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CEO defends hospital’s plans

By Hank Sims Berkeley Daily Planet
Saturday September 29, 2001

When Alta Bates Summit announced its plan to consolidate services between its two facilities – Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley and Summit Medical Center in Oakland – East Bay lawmakers cried foul. The plan, which calls for “Centers of Excellence” to be instituted at both hospitals, seemed to break an agreement the hospitals made with the community at the time of their merger in 1999. 

According to the consolidation plan, Alta Bates maternity services and oncology will be located at Alta Bates, while cardiovascular services and orthopedics go to Summit. Alta Bates Summit officials say that the consolidation will allow the system to provide better care in each of these areas. 

Alta Bates Summit CEO Warren Kirk, recently named to his post, and Dr. James Cuthbertson, the president of the Alta Bates medical staff and member of the Alta Bates Summit board of trustees, sat down with the Daily Planet on Friday to discuss the changes they will undertake and to defend the hospital against its critics. 

The second part of this interview will appear in Monday’s paper. 

 

A lot of people are concerned that the plan calls for obstetrics to be located here at Alta Bates and removed from Summit. This would seem to contravene one of the promises that was made to the community when the two hospitals merged.  

One person, Supervisor Keith Carson, says that it’s not fair to ask someone from East Oakland to come all the way to Berkeley to deliver a baby. Could you respond? 

Kirk: First of all, it is true that when we first did our merger, we did say that we would make commitments to the community. One was around medical surgery services, the other was around the emergency departments and one was around obstetrics. We said we would keep those services in the community, at both hospitals. So that’s true. 

The truth is that things in health care change dramatically. We’ve found ourselves, now, losing money at the rate of around $1 million per week. We’ve had to look at how we can reorganize ourselves so that we can be financially stable. If we can’t get these facilities financially healthy, they won’t be here. 

So we need to figure out what we can do to become financially stable. Now, we’re not trying to be the most profitable hospital. We’re just trying to be stable enough to buy equipment, replace our facilities, give our employees raises – do the things we need to do to be a hospital. When we looked at the consolidation of services, bringing obstetrics to one place was an important part of that.  

Now, there is absolutely no evidence that driving an extra 2.9 miles is a detriment to patient care. That’s just not true. Those kind of comments are being made by people who just don’t understand the delivery of health care.  

Currently, Alta Bates has relationships with clinics all over Alameda and Contra Costa counties. We have community clinics from as far away as Pleasanton whose patients come here to deliver babies. We have people from much farther away than East Oakland – people who don’t have a lot of means, on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale, and they still come here to deliver babies. So it’s just not the case that it’s a burden to come to Alta Bates to deliver babies.  

We want to change our view of ourselves. Alta Bates is not a Berkeley hospital, and Summit is not an Oakland hospital. These hospitals take care of patients in the East Bay. We take care of patients from the far north of Alameda county, far south, east... We have a huge cachement area. We delivered 7,000 babies at Alta Bates last year. Those weren’t just Berkeley women.  

The services are still in the East Bay. We’re organizing them into “Centers of Excellence” that will increase our ability to expand our care. That’s where we’re heading. 

There are people who have a different agenda. But the truth is that they’re not health care experts. 

There were 3,300 babies delivered at Summit last year. How will Alta Bates cope with those patients? 

Kirk: The relationship changes.  

Cuthbertson: Some patients are going to move away from this facility with the consolidation of other services at Summit. That’s going to open space for the 3,000 deliveries that are moved over here. We’ll have expanded facilities for the deliveries, for the babies and for the moms. 

It’s not a matter of expanding the volume of service that we have here. We’re going to be very careful not to do that. One of our responsibilities, being a neighbor here – it’s not so much what the patients in the hospital are here for, but to make sure that having patients in the hospital doesn’t impinge on the neighborhood through traffic. That’s what we’re trying to arrange, with the city and with the neighbors. Whether it’s noise, whether it’s parking, whether it’s the number of people driving up and down the street, we want to say, “This is our limit and we’re going to stay within it,” and be very careful to do that.  

Another thing that people have suggested about the consolidation is that emergency services will be cut back, or concentrated at one or the other hospital. 

Kirk: When you think about it, women in labor don’t come into the emergency room. They come into the lobby, and they go right up. Oncology patients who get admitted here, a large proportion of them, don’t go through emergency room, they are admitted directly by their physician.  

But cardiovascular or orthopedics patients, a lot of the time, are brought in by an ambulance. Those kinds of patients will be going to Summit. So we expect, over time, that we’ll have less volume (at Alta Bates).  

We’re not planning to downgrade the ER, but I think that we will see, over time, fewer visits – which, for this community, is a good thing. That’s what they’ve been asking us to do, to reduce traffic congestion. But for the patient who lives in this neighborhood and needs to go to the ER, we’ll still be here and available to take care of them. 

So emergency services associated with “Centers of Excellence” at Summit will go to Summit. 

Kirk: Right. Cardiovascular, orthopedic... 

Cuthbertson: If an ambulance picks up someone who is having a cardiac event, they will know to go to Summit. Same with orthopedic injuries.  

Certainly, though, if your loved one is having a heart attack and you put them in the car to go to the closest emergency room, (Alta Bates) might be it. That’s why we want to have the emergency room here. We’re still going to have patients in this hospital who will need a range of critical care services. 

People have also been concerned about the psychological services provided at (Alta Bates’) Herrick Hospital in Berkeley. They feel that they are in peril, and from what I understand, from a letter you sent to employees, is that you feel they are imperiled as well. You say they are not supporting themselves financially. What is the problem at Herrick – why are psych. services not making money? – and what steps will be taken? 

Kirk: The main problem is that the insurers, from whom we get patients, have been unwilling to pay enough to cover our costs. When the hospital stands to lose $40 million this year, we don’t have the ability to subsidize other campuses. So we have to find a way for them to be self-supporting. They don’t have to make huge profits, but they have to be self-supporting. 

We believe we have an obligation to provide this service. There aren’t a lot of these services available in the county. If we don’t provide it, people will have a hard time finding a place for mental health. So we really feel that anything we can do to keep this service open, we need to do. That was the direction from the Board of Trustees and management – to find a way. But we can’t do that if we can’t get the people who send patients to us to pay us at least our costs. 

