The No. 4 California Golden Bears swept the Santa Clara Broncos in a mid-week doubleheader, 8-1 and 2-0. The Bears used 12 hits in game one and another six in the nightcap to help improve their record to 47-8 overall. The Broncos fall to 14-33 on the year.  

Cal broke the first game open in the fourth inning, scoring three runs on two hits. Candace Harper, Veronica Nelson and Paige Bowie each drove in a run in the inning to give Cal a 5-1 lead.  

The Bears plated an unearned run in the fifth and two more in the sixth on a two-run homer by Nelson.  

Forest pitched six innings of one-run three-hit ball with eight strikeouts to earn the win and improve to 25-5 on the season. Jen Deering pitched a scoreless seventh in a non-save opportunity.  

The fourth inning was good to the Bears again in the second game, as Nelson sent a shot to deep left-center field, clearing the wall with ease for her 18th homer on the season, giving Cal an insurance run for the eventual 2-0 final. Nelson’s roundtripper gives her 18 on the year, adding to her single-season home run record as well as the Cal career homer record (32).  

After a leadoff single by SCU’s Sydney Wiginton to open the game, Cal senior Nicole DiSalvio got the next 21 batters out in order to win her 17th decision with only three losses. DiSalvio also fanned four Bronco batters.  

Friday, Cal heads to No. 2 UCLA for continued Pac-10 competition at Easton Field, at 2 p.m., and then travels up to No. 13 Washington for a two-game series. Saturday’s game starts at 2 p.m.

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 exuberant 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; “Ricky Swallow/Matrix 191,” Including new sculptures and drawings; Through May 27 $6 general; $4 seniors and students age 12 to 18; children age 12 and under free; free Thursday, 11 a.m. to noon and Wednesday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; 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 

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 27: Atom & His Package, Phantom Limbs, Har Mar Superstar, The Frisk, Shubunkins; April 28: 7 Seconds, Throwdown, Vitamin X, Over My Dead Body, Breaker Breaker; May 4: Plan 9, Zodiac Killers, Reverend B. Dangerous Freakshow, Dory Tourette & The Skirtheads, Knockoffs; May 5: Shikabane, Phobia, Harum Scarum, Vulgar Pigeons, Insidious Sorrow 525-9926  

Ashkenaz April 27, 8 p.m.: Musicians for Medical Marijuana Benefit featuring Fact or Fiction with Martin Fierro, Shelly Doty X-Tet; April 28, 9:30 p.m.: Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums, 8 p.m. dance lesson; April 29, 9 p.m.: Clinton Fearon & Boogie Brown Band, DJ Edwin The Selector; 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 Door open at 8 p.m. April 27: Carlos Zialcita; April 28: J.J. Malone; May 4: Henry Clement; May 5: Terry Hanck; May 11: Jimmy Mamou; May 12: Fillmore Slim 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland 655-6661  

Freight & Salvage All music at 8 p.m. April 27: Sol Y Canto; April 28: Roy Rogers & Norton Buffalo; April 29: Bryan Bowers; April 30: Sharon Shannon; May 1: Casey Neill Trio, Spiral Bound; may 3: Lorin Rowan Trio; May 4: cris Williamson; May 5, 10 a.m. - Noon: West Coast Live with author P.D. James and Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser; May 5: R. Crumb 7 The Cheap Suit Serenaders; May 6; Terry Riley, George Brooks & Gyan Riley; May 12, 10 a.m. - Noon: West Coast Live with authors Adair Lara and Janis Newman, and the Acoustic Guitar Summit guitar quartet. 1111 Addison St. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jazzschool/La Note All music at 4:30 p.m. May 6: David Creamer Trio; May 13: Michael Zilber Group 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 or visit www.jazzschool.com  

La Pena Cultural Center May 3, 8 p.m.: Third Eye Movement presents Deuce, Eclipse, Soul Sista Soul, Red Guard, Jahi, plus others; May 5, 9 p.m.: Chicano de Mayo Celebration dance with O-Maya, Yaksi, DJ Corazon & La Viuda Negra, plus poets Leticia Hernandez and Robert Karimi; May 11, 8 p.m.: Erika Luckett, Irina Rivkin & Making Waves, Gwen Avery, Shelly Doty X-tet; May 12, 10:30 a.m.: Colibri; May 13, 4 p.m.: In the Cafe La Pena - Community Juerga; May 17, 8 p.m.: Tribu; 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 or www.lapena.org  

Cal Performances April 28, 8 p.m.: Vanguard Swing Orchestra, UC Berkeley Big Band $18 - $30; April 29, 3 p.m.: Mezzo-Soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson sings Handel, Lieberson, and Schumann $28 - $48 642-9988 or www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

The Pirate Prince April 29, 8 p.m. The first production for the new Hillside Players. Princesses, pirates, witches and modern dialogue in a family-geared show. Free admission, reservations required Hillside Club 2286 Cedar St. 528-2416  

“Rome Wasn’t Burnt In A Day” April 27, 7:30 p.m. Earth First! campfire singer/songwriter Danny Dolinger playing songs of love, revolution, bravery, cowardice and group hygiene. $5 Unitarian Fellowship Hall 1924 Cedar (at Bonita) 548-3113 

Community Music Day at the Crowden School and Crowden Center for Music April 28, 1-5 p.m. Music and dance performances and storytelling. Families can make their own instruments, watch a master violin maker at work, or go to the Instrument Petting Zoo to try playing different instruments. Rose Street at Sacramento in Berkeley. Free. Call 559-6910.  

Russian Chamber Orchestra April 28, 8 p.m. Featuring Piano Soloist Yakov Kasman, Soprano Svetlana Niktenko, and the Konevets, a vocal quartet from St. Petersburg. First Congregational Church 2345 Channing Way 415-478-2277 

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. 525-5393 or www.bellamusic.org 

“Music from the Mediterranean and Beyond” April 29, 2 p.m. Zahra combines Arab folk roots with the groove and influences of modern music $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 www.juliamorgan.org 

Community Women’s Orchestra Family Concert April 29, 4 p.m. Conducted by Ann Krinitsky, featuring works by Rossini, Richter, Beethoven. Free or by donation. Piano solo by Dr. Pearl Toy. Malcolm X School 1731 Prince St. 653-1616 

Chamber Music from Crowden School May 1, 7 - 8 p.m. The final installment of the Young Emerging Artists Series, Crowden presents some of its most talented string-instrument players. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 www.juliamorgan.org 

UC Dance Theater Spring 2001 Season Program A: April 27, 28, 8 p.m. A premiere of “Soulmate” by Marni Wood, “New Work” by Anne Westwick and “New Work” by Christopher Dolder with original music by Edwin Dugger. Program B: April 28, 29, 2 p.m. “Esplanade” by Paul Taylor, reconstructed by Mary Cochran, “American Decades” by David Wood, “Le Matin sans Minuet” by Christopher Dolder, and “Treading” by Christopher Dolder $6 - $12 Zellerbach Playhouse UC Berkeley 601-8932 

Reflejos de Mexico April 28, 2 p.m. The dance troupe celebrates the vast richness of the Mexican culture. Park of Dance Week. $10 - $12 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

Odissi Dance April 28, 7 p.m. Reputed to be the most lyrical of the seven main forms of Indian classical dance with its liquidity of movement and graceful expression. $18 - $28 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 www.juliamorgan.org 

Music and Dance of Bali May 5, 8 p.m., May 6, 2 p.m. Forty-five member ensemble Gamelan Sekar Jaya presents rhythms of Balinese gamelan in an orchestra of gongs, drums, flutes and bronze metallophones accompanied by several of Bali’s skilled dancers. $8-$16 Saturday, $5-$10 Sunday Julia Morgan Theatre 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 www.juliamorgan.org 

“Dance! The Soul Behind the Art” May 11, 8 p.m. The Attitude Dance Company presents jazz, hip hop, lyrical, street funk, modern and tap dancing. $6 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300  

“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. 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 

“Death of a Salesman” Through 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 

“Big Love” by Charles L. Mee Through June 10 Directed by Les Waters and loosely based on the Greek Drama, “The Suppliant Woman,” by Aeschylus. Fifty brides who are being forced to marry fifty brothers flee to a peaceful villa on the Italian coast in search of sanctuary. $15.99 - $51 Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 

“Slings and Arrows: Love Stories from Shakespearean Tragedies” written and directed by Rebecca Goodberg and developed by the ensemble and “Blue Roses” conceptualized and directed by Christian Schneider. Thursday-Sunday, 7 p.m. through May 5. $10 La Val’s Subterranean Theatre 1834 Euclid Ave. 655-0813  

Interplay Fest! May 4, 8 p.m. May 5, 3:30 - 8 p.m., May 6, 3 p.m. A full weekend of performances by Wing It! Performance Ensemble, Cultural InterPlay Ensemble, and the Art of InterPlay Ensemble. Weekend Pass: $15, Individual performances, $7 - $10 First Congregational Church of Berkeley 2345 Channing Way (at Dana) 814-9584 

“The Musical Tree of India” May 13, 2 p.m. Tears of Joy Puppet Theatre present this legend from tribal India. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

“The Misanthrope” by Moliere May 18 - June 10, Fri - Sun, 8 p.m. Berkeley-based Women in Time Productions presents this comic love story full of riotous wooing, venomous scheming and provocative dialogue. $17 - $20 Il Teatro 450 449 Powell St. 415-433-1172 www.womenintime.com 

“Epicenter” April 27 & 28 7:30 p.m., April 28 2 p.m. Premiere of 21-year-old Jonathan Whittle-Utter’s play billed as “A Psychodrama of Paradigm Shifts.” A student production about a troubled marriage, secret society warfare and the end of the world, the degradation of western philosophy. $8-$10 Zellerbach Room 7 Studio (underneath the auditorium) UC Berkeley Campus 444-7063 www.BayStage.com  

The far side of the moon May 3 - 5, 8 p.m. May 5, 2 p.m. and May 6, 3 p.m. A solo performance by Canadian writer, actor and director Robert Lepage with an original score by Laurie Anderson. $30 - $46 Zellerbach Playhouse Bancroft at Dana UC Berkeley 642-9988  

Films 

San Francisco International Film Festival Through May 3 Thirty-five features and more than two dozen short films from twenty-seven nations will be shown. $9 Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-5249 

“Slaves of Free Trade” May 1, 7:30 p.m. Also poet Jack Hirschman, singers Carol Denney, Larry Shaw, Pam Pam, and the La Pena Choir. Also a report on Kurdish prisoner and legislator Lela Zana and a video on Korean Daewoo auto workers. A May Day celebration. $7 La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck (at Prince)  

“Women’s Evening at the Movies” May 5, 7:30 - 10 p.m. Jennifer Tilly stars in “Bound,” as a mob man’s mistress who becomes lovers with a sexy handywoman. Join a great group of bi, lesbian, transgender and queer women to watch the flick and munch on junk food. $5 donation requested Pacific Center 2712 Telegraph Ave. 548-8283 or www.pacificcenter.org 

“Mirele Efros” May 13, 2 - 4:30 p.m. Jacob Gordin’s classic story set in turn-of the century Grodno. A classic study in family relations. Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center Cinema 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237 x127 

Exhibits 

“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 

Art of Maia Huang & Brenda Vanoni Through April 28, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. !hey! Gallery 4920-B Telegraph Ave. (at 51st) Oakland 428-2349 

“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. Flora Hewlett Library Graduate Theological Union 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541 

“The Distance Between Us” Through May 4 The photographs of Mimi Chakarova depicting South African townships, inland parishes in Jamaica and her most recent work in Cuba. Photographs about people and their incredible will to survive regardless of the circumstances. Graduate School of Journalism North Gate Hall UC Berkeley 

“The Sands of Time” Arab/Muslim sculptures and ceramics of Khalil Bendib. Through May 5, Monday - Thursday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. or call for appointment Mussi Artworks Foundry & Gallery 719 Heintz Ave. Space 10 644-2735 

Youth Arts Festival A city-wide celebration of art, music, dance and poetry by youth from the Berkeley Unified School District. Featuring paintings, drawings, sculpture and ceramics by K-8 students Through May 12, Wednesday - Sunday, Noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St.  

“The Art of Meadowsweet Dairy” Objects found in nature, reworked and turned into objects of art. Through May 15, call for hours Current Gallery at the Crucible 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511  

“Scapes/Escapes” Ink, Acrylic, Mixed Media by Evelyn Glaubman May 1 - June 1 Tuesday - Thursday, 9 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. Gallery of the Center for Psychological Studies 1398 Solano Ave. Albany 524-0291 

“Watercolors and Mixed Media” by Pamela Markmann Monday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. A retrospective of 30 years’ work at Markmann’s Berkeley studio. Red Oak Gallery 2983 College Ave. 526-4613  

“Elemental” The art of Linda Mieko Allen May 2 - June 9, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Reception: May 2, 6 - 8 p.m. Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth St. 527-1214 www.traywick.com 

Berkeley Potters Guild Spring Show and Sale May 5, 6, 12, 13, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Fifteen artists open their personal studios to the public and offer pieces for sale. Berkeley Potters Guild 731 Jones St. 524-7031 www.berkeleypotters.com  

“Alive in Her: Icons of the Goddess” Through June 19, Tuesday - Thursday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Photography, collage, and paintings by Joan Beth Clair. Opening reception May 3, 4 - 6 p.m. Pacific School of Religion 1798 Scenic Ave. 848-0528 

Bernard Maisner: Illuminated Manuscripts & Paintings. Through Aug. 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 

“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 

“Geographies of My Heart” Collage paintings by Jennifer Colby May 7 - August 24; Reception event May 7, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m,: Colby will give a slide-lecture using contemporary women’s art depicting the Virgin of Guadalupe to illustrate her dissertation research in Women’s Spirituality at the California Institute of Integral Studies - Dinner Board Room; Flora Lamson Hewlett Library 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541 

Images of Portugal Paintings by Sofia Berto Villas-Boas of her native land. Open after 5 p.m. Voulez-Vous 2930 College Ave. (at Elmwood) 

Quilt Show through May 12. M-Th, 10 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri-Sat, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Twenty-second annual show displays over 60 quilts. Berkeley Public Library’s North Branch. 1170 The Alameda 644-6850 

“Tropical Visions: Images of AfroCaribbean Women in the Quilt Tapestries of Cherrymae Golston” Through May 28, Tu-Th, 1-7 p.m., Sat 12-4 p.m. Women’s Cancer Resource Center Gallery 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 ext 307 

Readings 

Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted April 27: Poetry of Michael Heller & Carl Rakosi; April 28: Christopher Hitchens discusses “The Trial of Henry Kissinger”; April 29: Poetry of Gloria Frym & Lewis Warsh; April 30: Jamling Tenzing Norgay discusses “Touching My Father’s Soul”; Han Ong reads “Fixer Chao”; May 2, 6 p.m.: Michael Moorcock reads from “The Dreamthief’s Daughter: A Tale of the Albino”; May 3: Several authors from the anthology “My Story...Life As A Teen Parent” will read; May 4: Doris Haddock will read from “Granny D: Walking Across America in My 90th Year” about her 3,200-mile journey across the country; May 8: Geling Yan reads “The Lost Daughter of Happiness”  

1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 All events at 7 p.m., unless noted April 30, 11 a.m.: Anthony Browne will chat about writing and illustrating children’s books; May 7: Rachel Naomi Remen reads from “My Grandfather’s Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge, and Belonging”  

Boadecia’s Books 398 Colusa Ave. Kensington All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted May 4: Sylvia Brownrigg will read from “Pages for You”; May 11: Suzanne Gold will read from her novel “Daddy’s Girls”; May 12: Krandall Kraus will read “Love’s Last Chance: A Nigel & Nicky Mystery”; May 18: Melinda Given Guttman will read from “The Enigma of Anna O”; May 19: Jessica Barksdale Inclan will read from “Her Daughter’s Eyes” 559-9184 or www.bookpride.com  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533 All events at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise May 1: Andrew Horvatt will discuss “Japanese Beyond Words”; May 3: Char Miller, editor, will discuss “Water in the West: A High Country News Reader” and “Fluid Arguments: Five Centuries of Western Water Conflict”; May 3: Conner Gorry will discuss the Lonely Planet published “Guatemala”; May 10: Gray Brechin talks about “Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin”; May 23: Jon Bowermaster discusses his book “Birthplace of the Winds: Adventuring in Alaska’s Islands of Fire and Ice”; May 29, 7 - 9 p.m.: Travel Photo Workshop with Joan Bobkoff. $15 registration fee  

“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. May 3: Lucy Lang Day with host Dale Jensen; May 10: Jamie Kennedy with host Mischell Erickson; May 17: Gregory Listach Gayle with host Mark States; May 24: Stephanie Young with host Louis Cuneo; May 31: Connie Post with host Louis Cuneo Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

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

Selected Poetry of Yehuda Amichai April 29, 10:30 a.m. Chana Bloch and Chana Kronfeld, co-translators of Yehuda Amichai’s “Open Closed Open,” will read their translations from the Hebrew. Book signing to follow. $4 - $5 Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237 

Paul Polansky and Voice of Roma May 10, 3 p.m. Polansky’s poetry gives voice to the Kosovo Roma and their plight in the aftermath of their plight in the aftermath of the 1999 war. Free Kroeber Hall Gifford Room Second Floor (at College and Bancroft in Anthropology Building) 981-1352 

Rhythm & Muse Open Mike May 12, 6:30 p.m. An ongoing open mike series, featuring poet/artist Anca Hariton. 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. Through April 29, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. See an amazing display of plants that are sources of commonly used fibers and dyes. 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 

City Commons Club Speaker Series All speakers at 12:30 p.m. April 27: Wen-Hsing Yeh, professor of history, UC Berkeley speaks on “The Culture of China in a Changing World” $1 admission with coffee Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. 848-3533 or 845-4725 

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. May 8, 5:15 - 6:30 p.m.: “What Makes Water Wet?” Richard Saykally, professor of Chemistry, UC Berkeley (refreshments served in 410 O’Brien Hall at 4:15 p.m.) 212 O’Brien Hall, UC Berkeley 642-2666  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute Free Lectures All lectures begin at 6 p.m. April 29: Barr Rosenberg on “The Ornament of the Middle Way”; May 6: Sylvia Gretchen on “Faith, Doubt, and Refuge in Buddhist Practice”; May 13: Abbe Blum on “Tapping Into Creativity”; May 20: Miep Cooymans and Dan Jones on “Working with Awareness, Concentration, and Energy”; May 27: Eva Casey on “Getting Calm; Staying Clear”; June 3: Jack van der Meulen on “Healing Through Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga)”; June 10: Sylvia Gretchen on “Counteracting Negative Emotions” Tibetan Nyingma Institute 1815 Highland Place 843-6812 

West Coast Regional Spartacist Educational April 28, Noon Jon Wood, of the Spartacist League, will speak: “Defend the Gains of the Cuban Revolution”; 3:30 p.m.: George Foster, central committee, Spartacist League, will speak: “For Socialist Revolution in the Bastion of World Imperialism” 60 Evans, UC Berkeley 839-0851 

“Falun Gong Phenomenon” April 29, 2 - 5 p.m. Chinese columnist and political critic, Hu Ping will speak on the Falun Gong movement. free Moffitt Library 101 UC Berkeley  

“Reading Technologies” May 2, 4 - 6 p.m. Ivan Illich, visiting scholar at UC Berkeley in anthropology, will talk about the history, visual architecture and meaning of reading from the time of classical print cultures and the medieval monk to the innovation and detachment of today’s digital era. Free Morrison Reading Room Doe Library UC Berkeley 642-5339 

“Hunting T. Rex” May 6, 2 p.m. A talk by Dr. Philip Currie, curator of dinosaurs, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology. Currie asks the question: Was there social interaction amongst the Tyrannosaurs? $3 - $7 Lawrence Hall of Science UC Berkeley 642-5132 or visit www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Berkeley 1900 May 7, 7 p.m. Richard Schwartz, author of Berkeley 1900, a book about life at the turn of the 19th century, will speak at the Friends of Five Creeks’ monthly meeting. Albany Community Center (downstairs) 1249 Marin 848-9358 

Peopling of the Pacific May 11, 8 p.m. Dr. Patrick Kirch, department of Anthropology, UC Berkeley, will review results of archaeological research in the Pacific Islands, providing a current overview of Oceanic prehistory. 370 Dwinelle Hall UC Berkeley 415-338-1537  

Distinguish between Judaism and Israel 

Editor:  

Regarding Devora Liss’s 4/26/01 letter “Appalled by SJP symbolism”: As a member of Students for Justice in Palestine, at Tuesday’s rally I confronted the individual with the sign equating the Star of David with the swastika to inform him that this symbolism was unacceptable. The individual was not a member of SJP. Ms. Liss could have at least mentioned that within minutes after this sign was displayed, it was removed, at the insistence of SJP members.  

While I agree with Ms. Liss that the Star of David is “a collective Jewish symbol, not specifically a pro-Israel sign,” those who defend Israel’s indefensible record of atrocities have not themselves made this distinction clear. Indeed, pro-Israel activists assert that Jewish identity is inseparable from the colonization of Palestine. Israel still calls itself a state of all the Jews in the world, rather than a state of its citizens, one-fifth of whom are not Jewish. The symbolism on the flag is entirely Jewish, even though the native population of the land is overwhelmingly non-Jewish. Courageous Jews who protest Israel’s brutality have been marginalized and derided by their co-religionists.  

While I distinguish between Judaism as a religion, and Israel as a state, it is unfortunately very easy to see how one might think that the massacres, home demolitions, assassinations, land expropriations, settlement building, imprisonment, and torture committed by the Israeli regime against the Palestinians are somehow Jewish in nature. One need only consider the illegal settlers who rampage through Arab villages chanting “Death to the goyim (non-Jews)” to realize that Israel’s colonization of Palestine has engendered hatred on both sides of this conflict, including hatred manifested in the name of Judaism and supported by the Israeli state.  

Judaism existed for thousands of years before the Zionist project to colonize Palestine and it is my belief that it will continue to exist after Zionism has been thoroughly repudiated. While pro-Palestinian activists must continue to make this distinction, some burden also falls on Jews to remind the public that Israel’s abysmal human rights record is not a manifestation of the Jewish faith. 

Gregory Hoadley 

Oakland 

Address Palestinian exclusion from homeland 

Editor: 

Devora Liss misses the point completely (“Appalled by SJP symbolism” 4-26-01). The Students for Justice in Palestine and their rally cannot be categorically dismissed based on the content of one sign or one idea out of hundreds. 

She picks the most trivial aspects that SJP has the least control over, and attempts to use them to discredit an entire movement. When organizers saw the sign she mentioned, they asked him to remove it. He did. She never mentioned that. 

Similarly trivial, she claims that inconveniencing some students is another reason SJP’s claim “lacks validity.”  

None of her voiced concerns engage the fundamental issue at hand – Israel as an Apartheid state. Perhaps because “the Jewish state” is so essentially based on the exclusion and expulsion of the Palestinians, that she has no choice but to attack irrelevant and minute details. Her letter made clear that she was less interested in learning about the Palestinian-Israel conflict from the viewpoint of the victims, than she is in defending the indefensible: Israel’s brutal Apartheid policies. 

Will Youmans 

Berkeley 

Neighbors support 2 or 3-story project on San Pablo Ave. 

Editor:  

It was most thoughtful of Mr. Kennedy to thank his supporters at Panoramic Interests’ website – you’ve done well to point that out. Mr. Kennedy’s thoughtfulness has its limits, however. He continues to misrepresent those who disagree with his plan – he seems to thrive on mischievous misrepresentation. 

From the start, Neighbors for Responsible Development has argued for a two-three-story building at 2700 San Pablo and continue to support additional housing, including affordable units, at the site. We object, however, to inappropriate height and four to five stories is too high for the surrounding context of one-story and occasional two-story buildings. 

Maximum zoning height limits are not directives to build to a particular height, but are “maximums,” and the Zoning Adjustments Board is responsible for adjusting the height of a project to limits appropriate to the surroundings and project needs. The ZAB unanimously denied Mr. Kennedy’s project.  

NRD has repeatedly presented alternative three-story designs that would meet the city’s desire for housing and a developer’s reasonable profit margin, but Mr. Kennedy insists 

that he doesn’t build anything less than four stories. At the hearing, we offered an example of a three-story building with as many bedrooms as Mr. Kennedy’s most recent design and with an occupancy rating about the same as his first plan. Faced with a model of the area, clearly demonstrating how physically mis-scaled his project is, Mr. Kennedy proceeded brazenly and publicly to vandalize it, audibly tearing two buildings from the display’s base to examine them, and then appeared to object when I rescued the display from his grasp. It was a display of arrogant disregard for the property and welfare of others that has characterized his attitude to those who live and work in this neighborhood: he would as happily tear away the character and identity of our neighborhood. We welcome a project at 2700 San Pablo and hope it will provide housing—but at a scale appropriate to the neighborhood that surrounds it. 

Howie Muir 

Berkeley 

Conserve, educate 

Editor:  

People don’t know that fluorescent lights use only 20 percent of the energy used by regular lightbulbs; they don’t know that electric cars use 50 percent of the energy used by internal-combustion engined cars; they don’t know that standard air-conditioning uses ten times more energy than water-evaporation coolers; they don’t know that all these old, standard technologies produce a lot of environmental heat, which is one of the causes of global warming. People don’t know that the burning of octane puts eight times more greenhouse gas in the atmosphere than the burning of natural gas. High carbon fuels like heating oil, diesel, and coal are far worse.  

Even if they do know all of this, they will only reduce their energy usage if their indulgence becomes too painful, financially, to keep it up.  

For the utilities which deliver gas and electricity to our homes, the basic structure of a two-tier pricing structure, baseline usage and over-baseline usage, is already in place, but does not induce conservation because the price difference is too small. All we have to do now to make it work, to induce conversation, is to make the over-baseline unit price three or four times higher than the baseline unit price. Only then will people try not to exceed their baseline quantity: Turn off lights, heat or cool moderately only one or two rooms of the house, only use their dryers in emergencies, keep the refrigerator on a lower setting, etc.  

As for gasoline, diesel, heating oil and coal - a hefty carbon tax will result in less usage of these products and induce people to switch to less polluting systems. The more carbon there is in a fuel, the higher the tax will be. Yes, four dollars a gallon for gas and six dollars a gallon for diesel is no fun, but it will, in ten years time, make our cities livable again. 

These conservation inducing measures will of course be fought by the energy corporations who only want us to buy more energy at a higher price and a bigger profit margin for themselves. But the people, by reducing their usage of energy, have it in their power to turn a situation of excessive demand and high prices into one of excessive supply and lower prices.  

Jan H. Visser 

Berkeley 

Friday, April 27

Stagebridge Free Acting  

& Storytelling 

Classes for Seniors 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

First Congregational Church  

2501 Harrison St.  

Call 444-4755 www.stagebridge.org 

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.  

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. 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  

Lost in Dreamland?  

10 -11:30 a.m.  

Alta Bates Summit  

Medical Center 

Summit North Pavilion, Cafeteria Annex A  

350 Hawthorne Ave.  

Oakland 

Dr. Jerrold Kram, pulmonologist, sleep specialist and director of the California Center for Sleep Disorders, will talk about sleep disorders and how to remedy them. Learn about snoring, restless leg syndrome, and sleep apnea. Free 

869-6737 

Independent Media & Dissent 

8 p.m. 

King Middle School  

1781 Rose St.  

Amy Goodman, Democracy Now host and survivor of the 1991 massacre in which Indonesian soldiers killed more than 250 East Timorese, will speak about independent media and dissent, from the U.S. to Indonesia and East Timor. Tickets available at many local book stores including: Black Oak Books, Cody’s, and Pegasus.  

$10 - $13 985-0385 

Saturday, April 28

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

Center Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 548-3333 

Berkeley Bay Festival  

11 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

Berkeley Marina  

160 University Ave.  

The Festival, held at the Marina since 1937, has had an environmental education and boating theme for the past 22 of those years. A variety of organizations will be on hand to inform and inspire people to learn how they affect the environment and to take action. Free 644-8623 

El Salvador Reconstruction Plans  

10 a.m. - 3 p.m.  

Institute of Governmental Studies  

Moses Hall, Room 109  

UC Berkeley  

Four leaders from El Salvador, representing urban and rural community development initiatives will be on hand, along with Senator Liz Figueroa, to discuss facts and priorities of their emergency management/disaster relief efforts in the wake of the recent earthquake. Free  

415-970-1033 

Working People Against Deregulation 

7:30 p.m. 

Fellowship of Humanity  

390 27th St. (at Broadway) 

Oakland 

Join energy workers, teachers and other workers in a discussion about the issues surrounding the California energy crisis. Speakers include: Drew Bonthius, executive board member Oakland AFT 771, David Walers, power plant worker and member of IBEW 1245, and Eugene Coyle, Energy Economist.  

$3 261-4269 

An Energy Efficient Home 

10 a.m. - Noon  

2530 San Pablo Ave. (at Blake)  

Mark Gorrell, architect/consultant, will discuss how to reduce energy costs in existing houses and design new homes to minimize energy costs. $7.50 - $10  

548-2220 x233 

International Family Fair  

11 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

New School of Berkeley  

Bonita St. (between Cedar & Virginia)  

Games and activities for children, a huge raffle, food from Christie’s Vegetarian Cafe, and a variety of live entertainment, including a Capoeira demonstration. Free  

548-9165 

BASA Spring Festival  

5:30 p.m.  

Cesar Chavez Center  

Bancroft & Telegraph  

UC Berkeley  

An evening celebration of African culture featuring student and professional performances, dance, a fashion show, music, poetry, drama, and African cuisine from local African restaurants.  

$5 - $10 including dinner 

595-1307 

Sierra’s Solutions  

to the Energy Crisis 

10 a.m. - Noon  

2530 San Pablo Ave.  

The Sierra Club presents a panel discussion on energy conservation and a general membership meeting of the club’s Alameda group. Speakers include Graham Brownstein from Toward Utility Rate Normalization (TURN), Paul Craig, a Sierra Club energy expert on energy conservation, and Bill Magavern, Sierra Club senior lobbyist. 527-0176 

Parent Resource Center  

Workshop 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Alternative High School  

Martin Luther King Jr. Way. If you are interested in learning more or want to help with smaller learning communities for Berkeley High, there will be two open meeting sessions on smaller learning communities from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m., and 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. 644-8524 

Sunday, April 29

Berkeley Waterfront  

Walking Tour  

10 a.m. - Noon  

Led by Susan Schwartz and sponsored by the Berkeley Historical Society. 848-0181 

Hands-On Bicycle  

Repair Clinics  

11 a.m. - Noon  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Learn how to maintain the drive train and to repair the chain of your bicycle from one of REI’s bike technicians. All you need to bring is your bike. Free 527-4140 

People’s Park 32nd Anniversary Festival  

12:30 - 6 p.m.  

People’s Park  

Haste St. & Telegraph Ave.  

Performances by, among others, Rebecca Riots, X-Plicit Players, Shelley Doty X-tet, with special guests Wavy Gravy, Frank Moore, Stoney Burke, Kriss Worthington and many more. Also including skateboarding demos, animal petting farm, puppets, and “surprises.”  

848-1985 

The Reform Future 

Noon  

Fellowship of Humanity  

390 27th St. (at Broadway)  

Oakland  

Craig Wilson, anti-Buchanan delegate, will discuss the future of the Reform Party.  

655-7962 

The Ornament of the Middle Way 

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

This text by Buddhist master Shantarakshita to be discussed by Barr Rosengerg. 

Free 

843-6812 

Celebration of Youth Arts Festival  

Noon - 6 p.m.  

Berkeley High Campus 

The community theater will host non-stop performances of instrumental music, chorus, and dance, including the BHS Jazz Band and the Afro-Haitian dancers and drummers. Also, students enrolled in visual or performing arts classes will exhibit or perform their work. Free  

548-5335 

Decade of Change  

3 - 5 p.m.  

Berkeley Historical Society  

1931 Center St.  

The Berkeley Historical Society celebrates the opening of their new exhibit, exploring the decade of 1900 - 1910 when Berkeley grew from a town of ten thousand to a city of forty-thousand. Also the 24th annual meeting which will include a review of the past year.  

848-0181 

Monday, April 30

Politics of Permits  

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Contractor/Mediator Ron Kelly will explain how to get your permit approved.  

$35  

525-7610 

Venus & Mars  

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Rabbi Yaacov Deyo, founder of LA’s speed dating will explain how to pick a mate, make your relationship thrive and how to fight effectively.  

$10  

848-0237 

100 Days of Bush  

Noon - 1 p.m.  

Lower Sproul Hall  

UC Berkeley  

The Students for Climate Protection are marking George W. Bush’s 100th day in office with a rally protesting Bush’s general environmental record in office and specifically focusing on his decision to pull the U.S. out of the global warming treaty negotiations. 

PTA Council Meeting  

7 p.m.  

Malcolm X Library  

1731 Prince (between King & Ellis)  

Introduction and election of PTA Council officers for 2001 - 02. If you would like to be an officer or nominate someone, contact Cynthia, 849-2683. Also, Dr. Goldstone will report on the budget situation and will update the situation on district issues and the superintendent search. 

Claremont Renters Neighborhood Meeting  

6 - 8 p.m.  

Claremont Branch Library  

2940 Benvenue Ave.  

Presentation on policies affecting rent ceilings, habitability issues and evictions. Get answers to your rent control questions.  

The morning coffee rush at a popular Elmwood cafe turned frantic Thursday when a woman ran in screaming that her car had been stolen with her 8-month-old daughter in the back seat. 

“It happened so fast,” said Miguel Perez, an employee of the cafe. 

Perez had to dial 911 when the panic-stricken woman, who apparently spoke little English, threw down the phone in despair. 

Berkeley Police put out an all points bulletin just after 9 a.m. Within an hour, Emeryville Police found the baby unharmed, still sitting in her car seat in the back seat of the car, which had been abandoned near the intersection of Adeline and 40th streets in Oakland. 

The woman, who lives in Oakland and is a regular patron of Espresso Roma, left her daughter in the car unattended because she didn’t want to wake her by moving the car seat, said Berkeley Police Sgt. Kay Lantow.  

She parked within view of the Espresso Roma’s check-out counter and ran in to buy coffee, Lantow said.  

When she returned to the car a few minutes later she found the baby still sleeping and decided to run another quick errand at a nearby store, Lantow said. But she had not gone far toward the store when she realized she’d left her keys in the car door. 

“She turned back around, and the car was already gone,” Lantow said.  

“We’re guessing that, more than likely, the suspect didn’t see the child and, more than likely, once he figured it out, he abandoned the car,” Lantow said, explaining that the car seat had been covered so that the baby was not visible. 

Lantow said late Wednesday that there are still no suspects in the case and no witnesses to the crime. 

“Everything now is under investigation and hopefully now we will be able to do what we do and try to figure out who did this,” she said. 

When Berkeley Police arrived on the scene Wednesday morning they found the woman in a state of total panic. The language barrier was an added problem, since the Spanish-speaking woman had trouble telling police what had happened or even describing her car, witnesses said. 

“It was quite emotional,” said Cyrus Shabahari, owner of an interior decorating store a few stores away from Espresso Roma. “She was screaming, stomping her feet, yelling, running up and down...” 

Two people soon stepped in to help translate for the woman, Lantow said. 

Emeryville Police officer Mike Allen was the first on the scene in Oakland. He said he was driving down 40th street (just a block outside of Emeryville) just after 10 a.m. Wednesday when he noticed a man “waving his hands frantically” beside a green Dodge Neon four-door car. 

The man, Boubacar Dialla of Hayward, heard a baby crying when he walked past the car. He became concerned when he noticed the car was parked in a red zone and there were no adults in the area, Allen said. 

Allen said he set out to look in a nearby business for the owner of the car until he realized it matched the description of the car reported stolen by Berkeley police.  

Allen immediately notified Berkeley police, who rushed to the scene with the child’s father. 

“I saw the baby in the father’s arms, and she looked very fine to me,” Lantow said, when asked about the baby’s condition. 

“It’s nice to have a happy ending,” said Allen, a 12-year veteran of police work. “That’s what I’m in the job for.” 

Lantow said the case might not have ended so well if not for the crucial assistance rendered by Mr. Dialla and the two citizen translators. 

The crime appears to have been purely “opportunistic,” Lantow said, with someone walking along Ashby Avenue in Berkeley spotting the keys in the door of the car and jumping at the chance for a “joy ride” or some easy money. 

It’s not uncommon for cars stolen under similar circumstances to be used to commit other crimes before they are abandoned, Lantow said. But in this case, the suspect apparently didn’t even drive with undue haste. 

Police found a cup of Espresso Roma coffee sitting upright on the passenger side floor, right where the car’s owner had left it. 

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Pac-10 Championship didn’t have the storybook ending the California women’s golf team seemed headed for after the first round, but the Golden Bears still managed to put their mark on school history.  

After leading after round one with a school record of 288, Cal shot a 302 Tuesday and a 301 Wednesday to finish this year’s conference tournament in sixth-place with a 54-hole total of 891. The Bears shattered the previous Cal record of 896 and finished only one stroke behind Washington (890) for fifth place at Karsten Golf Course. This year’s conference meet also saw the Bears set the school record for 36 holes (590).  

Arizona claimed its fourth conference crown in the last five years by firing a tournament low 287 in the final round to finish with a nine-over-par 873. Stanford took second with an 876, host Arizona State placed third (883) and USC grabbed fourth at 886.  

Arizona’s Lorena Ochoa won a playoff with her teammate Natalie Gulbis to claim medalist honors after both athletes fired 54-hole scores of three-under-par 213. Washington’s Kelli Kamimura was two strokes back in third at 215.  

Cal’s Vikki Laing turned in the Bears highest ever finish at the league meet, finishing fourth (previous high was a tie for 11th) with a 54-hole school record of 216. Freshman Sarah Huarte, the first day leader with a 69, finished in a three-way tie for 10th with a 221 after shooting a 75 and 77 over the final two rounds.  

Sophomore Ria Quiazon was steady as always, carding a 74 in the third round to tie for 23rd with a Cal career best of 226.  

The Bears next await their fate for NCAA regionals, which take place at different sites May 10-12.

According to a recent progress report, The Berkeley Housing Authority’s efforts to become financially stable have fallen short of its goals raising questions about the agency’s future. 

Unlike most government agencies, the BHA is structured like a business, said Interim Housing Director Stephen Barton.  

The agency is financially rewarded based on its production. So, if it fails to provide low-income tenants with Section 8 vouchers and those tenants are unable to find housing, the BHA does not receive federal funds. 

Last year the BHA lost $255,000, which was made up by the city’s general fund. Barton said this year BHA will likely lose between $250,000 and $300,000.  

The BHA Board, made up of the City Councilmembers and two tenant representatives, has said the BHA may be dissolved if it can’t turn itself around.  

Another possibility is that BHA management could be turned over to the Alameda County Housing Authority.  

Barton said there is a solid business plan in effect and the city is doing what it can to solve the agency’s problems.  

He said the BHA has had success in accelerating the processing time for vouchers, but there is still a lot more to do before the problems are solved. 

“We could try to deal with that deficit by cutting staff, but then we wouldn’t be able to process and provide Section 8 vouchers, which is really the only way to solve the problem and still serve low-income tenants,” he said.  

According to the April 24 BHA progress report, the agency received another blow when Interim Manager Sheila Maxwell submitted her resignation just six months after she accepted the position. Maxwell was the fourth manager since 1991.  

She did not return calls to the Daily Planet Thursday to respond to questions about the reasons for her resignation. 

Barton said he will oversee the BHA with the assistance of housing staffer Ted Katiama, until a replacement can be found. 

The Housing and Urban Development Department, the federal agency that oversees the BHA, has approved 1,840 vouchers for Berkeley. Currently only 1,266 are in use, which represents 20 fewer than in January. 

Barton said the housing authority has taken steps to speed up the processing of Section 8 applicants, but the agency’s problems have been compounded by a shortage of housing and high market rents. According to the report, 105 of the 1,592 applicants have been approved for vouchers since January. But of those, only 31 have actually found housing.  

Barton said the BHA will likely re-prioritize the Section 8 waiting list to give first priority to applicants who are already have housing and are spending 50 percent or more of their income on rent. The BHA has also begun outreach programs to landlords that may be able to benefit by participating in the Section 8 program. At its meeting on Tuesday, the BHA Board approved an increase in Section 8 rental rates bringing the allowable rental subsidy in range of market rates.  

The report also said the BHA has been hindered in approving more vouchers because applicants have not been showing up for scheduled interviews. During March there were 188 initial applicant interviews scheduled and 124 were no-shows. 

Councilmember Dona Spring said much of the problem was created when the state approved the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act in January, 1999. The act allowed landlords to raise a unit’s rent each time it became vacant. Prior to Costa Hawkins, landlords who participated in the Section 8 program were exempt from rent control. 

“Ever since then we’ve had a steady stream of landlords leaving the Section 8 program,” she said. “It’s created a tremendous demand on housing in a market where there is no housing.” 

Mayor Shirley Dean said the tough rent control as it existed in Berkeley prior to Costa Hawkins, was responsible for some of the housing problems the BHA is currently facing. She said the controls caused too much pent up demand for rental increases and as soon as landlords had an opportunity to cash in, they took it. “It caused all kinds of problems and the people who got hurt were the very people it was trying to protect,” she said. 

Councilmember Mim Hawley said the BHA has to focus on outreach to landlords who can benefit from participating in the program. She said there are many landlords who can get higher and more regular rents than they are receiving now. 

She added that if the BHA is turned over to the Alameda County Housing Authority there may be some advantages for Berkeley Section 8 tenants. “Berkeley is a university town and that will always make it tough to find available housing,” she said. “If the county takes over there will be a wider range of housing for tenants to chose from.” 

Councilmember Linda Maio said that if the county takes over the BHA there would have to be an office located in town.  

Friday 

Baseball – Cal vs. Stanford, 2:30 p.m. at Evans Diamond 

Baseball – Berkeley at De Anza, 3:30 p.m. at De Anza High School 

Baseball – St. Mary’s vs. St. Joseph, 3:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s College High School 

Softball – Berkeley at De Anza, 3:30 p.m. at De Anza High School 

Swimming – Berkeley at Alameda, 3:30 p.m. at Alameda High School 

Saturday 

Track & Field – St. Mary’s at Top 8 Invitational, 11 a.m. at Logan High School 

Baseball – Cal vs. Stanford, 1 p.m. at Evans Diamond 

Sunday 

Baseball – Cal vs. Stanford, 1 p.m. at Evans Diamond

Berkeley Lite is an occasional column on fighting back against those who’d like to shine us on.  

Straw. 

We know about the proverbial straw man. Not real; someone or something set up to deflect attention.  

And a straw vote: a way to count yeas and nays, while not truly voting. 

Our own City Council held a straw vote at its meeting Tuesday night. 

Councilmember Polly Armstrong said the vote was to save hard-working people from waiting all evening on wooden council chairs to talk about something the council was bound to pass anyway. 

