Everything was fine until someone mentioned the towels. 

“Towels?” said Gail Murphy, a look of concern flashing suddenly across her face. “I didn’t know they were supposed to take towels.”  

Bottled water, yes. Toilet paper, yes. Bug spray, yes. But towels? 

Murphy was one of dozens of Berkeley parents gathered in San Francisco’s International Airport late Tuesday night to watch 73 Berkeley High students depart for the mother of all field trips – two weeks in Havana, Cuba, and rural areas nearby. 

The trip’s organizers, San Francisco-based Global Exchange, estimate that this is the largest group of American high school students ever to travel to the island nation, which they say is one of the last socialist countries in the Western Hemisphere. 

Murphy said her ninth-grade son had been somewhat cavalier about making sure he had everything he needed. 

“He said, ‘Don’t worry about it. We’ll get it (in Cuba),’” Murphy said. “But I told him it’s not going be that way.” 

There are no Walgreens in Cuba, Murphy observed wryly.  

But Murphy said she’s not nervous. 

“He’s going be okay,” she said. “This guy’s got it together. 

“Am I anxious? Yes. I’m anxious for him to have a great time” 

In less than an hour the students would board an 11:30 p.m. flight for Mexico City, where they would change planes for the final leg to Havana. They were scheduled to arrive in Cuba about 7 a.m. Wednesday. 

The United States has maintained a trade embargo against Cuba for more than 30 years and U.S. law restricts travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens. Nevertheless, Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based organization that is sponsoring the Berkeley High trip, has taken thousands of U.S. citizens on educational trips to Cuba over the last 10 years.  

As they waited for everyone to check in for the flight, the students huddled around luggage carts, flipping through their passports and talking excitedly about what lay ahead. 

“We’ve heard mixed stories,” said ninth-grader Craig Long. “Some people say you shouldn’t go to Cuba, and others say it’s great. I want to see for myself.” 

Part of the Communication Arts and Sciences small learning community at Berkeley High, the students have been trained in how to use modern media tools to promote social justice. They will visit schools and hospitals in Cuba, gathering information and building relationships. When they return to Berkeley High they will present what they have learned to the rest of the school and to the community through a series of forums. 

“For me it’s seeing the students become more worldly and having the opportunity to see a very different society and make comparisons (that’s exciting),” said Berkeley School Board President Terry Doran, one of 15 chaperones for the trip. “I think the most fascinating thing will be to listen to the students after they return,” he said. 

The students prepared for the trip by reading extensively about Cuba, watching videos and meeting with a number of Cuba experts the CAS teachers managed to bring to Berkeley High.  

Since last year’s Elian Gonzalez custody struggle placed Cuba at the center of the international stage, the students will have a unique opportunity to study the difference between the way the media view Cuba and the way Cubans see the country, said parent Leander Murphy, husband of Gail Murphy. 

“You hear this, you hear that, but is that the way it really is?” Murphy asked Tuesday, as some of the students began making their way out to the Mexicana Airlines gate. 

“Even to travel period is a great experience,” Murphy said. “But to got to Cuba, where there’s been so much controversy, and to see first hand (what it’s like), you really can’t beat that.” 

Berkeley High teacher Bill Pratt, who originally proposed the trip last year, said parents and students were in festive mood Tuesday in part because they had already accomplished so much just by making the trip happen. 

“Even before we leave I think we’ve already had a lot of success because the community has come together in an incredibly remarkable way,” Pratt said. 

Pointing to parent Laura Singh, who volunteered to serve as treasurer for the Cuba trip project, Pratt said, “If she hadn’t stepped forward and made this huge commitment, then the trip wouldn’t have happened.” 

Pratt said the trip’s organizers were determined from the outset that all students who wanted to go to Cuba would be able to go, regardless of whether they could raise the $1,800 needed to cover their travel expenses. Parents and students organized benefit concerts, bread sales and car washes to raise more than a third of the trip’s $145,000 cost, Pratt said. They also rounded up medical and school materials – in chronic short supply in Cuba due to the U.S. embargo – to deliver in Havana. 

“From each according to ability; to each according to need,” Pratt said, paraphrasing one of Karl Marx’s most popular aphorisms. “We organized a trip to a socialist county along socialist principles.” 

Doran, who visited Cuba in 1993 as part of another educational trip, said he thought Berkeley High students would be surprised to see how much Cuba looks like their own campus in terms of its racial composition. 

Cuba is 51 percent mixed ethnicity, 37 percent white and 11 percent black. Berkeley high school is 37 percent white, 37 percent black, 11 percent Latino and 5 percent mixed ethnicity. 

The Cubans will give the Berkeley students a warm welcome, Doran said. 

“They’re very proud of their country and they want to show it off,” Doran said. “And they assume that Americans coming there are genuinely interested in their society.” 

With this group, it’s a pretty safe assumption. 

“Cuba is a completely different thing,” said ninth-grader Devin Thompson, who was wide-eyed and eager Tuesday night despite having risen at 7 a.m. to begin preparing for the trip. “Your brain just goes like ‘Whoa!’ when you see it.” 

“Short of getting to Africa, this may be the closest I get to home,” said parent chaperone Michael Miller, an African-American, Tuesday. “It’s going be amazing, from the plane ride (there) to the plane ride (back), and then beyond that.” 

Thursday, April 5

Berkeley Metaphysical  

Toastmasters Club  

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.  

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysics come together. Ongoing first and third Thursdays each month.  

Call 869-2547 

Word for Word  

3:30 p.m. 

West Branch Berkeley Library  

1125 University Ave. 

Dramatic group Word for Word returns to the library with a brand new play for children, the Russian folktale “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.” 

Call 649-3943 

Cancer Support Group 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Summit Medical Center 

Markstein Cancer Education & Prevention Center 

450 30th St., Second Floor  

Oakland  

Free support group for families, friends, and patients diagnosed with cancer.  

869-8833 to register  

Income Tax Assistance  

9 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Call Maggie for an appointment, 644-6107. 

Lavender Lunch  

12:30 - 1:30 p.m. 

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

Mudd 100  

Rev. Nancy Wilson on “Queer Church: The Early History of the Metropolitan Community Church.”  

849-8206 

LGBT Catholics Group  

7:30 p.m. 

Newman Hall  

2700 Dwight Way (at College)  

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender Catholics group are “a spiritual community committed to creating justice.” This meeting is titled “Inspired Utterance Night.”  

654-5486 

Bicycle Touring in Europe  

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Independent bicyclists and budget travelers Tim O’Mahoney and Kathie Strell will give a slide presentation of their three month, 2,000-mile journey through France, Switzerland and Austria. Learn to execute your own bicycle tour. Free 527-4140 

Taking Care of Your  

Large Intestine  

1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.  

Summit South Pavilion  

3100 Summit St., 3rd Floor Auditorium  

Oakland 

Harvey Olsen, gastroenterologist, will discuss Colorectal cancer, a leading cause of cancer death in the United States. 869-6737  

Disability Awareness Day  

10 a.m. - 2 p.m.  

Sproul & Dwinelle Plazas 

UC Berkeley  

An opportunity to learn about disabilities, to find resources for yourself or someone you care about, and to celebrate the achievements of people with disabilities. One of the major focuses of this years awareness day is on “hidden disabilities.” Free 666-9647 

Ballroom Dance Lessons 

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

With Roman Ostrowski. 644-6107 

HAM Radio Earthquakes 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

Emergency Operations Center  

997 Cedar St.  

A free lecture by seismologist Bob Uhrhammer regarding earthquakes. The annual HAM radio emergency services presentation.  

Friday, April 6

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755  

www.stagebridge.org 

Free Writing, Cashiering  

& Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

Free classes offered Monday through Friday. Stop by and register or call 548-6700. 

www.ajob.org 

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. The class will cover basic hardware identification and specification, basic understanding of software, basic word-processing and basic spreadsheets.  

Call 644-6226 

Living Philosophers  

10 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. Hear and entertain the ideas of some modern day philosophers: Jacob Needleman, J. Revel, Hilary Putnam, John Searle, Saul Kripke, Richard Rorty and others. Every Friday, except holidays. Facilitated by H.D. Moe.  

50 Plus Fitness Class  

9:30 a.m. - Noon 

UC Berkeley (varied locations)  

A class for those 50 and over which introduces participants to an array of exercise options. Demonstration and practice will include strength training, Tai Chi, Alexander Technique, and more.  

Pre-register by calling 642-5461 

$20 for all five sessions, $10 per individual session  

Taize Worship Service  

7:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

Loper Chapel 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley  

Dana St. (between Durant  

& Channing)  

An hour of quiet reflection and song.  

848-3696 

TREES Forum  

12:30 p.m. 

2400 Ridge Rd.  

Hewlett Library  

Board Room  

Michael Warburton on local environmental issues.  

E-mail: trees@gtu.edu 

Don Giovanni, Pt. 1  

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

The opera.  

644-6107 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Saturday, April 7

Rockridge Writers 

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Spasso Coffeehouse  

6021 College Ave.  

Poets and writers meet to critique each other’s work. “Members’ work tends to be dark, humorous, surreal, or strange.”  

e-mail: berkeleysappho@yahoo.com 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Wild About Books? 

10:30 a.m. 

Central Berkeley Library  

2121 Allston Way  

Dramatic group Word for Word returns to the library with a brand new play for children, the Russian folktale “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.” 

Call 649-3943 

Earthquake Retrofitting Class  

10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Building Education Center  

812 Page St.  

A free class as part of Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). Sponsored by the Berkeley Fire Dept. and the Office of Emergency Services.  

Call 644-8736 

Inside Interior Design  

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

A look into the world of interior design with certified interior designer and artist Lori Inman. $35 

525-7610 

Small Press Distribution Open House 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

Small Press Distribution  

3141 Seventh St. (at Gilman)  

With poetry readings at 2 p.m. with featured poet Clark Coolidge and others. Free  

524-1668 

Straw Into Gold 

9 a.m.  

Berkeley Fellowship  

1924 Cedar (at Bonita)  

A rummage sale and intergenerational open mic. coffee house. All proceeds benefit the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. Free 

841-4824  

Sunday, April 8

Reimagining Pacific Cities  

6 - 8:30 p.m. 

New Pacific Studio  

1523 Hearst Ave.  

“How are Pacific cities reshaping their cultural and environmental institutions to better serve the needs and enhance the present and future quality of life of all segments of their societies?” A series of ten seminars linking the Bay Area, Seattle, Portland, and other pacific cities.  

$10 per meeting  

Call 849-0217 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Tibetan Yoga and Healing  

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute  

1815 Highland Place  

Kum Nye teacher Jack van der Meulen will present this Tibetan yoga and will demonstrate several exercises for self-healing. Free 

843-6812 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute Open House  

3 - 5 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute  

1815 Highland Place  

A free introduction to Tibetan Buddhist Culture which will include a prayer wheel and meditation garden tour, Tibetan yoga demonstration, discussion of how useful ancient teachings are in contemporary society, and more. Free 

843-6812 

A Humanistic Passover Seder 

6 p.m.  

Albany Community Center 

1249 Marin Ave.  

Albany  

Kol Hadash will read from the Humanistic Haggadah, and will eat with friends and family. Miriam Solis will lead the group in song.  

$20 - $45  

925-254-0609 

Monday, April 9

Ask the Doctor 

10:30 a.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

Dr. McGillis will speak and answer questions on radiologically, hormonally, and genetically modified foods.  

644-6107 

Standardized tests will yield results 

Editor: 

I am not a teacher and therefore cannot directly comment on the opinions of Professor Kohn who argues against standardized testing. But I do know that the Oakland public schools rank near the bottom in a state that ranks near the bottom in the country in public school performance.  

I do know that a dear friend of mine who tried being a substitute teacher in an Oakland High School was shocked when out of a class of 25 high school math students only one could correctly subtract 11 from 7 and come up with the correct answer.  

And I do know that in Europe where there have been standardized tests for years, the students consistently graduate with better skills and more knowledge than American students.  

Therefore as a grandparent of a child in a California public school and a person who was only licensed in her profession after a standardized test I say to the Professor Kohns of this world – you are just wrong. Look at the facts. Your way of doing things does not work. More money thrown into your already crumbling system will just not solve the problem. Maybe standardized testing will.  

Gessica Johnston  

Alameda 

Thanks for youth court story 

Editor: 

I really liked the article on March 30 about the Youth Court. It sounds like a wonderful institution which can help kids stay out of trouble, and that’s the kind of thing I like to know about. 

Please write more long articles about what’s going on in Berkeley – they’re very interesting to read. 

Avi Rappoport 

Berkeley 

Council not staff should make  

medical pot decision 

Editor, 

I echo the frustration expressed by Robin M. Donald (Letters to the Editor March 30.) 

The recent action on medical marijuana by the City Council represents continuing dysfunctional governance where marijuana policy is involved. Decisions are made by the unelected city employees – not the Council. In this most recent round the police and the city manager prevailed with a 10-plant limit that originates in their fantasies – not the federal empirical program upon which Oakland’s are based.  

While professing caution about plant amounts the city manager, city attorney, public health officer, and the police are reckless about enforcement of the law. General Orders and Training & Information bulletins that are normal police administrative products are lacking for both medical marijuana and marijuana in general.  

Excessive initiative in police officers’ hands invariably leads to failure to enforce the law. The fiefdom of the police subculture continues to make its own laws as it arbitrarily selects which laws it will enforce. Efforts of oversight continue to fail to control this coven of criminality behind badge and office. Review of the enforcement of marijuana laws that on the books specify lowest priority discloses a sorry record that stains retiring Chief Butler’s record. He has presided over the largest increase of marijuana cases ever. 

The only solution is the use of Planning and Management Systems and Outcomes Management Overview that would better implement and comply with ordinances and resolutions. But don’t hold your breath because of the dedication by the unelected factions in city government to maintaining status quo and hegemony. (PAMS/OMO may be read on my web site mikuriya.com/althealth.) 

A charter revision initiative is the only medicine to remedy the gridlock that continues to frustrate all who participate in Berkeley’s flawed governance and continues to thwart the will of the voters. 

I am changing my letter of recommendation and approval to specify possession and cultivation limits per the Oakland guidelines. 

Tod H. Mikuriya, M.D. 

Berkeley 

Response to Palestinians should not be Israel boycott  

Editor: 

While the “Jews for Divestment” may have noble intentions, their actions don’t make much sense in light of the events of the past nine months.  

Last July, Ehud Barak attempted to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by offering Yasser Arafat an extraordinary peace deal. Arafat responded with violence. Why reward him for this by boycotting Israeli matzoh?  

Jonathan Bresman 

Berkeley.  

Anxious for UC Theater return 

Editor: 

What makes “the largest screen in Berkeley” a dinosaur? The Jewish Film Festival and other attractions regularly sold out at the UC. The Pacific Film Archives, the other great treasure of Berkeley, also home of sell-outs, should be on campus. Why mix it with a commercial venture - if one fails, the entire undertaking is threatened. We all understand the concept of monoculture. 

What normally occurs in a situation like this is the city gains control of the property, and an RFQ is issued so that qualified professionals (architects, planners) may evaluate prospects for re-use and revitalization. I’m sure this process is underway already. What we read from your report is one developer speculating how city funds may be used to finance a private enterprise, without considering the opinions of other local arts directors. If you went to the trouble of contacting representatives of PFA and Berkeley Symphony, what else did they say? Why so much airtime for Kennedy again? 

Please report all the facts - we are all anxious for the return of the UC as a first-run art and foreign film house. There is no stronger and more sophisticated film audience as in Berkeley - and don’t think for a minute that we will tolerate “funky couches” and pizza-eating kids chattering during the film either. 

Tracey Bornstein, Architect 

Berkeley 

Recuse, recuse, recuse 

Dear Editor: 

I read in Tuesday’s Daily Planet that the City Attorney has advised Miriam Hawley to recuse herself from voting on the proposed mixed use development at 2700 San Pablo Avenue. According to the article, the City Attorney determined that Hawley has a conflict of interest because Hawley once publicly stated that transit corridors should have development that supports transit. 

Unfortunately, this is not Hawley’s only conflict. She has now publicly stated that “we have a good and conscientious City Attorney.” Hawley should recuse herself from any discussion about whether to follow the City Attorney’s advice. 

Following a similar line of reason, Council members who have commented on Berkeley’s fine views of the Bay should recuse themselves from all decisions relating to building height. 

Sincerely Conflicted, 

Jonathon Kass 

Berkeley

The recent downturn of the stock market evidenced the volatility of the new economy, and allowed those without the speed, courage, or resources to make buckets of money on tech stocks to smile smugly at investors with their now droopy portfolios.  

As bottoming-out gives way to re-examination, a new documentary about the economic explosion in Silicon Valley offers a look at the underbelly of the industry. “Secrets of Silicon Valley,” by Berkeley-based filmmakers Deborah Kaufman and Alan Snitow, examines the labor base and community impact of an economy propelled by hype. 

“Secrets of Silicon Valley” screens for a week beginning today at the Fine Arts Cinema, the first of a series of documentaries presented as Circa Now, a four-week program highlighting the aesthetic and social legacy of the documentary genre. 

“For most people, if the NASDAQ is rising, if people are getting really rich, then that is all the proof you need that they are right about their entire worldview,” Snitow said. “It’s as if the entire society had suspended critical faculties during the time the stock market was rising." 

The film opens with a montage sequence of the language the technology industry has been cooing itself with for years: revolution, unbounded growth potential, evolutionary development. Synergy. 

“We even went so far as to meet with a linguistic professor here at UC Berkeley to talk about some of the metaphors that people are using,” Kaufman said. “Particularly the one that says the market is a force of nature, as if it’s this uncontrollable thing that people have no power over.” 

Kaufman, who built the Jewish Film Festival in 1980 and left to pursue filmmaking in 1993, said that although a lot of the salesman-speak of the New Economy insists it is creating something new, the practices are comparable to very old ways of doing business. 

“When we asked people for analogies to previous eras we thought people would be talking about the industrial revolution, these sweatshops; except you’ve got these high-tech sweatshops,” said Kaufman. “But one person said, ‘no, no, it’s like the Feudal era. It’s like the castle. You’ve got the brand, and if you’re protected you’ve got the knights inside doing the designs for Hewlett-Packard and doing the sales, and outside are all the serfs that are unprotected outside the moat.”  

“And that’s all the working people who live all over the rest of Silicon Valley but don’t live in Atherton or Woodside, but live in Milpitas and Fremont and Union City and everyplace else.” 

Kaufman and Snitow found Raj Jayadev, a factory-line worker packaging Hewlett-Packard printers for shipping. Jayadev is one of the thousands of Silicon Valley temporary laborers who haven’t felt the stratospheric successes of the companies they work for 

Jayadev has no job security or benefits, and suffers from respiratory problems associated with the cardboard packaging he handles daily. In the film he takes part in an organizational effort to unionize Hewlett-Packard’s temporary work force. 

The film also follows Magda Escobar, the director of a community service organization called Plugged In, assisting low-income East Palo Alto residents with computer training and online technology. A portion of Plugged In’s budget comes from fund-raising events like the Sand Hill Challenge, a downhill soapbox derby for the area’s high-tech companies. 

“What was kind of startling about the race was the companies – we’re talking about enormous wealth here – they pay about $3,000 to join the race, and that’s the money that goes to the charities,” Kaufman said  

The Challenge’s participants include engineers from Lockhead and the Stanford Linear Accelerator. “But some of them are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to build their soapbox cars.” 

The disproportionate distribution of funds can be explained by a company’s need to network with other technology companies during the race, and an unbridled competitive drive for bragging rights. 

“A lot of these people who participated in the film are quite brilliant but also quite cut off from the daily realities of the people working in the Valley, working two or three jobs and living in apartments with two or three other families,” Kaufman said. “It’s a completely different reality.” 

“Secrets of Silicon Valley” was shot over the last three years, and completed before the NASDAQ plunge. Snitow and Kaufman captured the technology industry at the height of its success and it could do no wrong. In the film Avram Miller, former vice president of Intel who now works as a venture capitalist, said the speed of business favors intuition over analysis. It’s an economic vision Snitow does not condone. 

“If you have no time to think and no time to analyze, then you have no time to analyze what’s going on behind the curtain…It may be for a lot of people they didn’t have time to look because things were going so fast in this flexible, 24/7 economy. But you lose a great deal if you don’t take the time to stop and look and think about it.” 

Peter Crimmins is the producer of "Film Close-Ups on KALX radio in Berkeley.

The St. Mary’s track & field team had a good day at the Stanford Invitational last weekend, led by Halihl Guy, who was selected as the Athlete of the Meet. 

Guy finished first in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles, as well as running the anchor leg for the Panthers’ first-place 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Joining Guy inthe winner’s circle for the relays were Asokah Muhammad, Courtney Brown and Chris Dunbar. Dunbar also won the 400-meter dash, and Solomon Welch won the triple jump with a leap of 46 feet, 3 1/4 inches. 

On the girls’ side, St. Mary’s Kamaiya Warren won both the shot put and discus. In addition, three St. Mary’s records were broken, but none of the competitors won their events. Tiffany Johnson took fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.08, and the Panthers’ 4x100 and 4x400 relays both came in third, despite setting new school records.

Chocolate factory finally set to open its doors in May 

Any day now, John Scharffenberger promises, the chocolate factory will open.  

Really. 

And when it does, Berkeley will be home to one of the country’s premier chocolate manufacturers. Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, established in 1996, is moving its production from South San Francisco to a 25,000-square-foot brick factory on Heinz and Seventh streets. The turn-of-the-century building was originally a sulfur factory. It has adapted to several industrial uses over the years and most recently served as the home of the now defunct Kona Kai Coffee. 

(Kona Kai’s owner was recently convicted of fraudulently substituting other coffee beans for Kona beans.) 

The new facility will allow the public to get up close and personal with the “bean to bar” chocolate-making process. It will offer free behind-the-scenes tours, a store that sells the gourmet dark chocolate. Eventually, a cafe will open, but not until the fall. 

Perfection takes time. Scharffen Berger originally hoped to open its new quarters in fall 2000. Then it was going to be February, then March. Now they are confident of opening in May. Scharffenberger said updates can be found at the Web site www.scharffen-berger.com. 

Whenever opening day arrives, Scharffenberger said it won’t be one minute before his demanding standards and that of his business partner, Robert Steinberg, are satisfied.  

Right now, the large brick factory building in southwest Berkeley is abuzz with the grinding of gears and machinery, as the chocolate makers test out the various equipment, using second-rate cacao beans for test runs. There is definitely a hint of Willy Wonka at the Scharffen Berger plant, with its enormous machines connected by tubes and pipes. A red pot-bellied roaster stands next to a postwar “bean cleaner” from Germany, which glows with colored lights and dials, looking like a contraption from Jules Verne. Most of the equipment is vintage chocolate-making machinery from Europe, dating back a half-century or more. “We’re on a shoestring budget,” Scharffenberger explains. 

That may come as a surprise to consumers, who can expect to pay nearly $4 for a single 3-ounce chocolate bar. Scharffen Berger turns out only a tiny fraction of the millions of pounds of chocolate produced annually by such industry giants as Hershey, Nestle or Mars. Each batch is individually produced from beans imported and hand-selected for quality, and bars are hand-wrapped on the premises. It’s a highly labor-intensive process, meaning that consumers can expect to pay more than for mass-produced Hershey bars. 

Still, if you look at it a certain way, you’re getting more bang for your buck – or more taste per bite – with gourmet chocolate, Scharffenberger says. Without the additives and sweeteners found in many cheaper confections, Scharffen Berger has a rich, intense, concentrated flavor. Many chocolate-lovers find that a smaller portion satisfies their craving. “You get a lot more chocolate in our bar than in others,” says Scharffenberger.  

A winemaker by trade, Scharffenberger was brought into the chocolate business by his friend Steinberg, who loved European chocolate and dreamed of creating an American product that could stand up to the best that France and Belgium had to offer. The pair approach chocolate making with the same criteria used to judge fine Zinfandel. Aroma, flavor, balance and overtones are all important.  

There is also great importance placed on climate and growing conditions of the cacao bean. Scharffen Berger is one of fewer than a dozen American chocolate makers operating today who actually create their own product from beans – and it is the first new manufacturer to open in the United States in the past 50 years. The company gets its supply from some 20 small plantations found near the equator, including Venezuela, Madagascar, Trinidad, Ghana and Papua New Guinea. Fair trade, or paying the growers a living wage, is very important to Scharffenberger, a self-described hippie who created his own major in biogeography at UC Berkeley about 30 years ago. 

As with Scharffenberger’s earlier ventures, including the Scharffenberger Cellars winery (sold in the mid-’90s to LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton), the chocolate business has been a runaway success. Julia Child pronounced the chocolate superb, and chefs around the country have been inspired to create desserts using the sweet dark confection, Scharffenberger says. The local company expanded quickly, and Scharffen Berger is now available in all 50 states and several countries, sold mostly through gourmet food suppliers and stores. Company sales totalled $3 million in 1999, which was up 300 percent from the previous year. At this pace, Scharffenberger said he has simply outgrown his 5,000-square-foot San Francisco facility. 

Scharffenberger predicts that in Berkeley, the company will be able easily to triple its annual production and expand its products into other chocolate goodies. The small staff of 22 is expected to grow, and the company has added a third partner, John Wais, who oversees operations at the new factory. Wais formerly ran a family-owned steel company in Pinole. Scharffenberger describes him as a “foodie guy, with a great palate.” 

Meanwhile, as they tinker with the equipment in Berkeley, the South San Francisco factory continues production of the acclaimed dark chocolate Scharffenberger says one professional chef describes as “pure unequalled bliss.” 

Once the machines are running smoothly, they will have to see how the chocolate turns out. Even with top-quality ingredients, it takes a few runs to work the kinks out. “The first couple of batches – you can’t eat them,” Scharffenberger says. “Then the next few, we’ll give to the food banks.” Only when he’s satisfied that everything’s running smoothly and he’s producing the rich, fruity dark chocolate he says his customers have come to love will he shift production entirely to the new factory. 

Scharffenberger still has a hand in the wine business, as co-owner of Lonetree Winery in Philo. But his enthusiasm for chocolate knows no bounds. “It’s a blast,” he says. “In the champagne business, there’s a kind of culture of exclusivity. I’m not into that. I mean, I went to Berkeley. I’m a hippie.” 

The St. Mary’s baseball team nearly played a great game on Wednesday against BSAL rival Salesian. But one inning of defensive carelessness led to the Panthers going down, 2-1, to the league leaders. 

St. Mary’s starting pitcher Anthony Miyawaki threw a gem, allowing just four hits while going the distance. But in the top of the fourth inning, his defense let him down. Third baseman Tom Wright made a great diving stop on a Derek Yow grounder to start the inning, but threw high to first and Yow was safe. After the next batter grounded out, Dar Sefidi hit a single to right-center. But right fielder Chase Moore let the ball get by him, and Yow scored all the way from first. Miyawaki then made his one big mistake of the game, and Peter Callegari followed with a booming triple over Moore’s head to plate Sefidi, and the Bulldogs had all the runs they would need. 

“Anthony pitched a great game. Our offense is supposed to be our strength, but it just didn’t happen today,” St. Mary’s head coach Andy Shimabukuro said. “If you told me before the game they would score two runs, I’d have said we’d win.” 

Salesian (4-1 BSAL) starter Randy Renn was just as good as Miyawaki on Wednesday, and his defense never stumbled behind him. Renn held the Panthers (2-2) to six hits, and the Bulldogs threw out two St. Mary’s runners in the final two innings. In the sixth, Miyawaki drew a walk to start the inning. Alex Tapp was sent in to pinch-run, and he reached second base on a fielder’s choice. Right fielder Jeff Marshall punched a single into right field, but Tapp was cut down at the plate by five feet, killing the rally. 

In the seventh, St. Mary’s catcher Ryan Badaho-Singh started things off by raking a shot off of the left-field fence. But the Bulldog relay throw got Badaho-Singh at second. Center fielder Omar Young followed with a nearly identical blast off the wall, but cautiously stayed at first, and the Panthers couldn’t get him around to score. 

“They made great plays,” Shimabukuro said. “We’d send those runners again and see if they could make those plays again.” 

The Panthers only run came in the third inning, as Young walked, stole second and was brought home by first baseman Joe Starkey. 

The loss puts the Panthers in the middle of the pack in the BSAL, and they will have to win games down the stretch just to get into the postseason. 

“I guess now we’re just battling to get into the playoffs,” Shimabukuro said. “If we get there, we can play with anyone. That’s our goal right now.”

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University has sent a letter of regret to the widow of a former professor who was forced to resign almost 50 years ago on suspicions he was a Communist. 

Ann Fagan Ginger, widow of Raymond S. Ginger, told the Boston Herald in Tuesday’s editions that the three-paragraph letter falls woefully short of the apology she had sought. Ginger lives in Berkeley and directs the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute. 

“It’s the arrogance of power,” Ginger said. She has sent another letter asking for a full inquiry into the 1954 incident. 

Harvard officials would not comment to the Herald on the matter. 

“Harvard took an action in the case of Mr. Ginger that many thoughtful people today, looking back, would not find appropriate,” said Harvard’s letter, written by Sharon Gagnon, president of the board of overseers. 

“It is also clear that you and your family experienced hardship and anguish as a result, and for that (Harvard’s president) joins me in extending to you the university’s genuine sympathy and regret.” 

Ann Ginger, 75, a civil rights attorney, asked Harvard last fall for a public inquiry into the school’s actions against her husband and other faculty during the Communist era. 

Raymond Ginger was among those investigated in the 1950s because they were suspected of siding with Cold War enemies. Many were blacklisted, refused jobs or fired. 

Although Ginger was a respected assistant professor of history at Harvard, officials there forced him to make a choice: reveal whether he was a Communist, or immediately resign. Ginger took the latter option. He died in 1975. 

Young team going through tough ‘rebuilding year’ 

Last season’s Berkeley High boys’ volleyball team posted a respectable 6-6 mark in the East Bay Athletic League. Fifth-year coach Justin Caraway knew that this season would be a bumpier ride, also known in the sports world as a “rebuilding year.” 

Not only did the Yellowjackets move into the newly-formed, ultra-competitive Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League, but the team also lost five of its six starters to graduation at the end of last year. 

“I have no experience on this team,” Caraway said. “I knew coming in that this would be a rebuilding year.” 

Caraway added that without a junior varsity team to act as a training ground for his varsity squad, it’s difficult to piece together a team with experience. Sophomore setter Robin Roach is the only returning starter from last year’s team.  

A strong De Anza team defeated the inexperienced ‘Jackets 15-4, 15-2, 16-14 Tuesday afternoon in Berkeley. The Dons took just over 35 minutes to win the first two games, but Berkeley stayed competitive in the third and even had multiple opportunities to avoid the sweep. The loss drops Berkeley to 0-11 overall and 0-1 in the ACCAL. 

Game Two was tied at 2-2 when De Anza’s John Lahip took control. Serving from the near side, Lahip recorded 12 straight points to give the Dons a commanding 14-2 lead. A Berkeley side-out stopped the run, but De Anza quickly regained possession and closed out the game on the next serve. 

“We spend 80 percent of our practice time serving and passing,” Caraway said. “The fact that we’re not able to do it effectively in the match is disappointing.” 

Berkeley controlled much of Game 3 after De Anza opted to play its reserves. The ‘Jackets jumped to an 8-3 edge behind a string of well-placed serves by James Larson. Berkeley led by as many as six, at 14-8. But after the ‘Jackets squandered three game points, the Dons went on a tear. De Anza scored the last eight points of the game en route to a 16-14 victory.  

“We played better in the third game,” Caraway said. “We were mentally in the game enough where we could make it competitive.” 

But the coach wasn’t completely impressed with his team’s lackluster performance. 

“Are there teams in this league we can beat? Probably,” he said. “But with the way we played tonight, not a chance.” 

And there’s also that pesky problem of inexperience that undoubtedly played a part in the ‘Jackets inability to close out the final game. 

“A lot of these players are first year players,” Roach said. “We’ll learn a lot from this season and will be better next season.” 

Caraway agrees: “The encouraging thing is that they’re young,” he said. “We should have a solid team next year if everyone comes back.” 

Berkeley plays at Encinal on April 5 before taking a week off for spring break.

The city is hammering out an amendment to the municipal code that will govern development above buried historic resources such as the West Berkeley Shellmound.  

The proposed ordinance, written by the Planning and Development Department, has instigated a wrestling match with some commissioners on the Landmarks Preservation Commission over which government body will review and approve certain development permits.  

According to Interim Deputy Planning Director Vivian Kahn, the Planning Department wants to retain the authority to approve smaller projects and alterations, such as buildings under 1,000 square feet, excavations under 12-inches deep and certain paving projects. 

“The LPC meets once a month and that could mean an unreasonable delay for property owners who want to put in a wall or a shed or other projects that don’t require much excavation,” she said. 

The draft ordinance requires the LPC to review large projects. 

LPC Commissioner Becky O’Malley said that the Planning Department is trying to streamline the approval process. She said it’s more appropriate for the LPC to make most the permit decisions about development on archeological sites. 

“They want to make it easier to build on the site,” O’Malley said. “The LPC’s first duty is to protect cultural resources for the public at large and making things easier for developers is secondary.”  

Kahn said any staff-approved permits would still be subject to appeal. 

When the City Council approved the subterranean West Berkeley Shellmound as a historical landmark in November, it became apparent there were no provisions in the municipal code to oversee development on historical resources below ground. 

As a result, the Landmark Preservation Commission and several archeologists proposed a code amendment to give the Planning Department and the LPC guidelines for approving building and alteration permits over subterranean landmarks. 

The shellmound, bounded by Interstate 80, Fourth Street and University and Hearst avenues, was approved as a city landmark largely because of its subterranean archeological resources. The site is the repository of artifacts of the Ohlone Indians, who populated the Bay Area for 5,000 years. 

Until A.D. 800, Native American shellmounds were common sights around the Bay. The mounds were characterized by large piles of shells that could be as high as 15 feet. The area surrounding the mounds was frequently the site of daily routines, such as hunting, fishing and cooking. They were also used as burial grounds, according to Stephanie Manning, who wrote the 75-page document on which the LPC based its designation of the West Berkeley Shellmound as a landmark.  

Currently the West Berkeley Shellmound is the city’s only subterranean archeological landmark. But according to Kahn, there are several other potential sites in Berkeley that could become archeological landmarks. 

Dan White, one of the owners of Truitt and White Lumber Company, which is located on the shellmound, said he did not oppose the site’s landmark designation, but he is concerned the amendment will unfairly restrict development on his property.  

“A regulation is appropriate but it has to allow routine operation,” White said. “We should be allowed to develop the property as anyone else can provided we demonstrate we can deal with the subterranean deposits in an appropriate manner.” 

Manning argued that the Planning Department is asking for permit authority over relatively large projects. 

“They want to approve any structures up to 1,000 square feet,” she said. “My home is 875 square feet and that would be a large structure on the landmark site.” 

O’Malley agreed that the Planning Department should have permit approval on some projects but said the threshold still needs to be worked out.  

The Landmarks Preservation Commission will discuss the draft ordinance at its next meeting on May 7.  

David “Tinker” Juarez admitted he doesn’t know what he’ll do after his career as a professional mountain biker is over. But for now, the U.S. Olympic Cycling Team member loves to race and enjoys encouraging younger cyclists. 

He and Carmen d’Alusio, former national champion road cyclist, spoke to the Berkeley High School Mountain Bike Team Tuesday afternoon.  

They came to help the team promote the newly formed NorCal High School Bicycle Racing League. 

The league, formed this year by the Berkeley High team and its sponsor, math teacher and cycling enthusiast Matt Fritzinger, has managed to recruit students from 23 high schools.  

The students compete, both individually and as teams, in a series of six races.  

Individual and team race results will be tallied at the end of the season and awards will be given to top competitors. 

The two professional cyclists came to Berkeley High to encourage the team and to share insights learned from nearly 40 years of combined cycling experience.  

Juarez began his career as a BMX racer in 1973, turning professional in 1975.  

Although his career took a downturn in the early ’80s, he said he would ride to stay out of trouble. 

“I was always a troublemaker anyway. The bike kept me out of trouble,” Juarez said.  

He took to mountain biking in 1986, having a natural affinity for dirt and said he was able to grow with the sport.  

D’Alusio started her career in biking after an injury kept her from competing in track during her senior year in college.  

She said she met a group of local cyclists and traveled with them, learning as she went.  

“I already had an athletic background so I had quick successes,” d’Alusio said Tuesday.  

She has competed professionally for 10 years.  

When asked by Berkeley High team member Jan Kaspar about nutrition, d’Alusio said she tries to eat food that “burns clean.” She said she avoids fatty foods and sugars, eating more fruits, veggies and rice.  

Juarez said he has always had a bad habit of eating junk food, a holdover habit from his BMX days, but said he has learned a lot about healthy eating from his teammates.  

Both athletes compete on the team named after its sponsors: Volvo-Cannondale. 

Ian Richards, Berkeley High team captain who helped start the team three years ago, said he hopes to turn professional and asked Juarez how he has managed to continue after 25 years of racing without “burning out.” Juarez said he thinks of racing as his job and always looks for new ways to make it an enjoyable one.  

“I always try to get better, to always have new challenges,” said Juarez. 

When asked what he thought about the NorCal High School Bicycle Racing League, he said he thought it was good to have an alternative to the usual offerings at most high schools such as football or baseball.  

He also said it was great that Berkeley High supports the team financially. “The kids are motivated. It’s a really neat thing.”  

The team’s Web site is www.bhsracing.com.

TRENTON, N.J. — Shares of Lucent Technologies Inc. plunged as much as 30 percent Wednesday to an all-time low before the telecommunications giant strongly denied rumors it plans to file for bankruptcy reorganization. 

“Chapter 11 rumors are absolutely false,” said Bill Price, director of corporate media relations at the Murray Hill-based company. “They are ridiculous and (are) pushing people into a panic that does not exist.” 

The market rumors helped send Lucent’s already battered stock plummeting, before it recovered somewhat after the company issued its denial. In heavy trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Lucent were off 45 cents, or 6 percent to $7.40. 

In a statement Wednesday morning, Lucent chief financial officer Deborah Hopkins called the rumors “baseless and irresponsible,” 

“We are already seeing positive impacts from our comprehensive restructuring program,” Hopkins said. “Our $6.5 billion lines of credit provide the financial resources and the financial flexibility to execute our turnaround plan.” 

The telecommunications equipment maker declined to say whether or not it has tapped those lines of credit. 

Hopkins said the company would detail its progress on that plan in late April, when it reports the results for its fiscal second quarter, which ended Saturday. 

Lucent’s early drop to $5.50 a share briefly pushed the stock to its lowest level ever since the company’s spinoff from AT&T Corp. in April 1996. In the initial public offering, the stock debuted at the equivalent of $6.38 per share, adjusted for two stock splits and the recent spinoff of Lucent’s telephone-making business, now called Avaya. 

The current stock price is less than 10 percent of Lucent’s $84 high in December 1999. 

The latest downturn for the stock, which is among the most widely held in the country and had been long a favorite of analysts, follows a string of strategic missteps and profit disappointments that has led to the ouster of Lucent’s chief executive and a major restructuring. 

In January, Lucent announced plans to eliminate about 10,000 jobs worldwide through layoffs and attrition, and to remove 6,000 others from its payroll by selling operations at two plants to contract manufacturers. 

“We have the financial flexibility to execute our turnaround,” Price said. “Nothing has changed.” 

In February, Lucent secured the credit lines to help execute its restructuring plan and cover debt payments. Lucent’s debt totaled a whopping $8.1 billion at the end of last year. 

Late last month, Lucent sold 600 million shares of stock in Agere, its network component business that is being spun off, in an initial public offering that brought only $6 per share – just one-third of the price Lucent had initially forecast.  

Then on Monday, Lucent said it would sell 90 million more shares of Agere to retire about $520 million in short-term debt. 

Lucent plans to spin off the 16,500-worker Agere unit, based in Allentown, Pa., by the end of the summer. 

The spinoff, layoffs and attrition are expected to leave the company with a total of about 90,500 employees. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.lucent.com 

Emboldened by their recent success in getting merchants along Telegraph Avenue to take down 30 percent or more of their tobacco advertisements, a group of Willard Middle-schoolers took their anti-tobacco campaign a step further Tuesday, asking merchants to put up anti-tobacco posters in place of the advertisements. 

It’s all part of 12-week anti-tobacco, after-school program led by Sandra Meucci, a sociologist, volunteer Marcus Bouligny, and some students from a class Meucci teaches at UC Berkeley on tobacco and culture. 

In its second year, Meucci said the program, which meets Tuesday afternoons, aims to go beyond traditional anti-smoking messages delivered to youth. Meucci begins by educating students about the dangers of tobacco, but then she helps them internalize the message by involving them in a campaign against tobacco in their own community. 

“My strategy is to get them to be part of a social movement,” Meucci said. “If they see it as something where they are being a consumer of an industry they don’t like, then they’re much less likely to buy the product.” 

Meucci said it is particularly important to get the anti-tobacco message across to middle school-aged kids, who are likely to experiment with smoking and could become addicted if they do. 

“This is the age of initiation right here,” Meucci said Tuesday, surveying the Willard Middle School students. “Twelve and 13 years old is where we first see kids experimenting.” 

Although teen smoking rates are down considerably from 15 years ago, they have begun inching up again in recent years, Meucci said. The 18 to 24 age group in particular is bucking the national trend of lower smoking rates, Meucci added. Thirty-eight percent of 18 to 24 year olds smoke, compared to 20 percent of the adult population, she said. 

The Willard Middle School students have visited seven stores to date along Telegraph Avenue. They’ve had notable success in getting merchants to remove tobacco ads. 

“I’m always shocked by the merchants’ reaction to us in terms of being supportive,” Bouligny said. “Most of the merchants just started taking stuff down right there.” 

The shift manager of Berkeley Market, on Telegraph Avenue near Dwight Way, who would give his name only as Mohammed, said he was sympathetic to the students’ cause. 

“It does have an impact,” he said of the tobacco ads. “It’s like a TV commercial. Particularly in American culture. People, what they see, they buy.” 

Kamal Ayyad, owner of Fred’s Market, on Telegraph, removed a large Camel placard from the wall above his cigarette shelf in response to the students requests. 

“The kids did their homework, so I tried to help them out,” Ayyad said. “I’m happy to take it down anyway. I want the kids to feel good and I want to be part of the community.” 

Some may be more earnest than others in their support of the students, Meucci said, after discovering Tuesday that the Berkeley Market had apparently put a tobacco ad back up after the students’ last visit. 

“What we’ve learned is you really have to be vigilant,” Meucci said. She said merchants are sometimes pressured by tobacco distributors to put up ads for their products. 

“There is a strong bias in this country is favor of looking at advertising as free speech,” she added. 

UC Berkeley Student George Martinez, one of the student mentors in the afterschool program, said educating Willard students is the bottomline for the program. 

“We’re mostly educating the kids about tobacco and letting them know that it’s not necessarily as edgy and cool as the media portrays it,” Martinez said.  

They’re preaching to the choir with Willard sixth grader Ashley Hilliard. Asked why she doesn’t smoke, Hilliard said: “I thought it was bad for my health – and it looks nasty!” 

Wednesday, April 4

Stagebridge Free Acting &  

Storytelling Classes for  

Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Call 444-4755  

or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Word for Word  

3:30 p.m. 

South Branch Berkeley Library  

1901 Russel St.  

Dramatic group Word for Word returns to the library with a brand new play for children, the Russian folktale “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.” 649-3943 

The Voiceless Poor  

7 - 9 p.m.  

School of Journalism Library  

121 North Gate Hall  

UC Berkeley  

Part of the Terner Series, an informal salon-style discussion series, which brings together industry professionals, students, and interested community members. Free 

April Birthday Party  

1:15 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

UC dancers will entertain and refreshments will be served. 

644-6107 

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. The class will cover basic hardware identification and specification, basic understanding of software, basic word-processing and basic spreadsheets.  

Call 644-6226 

Income Tax Assistance  

9 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

For an appointment, 644-6107. 

“Women’s Scholarship as  

Prophetic Voices” 

6:30 - 9 p.m.  

2400 Ridge Rd.  

Hewlett Library  

Dinner Board Room  

The Annual Women’s Theological Forum. 649-2490 

Sproul Standup Comedy  

Protest  

Noon  

Upper Sproul Plaza  

UC Berkeley  

The Heuristic Squelch is sponsoring a protest, calling for an increase in cleavage, popsicles, and black light posters of David Horowitz. Featuring comics Bruce Cherry, Rob Cantrell, drop-in guests, and up and coming UC student comedians. Free  

Thursday, April 5

Berkeley Metaphysical  

Toastmasters Club  

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.  

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysics come together. Ongoing first and third Thursdays each month.  

Call 869-2547 

Word for Word  

3:30 p.m. 

West Branch Berkeley Library  

1125 University Ave. 

Dramatic group Word for Word returns to the library with a brand new play for children, the Russian folktale “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.” 

Call 649-3943 

Cancer Support Group 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Summit Medical Center 

Markstein Cancer Education & Prevention Center 

450 30th St., Second Floor  

Oakland  

Free support group for families, friends, and patients diagnosed with cancer.  

869-8833 to register  

Income Tax Assistance  

9 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Call Maggie for an appointment, 644-6107. 

Lavender Lunch  

12:30 - 1:30 p.m. 

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

Mudd 100  

Rev. Nancy Wilson on “Queer Church: The Early History of the Metropolitan Community Church.”  

849-8206 

LGBT Catholics Group  

7:30 p.m. 

Newman Hall  

2700 Dwight Way (at College)  

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender Catholics group are “a spiritual community committed to creating justice.” This meeting is titled “Inspired Utterance Night.”  

654-5486 

Bicycle Touring in Europe  

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Independent bicyclists and budget travelers Tim O’Mahoney and Kathie Strell will give a slide presentation of their three month, 2,000-mile journey through France, Switzerland and Austria. Learn to execute your own bicycle tour. Free 527-4140 

Taking Care of Your  

Large Intestine  

1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.  

Summit South Pavilion  

3100 Summit St., 3rd Floor Auditorium  

Oakland 

Harvey Olsen, gastroenterologist, will discuss Colorectal cancer, a leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Olsen will explain changes in lifestyle and simple tools for early detection that can save thousands of lives a year.  

869-6737  

Disability Awareness Day  

10 a.m. - 2 p.m.  

Sproul & Dwinelle Plazas 

UC Berkeley  

An opportunity to learn about disabilities, to find resources for yourself or someone you care about, and to celebrate the achievements of people with disabilities. Free 666-9647 

Ballroom Dance Lessons 

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

With Roman Ostrowski. Free 

644-6107 

HAM Radio Earthquakes 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

Emergency Operations Center  

997 Cedar St.  

A free lecture by seismologist Bob Uhrhammer regarding earthquakes. The annual HAM radio emergency services presentation.  

Friday, April 6

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Call 444-4755 or  

visit www.stagebridge.org 

Free Writing, Cashiering  

& Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

Free classes offered Monday through Friday. Stop by to register or call 548-6700. www.ajob.org 

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. Call 644-6226 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Living Philosophers  

10 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Hear and entertain the ideas of some modern day philosophers: Jacob Needleman, J. Revel, Hilary Putnam, John Searle, Saul Kripke, Richard Rorty and others. Every Friday, except holidays. Facilitated by H.D. Moe.  

50 Plus Fitness Class  

9:30 a.m. - Noon 

UC Berkeley (varied locations)  

A class for those 50 and over which introduces participants to an array of exercise options. Demonstration and practice will include strength training, Tai Chi, Alexander Technique, and more.  

Pre-register by calling 642-5461 

$20 for all five sessions, $10 per individual session  

Taize Worship Service  

7:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

Loper Chapel 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley  

Dana St. (between Durant & Channing)  

An hour of quiet reflection and song.  

848-3696 

TREES Forum  

12:30 p.m. 

2400 Ridge Rd.  

Hewlett Library  

Board Room  

Michael Warburton on local environmental issues.  

E-mail: trees@gtu.edu 

Don Giovanni, Pt. 1  

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

The opera.  

644-6107 

Saturday, April 7

Rockridge Writers 

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Spasso Coffeehouse  

6021 College Ave.  

Poets and writers meet to critique each other’s work. “Members’ work tends to be dark, humorous, surreal, or strange.”  

e-mail: berkeleysappho@yahoo.com 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Wild About Books? 

10:30 a.m. 

Central Berkeley Library  

2121 Allston Way  

Dramatic group Word for Word returns to the library with a brand new play for children, the Russian folktale “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.” 

Call 649-3943 

Earthquake Retrofitting Class  

10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Building Education Center  

812 Page St.  

A free class as part of Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). Sponsored by the Berkeley Fire Dept. and the Office of Emergency Services.  

Call 644-8736 

Inside Interior Design  

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

A look into the world of interior design with certified interior designer and artist Lori Inman. $35 

525-7610 

Small Press Distribution Open House 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

Small Press Distribution  

3141 Seventh St. (at Gilman)  

With poetry readings at 2 p.m. with featured poet Clark Coolidge and others. Free  

524-1668 

Straw Into Gold 

9 a.m.  

Berkeley Fellowship  

1924 Cedar (at Bonita)  

A rummage sale and intergenerational open mic. coffee house. All proceeds benefit the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. Free 

841-4824  

Sunday, April 8

Reimagining Pacific Cities  

6 - 8:30 p.m. 

New Pacific Studio  

1523 Hearst Ave.  

“How are Pacific cities reshaping their cultural and environmental institutions to better serve the needs and enhance the present and future quality of life of all segments of their societies?” A series of ten seminars linking the Bay Area, Seattle, Portland, and other pacific cities.  

