthened internal review and early warning system to help prevent future problems. 

He acknowledged, however, that his force faces an uphill battle restoring the public trust. He said the department will grow and learn from this incident. 

“It’s difficult, but you have to take strong and severe action,” Word said. 

The investigation began after a rookie officer who had been on duty about three weeks came forward to his superiors in early July. 

”(He) saw some things going on that he knew weren’t appropriate,” Orloff said. Additional officers and citizens also came forward during the investigation, he said. 

But defense lawyers questioned the informant’s credibility. 

Rains said Mabanag has been with the department 10 years and has worked the same beat for four years. 

“This officer has worked diligently,” he said. “The day (the informant) resigned, he thanked my client, gave him a bottle of wine and said maybe he wasn’t cut out to be a police officer.” 

Hollister refused to comment on those allegations. 

A separate FBI investigation into possible civil rights violations is ongoing, FBI spokesman Andrew Black said.

fLIVERMORE — New research shows that turning hamburger patties once every minute cuts down on the formation of cancer-causing agents while ensuring the demise of harmful bacteria like E. coli. 

The burger findings, published this week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, were the result of work by researchers at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory – where scientists design and develop nuclear weapons. 

“It is the well-done meat that is the problem, but yet the general public is always hearing that you need to cook foods enough to kill bacteria,” said Lawrence Livermore researcher Mark Knize. 

It is a gentle balance between overcooked and just right, Knize said. Meat has to be cooked through to make sure harmful bacteria are killed, but not so well done that cancer-causing chemicals are produced. 

The lab’s food mutagen team found that optimal temperature for burger cooking is 320 degrees, combined with constant aerodynamic flipping techniques, of course, to kill off harmful germs while minimizing the formation of cancer-causing chemicals. 

Hundreds of chemicals are created when meat is cooked. Some chemicals create the smells and tastes that have made hamburgers a dietary staple for many Americans.  

But cancer-causing chemicals called heterocyclic amines also are produced that can be harmful when consumed. 

Other studies by food toxicologists have determined that as much as 30 percent of known cancers may be related to foods we consume. 

The researchers experimented with various pan temperatures and concurred that any cooking heat above 320 degrees is a wasted effort.  

Eight to nine minutes under those conditions should result in the best burger, the lab’s research found, but flipping is the key. 

“We found if you flip every minute you get a reduction (in carcinogens) in all those temperatures that we tested,” said Cynthia Salmon, a member of the research team that worked on the not-so-top-secret burger project for more than a year. 

It’s not the first time the mutagen team has dabbled in the science of the barbecue pit.  

In previous research, the team published advice on avoiding cancer-causing chemicals by marinating chicken. 

WILLITS— When Victoria Titus moved to this small Northern California town, she thought her children would have a safe place to grow up. Now, she says, her family suffers from such ailments as kidney failure and seizures. 

Titus and others in this town billed as “The Gateway to the Redwoods,” blame Remco Hydraulics, a company that polluted for more than 40 years before going bankrupt in 1995. Now Remco’s owners are battling insurance companies over the company’s claims, keeping at bay the money to pay for testing residents who say they’re sick from the pollution. 

In the meantime, the residents wait and worry. 

“I cannot believe that any of that funding can be dependent on the making good of insurance policies,” Jane Gurko, a retired professor, told U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston in a Monday hearing for residents to air their concerns and questions. “I hope in the decree it can be turned around so there’s money for people who’ve actually been affected.” 

About 200 residents of the 5,000-person town claim they suffer from pollution-related ailments. 

A court settlement last year between the city and Whitman Corp. – Remco’s parent company – requires at least $2 million be put in a fund for the medical monitoring of residents. According to the agreement, only insurance money can be used for that fund. 

If the court decides in favor of Whitman, the insurance money left over after Whitman is reimbursed for its expenses – including cleanup of the site – will pay for the residents to be screened to see if they were exposed to toxins that made them sick. But the fund doesn’t provide money for treatment if they indeed are sick from contamination. 

Titus wants to know if the sicknesses that have afflicted her family are, in fact, caused by the company’s dumping. 

“I think they should test us,” she said at the hearing, and many echoed her sentiment. 

The settlement also required Whitman to set up two other funds to compensate for damages to natural resources and the city, and to monitor the site into the future. Both of those funds are empty. Meanwhile, Whitman and the insurance companies haggle in court. 

Few deny that Remco, which made hydraulics equipment for the U.S. Department of Defense, polluted the ground with chromium 6 and other chemicals at its 3.5-acre site and at a couple of other sites around town. But residents and the company differ on the extent and effect of the pollution. 

The site was investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the 1980s as a Superfund site, but it has not made the national priorities list. The city sued Whitman in 1996, a year after the plant – at one time the city’s largest employer – closed. They settled in 1997, but the settlement was amended last year to set up an annual fund from Whitman for cleanup. 

People who live near the contaminated sites and say the pollution made them sick have to prove the chemicals moved from the sites toward them in concentrations that could cause their illnesses.  

The illnesses also have to be the kind people could get from the chemicals. That has yet to be done, said David Drell of the Willits Environmental Center established by local citizens. 

Santa Cruz resident Leslie Hernandez believes the pollution killed her 5-year-old son in 1997, after he played in a nearby creek while the family visited the city. The coroner’s report said the boy, who had mild hemophilia, died from internal bleeding in his stomach. 

“He never had a problem with cuts, scrapes,” Hernandez said. “We believe they dumped and he got runoff residue.” 

Illston dismissed Hernandez’s case, but Erin Brockovich’s law firm has taken Hernandez’s appeal. Brockovich is the law clerk made famous in a movie named after her. 

About 100 residents have sued, said Bill Simpich, one of the attorneys representing them, and another 100 people are expected to sue. 

Illston took the unusual step of leaving her San Francisco courtroom Monday to take a tour of the Remco plant to listen to residents.  

For two hours, she heard resident after resident tell her about waterways that ran yellow with pollution, about waiting when they were children for a truck from Remco to dump what they now believe was polluted water so they could play in it, and about a host of sicknesses they think resulted from this exposure, such as cancer, reproductive problems and migraines. 

Gerald Duncan, a former Remco worker, said he saw the company dump at various sites in the town, “especially at night, especially when it was raining,” to dilute the chemicals. 

“I know this for a fact because I was there,” he said. 

Marilyn Underwood, a toxicologist with the state health department, which is assessing the site, urged Illston to put the medical monitoring fund at the top of her list. 

“It seems like it might be something that would help this community,” she said. 

Barbara Guibard, who represents Whitman, said the company is focusing on cleaning up the site. 

“I think it’s important that studies to date have shown that the site today poses no public health risks,” she said. 

Not all agree that Remco has harmed the community. 

Marvin Hansard, who lives across the street from the site, said he never had any problems with the company in the 28 years he has lived there. 

“I think the environmental problem has been blown out of proportion,” he said. “They’ve done test drills throughout this immediate area but never found anything.” 

Floyd Brandt, principal for the past 10 years of Baechtel Grove School across the street from Remco, said he has never heard complaints from students and has not experienced any problems with Remco. 

“I’m sure there are pollutants in the ground just as there are around any gas station,” he said. “They’ve tested the well waters here, and my understanding is it’s always come back negative.” 

Whitman has set up a court-mandated trust to clean up the site. Over the last two years, Whitman has given the trust $11 million, including a $7 million loan. 

However, that money is just for cleanup. In the future, the amount of money Whitman allocates for cleanup will be negotiated each year, based on need, Guibard said. 

Illston will consider the comments given at the hearing before deciding how the company and the city should continue with their agreement. The next hearing is set for Nov. 17 in Illston’s San Francisco courtroom. 

LOS ANGELES — Support for the death penalty in California has dropped 20 percent in the last decade, according to a Los Angeles Time poll. 

The poll, published Thursday, found that 58 percent of those surveyed supported the death penalty, down from 78 percent in 1990. It also found that 44 percent of residents opposed a moratorium, while 42 percent supported one. 

The findings come at a time of intensifying national scrutiny of capital punishment and the decline is in line with similar trends in other polls. 

In March, a Gallup poll found that 66 percent of Americans back the death penalty, a 19-year low. 

The Times Poll found that opposition to the death penalty in California was strongest among blacks, with 49 percent disapproving and 42 percent approving. Support was strongest among whites, with 66 percent approving and only 30 percent disapproving. 

Gov. Gray Davis has voiced firm support for execution “as a matter of deep conviction.” He has rejected all three requests for clemency that have come before him since he took office in January 1999 and has repeatedly said he opposes a moratorium on executions. 

Lance Lindsey, director of Death Penalty Focus, a San Francisco-based group that opposes capital punishment, said he believes that “a large part of the reaction is a backlash to what is going on in Texas.” 

Texas has executed 232 people – more than any other state – since the Supreme Court permitted the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976. 

California has the nation’s largest death row, with 577 inmates, but has had only eight executions since reinstating capital punishment. 

Experts also believe the findings reflect the growing concern over how the death penalty is administered and the widespread publicity about wrongful convictions around the country — including 13 in Illinois in recent years. 

The Times poll surveyed 1,837 California adults from Oct. 19 to 23 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. 

LOS ANGELES — The indignant minister arrived at the police station to demand answers when an officer fatally shot a black suspect. 

“It had nothing to do with him being black,” a white police official insisted. 

The minister was actor Anthony Lee, playing a role on a 1997 episode of the CBS police-drama “Brooklyn South” that would foretell a deadly irony. 

Lee was shot to death Saturday at a Halloween party when a Los Angeles police officer responding to a noise complaint mistook the actor’s costume gun for a real weapon. 

The slain actor was mourned Wednesday night by some 300 people, including friends and family members, who took part in a Buddhist memorial ceremony at the Los Angeles Friendship Center. 

Among the mourners was Lee’s sister Tina Vogt.  

She told reporters before the ceremony of the irony of her brother’s death, noting he was a devout Buddhist who was devoted to his religion’s teachings of pursuing a peaceful way of life. 

“Despite the violent manner in which he died, my brother was an anti-violent man,” Vogt said. 

The ceremony included chanting and the burning of incense in Lee’s honor. 

Critics question whether the officer overreacted because Lee was black – even though the officer was, too. LAPD officials said they don’t believe race played a role in the shooting. 

The LAPD has struggled to distance itself from race issues such as the 1991 Rodney King beating and the O.J. Simpson double-murder case, in which Det. Mark Fuhrman was discredited by taped interviews of him repeatedly using a racial slur. 

The ongoing Rampart police corruption probe, however, shows that many of the key officers accused of brutalizing and framing suspects in largely black and Hispanic neighborhoods are themselves black or Hispanic. 

Inherent racism within the culture and structure of the LAPD may influence nonwhite officers to distrust or repudiate people of their own race, said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. 

“For years, those of us who do civil rights work thought the answer to police brutality was integration,” Ripston said. “What we see is that black police officers can be as brutal as white officers.” 

Joey Johnson, an anti-police brutality activist with the Stolen Lives Project, a catalog of victims of police shootings, said he believes the officer was mostly frightened of Lee because he was black. 

“If he had been a white person with a toy gun – or real gun for that matter – the police would have thought twice,” he said. “Instead, it’s almost instinctual that they shoot when it looks like a large black man has a gun, regardless of the race of the officer.” 

Lee and three other guests were standing in a brightly lighted back bedroom of a mansion in the affluent Benedict Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles when Officer Tarriel Hopper and a female officer, responding to a noise complaint, arrived to quiet the party. 

After the officers contacted security guards at the home and asked for the owners, the female officer remained in the kitchen while Hopper left to search the rear of the house with a flashlight, said attorney Johnnie Cochran, who is representing Lee’s sister. 

That’s when Hopper saw Lee and three friends through the window. 

The actor held a realistic replica of an Israeli-made semiautomatic handgun as part of his costume.  

Although Lee brought a rubber devil Halloween mask to the party, he was not wearing it when he was shot, witnesses said. 

Hopper told investigators that Lee looked at him and pointed the fake weapon toward the window. Fearing for his life, police officials said, Hopper fired at Lee nine times, killing him. 

Police Chief Bernard C. Parks dismissed the idea that race influenced the shooting.  

Police officials refused to discuss whether Hopper registered the race of the victim before he fired. 

The fact that Hopper is black, Parks said, seems to discount fears that the victim was shot because he was black.  

Any officer in that situation, he added, would have mistaken Lee’s fake gun for a real weapon and respond with deadly force. 

Even Cochran concedes race might be irrelevant in the case. He has blamed the shooting on “tactics and strategies gone awry.” 

Hopper has been placed on paid leave while the department and county district attorney’s office investigate the shooting. 

Police culture often can affect the way black, Hispanic or Asian officers view communities that are largely nonwhite, said researcher Darnell F. Hawkins, of the University of Illinois at Chicago. 

Those officers might become predisposed to using force against others of their own race because they often are assigned to high-crime, ethnic neighborhoods, he said. 

Minority officers may not even realize they have developed prejudices, said Hawkins, a professor of African American studies and sociology who has written extensively on race and crime. 

Research shows officers react faster and with more force when confronted with people of color, he said. 

In the Lee shooting, however, Hawkins cautioned that it’s possible the officer focused only on the apparent gun in the victim’s hand – not his skin color. 

“Police are taught to shoot,” he said. “And even though they are trained, they get scared when they feel their lives are threatened.” 

LOS ANGELES — The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday said it will seek a temporary restraining order to prevent Secretary of State Bill Jones from shutting down vote-swapping Web sites. 

Three sites voluntarily shut down this week after Jones told one of the operators they were violating state election laws. The ACLU, however, said the practice constitutes free speech and probably wouldn’t have been challenged if promoted through a more traditional medium such as newspaper or radio. 

“The ACLU will not allow the Internet to become the First Amendment punching bag for every government official,” said Peter Eliasberg, staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California. 

The sites have turned up in recent weeks. Many are aimed at supporters of Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader, seen as a threat to siphon votes from Democrat Al Gore. Democrats fear those voters could decide the election in states that are too close to call. 

The Web sites allow users to discuss a strategy called vote-swapping. 

A Nader supporter in a hotly contested state, for example, would contact a Gore supporter in a state that is considered safe for Republican George W. Bush. The Nader supporter would agree to vote for Gore in exchange for the Gore backer casting a vote for Nader. 

The online barter could allow Gore to win some swing states while giving the Green Party the 5 percent of the national vote it needs to gain federal campaign money in 2004. 

The creators of one such site, www.voteswap2000.com, said they were contacted by Jones’ office and told they were violating state law. The site remained closed on Thursday. 