Who are we talking about? Kaiser? 

Kirk: The main problems we’ve had, traditionally, have been Kaiser and Medical. In the last couple of months, we’ve got a new contract with the county. Dave Kears at Alameda County Health Services was extremely helpful in helping us get a rate that will be sufficient to meet our costs, and that’s a very good thing.  

Now we’re going to talk to Kaiser. We’re negotiating with them now, and they realize that if they want to continue sending patients to our facility, they need to be willing to pay us for the cost of taking care of them. They’ll decide. 

It’s one of those things – every year, our costs go up. We give our employees raises, we have our union relationships that have built-in raises for many of our employees. The county and other organizations who send us patients need to recognize that and continue to give us the raises we need to stay ahead of costs. 

So if you can work out a satisfactory relationship with Kaiser, there won’t be any danger to Herrick. 

Kirk: Yes. But you have to realize that it’s an ongoing event. If you ask me a year from now, it could be a different story. Our costs go up, and the county and the insurers have to continue to be willing to raise our rates. As long as we can do that – stay ahead of our costs – we plan to stay in that service. 


Out & About Calendar

– compiled by Guy Poole
Saturday September 29, 2001


Saturday, Sept. 29

 

Antiwar Rally 

11 a.m. 

Dolores Park 

19th and Dolores streets, San Francisco 

10 minutes from the 16th Street BART Station (415) 821-6545 

 

Disaster First Aid 

9 a.m. - noon 

Office of Emergency Services 

997 Cedar St. 

Free classes in Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). 981-5605  

www.ci.berkeley.ca.us 

 

Strawberry Creek Work Party 

9 a.m.- noon 

Seabreeze Market 

University Avenue and Frontage Road 

Remove non-native pepperweed at the outflow to the Bay and learn about efforts to restore native Oysters to the San Francisco Bay. 

848-4008  

bjanet@earthlink.com 

 

Forum on Censorship 

7 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

1275 Walnut St. 

Terri Cohn, Paul Cotton and Kate Delos lead a discussion of the implications of censorship on the arts and other areas of life in the past and future. 644-6893 

 

Redwood Sequoia Congress 

9 a.m. through the evening 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

Human rights and environmental activists will gather in an annual examination of the human condition and the status of the planet.  

841-1182 

 

Get Published Workshop 

noon - 3 p.m. 

Albany Library 

1247 Marin Ave., Edith Stone Room 

Led by writing coach Jill Nagle and will cover query letters, book proposals, finding an agent and more. Preregistration strongly recommended. (415) 431-7491 jill@jillnagle.com 

 

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour 

10 a.m. - noon 

Trish Hawthorne knows the Thousands Oaks neighborhood like no one else. Tours are restricted to 30 participants and require pre-paid reservations, $10. 848-0181  

www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc/  

 

Idealist.org Nonprofit Career Fair 

1 p.m. 

Preservation Park 

MLK Jr. Way and 13th St. 

For individuals interested in employment or internship positions in the nonprofit sector.  

(212) 843-3973 www.idealist.org 

 

The Crucible’s Open House and Fix-A-Thon Fundraiser 

noon - 6 p.m. 

The Crucible 

1036 Ashby Ave. 

Parking and entrance on Murray Street  

Featuring the faculty performing hands-on demonstrations of the skills and techniques they teach. Try blacksmithing, welding, stone carving, glass enameling, and other stuff. Bring broken or cracked metal objects and low-tech electric devices in need of repair. The staff will assess the damages and if the items are reparable, they will fix them for a reasonable fee. Free event.  

843-5511 www.thecrucible.org 

 


Sunday, Sept. 30

 

Sixth Annual How Berkeley Can You Be? Parade 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Ave. 

The grand parade leaves from California Street and concludes at Civic Center Park where festival continues. Over 80 art cars, art bikes, Cal Marching Band, Electric Couch, Go Carts, plus live music and circus. 849-4688  

www.howberkeleycanyoube.com  

Potluck Brunch 

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Bateman Park 

Rockridge/Elmwood Gay Lesbian Potluck Brunch. 595-1999 

 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Avenue between Third and Fourth streets  

Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 654-6346 

 

Yoga/ Tibetan 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Instructor Jack van der Meulen will discuss the three levels of Kum Nye practice and demonstrate some of the practices. Free. 843-6812 

 


Monday, Oct. 1

 

Rent Stabilization Board  

Meeting 

Second Floor Council Chambers 

2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Landlord and tenants of 1704 Francisco St. Apt. An appeal decision that the rent for the apartment was not set by making a good-faith estimate of the median rent for comparable units. 

Community Health Commission Meeting 

7 p.m. 

The Beanery 

2925 College Ave. 

Discussion of health care cuts affecting maternal and child care programs. Omowale Fowels will be a guest speaker. 

 

Personnel Board Meeting 

7 p.m. 

Bay Laurel Conference Room 

2180 Milvia St., first floor 

Disscussion of recommendation to revise salary ranges for Auditor I/II and accountant I/II Classifications. 

 

Peace and Justice Commission 

7 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Discussion of the Council Referral to work with staff in order to determine what contracts are subject to the Nuclear Free Act, what contracts may be approved as a categorical matter because there is no reasonable alternative and what contracts must be reviewed on an individual basis. 

 

Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults Inquiry Program 

7:30 p.m. 

St. Mary Magdalen Parish 

2005 Berryman St. 

A program to learn everything you wanted to know about the Catholic Church but never had the chance to ask. 526-4811 


Berkeley Observed Looking back, seeing ahead

By Susan Cerny, Special to the Daily Planet
Saturday September 29, 2001

Cal Ink: Etched into the history of the 20th century 

 

During the first 75 years of the 20th century, west Berkeley was the location of many manufacturing plants which produced diverse products from vegetable oil to ink, and huge hydraulic pumps to tanned hides.  

Cal Ink originated in 1891, in Los Angeles, as a subsidiary of Union Oil Company, and was sold to an E. L. Hueter of San Francisco in 1896. Sometime between 1900 and 1903 the company moved its manufacturing plant to west Berkeley, into buildings which had been part of the Raymond Tannery. In 1999 Cal Ink, now Flint Ink of Michigan, was the oldest factory in Berkeley operating at its original location. 