$10 per meeting  

Call 849-0217 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Tibetan Yoga and Healing  

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute  

1815 Highland Place  

Kum Nye teacher Jack van der Meulen will present this Tibetan yoga and will demonstrate several exercises for self-healing. Free 

843-6812 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute Open House  

3 - 5 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute  

1815 Highland Place  

A free introduction to Tibetan Buddhist Culture which will include a prayer wheel and meditation garden tour, Tibetan yoga demonstration, discussion of how useful ancient teachings are in contemporary society, and more. Free 

843-6812 

A Humanistic Passover Seder 

6 p.m.  

Albany Community Center 

1249 Marin Ave.  

Albany  

Kol Hadash will read from the Humanistic Haggadah, and will eat with friends and family. Miriam Solis will lead the group in song.  

$20 - $45  

925-254-0609 

Schilling’s mother asks captors for compassion 

Carol Schilling, mother of Jeffrey Schilling, held captive in the Philippines, sent the following letter to the Daily Planet which she said she planned to read over Radio Manila on Tuesday. 

I have received reports that the Abu Sayyaf have threatened my son's life again. I am very distressed by this latest threat. I want to talk with my son.    

Jeffrey, I love you and I am praying for your protection and for your deliverance from this terrible ordeal. Hold fast to your belief in God.  

 Know that Ivy also loves you very much. Your friends and family are praying for your safety and for your immediate return to us. God bless you and keep you safe from harm.  

People of the Philippines, I know that many people have already suffered and died from the conflict in the Southern Philippines. I do not understand the politics of this situation. I had hoped that recent troop withdrawals would bring about a resolution to this crisis, both for the people of Mindanao and for my son.   I oppose killing people for any reason. My personal spiritual belief is for peace. I believe that God wants us to love one another.  

Abu Sabaya, I call upon you and the Abu Sayyaf to spare my son. He has already suffered tremendously at your hands.   There is nothing to be gained from harming Jeffrey. Please release him immediately. In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Most Compassionate, I call upon you to show mercy and compassion to Jeffrey by releasing him safely and unharmed.  

Carol Schilling 

Oakland 

Still venues for good cinema - use or lose them 

Editor: 

Rita Wilson is right on the mark about supporting the Fine Arts Cinema. She should have added the Pacific Film Archive too. Having started the U.C. Theatre, I will miss it as much as anyone but I feel Berkeley is lucky to still have two of the most adventurous venues for film and video operating in the country.  

It isn’t enough to tell people how much one admires a theater and its programming. You must attend regularly and bring your friends. Take chances on something different. And the local media needs to know you want to read more about non-traditional programs while the theaters are still open. If only some of the energy spent writing countless words about the loss of the U.C. Theatre would have been expended on the movies playing there, the place might have survived. 

Gary Meyer 

Berkeley 

Return the UC Theater to local control 

The Daily Planet received this letter addressed to Mayor Shirley Dean, written before the March 29 closure of the UC Theater. 

I write as one who has enjoyed many hundreds of films of all sorts at UC Theatre since Gary Meyer started 25 years ago to show different double bills every night. 

It will be a great loss to Berkeley culture and to all those who love movies as art as well as entertainment should the UC Theatre close. I hope the city will support the effort to return the UC Theatre to local ownership and the great tradition it established for varied film programming over the past 25 years, so that we may continue to see films new and old, American and foreign, feature films and documentaries, local, low-budget, and great old Hollywood films of earlier decades--on the big screen and in the company of others who love this art form. 

Charlene M. Woodcock 

Berkeley 

Culture doesn’t kill pedestrians, autos do 

Editor: 

The Zack Wald quotes in the 3/28/01 Planet article on the Council’s discussion of the need for increase enforcement of traffic laws, could be dismissed as the nonsense they are if it were not for the existing situation. Automobiles on Berkeley’s streets are killing people. Wald suggests that relief will come only by creating “... a vision of how they want to … share the right of way. The long term goal should be a change in the culture…” His statement implies that the current culture is one that supports pedestrian death in our streets by cars. The culture didn’t kill the pedestrians, autos disobeying existing laws did. Wald attempts to minimize the impact of increased enforcement. The mere presence of a police car drastically changes the behavior of drivers, clearly it is effective. Wald also makes a silly comparison with success in other cities of programs that only succeed when you combine engineering, and education with enforcement. Wald desperately needs to do his homework; if he had he would find that cities of similar size have double the number of traffic officers as Berkeley. Berkeley’s unique features such as the barriers and our high level of congestion suggests that Berkeley may require more traffic enforcement than normal.  

Before we jump on Wald’s new vision bandwagon, we should remember what we learned in high school: we cannot abandon existing state and federal laws. Thus to create a less restrictive “vision,” may challenge Berkeley’s ability to receive State and Federal transportation funding. Berkeley will improve safety for all the community by enforcement of existing law. Courteous drivers, driving at the speed limit, yielding to pedestrians, cyclists observing the “rules of the road” as required by the California Vehicle Code, will help protect the Pedestrians using the crosswalk, rather than risking their lives. Safer streets benefit us all, even the motorists.  

While no one can argue with the value of engineering and education as components of the traffic safety issue, we should remember that for the almost 25 years I have lived in Berkeley, there has been a full time traffic engineer, and that the need for education was the immediate response by the city traffic engineer to the tragic death that occurred when Sharon Spencer was killed in her wheel chair, in a crosswalk, by a car. That was almost 1 and one-half years ago.  

Zack Wald’s silly generalizations are insulting because they trivialize the lives of the people that have died on Berkeley’s streets. Enforcement will change the automotive behavior that takes lives. Given the increasing occurrence lethal and other accidents, The Berkeley City Council is creating a Budget where they decide who dies.  

John Cecil 

Berkeley 

Where’s the principal’s principles? 

Editor: 

What is this? The high school principal brings in a simulator so the kids can practice gunning down a whole bunch of people? I’m disgusted – if this is an example of Mr. Lynch’s judgement, we need to start looking for a new principal right away.  

Becky O’Malley 

Berkeley 

Gaia stands tall, but not 116 feet 

Editor:  

I would be grateful for the opportunity to clarify several misrepresentations in Art Goldberg’s recent editorial regarding the Gaia building.  

The Gaia building is seven stories high, not eleven as Mr. Goldberg claims, with the roofline located at the council-approved height of 87 feet. The Gaia project includes two mezzanines: one at the first level and one at the seventh. Mezzanines are not considered stories under the city’s zoning ordinance, and both mezzanines are inside the approved 87-foot height limit. 

Per the building code, the highest point of the Gaia building, at the top of its elevator tower, is 107 feet high, not 116 feet as claimed by Goldberg. This height is required to provide elevator access to the roof deck and management offices – as required by the American with Disabilities Act, and is allowed under the zoning ordinance and the building code. The determination of maximum building height doesn’t include accessory structures such as elevator towers.  

The Gaia building was granted two additional floors in exchange for the long-term guarantee of a cultural use at the building’s ground level. Contrary to Mr. Goldberg’s assertion that “there is no obligation at this point that any type of cultural center will actually occupy street-level space,” the Gaia building’s ground floor space is restricted to a cultural use in perpetuity. Moreover, the ZAB must approve each subsequent cultural user in this space. Regrettably, Gaia went out of business before the Gaia cultural center became a reality. Nevertheless, we are happy to announce that we are currently in lease negotiations with the Shotgun Players, Poetry Flash, and other arts related users and local non-profit organizations. 

Amidst the ongoing campaign of misinformation fueled by Mr. Goldberg and others about the number of stories in Gaia and the height of the project – all conforming to the limits approved in the project almost three years ago – we sincerely hope that the public not lose sight of the big picture: The Gaia project locates 91 units of much needed new, accessible housing near transit, the UC campus, and shopping, with 19 of the 91 units for low income residents. 

Gaia’s high density, its efficient use of land, and its on-premises electric vehicle car-sharing program make it one of the more environmentally sound development projects in the city’s history. We hope that with live theater, poetry readings, a café, and other activities, it will be one of the livelier additions as well. 

Evan McDonald 

manager, Gaia Building Project Manager 

924 Gilman St. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless noted $5; $2 for a year membership. April 6: Link 80, Lucky Strike, 5th Wheel, Kung Fu Chicken; April 7: The Plus Ones, The Evaporators, The Pattern, Dukes of Hamburg, The Goblins/Disgoblins/Skablins/Gothblins; April 13: The Locust, Dead & Gone, Honeysuckle Serontina, Tourettes Latrec, Last Great Liar 525-9926  

Albatross Pub All music begins at 9 p.m. April 4: Whiskey Brothers; April 5: Keni “El Lebrijano”; April 7: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; April 10: Mad & Eddie Duran Jazz Duo; April 12: Keni “El Lebrijano”; April 17: pickPocket ensemble; April 18: Whiskey Brothers; April 19: Keni “El Lebrijano” 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

Ashkenaz April 8: “A Little Houseboat Music for Annie” is a benefit concert to help Oakland’s Archway School’s art teacher, Annie Clark, replace her houseboat, which was destroyed in a fire in February - performances by Michael James Quartet, The Wild Buds, Jim Stice Orchestra, Nova Trova and Ray Cepeda and the Neo-Maya Experience; April 29: Clinton Fearon & Boogie Brown Band; May 6, 7 p.m.: Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble 1370 San Pablo Ave. (at Gilman) 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Freight & Salvage All music at 8 p.m. April 5: Battlefield Band; April 6: Garnet Rogers; April 7: Eric Lowen & Dan Navarro; April 8: Martin Simpson & Jessica Radcliffe; April 10: Kevin Burke; April 12: Tony Marcus & Patrice Haan, Julian Smedley & Allison Odell; April 13: Ray Wylie Hubbard; April 14: Dix Bruce & Jim Nunally, Eddie & Marthie Adcock 1111 Addison St. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jazzschool/La Note All music at 4:30 p.m. April 8: The Marcos Silva Quartet; April 15: Art Lande and Mark Miller; April 22: Alan Hall & Friends 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 or visit www.jazzschool.com  

Cal Performances April 13 & 14, 8 p.m.: Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia and the Paco de Lucia Septet $20 - $40 Zellerbach Hall UC Berkeley. 642-9988 or www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra June 21, 2001. All performances begin at 8 p.m. Single $19 - $35, Series $52 - $96. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley 841-2800  

Berkeley High Jazz Lab Band & Steel Band April 5, 7 p.m. $3 - $8 Berkeley High School Little Theater  

Hillbillies From Mars April 8, 2 p.m. Rocking the Bay for 20 years, the Hillbillies fuse rock n’ roll, swing, Latin and African beats. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

“Bravo! Opera!” April 8, 7:30 p.m. A veritable Opera chorus smorgasbord with Bizet’s “Carmen,” Verdi’s “IL trovatore,” and Copland’s “The Tenderland.” $8 - $12 Hertz Hall UC Berkeley 643-9645 

Young Emerging Artists Concert April 10, 7 - 8 p.m. The Young Musicians Program Jazz Combo will perform jazz standards and original compositions. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

“Under Construction No. 11” April 8, 7:30 p.m. A concert of new works by local composers, including Mary Stiles, Mark Winges, and David Sheinfeld. Free St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave.  

Dastan Ensemble with Namah Ensemble April 15, 8 p.m. Dastan Ensemble is a Persian classical music ensemble founded in Germany in 1991. Namah Ensemble is a group of four to six dancers who communicate the mystical Persian tradition to everyone. $25 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. (at Derby) 925-798-1300 

Jazz Singers’ Collective April 19, 8 - 10 p.m. With Mark Little on piano. Anna’s Bistro 1801 University Ave. 849-2662 

Kensington Symphony Orchestra April 21, 8 p.m. Featuring UC Berkeley student and soprano, Vanessa Langer performing Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 in G and other selections. $8 - $10 First Baptist Church 770 Sonoma St. Richmond 251-2031 

Sharon Isbin April 22, 4 p.m. Isbin won a Grammy earlier this year for her album “Dreams of a World: Folk Inspired Music for Guitar.” She will be making a rare Bay Area appearance in a benefit concert for the Crowden School. $20 - $30 St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave. 559-6910 

Kids Carneval! Brazilian Dance for the Whole Family April 22, 2 p.m. The Borboletas Children’s Dance Troupe will transport children and their families to Brazil and promises to have the audience dancing in and out of their seats. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. (at Derby) 925-798-1300  

Bella Musica April 28, 8 p.m. & April 29, 4 p.m. Hear how various composers through the ages view the plight of the lovelorn, from the ardent exclamations of Morley’s “Fire, Fire” to the intoxication of the “Coolin” by Samuel Barber. $9 - $12 St. Joseph the Worker Church 1640 Addison St. (at McGee) 525-5393 or www.bellamusic.org 

“The Oresteia” by Aeschylus Through May 6 Directed by Tony Taccone and Stephen Wadsworth, Aeschylus trilogy will be the first production staged on the Berkeley Rep’s new prosenium stage. Please call Berkeley Repertory Theatre for specific dates and times. $15.99 - $117 Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2015 Addison St. (at Shattuck) 647-2949 or www.berkeleyrep.org 

“The Tempest” by William Shakespeare Through April 14, Thursday - Saturday, 8 p.m. Presented by Subterranean Shakespeare and directed by Stanley Spenger $8 - $10 LaVal’s Subterranean Theatre 1834 Euclid Ave. (at Hearst) 237-7415 

Action Movie: The Play Through April 21, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. Non-stop action and martial arts mayhem with comedy, surprise plot twists, and the occasional movie reference thrown in. $7 - $12 The Eighth Street Studio 2525 Eighth St. 464-4468 

“Moment’s Notice” A monthly salon devoted to improvised music, dance & theater April 7, 8 p.m. $7 Western Sky Studio 2525 8th St. 540-7782  

“Death of a Salesman” April 6 - May 5, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. plus Thursday, May 3, 8 p.m. The ageless story of Willy Loman presented by an African-American cast and staged by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. $10 Live Oak Theater 1301 Shattuck (at Berryman) 528-5620 

“Earth” April 7, 7:30 p.m. A 1930 film, set in Ukraine, by Soviet director Alexander Dovzhenko with an original music score created and performed by composer and musician Adrian Johnston. $7 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412 

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour April 7 & 8, 6:30 - 10:30 p.m. Including films from Slovakia, France, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, England, and the U.S. which reflect a wide range of mountain experiences, from mountain sports to mountain culture and the environment. $12 - $15 Wheeler Auditorium UC Berkeley Tickets available at REI 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-7377 

“Regeneration” April 8, 5:30 p.m. The first feature-length gangster movie, filmed around 1915 on the streets of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. Directed by Raoul Walsh, the movie will have a new original music score created and performed by composer and musician Adrian Johnston. $7 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

“Lost & Found” Documentaries from the Graduate School of Journalism April 15, 5:30 p.m. Three documentaries from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism explore the possibility of redemption in the face of immeasurable loss. Lisa Munoz’s “Chavez Ravine,” Kelly St. John’s “In Forever Fourteen,” and Zsuzsanna Varga’s “Screw Your Courage.” Pacific Film Archive 2621 Durant Ave. 642-5249 

Films of Julio Medem April 13, 7:30 p.m. & April 14, 7 p.m. Medem is recognized as one of Spain’s leading filmmakers. On April 13, “The Cows” and “The Red Squirrel” will be shown. April 14, “Earth/Tierra” and “Lovers of the Arctic Circle” will show. $7 for one film, $8.50 for double bills Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412  

Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted April 4: Poetry of Carole Simmons Oles & Matthew McKay; April 5: Herbert Bix talks about “Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan”; April 9: Mark Morris visits to celebrate “Mark Morris’ L’Allegro, Il Penseroso Ed Il Modertato: A Celebration”; April 11: Poetry of Kurt Brown & Al Young; April 12: Stanley Williams explores “Surviving Galeras”; April 15: Poetry of John D’Agata & Joanna Klink; April 16: Isadora Alman talks about “Doing It: Real People Having Really Good Sex”; April 17: Michael Parenti discusses “To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia” 

1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 All events at 7 p.m., unless noted April 10: Amy Tan reads from “The Bonesetter’s Daughter”; April 20: Susie Bright discusses “The Best American Erotica 2001”; April 26: Mother of three Wynn McClenahan Burkett will read from “Life After Baby: From Professional Woman to Beginner Parent”  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted April 5: Mary Olmstead will discuss “Hidden Wine Country” about the Napa-Sonoma-Mendocino areas; April 11: Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Peace Corps with regional recruiter Cristina Punzalan and Susana Herrera, author of “Mango Elephants in the Sun: How Life in an African Village Let Me Be In My Skin”; 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

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

Duomo Reading Series and Open Mic. Thursdays, 6:30 - 9 p.m. April 5: Barbara Minton; April 12: Alice Rogoff; April 19: Garrett Murphy; April 26: Ray Skjelbred. Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

Lunch Poems First Thursday of each month, 12:10 - 12:50 p.m. April 5: Galway Kinnell; May 3: Student Reading Morrison Room, Doe Library UC Berkeley 642-0137 

“Slam the Prisons” April 6, 6 p.m. - 1 a.m. A benefit for prison activism featuring Tang, Company of Prophets, Sheryl D. Mebane and many others. Proceeds benefit the defense of New Afrikan political prisoner Khalfani X. Khaldun and the Prison Activist Resource Center. $10 La Pena Cultural Center 3205 Shattuck Ave. 898-0431  

California Colloquium on Water Scholars of distinction in the fields of natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, law and environmental. April 10, 5:15 - 6:30 p.m.: “Understanding the Delta - An Engineering Perspective” Richard Denton, water manager of the Contra Costa Water District; May 8, 5:15 - 6:30 p.m.: “What Makes Water Wet?” Richard Saykally, professor of Chemistry, UC Berkeley 212 O’Brien Hall, UC Berkeley 642-2666  

“The Gene’s Eye View of Creation” April 4 & 10, 4:10 p.m. Evolutionary Biologist Richard Dawkins, a leading thinker in modern Darwinism, will deliver a lecture “The Genetic Book of the Dead” April 4 and “The Selfish Cooperator” April 10 International House Auditorium UC Berkeley 

Leonard Breger April 9, 7:30 - 9 p.m. Breger will critique club members’ art and will show some of his own works. Breger is known for his paintings of cut-out masonite shapes, both animal and human. El Cerrito Community Center The Garden Room 7007 Moeser Lane 524-6739  

A consultant told a mostly skeptical audience Monday that current tritium emissions, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, are not substantial enough to pose a health risk. 

Dr. Bernd Franke, a research biologist with the institute of Energy and Environmental Research in Heidelberg, Germany, was hired by the city in December 1999, to determine if there are substantial health risks posed by atmospheric tritium releases by the National Tritium Labeling Facility located within the LBNL.  

Franke told about 150 people at a special meeting of the Community Environmental Advisory Commission that he could not find evidence of dangerous amounts of the radioactive material being released into the air.  

“I would let my own kids go to Lawrence Hall of Science,” Franke said.  

LHS, located about 500 feet from the tritium emissions stack, sponsors a variety of youth workshops and exhibits and is attended by nearly 150,000 children each year.  

According to Franke’s report the 1998-1999 exposure rates to humans living and working near the lab was well within the limit set by the Clean Air Act. Franke said there is not reliable data for previous years.  

The Clean Air Act sets an exposure standard of 10 milirems of tritium in a one-year period. Franke’s report estimated the exposure rate to be less that 1 milirem. 

Tritium is a radioactive isotope that is used primarily for drug research. It is also used as luminescent material for watches, exit signs and other forms of lighting. 

The labeling facility has special  

clearance from the Department of Energy to warehouse large quantities of tritium. The facility releases small amounts of tritium into the atmosphere as a matter of procedure each time it performs tritium-related experiments. 

Gene Bernardi, of the Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste, which opposes the facility, said Franke’s $30,000 report was flawed and did not accurately measure tritium emissions.  

“What does it mean that there’s tritium in the groundwater and vegetation?” Bernardi said during the public comment period.  

Franke said that tritium levels in groundwater and vegetation near the lab were less than 1 curie. He said the amount was insignificant and if the tritium in the water and vegetation were to suddenly become airborne, which is where it’s most hazardous, it would amount to less than 2-3 days allowable emissions from the facility. “It’s really a very insignificant amount,” Franke said. 

Bernardi remained unconvinced. On Tuesday she said 20,000 picocuries is the EPA limit for drinking water and the groundwater near the release stack has been measured to contain as much as 850,000 picocuries (1 curie equals 1 million picocuries). 

Bernardi said she is convinced tritium releases are directly connected to high levels of breast cancer and infertility in the neighborhoods surrounding the lab. Several people who live near the facility described incidences of cancer in their families and neighbors.  

Mike Bandrowski, EPA radiation program manager, said the Agency of Toxic Substance Disease Registry conducted a cancer cluster study that showed cancer rates around the lab were normal. 

However Bernardi said she received a letter from the Department of Public Health dated April 1, 1999 that claims the rates of breast cancer were higher than normal during 1998-1999 in census tract 4001, a residential tract near Strawberry Canyon, southeast of the lab.  

The Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste has aggressively campaigned for the closure of the facility for five years and the City Council has twice adopted resolutions calling for its relocation. 

Owen Hoffman, a consultant hired by the laboratory, said he concurred with Franke’s findings. Hoffman said he also discovered safe levels of tritium were being released into the atmosphere. 

“The rates are the lowest I’ve ever seen but I have to say it’s the largest gap between low rates and high outrage I’ve ever seen,” Hoffman said referring to the vocal opponents of the tritium facility. 

Roger Byrne a biologist who is working with the Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste disagreed with Franke’s findings. Byrne said Franke should have paid more attention to high levels of tritium discovered in rainwater in 1994.  

Franke said the 1994 studies did not provide reliable data and any conclusions he might arrive at based on the study would be unreliable. 

“You can’t squeeze the truth form poor data,” Franke said. 

Byrne also criticized the monitoring methods used by the lab saying the monitors were poorly placed. 

Most public comments indicated skepticism of Franke’s findings.  

Berkeley resident Patricia Sun referred to an “unplanned release,” which occurred on March 7. According to a LBNL memo, 4.7 curies of tritium were released into the atmosphere in 4.5 hours. Many neighbors of the lab were upset that the incident was not publicly reported. It has also raised concerns that “unplanned releases” might be a common occurrence that the lab neglects to report. 

“It’s things like this, that make people insecure because the government has lied to us many, many times before,” Sun said. 

Seth Katzman, a resident who raised two children in Berkeley, said he was one of the few residents who supported Franke’s report during public comments. “Smoking, gun shot wounds and car accidents worry me more than the risk of tritium exposure, he said. “Decisions should not be made of fear but reason.” 

The Environmental Sampling Project Task Force will be monitoring tritium in the area around the lab for the next 12 months. Based on the results, Franke will complete his final report, which will include an estimate of heath risks from the tritium labeling facility. 

While some 100 activists rallied at the downtown Berkeley BART station against what they called the “brutality” of the Israeli government, eight people draped themselves in Israeli flags and blasted the Palestinians as the cause of the violence in Israel and Palestine. 

“It’s an emergency,” Berkeley attorney Osha Neumann told the crowd, describing a recent visit he made to the Middle East. “I saw Jewish boys patrolling (the Palestinian town of) Ramallah with clubs – and the clubs had nails on the ends of them.” 

Some of the demonstrators volunteered to lie down on the plaza and others outlined them in colored chalk.  

The outlines were named after Palestinians who died in the violence the past week and included a 75-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy. Demonstrators said almost 400 Palestinians have been killed, 94 of them children; more than 60 Israelis have been killed. 

“How can we as American Jews sit by and not do everything we can do for justice,” said Penny Rosenwasser of the Middle East Children’s Alliance. 

On the outskirts of the demonstrators, members of the Israel Action Committee of Berkeley with Israeli flags draped around them engaged some of the demonstrators in dialogue. “I want to send out the truth of what’s being done,” said David Singer, a freshman at UC Berkeley. “(Israelis) only shoot when they are shot at. The truth is, Israel has used excessive restraint.” 

“According to President Bush, as well as several members of his cabinet, the violence is being perpetuated by the Palestinian Authority and their refusal to peacefully negotiate an end to this conflict,” according to literature distributed by the Israel Action Committee. 

Sarah Tuttle-Singer, a member of the committee, argued that the Palestinian children killed, were killed in crossfire, not deliberately. 

But demonstrator Amy Gerber said that that’s a distortion portrayed by the media. The media say “Arabs are killed in crossfire and Israelis are killed by Palestinian gunmen,” she said. 

“There’s been 52 years of brutal occupancy,” said Barbara Lubin of the Middle East Children’s Alliance, comparing the Palestinian territory to the former South African Bantustands. “It has got to end.”

BERKELEY — Black and Hispanic admissions to the University of California increased in the first year of a program guaranteeing a spot for the top 4 percent of high school graduates. 

UC officials say they don’t yet know if the new program was directly responsible, although it seems likely since the plan boosted applications from those groups. 

Figures released Tuesday on the Fall 2001 freshman class continued a four-year trend of steady increases in black and Hispanic enrollment, following sharp drops immediately following the end of affirmative action. 

Admissions of underrepresented minorities – blacks, Hispanics and American Indians – for the fall semester are up by about 17 percent, from 7,336 last year to 8,580. Proportionately, underrepresented minorities make up 18.6 percent of in-state freshman admissions, compared to 18.8 percent in 1997, the last year race and gender were taken into account. 

Officials also don’t know how much of the rebound is due to changes in the state population and how much to recruitment and other outreach efforts. 

Recent census figures show the Hispanic population in California grew 43 percent over the past decade and is projected to make up 33 percent of graduating high school seniors this year.  

Hispanics comprise nearly 15 percent of UC in-state freshman admissions this fall. 

No one group held the majority in admissions, although whites were the largest contingent, at about 38 percent, followed by Asians at 34 percent. Blacks made up 3 percent of admissions and American Indians .05 percent. About 2 percent of those admitted checked the “Other” box and nearly 4,000 – 8 percent of the grand total – declined to state race or ethnicity.  

Census data show the state is about 47 percent white, 32 percent Hispanic, 11 percent Asian, 7 percent black and 1 percent American Indian. 

Flagship Berkeley admitted 271 black students, a 43 percent drop from the 1997 total of 271. UC-Riverside, meanwhile, admitted 567 blacks this fall, an 89 percent increase over the 1997 total of 300. 

“We still have a serious problem at selective UC campuses,” Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, an ex-officio regent, said in a statement. 

On the other hand, Regent Ward Connerly, who wrote UC’s race-blind policies, saw the admissions figures as proving “conclusively that the university is achieving an integrated student body without the use of preferences based on race or ethnicity.” 

Bustamante, who was not on the UC Board of Regents for the 1995 vote to drop affirmative action, is part of a growing faction that wants to see that vote rescinded, possibly as early as May. The repeal would not restore affirmative action, outlawed by the 1996 state ballot initiative Proposition 209. But it is viewed by proponents as an important gesture to minorities. 

Underrepresented minorities admitted to UC are likely to be wooed by a number of private colleges; UC will get a clearer idea of their incoming class next month when responses are due. 

Although race can’t be used as a factor, UC has implemented a number of other programs aimed at increasing enrollment of underrepresented minorities. 

One such approach is the 4 percent plan championed by Gov. Gray Davis. That program promises eligibility to students who finish in the top 4 percent of their class, based on their performance in UC-required courses. 

UC reported that 96 percent of students eligible under that plan have been admitted to one of the campuses of their choice. The remaining students will be offered a place elsewhere in the system. 

Officials say they don’t know yet whether the program affected admissions, but believe it was responsible for the record number of applications this year. 

UC estimates the program had the greatest effect in rural areas, increasing applications by 11 percent, as well as at urban schools, where applications increased nearly 6 percent. The program is believed to have increased applications from underrepresented minorities by 13.6 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.ucop.edu 

Two unarmed youths allegedly stole $2 and a bag of marijuana from a man standing at a bus stop near the intersection of Haste Street and College Avenue Friday, according to police. 

Police said the two approached the man and asked him for money. When the victim said he had none, one of the youths began forcibly searching his pockets, said Berkeley Police Lt. Russell Lopes. They found $2 and a bag of marijuana that the victim was carry for medical purposes, Lopes said. 

The victim notified UC Berkeley police of the crime immediately. UC police nabbed one of the suspects a few minutes later. The victim identified the suspect as one of the alleged robbers. 

The suspect, a 17-year-old male, was charged with one count of strong-arm robbery. 

••• 

A domestic dispute turned into a brawl early Sunday morning as witnesses tried to stop a man from beating his girlfriend, police said. 

Just after midnight Saturday, a group of people stepped outside a restaurant on the 2000 block of Addison Street to smoke, Lopes said. They saw a couple on the opposite side of the street engaged in a heated argument, Lopes said. 

When the man allegedly began beating the woman the witnesses yelled at him, telling him to stop, Lopes said. But then the woman who was allegedly under attack ran across the street and attacked a female witness, apparently in defense of her male companion, Lopes said. 

As other witnesses tried to separate the two women, the man who had been arguing with his girlfriend took a crowbar out of his car and ran across the street, Lopes said. He allegedly struck two of the witnesses in the back with the crowbar, Lopes said. 

Police arriving on the scene separated the various victims and suspects. The man with a crowbar was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, Lopes said. His girlfriend, the alleged victim of the domestic dispute, was charged with hiding evidence when she attempted to conceal the crowbar from police. 

••• 

A Berkeley High student leaving the campus about lunchtime Monday was robbed by three high school-aged youths, one of them armed with a pistol, police said. 

Lt. Lopes said the suspects do not appear to be Berkeley High students. 

The three youths approached the student near the intersection of Bancroft Way and Milvia Street and asked him if he had change for a $10 bill, police said. When the student said he didn’t, one of the suspects reached out to search his pockets. Lopes said the student tried to resist the search at first, but gave in when one of the suspects pulled back his coat to reveal the butt of a handgun in his belt.  

The suspects got away with about $40 and the victim’s pager, Lopes said. Berkeley Police are investigating the robbery. 

••• 

A woman was hit by a car at about 8 a.m. Tuesday morning while crossing Ashby Avenue at Pine Street. 

Officer Gary Romano described the accident as “minor,” but noted the woman was transported to Alta Bates Hospital by ambulance. “The driver was caught with a glare of the sun in his eyes,” Romano said. He said the woman who was hit was a neighbor of the driver. 

SACRAMENTO — The state’s top school official wants to spend an additional $60 million a year to put more counselors in California’s public schools to try to avoid student violence. 

California last year had the worst counselor-to-student ratio in the country, said state schools Superintendent Delaine Eastin. She wants to bring that ratio up to the national average. 

Eastin made the proposal Tuesday as she and Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced that 34 school districts will be dividing $10.8 million to improve school safety by putting more police on campuses. 

Both officials said last month’s shootings at two San Diego County high schools underscore the need for additional school safety efforts – particularly by providing kids with more concerned adults to talk with about their problems. 

“We have worked hard since Columbine, but we clearly have more to do,” said Eastin. She referred to the nation’s worst school shooting, which took place on April 20, 1999, in a Colorado high school. Ten students and one teacher were killed by two student gunmen, who then killed themselves. 

In response to Columbine and a string of school shootings that preceded that, California lawmakers created and enhanced a number of programs aimed at giving schools more resources to prevent and address violence. 

The Assembly Select Committee on School Safety heard suggestions from school officials, teachers and parents Tuesday about improving those programs and adding others. 

The committee’s chairwoman, Assemblywoman Sally Havice, D-Cerritos, said at the end that a real need is “making sure people are aware of what’s available.” 

Among the programs was the School Community Policing Partnership Program, whose latest recipients were announced Tuesday. That program gives districts up to $325,000 each to be spent over three years to develop partnerships with law enforcement agencies. 

Lockyer said putting cops on campuses on a regular basis not only improves security, but also gives students a “long-term counselor, friend and role model.” 

Eastin agreed that police at schools can help students. 

“Children have too few people they can go to to converse and to connect,” she said. 

However, she said California public schools also need to restore the counselors that were dumped during budget problems of the past two decades. Last year California schools had one counselor for every 979 students, the worst ratio in the country. 

Eastin is proposing that the state spend an additional $60 million each year for five years to bring California up to the national average of one counselor for 561 students. 

That proposal is not part of Gov. Gray Davis’ 2001-2001 budget plan, which the Legislature is currently considering. 

The money could be added to the budget in May, when the state has a better idea of revenues after tax returns are filed. However, the ongoing power crisis could make it difficult for lawmakers to increase any spending. 

The addition of more counselors was eagerly embraced by several people testifying before the Assembly committee. 

George Martinez, a math teacher at Santa Cruz High School, said counselors and similar workers “are the grownups in our institutions that kids come to trust and tell them when there is a potential problem.” 

“There needs to be more adult contact with students,” said Peggy Dial of the California PTA. 

Students and school officials who attended the news conference with Lockyer and Eastin agreed that schools need more counselors.  

“The more and more counselors we have at school, it becomes easier to make the schools safer,” said Robin Klingler, 17, a junior at Kinney High School in Rancho Cordova, a Sacramento suburb. 

Kinney counselor Rogeen Cortrite said she doesn’t have enough time to see all the students who sign up to talk with her each day and must try to determine whose needs are the most urgent. 

“If you have a student in crisis and you have to tell them to come back in two weeks, it’s a very scary thing,” she said. 

Eastin said the two San Diego County schools where violence struck last month were able to get police response in 90 seconds – compared with 45 minutes at Columbine – because they had crisis response plans. 

Two students were killed and 13 wounded in a shooting spree March 5 at Santee High School in San Diego County. A 15-year-old student is charged in that shooting. 

On March 22, five people were wounded at nearby Granite Hills High School. An 18-year-old student has been charged with that shooting. 

BRIEFLY  

Before Columbine: 

• All public schools have had to develop safe school plans since 1998. They must also have civil defense and disaster preparedness plans and test them at least two times each school year. 

• All public schools have had to report crimes to the state annually since the 1995-1996 school year. 

Post-Columbine state funding: 

• The Legislature’s 1999 School Safety and Violence Prevention Act gave school districts money, based on their enrollment, that they could use as they saw fit for security and violence-prevention programs. They got $101 million in 1999-2000, $72 million this fiscal year and are scheduled to get $72 million in 2001-2002. 

• Other state programs that districts can apply for include the $10.8 million for school-police partnerships announced Tuesday; $280,000 for conflict resolution training; $18 million for early interventions for potential juvenile delinquents; $3 million to help new schools develop their safety plans; $2 million for tolerance education; and $120,000 for student leadership programs. 

• The state’s 2000-2001 budget also includes $245 million in school improvement-student achievement block grants that districts can use for school safety, among other potential uses. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Read about school safety programs at the attorney general’s site: 

http://caag.state.ca.us/cvpc 

and the superintendent’s site: 

http://www.cde.ca.gov/spbranch/safety 

PALA — An Indian tribe prepared Tuesday to open the state’s first new permanent casino complex since last year’s passage of an initiative legalizing tribal gambling. 

The Pala Band of Mission Indians scrambled to finish its casino ahead of a May 15 deadline for tribes to begin operating slot machines, despite signs that regulators may extend the date. 

“We couldn’t take the risk,” said Jerry Turk, the Pala project manager. “If you lose (the slot machines) you’ve got nothing. That’s why other projects are also rushing along.” 

Pala expected more than 3,000 guests and customers for Tuesday night’s opening of its 185,000 square foot casino, set amid hills, pasture and orchards in northern San Diego County. 

The $115 million, 24-hour Pala casino is among a wave of similar projects expected around California now that tribes can legally offer Nevada-style slots and house-banked card games because of Proposition 1A, which voters approved last year. 

Other new casinos include a $90 million project of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Rancho Mirage, 120 miles east of Los Angeles, scheduled to open Friday. 

Pala, and three others planned nearby, will tap into a market of some 2.4 million adults from San Diego to the suburbs of Los Angeles. The Pala tribe plans to spend $20 million for marketing in its first year, Turk said. 

In the year since Proposition 1A’s passage, a number of tribes that already had more limited gambling expanded their operations. Others have built temporary structures while they seek financing for more ambitious projects or finish construction. 

But the 800-member Pala is the first tribe to go from zero gambling to having a completed permanent structure with all the trappings of a Nevada casino, including six restaurants and a 2,000-seat theater for live music alongside the gaming floor. 

“It was a long time coming,” said King Freeman, the vice chairman of the tribe, which operates the casino in a partnership with Turk and Anchor Gaming of Las Vegas. 

Under gaming agreements that 62 tribes signed with Gov. Gray Davis, slot machines had to be in operation by May 15 or they risked losing the machines. 

But the California Gambling Control Commission is still developing rules for casino operations and is likely to extend the deadline, said Robert Traverso, the agency’s interim director. 

Still, without a formal decision to suspend the deadline, tribes will rush to finish construction on projects around the state, said Susan Jensen, a spokeswoman for the California Nations Indian Gaming Association. “The majority of tribes are still sticking with the May 15 deadline,” she said. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Pala Band of Mission Indians: http://www.palaindians.com/ 

California Nations Indian Gaming Association: http://www.cniga.com/ 

SACRAMENTO — Despite speculation that President Bush would brush off the Golden State after his overwhelming loss here, he has tapped several Californians to serve in his administration – from national security adviser to top technology posts. 

Three of the Republican’s Cabinet members hail from California – more than any other state including Texas. 

Among them: Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi. 

A former Stanford University provost, Condoleeza Rice, is Bush’s national security adviser. And at least a dozen other Californians have headed to high-profile White House posts. 

After Bush lost California’s 54 electoral votes to Democrat Al Gore despite spending more time and money campaigning here, some political observers predicted the state would lose the VIP treatment it got from the Clinton administration and have to fight for federal spending including transportation money, disaster relief and defense contracts. 

“California was good to President Clinton and President Clinton was good to California,” said Steve Maviglio, spokesman for Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. “Whenever the governor asked, he came through.” 

While the verdict is still out on the Bush administration, Maviglio said having Californians in top policy positions is key. 

“That’s all important – being able to make our case whenever possible and getting in the front of the line for funding,” he said. 

Despite California’s Democratic leanings – Democrats hold legislative majorities and every statewide office except secretary of state – there are several political reasons Bush cannot afford to shun the nation’s most populous state. 

California is a source of lucrative campaign donations and rising numbers of Latino voters, is a battleground in the fight over House and Senate majorities and has the most electoral votes. 

“Ignore California and do so at your own peril,” said Harry Pachon, president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at Claremont Graduate University. 

A pair of coups came when Bush named Veneman as secretary of agriculture, the state’s largest industry, and Mineta to oversee transportation, one of California’s most pressing issues. 

Now in particular, California may need help from Washington. 

The state is reeling from an energy crisis that includes the nation’s highest natural gas costs, high wholesale electricity prices and a tight power supply that has led to rolling blackouts four times this year. 

“I imagine right now California wishes that they had the secretary of energy,” said David Lanoue, a political science professor at Texas Tech University. 

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who has joined Davis in unsuccessfully pushing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to cap the West’s wholesale power prices, said the Bush administration is giving the state the cold shoulder on energy. 

She criticized Bush’s appointments of two allies from Texas and Pennsylvania to FERC and called a March 27 meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney “disappointing.” 

“There was really no overture. No ’We’re here to help. We’re here to listen to you,”’ Feinstein said after the meeting. 

And despite Davis’ urging, Bush refused to extend emergency federal orders requiring natural gas and electricity wholesalers to continue selling to California despite concerns about the ability of its two largest utilities, both nearly bankrupt, to pay for it. 

Democratic leaders, facing Republican attempts to pin blame for the energy problems on Davis and other top Democrats, spent much of the party’s state convention last weekend bashing Bush. 

Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said the president “has told California to drop dead” regarding energy. 

White House spokesman Ken Lisaius countered that Bush has tried to help the state, including issuing orders easing the construction of new power plants and forming an energy task force led by Cheney. 

“The administration is, to the extent that it can in a situation like this, doing what it can to help California,” he said. 

He said earlier that Bush chose appointees he has faith in. 

Suggestions that Bush might ignore California are “misplaced fears,” Lisaius said: “The president is the president for all 50 states.” 

Despite disagreement on energy, Maviglio said Bush has been mostly receptive to the governor. 

First lady Laura Bush made California the site of her first official trip. And Bush’s appointments – coupled with his inclusion of funding for a key California water pact in his budget plan – hint that the state won’t be ignored. 

Silicon Valley executives form the backbone of Bush’s high-tech team. 

California venture capitalist Floyd Kvamme is an adviser on science and technology policy. 

Bush also brought in Ruben Barrales, who headed a high-tech nonprofit community and business group, to head the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Lezlee Westine, former co-CEO of TechNet, a network of about 250 high-tech executives, as director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. 

“The president clearly understands the importance of technology and the new economy,” Barrales said. 

Bush also hired several high-profile Hispanic Republicans from California. 

They include Barrales; Los Angeles businessman Hector Barreto to head the Small Business Association; and former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Noelia Rodriguez, Laura Bush’s press secretary. 

Political scientists say the appointments reflect Hispanics’ growing visibility in politics and an effort to woo Latino voters. 

Many Latino appointees will likely campaign in California for Bush’s re-election, Pachon said. 

Democratic strategists reject the idea that the Bush presidency alone can improve the GOP’s standing with California voters. 

“No Republican party that is anti-choice, anti-public education, anti-environment is going to make any inroads in California other than with the hard-core right-wing,” Democratic spokesman Bob Mulholland said. 

The Brookings Institution is keeping track of Bush appointments at http://www.brook.edu/ 

APPOINTEES 

• Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman. The Sacramento attorney, a Modesto native, was California’s agriculture director from 1995-January 1999, appointed by then-Republican Gov. Pete Wilson. 

• Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. The former Clinton administration commerce secretary is the first Cabinet member to go directly from a Democratic president’s Cabinet to a Republican’s.  

• Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi, a Vietnam veteran and attorney from San Diego. He has served as deputy secretary and counsel to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. 

• National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice, a Stanford University professor and former adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the administration of Bush’s father. 

• Small Business Association Administrator Hector Barreto. The Glendale resident is president of Barreto Insurance and Financial Services in Los Angeles and serves on the board of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. 

• Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Director Ruben Barrales. He headed a nonprofit community and business group called Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network. 

• Presidential adviser on science and technology policy Floyd Kvamme, a California venture capitalist. 

• Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison Lezlee Westine, former co-CEO of TechNet, a network of about 250 high-tech executives. 

• French Ambassador Howard Leach, a San Francisco banker, Republican donor and former finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. 

• First lady Laura Bush’s press secretary, Noelia Rodriguez. Rodriguez served as deputy mayor under Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan.  

• Margita Thompson, spokeswoman for Vice President Dick Cheney’s wife, Lynne Cheney. Thompson was a California spokeswoman for Bush’s campaign. 

• Brian Jones, nominated as general counsel at the Department of Education. Jones is a San Francisco attorney who served as then-Gov. Wilson’s deputy legal affairs secretary. 

• Patricia Lynn Scarlett, president of the Reason Foundation in Los Angeles, nominated as assistant interior secretary for policy, management and budget.

NEW YORK — Wall Street fell back into a deep slump Tuesday as a relentless stream of earnings warnings sent the Dow Jones industrials tumbling as much as 350 points and the Nasdaq composite index down more than 100. 

The escalating dispute between the United States and China over a grounded U.S. spy plane added to the market’s nervousness. 

Tuesday’s decline showed that Wall Street is still mired in the pessimism over earnings and the economy that dominated the month of March, pummeling stock prices and sending the Dow briefly into bear market territory. The edginess also reflected nerves about China’s demand Tuesday that the United States stop surveillance flights after a collision between the U.S. spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet. 

“I can’t pin this on any one specific event,” said Charles G. Crane, strategist for Spears, Benzak, Salomon & Farrell, a division of Key Asset Management. “Certainly, there’s concern about what’s going on in China. But this mostly is the ongoing reports and worries about what the first quarter is going to look like and how it will set the tone for the rest of the year.” 

Investors Tuesday appeared to brace themselves for this month’s first-quarter reports, their anxiety intensified by the latest round of earnings warnings. The markets fell at the beginning of the session and selling accelerated as the day wore on. 

Ariba slipped $2.00 to $4.44, a 31 percent decline, in a loss that began late Monday after the business transaction software company reduced its quarterly outlook and said it will cut 700 jobs because of a dropoff in sales. BroadVision, another provider of e-commerce to business, fell $1.53, or 34 percent, to $2.97 after lowering its quarterly expectations, citing sluggish demand. 

These companies joined a variety of other businesses, including high-tech concerns and blue chip stalwarts such as American Express and Procter & Gamble, that have warned of disappointing earnings this year. 

“It’s the continued earnings surprises on the downside,” said Matt Brown, head of equity management for Wilmington Trust. “What hurts even more is the outlook – right now there’s no visibility as to when this economy is going to turn around.” 

Market watchers said the lack of any reason to buy was further depressing stocks. The Federal Reserve isn’t expected to cut interest rates for another month and investors are worried stock prices will fall further when earnings reports start. 

Then there is the issue of income taxes, which are due April 16. 

“It’s just seasonally a time where investment decreases in financial markets owing to the need of cash tax payment,” said A.C. Moore, chief investment strategist for Dunvegan Associates. 

The Dow is now down 19 percent from its closing high of 11,722.98 reached in January 2000, while the Nasdaq is off nearly 67 percent from off its March 2000 peak of 5,048.62. The S&P is down more than 27 percent from its March 2000 high of 1,527.46. 

Analysts have stopped predicting when stocks are going to stop falling, instead telling investors that the market recovery will be gradual. Nearly all agree the market is oversold and say the market — and investors’ — psychology will have to improve before stocks prices do. 

“A year ago, exuberance and greed masked a whole lot of risk,” said Crane, the Spears, Benzak, Salomon & Farrell strategist. “Now, desperation and fear are masking a whole lot of opportunity. An investor would be wise to pay heed to that.” 

Declining issues outnumbered advancers more than 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 1.62 billion shares, compared with 1.25 billion Monday. 

The Russell 2000 index dropped 12.80 to 426.96. 

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 1.4 percent. European markets were mainly lower, however. Germany’s DAX index fell 3.6 percent, Britain’s FT-SE 100 closed down 2.8 percent, and France’s CAC-40 slipped nearly 4.0 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com 

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com 

SPOKANE, Wash. — Northwest labor organizations have launched an effort to make electricity-gobbling aluminum smelters energy self-sufficient within five years. 

The United Steelworkers of America, which represents most of the hourly workers at Northwest aluminum smelters, made the proposal in a letter to the Bonneville Power Administration last week. 

If adopted, the measures would bring about voluntary reductions in energy use, “save jobs, protect the environment and ratepayers, and improve the long-term social and environmental health of the Pacific Northwest,” labor officials said. 

A key to the plan is to make smelters – users of vast amounts of federally produced electricity – completely energy self-sufficient by 2006. 

“This is what we felt ... was the approach BPA ought to take to try to balance all the interests,” David Foster, director of the Steelworkers’ District 11, said Tuesday from his Minneapolis office. “It’s a historic step on the labor movement’s part ... to advocate setting up a system in which the aluminum industry is no longer dependent on federal power in the Northwest.” 

The labor alliance proposes a two-tiered rate structure that would sell BPA customers about 75 percent of the power allocated for the 2001-2006 period at $23.50 per megawatt hour, with additional power requirements selling at a higher rate. 

The plan would encourage conservation and provide rate caps to protect low-income  

residential customers,  

the alliance said. 

It calls for development of new sources of energy generation, with an emphasis on renewable resources, such as wind power. 

Scott Lamb, a spokesman for Kaiser Aluminum Corp., said the idea “sounds nice in theory,” but is difficult in practice. 

“It’s a concept that sounds good, and we’ve been looking at various options that might help us bring generating capacity to bear,” Lamb said. “The problem is, if you are talking about non-hydro resources in the Northwest ... you would end up with a plant that would be generating electricity that is still prohibitively expensive for the manufacture of aluminum.” 

BPA spokesman Ed Mosey said the labor coalition’s proposal echoes the agency’s call for the aluminum industry to plow profits it made from recent resales of federal power into new generation and to “remove itself from federal power sales in five years.” 

But the proposed tiered rate plans doesn’t sit well with other users of federal hydropower, such as public utility districts and electrical cooperatives, he said. 

“If the aluminum industry and its workers would get together with other customers and convince them a two-tier rate structure is going to be an advantage to them, that would be great,” Mosey said. “But the other customers are dead-set against it. To their view, it shifts costs onto them and away from the aluminum industry.” 

The Washington State Labor Council and the Oregon AFL-CIO have signed on to the effort to wean smelters off the region’s hydropower system and save aluminum industry jobs. 

A recent report by the state Office of Financial Management included a worst-case scenario that shows rising energy prices leading to the loss of half of the aluminum industry jobs in Washington. 

The BPA estimates that its power rate for aluminum smelters, now about $22 per megawatt hour, will jump to $41 per megawatt hour for the next two years. Aluminum company officials say no smelter in the region will make a profit once power rates top $35 per megawatt hour. 

Contracts that take effect Oct. 1 obligate BPA to deliver about 11,000 megawatts, but the agency has only enough generating capacity for about 8,000 megawatts, meaning it has to buy the remainder on the expensive spot market. 

At full capacity, the region’s aluminum smelters use about 3,000 megawatts of power annually. The BPA has committed to selling only 1,500 megawatts to aluminum plants in the next five years. 

Foster said the labor plan would reduce aluminum industry consumption by about 400 megawatts. 

On the Net: 

Bonneville Power Administration: http://www.bpa.gov 

Office of Financial Management: http://www.ofm.wa.gov 

WASHINGTON — Segregation persisted in big cities over the past decade amid the nation’s growing racial and ethnic diversity, according to a report that provoked calls for stronger enforcement of laws against housing discrimination. 