At issue was an item on Tuesday’s laundry list of issues maybe to be discussed – the council often refers to the list as an “agenda” – there was the question of approving a resolution on Community Development Block Grants. CDBG money is federal funds that support community organizations. 

The city’s pitifully small council chambers was overflowing that night with people who had come to the meeting for a variety of reasons – the issue of compassionate treatment of homeless sleeping outdoors, a San Pablo Avenue development, an Oxford Street development, Housing Authority questions, the CDBG grant funds and more. 

In its wisdom, and after an almost unanimous vote to do so (the turkey in the straw voting against the motion was the ever-oppositional Councilmember Kriss Worthington) the council took the straw vote and provisionally approved the city manager’s recommendations on the CDBG funding. (The real vote, they decided later, would take place at a specially scheduled meeting Thursday.) 

While Armstrong argued that the council almost always passes the manager’s annual recommendation, so it wasn’t necessary for speakers on that question to stay and address the council, Worthington countered that it was “outrageous” for the council to express its opinion before listening to the public at the scheduled public hearing. 

Democracy is indeed unwieldy. But Worthington’s point is well taken – let the people have a true voice. 

*** 

Speaking of the public’s right to butt into officialdom, Berkeley Lite wanted to ask the Berkeley police about an incident observed a couple of weeks ago. Why were a couple of the city’s finest stationed in an unmarked car outside San Pablo Park training binoculars on a large group of Sunday picnickers? Why not send undercover folks into the park if they wanted to see the people hiding the Easter eggs or munching chicken up close? If they were afraid of trouble brewing among the large number of picnickers, why wouldn’t they send in those friendly-looking guys with cute legs and bikes - the guys who seem to know just how to chat it up with a crowd and at the same time remind them, in a friendly way, to keep in order? 

We tried to ask the police these questions. 

Calling Chief Dash Butler’s office for a response, Berkeley Lite learned he was on vacation. And for the record, we should say to the top cop’s credit that, especially of late, he has regularly returned the Daily Planet’s calls.  

A staffer referred us to the police public information officer, who, it turned out, was also on vacation, so we called the officer taking his place. Several times. No call back.  

So we’ve got no answer for our questions. 

Neither reporters nor the public should have to scale walls to get public information.  

Here’s another example of access denied: A few weeks ago a reporter tried to find out how many accidents had occurred over the last few years at the intersection where a young woman had been run over by a cement truck while crossing the street. 

The interim traffic engineer told the Daily Planet he was not authorized to talk to the press. The police at the traffic bureau said they were similarly unauthorized and that the only spokesperson was the cops’ public information officer. It took five hours and half a dozen calls to reach the PIO. And then he referred the reporter back to the cops’ traffic bureau. By that time, the person who could have retrieved the computerized data had gone home. 

*** 

So now we’re waiting patiently for a proposed Sunshine Ordinance - a law to expand the public’s access to public information – to actually wend its way to council action.  

A month or so ago, Armstrong had pulled the resolution off the consent calendar, where items are passed unanimously and without discussion. She said she needed to learn more about whether the bottleneck for the free flow of information is city staff or if legislation is the key to opening up city government. 

We believe stronger laws are needed to close loopholes in the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law.  

Still, Armstrong has a point. The real deal has less to do with legislation than attitude. Do city bureaucrats want the public to know what’s going on and have the ability to participate in government? Does the City Council have the will to make sure the bureaucrats make maneuvering the halls of city government facile both for those who are familiar with bureaucracies and for those less familiar with the complexities of city government? 

*** 

And now for a little gossip that could scarcely pass for public information. What would you think about having a poet for our next assemblymember? We’ve been told that today people are meeting with UC Professor and poet June Jordan to encourage her to make a run for the office. Just think, AB632928: “Owed to the price gaugers...” in iambic pentameter. 

Still, perhaps the idea of Jordan’s candidacy is just another straw man. Or woman.  

‘Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: Suite for Pops’ 

Sat. April 28, 8 pm 

Zellerbach Hall,  

UC Campus 

$18 - $30 

UC Jazz Big Band  

7 p.m.  

Every Monday night since February 1966 a stellar group of jazz musicians has played at the Village Vanguard in New York City.  

This band was known for the first few decades of its lengthy career as the Thad Jones- Mel Lewis Big Band, but since the passing of its former leaders, it has used the simple name Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.  

On Saturday night, they will invade Zellerbach Auditorium to perform Thad Jones' monumental composition “Suite for Pops” an homage to the father of jazz, Louis Armstrong, in celebration of his centennial.  

This work is monumental not only in its length (well over an hour long), but because of the quality of the performers required to do it justice. The best session players in the Big Apple can swing the daylights out of any chart, but they really dig into the depths of this great work, exploring the many emotions which “Pops” evokes.  

This is no cute compilation of top moments from Armstrong’s “Hot Five” arranged for big band.  

Far from it. Thad Jones composed this Suite in honor of his mentor, the great pioneer of swing, but all the material is fresh, save the occasional citation of various sources, from Bird to Gershwin, who were also inspired by Satchmo.  

The opening movement “Meetin’ Place” evokes the first fiery moments when session musicians play, shout, growl and spar together, reveling in the excitement of melodic cooperation and symbiosis.  

The predominant Latin rhythm reminds us of the contribution from that genre to the modern corpus of jazz.  

Short muscular solos abound to introduce the band members. The second movement “The Summary” is a sweet ballad that points to Armstrong’s generous heart and warm personality.  

The Suite originally ended with “The Farewell,” but in the current version this movement forms a kind of melancholy reflection on mortality before moving on to more raucous tones of “Toledo by Candlelight” and the lush harmonies of “The Great One,” in which the band members testify how much Pops meant to each of them.  

The Suite concludes with a pensive blues tune “Only for Now” leading to an invocation of a proper New Orleans funeral parade and wake called “A Good Time Was Had by All.”  

Jones said, “The whole idea of the Suite was to have something tangible, a retrospective of a man I loved and revered. A good deal of effort, thought and love went into this. (Armstrong) made me happy, made my foot tap, my head nod, my fingers snap and my lips smile. And you know what? He was pure and honest. Just simply Louis.”  

Even if this composition were not related to Armstrong, it would still be a great work performed by a brilliant band of sixteen of the best jazzmen around; but when the final movement concludes with a chorus of whoopin' and hollarin,’ Satchmo’s big toothy smile will be flashing down from heaven adding a special sweetness to the Suite. 

Miko Sloper can be reached at miko@cheerful.com

SAN FRANCISCO — Although it hasn’t yet been requested, District Attorney Terence Hallinan said Wednesday that he won’t oppose any attempt to move the trial of Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel in the dog mauling death of Diane Whipple. 

“We don’t intend to fight a change of venue,” he said. “We want a speedy trial.” 

The two lawyers charged in the dog mauling death of their neighbor had their arraignment postponed for a third time Wednesday while they continued to seek legal counsel, a tactic that riled prosecutors. 

Knoller and Noel appeared before Judge Herbert Donaldson, who continued their arraignment until May 9. Hallinan bristled at another delay in prosecuting the couple in the high-profile case. 

“Under the California Constitution, the people have a right to a speedy trial,” Hallinan told the court. “I don’t see why we can’t go ahead with the arraignment at this point.” 

Knoller faces a second-degree murder charge in the Jan. 26 death of Diane Whipple. Knoller and Noel both face charges of involuntary manslaughter and keeping a mischievous dog that killed a human being. 

Jan Lecklikner, the public defender representing Knoller, said her client was in the final stages of negotiations with a private attorney and told the judge that should be resolved by May 9. 

“I’m working 24-7 on this case,” Lecklikner said. “No time is being wasted.” 

Knoller and Noel never turned to face Whipple’s partner, Sharon Smith, who was seated in the front row. Behind Smith sat several members of Whipple’s St. Mary’s College lacrosse team, dressed in matching red practice T-shirts. 

Smith and the team members shared hugs, consoled each other and fixed their gaze on Knoller and Noel when the couple entered the courtroom. 

Smith and Whipple’s mother, Penny Whipple-Kelly of Fairfield County, Conn., have filed wrongful death suits against the couple. 

Kate Kendell, a lawyer with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, is representing Smith and arguing that she is entitled to pursue such a claim as would a surviving spouse or relative. 

Kendell said the arraignment delays would work against her case by dulling the public outrage against Knoller and Noel. 

“I think it will be very easy for public sentiment and public empathy to be reignited when once again proceedings get underway that really delve into the actual facts and the gruesome nature of what happened to Diane Alexis Whipple,” Kendell said. 

Knoller, 45, and Noel, 59, remain in jail in lieu of bail. Knoller, who faces a possible sentence of 15 years to life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder, is being held on $2 million bail. The bail for Noel is $1 million. 

The couple was caring for the two Presa Canario-mastiffs when the dogs — a 120-pound male named Bane and a 113-pound female named Hera — fatally mauled Whipple, 33, a lacrosse coach. 

Current law makes owning a mischievous animal that kills a person a felony punishable by up to three years in prison. A bill introduced by state Assemblywoman Carol Migden, D-San Francisco, would hold an animal’s caretaker responsible for such an animal’s actions — even if they’re not the owner. 

Migden’s bill got unanimous approval Tuesday from the Public Safety Committee and next goes to the Appropriations Committee that Migden chairs. 

Prison officials say the animals were part of a dogfighting ring run out of Pelican Bay State Prison by inmates Paul Schneider and Dale Bretches, who are serving life sentences without parole. 

In one of the case’s many strange twists, Noel and Knoller adopted Schneider as their son in a procedure that became official just three days after Whipple’s death. 

SAN FRANCISCO – Last week, 73-year-old Zhenfu Ge lost her daughter to cancer. And because of the death, Ge also lost her legal right to stay in America. 

If her daughter, Yanyu Wang, had survived until Thursday, Ge would have left her hearing before the Immigration and Naturalization Service as a permanent resident of the United States. 

But her chances of staying legally in the United States died with her daughter, an American citizen who was sponsoring Ge’s green card application.  

Ge now faces deportation to China, and separation from the grandchildren she promised a dying Wang she would help raise. 

“It’s very hard for me to leave them here,” Ge said through an interpreter Thursday after an INS officer told her she has to leave the country. “This is something I cannot do.” 

But the law clearly says Ge cannot stay, according to INS spokeswoman Sharon Rummery. 

“Your heart goes out, you know,” she said. “It’s unfortunate, but it happens.” 

Ge’s application appeared to be a sure thing. 

“They even said that if my wife was alive, (Ge’s green card) would have been approved,” said John Mark, Wang’s husband, who lives with Ge and his two children in Sausalito. Because he is a son in law and not a blood relative, Mark cannot take over Ge’s green card application. 

Since the spring of 1998, Ge has been in the San Francisco Bay area taking care of her 3-year-old granddaughter and 9-year-old grandson. That summer, Wang was naturalized as a U.S. citizen and immediately filed as a sponsor for her mother’s green card. 

The INS set Thursday for Ge’s hearing to become a permanent resident. But then, on April 15, Wang succumbed to lymphoma. 

Ge next will receive a letter asking her to leave the country. If she remains and the INS finds out, she will be face deportation. 

Ge then could appeal the deportation order. But that only would postpone her departure temporarily, because immigration lawyers who have reviewed the case agree she has no legal grounds to stay. 

Meanwhile, Mark is considering a lasting solution. He could appeal a deportation order, though a reversal is rare. He also has contacted federal lawmakers, asking them to shepherd through Congress legislation specifically allowing Ge to get a green card. 

Meanwhile, Ge wonders how the loss of her daughter also could lead to separation from her grandchildren. 

“I just don’t understand why it has to be so strict,” Ge said.

S.F. supes want crackdown on illegal billboards 

SAN FRANCISCO – A crackdown on illegal billboards won approval from the Board of Supervisors’ finance committee Wednesday. 

Supervisor Mark Leno’s legislation enacts fines of as much as $2,500 a day on companies that put up unpermitted billboards and landlords of buildings that are the hosts for such signs. The money would go to enforce the city’s billboard laws. 

Leno’s proposals also require every billboard to include the sign’s permit number, legal dimensions and owner in letters big enough to read from the street. 

But San Francisco Beautiful, a group dedicated to the beautification of the city, wants tougher action — a ban on all legal or illegal billboard sites. 

Advertising companies grudgingly went along with most of Leno’s legislation but pointed out that in addition to jobs in the sign industry, lots of small businesses and nonprofit social service agencies that own buildings and collect money by leasing sign space will be harmed. 

The legislation will be submitted for its first reading by the Board of Supervisors next Monday. The board probably will decide on the proposal in two weeks. 

Former Oakland City Council member ousted 

OAKLAND – Former Oakland City Council member Leo Bazile has been forced out of the legal profession amid allegations he won a court settlement for his son, then spent the money himself. 

State bar prosecutor Andrea Wachter said Wednesday that Bazile was ordered on inactive status this month after allegedly violating a disciplinary agreement. 

Bazile had promised to finish defending two murder cases, then resign his state bar membership, Wachter said. However, he then represented a partner’s client and may have lied about expediting the second murder case, Wachter said. It has yet to go to trial. 

The action stems from a complaint by Jabari Bazile, Leo’s 24-year-old son. He said he never received a $144,000 settlement won by his father in a wrongful-death suit over the nursing home death of Jabari’s mother. 

Jabari’s attorney says Leo Bazile has agreed to reimburse his son for the missing money. 

Leo Bazile served on the Oakland City Council from 1983 to 1992 and also made two unsuccessful runs for mayor. 

City Attorney  

to step down 

SAN FRANCISCO – City Attorney Louise Renne announced Thursday she will not run for re-election when her current term, the latest in her 15-year tenure as city attorney, expires in Janaury 2002. 

“Every moment I have spent as city attorney has allowed me the opportunity to exercise my best judgment on behalf of the city that I love,” Renne said in a statement. “As far as I am concerned, there are few challenges more satisfying, but the time has come for me to pursue other professional interests that I have long put on hold, and also to spend a lot more time with my grandchildren.” 

Renne was appointed city attorney in 1986. She was elected in 1989 and re-elected in 1993 and 1997. 

Renne, 63, is credited with strengthening San Francisco legally in areas such as transportation, public health, telecommunications and energy regulation. Her office has engaged in litigation and consumer protection actions against the tobacco industry, gun manufacturers, airlines, escrow and title insurance companies and national banks. 

Woman to pay for stowaway’s burial plot 

SAN JOSE – A woman was so touched by the desperation of a stowaway who died in the sky curled up in the wheel of a jetliner that she has agreed to pay for a plot at a Palo Alto cemetery. 

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, was told as recently as Wednesday morning that she would not be able to bury the body of Tommy Mayloa, 19, at the Alta Mesa Cemetery in Palo Alto because San Mateo County has an exclusive contract with a San Jose cemetery to bury its unclaimed bodies. She has since gotten permission to bury him in Palo Alto. 

“He seemed so desperate,” said the woman. “He’s just about the same age as my nephews, and it just hit me. This was something that I could do for him.” 

Scotland Yard investigators are not even sure the body is Mayloa’s. They say he clambered inside a 767 jet at London’s Gatwick Airport on Feb. 19. 

They think he was a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Investigators believe Mayloa’s parents were killed a few years ago, and, depressed and terrified, he fled to Europe. He eventually ended up homeless, without identification papers, in London. 

The man will be buried early next week in a sunny plot near a bench where the woman could come and visit every once in a while and bring flowers. She did not know Mayloa’s religion, so she has picked a pair of praying hands and the words “A Child of God” to be engraved on the headstone.

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal judge entered innocent pleas Thursday for 13 Nuestra Familia gang members and associates facing a litany of federal charges including murder, robbery, conspiracy and drug-related crimes. 

The charges came in a 25-count indictment handed down last week at the end of a three-year, $5 million joint local, state and federal investigation. 

The 12 men and one woman filled the jury box in Judge Charles Breyer’s courtroom. Most were heavily tattooed and all wore red jail jumpsuits. They also wore 18-inch leg chains, waist chains with handcuffs and maximum security boxes, which covers the locks on the handcuffs so they can’t be picked. 

Everyone entering the courtroom had to pass through a metal detector and allow any bags to be searched. Inside, dozens of U.S. marshals and other officers kept an eye on the defendants and a handful of family members attending the arraignment. 

Tom Klenieski, spokesman for the U.S. marshals, said it had been about 20 years since the federal courthouse had used such drastic security measures. 

“These guys came from a maximum-security prison,” he said. “Some of them were serving life sentences.” 

Authorities say five leaders of the Nuestra Familia gang — Ceasar Ramirez, 40, Rico Garcia, 34, Gerald Rubalcaba, 46, Tex Marin Hernandez, 47, and Jacob Enriquez, 40 — were responsible for the murders of at least five men between 1997 and 1999. 

They and other members also unsuccessfully tried to arrange the killings of at least 10 more men and women, officials said. 

Several members orchestrated their crimes from behind the walls of Pelican Bay State Prison, authorities said. 

Now, all 13 defendants are being housed at the maximum security unit at the North County Jail in Oakland, Klenieski said. 

Nuestra Familia originated within prison walls in 1965 among Hispanic inmates from rural Northern California as a means of protecting themselves against rival prison gang members. 

On Thursday, the defendants were arraigned by Magistrate Jim Larson, then had a status conference before Breyer, who set a Jan. 28, 2002, trial date despite the objections of defense lawyers. 

Attorney Richard Mazer, arguing that client Rubalcaba could face the death penalty, said he has more than 50,000 pages of discovery to review and asked the judge to push back the date. 

But Breyer simply urged the defense lawyers to begin work immediately on the case. 

“The decision as to whether the case is ready to go to trial is one that the court will make,” he said. ”(But) I don’t want people to leave the courtroom with the impression that this date ... is not realistic from the court’s point of view.” 

Breyer also scheduled a court hearing for July 19.

SACRAMENTO — A fight over an artificial reef project has led a Sacramento Superior Court judge to declare unconstitutional a state agency empowered to rule on coastal development. 

Environmentalists say Judge Charles Kobayashi’s ruling this week that the 29-year-old California Coastal Commission is unconstitutional could seriously damage the state’s coastline. 

Kobayashi said the commission violated the principle of checks and balances because it performs legislative, executive and judicial duties. 

Because the Legislature appoints two-thirds of the commission, it should only have legislative powers, Kobayashi ruled. 

His ruling could drastically change the commission’s makeup or take its power to decide appeals and issue permits. 

Commission opponents say it must be reorganized to answer to voters, while supporters say its political freedom helped it protect the coast. 

“If this stands, it will essentially cripple the Coastal Act,” said commission spokeswoman Sarah Christie.  

“It would so fundamentally weaken California’s coastal program that it would put the coastline in dire jeopardy.” 

Kobayashi’s ruling came in a suit filed by the Marine Forests Society of Balboa, which has experimented with artificial reefs off Newport Beach for about 12 years, attorney Ronald Zumbrun said. 

As part of its test for ways to grow kelp in areas without vegetation, MFS planted used tires on the ocean floor to attract mussels. The Coastal Commission ordered the group to stop in 1999 because MFS had not been issued a permit. The group then sued the commission to keep working. 

An appeal is expected on the ruling. 

The commission denied the reef permit because it competed with another state program, Zumbrun said. 

“It’s fair to say egos and revenge play a part,” he said.  

“We want to see it function as a normal agency, not one that is answerable to no one.” 

Many environmentalists, however, call the commission the only protection against potentially disastrous projects like the one by MFS, said Mark Massara, director of the Sierra Club’s coastal program. 

MFS “dumped all these tires and concrete and plastic off Newport Beach, and while it may be a functioning fish reef, it can also be characterized as a big pile of junk at the bottom of the ocean,” Massara said. 

“The commission is what has taken rich people’s very large projects and made them a bit smaller so we can actually make it to the coast,” Massara said. 

If upheld by appeals courts, the ruling could affect matters before the board now but not past decisions, said John Findley of the Pacific Legal Foundation. 

Findley said he has long contended the commission is unconstitutional. 

A 1972 voter initiative created the California Coastal Commission, which the Legislature made permanent in 1976. It has 12 voting members who can make decisions on issues ranging from building permits to parking fees to oil exploration. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Coastal Commission: http://www.coastal.ca.gov 

Marine Forests Society: http://www.marinehabitat.org/ 

Consumers should avoid a lollipop imported from Mexico and found to contain a high level of lead in its wrapper, the Food and Drug Administration said. 

The lollipop is a dark brown tamarind candy bearing the brand “Bolirindo” and sold mostly in California and in some Southwestern states, the FDA said Thursday. 

Routine testing of children by the California Department of Health Services found three cases in which 2-year-olds who had the candy developed elevated levels of lead. The finding prompted state health authorities and the FDA to analyze the lollipop for lead contamination. 

“Preliminary findings indicate that at least the lollipop wrapper’s exterior may have exceedingly high concentrations of lead,” about 21,000 parts per million, the FDA said in a statement. 

The FDA urged that the lollipop not be consumed and that it be kept from children. 

“Eating the lollipops may expose (children) to dangerously high levels of lead, especially if the candy becomes damp or if the wrapper is chewed or eaten,” the statement said. 

The agency urged that children who may have eaten such lollipops be checked for lead exposure. 

The lollipop is a soft, dark brown tamarind fruit candy on a white or orange stick, wrapped in an orange-red wrapper with the word “Bolirindo” in white letters and a picture of a tamarind fruit.

SANTA MONICA — The Navy’s new low-frequency sonar creates an “acoustic traffic jam” that threatens the way whales and dolphins communicate, environmentalists claimed Thursday in a stepped-up campaign against the system. 

“If deployed, all species and marine animals could be affected,” said Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Joel Reynolds. 

Reynolds was joined by actor Pierce Brosnan and other opponents of the sonar system in a press conference before the first of three public hearings scheduled by the National Marine Fisheries Service on the issue. 

The fisheries service will decide if the Navy should be exempt from environmental protection laws, which would give the military clearance to deploy the sonar system.  

The Navy has said its sonar, designed to detect quiet submarines by emitting sound waves at 180 decibels, does not pose a significant threat to marine life. 

But environmentalists are trying to convince the fisheries service otherwise.  

They say the sonar system harms whales and other sea creatures, and they want more research before the Navy should be allowed to move forward. 

“The effects of LFA (low-frequency active sonar system) might not be known for years,” said scientist Rod Fujita, who has worked with the NRDC on the issue. 

An environmental impact report commissioned by the Navy found that humpback whales stopped singing or extended their mating songs when exposed to the sounds.  

However, there were no biologically significant responses from the whales or the effects were temporary, said Lt. Jensin Sommer, a Navy spokeswoman. 

The study recommended limiting the use of the sonar in breeding areas, but it found no evidence that the sound leads to abnormal behavior. 

Environmental groups say the Navy has failed to demonstrate that the sonar does not cause whale breaching 

Reynolds said the sound waves can be heard hundreds of thousands of square miles away.  

That can disrupt whale communication, such as mating and feeding, and can cause the creatures to veer off their migratory paths. 

“We’re talking about an acoustic traffic jam that can lead to the extinction of species,” he said. 

The group charged that a different sonar system used during a Navy exercise off the Bahamas in March 2000 was responsible for the mass stranding of four species of whales and dolphins. 

“Sound is perceived physically in water,” said Naomi Rose of the Humane Society.  

“It causes the sheering of tissue and lungs. ... It’s like what happens when an opera singer shatters glass.” 

Navy scientists said the whale deaths in the Bahamas were linked to a mid-frequency sonar that has no correlation to the new system, which is less intrusive. 

The hearing in Los Angeles will be followed by one in Hawaii and Silver Springs, Maryland, said Kenneth Hollingshead, a biologist with the fisheries service. A decision is expected later in the summer. 

On the Net: 

Fisheries service: http://www.nmfs.gov 

U.S. Navy’s sonar program: http://www.surtass-lfa-eis.com 

NRDC: http://www.nrdc.org

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis’ plan to keep middle-school students in class longer each year suffered a setback Thursday in the Senate Education Committee. 

Although Davis modified his plan by providing more money for poorer schools, the committee did not vote on the bill containing his plan when it passed 31 other bills Thursday. The bills now go to the Appropriations Committee. 

All bills that spend money must be approved by policy committees by Friday. 

Davis had first proposed spending $100 million in the 2001-2002 budget for middle schools that add 30 days to their school year. He hoped to expand the increase to all middle schools in three years, at an eventual annual cost of $1 billion. 

On Wednesday, Davis changed his plan, lengthening the year by only 20 days and using the savings for grants for the state’s lowest-performing schools. 

Opponents said his original plan would give money to schools that didn’t need it, including those in affluent areas with high test scores. Lawmakers are trying to focus money and new programs this year on schools with scores in the bottom 20 percent on the statewide test. 

Davis’ plan passed the committee muster Wednesday but the committee didn’t take a final vote on it Thursday. 

A Davis spokeswoman said Thursday that the governor hopes the committee will consider the bill again on May 9. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Read the bill, SB1020 by Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Commerce, at 

http://www.sen.ca.gov. 

Read Davis’ education proposals at http://www.ose.ca.gov 

SACRAMENTO — State lawmakers decided Thursday to put California in the business of building power plants and place gasoline refineries at the bottom of the blackout list. 

However, another energy-crisis bill to speed up approval of new power plants stalled when Republican senators objected to an amendment allowing workers furloughed during blackouts to collect unemployment insurance. 

The Assembly approved a bill that would create a new state power authority that could finance, buy, operate and build electricity generating plants. 

The new California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority could issue up to $5 billion in revenue bonds to pay for the projects. The bonds would be repaid when the electricity is sold to utilities or consumers. 

The new authority would also do long-term planning to “ensure this kind of crisis never happens again,” said Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys. Hertzberg said the authority would provide no more than 15 percent of the state’s power needs. 

Republicans refused to vote for the authority bill. Minority Leader Dave Cox of Rancho Cordova called it “socializing the system.” 

The bill was approved 47-28 and returned to the Senate for a vote on amendments added by the Assembly. 

The vote was 78-0 for the bill to make petroleum refineries among the last customers affected by rolling blackouts. It also goes to the Senate. 

The petroleum industry says even brief electricity outages can force a refinery shut down for days, curtailing the state’s supplies of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. 

In the Senate, the plant-siting bill fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed when Republicans accused Democrats of breaking an agreement that the bill only would deal with the approval of new power plants. 

“This is the time for deals to be kept,” said Senate Republican leader Jim Brulte, R-Rancho Cucamonga. 

Republicans objected to an amendment, added in the Assembly, that would allow workers to collect unemployment insurance if they are forced to leave work without pay because of blackouts. 

The Senate agreed, however, to allow the bill’s author, Sen. Byron Sher, D-Stanford, to bring it up again for another vote in the future. 

The bill would expedite the approval process for a new or remodeled power plant by the California Energy Commission. It would shorten the time that local governments have to review the proposal, and it would make commission decisions subject to review by the state Supreme Court without first going through lower courts. 

The bill would also shorten the approval time for “repowering” or remodeling existing plants from 12 months to 180 days. It would require the state Air Resources Board and local air districts to speed up their approval of antismog plans for new and remodeled plants. 

On the Net: Read the bills, SB28x by Sher, SB6x by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, and AB57x by Assemblyman John Dutra, D-Fremont at http://www.sen.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO — Frustrated by soaring energy prices and tightening supplies, lawmakers lashed out at power generators Thursday, and implied some should go to jail. 

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante joined Assembly Democrats in their attempt to make overcharging for electricity a felony punishable by prison for corporate officers and forfeiture of 10 percent of a company’s assets. 

Meanwhile, analysts from the Independent System Operator, which runs the state’s power grid, told a Senate investigating committee generators owe California more than $6 billion in refunds for artificially driving up prices to unprecedented levels. 

Market manipulation affected 98 percent of the hourly bidding on electricity between May and November, testified Anjali Sheffrin, director of the ISO’s department of market analysis. 

A shortage of supply and suppliers created a classic oligopoly, where just five major electricity wholesalers found they could name their price without necessarily coordinating their actions, Sheffrin said. The shortage-driven price spiral soon spread to other Western states, she said. 

“In an oligopoly market, everybody benefits from high prices,” she told the Senate Select Committee to Investigate Price Manipulation in the Wholesale Energy Market. 

Prices averaged 30 percent higher than they should have since May, ISO Market Monitoring Manager Eric Hildebrandt told the same committee. 

However, ISO’s studies were not designed to identify individual generators who overcharged, Hildebrandt said, and he did not suggest generators acted illegally. 

As part of its investigation, the committee subpoenaed confidential ISO power-bidding records. 

Investigators won’t find anything, said Jan Smutny-Jones, executive director of the Independent Energy Producers Association. “The generators that are being investigated did not create this market.” 

“If what they’re doing isn’t illegal, it ought to be,” Bustamante said as he proposed making price gouging a felony. “If they think they’re going to get away with this, they’re wrong.” 

Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater, compared the energy crisis to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and his bill to a crackdown on wartime profiteering. 

Those who “rob millions of Californians of billions of dollars” should face the same prison time as if they had burglarized a house, Cardoza said. 

Investigators haven’t found any wrongdoing, Cardoza and Bustamante said, because they didn’t dig deeply enough. 

Their bill calls for a million-dollar award and whistleblower protection to anyone who provides proof that generators illegally drove up energy prices. 

Prices would drop, they said, if the bill passes and generators who don’t overcharge have nothing to fear. 

Smutny-Jones joined Republicans who said the bill would discourage generators from selling energy to California when the state needs power to stave off summer blackouts. 

Lawmakers acted a day after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in a late-night order, limited energy prices during the state’s power emergencies. 

FERC has ordered generators to justify $124 million in possible overcharges for three months this year, an amount state officials call too small. 

Meanwhile, lawmakers split along partisan lines on two energy bills, derailing a Senate bill designed to speed up approval of new power plants. Republicans balked at an amendment that would let workers collect unemployment insurance if blackouts force them to leave work without pay. 

Assembly Democrats used their majority to send the Senate a bill creating a new power authority that could issue up to $5 billion in revenue bonds to build or operate power plants. 

Both parties supported an Assembly bill that would make gasoline refineries among the last to be subject to rolling blackouts. The petroleum industry argued an outage could shut down a refinery for days and result in shortages of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. That bill now goes to the Senate. 

——— 

On the Net: Read SB6x, SB28x, AB57x and AB67x on the Web at http://www.sen.ca.gov 

SANTA CRUZ — Adragon De Mello, no longer the boy wonder who graduated college at age 11, is about to face a challenge that life as a child prodigy could not have prepared him for. 

De Mello, now a 24-year-old high-tech worker, took custody Thursday of his father – the man who tried to push him toward greatness, and who hoped his son would be a Nobel Prize winner by the age of 16. 

Agustin De Mello, dying of bladder cancer, was arrested March 15 after an alleged shootout with police. He has been released to the custody of his son pending trial. 

“This is a lot better,” Adragon said moments before his dad walked out of jail. “It killed me walking in here and seeing him.” 

Agustin will be under house arrest at his home along wind-swept bluffs overlooking a popular Pacific Ocean surfing spot. He will be electronically monitored, with a band around his ankle, pending his May 29 trial. 

“He wants to die at home. That’s been his concern from day one. He did not want to go to the hospital,” said Santa Cruz County assistant district attorney Christine McGuire. 

The father and son became the center of a national debate in the 1980s over parents pushing children toward academic achievement. It led to a long estrangement between the two that only recently has been reconciled. 

Adragon received an associate degree with highest honors in 1987 from a two-year junior college at age 10. He graduated a year later from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a degree in computational mathematics, becoming the youngest college graduate in U.S. history. 

University officials later reviewed Adragon’s record, and said the boy had been allowed to take an “unconscionable” course load. 

But Agustin wanted more, and publicly spoke of his hopes that his son would win a Nobel Prize and go on to lead an “intergalactic government.” 

Adragon never attained all his father’s goals. In fact, he spent most of his teenage years trying to recapture the childhood he never knew. 

Now, his life as a young adult again is centered on his dad. 

He has spent the last few weeks sitting in a packed Santa Cruz courtroom, watching his shackled father cling to life in a rumpled jail jumpsuit. There were breaks in the proceedings so Agustin could go into a nearby bathroom and bleed. 

His body wracked with pain, the 71-year-old Agustin phoned police March 15 saying he was gravely ill. 

“My problem is I’m dying of cancer. I’m standing here in a bathtub bleeding to death,” he told the 911 dispatcher. 

Four hours and several gunshots later, Agustin was taken from his home in handcuffs by a SWAT team. It remains unclear what happened during those four hours, but Agustin now is charged with assault with a deadly weapon. 

The odyssey that now has reunited father and son began when Adragon was just 6 weeks old. It was then that his proud father said Adragon uttered his first word: “Hello.” 

By 3, Adragon had learned how to read and write, his father claimed. And, even if those were exaggerated memories, no one could deny that Adragon was bright beyond his years. 

But as Adragon’s academic achievements came together, the family fell apart. By the year he graduated from UCSC, Agustin was battling for custody against Adragon’s mother, Cathy Gunn, who felt the boy was being pushed too hard. A judge gave them joint custody. 

Adragon ended up living with his mother in Sunnyvale, enrolling in junior high and trying to catch up with a childhood supplanted by computers and scientific theories. 

At first, Adragon was awful at being a kid. He swung his first baseball bat at age 12, only to see it fly wildly out of his hands. He had little experience with sports or children his own age after being sheltered by his dad for so many years. 

“A lot of people feel that I should have some sort of grudge against him for what happened when I was younger,” Adragon said. “There were years, mostly in teen-age years, that I was pretty bitter.” 

Adragon, living under the name James Gunn, graduated from Homestead High School in 1994, six years after receiving his undergraduate degree. After moving away from his father, he learned to drive and how to play with other children. 

Now, during jail visits, Adragon and Agustin have repaired their strained relationship. 

“I know he’s proud of me. Of course I didn’t get a Nobel Prize,” Adragon said. “I really didn’t have the desire to.” 

Back in his cluttered waterfront home, Agustin stood surrounded Thursday by pictures and momentos – as well as dozens of his weightlifting trophies, and photos of Albert Einstein. 

With his health fading, Agustin said the only constant in his life is his relationship with Adragon. 

“He’s the best son in the world. We’ve always had a great relationship,” Agustin said. 

as Adragon stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down sheepishly. 

“I’ve always been proud of him. I’ve always wanted him to be happy doing what he wanted to do. Things got sidetracked for many, many reasons but it had nothing to do with his talent.”

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress called for a federal ban on human cloning Thursday. 

“There is no need for this technology to ever be used with humans,” said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. 

He supports legislation in the House and Senate that would make it a federal crime to clone a human, participate in human cloning or import human clones to the United States. Violators could get 10 years in prison and a minimum $1 million fine. 

A congressional ban may be seen as redundant since federal regulators have never approved such experiments fearing the research could produce deformed babies. 

Lawmakers want to keep scientists from applying the same technique used to clone Dolly the sheep in 1997 on humans. 

The White House has indicated that if Congress passes a cloning ban bill, President Bush would sign it. 

The Food and Drug Administration says any human cloning experiments in the United States would need its approval, but opponents want a federal law strong enough to back up the regulators’ authority. 

There are human clone bans in Germany and other nations, the lawmakers said. 

Clones are created when the genetic material from a single cell is injected into an egg cell that has had its own genes removed. The resulting baby would be like an identical twin born years later. 

Despite the success of Dolly, cloned cows, mice and pigs, most animal clones die during embryonic development. Others are stillborn with birth defects. Mothers miscarry, and sometimes die, too. 

Most scientists oppose human cloning because of such risks, but some infertility doctors and a religious cult plan to try human cloning within the next year. 

Those plans, aired at a congressional hearing last month, have spurred opponents to action. 

“The scientists who created Dolly had over 200 attempts before Dolly was born,” said Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., a physician. “The prior attempts resulted in malformed, sickly creatures that had to be euthanized. 

“We cannot allow this scenario to play out with humans,” said Weldon, who is co-sponsoring the House bill with Bart Stupak, D-Mich. 

Some Congressional lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to ban cloning a couple of years ago, but lawmakers couldn’t agree on whether a ban should stop disease-fighting research that uses techniques similar to cloning. 

Debate over funding of such research – using embryonic stem cells – has emerged this year. 

During the Clinton administration, the federal government published guidelines that would permit funding of embryonic stem cell research provided the funds were not used to kill the embryo. Private researchers would extract the stem cells from fertility clinic embryos and then pass the cells along to federally funded researchers. 

The Bush administration has placed this federal funding on hold pending a Health and Human Services Department review. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson told a House committee Thursday that a decision should be made in about a month. 

——— 

On the Net: 

House Committee on Energy and Commerce: http://www.house.gov/commerce/ 

WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to make it a federal crime to harm a fetus during an assault on its mother, urging action on behalf of “unborn victims.” Abortion rights advocates decried the bill as a foot in the door toward legal recognition of fetuses as people. 

After a lengthy and sometimes testy debate that included pictures of a woman holding her stillborn child who died after she was assaulted, the House passed the bill 252-172, almost identical to the 254-172 margin by which it was passed a year ago. 

Unlike last year, this bill has the support of the White House and its new occupant. Former President Clinton had promised to veto it if it ever reached him. It didn’t, largely because there was little support for it in the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee, now evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, has yet to set a hearing on the issue this year. 

The White House said this week, “The administration supports protection for unborn children and therefore supports House passage.” 

House supporters characterized the bill as an anti-crime measure, not an abortion issue.“The law must not look upon a violent criminal’s unborn victims with an indifferent eye,” said House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas. “Every young life must be acknowledged. And every young life must be protected from predatory criminals.” 

DeLay assailed a Democratic amendment that would have stiffened penalties for harming a pregnant woman but not made harming a fetus a separate crime. “Life and death should not be subsumed beneath a semantic fog,” he said. 

But opponents called the measure a veiled attempt by conservatives to chip away at abortion rights guaranteed in the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. 

“This would be the first time in the federal legal system that we would begin to recognize a fertilized egg, a zygote, an embryo or a fetus,” said Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. “That’s what the bill is trying to do. No sneaking around today, fellas.” 

Rep. Nancy Johnson, a moderate Republican from Connecticut, warned her colleagues that the consequences of passing the bill would be extraordinary. 

“What happens if a woman has a miscarriage because she worked too hard or she didn’t take care of herself? That may not be in this bill but, let me tell you, it’s the next one down the road,” she said. 

The bill would apply only to crimes in federal jurisdiction, but about half the states have similar laws. The Supreme Court in 1989 upheld Missouri’s version, one of the broadest, which describes an “unborn child” at any stage of prenatal development as a person. 

“Today is about bringing the country together to put people in jail who deserve to go,” said Rep. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. , the bill’s author. 

A related law in North Carolina was used earlier this year to convict former Carolina Panthers football player Rae Carruth on charges of conspiracy and use of an instrument — a gun — with the intent of destroying an unborn child in the slaying of his pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams. 

Adams was ambushed and shot in her car. The child — a boy — was delivered by emergency Caesarean section and is being raised by Adams’ mother. Family members have said the child has developmental problems and cerebral palsy. 

One House member, Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., voted present. Robyn Wheeler, his spokeswoman, said he voted present because he believes the bill was poorly written and would eventually erode a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy. 

——— 

On the Net: 

The bill, H.R. 503, can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov 

WASHINGTON — The global economy is facing its biggest threats since the worldwide financial crisis of 1997-98, the International Monetary Fund warned Thursday as it sharply cut its economic forecasts for this year. 

The IMF’s worries centered on problems facing the United States and Japan, which have the world’s biggest economies. IMF officials also said Europe is doing too little to fight the global slowdown. 

In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF slashed its forecast for global growth for this year by a full percentage point, to 3.2 percent compared with projections published last October. 

The 183-nation international lending agency, preparing for its spring meetings, also warned that a global recession cannot be ruled out, especially if a hoped-for rebound in the United States does not come. 

“The outlook remains subject to considerable uncertainty, and a deeper and more prolonged downturn is clearly possible,” the IMF said in its gloomiest economic assessment since the end of the late 1990s Asian currency crisis. 

The IMF’s projection of 3.2 percent global growth would be down from 4.8 percent growth in 2000 and would represent the slowest pace since the world economy expanded just 2.8 percent in 1998, at the height of the Asian currency crisis. 

In the 1997-98 crisis, a red-hot U.S. economy kept the world from toppling into recession. This time, however, the weakness is originating in the United States as it battles a dramatic slowdown caused by plunging stock prices and cutbacks in consumer demand. 

The IMF predicted the U.S. economy will expand by just 1.5 percent this year, its poorest showing since the last U.S. recession ended in 1991.  

In its October forecast, the IMF pegged U.S. economic growth this year at 3.2 percent, more than double the current estimate. 

The fund also significantly lowered its forecasts for other countries. It slashed growth expectations for Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, to just 0.6 percent this year, and reduced the growth forecast for 12 European nations to just 2.4 percent. 

Still, the IMF found reason to be optimistic that the United States will rebound this year. It pointed to consumer demand bolstered by aggressive interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and to expected congressional approval of most of President Bush’s $1.6 trillion, 10-year tax-cut program. 

Another hopeful sign, IMF officials said, were promises by new Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to attack the root problems of his nation’s 11-year economic slump, including bad loans held by the nation’s banks. 

IMF officials were less positive, however, about developments in Europe. Just Thursday, the European Central Bank, which controls monetary policy in the 12-nation euro currency area, refused again to reduce interest rates. 

“In a slowdown such as we are experiencing, ... it is desirable that the central bank of the second largest economic area in the world would be a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem,” IMF chief economist Michael Mussa complained to reporters Thursday. 

Interest rates as well as the overhaul of operating policies for the IMF and its sister lending agency, the World Bank, will be prime agenda items at the institutions’ spring meetings in Washington this weekend. 

Unlike last year, the discussions are not expected to draw thousands of protesters, whose activities clogged streets near the White House and resulted in more than 1,300 arrests last spring. 

U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will meet with their counterparts from the world’s seven richest industrial countries Saturday as a prelude to the IMF-World Bank meetings Sunday and Monday. 

The finance discussions will focus on current economic trouble spots. Principal ones include Argentina, mired in recession and battling turbulence in financial markets that has spilled over to its Latin American neighbors, and Turkey, seeking more IMF loans to stabilize its economy. 

The Turkey loan package probably will be approved by the IMF board soon, but under stricter guidelines set by the United States. The Bush administration is hoping to avoid huge IMF bailout packages approved during the Clinton years. 

——— 

On the Net: IMF site: http://www.imf.org 

World Bank site: http://www.worldbank.org 

Treasury Department: http://www.ustreas.gov/ 

WASHINGTON — What Americans saw in the presidential campaign, they’re pretty much getting in the president. 

Three months on the job, President Bush is pushing the tax cuts and education package he promised as a candidate, while bending to some political realities on both. 

He’s broken a few environmental promises. But overall, say those who study presidential policy, he’s been true to his limited agenda. 

“The relationship between campaigning and governance is clear in this president,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Few of the big promises have worked through the pipeline but that’s not unusual this early. 

