Although he professes to love his job, Berkeley High School Principal Frank Lynch happens to be something of an expert on why one should never become a high school principal. 

He’s spent the last four years interviewing principals and superintendents around Northern California, completing a doctoral dissertation at the University of Santa Barbara entitled: “The Shortage of Qualified Candidates for the Position of High School Principal.” 

He wanted to find out why the pool of applicants for high school principal jobs is drying up as precipitously as a southern California reservoir in a draught year.  

There’s talk of the looming principal shortage all over the country these days. Berkeley Unified School District Interim Superintendent Stephen Goldstone remembers competing against nearly 100 candidates when he applied for his first principal job in 1973. Today, he said, there might be total of 10 Berkeley High itself has burned through half a dozen principals in the last decade. The lack of leadership has left a power vacuum that Lynch walked into when he took the reins last August. 

As Berkeley High Parent, Teacher and Student Association President Kristin Shepherd put it: “Essentially, we’ve had a large business without supervision.” 

In other words, if being a high school principal is tough everywhere, there is reason to doubt whether being principal of Berkeley High is even in the realm of the possible. 

When he’s lucky, Lynch’s day will end at 6 p.m. But, with meetings, many days drag on to 8 p.m., or even to midnight. Throw in a five-hour commitment on Saturday – say, a community meeting on school reform, or the senior prom – and you’re up to roughly an 80-hour week. 

Wednesday last week was a fairly typical day. Lynch returned phone calls between 6 and 6:45 a.m., then met with teachers for the next hour or so. At 8 a.m. he was off to the weekly meeting of Berkeley High department heads. Here he heard one staff member after another describe the difficulties caused by the latest round of budget cuts and responded to each in crisp, efficient sentences. 

To the question of what would happen without an on-campus suspension program next year (Berkeley high has used the system for years as a way to take disruptive students out of the classroom without having to expel them from school), Lynch said: “It was either giving up two assistant principals or giving up something else. We’ll brainstorm. We’ll come up with a solution, because we are highly intelligent human beings.” 

Lynch has budgeted for three assistant principals, although he estimates it would take twice that number to really handle the daily workload. 

To worries that some department heads would lose the free periods they have had to evaluate teachers under the new budget cuts, Lynch responded: 

“There’s no other way to do it. I respect where you guys are coming from (but) when they made those budget cuts… those budget cuts are real budget cuts. And my job is to live with it.” 

Lynch spends the better part of every day listening to teachers, parents, students and others asking for things that in all likelihood he is unable to provide. In this highly political town where countless constituents believe they have a stake in how the high school is run, the flow of outside commentary is almost unending. 

“The larger the environment you work in, the more stressful it becomes,” Lynch said. “With more constituents, it goes up geometrically.” 

And yet, those who work with Lynch day to day say he has yet to lose his cool. 

“He’s accessible, nice, sane…he listens,” said Charna Ball, who teaches Adaptive Physical Education at Berkeley High. “I’ve been here a long time and that’s the first time I can say that about a principal.” 

Berkeley is “The most political place on earth,” said Vice Principal Mike Hassett. “Everybody’s got an issue. No one knows how to compromise.”  

But, said Hassett, Lynch makes navigating Berkeley’s turbulent political waters look like a walk in the park. “He’s a gentleman,” Hassett said. “He always maintains his demeanor.” 

Lynch said he came into the principal job “with his eyes open.” Through his dissertation research, he had known exactly what to expect, and he was ready. The job of a principal, he said, is to maintain “calm in the midst of chaos.” 

“People say, ‘Get emotional, get angry.’ But once you get in an emotional state you can no longer conduct business,” Lynch said. 

Instead of pleading with principals for emotion, people need to understand the incredible challenges principals are up against and find ways to give them more support, Lynch said. 

Shepherd, for one, said she is ready to do whatever she can to help Lynch. If political pressures mount uncontrollably, she said, Berkeley High runs the risk of losing yet another principal. And at a time when the school’s very certification as a secondary institution is in question, due to a number of highly publicized failings, Shepherd said that’s a risk the Berkeley community cannot afford to take. 

“He’ been listening to us all year,” Shepherd said. “Now it’s time for us to listen to him.” 

Tuesday, May 29

People’s State of the City  

Address 

7:00 p.m. 

City Council Chambers 

2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

This community meeting will focus on housing, jobs, education, and disability and senior issues in the city of Berkeley. Food will be provided. Free. 

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 

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 

The Lois Club Meeting 

12 noon or 6 p.m. 

Venizia Caffe and Bistro 

1799 University Ave. 

Social gathering for people whose names are Lois. National organization, local chapter now has 75 members. Open to Loises and their guests. Join the club for lunch or dinner.  

848-6254  

2001 West Coast Economic  

Human Rights Hearings 

5:30 - 9 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Oakland 

27th and Harrison, Oakland 

Join State and U.S. Congress members and local policy makers at a special dinner to highlight the issue of economic human rights. Testimonials from people in poverty will be presented as part of this effort to push economic human rights to the front of a national policy agenda. Free to the public. 

649-1930 

Wednesday, May 30

Dream Home for a Song  

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar conducted by author/contractor/owner-builder David Cook.  

$35 per person  

525-7610  

Thursday, May 31

Backpacking in Northern CA.  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Outdoors Unlimited’s director, Ari Derfel, will give a slide presentation on some of his favorite destinations for three-to-four-day backpacking vacations. Free  

527-4140  

League of Women Voters’ Dinner and Meeting 

5:30 - 9 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church 

941 The Alameda 

Featuring speaker Brenda Harbin-Forte, presiding judge of the Alameda County Juvenile Court on “What’s happening with Alameda County children in the juvenile justice system after Prop. 21?” $10 to reserve buffet supper. May bring own meal or come only for meeting/speaker. 

843-8824  

Friday, June 1

Free Writing, Cashiering &  

Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

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

www.ajob.org 

“Rumi: Mystic and Romantic  

Love, Stories of Masnavi” 

5 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church 

2727 College Ave. 

Free public talk by Professor Andrew Vidich. Childcare and vegetarian food provided. 

707-226-7703 

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.  

Therapy for Trans Partners  

6 - 7:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center for Human Growth  

2712 Telegraph Ave. (at Derby)  

A group open to partners of those in transition or considering transition. The group is structured to be a safe place to receive support from peers and explore a variety of issues, including sexual orientation, coming out, feelings of isolation, among other topics. Intake process required. Meeting Fridays through August 17.  

$8 - $35 sliding scale per session  

Call 548-8283 x534 or x522 

Saturday, June 2

Car Seat Safety Clinic 

10:00 a.m. 

Kittredge St. Parking Garage, second level 

The Berkeley Police Department will demonstrate proper techniques for car seat installation and use, and offer safety checks and tips. Families are welcome to visit the Habitot Children’s Museum located across the street from the garage. Free. 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

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

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Family Storytime  

10:30 a.m.  

Berkeley Main Library  

2121 Allston Way  

Storyteller Olga Loya tells tales from around the world. Geared for children three to eight and their parents. Free  

649-3964 

Commission On Disability  

Hearings 

1 - 4 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

Open forum, opportunity for public to present ideas and concerns about barriers for people with disabilities and accessibility of City facilities. Public comment on Berkeley’s proposed “Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan.” Will continue on June 13. 

981-6342 

Longfellow Middle School’s  

Outdoor Arts Festival 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

Longfellow Courtyard 

1500 Derby St. 

Live music performances, silent auction of student and community art, BBQ and bake sale. Talent showcase and awards ceremony from 2 - 3 p.m. Free admission, open to the public. 

665-1980 

Birdwatching Walk and  

Breakfast 

8 a.m. 

Botanical Garden 

200 Centennial Drive 

This is the time of year when the greatest variety of birds can be found in the Garden, including some rare species. Join Chris Carmichael and Dennis Wolff for breakfast and a walk. $25, limited space, call to reserve. 

643-2755 

Berkeley Historical Society  

Walking Tour 

10 a.m. - noon 

Thousand Oaks Elementary School 

1150 Virginia St. 

Tour of Thousand Oaks School and neighborhood. $5 - $10, reservations required. 

848-0181  

Pasta and Opera 

7 p.m. 

2924 Ashby Ave. 

Presented by Chamber Arts House. By donation. 

Sunday, June 3

Rosa Parks Spring  

Celebration and Fundraiser 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

Rosa Parks 

920 Allston Way 

Silent auction, quilt raffle, cake walk and field events. 

Compiled by Sabrina Forkish

Real safety issues at BHS  

Editor: 

Thursday, the entire student body and staff at Berkeley high school was evacuated because of a gas leak. Several students were dizzy and on the verge of passing out. With no clear drills for the campus, rife with construction and without well-known procedures for evacuation, the gas leak revealed the larger problems at BHS. Lack of communication to begin a coordinated evacuation, and lack of a cohesive safety plan in the event of an emergency.  

There have been no fire drills to prepare students for an evacuation in the event of an emergency since construction began, which is a glaring omission considering that some of the exits to the C building are now inaccessible due to construction fencing and cannot be used as a safety route. 

In addition to creating new hazards for students, the crews are exacerbating the problems they create by not taking into consideration the effects of their accidents. Without a place for students in the buildings nearest to the construction to go, another gas leak, or fire produced by the construction crews could cause the death or injury of hundreds of students in the C building. We urge the school administration to look into this for the safety of all students. 

Josh Parr 

Berkeley 

Involve people in planning 

Editor: 

Members of our all Berkeley coalition and I, involved in trying to get a meaningful ordinance regulating RF radiation emitting antennas in Berkeley are in full agreement with Steve Wollmer’s characterization of Current Planning staff as doing "shoddy work," and being "incompetent…or prejudiced." In our case many would also characterize the performance of city staff as power grabbing in the interest of serving the cellular industry in a “sweetheart” arrangement which ill serves the citizens of Berkeley.  

A moratorium was adopted in February by the City Council for the purpose of drafting an ordinance. Vivian Kahn, the Planning and Development Interim Deputy Director, who impresses me as running the show, produced a draft for the Planning Commission meeting on May 30th.  

Interested citizens were excluded from the drafting process regardless of numerous requests for inclusion. Reading the draft one can understand a wish to exclude the people who must live with it, should it be adopted. Kahn’s draft is largely based on a rhapsodized paean to the cellular industry, and puts full power to scatter radiation emitting antennas wherever city staff, toadying to their favored powerful industry interlocutors, may wish to place them.  

The draft is a travesty of regulation. It is so full of holes and failure to protect our citizens that questions arise about what those promoting it are up to. This draft is written and in many cases would be administered by staff not even living in Berkeley but trying to tell citizens how to live here. 

We discovered that a few years ago a special exemption for RF emitting antennas had been somehow added to the existing zoning ordinance, which removes controls on antennas provided by required public hearings.  

Why has this industry been exempted from an ordinance designed to protect the character of residential neighborhoods? How did this exemption become law without the neighborhood being informed? Do we need a sunshine ordinance in this city. You bet we do. Rot producing organisms do not survive well in sunlight and this city is swimming in bureaucratic manipulation and rot. 

Leonard Schwartzburd 

Berkeley 

Beth El is a religious institution 

Editor: 

Thanks to Daniel McLoughlin for graciously acknowledging the "good works performed by the Congregation (Beth El) and by many of its individual members" – and thanks, too, to Mr. McLoughlin for the civil, even generous, tone of his letter to the Daily Planet, May 14-15. 

He asks whether other residential neighborhoods have churches or other institutions the size of Beth El’s proposed building. The answer is that Berkeley neighborhoods throughout the city integrate many similar sized or larger buildings. Some, like St. Mary Magdalen Church, are just a few blocks away from Beth El’s new site. 

It’s also worth noting that Beth El is building a synagogue, not a commercial facility. The kitchen in the new building will be only two hundred square feet larger than the current cramped kitchen that the congregation outgrew decades ago. The planned Social Hall is about the same size as the current social hall and sanctuary combined. These rooms are often used as single space for celebrations of religious events now, something that will not happen in the new building because the seats in the sanctuary will be fixed. 

To correct another misconception, the facilities will not be rented to any outside groups. They will be used only by members for events such as Jewish holidays, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs and weddings. 

Many members now celebrate their life cycle events at the synagogue, and it is possible more will do so at the new site. However, the much larger space on Oxford Street, along with the setbacks, the inward facing orientation of the buildings and the increased parking will cause considerably less impact on the neighborhood than occurs at the current site just two blocks away. 

Thom Seaton 

Berkeley 

Playing that density song 

Editor: 

Another day, another soliloquy from Richard Register. Another moving tribute to the glories of density and the energy-consumptive dangers of sprawl. 

I especially loved the timing of the most recent hymn to “diverse pedestrian and transit centers." It was printed in the Berkeley Voice the day after a Zoning Adjustments Board public hearing on taking a retail space right at the corner of San Pablo and University and converting it to office space, which requires a variance. 

The Zoning Adjustments Board voted for it, with one no vote and one abstention. Thirty-five of the merchants who own businesses at or near the corner of University and San Pablo signed a petition opposing the office space, because if you take a chunk out of the retail potential of a commercial area, the whole district gets the hit. People want to shop in a place where they can buy tuna, get their shoes fixed, grab a video, and pick up shoelaces without driving all over town. 

The residents who signed the petition are the hard-pressed people living in perhaps the last honest neighborhood in Berkeley, and perhaps the oldest.  

The area along San Pablo Avenue used to be a favorite drive decades ago because of its tree-lined views and pedestrian bustle, the place where retail, industry, and residential uses dovetailed and the rail lines brought everything and everyone together. We recently lost our pharmacy, our shoe store, and our stationary store.  

One of our best antiques stores is about to have to leave, and would have loved the visibility of the retail space. The two non-profits who may move in if the appeal fails are undoubtedly groups which give valuable service to the Berkeley community, but are in no way capable of generating the walking trade and filling the daily needs of an ever more dense “traffic corridor" constantly taking the weight of the large, dense housing developments which no one seems to care are only geared for the $30,000-and-over crowd. 

Where was Richard Register and the Ecocity Builders when this latest small-scale assault on the potential for a pedestrian-serving neighborhood came down? Where were the consultants who gave us the crayons for our moment of participation during the University Avenue Strategic Plan workshops? The Green Party? Somehow the crew that warbles for density is never around when the variances are handed out that reduce the liveability of the neighborhood, that piece by piece, shot by shot, reduce it to scrap. 

Carol Denney 

Berkeley 

B  

The chains move in, the Mom and Pops move out, or sell out to chains. I  

listened to two representatives from the non-profit groups argue that they  

just couldn't find anywhere else to move. I work in a non-profit, too, in a  

loft in the back of a showroom right next to a Bart Station which has two  

empty spaces which rent for less than the retail space in question. Office  

space is going wanting all over town. 

The people in our neighborhood have a smaller chance today of the ice-cream  

store, the shoe repair shop, the gift shop, and the bookstore. But count on  

it, in another few weeks or so, you'll hear that density song again.  

Everybody's playing it. 

(Carol Denney is a local musician and community activist.) 

Carol Denney MSL, 1970 San Pablo Ave #4, Berkeley, Ca 94702 

(510) 548-1512 cdenney@igc.org 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, 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. $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 $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. “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 year membership. All ages. June 1: Alkaline Trio, Hotrod Circuit, No Motiv, Dashboard Confessional, Bluejacket; June 2: El Dopa, Dead Bodies Everywhere, Shadow People, Ludicra, Ballast; June 8: The Enemies, Pitch Black, The Fleshies, Supersift, Texas Thieves; June 9: Groovie Ghoulies, The Influents, Red Planet, Mallrats, Goat Shanty. 525-9926  

Ashkenaz May 26: Caribbean All Stars; May 29: Andrew Carrier and Cajun Classics; May 30: Fling Ding, Bluegrass Intentions, Leslie Kier and Friends; May 31: Wake the Dead, David Gans. 1370 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Freight & Salvage All music at 8 p.m. May 31: Freight 33rd Anniversary Concert Series: Bob Dylan Song Night and others; June 1: The Riders of the Purple Sage; June 2: Rebecca Riots; June 3: Hurricane Sam; June 6: Freight 33rd Anniversary concert series with Leni Stern, Jenna Mammina, Jill Cohn, Pig Iron. 1111 Addison St. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jupiter All shows at 8 p.m. May 29: The Lost Trio; May 30: Zambambazo; June 1: New Monsoon; June 2: Avi Bortnick Group 2181 Shattuck Ave 843-8277  

La Peña Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 or www.lapena.org  

The Bill Horvitz Band and the Adam Levy Threesome June 1, 8 p.m. TUVA Space 3192 Adeline  

TEMPO: The Berkeley Festival of Contemporary Performances. All performances begin at 8 p.m. June 1: Steve Coleman and Five Elements; June 2: Roscoe Mitchell with George Lewis, David Wessel and Thomas Buckner. $15 Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley Campus www.tempofestival.org 

Empyrean Ensemble June 2, 8 p.m. Final concert of the season, featuring soprano Susan Narucki in the world premiere of Mario Davidovsky’s “Cantiones Sine Textu,” as well as works by other composers. 7 p.m. panel discussion with the composers. $14 - $18 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave 925-798-1300  

Berkeley High Jazz Combo June 3, 4:30 p.m. $6 - $12. Jazzschool/La Note 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 

Schubert Festival June 3, 4 p.m. Mini-Schubert Festival as part of the Sundays at Four Chamber Music series. Will feature Schubert’s Trout Quintet, String Trio, and more. $10 Crowden School 1475 Rose St. 559-6910 www.thecrowdenschool.org 

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

“New Moon at Sinai” May 30, 7 p.m. Music, live puppet theater, shadows and images will take the audience from Egypt to Mount Sinai. Featuring music by Pharaoh’s Daughter and Mozaik and the musical and ritual theater group The Puppet Players. $8 - $12. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 Collage Ave 925-798-1300 

“Conversations In Commedia” May 30, 7:30 p.m. Series continues with Mime Troupe playwright Joan Holden and veteran clown/actor/director/playwright Jeff Raz. $6 - $8. La Pena 3105 Shattuck Ave 849-2568 

AfroSolo Theatre Company May 31, 7:30 p.m. Theater, dance, spoken word and poetry. $5 - $10 La Pena 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 

Camp Winnarainbow Benefit Boogie June 3, 7 p.m. Featuring The Flying Other Brothers with Pete Sears and Greg Anton, David Gans, Wavy Gravy and surprise guests. Camp Winnarainbow is a multicultural circus and performing arts camp founded by Wavy Gravy and his wife. $10 - $20 Ashkenaz 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

“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 

“Planet Janet” Through June 10, Fridays and Saturdays 8 p.m., Sundays 7 p.m. Follows six young urbanites’ struggles in sex and dating. Impact Theatre presentation written by Bret Fetzer, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7 - $12 La Val’s Subterranean Theatre 1834 Euclid 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

“The Misanthrope” by Moliere Through 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. All female design and production staff. $17 - $20 Il Teatro 450 449 Powell St. San Francisco 415-433-1172 or visit www.womenintime.com 

“Cymbeline” June 2 through June 24, Tues. - Thur. 7:30 p.m., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m. Opening of the California Shakespeare Festival features one of Shakespeare’s first romances, directed by Daniel Fish. $12 - $146. Bruns Memorial Amphitheater off Highway 24 at the Shakespeare Festival Way/Gateway Exit. 548-9666 or www.calshakes.org 

“The Laramie Project” Through July 8, Wed. 7 p.m., Tues. and Thur. -Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Written by Moises Kaufmen and members of Tectonic Theater Project, directed by Moises Kaufman. Moises Kaufman and Tectonic members traveled to Laramie, Wyo., after the murder of openly gay student Matthew Shepherd. The play is about the community and the impact Shaper’s death had on its members. $10 - $50. The Roda Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2015 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

Films 

Pacific Film Archive May 29: 7:30 Society of the Spectacle; May 30: 7:30 Musical Concrete; June 1: 7:30 Reason, Debate, and a Tale; June 2: 7:00 A River Called Trash; June 3: 5:30 Ruslan and Ludmila. Pacific Film Archive Theater 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

“The Producers” June 10. Revisit this outrageous comedy classic, starring Zero Mostel and written by Mel Brooks. $2 Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

Nomad Videofilm Festival 2001 June 1 10:40p.m. featuring world premieres from four S.F. Bay Area mediamakers: “Roadkill” by Antero Alli, “Forest” by Farhad J. Parsa “Visit” by Jesse Miller, B, “Fell Apart” by Doan La Fine Arts Cinema, 2541 Shattuck Ave. $7 (510) 848-1143/464-4640, pix & details: http://www.verticalpool.com/nomad.html 

“TRAGOS: A Cyber-Noir Witch Hunt” an Antero Alli film June 2, 10:40pm Fine Arts Cinema, 2541 Shattuck Ave. $7 (510) 848-1143/464-4640, pix & details: http://www.verticalpool.com/tragos.html 

Exhibits 

“Scapes/Escapes” Ink, Acrylic, Mixed Media by Evelyn Glaubman Through 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 Through June 9, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth St. 527-1214 www.traywick.com 

Ledger drawings of Michael and Sandra Horse Exhibit runs through June 18. Gathering Tribes Gallery 1573 Solano Ave. 528-9038 www.gatheringtribes.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. Pacific School of Religion 1798 Scenic Ave. 848-0528 

Tyler James Hoare Sculpture and Collage Through June 27, call for hours. Party June 9, 5-9 p.m. with music by Sauce Piquante. The Albatross Pub 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

“Watershed 2001” Through July 14, Wednesday - Sunday Noon - 5 p.m. Exhibition of painting, drawing, sculpture and installation that explore images and issues about our watershed. Slide presentation on creek restoration and urban design May 31, 7:30 p.m. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893 

Bernard Maisner: Illuminated Manuscripts and 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 through August 24; 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) 

“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 

“Queens of Ethipoia: Intuitive Inspirations,” the exceptional art of Esete-Miriam A. Menkir. June 2 through July 11. Reception with the artist on June 2, 1 - 3 p.m. Women’s Cancer Resource Center Gallery 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 ext 307 

“The Decade of Change: 1900 - 1910”chronicles the transformation of the city of Berkeley in this 10 year period. Thursday through Saturday, 1 - 4 p.m. Berkeley History Center, Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center St. Wheelchair accessible. 848-0181. Free.  

Readings 

Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted May 29: David Harris talks about “Shooting the Moon: The True Story of An American Manhunt Unlike Any Other, Ever”; May 30: Bill Russell signs copies of “Russell Rules: 11 Lessons on Leadership From the Twentieth century’s Greatest Winner”; May 31: Michael Pollan talks about “The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World”  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533 All events at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise 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 31: Connie Post with host Louis Cuneo Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

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  

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tours All tours begin at 10 a.m. and are restricted to 30 people per tour $5 - $10 per tour. 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 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute Free Lectures All lectures begin at 6 p.m. 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 

Architecture is life, or at least it is life itself taking form and therefore it is the truest record of life as it was lived in the world yesterday, as it is lived today or ever will be lived. 

Frank Lloyd Wright 

The Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association presented awards to property owners Thursday night, saluting what association members said was the extra time and expense honorees spent to maintain the city’s wealth of historic architecture.  

About 150 people attended the ceremonies at Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto, according to event organizers. The evening included remarks from Berkeley historical author and publisher Malcolm Margolin. 

“I think the value of the awards presentation is not only the recognition of those who have accomplished such extraordinary things in preservation, but they also serve as inspiration for those who are considering plunging into similar projects,” said Awards Committee member Mary Lee Noonan. 

The Awards Committee selected 16 buildings for awards and special commendations from a field of over 30 nominations. The buildings were judged according to how well architectural detail was maintained and incorporated into refurbishing, upgrading and retrofitting that took place in the last year. 

The awards spanned the gambit of Berkeley architecture from single family homes on the west side of town to the recent $35 million remodel and retrofit of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center, which was commemorated this month. 

The Awards Committee consisted Susan Chase, Jeannie de Vries, Jane Edgington, Richard Ehrenberger and Noonan, all of whom have backgrounds in architecture.  

Alvin K. Ludwig and Dorothy Duff Brown, owners of a house, received a Preservation Award for restoring the 82-year-old home, built by Carl Ericsson. 

“We salute, in particular, the glowing beauty of the interior where the gracious spaces of the living room, dinning room and library are filled with light and the warmth of the perfectly restored paneling.” Noonan wrote in her presentation speech. “(The remodel) is clearly a labor of love.” 

Noonan said the owners did most of the work themselves. One project was transforming a 1950s’ sandstone fireplace with clinker bricks, which were salvaged in the restoration of the chimney. They “restored the interior and exterior themselves, patiently removing layers of paint from the paneling, reusing materials wherever possible, rehabilitating every detail with infinite care.” 

A larger restoration project that received recognition was the Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center at 2180 Milvia St. The original Art Deco building, designed by James Plachek in 1938, underwent a major retrofit and remodel that adapted the stylized interiors to the needs of modern city employees.  

“A revered landmark has been given a new lease on life,” Noonan wrote. “The city has demonstrated its commitment to the value of preserving Berkeley’s distinctive architectural fabric.” 

Department of Public Works Director Rene Cardinaux said he was delighted to be a part of bringing an older building into the modern era in a way that preservationists could be happy with. “I was also very glad to be able to thank the BAHA for all their help during the remodel and all their efforts to save the building when there were a lot of people in town that wanted to tear it down,” he said. 

The following is a list of 2001 BAHA Preservation Awards. 

Awards: 

1. West Gate, on the UC Berkeley campus 

2. McDuffie Garden at 10 Roble Road. 

3. Sharffen Berger Chocolate Company at 914 Heinz Ave. 

4. Beckett’s Irish Pub and Restaurant at 2271 Shattuck Ave. 

5. A Craftsman home at 2928 Ellis St. 

6. A Victorian home at 3009 Elllis St. 

7. Carl Ericsson House at 1625 Jaynes St. 

8. Henry C. Reid House on Mendocino Road 

9. Kennedy-Carter House at 1314 Arch St. 

10. The Underhill Sproul House. 

Special Commendations: 

1. Spenger’s Fresh Fish Grotto, 1919 4th St. 

2. Library Hall and West Hall at 2016 7th St. 

3. Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center 2180 Milvia St. 

4. John Galen Howard House at 1401 LeRoy Ave. 

5. Maybeck Cottage at 1 Maybeck Twin Drive. 

6. The Garber Street Garage at 2746 Garber St. 

As Berkeley’s Vista Community College prepares to break ground on a state-of-the-art building this year, the Peralta Community College District has announced the appointment of a new president for the school. 

After a local, state and nationwide search, a search committee made up of students, faculty and community members chose John Garmon, executive dean of the Florida Community College Jacksonville campus, to become the new president of Vista.  

The Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees announced the selection at its May 22 meeting. 

“Garmon has extensive experience in pretty much all levels of community college administration,” said Peralta Community College District spokesperson Jeffrey Heyman Friday. 

Heyman said Garmon will have his work cut out for him as Vista College, until now operated out of rented space in community centers in Berkeley and on the UC Berkeley campus. Vista “enters a completely new phase in its existence” with the construction of the new building, Heyman said. 

The 145,000 square-foot building, scheduled to go up at 2050 Center Street in downtown Berkeley beginning this year, represents $35 million of a $153 million Excellence in Education bond measure passed overwhelmingly by East Bay voters last year. 

Heyman said the new building will help expand popular programs in biotechnology, computer science, multimedia and information technology at Vista, which has approximately 3,500 students today and is the fastest growing of the Peralta Community College District’s four campuses. 

Annie Quan Lee, who will celebrate her 100th birthday June 5 reminisced recently with visitors at the Berkeley rest home where she lives. Lee was born in 1901 in San Francisco. She said she was the oldest of 14 children born to her parents, who had immigrated from Canton province in China. “They called me Sister One,” she recalled. After the 1906 earthquake, Lee’s family moved temporarily to Oakland, where she said she saw the first black person she had ever seen. The family later moved back to San Francisco’s Chinatown, where Lee attended elementary and middle school and later worked as a bank teller. She has a lifelong love of music: “I love to sing,” she said. “I was a soprano in school.” She then sang the first verse of “Jesus Loves Me.” 

–

The Berkeley Fire Department announced last week that it is gearing up for an early fire season and recommends property owners establish a 30-foot safety zone around their homes and structures by doing the following:  

• Clearing flammable vegetation around structures. Hillsides should be cleared between 100-200 feet, because flames travel faster and hotter up slope.  

• Removing vines from the walls of homes.  

• Moving shrubs and other landscaping away from the sides of the house.  

• Pruning branches and shrubs within 10 feet of chimneys and stovepipes.  

• Trimming tree branches so that leaves or needles are at least 8’ from the ground.  

• Thinning a 10-foot space between tree crowns.  

• Replacing highly flammable vegetation such as pine, eucalyptus, juniper and fire trees with lower growing, less flammable species.  

• Clearing the area of leaves, brush, pinecones and dead limbs. and fallen trees.

“P Is for Peril” in Sue Grafton’s latest alphabet mystery, but “P” plays a pivotal part in other new mysteries, too. 

“P” stands for Peters, as in Elizabeth Peters, who has a new whodunit; for the latest “Prey” novel by John Sandford; and for “pseudonym,” as in Rosamond Smith — aka Joyce Carol Oates — author of a new thriller. 

The books are among the latest hardcover novels of mystery and suspense. 

Private eye Kinsey Millhone is put into a particularly perplexing and precarious predicament in “P Is for Peril” (Putnam), No. 16 in the series featuring the Southern California sleuth. 

She’s looking for the highly respected administrator of a nursing home who has been missing for nine weeks. The police can’t find him so Fiona, his former wife, seeks Millhone’s help. Everyone has a theory. Fiona thinks her ex has run away from his new wife, Crystal, who thinks he’s dead. His colleagues think he has been kidnapped. And his daughter, after consulting a psychic, thinks he’s trapped in an unspecified “dark place.” (On sale June 4.) 

In “Lord of the Silent” (Morrow), Elizabeth Peters offers a 13th mystery starring Amelia Peabody, the intrepid and resourceful English archaeologist and amateur crime-solver. 

It’s autumn of 1915 and the world is at war when Amelia and family arrive in Egypt for their annual archaeological dig. Amelia is doing her best to keep son Ramses from being pressed into service by the War Office, but other concerns soon loom: One is the all-too-fresh corpse unearthed in an ancient tomb. Before it’s over, there are more bodies, an assault and a kidnapping. 

James Qatar is the latest villain tormenting erstwhile Minneapolis police investigator Lucas Davenport, in “Chosen Prey” (Putnam), Sandford’s 13th “Prey” book. 

Qatar is a suave professor of art history who is also a writer, thief and murderer. His hobby is to secretly take photos of women who have angered him and turn them into pornographic pictures, which he anonymously mails to the women. One day, his displeasure goes too far, so he just has to kill the woman. Unexpectedly, he enjoys it — so he does it again and again. 

The psychological thriller “The Barrens” (Carroll & Graf) is the eighth book Oates has written as Rosamond Smith. 

When Matt McBride was in high school, the body of a teen girl Matt knew slightly was found in New Jersey’s desolate Pine Barrens. For some reason, Matt had always felt a sense of guilt about the murder, as if he could have prevented it. Now, 20 years later, a local artist named Duana Zwolle has disappeared. Matt knew her, too — slightly better than the married man cares to admit. Since Matt’s name appears throughout her diary, the police want to question him. 

Other new mysteries include: 

—“Warrior Class” (Putnam) by Dale Brown. A U.S. Air Force general locks horns with the Russian army when it invades several countries to build an oil pipeline. 

—“Dead Hand” (Forge) by Harold Coyle. An asteroid crashes into Siberia, threatening to set off a Cold War-era nuclear device stored there. 

—“A Finer End” (Bantam) by Deborah Crombie. Scotland Yard officers Kincaid and James investigate when an ancient document leads to a violent attack. 

—“The Blue Nowhere” (Simon & Schuster) by Jeffery Deaver. A computer hacker lures his victims to their deaths. 

—“The Cold Six Thousand” (Knopf) by James Ellroy. A Las Vegas police officer unwittingly becomes involved in a cover-up conspiracy surrounding JFK’s assassination.

PLEASANTON – Not every high-tech company is filled with anguish and anxiety these days. 

Business software maker PeopleSoft Inc. stands out in contrast to the devastation that has wiped out so many Silicon Valley fortunes. 

PeopleSoft is among a handful of tech companies that exceeded Wall Street’s profit expectations in the first quarter. Its stock has tripled in the past year, creating $8.4 billion in paper wealth at a time when the technology-driven Nasdaq Stock Composite plunged by 31 percent. 

Craig Conway, chief executive of the Pleasanton-based company, isn’t taking time to savor the view. 

Conway is also doing everything he can to prevent PeopleSoft’s 8,000 employees from growing complacent and reverting to the fun-loving, fraternity house atmosphere that once infused the company, house band and all. 

“For company that is doing as well as we are, you would expect to see a little more jubilation, but you don’t,” Conway said. “In part, that’s because my personality is very paranoid. I’m not on medication but I’m very respectful of the competition. We need to wake up every morning believing that someone could catch us if we are not on our toes and on top of our game.” 

Conway, 46, is raising the stakes in Las Vegas on June 4 when he will unveil a new generation of “customer relationship management,” or CRM, software designed to cash in on the rapidly growing demand for products that help businesses use computers to expand and manage their markets. 

PeopleSoft hasn’t made much of a dent in the CRM market since spending $600 million to buy Vantive Corp. 17 months ago, but Conway believes the new product will take because it runs entirely on the Internet, where customers, employees and suppliers can easily access information. 

The company budgeted $30 million to promote the CRM product — about twice as much as it spent advertising a suite of other administrative applications that helped elevate PeopleSoft above other competitors during the past year. 

PeopleSoft is thus taking on the undisputed leader of CRM, San Mateo-based Siebel Systems — a company that is “laps ahead of the competition,” says industry analyst Craig Wood of Merrill Lynch. Both big and small companies have tried to challenge Siebel in this booming software niche, but none have succeeded so far. 

Conway, who worked with Siebel Systems CEO Tom Siebel while both were executives at Oracle Corp. in the 1980s, doesn’t sound intimidated. 

“To challenge someone, you can’t just catch them, you have to pass them and that’s what we do with this product,” he said. “We don’t think we are going to put Siebel out of business, but we do think we will take several points of market share away from them.” 

Siebel Systems executives say PeopleSoft’s CRM software doesn’t break any new ground. What’s more, Siebel Systems views PeopleSoft’s invasion as an opportunity to sell its own software to the roughly 1,000 businesses that use Vantive’s package. 

Switching to PeopleSoft’s next-generation product will require companies to spend more money and tinker with the systems — a combination Siebel Systems believes will make Vantive users more amenable to switching to a different vendor. 

“We see a lot of Vantive customers in our sales pipeline now,” said David Schmaier, Siebel’s executive vice president of products. “So far, (PeopleSoft’s new CRM product) has only helped, not hurt our business.” 

Like PeopleSoft, Siebel Systems’ profit beat stock market expectations during the first quarter. But Siebel Systems had to lay off 800 employees last month — 10 percent of its work force — and its shares have been trading for roughly the same price as a year ago. 

“PeopleSoft was forced to re-examine itself long before dot-coms were forced to re-examine themselves,” said Conway, who made changing the corporate culture a top priority after he took over as CEO in the spring of 1999. 

Before joining PeopleSoft, Conway ran an interactive broadcast network called One Touch Systems, but it was his eight years as an Oracle executive vice president that won him the job. PeopleSoft’s board wanted a veteran leader with previous experience in the technology industry’s ups and downs. 

Until Conway’s arrival, PeopleSoft had pioneered the festive office atmosphere that became fashionable with the rise of the Internet. The company provided free food and drinks, welcomed pets at the office and encouraged Hawaiian attire. 

Founder David A. Duffield, known as “DAD” within the company, even bought instruments and sound equipment for a company band called “The Raving Daves.” 

PeopleSoft’s performance only added to the merriment. Sales of its human resources software seemed to grow by leaps and bounds each year and by April 1998, the stock peaked at $55.94 — a price that PeopleSoft hasn’t been able to reach again. 

The frolicking culture didn’t help later that year when bugs began to show in some PeopleSoft products and corporate customers scaled back orders while focusing on getting their computer systems to recognize the Year 2000. 

Many employees are less enamored with Conway. Some who grew rich from PeopleSoft’s early success didn’t stick around for the turnaround. Others still grumble about Conway’s no-nonsense approach, even though he has pumped value into once-worthless stock options held by most employees. 

Conway, whose PeopleSoft stake is worth $50 million, isn’t about to change a formula that has restored the company’s luster among customers and investors. 

“A year ago, when I talked about the things that we were going to do, I saw a lot of smirks and rolling of the eyes,” Conway said. “Now everyone is listening very closely.”

Berkeley’s summer personality takes over this week after dormitories have shut down, “fraternity row” parties have ceased, and thousands of students have returned home — many of them, for the last time.  

The Mr. Hyde school-year season —with its youthful activity and unpredictability — changes into Dr. Jekyll’s summer respite. 

For businesses surrounding the UC Berkeley campus, summer is when the money leaves. Many stores cut their hours to compensate for the reduction in student traffic. Students “make” Telegraph Avenue. Now they say it’s quiet and vacant.  

But for many of Telegraph Avenue street vendors, summer is when all the activity begins. Summer means warm, dry weather and street parking for money-laden tourists.  

Some earn the majority of their income during the summer. Other fair-weather vendors migrate to Berkeley only during these lucrative months. 

“I do great in the summer,” said Philip Rowntree, while braiding a beaded jewelry necklace. “I try and work seven days a week. Come June, I love it.” 

He said that he earns 50 percent of his yearly income during the summer. 

Some street vendors are unaffected by the changing demographic. Students and tourists replace each other. It also depends on what they’re selling.  

For Linda Hall, who has been selling on Telegraph Avenue for more than 25 years, it’s a seasonal business. Sales drop from January to May, she said. When students leave during the summer, Hall said sales pick up and peak.  

Many of the vendors anticipate the summer knowing that their sales will go up.  

“Students are not that good for us anyway because they don’t have that much money,” Hall said. “You can’t count on them. We have to count on their parents.” 

Vendors say that money is not the only factor. They are affected by student grumpiness and worries. Vendors say they can feel when mid-terms and finals are on students’ minds through the general atmosphere and lower sales.  

Even if students do buy from the street vendors, they aren’t big spenders. According to Rowntree, students usually buy one item. Tourists buy two or three for their friends.  

Ted Wojack, who has been vending for 28 years, said that tourists will buy these items as souvenirs.  

“They think of tie-dye as a part of Berkeley,” he said.  

While he spoke, obvious out-of-towners considered a psychedelic blue and white T-shirt with “Berkeley” written on it.  

However, the business is also dependent on the weather. Weeks when Berkeley continues raining are horrible for street vendors who must either stay inside, or shelter their displays with tarps or plastic covers. Summer is when they can recover those losses.  

But despite the better season and more sales, none of the vendors dislike the students. Wojack earns most of his money from summer tourists, but the school year has its advantages as well. 

“It’s great when the students are here,” Wojack said. “It’s exciting.” 

Monday, May 28

Shavuot Ice Cream Party 

11 a.m. 

Berkeley Hillel 

2736 Bancroft Way 

Come hear the ten commandments. 

540-5824 

Tuesday, May 29

People’s State of the City  

Address 

7:00 p.m. 

City Council Chambers 

2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

This community meeting will focus on housing, jobs, education, and disability and senior issues in the city of Berkeley. Food will be provided. Free. 

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 

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 

The Lois Club Meeting 

12 noon or 6 p.m. 

Venizia Caffe and Bistro 

1799 University Ave. 

Social gathering for people whose names are Lois. National organization, local chapter now has 75 members. Open to Loises and their guests. Join the club for lunch or dinner.  

848-6254  

2001 West Coast Economic  

Human Rights Hearings 

5:30 - 9 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Oakland 

27th and Harrison, Oakland 

Join State and U.S. Congress members and local policy makers at a special dinner to highlight the issue of economic human rights. Testimonials from people in poverty will be presented as part of this effort to push economic human rights to the front of a national policy agenda. Free and open to the public. 

649-1930 

Wednesday, May 30

Dream Home for a Song  

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar conducted by author/contractor/owner-builder David Cook.  

$35 per person  

525-7610  

Thursday, May 31

Backpacking in Northern CA.  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Outdoors Unlimited’s director, Ari Derfel, will give a slide presentation on some of his favorite destinations for three-to-four-day backpacking vacations. Free  

527-4140  

League of Women Voters’  

Dinner and Meeting 

5:30 - 9 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church 

941 The Alameda 

Featuring speaker Brenda Harbin-Forte, presiding judge of the Alameda County Juvenile Court on “What’s happening with Alameda County children in the juvenile justice system after Prop. 21?” $10 to reserve buffet supper. May bring own meal or come only for meeting/speaker. 

843-8824  

Friday, June 1

Free Writing, Cashiering &  

Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

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

www.ajob.org 

“Rumi: Mystic and Romantic  

Love, Stories of Masnavi” 

5 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church 

2727 College Ave. 

Free public talk by Professor Andrew Vidich. Childcare and vegetarian food provided. 

707-226-7703 

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.  

Therapy for Trans Partners  

6 - 7:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center for Human Growth  

2712 Telegraph Ave. (at Derby)  

A group open to partners of those in transition or considering transition. The group is structured to be a safe place to receive support from peers and explore a variety of issues, including sexual orientation, coming out, feelings of isolation, among other topics. Intake process required. Meeting Fridays through August 17.  

$8 - $35 sliding scale per session  

Call 548-8283 x534 or x522 

Saturday, June 2

Car Seat Safety Clinic 

10:00 a.m. 

Kittredge St. Parking Garage, second level 

The Berkeley Police Department will demonstrate proper techniques for car seat installation and use, and offer safety checks and tips. Families are welcome to visit the Habitot Children’s Museum located across the street from the garage. Free. 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

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

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Family Storytime  

10:30 a.m.  

Berkeley Main Library  

2121 Allston Way  

Storyteller Olga Loya tells tales from around the world. Geared for children three to eight and their parents. Free  

649-3964 

Commission On Disability  

Hearings 

1 - 4 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St. 

Open forum, opportunity for public to present ideas and concerns about barriers for people with disabilities and accessibility of City facilities. Public comment on Berkeley’s proposed “Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan.” Will continue on June 13. 

981-6342 

Longfellow Middle School’s  

Outdoor Arts Festival 

Noon - 4 p.m. 

Longfellow Courtyard 

1500 Derby St. 

Live music performances, silent auction of student and community art, BBQ and bake sale. Talent showcase and awards ceremony from 2 - 3 p.m. Free admission, open to the public. 

665-1980 

Birdwatching Walk and  

Breakfast 

8 a.m. 

Botanical Garden 

200 Centennial Drive 

This is the time of year when the greatest variety of birds can be found in the Garden, including some rare species. Join Chris Carmichael and Dennis Wolff for breakfast and a walk. $25, limited space, call to reserve. 

643-2755 

Berkeley Historical Society  

Walking Tour 

10 a.m. - noon 

Thousand Oaks Elementary School 

1150 Virginia St. 

Tour of Thousand Oaks School and neighborhood. $5 - $10, reservations required. 

848-0181  

— Compiled by  

Sabrina Forkish 

Estate tax is killing family owned business 

Editor: 

Bill Gates Sr. is wrong about The estate tax. He is a lawyer and lawyers consider form more important than substance. He said that family farms are not affected by the estate tax. This is an outright lie. Family farms have been devastated. Lawyers have no clue how a family a family business works. All of us American work and produce food, housing, products, services, etc. and lawyers feed off of our hard work. 

Since 1960 we have lost 80 percent of American larger family businesses because of the estate taxes. All we have now are big stores like Costco, Target, Albertson’s, Safeway, WalMart, etc. Local factories have been liquidated or sold to big corporations because of estate taxes after death or sold out before death in order to avoid estate taxes. The big corporations then manufacture the goods off shore. 

A very small minority of estates have been affected by the estate tax, 1.5- to 2-percent of the estates after death and about 2- to 2.5 percent of estates before death each year, but this adds up to 80 percent of our larger local family businesses since 1960. 

This is communism. Stalin did this in order to keep central control. Lawyers do it because they collect money from everybody. Now we have central control by big corporations and big government. This is not good and it is all because of the estate tax. We must have local family business control. Lawyers and big business corporations do not prosper with local control. 

Here is a scenario of what happens to a larger local family business. A father and mother start a small business 50 years ago. Their supermarket keeps growing because of hard work. The son and daughter start working there when they are small. The whole family works very hard. They keep enlarging the store. Eventually they buy 10 acres, build a big store and build a small shopping center around the store with six small rented stores. The business that started with nothing is now worth $9 million. The father dies. His estate is worth $4.5 million. The exemption is $.7 million. The family must pay 55 percent of the $3.8 million, or $2 million. They mortgage everything and pay the $2 million estate tax. Next year the mother dies. Another $2 million is due. What do they do? They sell out to Albertson’s. 

During the last 40 years, because of the estate tax, the big corporations have changed the ratio of personal income tax to corporation tax. In 1960 the corporation tax and personal income tax was about the same. Last year the corporation tax was $200 billion and the personal income tax was $1 trillion. Lawyers like Gates and the big corporations are underpaying their tax by $800 billion each year. Lawyers and Microsoft pay little or no tax because of trusts and tax law manipulation. This is all because we have allowed the estate tax to destroy our larger local family businesses who pay their full taxes. Last year, the estate tax and the gift tax combined was only $29 billion. This is nothing! 

If we could resurrect all of the large family owned community businesses that the estate tax has killed, we would be collecting an extra $250 billion per year. This is more than all the large corporations, who are cheating us out of $800 billion per year, are now paying us with the $200 billion we now collect from them. Stop the estate tax. The estate tax is a freedom killer!  

Mike Vukelich 

El Sobrante 

California’s  

doctor shortage is a crisis too 

Editor: 

The time has arrived when health care consumers truly reap what has been sown, regardless of whom you blame for planting the seeds. Medical doctors have been leaving Bay Area and California hospital staffs faster than they are joining — the average age of internists and family practitioners at community hospitals in this area rises every year. Those physicians who stay in practice here have little or no success in recruiting new associates to join them after the recruits consider their medical school loan balances, the high cost of living and housing in the Bay Area, and the fact that they can earn a much higher salary almost anywhere else in the country. 

So, the doctors who remain try to be creative in order to stay in practice. 

But I do not believe patients will be pleased with the latest innovation in medical care: Hospitalists! Within a few days at Berkeley’s Alta Bates Medical Center, where I have been practicing with an excellent record for over 25 years, my colleagues and I will no longer be able to deliver medical care to the vast majority of our hospitalized patients. Not because of the quality of care we deliver, not because we are too busy to go to the hospital, but because the hospitalist (who works only in the hospital, renders no continuing medical care, and goes home at the end of his or her shift) might be able to see our patients a little earlier in the day. That earlier visit might result in a slightly earlier discharge from the hospital, and that might save some money!  

Never mind the comfort most patients derive from continuing care by their long-time physicians. Never mind the complications that might be prevented by having the physician who already knows the patient actually care for the hospitalized patient. Never mind how much harder it will be to recruit new doctors when they find out we only want them to do half the doctor’s job. Continuity of care might be great for patient health, but let’s get real here. It’s not cost efficient! 

California has decided to spend more money to make up for the power shortage. What about the current and worsening doctor shortage? 

Stephen J. Whitgob, M.D. 

Berkeley 

If you don’t like the power crisis — then revolt! 

Editor: 

As our electricity rates keep going up, the price of natural gas keeps increasing, the cost of gasoline keeps rising, and pretty soon all the manufacturer will begin raising their prices because their fuel cost are going up, some people will complain about “overcharging” and “price-gouging.” But this is unfair. What we are seeing is only the normal workings of a profit-oriented economy, in which every business exercises its God-given right to maximize its profits by any means. 

The morality of this system, whose generic name is “capitalism,” is based on greed, although it is supported by all major religions. 

The basic idea is that it is fitting and proper and desirable that a small, elite portion of the population should live in luxury and enjoy great wealth and power by appropriating the major share of everything produced by the rest of us. 

But this is not the only way things can be organized. And if enough people get really fed up with what the system is doing to us, we can always exercise our constitutional right to change it. 

Or our revolutionary right to overthrow it. 

Marion Syrek 

Oakland

Girls finish 2nd; BHS’s Brooks pulls big upset in 400 dash 

On Saturday afternoon, Jay Lawson walked around Edwards Stadium with a huge grin on his face. He had just finished watching several outstanding performances from his St. Mary’s track & field athletes, culminating in a North Coast Section team title for the boys, a narrow second-place finish for the girls, and a boatload of personal bests. 

