Three years in a row, the Washington (Fremont) boys’ soccer team has come to Berkeley with a perfect record. Three years in a row, they have gone home losers. 

“Every year they come in here and we break their hearts,” said Berkeley midfielder Tiago Venturi following the Yellowjackets’ 1-0 victory over the visiting Huskies on Thursday. “I can see why they would be upset.” 

That frustration was apparent for much of the second half of the game, as Washington’s player started going into tackles harder and harder whether or not they had a chance for the ball. It wasn’t a big surprise when Husky defender Kyle Emmitt was given a yellow card for a foul; but when Emmitt ripped off his jersey on the way off the field, he earned a red card and an ejection with 15 minutes left to play. Mysteriously, Washington put in a substitute and continued to play with a full squad. 

The extra man didn’t matter a minute later, however, when Kamani Hill, Berkeley’s freshman forward, scored the goal of the young season. Hill took a feed from fellow freshman Jose Cipres at the top of the goal box, flicked the ball up and connected on a bicycle kick that slipped just inside the left post for the game’s lone goal. 

“I just flicked it up and went for it,” said Hill, who also celebrated his 15th birthday on Thursday. “It’s pretty good for my first goal as a 15-year-old.” 

The ’Jacket victory ruined Washington’s perfect 9-0 record, and put Berkeley at 7-4 on the year. 

“We knew going into the game that they would be big and fast and strong,” said Berkeley head coach Eugenio Juarez. “They definitely weren’t afraid to go in hard on our players.” 

One egregious example of that willingness came early in the second half. Berkeley goalkeeper Todd Wagner had collected a long ball into his box and rolled the ball to one of his players. Despite the absence of the ball, a Washington player ran by and clipped Wagner, sending him sprawling to the ground and the Berkeley players and fans into a rage. Despite the empassioned pleas of ’Jacket captain Cameron Parkinson, the referee swallowed his whistle and allowed play to continue. 

“It’s part of the referee’s job to protect the ‘keepers,” Juarez said. “I don’t know what they were looking at.” 

That episode was just one of many in the second half, as players from both sides began flying around the field with abandon. 

“They got frustrated as the game went on, and they got more physical,” Venturi said. “When that happens, we have to control ourselves and not get caught up in it.” 

The first half of the game was largely uneventful, with each team getting just one shot on goal. But Berkeley came out on the offensive to start the second half, as Washington goalkeeper Luke Albertelli fumbled a shot from Hill. Ilann Messeri beat the stumbling Albertelli to the ball, but the ‘keeper got a hand on Messeri’s first attempt, and the second was cleared off of the line by Washington sweeper Kyle Frazier. 

Less than a minute later, Albertelli came off his line to punch away a Venturi cross over Berkeley’s Liam Reilly. Soon after that, Hill split two defenders and chipped the ball just over the crossbar, to the relief of an out-of-position Albertelli. Later, Hill headed a cross off of the left post of the Washington goal, but midfielder William Vega couldn’t put away the rebound and the game remained scoreless. 

The Yellowjackets next face St. Ignatius (San Francisco) in a scrimmage on Jan. 2. 

Correction: a story in the December 26 issue of the Berkeley Daily Planet said Berkeley High’s Amadeo Alvarez scored three goals against Encinal. Alvarez did not play in the game. Tiago Venturi was the player in question.

By Emily Judd 

A while back I read an article in the Daily Planet about my Dad fixing bikes. I want to let people know about a very close friend named Mrs. Reed who has helped California Street a lot.  

Mrs. Reed moved into her house on California St. in 1975, two or three years before my parents moved in. She tried to keep up the house, since her landlord couldn't afford to fix anything. The plumbing was one of the problems. After 20 years, she gave up and moved out. 

When she moved in, there was a hippie bus park on the street. They ran electrical cords from the corner house to their buses. At night, people would trip on the cords since it was so dark on that section of sidewalk.  

Mrs. Reed called the city to ask for a ladder and work clothes so she could install a street light since they wouldn't. The threat got the city to put in a new streetlight.  

Her complaints also solved other problems such as: the hippies using her front yard as a bathroom; holes left by sloppy street construction; people dumping trash in the street; and people sitting on the apartment rails and selling dope. 

People used to park blocking her garage. She asked the city if she could paint the curb red. They said yes.  

Mr. Harvell used to own a store on the corner. He had the same sort of problem but had been shy of doing the marking himself. So she called the city and asked them to do it. When she came home from work one day, a man named Mr. Neiheim phoned to say “Have you seen the grocery store?” She looked and the city had painted the curb as a loading zone as she had asked. 

Though she didn't get much formal education many people might wish to be like her. Mrs. Reed is the kind of person who doesn't ignore the neighborhood. Instead, she watches out for it. Her mom said she would grow up to read people and she does.  

She didn't get much schooling because she grew up on a sharecropping farm. She got a job in a mortuary arranging bodies for the embalmer, she modeled clothes, and she's taken care of kids. She knew me before I was born. She loves kids, and has been a great friend to me and my whole family (otherwise I wouldn't be writing this). 

Emily Judd is 10 and lives in Berkeley 

Where’s the audit?  

Dear Editor: 

The California PUC was going to do an audit of PG&E’s claims of poverty. What were the findings? 

Did the audit investigate the overhead costs at PG&E? How does PG&E compare with other investor owned utilities (IOU’s) around the country? Are they overloaded with executives? Does this include the employees of subsidiary companies? How many attorneys are being carried as employees? What is the status of slush funds for tree trimming and under grounding, and are those funds drawing interest? 

Are PG&E costs still built into the rate base and how does this affect their profit and loss results? Do the costs increase as the gas and electricity move through PG& E subsidiaries? Do employees get duplicate payments from subsidiaries? 

Does PG&E write off the costs of their facilities from their tax bills to local, state and federal governments? Is there duplication of any write offs?  

Does PG&E promptly replace or refurbish any facilities which have been written off at the end of their useful period? Are the power poles written off after fifteen years with a nail showing installation date? Won’t rotten poles fall over in strong winds and quakes? 

Will PG&E’s facilities be out of service after a really big earthquake? Was this overlooked in the rush toward deregulation? 

Finally, what is PG&E’s attitude toward local firms that want their own cogeneration (on-site power generation) facilities? Has PG&E discouraged cogeneration, which gets double use of energy for electricity and for heating and/or air conditioning? Don’t cogeneration sites function better after an earthquake and avoid the line loss of carrying electricity long distances? Don’t countries like Germany and Sweden, generate 35 to 50 percent of their electricity right on site with lower costs? 

Answers to these questions are needed to understand PG&E’s situation. 

Charles L. Smith 

Berkeley 

Kudos for local utility research 

The Daily Planet received this letter to the Berkeley City Council: I want to express my support and respect for your 8-1 decision last night in regard to Municipal Utility Services. The research by the Energy Commission will certainly tell us what the pros and cons are for our city to take control of its electrical power. I thank Lina Maio for her proposal on this. If any city can overcome obstacles to benefit its citizens, Berkeley is the one to do it.  

While this utility crisis is more severe for some people than others, it is a crisis for most of us in some way. People nowadays have additional hardships: Increased housing costs, taxes, HMO payments, increased transportation costs, after school care for children, college costs, medicines and medical care costs not covered by insurance, etc.  

Being comfortable in one’s own home is a right, not a privilege. I was absolutely shocked at Polly Armstrong’s remark that she would vote against the research as “Berkeley has trouble dealing with what we have on our plate and we don’t need to be an energy company.” Five minutes later she went on at length to praise the Arts on Addison St. - theater companies, restaurants with music and other forms of entertainment with ample city funding and support for this privilege.  

I am in district eight and I doubt that my neighbors would be so blatantly disrespectful and unconscious of the majority of citizens here. I believe that district eight would support the research to see if it was feasible for Berkeley to have its own municipal utility service.  

I understand that several cities have established their own service and each can be contacted to see how they did it. I would urge Polly Armstrong to join the city council and keep in mind that her district does have a cross section including fixed incomes, senior residents, college students, retired people, fully-employed households, high house payments and taxes, after school child care, etc.  

Thank you again.  

Jae Scharlin 

Berkeley 

Missed the point 

Editor: 

I am surprised, Editor Scherr, that you allowed your reporter to miss the point in his reporting of the resolution to support the City Council boycott against the Pasand Madras restaurant on Dec. 19. The vote was 7 - 2! 

The most important issue that escaped your reporter’s attention is that of global sex slavery. Never once did your reporter bring the following to the attention of your readers: The U.S. State Department issued a report in 1999 that at least 50,000 women from Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe are being sold as sex slaves and laborers each year into the U.S. Over two million are forced into sex slavery worldwide.  

Trafficking in women and girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation in the form of prostitution, “escorts,” “mail order brides,” and pornography is the favored illegal trade activity, now replacing even drug trafficking.  

These women are deceived by traffickers into leaving their countries, believing they will be offered work, and end up living in slave conditions, causing many to be injured and die. Sex trafficking harms women of all races and ethnic groups.  

Here was your chance to reveal this heinous crime against women to all your readers and you chose to support this man.  

BJ Miller 

Berkeley

Friday, Dec. 29

Earthcapades 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join Hearty and Lissin as they blend storytelling, juggling, acrobatics, and more, to entertain and teach about saving the environment. Included in museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Saturday, Dec. 30

Bats of the World  

1 & 2:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Maggie Hooper, an educator with the California Bat Conservation Fund, will show slides, introduce three live, tame, and indigenous bats, and answer your questions about these fascinating creatures. Included in admission to the museum. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Kwanzaa Celebration 

4 p.m. 

South Branch Library  

1901 Russell St.  

Muriel Johnson of Abiyomi Storytelling is the featured storyteller at the library’s annual celebration which also includes a formal Kwanzaa ceremony.  

Call 649-3943 

Sunday, Dec. 31

Light Up the Lights! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Popular songmeister Gary Lapow performs traditional holiday music from around the world. Included in price of museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Tuesday, Jan. 2

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Berkeley Intelligent Conversation  

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

Jewish Community Center  

1414 Walnut Ave. (at Rose)  

With no religious affiliation, this twice-monthly group, led informally by former UC Berkeley extension lecturer Robert Berent, seeks to bring people together to have interesting discussions on contemporary topics. This evenings discussion topic is the legal and judiciary system.  

Call 527-9772  

Wednesday, Jan. 3

Berkeley Communicators  

Toastmasters 

7:15 p.m. 

Vault Restaurant  

3250 Adeline St.  

Learn to speak fluently without fear or hesitation.  

Call Howard Linnard, 527-2337 

Commission on the Status of  

Women  

7:45 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

The Mayor’s special study group’s report on domestic violence and plans for international women’s day ceremonies for March, 2001 and other activities for Women’s History Month.  

Thursday, Jan. 4

Snowshoe Tours  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Catherine Stifter of Backcountry Tracks presents a slide-show on her favorite ski and snowshoe tours off Highway 49 between Sierra City and Yuba Pass. Free 

Call 527-4140 

Keeping Your Healthy  

Resolutions 

10:30 a.m. - Noon 

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center 

Summit North Pavilion Cafeteria, Annexes B & C 

350 Hawthorne St.  

Oakland 

Sue Elderkin, physical therapist, will give tips on sticking to exercise resolutions for the new year and how to incorporate healthy practices into daily life.  

Call 869-6737 

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Teddy Weiler and host Randy Fingland.  

644-0155 

Friday, Jan. 5

Zen Buddhist Sites in China 

7 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California 

1000 Oak St.  

Oakland 

Andy Ferguson, author of “Zen’s Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings,” presents a slide show of Zen holy sites in China. Ferguson will read from the book and engage the audience in a brief meditation session. Included in museum admission. 

$6 general, $4 seniors and students with ID 

Call 1-888-OAK-MUSE 

Taize’ Worship Service  

7:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

Loper Chapel  

(adjacent to) First Congregational 

Church of Berkeley  

Dana St. (between Durant & Channing) 

Call 848-3696  

“Waiting for Godot” 

8 p.m. 

La Val’s Subterranean  

1834 Euclid (at Hearst) 

Presented by Subterranean Shakespeare and directed by Yoni Barkan, director of last summer’s “A Midsummers Night Dream.”  

$8 - $12  

Call 234-6046 

Compiled by Chason Wainwright

By Dan Greenman 

Daily Planet Staff 

A one-stop recycling “mall” where people can drop off or pick up used computers, old household appliances and scrap metal will soon be in full operation in southwest Berkeley. 

Urban Ore, a recyclable materials center, partially relocated one year ago from a site at Gilman and Sixth streets to a warehouse building at 900 Murray St. Its plans are to team up with similar businesses to create an Eco Industrial Park of “green” businesses. 

“The concept of an Eco Park is to bring together companies that are similar in that they recycle and reuse products,” said Ted Burton, economic development project coordinator for the city, who has helped Urban Ore set up the Eco Park. “When they are sharing space they can also share information and sell products to each other.” 

When the Eco Park is complete, a group of local businesses will operate out of the 47,000-square-foot building. Another building may be relocated to the two-acre site to create even more usable space. 

Earlier this year Urban Ore owner Dan Knapp established a seven-person design team of contractors and architects to draw up plans for the new location. Urban Ore then negotiated with the city for five months over architectural and seismic issues for the building. 

Urban Ore has moved only part of its operation to the site. In September it received permits to move the rest of its business as well as other businesses to Murray Street. 

“We had estimated it would take less time to get the permits at the start,” Knapp said. “We were surprised at the amount of changes that we went through.” 

The building still needs a seismic retrofit before Urban Ore can finish moving in. 

“Our first order of business is to get code work done on the main building so we can move the rest of our business there,” Knapp said. 

Burton said the seismic retrofit alone will cost about $800,000. 

While no leases have been signed yet to move other business into the building, a few have been named as possible partners. 

“There are other businesses that want to be a part of the Eco Park, and we want them to be in there,” Knapp said.  

Urban Ore is working on a permit that will allow the Computer Resource Center, an Alameda County nonprofit business that collects used computers, to relocate to the site. Berkeley Neighborhood Computers, a business that gives computers to low-income residents, is also planning to join the Eco Park. 

“We want to be part of that community of recyclers,” said Bill Mack, director of Berkeley Neighborhood Computers. “It’s great if people can bring used computers and other things to be reused to the same place at the same time.” 

Mack said Berkeley Neighborhood Computers should move to Murray Street from its current San Pablo Avenue location in a matter of months, but no specific date has been set. 

“We are hoping to move as soon as possible because it will be a much better location for us,” he said. 

Work on the main building will cost approximately $1.4 million, which Urban Ore will fund, Knapp said. The business already has a $200,000 contract with the state and Knapp said he expects the city and county to contribute money as well. 

Urban Ore signed a lease for the Murray Street location on Dec. 22, 1999 and started moving some of its business across town a week later. It finished moving two sections of the business (Building Materials Exchange and Salvage and Recycling, a scrap management section) to the new site in February.  

Urban Ore’s other three sections, which buy, sell and trade materials – The General Store, Arts and Media Exchange, and Hardware Exchange – are still located at 1333 Sixth St. Knapp said all of Urban Ore should be relocated by the end of next year.

Habitot Children’s Museum  

Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue  

647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

“Back to the Farm.”An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels like an earthworm, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. Monday and Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Judah L. Magnes Museum  

2911 Russell St.  

549-6950  

“Telling Time: To Everything There Is A Season” Through May, 2002 An exhibit structured around the seasons of the year and the seasons of life with objects ranging from the sacred and the secular, to the provocative and the whimsical. “Second Annual Richard Nagler Competition for Excellence in Jewish Photography” Through Feb., 2001. Featuring the work of Claudia Nierman, Jason Francisco, Fleming Lunsford, and others.  

UC Berkeley Art Museum  

2626 Bancroft Way 

“Amazons in the Drawing Room”: The Art of Romaine Brooks through Jan. 16, 2001  

Predominantly a portrait artist, Brooks paintings were influenced by elements of her life and are a visual record of the changing status of women in society. “Tacita Dean/MATRIX 189 Banewl” through Jan. 28, 2001 A film instillation by British conceptual artist Tacita Dean of the total solar eclipse of Aug. 11, 1999. Wednesday – Sunday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Open Thursdays til 9 p.m.  

Pacific Film Archive Theater Gallery  

2625 Durant Ave. 

“Continuous Replay: The Photographs of Arnie Zane” through Jan. 8, 2001 

Best known as the cofounder of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Zane began his exploration of the human form through photography. 

The Asian Galleries  

642-0808 

“Art of the Sung: Court and Monastery,” open-ended. A display of early Chinese works from the permanent collection.  

“Chinese Ceramics and Bronzes: The First 3,000 Years,” open-ended. “Works on Extended Loan from Warren King,” open-ended. “Three Towers of Han,” open-ended.  

$6 general; $4 seniors and students age 12 to 18; free children age 12 and under; free Thursday, 11 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

UC Berkeley Museum of  

Paleontology  

Lobby, Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley  

“Tyrannosaurus Rex,” ongoing. A 20 by 40-foot replica of the fearsome dinosaur made from casts of bones of the most complete T. Rex skeleton yet excavated. When unearthed in Montana, the bones were all lying in place with only a small piece of the tailbone missing. 

“Pteranodon” A suspended skeleton of a flying reptile with a wingspan of 22-23 feet. The Pteranodon lived at the same time as the dinosaurs. Free. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

UC Berkeley Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology  

Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way and College Ave.  

643-7648  

“Approaching a Century of Anthropology: The Phoebe Hearst Museum,” open-ended. This new permanent installation will introduce visitors to major topics in the museum’s history.“Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture,” ongoing.This exhibit documents the culture of the Yahi Indians of California as described and demonstrated from 1911 to 1916 by Ishi, the last surviving member of the tribe. 

$2 general; $1 seniors; $.50 children age 17 and under; free on Thursdays. Wednesday, Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science  

642-5132 

“Earthcapades,” Dec. 29, 1 p.m. Hearty and Lissin blend storytelling, juggling, acrobatics and more to entertain and teach about saving the environment. “Bats of the World,” Dec. 30, 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Maggie Hooper of the California Bat Conservation Fund shows slides, introduces three live bats, and answer questions about these animals. “Gary Lapow's Light Up the Lights!” Dec. 31, 1 p.m. A performance of traditional holiday songs from around the world celebrating Las Posadas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas. “Math Rules!” Ongoing. A math exhibit of hands-on problem-solving stations, each with a different mathematical challenge.“Within the Human Brain” Ongoing. Visitors test their cranial nerves, play skeeball, master mazes, match musical tones and construct stories inside a simulated “rat cage” of learning experiments. “In the Dark,” through Jan. 15, 2001. Plunge into darkness and see amazing creatures that inhabit worlds without light. “Vision,” Jan. 20 - April 15, 2001. Get a very close look at how the eyes and brain work together to focus light, perceive color and motion, and process infomation. “Saturday Night Stargazing,” First and third Saturdays each month. 8 - 10 p.m., LHS plaza. “ChemMystery,” through Jan. 1, 2001. The LHS becomes a crime scene and a science lab to help visiting detectives to solve two different crime scenarios. Call 643-5134 for tickets  

$7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4 

Holt Planetarium  

Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley 642-5132 or www.lhs.berkeley.edu 

Programs are recommended for age 8 and up; children under age 6 will not be admitted. $2 in addition to regular museum admission. “Constellations Tonight” Ongoing. Using a simple star map, learn to identify the most prominent constellations for the season in the planetarium sky. Daily, 3:30 p.m. $7 general; $5 seniors, students, disabled, and youths age 7 to 18; $3 children age 3 to 5 ; free children age 2 and younger. Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

Music 

924 Gilman St. 

525-9926  

All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless noted 

$5; $2 for a year membership 

Dec. 29: Nerve Agents, American Nightmare, Kill Me Kate, PBR Streetgang; Dec. 30: The Unseen, F-Minus, Intreped A.A.F., Broken Society, Stockyard Stoics; Dec. 31, 1 p.m.: Crucial Section, W.H.N.?, Scott Baio’s Army, Godstomperl; Jan. 5: Remnants, The Clumsy Bears, Eleventeen, Whorange, Tear It Up, Fast Times; Jan. 6: The Locust, Beautiful Skin, National Acrobat, The Pattern, Heart of Snow 

Ashkenaz  

1370 San Pablo Ave. (at Gilman)  

525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Dec. 29: Surco Nuevo, 9:30 p.m., $11; dance lesson with Felipe Martinez, 8:30 p.m.; Dec. 30: Legion of Mary with Martin Fiero, New Monsoon, 9 p.m., $10; Dec. 31: Balkan New Year's Eve Party, 8 p.m.; featuring Vassil and Maria Bebelekov, Edessa, Anoush, Joe Finn. $12; Jan. 11: Benefit concert for Food First featuring: Ten Ton Chicken, Tree o’ Frogs, The David Thom Band and Buffalo Roam, $10 - $15  

Eli’s Mile High Club  

3629 MLK Jr. Way Oakland  

All shows at 8 p.m.; Dec. 29: Little Johnny & the Giants; Dec. 30: Carlos Zialcita; Jan. 5: Scott Duncan; Jan. 6: Takezo; Jan. 12: Ron Hacker; Jan. 13: Frankie Lee; Jan. 19: Craig Horton Blues Band; Jan. 20: Jimmy Mamou; Jan. 26: Carlos Zialcita; Jan. 27: Mark Hummel 

Freight & Salvage  

1111 Addison St.  

548-1761  

All shows begin at 8 p.m. 548-1761 

Dec. 29: Peppino D’Agostino (Italian fingerstyle guitar); Dec. 30: Oak, Ash & Thorn (A Cappella of british isles); Dec. 31: New Year’s Bluegrass Festival with High Country, Jim nunally, Bill Evans & Eric Thomas; Jan. 5: Beth Custer Dona Luz 30 Besos; Jan. 6: The Waybacks; Jan. 7: The Joyce Todd Trio 

Albatross Pub  

1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

All shows begin at 9 p.m., unless noted.  

Dec. 31, 10 p.m. - 1 p.m.: Dave Widelock Jazz Trio 

Crowden School  

1475 Rose St. (at Sacramento) 559-6910 

Sundays, 4 p.m.: Chamber music series sponsored by the school.  

Jazzschool/La Note 

2377 Shattuck Ave.  

845-5373 

All shows at 4:30 p.m.Tickets are $10 - $12  

Jan. 14: Afro-Jazz with Pascal Bokar ; Jan. 21: The BlueJazzHouse Party with Brenda Boykin and The Eric Swinderman Quartet  

Cal Performances  

Zellerbach Hall UC Berkeley 

642-9988 or www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Jan. 19, 8 p.m.: Gospel ensemble The Mighty Clouds of Joy and The Campbell Brothers, $16 - $28; Feb. 2 & 3, 8 p.m.: Allee der Kosmonauten by Berlin choreographer Sasha Waltz with video installations by New York artist Elliot Caplan, $20 - $42; Feb. 4, 4 p.m.: Russian National Orchestra, $30 - $52  

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra  

Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley 841-2800  

Jan. 31, April 3, and June 21, 2001. All performances begin at 8 p.m. Single $19 - $35, Series $52 - $96  

Klesmeh! Festival  

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 

415-454-5238  

Dec. 23, 8 p.m. A Hanukkah concert of Klesmer music and its mutations, featuring the San Francisco Klesmer experience. Hosted by Berkeley monologist/comedian Josh Kornbluth. $18 advance, $20 door; $16 kids and seniors  

“Flamenco Fiesta” 

Cafe de la Paz 1600 Shattuck Ave.  

843-0662  

Dec. 31, 8:30 p.m. Dancer Lourdes Rodrigues and guitarists Keni “El Lebrijano” and David Gutierrez will perform along with additional dancers and singers Kati Majia and Sarita Ayala in a dinner show and a midnight countdown show.  

Tickets for dinner show, $50. Tickets for midnight countdown show, $21 (midnight countdown show begins at 11 p.m.) 

“Sing for Hope”  

First Congregational Church, 2435 Channing Way (at Dana) 655-3435 

Jan. 12, 8 p.m. The second annual event features an evening of arias and Broadway show tunes sung by seven of New York’s young rising opera stars. All proceeds benefit the Center for AIDS Services, a nonprofit day center in Oakland for people with HIV and AIDS.  

$35 performance only, $50 performance & post-concert reception 

Dia de los Reyes Concert  

St. Joseph the Worker Church 1640 Addison  

(415) 431-4234  

Jan. 13, 8 p.m. Performing will be Coro Hispano de San Francisco and Conjunto Nuevo Mundo with the Jackeline Rago Ensemble de la Pena. $ 12 - $15  

Theater 

“Dinner With Friends” by Donald Margulies  

Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2025 Addison St.  

845-4700, www.berkeleyrep.org  

Through Jan. 7, 2001 

$15.99 - $51 

“The Weir” by Conor  

McPherson Aurora Theater  

Company  

Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave.  

843-4822  

Through Dec. 30, Tuesday - Saturday, 8 p.m. ; Sunday, 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. 

$30 

“Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett  

Subterranean Shakespeare La Val’s Subterranean 1834 Euclid (at Hearst) 

234-6046  

Jan. 5 through Feb. 3, Thursday - Saturday, 8 p.m. 

$8 - $12 

Films 

New Iranian Cinema  

Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch)  

642-1412  

Featured films include Mariam Shahriar’s “Daughters of the Sun,” Rassul Sadr Ameli’s “The Girl in Sneakers,” and Parvi Shahbazi’s “Whispers,” and many others.  

Jan. 4 - 13 $7 for one film, $8.50  

Exhibits 

Toki Gallery  

1212 San Pablo Ave. 524-7363  

“Heads of the Class,” ceramic sculptures by seventh and eighth grade students at the East Bay Science & Arts Middle School.  

Through Jan. 10, Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

Kala Art Institute  

1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 

Over sixty artists affiliated with the Kala Art Institute will show works ranging from wood block prints to digital media.  

Through Jan. 16, Tuesday - Friday, Noon - 5 p.m. 

Berkeley Historical Society  

1931 Center St. 848-0181 

“Berkeley’s Ethnic Heritage.” An overview of the rich cultural diversity of the city and the contribution of individuals and minority groups to it’s history and development.  

Thursday through Saturday, 1 – 4 p.m. Free.  