“What 100 days really tells you is what’s going to come next,” Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer said Thursday from Crawford, Texas, where the Republican president was visiting his ranch. 

“The staff’s directions are to implement the president’s program,” Fleischer said. “We haven’t set an artificial deadline.” 

Bush seems likely to succeed with tax relief, if not with the whole tax package he came to Washington to sell. 

His pledge to put more money and effort into education is being borne out, too, although his wish to give parents school vouchers in everything but name may fall by the wayside. 

Bush is also pressing ahead with giving religious groups access to tax dollars to help them provide social services, an idea that dates to the earliest days of his candidacy. 

By this point in 1993, Bill Clinton had already built piles of promises kept, broken and tangled. 

Family leave was accomplished. Middle-class tax relief was abandoned. The issue of gays in the military was a hopeless mess. 

To James Pfiffner, a George Mason University political scientist who wrote “The Strategic Presidency: Hitting the Ground Running,” Bush has lived up to the subtitle of that book. 

With his “rifle” approach, Bush is striking a greater percentage of targets than Clinton did with his shotgun, Pfiffner said. 

“You maximize your chances if you focus narrowly,” he said. “He’s been very disciplined and on message.” 

The ambiguity some say is inherent in being a “compassionate conservative” has come in handy for the president, too. 

“Bush ran a more thematic campaign and one of the realities of doing so is that it’s harder to hold you accountable for kept and broken promises,” Jamieson said. “He was never forced to a level of detail.” 

Not everything is moving apace. 

Bush still hopes to allow oil drilling in the coastal plain of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which he says is important for a secure energy future. But his administration is showing reluctance to press the matter against congressional opposition. 

One of his defining campaign promises was to let younger workers use some of their Social Security taxes to build private retirement accounts. 

That seems destined to be studied a good long time before anything happens. The stock market is weaker than when he floated the plan and changing Social Security is hard in the best of times. 

Just as Clinton started out with liberal elements of his agenda, Bush began with a tilt to the right. 

On the environment, Bush broke a commitment on the control of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, and he proposes to spend $13 million to protect tropical forests instead of the minimum $100 million a year he promised in the campaign. 

He opposed the Kyoto treaty on global warming before and after Election Day. 

Beyond substance, Bush promised a new tone – more civility, less partisanship, honor in the White House. 

To that end, he has extended tender considerations to lawmakers and, in a striking outreach early on, went to Democratic congressional retreats. 

Yet while granting him certain charms, Democratic leaders say he’s not been interested in compromise. 

“It is my way or the highway every day,” said Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, the House minority leader. 

Bush, in contrast, believes there has been a break from the bickering of the past, Fleischer said. “He knows it’s not totally changed but he’s seeing it change and change for the better.” 

That’s one area of disagreement between Bush and Democratic leaders: They dispute how well they’re getting along.

Spring is an important time of year for home dwellers. It’s when we get a chance to shake the winter dust out of our pillows and mattresses and begin the process of cleaning our home inside and out. If you have a regular routine, the process can be easier and even fun. We have a pressure washer that makes cleaning everything outside a breeze. We use it to clean spider webs from beneath the eaves, dirt from the walls – especially at the trim over doors and windows, windows, screens, doors, patios and walks, patio furniture, the barbecue, statuary and more. The trick is to start high and work down. Begin at the roofline and work your way to the ground. Start at one corner of the house and work your way around. Don’t use too much pressure. You won’t want that powerful spray to take any paint off. Be sure to use detergent with the pressure washer. Most have a feature that mixes cleaners and other concoctions into the pressurized spray. 

A pressure washer will do a good job by itself, but the addition of detergent and a little elbow grease will result in a cleaner, brighter result. If you have a one-story home, a short pole with a scrub brush on the end will allow you to do most of the cleaning with both feet planted squarely on the ground. 

This is the one time of year when you will appreciate having a full hip roof. That’s the kind that has an overhang all the way around. You can reach everything that needs cleaning with your feet on the ground. If not, you will need a ladder or scaffolding of some kind to reach additional stories or those areas where the siding is farther from the ground – like at dormers, copulas or gable ends. A gable-wall is where the wall extends up to the peak. 

Tip: Someone once told us that the only difference between a single-story home and its multistory counterpart was the stairs. Granted stairs are good exercise, but, if you have a choice, get a treadmill instead. Owning a single story home is significantly more cost-effective. Take for example the cost of maintenance. Everything you do to maintain a multistory home costs more. 

Whether your screens are made of copper, steel, aluminum or nylon, you will need to use caution during cleaning. Older metal screens have a tendency to rip and – old or new – aluminum and nylon screens can easily be stretched out of shape. And, they don’t bounce back. Once a screen is stretched, it stays that way. After the screen has been removed, lay it on a flat surface and wet it thoroughly. Use a sponge of soft bristle scrub brush to wash both sides. While the screen is drying, clean the window frame and wash and dry the window itself. If you don’t have a pressure washer, use a stiff bristle brush to clean the grooves and tracks in the frame. Once the window is clean, reinstall the screen. Plants and shrubs should be protected during the cleaning process. Press wooden stakes into the ground around fragile plants and drape a lightweight plastic cover over the stakes. This will prevent surrounding activity from unnecessarily breaking limbs and branches. 

Remove fabric covered pads and other cloth or cloth-covered items from harm’s way. Although most patio furniture pads are made to withstand attack by water, chances are they will last a lot longer if they aren’t inundated with water and detergent. 

Finally, be careful when using ladders, scaffolding and heavy equipment such as a pressure washer. Anytime you work with equipment that sprays anything, you should wear eye protection and protective clothing. And when it comes to ladders and scaffolding, make sure you have a helper to steady things

Prop for floppy plants 

Certain top-heavy plants, like delphiniums, Asiatic lilies and peonies, tend to flop over just as their blossoms look their best. The Optica Plant Support System from Luster Leaf keeps flowering plants upright without getting in the picture itself. 

Flexible fiberglass rods loop around individual plants or prevent groups of plants from spilling into paths; the rods attach to stakes with small connectors. Although the best time to support plants is when they’re young, the system also works on mature stems. Stake heights range from 24 to 36 inches, while rings adjust from 6 to 24 inches in diameter. All components are interchangeable, which means supports can be customized for any plant. 

Ten prepackaged combinations of stakes and rods are available. Prices range from $3.39 for a single stake and rod to $9.99 for a multipiece system that supports up to an 8-foot-long flower border.  

Finding the right site for vegetables 

Location, location, location is more than just a mantra for home buyers; it also holds for vegetable gardeners. One essential is good soil drainage with no standing water, even after the heaviest rain. 

Other practical advice: 

Pick a spot away from trees and shrubs that might compete with vegetables for water, nutrients and light. 

Be sure the location is sunny. Leafy vegetables, such as lettuce and spinach, require direct sunlight four to five hours daily.  

Root vegetables, like carrots and beets, need five to six hours of sun. And fruiting vegetables, including tomatoes, peppers and zucchini, require at least eight hours each day. 

Locate the garden near a water source to make irrigating easy and convenient. 

If possible, situate the garden so you can see it from a window. Besides enjoying its beauty, you’ll also be more likely to notice what needs tending, letting you take full advantage of the harvest. 

Don’t overfeed your trees 

Spring is when most homeowners fertilize the plants around their yard, including trees. Just don’t overdo it, cautions Deborah Smith-Fiola, an agent with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension in New Jersey. 

“While fertilizing causes a spurt of rapid growth, too much can harm the plant over the long term,” she explains. 

Fast-growing, overfertilized trees end up with smaller root systems that absorb water and nutrients less efficiently than slower-growing trees.  

The result is that trees are more susceptible to stress, including drought. They also have lower levels of stored carbohydrates and defensive chemicals, making them more susceptible to all kind of pests.  

What’s more, the lush growth overfertilizing encourages invites certain pests, including aphids and scale insects. 

Attracting butterflies 

Butterflies are becoming increasingly scarce as residential and commercial development destroys their habitats and endangers many species.  

You can help reverse the decline by growing plants butterflies feed on.  

The results are mutually beneficial because a landscape attractive to butterflies, such as the tiger swallowtail, is rich in flower color and enhanced by the beauty of these winged creatures. 

“Butterfly Gardening,” from the University of Minnesota Extension Service, is a great way to get started. The 21-page guide ($5) lists plants preferred by butterflies.

Fifty women, forced to marry when they don’t want to, turn the tables and murder their grooms during a bloody wedding ceremony in Charles Mee’s bizarre comedy “Big Love,” which opened Wednesday in a strong production at Berkeley Repertory Theater. 

Mee’s play was the big hit last year at Louisville’s Humana Festival, the most important annual staging of new plays in the country. 

“Big Love” is based loosely on Greek playwright Aeschylus’ fifth century drama “The Suppliant Women,” thought by some to be the oldest surviving play in the western world. 

In the original story, 50 women are forced against their will to marry their cousins. Before the weddings occur, however, the women escape to a foreign country and seek refuge.  

The king of that country initially helps them, but eventually buckles to political pressure, and supports the marriages. The women then plan the murder of the grooms. One woman backs out from the murders and marries her groom. 

Aeschylus’ original play was part of a trilogy, of which only the first play has survived. Legend indicates possible ways the story might have ended. 

Mee’s unusual update of this story plays in large part as a comedy. Set in present time, 50 brides arrive on the run from Greece, wearing slightly bedraggled wedding gowns and carrying their suitcases, at a palatial room in Italy that they initially believe to be part of a fancy hotel. 

They burst into song – Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me.” Then with the grooms soon in pursuit, angry bridal ringleader Thyona (K.J. Sanchez) rallies her sisters for a counterattack. 

The production starts wonderfully – colorful and funny. But after its first flash of unusualness, the story becomes a hodge-podge. The real art in this Berkeley Rep production is director Les Waters’ wonderful staging. Waters directed last year’s Humana Festival world premiere of the play. 

As far as the script goes, the dialogue and story verge on gender politics cliché. The characters are more types than individuals. 

The pack of 50 brides is represented principally by three – the angry woman (Sanchez), the blonde bimbo (Aimee Guillot), and the thoughtful woman (Carolyn Baeumier). 

Not speaking Greek, I can’t vouch for the original, but this contemporary American version is written without any poetry that may have existed in the original. 

The dialogue is filled with didactic speechifying and predictable gender politics rhetoric that sound very familiar. The three brides and the three grooms debate the differences between women and men. 

Groom Constantine (Mark Zeisler) emerges as a troglodytic right-wing soldier. He believes that "life is rape," ready to tie a woman to the bed and set her one fire with gasoline. At the play’s end, the trial by the murdering women of the one sister who decides to marry is especially sententious and gassy. 

The backwards and forwards anachronisms created by merging two different cultures and periods of time often don’t fit well together. 

The wedding, for example, doesn’t make sense in this modern retelling. Why are these modern, 21st century women – bright, resourceful, thoughtful, wealthy – trapped in these marriages? 

The merging of the two cultures forces the script into over-the-top-comedy, making the story cartoony, and undercutting its emotional subtext. 

The murders at the end don’t make sense for these modern characters, who have many more options in their lives than women from 5th century B.C. The killings seem more pathological than political. 

Having said all that, director Waters and his cohorts have created a very visual and sensual production in a script where there is a lot of room for director and actors to fill in the blanks. The sudden, stylized helicopter arrival of three soldier/grooms is an astonishing moment. 

There’s a wonderful scene early on where the three women suddenly fly into spasms of what it’s like to be beaten up by men, and how they can bounce back and survive it. 

Later, a parallel spasm of the three men – sort of a frustrated guy dance on what it’s like to be a man--evolves into professional wrestling choreography. The wedding scene near the end of the play quickly becomes a food fight, then an orgy, then a mass murder. 

There are many good performances. Carolyn Bauemier, shedding her bride’s dress and hopping nude into a bathtub on arriving in Italy at the top of the play, shows her comfort in  

her femaleness. 

Lauren Klein is riveting in two roles, first as a sleepy old Italian woman dressed in traditional black, talking about the joys of marriage, and the disappointments with her 13 sons. Later Klein shoes up as a dizzy party socialite, thrilled at the prospect of a wedding, in a sex-obsessed puritan way. 

Tony Speciale is outstanding as the homeowner’s gay nephew, enjoying his time with the brides who are fascinated by stories of his Ken and Barbie collection. J. Michael Flynn is wonderful in two roles – as the compromise-seeking homeowner, and later as a party Casanova. Scenic designer Annie Smart’s pink-and-blue, boys-and-girls drawing room veranda, and Robert Wierzel’s carnival of bright lighting explode a dazzling performance space. 

This might turn out to be a popular play for the p.c. set, but for me the mixing of two styles from two eras created a story in which the pieces didn’t fit together well. 

Planet theater reviewer John Angell Grant has written for “American Theatre,” “Backstage West,” “Callboard,” and many other publications. E-mail him at jagplays@yahoo.com.

SAN FRANCISCO— Struggling online grocer Webvan Group Inc. continued a crash financial diet Thursday by shedding its Atlanta delivery system and laying off 885 employees – about 25 percent of its work force. 

The Atlanta closure will jettison 485 workers. Webvan is trimming another 400 workers at its Foster City headquarters and a Kirkland, Wash. administrative office as the company tries to ration its cash until its unprofitable business starts making money. The company is promising to become self-sufficient during the second half of next year. 

Webvan still has a long way to go to fulfill the pledge. 

The company Thursday reported a first-quarter loss of $86.1 million, or 18 cents per share, on sales of $77.2 million. That compared to a a loss of $75.4 million, or 17 cents per share, on sales of $37.5 million at the same time last year. 

The latest setback raised Webvan’s losses to $697 million since 1998. 

In its scramble to survive, Webvan is slashing expenses. The Atlanta closure comes just a few days after the company decided to shut down its Sacramento service. In February, Webvan exited the Dallas market. 

After setting out to deliver groceries in 26 markets by the end of 2002, Webvan has whittled its operations to seven markets – San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Seattle, Chicago and Portland, Ore. 

“The key question now is whether they have cut enough,” said industry analyst Jeetil Patel of Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown. 

Webvan’s newly appointed CEO Robert Swan thinks so. Webvan appointed Swan, formerly the company’s chief operating officer, to the CEO job Thursday.  

He replaces George Shaheen who resigned two weeks ago. 

“We feel like we have the right market footprint now,” Swan, 40, said during an interview. “I feel more confident about our model every day.” 

Patel believes Webvan should retrench even further by getting out of the Pacific Northwest and focusing on its California and Chicago operations. 

With the latest cuts, Webvan now has enough cash – $115 million as of March 31 – to make it through the end of this year, Swan said in an interview Thursday. Previously, Webvan had warned investors that the company might need to raise an additional $5 million to $15 million to make it through the year. 

The company still needs at least $25 million to stay in business next year, Swan said. Webvan has hired Goldman Sachs & Co. to explore its financing alternatives, which include the possibility of borrowing the money from several of its existing investors. 

Webvan’s service has developed a dedicated following. About 84 percent of the company’s first-quarter orders came from repeat customers.  

Webvan reported 761,780 active customer accounts as of March 31. 

The company’s profit hopes received a boost at the end of the first quarter when its Orange County distribution center generated a positive cash flow.  

Management pointed to the breakthrough as a sign that delivering groceries to online shoppers is a viable business. 

Investors aren’t convinced. In trading Thursday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Webvan’s shares fell 10 cents to close at 14 cents. As part of an effort to boost its shares above $1 and avoid getting bumped off the Nasdaq, Webvan announced that its board has approved a reverse 25-to-1 stock split. 

The reverse stock split would result in a 25-fold reduction in the number of outstanding shares of Webvan stock – a change that the company hopes will dramatically increase the trading price of its shares. 

On The Net: 

http://www.webvan.com

The business school of the University of California at Berkeley honored the investment banker whose firm helped launch Apple Computer with a lifetime achievement award. 

The Haas School of Business announced Monday that William Hambrecht is the 2001 recipient of the Lester Center Lifetime Achievement Award for his innovations and contributions to the world of business. 

Hambrecht is the co-founder of the firm Hambrecht & Quist, famous for managing the initial public offerings of Genentech, and People Express, in addition to Apple, in 1981. 

By 1997, the firm had worked with over 700 companies, including Adobe Systems, Convergent Technologies, Sybase, and Apollo Computer.  

Among the companies was Boston Beer, maker of Samuel Adams Boston, the company that helped him dream out his most recent venture. 

Boston Beer's CEO, Jim Koch, insisted that 25 percent of the IPO shares be taken away from institutional investors and geared toward individual customers.  

The results were that in 1996, the $10 million IPO was oversubscribed by $30 million, as a result of the beer drinkers. 

That experience has led to the creation of Hambrecht's new firm, WR Hambrecht & Co., which uses the Internet to create a system that let all investors – acting either institutionally or individually – bid for IPO stocks. 

The OpenIPO, as the system is called, is built around a Dutch auction model, which allows the investors – not investment banks – set the price. 

“With his new OpenIPO concept, (Hambrecht) has once again changed the rules of the game, creating an innovative and distinctive offering for his new firm,” said Jerome Engel, executive director of the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation,  

Most recently, his company has led the internet initial stock offering of Peet's Coffee and Tea.

924 Gilman St. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless noted $5; $2 for a year membership April 27: Atom & His Package, Phantom Limbs, Har Mar Superstar, The Frisk, Shubunkins; April 28: 7 Seconds, Throwdown, Vitamin X, Over My Dead Body, Breaker Breaker 525-9926  

Ashkenaz April 25, 8 p.m.: Fling Ding with Crooked Jades, Bluegrass Intentions, clogging lesson; April 26, 10 p.m.: Dead DJ night with digital dave; April 27, 8 p.m.: Musicians for Medical Marijuana Benefit featuring Fact or Fiction with Martin Fierro, Shelly Doty X-Tet; April 28, 9:30 p.m.: Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums, 8 p.m. dance lesson; 1370 San Pablo Ave. (at Gilman) 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Eli’s Mile High Club Doors open at 8 p.m. April 27: Carlos Zialcita; April 28: J.J. Malone; May 4: Henry Clement; May 5: Terry Hanck; May 11: Jimmy Mamou; May 12: Fillmore Slim 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland 655-6661  

Freight & Salvage All music at 8 p.m. April 25: An Evening Honoring Kenny Cahn with Caren Armstrong, Doug Blumer, John Lester, Christie McCarthy, The Urban Acoustic Dude and others; April 26: Cheryl Wheeler, Steve Seskin; April 27: Sol Y Canto; April 28: Roy Rogers & Norton Buffalo; April 29: Bryan Bowers; April 30: Sharon Shannon; May 5, 10 a.m. - Noon: West Coast Live with author P.D. James and Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser; 1111 Addison St. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jazzschool/La Note All music at 4:30 p.m. May 6: David Creamer Trio; May 13: Michael Zilber Group 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 or visit www.jazzschool.com  

Cal Performances April 28, 8 p.m.: Vanguard Swing Orchestra, UC Berkeley Big Band $18 - $30; April 29, 3 p.m.: Mezzo-Soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson sings Handel, Lieberson, and Schumann $28 - $48; May 4 & 5, 8 p.m.: Merce Cunningham Dance Company presents “Way Station,” “BIPED,” and “Rainforest” $20 - $42 Zellerbach Hall UC Berkeley; April 22, 3 p.m.: Violinist Gill Shaham and Pianist Orli Shaham perform Coplan, Faure, and Brahms Hertz Hall 642-9988 or www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

The Pirate Prince April 29, 8 p.m. The first production for the new Hillside Players. Princesses, pirates, witches and modern dialogue in a family-geared show. Free admission, reservations required Hillside Club 2286 Cedar St. 528-2416  

Alla Francesca April 25, 8 p.m. Performing French and Italian love songs of the 14th century $28 First Congregational Church 2345 Channing Way 642-9988 or e-mail: tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“Rome Wasn’t Burnt In A Day” April 27, 7:30 p.m. Earth First! campfire singer/songwriter Danny Dolinger playing songs of love, revolution, bravery, cowardice and group hygiene. $5 Unitarian Fellowship Hall 1924 Cedar (at Bonita) 548-3113 

Community Music Day at the Crowden School and Crowden Center for Music April 28, 1-5 p.m. Music and dance performances and storytelling. Families can make their own instruments, watch a master violin maker at work, or go to the Instrument Petting Zoo to try playing different instruments. Rose Street at Sacramento in Berkeley. Free. Call 559-6910.  

Russian Chamber Orchestra April 28, 8 p.m. Featuring Piano Soloist Yakov Kasman, Soprano Svetlana Niktenko, and the Konevets, a vocal quartet from St. Petersburg. First Congregational Church 2345 Channing Way 415-478-2277 

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. 525-5393 or www.bellamusic.org 

“Music from the Mediterranean and Beyond” April 29, 2 p.m. Zahra combines Arab folk roots with the groove and influences of modern music $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 www.juliamorgan.org 

People’s Park 32nd anniversary Festival April 29,12:30 - 6 p.m. Performances by, among others, Rebecca Riots, X-Plicit Players, Shelley Doty X-tet, with special guests Wavy Gravy, Frank Moore, Stoney Burke, Kriss Worthington and many more. Also including skateboarding demos, animal petting farm, puppets, and “surprises.” People’s Park Haste St. & Telegraph Ave. 848-1985 

Community Women’s Orchestra Family Concert April 29, 4 p.m. Conducted by Ann Krinitsky, featuring works by Rossini, Richter, Beethoven. Free or by donation. Piano solo by Dr. Pearl Toy. Malcolm X School 1731 Prince St. 653-1616 

UC Dance Theater Spring 2001 Season Program A: April 27, 28, 8 p.m. A premiere of “Soulmate” by Marni Wood, “New Work” by Anne Westwick and “New Work” by Christopher Dolder with original music by Edwin Dugger. Program B: April 28, 29, 2 p.m. “Esplanade” by Paul Taylor, reconstructed by Mary Cochran, “American Decades” by David Wood, “Le Matin sans Minuet” by Christopher Dolder, and “Treading” by Christopher Dolder $6 - $12 Zellerbach Playhouse UC Berkeley 601-8932 

Movement April 26, 7 p.m. Movement will be presenting various dance styles such as commercial jazz, hip-hop, swing, lyrical, and a fusion of jazz and hip-hop. Featuring student choreography as well as professional choreography from LA and New York $5 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 or www.juliamorgan.org 

Reflejos de Mexico April 28, 2 p.m. The dance troupe celebrates the vast richness of the Mexican culture. Park of Dance Week. $10 - $12 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

Odissi Dance April 28, 7 p.m. Reputed to be the most lyrical of the seven main forms of Indian classical dance with its liquidity of movement and graceful expression. $18 - $28 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 www.juliamorgan.org 

Music and Dance of Bali May 5, 8 p.m., May 6, 2 p.m. Forty-five member ensemble Gamelan Sekar Jaya presents rhythms of Balinese gamelan in an orchestra of gongs, drums, flutes and bronze metallophones accompanied by several of Bali’s skilled dancers. $8-$16 Saturday, $5-$10 Sunday Julia Morgan Theatre 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

www.juliamorgan.org  

Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted April 24: Chitra Divakaruni reads “The Unknown Errors of Our Lives”; April 25: Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel discuss “Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect”; April 26: Maud Casey and John Searles read from “The Shape of Things to Come” and “Boy Still Missing” 

1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 All events at 7 p.m., unless noted April 26: Mother of three Wynn McClenahan Burkett will read from “Life After Baby: From Professional Woman to Beginner Parent”;  

“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 26: Ray Skjelbred; May 3: Lucy Lang Day with host Dale Jensen; May 10: Jamie Kennedy with host Mischell Erickson; May 17: Gregory Listach Gayle with host Mark States; 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

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

Holloway Poetry Reading Series April 25, 5 p.m. Chris Nealon reads from his new book “Ecstasy Shield” Sponsored by the UC Berkeley Department of English Maude Fife Room (315) Wheeler Hall UC Berkeley 653-2439 

PSR Professor Book Release Celebration April 25, 3 - 5 p.m. Karen Lebacqz and Joseph D. Driskell, co-authors of “Ethics and Spiritual Care,” and Randi Walker, author of “Emma Newman: A Frontier Woman Minister,” will be honored at this faculty book forum. Hear reviews of the books by the authors. Pacific School of Religion PSR Bade Museum 1798 Scenic Ave. 849-8252 

Selected Poetry of Yehuda Amichai April 29, 10:30 a.m. Chana Bloch and Chana Kronfeld, co-translators of Yehuda Amichai’s “Open Closed Open,” will read their translations from the Hebrew. Book signing to follow. $4 - $5 Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237  

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. Through April 29, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. See an amazing display of plants that are sources of commonly used fibers and dyes. 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 

City Commons Club Speaker Series All speakers at 12:30 p.m. April 27: Wen-Hsing Yeh, professor of history, UC Berkeley speaks on “The Culture of China in a Changing World” $1 admission with coffee Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. 848-3533 or 845-4725 

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. May 8, 5:15 - 6:30 p.m.: “What Makes Water Wet?” Richard Saykally, professor of Chemistry, UC Berkeley (refreshments served in 410 O’Brien Hall at 4:15 p.m.) 212 O’Brien Hall, UC Berkeley 642-2666  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute Free Lectures All lectures begin at 6 p.m. April 29: Barr Rosenberg on “The Ornament of the Middle Way”; May 6: Sylvia Gretchen on “Faith, Doubt, and Refuge in Buddhist Practice”; May 13: Abbe Blum on “Tapping Into Creativity”; May 20: Miep Cooymans and Dan Jones on “Working with Awareness, Concentration, and Energy”; May 27: Eva Casey on “Getting Calm; Staying Clear”; June 3: Jack van der Meulen on “Healing Through Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga)”; June 10: Sylvia Gretchen on “Counteracting Negative Emotions” Tibetan Nyingma Institute 1815 Highland Place 843-6812 

“The New Economy” April 25, 6:45 p.m. Dick Walker, UC Berkeley professor and chair of the California Studies Center, will discuss current work force issues, the class divide, and future trends. Free South Berkeley Library 1901 Russell St. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

West Coast Regional Spartacist Educational April 28, Noon Jon Wood, of the Spartacist League, will speak: “Defend the Gains of the Cuban Revolution”; 3:30 p.m.: George Foster, central committee, Spartacist League, will speak: “For Socialist Revolution in the Bastion of World Imperialism” 60 Evans, UC Berkeley 839-0851 

“Reading Technologies” May 2, 4 - 6 p.m. Ivan Illich, visiting scholar at UC Berkeley in anthropology, will talk about the history, visual architecture and meaning of reading from the time of classical print cultures and the medieval monk to the innovation and detachment of today’s digital era. Free Morrison Reading Room Doe Library UC Berkeley 642-5339 

“Hunting T. Rex” May 6, 2 p.m. A talk by Dr. Philip Currie, curator of dinosaurs, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology. Currie asks the question: Was there social interaction amongst the Tyrannosaurs? $3 - $7 Lawrence Hall of Science UC Berkeley 642-5132 or visit www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Berkeley 1900 May 7, 7 p.m. Richard Schwartz, author of Berkeley 1900, a book about life at the turn of the 19th century, will speak at the Friends of Five Creeks’ monthly meeting. Albany Community Center (downstairs) 1249 Marin 848-9358 

Peopling of the Pacific May 11, 8 p.m. Dr. Patrick Kirch, department of Anthropology, UC Berkeley, will review results of archaeological research in the Pacific Islands, providing a current overview of Oceanic prehistory. 370 Dwinelle Hall UC Berkeley 415-338-1537  

No to the FTAA 

Editor: 

As I read about the proceedings of the Free Trade Area of the Americas meetings in Quebec City, I ask myself, how important is it for the United States consumer to save a few cents each time we buy orange juice? This may not seem like an important question but this is exactly the reason Brazil and other countries would like to see the FTAA become a reality: access to U.S. markets. 

But how would this help us? It would certainly put a burden on U.S. orange growers to sell at lower prices, forcing more family farmers out of business and/or forcing growers in turn to reduce wages/benefits for workers. It would also mean that our glass of orange juice has traveled many extra thousands of miles to reach our breakfast tables, resulting in countless tons of unneeded pollution and wasting immense amounts of energy. But we will save a few cents at the store! 

Let your politicians know that the FTAA is a bad idea for our country and for the world. 

David Ceaser 

Berkeley 

Beth El is a very good neighbor 

Editor: 

In a letter to the Berkeley Daily Planet (April 14-15), Susan Schwartz expresses some concerns about possible noise and disturbance should Congregation Beth El move into its new premises in her neighborhood. I hope I can alleviate some of those fears from personal experience, because I am the closest neighbor of Beth El (bordering their property in an L-shape on two sides) in their current premises. The Beth El kitchen window overlooks our living room with less than 15 feet and only a wooden fence between us.  

We are not members of the synagogue, but have valued its presence and made use of its excellent community programs. 

Camp Kee Tov’s summer session is the busiest time of the year for Beth El in terms of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, but we have been struck by the organization and efficiency with which Camp Kee Tov guarded against irritation to the neighbors. (This included counselors on the sidewalks directing traffic to move quickly at the open and close of each day.)  

Generally, the synagogue is the best neighbor one could have - extremely quiet, unintrusive, and without any traffic problems. I have never had anyone block the entrance to my driveway/garage, and nor has my husband had trouble finding a spot nearby for his car. I see people walking to synagogue on a Saturday morning and they greet us courteously. I hear and see the nursery school children playing in the backyard - the noise level is never disturbing. The students at after-school religious classes can be a little noisy during breaks, but those voices will not be audible to neighbors of the new site. Sunday morning classes for teenagers have been a non-event for us as neighbors at 9 am; only staff members arrive at 7 or 8 am during the week and I never hear them. Evening meeting or adult education classes are no more noticeable than the comings and goings of my other neighbors, and in fact provide us with an additional sense of security when our home is empty. 

In addition, my husband has his office at home, overlooking the most frequently used entrance to Beth El, but his work and conference calls have never been disturbed.  

As far as the holding of bar mitzvah parties on weekends goes, Saturday nights are the only regular possibilities. There have been some parties at the current site but the noise level has been negligible. It seems impressive to me that the designers of the new site have added additional cushioning by incorporating soundproofing, air conditioning (so that windows are closed during nighttime gatherings), inward-facing buildings, and landscape screening, not to mention some on-site parking. Most importantly, as neighbors we have the protection of Berkeley’s noise ordinance: if a party is too noisy, the music is cut off at 10 p.m. 

On a number of occasions I have walked past the new property, which seems overgrown and run down and in need of an appreciative and vigorous owner. I wish Beth El the best luck there, but our family will always remember with nostalgia our time living next to the synagogue.  

Linda Press Wulf and Stanley Wulf 

Berkeley 

Mammogram story did disservice  

Editor: 

The Associated Press report that the Daily Planet chose to reprint, concerning the impact of mammograms, did a disservice to your readers (“Routine Mammograms Impact Cancer Deaths”). There remains absolutely no substantial proof that mammograms have reduced the breast cancer death rate in any way whatsoever. As a matter of fact, death from breast cancer has been rising at an alarming rate, regardless of mammograms, chemotherapy and radiation.  

The American Cancer Society is surely part of the problem; responsible for funneling millions of dollars annually into a failed program of treatment, uninterested in discussing or addressing the causes of cancer. They have succeeded only in keeping the money flowing and the public ignorant. 

Your readers should note that the current study they’ve been touting was devised by scientists employed by the American Cancer Society. Any independent studies have shown no correlation at all between conventional advice and long-term survival. The most comprehensive, independent study done to this date (a 20 year study in England), suggests that women who do absolutely nothing live longer quality lives than those who follow doctor’s orders. 

Michael Bauce 

Berkeley 

Community must address crime 

Editor:  

I am the mother of one of the pedestrians attacked and beaten by three “high-school-aged assailants” mentioned in the April 18 police briefs. I felt moved to let readers know that the (understandably) anonymous description of the victims (bad word – target of violent intentions, perhaps?) and the results of the vicious, even pointless, assaults, begs for expansion.  

First, to know that our son, much like the Daily Planet’s readers and the other targets of the attack, comes from a loving, caring family. We moved to Berkeley in 1979, believing it would be like Ann Arbor, with sunshine year-round and safe for any 10-year-old. We were soon relieved of both myths (the safety issue after only two trips down Telegraph Avenue).  

Then, years later, this. We’re still waiting for facial x-ray results - fractured bones or ‘just’ lingering soreness? The broken finger is splinted in a short-arm cast. The blood-filled, black-and-blue eyes are slowly resolving. We thank God for his life. Other parents have not been so lucky.  

This son, our youngest ‘child’ (could he be ‘a man walking along...listening to a portable CD player’?) kept the attack from us for three days.  

He apologized for not showing up to help with his dad on Thursday due to some ‘muscle aches.’ When the truth came out he said, “Mom, I didn’t think you would be able to handle seeing my face as it was then.” I woke up at four the next morning and cried until past dawn.  

Ohlone Park is notorious for ‘campers’ and other character-disordered types using public grounds as toilets and/or lying-in-wait for locals naive enough to think they can take a walk after dark.  

The Police Department claims most attackers in Berkeley come from Richmond and Oakland.  

So what is being done? Where are the neighborhood citizen patrols? Where is the improved lighting in streets and parks (voted down in the last election)? Why the apathy among neighbors? Imagine this: a man admitted looking out of his window as the criminals knocked my son to his knees, but didn’t call 911 because he “thought it was just some kid getting beat up.”  

name withheld by request 

Editor: 

I am a teacher at the Berkeley Independent Study program writing in reference to Ben Lumpkin’s Monday piece on the Alternative School. What about us? Our program has far more students and staff (approximately 200 students and 30 teachers) than the Alternative High School. So, in fact, the three acre campus has to hold around 350 people. Independent Study is a part of Berkeley High but is also an alternative program located on the campus of the Alternative High School. We are the largest alternative program on the campus of the Alternative High School and one of the largest alternative programs in the entire Berkeley Unified School District? How can you write an article about the campus without mentioning the majority of the people who work and study there? 

Doug Healy, 

Teacher, Berkeley Independent Study 

Wednesday, April 25

Planning Commission  

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. There will be discussion of amendments to the general plan. 

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 

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 

The New Math  

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 

Gray Panthers General  

Meeting 

1:30 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St.  

Sandra Weese of SEIU Local 250 and two hospital workers will tell about their campaign to improve staffing ratios and conditions in California Nursing Homes.  

548-9696 

Thursday, April 26

Fire Suppression Class  

1 - 4 p.m. 

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 

Trail of a Lifetime  

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Deborah Brill and Marty Place hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, from the snowy northern terminus in Canada’s Manning Provincial Park, to the Mexican border. They will share highlights of their 2,658-mile trip and will give you tips on how to plan a trip of your own. 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  

Free Blood Pressure  

Screenings  

Noon - 1 p.m.  

Alta Bates Summitt medical Center  

2450 Ashby Ave.  

Health Education Center, Room 203 Samuel Merritt College 

A screening for individuals with a potential risk for high blood pressure. 869-6737  

Plan Reading Seminar 

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Conducted by Andus Brandt.  

$35 525-7610 

Eastshore State Park  

Workshop 

7 p.m. 

Hs Lordship’s Restaurant 

199 Seawall Dr 

Berkeley Marina 

Discussion of planning issues and opportunities surrounding the park. 888-988-PARK 

Friday, April 27

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 

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.  

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  

Lost in Dreamland?  

10 -11:30 a.m.  

Alta Bates Summit  

Medical Center 

Summit North Pavilion, Cafeteria Annex A  

350 Hawthorne Ave.  

Dr. Jerrold Kram, pulmonologist, sleep specialist and director of the California Center for Sleep Disorers, will talk about sleep disorders and how to remedy them. Free 

869-6737 

Saturday, April 28

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

Center Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way  

and Milvia Street 548-3333 

Berkeley Bay Festival  

11 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

Berkeley Marina  

160 University Ave.  

The Festival, held at the Marina since 1937, has had an environmental education and boating theme for the past 22 of those years. A variety of organizations will be on hand to inform and inspire people to learn how they affect the environment and to take action. Free 644-8623 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwright 

El Salvador Reconstruction Plans  

10 a.m. - 3 p.m.  

Institute of Governmental Studies  

Moses Hall, Room 109  

UC Berkeley  

Four leaders from El Salvador, representing urban and rural community development initiatives will be on hand, along with Senator Liz Figueroa, to discuss facts and priorities of their emergency management/disaster relief efforts in the wake of the recent earthquake. Free  

415-970-1033 

Working People Against Deregulation 

7:30 p.m. 

Fellowship of Humanity  

390 27th St. (at Broadway) 

Oakland 

Join energy workers, teachers and other workers in a discussion about the issues surrounding the California energy crisis. Speakers include: Drew Bonthius, executive board member Oakland AFT 771, David Walers, power plant worker and member of IBEW 1245, and Eugene Coyle, Energy Economist.  

$3 

261-4269 

An Energy Efficient Home 

10 a.m. - Noon  

2530 San Pablo Ave. (at Blake)  

Mark Gorrell, architect/consultant, will discuss how to reduce energy costs in existing houses and design new homes to minimize energy costs.  

$7.50 - $10  

548-2220 x233 

International Family Fair  

11 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

New School of Berkeley  

Bonita St. (between Cedar & Virginia)  

Games and activities for children, a huge raffle, food from Christie’s Vegetarian Cafe, and a variety of live entertainment, including a Capoeira demonstration. Free  

548-9165 

BASA Spring Festival  

5:30 p.m.  

Cesar Chavez Center  

Bancroft & Telegraph  

UC Berkeley  

An evening celebration of African culture featuring student and professional performances, dance, a fashion show, music, poetry, drama, and African cuisine from local African restaurants.  

$5 - $10 including dinner 

595-1307 

Sierra’s Solutions to the Energy Crisis 

10 a.m. - Noon  

2530 San Pablo Ave.  

The Sierra Club presents a panel discussion on energy conservation and a general membership meeting of the club’s Alameda group.  

527-0176 

Sunday, April 29

Berkeley Waterfront Walking Tour  

10 a.m. - Noon  

Led by Susan Schwartz and sponsored by the Berkeley Historical Society.  

848-0181 

Hands-On Bicycle Repair Clinics  

11 a.m. - Noon  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Learn how to maintain the drive train and to repair the chain of your bicycle from one of REI’s bike technicians. All you need to bring is your bike. Free  

527-4140 

People’s Park 32nd Anniversary Festival  

12:30 - 6 p.m.  

People’s Park  

Haste St. & Telegraph Ave.  

Performances by, among others, Rebecca Riots, X-Plicit Players, Shelley Doty X-tet, with special guests Wavy Gravy, Frank Moore, Stoney Burke, Kriss Worthington and many more. Also including skateboarding demos, animal petting farm, puppets, and “surprises.”  

848-1985 

The Reform Future 

Noon  

Fellowship of Humanity  

390 27th St. (at Broadway)  

Oakland  

Craig Wilson, anti-Buchanan delegate, will discuss the future of the Reform Party.  

655-7962 

The Ornament of the Middle Way 

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

This text by Buddhist master Shantarakshita to be discussed by Barr Rosengerg. 

Free 

843-6812 

Monday, April 30

Politics of Permits  

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Contractor/Mediator Ron Kelly will explain how to get your permit approved.  

$35  

525-7610 

Venus & Mars  

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Rabbi Yaacov Deyo, founder of LA’s speed dating will explain how to pick a mate, make your relationship thrive and how to fight effectively.  

$10  

848-0237 

Over the objections of representatives of the Police and Health and Human Services departments, a divided City Council passed a proposal Tuesday night that would make dislodging homeless people sleeping in public a low priority.  

State law 647j makes it illegal to sleep outside. The resolution also calls on the council to look at funding storage lockers, detox programs and other homeless services in next year’s budget. 

Deputy Police Chief Roy Meisner argued that his officers already make moving homeless people from their sleeping places a low priority. It’s only when someone complains that the police jump in, he said, noting that out of 72 police reports on persons lodging in public, only 16 people were arrested in 2000. 

Moreover, he said, when issues are made “low priority” officers do not enforce them at all. “The rules become confusing.” 

Health and Human Services Department head Fred Madrano argued that such a ruling would have a negative impact on the good  

working relationship homeless workers from his department have with the police. 

Councilmember Linda Maio agreed with much of what Meisner and Madrano said. However, she noted that a handful of officers do arrest homeless people who sleep in public. Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who brought the resolution to the council, gave the example of a homeless person who was cited, then did not make it to his court date because he had no address at which he could receive notice of the court date. He spent a month in jail. 

The vote was split along typical party lines with progressives Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek, and councilmembers Maio, Worthington, Margaret Breland and Dona Spring voting in favor. Moderates Mayor Shirley Dean, Mim Hawley and Betty Olds voted in opposition and Councilmember Polly Armstrong abstained. 

Councilmember Polly Armstrong said she took offense at the item. Berkeley’s “treatment of the homeless is exemplary,” she said, lashing out at Worthington. 

“I’m offended that the fact that a councilmember has taken a very fragile segment of our community and made them more afraid.” 

The first vote followed a second unanimous vote affirming the work of the police and human services departments. 

Thirty-two of more than 100 demonstrators calling for the University of California to divest from Israel were arrested Tuesday afternoon when they occupied Wheeler Hall on the UC Berkeley campus.  

Comparing Israeli occupation of Palestine to South African Apartheid, the students said that UC had a moral charge not to invest in companies with strong economic ties to Israel. The demonstration began at noon and ended at about 6:30 p.m. after police cleared the building.  

The students decided to occupy the building after the UC Regents did not respond to an April 12 letter demanding that UC divest over $6 billion from 16 corporations with strong relationships with Israel.  

Protester Abdul Zahzah pointed to Hewlett Packard as one egregious example. Hewlett Packard has a research lab at Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, which does extensive military research, he said. 

Zahzah quoted South African freedom fighters Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, who compared the Palestinian situation to that of South African apartheid.  

Student Yalda Afshar wrote that the Israeli Law of Return “epitomizes” Israeli apartheid. The law grants any Jew full citizenship rights, while Palestinians displaced during Israeli expansion are not allowed to return and remain refugees in diaspora. 

When the students heard nothing from the Regents, said protester Ehssan VanDaei, they decided to demonstrate to apply pressure. 

“By them not responding we needed to escalate,” VanDaei said.  

After marching from Sather Gate, the students padlocked seven of the nine doors providing entrance to the front of Wheeler Hall. They impeded entrance to the other two doors by linking arms. 

The police monitored the situation, and allowed the demonstration to continue until about 3:30 p.m., always ensuring that the demonstrators had left some entrances accessible. When the police received several complaints from professors and students that classes were canceled and students could not enter the building, they began to arrest demonstrators and remove the padlocks, said Captain Bill Cooper. 

Of the 32 people arrested, 19 were Berkeley students. All were released on promises to attend a court hearing.  

Trey Davis, UC spokesperson said that the student demands for a 10-day turn around in decision making could not be met. 

“The time frame is completely impractical,” he said. “They were basically giving the regents one week to divest $6 billion. The regents meet about once every two months. A decision like this, even if the regents are inclined to divest would not be something you would do over a weekend.” 