“I’m just ecstatic about how we ran today,” he said. “This is just about the best-case scenario for us.” 

The boys won the title going away with 70 points. James Logan finished second with 46, but gained a measure of revenge by winning the girls’ side, edging the Panthers 84-82. St. Mary’s won a duel meet with Logan by one point earlier this year. 

Saturday’s Meet of Champions in Berkeley was the final step before the CIF state championship meet this weekend, with the top finishers in each event qualifying to head up to Sacramento. As Lawson looked down a list of qualifiers, his smile got even bigger. 

“We qualified just about everyone we possibly could have,” he said, shaking his head in wonder. “Everyone we had did as well as we thought was possible, or even better.” 

Leading the way for the Panthers was Halihl Guy. The senior won both hurdles races, setting personal bests in each and a new North Coast record in the 300-meter low hurdles with a 37.79. Guy also ran the anchor legs for both of the St. Mary’s winning relay teams. 

“I set a goal to win both hurdles when I was a freshman, and I finally did it,” Guy said. “I’m running better than I ever have in my life right now.” 

Guy, who said he will likely sign with Washington State this week, cruised to easy victories in his final three events. His only real challenge of the day came in the 110-meter high hurdles, as James Logan’s Nate Robinson took an early lead. But Guy came roaring back down the stretch to take first place, and the rest of the day was cake. He was handed large leads in both relays, and took the lead by the second hurdle in the 300-meter event before winning by nearly two full seconds. 

“I think Halihl will run bigger at the state meet with more competition,” Lawson said. “It’s a lot different if you have someone running next to you the whole way.” 

Guy will be joined at the state meet in the 110 hurdles by teammate Jason Bolden-Anderson, who finished fourth. St. Mary’s Solomon Welch also qualified, but Lawson said he won’t run in Sacramento. 

Kamaiya Warren was another St. Mary’s athlete who dominated the field, shaking off the disappointment of failing to qualify in the discus by putting all of her energy into the shot put. Warren won the event with a throw of 44 feet, 9.25 inches, four feet farther than her nearest competitor. 

“It’s been really hard to put the discus behind me,” Warren said. “But now I’m concentrating on the shot put, so at least I did well in that today.” 

Had Warren placed in the discus, the Panthers could have swept the team titles. But the girls wouldn’t even have been close if not for Bridget Duffy, who ran both the 1,600 and 3,200. After finishing second in the shorter race, Duffy was urged by her coaches to run in the 3,200 for team points. 

“I wasn’t going to run both races, but my coach wanted me to try and get a personal record, as well as get the team some more points,” Duffy said. 

Duffy finished the longer race in 10:49, achieving both goals. She had never broken 11 minutes in the event before, and she out-kicked Head-Royce’s Clara Horowitz to take second place. Duffy finished both races behind winner Sarah Bei of Montgomery, who is one of the best long-distance runners in the country. 

“It’s great to run against her, because she’s the best,” Duffy said of her rival. “You know the closer you get to her, the better you are.” 

The meet got an unexpected jolt from Berkeley’s Stephan Brooks in the 400. Brooks, who didn’t qualify at the regional meet, got a spot at the MOC when teammate Anthony Washington scratched from the event with an injury. Brooks took advantage, coming from third place to the front in the last 100 meters to win in 49.33 seconds. 

“I didn’t really think I had a chance to win today, but I saw the other runners die in the last 50 yards,” Brooks said. “I was surprised I had so much energy left. I’m just glad I had the chance to run.”

Megan Black performs a Kathak dance accompanied by Ross Kent and Paul Sihon during the Himalayan Fair yesterday at Live Oak Park. The performance was part of the two-day festival, now in its 18th year. The fair usually takes place the weekend before Memorial Day, but dance organizer Katherine Kunhiraman said it was delayed because of the Dalai Lama’s recent visit. “We offered a thing to do on Memorial Day weekend rather than just a beer party,”  

Kunhiraman said. “A lot of people just wander into it who know nothing about India and they come away just smitten by how diverse and intricate the art forms are.”

Cal’s run through the NCAA Regionals came to an end Saturday night as the Bears were defeated by VCU, 11-2. The loss eliminated the Bears from the Southeast Regional at Alex Box Stadium.  

The start of Saturday’s final game was delayed almost two hours due to rain and lightning around Baton Rouge. The aftermath left a muggy, still air on the field of play.  

After enjoying solid pitching and potent hitting in the first two games of the series, the Bears were abandoned by both in Saturday night’s game. Starter Brian Montalbo (4-1) surrendered five runs on four hits in just two and two-thirds of an inning. More importantly, the freshman walked four batters and threw two wild pitches in his time on the mound.  

The game began with much promise for the Bears when Rob Meyer crushed a Marc Fisher fastball over the leftfield bleachers with two out in the first. Meyer’s blast staked the Bears to a 1-0 lead, and it seemed that the Bears would continue their momentum from their victory over Minnesota earlier that morning.  

Montalbo, however, could not find the strike zone, and the Rams took advantage. VCU tied the score in the second and broke the game open in the third.  

Montalbo, after loading the bases on two walks and a single, surrendered a bases-loaded single to Danny Lopaze, plating two runs and giving VCU the 3-1 lead. Kevin Elrod then tripled in two more off of reliever Andrew Sproul, pushing the lead to 5-1 and further dimming Cal’s hopes. Even freshman closer Matt Brown, brought in to stop the VCU attack, could not find the strike zone: Brown surrendered three more runs in the fourth, a rally keyed by his walking the bases loaded. Cal pitchers walked nine batters on the evening; seven of those baserunners came around to score. 

Meanwhile, the Bears’ normally strong offense was non-existent against Fisher and the Rams. Fisher set a new career-high with 14 strikeouts, while pitching a complete game for the Rams. The Bears finish their season 34-25 on the season; VCU goes on to face LSU in the championship game.  

The season finale was in direct contrast to Cal’s first game of the day. Meyer smashed two home runs and drove in four as the Bears defeated Minnesota, 9-3, in the NCAA Southeast Regional in Baton Rouge. Hoover also homered and drove in four. 

The Bears got their offense rolling early against Minnesota (39-21). Ben Conley led off with a walk against Gopher starter Ben Birk (2-3). After Conor Jackson struck out, Meyer lifted a Birk fastball over the right field fence for a 2-0 Bears lead.  

“I sliced it, and it just got up in the wind,” said Meyer.  

The Bears were not finished in the first. With two outs, Carson White singled up the middle, ending the day for Birk and setting the stage for Hoover. Hoover then smashed a C.J. Woodrow fastball over the center field fence for a two-run homerun, giving Cal the 4-0 lead.  

Bears’ lefty Jason Dennis (5-3) allowed a two-run homerun to Gopher first baseman Josh Holthaus in the bottom of the first, then settled in to blank the Gophers for the next four innings. David Cash finished the final three and two-thirds innings for his fourth save. 

The Bears pounded Gopher pitching for 16 hits on the afternoon; their second double-digit hit total of the regionals. 

For the tournament, Brian Horwitz collected seven hits in the regional. Rob Meyer made a strong bid for the all-region team; he finished with 6 hits in 12 at-bats, pounding three homeruns and driving in seven. John Baker had five hits in the regional; he ends the season on a 12-game hit streak.

Last week, the State Water Resources Control Board awarded a $200,000 grant to the Urban Creeks Council to restore fish habitat in Codornices Creek — described by many as one of Berkeley’s most precious natural treasures. 

The creek is more than four miles long, and runs from the Berkeley hills through Codornices Park, the Rose Garden, Live Oak Park, and Harrison Park all the way to the San Francisco Bay. The lower part of Codornices Creek is Albany’s southern border. 

During the rapid development of the last century, many of Berkeley’s creeks were buried in culverts to provide space on which to build. Having survived with only five significant underground sections, Codornices Creek is considered the most free flowing of the city’s natural streams. It is also a delicate spawning and rearing habitat for endangered Steelhead. 

Disrupted streams have reduced the region’s Steelhead population so much in recent years that the National Marine Fisheries Services has listed the fish as an endangered species. Regulations have been developed to protect its “critical habitat,” which includes Alameda County. For more than 15 years, volunteers have worked to restore habitat in Codornices Creek, carefully tending the surrounding environment. Local fish scientists say the efforts have paid off. 

In March of last year, members of the citizens’ group Friends of Five Creeks, along with UC Berkeley biologist Tom Dudley, officially confirmed what many locals had already suspected — the presence of young Oncorhynchus mykiss, or Steelhead, in Codornices Creek. In the “fingerling stage” of youth, the fish is indistinguishable from a Rainbow Trout. Only if it goes to sea and returns will it become a Steelhead. 

The Proposition 13-funded grant, approved last Monday, will begin the “Codornices Creek Watershed Restoration Action Plan” as well as facilitating a comprehensive assessment of the creek’s Steelhead habitat to restore it to full health. Proposition 13, passed by voters in March 2000, authorized the state to sell $1.97 in general obligation bonds for water quality and reliability projects throughout California. The local grant will be used for a publicity campaign, preliminary engineering and cost estimates, water sample analysis and compensation for the many people involved with the project. Partners will include the Urban Creeks Council, local water quality restoration expert Bob Coats, Sausalito-based fish scientist Bill Kier, and researchers from UC Berkeley’s Department of Integrative Biology. 

Assemblywoman Dion Aroner, D-Berkeley, a creek restoration advocate, approved of last week’s announcement.  

“I’m pleased to see these funds flowing to such a vital project in our community,” Aroner said. “Congratulations to the Urban Creeks Council for the opportunity to continue their good work in restoring creeks to their natural beauty and providing urban environments where wildlife and humans can co-exist and flourish.” 

In that regard, the project represents an unusual test case and carries high hopes for its participants. 

“If these guys can pull this off, maybe we can get a model,” he said. “There’s a lot of wilderness models. We’re very short on how to do it in the urban settings.” 

Kier, who was born in Berkeley and has 40 years of fish barrier modification experience, recalled the creek’s history.  

“It has, in its day, literally been a sewer. When I was a kid and you used to drive by, you would instinctively roll up your windows,” he said. “A self-sustaining population of Steelhead? That excites me ... being right in the middle of a highly developed urban area.” 

Though pollution is no longer so severe, it remains one of many variables in the health of this sensitive ecosystem. An accessible migration path requires the shade overhanging vegetation provides, cooler water temperatures, deep pools, freedom from disturbance, and, of course, good quality water. Necessary intervention might include curtailing erosion, remediating extra water from heavy storms, reshaping portions of the creek bed to make it more maneuverable for the fish and “daylighting” the creek’s remaining underground sections — a task the city has endorsed. 

“Outreach is going to be a huge component of it,” Kier said. “Making sure people know all about the project all the time. We want them to be comfortable with what we’re trying to do here. The landowners hold the hammer. They’re the ones that are going to let us into their back yards or not.” 

Some new residents have appealed to Friends of Five Creeks for guidance shortly after moving in, according to Susan Schwartz, the organization’s president.  

“Many homeowners have been doing a wonderful job of keeping the creek,” Schwartz said. 

Schwartz hopes for an eventual creek-side trail, linking Tilden Regional Park with the bay. Schwartz cited a recommendation of Frederick Law Olmstead, the so-called “father of landscape architecture,” whose credentials as an expert in balancing urban and natural environments can be found in some of the nation’s most famous landscapes, including New York’s Central Park and the UC Berkeley campus. 

But first things first. The grant agreement will be signed this summer. Kier said $200,000 was the maximum amount, and that this project was rated very high.  

“We got cash and we got experts,” he said. “Codornices Creek is going to have its day.”

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Hours after eliminating the Michigan Wolverines from the Women’s College World Series, 5-2, the California Golden Bears were themselves eliminated by their Pac-10 rival the Stanford Cardinal, 1-0, at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium Saturday night.  

Senior Nicole DiSalvio and junior Jocelyn Forest combined to one-hit the Cardinal, but DiSalvio came away with the loss, as the Bears finished the 2001 season with a school-record 54 wins with only 18 losses. Stanford advances to take on the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats tomorrow at noon.  

Cal threatened to take the early lead in the first after it strung together a walk and two singles to load the bases, but a two-out ground out to second by sophomore Eryn Manahan ended the rally.  

The Cardinal took the lead for good in its half of the second. With Jessica Draemel on second after pinch running for Jessica Alliseter and advancing on a sacrifice bunt, Michelle Thiry grounded a ball with two outs to senior Paige Bowie at shortstop. Bowie failed to come up with the ball, allowing Draemel to score, giving Stanford the only run it would need.  

Sophomore Veronica Nelson singled to left center in the fourth and senior Amber Phillips got a base hit in the fifth, but the Bears could not put anything else together to pose a threat.  

Junior Candace Harper and Manahan had to only other hits for the Bears.  

DiSalvio gave up a leadoff single to Robin Walker in the first inning and went the next 2 1/3 innings of no-hit ball while allowing two walks. She took the unfortunate loss, ending the year with an impressive 21-8 record. Forest came in in the third with a runner on first and allowed just one runner to reach base on a fielder’s choice the rest of the game. She finished the game with four strikeouts.  

Stanford’s Dana Sorensen earned the win to improve to 27-5 after pitching the first five innings of four-hit softball. She struck out three and walked one.

Hubcap shooter gets 40 years in prison 

OAKLAND – An Oakland man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for shooting and killing a man for swiping the hubcaps off his car. 

Quincy Darnell Robertson was convicted of killing Khinde Riley two days before Christmas in December 1998. Another man, Ricky Harris, was hit in the foot with a bullet while trying to escape. 

Prosecutor Jim Panetta had offered Robertson a plea bargain for 25 years in jail, but Robertson opted for a trial. 

Robertson’s attorney argued he did not mean to hurt anyone, but he instead fired the gun to scare the men away from his car. 

Robertson is considering appealing his conviction. 

Oakland skydiver plummets to death  

LODI – A veteran skydiver died after jumping out of an airplane with a group of friends. 

Dan Scary, 52, of Oakland may have experienced a health problem while in the air Saturday. He and others were forming a circle, and Scary was holding a friend’s wrist when his grip reportedly got weaker, said San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Herrera. 

Scary’s parachute opened correctly, but it was unknown whether he was able to control it. He landed between some trees in a private back yard near Lodi and was pronounced dead at UC Davis Medical Center, Herrera said. 

Scary had a history of hypertension and diabetes. 

Californians could keep cars in driveway 

SAN FRANCISCO – A new poll says Californians plan to leave their cars parked if gas prices continue to swell. 

A Field Poll released Sunday found that 36 percent say they’ll be forced to reduce the driving a lot, while 33 percent say they’ll cut it some. 

But that doesn’t mean Californians are practicing what they’re preaching: The American Automobile Association says they’ll be more motorists on the road this Memorial Day weekend, than last year. All that despite soaring prices at the pump. 

AAA estimates that 4.2 million Californians are on the road this weekend. 

The poll says that 76 percent polled found the current gas situation very serious. That number jumped to 86 percent if gas prices were to rise to three dollars or more a gallon this summer. 

Health workers using chickens to find ills 

SAN JOSE – Public health workers are preparing to test for diseases transmitted by mosquitoes by monitoring birds. 

Sentinel chickens are put out in many California counties and are regularly tested for diseases, such as West Vile virus, St. Louis encephalitis and Western equine encephalomyelitis. There have been no reports of these diseases this year. 

“If West Nile gets here, our sentinel system is going to know about it very quickly,” said epidemiologist William C. Reeves, a former dean of the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley. 

The virus is carried by wild birds, which can be bitten by mosquitoes and later transmitted to humans. The disease can be mild, but in some cases has caused a fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. 

The first American case of West Nile virus was seen in New York in 1999. Since then, it has been detected as far north as New Hampshire and as far south as North Carolina. 

Fire damages Stanford 

STANFORD – An early morning fire Saturday caused extensive damage to a building on the campus of Stanford University. 

The fire broke out about 1 a.m. in the Career Planning and Placement Center. Firefighters from about 10 departments responded and had the blaze under control by 3 a.m., said Stanford Police Dept. Sgt. David Lee. 

There were no injuries reported and the fire was contained to one building. Officials say the incident is under investigation, and an estimate for the amount of damage was not available. About half of the one-story building was damaged, Lee said. 

Suspects accused of stealing from Caltrain vending machines 

REDWOOD CITY – Two men have been arrested on suspicion of stealing about $6,000 from Caltrain ticket vending machines. 

Yomo Kenyatta Shaw of San Francisco and Ronald Kieth Lejender of Oakland were arrested after police spotted them scoping out a ticket machine at the Hayward Park Caltrain station. 

They didn’t take anything from the machine, but police followed them and pulled them over. The police searched their car and found pry bars and other tools inside. 

Victims families put experience to use 

EUREKA – Family members of those slain near Yosemite National Park in 1999 are using the skills they learned during the tragedy to help the parents of a Modesto intern missing from her Washington, D.C. apartment. 

Francis and Carole Carrington’s daughter, granddaughter and family friend were found murdered a month after they disappeared while vacationing near the park. Former motel handyman Cary Stayner confessed to murdering them in July 1999. 

But the Carringtons learned a lot of skills from that ordeal. The couple recently flew to Washington, D.C. to help the parents of 24-year-old Chandra Levy in their search. The woman disappeared April 30.

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Eternal flames honoring veterans across California are burning through money these days as the price of natural gas soars during the state’s energy crisis. 

A number of veterans groups are worried that the flames will be dimmed to save money, even though cemetery and city officials mostly shrug off the increasing costs. 

Compared to last year, it costs twice as much to fuel the flame at Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside, a mortuary and crematory in this military town on the outskirts of the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base. 

“It is a tremendous expense,” said mortuary manager Ralph Gault. 

The facility’s gas bill, which includes the cost of running the crematory, jumped from about $2,400 in March 2000 to nearly $4,800 last March. Eternal Hills explored raising prices to help pay energy bills but backed off when federal regulators said a surcharge could not be applied. 

General manager George Hubbard said it still is a small price to pay for the flame, which is surrounded by flags and granite slabs bearing the names of local veterans from all branches of the military. 

“It’s something I feel you do no matter what,” he said. “So the flame costs more. We eat it.” 

California is seeing some of the nation’s highest natural gas prices this year. The state’s electricity shortage has forced natural gas-fired power plants to run full blast to keep the lights on. 

Gas prices are up around the country. But at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, there has not been a significant increase in the $200 monthly cost of running the eternal flame that burns at the grave of President John F. Kennedy, said Barbara Owens, spokeswoman for the cemetery. 

Washington Gas Co. said the cemetery is charged a fixed rate and uses the same amount of gas each month. 

By comparison, it costs about $800 a month to fuel the eternal flame at a soldier’s monument in Pico Rivera, 10 miles southeast of Los Angeles. 

The cost has more than doubled from a year ago, said Dale Sampson, president of the Pico Rivera Veterans Council. Local veterans split the cost with the city. 

No one has threatened to shut off the flame, but Sampson is concerned that the hours it burns might be cut back to save money. 

“It should be lit every day, because they fought every day,” said Sampson, who served in the Air Force in the early 1960s. 

Sampson has asked the city to follow the lead of nearby communities La Mirada and Montebello and pick up the entire cost of the eternal flame. 

However, the Pico Rivera City Council will only assume the cost if the flame is lowered or burns only on certain days, said Councilman Gregory Salcido. 

Salcido said he was on the “lonely side” of a 4-1 vote against picking up the full tab and is trying to line up corporate sponsors to help. 

La Mirada City Manager Greg Sloan said he would rather cut city spending on dinners, meetings and junkets than dim the flame that has burned for more than 20 years in an alcove near City Hall in honor of local residents who died in combat. 

“We do not care about the gas costs,” Sloan said. “There were a lot of La Mirada residents that were killed, and it’s a way of remembering their names and thanking their families and keeping the names in our hearts.” 

WASHINGTON – Presidential candidate George W. Bush prided himself on visiting California at least once a month in the heat of last year’s campaign. As president he has waited more than four months to visit the largest state. 

Bush lost California decisively in November, and it remains hostile territory. When he returns to the Democratic stronghold Monday night, he will face protests, negative TV and radio ads, polls questioning his leadership, and an electricity crisis for which his energy strategy offers little relief. 

He will meet Tuesday with Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, who has relentlessly attacked him for not capping wholesale power prices — and will almost certainly resume doing so when Bush again refuses. 

Bush is seeking to highlight his engagement in the energy issue at a time when most Californians disapprove of his approach. 

A Field Poll released last week showed 54 percent of Californians rated Bush’s handling of the state’s energy situation as poor or very poor; 38 percent viewed Davis that way. 

“He could go a long way toward diminishing the hostility in California toward his administration on the energy issue,” said Bruce Cain, a political scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. 

“But that requires he do something other than schmooze people,” Cain said. “There’s got to be some sort of special action on the part of the government.” Specifically, he must grant the price caps, he said. 

Vice President Dick Cheney again rejected such limits on Friday. “We think that’s a mistake,” he said. 

As it happens, Bush’s Tuesday appearances coincide with the start of limited new price caps in California. The independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission capped wholesale prices when electricity reserves fall below 7.5 percent in the state — a step Davis called inadequate, and Bush opposed. 

Bush will emphasize other means of addressing the crisis, visiting the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton, near San Diego, on Tuesday to remind listeners of his order that military facilities in the state cut peak-hour usage by one-tenth. 

After delivering a trade speech to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, Bush will host a roundtable of business leaders and entrepreneurs. On the agenda will be high-tech answers to the energy problem, such as electronic meters that help consumers and businesses track their power consumption. 

The meeting with Davis carries considerable risks for Bush, but Bush advisers said they concluded that drawing criticism from Davis would be less damaging than refusing to meet altogether. 

The meeting also helps Bush bolster his bipartisan image, which was tarnished by the defection from the GOP of Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont. 

White House aides scrambled last week to avert a scenario in which Davis is left to level fresh, unanswered assaults on Bush after the meeting. 

“He could become a foil for Davis, and Davis needs it,” said Samuel Kernell, a scholar on the presidency at the University of California, San Diego. 

Countering Davis is particularly urgent because the Bush administration views Davis as a potential White House contender in 2004. 

Wednesday, Bush looks to underline his commitment to the environment with a trip to Sequoia National Park, home to some of the world’s largest trees. 

He’ll point to his plan to spend the full amount of money that Congress authorizes for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was created in 1965 to buy federal and state lands with revenues from offshore oil and gas production in federal waters. 

Congress has rarely appropriated the full $900 million authorized for it annually since 1978. Just $90.3 million was appropriated in 2001 for state grants. 

President Clinton had visited California twice by this point in his presidency, but his broader strategy mirrored Bush’s: He was shoring up critical base states, just as Bush has done with early visits to states he won last year. Bush has visited 28 states, most of which he carried in November. 

Clinton won California twice; Bush lost it by 12 points last year to Al Gore.

EL CERRITO – Hers weighs 650 pounds, his weighs 1,300 pounds, but when it comes to a competition between two giant balls of bras, does size really matter? 

San Francisco Bay area artists Emily Duffy and Ron Nicolino are more concerned with copyrights than cup size and cleavage. They’ve each retained lawyers and traded threatening letters as they brawl over who owns the concept. 

Meanwhile, their balls keep growing — huge spheres of lace, silk, padding and underwire bras of all colors, shapes and sizes. 

Nicolino — he wants to be known only as Nicolino — has used 14,000 bras from an abandoned project to hook them across the Grand Canyon. Now he’s pulling his ball to Los Angeles behind his 1963 flamingo pink Cadillac, looking for someone to sponsor a worldwide tour and eventually, a showcase where people can continue to build the ball by hooking on their own bras. 

“I think it’s a major important part of American art,” Nicolino said while displaying the 5-foot-wide “Big Giant Bra Ball” in San Francisco. “It’s making commentary as it’s driving along. It’s about making dialogue about body image.” 

Duffy, who says Nicolino stole her idea, says his roadside attraction is really about exploiting women. 

“The only reason I’m doing this is that I just don’t want it to be another case of a man getting one over on a woman,” Duffy said. 

Both balls keep growing, through spontaneous donation. 

Sandy Brychta of San Francisco marched right up to Nicolino’s ball at Pier 23, unbuttoned her jacket and stripped off a lacy beige number. She hooked it on, then walked off with her head held high. 

“They dared me, and I have been known as a person who accepts a challenge,” Brychta said, laughing with her friends. “This is probably the only way anyone’s going to see my bra since I don’t have a man in my life.” 

Nicolino, of Point Richmond, acknowledges that Duffy came up with the idea. He says they were going to collaborate, but he dropped her when she proposed using only some of the bras and sealing them with silicone, which he sees as demoralizing to women. 

Duffy, of El Cerrito, says Nicolino has got it all wrong. 

After he publicly offered to give the bras away last fall, she agreed to take some to decorate her Vain Van, a minivan festooned with black bras, Barbie doll busts, high-heeled shoes, curlers and a pink steering wheel that says “Princess.” 

When he told her to take all or nothing, Duffy proposed the bra ball idea. Shortly thereafter, he said he wanted to do the project alone. 

In protest, Duffy quickly sent for a copyright and launched a mass e-mail to her women friends, requesting their bras to build her own “BraBall.” 

Now it’s 5,850 bras thick and about 3 1/2 feet in diameter. There are well-worn bras from prostitutes, milk-stained nursing bras, furry bras and plain ones of all sizes, from training bras on up to 44PS (each cup seems big enough to double as a hat.) 

Both conceptual artists seem to have a thing for women’s underwear. Duffy, a former fashion designer, has created a series of collages and prints involving bras and thongs. Nicolino once used bras in a replica of the Statue of Liberty. 

As an incest survivor, Duffy sees herself as a strong feminist, but she never expected her e-mail would link thousands of other angry women’s bra straps together worldwide. She eventually wants to show the sculpture in galleries and donate it to a permanent home in a museum or the lobby of a women’s nonprofit organization. 

“It’s a monument to the average American woman who is so strong, and yet no one talks about that,” Duffy said. “She is solid in a very dense way — the way the ball is. Women hold this world together.” 

Duffy’s e-mail, which is still being forwarded, often prompts letters of support from the bra-senders, which include men, too, some of whom have lost family members to breast cancer. 

But no men, not even Duffy’s husband, are allowed to work on her BraBall. 

“For centuries, men have been using women’s bodies to make art,” she said. “This is a monument to us.”

SAN DIEGO – Joan Conrad wasn’t going to let blackouts stop her and 13 high school seniors in her charge from seeing California. 

“I was ready to bring a flashlight,” the Illinois resident said at Lindbergh Field as she rounded up teen-agers for the flight home after an eight-day tour. 

But, Conrad added, if the trip had come in summer she might have chosen a destination with a more stable power supply. 

“It did give me a second thought,” she said. 

Such sentiments have California tourism officials worrying about the impact on the $75.4 billion industry. 

“California’s energy crisis hangs over the state’s tourism industry like a dark cloud,” according to a report from the California Chamber of Commerce. 

“Our business is gravely threatened by the specter of rolling blackouts and unreliable energy supplies,” said Samuel Woodfin, who operates Woodfin Suite Hotels, a national chain with properties in seven California cities. “The effect on our state’s business environment will be devastating — starting this summer.” 

Hotels are already seeing a drop in business. 

A survey of 4,400 California hotels by Smith Travel Research indicated that occupancy rates dropped 2.7 percent in March, the latest month for which figures were available. The San Francisco area has seen the steepest decline, falling 11.2 percent during the first three months of this year. 

However Laurie Armstrong, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, attributed the decline to the softening high-tech economy in Silicon Valley. It follows a banner year that she described as “kind of a 100-year flood in terms of tourism.” 

Of 164 small hotels and chains surveyed by the California Lodging Industry Association, 28 percent said they already have lost business due to the power crisis and concerns about blackouts, said Rick Lawrance, the organization’s president. 

Almost all hotels surveyed said their electricity costs had increased an average of 50 percent and now account for 10 percent of total operating costs. Many hotels have added fees ranging from $1 to $4 to nightly room rates to help cover those costs. 

Theme parks are also feeling the heat. 

Disneyland, Sea World and Universal Studios Hollywood — the state’s top three attractions with a combined 22.7 million visits last year — all face threats of power outages this summer, according to representatives of those parks and power officials. 

Like most hotels, they insist that safety procedures and backup generators will ensure the safety of visitors. The parks would likely get a warning from power providers before blackouts begin, and signs would go up alerting visitors about ride closures and other problems, tourism officials said. 

Disneyland, the state’s No. 1 attraction, draws its power from Anaheim’s municipal utility, which has a more stable supply than Southern California Edison, according to Chula Castano-Lenahan, a Disneyland spokeswoman. 

For the first time in five years, Disneyland will be hosting its Electrical Parade. But the illuminated nighttime extravaganza will draw its energy from rechargeable batteries. 

Meanwhile, lobbyists for Universal are trying to have the theme park added to state legislation that would allow it to draw electricity from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which doesn’t expect to be plagued by outages this summer. Edison is Universal’s current supplier. 

In exchange for immunity from blackouts, Paramount’s Great America amusement park in Santa Clara will voluntarily reduce power by up to 10 percent when asked by its utility, Silicon Valley Power. Under the plan, rides will remain open but the park will shut off decorative fountains and lighting along with some air conditioning. 

“We consider ourselves extremely fortunate,” said Timothy Chanaud, a park spokesman. “That peace of mind we can offer guests is really exceptional.”

NEWPORT BEACH – State Attorney General Bill Lockyer said Saturday he favors making public the details of power contracts the state has negotiated in secret with generators. 

“In my mind at least, and as a matter of philosophy, the expenditures are so extraordinary, the issues are so important, that the contracts, I think, need to be made public,” he said at the annual meeting of the National Freedom of Information Coalition. 

The remarks came amid criticisms from Republicans and journalists who disagree with Gov. Gray Davis’ refusal thus far to release the price the state is paying for long-term contracts with power generators and wholesalers. Davis has announced the signing of contracts with the California Department of Water Resources, which is spending billions each month buying power for the state’s cash-strapped utilities. 

The Associated Press and several newspapers sued Davis, saying his refusal to release details of the state’s electricity purchases violates the California Public Records Act. The lawsuit says Davis’ refusal to make public details of the power contracts means the public cannot determine if the state is doing a good job in spending billions in tax dollars. 

As the state’s attorney general, Lockyer is required to defend the state in that lawsuit. Lockyer said Saturday his duty is to represent his client, in this case the state, regardless of his own opinion. 

Davis has said he needs to keep the details secret to protect future negotiations. 

There have been some disagreements among the governor’s advisers, including himself, Lockyer said, as to how long Davis is entitled to keep the contracts secret. 

“The law allows for temporary nondisclosure when there would be public injury that is substantial,” Lockyer said. “The governor’s energy advisers claim that when contracts haven’t been signed or fully executed, that the company might withdraw or change their demands if they knew what their competitors were getting and that it would affect the costs of the power contracts in the future. 

“I think that’s a legitimate claim. The problem is balancing that against the public interest in knowing how the money is being spent, whether it is prudent. The law allows for that balancing. It doesn’t allow it for a long time.” 

“We’ve explained he may have some short-term ability to keep them secret, but he can’t for very much longer,” Lockyer said. 

Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio said he didn’t know what Lockyer was referring to when he said some of the governor’s advisors had disagreed with Davis’ decision. The governor had planned to release details of the contracts six months after they were signed, which means details on some will be released soon, Maviglio said.

In contrast to the usual mayoral State of the City address, a group of elected officials, city commissioners and activists will present the first ever “People’s State of the City” on Tuesday. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington said the address will take the form of a community celebration that will present visions of the city from a variety of perspectives. Topics will include housing, education, the environment and disabled issues. 

A flier for the event invites the public to “enjoy food from the four corners of the world.” There will also be musical presentations by local jazz performer Gwen Avery and The Nancys, a group of women with the given name Nancy, who will be singing in public for the first and possibly only time. 

Worthington said the event is not designed to be a direct counter to Mayor Shirley Dean’s May 1 State of the City address. 

“We’re very explicitly not about politics or feuding,” Worthington said. “It’s an attempt to provide a positive vision of the future for the whole community.” In Dean’s address she touted the success of her six-and-a-half years in office and outlined her vision of Berkeley’s future, which included new housing, solar energy and a controversial plan to build a 500-car garage under Civic Center Park.  

Dean also called for an end to the non-productive bickering that often breaks out between progressive and moderate councilmembers. 

Speakers at the Tuesday event will include former Councilmember Nancy Skinner, Rent Stabilization Commissioner Max Anderson and State Administrative Law Judge Frederico Chavez. 

Chavez said he will address the hopes and aspirations of the city’s burgeoning Latino population. “We are getting to be close to a third of the population statewide and we are relegated to low-paying jobs and substandard and dilapidated  

housing,” said Chavez, nephew to United Farm Worker founder Cesar Chavez. 

Anderson said he will address the needs of tenants who are in danger of losing their housing to owner move-ins. “We are going to pursue the vigorous implementation of protections for the most vulnerable tenants,” he said. “We are also going to coordinate with other city departments and landlords to see that the habitability of units under rent control is as high as it can be.” 

Dean was upbeat about the event. “It sounds like it should be interesting. I’m anxious to hear what they have to say,” she said. 

For more information on the event call 981-7170. 

The People’s State of the City will begin at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. It will be televised on B-TV Channel 25 and broadcast on KPFB 89.3 fm. 

Saturday, May 26

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

Himalayan Fair 

10 a.m. - 7 p.m.  

Live Oak Park  

1300 Shattuck Ave.  

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 

869-3995 www.himalayanfair.net  

Chocolate and Chalk Art  

Festival 

9 a.m. 

Registration at Peralta Park 

1561 Solano Ave. 

Areas of sidewalk will be assigned to participants to create their own sidewalk art. People who find all five of the chocolate kisses chalked onto Solano Ave. can enter raffle for cash prize. Chocolate Menu available listing various items for various chocolate items for sale from Solano businesses. Dog fashion show at Solano Ave. and Key Route in Albany at 2 p.m. Free. 527-5358 

Sunday, May 27

Himalayan Fair 

10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.  

Live Oak Park  

1300 Shattuck Ave.  

$5 donation 869-3995 www.himalayanfair.net 

Getting Calm; Staying Clear 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Discussion of meditation and analysis. Free and open to the public. 843-6812  

Inside Interior Design  

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar led by certified interior designer and artist Lori Inman.  

$35 per person 525-7610 

Monday, May 28

Shavuot Ice Cream Party 

11 a.m. 

Berkeley Hillel 

2736 Bancroft Way 

Come hear the ten commandments. 540-5824 

Tuesday, May 29

People’s State of the City  

Address 

7:00 p.m. 

City Council Chambers 

2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

This community meeting will focus on housing, jobs, education, and disability and senior issues in the city of Berkeley. Food will be provided. Free. 

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 

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 

The Lois Club Meeting 

12 noon or 6 p.m. 

Venizia Caffe and Bistro 

1799 University Ave. 

Social gathering for people whose names are Lois. National organization, local chapter now has 75 members. Open to Loises and their guests. Join the club for lunch or dinner.  

848-6254  

2001 West Coast Economic  

Human Rights Hearings 

5:30 - 9 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Oakland 

27th and Harrison, Oakland 

Join State and U.S. Congress members and local policy makers at a special dinner to highlight the issue of economic human rights. Testimonials from people in poverty will be presented as part of this effort to push economic human rights to the front of a national policy agenda. Free and open to the public. 

649-1930 

Wednesday, May 30

Dream Home for a Song  

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar conducted by author/contractor/owner-builder David Cook.  

$35 per person  

525-7610  

Thursday, May 31

Backpacking in Northern CA.  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Outdoors Unlimited’s director, Ari Derfel, will give a slide presentation on some of his favorite destinations for three-to-four-day backpacking vacations. Free 527-4140  

League of Women Voters’ Dinner and Meeting 

5:30 - 9 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church 

941 The Alameda 

Featuring speaker Brenda Harbin-Forte, presiding judge of the Alameda County Juvenile Court on “What’s happening with Alameda County children in the juvenile justice system after Prop. 21?” $10 to reserve buffet supper. May bring own meal or come only for meeting/speaker.  

843-8824  

Friday, June 1

Free Writing, Cashiering  

& Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

Free classes Stop by and register or call 548-6700. www.ajob.org 

— Compiled by  

Sabrina Forkish

Political vacuum at center – Jim Jeffords’ defection portends birth of new party 

By Andrew Reding 

Pacific News Service 

Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords’ defection is about a lot more than control of the Senate. 

It is the most recent sign of two extraordinarily significant trends in American politics. One is a sharp regional polarization. The other is growing dissatisfaction with the American two-party system. 

Not since the years before the Civil War has this pair of trends been so prominent. Once again, the split is largely between north and south. And, though there is no sign of a new civil war, we appear to be headed for a period of political turmoil and stridency. 

As in the 1850s, social issues are the prime causes of polarization. Back then it was slavery that divided the states. Now it is the role of religion in public life, as expressed in conflicts over abortion, school vouchers, and prayer in public schools. 

The Republican Party once led the fight against slavery. Now it leads a different kind of moral crusade, to convert the United States into something of a Christian republic. 

Nothing so divides a society as efforts to prescribe moral or religious norms, as the daily tragedy of the Middle East demonstrates. Western Europe, where religious passion is at an all-time low, is enjoying unprecedented peace and civility. 

Not so the United States, where the rise of the religious right is upsetting the workings of the two-party system. 

Here’s the dilemma. The religious right is a minority in the United States, and has little chance of becoming a majority in an increasingly multicultural nation. Yet it has gained effective control of the Republican Party, which holds power in the White House and – at least until Jeffords’ defection – in both houses of Congress. 

All this splits the country geographically as well. Multicultural California, once seen as part of an emerging conservative sunbelt, has become a Democratic bastion. So have New England, the northern Midwest, and the prairie populist states – once the safest strongholds of Republicanism. 

The more culturally homogeneous Southern and Rocky Mountain states have become bulwarks of the Republican Party, as has the southern Midwest. 

The line dividing the two Americas is sharply drawn. 

In this climate of polarization, Jeffords is unlikely to be the last to switch sides. He is certainly not the first – Senators Shelby of Alabama, Gramm of Texas, and Campbell of Colorado earlier switched to the Republican side. 

Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island is no doubt weighing his options, as is Democratic Senator Zell Miller of Georgia. It is simply becoming difficult if not untenable to survive as a Democrat in the south or as a Republican in the Pacific and northern states. 

This has little to do with the traditional liberal-conservative divide. Barry Goldwater, long the epitome of American conservatism, decried the rise of the religious right in the Republican Party, saying it undermined individual freedoms. 

A political void has opened between the two major parties, similar to the one that opened between the Democrats and the Whigs in the 1850s. Back then, that led to the birth of the Republican Party. History may be about to repeat itself. 

It is significant that Jeffords did not switch parties. He became an independent. That, too, reflects a trend, particularly in the north. Vermont’s lone member of the House is an independent, as are the governors of Maine and Minnesota. Some 42 percent of New Englanders described themselves as independents in exit polls last November, comfortably outstripping Democrats and Republicans. 

Absent reform in the two parties, independents will sooner or later coalesce into a new party offering what most independents want and no party now offers – fiscally conservative, liberal on social issues and personal freedoms. Such a party is sorely needed to fill the vacuum in the center formed by the polarization of American politics, and ease the threat to our nation’s tranquillity. 

Pacific News Service associate editor Andrew Reding directs the Americas Project of the World Policy Institute, where he is senior fellow for hemispheric affairs. 

Californians want clean energy  

The Daily Planet received the following letter addressed to Gov. Gray Davis: 

A recent Field Poll shows a sharp decline in support for your work. Californians do not want increased pollution as a consequence of the energy supply solution. We do not want state policy dictated by the fossil fuel energy suppliers. 

We want clean, renewable energy that will guarantee future freedom from the out-of-state oil and gas suppliers who have wreaked havoc on the state’s economy as well as to the budgets of individual ratepayers. 

Please save your future and ours by moving expeditiously to support development of solar, wind, bioenergy and conservation. These sources are both the cheapest and the quickest solution. Governor Jerry Brown and State Architect Sim van der Ryn showed the way. 

C. M. Woodcock 

Berkeley 

Height limits drives up auto use 

Editor: 

I was amused by Martha Nicoloff’s claim that her initiative to limit new housing would mean “a more pleasant environment for students to study here.” (May 25) 

The students do not have time to enjoy the environment because they cannot find housing in Berkeley. Many of them have no choice but to drive long distances, congesting Berkeley’s streets and spewing greenhouse gasses into the air.  

The smart-growth movement has spread the idea that, in order to reduce sprawl and automobile dependency, we should build infill housing to create compact transit- and pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods. I would call Nicoloff’s plan “the dumb-growth initiative.” 

Charles Siegel 

Berkeley 

Promote policies of conservation 

The Berkeley Daily Planet received this letter addressed to Senator Boxer: 

This note is about the energy plan of the brave new administration: 1,000 new power plants including nuclear suggested. I’m not at all convinced the administration is deeply concerned about the seriousness of environmental problems; nuclear-industry problems remain legendary and numerous. 

Promoting consumerism rather than conservatism seems, as usual, the central force of the administration. 

Please fight to instill some reality into their dangerous Neanderthal fantasies. 

Terry Cochrell 

Berkeley 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, 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. $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. “Ricky Swallow/Matrix 191,” Including new sculptures and drawings through May 27; “Five Star: the 31st Annual University of California at Berkeley Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition: 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 

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. “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 year membership. All ages. May 26: Honor System, Divit, Enemy You, Eleventeen, Tragedy Andy; June 1: Alkaline Trio, Hotrod Circuit, No Motiv, Dashboard Confessional, Bluejacket; 525-9926  

Ashkenaz May 26: Caribbean All Stars; May 27: Big Brother and the Holding Company; May 29: Andrew Carrier and Cajun Classics; May 30: Fling Ding, Bluegrass Intentions, Leslie Kier and Friends; May 31: Wake the Dead, David Gans 1370 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Freight & Salvage All music at 8 p.m. May 26: Darryl Henriques; May 27: Shana Morrison; May 31: Freight 33rd Anniversary Concert Series: Bob Dylan Song Night and others; June 1: The Riders of the Purple Sage. 1111 Addison St. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jupiter All shows at 8 p.m. May 26: Rhythm Doctors; May 29: The Lost Trio; May 30: Zambambazo 2181 Shattuck Ave 843-8277  

La Peña Cultural Center May 26: 7-9 p.m. in the Cafe Jason Moen Jazz Quartet, 9:30 p.m. Charanga Tumbo y Cuerdas; May 27: 4 p.m. in the cafe La Pena Flamenca; May 28: 7 p.m. Frank Emilio Flynn 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 or www.lapena.org  

Berkeley Lyric Opera Orchestra May 27, 8 p.m. John Kendall Bailey conducting, Ivan Ilic on piano. Works by Bach, Stravinsky, Mozart, Prokofiev. $15 - $20 St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave. 843-5781  

New Millennium Strings Benefit Concert May 26, 8 p.m. Featuring pieces by Weber, Chabrier, Bizet. Benefits Berkeley Food Pantry $7 - $10 University Christian Church 2401 La Conte 526-3331 

Colibri May 26, 11 a.m. Latin American songs and rhythms. West Branch of the Berkeley Public Library 1125 University 649-3964 

Kenny Washington May 27, 4:30 p.m. $6 - $12. Jazzschool/La Note 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 

Jupiter String Quartet May 27, 7:30 p.m. Works by Janacek and Haydn. $8 - $10. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St.  

Benefit for Dolores Huerta June 9, 7 p.m. Come support this legendary local activist while enjoying an eclectic variety of performances. $20 in advance, $25 at the door. La Pena, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568. 

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

“Procession of the Sun and Moon” with Selected Solo Pieces by Maria Lexa May 27, 2 p.m. Full length drama with giant puppets and masked characters accompanied by live music. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 Collage Ave 925-798-1300 

“New Moon at Sinai” May 30, 7 p.m. Music, live puppet theater, shadows and images will take the audience from Egypt to Mount Sinai. Featuring music by Pharaoh’s Daughter and Mozaik and the musical and ritual theater group The Puppet Players. $8 - $12. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 Collage Ave 925-798-1300 

“Conversations In Commedia” May 30, 7:30 p.m. Series continues with Mime Troupe playwright Joan Holden and veteran clown/actor/director/playwright Jeff Raz. $6 - $8. La Pena 3105 Shattuck Ave 849-2568 

“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 

“Planet Janet” Through June 10, Fridays and Saturdays 8 p.m., Sundays 7 p.m. Follows six young urbanites’ struggles in sex and dating. Impact Theatre presentation written by Bret Fetzer, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7 - $12 La Val’s Subterranean Theatre 1834 Euclid 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

“The Misanthrope” by Moliere Through 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. All female design and production staff. $17 - $20 Il Teatro 450 449 Powell St. San Francisco 415-433-1172 or visit www.womenintime.com 

“The Laramie Project” Through July 8, Wed. 7 p.m., Tues. and Thur. -Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Written by Moises Kaufmen and members of Tectonic Theater Project, directed by Moises Kaufman. Moises Kaufman and Tectonic members traveled to Laramie, Wyo., after the murder of openly gay student Matthew Shepherd. The play is about the community and the impact Shaper’s death had on its members. $10 - $50. The Roda Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2015 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

Films 

Pacific Film Archive May 24: 7:00 Sampo; May 25: 7:30 E Flat; May 26: 7:00 Subarnarekha; May 27: 5:30 Stone Flowers. Pacific Film Archive Theater 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

“An Evening of Handmade Films” May 25, 8 p.m. This documentary chronicles the lives of three disabled East African women who designed and built wheelchairs for use on unpaved roads. $5 suggested donation. Fantasy Studios, 2600 10th St. at Parker, 549-2977. 

“Svetlana Village” May 26, 4 p.m. Subtitled “The Camphill Experience in Russia,” details community of organic farmers, nearly half of whom are developmentally disabled. World premiere benefit screening, Q & A with director and a Svetlana resident afterwards. $7-$15 Fine Arts Cinema 2451 Shattuck Ave 

“The Producers” June 10. Revisit this outrageous comedy classic, starring Zero Mostel and written by Mel Brooks. $2 Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

Nomad Videofilm Festival 2001 June 1 10:40p.m. featuring world premieres from four S.F. Bay Area mediamakers: “Roadkill” by Antero Alli, “Forest” by Farhad J. Parsa “Visit” by Jesse Miller, B, “Fell Apart” by Doan La Fine Arts Cinema, 2541 Shattuck Ave. $7 (510) 848-1143/464-4640, pix & details: http://www.verticalpool.com/nomad.html 

“TRAGOS: A Cyber-Noir Witch Hunt” an Antero Alli film June 2, 10:40pm Fine Arts Cinema, 2541 Shattuck Ave. $7 (510) 848-1143/464-4640, pix & details: http://www.verticalpool.com/tragos.html 

Exhibits 

“Scapes/Escapes” Ink, Acrylic, Mixed Media by Evelyn Glaubman Through 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 Through June 9, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth St. 527-1214 www.traywick.com 

Ledger drawings of Michael and Sandra Horse. Exhibit runs through June 18. Gathering Tribes Gallery 1573 Solano Ave. 528-9038 www.gatheringtribes.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. Pacific School of Religion 1798 Scenic Ave. 848-0528 

Tyler James Hoare Sculpture and Collage Through June 27, call for hours. Party June 9, 5-9 p.m. with music by Sauce Piquante. The Albatross Pub 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

“Watershed 2001” Through July 14, Wednesday - Sunday Noon - 5 p.m. Exhibition of painting, drawing, sculpture and installation that explore images and issues about our watershed. Slide presentation on creek restoration and urban design May 31, 7:30 p.m. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893 

Bernard Maisner: Illuminated Manuscripts and 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 through August 24; 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) 

“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 

“Queens of Ethipoia: Intuitive Inspirations,” the exceptional art of Esete-Miriam A. Menkir. June 2 through July 11. Reception with the artist on June 2, 1 - 3 p.m. Women’s Cancer Resource Center Gallery 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 ext 307 

“The Decade of Change: 1900 - 1910” chronicles the transformation of the city of Berkeley in this 10 year period. Thursday through Saturday, 1 - 4 p.m. Berkeley History Center, Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center St. Wheelchair accessible. 848-0181. Free.  

Readings 

Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted May 29: David Harris talks about “Shooting the Moon: The True Story of An American Manhunt Unlike Any Other, Ever”  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533 All events at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise 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 24: Stephanie Young with host Louis Cuneo; May 31: Connie Post with host Louis Cuneo Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

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  

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tours All tours begin at 10 a.m. and are restricted to 30 people per tour $5 - $10 per tour. 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 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute Free Lectures All lectures begin at 6 p.m. 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 

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – After a month of progression, Cal picked the worst time to visit its past. The Bears stranded 13 runners in a frustrating 9-7 loss to Virginia Commonwealth University last night at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge.  