Jones’ office said the state Election Code prohibits offering payment or any other “valuable consideration” to voters. 

“What they were doing was brokering the exchange of votes,” Secretary of State spokesman Shad Balch said. “You can’t swap your vote. It’s not a commodity. This constitutes fraud.” 

The ACLU said discussing or agreeing to a voting strategy is different from offering or receiving payment for a vote. The sites’ political message “qualifies them for the highest level of protection under the First Amendment...,” Eliasberg said. 

Erwin Chemerinsky, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Southern California, also disagrees with Jones’ interpretation of the law. 

“What’s going on at these sites isn’t like some kind of contract. No one is giving up their vote,” he said. “All that is going on is free speech.” 

Named as plaintiffs will be the operators of www.voteexchange2000.com, as well as several people who attempted to access the vote-swapping sites but found they were shut down. 

“I’m here because I believe in my First Amendment right and my rights to discuss with whomever I want about political issues that affect me,” said Scott W. Tenley, a University of California, Los Angeles law student. 

——— 

On the Net: 

ACLU: www.aclu.org 

Secretary of State: www.ss.ca.gov 

www.voteswap2000.com 

www.NaderTrader.org 

www.voteexchange.com 

www.voteexchange.org 

www,winwincampaign.org 

http://winchell.com/NaderTrader 

NEW YORK — Virtual reality studios, interactive games and 3-D graphics – a presidential election night traditionally lets network news divisions trot out plenty of high-tech gadgetry and stars for prime-time exposure. 

This year grateful TV networks are looking forward to a new wrinkle: an actual competitive race. 

“This has been a banner year for my favorite theory in American politics – the UFO theory, the unforeseen will occur,” NBC’s Tom Brokaw said. “I don’t remember one like this.” 

Brokaw will be the anchor for NBC’s Election Night coverage Tuesday, as he has been since 1976.  

His two chief competitors, ABC’s Peter Jennings and CBS’ Dan Rather, have been ringmasters for their networks since the 1984 election. 

They are all preparing for the possibility of a very late night before the White House race between George W. Bush and Al Gore is decided. 

ABC is experimenting this year with interactive elements. It will try to poll viewers through computer and will even ask people to participate in a political trivia contest. 

“I don’t think there’s any rule that says politics can’t be fun,” said Paul Friedman, executive vice president of ABC News. 

The hot competition for most-watched network is likely to be between ABC and NBC. By one important barometer – evening news ratings – Brokaw has been on top this year, but more viewers watched the presidential debates on ABC. 

With ratings low for many of the year’s big political events, many in television believe the same will be true Election Night.  

An average of 24.9 million homes were tuned in to the returns in 1996, the second-lowest since 1960, according to Nielsen Media Research. 

More ominously, a higher percentage of viewers watched something else on TV other than election returns four years ago than ever before, Nielsen said. 

“The rhythm of the race will dictate to a certain extent what the audience is,” Rather said.  

“If it’s cardiac arrest time for both sides as we head to the Pacific coast, the audience will be quite large.” 

Viewers will have more options to watch returns.  

Fox is covering Election Night for the first time ever, simulcasting with Fox News Channel. Financial commentator Louis Rukeyser anchors CNBC’s coverage, emphasizing how the election affects the economy. PBS coverage begins at 10 p.m. 

It is also the first time three cable news networks will be competing. CNN promises 24 hours of election coverage, starting at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. MSNBC’s coverage will be anchored by Brian Williams. 

The boldest alternative for people who don’t like politics is on USA, which premieres the movie “Chippendales Murder.” 

NBC’s Brokaw is hoping for a night as exciting as 1960 when, as a college sophomore, he stayed up past dawn to see the Kennedy-Nixon returns come in. Watching Chet Huntley and David Brinkley was a pivotal night for him. 

“I had this kind of epiphany that that’s what I wanted to do with my life,” he said. “I wanted to be one of those guys who see the world and cover politics.” 

The Associated Press 

WASHINGTON — Attacks against Ralph Nader are mounting from groups once closely aligned with his views but now angered by his refusal to get out of Democrat Al Gore’s way in Tuesday’s election. 

But the Green Party candidate, a possible spoiler in closely contested states, remained defiant Thursday in the face of criticism from environmentalists, organized labor, gays and abortion-rights groups that he could tip the election to Republican George W. Bush. 

“What are these people doing?” he asked. “They’re going around the country trying to salvage Al Gore’s campaign.” 

Nader urged supporters in Seattle not to be swayed by “surrogates of Al Gore.” 

“These are the same surrogates who couldn’t get their calls returned from the Clinton-Gore administration for eight years,” Nader told the rally. 

The Sierra Club, National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, the National Organization for Women, the gay-rights Human Rights Campaign and the leading public sector union have joined at least 20 Democratic senators and congressmen in stumping for Gore. 

The cross talk has grown bitter, mainly over Nader’s insistence that there’s no major difference between the two leading candidates. 

“If he can’t see the difference between Gore and Bush, it’s pretty pathetic,” said Toby Moffett, a former Democratic member of Congress from Connecticut and Nader colleague. 

Moffett and other former Nader associates have posted ads in college newspapers and done radio interviews to try to convert Nader votes into ones for Gore. 

Nader was urged to drop out in a letter by George Becker, president of the United Steelworkers of America, who described the longtime consumer activist and himself as “steadfast allies.” 

Any advances in workers’ rights, wages and turning back corporate influence in government would be reversed with a Bush victory, Becker said. 

“It would be tragically ironic if your dedication to principle should ultimately result in the further domination of our political process by the very forces of corporate greed that we have both worked so hard to restrain,” he said. 

Nader was hearing none of it. 

Attacking the vice president’s environmental record, he said Gore’s about-face on a waste incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio, was reason enough for environmental groups to rescind their endorsement of the Democrat. 

“Gore made the sensible decision to oppose the incinerator in 1992, promised that a test-burn permit would not be issued, and then turned around and told the Bush administration to issue the permit before he took office,” Nader said. 

“This is an unbelievable betrayal by Al Gore,” he said in Seattle, before heading to another campaign stop in Denver. 

Nader averages about 4 percent in national polls, but he gets more in close-race states where much of his support comes from voters who might otherwise back Gore. 

He’s been variously annoyed and amused by all the pressure on him from fellow liberals, Democrats and even a dozen former “Nader’s Raiders.” He argues that if Bush happens to win, that will spark a progressive movement that will serve their causes down the road. 

Ralph Neas, president of the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way, disputed that, saying in a letter that Bush could “turn back the clock for decades” by achieving a right-wing lock on the Supreme Court. 

The appeals by Gore supporters have had the unintended effect of raising Nader’s profile and boosting his fund-raising efforts. His campaign raised $155,000 in Web donations alone over the last two days; not bad considering it has raised only $7 million all year. 

“The focus on Nader in the last week of the campaign has helped us get his message out there in ways that it wasn’t getting out before,” said Nader spokesman Tom Adkins. “So I think all this is going to help us, to be honest with you.”

RENO, Nev. — For David Peri, onions always have been pretty basic. They come out of the ground. 

It’s been that way since 1979 when Peri planted his first crop in Mason Valley.  

Since then, Peri & Sons Farms has grown into the do-it-yourself king of the onion world. 

Peri, with 1,200 acres, runs the nation’s largest soil-to-supermarket onion operation – planting, growing, harvesting, packing and shipping. He does just about everything to be done with onions, short of placing slices on hamburgers. 

This fall, Peri is adding something to the process – high technology. 

The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is using Peri’s fields to experiment with “precision farming,” employing satellites, receivers, computers and other gadgets to, he hopes, grow more, better and cheaper onions. 

“I’m the guinea pig,” Peri said. 

It’s a big step for Peri who believes in some old-fashioned methods. 

On most farms, onions are machine harvested. Peri’s Nevada High Desert Onions are picked by hand. 

“You have less bruising,” he said. 

But Peri is willing to try some 21st century techniques. Precision farming, tried with success extensively in the breadbasket Midwest, is relatively new to the arid Great Basin. 

“I’m not aware of any other projects in northern Nevada,” said Bill Chounet, a Yerington-based agriculture consultant who’s developing the program with Peri and the cooperative extension. 

The extension assists the state’s ranchers and farmers, some of whom might adopt precision techniques if they prove successful with Peri. 

This year’s onion crop, grown without satellites and computers, is being processed. Results of the high-tech program, which is based on precise mapping of Peri’s fields, won’t show up until next fall. 

“There should be increased yields and reduced costs for fertilizers,” said Loretta Singletary, an agriculture economist for the cooperative extension. 

Soil research started in September and continues this month as Peri prepares his fields for spring planting. 

The satellite mapping system allows Peri to analyze soil in different parts of his fields and determine which fertilizers to apply in various locations. 

Before technology, Peri, like many farmers, did random soil samples and from those selected a fertilizer for an entire field. 

Since most dirt looks the same, mapping removes the guesswork, allowing farmers taking samples to know exactly how it compares with the rest of the field. It also lets them return to the same spots later for additional tests. 

“It’s just like in your back yard,” Chounet said. 

“You can take a (soil) sample in a spot and the next year you want to go back and see how you did. You go back and scratch your head and say, Where did I take it? Your information isn’t as good.” 

Equipment for the precision farming project includes a portable receiver, similar to a small television satellite dish, which receives the tracking signals from space. The system can pinpoint sampling locations within about three feet. The signal information is recorded so the sample spots can be found again. 

“If we put a pound of nitrogen (fertilizer) on a square foot of ground, we can go back and look at the (crop) yield on it with comfort that we are in the same exact spot,” Chounet said. 

When it’s time for next year’s onion harvest, Peri will be able to look at the yields from sections of his fields where particular fertilizers were spread, then analyze the results. 

Instead of using satellite signals, Peri could pound sticks in the ground to remember the sample locations. 

But “you can’t leave a stake in the field,” he said. “With harvesting the crop, the chance of that stake staying there is pretty slim.” 

Along with increasing efficiency and reducing costs, precision farming could help the environment by reducing fertilizer runoff into rivers and streams. 

“The water quality has yet to be determined,” Singletary said. “It would take more than one farmer.” 

Finding more guinea pigs might be difficult because precision farming is expensive. The technology can cost from $30,000 to $250,000, depending on how much a farmer wants to do. 

Since the onion project is experimental, Peri is getting a lot of free assistance. The program is costing him about $3,000. 

“We are going to try to measure the change in yields,” Singletary said of the programs immediate goal. “I think (growing) more onions is what we’ll focus on.” 

JOLO, Philippines — At least seven people were injured when shells fired by the military against a Muslim rebel group holding two hostages hit an evacuation center on a southern Philippine island, victims said Thursday. 

At least two cannon shells landed late Wednesday on a school building and two others landed near a flag pole at the school in Patikul town on Jolo island being used as temporary shelter by civilians fleeing clashes between soldiers and members of the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf. 

There was no immediate comment from army spokesmen. 

Norinda Alih, one of those wounded, said she and the others were preparing to go to sleep when the shelling started. 

Alih, who was hit by shrapnel in the chest, was taken to a hospital in Jolo’s capital. 

The military said 151 rebels have been killed and 157 others have surrendered since a rescue operation for 19 hostages was launched Sept. 16. Six soldiers and three government militiamen have also been killed in more than 80 clashes, the military said. 

Seventeen of the hostages have been recovered during the rescue operation, leaving only American Jeffrey Schilling and Filipino Roland Ulla still in rebel hands. 

The Abu Sayyaf says it is fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines, but the military regards it as a bandit gang. 

WASHINGTON — Department of Veterans Affairs employees are suing the government, accusing the VA of breaching their privacy by giving fellow workers and some patients access to their Social Security numbers and dates of birth. 

The class-action suit on behalf of the VA’s 180,000 employees seeks $1,000 for each one, the minimum amount under the 1974 Privacy Act. If successful, that would total about $180 million. 

The suit says that through an internal patient record system, employees’ personal information appeared along with the medical information on patients. Workers at any VA facility could check up on VA workers anywhere else, said the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Wisconsin last month. It said there were no warning screens or logs of who accessed the information. 

Jim Bensen, a VA spokesman, declined Thursday to comment on the suit’s details. 

“We take the issue very seriously, not just veteran information but also employee information,” Bensen said. 

Employees said they were worried about more than fellow workers peeking at their private information. 

“We even have patients who pull this information up,” said Sandy Bond, a plaintiff who works at a VA hospital in Leavenworth, Kan. “Incentive therapy job patients have access to the computer. These people are convicts, substance abusers, (people with) mental illnesses.” 

The allegations follow a House committee hearing in September in which lawmakers grilled VA officials about lax computer security.  

Witnesses said that during a planned test, hackers could break into VA computers and quickly gain full access to any VA system, including billing privileges and the personal records of any veteran. 

The department has planned an “Information Security Stand Down” on Friday for all VA employees. Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Hershel W. Gober will speak to the department’s employees via closed-circuit television about the importance of computer security. 

Rep. Terry Everett, R-Ala., who convened the September hearing, said he could not comment on pending litigation. Everett, who chairs the House Veterans Affairs oversight subcommittee, said in a statement that he was aware of the allegations, and his panel “is continuing to review the matter.” 

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, declined to comment for the same reason. 

Bond, a union leader for the Leavenworth hospital’s workers, learned the problem from a fellow employee earlier this year. Bond filed a grievance that was handled over the summer by an independent arbiter who sided with the employees.  

However, the arbiter had no authority to award damages or attorneys’ fees. Bond and her fellow employees then decided to sue. 

When she told her supervisors about the problem, Bond said she was informed it involved software that affected every VA facility nationwide and would be difficult to fix. 

Since the arbitration, the VA has installed a software patch that blocks out the Social Security numbers and dates of birth for the workers. However, Bond said the information remains available through another software program used by the VA. 

Albert Schmidt, the other named plaintiff, works at a VA hospital in Milwaukee and suspects someone tried to use his information illegally. He said a credit card company’s fraud department contacted him and said a Houston resident tried to open an account with Schmidt’s date of birth and Social Security number. 

“It really scares me,” Schmidt said. “There really is not a way somebody could find my Social Security number and date of birth other than through the VA. They didn’t have my address.” 

Schmidt said he learned from discussions at a federal employees’ conference that it has become standard practice at some VA hospitals for workers to check a new employees’ birth dates to find out how old they are. 

“One person was irate because she was lying about her age for some time,” Schmidt said. “She was very hurt about it. She said she doesn’t like to see her date of birth accessed by other people, even if it’s only to check to see how old (she is).” 