Pro Arts Gallery  

461 Ninth St., Oakland. 763-9425  

2000 Juried Annual, Through Dec. 30. This years show features 79 works by 70 artists. This show is juried by Larry Rinder, curator of contemporary art at the Whitney Museum. “Consecrations: Spirits in the Time of AIDS,” Jan. 24 - Feb. 24. An exhibit seeking to expand the understanding of HIV and AIDS and the people affected by them. Wednesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

“Art of Ethan Snyderman”  

French Hotel 1538 Shattuck Ave. (between Cedar and Vine) 763-1313  

At the ripe old age of nine, Snyderman creates canvases with “figures reminiscent of Matisse and Modigliani.” Through December  

Acrylic Paintings of Corinne Innis 

Women’s Cancer Resource Center 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 x307  

Paying homage to her subconscious, Innis uses rich colors in her acrylic paintings. Jan. 16 - Feb. 26; Opening reception Jan. 20, 5 - 7 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 1 - 7 p.m. and by appointment  

Drawings & Watercolor Paintings of Daniel Hitkov 

Red Cafe 1941 University Ave. 843-7230 

Hitkov is a young Bulgarian artist whose subjects are the real and unreal in nature, people and things. Jan. 2 - Feb. 12, 2001; Opening reception Jan. 2, 2 - 6 p.m.  

Readings 

Boadecia’s Books 398 Colusa Ave. Kensington 559-9184 www.boadeciasbooks.com 

All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted Jan. 6: Gaymes Night; come play Balderdash, Sequence, and others and enjoy pizza, company, and teamwork; Jan. 13: Dyke Open Myke!; Jan. 14, 11 a.m.: LesBiGayTrans prospective parenting group meeting; Jan. 19: Marcy Sheiner and local contributors read from “Best Women’s Erotica 2001”; Jan. 20: Jenny Scholten reads from “Daystripper”; Jan. 27: Susan Swartz reads from “Juicy Tomatoes: Plain Truths, Dumb Lies, & Sisterly Advice About Life After 50” 

“Strong Women - Writers & Heroes of Literature” North Berkeley Senior Center 1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 549-2970  

Mondays, Jan. 5 through June, 2001, 1 - 3 p.m. 

Taught by Dr. Helen Rippier Wheeler, author of “Women and Aging: A Guide to Literature,” this is a free weekly literature course in the Berkeley Adult School’s Older Adults Program.  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533 All free events at 7:30 p.m. (unless noted) 

Jan. 11: Kristan Lawson & Anneli Rufus discuss their book “California Babylon: A Guide to Sites of Scandal, Mayhem, and Celluloid in the Golden State.”; Jan. 16: Various travel authors discuss the spiritual aspects of traveling, “Travel as Pilgrimage.”; Jan. 18: Berkeley resident, restaurant and move critic John Weil, through a slide presentation and talk, takes attendees on a unique tour through the rich artistic and cultural heritage of Berkeley and Oakland.  

Duomo Reading Series and Open Mic. Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155; Thursdays, 6:30 - 9 p.m.  

Jan. 4: Teddy Weiler; Jan. 11: Kirk Lumpkin; Jan. 18: Ayodele Nzinga; Jan. 25: Glenn Ingersoll; Feb. 1: John Rowe; Feb. 8: Tom Odegard; Feb 15: Kathleen Lynch; Feb. 22: Charles Ellick; March 1: Eliza Shefler; March 8: Judy Wells; March 15: Elanor Watson-Gove; March 22: Anna Mae Stanley; March 29: Georgia Popoff; April 5: Barbara Minton; April 12: Alice Rogoff; April 19: Garrett Murphy; April 26: Ray Skjelbred 

Tours 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Free. University of California, Berkeley. 486-4387 

Berkeley City Club Tours 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. 848-7800  

The fourth Sunday of every month, Noon - 4 p.m. $2  

Golden Gate Live Steamers Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Lomas Cantadas Drive at the south end of Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley. 486-0623  

Small locomotives, meticulously scaled to size.Trains run Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sunday, noon to 3 p.m., weather permitting.  

UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Centennial Drive, behind Memorial Stadium, a mile below the Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley. 643-2755 or www.mip.berkeley.edu/garden/  

The gardens have displays of exotic and native plants. Tours, Saturday and Sunday, 1:30 p.m. $3 general; $2 seniors; $1 children; free on Thursday. Daily, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. 

Lectures 

Berkeley Historical Society Slide Lecture & Booksigning Series 

Berkeley Historical Center Veterans Memorial Building 1931 Center St. 848-0181  

Sundays, 3 - 5 p.m. $10 donation requested Jan. 14: Richard Schwartz on “Berkeley 1900,” the history of Berkeley at the turn of the century; Jan. 28: “The Finns in Berkeley and Co-op Beginnings,” a panel discussion on Finnish and Co-op history; March 11: Director of Berkeley’s International House, Joe Lurie, will show a video and dicuss the history and struggle to open the I-House 70 years ago.  

“Great Decisions” Foreign Policy Association Lectures Series  

Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. 526-2925 

Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - Noon, Feb. 13 - April 3; An annual program featuring specialists in the field of national foreign policy, many from University of California. Goal is to inform the public on major policy issues and receive feedback from the public. $5 per session, $35 entire series for single person, $60 entire series for couple. 

City Commons Club Social Hour & Speaker Series  

Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. 848-3533 

Fridays, 11:15 a.m., Jan. 5 - 26; Jan. 5: “Medieval China - How We Got to Where We Are,” Stephen West, professor of East Asian studies at UC Berkeley; Jan. 12: “Innovative Approaches to Farming,” Reggie Knox, executive director of Community Alliance with Family Farms of Santa Cruz; Jan. 19: “Evidence-Based Practice - How It May Effect You,” Eileen Gambrill, professor of social welfare at UC Berkeley; Jan. 26: “The Aftermath of the National Election,” Susan Rasky, senior lecturer at the graduate school of journalism at UC Berkeley  

SAN JOSE - Sophomore forward Amber White nailed the final four points of the game, including two free throws with 2.9 seconds on the clock, to lift California to a 66-64 victory over San Jose State Thursday night at The Event Center . The Golden Bears improved to 4-6, while the Spartans fell to 7-3.  

While White was the hero down the stretch, three seniors carried most of the offensive load for Cal. Forward Lauren Ashbaugh and guard Kenya Corley posted 18 points, and forward Becky Staubes added a career-high 14 points. The 18 points tied Ashbaugh’s career high. Other career highs for the Bears included freshman guard Latasha O’Keith’s six rebounds and senior guard Nicole Ybarra’s four steals.  

The contributions from a variety of players keyed the Bears win, as they played without starting junior center Ami Forney, who had he wisdom teeth pulled Tuesday. Starting point guard Courtney Johnson only played four minutes due to flu-like symptoms.  

“This is how I’ve always taken things,” said Cal coach Caren Horstmeyer. “You believe in those that are here. You go with what you have. There’s nothing we can do about those players that weren’t able to play. I think we’re deeper than I initially thought we were. We had a few players out there tonight who haven’t had a lot of game experience, and they did a pretty good job. I’m pleased with that.”

Members of the AC Transit Alliance and the Bus Riders Union support and advocate for funding for AC Transit. They are also the bus system’s most severe critics. 

“It’s the worst I’ve ever encountered with AC Transit,” said Charlie Betcher, president of the Berkeley Bus Riders Union. Betcher said that although delayed service has been a regular problem, problems have become chronic in the past six months. “Every day I hear from people who say they’ve waited an hour,” he said. 

Jim Gleich, Deputy General Manager for AC Transit blamed recent delays on a driver training program that took drivers off their regular lines for a temporary period. That problem has been eliminated, he said. 

But some local residents say the issue deserves deeper examination. 

“There is really only one problem with buses in Berkeley: People perceive our bus service as not reliable enough to depend on for local transportation. For those who are dependent on transit, this produces a sullen acceptance. For the rest, it produces the familiar congestion of cars on our streets and parking places,” wrote Steve Geller of the AC Alliance in an e-mail to the Daily Planet. 

City Council member Miriam Hawley used to be Ward 1 representative to the AC Transit Board. She agrees that reliability is one serious problem facing the system. “The buses have moved markedly slower each year because of traffic,” she said. She mentioned two possible ways to alleviate some of the problems: dedicated bus lanes and traffic signals that respond to buses. 

Gleich said that delays are a normal part of bus service. “A bus breaks down, something’s found faulty, something like the lift doesn’t work,” he said. Other normal problems include traffic problems and no-show drivers.  

Finding and keeping drivers is one of the most expensive and essential parts to keeping the system running smoothly, according to Hawley. “It’s not a shortage of buses,” she said. “It’s a shortage of drivers and keeping (buses) maintained and on the road.” 

The previous contract with the union allowed for new part-time hires, which, said Gleich, made it harder to hire workers in a tight labor market. The most recently-signed contract requires AC to hire only full-time workers. 

One of the major complaints of members of the Bus Riders Union is AC Transit’s non-responsiveness to complaints. Julian Frederick is the secretary of AC Alliance and a former member of the Bus Riders Advisory Committee. He feels particularly frustrated by the system’s grievance procedures. 

“It’s in shambles,” he said. “I’ve had the experience of trying to provide insight into how they operate from the standpoint of the bus rider. It’s like talking to a wall.” 

Gleich said that the grievance procedure has recently been changed. 

Before, he said, they wouldn’t take complaints unless the caller had extremely specific information, but now they’ll take any information the caller can provide. In addition, said Gleich, “people who were calling in complaints were told someone would get back to them, at best they would get a letter a month later.” Now AC Transit makes no such promises.  

Another change to the system is the disciplinary procedures, any complaint made about a driver, even if the driver is not found to be at fault, will stay on that driver’s record. “We now have an incentive program, a cash stipend for not accruing complaints over a specified time,” said Gleich. 

Frederick of AC Alliance said it causes drivers stress when they try to remain on schedule, while fighting traffic and dealing with riders who fumble for the correct change. He said they often find themselves without time to eat and break at the end of the line. 

Betcher placed blame wholly on management. “It’s hard for me to believe that AC Transit can not solve this problem,” he said. “We have no beef with drivers, it’s those schedules.”

An independent lawyer has weighed in on a dispute between the city attorney and four members of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Now it appears the case may be going to court. 

Betsy Strauss, a municipal law specialist recommended by City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque, concurred with Abuquerque’s opinion that four LPC commissioners are ineligible to participate in any discussions or actions related to the proposed Beth El project or any other projects on which the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association has taken an official position. 

The commissioners’ attorney, Antonio Rossman, said he will take the case to Superior Court. 

The conflict began at a Nov. 7 LPC meeting during which there was to be a public hearing on the Environmental Impact Report for the proposed synagogue project at 1301 Oxford St.  

Commissioners Becky O’Malley, Lesley Emmington-Jones, Carrie Olson and Doug Morse challenged Albuquerque’s opinion that they would violate Congregation Beth El’s right to due process if they participated in the process. 

The four commissioners refused to recuse themselves and the commission voted 5-2 to adjourn without hearing any of the items on the agenda. Two uninvolved commissioners were not present. 

At issue is that the commissioners in question are ranking members of the nonprofit Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, which encourages the preservation of Berkeley’s historic architecture. The site of the proposed Beth El Synagogue and school is the former site of the Napoleon Byrne House and is a city landmark. 

Albuquerque based her opinion on a letter written by BAHA president Sarah Wikander criticizing the Oxford Street Environmental Impact Report because it did not contain documents which BAHA believed would establish the property as eligible for the state historic register. The eligibility would have required the EIR consultant to suggest a variety of alternatives to Beth El’s design. 

The four commissioners brought their case to the City Council on Nov. 24 and the council referred the matter to an outside attorney. In a Dec. 20 opinion Strauss concluded: “(the commissioners’) participation would violate the due process rights of the applicant to a fair hearing by an impartial tribunal. As board members of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, the commissioners have ‘prejudged’ the Congregation Beth El project.” 

Strauss included two California Appellate Court cases and one federal case to support her decision. 

Rossman argued, however, that Strauss’ opinion did not show an in-depth analysis of the legal complexities of the dispute. “This opinion is based on very flimsy legal authority,” he said. “It seems our next choice will be to go to court to get the kind of rigorous analysis this case needs.” 

Commissioner O’Malley said Strauss’ opinion never addressed the fact that BAHA never assumed a position on the project and that BAHA’s letter was only critical of the EIR. “The way the opinion reads it doesn’t even appear to relate to me or the other commissioners,” she said. 

Betsy Strauss did not return phone calls from the Daily Planet before press time. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington said the opinion, if upheld by the courts, will mean that citizens will have to carefully consider their role in any organizations they belong to.  

“It also raises the question of liability for commission, board and council actions over the last 30 years,” he said. “Will we have people lining up to sue the city now?” 

Assistant City Attorney Zack Cowen said that as far as land use issues go there is a 90-day statute of limitations. “But there are always exceptions,” he said.

A state Department of Health Services report that touts Berkeley’s high rate of pre-natal care is being greeted with cautious optimism by the city’s public health officials. 

The 90.1 percent of pregnant women who seek care in Berkeley is the highest rate among the state’s 61 reporting agencies, according to a DHS publication, “Atlas of Prenatal Care Utilization, California 1998,” issued Wednesday. Berkeley’s rate is up from 83.1 percent in 1989. 

“That’s reflective of the efforts of the health care community,” said DHS spokesperson Lea Brooks. 

Dr. Vicki Alexander, the city’s director of maternal, child and adolescent health agreed that Berkeley’s efforts are paying off – it is one of three cities in California which has its own health department – but she underscored that the numbers tell only part of the story. 

“There’s nothing new about the pre-natal part of it,” Alexander said. “We’ve met the goal for the last three years.” Berkeley’s overall rates of prenatal care have exceeded both state and national rates since 1996.  

It’s important to look at the break down of who is getting the care, said Alexander, pointing to statistics that show that 96 percent of Caucasian women in Berkeley get adequate prenatal care, 95 percent of Hispanic women get the care, but only 83 percent of pregnant African American women get adequate care. 

In addition to looking at prenatal care, one has to look at the outcome – at the babies – to evaluate a pregnant woman’s health care. 

A recent study by the city’s health department showed a great disparity in the health of African Americans living in the flatlands and Caucasians living in the hills. Berkeley ranked third highest in cities of similar size across the United States in the proportion of low-birth-wieght babies born to African American women between 1993 and 1995. 

An important, and often neglected, piece of the prenatal care puzzle is looking at a doctor’s understanding of the expectant mother’s needs. “If you look at access to pre-natal care alone, that is not going to solve the disparity,” Alexander says. 

In particular, black women are generally under a tremendous amount of stress, said Alexander, who is African American. 

Alexander said she will be working with physicians at Alta Bates Medical Center to make them aware of the particular stress factors in black women’s lives. 

The basis for the stress is racism, she said. Following a teaching model already in place at Children’s Hospital, Alexander said her goal is to teach doctors about the value of public health and about the stressors that affect the lives of people of color. 

Those who administer health care to black people need to understand what it is like to be the only black person in an elevator, to be seated at a restaurant but not served, to be stopped “driving while black,” Alexander said. “You add all that up. It is constant.” 

A doctor who is conscious of his patients’ needs will not only treat her with greater understanding, but recommend her for support services, such as the Black Infant Health Project, a new initiative of the city’s health department which focuses on mothers and mothers-to-be self-esteem and offers them support. 

Kwanzaa, a celebration of African American culture and community, will be observed at a storytelling event at the Berkeley Public Library’s south branch on Saturday. 

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by professor Maulana Karenga of California State University, Long Beach. It is celebrated from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 every year. 

The holiday is based on seven principles, one for each day of Kwanzaa. They include unity, creativity, faith and other values of African culture. Saturday will be the fifth day, Nia in Swahili, which represents purpose. 

Muriel Johnson, an Oakland resident and Berkeley preschool teacher, said she will tell two or three stories for the children that reflect the meaning of Kwanzaa at the event. 

“The seven principles are the basis for many African tales,” Johnson said. “The stories I will tell will reflect those principles.” 

Linda Perkins, the library’s Children’s Services Manager, said the library has held annual events for Kwanzaa for at least the last seven years. They included storytellers, singers and performers. 

“(The Kwanzaa celebration) was designed as a community event and has become more so over the years,” she said. “I have been to a lot of the library’s events and I think this is the one most tied to the community.” 

Last year over 50 people attended the celebration at the West Branch, which featured drummers and storytellers. 

Kwanzaa is rooted in the ancient first-fruits celebrations of Africa. The holiday revolves around Africa’s harvest celebrations: gathering, reverence, commemoration, recommitment and celebration. 

Johnson said she may include music and singing in Saturday’s event. 

“I have a lot of things in my bag,” she said. “Stories are so important. They are part of an oral tradition, and every one has different morals and meanings.” 

The event will be held 4-6 p.m. Saturday at the South Berkeley Library, 1901 Russell Street location.

If you’re like many homeowners, the backyard deck is the focal point for warm-weather activities. But as with most parts of your home, a certain amount of routine maintenance is required to keep your deck structurally sound, safe and looking its best. 

While other types of lumber may have been used, chances are your deck is built of either cedar, redwood or pressure-treated yellow pine.  

These are the most commonly used materials because they are resistant to rot and insect damage.  

When exposed to the elements for extended periods, however, any wood will show signs of weathering.  

Even if the deck was originally treated with a stain or preservative, this treatment eventually needs to be renewed. 

The first thing to do is inspect the surfaces of the deck and railing for excessive splintering.  

If splintering is a problem, sanding the surface is the simplest solution.  

Use a belt sander to smooth the boards on the deck surface. Sand only in the direction of the grain, and keep the sander moving evenly to avoid gouging.  

Finish with a sanding block to remove roughness and hazardous slivers. 

You’ll find many stains and sealers designed specifically for your deck. Several manufacturers offer products called deck brighteners (actually bleaches) which remove stains and weathering from the wood surfaces.  

Apply these products according to the manufacturer’s directions, usually with a stiff bristle brush, and rinse off thoroughly before applying any top coat.  

Be sure to wear gloves and eye protection when using these products. 

Sealers protect your deck from moisture and are available clear or tinted to act as a stain. Sealers need to be renewed periodically to offer continuous protection.  

Stains are offered in a range of opacities for either hiding the grain completely, or allowing it to be visible.  

When it comes to choosing a stain and sealer for your deck, check that the products are compatible and that they’re suitable for the type of wood your deck is made with. 

After a new deck has been exposed to the weather for a year or so, shrinkage of the lumber can cause nails to pop up above the deck surface.  

If the boards are still flat, reset the nails slightly below the deck surface using a nailset or punch which matches the size of the nail heads.  

If the deck boards have cupped due to drying, there are several ways to approach the problem.  

If the cupping is not too severe, first remove the nails with a pry bar. Then, install galvanized decking screws to pull the board flat.  

If the board is too severely cupped for this technique, use a pry bar to remove the board. Then use a circular saw to make a series of relief cuts along the back convex surface of the board, equal in depth to about one-third of the board’s thickness.  

Replace the board and fasten with galvanized decking screws.  

If this techniques fails to bring the board flat, install a new board in its place. Remember to always use galvanized nails or screws when working on a deck.

Keep your lawn healthy and it will resist bugs and unwanted plant life on its own 

When it comes to weed control, a healthy, well-aerated, dethatched and nutrient-rich turf will choke out all but the most stubborn invaders. The rest can often be managed by hand weeding and mowing. 

Pest management is really a matter of numbers. A few pests won’t make that big a difference and may even signal a healthy lawn. When your lawn is naturally disease- and insect-resistant, and is kept healthy using the methods discussed above, the degree of damage is often acceptable. 

The natural approach pays the biggest dividends in the area of insect and blight control. Natural insect control takes two primary forms. You can use natural substances that attack the body of the insect directly, or release disease causing microorganisms (fungi, nematobes) that burrow into the target insect, killing it in the process. 

Here’s a look at some of the products with the best record of success. These products are offered by a variety of firms, the Ringer Corp., (9959 Valley View Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55364) being the most prominent. 

A word of caution is in order, however. Insecticides, of any kind, should be used sparingly and only as a means of last resort. Some beneficial insects will be killed in the process, no matter what you use. 

One of the most effective, broad-spectrum insecticides is extracted from the seeds of the African and Southeast Asian neem tree. The active ingredient, azadirachtin, is a growth regulator, which is to say that it causes death. Ringer/Safer markets this extract under the BioNeem trademark. It’s effective on a variety of common pests, including aphids, gypsy moths and webworms. Though BioNeem has very low toxicity, it does have a two-to-seven-day residual. 

Insecticidal soap is another proven insect killer. It’s made from fatty acid salts derived from animal fat and plant oils. When sprayed on soft-bodied insects, it kills them by breaking down their cell wall membranes. Insecticidal soap works well on sod webworms. 

For effective control of hard-bodied insects, such as June bugs and Japanese beetles, pyrethrum, an extract from the chrysanthemum flower, works well. 

To treat infestations of subsurface grubs, you might try mail-order nematobes, which kill grubs from within, or milky-spore disease (bacillus popillae), which is a fungus that attacks grubs and other soft-bodied subsurface pests. Once established, milky-spore disease remains effective for years. 

For treatment of bill-bug larvae, diatomaceous earth works. Diatomaceous earth is a sediment taken from the sea floor and is made up of millions of dead, single-cell creatures that dehydrate soft-bodied insects on contact.

Bay Area casino in the works 

SAN PABLO – President Clinton signed legislation Wednesday that brings a California Indian tribe another step closer to opening a Nevada-style casino in the Bay area. 

The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians want to gain control of a San Pablo card club and install more than 1,000 slot machines. The legislation means the land that Casino San Pablo sits on will be held in a trust for the tribe. 

The next decision lies in the hands of Gov. Gray Davis, who would need to grant the Lyttons a state gambling agreement. 

California voters in March ratified an agreement between the tribes and Davis to operate Las Vegas-style casinos on reservations. 

But the compact limits the number of slot machines that tribes could own and requires the 40 or so tribes that have gambling establishments to contribute to a fund benefiting other tribes. 

Ex-cop mourns shooting victim 

RICHMOND – Augustus Jones is a retired policeman, used to quelling crime, but nothing prepared him for the sight of his 16-year-old son Gus stumbling, bloody, into his front yard. 

He soon learned that his younger son, Johnny, had also been shot and died from the wounds. 

“Being the victim is a whole different experience,” Augustus Jones told the San Francisco Chronicle. “You can’t do anything.” 

Jones’ two sons were ambushed on the street Tuesday by at least one gunman who parked his car near the boys as they walked to a Bay Area Rapid Transit station for a San Francisco shopping trip. 

At least one man got out of the car, circled the Jones brothers and shot them down, Richmond police said. Authorities are not discussing a possible motive and no arrests have been made. 

Johnny Jones is the fourth teen-ager to be killed in Richmond in the last month. The homicides all happened in different neighborhoods but investigators are looking for links between the killings. 

Arrest made in 1996 robbery 

OAKLAND – Oakland police think they finally have their man from an ice show robbery nearly five years ago, but they had to go across the country to find him. 

Roland McSorley was taken into custody over the weekend at his father’s home in Ashland, N.H., investigators said. 

McSorley had been a bookkeeper for the Disney on Ice show for about four years when he and a cohort allegedly made off with as much as $125,000 in receipts from shows in Oakland. 

McSorley and Robert Gillen, a concession worker, both were named in warrants in connection with the March 1996 incident. 

Gillen was arrested in Ohio later that month with about half the money. Officers say McSorley managed to evade detectives, allegedly with the help of his family, by changing his name and moving.

SAN FRANCISCO – Acting on an anonymous tip, police early Thursday recovered two female koalas which had been stolen from their enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo. 

“They are OK,” zoo spokesman Nancy Chan said as she watched the animals Thursday morning. “They apparently were really hungry, so they went right into their night quarters and they were fed right away.” 

Leanne, 7, and her mother, Pat, 15, were discovered missing from their indoor quarters Wednesday morning by a keeper. 

Zoo officials said it appeared someone climbed onto the exhibit’s roof, broke through a skylight and then slipped into the building through a furnace door late Tuesday or early Wednesday. 

“We received an anonymous phone call early today and that led to the location where the (koalas) were found,” said a police dispatcher who asked that her name not be used. 

The call came in at 12:45 a.m., the dispatcher said, adding that she was not aware of any arrests at the home at 18 Sparta St. 

Zoo officials were summoned to return the 11-pound missing marsupials to the climate-controlled enclosure they share with five other koalas. 

“We are ecstatic,” said General Curator David Robinett as he watched the rare marsupials dining on eucalyptus buds. “They appear to be in excellent health.” 

Robinett said the animals were quickly returned to their enclosure and given something to eat. 

“They immediately started eating,” he said. “Eating this fast is a good sign, but they are definitely under stress.” 

Robinett was one of the zoo personnel who went to the house to recover the marsupials. He said they were sitting in a bedroom. 

Koala keeper Nancy Rumsey told investigators she had been concerned about two men she saw Christmas day in the keeper’s area. One of the men said he had followed a peacock, then started asking about how he could get a koala and how much they cost. 

She said the men “kind of made the fur on the back of my neck raised.” 

Pat is an elderly koala and has several medical problems, including a potentially cancerous mass and an infected eye. Adding to the problems the stolen marsupials faced was the fact that they have a very specialized diet, eating only the freshest tips of eucalyptus buds. The plants are also their main source of water. 

“People in the horticulture department here have to go out daily to get them food,” Chan said Wednesday. “That’s why you don’t see them in zoos in this country. They don’t drink water. If someone had them, they wouldn’t know they don’t drink.” 

The koalas live in a building kept at a constant temperature of between 65 and 70 degrees. They have no body fat, which makes them highly vulnerable to environmental changes. 

Robinett said the animals can survive fluctuations in temperature, but “the more stress they are under, the harder it is for them.” 

Deborah Tabart, executive director of the Australian Koala Foundation, speculated the koalas might have been stolen to be sold to a collector. 

She said the animals were potentially worth “tens of thousands” of dollars. Tabart said it was the first time she had heard of a koala being stolen from a zoo outside of Australia. 

After Rumsey reported the two men, the facility’s 24-hour security unit was alerted. Robinett said he will evaluate the zoo’s security system and explore new methods of keeping animals safer. 

“We have security around the clock, but it’s a big zoo and covering it every minute of the day during the day or night is a lot of work,” he said. 