The loss lands the Bears in the loser’s bracket of the Southeast Regional, where they will face Minnesota today. The Golden Gophers lost to LSU in the region’s opening game, 10-9.  

“We stranded a lot of runners, left men on third with less than two outs, and didn’t get the job done,” Cal head coach David Esquer said afterward. “We haven’t done that much in the past month, but it sure happened today.” 

Try as they might, Cal could not deliver the knockout blow to VCU starter Davy Martin. Cal’s leadoff hitters reached base in seven of the nine innings, but were often left there with untimely strikeouts, popups, or double plays.  

VCU opened the scoring in the first inning on catcher Cory Bauswell’s towering two-run homer off of Cal starter Trevor Hutchinson (6-7). Cal answered in the second when Brian Horwitz’s single plated John Baker, cutting the lead to 2-1.  

With the Rams leading 4-1 in the sixth, the Bears’ offense answered back again. Carson White led off with a single to centerfield. After Clint Hoover struck out, Horwitz ripped a double down the leftfield line. Martin then walked pinch hitter Spencer Wyman, loading the bases for Jeff Dragicevich. The freshman shortstop singled up the middle, bringing home White and Horwitz and cutting the lead to one. Conley then tied the score with a single to center. Rob Meyer’s sacrifice fly plated Dragecivich, capping a four-run sixth and giving Cal a 5-4 lead.  

VCU refused to give up, regaining the lead in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, the Rams rapped five consecutive singles against Hutchinson, capped by Bauswell’s RBI single to leftfield. When the dust settled, the Rams had scored three runs, re-captured a 7-5 lead, and effectively swung momentum in their favor.  

“VCU did a good job hitting with runners on, and they were excellent in two-out situations,” said Esquer.  

The Bears had one last rally left in them, but came up just short in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, Wyman launched a tape-measure homerun off reliever Bo Acors, cutting the lead to 9-7. Acors then hit Dragicevich with a fastball, which was followed by a sharp single to leftfield by Conley. But the Bears would only come close enough to victory to see it slip away. Jackson, representing the potential winning run, looped a soft liner behind second base that was snared by Bryan Gillespie, sealing the victory for the Rams.  

Hutchinson pitched seven innings for the Bears; they will have the majority of their deep pitching staff available for Saturday. David Cash worked the eighth inning for Cal.  

Horwitz and Ben Conley both ended up with three hits and an RBI. Baker and White also had two hits apiece. Bauswell led VCU with two hits and three RBIs; shortstop Josh Arteaga also had five hits for the Rams. 

The Bears have now lost their last three NCAA regional contests; their last victory was against Georgia Tech in the first game of the 1995 regional in Knoxville, Tenn. The Bears last advanced to the College World Series in 1992. Should the Bears defeat Minnesota today, they would then take on the loser of the VCU-LSU game at 5:30 PST.

Responding to claims made Wednesday that Berkeley is among the municipalities using arsenic-treated playground equipment, the city’s parks department is working over the holiday weekend to seal a number of wood play structures. 

Until they are treated, structures known to contain arsenic and others that might contain this potentially cancer-causing chemical used to preserve the wood, are cordoned off with yellow “caution” tape. 

Parks Director Lisa Caronna said Friday that city employees will be working overtime to coat the equipment to seal in the hazardous chemicals.  

Targeted structures will include those known to contain arsenic and others as well. “If we don’t know, we’ll coat them,” she said. 

In addition to arsenic-treated structures, Caronna said the city is also coating equipment whose wood has been injected with pentachloropheol and creosote, both potentially harmful preservatives which state guidelines say must also be sealed in. 

Caronna said Wednesday the city had inadvertently lapsed in fulfilling the state mandate to coat its chemically-treated structures every two years. “It’s quite upsetting,” she said at the time. 

The Washington, D.C.,-based Environmental Working Group and the Healthy Building Network released a study Wednesday, which claims that “potentially hazardous amounts of arsenic in chromated copper arsenate leach out of pressure-treated lumber, where it may be ingested or absorbed by people or animals, or may contaminate water sources or soil beneath the wood.”  

Chromated copper arsenate contains 22 percent pure arsenic, the report says and arsenic is classified as a “known human carcinogen” by the U.S. EPA and the World Health Organization. The report says contact with the chemically-treated wood is particularly dangerous to children, because they frequently put their hands into their mouths and because they do not readily excrete the chemical. 

Play structures at King Middle School, Cedar-Rose, Codornices, Strawberry Creek, Live Oak parks and the Haskell-Mabel mini-park will be coated. Those structures connected to the play area will also be coated, including bollards, railroad ties and railings, Caronna said. 

Bill Walker of the Environmental Working Group said coating the structures is a good first step, but the chemicals still leach from the wood. Caronna said her goal is to replace the contaminated structures within two years. 

Picnic tables will not be sealed, Caronna said, noting that since they are not in contact with the soil, Berkeley does not have chemically-treated tables. 

Moreover, “the city is making an inventory of all the wood on all the structures,” Caronna said. “We’ll verify if any (others) need coating.” 

A number of the city’s wood structures were purchased from Big Toys, manufactured by Pacific Playgrounds in Olympia, Washington. Don Freeman, a spokesperson for the company said Friday that there was no arsenic in the company’s products, “just chromated copper arsenate.” When a reporter asked if the compound contained arsenic, Freeman did not respond directly, but noted that the preservative was government-approved.  

Asked if he believed the preservative was dangerous, Freeman said: “We are aware there are questions. We have chosen to use a process approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for use in playgrounds.”  

The EWG has petitioned the commission to ban chromated copper arsenate-treated wood.  

New York-based Adventure Systems also manufactures play structures with the arsenic preservative. Danny Bears, president of the company said, while he did not believe the chemical treatment to be dangerous, Adventure Systems has begun to substitute untreated materials for the parts of its structures that get a lot of use by children. Bears added that he plans to get further training on the question. He said he wasn’t surprised that California requires the every-two-year coatings.  

“California leads the trend,” he said.

Defensive lapses hurt St. Mary’s against Moreau 

Despite a rousing fifth-inning rally and some clutch plays, the St. Mary’s Panthers season ended on a sour note Friday night, as they lost to Moreau Catholic, 8-6, in the second round of the North Coast Section 2A East Bay playoffs at San Leandro Ballpark. 

The top-seeded Mariners scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to go ahead, after scoring five runs in an ugly fielding exhibition by the Panthers in the third. And although St. Mary’s knocked two Moreau pitchers out of the box, they came up just short in the end. 

“We hung in there well, but we just couldn’t get the job done in the late innings,” St. Mary’s head coach Andy Shimabukuro said. “Even when we took the lead, we knew there was a lot of game left.” 

The Panthers took their final lead in the fifth. Down 5-3, Jeff Marshall smacked the first pitch from Moreau starter Kevin Milleman into center for a single. Milleman walked the next batter and went to a 2-0 count on Omar Young, and the Moreau coaches called to centerfielder Aaron DeGuzman to take the mound.  

DeGuzman promptly finished the walk to Young to load the bases, and St. Mary’s pitcher Jeremiah Fielder hit a dying quail just inside the left-field line. Marshall scored, but pinch-runner Mike Glasshoff was thrown out at third base after he had to hold to see if the ball would be caught. First baseman Joe Starkey hit into a fielder’s choice, bringing up cleanup hitter Chris Alfert with two outs and two on. Alfert came through with a shot into the left-center gap, driving in both runs and ending up on third base for a 6-5 Panther lead. 

St. Mary’s dodged a bullet in the bottom of the inning, as right fielder Chase Moore lost a flyball in the lights to put the leadoff man on first. Nick Spoden followed with a line shot up the middle, but Fielder got his glove up just fast enough to deflect the ball right to shortstop Tom Wright. Wright flipped the ball to Alfert at second, and Alfert turned the double play. James Bland followed with a single, but St. Mary’s catcher Ryan Badaho-Singh gunned him down trying to steal second. 

The Panthers looked like they would break the game open in the sixth, as Moore reached first on a Moreau error with one out. Marshall followed with a double to the fence in center to push Moore to third. But Badaho-Singh hit a hard grounder to short, and Moore was cut down at the plate for the second out. After a scary moment when Omar Young was beaned by a curve from reliever Mason Reilly, Fielder hit a check-swing grounder to first to end the threat. 

But the bottom of the sixth proved deadly for the Panthers, as the Mariners loaded the bases without hitting a ball out of the infield. After getting Mason to ground out to shortstop, Fielder walked Matt Wilhite. Eric Van Slyke followed with a grounder into the hole that Wright got to but had not play, and Milleman dropped a perfect bunt down the third-base line to load the bases. 

The momentum momentarily swung back to the Panthers when Deperio tried a squeeze bunt to score the tying run. Fielder made a great play to snag the ball and flip it to Bahado-Singh to force Wilhite and preserve the lead. But Fielder proceeded to walk DeGuzman on four straight pitches, including two that were very close to being strikes, bringing home the tying run. Fielder was very animated on the mound, screaming in celebration after the failed squeeze play, then pounding the turf when the close pitches didn’t go his way. 

“(The umpire) called a good game until then, but he missed those pitches,” a distraught Fielder said after the game. “They were right down the middle. I don’t know what else I could have thrown up there.” 

That brought up Moreau catcher David Thomas with the bases loaded and two outs. Thomas worked the count full, then lined a single to right, scoring the two go-ahead runs for his third and fourth RBIs of the game. 

“We had nowhere to put him, and he got a big hit,” Shimabukuro said. “He had a real good game.” 

The emotional roller-coaster seemed to suck the life out of the Panthers, and the heart of the lineup went down quietly to end the game with two popups to first base and a flyball to left. 

As tough as the sixth inning was, the Mariners wouldn’t have been close enough to get back if not for the horrible third inning the Panthers put together. After scoring a scratch run in the top of the inning, they had a 3-0 lead, but two key defensive lapses opened the floodgates for Moreau. Wright booted a grounder to open the inning, and Fielder walked the next batter. DeGuzman laid down a bunt that Fielder pounced on and gunned to third in plenty of time to get the lead runner. But third baseman Anthony Miyawaki, who pitched a complete-game victory in the NCS opener on Wednesday, let the ball slip under his glove and the runner raced home for the Mariners’ first run of the game. 

Fielder lost his focus after the errors, and gave up a double to Thomas that scored two more runs to tie the game. Fielder settled down after that, getting the next two batters to pop out to second, but Reilly blooped a single over first base to bring home Thomas, and Wilhite blasted a triple to score Reilly, scoring the fifth unearned run of the inning. 

Although Fielder looked upset with his fielders’ miscues, he refused to blame them. 

“You know errors are going to happen out there,” he said. “I could have gotten out of it, but I didn’t make the right pitches.”

A new after-school program at the City of Franklin Elementary School is working to boost students’ interest in science, math and technology. 

The National Council of Negro Women, with the help of a $150,000 grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has launched three pilot programs in the last several months: one in Maryland, one in Washington, D.C., and one in Berkeley. 

The group is seeking funds to expand the program, known as the Higher Heights after-school program, to each of the 250 cities nationwide where the NCNW is active.  

“With math, science and technology, we feel that we’re on the cutting edge of everything that’s happening,” said James Ella James, California state convener for the NCNW. 

At City of Franklin, Higher Heights involves 15 fourth- and fifth-graders who meet for three hours on Mondays and Wednesdays. The program uses an innovative, hands-on curriculum to make subjects like math and chemistry,  

typically not the most popular among grade-schoolers, more fun and appealing.  

The hope is that the program will lay the groundwork for students to excel in these subjects in high school and college, preparing them for a job market that places a premium on these skills. 

“People tend to buy into the stereotypes of, ‘girls aren’t good in math and sciences,’ or ‘black people can’t do the science,’ ” said Tyrrah Young, the Higher Heights teacher at City of Franklin. “If you present it to them at an early age, then by the time they get older it’s easy for them and they don’t shy away from it.” 

The program goes out of its way to make students comfortable, instructing whenever possible through the medium of games and experiments.  

Students use a balancing scale and numbered cubes to work out Algebra problems, for example, which helps them visualize the algebraic concept that whatever is done to one side of an equation must be done to the other, Young said.  

Young tells the story of one student who, when told she would be asked to solve algebraic equations (a subject most students don’t confront until junior high), immediately protested, saying she couldn’t possibly do that. Young said she explained to the student that all she needed to solve algebraic equations – the way they are presented at Higher Heights – is simple addition. But by the end of the day, the student was showing her 3- year -old sister how it is done, Young said. 

The program does 15 practical experiments, using household materials, to expose students to the basic concepts of chemistry. Other activities give students a chance to hone their computing skills and critical thinking skills. 

Parent Lolita Coleman said her son Marcqus would be bored without the extra activities offered through the Higher Heights program, and the chance to dip into more advanced subject matter than that which is offered in his regular grade level curriculum.  

“It gives him a head start to junior high,” Coleman said. “He needs that challenge, so he doesn’t (lose interest).” 

Dr. Katheryne Favors, a consultant to the NCNW, said the program is about more than academics. It aims to prepare students to be active members of society and people of integrity, Favors said, in part by exposing students to the stories of certain exceptional people.  

“The scientists we want to point out to children (are people) who were willing to spend hours and hours and hours in order to bring about change,” Favors said. 

Berkeley Observed 

Looking back, seeing ahead 

Originally designed to be an automobile garage, “The Berkeley Free Market” at 2567 Shattuck Ave. was built in 1906 by a Mr. Shuman.  

The ground floor was used as retail space according to an advertisement in the Berkeley Daily Gazette.  

One would surmise from a photograph with the signage “The Berkeley Fee Market,” that the space must have had an early use as a sort of indoors Farmers’ Market, when horses and wagons were still being used to haul goods.  

The bold design of the second floor window surrounds is a distinctive feature. The building was designed by the McDougall Brothers, a local family of architects which included three brothers. Their father had also been an architect.  

One brother, Benjamin McDougall opened his own office in 1906 and designed the Shattuck Hotel (1909), the YMCA (1910), and many elegant houses in the Claremont District where he lived.  

In the 1920s the building was occupied by The Piano Shop which built piano benches and music cabinets and rebuilt and repaired pianos and other musical instruments.  

It claimed to be the largest shop of its kind west of Chicago, according to a 1921 ad in the Oakland Tribune.  

In 1952 the building was modernized with an aluminum facade completely covering the entire two-story facade.  

This remodel was done for the Joe Davis Studebaker and British Motor Car Distributors, Ltd. On one side of the building Mr. Davis sold Studebakers and on the other side he sold Rolls Royces.  

For many years there were various retail shops on the ground floor, but on the second floor were artists’ studios. Painters who once had studios here included Elmer Bishoff of the UC Berkeley Art Department.  

The metal facade remained on the building until 1999 when new owners took it off and exposed the underlying brick. Architect Jim Novasel used this photograph to guide his restoration work.  

Susan Cerny writes  

‘Berkeley Observed’ in conjunction with the Berkeley Historical  

Society’

A year-long investigation into a suspected East Bay heroin smuggling and distribution ring has come to an end with 10 arrests and the Alameda County Narcotics Task Force’s largest heroin bust, said Lt. Paul Wallace. 

In total, the task force recovered 106 ounces of heroin, 2.5 ounces of cocaine, and 3.25 pounds of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $1.36 million. Also seized were $8,372 in cash.  

Wallace said the amount of heroin recovered is the largest in the task force's 12-year history. 

The seizure came following the execution of six search warrants on Thursday, which stretched from San Pablo to Hayward. Wallace said the biggest coup was the arrest of 35-year-old Felix Reyes of San Leandro, alleged ringleader of a suspected drug ring that included his brothers.  

Berkeley residents Millie Alcala, 32, Damaris Alcala, 36, and Salvadore Alcala, 33, daughters and son of Roberto Alcala, were also arrested, along with Jamie Chavez, 27, of San Pablo and Sergio Mendoza, 45, of Richmond. 

Angeja arranged for Roberto Marquez, a sheriff's detective, to buy heroin from Reyes, Wallace said. Marquez allegedly made eight undercover purchases, totaling some 20 ounces, over six months leading up to yesterday's arrest. 

Wallace said Marquez yesterday was going to pay $44,800 yesterday for 48 ounces of heroin, but negotiations broke down when Reyes tried to change the location of the transaction. 

The heroin was recovered from Jose Reyes' pickup truck near his Hayward home, Wallace said. A search of his apartment led to the seizure of more than a pound of heroin and another pound was found in a storage shed in Hayward rented by Felix Reyes, Wallace said. 

Also arrested in the day-long operation were Hippolita Beltran, 33, who is Jose Reyes' common law wife; and Roberto Alcala, 67, of San Pablo, who Wallace said was allegedly buying drugs from the Reyes brothers and selling it on the street. Berkeley residents Millie Alcala, 32, Damaris Alcala, 36, and Salvadore Alcala, 33, daughters and son of Roberto Alcala, were also arrested, along with Jamie Chavez, 27, of San Pablo and Sergio Mendoza, 45, of Richmond.  

The Reyes brothers, Beltran, Roberto Alcala and Jamie Chavez face federal drug trafficking charges, Wallace said, and the remaining suspects will be prosecuted at the state level. 

SAN FRANCISCO — A data network failure knocked out automatic teller machines, cut high-speed Internet lines and disabled some features of 911 service in California on Friday. 

The cause of the outage involving about 22,000 of Pacific Bell’s frame relay circuits was not immediately known, spokesman John Britton said. It was first reported at 8:05 a.m. and 6,000 circuits were restored by early afternoon. All customers should have service by Friday evening, he said. 

Britton said it was unclear how many customers or businesses were affected, and he did not immediately know the percentage of the network’s total circuits that went down. 

“This was significant. Obviously, when you have 22,000 circuits affected, it was significant,” he said. 

Pacific Bell’s telephone service, which relies on a separate voice network, was not affected. Callers to 911 could still reach dispatchers, but information about their location was not automatically posted as is usually the case. 

Some customers of Pacific Bell’s high-speed Digital Subscriber Line service reported they could not connect to the Internet on Friday. Beyond that, only minor problems were immediately reported. 

“They were affected briefly by a connectivity problem but it was not even a measurable fraction of a percent of our ATMs statewide,” said Harvey Radin, spokesman for Bank of America, which has more than 4,000 ATMs in California. The interruption came at midmorning, and Radin was unsure if it was related to the network outage. 

Wells Fargo reported nothing unusual. 

“At any given time 5 percent of ATMs companywide are out of service,” said Ravi Poorsina, spokeswoman for Wells Fargo, which has 2,700 machines in California alone. “We’re not seeing any problem that’s out of the ordinary.” 

Frame relay networks are used by the communications companies to transport data at high speeds. Banks, stores and Internet providers lease circuits linking their businesses to the networks. 

The outage was limited to Pacific Bell’s territory, which covers about 78 percent of California. 

Pacific Bell will investigate the cause of the outage as soon as service is restored, Britton said. 

“We will be exploring what happened,” he said. “At this time, all our resources are focused on getting everybody back into service as quickly as possible.” 

On the Net: 

Pacific Bell: http://www.pacbell.com

OAKLAND — Students at Castlemont High School voted twice to have a videotaped speech by a controversial death row inmate played at their graduation, but the principal vetoed that and chose a respected preacher instead. 

Seniors had chosen Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose case they have studied for the past few years, but Principal Ronald Miller selected Rev. Robert Jackson of the Acts Full Gospel Baptist Church, which pleased the school board and many teachers but angered students. 

Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther who was born and raised in Oakland, was convicted of killing a police officer in North Philadelphia in 1981. Many believe he was set up, and he has become a symbol to activists fighting racial injustice and police brutality. 

Students first learned about him during a districtwide teach-in that district leaders tried to block. 

School officials said they do not think Abu-Jamal is an appropriate speaker for commencement next month. 

“I think Pastor Bob Jackson is a wise choice,” school board president Jason Hodge told The Oakland Tribune. “More importantly, he represents what a commencement speaker should stand for, and that is that you can graduate from Castlemont and go and become a productive member of society.” 

But some teachers have said they think the decision reinforces a belief that students don’t have any say. 

And some students say they feel as if they’re losing out. 

“I worked hard to get here, and now they are taking something away from me,” said Donnie Penelton, 18.

BERKELEY — More black and Hispanic students are expected to enroll at the University of California this fall. However, the rate at which those students accepted offers of admission is at its lowest point in years. 

Overall, 31,018 students have written to UC saying they plan to enroll, a 7 percent increase over the 29,004 who accepted offers of admission last year. 

Among blacks, Hispanics and American Indians, considered by UC to be “underrepresented minorities”, 5,262 accepted offers, an 11 percent increase over the 4,730 who accepted last year. 

Enrollment did not keep pace with admissions offers, which were up 17 percent for underrepresented minorities. 

The acceptance rate for those groups was 54 percent, down from a 56.8 percent acceptance rate for fall 2000. In 1997, the last year in which UC considered race and gender in admissions, the rate was 59.9 percent. 

Looking at all students, the acceptance rate was 56.3 percent this year compared to 57.9 percent last year and 59.7 percent in 1997. 

UC spokesman Brad Hayward said officials aren’t sure why the acceptance rate went down this year, although he noted that students generally are applying to more of UC’s eight undergraduate campuses than they used to and may be sending out more applications to other colleges, as well, giving them more choice on where to attend. 

“We suspect that there is more competition out there for the same students,” he said. 

Enrollment of underrepresented minorities dropped sharply in 1998, after UC stopped considering race and gender in admissions. The numbers have increased since then, but have not returned to 1997 levels at the most competitive campuses. 

This was the first year of a new program guaranteeing a spot for the top 4 percent of high school graduates. Officials believe that program boosted applications from underrepresented minorities by 2,100 students. They also say it’s likely the program contributed to increases of admissions of underrepresented minorities. 

Underrepresented minorities make up 17 percent of the overall class of incoming freshmen, compared to 16.3 percent last year. In 1997, they made up 17.7 percent of the class. 

Last week, regents rescinded their affirmative action ban. The move was largely symbolic since state law passed by voters in 1996 dismantled most public affirmative action programs, but was viewed as a conciliatory message to minorities.

LOS ANGELES — More than $3 million has been raised for the June 5 runoff by two mayoral candidates in the nation’s second-largest city, finance reports show. 

City Attorney James Hahn and former Assembly speaker Antonio Villaraigosa raised comparable sums during the period covered — the 38 days from the April 10 primary through May 19, according to reports released Thursday. 

“My God, that’s a lot of money to raise in a short period of time,” said Raphael J. Sonenshein, a California State University, Fullerton political scientist.  

“That explains why it’s been such a quiet campaign. The rhythm of the campaign has been partly dictated by money, and you should therefore expect an extremely intense finish after a relatively lethargic campaign.” 

Villaraigosa raised more than $1.7 million during that time, including city matching funds. Hahn raised more than $1.4 million including matching funds. 

City law dictates that candidates cannot carry over money from the primary but must start raising funds anew once the runoff begins.  

Faced with the burden of raising large sums in a short amount of time, the candidates have devoted large amounts of time to fund raising. 

Since the close of the reporting period, Villaraigosa has received additional contributions exceeding $100,000, and Hahn has raised another $51,000, according to the city Ethics Commission. 

Villaraigosa spent at a faster pace than Hahn during the reporting period, ending it with less cash on hand – $487,598, compared to $634,485 for Hahn. 

“What our reports shows is that we’ve had the funding consistently since the April primary to support our television communication efforts. We’ve been up on the air consistently for the last few weeks, whereas the Hahn campaign was forced to scale back,” said Stephen Kaufman, counsel and treasurer for Villaraigosa’s campaign. “The mere fact that we’ve spent more and have less just reflects that we’ve been able to pay for television in coming weeks.” 

A Los Angeles Times analysis of TV station billing documents last week found Villaraigosa had spent nearly twice as much as Hahn on the important medium and aired 41 percent more spots. 

“Yes, they are spending more than we are but we’re getting the proverbial better bang for our buck,” said Hahn consultant Kam Kuwata, saying the campaign has stretched its TV spending by buying shorter spots.  

“And in the close we are going to be obviously, given the cash on hand, very competitive with him.” 

Villaraigosa, who would be the city’s first Latino mayor since 1872, finished the April 10 primary in first place, with 30 percent of the vote. Hahn finished in second with 25 percent. Since then polls have shown a tight race. 

With the pace of fund raising likely to increase as the election date approaches, the candidates could be on track to break the record for money raised in a city runoff.  

That was set in 1993, when Mayor Richard Riordan, then a little-known businessman, poured millions of his own money into the race to defeat Mike Woo. The total amount spent in the runoff that year was $8,357,597. 

There was no runoff in 1997, when Riordan was elected to his second term. Term limits prevented him from running in this election. 

Villaraigosa and Hahn also were among the highest-spending candidates in the April 10 primary, during which the leading six candidates spent more than $17 million, the most ever for a city primary.

SAN FRANCISCO — In the gray glimmer of pre-dawn, engineer Martin Wuest gets into his trusty Volkswagen and drives 82 miles to his job in Silicon Valley. 

Wuest and his family fled San Jose for the life of exurban “super-commuters” 10 years ago, driven out by housing prices as tens of thousands of people poured in. 

Since then, California’s population has grown by more than 13 percent. 

Wuest has watched the trend unfold in his rearview mirror. 

“I see more people out there, more people are weaving around and driving fast and cutting people off. I see them every day,” he says. 

It’s the California Gold Crush, 2001; with a nip, a tuck – and the occasional angry rip of a busted seam – the nation’s most populous state is finding out what it’s like to choke on success. 

“There’s no elbow room any more,” says super-commuter Jerry Knoester. 

In 1950, there were 10.5 million people in California. In 2000: 33.9 million. 

Sometimes it feels as though all 33.9 million are trying to get across the bridges to San Francisco at the same time. 

“I will never go to the city any more unless I absolutely have to. It’s just unbearable,” says John Tangney, a software engineer in Berkeley who has seen the 13-mile drive to San Francisco grow from a breezy half-hour to 90 minutes of bumper boredom. 

Tail lights aren’t on everywhere in California. Spaces are still wide and open in the bristly heat of the desert southeast; in the misty reaches of redwood country, logjams involve actual logs. 

Elsewhere, the squeeze is on. 

In San Francisco, people have taken to parking on the sidewalks in such numbers that there’s a move afoot to double fines. 

Congestion in Yosemite National Park got so bad that a draft plan proposes eliminating some parking spaces and motel rooms and closing part of a popular road. 

Reactions to the population augmentation vary. 

In San Francisco, hemmed in by sea and hills, Ed Holmes, a member of the San Francisco Mime Troupe, started noticing “this stress on the fabric of society,” in the late 1980s. 

“People just seem much tenser than they did,” says Berkeley mother of two Sima Misra. “Women have yelled at me on the road for not driving fast enough.” 

Northern California organic dairy farmer Albert Straus has noticed more urban neighbors and “less understanding of what agriculture is.” His family campaigned successfully for zoning laws protecting farm and ranch lands, but “there’s always new battles.” 

In Southern California, where sprawl is all, the demographic developments seem less sharply defined. 

Los Angeles parent Becky Hoskins barely noticed as the rolling hills on the outskirts of the city transformed into waves of tract homes and the drive to a favorite lake stretched from 75 minutes to two hours. She expected to find congestion when she moved here from Colorado 15 years ago and came prepared. She schedules her day away from rush hour and finds out-of-the-way places for family backpacking trips. 

Recently, however, she was taken aback when to hear a teacher say that the Hoskins’ teen-age son was doing well but could be scoring even higher if he were in a smaller class. 

A drive around the Sierra jewel of Lake Tahoe a few summers ago was another eye-opener. 

“I just couldn’t believe the crowds,” she said. “It is beautiful but to me it’s revolting – the idea of going there – because it’s so crowded.” 

With both children just about in college, Hoskins says, “I think about Nevada.” 

About two million people did leave California in the early 1990s as the state struggled with recession and drought. Still, the decade ended with a net gain. 

“There is no other developed region of the world the size of California that has grown as fast as California over the last few decades,” says Hans Johnson, a demographer with the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. 

The same can’t be said of the state’s housing, highways and transportation, partly because of a mistaken belief that “if you build it they will come and so maybe you shouldn’t build it,” Johnson says. 

It turns out even a crowded California has its appeal. 

Software engineer Tangney is job-hunting after getting pinched in the recent dot-com downturn. But “there’s no way we’re going to move. My political views are way left ... the People’s Republic of Berkeley is about as far to the center as I’m willing to go.” 

“I’ve seen the rest of the country and, frankly, I’m not impressed,” Holmes says. “This is paradise.” 

What price paradise? 

In May, a Californian paid $1.99 a gallon for gas compared to the national average of $1.71, according to the AAA. Even before an energy crisis that has driven rates for some up more than 50 percent, Californians paid an average 10.7 cents a kilowatt hour compared to the national average of 8.5 cents. In the Silicon Valley suburb of Palo Alto, a nondescript three-bedroom home can set you back close to $1 million. 

It’s that kind of unreal real estate that propelled Knoester into the long-distance life of a super-commuter. 

A civilian employee of the Air Force, he was transferred to the San Jose area in 1990. Housing was hopeless; he couldn’t come up with the $2,000 or so a month it would have taken to rent something for his family of seven. But in the Central California town of Los Banos, about 100 miles from his office, a four-bedroom, two-bath house could be had for $126,500. 

He moved to Los Banos. 

Knoester, founder of the support group Commuter Alliance, estimates there are now about 7,000 people making the long drive in from Central California. 

He and fellow super-commuter Wuest – who whiles away the time talking on his CB radio – say the benefits of a nice house in a pleasant town far outweigh spending three hours a day in the car. 

San Jose resident Justin Prester shudders at the thought. 

Prester got out of his car and into a commuter train after traffic tacked an extra hour on to his commute to a job in desktop publishing. “You spend an hour and a half in the car and you start going bonkers,” he says. 

Prester’s got something good to say about the trend – a rising body count has revived San Jose’s once-mordant night life. Rents that leap like startled gazelles haven’t been so good. 

Prester considers himself lucky to pay $1,200 for a modest one-bedroom apartment –$2,000 is not unusual – and he may move out of the area when his wife finishes her degree. Still, they won’t be going far. Prester’s thinking San Diego or LA – “My wife doesn’t like the rain.” 

Safely home after another day of life in the vast lane, super-commuter Wuest is equally reluctant to check out of the Hotel California. 

“I’m an hour and a half from the seaside. I’m an hour and a half from the Sierras. I’m an hour and a half from work,” he says. “The world’s our oyster and I can’t do that in Illinois.” 

GROWTH IN THE WEST  

Number of people the West added in the 1990s: 10 million 

Number of people living in California in 1950: 10.5 million.  

In 2000: 33.9 million 

Number that left California in the 1990s as the state struggled  

with recession and drought: 2 million 

Average commuting distance in Los Angeles: 32.4 miles roundtrip. 

Average commuting time in LA: 75 minutes roundtrip 

How much housing costs rose in Portland, Ore., between 1991  

and 1999: 44.3 percent 

Amount spent on road improvement projects in Portland last year: about  

$300 million 

How much electricity consumption has risen in California and parts  

of the Northwest: 24 percent 

How much electric rates have risen: From $20 to $40 per megawatt to  

$250 to $400 per megawatt 

Last time a major hydroelectric dam was built in the West: 1987. 

Last time a nuclear power plant opened: 1988 

City with the highest per-capita water consumption rate in the world:  

Las Vegas, 375 gallons a day 

Number of people Las Vegas adds every month: 6,000

LOS ANGELES — Lawyers for former Symbionese Liberation Army fugitive Sara Jane Olson are being distracted because they must defend themselves against criminal charges, their attorneys said Friday after a court hearing on the case. 

“This is obviously interfering with their ability” to defend Olson, said Dean Masserman, who represents J. Tony Serra. 

“It’s really difficult for them to be able to concentrate ... when they have their own prosecutions to think about,” he said outside court. 

Serra and co-counsel Shawn Chapman face misdemeanor charges of improperly releasing the addresses and phone numbers of police witnesses in Olson’s case. 

Olson, 54, is accused of attempting to murder police officers by placing bombs under their cars in 1975, allegedly in retaliation for the deaths of six members of the radical SLA in a shootout with police in 1974. The bombs did not explode. 

The witnesses, James Bryant and John Hall, say they feared for their lives when personal information appeared on an Olson defense committee Web site. Olson’s lawyers say the information was posted by Olson supporters without their knowledge. 

Serra has pleaded innocent, and his attorney said he believes there is a good chance the charge will be dismissed before trial. 

Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan set Serra’s pretrial hearing for June 4 and set Chapman’s arraignment for the same date. Neither lawyer was in court. 

Chapman’s lawyer, Bruce Margolin, told Ryan he had spoken with the city attorney’s office, which is reviewing the case against his client. 

But outside court, he said the discussions were informal and “you don’t count your chickens until they’re hatched.” 

Masserman claimed city prosecutors threw a “monkey wrench” into the Olson proceedings by charging her lawyers. The attorneys may face a conflict of interest that could get them thrown off the case, he said. 

Serra has said he will file a motion asking to remove not only himself and Chapman but also Olson’s two prosecutors and the entire Los Angeles Superior Court bench from Olson’s case. 

Olson was indicted in 1976 under her former name, Kathleen Soliah. She was a fugitive until her 1999 capture in Minnesota, where she had taken on her new name and has a family. She has said she is innocent and that she never belonged to the SLA. 

SACRAMENTO — The state Assembly approved a $102 billion draft budget proposal Friday, an early step in what is expected to be a difficult budget process. 

The 48-28 vote sends the Assembly’s version to a six-legislator conference committee, along with a Senate plan expected to be approved next week and Gov. Gray Davis’ budget proposal. 

“This has been one of the most difficult budgets to put together in recent history,” said the Assembly’s budget chairman, Assemblyman Tony Cardenas. “The economy has slowed, revenues are down, and the energy crisis has caused great uncertainty.” 

The committee will be seeking a compromise spending plan before the 2001-2002 fiscal year starts on July 1. 

Cardenas, D-Arleta, said the budget includes increased funding for public schools and health care and an emergency reserve of $1.9 billion, which is 2.5 percent. The budget scraps a plan by Davis to extend the school year for middle school students. The plan also supports Davis’ plan to shave the state transportation budget by $1.2 billion by postponing for two years a program that would divert all state gasoline tax revenues to transportation projects. 

Minority Republicans, who voted against the budget plan, said that reserve needs to be higher because of the economic uncertainty. 

“The reserve that is in this budget is not prudent,” said Assemblyman John Campbell, R-Irvine. Davis reacted to the slowing economy last week by saying he’ll cut almost $3.2 billion in new programs, tax cuts and spending increases he proposed in January. The governor’s $102.9 billion budget plan also cuts the state’s reserves to $1 billion. 

But Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill predicted the state will face a $4 billion budget shortfall in 2002-03 unless legislators cut more deeply than Davis proposed in his revised budget. 

On the Net: 

Read Gov. Gray Davis’ budget proposals at 

http://www.dof.ca.gov 

Read about the Assembly version at 

http://www.lao.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO — California renewed demands Friday for tough federal electricity price caps and singled out two generators for immediate rate rollbacks. 

The filings by several state agencies were in response to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order in April that offered limited price controls, in exchange for concessions on control of the state’s power grid. 

“FERC’s pricing plan is laced with loopholes,” said Gov. Gray Davis.  

“It’s worse than too little, too late. It’s simply a fig leaf that does nothing to address the impact of the energy crisis on California and our nation.” 

The state’s multiple filings also said that two generators, Williams and AES, have profited excessively by exercising market power. 

The Electricity Oversight Board, the Public Utilities Commission and the Independent System Operator asked FERC to require the generators to use cost-based rates, which limit company profits to a percentage above the costs to produce power. 

In order to escape charging cost-based rates, generators must prove to FERC that they don’t have market power – the ability to charge whatever price they want without consequence. 

The ISO, keeper of the state’s power grid, said the two companies have exhibited that they have market power and the ability to charge market-based rates should be revoked. 

Aaron Thomas, spokesman for the Arlington, Va.-based AES, said the company has applied to have its ability to charge market-based rates renewed, and expects FERC to approve that request. 

“The governor, for six months now, has been calling for a form of cost-based rates from FERC, so I don’t think anything has changed,” said Thomas. 

Earlier this month, Tulsa-based Williams agreed to pay $8 million to settle charges with FERC that the company was purposely withholding electricity from California’s power market.  

The company admitted no wrongdoing, and officials said a full hearing would have cleared the company. 

ISO attorney Charles Robinson said the agency is also considering similar requests for revocation of the market-power authority of three other generators – Duke Energy, Reliant  

and Mirant. 

Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove, chairman of the Senate subcommittee investing the electricity wholesale market, said FERC has never adopted a definition of market power, leaving open the question of how they can determine if the generators don’t have it. 

“That calls into question whether FERC must revoke market-based rate authority retroactively,” Dunn said. “That may require a reimbursement of the difference between what would have been cost-based rates and what they’ve been charging.” 

The FERC order in April establishes some price controls when the state’s power reserves drop below 7.5 percent. That is scheduled to take effect Tuesday, unless the FERC orders otherwise over the holiday weekend, Robinson said. 

The state Assembly, in documents to be filed Tuesday, said those price controls should cover all hours – not just during power emergencies.  

The Assembly’s filing calls that order “arbitrary and capricious,” and says the order does nothing to curtail unreasonable prices unless reserves drop. 

Earlier ISO studies have estimated that California was overcharged more than $6 billion in the last year. FERC has ordered refunds for a fraction of that – $125 million – saying it can only examine prices for power sold during Stage 3 emergencies, when reserves drop to below 1.5 percent. 

The Assembly’s filing also will object to FERC’s requirement that the state join a regional transmission organization in order to get price controls. Robinson said the ISO would make a decision next week whether to file a plan to join an RTO. 

The state agencies also objected to a FERC plan to put a surcharge on energy rates to pay money owed to generators. 

If FERC denies the state’s requests, or doesn’t “act in the time frame we believe is necessary to prevent harm,” the agencies can appeal to a circuit court, Robinson said. 

“We’re going to explore every legal avenue we can,” said Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio. 

On the Net: 

The California Independent System Operator: www.caiso.com

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis and President Bush have pledged respect during their first face-to-face meeting since their administrations began trading attacks over the California energy crisis. 

Bush will travel Tuesday to California, where he has been the target of criticism by the Democratic governor and where polls show residents have little faith in his handling of the power crunch. 

Still, White House counselor Karen Hughes said Bush “welcomes the idea” of talking to Davis and directed his staff to set up the meeting. 

“President Bush has always worked hard to treat all people, including his fellow elected officials, with respect and he will certainly treat Governor Davis with respect,” she said. 

Davis recently launched a national offensive against Bush, criticizing the president’s long-term energy plan and opposition to price controls on wholesale electricity. 

The Democrat has appeared on national news programs suggesting that Bush has ignored price-gouging by Texas-based electricity generators.  

And Davis has been mentioned as a possible White House challenger to Bush in 2004. 

Hughes, in a conference call with California reporters Friday, sought to assure that Bush and the federal government want to ease the possibility of blackouts in the state. 

“President Bush feels very strongly that this is a good time to visit California because he knows that it is going to be a difficult summer for many of its citizens,” Hughes said. 

Davis aides said they expect the meeting, scheduled for Tuesday in Los Angeles, to be cordial. 

“The governor has the greatest respect for the president, but he also is going to fight for Californians,” said Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio. 

Maviglio said Davis plans to “seek some assistance from the president to come up with a short-term solution on California’s energy crisis.” 

The governor has called for federal price limits on the electricity that generators sell to California utilities.  

Bush has rejected the request because he says it would do nothing to increase energy supplies or reduce demand. 

While Hughes said Bush will listen to the governor’s concerns, she said he feels strongly that imposing price caps “is exactly the wrong policy to pursue.” 

During the two-day trip, Bush will discuss energy conservation at Camp Pendleton north of San Diego, deliver an address on the nation’s economy in Los Angeles and launch a national park improvement program on Wednesday at Sequoia National Park. 

Bush has visited 28 states but not California, the most populous, which Democrat Al Gore won by 12 percentage points in November. 

Since he took office, Democrats have criticized Bush for waiting more than four months to travel to the state and polls have shown residents disapprove of his handling of the electricity crisis. 

“It’s a very big moment. I think people will be looking for some signs that the president really does care about California,” said California Public Policy Institute pollster Mark Baldassare.

SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gray Davis’ public approval rating has slipped to the lowest point since he took office in 1999, according to a Field Poll released Friday. 

The survey is the second released this week that shows Davis’ job-performance rating eroding in the face of a statewide energy crisis. 

Forty-two percent of those surveyed for the San Francisco-based Field Institute said they approve of Davis’ job as governor, while 49 percent said they disapprove. 

In January, 60 percent of those polled said they supported Davis’ performance. 

The latest survey also found that 51 percent of registered voters in California say they are not inclined to re-elect Davis to a second term. Davis is up for re-election in November 2002. 

But when voters were asked who they would support for governor if the election were held now, the Democratic governor topped both Secretary of State Bill Jones and Los Angeles investment banker William Simon Jr. 

Davis led Jones, the only Republican who has announced his candidacy for governor, 47 percent to 33 percent, and topped Simon, another Republican who is considering running, 48 percent to 31 percent. 

Garry South, chief campaign consultant for Davis, said Davis and his political team “fully expected” the governor to take a hit in the polls in the face of rolling blackouts and rising electricity rates. 

“People really don’t have a very full understanding of what he is doing and what he has done to solve this problem,” South said. 

South issued a statement Thursday afternoon in anticipation of the poll’s release stating that former Gov. Pete Wilson received dismal approval ratings before being elected to a second term. 

The statement reminded “those preparing to dance on Governor Gray Davis’ political grave,” that Wilson posted a 15 percent job-performance rating in May 1993, during his first term. 

The poll, which questioned 1,015 California adults, including 727 registered voters, between May 11 and May 20, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points, the institute said. 

A Public Policy Institute of California poll released Monday found that Gov. Gray Davis’ job approval rating dove from 66 percent in September to less than half of Californians surveyed this month. 

WASHINGTON — Fifty years after losing her father to war on the Korean peninsula, Pat Dunton can finally do more than just imagine his fate. She can bury him. 

For all those years, she and her family waited and wondered: Did he die when his Air Force B-29 bomber was shot down? Did he survive, only to perish in a POW camp? What became of his remains? 

Now, this Memorial Day, answers. 

With the help of DNA samples, military forensics specialists have concluded that remains received from the North Korean government in 1993 are those of Air Force Lt. James Swayne Wilson Jr., the navigator on a B-29 shot down by enemy fighters near the Yalu River on April 12, 1951. 

Dunton and other family members will hold a memorial service for him June 22 at the Ft. Myer Chapel, followed by burial next door at Arlington National Cemetery, with military honors. 

“I finally know what happened to my dad, and I’m bringing him home,” she said in an interview. 

Wilson was 29 years old and had arrived in Asia to join the war just 16 days before his fateful flight.  

He was no newcomer to flying, though. He flew B-17s and B-24s during World War II, then got out, only to be recalled for his navigator skills shortly after the Korean War began in 1950. 

When he shipped out, his wife stayed behind in Tennessee. They planned to build a new house in Memphis for their young family. 

Dunton, born on her father’s birthday in 1947, was 3 1/2 years old when her mother received the news. 

“We are doing everything possible to recover your husband,” the Air Force wrote. 

There was no search for survivors, Dunton found out later, because the B-29 went down in enemy territory.  

It was attacked by Soviet MiG-15 fighters while making a daylight bombing run against a Yalu River bridge connecting the North Korean city of Sinuiju and Antung, China. 

As many as three of the 11 men aboard survived the shootdown and were held prisoner. Two returned home when the war ended in 1953.  

In a wartime report to the International Red Cross and in radio broadcasts, North Korea claimed to be holding other members of the crew, including Wilson.  

But as it turned out – at least in Wilson’s case – that was a lie. U.S. forensics experts were able to determine from his remains that he died in the crash, although that fact did not reach Dunton until last fall. 

“It is too hard to relate what I remember about him,” she says. “It is more a sense of him than a specific memory. I felt safe.” 

Wilson was among more than 8,000 U.S. servicemen who had not been accounted for when the Korean War ended in a stalemate. The truce was so tenuous that four decades passed before a U.S. military representative again set foot in that reclusive, communist country to recover bones of the missing. 

Between 1990 and 1994, North Korea unilaterally turned over 208 sets of remains that it said were American servicemen killed in the war.  

The first among those to be positively identified were three members of Wilson’s B-29 crew: Lt. George Aaron, the pilot; 2nd Lt. Elmer T. Bullock, the radar observer, and Master Sgt. Robert Wilson Jones, the flight engineer. 

Wilson’s dog tag was included with the remains, but it took mitochondrial DNA technology to confirm that bones were his. 

The burial at Arlington will mark the end of a long, emotional journey for Dunton, of Coppell, Texas, who has spent much of her 53 years combing military archives, questioning Air Force casualty officers, working with relatives of other missing-in-action servicemen and even traveling to North Korea in 1997 to observe a Pentagon search for the remains of MIAs. 

What she found on that lonely trail sometimes shocked her, often saddened her, always reminded her of why the Korean War, which killed more than 33,000 U.S. troops, became known as the Forgotten War. When the fighting ended, so, by and large, did the Pentagon’s efforts to recover the missing or to inform their families. 

After Dunton turned 21 and gained legal status, as “primary next of kin,” to request her father’s military records, the Air Force casualty office told her it had kept no Korean War-era records of interest to her. 

“We threw out all of those records because we had to make room for Vietnam,” she says they told her. 

When you hear Dunton explain what drove her to battle the bureaucracy for decades in search of answers, you understand, if only superficially, the pain the Korean War inflicted on thousands of American families. 

Dunton grew up wondering what stole her father from her life. She also faced the questions of her schoolmates. 

What does your father do? 

Where is he? 

Did he desert your family? 

“It was a constant thing,” she says of the reminders that her family was one of the unlucky ones. 

Now that her father’s remains can be returned home for a final goodbye, Dunton feels fortunate, though reminders are still there. One is his final letter home, sent the day of his final flight.  

Looking back on it, Dunton believes her father was trying to shield her mother from the true dangers. “Don’t worry,” he wrote. “The only trouble we have is with the weather.” 

On the Net: 

Korean War  

and DNA sampling at http://www.koreanwar.org

WASHINGTON — House and Senate negotiators reached a final agreement Friday night on a 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut package that would give individual taxpayers a $300 refund this year and married couples $600. 

“We will be able to provide this year more than $30 billion to American taxpayers to use as they see fit, rather than the government,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif. 

A blend of President Bush’s tax proposals and earlier versions passed separately by the House and Senate, the compromise carves out a new 10 percent bottom tax rate for the first $6,000 of an individual’s income, $12,000 for a married couple. 

Most other rates would be cut by 3 percentage points. The top 39.6 percent rate would drop to 35 percent. The rate cuts will be phased in over six years but the first installment will take effect this July 1. 

Republican leaders said they planned to reconvene the House around midnight to debate the final bill. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, predicted the House would vote final passage on it between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Saturday. The Senate planned to reconvene later Saturday to act on it. 

The deal was reached by four lawmakers who met all day Friday in a second-floor Capitol room. Thomas and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa represented the Republicans, Sens. Max Baucus of Montana and John Breaux of Louisiana represented the Democrats. 

Other provisions of the plan would double the $500 child tax credit gradually by 2010 and allow people to gradually increase their contributions to IRAs from $2,000 to $5,000 and to 401(k) plans from $10,500 to $15,000. 

The estate tax would be repealed by 2010, with exemptions rising from $675,000 now to $3.5 million over time. 

Individual taxpayers would get a $300 refund this year. Single parents would get $500 and married couples $600. Refund checks would be mailed to taxpayers, beginning in mid-summer, according to Treasury Department oficials. 

“Once the president signs into law this historic bipartisan agreement, the Treasury Department will begin the process of returning tax dollars as quickly as possible to those who paid them,” said Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill. 

In addition to the income tax cuts, the bill will provide relief from the marriage penalty paid by millions of two-income couples by widening the 15 percent bracket so that more of their earnings are taxed at a lower rate.  

It would also increase the standard deduction for married couples so it equals twice that of singles. 

A new $5,000 deduction would be permitted for college tuition. 

Republicans were elated that passing a tax relief bill and hand Bush a major political victory would be accomplished before Democrats take control of the Senate. 