When Bond first brought her complaint to supervisors, she just wanted the problem fixed. Now she says she’s frustrated and saddened by both her employer and Washington officials. She says they failed to help her and her co-workers. 

“I was totally shocked that the VA would do something like this,” she said. ”... I was baffled that the people in D.C. that were supposed to be helping us didn’t even help.” 

——— 

On the Net: Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.va.gov 

Want to know why Bruce Hornsby didn’t disappear – as so many do – after his initial string of pop hits, beginning in 1986?  

Check out his new, two-CD live set, “Here Come The Noisemakers,” or his concert at the Berkeley Community Theater, Saturday. It will soon become clear why Bruce Hornsby is an artist in music as a career, not a one-hit wonder. 

Bruce Hornsby’s shows are highly regarded affairs in which his tightly constructed songs are opened up wide. Many are completely reinvented, a new arrangement improvised on the spot. “Valley Road” was a Southern-inflected ditty, on “Here Come The Noisemakers” it is more a moody power ballad.  

In part because of this type of almost re-composing his songs on the fly, but also because of the wide range of music he is interested in, Hornsby is able to make his shows stylistically diverse.  

His concerts feature songs from the bluegrass, jazz, rock and pop idioms, often in various blends during one song. 

Bruce Hornsby has also begun approaching virtuosity on  

the piano. 

He was a very good piano player when he first hit the charts in 1986. 

By the time the tracks on “Here Come The Noisemakers” were recorded, between 1998 and 2000, Hornsby had become a great piano player.  

The introduction to “The Way It Is” and “King Of The Hill” reveal exceptional improvisational skills that erase the boundaries between jazz and classical playing; here and elsewhere Hornsby proves he’s worked really hard to develop his left hand skills to the point they were on par with his right, while continually raising the bar for both hands.  

One can not really imagine the Bruce Hornsby of 1986 playing a two-week run at Yoshi’s jazz club in Oakland, but by the end of the 1990s it made perfect sense, as the tracks on this collection that were recorded at the world-famous jazz venue demonstrate. 

The band is up for the task, as the bass, drums, guitar, and organ accompanying him are superb in every style; the bass player is especially phenomenal as a jazz soloist.  

Of course Hornsby also adds some accordion to the mix at times, if only to lighten things up. 

Hornsby pays tribute to the influence of the Grateful Dead on his work. 

He had a Dead tribute band with his brother in the mid-70s, long before he joined the Dead for a two year, transitionary period in 1990. 

He does covers of “Lady With A Fan” (from the “Terrapin Station” suite), an almost aching version of “Black Muddy River,” and perhaps most powerfully, by taking the riff from “China Cat Sunflower” and making a whole new dance tune from it, “Sunflower Cat,” and later adding “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry,” a Bob Dylan song the Dead also covered, to the same offbeat boogie groove. 

As a member of The Other Ones (TOO), which features guitarist Bob Weir and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, all of the Grateful Dead, among others, Hornsby seemed to have developed a special musical bond with Bay Area guitarist Steve Kimock (TOO, Zero, Steve Kimock Band).  

The two often seem to share an enhanced sense of musical communication even as ensembles play around them.  

This was true during the TOO tours in 1998 and 2000, as well as when Kimock shared the stage with Hornsby at Yoshi’s in 1998 and 1999, some of which is documented on “Here Comes The Noisemakers.” 

Kimock will again join Hornsby on stage on Saturday night at the BCT. 

Hornsby’s voice often sounds like the very ideal in the idea of Southern hospitality as he explores a wide range of adult emotions in his lyrics. 

“Mandolin Rain” is a watercolor poem depicting a scene and a feeling, for example, while “Rainbow’s Cadillac” is a more cinematic tale of a revivalist preacher and/or snake oil salesman. 

In short, “Here Comes The Noisemakers” is an excellent representation of Hornsby’s recent concerts, which are good reason to be glad he’s in it for the long haul, not a fly-by-night sensation. 

Those attending the concert at the Berkeley Community Theater are likely to experience the same feeling.

A Berkeley resident and criminal attorney who was booked on suspicion of nine felony drug and weapons charges waived his right to arraignment Monday afternoon and is scheduled to enter a plea today in Superior Court in Oakland. 

Michael Moore was arrested early Friday morning at his home in the 1100 block of Glen Avenue in the Berkeley hills as part of a two month investigation conducted by the narcotics division of the Oakland Police Department. 

“We had information which led us to believe Moore had drugs and guns in his house . . . and just followed the trail to Berkeley,” narcotics officer Jim Beere said. 

Police found more than 15 pounds of packaged marijuana, 171 budding marijuana plants that were hung up to dry and several dozen potted plants in Moore’s basement and garage. In addition police said they seized 15 grams of cocaine, 12 grams of hashish and an arsenal of assault weapons including submachine guns and assault pistols. 

“Moore had a elevator lift covered with a throw rug in the kitchen which led us to the basement where most of the drugs were found,” Beere said. “After that he temporarily waived his Miranda rights and showed us where the guns were hidden stating that he didn’t want us to feel ‘uncomfortable’ or get hurt because they were all loaded.” 

According to Beere, this isn’t the first time Moore has been arrested. He has a prior record and has been arrested for transportation of drugs, possession of drugs and two convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol. 

According to Beere, both drug related charges were reduced and he was assigned to a diversion program, rather than being sentenced to jail time. This allowed Moore to continue practicing law. His driver’s license was suspended at the time of arrest for driving under the influence. 

Moore’s attorney, Robert J. Beles, strongly argued his case in the hopes of getting his bail reduced, stating that Moore has Lou Gherigs disease, a disorder that results in muscle deterioration, paralysis and eventually death, and that Moore has a valid prescription for medical marijuana. 

“Michael Moore is a respected citizen and attorney. He is not a drug dealer and was growing marijuana for personal use. He is not a flight risk,” Beles said. 

However, the amount of marijuana found in his home far exceeded the amount Berkeley permits for medical marijuana users, which is 60 budding plants, police said. 

State attorney, Blair Thomas, argued successfully, however, that Moore’s bail be raised from $290,000 to $325,000, the amount the court deemed equal to the crimes he’s suspected of committing. 

Neighbors on the street where Moore has lived for more than 30 years said they were dismayed and horrified when more than 30 drug enforcement agents descended on their neighborhood Friday morning and uncovered the arsenal of weapons and drugs. 

Christine Kenton, who runs Kinderfarm Preschool out of her home two doors down from Moore said she always knew he was an offbeat criminal attorney who represented members of Hell’s Angels, but was shocked to learn that he had weapons in his house. 

“We run a preschool here. Parents were dropping their kids off when the bust went down. Drug enforcement agents were carrying out all these weapons and nobody wants drugs and guns two doors down from where their children are being cared for.” 

As for the marijuana plants found in the house Kenton added that she is a believer in the use of medical marijuana and said she thought Moore suffered from several illnesses. 

Another neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said that she was upset to learn that there were so many weapons in the house and that Moore may have been conducting drug deals there. 

“It was really unsettling to know he may have been bringing unsavory people into the neighborhood. Other neighbors have told me that people were always coming and going at his house.” 

Moore faces a minimum of 12 years in prison if convicted under state law and more than 30 years if the case is tried in Federal court.  

Wednesday, Nov. 1

Kathak Dancing with Pandit Chitresh Das 

7:30 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 

2640 College Ave.  

The Graduate Theological Union presents a free lecture-demonstration with Pandit Chitresh Das, a master of India’s Kathak dance form. Free. 649-2440 

Mountain Adventure Seminar 

In-store, registration required 

6 p.m.-9 p.m. 

Learn about equipment, fundamental climbing techniques and safety procedures. 

$100 REI members, $110 for non members 

To register (209) 753-6556 

Wen Ho Lee: Victim  

of Racial Profiling? 

7 - 9 p.m.  

USF 

252 McLaren Hall 

Fulton St. (at Clayton St.) 

Speakers will include Victor Hwang, managing attorney of the Asian Law Caucus, Kalina Wong, a Lawrence Livermore Lab employee who filed a discrimination suit against the University of California, and Ling-chi Wang, Chair of Asian-American Studies at UC Berkeley. 

Call Patricia Lin, (415) 422-5765  

Task Force on  

Telecommunications 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Dia de los Muertos Ceremony 

6:30 p.m.  

Gathering Tribes 

1573 Solano Ave.  

Pennie holds a simple ceremony to honor those who have passed on out of this world. Remember loved ones with offerings of food and beverages which they enjoyed while on earth.  

“Attic Conversions” 

7 - 10 p.m . 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar taught by architect/builder Andus Brandt.  

$35 

Citizen’s Budget Review  

Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Instructional Technology in Higher Education 

4 - 5:30 p.m.  

Geballe Room, Stephens Hall 

UC Berkeley 

Kenneth C. Green, Founder/Director of the Campus Computing Project speaks on “Compelling, Competing, and Complementary Visions for Instructional Technology in Higher Education.” Free 

Call 642-5040 

Community Action Team 

7 p.m. 

Over 60 Health Center 

3260 Sacramento 

Meet to plan actions to take to reduce the health disparities in the city. 

Board of Education 

7:30 p.m. 

Old City Hall 

Council Chambers, 2nd Floor 

2134 MLK Jr. Way 

Commission on the Status  

of Women 

7:45 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

Among topics to be discussed will be the Mayor’s special study group’s report on domestic violence and a transitional housing zoning proposal by the planning commission.  

Thursday, Nov. 2

PASTForward Panel Discussion 

2 p.m. 

UC Berkeley Art Museum 

Bancroft Way (below College) 

In conjunction with the White Oak Dance Project’s performances, a panel discussion with Judson era dance choreographers Yvonne Rainer and Deborah Hay. Free. 

From Morgan to Modern 

7:30 p.m. 

“Saddling the Site: The Environmental Designs of Wurster, Church and Others” 

The Hillside Club 

2286 Cedar St. 

$10. 841-2242 

Berkeley Metaphysic  

Toastmasters Club 

6:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. 

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysic come together at Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters. Meets first and third Thursdays each month. Call 869-2547 or 643-7645 

Poetry of Goh Poh Seng 

12:10 - 1 p.m.  

Doe Library, Morrison Room  

UC Berkeley  

Part of UC Berkeley’s Lunch Poem Reading Series 

Exploring the Galapagos Islands 

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Amateur photographer John Kokoska presents a slide-show of his recent trip into this unique volcanic landscape of giant tortoises and marine iguanas. Free  

Call Polly Bolling, 527-7377  

Spirit of the Road 

7:30 p.m. 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 

1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 

Don Patton, general editor and Vice President of Publishing for the California State Automobile Association presents a slide show celebrating the first one hundred years of the automobile and the CSA. Free. 

Call 843-3533 for more info.  

BOSS Graduation 

6 - 8 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Oakland 

27th & Harrison 

Oakland 

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency’s graduation gala for poor, disabled, and homeless folks who have worked hard to achieve jobs, housing, education, training, and other milestones. There will be special guests, music, and a buffet. The community are invited. 

Call 649-1930 

Spirit Matters 

4:30 p.m. 

Pacific School of Religion 

1798 Scenic Ave.  

Rabbi Michael Lerner speaks about his new book. 

Call 849-8244 

Housing Advisory Commission  

7:30 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St.  

On the agenda is discussion and comments on Berkeley design advocates’ report on housing.  

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Public Works Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Discussions will include a Capital Improvement Subcommittee report report on possible solutions and recommendations to info/infiltration sewer system.  

Community Environmental Advisory Meeting 

7 p.m. 

2118 Milvia St.  

Second Floor Conference Room  

Discussion of storm water violations.  

American Yoga Winter Teacher Training 

John F. Kennedy University 

Orinda  

Scheduled for Nov. 17 - 19, this three-day seminar features classes that meet the national accreditation standards for yoga teachers. Early Bird deadline for discounted registration is Nov. 3.  

Call Jean Marie Hays, 415-884-0816 or www.americanyogacollege.org 

Friday, Nov. 3

Taize Worship Service 

7:30-8:30 p.m. 

An hour of quiet reflection and song. First Friday of the month. 

Loper Chapel on Dana Street between Durant and Channing Way. 

848-3696 

“Want to Transform your Dreams Into Reality?” 

7:30 p.m. 

Lecture by Leonard Orr, world known for creating the Rebirthing and Conscious Breathwork Movement. 

The Berkeley Friends Church, 1600 Sacramento St. 

$25, 843-6514 

Circle Dancing 

7:45 - 10 p.m. 

Finnish Brotherhoos Hall 

1970 Chestnut St. 

Simple folkdancing in a circle. Beginners welcome and no partners are required.  

Call John Bear, 528-4253 

Who Owns America? 

An Anti-Racism/Oppression Gathering 

2 - 10 p.m.  

UC Berkeley Labor Center 

2521 Channing St.  

Trainings and workshops on identifying racism and oppression and building solutions. Organized by STARC, which is trying to build support on the West Coast. This event runs through Sunday, Nov. 5. Hot meals will be provided.  

$10 

Call 869-2538 

Marga Gomez 

8 p.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Comedian Marga Gomez was one of the founding members of Culture Clash and the Latino comedy ensemble. Part of the La Lesbian performance and film series. 

Call 654-6346 

Women in Black 

Noon - 1 p.m. 

Bancroft at Telegraph 

Women for peace in the Middle East  

Does Asian = Spy? 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Bade Museum  

Pacific School of Religion 

1798 Scenic Ave.  

Professor L. Ling-Chi Wang from UC Berkeley’s Ethnic Studies Department will lecture on the ramifications of the Dr. Wen Ho Lee fiasco.  

Call 849-8224 

“Re-Emerging Japan” 

Luncheon served, 11:15 a.m.  

Speaker, 12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave.  

James R. Lincoln, professor at UC Berkeley’s Haas Business school will speak.  

$11 - $12.25 with luncheon 

$1 general for speaker only, Free to students  

Call 848-3533 

The Next Ivory Trade? The Intellectual Property Rights of University Faculty 

A conference sponsored by the Berkeley Faculty Association/American Association of University Professors Coalition 

9 a.m. tp 3:30 p.m. 

UC Berkeley International House 

841-1997 

Putting Disability in Its Place 

9 a.m. - 7 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Student Union 

Pauley Ballroom 

Civil rights historians, scholars and leading 1960s activists explore the parallels and differences among social movements and how the disability rights movement fits into this larger context.  

Call 548-6608 

Saturday, Nov. 4

Breathtaking Barnabe Peak 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Hike through Samuel P. Taylor State Park’s lush forests and climb to the heights of Barnabe Peak, overlooking Point Reyes. One in a series of free fall outings organized by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call: 415-255-3233 for reservations 

Cohousing Tour 

8:15 am - ? 