Distinct living patterns continued to hold sway in large urban centers where most of America’s blacks, Hispanics and Asians are located, said the report released Tuesday by the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University. 

With forecasts suggesting even greater diversity in the future, advocacy groups urged federal and local governments to step up enforcement of fair-housing regulations and upgrade education in minority neighborhoods. 

Blacks and whites were most likely to be segregated in the Detroit metropolitan area, the study said, while whites, Hispanics and Asians were most likely to live separately in New York. 

It is “troubling at a time of massive demographic change, when the need for Americans to communicate across racial and ethnic lines is greater than ever before, that we are less likely than ever to live in diverse neighborhoods,” said Raul Yzaguirre, president of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy organization. 

The Bush administration is committed to stepping up enforcement of fair housing laws, a spokesman for Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez said Tuesday night. 

Recently released Census 2000 data showed that Hispanic, black and Asian population growth far outpaced that of whites over the 1990s. The Hispanic population drew virtually even with non-Hispanic blacks as the nation’s largest minority group. 

The Census Bureau considers “Hispanic” an ethnicity, not a race; therefore, Hispanics can be of any race. 

Data from the once-a-decade head count also showed more minorities moving from cities and into suburbs. Many of those suburbs were becoming just as racially divided as urban areas, said State University of New York at Albany professor John Logan, who wrote the report. 

Logan said among the country’s top 50 metropolitan areas, many of the least segregated ones for blacks were in the South. Many blacks had moved from that region early last century to escape racial discrimination. 

Still, “the bottom line of the last decade is that there has been very little change in underlying levels of segregation,” Logan said. 

Among other findings in metropolitan areas: 

• The typical white lived in a neighborhood that was 80 percent white, 8 percent Hispanic, 7 percent black and 4 percent Asian. The typical black lived in a neighborhood that was 51 percent black, 33 percent white, 12 percent Hispanic and 3 percent Asian. 

• There was a 10 percent decrease between 1990 and 2000 in black-white segregation in metro areas where blacks made up no more than 3 percent of the population. 

• Over 24 million blacks lived in areas where they made up more than 10 percent of the population. Black-white segregation levels in those areas declined 3 percent, which Logan said was not significant. 

Similar trends also were evident within the Hispanic and Asian populations, though Asians were more likely to live in more diverse communities. 

Advocacy groups placed part of the blame on federal and local governments, calling for stronger enforcement of fair housing laws and regulations. 

“The white public tends to believe that the problem has been solved,” said Gary Orfield of Harvard. “There has never been more than a very small enforcement effort,” he said, and the isolation of minority families has always been high. 

Despite Detroit’s population loss over the last decade and its tag as “the most segregated city,” Mayor Dennis Archer said recent economic improvements have highlighted his goal to “make it as attractive as possible so that whoever wants to come and live here can enjoy themselves, irrespective of color. 

“We celebrate that diversity,” Archer said. 

On the Net: Census Bureau site: http://www.census.gov/ 

Civil Rights Project at Harvard: http://www.law.harvard.edu/groups/civilrights/ 

State University of New York at Albany’s Mumford Center: http://www.albany.edu/mumford/census/ 

The U.S. Army’s $3.2 million Armor Adventure Van came to Berkeley High Monday as part of a three-day tour of East Bay High Schools intended to show students what today’s army is all about – and to encourage them to join. 

An 18-wheeler with a life-like painting of a tank on the side, its cannon blazing, the Armor Adventure Van tours the country to help out with the Army’s recruiting efforts. Inside a high-tech multi-media presentation allows high school and college students to experience simulations of everything from a M-16 rifle to some of the army’s most high-tech equipment.  

The van drew large crowds all day Monday. Some students said they were considering careers in the military, others came to protest the van’s very presence on campus. The majority of students said they came because they were eager to play with the Army’s latest hardware. 

Entering the van in groups of 25 at a time, the students watched a video on the history of armored warfare in the U.S. Army, from George Washington’s cavalry to today’s tank battalions. They squeezed off round after round in a M-16 simulator and took turns in the driver’s seat, the “gunner” seat and the command seat of a simulated M1A1 tank, the Army’s most advanced armored vehicle.  

“I shot all of them, you know what I’m saying,” sang Berkeley High Junior Eugene Fortune as he left the van. “I got skills.” 

A hunter, Fortune challenged one of the Army recruiters to a friendly shooting competition with the M-16 simulator. Little did he know that the recruiter was a trained Army sniper. 

Fortune said he might join the Army after he graduates from Berkeley High. 

“They pay for college,” he said. “That’s cool.” 

Berkeley High junior Natasha Mark said she is leaning toward the Marines, but nevertheless enjoyed her time in the Army’s Armor Adventure Van. In one of the displays, Mark typed her Berkeley address into a computer and watched in amazement as it drew a map of the world with the location of her house marked by a red star. 

Berkeley High Senior Arthur Quinn said he thought many Berkeley students would come away from the van with a better understanding of military life. 

“A lot of kids were saying, ‘Let’s go inside and shoot people,’ ” Quinn said, although none of the simulations involved shooting at people. 

“Most people don’t know what they army is,” Quinn said. “They actually show them what it is they do.” 

More than a dozen students turned out to protest the van’s presence. Some carried doctored military posters, including one with a picture of a young Navy seaman with the words “I’m oppressed” scrawled across his sailor’s cap. 

Although she didn’t protest, student Anna Leff-Kich said she could understand why some students would be upset by the presence of the Armored Adventure Van right in the center of the Berkeley High campus. 

“All the stuff going on, all the school shootings, and they come in and say, ‘It’s fun to play with guns,’” Leff-Kich said. 

Berkeley High Principal Frank Lynch said he invited the recruiting van to campus because the Army is an equal opportunity employer with career opportunities that could appeal to some Berkeley High students. 

Lynch said he warned the recruiters that they might get “a little heat” from protesters, but the recruiting officers seemed surprised by the anger of some students. 

“They don’t like the army here,” said one camouflaged-clad recruiter, shaking his head. 

Pointing to places where students had smeared food and written obscenities on the van, Army Staff Sgt. Simon Choe said “This is ridiculous, these kids.” 

“We came here because of the kids,” said Choe, a native of Korea who credits the Army with providing him a good education in the United States.  

“If they don’t want to join the service, that’s fine,” Choe said. “But that’s not the way.” 

Berkeley High teacher John Fike said he was a student at Berkeley High in 1979 when a large group of student protesters actually drove an Army recruiting van off campus. 

“That was also Berkeley in the ’70s,” Fike said. “Maybe times have changed. 

“It’s ironic and unfortunate that, for a lot of kids, the military is a real option” because it helps pay for education, Fike said. 

Berkeley School Board President Terry Doran said he was “disturbed” to learn of the recruiting van’s presence on the Berkeley High campus Monday. 

Army recruiting officers have visited the campus regularly since the seventies, Doran said, but they, like other recruiters, were simply given a room where interested students could meet with them. 

“I don’t think we’ve ever had any kind of occupational recruitment of that nature coming on campus,” Doran said of the Armor Adventure Van. “This, to me, is much more aggressive recruiting by the Army than I feel is appropriate.”  

Doran also questioned the appropriateness of having weapon simulators on any high school campus, where the students are a “captive audience.” 

Tuesday, April 3

“Great Decisions” – Conflict Resolution in Africa  

10 a.m. - Noon  

Berkeley City Club  

2315 Durant Ave.  

The first in a series of eight weekly lectures with the goal of informing the public of current major policy issues. Many of the lectures are presented by specialists in their field and are often from the University of California. $5 single session 526-2925 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

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 

Mandarin Lessons 

1:30 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

With Cecilia Wan. Free 

644-6107 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

Young Queer Women’s Group 

8 - 9:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center 

2712 Telegraph Ave.  

Make some new friends, expand your horizons and get support with a bunch of queer women all in the same place at the same time (somewhere between 18 and 25).  

548-8283  

or visit www.pacificcenter.org 

Intelligent Conversation  

7 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will be about financial planning, investments, tax, and the stock market. Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park, and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free 527-5332 

Community Organization  

12:45 - 1:45 p.m.  

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

Mudd 103  

A “Real Deal” seminar with Don Stalhut and David Mann on community organization. Bring a lunch. 849-8229 

Wednesday, April 4

Stagebridge Free Acting &  

Storytelling Classes for  

Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Word for Word  

3:30 p.m. 

South Branch Berkeley Library  

1901 Russel St.  

Dramatic group Word for Word returns to the library with a brand new play for children, the Russian folktale “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.” 

Call 649-3943 

The Voiceless Poor  

7 - 9 p.m.  

School of Journalism Library  

121 North Gate Hall  

UC Berkeley  

Part of the Terner Series, an informal salon-style discussion series, which brings together industry professionals, students, and interested community members.  

April Birthday Party  

1:15 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

UC dancers will entertain and refreshments will be served. 

644-6107 

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. The class will cover basic hardware identification and specification, basic understanding of software, basic word-processing and basic spreadsheets.  

Call 644-6226 

Income Tax Assistance  

9 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Call Maggie for an appointment, 644-6107. 

“Women’s Scholarship as  

Prophetic Voices” 

6:30 - 9 p.m.  

2400 Ridge Rd.  

Hewlett Library  

Dinner Board Room  

The Annual Women’s Theological Forum.  

649-2490 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Sproul Standup Comedy  

Protest  

Noon  

Upper Sproul Plaza  

UC Berkeley  

The Heuristic Squelch is sponsoring a protest, calling for an increase in cleavage, popsicles, and black light posters of David Horowitz. Featuring comics Bruce Cherry, Rob Cantrell, drop-in guests, and up and coming UC student comedians. Free  

Thursday, April 5

Berkeley Metaphysical  

Toastmasters Club  

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.  

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysics come together. Ongoing first and third Thursdays each month.  

Call 869-2547 

Word for Word  

3:30 p.m. 

West Branch Berkeley Library  

1125 University Ave. 

Dramatic group Word for Word returns to the library with a brand new play for children, the Russian folktale “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.” 

Call 649-3943 

Cancer Support Group 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Summit Medical Center 

Markstein Cancer Education & Prevention Center 

450 30th St., Second Floor  

Oakland  

Free support group for families, friends, and patients diagnosed with cancer.  

869-8833 to register  

Income Tax Assistance  

9 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Call Maggie for an appointment, 644-6107. 

Lavender Lunch  

12:30 - 1:30 p.m. 

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

Mudd 100  

Rev. Nancy Wilson on “Queer Church: The Early History of the Metropolitan Community Church.”  

849-8206 

LGBT Catholics Group  

7:30 p.m. 

Newman Hall  

2700 Dwight Way (at College)  

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender Catholics group are “a spiritual community committed to creating justice.” This meeting is titled “Inspired Utterance Night.”  

654-5486 

Bicycle Touring in Europe  

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Independent bicyclists and budget travelers Tim O’Mahoney and Kathie Strell will give a slide presentation of their three month, 2,000-mile journey through France, Switzerland and Austria. Learn to execute your own bicycle tour. Free  

527-4140 

Taking Care of Your Large Intestine  

1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.  

Summit South Pavilion  

3100 Summit St., 3rd Floor Auditorium  

Oakland 

Harvey Olsen, gastroenterologist, will discuss Colorectal cancer, a leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Olsen will explain changes in lifestyle and simple tools for early detection that can save thousands of lives a year.  

869-6737  

Disability Awareness Day  

10 a.m. - 2 p.m.  

Sproul & Dwinelle Plazas 

UC Berkeley  

An opportunity to learn about disabilities, to find resources for yourself or someone you care about, and to celebrate the achievements of people with disabilities. One of the major focuses of this years awareness day is on “hidden disabilities.” Free  

666-9647 

Ballroom Dance Lessons 

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

With Roman Ostrowski. Free 

644-6107 

HAM Radio Earthquakes 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

Emergency Operations Center  

997 Cedar St.  

A free lecture by seismologist Bob Uhrhammer regarding earthquakes. The annual HAM radio emergency services presentation.  

Friday, April 6

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Free Writing, Cashiering & Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

Free classes offered Monday through Friday. Stop by and register or call 548-6700. 

www.ajob.org 

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. The class will cover basic hardware identification and specification, basic understanding of software, basic word-processing and basic spreadsheets.  

Call 644-6226 

Living Philosophers  

10 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Hear and entertain the ideas of some modern day philosophers: Jacob Needleman, J. Revel, Hilary Putnam, John Searle, Saul Kripke, Richard Rorty and others. Every Friday, except holidays. Facilitated by H.D. Moe.  

50 Plus Fitness Class  

9:30 a.m. - Noon 

UC Berkeley (varied locations)  

A class for those 50 and over which introduces participants to an array of exercise options. Demonstration and practice will include strength training, Tai Chi, Alexander Technique, and more.  

Pre-register by calling 642-5461 

$20 for all five sessions, $10 per individual session  

Taize Worship Service  

7:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

Loper Chapel 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley  

Dana St. (between Durant & Channing)  

An hour of quiet reflection and song.  

848-3696 

TREES Forum  

12:30 p.m. 

2400 Ridge Rd.  

Hewlett Library  

Board Room  

Michael Warburton on local environmental issues.  

E-mail: trees@gtu.edu 

Don Giovanni, Pt. 1  

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

The opera.  

644-6107 

Saturday, April 7

Rockridge Writers 

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Spasso Coffeehouse  

6021 College Ave.  

Poets and writers meet to critique each other’s work. “Members’ work tends to be dark, humorous, surreal, or strange.”  

e-mail: berkeleysappho@yahoo.com 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Wild About Books? 

10:30 a.m. 

Central Berkeley Library  

2121 Allston Way  

Dramatic group Word for Word returns to the library with a brand new play for children, the Russian folktale “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.” 

Call 649-3943 

Earthquake Retrofitting Class  

10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Building Education Center  

812 Page St.  

A free class as part of Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). Sponsored by the Berkeley Fire Dept. and the Office of Emergency Services.  

Call 644-8736 

Inside Interior Design  

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

A look into the world of interior design with certified interior designer and artist Lori Inman. $35 

525-7610 

Small Press Distribution Open House 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

Small Press Distribution  

3141 Seventh St. (at Gilman)  

With poetry readings at 2 p.m. with featured poet Clark Coolidge and others. Free  

524-1668 

Straw Into Gold 

9 a.m.  

Berkeley Fellowship  

1924 Cedar (at Bonita)  

A rummage sale and intergenerational open mic. coffee house. All proceeds benefit the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. Free 

841-4824  

Sunday, April 8

Reimagining Pacific Cities  

6 - 8:30 p.m. 

New Pacific Studio  

1523 Hearst Ave.  

“How are Pacific cities reshaping their cultural and environmental institutions to better serve the needs and enhance the present and future quality of life of all segments of their societies?” A series of ten seminars linking the Bay Area, Seattle, Portland, and other pacific cities.  

$10 per meeting  

Call 849-0217 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Tibetan Yoga and Healing  

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute  

1815 Highland Place  

Kum Nye teacher Jack van der Meulen will present this Tibetan yoga and will demonstrate several exercises for self-healing. Free 

843-6812 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute Open House  

3 - 5 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute  

1815 Highland Place  

A free introduction to Tibetan Buddhist Culture which will include a prayer wheel and meditation garden tour, Tibetan yoga demonstration, discussion of how useful ancient teachings are in contemporary society, and more. Free 

843-6812 

A Humanistic Passover Seder 

6 p.m.  

Albany Community Center 

1249 Marin Ave.  

Albany  

Kol Hadash will read from the Humanistic Haggadah, and will eat with friends and family. Miriam Solis will lead the group in song.  

$20 - $45  

925-254-0609 

Save Jeffrey Schilling 

Editor:  

Tienaman Square. The massacres in Brazil during elections. The supposed tyranny of Fidel Castro. All modern day representations of a nation’s wrath against its own people. And all acts that aroused the disgust and derision of the U.S. But no one has to ask, of what price is a human life. Is ten equal to one, a dozen to a thousand? If the worth of a human life can be manifested in the form of a product or sum, then the life of Jeffrey Schilling simply did not add up. Having been held prisoner by Filipino rebels since August of 2000, any hope for his release seems bleak, as there are few powers actually endeavoring to ensure his safe return.  

Now, unless you’re conscious of this situation, you may ask yourself, where is the U.S. in all of this? Schilling is an American citizen, and in that, allotted the basic rights of all U.S. citizens: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Yet at present, these rights are being blatantly ignored. The U.S. has denied hostage negotiations with the rebels, rejecting the $10 million ransom set for Schilling’s safe return. Now this begs the question, why would America so apathetically deny the safety of one of their own? Is $10 million really so much? Apparently so, since from the beginning all talk of negotiation has been denied under government policy.  

As unsavory as the fact may be, we must at least acknowledge the aspect of race. Schilling is a bi-racial, middle class citizen. If it was a matter of commodification or restitution, then it is doubtful Schilling would ever be “worth” $10 million dollars. Now I, as much as the next person, would love to believe that America has transcended racial biases, but it would be the height of naiveté to make such claims. Few would have the political ignorance, if not the wanton stupidity to claim that this government values the existence of a chief executive equal to that of a middle class African-American. It’s a cruel fact of life, but this is reality ladies and gentlemen.  

I cannot, in good conscious, portray Schilling as an idiom of patriotism or archetype of flawless moral character. There were allegations that he was in some way affiliated with the rebel group that abducted him. But the only thing regarding his relationship with the group that has actually been proven beyond a reasonable doubt is that he is now being held captive and his safety is in no way ensured.  

At this point, one must come to at least sympathize with the plight of Mr. Schilling. The prospect of U.S. intervention into this matter any further then its current ankle deep immersion would be wishful thinking. At present, his story is scarcely broadcast on the evening news, obscured by the concurrent power crisis and gas shortages. It should come as no surprise to me really, everything has a dollar sign, and if you can’t ante up then you’re out of the game. At best I can hope that, if Schilling is executed, it won’t be in vain, that the eyes of this nations’ citizens can finally become pellucid and, at the cost of blindness, saturate the reality ensconced within the mise-en-scene of capitalism. That you pay your money, and you take your chances.  

Daryl Hall 

Berkeley 

Parent likes downtown housing 

Editor  

I am writing as a proud parent of a UC Berkeley graduate who is disabled and chose to live in Berkeley. She is trying to live on her own and be as independent as possible. After graduation it took her over a year to find housing. The housing she found is barely accessible and quite a distance from where she would like to live. The GAIA building which Patrick Kennedy built is accessible, affordable and is in an area she would like to live.  

Patrick Kennedy should be applauded for helping the disabled community find decent affordable housing in Berkeley and not ridiculed for the work he is doing. I want to publicly thank him.  

Joseph Rizzo 

More parking, less congestion  

Editor: 

RE: Response to the Daily Planet article “Study Claims There’s Not a Crisis in Parking” (3/21/01) 

The Daily Planet’s1 3/21/01 headline “Study Claims There1s Not a Crisis in Parking” demonstrates a great leap faulty in logic. The public acceptance of the Transportation Demand Management Study does not equal an agreement that there is no “parking crisis.”  

The article took selective information to make this conclusion. Whether or not we define the current situation as a “crisis”, there is a large constituency that can make the case that more parking is needed in the downtown, and that it won’t necessarily add to the congestion.  

By acknowledgement of the consultants, the TDM was not a comprehensive parking assessment. In fact, the consultants recommend that the city conduct a parking assessment study. The TDM only measured employee parking, not visitor or event parking which is significant and impacts the economic success of our arts and commerce establishments. At peak hours, and during special events, visitors have difficulty finding one of the 2,500 parking spaces available. It is of note that the consultants stated that adding some new parking might decrease congestion because cars will find a space more quickly.  

The TDM assumes “slow growth in the next ten years”. However, the consultants admitted that they did not have information on the downtown’s commercial, arts, and housing usage and development and did not take into account the following: an estimated 400 new downtown housing units in planing stage or under construction; our steady decrease in commercial vacancy; the fantastic (and expanding) arts and non-profit organizations with regional draws (like YMCA, Berkeley Public Library, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, etc); and recent public and private investment ($130 million) that has resulted in streetscape improvements, and building renovation and construction that is attracting new tenants and shoppers to our district. 

To some, the TDM seems to assume that the status quo is acceptable. Many downtown stakeholders do not agree. The top priority of the downtown arts and commerce community is improved visitor and customer access for those who cannot take transit, or for night time travelers and others for whom transit is not available or safe. Our district has experienced a decrease in parking spaces while we have an increase in usage (as mentioned above). Additionally, surrounding neighborhood residents are impacted by the 2,000-5,000 estimated daily parkers. The consultants say that even with transit and parking strategies working together, it is unlikely that the neighborhood parking can be eliminated. In the core, garage managers clarified that the 85 percent peak usage is “full” because they save the other 15 percent of spaces for monthly parkers. Visitors do not have access to these parking spots. These communities of people find the status quo “not acceptable.”  

The Transportation Demand Management Study focuses on transit, (hence the name) and considers parking issues, but not in sufficient depth for making conclusions about our “crisis”. However, the study does recommend that 915 parking spaces be added by 2010 and also recommends that the city should conduct a parking assessment study that does take “missing” data into account. An added note is that an increase in parking spaces (and even a new garage) is recommended in the approved 1990 Downtown Plan. For the retail and cultural sectors to flourish over the long term, there will have to be a net increase in available parking spaces. 

The Downtown Berkeley Association supports the recommendations of the TDM Study.  

Deborah Badhia 

Executive Director 

D.B.A.

924 Gilman St. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless noted $5; $2 for a year membership. April 6: Link 80, Lucky Strike, 5th Wheel, Kung Fu Chicken; April 7: The Plus Ones, The Evaporators, The Pattern, Dukes of Hamburg, The Goblins/Disgoblins/Skablins/Gothblins; April 13: The Locust, Dead & Gone, Honeysuckle Serontina, Tourettes Latrec, Last Great Liar 525-9926  

Albatross Pub All music begins at 9 p.m. April 3: pickPocket ensemble; April 4: Whiskey Brothers; April 5: Keni “El Lebrijano”; April 7: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; April 10: Mad & Eddie Duran Jazz Duo; April 12: Keni “El Lebrijano”; April 17: pickPocket ensemble; April 18: Whiskey Brothers; April 19: Keni “El Lebrijano” 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

Ashkenaz April 8: “A Little Houseboat Music for Annie” is a benefit concert to help Oakland’s Archway School’s art teacher, Annie Clark, replace her houseboat, which was destroyed in a fire in February - performances by Michael James Quartet, The Wild Buds, Jim Stice Orchestra, Nova Trova and Ray Cepeda and the Neo-Maya Experience; April 29: Clinton Fearon & Boogie Brown Band; May 6, 7 p.m.: Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble 1370 San Pablo Ave. (at Gilman) 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Freight & Salvage All music at 8 p.m. April 3: Nerissa Nields & Pam Houston; April 5: Battlefield Band; April 6: Garnet Rogers; April 7: Eric Lowen & Dan Navarro; April 8: Martin Simpson & Jessica Radcliffe; April 10: Kevin Burke; April 12: Tony Marcus & Patrice Haan, Julian Smedley & Allison Odell; April 13: Ray Wylie Hubbard; April 14: Dix Bruce & Jim Nunally, Eddie & Marthie Adcock 1111 Addison St. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jazzschool/La Note All music at 4:30 p.m. April 8: The Marcos Silva Quartet; April 15: Art Lande and Mark Miller; April 22: Alan Hall & Friends 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 or visit www.jazzschool.com  

Cal Performances April 4, 8 p.m.: Pianist Chucho Valdes $18 - $30; April 13 & 14, 8 p.m.: Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia and the Paco de Lucia Septet $20 - $40 Zellerbach Hall UC Berkeley. 642-9988 or www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra April 3 and June 21, 2001. All performances begin at 8 p.m. Single $19 - $35, Series $52 - $96. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley 841-2800  

Berkeley High Jazz Lab Band & Steel Band April 5, 7 p.m. $3 - $8 Berkeley High School Little Theater  

Hillbillies From Mars April 8, 2 p.m. Rocking the Bay for 20 years, the Hillbillies fuse rock n’ roll, swing, Latin and African beats. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

“Bravo! Opera!” April 8, 7:30 p.m. A veritable Opera chorus smorgasbord with Bizet’s “Carmen,” Verdi’s “IL trovatore,” and Copland’s “The Tenderland.” $8 - $12 Hertz Hall UC Berkeley 643-9645 

Young Emerging Artists Concert April 10, 7 - 8 p.m. The Young Musicians Program Jazz Combo will perform jazz standards and original compositions. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

“Under Construction No. 11” April 8, 7:30 p.m. A concert of new works by local composers, including Mary Stiles, Mark Winges, and David Sheinfeld. Free St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave.  

Dastan Ensemble with Namah Ensemble April 15, 8 p.m. Dastan Ensemble is a Persian classical music ensemble founded in Germany in 1991. Namah Ensemble is a group of four to six dancers who communicate the mystical Persian tradition to everyone. $25 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. (at Derby) 925-798-1300 

Jazz Singers’ Collective April 19, 8 - 10 p.m. With Mark Little on piano. Anna’s Bistro 1801 University Ave. 849-2662 

“The Oresteia” by Aeschylus Through May 6 Directed by Tony Taccone and Stephen Wadsworth, Aeschylus trilogy will be the first production staged on the Berkeley Rep’s new prosenium stage. Please call Berkeley Repertory Theatre for specific dates and times. $15.99 - $117 Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2015 Addison St. (at Shattuck) 647-2949 or www.berkeleyrep.org 

“The Tempest” by William Shakespeare Through April 14, Thursday - Saturday, 8 p.m. Presented by Subterranean Shakespeare and directed by Stanley Spenger $8 - $10 LaVal’s Subterranean Theatre 1834 Euclid Ave. (at Hearst) 237-7415 

Action Movie: The Play Through April 21, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. Non-stop action and martial arts mayhem with comedy, surprise plot twists, and the occasional movie reference thrown in. $7 - $12 The Eighth Street Studio 2525 Eighth St. 464-4468 

“Moment’s Notice” A monthly salon devoted to improvised music, dance & theater April 7, 8 p.m. $7 Western Sky Studio 2525 8th St. 540-7782  

“Death of a Salesman” April 6 - May 5, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. plus Thursday, May 3, 8 p.m. The ageless story of Willy Loman presented by an African-American cast and staged by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. $10 Live Oak Theater 1301 Shattuck (at Berryman) 528-5620 

“Earth” April 7, 7:30 p.m. A 1930 film, set in Ukraine, by Soviet director Alexander Dovzhenko with an original music score created and performed by composer and musician Adrian Johnston. $7 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour April 7 & 8, 6:30 - 10:30 p.m. Including films from Slovakia, France, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, England, and the U.S. which reflect a wide range of mountain experiences, from mountain sports to mountain culture and the environment. $12 - $15 Wheeler Auditorium UC Berkeley Tickets available at REI 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-7377 

“Regeneration” April 8, 5:30 p.m. The first feature-length gangster movie, filmed around 1915 on the streets of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. Directed by Raoul Walsh, the movie will have a new original music score created and performed by composer and musician Adrian Johnston. $7 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

“Lost & Found” Documentaries from the Graduate School of Journalism April 15, 5:30 p.m. Three documentaries from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism explore the possibility of redemption in the face of immeasurable loss. Lisa Munoz’s “Chavez Ravine,” Kelly St. John’s “In Forever Fourteen,” and Zsuzsanna Varga’s “Screw Your Courage.” Pacific Film Archive 2621 Durant Ave. 642-5249 

Films of Julio Medem April 13, 7:30 p.m. & April 14, 7 p.m. Medem is recognized as one of Spain’s leading filmmakers. On April 13, “The Cows” and “The Red Squirrel” will be shown. April 14, “Earth/Tierra” and “Lovers of the Arctic Circle” will show. $7 for one film, $8.50 for double bills Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412  

Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted April 3: Ann McGregor, Dick Meister, Cindy Wathen, and George Ballis give accounts of living and working with Cesar Chavez; April 4: Poetry of Carole Simmons Oles & Matthew McKay; April 5: Herbert Bix talks about “Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan”; April 9: Mark Morris visits to celebrate “Mark Morris’ L’Allegro, Il Penseroso Ed Il Modertato: A Celebration”; 

1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 All events at 7 p.m., unless noted April 10: Amy Tan reads from “The Bonesetter’s Daughter”; April 20: Susie Bright discusses “The Best American Erotica 2001” 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted April 3: Environmental Activist David Bolling will give a slide presentation and talk on “Living and Dying on Everest: An Inside Look at Everest Expeditions and Environmental Issues”; April 5: Mary Olmstead will discuss “Hidden Wine Country” about the Napa-Sonoma-Mendocino areas 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533 

“Strong Women - Writers & Heroes of Literature” Fridays Through June, 2001, 1 - 3 p.m. Taught by Dr. Helen Rippier Wheeler, author of “Women and Aging: A Guide to Literature,” a free weekly literature course in the Berkeley Adult School’s Older Adults Program. North Berkeley Senior Center 1901 Hearst Ave. 549-2970  

Duomo Reading Series and Open Mic. Thursdays, 6:30 - 9 p.m. April 5: Barbara Minton; April 12: Alice Rogoff; April 19: Garrett Murphy; Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

Lunch Poems First Thursday of each month, 12:10 - 12:50 p.m. April 5: Galway Kinnell; May 3: Student Reading Morrison Room, Doe Library UC Berkeley 642-0137 

“Slam the Prisons” April 6, 6 p.m. - 1 a.m. A benefit for prison activism featuring Tang, Company of Prophets, Sheryl D. Mebane and many others. Proceeds benefit the defense of New Afrikan political prisoner Khalfani X. Khaldun and the Prison Activist Resource Center. $10 La Pena Cultural Center 3205 Shattuck Ave. 898-0431  

Rhythm & Muse Open Mike April 21, 6:30 p.m. Open to all poets and performers, opening at it’s new home at the Berkeley Art Center. Featuring poet Giovanni Singleton. Free Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. 527-9753 

Tours 

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

Berkeley City Club Tours 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. The fourth Sunday of every month, Noon - 4 p.m. $2 848-7800  

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

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

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tours All tours begin at 10 a.m. and are restricted to 30 people per tour $5 - $10 per tour April 29: Susan Schwartz leads a tour of the Berkeley Waterfront; May 12: Debra Badhia will lead a tour of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the Arts District; May 19: John Stansfield & Allen Stross will lead a tour of the School for the Deaf and Blind; June 2: Trish Hawthorne will lead a tour of Thousand Oaks School and Neighborhood; June 23: Sue Fernstrom will lead a tour of Strawberry Creek and West of the UC Berkeley campus 848-0181 

Lectures 

UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Research Seminars Noon seminars are brown bag  

April 23, 4 p.m.: Mary Dudziach of USC will discuss “Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy.” 119 Moses Hall UC Berkeley 642-4608  

“Great Decisions” Foreign Policy Association Lectures Series Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - Noon, Through 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. Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. 526-2925 

California Colloquium on Water Scholars of distinction in the fields of natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, law and environmental design speak about water resources and hopefully contribute to informed decisions on water in CA. April 10, 5:15 - 6:30 p.m.: “Understanding the Delta - An Engineering Perspective” Richard Denton, water manager of the Contra Costa Water District; May 8, 5:15 - 6:30 p.m.: “What Makes Water Wet?” Richard Saykally, professor of Chemistry, UC Berkeley 212 O’Brien Hall, UC Berkeley 642-2666  

“The Monster of Troy: Fossil Discoveries In Classical Antiquity” April 1, 3 p.m. Adrienne Mayor will describe some literary and archaeological evidence for discoveries of the huge fossil remains of extinct animals in ancient Greece and Rome. 370 Dwinelle Hall UC Berkeley  

“The Gene’s Eye View of Creation” April 4 & 10, 4:10 p.m. Evolutionary Biologist Richard Dawkins, a leading thinker in modern Darwinism, will deliver a lecture “The Genetic Book of the Dead” April 4 and “The Selfish Cooperator” April 10 International House Auditorium UC Berkeley 

Leonard Breger April 9, 7:30 - 9 p.m. Breger will critique club members’ art and will show some of his own works. Breger is known for his paintings of cut-out masonite shapes, both animal and human. El Cerrito Community Center The Garden Room 7007 Moeser Lane 524-6739  

The city may have improperly raised the fee for historical landmark review by as much as 10 times the amount prescribed by a city ordinance. 

The Planning and Development Department currently charges $500 to review a structure as a potential historical landmark and $650 to review a district, such as the Berkeley Shellmound.  

According to a city ordinance written in 1974 and modified in 1985, the fee for review should be $50 for a structure and $100 for a district.  

According to the City Attorney’s Office, the fees, if written in the ordinance, can only be increased by an amendment to the ordinance, which in this case has not occurred. 

The City Council adopted the higher fees as part of a Consolidated Fee Schedule in June. The schedule included all the application fees the Planning Department charges except those related to seismic upgrades.  

The department, which oversees all the development in the city, from a residential bathroom addition to seven story office buildings, charges fees according to the amount of work planners must do to review the project. 

For example, the department charges $650 for an application to add a bedroom to an existing home. The fee to significantly change the use of an existing property, such as building a 20-unit residential building on the site of a former gas station is $2,258, according to the Current Planning Fees Schedule. 

Deputy City Attorney Zack Cowen said the fee for historical landmark review stands apart from other fees, in that the fee amount was written into the actual ordinance.  

“If the fee is part of the ordinance it should not be raised,” he said. 

Vivian Kahn, deputy directory of planning, said the fees were raised by a City Council vote after a public hearing was held. 

“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “Every year when we raise fees we do it in accordance with state law. We did hold a public hearing and the City Council did adopt the raises.” 

It remains unclear if the fee hikes are legal, because the City Council never adopted an amendment to the ordinance, specifically raising the landmark review fees. 

Prior to the August fee hike, the landmark review fees were already higher than the amounts specified in the ordinance. The cost of a structural review was $80 and district review was $180. Kahn said she did not know when the previous increases were implemented or if they were made by an amendment to the ordinance. 

Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association member Becky O’Malley said the fee hikes seem excessive. “Even if they could raise the fee from $50 to $500, there’s no justification for charging so much,” she said. “The fee was intentionally kept low because the city wanted to encourage the landmarking of the city’s architectural resources.” 

Kahn said the landmark review fee is still lower than other planning fees, considering the amount of staff time that goes into the review of the applications. “The average time spent on a district review is 13 hours and 10 hours for structures,” Kahn said. “That begins to add up at $100 per hour.” 

Berkeley resident Richard Wessell wanted to submit an application for a north Berkeley residential building to be reviewed as a potential landmark, but changed his mind when he learned of the high fees. He said high application fees for adding a bathroom is different because such a project adds value to a home but landmarking often doesn’t. 

“I was surprised by the fee,” he said. “$500 is real money and I think it would discourage most people from participating in the landmark process.” 

Kahn said the department does not charge a fee when the application is submitted by a commissioner on the Landmarks Preservation Commission or by a Planning and Development employee. 

THE RATES 

• $500 to review a  

structure as a potential  

historical landmark  

• $650 to review a district, such as the Berkeley  

Shellmound.  

• According to a city  

ordinance written in 1974 and modified in 1985, the fee for review should be $50 for a structure and $100 for a district.  

• The City Council adopted the higher fees as part of a Consolidated Fee Schedule in June. The schedule included all the application fees the Planning  

Department charges except those related to seismic upgrades.

The Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste brought out its big – uh – guitars at a Monday afternoon rally/press conference where their “shut down the labs” message came through in song and speeches. 

“I’m sad to say, it leaked one day,” sang activist folk-artist Carol Denney. “We had to live with the tritium trickle down.” The Funky Nixon Band was also on the scene, in front of the North Berkeley Senior Center. Several dozen supporters showed up to underscore the message. 

The occasion was an unveiling of a report by Bernd Franke, a consultant hired by the city to look at the way the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory measures tritium emissions at its National Tritium Labeling Facility. 

Tritium is a radioactive substance the labs use in medical research. The tritium is released into the air regularly from the labs, which are run by the Department of Energy and overseen by the University of California. Scientists at the labs say the emissions of tritium present no more of a danger to humans in terms of radiation exposure than taking a trip by airplane to New York. But the Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste claims there is no safe level for tritium. 

Franke, of the Institute for Ecology and Environmental Research in Heidelberg, Germany, said the law allows for an amount of radiation that is an “acceptable risk.” He said he agrees with the law, but if the activists disagree with it, they should target the statute. 

To prove the point that the labs are a danger to the community, members of the Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste distributed copies of a memo noting an “Unplanned release from the National Tritium Labeling Facility.” The release took place at about 7:30 p.m. March 7 and was observed by a worker who monitors releases from his home computer. The release was stopped by midnight, according to the memo. The release of 4.7 curies was below the internal reporting level of 25 curies, according to the report.  

Paul Lavely, director of the office of radiation safety for UC Berkeley, described the release as “a very small increase” over the regular emissions. He noted that “The system worked. We were able to stop it.” 

In a written statement, the activists said this release is “especially troubling in the current context, when there is a great deal of citizen concern in Berkeley about the tritium facility – one would suppose that the authorities and managers of the Lab would be especially careful to avoid such accidents....” 

Councilmember Dona Spring addressed the gathering, reminding people that the city had voted twice to shut the labs down, but that it was overridden by the DOE. “With all of us working together, we’ll shut them down,” Spring said. 

An article in Wednesday’s Daily Planet will highlight Franke’s report.

The UC Theater’s dead. Long live the theater. 

The marquee that once called crowds to Felinni flicks and Cannes Film Festival champions is empty. The flowers that fans left taped to the box office window after the theater’s last show on Thursday have died. 

While local folk mourn the loss of the 83-year-old arts and oddity cinema – including nearby eatery owners whose patrons often came downtown for a UC Theater show – others are germinating ideas for the theater’s reuse.  

And they’re pointing to the city’s deep pockets to fund the venture. 

Meanwhile, the movie theater business is not booming. A recent Wall Street Journal article cites the “cinema business meltdown,” and the glut of movie screens. Silver Screen Cinemas, which own the Landmarks Theaters – the owner of the former UC Theater – and United Artists Cinemas are among movie-house businesses to file for bankruptcy. 

There’s plenty of competition for the theater, with some 25 screens in or near downtown Berkeley, said local developer Patrick Kennedy, who points out that the theater’s single screen makes it a dinosaur. 

In the Elmwood area, the merchants got together a number of years ago, and saved the small Elmwood Theater. But the area around the UC Theater isn’t strong enough economically to support a Business Improvement District, such as was formed in the Elmwood to save the theater, according to one city insider who asked that his name be withheld. 

There are other possibilities – one is transforming the theater into a combination restaurant-theater, better known as a “cinema-grill,” Kennedy said. At the Parkway Theater in Oakland, people, with kids in tow, watch films seated on funky couches and armchairs, eat the pizza they’ve ordered and enjoy the flicks. 

Kennedy has a number of other ideas to reuse the theater. He’s like to see it as the new home of the Berkeley Symphony. Symphony spokesperson Catherine Barken-Henwood said the theater’s bad acoustics would make that a not-so-good idea. 

But Kennedy’s not dissuaded. “I think it could be a focal point for (Berkeley’s) arts revival,” he said. 

Other possibilities Kennedy’s thinking about and talking to others about is transforming the huge theater into small 50-75-seat theaters. One of those theaters could be the future home of UC Berkeley’s Pacific Film Archives, Kennedy said. But PFA spokesperson Shelley Diekman said she hadn’t heard anything about that.  

There could be theater performing space in the venture, as well. “People talk about the lack of performing space,” Kennedy said. 

A barrier to reuse would not only be the cost to remodel the structure, but paying half the $600,000 retrofit cost for the brick building. The building is owned by Quality Bay Construction, Inc. No one from QBC has returned the Daily Planet’s numerous calls. 

When the Landmarks Theaters controlled the UC Theater, its lease with QBC required payment of half the retrofit costs. Many speculate that these costs, plus dwindling numbers of patrons at the theater, caused the theater’s eventual demise. 

Costs of reuse “might require a huge subside from the city,” Kennedy said. 

SAN DIEGO — Researchers have discovered the sites of 430 former lead smelting factories spread among 35 states, most apparently unknown to government regulatory officials despite the risk they may harbor hazardous levels of the toxic metal. 

The sites, some adjacent to residential areas, all housed factories where lead was recycled from automobile batteries, wheel weights and cable housing between 1931 and 1964. 

William Eckel, an Environmental Protection Agency scientist, said he found a total of 640 sites by combing through old industrial directories. When he crosschecked those sites against federal and state databases, he said, he discovered at least 430 were unknown to either federal or state officials. 

“They’re not in the business of doing this kind of research,” said Eckel, who spent six years on the independent project for his doctoral thesis in environmental science and public policy. 

Environmental Protection Agency spokesman Chris Paulitz said the agency had not yet reviewed Eckel’s report. 

“It’s impossible for us to comment on a study we haven’t even seen,” Paulitz said. 

In eight sites in Baltimore and Philadelphia where Eckel did cursory testing of the soil, he found three had lead levels that exceeded those allowed by federal law for industrial sites. Seven had levels that exceeded the residential maximum. 

“These are not places that have gone away,” Eckel said. “In some places, the contaminants remain.” 

Lead poisoning can cause a variety of ailments, ranging from lowered IQs and learning disabilities to seizures and death. Children can ingest or inhale the toxin if they come into contact with lead-fouled soil. 

The sites likely remained unknown because lead smelting operations housed there had ceased before the advent of regulatory bodies like the EPA, formed in 1970. 

The sites found by Eckel include locations in most large U.S. cities, including Boston; Buffalo, N.Y.; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Houston; Los Angeles; Newark, N.J.; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh and San Francisco. 

While many are in what remain today strictly industrial areas, others are not. A survey done by a reporter of a half dozen of the sites located in and around Los Angeles found in some cases the former factories had been converted to other uses, including a seafood restaurant and artist lofts. 

Eckel stressed that those sites and the hundreds of others are not necessarily hazardous, but should be investigated. In many cases removing any contaminated soil, or simply paving over it, can reduce any potential risk, even where industrial buildings have been adapted for new uses, said Ron Baker, a spokesman for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. 

“You don’t expect someone to show up at a seafood restaurant with a back hoe,” Baker said. 

In Philadelphia, however, Eckel found a site that had been occupied by the North American Smelting Co., apparently for more than a century before moving to Delaware in the 1970s. The site, now an empty lot, lies across the street from a residential neighborhood. When he tested the lot’s soil, Eckel said, he found lead concentrations that far exceeded the level permissible for a residential area. 

“I wouldn’t want those levels in my yard for sure,” said Eckel, who did the research with his thesis adviser at George Mason University, Gregory Foster, and Michael Rabinowitz, a geochemist with the Woods Hole, Mass. Marine Biological Laboratory. 

The results, presented Monday at the 221st meeting of the American Chemical Society, are published in the April issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

PRETORIA, South Africa — Pharmaceutical firms suing the South African government say officials have rejected or ignored their offers to provide cheap or free AIDS drugs, countering the country’s claims that it needs to import cheaper generic alternatives because it cannot afford the patented drugs. 

“To the extent that prices of medicines do enter considerations, it is clear they cannot play a significant role because the government declines to use these products, even where they are offered for free,” the Sunday Independent newspaper quoted Mirryena Deeb, chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, as saying in an affidavit filed in the Pretoria High Court Friday. 

About three dozen drug companies, including some of the world’s biggest, have asked the court to overturn a law that would allow the government to import cheap generic medications in an emergency. 

The case is seen as a watershed in efforts to get AIDS medicines, known as anti-retroviral drugs, to poor countries.  

Hearing is to resume April 18, and a judgment may not come for months. The losing side can appeal. 

The drug companies have argued that the Medicines Control Act – signed into law in 1997 but never put into force because of the court challenge – undermines their patents, gives the health minister unfettered power to control the import and pricing structure of medicines and is unconstitutional. 

South Africa has the world’s largest population of people with HIV and AIDS. An estimated 4.7 million people, or 11 percent of the population, are infected, and few can afford treatment, which costs between $10,000 to $15,000 in Western countries. 

Anti-retroviral drugs were not available in the public health system because the government had tried to manage the HIV/AIDS epidemic without them, said the manufacturers association, which represents the drug companies. 

Deeb said an offer made last May by Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche of Switzerland, Bristol-Myers Squibb of New York, Merck and Co. of New Jersey and Britain’s Glaxo Wellcome to work with governments and cut drug prices in developing countries had never been taken up. 

“The South African government has not yet even initiated discussions ... to procure the medicines in question at the very substantial savings that the offers entail,” she said. 

In February, South Africa’s Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang accused the companies of not disclosing the prices they would charge. 

Ayanda Ntsaluba, the director-general of the Health Department, had acknowledged an offer from Boehringer Ingelheim to supply its anti-retroviral drug Viramune free for five years, the Independent said.  

The drug, which contains nevirapine, a chemical that can prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, has yet to be registered by the Medical Control Council. 

Bristol-Meyers Squibb had also offered a combination of its drugs Videx and Zerit at the discounted price of $1 a day, but the Health Department had not responded, the paper said. 

THE CASE 

The case is seen as a  

watershed in efforts to get AIDS medicines, known as anti-retroviral drugs, to poor countries. Hearing is to resume April 18, and a  

judgment may not come for months. The losing side can appeal.

In its feverish quest to develop magical electronic devices during the great expansion, America overlooked and bypassed some of the more mundane ingredients of a sound economy. 

Such as adequate power.  

It developed the computer and the Internet and hundreds of ingenious electronic devices – and the factories to make them – but it failed to develop enough power to keep the lights on everywhere. 

It created amazing global positioning devices to track the shipment of goods, but it failed to keep the interstate highway system up to date and in good repair. And urban traffic, says a highway group, is worse off. 

Railroad modernization also lagged. Japan and France, most notably, ran high-speed trains years before Americans inaugurated the Acela bullet train on just one corridor, from Washington to Boston. 

Bigger and faster aircraft were built, but technological ingenuity was insufficient to the task of finding room over the busiest airports to avoid time-consuming traffic snarls, especially in inclement weather. 

And now the ultimate delinquency: The high-tech industries have created wireless communication marvels able to turn on your oven and access the Internet, but we may not have enough radio spectrum for them. 

Three Federal agencies report that there just isn’t enough room on the radio spectrum to easily accommodate these wireless devices without cutting the share assigned to schools and national security. 

Potential shortages of the sort now facing the nation were recognized long ago, but the country, totally engrossed in the marvelous, profitable and forever-new world of electronics, didn’t have time for such worries. Amtrak now says it can develop additional corridors, but that it might require $10 billion over 10 years. 

The Road Information Program, financed mainly by highway builders, says one-third of 850,000 miles of urban roadways are in poor or mediocre condition, costing drivers an average of $141 a year in wear and tear. 

And the nation’s power system – 3,000 plants and 201,243 miles of high voltage transmission lines – even now may be near its limits, posing a monumental challenge to a quickening pace of economic expansion. 

It could mean that America’s high-tech geniuses will be faced as much with correcting the omissions of the past as with the possibilities of the future. 

And with getting the most out of each strand of wire, each fraction of the radio spectrum, each gallon of gasoline, and each mile of rail and pavement. 

John Cunniff is a business analyst for The Associated Press

SAN JOSE — Online auction powerhouse eBay Inc. is telling users their personal data would be shared if eBay is bought out or merges with another company. 

The new privacy policy takes effect May 15, but eBay already has placed notices about it on its site, which counted 22 million registered users at the beginning of the year. 

The new policy makes clear, however, that eBay or its subsidiaries “could merge with or be acquired by another business entity. Should such a combination occur, you should expect that eBay would share some or all of your information in order to continue to provide the service.” 

The notice on the site said the change was being made in light of the Federal Trade Commission’s objections to Toysmart.com’s plans to sell its customer records after it went out of business. Toysmart’s records eventually were destroyed. 

An eBay spokesman did not return a call seeking further comment. 

In a separate update to the site’s user agreement that also takes effect May 15, eBay noted that it is not an auctioneer in the traditional sense but merely a platform for buying and selling goods. 

The statement does not reflect a change in eBay’s official stance, but merely seeks to clarify what the company sees as its role. EBay has used that description in defense of suits brought by people who claimed they were defrauded by sellers on the site. 

EBay noted in its annual report filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission that its “future success will depend largely upon sellers reliably delivering and accurately representing their listed goods and buyers paying the agreed purchase price.” 

A raucous meeting of the Environmental Sampling Project Task Force last Thursday was further disrupted when a city commissioner allegedly kicked an empty chair which in turn struck another chair occupied by a political opponent. 

After a heated public comments period, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory consultant Owen Hoffman was about to give a presentation on tritium air monitoring stations when a woman in the audience began to interrupt the meeting.  

The woman, Barbara George, president of Women’s Energy Matters, refused requests by members of the task force and the audience to be quiet.  

According to witnesses, Community Environmental Advisory Commissioner Gordon Wozniak, who was also sitting in the audience, asked George to be quiet several times and finally told her to shut up in a loud voice. When she didn’t, Wozniak, who was seated two rows behind George, allegedly kicked an empty folding metal chair. The chair then struck the back of George’s chair, witnesses said. 

According to a report from the Berkeley Police Department, George called police and said she was intentionally attacked. However, Wozniak said he never intended for the chair to strike George’s and only kicked the chair for emphasis.  

“Each party had supporting witnesses,” the report read. 

Berkeley Police issued Wozniak with a citation which he signed.  

Woziak has been a lightning rod for controversy since City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque issued an opinion that he should resign from the CEAC because his job at LBNL, where he is a senior chemist, creates a conflict of interest. The CEAC considers multiple issues related to the lab. 