Davis said that the fight for divestment from South Africa took years, and that there are no precedents for the Regents to hold a special meeting for a student demonstration. “There are provisions for emergency actions based on acts of nature, natural disasters, national emergencies, nothing for something like this,” he said.  

But, for Boalt Law Student Will Youmans, that is not sufficient. “If it were some major crisis like the investment portfolio goes bankrupt,” he said, “they could deal with it.” The lack of any response was the most frustrating. “If they would have said we need more time, that would have been a response,” he said. “The regents have all the time in the world, but for the Palestinians time is running out.” 

While 100 pro-Palestinian students circled the steps of Wheeler Hall, about 50 members of the Israeli Action Coalition and Berkeley Hillel stood outside, some draped in Israeli flags, holding a counter demonstration. They called for an end to violence in Israel.  

The students in support of Israel said that their “Rally for Peace” was planned well in advance as part of Israel Week, and that they made an ad hoc decision to follow the protesters when they marched from Sproul Plaza to Wheeler.  

“We want people to see both sides of the story,” said Oren Lazar. “We hope that the regents will look at the facts and know this is sensationalism.” 

Moshe Wertham, visiting from Jerusalem, held a sign in support of Israel and thoughtfully watched the demonstrators. “I’m sure 90 percent of these people have never been to Israel,” he said. “What bothers me the most is how many of them are Jewish.” Wertham said that the marching students didn’t understand the violence perpetrated by Palestinians on Israeli citizens. 

Since September 410 Palestinian supporters and 70 supporters of Israel have been killed in clashes in the region. 

Randy Barnes, of the Israeli Action Coalition called the students’ calls for divestment “misguided.”  

“There are inaccurate parallels being drawn between Israel and South Africa,” he said. “It’s counterproductive to peace.” 

Demonstrator Reema Dodin discounted the IAC calls for peace. “They say they want peace, but it’s a peace based on their rules,” she said, rules that don’t include a full Palestinian state that meets Palestinian demands. 

At 6:30 p.m., over 100 participants sat on the steps outside of Wheeler Hall, in a generally jubilant mood. “I think it went really well, the message we sent to the Regents was clear,” said Youmans. “We will not tolerate an investment portfolio that entrenches a system of apartheid that undermines basic Palestinian rights.”  

Two students from Hillel remained on the steps among the demonstrators until the group had begun to disperse. They held up a banner calling for Peace in Israel.

Nearly two years after a committee warned Berkeley High School that the elevated failure rate of its students of color, among other concerns, could jeopardize its accreditation as a public school, there is still no coherent, schoolwide plan for addressing the problems, according to a recent report. 

“Progress is at best spotty and fragmented,” according to the report issued by a Western Association of Schools and Colleges committee last month. “It’s sad to see the lack of progress made by a staff and community so rich in talent and resources.” 

WASC is one of six associations in the United States, responsible for accrediting schools in California, Hawaii and U.S. territories throughout the Pacific. 

While the report praised the high school’s “solid core of very experienced teachers,” “rich program of electives”, and standardized test scores “far above the average in the state,” it said there was as yet no effective process in place for addressing problem areas. 

Based on interviews with long-time Berkeley High staff, the report criticized the school for failing to make progress in a number of areas identified as problematic by the WASC committee two years ago, including the achievement gap, student attendance, staff development, and curriculum alignment with state academic standards.  

In particular, the report cited a lack of leadership and collaboration as potential reasons why there is still no clear schoolwide plan of action. 

“The school still appears to address issues in a fragmented manner and this fragmentation, in the judgment of this committee, prevents any significant school-wide progress addressing (trouble spots),” the report said. 

WASC accredits schools for terms of anywhere from one to six years, with shorter accreditations intended to put schools on notice that their progress has not been satisfactory. Last spring Berkeley High received a one-year accreditation.  

Despite the strong criticism in the recent report, Berkeley High Principal Frank Lynch said Tuesday that he believed the school would get another one year extension this June, giving Berkeley High next year to improve its response to the WASC critique. 

“What we should do is take a look at the recommendations and just move forward from there,” Lynch said, adding that the school had to be careful not to “process it to death.” 

In the past, the school district may have “shot itself in the foot,” Lynch said, by talking about improvements without actually making a decision about the best course of action. 

But Lynch said the school has taken concrete steps to deal with some WASC concerns. In response to criticism that BHS teachers made little use of technology in instruction, the school has, with the help of a new technology grant, installed 250 new computers, hired a technology coordinator and begun training teachers to use computers in class. 

As for the achievement gap, Lynch pointed to the Village 9 program, which supports Berkeley High freshmen with student mentors and tutors and encourages teachers to meet weekly to identify collaborative strategies for boosting student achievement.  

The WASC report credited Lynch with moving “slowly, but consistently” to deal with the school’s critical weaknesses. And it acknowledged that Berkeley High has been hampered by a turnover in leadership in recent years, citing the fact that there have been no less that four principals at the school in the last five years. 

“Nobody has time to get on board and get up to speed before they’re cleaning up their resumes and looking where they’re going next,” said Berkeley High teacher Rick Ayers Tuesday. “The leadership has to come from the top.” 

Stephen Goldstone, interim superintendent of Berkeley Unified School District, said Tuesday that he believed principal Lynch had initiated a process that would eventually solve the school’s accreditation problems. 

“Frank Lynch takes it very seriously and is providing the leadership that is going to be needed to address (WASC) concerns,” Goldstone said. 

The WASC accreditation process begins with “self-study,” where the school does an extensive assessment of its own strengths and weaknesses, based on class observation, interviews with students, samples of students work, and careful study of school records, among other criteria. 

“We look at the overall program,” said Marilyn George, the associate executive director of the WASC Accrediting Commission for Schools. “We don’t just look at the (standardized test scores) in isolation.” 

Next, a WASC “Visiting Committee” of teachers and school administrators drawn from throughout California visits the school to make their own assessment. Other visits will follow if the school’s progress is judged to be lacking.  

George said WASC criteria for judging schools changed in the mid-nineties to place more emphasis on student achievement. 

“Everything is student centered,” she said. “How do you know students are achieving, and is the school doing everything possible to support that?” 

Goldstone said this change could explain why Berkeley High’s achievement gap had become a major sticking point for accreditation. 

“It’s harder and harder to get a six-year accreditation,” Goldstone said. “The process is becoming much more rigorous...and more meaningful.” 

Ayers said the fact that the Visiting Committee is made up of educators gives the group’s findings added legitimacy. 

“These aren’t some bureaucrats up in Sacramento,” Ayers said. “They got a good look at the school, and they got it absolutely right.” 

Berkeley High Parent Teacher Student Association President Kristin Shepherd agreed. 

“We failed to collaborate and we’ve failed to act,” Shepherd said. “We have many too many creative ideas and not enough good, solid, straight-forward taking care of business.” 

Shepherd said it’s up to parents to hold the school staff accountable for making the necessary changes in the year to come, in large measure by giving principal Lynch all the support he needs. 

“This school is too complex for a single administrator,” Shepherd said. “It’s our job to keep a principal for once.” 

Shepherd mailed a copy of the WASC report to all Berkeley High parents this week in advance of a PTSA meeting next Tuesday, at 7:30 p.m., in Berkeley High’s Little Theater. Hereafter every PTSA meeting will focus on addressing the WASC recommendations until the process is completed successfully, Shepherd said. 

“It’s nothing we can’t accomplish, but we have to focus, we have to work together.” 

The city’s sewer repair project is on schedule, according to a Department of Public Works status report on the 30-year plan to repair the city’s damaged and aging sewer lines. 

The city mandated the Sanitary Sewer Capital Improvement Plan in 1986 after the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Board issued Berkeley a Cease and Desist Order requiring the elimination of sewer and storm drain overflows that were causing untreated sewage to flow into the Bay through the city’s creeks and drainage systems. 

In the 14 years since the plan was implemented, the city has made good progress, according to the report. The plan called for the repair of 50 percent of city-owned sewer lines and the construction of relief sewers designed to add capacity to the system. So far the DPW has replaced or repaired nearly 150 miles, or 29 percent of the city’s sewer system. This includes 12 miles of new relief lines. 

“We’re ahead of where we thought we’d be but we’re still behind where we’d like to be,” said Director of Public Works Rene Cardinaux. 

Cardinaux said the budget for the sewer program this year is $6.3 million. About $4.5 million was spent each year for 14 years since the plan was first put in place, he said.  

Cardinaux said the DPW has placed a high priority on repairing sewer lines near creeks. According to the DPW report to council, approximately 75 percent of the sewer mains within 100 feet of all open creeks have been repaired or replaced.  

The report also says that 65 overflow connections between the sewer system and the storm drain system have been eliminated which “greatly reduced the pollution of the creeks.” 

Susan Schwartz, president of Berkeley nonprofit Friends of Five Creeks, said she as been pleased with the city’s efforts so far. “They’ve done the work much faster than expected,” she said. “And they’ve been very responsive to problems when they arise.” 

Schwartz said that the DPW quickly repaired a ruptured pipe near the middle fork of Codornices Creek last year. 

“Now what we need is an ordinance to make sure residential lateral lines are unbroken whenever a home is sold,” Schwartz said. “Home values have gotten high enough around here where it won’t be a great hardship to make sure your property’s sewer line is working.” 

According to the Friends of Five Creeks Web site, somewhere between 70 and 90 percent of lateral lines are broken, cracked or leaking. Schwartz said inspection at the time of sale would be the best way to ensure that lateral lines are in working order. According to Hands On plumbing of Lafayette, the cost for inspection would run between $125 and $250 for a private home.  

Cardinaux said that another ongoing problem is residential storm spouts illegally hooked up to sewer systems instead of to storm drains. “This causes a lot of excess water to flow throughout the sewer system, which causes overflow situations,” he said.  

A University of California professor who gave two football players credit for course work they didn’t do is stepping down from a prestigious position overseeing outreach for the nine-campus system. 

Alex Saragoza, who had served as vice president of educational outreach for the UC system for 10 months, said in his resignation letter released Tuesday that he was concerned his efforts “have been compromised by recent outside events.” 

Saragoza previously was suspended for the fall 2001 semester from his other job as a UC Berkeley ethnic studies professor. He is resigning effective June 30 as vice president of outreach, which involved recruiting and preparing disadvantaged students for UC schools. 

UC Irvine Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Manuel N. Gomez has been appointed Saragoza’s interim replacement. 

Documents released earlier after a public records requests by the San Francisco Chronicle showed that Saragoza retroactively enrolled football players Michael Ainsworth and Ronnie Davenport in spring 1999 classes to allow them to remain eligible to play football during the 1999 season. 

A report by an investigator hired by the university said Saragoza could not produce evidence showing the students did the work. 

Cal is recommending that its athletic program be put on probation for a year and the football team lose four scholarships. The team would also have to forfeit its September 1999 win against Arizona State because of the contributions of Ainsworth and Davenport. The Pacific-10 athletic conference will make a disciplinary recommendation to the NCAA in June. 

The investigation found no one on Cal’s coaching or athletic program staff was involved. 

UC President Richard C. Atkinson said in a statement that Saragoza’s resignation was necessary but something he accepted “with great personal regret.”

SACRAMENTO — Each May for the last four years, California lawmakers received a pleasant surprise as higher-than-expected income tax returns let them spend some extra money and cut taxes. 

This year, state budget writers warn, the fondly remembered “May Surprise” will be more of a springtime shock. A slowing economy, coupled with the power crisis siphoning money from the state treasury, could force lawmakers and Gov. Gray Davis to shave billions from the 2001-02 budget. 

In turn, that may lead to the first real fights over spending priorities between the Democratic governor and a Democratic Legislature since Davis took office in 1999. 

“The party’s over,” said Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, a fiscal watchdog group. 

Each day, as lawmakers finish a budget larger than that of most nations, more signs of financial trouble emerge. On Tuesday, the bond rating firm Standard and Poors lowered its credit rating on California state bonds, citing the energy crisis. A lower bond rating effectively raises the state’s costs of borrowing money. 

State Treasurer Phil Angelides is lobbying legislators this week to approve selling bonds to help pay back the general fund for more than $5.7 billion in power buys since January. 

As they prepare for the bond sale, state officials also await the final numbers from April’s tax returns, knowing all the while that a nationwide economic slowdown, particularly in the technology industry, will cut some state revenues. 

“It’s safe to say there won’t be this huge windfall that we’ve had the last few years,” said Sandy Harrison, spokesman for the governor’s Department of Finance. 

In January, Davis proposed a $104.7 billion budget that, he said, would tackle California’s energy crisis, boost teacher training and give shoppers a three-day sales tax suspension. 

Davis will release his revised budget, adjusted to reflect the amount the state receives from 2000 income and capital gains taxes, on May 14. 

The governor hopes to sign the final budget, which goes into effect July 1, by the end of June. 

This year, however, not only will Davis and legislators face their most uncertain tax climate in years, they may also “have a lot more of a tug-of-war ... on priorities than we saw last year,” said Assemblyman Tony Cardenas, an Arleta Democrat who chairs the joint committee writing the state’s budget. 

Cardenas and other lawmakers already have said they may oppose Davis’ $1 billion proposal to keep middle-school students in class for six weeks longer each year. 

This comes as Angelides works with lawmakers to approve selling revenue bonds to repay the general fund for energy purchases. 

A key part of the budget, Angelides told a Sacramento group Tuesday, will be $4 billion worth of interim loans he negotiated with three banks. He said the loans could be in jeopardy, however, unless the Legislature gives the state permission in the next week to issue bonds to repay them. 

“We need enough at least to get the ball rolling so we can conclude our interim financing and start paying back the general fund,” Angelides said. 

——— 

On the Net: See the governor’s budget at www.governor.ca.gov or the Department of Finance at www.dof.ca.gov 

SACRAMENTO — Some rural areas in California have such a shortage of medical specialists that some children must wait two years or more for routine surgeries, such as tonsillectomies, two lawmakers said Tuesday. 

A bill by Assembly members George Runner, R-Lancaster, and Virginia Strom-Martin, D-Duncans Mills, would encourage doctors to volunteer for “mercy missions” to care for patients in those areas. 

Doctors organized two such missions to Shasta County recently to help about 100 children who needed ear, nose and throat surgeries. Pamela Jones of Redding said her daughter was left “high and dry” when her surgeon moved. Redding has two ear, nose and throat specialists to handle surgeries, she said, and the waiting list included hundreds of patients. The family waited for two years until Danielle Jones’ simple tonsil and adenoid inflammation worsened and she could no longer breathe through her nose, her mother said. 

“Playing the clarinet was the biggest joy that she had, but she couldn’t play anymore,” Pamela Jones said. 

To prove she has recovered, Danielle Jones played a short clarinet solo at a Capitol press conference Tuesday. 

Missions only put a Band-Aid on a larger problem – doctors leave because they aren’t paid enough to treat Medi-Cal patients, said Dr. Anny Murphy, a physician with the Shasta Community Health Center. 

“But I have real patients who can’t wait for that problem to be solved.” Murphy said. “So I’m willing to do whatever it takes to take care of that child right now in the office and this is one way to do it.” 

The bill would require the state Department of Health Services to solicit specialists for a registry of physicians willing to go travel on the missions. 

DHS would also raise private money for the program. Doctors would be paid by Medi-Cal, if the patient was enrolled in the program. Private money would pay for uninsured patients, but physicians would also donate their time, Runner said. 

The California Medical Association, which represents physicians, supports the bill, which CMA President Frank Staggers called “only one of the solutions” needed to improve access to medical care. 

CMA also wants a 20 percent increase in Medi-Cal reimbursement rates, financial help for hospitals that have lost money on emergency room services and incentives to recruit more doctors to the state. 

On the Net: 

Read the bill, AB548, at www.leginfo.ca.gov

LOS ANGELES — A fire that damaged a Tosco refinery in Southern California is not expected to affect gasoline supplies or prices, analysts said Tuesday. 

The inferno, which may be under investigation for months, broke out in a cooker unit at the facility in Carson and burned for hours Monday. The unit burns coke, a type of coal, in the process of refining crude oil. No one was injured. 

The cooker unit remained shut down Tuesday, and other parts of the refinery operated at reduced levels, Tosco officials said in a statement. They had no estimates on the extent of the damage or the amount of time it will take to fix the cooker unit. 

But Tosco’s nearby Wilmington refinery, where processed crude from Carson is sent to be refined into the gasoline and other products, continued to operate at normal levels, the company said. 

Analysts said that if the fire had limited gasoline production, it would have delivered a significant blow to Californians on top of recent spikes in gas prices that have hit the entire country. Jay Wilson of J.P. Morgan Chase said the Tosco complex produces about 6.5 percent of the state’s gasoline. 

“We’re lucky in the sense that the incident, while unfortunate, is not going to have much of an impact on gasoline prices,” said analyst Paul Y. Cheng of Lehman Brothers. 

But Wilson said Tosco’s “margins are going to suffer a little bit,” because the loss of the cooker prevents the company from using lower grades of crude oil. 

Two investigators with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health were at the scene Tuesday, conducting interviews and waiting for a crew to clean up asbestos left from the fire, Cal-OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer said. He said it’s not uncommon for such investigations to take three or four months to complete. 

On March 30, Tosco agreed in a settlement with state regulators that it had committed five serious or “willful” violations linked to a 1999 flash fire that killed four workers at its Avon refinery near Martinez. 

Tosco agreed to pay Cal-OSHA $462,630 in fines – a record amount for refinery safety violations. The deal requires the approval of the Cal-OSHA appeals board. 

“Honestly, no fine can compensate for the lives that were lost in the tragic fire two years ago,” Tosco spokesman Jeff Callender said. “But we’ve since been able to identify lessons learned to ensure the longtime safety of our plant.” 

NEW YORK — Consumer confidence dropped sharply in April, underscoring increasing fears among Americans about their jobs and the economy. 

The New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 109.2, down from 116.9 in March. The April survey was completed before the Federal Reserve unexpectedly cut interest rates for the fourth time this year. 

But economists played down the timing, saying much of the April drop reflected a souring assessment of business conditions and job prospects. The index has declined for most of the past year, but consumers’ assessments of business conditions and job prospects had remained strong – until April. 

“This plunge ... is a significant turn for the worse, to my way of thinking, because what it’s saying to me is that the cumulative affect of layoffs and rising energy prices is now really reaching into people’s pocketbooks,” said David Orr, chief economist for First Union Corp. in Charlotte, N.C. 

Orr said such immediate concerns won’t be eased by a cut in interest rates, an assessment seconded by Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center. A similar surprise rate cut in January had little effect on consumer confidence figures for the following month. 

“It’s clear that consumers have begun to worry about employment trends and these concerns are gnawing away at consumer confidence,” Franco said. 

In the new survey, 27.9 percent of consumers rated current business conditions as good, down from 33 percent in March. Another 13.3 percent rated conditions as bad, up from 10.8 percent. 

On employment, 14.2 percent of those surveyed said jobs are “hard to get,” up from 12.6 percent last month. Those saying jobs are plentiful fell from 43.8 percent to 40 percent. 

The Conference Board index, based on a monthly survey of some 5,000 U.S. households, is considered a key indicator because consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the nation’s economic activity. The index compares results to its base year, 1985, when it stood at 100. 

The April confidence survey was completed April 17, the day before the Fed’s latest cut in interest rates, Franco said. The Fed has cut rates a total of 2 percentage points this year. 

Analysts believe Fed officials clearly had investors in mind in the timing of last week’s cut, hoping to bolster consumer confidence, which has sagged as Americans watched trillions of dollars of paper wealth evaporate over the past year in a stock market swoon. 

But April’s confidence figure shows that consumers remain doubtful and are likely to restrain their purchases, economists said. That, together with lower spending by businesses, could slow an economic rebound. 

“That’s not good news,” said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at First Albany Corp. “It’s consistent with this notion that the economy at best may recover in the third or fourth quarter, but that it won’t be much of one.” 

The April drop returned consumer confidence to the same level it was at in February, reflecting increasing pessimism about both current and future business conditions. 

Economist Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland Pa., said: “This is a warning sign to the Fed that the economy is not yet out of the woods.” 

On the Net: http://www.conferenceboard.org 

NEW YORK — Lucent Technologies Inc. lost a bigger than expected $3.69 billion in the just-ended quarter as the communications equipment maker was hit hard by the financial meltdown of a customer, wireless network operator Winstar Communications Inc. 

Agere Systems, the semiconductor business spun off from Lucent, announced Tuesday it will cut 2,000 jobs or 11 percent of its work force, blaming the weak communications market. The cuts primarily will be at manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania, California and Florida. 

Lucent’s net loss for the first three months of 2001, its second fiscal quarter, was equivalent to $1.08 per share. It included 15 cents per share from bad loans to Winstar, which filed for bankruptcy last week, and investment losses. 

Overall, the loss reflected $2.7 billion in one-time expenses, including 2,000 of the 10,000 job cuts planned under the cost-cutting effort announced earlier this year, Lucent said Tuesday, The $2.7 billion figure was well beyond the range of $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion Lucent had expected. 

Excluding those charges and any financial results from Agere, the Murray Hill, N.J.-based company posted an operating loss of $1.26 billion, or 37 cents per share. 

In the same period a year ago, Lucent posted a net profit of $755 million, or 23 cents. Excluding discontinued operations, the company had an operating loss of $1.31 billion, or 39 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. 

Agere also announced second-quarter earnings loss of $148 million, or 15 cents per share, on $1.19 billion in revenue. The company cited the one-time restructuring costs associated with the break up from Lucent and acquisition expenses made while part of Lucent as well as tax adjustments. 

Revenues from Lucent’s second quarter totaled $5.92 billion, down 18 percent from $7.15 billion in the same period a year ago. Company officials said that revenues actually grew 36 percent compared with the final three months of 2000. 

Industry analysts had expected Lucent to post a per-share operating loss of 23 cents and revenues of $6 billion for the just-ended quarter, according to a survey by Thomson Financial/First Call. 

Lucent, spun off from AT&T Corp. in 1996, is among the most widely held stocks in the country and was a favorite of analysts until last year, when a string of strategic missteps and profit disappointments led to the ouster of Lucent’s chief executive and a major restructuring. 

“As we’ve said, fiscal year 2001 is a transition and rebuilding year for Lucent,” Lucent chairman and chief executive Henry Schacht said in a statement. 

Lucent said it expects to cut the remaining 8,000 jobs under its restructuring plan by the end of the current quarter. 

After the results were announced, shares of Lucent finished up 80 cents a share to close at $10 on the New York Stock Exchange. 

——— 

On the Net: http://www.lucent.com 

From Quebec City to Berkeley 

Editor: 

Today at 4:30 p.m., a mass rally calling for an end to the criminalization of homelessness will be held on the steps of the Berkeley City Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way.  

The council is slated to vote tonight on the Homeless Human and Civil Rights Resolution, as well as, to consider thousands of dollars in cutbacks in homeless services. 

It is not coincidental that today's rally will occur just days after 30, 000 protesters gathered in Quebec City to denounce the negotiations of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.  

It is not coincidental because the corporate-dominated globalization against which protesters in Quebec rallied themselves, the neoliberal economic order which the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas seeks to expand, is a large root cause of homelessness and poverty in our community. 

It is the flight of thousands of high-paying manufacturing jobs overseas during the last three decades; the withdrawal of subsidized housing, welfare, and other social safety net spending; and the growth of the prison industrial complex – all three of these hallmarks of corporate globalization and neoliberal governments around the world – which has left so many disenfranchised poor and homeless on the streets of Berkeley. 

What is fundamentally at stake both in the struggle for homeless human rights in Berkeley and in the struggle for fair trade, workers rights, and environmental protection represented by the broad coalition of protesters in Quebec City; what is fundamentally at stake in both cases is the claim that human life is more important than profit; the claim that equality, justice, and democracy should be the pillars of human society and not merely words we inscribe upon buildings. 

In Quebec City, protesters decried the creation of a new global governance system devised for, by, and of representatives of multinational corporations and elite trade officials; a governance system which excludes the vast majority of civil society.  

In Berkeley, homeless people are decrying a legal system which not only excludes them from its governance process, but criminalizes their very existence with laws such as California Penal Code 647j, which says that sleeping outside – and hence homelessness itself – is a misdemeanor. 

What is at stake in Berkeley and Quebec, on a local and a global level, is a fundamental questioning of the distribution of wealth and power in our world. We live in a world where some few individuals own billions of dollars and vast quantities of land; while billions of our brothers, sisters, and children live in poverty – in various states of oppression and disenfranchisement.  

We live in a world of horrendous inequalities which are growing larger every day. We live without democracy, with a government on all levels that responds more to corporate interests and the lure of those few with money, than it does to fundamental human values and rights. 

And so the struggle continues, as it has for 508 years upon this continent. The struggle continues as the memories of our ancestors – of Martin and Gandhi, of Malcolm and Zapata – urge us forward: forward into the light of hope, towards the dream of a world where no one is deemed a second class citizen; a world where no one has their very existence deemed illegal by a repressive state – not homeless people, not immigrants, not African-Americans, not natives, not gays and lesbians, not Jews, not pagans. And so we struggle forward into the light of hope, towards a world of democracy, justice, and liberty. 

Darren Noy 

Lead Community Organizer for Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) 

Consultant didn’t address breadth of parking problem 

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter originally sent to Interim Planning Director Wendy Cosin, edited for length. 

I am writing on behalf of the First Congregational Church of Berkeley and of the churches or church-related organizations whose names are appended below.  

Representatives of many of our neighboring institutions and I attended the final workshop you convened on March 19 at Trinity Hall to hear an informal report on the Southside/Downtown Transportation Demand Management Study. 

We were all very concerned to hear the city had commissioned and was accepting a report on traffic management in our area that only addressed part of the problem.  

Traffic in our area is a seven-day a week, morning, afternoon and evening problem. Yet we were informed that the consultants had only considered the issue of commuting and thus traffic from 6 to 8 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays. Yet as we, who have our organizations based there, must provide parking for our members and visitors, such a limited study hardly addresses the problem of traffic. 

The main arterials, e.g., Bancroft, Durant, Piedmont, College, Dana, Fulton, are congested throughout the day. Parking is an all-day problem. Our church lot, which has 55 spaces, is often filled on weekdays and officers like myself who visit it frequently on church business arrive to find the lot full, in many cases by commuters, and we have to look for parking in the street or paying lots. The consultant merely stated, out of ignorance rather than study, the church lots were underutilized! That is hardly the case. 

Evenings can be especially bad with event parking in the Haas Center, Zellerbach Hall, Hertz Hall, and our churches, which also function as community events centers. The First Congregational Church of Berkeley, for example, seats 750 people and often has capacity or near capacity crowds for such events as the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.  

When asked about non-commuter traffic, weekend traffic and event traffic the consultant said he had not studied and had no idea of the numbers. And he was only doing his job.  

We believe it would be irresponsible on the part of the city, and negligent to property owners, to ignore this traffic created by the busy social, cultural and sports calendar of Southside institutions.  

These very events are an essential part of what makes Southside a distinct and vital part of Berkeley. And they were ignored! The street vendors on Telegraph bring surges of traffic on the weekends. These vendors are licensed by the city. How can it encourage and support this business and not consider parking for the visitors who patronize the vendors? 

Sunday church services for the Presbyterian, Congregationalist, Baptist and Methodist churches now fill not only our own lots, much of the city parking facility between Durant and Channing, but, most importantly, the university Stiles lot bounded by Bancroft, Dana and Durant, and the tennis court lot between Channing and Haste. Yet we are told by the university that the former lot will be built on in two to three years and that the latter lot will probably be built on in five years.  

Our parishioners will have no place to park. The city has refused the offer of the Presbyterians to add the two floors to the municipal parking facility, which it was designed to accommodate. 

We urge the city to complete the study, to develop accurate figures on current traffic throughout the day and evening on the number of parking spaces needed to accommodate this traffic.  

Henry Snyder 

for the FCCB 

Rev. Esther Hargis 

First Baptist Church of Berkeley 

Mary Ann Peyovich, General Manager, Berkeley City Club 

A program to boost test scores at Washington Primary School does not resort to workbooks or rote instruction. It calls on Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Langston Hughes, paints and fancy footwork to stimulate learning. 

The federally-funded program called ArtsBridge brings music, poetry, dance, drama and visual arts to the school. Instructors are UC Berkeley students. 

Saturday, as part of Cal Day – when the university opens its doors to past and future students – Mary Ough’s second graders from Washington School, showed off what they had learned from instructor Michelle Garcia. 

A dancer, choreographer and student of dance, Garcia put together a dance/poetry program focused on the Harlem Renaissance. All classes at Washington School are studying the arts renaissance that was centered in Harlem’s black community in the 1920s. 

One by one, students stood before the microphone, with an audience of several dozen proud parents and  

a group of Cal Day visitors. Each student recited a Langston Hughes poem, then the boys – who had been running around like penned-up puppies just moments before the presentation began – focused completely on the dance they performed to a Louis Armstrong song. The girls acted out in dance form the celebrated Jimmy Cox song “Nobody knows you when you’re down and out.”  

Ough said that when the students participate in learning, through acting, dancing or reciting poetry, their understanding of the subject goes to a deeper level. “The more you get involved, the more you understand and the more you remember,” Ough said. 

Garcia said she believes dance gives the children a creative outlet for their energy, which allows them to focus more on their studies. Dance has also helped the children build a new vocabulary – for example, they learned what “solo, duet, and trio” means, she said. 

Moreover, Garcia said art opens up new avenues to the children, teaching them that they can be poets or dancers some time in the future.  

Garcia said she has brought dancers to the class – male dancers in particular – to show the whole class, and especially the boys, that professional dance could be in their futures. She plans to bring a group of slam poets to class in the next few weeks. 

“They give so much to me,” Garcia said of her students. “They put more work and effort into the program than I could ask of any 8-year-old. They’re so wonderful.” 

For people living around LeConte Elementary School, the school’s ample playground is one of the few pieces of green space around.  

For a long time it has doubled as a public park (it is listed as such on the city’s Web page), with children in the Ellsworth and Russell streets neighborhood playing basketball and swinging on the swings until dusk on the long summer days. 

But a couple of weeks ago, a number of LeConte neighborhood parents were disturbed to learn that their access to the park could be taken away at a moment’s notice. 

After parents expressed concern that LeConte students had found drug paraphernalia and dog feces in the park, Berkeley Unified School District security personnel began closing the park after the end of the school day, Berkeley Police Lt. Bud Stone said Monday. 

LeConte School Principal Patricia Saddler was unavailable for comment Monday afternoon, but sources at the school confirmed that the park was being closed early out of concern for student safety. 

Neighborhood resident Lisa Bullwinkel said she was dismayed to find the park locked up after 6 p.m. when formerly it had stayed open until 10 p.m. 

“We’re like rats in a maze,” Bullwinkel said, bemoaning the lack of open space in the area. 

“I don’t want my kid playing in the streets. I want him in a park. I don’t want the park to be closed right when we need it.” 

“A lot of work went into making it the neighborhood green space,” said LeConte resident Ray Kennedy, referring to residents who have volunteered labor to maintain the school’s gardens and grounds. 

Kennedy said he found the park locked up this past weekend when he tried to go there with his preschool-aged son. 

“The school year is going to end in a couple of months,” Kennedy said. “They need to have some arrangements to make sure the place is open.” 

LeConte Neighborhood Association President Karl Reeh said that in the past the gates to the playground have sometimes been left open all night, something that he agreed was not in the best interests of the community. But to close the park before the end of daylight hours deprives residents of a valuable neighborhood resource, Reeh said. 

“It’s the only open space in (the) LeConte (neighborhood), and we treasure that as something that we use a lot,” Reeh said. 

An issue that has been the subject of debate for more than a year in the community will come to the City Council tonight: a proposal to build a four-story commercial and residential building at 2700 San Pablo Ave. 

The council will hold a public hearing on an appeal of the Zoning Adjustment Board’s decision to deny a use permit for the building. 

The developers, Patrick Kennedy’s Panoramic Interests and the nonprofit Jubilee Restoration, are appealing the decision, claiming that the ZAB improperly found the building incompatible with the neighborhood. 

The developers’ proposal is for a four-story structure with 48 units of housing, five of which would be designated for low-income tenants. There would be about 5,500 square-feet of commercial space on the ground floor. 

In November, the ZAB denied the permit by a vote of 7-0 with two abstentions. The proposed design of the 44,300-square-foot building is too dense and too tall, ZAB members said.  

The developers argue the plan conforms to the West Berkeley Plan, which calls for increased housing and more neighborhood oriented businesses. 

The Neighbors for Responsible Development, formed primarily of neighbors of the proposed site, submitted a petition with 400 signatures of people who support housing on the site but argue that the building is too large.  

They say the neighborhood primarily consists of one and two-story homes and the proposed project is too dense and out of scale to its surroundings.  

Councilmember Mim Hawley said that she will recuse herself from the council’s discussion and vote on the issue at the request of the City Attorney. Hawley may have a conflict of interest because of projects she was involved in while an AC Transit director.  

The council generally does not make a decision on the night of a public hearing. 

Compassionate treatment of the homeless 

The council will address the question of a proposed moratorium in Berkeley on the state law which makes sleeping in public places illegal. The proposal also asks the city manager to look for ways to fund detox programs, places for the homeless to stay during the day, rainy-day vouchers, storage facilities and adequate shelter beds. 

Office development moratorium 

Another issue will be a moratorium on new office development in west Berkeley. The Planning Commission recommended the council enact a one-year moratorium on office development in the Mixed Use-Light Industrial District, also known as the MULI, in west Berkeley. 

The staff report on the recommendation says the moratorium should remain in effect until the impact of the growing number of offices on blue-collar jobs, and on artists and artisans can be determined. 

Another concern is increased traffic congestion posed by more offices. 

The council report, approved by Planning Commission Chair Rob Wrenn, said that 348,821 square feet of office space has been developed in the MULI in the last three years. 

Consent Calendar 

An item on the consent calendar – items generally approved by the council unanimously and without discussion – asks that the Planning Department adopt policy guidelines for development projects that include complete descriptions and renderings of the buildings’ height, mezzanines, elevators and all accessory structures before they are submitted for approval. 

Also on the consent calendar is a resolution to extend the comment period on the Draft General Plan for two weeks until May 1. 

1301 Oxford St. 

The council will likely schedule two public hearings related to the proposed 35,000 square-foot Beth El Synagogue at 1301 Oxford St. 

The public hearings will assist the council in reconciling opposing decisions by two different permit boards. One was the Zoning Adjustments Board’s decision on March 8 to approve a use permit for the development and the other was the Landmark Preservation Commission’s decision on March 5 denying an alteration permit, which would set the stage for the demolition of two existing building standing in the way of the project’s construction. 

Both of the decisions have been formally appealed by the Beth El congregation and the Live Oak Codornices Creek Neighborhood Association. LOCCANA has strongly opposed project. Its members say the development will preclude the Codornices Creek, which runs through a culvert of the property, from ever being daylighted. They also say the synagogue would increase parking and traffic problems in the neighborhood. 

At last week’s City Council meeting the council unanimously approved mediation for the two parties in the hopes they could reach a compromise.  

Berkeley Housing Authority 

The Berkeley Housing Authority will hold a meeting at 6:30 p.m. immediately before the regular City Council meeting. The BHA will likely approve rental subsidies for the Section 8 Choice Voucher Program that will go into effect on May 1. 

BHA approval will raise section 8 rents on all qualifying units from studios to six bedroom apartments. 

According to a letter included with the BHA report to council, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department has already approved the rental increases.  

The BHA will also hear a progress report on the authority’s efforts to award Section 8 certificates to a waiting list of 1,592 applicants. 

The Housing Department report informs the BHA that recently hired BHA interim manager Sheila Maxwell has submitted her resignation.  

Executive session 

The City Council will hold a closed session meeting with representatives of the Berkeley Police Union. There will be time for public comment prior to the closed session.  

The closed door will be held at 2180 Milvia St. on the fifth floor at 5:30 p.m., with 10 minutes of public comment available before the session. 

The City Council meeting and the Berkeley Housing Authority Meeting will be held in the City Council Chambers at 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. The BHA meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the City Council meeting at 7 p.m. 

The BHA and the City Council meeting will be broadcast live on KPFA Radio 89.3 and Cable B-TV (Channel 25). 

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

OAKLAND — A few months after he took office, Taiwan-born Councilman Danny Wan got a request from City Hall security: Could he come downstairs to help a resident who spoke only Chinese find the right department? 

He was glad to help, but “it made me really wonder. What other services are out there that no one can access?” 

On Tuesday, Wan and fellow council members are expected to pass a groundbreaking ordinance requiring city departments that deal with the public to have, or make plans to hire, some bilingual staff. 

“The city has an obligation to provide the basic city services such as police and fire to everybody who pays taxes. Just because somebody may not be fluent in English yet does not mean they should be excluded,” Wan said. 

Advocates believe Oakland would be the first city in California, and perhaps the nation, to mandate bilingual hiring. San Francisco supervisors are scheduled to vote on a similar ordinance in May. 

California and federal laws already require agencies to make their programs and services accessible to people with limited English, but those requirements aren’t enforced and compliance is spotty, civil rights officials say. 

Before he left office, President Clinton signed an order boosting the federal language requirement. Conservative groups, which believe English should be the nation’s official language, are working to overturn that. 

The Oakland ordinance “sounds more progressive than other municipalities,” said Walter Bacak, executive director of the American Translators Association, based in Alexandria, Va. 

The ordinance, sponsored by Wan and council President Ignacio De La Fuente, would require that departments – such as those involving fire, police, senior citizens centers, building permits and other services – identify public-access positions and determine whether they have employees in them who can speak Spanish or Chinese, the prevalent languages of limited-English speakers in Oakland. 

Departments that don’t have such employees will have to start filling vacancies with bilingual workers. 

The ordinance, which would be phased in over two years, also requires setting up an in-house translation center, the major cost of the new measure at an estimated $200,000 to $300,000 a year. 

Language has been a hot-button issue for multicultural America, with more than 20 states declaring English the official language. Those states include California, where voters approved a constitutional amendment making English the official language in 1986, although it hasn’t been enforced. 

Mauro E. Mujica, chairman and CEO of the group U.S. English, thinks Oakland is going too far. 

Mujica, who speaks four languages, said it’s always a good idea to hire bilingual workers, but “to institutionalize it and pass a regulation that requires municipalities to hire people that are specifically bilingual in certain languages – that will get them into a lot of trouble.” 

Oakland resident Yu-Yung Shen thinks the bilingual policy is a “very good” idea. 

He was stopped in Oakland’s Chinatown about a year ago for running a red light. Because of his limited English, he couldn’t explain that he had entered the intersection on a green but had to stop halfway through, eventually getting stuck on the red, because a pedestrian had stepped off the curb, out of sight of the policeman. 

When he went to pay the ticket, no one at the counter spoke Cantonese, so Shen paid the $290 fine and also sat through an all-English traffic school. 

An Oakland police spokesman said the department does have a translation service available by radio. However, the person being stopped has to be able to speak enough English to request it. 

The new ordinance, Wan said, would require the police department to put bilingual officers in regions with large numbers of non-English speakers, such as Chinatown. 

For Shen, being able to count on speaking to someone in his own language would be a big improvement. 

“That way I can always present my case,” he said, speaking through an interpreter. “If I get into trouble, I can explain my situation.”

SAN JOSE — A school bus driver opened fire on her co-workers at their bus yard early Monday, killing a man and wounding three women, police said. 

A co-worker subdued the shooter and held her until police arrived, ending the spree at the Laidlaw Education Services yard just before 6 a.m., police spokesman Rubens Dalaison said. 

“We’re considering him a hero,” Dalaison said.  

“He was able to disarm her and hold her until the police could get the handcuffs on her.” 

The suspect was identified as Cathline Repunte, 36, who had worked for Laidlaw for about six years and regularly drove high school students, said Ronn English, the company’s director of human resources for the West. Investigators had not determined the motive or where the handgun used in the attack came from. 

Sherry Reed-Price, a Laidlaw training supervisor, said she was not aware of any issues that could have upset the woman. 

Repunte didn’t appear to have been particularly close with her fellow drivers, but gave “no clues, no hint” of any problems, English said. She had passed the background checks and drug tests required of drivers, he said. 

“She just came in, she did her job, and she left,” English said. “Folks would say ‘Hi’ to her, she would wave or say ‘Hi’ back. She was always polite, pleasant. We didn’t have any problems with her.” 

Repunte lives in an apartment in a working-class section of San Jose, where several neighbors said they never talked to her.  

Her nearest neighbor, CeCe Baleros, said the woman had lived there about a year or two and they had never spoken. 

The man who was killed was a 48-year-old driver and trainer for Laidlaw who had worked there since 1997, English said. His name was being withheld while police notified his family. 

Dalaison said the man was killed outside the bus yard office.  

The three women who were wounded, ages 47, 51, and 57, all were expected to survive, though one underwent surgery for a gunshot to her abdomen. 

Two of the women were found in a barricaded office, Police Sgt. Steve Dixon said. Dispatchers who handled the 911 call could hear gunfire in the background, Dixon added. 

Dalaison said around 30 employees were in the bus yard or office, though not all witnessed the shooting. Police arrived just as Laidlaw employee Gregory Alan Lee subdued Repunte outside the building, Dalaison said. 

The shooting forced the bus yard to stay closed all day while police investigated.  

About 2,500 San Jose students were delayed from 30 minutes to two hours as buses owned by the school district and nearby districts had to fill in, said Rose Bedard-Carr, the district’s director of auxiliary services.

LOS ANGELES — A flight attendant filed federal discrimination charges against American Airlines on Monday, saying her employee health plan does not cover reproductive care for women but provides Viagra for men. 

Martina Alexander said after being refused coverage for infertility treatments in 1999 she learned her health plan does not cover pap smears or birth control pills either — but does cover Viagra for impotent male employees. 

“Is a male reproductive organ more valued than a female reproductive organ? That is the question I asked myself when I was turned down by the company for infertility treatment. I was shocked, upset and angry when I realized that females didn’t seem to be treated as though they were as important as men,” said Alexander, 36, who has worked as a flight attendant since 1987. 

In a charge filed Monday with the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, attorney Gloria Allred contended that American’s policy constitutes sex, pregnancy and disability discrimination. 

Gus Whitcomb, a spokesman for the 110,000-employee airline, said American’s three basic employee health plans cover all “medically necessary” procedures or medications. That can include drugs, such as Viagra, prescribed by a physician to treat male impotence. 

Allred called that absurd. 

“We believe that this reasoning is insufficient to legally justify American’s coverage decision,” Allred said. 

Other plans offered by American, including through “wellness programs” and HMOs, cover pap smears and infertility treatments, but are available only on a limited geographic basis to the airline’s workers, Whitcomb said. 

Allred said she expected the EEOC to give her the go-ahead to file a federal lawsuit against American in 60 to 90 days. 

The charges are similar to those in a lawsuit a Seattle woman filed in July against the drugstore chain she works for. 