Robinett said zoo officials will basically leave the koalas alone and keep an eye on them after a vet checks them out. 

“We want to let them settle back into their normal routine,” he said. “We’ll base our actions on how they respond.” 

In September, a rare, brightly colored garter snake named Sarah was stolen from the zoo after two locks were pried open and the snake’s viewing glass was shattered. The snake was never returned. 

Koalas, native to Australia, are considered threatened. Chan said only about a dozen zoos in the United States have exhibits. 

Pat came to the zoo in 1986 from Australia and later gave birth to Leanne and another female, Janie. Leanne has since had three offspring.

SACRAMENTO – Owners of assault weapons have only through Sunday to register their firearms. However, gun groups plan to sue to block a deadline they say is confusing and was poorly publicized. 

Final regulations over what defines an assault weapon weren’t approved until Dec. 5. That didn’t give firearm owners enough notice to meet Sunday’s deadline, said attorney Chuck Michel. 

He represents groups including the National Rifle Association, California Rifle and Pistol Association, and California Sporting Goods Association, as well as gun dealers and owners who want the deadline extended. 

The groups also complain that the law and regulations don’t give firearm owners enough direction on how they can modify their weapons so they won’t be considered assault weapons. 

Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer, countered that firearm owners have had a year to register, alter or get rid of their weapons since the law took effect. 

“The law’s been very clear from the beginning,” Barankin said. “The regulations are basically a regurgitation of what the statute requires.” 

He said the law clearly defines as assault weapons firearms with military-style characteristics like a pistol grip, folding stock, or flash suppressor. 

Lockyer’s Department of Justice ran newspaper and radio ads, notified gun dealers and organizations, and set up a Web site and toll-free number to publicize the law, in addition to a series of public hearings on the regulations. 

However, NRA spokesman Steve Helsley worries many assault weapons owners still are unaware of the law, or mistakenly think they complied when they registered their weapon at the time they purchased it. 

Failing to register an assault weapon could subject the owner to a $500 fine along with a jail or prison term. 

California has had three separate assault weapon registration deadlines that Helsley and Michel said are confusing to gun owners: 

—A 1989 law named specific weapons that had to be registered by March 31, 1992. Californians registered 67,000 assault weapons under that law. 

—The California Supreme Court in August upheld Lockyer’s right to register variations on the AK and AR-15 assault weapons named in the 1989 law. Owners of those weapons have until Jan. 23 to register their guns. 

—The 1999 law defines assault weapons based on their characteristics, rather than naming specific firearms. The deadline for registering is Dec. 31. 

“You’ve got eight million gun owners in California who don’t have a lawyer in their closet (to explain the laws),” said Michel. “We’re just going to have a whole slew of accidental felons.” 

More than 10,000 assault weapons owners have registered under the new law this year, 6,500 of them since mid-November. On Tuesday alone the department received 1,500 registrations, Barankin said. Each registered owner can possess more than one weapon. 

Helsley and Barankin expect many owners have modified their weapons rather than registering them. That allows them to avoid restrictions on how assault weapons may be used, transported and sold.

NAPA – A mental hospital patient is accused of beating and strangling a fellow patient during a late-night argument over tobacco, police said. 

Napa State Hospital officials discovered John Reed, 48, of Yuba City, early Tuesday in a pool of blood only after the man accused of killing him led officials to the room. 

Orrin Anthony Patrick, 45, was arrested on suspicion of murder after Reed was found with severe head wounds, said Napa sheriff’s Capt. Mike Loughran. A preliminary autopsy later revealed Reed died of strangulation. 

“We’re trying to find out what exactly occurred,” Rincon said. “At this point we don’t have those answers.” 

Patients are not allowed to possess matches or lighters, but they are permitted to have tobacco. They are given smoke breaks during designated times when staff members light cigarettes, said hospital spokeswoman Lupe Rincon. 

Reed and Patrick were in a ward for criminal defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity or deemed incompetent to stand trial. 

The locked ward houses 43 patients who live in rooms with up to three roommates. Patrick and Reed did not share a room, but they were alone together unsupervised late Monday night. 

A nursing staff is on duty 24 hours a day, and they are required to conduct bed checks every 30 minutes, Rincon said. 

“We’re investigating to see if those checks occurred or not,” she said. 

Patrick, who takes medication for schizophrenia, has been a patient at the hospital for five years. Earlier this year, a San Francisco judge found him unfit to be released back into society. 

Patrick was found guilty in 1979 of beating and stomping an 85-year-old man to death in a hotel hallway, leaving his shoe prints on the man’s face.

CHICAGO – Montgomery Ward Inc., the department store chain that helped pioneer American retailing, said Thursday that it is shutting down after more than 125 years in business and will file for bankruptcy. 

The chain, which has 250 stores and 37,000 employees in 30 states, fell victim to competition from other big retailers and low sales. 

“Sadly, today’s action is unavoidable,” chief executive Roger Goddu said, citing weak holiday sales as the final straw for a struggling company that emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just last year. 

The company will also close its 10 distribution centers. 

“You don’t need to be an analyst to see that the retail market continues to be very unforgiving — in fact, it’s bruising,” said John Oliver, a spokesman for GE Capital Services, the subsidiary of General Electric that oversees Montgomery Ward. 

Asked why the company was seeking Chapter 11 protection for a second time rather than a Chapter 7 liquidation, Oliver said it was simply a matter of procedure. 

“It is clear that this is an orderly winding down,” he said. 

Goddu’s statement came hours after scores of Montgomery Ward employees began filing out of the company headquarters with boxes in hand. 

Several said they had been told during a meeting that GE Capital was pulling financial support after sluggish holiday sales. 

“I’m just devastated,” said Anece Rich, a 28-year employee who worked in the mail room. “They took care of us as best they could.” 

Begun in 1872, Ward pioneered mail-order catalogs when it came out with a single sheet of dry-good items for sale, and it was the first U.S. mail-order house to sell general merchandise. Sears, Roebuck & Co. was not founded until 1886 and did not put out its first general merchandise catalog for another decade. 

Ward — known affectionately to its customers as Monkey Ward — opened its first store in Plymouth, Ind., in 1926. 

The store coined the “Satisfaction Guaranteed” phrase in 1875 and was the birthplace of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” the Christmas holiday cartoon character. 

Rudolph was designed by a Ward advertising copywriter in 1939 as a promotional gimmick, and the company handed out millions of copies of the story. Rudolph’s story was put to music and recorded by cowboy star Gene Autry, and it became the basis for a 1974 television special. 

But the company was financially unstable for years, dropping its catalog operation in 1985 and trying a “specialty store” design. It resumed the mail-order business in 1991, and abandoned the specialty store concept last year, announcing a plan to revamp many of its stores. 

Some analysts said it was too little too late. 

“Wards has not established themselves as anything distinctive in the marketplace,” said George Whalin, president of California-based Retail Management Consultants. “There’s just no reason to go there — unless maybe they’re the closest store to your house.” 

Whalin said it had become increasingly difficult for Ward to survive with competitors like Home Depot, Best Buy and Target. Earlier this week, the Massachusetts-based discount chain Bradlees Inc. announced it is going out of business. 

“It’s brutal,” Whalin said. “It’s as competitive as anything out there.” 

Wards had been shooting for sales growth this year of about 9 percent. Instead, it hovered at a sluggish 2 percent. 

“It’s too bad because a lot of effort has gone into trying to save the thing,” said Sid Doolittle, a Chicago-based retail consultant who spent 28 years as a Wards executive. 

Shoppers at a Wards store on Chicago’s North Side were surprised. 

“It’s really a shame,” said MaryAnn Wilson, 67. “There aren’t hardly any department stores left; it’s all specialty stores.”

The city is competing with a Burlingame developer for a prime piece of real estate, which residents want to turn into a “mini Golden Gate Park” and the developer wants to turn into office space. 

The City Council unanimously approved a recommendation on Dec. 19 asking the city manager to research funding sources for the possible purchase of up to 8.6 acres, which is currently the site of American Soil Products and several other businesses. 

The site runs along Aquatic Park and is bounded by Addison and Third streets, Bolivar Drive and Bancroft Way. The 8.6 acres is divided into five separate lots all owned by an individual named Charlie Jones, according to Steve Swanson of Berkeley Partners for Parks. 

For a city to buy such a piece of property in the current red hot real estate market won’t be easy.  

Especially since developer John Hamilton has been in contract to purchase the property for several months. He has already submitted preliminary development plans to the Design Review Committee. 

Hamilton is proposing four office buildings totally 450,000 square feet plus a 900-space, underground parking garage. 

Hamilton would not say when the contract to purchase the property would be finalized. But said he is working with city officials to find a “win, win” design plan. 

The city is in the preliminary stages of researching the project and has not said how much of the property it wants to purchase. According to Stephen Swanson, there are at least three undeveloped acres that would be a perfect addition to the park. 

“This a once in a lifetime chance,” Swanson said. “This could be Berkeley’s mini Golden Gate Park that could have a variety of activities that would draw people from all over the Bay Area.” 

BPFP has suggested several possibilities for improvements for a park at that location including a baseball field and handball and tennis courts. 

“That part of the city is underserved for these kind of facilities,” Swanson said. 

The Parks and Recreation Commission recommended the city consider getting state and federal funding to buy the land. They argued that a 1965 Aquatic Park Master Plan strongly recommended it. And they underscored that there is no more available open space left in Berkeley. 

“This is a large parcel and the City of Berkeley is woefully lacking in suitable areas to turn into parks,” said Carol Thornton, chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission. “Plus there is a tremendous amount of development in the area and this would be an excellent chance to balance that with a park.” 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington said a park would be much more welcome than office space and a parking garage. He contended that there is a housing shortage in Berkeley and to build a more office space and parking is not good planning. 

“Any situation that pits more parking against living space in Berkeley is bound to be controversial,” he said. 

Design Review Committee members at a Dec. 16 meeting told Hamilton they thought the buildings were too large, crowded the stretch of park to the west of the site and didn’t fit in with the immediate area, according to a summary of the meeting. 

Hamilton said he has already made some changes to the design based on input from city officials and the Design Review Committee.  

“We’ve moved the building line back about 30-40 feet from the edge of the park,” he said.

Thursday, Dec. 28

Season of Lights  

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

The Imagination Company brings to life world winter celebrations and highlights the significance of light to several culture. Included in museum admission price.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Imani In the Village 

2 p.m. 

Claremont Library 

2940 Benvenue  

Percussionist James Henry presents a drumming and dance program for all ages. Audience participation invited.  

Call 649-3943 

Death of the Lecturer 

7 p.m. 

West Branch Library 

1125 University Ave.  

Calling all detectives, those who enjoy reading mysteries, playing Clue, and solving crossword puzzles to untangle the reason for the final fate confrontation.  

Call 649-3926 

Friday, Dec. 29

Earthcapades 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join Hearty and Lissin as they blend storytelling, juggling, acrobatics, and more, to entertain and teach about saving the environment. Included in museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Saturday, Dec. 30

Bats of the World  

1 & 2:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Maggie Hooper, an educator with the California Bat Conservation Fund, will show slides, introduce three live, tame, and indigenous bats, and answer your questions about these fascinating creatures. Included in admission to the museum. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Kwanzaa Celebration 

4 p.m. 

South Branch Library  

1901 Russell St.  

Muriel Johnson of Abiyomi Storytelling is the featured storyteller at the library’s annual celebration which also includes a formal Kwanzaa ceremony.  

Call 649-3943 

Sunday, Dec. 31

Light Up the Lights! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Popular songmeister Gary Lapow performs traditional holiday music from around the world. Included in price of museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Tuesday, Jan. 2

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Jan. 3

Berkeley Communicators  

Toastmasters 

7:15 p.m. 

Vault Restaurant  

3250 Adeline St.  

Learn to speak fluently without fear or hesitation.  

Call Howard Linnard, 527-2337 

Thursday, Jan. 4

Snowshoe Tours  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Catherine Stifter of Backcountry Tracks presents a slide-show on her favorite ski and snowshoe tours off Highway 49 between Sierra City and Yuba Pass. Free 

Call 527-4140 

Friday, Jan. 5

Zen Buddhist Sites in China 

7 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California 

1000 Oak St.  

Oakland 

Andy Ferguson, author of “Zen’s Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings,” presents a slide show of Zen holy sites in China. Ferguson will read from the book and engage the audience in a brief meditation session. Included in museum admission. 

$6 general, $4 seniors and students with ID 

Call 1-888-OAK-MUSE 

Taize’ Worship Service  

7:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

Loper Chapel  

(adjacent to) First Congregational 

Church of Berkeley  

Dana St. (between Durant & Channing) 

Call 848-3696  

“Waiting for Godot” 

8 p.m. 

La Val’s Subterranean  

1834 Euclid (at Hearst) 

Presented by Subterranean Shakespeare and directed by Yoni Barkan, director of last summer’s “A Midsummers Night Dream.”  

$8 - $12  

Call 234-6046 

Strong Women - Writers & 

Heroes of Literature 

1 - 3 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Dr. Helen Rippier Wheeler, author of “Women and Aging: A Guide to Literature,” this is a free weekly literature course in the Berkeley Adult School’s Older Adults Program.  

Call 549-2970  

Tuesday, Jan. 9

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Jan. 10

Kids Dance Open House &  

Class 

5 - 6 p.m. 

El Cerrito Community Center 

7007 Moeser Lane 

El Cerrito  

Parents are invited to explore how dance relates to cognitive, kinesthetic, and socio-emotional development in their children. For ages three to seventeen. Free  

Call 530-4113  

Thursday, Jan. 11

Toni Stone and the Negro Baseball League 

1 p.m. 

Oakland Museum of California 

1000 Oak St.  

Oakland 

Marcia Eymann, curator of historical photography, discusses memorabilia of Toni Stone, a woman who played in the Negro Baseball Legue in the 1940s. Free. 

Call 1-888-OAK-MUSE

Project includes more low-income units than city mandates  

Editor: 

Mr. Kubik's letter of December 23, 2000 contains several errors in relation to the development at 2700 San Pablo that Panoramic Interests is undertaking with Jubilee Restoration.  

The project proposes to have 20 percent of the units set aside for very low income residents, defined as households with 50 percent area median income. The city requirement currently allows for 20 percent of the units to be set aside for low income residents, defined as households with 80 percent AMI, or 10 percent of the units set aside for very low income residents, defined as households with 60 percent AMI.  

In other words, what we have proposed goes beyond the city requirements. 

I am not in any legal dispute with the city now, nor am I anticipating one. I have asked for clarification on the interaction of state law with the ordinance and the state mandated density bonus for providing affordable housing. 

The San Pablo project is proposed as a 50 foot, four-story building, and fully complies with the city zoning ordinance. It will be the first new housing project on San Pablo Avenue in more than 40 years, and will also be one of the few developments at all in the city that will accept new Section 8 certificate holders. 

Re: the GAIA Building. The structure is the height that was approved by the City Council and the building department -- with the last floor ending at 87 feet. 

The elevator, which must service the roof deck, under the ADA, goes higher to the 106 foot, again in conformance with zoning regulations and building regulations.  

Berkeley is in the midst of an acute housing crisis, and is, by the Planning Department's own figures, the only city in Northern California to have lost housing in the last 20 years.  

If we are to maintain our reputation for social justice and diversity, the citizens and the city must do more to promote affordable housing. (Panoramic Interests has built more in the last five years than all other private developers combined.) 

Patrick Kennedy 

Piedmont resident 

Panoramic Interests 

Berkeley

Zabala, Pivnik and Stuhlmueller will head to Umbro Tournament 

California senior soccer players Maite Zabala, Tami Pivnick and Natalie Stuhlmueller have been selected to compete in the Umbro Select Senior All-Star Tournament, Feb. 1-4, at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.  

Held in early February each year, the Umbro Select features a major international soccer match along with all-star games with the top men’s and women’s senior collegiate players from throughout the United States. The men’s college players were divided into two teams, while the women were divided into four with the Cal players competing on the West squad.  

Zabala, who hails from Boise, Idaho, became the Bears all-time leader for career shutouts during the 2000 season. Her 9.5 shutouts this year boosted her career total to 26.5, breaking Karen Cook’s previous record of 22. Zabala finished the 2000 season with the 10th-best goals-against average in the nation at 0.64 and ended her career with an outstanding 0.88 GAA, allowing 61 goals in 6,205 minutes minding the Bears net.  

Pivnick helped anchor the 10th-best team defense (0.645 GAA) in the nation this season, earning her third-team All-America recognition from Soccer Buzz. The sweeper from West Hills also found ways to contribute to Cal’s attack in 2000, tying for fifth on the team with eight points (2 goals, 4 assists). Her outstanding efforts on the field and in the classroom helped Pivnick earn a selection to the second team All-Pac-10 team and the first team Academic All-Pac-10 squad.  

A speedy and crafty outside midfielder, Stuhlmueller earned second team All-Pac-10 honors this year after tying for third on the team with 13 points (4G, 5A). As a junior, she was a first-team all-conference pick. The Los Gatos product ended her Cal career ranked second on the school’s career assist chart with 20.

The city is examining the possibility of resurrecting a deal to purchase 4.5 acres belonging to KBLX Radio for an addition to Aquatic Park. 

The recommendation came from Councilmembers Margaret Breland, Kriss Worthington, and Linda Maio. The council unanimously approved the item Dec. 19 which calls for preliminary research of available funds to purchase the property. 

The site is located at the southern end of Aquatic Park and is bounded by the Ashby Avenue onramp, Bay Street and the I-80 Freeway. It consists of 3.5 acres of open water and one acre of land. KBLX currently broadcasts from the site. 

The city has applied several times in the last six years for grant money to purchase the property but each time was unsuccessful. The most recent attempt to purchase the property was in July 1999. 

At that time the property was appraised at $470,000 according to Cliff Marchetti of the Parks and Waterfront Department. 

According to the councilmembers’ proposal, the recent availability of additional state and federal resources to purchase park lands makes this the ideal time to revive the deal. 

The proposal said the property would be a good site for habitat restoration projects as well a location for environmental education. 

According to Marchetti the city is trying to arrange a meeting with representatives from KBLX to tour the property. “Everything is in a very preliminary stage at this point,” he said. 

The Daily Planet was unable to reach KBLX for comment on this story.

Cal hosts the eighth annual Golden Bear Classic this weekend at Haas Pavilion with Yale, Lafayette and LaSalle coming to Berkeley.  

The Bears, who are currently riding a five-game winning streak, have captured four of the previous seven Classics, including three in a row from 1996-98. Last year, however, Cal fell to Penn, 74-71, in the title game. 

Since Haas Pavilion opened in the fall of 1999, that loss is the only blemish on the Bears’ non-conference home record in the facility. Overall, the Bears are 13-1 vs. non-Pac-10 teams in Haas, including 5-0 this year.  

Two wins this weekend would match the Bears longest winning streak under head coach Ben Braun. Cal took seven in a row from March 10–Nov. 20, 1999 and from Dec. 3–29, 1998.  

Individually, senior forward Sean Lampley continues to pace the team in scoring with 17.2 points per game. He has led or tied for the lead in points in five consecutive games and in seven of nine contests on the year. Lampley has also reached double figures in points eight times in nine games to move up to 12th on Cal’s career scoring chart (1,326 points). He had a season-best 25 points to go with 10 assists and just one turnover in the Georgia contest Dec. 21.  

On the outside, point guard Shantay Legans seems to have found his offensive rhythm, averaging 12.0 ppg and 5.8 apg his last four games. During that span, he has made 11-of-15 from three-point range.  

Sophomore Brian Wethers remains on his career-best surge with an average of 12.8 ppg over the last four games, including a high of 21 vs. Georgia. During the first five games of the year, Wethers averaged only 3.8 ppg.

After three months of setbacks that could cost the city $2 million, the newly renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center building at 2180 Milvia St. will finally be ready to crack open its doors on Jan. 19. 

City employees are scheduled to phase in their move back into the building over five weekends in January and February. They will start with the third floor, where construction is now almost complete, Capital Projects Manager John Rosenbrock said. Some work will continue as people move into their new offices. 

More than 200 city employees who have worked in offices scattered around town for the last two years are expected to re-occupy the six-story building. 

The seismic renovation at City Hall began Dec. 1, 1998 with an original completion date of Oct. 2000. However, the city ran into a number of problems along the way.  

Most recently, it had planned to open the building next week. However, Pacific Bell was behind schedule installing phone lines and did not finish its work until two weeks ago. That was one cause for the most recent delay, Rosenbrock said. 

Because of delays, the budget for the renovation increased from the original $35 million to about $37 million, according to Rosenbrock.  

Renovations were funded by local bond Measure S, passed in 1992. 

“Time is money, and delays definitely have an effect on budget,” Rosenbrock said. 

Other problems along the way included piping in the basement containing asbestos which had to be replaced. This took extra time at the beginning of the renovations. There was a month-long delay in the spring of 1999 because some of the building design was changed to save money.  

Earlier this year floor plans were also changed to create space for additional offices in the building. 

“There were a few minor delays, which were predictable, but nothing by surprise,” said Rene Cardinaux, director of public works. 

Rosenbrock said some of the construction also took longer than planned because the contractors ran into small, unexpected problems. 

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Building was constructed between 1938 and 1940. The city acquired it in 1977 and has designated it a city landmark. 

Rosenbrock said he expects everybody to be moved in by mid-February. 

“I expect that date to be met,” he said. “However, we could still encounter a new problem that we don’t know about.” 

While the building is almost finished, elevators still need to be installed, as do carpets and bathroom fixtures throughout the building. The perimeter of the building is still fenced off and pedestrian traffic is rerouted to the east side of Milvia Street. 

Rosenbrock said each floor is at a different point in construction. The third floor and part of the first floor will be the first to be completed, followed by the fourth floor, fifth floor, and second floor. 

He said the city may look into trying to recuperate some of the $2 million from contractors. The city first has to determine whether any of the 20 or so contractors failed to complete their tasks in a reasonable amount time. The city will not look into doing so until the building is finished.

People meet dates on-line, why not pets? 

For example, Cocoa, a fifty pound chocolate lab, who is nearly dwarfed by his lolling pink tongue, or Daniel, described as the offspring of “a pure-bred Persian cat who got into trouble with a passerby." 

These animals reside physically at the Berkeley Humane Society, but can now be found on-line at a new Internet site created to tempt the ready pet owner. 

The site, www.virtualpetadoption.com is the brainchild of Gary Templin, president of the East Bay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.  

“Our intent, hopefully sooner rather than later, is to make it possible for the public to go to the site and look at all the adoptable animals in Alameda County,” said Templin. The Web Site is a collaboration between Pet Food Express, the East Bay SPCA in Oakland, the Berkeley Humane Society and several other shelters in the county. Pet Food Express hosts the web site, Templin found grants to pay for equipment, and shelters donate time to uploading images of each adoptable animal onto the site. 

“It was a dream that I had,” said Templin. “I’ve always been bothered by how we non-profits tend to not be very business oriented nor customer service oriented.”  

Before Virtual Pet Adoptions.com, he said, if people visited the shelter and didn’t see the pets they wanted, the best he could do was give them the address of a shelter in Fremont or Hayward.  

“They had to take their chances, and they might give up and say this is too much work or too much traffic,” Templin said. “Our Internet used to be highways 880, 580, 680, and 24.”  

Now the East Bay SPCA hosts a kiosk featuring the virtual pet adoption web site. If visitors don’t find the pet they want, they can check the kiosk to see which shelter might have the right kind of animal. Soon each shelter will host a similar site. 

“The shelters are kind of isolated in a lot of ways from the community. I believe that the more convenient we make it and the more exposure the animals get, the more animals are going to go home. The goal is to have a home for every adoptable animal by the year 2007,” said Templin.  

When Templin speaks about every adoptable animal, he means every adoptable animal that comes into every shelter in Alameda County, not just those who arrive at the door of Oakland’s SPCA. “We’re supporting animals, not organizations,” he said. 

Anecdotal evidence indicates that his plan is working. Ian M. Stewart, “PetMaster” of the Pet Food Express and Virtual Pet Adoptions.com sites, estimates that Virtual Pet Adoptions.com has received thousands of clicks so far. He said he’s heard of people driving from Novato to Fremont to collect an animal they found on the web, and that a woman in San Jose looked every day for three weeks until she found the pet she was looking for.  

Nancy Frensley, animal behaviorist at the Berkeley Humane Society photographs the Berkeley animals to put their pictures on the web. Frensley notes the animals weight, activity level, health statistics, and character. “Most people need a little bit of counseling when it comes to selecting,” said Frensley. “It’s real real easy to fall in love with a pet that might not work out with your lifestyle. Even making people aware of weight, activity level, etc. is very important, it’s a consciousness raising thing.” 

While websurfers can search for animals by shelter location, age, size, or activity level, they can’t search by breed. 

“We get a lot of questions, ‘Why can’t I click for golden retriever?’,” said Stewart. “We want to simulate the shelter.” Although people may “go in looking for a Labrador,” he said, they may come out with a poodle instead. 

Berkeley Humane Society has adopted out 127 adult animals since going up on the web in June. Although Frensley can’t say how much of that adoption rate can be attributed to the web site, she does believe that the site contributes to getting adult animals placed. 

“What’s nice is that we can show these adult animals as individuals not in groups barking in kennels,” said Frensley.  

Thus far the Humane Society shelter is the only Berkeley shelter placing its animals on the Virtual Pet Adoptions web site, although Templin said that the city municipal shelter has been invited to join. No spokesperson at the city shelter was available for comment. 

Templin hopes the Internet, which has united like individuals in “virtual communities” around the world, can also bring pets closer to pet owners, by canvassing furry mugs around the city. “We’re looking forward to a plan where the Pet Food Express stores will have a kiosk available to the public,” he said. “I want each of the municipalities to put a kiosk in the city hall, in the libraries, in the banks...”

SAN FRANCISCO – As they lounge by a fireplace in cushy leather chairs, Charles Dorato and his daughter look like they could be relaxing in a cozy coffeehouse or a rustic ski lodge. Instead, they are sitting in the lobby of a Wells Fargo Bank branch, waiting their turn to tend to some financial business. 

“This is an interesting concept. I have never seen this in a bank before,” said Dorato, a New Yorker who was in San Francisco to visit his daughter. 

Unconventional bank branches are becoming less of an anomaly as the industry looks for ways to inject more warmth and zest into traditionally sterile offices. 