On the blocks bounded by Camelia, Gilman, Fourth, and Fifth streets there were about 20 buildings dating from 1906 to 1978. The sprawling factory included manufacturing buildings, laboratories, storage tanks and offices. 

Over the years Cal Ink made almost every type of ink product, from a white ink for marking bees to perfumed ink used in advertising. The products developed and manufactured at this plant included: moisture-proof and heat-resistant inks, inks that resist scratching and oxidation, inks used for newspapers, magazines, boxes, bags, labels, and linoleum, plastic, steel, aluminum, airplane parts, and fabric. It is one of the largest suppliers of ink to the graphic arts industry. From time to time it produced many of the raw materials for ink, such as pigment colors and varnishes. An international company, it uses materials from all over the world including: drying oils from South America, shellac from India, pigments from Europe, and carbon and mineral oil from the United States. It then exports its various inks around the world. During World War I, Cal Ink developed and produced the first "Litho Red" ink made in the United States.  

After 1919 the company changed ownership several times, merging with, or buying other companies, and occasionally creating subsidiaries. Today the company is a division of the Flint Ink Company of Detroit. Although ink was still being made at this location in 1999, portions of the complex have been sold and some buildings demolished 

 

 

 


Don’t denounce those who oppose Lee vote

Dennis Kuby
Saturday September 29, 2001

Editor:  

I will let history decide whether Barbara Lee is a profile in courage in being the sole dissenter in Congress to approve giving war powers to the president. Right now, she is nothing but an asterisk along side Jeanette Rankin, the pacifist congresswoman from Montana who cast the lone vote against declaring war on Japan after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.  

Assuming that Councilwoman, Maudelle Shirek, was quoted correctly in the DailyPlanet when she characterized those who denounced Barbara Lee as part of a “lynch mob,” I think she owes us an apology or at least a retraction. It’s not the first time that Maudelle has shot from the hip and doubtless it won’t be the last. But, many of us who strongly disagree with Ms. Lee’s vote, are also card-carrying members of the ACLU and the NAACP  

Dennis Kuby 

Berkeley


Wary networks begin fall season delayed by attacks

By Lynn Elber, AP Television Writer
Saturday September 29, 2001

LOS ANGELES — Even as networks delay or drop potentially sensitive episodes and clip violent scenes in terrorism’s immediate wake, network executives expressed uncertainty Tuesday about how deep or lasting the effects of Sept. 11 will be. 

“Everyone wants to see this as a demarcation line in popular culture, and it may very well prove to be,” NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker said. “But I think it’s too early to know exactly what that is.” 

The attacks bumped the official start of the new season a week, to Monday. While networks gingerly returned to regular fare after grueling, nonstop news coverage, viewers seemed eager for the change. 

“You can see it in the prime-time ratings,” Zucker said. “Clearly, people are looking for some diversion and clearly that is a role that entertainment can play.” 

A repeat episode of “Friends” with the wedding of Monica and Chandler on NBC last Thursday drew 17.6 million viewers — unusually high for a rerun. 

Late-night shows returned somberly last week, but already have returned to comedy. 

In general, networks took no chance of giving offense: Even a lightweight comedy like “Ellen,” the new CBS series starring Ellen DeGeneres, was subject to revision. 

DeGeneres’ character spoke in Monday’s premiere episode of losing her job in the dot-com collapse. Her mother’s reply — “I hope you didn’t get caught in the building” — was removed from the show. 

The change was made “in light of the recent tragic events,” the network said, referring to the terrorist destruction of New York’s World Trade Center towers and damage at the Pentagon. 

In an upcoming “Friends” episode, changes are being made in a scene in which newlyweds Monica and Chandler (Courteney Cox and Matthew Perry) run into airport problems on their honeymoon. 

More problematically, a number of new series are set in the world of the CIA or other government agencies, with stories that edge perilously close to aspects of the tragedy. 

CBS pulled the pilot episode for “The Agency,” which opened with a Middle Eastern scene of a booby-trapped hostage, a U.S. flag stuffed in his mouth as a gag, dying in an explosion. 

Airing in its place Thursday will be an episode about a plot to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro. 

In the new Fox series, ”24,” a drama starring Kiefer Sutherland as the head of a U.S. counterterrorist unit, the pilot included a now-edited scene in which a bomb explodes on a plane. The show debuts Nov. 6. 

NBC has scrapped a script with a terrorist story line for the new action series “UC: Undercover,” which starts Sept. 30 and focuses on a Justice Department crime-fighting unit. 

Lloyd Braun, ABC entertainment chief, said Tuesday he wondered whether viewers would have much patience for reality shows with petty conflicts when the real news is so dramatic. 

“I’m not sure the country is going to be as accepting of these shows as they’ve been in the past,” he said. “You have to wonder whether people are going to look at that and say, ‘please, I don’t care.”’ 

There have been a number of other changes, including the removal of potentially unsettling shots of the World Trade Center from programs including NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” 

In contrast, NBC’s White House drama “The West Wing” is tackling the issue of terrorism head-on in an episode written by series creator Aaron Sorkin. The administration of President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) will be shown coping with fallout from a terrorist attack in the Oct. 3 episode. The planned season premiere episode was moved to Oct. 10. 

“We didn’t feel comfortable going back to our fictional White House without taking a moment,” executive producer John Wells told Daily Variety. “Hopefully, we can say something that’s useful and not at any way appear like we’re trying to exploit the tragic events that occurred.” 


Arts and Entertainment Calendar

Staff
Saturday September 29, 2001

 

924 Gilman Street Sept. 29: DS-13, Beware, Blown To Bits, (+tba); Oct 5: Subincision, Gary’s Agenda, Eugene (+ tba); Oct 6: Tight Brothers from Way Back When, Smash Your Face, Cherry Valence, Bare Bones; Oct 12: One Line Drawing, Funeral Dinner, Diefenbaker, Till 7 Years Pass Over Him; Oct 13: Dead and Gone, Cattle Decapitation, Vulgar Pigeons, Wormwood, Antagony; Most shows are $5 and start at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 

 

Albatross Pub Oct 3: Wesley Brothers; Oct 4:Keni “El Lebrijano” Flemenco Guitar; All free shows begin at 9 p.m. 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

albatrosspub@mindspring.com  

 

Anna’s Sept. 28: Anna sings jazz standards, 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Sept. 29: Robin Gregory, Bliss Rodriguez, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Sextet, Donald Duck Bailey; Sept. 30: Acoustic Soul; All shows begin at 8 p.m. 1801 University Ave. 849-ANNA www.annasbistro.com 

 

Café de la Paz Poetry Nitro, performance showcase with open mike. Sept. 24: Jim Watson-Gove; All shows free, 7 - 10 p.m. 