Wozniak has refused to resign and the city is legally powerless to remove him. The City Council is currently considering enacting a new ordinance that would give it authority to remove commissioners under certain circumstances. 

Wozniak, a longtime Berkeley resident who has served on several city commissions, has cooperated with the city attorney and the City Council in trying to reach a compromise. 

Wozniak’s refusal to resign from the CEAC has infuriated members of the Commission to Minimize Toxic Waste and some other members of the CEAC. Two regular meetings of the committee have collapsed under the weight of confusion and acrimony since the city attorney issued her opinion. 

The meeting, held at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, was scheduled to discuss a planned air monitoring system to measure the release of tritium – a radioactive isotope that can cause cancer if inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin – into the air by the National Tritium Labeling Facility located at the Lab.  

The Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste, a community organization that largely consists of neighbors of the lab, has aggressively opposed the tritium facility. They have also actively campaigned for Wozniak's removal from the CEAC. George said she is closely associated with the committee. 

One audience member, who asked not to be identified, said it did not appear that the kicked chair struck George's chair with much force. The witness also said George appeared to be fine immediately after the incident and it was only after someone told her a minute or so later that it was Wozniak who kicked the chair that she began yelling that she had been attacked.  

George said she was in shock at first and it took several moments for her to realize she was injured. She said she drove herself to Alta Bates/Summit Medical Center where she was treated and released.  

She said the doctor told her she was experiencing bruising and muscle spasms related to the trauma. “They told me to go home and ice the area and take aspirin,” George said. “They also recommended I go to counseling because of the attack.”  

While out of town this weekend, Wozniak said the incident is clearly being blown out of proportion.

Monday, April 2

Beginning Bicyclist Workshop  

7 - 9 p.m. 

YMCA  

2001 Allston Way  

Community Room 1, Main Floor  

Jason Meggs and Zed Lopez will teach you how to keep yourself and your bike safe and even how to use your bike for shopping. Free  

Call Jason Meggs, 549-RIDE 

Free Writing, Cashiering & Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

Free classes offered Monday through Friday. Stop by and register or call 548-6700. 

www.ajob.org 

Tritium in Berkeley 

4 - 6 p.m. & 7 - 10 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Multipurpose Room  

Bernd Franke will make a presentation on his independent findings of the tritium releases and radiation hazards associated with the National Tritium Labeling Facility, located at Lawrence Berkeley Lab. Presented by the City of Berkeley and the Community Environmental Advisory Commission.  

705-8150 or e-mail: toxics@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Hedda Gabler  

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St.  

Aurora Theater Director Barbara Oliver will talk about the new play “Hedda Gabler.” Limited free matinee tickets will be given out for the April 7 performance.  

644-6107 

Tuesday, April 3

“Great Decisions” - Conflict Resolution in Africa  

10 a.m. - Noon  

Berkeley City Club  

2315 Durant Ave.  

The first in a series of eight weekly lectures with the goal of informing the public of current major policy issues. Many of the lectures are presented by specialists in their field and are often from the University of California. Feedback received at these lectures is held in high regard by those in the government responsible for national policy.  

$5 single session 

Call Berton Wilson, 526-2925 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

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 

Mandarin Lessons 

1:30 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

With Cecilia Wan. Free 

644-6107 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

Young Queer Women’s Group 

8 - 9:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center 

2712 Telegraph Ave.  

Make some new friends, expand your horizons and get support with a bunch of queer women all in the same place at the same time (somewhere between 18 and 25).  

548-8283 or visit www.pacificcenter.org 

Intelligent Conversation  

7 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will be about financial planning, investments, tax, and the stock market. Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park, and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free  

527-5332 

Community Organization  

12:45 - 1:45 p.m.  

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

Mudd 103  

A “Real Deal” seminar with Don Stalhut and David Mann on community organization. Bring a lunch.  

849-8229 

Wednesday, April 4

Stagebridge Free Acting &  

Storytelling Classes for  

Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Word for Word  

3:30 p.m. 

South Branch Berkeley Library  

1901 Russel St.  

Dramatic group Word for Word returns to the library with a brand new play for children, the Russian folktale “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.” 

Call 649-3943 

The Voiceless Poor  

7 - 9 p.m.  

School of Journalism Library  

121 North Gate Hall  

UC Berkeley  

Part of the Terner Series, an informal salon-style discussion series, which brings together industry professionals, students, and interested community members. This session is a discussion of why low-income people have no say in local development battles. Free 

April Birthday Party  

1:15 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

UC dancers will entertain and refreshments will be served. 

644-6107 

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. The class will cover basic hardware identification and specification, basic understanding of software, basic word-processing and basic spreadsheets.  

Call 644-6226 

Income Tax Assistance  

9 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Call Maggie for an appointment, 644-6107. 

“Women’s Scholarship as  

Prophetic Voices” 

6:30 - 9 p.m.  

2400 Ridge Rd.  

Hewlett Library  

Dinner Board Room  

The Annual Women’s Theological Forum.  

649-2490

Tree removal not just government’s problem 

Editor: 

I have to disagree with my colleague Elliot Cohen. While the destruction of eight street trees does portray government incompetance well, the people who agreed to the “compromise” requiring the removal of dozens of healthy trees downtown need to accept a share of the responsibility. 

Carol Denney 

Berkeley 

Levi’s having worldwide problems; Haas School of Business goes on 

Editor:  

If you’ll pardon the expression, Levi’s are losing their pants all over the world... 

• Laid off 18,500 workers since 1997; closed 29 plants 

• Profits dropped 55 percent in the first quarter of this year 

• There are over 110 different brands of jeans on the market  

• Hurting Levi’s are the failures of department stores in the U.S. and Japan (S.F. Chronicle, March 21)  

Okay, enough of that; what should be pointed out (but never is) is that Levi’s are owned by the Haas family, which also underwrites the “Haas School of Business” at UC Berkeley; here, students go to earn their MBAs in “Market Strategy” to avoid such pitfalls as above.  

As an old Yiddish song goes, “Sam, you made the pants too long.”  

George Kauffman 

Berkeley 

Congregation Beth El project should be moved forward by City Council 

Editor: 

Congregation Beth El’s new synagogue has been approved by the Zoning Adjustments Board. This decision was welcomed by hundreds of Berkeley residents. Yet a small group of opponents of the project continues to attack it in the Daily Planet and elsewhere. 

Perhaps it’s time to ask, “How do these opponents really want the property to be used?” 

As a park? Years ago, the city turned down the opportunity to buy this land to add another park across the street from Live Oak Park when other areas of the city had few or no parks. 

As an apartment complex? As the site of a “monster” luxury home? Such uses would destroy the historic unity of the site and would not preserve the lot’s green border and many beautiful trees. 

One wonders if any reasonable use of the land would satisfy the opponents of this project. 

A few years ago, Congregation Beth El bought this land from the church that owned it and has made plans to build on it in accordance with all city zoning regulations. The environmental impact report gave the project a thumbs up. As part of its overall plan, Beth El intends to restore and protect parts of Codornices Creek, which have been neglected for decades. 

In addition, Congregation Beth El’s world-renowned architects have designed a facility that respects and sustains the beauty of the site; that fits the style of the neighborhood; that meets the desperate need of the congregation for a larger facility; that incorporates suggestions from interested citizens and from members of the Zoning Board, the Design Review Commission, the City Planning Department; and that resolves parking and traffic problems. 

No other plan exists that accomplishes all of these objectives. 

One hopes the City Council will approve this project, so Beth El can move forward – as a good neighbor, continuing to serve the spiritual, social and welfare needs of our community. 

James Sinkinson 

Oakland 

Republican Congress blind to many people’s issues – except the wealthy 

Editor:  

Extreme measures meant to stimulate this Republican-led economy may also cause a bigger gap between the haves and have-nots, as well as undermine public confidence.  

The dominant side of Congress appears unwilling to see Americans on the right, who are beyond their wage-earning years, and Americans on the left, who are yet to achieve the level of earnings necessary to be a substantial payer of income taxes. What, no refunds? No lower tax rate? Congress seems centered on only helping the wealthy of today.  

Many former and current workers, rural people, as well as consumers of yesterday also helped to build and nourish today’s great American surpluses.  

Don’t panic – fix a tax system that may not be broken, nor blindly rush to extremes, causing profound mistakes. Instead, pay down the national debt and then reward individuals with one simple windfall early this year and next, if surpluses remain.  

Let’s actually act now, as President George W. Bush says so often, “leaving no child behind.”  

John Bauer 

Martinez 

Small construction project a big burden on area 

Editor: 

Let us have a moment of silence for the dearly departed. 

Not a person, but a small tract of land on the northeast corner of Virginia Avenue and Oxford Street. The University of California has decided it needs the land to build more parking and has hired the construction firm of CW Roen to do its dirty work. UC also plans to raze a tiny university research garden along the west side. 

This construction comes on the tail end of the recent private demolition of another, more overgrown garden down the street that for a while served as an outdoor antique shop. Walking through it was like visiting a natural sanctuary that someone had forgotten to destroy. 

I suppose we residents of the Northside should be grateful for the years that Virginia between Oxford and Shattuck was a large expanse of field and garden, and that its owners had left it idle. 

But the new construction fundamentally changes the feel of the neighborhood. I pity those living in the apartments around the perimeter of the tract, and all of us for losing another bit of nature. 

On the corner of Walnut, half a dozen toddlers sitting in a big red wagon watching curiously as the heavy moving equipment churned up the earth. 

(They’re just getting a lesson in property rights.) 

A woman was leered at as she walked past the construction site. This was no longer a pleasant walk to lunch, just another urban gauntlet filled with the usual burly suspects. 

Almost brazenly, she called out to one of them: “Do you like ruining everything you see?” 

“Yeah,” One of the workers answered gruffly. 

Roger Marks 

Berkeley

Habitot Children’s Museum “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. Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

Judah L. Magnes Museum “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. 2911 Russell St. 549-6950  

UC Berkeley Art Museum “Joe Brainard: A Retrospective,” Through May 27. The selections include 150 collages, assemblages, paintings, drawings, and book covers. Brainard’s art is characterized by its humor and exhuberant color, and by its combinations of media and subject matter; “Muntadas - On Translation: The Audience” Through April 29. This conceptual artist and pioneer of video, installation, and Internet art presents three installations; “Ernesto Neto/MATRIX 19” A Maximum Minimum Time Space Between Us and the Parsimonious Universe, Through April 15. Made from disposable materials such as styrofoam pellets, glass, paper, paraffin wax, and nylon stockings, Neto’s sensual sculptural works provoke viewers to interact with his art; “Ed Osborn/MATRIX 193” This Oakland-based artist will use low-tech gadgetry to turn the museum into a sound sculpture as part of his site-specific installation Vanishing Point; “A Passion for Art: The Disaronno Originale Photography Collection,” April 4 - 18 Featuring the work of photographers worldwide who have demonstrated passion and excellence; $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. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. 642-0808. 

The Asian Galleries “Art of the Sung: Court and Monastery” 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. 642-0808 

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. 642-1821 

UC Berkeley Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology “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. Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way and College Ave. 643-7648  

Lawrence Hall of Science “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. “Vision,” Through April 15 Get a very close look at how the eyes and brain work together to focus light, perceive color and motion, and process infomation. “T. Rex on Trial,” Through May 28 Where was T. Rex at the time of the crime? Learn how paleontologists decipher clues to dinosaur behavior. “Fossil Finding with Annie Montague Alexander” March 31 & April 21; “Saturday Night Stargazing,” First and third Saturdays each month. 8 - 10 p.m., LHS plaza. Computer Lab, Saturdays 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. 642-5132 

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

924 Gilman St. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless noted $5; $2 for a year membership. April 6: Link 80, Lucky Strike, 5th Wheel, Kung Fu Chicken; April 7: The Plus Ones, The Evaporators, The Pattern, Dukes of Hamburg, The Goblins/Disgoblins/Skablins/Gothblins; April 13: The Locust, Dead & Gone, Honeysuckle Serontina, Tourettes Latrec, Last Great Liar 525-9926  

Albatross Pub All music begins at 9 p.m. April 3: pickPocket ensemble; April 4: Whiskey Brothers; April 5: Keni “El Lebrijano”; April 7: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; April 10: Mad & Eddie Duran Jazz Duo; April 12: Keni “El Lebrijano”; April 17: pickPocket ensemble; April 18: Whiskey Brothers; April 19: Keni “El Lebrijano” 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

Ashkenaz April 8: “A Little Houseboat Music for Annie” is a benefit concert to help Oakland’s Archway School’s art teacher, Annie Clark, replace her houseboat, which was destroyed in a fire in February - performances by Michael James Quartet, The Wild Buds, Jim Stice Orchestra, Nova Trova and Ray Cepeda and the Neo-Maya Experience; April 29: Clinton Fearon & Boogie Brown Band; May 6, 7 p.m.: Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble 1370 San Pablo Ave. (at Gilman) 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Freight & Salvage All music at 8 p.m. April 1: Darol Anger’s Fiddle Congress & Melee w/Stuart Duncan & Bruce Molsky; April 3: Nerissa Nields & Pam Houston; April 5: Battlefield Band; April 6: Garnet Rogers; April 7: Eric Lowen & Dan Navarro; April 8: Martin Simpson & Jessica Radcliffe; April 10: Kevin Burke; April 12: Tony Marcus & Patrice Haan, Julian Smedley & Allison Odell; April 13: Ray Wylie Hubbard; April 14: Dix Bruce & Jim Nunally, Eddie & Marthie Adcock 1111 Addison St. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jazzschool/La Note All music at 4:30 p.m. April 8: The Marcos Silva Quartet; April 15: Art Lande and Mark Miller; April 22: Alan Hall & Friends 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 or visit www.jazzschool.com

Oakland slugger sets the tone on young club 

As the Oakland Athletics prepare for their opener today, they will be taking on an unfamiliar role: the favorite. 

No players remain from the last time the A’s were the favorite to win the American League West. That was in the early ’90s, the end of the powerful dynasty founded on Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and Dave Stewart. Most of the players on this year’s roster were still in high school back then. 

The elder statesman of the current version is Jason Giambi, at the ripe old age of 30. With designated hitter John Jaha starting the year on the shelf, Giambi is the only starting position player older than 27. But these A’s, despite their youth, are one of the best teams in the game. 

It all starts with Giambi. Last year’s AL MVP, he sets the tone both on and off the field. He is exactly the type of player the organization has tried to develop for the past few years: a masher who only swings at strikes. Don’t look for stolen bases and sacrifice bunts from this squad; they prefer a leisurely stroll around the bases. They get on base any way they can, then wait for someone to drive them in with the longball. 

Giambi is joined in the middle of the lineup by up-and-coming stars Miguel Tejada and Eric Chavez. Tejada is a shortstop who is rapidly making his way towards the big three of Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra and Derek Jeter at the top of the heap at the position. His 30 homers and 115 RBI last season would make him an All-Star in any other era, but right now he’s got to wait his turn behind the superstars. 

Chavez joins him on the left side of the infield, a third baseman with outstanding power and a rapidly improving fielder. But he’s just another guy for the A’s, who have eight players on their roster who could hit at least 30 homers this year. 

The biggest change for the A’s this season will be at the top of the order. Johnny Damon, the left fielder acquired from the Kansas City Royals in the offseason, may be the best leadoff hitter in baseball. With him setting the table rather than center fielder Terrence Long (who could drive in 100 runs from the seven hole), the A’s are even more dangerous than last season, when they scored the third-most runs in the league. 

But unlike the teams that have a lineup full of giants and a rotation full of weaklings (see: Texas Rangers), the A’s don’t have to score 10 runs every night to win. They have a staff that can carry them through any rough patches. It all starts with ace Tim Hudson, a 20-game winner at the tender age of 25 last year. If fellow youngsters Barry Zito and Mark Mulder can live up to their promise, Oakland could have the best rotation this side of the Yankees. They will hand the ball off to a solid bullpen, with setup men Jeff Tam and Jim Mecir bridging the gap to developing closer Jason Isringhausen. Isringhausen saved 33 games last year in his first try as a closer, and should improve his secondary numbers this year. 

With Giambi’s contract status still up the air after a spring training full of negotiations, this season could end up being a one-year window of opportunity. It’s possible both he and Damon could leave the club as free agents after this year, which would punch a great big hole in the team general manager Billy Beane has put together so carefully. The three-time defending champion Yankees aren’t getting any younger, and they look more vulnerable than ever right now. The last A’s dynasty netted just one World Series championship. If they don’t win it this year, this young team may never even make it that far.

Israeli matzoh boycott hits home 

A new movement on the part of Jewish Americans in support of Palestinian rights challenges the notion that there is a monolithic Jewish voice in support of Israel. Saturday one such group, Jews for Divestment, handed out leaflets in front of Berkeley supermarkets to organize a boycott of Israeli matzoh for this year’s Passover on April 8. 

“I think the Jewish community that I’ve seen has been very torn about it,” said Morgan Fichter, a member of Jews for Justice and Women in Black, groups that try to call attention to the situation in Palestine.  

“Jewish people are speaking out, saying ‘not in my name,’” she said. 

The boycott is in support of a general boycott by the Arab anti-discrimination committee on Israeli products and people in front of the Berkeley Bowl reacted strongly. 

Sylvia Levy pushed a full shopping cart empty of Israeli matzoh out of the market yesterday. She said that she will be buying U.S. matzoh this year although she has purchased Israeli matzoh in the past.  

“It brings the issue into reality,” she said. “Here you have a product from Israel. You have a choice.” 

The boycott, she said, forces people to recognize that purchasing goods from Israel is in effect supporting the Israeli state, something that she does not feel comfortable doing.  

On the other end of the spectrum, Tom Schatzki left the market enraged.  

“They’re living in someone else’s land,” he said, pointing to the group trying to organize the boycott. “In 1948, in the War of Independence, the Arabs had one goal, to destroy the Jews.”  

The woman with him was so angry that she simply made an obscene hand gesture towards the group but otherwise remained silent. 

Schatzki struggled to retain his cool. “I’m liberal as hell,” he said. “But I’m not crazy.”  

Passover, a time for reflection on the liberation of the Jewish people, is a particularly sensitive time to call a boycott. And Matzoh, the unleavened bread eaten during Passover, is central to the Passover celebration. The organizers planned it that way. 

“Passover is a celebration of the liberation of Jews, the struggle for Jewish freedom in Egypt,” said Cindy Shamban. “It’s also a time when people are thinking about the issues of freedom and the issues of repression. Israelis can not have their freedom on the backs of other people.” 

Shirley Hamburg said that an obvious division in the Jewish community around the Israeli-Palestinian question is new.  

“There’s never been any significant number of Jewish people that have come together in criticism of Israel,” she said. “I think it’s a new generation that has come up and does not really feel more secure in the world because of Israel. They feel less secure.” 

Hamburg didn’t have any obvious or certain explanations for the new movement amongst progressive Jews for Palestinian rights, but she said her parents generation grew up with a tremendous amount of anti-Semitism. She also said her parents believed that Jewish security would be supported if there was a homeland where Jewish people could control their own lives. 

Although Hamburg said children learn to unconditionally support the actions of Israel, she added that was changing.  

“They realize that actually to support our people is to support the Palestinian people. There can’t be security without peace. The whole thing is turned on it’s head,” she said. 

The boycott is not expected to make a strong economic difference to Israel, said organizers. But supporters took heart in the small movement.  

“I think it’s 50 years late,” said Khalil Bendib.  

Bendib said that ever since the movement to divest from South Africa in protest of apartheid he had hoped people would take the same tack with Palestine.  

“I was always wishing there wouldn’t be a double standard,” he said.  

Although all supporters of the boycott recognized that the boycott at this stage is simply a symbolic gesture, they hoped to use it as a means for spreading information about the injustices they believe are committed on the Palestinian people, in part to counterbalance what they see as a widespread bias towards Israel in the media. 

Bendib described problems he sees in media coverage of the Israeli-Arab conflict.  

“You really have to scrutinize the paper to find the word ‘occupation.’” he said, referring to the fact that according to the United Nations, Palestine is under occupation by the Israeli military. 

Instead he said, “You’re led to believe that Palestinians are naturally violent,” because there is no explicit statement of the reason for their fight.  

Bendib believes the bias carries over into descriptions of the intifada, and the consequent Israeli crackdown.  

“Palestinians ‘die in clashes,’ as though it were an act of god,” he said. “Israelis are ‘killed by Palestinians.’.

Golden Bear Gymnastic Team members Ryan Race, Marissa Tolero and Jane Hartman, the only representatives from Berkeley, participated in NorCal’s Level 7 State Championships in Rohnert Park over the weekend of March 24-25 and came home winners. 

On Saturday, Marissa Tolero competed with 53 top gymnasts in the 11-year-old category and waited until the final rotation of the four-event rotation before winning the state title with her performance on the balance beam, scoring 9.3 and beating eventual all-around winner Stephanie Cheng of San Jose. Tolero has now won the state beam championship three consecutive years in three different Levels. 

On Sunday, 12-year-old Ryan Race won the state uneven bars title by posting a score of 9.5 over 53 other gymnasts. She also placed second in vault (9.35) and all-around (37.4), then third in the balance beam with a score of 9.325, respectively. Race was named to the All-State Team by virtue of her all-around score.  

Jane Hartman, also 12, tied for silver with a 9.45 score in the floor exercise. The trio’s Golden Bear teammates Michelle Estrada of Pinole, Amanda Wolf of Orinda and Lani Fung of Piedmont contributed their scores to help win the Second Place Team Trophy. 

The three Berkeley participants all attend Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley. 

They are now concentrating on competing at the upcoming USAIGC Regionals being held at San Dimas on May 5-6 to qualify to the National Championships.

Several people handing out leaflets from the group Jews for Divestment were forced to leave the Berkeley Bowl parking lot yesterday as they tried to organize a boycott against Israeli matzoh.  

Berkeley Police were called and the group left without incident, but Sgt. Robert Baum later said people have the right to hand out leaflets on private parking lot property. 

At noon, the manager asked the protestors to move onto the public sidewalks, claiming that they have no right to leaflet on the market’s private property. He told them they were welcome to leaflet on the public sidewalks, but not on the private parking lot or at the entrance to the Berkeley Bowl itself.  

Because of the way the Berkeley bowl parking lot and entrance are situated, there is not much traffic along the sidewalks and people handing out leaflets disregarded that option as an effective means of getting out that message. 

Baum arrived to enforce the request. The group left, not wanting to risk violating the law or antagonizing the manager of the Berkeley Bowl. 

“Our point isn’t confrontation with the stores. Our point is to get the information out,” said Cindy Shamban.  

At the time, Baum believed that the law indicated that private businesses, “have a right to decide who can stand on their property.” 

After reviewing the law, Baum discovered that according to free speech rights, people can leaflet on private parking lots. He called and informed both the manager and the Daily Planet. 

“Apparently I was incorrect. The law is, as far as I can determine, that it’s a matter of free speech and people have the right to distribute handbills on private business parking lot areas,” he said. “As long as the people are not impeding the ingress or egress of the customers or doing any other activity which could be determined disruptive it is legal for them to be there.” 

Between five and 10 people handed out leaflets. When there seemed to be too many earlier in the morning, a group relocated to the Safeway at Claremont and College avenues to decrease the density of the group, said Shamban. 

The group stood well away from the doors, passed out flyers to passing customers and discussed the boycott. Shamban said that she often finds people handing out leaflets in front of the popular Berkeley Bowl grocery store, known for its high quality produce.  

The manager, Sam Zarnegar, refused to explain his decision in asking the leafletters to leave the Berkeley Bowl parking lot, simply stating that he “believed” there was a policy to require people in front of the Berkeley Bowl to contact management ahead of time.  

Shortly after the protesters left, at approximately 1 p.m., a man registering people to vote set up in front of the doors of the Berkeley Bowl. He said that he had never contacted the management ahead of time to use the parking lot space. In fact, he said he was quite pleased to find the area empty today, and to have the whole area to himself.

“How can we create schools that expect all children to reach for their dreams?” 

“I felt guilty that I was teaching children who, by the end of the year, I hadn’t reached the way I wanted to…” 

These are just some of the comments a small group of Berkeley High School parents and teachers heard one day last week as they gathered during the school’s lunch period to watch a film entitled, “Tell No Lies.” 

Produced by The Small Schools Workshop of Chicago — a group of educators, organizers and researchers working to promote smaller public schools — the film tells, among other stories, how Chicago’s Vocational High School has reorganized into “small learning communities” to address the increasing alienation of poor performing students.  

Since last fall, Berkeley High has made use of a $50,000 federal planning grant to examine whether small learning communities might solve some of the school’s most intractable problems, such as the achievement gap between white students and students of color. 

If enough parents, teachers and students lend their support to the concept by this spring, the school’s Small Learning Communities Committee will be charged with drawing up a proposal. The proposal, in turn, would be used to apply for up to $1 million in federal money to implement small learning communities at Berkeley High for the fall of 2002. 

All around the country, large schools are looking at the idea of small learning communities as a way to offer alternatives for students who learn in different ways and have different academic goals. It is no longer realistic, parents and educators argue, to expect all students to adhere to a one-size-fits-all curriculum. 

Supporters point to research that shows small learning communities: raise student achievement and engagement by having a team of teachers dedicated to the success of a small group of students; reduce feelings of isolation and anonymity by placing students into groups small enough to have a sense of community; increase attendance and lower drop out rates by assuring that all students can find a course of study of interest and of use to them; elevate teacher satisfaction and reduce incidents of violence and disruptive behavior. 

“It’s astonishing that a nation so hugely, flagrantly nostalgic for the personal touch and the family doctor, the community festival and the small town, has watched quietly while its high schools have grown into big cities,” observed a Newsweek article last week, examining the connection between bigger schools and the raging epidemic of school shootings. 

Average school enrollment in the United States increased fivefold between 1940 and 1990, the article reported. With 3,200 students, Berkeley High ranks with Chicago Vocational High School among the largest high schools in the country.  

Berkeley High teacher Rick Ayers is coordinating the small learning communities planning process at the school. He has been meeting with small groups of teachers since last fall and is now expanding the process to larger community meetings, including two that have been scheduled tentatively for April 17 and May 3. 

Ayers, who began as a elementary school teacher in Berkeley and now teaches some of the same students in high school, said he’s seen too many students who were engaged in the lower grades lose interest by the time they reached high school. 

“When did the dreams crash?” Ayers asked after showing the segment of “Tell No Lies.” on Wednesday. “What happened and what can we do?” 

Frances Martinez, one of the Berkeley High parents in the audience Wednesday, said she has already seen a small learning community work for her son, who is part of Berkeley High’s Communication Arts and Sciences (CAS) program.  

“It’s given him an opportunity not to be lost in this vast school,” Martinez said. “(CAS Teachers) know their students and they care about what they’re doing and it really shows.” 

Berkeley High has three small learning communities already up and running and one more on the way. The programs were launched by groups of teachers with a vision to enhance students’ experience of the Berkeley High curriculum by creating schools-within-a-school, each with a specific mission. CAS students learn to use modern media tools to work on projects that promote social justice. Students in the Common Ground program, another small learning community, focus on ecological literacy and then work to promote environmental causes in the larger community. 

Still, Ayers said, the success of these programs rests largely on the dedication of the small group of founding teachers who go to extraordinary lengths to keep it functioning. If these programs are to continue to thrive, Ayers said, the whole school needs to move to a small learning community model. 

Berkeley High parent Iris Starr has played a central role in organizing the small learning community planning process at the school.  

“It’s not like a brand new, untested thing,” Starr said. “People are doing it. What we’re doing isn’t working, so there’s no harm in looking.” 

But for the planning process to be legitimate, Starr said it is important to have teachers, parents, students and administrators all working together. 

“We’re trying to have a long enough open period so people can get an idea that this is being discussed before anything moves,” Starr said. “We’re trying to form this so everybody has a clear say.” 

For more information about small learning communities at Berkeley High, contact Rick Ayers at 644-4586.

Alex Setzepfandt, who attends private school in Berkeley, is just like any other 11-year-old kid, except that he plays chess good enough to be called a champion.  

Setzepfandt’s mother, Patty, said she never directly exposed Alex to chess, but that he has a natural love for the game. When he was 6, Patty said he was out in the car with his dad when they passed a café in Berkeley where some people were playing chess outside. The boy asked his dad to stop so he could watch the game.  

According to Alex, he got bored playing computer Monopoly, and in his search for a game that challenged him, found chess.  

“The calculation in chess is endless and there’s a lot of strategy,” he said.  

Initially, Alex said he and his dad learned how to play out of a book. In his first year of play, Alex went to the California state championships and, as his mom proudly said, “won every game.”  

Around the same time, while still in kindergarten, Alex created a complete chess set in his ceramics class, including a hand-painted board.  

Just five short years later, Alex is rated second in the nation in his age group in the United States Chess Federation.  

His current rating of 1864 makes him an A-level player, just 400 points shy of master level. According to his mom, Alex should reach master level by the time he’s 13.  

The most memorable match Alex ever played was in Los Angeles and lasted six hours, he said. The game lasted 102 moves, while the average game usually lasts only about 40. A move consists of each player moving one of their pieces.  

Alex works on his chess game an average of two hours a night, has a lesson every week and often plays in tournaments on the weekends. Despite the long hours of play, his mom said Alex has the usual fun that kids his age have.  

“He is constantly joking. He has a ‘Woody-Allen’-type personality,” Patty said. “He puts people before chess. He’ll always choose a birthday party over a tournament.”  

Not surprisingly, Alex scored in the 99th percentile in national math tests. He is also interested in science, currently reading a textbook on microbiology, but would ultimately like to attend Stanford and become a lawyer. 

Sometime when adults play Alex, his mom said, they won’t give up because they don’t want to lose to a kid. Some ultimately lose to Alex, but he is always gracious and takes his victories in stride. He also never cries when he loses, according to Patty.  

“He just tries to figure out what he can do better,” she said.

Caltrans will close Interstate Highway 80 near University Avenue in Berkeley this week to set up construction of a bicycle and pedestrian bridge that will connect the city with its marina. 

All lanes of of westbound I-80 will be closed Thursday, April 5, from 12:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m., and the University Avenue on ramp will be closed beginning at 10 p.m. Wednesday until 5 a.m. Thursday. 

During the closure, west-bound traffic will be diverted off the University Avenue off-ramp, to San Pablo Avenue, to Ashby Avenue and then back on the freeway. 

On Friday, April 6, the eastbound lanes of I-80 will be shut down, and the Ashby Avenue on ramp from eastbound I-80 will be closed from Thursday at 10 p.m. until Friday at 6 a.m. 

During the eastbound closure, traffic will be detoured at Ashby Avenue, and lead to the University Avenue on ramp via San Pablo Avenue. 

Caltrans promises the closures and the detour routes will be clearly marked to advise motorists where to go. The $4.5 million construction project is scheduled to continue until the fall.

The 650-member Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley is asking for donations of products, services or gift certificates from local businesses for its annual Goods and Services Auction on April 21 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.  

Church programs include: the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program, providing a daily meal at the Richmond Souper Center; the Social Action Council, which reduces hunger and homelessness, protects children from abuse and neglect and helps refugees; the Jubilee Committee, church members who volunteer tutoring and other assistance in elementary schools; the Good Neighbor Offering, which supports 12 human services organizations.  

Pick-up will be at the convenience of the donator. Donations can also be sent to: Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, Attn.: Auction Committee, One Lawson Road, Kensington, 94707. Interested businesses may also call Gordon White at 522-8383.

SAN ANSELMO – Like 70 percent of America’s high school students, junior Jesse Gross is one of about 1,000 other teen-agers at his school. But unlike some of his peers, Jesse doesn’t feel isolated, insignificant or swallowed up by the huge school. 

Jesse attends Academy X, about 80 students and a small group of teachers, within Sir Francis Drake High School. 

It’s part of a national movement that’s gaining steam with each school shooting. 

“It’s nearly impossible to be an outsider in a community like this,” Gross said. “No one’s really shunned, and in this intimate an environment it would be hard not to notice someone who was that angry.” 

Backed by a growing body of research and a sense of desperation, large high schools are breaking themselves down into smaller, more personal communities. They’ve won the financial support of the federal government and several major foundations, which, in the wake of the Columbine school shooting, believe smaller could mean better and safer. 

“I really believe many of the (other) things we’re doing in school reform are just so much shifting of deck chairs on the Titanic, so long as we continue to herd children into huge impersonal schools,” said researcher Kathleen Cotton of the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory in Portland. 

About 70 percent of U.S. students attend high schools of more than 1,000 students, according to the U.S. Department of Education, and many attend schools with 2,000 to 5,000 students. 

Reform-minded educators taking a fresh look at most American high schools see factories instead. Each year, hundreds of teens are inserted into a school, scheduled into standard rotations of course work, and, hopefully, squeezed out at age 18 with a diploma. But many get lost among their thousands of peers. 

Cities such as New York, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia are now knee-deep in the small school movement. Oakland has made small schools a top priority. San Francisco’s new superintendent is proposing breaking schools into smaller learning communities, as are high school leaders across the Bay Area. 

Spurred by the deadly shooting at Columbine High, Congress passed a bill to nurture the development of smaller learning communities. It gave $45 million to help 354 schools begin breaking down in size this year and will give another $125 million in December. 

California school districts won 38 of those grants. Bay Area winners included all six high schools in Mount Diablo Unified, Sir Francis Drake High, Berkeley High, Pinole Valley High, Balboa High in San Francisco, five Oakland high schools and Antioch High. 

Foundations also have stepped in, particularly the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which last year gave $37 million to develop smaller learning communities in California. 

Students in the academies usually take three to four classes together with the academy’s small group of teachers. But many other students at those schools are in a traditional high school program. 

Sir Francis Drake’s academies serve about three quarters of its students, but the school plans to use grant money to make sure all students belong to an academy. 

“This environment has brought a lot of personality out of me,” Jesse said. “I think I would have kept to myself a lot more if I hadn’t joined one of these academies.”

State to pay $75 for appliances 

SAN JOSE — An ambitious program to slash electric use will pay Californians $75 for their extra refrigerators and freezers. 

There’s no charge for the pickup and everyone gets a check as long as the appliance works. 

Energy analysts say refrigerators are the single largest energy-consuming appliance in most homes. It’s responsible for 9 percent of a household’s total electric bill. 

Appliance Recycling Centers of America has already picked up 8,000 freezers and fridges in the San Francisco Bay area. There’s enough $75 checks left to pick up 15,000 more. 

To schedule a pickup, call 800-599-5798 or go online at www.8005995798.com. 

Golden Gate U. to cut programs 

SAN FRANCISCO — Golden Gate University will keep its schools of law, business and technology. But it will shed most of its other programs in the next year. 

The 148-year-old school has fought dwindling enrollment. About 5,400 students are now enrolled. That’s a 20 percent drop during the last seven years. 

Ninety percent of the school’s students attend the schools of law, business and technology. 

University President Philip Friedman will discuss the changes at a staffwide meeting Monday. 

Emeryville gets rid of billboards 

EMERYVILLE — In exchange for one large freeway billboard near Ikea, Eller Media removed 15 smaller signs in downtown Emeryville. 

Eller’s competitor Infinity still has a couple billboards along the San Pablo corridor, but Eller’s absence will go a long way toward making Emeryville nearly billboard free. 

Both Berkeley and Oakland have tried and failed to trade billboards for billboards or for self-cleaning toilets or bus shelters. 

Eller says it’s loathe to remove billboards, but it was worth it to keep the exposure on large freeway sign brings. 

The smaller signs were expected to be removed Saturday. 

Murder trial off to rocky start 

REDWOOD CITY — The trial for the man accused of killing Tracey Biletnikoff has gotten off to a rocky start. 

Lawyers for Mohammed Haroon Ali called for a mistrial three times in four days. The chief deputy district attorney also was admonished for telling jurors that Ali has a prior conviction for kidnapping. 

San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Carl Holm said he will decide whether the trial needs to start over.

CAMPBELL – CDworld.com folded two weeks ago after six years in business. The company’s 11 workers have been let go and the small offices in a strip mall are nearly bare. 

But the music, video and games e-tailer is still hoping to unload some valuable merchandise — namely, the nuts and bolts of the Web site itself: a Cisco Systems device that directs Internet traffic, a refrigerator-sized server by Sun Microsystems and smaller ones from Sun, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Compaq. 

“I’m sure we will sell it,” said Annette Martin, who ran CDworld.com with her husband, Bruce Pettyjohn. “We’ve got good equipment.” 

It just so happens that Martin also is a psychic adviser who has appeared on television. But it doesn’t take a sixth sense to know that the used pieces of her Web site will find buyers. 

Like ants swarming over remnants of a summer picnic, obscure equipment resellers all over the country are reaching out for the wealth of inventory becoming available from dismantled dot-coms. Almost all those parts can be sold again — to another startup chasing a dot-com dream, perhaps, or an equipment-leasing company looking for a good deal. 

“There’s a lot of used equipment on the market right now,” said Ben Nelson, who handles online sales for UsedRouter.com, a 17-employee company in Las Lunas, N.M. He said the slowing economy has “encouraged companies to go out and search for used equipment.” 

The dot-com meltdown ripples through the rest of the high-tech economy. Hardware companies are moaning that demand for everything from personal computers to telecommunications equipment has all but vanished, and the availability of tons of inexpensive used equipment makes it that much harder to dig out. 

Secondhand equipment generally doesn’t appeal to large businesses that want custom-built networks, service contracts and warranties. But smaller companies or service providers with technical know-how can do well digging into the scrap heap. This isn’t like buying a used car — the switches and hubs that make up networks, for example, generally don’t suffer from wear and tear. 

Gary Sapp, president and CEO of Tangent Communications Inc., an electronic equipment reseller in Des Plaines, Ill., says a quarter of his inventory comes from dead dot-coms that defaulted on equipment leases or declared bankruptcy. The rest comes mostly from large companies that have scaled back or changed their technology. 

Not surprisingly, economic conditions are lowering prices. For example, one Cisco router — which directs traffic on a network — that a year ago cost between $3,500 and $4,000 on the secondary market today goes for $2,500 to $3,000. New, it sold for $10,200. 

“It’s definitely increasing the ability to buy inventory,” Sapp said. “We had some holes in our inventory — we filled those.” 

Tangent isn’t immune to the high-tech demand slowdown, but Sapp believes that when the economy revives, he will be waiting with some very good deals. Another Cisco router that sold new for $2,495 can be had used from Tangent’s site for $595. 

“It’s just a matter of time before there will be demand, and there probably will be pent-up demand,” Sapp said. “It could pay dividends nine to 12 months from now.” 

At Excess Solutions, a seven-employee electronic parts broker working out of a ramshackle white building in a San Jose industrial zone, owner Mike Giordano is buying up as much as he can while prices are low. 

The strategy isn’t guaranteed to work, especially if manufacturers come out with significantly better products by the time the economy turns around. 

“I’m afraid when the market does turn back, the technology will be so far past what’s sitting on the shelf,” he said. 

Cisco spokesman Tom Galvin said dot-coms have accounted for only a fraction of sales, so his company won’t be hurt by the hand-me-downs. “This phenomenon is more interesting than impactful to Cisco,” he said. 

Cisco will likely be safe because most of its sales are to high-end network infrastructure providers, agreed Seth Spalding, an analyst at Epoch Partners. Companies such as 3Com Corp. that sell easier-to-use network gear for small businesses are more likely to get pinched. 

“It will eat up some of the revenue base,” Spalding said. “It’s part of anticipated demand that’s just not going to be there.” 

When asked about the resale market Wednesday, 3Com CEO Bruce Claflin did not address the subject directly, though he acknowledged that the dot-com collapse and overall high-tech slowdown are causing serious inventory problems. 

“I think what we have in the industry is over-hype that led to over-investment that led to overcapacity ... too many people building too many things chasing a diminishing demand,” he said. 

Kasey Holman, a spokeswoman for Sun — which boasts it is the “dot in dot-com” — said the company’s servers “have always enjoyed a rich aftermarket.” But she wouldn’t say whether the secondhand world is posing a tougher challenge now. 

She noted that Sun’s revenue grew 60 percent and 44 percent in the last two quarters, and since the economy has slowed, Sun and its sales-channel partners are “working to get inventory levels back down to normal.” 

Hewlett-Packard’s server division is “seeing this issue to only a slight degree,” said Mark Hudson, HP’s marketing manager for business-critical computing. 

Even so, real problems could arise if the resale inventory helps keep some big high-tech companies from raising prices, said Paul Sagawa, an analyst at Sanford Bernstein and Co. 

“I think it’s something for them to worry about,” he said. “It might not be something that’s affecting them now, but it may be something that could make the recovery more difficult to accomplish.”

Drawn by high-tech jobs, immigrants are making communities more diverse 

OAKLAND – Lured by the high-tech boom, California’s Asian population has surged over the past decade to become the fastest growing race in the state, census data show. 

Immigration propelled the increase, reinforcing California’s standing as a distant cousin to Asia, itself a strikingly diverse continent. More than one in three of America’s 11.6 million Asians now lives in California, the survey reported last week. 

About 3.8 million California residents identified themselves as Asian or Pacific Islander, up from 2.7 million in 1990. An additional 550,000 people said they were part Asian or Pacific Islander — an option for the first time as the 2000 census allowed respondents to check multiple races. 

While the state’s population rose 14 percent, to 33.9 million people, those identifying as at least part Asian jumped 61 percent. 

That disproportionate increase was not confined to established Asian communities around Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area. Asians percolated into high-growth suburbs as well as cities sprinkled along the Central Valley. The Asian population more than doubled in some cities including Folsom, Tracy, and Galt. 

The trend also extend to native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. About 116,000 people in California identified themselves as an islander, slightly more than in the state of Hawaii itself. 

Asians are not proliferating everywhere. Kettleman City, a Central Valley town of 1,500 residents, lost all three of its Asian residents during the 1990s. Overall, though, 373 of California’s towns and cities saw a gain in Asian population, while just 86 lost Asians. 

Asians are now a majority in five cities: Cerritos, Monterey Park, and Walnut Park, all in the Los Angeles area, and Daly City and Milpitas, both south of San Francisco. 

Across the state, immigration was the driving force behind the rise in the state’s Asian population. Although the census hasn’t yet broken down respondents into country of origin birth, California netted 731,000 Asians or Pacific Islanders through immigration and 528,000 through births during the 1990s, according to Mary Heim, a demographer with the state’s Finance Department. 

Work originally drew Asian immigrants to California in the 1850s and work was again the main enticement in the 1990s, analysts said. 

But while Chinese first came to help mine the Sierras and build the rail system, the state’s recent high-tech gold rush is the new stimulus — and it is attracting a broad mix of immigrants. 

“It’s job-based immigration,” said Chin Ming Yang, a Taiwan-born regional planner who came to Philadelphia for school but settled in the Bay Area. 

Yang’s financial success motivated six nieces and nephews to earn advanced degrees at U.S. universities and settle within an hour’s drive of their uncle. Demographers call it “chain migration,” and it was a powerful force over the last decade as recent immigrant communities settled in the state. 

Asians have reached a critical cultural mass in many California communities. San Jose and Orange County have Vietnamese language papers, while Asian shopping districts, cultural centers and many other public spaces abound across the state. 

In the Silicon Valley bedroom community of Fremont, for example, the Asian population more than doubled in the 1990s. During that span, the city acquired a Hindu temple where many Indian computer programmers and engineers worship. 

“Asians want to come to already established communities,” said William Frey, a demographer at the Milken Institute in Santa Monica. “Because of these kinds of community ties, California remains the top destination.” 

While Chinese and Japanese immigrants first came generations ago, many new groups have come for political reasons. 

Refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia began immigrating after the United States pulled troops from Southeast Asia in the 1970s. Filipinos were already immigrating after considerable damage to their country during World War II. 

Once the first members of those groups settled they attracted their extended families, in part because immigration laws make it easier for immigrants to come if they already have a relative who is a U.S citizen. 

Also, newer immigrants tend to have higher birth rates than longer-established Chinese and Japanese immigrants, Heim said. That produced a spike in the number of children born to Asian parents, she said. 

Asian explosion in the 1990s 

The following is a look at how California’s Asian and Pacific Islander population increased during the 1990s. 

• Population of Asians-Pacific Islanders in 2000: 3.8 million. 

• Number of people who identified as Asians-Pacific Islanders and another race in 2000: 550,000. 

• Total number of people who identified as at least part Asian-Pacific Islander: 4.35 million. 

• Population of Asians-Pacific Islanders in 1990: 2.7 million. 

• Increase in Asian-Pacific Islander population from 1990 to 2000: 61 percent. 

The following is a look at California cities where Asians are a majority of the population. The city is followed by its total population in 2000, its population of Asians and native Hawaiians-Pacific Islanders in 2000 and how much that population of Asians and native Hawaiians-Pacific Islanders increased between 1990 and 2000. 

• Monterey Park; 60,051; 37,162; 6 percent 

• Cerritos; 51,488; 30,187; 25 percent 

• Walnut Park; 30,004; 16,752; 54 percent 

• Milpitas; 62,698; 32,875; 87 percent 

• Daly City; 103,621; 53,462; 32 percent 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

About 200 people, half of whom were grade-school students, gathered to celebrate the state’s first César Chávez Day with poetry, dance and learning. 

César Chávez Day of Service and Learning was signed into law last year by Gov. Gray Davis, making  

California the first state in the United States to so honor the Latino labor leader. Chávez, who founded the United Farm Workers, died in 1993 at the age of 66 after a life of dedication to the struggle to achieve rights for migrant farm workers. 

Students from Craigmont, Martin Luther King, Jr, Thousand Oaks, Rosa Parks and John Muir elementary schools, – many of them carrying bright red UFW union fla gs – took part in a project that taught them about tracking the sun’s movement across the sky. Ancient agricultural civilizations learned to track the sun to determine the best times of the year for planting and harvesting, they learned. 

The learning projects, conducted with assistance of employees from Lawrence Berkeley Hall of Science, were a sample of what park visitors will be able to learn at the proposed César Chávez Memorial Solar Calendar. The solar calendar is an architectural structure that keeps track of the seasons by monitoring length of the sun’s shadow. 

According to the event’s program notes, classic examples of solar calendars are Stonehenge in England, the El Castillo Pyramid in Mexico and the Bighorn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming. 

The solar calendar will be built on the Horizon Mound, one of the many rolling hillocks in the park. “This is a fabulous location,” said Santiago Casal, director of the calendar project. “It will be a field classroom where people can learn about the seasons. How the sun, earth and moon work to create our climate.” 

Chávez’s nephew, Frederico Chávez, a Berkeley resident, said the event would have made his uncle very proud. He said the annual holiday will assure Chávez’s life-long struggle for fairness and humane treatment for migrant farm workers would always be remembered. “The effort of the state to honor his legacy shows they understand the essence of his message,” he said. 

Students were separated into four groups, which represented the four compass points and a concept. The East is non-violence, the West is perseverance, the North is courage and the South is hope. 

Several students from Thousand Oaks read poems they had written for Chávez. Afterwards, they formed a single file line and marched across the park, labor flags overhead, to tour the future site of the solar calendar and then returned to their four groups to read tributes to Chávez. Then the students were led in eight rounds of the chant “Que viva César,” for each year since the labor leader’s death. 

Mayor Shirley Dean addressed the crowd calling the event historic and reminding the students of the importance of the work Chávez did. Councilmember Dona Spring and several city department heads attended the event as well, including City Manager Weldon Rucker, Parks and Waterfront Director Lisa Caronna and Health Human Services Director Fred Merdrano. 

Dressed in traditional Aztec vestments, the Cuauhtli Mitotiani Mexica dancers, Berkeley students ranging in age from 5 -17, performed an Aztec fuego (fire) dance. The dance group’s program director, Adrianna Betti, said the dance is purification ritual. 

As the event came to an end, Rosa Parks third-grader Mayahuel Montoya was laughing with her classmates as they walked toward the parking lot. “I think it’s really great for it to be here in such a natural place,” she said. “It was really good.”

Saturday, March 31

Shelter Operations Class  

9 a.m. - Noon  

Emergency Operations Center 

997 Cedar St.  

A free class as part of Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). Sponsored by the Berkeley Fire Dept. and the Office of Emergency Services.  

Call 644-8736 

Sunday, April 1

Berkeley Historical  

Society Gala Celebration 

3 - 7 p.m. 

Hotel Shattuck  

2086 Allston Way  

Dancing, a silent auction, special guest speaker, a tour of the facility, and more. $30 - $65 

Buddhist Sacred Sites and Symbols  

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute  

1815 Highland Place  

Eva Casey, meditation instructor, will discuss the symbolic images found at sacred sites and the teachings they convey. A slide presentation of the major holy places of the Buddha. Free 843-6812 

Designing Your Own Seder 

1 - 2:30 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

A workshop designed to stimulate thought about how to best combine the talents and needs of those who are attending in combination with the best of what the tradition provides. $5 848-0237 x127  

Once Upon a Time  

3 p.m.  

St. John’s Community Center  

Sanctuary  

2727 College Ave. (at Garber)  

Master storyteller and actor Fritz Brun brings to life the greatest tales of . 

Christian Anderson, including The Princess and the Pea, The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Nightingale. Children may be asked to become characters in the stories. $5 704-0701 

Gender Games  

4 - 7 p.m. 

Pacific Center  

2712 Telegraph Ave.  

Play games or just relax in a trans and gender-friendly space. For everyone who is transgender, transsexual, intersex, genderqueer, genderquestioning and their friends, family and significant others. Free 548-8283 or visit  

www.pacificcenter.org 

Monday, April 2

Beginning Bicyclist Workshop  

7 - 9 p.m. 