Women’s groups have appealed to Congress and state legislatures to require health insurance companies to cover contraception, but only a handful of states have laws on the books, and those cover only state-regulated insurance plans. 

In December, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found that excluding contraceptives from health plans discriminates against women, although the decision directly affected only two women. 

SACRAMENTO — After one lost her home and another lost his job, two transsexuals filed suit Monday under a new anti-discrimination law they say doesn’t go far enough to protect them. 

Supporters of transsexual and transgender rights say a favorable court ruling could set a landmark precedent that boosts protections for people who change their gender by dressing differently, taking hormones or having a sex-change operation. 

But opponents of the new law – which identifies transsexuals as a disabled group entitled to protection if they can prove their gender switch hampered their life – call it an example of bad policy gone wrong. 

Gary Johnson, 42, said he was hired last year at a Sacramento-based foster care and adoption agency. At the time, Johnson was appearing in public as a woman and using his given name, Gaynell. 

While working at Families for Children, he began dressing more masculine and was harassed, Johnson said. Eventually, he was placed on unpaid administrative leave. 

“The stress of it all was terrible,” he said. “They forced me out of the closet.” 

Johnson left his counseling job in February, but says the agency effectively fired him – a possible violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act if he can prove the agency acted against him because of his gender change. 

Since then, Johnson has legally changed his name and began taking testosterone injections, he said. He has been unable to find another job, despite his master’s degree in family and marriage counseling, he said. 

The second lawsuit, filed by Stanantha Jaros, claims her condominium homeowners’ association tried to get her to move out once they found out that she used to be a man. 

Neither the homeowners’ association nor Families for Children returned calls seeking comment. 

Karen Holgate, policy director for the Capitol Resource Institute, said the lawsuits were examples of bad policy. 

“This is a problem you get when you pass vague laws that try to give special rights for changeable traits,” Holgate said. 

”(This is about) someone who cares more about what can be worn to work than the children he was hired to serve,” she said. “Is it really about rights or to make a statement about an extremist agenda?” 

Johanna Rasmussen, spokeswoman for Eqalus, a Sacramento-based group for the gay and transgender community, said there are an estimated 35,000 to 60,000 transsexuals living in California. 

Johnson and Jaros are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

A vote that would have made San Francisco the only city in the nation to pay for employees’ sex changes was postponed Monday after one supervisor disapproved of adding such health coverage. 

The measure needed nine Board of Supervisor votes, which was impossible with two of the 11 supervisors absent and Supervisor Tony Hall speaking against it. The issue will be taken up again next week when a full nine votes of approval can be obtained, said Supervisor Mark Leno, who has worked two years to have the benefits added. 

Calling it “a case of reverse discrimination,” Hall said he could not support the issue because his office has been inundated with opposition. He views the sex-change surgery as elective and said it would cost city workers and retired employees an extra $1.70 a month they may not want to pay. 

“This is not like heart failure,” Hall said. “This is an elective procedure.” 

The issue had not received any public opposition until Monday, but a handful of people said they did not support the benefits. 

“Why should insurance companies pay for something like this?” asked Jane Cogswell, 81, a retired nurse and long-time San Francisco resident. “Then you get paid when you’re lying in the hospital with a new penis and a new uterus.” 

Leno argued the insurance would not cover elective surgery or cosmetic procedures. It instead would pay for genital reconstruction, hormones and other medical matters such as hysterectomies and mastectomies only after a doctor deems it medically necessary. 

He stressed there would be a $50,000 lifetime cap on the benefits, which would begin July 1. 

An average male-to-female surgery costs about $37,000, while female-to-male surgery runs about $77,000, a cost Hall said is too much to force on city employees without polling them first. 

Board President Tom Ammiano and Supervisor Gavin Newsom were absent for Monday’s vote. Leno said both support the issue and will vote in favor of it next week. 

The city currently has about 14 transgender employees out of its 37,000 workers. The insurance changes that would cost $1.70 a month would include items such as hearing aids and acupuncture, in addition to the sex-change benefits. 

San Francisco apparently would be the only governmental body in the nation to make sex-change benefits available. The state of Minnesota offered such benefits, but the program was phased out in 1998. The issue was discussed in Oregon, but a commission decided against it in 1999. 

The term transgender covers a broad range of categories including cross-dressers, transvestites, transsexuals and those born with characteristics of both sexes. 

On the Web: 

San Francisco Human Rights Commission: http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/sfhumanrights/ 

CARSON — A fire that erupted at an oil refinery sent plumes of black smoke billowing over the Los Angeles area Monday afternoon. 

Balls of flame could also be seen shooting into the air at the Tosco refinery in this suburb 15 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. 

“There is black boiling smoke, jet black and periodic boiling up flames right at the base – there it is again,” Alan Wayne said from his office building about two miles east of the flames.  

“It has just blackened the sky ... I’ve had enough of this – I’m going to the hockey game.” 

Fire engines, a hazardous materials team and at least two ambulances were dispatched to the plant, although no one was reported injured, said county Fire Department spokesman Roland Sprewell. 

County Fire Capt. Brian Jordan said firefighters were pouring water on the flames to keep them under control as a crew prepared to turn off the valve delivering the fuel. The area around the valve was as hot as 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, so firefighters needed to spray water on the flames to “push the fire away from the valve” so one of them could turn it off. 

The fire broke out about 5 p.m., Sprewell said.  

The cause was not immediately known. 

As the blaze spread through the refinery, in an industrial area dotted with storage tanks, it quickly sent huge plumes of black smoke billowing into the clear-blue sky. 

Some of the smoke drifted over a nearby residential neighborhood. Fire Capt. Raymond Schindler said no one was evacuated in the immediate aftermath of the fire but fire officials were evaluating whether to order evacuations. 

“They’re monitoring the air quality downwind and will make that determination,” Schindler said. 

Jerry Martin, spokesman for the state Air Resources Board, said area residents should be wary of the thick smoke. 

“Particulates can contain a lot of different compounds some of which can easily be harmful to the public if inhaled,” he said. “If you’re downwind of the refinery I would advise people to stay indoors if at all possible. ... Children, older people, people with illnesses in particular should make sure they’re not breathing this.”

A classic opera can withstand all manner of temporal transposition and psychological interpretation. Cal Opera’s production once more proves “The Magic Flute” a classic.  

Imagine that Sarastro is not the philosophical voice of Masonic mystery, but the unscrupulous CEO of a mega-corporation; that the Queen of the Night is a sincerely caring mother of a daughter who has sold out to that corporation; Monostatos is a middle-level manager who harasses his workers; the trio of cherubim are psychiatric consultants. Sound far-fetched? Of course it is. Yet somehow it all works and presents a cohesive reinterpretation that achieves a modern relevance, instead of merely aiming for it.  

The director Axel van Chee (who also plays Papageno) emphasizes the bare plot of the opera by employing a narrator, who first introduces the characters and then presents the basis of the action in lieu of the sometimes tiresome dialogues.  

All characters sing their parts in German, while the English narrative gives context. Full translations of all sung texts are shown by overhead projector, so the language barrier is broken.  

The plot is also brought to the fore by the complete absence of scenery, machinery and staging business: all action takes place in front of the proscenium curtain. 

The members of the cast and orchestra are all quite talented musicians. Especially noteworthy is Jamie Mago as Queen of the Night, whose coloratura passages sparkle as they effortlessly soar, while she preserves a winningly warm tone for her instructional arias. Although Sepp Hammer’s Sarastro lacks vocal power in the lowest range, his suave yet smarmy acting gives the character the needed evil nuances to subvert the expected piety.  

Max Celaya portrays Monostatos with enough melodramatic gesture to provide much-needed comic relief. Van Chee successfully plays Papageno as a purely comic figure, which helps balance out the ending in which Evil triumphs.  

Michael Feuerstein and Katherine Howell present Tamino and Pamina as real people who are seduced by corporate lies and one another’s pretty pictures. Their romantic attraction seems quite plausible, fueled by fine vocal blending as much as genetic urges. Vanessa Langer’s short appearance as Papagena convinces the audience that Papageno is well rewarded for his humble earthy attitude.  

The ensemble singing and interplay of both featured trios is excellent: the three ladies-in-waiting portray a level of elegantly studied concern that nicely flirts with caricature, while the three angelic consultants display vocal beauty which matches their stunning good looks.  

The orchestra, Bay Area Classical Harmony, produces a rich well-balanced tone that never overwhelms the singers or calls attention to itself. The small string sections allow the winds and brass more emphasis, so the audience is well-reminded that Mozart’s genius included orchestrating as well as inventing melodies. 

This production aims at presenting Mozart’s magical opera to an audience of non-opera-goers. As van Chee said, “If you’ve never seen an opera, that’s great.  

“We are delivering something that you might actually relate to, instead of watching a fairy tale that talks about strange ideas that you might not be comfortable with.”  

While it clearly succeeds at making this masterwork accessible to a new audience, this interpretation reveals enough new insights and displays enough polished local talent to win over the most seasoned opera fan.  

This is the second collaboration between Cal Opera and B.A.C.H., two groups of UC Berkeley students which are not officially connected with the university.  

Music majors and talented musicians from other departments work together in their spare time to produce true community theater. Conductor Andrew Chung said, “We are interested in reaching out to the Berkeley community... even getting high school students involved”. 

Although this is obviously an amateur production, the audience is reminded that the root meaning of “amateur” is that the performers are motivated by love of the material, rather than a paycheck.  

This love shines through and easily compensates for the few minor glitches and inconsistencies which lend inevitable charm to any low-budget show. I am confident that Mozart would have been quite happy to see this production.  

All ticket sales benefit Longfellow Middle School.  

Miko Sloper can be reached at miko@cheerful.com

NEW YORK — It is an investment category containing some of the most promising stocks in the entire market, some of them possible giants of the future, but which has been almost ignored for several years. 

The small-cap category has received little more than a nod from investors during this time, when low-price momentum stocks – those capable of doubling in a week or less – overshadowed its more modest performance. 

But small-caps, traditionally those with total market values of under $300 million, might be back. Many of these relative midgets did well last year, and they’ve been outperforming large-company stocks this year. 

And, says Gerald Perritt, a former professor who did as much as any individual to bring public attention to their superior cyclical returns two decades ago, “the long-awaited overperformance leg of the cycle may be upon us.” 

Small-caps are streak hitters, but when they go on a streak it can last several years, during which their returns may greatly outpace the performance of big companies that are publicized by analysts. 

Working from the basic research in 1978 of Rolph Banz, a professor at the University of Chicago, Perritt explained in articles and books how and why traditional small caps outperformed larger stocks over long periods of time. 

In the years 1975-1982, for example, “large-cap growth stocks provided an average annual return of 12 percent. But small-cap growth stocks in the same period provided a 28.3 percent return. Then they slumped to 9.1 percent in the period 1983-2000, compared with large-cap returns of 16.4. 

Perritt – whose own small caps are really small, some with valuations of less than $100 million – was waiting for a catalyst, which he now suspects was the collapse of so-called dot-com companies. He feels that seeking safer returns, investors are likely to revisit the overlooked small caps. Institutions too. 

Because they invest in such large amounts, it is often difficult for institutional investors to deal with small caps. The volume of available shares is often insufficient, and regulations prohibit owning too much of a company. Their impact on prices also creates volatility. Perritt’s Mutual Fund Letter” as well as running “Perritt Micro Cap Opportunities,” a mutual fund, sees two ways. One, by choosing a small-cap fund. Two, by buying single companies. 

The latter choice, however, imposes big responsibilities as well as offering potential rewards. Since there is minimum guidance from professionals, it means doing your own homework and testing the market. 

John Cunniff is a business analyst  

for The Associated Press

SAN JOSE — Struggling high-speed Internet access provider ExciteAtHome Corp. picked a telecommunications industry veteran as its new chairman and chief executive Monday, ending a seven-month search. 

ExciteAtHome also announced a net loss of $832 million in the first quarter and an operating loss that fell short of Wall Street’s recently lowered expectations, and lowered its outlook for the second quarter. 

The company’s new leader is Patti S. Hart, 44, most recently head of Telocity Inc., a provider of digital subscriber lines that was bought last year by Hughes Electronics Corp. She also has been head of Sprint Corp.’s long-distance division. 

Hart replaces George Bell, who had said when he stepped down as CEO in September that he would stay on as chairman. He now will leave altogether. 

Hart joins ExciteAtHome just as the company is dealing with a cash crisis and a gutted stock price and figuring out its future direction.  

She said she would address those issues while providing “clarity and focus for the company.” 

ExciteAtHome was formed in 1999 by the merger of Internet portal Excite and cable-modem provider At Home, which just happened to be based across the street from each other in Redwood City. AT&T Corp. owns 47 percent of the company but has 74 percent voting interest. 

By marrying Web content and high-speed access, the company was billed as a potential challenger to America Online and a strong force for bringing broadband to the masses.  

But while the cable-modem business has grown decently, and now counts 3.2 million subscribers, the portal business has suffered immensely due to the plunge in Internet advertising. 

ExciteAtHome said last week it needs between $75 million and $80 million to make it through the year and is considering several options, including selling off the Web portal or selling the backbone of its network to AT&T and leasing it back.  

Shares of AtHome Corp., which does business as ExciteAtHome, lost 20 cents, nearly 5 percent, to $3.87 on Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, well off the 52-week high of $28. Shares sank another 17 cents in after-hours trading. 

Excluding one-time charges, the company lost $61.6 million, or 15 cents per share, down from a loss of $4.6 million, or 1 cent per share, in the year-ago period. 

The operating loss was in line with the company’s announcement last week that it would lose 14 cents or 15 cents per share.  

However, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call were expecting 14 cents. 

Revenue rose 3 percent from the first quarter of 2000, to $142.8 million. 

Chief Financial Officer Mark McEachern said the company’s second-quarter operating loss is expected to be 16 cents or 17 cents per share, well off the First Call consensus forecast of a loss of 9 cents a share. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.excitehome.com 

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — USS Greeneville Cmdr. Scott Waddle was given a letter of reprimand Monday as punishment for the submarine collision that killed nine people aboard a Japanese fishing vessel, his attorney said. 

The punishment also included a forfeiture of half pay for two months, but that was suspended for six months. Waddle said he will retire Oct. 1, meaning he will receive his full pay until the end of his career. 

“While I regret that my Navy career has ended in this way, I know that I am one of the lucky ones because I survived the accident,” Waddle said in a statement released by his civilian attorney, Charles Gittins. 

The punishment was imposed by Adm. Thomas Fargo, Pacific Fleet commander, at an “admiral’s mast” attended by Waddle, a military attorney and several officers at Pearl Harbor Navy Base. 

Fargo concluded there was dereliction of duty and negligent hazarding of a vessel, Gittins said. 

But he said the admiral did not mention allegations of negligent homicide in the deaths of nine Japanese students and adults aboard the Ehime Maru when it was rammed by the Greeneville Feb. 9 in waters off Hawaii. 

“I understand and accept the punishment that Admiral Fargo imposed. He treated me fairly and with dignity and respect and I thank him for that,” Waddle said. 

Gittins, in an e-mail to news media shortly after the hearing ended, said Waddle explained his actions to the officers. It was not clear if Waddle would receive his pension, although Gittins has said in the past that he would keep full retirement pay. 

“Admiral Fargo thoughtfully considered Commander Waddle’s presentation and decided, nonetheless, that punishment should be imposed under the preponderance of the evidence standard applicable to such hearings,” Gittins said. 

Gittins said Fargo indicated he would accept Waddle’s forced retirement. If he had chosen not to retire, he would have had to show why he should be allowed to remain in the Navy. 

Gittins said the admiral told Waddle he was proud of his decision to testify before a court of inquiry without immunity. 

“My heart aches for the losses suffered by the families of those killed aboard the M/V Ehime Maru and the grief that this accident unfairly has thrust upon them,” Waddle said, apologizing once again for the collision and urging U.S. government settlement of claims made by the families. 

“I think about those lost at sea every day and I grieve for the families.” 

Waddle has said he plans to travel to Japan to meet with the families of the victims. He previously has apologized and accepted responsibility for the collision. 

Navy officials have acknowledged that the surfacing demonstration during which the collision occurred was done only for the benefit of 16 civilians aboard, three of whom were seated at the sub’s controls at the time. 

Waddle, in an interview with “Dateline NBC” taped before the hearing, described the shock he felt upon seeing the words “high school” through a periscope seconds after the collision. 

“Those were the first words that I read and I thought, ’Oh my God, we’ve hit ... we’ve hit some kids.”’ 

He said the Greeneville spent about 80 seconds at periscope depth before the surfacing. 

In hindsight, he said, that was not long enough. 

The hearing was conducted under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Waddle could face other disciplinary action including fines and critical performance letters. 

On Saturday, Waddle received a copy of the report of a three-member military panel that reviewed the case. Gittins declined to describe the panel’s conclusions, but Pentagon officials have said Fargo is following the officers’ recommendation in not calling for courts martial of top Greeneville officers. 

Gittins said at the time if punishment is imposed and there is grounds for appeal, “you can be sure we will pursue the appeal. He also said Waddle has “a number of very good job offers” to consider. 

WASHINGTON — President Bush rejected Taiwan’s request to buy high-tech U.S. destroyers equipped with the Aegis combat radar system, but left open the possibility of future sales if China continues to pose a military threat to the island. 

Beijing had objected to its rival’s bid for the Aegis system, and the sale could have worsened U.S.-China relations already strained by the collision between a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese jet that led to the 11-day detention of the 24-member American crew. 

A senior White House official, speaking to reporters Monday on condition of anonymity, said Bush approved the sale of four Kidd-class destroyers, which have a much less potent ship-borne radar system that Aegis radar but would still be a step forward for Taiwan’s navy. 

The Kidd-class system could be available by 2003, providing more immediate defense than the Aegis system which would take until 2010 to build. The White House official said the Aegis system would still be available to Taiwan in 2010 if Bush decided at a later point to offer it. 

The White House also said Bush agreed to sell Taiwan up to eight diesel submarines and 12 P-3 aircraft, along with various helicopters, assault vehicles and other arms. Besides the Aegis, the U.S. deferred sales of Apache helicopters and tanks requested by Taiwan. 

Also, the United States will brief Taiwan about software for the new PAC-3 version of the Patriot air defense missile, but will review later whether to provide the system itself. 

The White House said the package was designed to bolster Taiwan’s defenses against the mounting Chinese threats from the air. The United States is bound by law to help Taiwan defend itself. “We think there is nothing in this package for China to fear,” the senior White House official said. 

Officials said Bush would not characterize his decision as a rejection of Taiwan’s request for the Aegis system, choosing the word “defer” to signal that the arms could still be sold if Beijing does not improve relations with America. 

Indeed, the White House official told reporters that China could decrease the chances of Taiwan getting the Aegis system if Beijing becomes less aggressive militarily. 

It was Bush’s first major action involving China since the country detained the 24 U.S. servicemen and women. The Chinese still hold the U.S. surveillance plane. 

Beijing fears the technology eventually could serve as a platform for a regional missile defense system that would shield Taiwan against China’s growing arsenal of short-range ballistic missiles. 

China considers Taiwan a breakaway province that must be reunited with the mainland. The Taiwan Relations Act, enacted in 1979, calls for the United States to provide Taiwan with “such defense articles and defense services ... as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability.” 

Although 102 members of Congress recently signed letters to Bush supporting the Aegis sale, its deferral sparked little immediate criticism on Capitol Hill. 

Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., who co-wrote the House letter with Rep. David Wu, D-Calif., said he was confident Monday that Bush made his decision “based upon the best interests of the United States, Taiwan’s defense needs and peace in the region.” 

“It is not Congress’ role to micromanage decisions, only to ensure that adequate consideration is given consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act,” Cox said. 

And Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner gave a thumbs up to delaying Aegis sales before he was briefed Monday. 

Bush “is going to have my strong support,” said Warner, R-Va. 

The decision came after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recommended the package, and Bush’s national security team agreed with the assessment, the White House official said. 

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer played down any implications for strained U.S.-China relations, calling the Taiwan decision “an annual event” and insisting that China’s recent detention of an American spy plane crew will not be the sole factor in making the decision. 

“Of course, the president’s going to consider all factors that go into Taiwan’s defense needs,” Fleischer said. 

Rumsfeld is scheduled to relay Bush’s decision to a visiting Taiwanese delegation on Tuesday after notifying senior members of Congress. 

The four Kidd-class destroyers were the only four its kind constructed. They were originally built for the Shah of Iran in the 1970s but became part of the U.S. Navy when he was overthrown before delivery. 

The ships are no longer used by the U.S. Navy, though Adm. Dennis Blair, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, told Congress last month that the Kidd-class destroyers have “plenty of useful life yet.” 

At the State Department, spokesman Richard Boucher said the arms sale decision would not be influenced by recent problems with China, including China’s continued detention of the U.S. surveillance plane. 

——— 

Associated Press writers Sandra Sobieraj and Carolyn Skorneck contributed to this report. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Two U.S. television journalists were among eight winners to take home environmentalism’s top prize Monday. 

Recipients of the 2001 Goldman Environmental Prize came from Bolivia, Rwanda, Greece, West Papua in Indonesia and New Caledonia. The prize is awarded to those from the Earth’s six geographic regions who have fought to protect the environment and people around the world. 

Florida journalists Jane Akre and Steve Wilson received the award for their research on a story about the potential health effects of recombinant bovine growth hormone. The genetically modified hormone is used to get dairy cows to produce more milk. When St. Louis-based Monsanto Co., the maker of the hormone, objected to the report three days before it was to air, the Fox Network affiliate in Florida pulled the story. 

Monsanto representatives did not immediately return calls Monday. 

The couple claims they were fired because of their story, and they later won a suit charging Fox with violating the state’s Whistleblower law. The jury found that Fox pushed them to broadcast false and misleading information. 

The television station argued that the reporters were unprofessional and refused to balance the story during a six-month editing process. 

The two were joined as winners by Oscar Olivera from Bolivia. Olivera helped return the water system in the country’s third-largest city to the public. It had been privatized, driving prices up as much as 300 percent and requiring some residents to pay a third of their monthly income for fresh water. 

Olivera on Monday was on a 30,000-person march to the country’s capital to protect the gains won last year. He said marchers were met with tear and vomit gas, and that he has been charged with treason by the Bolivian government. 

Yosepha Alomang, a spokeswoman for the Amungme in West Papua, was honored for her fight against the mining practices of New Orleans-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., a fight during which she said she has been detained and tortured by the Indonesian government. 

The company has given Alomang’s human rights group, HAMAK, a $248,000 grant for education and office space that Alomang says she will use to continue her fight. 

Other 2001 winners are: 

• Eugene Rutagarama, a Rwandan conservationist, risked his life to save his country’s last 355 mountain gorillas. After fleeing Rwanda during the genocide in the 1990s, when most of his family was killed, he returned to help rebuild the national park system and protect the gorilla habitat from human encroachment. 

• Myrsini Malakou and Giorgos Catsadorakis, two Greek biologists, have led the effort to create a wetlands conservation area located in remote northwestern Greece that crosses the borders of Albania and Macedonia. The two worked for years researching, organizing and advocating sustainable farming and economic activities to restore the area. 

• Bruno Van Peteghem of New Caledonia in the South Pacific is working to protect one of the world’s coral reefs from destruction by mining. International companies have threatened to mine large portions of the reefs, which he has campaigned to place on the World’s Heritage List. Van Peteghem said there have been efforts to intimidate him, including the suspicious burning of his family’s home. 

Each winner gets $125,000 and a small award statue.

SACRAMENTO — The Assembly’s redistricting committee Monday approved its rules for drawing new legislative and congressional districts, but no one at the hearing was very happy about the time allotted for public scrutiny of the new district lines. 

However, lawmakers insisted they would try to provide as much time as possible for the public to analyze and critique the final district maps before the Legislature approves than in September. 

The Legislature will be redrawing Assembly, Senate and congressional district lines this summer to reflect the population changes revealed by the 2000 census. The lines will determine the shape and makeup of the state’s legislative and congressional delegations for the next decade and influence which party controls Congress and the Legislature. 

The rules, approved by an 8-0 vote of the Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendment Committee, call for eight public hearings around the state before the plans are drawn. The hearings start May 4 in San Diego. 

That was an increase of one from the number of hearings proposed last week. 

Voter organizations, civil rights groups and lawmakers were more concerned Monday about later public hearings on the final redistricting plans. The rules currently call for only one day of notice before two days of public hearings on those plans. 

“Two days of hearings following one day of notice is very minimal. I think you can do better,” said Trudy Schafer of the League of Women Voters. 

Alan Clayton of the California Latino Re-Districting Coalition said at least five days are needed to look at the complicated plans and talk to communities around the state about impact of the plans. 

“I would like an opportunity for meaningful input from other than members of this house on the maps,” added Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach. 

The committee chairman, Assemblyman John Longville, a Rialto Democrat, said it was difficult to specify time for notice and hearings on the final plans because both houses would be involved and lawmakers would be facing deadlines. 

“It is our intent to make that notice the absolutely maximum possible. It depends on how close to the deadline we are,” he said. 

He said the committee might amend its rules later to add additional time for public hearings on the final maps. 

On the Net: 

The committee’s Web page is http://www.assembly.ca.gov/erca 

New Cal offensive coordinator Al Borges has said repeatedly that he thinks the key to a good offense is the play-action pass. So on the first play of the spring football game, quarterback Kyle Boller faked a handoff to the tailback and threw deep for wide receiver Geoff McArthur, who had a step on his defender. But in what would be quickly turn into a pattern, the precision just wasn’t there, and the pass fell incomplete. 

The Cal offense started 12 drives Saturday against their own defense, and didn’t put the ball in the end zone once. The closest they got was on Boller’s last drive of the day, when long completions to McArthur and wideout Sean Currin put the ball inside the five-yard line. But the Bears just couldn’t punch it in, and Boller headed to the sideline to talk things over with Borges. 

In all, Boller led six drives, completing 11 of 19 passes for 159 yards and, importantly, no interceptions. But considering the fact that four of Cal’s top defensive backs didn’t play in the game due to injury, the lack of scoring put a damper on Boller’s day. 

“We wanted to score on our D, but it didn’t happen,” the junior-to-be said. “We’d have two good plays, then one bad one that would mess up the whole drive. But overall, I think it went okay. We’ll watch the films and see what went wrong.” 

Borges expessed confidence that the passing game will be better in the fall. 

“What we’ve been doing in practice better than we did today is getting some big plays. We just missed a few throws by a couple of inches,” Borges said. “We’ll get it down. When you shave your groups down to the guys who are going to be playing all the time, those missed passes become completions.” 

Although Boller’s progression will be the key factor next year, the Bears will need a solid running game to show improvement. But Saturday’s game was a disappointment in that area as well, as tailbacks Joe Igber and Joe Echema combined to run for just 44 yards on 15 carries. The offensive line, missing center Brandon Ludwig, didn’t open holes for them, and their yardage came almost exclusively from running outside. 

“We didn’t run the ball very well today. During the spring it’s been pretty good, but it wasn’t good today,” Borges said. “Again, once we get all the guys in there, it’ll be better, because we’ve got a good line, and we’ve got a good running back.” 

With Borges just getting started on implementing his offense and several injuries to key players, it’s hard to draw any conclusions based just on Saturday’s game. But Boller, for one, is ready to turn things around after two losing seasons. 

“It’s been too long. I’m sick of going three and eight,” he said.

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. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins, and become little “dump” workers. $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. (closed Sundays, Memorial Day through Labor Day) 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; “Ricky Swallow/Matrix 191,” Including new sculptures and drawings; April 22 - May 27 $6 general; $4 seniors and students age 12 to 18; children age 12 and under free; free Thursday, 11 a.m. to noon and Wednesday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; 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!” 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. “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” 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 27: Atom & His Package, Phantom Limbs, Har Mar Superstar, The Frisk, Shubunkins; April 28: 7 Seconds, Throwdown, Vitamin X, Over My Dead Body, Breaker Breaker; May 4: Plan 9, Zodiac Killers, Reverend B. Dangerous Freakshow, Dory Tourette & The Skirtheads, Knockoffs; May 5: Shikabane, Phobia, Harum Scarum, Vulgar Pigeons, Insidious Sorrow 525-9926  

Ashkenaz April 24, 9 p.m.: Zydeco Flames, dance lesson at 8 p.m.; April 25, 8 p.m.: Fling Ding with Crooked Jades, Bluegrass Intentions, clogging lesson; April 26, 10 p.m.: Dead DJ night with digital dave; April 27, 8 p.m.: Musicians for Medical Marijuana Benefit featuring Fact or Fiction with Martin Fierro, Shelly Doty X-Tet; April 28, 9:30 p.m.: Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums, 8 p.m. dance lesson; April 29, 9 p.m.: Clinton Fearon & Boogie Brown Band, DJ Edwin The Selector; 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 Door open at 8 p.m. April 27: Carlos Zialcita; April 28: J.J. Malone; May 4: Henry Clement; May 5: Terry Hanck; 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland 655-6661.

Our Warriors are Winners! 

Editor: 

The Golden State Warriors Basketball Team has just finished a very hard season, but once again because of them, many Bay Area kids have had another good year. Because once again, even when they are having their own troubles,  

Our Warriors continue to give generously to Bay Area Schools, After School Programs, Youth Groups & Teen Programs, the American Heart Association... And so many more I could go on all day.  

I know the gratitude of Bay Area Families first hand. I'm the President of the Berkeley PTA Council, and my whole community will always remember the time that Travis, vice president of public relations gave me 450 tickets to a December game to give out at a district-wide Family Reading Night.  

What a night, and what a Christmas present as every family got four tickets; great seats in the lower stands. Many of us could not have afforded this great family night out. The Warriors won that night, but it wouldn't have mattered, because for so many Bay Area fans, the Golden State Warriors are always champions. And if the kids could forget that game, they would still remember Thunder passing out those tickets at Malcolm X School, telling kids how important reading is to success.  

Last week my son David won first class seats to a game because he raised money for ‘Hoops for Hearts,’ along with kids from all over the Bay Area.  

Just how many Bay Area Programs look to the Warriors for this significant support? Just how many Kids, Families and Communities have been saved because the Warriors cared enough to share the Magic of Warriors Basketball.  

How many programs are enriched because of their generosity? You can see it in the stands, you can feel it in the air, as the magic that the Warriors organization creates so well eases our stress, excites us, makes us push our cares away as we watch our Warriors show us that even in the hardest of times, you have to love who you are and what you do. 

Now that the last game of the season is over, more than 14,000 true fans attended, and many of them won't really remember that the other team won that game ... Just that they had a wonderful time. 

Thanks Warriors. Next year, when you’re down on that court, look into the stands and you will see that we are there to support you, just as you have supported our kids. 

Mark A. Coplan 

President, Berkeley PTA Council 

Civic Center park off limits as parking garage 

Editor:  

The residents of the central Berkeley neighborhoods object to the suggestion in the work plan of the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) Advisory Board that DBA, “encourage city to study feasibility of underground parking in Martin Luther King Civic Center Park.” We request that this statement be removed from the Downtown Business Work Plan.  

Civic Center Park is owned by the city of Berkeley and therefore by the people who live here. The park is not available for development. It is protected, As are all Berkeley parks, by Measure L, passed in 1986, which requires that any structure to be built in a Berkeley park only if approved by a vote of the citizens. This was attempted in 1996 when Measure X was placed on the ballot to try to build temporary buildings on the park to be used as city offices while the Civic Center Building was being retrofitted.  

Measure X was defeated by 76 percent of the vote. 

The park is also protected by the City of Berkeley Landmark status and is part of a State Historic District. Presently the park is in an extended planning process for restoration which will get the fountain functioning, replant missing trees and possibly move the children's playground away from the noise and pollution of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. When construction of the Civic Center Building is completed, the park will be extended closer to the building by removal of the parking lot west of the building. 

People who live in Berkeley, especially those who live in the central residential neighborhoods value the Civic Center Park for the open space it provides in the downtown, for the gren lawn and soaring poplar trees which provide food, for swallowtail butterflies, for the memories of the designers of the park, for the memories of the many wonderful festivals and free concerts, and for the Peace Wall dedicated by Jesse Jackson. The park is especially valued by residents of census tracts 29 and 30 where there are few park resources and no public children's swings. 

There have already been missed opportunities to create underground parking when Berkeley Rep built their new theater and when Berkeley High School planned construction of its new building at Allston and Milvia. Perhaps underground parking could be planned for the apartment building which will replace Hink's Garage. 

Carrie Sprague 

Berkeley 

An open letter to Police Chief Dash Butler  

Editor: 

I am writing to you as the Neighborhood Watch Captain for the Fulton/Russell Neighborhood Association concerning the lockdown of the public park at Le Conte Elementary School. 

Apparently, there was an assault in the park approximately two weeks ago during the early evening. As a result, the park, which is supposed to be open to the public until 10 p.m. as per posted signage, has been on lockdown.  

The Berkeley Police Dept. notified the Berkeley Unified School District's security officer to lock the gates to the park at 6 p.m., monday - friday, except for one gate on Oregon Street which is locked at 8 p.m., and to open the park only 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. on the weekends. 

This is a public park. It's maintenance and security is a joint effort of the BPD, the BUSD and the neighborhood. We pay hefty taxes to keep our parks open and accessible. I have had many complaints this week from neighbors about the park being on lockdown. We have very little green space in this city to begin with. And now with Daylight Savings Time our kids need a place to play until almost 9 p.m. People want to use their park! 

What kind of community will we wind up living in if every time some crime occurs, we put a fence around the crime scene and seal it off? We want the police to do their job and catch the criminals — not punish the neighborhood where the crime occurred.  

In addition, why weren't the Neighborhood Block Captains notified about the assault? I thought that one of the reasons neighborhood associations were formed was to transmit information about our safety. We are on line and have telephones, easy to contact. There is no excuse. I want to be informed. My neighbors want to be informed. It is my job to let them know if anything is going on that concerns them. This does. And I don't have anything to tell them about keeping themselves safe. What actually happened? Have the criminals been caught? Why can't the park stay open? Do you expect these same criminals to strike there again? And, if so, why aren't the Police patroling the park? 

I would appreciate some answers. So would my neighbors. And we want the park open immediately, please. 

Lisa Bullwinkel 

Berkeley 

Monday, April 23

Cold War Civil Rights 

4 p.m.  

Harris Room  

119 Moses Hall  

UC Berkeley 

Mary Dudziak, USC, will discuss “Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy.” Free  

Gypsy Day Celebration  

Noon - 1 p.m.  

Lower Sproul Plaza  

UC Berkeley  

Rromani music and dance featuring Nadia Hava-Robbins, Rromani dancer and poet from the Czech Republic. Followed by a human rights presentation by Voice of Roman president Sani Rifati. Free  

981-1352 

Lavender Seniors Panel  

Presentation 

1:30-3 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1902 Hearst St. 

Discussion on how agism and homophobia affect seniors 

667-9655 

Senior Housing in Berkeley Forum 

2 - 4 p.m. 

Redwood Gardens 

2951 derby St 

Is Senior Housing safe? Is it permanent? An open forum held by the Affordable Housing Advocacy Project, senior housing residents sill discuss concerns. Followed by Housing Clinic to respond to individual questions. 

1-800-773-2110 

Tuesday, April 24

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 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

National Organization for  

Women Meeting 

6:30 p.m. 

Mama Bears Bookstore 

6536 Telegraph Ave.  

261-1642 

Peaceful Assembly of 10,000 

7 - 8:30 p.m.  

North Gate 105  

UC Berkeley  

A celebration of the second anniversary of April 25, 1999 when 10,000 Falun Gong followers assembled. Sponsored by the Cal Human Rights Campaign.  

chinahumanrights2001@yahoo.com  

Wednesday, April 25

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 

The New Math  

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 the common misunderstandings in the economics of development. Free 

Gray Panthers General  

Meeting 

1:30 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Sandra Weese of SEIU Local 250 and two hospital workers will tell about their campaign to improve staffing ratios and conditions in California Nursing Homes.  

548-9696 

Thursday, April 26 

Duomo Readings Open Mic.  

6:30 - 9 p.m. 

Cafe Firenze  

2116 Shattuck Ave.  

With featured poet Ray Skjelbred and host Louis Cuneo.  

644-0155 

Fire Suppression Class  

1 - 4 p.m. 

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 

Trail of a Lifetime  

7 p.m.  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Deborah Brill and Marty Place hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, from the snowy northern terminus in Canada’s Manning Provincial Park, to the Mexican border. They will share highlights of their 2,658-mile trip and will give you tips on how to plan a trip of your own. 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  

Free Blood Pressure  

Screenings  

Noon - 1 p.m.  

Alta Bates Summitt medical Center  

2450 Ashby Ave.  

Health Education Center, Room 203  

Samuel Merritt College 

A screening for individuals with a potential risk for high blood pressure.  

869-6737  

Plan Reading Seminar 

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center 

812 Page St.  

Conducted by Andus Brandt.  

$35  

525-7610 

Eastshore State Park  

Workshop 

7 p.m. 

Hs Lordship’s Restaurant 

199 Seawall Dr 

Berkeley Marina 

Discussion of planning issues and opportunities surrounding the park. 

888-988-PARK 

Friday, April 27  

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 

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  

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 

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.

On Earth Day, people are encouraged to think about living in a manner healthy both for the body and the earth. Traditionally, it is a day for thinking about both ones place within a larger ecology and methods for environmentally sound living.  

At Berkeley’s Earth Day festival Saturday, it also served as a showcase for a variety of environmental causes. Although the sunny day, organic vegetarian food and roots music helped create an ambiance of earth-friendliness — that was not the point. Rather, organizer Karen Hester said she wanted to get people interested in environmentalism to take one step further.  

“I want to give people exposure to a wide range of environmental issues,” said Hester. “The idea is to plug them into the environmental movement so that they become activists.” 

The opportunity to showcase their environmental issues before an interested audience can be more than a boon to

SANTA CLARA – Four years after they narrowly missed each other in Berkeley, Andre Carter will get to play for Steve Mariucci on the other side of the San Francisco Bay. 

Carter, a powerful defensive end who starred at California and Oak Grove High School in the Bay Area, was thrilled to stay home after the 49ers drafted him with the seventh overall pick in the NFL draft Saturday. 

The 49ers, who traded up two spots in the first round to snatch Carter away from the Chicago Bears, were just as thrilled to get him. 

“Andre will be a centerpiece of this defense,” said general manager Bill Walsh, who wheeled and dealed again in what’s likely his final draft as GM. “He comes out of college more advanced in skill and technique than anyone I’ve ever seen, and it’s because of his father.” 

Carter is the son of former Broncos nose tackle and current Jets defensive line coach Rubin Carter, who taught defensive line technique to his son while other children were out playing soccer. Carter was recruited to Cal by Mariucci, but on the day Carter was to sign his letter of intent, Mariucci was hired by the 49ers. 

After consulting with his father, Carter went to Cal anyway. He became an All-American while staying in school for four years — a choice that paid off handsomely on Saturday. 

“We got the guy we wanted, the guy we had to have,” Mariucci said. “This was a unanimous decision. Everybody in this building from secretaries to groundskeepers were hoping for Andre Carter.” 

San Francisco picked Vanderbilt linebacker Jamie Winborn in the second round and Pittsburgh running back Kevan Barlow in the third. The 49ers have five picks in the draft’s remaining four rounds, but assistant general manager Terry Donahue said the team likely will try to trade up Sunday. 

“It’s exciting to get a local guy who brings (Carter’s) talent and work ethic,” Donahue said. “It’s nice to keep him at home. People say that isn’t a big deal ... but we think it is.” 

The 49ers hope to team Carter with stalwart Pro Bowler Bryant Young and free agent defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield — who might sign with San Francisco any day now — in what would be a drastically revamped and improved defensive line. One of the 49ers’ weaknesses last season could quickly become a strength. 

“I can just say I take pride in playing for the 49ers,” said Carter, who was in Maryland when he got the news. “I’m blessed. There’s so many emotions. I like the 49ers’ (defensive line). They play with fire and passion, especially Bryant Young. I’m just excited and ready to go.”

At first blush, Berkeley Alternative High School seems more like place of business than a school.  

The courtyard is so quiet you could hear a Bic pen drop.  

Students are more likely to be found moving in pairs than in the clusters of five or more that are such a familiar part of the Berkeley High School landscape.  

Even the staff seems to speak in long, luxurious sentences to one another — as if there really were enough minutes in the day. 

After all, the three-acre campus only has to hold 120 students, as compared to the 3,300 crammed onto Berkeley High’s 17-acre campus. 

And there’s the equivalent of two full-time guidance counselors to stay on top of students and help them get through the week with a minimum of panic or stress. That’s compared to seven such counselors at Berkeley High. 

Mercedes Sanders, today the alternative school’s full-time guidance counselor, let out a sigh when she recalled what it was like working at Berkeley High in the early 1990s, when there were only 325 students per guidance counselor (today it’s closer to 500). 

“It was an impossible job at that time, and it’s gotten much worse,” Sanders said one day last week. “I know all of my students here. I know what their issues are. At Berkeley High, it was crisis intervention that we did mostly.” 

Until last year, Berkeley Alternative High School was “continuation” program — a school to which Berkeley High students with academic, attendance or discipline problems were unceremoniously transferred so they would, in effect, be out of the way. 

But at a time when “small

Men’s golf team takes ninth 

STANFORD – The California men’s golf team finished in ninth place at the U.S. Intercollegiate with a three-round score of 873 (+21).  

Arizona won the event with a three-day total of 837. 

Cal sophomore J.R. Ruda shot a second-round 67 to help him tie for fourth place individually. His 54-hole score of 211 (-2) led the Bears.  

UCLA nets a win over Bears 

The No. 21-ranked Cal men’s tennis team (14-8, 4-3 Pac-10) fell one point shy of a victory over No. 1-ranked UCLA (20-2, 6-1 Pac-10) today at the Hellman Tennis Courts. The match, which was originally rained out, was rescheduled for today. UCLA was coming off a tough 4-3 loss to Stanford yesterday, while the Bears were riding a four-match winning streak. 

No. 1 crew beats OSU 

The No. 1-ranked Cal men’s varsity eight defeated No. 10 Oregon State by 14 seconds in a dual race on the Redwood Shores Lagoon, April 22. Cal held off an early charge by the Beavers and increased its lead as it navigated the 2000-meter race course. Cal, the two-time defending national champion, is undefeated on the season.

By converting the power source in public buildings from fossil fuel based electricity to renewable solar systems, the City Council wants to set an example for small businesses and homeowners. 

Now is the opportune time for government, businesses and homeowners to switch to alternate sources of energy, according to solar energy advocates who addressed the council last Tuesday. 

There is very little reason not to switch, according to Gary Gerber, president of Sun, Light and Power, a solar system installer. Solar equipment has become affordable, he said, with

The students from Communications Arts and Sciences academy at Berkeley High School have returned from their two-week adventure in Cuba. The Daily Planet ran the first two parts of the log written by history teacher and chaperone Tom Kordick. Following is the third and last part of the log. 