“Tax relief is on the way,” said Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas. 

The negotiations occurred against an unprecedented political backdrop: Vermont Sen. James Jeffords’ switch from Republican to independent becomes official when the tax bill is passed, handing Senate control to the Democrats.  

With Bush calling for a final vote before Memorial Day, there was strong incentive to finish the deal. 

“Both sides would like to get it done,” said Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., who will become minority leader under the new power arrangement. 

Bush telephoned Thomas and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley on Friday morning, saying he wanted the bill passed before lawmakers left for the holiday.  

White House chief of staff Andrew Card was in and out of the negotiating room Friday, pushing the participants to reach an accord. 

Bush pushed for tax cuts in his campaign for the White House and since his election, but was forced by Jeffords and other moderates to accept a $250 billion reduction in his original $1.6 trillion proposal. The House passed several bills closely tracking the Bush plan, but senators added several provisions aimed at giving more tax breaks to lower- and middle-income people. 

Most Democrats nonetheless opposed even the smaller tax cut, arguing that it would consume far too much of the projected $5.6 trillion, 10-year budget surplus to meet other needs such as education, defense, debt reduction and Medicare prescription drug benefits. They also contended it was unfairly tilted toward the wealthy. 

“This tax bill is as generous as any tax bill in history to the upper-income folks,” said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. 

New York Rep. Charles Rangel, senior Democrat on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, called it a fraud and refused to sign the compromise. He said the benefits for low- and moderate-income families “will be dwarfed by its detrimental effects on Social Security, Medicare ... and the health of our economy.” 

——— 

The legislation is H.R. 1836. 

On the Net: 

Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov 

NEW YORK — The Rev. Al Sharpton, handcuffed and escorted by police, arrived from Puerto Rico on Friday and was immediately taken to a detention facility to serve a 90-day sentence for trespassing on Navy land on Vieques island. 

Also on the flight from San Juan were New York City Councilman Adolfo Carrion, New York state legislator Jose Rivera and Bronx County Democratic Party chairman Roberto Ramirez. They were sentenced to 40 days. 

All were sentenced for a May 1 protest against bombing exercises on Vieques. Juan Felicino, a Sharpton acquaintance who was on the flight, said the civil rights activist “didn’t look too upset.” 

Sharpton was convicted of a misdemeanor but sentenced as a repeat offender because he had prior arrests for civil disobedience in New York. 

The four were taken to a lockup in Brooklyn, said Stanley Schlein, a lawyer for Carrion, Rivera and Ramirez. He said the earliest they could be released is Tuesday, when lawyers hope to argue for their freedom. 

“When convicted felons, murderers and convicted members of organized crime are allowed bail, it seems to me only fair for Rev. Sharpton, convicted for a misdemeanor offense of trespass for a peaceful protest ... to be free pending appeal,” said Sharpton attorney Sanford Rubenstein. 

The Navy has used its range on Vieques, home to 9,400 people, for six decades and says it is vital for national security.  

Critics say it poses a health threat, which the Navy denies. 

Opposition to the exercises grew after a civilian guard was killed on the range in 1999 by two off-target bombs.  

The Navy has since stopped using live ammunition, and islanders will vote in November whether the Navy must leave in 2003 or can stay, resuming the use of live ammunition. 

On the Net: 

Navy’s Vieques site: http://www.navyvieques.navy.mil

YUMA, Ariz. — Fourteen illegal immigrants who died in the Arizona desert this week are just the latest victims of a trek that promises prosperity but often ends in tragedy. 

Southern Arizona has been a popular crossing point for illegal entrants since the mid-1990s as crackdowns in California and Texas forced them to brave the region’s scorching temperatures and desolate landscape in search of a better life in America. 

“Unfortunately, people’s lives are so desperate that they won’t stop coming — they’ll just keep trying,” said Rick Ufford-Chase of BorderLinks, a Tucson-based public-awareness group. 

“It’s simply not possible to carry enough water across the desert,” Ufford-Chase said. “So we’ve made the act of looking for a better job in the United States a crime that carries the death penalty with it.” 

The immigrants died after smugglers abandoned them last weekend with little food and water in temperatures that reached 115 degrees. 

The smugglers left them in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, telling them they need only walk a few hours to reach a highway. The highway was more than 50 miles away. 

Only 12 were still alive when the Border Patrol discovered them Wednesday and Thursday. The survivors, many from the Mexican state of Veracruz, were hospitalized in Yuma with severe dehydration and related kidney damage. One was missing. 

The victims are among 48 immigrants who have died trying to cross the Arizona desert since last fall. It was believed to be the deadliest attempt to cross the U.S.-Mexico border since 1987, when 18 Mexican men died in a locked railroad boxcar near Sierra Blanca, Texas. 

Johnny Williams, a regional director for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, placed much of the blame on smugglers who charge people hundreds of dollars for passage into the United States. 

“The people from Veracruz didn’t decide themselves to come to this cauldron,” Williams said. “These smugglers convince people that they know the way to go. 

“In this particular case, they told the people it would only take a couple of hours. A few hours later it turns into a fight to their death.” 

The Rev. Javier Perez, a Roman Catholic priest who visited the hospitalized immigrants Thursday, said they told him they survived by digging up roots and breaking cactus to drink its juice. One told doctors he drank his own urine in desperation. 

“They don’t want anything more to do with the United States,” Perez said. “They want to go back.” 

According to the Border Patrol, 106 people died while crossing southern Arizona’s deserts during the 12-month period that ended on Sept. 30, 2000, and more than 4,200 others have been rescued since 1998. 

So far this fiscal year, 388,337 illegal immigrants have been stopped, according to INS reports. 

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., said the deaths are the result of economic disparity between the two nations and of U.S. immigration policies that make it difficult to cross the border but easy to stay once they make it. 

“What we have now is a toxic combination,” he said. 

Government officials in the United States and Mexico condemned immigrant smugglers and pledged to work together to find a long-term solution for illegal border crossings. 

Until a solution is found, border officials know they will continue to see illegal crossings that end in tragedy. 

“The border is more difficult to cross than ever in history, and callous smugglers are moving the crossers to the more dangerous points,” INS spokesman Robert Gilbert said. “I don’t think we want to lose awareness that even before we had a national strategy, the border was a dangerous environment.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

Border Patrol: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/lawenfor/bpatrol/ 

When you add up all the economic woes, fears and worries that are being dramatized daily you can understand how American consumers might be getting into a psychological funk. 

There are job woes, profit woes, investment woes, power woes, health care woes. And fears that the economy could fall into recession and that layoffs will rise. And off in the distance, worries about retirement. 

So many woes that you begin to think that maybe the woes are being over-publicized. Most Americans, it seems, are still able to force a smile. They have jobs. They are taking vacations. 

Still, you can’t ignore that there are worries out there and that when people worry they tend to forget their job of getting and spending and thus providing a catalyst for keeping the economy going. 

The latest hard evidence of a decline in confidence is reflected in the housing market, with the annual rate of new home sales falling by 9.5 percent in April, the biggest monthly decline in four years. 

This can be significant, not just because of the decline’s extent but because housing is a pretty special economic indicator. To buy or not buy a home, for example, isn’t comparable to buying or not buying a TV set. 

Homeownership is an almost universal aspiration. It is perhaps the biggest financial decision faced by families. It requires long preparation. And once made, a decision to buy isn’t easily postponed. 

Delaying that decision is more difficult when you consider that lenders these days promote the idea that now is a once in a lifetime opportunity because mortgage rates are down more than a percentage point in the past year. 

Housing is significant also because its economic effect is so broad. 

The National Association of Home Builders estimates that the creation of 1,000 single-family houses generates 2,448 jobs in construction and related industries, providing $80 million in wages. 

It involves scores of suppliers — lumber, siding, air conditioning, cement, paint. Its spending impact is both local and national. And when a family moves in, they spend more money on furnishing. 

For these reasons, home sales are both a barometer of existing economic conditions and of things to come. And so it behooves us to know if we should add its April declines to the list of woes. 

Maybe not, and for at least a couple of reasons: 

• The homeownership rate now is just a tad under 70 percent, probably the highest ever. The upper limit is unknown, but we do know many people prefer renting, and that you can’t push ownership forever higher. 

• Home building and sales, the latter for both existing and new homes, have been running at record or near-record highs for the past few years, despite the economic slowdown. Any decline is from a very high level. 

Moreover, the broad economy may still be feeling the slowdown effects of last year’s interest rate increases, and not yet reflecting the more recent cuts in borrowing rates. 

In this context, a housing decline is as understandable – perhaps more so – than a continued rise in activity. And there is even an encouraging aspect to it, it being that a some relief from ever-higher housing prices. 

Don’t add housing too quickly to the list woes. There’s enough of them. The slowdown in April might even help provoke the Federal Reserve into lowering interest rates again. 

John Cunniff is a business analyst for The Associated Press

SAN JOSE — Features of eBay and Half.com, an eBay-owned Web site that offers products at set prices, will be combined over the next year, executives said at the company’s annual meeting Friday. 

EBay chief executive and president Meg Whitman said it didn’t make sense to have eBay and Half.com remain separate platforms, with users having different identities and reputations on each site. 

She said Half would be moved “onto the eBay platform.” EBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove later said she didn’t mean Half would cease to exist as a separate site, just that technologies specific to each site would be incorporated by the other. 

For example, Whitman said people find that eBay has a more user-friendly interface than Half, while selling products on Half.com is much easier. Sellers on Half.com can upload information about products from their numbered bar codes, while eBay users have to write out descriptions of the items they’re listing. 

Of course, items in many of eBay’s most popular categories, such as art and antiques, do not have bar codes, which would make the Half.com method impossible. But Whitman recently told The Associated Press that “you will see some technology transfer (from Half to eBay) over time.” 

EBay’s head of technology, Maynard Webb, said his staff – and the outside developers in the company’s initiative to link its trading platform to other sites – are already working on ways to integrate Half into eBay. 

Whitman confirmed Friday that eBay plans to begin offering sellers “storefronts,” entire pages to themselves, in the next quarter. The move has been expected for months. 

She also said in response to a shareholder’s question that eBay has a “significant lobbying effort for a company our size” aimed at persuading Congress to keep Internet commerce free of new taxes. 

If the government were to impose a special sales tax on e-commerce transactions, Whitman said she doesn’t believe it necessarily would “fundamentally change the marketplace on eBay.” 

Whitman she added that she would not want eBay to be responsible for cataloging and reporting tax information on the millions of transactions it facilitates. 

Shares of eBay lost $1.06 to $62.20 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.ebay.com 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — When the “Tour de Sol” started in 1989, its message of fuel efficiency fell largely on deaf ears. 

Gas was cheap, alternative-fuel vehicles weren’t available to the general public, and the ones being designed looked more like space ships than cars. It was mostly engineering buffs who came to see the annual parade of student-designed vehicles. 

Things have changed considerably now that gas prices are soaring and average folks are paying more attention to the energy-efficient vehicles traveling through the Northeast this week for the tour, now called the Great American Green Transportation Festival. 

Several automakers have also joined the tour this year, and a few have alternative vehicles already on the road.  

Honda’s Insight, a gasoline-electric hybrid, gets 70 miles to the gallon compared to the average 24.5 miles for 2001 models, and Toyota’s Prius, also a hybrid electric, gets about 50 miles per gallon. 

Darryl Dowty, a professor whose Central Connecticut State University students created a truck and motorbike powered by batteries, solar energy and propane, said he’s pleased to see the automakers involved. 

“That’s our job, to get people who do this for a living to build these things,” Dowty said. 

Other vehicles in the tour run on various combinations including solar power, battery power, ethanol and hydrogen. The Department of Energy is sponsoring a separate cross-country race for solar cars, the American Solar Challenge, in July. 

Organizers and participants say the green tour, which finishes in Boston on Saturday, is about teaching the public and cultivating a new generation of fuel efficiency engineers. 

The technology is so young even the big carmakers need all the new ideas they can get, said Honda spokesman Michael Tebo. 

“What I see this year is much more diverse entrants,” Tebo said. “We’re in transition in terms of what the next big technology is going to be, and these guys are trying all sorts of different things.” 

Among the 50 entries are a two-seat electric car that can reach 90 miles per hour and an assortment of neighborhood vehicles that could be used for short trips at lower speeds. The entries come from high schools, colleges and companies. 

Some vehicles still have the space ship look, with a solar “sail” or an odd aerodynamic shape, but increasingly the vehicles look like average cars. 

That’s important to Rita Dorgan, a local resident who visited the festival this week in Pittsfield. 

“Now with this gas problem that seems to be a perennial thing, we’re now considering a more efficient vehicle,” she said. 

This year’s tour began just after President Bush unveiled his new energy plan, which calls for $4 million in tax credits to spur sales of hybrid gas-electric vehicles.  

Environmentalists have been cool to the plan, saying it emphasizes increasing energy supplies over conservation. 

Despite the progress in design and bringing down cost, widespread use of vehicles that run on electricity and fuels other than gasoline is still years away. Cost and range are factors, though the Insight is down to about $19,000, and alternative fuels aren’t always widely available. 

Organizer Mary Hazard, of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, said such concerns are valid, but she points to progress made in the 12 years since the tour began. 

“The quality of the vehicles is light years beyond the quality of what we saw in the beginning,” she said. 

On the Net: 

Tour: http://www.nesea.org/transportation/index.html 

American Solar Challenge: http://www.formulasun.org/asc/

EUGENE, Ore. — What started out as a favor for a friend may turn into a major business for Scott Koffler. Three months ago, the 40-year-old millwright received a patent for the Shoot Tube, designed to safely handle test firings of handguns. 

“I always dreamed of being a millionaire,” Koffler said. “I never dreamed of falling into this.” 

It all started with a conversation between friends. Koffler was talking with Troy Standard, the manager of Ace Buyers in Albany. 

Standard had been buying handguns that didn’t work properly and was looking for a way to test them before buying. Standard had seen a device at one of the other Ace Buyers locations, but didn’t feel it was very safe. 

He talked with Koffler, whom he’s known for about eight years, because he knew Koffler had the skills to build such a device and he trusted him. 

“I know he’s good at welding and has contacts with people for the materials to make the shoot tube,” Standard said. “I knew he would do it and do a good job with it.” 

After some thought, Koffler sat down with his computer and designed the Shoot Tube, which is 31 inches high and 6 inches across. It sits at a 20-degree angle from the floor, a natural and comfortable angle for a shooter to aim into. The tube is welded to a 10-inch by 24-inch piece of flat plate that’s one-half inch thick. The top of the tube has a blast cap and it is filled with sand for three-quarters of its length, allowing it to stop a bullet. 

“If a bullet goes into sand it has to expand,” Koffler said. “Since the tube keeps the sand from expanding it only goes down 4 inches.” 

About a week after the first conversation with Standard, Koffler brought him the finished product. It worked like a charm. 

“I was overly impressed. It was far beyond any of my expectations as far as quality and attention to the necessity for safety,” Standard said. “He went beyond what we talked about.” 

After Koffler had made about 20 for various people, he decided to check and see if there was a patent on something similar to his device. 

“I did a patent check and there was nothing out there,” Koffler said. “I filed a U.S. patent on it and that’s how it started.” 

Three months later Koffler had the patent. Then he realized he needed a limited liability license, which has been his major holdup in starting production. The license protects him if the Shoot Tube is sold within the state of Oregon, but outside the state he could be held liable. 

“I think I’m going to go with a bunch of disclaimers. Don’t do this and don’t do that,” Koffler said, as a way to get around the liability problem. 

Poetry slammer Nico Cary, a Berkeley High sophomore, kicked off a discussion on school reform Wednesday with a poem that explores the connection between economic inequality and racial inequality. 

“Sometimes the way to knowledge be too high,” Cary said, in a lyrical, rapid fire performance that elicited laughter and more than a few spontaneous bursts of affirmation from the crowd gathered at south Berkeley’s La Peña Cafe .  

“My nigger’s lost on the information highway.” 

The poem was an appropriate beginning to the night, where some 50 Berkeley High students, teachers and parents wrestled with the question of how Berkeley High can be reformed to serve its African-American and Latino students as well as it serves its white and Asian-American students. 

Although many students of color excel at Berkeley High, statistics suggest that students of color are much more likely to fail or skip classes (the two are usually related) or face suspension for disciplinary reasons. Berkeley High’s students of color also historically underperform their white and Asian American peers on standardized tests. 

The Diversity Project, a multi-year study that attempted to pinpoint the reasons for the so-called “racial achievement gap” at Berkeley High, found that African-American students accounted for 68 percent of suspensions during the 1997-1998 school year, although they represented only 36 percent of the total student body at that time. 

“We cannot dismiss the high number of suspensions as due to a handful of struggling students bumping their heads up against the school rules,” the Diversity Project concluded in its May 2000 Discipline Report. “Instead, we must take seriously that a large number of students (primarily African American students) are struggling in the system as it exists.” 

Nicole Heyman, a Berkeley High senior, organized Wednesday’s forum as part a senior project for Berkeley High’s Communication Arts and Sciences program (CAS).  

She said she planned the forum so the adults who are pushing education reform for Berkeley High could hear more of what students have to say. 

“If we’re going to design these (small learning communities), then students need to be as much of a part of it as adults are,” Heyman said. 

The specific reform plan under consideration these days, with the help of a $50,000 federal planning grant, calls for Berkeley High to follow the lead of some other large high schools in the country and divide its 3,200 students into a number of “small learning communities.”  

Such communities allow teachers to give students more personalized attention, supporters says, so those with special needs don’t “fall through the cracks.” 

Heyman said she supports the idea of small schools. 

Before joining the CAS program – in itself a small learning community within Berkeley High, focused on instilling a sense of social justice in students through their studies of core topics like history and English – Heyman said she was just kind of coasting through high school waiting for it to end. 

“I was just another high school student who didn’t know where to put my efforts or what to do,” Heyman said. 

“My whole world changed” after entering the CAS program, Heyman said. “The sense of community, the kind of closeness I got with teachers...It got me interested in what we were learning.” 

After reviewing some of the Diversity Report’s most salient findings, Heyman opened up the floor to discussion Wednesday. Most students voiced support for the idea of small learning communities, but some in the audience expressed concerns. 

One parent said she had children in one of the small learning communities already in place at Berkeley High (there are three up and running) who still “are not succeeding at Berkeley High.” 

Berkeley High teacher Marcela Taylor said giving teachers more opportunity to work one on one with students will not necessarily impact the achievement gap at Berkeley High. 

“Most African American and Latino students are failing ninth grade,” Taylor said. “And even a teacher of color like me, who supposedly ‘understands them,’ quote unquote, can’t help them.” 

Reform needs to involve outreach to the families of failing children, Taylor said. 

A different group of students – those hanging out in Civic Center Park across from the high school Thursday afternoon – registered mixed feelings about the potential of small learning communities to cure Berkeley High’s ills. 

“Our school is too big,” conceded graduating senior Carrie Hoskins. But she said the students who struggle at Berkeley High do so in large measure because they arrive on the campus woefully unprepared. 

As for the problem of chronic class cutting (Hoskins said she spent three full months of her sophomore year hanging out in the park, skipping class), Hoskins and other students in the park said too many teachers at the school fail to make class meaningful.  

Some were skeptical that small communities alone would address this problem. 

“It’s not the subject, it’s how it’s taught,” Hoskins said. 

Others couldn’t wait to sign up. 

“I’m doing Common Ground next year ’cause I can’t deal with the regular Berkeley High any more,” said sophomore Michael Cochrane, referring to one of the small learning communities already in place at the school. Cochrane said he was looking forward to “more interaction with the teachers as a whole, and less just barking at you from a book.”

Friday, May 25  

Free Writing, Cashiering  

& Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

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

www.ajob.org 

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.  

Therapy for Trans Partners  

6 - 7:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center for Human Growth  

2712 Telegraph Ave. (at Derby)  

A group open to partners of those in transition or considering transition. The group is structured to be a safe place to receive support from peers and explore a variety of issues, including sexual orientation, coming out, feelings of isolation, among other topics. Intake process required. Meeting Fridays through August 17.  

$8 - $35 sliding scale per session  

Call 548-8283 x534 or x522 

Saturday, May 26 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

Himalayan Fair 

10 a.m. - 7 p.m.  

Live Oak Park  

1300 Shattuck Ave.  

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 869-3995 www.himalayanfair.net  

Chocolate  

and Chalk Art Festival 

9 a.m. 

Registration at Peralta Park 

1561 Solano Ave. 

Areas of sidewalk will be assigned to participants to create their own sidewalk art. People who find all five of the chocolate kisses chalked onto Solano Ave. can enter raffle for cash prize. Dog fashion show at Solano Ave. and Key Route in Albany at 2 p.m. Free. 527-5358 

Sunday, May 27  

Getting Calm; Staying Clear 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institut 

1815 Highland Place 

Discussion of meditation and analysis. Free and open to the public. 843-6812  

Inside Interior Design  

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar led by certified interior designer and artist Lori Inman.  

$35 per person 525-7610 

Monday, May 28 

Shavuot Ice Cream Party 

11 a.m. 

Berkeley Hillel 

2736 Bancroft Way 

Come hear the ten commandments. 540-5824 

Tuesday, May 29 

People’s State of the City Address 

7:00 p.m. 

City Council Chambers 

2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

This community meeting will focus on housing, jobs, education, and disability and senior issues in the city of Berkeley. Food will be provided. Free. 

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 

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 

The Lois Club Meeting 

12 noon or 6 p.m. 

Venizia Caffe and Bistro 

1799 University Ave. 

Social gathering for people whose names are Lois. National organization, local chapter now has 75 members. Open to Loises and their guests. Join the club for lunch or dinner. Call 848-6254 by May 25 

Wednesday, May 30  

Dream Home for a Song  

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar conducted by author/contractor/owner-builder David Cook.  

$35 per person 525-7610  

Thursday, May 31  

Backpacking  

in Northern California  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Outdoors Unlimited’s director, Ari Derfel, will give a slide presentation for three-to-four-day backpacking vacations. Free 527-4140 

Attic Conversions  

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar conducted by architect/builder Andus Brandt.  

$35 per person 525-7610  

League of Women  

Voters’ Dinner and Meeting 

5:30 - 9 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church 

941 The Alameda 

Featuring speaker Brenda Harbin-Forte, presiding judge of the Alameda County Juvenile Court on “What’s happening with Alameda County children in the juvenile justice system after Prop. 21?” $10 to reserve buffet supper. May bring own meal or come only for meeting/speaker. 

843-8824  

Promises, no action 

Editor:  

It's déjà vu all over again! And again, and again!  

The Parks Department promises to coat the wooden play structures in Cedar Rose and other Berkeley parks to prevent transference of arsenic onto children's hands and the Corporation Yard promises to clean up its gravel pits. (“Groups challenge arsenic in play structures” 5/24/01 and “Corporation Yard cited for second time” 5/23/01. )  

I was one of the founders of Parents United for Health who marched on Berkeley City Hall and held press conferences in Cedar Rose Park in June 1983 to protest the use of pesticides in city parks and to ask for a solution to the arsenic problem.  

As a neighbor of the Corporation Yard, I have also heard the city's many promises regarding environmental problems there.  

The rapid turnover of city staff, especially in management positions, means each department head can honestly say, “It didn't happen while I was in charge,” and blame past managers. Meanwhile, citizens suffer the consequences.  

The Corporation Yard's current promise to cover the rock, sand, gravel, and dirt bunkers with canopies and to put filters in the storm sewers is not an acceptable solution for the neighborhood.  

Neighbors have complained about the noise and air pollution from this operation for a long time, and have heard many promises, such as covering the bunkers with tarpaulins. Such clean-up efforts by the Corporation Yard rarely last more than a week or two.  

The sand, crushed granite, etc. are brought into this residential neighborhood in tandem trailers, dumped into the bunkers – creating great clouds of airborne particulate – and much noise.  

Employees then use a front-end loader to transfer the material into city dump trucks, each time creating clouds of dust, and making noise just 10 feet from the tennis and volleyball courts at Strawberry Creek Park and 40 feet from the kitchen and bedroom windows of Section 8 housing. The scooping and loading involves much backing up – can you hear the beeping? – crunching, thumping, scraping, and whooshing.  

Imagine trying to play tennis through that? Imagine living next to that? Do we need a study of airborne particulate in the Corporation Yard?  

It's time to end stopgap measures and move the gravel pits operation elsewhere!  

The city should replace the park play structures on an emergency basis! The 1980's study found that one wipe with a moist cloth (or sweaty hand) picked up dangerous levels of arsenic. Let's not endanger our children any longer!  

Acta non verba!  

Toni Horodysky  

Berkeley

924 Gilman St. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless noted $5; $2 for year membership. All ages. May 25: Controlling Hand, Wormwood, Goats Blood, American Waste, Quick to Blame; May 26: Honor System, Divit, Enemy You, Eleventeen, Tragedy Andy; June 1: Alkaline Trio, Hotrod Circuit, No Motiv, Dashboard Confessional, Bluejacket; June 2: El Dopa, Dead Bodies Everywhere, Shadow People, Ludicra, Ballast. 525-9926  

Ashkenaz May 25: Jelly Roll; May 26: Caribbean All Stars; May 27: Big Brother and the Holding Company; May 29: Andrew Carrier and Cajun Classics; May 30: Fling Ding, Bluegrass Intentions, Leslie Kier and Friends; May 31: Wake the Dead, David Gans 1370 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Freight & Salvage All music at 8 p.m. May 25: Gearoid O’Hallmhurain, Patrick Ourceau, Robbie O’Connell; May 26: Darryl Henriques; May 27: Shana Morrison; May 31: Freight 33rd Anniversary Concert Series: Bob Dylan Song Night and others; June 1: The Riders of the Purple Sage. 1111 Addison St. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jupiter All shows at 8 p.m. May 25: The Mind Club; May 26: Rhythm Doctors; May 29: The Lost Trio; May 30: Zambambazo 2181 Shattuck Ave 843-8277  

La Peña Cultural Center May 26: 7-9 p.m. in the Cafe Jason Moen Jazz Quartet, 9:30 p.m. Charanga Tumbo y Cuerdas; May 27: 4 p.m. in the cafe La Pena Flamenca; May 28: 7 p.m. Frank Emilio Flynn 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 or www.lapena.org  

Berkeley Lyric Opera Orchestra May 27, 8 p.m. John Kendall Bailey conducting, Ivan Ilic on piano. Works by Bach, Stravinsky, Mozart, Prokofiev. $15 - $20 St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave. 843-5781  

Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble Combos and Lab Band May 25, 7:30 p.m. $5 - $8. Florence Schwimly Little  

Theater 1920 Allston Way www.bhs.berkeley.k12.ca.us/arts 

/performing/jazz 

New Millennium Strings Benefit Concert May 26, 8 p.m. Featuring pieces by Weber, Chabrier, Bizet. Benefits Berkeley Food Pantry $7 - $10 University Christian Church 2401 La Conte 526-3331 

Colibri May 26, 11 a.m. Latin American songs and rhythms. West Branch of the Berkeley Public Library 1125 University 649-3964 

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  

Kenny Washington May 27, 4:30 p.m. $6 - $12. Jazzschool/La Note 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 

Jupiter String Quartet May 27, 7:30 p.m. Works by Janacek and Haydn. $8 - $10. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St.  

Pacific Film Archive May 25: 7:30 E Flat; May 26: 7:00 Subarnarekha; May 27: 5:30 Stone Flowers. Pacific Film Archive Theater 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

“An Evening of Handmade Films” May 25, 8 p.m. This documentary chronicles the lives of three disabled East African women who designed and built wheelchairs for use on unpaved roads. $5 suggested donation. Fantasy Studios, 2600 10th St. at Parker, 549-2977. 

Nomad Videofilm Festival 2001 June 1 10:40p.m. featuring world premieres from four S.F. Bay Area mediamakers: “Roadkill” by Antero Alli, “Forest” by Farhad J. Parsa “Visit” by Jesse Miller, B, “Fell Apart” by Doan La Fine Arts Cinema, 2541 Shattuck Ave. $7 (510) 848-1143/464-4640, pix & details: http://www.verticalpool.com/nomad.html 

“TRAGOS: A Cyber-Noir Witch Hunt” an Antero Alli film June 2, 10:40pm Fine Arts Cinema, 2541 Shattuck Ave. $7 (510) 848-1143/464-4640, pix & details: http://www.verticalpool.com/tragos.html 

Exhibits 

“Scapes/Escapes” Ink, Acrylic, Mixed Media by Evelyn Glaubman Through 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 Through June 9, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth St. 527-1214 www.traywick.com 

Ledger drawings of Michael and Sandra Horse. Exhibit runs through June 18. Gathering Tribes Gallery 1573 Solano Ave. 528-9038 www.gatheringtribes.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. Pacific School of Religion 1798 Scenic Ave. 848-0528 

Tyler James Hoare Sculpture and Collage Through June 27, call for hours. Party June 9, 5-9 p.m. with music by Sauce Piquante. The Albatross Pub 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

“Watershed 2001” Through July 14, Wednesday - Sunday Noon - 5 p.m. Exhibition of painting, drawing, sculpture and installation that explore images and issues about our watershed. Slide presentation on creek restoration and urban design May 31, 7:30 p.m. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893 

Bernard Maisner: Illuminated Manuscripts and 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 through August 24; 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) 

“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 

“Queens of Ethipoia: Intuitive Inspirations,” the exceptional art of Esete-Miriam A. Menkir. June 2 through July 11. Reception with the artist on June 2, 1 - 3 p.m. Women’s Cancer Resource Center Gallery 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 ext 307 

“The Decade of Change: 1900 - 1910” chronicles the transformation of the city of Berkeley in this 10 year period. Thursday through Saturday, 1 - 4 p.m. Berkeley History Center, Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center St. Wheelchair accessible. 848-0181. Free.  

Readings 

Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted May 24: Katie Hafner decries “The Well: A Story of Love, Death and Real Life in the Seminal Online Community”; May 25: Nathaniel Philbrick talks about “In the Heart of the Sea”; May 29: David Harris talks about “Shooting the Moon: The True Story of An American Manhunt Unlike Any Other, Ever”  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533 All events at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise 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 24: Stephanie Young with host Louis Cuneo; May 31: Connie Post with host Louis Cuneo Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

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  

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tours All tours begin at 10 a.m. and are restricted to 30 people per tour $5 - $10 per tour. 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 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute Free Lectures All lectures begin at 6 p.m. 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 

BTV schedule 

Friday, May 25 

Midnight: Frank Moore Unlimited Possibilities 

8 a.m. Leela Foundation: Are You Willing? 

9 a.m. Intrepid Berkeley Explorer: Passes Through India and Nepal #4 

10 a.m. San Francisco Classical Guitar Society #45 

10:30 a.m. Bay Area Musicians Showcase: Duncan James & Lyrique 

11 a.m. Paranormal Connection, Express Studio Replay from THURSDAY 

6:30pm 

11:30 a.m. Fast Forward Replay Studio A 7:00  

Noon: All There Is To Do Intern Show Replay 

12:30 p.m. Quantifying the Quality of Life 

1 p.m. Video Feedback Hula: Halau Oka UA Lililihu 

1:30 p.m. It's Healing TIme 

2 p.m. On The Move: #131 Parents Helping Parents with Disabled 

Children 

2:30 p.m. Sound Gallery:!Tang 

3 p.m. The Sea Within; Deep Colors Deep Hunters 

3:30 p.m. Duck Duck Goose: Gardening 

4 p.m. NASA TV: Education File 

5 p.m. Free Speech TV #2 

7 p.m. Who's In My Kitchen? #2 Fruit Salad and Punchcicles 

7:30 p.m. Wee Poets: Don't Smoke, Washington Elementary School  

8 p.m. Boredom Theater 

8:30 p.m. Back Stage Pass: Uncle Filthy  

9 p.m. Alexander Haig's World Business Review A 

9:30 p.m. Alexander Haig's World Business Review B 

10 p.m. The Blue Lew Show: Marty's Party 

10:30 p.m. The Dr. Susan Block Show: The New Horny Housewife A 

11 p.m. Thrush TV: The All the Young Dudes Show 

11:30 p.m. IVTV Episode 3 

Saturday, May 26 

Midnight: Reality Check: #204 No Fear  

12:30 a.m. Analog Rhythms 

8 a.m. Berkeley Baha'I Community: Baha'u'llah - The Prisoner of Akka 

9 a.m. Bible Reading 

9:30 a.m. Wee Poets: Don't Smoke, Washington Elementary School 

10 a.m. Duck Duck Goose: Gardening 

10:30 a.m. NASA TV: Education File 

11:30 a.m. Boredom Theater 

Noon: Great Pets, Replay from last week 

12:30 p.m. The BHS Video Bomb Squad: The CAS Poetry Slam Benefit 

2:30 p.m. The Cutting Edge: Video Magazine 

3 p.m. Paranormal Connection, Replay from Express Studio  

3:30 p.m. Chat Room 

4 p.m. Star Alliance, Replay from Express Studio WEDNESDAY  

5 p.m. Broadcast Violation, Replay from Express Studio WEDNESDAY  

5:30 p.m. Who's In My Kitchen?: #2 Fruit Salad and Punchcicles 

6 p.m. Video Feedback Hula: Halau Oka UA Lililihu 

6:30 p.m. The Sea Within; Deep Colors Deep Hunters 

7 p.m. Universe of Yahweh #219 

7:30 p.m. Fast Forward, replay from Studio A THURSDAY 

8 p.m. Analog Rhythms 

9 p.m. Lannan Literary Series: Victor Hernandez Cruz 

10 p.m. A Boy and His Dog: And the Beat Goes On 

11 p.m. Live with Rick Sylvain #119 

11:30 p.m. Reality Check: #204 No Fear 

Sunday, May 27 

Midnight: The Dr. Susan Block Show: The New Horny Housewife A 

12:30 a.m. Thrush TV: All the Young Dudes Show 

1 a.m. NASA TV LIVE: Earth views  

8 a.m. Bible Reading  

8:30 a.m. Berkeley City Council Meeting, Replay from TUESDAY 

2 p.m. The BHS Video Bomb Squad: The CAS Poetry Slam Benefit  

4 p.m. The Word Featuring Ephesian Church 

5 p.m. Film Time: Miss Congeniality and Traffic Reviews and Tim Roth 

Segment 

5:30 p.m. Welcome To Northern Light School 

6 p.m. Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting, Replay from MONDAY 

9 p.m. Berkeley Baha'I Community: Baha'u'llah - The Prisoner of Akka 

10 p.m. Sound Gallery: !Tang 

10:30 p.m. All There Is To Do, BCM Intern Show Replay from 5/19 

11 p.m. Free Speech TV, Tape #2 

Monday, May 28 

1 a.m. NASA TV LIVE: Earth Views 

3 a.m. Community Bulletin Board 

8 a.m. First Amendment Center 

9 a.m. NASA TV: NTV Video File & Television Gallery 

11 a.m. On the Move: Changing Images of C.P. 

11:30 a.m. BHS Bomb Squad: The CAS Poetry Slam Benefit 3/2/01 

1:30 p.m. Wee Poets 

2 p.m. NASA TV: Education File 

3 p.m. Duck Duck Goose 

3:30 p.m. Bible Reading 

4 p.m. A Boy and His Dog: Nonstop Music 

5 p.m. Live with Rick Sylvain #118 

5:30 p.m. Bay Area Musicians Showcase: S.F. Mallet Band 

6 p.m. The Wall That Heals  

7 p.m. And Yet We Lived 

7:30 p.m. Vietnam Experience 

8 p.m. Lannan Literary Series:  

9 p.m. Video Heads 

9:30 p.m. Video Culture 

10 p.m. San Francisco Classical Guitar Society #46 

10:30 p.m. Berkeley Baha'I Community 

11 p.m. All There Is to do, BCM Intern Show Replay 

11:30 p.m. Thrush TV:The Grim Reaper Show 

Tuesday, May 29 

Midnight: The Dr. Susan Block Show: spanking for adults A 

12:30 a.m. Frank Moore's Unlimited Possibilities #2 

3 a.m. Community Bulletin Board 

8 a.m. Power to the People; Town Hall Meeting  

10 a.m. Lannan Literary Series 

11 a.m. Video Culture 

11:30 a.m. And Yet We Lived 

Noon: Vietnam Experience 

12:30 p.m. People's Video Network 

1 p.m. One on One 

1:30 p.m. Video Heads  

2 p.m. A Boy and His Dog: Nonstop Music 

3 p.m. Live with Rick Sylvain #118 

3:30 p.m. Berkeley High School Homework Hotline, Studio A LIVE 

4:30 p.m. Back Stage Pass 

5 p.m. San Francisco Classical Guitar Society #46 

5:30 p.m. Poetry Festival #4 

6 p.m. Universe of Yahweh #220 

6:30 p.m. Bay Area Musicians Showcase: S.F. Mallet Band 

7 p.m. People's State of the City Address 

11 p.m. The Wall That Heals  

Wednesday, May 30 

Midnight: NASA TV: NTV Video File & Television Gallery 

2 a.m. Community Bulletin Board 

8 a.m. People's State of the City Address 

Noon: The Wall That Heals  

1 p.m. Vietnam Experience 

1:30 p.m. Poetry Festival 2000 

2 p.m. Who's In My Kitchen? Green Goo's 

2:30 p.m. Universe of Yahweh #220 

3 p.m. Bay Area Musicians Showcase: S.F. Mallet Band 

3:30 p.m. Free Speech TV #1 

5:30 p.m. Great Pets, Express Studio LIVE 

6 p.m. It's Healing Time 

6:30 p.m. Fast Forward, Replay of Last Week 

7 p.m. CNS News Magazine Show: Faces In The Crowd  

8 p.m. Food: A CNS News Special Report 

8:30 p.m. Sheila  

9 p.m. The Word Featuring Ephesian Church, Replay from last week  

10 p.m. People's Video Network 

10:30 p.m. Film Time  

11 p.m. NASA TV NTV Video File & Television Gallery 

Thursday, May 31 

1 a.m. Analog Rhythms #29 

2 a.m. Community Bulletin Board 

8 a.m. NASA TV: NTV Video File 

9 a.m. Sheila  

9:30 a.m. Film Time  

10 a.m. The Word Featuring Ephesian Church, Replay of last week 

11 a.m. CNS News Magazine Show: Faces In The Crowd  

Noon: Free Speech TV Wk Tape #1 

2 p.m. Great Pets, Express Studio Replay  

2:30 p.m. It's Healing Time 

3 p.m. On the Move: Changing Images of C.P. 

3:30 p.m. Berkeley High School Homework Hotline, Studio A LIVE 

4:30 p.m. Intrepid Berkeley Explorer: Dances w/ National Parks  

5:30 p.m. Boredom Theater 

6 p.m. Alexander Haig's World Business Review B 

6:30 p.m. Power to the People; Town Hall Meeting  

9 p.m. Watch This, Replay from 5/14/01 

9:30 p.m. Back Stage Pass 

10 p.m. Sound Gallery 

10:30 p.m. Reality Check 

11 p.m. IVTV, Episode 4 

11:30 p.m. The Blue Lew Show:  

Carnival '96

For the first time since opening its new Roda Theater in March, the Berkeley Rep has two plays running simultaneously in its two performance spaces. 

Charles Mee’s feminist murder comedy “Big Love” continues on the Thrust Stage through mid-June, and the company opened on Wednesday night in the Roda the West Coast premiere of a fascinating and powerful new stage documentary “The Laramie Project.” 

“The Laramie Project” is based on the 1998 torture killing in Laramie, Wyo., of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay 21-year-old university student. The show was conceived, researched, written and staged by New York’s Tectonic Theater Project, under the direction of Moises Kaufman. 

Tectonic and Kaufman are best known for their 1997 “Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde,” a play that ran off-Broadway for 18 months, and in San Francisco for six. 

“The Laramie Project” is a complex panoramic story, sort of a contemporary oral history by dozens of local Laramie people about the circumstances leading up to and following the murder of Shepard.  

One night, two men in a Laramie bar offered Shepard a ride home, and subsequently tied him to a fence for 18 hours and tortured him, before Shepard finally died in a hospital ICU unit five days later. 

A month after the murder, which attracted worldwide media attention, Tectonic Project members traveled to Laramie, a town of 27,000, for the first of six visits during which they recorded extensive interviews with 200 people. 

The play then evolved over the next 18 months, constructed from those oral history interviews, and trial and news testimonies. The final scrip – a long, detailed and ambitious story, credited to five writers and seven dramaturgs – opened at Denver Center Theater Company (a two-hour drive from Laramie) in February 2000. 

In telling the story of Shepard and the people of Laramie, the play struggles to find a connection between the tragedy that occurred, and a town that often prides itself on a live-and-let-live attitude. 

The play begins with a cultural history of Laramie, and moves to the set-up in the bar the night before the assault.  

It tracks the torture and beatings, arrest, arraignment, medical testimony by appalled hospital emergency room staff, the ensuing international media frenzy, community response, funeral, trials and judgment. 

This is total immersion in the story and events, told through the personalities of various witnesses.  

Their accounts range from funny to tragic. 

The stories of the individual people are fascinating, from the investigating police officer who fears HIV infection, to the local Catholic priest’s profound spiritual take on the situation, to the testimony of a few local gays. 

The play’s wide range of characters includes two salty old female social workers, the town’s cowboy limo driver, university people, church leaders and members, friends and family of the killers, the college student who found Matthew, and two members of the sheriff’s department. 

Tectonic’s staging is terrific. Each actor plays many roles, creating multiple distinctive characters, and the performances are sharp.  

The characters are touching, funny, real, and generally thoughtful. 

Director Kaufman’s bare staging exposes behind-the-scenes theater rigging. It uses a small number of slide and video projections – the latter simulating live video feeds of television reporters during the media frenzy – and one impressive prairie rainstorm. 

This is a long evening in the theater, running three hours with two intermissions.  

Each act builds strong emotional energy, and then spills the audience out into the hallways for a break to absorb it, then starts it up again. 

Some in the audience opening night felt the show was too long, but I disagree. If you go prepared for what it is – a lengthy and intelligent documentary of a profound, fascinating and moving story – you won’t be disappointed. 

On Monday, June 25, 7 p.m., the Rep hosts a free discussion open to the public on the creation of “The Laramie Project,” with members of Tectonic and Cal journalism professor Douglas Foster.  

For information, call 647-2900. 

Some of the show’s actors will rotate out of the cast in the middle of June – replaced by understudies – when they leave to work on the HBO movie of “The Laramie Project” currently in production. 

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

Everyone loves an underdog, right? Sorry, Cal fans, not this weekend. 

The Cal baseball team is in the postseason for the first time in seven years after finishing in third place in the Pac-10. Their reward for their unexpected success is a date with a legend, on his own turf. The Bears are the third seed in a four-team sub-regional in Baton Rouge, home of the Lousiana State Tigers and head coach Skip Bertman, who built the program into what it is today. The Tigers (40-19-1) are the top seed in the sub-regional. 

If that isn’t enough, Bertman is retiring at the end of the season, so college baseball fans everywhere are rooting for him to go out with a bang. If the Bears, or any other team for that matter, were to knock Louisiana State out of the tournament, they would be the heavies in the feel-good story of the college baseball season. 

Bertman started at LSU in 1983, and the program wasn’t exactly a power in the Southeastern Conference. But Bertman has built a national power, with five national championship, including last year’s. He has also won five national coach of the year awards. 

The coach will become an administrator after this season, moving into the athletic director position at LSU. 

The highest praise for Bertman comes from his rivals, head coaches at other national powerhouses. 

“LSU is as close to a dynasty as anyone can come with today’s scholarship limits and parity. It’s just unbelievable, and it’s all come from Skip Bertman,” Stanford head coach Mark Marquess said. 

“It’s two words: Skip Bertman,” Florida State’s Mike Martin said of LSU’s success. “There’s no other way to explain it. Probably nobody could have done what Skip has done in such a short time but Skip himself.” 

With that kind of praise, there’s no doubt most fans are rooting for LSU to reach a final College World Series under Bertman. 

Luckily for the Bears, they aren’t leading off against the Tigers. That honor goes to No. 4 seed Minnesota. But only one team can make it through the sub-regional, and the road to the CWS probably will go through Bertman’s squad.

Public interest in the Draft General Plan waned to a steadfast few at Wednesday’s Planning Commission meeting at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 

Only one Berkeley resident took advantage of the 30 minutes allotted for public comment. 

But those in the room who know Martha Nicoloff, a former member of the Planning Commission, straightened to attention when she stood to speak. 

This week the commission met to amend and approve the land-use portion of the Draft General Plan, the last section of the city’s nine-part guide for planning over the next 20 years. Nicoloff came to share her views on Berkeley building heights. 

Nicoloff read off several reasons why building heights shouldn’t be increased, and after the meeting, she confirmed that the initiative she and other Berkeley residents attempted to put through last year, a Berkeley height limit ordinance, will be brought out again this year. 

“We have the right, according to the secretary of state, to set height limits ourselves,” Nicoloff said. 

“Last year the city attorney turned us down because she said we would need a charter amendment, which meant in a very short time we would have needed to get something like 7,000 signatures. So this year we’re going to go by initiative, which requires only 5 percent of the requires only 5 percent of the vote in the last mayoral election.” 

The people writing the amendment are from all over the city, Nicoloff said. 

“We’re proposing height limits in feet for every district,” Nicoloff said. “Some districts will remain the same, but there are some districts that are (currently) excessive.” 

“We want to get (the initiative) perfected as far as we can, maybe within the next week or so, and then send it to the larger community.” 

Nicoloff noted that the initiative has been a powerful tool for Berkeley citizens to act upon their concerns and hopes for the city.  

“We’ve done other initiatives in the past,” Nicoloff said. “I was co-author of the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance, which passed with a very healthy majority in 1973.  

“We did a measure for parks that said if the city wanted to reduce any parks for recreation, they would need to put it on the ballot. We did a plan to install a street-diverter system. And they all went through.” 

Nicoloff feels strongly that lower height limits are essential to the character of the city. 

“I think people come to Berkeley because they enjoy the small town atmosphere, and because it makes a more pleasant environment for students to study here,” Nicoloff said. “So I think it’s in the interests of the community to keep the heights down.” 

The question of building heights, however, is not isolated from other questions, such as how to provide enough affordable housing. 

“People want all the parking, they want affordable housing, and they don’t want to raise building heights,” said city planner Andrew Thomas. 

It’s hard to figure out a way to have all three. Developers say that lower building heights will mean higher rents for those who live in the buildings, otherwise, they argue, building is not profitable enough.  

“Everybody agrees we want affordable housing,” Thomas said, “but the question is how do we do it.”  

The Planning Commission has settled upon a set of bonuses that will reward developers who provide additional affordable housing. There will also be arts bonuses for projects that include certain amounts of facility space for fine and performing arts in the Draft General Plan. 

“On the avenues we’re going to stick with the existing height limit,” Thomas said.  

“The downtown is becoming the test area for how we will administer the density bonus.” 

Becky O’Malley said she can see the value in what the affordable housing bonuses will do.  

“The important thing is that you encourage affordable housing by knocking the maximum height down by a story,” O’Malley said, “so that there is an incentive for these developers to build additional affordable housing.” 

When it is submitted for community approval by Nicoloff and others, the height limit initiative will “definitely” address the problem of how to have affordable housing and still keep heights down, Nicoloff said in a telephone interview Thursday morning. 

And just as Nicoloff considers lower heights essential to the character of the city, O’Malley thinks Berkeley might be a different place if affordable housing becomes increasingly scarce. 

“What people may not realize is that there will be a limit to the amount of space available in the future, and if you don’t specifically reserve some space for people who are not rich, we’ll have only expensive housing, And that will make for a very dull city,” O’Malley said. “That’s not why we moved to Berkeley.” 

The Planning Commission will look at the final draft of the completed Draft General Plan beginning June 13, before submitting it to the City Council for approval.

Time for a real third party 

Editor: 

Perhaps the hoopla over Senator Jeffords’ realignment to the Democratic Party was timed to try to obscure the fact that twelve Democratic Senators voted along with all the Republicans for Bush’s tax reduction for rich people. At a time when more money is needed for the Women-Infants-Children and Headstart programs, when Medicare and Social Security need to be financially reinforced, when the Reagan-Bush national debt needs to be paid off, twelve Democrats chose to give nearly half of the $1.35 trillion to the richest one percent. 

In doing so, those Senators have clearly demonstrated that the Democratic Party is not an opposing force to the self-serving Republicans. They are merely “Republicans-Lite.” I believe that ordinary Americans, most of whom won’t vote for either type of Republican, are now ready to support a real opposition party, if leaders would step forward. 