YMCA  

2001 Allston Way  

Community Room 1, Main Floor  

Jason Meggs and Zed Lopez will teach you how to keep yourself and your bike safe and even how to use your bike for shopping. Free 549-RIDE 

Free Writing, Cashiering  

& Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

Free classes offered Monday through Friday. Stop by and register or call 548-6700. 

www.ajob.org 

Tritium in Berkeley 

4 - 6 p.m. & 7 - 10 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Multipurpose Room  

Bernd Franke will make a presentation on his independent findings of the tritium releases and radiation hazards associated with the National Tritium Labeling Facility, located at Lawrence Berkeley Lab. Presented by the City of Berkeley and the Community Environmental Advisory Commission.  

705-8150 or e-mail: toxics@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Hedda Gabler  

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St.  

Aurora Theater Director Barbara Oliver will talk about the new play “Hedda Gabler.” Limited free matinee tickets will be given out for the April 7 performance.  

644-6107 

Tuesday, April 3

“Great Decisions” - Conflict Resolution in Africa  

10 a.m. - Noon  

Berkeley City Club  

2315 Durant Ave.  

The first in a series of eight weekly lectures with the goal of informing the public of current major policy issues. Many of the lectures are presented by specialists in their field and are often from the University of California. Feedback received at these lectures is held in high regard by those in the government responsible for national policy.  

$5 single session 526-2925 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

Derby Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 548-3333 

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 

Mandarin Lessons 

1:30 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

With Cecilia Wan. Free 644-6107 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

Young Queer Women’s Group 

8 - 9:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center 

2712 Telegraph Ave.  

Make some new friends, expand your horizons and get support with a bunch of queer women all in the same place at the same time (somewhere between 18 and 25).  

548-8283 or visit  

www.pacificcenter.org 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Intelligent Conversation  

7 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will be about financial planning, investments, tax, and the stock market. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free  

527-5332 

Community Organization  

12:45 - 1:45 p.m.  

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

Mudd 103  

A “Real Deal” seminar with Don Stalhut and David Mann on community organization. Bring a lunch. 849-8229 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Wednesday, April 4

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Word for Word  

3:30 p.m. 

South Branch Berkeley Library  

1901 Russel St.  

Dramatic group Word for Word returns to the library with a brand new play for children, the Russian folktale “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.” 

Call 649-3943 

The Voiceless Poor  

7 - 9 p.m.  

School of Journalism Library  

121 North Gate Hall  

UC Berkeley  

Part of the Terner Series, an informal salon-style discussion series, which brings together industry professionals, students, and interested community members. This session is a discussion of why low-income people have no say in local development battles. Free 

April Birthday Party  

1:15 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

UC dancers will entertain and refreshments will be served. 

644-6107 

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. The class will cover basic hardware identification and specification, basic understanding of software, basic word-processing and basic spreadsheets.  

Call 644-6226 

Income Tax Assistance  

9 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Call Maggie for an appointment, 644-6107. 

“Women’s Scholarship as Prophetic Voices” 

6:30 - 9 p.m.  

2400 Ridge Rd.  

Hewlett Library  

Dinner Board Room  

The Annual Women’s Theological Forum.  

649-2490 

Sproul Standup Comedy Protest  

Noon  

Upper Sproul Plaza  

UC Berkeley  

The Heuristic Squelch is sponsoring a protest, calling for an increase in cleavage, popsicles, and black light posters of David Horowitz. Featuring comics Bruce Cherry, Rob Cantrell, drop-in guests, and up and coming UC student comedians. Free  

Pedestrians should take responsibility  

Editor; 

Drivers are not the only ones who need to take some responsibility for pedestrian/vehicle accidents.  

Many pedestrians will start strolling leisurely across a heavily-trafficked street with the red don’t-cross figure steadily lit. Others cross, equally leisurely, in the middle of a street, without even bothering to look and see if cars are coming. 

Equally, drivers don’t yield to pedestrian right of way when they have the green light, probably at least in part because of the behavior of pedestrians. 

Once again I repeat a recommendation I first made many years ago and have made several times since: at major intersections, institute the “Barnes dance.”  

Named for former Baltimore and New York City traffic commissioner Henry Barnes, it involves turning all the lights at an intersection red simultaneously so pedestrians can cross every which way.  

When the lights are turned to green for each of the two directions in succession, pedestrians WAIT. What I believe makes this work is that pedestrians don’t have to play dodge-em with cars and drivers get a fair chance to complete a turn, right or left, without having to wait for pedestrians.  

Joann Lee 

Berkeley 

Remember when cars stopped for pedestrians? 

Editor: 

You have done a great public service by printing on the front page of Vol. 2 Issue 297 regarding the long-neglected but extremely serious problem of pedestrian safety while crossing certain streets in this town. 

There was a time, in California, when as soon as a pedestrian stepped off the sidewalk automobiles stopped. 

Those days are long gone. Now, for example, to get across the street from the clearly marked pedestrian crossing between the French Hotel and the Post Office across the street is more dangerous than some of the “EXTREME SPORTS” events , we see on the TV. 

How many more people have to be killed before some long overdue action by the police? 

If the cops would stop hiding in the bushes in some remote street corner to catch someone who has not come to a 100 percent stop at a street sign, and would begin catching drivers who run red lights and endanger foot traffic crossing busy crossings I for one could feel safer than I do now. 

Max Stec 

Berkeley 

Less homework makes for lighter backpacks 

Editor: 

I find it very surprising that Berkeley parents are only now seeing the great problems of hefty backpacks and shoulder bags for young students. 

But what is more surprising is that parents are equating the problem to the number of books their children need to take to classes instead of looking at real solutions to the backpack issue. 

A former B.U.S.D. student myself (Oxford School), I think it would be more appropriate if, instead of giving students roller cases to carry books in, that parents demand that after school programs which long have been the haven of the recess-seeking child switch to more of a homework club format, allowing students to keep heftier books at school- in lockers. 

The backpack issue is not new, but it certainly has brought the painful back-small child issue to a hysteria level in recent weeks. What next? 

Parents demanding nap time for overworked high school students? 

John Parman 

Ashland, Oregon 

First mourn, then go somewhere else 

Editor: 

I’ve spent many good hours at the UC Theatre throughout the years. I’m sorry it’s closing.  

But the quote from Janet McColl, “We have no other venue in the East Bay...” is absolutely not so. We have been very lucky to have the wonderful art films and warm atmosphere in the Fine Arts Cinema on Shattuck these last few years, sometimes with live music. Let’s keep that going!  

Rita Wilson 

Berkeley  

Opera in English good for laughs 

Editor: 

It’s rare for me to laugh out loud at an opera but I did at Berkeley Opera’s performance of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” March 25. Not only did my friends and I laugh at all the sly jokes but also at all the comic turns and steps that the cast played so naturally and easily. The visual and verbal jokes were done with marvelous timing and just rolled with Mozart’s magical and comic music.  

I marveled that I was having a better time in this small theater (the Julia Morgan Center) than in London’s or Berlin’s much grander opera houses, with famous singers. Perhaps it was easy to laugh because I could understand the jokes and the convoluted plot because of the brilliant new English libretto (by Sherwood Dudley based on the original libretto of Lorenzo Da Ponte).  

The whole show was perfect: the cast, the direction, the music, the costumes.  

Especially wonderful were Shawnette Sulker as Susanna and Sonia Gariaeff as Cherubino. There will be more performances this weekend of “Figaro”, including today and tomorrow. Don’t miss this marvelous show, Go! 

Ying Lee 

Berkeley 

Continuing failure of governance is eroding Pacifica 

The following letter by Beth Lyons of New York was forwarded to the Daily Planet by Councilmember Kriss Worthington. It is Lyon’s letter of resignation from the Pacifica Board which governs the five Pacifica radio stations, including Berkeley’s KPFA. 

To: David Acosta, Chairperson, Pacifica National Board (PNB) 

Since I was seated on the Pacifica Board in June 2000, I have witnessed a conjuncture of crises resulting from management decisions, which have been executed at many levels.  

These crises include, but are not restricted to, the still unresolved concerns at KPFA; the treatment of Amy Goodman, the sole remaining host of Democracy Now!; the terminations of the Station Manager at WBAI, Valerie Van Isler, Program Director, Bernard White and producer, Sharan Louise Harper; the banning of long-term volunteers, including thirty-year veteran producers Mimi Rosenberg and Ken Nash; the resignations of Juan Gonzalez and Mario Murillo (from Wake Up Call); and, most recently, the on-the-air interruption and severance of an interview with Congressman Major Owens, a senior ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

As a board member, I do not categorize these situations as “day-to-day management” decisions outside of my purview. Each has risen to the level of policy, due to the lacunae in the prudent, sound judgment and democratic decision-making processes, which are consistent with the mission of Pacifica, as described in its Articles of Incorporation and demonstrated during more than five decades of broadcasting. 

The continuing failures of governance and management (which start with, but are certainly not limited to, the national level) are eroding Pacifica. 

This situation demands that a Pacifica national board member exercise constant vigilance and diligence to fulfill her fiduciary responsibilities, and her accountability to the listeners, supporters, communities and unpaid and paid staffpersons who have kept Pacifica on the air for more than half a century.  

I can no longer, for personal reasons, carry out these obligations and responsibilities. Therefore, I am submitting my resignation, pursuant to the Pacifica Foundation By-Laws, Article Eight, Section One, effective March 25, 2001. 

My brief tenure on the PNB has affirmed my conviction that Pacifica is uniquely positioned on the cutting edge as one of the few remaining media venues for people, ideas, struggles - both domestically and internationally - which can not be voiced and can not be heard in the increasing corporatized, conglomeratized and globalized media. Contrary to those who contend that Pacifica is an anachronism in need of radical alteration in its form and substance, Pacifica Foundation and its networks, defined by and committed to the original mission, are a vital necessity in this 21st century. 

As Frederick Douglass stated, “Power concedes nothing without a demand.”  

Make no mistake, the fundamental struggle here is one of power, 

Who controls Pacifica and how will that control be exercised?  

As I stated in Houston, the PNB was presented with a window of opportunity to re-affirm Pacifica’s original objectives, and I urge the PNB to exercise its leadership and accountability affirmatively and constructively to that end. The Board’s responsibilities to the mission of Pacifica demand no less. 

Lastly, I want to thank the WBAI Local Advisory Board which nominated me for the privilege to serve as a board member.  

I especially want to express my deepest respect and admiration for Pete Bramson, Leslie Cagan, Rabbi Aaron Kriegal, Tomas Moran and Rob Robinson, who enabled my individual work to become a contribution to a larger whole. 

Beth S. Lyons 

New York

924 Gilman St. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless noted $5; $2 for a year membership March 31: The Jocks, The Cost, The Fleshies, Quest for Quintana Roo, Chi Chi Nut Nut & The Pinecone Express; April 6: Link 80, Lucky Strike, 5th Wheel, Kung Fu Chicken; April 7: The Plus Ones, The Evaporators, The Pattern, Dukes of Hamburg, The Goblins/Disgoblins/Skablins/Gothblins; April 13: The Locust, Dead & Gone, Honeysuckle Serontina, Tourettes Latrec, Last Great Liar 525-9926  

Albatross Pub All music begins at 9 p.m. April 3: pickPocket ensemble; April 4: Whiskey Brothers; April 5: Keni “El Lebrijano”; April 7: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; April 10: Mad & Eddie Duran Jazz Duo; April 12: Keni “El Lebrijano”; April 17: pickPocket ensemble; April 18: Whiskey Brothers; April 19: Keni “El Lebrijano” 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

Ashkenaz March 31, 9 p.m. : SoVoSo, Kotoja; April 8: “A Little Houseboat Music for Annie” is a benefit concert to help Oakland’s Archway School’s art teacher, Annie Clark, replace her houseboat, which was destroyed in a fire in February - performances by Michael James Quartet, The Wild Buds, Jim Stice Orchestra, Nova Trova and Ray Cepeda and the Neo-Maya Experience; April 29: Clinton Fearon & Boogie Brown Band; May 6, 7 p.m.: Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble 1370 San Pablo Ave. (at Gilman) 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Freight & Salvage All music at 8 p.m. March ,31: House Jacks; April 1: Darol Anger’s Fiddle Congress & Melee w/Stuart Duncan & Bruce Molsky; April 3: Nerissa Nields & Pam Houston; April 5: Battlefield Band; April 6: Garnet Rogers; April 7: Eric Lowen & Dan Navarro; April 8: Martin Simpson & Jessica Radcliffe; April 10: Kevin Burke; April 12: Tony Marcus & Patrice Haan, Julian Smedley & Allison Odell; April 13: Ray Wylie Hubbard; April 14: Dix Bruce & Jim Nunally, Eddie & Marthie Adcock 1111 Addison St. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jazzschool/La Note All music at 4:30 p.m. April 8: The Marcos Silva Quartet; April 15: Art Lande and Mark Miller; April 22: Alan Hall & Friends 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 or visit www.jazzschool.com  

Cal Performances April 4, 8 p.m.: Pianist Chucho Valdes $18 - $30; April 13 & 14, 8 p.m.: Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia and the Paco de Lucia Septet $20 - $40 Zellerbach Hall UC Berkeley. 642-9988 or www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra April 3 and June 21, 2001. All performances begin at 8 p.m. Single $19 - $35, Series $52 - $96. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley 841-2800  

“The Marriage of Figaro” through April 1, call for specific times $10 - $30 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. (at Derby) 925-798-1300 

Pete Escovedo March 31, 9:30 p.m. Salsa lessons at 8 p.m. Doors 7 p.m. Pete Escovedo is leaving the Bay Area and is wishing farewell by playing these two shows. Featuring musical guests: Shiela E., John Santos, Karl Perazzo, Ray Obedio, Narada Michael Walden, and many others. $25 Kimball’s Carnival 522 Second St. Jack London Square  

“A Musical Night Out” March 31, 7 p.m. A four-hand piano concert featuring Andrew Canepa and Stephanie Smith performing the works of Dvorak, Debussy, Barber and more. $10 - $15 Pacific School of Religion Chapel 1798 Scenic Ave. 849-8280  

Music in Great Berkeley Houses March 31, 7 p.m. $35 Gwendolyn Mok, piano, and Jean-Michel Fonteneau, cello, will play the music of Frank Bridge, Debussy, and Poulenc. Palache House Reserved tickets required 841-2242 

“How Desolate Lies the City...” March 31, 8 p.m. The cantatas of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries. $20 - $37 First Congregational Church of Berkeley 2345 Channing Way 415-621-7900 

Jesus Diaz y su QBA March 31, 9:30 p.m. Cuban timba dance music. $12 La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568  

Berkeley High Jazz Ensemble Brunch April 1, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Free - $40 Santa Fe Bar & Grill 1310 University Ave. 527-8245 

“From Broadway to Brazil” April 1, 4 p.m. Berkeley Broadway Singers is a 70-member chorus led by Ellen Hoffman. They will be singing Motown classics along with class Broadway showtunes Free Saint Ambrose Church 1145 Gilman St. 524-0107 

Trio Accorde April 1, 7:30 p.m. $10 - $15 Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley One Lawson Road Kensington 525-0302 

Emergency String Quartet & Carlos Actis Dacto Solo April 1, 8 p.m. Part of the ACME Observatory Contemporary Music Series TUVA Space 3192 Adeline (at MLK Jr. Way) 649-8744 

Gala Celebration Fund-raiser April 1, 3 - 7 p.m. The second annual presented by the Berkeley Historical Society. Performing will be the Joel Abrahamson Dance Band. Patrons are encouraged to come in vintage costume and relive the glamour of yesteryear. Shattuck Plaza Hotel 2086 Allston Way $30 - $65 848-0181 

Berkeley High Jazz Lab Band & Steel Band April 5, 7 p.m. $3 - $8 Berkeley High School Little Theater  

Hillbillies From Mars April 8, 2 p.m. Rocking the Bay for 20 years, the Hillbillies fuse rock n’ roll, swing, Latin and African beats. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

“Bravo! Opera!” April 8, 7:30 p.m. A veritable Opera chorus smorgasbord with Bizet’s “Carmen,” Verdi’s “IL trovatore,” and Copland’s “The Tenderland.” $8 - $12 Hertz Hall UC Berkeley 643-9645 

Young Emerging Artists Concert April 10, 7 - 8 p.m. The Young Musicians Program Jazz Combo will perform jazz standards and original compositions. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

“Under Construction No. 11” April 8, 7:30 p.m. A concert of new works by local composers, including Mary Stiles, Mark Winges, and David Sheinfeld. Free St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave.  

Dastan Ensemble with Namah Ensemble April 15, 8 p.m. Dastan Ensemble is a Persian classical music ensemble founded in Germany in 1991. A group of four to six dancers who communicate the mystical Persian tradition. $25 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave.  

Jazz Singers’ Collective April 19, 8 - 10 p.m. With Mark Little on piano. Anna’s Bistro 1801 University Ave. 849-2662 

Kensington Symphony Orchestra April 21, 8 p.m. Featuring UC Berkeley student and soprano, Vanessa Langer performing Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 in G and other selections. $8 - $10 First Baptist Church 770 Sonoma St. Richmond 251-2031 

Sharon Isbin April 22, 4 p.m. Isbin won a Grammy earlier this year for her album “Dreams of a World: Folk Inspired Music for Guitar.” She will be making a rare Bay Area appearance in a benefit concert for the Crowden School. $20 - $30 St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave. 559-6910 

Kids Carneval! Brazilian Dance for the Whole Family April 22, 2 p.m. The Borboletas Children’s Dance Troupe will transport children and their families to Brazil and promises to have the audience dancing in and out of their seats. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. (at Derby) 925-798-1300  

Bella Musica April 28, 8 p.m. & April 29, 4 p.m. Hear how various composers through the ages view the plight of the lovelorn, from the ardent exclamations of Morley’s “Fire, Fire” to the intoxication of the “Coolin” by Samuel Barber. $9 - $12 St. Joseph the Worker Church 1640 Addison St. (at McGee) 525-5393 or www.bellamusic.org 

Tribu May 17, 8 p.m. Direct from Mexico, Tribu plays a concert of ancestral music of the Mayan, Aztec, Olmec, Zapotec, Purerpecha, Chichimec, Otomi, and Toltec. Tribu have reconstructed and rescued some of the oldest music in the Americas. $12 La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

Satsuki Arts Festival and Bazaar May 19, 4 - 10 p.m. & May 20, Noon - 7 p.m. A fundraiser for the Berkeley Buddhist Temple featuring musical entertainment by Julio Bravo & Orquesta Salsabor, Delta Wires, dance presentations by Kaulana Na Pua and Kariyushi Kai, food, arts & crafts, plants & seedlings, and more. Berkeley Buddhist Temple 2121 Channing Way (at Shattuck) 841-1356 

Theater 

“Little Shop of Horrors” Through Apri 1, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m., Saturday & Sunday, 2 p.m., no show Friday, March 23; $12 Berkeley Community Little Theatre Allston Way at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way Call 943-SHOW  

“The Oresteia” by Aeschylus Through May 6 Directed by Tony Taccone and Stephen Wadsworth, Aeschylus trilogy will be the first production staged on the Berkeley Rep’s new prosenium stage. Please call Berkeley Repertory Theatre for specific dates and times. $15.99 - $117 Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2015 Addison St. (at Shattuck) 647-2949 or www.berkeleyrep.org 

“The Tempest” by William Shakespeare Through April 14, Thursday - Saturday, 8 p.m. Presented by Subterranean Shakespeare and directed by Stanley Spenger $8 - $10 LaVal’s Subterranean Theatre 1834 Euclid Ave. (at Hearst) 237-7415 

Action Movie: The Play Through April 21, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. Non-stop action and martial arts mayhem with comedy, surprise plot twists, and the occasional movie reference thrown in. $7 - $12 The Eighth Street Studio 2525 Eighth St. 464-4468 

Stagebridge presents the 10th annual Family Matinee Theatre and Ice Cream Social April 1, 3 p.m. The premiere of Linda Spector’s “Strega Nona and Other Grandparent Tales,” with a cast aged 9 - 70. $4 - $8 First Congregational Church 2501 Harrison Oakland 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org.  

“Moment’s Notice” A monthly salon devoted to improvised music, dance & theater April 7, 8 p.m. $7 Western Sky Studio 2525 8th St. 540-7782  

“Death of a Salesman” April 6 - May 5, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. plus Thursday, May 3, 8 p.m. The ageless story of Willy Loman presented by an African-American cast and staged by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. $10 Live Oak Theater 1301 Shattuck (at Berryman) 528-5620 

Films 

“Earth” April 7, 7:30 p.m. A 1930 film, set in Ukraine, by Soviet director Alexander Dovzhenko with an original music score created and performed by composer and musician Adrian Johnston. $7 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour April 7 & 8, 6:30 - 10:30 p.m. Including films from Slovakia, France, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, England, and the U.S. which reflect a wide range of mountain experiences, from mountain sports to mountain culture and the environment. $12 - $15 Wheeler Auditorium UC Berkeley Tickets available at REI 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-7377 

“Regeneration” April 8, 5:30 p.m. The first feature-length gangster movie, filmed around 1915 on the streets of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. Directed by Raoul Walsh, the movie will have a new original music score created and performed by composer and musician Adrian Johnston. $7 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

“Lost & Found” Documentaries from the Graduate School of Journalism April 15, 5:30 p.m. Three documentaries from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism explore the possibility of redemption in the face of immeasurable loss. Lisa Munoz’s “Chavez Ravine,” Kelly St. John’s “In Forever Fourteen,” and Zsuzsanna Varga’s “Screw Your Courage.” Pacific Film Archive 2621 Durant Ave. 642-5249 

Films of Julio Medem April 13, 7:30 p.m. & April 14, 7 p.m. Medem is recognized as one of Spain’s leading filmmakers. On April 13, “The Cows” and “The Red Squirrel” will be shown. April 14, “Earth/Tierra” and “Lovers of the Arctic Circle” will show. $7 for one film, $8.50 for double bills Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412  

Exhibits 

Berkeley Historical Society “Berkeley’s Ethnic Heritage” Through April 14 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. 1931 Center St. 848-0181 

“Dorchester Days,” the photographs of Eugene Richards is a collection of pictures portraying the poverty, racial tension, crime and violence prevalent in Richards’ hometown of Dorchester, Massachusetts in the 1970s. Through April 6. UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism 121 North Gate Hall #5860 642-3383 

“Musee des Hommages,” Masterworks by Guy Colwell Faithful copies of several artists from the pasts, including Titian’s “The Venus of Urbino,” Cezanne’s “Still Life,” Picasso’s “Woman at a Mirror,” and Boticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

“Sugar N’ Spice N’ Everything Nice: Live, Loves and Legacies of Women of Color” Through April 21, Wednesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Works by Aissatoui Vernita, Flo Oy Wong, Tomoko Negishi, Consuelo Jimenez and many others. Pro Arts Gallery 461 Ninth Street Oakland 763-9425 

“Travels in Color” Wax crayon sketches by Pamela Markmann made over the past 35 years Through March 31, 5 - 8 p.m. daily Voulez Vouz Bistro 2930 College Ave. 548-4708 

“Chicano Art and Visions of David Tafolla” Vivid color acrylic and oil paintings with Latino imagery. Through April 12, Tuesday - Thursday, 1 - 7 p.m., Saturday Noon - 4 p.m. and by appointment. 548-9272 or www.wcrc.org 

Nylan Jeung and David Lippenberger Lippenberger renders figures in acrylic and Jeung work with ink and watercolor on rice paper, using traditional eastern techniques. Through April 7, Wednesday through Sunday, Noon - 5 p.m Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893 

Recent Works of Narangkar Khalsa & Pete Glover Through March 31 !hey! Gallery 4920-B Telegraph Ave. Oakland 428-2349  

“The Art of Meadowsweet Dairy” Objects found in nature, reworked and turned into objects of art. Through May 15, call for hours; Opening reception: April 6, 6 - 9 p.m. Current Gallery at the Crucible 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511  

“It’s Not Easy Being Green” The art of Amy Berk and New Color Etchings by James Brown & Caio Fonseca Through April 28, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth St. 527-1214 or www.traywick.com 

Bernard Maisner: Illuminated Manuscripts & Paintings. Through August 8 Maisner works in miniature as well as in large scales, combining his mastery of medieval illumination, gold leafing, and modern painting techniques. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library 2400 Ridge Rd. 849-2541 

“Scenes from The Song of Songs/Images from The Book of Blessings” Landscape and still life oil pastels by poet and artists Marcia Falk Through May 2, Monday - Thursday, 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Sunday, Noon - 7 p.m.; Opening reception April 11, 7 p.m. Flora Hewlett Library Graduate Theological Union 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541 

Readings 

Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted April 2: Alan Rinzler facilitates part two of Cody’s three part writer’s workshop; April 3: Ann McGregor, Dick Meister, Cindy Wathen, and George Ballis give accounts of living and working with Cesar Chavez; April 4: Poetry of Carole Simmons Oles & Matthew McKay; April 5: Herbert Bix talks about “Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan”; April 9: Mark Morris visits to celebrate “Mark Morris’ L’Allegro, Il Penseroso Ed Il Modertato: A Celebration”; April 11: Poetry of Kurt Brown & Al Young; April 12: Stanley Williams explores “Surviving Galeras”; April 15: Poetry of John D’Agata & Joanna Klink; April 16: Isadora Alman talks about “Doing It: Real People Having Really Good Sex”; April 17: Michael Parenti discusses “To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia”; April 19: Andrew Harvey talks about “The Direct Path: Creating a Personal Journey to the Divine Using the World’s Spiritual Traditions”; Poetry of Maxine Hong Kingston & Fred Marchant; April 27: Poetry of Michael Heller & Carl Rakosi; April 29: Poetry of Gloria Frym & Lewis Warsh 

1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 All events at 7 p.m., unless noted April 10: Amy Tan reads from “The Bonesetter’s Daughter”; April 20: Susie Bright discusses “The Best American Erotica 2001”; April 26: Mother of three Wynn McClenahan Burkett will read from “Life After Baby: From Professional Woman to Beginner Parent”  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted April 3: Environmental Activist David Bolling will give a slide presentation and talk on “Living and Dying on Everest: An Inside Look at Everest Expeditions and Environmental Issues”; April 5: Mary Olmstead will discuss “Hidden Wine Country” about the Napa-Sonoma-Mendocino areas; April 11: Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Peace Corps with regional recruiter Cristina Punzalan and Susana Herrera, author of “Mango Elephants in the Sun: How Life in an African Village Let Me Be In My Skin”; April 19: Bruce Feiler will discuss “Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses”; April 26: Julie Lavezzo will give a packing demonstration for a three week trip with two climates 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533 

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

Duomo Reading Series and Open Mic. Thursdays, 6:30 - 9 p.m. April 5: Barbara Minton; April 12: Alice Rogoff; April 19: Garrett Murphy; April 26: Ray Skjelbred. Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

Lunch Poems First Thursday of each month, 12:10 - 12:50 p.m. April 5: Galway Kinnell; May 3: Student Reading Morrison Room, Doe Library UC Berkeley 642-0137 

“Slam the Prisons” April 6, 6 p.m. - 1 a.m. A benefit for prison activism featuring Tang, Company of Prophets, Sheryl D. Mebane and many others. Proceeds benefit the defense of New Afrikan political prisoner Khalfani X. Khaldun and the Prison Activist Resource Center. $10 La Pena Cultural Center 3205 Shattuck Ave. 898-0431  

Rhythm & Muse Open Mike April 21, 6:30 p.m. Open to all poets and performers, opening at it’s new home at the Berkeley Art Center. Featuring poet Giovanni Singleton. Free Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. 527-9753 

Tours 

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

Berkeley City Club Tours 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. The fourth Sunday of every month, Noon - 4 p.m. $2 848-7800  

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

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

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tours All tours begin at 10 a.m. and are restricted to 30 people per tour $5 - $10 per tour April 29: Susan Schwartz leads a tour of the Berkeley Waterfront; May 12: Debra Badhia will lead a tour of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the Arts District; May 19: John Stansfield & Allen Stross will lead a tour of the School for the Deaf and Blind; June 2: Trish Hawthorne will lead a tour of Thousand Oaks School and Neighborhood; June 23: Sue Fernstrom will lead a tour of Strawberry Creek and West of the UC Berkeley campus 848-0181 

Lectures 

UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Research Seminars Noon seminars are brown bag  

April 23, 4 p.m.: Mary Dudziach of USC will discuss “Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy.” 119 Moses Hall UC Berkeley 642-4608  

“Great Decisions” Foreign Policy Association Lectures Series Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - Noon, Through 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. Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. 526-2925 

California Colloquium on Water Scholars of distinction in the fields of natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, law and environmental design speak about water resources and hopefully contribute to informed decisions on water in CA. April 10, 5:15 - 6:30 p.m.: “Understanding the Delta - An Engineering Perspective” Richard Denton, water manager of the Contra Costa Water District; May 8, 5:15 - 6:30 p.m.: “What Makes Water Wet?” Richard Saykally, professor of Chemistry, UC Berkeley 212 O’Brien Hall, UC Berkeley 642-2666  

“The Monster of Troy: Fossil Discoveries In Classical Antiquity” April 1, 3 p.m. Adrienne Mayor will describe some literary and archaeological evidence for discoveries of the huge fossil remains of extinct animals in ancient Greece and Rome. 370 Dwinelle Hall UC Berkeley  

“The Gene’s Eye View of Creation” April 4 & 10, 4:10 p.m. Evolutionary Biologist Richard Dawkins, a leading thinker in modern Darwinism, will deliver a lecture “The Genetic Book of the Dead” April 4 and “The Selfish Cooperator” April 10 International House Auditorium UC Berkeley 

Leonard Breger April 9, 7:30 - 9 p.m. Breger will critique club members’ art and will show some of his own works. Breger is known for his paintings of cut-out masonite shapes, both animal and human. El Cerrito Community Center The Garden Room 7007 Moeser Lane 524-6739  

Jazz Singers’ Collective April 19, 8 - 10 p.m. With Mark Little on piano. Anna’s Bistro 1801 University Ave. 849-2662 

Kensington Symphony Orchestra April 21, 8 p.m. Featuring UC Berkeley student and soprano, Vanessa Langer performing Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 in G and other selections. $8 - $10 First Baptist Church 770 Sonoma St. Richmond 251-2031 

Sharon Isbin April 22, 4 p.m. Isbin won a Grammy earlier this year for her album “Dreams of a World: Folk Inspired Music for Guitar.” She will be making a rare Bay Area appearance in a benefit concert for the Crowden School. $20 - $30 St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave. 559-6910 

Kids Carneval! Brazilian Dance for the Whole Family April 22, 2 p.m. The Borboletas Children’s Dance Troupe will transport children and their families to Brazil and promises to have the audience dancing in and out of their seats. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. (at Derby) 925-798-1300  

Bella Musica April 28, 8 p.m. & April 29, 4 p.m. Hear how various composers through the ages view the plight of the lovelorn, from the ardent exclamations of Morley’s “Fire, Fire” to the intoxication of the “Coolin” by Samuel Barber. $9 - $12 St. Joseph the Worker Church 1640 Addison St. (at McGee) 525-5393 or www.bellamusic.org 

Tribu May 17, 8 p.m. Direct from Mexico, Tribu plays a concert of ancestral music of the Mayan, Aztec, Olmec, Zapotec, Purerpecha, Chichimec, Otomi, and Toltec. Tribu have reconstructed and rescued some of the oldest music in the Americas. $12 La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 or www.lapena.org 

Satsuki Arts Festival and Bazaar May 19, 4 - 10 p.m. & May 20, Noon - 7 p.m. A fundraiser for the Berkeley Buddhist Temple featuring musical entertainment by Julio Bravo & Orquesta Salsabor, Delta Wires, dance presentations by Kaulana Na Berkeley Buddhist Temple 2121 Channing Way 841-1356 

“Little Shop of Horrors” Through April 1, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m., Saturday & Sunday, 2 p.m., no show Friday, March 23; $12 Berkeley Community Little Theatre Allston Way at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way Call 943-SHOW  

“The Oresteia” by Aeschylus Through May 6 Directed by Tony Taccone and Stephen Wadsworth, Aeschylus trilogy will be the first production staged on the Berkeley Rep’s new proscenium stage. $15.99 - $117 Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2015 Addison St. 647-2949 or www.berkeleyrep.org 

“The Tempest” by William Shakespeare Through April 14, Thursday - Saturday, 8 p.m. Presented by Subterranean Shakespeare and directed by Stanley Spenger $8 - $10 LaVal’s Subterranean Theatre 1834 Euclid Ave. (at Hearst) 237-7415 

Action Movie: The Play Through April 21, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. Non-stop action and martial arts mayhem with comedy, surprise plot twists, and the occasional movie reference thrown in. $7 - $12 The Eighth Street Studio 2525 Eighth St. 464-4468 

10th annual Family Matinee Theatre and Ice Cream Social April 1, 3 p.m. The premiere of Linda Spector’s “Strega Nona and Other Grandparent Tales,” with a cast aged 9 - 70. $4 - $8 First Congregational Church 2501 Harrison Oakland 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org.  

“Moment’s Notice” A monthly salon devoted to improvised music, dance & theater April 7, 8 p.m. $7 Western Sky Studio 2525 8th St. 540-7782  

“Death of a Salesman” April 6 - May 5, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. plus Thursday, May 3, 8 p.m. The ageless story of Willy Loman presented by an African-American cast and staged by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. $10 Live Oak Theater 1301 Shattuck (at Berryman) 528-5620 

“Earth” April 7, 7:30 p.m. A 1930 film, set in Ukraine, by Soviet director Alexander Dovzhenko with an original music score created and performed by composer and musician Adrian Johnston. $7 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour April 7 & 8, 6:30 - 10:30 p.m. Including films from Slovakia, France, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, England, and the U.S. which reflect a wide range of mountain experiences, from mountain sports to mountain culture and the environment. $12 - $15 Wheeler Auditorium UC Berkeley Tickets available at REI 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-7377 

“Regeneration” April 8, 5:30 p.m. The first feature-length gangster movie, filmed around 1915 on the streets of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. Directed by Raoul Walsh, the movie will have a new original music score created and performed by composer and musician Adrian Johnston. $7 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

“Lost & Found” Documentaries from the Graduate School of Journalism April 15, 5:30 p.m. Three documentaries from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism explore the possibility of redemption in the face of immeasurable loss. Lisa Munoz’s “Chavez Ravine,” Kelly St. John’s “In Forever Fourteen,” and Zsuzsanna Varga’s “Screw Your Courage.” Pacific Film Archive 2621 Durant Ave. 642-5249 

Films of Julio Medem April 13, 7:30 p.m. & April 14, 7 p.m. Medem is recognized as one of Spain’s leading filmmakers. On April 13, “The Cows” and “The Red Squirrel” will be shown. April 14, “Earth/Tierra” and “Lovers of the Arctic Circle” will show. $7 for one film, $8.50 for double bills Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412  

Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted April 2: Alan Rinzler facilitates part two of Cody’s three part writer’s workshop; April 3: Ann McGregor, Dick Meister, Cindy Wathen, and George Ballis give accounts of living and working with Cesar Chavez; April 4: Poetry of Carole Simmons Oles & Matthew McKay; April 5: Herbert Bix talks about “Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan”; April 9: Mark Morris visits to celebrate “Mark Morris’ L’Allegro, Il Penseroso Ed Il Modertato: A Celebration”; April 11: Poetry of Kurt Brown & Al Young; April 12: Stanley Williams explores “Surviving Galeras”  

1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 All events at 7 p.m., unless noted April 10: Amy Tan reads from “The Bonesetter’s Daughter”; April 20: Susie Bright discusses “The Best American Erotica 2001”; April 26: Mother of three Wynn McClenahan Burkett will read from “Life After Baby: From Professional Woman to Beginner Parent”  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted April 3: Environmental Activist David Bolling will give a slide presentation and talk on “Living and Dying on Everest: An Inside Look at Everest Expeditions and Environmental Issues”; April 5: Mary Olmstead will discuss “Hidden Wine Country” about the Napa-Sonoma-Mendocino areas; April 11: Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Peace Corps with regional recruiter Cristina Punzalan and Susana Herrera, author of “Mango Elephants in the Sun: How Life in an African Village Let Me Be In My Skin”; 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533 

“Slam the Prisons” April 6, 6 p.m. - 1 a.m. A benefit for prison activism featuring Tang, Company of Prophets, Sheryl D. Mebane and many others. Proceeds benefit the defense of New Afrikan political prisoner Khalfani X. Khaldun and the Prison Activist Resource Center. $10 La Pena Cultural Center 3205 Shattuck Ave. 898-0431  

UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Research Seminars Noon seminars are brown bag April 23, 4 p.m.: Mary Dudziach of USC will discuss “Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy.” 119 Moses Hall UC Berkeley 642-4608  

“Great Decisions” Foreign Policy Association Lectures Series Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - Noon, Through 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. Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. 526-2925 

California Colloquium on Water Scholars of distinction in the fields of natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, law and environmental design speak about water resources and hopefully contribute to informed decisions on water in CA. April 10, 5:15 - 6:30 p.m.: “Understanding the Delta - An Engineering Perspective” Richard Denton, water manager of the Contra Costa Water District; May 8, 5:15 - 6:30 p.m.: “What Makes Water Wet?” Richard Saykally, professor of Chemistry, UC Berkeley 212 O’Brien Hall, UC Berkeley 642-2666  

“The Monster of Troy: Fossil Discoveries In Classical Antiquity” April 1, 3 p.m. Adrienne Mayor will describe some literary and archaeological evidence for discoveries of the huge fossil remains of extinct animals in ancient Greece and Rome. 370 Dwinelle Hall UC Berkeley  

“The Gene’s Eye View of Creation” April 4 & 10, 4:10 p.m. Evolutionary Biologist Richard Dawkins, a leading thinker in modern Darwinism, will deliver a lecture “The Genetic Book of the Dead” April 4 and “The Selfish Cooperator” April 10 International House Auditorium UC Berkeley 

Leonard Breger April 9, 7:30 - 9 p.m. Breger will critique club members’ art and will show some of his own works. Breger is known for his paintings of cut-out masonite shapes, both animal and human. El Cerrito Community Center The Garden Room 7007 Moeser Lane 524-6739  

By Jared Green 

Daily Planet Staff 

It’s rare that a baseball game is over before it starts. But Friday’s game between Berkeley and visiting Richmond was never in doubt, even before the first pitch. 

The Oilers, all 11 of them, piled out of their bus as the ’Jackets were about to take infield practice. They took their time getting ready, taking warmups without a centerfielder. Their starting pitcher didn’t warm up, apparently needing just the seven quick tosses before he threw his first inning. Richmond didn’t even have enough uniforms for their two reserves, and their substitutions included a handing off of the departing player’s jersey to his replacement. 

In the middle of all this chaos, the ’Jackets managed to put together a fine performance, scoring 10 runs in the third inning on their way to an abbreviated 15-0 win. The game lasted just four and a half innings, thanks to the “slaughter rule,” which ends a game after the losing team’s half of the fifth inning if they are down by more than nine runs. Berkeley broke that mark with ease, as Cole Stipovich gave up just one scratch hit in five innings for a shutout. 

“The opposition didn’t show us much today, but we played good baseball,” Berkeley head coach Tim Moellering said. “We got solid pitching and solid defense.” 

The ’Jackets scored three runs in the first inning, then broke the game wide open in the third, as the first nine batters all reached base and eventually scored. They amassed 11 of their 18 hits in the inning, and Richmond helped out with four errors. Symbolic of the combination of Berkeley excellence and Richmond pratfalls was centerfielder Bennie Goldenberg’s Little League-style “homerun.” Goldberg knocked a line drive into left field for a single. But the Richmond outfielder let the ball go through his legs. Goldenberg quickly rounded second base and headed for third. The Oiler relay throw went far over the third baseman’s head, and Goldenberg scored easily. 

“You hope that the other team can play smart and flawless defense so we have to earn everything we get,” Moellering said. “When a team makes errors in a big inning like that, it just opens the floodgates, and we took advantage.” 

With the pressure off, Stipovich proceeded to strike out four of the last six batters he faced, and the game ended before the bottom of the fifth.

Education expert Alfie Kohn, one of the nation’s most outspoken opponents of high stakes standardized tests, told hundreds of Bay Area teachers Thursday that California is leading the race to the bottom in public education by overemphasizing standardized tests. 

“Congratulations on being number 50,” Kohn boomed, to the applause and laughter of teachers and others packed into the Oakland High School Auditorium. 

Don’t believe the hype that says standards are successfully reforming education around the country, Kohn told the group. “Even if our motives are good we’ve stumbled into something destructive,” he said. 

In more than two hours of remarks, punctuated by bursts of applause from an apparently adoring audience, Kohn said he has yet to meet a good standardized test. Over reliance on tests like the Stanford 9, used to measure California students performance in grades two through 11, and the new California High School Exit Exam makes students less motivated to learn, Kohn argued. 

“When you overemphasize results or achievement you get kids who see learning as a chore,” he said. “It’s the difference between getting kids to focus on how well they’re doing (instead) of focusing on what they’re doing.” 

Education based on long lists of specific standards (Kohn compared such lists to the Los Angeles white pages) makes it impossible for teachers to engage in the kind of spontaneous projects that help engage students and build their enthusiasm for a subject, Kohn said. 

“Standards perfectly suit the worst teachers who thrive under (them)” because it means they don’t have to work as hard, he said. 

Kohn said standardized tests promote a one-size-fits-all approach to education that hampers teachers’ ability to meet the individual needs of their students. Faced with continued moves in this direction, more and more teachers will leave the profession, he warned. 

“If teachers are turned into test prep technicians they will leave,” he said. 

Kohn said the tests are culturally biased because African-Americans and Latinos from underfunded city schools can’t be expected to perform as well as white students in wealthy, suburban school districts. 

Pointing to research showing strong connections between students’ socio-economic status and their performance on standardized tests, Kohn said the tests don’t measure students’ ability so much as “the size of houses near the school.” 

Calling standardized tests a form of “educational ethnic cleansing,” Kohn said they disproportionately punish African-American and Latino students and will cause drop-out rates among these students – already far higher than drop out rates for whites – to rise still further. 

“It’s really not about helping kids learn better,” Kohn said of educational standards. “This movement is about ensuring that we leave more children behind.” 

Finally, Kohn argued that the whole movement towards standards in schools is antidemocratic because the standards are created by experts and imposed by politicians without allowing for input from teachers, parents and students. 

“You don’t make change by demanding, you make change by supporting,” Kohn said, calling for more equitable funding for public schools, higher salaries for teachers, and more professional development based on best practices. 

Teachers from Marin, San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland who turned out to hear Kohn speak Thursday largely shared his views on the evils of standardized tests. 

“This year is terrible,” said Oakland elementary school art teacher Debbie Koppman. “The Oakland school district is under enormous pressure to raise test scores. Teachers feel like they’re damaging kids.” 

“Assessment is doing exactly what he’s saying,” said Alisa Winiecki, a math and science teacher at Oakland’s Brewer Middle School. “Advantaged kids are passing and disadvantaged kids are not.” 

Winiecki said school districts should focus on other ways to hold teachers accountable for student learning, like observing teachers in the classroom, interviewing their students and looking at samples of their classroom work. 

Politicians who emphasize testing as a solution to underachieving students vastly underestimate the dimension of the problem, Winiecki said. 

“The whole educational system needs to be reformed, starting with teaching preparation programs,” Winiecki said. “I haven’t heard of one good (teacher preparation program), at least in the Bay Area. They’re horrible.” 

Alameda County Board of Education member Jerry Wiggins, a resident of South Berkeley, said in an interview Friday that tests such as the California High School Exit Exam are a shortsighted political response to the long-term problem of underperforming schools in the state. 

“It’s a feel-good thing from a political perspective,” Wiggins said. “They’re trying to make a quick splash (before their terms are up).” 

The politicians would do better to focus their efforts on getting more money to the schools, Wiggins said. California still ranks behind much poorer and less populous states in terms of per pupil spending, he said. 

But members of the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education defended California’s academic standards and the use of standardized tests Friday. 

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it,” said Berkeley school board Director Shirley Issel. “When you set goals and objectives that allow you to state clearly the skills that you expect students to develop...and you help parents, teachers, students and managers to understand what those skills are...you have a means of knowing how you’re doing.” 

Issel took issue with many of Kohn arguments. Just because teachers follow state academic standards in the classroom does not mean they are taking a more simplistic approach to education, she said.  

“To be an effective teacher you have to be innovative and creative,” she said. “The most effective teachers are the ones who do the best in the standardized curriculum.” 

As for the idea that the tests promote a one-size-fits-all approach to education, Issel said it is often standardized tests that allow educators to identify students individual needs and adjust their teaching accordingly. 

Standardized tests prepare students for the real world because “In this world we all take standardized tests over and over again,” Issel argued. 

Board Director Ted Schultz said standardized tests help educators identify what’s working and what isn’t. 

“It’s nice to be able to compare to different parts of the country or state because if they do better in some areas then that can give you some clues as to how to improve your system.” 

Bears get early commitment from New Orleans prep star 

Just one day after head coach Ben Braun signed a contract extension that ties him to Cal basketball through 2009, the Bears got an early commitment from New Orleans high school star Derek Burditt. 

Burditt, a 6-foot-6 junior forward at Ehret High, cannot sign a letter of intent until November. But after visiting his father in the Bay Area last summer, he liked what he saw at Cal. When Braun signed the extension, Burditt’s decision was clinched. 

“It has been crazy, but the pressure has been taken away,” Burditt told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “I don’t have to worry about what school I’m going to now.” 

Burditt was the New Orleans Times-Picayune All-Metro Large Schools Player of the Year and is rated by Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports recruiting service as a top-30 player in next year’s prep senior class. He averaged 17.6 points this season, leading Ehret to a 33-3 record. He has been compared to Josh Childress, who has signed to play at Stanford next season. 

Roberson named to All-State team 

Berkeley High’s Robin Roberson was named to the All-State First Team by Cal-Hi Sports. Roberson, who will attend Arizona next fall, led the Lady ’Jackets to their second straight NorCal Division I championship this season. Berkeley center Sabrina Keys was named to the All-Junior Team. 

St. Mary’s guards honored 

Guards DaShawn Freeman and John Sharper were named to the Division IV All-State Team by Cal-Hi Sports. The backcourt duo helped lead the Panthers to the Division IV CIF State Championship, the school’s first state title. Freeman was also named to the NorCalPreps.com second team. 

Cal swimmer wins national title 

AUSTIN, Tex. – Cal freshman swimming sensation Natalie Coughlin captured another national title Wednesday when she won the 100-meter butterfly at the USA Swimming National Championships.  

Coughlin covered the distance in 59.38, edging out Mary Descenza (59.39).  

“I’m pretty tired,” Coughlin said of her hectic schedule. “This is my spring break, and I’ve had a long season. My goal was just to make the (World Championship) team. It doesn’t matter in what. I did (make the team) and I’m happy.”  

Earlier this month, Coughlin was named NCAA Swimmer of the Year after winning three events at the NCAA meet – the 100- and 200-yard backstroke and the 100-yard butterfly – setting NCAA marks in each event. Her times both backstroke events were also American records.  

In addition, Coughlin, who is a nominee for the Honda Sports Award in swimming, helped the Bears to three second-place NCAA finishes in the relays, as well.

If the newest census figures are to be believed, Berkeley’s population has scarcely grown in 10 years. But the population has shifted. 

While the census counted 102, 724 residents in 1990, it counted 102,743 in 2000.  

The most dramatic change is the apparent shrinkage of the black community, from almost 19 percent to about 13.6 percent and the growth of the Hispanic community, from almost 8 percent to about 10 percent. The Asian population increased from 14.7 percent to 16.3 percent and the Caucasian community decreased from 62 to 59 percent. 

“We started seeing anecdotal evidence,” said Tim Stroshane, senior planner in the housing department. “We were seeing more elderly African Americans selling their properties. Some had owned it for 40 years.” 

The only information currently available is the total population and breakdown by race for Berkeley. Detailed information such as the age of the population, its economic status and how it is housed is not available. 

“We won’t know the absolute answers until one year from now,” Stroshane said. 

Giving an educated guess, however, Stroshane said he thinks the city has seen a shift in age and housing modalities. “The median age is going up,” he said. As for housing, new construction has been multifamily dwellings along transportation corridors.  

The housing is “higher density,” he said. “There are more people in a smaller space.” 

As detailed data emerges, more will be know about the ethnic composition of the city. A new category this year allowed people to check a multi-racial box. It will not be known until later, what ethnicities these individuals identify themselves as. 

Another interesting question to pose is where Berkeley students said they were living. The census asked where the individual was on April 1, 2000. On that date, many students were on spring break – with their parents. Stroshane said he thinks most students would not take the question literally and if they lived in Berkeley most the year, would probably write in their Berkeley address. 

City council watchers will also have their eyes on population shifts within council districts. Based on an analysis of these figures, districts will be reconfigured according to the loss or gain in population. 

Berkeley Observed 

Looking back, seeing ahead 

The area just north of the university campus is mostly residential and was initially subdivided in the 1880s by a man named Daley, who called his subdivision Daley’s Scenic Park.  

Daley laid out the streets in a regular grid pattern.  

The steeper hilly area north of Cedar Street was developed after the introduction of the electric streetcar line along Euclid Avenue in 1903 and the streets were graded along the contours of the hills.  

Cedar Street, the northern boundary of Daley’s Scenic Park, and Eunice Street, at the north edge of Codornices Canyon, were graded in the late 19th century and are the last streets, except for Marin Avenue, that were cut straight up the hillside. 

During the first quarter of the 20th century houses, schools, churches and clubhouses in this area were predominantly built in a rustic natural style advocated by the neighborhood Hillside Club.  