Friday April 13 

After breakfast at the camp, the group split into the three groups for two days and one night in the provinces. Group one headed for city of Cinfuegos, on the south side of the island. They took a walking tour of the city and spent time interacting with the people of the town. From there they went on

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center is seeking volunteers for the Tele-Care program.  

The program provides friendly, caring check-up calls on a daily basis to seniors, convalescents and others who are homebound.  

Volunteers who provide the service pick the days they would like to call, and use the phones at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center.  

If interested in volunteering to make someone’s day a little less lonely, call 204-4487 between 8:30 and 11:30 a.m., Monday through Friday.

SAN FRANCISCO – An eight-month-old boy was seriously injured late Saturday afternoon in a fall from the observation deck at the top of Mount Diablo State Park in Contra Costa County. 

Park rangers said the infant was being carried on his father’s shoulders near the Summit Building at the top of Mount Diablo when he fell 25 feet from an observation deck at the park’s visitor center.  

One ranger and an off-duty Contra Costa County Fire captain were at the scene and administered first aid until the boy could be airlifted to the hospital by paramedics. 

Oakland Children’s Hospital officials said late Saturday evening that the boy was listed in critical but stable condition.

QUEBEC – Shops sprang back to life Sunday and tourists returned to cobblestone streets still littered with the debris of firebombs, rocks and bottles from two days of clashes between police and protesters that marred a summit of 34 Western Hemisphere leaders. 

As the presidents and prime ministers left town, authorities took the padlocks off a 2.3-mile chain-link and concrete fence that had encircled the Summit of the Americas. Protesters had dubbed the barrier the “Wall of Shame” and complained that it prevented the public from having a voice in the summit’s main topic: Creating a free-trade area from the Arctic to Argentina. 

The Quebec provincial security minister, Serge Menard, estimated the cost of providing security for the summit — the most extensive in Canada since World War II — exceeded $40 million. 

About 400 people were arrested and scores more were injured, none seriously, in two days of confrontations, police said. On Saturday, more than 20,000 people marched peacefully to protests causes ranging from AIDS and poverty to capitalism and globalization. 

An early morning rain and stiff wind Sunday cleansed the air of tear gas residue and businesses began reopening after shuttering their windows with plywood and sheet metal. 

The final declaration of the 34 leaders emphasized their attention to issues raised by the demonstrators, who opposed the Free Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA, that the leaders pledged to create by 2005. The leaders pledged to reduce extreme poverty in the hemisphere by half during the next 15 years, and concluded their declaration with words seemingly addressed to the activists: 

“The Summits of the Americas exist to serve people. We must develop effective, practical and compassionate solutions for the problems that confront our societies. We do not fear globalization, nor are we blinded by its allure.” 

Groups opposing free trade said such language amounted to lip service intended to divert attention from the free-trade agenda. The Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch called the summit a “no-news” photo opportunity. 

Sierra Club President Robert Cox, who took part in Saturday’s peaceful march, said the increasing attention to issues raised by the protest movement showed its message was getting out. 

“Before Quebec, few Americans knew about George Bush’s plans to create the FTAA,” Cox said in a statement. “After Quebec, millions know that the proposed FTAA imperils safeguards for the environment and working people in the United States and throughout the Americas.” 

Out on the streets, most protesters seemed to agree. 

“I think people misinterpret this as almost like a game. It’s not,” said Rich Gallagher, 21, who came from a New York state college to take part in the demonstrations. 

Organizers built the security wall around the heart of the old city and deployed more than 6,000 police officers to prevent the activists from getting near the talks. 

The measures mostly succeeded. 

Friday night’s opening ceremony started more than an hour late after protesters tore down a section of the fence, causing officials to lock down summit venues and bathe the area in tear gas. A few meetings were delayed or canceled, but the rest of the summit was on schedule and the leaders completed their work.

SAN JOSE – Not long ago, the prophets of our digital future were touting DSL as one of the hottest tickets to a broadband revolution that would utterly transform telecommunications. 

Homes and businesses would have hassle-free, always-on, affordable and speedy Internet access. And DSL was not just for Web surfing: Interactive television, telephones and kitchen appliances — all connected — were supposedly just around the corner. 

Digital Subscriber Line technology, which runs over regular copper phone wire, was also supposed to be a powerful vehicle for ending regional telephone companies’ domination over local service. 

But for independent DSL providers, the reality has fallen far short of the promise. Wall Street lost confidence. Plans to create nationwide networks were scaled back. Many independents are going broke. 

Emerging dominant now in the DSL market are the century-old phone companies against whom complaints had piled up for shoddy service and long installation waits. 

The independents accuse the regional Bells of anticompetitive behavior, of locking them out of the neighborhood switching offices that link phone lines, the telephone network and the Internet — of violating the spirit of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which promised more choice and better service. 

“We’re on the precipice of disaster, and it’s not clear our industry is going to survive,” says John Windhausen, president of the Association for Local Telecommunications Services, a trade group for competitive carriers that offer voice and data lines including DSL. 

Victims in the DSL drama include bankrupt NorthPoint Communications, which last month sold most of its assets — but not its customers — to AT&T for $135 million; Rhythms NetConnections, whose chief executive quit and whose auditors question its viability; Covad Communications, which laid off 800 people and scaled back. 

Now, tens of thousands of customers are scrambling for alternative providers or returning to slow dial-up modems. 

“It’s really tough for me to be giving this up,” says John Margarone, a Buffalo, N.Y., computer consultant about to lose his DSL at his home where he invested $10,000 in equipment. “This aspect of my business is dead right now.” 

The crisis of the upstart DSL providers would seem paradoxical. Demand has never been stronger — and the major phone companies are now reporting fewer installation troubles. 

Last year, U.S. subscribers of DSL shot up by 500,000 to 2.4 million, according to TeleChoice, a research firm. That number is expected to swell to 5.7 million this year but still fall behind the numbers posted by the cable companies’ competing services. 

Most new DSL business is expected to fall to regional Bell companies including Verizon, SBC Communications, Qwest Communications and BellSouth, which claim 76 percent of all subscribers. 

For residential customers, cable or DSL service costs as little as $39.95 a month. That price is difficult for independents to match after they pay the phone company to use its lines. 

Under the Telecommunications Act, leased-line charges are negotiated under a formula set by the Federal Communications Commission. If no deal can be reached, state regulators step in. 

In the end, charges vary widely — but the independents say the regional Bells game the system to their advantage. The phone companies say fees should be higher. 

Monthly leases for single lines that share both voice and data can cost independent providers as much as $15. New lines cost them as much as $30 each. Plus, the phone companies charge for leasing space, line testing, security and air conditioning. 

“It turns out it was a faulty business model,” said Michael Goodman, a Yankee Group analyst. “Was it someone else’s fault that they built their business model at a competitive disadvantage?” 

The DSL buildup began in earnest in 1999, as the stock markets boomed and plentiful venture capital emboldened DSL companies to embark on nationwide rollouts. Internet Service Providers, which worked with pure DSL providers as retail partners, also spent furiously in a quest to grow. 

“They were giving away close to a thousand dollars to acquire that customer,” said Joe Plotkin of the U.S. ISP Alliance. 

Last year, the cash spigot closed as Wall Street stopped prizing growth over profits. ISPs stopped paying their bills just as their DSL partners were deep in the capital-intensive network deployments. 

The Bells leveraged what Epoch Partners analyst Mark Langner called their “huge natural advantage,” heavily advertising their own DSL service. 

Some DSL companies claim the Baby Bells did their best to hinder competitors — denying access to equipment, losing paperwork and slowing repairs. Such complaints were the basis of antitrust lawsuits Covad filed against Verizon, BellSouth and SBC. 

In some cases, would-be DSL customers were told by regional Bells that service provided by an independent was impossible at their address, only to learn later that they could obtain the phone company’s retail DSL at the very same location. 

When computer programmer Terje Oseberg tried to order service from a competitive DSL carrier, he was told by Pacific Bell that his line would not qualify. A few days later, his roommate called and was told PacBell’s retail DSL would work. 

“It was installed in two weeks,” said Oseberg. 

The DSL imbroglio might be best understood in light of the billions in profits to be made in a transformed communications market. DSL lines can carry digitally rendered voice and television service. 

That threatens the Bells’ decades-old cash cow. 

“We’re introducing a new technology that threatens the rich revenue stream that they’ve enjoyed as a monopoly for the last 100 years,” said Sal Cinquegrani of New Edge Networks, a competitive carrier. 

The regional Bells insist they are being true to the 1996 telecom act, which specified that they cede monopoly control over phone lines as a condition of being allowed to enter the long distance market. 

“We have every incentive to provide nondiscriminatory access and indeed do so,” said Saralee Boteler, an SBC spokeswoman. 

The confusing relationship between the upstart competitors, their partner ISPs and the regional phone company also created headaches, said Claire Beth Nogay, a vice president at Verizon who oversees DSL company relationships. 

“It’s very difficult for the end user to get a clean picture of what’s going on,” she said. “That’s just the nature of the industry as it stands today. Nobody really wants it this way, but that’s the way it evolved.” 

Critics say there’s more to the story — that the Baby Bells have deliberately encumbered competition. 

“I believe the Bells didn’t do the training. They didn’t hire enough staff to handle the problem,” said Bruce Kushnick of the New Networks Institute, a telecom public advocacy group. 

“Basically, the rollout has been atrocious,” said Kushnick, a telecommunications consultant. 

Regulators have occasionally fined regional phone companies. The issue is most hotly debated when the Bells’ applications to enter long distance are considered. 

In December, during SBC’s push to sell long-distance in Kansas and Oklahoma, the Justice Department urged closer scrutiny of competition and access prices. In January, the FCC approved the application. 

In Pennsylvania last month, regulators ordered Verizon to split its retail and network operations but stopped short of ordering new separate companies. Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and other states are considering some form of separation. 

Both sides have been blaming each other for DSL problems for years, said Ken Johnson, a spokesman for Louisiana Republican Rep. Billy Tauzin, who chairs the House Commerce Committee. 

Less, not more, regulation is the answer, he said. 

“Frankly, there’s plenty of enough blame to spread around,” Johnson said. “Let the marketplace determine who is telling the truth.” 

FCC Chairman Michael Powell appears intent on doing that. 

“We will shift from constantly expanding the bevy of permissive regulations to strong and effective enforcement of truly necessary ones,” he told Congress last month. 

Not all independent DSL providers blame the phone companies for their financial woes. 

Those who stay in business will learn to anticipate slow service and other glitches, said Keith Markley, president of DSL.net, a combined competitive carrier and ISP that focuses solely on small and medium-size businesses. The structure makes for higher profit margins and easier problem-solving, he said. 

Because it is nearly impossible to compete on price, survival may depend on whether they offer products and service that established phone companies do not. New Edge Networks, for instance, focuses on businesses in cities with fewer than 250,000 people. 

Covad, which settled its suit against SBC, now sells directly to small businesses and maintains partnerships with solvent ISPs. 

Chuck McMinn, Covad’s chairman and co-founder, says demand for faster connections will overcome all the odds. 

“The customers love it when they get up and operational,” he said. “If you went to them and said we’re going to take your broadband connection, you’d better duck because you’re going to get hit with something.”

Participants fight pollution, traffic congestion 

Volunteers for Berkeley’s Safe Routes to School Program encouraged more than 3,000 elementary school students to walk, bike, carpool or bus to school Friday – the day before Earth Day – to help cut traffic congestion and air pollution in the city. 

Washington School, across Martin Luther King Jr. Way from Berkeley High, was one of six elementary schools where volunteers set up a smorgasbord of free fruit and bagels to reward kids arriving via environmentally-friendly transport. 

“Cars pollute the air,” said Washington student Ryan Neal, when asked why he chose to ride his scooter to school during an unrelenting rain shower Friday morning. 

Fourth grader Cidnee Bess agreed, but she said she prefers carpooling to school because it makes her feel safer. 

Walking to school, “You don’t know if you’re going to get kidnapped or not,” Bess said. 

A more immediate danger, according to Safe Routes to School volunteers and others, is the risk of being hit by a car.  

“Any transportation besides cars is hard,” said Washington parent volunteer Nicole Welch Friday. “(Drivers) are to the point where they don’t really care about people walking across the streets.” 

According to a May 2000 report by the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Task Force, Berkeley ranks first among 44 California cities of similar size in the number of pedestrians an cyclists injured through  

collisions with cars.  

Pedestrians and bikers between 10 and 17-years-old are twice as likely to be hit by cars as other age groups, the report said. More than half of all such accidents take place within a quarter mile of schools, and students attending schools located on arterial streets – such as Washington School – are even more at risk.  

Along Martin Luther King Jr. Way alone there were more than a dozen cases of 10- to 17-year-olds being hit by cars between 1994 and 1998, according to Berkeley Public Health Department statistics. 

“Almost anywhere along Martin Luther King Jr. Way people have problems just because of the traffic volume,” said Safe Routes to Schools program director Sarah Syed. “People run lights, drive erratically.” 

The problem may be compounded for Washington students because of the preponderance of teenage drivers in the area traveling to and from the high school across the street, said Oakland resident Barbara Davis, who works near Washington and often walks her godson to school there. 

“Young people driving to the high school are looking for parking spaces, like we all are,” Davis said. “The first thing on their mind is, ‘Oh, there’s a space, I’d better hurry up and get it.’” 

Until the city makes streets around schools more pedestrian and bike friendly, argued Syed, most parents will probably opt to drive their kids to school each day, contributing to street congestion. 

A recent study by the Berkeley Safe Routes to Schools program found that 57 percent of Willard Middle School students are driven to school every day, not counting car-poolers. That compares to 15 percent who walk everyday. 

“We just haven’t invested in making walking and biking attractive to people,” Syed said . 

The Safe Routes to School program received a $25,000 planning grant from the California Department of Health Services last fall to, among other things, reduce school-related traffic congestion by improving the safety of students who walk to and from school. 

Program volunteers are working with a number of school sites to identify dangerous intersections and possible ways of making them more pedestrian friendly. Some possibilities include: using strategically-placed concrete islands that keep traffic as far as possible from sidewalks and shorten the distance pedestrians must cover when crossing streets; or using a sort of “smart” traffic light that would spot pedestrians waiting to cross streets and warn approaching cars with a flashing red light. 

Known as Hawkbox Crosswalks, these lights have been proven 93 percent effective in stopping cars in other states, according to a study by the University of North Carolina’s Highway Safety Research Center. If the city of Berkeley installs such lights in would be the first city in California to do so, according to Syed.  

With grants totaling nearly half a million dollars from the city, the Safe Routes to Schools Program is already working with Willard Middle School and LeConte Elementary School to improve dangerous crossings along Telegraph Avenue. Syed said the program plans to apply for another $400,000 from the California Department of Transportation to help other schools make similar improvements.  

In the meantime, the group is focused on less capital intensive strategies for making it safer to walk and cycle to school, such as encouraging parents to take turns accompanying groups of students. 

“It really turns into something where you need a community effort of walking people to school,” said Washington parent volunteer Philip Morton, who often bikes to school along side his fifth-grade daughter.  

Describing the ordeal of crossing traffic-laden arterials such as Sacramento Street and getting through intersections such as the one at Allston Way and California Street on Friday, Morton said: “You sort of peak out and make sure the cars see you. You make eye contact to make sure they stop.” 

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. Please bring boxes for carrying your plants home.  

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 will be a chance to see what life is like on a farm. Farm equipment, an observable beehive, human powered hayrides, sheep, and more. Free  

548-3333 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

Center Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street 548-3333 

Hands-On Seed Cleaning 

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

924 Gilman St.  

Covering a variety of techniques and methods. At noon there will be a seed and plant swap, so bring envelopes to gather seed in.  

548-2220 

Building a Garden at  

Cragmont Elementary  

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Cragmont Elementary School  

1150 Virginia St.  

Volunteers are asked to help students and staff of Cragmont make planter boxes, weed, trim, plant trees and more. The garden will be used in the schools environmental education program. 525-6058  

Run for Life  

8 a.m.  

UC Berkeley Campus 

An event to “Celebrate the Spirit of Goodness in Children.” Includes a 3K, 5K, and 10K course for walking or running around UC Berkeley. Culminating in a celebration in the newly renovated Edwards Track Stadium. Sponsored by Nantucket Nectars.  

$18 - $25 per person 

866-786-4543 or www.runforlife.net  

I-House Spring Festival  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. . 

International House  

2299 Piedmont Ave. (at Bancroft)  

A celebration of cultures from around the globe. Featuring delicacies from India, the Netherlands, Turkey, Taiwan more. Performances of traditional dance on five stages.  

$3 - $5 642-9460 

Berkeley Earth Day  

11 a.m. - 5 p.m.  

Civic Center Park  

Allston & MLK Jr. Way 

Beginning with an Eco-Motion parade, with kids and adults using forms of non-polluting transport. The Earth Day Fair will feature music, revolutionary comedy from Sherry Glaser, and speaker Rachel Peterson from Urban Ecology. Also, a climbing wall, kid’s making area, vegetarian food and beer, crafts, beeswax candle making and much more. Free 654-6346 

Albany Senior Center  

White Elephant Sale 

9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. 

Friends of Albany Seniors 

846 Masonic Ave.  

Albany  

524-9122 

Earth Day Creek Walk  

10 a.m.  

Boogie Woogie Bagel Boy Garden 

Gilman and Curtis  

Explore history and opportunities for restoration on lower Codornices and Cerrito Creeks on an Earth Day walk co-sponsored by Berkeley Path Wanderers and Friends of Five Creeks. Bring water and snacks.  

848-9358 

Free Puppet Shows  

1:30 & 2:30 p.m.  

Hall of Health  

2230 Shattuck Ave., Lower Level 

The Kids on the Block, an award-winning educational puppet troupe which includes puppets from diverse cultures and puppets with medical conditions such as leukemia and spina bifida, will perform. Free  

International Tour Directing? 

8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. 

Vista Community College 

2020 Milvia St., Room 303 

Learn about careers in tour leading: Dealing with guides, hotels, airlines and other suppliers, and much more. Learn what qualifications are needed and where the jobs are/aren’t.  

$5.50 for California residents 

981-2931 

Green Building  

9 - 11 a.m.  

642 Hearst Ave.  

A free seminar for builders, contractors, architects and others interested in preserving natural resources. Presented by the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and Recycling Board, the seminar will focus on applicable alternatives to traditional products and practices.  

649-2674 

Open Mike Poetry Reading  

2 - 4 p.m.  

John Greenleaf Whittier  

Arts Magnet  

Elementary School  

Allen Ginsberg Memorial  

Milvia & Lincoln Streets  

644-3971 

Sunday, April 22

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?” $10 per meeting 849-0217 

The Value of Meditation  

6 p.m.  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute  

1815 Highland Place  

Bob Byrne will discuss how you can bring the benefits of meditation into your life. Free 843-6812 

Hands-On Bicycle  

Repair Clinics  

11 a.m. - Noon  

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Learn how to repair a flat tire from one of REI’s bike technicians. All you need to bring is your bike. Free 527-4140 

Salsa Lesson & Dance Party  

6 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St.  

Mati Mizrachi and Ron Louie will teach how to kick up your heels and move your hips. Israeli food provided by the Holy Land Restaurant. Novices are encouraged to attend. $10 237-9874 

Plants of the Bible Tour 

1:30 p.m. 

UC Botanical Garden  

Explore the gardens with docents who will point out plants mentioned in the bible. 643-1924 

Health Awareness Fair  

Noon - 1:30 p.m. 

Calvary Presbyterian Church  

1940 Virginia St.  

Booths for blood pressure checks, blood sugar checks, massage therapy, geriatric medicine, HIV/AIDS, various cancers, nutrition and diet. Free 

415-454-8725 

— compiled by  

Chason Wainwrgiht 

Monday, April 23

Cold War Civil Rights 

4 p.m.  

Harris Room  

119 Moses Hall  

UC Berkeley 

Mary Dudziak, USC, will discuss “Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy.” Free  

Gypsy Day Celebration  

Noon - 1 p.m.  

Lower Sproul Plaza  

UC Berkeley  

Rromani music and dance featuring Nadia Hava-Robbins, Rromani dancer and poet from the Czech Republic. Followed by a human rights presentation by Voice of Roman president Sani Rifati. Free  

981-1352 

Lavender Seniors Panel Presentation 

1:30-3 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1902 Hearst St. 

Discussion on how agism and homophobia affect seniors 

667-9655 

Senior Housing in Berkeley Forum 

2 - 4 p.m. 

Redwood Gardens 

2951 derby St 

Is Senior Housing safe? Is it permanent? An open forum held by the Affordable Housing Advocacy Project, senior housing residents sill discuss concerns. Followed by Housing Clinic to respond to individual questions. 

1-800-773-2110 

Tuesday, April 24

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 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

National Organization for Women Meeting 

6:30 p.m. 

Mama Bears Bookstore 

6536 Telegraph Ave.  

261-1642 

Peaceful Assembly of 10,000 

7 - 8:30 p.m.  

North Gate 105  

UC Berkeley  

A celebration of the second anniversary of April 25, 1999 when 10,000 Falun Gong followers assembled. Sponsored by the Cal Human Rights Campaign.  

chinahumanrights2001@yahoo.com  

Wednesday, April 25

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 

The New Math  

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 the common misunderstandings in the economics of development. Free 

Gray Panthers General Meeting 

1:30 p.m.  

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

Sandra Weese of SEIU Local 250 and two hospital workers will tell about their campaign to improve staffing ratios and conditions in California Nursing Homes.  

548-9696 

Gaia adds needed housing 

Editor: 

In response to some of the shortsighted criticisms of the erection of the “GAIA Building” at 2116 Allston Way in downtown Berkeley, I would like to mention some of it's benefits.  

As an eight-year resident of Berkeley, I have seen housing become increasingly scarce. Now we find ourselves in an actual housing crisis that has been met with little action.  

One of the few people who have risen to the challenge of providing housing to Berkeley residents is Patrick Kennedy. Though Mr. Kennedy's building stands slightly taller than some of downtown Berkeley's other buildings, it is by no means an eyesore with its Mediterranean Renaissance facade similar to other historical buildings in the area. The city’s readiness to work with Mr. Kennedy should be no surprise, as the 91 living units he is providing are badly needed in our community. With the influx of “dot-com” money and a rapidly growing economy, rent has increased at an alarming rate leaving many low-income families behind.  

Many important members of our community have been forced to leave because of their inability to keep up with this swiftly changing market. Given our current housing situation I see Patrick Kennedy as an advocate for improving the lives of Berkeley's residents by providing affordable housing, as well as adding interest and beauty to the skyline.  

Dina Valicenti 

Berkeley 

Gaia should be called Dubya 

Editor: 

Gaia Books is no longer in business so a new name is required for the building on Allston Way. I believe that the Dubya Building is the most appropriate designation.  

Just compare its construction with the Florida election. In both, an entity with a four letter name and an initial G was defeated. The rules were creatively interpreted and manipulated in both cases with some assistance from government employees and elected officials. And before any rumor starts, I absolutely deny that Mayor Dean is related in any way to Patrick Kennedy! 

Now, if only Mr. Kennedy can persuade Mr. Bush to initiate the building with a bottle of high arsenic water . . . . Bush in Berkeley? 

S.K. Sachs 

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. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins, and become little “dump” workers. $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. (closed Sundays, Memorial Day through Labor Day) 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 exuberant 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; “Ricky Swallow/Matrix 191,” Including new sculptures and drawings; April 22 - May 27 $6 general; $4 seniors and students age 12 to 18; children age 12 and under free; free Thursday, 11 a.m. to noon and Wednesday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; 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  

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 21: MU330, Slow Gherkin, Big D & The Kids Table, The Lawrence Arms; April 27: Atom & His Package, Phantom Limbs, Har Mar Superstar, The Frisk, Shubunkins; April 28: 7 Seconds, Throwdown, Vitamin X, Over My Dead Body, Breaker Breaker; May 4: Plan 9, Zodiac Killers, Reverend B. Dangerous Freakshow, Dory Tourette & The Skirtheads, Knockoffs; May 5: Shikabane, Phobia, Harum Scarum, Vulgar Pigeons, Insidious Sorrow 525-9926  

Ashkenaz April 21, 9:30 p.m.: West African Highlife Band, dance lesson at 9 p.m.; April 22, 2-6 p.m.: Free Cajun, Zydeco and Waltz Dance Workshops; April 22, 7 p.m.: KPFA Legal Defense Benefit with Venusians and DJ Dragonfly; April 24, 9 p.m.: Zydeco Flames, dance lesson at 8 p.m.; April 25, 8 p.m.: Fling Ding with Crooked Jades, Bluegrass Intentions, clogging lesson; April 26, 10 p.m.: Dead DJ night with digital dave; April 27, 8 p.m.: Musicians for Medical Marijuana Benefit featuring Fact or Fiction with Martin Fierro, Shelly Doty X-Tet; April 28, 9:30 p.m.: Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums, 8 p.m. dance lesson; April 29, 9 p.m.: Clinton Fearon & Boogie Brown Band, DJ Edwin The Selector; 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 Door open at 8 p.m. April 21: Jimmy Mamou; April 27: Carlos Zialcita; April 28: J.J. Malone; May 4: Henry Clement; May 5: Terry Hanck; May 11: Jimmy Mamou; May 12: Fillmore Slim 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland 655-6661  

Freight & Salvage All music at 8 p.m. April 21: Peter Apfelbaum; April 22: Mary Schmary; April 24: Phil Cunningham & Aly Bain; April 25: An Evening Honoring Kenny Cahn with Caren Armstrong, Doug Blumer, John Lester, Christie McCarthy, The Urban Accoustic Dude and others; April 26: Cheryl Wheeler, Steve Seskin; April 27: Sol Y Canto; April 28: Roy Rogers & Norton Buffalo; April 29: Bryan Bowers; April 30: Sharon Shannon; May 5, 10 a.m. - Noon: West Coast Live with author P.D. James and Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser; May 12, 10 a.m. - Noon: West Coast Live with authors Adair Lara and Janis Newman, and the Accoustic Guitar Summit guitar quartet. 1111 Addison St. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jazzschool/La Note All music at 4:30 p.m. April 22: Alan Hall & Friends; May 6: David Creamer Trio; May 13: Michael Zilber Group 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 or visit www.jazzschool.com  

Cal Performances April 28, 8 p.m.: Vanguard Swing Orchestra, UC Berkeley Big Band $18 - $30; April 29, 3 p.m.: Mezzo-Soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson sings Handel, Lieberson, and Schumann $28 - $48 Zellerbach Hall UC Berkeley; April 22, 3 p.m.: Violinist Gill Shaham and Pianist Orli Shaham perform Coplan, Faure, and Brahms Hertz Hall 642-9988 or www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

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 

Jeanne Starkiochmans April 21, 7:30 p.m. Belgian-born Bay Area resident performs works by Claude Debussy on the piano. $25-$35 Scottish Rite Auditorium, Oakland 

The Pirate Prince April 21, 22, 29, 8 p.m. Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sunday The first production for the new Hillside Players. Princesses, pirates, witches and modern dialogue in a family-geared show. Free admission, reservations required Hillside Club 2286 Cedar St. 528-2416  

Sharon Isbin April 22, 4 p.m. 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  

Alla Francesca April 25, 8 p.m. Performing French and Italian love songs of the 14th century $28 First Congregational Church 2345 Channing Way 642-9988 or e-mail: tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“Rome Wasn’t Burnt In A Day” April 27, 7:30 p.m. Earth First! campfire singer/songwriter Danny Dolinger playing songs of love, revolution, bravery, cowardice and group hygiene. $5 Unitarian Fellowship Hall 1924 Cedar (at Bonita) 548-3113 

Community Music Day at the Crowden School and Crowden Center for Music April 28, 1-5 p.m. Music and dance performances and storytelling. Families can make their own instruments, watch a master violin maker at work, or go to the Instument Petting Zoo to try playing different instruments. Rose Street at Sacremento in Berkeley. Free. Call 559-6910.  

Russian Chamber Orchestra April 28, 8 p.m. Featuring Piano Soloist Yakov Kasman, Soprano Svetlana Niktenko, and the Konevets, a vocal quartet from St. Petersburg. First Congregational Church 2345 Channing Way 415-478-2277 

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. 525-5393 or www.bellamusic.org 

“Music from the Mediterranean and Beyond” April 29, 2 p.m. Zahra combines Arab folk roots with the groove and influencs of modern music $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 www.juliamorgan.org 

People’s Park 32nd anniversary Festival April 29,12:30 - 6 p.m. Performances by, among others, Rebecca Riots, X-Plicit Players, Shelley Doty X-tet, with special guests Wavy Gravy, Frank Moore, Stoney Burke, Kriss Worthington and many more. Also including skateboarding demos, animal petting farm, puppets, and “surprises.” People’s Park Haste St. & Telegraph Ave. 848-1985 

Community Women’s Orchestra Family Concert April 29, 4 p.m. Conducted by Ann Krinitsky, featuring works by Rossini, Richter, Beethoven. Free or by donation. Piano solo by Dr. Pearl Toy. Malcolm X School 1731 Prince St. 653-1616 

Chamber Music from Crowden School May 1, 7 - 8 p.m. The final installment of the Young Emerging Artists Series, Crowden presents some of its most talented string-instrument players. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 www.juliamorgan.org 

May Day Celebration May 1, 7:30 p.m. Part of LaborFest’s annual Labor Cultural Arts Festival features a screening of Sri Lankan “Slaves of Free Trade” by Yappa Kashyapa. Also, poet Jack Hirschman, singers Carol Denney, Larry Shaw, Pam Pam, The La Pena Choir, report on Kurdish prisoner and legislator Lela Zana, video on Korean Daewoo auto workers. $7 donation goes to Sri Lankan Women’s Free Trade Zone Center. La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck 415-642-8066 www.laborfest.net  

La Compagnia Rossini May 2, 7:30 p.m. The vocal ensemble from eastern Switzerland, with Director Armin Caduff, will perform works of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, as well as Swiss folk songs. $10 - $15 2345 Channing Way 415-788-2272 x102 

Live Oak Concert May 5, 7:30 p.m. Featuring Stephanie Pan, soprano, Mirta Wymerszberg, baroque flute, Karen Ande, viola de gamba, Meg Cotner, harpsichord performing the music of Vivaldi, Bach, Boismortier, and Ortiz. $8 - $10 Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893 

“The Children’s Hour” May 5 & 12, 8 p.m. and May 13, 4 p.m. The Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Arlene Sagan will perform Julian White’s piece along with Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia and selections from Randall Thompson’s Frostiana, poems of Robert Frost set to music. Free St. Joseph the Worker Church 1640 Addison St. 528-2145  

Music & Dance of Bali May 5, 8 p.m. & May 6, 2 p.m. Gamelan Sekar Jaya, the Bay Area 45-member ensemble, will perform music and dance from Bali under the direction of Balinese guest artists I Made Subandi and Ni Ketut Arini. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 www.juliamorgan.org 

Music of the Big Band Era May 6, 2 p.m. Featuring the music of Glenn Miller, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Claude Thornhill, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Stan Kenton. $15 Longfellow School of the Arts 1500 Derby St. (at Sacramento) 420-4560 

Juanita Newland-Ulloa & Picante Ensemble May 13, 3 p.m. Romantic songs from South America. Luncheon served at 1 p.m. at the Valparaiso Cafe. $13 - $15 La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 or www.lapena.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 

Himalayan Fair May 27, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. The only such event in the world, the fair celebrates the mountain cultures of Tibet, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Ladakh, Mustang and Bhutan. Arts, antiques and modern crafts, live music and dance. Proceeds benefit Indian, Pakistani, Tibetan, and Nepalese grassroots projects. $5 donation Live Oak Park 1300 Shattuck Ave. 869-3995 or www.himalayanfair.net  

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  

Dance 

UC Dance Theater Spring 2001 Season Program A: April 27, 28, 8 p.m. and April 22, 7 p.m. A premiere of “Soulmate” by Marni Wood, “New Work” by Anne Westwick and “New Work” by Christopher Dolder with original music by Edwin Dugger. Program B: April 21, 28, 29, 2 p.m. and April 21, 8 p.m. “Esplanade” by Paul Taylor, reconstructed by Mary Cochran, “American Decades” by David Wood, “Le Matin sans Minuet” by Christopher Dolder, and “Treading” by Christopher Dolder $6 - $12 Zellerbach Playhouse UC Berkeley 601-8932 

Movement April 26, 7 p.m. Movement will be presenting various dance styles such as commercial jazz, hip-hop, swing, lyrical, and a fusion of jazz and hip-hop. Featuring student choreography as well as professional choreography from LA and New York $5 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 or www.juliamorgan.org 

Reflejos de Mexico April 28, 2 p.m. The dance troupe celebrates the vast richness of the Mexican culture. Park of Dance Week. $10 - $12 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

Odissi Dance April 28, 7 p.m. Reputed to be the most lyrical of the seven main forms of Indian classical dance with its liquidity of movement and graceful expression. $18 - $28 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 www.juliamorgan.org 

Music and Dance of Bali May 5, 8 p.m., May 6, 2 p.m. Forty-five member ensemble Gamelan Sekar Jaya presents rhythms of Balinese gamelan in an orchestra of gongs, drums, flutes and bronze metallophones accompanied by several of Bali’s skilled dancers. $8-$16 Saturday, $5-$10 Sunday Julia Morgan Theatre 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

www.juliamorgan.org  

Theater 

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 

“quietpassages” by Cariss Zeleski April 21 at 7 & 10 p.m. A historical adaptation based on the autobiographical writings of French writer/actress Sidonie Gabrielle Colette. $5 - $8 UC Berkeley Choral Rehearsal Hall 642-3880 

“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 

“Death of a Salesman” Through 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 

“Big Love” by Charles L. Mee April 25 - June 10 Directed by Les Waters and loosely based on the Greek Drama, “The Suppliant Woman,” by Aeschylus. Fifty brides who are being forced to marry fifty brothers flee to a peaceful villa on the Italian coast in search of sanctuary. $15.99 - $51 Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 

Shotgun Players “Slings and Arrows: Love Stories from Shakespearean Tragedies” written and directed by Rebecca Goodberg and developed by the ensemble and “The Glass Tear” conceptualized and directed by Christian Schneider. Discussions with the audience will follow each show. The show opens April 21 and continues Thursday-Sunday through May 5. $10 La Val’s Subterranean Theatre 1834 Euclid Ave. 655-0813  

“Conversations in Commedia” April 25, 7:30 p.m. Part of a series which pairs radical theater elders from the area who have long histories in commedia. This week features “Doc” Mozzarelli and The Amazing Zuccini, moderated by UC Professor of Drama Mel Gordon. $6-$8 La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Ave. (at Prince) 849-2568 

“Epicenter” April 26-28 7:30 p.m., April 28 2 p.m. Premiere of 21-year-old Jonathan Whittle-Utter’s play billed as “A Psychodrama of Paradigm Shifts.” A student production about a troubled marriage, secret society warfare and the end of the world, the degradation of western philosophy. $8-$10 Zellerbach Room 7 Studio (underneath the auditorium) UC Berkeley Campus 444-7063 www.BayStage.com  

the far side of the moon May 3 - 5, 8 p.m. May 5, 2 p.m. and May 6, 3 p.m. A solo performance by Canadian writer, actor and director Robert Lepage with an original score by Laurie Anderson. $30 - $46 Zellerbach Playhouse Bancroft at Dana UC Berkeley 642-9988  

Films 

San Francisco International Film Festival Through May 3 Thirty-five features and more than two dozen short films from twenty-seven nations will be shown. $9 Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-5249 

“Slaves of Free Trade” May 1, 7:30 p.m. Also poet Jack Hirschman, singers Carol Denney, Larry Shaw, Pam Pam, and the La Pena Choir. Also a report on Kurdish prisoner and legislator Lela Zana and a video on Korean Daewoo auto workers. A May Day celebration. $7 La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck (at Prince)  

Exhibits 

“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 

Magnolias Art & Folk Music Weekend April 21 & 22, Noon Handpicked stone sculpture from Zimbabwe, mixed media and ceramics by Lawanda Ultan. Jessica Bryan, former director of the Berkeley Free Folk Festival, will perform a Celtic and folk music April 22, 2 - 4 p.m. Free Magnolias Flower Shop 2216 San Pablo Ave. 548-6789 

“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 

Art of Maia Huang & Brenda Vanoni Through April 28, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. !hey! Gallery 4920-B Telegraph Ave. (at 51st) Oakland 428-2349 

“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. Flora Hewlett Library Graduate Theological Union 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541 

“The Distance Between Us” Through May 4 The photographs of Mimi Chakarova depicting South African townships, inland parishes in Jamaica and her most recent work in Cuba. Photographs about people and their incredible will to survive regardless of the circumstances. Graduate School of Journalism North Gate Hall UC Berkeley 

“The Sands of Time” Arab/Muslim sculptures and ceramics of Khalil Bendib. April 21 - May 5, Monday - Thursday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. or call for appointment Mussi Artworks Foundry & Gallery 719 Heintz Ave. Space 10 644-2735 

Youth Arts Festival A city-wide celebration of art, music, dance and poetry by youth from the Berkeley Unified School District. Featuring paintings, drawings, sculpture and ceramics by K-8 students through May 12, Wednesday - Sunday, Noon - 5 p.m.; Opening reception: April 18, 5:30 - 7 p.m. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St.  

“The Art of Meadowsweet Dairy” Objects found in nature, reworked and turned into objects of art. Through May 15, call for hours Current Gallery at the Crucible 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511  

“Scapes/Escapes” Ink, Acrylic, Mixed Media by Evelyn Glaubman May 1 - June 1 Tuesday - Thursday, 9 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. Gallery of the Center for Psychological Studies 1398 Solano Ave. Albany 524-0291 

“Elemental” The art of Linda Mieko Allen May 2 - June 9, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Reception: May 2, 6 - 8 p.m. Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth St. 527-1214 www.traywick.com 

Berkeley Potters Guild Spring Show and Sale May 5, 6, 12, 13, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Fifteen artists open their personal studios to the public and offer pieces for sale. Berkeley Potters Guild 731 Jones St. 524-7031 www.berkeleypotters.com  

“Alive in Her: Icons of the Goddess” Through June 19, Tuesday - Thursday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Photography, collage, and paintings by Joan Beth Clair. Opening reception May 3, 4 - 6 p.m. Pacific School of Religion 1798 Scenic Ave. 848-0528 

Bernard Maisner: Illuminated Manuscripts & Paintings. Through Aug. 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 

“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 

Images of Portugal Paintings by Sofia Berto Villas-Boas of her native land. Open after 5 p.m. Voulez-Vous 2930 College Ave. (at Elmwood) 

Quilt Show through May 12. M-Th, 10 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri-Sat, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Twenty-second annual show displays over 60 quilts. Berkeley Public Library’s North Branch. 1170 The Alameda 644-6850 

“Tropical Visions: Images of AfroCaribbean Women in the Quilt Tapestries of Cherrymae Golston” Through May 28, Tu-Th, 1-7 p.m., Sat 12-4 p.m. Women’s Cancer Resource Center Gallery 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 ext 307 

Readings 

Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted April 22: Poetry of Maxine Hong Kingston & Fred Marchant; April 23: Janis Cooke Newman discusses “The Russian Word for Snow”; April 24: Chitra Divakaruni reads “The Unknown Errors of Our Lives”; April 25: Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel discuss “Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect”; April 26: Maud Casey and John Searles read from “The Shape of Things to Come” and “Boy Still Missing”; April 27: Poetry of Michael Heller & Carl Rakosi; April 28: Christopher Hitchens discusses “The Trial of Henry Kissinger”; April 29: Poetry of Gloria Frym & Lewis Warsh; April 30: Jamling Tenzing Norgay discusses “Touching My Father’s Soul” 

1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 All events at 7 p.m., unless noted 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”; April 30, 11 a.m.: Anthony Browne will chat about writing and illustrating children’s books  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533 All events at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise May 1: Andrew Horvatt will discuss “Japanese Beyond Words”; May 3: Char Miller, editor, will discuss “Water in the West: A High Country News Reader” and “Fluid Arguments: Five Centuries of Western Water Conflict”; May 3: Conner Gorry will discuss the Lonely Planet published “Guatemala”; May 10: Gray Brechin talks about “Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin”; May 23: Jon Bowermaster discusses his book “Birthplace of the Winds: Adventuring in Alaska’s Islands of Fire and Ice”; May 29, 7 - 9 p.m.: Travel Photo Workshop with Joan Bobkoff. $15 registration fee  

“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 26: Ray Skjelbred. Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

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

Holloway Poetry Reading Series April 25, 5 p.m. Chris Nealon reads from his new book “Ecstasy Shield” Sponsored by the UC Berkeley Department of English Maude Fife Room (315) Wheeler Hall UC Berkeley 653-2439 

Annual Open Mike Poetry Reading April 21, 2 - 4 p.m. In commemoration of National Poetry Month and the fourth anniversary of the death of Poet Allen Ginsberg. Students, parents, teachers, friends and neighbors are invited to read poems of short prose on any subject. Poetry Garden at John Greenleaf Whittier Arts Magnet Elementary School Allen Ginsberg Memorial Milvia & Lincoln Sts.  

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 

PSR Professor Book Release Celebration April 25, 3 - 5 p.m. Karen Lebacqz and Joseph D. Driskell, co-authors of “Ethics and Spiritual Care,” and Randi Walker, author of “Emma Newman: A Frontier Woman Minister,” will be honored at this faculty book forum. Hear reviews of the books by the authors. Pacific School of Religion PSR Bade Museum 1798 Scenic Ave. 849-8252 

Selected Poetry of Yehuda Amichai April 29, 10:30 a.m. Chana Bloch and Chana Kronfeld, co-translators of Yehuda Amichai’s “Open Closed Open,” will read their translations from the Hebrew. Book signing to follow. $4 - $5 Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237  

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. Through April 29, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. See an amazing display of plants that are sources of commonly used fibers and dyes. 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  

City Commons Club Speaker Series All speakers at 12:30 p.m. April 27: Wen-Hsing Yeh, professor of history, UC Berkeley speaks on “The Culture of China in a Changing World” $1 admission with coffee Berkeley City Club 2315 Durant Ave. 848-3533 or 845-4725 

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. May 8, 5:15 - 6:30 p.m.: “What Makes Water Wet?” Richard Saykally, professor of Chemistry, UC Berkeley (refreshments served in 410 O’Brien Hall at 4:15 p.m.) 212 O’Brien Hall, UC Berkeley 642-2666  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute Free Lectures All lectures begin at 6 p.m. April 29: Barr Rosenberg on “The Ornament of the Middle Way”; May 6: Sylvia Gretchen on “Faith, Doubt, and Refuge in Buddhist Practice”; May 13: Abbe Blum on “Tapping Into Creativity”; May 20: Miep Cooymans and Dan Jones on “Working with Awareness, Concentration, and Energy”; May 27: Eva Casey on “Getting Calm; Staying Clear”; June 3: Jack van der Meulen on “Healing Through Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga)”; June 10: Sylvia Gretchen on “Counteracting Negative Emotions” Tibetan Nyingma Institute 1815 Highland Place 843-6812 

“The New Economy” April 25, 6:45 p.m. Dick Walker, UC Berkeley professor and chair of the California Studies Center, will discuss current work force issues, the class divide, and future trends. Free South Berkeley Library 1901 Russell St. (at MLK Jr. Way)  

West Coast Regional Spartacist Educational April 28, Noon Jon Wood, of the Spartacist League, will speak: “Defend the Gains of the Cuban Revolution”; 3:30 p.m.: George Foster, central committee, Spartacist League, will speak: “For Socialist Revolution in the Bastion of World Imperialism” 60 Evans, UC Berkeley 839-0851 

“Hunting T. Rex” May 6, 2 p.m. A talk by Dr. Philip Currie, curator of dinosaurs, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology. Currie asks the question: Was there social interaction amongst the Tyrannosaurs? $3 - $7 Lawrence Hall of Science UC Berkeley 642-5132 or visit www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Berkeley 1900 May 7, 7 p.m. Richard Schwartz, author of Berkeley 1900, a book about life at the turn of the 19th century, will speak at the Friends of Five Creeks’ monthly meeting. Albany Community Center (downstairs) 1249 Marin 848-9358 

Peopling of the Pacific May 11, 8 p.m. Dr. Patrick Kirch, department of Anthropology, UC Berkeley, will review results of archaeological research in the Pacific Islands, providing a current overview of Oceanic prehistory. 370 Dwinelle Hall UC Berkeley 415-338-1537  

When Kyle Boller takes the first snap of Cal’s spring football game on Saturday, he won’t be facing UCLA or Stanford; his teammates will be on the other side of the ball. But Boller will be taking his first shot at mastering Cal’s new offense, implemented by new offensive coordinator Al Borges. 