Bruce Joffe 

Piedmont

Many people call them “retarded.” In Russia, developmentally disabled people are “invalids.”  

In a small farming community called Svetlana (about 90 miles east of St. Petersburg) they are called “villagers.” 

They work the field, harvest potatoes, take them to market, and even build the buildings that make their village. They are part of a community organized by a few staff members and a trickling stream of volunteers in the rural Russian outback, where everyone learns from everyone else. 

A video portraying this life, “Svetlana: the Camphill Experience in Russia,” will have its premiere screening on Saturday. Director Gunnar Madsen, and his brother and Svetlana resident Peter will be in attendance. 

Last Saturday Peter Madsen sat sitting in his brother’s kitchen in west Berkeley. After eight years running the farming village in Svetlana, the Palo Alto native has picked up a slight Russian lilt in his voice. It’s an accent that didn’t come easily. 

“When I did finally learn to speak Russian, I was amazed that they couldn’t conceptualize someone who would come from so far just to help,” Madsen said of his neighbors. “They laughed.” 

Developmentally disabled people in Russia are often ostracized, erroneously thought of as the result of an alcoholic pregnancy. Peter came to Svetlana because he had heard of the village that takes these children and adults and puts them to work. He discovered these “villagers” are vital for the community’s long-term growth. 

Gunnar said he had always wanted to visit his brother in his Russian home, but was not too thrilled about traveling halfway around the world to go to an impoverished Russian potato farm populated by disabled people.  

Then he got a call from his mother. The farm needed funds, and Gunnar, a singer and founding member of the a cappella group The Bobs, had some experience making videos. Gunnar’s trepidation turned to excitement. “If I could go and help my brother with a movie, then it was a grand adventure and I couldn’t wait to buy the ticket. I’m going to Russia, to meet these amazing people. Yahoo! As soon as I had a task that would lead me to it, then it was fine.” 

Gunnar admitted that he was still afraid of meeting the community of mentally handicapped people, with visions of spooky insane asylums in his head. Upon arrival all his fears melted away.  

“Half these people are disabled, but aside from a few Down syndrome people, you couldn’t tell who is or who isn’t. The lines are not that clearly drawn. Then it starts to sink in: Of course the lines are not clearly drawn, we’re all people, and we all have our disabilities. And this happened after 10 minutes of being there.” 

The “Camphill Experience” in the title of the video is a reference to an education and community model begun by an Austrian pediatrician and educator named Dr. Karl Koenig who, in 1939, fled from the Nazis to Scotland. There, on an estate called Camphill, he began a community for developmentally disabled children. His educational system focused on the villagers’ abilities, rather than their weaknesses. Mixing staff and volunteers with the villagers in all the communal work allows them to teach and learn from each other.  

The original Camphill serves as a rough model for a network of Camphill communities throughout the world. There are almost 100 schools, villages, farms and institutions bearing the Camphill name in 20 countries.  

Peter Madsen said mixing the more intelligent and efficient people with the “villagers” is critical to the success of the community. Social activities are recognized as of equal importance as daily chores, and the villagers input is regarded with the same gravity as that of village organizers. 

“I thought it would be all the intellectually capable people that drive the thing forward,” said Gunnar. “Like, ‘Let them bake the bread while we figure out the finances for next year.’ But they’re included in the meetings. If you just had intellectual people in there, we start to get lost in ourselves.” 

“When are we going to have another picnic?” is one of the vehement interruptions you might hear from a villager in a meeting. “And that becomes the main topic of discussion,” Peter said. “Which one of us would have put our foot down and said, ‘It’s time for our picnic’? It becomes an imperative. And they’re right.” 

Just as the film is a portrait of the Svetlana community, it is also pushing the hard sell. The Russian village is looking toward America for funds because charity in Russia, still in the wake of socialism, is almost unheard of. American industry is quickly descending on the newly opened Russian market, but philanthropic moneys for charity organizations are not forthcoming. 

Peter says he is beginning to seek grants. However, grant money is only given to organizations that have proven nonprofit status, which is difficult to do from Russia because the government has no official standards for non-profit organizations. 

There is a Camphill community in Northern California – just outside Santa Cruz – which might seem more hospitable than a Russian potato farm. But Peter Madsen says their challenges are much different. “Theirs is with schmoozing with municipal health departments and proving themselves the better of the many good options for handicapped people,” said Peter. “And that’s maybe why it’s so exciting to see what is happening in Camphill in Russia right now because it is so pioneering.” 

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

The eighth-seeded Cal softball team lost the opening game of the Women’s College World Series on Thursday, falling 3-2 to top-seeded Arizona in Oklahoma City, Okla. 

The game was a classic pitcher’s duel for the first five and a half innings, as Cal’s Jocelyn Forest matched zeroes with Arizona ace Jennie Finch. In fact, Forest didn’t give up a hit until the bottom of the sixth. 

But in the bottom of the sixth, Arizona’s Erika Hanson and Nicole Giordano reached on singles, and Toni Mascarenas homered to left field to give her team a 3-0 lead. 

The Bears got right back in it in the top of the seventh, as Candace Harper started the inning with a single to center. That brought up Cal slugger Veronica Nelson, possibly the nation’s most feared hitter. Nelson came through with a bomb over the left field fence to cut the Arizona lead to 3-2.  

Courtney Scott followed with a walk, putting the tying run on base. But Eryn Manahan and Amber Phillips both hit into fielder’s choices, and Mikella Pedretti struck out swinging to end the game. 

The Bears must now win three straight games to reach the double-elimination tournament’s championship game. They will face No. 4 Michigan, which lost 2-0 to Oklahoma in the first round, on Saturday at 11 a.m.

To the applause of a contingent of seniors, the City Council adopted a new and improved taxi subsidy program Tuesday that guarantees cab drivers full and timely payment for transporting seniors and the disabled. 

The council approved the modified service, called the Paratransit Taxiscrip Program, unanimously. The new program raises the fare value of the scrip coupons, increases the frequency of coupon redemption for cash and sets a minimum fare of $5 for drivers who pick up scrip riders. 

The program subsidizes taxi transportation for Berkeley  

residents who are disabled or residents who are disabled or over 70 years old.  

The city provides scrip riders with a certain amount of free coupons each quarter, after which they pay 25 to 45 percent of the face value of the coupon, depending on their economic status. Currently the program serves about 700 Berkeley residents. 

The new plan, which begins July 2, will be expanded to include all cab companies that operate in Berkeley instead of the previous practice of contracting scrip service from just three or four companies. 

“I think the city manager and the City Council did a good job in putting together this new program,” said Margot Smith a co-convener of the Berkeley Gray Panthers.  

“Hopefully, with better and more frequent pay, the service will be better also.” 

The Housing Department, which manages the program, made the modifications in response to reports from the Commission on Aging and the Commission on Disability that claimed cab drivers were increasingly refusing to pick up senior and disabled scrip fares.  

The reports claimed drivers were disgruntled with the program because they could only redeem coupons for 90 cents on the dollar and there were often delays in receiving payment, because the city was accepting the coupons only once a month. 

In addition cab company owners were displeased because they were required by the city to carry broader insurance coverage and therefore pay higher premiums to participate in the program. 

Drivers also complained that seniors and disabled fares often traveled only short distances and that they required extra service such as carrying shopping bags and loading and unloading wheel chairs and walkers. 

The result was that drivers were showing up late or not at all for scrip riders.  

In April the council heard from several seniors who told horror stories about being stranded for hours at supermarkets and missing long-awaited doctors’ appointments because of the bad service.  

Under the new plan all drivers and owners will be able to go to the city’s Finance Service Center at 2020 Center St. and turn in their scrip coupons for full value of the fare.  

“Starting July 2, we’re going to start redeeming the coupons two days a week, and work toward five days a week,” said Interim Housing Director Stephen Barton. “We’re starting slowly, one step at a time.” 

The new program also sets the minimum scrip fare at $5. Barton said the city will pay the difference for fares less than that amount.  

He estimated that the guaranteed minimum will cost the city about $1,000 a year. 

According to a Housing Department staff report, the cost of the modifications will add approximately $20,000 to the program’s budget, which was $175,000 for this fiscal year. The report says there may be additional charges for administration of the redemption program. 

According to Roy Phelps, senior field representative for the Finance Department, the initial response from cab companies has been positive.  

“It remains to be seen how the new program will work because we haven’t implemented anything yet,” he said. “But I expect service will get better.” 

Many seniors were distressed in November when Bay Area Luxor Cab Company wanted to pull out of the program because it was losing money.  

The small six-cab company run by Nemat Modarresi and his wife Mahin Rajabi was considered by many to offer the best service.  

“They are the best company in Berkeley,” said COD Commissioner Karen Rose. 

“They show up when they say they will and they screen their drivers so they’re always friendly.” 

Rajabi said the modified scrip program sounds good, but said she is waiting for her husband to return from a trip out of the country before deciding to participate again. 

COD Commissioner Karen Craig said she was glad to hear about the changes in the program, but has concerns. She said the redemption system has to be run efficiently, otherwise drivers will waste too much time standing in line at the Finance Department, which will be discouraging. 

She also said she would like to see mandatory sensitivity training for cab drivers “because they can often be inconsiderate and rude to scrip riders, who have few defenses.” 

A Berkeley cab driver, who asked not to be identified, said he agreed with the idea of training. “There should be training for cab drivers,” he said. “The elderly and the disabled can be very aggressive and unpleasant and training would help us with dealing with them.”

Editor: 

The definitive book on urban layout and its relationship to transit, bicycling, pedestrian environments and health and availability of nearby natural environments is “Sustainability and Cities - Overcoming Automobile Dependence” by Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy. 

If we are interested in solving our energy problems, take a close look at page 101. Two graphs there show the results of studies of 45 cities around the world. The most important variable in relation to energy consumption - and the graphs illustrate this dramatically - is the degree of sprawl of cities.  

Low density urban development means massive flows of energy, not just for cars, but for climate modification in buildings (heating and cooling) and manufacturing of all the sprawl related material stuff society generates. The very structure of flat city requires cars and enormous energy consumption for any meaningful participation in city life. Low-density development means more metals and concrete in longer pipelines and more wires, as well as more streets and roads, more energy required to pump water and fuels, more line losses in electricity distribution. Even lighting energy figures in that our cities light up millions of acres of the country every night so that cars drivers can feel comfortable wandering the surface of dear Mother Earth burning fuel. We loose the very stars above to sprawl and the glare of street lighting on air pollution from burning transport fuels and firing up power plants. 

Back to the graphs. We see American cities average the lowest density and highest energy consumption. Australian and Canadian cities are a little more dense and use less energy. European cities: more dense and using less energy yet. And finally Asian cities: most dense and most energy conserving of all the 45 cities studied by Kenworthy and Newman. 

The proportions knock your socks off. European cities are about 3.5 times more energy efficient than American Cities. Asian cities range from about 6 to 20 times more energy efficient! This I think is amazing information that should be taken very seriously. It is even more impressive when we see that many European cities are wealthier than American cities and when we realize that even the least automobile dependent of European and Asian cities are still nonetheless ringed with significant sprawl development preventing the efficiency ratios from being even more dramatic. 

When we begin to see how fundamental city structure is in relation to energy consumption we begin to see just how far off base some of the best, most conscientious students of energy alternatives can be.  

The “energy efficient car,” for example: it helps create the energy squandering sprawl that grows as people drive farther for less money per mile - and feel good about doing something for the environment! Thus the energy efficient car creates the energy inefficient city. Paradox? No, we just are not paying attention to the structure of cities, the largest of all human creations. 

Big oversight! Some of us are trying to wake people up to this reality. In Berkeley Ecocity Builders, the organization of which I am President, has gathered more than 50 local non-profits and businesses that feel the time has come to begin rethinking how we shape or own city. We call our package of four policies for the General Plan the “Ecocity Amendment.” Citizens concerned about energy should be considering such changes that allow us to reshape our land uses and actually begin removing buildings in automobile-dependent, low density areas, especially where conflicting with agriculture and natural environment restoration.  

Development should be transferred instead, and steadily into the future, toward gradually increasingly dense and diverse pedestrian and transit centers. We need to “infill” in centers and “unfill” in low density areas. If that happens we will be building a foundation for a sane and healthy energy policy - at last!  

Richard Register  

Berkeley

By Judith Scherr 

Daily Planet staff 

Two buildings at Berkeley High School were evacuated at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday after a drilling rig working on a high school construction project hit a high-pressure gas pipe at Milvia and Kittredge streets, fire officials said. 

PG&E had “squeezed off” the 4-inch pipe’s gas flow by 4:30 p.m. and gas service was expected to be restored to the six affected customers by about 7:30 p.m., said PG&E spokesperson Jennifer Ramp. 

Berkeley Police closed off nearby streets and advised people near the site of the escaping gas to remain indoors. Gas could be smelled as far away as three blocks from the rupture, at Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way. 

The exact cause of the accident is unclear at this point. Project manager Bob Arntz of Arntz Brothers, working on a BHS project near the ruptured pipe, was unavailable for comment Thursday afternoon.  

Normally, when a project is undertaken, the construction company will procure utility maps from Underground Service Alert (USA), Ramp said. 

“We were definitely marked,” said Ramp, who had obtained that information from PG&E personnel at the site of the accident. Ramp explained that utility pipes are marked above ground with paint, with the depth clearly indicated. 

PG&E’s Health, Safety and Claims Department investigates such incidents and determines responsibility, which can lead to a legal process, said PG&E spokesperson Jonathan Franks.

Daily Planet Staff 

Today at 12:30 p.m. UC Berkeley will be conducting a test of its emergency public siren system. 

The university plans to use the system to warn the campus community of imminent power outages, in case it becomes subject to them. 

Three different sounds will be heard within a 1-2 mile range of the university: first the sound of a fire engine, then the alternating high/low siren sound, then there will be a third sound. There will be pauses between the warning sounds and announcements will follow via a loud-speaker system. The university decided to make sure its warning system is in working condition, even though it has asked Pacific Gas & Electric for an exemption from the rotating outages. “We appealed in December,” said UC Berkeley spokesperson Glenda Rubin. “We believe certain research and other campus functions could be severely affected.” 

There has been no response to the appeal, Rubin said. 

If the university becomes subject to the outages, PG&E has promised to give some advance warning so that the university can activate its emergency sirens, alerting persons not to use elevators and to take other precautions. The power outages at the university are expected to affect only the university and not the surrounding areas, although the sirens will be heard in other parts of the community.

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco vehicle exhaust may soon smell like french fries with the opening of the first public pumping station for biodiesel, a vegetable oil-based fuel, in a major city. 

The alternative fuel station opened Wednesday, a day after a similar station opened in Sparks, Nev. 

The fuel, made from either soybean oil or recycled vegetable oil from restaurants, avoids the release of carbon monoxide and the small particles released by burning traditional diesel. It doesn’t cut down on smog-causing nitrogen oxide, however. 

Diesel engines can use the fuel without any modification, and it contributes to the life of the engine by increasing lubrication so moving parts won’t break down as easily, said Robert Skinner, a spokesman for World Energy Alternatives, the company providing biodiesel to the San Francisco station. And, yes, it does make the exhaust smell like french fries. 

The station offers 100 percent biodiesel fuel, but a fuel made with 20 percent biodiesel, 80 percent petroleum diesel, is available at other facilities. 

Biodiesel has some drawbacks. It’s more expensive than regular diesel, selling for about $3.15 a gallon in San Francisco and about $1.62 a gallon in Sparks. It also causes a slight drop in fuel economy. 

The fuel is used primarily by fleets of vehicles such as school buses, Skinner said. “We’ve got about 60 large-scale fleets using biodiesel, from the U.S. Air Force to the New Jersey transit system,” he said. 

Biodiesel can help federal fleets meet a regulation requiring them to reduce their annual petroleum consumption 20 percent by 2005. 

The federal government estimates sales of the fuel reached 6.7 million gallons in 2000 and could reach 20 million gallons this year. 

Prices have come down, in part because of a subsidy for soybean biodiesel producers, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. 

Biodiesel dates back more than 100 years, and peanut oil was the first type of fuel used by Rudolf Diesel to power his first engine in 1895. 

“As we move into a time when petroleum is not so readily available, we’re turning back the clock,” Skinner said. “It’s the most effective greenhouse gas reduction technology for existing engines.” 

On the Net: 

California Transportation Program: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/transprog/ctips.htm 

Bluewater Network: www.earthisland.org/bw/bwnhome.shtml 

National Biodiesel Board: http://www.biodiesel.org/

SAN FRANCISCO — California’s deaf and disabled telephone customers will continue to receive their specialized phone service through MCI Worldcom until October 2002, state regulators announced after a 3-2 vote Thursday. 

The decision came despite appeals from dozens of deaf and disabled phone users who told the Public Utilities Commission they would prefer Sprint as their primary provider. 

“The feeling is that the deaf community is voiceless,” customer Julie Rems-Smario said through an interpreter after the vote.  

“Not one deaf person spoke in support of MCI.” 

MCI has been the primary provider of relay phone service – which uses an operator to translate a conversation into type or speech – to roughly 250,000 users statewide.  

The second extension of MCI’s contract will end in October, offering competitors a chance to win the contract. 

Had MCI lost its contract, the city of Riverbank would forfeit 500 jobs, Assemblyman Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, told the PUC.  

The Central Valley city of 16,000 already faces high unemployment rates, he said. 

The PUC needed to assign a one-year contract because a proposal for a new long-term deal from the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program could take at least a year to be completed. The lack of overlap would have left customers with no service. 

The Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program is funded with a surcharge on California telephone bills and provides special equipment to help deaf and disabled customers use the phone. 

PUC President Loretta Lynch said at the end of bidding, MCI’s bid appeared slightly cheaper than Sprint’s. 

Phone calls to Sprint and MCI were not immediately returned. 

Lynch said the company had improved its service since assuming the contract nearly five years ago. 

Customers were not so impressed.  

They said Sprint has gone out of its way to work with them by adding relay service in Spanish and providing a separate phone number to access the service. 

“Imagine yourself if any of you became deaf? How would you communicate using the telephone?” customer Ken Arcia asked the PUC. “Sprint is the only relay service with a dedicated number (for deaf and disabled users), so that I don’t have to tell an operator each time. That makes it a faster call.” 

Those kinds of arguments swayed some commissioners. 

“I’m fully aware of the potential for job loss,” said Commissioner Richard Bilas, who voted against the decision noting he’d received many phone calls and e-mails in favor of Sprint.  

“My main priority is to all California users of this service. 

Commissioner Henry Duque, who voted for the decision, pointed out that consumers could still use a different company if they wished. 

“I truly believe the current state of service has improved chiefly because of the presence of choice,” Duque said. 

On the Net: 

http://www.cpuc.ca.gov 

http://www.deafvoice.com 

SAN FRANCISCO — Rolling blackouts could hit some California businesses and residents more frequently this summer as the number of customers exempted from the outages continues to grow. 

The pool of ratepayers available for rolling blackouts has shrunk as hospitals, public transportation systems and even some cities have won the right to keep their electricity flowing when energy supplies falter. 

Nursing homes, water-filtration systems and organ-donor labs are among the thousands of businesses lobbying the state Public Utilities Commission for similar “public safety” exemptions – as are amusement parks and baseball stadiums. 

The more exemptions, the more blackouts for businesses and residents not fortunate enough to live next to a hospital or otherwise share a circuit with an exempt customer. 

“Every ’essential customer’ we have will thrust more blackouts on others,” PUC Commissioner Richard Bilas said Thursday. 

When rolling blackouts sweep across California, utilities must steer clear of institutions the PUC deems “essential services,” a list that includes hospitals, prisons, military bases and electric trains. 

Half of the electricity used at times of highest demand this summer is now off-limits to rolling blackouts, said Jonathan Lakritz, an aide to PUC Commissioner Carl Wood. 

Of the other half, the Independent System Operator wants the emergency outages it declares to be spread among at least 40 percent, so that no single customer bears too much of the burden. Blackouts are declared when the ISO, keeper of the state’s power grid, fails to find enough energy supplies to meet demand. 

“Forty percent is the magic number,” Lakritz said. “You wouldn’t want to be in a situation where the same person is blacked out day after day and all day long.” 

That leaves room for about 10 percent more of the state’s power users on the PUC’s coveted list of exempted “essential services.” And all sorts of customers are clamoring for relief. 

A bill heard this week in the Senate Energy Committee would exempt millions of additional residential users who live in climates that routinely reach 105 degrees. 

“They are just very afraid,” the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert, told the Senate Energy Committee. “It’s just damn hot and they’re afraid it will overwhelm them.” 

Southern California Edison Co. said 35 percent of its customers would bear the brunt of rolling blackouts if all areas that reached 105 degrees within the utility’s territory were exempt. 

Customers of public utilities are increasingly off limits as well. Palo Alto, Alameda and other cities which generate or buy their own electricity have developed conservation plans to avoid triggering blackouts for their customers by sharply reducing power use when supplies are tight, and are asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for an official exemption. 

The city of Lodi has spent millions on long-term power contracts that were expensive at the time, but now seem cheap. It therefore has abundant electricity for its customers, and refuses to participate in statewide rolling blackouts. 

“A utility that planned properly shouldn’t be part of this, ’let’s share the pain thing,”’ said Alan Vallow, Lodi’s electrical utility director. 

Faced with growing demand for exemptions, the PUC has asked all California businesses to file requests by June 1. By early August – after two full months of hot summer weather, critics point out – it plans to exempt those that demonstrate the greatest value to public health and safety. 

The PUC hopes having open applications will alert them to potential hazards they might not have considered. Without constant power, factories that produce vital vaccines or medicines could fall behind production, or chemical storage plants could rupture, commissioners said. 

The delay frustrates groups such as the California Association of Health Facilities, which since April has asked the PUC for an exemption for the 1,300 nursing homes and convalescent centers it represents statewide that are not covered under the hospital exemption. 

“We’ve got ventilators, we’ve got oxygen, we’ve got feeding tubes,” said Betsy Hite, spokeswoman for the group. Their equipment “is so closely mirroring a hospital it’s just ridiculous.” 

Kathy Zeitcheck, director of nursing at St. Francis Extended Care in Hayward, said losing the air conditioning would endanger frail patients with high blood pressure and respiratory ailments. 

“They don’t have any fat on their arms and legs and body; they don’t have the natural insulation that you and I do,” Zeitcheck said. “So of course they’re not going to be able to cool off as you or I would.” 

Water agencies are also in line for an exemption, saying they can’t provide water to hospitals and emergency workers without electricity to power the pumps – demonstrating the challenge regulators face as they determine which pieces of the puzzle are vital for public safety. 

“Maybe an outage is only for an hour. But potentially, water systems could be down for two days while we go through all the checks and balances,” said Jennifer Persike-Becker, spokeswoman for the Association of California Water Agencies.

SACRAMENTO — Sen. James Jeffords’ defection from the Republican party could boost California’s clout in Washington and help the state’s quest for price caps on wholesale electricity. 

With Jeffords as an Independent, Democrats will control the Senate for the first time since 1994 – a boon for this largely Democratic state where leaders have complained of being ignored by the Republican White House. 

“All in all, it’s a big win for California because it seemed as if we were sort of being written off,” said Nancy Snow, a political scientist at the University of California at Los Angeles. 

Now, California’s two Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, likely will take over the chairmanships of key subcommittees and enjoy the clout that comes with the majority party. 

Other Democrats also will take leadership posts in most Senate committees, including the energy and appropriations panels that are pivotal to the nation’s most populous state. 

“On most resource issues, whether it’s water, forestry or air, this is a big plus for California because we are on the same wavelength with most of the Democratic leadership,” said Steve Maviglio, spokesman for Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat. 

On energy, Feinstein would gain an ally at the helm of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which had been chaired by Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, who declined to take up issues at the heart of the state’s energy crisis. 

Now, the committee will be led by Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., a supporter of Feinstein and Davis’ request for federal price controls on wholesale electricity. 

Feinstein said that with Bingaman’s help, the price caps bill she cosponsored could win Senate approval – a slim possibility under Republican control. 

“I’m optimistic that this change will bode well for California,” said Feinstein. 

Feinstein is the ranking Democrat on the military construction subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. If she becomes chairwoman, she could influence the spending of federal money on defense contracts and help prevent the closure of military bases in California. 

She also is in line for the same position on the technology, terrorism and government information subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee. 

Meanwhile, Boxer is the senior Democrat on the Superfund, waste control and risk assessment subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and the international operations and terrorism subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee. 

California also could gain an edge in securing more funding for programs including housing criminal illegal immigrants and a joint federal-state pact to resolve the state’s water wars. 

“The chances of just getting California’s fair share of our tax dollars that go to Washington increase dramatically,” Maviglio said. 

Plus, the shift could infuse new life into the Democratic party and force Republican leaders in Washington to consider its proposals. 

“Nobody was really interested in talking to the Democrats because there was no majority there,” Snow said. “Now it’s like they’ve got a heartbeat now, whereas we were looking for signs of life just a couple of days ago.” 

SAN RAFAEL — The first release of a sexually violent predator in California was delayed Thursday when a judge said he didn’t know enough to be sure the serial rapist wouldn’t commit more crimes. 

Marin County Superior Court Judge John S. Graham blasted Atascadero State Hospital, the state Department of Mental Health and the state’s Conditional Release Program for failing to adequately prepare for Patrick Ghilotti’s impending release. 

“I can’t point to anything that he’s done or hasn’t done that could be blamed,” Graham said after Ghilotti’s psychiatrists testified in a four-day hearing that with a strict monitoring program, he could be set free. 

The judge had sharp questions for the state bureaucrats at the hearing, who said they aren’t ready to provide the kind of monitoring needed to ensure Ghilotti isn’t a danger to society. 

Just because Ghilotti “looks like a sufficiently dangerous ogre in the abstract and should never be released ... isn’t the reason for not following the law,” Graham said. 

Ghilotti, 45, claimed he successfully completed California’s sexual predator treatment program and deserves to be released. The judge agreed that “he has done extremely well,” but he criticized Atascadero for not providing hard evidence that his treatment has been successful. 

“Their opinions ... that Mr. Ghilotti is currently releasable to the community are not ... supported by careful work and evaluation,” he said. 

Ghilotti would be the state’s first sexual predator released since a tougher law went into effect in 1996 required the most dangerous sex offenders to get at least two years of treatment after leaving prison. To date, all of these offenders have been recommitted every two years. 

“There may be some people who are so nervous about someone with Mr. Ghilotti’s history to be out in the community,” but keeping him locked up for the rest of his life may not be an option, Graham said. 

Ghilotti was convicted in 1978 of raping three San Rafael women. After his release from prison in 1986, he raped a Ross woman. By his own admission, he’s raped at least six other women. 

“I knew I needed treatment,” Ghilotti told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “I knew I needed something. I knew my thinking wasn’t right.” 

He first received sex offender treatment at Atascadero State Hospital from 1979 to 1982. 

“His response to treatment at the time was at best lukewarm, and at times laced with denial,” according to Dr. Gabrielle Paladino, the hospital staff psychiatrist in charge of the sexually violent predator treatment program. 

Ghilotti was sent back to Atascadero in 1997, under the tougher sexually violent predator law, which enables the State Mental Health Department to recommit offenders every two years until they’re no longer deemed a threat. 

Ghilotti petitioned the court for conditional release near the end of his second commitment. If Judge Graham refuses to grant his request, Ghilotti will be up for recommitment again in December. 

Ghilotti’s victims are terrified about his possible release. 

The woman who still lives in Ross, who asked not to be identified, is now in her 60s and said that her life was permanently changed after Ghilotti broke into her home and sexually assaulted her in 1985. 

“He’s an angry, angry man, and he hates women, and he takes out his anger on women by raping them,” she said in an interview. “I don’t believe that attitude can change at all.” 

The woman said she still keeps a cell phone under her pillow and practices dialing 911 in the dark; her doors and windows are locked, and she keeps a light on all night. 

Another Ghilotti victim threatened suicide after receiving a phone message from a reporter. She may leave California if he’s released. 

But Paladino and other state psychiatrists believe he’s now safe, as long as he’s taking Lupron, a drug that reduces testosterone. 

“He’s a different animal on anti-androgens,” said Dr. Jay Seastrunk. “They think differently. They’re not plotting around to figure out how to have sex.” 

Ghilotti would continue getting Lupron injections every three months, and be subject to random drug tests and monitoring to make sure he doesn’t take steroids to counteract the effects, the psychiatrists said. 

Prosecutor Alan Charmatz argued that no community-based program has a clear plan to supervise Ghilotti. He also will need a job, housing, polygraph tests, individual and group counseling, and no one yet seems quite sure how to provide that, Charmatz said. 

Judge Graham urged all agencies involved to provide more details and report substantial progress at the next hearing, on August 1. 

As recently as February, hospital officials recommended that Ghilotti remain at Atascadero until such plans are solidified. 

But Dr. Douglas Korpi, the former director of the San Francisco-based Conditional Release Program, which would be responsible for monitoring Ghilotti, testified that the conditional release program would not be ready until they were forced to be, possibly with the judge’s order. 

“This is the first one who everyone agreed jumped through the hoops,” he said in court. “I’m a suspicious guy, and I tell you this guy is ready.” 

PASADENA — Nearly 25 years after an orbiting spacecraft caught the Red Planet “mugging” for the camera, NASA released the highest-resolution image yet of the so-called “Face on Mars.” 

The new picture, taken by the camera aboard the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft on April 8 and released Thursday, shows the area in far sharper detail, but reduces any resemblance to a humanlike extraterrestrial. 

Since the Viking 1 orbiter first photographed the hill on Mars in July 1976, its facelike features have stirred the imagination of those who believe it was carved by an alien civilization.  

The face even played a minor role in the movie “Mission to Mars.” 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientists say the interplay of light and shadow gave the hill the brooding anthropomorphic features that stood out in the Viking pictures. 

Michael Malin, principal investigator of the Global Surveyor camera, said the new images show the area to be nothing more than a hill. 

“I have no desire to discuss it with the true believers. They can’t be convinced, they don’t want to be convinced,” Malin said. 

NASA’s Global Surveyor last turned to photograph the face in April 1998. The spacecraft arrived in orbit around Mars in 1997 and began its extended mission in February. 

———  

On the Net: 

http://www.msss.com/mars—images/moc/extended—may2001/face/index.html 

LOS ANGELES — About seven of every 10 California voters believe the government allows pollution to disproportionately affect poor people and minorities, according to a poll released Thursday by an environmental group. 

The question was posed two different ways to 800 likely California voters. Seventy percent said agencies are more likely to allow polluting companies in low-income, minority neighborhoods; 64 percent said government officials were more likely to enforce environmental laws in high-income, mostly white neighborhoods. 

Environmental issues are “a new frontier for civil rights struggles,” said Joe Lyou, director of programs for the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, which released the survey. “There’s not a lot of awareness of the concept of environmental justice, but when you describe to them what it means, then they show concern about the issue.” 

Environmental and neighborhood groups are increasingly taking up the issue of pollution in low-income and minority neighborhoods – particularly in light of California’s power crunch. 

Some of the dozens of proposals for new power plants in the state have elicited charges of “environmental racism.” In the predominantly Latino city of South Gate, southeast of Los Angeles, an energy company withdrew its plan to build a power plant after voters rejected it in a nonbinding referendum in March. 

Barry Wallerstein, executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, said that natural gas plant could have been the cleanest in the country, but “some community members felt the community already was suffering its fair share of air pollution.” 

Wallerstein, whose agency covers the Los Angeles air basin, said the district has stepped up efforts to respond to the “real and significant problem” of low-income neighborhoods with high pollution levels. 

The district is focusing clean-air improvements on disadvantaged areas, and recently approved rules aim to reduce diesel pollution from tractor trailers and other heavy-duty vehicles, which often drive through low-income areas. 

The survey, which covered a wide range of environmental issues, also found Latinos to be more environmentally minded than voters overall. For instance, 87 percent of Latinos and 71 percent of voters overall agreed that the Legislature needs to pass tougher environmental laws. 

The poll, conducted April 25-29, found that 88 percent of voters were at least somewhat concerned about the environment, and just over half were either extremely concerned or very concerned. 

Air pollution and fallout from the state’s power crisis were considered to be the most important problems. About a third of respondents said the government should relax pollution restrictions in light of the need for electricity, but 47 percent said current standards should be maintained even if it increases the possibility of rolling blackouts. 

The poll was conducted by the firm of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percent. 

On the Net: 

www.clcveducationfund.org

SACRAMENTO — Californians are tossing more beer bottles and soda cans into the trash than they did a decade ago, instead of recycling them, according to a new state study. 

And most of those trendy water, sports drink, coffee and iced-tea bottles that were just added to the state’s recycling law are being discarded rather than recycled, the study found. 

To try to reverse the downward trend and convince Californians again that recycling is cool, the state’s recycling agency is launching a $10 million campaign that includes television ads showing a lowly plastic water bottle reborn as an orange buoy for a curvaceous female lifeguard. 

“We wanted to do something that was edgy, something that would get people to pay attention and at the same time something that was creative and just a bit funny,” said Mark Oldfield, spokesman for the state Department of Conservation. 

The department is releasing new recycling figures Thursday that are lower than expected, even considering the addition of a whole new group of glass and plastic bottles to the state’s 14-year-old recycling program. 

The overall recycling rate dropped from 74 percent in 1999 to 61 percent in 2000, which meant that Californians recycled 10.2 billion beverage containers and threw away six billion. Those unrecycled cans and bottles would circle the world nearly seven times, if put end-to-end, the department said. 

That 2000 rate was well below the law’s goal of 80 percent and below figures that rose as high as 82 percent in 1992. 

The department anticipated a drop in rates with the expansion of the recycling program last year to include 3.4 billion more bottles that people weren’t used to collecting and turning in. The law expanding the program therefore included the $10 million for an advertising and education program. 

However, officials did not expect such a large decrease. 

“We’re Californians. We’re supposed to know more about recycling,” says department Director Darryl Young. 

Even recycling-popular aluminum cans, which hit a high of 85 percent in 1991 and 1992, dropped to 76 percent. 

State officials say they don’t really know why recycling is down. They suspect the economy plays a part; recycling rates were highest during the recession of the early 1990s and dropped as good times returned. 

They also suspect Californian’s mobile lifestyle is a major factor. People who constantly carry around water or iced-tea drinks don’t always look for or find a recycling bin when the bottle or can is empty. 

The television and radio ads, in English and Spanish, aimed at reversing the trend start Monday in major cities around the state. 

Other TV ads show an aluminum can being kicked around, but then being transformed into a homer-hitting baseball bat and a bottle left under a couch at a party reincarnated as the glitter on a disco ball. 

The energy crisis is also providing new incentive to recycle. Making a can from recycled aluminum uses 95 percent less energy than making a new one. 

One recycled aluminum can could save enough energy to power a television for almost three hours, said Oldfield. 

He noted that 2.5 billion aluminum cans were discarded rather than recycled last year “and that’s a lot of TVs, toasters and microwaves.” 

On the Net: 

To learn about the state’s recycling program, go to: 

http://www.bottlesandcans 

.com

WASHINGTON — On a day of upheaval beneath the Capitol dome, Democrats snared control of the Senate on the strength of a party defection Thursday and pledged to temper President Bush’s agenda while advancing their own. “I can no longer” remain a Republican, said Vermont Sen. James Jeffords in a personal declaration of independence. 

“We intend to govern” in a spirit of fairness, said Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota, the majority-leader-in-waiting and the nation’s highest-ranking Democrat. “We can’t dictate to them, nor can they dictate to us,” he said of the GOP. 

Daschle quickly signaled a shift in priorities, though, telling his rank and file that after the Senate completes the president’s bipartisan education legislation, the first Democratic piece of legislation will be a patients’ bill of rights measure, long stalled in the GOP Senate. 

“We will be acting and they will be reacting instead of the opposite,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said of the Republicans. 

Bush, suddenly confronted with a Democratic-controlled Senate, said he respected Jeffords, but “couldn’t disagree more,” with his charge that the administration was too conservative. 

While ducking blame for Jeffords’ defection, White House advisers acknowledged that the political landscape will change dramatically. Bush will now work harder than ever to court Democrats in the short term and help elect Republicans to Congress in 2002, they said. 

The Republican leader, Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, said he expected no change in his party’s leadership. But behind closed doors, a painful process of reckoning began for a party that held 55 seats as recently as last July, but now can claim only 49. Several GOP sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sens. Olympia Snowe of Maine, John McCain of Arizona and Pete Domenici of New Mexico all stressed a need for the party of conservatives to tolerate differing views. 

“We’ve just been through an earthquake here,” said Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. “What we’re doing here is helping the survivors and pulling the wounded” to safety. 

His days as majority leader dwindling, Lott, R-Miss., began hustling several of Bush’s nominations to confirmation, including the controversial choice of Ted Olson to become solicitor general. 

But power already was flowing to the soft-spoken Daschle, 53 and six years the Democratic leader. Democratic aides said he wanted to let Olson come to a vote now rather than have a partisan floor fight in his party’s early days in the majority. 

Within hours of Jeffords’ announcement, Daschle also telephoned Bush, with whom relations have been frosty. The president angered the senator earlier in the year when he went to South Dakota to campaign for his tax cut without notifying the senator first. 

Eagerly anticipating a return to power, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts told reporters he hoped to move a minimum wage increase quickly; Maryland’s Sen. Paul Sarbanes scheduled a news conference to preview a Democratic agenda for the banking committee. 

Not all chairmanships were set. For example, it wasn’t clear whether Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware would choose to head the Foreign Relations Committee or Judiciary Committee. 

But one shift was certain: Democratic Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, 83, becomes president pro tem, third in line of succession to the presidency, replacing 98-year-old Republican Strom Thurmond. 

Jeffords’ announcement sent a wave of jubilation through the ranks of Democrats, consigned to the minority since 1994. 

“How does it feel to be in the majority?” former GOP Sen. Dan Coats asked Sen. Paul Wellstone when the two men crossed paths just off the Senate floor. “I can’t remember,” Wellstone, D-Minn., replied with a hearty laugh. 

Jeffords, 67, an amiable but determined moderate in a party grown ever more conservative, seemed an unlikely politician to be at the center of an unprecedented event. A supporter of abortion rights, the environment and education, he clashed with the administration over budget priorities earlier in the year. 

At a news conference in Burlington, Vt., he dismissed talk that he had been snubbed as a result, but he said, “Given the changing nature of the national party, it has become a struggle for our leaders to deal with me and for me to deal with them.” 

Jeffords said he would become an independent but side with the Democrats for organizational purposes, the critical distinction that hands them control. He said the switch would become effective as soon as Congress sends Bush his income tax cut, expected by week’s end. 

For all the high-minded rhetoric, the defection was the culmination of political dealmaking on all sides and moments of human emotion unusual in the Senate. 

Democrats agreed in advance to give Jeffords the chairmanship of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, a move that will require Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the party whip, to step aside. Kennedy, four decades a senator, said he, too, had signaled a willingness to give up his chairmanship of the education committee if Jeffords wanted to claim it. 

Republicans made a quick run at Georgia Democrat Zell Miller in hopes he would switch parties and throw the Senate back into a 50-50 tie, but he declined. 

They also mounted a last-ditch attempt to entice Jeffords back into the fold, including his meeting with longtime colleagues who stood to lose their committee chairmanships. Some lawmakers wept, according to participants in the session. 

“It was the most emotional time that I have ever had in my life, with my closest friends urging me not to do what I was going to do because it affected their lives very substantially,” Jeffords told his news conference. “I know, for instance, the chairman of the Finance Committee (Charles Grassley of Iowa) has dreamed all his life of being chairman. 

“He’s chairman a couple of weeks, and now he will be no longer the chairman.” 

WASHINGTON — As many as nine middle school students were strip-searched at a city jail during a visit arranged by a teacher and a school aide as a warning to misbehaving children, school officials said Thursday. 

The teacher, aide and three jail employees were placed on paid leave during investigations by the school district, city corrections officials and the FBI. None of the employees was identified. 

The pupils were visiting the jail as part of an in-school suspension because of misconduct. A school official said it wasn’t immediately clear if their behavior at the jail prompted teachers to request the search. 

“There’s nothing a child could do that could warrant that response – nothing,” said Steven Seleznow, who is leading the investigation for the school district. 

Joseph Bennett, 14, one of the boys from Evans who took the tour, said the students were taken to a processing area where guards told him and four others to go to another room and strip. 

“The officers said, ‘We’re going to make you take your clothes off like real prisoners,”’ Joseph, a seventh-grader, told The Washington Post. 

He said he removed his two T-shirts, jeans and shoes in front of his schoolmates, at least three corrections officers and one of the teachers. He said an officer removed the rest of his clothes. 

D.C. Superintendent Paul Vance said he was “horrified by the chain of events” surrounding the searches. “It nullifies, in effect, all of the great things I’ve been seeing in the school system over the past three years,” he said. 

Both Vance and Department of Corrections Director Odie Washington said they would support prosecution of the employees if investigations show they committed crimes. 

The jail workers showed “extremely poor judgment, perhaps an abuse of their authority,” in conducting the searches, he said. 

It was unclear whether the students were touched by guards or were stripped naked, Washington said.  

While Seleznow said nine of the 12 students may have been strip-searched, Washington said a preliminary investigation at the jail showed that only three students were told to remove their street clothes and don standard-issue jail jumpsuits. 

Washington said the students were not subjected to cavity searches, customary for prisoners being processed. 

Washington said school groups and professional organizations have toured the jail at a rate of three times per week since 1989. He said the program has been suspended.

POUND RIDGE, N.Y. — Some hydrangeas beguile us with color changes that keep us guessing. Others awe us by climbing 60 feet and more to consort with squirrels and orioles in the trees. 

There are more than 100 species, so a gardener can experiment to his or her heart’s content with different kinds. Everybody knows the beautiful big globes of pink, blue or white, but a few are veritable kaleidoscopes in a single season. 

Hydrangeas come as small trees, too. 

Not the least of their talents, particularly the climbers, is their tolerance of at least some shade. But at the seaside, hydrangeas thrive in full sun. You see them everywhere in beach gardens. 

Hydrangeas do best in southern and central zones and are chancy farther north than Zone 5. In very cold areas, they’re grown in containers and sheltered in the winter. 

Beyond the familiar blue and the pink, some hydrangeas achieve their glory in full white. Much loved of these is oakleaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia), displaying pure white blooms as long as 15 inches in midsummer.  

These gradually turn pink, and later burgundy. This shrub has been hailed as possibly America’s finest. 

For a long time, people puzzled over what caused color changing in the big leaf variety (Hydrangea macrophylla), often called House hydrangea or French hydrangea. It looked like some kind of magic until scientists traced the phenomenon to the acidity or alkalinity of the soil, known as the pH factor. 

In hydrangea culture, blue likes acidity while pink goes for alkalinity. To get blue you can treat the soil with aluminum sulfate, available at nurseries. Treatment with lime will favor pink. 

The grapefruit size of the globes and their brilliant colors account, of course, for their popularity.  

The climbers, on the other hand, have small flowers called “lacecaps” from their looks and are rivaled only by ivy for growing in deep shade. They thus make excellent coverings in difficult places like the shady side of a wall. 

In my country setting with many shade-casting trees, both bush and climbing hydrangeas have prospered. In this part of the Northeast, 50 miles north of New York City (between Zones 5 and 6), my plants have rarely suffered winter kill, and so I have not cut them way back or hilled or mulched them for protection. 

Deer, however, have regularly nipped in wintertime at limbs of a gorgeous oakleaf that we treasure, but not enough to harm it seriously. 

I’m particularly fond of two climbers of the Hydrangea petiolaris variety. One, planted many years ago, has climbed 50 feet up the bark of a towering Siberian elm.  

There are flowers at eye-level and lower, but my kick comes from using field glasses to spot the highest-dwelling lacecaps. 

I placed the second plant in a patio along a partly shady wall of my house about 10 years ago. It has become a magnificent vine, needing yearly pruning to keep it within bounds.  

Two years ago I bought a third H. petiolaris and planted it at the side of a shed where there is bright sunshine in the morning and deep shade in the afternoon. It has taken hold, but it will be a while longer before I see whether it climbs up the shed. Climbers take time to establish themselves. 

In our time-pressed era, the fastest way to have hydrangeas is to buy young plants from nurseries, but, once established, the plants can be propagated. One way is to dig up a mature clump in early spring, split it up with a shovel, and replant the divisions. Another is by layering. You scrape off a ring of bark from a low-lying limb and bury the exposed part. This will produce a new plant. 

NEW YORK — Stocks ended an uneven session with moderate gains Thursday as investors vacillated between optimism and fear about the economy. The market also was trying to determine the likely impact of the change in leadership in the Senate. 

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 16.91 at 11,122.42, after falling 60 points earlier in the session. 

Wall Street’s broader indicators followed the Dow’s path, advancing late in the session. The Nasdaq composite index rose 38.54 to 2,282.02, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index moved up 4.12 to 1,293.17. 

Thursday’s trading was choppy from the start when Vermont Sen. James Jeffords announced, as expected, that he is leaving the Republican party to become an independent, ending GOP control of the Senate. 

“Everyone is sort of going through their own analysis of what the effect the change in the legislature is going to have for various sectors in the market,” said Charles White, portfolio manager for Avatar Associates. 

But analysts said that the market’s fluctuation mostly came amid unease over the health of the economy. Investors were trading cautiously ahead of a speech Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was scheduled to deliver Thursday night before the Economic Club of New York. 

“The next quarter or two are going to be weak. We already know that. What we want to hear from the Fed chairman tonight is that the fourth quarter is going to bring recovery,” White said. “The reason we have been rallying (recently) is on the hopes and dreams of the fourth quarter.” 

Adding to investors’ nervousness about the economy was weak housing and employment news. The Commerce Department reported that new home sales posted their largest decline in four years in April as rising layoffs made Americans feel less secure about making big-ticket purchases. 

And the Labor Department said that new claims for state unemployment insurance rose more sharply last week than analysts expected. 

It was more difficult to gauge precisely how Jeffords’ move was affecting Wall Street, where some profit-taking had been expected following the market’s big runup since early last month. Stocks have advanced primarily because of the five interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year. 

The Dow has jumped 1,732.94, an 18.5 percent increase, from its March low of 9,389.48. The Nasdaq has gained 461.18, or 25 percent, from its March low of 1,820.57. 

The market also can’t be expected to sustain such upward momentum as long as investors have reason to worry about the economy, said Alan Ackerman, executive vice president of Fahnestock & Co. 

“The averages moved too far too fast without any real strong earnings development,” Ackerman said. “The market has overreacted to the cumulative Fed rate cuts.” 

The economy and politics aside, stocks still managed to post widespread gains. Microsoft rose $2.02 to $71.72, and General Motors advanced $1.41 to $56.59. Home Depot moved up 83 cents to $53.45, and Intel rose 41 cents to $29.21. 

However, analysts said politics pulled down pharmaceutical and energy shares, sectors that typically benefit from a Republican Congress. Merck dropped $1.50 to $72.50, while Enron fell $1.19 to $54.16. 

The slowing economy hurt makers of semiconductor equipment, which reported late Tuesday that customer orders for April dropped 41 percent from March. Triquint Semiconductor plunged $4.22 to $20.59. 

Advancing issues traded nearly evenly with decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume was 1.31 billion shares, compared with 1.37 billion on Wednesday. 

The Russell 2000 index, which measures the performance of smaller companies stocks, rose 3.04 to 510.40. 

Overseas markets were mixed Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei stock average finished the day down 1.2 percent. In Europe, Germany’s DAX index rose 1.0 percent, Britain’s FT-SE 100 advanced 0.3 percent, and France’s CAC-40 gained 0.5 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

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

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

SANTA CLARA — Three years before co-founding Intel Corp. in 1968, Gordon Moore predicted the number of transistors on a silicon chip would double every 18 months. 

More than 35 years later, “Moore’s Law” still describes growth in the high-tech industry, as more transistors lead to more processing punch, new products and greater demand for computer power. 

On Thursday, the Silicon Valley legend retired from the board of directors of Intel. He will continue serving as chairman emeritus and director emeritus but will no longer hold any voting power. 

After the company’s annual meeting – during which former Federal Communications Commission Reed Hundt was elected to the company’s board – Moore said he has no regrets about instituting a mandatory retirement age for directors. 

And Moore said he intends to remain at least as active in the company as he has been since giving up the chairmanship title in 1997. 

“I would miss it if I really backed away. This business is really exciting. It changes so fast,” he said. “If the alternative is staying home and taking out the garbage, I want to stay close to the industry.” 