 

Cal Performances Sept. 30: 7 p.m. Kronos Quartet, David Barron, $30; Oct. 12 - 14: Fri. and Sat., 8:00 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Ballet Nacional De Cuba, $24 - $46; Oct. 17 and 18: 8 p.m. Cesaria Evora, $24 - $36; Oct. 19: 8 p.m. Karnak, $18 - $30. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph, 642-0212,  

tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

Eli’s Mile High Club every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

 

Freight & Salvage Sept. 29: The Nigerian Brothers, $16.50; Sept. 30: Vasen, $17.50; Oct 2: Budowitz; Oct 3: The Robin Nolan Trio; Oct 4: Darol Anger & Mike Marshall; Oct 5: Golden Bough; Oct 6: The Limeliters; Oct 7: Eddie From Ohio; Oct 8: All Nation Singers, Walter Ogi Johnson, Thunder; All shows start at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761  

www.freightandsalvage.com 

 

Jazzschool/La Note Sept. 30: 4 p.m., John Santos and the Machete Ensemble. $15. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5376 

 

Jupiter Sept 29: moderngypsies.net; All music starts at 8:00 p.m. 2181 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625 www.jupiterbeer.com  

 

La Peña Cultural Center Oct 6: 10:30 a.m. Gary Lapow, $4 Adults, $3 Children; Oct 13: 10:30 a.m. Derique- the high tech clown, $4 Adults, $3 Children; 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 www.lapena.org 

 

Music Sources Sept. 30: 5 p.m. Ole Scarlatta! Portuguese and French keyboards and fortepiano joined by Jason McGuire on flamenco guitar, $18 General, $15 members, seniors, students. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

 

Sedge Thomson’s West Coast Live Radio Show Sept. 29: Nancy Miford, The Nigerian Brothers, Caroline Dahl. The Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison St. All shows 10 a.m. - noon. 252-9214 www.wcl.org 

UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Collaborates with Art Department Sept. 29: 8 p.m. The Symphony will perform several works during an exhibition featuring examples of Leonardo diptychs for the basis of portraying art in motion. $8 general admission, $2 students. Hertz Hall solotoff@uclink.berkeley.edu 

 

“The Complete Shostakovich String Quartets--Part One” Sept. 29: 10 a.m. Quartets III & IV; Oct. 20: 10 a.m. Quartets V & VI. Performed by the prize-winning Alexander String Quartet with Robert Greenberg. $ 30, $84 for the Trio of concerts. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org. 

 

Magnificat Sept. 29: 8 p.m. First Congregational Church. The San Francisco early music ensemble of voices and period instruments present their thenth anniversary season with music of seventeenth century composers. Tickets $12-$45  

(415) 979-4500 

 

The Mike Yax Jazz Orchestra Sept. 30: 2 p.m., Longfellow School of the Arts, 1500 Derby St. 420-4560 

 

“Le Cirque des Animaux” Sept. 29: 8 p.m. Hausmusik presents a wacky baroque musical cabaret on the subject of animals. Parish Hall of St. Alban’s Espiscopal Church, 1501 Washington St. (not wheelchair accessible). $18 general admission, $15 seniors, students and SFEMS members) 527-9029 

 

“Murder Dressed in Satin” by Victor Lawhorn, ongoing. A mystery-comedy dinner show at The Madison about a murder at the home of Satin Moray, a club owner and self-proclaimed socialite with a scarlet past. Dinner is included in the price of the theater ticket. $47.50 Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland. 239-2252 www.acteva.com/go/havefun 

 

“Twelfth Night” Sept. 25 - 30, Oct. 2 - 7, Tue. - Thurs. 7:30 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m., Student Matinees: Sept. 18, 20, 25, Oct. 2, @ 1 p.m. California Shakespeare Festival presents William Shakespeare’s comic tale of romance, loneliness, love and glory. Directed by Jonathan Moscone. $12 - $41. Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, Highway 24, Gateway Exit, one mile east of the Caldecott Tunnel. 548-9666 www.calshakes.org 

 

“Swanwhite” through Oct. 21: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. A new translation of the Swedish Play that asks the question what good is romantic love, directed by Tom Clyde. $20, Sundays are “Pay What You Can.” Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305, www.virtuous.com 

 

“Orestes” Oct. 5 through Oct. 21: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. An adaptation of the classical play by Euripides that incorporates passages inspired or taken from various 20th century texts. Written by Charles Mee, Directed by Christopher Herold. $6-12. Zellerbach Playhouse on the UC Berkeley campus 642-8268 

 

“36 Views” through Oct. 28: Tues. 8 p.m., Wed. 7 p.m., Thu. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Thu., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Sat., Sun. 2 p.m., 8 p.m. Written by Naomi Lizuka, Directed by Mark Wing-Davey. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. 647-2949  

www.berkeleyrep.org 

 

Fine Arts Cinema through Oct 3: 10 p.m. daily and 5:20 p.m. Sunday, “Dead Man” Johnny Depp plays a young man who embarks on a journey to a new town in search of a new life, and finds a heated love triangle that ends in double murder leaving William Blake (Depp) a wanted man. Directed by Jim Jarmusch; Oct 4 - Oct 9 “Battleship Potemkin” Directed by Sergei Eisenstein; 2451 Shattuck Ave 848-1143 

 

Pacific Film Archive Sept. 29: 7 p.m. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part I, Joel Adlen on piano; Sept. 30: Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part II, Joel Adlen on piano; general admission $7, The New PFA Theatre 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412 

 

“Tree-Sit: The Art of Resistance” Oct 4: 7 p.m. Feature-length documentary chronicles 10 years of young activist’s struggle to protect ancient redwoods. La Pena Cultural Centre, 3105 Shattuck Ave. (415) 820-1635 

 

“Reykjavik” through Oct. 4: A young man’s sexual impulses go haywire when he discovers the women he has just been to bed with also happens to be his mother’s lesbian lover. Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Ave. 843-3456 

 

Nexus Gallery through Sept. 30: noon - 6 p.m. Jan Eldridge- Large charcoal drawings and acrylic collages; Tricia Grame- visual and textural autobiography of her spiritual evolution; Tanya Wilkinson- A sensuous exploration of the possibilities inherent in the medium of handmade paper. 