In Atlanta, Bank of America has introduced branches where employees dispense financial advice from behind “investment bars.” 

In Las Vegas, Nev., Washington Mutual Bank this year opened branches that feature children’s play areas, concierge desks and teller “towers” instead of the old-fashioned windows. 

The makeovers represent an about-face for big banks, which just a few years ago viewed their standalone branches as expensive relics of a bygone era. 

As more customers began to use automated teller machines, phone centers and the Internet to manage their finances, bankers began to close branches and devise fees that charged customers for frequent office visits. The few new branches that opened typically were scaled-down outlets squeezed into the corner of a grocery store. 

But bankers are now reversing course after realizing their traditional branch networks remain a vital link to customers, even as the use of automated channels continues to rise. 

While ATMs, phone centers and Internet remain great tools for holding down expenses, the automated channels aren’t as productive when it comes to increasing revenues. 

At San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, for instance, more than 80 percent of all its new sales are made inside its branches, known as stores, among the bank’s retail-driven management. 

The buying pattern is propelling a bank branch renaissance at Wells, which closed hundreds of its California offices from 1996-98 as previous management became increasingly convinced that investments in bricks-and-mortar were a waste of money. 

Under a new management team that took control in late 1998, Wells is now spending millions to renovate its branches with brighter colors and homey touches like the fireplace at one of its San Francisco branches. 

In the fourth quarter, Wells remodeled 45 California branches and plans to renovate at least 100 more in the upcoming year. 

“Traditionally, banks have always looked so imposing that people walking in sometimes think they better go back out and take off their shoes or something,” said Terri Dial, who runs Wells’ California branches. 

“What we are trying to do is create an environment where people will want to come in, sit down and rest their feet for awhile.” 

And while the visitors sit, Wells hopes to sell them even more financial products, from home equity lines of credits to mutual fund investments. In the last six months, the bank has increased its California branch sales staff — known as “personal bankers” in the Wells lexicon — by more than 10 percent. In 2001, Wells plans another 13 percent increase with the addition of 400 more personal bankers. 

Some Wells customers wish the bank would just hire more tellers to speed up the lines in the bank. 

“This new design looks nice, but I would probably exchange the coziness for about two more tellers right now,” said San Francisco resident Marla Clark as she waited in a line behind 13 other customers. 

Standing right behind Clark, Keiko Aoshima agreed: “I know a lot of people would appreciate it if the bank would spend more of its money on hiring friendlier and faster tellers than on making the branch look cozier.” 

Bank analyst Campbell Chaney of Sutro & Co. thinks Wells’ increased emphasis on its branches will pay off because the bank is adept at cross-selling its products. In a recent visit to a Wells branch in the San Francisco Bay area, Chaney found himself cornered by one of Wells’ personal bankers and wound up signing up for more services and products. 

“And I should know better,” Chaney said. “I give Wells a big edge over other rivals trying to do the same thing with its branches because Wells knows how to sell like a retailer. Others are just trying to learn.” 

Seattle-based Washington Mutual is so impressed with the results of its five new-age branches in Nevada that it plans to open 40 more similarly designed locations in the Phoenix, Ariz. area beginning next year. 

The new branch concept — dubbed “Occasio”, a Latin word for “favorable opportunity,” features roaming employees equipped with hand-held computers to help customers with simple transactions or questions.

The City Council approved Dec. 17, only part of a $50,000 request by Easy Does It, a nonprofit agency which provides emergency services to disabled residents. The balance of the request will be reviewed by the Commission on Disability. 

EDI asked for the funds primarily for improved office access for three new disabled employees and the addition of an in-house dispatching service. Currently, the agency contracts out for dispatching. 

The council unanimously approved $30,000 and sent the remaining $20,000, to the Commission on Disability for approval.  

EDI, which has had a limited contract with the city since 1995 – then expanded its services in 1999 after the passage of Measure E – provides the city’s disabled population with emergency services, such as transportation and personal attendant services.  

These can include everything from wheelchair repair to assistance with getting out of bed and grooming. It also has a case management division that assists the disabled with hiring and managing permanent attendants.  

Several members of the Commission on Disability attended the council meeting to argue that they should have had an opportunity to review the request for additional funds before the City Council voted on the recommendation.  

“This is awkward for us,” Commissioner Marissa Shaw told the council. “We’re asked to make planning decisions. We should see the budget before your approval.” 

Deputy City Manager Phil Kamlarz said the recommendation went directly to the City Council because EDI was considering a move and needed to know if the funds would be available.  

“It was probably my fault but there just wasn’t time,” Kamlarz said. “And then the day before the meeting it was determined the move wasn’t going to happen.” 

Although the move was canceled, EDI needed the additional funds for improving access to its current offices at 1732 University Ave. The agency recently hired three new employees who use wheelchairs and there is no independent access for them. In addition the nonprofit was anxious to begin its in-house dispatch program. 

There has been strain between EDI and the Commission on Disability since the passage of Measure E. The commission thought EDI was offering too few services and had inadequate fiscal accountability. In June, the council approved the two-year contract with EDI despite a unanimous vote by the commission to hire another company, Emergency Service Providers. 

“We were very frustrated when the council decided to ignore our recommendation,” said Miya Rodolfo-Sioson, commission chair. “But that’s not to say we can’t work with EDI.” 

Councilmember Dona Spring said the council decided to approve EDI’s bid at the time, because it had a track record and the other company did not. In addition she said a survey conducted by the City Manager’s Office showed a 75 percent approval rating among those who used EDI’s services. 

While the relationship between the commission and EDI has improved, there still is ongoing strain over the issue of EDI’s overuse policy, which limits service to clients. 

When people use the service 13 or more times in any month, they must pay a surcharge of $3 per call; after 19 calls, the surcharge jumps to $6 per call. In principal, service is suspended after 25 calls, although clients can appeal to an EDI subcommittee to show the need for the number of times the service has been requested. 

The subcommittee can grant extra usage or suspend service. 

“I’ve been told that three or four people have been suspended from service and I have to wonder what happens to those people,” Rodolfo-Sioson said. 

EDI Program Director Julie Yates said that it is very rare that anyone’s service is suspended and that the sub-committee, which is mostly comprised of disabled EDI directors, examines each case very carefully. 

According to Yates the overuse policy is in place to discourage people from relying on the service on a regular basis. She said the function of EDI is to provide emergency service not regular attendant service. 

“I hate the overuse policy,” Yates said. “But we need it as a disincentive for one person or handful of people to use the service all the time, which can affect others who are in emergency situations.” 

Kamlarz said one of the problems facing the disabled is the strong economy in the Bay Area. He said in the 60s and 70s there were plenty of students willing to work as attendants, but that is no longer the case. 

“There are too many jobs that pay more than being an attendant and it’s very hard work,” he said.  

Rodolfo-Sioson said that the commission will likely approve the remaining $20,000 EDI has requested. “We just want to take a look at the budget to see how much is coming from the capital budget and how much is coming from the fiscal year 2000 operating budget,” she said. 

Wednesday, Dec. 27

Magic Mike 

Noon and 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Special effects, magic, juggling, ventriloquism, and outrageous comedy is what Parent’s Choice Award winner Magic Mike is all about. Included in price of museum admission.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Tai Chi Chuan for Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Mr. Chang 

Call 644-6107 

Thursday, Dec. 28

Season of Lights  

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

The Imagination Company brings to life world winter celebrations and highlights the significance of light to several culture. Included in museum admission price.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Imani In the Village 

2 p.m. 

Claremont Library 

2940 Benvenue  

Percussionist James Henry presents a drumming and dance program for all ages. Audience participation invited.  

Call 649-3943 

Death of the Lecturer 

7 p.m. 

West Branch Library 

1125 University Ave.  

Calling all detectives, those who enjoy reading mysteries, playing Clue, and solving crossword puzzles to untangle the reason for the final fate confrontation.  

Call 649-3926 

Friday, Dec. 29

Earthcapades 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join Hearty and Lissin as they blend storytelling, juggling, acrobatics, and more, to entertain and teach about saving the environment. Included in museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Saturday, Dec. 30

Bats of the World  

1 & 2:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Maggie Hooper, an educator with the California Bat Conservation Fund, will show slides, introduce three live, tame, and indigenous bats, and answer your questions about these fascinating creatures. Included in admission to the museum. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Kwanzaa Celebration 

4 p.m. 

South Branch Library  

1901 Russell St.  

Muriel Johnson of Abiyomi Storytelling is the featured storyteller at the library’s annual celebration which also includes a formal Kwanzaa ceremony.  

Call 649-3943 

Sunday, Dec. 31

Light Up the Lights! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Popular songmeister Gary Lapow performs traditional holiday music from around the world. Included in price of museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Tuesday, Jan. 2

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Jan. 3

Berkeley Communicators  

Toastmasters 

7:15 p.m. 

Vault Restaurant  

3250 Adeline St.  

Learn to speak fluently without fear or hesitation.  

Call Howard Linnard, 527-2337 

Thursday, Jan. 4  

Snowshoe Tours  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Catherine Stifter of Backcountry Tracks presents a slide-show on her favorite ski and snowshoe tours off Highway 49 between Sierra City and Yuba Pass. Free 

Call 527-4140 

SAT is biased; time for UC to drop its use 

Editor: 

I read with great pleasure the Dec 18 article that discussed the UC proposal to drop the SAT. Its about time UC officials addressed the significant and persistent test score gaps between whites and most minorities, and examined the fairness and validity of the SAT. 

The passing of Proposition 209 in 1996 ended affirmative action in California, and since then minority enrollments in the UC system have plummeted. In 1998 the number of blacks in UC-Berkeley’s freshman class dropped 60% from the prior year, and Hispanic admissions were down 40%. At UCL, UC-San Diego, Davis, Irvine, and Santa Barbara, black admissions had dropped between 14 and 46 percent, and Hispanic admissions had declined anywhere from 9 to 33 percent. And yet UC Regent Ward Connerly (who led the fight in UC to drop affirmative action) maintains the system "is not broken"? 

A simple and effective solution to the problem of declining minority admissions would be to drop the SAT as an admission requirement. The fact of the matter is that the SAT does an extremely poor job predicting grades for all students, whatever their race.  

Crouse and Trushem, authors of The Case Against the SAT, argue that the improvement in prediction from adding scores to high school grades is so small it is meaningless.  

If first year grades are used as a measure of success, their figures show that using both class rank and SAT scores means only 1 – 3 percent fewer errors in prediction than using class rank alone.  

If graduation from university is the standard, adding the test scores makes a difference of less than one percent. 

So the SAT adds nothing to admissions decisions. But what does it take away? Crouse and Trushiem write: 

"The SAT affects colleges’ admissions outcomes much like the random rejection of additional blacks. It therefore acts with respect to actual admissions outcomes very much like a supplement to high school rank with zero validity that increases rejections of blacks. This is exactly the meaning of the test having an adverse impact on blacks when used to supplement high school rank."(page 108) 

Bias against Hispanic students takes a somewhat different form. Not only do Hispanic students tend to score lower, but an August 1993 article in the Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences reported that the scores also underpredict grades for Hispanic students.  

Yes, the admissions system is broken, but eliminating the SAT would go a long way toward fixing it. 

Chris Carter 

Oakland, California 

Fat Lady won’t sing after Bush’s inauguration 

Editor: 

Nationwide popular vote to dictate how the electoral college will go is time-honored, legally-established practice. Vote by the college, grudgingly tolerated, has been viewed as a mere meaningless out-dated formality to rubber stamp and redundantly certify the popular vote of the people.  

Al Gore indisputably won the national popular vote. Consequently, there should surely have been among those sent to cast votes for George W. Bush in the electoral college at least a handful who did not set party loyalty above a higher duty to serve honestly the whole nation, and would therefore break ranks to distinguish themselves nobly in the nation’s history as they accorded their winning votes to Al Gore, thereby supplanting the choice of a befuddled court with the people’s choice and reaffirming modern presidential election by popular vote.  

For shame George W. Bush and your electors! And for shame, Americans, if you accept this gunslingers’ thieving injustice! 

But remember, the fat lady can’t sing until after the inauguration. May a bannered calvacade of millions of the fair-minded - lawyers, doctors, students, families, war veterans, veterans of the Civil Rights struggle, etc. - descend on Washington for inauguration day and prevent the taking of the presidential oath by anyone but Al Gore.  

Not for a decade has there been a more worthy national reason for overwhelming numbers to best misguided authority. If need be, we can do without a president for a few days while we put our national house in fair order to match the voted will of the people.  

Judith Segard Hunt 

Berkeley 

Don’t condemn before judicial verdict 

Editor:  

Ms. Diana Russell, professor at Mills College, has anointed herself judge, jury, and prosecutor in the case against Berkeley landlord, L.B. Reddy and his family.  

Proclaiming herself as a spokesperson for Women Against Sexual Slavery, while seeking a City Council resolution to boycott Pasand Madras Cuisine, she in effect was leading the charge in trampling a fundamental American principle, the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law by a jury of peers.  

To underscore this point, on November 24, 1963, eighty million of us saw Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald live on television. But, until Ruby was tried, convicted, and sentenced in a court of law, he was referred to in the media as the alleged killer of Oswald. Mr. Reddy should be accorded the same constitutional protection as Jack Ruby.  

To their credit and our pride, Council members Polly Armstrong and Miriam Hawley dissented in the resolution to boycott Pasand's restaurant. Resisting the pressures of an emotionally charged atmosphere, they voted instead to defend a fundamental American principle.  

Dennis Kuby  

Berkeley

California sophomore forward Laura Schott and senior defender Tami Pivnick were named 2000 All-Americans by Soccer Buzz on Tuesday. The national collegiate women’s soccer Web site selected Schott to its first team and Pivnick to its third team.  

Schott and Pivnick are Cal’s first All-Americans since Erika Hinton earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) second team honors in 1993. The last Bear to be first team All-American was U.S. national team member Joy Fawcett in 1989.  

Earlier this month, Schott was the only Pac-10 player to earn first team All-America recognition from the NSCAA, and now she joins USC’s Isabelle Harvey as the only Pac-10 players to be named to Soccer Buzz’s top All-America list. Schott also earned first team All-West honors from both the NSCAA and Soccer Buzz.  

A first team All-Pac-10 pick from Wilsonville, Ore., Schott finished the season as the conference’s leader for points (47), goals (23) and game-winning goals (9). Her 23 goals tied Fawcett’s school record, set in 1987. Nationally, Schott concluded the year ranked second for goals per game at 1.15 and ninth for points per contest at 2.35. After two years in Berkeley, Schott ranks third in school history for goals (34) and fourth for points (77) and is on pace to break Fawcett’s records of 55 and 133, respectively.  

Pivnick helped anchor the 10th-ranked defense (0.645 goals per game) in the nation this season. The sweeper from West Hills also found ways to contribute to Cal’s attack in 2000, tying for fifth on the team with eight points (two goals and four assists). Her outstanding efforts on the field and in the classroom helped Pivnick earn selections to both the second team All-Pac-10 team and the first team Academic All-Pac-10 squad. She also was a second team All-West pick by Soccer Buzz and a third team All-West honoree by the NSCAA.  

Schott and Pivnick were named Cal’s Offensive and Defensive MVPs, respectively, at the annual team awards banquet.  

Their offensive and defensive exploits helped the Bears put together one of the best seasons in school history. Cal posted a 17-3-1 record, placed second in the Pac-10 at 7-2 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they fell 2-0 to eventual Final Four participant Santa Clara.  

The Bears’ 17 wins broke the previous school record of 16 set in 1986, ‘87 and ‘88. The Bears ended the year ranked as high as No. 4 by Soccer America.

Homeless individuals and families across Alameda County received an early Christmas gift Saturday when congressional representatives notified them that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development had awarded more than $11.7 million to programs serving the 9,000 to 15,000 homeless people who live in Alameda County.  

A number of programs in Berkeley will benefit from the funds:  

• The Berkeley Emergency Food and Housing Project’s $487,000 grant was renewed to support its transitional housing program. The program offers 24-month housing with structured support services to help clients move to stable permanent housing and to achieve self sufficiency. 

• The Homeless Employment Center’s grant of $1 million was renewed to provide employment and training services to 300 General Assistance recipients or those eligible for General Assistance. 

• The Alameda County Homeless Youth Collaborative received a renewal of its $621,700 award which provides housing for Berkeley youth in a two-bedroom transitional house and for Oakland youth in an eight-bed transitional house. An additional 570 youth will receive services through this program, which include outreach, life skills training, mental and physical health care, employment, childcare, skills training and more. Partners in the project include Chaplaincy to the Homeless, Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency, Berkeley Youth Alternatives and others. 

• The Peter Babcock House, on the Oakland-Berkeley border serves homeless individuals living with HIV/AIDS. The facility houses five individuals in a supported, community living environment. The program operated by Affordable Housing Associates, with services provided by BOSS, will receive $112,000 to renew its grant. 

• Bridget House was awarded a new grant for $138,000. It is operated by Berkeley’s Women’s Daytime Drop-In Center and is a transitional housing program with case management support for homeless women and children. During the program year, it houses 12-18 individuals, approximately six families with up to 12 children. 

• The city-run Shelter-Plus-Care program will receive a renewed grant of $1.4 million. This is a city project that partners with seven community-based organizations to place individuals in housing, assign case managers to their applicants and provide a variety of services before and after housing has been found. About 30 percent of the clients who use these services have been diagnosed with mental illness and another 30 percent are disabled by chronic substance abuse. An additional 40 percent are dually diagnosed. 

• The Berkeley Supportive Housing Network is a new program that provides housing for severely mentally ill homeless individuals. It received $313,000. 

• Another new program to get funding is the Berkeley Interfaith Youth Initiative. Twelve churches joined together to form the initiative which will receive $97,000. One of its purposes is to establish drop-in centers for homeless youth or youth at risk of homelessness. They centers, run by Jubilee Restoration, Inc., will be located in south and west Berkeley. 

• A $99,000 grant renewal will go to Bonita House, which serves homeless adults with a dual diagnosis of severe persistent mental disability and a history of substance abuse.

In what some are calling the “Christmas coup” at KPFA’s sister station WBAI in New York, an interim station manager was installed and the station’s program director and a producer were fired Saturday. Tuesday, Pacifica added to the list of persona non grata by banning of at least three more people from the Manhattan station. 

WBAI, KPFA and listener-sponsored stations in Washington, D.C., Houston and Los Angeles, operate under a license controlled by the Pacifica Foundation. In the summer of 1999, Pacifica locked out the entire staff at KPFA, following the firing of a popular station manager and subsequent broadcasts about the firing, which had been banned by Pacifica. The lockout and censorship resulted in daily demonstrations, including one by 10,000 people. The battle between the local station and the Pacifica Board continues today through several lawsuits. 

The situation at WBAI was discussed in a Tuesday morning staff meeting at the New York station where “a strong consensus of the staff” called on the management to reinstate those who had been terminated and barred from the station, according to a person in attendance at the meeting who asked to remain anonymous. 

“The interim manager said that any such readmission would take time and left the meeting before a vote was taken,” the source said in a phone interview. 

There has been no explanation given to those people who have been barred from the station. “The bannings may be in revenge for prior discussions,” the source said. 

Among those not permitted inside the station is Eileen Sutton, a volunteer news producer active in a strike of Pacific Network News stringers. These radio journalists have refused to work for the Pacific News since the news director was terminated earlier this year.  

“I’m honored to be kicked out,” Sutton told the Daily Planet, explaining that she had been given no explanation for her termination. She was told that she could not re-enter the station by people attending the Tuesday morning staff meeting, she said. 

The WBAI audience has been very supportive to the staff, Sutton added, noting “There’s been 150-170 calls each day to a hot line” that updates people on the WBAI situation. 

The installation of Utrice Leid Saturday as station manager came about a month after Pacifica announced the termination of the former station manager. Calling the action “a tyrannical approach of Pacifica,” Northern California board member Tomas Moran said he received no notice of any of the New York actions. Further, Board Chair David Acosta has not responded to his inquiries, he said. 

Moran, programmers and the station’s Local Advisory Committee met Saturday to plan programming to keep KPFA listeners informed of the New York situation. Local Advisory Board members will continue to meet to discuss what kinds of further response should be taken.  

The situation in New York is somewhat different than the one in Berkeley during the summer of 1999. On air programmers are allowed to discuss the situation and only a select few have been locked out. It’s a new way to “spin” the situation, Moran said, underscoring that in both situations the decision-making is not democratic. 

The inside source at WBAI described the situation as one where a half-dozen security guards are scattered inside at various posts, not only to restrict the access of those banned from the premises, but, to watch and listen to those working inside the station.  

“It has a chilling effect on people, on the usual social intercourse,” he said. 

“We’re in Through the Looking Glass,” Moran said. “We’re on the other side of the glass.” 

Pacifica Executive Director Bessie Wash did not return calls on this story. Interim WBAI station manager Utrice Leid, installed in the early morning hours of Dec. 23 and Board Chair David Acosta were also contacted but did not return calls.

The Affordable Housing Advocacy Project in Berkeley released its first progress report on Christmas Day, promising to promote and improve the use of housing vouchers for low-income residents. 

“We are especially concerned that city staff and elected officials and, most importantly, voucher holders do not understand how the vouchers work,” according to the AHAP report. 

A so-called Section 8 voucher is a government rental subsidy that allows a low-income person to obtain housing, with federal financial assistance, in a privately owned building. 

Life in privately owned housing is viewed by many as preferable to life in a government housing project, which is perceived as dangerous because of the threat of violent crime and drug dealing. 

Harvard and Princeton universities jointly released a report in October, concluding that housing vouchers appeared to be succeeding, with families “enjoying more safety, fewer behavior problems among boys, and better health.” 

Former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary Xavier Briggs, now at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, said the positive results have been quick. 

“The theory has always been that it would take years for effects to register,” he said. “But when you leave neighborhoods behind where you’re ducking bullets and worried for your life, and for your children’s lives, every minute of every day, lo and behold it doesn’t take long for things to register at all.” 

In October 1998, President Bill Clinton signed the Quality Housing and Responsibility Act. This required local housing authorities to develop and submit both annual and five-year plans to the federal housing agency. 

One of the requirements is that residents of public housing be included in the planning process. 

Berkeley’s Affordable Housing Advocacy Project, which is funded by the City Council, is working to include public housing tenants and the Section 8 tenants as well. This is particularly true in the development of the city’s five-year and annual housing plans, and in the creation of “Watchdog Committees” to monitor housing activities. 

The project was developed out of the Save Section 8 Committee, a group founded by seniors living in subsidized housing. It was started in October 1999 as a joint project between Housing Rights, Inc., Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), and the National Housing Law Project. 

The group also plans to educate rental property owners regarding vouchers.

A suspect who crashed a stolen car into a home at Cedar and California streets was locked up in the Berkeley jail Tuesday, according to police. 

At about 3 a.m. Tuesday, police received a call that suspects may be in the act of stealing a car at Shasta and Tamalpais roads. At around Cedar and Euclid Avenue, an officer thought he saw the car described as stolen and activated his lights and siren to get the suspect to stop, according to Lt. Russell Lopes. 

Instead of stopping, the vehicle fled down Cedar. The officer did not pursue, since that would have violated Berkeley municipal code which forbids pursuit of stolen vehicles, Lopes said. 

Minutes later the suspect car crashed into a home near Cedar and California. The car’s airbags deployed and the suspect was able to leave the vehicle unhurt. He was found 10 minutes later hiding in a nearby backyard, Lopes said.

Teenager killed in Richmond 

RICHMOND (AP) — One teen-age boy was fatally shot and another was seriously injured Tuesday while walking home from a friend’s house, police said. 

A bullet fatally struck a 14-year-old boy in the head, while a 16-year-old boy was shot in the leg, arm and back. Both were taken to an area hospital where the younger victim was pronounced dead. The older boy was listed in stable condition, said Richmond Police Sgt. Enos Johnson. 

The youths were walking on Potrero Avenue a few blocks from their home when they were approached by a vehicle carrying at least one gunman. 

The suspects got out of the car and at least one opened fire on the teen-agers, police said. The older boy ran two blocks to safety. 

Police are investigating the incident but do not have a motive for the shooting. 

Gay and lesbian center opening delayed 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The opening of a new gay and lesbian community center in San Francisco has been delayed by the discovery of toxic soil at the Market and Octavia construction site. 

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center was set to open in June during Gay Pride Week. The delay means it likely will not open until fall. 

The delay will also raise the cost of the center. The original price was set at a little more than $14 million, but cleaning up the toxins will add about $1 million to the bill. About $12 million has been raised for the center, first conceived in 1996. 

The center will consist of a 41,000-square-foot glass and steel four-story building connected to a century-old Victorian. It will provide office space to 11 nonprofit groups and will include conference rooms, a cafe and a childcare center. 

BART parking shortage 

OAKLAND (AP) — Commuting by Bay Area Rapid Transit is so popular that parking lots are filling up faster than ever and some riders are so desperate they’re accepting $25 tickets to park illegally. 

Surveys indicate motorists appear willing to pay the fines to park in spaces set aside for car pools and midday travelers. 

Those BART surveys also show illegal parking happens at nearly every station with a parking lot, but the problem seems to be worst at Pittsburg and Dublin-Pleasanton. 

BART officials said the parking problem is made worse by the boom in ridership, up 15 percent in the past year to 345,000 trips on most weekdays. 

BART wrote almost 60,000 tickets in the past year. That’s up from just over 45,000 the previous year. 

No clues to whereabouts of missing woman 

SAN LEANDRO (AP) — Despite an extensive search of the ravines and canyons on Crow Canyon Road there is still no sign of a San Leandro woman who disappeared last week after leaving for work. 

Authorities said they will continue the search Tuesday for Janet Vanden Bos. She was last seen Thursday morning as she left her parents’ San Leandro house and headed for her job in Danville. 

Friends and family say it isn’t like Vanden Bos to disappear without telling anybody. Her family says she has a serious asthma condition and did not have medicine with her for more than a day or two. 

Her family also says she has not been unhappy recently. She drove off in a red Volkswagen convertible with a black top, and the car also has not been seen.

SACRAMENTO – Ann Veneman, an attorney who is the daughter of peach farmers, emphasized foreign trade, food safety and education during her tenure as California’s agriculture director. 