The club’s activities included a campaign to retain the natural beauty of the hills by promoting “artistic homes that appear to have grown out of the hillside and to be part of it.”  

The unique quality of this neighborhood was described by The San Francisco Chronicle in 1904: “Wander if you will on the Berkeley slopes north of the University of California campus to have your faith in human kind renewed.  

Wander up Ridge Road until you come to the shingle and clinker brick houses set in the midst of gardens, a lesson in peaceful, harmonious, artistic and natural living, an architectural picture rarely attained, (where) 90 percent of the houses are built in brown shingle.”  

By 1920 the hills north of the university were covered with homes built in this distinctive architectural idiom.  

The essence of what Berkeley signifies in the history of American residential architecture was developed and fully expressed in this small neighborhood between 1892 and 1923.  

But tragedy struck on the hot, dry, windy afternoon of Sept. 17, 1923 when a raging wildfire swept through this neighborhood.  

The fire started in Wildcat Canyon and swept over the hills. The number of buildings destroyed was somewhere between 500 and 600; reports vary.  

Like the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire, the 1923 Berkeley fire changed an entire neighborhood; where brown shingle houses once stood, stucco-sided buildings with tile roofs now stand. Walking up Virginia Street from Euclid Avenue, the edges of the fire line can still be easily determined: brown shingle houses are pre-fire and stucco-sided ones are post fire.  

Susan Cerny authors this column in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association

The eye as a camera has been a powerful metaphor for poets and scientists alike, implying that the eye provides the brain with detailed snapshots that form the basis for our rich experience of the world. 

Recent studies at the University of California, Berkeley, however, show that the metaphor is more poetic than real. What the eye sends to the brain are mere outlines of the visual world, sketchy impressions that make our vivid visual experience all the more amazing. 

Even though we think we see the world so fully, what we are receiving is really just hints, edges in space and time,” said Frank S. Werblin, professor of molecular and cell biology in the College of Letters & Science at UC Berkeley. Werblin, a member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, is part of UC Berkeley's Health Sciences Initiative, a collaboration among researchers throughout the campus to tackle some of today’s major health problems. 

The brain interprets this sparse information, probably merging it with images from memory, to create the world we know, he said. 

In a paper in this week’s issue of Nature, doctoral student Botond Roska, M.D., and Werblin provide evidence for between 10 and 12 output channels from the eye to the brain, each carrying a different, stripped-down representation of the visual world. 

“These 12 pictures of the world constitute all the information we will ever have about what’s out there, and from these 12 pictures, which are so sparse, we reconstruct the richness of the visual world,” Werblin said. “I’m curious how nature selected these 12 simple movies and how it can be that they are sufficient to provide us with all the information we seem to need.” 

While scientists have known that the eye forwards several parallel representations of the world to the brain, what these are and how they are produced has been a mystery.  

“What we have done," Roska said, “ is show that the retina creates a stack of image representations, how these image representations are formed and that they are the result of cross-talk between layers of cells in the retina.” 

The results are a big step toward producing a bionic eye employing a unique computer chip that can be programmed to do visual processing just like the retina. The chip, called a Cellular Neural Network (CNN) Universal Machine, was invented in 1992 by Roska's father, Tamás Roska, and Leon O. Chua, a professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley. “The biology we are learning is going into improving the chip, which is getting more and more similar to the mammalian retina,” Roska said. 

“Nevertheless, a bionic eye is a far-fetched notion until someone figures out how to connect it to the neural circuitry of the brain.” Over a period of nearly three years, Roska painstakingly measured signals from more than 200 ganglion cells in the rabbit retina as he flashed pictures of a featureless square or circle. Ganglion cells are the eye's output cells, forming the optic nerve connecting it to the brain. 

“We made very simple measurements on retinal cells, recording excitation and spiking when we flashed squares and moving spots in front of the eye,” Roska said. From these, he and Werblin determined that there are about a dozen different populations of ganglion cells, each spanning the full visual space and producing a different movie output. 

One group of ganglion cells, for example, only sends signals when it detects a moving edge. Another group fires only after a stimulus stops. Another sees large uniform areas, yet another only the area surrounding a figure. 

“Each representation emphasizes a different feature of the visual world – an edge, a blob, movement – and sends the information along different paths to the brain,” Werblin said. 

The two researchers shared these detailed findings with software designer David Balya in Hungary, who modeled the visual processing on a computer, a preliminary step before actually programming a CNN chip to simulate the image processing that goes on in the eye.  

From the UC Berkeley press office.

SAN FRANCISCO — California power regulators already have approved the biggest electricity rate hikes in state history. Now they must decide which customers get hit hardest. 

Under a proposed plan, between 30 percent and 40 percent of customers of two major utilities – Southern California Edison Co. and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. – may see no increase in their rates, said PG&E spokesman Ron Low. 

On Tuesday, the state Public Utilities Commission approved rate increases of as much as 42 percent for Edison customers and 46 percent for PG&E customers. 

It also released a plan by commission president Loretta Lynch to implement the hikes via a tiered-rate system that would have customers pay based on how much energy they use in relation to a baseline amount. 

Lynch said tiered rates are just a proposal. She is open to adjusting the structure before it hits customers’ bills in May. “It is a starting point to get people to think about it,” Lynch said  

At the moment, Lynch’s plan exempts utilities’ customers who use less than 130 percent of their baseline. The baseline is about 50-60 percent of the average amount of electricity used in residential areas that are similar in geography and seasonal climate. 

Those in more extreme climates, more dependent on heat and air conditioning, typically have a higher baseline than those in temperate zones. For example, in San Francisco, the summer baseline is 7.7 cents per kwh per month, Low said. In most of the Central Valley, the summer baseline is 16.6 cents per kwh per month. 

When Lynch announced her plan Tuesday, she said that more than 40 percent of customers would see no change to their bills. However, nearly 70 percent of PG&E customers exceeded 130 percent of their baseline amount last year, Low said. 

More than half of Edison customers used over 130 percent of baseline amounts last year, said Gil Alexander, an Edison spokesman. Since the increase is an average of 3 cents per kilowatt hour, that means customers with large homes or large families will be those who exceed the PUC limits and end up carrying the higher rates for everyone else. 

Baselines consider an area’s use but don’t account for home size or its number of residents. So, someone living alone in a studio apartment could have the same baseline as a family of six living in a nearby house. 

But of the almost 70 percent of ratepayers who exceed the 130 percent of baseline, 13 percent are within a few kilowatt hours of that figure, Low said. So that means if they conserved a little more, they could become exempt under the proposed plan. 

Lynch’s plan also provides help for the poor by changing the eligibility requirements for participation in the California Alternate Rates for Energy program, or CARE. 

Now, customers in the program must be within 10 percent of the national poverty standards to receive a 15 percent cut in the electric bills. 

Lynch’s plan would allow those whose income is 175 percent of the poverty level to participate. For example, a one- or two-resident home is now eligible with an income of $18,200 or less. That would rise to $21,233 or less under Lynch’s plan. 

On Monday, the PUC will meet to determine how best to hear from as many different groups as possible before implementing the increase. 

“My goal is to hear from all parties and frankly, most importantly, to hear from (the Department of Water Resources),” Lynch said. 

Since January, the DWR has spent nearly $50 million a day buying electricity on behalf of the customers of PG&E, Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric. The PUC on Tuesday also ordered Edison and PG&E, who say they are nearly $14 billion in debt, to begin paying the state back for its power purchases. 

The state has been less than forthcoming about how much long-term electricity contracts will cost utility customers in the future, which left the PUC without exact numbers to use for ratemaking purposes. 

Nettie Hoge, director of The Utility Reform Network in San Francisco, said that rate increases will only show out-of-state power companies that California’s pocketbook is open, and will do little to curb energy prices. 

“Its not a solution to the core problem if we don’t discipline the wholesale market,” Hoge said earlier this week. “It’s not a supply problem, it’s a market power problem.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

California Public Utilities Commission: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov 

Pacific Gas and Electric Co.: http://www.pge.com 

Southern California Edison Co.: http://www.sce.com 

SAN FRANCISCO — Here in the city where so many have died from what at first was known as “the gay disease,” some say the move of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to Atlanta is like another loss in their family. 

But the quilt’s founder says it can be a stronger force for change in the South, since infections among blacks are rising sharply. 

“The power of the quilt is not limited to serving the gay community,” said Cleve Jones, who stitched the first panel in 1987 to remember his best friend. 

More than 40,000 quilt panels are dedicated to 80,000 people who have died from AIDS. In a farewell ceremony Friday, the final 12 foot by 12 foot section will be folded and sent to Atlanta. The NAMES Project Foundation, keeper of the quilt, is moving its offices to Washington. 

And while the move is a happy event for those accepting it in Atlanta, many here say the 54-ton canvas is a a symbol that belongs in its birthplace. 

“I think it’s better for me not to be there, because I would just cry my eyes out,” said Felicia Elizondo, an HIV-positive transgender woman who has sewn nearly 60 panels since 1988. “It’s just like any unfolding of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, it’s sad. It’s all those people who have died. I think my heart would just fall to the ground if I saw the last panel leaving.” 

But it has a purpose in going to Atlanta: Although HIV infection numbers are again rising in gay communities nationwide, the disease also is striking other groups. “The epidemic has really changed and grown to African American and Hispanic communities,” Jones said. 

The quilt’s power in educating and preventing new infections should follow that shift, despite the memorial’s long history in San Francisco, Jones said. 

“At this point, I think strategy is more important than sentiment,” he added. 

The idea for the quilt originated when Jones attended a 1985 candlelight memorial march for former San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and openly gay supervisor Harvey Milk. The two politicians were gunned down by former supervisor Dan White in 1978. 

AIDS was beginning to take its toll on the city’s gay population and Jones felt the need to keep their memories alive. The newspapers were brimming with obituaries of AIDS victims. 

“I knew almost every one of them. They were friends. They were neighbors,” Jones said. 

He handed out cardboard squares and felt-tip markers to those in attendance at the memorial, urging them to jot down something about a loved one lost to AIDS. The crowd responded, and then pasted the cardboard panels on a downtown health services building, covering the outer wall with their words and drawings. 

Jones mentioned to a friend that the panels looked like a quilt – and the memorial movement was born. “The power of the quilt is not limited to serving the gay community,” Jones said. In Atlanta, the quilt will be housed in a secure, climate-controlled warehouse in the Inman Park community.

TEMECULA — Horse lovers and cattle ranchers once were drawn to this remote valley for its leisurely pace and lush hills.  

Now, Californians fed up with the urbanization of their suburbs are filling the pastures with stucco strip malls and Spanish tile-topped tract homes. 

Road crews struggle to keep pace with the rapid housing and commercial construction, leaving drivers stuck on dead-end streets or congested, unfinished thoroughfares.  

Road signs directing travelers to innumerable housing developments mark the city’s entrances, and the smell of construction dust and the constant sound of power tools fill the air. 

Suburbanites from cities near Los Angeles and San Francisco are flocking to outlying counties like Riverside in the south and San Benito in the north.  

They come in search of affordable housing, better schools and less crime.  

They bring with them traffic, pollution and crime, longtime residents say. 

“People wanted a more country place and then look what happened to it,” said Irene Hotchkiss, a 67-year-old resident who brought her five children to live here 30 years ago. “It’s terrible.” 

Hotchkiss and her husband, Tommy Hotchkiss, moved out of the city’s core when they saw the population boom on the horizon and realized the days of riding horses around town and knowing everyone by name were over.  

Tommy Hotchkiss, 71, has lived here since the 1940s when he left Los Angeles some 90 miles to the northwest and came to work as a ranch hand.  

Temecula’s population has grown 113 percent from 27,099 in 1990 to 57,716 in 2000, according to the census figures released this week.  

Nearby Murrieta grew 2,620 percent from 1,628 in 1990 to 44,282 in 2000.  

Placer County just east of Sacramento grew by 43 percent for similar reasons, and San Benito County, south of Jan Jose, grew by 45 percent. 

Los Angeles County and San Francisco grew by only 7 percent, which is about half of the state’s average growth rate over the past decade.  

Residents have been moving away from the urban core since the 1980s, state demographers say, but as the suburbs have become increasingly crowded residents have begun to move even farther.  

That search has led them to once remote areas previously known more for agriculture than for their low cost of living.  

Some Temecula residents commute to jobs in places like San Diego, about 60 miles to the south, or Orange County to the east, although many have found work locally as the area has grown. 

New schools and parks have sprung up alongside avocado groves and vineyards across Temecula as part of developers’ master plans.

For most of us, a home is the single biggest investment we will make in a lifetime. so, we spend lots of time, money and energy doing what we can to maintain its integrity and improve its value. It’s no wonder that Americans spend more than $150 billion annually on home improvement and repair. 

Are you maintaining, upgrading or both? Maintenance is necessary to preserve the integrity of a home by preventing damage from wind, water or rain. An improvement can be characterized as an upgrade that will enhance comfort, safety and/or appearance, but is usually not a necessity. 

Some projects qualify for both categories. Take painting the outside of your home, for example. A fresh coat of paint (and the thorough preparation that precedes it scraping, sanding, patching, caulking and priming) will not only protect the shell from deterioration, it will do wonders for the home’s “curb appeal” as well. 

When it comes to improvements, the most popular do-it-yourself projects are those that will add comfort, enhance appearance and add value for the least amount of money. Paint, wallpaper, landscaping and interior moldings top the list of improvements that lend the best “bang-for-the-buck.” They are projects that most do-it-yourselfers feel confident to tackle, and the cost of materials (when combined with “sweat equity”) is usually a fraction of what it would cost to have the work performed by a pro – which, by the way, might be the best, most cost-effective alternative for people that are home-improvement challenged. 

If you’ve painted and papered your heart out and your thumb is as green as it gets and you’re still looking for something to dress up the interior of your home, try installing decorative molding. Moldings also called interior “trim” are used routinely throughout a home’s interior; around windows (especially wood), doors and at the base of a wall where it meets the floor (baseboard). There are various other locations where moldings can be used such as the ceiling-to-wall connection (crown molding), and midway up a wall (chair molding). 

If you live in a pre-World War II home, chances are good that you have molding in most of these locations. If your home was built during or before the turn of the last century, crown molding, chair rail, wood wainscot (partial-height wall paneling) and other decorative moldings were standard equipment. Unfortunately, with mass production and the need to cut costs to produce affordable housing, decorative trim was eliminated. 

Armed with the proper tools – a pry bar and hammer to remove existing trim; a measuring tape, miter saw, coping saw and some finish nails – you can convert your plain-Jane rancher into a baronial estate. The molding metamorphosis is remarkable.  

Tip: don’t choose moldings or use them in areas that are not compatible with the architecture of your home. When in doubt, check with an architect, designer or visit your local library to brush up on the subject. 

The first step is to decide where you will be installing molding and how much material will be needed. Always buy extra to account for mistakes that invariably occur. If you are satisfied with the existing door, window and base moldings, consider installing crown molding or chair rail. 

Crown is used where walls meet the ceiling. Although it comes in various styles and sizes, consider creating your own specific look by layering and/or joining more than one piece of trim. Miter or cope joints with the appropriate saw. Always remember to measure twice and cut once. Crown should be nailed to the ceiling joist and wall studs. Install blocking between ceiling joists when installing crown parallel to ceiling joist. 

Chair rail – used to protect walls from backs of chairs – makes a room look wider. It is also a means of separating wallpaper and paint or as a cap for a decorative wood wainscot. For a seamless installation, don’t butt joints along straight runs – miter them at a 30-degree angle. Nail the chair rail to the wall studs. 

If your door and window trim or baseboard need a lift, yank them out with a pry bar (being careful not to damage surrounding finishes) and replace them with fancier stuff. The sky is the limit when it comes to choices. The moldings that you use around doors can be used around windows and vice versa. Mitered corners is the standard, however butted corners or blocked corners can be used depending upon the style of trim selected. 

Door and window moldings should be nailed to the edge of the jamb and to the framing, using finish nails. 

Base moldings or “baseboard” are functional and decorative. They are used where walls meet floors to hide uneven edges. Like crown molding, base molding can consist of one piece of material or can be built up by using two or more pieces of trim. For example, an elaborate base molding can consist of a 3-to-4-inch rectangular base board, a sculptured base cap, and a quarter round base “shoe” where the baseboard meets the floor. 

When it comes to sprucing up the old homestead, the possibilities are endless with decorative moldings. 

If you plan to do lots of trim, consider renting a nail gun and compressor. It will make the job easier and produce superior results. 

For more home improvement tips and information, visit our website at www.onthehouse.com. 

James and Morris Carrey are feature writers for The  

Associated Press 

LOS ANGELES — Cameras should be barred from the courtroom during the bomb conspiracy trial of former SLA fugitive Sara Jane Olson because the testimony could teach viewers how to make bombs, prosecutors argued Friday. 

Defense lawyer Shawn Chapman countered that such information was readily available on the Internet and in fact was given in great detail Thursday night during an ABC-TV Prime Time special about Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. 

Superior Court Judge Larry P. Fidler said if he decides to allow cameras in the courtroom, he might bar them during testimony describing how bombs are manufactured. 

However, the judge did not immediately rule on the motion brought by Court TV and joined by other broadcast media. 

Attorney Kelli Sager argued that there is wide public interest in the trial of the Minnesota housewife who was arrested 25 years after the Symbionese Liberation Army made headlines.  

She is charged with planting bombs under police cars in Los Angeles as retaliation for the deaths of six SLA members in a fiery police shootout.  

The bombs never went off. 

Olson remained a fugitive for more than two decades and led an apparently crime-free life as a doctor’s wife and mother of three children until she was arrested in June 1999 near her home in St. Paul, Minn.  

She has pleaded innocent and is free on $1 million bail. 

The debate over cameras in the courtroom was heard before, but when a new judge was appointed to the case, it had to be re-examined.  

Fidler told the prosecution: “There is going to be coverage of this case and the print media is free to report on what happens in this trial. You have to tell me how the television coverage differs.” 

Deputy District Attorney Eleanor Hunter said the district attorney’s office, which normally favors camera coverage, is opposing it in this case because of the bomb evidence and because there may be another trial eventually involving a 1975 murder committed during a Sacramento area bank robbery. 

Investigation of that long-dormant case has been reopened at the request of Hunter and her co-counsel Michael Latin, even though Sacramento authorities have said often that there is insufficient evidence. 

In her remarks Friday, Hunter suggested that former SLA member Emily Harris shot Myrna Opsahl at the bank, a contention made by Patty Hearst in her book about the case.  

Hunter worried aloud that if that allegation was raised in Olson’s trial and was broadcast on TV, Harris would argue she couldn’t get a fair trial in Sacramento. 

“There is a real possibility that the Carmichael case will be filed,” Hunter said. 

Sager told the judge such considerations were irrelevant because neither Harris nor Olson has been charged in the Sacramento case and the information would be disseminated by the print media in any case. 

Hunter told the judge she and Latin were going to Sacramento next week. 

“Can I assume you won’t be talking about legislation?” the judge said sarcastically. 

Chapman said she would file a motion Monday to continue the April 30 trial date for Olson because of a continuing avalanche of discovery documents being produced by prosecutors. She said she has received some 22,000 pages of evidence.

NEW YORK — Wall Street’s gyrations can be attributed to many causes, but, ultimately, the volatility comes down to a question of who is buying stocks and who is selling. 

A lot of the credit for this week’s market fluctuations has been given to professional money managers, the people who buy and sell billions of dollars in stocks on behalf of institutions, mutual funds, pension funds and other businesses. 

These large customers are the 800-pound gorillas of the markets.  

Although individual investors are more involved with stocks than ever, their influence pales when compared with institutions, whose transactions of tens of thousands of shares at a time can make or break a stock. 

Institutional buying and selling has always dominated Wall Street, but that role received more attention than usual this week because March 30 was the end of the fiscal first-quarter. 

“Mutual funds are required to report earnings four times a year to the Securities and Exchange Commission and twice a year to shareholders,” said Paul Dykstra, an adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law.  

“So, shortly before the end of the quarter, some funds will sell stocks in portfolios that are in disfavor.” 

Managers will also buy stocks that are doing better to improve their portfolios. The effects and extent of these transactions, pejoratively referred to as “window-dressing” because they are designed to make funds look more profitable and competitive than they might actually be, are debatable. 

Some argued that alternating waves of buying and selling this week – the markets generally rose Monday, Tuesday and Friday but fell Wednesday and Thursday – reflect the quarter-end buying and selling. 

“There’s no doubt that this puts a lot of pressure on the markets,” said Larry Wachtel, a market analyst at Prudential Securities.  

“There’s a lot of end-of-quarter stuff going on. Mutual funds sell their tech stocks, for example, because they don’t want to show their losers on the books.” 

But it’s hard to know how much of the activity is really “window dressing” rather than profit-taking in a bear market. 

Ciena Corp., for example, traded lower by about 50 percent this week, during a time when 91 percent of the stock’s trades were institutional.  

Similarly, institutions accounted for about 52 percent of the trades in Juniper Networks Inc., which fell as much as 45 percent off its weekly high. 

The chip sector, of which both companies are a part, also saw analysts this week downgrade some companies or express concerns about their outlooks ahead. 

“This tells you that institutions were making most of the trades and the declines show they’re quite clearly not buying,” said Thomas Kee, chief executive of Stock Traders Daily, which compiled the Ciena and Juniper data.  

“But these institutions might not all be mutual funds, so it’s hard to tell exactly how much of this might be window-dressing.” 

“I tend to think the market overplays what fund managers do,” said John Forelli, portfolio manager at Independence Investment Associates.  

“If I wanted to get rid of Yahoo!, for example, why would I have waited until now to do so?” 

In any case, the end-of-the-quarter activity is a reminder of the power institutional buyers command. 

“Institutional buying and selling is the primary mover of the markets,” said Todd Clark, co-head of trading at WR Hambrecht.  

“A year ago, you could have said that day trading was moving some of the Nasdaq stocks, but that’s no longer true. Institutional buyers buy more and more often.” 

Statistics from the two biggest stock marketplaces also show the influence of large buys. 

Nearly 52 percent of the volume on the New York Stock Exchange in 2000 came from block trades, which are transactions of more than 10,000 shares.  

On the Nasdaq Stock Market, block trades made up 25 percent of the volume during the same time. 

But size isn’t everything and, at the end of the day, individual investors still have a lot of power. Although they may not directly buy the most stock, their investments are the engine for the stock market’s growth and activity. 

“The underlying money that institutional buyers are using is coming from individual investors,” said Bryan Piskorowski, market analyst at Prudential Securities, who points to recent studies suggesting investors are focusing on bond and money market funds, rather than equities, as one way individual investors are influencing the market’s direction. 

“Investors voting with their dollars to go to money markets or bonds rather than equities speaks volumes about the health of the market,” he said.  

“Ultimately, investors’ weight on the market comes to bear in where they invest. Right now, it’s not in stocks. And that’s evident on the market.” 

For the week, the Dow gained 374, or 3.9 percent, closing at 9,878.78 after advancing 79.72 on Friday. 

The Nasdaq fell 88.42, or 4.6 percent, for the week. It closed at 1,840.26 after gaining 19.69 Friday. 

The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 20.50 to post a 1.8 percent weekly gain. The S&P climbed 12.38 on Friday to end the week at 1,160.33. 

The Russell 2000 index, which measures the performance of smaller companies stocks, gained 7.26 points, or 1.64 percent, for the week. It closed Friday at 450.53, up 9 points. 

The Wilshire Associates Equity Index – which represents the combined market value of all New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq issues – ended the week at $10.65 trillion, up $17 billion from the previous week. A year ago, the index was $14.30 trillion.

To Anthony Maramarco, an informed investor, a renewed appreciation of value can be observed in America today, and the stock market reflects it. Value investing, he says, is back on the front burner. 

It shouldn’t be a surprise, he suggests, because if you keep your eyes open you can see a return to basics everywhere. Value is back as certainly as is good, old home-cooking. 

“To understand what’s cooking in the stock market today,” he said, “consider that one of the hottest items on the menu at Boston’s trendy Grill 23 is meat loaf and mashed potatoes.” 

That menu is as basic as building a portfolio of stocks that are managed well, that have a viable business plan, good products, and earnings and dividends rather than just a story and promises of someday connecting. 

Maramarco is an analyst at David L. Babson & Company, which began managing stocks at the tail end of the Great Depression, way back in the pre-technology days. Understandably, he sees value as the way to go. 

George Gilder is far from convinced. Gilder, is the author of the “Gilder Technology Report,” a newsletter providing deep insight into about 40 high-tech, New Economy corporate leaders – creators of the “Telecosm.” 

Gilder’s awesome influence can be measured by the quick upward thrust of stocks that managed to get newly added to his list. He is followed not just in Silicon Valley but in high-tech mountains and valleys everywhere. 

While the Warren Buffetts and other value investors are “giddy with vindication” these days, he says, the upcoming “new phase of wealth creation .....will leave the Buffetts in the dust.” 

He believes the crash of tech stocks has even been helpful. How? “By shaking out flakier firms, technologies and business models,” leaving the strong survivors to lead the way into phase two of the “Telecosm.” 

Telecosm is the world of electronic communications, wired and wireless, that Gilder is convinced will continue to change the world. He believes that, with powerful backing from venture capitalists, technology’s creations will make the next decade even more promising than the last. 

Though Gilder claims not to choose stocks but simply to identify technology companies capable of making profound changes, most readers recognize that such companies are likely to earn big dollars doing so. 

And, while recognizing the powerful possibilities of technology, Babson has a long tradition of valuing companies by more classic methods, putting a premium on the historical ability to report consistent profits. 

As such, the two represent decidedly different views of what investors should do today. And for those who look to others for assistance in making decisions, that creates a dilemma. 

In fact, you can say it’s the dilemma of the entire market: Which is the way to go – value or growth. Growth had been the way of the market for several years. Things changed. Is growth or value the way of the future? 

A widely accepted view of the current market is that it cannot rise with any consistency until all belief is driven out of investors who placed their faith in the New Economy. 

Unconvinced, Gilder remains firm in his faith in technology and growth, saying “It takes technology and innovation to make an economy grow and to sustain the value of ’value’ investments.” 

Maramarco concedes that “it’s important to realize that each style works well in the long run.” But many investors still don’t have a long-term view of things. Not after years of thinking short-term. 

But clearly, his leaning is toward value and the long-term. 

“As tempting as eating out at a Michelin 3-star restaurant every night might seem,” he said, “sometimes you might just want to have meat loaf and mashed potatoes for dinner.” 

John Cunniff is a business analyst for The Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Your financial life flashes in front of you in a matter of minutes: your mortgage, income, bills, life insurance, taxes. You’re being grilled under oath in a room full of strangers, each awaiting a turn under the spotlight. 

“Still got the ’91 Honda Civic?” attorney Gordon Peyton asked a man while scanning a document listing what the man had and what he owed. “Are you expecting a tax refund this year?” 

Watchers sat solemnly in rows of comfortable chairs. Some spoke in anxious tones with their lawyers. A nervous din filled the hallway outside, while on a brick veranda, cement urns were loaded with fresh cigarette butts. 

Peyton is a bankruptcy trustee who conducts these one-on-one public meetings with people who want to wipe away their debts under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Mandatory sessions like this take place across the nation. 

People come here for many reasons – job loss, medical disaster, divorce, drug addiction. It’s the0 culmination of a financial struggle for many, marked by pressing phone calls from creditors and sleep-starved nights. Some are eager to tell their story to a reporter but are too embarrassed to have their name printed. 

Proponents of overhauling the bankruptcy laws say it’s too easy to erase credit-card and other debts under Chapter 7, and that the system is being abused. Both the House and Senate this month passed bills to toughen the rules, and President Bush has signaled he would sign such legislation. 

Congress proposes a new income-based test for those seeking Chapter 7 protection. If a person were found to have sufficient income to repay at least 25 percent of the debt over five years, debtors generally would be required to file instead under Chapter 13, which requires a court-approved repayment plan, rather than dissolution of unsecured debts. 

For about 500 years in England, imprisonment for defaulting on debts was the order of the day. Creditors in ancient Rome were authorized to carve up a debtor’s body, according to scholars. 

There are no debtors’ prisons in this country. The closest this system comes to a public pillory may well be these meetings under Section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code. 

In Alexandria, across the Potomac from Washington, dozens of people were interviewed on a recent afternoon. Each was sworn in while sitting alongside his or her lawyer at a large table, and on the other side sat Peyton and his two assistants. Occasionally a creditor’s lawyer – from a department store or bank, for example – pulled up a chair. 

The filers were young and not-so-young, men and women, whites and African Americans and Asians and Hispanics. Their occupations include postal worker, delivery driver, candy store owner, retail clerk. They live in upscale suburbs like Falls Church as well as rural towns in northern Virginia. 

Many were casually dressed. Nearly all had an attorney. 

“These people wanted to live the American dream,” lawyer Joel Steinberg said. “Their kids have doctor bills, they have car problems, they begin to dip into the credit cards.” 

Steinberg said many of his Chapter 7 clients have fallen on hard times in an expensive area of the country despite jobs that pay fairly well. That means they likely would fail the means test in the new legislation and be forced into Chapter 13 reorganization. 

Peyton and other trustees are private attorneys appointed by the Justice Department. Their job is to clear out the underbrush, to administer a heavy load of cases so most of them don’t have to go before a judge. At the federal bankruptcy courthouse, six blocks away in Alexandria’s historic Old Town district, some days go by without any cases being heard. 

“This is where the rubber meets the road,” Peyton said after the grueling four-hour session. He averages 12 interviews an hour and is paid $65 per case, regardless of how simple or complex. He is a bit like a circuit-riding judge, coming to preside at these meetings once every two weeks. 

A large, affable man, Peyton wishes several of the debtors “Good luck” with a hint of sympathy when he releases them from the interview. 

When he suspects abuse, Peyton’s good humor vanishes. He sharply scolds an immigrant woman with an apparent gambling problem who he believes to be less than honest. If she doesn’t file her back tax returns in 30 days, he says, he’ll recommend to the bankruptcy judge that she be incarcerated. 

“Then she’s going to be back in front of that judge to explain why she shouldn’t go to jail,” Peyton told her lawyer and translator. “I want some truthful answers. I want to know how come she owes this casino $2,700.” 

In return for debtors’ clean financial slate under Chapter 7, the trustee legally takes over their property, except for basic necessities such as a car, clothing and work tools. 

Property with value is sold to pay creditors. Debtors generally are allowed to keep some personal items and possibly some of the equity in their home, depending on state laws. 

“Still got the Olds?” Peyton asked another woman. “They’re not going to make those any more – you’d better hold on to it.” 

WASHINGTON — Expected low inventories of gasoline could set the stage for regional supply problems and another summer of high fuel prices, government and industry experts told lawmakers Friday. 

The federal Energy Information Administration reported that stocks of gasoline going into the heavy driving season are expected to be below last year’s levels. 

This “could set the stage for regional supply problems that once again could bring about significant price volatility, especially in the Midwest and on both coasts,” said John Cook, director of the EIA’s petroleum division. 

With little cushion from inventories, any unexpected problems with supply, increased demand, refinery problems or pipeline interruptions could spark a run-up in prices, he told the House Commerce energy subcommittee. 

In separate testimony, Gregory King, executive vice president of San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp., said a shortage of MTBE, an additive that makes gas burn cleaner, could add to supply problems in some urban areas where the additive is needed in gasoline to meet air quality requirements. 

High natural gas prices and increased demand have made less gas available for making MTBE, so stocks of the additive in February were 22.4 percent lower than at the same time a year ago, according to EIA. The agency said MTBE production has been 9.2 percent below last year’s levels. 

Warnings of potential gasoline shortages this summer also came in a report issued Friday by the Federal Trade Commission on last year’s Midwest gasoline price spikes. 

The FTC cited a variety of reasons, including poor planning by industry, pipeline problems and requirements for cleaner gasoline, for high prices last year that soared past $2 a gallon in Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit. 

“There is no evidence that the price increases were a result of conspiracy or any other antitrust violation,” FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky said in a statement. 

But the report said there were “conscious but independent choices” made by market participants, often to maximize profits, that contributed to the price spikes. 

“Unless gasoline demand abates or refining capacity grows, price spikes are likely to occur in the future in the Midwest and other areas of the country,” the FTC report warned. 

Some Republican lawmakers cited the FTC report Friday as evidence that last summer’s price increases largely were due to Clinton administration requirements for a new blend of cleaner burning gasoline. The report listed that as only one of a number of causes. 

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said the investigation showed that the Clinton administration’s “rigid environmental regulations” and “incoherent energy policy” were major factors in the price increases. 

The report demonstrated that the Clinton administration’s refusal to waive reformulated gas requirements for the Milwaukee and Chicago areas “stuck Midwest drivers with last summer’s high gas prices,” said Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. 

On the Net: Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov 

Sensenbrenner statement: http://www.house.gov/judiciary 

Commerce Committee: http://www.house.gov/commerce 

WASHINGTON — Unions, struggling in many industries, are flying high on the nation’s airlines. 

At Comair, pilots are walking picket lines, and Northwest mechanics and Delta pilots are threatening to walk out, too. 

It’s symbolic of the bargaining clout that organized labor enjoys among airline workers, even as the percentage of all American workers in unions lingers at a six-decade low – just 13.5 percent. 

Those numbers are much higher among airline, as well as railroad, workers. Both are governed by a labor law that gives unions an unusual amount of power – although it’s also more difficult for them to strike. 

Among pilots and navigators, 60 percent are in unions. For air traffic controllers, it’s 58 percent. And two in three transportation attendants are in unions. 

Union membership is even higher at railroads, with nearly 85 percent of conductors and yardmasters in unions, and 73 percent of signal and switch operators organized, according to Bureau of National Affairs’ numbers. 

These industries transport people and goods across the country, and the threat of a walk out often translates into a noisy, high-profile dispute, said Rick Hurd, Cornell University’s director of labor studies. 

“There’s more leverage for those unions because they play such a crucial role in our society,” Hurd said. “Unions have more potential for strength because if they engage in any kind of work stoppage, it affects everybody.” 

But strikes are unusual. About 97 percent of all National Mediation Board cases have been resolved without interruptions to public service, said Jim Armshaw, spokesman for the board. 

The Comair pilots strike, which began Monday, is the first for an airline since 1998, when Northwest Airlines pilots walked off for 15 days. There were only six strikes in the 1990s – one of which lasted just 24 minutes and another that was 89 minutes. Twenty-four airline strikes have occurred since 1980. 

The Railway Labor Act of 1926 makes striking difficult because it requires extensive negotiations and allows the president and Congress to intervene. 

“The procedures of the act are effective in protecting the public,” said Josh Javits, a Washington labor lawyer and former National Mediation Board member. 

But the act, combined with circumstances unique to transportation, has helped create much of the unions’ strength. Among the reasons: 

• Unlike unions in the private sector, there is no procedure for an employer to decertify a railroad or airline union, meaning once they’re organized, they are there to stay. 

• These unions must organize an entire fleet of workers, not just certain hubs or cities. That’s tough to do, but it leads to powerful unions. And because the industry is heavily organized, a new company finds it difficult to remain union-free for long. 

A sign of their strength: A union airline pilot or navigator earns an average of $48.87 an hour compared to the same worker who is not in a union, who makes $28.12 an hour, according to the Bureau of National Affairs. 

• In other industries, unions have lost clout as companies move overseas or to other parts of the country to avoid them. But airlines and railroads can’t do that, said Pat Cleary, a former National Labor Relations Board chairman who now works for the National Association of Manufacturers. 

• While mergers hurt unions in other industries, airlines and railroads are heavily organized, and workers tend to keep their jobs and the unions survive. 

—Many airline and railroad employees — particularly pilots and mechanics — are not easily replaced, making it harder for employers to replace them if they walk out, experts say. 

—Airline unions, especially the pilots, gained strength before the industry was deregulated, Hurd said. Faced with paying higher wages, airlines could simply demand higher fares from the federal agencies that regulated their prices. 

“You didn’t have a tradition of strong resistance,” Hurd said. “In that setting, pilots established themselves and gained an awful lot of influence in the industry and developed a very strong national union.” 

On Monday, the 1,350 pilots of regional carrier Comair walked out after failed contract talks, which have been under way since June 1998. Comair has canceled all its flights — about 800 a day — through the morning of April 7. 

At Delta Air Lines, pilots are free to strike on April 29 unless federal mediators ask President Bush to step in. Delta and its 9,800 pilots have been negotiating for nearly 19 months. 

Northwest Airlines mechanics were three days away from striking earlier this month when Bush intervened, requiring another 60 days of negotiations overseen by a presidential emergency board. 

Meanwhile, at American Airlines, flight attendants resume talks Monday at the National Mediation Board in Washington. Negotiations between the union and company have lasted more than two years. 

The flight attendants at American — like other airline workers — aren’t allowed to strike unless federal mediators give permission. So far, that hasn’t happened. 

After a tough start to their league season, the Berkeley boys’ lacrosse players couldn’t be blamed if they got down on themselves. Instead, they took advantage of their first favorable matchup, beating Novato 13-7 on Thursday. 

The ’Jackets (2-6 overall, 1-4 league) were led by midfielder Stefan Isaksen, who scored six goals and one assist in the game. Isaksen said his big game has been a long time coming. 

“That’s exactly what I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” Isaksen said. “I just haven’t been able to pull it off until today.” 

Isaksen kicked the scoring off early, putting the ball into the Novato net less than a minute into the game. Novato answered right back with a goal, but Isaksen then found attacker Joe Rabinowitz in front of the goal, and Rabinowitz converted an easy chance for a 2-1 Berkeley lead. 

Both teams dug in their heels on defense for the rest of the first quarter, and there were no more goals for either team. But Berkeley came out firing in the second, as attacker Nick Schooler asserted himself. He took a Rabinowitz pass and bulled his way to a goal to open the period. After a Novato goal, Schooler took matters into his own hands, pulling the ball out and then forcing his way back in for an unassisted score. Berkeley led 6-3 at the half. 

With the outcome still in doubt, Isaksen’s teammates set him up for two more goals early in the second half. First Andres LaFlor stole a pass from the Novato goalie, triggering a fastbreak that ended with an Isaksen goal. Then, after a Novato slashing penalty gave Berkeley a power play, Berkeley patience paid off with another score as the ball swung all the way around the goal to a finish by Isaksen. 

“Stefan has been the one guy who works as hard in practice as he does in games, and it translated in to goals today,” Berkeley coach John Rubin said. “He’s a great example of improving in practice.” 

The ’Jackets let up a bit with an 8-3 lead, and Novato made them pay. First attacker Jesse Cohen carelessly committed an offside penalty, then Isaksen was whistled for a slash. Both penalties resulted in Novato goals, and the Berkeley lead was whittled down to three goals. But Isaksen made up for his transgression, using a nifty spin move to set himself up for a left-handed shot that dented the Novato net with 39 seconds left in the third quarter. 

The final quarter started with a three-minute power play for the ’Jackets, as the officials determined one of the Novato sticks to be illegal. Berkeley couldn’t convert for two minutes, but Novato was nailed with an unnecessary roughness penalty, giving the ’Jackets a two-man advantage. Schooler missed a close shot, but the ball came back around to him and he converted his second chance, finishing his hat trick for the day. 

Novato’s comeback attempt ended after two more goals, as Isaksen sealed the deal with his final goal for a double hat trick.

Habitot Children’s Museum “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. Kittredge Street and Shattuck Avenue 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

Judah L. Magnes Museum “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. 2911 Russell St. 549-6950  

UC Berkeley Art Museum “Joe Brainard: A Retrospective,” Through May 27. The selections include 150 collages, assemblages, paintings, drawings, and book covers. “Muntadas - On Translation: The Audience” Through April 29. This conceptual artist and pioneer of video, installation, and Internet art presents three installations; “Ernesto Neto/MATRIX 19” A Maximum Minimum Time Space Between Us and the Parsimonious Universe, Through April 15. “Ed Osborn/MATRIX 193” This Oakland-based artist will use low-tech gadgetry to turn the museum into a sound sculpture as part of his site-specific installation Vanishing Point; “A Passion for Art: The Disaronno Originale Photography Collection,” April 4 - 18 Featuring the work of photographers worldwide who have demonstrated passion and excellence; $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. 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. 642-0808. 

The Asian Galleries “Art of the Sung: Court and Monastery” 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. 642-0808 

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. 642-1821 

UC Berkeley Phoebe Hearst  

Museum of Anthropology “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,” $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. Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way and College Ave. 643-7648  

Lawrence Hall of Science “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. “Vision,” Through April 15 Get a very close look at how the eyes and brain work together to focus light, perceive color and motion, and process infomation. “T. Rex on Trial,” Through May 28 Where was T. Rex at the time of the crime? Learn how paleontologists decipher clues to dinosaur behavior. “Fossil Finding with Annie Montague Alexander” March 31 & April 21; “Saturday Night Stargazing,” First and third Saturdays each month. 8 - 10 p.m., LHS plaza. Computer Lab, Saturdays 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. 642-5132 

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

924 Gilman St. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless noted $5; $2 for a year membership March 30: Deathreat, Ahimsa, F*** God In the Face, The Black, Creation Is Crucifixion; March 31: The Jocks, The Cost, The Fleshies, Quest for Quintana Roo, Chi Chi Nut Nut & The Pinecone Express; April 6: Link 80, Lucky Strike, 5th Wheel, Kung Fu Chicken; April 7: The Plus Ones, The Evaporators, The Pattern, Dukes of Hamburg, The Goblins/Disgoblins/Skablins/Gothblins; April 13: The Locust, Dead & Gone, Honeysuckle Serontina, Tourettes Latrec, Last Great Liar 525-9926  

Albatross Pub All music begins at 9 p.m. April 3: pickPocket ensemble; April 4: Whiskey Brothers; April 5: Keni “El Lebrijano”; April 7: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; April 10: Mad & Eddie Duran Jazz Duo; April 12: Keni “El Lebrijano”; April 17: pickPocket ensemble; April 18: Whiskey Brothers; April 19: Keni “El Lebrijano” 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

Ashkenaz March 30, 9:30 p.m.: Johnny Nocturne Band, dance lesson at 8 p.m.; March 31, 9 p.m. : SoVoSo, Kotoja; April 8: “A Little Houseboat Music for Annie” is a benefit concert to help Oakland’s Archway School’s art teacher, Annie Clark, replace her houseboat, which was destroyed in a fire in February - performances by Michael James Quartet, The Wild Buds, Jim Stice Orchestra, Nova Trova and Ray Cepeda and the Neo-Maya Experience; April 29: Clinton Fearon & Boogie Brown Band; May 6, 7 p.m.: Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble 1370 San Pablo Ave. (at Gilman) 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Eli’s Mile High Club Doors open at 8 p.m. March 30: Craig Horton Blues Band 3629 MLK Jr. Way Oakland  

Freight & Salvage All music at 8 p.m. March 30 & 31: House Jacks; April 1: Darol Anger’s Fiddle Congress & Melee w/Stuart Duncan & Bruce Molsky; April 3: Nerissa Nields & Pam Houston; April 5: Battlefield Band; April 6: Garnet Rogers; April 7: Eric Lowen & Dan Navarro; April 8: Martin Simpson & Jessica Radcliffe; April 10: Kevin Burke; April 12: Tony Marcus & Patrice Haan, Julian Smedley & Allison Odell; April 13: Ray Wylie Hubbard; 1111 Addison St. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jazzschool/La Note All music at 4:30 p.m. April 8: The Marcos Silva Quartet; April 15: Art Lande and Mark Miller; April 22: Alan Hall & Friends 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 or visit www.jazzschool.com  

Cal Performances April 4, 8 p.m.: Pianist Chucho Valdes $18 - $30; April 13 & 14, 8 p.m.: Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia and the Paco de Lucia Septet $20 - $40 Zellerbach Hall UC Berkeley. 642-9988 or www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra April 3 and June 21, 2001. All performances begin at 8 p.m. Single $19 - $35, Series $52 - $96. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley 841-2800  

“The Marriage of Figaro” through April 1, call for specific times $10 - $30 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. (at Derby) 925-798-1300 

Pete Escovedo March 30 & 31, 9:30 p.m. Salsa lessons at 8 p.m. Doors 7 p.m. Pete Escovedo is leaving the Bay Area and is wishing farewell by playing these two shows. Featuring musical guests: Shiela E., John Santos, Karl Perazzo, Ray Obedio, Narada Michael Walden, and many others. $25 Kimball’s Carnival 522 Second St. Jack London Square  

“A Musical Night Out” March 31, 7 p.m. A four-hand piano concert featuring Andrew Canepa and Stephanie Smith performing the works of Dvorak, Debussy, Barber and more. $10 - $15 Pacific School of Religion Chapel 1798 Scenic Ave. 849-8280  

Music in Great Berkeley Houses March 31, 7 p.m. $35 Gwendolyn Mok, piano, and Jean-Michel Fonteneau, cello, will play the music of Frank Bridge, Debussy, and Poulenc. Palache House Reserved tickets required 841-2242 

The American Bach Soloists present “How Desolate Lies the City...” March 31, 8 p.m. The cantatas of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries. $20 - $37 First Congregational Church of Berkeley 2345 Channing Way 415-621-7900 

Jesus Diaz y su QBA March 31, 9:30 p.m. Cuban timba dance music. $12 La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568  

Berkeley High Jazz Ensemble Brunch April 1, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Free - $40 Santa Fe Bar & Grill 1310 University Ave. 527-8245 

Berkeley Broadway Singers present “From Broadway to Brazil” April 1, 4 p.m. Berkeley Broadway Singers is a 70-member chorus led by Ellen Hoffman. They will be singing Motown classics along with class Broadway showtunes Free Saint Ambrose Church 1145 Gilman St. 524-0107 

Music on Squirrel Hill presents Trio Accorde April 1, 7:30 p.m. $10 - $15 Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley One Lawson Road Kensington 525-0302 

Emergency String Quartet & Carlos Actis Dacto Solo April 1, 8 p.m. Part of the ACME Observatory Contemporary Music Series TUVA Space 3192 Adeline (at MLK Jr. Way) 649-8744 

Hillbillies From Mars April 8, 2 p.m. Rocking the Bay for 20 years, the Hillbillies fuse rock n’ roll, swing, Latin and African beats. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

UC Alumni Chorus presents “Bravo! Opera!” April 8, 7:30 p.m. A veritable Opera chorus smorgasbord with Bizet’s “Carmen,” Verdi’s “IL trovatore,” and Copland’s “The Tenderland.” $8 - $12 Hertz Hall UC Berkeley 643-9645 

Young Emerging Artists Concert April 10, 7 - 8 p.m. The Young Musicians Program Jazz Combo will perform jazz standards and original compositions. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra presents “Under Construction No. 11” April 8, 7:30 p.m. A concert of new works by local composers, including Mary Stiles, Mark Winges, and David Sheinfeld. Free St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave.  

Dastan Ensemble with Namah Ensemble April 15, 8 p.m. Dastan Ensemble is a Persian classical music ensemble founded in Germany in 1991. Namah Ensemble is a group of four to six dancers who communicate the mystical Persian tradition to everyone. $25 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. (at Derby) 925-798-1300 

Kensington Symphony Orchestra April 21, 8 p.m. Featuring UC Berkeley student and soprano, Vanessa Langer performing Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 in G and other selections. $8 - $10 First Baptist Church 770 Sonoma St. Richmond 251-2031 

Kids Carneval! Brazilian Dance for the Whole Family April 22, 2 p.m. The Borboletas Children’s Dance Troupe will transport children and their families to Brazil and promises to have the audience dancing in and out of their seats. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. (at Derby) 925-798-1300  

Satsuki Arts Festival and Bazaar May 19, 4 - 10 p.m. & May 20, Noon - 7 p.m. A fundraiser for the Berkeley Buddhist Temple featuring musical entertainment by Julio Bravo & Orquesta Salsabor, Delta Wires, dance presentations by Kaulana Na Pua and Kariyushi Kai, food, arts & crafts, plants & seedlings, and more. Berkeley Buddhist Temple 2121 Channing Way (at Shattuck) 841-1356 

Theater 

“Little Shop of Horrors” Through Apri 1, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m., Saturday & Sunday, 2 p.m., no show Friday, March 23; $12 Berkeley Community Little Theatre Allston Way at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way Call 943-SHOW  

“The Oresteia” by Aeschylus Through May 6 Directed by Tony Taccone and Stephen Wadsworth, Aeschylus trilogy will be the first production staged on the Berkeley Rep’s new prosenium stage. Please call Berkeley Repertory Theatre for specific dates and times. $15.99 - $117 Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2015 Addison St. (at Shattuck) 647-2949 or www.berkeleyrep.org 

“The Tempest” by William Shakespeare Through April 14, Thursday - Saturday, 8 p.m. Presented by Subterranean Shakespeare and directed by Stanley Spenger $8 - $10 LaVal’s Subterranean Theatre 1834 Euclid Ave. (at Hearst) 237-7415 

Action Movie: The Play Through April 21, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. Non-stop action and martial arts mayhem with comedy, surprise plot twists, and the occasional movie reference thrown in. $7 - $12 The Eighth Street Studio 2525 Eighth St. 464-4468 

Stagebridge presents the 10th annual Family Matinee Theatre and Ice Cream Social April 1, 3 p.m. The premiere of Linda Spector’s “Strega Nona and Other Grandparent Tales,” with a cast aged 9 - 70. $4 - $8 First Congregational Church 2501 Harrison Oakland 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org.  