 

Bahman Navaee is exhibiting his paintings. Through Sept. 29: Persian Center, 2029 Durant Ave. 848-0264 

 

UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Collaborates with Art Department Sept. 29: 8 p.m. The Symphony will perform several works during an exhibition featuring examples of Leonardo diptychs for the basis of portraying art in motion. $8 general admission, $2 students. Hertz Hall solotoff@uclink.berkeley.edu 

 

“Debbie Moore’s Autobiographical Paintings” through Sept. 30 at Good Vibrations. Portraits of the artist’s sensual explorations spanning 25 years and reflecting changing ways of intimacy and body play. 2504 San Pablo Ave. 848-1985. 

 

“Three Visions” through Sept. 30: 12 - 6 p.m., An Exhibition of Mixed Media. Nexus Gallery, 2707 Eighth St.  

(707) 554-2520 

 

“The Decade of Change: 1900 - 1910” through September. 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.  

 

“Squared Triangle” through Oct. 5: noon - 6 p.m. A minimalist art exhibit featuring three Bay Area artists working in different mediums while achieving the same elegant simplicity. The Crucible, 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.com 

 

“Inside Editions” through Oct. 12: Nine printmakers exhibit their work. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tue. - Fri. Free. Kala Art Insitute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 kala@kala.org 

 

“Census 2000: Asian Pacific Islander Americans” through Oct. 13; Wed. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Asian Pacific Islander American artists in roughly the demographic proportions indicated by the recent census. Free. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9470  

 

“MWP Perspectives” Jon Orvik: One artist’s journey. Through Oct. 27 Tues. - Fri. 12 - 5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 12 - 4 p.m. Solo artist exhibiting his journey through metal, wood and paint. Adapt Gallery and Design, 2834 College Ave. 649-8501  

www.adaptgallery.com  

 

“50 Years of Photography in Japan 1951 - 2001” through Nov. 5: An exhibition from The Yomiuri Shimbun, the world’s largest daily newspaper with a national morning circulation of 10,300,000. Photographs of work, love, community, culture and disasters of Japan as seen by Japanese news photographers. Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. U.C. Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall, Hearst and Euclid. Free. 642-3383 

 

“Jesus, This is Your Life - Stories and Pictures by Kids” Through Nov. 16: California children, ages four through twelve, from diverse backgrounds present original artwork, accompanied by a story written by the artist. Mon. - Thur. 8:30 a.m. -10 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. 12 p.m. - 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541. 

 

“Changing the World, Building New Lives: 1970s photographs of Lesbians, Feminists, Union Women, Disability Activists and their Supporters” Sept. 15 through Nov. 17: An exhibit of black and white photographs by Oakland photographer Cathy Cade, who captured the interrelationships of the different struggles for justice and social change. Opening reception Sept. 15, 5 - 8 p.m. Gallery Hours, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St. Free. 644-1400 cathycade@mindspring.com 

 

“The Whole World’s Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s” Sept. 16 through Dec. 16: A documentary photo exhibition which examines the rich history of the social movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Wed. - Sun., noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Free. 644-6893 

 

“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 Botticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours. Atelier 9 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

 

Readings 

 

Boadecia’s Books Sept. 21: Deborah Kesten, “The Healing Secrets of Food;” Sept. 22: A special All Poetry Dyke Open Myke, to participate call 655-1015 or feroniawolf@yahoo.com; Sept 28: The Return of Gaymes Night; Sept 29: Ellen Samuels and other contributors to “Out of the Ordinary: Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian & Transgender Parents”; Mark Pritchard reads from “How I Adore You”; Oct 6: Terry Ryan reads from “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 words or Less”; All events start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise. All events are free. 398 Colusa Ave. 559-9184 www.bookpride.com 

 

Cody’s on 4th Street Sept. 20: 7 p.m. Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef, “The Naked Chef Takes Off”; Sept. 22: 10:30 a.m. Cody’s for Kids, Walter the Giant Storyteller; Sept. 25: 7 p.m. Nancy London has been cancelled; Oct 5: 7 p.m. Glen Davis Gold reads from “Carter Beats the Devil”; Oct 12: Cody’s For Kids- Rosemary Wells and Bunny Party; 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 

 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Sept. 17: Aldo Alvarez describes “Interesting Monsters”; Sept. 18: Clarence Walker discusses “We Can’t Go Home Again: An Argument About Afrocentrism; Sept. 19: Douglas Coupland reads “All Families Are Psychotic”; Sept. 24: Theodore Roszak discusses “Longevity Revolution: As Boomers Become Elders”; Sept. 25: Ken Croswell discusses “The Universe At Midnight: New Discoveries Illuminate the Hidden Cosmos” with a slide show presentation; Sept. 27: Bill Ayers talks about “Fugitive Days”; Oct 1: Urdsula K. Le guin reads from “The Other Wind”; Oct 2: Jonathan Franzen reads from “The Corrections”; Oct 4: Eric Seaborg looks at “Adventures in the Atomic Age: From Watts to Washington”; Oct 5: Victor Villasenor reads from “Thirteen Senses”; All shows at 7:30 p.m. 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

 

Cody’s Other Venues - Sept. 20: 7:30 p.m. Cody’s presents an evening with Margaret Atwood in conversation with professor Robert Alter. $12. First Congregational Church 2345 Channing Way; Sept. 28: 7:30 p.m. Cody’s presents a Community Forum on Race and the Achievement Gap at Berkeley High School. Little Theater, Berkeley High School; Oct 7: 7 p.m. Coleman Barks- The Soul of Rumi First Congregational Church of Berkeley 2345 Dana 