Veneman, 51, a Modesto native, was expected to be named U.S. agriculture secretary Wednesday by President-elect Bush, The Associated Press has learned. 

“We have a very high regard for secretary Veneman,” Bill Pauli, president of the 90,000-member California Farm Bureau, said Tuesday. “What we’re really encouraged by is not only does she understand California agriculture, which is really important to us, but she understands national agriculture.” 

She was California’s agriculture director from 1995 until January 1999, appointed by former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson. She is the only woman to have held that cabinet post as the governor’s top farm adviser. 

Wilson sent her on trade missions to Asia and South America to try to increase California’s agriculture exports, which range from cotton to table grapes. 

From 1986 to 1993, she dealt with international trade issues in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She rose to deputy secretary, the number-two job in that office, under Bush’s father and was the highest-ranking woman to serve in that department. 

During her time in the federal department, Veneman helped negotiate the Uruguay round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade talks. 

“When you talk to agriculture people about what government can do to help, it’s ’help us open markets that are closed to us,”’ Veneman said in a 1995 interview. “I think that’s a real legitimate role that we can play.” 

Since Wilson left office, Veneman has been practicing law in Sacramento, but still keeping farm connections. In her firm of Nossaman, Guthner, Knox and Elliott, she has specialized in food, agriculture, environment, technology and trade issues. 

This month, she spoke at a University of California, Davis, seminar on agriculture in an Internet world. 

She said e-commerce will bring “fundamental changes” to farming, as farms begin exploring business-to-business Internet transactions, buying and selling everything from seeds to farm equipment. 

In October, she told an agriculture biotechnology conference in Monterey, “We simply will not be able to feed the world without biotechnology.” 

In 1999, she was hired by Nugget Distributors of Stockton to promote a new food safety training program on CD-ROMs for restaurant workers. A 1998 state law requires businesses selling unpackaged foods to have at least one worker certified in safe food handling. 

Pauli said Veneman’s background in agricultural trade agreements is “a really strong positive for California agriculture and for the nation’s agriculture.” 

Picking Veneman “was a really good start” for the Bush administration as far as food and agriculture policy is concerned, said Carol Tucker Foreman, director of the Consumer Federation of America’s Food Policy Institute. 

Veneman understands that USDA, which regulates meat processing and operates the government’s food assistance programs, is concerned about more than farming, Foreman said. She “will bring a modern view of the Department of Agriculture into that job.” 

Her roots are both in farming and politics. Her parents were peach growers in Stanislaus County in the San Joaquin Valley south of Sacramento. Her father, John Veneman, was a Republican state assemblyman and undersecretary of health, education and welfare in the Nixon administration. 

Veneman was an early Bush supporter and was one of six California Republicans named in mid-1999 to his exploratory committee in the state. At the GOP convention last summer, she was on the national steering committee of Farmers and Ranchers for Bush. 

She has a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis in political science, a master’s in public policy from UC Berkeley and a law degree from Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. 

She spent time during her tenure as state agriculture director visiting urban schools to talk about how food gets from the farm to them. 

“The big problem is children simply do not know where food comes from. They go to the grocery store and think milk just comes out of a carton, or fruit and vegetables just appear on that shelf,” she said a 1997 interview.

Sunday, Dec. 24

Ancient Winds 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

1573 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Artists at Play Holiday Sale  

Noon - 4 p.m. 

1649 Hopkins St.  

Work for sale includes dishes, frames, floral ribbon pins, jewelry, monoprints, and more.  

Call 528-0494 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Palestinian Solidarity Event 

1 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists 

1924 Cedar (at Bonita) 

Noura Erakat, just returned from occupied Palestine, will present a slide show and discussion on why she believes U.S. military aid to Israel must stop.  

Call 524-6064 

Tuesday, Dec. 26

Kwanzaa! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join storyteller Awele Makeba as she shares tale and a capella songs from African and African-American history, culture, and folklore which celebrate the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Included with admission to the museum.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Big Fat Year-End Kiss-Off  

Comedy Show VIII 

8 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts  

2640 College Ave.  

Featuring Will Durst, host of PBS “Livelyhood,” Johnny Steele, Debi Durst & Michael Bossier, Ken Sonkin the Magic Mime, and Steve Kravitz.  

$15  

Call for tickets, (925) 798-1300 

Blood Pressure Testing 

9:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With Alice Meyers 

Call 644-6107 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Dec. 27

Magic Mike 

Noon and 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Special effects, magic, juggling, ventriloquism, and outrageous comedy is what Parent’s Choice Award winner Magic Mike is all about. Included in price of museum admission.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children  

Call 642-5132 

Tai Chi Chuan for Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Mr. Chang 

Call 644-6107 

Thursday, Dec. 28

Season of Lights  

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

The Imagination Company brings to life world winter celebrations and highlights the significance of light to several culture. Included in museum admission price.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Imani In the Village 

2 p.m. 

Claremont Library 

2940 Benvenue  

Percussionist James Henry presents a drumming and dance program for all ages. Audience participation invited.  

Call 649-3943 

Death of the Lecturer 

7 p.m. 

West Branch Library 

1125 University Ave.  

Calling all detectives, those who enjoy reading mysteries, playing Clue, and solving crossword puzzles to untangle the reason for the final fate confrontation.  

Call 649-3926 

Friday, Dec. 29

Earthcapades 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley. 

Call 642-5132

The WBAI “insider” stood locked out in the cold in front of the New York listener-sponsored station Saturday afternoon. 

“At approximately 11:45 p.m. (Friday) night, in a Pacifica-backed coup, three locksmiths came in and changed the locks,” said the individual, who asked that his name not be used for this story. 

The Pacifica Foundation holds the license to five community radio stations, including KPFA, where staff and volunteers were locked out of the station by representatives of the national board for three weeks during the summer of 1999. The Berkeley lockout occurred after programmers insisted on discussing the firing of a popular station manager on the air. Demonstrations, including one 10,000 people strong, ensued and staff returned inside the station. Listener and programmer lawsuits against Pacifica were filed and are moving forward. 

As the “insider” describes it, at 1:48 a.m. Saturday WBAI talk show host Etrice Leid came on the air and announced she had been named interim station manager in place of Valerie van Isler, whose termination was announced a month ago. Staff had no input into this unpopular decision, the insider said. 

Also on Saturday morning the lead producer of the morning news show and the WBAI program director both received termination notices via Federal Express. 

“They’ve hired a private security firm to be bouncers at the door,” the insider said. 

Programmers were being allowed into the building selectively in order to broadcast their shows on Saturday, the source said. 

Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman, whose show is broadcast nationally from WBAI, said Saturday that she, too, was locked out of the station and did not know whether she would be allowed in on Monday to broadcast her show. “It’s not clear what’s happening,” she said, “It’s a total crack down.”  

The lockout violates the station’s contract with its employee unions, she added. 

Local station KPFA reacted swiftly to the events broadcasting updates Saturday and planning coverage of the situation over the holiday weekend. 

Pacifica management did not return calls for this story. 

For updates call the WBAI listener hotline at (800) 825-0055 or go to the web at www.savepacifica.net.

Powell may not help ease tensions 

Editor: 

Pundits are saying that Colin Powell will be very good at solving international conflicts, for instance in the middle East.  

As a boy, Powell worked for a Jewish grocer in the Bronx and learned to understand and speak Yiddish.  

This will please Netanyahu and friends, but it is doubtful that the Arabs will be greatly impressed.  

Max Alfert 

Albany 

It’s in the First Amendment – read it 

Editor: 

From the start of Michael Yovino-Young’s letter of Dec. 16 & 17, you’d think he was avid civil libertarian with an inkling of an understanding of constitutional law.  

However, by the end of his letter, it is clear that Osha Neumann, who Yovino-Young complained about, has an understanding of the Constitution far greater than, say, Yovino-Young, who doesn’t understand who should or shouldn’t practice law or what “fascism” means.  

Neumann also has one thing going for him that Yovino-Young doesn’t seem to have; the lawyer has actually read the first amendment.  

“Congress (note the emphasis) shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” 

Too bad Yovino-Young hasn’t read any of the large body of juridprudential literature explaining what those words functionally mean.  

While the mainstream reaction again the Netanyahu demonstration is discouraging, not only because of people’s misunderstanding of freedom of speech but also because of their failure to see the war criminals among us and the subjugation that our government and major media are a part of, it sure is great to see lucid voices, like those of Joseph Anderson and Steve Wagner. And to see the staff of the Berkeley Daily Planet printing them.  

Oliver Luby 

Berkeley 

Feliz Navidad 

Editor: 

It's the Season of delightful music and lights, eating too much, and sharing joy with families and friends.  

As I stood in line waiting to buy that perfect gift for my husband, I found myself making a list of New Year wishes for this wonderful city.  

So here are some wishes that I invite you to join me in making come true.  

• Heading the list – cozy, affordable housing particularly for the elderly in danger of losing their homes and the working poor struggling to keep their families together.  

• Councilmembers that will put aside political maneuvering and work with all their colleagues for the good of the entire city. 

• Health care for everyone. I am happy to have helped 900 Berkeley residents get health insurance this past year, but this is a national problem that can't wait. 

• Safety for the South Berkeley neighbors who are fighting so hard for freedom from drug dealing, shots in the night and assaults on their children. 

• An excellent education for all of our youth. It is unacceptable to be afraid in school, deprived of adequate playing fields, to drop out or be denied training or work experience. As their Village, we must nurture them with love while setting limits to guide them. 

• Recognition that Berkeley needs and depends upon a vibrant business community to provide jobs and pay taxes which fund the services we all want and expect. 

• Support for my pre-natal through pre-school program which seeks to ensure that every Berkeley child is healthy and motivated to learn when entering kindergarten. 

• Improve the quality of life for everyone by fixing potholes, repairing sidewalks, and expanding parks.  

And, wouldn't it be nice if all the traffic slowed down and everyone was polite? 

Well, this is my wish list for the New Year and it's achievable, if we all work together! 

Mayor Shirley Dean 

Berkeley 

Save the Derby St. farmers’ market and save the neighborhood  

Editor: 

I am writing to you about the Derby Street Field. I strongly oppose the Derby Street Field trying to be built there. 

I do support the plan that would provide regulation soccer and softball fields, a tot lot, larger garden for the new alternative school, safer streets and spots to play for children, and for the Farmers' Market to stay there.  

Because I'm a 10 year-old I don't want to have to have bright lights and noise during the night and traffic problems. And also I love the Farmers' Market;I go over there every Tuesday after school. And it would be really bad if there was a huge stadium on Derby and not the market.  

People in the community should decide what happens and almost everybody in the community doesn't want it, but they think that nobody will listen to them.  

Thank You, 

Rio Bauce Berkeley 

Noise, traffic is for those living near new Beth El site 

Editor: 

This is with reference to Charles Meyers' letter to the Editor in the Planet's 12/23-25 issue. 

Mr. Meyer states that he lives "about a half-mile" from Beth-El; just far enough to view the proposed project from a lofty, unaffected attitude, i.e., not having to deal with heavy traffic, noise, parking problems and all the other issues imposed by this project which is inappropriate to an already highly urbanized neighborhood.  

When Mr. Meyers lives next door to such a project as I will, then perhaps I will be able to take his cavalier comments seriously. 

Carol Connolly 

Berkeley 

The recent opening of a Durant Avenue smoke shop may be in violation of city zoning laws. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington, whose district includes the south-of-campus area, said councilmembers received an e-mail from Mark Rhodes, director of current planning, that said a mistake was made in issuing a use permit to the University Gift and Smoke Shop at 2506 Durant Ave.  

Zoning regulations, specific to the Telegraph Avenue shopping area, prohibit new stores whose sales are made up of more than one-third tobacco products, unless there is a public hearing and subsequent issuance of a use permit.  

Rhodes was unavailable for comment Saturday. 

The opening of the Telegraph area shop spurred Councilmember Dona Spring to call for a citywide moratorium on new smoke shops.  

Spring has placed a resolution on the Jan. 16 City Council agenda calling for the moratorium until the city’s zoning regulations can be amended to restrict what she calls the “proliferation of smoke shops in Berkeley.”  

Spring said she hopes the Planning Commission regulations will target areas near schools – including UC Berkeley. 

“They like to put these shops near schools because kids are the easiest to get hooked on nicotine products,” Spring said. “Oakland has a ordinance forbidding tobacco shops near schools and I think Berkeley should, too.” 

According to Paul Fletcher a spokesperson for the American Lung Association, studies show there is a definite correlation between the opportunity to purchase cigarettes and the number of minors who smoke.  

“There are 150 places to buy cigarettes in Berkeley,” Fletcher said, “Clearly the area is already over saturated.” 

Fletcher cited a survey by the Berkeley police and the Berkeley Tobacco Coalition in which minors posed as cigarette buyers last summer. According to Fletcher, the sting showed that one-third of Berkeley cigarette vendors sold tobacco to minors. 

Berkeley resident Tim Moder is among those who have contacted Spring to voice opposition to the new Durant Avenue smoke shop. He said there should be no more than five stores that sell cigarettes in the city. “It would make it much easier to monitor these places to make sure they don’t sell to kids,” he said. “With 150 stores selling cigarettes there’s just no way.” 

The owner of the newly opened Durant Avenue smoke shop, Nabel Totah, also owns two other similar stores, one on University Avenue and another in Oakland. 

“Cigarette sales are a very small part of our business,” said Gena Garcia, a manager at Totah’s Oakland smoke shop. “If Mr. Totah knew that Berkeley didn’t want anymore smoke shops he certainly would have not invested money there.” 

Judith Scherr of the Daily Planet staff contributed to this story. 

“A house is a home when it shelters the body and comforts the soul.” – Phillip Moffitt. 

Two questions frequently asked by senior citizens are: “What’s Section 8?” and “How can I find a decent place to live?”  

In 1997, 622 subsidized units for Berkeley elderly were reported by the census; Alameda County Housing Authority’s Inventory of Subsidized Rental Housing identified 33 Berkeley buildings which include low-income or Section 8 senior or disabled rent-subsidized units. 

Section 8 refers to a portion of federal legislation administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It provides rent subsidies for low-income persons. People who qualify under Section 8, pay one-third of their incomes for rent, with the balance subsidized by HUD.  

This program has been one of the best possible uses of federal funds, because it countermands the need for costly welfare-type expenditures associated with sheltering seniors with small incomes who are eager and able to live independently.  

Seniors receiving Section 8 rent subsidies in today’s tight Bay Area housing market are at risk of losing their status and being evicted because landlords prefer other types of tenants and can get higher rents in the open market.  

Tenant-based Section 8 is administered by the Berkeley housing authority. In theory, it is possible for a low-income person to get on a periodically-open waiting list, obtain a Section 8 voucher from the housing authority, and – before the voucher expires – find a vacant apartment on the open market owned by a landlord who will accept both an aged tenant and rent subsidized by HUD!  

In Berkeley there are several Section 8 project buildings, owned by nonprofit and for profit organizations, not under the purview of the Berkeley Housing Authority. They consist of mostly single-room apartments, for example, Redwood Gardens and Stuart Pratt.  

Here are suggestions for easing a search for low-income housing for seniors. Contact rent-subsidized housing projects and landlords. Request an application form and information brochure, and complete the application form at once. Retain copies of all correspondence. Emphasize your strong points as a prospective tenant, for example, no pets, nonsmoker, excellent credit history, regular income. Resist the temptation to accept the advice of friends or building managers who say that “You will never get a place in that building” or “We never have vacancies.”  

If you currently rent in substandard conditions, make a formal request to the local housing department for an “inspection;” persist in obtaining a report of any code violations. If you are near-homeless, paying over half your income in rent, being involuntarily displaced, and or living in substandard housing, include these facts in your application.  

It may not be possible to apply to a building manager or see inside the building. Apply to the management company, which may require an interview; take a friend with you. After four weeks, if you have not received acknowledgment, follow up. After three months, if your application has not been accepted, telephone. Inquire about its status every month and at least once in writing.

SAN FRANCISCO – Authorities now believe a rogue wave, churned up by piling sea swells off the San Francisco coast, crashed ashore and swept away a 13-year-old boy Friday. 

The search continued Saturday, but turned up empty. The missing boy’s name has not been released. 

Witnesses say he was standing with his seven friends along the shoreline at Baker Beach when the wave suddenly towered above their heads and blindsided them. 

“They were taking a photograph of their group of eight and a rogue wave came and knocked them down,” said San Francisco Fire Department spokesman Pete Howes. “The beaches are very steep. They go from beach-side to deep water quickly.” 

Other members of the group went into the water and scoured the waves for the boy but never found him. They were treated for mild hypothermia and exhaustion and released from a local hospital. 

The waters off Baker Beach and nearby Ocean Beach are known for their unpredictable conditions and strong riptides that can easily take inexperienced swimmers out to sea. Just last month a fisherman drowned at Baker Beach while wading into the surf and stepping off a shallow sand shelf into deeper water. 

Warning signs reading “Hazardous surf. Swim at your own risk” are posted at Baker Beach. Rich Weideman, a spokesman for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area which oversees the beach, confirmed that 12 people have drowned at Baker and Ocean beaches since 1990. 

This time of year the conditions are often ripe for trouble. 

“We had a fairly high tide. It was some of the highest tide I’ve seen,” Weideman said of Friday’s conditions. “The warnings we had were between 10 and 15-foot-waves and it was going on for about 24 hours starting about 3 p.m. Friday ironically.” 

That was the time when the rogue wave struck the group of teens. 

The region’s deadly seas claimed another life on Nov. 30 when Scott Smith, bass guitar player for the 1980s pop band Loverboy, was swept from the deck of his sailboat by a 25-foot wave four miles off the coast of Ocean Beach. 

That wave was so strong it snapped off the boat’s steering wheel. Smith’s body was never recovered. 

A high surf advisory continued through Saturday for the region, but personal responsibility is a key component for beachgoers, Weideman said. 

“It’s up to the person and their abilities,” he said. “We just want people to be cautious. It’s always good to be watching the weather forecast.” 

Howes added that visitors to San Francisco should watch more than the weather report — they should keep an eye peeled on the surf which can quickly change from mild to wild. 

“If they’re out their children or pets they should be very cautious,” Howes said. 

Despite the dangers, swells from San Francisco to Half Moon Bay about 30 miles south are coveted by big wave surfers this time of year. Hot spots nicknamed “Mavericks” and the “Potato Patch,” with their thrusting shallow ocean shelves, offer consistent 40-foot waves during the winter for those brave enough to surf them.

SAN FRANCISCO – With the state in the throes of an energy crisis, alternative energy glows like a solar-powered beacon of relief for Californians beset by soaring gas prices and imminent rate hikes. 

But the energy generated by nature, or “green power,” constitutes only 12 percent of California’s power usage, and it won’t help bail out the state during this energy crisis for one important reason — it’s still too costly. 

Existing alternative power plants do not satisfy the state’s appetite for power. Windmills in Tehachapi and Altamont, solar energy farms in the desert, and the world’s largest geothermal field near Santa Rosa do not produce enough energy to meet the demand. 

And a major obstacle to expanding alternative energy is the startup cost. With gas costing just $2 to $3 per 1,000 Btu last winter, it simply didn’t make sense for utilities to build systems that use renewable sources. But last month, the price soared to $30. 

“We would like to increase the amount of generation from renewable resources in the state,” said Marwan Masri, manager of the California Energy Commission’s renewable energy program. “But the cost is high at first.” 

The state program offers incentives, such as payment of part of the startup costs, to get more companies and even homeowners to use renewable resources. The program is building up steam. 

“Today, market prices have been really high and these renewables are a bargain,” Masri said. “The question is not to lose momentum.” 

California uses, on average, about 34,000 megawatts of power a day, with 12 percent of that coming from renewable sources, such as wind, sun and the Earth’s own heat. Over the past three years, the amount of energy from alternative sources has increased by almost 4,000 gigawatt/hours — enough to power 600,000 homes for a full year. 

The rising gas prices and tight supplies have buffeted Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric. PG&E and SoCal Edison blame $8 billion in losses since May on rising wholesale costs and frozen customer rates. 

San Diego customers are not covered by the rate freeze and have seen their bills double or triple. Customers of the other two utilities will likely see their rates increase as early as next month, after the Public Utilities Commission said Thursday customers should pay more to keep the companies from going bankrupt. 

“If the gas prices stay where they are, this stuff looks a whole lot better,” said Rich Ferguson, research director of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technology. 

Still, natural gas remains the favorite because of the price. Until this year, gas has been among the cheapest sources, and utilities use it to generate almost 90 percent of the state’s energy. 

Alternative energy sources are expensive to set up, but once established, the fuel is fairly cheap. Natural gas plants, on the other hand, are cheaper to set up, but must continually spend money to buy fuel. 

Although alternative energy took off in the 1980s, it has been around since the turn of the 20th century, when small hydroelectric plants were scattered throughout the state. Large hydroelectric plants are not considered alternative energy. 

In the 1960s came geothermal energy, which harnesses heat from the Earth to generate steam and turn a turbine. Biomass, which comes from burning plant material; landfill gas, which can be harvested to drive generators; and other renewable sources grew in popularity in the 1980s. 

Right now, the cost of wind and geothermal energies are on par with natural gas, with wind averaging 5 cents a kilowatt hour and geothermal averaging 7 cents a kilowatt hour. Solar is among the most expensive, at 20 to 40 cents a kilowatt hour. 

Masri thinks the costs will eventually come down significantly, making alternative energies consistently competitive with natural gas. 

“The one trend we know is renewable energy gets cheaper and cheaper over time. The cost has been dropping,” he said. “It hasn’t dropped far enough, but it is declining.” 

Still, the price of electricity is tied to the cost of natural gas, because even alternative energy sources feed the same power grid, which is dominated by natural gas. So higher natural gas prices raise the cost of all electricity, no matter how it’s generated. 

That price is passed on to consumers of both traditional and alternative energy sources, but retailers of renewable energy often negotiate flat rates for their customers, which can keep them from being affected too much by rising prices. 

All seem to agree that with gas prices rising, renewable energies are more attractive, and to meet the need, new alternative energy plants are expected to generate 471 megawatts of power by the end of next year. That’s enough to power 471,000 homes for an hour. 

Those plants will be used to replace gas-fired plants or generate additional electricity, said Steven Kelly, policy director of the Independent Energy Producers Association. 

But Kelly said the way many gas-powered plants are designed makes it too hard to convert them to alternative energy plants, and that it would be easier to start over rather than to switch over. 

Kari Smith, manager of green power resources for PowerLight Corp., a Berkeley company that sells and installs solar panels, sees alternative energy expanding in the future. 

“The economics are changing. The price of natural gas has doubled in the last year, where the price of wind and solar is coming down,” Smith said. “We see it as a real promising sector.”

Cops spread holiday cheer with food boxes 

It’s nearly Christmas and three police employees are making their regular holiday rounds armed with 15-pound turkeys and boxes stuffed with cranberry sauce, yams and cookies. 

Police service assistants Brenda Logan and Tess Artizada and patrol officer Ross Kassebaum are volunteering their time crisscrossing Berkeley in a white Cherokee delivering holiday meals to needy residents as part of the Berkeley Booster Holiday Food Basket Program. 

Nelda O’Neal, her grandchildren shyly standing behind her, thank Kassebaum with a kiss on the cheek. “It such a pleasure to be acknowledged as somebody who deserves this,” she says. 

At about 6 a.m. Friday about 50 volunteers from various organizations gathered in front of the new Public Safety Building and began to sort 11,400 pounds of food including 3,900 pounds of turkey, 1,250 pounds of potatoes, 1,000 pounds of oranges and 1,000 pounds of yams. They put the food into baskets, each containing enough food to feed 10 people. 

The baskets were then loaded into a fleet of patrol vans, squad cars, parking enforcement scooters and a converted AC Transit bus known as the Mobile Sub Station to make the deliveries.  

The program began 16 years ago when Sgt. Bruce Agnew and Sgt. Alec Boga got the idea to raise money for the giveaway through a “Turkey Ride” in which police officers find sponsors for a 216 mile bicycle ride from Berkeley to South Lake Tahoe. 

Local organizations that participated in this year’s giveaway include the Berkeley Boosters, the Berkeley Rotary Club and Berkeley Kiwanis Club.

Saturday, Dec. 23

Farmers’ Market Craft Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

MLK Jr. Civic Center Park  

(Center at MLK Jr. Way) 

Local craftspeople will be selling a variety of handcrafted gifts. Also live music, massage, and hot apple cider. Free 

Call 548-3333 

Artists at Play Holiday Sale  

Noon - 4 p.m. 

1649 Hopkins St.  

Work for sale includes dishes, frames, floral ribbon pins, jewelry, monoprints, and more.  

Call 528-0494 

Royal Hawaiian Ukulele Band 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

1561 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

Ninth Annual Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

MLK Jr. Civic Center Park  

Klesmeh! Festival  

8 p.m.  

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts  

2640 College Ave.  

A Hanukkah concert of Klesmer music and its mutations, featuring the San Francisco Klesmer experience. Hosted by Berkeley monologist/comedian Josh Kornbluth.  

$18 advance, $20 door; $16 kids and seniors  

Call 415-454-5238 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Sunday, Dec. 24

Ancient Winds 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

1573 Solano Ave. 

One of many performers doing their stuff on Solano during the holidays. Performances every weekend afternoon till Christmas.  

Artists at Play Holiday Sale  

Noon - 4 p.m. 

1649 Hopkins St.  

Work for sale includes dishes, frames, floral ribbon pins, jewelry, monoprints, and more.  

Call 528-0494 

Telegraph Holiday Street Fair 

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. (between Dwight and Bancroft) 

With over 300 vendors and live musical entertainment, this years holiday fair will be larger than any in recent memory. Free shuttle from downtown Berkeley BART available. Validated parking will be offered at UC’s West Anna Lot, located on Channing Way just east of Telegraph.  

Call Linda, 528-6983 for details 

Palestinian Solidarity Event 

1 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists 

1924 Cedar (at Bonita) 

Noura Erakat, just returned from occupied Palestine, will present a slide show and discussion on why she believes U.S. military aid to Israel must stop.  

Call 524-6064 

Tuesday, Dec. 26

Kwanzaa! 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join storyteller Awele Makeba as she shares tale and a capella songs from African and African-American history, culture, and folklore which celebrate the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Included with admission to the museum.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Big Fat Year-End Kiss-Off  

Comedy Show VIII 

8 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts  

2640 College Ave.  

Featuring Will Durst, host of PBS “Livelyhood,” Johnny Steele, Debi Durst & Michael Bossier, Ken Sonkin the Magic Mime, and Steve Kravitz.  