Parker Street Housing Cooperative 

2337 Parker St.  

Join a Shared Living Resource Center organized tour of seven examples of Cohousing. The tour will visit the Doyle Street Cohousing in Emeryville, Swans Market Cohousing in downtown Oakland and three others, including North Street Cohousing in Davis. Bring a lunch. Advanced registration is required.  

$65 per person 

Call Ken Norwood, 548-6608 

Wild About Books? 

10:30 a.m. 

Berkeley Central Library 

2121 Allston Way 

Dublin Library’s resident storyteller and featured teller at the 1998 National Storytelling Festival tell kids aged 3 to 7 her favorite tales.  

Call 649-3943  

New Science & Ancient Wisdom Conference 

9 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

International Center 

2222 Harold Way 

Featured speakers include Father Charlie Moore speaking on “The Cosmic Origins of Man,” Dolores Cannon speaking on “Visions of Nostradamus,” and David Hatcher Childress speaking on “Technology of the Gods.” Event runs through Sunday.  

Pre-registration admission, $65; after Oct. 27, $85 

Call Charles Gotsky, 650-343-5202 

Installing Windows, Doors and Skylights 

9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar instructed by builder Glen Kitzenberger. Other seminars also scheduled.  

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

$75 per person 

Collecting Chinese Decorative Art 

10 a.m. - Noon 

Oakland Museum  

1000 Oak St.  

Dessa Goddard, director of the Asian Department at Butterfields, and a panel discuss. Followed by a collectors’ tea. Included in admission price to museum.  

Call for reservations, 238-2022 

“Broadway to La Scala” 

7 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Oakland 

2501 Harrison St. (at 27th St.) 

A benefit concert for the Oakland Lyric Opera featuring a selection of Broadway musicals and arias from operas, including “Madame Butterfly.”  

$25 

Call 836-6772 

Nuclear Disarmament 

2 p.m.  

Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library 

6508 Telegraph Ave.  

Jackie Cabasso, Executive Director of the Western States Legal Foundation will speak on disarmament and proliferation.  

Life in the Pueblo  

10 a.m. - 6 p.m.  

Gathering Tribes  

1573 Solano Ave.  

Zuni Fetish carver Amos Pooacha and his sister, Linda Pooacha-Eli, a painter of miniatures on sandstone and jewelry sell and display their art. Also on Sunday, same hours.  

Call 528-9038  

Who Owns America? 

An Anti-Racism/Oppression Gathering 

8 a.m. - 10 p.m.  

UC Berkeley Labor Center 

2521 Channing St.  

Trainings and workshops on identifying racism and oppression and building solutions. Organized by STARC, which is trying to build support on the West Coast. This event runs through Sunday, Nov. 5. Hot meals will be provided.  

$10 

Call 869-2538  

Sunday, Nov. 5

Buddhist Psychology 

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Pl.  

Buddhist teacher Sylvia Gretchen on “Beyond Therapy and Into the Heart of Buddhist Psychology.” Free. 

Call 843-6812  

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour 

Downtown Berkeley  

Tour new construction, new uses, historic rehabilitation and public improvments that are completed or still in the works.  

Noon 

RSVP required 841-0181 space is limited. 

Tickets: $5 for members, $10 for nonmembers. 

A Dispirited Rebellion 

10 a.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Author, television personality and columnist Gadi Taub will explore the literary and cinematic changes in Israeli society since the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin. A brunch will be served at 10 a.m.  

Admission: $7 non-JCC members; $5 members 

Call 848-9237 

Soprano Stephanie Pan Sings 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

1275 Walnut St. 

Soprano Stephanie Pan is joined by Meg Cotner on harpsichord, Salley Blaker on cello, and Alex Jenne on lute. They will perform the music of Barbra Strozzi, Jacopo Peri, Giovanni Felice Sances and others.  

$10 general; $9 students and seniors; under 12 Free 

Call 644-6893 

Stucco Repair 

9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Hands-on workshop taught by handyperson Jim Rosenau. Other seminars also scheduled this day.  

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

$90 per person 

“Bigger Things” 

7 p.m.  

La Pena Cultural Center  

3105 Shattuck Ave.  

Judith-Kate Friedman celebrates the release of her new CD.  

$12 general; $20 reserved seating 

Info and tickets: 654-7464 or 849-2568 

Women Warriors, Women Thinkers & Women Awliya 

3 p.m.  

St. Johns Presbyterian Church  

2727 College Ave.  

The final in a series, “The Feminine Side of Islam.” Refreshments will be served and donations are appreciated.  

Call 527-4496  

Monday, Nov. 6

Airports vs. the Bay 

7 p.m. 

Albany Community Center 

1249 Marin St.  

Albany 

David Lewis, Executive Director of “Save the Bay” will speak on the airports’ plans to expand into the SF Bay and other challenges to Bay restoration.  

Contact: Friends of Five Creeks, 848-9358 

Flu Shots for Seniors 

9 a.m. - Noon & 1 - 2 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

$2 for seniors 

“The Weir” 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Director Tom Ross will discuss the Aurora Theater’s production of “The Weir” and will distribute 30 free tickets on a first-come, first-served basis.  

Youth Commission 

6 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Youth Center 

1730 Oregon St.  

Peace & Justice Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

Landmarks Preservation Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

Personnel Board Meeting 

7 p.m.  

Permit Center 

2118 Milvia St.  

Tuesday, Nov. 7

Zonta Club dinner 

5:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

$20 per person 

Dr. Sylvia Earle, a marine bioligist, author and Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, will be the featured speaker. 

For more information call 845-6221 

Exercise for Seniors 

10 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Exercise to music with Doris Echols. Free 

“How Can We Restructure Civilization?” 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose) 

Informally led by Robert Berend, former UC Extension lecturer, this group aims to have intelligent discussions on a wide range of topics. They stress that there is no religious bent to the discussions and that all viewpoints are welcome. Bring light snacks to share with group.  

Call Robert Berend, 527-5332 

Bayer’s Biotechnology Center Groundbreaking 

1 p.m.  

Seventh & Grayson 

Seventh & Dwight 

Call 705-7880 

Home Design Workshop 

7 - 10 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Instructed by architect/contractor Barry Wagner, this class runs four consecutive Tuesdays through Nov. 28.  

$150 for all four classes 

Call 525-7610 

Wednesday, Nov. 8

Tinnitus & Hyperacusis Sufferers Support Group 

10 a.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Public Works Commission Special Meeting 

5 p.m.  

Engineering Conference Room 

2201 Dwight Way 

Discussion and prioritization of Commission work plan priorities for Public Works.  

Thursday, Nov. 9

The Life and Art of Chiura Obata 

7:30 p.m.  

North Berkeley Public Library 

1170 Alameda (at Hopkins) 

A slide show and lecture presented by Obata’s granddaughter, Kimi Kodani Hill, celebrating Obata’s book, “Topaz Moon: Chiura Obata’s Art of the Internment,” and the retrospective exhibit of Obata’s work to appear this Fall at SFs De Young Museum. 

For details call 644-6850  

From Morgan to Modern 

“Bay Area Modern” 

7:30 p.m. 

The Hillside Club 

2286 Cedar St. 

$10. 841-2242 

ESL Teacher Job Fair 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Adult School 

1222 University Ave., Room 7  

ESL program representatives from adult schools in Alameda and Contra Costa counties will provide information about desired qualifications, current job openings, credentialing requirements, and more.  

Call Kay Wade, 644-6130 

“Feeding the Moon: A Nutritive Approach to Feminine Fertility” 

Lern how fertility is affected by the environment and how it can be enhanced by healthy lifestyle choices 

7:30 to 9 p.m. 

The Ecology Center 

2530 San Pable Ave.  

558-1324, free 

“Diabetes: What to Know Head-to-Toe” 

Health Education Center, 400 Hawthorne Ave. 

12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Free 

869-6737 

Love and Betrayal: A Musical Journey 

7:30 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Mezzo Soprano Sylvia Braitman discusses the role Gustav Mahler, Kurt Weill, Arnold Schoenberg, and Hanns Eisler played in the development of modernity in German, Austrian and Western music.  

Tuition: $8 for general; $5 JJC members (class code A101-BJ) 

Call 848-0237 for more info.  

Hour of the Furnaces 

4:30 - 6 p.m. 

Hewlett Library, Dinner Board Room 

2400 Ridge Rd.  

Renny Golden, poet, liberation theologian, and professor of social ethics at Northeastern Illinois University, will read from her new book on the Central American experience of struggle.  

649-2490 

Meeting Life Changes 

10 a.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With John Hammerman. Free 

Become A Travel Photo Expert 

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Professional photographer Richard I’Anson, who has taken photos all over the globe, shares highlights and insights from his book, “Travel Photography: A Guide to Taking Better Pictures.” Free 

Call 527-7377 

Friday, Nov. 10

Dragon and Phoenix Banquet Cooking Contest 

7 p.m. 

Oakland Museum  

1000 Oak St.  

Students from Bay Area cooking academies present original dishes based on the “Dragon and Phoenix” theme to a panel of celebrity judges. Fee and price of admission to museum. 

Reservations: 238-2022  

Women in Black 

Noon - 1 p.m. 

Bancroft at Telegraph 

Women for peace in the Middle East  

Korean Literature Seminar 

10 a.m. - 8 p.m.  

7768 Duke Ct.  

El Cerrito 

Korean writer and professor Do Chang Hoi will speak on the topics of creative writing and modern Korean literature. Sponsored by the Korean Literary Art Fellowship. Continues on Saturday, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.  

Call 559-7856 for more info.  

PC Users Group 

7 p.m. 

Vista College 

Room 303  

2020 Milvia St.  

A groups of PC users who help each other solve problems. They introduce their members to new software, hardware, and invited speakers and technicians from various PC related companies. Meet the second Friday of each month.  

Call Melvin Mann, 527-2177 

Cultural and Historical View  

of the Dalmation Islands, Croatia 

Luncheon served, 11:15 a.m.  

Speaker, 12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave.  

Byron Bass, archeologist with the URS Corporation will speak. 

$11 - $12.25 with luncheon 

$1 general for speaker only, Free to students  

Call 848-3533  

Saturday, Nov. 11

Moonlight on Mt. Diablo 

1 - 10:30 p.m.  

Hike up the Devil’s Mountain by daylight, catch a glorious sunset and hike back by the light of the moon. One in a series of free outing organized by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call: 415-255-3233 for reservations 

Kitchen Design Fundamentals  

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar taught by independent kitchen and bath designer Beverly Wilson.  

$75  

Homeowner’s Essential Course 

9 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

The annual six-Saturday intensive with lectures, slides, and demonstrations taught by professional builder Glen Kitzenberger. Six Saturdays through Dec. 16.  

$425 per person, including textbook 

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

Sunday, Nov. 12

Views, Vines and Veggies 

9:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.  

Climb Bald Mountain in Sugarloaf State Park and peer down upon the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Then please your palate at the Landmark Winery and visit Oak Hill organic vegetable and flower farm. One in a series of free fall outings organized by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call: 415-255-3233 for reservations 

“Time Across Cultures” 

2 - 4 p.m. 

St. Clements Church 

2837 Claremont Ave.  

The annual Roselyn Yellin Memorial lecture with a slide-illustrated panel discussion. Also a tour of the “Telling Time” exhibit at the Judah L. Magnes Museum followed by a reception at the museum, 4 - 5 p.m.  

More info: 549-6950 

Buddhism & Compassion 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Psychiatrist and teacher Bobby Jones on “Healing through Compassion.” Free.  

843-6812 

“Road To Mecca” Auditions 

2 p.m.  

Live Oak Theatre 

1301 Shattuck (at Berryman) 

The Actors Ensemble of Berkeley is auditioning roles for two females, 60-70 and 25-35, and one male, 60-70. Auditioners should prepare a monologue no longer than two minutes. No appointments. 

Call Debra Blondheim, 667-9827 

Solar Electricity for Your Home 

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar instructed by engineer Gary Gerber of Sunlight and Power.  

$75 per person  

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

Carpentry Basics for Women 

9:30 - 4:30 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

A hands-on workshop taught by carpenter Tracy Weir. This workshop is a two-day workshop and runs Nov. 12 and 19.  

$195 per person  

Monday, Nov. 13

An Evening with Barbara Kingsolver 

7:30 p.m. 

King Middle School 

1781 Rose St. 

Barbara Kingsolver’s works include “Animal Dreams,” “High Tide in Tucson,” “The Poisonwood Bible” and “Prodigal Summer” 

free parking $10 in advance, $13 at the door 

Benefits KPFA and Urban Ecology. 

848-6767 

From Rossi to Bernstein 

7:30 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Bay Area musician Mark Levy discusses the works of Jewish classical composers beginning with the sixteenth century. The first in a series of three Monday evening classes on music.  

Tuition for all three classes: $30 general public; $20 JJC members, seniors and students  

Individual classes: $10 general; $8 JJC members, seniors and students 

Call 848-0237 

Berkeley Preschool Fair 

7 - 9 p.m.  

Epworth United Methodist Church 

1953 Hopkins St.  

Sponsored by the Neighborhood Parents Network, this fair features representatives from local preschools. The topic will be how to evaluate preschool education philosophies and make the most of the admissions process. A fair featuring many local preschools will follow panel discussion. 

$5 non-members; Free to NPN members 

Call 527-6667 or visit www.parentsnet.org 

“Timber Framing - Ancient and Modern” 

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar led by contractor/Timber Framers Guild member Doug Eaton.  

$35 per person 

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

Tuesday, Nov. 14

Take a Trip to the Steinbeck Museum and 

Mission San Juan Bautista 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

This is an outing organzied by the Senior Center.  

$40 with lunch, $25 without  

Call Maggie or Suzanne, 644-6107 

Three Little Pigs 

3:30 p.m. 

Berkeley South Branch Library 

1901 Russell St. 

Roger Mara and his Snapdragon Puppets perform.  

649-3943 

More Little Pigs 

7 p.m.  

Berkeley North Branch Library 

1170 The Alameda 

Roger Mara and his Snapdragon Puppets huff and puff and blow the house down.  

“The Hand of Buddha” 

7:30 p.m.  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 

1385 Shattuck (at Rose) 

In her new book poet, columnist and travel writer Linda Watanabe McFerrin explores the lives of women from different ethnic backgrounds and in moments of crisis. Free 

Call 843-3533 

Quest for Justice 

6:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

Bade Museum 

1798 Scenic Ave. 

A reception and discussion with the artists of “Quest for Justice: The Story of Korean Comfort Women as Told Through their Art,” an exhibit on display at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery.  