 

Coffee Mill Poetry Series Sept. 18: Ben Brose and Jen Iby followed by open mike reading. 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland 465-3935 ksdgk@earthlink.net 

 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Sept. 29: 7 p.m. Kip Fulbeck reads from his first novel, “Paper Bullets.” 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore Sept. 20: 7:30 p.m. Antarctica & The Nature of Penguins, An evening with Jonathan Chester; Oct 2: 7:30 p.m. “Dancing with the Witchdoctor: One Woman’s Adventure in Africa” by Kelly James. 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

 

Lunch Poems reading Series Oct 4: 12:10 p.m. Ishmael Reed; Morrison Libary in Doe Library at UC Berkeley. Free 642-0137 http://www.berkeley.edu/calendar/events/poems/ 

 

Spasso Sept. 10: Sharron Jones-Reid, Fruit of the Spirit poets, acoustic musicians, comedians, rappers, performance artists, writers. All welcome. 6021 College Ave. Free admission. 

 

Tours 

 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Fridays 9:30 - 11:45 a.m. or by appointment. Call ahead to make reservations. Free. University of California, Berkeley. 486-4387 

 

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  

 

 

Museums 

 

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  

 

UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology Lobby, Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley “Tyrannosaurus Rex,” ongoing. A 20 foot 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 will close its exhibition galleries for renovation. It will reopen in early 2002. On View until Oct. 1 : “Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture.” “Sites Along the Nile: Rescuing Ancient Egypt.” “The Art of Research: Nelson Graburn and the Aesthetics of Inuit Sculpture.” “Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Photographs by George Foster.” $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 Avenue. 643-7648 or www.qal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

 

University of California Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive has reopened after its summer-long seismic retrofit. “Martin Puryear: Sculpture of the 1990s” through Jan. 13; “The Dream of the Audience: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951 - 1982)” through Dec. 16; “Face of Buddha: Sculpture from India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia” ongoing rotation through 2003; “Matrix 194: Jessica Bronson, Heaps, layers, and curls” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; “Matrix 192: Ceal Floyer 37’4”” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; Wed., Fri., Sat., Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., PFA Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way; Museum Galleries 2626 Bancroft Way; 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

 

Lawrence Hall of Science “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. Space Weather Exhibit now - Sept. 2; now - Sept. 9 Science in Toyland; 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  

 

Oakland Museum of California “Half Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon Parks,” through Sept. 23; Wednesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sunday, noon - 5 p.m., Closed Monday and Tuesday. $6 general; $4 youths (6-17), seniors and students with ID. Free for museum members and children 5 and under. Free admission the second Sunday of the month. 10th & Oak streets, Oakland. 238-2200 www.museum.org 

 

 

Send arts events two weeks in advance to Calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.net, 2076 University, Berkeley 94704 or fax to 841-5694.


Yellowjackets win a thriller

By Jared Green, Daily Planet Staff
Saturday September 29, 2001

Berkeley comes back to beat  

El Cerrito, get Bissell’s first win 

 

 

At the end of every third quarter, a Berkeley High football coach asks his team what quarter is coming up. The players respond by screaming “Jackets’ quarter! Jackets quarter!” And on Friday at El Cerrito High, the players were finally right. 

Coming off of three straight blowout losses to start the season, the Yellowjackets finally got into the win column on Friday, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win, 32-29, in the ACCAL opener for both teams. Running back Roger Mason’s 20-yard touchdown run with 5:44 left in the game was the difference, and highlighted just how talented the Berkeley squad is: Mason is the ’Jackets’ fourth-string tailback. 

“That run let me know that no matter who’s in the game, we can produce,” Berkeley defensive end Akeem Brown said of Mason’s run, during which he broke three tackles and dragged two defenders into the end zone. “We finally gave the offense the ball, and they put it in the end zone a bunch of times.” 

Five times, to be exact, which was unexpected considering Berkeley (1-3, 1-0 ACCAL) had scored just two touchdowns in their first three games. The ’Jackets exploded with a balanced offense, gaining 276 yards on the ground and 201 passing yards. Starting tailback Germaine Baird rumbled for 106 rushing yards, backup Aaron Boatwright gained 47, and seldom-used Craig Hollis picked up 61 yards on just seven carries, all in the second half. 

Fullback Nick Schooler also pitched in with 25 yards on the ground, but showed amazing versatility as he also made big contributions in the passing game as well as on defense and special teams. With the ’Jackets down 15-6 and on the El Cerrito 11-yard line, quarterback Raymond Pinkston dropped back to pass and was nearly sacked, just managing to dump the ball off to Schooler well behind the line of scrimmage. Schooler shook off the first two tacklers, then broke left, picking up a block from Baird and racing to the corner of the end zone for a touchdown with just 23 seconds left in the half. 

“There was nothing there, so I just headed towards my blockers,” Schooler said. 

After Mason’s touchdown put Berkeley ahead, Schooler came to the rescue on defense, picking off a Randy Gatewood pass with 4:40 left in the game. And when El Cerrito stopped the ’Jackets and forced a punt from midfield, it was Schooler who took the ball with starting punter Jason Goodwin on the sideline with an arm injury. Schooler’s line-drive punt drove the Gauchos back to their own 12. 

El Cerrito managed to get the ball to the Berkeley 27-yard line with four seconds left in regulation, but another Berkeley senior came through when it counted. Lineman Matt Toma, who missed last week’s loss to Dos Palos with a hip pointer, didn’t play on defense until the final play of the game, as the Berkeley coaches wanted him rested for offense. But Toma convinced them to put him in for the final play, then broke through and dragged down Gatewood to end the game. 

“I was doing anything I could to get on the field for that last play,” Toma said. “That was one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had.” 

The ’Jackets were almost done in early by mistakes on special teams. El Cerrito took a 15-0 lead in the first quarter by taking advantage of a Lee Franklin punt fumble, then smothering Goodwin on the Berkeley five-yard line after he fumbled a snap.  

Although Goodwin reeled in a 26-yard touchdown catch before Schooler’s score, the ’Jackets were still down 15-12 heading into the second half even though the defense had allowed just 86 total yards. Then came the runback that should have broken the game wide open, as El Cerrito’s John Norman took the opening kickoff back 82 yards for a touchdown and a 22-12 Gaucho lead. 