$15  

Call for tickets, (925) 798-1300 

Blood Pressure Testing 

9:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

With Alice Meyers 

Call 644-6107 

Berkeley Camera Club  

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda  

Share your slides and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 

Call Wade, 531-8664 

Wednesday, Dec. 27

Magic Mike 

Noon and 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Special effects, magic, juggling, ventriloquism, and outrageous comedy is what Parent’s Choice Award winner Magic Mike is all about. Included in price of museum admission.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Tai Chi Chuan for Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way) 

Taught by Mr. Chang 

Call 644-6107 

Thursday, Dec. 28

Season of Lights  

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

The Imagination Company brings to life world winter celebrations and highlights the significance of light to several culture. This event is included in museum admission price.  

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Imani In the Village 

2 p.m. 

Claremont Library 

2940 Benvenue  

Percussionist James Henry presents a drumming and dance program for all ages. Audience participation invited.  

Call 649-3943 

Death of the Lecturer 

7 p.m. 

West Branch Library 

1125 University Ave.  

Calling all detectives, those who enjoy reading mysteries, playing Clue, and solving crossword puzzles to untangle the reason for the final fate confrontation.  

Call 649-3926 

Friday, Dec. 29

Earthcapades 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Join Hearty and Lissin as they blend storytelling, juggling, acrobatics, and more, to entertain and teach about saving the environment. Included in museum admission. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Saturday, Dec. 30

Bats of the World  

1 & 2:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive 

UC Berkeley 

Maggie Hooper, an educator with the California Bat Conservation Fund, will show slides, introduce three live, tame, and indigenous bats, and answer your questions about these fascinating creatures. Included in admission to the museum. 

$7 adults; $5 children 5 - 18, seniors and students; $3 children 3-4 

Call 642-5132 

Kwanzaa Celebration 

4 p.m. 

South Branch Library  

1901 Russell St.  

Muriel Johnson of Abiyomi Storytelling is the featured storyteller at the library’s annual celebration which also includes a formal Kwanzaa ceremony.  

Call 649-3943 

compiled by Chason Wainwright

Where has all the sewer money gone? 

Editor: 

Your Dec. 12 article on sewer overflows refers to the council item by Councilmember Maio which urges the city to crack down on homeowners who have illegally connected downspouts or storm drains into the sanitary sewer system, which results in overflows during heavy rains.  

An equally significant problem is where house sewer laterals were connected into the storm sewers which results in significant health problems as the storm sewers overflow during heavy rains. 

While the city has been working on the problem, Public Works Division Director Rene Cardinaux is quoted saying, “the department is limited by time and money...at the current rate, the city will take 50 years to complete sewer projects.  

If we had twice the allocation of funds we’d be able to make the kind of progress we’d like to see.”  

In the council packet for Dec. 12, item seven, which concerned a five year lease for 2.7 million dollars for Public Works engineering department to move to 1947 Center St. provides that half the rent will be paid from the sewer fund.  

The item elaborates by stating, “Payments for Engineering’s rent historically have been made from the sales tax and sanitary sewer funds.  

Rents will continue to be budgeted for and paid from these funds unless other sources are provided.” Sewer fund: $1,344,032. Contact person: Rene Cardinaux. 

This makes it very clear why the sewer problems will not get resolved in 20 years and probably not in 50 years.  

The sewer fund money is looked upon as a slush fund to pay for items desired by the city staff and council regardless of the illegality of the fund expenditures.  

The sewer fund was established in 1986 and was to put at least $6 million dollars a year into sewer replacement.  

Perhaps the auditor would like to review how sewer fund moneys have been expended. She could start with $300,000 last year to purchase the health building on Sixth St. and $43,000 to put in fiber optics lines to the corporation yard.  

Theodore R. Edlin 

Berkeley 

Beth El – good neighbors 

Editor:  

Although I am not one of the good people of Congregation Beth El, I live about a half-mile from their current proposed sites of operation, and I consider them good neighbors. Good where they are and potentially better if they are allowed to develop the derelict site on which they hope to build an appropriate expanded accommodation.  

Frankly, I am bewildered that some other neighbors are responding to the proposal as if a drug rehabilitation center or half-way house for felons was in danger of being plunked down in their midst.  

Historically, Beth El has been a force promoting spiritual values, civilized order and practical community support, and this proposed upgrade should be seen not as a threat to the status quo, but as an opportunity to improve Berkeley.  

Charles J. Meyers 

Berkeley

Lampley scores 25, Wethers hits career-high 21 in win 

Following one of the best games in college basketball this year, the Cal-Georgia finale of the Pete Newell Classic was satisfying for the Bears despite the lack of enthusiasm by the crowd. 

Cal (5-3) beat the Bulldogs (6-5) soundly, 85-64, in what was their best win of the young season. Unfortunately, half of the Calfornia college-record 19,804 people who attended the Stanford-Duke matchup to begin the doubleheaders left the Oakland Coliseum before the second game tipped off, and most of the folks who stuck around left during the second quarter. 

The absent fans missed a startling explosion of the Bear offense, with forward Sean Lampley leading the way as usual with a season-high 25 points on the night. The senior had a balanced night, scoring 12 points in the first half and 13 in the second. Point guard Shantay Legans continued his productive season with 13 points, including a perfect three-for-three from long range. 

“Sean Lampley was the key to this game. I told Sean that if he could duplicate what he did in the first half that we’d be okay,” Braun said. “I thought he played his best game of the year. Sean made every guy on our team play better tonight and that’s what great players do.”  

A surprise contribution came from swingman Brian Wethers, who scored 13 first-half points on his way to a career-high 21 in the game. Wethers hit his first five shots, including three three-pointers, the last giving the Bears a 38-23 lead late in the first half. 

“I thought Brian Wethers did a great job out on the floor,” Cal head coach Ben Braun said. “He certainly played hard today and that was a great thing for us.”  

With coaching legend and big-man specialist Newell sitting courtside, Lampley and fellow Newell Big Man Camp attendee Nick Vander Laan did their tutor proud. Lampley had 10 assists and six rebounds to go with his game-high point-total, and Vander Laan pulled off a double-double, pulling down 12 rebounds to go with 14 points. 

“You’d better be fundamental with Pete Newell watching the ball game. Pete is an inspiration to me and this team. Pete needs to come to all of our games and look over our big guys.”  

A seven-point Georgia run late in the first half cut the Cal lead to six, but Cal point guard Shantay Legans hit a runner with four seconds left in the half, and the Bears led 43-35 at halftime. 

Whatever Braun said to his team at halftime must have boosted their confidence, as the Bears came out of the locker room on fire. Legans hit wide-open three-pointers on the first two possessions, and Ryan Forehan-Kelly hit Lampley under the basket with a no-look pass as Cal scored eight points in a little more than a minute to start the half. 

“They just came out and made every shot. It looked like we weren’t even guarding them,” said Georgia head coach Jim Harrick. “I thought that maybe their practice could have been easier than what we were doing tonight.”  

The Bears also managed to turn the ball over just five times in the game, while Georgia committed 15 turnovers. Braun’s team has won every game this season in which they have won the turnovers battle, and all three Bears losses came when they turned the ball over more than their opponent. 

Center Solomon Hughes hit a hook shot to give Cal a 10-0 run and an 18-point lead before Georgia’s Anthony Evans made a layup to stop the bleeding. But the Bulldogs would never get closer than eight points again as the Bears held the lead almost the entire game. 

Evans, another player who attended Newell’s camp, was the only Bulldog who looked alive in the second half, dragging his team back into the game with his rugged inside play. The 6-foot-7, 265-pound senior scored 12 points in the second half to finish with 16, the most by any Georgia player. 

The Bears also outrebounded the Bulldogs 33-32, despite the presence of the beefy Evans and 7-foot-1 Robb Dryden, and held Georgia’s leading scorer, guard D.A. Layne, to 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting. 

The crowd was treated to a great game between No. 1 Duke and No. 3 Stanford to open the night. Stanford came back from a 15-point second-half deficit to beat the Blue Devils on a Casey Jacobsen shot with just 4.6 seconds remaining in the game.

“While the merry men pound the nails...the capitalists, who are to own the (Claremont) hotel...are thinking up new ideas that are calculated to put it in the front rank of modern hotels.” 

— From the Berkeley Advance, Dec. 23, 1906 as quoted by Susan Cerny in Berkeley Landmarks 

As today’s Claremont Hotel and Spa management contemplates a fresh expansion of its 279-room facility, neighbors are hunkering in, trying to preserve the residential character of their area.  

Oakland and Berkeley residents living near the hotel, united as the Berkeley-Oakland Neighbors of the Claremont, have been to Oakland’s Landmarks Advisory Board and filed an intent to landmark the hotel, which was designed early in the century by noted architect Charles Dickey. Although the hotel sports a Berkeley address, it is (mostly or entirely, depending on whom you ask) located in Oakland.  

The group has six months to file a formal application. 

Wendy Markel, who lives near the hotel, points out that the business “gets the benefits of being in a residential area. It’s not a convention center,” she said. “Landmarking would give it prestige.” 

It would also give the hotel hurdles to leap before they could make major changes. 

Noting that he had good meetings with the neighborhood group and had attended a Dec. 11 Landmarks Advisory Board meeting, Claremont’s General Manager Ted Axe said he had not yet decided whether the hotel would support the neighborhood application. “I don’t know,” he said. “The landmark (status) is a change of our zoning.”  

He said the document explaining the status was “over 1 inch thick” and he needed to study its implications. 

Axe was vague about expansion plans. “Our thoughts are potentially adding guest rooms,” he said. “We’re preparing to file for an application.” After that, the hotel will have to complete a state-mandated environmental report. 

While Claudia Cappio, Oakland’s manager of major development projects, underscored that no specific plan has been presented to her, she said the Claremont management had spoken of the expansion as two additions to the present structure, with a “total of over 100 new units.” A parking structure is also being contemplated, she said. 

And that’s what has jolted the neighbors into action. “We have a great fear of the excessive congestion” the expanded hotel would bring, Markel said. “We can hardly move here as it is.” 

Landmark status would add a layer of public input into any changes the hotel would propose. Oakland’s landmarks board advises the Planning Commission, which would rule on any major changes to the structure. The ruling could be appealed to the City Council. 

Landmark status would also mean that the Environmental Impact Report, a legal document required by the state for large projects, would have to carefully consider what impacts changes would have on the historic structure. 

Berkeley’s role would be an advisory one as well. Although both Oakland and Berkeley planners agree that Oakland has jurisdiction over the property, the exact status of the Claremont is still to be determined.  

Cappio said she believes the entire property is located in Oakland, while Mark Rhodes, Berkeley’s head of current planning, says there is a piece along the perimeter that is in Berkeley. 

Markel and others in her neighborhood group are urging the hotel to go along with the landmarks proposal.  

Its historic nature is a good selling point, she said, adding, “It would be a good bridge to the neighborhood if they come along with us.”

After only three years at Cal, Dennis Gates will achieve at the end of the spring semester a feat rarely accomplished by students, not to mention intercollegiate athletes. He will graduate as a junior with a degree in sociology.  

A team leader on the court with his tenacious defense and his uncanny hustle, Gates has been an inspiration for players to push themselves to the limit. He has demonstrated his love for basketball through his tireless work ethic.  

That same enthusiasm has found a place in the classroom, with Gates challenging both himself and his teammates academically.  

“During my first summer here, I wanted to keep myself from getting board and homesick,” said Gates, a 6-3 guard who was the Chicago All-Academic Player of the Year as a senior at Whitney Young High School. “I started to take summer school classes to stay busy. I tried to stay focused in school while developing my skills in basketball.”  

As Gates realized his potential, he began to focus on his education as a priority, using summer school as a way to advance academically. While summers had previously been a time to take a break, he decided to use them as a foundation for his achievements.  

“Dennis is a team leader in every aspect and has completely mastered the team concept,” said junior center Solomon Hughes, who is also on track to graduate early. “He is setting a standard academically for everybody on the team. Most freshmen want to go home for the summer and use it as a vacation, as if summer school isn’t even an option. Dennis uses the summer to get better both athletically and academically and is setting a trend for the rest of the team, motivating them to stay in Berkeley and use the summer sessions to their advantage.”  

Hughes has also been influenced by Gates’ persistence in the classroom, as he sees him as a driving force behind his own academic pursuits.  

“It’s a blessing being in his class,” Solomon said. “I’m on track to graduate this summer. I’m just trying to keep up with his pace. He’s really helped me to focus on my studies, and he encourages me to work hard in school.”  

Although it seems Gates may have chosen this path accidentally, he has been continuously guided by his mother when it comes to his education. Growing up in Chicago, Gates, the second oldest child and the oldest of three boys, has definitely been steered in the right direction.  

“My mom has always stressed academics,” he said. “Once when I was in grammar school, she threatened to take me off the team if I didn’t get good grades. I knew I couldn’t mess around when it came to school work.”  

With the combined influence of his mother and the opportunities available at Cal, both on the court and in the classroom, Gates hopes he can guide his two younger brothers into a direction that will lead them to similar achievements.  

“I want to be a role model for them,” he said. “They watch every step I make. I want them to see what I’m doing and try to do even better.”  

Gates not only wants to influence his siblings, but the intercollegiate athletes all over the country who see academic responsibilities as a weakness rather than a strength.  

“If athletes see what I’m doing,” Gates said, “then they know it can be done. I want them to know that playing sports and going to school doesn’t have to be a negative experience.”  

Gates attributes his motivation and success to his stubborn personality. He says he is determined to prove wrong all those who told him he could not graduate early, using their pessimism as a reason and an incentive to try even harder. In addition, he is aware that his accomplishments can help diminish many stereotypes about African American intercollegiate athletes.  

“There is a negative stereotype that I want to change,” Gates said. “People think it’s unheard of to get where I am. I want to prove it can be done. Athletes shouldn’t be considered dumb jocks.”  

The future for Gates looks promising as he intends to enroll in the Graduate School of Education at Cal. He hopes to use the resources at Cal as a way to help and influence other student-athletes get on the right track and accomplish their goals.  

After turning in his application to the Education Department a few weeks ago, Gates now looks forward to his final semester as an undergraduate.

Nefarious crimes have a natural home in libraries. Book lined shelves have witnessed murders, mayhem, lies and resolutions in hundreds of mystery stories by renowned authors such as Agatha Christie and Anne Perry.  

This holiday season another murder mystery will haunt another library – the West Berkeley Public Library. Dec. 28, five teens will transform into five suspicious suspects, each with a secret motive for murdering the victim. The audience, formed into teams of detectives, will spend about an hour interviewing suspects and gathering the vital information to solve the crime.  

Francisca Goldsmith, the senior librarian in the Teen Center of the west branch of the library has been organizing the murder mystery program for six years. She laughs just talking about it. 

“My favorite one we ever did was just so over the top in terms of incredibility,” she said. “When the murder was solved the mother was also united with her identical twin children – one of whom was male, one female, one white, one Asian.” 

Several teens volunteer to help Goldsmith write a new story each year, a process that, she said, “takes a lot of gestation time.”  

“It’s more the details that are difficult to make up, especially the red herrings,” she said, adding no matter how much they scheme, the script inevitably changes to highlight the talents of the actors performing it.  

Albert Kung, 16, helped write and act out the story for the performance both last year and this one. He enjoys the acting and, “the playing around with people’s minds,” he said, adding that the actors may not always tell the truth. 

The night of the performance, the actors situate themselves throughout the library – a “businesswomen” spends her time reading the Wall Street Journal and detectives move around to ask the questions. 

“We place the evidence among different library materials so that people realize, ‘Oh they do have videos,’ so there’s that kind of pedagogy going on,” said Goldsmith.  

She made it clear that the library tries to protect any sensitive audience members from the more macabre elements of the mystery story: no victim’s corpse, no gruesome murder weapon. 

“The victim is never sympathetic. The murder weapon is never something that could ever truly be lethal,” she said. “One year the whole murder evolved around the idea of chickens and we used a clay pigeon as the weapon.”  

Goldsmith carefully navigates the tension between verisimilitude and appropriate behavior for the public library. 

“On some occasions we’ve had a scream that starts it all,” she said, chuckling, “and at that point we’ve posted a sign for a week in advance saying, ‘There will be a scream in the library at 7 p.m.’” 

In years past, between 20 and 70 people have shown up to play. The Library Mystery is free, and requires no reservations, although the program is not recommended for children under 12, because of the level of difficulty. Interested participants should be at the library, 1125 University Ave., by 7 p.m. Dec. 28.  

Forget Colonel Mustard, the candlestick and the billiard room. This year it may have happened with a bicycle pump filled with poison gas, or perhaps with dangerous play-dough. But it definitely occurred in the library. 

On Sunday BART will be following its regular Sunday schedule with service beginning at 8 a.m. and running until midnight on three lines: Richmond-Fremont, Pittsburg Bay Point-Colma, and Dublin/Pleasanton-Daly City. 

On Christmas Day, BART will be operating on the regular Sunday schedule. AC Transit will also operate on a Sunday schedule for Christmas.  

On Dec. 26, BART will operate on a regular weekday service schedule with service beginning at 4 a.m. and running until midnight on all five lines. 

On New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, BART will operate trains until 4 a.m. for late-night celebrants on three lines: Fremont-Richmond, Pittsburg/Bay Point-Colma and Dublin/Pleasanton-Daly City.  

As an additional convenience to passengers, BART is selling “flash passes” for New Year’s Eve. The passes cost $5 and allow passengers unlimited rides on the BART system from 6 p.m., Dec. 31, until 4 a.m., Jan. 1. Passes are available at Albertson’s grocery stores, Long’s Drug stores or from BART’s Website, www.bart.gov.  

On New Year’s Day, BART will operate on a regular schedule as listed above for Dec. 24. AC Transit will operate on a regular Sunday schedule for Jan. 1.  

On both Dec. 24 and Jan. 1, AC Transit will also offer five Bay Bridge bus routes to and from downtown San Francisco. 

For additional information about BART services during the holidays, call (510) 465-BART. For additional information about AC Transit service during the holidays call 817-1717 (then speed dial 1,1,1,1). You can also find AC Transit information at www.transitinfo.org/AC.

SAN FRANCISCO — A city affirmative action officer says he was discriminated against, demoted and harassed on the job after testifying before a federal grand jury about alleged wrongdoing in the city’s minority contracting program. 

In a lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court, Kevin Williams, 46, alleges he was demoted from his managerial position at the San Francisco International Airport and harassed after the grand jury indicted a Human Rights Commission official earlier this year. 

Williams said the day after Zula Jones, 53, was indicted on 16 counts of defrauding the minority contracting program, she called him at home. 

“She asked me, what did I say to the grand jury?” Williams told the San Francisco Chronicle. “I was really taken aback. She accused me of turning state’s evidence on her.” 

Williams, a black man who has worked 15 years for the city, also alleges racial discrimination in his lawsuit because a white woman, Virginia Harmon, who has worked for the commission less than five years, was appointed acting director. The appointment was made after the former executive director told Williams he would be the obvious choice for the job, said Stephen Gorski, Williams’ lawyer. 

Harmon declined comment. The city’s chief labor attorney, Linda Ross, said she was not prepared to comment because the city had not yet been served with the lawsuit. 

“She’s someone who Kevin has to report to, and Zula Jones is still working there,” Gorski said. “We think there’s some sort of conspiracy going on among various people at the commission. ... There were certainly no problems until after his testimony.” 

Jones’ lawyer John Keker says Williams’ allegations are unfounded. 

“It is an absurd and false charge that Zula Jones had any effect on his employment status,” he said. “It’s just plain wrong.” 

Jones’ indictment is part of an ongoing FBI investigation probing suspected corruption in the awarding of city contracts. 

The indictment accuses Jones and four executives of a San Francisco construction firm of conspiring to receive public contracts set aside for minority-owned firms. The grand jury charged Jones with knowing the Scott-Norman Mechanical company set up a phony company to win the contracts. 

Gorski said Williams returned to work after about two weeks of medical leave to find someone else doing his job as lead compliance officer overseeing an airport expansion project. 

From there, he was moved to the downtown office and later to various positions where he had no experience, including handling obesity discrimination and disability issues. He also was given unrealistic deadlines and reprimanded for not meeting them, Gorski said. 

Williams then went on disability following an exacerbated back injury. His doctor ordered him back to work, but only after his office ergonomics were changed. Those changes took three months – instead of three weeks – to complete. Williams earned about $500 a week in disability pay, compared to his usual $1,500 a week, Gorski said. His salary, however, was not cut when he moved to the downtown office. 

“That’s an excessive amount of time to redo a desk and get a chair,” Gorski said. 

In the lawsuit, Williams is requesting back pay and reinstatement to his old job at the airport. Williams is also asking for an unspecified amount of money for damages. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Emergency crews searched the waters off Baker Beach late Friday for a 13-year-old boy who was swept off shore. 

The waves at the beach were six to eight feet high as they approached the shore making swimming unwise, according to Coast Guard Ensign Dale Vogelsang. 

A group of eight people were at the water’s edge at about 3 p.m., and the teenager was hit by a wave. His seven friends went back looking for him but failed to find him. They have been transported to a San Francisco hospital to be checked for hypothermia. The identity of the boy was not immediately available.  

The search efforts have been called off for the evening, and will resume at dawn Saturday.

SANTA ANA — Two students sued the Anaheim Union High School District for removing 10 biographies on homosexuals from their school library in what they contend is a violation of constitutional free-speech rights. 

The Orangeview Junior High School students said in the U.S. District Court lawsuit that the district censored a book series called “Lives of Notable Gay Men and Lesbians.” 

The books include biographies on tennis player Martina Navratilova, economist John Maynard Keynes, and writers Willa Cather and James Baldwin. 

The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the suit Thursday on behalf of the two unidentified students, demanded that the district immediately return the books to the library shelves. 

“We all know why these books have been banned,” ACLU attorney Martha Matthews said. “The books were banned because they had a positive statement to make to kids about gay and lesbian people. 

“The books were banned because of deep-seated prejudice.” 

Principal Barbara Smith removed the books and took them to the district office in September, the suit said. No reason was given by administrators, Orangeview library teacher Chris Enterline said. 

“In my heart, I know it’s because they are about gays and lesbians, and it says so on the front of the book,” Enterline said. 

Federal and state constitutions forbid schools from banning books because officials disapprove of their viewpoints. 

Enterline said she ordered the books over the summer because the library lacked biographies and she wanted students to have the chance to learn about gay and lesbian role models. 

“The books are not about sex. They are just about people who have led interesting, productive lives and also happen to be gay,” said Tom Kovac, the school’s library technician. 

It isn’t the first time the district banned books. 

Two years ago, the district removed the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Beloved,” by Toni Morrison, because of complaints that it was too graphic in its descriptions of a slave who kills her daughter instead of having her live as a slave. 

SAN JOSE — A Santa Clara County superior court judge turned down the paint industry’s request to dismiss a suit filed against it by the county over allegedly dangerous levels of lead in paint. 

Superior Court Judge Gregory Ward’s order, made public this week, ruled that the county’s suit could continue. 

County officials allege that major paint companies sold lead paint for use on schools and playgrounds, despite knowing the dangers of the substance. Lead paint was banned in 1978, but the county claims lead poisoning continues throughout the region. 

The county is seeking to have the paint industry bear the cost of removing lead paint from schools, playgrounds, hospitals and other public areas. 

A lawyer for the paint companies said he was pleased with the judge’s decision because it scaled back some of the claims presented by the county in the suit.  

But Judge Ward kept the city’s central claim in tact – that the paint industry misrepresented the dangers of lead paint and committed fraud by doing so. 

Other efforts to sue the industry over similar claims have been unsuccessful. 

An attorney assisting the county admitted the case is still in its early stages, but keeping the suit alive is an important step. 

“But we’re now in a position few cases in the country have gotten into,” said Bruce Simon, a Burlingame attorney working with the county. “The lead paint industry has gone around the country getting these cases dismissed on a piecemeal basis.”

OCEANSIDE — The political honeymoon lasted only four days for the city’s new mayor who has been fending off demands for an apology after he told a civic group that the Police Department is plagued with “deep-rooted racism and sexism.” 

The biting comments from Mayor Terry Johnson – San Diego County’s first black mayor – hit a nerve in this military town where 55 percent of the residents and most of the Police Department’s top brass are white. 

The police officer’s union and three councilmembers have asked Johnson to issue an apology, but he has refused.  

Instead, the 48-year-old mayor has offered a clarification, saying he approves of the chief, who is white, but believes some police union officials are trying to thwart efforts to improve ethnic and gender diversity in the department. 

“I regret some of the words that I may have said out of poor judgment, particularly in my frustration with the leadership of the police union,” Johnson said at a City Council meeting Dec. 13. “It was inappropriate to direct them at the chief or the rank-and-file.” 

City records show that 58 claims of racial or sexual discrimination have been filed against the Police Department in the past 10 years. Of those cases, the city has paid $5 million to settle six cases of racial discrimination and five cases of sexual discrimination or harassment. 

“He didn’t pull this stuff out of thin air,” Sgt. Leonard Mata, who filed a discrimination claim against the department, said of the mayor’s comments. “You don’t get called the n-word or beaner. It’s more subtle.” 

Mata, a Latino who oversees the vice and narcotics investigations, has noticed that some patrol officers are less cooperative in giving his unit information from the streets, and he has heard white officers claim that promotions are based on ethnicity or gender. 

Mata also believes union officials who are the ones fanning the flames of divisiveness. 

“In general, the women and men of the department are really good people and certainly aren’t racist or people who fear diversity,” the sergeant said. 

Chief Michael Poehlman, who was hired in 1995, has said he is working to improve the number of women and ethnic minorities in the department. 

Ethnic minorities make up 43 percent of the city’s population but just 27 percent of the Police Department’s sworn officers. 

“We can always do better,” the chief said. 

Detective Scott Wright, chairman of the Oceanside Police Officers Association, said the mayor’s comments were “out of line.” The union seeks fair and equal treatment of all officers, Wright said. 

“We’ve gone through some stumbling blocks. ... Nobody’s perfect,” he said. “There’s been mistakes made on both sides of the fence.” 