849-8244 

Even Seniors Get the Blues 

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

A holiday blues support group with Lyn Rayburn.  

Recognizing Alzheimer’s Disease 

10 - 11:30 a.m.  

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center 

Summit North Pavilion 

Annexes B & C  

350 Hawthorne Ave.  

Oakland  

Susan Londerville, MD, Gerentologist, will discuss how to recognize the signs and common symptoms of Alzheimer’s and how to distinguish them from normal aging. Free 

Call Ellen Carroll, 869-6737  

Wednesday, Nov. 15

Even More Little Pigs 

3:30 p.m.  

Berkeley Library Claremont Branch 

2940 Benvenue Ave. 

Roger Mara and his Snapdragon Puppets help Little Red Riding Hood get to Grandma’s house.  

Healthful Holiday Cooking 

11:30 a.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With Natalie. Free 

Community Action Commission & 

Berkeley Homeless Commission  

Joint Public Hearing  

7 p.m.  

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. (at Ashby) 

The purpose of this hearing is to allow low-income residents of Berkeley, and people who use the services to inform these agencies about what services they need.  

Call Marianne Graham, 665-3475  

Making Additions Match 

7 - 10 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Seminar taught by architect/colunist Arrol Gellner.  

$35 per person 

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

Thursday, Nov. 16

Reminiscing in Swingtime 

7:30 p.m.  

North Berkeley Library  

1170 Alameda (at Hopkins) 

George Yoshida, author and jazz drummer, presents a multi-media program recounting the big band experience in the Japanese American internment camps. The presentation will be capped with a set of live jazz by the George Yoshida Quartet. 

Call for more info: 644-6850 

Berkeley Metaphysic Toastmasters Club 

6:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. 

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysic come together at Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters. Meets first and third Thursdays each month. 

Call 869-2547 or 643-7645 

Free blood pressure screenings 

Health Education Center, 400 Hawthorne Ave. 

free 

869-6737 

Three Little Pigs  

3:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Library West Branch  

1125 University Ave.  

Roger Mara and his Snapdragon Puppets perform.  

Tai Chi for Seniors  

2 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With Tai Chi master Mr. Chang. Free 

Sea Kayaking in the Bay Area and Baja 

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Mitch Powers of Sea Trek Ocean Kayaking Center presents slides of some of his favorite paddling destinations and gives tips on selecting gear, paddling safety and planning trips. Free 

Call 527-4140 

HVAC for Beginners 

7 - 10 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning for beginners seminar taught by contractor/engineer Eric Burtt.  

$35 per person 

Call Sydney, 525-7610 

Friday, Nov. 17

Community Dance Party 

7:45 - 9:45 p.m. 

Live Oak Park 

1301 Shattuck (at Berryman) 

Come learn to dance with easy instructions presented by the Berkeley Folk Dancers.  

Teens $2; Adult Non-members $4 

Information: 525-3030  

California Energy Re-Structuring 

Luncheon served, 11:15 a.m.  

Speaker, 12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave.  

Severin Borenstein, director at the UC Energy Institute will speak.  

$11 - $12.25 with luncheon 

$1 general for speaker only, Free to students  

Call 848-3533  

Women in Black 

Noon - 1 p.m. 

Bancroft at Telegraph 

Women for peace in the Middle East  

Housing Clinic for Seniors 

3 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst (at MLK Jr. Way) 

A housing clinic with the East Bay Community Law Center. Free  

Saturday, Nov. 18

S.F. Stairs and Peaks 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m.  

Begin the day with a visit to the farmer’s market, then meander up the stairways and streets of Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower. Then up Russian Hill, descending to Fisherman’s Wharf for a ride back on the new historic streetcar line. One in a series of free fall outings organized by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call: 415-255-3233 

Berkeley Free Folk Festival 

11 a.m. - 1 a.m.  

Ashkenaz  

1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Fourteen hours of free concerts, workshops, jam sessions and to top it off a Saturday night dance. The fifth annual Folk Festival will feature Shay & Michael Black, Spectre Double Negative & the Equal Positive, Larry Hanks, Wake the Dead and many others. Sponsored by Charles Schwab and the City of Berkeley.  

More info or to volunteer: 525-5099 

Berkeley Video & Film Festival 

2 - 11 p.m. 

2451 Shattuck Ave. 

Screenings of 35 documentaries, features, short features, animation, comedy, commercials, educaitonal and art video and film works. Featuring a number of local filmakers.  

$8  

Call 843-3699 

Zuni Fetish Show  

10 a.m. - 6 p.m.  

Gathering Tribes  

1573 Solano Ave.  

Fresh from a trip to Zuni, Janet & Diane from Beyond Tradition will have new fetishes and jewelry. This is the last fetish show of the year for Gathering Tribes.  

Call 528-9038 

Sunday, Nov. 19

Soprano Deborah Voigt 

Cal Performances  

3 p.m.  

Voigt’s performance is a postponment from her original Oct. 15 date. The program will remain unchanged. 

$28-$48 For tickets call 642-9988 or e-mail tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Mt. Madonna & Wine  

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Hike through evergreen forests and visit the remains of a 19th century estate, then finish the day with a visit to Kruse Winery. One of many free fall outings organized by Greenbelt Alliance.  

Call: (415) 255-3233 for reservations 

“Drawing Marathon”  

Merritt College’s Art Building 

Live models, group poses.  

$12 for half a day, $20 for a full day, senior and student discounts available. No cameras or turpentine. 

523-9763 

Berkeley Video & Film Festival 

2 - 11 p.m. 

2451 Shattuck Ave. 

Screenings of 35 documentaries, features, short features, animation, comedy, commercials, educaitonal and art video and film works. Featuring a number of Berkeley filmakers.  

$8  

Call 843-3699 

Monday, Nov. 20

The Music of Israel 

7:30 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Bay Area musician Mark Levy discusses the music of Israel, from the early pioneers of Palestine to the latest rock.  

Tuition for all three classes: $30 general public; $20 JJC members, seniors and students 

Individual classes: $10 general; $8 JJC members, seniors and students  

Call 848-0237 

Tuesday, Nov. 21

Fibromyalgia Support Group 

Noon - 2 p.m.  

Alta Bates Medical Center, Maffly Auditorium 

Herrick Campus 

2001 Dwight Way 

Call D.L. Malinousky, 601-0550 

Environmental Solutions! 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose) 

Informally led by Robert Berend, former UC Extension lecturer, this group aims to have intelligent discussions on a wide range of topics. They stress that there is no religious bent to the discussions and that all viewpoints are welcome. Bring light snacks to share with group.  

Call Robert Berend, 527-5332  

Saturday, Nov. 25

Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Get map from: 

1250 Addison St. #214 

or download at: http://www.berkeleyartisans.com 

Over one hundred professional artists and craftspeople open up their studios and workspaces to the public. All styles of artistic expression are represented. Runs Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 17. 

Call 845-2612 

Monday, Nov. 27

To Make the World Whole 

7:30 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Bay Area musician Mark Levy discusses songs of peace, protest and change from labor, feminists, peace, and environmental activists of the past 125 years, that inspired others to action. 

Tuition for all three classes: $30 general public; $20 JJC members, seniors and students 

Individual classes: $10 general; $8 JJC members, seniors and students  

Call 848-0237 

Wednesday, Nov. 29

Wanderlust: Tales of Adventure and Romance 

7:30 p.m.  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 

1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 

Jeff Greenwald and other travel writers discuss the art of writing travel literature and how to make a living doing it.  

Call 843-3533 

Thursday, Nov. 30

Pro Arts Juried Show Reception 

6 - 8 p.m.  

Pro Arts 

461 Ninth St.  

Oakland 

With the work of 70 artists, this annual show features the work of emerging and mid-career artists. The show runs through December 30. See A&E calendar for details.  

Snowshoeing Basics  

7 p.m . 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Professional snowshoe guide Cathy Anderson-Meyers gives basic instruction on how to get out and experience Tahoe’s winter terrain on “shoes.”  

Call 527-4140 

Don’t ask Nader  

to step aside 

Editor: 

It’s wrong to ask Nader to drop out because he spoils Gore’s chances. If the Nader votes are honestly cast, the nation should know that Greens are a coming power. Voting is a group activity: each vote shows solidarity with a group. It’s an insult to tell Green voters that they are “really” voting for Bush. 

The problem is not Nader; it’s that too many people have been talked into voting for Bush. Perhaps all those people really do want the EPA dismantled, corporations free to do what they like, and the Christian Right imposing their religious beliefs on the rest of us. If a substantial number of Bush voters do not favor these things, then they are the ones who should drop out, not Nader. 

Steve Geller 

Berkeley 

Bush laughs at global warming, other dangers 

Editor: 

“What would it be like if one of us ran for president?” my roommate and I asked ourselves. It was early in the morning, neither of us was dressed, and I at least hadn’t had coffee.  

“I identify with Gore,” I said, too groggy to be less than honest. I know that a lack of subtlety and finesse would be my downfall too. 

My roommate, an environmentalist with her eye always on the ecological ball, said that as a presidential candidate she would appeal for change. “We have to restructure everything about the way we live,” she said. But she knew, she told me, that as she stood on the campaign stump, tomatoes would fly as an unruly crowd shouted and jeered at her environmental message. 

Here, I had to stop her. Isn’t it clear from recent events that our crowd would not shout away my friend’s message. Wouldn’t these people, these Americans, led by a simpering George W., simply laugh it off? Isn’t that what happened in Illinois? But it was Gore’s tax plan (a small part of it) that was lampooned in place of my poor friend, as Bush encouraged his audience’s laughter at electric-gasoline cars and solar panels.  

What is Bush playing at? Global warming is real. The Sierra Club, the EPA, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), and others agree. Some parts of the world have warmed by as much as 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit and scientists predict that the average global temperature will increase 1.8 to 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100. This should be a real problem for people living in California where hotter, drier conditions could increase the frequency and intensity of our already too frequent and intense wild fires. Isn’t it really rather stupid to laugh at these things? 

But maybe the more important question is: What is Bush playing on. Why would 52 percent of us, according to the latest Gallup, prefer to watch Bush smirk for the, next four years rather than change anything about our lifestyles?  

Laura Benedict 

Berkeley 

Nader lacks resume  

for presidency  

Editor: 

For those flirting with voting for Nader rather than Gore because he’s greener, think again. Nader is not the better messenger for the earth’s agenda. Unlike Gore, who has a substantial resume for the Presidency along with being a formidable environmental policymaker, Nader, as a consumer advocate, does not have the credentials to be President nor is he a very informed spokesman for the planet. And it is doubtless that Nader could well become the spoiler tight race, a point reinforced by his behavior. The ironic effect is that votes for Nader could become defacto votes for Bush in many states; green votes could translate into scorched earth votes. 

I am voting for Gore, recognizing his faults and compromises, but also assured that he is the among the best Presidential candidates we’ve ever had for the environment -- as he has worked for it throughout his 20 years in Congress, and been an advocate for environmental initiatives as Vice President, including: the Kyoto Protocols (Global Warming) -- which he helped author, set asides of new national monuments, Wilderness and Roadless Area Protection, Lands Legacy, among others. He has the intelligence and the background to address complex issues like global warming, forest and species protection. And he has been the major voice for greening the Clinton Whitehouse throughout these past eight years. I have grown tired of Nader’s “tweedle-dum, tweedle-dee” references to Gore and Bush. That such rhetoric is intellectually dishonest and politically dangerous is dramatically illustrated by the savage attacks Nader has made on the Gore and by a letter he recently wrote to environmentalists condemning the Vice President’s environmental credentials. But as Carl Pope Director of the Sierra Club responded to it, Nader has “no right to slander those who disagree” with him until he can answer how he would “protect the people and places who would be put in harm’s way, or destroyed, by a Bush presidency.” 

While it’s understandable that we all are tired of business as usual in government, let’s not be naive about political processes that might seem easier to ignore or curse than deal with. Rather, let’s be realistic and remember that change comes best by reforming the system from within it: Gore is clearly better equipped to do this than Nader. Moreover, Nader’s campaign shows a lack of consideration for the consequences of his strategies, yet another illustration of the left (represented by the Green Party) serving to splinter rather than unite people of conscience, drawing away drawing votes away from the only candidate who would likely be an effective president, and one who believes that protection of the earth is an organizing principle for this millenium. 

At such a critical time in our history, effectiveness is needed, not ideological purity. For the environment, for women’s choice, for reducing greenhouse gases, for the Supreme Court – and for a far greater likelihood of effecting lasting and positive change for the greatest number I believe that Gore is the best choice and encourage your vote for him, too. 

John Steere 

Elyce Judith 

Michael Fried 

Sue Olive 

Berkeley 

Presidential elections: exercises in power, not principle 

Editor: 

Message to Ralph Nader’s Greens who argue that we can afford to have Al Gore lose this election if they get enough votes to build their party. Grow up! 

Many American leftists foolishly believe that once they irrevocably muck something up, those most harmed by their actions will flock to them for leadership. It never happens. In 1966, many left-wing California organizations refused to support then governor Edmund “Pat” Brown and de-facto threw the election to Ronald Reagan. Similarly, John Anderson’s third party efforts helped elect Reagan president (even Anderson later regretted it). In neither of these cases, did the “masses” rise up with the left to dispose of Reagan. If anything, they moved further right with him.  

That is why it took conservative democrats Bill Clinton and Al Gore to recapture the White House. 

The sad truth is that presidential elections are exercises in power, not principle. The next president will appoint a voting majority to the Supreme Court, who will far outlive his term. He will decide whether to drill in the Alaska wilderness, or offshore in California. He will either allow RU-486 with no restrictions or work to keep it from American women. Those choices are real and matter beyond the narrow confines of your party’s agenda. (An agenda that will be irrelevant because you will have no means to exercise it beyond group hugs at meetings and maybe a few House Representatives.) 

If I wake up to “George Bush’s America,” I will not be happy. I will have a president who does not know what ENDA means. I will watch primarily poor and minority children attend voucher schools with inadequate funding and no oversight. I will see a Supreme Court so right-wing, that I will probably miss Chief Justice Rehnquist. 

I assure you that I will not look to the Green Party for leadership. Nor do I think that I will be alone in this assessment. Your selfishness, and your refusal to think beyond the consequences of your actions, shows me that you are incapable of building coalitions. Those most harmed by your actions will be scrambling for survival and in need of real leadership. The rest of the country will continue its rightward drift.  