But unlike the three previous games, the ’Jackets didn’t drop their heads and give up. Pinkston answered right back with a 55-yard bomb to wide receiver Sean Young for a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 22-18. And after El Cerrito running back Jamonte Cox rinally broke through for a 63-yard run that led to another Gaucho touchdown that put his team up 29-18, Berkeley still refused to go away. Pinkston went back to Young, this time hitting him for a 32-yard gain that put the ’Jackets on the El Cerrito three-yard line. Two plays later Baird dove into the end zone from two yards out, setting the stage for Mason’s final score. 

The ’Jackets piled up 477 yards to El Cerrito’s 262, dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides. Their turnovers kept them from dominating the scoreboard, but head coach Matt Bissell was encouraged by his team’s heart. 

“This is the first time that we’ve made mistakes early and came back from them,” said Bissell, who picked up his first varsity win. “It’s very good to see us not give up when we get down.”


School district files suit against employees to return overpayment

By Jeffrey Obser Daily Planet staff
Saturday September 29, 2001

The Berkeley Unified School District filed suit in Alameda County Superior this week to recoup money mistakenly paid to dozens of service employees. 

In March, 552 non-instructional employees – maintenance, accounting, and secretarial personnel, among others – received overpayments in their monthly paychecks. Most consented to pay the money back through deductions to two later paychecks, but some, claiming hardships, have fought to return the money more gradually. 

“It’s awful to be in a position where in order to recover a significant amount of funds, you have to sue your employees,” said Shirley Issel, vice president of the Berkeley Unified School Board. 

“If they aren’t going to (reschedule the payments) voluntarily, I’m going to get a judge to get them to do it,” said Stephanie Allan, representative for the union that went to court to prevent the district from taking back the money by reducing the May and June paychecks. 

In March, due to computer and clerical errors, 552 monthly paychecks were printed with twice the bonus due under a new contract that had raised those employees’ pay by 6 percent, retroactive to July 2000. 

The district discovered the problem after direct deposits and some paper checks had already gone out, said Tina Breyer, the district’s director of classified personnel, so the rest were sent as well, with a letter noting the problem. 

The Public Employees Union Local 1, which holds the contract with the district to represent the employees affected by the overpayment agreed to let the district recoup the money in two deductions so long as individuals could claim hardship exceptions to work out a repayment timetable separately with the district.  

“April is not a good month to take money back, so we negotiated with district to take it out in two payments,” said Rick Spaid, who represents Local 1 in the district office’s technical business unit.  

“The district was very forthcoming to help us.” 

However, the mistake caused many employees serious cash-flow problems. It increased paychecks by well over $1,000 in many cases, pushing some employees into tax brackets as high as 43 percent, Allan said, and brought oversized one-time IRS deductions and increases in other garnishments such as child support and alimony. 

“We’re not making a whole lot of money, and when those deductions are added up, they add up,” said Rickey Brantley, the school safety officer at Willard Middle School, who said Friday morning he expected a process server to show up in the schoolyard at any time. “I’m really perturbed because during the time that all this happened, my mama passed away, so I didn’t know anything about the overpayment until I got back from Louisiana,” Brantley said. 

Further complicating the question, the Stationary Engineers Local 39, bidding to represent the district employees, had unsuccessfully petitioned the Public Employment Relations Board on March 14 to decertify Local 1. Amidst the overpayment fracas, it rounded up 67 affected employees, offering to help them win a more gradual repayment schedule. 

“I’m standing on the sidelines saying to the district, ‘you can’t do this, this violates the law,” Allan said. “You can’t take that much money, not in one check, not in one deduction, not in two deductions.” 

Allan said the 67 had already signed documents to switch unions, but Spaid said Local 39 “definitely gave people the impression they would not have to pay this money back.” 

Local 39 sought an injunction in county court against the May deduction, but it was denied and the deduction went ahead. Allan said this left one food service worker with $80 in her monthly check. 

Local 39 returned to court and on June 20 won an injunction based on state statutes regarding wages and garnishment. Allan said the law limits employer deductions in cases of error to no more than 30 percent of a single paycheck, and less if the remainder leaves employees with less than they need to meet their average monthly expenses. 

Meanwhile, according Spaid, the district lagged on the hardship requests. “We found out last month that the district never answered the hardship letters, so Local 1 raised a little stink and said you need to answer these things,” he said. 

Michele Lawrence, the district superintendent, said she had granted five hardship exceptions out of about 54 among the Local 39 group who had requested them, allowing those people to repay on extended schedules. She said the district had a contract solely with Local 1 and had no legal authority to reach separate agreements with Local 39. 

“The school district was very reluctant to file this suit,” said Lawrence, “but after seven and a half months of conversation, we can no longer negotiate separately with this group of people when in fact our other employees, through their representative group, have already paid back their money.” 

Allan maintains that the agreement with Local 1 to draw the money back in two payments “violates the law, and you can’t stick to an illegal agreement.” 

“The judge is going to tell (Lawrence) to work out agreements with these people,” Allan said. “None of this is necessary. This is, ‘You’re going to work this out our way or you’re going to pay a price.’” 

Spaid also criticized the district – “their idea of communicating,” he said, was to serve them with a lawsuit – but he reserved his harshest criticism for the competing union. 

“They basically have put these 54 people in the position where they’ve told them to tell the district, ‘If you want your money back, you have to sue me,’” he said, adding that if the court rules against them, it may affect their credit ratings. 

“At this point, that’s where it is,” he said. “It’s now between the district and these individuals.” 

According to Breyer, about $25,000 is still not paid back, and as of Friday all but 44 people in the dissenting group had agreed to repay the district in order to be dismissed from its lawsuit.


Only Words?

Joy Flaherty
Saturday September 29, 2001

What a dream! Was it a dream? 

Just a thought! But what a thought. 

How could one be sure, but then again maybe. 

Was this our Whale, was this our Lesson? 

The Wars of Man becoming so numerous 

With such devastating means of destruction. 

Suffering from outbreaks all over our Lands 

The recent Terrorists guided by the same great Hands? 