Among the discrimination claims are allegations from four white officers who say they were passed over for promotion or denied upgrades because of their age or ethnicity. 

The department is reviewing its recruiting efforts and the city expects to hire a personnel specialist by next spring to help increase the department’s diversity and address discrimination issues, said Capt. Mike Shirley, a spokesman for the chief. 

The department also gives officers cultural diversity training and is in the process of establishing a team of officers to help recruit more women and ethnic minorities. 

As of Dec. 13, the department had 166 sworn officers, including 19 women. Besides the chief, the department’s two captains and five of six lieutenants are white. A third captain, a black officer formerly with Los Angeles Police Department, starts Jan. 2. 

Among sergeants, 18 are white, including one woman who is the highest ranking woman in the department; two are Latino; and two are Asian-American. Among the rank-and-file, 96 are white; 21 are Latino; 11 are Asian-American; six are black; and one is Pacific Islander/American Indian. 

Lt. Reginald Grigsby, the highest ranking black officer in the department, recently settled a discrimination lawsuit against the department. 

“There currently exists a climate where minorities are made to be scapegoats for the shortcomings of white officers; employees of color are not respected, nor are they afforded the same professional consideration as white employees,” according to his claim. 

Grigsby did not return phone calls seeking additional comment. 

Mata supports the chief and the mayor, and believes both men want to bring more women and ethnic minorities into the department’s upper ranks. 

“I don’t think (the mayor) used good judgment in what he said. But in a way, I think it’s going to force people to look at this department and it’s commitment to diversity,” he said. 

“The mayor may take the fall but maybe some good will come of it.” 

LOS ANGELES — University of California regents said Friday they will offer eligibility to certain high school students who applied for enrollment next fall but whose schools didn’t forward the necessary transcripts in time. 

Nearly a sixth of the state’s 852 public high schools didn’t submit the transcripts to the UC system for a program that offers guaranteed admission to the top 4 percent of students at any individual school. The program, which has been endorsed by Gov. Gray Davis, is intended to help those from low-income and minority neighborhoods. 

Schools that didn’t apply for the program will now have until Jan. 26 to submit the paperwork. 

The decision comes days after the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, along with seven high school seniors, sued the UC regents for unfairly keeping thousands of students from a guaranteed education. But UC officials maintain they haven’t done anything wrong. 

“This decision in no way implies that we concede the claims of the recent lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union,” said C. Judson King, a senior vice president for UC academic affairs. “On the contrary, UC made extensive efforts to inform schools of this program and to encourage their participation in it. We do not know why some of them did not participate.” 

An ACLU attorney said she did not know whether the lawsuit will be withdrawn but was encouraged by the regents’ action. 

“Before we decide whether this fully satisfies the requirements of fairness, however, we will need to evaluate the details of the university’s response,” attorney Rocio Cordoba said. “We look forward to learning the details of the university’s proposal to remedy the problems in its program.” 

High schools were required to file the paperwork by July 15 to take part in the program. 

The proper routing of the eligibility forms has been called into question. Some school officials said the applications were sent to individual sites but not mailed to district headquarters.

LOS ANGELES — A man sought in the fatal shooting of his estranged wife and a daughter and the wounding of two other daughters was found dead Friday after an apparent leap from a freeway into the shallow Los Angeles River, police said. 

The body was spotted in a few inches of water beneath an overpass. 

“It’s him. The detective had a photograph and confirmed it’s him,” Officer Raymond Rangel said near the scene north of downtown. The concrete-lined river has little flow. 

“It appears he may have jumped from the 134 Freeway,” Officer Jason Lee said. 

Gabriel Ghazelian, a San Fernando Valley resident, showed up at his wife’s house Thursday evening and asked for a ride  

to his car, which he said  

was broken. 

While riding in the family minivan he pulled out a handgun “for no apparent reason and with no warning” and opened fire, Detective Jose Carrillo said. 

Ghazelian killed his wife, Zabel Ghazelian, 40, from whom he’d been separated for over a year, and his daughter, Garine Ghazelian, police said. He wounded his 17- and 14-year-old daughters. He then fled. 

The surviving girls, whose names were not released, remained in critical condition Friday. Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said the 14-year-old was shot in the head and the 17-year-old in the cheek. 

The shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m. after the wife and daughters arrived home in Burbank to find Ghazelian, 49, claiming his car had broken down by Griffith Park, just south of Burbank and northeast of downtown Los Angeles. 

His wife agreed to give Ghazelian a lift, and as they drove they got caught in slow-moving traffic caused by Griffith Park’s popular annual light show. It was then Ghazelian began to shoot, police said. 

Carrillo said police were not certain of the motive but based on interviews with a few family friends, “I think it just has to do with the separation and possibly a pending divorce,” he said. 

Carrillo declined to say whether police knew of any history of violence in the family. 

LOS ANGELES — An explosion and flash fire severely burned five workers after a halogen lamp ignited lacquer fumes on the 23rd floor of a condominium near the UCLA campus. 

Third-floor resident Donna Currie said Thursday afternoon’s blast felt like an earthquake. 

“It was huge. It shook twice – boom, boom,” she said. “The automatic doors began closing. We saw water coming down the stairwells. If we felt it down this low, it was probably pretty rough where it occurred.” 

Three victims were in critical condition and breathing with the aid of respirators at the Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks and were being prepared for “the first of many surgeries” this weekend, Grossman spokesman Larry Weinberg said Friday. 

“While their injuries are life-threatening, doctors at Grossman Burn Center hope and expect that they will recover,” Weinberg said. 

Weinberg identified the victims as: 

• Juan Jimenez, 25, of Santa Ana with second- and third-degree burns over 49 percent of his upper body. 

• Barry Ellegaard, 36, of Laguna Niguel with second- and third-degree burns to 55 percent of his upper body. 

• Armando Mesa, age and hometown unknown, with second- and third-degree burns to 35 percent of his upper body. 

One man was hospitalized at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center trauma unit with first- and second-degree burns to 30 percent of his body. A nursing supervisor said he was to be transferred to the burn center. 

Another, who was treated at the UCLA Medical Center earlier, had second- and third-degree burns to 75 percent of his body, she said. 

A preliminary investigation showed the men were working with flammable lacquer when the halogen light, used because of its brightness, was turned on, igniting the fumes. The flash-fire explosion shattered glass and set off fire alarms, Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said. 

The building’s emergency water sprinklers quickly doused the flames, he said. 

Officials with the 26-story, Wilshire Boulevard condominium said its residents include actors Rodney Dangerfield and Charlie Sheen. 

Regulators have voted for rate increases that would affect millions of customers across the state starting next month in an effort to rescue two shaky electric companies tangled in a deepening power crisis. 

The unanimous action by the Public Utilities Commission means that hikes likely would take effect beginning Jan. 4, affecting 10 million customers of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and Southern California Edison Co. 

The two investor-owned utilities have been squeezed by California’s deregulation law. PG&E and SoCal Edison say they have absorbed $8 billion in losses since May, because a rate freeze prevents them from passing on to their customers the soaring costs of wholesale power. 

The PUC’s decision means that rate freeze is likely to be lifted. 

“This is crucial in light of the extraordinarily serious financial difficulties the dysfunctional wholesale markets have imposed on the utilities,” the PUC’s order said. “We believe that retail rates in California must begin to rise.” 

PUC President Loretta Lynch said the cost to the utilities of wholesale electricity has increased fivefold in the past three weeks. 

“We are operating on an emergency basis,” Lynch added. 

The PUC’s action brought a sharp response from consumer groups, who said the decision paved the way for a bailout for the utilities to please investors. 

“This is regulation by Wall Street. The commission has prejudged the case and decided, before any evidence has been presented, that the utilities will be granted a rate increase,” said Nettie Hoge, head of the utility watchdog group TURN. 

But Dan Richard, a senior vice president with PG&E, said Wall Street’s approval was vital to PG&E’s fiscal health. 

Barring dramatic action by the PUC, Standard & Poor’s this week threatened to relegate the credit ratings PG&E and SoCal Edison to “junk” status, a move that would make borrowing money difficult, if not impossible. S&P planned to update its views on the utilities’ finances Friday afternoon. 

The stocks of both utilities had both plunged by nearly $3 Thursday before the PUC reassured some kind of rate increase is likely. 

“It looks like the PUC isn’t going to let these companies go bankrupt so that’s a positive,” said utility analyst Mike Worms of Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co. 

Public hearings are planned next week on the PUC’s order, and the commission is expected to formally approve the order at its Jan. 4 business meeting. 

Lynch said the increase would likely go into effect immediately, and would show up in bills sent to consumers in February. 

But the size of the increases were unclear. Richard said PG&E would set up a “rate-stabilization plan” that would spread out the spikes over time. The company earlier proposed a 17 percent hike, which would raise the average $54 monthly bill to about $63. 

Both PG&E and SoCal Edison said they were unhappy that the PUC did not act earlier. 

“The good part is, they’re doing something. The bad part is, they didn’t act in October,” Richard said. 

SoCal Edison, in a written statement attributed to its corporate communications department, said it “wished the commission had acted more decisively.” 

Meanwhile, with electricity imports slowing to a trickle, managers of the state’s power grid declared another Stage 2 alert Thursday, meaning that power reserves fell below 5 percent. 

Consumers were asked to conserve and some commercial customers were warned that they may have to turn off some power. There have been nearly three dozen power alerts since June. 

Consumer groups denounced the PUC action. 

“The big utilities are looking for a fantastic Christmas present,” said Dan Jacobson of California Public Interest Research Group. 

Chris Jones of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now or ACORN, which helps low-income residents, said workers just got an increase in the minimum wage, but are losing that with utility bills. 

“They got one dollar and have to give back four just to keep warm” he said. 

Utility bills doubled and in some cases tripled in San Diego this year after the rate freeze was lifted for California’s third-largest utility, San Diego Gas and Electric, when it completed deregulation. 

The 1996 deregulation law, and PUC regulations, required utilities to gradually sell off their generating assets. Once that is done, the rate freeze is lifted. The goal was to lower prices through competition. Instead, wholesale electricity prices rose and SDG&E passed the costs on to its customers. 

PG&E and SoCal Edison aren’t as far along in the transition to deregulation, and so remain subject to the rate freeze. 

——— 

On The Net: 

Standard and Poors: http://www.standardandpoors.com/ratings 

Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights: http://www.ratepayerrevolt.org 

LOS ANGELES — California’s energy crisis has some of the state’s most powerful players, including lawmakers, public utilities and consumer watchdog groups, calling for the return of a regulated market. 

Among the potential options on the horizon are a voter initiative and legislative proposals to create a publicly owned system of power generation and distribution. 

Utilities warning of possible bankruptcy want to be able to generate some of their own power rather than being forced to buy all of it on an open market. 

“We’re calling for an end to this failed experiment,” said Tom Higgins, a senior vice president of Edison International, the holding company for Southern California Edison. “The market has to be reformed and brought back to a cost-based system on pricing electricity, as opposed to what we have today, which is a cartel.” 

Edison, which originally embraced deregulation, has launched a publicity campaign to lobby for ending it. 

But even those who want to reduce the threats of rolling blackouts and rein in spiraling energy costs concede that undoing the state’s four-year-old deregulation experiment is like trying to stuff the genie back in the bottle. 

The out-of-state energy wholesalers that bought power plants after deregulation took effect in 1996 counted on an open marketplace. 

“We didn’t enter California to participate in a regulated market,” said Tom Williams, a spokesman for Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy, one of six companies that spent more than $3 billion to buy power plants in the state after deregulation. “We entered California to participate in a deregulated market.” 

Opposition to fully re-regulating the market also could come from the federal government. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission supports deregulation and so far has resisted establishing a firm price cap on wholesale energy prices. 

Gov. Gray Davis has called for a special session of the state Legislature next month to deal with the crisis. Creating a public power authority and allowing utilities to retain their generation capabilities are among the options, said Steven Meviglio, a Davis spokesman. 

“California is looking at some amount of re-regulation, whether it’s price caps or public power facilities,” said Evan Goldberg, chief of staff for state Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Rey, who heads the Senate’s Energy, Utilities and Communication Committee. “The question is, ’To what degree is it going to occur?”’ 

California’s deregulation law forced the state’s major investor-owned utilities – Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric and San Diego Gas and Electric – to sell their dams and power plants by March 2002. They also were required to buy power on the open market. 

San Diego Gas and Electric completed its sell-off first, lifting a rate freeze imposed by the law. The result: Summertime utility bills doubled and in some cases tripled for ratepayers when wholesale energy prices soared. 

Edison and PG&E remain subject to the rate freeze, preventing them from passing along the skyrocketing wholesale costs to their customers.  

That scenario has led both to warn of insolvency. 

Utilities have been lobbying for a 20-percent rate increase and were before the state Public Utilities Commission on Thursday asking for permission. 

Customers of the state’s 30 smaller utilities already owned by the public don’t face the same prospect of higher rates. 

Industry watchdog groups said the investor-owned utilities have exaggerated their losses to justify a rate hike. They favor a wide range of re-regulation proposals to protect consumers. 

The Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights has proposed a statewide voter initiative that could be on the ballot in 2002 or be considered sooner by the state Legislature. 

In late November, the group filed papers with the Secretary of State to form a campaign committee, Californians for the Protection of Ratepayers, to sponsor the initiative. 

A draft of the measure calls for taxing the excess profits of power generators to pay refunds to customers who faced higher electricity bills because of deregulation. 

It also would create a state power authority to build and operate new power plants, transmission lines and distribution facilities. The state also would be able to buy existing plants and distribution lines or acquire them through eminent domain. 

“It ought to be public power,” said Harvey Rosenfield, the foundation’s executive director. “I don’t see the virtue of having this commodity in the hands of private companies whose sole purpose is to maximize profits.” 

Any re-regulation proposal, however, is likely to hit stiff opposition from power generators. 

Duke Energy, for example, bought three California power plants for $501 million and has earmarked $1.1 billion for building new plants, investments it doesn’t want to jeopardize if it loses the ability to operate in a free market, said Williams, the company’s spokesman. 

“We have a lot of money at risk in this market and we’re working to develop solutions,” he said. 

LOS ANGELES — Plagued with financial troubles that nearly led to her eviction, the woman who threw her two young daughters off a downtown courthouse before jumping to her own death appeared to have grown increasingly despondent, family members said. 

Still, they said they had no reason to believe 27-year-old LaShanda Crozier was capable of such a tragedy. 

“I still don’t believe it,” her husband, Davon Lewis Richardson, said Thursday, tears spilling from his eyes. “She didn’t want her children to live in a world and go through what she went through. ... She didn’t have to leave and do me like this.” 

Michelle Spencer said she didn’t know why her sister-in-law felt she had to take such drastic measures. 

“If it was that bad, she could have killed herself. She didn’t have to take the kids out,” she said. 

Crozier had been in court a day earlier and had reached a settlement with her landlord to gradually pay $925 in back rent owed on her apartment unit near the University of Southern California. 

Crozier and her family left the courtroom in the afternoon, but Crozier returned about 5 p.m. with the girls, Breanna, 7, and Joan, 5. 

Witnesses told authorities they saw the woman toss two objects, later identified as the girls, off the building. Both landed on a fourth-floor ledge. 

Crozier jumped as a sheriff’s deputy was trying to talk her down, landing on the ground. 

Word of the tragedy stunned Crozier’s neighbors. 

“The first thing I thought when I heard about it was, why?” said Yanita Escobar, 18, who lives just a few doors from Crozier’s first-floor apartment. 

The Santa Monica City College student said the girls always seemed happy. 

“She was always with them,” Escobar, a nursing student, said of Crozier. 

Noemi Reyes, who lived above Crozier in the 20-unit apartment, said the woman was frequently seen playing outside with her daughters. 

“I don’t know what came over her,” she said. 

Crozier’s landlord said the woman seemed embarrassed about her financial straights and wanted the opportunity to catch up on rent. 

He said the couple told him that Crozier had spent several days in the hospital after a miscarriage, an episode that cost her a hotel cleaning job. 

“I wish I could have talked to her a little bit more, told her, you know, things are going to be OK, that people have their ups and downs,” landlord Raul Almendariz told the Los Angeles Times. “Somebody should have known how depressed she was.” 

Family members on Thursday described Crozier as a troubled woman who struggled economically and emotionally. 

In recent years, she had occasionally given up custody of her daughters to an aunt, Marietta Snowden, who lives in the Kern County community of Rosamond. 

“She was sometimes unstable,” Snowden said. 

Snowden had been trying to gain custody of the girls because she was concerned about living conditions at the apartment and Crozier’s mental state. 

Snowden said Breanna sensed there was something wrong with her mother and father: “She said, ’Auntie, I love my mama, but I don’t want to stay with her,”’ 

As his expedition pushed into the upper reaches of the Missouri River nearly two centuries ago, Meriwether Lewis marveled at the “scenes of visionary enchantment” in the cliffs and promonotories along the shoreline. 

“I should have thought that nature had attempted to rival the human art of masonry,” Lewis wrote in his journal on May 31, 1805. 

The area Lewis described remains much the same as when he and Capt. William Clark first saw it, and deserves to be protected as a national monument, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said Friday. The Upper Missouri River Breaks is one of five areas Babbitt recommended to President Clinton for preservation as national monuments. 

The other areas include Pompeys Pillar, where Clark carved his name and left the only remaining archaeological evidence of his team’s epic journey through the West. The others include one of the last remaining swaths of pristine grassland in central California and two areas of coral reefs swarming with marine life in the U.S. Virgin Islands. “These natural landscapes are unique, historic American treasures,” Babbitt said in a statement. “They need more care and protection than we are giving them now.” 

Monument designations would give greater protection to the five areas, which are already owned by the federal government. The new protections would likely include bans or restrictions on vehicle use, mining and oil drilling. 

President Clinton has created 11 national monuments and expanded two, using a 1906 law to bring new restrictions to millions of acres, mostly in the West. Critics – including President-elect Bush – call Clinton’s actions unnecessary and unilateral, though they acknowledge that overturning a monument designation in Congress is highly unlikely. 

“It’s the big, strong arm of the government coming in and telling people what they can do,” said Rep. Rick Hill, R-Mont. 

Environmentalists have cheered Clinton’s monument decisions and asked him to create more. 

“If you look at the monument proclamations, all of these protect resources of interest that are national treasures that have either been overlooked in the past or because of political controversy, have not been able to achieve congressional protection,” said David Alberswerth of The Wilderness Society. “It’s not a land grab. These are federal lands to begin with, so you can’t really grab them.” 

Babbitt’s action Friday does not ensure that the areas will be given monument status, though Clinton has not turned down any Babbitt monument recommendation so far. Friday’s recommendations also do not include areas in Arizona and New Mexico which Babbitt has said also deserve to be monuments. 

Environmentalists are strongly urging Clinton to declare the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge a national monument to prevent oil drilling on the refuge’s coastal plain in the Arctic. President-elect Bush strongly supports drilling in the refuge, and opponents of the plan say a law governing federal land in Alaska prohibits new monuments there without congressional consent. 

The monuments Babbitt proposed Friday include: 

• Upper Missouri River Breaks, 377,000 acres along 149 miles of the river in north-central Montana. The sparsely populated area is home to a wide variety of wildlife including elk and bighorn sheep. 

• Pompeys Pillar, a 150-foot sandstone outcropping along the Yellowstone River east of Billings, Mont. Clark named the feature after his nickname for the young son of their Shoshone interpreter, Sacagawea. 

• Carrizo Plain, 204,000 acres of rolling grasslands between San Luis Obispo and Bakersfield, Calif. The area is home to wildlife including several endangered species, American Indian sacred sites and a portion of the San Andreas Fault. 

• Virgin Islands Coral Reef, a nearly 13,000-acre area offshore of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The area is adjacent to the Virgin Islands National Park and includes “all the elements of a Caribbean tropical marine ecosystem,” the Interior Department said, including mangroves, sea grass beds and coral reefs. 

• An expansion of the Buck Island Reef National Monument in the Virgin Islands, which was first created in 1961. The expansion area includes 18,000 offshore acres of coral reefs, including unusual “haystacks” of elkhorn coral.

MIAMI — A test conducted minutes before the polls opened on Election Day showed that 13 of 20 voting machines were faulty at the two Miami-Dade County precincts with the highest rates of discarded ballots, The Miami Herald reported Friday. 

But poll workers did not take the machines out of service as rules required, perhaps causing more than 200 ballots to be improperly marked, according to the newspaper. 

Supporters of Vice President Al Gore argued unsuccessfully after the Nov. 7 election that thousands of ballots in Miami-Dade and statewide were improperly marked because of faulty voting machines, perhaps costing him the presidency. President-elect Bush won the state by 537 votes out of 6 million cast, and Florida’s 25 electoral votes proved to be decisive. 

County election officials said the machines were fine, and that the tests were flawed. They said the machines performed properly in earlier tests. 

The testers probably didn’t press hard enough or failed to make punches at the proper positions on the ballots, officials said. 

The machines require voters to slip a cardboard ballot into the machine and mark their candidates by punching out premarked holes, or chads. If the chads are not dislodged, the votes are not counted by the tabulation computers. The vote also is not counted if two or more candidates for that office are selected. 

During the test before Election Day, “We punch through every single position just to make sure everything is OK,” said John Clouser, assistant director for the supervisor of elections. “If it’s OK, we send (the machine) out.” 

Precinct workers deny that they tested the machines improperly. Sherrill Blue, who initialed three test ballots, said she did not know why the documents show the machines failed the test, but that workers “always make sure the holes go through.” 

Larry Williams, who worked at the same precinct, said he had trouble punching one of the ballots he tested. “I had to work it a little, but it went through,” he said. 

Yet, one of the test ballots he handled was missing punches, including one at Gore’s position. 

The two precincts in question had the highest rates – about 13 percent – of discarded presidential ballots in the county. That was more than double the discard rate in the 1996 presidential election. 

Ballots are rejected when counting machines don’t read punched holes or a voter marks too many candidates. 

The Herald’s review of election documents showed missed punches on six of the 10 machines at one of the precincts and on seven of the 10 machines at the other. 

WASHINGTON — Here’s the story line: In a bizarre and hotly contested election, the son of a U.S. president is installed as chief executive, barely edging a Democratic former U.S. senator from Tennessee who won the nation’s popular vote in the general election. 

The election turmoil drags on week after week. Eventually the president’s son, a Harvard University graduate whose family name helped smooth the path to the presidency, overcomes the Tennessee Democrat, who had campaigned on a platform that said the president must fight for the people and whose supporters are increasingly convinced the election was stolen. 

Sound familiar? That was early in 1825, when the House finally decided the previous year’s November election – and for the first time elevated a president’s son to the White House. 

History offers extraordinary parallels between the contest 175 years ago and the 2000 election. 

“The election of 2000, pitting the son of a president against a candidate from Tennessee, is destined to join the election of 1824, when (there was) the same personal dynamic as one of the closest in our nation’s history – John Quincy Adams against Andrew Jackson,” former President Bush told a recent White House dinner. 

The former president was clearly intrigued by what he called the “potential historical parallel between the Adams and the Bush families.” 

As he spoke, his son, Gov. George W. Bush of Texas, and Vice President Al Gore, a former Tennessee senator, were deadlocked in the excruciatingly long recount and legal contest to determine the winner of the 2000 presidential election.  

The nationwide popular vote tally gave Democrat Gore the relatively narrow margin over Bush of a little more than 500,000 votes among almost 105.4 million voters. 

But after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against a hand recount sealed Bush’s win in Florida, where he led by fewer than 1,000 votes, Bush gained the Electoral College majority and was elected officially when the electors met Monday. 

Not since John Quincy Adams had the son of a president won the office. Adams was a Harvard graduate, in 1787; George W. Bush received a masters in business administration from Harvard, in 1975. 

Jackson was elected as Tennessee’s first congressman in 1796 and became a senator from that state the next year. Gore was elected to Congress from Tennessee in 1977, then served in the Senate from 1985 to 1993. Jackson and Gore both campaigned for president as champions of common people. 

In his election, Jackson won 41 percent of the popular vote to Adams’ 31 percent. Most of the remaining votes went to House Speaker Henry Clay and Treasury Secretary William H. Crawford. The popular vote was cast by state legislators and not citizens in six of the 24 states. 

No one captured a majority of Electoral College votes, so the election fell to the House, where Clay held sway. He threw his support to Adams, and using the constitutional formula of one vote for each state’s delegation, Adams won 13 votes to seven. Crawford got three votes. 

Adams became president at age 57 in 1825. 

Unlike Adams the younger, 54-year-old George W. Bush lacks prior federal experience and does not advocate a strong role for the government. Where Adams was groomed for the presidency and famously enigmatic, Bush did not spend his life preparing for the job and has a more outgoing personality. 

The parallels are stronger between the patriarchs of the Bush and Adams families. 

Bush, the 41st president, and John Adams, the second president, were born in Boston-area towns less than 10 miles apart, attended Ivy League schools, served as U.S. diplomats and had one-term presidencies dominated by foreign conflicts. Their political successes transformed patrician families into prominent household names continued by their sons. 

The younger Bush still is different from his father, said Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah. 

“I love his father, but his father is an uptight New England preppy who is determined to render public service as a matter of public duty,” said Bennett, who began his 1998 re-election campaign in Utah with former President Bush by his side. George W. Bush “is much more of his own man than a lot of people think. He’s got more Barbara in him than George.” 

“W. is the frat boy who went to Yale and said all these guys are stuffed shirts. He’s looking around thinking, ‘I ain’t ever going to president, and if I am someday, I ain’t ever taking any of these guys with me.”’ 

Bush graduated from Yale in 1968. Gore graduated from Harvard in 1969. 

Jackson and Gore both were tall and commanding in demeanor, but “Old Hickory” Jackson was a rambunctious man, a hard drinker and gambler and a national war hero. Gore focuses on protocol and seems strait-laced and wonkish. 

“Gore should compare himself to Jackson,” said Vanderbilt University political scientist Erwin Hargrove. “Gore has the moral legitimacy, he won more votes. He’d be smart to lay off and wait, come back in four years and win.” 

Which is exactly what Jackson did. 

——— 

On the Net: National Archives Electoral College box scores: http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/elctcoll/ecfront.html 

AUSTIN, Texas — President-elect Bush, promising a Justice Department “guided by principle, not by politics,” on Friday nominated Sen. John Ashcroft, a staunch conservative, to be attorney general. In a delicate balance, Bush also tapped moderate New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman as environmental chief. 