I shudder to think what type of candidate it will take to recapture the  

White House after Bush. 

Catherine S. Daly 

Berkeley 

Support AA and BB 

Editor:  

One of the cornerstones of a good school system is well-built facilities and safety systems that are adequately maintained. Measures AA&BB would provide this. 

Measure AA would continue the rehabilitation of school buildings (mainly classrooms) as well as updating alarm and fire sprinkler systems. Measure AA will not increase our tax rate – rather, it extends the maximum tax rate from the 1992 bond measure. Measure BB would ensure that our school facilities and safety systems are maintained. 

These two measures would set high standards for our buildings and grounds and would send a clear message that we hold to high standards for teaching and learning. A yes vote on Measures AA & BB obviously makes sense. 

Ted Schultz 

Berkeley Parent,  

School Board Director 

A property owner who demolished an 80-year-old cottage in north Berkeley to build a much larger home has been slapped with a Stop Work Order. 

As reported in the Berkeley Daily Planet on Oct. 27, residents on a quiet tree-lined street were surprised when the cottage at 1728 Delaware St. was suddenly gone. They said owner Patrick Mebine, a computer programmer in San Francisco, assured them the project was only a remodel and addition that would incorporate the existing structure. 

Builders had completed the foundation and laid some of the flooring on the new 3,000 square foot project when the city halted work on the site last Friday.  

“The city has issued a Stop Work Order and Patrick Mebine has been advised that he will have to appear before the Zoning Adjustment Board for a Use Permit Modification,” Said Matt Le Grant, the senior planner at the Planing and Development Department.  

Le Grant said it could take a month or longer before work on the project will begin again.  

Mebine said he thought he received permission from the city to demolish the cottage. He said he is uncertain what the Stop Work Order will accomplish because the cottage is gone and in the meantime the unfinished project will just sit there. “It’s not good for the neighbors, it’s not good for me and it’s not good for the contractor and sub-contractors,” he said. 

He said the project contractor had no other work scheduled and is now out of work.  

Mebine filed a Zoning Project Application last year in which he described his plans as a “Remodel of, and addition to existing dwelling resulting in 1,657 additional square feet of usable floor space.” 

Notices of a public hearing before the ZAB were mailed out to neighbors and notices were posted in the immediate area.  

The notices announced the project as a “Partial house demolition, major residential addition and hot tub.” 

In addition Mebine went to his neighbors and showed them an architect’s drawings that incorporated the existing cottage into the remodel.  

He presented the same plans to ZAB and they issued a Use Permit allowing for additional square footage and construction of a hot tub. The Use Permit also allowed for the demolition of “more than 50 percent of the building’s walls and roof so as to constitute a demolition of an existing 1,200-square foot dwelling.” 

The Use Permit is the governing document that specifies what is permitted on all development sites. 

Mebine said when his contractor took a look at the cottage he strongly recommended demolishing the entire structure. “He said all I’d be saving is some studs that might not meet city requirements,” Mebine said. He agreed with the contractor and decided to completely demolish the cottage. 

Mebine applied for and received a demolition permit from the city and said no one at the permit center told him there would be a problem. 

But Assistant City Attorney Zack Cowan said any permit for demolition would not supersede the conditions of the Use Permit. “At the point he decided to change his plans he should have gone back to the city for approval,” he said. 

Cowan said the conditions of the Use Permit are created by representations made to the Zoning Adjustments Board and once the Use Permit goes into effect those representations bind the property owner.  

At no time did Mebine ever present to ZAB any plans that described a demolition of the cottage. 

Mabine will now have go through the application process again. Which means waiting for available space on the calendar for another public hearing before ZAB. He will also have to post and mail hearing notices to residents in the project area. Zab will then decide whether to award Mebine permission to demolish a building that no longer exists. 

“I’m not sure how the board will vote,” said ZAB member Gene Poshman. “We’re kinda back at square one.”

Christ Klinger-Desade, as Psychotic Jill in the Box, springs from her hiding place scaring the brave souls who ventured into the Haunted House on Fifth Street. Scott Connolly and Madeline Stanionois have organized the Halloween scare fest for the last three years. Entrance to the Haunted House was free but those who survived the three stories of  

Halloween-styled fright Tuesday were asked to make a small donation to Access to Software For All People.

Americans tell pollsters they are unsatisfied with the current state of the nation’s public schools and the presidential candidates can’t stop talking about education.  

All of this would make it seem the perfect time for dot-com millionaire Timothy Draper to launch an initiative to offer parents a $4,000 voucher to send children to the school of their choice. 

But instead of taking off as the bilingual education initiative did last year, Draper’s Proposition 38 is now behind in the polls, dropping from 45 percent in August to 37 percent last month, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.  

Educational experts and political scientists blame Proposition 38’s failure to catch on to everything from an inappropriate campaign strategy, to negative perceptions of vouchers and a misreading of the polls on education. 

To begin with, they said, it is easy to misread the voters’ desire for change in the education system. 

Americans may be unsatisfied with schools in general, but they are mostly satisfied with their local schools. This is true especially among the parents of school-age children. The vast majority, 70 percent, grade their kid’s schools with As and Bs, according to the 2000 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s attitude toward Public Schools. 

In addition, Proposition 38 supporters decision to make access to the voucher system universal, instead of targeting it to low-income children, played against them.  

“The majority of parents with kids in inner-city schools don’t vote so the backers said ‘if we just make it for the poor people we won’t have enough voters,’” said Pam Riley, a political scientist from the Pacific Research Institute. 

The campaign failed to ally with organizations such as the Catholic Conference, which could have helped to move middle to higher income voters around the subject, she said. The Catholic Church’s 718 schools, which serve 254,000 of the state’s students could have given Proposition 38 support from those type of families, as Riley predicted. 

Moreover, involving Catholic educators would have also provided an expert opinion on the mechanics of running a school, said Luis Huerta, researcher of the Policy Analysis of California Education, a joint effort between UC Berkeley and Stanford University.  

“The Catholic Conference would have flat out just told them that $4,000 was not enough to run a school,” he said. 

But the initiative’s campaign strategy is not the only factor working against it. Vouchers have a bad reputation. Less than 4 percent of Americans see vouchers as an effective action to improve public schools in the United States, according to this year’s Gallup polls. More than 50 percent of Californians think that passage of the voucher initiative will not help the public school system, or the students with the lowest test scores, according to the Public Policy Institute’s findings. 

Moreover, with the economy booming, California residents have seen big changes in the education, system in recent years, including more funding, improved bonuses for students and teachers, increased accountability through tests and smaller class sizes. 

“(Prop. 38) is a hard sell in the current state of California because if we are seeing improvements, why are we going decentralize and risk whatever gains we have been making?” asked Huerta. 

To top it all, Proposition 38 would cost California residents at least $2.6 billion dollars, and so far now, there is no evidence that it would work. None of the other existing voucher programs in the country are based on the universal access that Proposition 38 promises. 

“It is a more drastic measure than most people are comfortable with,” said Kim Rueben, education research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. 

But even if Proposition 38 fails, its presence on the ballot has given public schools a wake-up call. 

Its second one. 

The first was in 1993, when another voucher initiative, Proposition 174, was on the ballot. 

Although it failed with a ratio of 3-to-1, it did have an impact on the education system: It strengthened the charter school movement, Riley said. 

Since then, 261 charter schools that serve 121,000 students have sprouted in California. 

The current voucher initiative could have less impact on school choice, but more on its less publicized half: state school funding, said Huerta. 

“One positive thing is that it calls attention to folks that school funding is still very low to 

compete with other states,” he said. 

Seniors will make a difference Nov. 7. There are almost 5 million of us 65 years old and older living in California.  

So I decided a ask a diverse group of seniors about their voting preferences and concerns. 

Many have bought the argument that one’s vote doesn't matter. Joe Dallas, at lunch at the senior center, firmly declared he doesn’t vote, doesn’t believe in it.  

Most seniors with whom I come in contact oppose State Proposition 38, school vouchers, but support Berkeley Measures R, the warm water pool, Y, eviction controls and County Measure B/transportation funding.  

No one mentions Bush-Gore! 

Nancy Blumenstock is a founding mother of Berkeley-based editcetera, a former UC Press editor with World War II top secret clearance.  

By absentee ballot, she’s voting for Berkeley Measures R “extremely important,” she says, Y “...although I doubt it would protect me, a project-based Section 8 tenant,” and Z/low-rent housing; State Proposition 36/drug treatment and probation instead of incarceration – “jail serves no purpose whatever,” she says and County Measure B “I am disabled and rely on taxi scrip.”  

Did she listen to the Presidential debates? “I carefully avoided them!”  

Before retiring, 57-year-old Alberta Sitlani was a Social Security Administration claims representative.  

A former Commission on Aging member, she is no longer able to involve herself in senior activities.  

“Dismayed” about people who don’t vote, she considers Measure B the most important. She will vote to continue California Assemblyperson Dion Louise Aroner.  

“I have never been politically involved,” declared Aiko Yamamoto, a Nisei – a person whose parents immigrated from Japan – who was incarcerated in a World War II relocation camp. She relies on League of Women Voters analyses. Increasingly aware of her good judgment in purchasing her home years ago, she realizes the present housing crisis would make life very difficult for her – a divorced grandmother.  

“I like what Nader says but I fear voting for him is like voting for Bush; if only Nader had been allowed to debate... I’ll vote straight democratic. I always vote Yes on schools and libraries.”  

Elvira Rose is a Berkeley-born Hispanic, a great grandmother completing her second term as president of the North Berkeley Senior Center Advisory Council.  

She opposes State Prop 33, which allows legislators’ Public Employees’ Retirement System participation.  

A Thousand Oaks home-owner, she is not sure how she will go about deciding among the four Council District 5 candidates; also unsure about Prop 38 and doesn’t want to give an opinion on Measure Y, owner move-in evictions.  

A Democrat who on occasion “does cross,” she will vote for “the library of course – it affects everyone.”  

Eighty-plus Eleanor Gibson delivers Meals on Wheels to shut-in seniors and co-chairs the Older Women’s League chapter. She owns her own Berkeley Hills home. “As a senior citizen housing advocate, I am quite discouraged. ‘Affordable housing’ does not make for low enough rents. I will vote for Measure D because it tries to prevent urban sprawl and supports infill of the present spaces in cities, and for Measure Z, for 500 units of low-income housing in Berkeley. It is a bit vague but its message is correct.” 

A Green Party member, Charlie Betcher considers County Measure B and City Measures Y and Z the most important ballot choices for disabled and aged persons; his votes for State Senate and Assembly go to incumbents Perata and Aroner. Kudos to chair Charlie for bringing the problem of elder abuse to the Commission on Aging’s table. 

As for me, I voted several weeks ago, using the new electronic voting machine at the City Clerk’s office.  

Helen Wheeler invites comments and suggestions: pen136@inreach.com. She is a member of the: Alameda County Advisory Commission on Aging and its Legislative Advocacy Committee, North Berkeley Senior Center Advisory Council and Berkeley Housing Authority, and a former Berkeley Commission on Aging Vice Chair. 

Opponents of Proposition 37 held a news conference in front of the Chevron refinery in Richmond today to urge voters to defeat the proposition they say is financed by big businesses.  

Representatives from the California Public Interest Research Group, Clean Water Action and the American Lung Association were joined by Berkeley City Councilman Kriss Worthington today to call attention to the proposition, which they say would protect certain industries from paying for any pollution or sicknesses they cause.  

Linda Wiener, with the American Lung Association, said the proposition could pass unnoticed by voters who might end up supporting it unknowingly in next Tuesday's election. 

According to the opponents, the proposition is backed primarily by big business – including the alcohol, tobacco and oil industries – because it would make it harder for legislators to impose monetary penalties or mitigation fees, collected to pay for clean-up or other mitigation costs for activities that cause harm to people or the environment. 

The proposition would amend the state’s constitution to redefine those mitigation fees as taxes.  

Under such a designation, the state legislature would have to come up with a two-thirds vote to raise the amount collected, while a two-thirds vote of the people would be needed to increase the taxes at a local level. 

Under the current mitigation fee designation, only a majority is needed by either the legislature or the public to increase the fees. 

According to opponents of the proposition, the tax designation would make it virtually impossible to collect money from the targeted industries for community programs, and the cost would be passed on to taxpayers. 

Sarah Dahan of Clean Water Action said, “It is irresponsible that the oil industry would rather shift the cost of their own clean-up to the taxpayer.” 

In accordance with Tuesday’s Halloween celebrations, Councilman Worthington compared the proposition, named the “Two Thirds Vote Preservation Act,” as a razor inside of an apple. 

Worthington said, “As our children trick or treat for nickles and dimes, the oil and chemical industries are attempting to trick the republic to get them millions of dollars in exemptions from paying regulatory fees protecting the environment.” 

Austin Lee, spokesman for the campaign in support of the proposition, said the idea that the taxes would be shifted over to taxpayers in inaccurate. 

He noted that the California Taxpayers Association and the California Chamber of Commerce are among the co-sponsors of the proposition, showing, he said, that the coalition’s position is wrong. 

“All we want to do is clearly define what a tax is and what a fee is,” Lee said. 

Lee said the proposition is drafted so that those who are  

causally responsible for incidents that compromise public safety are held accountable for their actions. 

But the current system, which Lee said targets small firms that may not be causally responsible for incidents, puts businesses at a competitive disadvantage. 

If anything, he said, taxpayers are currently at a disadvantage with the system that “opens the floodgates” on taxes disguised as fees. 

“The consumers are actually going to bear the burden of such  

increases,” he said.

DAVIS — Though California researchers are at the forefront of agricultural biotechnology, the commercial use of genetically modified crops is sparse compared to widespread use in the Midwest. 

“That’s kind of the paradox,” said Kent Bradford, director of the seed biotechnology center at the University of California, Davis. “UC has some of the original patents for recombinant DNA and a lot of research capability. But it mostly hasn’t gone into the commercial market here.” 

That’s not due to a public outcry over “Frankenfoods” or concerns for safety, but because California’s agriculture covers more than 250 crops, as opposed to the Midwest’s reliance on corn and soybeans, said Judith Kjelstrom, associate director of the biotechnology center at UC Davis. 

“They’re niche crops, not the large crops. The research into the niche crops is slower and is just coming into play over the next few years,” she said. 

UC Davis officials estimate that within the nine-campus UC system there are 200 invention disclosures on agriculture biotechnology – the first step toward a patent. About half of those are from UC Davis, said school spokeswoman Pat Bailey. 