Boller came to Cal two years ago with sky-high expectations, one of the top quarterback prospects in the country after dominating at Hart High School in southern California. Thrust into the spotlight in the Pac-10 opener as a true freshman, he led the team to a win over Arizona State. But his career since that game has been slowed by injuries, lack of offensive weapons on which to rely, and his own inexperience. 

Boller’s struggles during his freshman season, cut short by a separated shoulder, were understandable; no true freshman could have been expected to come in and dominate. But last year was touted as his coming out season. While Boller did improve his numbers across the board, his 15-13 touchdown to interception ratio was still one of the worst in the conference. Worse, he showed little understanding of how to run an offense, struggling to hit recievers in stride and managing the clock poorly in several games. 

The hope this year is that Borges, who worked wonders with quarterbacks at Oregon and UCLA before coming to Berkeley, can teach Boller the nuances of playing quarterback. No one questions Boller’s arm strength or desire. 

“This is a guy who is a sponge, just dying to learn something new every day,” Borges said. “He wants to be critiqued, and I know anytime there’s a guy who wants to understand what he’s doing wrong, he’s going to get better.” 

Borges is known for his daring play-calling, and that should fit well with Boller’s style. He’s mobile enough to get outside the pocket, and has shown the ability to throw on the run. Saturday’s game should be a good indication of whether or not head coach Tom Holmoe can expect a big improvement for Boller’s junior season. 

Boller should have a full complement of receivers to target in the spring game. Derek Swafford has been struggling with a hamstring injury, but is expected to play. Borges said several receivers have surprised him in spring practice, especially senior Sean Currin, a former walk-on, and sophomore Geoff McArthur. 

The defensive backfield, on the other hand, will be without several key players. The entire projected starting four may not play, as cornerbacks Jemeel Powell and LaShaun Ward are hobbled, along with safeties Nnamdi Asomugha and Bert Watts. That should make Boller’s job a bit easier, but defensive coordinator Lyle Setencich is quick to praise his backups. 

“We’re down three safeties and three corners, and we’re still lining up fairly efficiently, and still playing decently,” he said. “That tells me that Jeremy Drake, Perron Wiley, Ryan Gutierrez, James Bethea and Mike McGrath are getting a lot of reps that will benefit us down the line. If you told me that we had to start the season with those guys, we wouldn’t be terrible.” 

The spring game will also mark the first real action for freshman quarterback Reggie Robertson. Robertson redshirted this year, and will be behind senior Eric Holtfreter next season, so the Tucson native doesn’t figure to play much next season. But Borges is optimistic that he will be a big factor for the Bears in the future. 

“(Robertson) is a different package than our other guys,” Borges said. “He’s a very athletic kid. If Reggie were to play, the offense would shift gears a little bit. We’d want to get him on the perimeter a little bit, running the ball, he can do a little option.” 

But Borges emphasized that Robertson needs more work before he’s ready. 

“Reggie’s going to be a good quarterback, but he probably needs another year in the weight room, doing those kinds of things before he’ll be as good as he could be, but I’ve got great hope that he will add another dimension to our offense if he’s ever in the game,” Borges said.

Energy alternatives presented to Council 

The City Council looked into Berkeley’s future last Tuesday, and the light that showed the way was powered by renewable energy.  

In anticipation of converting city buildings to photovoltaic power, a representative from a Berkeley solar product company presented the council with new power-generating devices that are being used on large commercial and government buildings. He said they would save tax dollars and help break dependence on fossil-fuel-generated energy. 

“There is a unique opportunity to move ahead with these types of systems,” said Mark Bronez, director of major accounts for the Powerlight Corporation. “The photovoltaic equipment cost has come way down and installation methods have been greatly improved.” 

Photovoltaics is a process that transforms the sun’s energy into electricity.  

Bronez said the technology hasn’t changed since the 1950s when it was used to power satellites, but the equipment is now affordable.  

“In the ’60s, it was used to power remote installations like oil rigs, antennas, and research centers in the middle of nowhere,” he said. “But now the price has come way down to the point of making it feasible for the average homeowner and small business person to install it.” 

Bronez said the new installation methods have added benefits. “With the flat-roof product, you don’t have to penetrate the roof to install the system, which cuts down on potential leaks,” he said. “In addition the panels protect the roof, nearly doubling its life.” 

Bronez said changes in temperature cause roofs to expand and contract causing damage that can result in leaks. He said the Styrofoam-encased solar panels protect roofs from temperature changes thereby extending their lives. 

Mayor Shirley Dean said the presentation was a good introduction to a potentially new power source for city buildings. “I think people had to be reassured that the solar systems are functional and affordable,” she said. 

Dean said long-term savings to the city are nearly guaranteed. “The amount we save depends on how much energy rates go up,” she said. “And it doesn’t look like they’ll be coming down anytime soon.” 

Energy Officer Neil De Snoo, who organized the presentation to the council, said if the city funds the conversion to photovoltaic power, the first buildings to receive the systems will be the ones that get the most sun.  

“Possibly the Civic Center Building or the North Berkeley Senior Center,” he said. 

Daniel Kammen, Director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at UC Berkeley, said that switching to photovoltaic power is a good first step but cities, business owners and homeowners should pursue a strategy of energy diversification. 

“All of the new technologies together, wind, photovoltaic, and conservation need to be applied in order to reduce dependence on fossil fuels,” he said.  

Kammen there are 70 proposed power plants in the western states and 95 percent of them generate electricity with fossil fuels. 

“We have very few energy choices right now and they are mostly controlled by the fossil fuel energy cartel,” he said. “We need to create as many options as possible.”  

The long winter of weights, sprints, and tests is over. After months of being paraded around like show ponies, the National Football League is ready to select a group of fortunate football players into their select club. Among the hundreds of college hopefuls stand a handful of players from Cal, hoping to continue their careers on the pro gridiron.  

Andre Carter- 6’4”, 260 lbs., Defensive End (San Jose) 

“With most guys, when they first come to play (college) ball, they look about the same,” said punter Nick Harris. “With Andre, he looked different. You knew immediately that he was going to be a real player.”  

Carter did not disappoint in his stellar career at Cal. Though the team struggled, Carter excelled, finishing his career with 59 tackles, 13 sacks, his second All Pac-10 selection, and a spot on the first-team All-America squad.  

Despite solid performances in college, Carter was scrutinized by pro scouts because of his size; he played the 2000 season at 260 pounds, and dropped to 249 in late February.  

“I was working out to gain speed, and that’s why the weight dropped,” Carter explained.  

Nevertheless, teams at the combine in Indianapolis were disappointed, and Carter’s stock dropped. Still, scouts are a bit leery about his weight. In the April 15 edition of The New York Times, Carter is listed as a “mistake” pick for the Cincinnati Bengals, who have the fourth selection.  

“He’s not as big as other defensive ends might be, but he’s got the passion, amazing strength, and speed,” says Cal head coach Tom Holmoe. “We’re talking about a consensus first-team All-American, and a Nagurski Award finalist, all Pac-10…the guy is just a player.” 

Now a sculpted 255 pounds, Carter is intent on finishing his American Studies degree requirements and graduating. As for the draft? “I’ve done everything I can do,” said Carter.  

Actually, Carter has done more than enough. 

Reed Diehl- 6’4”, 300 lbs., Center (Irvine) 

Reed Diehl reads the stock market like a seven-man defensive front. Bull or bear market? Gap-control or blitz package? Bail out or go long? Run block or cut block? Reed Diehl has the talents to read both. As a child playing football, Diehl knew that he wanted to play in college. As the son of an investment banker, Diehl began reading the Wall Street Journal at the age of 12, and is prepared for a career in finance. The only thing between Reed Diehl and that career is an oblong leather sphere that he just can’t stop trying to protect.  

“I love everything about football,” explained Diehl. “Even if my body’s completely sore, from head to toe, I love to come to practice.”  

Diehl’s love for the game had him scuttling along to every position on the offensive line; he played all six (including tight end) in his career at Cal.  

Because of Diehl’s constant movement, and the occasional untimely injury, he is not as well known as other centers in the draft. However, he turned some eyes in a March workout, when he ran a 4.85 in the 40-yard dash, the fastest of any center in the draft. 

Nick Harris- 6’3”, 225 lbs., punter (Avondale, Ariz.) 

“Apparently, NFL teams don’t draft kickers early, so I know better than to expect a call on Saturday,” said Harris. A Ray Guy award finalist, Harris’ 41.5 yard per punt average led the Pac-10, but it was his performance against Illinois on September 16th that had scouts drooling: nine of 12 punts resting inside of the Illini 20-yard line, five of them inside the Illinois’ five-yard line.  

“If I had a Heisman vote, I’d vote for Nick Harris,” said Illinois head coach Ron Turner at the time. “I’ve never seen anyone kick like that.”  

Soon, fans of the NFL will see Harris kick like that on Sundays.  

Keala Keanaaina-6’3”, 255 lbs., H-Back, San Mateo CC (San Mateo) 

It was frustrating for Keala Keanaaina. He transferred to Cal from junior college in San Mateo, and lost time to a knee injury. Keanaaina then got healthy, but had to watch as the ’99 Bears struggled on offense with freshman quarterback Kyle Boller. He was an afterthought until Marcus Fields went down for the 2000 season with an injury. Suddenly, Keanaaina was counted on big-time, and the H-back delivered with 15 catches. Now, Keanaaina has only a long-shot dream to catch on in the NFL- a hope that seemed non-existent not too long ago.  

“I’m just happy to be living out a dream, to try to play professional football,” said Keanaaina.  

Though physically gifted, Keanaaina lacks the game experience NFL scouts covet, so his road to the NFL will be as an undrafted free agent. 

Chidi Iwuoma- 5’9”, 185 lbs., cornerback (Pasadena) 

Iwuoma, while lacking the flash of contemporaries like Deltha O’Neal or young Jemeel Powell, was Cal’s most effective cover corner. “Really, Chidi was more consistent than Deltha when they played together,” said Coach Holmoe. Though Iwuoma may not be drafted, his consistency and athleticism should earn him a free agent tryout with an NFL team. 

Jacob Waasdorp- 6’2”, 280 lbs., defensive tackle (Lancaster) 

Undersized for his position, Waasdorp relies on a active motor for success in the trenches. He has been recognized by his peers as a two-time all Pac-10 selection, and his grit in the trenches has been key to the recent success of the Cal defense. He is also a long-snapper, a skill that will help him to possibly stick on an NFL roster. 

Students from the Communications Arts and Sciences academy at Berkeley High School have returned from their two-week adventure in Cuba.  

The Daily Planet ran the first part of a log written by history teacher and chaperone Tom Kordick and follows it today with the log through April 12. The final part will run Monday. 

Monday, April 9 

Today quite a few of the students hit a wall. Either fatigue, upset stomachs, or just the fact that they had been with their friends for a week straight. Our group visit to the Art School of Havana was canceled, so the kids had the morning off.  

In the afternoon the three groups went to three different community centers around Havana. Each neighborhood has some sort of center where educational and employment opportunities are presented, cultural awareness programs are established, and the youth can dance and watch videos. The centers seemed like a place where a bond could be created that unites the people of each neighborhood. In the evening, most of the students and chaperones attended a jazz concert at La Zora y El Cuevo, where a native of Berkeley, Pablo Menendez, was performing. The place was hopping. We rolled in pretty late.  

Tuesday, April 10 

Boy am I tired. That seemed to be the phrase of the day. Our morning activity was canceled, so a hastily arranged trip to a Rum Factory took place. The tour was a bit of a downer for the kids. They seemed to think that they would be allowed to have a slam festival, whereas we told them otherwise.  

In the afternoon we traveled an hour out of Havana, where we checked into Julio Antonio Mila International Camp. This is a camp where the Cuban Solidarity Brigades from around the world come to stay. Some brigades come to work in the fields or build residences and some come to engage in the Cuban culture. This camp was an eye-opener for many. From the communal sleeping arraignments, to the Turkish toilets, to the limited shower water, to the bugs, lizards, ants and other creatures, the camp was an introduction to how many Cubans live on a daily business. Also, the food service and quality was new to most of the group. I thought that the three days at the camp would turn out to be an extremely beneficial experience for the students.  

That evening, a group of local school children, ages 6 to 18 performed a variety of different Cuban dances and songs for us. This was so beautiful. The Cuban teachers told us how long they had rehearsed for this and that much work took place in preparation. It showed. Our kids were most impressed and honored by this show. Afterwards there was dancing and interaction amongst the students. 

Wednesday April 11 

The kids woke up to a severe lack of shower water and a breakfast of a roll, caffecito and juice (both which would occur daily and serve as a reminder of how the Cuban people are effected daily by the United States’ (embargo). The three groups would visit three different doctors’ offices in Caimito and Guanajay. In Cuba, there are family doctors that are given houses that also serve as offices for visits. Each family doctor services 120 families that surround his neighborhood. People do not need an appointment and the clinics will serve anyone in need of emergency care. If someone needs care that the family doctor can’t provide, the person goes to a clinic or to the municipal hospitals.  

The Berkeley High students brought many basic medical supplies to these different clinics. They were deeply appreciated by the Cuban people.  

After this activity we spent time at the local farmer’s market, enjoying the locally grown pineapples, oranges, and other goods. The afternoon was spent at Playa Salida, enjoying the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Michael Miller, father of Makenda and one of our chaperones walked out to the point of the Bahia and serenaded us and all the others enjoying the beach, with the sweet sounds of his saxophone.  

In the evening we boarded our bus for what we thought was the weekly CDR meeting in Caimito. The CDR, or Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, was formed in 1960 by Castro in response to the growing counter-revolutionary movement from within and outside of Cuba. The growing threat of CIA activity against the Cuban people, including the March 5, 1961 bombing of the La Coubre in Havana Harbour, was to be the key reason for the creation of these committees. Every Cuban has the right to join this volunteer force at the age of 16. It is not mandatory and is now that the threat against the revolution has diminished, its purpose is to continue creating a sense of a strong community through renovation projects and work.  

As we pulled our three buses into the main street of Caimito, we were met by a crowd of more-than 300 people who had planned a party in the honor of the Berkeley High students. WOW! There was a small marching band, along with what turned out to be a great big block party. Their was a 70 year old grandmother salsa dancing with Kendall Murphy and I was mobbed by all the young kids because my digital camera and it’s viewfinder were a hit with the young one’s. Kaylan Clemons was parading through the street with a group of young girl’s in tow. Bill Pratt, CAS teacher and the trip leader, talked briefly to the townspeople about how great it was to be amongst them and that we were extremely grateful for the reception we were receiving throughout all of Cuba. Bill also donated some of the money raised by the CAS kids towards educational programs within the town. There was poetry about Camilio, Che and Fidel, along with songs and dance. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers and promised to stay in touch. Each student and teacher received Cuban Proclamations stating that we were brothers of the revolution and friends forever with the Cuban people. This was truly one of the highlights of the trip. 

Thursday April 12 

In the morning we walked to the local secondary school, where the principal, teachers and students met us. The school was decorated with murals and thoughts from the revolution. We had an introduction and description of the school from the administration and were allowed a Q and A session with some of the student body representatives, teachers and the principal. We were in an incredibly crowded, hot and stuffy room, yet the Berkeley High students asked some really wonderful, well thought out and intelligent questions. You would have been proud. Following this we were given a tour of the school and we would split up into three groups and visit different classrooms. In a chemistry class, we witnessed a wonderful exchange of questions and answers. The subjects discussed varied from school violence, the Cuban Revolution, baseball, school violence in America, education, dancing, movies and so on. The two groups seemed as one. Maybe our government should be witness to this.  

In the afternoon we met with a local representative from the Cuban Women’s National Committee. She briefly introduced the organization to us and then launched into a fascinating Q and A about issues that are relevant to women in Cuba and around the world. The subjects covered were divorce, a women’s right to choose, single mothers, women’s roles in the government, and a host of other issues. After this was the much hyped and heralded Cuba vs. The United States baseball game. When we arrived on 4/10, word got out that we played baseball. So a challenge was thrown down to the team from camp. I don’t know what we were thinking. These guys were going to throw a serious case of whoop ass on us. However, we were lucky in that our 4 p.m. game was right after they had a league game. So they were tired and the boys and girls were excited. Through the valiant efforts of Kory Hong, Emily Schmookler, Andy Turner, Joanna Letz, Zachary Cohen, Emiliano Carrasco-Zanini, Christina Harrison, Chris Watson and others we entered the bottom half of the ninth with a 7-4 lead. However, with two base runners on, a Cuban gentleman who bore a striking resemblance to Mo Vaughn, crushed a three run shot to tie the game. After the end of the 11th inning, we agreed to end in a 7-7 tie. I believe that though the efforts by the young Berkeley High squad were valiant, the Cuban team some how played less than they normally would. This was a great time for all. 

That night we invited students from the surrounding area to come for dancing, music and the chance to interact with each other. This was quite fun and a memorable experience.

Berkeley High will be the site of the Seventh Annual Academic & Athletic Showcase on Saturday night, featuring the best senior basketball players from around the Bay Area. 

The girls’ game will tip off at 6 p.m., followed by the boys’ game at 8. There will be a slam dunk contest and three-point competition between the games. 

The Showcase is unique in that every player must have at least a 2.8 grade-point average, or be NCAA qualified (2.5 GPA and 820 SAT score), to participate. Among the girls committed to play are Berkeley’s Robin Roberson, Alhambra’s Jessica Jones and Amador star Mia Fisher. 

On the boys’ side, De La Salle’s Joe See, Bakari Altheimer of St. Elizabeth and Pittsburg’s Trimaine Davis will take part. 

Admission to the event will be $5 at the door.

Berkeley Observed 

Looking back, seeing ahead 

The Italianate-style house once at 1313 Oxford St. was built by Napoleon Bonaparte Byrne about1880. Behind the house were the grassy north Berkeley hills. Surrounding the garden was a white picket fence to keep cows out of the flower or vegetable beds. This style of house was very popular in the 1880s, but only two are still standing in this north Berkeley area. One is located at 1423 Oxford St. and the other is at 1427 Walnut St.  

Byrne was an early settler to Berkeley. In 1859 he brought his family, two freed slaves – the first African Americans to live in Berkeley – and a herd of cattle to California from Missouri. By 1860 he had purchased over 800 acres of land along Codornices Creek for a farm. Byrne must have been successful as a farmer because in 1868 he built a grand house (also no longer standing) just down the street from the one at 1313 Oxford St. 

The lure of richer farm land in the San Joaquin Delta enticed Byrne to start a second farm on Venice Island. But after three years of building dikes and preparing the soil this enterprise failed when the river flooded and ruined the dikes.  

When Byrne returned to Berkeley he began selling off pieces of his Berkeley property. He sold his large house to Henry Berryman, an enterprising Berkeley developer, around 1880 and built this smaller house down the street. Byrne served as the postmaster of Berkeley from 1885 until his death in 1905.  

Byrne’s wife Mary, who died in 1874, wrote letters to her family about her journey west and life in California. Many of these letters survive in the Bancroft Library on the UC Berkeley campus. 

Susan Cerny writes Berkeley Observed in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association. BAHA will hold its annual house tour May 6. Call 841-2242 for information.

SAN FRANCISCO — At a time when many activists fear the environment is threatened by the Bush administration, the Sierra Club – the nation’s oldest nonprofit environmental group – is rejecting criticism that it is slow and ineffective. 

Despite such accusations from other environmental groups and from within its own ranks, Executive Director Carl Pope said the club’s strength comes from its important role as liaison between radical activists and the overall system. 

And now, after a 40-year national discussion about goals for the environment, which started when Americans began to rethink their ideas about environmental protection, Pope said the time has come to work toward achieving those goals. 

“We don’t want this continent to become a second Europe. We want wildness.  

“We want corporate, social and political leaders to pay attention,” Pope said. 

“I think the environmental debate in this country is over – we know what we want. Now that we know that, how do we get it? That’s going to be hard.” 

Many believe the Sierra Club, especially under the new administration, needs to use its strength and name recognition to be a force for environmental protection.  

But while critics say the 650,000-member Sierra Club is effective when it does make a decision, they claim that often takes too long. 

“They literally can move mountains,” said Mark Palmer, a club member and assistant director for the International Marine Mammal Project of the Earth Island Institute.  

“They really do talk through things and really do have a lot of involvement at various levels of the organization.  

“But, at some point, that needs to move forward.” 

The club, founded in 1892, has played a prominent role in American environmental policy, helping to enlarge the Grand Canyon National Park, for example, and to pass the National Environmental Policy Act and create the Environmental Protection Agency. 

But some claim that the club’s decisions, when they come, don’t go far enough. 

“It’s a big organization, and if it really wanted to throw its weight around, it could have a big difference,” said Paul Watson, founder and president of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which deploys ships around the world to oppose such things as illegal fishing.  

He also is a member of the Sierra Club. 

“I think the organization tends to be overly cautious, overly conservative and more concerned with marketing trips and products than with making changes,” Watson said. 

On the other hand, the Sierra Club’s place closer to the middle ground is an asset to getting things done, said John Grasser, spokesman for the National Mining Association. 

“We’ve got to work together if we’re going to make any progress,” he said.  

“There’s got to be a middle ground on these issues, and that’s the trick right there.  

“When you get groups that are too radical, and you’re polarized, that helps no one. I think they’re one of those that’s willing to come to the table and work on the issues.” 

The tension between the two sides gives the Sierra Club its strength, Pope said. 

“I think we need organizations whose strength is, they are completely inside the process. I also think we need organizations that are on the outside being way, way ahead,” he said. 

“I think the Sierra Club is an organization that straddles that. We’re not in the drawing rooms, and we’re not in the streets. We’re knocking on doors to point out to people what’s going on in the streets.” 

And the club’s role in this new century will be to keep an eye on government, Pope said. 

“This blind mantra that markets are always smarter than government isn’t true,” he said. “In California today, you have a singularly odd combination of dumb markets and dumb government.” 

The organization could have significant impact. 

“If you want to get environmental legislation passed and you don’t have the Sierra Club behind you, you’re moving uphill because they still are the largest environmental lobbying presence in Washington, D.C.,” said Mikhail Davis, director of the Brower Fund at Earth Island Institute. 

David Brower, who founded Earth Island Institute, was a pioneer in the environmental movement and a Sierra Club member starting in 1933. 

He served as the Sierra Club’s first executive director from 1952 through 1969, developing it into one of the nation’s most powerful environmental groups.  

He also embodied the tension within the club, resigning three times from its board to protest its actions before his death in November. 

Now, with a new administration, the club’s goal of preserving wildness will be more difficult, Pope said, pointing to President Bush’s desire to drill in search of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 

“The American people have an enormous battle on their hands, to prevent the new administration from foreclosing the options and rights of their children and grandchildren to a continent that still contains wildness,” he said. 

15 MOST ENDANGERED 

The Wilderness Society’s “15 Most Endangered Wild Lands,” released Friday: 

• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska 

• Copper River Delta, Chugach National Forest, Alaska 

• Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska 

• Greater Grand Canyon Ecosystem, Ariz. 

• San Joaquin Roadless Area, Inyo National Forest, Calif. 

• Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge, Calif. and Ore. 

• White River National Forest, Colo. 

• Big Cypress National Preserve, Fla. 

• Badger Two Medicine/Rocky Mountain Front, Mont. 

• Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument, Mont. 

• Greater Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks,  

Mont., Wyo. and Idaho 

•Upper Bald River Roadless Area,  

Cherokee National Forest, Tenn. 

• Utah Wilderness, Utah 

•Kettle River Range Roadless Areas,  

Colville National Forest, Wash. 

• Red Desert, Wyo.

Oakland residents get $500,000 in settlement 

OAKLAND – Three dozen east Oakland residents will receive $500,000 from their former landlord in a settlement of a lawsuit alleging that he failed to exterminate pests and fix their appliances and that he berated them after they complained. 

The plaintiffs filed suit in October 1999, accusing John Argyropoulos, 64, his wife, Lillie, and his nephew, Steven Kizanis, 40, of breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence for not doing enough to provide habitable living conditions at four buildings. 

The couple’s attorney, Fred Feller of Berkeley, said Thursday that most of the money will be paid out of insurance funds and that the settlement was not an admission of liability. 

The money will be divided among the plaintiffs based on how long they lived there and the extent of their alleged problems. 

Stanford students protest lack of diversity 

STANFORD – About 150 Stanford University students gathered in White Plaza on campus Thursday with signs and shouts to protest what they see as the administration’s lack of commitment to cultural and racial diversity at the school. 

Among students’ concerns was that the administration’s response to racist graffiti found on campus last month was “delayed and inadequate,” according to a flier passed out at the rally. 

Julie Lythcott-Haims, assistant to the president, attended the rally and said the administration thinks its response has been appropriate. Stanford President John Hennessy and others have written letters to the Stanford Daily condemning the graffiti and vowing to find those responsible. 

Marc Wais, dean of students said graffiti found on walls and in classrooms was reported March 15. Campus police are still investigating the graffiti; Hennessy said Thursday that police believe it was the work of one person. 

Illegal immigrant arrested after INS meeting 

SAN FRANCISCO – A Fiji woman was arrested last week after attending an Immigration and Naturalization Service meeting with her husband. 

Gina Balawanilotu-Roach, 32, has been on the agency’s deportation list for a year. Her attorney and her husband do not contest that, they simply want the INS to let her return home while she works to change her status based on her marriage to a U.S citizen. 

Balawanilotu-Roach fled her native Fiji in 1990, three years after a bloodless coup. Her husband, Morry Roach told the Contra Costa Times she left because she felt threatened over her activism on behalf of Fiji’s repressed Indian population. 

Two bids for political asylum failed, as did a final appeal, heard just weeks before her 1998 marriage to Roach, an electrical designer for a Walnut Creek engineering firm. 

A stay of deportation from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals kept the Oakland teacher off the expulsion list for three more years, but the court rescinded the order last year.

SAN FRANCISCO – Five works by Mexican muralist Miguel Covarrubias are destined for storage on Treasure Island, in the middle of San Francisco Bay, over the protest of the Mexican government. 

The murals, measuring up to 15 feet high and 24 feet long, have been on display in San Francisco’s Ferry Building, but were removed during the past two months for renovation of the 101-year-old building. 

The Mexican government wants the five murals restored and displayed, and to have San Francisco Port officials find the sixth mural, which disappeared after being sent to New York City for exhibition and has never been found. 

“I want to express our concern on behalf of the Mexican government about what is happening with these murals,” said Lilia Aguilera, executive director of the Mexican Cultural Institute, affiliated with the Mexican Consulate. “The people from Mexico ask the city of San Francisco to value these pieces of historic art, not only as treasures to the city, but as treasures to the world.” 

Covarrubias, a noted muralist, magazine illustrator and anthropologist, painted the murals for the 1939-40 World’s Fair on Treasure Island. 

They are valued at more than $1 million each and are to be kept in a secure warehouse maintained by San Francisco International Airport on Treasure Island.

Several factors coming together to create a  

projected crisis 

SACRAMENTO – In the coming months, California could see prices double or triple those of last summer, when soaring wholesale electricity costs drove three utilities to the brink of financial ruin. 

A drought in the Northwest has cut hydroelectric supplies, and that problem will worsen. Forecasters also predict a hotter than average summer, and competition from other states has already caused the price of summer power to hit new heights. 

These factors, analysts say, will drive up costs for electricity on the spot market, where the state already buys about one-third of the power for two cash-strapped utilities. Those costs will hit $1 per kilowatt hour and maybe $2, said Peter Navarro, a University of California, Irvine, economist. 

Navarro, who collaborated with the Utility Consumers’ Action Network for a report on summer power forecasts, looked at prices from last summer, those on the recent spot market and electricity-supply limits this year to calculate summer peak prices. 

With consumer rates capped at about a dime per kilowatt hour, that leaves a growing gap the state will have to fill with a dwindling power allowance. 

To cover the difference, the state could issue additional bonds or raise rates, but both options put ratepayers on the hook for the costs. 

Since January, the state has authorized $5.7 billion to buy power for customers of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and Southern California Edison. The two utilities’ credit was cut off after high wholesale costs led them to amass nearly $14 billion in debt. The state’s 1996 deregulation law means they can’t pass those costs on to their customers. 

The state will be repaid by $10 billion in bonds expected to be issued in May. PG&E and Edison customers will pay off the bonds. 

Officials expected the $10 billion raised by the bonds to last until September, if the state spent less than 25 cents per kilowatt hour, state Treasurer Phil Angelides said. But the state has already paid more than that, as figures from March show the Department of Water Resources paid a 29-cent average. 

In a recent letter, Angelides told Davis the bonds wouldn’t last long with high prices. 

Although Davis hasn’t released details on the state’s power buys, Navarro said he’s determined that recent wholesale prices have ranged between 25-50 cents per kilowatt hour, a figure that electricity traders for Duke Energy and the defunct Power Exchange confirmed. 

Prices will rise even more when summer demand increases power use by about 50 percent, Navarro said. 

Even those planning ahead for summer are facing high costs, industry experts say. Power bought this week for delivery in June, July and August, cost between 48 cents per kilowatt hour from the Northwest to as high as 68 cents per kilowatt hour from Arizona. 

A report by the Western Systems Coordinating Council, which oversees grid operations in the West, says generation resources for California “are NOT expected” to meet projected peak demands and reserve requirements this summer without causing interruptions. 

The report, and California ISO, estimate the state could fall up to 3,500 megawatts short during peak hours. That’s enough power for roughly 2.6 million households. 

So, grid managers will have to depend on imports, which a drought in the Pacific Northwest may make hard to find. 

Because there’s less water to run through its hydroelectric dams, the Bonneville Power Administration reports it won’t be able to spare any power. That utility normally exports 1,000-2,000 megawatts of electricity to California during peak times. Instead, BPA spokesman Ed Mosely said, Northwestern utilities may import power too, especially in the late summer when water levels drop. 

Because California normally pays more for power, it attract imports, said Tom Williams, spokesman for Duke Energy. But higher prices outside the state may lead power there, which may force California to pay even more for imports. 

Those prices could hit records, unless the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reverses its position and imposes regional price caps, Navarro said. 

Without price caps, Navarro said, “it’s civil war.” 

High power prices have stung all Western states, said Jesus Arredondo, spokesman for the Power Exchange, the group that formerly ran the state’s day-ahead power trading market but has filed bankruptcy. 

Generators will lean toward selling to utilities in states without California’s financial problems, Arredondo said. 

Despite speeding up the permitting and construction of power plants, Davis appears short of his goal of having 5,000 new megawatts available by summer. The California Energy Commission now estimates 3,000 megawatts of power from new plants will be online by July. 

Even that power, Arredondo said, may not stay in California. “If prices are higher outside the state, where is it going to go?” 

So far, the Davis administration believes the state will survive the summer through strategic buys, a strong conservation plan and increased supply, said Joseph Fichera, a Davis financial adviser. 

Few, however, seem to share his optimism. The WSCC report said projected energy use this summer is expected to be 4 percent higher in the West this year.  

Weather forecasters predict a hotter summer that will boost energy use.

EL CAJON – A state law allowing prosecutors to charge a teen-ager as an adult for allegedly killing two students at his high school is cruel and unusual punishment and violates the state Constitution, defense attorneys argued Friday. 

Attorneys for Charles “Andy” Williams said Proposition 21, approved by California voters last year, wrongly gives prosecutors the power of judges, said defense attorney Jo Pastore of the San Diego County Public Defender’s office. 

“The district attorney has made a sentencing decision ... when they decide to file a case in adult court,” she said. 

His attorneys are seeking to have the 15-year-old’s case sent to juvenile court. 

Williams is charged with 28 felonies, including two counts of murder, for the March 5 attack in which he allegedly opened fire at Santana High School in the San Diego suburb of Santee with his father’s .22-caliber revolver. 

His lawyers said it would be cruel to send him to an adult prison if ultimately convicted, although prosecutors said Williams would be separated from the adult population. 

Williams’ attorneys also said Prop. 21 violates the state Constitution’s requirement that initiatives address a single subject. Prosecutors, however, argued that the initiative addresses the general topic of juvenile crime. 

They also said it reflects the public’s growing outrage over youth violence and that it would be wrong to charge Williams as a juvenile. 

“He exhibited the kind of heinous, violent conduct that our society demands be treated as criminal and not the dalliances of a juvenile,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Kristin Anton. “The defendant chose to take a gun to school. He chose to load and reload the gun several times.” 

Superior Court Judge Herbert Exarhos took the arguments under consideration and said he would issue a ruling April 27. 

Even if Exarhos agrees with defense attorneys and places Williams in juvenile court, the teen could still wind up in adult court. Prosecutors can ask a juvenile court judge to rule that Williams be charged as an adult. 

Williams made his third appearance in court during the hearing, wearing an oversized orange jumpsuit. He said nothing, keeping his eyes down while occasionally glancing at the judge and TV cameras. 

About 20 teen-agers and adults who see Williams as a victim of bullying gathered outside the courtroom. Supporters said he should not be tried as an adult. 

Friends and fellow students said Williams was relentlessly teased for being skinny and having big ears, had recently been in a fight and had his skateboard stolen twice. 

“I look at Andy and I see me at his age,” said Joe Ellis, 18, of Solana Beach. “I feel for him. I know what he’s going through.” 

Williams’ supporters have created at least two Web sites and sent hundreds of letters and e-mails to him through his attorneys, said Linda Miller, a spokeswoman for the public defender’s office, which represents him. 

Steve Trotto, a real estate investor from Shrewsbury, Mass., founded the Save Andy Williams Coalition and plans to move to San Diego to monitor the trial. 

“There’s no excuse for what he did. He took two young precious lives,” said Trotto, who added that he endured similar abuse in high school. But “everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon because it’s so easy to send kids to adult prison.” 

Friends and family of the two boys killed at Santana, Bryan Zuckor and Randy Gordon, attended the hearing. Zuckor’s aunt, Carol Lynn Briens, said Friday she has collected more than 1,600 signatures on a petition to have Williams tried as an adult. 

“The most cruel and unusual punishment that directly resulted from Williams’ own hands was that Williams decided on his own to inflict the death penalty on two innocent juveniles,” she said. 

If he’s sent to juvenile court, she said, the message to other abused and harassed youths would be, “Go ahead and kill, you’ll feel better in the long run.”

SAN FRANCISCO – Mail-bomb charges were filed in the case of a San Jose student killed when a robotic toy dog exploded. 

Anthony Chang, 30, of Las Vegas, Nev., and David Lien, 33, of Milpitas, have been charged with three counts, including mailing an explosive and conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Chang remains at large. 

Patrick Hsu, 18, a freshman from University of California, Santa Barbara, was killed February 10 on a visit home for the weekend when he put the batteries in a toy robotic dog he received in the mail. The toy was actually a bomb, and it exploded when the batteries caused it to detonate. 

Chang was previously married to Hsu’s sister, Wendy. An affidavit filed in the case by a U.S. Postal Inspector said Chang had threatened to harm her brother if Wendy Hsu ever left him. She filed for divorce in December 2000. 

The two men face a maximum penalty of death or life in prison if convicted.

LOS ANGELES — When UCLA senior Mark Leverette’s job search began last October, he had dreams of using his business economics degree to land a job complete with a signing bonus and a padded benefits package. 

Seven months later and still jobless, the 22-year-old Berkeley native says he’ll settle for anything, including part-time work through a temporary employment agency. 

“I don’t have a 4.0 GPA next to my name, but I’m smart and not afraid to try new things,” Leverette said. “I have a passion for business consulting, but at this point, that’s not an option. I just want a job. I don’t care where.” 

Leverette isn’t the only college senior having trouble finding a job. 

Thousands of students who expected multiple job offers have had to broaden their searches just to find one interested company. Recruitment on college campuses has dwindled, and employers are canceling interview sessions. Despite several years of economic growth and a low unemployment rate, seniors are facing a tougher job market than friends who graduated just a year ago. 

“Last year, seniors could post their resumes on the Internet and then sit back and wait for the offers to roll in,” said Jens Nilsson, a recruiting specialist at Management Recruiters International Inc. in Portland, Ore. “This year, they have to work harder. They can’t be picky. Potential and talent aren’t always enough.” 

But the situation is not nearly as bleak as it was during the recession of the early 1990s. After an increase in 1989, overall hiring fell nearly 30 percent until 1994, when a small gain was reported. Experts estimated last fall that overall hiring this year would increase by nearly 25 percent, similar to the steady growth companies have embraced over the last few years. 

More recent projections say overall hiring will increase by only 18 percent, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Economic woes have forced some companies to reconsider. 

Although a hiring increase still is good news, experts are worried competition will be fierce. With company cutbacks putting thousands of experienced workers back in the job pool and older people postponing retirement until the stock market improves, graduates with little experience may be overlooked. 

Rogelio Casas, a 21-year-old USC senior, is experiencing this firsthand. 

A fine arts major and experienced graphic designer, Casas, of Los Angeles, said he’s tired of handing out resumes, searching Internet job boards and  

calling companies to ask if they’re hiring. 

“I just want a job,” he said. “I want the paperwork in hand.” 

Casas had an interview last week for a job designing toys at Mattel Inc. He’s also pursued offers to assist artists on large projects. “I just don’t want to end up selling art from the back of a van,” he said. 

Although big-city universities aren’t having trouble attracting corporate recruiters, some smaller and out-of-the-way campuses are. 

More seniors are attending job fairs hosted by the UCLA Career Center, reports Kathy Sims, the center’s director. 

But even UCLA knows the importance of cracking down.  

There’s a strict no-show policy for students who sign up for interviews with visiting companies. One no-show can result in the loss of career center privileges. Being late to an interview more than twice can have the same effect. “We have a lot of aggressive students,” she said. “We can’t afford to let wasted time go by.” 

Sims, who also works for the National Association of Colleges and Employers, said colleges that are miles from big cities are losing recruiters because of budget cutbacks. Seniors are forced to do all the work themselves, she said. 

“It’s healthy for seniors to ask themselves, ’Should I be nervous?”’ Sims said. “They should be.” 

One of the reasons employers are approaching this year’s graduating class with added caution is the threat of layoffs and future company problems. 

“The early ’90s taught us that you can’t pick up and dispose of people just like that,” said Christine O’Rourke, executive director of human resources for Indiana-based Koetter0 Woodworking Inc. 

With the company’s future in question, it isn’t smart to hire new people, she said. “It isn’t right.” 

Yet most graduating seniors, who were raised during the height of the economic boom, aren’t ready to concede that this year’s slowdown will have  

a long-term effect on their  

career prospects. 

Economics student Leverette, who has worked as an intern for a dot-com and for Merrill Lynch & Co., said he isn’t concerned. 

“I have a lot to offer a company,” he said. “Something will fall in my lap when I least expect it. That’s the way it works.” 

And if it takes a while, “I can always move back home and bum around till I find a job,” he said. 

Art student Casas also isn’t worried about his upcoming graduation. His friends are starting to get jobs, and he said his time will come. “This is the power month,” he said. “I want, I need to get a job this month. If not, well, ask me in May how I feel.”

DIAMOND BAR — Southern California air quality officials voted Friday to require school bus operators to buy alternative-fuel vehicles rather than diesel buses, a move that some school district officials said will force them to take money from students. 

“One of two things will happen: We’ll be forced to run old, dirty vehicles longer, or we’ll eliminate transportation altogether,” said Bill McKinney, director of transportation for the Temecula Valley Unified School District. 

That would raise pollution overall, he said, because every school bus not on the road represents about 50 students who must be driven by car to school. 

Environmentalists and public health advocates hailed the unanimous decision by the South Coast Air Quality Management District board, saying the language in the regulations ensures the money to pay for them won’t come out of school districts’ general funds. 

“This is a huge step forward toward protecting the health of our kids,” said Gail Ruderman Feuer, senior attorney for the National Resources Defense Council. 

The rule will require operators of fleets of more than 15 school buses to purchase only alternative-fuel school buses – most likely natural gas – when they replace vehicles. 

Money to pay for natural gas buses, which are about 30 percent more expensive than their diesel equivalents, will come from several sources, including a $50 million a year state fund for cleaner school buses and possibly funds the district receives from power plant operators that pollute over their limits. 

If funding falls short, school districts and private fleet operators will be able to buy cleaner burning diesel engines that rely on low-sulfur fuel and exhaust traps that catch much of the toxic soot and other pollution the engines create. 

A motion by governing board member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich to allow districts to choose between “green diesel” and natural gas failed 2-10. 

The South Coast Air Quality Management District spans all or portions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, a region of some 15 million people.

SACRAMENTO — A judge ruled Friday against Sacramento teachers who challenged the rules for Gov. Gray Davis’ most lucrative rewards program for test-score improvements. 

About 30 teachers from Jedediah Smith Elementary in the Sacramento City Unified School District filed the lawsuit last winter, saying a requirement for two years of improvement was unfair. 

The lawsuit led the state to hold up the rewards, which range from $5,000 to $25,000 per teacher for the $100 million Certificated Staff Performance Incentive Act. 

Superior Court Judge Gail Ohanesian gave the teachers time to appeal, so the money cannot be distributed for the next 60 days. 

The money is expected to go to teachers and administrators in about 200 elementary schools, 50 middle schools and 30 high schools in the bottom half of the state’s scores that improved the most between 1999 and 2000, state education officials said Friday. 