Asked about his thoughts on the future, Moore pointed to the demands for greater processing power by scientists developing new drugs and consumers looking for better voice recognition software. 

Truth be told, he added, his opinions aren’t so important now. 

“I don’t have to worry so much about what’s going to happen anymore,” he said, seated next to Intel Chief Executive Officer Craig Barrett and Chairman Andy Grove. “The 85,000 people at Intel can worry about that.” 

Moore said the current economic downturn that has hammered Intel and other high-tech companies won’t last forever. But, he added, no two downturns are alike. 

“You’ve got to be careful that you’re not like the generals who plan to fight the last war,” he said. “You’ve got to look at what the characteristics are. I don’t know how this one will play out.” 

Moore and Robert Noyce founded Intel on July 18, 1968, shortly after leaving Fairchild Semiconductor. Noyce died of a heart attack in 1990. 

Experts expect Moore’s Law to hold true at least through the next decade. Moore himself said Thursday that it will ultimately be limited by engineers’ ability to make things smaller. 

“No exponential every goes on forever without some kind of disaster happening at the end. Sure it has a limit,” he said. “Materials are made of atoms, and we’re not too far from where that starts to bite us.” 

Moore originally published his prediction as a way to show that integrated circuits would become less costly and more powerful over time. 

That original idea has taken on a life of its own, he said. 

“Since then, sort of anything that changes exponentially in relation to the industry is called ’Moore’s Law,”’ he said. “And I’m perfectly happy to take credit for all of it.” 

On the Net: 

Intel Corp.: http://www.intel.com

The Berkeley High baseball team lost its last four regular season games, dropping from a tie for first place in the ACCAL to a tie for third. They barely scraped into the North Coast Section 3A East Bay playoffs, getting the 16th and last seed. And on Tuesday, they paid dearly for that slide. 

Facing No.1 seed Deer Valley, the ’Jackets knew they were in for a tough game. But they probably didn’t expect to be shut out for just the second time this season. That’s just what happened, as Wolverine ace Daniel Denham dominated them with 14 strikeouts while giving up just four hits in guiding his team to a 4-0 win at Diablo Valley College. 

Denham’s opposite number was Berkeley’s Moses Kopmar, who had been out for two weeks with a groin injury. Kopmar looked good early, but struggled with his control, walking six and hitting two batters before being lifted in the fifth inning. In fact, the Wolverines’ first two runs came without a hit. In the first inning, Kopmar hit Eric King with two outs. King stole second, then came all the way around to score when Berkeley catcher Paco Flores couldn’t track down a wild pitch. 

In the fourth, Kopmar loaded the bases on two walks and a single, and Tommy Wolf scored on another wild pitch. Although he hit the next batter, Kopmar managed to pitch out of the jam. 

Berkeley head coach Tim Moellering said Kopmar earned the start with his hard work throughout the year. 

“He really wanted to pitch today,” Moellering said. “He was really up for it, and he was well-rested.” 

The wheels came off in the fifth, as Kopmar loaded the bases on three straight walks. Third baseman Eirik Kingston came through with a two-run single to break the game open, and that was more than Denham would need. 

The Berkeley hitters spent most of the day flailing wildly at Denham’s deliveries, as the senior mixed up his fastball with precision breaking balls. Only second baseman Lee Franklin managed more than one hit, and the ’Jackets didn’t get a single extra-base hit. In fact, no Berkeley runner made it to third base for the entire game. 

“He probably threw 80 percent fastballs today,” Deer Valley head coach Dennis Luquet said, noting that Denham is expected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming Major League Baseball amateur draft. “When he can move it inside and outside, he’s awful tough to hit, and then he can go to the curve and slider.” 

Luquet decided to throw his ace to open the playoffs because last year, he sat Denham in anticipation of a showdown with powerful Bishop O’Dowd. When the Wolverines lost in the opener, Luquet was criticized in the media. 

“I wasn’t going to read my name in the paper for seven straight days like last year,” he said. 

Berkeley’s best chance came in the fifth inning. Down just two runs, Bennie Goldenberg hit a one-out single. After Denham struck out pinch hitter Jeremy LeBeau, Frankin bounced a single over the infield. But Denham dug deep and struck out DeAndre Miller, and the ’Jackets wouldn’t threaten again. 

“We had our chances, but we needed to capitalize and we didn’t quite do it,” Moellering said. “We obviously weren’t going to score a whole bunch, but we could have gotten a couple.” 

Moellering praised his players for a good effort after falling so far in the final games of the regular season. They made just one error on Tuesday, and several players made heads-up plays in the field. It was a far cry from their struggles of the past two weeks, but they just went up against a pitcher they couldn’t hit. 

“If we have to lose a game to end the season, as most teams do, this was a much better way to go out than last Friday was,” he said.

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, 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. $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. “Ricky Swallow/Matrix 191,” Including new sculptures and drawings through May 27; “Five Star: the 31st Annual University of California at Berkeley Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition: 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 

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. “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 year membership. All ages. May 25: Controlling Hand, Wormwood, Goats Blood, American Waste, Quick to Blame; May 26: Honor System, Divit, Enemy You, Eleventeen, Tragedy Andy; June 1: Alkaline Trio, Hotrod Circuit, No Motiv, Dashboard Confessional, Bluejacket; June 2: El Dopa, Dead Bodies Everywhere, Shadow People, Ludicra, Ballast. 525-9926  

Ashkenaz May 24: Jai Uttal, Stephen Kent, Geoffrey Gordon; May 25: Jelly Roll; May 26: Caribbean All Stars; May 27: Big Brother and the Holding Company; May 29: Andrew Carrier and Cajun Classics; May 30: Fling Ding, Bluegrass Intentions, Leslie Kier and Friends; May 31: Wake the Dead, David Gans 1370 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Freight & Salvage All music at 8 p.m. May 24: Nickel Creek; May 25: Gearoid O’Hallmhurain, Patrick Ourceau, Robbie O’Connell; May 26: Darryl Henriques; May 27: Shana Morrison; May 31: Freight 33rd Anniversary Concert Series: Bob Dylan Song Night and others; June 1: The Riders of the Purple Sage. 1111 Addison St. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jupiter All shows at 8 p.m. May 24: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu and Add1; May 25: The Mind Club; May 26: Rhythm Doctors; May 29: The Lost Trio; May 30: Zambambazo 2181 Shattuck Ave 843-8277  

La Peña Cultural Center May 24: Tato Enriquez, plus a video and photo exhibit from earthquake-devastated El Salvador; May 26: 7-9 p.m. in the Cafe Jason Moen Jazz Quartet, 9:30 p.m. Charanga Tumbo y Cuerdas; May 27: 4 p.m. in the cafe La Peña Flamenca; May 28: 7 p.m. Frank Emilio Flynn 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 or www.lapena.org  

Berkeley Lyric Opera Orchestra May 27, 8 p.m. John Kendall Bailey conducting, Ivan Ilic on piano. Works by Bach, Stravinsky, Mozart, Prokofiev. $15 - $20 St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave. 843-5781  

Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble, Combos and Lab Band May 25, 7:30 p.m. $5 - $8. Florance Schwimley Little Theatre 1920 Allston Way www.bhs.berkeley.k12.ca.us/arts/performing/jazz 

New Millennium Strings Benefit Concert May 26, 8 p.m. Featuring pieces by Weber, Chabrier, Bizet. Benefits Berkeley Food Pantry $7 - $10 University Christian Church 2401 La Conte 526-3331 

Colibri May 26, 11 a.m. Latin American songs and rhythms. West Branch of the Berkeley Public Library 1125 University 649-3964 

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  

Kenny Washington May 27, 4:30 p.m. $6 - $12. Jazzschool/La Note 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 

Jupiter String Quartet May 27, 7:30 p.m. Works by Janacek and Haydn. $8 - $10. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St.  

Benefit for Dolores Huerta June 9, 7 p.m. Come support this legendary local activist while enjoying an eclectic variety of performances. $20 in advance, $25 at the door. La Pena, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568. 

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

“Procession of the Sun and Moon” with Selected Solo Pieces by Maria Lexa May 27, 2 p.m. Full length drama with giant puppets and masked characters accompanied by live music. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 Collage Ave 925-798-1300 

“New Moon at Sinai” May 30, 7 p.m. Music, live puppet theater, shadows and images will take the audience from Egypt to Mount Sinai. Featuring music by Pharaoh’s Daughter and Mozaik and the musical and ritual theater group The Puppet Players. $8 - $12. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 Collage Ave 925-798-1300 

“Conversations In Commedia” May 30, 7:30 p.m. Series continues with Mime Troupe playwright Joan Holden and veteran clown/actor/director/playwright Jeff Raz. $6 - $8. La Pena 3105 Shattuck Ave 849-2568 

“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 

“Planet Janet” Through June 10, Fridays and Saturdays 8 p.m., Sundays 7 p.m. Follows six young urbanites’ struggles in sex and dating. Impact Theatre presentation written by Bret Fetzer, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7 - $12 La Val’s Subterranean Theatre 1834 Euclid 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

“The Misanthrope” by Moliere Through 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. All female design and production staff. $17 - $20 Il Teatro 450 449 Powell St. San Francisco 415-433-1172 or visit www.womenintime.com 

“The Laramie Project” Through July 8, Wed. 7 p.m., Tues. and Thur. -Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Written by Moises Kaufmen and members of Tectonic Theater Project, directed by Moises Kaufman. Moises Kaufman and Tectonic members traveled to Laramie, Wyo., after the murder of openly gay student Matthew Shepherd. The play is about the community and the impact Shaper’s death had on its members. $10 - $50. The Roda Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2015 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

Pacific Film Archive May 24: 7:00 Sampo; May 25: 7:30 E Flat; May 26: 7:00 Subarnarekha; May 27: 5:30 Stone Flowers. Pacific Film Archive Theater 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

“An Evening of Handmade Films” May 25, 8 p.m. This documentary chronicles the lives of three disabled East African women who designed and built wheelchairs for use on unpaved roads. $5 suggested donation. Fantasy Studios, 2600 10th St. at Parker, 549-2977. 

“Svetlana Village” May 26, 4 p.m. Subtitled “The Camphill Experience in Russia,” details community of organic farmers, nearly half of whom are developmentally disabled. World premiere benefit screening, Q & A with director and a Svetlana resident afterwards. $7-$15 Fine Arts Cinema 2451 Shattuck Ave 

“The Producers” June 10. Revisit this outrageous comedy classic, starring Zero Mostel and written by Mel Brooks. $2 Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

“Scapes/Escapes” Ink, Acrylic, Mixed Media by Evelyn Glaubman Through 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 Through June 9, Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Traywick Gallery 1316 Tenth St. 527-1214 www.traywick.com 

Ledger drawings of Michael and Sandra Horse Exhibit runs through June 18. Gathering Tribes Gallery 1573 Solano Ave. 528-9038 www.gatheringtribes.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. Pacific School of Religion 1798 Scenic Ave. 848-0528 

Tyler James Hoare Sculpture and Collage Through June 27, call for hours. Party June 9, 5-9 p.m. with music by Sauce Piquante. The Albatross Pub 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 

“Watershed 2001” Through July 14, Wednesday - Sunday Noon - 5 p.m. Exhibition of painting, drawing, sculpture and installation that explore images and issues about our watershed. Slide presentation on creek restoration and urban design May 31, 7:30 p.m. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St. 644-6893 

Bernard Maisner: Illuminated Manuscripts and 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 through August 24; 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) 

“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 

“Queens of Ethipoia: Intuitive Inspirations,” the exceptional art of Esete-Miriam A. Menkir. June 2 through July 11. Reception with the artist on June 2, 1 - 3 p.m. Women’s Cancer Resource Center Gallery 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 ext 307 

“The Decade of Change: 1900 - 1910” chronicles the transformation of the city of Berkeley in this 10 year period. Thursday through Saturday, 1 - 4 p.m. Berkeley History Center, Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center St. Wheelchair accessible. 848-0181. Free.  

Readings 

Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted May 24: Katie Hafner decries “The Well: A Story of Love, Death and Real Life in the Seminal Online Community”; May 25: Nathaniel Philbrick talks about “In the Heart of the Sea”; May 29: David Harris talks about “Shooting the Moon: The True Story of An American Manhunt Unlike Any Other, Ever”  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533 All events at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise 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 24: Stephanie Young with host Louis Cuneo; May 31: Connie Post with host Louis Cuneo Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

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  

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tours All tours begin at 10 a.m. and are restricted to 30 people per tour $5 - $10 per tour. 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 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute Free Lectures All lectures begin at 6 p.m. 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 

Editor to readers 

Dear Readers: 

Thank-you for your many passionate letters. We print as many as we can and generally in the order in which we receive them. Shorter ones are more likely to run. Those over 650 words will not run. Long letters are likely to be cut. We attempt to verify facts, especially statements on local issues, and try not to print false statements, though we cannot fact check letters as we might our articles. 

Above all, we will not print racist or bigoted statements, or generalities about peoples of one or another belief, religion, nationality or origin. We also ask you to refrain from attacking and belittling the letter-writer whose opinion you are opposing, but attack the opinion itself. 

We reserve the right to edit letters. 

Judith Scherr, editor 

Others declared war on Israel 

Editor: 

In his letter, Will Youmans (“Israel has hurt hope for peace”, May 21) made some claims that seem to have been fabricated. Israel did not want war in 1948. Israel declared a state and five Arab countries declared war. Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq attacked Israel while Azzam Pasha, the Secretary-General of the Arab League declared that “this will be a war of extermination.” Youmans does not recall the similar number of Jewish refugees that were expelled from their homes in Arab states circa 1948. An Egyptian minister called “all Jews Zionists and enemies of the state”.  

These Jews were resettled in Israel, while the Arab states failed to absorb their own brethren who chose to leave Israel after its independence. Arabs were asked to stay, but they opted to leave. On April 22 1948, the mufti-dominated Arab leaders urged “all Arabs to leave the city.” 

The British police reported on April 26, 1948, that “every effort is being made by the Jews to persuade the Arab populace to stay.” While Israel absorbed many refugees, the Arab states failed to do so, despite their vast land and wealth. 

I didn’t understand how Youmans jumped from the number of 750,000 to 5 million refugees. The majority of refugees have settled in different countries, and refuge isn’t hereditary. Do I consider myself a Hungarian refugee? 

Youmans claims that Daryl Kutzstein “surely did not witness” the anti-Semitic incidents during the Students for Justice in Palestine rally at Wheeler hall, therefore they didn’t happen. Well Mr. Youmans, I was there, and I saw it all. Many people saw and heard the hate. 

Youmans claims that Israel is compromising U.N. resolution 242. In fact, the resolution states that Israel should withdraw from territories, and not ‘the’ territories. The omission of the word ‘the’ enables Israel to withdraw from the territory she sees fit for negotiating peace. In return, the neighboring states must end their belligerency, and acknowledge Israel, who will be able to live “within secure boundaries free from threats.” This has not happened. Israel was willing to withdraw from 95 percent of the territories (while annexing an additional 5 percent of Israel proper) in return for peace. In return, the Palestinians chose to resort to violence. It is no surprise that Israel is not willing to return to the negotiating table while being attacked. 

Devora M Liss 

Berkeley 

Arab states declared war first 

Editor: 

I would like to correct a few details Mr. Youmans seems to have ‘forgotten.’ (Israel has hurt hopes for peace, May 21st). In 1948 Israel declared a state and immediately extended its hand in peace to its neighbors.  

The Arab states were the ones to initiate the attack on the new-born state. 

Mr. Youmans is wrong, when referring to Mr. Kutzstien’s statement “We must move from asking who did what and when.” This is a grown-up world. We live in the present. We have to see what can be done today and tomorrow, not yesterday. 

Mr. Youmans finds it hard to negotiate with a government which supposedly “will not even acknowledge its actions,” while holding Israel responsible for the plight of the refugees, who were created by the “catastrophe” of Israel’s establishment. How can Israel be expected to make peace with someone who doesn’t even recognize its existence? 

Mr. Youmans might want to take a good look at UN resolution 242. As it states that Israel should give back parts of the territories as she sees fit, it also requires her neighbors to come to terms with her existence, halt terror and stop their belligerency. 

Mr. Youmans is telling a partial story. The Israeli government wanted peace, offered Mr. Arafat a viable state that the Palestinians rejected, turning to violence instead of dialogue. 

Sura Rahman 

Berkeley 

Beth El good, project bad 

Editor: 

It seems like you can’t open a local newspaper these days without reading about what a great organization Beth El is: they do volunteer work, they feed the homeless, they educate their children, and so on.  

The point of these letters is that Beth El should be able to build their controversial new synagogue/school/social center at 1301 Oxford Street in the face of opposition from many neighbors, many others individuals in Berkeley and beyond, and the local chapters of the Sierra Club, Audubon Society, and a host of other environmental organizations.  

What is missing from these letters is the connection between the assertion “Beth El does a lot of good things” and the conclusion “therefore they should be able to build their project.” I’m not sure what that connection is supposed to be, but I’ve thought of a few possibilities: 

Perhaps the point is that Beth El is an asset to the community, but will have to leave if not allowed to build their current project. But that doesn’t make sense: when a some project opponents suggested that a few alternative sites might be more suitable for Beth El’s planned expansion, Beth El leaders called them “offensive” for trying to “kick 

Beth El out of the neighborhood.” Beth El doesn’t just want to stay in the neighborhood, they won’t even consider a move. If Beth El’s plans are denied, they will continue to be a community asset, just as they are now.  

Or maybe the point is that Beth El is such a good organization that anything they do must be good, so the opponents of the current plan must be misguided and there’s not really anything wrong with the plan. But that’s wrong too. Opponents understand exactly what the current plan calls for and Beth El gave presentations to environmental organizations which nevertheless oppose the plan. Organizations that oppose the current plan include the Sierra Club (San Francisco Bay Chapter), Alameda Creeks Alliance, Friends of Five Creeks, Urban Creeks Council, Center for Biological Diversity, International Rivers Network, Berkeley Community Gardening Collaborative, Eco-City Builders, Berkeley Eco-House, California Oak Foundation, and the Golden Gate Chapter of the Audubon Society. 

So maybe the point is that Beth El members are good, while opponents of the project are bad; Beth El should be rewarded by being allowed to build its project, while opponents should be punished by having the project forced on them. I hope that’s not the argument either.  

Opponents of the project are not evil. Like Beth El, we educate our children, donate money and time to help others, and so on. The list of organizations in the previous paragraph should speak for itself.  

So perhaps the argument is that Beth El has done a lot of good things, so even if they do something bad, they’re still ahead on points.  

Phillip Price 

Berkeley

Thursday, May 24

Paddling Adventures  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Dan Crandell, member of the U.S. National Kayak Surf Team and owner of Current Adventures Kayak School, will introduce attendees to all aspects of kayaking. Free 527-4140 

City of Berkeley Meeting 

2 - 4 p.m. 

2120 Milvia St. 

Second Floor Conference Rm. 

Bancroft-Durant Two-Way Street Proposal Meeting. Call Bike For a Better City 597-1235. 

West Berkeley Project Area  

Commission Meeting 

7 p.m. 

West Berkeley Senior Center 

1900 Sixth St. 

Among other topics, correspondence regarding Commissioner Training, Eastshore State Park planning meetings and proposal for commissioner advocate. 

705-8105 

Community Health  

Commission Meeting 

6:30 - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Among other topics, a vote on a letter of apology to the mayor. 

644-6109 

Friday, May 25

Free Writing, Cashiering  

& Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

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

www.ajob.org 

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.  

Therapy for Trans Partners  

6 - 7:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center for Human Growth  

2712 Telegraph Ave. (at Derby)  

A group open to partners of those in transition or considering transition. The group is structured to be a safe place to receive support from peers and explore a variety of issues, including sexual orientation, coming out, feelings of isolation, among other topics. Intake process required. Meeting Fridays through August 17.  

$8 - $35 sliding scale per session  

Call 548-8283 x534 or x522 

Saturday, May 26

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

Himalayan Fair 

10 a.m. - 7 p.m.  

Live Oak Park  

1300 Shattuck Ave.  

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 

869-3995 www.himalayanfair.net  

Chocolate and Chalk Art  

Festival 

9 a.m. 

Registration at Peralta Park 

1561 Solano Ave. 

Areas of sidewalk will be assigned to participants to create their own sidewalk art. People who find all five of the chocolate kisses chalked onto Solano Ave. can enter raffle for cash prize.Dog fashion show at Solano Ave. and Key Route in Albany at 2 p.m. Free. 527-5358 

Sunday, May 27

Himalayan Fair 

10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.  

Live Oak Park  

1300 Shattuck Ave.  

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 

869-3995 www.himalayanfair.net 

Getting Calm; Staying Clear 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Discussion of meditation and analysis. Free and open to the public. 843-6812  

Inside Interior Design  

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar led by certified interior designer and artist Lori Inman.  

$35 per person 525-7610 

Monday, May 28

Shavuot Ice Cream Party 

11 a.m. 

Berkeley Hillel 

2736 Bancroft Way 

Come hear the ten commandments. 540-5824 

Tuesday, May 29 

People’s State  

of the City Address 

7:00 p.m. 

City Council Chambers 

2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

This community meeting will focus on housing, jobs, education, and disability and senior issues in the city of Berkeley. Food will be provided. Free. 

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 

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  

www.pacificcenter.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

The Lois Club Meeting 

12 noon or 6 p.m. 

Venizia Caffe and Bistro 

1799 University Ave. 

Social gathering for people whose names are Lois. Open to Loises and their guests. Join the club for lunch or dinner. Call 848-6254 by May 25 

Wednesday, May 30

Dream Home for a Song  

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar conducted by author/contractor/owner-builder David Cook.  

$35 per person 525-7610  

Thursday, May 31

Backpacking in  

Northern California  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Outdoors Unlimited’s director, Ari Derfel, will give a slide presentation on some of his favorite destinations for three-to-four-day backpacking vacations. Free  

527-4140 

— compiled by  

Sabrina Forkish 

Attic Conversions  

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar conducted by architect/builder Andus Brandt.  

$35 per person  

525-7610  

League of Women Voters’ Dinner and Meeting 

5:30 - 9 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church 

941 The Alameda 

Featuring speaker Brenda Harbin-Forte, presiding judge of the Alameda County Juvenile Court on “What’s happening with Alameda County children in the juvenile justice system after Prop. 21?” $10 to reserve buffet supper. May bring own meal or come only for meeting/speaker. 

843-8824  

Thursday, May 24

Paddling Adventures  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Dan Crandell, member of the U.S. National Kayak Surf Team and owner of Current Adventures Kayak School, will introduce attendees to all aspects of kayaking. Free 527-4140 

City of Berkeley Meeting 

2 - 4 p.m. 

2120 Milvia St. 

Second Floor Conference Rm. 

Bancroft-Durant Two-Way Street Proposal Meeting. Call Bike For a Better City 597-1235. 

West Berkeley Project Area  

Commission Meeting 

7 p.m. 

West Berkeley Senior Center 

1900 Sixth St. 

Among other topics, correspondence regarding Commissioner Training, Eastshore State Park planning meetings and proposal for commissioner advocate. 

705-8105 

Community Health  

Commission Meeting 

6:30 - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Among other topics, a vote on a letter of apology to the mayor. 

644-6109 

Friday, May 25

Free Writing, Cashiering  

& Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

Free classes offered Monday through Friday. Stop  

by and register or call 548-6700. 

www.ajob.org 

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.  

Therapy for Trans Partners  

6 - 7:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center for Human Growth  

2712 Telegraph Ave. (at Derby)  

A group open to partners of those in transition or considering transition. The group is structured to be a safe place to receive support from peers and explore a variety of issues, including sexual orientation, coming out, feelings of isolation, among other topics. Intake process required. Meeting Fridays through August 17.  

$8 - $35 sliding scale per session  

Call 548-8283 x534 or x522 

Saturday, May 26

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

Himalayan Fair 

10 a.m. - 7 p.m.  

Live Oak Park  

1300 Shattuck Ave.  

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 

869-3995 www.himalayanfair.net  

Chocolate and Chalk Art  

Festival 

9 a.m. 

Registration at Peralta Park 

1561 Solano Ave. 

Areas of sidewalk will be assigned to participants to create their own sidewalk art. People who find all five of the chocolate kisses chalked onto Solano Ave. can enter raffle for cash prize.Dog fashion show at Solano Ave. and Key Route in Albany at 2 p.m. Free. 527-5358 

Sunday, May 27

Himalayan Fair 

10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.  

Live Oak Park  

1300 Shattuck Ave.  

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 

869-3995 www.himalayanfair.net 

Getting Calm; Staying Clear 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Discussion of meditation and analysis. Free and open to the public. 843-6812  

Inside Interior Design  

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar led by certified interior designer and artist Lori Inman.  

$35 per person 525-7610 

Monday, May 28 

Shavuot Ice Cream Party 

11 a.m. 

Berkeley Hillel 

2736 Bancroft Way 

Come hear the ten commandments. 540-5824 

Tuesday, May 29

People’s State  

of the City Address 

7:00 p.m. 

City Council Chambers 

2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

This community meeting will focus on housing, jobs, education, and disability and senior issues in the city of Berkeley. Food will be provided. Free. 

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 

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  

www.pacificcenter.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

The Lois Club Meeting 

12 noon or 6 p.m. 

Venizia Caffe and Bistro 

1799 University Ave. 

Social gathering for people whose names are Lois. Open to Loises and their guests. Join the club for lunch or dinner. Call 848-6254 by May 25 

Wednesday, May 30

Dream Home for a Song  

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar conducted by author/contractor/owner-builder David Cook.  

$35 per person 525-7610  

Thursday, May 31  

Backpacking in  

Northern California  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Outdoors Unlimited’s director, Ari Derfel, will give a slide presentation on some of his favorite destinations for three-to-four-day backpacking vacations. Free  

527-4140 

— compiled by  

Sabrina Forkish 

Attic Conversions  

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar conducted by architect/builder Andus Brandt.  

$35 per person  

525-7610  

League of Women Voters’ Dinner and Meeting 

5:30 - 9 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church 

941 The Alameda 

Featuring speaker Brenda Harbin-Forte, presiding judge of the Alameda County Juvenile Court on “What’s happening with Alameda County children in the juvenile justice system after Prop. 21?” $10 to reserve buffet supper. May bring own meal or come only for meeting/speaker. 

843-8824  

Climbing structures are great for kids’ motor coordination, but wood structures preserved with arsenic may present a hidden danger. 

“It’s a dirty secret in the wood-products industry,” said Bill Walker, of the Washington, D.C.,-based Environmental Working Group, speaking Wednesday at a press conference, held beside an arsenic-treated play structure at Cedar-Rose Park in north Berkeley.  

“Arsenic is a serious threat to health,” especially for children who put their hands into their mouths frequently and do not excrete toxins as readily as adults might, Walker said. 

Walker joined representatives from the Healthy Building Network and the Center for Environmental Health to expose the problem, talk about a lawsuit they hope will lead to its resolution and to herald a study co-authored by the EWG and the Healthy Building Network: “Poisoned Playgrounds, Arsenic in ‘Pressure-Treated’ Wood.”  

The study says wood used outdoors in play equipment is injected with chromated copper arsenate, a mixture of chromium, copper and arsenic, to protect it from insect attacks and fungal decay. The report says the substance poses both an acute poisoning hazard and long-term risks such as lung, bladder and skin cancer.  

While the thrust of the message was that this is a nationwide problem, Walker used the play structure at the north Berkeley park as an example. He said that in 1978, the state Department of Health Services tested the play structure at Cedar-Rose Park and found elevated levels of the toxin. 

Consequently, a law was passed requiring all state, city and county play structures to be coated every two years with a nontoxic sealer. 

The city of Berkeley and numerous others may have failed to do so, Walker said. 

Parks Department Director Lisa Caronna was quick to react. In an initial phone conversation, she said she was unaware of the danger and of the law. After making calls to previous parks directors – Caronna came in as director in 1995 – she found that, in fact, the city had coated the structures in the early 1980s. However, at some point, the biannual coating stopped. 

“It’s not a good thing,” Caronna said. “Quite honestly, it’s quite upsetting.”  

By Friday, Caronna said the four older wood structures – the one at Cedar and Rose Park, two at King Middle School Park, and one at Codornices Park – will be coated with two layers of sealant. She added that these structures are slated for replacement over the next five years, but she will try to get them replaced in two. 

Following a hazard assessment, 26 play structures have been replaced since 1995, she said. 

Walker said that was a good start, but the sealant does not completely protect the children and, if the structures are not to be removed, they should at least have warning signs. 

“Arsenic shouldn’t be in the wood in the first place,” said Walker, noting that there are non-treated woods, such as (sustainably-grown) redwood and metal or plastic that can be used in playgrounds. 

Many of the companies that make arsenic-treated wood already make safer products intended for European markets, Walker said. 

The Center for Environmental Health is taking the issue to the courts. It filed legal notice earlier this month of its intent to sue 11 manufacturers of arsenic-treated wooden playground equipment, under California’s Proposition 65, unless Attorney General Bill Lockyer intervenes within 60 days. 

A successful lawsuit would force manufacturers to stop using arsenic in wood intended for playground structures or, minimally, to warn the public of its risks. 

On the national level, the EWG has asked the Consumer Product Safely Commission to ban the use of arsenic-treated wood in playground equipment.  

Sen. Barbara Boxer held hearings on the question last week and issued a statement Wednesday: “The science shows that when ingested arsenic can lead to cancer, nerve damage, reproductive damage and sometimes even death,” Boxer wrote. “Parents should feel safe when they turn on the tap and when they send their kids outside to play. We need action now.” 

Jo Anne Skinner of EWG spoke as a mother of two children under the age of five. “As a parent, we do everything we can to make sure our children are safe. We buy safety locks for our cupboards,” she said. “It’s a tragedy there’s parks that are poisoning our kids.” 

The Daily Planet was unable to reach the children’s playground structure manufacturers targeted in the lawsuit for comment before deadline. 

Panthers beat up on Swett 

Anthony Miyawaki wasn’t going to lose this game. No sir. 

“I had to make sure I got one NCS win under my belt before I left,” Miyawaki said after throwing a 12-6, complete game win against John Swett in the first round of the North Coast Section 2A East Bay playoffs on Wednesday. Miyawaki started first-round NCS games the past two years, and the Panthers lost both of them. In fact, Wednesday’s win was the first NCS victory for any of the St. Mary’s players, as the team’s last regional win was the year before this season’s seniors arrived. 

The funny thing is, none of the Panthers even expected to make the playoffs. After slumping badly to end the BSAL regular season, the Panthers lost in the first round of league playoffs. Head coach Andy Shimabukuro was so sure his team would be staying home, he collected the uniforms and put them away for next season. 

“We turned in our uniforms last week, but I talked to the other coaches in the division, and they said we would get in,” Shimabukuro said. “But the teams are all pretty even, so I think if we can get by the next game (against top-seeded Moreau) we’ve got a good shot at going all the way.” 

The Panthers took care of Wednesday’s game at the plate, smacking 12 hits and putting up at least two runs in four different innings. They were helped by four errors by Swett third baseman Mike Detomasi, including two straight with two outs in the fourth that led to three unearned runs in the inning. 

But the real damage was done the inning before, as Swett started Steven Dellacruz loaded the bases with two singles and a hit batsman with no outs. St. Mary’s cleanup hitter Chris Alfert slammed a double over the centerfielder’s head, scoring two runs. After designated hitter Joe Storno walked to re-load the bases, Miyawaki and Chase Moore hit RBI singles. Greg Marshall, who hit a two-run single in the second to open his team’s scoring, hit into a double play, scoring Storno for a 7-4 Panther lead. 

“We lost our last two games because we scored one run in the last 11 innings,” Shimabukuro said. “But we worked on our situational hitting this week, and it came through for us today.” 

The Panthers weren’t much better in the field than their opponents, committing five errors of their own, and four of Swett’s runs were unearned. But while Miyawaki didn’t have the prettiest pitching line, he got out of several jams with minimal damage. The senior said he is much more relaxed on the mound this year, which has helped him be more focused. 

“In the last couple of years, I would complain when guys made errors behind me,” he said. “Now I just let it go and concentrate on getting the next guy.” 

Miyawaki threw more than 120 pitches in the game, many of them curveballs, a pitch he hasn’t used much this season. 

“The other coaches told the pitching coach I wasn’t using my curve enough,” he said. “I’ve been using my changeup more this year, but we switched back to the curve today, and I guess it worked.” 

Miyawaki made another last-minute change going into Wednesday’s game. He was fooling around with some teammates, imitating their swings, and he decided to use a more closed stance with a pronounced leg kick at the plate. It worked, as he went 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs. When he was asked what his coaches thought of his chameleon act just as the playoffs are starting, he laughed. 

“It was all just for fun,” he said. “The coaches trust the leaders of this team.”

The City Council took an unusual action Tuesday by voting immediately after a public hearing to reverse a Zoning Adjustments Board decision to allow development in an “over-cozy neighborhood.” 

After listening to a series of neighbors complain about parking problems, property neglect and privacy concerns, the council closed the public hearing and decided to vote on the issue. Normally the council takes action on public hearing issues at future meetings so councilmembers have time to go over material and ponder testimony. 

“This is one of clearest cases I’ve ever seen,” Mayor Shirley Dean said, and without much discussion, the council voted 8-0 to uphold the neighbors’ appeal and ended the property owner’s plans to build a second home on his property at 1825 Berkeley Way. 

The council took the additional step of adopting a motion by another 8-0 vote to have the Housing Department inspect the existing structure on the same property because of ongoing complaints of faulty plumbing and drainage. 

“It was a long process but eventually we did get heard,” said next-door neighbor Steve Wollmer, the day after the council decision. 

Councilmember Linda Maio did not vote on the issue on the advice of the city attorney because she lives near the subject property. 

The council vote reverses a Nov. 27 decision by the ZAB to allow property owner, Himmat Katari to build a one-story, two-bedroom, 818-square-foot residence at the Berkeley Way site near Grant Street. The project was going to be built behind an existing structure on the same property. The ZAB approved the use permit by a 5-1 vote with two boardmembers abstaining. 

Neighbors complained the additional residential property would negatively impact neighborhood parking because the proposed project did not provide enough on-site spaces. According to a Planning and Development Department report, Katari leases the existing residential building to five university students, though neighbors claim there are as many as seven tenants and each owns a car. Neighbors said if Katari built the new building, he would lease it to as many as four additional students. The project’s design only allowed one space for each building, the minimum allowed by zoning regulations.  

In a letter to the council, Wollmer said: “We in the immediate neighborhood know the rental history of this property and resent that the desire of one non-resident owner for additional income will make our daily lives much more difficult because (his) project meets minimum requirements.” 

Dean said she was greatly disturbed by the neighbors’ accounts of plumbing problems on the property. One letter to council, written by Steve Harrison, described a broken shower drain on the second story that spilled out onto the property’s back stairs and an ongoing hazard created by a sump pump that discharges water 10 feet down a driveway and across a public sidewalk. 

“I have no doubt that this mentality will carry on to any new projects the owner undertakes,” Harrison wrote. “He has shown no interest in his tenants or the neighborhood.” 

Wollmer said he was frustrated by what he called “shoddy” work the Planning and Development staff did on the project. He said the surrounding properties were mis-characterized by a planner who investigated the site. “He described an office space behind the property at 1824 Hearst St. as a garage and said there were no windows on the side of the house next door when there are two picture windows that would have been affected by shadows,” he said, alleging the staff who worked on the project were “incompetent...or prejudiced.” 

Planning and Development Interim Deputy Director Vivian Kahn said if mistakes were made in the project reports, they were likely corrected by letters from the neighbors so that the ZAB was aware of all the correct facts at the time it approved the use permit.  

Dean said she was confounded that the project made it past the ZAB. “I don’t understand staff’s and the ZAB’s strong support of this project ,” she said on Wednesday. “I don’t know what they were thinking on this one.” 

Councilmember Polly Armstrong agreed. “We have to stop shoving more and more people into our established neighborhoods and build more on major thoroughfares where people have access to alternate means of transportation, not in communities like this already over-cozy neighborhood,” she said. 

Katari said he may want to take legal action against the council’s decision and did not want to comment on the outcome until he speaks to his attorney.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Two California Golden Bears were named to the 2001 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA)/Louisville Slugger All-American team that was announced Wednesday at the annual Women’s College World Series banquet in Oklahoma City, Okla. Sophomore first baseman Veronica Nelson was awarded first-team at-large (first base) honors while junior pitcher Jocelyn Forest was named to the second team.  

Nelson, who was also awarded first-team All-Pac-10 and second-team All-Pacific Region, leads the Bears in many offensive categories - batting average (.352), RBI (50), home runs (18) and slugging percentage (.772). In addition to her offensive prowess, Nelson also broke her own NCAA single-season walk record last Sunday versus the Florida StateSeminoles in the regional championship, when she drew a walk for the 88th time, breaking her old record of 87 in 2000. Nelson is the first Cal player since Gillian Boxx (1992-1995) and Michele Granger (1989-1993) earned first-team honors in 1993.  

Forest, who was also named to the first-team All-Pac-10 and second-team All-Pacific Region, led the Cal pitching staff with a 27-8 record, 0.72 ERA and a conference-best 350 strikeouts. Her ERA is the lowest of any Bear pitcher since Granger recorded a 0.50 ERA in 1993.  

Cal, the eighth seed in the WCWS, begins play today at 8 a.m., when it takes on the top-seeded Arizona Wildcats. The game will be televised live on ESPN2.

A class action lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court Wednesday alleges that more than 800 UC Berkeley students may have been exposed to harmful levels of airborne mold in their university housing units. 

At issue are the University Village Apartments in Albany, about 1,000 units reserved for UC Berkeley students who are married and/or have children. Of these units, 400 were built in the early 1960s, and 150 date back to the 1940s, said Robert Jacobs, director of housing facilities for UC Berkeley. 

The lawsuit, filed by the Concord law firm Kasdan, Simonds, Epstein & Martin, alleges that the university failed to provide effective waterproofing and weather protection for some of the older units, leading to high levels of mold and fungi.  

“We believe that the university and the Regents have an undeniable responsibility to ensure that the housing they rent to students, or anyone else, is clean and healthy,” Kenneth Kasdan, a partner in the Kasdan, Simonds firm, said in a press release Wednesday. “As far as we are concerned, they grossly ignored their responsibility.” 

A University of California spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday. 

The suit was filed Wednesday morning on behalf of UC Berkeley student David Garcia and his 18-month-old son, Elias Garcia, both of who have been treated for cough, congestion, eye irritation, fevers and breathing problems over the last six months, allegedly caused by the high level of mold in their rental unit. 

The list of plaintiffs in the suit had grown to include three children and three adults by the end of the day Wednesday, Kasdan said in an interview, adding that he expected more to join the suit soon. 

“We believe as all the health data comes out that it’s going to be shocking,” Kasdan said. 

Along with compensation for plaintiffs’ medical costs, the suit demands a university-sponsored cleanup of the mold and medical monitoring to determine if other residents have been affected. 

“We want these houses remediated so that they are safe to live in,” Kasdan said. 

The mold problem was originally identified by the university itself, after it hired outside consultants to go over the units last summer in preparation for a restoration project. 

The university had slated the older units for demolition, according to Jacobs, but it opted to restore the units instead in response to a student group’s concern that the loss of old units would mean the loss of affordable units. 

While the older units rent for around $700 a month, newer units cost around $1,100 a month, Jacobs said. 

In studying what it would take to restore the old buildings, the Pleasant Hill-based MECA Consulting company surveyed the levels of air-born mold in 52 randomly chosen units, Jacobs said. Most of the units showed elevated levels of air-born mold compared to the outside air. In two units the levels were so high that the university told the inhabitants they must move out. 

The mold is a result of “systematic problems” such as leaking walls and windows, Jacobs said. 

The university convened meetings with University Village Apartments’ residents and health experts earlier this month to go over the potential health risks cause by mold and to tell residents what they could do to reduce the level of mold in their units, Jacobs said.  

According to a handout distributed to residents of the Albany apartments by UC Berkeley’s University Health Services, most people have no reaction when exposed to molds, but too much exposure can “cause or worsen” asthma, hay fewer and other allergic reactions. 

Jacobs said it is difficult to know how to respond to the situation because there are no state or federal guidelines as to what constitutes a dangerous level of airborne mold. 

“If you live in an old house, you’re going to have mold,” he said. “We’re really tried to be as proactive as we can.” 

Prior to Wednesday’s lawsuit, Jacobs said the university had received complaints from students in only four units about health problems attributed to the mold. In these cases the residents were offered the opportunity to move into newer units, Jacobs said, but only if they were willing and able to pay the higher rents for these units. 

Jacobs said the university will convene a panel of experts in June to determine the next step in dealing with the mold problem. 

Kasdan said the university has had six months since it publicly announced the mold problem and in all that time it has taken no actions to reduce the levels of airborne mold. 

“What makes this case even more egregious is that the housing where Mr. Garcia and the other Berkeley students have lived caters to families with young children,” Kasdan said. “These children can become extremely ill from continuously living and playing in a mold infested environment.”

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – No. 26 California is in a tie for 14th place (610) with Michigan State after the second round Wednesday of the NCAA Championship at the par 72, 6106 El Campeon Golf Course. After carding a 302 Tuesday, the Golden Bears followed that up with a 308 Wednesday to fall slightly from a tie for 11th after the opening round.  

The Bears are making their first appearance in school history at the NCAA Championship.  

Top-ranked Duke, which was tied for seventh after the opening round, shot a 293 in round two to move into a first-place tie with first-day leader Oklahoma State (592). Georgia is one stroke back at 593, while Auburn and UCLA are tied for fourth at 594 in the 24-team tournament.  

UCLA’s Laura Moffat maintained her first-day lead in the individual race by shooting another round of 69 for a six-under-par 138. Auburn’s Celeste Troche is in second with a four-under-par 140 after tallying a tournament-low round of 68 Wednesday.  

Sophomore Vikki Laing is Cal’s top performer so far, as she is tied for 20th after firing back-to-back rounds of 74 for a two-day score of 148. She finished Wednesday’s round strong, carding a one-under-par over the final five holes.  

Cal senior Cheryl Lala struggled after shooting a 72 in the first round, dropping to a tie for 40th after posting a 79 in the second round. She has the second-best two-day score for the Bears.  

The third of four rounds tees off Thursday beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET.

There is a lot of pride and a lot of history involved in the Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble. 

“So many good musicians come out of Berkeley High. I like being a part of the Berkeley jazz band, having such a well-known name,” says trumpet player Mark Michel-Ruddy. “People respect us and feel like we know what we’re doing. Being from Berkeley, I feel proud of saying that’s where I’m from.” 

Vibraphone player Sam Ferguson expands on this theme: “Berkeley High is a unique environment. It breeds creativity.” 

Of course the parents of these musicians are proud of their kids. And it is easy to tell that band leader and teacher, Charles Hamilton, is proud as well. 

Members of the ensemble say the program has profoundly enriched their lives. It has served as a kind of beacon for many budding musicians who have practiced their instruments with dedication for many years in order to pass the audition and play in the highly esteemed band.  

There is a long list of successful professional musicians who learned much of their craft at Berkeley High. 

“So many great players have come through Berkeley High. It’s a great feeling to be a part of this legacy,” said saxophonist Liam Reilly.  

Part of the legacy is the players’ continued dedication and development. Many seniors graduate from the jazz ensemble with a clear sense of direction, a goal of learning more and constantly improving their musicianship. 

In the fall, trumpet player Justin James will begin the next phase of his education at San Jose State University, continuing his music studies. “When I first saw the group, I was inspired. When I first heard the trumpet section, I couldn’t believe that I’d ever be able to play like that.”  

James credits Hamilton, whom students affectionately call “Ham,” for helping him develop his technique and expressiveness. “I love Ham. He might not know it, but I love him.”  

The students appreciate Hamilton’s dedication. They say they love the music and the man who teaches it to them. Through the study of jazz, James said he has learned the value of self-discipline, and offers advice for young musicians. “It might be tedious or boring to practice, but just stick with it.” 

Hamilton knows how to motivate. He challenges the students with difficult music. “When it’s a challenge, they’re into it. You have to find music that sparks their interest.” 

Hamilton recognizes that attitudes have changed through the years. “When I was in high school, educators were still debating whether jazz was worth being taught. Now everybody’s on fire about these guys like Monk and Mingus. People have come to realize that it is good stuff. The acceptance of jazz has evolved.”  

Saxophonist Hitomi Oba said he has been influenced by the school district’s music program, having begun to learn his instrument in the fourth grade. “All through middle school, it was my big goal to get into the jazz ensemble,” he said. “A lot of younger kids tell me how much they want to get in, and how much they’re going to practice.” 

Many of these students have been exposed to jazz for many years.  

“It’s a real big deal to me,” says drummer Justin Brown. “I remember seeing the Berkeley High jazz band when I was in the fifth grade.”  

The band’s influence has not been limited to music. The jazz program caused Brown to perform better academically as well.“Freshman year I got pulled out of the band. I was doing bad with my grades, so my dad pulled me out. My grades have been back up, so I got back in the band.” 

A Friday concert, the last of the year, will include a set from the Lab band, a sort of junior varsity squad that already displays some serious talent. A pair of small combos made up of members of the Ensemble will each play a short set, perhaps featuring some original compositions. 

Last year was a great year for the band, which earned a flood of rave reviews and won several competitions. When nine seniors graduated, some folks worried that the quality of playing might decline. Brown reflected on the turnover. “We were pretty nervous this year, because so many good players left. But it worked out really good: I’ve been surprised. I think the band is better this year. We’re tighter. We play dynamics better.” 

In July, the Ensemble will spend two weeks in Europe, playing at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy. 

Oba says he is excited about the upcoming tour. “We might have something to share with European audiences that they might not have heard. There definitely is a ‘Berkeley sound,’ a lot of energy.” 

Bass player Tom Altura sees the tour as a chance to learn: “I’m looking forward to seeing the great players. We’ll get to see so much great jazz in one place.” 

Saxophonist Brenden Millstein said the tour will broaden his horizons. “It’s a great way to meet lots of people and learn lots of things. We get to experience other cultures. When we went to Japan, we stayed with Japanese families. That was fascinating, a great cultural experience.” 

Hamilton is also looking forward to the tour. “We’re putting the kids on a world stage for an audience that’s enthusiastic about the music. You put an audience like that with players like this, and it adds up to one thing: total excitement.” 

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge said Wednesday the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision barring medical marijuana prompted him to order that an ounce of cannabis seized from a California man be forfeited. 

It is believed to be among the first such forfeiture since the nation’s highest court ruled last week that sick and dying patients cannot claim a medical necessity defense to marijuana possession in a case testing California and eight other states’ medical marijuana laws. 

At the government’s request, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Legge ordered forfeited one ounce of marijuana seized two years ago from a Humboldt County man who was arrested during a traffic stop. Under California law, Christopher Giauque had a doctor’s recommendation to smoke marijuana to relieve chronic back pain. 

County prosecutors seized the marijuana but did not charge Giauque for any drug-related offense. A county judge ordered Sheriff Dennis Lewis to return the marijuana. Lewis refused, citing federal law that prohibits him from dispensing marijuana. 

Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Bruce Watson ordered the sheriff held in contempt of court and the sheriff sued the federal government, asking it to intervene on his behalf. 

Mark T. Quinlivan, the Justice Department’s main lawyer in the case before the Supreme Court, flew from Washington to California to argue for the seizure of Giauque’s marijuana. He declined to say whether the government’s position on Giauque’s case or his appearance here was an indication of whether the Bush administration is going to begin cracking down on medical marijuana use. 

Even so, he said the judge’s decision was correct in light of the high court’s ruling. 

“You presume a U.S. district judge is aware of the current state of the law,” he said after the brief hearing. 

The high court said there is no exception in a federal anti-drug law for the medical use of marijuana. Some patients say the drug eases their pain from cancer, AIDS and other illnesses or pains. 

The court ruled that clubs formed to distribute the drug to approved patients cannot claim “medical necessity” as a reason to break a 1970 law regulating the drug as a controlled substance, and said patients cannot claim that as a defense. 

Giauque’s attorney, J. Bryce Kenny, said he would ask the judge to reconsider his decision. He added that the high court’s ruling hurt his case. 

“Let’s put it this way, the U.S. Supreme Court certainly hasn’t helped our position,” Kenny said. 

Voters in Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have approved ballot initiatives allowing the use of medical marijuana. In Hawaii, the Legislature passed a similar law and the governor signed it last year. 

The case decided Tuesday is Humboldt County v. Giauque, C01-1279 CAL. 

A surprising 59 percent of Californians now support building more nuclear plants, according to a poll released Wednesday. 