The international environmental group Greenpeace warned last week that if California farmers jump into genetically modified crops, it could harm the state’s $26.8 billion agriculture economy. 

The Greenpeace report looked at six of the state’s agricultural products – rice, walnuts, grapes, lettuce, strawberries and tomatoes – that amount to $1.1 billion a year in exports to Japan, Canada, South Korea, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. 

Consumers in those countries are reluctant to buy genetically engineered products, with some governments requiring labeling and others banning their import, said Jim Tischer, director of the Davis-based Community Alliance with Family Farmers. 

The result, Tischer said, would be a glut of GMO products with no place to sell them. 

“It would be horrific, as highly regarded as California farm products are in foreign markets, to have them be tainted with the genetically engineered label,” said Tischer. 

California has a reputation for organic growing and makes up a good portion of that $6.6 billion industry nationwide, he said. 

“You can have thriving organic growers who have a genetically engineered crop go in the next field, and there goes your crops,” he said. 

While scientists are testing genetically modified strains of those crops, commercial use of GMOs in California is limited to cotton and a small percentage of corn, said Bradford, who also is a professor of vegetable crops at UC Davis. 

“We’re behind the curve, since the companies mainly targeted the big crops like corn and soybean in the Midwest. We have very little corn and soybeans aren’t grown here,” he said. “It’s just taking much longer to develop those markets.” 

Most of the crops that scientists have tinkered with are geared to making life easier for farmers, not consumers, Kjelstrom said. 

“There are advances in herbicide-tolerant lettuce, but the industry isn’t real excited about that,” she said. “They were hoping for something like golden rice that has increased Vitamin A – a poster child for biotechnology.” 

Golden rice – genetically modified to contain extra beta carotene – is advertised as a way to reduce blindness brought on by a Vitamin A deficiency, a condition that affects millions in Third World countries. 

Kjelstrom said biotechnology is not only safe, it has the potential to feed the world as the planet’s population grows. 

“We’ll have to be able to grow on less-than-desirable land,” she said. “We’re going to have to have new crops that can grow in salty or drought-stricken soil. We have to think of the future.” 

Bradford believes the use of GMO in most crops is inevitable. 

“Commercialization is still a few years off. All the industries involved want to make sure the public will accept it,” he said. 

“The problem now is marketing. Greenpeace has hit it.” 

The state’s rice industry has taken measures to ensure that the GMO and traditional rice won’t be mixed in silos or in transportation to appease public apprehension. 

“They worked very hard to get into the Japanese market. They don’t want to lose that,” Bradford said. 

While Greenpeace cites surveys showing that the U.S. public wants GMO products labeled, limited or banned, Tom Hoban, a researcher at North Carolina State University, said consumers place genetically engineered foods at the bottom of their list of concerns. 

Even the recent discovery that GMO corn not approved for human consumption was found in taco shells and corn chips hasn’t changed the public’s opinion about altered crops, Hoban said. 

Hoban is conducting an ongoing study of the public’s attitude toward GMOs and said when it comes to food safety, microbial contamination and pesticide use are the top concerns. 

Tim Johnson, president and CEO of the Rice Growers Association, said the California rice industry will respond to what customers want. If that’s GMO, then rice growers will produce it, he said. 

But he said he’s not concerned that public opinion of the genetically altered strains will create a glut of GMO rice without a buyer. 

“We honestly don’t know if they will be in production in California. It takes between seven and 10 years to bring rice to production,” he said. 

Tischer’s organization, which promotes sustainable and organic farming, is proposing a moratorium on GMO crops until testing protocols are redesigned. 

“We also think the biotech companies should be prepared to stand behind the products, and indemnify the farmers who buy their crops from liability and loss of market,” Tischer said. 

On the Net: 

Read the Greenpeace report at www.greenpeaceusa.org 

The California Department of Food and Agriculture is at www.cdfa.ca.gov 

LOS ANGELES — Steve Allen, who pioneered the enduring late-night talk show with the original “Tonight Show” and produced a stream of songs and books, was remembered Tuesday as a comic who became a renaissance man. 

Allen, 78, died Monday night of an apparent heart attack at the Encino home of his son, Bill Allen. 

“He said he was a little tired after dinner. He went to relax, peacefully, and never reawakened,” his son said.  

Steve Allen’s wife, actress Jayne Meadows, was “distraught” at the loss of her husband of 46 years, Bill Allen said. She had stayed home while her husband visited with their son and his family at their nearby house. 

“Like the rest of America, Dolores and I share in the sadness of Steve Allen’s death but celebrate his great and full life. We’ll miss him. He left us too early,” comedian Bob Hope said in a statement. 

“All of us who have hosted the “Tonight Show” format owe a debt of gratitude to Steve Allen. He was a most creative innovator and brilliant entertainer,” said former “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson. 

And current “Tonight” host Jay Leno said of Allen: “He was one of the sharpest guys off the cuff. He never played dumb. He played many characters, straight man and comic, and he did each role perfectly. But the role he played best was Steve Allen.” 

“He had a magnificent mind. He was a kind, gentle, warm man. He would be embarrassed for me now, because I can’t put into words the way I felt about this man. I loved him,” entertainer Dick Clark said. 

In recent years, Allen used his celebrity to lobby against what he saw as increasing and dangerous vulgarity and violence in media. He was featured in a series of newspaper advertisements calling on viewers to demand more family friendly TV shows, including an ad that ran Tuesday in his hometown Los Angeles Times. 

Allen’s versatility made him a force in music, theater and television and more for decades. The day before his death, he performed in concert at an area college. 

Besides starring the King of Swing in the 1956 movie “The Benny Goodman Story,” Allen appeared in Broadway shows, on soap operas, wrote newspaper columns, commented on wrestling broadcasts, made 40 record albums, wrote plays and a TV series featuring historical figures in roundtable discussions. 

Several Allen tunes were recorded by pop vocalists; the most popular was “This May Be the Start of Something Big.” 

His skill as an ad libber became apparent in his early career as a disc jockey in Phoenix. He once interrupted the playing of records to announce: “Sports fans, I have the final score for you on the big game between Harvard and William & Mary. It is: Harvard 14, William 12, Mary 6.” 

Allen was born to vaudeville comedians Billy Allen and Belle Montrose in New York City on Dec. 26, 1921. Steve was 18 months old when his father died, and his mother continued touring the theater circuits alone while Steve grew up in the care of relatives. 

In the early 1940s Allen dropped out of college to work as a disc jockey and entertainer at radio station KOY in Phoenix before he was drafted in 1943. 

He was soon released because of asthma, returned to KOY, and married his college sweetheart, Dorothy Goodman. They had three sons, Steve Jr., David and Brian, and divorced in 1952. 

Allen moved to Los Angeles and began offering his comedy and music on local radio. He and Meadows married in 1954 and had one son, William (Bill) Allen. 

His midnight show on KNX attracted national attention in 1950 when it was carried on the CBS network as a summer replacement. The radio networks were converting to television, and he was brought to New York by CBS for “The Steve Allen Show.” 

Allen’s most enduring achievement came with the introduction of “The Tonight Show” in 1953. The show began as “Tonight” on the New York NBC station WNBT, then moved to the network on Sept. 27, 1954. 

Amid the formality of early TV, “Tonight” was a breath of fresh air. The show began with Allen noodling at the piano, playing some of his compositions and commenting wittily on events of the day. He moved to a desk, chatted with guests, taking part in sketches, doing zany man-in-the street interviews. 

Allen’s popularity led NBC in 1956 to schedule “The Steve Allen Show” on Sunday evenings opposite “The Ed Sullivan Show” on CBS. 

A variation of “Tonight,” the primetime show was notable for its “Man in the Street Interview” featuring new comics Louis Nye (“Hi-ho, Steverino”), Don Knotts, Tom Poston, Pat Harrington and Bill Dana. The show lasted through 1961, airing the last year on ABC. 

Allen cut back his “Tonight’ duties to three nights a week when the primetime show started. He left even that in 1956. He was replaced for a season by Ernie Kovacs, then NBC tried a new format in 1957, “Tonight! America after Dark.” It failed, and “Tonight” resumed with Jack Paar, followed by Johnny Carson in 1962 and Jay Leno in 1992. 

Over the years, Allen remained busy with concerts and with appearances in movies and TV series, often with his wife. Her sister, the late Audrey Meadows, played Alice in Jackie Gleason’s “The Honeymooners.” 

A self-styled advocate of “radical middle-of-the-roadism,” Allen often spoke out on political matters such as capital punishment, nuclear policy and freedom of expression. 

He joined with the Parents Television Council, a nonprofit, conservative group based in Los Angeles, to speak out against TV content in a series of ads. In a speech last year, he said shows such as “Jenny Jones” have “taken television to the garbage dump.” 

Allen was proudest of his 1976-79 PBS series “Meeting of Minds.” He moderated a panel of actors impersonating historic figures such as Galileo, Cleopatra (played by Jayne Meadows) and Attila the Hun, who explained their diverse philosophies. 

Besides his wife and children, Allen is survived by 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. 

In addition to private services, which had yet to be planned, the family intends to organize a service at which Allen’s friends in the industry can share stories about him, his son Bill said. 

SACRAMENTO — Two Internet sites offering to trade votes among supporters of Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader and Democratic candidate Al Gore have been shut down. 

The Web sites were taken offline Monday evening after the California secretary of state, the state’s top elections officer, told the site administrators that the vote trading violated California law. 

The sites www.voteswap200.com and www.voteexchange.org allowed Gore voters to trade their vote for a Nader vote in another state where the presidential race is close. 

If successful, the trade would manipulate the electoral college election system by helping Gore win undecided states. 

A fair swap would also help Nader maintain support that could get the Green Party federal election dollars in 2004. 

At least three other vote-swapping sites targeting Nader supporters remained online Tuesday. 

“This is not only illegal but it compromises the integrity of elections and the fundamental underpinnings of elections. We can’t take this lightly,” said Alfie Charles, spokesman for Secretary of State Bill Jones. 

Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury said Tuesday that he is not convinced that the sites are illegal. He has asked the state’s attorney general investigate the issue. 

In Oregon, Nader voters could swing the election in the favor of Republican candidate George W. Bush. 

Green Party volunteers in Oregon pointed out that because the state has an all-mail-in ballot, the site may have already done damage to the Nader campaign. 

“There is no reason to think that anyone who signs up for these sites is a real person and there is no way to know if these people are going to vote the way they promise,” said Dan Meek, a Portland attorney volunteering for the Nader campaign. 

Because state officials have little authority over Web sites, other vote-swapping sites could remain online until they are removed by the site author or the company that issued the domain name. 

Earlier this month, Jones announced an investigation into what California voters had offered to sell their votes on www.vote-auction.com. The site offers a block of more than 2,500 California votes to the highest bidder. 

On Tuesday, the block of votes for president in California was selling for $19.61. 

State officials are also cracking down on smaller Web sites. Colin Goldman, a Libertarian candidate running for a Southern California assembly seat was offering a $1,000 raffle to people promising to vote for him. 

That site was shut down Oct. 26 after state officials complained. 

——— 

On the Net: 

VoteSwap2000: http://www.voteswap200.com 

NaderTrader: http://www.NaderTrader.org 

VoteExchange.com: http://www.voteexchange.com 

VoteExchange.org: http://www.voteexchange.org 

Winchell: http://winchell.com/NaderTrader 

Vote-Auction: http://www.vote-auction.com 

Bush campaign site: http://www.georgewbush.com 

Gore campaign site: http://www.gorelieberman.com 

Nader campaign site: http://www.votenader.com 

SACRAMENTO — One of the nation’s best known drug treatment centers is weighing in against an initiative on next week’s ballot designed to provide more treatment programs. 

“A lot of people have expressed surprise that the Betty Ford Center would oppose an initiative that’s about treatment,” center President and CEO John Schwarzlose said Tuesday. 

The initiative would require that first- and second-time drug users be sent to treatment instead of prison or jail. That, and a lack of funding for frequent, random drug tests, means users can’t be held accountable, Schwarzlose said. 

Proponents countered that California’s current treatment system isn’t working, as evidenced by the record number of people imprisoned for drug possession. 

However, the sort of treatment allowed under Proposition 36 is a far cry from what his center provides, Schwarzlose said prior to a news conference at the Rancho Mirage-based center, which has treated Hollywood celebrities and other well-known people. 

“I truly believe the Texaco on the corner could hold treatment sessions,” Schwarzlose said. It would be better to increase funding for existing treatment programs and California’s successful drug courts, he said. 

Dale Gieringer, director of the San Francisco-based Drug Policy Forum of California, noted that drug courts treat about 5 percent of users, while California prisons held a record 20,116 inmates on simple drug possession charges as of June 30. Those inmates made up a record 12.4 percent of the prison system’s population. 

“We’ve had drug courts now for the better part of a decade, and they don’t seem to have made much of a dent,” Gieringer said. 

Nor has imprisoning drug offenders noticeably reduced drug use, added Dave Fratello, campaign manager of the California Campaign for New Drug Policies. 

BAKERSFIELD — United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta remained in critical condition Tuesday after undergoing surgery to stem bleeding from a rare opening in an artery. 

Family members gathered at the bedside of the 70-year-old labor and women’s rights activist in the intensive care unit at Bakersfield Heart Hospital. Huerta was on life support and sedated, but was beginning to open her eyes and reach for respiratory tubes running into her throat, giving her family hope that she will recover. 

“With prayers and that great fighting spirit we’ve come to know her by we’re hoping it all comes together for her,” said Emilio Huerta, one of her 11 children. 

After surgery Monday morning to repair an aortic artery in her intestines, her progress was monitored by the minute for the first three hours. 

“They told us that the odds were against us at that point,” Emilio Huerta said. “She has improved in the sense that her bleeding has stopped and she didn’t have any cardiac arrest and the likelihood of that is less and less.” 

Huerta was first hospitalized last Wednesday for treatment of a bleeding ulcer, and was released Friday. She began feeling ill again the next day and was readmitted Sunday, family members said. 

Huerta was a young elementary school teacher in the farm-rich San Joaquin Valley when she decided to follow another calling in 1955. 

“I couldn’t stand seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes,” she once said. “I thought I could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children.” 

She began working with Cesar Chavez and in 1962 co-founded the National Farm Workers Association – the forerunner to the UFW – where the single mother of seven earned a reputation as a fearless fighter. Chavez died in 1993. 

Emilio Huerta was optimistic that his mother would show the courage she did 12 years ago when she recovered after being critically injured during a San Francisco rally called to protest presidential candidate George Bush’s opposition to the UFW grape boycott. 