Last summer, the state Board of Education approved rules for the rewards that also required test scores to have improved between 1998 and 1999. 

Eligibility for the large reward should be based on more than one year of improvement, the board determined. 

“This requirement serves the educational needs of children in the state’s most underachieving schools,” Marsha Bedwell, the state Department of Education general counsel, said Friday. 

Jedediah Smith’s Academic Performance Index, based on scores from the statewide test, went up 147 points in 2000, one of the state’s highest increases. However, the school’s test scores did not rise between 1998 and 1999. 

Michael White, the attorney for the teachers, argued that the 1999 law creating the program didn’t require schools to improve between 1998 and 1999, but that rule was added after the fact by the board. 

The Sacramento district asked the state board for a waiver to allow the school’s teachers to be eligible for the rewards.  

The board last week rejected that request and a similar one for Vista High School in San Diego County.

SACRAMENTO — Blacks and Latinos are more likely than whites to be charged with felonies when they are caught with concealed or loaded weapons, according to a state report. 

Young people are more likely to face felony charges, and men are far more likely than women to be charged with felonies, according to the report by the California Department of Justice. 

The study compiles charges for the first six months of a new law allowing a felony to be charged against anyone caught carrying a concealed or loaded weapon, if the person is not registered as the gun’s owner. 

The statistics come amid a growing debate over allegations that police engage in “racial profiling,” targeting nonwhites for traffic or other stops. 

Department spokesman Mike Van Winkle said justice officials haven’t looked for an explanation for the statistics provided by local police agencies. 

“We just present the data that’s provided,” he said. “There are other people who make the judgments.” 

The statistics show: 

• Under one section of the law that took effect Jan. 1, 2000, blacks were charged with felonies 53.5 percent of the time and Hispanics 51.4 percent, while whites faced felonies 36.5 percent of the time. 

Under a different section of the same law, blacks faced felony charges in 58.3 percent of cases and Hispanics in 58.3 percent, while whites were charged with felonies in 32 percent of cases. 

• Those under age 30 were more likely to be charged with felonies, while those over 30 were more likely to be charged with misdemeanors. 

• More than 95 percent of those charged either as felons or misdemeanants were men. The few women who were charged were more likely to face misdemeanors. 

A felony is punishable by prison time, while a misdemeanor can bring up to a year in a county jail. 

Officials with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People did not return telephone messages left by The Associated Press Friday afternoon, while an employee at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund said no one was available to comment. 

The measure’s author, Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, defended it as necessary to plug a loophole in previous state law. 

“Before my legislation, criminals could be charged with felonies for carrying a switchblade, but only misdemeanors for carrying loaded guns,” Scott said in a statement Friday. “That just didn’t make sense.” 

Larry Todd, past president of the California Police Chiefs Association and chairman of the group’s firearms committee, called the law “one of the most significant pieces of gun control legislation that ever passed in California.” 

In the first six months, 1,149 felony charges were filed under the law. 

Van Winkle said the department did not collect comparison figures for misdemeanors and felonies in the years before the law took effect. 

Scott said such felony charges previously were rare and could only be brought when prosecutors could prove the weapon carrier was already a felon, had a previous weapons conviction or was a documented street gang member. 

California Rifle and Pistol Association Inc. attorney Chuck Michel and other gun advocates said they don’t have problems with the law if police are using it to target criminals. 

But they said the report does not contain enough information to determine whether otherwise law-abiding citizens are facing felony charges as a result of the new law. 

ROHNERT PARK — Aletha Willis was a typical 3-year-old. She loved the television show “Blue’s Clues” and being the center of attention. She played the tambourine and sang in church. She rarely got sick, other than two ear infections. 

But the little girl was stricken a month ago with an unusually bad case of the flu – or so her grandparents thought. She died last week. 

Experts now believe the girl died of meningoencephalitis, a disease that causes fatal swelling of the brain and spinal cord. 

How she got the disease is uncertain, although state Health Department officials say it’s likely her brain was attacked by a parasite, an amoeba called Balamuthia mandrillaris. 

“The antibody test was positive and some sort of parasite has been seen in the spinal fluid,” said Dr. Carol Glaser, a researcher for the state Health Department in Richmond. “Everything is leaning toward this, but until all the data is in, we have to be very careful.” 

Frank and Teresa Peters first took granddaughter Aletha to their family doctor with flu-like symptoms on March 22. Two days later, after her temperature reached 103 degrees, they took her to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. 

She was admitted and treated for dehydration. The next day, she had a seizure. Tests indicated meningitis and her treatment was adjusted. She started eating and she looked better. But, within a day, her condition deteriorated again. Doctors sedated her for more tests and she fell into a coma and suffered another seizure. 

Doctors did more tests and began treating Aletha for for tuberculosis and meningitis. She died April 11. 

“I still can’t believe she’s gone,” Frank Peters said Friday. He and his wife were raising Aletha for their daughter, who has been “in and out of trouble” and currently lives in Hayward. “If it’s so rare, how did she catch it?” 

Experts say only about 70 cases of Balamuthia infection have been reported worldwide. 

“It’s a great rarity,” said Dr. Allan Ropper, chief of neurology at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston, who has studied the parasite. “This organism seems to be free-living in water and it may in fact be around us in many, many places. Why some people get it is unclear.” 

Scientists only identified the amoeba, which is found in soil and fresh and salt water throughout the world, about 10 years ago. It’s not only tough to identify, it’s also tough to treat. 

“Even when a diagnosis is made in life, which it rarely is, the treatment is relatively ineffective,” Ropper said. “My reading of the literature suggests there is no good treatment.” 

But the Peters family wants answers. 

“How could she have caught it?” Frank Peters said at the family’s small apartment in Rohnert Park, about 50 miles north of San Francisco. “Apparently it’s raised up its head. It fooled all the doctors. Now she’s gone and we’re hoping we can do something.” 

The couple wants the health department to test the potting soil Aletha pretended to plant flowers in, the duck pond at the park where she played, the sand at the playground – anything, anywhere to help keep other children safe. 

“If I would’ve known, I would’ve taken precautions,” said Teresa Peters, tears welling in her eyes. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

WASHINGTON — Companies owned by women are receiving just 2.5 percent of the government’s nearly $200 billion a year in contracts, and Congress says that’s not nearly enough. In fact, lawmakers declared five years ago the percentage must be doubled. 

It hasn’t happened. 

By all accounts, the government-wide numbers won’t change much until there is a sizable increase at the Defense Department, which controls the lion’s share of federal contracting. 

And at the Pentagon, a decade of military downsizing has slashed the pool of specialists who match businesses with contracts. 

That matters because small companies can get lost in the labyrinthine world of federal contracts. By helping a company navigate what’s available and what’s required to get it, these specialists can cut years off the process. 

“To get business, you have to get certified, but you can’t get certified until you actually have business,” said Lydia Schmitt, a plastics engineer who formed her own company, LPS Injection Molding, about six months ago in Girard, Kan. 

Schmitt wants to become a subcontractor for a corporation that does business with the Defense Department, such as Boeing Co., Raytheon Aircraft Co. or any of the other aerospace companies in Wichita, Kan. 

Preliminary steps, such as certifying that a potential contractor does good work, can become huge hurdles. 

Patricia Pliego Stout says she spent six years seeking Pentagon business for her San Antonio-based travel service company. 

Finally, in mid-March, Stout learned she had been awarded the travel services for Oklahoma City’s Tinker Air Force Base. The work will boost her staff at The Alamo Travel Group from 20 to 27 employees. 

A government contract “builds up your image as a contractor; it gives you security,” said Stout, a board member of the National Women’s Business Council and a leader of the National Association of Women Business Owners. 

Women own an estimated 38 percent of all businesses in the United States, but they received 2.5 percent of the $189 billion in federal contracts awarded in fiscal 1999, the most recent year for which data are available. 

According to a recent study by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, federal contracting with firms headed by women has grown in some agencies, notably the departments of Veterans Affairs, State and NASA. 

The government will never meet its 5 percent target unless the goal is met by the Defense Department, which in fiscal 1999 achieved only about 2.5 percent. 

Robert Neal, the Pentagon’s director for small and disadvantaged business utilization, acknowledged that adding acquisition specialists might help. He said it’s tough to make the case for hiring them. 

“Folks are looking at new planes, or improvements in our technology to deliver weapons of mass destruction,” said Neal, who oversees about 500 such specialists. “When I look at and request increases for personnel, and they look at that relative to mo dernizing our weapons systems, I don’t fare very well in the discussion.” 

Congress may need to restore a requirement that the Pentagon employ a set number of small business specialists, said Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee. The rule was eliminated with 1994 legislation intended to streamline contracting. 

“It simply isn’t enough to set a goal and hope agencies attain it,” Bond said. 

Lawmakers did take a step toward boosting the number of women contractors last year by adding women-owned businesses to a government “mentor-protege” program that matches major contractors with smaller companies, Neal said. 

“We think that’s going to help substantially,” he said, explaining that larger businesses can show a small firm ways to make its prices more competitive with other contractors. “It gives us the opportunity to take, for lack of a better term, a diamond in the rough and really polish it up.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

Pentagon’s small business contracting site: http://www.sadbu.com 

Small Business Administration, Office of Women’s Business Ownership: 

http://www.sba.gov/womeninbusiness/ 

Kansas Womens Business Center: http://www.kansaswbc.com 

General Accounting Office: http://www.gao.gov 

At the rate of a campus a day, the president of the National Organization for Women has been touring colleges for weeks, spreading the message that abortion rights are under siege. 

Over the same span, abortion foes have displayed graphic 6-foot-by-13-foot signs at four state universities in the Carolinas, depicting aborted fetuses and Holocaust victims. To organizers of the Genocide Awareness Project, abortion is systematic mass murder. 

As rival forces in the abortion debate weigh the impact of the Bush presidency and prepare for expected battles over Supreme Court nominations, college students have become a prime target of mobilization efforts. 

Abortion-rights advocates believe that many college-age women – born after the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalized abortion nationwide – need to be jarred out of complacency. Several major groups are cosponsoring an “Emergency Action for Women’s Lives” rally Sunday in Washington, and hope to draw many students. 

“Men and women in my generation have largely taken reproductive rights for granted,” said Victoria Steinberg, 21, a Harvard senior who has co-chaired a campus abortion-rights group. 

“With a second Bush in office, students my age are afraid for the very first time that they will lose these rights if they don’t raise their voices,” she said. 

NOW’s president, Patricia Ireland, has met with students on about 30 campuses in the past month, warning of actual and possible moves by the Bush administration and Congress to limit access to abortion and birth control. 

“They are so shocked when they learn some of the details,” Ireland said. “I want them to think of these as fundamental rights that, when threatened, need to be defended.” 

Gregg Cunningham also wants to shock students. He hopes their jaws drop when they see Genocide Awareness Project photographs showing bloody, aborted fetuses. 

“Once these pictures are in your head, you can’t get them out,” said Cunningham, who oversees the project as executive director of the anti-abortion Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. 

The display has toured more than 30 state university campuses since 1998, including the recent swing through North and South Carolina. 

Private colleges can ban the exhibit, but Cunningham’s group has been allowed access to state universities, in part by threatening to sue for infringement of freedom of speech. 

Cunningham said he cannot gauge nationwide campus sentiment on abortion, but believes many students read his group’s literature. 

“This is an opportunity for us to have some influence as these kids are deciding what they think about important issues,” he said. 

A like-minded organization, Missionaries for the Preborn, also has been exhibiting pictures of aborted fetuses on campuses. One anti-abortion activist was sprayed with red paint by a University of Iowa student during a confrontation April 6. 

Some campuses are more receptive to anti-abortion messages than others. Liz Dahl, news editor of the University of Eastern Michigan’s student newspaper, said there is an assumed abortion-rights consensus on campus that inhibits students with different views. 

“There’s a silent minority of people who are pro-life who don’t feel comfortable voicing their opinion,” she said. 

Women aged 16-25 are the target of an ad campaign launched this month by the Pro-Choice Public Education Project, a coalition backed by many abortion rights groups. Several student newspapers, including those at Columbia University and New York University, rejected the ads because of policies that prohibit political advertising. 

Teresa Wagner, a legal expert with the conservative Family Research Council, guessed a majority of American college students remain supportive of abortion rights, but less zealously than in the past. 

“The current crop is more ambivalent,” said Wagner, who often airs her anti-abortion views at college forums. “They’re not sure that abortion is a good thing, and even if they do, it’s not the kind of thing they want to take to the streets about.” 

Kate Michelman, president of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, agreed that abortion has been a relatively low-profile campus issue in recent years. She hopes that will soon change. 

“Students have been hepped up over many issues, like sweatshops, and this one has been tucked away in their consciousness,” she said. “But now there is a mushrooming sense of alarm.” 

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration rejects the Kyoto global warming treaty “under any circumstances” and sees little chance that new talks this summer will produce a suitable substitute, a State Department memo says. 

Despite comments by a top U.N. official that the administration might be shifting its position, the cable to diplomatic and consular posts also said negotiations to ratify the 1997 treaty do not appear to be leading to agreement. 

“Certainly not as early as the July meeting in Bonn,” said the cable, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. The cable was sent April 1, three days after President Bush announced his rejection of the treaty, and offers “talking points” for diplomats to explain the administration’s position. 

A State Department official had no comment Friday. 

The cable drew strong criticism from environmental groups. Some said the document shows the administration’s negative policies are based on ideology, not science as Bush contended. 

“It is shocking to see in black and white that the administration has no basis for its policy beyond rhetoric and ideology,” said Natural Resources Defense Council senior scientist Daniel Lashof. “The Bush administration has turned the United States into a rogue nation by rejecting the treaty.” 

The climate treaty reached Kyoto, Japan, in 1977 aims to reduce levels of “greenhouse gases,” which many scientists think are causing Earth to get warmer with potentially disastrous consequences. The pact sets goal for industrialized countries to cut heat-trapping emissions by 2012 an average 5.2 percent below 1990 levels. 

On March 28, Bush sparked an international outcry when he said the treaty was unworkable and discriminates against the United States, and he would not submit it to the Senate for ratification. He also reversed a campaign promise to treat carbon dioxide from power plants, a major target of the treaty, as a pollutant and a source of global warming. 

“Does the United States oppose the Kyoto protocol under any circumstance?” the State Department “talking points” document asked. “Yes, we oppose the Kyoto protocol because it exempts many countries from compliance and would cause serious harm to the U.S. economy.” 

On Wednesday, however, Dutch Environmental Minister Jan Pronk told reporters in Washington the administration appeared to have toned down its criticism and no longer insists the Kyoto treaty is dead. Pronk chairs the U.N. agency trying to put the global warming treaty in force. 

“I don’t hear it anymore. I think it was a premature statement,” Pronk said after meeting with administration officials. 

Much of his analysis was based on the assurance from administration officials this week that the United States would have its own plan to combat global warming before the talks are reopened in July in Bonn, Germany. 

Pronk said he has proposals of his own to address the American objections and plans to discuss them Saturday at a meeting in New York with officials from 30 to 40 industrialized countries. 

A Bush administration official denied on Friday that the United States has a timetable for concluding a review of climate change being done by Vice President Dick Cheney, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman and the secretaries of the Treasury, State, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce and Energy departments. 

No industrial country has ratified that treaty. An effort at The Hague, Netherlands, to come up with a plan last November for implementing the accord collapsed in a disagreement between the United States and Germany over trading pollution credits. 

“Given the long list of outstanding, difficult issues, and the fact that few, if any, parties were engaging in any reassessment of their positions after the Hague, there seems little likelihood they could all be resolved in two weeks of negotiations in July,” the State Department memo said. 

In rejecting the treaty, Bush insisted developing nations must be included in its mandatory cuts on carbon dioxide emissions. Negotiators in Kyoto specified that because major industrialized countries are the worst polluters, they should be assigned most of the emission cutbacks. 

In the United States, carbon dioxide emissions have continued to grow since the treaty was signed. They are now almost 15 percent above the levels of 1990. 

——— 

On the Net: EPA global warming site: http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming 

QUEBEC — Police in riot gear clashed with protesters in a haze of tear gas Friday as leaders of the Western Hemisphere’s 34 democracies sought to advance plans to create the world’s largest free-trade zone. 

President Bush, attending his first international summit, held out the promise of a region of 800 million people “that is both prosperous and free.” Yet Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez complained that many of the lofty goals set at a similar summit in 1994 have not been met. 

Quebec City was tense and largely sealed off under tight security as the third Summit of the Americas got under way with arrival ceremonies, opening festivities and clashes between police and protesters. 

Demonstrators tore down some sections of the concrete and chain-link security barricade near the summit site and pelted police officers in riot gear with cans, bottles, hockey pucks, rocks and stuffed animals. Police officers, who lobbed canisters of tear gas at the protesters, formed a line and marched on the demonstrators to force them back. 

The summit drew an alliance of labor, environmental and human rights organizations and student activists in protest of the free-trade plan, capitalism and globalization. 

“If they are protesting because of free trade, I’d say I disagree,” Bush said. “I think trade is very important to this hemisphere. Trade not only helps spread prosperity but trade helps spread freedom.” 

The disruptions caused a delay of at least an hour in the summit’s opening ceremony. They also fouled up Bush’s plans to meet his counterparts in small groups. 

Bush met with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien as scheduled, but waited to begin his first huddle with Andean leaders for some 20 minutes because the presidents of Brazil and Bolivia could not make it through the security lockdown. Both joined the meeting later. Bush’s meeting with seven Central American heads of state also was thrown off schedule. 

And a meeting with leaders from Caribbean nations had to be canceled when they were unable to get to his hotel through the protests and tear gas, Bush aides said. Bush watched some of the street demonstrations on television in his hotel room. 

Chavez, after meeting with Bush, said the goals of the 1994 summit in Miami had not been realized. “We have advanced very little – almost not at all – in the social objectives,” Chavez said. “From Miami, they said we had to fight without rest for the education of children. But now there are more children without schools than before in Latin America and the Caribbean.” 

Seeking to prevent a repeat of violent demonstrations that shut down a 1999 international trade conference in Seattle, thousands of police and troops stood guard and merchants boarded up their shops. 

While all 34 summit countries have endorsed the goal of a free-trade zone stretching from the Arctic Circle to Cape Horn, differences remain as to the pace and terms of this economic integration. 

Still, “This is a remarkable achievement, one that would have been unthinkable just 15 years ago,” Bush said on the White House lawn as he left Washington. 

He noted that every nation in the hemisphere except Cuba is now a democracy. Cuban leader Fidel Castro was not invited to the gathering. 

Bush received a red-carpet welcome at Quebec’s airport, with red-jacketed Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers standing at attention in a brisk wind. Then, he was whisked by military helicopter into the secured area of the city. 

“We are seeking new markets, to increase our business and generate new jobs,” Colombian President Andres Pastrana told reporters. He said free-trade could help ease drug trafficking in his country. 

It was Bush’s second international trip. His first was in February to Mexico. 

Bush campaigned on elevating the importance of Latin America and has made a hemispheric free-trade zone a top foreign policy goal. “Our goal in Quebec is to build a hemisphere of liberty,” Bush said before departing the White House. “We must make real progress.” 

For the United States, the hemispheric pact would expand an existing free trade pact with Mexico and Canada to include Central and South America. 

A Free Trade Area of the Americas by 2005 was endorsed at the first hemispheric summit in 1994 in Miami and reaffirmed in 1998 in Santiago, Chile. However, progress has been slow, partly because Bush lacks full negotiating authority from Congress to move ahead. 

“There’s been a lot of wasted time,” said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who was attending the summit sessions. “I think we’re finally getting the ball off the ground.” 

The leaders at the summit also were expected to address issues ranging from toughening the war against drugs to improving education, health care and Internet access in rural communities. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Main site: http://www.americascanada.com 

AFL-CIO page: http://www.aflcio.org/globaleconomy/index.htm 

Anti-free trade activists site: http://www.stopftaa.org/ 

GENEVA — The top U.N. human rights watchdog censured Russia on Friday for alleged abuses in Chechnya after last-minute attempts to reach a compromise failed. 

Twenty-two members of the U.N. Human Rights Commission, including the United States, voted ’yes’ to a European Union resolution condemning Russian actions. Twelve members voted against and 19 abstained. 

Russian troops have been trying to stamp out a guerrilla war in the breakaway province. The rebels drove them out of Chechnya in a 1994-96 war, but the troops returned in September 1999 after rebels twice invaded neighboring Dagestan and after a series of fatal apartment bombings that Russian officials blamed on the insurgents. 

Russia’ military claims the fighting is winding down, but clashes continue daily and there have been complaints of human rights abuses and killings  

of civilians. 

The resolution’s supporters included Canada, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, while Russia won the backing of China, India and Nigeria. 

The resolution condemned Russia for “attacks against civilians,” breaches of international law, summary executions and “forced disappearances.” 

It also attacked the actions of Chechen rebels, who are accused of torture, taking hostages and the indiscriminate use of land mines. 

On Wednesday, the 53-member body had delayed voting after the EU asked for more time for last-minute negotiations. 

Ahead of the vote, Russian representative Oleg Malunov said EU criticisms failed to reflect the reality in Chechnya. “This resolution does nothing to solve the situation,” he told the commission. 

Last year, attempts to produce a compromise statement also failed and Russia became the first permanent member of the U.N. Security Council to be censured by the commission for human rights abuses.  

The other four permanent members are China, the United States, Britain and France. 

Human rights campaigners welcomed the commission vote, but called for more international scrutiny of Russia. 

“The shabby investigations into abuses launched by Russia shows that only an international inquiry can establish the truth,” said Joanna Weschler, U.N. representative of Human Rights Watch. 

Earlier Friday, the EU won 21 votes in favor of a resolution condemning Iran’s human rights record, with support from the United States, Canada, Japan and Latin American countries. Seventeen countries — including Russia, China, India and Indonesia — voted against, with 15 abstaining. 

The EU resolution to the commission cited the imprisonment of journalists, crackdowns on demonstrations and “unsatisfactory compliance with international standards in the administration of justice, in particular public and especially cruel executions.” 

It also criticized Iran for failing to cooperate with U.N. human rights experts, who have been denied access to the country since 1996. 

But Iranian Ambassador Ali Khorram attacked the resolution. 

“The real aim of the sponsors ... is not the promotion of human rights, but rather ... yet another means of domination over the developing countries,” he told the commission. 

Earlier this week, China blocked a U.S. resolution to condemn its human rights record. The commission also voted 50-1 to censure Israel for allowing Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories, with only the United States taking Israel’s side. 

A resolution condemning Cuba’s human rights record passed 22-20 with 10 abstentions. 

Censure by the U.N. body brings no penalties but draws international attention to a country’s human rights record. 

———  

On the Net: 

Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, http://www.unhchr.ch 

Group hopes to join instant messaging game 

Instant messaging is one of the Internet’s most popular activities, a staple for gossipy teen-agers and procrastinating office workers. 

It also has a well-documented problem: The most popular messaging services don’t work with each other. It’s as if people with Sprint long-distance couldn’t call AT&T customers. 

Fixing that problem isn’t proving to be easy. And while the Internet’s biggest players are fighting over the mess, they could be leaving an intriguing opening for a 45-employee company in Denver called Jabber.com. 

Jabber.com has created an “open-source” form of instant messaging, meaning any programmer can see how it works and design applications that work with it. 

While the big players fight over consumers, Jabber is using its open-source technology to reach for a largely untapped market with real money in it — selling instant-messaging services to large companies. 

“We don’t need to beat AOL and Microsoft and I don’t think we’ll beat them,” chief executive Rob Balgley said. “We’re targeting a part of the market they’re not serving.” 

Founder and general manager Andre Durand talks even more expansively about Jabber’s potential. He believes the 13-month-old division of Webb Interactive Services Inc. might even be able to force America Online to make its dominant service work with the competition. 

“Within six to eight months, Jabber will exert pressure and come up under AOL,” Durand said. “AOL users will want to be able to get in touch with Jabber users.” 

Instant messaging, or IM, lets users chat over the Internet, almost in real time because the notes skip steps e-mail messages have to traverse. 

America Online’s three instant messaging services — the kind its subscribers use, the version anyone can download and a service AOL owns called ICQ — had 50.7 million user accounts that saw action in March, while the Microsoft Network had 16.2 million and Yahoo had 11.5 million, according to Jupiter Media Metrix. The numbers include some duplication, since people often subscribe to more than one service. 

Each company runs its own proprietary instant-messaging system, which is why users of AOL’s IM programs can’t chat with Yahoo members, for example, unless they open a separate Yahoo account. 

A handful of companies, including Jabber, have come up with instant-messaging applications that mimic the big services and let outsiders in, but AOL has repeatedly blocked them, citing its users’ privacy and security. 

The answer might seem simple: Get everyone to agree on an industry standard for instant messaging, just like the one for e-mail. 

But AOL contends that technical issues have gotten in the way. Federal regulators overseeing AOL’s merger with Time Warner gave the company time to sort those problems out rather than instantly demanding that AOL open its IM service up. 

Still, spokeswoman Kathy Kiernan says AOL supports making its services work with the competitors. The company expects to begin testing a solution this summer, she says. 

The competitors believe AOL has dragged its feet to preserve its domination. Yahoo, Microsoft, Excite, AT&T and some smaller messaging providers are part of a coalition called IM Unified, whose members hope to make their systems interoperable with each other’s this summer. The IM Unified members hope to form a block of users AOL can’t ignore. 

Complicating the picture, the Internet Engineering Task Force, a coalition of experts on Web technology, also is trying to hammer out a standard for instant messaging everyone can agree on. 

For the most part, Jabber is staying on the sidelines of the discussions and going about its business selling its instant-messaging application to Internet service providers and large companies. Instant messaging can help companies improve their online customer service, or let employees collaborate from different locations. 

Jabber uses XML, an increasingly popular programming language that facilitates communications between computers. 

This gives Jabber’s technology potential uses far beyond instant messaging. Servers from different companies could transmit all kinds of information, including voice or video transmissions. 

Among Jabber’s customers is Re/Max International Inc. The Denver-based network of real estate agents recently switched over from a Microsoft-based IM system because it could not handle enough traffic, according to Kristi Graning, Re/Max’s vice president for Web services. 

Jabber executives say they have bigger deals all but lined up over the next few months, each worth $250,000 to $1.5 million. In hopes of bringing those along, Jabber released a new message program Thursday that encrypts corporate chats to make sure they stay private. 

Lydia Loizides, an analyst at Jupiter Media Metrix who follows instant messaging, said most IM providers have yet to capitalize on business applications.  

Jabber.com should be attractive to companies watching their budgets because an open-source program is far less expensive to deploy and maintain than proprietary systems, she said. 

“There is a sweet spot that I think people are kind of starting to eye,” Loizides said. “I think (Jabber) may be well-positioned to go in early and get some good accounts.” 

Ken Dulaney, vice president of mobile computing at Gartner Inc., was less optimistic about Jabber’s chances, given that the bigger companies could soon move into the space. 

“It seems to be tough for me to see a way they’d be successful long term,” he said. “Microsoft is going to be all over instant messaging.” 

Jabber executives realize they can’t fly under the big shots’ radar forever. But they are confident enough that they’re trying to raise about $10 million from outside investors, in hopes of gaining independence from Webb Interactive. 

“A thousand decisions in three or four years will determine whether we’ll be a top three or four player,” Durand said. “I have a sense we are in a window of opportunity.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

Jabber.com Inc.: http://www.jabber.com 

Jabber’s site for open-source developers http://www.jabber.org 

Coalition of AOL competitors: http://www.imunified.org 

NEW YORK — It’s no longer just a place where prices jump around like corn in a popper, an indulgence of the rich but of no particular concern for most families. 

For more than half of American households, the stock market is now to various degrees the financial future, the source of tuitions, the provider of luxuries, the guardian of financial security and retirement. 

And, based not just on a trend line two decades long but on more recent developments, it is destined to encompass ever more families, making securities for many their most important asset. 

In 1980, 53 percent of the liquid assets of U.S. households were in banks, often deposited there by handing cash and a passbook to a teller. In 2000, the percentage had fallen to 20. The rest was in securities. 

That tells but part of the story. Households in 1980 owned 2.8 trillion in liquid assets; by 2000, they had amassed $17.3 trillion. In 1983, 42.4 million individuals owned stocks; in 2000, 78.7 million. 

Significant as other indicators is the makeup of ownership, which has filtered down from the rich to less rich.  

The Securities Industry Association says the typical stock owner has household income of $60,000. 

Because of this massive change, the stock market today is probably as good an economic thermometer and barometer as any other indicator, giving a fairly accurate reading of current health and a forecast of the future. 

That being so, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan could hardly ignore the gloom that had settled like a chemical fog on the market, suffocating what he had once referred to as irrational exuberance. 

Equally to be feared, the Fed suggested in its sudden, 0.5 percentage point cut in interest rates, is a situation in which consumers, most from investor households, are too depressed or even unable to spend. 

The transformation from saver to investor has come a long way, and the trend has built-in elements that assure continuance. 

It is now a way of life, with payroll withholding incentives (automatic, record-keeping, even discounts) for employee and employer alike providing a direct pipeline into mutual funds and stocks. 

Mutual funds especially have been a catalyst for the evolution of saver to investor. An idea of the role they have played is offered by the SIA in this summary: 

“It took 10 years for (mutual fund) assets to grow from $100 billion to $1 trillion in 1990.; three years to reach $2 trillion in 1993; and just over two years to reach $3 trillion in 1996. Less than four years later, assets have more than doubled to $7 trillion.” 

Increasingly, pension investments are becoming self-directed through 401(k) programs, again via automatic payroll deductions, and pressure has mounted for allowing workers to invest a portion of Social Security withholdings in equities. 

Technological advances also are part of the transition. Low-priced computers and the Internet allow individual investors to obtain massive amounts to data and easy access to the market.  

And a profusion of newer, mobile devices is likely to quicken interest and probably trading too. 

It means that the economic impact of the securities markets, especially for equities such as individual corporate stocks and mutual funds, has been hugely expanded in the past couple of decades. 

The stock market isn’t just for the rich anymore. It’s where producers and consumers interact, and how they interact is written boldly in the performance of the economy. 

John Cunniff is a business analyst for The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Wall Street ended its best two weeks of the year Friday with profit-taking from a spectacular rally that included triple-digit gains in the Dow Jones industrials and Nasdaq composite index. 

Analysts weren’t alarmed by the losses, which amounted to 1 percent or less on each of the three major indexes. 

“Investors should be thrilled if the market retreats and gives up only half of the gains we saw in the last few days,” said John Forelli, portfolio manager at Independence Investment LLC.  

All five stocks are Dow components. The market began its recovery two weeks ago, with a 402-point gain in the Dow. Despite some pullbacks, it slowly gained momentum that sharply accelerated Wednesday when the Federal Reserve unexpectedly lowered interest rates for a fourth time this year. 

Wall Street’s big indicators are still registering losses for the year, but the Dow nonetheless has surged about 13 percent since reaching its lowest close for the year. 

— The Associated Press 

, 9,389.48, on March 22. The Nasdaq is up 32 percent since it closed at a low of 1,638.80 on April 4, and the S&P 500 has gained nearly 13 percent since its low close of 1,103.25 that same day. 

Analysts say the market’s steady progress, combined with its ability so far to keep most of its gains, suggests that the worst may be over. They warn more declines are likely, and that more companies might have earnings disappointments, but the growing confidence about 2002 has buyers returning to the market. 

For example, investors shrugged off Cisco Systems’ warning Tuesday that its fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue would fall short of forecasts because of slowing demand. The stock ended the week at $19.15, up $1.17 or 6.5 percent, lifted by the Fed’s rate cut and earnings results from other tech leaders that were disappointing but not as bad as many feared. 

“Investors are leaping out on the faith that the economy is going to correct itself and you’re going to have a better 2002 even though the near-term earnings and other fundamentals are terrible,” said Jon Brorson, director of equities at Northern Trust. “People are afraid they’ll miss out if they don’t buy now.” 

Declining issues led advancers nearly 5 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 1.57 billion shares, compared with 1.75 billion Thursday. 

The Russell 2000 fell 5.69 to 466.71, ending the week up 11.69 or 2.6 percent. 

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.7 percent. Germany’s DAX index slid 0.9 percent, Britain’s FT-SE 100 rose 0.1 percent, and France’s CAC-40 was down 0.6 percent. 

SAN JOSE — A small digital rights management company filed a lawsuit Thursday against Microsoft Corp., claiming patent infringement. 

InterTrust Technologies Corp., a Santa Clara-based provider of software and services to help businesses protect their content over the Internet, filed the suit in federal court in San Jose. The five-page lawsuit alleges that Microsoft’s digital rights management software being distributed to the public through its Windows Media Player program violates a patent that was issued to InterTrust on Feb. 6. 

InterTrust, an $8 million-a-year company founded 11 years ago, says it holds 18 patents in the field of digital rights management, and 40 others are pending. 

DRM technology has gained more attention as the protection of digital content has become a hot-button issue as consumers are accessing more and more material from the Internet, such as popular songs through Napster Inc.’s Web site. 

“Microsoft has innovated in the area of digital rights management for many years, and it’s unfortunate that InterTrust has chosen to resort to the courts rather than compete in the marketplace,” said Jim Cullinan, spokesman for the Redmond, Wash.-based company. 

Cullinan did not have further comment. The suit seeks an injunction and monetary damages.

SAN FRANCISCO — Chief federal energy regulator Curtis Hebert has made it his refrain: Price caps on wholesale electricity will hinder, not help, California’s energy crisis. Price caps will discourage the construction of desperately needed new power plants. 

But some power generators say that California’s dearth of energy supplies, and its growing demand, make it a good place to build more plants and sell more power in the years to come – even with price caps. 

“Regardless of what the (market) structure turns out to be, the state’s going to need electricity and it’s going to need to buy it from somebody,” said Bill Highlander, spokesman for San Jose-based Calpine Corp. 

Calpine is investing about $4 billion in power plants over the next four years. They will generate 9,000 megawatts, enough for more than 6 million homes. The state’s current energy crisis “hasn’t really changed our plans or our strategy,” he said. 

Eight of the 13 new power plants approved in California already are under construction. Twelve more are under review, according to the California Energy Commission, which approves power plants. 

CEC spokesman Rob Schlichting said that’s a huge boost over the last decade, when uncertainty over the rules of deregulation kept applications down. 

“The only way price caps would scare away investment is if they were set so low you couldn’t make a profit,” Schlichting said. “It’s still a market that people seem to want to come in and produce power for.” 

Other companies still planning to invest in California include North Carolina-based Duke Energy, which has two plants in the works, and Houston-based Reliant Energy, which is negotiating with the state to sell power on long-term contracts. 

Reliant’s spokesman, Richard Wheatley, wouldn’t say whether price caps alone would inhibit the company from building more plants. 

The state has talked about taking over power plants through eminent domain and implementing a windfall profits tax. Attorney General Bill Lockyer is offering a bounty for evidence of price collusion. If California wants to encourage construction, it’s got to tone down its demonization of the industry and stop adding more restrictions, Wheatley said. 

“Whenever we go into an area and consider building a power plant, we have to look at the economics of the facility, we have to look at the regulatory situation, esoteric things like what the mindset is like,” he said. “California is not the easiest place in which to do business.” 

Some power companies have invested so much in pipelines, gas reserves and plants already under construction that it would be folly to bail out. 

“We want to build in California, but we need to have regulatory stability or at least regulatory clarity to move these things forward because they’re half-billion dollar projects in some cases,” said Tom Williams, a spokesman for Duke. “That’s a lot of bananas.” 

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., introduced legislation Tuesday ordering the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to impose a temporary price cap in the 11 Western states. They hope to keep prices down in the short-term and give California and other troubled states a breather to make long-term decisions. 

FERC, of which Hebert is chairman, remains opposed to price caps, but after months of complaints, the board this week is considering a limited cap on the most expensive last-minute power buys. 

The proposal would cap California but not the rest of the West, and order wholesalers to sell to the state during the most extreme power shortages.  

Though it provides some cushioning, it does not address the high prices California swallows the rest of the time. That’s the point of Feinstein’s bill. 

“The crisis point is this summer to next summer and we need some federal assistance,” said Howard Gantman, spokesman for Feinstein.  

“This would assure the generators a reasonable profit and continue to spur on further investment into new plants.”

DANA POINT — Women who get regular mammograms may reduce their risk of dying from breast cancer by more than 60 percent — about twice the amount seen in large formal studies, according to a new analysis by the American Cancer Society. 

While there is little argument that mammograms are worthwhile, especially for women after menopause, the study suggests they may do substantially more good than most experts had assumed up to now. 

“Women should be told that if they get regular screening, they will reduce their risk of dying from breast cancer by about two-thirds,” said epidemiologist Robert A. Smith, the society’s director of cancer screening. 

He presented the data Monday at a cancer society meeting in Dana Point. They will be published in the May 1 issue of the journal Cancer. 

Seven landmark studies in North America and Europe have shown that mammograms save lives.  

Together, they suggest regular screening lowers the risk of breast cancer death by about 30 percent. 

However, these studies, conducted mostly in the 1970s and 1980s before mammograms became routine, may have underestimated the true benefit. 

The reason: Some women in the studies who were offered screening refuse to get mammograms, while others in the unscreened comparison groups sought out mammograms on their own. This diluted the difference between those who got mammograms and those who did not. 

The latest analysis sought to see what happened to those who actually get mammograms. It was conducted in two counties in Sweden where the use of these screening tests is very high. 

It found that those who comply with screening recommendations reduce their risk of dying from breast cancer by 63 percent when compared to the early 1970s, when mammograms were not routinely done. 

Some have questioned whether improving breast cancer survival results from catching the disease earlier through screening or from better treatments. 

However, Smith said the data suggest that screening accounts for nearly all the benefit.  

This is because no significant increase in survival is seen over time in either breast cancer patients who are too young for mammograms or among older women who refuse to get them. 

“This is a controversial point, but they make it fairly cogently,” said Dr. Marilyn Leitch of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “The contribution of treatment advances is there. But I think a large part of the improvement is related to the screening benefit.” 

The study was based on 6,807 women aged 20 through 69 who were diagnosed with breast cancer over 29 years in the Swedish counties of Dalarna and Ostegotland. Of these, 1,863 died of the disease. 

The researchers compared mortality rates in three time periods: 1968 to 1977, before mammograms were introduced; 1978 to 1987, when mammograms were offered to half of the women in the two counties in a large study; and 1988 to 1996, when mammograms were available every two years to all women over age 40. 

During the most recent period, 85 percent of the women got regular mammograms.  

By comparison, Smith estimates that between 50 percent and 60 percent of U.S. women get mammograms that frequently. 

Looking only at women who get screened opens the possibility of what researchers call selection bias. The worry is that those who get mammograms are already healthier than those who do not. It’s their good habits, not their mammograms, that make them live longer. 

However, Smith said this is unlikely to have made a big impact on the reduction seen in the study.  

When the researchers look at all women in the two counties, not just those who got mammograms, the risk of dying from breast cancer has fallen 50 percent since the 1970s. 

On the Net: 

Cancer society: http://www.cancer.org 

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp

Every coveted your neighbor’s lamp or coffee table? 

You may be able to buy one or the other April 28 at the city’s third annual citywide garage sale. 

Berkeley residents and organizations are encouraged to participate. The city will advertise individual garage sales by publishing a map and list of garage sale locations in several East Bay newspapers, including the Berkeley Daily Planet. The city will also provide colorful posters to each resident or organization that participates.  

The garage sale is timed to celebrate Earth Day and to precede the annual Neighborhood Cleanups. During the cleanups, the city normally collects many items which are useable. Having a garage sale before the cleanups keeps useable items out of the landfill.  

The garage sale will take place rain or shine. Residents can get application forms at any city library or senior center. They can also obtain an application by sending an e-mail request to kperry@ci.berkeley.ca.us, or by calling 981-6357, TDD 981-6903 or by logging on to the City’s web page at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us and clicking on “recycling.”

The afternoon sun bears down on Solectron’s manufacturing facility. But 30 minutes after stepping onto the roof’s new light-colored surface, there’s no noticeable rise in temperature. 

Come summer, that translates into a surface that’s up to 50 degrees cooler than last year for Solectron, which hopes to reduce air conditioning costs 20 percent to 40 percent. 

Solectron, which makes electronics for companies that outsource their manufacturing, is among the first companies to take advantage of the state’s new $40 million Cool Savings Plan. 

The program is aimed at conserving precious energy this summer while offering businesses cash to build or resurface flat roofs using reflective materials. 

It’s a concept folks in Florida, Arizona and other sun-scorched states have used for years. California legislators are hoping cool roofs will soon be the craze here by offering businesses rebates of 10 cents a square foot for roof replacement. 

For Solectron, that equals $15,000 in savings on a $750,000 repair job that it had to do eventually anyway. 

“If you can get cash back, why not?” said Bruce Field, Solectron engineering manager. “The roof will actually pay for itself over time.” 

Field said he expects a two-to-five year return on the cost of spraying 1.5-inch white insulating foam on the existing roof’s granulated cap sheet. It’s not only a great way to cut air conditioning bills, but spraying the polyurethane foam also avoids the pounding and clawing of a roof repair job that would be disruptive to the 1,300 workers inside, he said. Plus, when the job is done, there’s no old roofing to dump. 

The state Energy Commission began pushing the Cool Roofs proposal last fall, but it took California’s full-blown power crisis to get Gov. Gray Davis’ signature. The goal is to save 120 megawatts of electricity this summer. 

So far, the rebates aren’t offered to residential owners, but the commission will continue to push for that. 

If all commercial air conditioned buildings in California switched to reflective roofs, it would result in an estimated 300 megawatts to 500 megawatts of power savings at peak usage times, said Hashem Akbari, leader of the Heat Island Group at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. 

There’s evidence showing light-colored roofs also last longer, saving businesses even more in the long run, Akbari said. 

“It’s not really a new idea. Actually, it’s something we’ve found works a lot better than we thought it would,” said Danny Parker, a research scientist at the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa, Fla. “White tile or white metal produces a 20 percent savings. Even with dark shingles, going from dark to light is a 4 percent savings. It’s a no-cost option with any kind of roofing.” 

The percentage saved varies, depending on how much air conditioners are used and whether the reflective roofs are installed on residential or commercial buildings. 

Until recently, homeowners have been reluctant to install light-colored roofs, apparently feeling that they aren’t aesthetically pleasing. But now, with the invention of reflective pigment paints, residents can have black roofs that reflect up to 25 percent of the sun’s rays, as much as white asphalt shingles, said Ken Loye of the Ferro Corp. in Cleveland, which produces Cool Colors reflective paint pigments. 

The pigments are added to paint that can go on roof tiles, shingles or other surfaces, pushing the paint price up $3 to $5 a gallon. But Loye said the savings in summer energy bills will make up for it. 

“It’s cents per square foot,” he said. “Roof temperatures can get over 190 degrees. If we can cool these things off 40 or 50 degrees, we can reflect it off before it has a chance to get in.”