The pollsters said the findings suggest how deeply the power crisis has affected people in the state, which has been hit by rolling blackouts and soaring electric bills over the past few months. 

The last time the organization polled Californians about nuclear energy was 1984 – five years after the accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania – and it found 61 percent opposed to nuclear power. 

“In my interpretation, the current energy crisis has some bearing on the public’s changed attitudes on nuclear power,” said Mark DiCamillo, spokesman for the Field Institute, a nonpartisan polling organization. “The public is searching for clean ways to add to the capacity. I think the poll is saying that nuclear should be included in that consideration.” 

The Field poll comes as the Bush administration pushes for a renewed look at nuclear power. 

Vice President Dick Cheney, who heads the president’s energy task force, has promoted nuclear power as essential to America’s energy needs and said that at least some of the 65 power plants that need to be built annually to meet future electricity demand ought to be nuclear. 

No utilities have ordered any new nuclear power plants in the United States since 1978. 

The poll of 1,015 California adults was taken May 11-20. It showed that 59 percent of Californians favor nuclear power and 36 percent are opposed. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. 

Carl Zichella, the Sierra Club’s regional staff director for California, Nevada and Hawaii, said Californians have not thought about nuclear energy for about 20 years and do not have as much information as they did around Three Mile Island. 

“I think this number really reflects a lack of knowledge on the part of the public about the problems that drove nuclear power underground,” he said. “The more people know about nuclear power, the less they’re going to like it.” 

Getting a new nuclear plant built faces two major problems: financing and siting, said Rich Ferguson, research director for the Sacramento-based Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technology. 

“We have just not seen any interest in the financial community to invest the billions of dollars,” he said. “That’s one problem the nuclear industry has is it’s very capital intensive.” 

Finding places to put natural gas burning power plants is already a difficult task with neighbors to proposed sites often voicing strong opposition. 

“As far as the public goes, this is a pretty theoretical thing,” Ferguson said. “I don’t think it means very much until somebody tries to build a power plant and people find out it’s in their backyard.” 

California has two nuclear power plants currently producing energy — the 2,254-megawatt San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Clemente owned by San Diego Gas and Electric Co., and the Diablo Canyon power plant near San Luis Obispo, owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. 

On the Net: 

http://www.sierraclub.org 

http://www.ceert.org 

WASHINGTON — Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont stepped to the brink of a historic party switch Wednesday, triggering an intense effort by Republicans to keep him in the GOP fold and preserve their ability to advance President Bush’s legislative agenda. 

Jeffords informed associates and aides during the day he would become an independent, according to officials familiar with the conversations, and the veteran moderate lawmaker flew to Vermont Wednesday evening for a planned morning announcement about his political future. 

Before leaving, he met twice in the Capitol with Republican lawmakers who beseeched him not to move ahead and make the change that would break the 50-50 tie in the Senate and end their majority. 

“It’s very possible he’ll look at this for a few days,” said one senator in attendance, Sen. Dick Lugar of Indiana. 

Senate Republicans said Jeffords had been offered a seat at their leadership table, more money for favored education programs and a waiver of term limits to let him remain chairman of the Education Committee beyond the end of next year as enticements to remain a Republican. 

On the other hand, Senate aides also said Jeffords had approved staff meetings with Democrats to discuss preparations for taking over the chairmanship of the Environment and Public Works Committee, the post Democrats were offering if he would bolt the GOP. 

A switch would elevate Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota to the powerful post of majority leader, with control over the flow of legislation and nominations – Supreme Court appointments among them – to the Senate floor. 

An unprecedented power sharing agreement in effect since the 50-50 Senate was sworn in last winter would automatically dissolve, and Democrats would displace Republicans as committee chairmen. 

“This isn’t about a single Senate seat. It’s about controlling the legislative agenda ...and it’s about the federal judiciary,” said Sen. Bob Torricelli, D-N.J. “This is an enormous shift of influence in the federal government.” 

Party switches are rare in Senate history, and a change that terminates one party’s majority is unprecedented. 

“I like being chairman,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who presides over the Commerce Committee. He also said Jeffords’ decision should serve as a warning to establishment Republicans: “If you’re going to threaten retaliation, revenge and punishment to people because they don’t vote exactly how you want them to, you’re going to pay a price.” 

Already there were signs of tension in the GOP ranks. Party sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said top White House adviser Karen Hughes conducted a conference call with congressional GOP aides, telling them the White House wouldn’t be pointing fingers of blame, and she hoped they wouldn’t either. 

Jeffords’ relations with the White House have been strained for weeks, the fallout of a clash over budget priorities. He supported reductions in Bush’s $1.6 trillion tax cut in favor of increasing federal support for education. A victory for Jeffords’ hopes on the Senate floor was negated in a House-Senate compromise, though, and none of the additional money was preserved. 

Jeffords also let it be known he was unhappy not to be invited a few days later to a teacher of the year ceremony at the White House. The recipient was from Vermont, and he is chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. 

Jeffords is a durable figure in Vermont politics. He has held public office since 1967, except for a two-year hiatus. He won his Senate seat in 1988, replacing fellow Republican moderate Bob Stafford. He was pushed hard to win a second term six years later, but breezed to re-election last year. 

A lifelong Republican, he has held fast to his New England moderate roots over the years while his party has drifted rightward. He was the only Republican in the Senate to support former President Clinton’s health care plan in 1994, and he defied his leaders when he voted to acquit Clinton on both articles of impeachment in 1999. 

A supporter of abortion rights, he also votes for environmental legislation that many Republicans oppose, and is a longtime supporter of expanded federal aid to education. 

In a private meeting with Bush in the Oval Office on Tuesday, according to sources with knowledge of the meeting, the senator said he no longer felt comfortable being a Republican. 

Stunned Republicans contacted Jeffords’ contributors and backers in hopes they could prevent his defection. They also reached out to Democratic Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia, hoping he might abandon his party and offset Jeffords’ anticipated move. Miller slammed the door shut with a statement that said, “I will not switch to the Republican party and have no need to proclaim myself an independent.” 

Jeffords met privately during the day with a small group of moderate and mainstream Republicans with less ideological voting records than some in the party. 

“One concern expressed was that moderates aren’t getting enough attention,” said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. He said the group talked of creating a moderates’ position in the leadership, and mentioned Jeffords as a candidate. 

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said afterward, “There may be a sliver of hope” to change Jeffords’ mind. 

Democrats awaited a public announcement. They said privately they had told Jeffords he could become chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee and keep the post for the duration of his term, which ends in 2006. He also would retain his seat on the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, these officials added. 

Under Republican rules, Jeffords’ tenure as education committee chairman is subject to term limits and will end at the end of next year, although Lott and other party leaders could decide to make an exception as part of the effort to keep Jeffords in their party. 

WASHINGTON — In a boost to President Bush’s domestic agenda, the House approved sweeping education legislation Wednesday that for the first time would tie federal aid to improvements in students’ test scores. 

The 384-45 House vote, gave Bush victories on his two biggest campaign promises even as his Republican Party faced the prospect of losing control of the Senate. 

Omitted from the education package was Bush’s plan for the government to provide vouchers for students to attend private schools.  

The White House abandoned the idea in order to strike a deal with Democrats on a bill that otherwise tracks Bush’s blueprint for improving schools. 

Efforts by conservatives to restore vouchers failed twice Wednesday. 

Despite that defeat, Bush said the House vote was a “giant step toward improving America’s public schools.” 

“The education reforms adopted today build on the principles of accountability, flexibility, local control and greater choices for parents,” Bush said in a statement. 

The bill reauthorizes the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provides most of the funds for K-12 education. The House version would provide about $24 billion for schools – about $5.4 billion more than 2001. 

The legislation would require states to develop and give tests in reading and math to every child in grades three through eight. 

Schools unable to sufficiently improve test scores after one year would qualify for extra federal aid, but could be forced to replace some staff.  

Also, poor students in schools receiving federal Title I funds would have the choice of transferring to another public school. 

At schools failing to show enough progress in scores after three consecutive years, disadvantaged students could use their portion of Title I funds for tutoring, summer school or transportation to another public school. Tutoring services could be provided by parochial schools. 

The bill also consolidates several federal programs and requires schools to let students transfer to another public school if they are the victim of a violent crime at school. 

Under the plan, school districts could use up to half of their federal funds without oversight from state or federal government.  

Title I funds still would have to be spent for programs to help poor children. 

In a pilot program, 100 school districts – two per state – could enter into an agreement that would free schools from virtually all restrictions on spending. 

Like the Senate version, the House bill would give schools nearly $1 billion per year for next five years to improve reading, with a goal of making sure every youngster can read by the third grade. 

It would also give more money for developing charter schools and require all schools to develop new report cards that show a student’s progress compared to other students locally and statewide. 

The bill would require that students with limited English skills be taught in English after they had attended school for three years in a row. 

The House rejected two voucher amendments by wide margins after a lengthy and at times prickly debate. On the first amendment, which would have created a voucher program similar to the one Bush proposed, the vote was 273-155. Only two Democrats and one independent joined Republicans in support of the amendment. 

The second measure, which failed on a similar, party-line vote, would have authorized $50 million for voucher demonstration programs in five school districts. 

Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., invoked the civil rights battles of the 1960s, saying “defenders of the status quo stood in the schoolhouse door and said, ’You may not come in.’ Now the defenders of the status quo stand in the door and say to the grandchildren of many of those Americans, ’You may not come out.”’ 

Opponents said vouchers would take away money from struggling schools without giving families enough money to pay for private-school tuition. 

Rep. Lynn Rivers, D-Mich., compared vouchers to the practice of bleeding patients with leeches to cure illness. 

“This procedure was done with all the best intentions, but unfortunately a lot of patients died,” she said. 

The Senate may not get to its version of a voucher amendment until early June. 

Slowing down the bill in the Senate, said one Democratic staff member, was Sen. James Jeffords’ plan to travel Thursday to Vermont where he was expected to announce that he would leave the Republican Party and become an independent. 

Jeffords, R-Vt., is chairman of the Senate education committee and has been managing the bill on the Senate floor. 

WASHINGTON — With a dozen Democrats joining in, the Senate passed an 11-year, $1.35 trillion tax relief package Wednesday that represents the largest tax cut in two decades and matches the priorities President Bush has been pushing since his campaign for the White House. 

House and Senate negotiators immediately began meeting to work out a final compromise, which Republican leaders are scrambling to get on the president’s desk by the end of the week. 

“Now, we go to the final stage,” said Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss. 

The Senate voted 62-38 to pass the bill – the biggest tax cut since President Reagan’s in 1981 – during a tumultuous day on Capitol Hill as Republicans and Democrats tried to calculate the political fallout of the decision by Sen. James Jeffords, R-Vt., to become an independent. 

All 50 Senate Republicans and 12 Democrats voted in favor of the tax cut. 

Bush said at the White House that those 62 senators “deserve our country’s thanks and praise,” and urged Congress to reach a rapid final accord. “Our economy cannot afford any further delays,” the president said. 

Senators of both parties agreed that the Jeffords switch, which will change the balance of power in an evenly divided Senate now run by Republicans, will have little bearing on the outcome of the tax debate. Sponsors intend to get the bill to Bush before the change takes effect. 

The bill includes the core components of Bush’s original 10-year, $1.6 trillion plan: across-the-board income tax cuts, eventual repeal of the estate tax, relief from the marriage penalty paid by millions of two-income couples and doubling of the $500 child credit. The House passed individual bills closely tracking Bush’s plan. 

The Senate also added one item Bush wanted for corporate America: permanent extension of the research and development tax credit, which would otherwise expire in 2004. 

Under pressure from Democratic and Republican moderates, including Jeffords, the Senate bill differs markedly from the Bush and House plans, mainly in ways that shift more of the benefits to low- and middle-income people. The Senate bill would reduce the top income tax rate to 36 percent, instead of 33 percent, and gradually phase in all the income tax cuts by 2007. 

The Senate bill also would permit millions of low-income people to claim a portion of the child credit, boost contribution limits for 401(k) plans and IRAs, give education breaks such as a $5,000 college tuition deduction and create a new, retroactive 10 percent income tax rate for the first portion of every taxpayer’s income. 

Fifteen Senate moderates, led by Democrat John Breaux of Louisiana and Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine, circulated a letter urging that the House-Senate conference committee adhere closely to the Senate bill. 

Many conservatives, led by House Republicans, want the tax relief to occur more quickly than under the Senate bill — the marriage penalty relief, for instance, wouldn’t begin until 2005 — and return the top income tax rate to Bush’s level of 33 percent. But major changes could eliminate provisions needed to get a Senate majority. 

“We believe the conference report must closely reflect the delicate compromise that was reached in the Senate,” the letter said. 

The final vote came after the Senate waded through 54 amendments over three days, often in back-to-back votes that kept senators stuck in the Capitol late into the night. 

Most were offered by Democratic critics who say the bill remains too tilted toward the wealthy and limits other uses for the massive $5.6 trillion, 10-year surplus, such as debt reduction, defense, education and a Medicare prescription drug benefit. 

“Across the board, this legislation crowds out and in some cases eliminates America’s ability to balance priorities in a meaningful way,” said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. “We can do better than that.” 

With support from moderate Democrats, Senate Republicans defeated virtually every amendment and moved Congress one step closer to providing Bush what would amount to the biggest legislative victory of his term so far. 

“We had a lot of obstacles in front of us, and we prevailed,” said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. 

A young woman in her mid-20s looking for sex and love in all the wrong places is the central character in Seattle playwright Bret Fetzer’s 1997 play “Planet Janet,” which Berkeley’s Impact Theater is currently running in an engaging production Fridays and Saturdays at LaVal’s Subterranean on the Northside. 

Janet (Eleanor Mason) wakes up in bed one morning next to a man she doesn’t know, and can’t remember what happened the night before. She is relieved – sort of – to find that she is wearing her diaphragm.For her friends, this is just Janet being Janet. 

She calls her guy pal Stan to hurry over and rescue her, but by the time Stan arrives Janet has changed her mind, and is making out once again with the guy from last night. 

“Planet Janet” is the story of a woman who is trying, without much success, to understand the connection between love and sex in her life – and why her easy sexual encounters always evolve into relationships from hell. 

The play is a little bit like a dormitory bull session on sex and romance, told in a series of short dramatic scenes that alternate with short monologues in which the show’s seven characters talk directly to the audience. It’s a good premise for a play. Lots of people can relate to dilemmas around sex and romance. 

The script’s main weakness is the blank spot in the character of Janet. Although some of the play’s lesser characters are fleshed out more successfully, there is something missing in the desires of Janet. 

Her actions don’t come out of a distinct center or history that tell us who she is as a person. At times, she seems more like a collection of experiences than a character. 

The same vagueness exists in the character of guy pal Stan. Stan is always there for Janet, but he won’t sleep with her. 

What makes the gaps in these two characters so noticeable is the rich, distinctive character of Janet’s artist friend Del, a struggling, divorced, cynical, wisecracking, ex-smoker portrayed by Alyssa Bostwick in the evening’s strongest performance. 

Del protects herself from life with a withering onslaught of ridicule, and Bostwick’s performance is terrific. She really listens to the other actors, and reacts in connected and considered ways. 

Impact’s production employs a youthful crew of actors generally at the start of their careers. Mason, for example, often seems to play against Janet’s subtext, which is unsettling at first, although she manages to make the part her own. 

Michael Brusasco, as stranger-in-bed Roger, also does good work, angered by how quickly Janet turns on him. 

Director Sarah O’Connell’s black box, bare staging is a more traditional production than many of Impact’s recent shows, and a more serious play – although, written by a man, it feels at times like there are moments of judgmentalness about female sexuality – what is referred to once as Janet’s “mating urge.” 

Lurking also in the background of this story is a theme of addiction – addiction to sex, to alcohol, to cigarettes and to compulsive thoughts of violence. 

But if you are in your mid-20s and happen to be interested in any of those topics – sex, alcohol, cigarettes, compulsive thoughts of violence – you will likely enjoy this play. 

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.

There are few American businesses more aggressive than the credit-card industry, though you might think they wouldn’t have to seek out customers for what they’re selling, which is money. 

This year is likely to set still another record for solicitations to potential customers, more than 4 billion of them, which means on average something more than three a month for every household in America. 

Few products have ever met with such acceptance, including cars, radios, TVs and computers.  

There are probably well over a billion cards already in the hands of users, and providers intend to put more there. 

In his book, “Credit Card Nation,” Robert D. Manning puts the figure at 1.5 billion cards held by nearly 157 million cardholders – retail, bank, phone, gasoline, travel, entertainment, corporate, etc. 

Credit cards make up nearly half the direct mail solicitations you’re likely to receive this year, according to Mintel International’s “comperemedia,” a service that tracks such things. 

Comperemedia estimates that Americans in 2001 will receive 8.3 billion direct mail solicitations in eight categories: credit cards, insurance, telecommunications, mortgages-loans, travel-leisure, investments, banking and technology. Of that total, credit cards will account for 4.3 million. 

Given such saturation, you might think the siege would be lifted, but that seems not to be in the cards.  

Those who a decade ago might have been rejected are now prime candidates. Almost no one is too poor to have one. 

Still, with possibilities for finding new customers shrinking, the solicitation efforts grow, although now they’re aimed at differentiating one card from another and getting existing owners to raise their usage. 

The credit-card business simply doesn’t accept “no” for an answer. Solicitation response rates have fallen. Users are worried about an economic downturn. Defaults are rising. But so are solicitations. 

As the solicitations rise, so also is the availability of money from other sources.  

With home ownership and prices climbing, more and more Americans have equity in their homes. And that equity can be used. 

The old notion of paying down the mortgage to zero is now viewed by many families as a misuse of wealth.  

They renegotiate the mortgage to a lower rate, withdraw some of the equity and use it to spend now. 

Others simply negotiate an equity loan atop their first mortgage and use it as a credit card. The interest rate may be a fraction of that on the credit card, and Uncle Sam allows them to deduct it from income taxes. 

The use of home equity to maintain lifestyles has become tremendous competition.  

Many credit-card owners, for example, now use home equity to pay down balances to zero, depriving issuers of profitable business. 

No matter, the card issuers keep trying, apparently with some success.  

The seams of wallets and pocketbooks are strained with cards rather than dollar bills, and consumer credit continues to rise. 

John Cunniff is a business analyst for The Associated Press

The city toxics division issued the city Corporation Yard its second notice in two years for stormwater violations and Department of Public Works officials say they are taking steps to permanently correct the errors. 

“It’s been a problem,” said Deputy Director of the Department of Public Works Patrick Keilch. “But this is something the whole city faces, which is how to keep sediment and particulates out of the storm drains.” 

The Toxics Management Division issued the notice to the Corporation Yard, located at 1326 Allston Way on May 7 for a lack of runoff protection near a storm drain on the southwest corner of the yard. Responding to a complaint, a TMD inspector noticed that sediment from stored materials such as asphalt, concrete and broken sewer pipes was being collected by rainwater and flowing into the storm drain, according to a TMD Notice of Violation. 

The notice said the material in the runoff was a violation of the Berkeley Municipal Code, the State Porter-Cologone Act and the federal Clean Water Act. 

The Corporation Yard, which is used for the storage of DPW equipment, vehicles and materials, received similar notices from the TMD in 1995 and another in 1999.  

“These violations aren’t heinous but this has been an issue with the Corporation Yard for some time,” said Geoffery Fiedler, the hazardous waste specialist who issued the notice, “and not a lot has been done to correct the problem.” 

Fielder agreed that the problem of particulate matter getting into storm drains is a citywide problem. “According to the Berkeley Municipal Code, only clear water and leaves are allowed in the storm drains,” he said. “And there are violations of the code at most construction sites as well as many other businesses and even most residences.” 

Keilch said DPW has taken measures in the past to correct the problem but they have apparently not been successful. He said Corporation Yard staff had already scheduled meetings with the TMD to correct some of the problems at the time they received the notice.  

The TMD issued the notice of violation to the Corporation Yard after receiving complaints from Community Environmental Advisory Commissioner  

LA Wood.  

“The city is asking businesses to be more conscious of what they put into storm drains. It didn’t seem right for the city to look the other way while the Corporation Yard violated the Federal Clean Water Act,” he said. 

Keilch said that since receiving the notice, the Corporation Yard has taken steps to solve the problem once and for all. The storm drain in question has been temporally covered with a metal sheet and asphalt until a “high tech” filter can be installed. 

“We’re planning to install a high tech catch basin filter system like the one at the Civic Center that catches particulates from the parking lot,” Keilch said. “It’s relatively inexpensive and will only have to be cleaned three or four times a year.” 

Keilch estimated the cost would be between $200 and $400 for the system and another $200 a year for cleaning and maintenance. 

Keilch said other measures that will be implemented at the yard include covering five 6-foot-high storage bins near the drain with canopies to prevent rainwater from washing off sediments and particulates from stored materials. 

Keilch said that DPW crews are also no longer temporarily storing work-site refuse materials, such as broken sewer pipes, on the yard. He said throwaway materials are going directly from work sites to a licensed disposal area in Richmond. 

“We want to take responsibility for this problem,” Keilch said. “We are aware of the problem and we’re happy to address it.” 

Wednesday, May 23

Regular meeting of the  

Planning Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

The Planning Commission will review and take action on a recommended set of General Plan Subcommittee Amendments to the Land Use Element. 

Healthful Building Materials  

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar conducted by environmental consultant Darrel DeBoer.  

$35 per person 525-7610 

Regional Transportation Talk 

1:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Rebecca Kaplan of the Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition will talk about the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s 25-year Regional Transportation Plan at the regular meeting of the Berkeley Gray Panthers. Open to the public. 548-9696 

Forum on Small Learning  

Communities 

7:30 p.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Ave 

Organized by Berkeley High Senior Nicole Heyman, panel of students, teachers and community members will discuss the achievement gap at Berkeley High and possible reform plans. Students encouraged to participate. $3. 

Thursday, May 24

Paddling Adventures  

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc.  

1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Dan Crandell, member of the U.S. National Kayak Surf Team and owner of Current Adventures Kayak School, will introduce attendees to all aspects of kayaking. Free 527-4140 

City of Berkeley Meeting 

2 - 4 p.m. 

2120 Milvia St. 

Second Floor Conference Rm. 

Bancroft-Durant Two-Way Street Proposal Meeting. Call Bike For a Better City 597-1235. 

West Berkeley Project Area  

Commission Meeting 

7 p.m. 

West Berkeley Senior Center 

1900 Sixth St. 

Among other topics, correspondence regarding Commissioner Training, Eastshore State Park planning meetings and proposal for commissioner advocate. 

705-8105 

Community Health  

Commission Meeting 

6:30 - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Among other topics, a vote on Letter of Apology to Mayor. 

644-6109 

Friday, May 25

Free Writing, Cashiering &  

Computer Literacy Class 

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

AJOB Adult School  

1911 Addison St.  

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

www.ajob.org 

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.  

Therapy for Trans Partners  

6 - 7:30 p.m.  

Pacific Center for Human Growth  

2712 Telegraph Ave. (at Derby)  

A group open to partners of those in transition or considering transition. The group is structured to be a safe place to receive support from peers and explore a variety of issues, including sexual orientation, coming out, feelings of isolation, among other topics. Intake process required. Meeting Fridays through August 17.  

$8 - $35 sliding scale per session  

Call 548-8283 x534 or x522 

Saturday, May 26

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

Himalayan Fair 

10 a.m. - 7 p.m.  

Live Oak Park  

1300 Shattuck Ave.  

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 

869-3995 or www.himalayanfair.net  

Chocolate and  

Chalk Art Festival 

9 a.m. 

Registration at Peralta Park 

1561 Solano Ave. 

Areas of sidewalk will be assigned to participants to create their own sidewalk art. People who find all five of the chocolate kisses chalked onto Solano Ave. can enter raffle for cash prize. Chocolate Menu available listing various items for various chocolate items for sale from Solano businesses. Dog fashion show at Solano Ave. and Key Route in Albany at 2 p.m. Free. 527-5358 

Sunday, May 27

Himalayan Fair 

10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.  

Live Oak Park  

1300 Shattuck Ave.  

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 

869-3995 or www.himalayanfair.net 

Getting Calm; Staying Clear 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Discussion of meditation and analysis. Free and open to the public. 

843-6812  

Inside Interior Design  

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar led by certified interior designer and artist Lori Inman.  

$35 per person  

525-7610 

Monday, May 28

Shavuot Ice Cream Party 

11 a.m. 

Berkeley Hillel 

2736 Bancroft Way 

Come hear the ten commandments. 540-5824 

Tuesday, May 29

People’s State of the City Address 

7:00 p.m. 

City Council Chambers 

2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

This community meeting will focus on housing, jobs, education, and disability and senior issues in the city of Berkeley. Food will be provided. Free. 

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 

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 548-8283  

www.pacificcenter.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2 - 7 p.m. 

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

The Lois Club Meeting 

12 noon or 6 p.m. 

Venizia Caffe and Bistro 

1799 University Ave. 

Social gathering for people whose names are Lois. Open to Loises and their guests. Join the club for lunch or dinner. Call 848-6254 by May 25 

—compiled by  

Sabrina Forkish 

Wednesday, May 30

Dream Home for a Song  

7 - 10 p.m.  

Building Education Center  

812 Page St. 

Seminar conducted by author/contractor/owner-builder David Cook.  

$35 per person  

525-7610  

Fairy tales we love  

Editor: 

Dr. Michael T. Klare made a very good case for a national program of conservation in order to extricate ourselves from the energy crisis in which we now find ourselves. Unfortunately, he's whistling past the graveyard. 

When a miner on the Comstock Lode in the 19th century claimed “the privilege of American citizens to waste the mineral resources of the public land without hindrance,” he voiced a national archetype. Pundits and politicians are issuing almost identical quotes today to justify supply-side energy production no matter what the environmental and fiscal cost. That should play well even in Berkeley where, on a street populated almost entirely with university-educated professionals, I recently noted that one third of the vehicles were SUVs and minivans. The proportion in the suburbs is higher. 

Politicians of both parties are still haunted by the wimpy public image of Jimmy Carter in a cardigan. When hairy-chested George Deukmejian became governor, he announced that Jerry Brown's “era of limits” was history and abolished Brown's Office of Appropriate Technology. Californians loved him for it. And one of Ronald Reagan's first acts as president was to remove Jimmy Carter's solar panels from the White House roof. Americans adored the fairy tales that kindly uncle told them about American limitlessness, and, like young children, they want to hear them told over and over again before the lights go out. 

In 1972, John Brunner wrote a science fiction novel called “The Sheep Look Up” which describes a global environmental collapse in the near future. In Brunner's story, American consumers were as culpable for the disasters that befell them as the poll-driven “leaders” whom they elected and the greed-driven executives whom they didn't. As I watched the moms driving their SUVs to Andronico's for apples flown in from Chile and thought of the weapons systems we will build to assure they can continue to do so, I knew that Brunner's novel was not fiction but prophecy. 

Gray Brechin 

Berkeley 

Beth El positive force in the community 

The Daily Planet received the following letter addressed to the mayor and City Council: 

This is a letter of unqualified support for Congregation Beth El’s proposed plan for the Oxford Street site in Berkeley. I am not a member of Congregation Beth El, but my family and I have many close friends who are members of Congregation Beth El. We have lived in North Berkeley for twenty-two years, and over that time we have again and again experienced the positive influence and resources Beth El has provided in the North Berkeley community and schools.  

Our daughter attended the JCC early childhood center at Walnut Square with many Beth El kids, and many of our friendships started there. We have attended countless bar mitzvahs for kids at Beth El who were friends of our children. We have always felt completely included and welcome, even though we are not Jewish.  

We know many families who are members of Beth El who are diligent supporters, both in terms of time and money, of the public schools in Berkeley as well as other community activities that enrich life in Berkeley, such as organized league sports for children. We are personally acquainted with many of the children and now young adults who have attended the wonderful religious school program at Beth El. It is our belief that the character and values that are so obvious in virtually all of the dozens of young people we know from Beth El have been instilled by the strength and health of the Congregation that brought them up.  

By their contributions to the enrichment of the North Berkeley community and by their inclusiveness, the members of Beth El have earned and deserve the support of the City Council in their effort to move from their outgrown facility on Arch Street to the new site on Oxford.  

I believe Beth El has provided more than reasonable responses to criticisms of their plan for the new facility. Please approve Congregation Beth El’s proposed plan for the Oxford site as presented. 

Dennis J. White 

Berkeley 

Where have all the sewer funds gone? 

Editor:  

We read with interest your May 20th article titled "Sewer Fund Used Inappropriately."  

The Council of Neighborhood Association's (CNA) newsletter has been publishing articles by Ted Edlin for over two years documenting the misuse of Sewer Fund and other monies by the city. A recent newsletter article documented the following abuses:  

• $300,000 of Sewer Fund money went towards the purchase of a building on Sixth St. for the Health Dept.  

• The city recently leased 1947 Center St. for the Engineering Dept. at a cost of $2.68 million. Half of that money is to come from the Sewer Fund.  

• The city recently payed $200,000 to break its lease at 2201 Dwight Way, space vacated by the Engineering and Housing Departments. $100,000 of that is to come from the Sewer Fund.  

• Seismic retrofit of the Corporation Yard. $750,000. An unspecified amount is to come from the Sewer Fund.  

• Installation of fiber optic line at the corporation yard. Funding to come from the Sewer Fund.  

While your article quotes City Auditor Hogan as finding $120,000 in Sewer Funds misspent paying employees of the First Source Employment Program, we believe she could have found much more inappropriately spent Sewer Fund money since her office receives a complimentary copy of each CNA Newsletter.  

In your article, Hogan states that the misspent $120,000 was probably due to budgetary oversight rather than deliberate misuse of funds.  

After CNA has documented the diversion of sewer funds for two years, it is gratifying to see that the City Council has referred the item to two commissions.  

The inappropriate expenditures should have been no surprise to council members, who also receive complimentary copies of the CNA Newsletter.  

Readers interested in more tales of misspent city funds can send a $15 check for a one year subscription to the CNA Newsletter, P.O. Box 1217, Berkeley, Ca. 94701  

Art Goldberg  

Barry Wofsy  

Berkeley 

Plan council OK’d not same one ZAB rejected 

Editor: 

Mr. Muir's argument against the false assertions of Mr. Kashani could hardly be more eloquent. As he said, the 2700 San Pablo Ave. plan which you approved was not the plan which had gone through a planning process and which was before you on appeal - that one having been rejected by the Zoning Adjustment Board.  

Shame on you City Council members for contributing to the corruption of the planning process in Berkeley.  

Having closed the 2700 San Pablo Ave. hearing April 24 – meaning having closed it to the public and the developer – yet allowing the developer, but not the public to speak at your voting session on the project, was the epitome of unconscionable. 

Peter Teichner 

Berkeley

“Boys will be boys” – an innocuous enough phrase when it comes to pulling cats tails and diving into coffee tables – assumes boys are naturally inclined to be rambunctious and mischievous.  

But the run of school shootings America has seen the past few years brings the question of boys’ cruel inclinations to a critical pitch. A documentary film called “Boys Will Be Men” traces a culture of cruelty inherent to the way boys are raised and offers alternatives. 

Berkeley-based filmmaker Tom Weidlinger got the idea to make this film in the wake of Columbine and subsequent high school campus tragedies. The issue, as he saw it, was not who did what to whom in these crimes, but the psychosocial undercurrent producing them. And, perhaps, that we are all a little complacent in these tragic outbursts of rage.  

“My thought was those extreme manifestations of violence are just the tip of the iceberg of a social problem that’s much more widespread,” said Weidlinger. “When a violent episode happens we tend to focus on the moment of violence and look into the individual pathology of the family or child, and not really address the larger social issues.” 

Following the screenings will be an audience conversation with a panel of experts: Joe Marshall of the Omega Boys Club, Ricardo Carrillo of the National Latino Alliance for the Elimination of Domestic Violence, Marin Country school psychologist Allan Gold and the Associate Dean of San Francisco City College Rod Santos. 

The film begins with men seated in support group-circle fashion, all of whom have had a criminal past, confessing they had never had a proper emotional release mechanism. Their crimes, they say, were in some way begotten from their limited communication abilities. 

With this circle and interviews with authors William Pollock (“Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons From the Myths of Manhood”) and Michael Thompson (“Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys”), the film establishes the nearly inescapable precedent boys face growing up in a culture favoring male toughness and aggression. 

How did we get here? “Boys Will Be Men” goes back to the cradle to begin searching for answers. It breezes over proclamations of male infant’s emotive abilities (psychological studies of infants tends to be so vague and inconclusive, they don’t hold much water) and quickly moves into qualifiable accounts of boys in first grade. 

Jamie Carlson, a first grade teacher at Berkeley’s Emerson Elementary School, appears in the film to testify that boys suffer from an academic gap with girls due to restlessness.  

Where girls tend to develop reading and writing skills early on, boys are more prone to physicality and motor skills, which often is inappropriate in a classroom environment. 

“Boys are packed with energy,” said Carlson from her home in Berkeley. She says she has to allow time and space during the day for her boy students to move and sing and play.  

“That kind of chaos is very upsetting for adults and teachers,” said Weidlinger. “Sometimes you have to realize you can’t control it, you just have to let it happen.” 

Without a means to expend their energy, boys often cannot focus as they fidget through lessons. Carlson says it’s not easy to distinguish Attention Deficit Disorder from common 5-year-old jitters. Being an “old music teacher,” though, she finds music goes a long way in calming children. Exercise works well, too: “They love to run laps, to just run it out.” 

The film shifts its focus to older teenagers, and the social pressure to conceal vulnerability and narrow their emotional range into a bottleneck of hostility. Author Michael Thompson describes a “culture of cruelty” in which bullying and taunting are accepted by adults as the natural, inevitable rites of adolescence. 

“They attack in each other anything that appears tender, compassionate, caring,” said Thompson in the film, which then portrays two programs designed to discipline boys’ frustration and violence while acknowledging their needs for physical expression. 

One is a wilderness program in Southern Idaho teaching discipline by survival to troublesome students.  

There are many boot camp-style programs operating, and Weidlinger chose to follow this particular program because “a lot of camp for youth at risk are tough and have punitive quality to them. I don’t like that, and I felt the one in Idaho was much more humane in their approach to boys.” 

While forcing them to march with ill-fitting backpacks and taking their boots away at night to discourage bolting might seem tough, this program, called SUWS, is seen encouraging personal reflection and teamwork. It also puts boys in physical situations – high wire balancing and search-and-rescue missions – where they must rely on each other to succeed. 

The film also looks at a poetry/ storytelling program in Chicago created by Michael Meade (author of “Men and the Water of Life: Initiation and Tempering of Men”) whose drum-beating, pagan-male performance was greeted with looks of embarrassment and derision on the faces of his teenage participants, these boys who have grown up in the Robert Bly “Iron Man” backlash. 

The boys are given the task of writing and performing poetry at the end of the three-day program. Weidlinger captures them going through a familiar cycle: first they are disinterested in something so wimpy as poetry; when they are nervous in anticipation of the performance they get rambunctious, distracted, and playful (tackling each other, playing baseball indoors, tapping out a tune on a piano); then, and only then, do they settle into the task of self-expression. It’s a trick Jamie Carlson uses on her first graders, too. “Get a boy involved in a game, and they do a lot more talking.”

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, 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. $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. “Ricky Swallow/Matrix 191,” Including new sculptures and drawings through May 27; “Five Star: the 31st Annual University of California at Berkeley Master of Fine Art Graduate Exhibition: 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 

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. “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 year membership. All ages. May 25: Controlling Hand, Wormwood, Goats Blood, American Waste, Quick to Blame; May 26: Honor System, Divit, Enemy You, Eleventeen, Tragedy Andy; June 1: Alkaline Trio, Hotrod Circuit, No Motiv, Dashboard Confessional, Bluejacket; June 2: El Dopa, Dead Bodies Everywhere, Shadow People, Ludicra, Ballast. 525-9926  

Ashkenaz May 24: Jai Uttal, Stephen Kent, Geoffrey Gordon; May 25: Jelly Roll; May 26: Caribbean All Stars; May 27: Big Brother and the Holding Company; May 29: Andrew Carrier and Cajun Classics; May 30: Fling Ding, Bluegrass Intentions, Leslie Kier and Friends; May 31: Wake the Dead, David Gans 1370 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054 or www.ashkenaz.com  

Freight & Salvage All music at 8 p.m. May 23: Willis Alan Ramsey; May 24: Nickel Creek; May 25: Gearoid O’Hallmhurain, Patrick Ourceau, Robbie O’Connell; May 26: Darryl Henriques; May 27: Shana Morrison; May 31: Freight 33rd Anniversary Concert Series: Bob Dylan Song Night and others; June 1: The Riders of the Purple Sage. 1111 Addison St. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Jupiter All shows at 8 p.m. May 23: Global Echo; May 24: Beatdown with DJ’s Delon, Yamu and Add1; May 25: The Mind Club; May 26: Rhythm Doctors; May 29: The Lost Trio; May 30: Zambambazo 2181 Shattuck Ave 843-8277  

La Peña Cultural Center May 24: Tato Enriquez, plus a video and photo exhibit from earthquake-devastated El Salvador; May 26: 7-9 p.m. in the Cafe Jason Moen Jazz Quartet, 9:30 p.m. Charanga Tumbo y Cuerdas; May 27: 4 p.m. in the cafe La Pena Flamenca; May 28: 7 p.m. Frank Emilio Flynn 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 or www.lapena.org  

Berkeley Lyric Opera Orchestra May 27, 8 p.m. John Kendall Bailey conducting, Ivan Ilic on piano. Works by Bach, Stravinsky, Mozart, Prokofiev. $15 - $20 St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave. 843-5781  

Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble, Combos and Lab Band May 25, 7:30 p.m. $5 - $8. Florance Schwimley Little Theatre 1920 Allston Way www.bhs.berkeley.k12.ca.us/arts/performing/jazz 

New Millennium Strings Benefit Concert May 26, 8 p.m. Featuring pieces by Weber, Chabrier, Bizet. Benefits Berkeley Food Pantry $7 - $10 University Christian Church 2401 La Conte 526-3331 

Colibri May 26, 11 a.m. Latin American songs and rhythms. West Branch of the Berkeley Public Library 1125 University 649-3964 

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  

Kenny Washington May 27, 4:30 p.m. $6 - $12. Jazzschool/La Note 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 

Jupiter String Quartet May 27, 7:30 p.m. Works by Janacek and Haydn. $8 - $10. Berkeley Art Center 1275 Walnut St.  

Benefit for Dolores Huerta June 9, 7 p.m. Come support this legendary local activist while enjoying an eclectic variety of performances. $20 in advance, $25 at the door. La Pena, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568. 

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

“Procession of the Sun and Moon” with Selected Solo Pieces by Maria Lexa May 27, 2 p.m. Full length drama with giant puppets and masked characters accompanied by live music. $5 - $10 Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 Collage Ave 925-798-1300 

“New Moon at Sinai” May 30, 7 p.m. Music, live puppet theater, shadows and images will take the audience from Egypt to Mount Sinai. Featuring music by Pharaoh’s Daughter and Mozaik and the musical and ritual theater group The Puppet Players. $8 - $12. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 Collage Ave 925-798-1300 

“Conversations In Commedia” May 30, 7:30 p.m. Series continues with Mime Troupe playwright Joan Holden and veteran clown/actor/director/playwright Jeff Raz. $6 - $8. La Pena 3105 Shattuck Ave 849-2568 

“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 

“Planet Janet” Through June 10, Fridays and Saturdays 8 p.m., Sundays 7 p.m. Follows six young urbanites’ struggles in sex and dating. Impact Theatre presentation written by Bret Fetzer, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7 - $12 La Val’s Subterranean Theatre 1834 Euclid 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

“The Misanthrope” by Moliere Through 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. All female design and production staff. $17 - $20 Il Teatro 450 449 Powell St. San Francisco 415-433-1172 or visit www.womenintime.com 

“The Laramie Project” Through July 8, Wed. 7 p.m., Tues. and Thur. -Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Written by Moises Kaufmen and members of Tectonic Theater Project, directed by Moises Kaufman. Moises Kaufman and Tectonic members traveled to Laramie, Wyo., after the murder of openly gay student Matthew Shepherd. The play is about the community and the impact Shaper’s death had on its members. $10 - $50. The Roda Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre 2015 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

Pacific Film Archive May 23: 7:30 Casting Call; May 24: 7:00 Sampo; May 25: 7:30 E Flat; May 26: 7:00 Subarnarekha; May 27: 5:30 Stone Flowers. Pacific Film Archive Theater 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) 642-1412 

“An Evening of Handmade Films” May 23, 8 p.m. This show features short films created by direct manipulation of the film surface itself; “Mama Wahunzi: Women Blacksmiths” May 25, 8 p.m. This documentary chronicles the lives of three disabled East African women who designed and built wheelchairs for use on unpaved roads. $5 suggested donation. Fantasy Studios, 2600 10th St. at Parker, 549-2977. 

“Svetlana Village” May 26, 4 p.m. Subtitled “The Camphill Experience in Russia,” details community of organic farmers, nearly half of whom are developmentally disabled. World premiere benefit screening, Q & A with director and a Svetlana resident afterwards. $7-$15 Fine Arts Cinema 2451 Shattuck Ave 

“The Producers” June 10. Revisit this outrageous comedy classic, starring Zero Mostel and written by Mel Brooks. $2 Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

Cody’s Books 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 All events at 7:30 p.m., unless noted May 24: Katie Hafner decries “The Well: A Story of Love, Death and Real Life in the Seminal Online Community”; May 25: Nathaniel Philbrick talks about “In the Heart of the Sea”; May 29: David Harris talks about “Shooting the Moon: The True Story of An American Manhunt Unlike Any Other, Ever”  

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore 1385 Shattuck Ave. (at Rose) 843-3533 All events at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise 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 24: Stephanie Young with host Louis Cuneo; May 31: Connie Post with host Louis Cuneo Cafe Firenze 2116 Shattuck Ave. 644-0155. 

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  

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tours All tours begin at 10 a.m. and are restricted to 30 people per tour $5 - $10 per tour. June 2: Trish Hawthorne will lead a tour of Thousand Oaks School and Neighborhood;  

Tibetan Nyingma Institute Free Lectures All lectures begin at 6 p.m. 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 

Shirley Richardson-Brower, executive director of the Berkeley YMCA South Branch, had just finished thanking a group of elementary school children for accompanying her to the Berkeley Farmers'’ Market Tuesday when she thought to add one last gentle reminder. 

“Don’t eat them all,” she said. 

The children smiled up at her then, revealing lips and tongues stained with the red juice from fresh strawberries and cherries.  

When Richardson-Brower reminded them they were supposed to take some of the fruit home to their families, a few managed the impressive feat of nodding vigorously while continuing to chew. 

These south Berkeley youth have spent months reading up on the benefits of organic fruits and vegetables as part of the YMCA’s Golden Dream Learning Center after-school program. They’ve done a nutritional comparison of some of their favorite brands of potato chips, learning that not all potato chips are created equal. On Tuesday, Richardson-Brower brought 20 of the program’s 45 participants to the farmers market to experience fresh, organic fruits and vegetables in all their earth-scented, juice-dripping glory. 

Penny Luff, co-manager of the Berkeley Farmers'’ Market, said Tuesday that the sheer pleasure of tasting fresh fruits and veggies offers a powerful nutrition lesson to young children because it will keep them coming back for more. 

The YMCA youth weren’t the only grade-schoolers learning that particular lesson Tuesday. Some 25 students from LeConte elementary school’s 21st Century Learning Center after-school program were perusing stands stocked with peaches, apples, carrots, onions, cabbage, lettuce, asparagus, olive oil, chutney and hot sauce, to name just a few. 

The youth were charged with picking up fresh ingredients for spring rolls they planned to make in a cooking class later this week. With a $1 million grant from the California Nutrition Network, the Berkeley Unified School District has built four new school gardens in the last couple of years and hired cooking and gardening instructors to work at each of its 12 elementary schools.  

“We’re having a good time and tasting lots of stuff,” said LeConte Farm and Gardening Coordinator Ben Goff, known to most LeConte students simply as “Farmer Ben.” 

Goff tends the gardens and farm animals at LeConte elementary school, as part of that school’s effort to teach its students where food comes from and why it matters. 

In an urban setting, “to pull a carrot out of the ground and wash it and eat it (is) something that most kids have never fathomed,” Goff said. 

“I think it’s important for everybody to know where their food comes from,” he added. “If you know where your food comes from, then you pay attention to what kinds of things you’re putting in your body.” 

For LeConte fourth grader Demario Tolliver, at least, the lesson seems to have sunk in. Asked why he prefers organic fruits and vegetables, Tolliver said: “They’re much bigger, and they’re not sprayed with chemicals, so all that chemical stuff is not going into your body.” 

But organic or not (not all the food sold at the market is organic), Tolliver tasted every little thing he could get his hands on Tuesday. He asked the farmers why some cherries were sweeter than others and what gave a particular honey its unusual flavor. 

“You get to see a whole lot of fruit and vegetables that you haven’t seen before, and you get to learn about farmers that have been farming for like 20 years,” Tolliver said between bites Tuesday. 

Or sixty years, if you happen to swing by the cherry and apple stand of John Smit. 

Smit, 71, has been farming 160 acres in San Joaquin County since he emigrated to the United States from the Netherlands as a boy. In the little town of Linden, not much has changed in all that time, Smit said. The first four-way stop went in last year, at the intersection between Highway 126 and Highway 12. 

But Smit, who has been a part of the Berkeley Farmers'’ market since in it began in 1987, said he’s noticed a decline in people’s understanding about what it takes to keep supermarkets stocked with food. 

“A lot of people have no clue,” he said. 

That’s part of the rationale for the elementary school field trips to the farmer market and, in June, to nearby farms, said Melanie Okamoto of the Food System Project, a group that has helped the Berkeley school district design and operate its nutrition and gardening programs. 

“We’ve really been able to link the schools to the local farms so kids can connect what they’re doing in the (school) garden with farmers who are growing the food,” Okamoto said. 

Luff said giving Berkeley residents a taste of the farming way of life is part of what the farmers market is all about. Most of the small farms that contribute to the market are family owned and operated, she said. This helps create an intimate and welcoming atmosphere on market days that’s a far cry from the cart-cluttered supermarket, with its piped-in Muzak and conveyer-belt check-outs. 

“People just walk in and it’s kind of like their shoulders drop and they start smiling,” Luff said of the market. 

Malcolm X elementary school student Shukura Mays, part of the YMCA group visiting the market Tuesday, said she might bring her mother to the farmers market soon. 

“The food is better, and it doesn’t come in a lot of bags,” Mays said. 

The Berkeley Farmers Market is open every Tuesday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Derby Street, between Milvia St. and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. On Saturday’s the market runs from 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Center Street between Milvia and Martin Luther King.

“Boycott Taco Bell, shut it down/Berkeley is a union town,” Sara Smith called from her bullhorn, as about a dozen UC Berkeley students tried to get the noontime Taco Bell crowd to eat elsewhere on Tuesday.  

At issue, say the boycotters, organized into the Farm Worker Support Committee, UC Berkeley, are the wages tomato-pickers in Florida earn. The workers, whose tomatoes are purchased by Toco Bell, are paid 40 cents for every 32-pound bucket of tomatoes they pick. That means a worker needs to pick and haul 2 tons of tomatoes to make $50 a day, protesters said. 

“We’re supporting the tomato pickers in Florida, calling for the boycott,” Smith said, explaining the workers had organized themselves into the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. 

The coalition is asking Taco Bell to pay contractors, whom the tomato-pickers work for, 1 cent per pound more than they do now. 

A spoksperson for Taco Bell, however, said the company, famous for its Chihuahua pooch, has no control over worker wages. Workers work for contractors who sell their tomatoes to brokers who, in turn, sell the tomatoes to Taco Bell.  

“I’m not sure why they target Taco Bell,” said Taco Bell spokesperson Laurie Gannon. “We don’t use that many tomatoes.” 

Inside the Shattuck Avenue Taco Bell, one worker said if the boycott helped improve the workers’ wages, it was a good thing. 

A number of people looked at the students and kept walking, instead of going inside. “I was going to go in, but they’re boycotting,” said one woman. 

Another told her child, about 5 or 6 years old, “That’s not very nice. They’re not paying their workers properly.” 

Tom Myers went into the store, despite the boycott signs, but said he supports the boycott movement anyway. “They’re right to do that. I’m glad they’re trying to do something,” he said. 

“While Taco Bell made over $5.2 billion in 1999, the median annual income of farm workers is currently $7,500 (according to the U.S. Department of Labor),” according to literature given out by the boycott group. 