In announcing Ashcroft, defeated last month as Missouri senator, Bush said, “He will be faithful to the law, pursuing justice without favor. He will enforce the law and he will follow the truth.” 

Several hours later, Bush promoted Whitman, once a rising GOP star, saying, “She has been able to balance the demands for economic growth and at the same time she supported environmental protection measures.” 

Ashcroft, 58, is a former governor and attorney general of Missouri. He was elected to the Senate in 1994, and served on the Judiciary Committee. He lost re-election this year to Gov. Mel Carnahan, who died in a plane crash some three weeks before Election Day. Carnahan’s widow, Jean, has been named to succeed Ashcroft next month. 

Ashcroft said at a news conference that political defeat “brings more than emotion and pain, it brings perspective.” 

A favorite of GOP conservatives who had maneuvered against more moderate choices for the Justice Department, Ashcroft said he would “strive to be a guardian of liberty and equal justice.” Ashcroft, an ardent foe of abortion, said the rule of law “knows no class, sees no color and bows to no creed,” and that will be his guideline. 

“I will administer the Department of Justice with integrity, I will advise your administration with integrity and I will enforce the laws ... with integrity,” he promised Bush. 

Bush said, “John Ashcroft will perform his duties guided by principle, not by politics.” 

Many Republicans have accused Attorney General Janet Reno of playing politics for refusing to appoint an independent counsel to investigate President Clinton and Al Gore for alleged campaign fund-raising abuses. Bush, asked how his department would differ from the Clinton administration, said he didn’t want to “look backwards.”  

Bush defended Ashcroft against complaints from civil rights groups that he helped defeat the nomination for a federal judgeship of Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ronnie White, the first black on the high court. 

Julian Bond, NAACP board chairman, strongly criticized the Ashcroft pick. “Any pretense of unifying the nation has ended with this nomination,” Bond said in an interview. “This confirms the correctness of blacks voting 9-to-1 against Governor Bush.” 

Conservatives rallied around Ashcroft. 

“He has a solid conservative legal and judicial philosophy combined with a moderate personal persona which will help him get along with all the people he will need to deal with,” said Republican Gary Bauer. 

Ashcroft and other Cabinet picks require Senate confirmation. 

At the Department of Justice, Ashcroft would manage an agency whose budget this year is $21.8 billion. It comprises the FBI, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Drug Enforcement Administration and federal prosecutors, marshals and prisons, among others. 

Bush also named Mitch Daniels, senior vice president of the drug giant Eli Lilly Corp. in Indianapolis, to be director of the Office of Management and Budget. Daniels will be responsible for preparing the federal budget and managing spending for all federal agencies. 

On the political front, Bush picked Virginia Gov. James Gilmore to head the Republican National Committee. 

In a bow to environmentalists, Bush emphasized in naming Whitman that he intended to keep the EPA position at the Cabinet-level, a change first made by Clinton that some Republicans opposed. 

“This job will be a challenge,” said Whitman, who grew up on a horse farm. She said it is possible to build “a more prosperous America while meeting our environmental obligations to those who follow us.” 

Whitman, 54, a moderate who favors abortion rights, has angered social conservatives. As governor, she has championed open-space preservation in New Jersey and refused to abandon an unpopular auto emissions test designed to reduce air pollution. Her term ends in January 2002. 

Conservatives such as television evangelist Pat Robertson had signaled impatience with Bush for looking at moderates for his Cabinet. Robertson said on a Thursday night show, “The trust is growing thin” with Bush. 

Republicans close to the president-elect said he had decided to put conservatives in key Cabinet jobs, including attorney general, health and human services and defense, partly to please the GOP right.

America’s protracted election, the tug-of-war over Elian Gonzalez and the terrorist bombing of the USS Cole ranked as the top news stories of 2000, according to The Associated Press annual survey of its members. 

No. 1 was no contest: George W. Bush’s nail-biting triumph in Florida in an extraordinary presidential race resolved by the nation’s highest court five weeks after Election Day. The story received a first-place ranking from 281 of the 312 AP newspaper and broadcast members who took part in the news cooperative’s survey. 

AP members also turned to Florida for the No. 2 story: The bitter custody battle with political overtones that centered on whether young Elian Gonzalez, rescued from the sea while fleeing Cuba with his mother, should stay with relatives in Miami or be returned to his father. 

Fifty overseas subscribers, in a separate poll, also chose the U.S. presidential battle as the top story. But they ranked the ouster of Yugoslavia’s Slobodan Milosevic second, followed by Israeli-Palestinian violence. Next were the Aug. 12 disaster aboard the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk and the historic summit between leaders of the two Koreas. 

U.S. editors ranked Milosevic’s toppling No. 9, the Middle East conflict No. 11, and the Russian sub tragedy No. 12. They did not place the Koreas summit among the top 20 stories – ranking it lower than the 2000 Olympic Games and Tiger Woods’ three Grand Slam wins. 

This was the 65th year that the AP polled its members. A first-place vote gave a story 10 points, a second-place vote nine points, and so on. The top story last year was President Clinton’s impeachment trial. 

Here are the top 10 stories of 2000 as ranked by AP members: 

1) The presidential election: George W. Bush emerged the winner in an overtime election that took unprecedented legal and political twists. 

2) Tug-of-war over Elian Gonzalez: After months of political and legal wrangling, armed federal agents seized the 6-year-old boy from his Miami relatives, and he was ultimately returned him to his father in Cuba. 

3) USS Cole attack: Seventeen U.S. sailors died Oct. 12 when explosives transported in a small boat ripped open the hull of the 505-foot destroyer in Yemen. 

4) Oil prices: Crude oil prices soared as OPEC curtailed production, leading to a worldwide outcry over higher fuel costs and prompting the United States to dip into its strategic reserves. 

5) Firestone’s troubles: The tire maker recalled more than 6 million tires after complaints of tread separations, blowouts and other problems that led to accidents.  

6) Microsoft breakup: A federal judge ordered Microsoft Corp. to split up in an antitrust case that, if upheld, could result in the largest government-ordered restructuring since AT&T’s breakup in 1984. 

7) Genetic code mapped: New medical frontiers opened when scientists announced that they had virtually deciphered the human genetic code. 

8) The Year 2000: The new year arrived mostly glitch-free, with millennium celebrations drowning out doomsday predictions of Y2K computer problems. 

9) Milosevic toppled: Following a disputed election, the 13-year rule of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic ended abruptly when thousands of people stormed parliament and forced him to hand power to rival Vojislav Kostunica. 

10) Tobacco verdict: A jury ordered the tobacco industry to pay a record $145 billion in punitive damages to sick Florida smokers.

NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court on Friday threw out the murder conviction of Wilbert Rideau, saying the celebrated prison journalist was the victim of racially biased selection of the grand jury that indicted him in 1961. 

The court ordered that he be set free if the state does not quickly retry him. 

The prosecutor plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Rideau has been held at Louisiana State Prison at Angola for nearly 40 years. In 1976 he was named editor of The Angolite and transformed it from a mimeographed newsletter into a slick bimonthly magazine that has won a string of awards. 

Rideau, 58, has never denied he killed a bank teller in 1961. The black inmate argued that blacks were excluded from the predominantly white grand jury that indicted him. On Friday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. 

Only one black was on the 20-member grand jury that indicted Rideau. The appeals court said blacks were excluded in violation of equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. 

“The state produced no evidence to rebut any portion of Rideau’s prima facie case in either the two state evidentiary hearings or the federal district court proceedings,” the appeals court said. 

“Rideau’s conviction must be reversed and his unconstitutionally obtained indictment quashed,” it said. 

Said Julian Murray, Rideau’s attorney: “It’s been a long time in coming, but I’m glad its finally here.” 

Calcasieu Parish District Attorney F. Wayne Frey said he couldn’t comment in detail because he didn’t have a copy of the opinion, but he did say that his office would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

U.S. District Judge Frank Polozola had rejected Rideau’s plea for freedom last year, saying that he had prejudiced the state’s chances in any retrial by waiting so long to appeal. By now, most of the witnesses are dead, the judges are dead, the murder weapons cannot be found and grand jury records from the time have been discarded, Polozola said. 

Polozola also said there was no evidence that the grand jury list was compiled to systematically exclude blacks. The Louisiana Supreme Court also ruled, twice, that there was no such evidence. 

But now, the case goes back to Polozola with instructions that the state be given a reasonable time to reindict and retry Rideau, or he must be freed. 

In 1961, when he was just 19, Rideau robbed a bank and took three hostages. While they begged for their lives, he shot them. One of the victims escaped. One, shot in the neck, feigned death. The third tried to crawl away and Rideau stabbed her and slashed her throat. 

He was convicted and sentenced to death, but while waiting for his date in the electric chair, Rideau was reborn. He taught himself to read and began writing. 

“I didn’t want a criminal act to be the final definition of me,” Rideau said in a 1999 Associated Press interview. “I picked up a pen and tried to do something good. It allowed me to weave meaning into what would have been a meaningless existence. It also gave me a chance to try to make amends.” 

In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s death penalty and Rideau was resentenced to life. 

Refused a job by the then all-white staff of the prison magazine, The Angolite, Rideau started his own publication, The Lifer, and began writing a weekly column for a group of black newspapers. In 1976, he was named editor of The Angolite and transformed it. 

More recently, he gained attention for helping make a documentary about Angola, “The Farm,” which was nominated for an Oscar and won a prize for documentaries at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998. 

Rideau bills himself as “The Most Rehabilitated Prisoner in America.” He has gained Pardon Board recommendations for release since 1984, but so far a series of governors have refused, including Edwin Edwards who pardoned 89 murderers before leaving office in 1996. Supporters say he is the only one of 31 murderers sent to Angola in 1962 who has not been freed. 

“If all those people were still in prison, I’d say what’s happened to me is fair,” Rideau said last year. “But they aren’t. I get post cards from a former inmate who killed four people. He’s out and I’m not.” 

Prison officials at Angola said Rideau would not be made available for comment Friday. 

“We’re the keeper of the keys and we’ll do whatever the courts tell us to do,” said Cathy Jett, prison spokeswoman. 

SAN JOSE — In a case provoking tough questions over who controls the Internet, Yahoo! Inc. is asking a federal judge to block a French court’s order that the popular Web portal keep computer users in France from accessing auctions of Nazi paraphernalia. 

In papers filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose on Thursday, attorneys for Santa Clara-based Yahoo! contended that the French court violated the company’s free speech rights and does not have jurisdiction over content produced by an American business. 

Yahoo! asked the U.S. court for “declaratory relief” and hoped it would reassure the Internet industry that such orders are unenforceable. Yahoo! is also considering filing an appeal in France. 

Swastika-emblazoned flags and other Nazi collectibles are among the thousands of items for sale at http://auctions.yahoo.com. A user in Washington state was offering an “Ultra Rare Nazi Banner MUST SEE!!” for $600 on Friday. 

In April, two French groups, the Union of Jewish Students and the International Anti-Racism and Anti-Semitism League, sued Yahoo! for allegedly breaking France’s strict hate laws. It is illegal in France to display or sell racist material. 

Last month, Judge Jean-Jacques Gomez gave Yahoo! three months to find a way to prevent French users from accessing auction pages with Nazi-related objects, and said Yahoo! would be fined $13,000 for each day after the deadline that it did not comply. 

Yahoo! associate general counsel Greg Wrenn said at the time that Yahoo! would ignore the ruling and refuse to pay the fines unless a U.S. court enforced it. The company contended that blocking all French users would be technically impossible. 

Civil liberties organizations in the United States have warned that if the French decision is allowed to stand, repressive governments in other countries could use the same tactic against Web sites run by democracy groups and human-rights activists. 

Ygal El Harrar, president of the Union of Jewish Students of France, said Yahoo! has a moral obligation to take responsibility for the auctions it facilitates. 

“Instead of trying to put in place filters, they’re trying to use every legal recourse possible,” he said Friday. “I’m wondering if Yahoo! doesn’t want to promote Naziism. What I’m saying is tough. But I just wonder what Yahoo! wants out of this affair.” 

Yahoo! competitor eBay.com also has dozens of Nazi collectibles for sale, though the site warns sellers not to accept bids on such items from people in France, Germany, Austria or Italy because of anti-Nazi laws in those countries. An eBay spokesman would not comment on the Yahoo! case. 

SAN FRANCISCO — A hacker broke into the computer systems of Egghead.com, forcing the online retailer to alert credit card companies and 3.5 million customers to the security breach and the possibility that their financial information was accessed. 

Egghead had been in the process of upgrading its computer systems over the past few months, but the improvements were no match for the unknown online invader who hacked the system earlier this week. 

“Egghead.com has discovered that a hacker has accessed our computer systems, potentially including our customer databases,” the company said in a statement released Friday. 

The break-in was under investigation and a spokeswoman for Egghead said the Menlo Park-based technology products retailer had notified credit card companies and the local FBI office. 

The hacker did not deface the Web site or shut the service down, but did manage to infiltrate sensitive computer areas. The company said the FBI is investigating how long the hacker was in the system and what he or she did while there. 

“The San Francisco division of the FBI’s computer intrusion squad is working with Egghead to make an assessment of the security of the hack,” said Andrew Black of the FBI. Federal investigators would continue examining the hack over the weekend, Black said. 

In response to the hacker activity, Egghead has also hired computer security specialists. 

”(Egghead) hired Kroll Worldwide, which is one of the leading security firms in the world, to evaluate the system and make sure something like this doesn’t happen again,” said Egghead spokeswoman Shoreen Maghame. 

Egghead CEO Jeff Sheahan was to e-mail each of the Web site’s registered users Friday and explain the company’s actions in response to the hack. 

The hacker attack was reportedly a first for Egghead. There is the possibility that the Egghead customer information was not accessed, Maghame said. 

Credit card theft from online repositories has plagued several Web sites this year. 

Last week, the FBI in Los Angeles confirmed they were looking for a hacker who put thousands of stolen credit-card numbers from creditcards.com on the Web after a $100,000 extortion demand was ignored. 

Western Union took its Web site off-line for five days in September after hackers stole 15,000 credit or debit card numbers.  

In February, a hacker infiltrated the computers of RealNames, an Internet search service with as many as 20,000 card numbers on file.  

On the Net:www.egghead.com

NEW YORK — Santa Claus finally arrived on Wall Street on Friday, giving the beleaguered Nasdaq composite index its strongest performance in more than a week and its fifth-biggest percentage gain ever. 

A late round of holiday buying sent tech and blue chip stocks soaring as bargain-hunting investors capitalized on the massive selloffs earlier this week. But analysts cautioned against attributing the gains to anything more than seasonality and the market’s oversold condition. 

“This is a bounce. The basic nuts and bolts of why we came down, the cooling economy and earnings warnings, haven’t gone away,” said Larry Wachtel, market analyst at Prudential Securities. “Just because we’re able to go up after more than a week on the downside for the Nasdaq doesn’t mean it’s a brave new world. It’s just the law of averages.” 

“Typically the last week of the year tends to be a strong period, and with tech stocks having been devastated in the last two or three weeks, there’s a lot of bargain hunting going on,” said Peter Anderson, chief investment officer at American Express Financial. 

Trading was light in anticipation of Monday’s holiday, when the market will be closed. 

— The Associated Press 

Bargain hunting lifted the Dow by 168 points and Nasdaq by 7 points on Thursday – breaking a seven-session losing streak for the tech-heavy index – and the same happened Friday. 

Tech stocks led the way. Computer and printer company Hewlett-Packard, a Dow component, rose $2.81 to $32.19. Microsoft also gained ground, up $3 at $46.44. 

Non-tech gains were solid, buoyed by rises in financial issues. Banker J.P. Morgan rose 50 cents to $167.88 and Citigroup rose $1.31 to $50.06. Drugs and consumer staples, however, showed some weakness. Merck fell $2 to $90.50; Procter & Gamble was off 75 cents at $73.75. 

Ford fell $1.38 to $22.81 after warning that soft demand would affect its sales and results. 

Earnings worries have dogged the market since Labor Day, but those concerns have intensified in recent weeks because of new reports suggesting the economy is quickly slowing. 

The market plunged Tuesday and Wednesday, rattled by earnings worries and the realization that the Federal Reserve would not cut interest rates before the holidays. 

Also Friday, Litton jumped $15.31 to $77.94, a 24 percent gain, on news the defense contractor was being acquired by rival Northrop Grumman for $3.8 billion in cash. Northrop fell $7.81 to $74.13, a 9 percent drop. 

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners more than 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 1.32 billion shares, compared with nearly 1.77 billion Thursday. 

The Russell 2000 index rose 15.96 to 462.99. 

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average was virtually unchanged, rising 0.03 percent. Germany’s DAX index was up 0.8 percent, Britain’s FT-SE 100 was down 0.3 percent, and France’s CAC-40 was up 0.4 percent. 

On the Net: 

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com 

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com 

Joe L. Wallace will fight for bus money. The new director on the AC Transit Board said he wants to keep people who are transit dependent in the forefront of his mind, which, he said, means more money for bus services, the transportation that low-income urban residents depend on. 

“A lot of our dollars are going to modes of transportation that do not serve the low-income people,” said Wallace. “A lot of people complain about the bus service. Until we get equity and funding for the bus service there’s going to be complaints.” 

Wallace, who is a North Richmond resident and works for the North Richmond Community Career Center, believes that the emphasis on funding BART has taken vital funds away from the AC Transit system. 

“BART is sucking up 75 percent of the transportation dollars,” he said, adding that this leaves the other transit systems to make do with 25 percent of funding.  

Many bus services were cut in 1995 when the federal government eliminated a transportation subsidy.  

The cutback occurred around the same period as the buses were implementing the Americans for Disability Act, which requires equitable bus service for the disabled. City Councilmember Miriam Hawley, whom Wallace replaced on the AC Transit Board, said the expensive bus improvements brought the system up to a necessary standard and vastly improved the lives of many disabled people. “It’s very good and it’s very expensive,” she said. 

Hawley agreed that for many years money has been directed towards commuter transportation for the suburbs. “Buses don’t have the same panache and the same sex appeal as BART,” she said, “but they’re the workhorses.” 

She added that one-third of the Bay Area residents rely on public transportation. Many of those use buses, said Wallace. “There are certain bus lines that carry more passengers per day than BART does but get less money,” he said.  

The BART extension is one project using up millions of transportation dollars. “I think it costs BART $125 million a mile to go to San Jose, imagine if we had the money for two of those miles,” said Wallace, adding that very low-income people don’t ride BART because, “it costs more than a dollar just to get in the door.” 

Wallace first became interested in transit issues in North Richmond, where he works and resides, during the period when people were forced off of welfare into work programs. 

“About three years ago I’d sit in on community groups trying to make it easier for the welfare-to-work people. The first thing I told them was if a transition is going to take place, the transportation has to be available.” 

Wallace facilitated meetings between AC Transit and the community to develop a plan for new bus service. “It showed me that a major company actually cared about my community. It showed me that dealing with the community and the residents in the community was a positive experience for them.”  

For two years before his election to the board, Wallace served as chair of the Bus Riders Advisory Committee, a group made up of citizen bus riders who provide the transit commission with the experiences of riders. A bus rider himself, he is no stranger to bus problems in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. “Since I am transit dependent I know how they feel when they miss a bus because it’s running ahead of schedule or when a bus doesn’t come,” he said. “All of the frustrations that they have, I have too.” 

Wallace said a survey of current bus ridership and community needs will help board members figure out how to reinstate service in the most necessary areas. 

He hopes to direct funding towards AC Transit to increase bus service in the evenings and on the weekends, to get new technology and to purchase new buses. “Also we have a serious problem,” he said, “especially with low income families, being able to pay for passes for the kids to go to school.” 

The Metropolitan Transit Commission appropriates funds for different transit alternatives in the Bay Area. Wallace plans to attend commission meetings to review their funding priorities, and hopes to shift their thinking away from what he considers flashier modes of transport, towards the bus lines. 

“I’m going to try to make them understand in the most polite way that I can – because they hold the strings to the purse – that we need more money. Period.”

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gray Davis urged Californians Tuesday to save electricity and called for the construction of new power plants. But he said he wouldn’t offer his plan to deal with the state’s electricity crisis until Jan. 8 – four days after state regulators decide how much to boost ratepayers’ bills. 

The Democratic governor signaled his continued support for deregulation, while noting that there are problems and “we have to move on several fronts so that down the road deregulation can work.” 

The governor, in an interview in Washington, D.C. with Nightly Business Report, said the state Public Utilities Commission had the principal authority to take action to soothe California’s deregulated energy market, which has been rocked by shortages and spiraling wholesale electricity costs. 

“The PUC is the legal body that will make a determination,” the governor said. When asked what he thought the PUC should do, he said: “It doesn’t matter what I think.” 

“There are no magic bullets. We just have to work our way through this problem,” Davis added. 

The interview was significant for what he did not say. 

The governor did not mention that the PUC is composed of gubernatorial appointees, and that within a week he will have the authority to appoint another member of the five-member panel, giving his appointees a majority. 

He said wholesale power sellers are driving the current crisis, but he did not discuss potential penalties, whether the wholesalers should provide refunds to the utilities, pay taxes on their profits or to what degree utilities should shoulder the burden of high energy costs. 

He has said ratepayers will need to bear some of the costs of protecting the utilities’ solvency, but he did not give specifics and did not discuss his private negotiations currently under way with the utilities in Sacramento. 

Earlier in the day, Davis said he met for two hours with Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers about the economic implications of California’s electricity problems. He did not provide details. 

A spokesman for a consumer group that favors reregulating California’s electricity market, deregulated by a 1996 law, said Davis was “passing the buck at every turn, seeking to distance himself from rate hikes that will be pinned on him.” 

“It all comes down to Davis. He is the one setting up the meetings with the utilities, he has the authority to appoint the PUC majority, he could step in,” said Doug Heller of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. 

The PUC earlier declared that California’s two huge investor-owned utilities, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and Southern California Edison Co., needed rate increases to help cover some $8 billion in losses they’ve incurred since June. 

The scope of that increase remained uncertain, however, as PUC-hired auditors were examining the companies’ books. 

The two utilities, serving a total of 10 million homes and businesses, have paid sharply higher prices for wholesale electricity, but because they operate under a rate freeze they have been unable to pass those costs on to their customers. 

The PUC plans to meet Jan. 4 in San Francisco to decide on lifting the rate freeze. On Jan. 8, Davis said he will unveil in his State of the State address to the Legislature his suggestions to deal with the crisis. 

One of the Legislature’s ranking Democrats said the state could purchase PG&E’s and SoCal Edison’s hydroelectric dams, valued at more than $4 billion, which he said would help the utilities stave off insolvency and protect ratepayers from huge high bills.

First Bay Area Chinese teacher dies at 95 

LAFAYETTE – Alice Fong Yu, the first Chinese American public school teacher in San Francisco, died earlier this week. She was 95. 

Yu died Tuesday at a nursing home. 

Yu came to San Francisco in 1916 from the small gold-mining town of Washington, Calif. She applied to and graduated from the San Francisco State Teacher’s College in 1926, only to be told by administrators that Chinese Americans were not being hired. 

But the principal of Commodore Stockton Elementary School insisted that his campus needed a bilingual teacher and Yu was hired, a first for San Francisco. She went on to teach public school for 44 years. 

The San Francisco Unified School District recently named its Chinese school after Yu. 

Yu was also the founder of the 67-year-old Chinese women’s service organization called the Square and Circle Club which serves charitable causes. She received many acknowledgments for her achievements over the years including the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Distinguished Service Awards in 1975 and the Women of Achievement, Vision and Excellence award in 1986. 

Yu is survived by two sons and two grandchildren. 

New Examiner loses another editor 

SAN FRANCISCO – Yet another editor has left the new San Francisco Examiner. 

Managing editor Bob Porterfield has been fired, becoming the third editor to leave the newspaper since it released its first issue a month ago. 

Porterfield told The Associated Press Friday he was fired “for exercising an action that I believed I had the right to exercise as managing editor.” 

When the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner was hired by publisher Ted Fang, some saw it as an indication that the paper would set a high standard for his journalism. 

In its first few weeks, the Examiner has been bedeviled by such problems as front-page misspellings, stories that ended in midsentence, improperly sized type that made reading difficult and relatively few staff-written stories. 

The newspaper replaced executive editor Martha M. Steffens Dec. 11, and editorial page editor Susan Herbert resigned a week earlier. 

Porterfield said he could not elaborate about his Dec. 15 termination, referring questions to his lawyer Alan Exelrod, who did not return calls made late Friday and early Saturday seeking comment. Calls to Fang were referred to his spokesman, Ken Maley, who did not respond to repeated requests for comment. 

The Examiner, which launched the publishing empire of William Randolph Hearst, ended a 113-year run as a Hearst-owned newspaper last month. Fang, a publisher of giveaway neighborhood papers, hired a new staff and now competes for morning readers against the Hearst-owned San Francisco Chronicle.

MARTINEZ — A former foster mother convicted in 1996 of abusing two babies will get a new trial after a judge found the woman’s lawyer erred in his defense. 

Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Peter Spinetta on Thursday overturned the conviction of Yvonne Eldridge, 48, of Walnut Creek, on grounds her lawyer, Bill Egan, did not give her a fair trial. Spinetta’s decision said Egan did not call a medical witness to testify about other possible reasons for the babies’ ill health. 

During a September hearing, Egan testified that a doctor he consulted with said there was no certain cause for the babies’ ailments. The doctor now says if he had received all 30 volumes of the babies’ medical records he would have been able to testify about non-abusive explanations for the babies’ illnesses. 

“I don’t know how I could feel any better,” Eldridge said. “This is the best Christmas present anybody could ever have.” 

Prior to her conviction, Eldridge was a nationally honored foster mother, even receiving an award at the White House. In her 1996 trial, prosecutors argued the babies, which were born prematurely to drug-addicted mothers, suffered worse health problems due to abuse from Eldridge. 

No one testified about the babies’ health in order to corroborate Eldridge’s version of their symptoms. 

State officials have said Eldridge suffers from a rare ailment called Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy, in which people injure others to get medical attention. 

Eldridge immediately appealed her conviction and has been free on bail ever since. A new trial date is scheduled to be set Jan. 9.