“Death of a Salesman” April 6 - May 5, Friday & Saturday, 8 p.m. plus Thursday, May 3, 8 p.m. The ageless story of Willy Loman presented by an African-American cast and staged by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. $10 Live Oak Theater 1301 Shattuck (at Berryman) 528-5620 

Films 

“Earth” April 7, 7:30 p.m. A 1930 film, set in Ukraine, by Soviet director Alexander Dovzhenko with an original music score created and performed by composer and musician Adrian Johnston. $7 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour April 7 & 8, 6:30 - 10:30 p.m. Including films from Slovakia, France, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, England, and the U.S. which reflect a wide range of mountain experiences, from mountain sports to mountain culture and the environment. $12 - $15 Wheeler Auditorium UC Berkeley Tickets available at REI 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-7377 

“Regeneration” April 8, 5:30 p.m. The first feature-length gangster movie, filmed around 1915 on the streets of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. Directed by Raoul Walsh, the movie will have a new original music score created and performed by composer and musician Adrian Johnston. $7 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

“Lost & Found” Documentaries from the Graduate School of Journalism April 15, 5:30 p.m. Three documentaries from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism explore the possibility of redemption in the face of immeasurable loss. Lisa Munoz’s “Chavez Ravine,” Kelly St. John’s “In Forever Fourteen,” and Zsuzsanna Varga’s “Screw Your Courage.” Pacific Film Archive 2621 Durant Ave. 642-5249 

Films of Julio Medem April 13, 7:30 p.m. & April 14, 7 p.m. Medem is recognized as one of Spain’s leading filmmakers. On April 13, “The Cows” and “The Red Squirrel” will be shown. April 14, “Earth/Tierra” and “Lovers of the Arctic Circle” will show. $7 for one film, $8.50 for double bills Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412  

Exhibits 

Berkeley Historical Society “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. 1931 Center St. 848-0181 

“Dorchester Days,” the photographs of Eugene Richards is a collection of pictures portraying the poverty, racial tension, crime and violence prevalent in Richards’ hometown of Dorchester, Massachusetts in the 1970s. Through April 6. UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism 121 North Gate Hall #5860 642-3383 

“Musee des Hommages,” Masterworks by Guy Colwell Faithful copies of several artists from the pasts, including Titian’s “The Venus of Urbino,” Cezanne’s “Still Life,” Picasso’s “Woman at a Mirror,” and Boticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

“Sugar N’ Spice N’ Everything Nice: Live, Loves and Legacies of Women of Color” Through April 21, Wednesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Works by Aissatoui Vernita, Flo Oy Wong, Tomoko Negishi, Consuelo Jimenez and many others. Pro Arts Gallery 461 Ninth Street Oakland 763-9425 

“Travels in Color” Wax crayon sketches by Pamela Markmann made over the past 35 years Through March 31, 5 - 8 p.m. daily Voulez Vouz Bistro 2930 College Ave. 548-4708 

“Chicano Art and Visions of David Tafolla” Vivid color acrylic and oil paintings with Latino imagery. Through April 12, Tuesday - Thursday, 1 - 7 p.m., Saturday Noon - 4 p.m. and by appointment. 548-9272 or www.wcrc.org 

Nylan Jeung and David Lippenberger Lippenberger renders figures in acrylic and Jeung work with ink and watercolor on rice paper, using traditional eastern techniques. Through April 7, Wednesday through Sunday, Noon - 5 p.m Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893 

Recent Works of Narangkar Khalsa & Pete Glover Through March 31 !hey! Gallery 4920-B Telegraph Ave. Oakland 428-2349  

“The Art of Meadowsweet Dairy” Objects found in nature, reworked and turned into objects of art. Through May 15, call for hours; Opening reception: April 6, 6 - 9 p.m. Current Gallery at the Crucible 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511  

“It’s Not Easy Being Green” The art of Amy Berk and New Color Etchings by James Brown & Caio Fonseca Through April 28, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth St. 527-1214 or www.traywick.com 

Bernard Maisner: Illuminated Manuscripts & Paintings. Through August 8 Maisner works in miniature as well as in large scales, combining his mastery of medieval illumination, gold leafing, and modern painting techniques. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library 2400 Ridge Rd. 849-2541 

“Scenes from The Song of Songs/Images from The Book of Blessings” Landscape and still life oil pastels by poet and artists Marcia Falk Through May 2, Monday - Thursday, 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Sunday, Noon - 7 p.m.; Opening reception April 11, 7 p.m. Flora Hewlett Library Graduate Theological Union 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541 

Readings 

Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted April 2: Alan Rinzler facilitates part two of Cody’s three part writer’s workshop; April 3: Ann McGregor, Dick Meister, Cindy Wathen, and George Ballis give accounts of living and working with Cesar Chavez; April 4: Poetry of Carole Simmons Oles & Matthew McKay; April 5: Herbert Bix talks about “Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan”; April 9: Mark Morris visits to celebrate “Mark Morris’ L’Allegro, Il Penseroso Ed Il Modertato: A Celebration”; April 11: Poetry of Kurt Brown & Al Young; April 12: Stanley Williams explores “Surviving Galeras”; April 15: Poetry of John D’Agata & Joanna Klink; April 16: Isadora Alman talks about “Doing It: Real People Having Really Good Sex”; April 17: Michael Parenti discusses “To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia”; April 19: Andrew Harvey talks about “The Direct Path: Creating a Personal Journey to the Divine Using the World’s Spiritual Traditions”; Poetry of Maxine Hong Kingston & Fred Marchant; April 27: Poetry of Michael Heller & Carl Rakosi; April 29: Poetry of Gloria Frym & Lewis Warsh 

1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 All events at 7 p.m., unless noted April 10: Amy Tan reads from “The Bonesetter’s Daughter”; April 20: Susie Bright discusses “The Best American Erotica 2001”; April 26: Mother of three Wynn McClenahan Burkett will read from “Life After Baby: From Professional Woman to Beginner Parent”  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted April 3: Environmental Activist David Bolling will give a slide presentation and talk on “Living and Dying on Everest: An Inside Look at Everest Expeditions and Environmental Issues”; April 5: Mary Olmstead will discuss “Hidden Wine Country” about the Napa-Sonoma-Mendocino areas; April 11: Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Peace Corps with regional recruiter Cristina Punzalan and Susana Herrera, author of “Mango Elephants in the Sun: How Life in an African Village Let Me Be In My Skin”; April 19: Bruce Feiler will discuss “Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses”; April 26: Julie Lavezzo will give a packing demonstration for a three week trip with two climates 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533 

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

Duomo Reading Series and Open Mic. Thursdays, 6:30 - 9 p.m. April 5: Barbara Minton; April 12: Alice Rogoff; April 19: Garrett Murphy; April 26: Ray Skjelbred. Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

Lunch Poems First Thursday of each month, 12:10 - 12:50 p.m. April 5: Galway Kinnell; May 3: Student Reading Morrison Room, Doe Library UC Berkeley 642-0137 

“Slam the Prisons” April 6, 6 p.m. - 1 a.m. A benefit for prison activism featuring Tang, Company of Prophets, Sheryl D. Mebane and many others. Proceeds benefit the defense of New Afrikan political prisoner Khalfani X. Khaldun and the Prison Activist Resource Center. $10 La Pena Cultural Center 3205 Shattuck Ave. 898-0431  

Tours 

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

Berkeley City Club Tours 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. The fourth Sunday of every month, Noon - 4 p.m. $2 848-7800  

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

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

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tours All tours begin at 10 a.m. and are restricted to 30 people per tour $5 - $10 per tour April 29: Susan Schwartz leads a tour of the Berkeley Waterfront; May 12: Debra Badhia will lead a tour of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the Arts District; May 19: John Stansfield & Allen Stross will lead a tour of the School for the Deaf and Blind; June 2: Trish Hawthorne will lead a tour of Thousand Oaks School and Neighborhood; June 23: Sue Fernstrom will lead a tour of Strawberry Creek and West of the UC Berkeley campus 848-0181 

Lectures 

UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Research Seminars Noon seminars are brown bag  

April 23, 4 p.m.: Mary Dudziach of USC will discuss “Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy.” 119 Moses Hall UC Berkeley 642-4608  

“Great Decisions” Foreign Policy Association Lectures Series Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - Noon, Through 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. Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. 526-2925 

California Colloquium on Water Scholars of distinction in the fields of natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, law and environmental design speak about water resources and hopefully contribute to informed decisions on water in CA. April 10, 5:15 - 6:30 p.m.: “Understanding the Delta - An Engineering Perspective” Richard Denton, water manager of the Contra Costa Water District; May 8, 5:15 - 6:30 p.m.: “What Makes Water Wet?” Richard Saykally, professor of Chemistry, UC Berkeley 212 O’Brien Hall, UC Berkeley 642-2666  

City Commons Club Lecture Series Fridays, 12:30 p.m. $1 general Students Free March 30: Jana Grittersova, professor of International Relations, UC Berkeley will speak on “The European Union - Integration and Expansion” Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. 848-3533 

“The Monster of Troy: Fossil Discoveries In Classical Antiquity” April 1, 3 p.m. Adrienne Mayor will describe some literary and archaeological evidence for discoveries of the huge fossil remains of extinct animals in ancient Greece and Rome. 370 Dwinelle Hall UC Berkeley  

“The Gene’s Eye View of Creation” April 4 & 10, 4:10 p.m. Evolutionary Biologist Richard Dawkins, a leading thinker in modern Darwinism, will deliver a lecture “The Genetic Book of the Dead” April 4 and “The Selfish Cooperator” April 10 International House Auditorium UC Berkeley 

Leonard Breger April 9, 7:30 - 9 p.m. Breger will critique club members’ art and will show some of his own works. Breger is known for his paintings of cut-out masonite shapes, both animal and human. El Cerrito Community Center The Garden Room 7007 Moeser Lane 524-6739  

Let people have enough medicine 

The Daily Planet received this letter addressed to the City Council: 

Regarding the proposed Berkeley Medical Marijuana Ordinance, the Berkeley Health and Human Services Dept., headed by Director Fred Medrano, feels that “it was wisest to keep allowable plant numbers low and 'include a provision in the ordinance for additional amounts if a doctor says its OK'.” (BDP, 3/26/01) If the Health and Human Services Dept. was concerned about the negative health impact of growing 144 plants at a time or having 6 pounds of dried marijuana a year, then I would expect to see these fears stated in this article. But the only health concern is raised by Berkeley health officer Dr. Poki Stewart Namkung when she said, in regard to someone consuming 6 pounds of marijuana a year, “I would be very worried about the quality of that patient's life.” Yet, Dr. Namkung is an advocate for the staff's plan which allows up to 9 pounds a year with a doctor's approval. It seems that Dr. Namkung is really worried about self-treatment rather than treatment per se. 

Which would be a reasonable concern if we were dealing with a substance of known danger, like alcohol or tobacco, or aspirin.  

But marijuana has no record of causing, by itself, any deaths. Has Dr. Namkung or the Berkeley Health and Human Services Dept. taken a stand opposing over-the-counter sales of aspirin, which can be bought by anybody - including children - who can afford it? 

So what's really going on here? City staff is waging a rear-guard battle against Proposition 215, the 85 percent of Berkeley voters who supported it, and the people who use it medicinally. Finally having to admit that marijuana does have medicinal value, they now want to limit access to this medicine. Not because of any danger due to the toxicity of marijuana, because their is none. No, the reason is that the Berkeley Police Dept. is concerned “that large amounts of marijuana grown in households might encourage home invasion type robberies, home burglaries and possibly violence.” 

And the Berkeley Police Department should know of what they are talking, since they themselves have invaded patient's homes and taken their medicine. These violations of Proposition 215 by Berkeley Police have resulted to date in the City of Berkeley having to pay approximately $80,000 in ensuing law suits. If the City Council endorses the staff's proposal then we can expect larger amounts of money to be paid out as settlements in the future. 

Let's get real. The people of Berkeley have made our will clear. We support the right of people to use marijuana medicinally. Period. We support a Medical Marijuana Ordinance that allows people to have access to as much marijuana as they need. Period. Berkeley citizens should have the same rights as Oakland citizens. According to the Oakland Police Department their have been no crime problems due to the Oakland medical marijuana standards. 

So I say it is wiser to have higher limits because people will have their medicine as they need it, and the citizens of Berkeley will not have to pay thousand of dollars for lawsuits. Its a win-win solution. 

Robin M. Donald 

Berkeley 

Beth El process flawed 

Editor: 

What’s with the development review process in Berkeley? 

A proposal comes in for a 35,000 square foot development in the middle of a single family neighborhood. It is for a landmarked site astride the most open creek in Berkeley with a grove of protected live oaks along the bank. A public path runs beside it.  

There are known problems. The outfall from illegal culverting has undercut creek banks and is causing slides. The sewer has overflowed in this area. Street connections are kinky and residents rely heavily on street parking.  

Would not the proposal merit the attention of public works staff, the traffic engineer, the city forester, a representative from the parks and recreation department, and the preservation planner who handled the previous permits on the site? No, the team to handle this proposal consists of three lawyers, including the city attorney herself, and three planners evidencing no background on the historic and open space issues. 

Is it too practical to work out best runoff and noise reduction options, too pedestrian to work on pedestrian safety and a bus stop connection, too down and dirty to work on creek bank stability and tree protection before the project is recommended for approval? Are the lawyers there to handle liability after approval of a project that pollutes the creek, kills protected oaks, creates traffic hazards, and violates noise standards?  

Vital recommendations from regional agencies, organizations and other city departments were not even included in staff reports, such as the advise of the Regional Water Quality Control Board to open the covered part of the Creek and to move the driveway and parking lot as far away as possible from the Creek. 

The void was apparent. At a “special” Design Review Committee session (preceded by flawed notice and followed by no review of revisions), citizen reviewer Omer Baltan asked, “Isn’t there a creek czar on staff ?”  

Instead of insisting that the Draft Environmental Impact Report include an open creek alternative evaluation, the ranking planner and attorney for the City had concentrated on gagging four members of the Landmarks Preservation Commission who questioned the adequacy of the environmental document.  

With four Commissioners gagged, the LPC was not able to review the design for this landmarked site. A permit was about to be automatically granted due to the state “permit streamlining” law, even though there were no review-scale drawings to show what was now proposed to be demolished, cleared and built. Oh well, at least a “replacement check” for the review had arrived the week before.  

Fortunately, substitutes for the four gagged Commissioners were appointed and they had studied the record in time to act March 5. The site Alteration Permit was denied (maybe, since the “team” hasn’t yet released the notice of decision). 

But the use permit was approved by the Zoning Adjustments Board with the critical vote and urging of Board member Michael Issel, appointed by Betty Olds.  

He understood the needs of Beth El’s program well; his family was a member when the site was purchased. He insisted it was impossible to make any changes to break up the massive building in order to fit it into the neighborhood. He suggested that placing parking under the building to save the creek was genocidal. And moving mature creekside oak trees was a snap.  

Horst and Eva Bansner 

Berkeley 

Friday, March 30

Living Philosophers  

10 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Hear and entertain the ideas of some modern day philosophers: Jacob Needleman, J. Revel, Hilary Putnam, John Searle, Saul Kripke, Richard Rorty and others. Every Friday, except holidays. Facilitated by H.D. Moe.  

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. The class will cover basic hardware identification and specification, basic understanding of software, basic word-processing and basic spreadsheets.  

Call 644-6226 

“Yellowstone Buffalo” Screening 

7 p.m.  

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists  

Cedar & Bonita  

A compilation video exposing the ongoing slaughter of Yellowstone’s wild buffalo herd. Seventy five percent of donations go to the Buffalo Field Campaign’s front-line efforts to protect the buffalo herd. Sponsored by A First Amendment Center, Berkeley. Free 

287-9406  

Cesar Chavez Day  

Commemoration  

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Cesar Chavez Park (Northwest Corner)  

Four fourth and fifth grade classes from area elementary schools will present the virtues of Cesar Chavez, followed by a dance by the Azteca Dance Group. Mayor Shirley Dean, School Board President Terry Doran, Fr. Bill O’Donnell, and Federico Chavez will speak. 845-0657 

Saturday, March 31

Shelter Operations Class  

9 a.m. - Noon  

Emergency Operations Center 

997 Cedar St.  

A free class as part of Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). Sponsored by the Berkeley Fire Dept. and the Office of Emergency Services. 644-8736 

Sunday, April 1

Berkeley Historical Society  

Gala Celebration 

3 - 7 p.m. 

Hotel Shattuck  

2086 Allston Way  

Dancing, a silent auction, special guest speaker, a tour of the facility, and more.  

$30 - $65 

Buddhist Sacred Sites  

and Symbols  

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute  

1815 Highland Place  

Eva Casey, meditation instructor, will discuss the symbolic images found at sacred sites and the teachings they convey. A slide presentation of the major holy places of the Buddha. Free 

843-6812 

Designing Your Own Seder 

1 - 2:30 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

A workshop designed to stimulate thought about how to best combine the talents and needs of those who are attending in combination with the best of what the tradition provides.  

$5 848-0237 x127  

Once Upon a Time  

3 p.m.  

St. John’s Community Center  

Sanctuary  

2727 College Ave. (at Garber)  

Master storyteller and actor Fritz Brun brings to life the greatest tales of . 

Christian Anderson, including The Princess and the Pea, The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Nightingale. Children may be asked to become characters in the stories. $5 704-0701 

Gender Games  

4 - 7 p.m. 

Pacific Center  

2712 Telegraph Ave.  

Play games or just relax in a trans and gender-friendly space. For everyone who is transgender, transsexual, intersex, genderqueer, genderquestioning and their friends, family and significant others. free 548-8283 or visit  

www.pacificcenter.org 

Monday, April 2

Beginning Bicyclist Workshop  

7 - 9 p.m. 

YMCA  

2001 Allston Way  

Community Room 1, Main Floor  

Jason Meggs and Zed Lopez will teach you how to keep yourself and your bike safe and even how to use your bike for shopping. Free 549-RIDE 

Free Writing, Cashiering  

& Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

Free classes offered Monday through Friday. Stop by and register or call 548-6700. 

www.ajob.org 

Tritium in Berkeley 

4 - 6 p.m. & 7 - 10 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Multipurpose Room  

Bernd Franke will make a presentation on his independent findings of the tritium releases and radiation hazards associated with the National Tritium Labeling Facility, located at Lawrence Berkeley Lab. Presented by the City of Berkeley and the Community Environmental Advisory Commission.  

705-8150 or e-mail: toxics@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Hedda Gabler  

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St.  

Aurora Theater Director Barbara Oliver will talk about the new play “Hedda Gabler.” Limited free matinee tickets will be given out for the April 7 performance.  

644-6107 

Tuesday, April 3

“Great Decisions” – Conflict Resolution in Africa  

10 a.m. - Noon  

Berkeley City Club  

2315 Durant Ave.  

The first in a series of eight weekly lectures with the goal of informing the public of current major policy issues. $5 single session 526-2925 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

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 

Mandarin Lessons 

1:30 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

With Cecilia Wan. Free 

644-6107 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

Young Queer Women’s Group 

8 - 9:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center 

2712 Telegraph Ave.  

Make some new friends, expand your horizons and get support with a bunch of queer women all in the same place at the same time (somewhere between 18 and 25).  

548-8283 or visit www.pacificcenter.org 

Intelligent Conversation  

7 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will be about financial planning, investments, tax, and the stock market. Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park, and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free  

527-5332 

Community Organization  

12:45 - 1:45 p.m.  

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

Mudd 103  

A “Real Deal” seminar with Don Stalhut and David Mann on community organization. Bring a lunch.  

849-8229 

Wednesday, April 4

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Word for Word  

3:30 p.m. 

South Branch Berkeley Library  

1901 Russel St.  

Dramatic group Word for Word returns to the library with a brand new play for children, the Russian folktale “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.” 

Call 649-3943 

The Voiceless Poor  

7 - 9 p.m.  

School of Journalism Library  

121 North Gate Hall  

UC Berkeley  

Part of the Terner Series, an informal salon-style discussion series, which brings together industry professionals, students, and interested community members. This session is a discussion of why low-income people have no say in local development battles. Free 

April Birthday Party  

1:15 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

UC dancers will entertain and refreshments will be served. 

644-6107 

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. The class will cover basic hardware identification and specification, basic understanding of software, basic word-processing and basic spreadsheets.  

Call 644-6226 

Income Tax Assistance  

9 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Call Maggie for an appointment, 644-6107. 

“Women’s Scholarship as Prophetic Voices” 

6:30 - 9 p.m.  

2400 Ridge Rd.  

Hewlett Library  

Dinner Board Room  

The Annual Women’s Theological Forum.  

649-2490 

Thursday, April 5  

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Barbara Minton and host Mark States.  

644-0155 

Berkeley Metaphysical Toastmasters Club  

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.  

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysics come together. Ongoing first and third Thursdays each month.  

Call 869-2547 

Word for Word  

3:30 p.m. 

West Branch Berkeley Library  

1125 University Ave. 

Dramatic group Word for Word returns to the library with a brand new play for children, the Russian folktale “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.” 

Call 649-3943 

Cancer Support Group 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Summit Medical Center 

Markstein Cancer Education & Prevention Center 

450 30th St., Second Floor  

Oakland  

Free support group for families, friends, and patients diagnosed with cancer.  

869-8833 to register  

Income Tax Assistance  

9 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Call Maggie for an appointment, 644-6107. 

Lavender Lunch  

12:30 - 1:30 p.m. 

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

Mudd 100  

Rev. Nancy Wilson on “Queer Church: The Early History of the Metropolitan Community Church.”  

849-8206 

LGBT Catholics Group  

7:30 p.m. 

Newman Hall  

2700 Dwight Way (at College)  

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender Catholics group are “a spiritual community committed to creating justice.” This meeting is titled “Inspired Utterance Night.”  

654-5486 

Bicycle Touring in Europe  

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Independent bicyclists and budget travelers Tim O’Mahoney and Kathie Strell will give a slide presentation of their three month, 2,000-mile journey through France, Switzerland and Austria. Learn to execute your own bicycle tour. Free  

527-4140 

Taking Care of Your Large Intestine  

1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.  

Summit South Pavilion  

3100 Summit St., 3rd Floor Auditorium  

Oakland 

Harvey Olsen, gastroenterologist, will discuss Colorectal cancer, a leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Olsen will explain changes in lifestyle and simple tools for early detection that can save thousands of lives a year.  

869-6737  

Disability Awareness Day  

10 a.m. - 2 p.m.  

Sproul & Dwinelle Plazas 

UC Berkeley  

An opportunity to learn about disabilities, to find resources for yourself or someone you care about, and to celebrate the achievements of people with disabilities. One of the major focuses of this years awareness day is on “hidden disabilities.” Free  

666-9647 

Ballroom Dance Lessons 

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

With Roman Ostrowski. Free 

644-6107 

Friday, April 6  

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Free Writing, Cashiering & Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

Free classes offered Monday through Friday. Stop by and register or call 548-6700. 

www.ajob.org 

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  

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. The class will cover basic hardware identification and specification, basic understanding of software, basic word-processing and basic spreadsheets.  

Call 644-6226 

Living Philosophers  

10 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Hear and entertain the ideas of some modern day philosophers: Jacob Needleman, J. Revel, Hilary Putnam, John Searle, Saul Kripke, Richard Rorty and others. Every Friday, except holidays. Facilitated by H.D. Moe.  

50 Plus Fitness Class  

9:30 a.m. - Noon 

UC Berkeley (varied locations)  

A class for those 50 and over which introduces participants to an array of exercise options. Demonstration and practice will include strength training, Tai Chi, Alexander Technique, and more.  

Pre-register by calling 642-5461 

$20 for all five sessions, $10 per individual session  

Taize Worship Service  

7:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

Loper Chapel 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley  

Dana St. (between Durant & Channing)  

An hour of quiet reflection and song.  

848-3696 

TREES Forum  

12:30 p.m. 

2400 Ridge Rd.  

Hewlett Library  

Board Room  

Michael Warburton on local environmental issues.  

E-mail: trees@gtu.edu 

Don Giovanni, Pt. 1  

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

The opera.  

644-6107 

Saturday, April 7 

Rockridge Writers 

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Spasso Coffeehouse  

6021 College Ave.  

Poets and writers meet to critique each other’s work. “Members’ work tends to be dark, humorous, surreal, or strange.”  

e-mail: berkeleysappho@yahoo.com 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Wild About Books? 

10:30 a.m. 

Central Berkeley Library  

2121 Allston Way  

Dramatic group Word for Word returns to the library with a brand new play for children, the Russian folktale “Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.” 

Call 649-3943 

Earthquake Retrofitting Class  

10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Building Education Center  

812 Page St.  

A free class as part of Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). Sponsored by the Berkeley Fire Dept. and the Office of Emergency Services.  

Call 644-8736 

Inside Interior Design  

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

A look into the world of interior design with certified interior designer and artist Lori Inman. $35 

525-7610 

Small Press Distribution Open House 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

Small Press Distribution  

3141 Seventh St. (at Gilman)  

With poetry readings at 2 p.m. with featured poet Clark Coolidge and others. Free  

524-1668 

Straw Into Gold 

9 a.m.  

Berkeley Fellowship  

1924 Cedar (at Bonita)  

A rummage sale and intergenerational open mic. coffee house. All proceeds benefit the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. Free 

841-4824  

Sunday, April 8  

Reimagining Pacific Cities  

6 - 8:30 p.m. 

New Pacific Studio  

1523 Hearst Ave.  

“How are Pacific cities reshaping their cultural and environmental institutions to better serve the needs and enhance the present and future quality of life of all segments of their societies?” A series of ten seminars linking the Bay Area, Seattle, Portland, and other pacific cities.  

$10 per meeting  

Call 849-0217 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a non-profit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served bases on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and must be accompanies by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Tibetan Yoga and Healing  

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute  

1815 Highland Place  

Kum Nye teacher Jack van der Meulen will present this Tibetan yoga and will demonstrate several exercises for self-healing. Free 

843-6812 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute Open House  

3 - 5 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute  

1815 Highland Place  

A free introduction to Tibetan Buddhist Culture which will include a prayer wheel and meditation garden tour, Tibetan yoga demonstration, discussion of how useful ancient teachings are in contemporary society, and more. Free 

843-6812 

A Humanistic Passover Seder 

6 p.m.  

Albany Community Center 

1249 Marin Ave.  

Albany  

Kol Hadash will read from the Humanistic Haggadah, and will eat with friends and family. Miriam Solis will lead the group in song.  

$20 - $45  

925-254-0609 

Monday, April 9  

Ask the Doctor 

10:30 a.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

Dr. McGillis will speak and answer questions on radiologically, hormonally, and genetically modified foods.  

644-6107 

Tuesday, April 10 

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 

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  

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

Living with HIV 

12:30 - 1:30 p.m. 

Pacific School of Religion 

1798 Scenic Ave.  

Mudd Bldg., Room 100 

Joe MacMurray will offer reflections on his personal experiences as an HIV-positive man who is preparing for ordained ministry in the Metropolitan Community Church.  

849-8206 

Young Queer Women’s Group 

8 - 9:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center 

2712 Telegraph Ave.  

Make some new friends, expand your horizons and get support with a bunch of queer women all in the same place at the same time (somewhere between 18 and 25).  

548-8283 or visit www.pacificcenter.org 

Sunrise Business Mixer  

7:30 - 8:30 a.m.  

Skates on the Bay  

100 Seawall Drive  

Wake up and smell the coffee at this mixer sponsored by the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce. Complimentary breakfast provided by host Skates on the Bay. Free to chamber members.  

RSVP, 549-7003 or e-mail chamber@dnai.com  

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Magic Brown  

2:30 p.m. 

South Branch Library  

1901 Russell St.  

Pamela Brown, a magician and storyteller, will tell stories of tricksters and fools from around the world, interspersed with magic tricks. She will be teaching the audience tricks to take home with them. For kids, 5 - 10 years old. Free 

649-3943 

Magic Brown  

7 p.m. 

North Branch Library  

1170 The Alameda 

Similar program to above. Free 

649-3943 

Seeds of Fiction  

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

Berkeley author Dorothy Bryant will speak on seeds of fiction and drama. Free 

644-6107 

Wednesday, April 11 

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. The class will cover basic hardware identification and specification, basic understanding of software, basic word-processing and basic spreadsheets.  

Call 644-6226 

Free Writing, Cashiering & Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

Free classes offered Monday through Friday. Stop by and register or call 548-6700. 

www.ajob.org 

Magic Brown  

11 a.m.  

West Branch Library  

1125 University Ave.  

Pamela Brown, a magician and storyteller, will tell stories of tricksters and fools from around the world, interspersed with magic tricks. She will be teaching the audience tricks to take home with them. For kids, 5 - 10 years old. Free 

649-3943 

Income Tax Assistance  

9 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Call Maggie for an appointment, 644-6107. 

Bicycle Maintenance 101  

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

REI bike technician Paul Ecord will show attendees how to perform basic adjustments on bikes and how to keep them in good condition. Demonstrations of how to clean/replace a chain, adjust derailleurs and replace brake and derailleur cables. Free  

527-4140 

Magic Brown  

3:30 p.m. 

Claremont Branch Library  

2940 Benvenue Ave.  

Pamela Brown, a magician and storyteller, will tell stories of tricksters and fools from around the world, interspersed with magic tricks. She will be teaching the audience tricks to take home with them. For kids, 5 - 10 years old. Free 

649-3943 

Thursday, April 12 

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Alice Rogoff and host Dale Jensen.  

644-0155 

Income Tax Assistance  

9 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Call Maggie for an appointment, 644-6107. 

Humanist Forum  

7 p.m. 

Fellowship of Humanity  

390 27th St. (at Broadway)  

Oakland  

“The future of religion: Dialog and discussion.”  

451-5818 

Free Smoking Cessation Class  

5:30 - 7:30 p.m.  

Six Thursday classes through May 17.  

Call 644-6422 to register and for location  

Friday, April 13  

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Living Philosophers  

10 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Hear and entertain the ideas of some modern day philosophers: Jacob Needleman, J. Revel, Hilary Putnam, John Searle, Saul Kripke, Richard Rorty and others. Every Friday, except holidays. Facilitated by H.D. Moe.  

Free Writing, Cashiering & Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

Free classes offered Monday through Friday. Stop by and register or call 548-6700. 

www.ajob.org 

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. The class will cover basic hardware identification and specification, basic understanding of software, basic word-processing and basic spreadsheets.  

Call 644-6226 

50 Plus Fitness Class  

9:30 a.m. - Noon 

UC Berkeley (varied locations)  

A class for those 50 and over which introduces participants to an array of exercise options. Demonstration and practice will include strength training, Tai Chi, Alexander Technique, and more. Fridays through May 11.  

$10 per individual session 

Pre-register: 642-5461  

Yiddish Conversation  

1 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst St.  

With Allen Stross. Free 

644-6107 

Saturday, April 14  

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

Seaborg Room, Men’s Faculty Club 

UC Berkeley  

A one-day conference that will address ethics and globalization by focusing on three areas which bear much of the weight of globalization: International financial institutions and the flow of capital, immigration and refugee flows, and the role of private and local capital and political action. Free and open to the public.  

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Eggster Hunt & Learning Festival  

10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.  

West Campus, UC Berkeley  

In front of Life Sciences Building  

A day of egghunts, cultural performances, educational booths, arts and crafts, games and entertainment. Free for all and handicapped accessible. Proceeds benefit five non-profit Bay Area children’s organizations.  

643-2033 

Before the Build  

10 a.m. - Noon  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

A free lecture by builder Glen Kitzenberger on what you need to know before you build or remodel your home. Learn to solder pipe and more. Free 

525-7610 

Choosing to Add On 

Noon - 2 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

A free lecture by author and instructor Skip Wenz on the pros and cons of building an addition. Free  

525-7610 

Sunday, April 15  

The Buddhist Prayer Wheel  

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute  

1815 Highland Place  

Instructor Miep Cooymans will talk about prayer wheels and how to participate in their creation . Free 

843-6812 

Monday, April 16  

Dino Safari 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Learn how paleontologists sift through evidence to make predictions about the size and behavior of dinosaurs. Included with museum admission. 

$3 - $7  

Free Writing, Cashiering & Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

Free classes offered Monday through Friday. Stop by and register or call 548-6700. 

www.ajob.org 

Before the Build  

7 - 9 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

A free lecture by builder Glen Kitzenberger on what you need to know before you build or remodel your home. Learn to solder pipe and more. Free 

525-7610 

TREES Forum  

12:30 p.m. 

2400 Ridge Rd.  

Hewlett Library  

Board Room  

Michael Warburton on local environmental issues.  

E-mail: trees@gtu.edu 

Systematic Theology  

7 p.m. 

PLTS  

2770 Marin Ave.  

Great Hall  

Conversation with Dr. Oswald Bayer, professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Tuebingen, Germany.  

524-5264 

Tuesday, April 17 

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 

Free! Early Music Group  

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

A small group who sing madrigals and other voice harmonies. Their objective: To enjoy making music and building musical skills.  

Call Ann 655-8863 or e-mail: ann@integratedarts.org 

Young Queer Women’s Group 

8 - 9:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center 

2712 Telegraph Ave.  

Make some new friends, expand your horizons and get support with a bunch of queer women all in the same place at the same time (somewhere between 18 and 25).  

548-8283 or visit www.pacificcenter.org 

Real Deal Seminar 

12:45 - 1:45 p.m.  

Pacific School of Religion  

1798 Scenic Ave.  

Mudd 103  

Bill O’Neill on “Ethics of Social Reconciliation and/or Human Rights.” Bring a lunch.  

849-8229 

Intelligent Conversation  

7 - 9 p.m.  

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

A discussion group open to all, regardless of age, religion, viewpoint, etc. This time the discussion will center on the question of how your life conflicts with your ideals. Informally led by Robert Berend, who founded similar groups in L.A., Menlo Park, and Prague. Bring light snacks/drinks to share. Free  

527-5332 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Chaos Theory  

7 p.m. 

CDSP  

2451 Ridge Rd.  

Common Room  

Dr. Laurie Freeman on “Method in Science and the Humanities: What Does Chaos Theory Have to Offer?”  

848-8152 

Wednesday, April 18  

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. The class will cover basic hardware identification and specification, basic understanding of software, basic word-processing and basic spreadsheets.  

Call 644-6226 

Thursday, April 19 

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Garrett Murphy and host Mark States.  

644-0155 

Berkeley Metaphysical Toastmasters Club  

6:15 - 7:30 p.m.  

2515 Hillegass Ave.  

Public speaking skills and metaphysics come together. Ongoing first and third Thursdays each month.  

Call 869-2547 

LGBT Catholics Group  

7:30 p.m. 

Newman Hall  

2700 Dwight Way (at College)  

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender Catholics group are “a spiritual community committed to creating justice.” This meetings discussions will center on “Eroticism and Spirituality.”  

654-5486 

Simplicity Forum 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Library 

Claremont Branch  

2940 Benveue Ave.  

Facilitated by Cecile Andrews, author of “Circles of Simplicty,” learn about this movement whose philosophy is “the examined life richly lived.” Work less, consume less, rush less, and build community with friends and family.  

Call 549-3509 or visit www.seedsofsimplicity.org  

Cancer Support Group 

Noon - 2 p.m. 

Summit Medical Center 

Markstein Cancer Education & Prevention Center 

450 30th St., Second Floor  

Oakland  

Free support group for families, friends, and patients diagnosed with cancer.  

869-8833 to register  

Celebrating Our Past, Envisioning Our Future 

Pacific School of Religion 

1798 Scenic Ave.  

The PSR Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry hosts its first annual conference which will address racism and heterosexism; being “out” in ministry; queer spirituality; queer and Asian; queer theory and comparative religions and other topics. This is a two day event.  

849-8206 

Light Search & Rescue 

9 a.m. - Noon  

Emergency Operations Center 

997 Cedar St.  

A free class as part of Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). Sponsored by the Berkeley Fire Dept. and the Office of Emergency Services.  

Call 644-8736 

EcoCity Message of Curitiba, Brazil 

7:30 p.m. 

Chan Shun Auditorium  

Valley of Life Sciences Building  

UC Berkeley  

The chief representative of the policies, designs, planning and projects that have made Curitiba the ecological development model to the world will share strategies for long term success of cities on planet Earth.  

$5 - $10 donation  

649-1817 

Chiapas Support Committee 

7 p.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Ave. (at Prince) 

The delegation to Mexico will report back about the EZLN march and its aftermath with video footage, first-hand accounts, slides and more.  

654-9587 

Estate Planning for the Living 

7 - 8:30 p.m. 

Women’s Cancer Resource Center 

3023 Shattuck Ave.  

Norlen Drossel, an estate planning attorney, will cover such topics as the difference between a will and a living trust, durable power of attorney for health care, and other topics of importance to those who don’t plan on dying.  

601-4040 x302 

Exploring Grand Staircase  

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Liz Hymans, a leading panoramic photographer in the U.S. will share slides and stories of the making of “Hearst of the Desert Wild,” which celebrates the spirit of Grand Staircase - Escalante. Free  

527-4140 

Free Smoking Cessation Class  

5:30 - 7:30 p.m.  

Six Thursday classes through May 17.  

Call 644-6422 to register and for location  

Friday, April 20 

Stagebridge Free Acting & Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Oakland  

Call 444-4755 or visit www.stagebridge.org 

Free Writing, Cashiering & Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

Free classes offered Monday through Friday. Stop by and register or call 548-6700. 

www.ajob.org 

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  

Rockridge Writers 

3:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Spasso Coffeehouse  

6021 College Ave.  

Poets and writers meet to critique each other’s work. “Members’ work tends to be dark, humorous, surreal, or strange.”  

e-mail: berkeleysappho@yahoo.com 

Computer Literacy Class 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

MLK Youth Services Center  

1730 Oregon St.  

A free class sponsored by the City of Berkeley’s Young Adult Project. The class will cover basic hardware identification and specification, basic understanding of software, basic word-processing and basic spreadsheets.  

Call 644-6226 

Living Philosophers  

10 a.m. - Noon  

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Hear and entertain the ideas of some modern day philosophers: Jacob Needleman, J. Revel, Hilary Putnam, John Searle, Saul Kripke, Richard Rorty and others. Every Friday, except holidays. Facilitated by H.D. Moe.  

50 Plus Fitness Class  

9:30 a.m. - Noon 

UC Berkeley (varied locations)  

A class for those 50 and over which introduces participants to an array of exercise options. Demonstration and practice will include strength training, Tai Chi, Alexander Technique, and more. Fridays through May 11.  

$10 per individual session 

Pre-register: 642-5461  

Trash Bridges 

1 p.m.  

Lawrence Hall of Science  

UC Berkeley  

Join Trash Bridges, garbage detective, in this Science Discovery Theatre performance as he explores how recycling, reusing, reducing and composting can help us tackle the ever-increasing garbage humans create. Free with museum admission.  

642-5132 

Saturday, April 21  

California Native Plant Sale  

10 a.m. - 3 p.m.  

Regional Botanical Garden  

South Park Drive & Wildcat Canyon Road 

Tilden Regional Park  

A variety of plants will be for sale and proceeds benefit Botanic Garden programs.  

841-8732 

Family Farm Day  

10 a.m. - 3 p.m.  

Berkeley Farmers’ Market  

Center St. at MLK Jr. Way  

As a complimentary event to Earth Day Berkeley, taking place in Civic Center Park, this w

Calling for public ownership of power, more than 75 people crowded onto the sidewalk at Center Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way in front of the PG&E payment office at noon on Thursday. 

Their signs read “not with my tax $$$,” and “no pay in May;” their chants called for “people power, solar power,” and said “Governor Gray, we won’t pay,” – passing drivers honked horns and waved. Similar demonstrations took place simultaneously in Oakland and San Francisco. 

Reading from a proclamation, demonstrator Susan Rodriguez sat in front of Pacific Gas and Electric company’s doorway, calling over a bullhorn: “We the people of California, declare by our right of eminent domain, all power companies based on California soil, built by human labor...to be the property of the people of California.” At the request of a PG&E employee, Rodriguez was handcuffed and arrested by two Berkeley police officers. She was taken across the street to the police station where she was cited for blocking access to the building, given a court date and released, police said. 

On Thursday, Gov. Gray Davis asked the legislature to approve spending another $500 million to buy power, raising the state funds committed to power buys to $4.7 billion. Scared off by PG&E and Southern California Edison’s poor credit ratings, the power generators are refusing to sell to them, so the state is paying the electricity and natural gas suppliers directly. 

Protester Kuo Yee, whose friend carried a sign saying “no bailout,” called on the governor to do just the opposite: “The only solution is that they go bankrupt so we can purchase the power,” he said.  

Protester Gary Brechin, author of Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power/Earthly Ruin, said the power crisis educates the public and reveals the structure of the ownership of the power companies. “They’ve taken off their masks,” he said, pointing out that PG&E profits from the high use of energy. “We’re like the lambs, about to be turned into shish-kebab,’ he said. 

Demonstrators said the call for public power is not pie-in-the sky. It may be possible to form a public power network through the East Bay Municipal Utility District, which currently provides water, demonstrator Tim Gordon said. Power should be public, from its generation, through its transmission “not just the transmissions lines,” he added. 

The Berkeley City Council has taken a first step toward public power ownership by voting to have a study done of its feasibility. 

Public ownership is just part of the solution, said protester Hal Carlstad: “We need recycled energy – sun and wind – and conservation.” Carlstad said the public is bombarded with advertisements encouraging the overuse of power. “They’re advertising to make you use it,” he said. 

As the protest was winding down, demonstrator Susan Rodriguez moved up the steps and sat down in front of the doors of the PG&E office, blocking the entrance and exit of those who had come to pay their bills. Moments before the police led her away in handcuffs, Rodriguez called out: “I’m here for the poor and the elderly, the disabled and the children. I do this in the name of Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez. I refuse to submit.” 

Cal scored 28 unanswered points in the second half of its match with British Columbia Wednesday, claiming a 34-11 victory as well as the annual home-and-away series between the two heavyweights of North American collegiate rugby. 

The Bears trailed 11-6 at the break, but a 45-meter drop goal from fullback John Buchholz just five minutes into the second period sparked Cal’s comeback. At the final whistle, the Bears had tallied three tries to UBC’s one. 

“There are few victories that match up to winning against the Thunderbirds on their home field,” noted Cal head coach Jack Clark. “We were very physical with a couple of goal line stands plus guys hitting rucks and making tackles all day.” 

Buchholz marked his return from injury with 18 points, keeping the Bears in touch with two first half penalties, and then the enormous drop goal that had even his opponents congratulating him after the match. 

The three-pointer signaled a turning of the tide as, shortly after, prop Mike MacDonald came off the side of a ruck to run over a couple of defenders, and drag still others with him into the try zone. 

The Bears made it a one-two punch with No. 8 Shaun Paga making a 30-meter break just minutes later and deftly looping a pass to hooker Chris Draper, who finished the try. The Cal team kept up the pressure and scrumhalf Andy Armstrong crossed for the Bears’ third try later in the half. 

The win returns the “World Cup” to Berkeley and counter-balances the Bears one loss of the season which came in February when UBC managed a 27-25 defeat of Cal. 

The Cal team next plays April 21 in the national championship round of 16.

Our society is based on violence. Looking back on U.S. history, it is plain to see that our society was built on a racist, sexist, and violent foundation. Out in Santee and pretty much every middle-class bedroom community, there is an attitude that they are safe. So when it hits home, when their child is lying in a hospital bed, or in a coffin, that is when there is this outrage. No one knows what happened – they were such good kids…. 

And in the midst of all of this, when for a moment the spotlight is being taken off of urban youth the story is spun around. All of a sudden there is a “violence problem” at Berkeley High. In order to please voters, (note: majority white) - the mayor, superintendent, and school board members jump at this problem of violence. Students report that possibly one-third of BHS students are involved in fighting. That is 1,200 students out of 3,600 students attending BHS. 

Is this really an accurate estimate? How many students gave this statistic, and secondly, what student knows all 3,599 of their counterparts at BHS? This “problem of violence” that is being attacked is going to affect students of color and not even City Councilmember Linda Maio denies this when she says: “We don’t want t be in a position where we hear shouts from the community that this is racist.” 

In her comment alone, Maio reveals the probability that the solution to the “problem of violence” is going to affect students of color. Do they need ideas on how not to be racist? From what I read, they seem to be getting very biased opinions from students and parents. Quick to spend money on a truancy program or other means to reduce “school violence” at BHS. 

Here are a couple of better ideas: 

Give students an after-school program, supervising a basketball court after school, add classes of student interest to keep kids in school, improve the curriculum and relate it to students’ lives, hire more qualified teachers. 

There seems to be this pattern of running around the underlying issues, not getting to the root causes of the “violence problem.” 

Problems? The problem is society, and although we cannot erase history we can cultivate ideas and input from students to enforce positive programs. Can we try a new concept for once, counter the negative with the positive and gain a positive outcome? 

There is much talk of “the problem” but the administrators want “to put their foot down” and stomp out violence and what a coincidence! – California passed Prop. 21 and now “liberal” Berkeley has a problem on their hands and the mayor and city council and superintendent turn to the same racist, ageist approach of Proposition 21. 

Sade Bonilla is a ninth grader at Berkeley High School.

The City Council postponed considering a recommendation for a Sunshine Ordinance, intended to allow the public greater access to government information, until it’s determined whether it’s needed.  

The recommendation, put on Tuesday’s City Council agenda by Councilmember Kriss Worthington, asked the City Manager’s Office to evaluate nine measures to improve citizen access to public information. They include better public notice for meetings, creating a Web site where all public records can be accessed and encouraging law enforcement to make police records, logs and other related information more readily available. 

The recommendation was removed from the consent calendar by Councilmember Polly Armstrong – items on the consent calendar are approved unanimously without discussion. Armstrong said she wanted the council to consider the need for an ordinance carefully and to evaluate whether it would make the government process more cumbersome and inefficient. 

“I’m in favor of open government but you can take things to an absurd level,” she said. “So if we can make it easier to do the right thing, then I’m in favor, but if it’s more complicated, I’m not.” 

Oakland has a Sunshine Ordinance and San Francisco strengthened its existing ordinance in November 1999, with voter approval of Measure G. 

Worthington said the ordinance would create a friendlier environment as well as make it easier for people to participate in government decisions. “I don’t think  

giving the public more access to information is anything to be afraid of,” he said. “And for that matter, I don’t think giving city councilmembers more access to information is anything to be afraid of.” 

The need to streamline diffusion of information is critical, said Worthington, noting that he was often frustrated in his attempts to get copies of documents from former City Manager James Keene. 

Thomas R. Burke, a San Francisco attorney who was a principal author of Measure G, said it’s important to strengthen public information laws. “The Brown Act and the Freedom of Information Act are broad and encompassing, but government officials continually figure out ways of operating in secret,” he said. “Anyone in favor of open government can’t be in opposition to a Sunshine Ordinance. 

Councilmember Mim Hawley said she approves of open government, but said she agreed the ordinance needs to be scrutinized more. She said some of its requirements might already be in effect. 

Hawley said the cost should be closely examined as well. 

“We have an energy crisis and a housing crisis and our youth programs need funding,” she said. “We have to be careful about our resources.” 

Worthington said he examined the cost of establishing the Sunshine Ordinances in San Francisco and Oakland and suggested Berkeley phase in an ordinance over time, rather than commit resources all at once. 

“There’s a lot of hidden costs and the way Oakland and San Francisco implemented their ordinances created unnecessary expense,” he said. “We should create a timeline that implements the ordinance in phases that fit into our budget.” 

For example, scanning all the city’s documents onto a Web site would be costly. 

Berkeley resident Howie Muir, a member of the community group Neighbors for Responsible Development, said he would like to see policies streamlined and organized so information is easier to obtain. 

Muir’s group is opposed to the design of a controversial, four-story proposed development in his neighborhood. He said community groups are usually unfamiliar with city bureaucracy that puts them at a disadvantage with developers who often know the system well.  

“First you have to find out what department you have to go to,” he said. “Then you find out it’s the Planning Department, but when you arrive, you discover there’s a Current Planning Division and an Advanced Planning Division. And then you wonder ‘Does that mean there are other planning divisions and which one do I go to?’” 

Muir said during the development’s approval process, planning staff did not provide him with a copy of an Environmental Impact Report he requested until the same night the Zoning Adjustments Board voted on the project. “There was no way I was going to be able to review it in time.” he said. 

Muir said because it’s difficult for novices to navigate the city bureaucracy, the quality and completeness of their information is compromised and “they have a harder time getting their opinions heard in a meaningful way.” 

The City Council will consider the Sunshine Ordinance at it’s next meeting on April 17.

Berkeley Police are relying heavily on the nonprofit Donald P. McCullum Youth Court program to make sure first-time juvenile offenders, cases the understaffed District Attorney’s Office often don’t get to, face some concrete consequences for their actions. 

The national juvenile caseload has more than quadrupled since 1960, from 400,000 cases a year to nearly 1.8 million, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 

District attorney offices around the country, overwhelmed by the growth in juvenile crime cases, often only prosecute the most serious cases. For every 1,000 juvenile vandalism cases in 1997, for example, nearly 400 were  

simply dismissed without coming to trial. 

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has been no exception to this trend. 

“What they’re doing is choosing cases of habitual offenders and prosecuting them,” said Amy Halbrook, director of youth services for Alameda Country.  

The problem with this approach, said Halbrook and others, in that first-time offenders who commit lesser crimes such as vandalism and petty theft develop the impression that there are no consequences for their actions.  

In some cases, their parents aren’t even notified of their arrest, according to youth court literature. Faced with no consequences, the youth continue to commit crimes, said Halbrook and others. 

That’s why Sergeant Steve Odom of the Berkeley Police Youth Services Division has used the youth court alternative for more than 30 of Berkeley’s first-time offenders since the Berkeley Police Department began participating in the program last summer. And he’s continuing to refer cases the “court” as fast as he can.  