Gannon did not want to speak to the plight of the farm workers. Instead, she argued that the dispute is properly between the workers and the contractors. “It’s a labor dispute. We do not get involved in other (companies’) labor disputes,” she said.

A UC Berkeley student was sexually assaulted by a man she had been walking with on the campus Friday morning between 1:30 and 2 a.m., University of California Police said Tuesday. 

The victim met the suspect earlier that evening at a nearby bar, police said. She walked onto the campus voluntarily with the suspect, but resisted when the suspect made sexual advances. 

The suspect then allegedly battered and sexually assaulted the victim before fleeing the campus. He was described as a white male between 24 and 26 years old, about 5 feet 10 inches and about 230 pounds. 

University of California Police Department Detective Bruce Bauer asks if anyone has information about the suspect to contact him at 642-3658. 

••• 

Berkeley police announced Tuesday that they are offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Merlin Antone’s killer. 

Antone, a 42-year-old Native-American man, was found battered and unresponsive on Oct. 22 at the corner of Adeline and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, according to police. He died of his injuries. 

Police said he was last seen alive near the Ashby BART station, reportedly in the company of a teenage boy, described as a dark-complected African American about 5 feet tall, wearing dark color clothes and carrying a portable black stereo “boom box.”  

The young person’s involvement with the crime has not been established, police say. 

The police investigation shows that on Oct. 22, between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Antone took the Lake Merritt BART train to the Ashby BART Station, just prior to the assault. 

Lt. Russell Lopes of the Berkeley police said the reward has been offered because the homicide investigation has not been able to locate any suspects.  

Anyone with information is asked to contact Berkeley police at 981-5741. 

•••  

When a man and a woman went to a Berkeley residence near the intersection of Page and Seventh streets to collect some money owed to the woman Saturday the owner of the house and his two young sons attacked the couple, police said. 

Berkeley Police Lt. Russell Lopes said the owner of the house attempted to beat the woman when she asked for the money she was allegedly owed. The man accompanying the woman attempted to intervene, but the owner of the house allegedly struck him in the head with a metal pipe, Lopes said.  

The victim fell to the ground from the force of the blow, at which point the 11- and 12-year-old sons of the owner of the house allegedly joined in the attack, one kicking the victim in the head while the other slashing at him with a large kitchen knife, Lopes said. 

Police arrived on the scene to find the owner of the house had fled, Lopes said.  

The victim received bruises and lacerations as a result of the attack but was not seriously injured. 

Lopes said police are looking for the owner of the house, who could be charged with assault with a deadly weapon.  

The two minors allegedly involved in the attack will be referred to Berkeley Police juvenile services, he said.

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis’ energy advisers said Monday that the state is meeting its energy goals, despite doubts raised by Controller Kathleen Connell and other critics. 

Connell questioned whether the state can buy enough electricity cheaply enough to avoid borrowing more than the $13.4 billion already approved by state lawmakers. 

Davis’ experts said their estimates are conservative, though they rely heavily on Californians cutting back on their energy use this summer to help drive down prices. 

The estimates assume the state’s consumers and businesses cut total electricity use 7 percent, and the state already is hitting that projection, said chief energy adviser S. David Freeman. 

“That just knocks the stuffing out of the demand,” Freeman said, driving down prices as well. 

A 7 percent reduction in energy use saves the state far more than 7 percent on its power purchases, Freeman explained. That’s because it comes straight out of the state’s purchases on the spot power market, where electricity is far more expensive than power bought under long-term contracts. 

Spot prices have dropped “dramatically” the last two weeks, said Davis financial adviser Joseph Fichera. 

The state has paid well under $100 per megawatt hour during off-peak periods the last two weeks, administration officials said at a news conference. 

Fichera said that should help cut the average price to near the $195 per megawatt hour average Davis’ plan assumes. The officials refused to give specific price information or give the current average price. Davis earlier said the state has paid as much as $1,900 per megawatt hours during times of peak demand. 

In addition, the state on Tuesday will send Connell seven new power generation contracts that will help boost supply this summer, Fichera said. 

The state has in place contracts covering 43 percent of the power the state needs to buy this month, 66 percent of next month’s power needs, 48 percent in July, and 42 percent in August, Fichera said. 

He said Davis’ energy experts also have been accurate in predicting the amount of the state’s power purchases, despite Connell’s doubts. In April they predicted the state would spend $1.78 billion but actually spent $1.8 billion, a 1.4 percent variance, he said. He said this month’s predictions so far are proving accurate as well. 

Connell said that to date, less than 1 percent of the state energy purchases have been through long-term contracts, far short of the 11 percent assumed under Davis’ plan. She also said it seems unlikely that spot market prices will fall as demand increases during the hot summer months. And she questioned whether rate increases approved by the Public Utilities Commission will be enough to cover the state’s power purchases. 

Davis’ experts said she is relying on incomplete or dated information. However, the administration has declined to provide many details of its power purchases, arguing that it would give power generators a competitive advantage and drive up energy prices. 

Connell predicted the state will still need to borrow billions of dollars to keep its treasury afloat while it struggles to repay money it is spending to buy power for three cash-strapped utilities. 

Department of Finance spokesman Sandy Harrison said such short-term borrowing is common when the state experiences financial problems. The state issued $3 billion in revenue anticipation notes during the fiscal years of 1996-97 and 1997-98, though the need dwindled and finally disappeared last year as the state’s economy prospered. 

Connell said the state will need to issue $3 billion to $5 billion in short-term debt this summer or risk running out of money this fall until the long-term bond can be issued to repay the state treasury. 

She also said she will use her post on the state’s Board of Equalization to host a hearing next month on whether generators should be paying more property taxes because the value of their power plants has increased with soaring electricity prices. 

MODESTO — The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department has stepped up its search for a missing woman, Washington, D.C,. intern Chandra Ann Levy, and has sent investigators out of the state to follow up on at least one tip as to her whereabouts. 

Authorities here confirm that they have followed up on an anonymous telephone tip called in to Sacramento television station KOVR that 24-year-old Levy was in a town outside of California. The sheriff’s department dispatched investigators to follow up on that tip. 

“We called the law enforcement agency in the town where she could possibly be to see if the can put some fliers out,” said sheriff’s department spokesman Kelly Huston. “It’s just one of the multitude of tips that we’re trying to eliminate as possible leads.” 

Huston would not say which town or state investigators traveled to in following up on the tip. 

Huston says it’s one of the multitude of calls they’ve gotten on the case, and the department has sent deputies all over the state to follow tips. “We’ve traveled to Sacramento, We’ve traveled to L.A., we’ve traveled to Turlock.” 

As many as 100 tips have been phoned in since the 24-year-old was reported missing from her Washington, D.C., apartment earlier this month, Huston said

SACRAMENTO — Mel Hurok remembers watching his wife Barbara suffer in a nursing home, then suffer more each time she was transferred to a hospital. 

Suffering from diabetes that caused liver and pancreas failure, she was transferred four times between nursing homes and hospitals before she died in January 2000 at age 68. Each time she was moved, she seemed to be put through the same medical tests all over again. 

“I am too weak and too sick with these transports,” Hurok remembers his wife of 35 years telling him. “You’re killing me.” 

Hurok, who lives in Montclair east of Los Angeles, is now pushing lawmakers to approve a bill that would spare others the same pain. The measure, introduced by Sen. Nell Soto, D-Pomona, would require hospitals to provide some patients with detailed information about their condition when they’re released or transferred to other facilities. 

Up for a vote before the full Senate on Thursday, the bill would require hospitals to provide a discharge plan to patients they determine are likely to suffer health problems without one. 

It would also ensure that a summary of their treatment would follow patients when they go to skilled nursing or care facilities, including details about the medication they’ve already taken and follow-up care. 

“All the bill does is provide full disclosure to patients about their health status – some written instructions on the condition,” Soto said. 

Although she believes the bill will be opposed by the hospitals, Soto said, “It’s not right for doctors not to leave orders.” 

A spokesman for the California Association of Health Plans said the group doesn’t have a position on the bill at this time. 

Under the current law, patients have the right to receive information about their condition if they request it, but the bill would require hospitals to inform patients about details of their follow-up care, even if they don’t request it. 

Hurok hopes his wife’s story will help persuade legislators to spare others. Mismanagement of his wife’s case went beyond excessive tests. He remembers catching caregivers giving her the wrong food and putting sugar in her coffee even though she was diabetic. 

“They were constantly having to call 911,” he said.

UKIAH — A judge Monday blocked two disputed logging operations in Jackson State Demonstration Forest, ruling that management practices for the projects needed updating. 

Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Richard Henderson’s ruling is a setback for California Department of Forestry. The agency is responsible for monitoring logging on private timberlands and depends on revenue from the 50,000-acre Jackson State forest to pay for reviews of other projects. 

“Even a casual review of the plan reveals that the conditions on which it was developed 18 years ago have changed dramatically,” said Henderson. 

Henderson’s ruling affects only the two disputed logging plans, but representatives for the state agency say the decision could stall further logging in the forest until a new management plan can be reviewed and adopted. 

“It’s unclear how we are going to proceed,” said Helge Eng, a state forestry spokesman. 

Henderson said the state’s claims it would lose revenues with the logging shutdown ignored the harm resulting from current logging operations that could become irreparable. 

Opponents of the state logging operations in Jackson State forest want to restore the parcel to an old-growth redwood forest.

Census shows families becoming more traditional as state grows older 

FRESNO — The state that celebrated free love, embraced alternative lifestyles and beat a path to divorce court may be settling down as it grows older and becomes more diverse. 

The Golden State seems to have moved from trend setter to traditionalist, according to census figures being released Wednesday. 

Married couples with children increased at twice the national average, growing by 12.6 percent while the rest of the nation lagged at 5.5 percent.  

The nuclear family filled an increasing share of households, while that percentage dropped nationally. 

What remains to be seen is how the influx of immigrants – much of the state’s growth in the 1990s was fueled by Mexicans and Asians – is reshaping the typical California family. 

“There might even be two Californias in a way,” said Hans Johnson, a researcher at the Public Policy Institute of California.  

“Immigrants may have what are considered more traditional family living arrangements.” 

California natives may more closely mirror national patterns, but demographers won’t know until more data become available from the 2000 Census. 

“I would say most of the people my age don’t believe in marriage, they are really cynical about it,” said Kirsten Morgan, 24, a nursing student in San Francisco who got married a year and a half ago. 

The latest wave of figures confirmed much of what social scientists already suspected about the state’s burgeoning population. 

Housing, for example, failed to keep pace with the state’s population, which grew by 13.8 percent to 33.9 million, leading to fewer vacancies and more crowded homes. 

People looking for a place to live in the state’s larger cities, where rents and housing prices skyrocketed with a booming economy, have had to endure cutthroat competition for an apartment or bidding on the spot for a house. 

In numbers, housing grew 13 percent nationally while California only expanded by 9 percent, bucking its image as the poster child of sprawl. 

As a consequence, average household size rose from 2.8 people under one roof to 2.9. That figure is more significant when compared to the national figure of 2.6 people, a number that has consistently fallen. 

There are also hints in the data that housing may have been too expensive in the nation’s most populous state, Johnson said. 

Nationally, 20 percent more people were living alone in 2000 than in 1990.  

But in California that number only increased by 11.4 percent. In San Francisco, the number of people with roommates increased 32 percent, while people living alone increased by only 6 percent. 

As a whole, the state is still two years younger than the national median age of 35.3 years.  

Despite having more than a quarter of its population under 18, it aged by nearly two years in the last decade due mostly to the bulge of aging baby boomers. 

In many ways, where California once seemed like an extreme, it is now becoming more mainstream, which is evident in the changing family structure. 

Although the state no longer keeps divorce records, the rate of broken marriages is believed to have fallen over the years.  

Still, more parents, such as San Francisco firefighter Rebecca Atwater, are rearing their children alone. 

“Sometimes it’s easier to do it on your own,” said Atwater, a divorced mother of two. 

Atwater was one of the state’s 834,716 single moms raising their children last year.  

That number was up 23 percent in the last decade, from 6.5 percent to 7.3 percent, only a fraction different from national figures. 

And while the number of unmarried couples rose 38 percent, the growth was far less explosive than cohabitation nationwide.  

Still, only about 2 percent of people in the state and nation are unmarried pairs living together. 

Even in San Francisco, where the change was expected to be greater, the number only grew from 2.7 percent to 3.2 percent. 

“We’ve always been growing much faster than the nation,” said Dowell Myers, a professor of urban demography at the University of Southern California. “It’s nice to have stabilization in some arena.”

SACRAMENTO — In 1996 Theresa Azhocar was sure her daughter, who was convicted of planning to shoot her abusive boyfriend, would finally be released from prison. 

California legislators had just passed a law directing the Board of Prison terms to consider a woman’s history of abuse during sentencing, pardon or parole. 

Five years later, Azhocar is still waiting. So are the relatives of hundreds of women whose crimes are connected with battered women’s syndrome. Just two woman have been paroled under terms of the 1996 law, including one who was released Tuesday. 

Azhocar was among those who testified Tuesday at a hearing by the Board of Prison Terms, which is only now drafting guidelines to carry out the law. 

The law’s passage “gave me hope” said Azhocar, who lives in Chula Vista. “But it just sat in me because nothing has happened. The parole board has the ability to reduce a sentence. I plead with them to have compassion.” 

The hearing was the first step toward setting guidelines for paroling women under the law, said Steve Green, a spokesman for the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency. 

Green acknowledged the process to implement the law “has been slow and should have been done long before this.” He was unable to predict when the guidelines would take effect. 

The bill’s author, state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, said the board “has given very minimum lip service” to the law. 

“I was very impatient and disappointed that after a number of years passed following the signing of my bill, virtually nothing was done to carry out the different sections of the bill,” she said outside the hearing. 

Diana Block, a spokeswoman for the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, said she was encouraged by the steps the board has taken and hoped the result would be “more than just paper guidelines.” 

Meanwhile, Azhocar hopes her daughter, Theresa Roxanne Cruz, will soon be paroled after 11 years in prison in Corona. Convicted for conspiracy to commit murder in 1990, she has been denied parole three times. 

Cruz was convicted for her role a shooting that left her former boyfriend with five bullet wounds in his leg. One of the two men accused of carrying out the shooting also was convicted in the case. 

Azhocar said her daughter was so terrified of the ex-boyfriend that she slept with a phone on her chest because he used to beat her and threaten her. 

Cruz’s next parole hearing is set for September 2001. 

Paroled Tuesday was Diann Wade, 56, who had served 21 years at the Central California Women’s Facility at Chowchilla for first-degree murder. 

Wade, a prostitute from Los Angeles, was convicted in the 1980 slaying of her abusive pimp. The man was shot when Wade and two accomplices went to his apartment to beat him up, Green said. 

SACRAMENTO — Record heat and unusually dry winds have prompted fire officials to declare the start of fire season Tuesday throughout California. 

“We’ve got the big three – hot, dry and windy. We’ve had a few grass fires, nothing special, but these are the same conditions that brought you the Oakland fire in October of 1991,” said Karen Terrill, spokeswoman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.  

“All it takes is a spark in the wrong place. 

“In that case, it was $1.5 billion in property lost and 3,000 housing units destroyed.” 

At the start of fire season, local CDF offices hire seasonal staff to work on a round-the-clock schedule around the state’s forest districts. 

“That’s unheard of as far as I know, to open the fire season in all 21 ranger districts at the same time, but it means that the conditions are suddenly ripe for wildfire and it’s time to be prepared,” Terrill said. 

Unusually warm, dry and windy weather for May prompted concern. In Sacramento, three records have been set this month: 100 degrees, May 8; 98 degrees, May 9; and 99 degrees on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. 

Monday’s high temperature of 101 in Sacramento ties the record set last year on the same date. Tuesday’s benchmark of 103, also set last year, could be a danger as well, said weather service meteorologist Robert Baruffaldi. 

WASHINGTON — Emboldened by comments from the Bush administration, lawmakers who tried last year to launch a nationwide study of racial profiling are now moving for the first time to outlaw the disputed law enforcement practice. 

With state legislatures around the country grappling with the issue, some say Congress should stand back rather than jump in. 

Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia’s delegate to the House, has proposed withholding some highway funds from states that do not ban racial profiling, the practice of targeting suspects based on race or ethnicity. 

A group of Democrats led by Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Rep. John Conyers of Michigan is preparing legislation that would make criminal justice grants to police departments contingent upon how they monitor and stop racial profiling. 

Federal efforts to combat racial profiling got a boost in February when President Bush declared, “It is wrong, and we must end it.” 

Attorney General John Ashcroft then endorsed legislation, proposed in the last Congress by Feingold and Conyers, requiring state and local law enforcement agencies to collect data on traffic stops. 

David Harris, a law professor who has been working with Feingold and Conyers, said the lawmakers no longer want to settle for studying whether racial profiling happens. 

“There is wide acknowledgment that this is a reality faced every day by people of color,” said Harris, who teaches at the University of Toledo in Ohio. “The question now is, how can we approach it in a concrete way that will make a difference?” 

Convening a hearing on the topic Tuesday, Congressional Black Caucus chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, said she hopes “to create the necessary will for this Congress and this administration to immediately end the practice of racial profiling.” 

At least 15 states have taken action to stop or study racial profiling, and 20 others have legislation pending. 

California, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Oregon have banned the practice. Arizona’s attorney general signed a declaration renouncing it. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Maryland have ordered police to adopt policies against racial profiling. 

North Carolina, Missouri and Washington have instructed police to collect statistics on whom they stop, and why. Kansas and Rhode Island have launched studies. 

Susan Parnas Frederick, director of the law and justice committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures, said Congress should continue to let states address the issue. 

“To have this strong arm of the federal government come and squash all those efforts just doesn’t seem fair,” Frederick said. 

Gene Voegtlin, legislative counsel at The International Association of Chiefs of Police, said his organization supports cracking down on racial profiling but disagrees with threatening to withhold federal funds. 

“As long as (legislation) has sanctions and mandates, I don’t think this association can support it,” said Voegtlin. 

Feingold and Conyers have been fine-tuning their bill along with Democratic Sens. Jon Corzine of New Jersey and Hillary Clinton of New York. 

Police departments that do not sufficiently address racial profiling would lose part of their annual federal funding, which for larger departments can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Departments that lead the way in developing procedures and technologies for monitoring racial profiling would be eligible for “best practices” grants. 

Norton’s bill would give states until Oct. 1, 2003, to adopt and enforce “standards that prohibit the use of racial profiling” and keep public records on motorists stopped by police. 

Failing states would lose 5 percent of their federal highway funds, which in many cases total hundreds of millions of dollars. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton: http://www.house.gov/norton/ 

International Association of Chiefs of Police: http://www.theiacp.org/ 

WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney, answering environmentalists and other critics of his energy report, said Tuesday anyone who argues it neglects conservation “simply hasn’t read the report.” 

Cheney, addressing a nuclear power industry conference, said more than half the 105 recommendations and most of the financial incentives in the energy plan involve conservation and renewable energy sources. 

“There’s been a lot of talk from some of our critics that somehow the only focus is on additional supplies. ... That’s simply not true,” declared Cheney. 

“Anybody who says that simply hasn’t read the report,” he continued. 

Cheney said the upcoming debate on energy will involve “a fundamental set of decisions that are going to determine the quality of life for our kids and grandkids for years to come. 

“These are difficult challenges,” he said, but President Bush “didn’t come to town to duck tough issues.” 

Congressional Democrats and a broad cross-section of environmental leaders have sharply criticized the Bush administration’s energy plan as too heavily tilted toward boosting coal, gas, oil and nuclear energy development. 

“The plan is built on the misguided notion that we can dig and drill our way out of the current energy challenges,” said Daniel Reicher, who was assistant energy secretary for renewable and efficiency programs in the Clinton administration. 

Echoing the views of many environmentalists, Reicher, now at the World Resources Institute, said the Bush plan has “no aggressive commitment to energy efficiency and cleaner sources of renewable energy.” 

Cheney maintained that if the recommendations of his energy task force, including 20 involving congressional action, are adopted, “We assure very significant savings from conservation.” 

He added, “the bottom line is we still have inadequate supplies” and will have to develop more coal, gas and nuclear energy to meet future electricity needs. 

Cheney reiterated his support for nuclear power at the conference, sponsored by the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry’s trade group. 

Currently about a fifth of the electricity in the United States comes from nuclear reactors. Cheney said that portion will decline if it isn’t made easier to relicense current reactors and build new ones. 

“We want to encourage investment in nuclear power,” said Cheney. 

WASHINGTON — More than 20 million children will reach high school age in four years, posing daunting challenges for school districts already coping with classroom crowding and teacher shortages. 

Nationally, the number of children age 10-to-14 increased 20 percent the past decade to 20.5 million, according to the 2000 census.  

A 10-year-old in 2000 would be 14 in 2004, the age by which most students start high school. 

The number of children age 4 and under – those who will be able to start elementary school over the next four years – increased 4 percent to 19.2 million in 2000. 

“We are finding even more schools in more places holding classes in hallways, and increasing class sizes in an age when we are talking about the need to reduce it,” said Kathleen Lyons, spokeswoman for the National Education Association. 

Preparing for the expected onslaught of students “really comes down to finances,” she said. 

The 10-to-14 category – mainly children of the large baby boom generation – increased in nearly all states.  

The nation’s fastest-growing states saw surges in the under-5 population as well, as booming economies drew young couples from other states. 

Both age brackets were also affected by a higher-than-projected count of Hispanics, analysts said.  

There may also be more kids ready to start school soon than tallied because children under 5 are typically missed more in a census than other age groups, said demographer Martha Farnsworth Riche, a former head of the Census Bureau. 

Nevada had an 83 percent increase in children age 10-to-14 during the decade, and a 58 percent rise in the number of kids age 4 and under. 

Arizona’s 10-to-14 population grew 46 percent, while its 4-and-under population increased 31 percent during the same span. 

Jennifer Schmidt, the mother of a high school sophomore and a 1-year-old, said things have to improve soon no matter what the reason for the increase. 

“I just found out my daughter doesn’t have a place to sit during lunchtime — she sits in the hallway,” said Schmidt, of Silver Spring, Md.  

The 10-to-14 population in this Washington suburb increased 33 percent during the 1990s. 

“When my 1-year-old gets to that age, we’ve been thinking about moving or putting him through private school,” she said. 

Overcrowding, teacher shortages and inadequate instruction for non-English-speaking students are challenges schools in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles have long encountered. Now those issues are causing headaches in 1990s boom areas like Las Vegas. 

The Clark County, Nev., school district, which includes Las Vegas, forecasts it will adds between 10,000 and 15,000 new students a year.  

Ten new school buildings opened this school year, with 15 new ones scheduled to be completed by the end of next school year. 

Cartwright Elementary School in Las Vegas had 21 portable classrooms in its playground last school year to help educate 1,400 students – over 700 more than capacity. 

Schools that opened nearby helped ease the burden this school year, reducing Cartwright’s enrollment to 880, requiring just six portable classrooms. 

“It’s been very challenging. We try to do as little disruption as possible for the kids,” said Cartwright’s principal, Emily Aguero.  

“But when you come and look at the growth out here, parents know that there isn’t really much choice.” 

Lyons said the federal government can lift part of the burden by stepping in to build new schools. Other solutions that have long been proposed include better pay and benefits to hire and retain new teachers. 

Demographers have attributed much of the population growth in children to a higher-than-expected count of Hispanics in most states.  

The number of Hispanics under age 18 increased 59 percent during the decade, with North Carolina’s 401 percent gain larger than any other state. 

“Many of those unexpected children were Hispanic. They are the children of those families who immigrated” to the United States during the 1990s, Riche said. 

Nevada led the nation with a 43 percent growth in non-Hispanics under 18, but saw also saw a 245 percent increase in the number of Hispanics in the same age bracket.  

Nearly 1 in 3 kids under 18 in Nevada were Hispanic. 

The federal government considers “Hispanic” an ethnicity, not a race; therefore, people of Hispanic ethnicity can be of any race. 

More detailed age breakdowns by race and ethnicity will be released later this year. 

On the Net: 

Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov 

National Education Association: http://www.nea.org/

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban said Tuesday they will require Hindus to wear identity labels on their clothing to distinguish them from Muslims, a proposal sharply denounced by India and the United States. 

The Taliban said the measure – which would also require Hindu women to be veiled for the first time – was aimed at keeping non-Muslims from being harassed by religious police enforcing Islamic law. 

Hindus in Afghanistan have not been the target of persecution and have been allowed to practice their religion without interference, even using music, which is otherwise banned. However, over decades of war, the number of Hindus has dwindled from a high of about 50,000 during the 1970s to 500 in the capital and small pockets elsewhere. 

The Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, must still approve the law as he does all edicts. The head of the religious police, Mohammed Wali, told The Associated Press it would be implemented soon. 

The proposal – reminiscent of Nazi policies forcing Jews in Europe to wear a yellow Star of David – brought quick condemnation from Washington. 

A U.S. State Department spokesman called the requirement “the latest in a long list of outrageous oppressions” by the Taliban. 

“We want to make quite clear that forcing social groups to wear distinctive clothing or identifying marks stigmatizes and isolates those groups and can never, never be justified,” spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington. 

Hindu-dominated India also denounced the measures. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Raminder Singh Jassal told reporters in New Delhi, “We absolutely deplore such orders which patently discriminate against minorities.” 

Dozens of protesters marched down a busy thoroughfare in the central Indian city of Bhopal carrying an effigy of a bearded Taliban soldier. “Taliban, die!” shouted some of the marchers, members of the Hindu fundamentalist movement Bajrang Dal. 

There are around 500 Sikhs and Hindus living in Kabul, the Afghan capital. There are Hindu populations in other Afghan cities, but no reliable figures on exactly how many. 

Anar, an Afghan Hindu in Kabul who uses one name, said he does not want to wear a label. 

“It will make us vulnerable and degrade our position in society,” he said. 

In March, the Taliban destroyed ancient Buddha statues they said were forbidden by Islam. That also raised international condemnations – on top of longtime criticism of the Taliban for banning education for girls, beating men for trimming their beards and other rules in the name of Islam. 

The Taliban’s Bakhtar news agency said the latest measure was intended “to prevent disturbance to non-Muslim citizens” who might be stopped by the religious police. Unlike Muslim women, Hindu women in Afghanistan have not been forced to wear the head-to-toe covering called a burqa. 

Wali, the religious police minister, said the restrictions were required by Islam. “Religious minorities living in an Islamic state must be identified,” he said. 

However, other Islamic nations – including Iran and Indonesia, which have many minority groups – have not required such a step. 

Most of the Islamic world, including pro-Taliban Pakistan, has differed with the Taliban’s narrow interpretation of Islam and say the militia is tarnishing Islam’s image. 

It has also not yet been decided what sort of identity label Hindus would have to wear, Wali said. 

He said the new order would be meant only for Hindus because there are no Christians or Jews in Afghanistan, and most Sikh men can be easily recognized by their turbans and distinctive beards. However, at least one Jew is known to live in Kabul and there may also be some Christians. 

There is precedent for the Taliban move. Islamic law requires protection for religious minorities and assigns them certain rights and responsibilities. So Islamic rulers have at times in the past tried to distinguish minorities from the Muslim population. The Ottoman Empire required Jews and Christians to wear distinctive clothing. 

The general secretary of Pakistan’s Islamic political party Jamaat-e-Islami praised the Taliban move. “Providing protection to religious minorities is a must in any Islamic country and this step seems in line with this concept,” said Munawaar Hasan. 

The rules on Hindus are the latest restriction imposed by the Taliban. Some have said the heavier hand is in reaction to U.N. sanctions that bar their leaders from traveling abroad, freeze their foreign assets and keep them from importing weapons to fight their civil war. 

The sanctions were imposed because of the Taliban’s failure to hand over Saudi billionaire Osama bin Laden, accused of terrorism by the United States. 

The Taliban has closed four of six U.N. political offices in Afghanistan to protest sanctions. 

Hindus and Sikhs first came from India to Afghanistan in 1747. They numbered some 50,000 in the 1970s, but most left after the Soviets sent troops into Afghanistan in 1979. Fighting in 1992 destroyed five of the seven temples used jointly by Hindus and Sikhs in Kabul.

NEW YORK — While the Federal Reserve is receiving high marks for steering the economy through the shoals, barely averting recession, there is no assurance an obstacle might not stray into its path. 

This is another way of saying, as two economists put it, that “the U.S. economy may escape a recession this year, but will not avoid one forever.” Perfect steering is more than can be delivered. 

Contrary to some assumptions over the past year, especially among those who believe the current slowdown is just a rest before another big economic push, the Fed isn’t omnipotent. It’s not in full control. 

You might better understand this when you consider a worst case scenario constructed by economists Cythia Latta and David A. Wyss of DRI-WEFA’s monthly “U.S. Forecast Summary.” 

They expect the expansion to continue, and declare that viewpoint clearly, but they also realize how events can conspire to wreck a forecast. Their description is a credit-course in economics. 

It begins with a misjudgment of oil supply-demand by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. As the global economy slows, less oil is needed and the price spirals down toward $10 a barrel. 

This sets up a series of Rube Goldberg-like events that, among other things, demonstrates how the world’s economies are linked in a series of pulleys and levers, one event triggering another, nobody in full control. 

While tough on OPEC, the low oil prices give a boost to the global economy, encouraging investors to shift their focus from the United States to other parts of the world. This causes the dollar to slide. 

Because the dollar won’t buy as much, the price of imports rises, which relieves pressure on domestic producers to keep their own prices low and competitive. They too raise prices. 

With the economies of other nations expanding because of the lower oil prices, U.S. exporters find a growing demand abroad for their goods. And because of this added demand, prices of course are likely to rise. 

As you might expect, inflation accelerates. Simultaneously, OPEC seeks to counter the low prices with a drastic cut in production, pushing oil prices back to $35 a barrel. Inflation heads for 4 percent. 

Countering, the Fed tightens up on credit, forcing up the federal funds rate, a basic rate that immediately affects most other rates. By early 2004 it is up to 6.75 percent, compared to just 4 percent now. 

The stock market, already sliding because of the withdrawal of foreign funds and the slowing economy, falls farther. Consumers turn pessimistic as jobs disappear and high interest rates put mortgages out of reach. 

All this causes the housing market to collapse and business investment to decline. The high interest rates slow inflation, but as Latta and Wyss explain, they also bring export growth to a screeching halt. 

By the final months of 2003 the U.S. economy is in recession, and by mid-2004 the jobless rate is 7.7 percent, compared to 4.5 percent now.  

The Fed is forced to quickly reverse course, lowering interest rates. 

The economy recovers, and gross domestic product exceeds 5 percent, about double what it is now, but it must climb up out of the hole it has dug and that takes time. A lot of production and jobs have been lost. 

This grim scenario isn’t likely to come into being. 

No forecast, pleasant or grim, comes with a guarantee. They all come with a caveat. 

John Cunniff is a business analyst for  

The Associated Press

DENVER — A speedier Internet connection could be coming to a neighborhood near you. 

Qwest Communications International says it will make its high-speed digital subscriber line Internet service available to 1.3 million more homes by the end of the year.- 

New technology being installed in 11 western states in its 14-state local phone service territory will let Qwest more than double the distance customers can live from a central office and still receive DSL service. 

Only customers within about three miles of a neighborhood central office could access Qwest DSL before, said Augie Cruciotti, executive vice president of Qwest local markets. 

The expansion will be phased in over two years in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington. The company said more than 6 million customers should be able to receive its DSL service by the end of 2002. 

The phone company had 306,000 DSL customers in the first quarter and hopes to have 500,000 by the end of the year. 

Competitors offer high-speed connections through cable, satellite and wireless technology. 

“They definitely need to do this to compete with cable,” said Cary Robinson, senior research analyst for U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray. “A lot of customers can’t get DSL that want it. They need to continue to expand their offering, not just in their 14-state region, but nationwide.” 

Demand for fast Internet connections has risen as people do everything from birthday shopping to playing cards online, said Murray Smith, Qwest vice president for DSL. 

“We’re trying to get as much DSL out there as quickly as we can,” Murray said. 

Qwest has been able to provide DSL over copper phone lines to some customers through its central offices, the hubs where individual phone lines come together. 

But DSL could be offered only over shorter distances because the signal quality deteriorates over distance. 

The new technology lets Qwest place remote equipment in neighborhoods to provide a little boost, allowing information to go farther on DSL. 

The new program was aimed at expanding offerings in major metropolitan areas, some smaller communities and areas that never had Qwest DSL service, the company said. 

Expanded DSL offerings would help Qwest in its strategy to offer bundled services, such as phone and Internet service together. The strategy should help Qwest increase revenue while lowering costs per customer, and keep customers loyal to Qwest, said Simon Reeves, senior analyst at Pacific Crest Securities. 

“Churn is not a particularly enormous problem right now, but as the market gets increasingly competitive, say in the next two to five years, churn could go up,” Reeves said. “The more services you have bundled together, the stickier customers tend to be.”

NEW YORK — Investors gravitated toward technology stocks again Tuesday, sending the Nasdaq composite index higher – albeit modestly – for a sixth straight session, its longest winning streak since February 2000. 

Blue chips faltered, however, on a mix of company-specific news, profit-taking and an expected pullback from the big advance that sent the Dow Jones industrials up 464.95, or 4.3 percent, over the previous four sessions. 

“I think the investment public is really falling back in love with technology and telecom and it’s been a long, long time since that’s been the case,” said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. “It’s not surprising though. If this economy is going to turn around – and it’s showing signs that it is – the companies that are going to do the best, the fastest are going to be in the technology sector. It’s a market leader.” 

Gainers included Microsoft, up $1.52 at $70.31, and Cisco Systems, up 61 cents at $23.48. Some other high-profile tech stocks fell, including Oracle, down 55 cents at $17.55. 

Many stocks on Tuesday made moves based on individual companies’ announcements rather than investors’ overall worries about the economy or weak earnings reports, which have controlled trading activity in recent weeks. 

AOL Time Warner rose 64 cents to $57.24 on news its America Online unit was increasing the monthly price of its unlimited use plan by about 9 percent to $23.90. 

Analysts have been expecting investors, who still have concerns about when corporate profits will improve, to pull back and take profits from the market. 

After all, Wall Street has been rallying since early April, primarily in response to the five interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year. Money that was has been on the sidelines for months while the economy struggled has been coming back into the market, and some retreat was inevitable as investors took profits and adjusted their portfolios. 

— The Associated Press 

This week, Wall Street has been concentrating on technology issues — a contrast with last week when blue chips were the focus. 

“People are buying the market because they believe the Fed has done enough to block the economic slowdown and restart and reaccelerate growth,” said Ronald J. Hill, investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. “The next few months we may see some seesawing because there’s going to be plenty of negative news in second-quarter preannouncements. 

“But in the end, I think most people will be convinced that with all the Fed easing we’ve had and the possibility of another cut in the June, the worst is over.” 

The Russell 2000 index rose 1.32, or 0.3 percent, to 517.23. It has risen 30.59 points or 6.3 percent in the last six sessions. 

Declining issues led advancers 15 to 14 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 1.52 billion shares, compared with the 1.46 billion Monday. 

Overseas markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei stock average dropped 0.6 percent. But stocks traded higher in Europe where Germany’s DAX index rose 0.3 percent, Britain’s FT-SE 100 gained 0.6 percent, and France’s CAC-40 advanced 0.7 percent. 

——— 

On the Net: 

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

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

Gearing up for rolling blackouts, people are trying to save power by shutting down appliances 

OAKLAND – Paul Goettlich’s condo in the Oakland hills features vaulted ceilings and skylights, a sweeping view of San Francisco’s bay and state-of-the-art appliances. 

With the power crisis in full tilt, his dryer sits unused while he hangs clothes, sheets and towels on a wooden rack in the garage. 

“Maybe somebody doesn’t want to see somebody else’s underwear or bras hanging out,” Goettlich says. “But, hey, that’s life.” 

As the state gears up for rolling blackouts and hefty energy bills this summer, many Californians are changing their habits. The result: Surging sales of everything from low-energy light bulbs to fans to evaporative coolers that blow misty air. 

The Orchard Supply Hardware store a few miles down the road from Goettlich’s condo is having a hard time keeping clotheslines and retractable drying racks in stock. 

At the The Home Depot store in Colma, about 10 miles south of San Francisco, energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs are hot sellers, along with a $40 device called a Power Planner that’s said to cut energy use by appliances like refrigerators. 

At the Wal-Mart in the Southern California suburb of Brea, customers are buying blackout supplies along with fans and low-energy light bulbs. Flashlights, camping lanterns and oil lamps also are popular, according to manager Rebecca Smith. 

“We’ve quadrupled our fan sales this year, and it’s not even summer,” Smith said. “It doesn’t seem to matter what kind. People are buying all of them.” 

The rolling blackouts are proving a retail bonanza for some out-of-state companies, like St. Louis-based Emerson, which is selling twice as many ceiling fans in California than in any other state. 

“They’re energy efficient and use less electricity than a 100-watt bulb,” explains Emerson spokesman Walt Sharp. “They can make a room feel about seven degrees cooler without air conditioning by circulating the air. They can save up to 40 percent when used with air conditioning.” 

Industrial-sized floor fans — used in manufacturing areas and large warehouses — also are a hot commodity in California, he said. 

At Walnut-based Lights of America, sales of energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs have increased 700 percent since last year. And with state rebates and incentives for consumers to switch to the new bulbs, sales are expected to continue soaring, said Brian Halliwell, vice president of marketing sales. 

Most bulbs average from $6 to $10, with 50-watt compact fluorescent bulbs providing the same amount of light as 300-watt halogens, Halliwell said. 

The bulbs do, however, have a noticeable blue tinge, compared to most regular incandescent bulbs, said Bob Aldrich of the California Energy Commission. But the color can be changed or softened by using different lamp shades, he said. 

“Just about any light use that’s out there will take a compact fluorescent light,” Aldrich said. “People should be more worried about saving energy.” 

Shopping the light bulb display at The Home Depot in Colma, customer Linda Shintaku said she’s exploring all her options for conserving energy this summer. 

“We lowered the thermostat, and we’re trying not to turn lights on in rooms we’re not in,” Shintaku said. “I try to wash clothes at night during low-peak hours.” 

Energy experts note that homeowners can make the biggest dent in their power bills by switching to more efficient models of major appliances. 

But despite the advice and an array of rebate programs, Home Depot manager Jeff Benefield says consumers aren’t yet flocking in to replace energy-sucking appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers. People who are in the market for big appliances ask about Energy Star ratings, which bring rebates of up to $75, he noted. 

The new vogue for conservation has some ecology-conscious Californians shaking their heads. Berkeley resident Leona Benten has been hanging her clothes outside to dry long before the power crisis came along and she’s hoping the energy crisis will push others to change their habits and their attitudes. 

“It takes like two minutes,” Benten said. “I think that people have succumbed to incredible amounts of advertisements, and if it’s mechanized, it’s better.”

BELL GARDENS — Hundreds of people gathered Saturday for the unveiling of a new veterans memorial — a statue honoring 39 Hispanic Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. 

The statue is flanked by two obelisks to be engraved with the names of all 3,436 medal recipients. 

“We enjoy the blessing of peace because of the ongoing sacrifice of millions of veterans,” Mayor Ramiro Morales said during the Memorial Day weekend tribute. “Today we are honoring the courage and patriotism of Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.” 

The statue is believed to be the only existing memorial to any specific ethnic or racial group among medal recipients. Another memorial to Hispanic Medal of Honor recipients, to be placed in downtown Los Angeles, is in the planning stages. 

“Hispanic Americans played an important role in the defense of our country,” Morales said. “The Hispanic American Veterans Memorial is long overdue.” 

According to U.S. Census figures, 93 percent of residents in the city 18 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles are Hispanic. 

More than 500 spectators lined the streets surrounding the memorial waving American flags as the monument was unveiled. 

Designed by Peruvian sculptor Alfredo Osorio, the statue features an angel holding a laurel wreath skyward while cradling a wounded soldier. 

“There are those few, in the face of extreme danger, who will step up and be guided by the angels,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca told the spectators. “And they will do tremendously heroic deeds.”

BERKELEY — Knowledge is power; information technology is power savings, say University of California scientists who are responding to the state’s energy crisis by teaching buildings to be smarter consumers. 

“The potential for this technology ... is huge,” said A. Richard Newton, dean of UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering. 

Berkeley scientists demonstrated their new technology Friday, showing how a network of tiny computers scattered throughout a campus building can keep tabs on light and heat. 

More than 50 of the microcomputers, called “smart dust motes” and each about the size of a matchbox, have been installed in corridors and corners throughout Cory Hall on the Berkeley campus.  

The devices have wireless radio transmitters and receivers and a tiny operating system that allows them to network and report back to a central computer.  

They work on battery and solar power and currently cost about $100 a unit to produce. The goal is to produce them at $1 apiece. 

For Friday’s demonstration, engineering professor Kris Pister used information from the dust motes to generate a computerized graph showing minute-to-minute light and temperature use in a particular room. 

Looking at his own lab, Pister pointed out that a drop in the line tracking light occurred around sunset, followed by a sharp peak shortly after midnight when a hardworking student turned on the light to do some work. 

The sensors are capable of using wireless signals to turn off large air conditioning units on the roof of the building to save power and then monitoring rooms in the building to make sure sensitive equipment such as computers aren’t getting too hot.  

Turning off equipment during peak load hours could be done by hand, but having the sensors in charge makes the conservation measures automatic and much more efficient, Pister said. 

Ultimately, the tiny computers could include motion detectors which would turn off power to a room if it were vacant for a certain period of time and turn it back on when someone re-entered.  

Not incidentally, scientists are working with privacy experts on some of the social aspects of this technology. 

This summer, with a state energy crunch looming, scientists plan to use the sensors to conserve at Cory Hall on a regular basis and to turn off all nonessential equipment when electricity officials issue warnings that they’re running out of energy.  

The sensors also can help shift use of energy intensive equipment, like the 40-ton air chillers on the building’s roof, to nighttime, when energy use throughout the state drops.  

Sensor readings taken during the day will help forecast how long the chiller needs to run at night to get the building cool enough to last without air conditioning in the day. 

Although they’re still in the development stage, the devices could one day be installed in homes, allowing owners to call up their energy use on a computer and see how much each appliance, from nightlight to refrigerator, is costing to run at any particular moment. 

“People really have no idea where electric power is actually being burned in their homes or offices,” Pister said. 

Using the devices throughout campus could generate a savings of up to $900,000 a year, Pister said. 

Pister, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, is the developer of the sensors, part of a larger project he calls smart dust. 

Eventually, he hopes to produce sensors no bigger than a grain of sand.  

Applications for that – which sound 22nd-century, but could be only 10 years away, scientists say – could include dumping a handful into a bucket of paint and painting sensors on the wall. 

Pister now has a device smaller than an aspirin that will transmit some data but isn’t as reliable as the matchbox models. 

The smart energy technology is being developed at Berkeley’s Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society, a public-private partnership between four UC campuses and more than 20 corporate partners.  

UC officials hope to receive $33 million in state funding this year, although they are waiting to see whether that will survive budget-cutting now going on in Sacramento. 

On the Net: 

http://robotics.eecs.berkeley.edu/(tilde)pister/SmartDust/

SACRAMENTO — State lawmakers are wondering if those book-laden backpacks that many kids must lug to school are hurting their backs. 

The Assembly approved a bill Thursday that asks state school and health officials to study whether carrying heavy backpacks can cause spinal damage. 

Many schools have removed lockers because of drug and security concerns, meaning students must carry all their books around all day. 

The author, Assemblyman Rod Pacheco, R-Riverside, said his 6-year-old daughter carries a book bag that seems to weigh as much as she does. 

People from other planets will visit California some day and find “people with curvature of the spine and they’re going to think we’re gnomes,” said Assemblywoman Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Chino. 

The bill was sent to the Senate by a 59-1 vote. 

On the Net: 

Read the bill, AB1030, at http://www.sen.ca.gov

WASHINGTON — Two environmental groups asked the government Wednesday to ban a common wood preservative containing 22 percent arsenic from all playground equipment and to study whether it is safe for other consumer uses. 

The Environmental Working Group and the Healthy Building Network petitioned the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban use of chromated copper arsenate, a powerful pesticide that is put into lumber under pressure in a factory to protect the wood against termites, beetles and humidity.  

The groups say the commission’s 1990 study underestimates the risk of cancer. 

“It’s something we will look at and take seriously,” commission spokeswoman Jane Francis said.  

“We’ve always stood behind that study but if there’s something new out there we want to take a look at that.” 

Arsenic has become a hot topic in light of the Bush administration’s decision to suspend until early next year and do more studies on former President Clinton’s proposal to tighten the standard for arsenic in drinking water. 

Its use in pesticides extends to nearly all the treated lumber found in the United States, going into the making of playgrounds, decks, railings, picnic tables, fences and docks.  

The Environmental Working Group says studies by the commission and the Environmental Protection Agency fail to account for the risks of CCA-treated wood rubbing off onto skin or leaching into places where it can be ingested by people and animals. 

The environmentalists’ report concludes that an average 5-year-old who spends less than two weeks on a playset built with CCA-treated wood will already have exceeded the level of one-in-1-million cancer risk that federal pesticide law considers acceptable for an entire lifetime. 

“Even if they manage to strengthen the drinking water standard, they’ll still be missing the boat if they don’t get arsenic out of wood,” said Jane Houlihan, research director for the Environmental Working Group. 

Although sold across the country, CCA-treated wood is especially common in states such as Florida with high humidity. In March, sections of three Miami-area parks were closed after researchers found that arsenic had leached into the soil from pressure-treated wood. 

However, Scott Ramminger, president of the American Wood Preservers Institute, said the environmental groups were resorting to junk science and scare tactics. 

“It’s totally irresponsible,” he said. “People don’t need to be worried about it. It’s a safe product, it’s got 60 years of safe use.” 

The EPA banned most inorganic arsenic pesticides in 1986 but allowed the use of CCA to continue in pressure-treated wood. The agency classified it as a “restricted use” pesticide to protect factory workers, while manufacturers agreed to voluntarily distribute consumer “fact sheets” about its use. 

The EPA is now studying the use of CCA-treated wood as part of a routine reassessment of pesticides and told environmental groups it is speeding up its look at the use of such wood in children’s playsets. It expects to complete an internal review in June. 

Agency officials met May 9 with environmental groups, state officials and wood preservers, discussing ways to improve the “fact sheets” so that they reflect more recent scientific studies and are better distributed. 

Switzerland, Vietnam and Indonesia have banned CCA-treated wood. Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Australia and New Zealand have either limited its use or proposed restrictions. 

On the Net: 

Environmental Working Group: http://www.ewg.org 

Healthy Building Network: http://www.healthybuilding.net 

American Wood Preservers Institute: http://www.awpi.org 

EPA: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/citizens/1file.htm 

CPSC: http://www.cpsc.gov

PASADENA — After years of garnering less attention than its sexier Jovian sisters, the crater-covered moon Callisto is getting closer attention than ever this week from NASA. 

But alas — it turns out the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is just using Callisto to get closer to that fireball of a moon, Io. 

The Galileo spacecraft, on its third and final tour of Jupiter and its satellites, will make its closest pass at Callisto yet, coming within just 76 miles of the Mercury-sized moon early Friday morning. 

NASA is using Callisto’s gravity to better position Galileo for passes at Io in August and October to determine whether the intensely volcanic moon creates its own magnetic field. 

“The main reason we’re flying so close to Callisto is to set up flybys of Io,” said Eilene Theilig, Galileo project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 

Callisto is “sort of the ugly duckling of the moons,” said Galileo project scientist Torrence Johnson. Io’s volcanoes, evidence of water close to the surface of Europa and two-toned Ganymede have all generated more scientific excitement. 

But Callisto, which bears craters billions of years old, still has a thing or two to teach scientists.  

NASA will use the flyby to examine small craters to follow up on earlier imaging of the moon that showed fewer craters than researchers expected. 

Galileo also will examine Jupiter this week, mapping its clouds and searching in particular for dark clouds known as “brown barges,” which haven’t been seen since NASA’s Voyager spacecraft flew by in 1979. 

In August, Galileo will pass within about 220 miles of Io to see whether a volcanic plume spotted five months ago is still active. 

Galileo was originally scheduled to end its mission four years ago, but it has continued to bring back useful data despite being bombarded with more than three times as much radiation as it was designed to withstand. NASA plans on sending Galileo on three more passes of Io and one of the small inner moon Amalthea before the probe plunges into Jupiter’s atmosphere in 2003.