The 5-foot, 100-pound woman suffered three broken ribs, a pulverized spleen and required more than a dozen blood transfusions after being caught between advancing police officers who were thrusting their batons into the crowd of demonstrators. 

The city paid about $850,000 to settle her lawsuit in what was the city’s largest-ever police misconduct settlement. A grand jury investigating the matter chose not to bring charges, but recommended sweeping changes in crowd-control policies. 

Huerta stepped down as the UFW’s secretary-treasurer in September to help campaign for Al Gore. 

Last year she was honored with the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights by President Clinton for her lifelong work as a labor activist. 

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA — Some days, Joe Steinfeld is awake by 3 a.m. in his cluttered house, handwriting letters that he will fax to officials in Washington. He has called members of Congress, picketed alone in the nation’s capital, complained at town meetings and made a failed run for City Council. 

His quest? To end a 97-year-old tradition and open up Carmel-By-The-Sea to what nearly all Americans expect – home mail delivery. 

His persistent efforts make this proudly crotchety town recoil at the prospect of losing one of its most revered social occasions – the daily ritual of going to the post office for the mail. 

Steinfeld, 71, a retired antiques dealer recovering from cancer, said this is an important civil rights fight for elderly and disabled people who have trouble getting to the post office. 

If he has to, he said, he’ll sue the city 115 miles south of San Francisco. 

“The basis of our system is choice, but not in Carmel,” Steinfeld said. “Your neighbors are going to tell you you have no choice of postal service. Does that make any sense?” 

It does in a town that clings fiercely to its quaint idiosyncrasies, a place where you have to get a permit to wear high-heeled shoes, where there are no sidewalks in residential areas, no traffic lights or street lamps, no fast-food joints – and no mailboxes or numbered addresses. 

Houses have names like “Green Door Cottage,” “Sunburst” and “The Gazebo,” because that’s the way it’s always been. 

Steinfeld said he was amazed when he and his wife moved here last year from down the coast and found there was no home mail delivery. He began making regular calls to Postal Service officials in Washington and San Jose, plus every member of the House and Senate committees that oversee the Postal Service. 

In August, the Postal Service said it could begin home delivery if mailboxes and a numbering system were in place, and Steinfeld placed mailboxes in front of his house and the homes of his supporters. 

“It would be a complete luxury to have the mail delivered to my house,” said Carolina Bayne, a widow in her 60s. “Thank God for Joe.” 

But many Carmelites believe that if mailboxes clutter their narrow streets, then traffic lights, sidewalks, maybe even a McDonald’s, could come next. 

They also aren’t swayed by Steinfeld’s argument that the absence of addresses delays emergency vehicles, a contention supported by the fire chief. 

The City Council is scheduled to vote next Tuesday on an ordinance to prohibit mailboxes and addresses for 45 days. That would give the town time to come up with a compromise to preserve the no-mail tradition and ensure that disabled and elderly people are served, possibly through private delivery, Mayor Sue McCloud said. 

More than 4,000 communities nationwide don’t have home mail delivery, mostly small or remote towns that are served with a cluster of boxes on a highway or with boxes in a post office. The Postal Service will go along with whatever Carmel-By-The-Sea decides, spokesman Gus Ruiz said. 

Many residents are tired of the attention Steinfeld has brought. 

“They just want him off their backs,” McCloud said. “He is not likeable. You just can’t deal with him on a reasonable basis.” 

The mayor said she has received 664 letters or postcards on the mail issue, and only 108 favored home delivery. More than half the town’s 4,000 residents are older than 65. 

“I’m so used to coming down here, it’s no problem whatsoever,” 82-year-old William Frost said recently at the post office. “In fact, I kind of enjoy the trip and every once in a while I see somebody down here that I say hello to.” 

Though many Carmelites complain that Steinfeld doesn’t appreciate the town’s deliberate ways, he may be more like them than they would like to admit. 

“You have a community with a lot of retirees and you’ll always have somebody who doesn’t like this and doesn’t like that,” said Clint Eastwood, who was mayor from 1986 to 1988. “They have more time on their hands, as opposed to a working-class community where everybody’s busy.”

At about 8 p.m. Tuesday night a car drove by Rasputin’s records on Telegraph Avenue and opened fire, taking aim at a young man standing in front of the store, said Lt. Russell Lopes of the Berkeley Police. 

No one was hit, Lopes said. Police stopped a suspicious car near University Avenue and Milvia Street at about 8:30 p.m., believing that it might be the assailants, but witnesses said it was not the suspects’ car, Lopes said.

CULVER CITY — Three gunmen stormed a Target store Monday, took dozens of employees hostage, then tried to elude police by blending in with their victims in a 2 1/2-hour standoff. 

Three people were eventually arrested, no shots were fired and no one was injured in the botched robbery attempt. Two men were booked for investigation of armed robbery, police said, and may face other charges. The third alleged gunman, a teen-ager, was hospitalized for dog bites. 

More than 60 employees, many of them stocking shelves for Christmas, were inside the Target store on Jefferson Boulevard when the gunmen invaded the building about 5:20 a.m. and ordered people to get on the ground, police spokeswoman Randi Joseph said. 

“Most of them were huddled in the middle of the store and it didn’t appear the gunmen were going to turn on anyone,” Joseph added. “We got the best resolution. No one got hurt.” 

Store security guard Myron Jenkins made the initial 911 call when an employee told him about the robbers entering through the back entrance. 

“It was frantic,&’ said Jenkins, who was unarmed at the!time. “We couldn’t do much. It was out of our control.” 

Confusion plagued police efforts initially as they tried to determine who the armed robbers were. About an hour after the siege began, 15 workers were released and two of them, wearing employee clothing, were arrested. Target employees typically wear red shirts. 

The standoff ended 2 1/2 hours later when the rest of the employees were freed. Police believe the teen-ager jumped a wall and fled on foot at thd same time the employees were rtnning for safety. Hiding in a creek bed two miles away, he was flushed out by police dogs, police said. He was taken to a local hospital after one dog bit him on the left leg. 

Police said the timing of the attempted robbery was suspicious. The store’s alarm system was disabled when the incident began because of a shift change, authorities explained. 

“We believe there is some type of connection because they had knowledge of the operations at this rtord,” Joseph added. 

!Many of the empmoyees’ families learned about the hostage takeover on television news. Robert Redmon, whose 25-year-old son David works the graveyard shift as a stock clerk, came to the store with his wife. 

Several hours after the standoff began, Redmon found his son being interviewed by police at a nearby Burger King. 

“It’s been nerve-racking,” Redmon said. “I’m just relieved to see that he is safe and doing well.” 

Police took many of the employees to the fasu food restauranu for puestioning. The freed hostages shouted to anxious relatives gathered outside that they were unharmed. 

Target officials said there would be counseling available for employees and their family members. 

The store is considered one of the busiest Targets in the nation and it was teeming with more employees than usual because of the oncoming holiday rush. 

Habtamu Yahennas, 19, was planning to file a job application Monday morning. He was alarmed when he found police stsrounding the building. He waited for several hours but eventually gave up. 

“I guess this is a bad sign,” he said. 

Target corporate spokeswoman Patti Morris said crisis plans are in effect at all stores and the procedures were followed during the robbery attempt. She wouldn’t elaborate on those plans. 

Another Target official who consoled shaken employees was relieved that the situation had ended peacefully. 

“We are very pleased this situation was resolved quickly without any injuries,” said Target spokesman David Slingsby. “We want to assure our team members across the nation we will do everything in our power to ensure this doesn’t happen again.” 

SAN FRANCISCO – State utilities regulators have tentatively agreed to continue charging California’s leading phone companies more than $150 million per year for the Internet dial-up calls their customers make. 

If approved, the proposed California Public Utilities Commission decision could mean higher rates for Internet dial-up service say some service providers. 

Under the “reciprocal compensation” payment system initiated by the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, phone companies are reimbursed for completing calls made by customers of other companies. 

Large phone companies want Internet calls classified as long distance to defray the annual cost. Internet calls in California are often completed using smaller phone companies because they charge lower rates. 

An administrative law judge of the state PUC determined that Internet dial-up connections are local calls and reciprocal payments between phone companies should continue. Smaller phone companies say their financial livelihood relies on such reimbursements. 

“If we can’t recover the cost from Pacific [Bell], we either eat that, or become less profitable and less competitive, or we have to charge our receiving customers,” said John Sumpter of Stockton-based Pac-West Telecomm Inc. 

Larger carriers such as Verizon Communications and Pacific Bell say the current system is unfair because they are left paying virtually all the bills for the connections. Pacific Bell estimates it will pay $135 million in reciprocal fees this year in California and calls such fees an “unsustainable cost burden.” 

Some large phone companies argue that Internet phone calls last much longer than ordinary phone use and fees for keeping customers connected add up fast.

STANFORD — Stanford Medical School is convening a panel to investigate allegations of medical and academic misconduct involving two doctors accused of performing unnecessary surgeries and concealing complications that arose from them. 

It is the first such review in the school’s history. 

Retired state Supreme Court Justice Edward Panelli, bioethicist Erich Loewy and Harvard Medical School instructor Mitchell Rabkin will examine the conduct of brothers Camran and Farr Nezhat, gynecologists who run the Stanford Endoscopy Center for Training and Technology and have been accused of research fraud. 

The brothers say the allegations against them are a “smear campaign” and that they look forward to clearing their names. 

“The inquiries ... are a tremendous step in an enduring smear campaign that has been smoldering since we were recruited to the faculty,” Camran Nezhat said in a statement. 

The panel will examine allegations that the Nezhats misdiagnosed the severity of cancer in one of their patients and then improperly referenced her case as a success story in a published research paper. 

In recently filed court documents related to a malpractice suit against the brothers, Farr Nezhat disclosed that two of the 16 patients he wrote about in a 1992 article did not undergo the procedure he described, but instead had a different surgery. 

Farr Nezhat said his errors in the journal Surgical Laparoscopy and Endoscopy were merely oversights and not meant to be misleading. 

“I did not supervise the collection and tabulation of data for the article as closely as I should have,” Farr Nezhat said an affidavit. 

The Nezhats came under fire for a series of bowel surgeries they performed on women in 1991 at Atlanta’s Northside Hospital. The women were being treated for endometriosis, a painful condition in which tissue from the uterine lining migrates to other organs. 

Stanford officials initially said they were not responsible for investigating the allegations, because the events occurred before the doctors joined Stanford. But Peter Gregory, chief medical officer of Stanford Medical Center, said the university changed its stance in the public’s interest. 

The panel not only will examine the Nezhats’ conduct, but also will assess the quality review process at the medical center’s obstetrics and gynecology department and the procedure of the hospital’s credentialing committee. 

Daily Planet Staff reports  

Berkeley High School has been granted $350,000 through the Federal Safe School Initiative to install comprehensive intercom and fire safety systems.  

“I am delighted that the House and Senate approved these funds for Berkeley High School. We need these funds to supplement the safety systems the school has installed this year. This money will help ensure the safety of our Berkeley High School students,” Mayor Shirley Dean said. “The people of Berkeley are very grateful for Senator Boxer’s efforts.”  

Dean wrote to Boxer in March requesting federal funds to acquire a working alarm and communication system at the high school.  

In the last two years, Berkeley High School has had serious arson fires that went undetected for some time due to the lack of a working alarm system. Students and staff literally did not have warning about one fire until smoke began to waft into classrooms from a nearby supply room fire.  

Teachers and staff hastily evacuated the building without injury, but the circumstances were very disturbing. The damage from the April 2000 fire is estimated at $1 million.

An audience of mostly college students challenged New York Times editors and writers Monday about what news is fit to print when it comes to race in America. 

“We believe in this project with all our hearts,” said Gerald M. Boyd, deputy managing editor who conceived the Times’ year-long investigative series “How Race is Lived in America,” a 15-part series dealing with race through the lens of relationships. 

But audience members said the series reduced race relations to an “emotional statement” and that the Times often fails to fairly cover other racially charged issues, most recently the case of a Chinese American scientist charged with espionage. 

About 25 reporters and photographers fanned throughout the country over a year to produce the series, which included articles about the frustration of low-wage workers in a North Carolina pork-packing plant, the struggle of middle-school New Jersey girls of different races to maintain their friendship, and the decision of an Atlanta-area church to include a mixed-race Jesus in the Christmas pageant. Decades ago, the story would have been about blacks denied equal rights, said Boyd, who is African American. But that has changed, he said. “There's been some progress. Even so, whites and people of color remain divided.” 

About 700 people packed Wheeler Auditorium for the symposium. In cities like Berkeley, people often think “we are beyond even talking about race, that’s only for those hicks in the South,” said Timothy P. Egan, a national reporter who wrote one of the articles. Egan is Caucasian. But students lined up to comment on and question the Times coverage. 

Boyd said the genesis of the series was the office mood after the OJ Simpson verdict was announced. “Every place you looked in the New York Times when the verdict was announced, you could hear a pin drop,” he said. At the Times, as elsewhere in the United States, reactions to the verdict came down on racial lines, Boyd said. 

But soon the conversations stopped and everyone went back to their work. “Why was there this difference and why weren't people talking about it?” said Boyd. “We set out journalistically to go into this silence. The silence taking place in the newsroom, and the silence across the country,” Boyd said. 

Times writer Dana Canedy, who is African American, said, “There's a silence and fear of saying the wrong thing. Am I going to lose my job, just blow that promotion, are people going to ask me to lunch?” 

“I don't know what it is about race that makes it so powerful,” said Boyd, who said he had sleepless nights while the series was being produced. 

Timothy P. Egan, a Seattle-based correspondent, said while writing for the series he was looking for “one moment of revelation and a bit of light coming through.” 

Race often boils down to class, said UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism alumnus Charlie LeDuff, who is mixed Native American and Caucasian. “Who gets what?” he asked. 

One audience member criticized the series for being “tokenist” and superficial. Another asked about the decision to focus on black and white, as the series included only one article on Asian Americans. 

Ariel Luckey, a UC Berkeley senior in Environmental Studies, criticized the Times coverage of Wen Ho Lee, a Chinese American scientist accused of espionage. The Times, which identified the Los Alamos scientist by race, later printed an explanation for the coverage that came close to an apology. 

“We take this as seriously as anything I've ever encountered in my career as a journalist,” said Boyd. “This year will be remembered for two things,” he said. Boyd said in future the Times will recall its 15-part, 100,000-word series on race in America, and its 1,600-word statement on Wen Ho Lee.