“Typically, you can almost see the pattern beginning with kids where they’re not admitting guilt,” Odom said. “That kind of ignoring reality is dangerous,” he said. This is because kids see no reason not to move on to bigger and bigger crimes, he said. 

“If you’re looking to reintegrate them back into society they have to be able to say, ‘I was wrong,’ and move forward from there,” Odom said. 

Halbrook says the program works. According to an informal study by the Oakland police department, 42 percent of all first time offenders reoffend within two years. That compares to only 16 percent of youth court offenders who reoffend within two years, Halbrook said. 

The youth court process begins with a police referral. Youth court coordinators then contact the offender’s parents and call them and their child for a conference. If the youth admits his guilt, he or she is eligible to participate in the youth court. As an incentive, every youth court defendant who complies in full with his sentence will have his record wiped clean. 

Youth court is in session two nights a month in the real courtrooms of the Alameda Country Administration Building. Typical cases include petty theft, vandalism, graffiti, simple assault, battery and trespassing on a school campus. 

Youth Court juries are made up of past youth court defendants. They get to take on the defendants one-on-one, asking them pointed questions, watching them squirm as they try to come up with answers. 

“If you could go back and change one thing, what would you change?” one teen-aged juror asked Wednesday, gazing across at the Berkeley teen defendant on the witness stand. 

“I would have went home when I went down to the corner,” the youth said sheepishly. “I would have went straight home.” 

Charged with stealing a bicycle and possessing alcohol, the youth admitted to drinking, but said it was his friends who took the bike. He would not have been charged, he claimed, if he’d left his friends when he saw they were committing a crime. 

After about 20 minutes of noisy deliberation inside the jury room, the jury announces a verdict: the offender must attend a conflict resolution class, serve once as a juror at a youth court hearing, complete 17 hours of community service, attend alcohol and drug counseling, and write a letter of apology to his grandmother. 

All sentences include a conflict resolution workshop and at least one tour of duty as a juror. Beyond that, the jury uses its discretion to recommend up to 60 community services hours, a variety of counseling programs and classes, introspective essays and letters of apology.  

“There is a sense of fairness because they’re being judged by their peers,” said Ismail Ramsey, a member of the Donald P. McCullum Youth Court Board of Directors who volunteers as a judge for the youth court. “That’s something youth don’t have in the (regular juvenile justice system), when you’ve got some judge on high who decrees the sentence.” 

Judges are the only adults inside a youth court, where prosecuting attorneys, defending attorneys, bailiffs and the clerks are all youth volunteers from local high schools.  

The judges’ job is to impress upon the kids the seriousness of the courtroom proceedings. At the outset of each hearing they remind the youth that, since they are charged with real crimes, they could easily have ended up in the real juvenile justice system, where punishment is meted out in the form of jail time and hefty fines. Furthermore, they tell youth court defendants that if they fail to comply with their youth court sentence, they could be referred back to the DA’s office for formal prosecution. 

“It’s serious enough so that they think, ‘if this is going on here, who knows what’s going on inside a real juvenile (courtroom),” said youth court judge Butch Ford, a deputy district attorney in Alameda County. 

But for youth court coordinators, the bottom line is less about punishment than it is about helping kids who need positive intervention in their lives. 

“Tonight is the night that is most uncomfortable for youth, but after the hearing we try to put the offense in the past,” said Oakland Youth Court Coordinator Jarvis Hurts. 

“To me, I don’t want to punish any kid,” Hurts said. “I’m just trying to show them what’s going on and help them out. 

“It was a dumb mistake. All kids make dumb mistakes. How can we hold them accountable and give them some different skills.” 

Kids and parents alike are sometimes cynical at the beginning of the youth court process, Hurts conceded, but they become more and more involved as time goes on, he said. 

Once a youth court jury hands down a sentence, the youth court coordinators work with the offenders and their parents to choose community services and counseling options that appeal to them. Through a careful process of case management, they try to address some of the underlying problems that may have driven the kids to criminal behavior.  

They also schedule community service hours and other commitments during after-school hours when children across the country are most likely to engage in criminal behavior if left to their own devices. 

“All kinds of studies show that kids who are involved in after-school programs commit fewer crimes.” Halbrook said.  

“(Through the youth court process) they have some practice making positive decisions, and also the have a support network,” Halbrook said. “Our kids become friends. The really support each other.” 

“We try to empower them,” said Hurts. “Because if you can empower youth, they’ll take over from there. They know where to go.” 

Berkeley High student Malaika Umrani, a youth court volunteer, said the youth court is a constructive alternative to the traditional juvenile justice system, which “just scares and traumatizes young kids.” 

Umrani said there will always been those kids who take advantage of the system. 

“For some kids its just like, ‘Oh, I have to do this for so many hours,’ and then they go right back to what they were doing,” Umrani said.

Gov. Gray Davis on Thursday asked lawmakers to approve spending $500 million more to buy power for two struggling utilities as Republicans escalated their criticism of the Democrat’s handling of the energy crisis. 

Davis’ request, expected to win approval from the Legislature’s majority Democrats, would bring the state’s power purchases on behalf of credit-poor Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric to $4.7 billion since the buying started in early January. 

Both utilities said they are starting to pay the state back for the previous power purchases, complying with an order Tuesday by the state Public Utilities Commission. 

Edison paid the state $43 million and PG&E paid $65.2 million for power purchased by the state in January and February. 

Republicans stepped up their criticism of Davis and his fellow Democrats during an Assembly session Thursday morning. 

It was the first legislative session since Assembly Republicans chose a new minority leader this week, Assemblyman Dave Cox of Fair Oaks, who pledged to take a harder line on energy negotiations. 

Assemblyman Jay La Suer, R-La Mesa, ridiculed Davis’ offer of 20 percent rate cuts for consumers who cut their electricity use 20 percent from last summer. 

“My people can’t save 20 percent. They’ve already cut to the bone,” La Suer said. 

He and others blamed Davis for record rate increases of up to 46 percent the PUC ordered this week for Edison and PG&E customers. 

Republicans noted that the PUC is dominated by Davis appointees. Davis has denied any influence and criticized the rate hike as premature. 

Eleven Assembly Republicans filed a lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court asking the court to order Davis to provide more details on the state’s power purchases, saying they need the information for state budget decisions. 

“Governor Davis has an information gray-out,” said Assemblyman Tony Strickland, R-Thousand Oaks, who led the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit, similar to one filed last week by The Associated Press and several newspapers, seeks details on long-term power contracts the state has signed and the short-term purchases it is making for Edison and PG&E customers. 

Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio accused Republicans of engaging in political “bomb-throwing and obstructionism,” saying the information they want to make public would help power suppliers get higher prices from the state. 

He joined Assembly Democrats in accusing the Republican Bush administration and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of not doing enough to rein in soaring wholesale electricity costs. 

“When are we going to realize that we’ve gotten FERCed?” quipped Assemblywoman Helen Thomson, D-Davis. 

She said Californians are hearing “a giant sucking sound” as their electric payments flow to out-of-state electricity generators. 

Maviglio said the crisis is the product of the 1996 deregulation law signed by then-Republican Gov. Pete Wilson. 

“To think Governor Davis can clean up this mess in a matter of months is just ludicrous,” Maviglio said. 

Cox invited Davis to attend a GOP caucus to discuss energy. Davis spent two hours briefing Democrats on Wednesday. 

Also Thursday, the Assembly resumed hearings in its investigation into California’s highest-in-the-nation natural gas prices. 

Southern California Gas Co. Vice President Rick Morrow vehemently denied allegations in a Los Angeles lawsuit that his company conspired with El Paso Gas Co. at a 1996 hotel meeting to drive up California natural gas prices. 

“That allegation is absolutely absurd,” Morrow told two Assembly subcommittees investigating the gas price-spike. 

The companies are defendants in a lawsuit filed last week by the city of Los Angeles. 

Chris Garner, director of Long Beach Energy, said the spike has cost his customers between $25 million and $30 million. Long Beach gas prices are tied to the cost of gas at the California border, which peaked this winter with costs up to six times as high as in neighboring states. 

California has struggled with soaring natural gas prices, rising electricity costs and a tight power supply for months. 

The state was under a Stage 1 power alert Thursday, with reserves approaching 7 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

California ISO: www.caiso.com 

LOS ANGELES — The Hispanic population in California soared by 43 percent over the past decade and nearly one out of every three state residents is a member of the fast-growing ethnic group, according to U.S. census figures released Thursday. 

The strong Hispanic growth in California coincides with dramatic increases reported by the Census Bureau in other states. In Arkansas, the bureau reported a 337 percent increase in Hispanics and Florida logged a 70 percent growth rate for Hispanics. 

While the growth in California was not as steep in terms of percentage, the sheer numbers were significant, experts said. 

“The growth outside of California reflects a continuous progress of Latinos moving out of traditional areas, but there’s also a continued concentration in the places they were before,” said Leo Estrada, an urban planning professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. “There’s enough population growth to allow that to continue simultaneously.” 

The number of Hispanics grew by 3.3 million in the 1990s, from 7,687,938 in 1990 to 10,966,556 in the decennial survey taken in April, 2000. The state’s overall population, meanwhile, grew 13.8 percent to 33.9 million people. 

The Hispanic population nationally grew by 58 percent to 35.3 million, or about 13 percent of the U.S. population. Nearly one in every three Hispanics nationwide lives in California. 

“I think it’s kind of peculiar and kind of comical that people are shocked that the number of Latinos are going up,” said Gregory Salcido, 32, a history teacher at El Rancho High School in the predominantly Hispanic suburb of Pico Rivera, east of Los Angeles. “No matter where you go, you’ll see people my skin shade and who have a last name that ends in a vowel and are bilingual, which is a great skill.” 

California remains a key destination for newly arrived Hispanic immigrants and growth also is occurring among Hispanics who have long made the state their home, said Albert Camarillo, a history professor at Stanford University. 

Past Census statistics and more recent state data show that about two-thirds of the increase in the Hispanic population has been due to natural increase – or more births than deaths. Immigration has accounted for only about one-third of the Hispanic population’s growth, Camarillo said. 

“We’re also seeing the second- and third-generations are moving to the suburbs, which has been true for the last 20 years,” Camarillo said Thursday. “When people have the economic means, they will leave the more concentrated Mexican-American barrios.” Census 2000 showed the suburban area of San Bernardino County registering a 77 percent increase in Hispanics in the 1990s; the ethnic group makes up 39 percent of the county’s 1.7 million residents. 

The growth rate was less robust in Los Angeles County, which has more Hispanics than any other county in the state. The Hispanic population in the county increased 27 percent to 4.2 million – or about 45 percent of the 9.5 million county residents. 

The competition for jobs among immigrants in the greater Los Angeles area may be a contributing factor to the slower growth rate among Hispanics, Camarillo said. 

In some of the state’s largest cities, Hispanics made up sizable portions of the population. Of the 3.7 million residents in Los Angeles, about 1.7 million, or 47 percent, identified themselves as Hispanics. 

In San Diego, 25 percent of the city’s 1.2 million residents were Hispanic, while 38 percent of Riverside’s 255,166 residents listed themselves as part of the ethnic group. 

In San Francisco, 14 percent of its 776,733 residents identified themselves as Hispanic. 

Hispanics, of course, have a long relationship with California, which was part of Mexico until it was lost in 1848 following the U.S.-Mexico War. 

Signs of the region’s Hispanic roots can be found throughout the place once called Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula (Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula), which has been shortened to Los Angeles. 

KMEX-TV, a Spanish-language station that is the flagship of the Univision Television Group, has the highest rated newscasts in Los Angeles, regardless of language, according to Nielsen Media Research. 

In 1998, the state also elected its first Hispanic to a statewide office since 1871 when Cruz Bustamante became lieutenant governor. 

In the upcoming Los Angeles mayoral race, Antonio Villaraigosa, 48, and Xavier Becerra, 43, are vying to become the city’s first Hispanic mayor in more than a century. 

Salcido, the high school history teacher, also has become active politically and is in his first term as a Pico Rivera city councilman. 

“I truly believe that the things I want for my wife and family and the security I’m looking at for my friends, those are the same things that someone in Toledo, Ohio wants,” Salcido said. “Allow us to be a part of the American dream, just as everyone else has wanted and has been able to take a part in. We don’t want to take away from anyone, we just want to get in.” 

———— 

On the Net: 

http://www.census.gov 

http://www.state.ca.us 

Q: We have a slow knocking sound coming from inside a wall. The sound occurs when the upstairs bathroom faucet is turned on. I have been told that this could be the pipes banging against the wall. Is this a serious problem? 

A: Knocking pipes aren’t usually a serious plumbing problem, but they can drive you nuts. 

Knocking or banging pipes can be caused by several factors; excessively high water pressure (over 55 psi), air in the water lines or a failing faucet washer. Sometimes the knocking radiates along hot water pipes from a sediment-laden water heater that is in need of flushing. However, the banging would occur at more than one faucet (not just the upstairs bathroom faucet, as you describe) if the source of the problem were any of the aforementioned. 

We have a hunch that the knocking is caused by vibration due to a brittle or deteriorating washer. If the faucet consists of two handles, try to determine whether the knocking occurs when using “hot” or “cold” water. 

Once you have narrowed it down to one or the other, close the shut-off valve (usually in the cabinet below the faucet) and remove the decorative handle, packing nut and valve stem. The washer is attached to the bottom of the valve stem with a small screw. Remove the existing washer and replace it. Reassemble the faucet in the reverse order that you took it apart. If your faucet is a “single-lever” model, remove the handle and packing nut as you would a two-handle model. However, instead of replacing a valve-stem washer, you will use a washer replacement kit. 

Q: How do I change a leaking toilet tank? 

A: The first step in repairing a leaking toilet tank is to determine where the leak is located and what is causing it. There are several possible causes, the most obvious of which is a hairline crack in the tank – often virtually undetectable. Other possible causes are the four factory penetrations at the bottom of the tank where connections are made to the water supply, where the tank is bolted to the bowl, and at the location where water flows from the tank to the bowl. 

Each of these locations has a rubber washer designed to ensure a watertight connection. An easy means of determining the location of the leak is by placing a few drops of food coloring into the toilet tank. Wait about an hour and return to the scene to search for colored water at the outside of the tank. If the leak is at one of the factory penetrations, use a wrench or screwdriver to tighten the connection. Dry the area and return in another hour to see if the problem has been solved. If not, try replacing the washers. 

Drain the tank by turning off the water supply and flushing the toilet. Disconnect the water supply and remove the two bolts that anchor the tank to the bowl.  

Before you get set on tearing out your toilet tank, be certain that your leak isn’t a sweating tank. 

A sweating tank is caused by condensation that occurs on the outside surface of the toilet tank due to the difference in temperature between the water in the toilet tank and the air in the room. If the problem is condensation, it can be remedied in one of two ways – with a tank liner or a tempering valve. 

The tank liner consists of a rubber membrane that is installed in the interior surface of the tank as a layer of insulation. The tempering valve is a bit more complicated. It requires removing the existing water supply valve and replacing it with a model that mixes a small amount of hot water so that the water in the tank isn’t so cold, thus eliminating condensation. The former is a common do-it-yourself project, whereas the latter often requires a plumber. 

British-born Pamela Harper has been gardening in the United States for over three decades, and gardeners in all parts of the United States have much to learn from her latest book, “Time-Tested Plants: Thirty Years in a Four-Season Garden.” 

With a keen eye for observation and a mind both tolerant and unforgiving, Harper shares both her grand successes and failures with plants and offers hope for green and black thumbs alike. 

Harper takes the reader through four seasons at her two-acre Virginia garden on a sheltered tidal creek off the Chesapeake Bay, offering detailed descriptions and stunning photographs of hundreds of trees, shrubs, and perennials that happily co-exist in her garden. All but two of the 250 photographs were taken in her own garden, and they are testament to her outstanding talent for beautiful and striking plant combinations (Mexican bush sage against the yellow autumn foliage of climbing hydrangea or holly fern with the red-flowered Fashion azalea). 

Each plant in the book is described by Harper in loving and beautiful descriptive detail, with instructions for culture and care. Writing of different varieties of the silverbell tree, Harper says that “because the floral contribution of these flowers is so brief, one silverbell would really be enough, but which? I’d choose Halesia diptera var. magniflora (Zone 5) with flowers that have the ethereal loveliness of Swan Lake ballerinas.” 

Harper’s philosophy of gardening is a no-nonsense one that is also ruthless, giving all gardeners the courage to pull out plants that simply do not work. “Thumbs down for purple-leaf plums,” she declares, “which attract innumerable pests, including borers and Japanese beetles that turn their leaves to netting.” 

Gardening in England for 15 years or so before she moved to the United States gave Harper a different background and outlook toward horticulture. Her experience in Britain, she said, taught her to emphasize plants instead of design, to rely on thorough soil preparation before planting, and to favor chartreuse, purple, and cleanly variegated foliage instead of leaves with spots and streaks. 

The climate in America is very different from England, however, and Harper was forced to change some of her preferences and methods. “For example, the gentle pastel colors that work so well in England look bleached out and insipid in brilliant sunshine, and I now use stronger colors. And in a region of great heat and fairly heavy rainfall, plants grow a lot faster and need much more frequent pruning.” 

Harper said she finds gardening in the United States exciting these days, particularly because of “the much greater variety of garden styles” and “a readiness to experiment.” 

The greatest lesson a gardener can learn, she explained, is that “a garden, if it is not to be boringly mundane, always involves experiment and mistakes, that it is unlikely ever to be perfect, and that the pleasure lies in the doing.” 

Harper’s previous books include “Perennials: How to Select, Grow and Enjoy” (1985) which has gone through 17 printings but is now out of print, and “Designing with Perennials,” named in 1997 by the American Horticultural Society as one of the 75 best American gardening books. 

Gardeners who are particularly enthusiastic about flowers will like “Flowers A to Z” It’s a beautiful guide on how to keep them alive once you bring them inside. Heffernan, a floral designer from Jackson Hole, Wyo., gives specific instructions on how to buy and cut flowers to make them last longer, what kind of tools and techniques to use, how to encourage blossoms to open, and how to plant and care for flowers in the garden. 

The photographs in this book are stunning; even gardeners who dislike floral arrangements will find it hard to resist. Heffernan says that “flowers are not just for the rich and famous or for special occasions,” but they can “be a part of every day life and not totally break your wallet.” 

Heffernan guides the reader through various stages of a flower’s life, and with detailed, close-up photographs shows how to support cut flowers and prolong vase life, how to handle thick and thin stems, how to trim leaves and thorns, how to use special floral tools. 

Each flower has its own special section, listing varieties, growing tips, the meaning of the flower’s name, and hints on how to prolong the blooms and how to use them in arrangements. 

According to Heffernan, the most long-lasting arrangements are those that contain the same type of flower. “If you buy all tulips or all roses or all gerber daisies,” she said, “they’re going to last longer than if you mix all three types together.” The book does tell the reader, however, how to successfully mix flowers and which ones work best together. 

Although the book only covers 26 flowers, it’s certain to become a classic and will find a rightful and prominent place on many coffee tables around the country. 

PASADENA — Twin volcanic plumes that rise 250 miles above the surface of Jupiter’s fiery moon Io appear in images taken by two NASA spacecraft and released Thursday. 

Scientists have known about one of the towering plumes for the past four years, as it has continued to spew gas and dust from a volcano called Pele each time the Galileo probe has flown past Io. 

But when Galileo was joined at Jupiter this winter by the spacecraft Cassini, the two probes caught a second plume in the act. 

Peering at Io in ultraviolet wavelengths on Jan. 1 and 2, Cassini spied the new plume near the moon’s north pole. The discovery was the first of an active plume in that region and the first to rival Pele’s plume in size. 

Images taken days earlier by Galileo but transmitted to Earth just this month show a red ring circling a volcanic area called Tvashtar Catena. Scientists said the new ring of deposits makes Tvashtar the likely source of the new plume. 

Scientists working on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration mission hope Galileo will give them a closer look at Tvashtar in August when the spacecraft will pass just 224 miles above the area, going directly through the plume — if it’s still present. Unlike the risks that volcanic ash and debris pose to aircraft here on Earth, the plume is tenuous enough that it will not endanger Galileo. 

Io is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Because Io orbits so close – 260,000 miles – to giant Jupiter, the planet’s gravitational tug constantly flexes the moon like a metal bar bent back and forth. That constant flexing causes the moon’s extreme volcanism. 

Galileo has orbited Jupiter since 1995 and will continue to do so until NASA sends it plunging into the planet’s atmosphere in 2003.  

Cassini swung past Jupiter this winter to gain a boost on its way to a 2005 arrival at Saturn. 

The Associated Press 

LOS ANGELES — A half dozen hate crimes a day are reported in California, according to experts who say they are certain that number would be even higher if all victims were willing to come forward. 

A hate crimes commission created in the aftermath of the 1999 North Valley Jewish Community Center shooting in Los Angeles concluded that people who are potential targets of hate need to know they can go to the police and be protected. 

“We know there’s about six hate crimes reported each day, unfortunately, there’s probably more not being reported,” California Attorney General Bill Lockyer told a news conference called Thursday to unveil the commission’s report. 

The Civil Rights Commission on Hate Crimes, charged with finding ways to encourage the reporting of hate crimes, was created by Lockyer in 1999 after White supremacist Buford O. Furrow went on a shooting rampage that killed a man and wounded five other people.  

Furrow was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole earlier this week. 

After wounding three children, a teen-age girl and a woman at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in the San Fernando Valley, Furrow fatally shot Filipino-American mail carrier Joseph Ileto. 

The commission, comprised of educators, officers, lawyers and activists from around the state, found that hate crimes tend to be underreported because of cultural or language barriers, fear of retaliation and lack of education. 

The report recommended launching a multi-lingual public awareness campaign, creating a toll-free hot line and passing legislation that will promote tolerance programs in schools and provide money for community programs. 

It also recommended that law enforcement agencies work together by identifying and responding to hate crimes, whether the crime is based on race, sexual orientation, disability or gender. 

“It’s a model of how to attack the problem not only in the state but nationwide,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca who attended Thursday’s news conference at the Museum of Tolerance. 

Some of the report’s recommendations have already been turned into legislation. State Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Los Angeles, has authored two bills, one to provide grants to groups promoting awareness, and another to create a toll-free hot line for people to report hate crimes. 

Another bill, authored by Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Fremont, would require schools to train teachers and students to recognize hate crimes. All three bills are expected to be taken up by the Legislature next month. 

Ismael Ileto said Thursday he was grateful for the effort to fight hate crimes that his brother’s murder helped inspire. 

“I realize there are a lot of issues – schools, housing, you name it – but in my opinion it doesn’t do any good if we’re hating each other,” he said.

SACRAMENTO — State Democrats are descending upon the traditionally Republican stronghold of Orange County for what they bill as a weekend-long “Bush-bashing” fest. 

Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., are scheduled to headline the three-day Democratic state convention in Anaheim. The event starts Friday. 

“We are going to spend the first and the last hour bashing Bush – and all through the weekend,” state party spokesman Bob Mulholland said. 

Bush lost California’s 54 electoral votes to Democrat Al Gore despite pouring far more time and money into campaigning here. 

But Democrats will also spend time talking about power, and not the political kind, Mulholland said. 

Though California Democrats enjoy a substantial lead over Republicans in voter registration, have comfortable legislative majorities and hold every statewide office except the secretary of state’s, the energy crisis is providing valuable fuel for the GOP. 

Republicans already have unleashed attacks on Davis and the Democrat-controlled Legislature for what they call lack of action to prevent statewide rolling blackouts and record electricity rate hikes. 

In addition, consumer advocates are threatening a ratepayer revolt on the 2002 ballot, planning to sponsor an initiative that would share the ballot with Davis. 

The governor’s first GOP challenger in 2002, Secretary of State Bill Jones, announced last week that the state’s power crisis will be a centerpiece of his campaign. 

Davis plans to address the delegates Saturday. The speech is expected to focus on energy and Saturday’s first-ever state holiday honoring United Farm Workers union founder Cesar Chavez. 

Davis will play host at an invitation-only party Friday night at Disney’s new California Adventure theme park, where party officials say actor Martin Sheen might make an appearance. 

On Saturday, some 2,000 delegates are expected to unanimously re-elect party chairman Art Torres, who is unopposed for a second four-year term. 

The election likely will be a stark contrast from the state GOP convention last month, when the party narrowly elected Beverly Hills conservative Shawn Steel over moderate Brooks Firestone in a contentious campaign that consumed much of the three-day event. 

Also scheduled to speak at the Democratic convention: Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe; U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; and U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who unseated GOP Rep. Robert K. Dornan in 1996 in traditionally Republican Orange County. 

On the Net: 

Read the convention agenda at http://www.ca-dem.org

LAS VEGAS — The days of fumbling for enough change to buy that candy bar from the vending machine are over. Whip out your cell phone, call a number and charge the candy bar to your bill. 

Vending machines are going high-tech. Customers can get weather and news updates while choosing a soda or use credit cards and cell phones to pay for a bag of trail mix. 

“It’s getting people who don’t have the correct change,” Jason Allen, account director for Atlanta-based Marconi Online Systems, said Thursday during the Spring National Automatic Merchandising Association conference. 

About 6,000 vending operators are attending the show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, where 250 exhibitors displayed their latest food products, trends and technology. 

Remember the frustration when a machine wouldn’t accept a dollar bill? What about being a nickel short to buy that soda? The agony! 

This is the convention of solutions. Marconi Online created the cell phone purchase concept to end those pet peeves.  

Customers approach a machine with their phone, dial an 800 number, enter the machine’s code and soon, the snack is delivered. The charge shows up on the customer’s cell bill. 

The company predicts the new machines will be in operation in 12 to 18 months. 

Machines also are being designed to accept credit or debit cards for a small fee. As you wait, check out the day’s news headlines or the weather report on a computer screen. 

If it seems like an awful lot of time to be spending at a vending machine, the company isn’t worried. “It’s no more difficult than making a phone call,” Allen said. 

Vending machines are a $36 billion a year business. Of course, soda remains the most popular item, but for snacks, Snickers candy bars win the contest, according to NAMA, the trade association for the vending industry. 

“It’s really the unsung hero of feeding people,” said Dan Mathews, senior vice president and chief operating officer of NAMA. 

Vending machines have come a long way since 1876, when NAMA says the first machine sold sticks of gum for 1 cent in the New York City subway system.  

Now, it’s gourmet coffee, fresh french fries in 45 seconds, fresh popped popcorn, ice cream and frozen meals. 

Insert money in an ice cream machine at the show and a robotic arm opens a freezer, selects an ice cream bar by sucking it up with a vacuum hose and delivers it to the buyer.  

Another company wants to know what consumers think of buying frozen pizza from a vending machine. The only problem? It’s frozen and has to be cooked in an oven. 

“Delicious,” said Gary Netolicky, sampling a cup of popcorn from a new machine. He was tasting products for his wife’s company, Video Vending, Inc. of Ames, Iowa. 

Another company, Computer Associates of Islandia, N.Y., developed software that, through wireless technology, lets vending machine operators see what products need to be restocked without having to visit the machines. 

But what about that annoying little problem you swear always happens to you? The money goes in, but the snack gets stuck and won’t come out. 

There’s a solution – finally – to that, too. Crane National Vendors of Bridgeton, Mo., created “SureVend,” a machine with sensors that can tell if the product dropped or not. If it didn’t, a motor rotates until it does. 

On the Net: 

http://www.vending.org

SAN DIEGO — Gateway Inc. shuttered 27 of its stores around the country this week as part of a broad strategy to improve the bottom line at the nation’s fourth-largest computer maker, company officials said Thursday. 

About 500 Gateway Country Store employees were notified Monday that the stores they worked in were closing immediately. They will be offered jobs elsewhere within the company, said Bart Brown, senior vice president of the company’s consumer division. 

“This is just part of our back-to-the-basics strategy,” Brown said. “We determined we could maintain the same coverage with fewer stores.” 

Nine of the closing stores are in California, with all but one in the greater Los Angeles area. Three stores are in Virginia; two each in Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Texas; and one each in Georgia, Indiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Utah. 

The 299 remaining stores are a key part of the company’s mission of “humanizing the digital revolution.” Shoppers enter a welcoming environment decorated with the company’s trademark cow spots where they can try out Gateway products. Free training clinics are offered to help users beef up their computer skills. 

“It’s all about customer satisfaction,” Gateway spokesman Brad Williams said. “That’s what built our company up more than any advertising campaign.” 

Brett Miller, an analyst with A.G. Edwards & Sons, remains a fan of the stores, but applauded the closures, saying the company had oversaturated large metropolitan areas. 

“The store is a wonderful concept,” he said, offering a unique relationship with the customer. “Every store I’m in – and I’m in quite a few –I’m seeing people who know the person behind the counter on a first-name basis,” Miller said. 

The closures come after Gateway’s stock took a beating since July, falling more than 75 percent. While investors have been fleeing technology stocks, Gateway’s shares fell harder than any of its larger rivals – Hewlett-Packard Co., Compaq Computer Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. 

Investors felt the company lost its focus of delivering the best products at the lowest prices, Miller said. 

“We’ve got a jittery market to begin with,” he said. “Then you’ve got a company going through a formidable restructuring.” 

The store closings continue a round of belt-tightening at Gateway that began in January, when the company announced it would lay off about 3,000 of its 24,000 workers and take a charge of between $150 million and $275 million in the first quarter related to restructuring. 

About 140 jobs at Gateway’s computer network server plant in Orange County are being eliminated. Operations will be shifted to an existing manufacturing plant in North Sioux City, S.D. by the end of March, spokeswoman Donna Kather said. 

Co-founded in 1985 by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ted Waitt in an Iowa farmhouse, Gateway reported revenues of $9.6 billion last year. Waitt retook the helm as CEO in January. 

NEW YORK — Earnings worries thwarted the stock market for a second straight session Thursday, making for a choppy and ultimately directionless day on Wall Street. 

Analysts said the market is unsure about what to expect when profit reports begin next week. End-of-the-quarter buying and selling by portfolio managers also influenced trading. “It’s the same basic problem: earnings,” said Larry Wachtel, market analyst at Prudential Securities. “The market is going to act like this until investors have a better of idea of where the economy is headed.” 

The market’s sour mood reflects a mix of worry about the economy and doubts about when the Federal Reserve will next lower interest rates. The Fed, which has already cut rates three times this year, is expected to act again at its mid-May meeting. Many investors would like to see another reduction before then, 

— The Associated Press 

The government’s gross domestic product figures released Thursday showed the economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.0 percent during the last three months of 2000, the weakest performance in more than five years. But the number of new claims for state unemployment insurance fell last week, although the level still suggests employers’ needs have decreased. 

Analysts attributed some of the market’s volatility to professional money managers who have been buying and selling to give their portfolios the best results possible when the fiscal quarter ends Friday. Institutional buyers make up the bulk of trading activity on U.S. stock markets and exchanges. 

Declining issues outnumbered advancers 15 to 14 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 1.47 billion shares, compared with 1.53 billion Wednesday. 

The Russell 2000 index slid 0.67 to 441.53. 

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average tumbled 5.0 percent in reaction to Wednesday’s technology losses in the United States. The declines were less severe in Europe. Germany’s DAX index was down 1.1 percent, Britain’s FT-SE 100 was off 0.5 percent, and France’s CAC-40 slid 0.1 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com 

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com 

NEW YORK — Earnings worries thwarted the stock market for a second straight session Thursday, making for a choppy and ultimately directionless day on Wall Street. 

Analysts said the market is unsure about what to expect when profit reports begin next week. End-of-the-quarter buying and selling by portfolio managers also influenced trading. “It’s the same basic problem: earnings,” said Larry Wachtel, market analyst at Prudential Securities. “The market is going to act like this until investors have a better of idea of where the economy is headed.” 

The market’s sour mood reflects a mix of worry about the economy and doubts about when the Federal Reserve will next lower interest rates. The Fed, which has already cut rates three times this year, is expected to act again at its mid-May meeting. Many investors would like to see another reduction before then, 

— The Associated Press 

The government’s gross domestic product figures released Thursday showed the economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.0 percent during the last three months of 2000, the weakest performance in more than five years. But the number of new claims for state unemployment insurance fell last week, although the level still suggests employers’ needs have decreased. 

Analysts attributed some of the market’s volatility to professional money managers who have been buying and selling to give their portfolios the best results possible when the fiscal quarter ends Friday. Institutional buyers make up the bulk of trading activity on U.S. stock markets and exchanges. 

Declining issues outnumbered advancers 15 to 14 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 1.47 billion shares, compared with 1.53 billion Wednesday. 

The Russell 2000 index slid 0.67 to 441.53. 

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average tumbled 5.0 percent in reaction to Wednesday’s technology losses in the United States. The declines were less severe in Europe. Germany’s DAX index was down 1.1 percent, Britain’s FT-SE 100 was off 0.5 percent, and France’s CAC-40 slid 0.1 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com 

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com 

Faced with a critical shortage of teachers for English as a Second Language classes, adult schools throughout the East Bay are holding a job fair tonight, from 7 to 8:30, at the Contra Costa County Office of Education, 77 Santa Barbara Rd., Pleasant Hill. 

“The students are just bulging through the walls, we have so many people taking our ESL classes,” said Kay Wade, evening ESL coordinator at Berkeley Adult School on University Avenue. 

Wade said the Berkeley Adult School has seen its ESL enrollment grow from about 1,000 students a day last year to about 1,500 students a day this year.  

The school’s 40 ESL teachers have to teach classes of 45 adults or more in classrooms designed for junior high students, Wade said. 

“Lots of times we don’t even have places for people to sit,” Wade said, explaining that the ideal ESL class size would be in the 25 to 30 student range. 

Applicants for ESL teaching jobs must have completed a master’s program to become credentialed ESL teachers, Wade said.  

A specialist will be on hand tonight to tell interested people how to obtain credentials, she said. 

Most ESL teaching positions are part time, Wade said.  

Berkeley ESL students are from Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America, among other places, Wade said. Many are UC Berkeley staff or their spouses, she said. 

“It’s just a fabulous job,” Wade said. “It’s like visiting another country without having to leave home.”  

To get to the Contra Costa County Office of Education from Berkeley take Highway 24 east to the Pleasant Hill Road exit. Travel north on Pleasant Hill Road and then veer right onto Geary Road. Take Geary Road to Monte Cresta Road and turn left.  

For more information on the job fair, call Kay Wade at  

644-6130.

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis urged lawmakers Tuesday to quickly approve $1.12 billion in energy conservation incentives to ease a warm-weather power crunch he said could hit as early as next month. 

The Assembly Appropriations Committee approved one conservation bill after changing it, over the author’s objections, to limit how much agricultural customers could have power shut off during rolling blackouts. 

The chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee put off a vote on another conservation measure at least until Wednesday, saying senators needed more time to study the legislation. 

Davis met for about two hours with Senate Democrats and urged them to pass the conservation bills this week so the programs start working as soon as possible.  

The two bills have been moving slowly through the Legislature for the last month. 

The governor’s office announced later in the day that Davis had requested time from television stations for a five-minute statement Thursday evening on the energy situation. Aides said Davis would make an “important announcement.” 

Meanwhile, Davis also launched a public relations effort Tuesday, sending national and state media an update on his efforts to solve the energy crisis. The two-page debut explained that the state has entered into 19 long-term contracts with power suppliers. 

The governor said the state could face its biggest power shortage in May or June because new power plants capable of producing 4,000 megawatts of electricity won’t be coming online until late in the summer. 

“Usually, the challenge is in August and September,” he said in a dimly lit hallway outside the Senate lounge. “This year it may well come in May or June.” 

He said he hoped to avoid more rolling blackouts, but he added, “We are hoping for the best and planning for the worst.” 

One of the conservation bills, by Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, would allocate $408 million for energy efficiency and conservation programs, including $50 million for rebates for consumers who buy new, more energy-efficient refrigerators. 

The bill also includes $60 million to distribute subcompact fluorescent lights and other energy-saving devices through community organizations. 

\• $50 million for grants or loans to low-income residents or small businesses to make buildings more energy efficient. 

• $50 million for large businesses that install electricity meters that charge the customer more for power during peak demand periods. 

The Senate Appropriations Committee discussed the bill for more than an hour Tuesday but put off a vote at least until Wednesday. 

The other measure, by Sen. Byron Sher, D-Stanford, was sent to the Assembly floor Tuesday by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. 

It would allot $710 million for conservation and efficiency efforts, including $240 million to help low-income Californians weatherize their homes and pay their natural gas and electricity bills. 

It also includes $50 million for incentives for agri-businesses to buy energy-efficient equipment and $50 million to install energy-saving technology in state buildings. 

Sher objected to an amendment added by the committee to allow officials to cut off power to agricultural customers no more than four hours a day and 20 hours a month during power emergencies. 

Sher said the amendment had no place in a conservation bill. 

The committee’s chairwoman, Assemblywoman Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, said the amendment was pushed by Assembly leaders and refused to change it. 

The meeting with Senate Democrats was the second that Davis has talked behind closed doors with lawmakers to discuss the state’s energy crisis. He met with Assembly Democrats last week and plans to sit down with Assembly Republicans on Wednesday. 

In a speech Saturday to the state Democratic Party convention, Davis said Republicans caused the state’s power problems by pushing for utility deregulation. He also complained they had not offered a “constructive, comprehensive solution to the problem.” 

Asked what he would tell GOP lawmakers Wednesday, the Democratic governor said he would “explain the challenge and just tell them they can be part of the solution or part of the problem.” 

Although there were some raised voices during Tuesday’s meeting, Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Martinez, said the session with Davis was “very positive” and that he was “much more confident” about how the state is dealing with its power problems. 

“We got some good information we had not had before,” he said. 

But Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Daly City, said Davis and his aides didn’t know if the state’s two biggest utilities had followed a Public Utilities Commission order to set aside money to repay the state for its power purchases. 

She said if the utilities go bankrupt “that money could be sucked up” by other creditors. 

MANILA, Philippines — President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered “all-out war” on a band of Muslim extremists Monday, hours after they vowed to behead a U.S. hostage to mark the president’s 54th birthday. 

“We will pursue every one of them relentlessly,” Arroyo said of the Abu Sayyaf group in the southern Philippines. “We shall annihilate them. We will never, ever negotiate with them.” 

The attack order comes as Arroyo prepares for peace talks with communist rebels of the New People’s Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a larger Muslim rebel group. 

Hours before Arroyo’s announcement, Abu Sabaya, an Abu Sayyaf leader, told the local Radio Mindanao Network that his men will kill Jeffrey Schilling on Thursday evening, the president’s birthday. 

Abu Sayyaf beheaded two Filipino hostages last year, on April 19, as a “birthday gift” to then-President Joseph Estrada as he turned 63. 

The Abu Sayyaf has set, and missed, several self-imposed deadlines to kill Schilling, a 25-year-old resident of Oakland in recent months. Schilling has been held captive since August. 

Sabaya tried to convince authorities Monday that he is serious this time. “We are not joking,” he said. “You better inform his mother in the U.S. about his execution so she may talk for the last time to her son.” 

In an e-mail message, Schilling’s mother, Carol Schilling, appealed to the rebel leader “to spare my son. He has already suffered tremendously at your hands. There is nothing to be gained from harming Jeffrey.” 

In contrast to her conciliatory statement to other insurgents, Arroyo said Monday that any Abu Sayyaf member who voluntarily surrenders will face charges anyway. The government has offered amnesty in the past to surrendered members of other armed groups. 

“They are a money-crazed gang of criminals,” Arroyo said. “They have no ideology.” 

Arroyo said she talked to U.S. officials in the Philippines before ordering the assault and they backed the action. 

Military Chief of Staff Diomedio Villanueva said Monday the Abu Sayyaf has 1,200 armed members. 

Abu Sayyaf, which says it is fighting for a Muslim homeland, operates mainly on the island of Jolo, about 580 miles south of Manila. 

Estrada ordered a mass assault last September, using the navy to blockade Jolo while artillery and bomber airplanes pummeled the island to make way for mass infantry attacks. Some 80,000 civilians were displaced and the military said it killed more than 150 rebels. Sporadic clashes have continued since Estrada’s one-month assault. 

Arroyo’s administration is scheduled to start peace talks April 27 with communist rebels of the New People’s Army, which is fighting nationwide to overthrow the government. Arroyo said her government will also start peace talks with the MILF, fighting for an independent Muslim state in the southern region of Mindanao, within three months. 

Abu Sayyaf, the smallest of the three major insurgency groups, shot to international renown last year after seizing dozens of hostages, many of them foreigners, in daring raids.  

It released all but two hostages — Schilling and Filipino dive resort worker Roland Ullah, for reported multimillion dollar ransoms. 

In his latest comment, Sabaya said the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the Philippines, Al Ghamby, could save Schilling’s life if he visits the rebels before Thursday. 

He did not say why he wanted to speak to Ghamby. The embassy wasn’t immediately available for comment. 

Military officials have been puzzled by Schilling’s relations with the Abu Sayyaf. 

Schilling, a Muslim convert, was taken by the rebels after he visited their camp in Jolo on Aug. 31. Schilling was accompanied by girlfriend Ivy Osani, Sabaya’s cousin. Osani was freed after the rebels seized Schilling. 

The Julia Morgan Center for the Arts has been awarded its first major grant under new board and executive leadership. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation will invest $150,000 so the JMCA can develop a pilot program based on the Lincoln Center Institute, a unique arts education program of New York's Lincoln Center. 

The funds will help develop a program of "aesthetic education" which trains professional artists as "teaching artists" who, in turn, train classroom teachers in the same LCI method. Artists and teachers then pair up to take the method back into the classroom for the benefit of students. 

The Lincoln Center Institute model of aesthetic education has been in practice for 25 years in New York and has been successfully replicated in 21 affiliated institutes around the world. The programs provide intensely personal learning opportunities in the arts for teachers and students. 

This year alone, LCI affiliated institutes are touching thousands of teachers and 1.5 million students around the nation, in Australia and Hong Kong. 

"The impact (of the grant) is not just financial, enabling us to launch the Northern California presence of this terrific arts and education process. We can see the impact in the quality of eyebrow raising when we tell people about the Hewlett Foundation's support. The eyebrows go way up and are accompanied by that thoughtful kind of 'oh, really' smile that conveys respect. This significant grant is opening a lot of great conversations for us with other potential funders,” said Sabrina Klein, new executive director of the JMCA. 

Board and staff of the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts have been planning for the past year to establish an LCI affiliated institute starting in June of this year 

The Hewlett grant now makes this possible. The JMCA is one of five additional affiliated institutes to emerge this year.  

"We propose that the model we develop this year will be extended over the next 10 years to become the largest such institute outside New York," Klein said. 

The grant period runs through February of 2002 and underwrites planning and outreach, artist training, a two-week summer intensive for 40 teachers from at least eight Bay Area schools, and partial support for implementing the model at the schools for one year.  

So far, participating schools for the coming school year include Thousand Oaks and Longfellow middle schools in Berkeley, Mira Vista in Richmond and Irvington High School in Fremont. 

The teaching artists who take part in the program will lead the teachers through a two-week intensive process that allows them to become intimate with works of art.  

The teachers return to the classroom and, with the teaching artists, team-teach their students using the same methods and same works of art.  

Teacher and student alike gain a new, deeper and more personal experience of and understanding of art. Studies have shown this deeper appreciation of art can last a lifetime. 

In addition to Executive Director Klein, the new leadership at the JMCA is comprised of Elizabeth McKoy and Tim Choate, who together have invested more than $500,000 in the new JMCA in the past two years. Skip Franklin, William Byrne, Judith McKoy and Gail Simpson make up the rest of the board. 

With the goal of nurturing the artist in each of us, the JMCA seeks to break down barriers to art in everyday life. Through its aesthetic education program based on the LCI model, the JMCA puts the artist in the classroom so that teacher and student alike experience the arts first hand.  

This approach is designed to remind us all that artists are an indispensable part of our community and that art is for everyone.

Berkeley Unified School District classified employees were looking forward to collecting their March pay checks Friday because of 6 percent raises approved by the school board last week, retroactive to July 1 of last year.  

But they got even more than they bargained for. 

Because of computer difficulties and clerical errors, members of Public Employees Union Local One – clerks, secretaries, accountants and maintenance personnel, among others – received double the amount they should have received for the retroactive payments. 

The employees were supposed to receive their retroactive raises for the last eight months in one lump sum on Friday’s pay check, but they got the sum times two. Since Berkeley teachers received a retroactive raise last spring after successful contract negotiations, the district was eager to get raises to their classified employees, said BUSD Public Information Officer Karen Sarlo. As a result, Sarlo said, the process was “kind of rushed.”  

Sarlo said district clerical staff didn’t catch the error until late Thursday, at which point district administrators decided that it would be unfair to withhold the checks for one week in order to correct the error. Instead, they opted to pay the employees as scheduled and then withhold an amount equal to Friday’s unexpected bonus from a future paycheck. Sarlo said the district will withhold the amount from classified employees’ May pay checks, giving the district a month to work through glitches in its new payroll computer system and calculate just how much it overpaid each employee.

Trying to keep your home comfortable while preventing your utility bill from going through the roof can be a balancing act. 

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a whopping 44 percent of the average American utility bill goes for heating and cooling. Clearly, this figure is less for more energy-efficient homes and more for drafty homes with gas-guzzling furnaces. That you can enjoy comfort and a low utility bill without taking additional steps to ensure these conditions is wishful thinking. 

No matter what kind of heating system you have, you can save money and increase comfort by properly maintaining and upgrading your equipment. But remember, an energy-efficient furnace alone will not have as great an impact on your energy bills as using the whole-house approach. You may have a top-of-the-line, energy-efficient furnace, but if the ducts leak and are not insulated, and your walls, attic, windows and doors are not insulated, your energy bills will remain high. 

By using proper equipment maintenance and upgrades with appropriate insulation, weatherization, and thermostat settings, you can cut your energy bills and greatly improve comfort. 

Regardless of the type of heating or cooling system you have, keeping it in tiptop operating shape comes first. Replacing a dirty filter is one of the simplest and most obvious maintenance tasks. Clean or replace the filter monthly during the heating season. Depending upon the filter style, a new filter can cost from $1 to $5, but can reduce your heating bill between 1 percent and 4 percent. Moreover, a clogged filter can reduce airflow and thus the efficiency of the furnace. 

On older furnaces, a loose fan belt that drives the blower is a common energy-waster. A furnace that makes a screeching sound when it kicks on is a sure sign of a loose or deteriorated fan belt. To inspect, adjust or replace the fan belt, simply remove the furnace front panel to expose the belt. Depress it with your finger; it should give no more than an inch (1/2 to 3/4 of an inch is normal). Use a wrench to loosen the fan motor adjustment bolt(s) and move the motor away to tighten the belt and closer to loosen it. These steps also can be used to replace a worn or damaged belt. 

Are you heatingor cooling your attic or crawl space? Crushed, deteriorating or damaged ducts are a tremendous source of wasted energy.  

Annually inspect the condition of the ducts – especially where sections are joined. Repair or replace damaged sections and ensure that all joints are airtight, using a metal duct tape. This metal reinforced tape is stronger than the traditional fabric duct tape. 

Are some rooms too hot or too cold? Try adjusting the dampers at the registers (adjusting them closed in rooms that are too hot and opening them in rooms that are too cold). I 

f your system has them, you can control the amount of air going through a warm-air duct by adjusting the dampers located within the ducts. 

Perhaps your furnace needs a boost – a booster fan, that is. Booster fans can be used at either the register, within a duct, or at both locations. A register booster fan, found at most hardware stores for $25 to $50, is installed in place of the standard register cover. The fan is designed to kick in when it detects a small amount of warm air coming from the furnace. 

If that doesn’t do the trick, and you need more horsepower, consider installing a low-wattage in-duct booster fan.  

As the name implies, this booster fan is installed in the duct and is usually wired to the main furnace blower fan to kick on at the same time.  

It can also be wired to a separate thermostat or to a manual switch when more air is needed in a particular room. An in-duct booster fan will set you back a bit more than the register-mount model. Plan to spend about $200 to $500 for professional installation by a heating contractor. 

Before running off to the hardware store or calling in a contractor, you might be able to take the chill off by simply moving a piece of furniture. Often, the return air duct (the duct that draws air into the furnace) or the register (the return air supply through which heat is delivered) is obstructed by a piece of furniture or heavy drapes prohibiting each from doing an efficient job.  

Making sure there is ample clearance in front of each of these registers can solve this. Plastic air deflectors can also be installed at locations where drapes or other window treatments impair the performance of supply registers. 

There are many other steps that you can take to improve comfort and energy-efficiency: 

• Cut down on drafts by caulking or weather-stripping around windows and doors. 

• Check the condition of your insulation. Do you have enough, and is it in good condition? Compressed insulation loses its value. Many utility companies offer a free energy audit that uses infrared technology to identify heat loss. 

• Installing a setback thermostat will give you heat when you most need it and will shut the system off when no one is at home. 

• Turn down the thermostat. Turning the temperature down just one degree can reduce your heating bill by 2 percent to 3 percent. Thus, turning the thermostat down from 72 F to 68 F can reduce your heating bill by up to 12 percent. Set the thermostat for 62 F at night or if you’re at work all day. 

• Close the fireplace damper when the fireplace is not in use. 

• Vacuum vents and registers, and have the furnace and ducts professionally cleaned. 

• Install decorative ceiling paddle fans and run them in the reverse direction to circulate hot air trapped at ceilings. 

• Open window coverings to allow sunshine in and to create natural air currents. Be sure to close them at night. 

• Finally, don’t forget that one of the best ways to take the chill off is by throwing on a sweater. 

For more home improvement tips and information, visit www.onthehouse.com.