 

Do we really expect to win always? 

To be the Leader of the Free World? 

(Now, what Free World?) 

To perpetuate the killing and retribution? 

Is that our role in this Game of Life? 

Fear and torment because we can’t understand 

Maybe our Gold and God ARE the same 

With lessons coming from the same Beam of Light. 

 

Over and over the same lessons learned. 

Or just passed off as ‘the way things are’. 

“We can’t be wrong; we have all the Love.” 

But we never thought we were repeating  

Our transgressions in Volumes stretching 

Over 2000 years of our Love of possessions. 

Compassion for others has been our sanctity 

To rectify our minds and spiritual Salvation. 

 

Again we will pass over the meaning of 

God’s love and in His Name we will 

Take the high road to ‘Punish the Infidels’. 

Maybe the lightning and thunder of last night 

Awakened a Truth in others besides me- 

Maybe put the Sword back in the ‘Holster’? 

Finding the men responsible for our Plight 

And having those who listen to the same God as ours 

Over for Supper some Evening.  

Joy Flaherty  

Berkeley


Schott-Kirk combo lifts Cal to victory

By Dean Caparaz, Daily Planet Correspondent
Saturday September 29, 2001

 

 

Laura Schott returned to her goal-a-game pace as the Cal women’s soccer team shut out Fresno State, 2-0.  

Schott, an All-American forward, scored both goals in the Golden Bears’ first home game at Edwards Stadium since completing a five-game road trip.  

The win moved Cal’s record to 7-1, while Fresno State fell to 2-4.  

The first goal, a penalty kick, came after Fresno State defender Kristi Nicholls fouled Brittany Kirk in the Bulldogs’ penalty area. Schott put the kick past Fresno State goalkeeper Mary-Tyler Wahl and into the lower-left corner of her net.  

Kirk, a junior midfielder for Cal, definitely went down in the box, but whether it was worth a PK call was debatable.  

“I got the ball and was trying to dribble around the girl and they came from both sides and hit me,” said Kirk, who claimed she collided with two Bulldogs. “It was definitely a foul. I don’t know if most refs would have called it. But it was a foul.”  

“Any good forward understands when they get bumped when’s a good time to go down or not,” said Stacy Welp, Fresno State’s first-year coach. “I think it’s a questionable call. I think our player was trying to get position with her body. But that’s the way it goes. Referees don’t make or break a game. We do.”  

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they were losing 2-0 at the half, thanks to another Kirk-Schott connection. Kirk got the ball in midfield and played what she thought was a bad ball to Schott just to her right. But Schott caught up to it, dribbled through the defenders, rounded the keeper and scored.  

“The pass was off a few yards from where I wanted to play it, but she just came running out of nowhere,” Kirk said. “She made my ball look good.”  

Both teams possessed the ball well in midfield, but Fresno State could not generate many scoring chances. They forced Cal freshman goalkeeper Mallory Moser into just two saves. 

Through eight games now, Schott has eight goals and two assists, leading the Bears in scoring with 18 points. She’s slightly behind the pace she set last season, when she finished third in the nation with a 1.15 goals-per-game average.  

Against Fresno State, Schott had six shots overall and three shots on goal. Schott had a great chance to score in the 87th minute, when a Moser punt was deflected by a Bulldog defender right into Schott’s path, but she tried to dribble the keeper and lost the ball.  

“Sometimes she’s going to have to shoot before she dribbles the keeper,” Cal head coach Kevin Boyd laughed. “But her composure is outstanding. She gets in there and looks for the best chance she can take. She had a great game today.”


Housing Authority looking for low income tenants

By John Geluardi Daily Planet staff
Saturday September 29, 2001

 

The Berkeley Housing Authority has opened up the Section 8 waiting list as part of the agency’s aggressive attempt to add 300 households to the housing-subsidy program by April. 

In the past, the Section 8 waiting list was limited to a restricted number of applicants. Now, for the first time, the BHA has opened up the list to all qualified people who submit applications by Oct. 5. 

Furthermore, the BHA has prioritized low-income tenants who already have housing and landlords who have rental units leased below market rates.  

“Our primary focus is to locate people who are leasing units and are paying more than a third of their income on rent,” said Housing Department Director Stephen Barton, who oversees the BHA. “We also want to attract the attention of landlords who are renting to low-income tenants at below market rates because that’s a potential win, win situation.” 

Barton said a shortage of housing has turned the BHA focus to low-income tenants, living in Berkeley who are already occupying housing, because the Section 8 vouchers are not of much use if there is no available housing to occupy. 

Barton said landlords can benefit from the program by increasing their rents and avoiding Berkeley’s rent control laws. Units that are leased to Section 8 tenants are no longer subject to the rent control ordinance and can immediately begin collecting market, or close to market rents, if a current tenant qualifies for the Section 8 program.  

HUD recently increased rental subsidies on all residential units. An example of the new rental ceiling is $1,105 for one-bedroom units and $1,380 for two-bedroom units. 

“We’re very happy to see the Section 8 program is beginning to really get on the ball,” said Frank Davis, Jr., president of the Black Property Owners Association. “One thousand three hundred and eighty dollars is pretty close to what you can get on the open market, especially in west Berkeley.” 

To get the word out, the BHA has spent $40,000 for mailings, advertising and installing informational phone lines, according to a Sept. 25 BHA report.  

The BHA is anxious to issue as many Section 8 vouchers as possible by a HUD-imposed April deadline, Barton said. 

More typical of a business than a government agency, the Housing Authority receives administrative funding according to how productive it is. That is to say, that the more households that are leased under the Section 8 program, the more funding the BHA receives. The under-leasing of Section 8 units has caused the agency large budget shortfalls in recent years – last year there was a shortfall of $255,000. BHA officials said it expects a similar loss this year. 

HUD has authorized the BHA to subsidize 1,800 households, of which 1,600 can be subsidized by the BHA budget. But currently there are only 1,280 households under lease. 

If the BHA cannot add 300 Section 8 units by the April deadline, HUD will likely cut funding for the program, which will mean cutbacks in BHA staff, or worse, the BHA Board may decide to dissolve the agency and turn over the subsidized housing program to another agency such as the Alameda County Housing Authority. 

“I think this is like the last stand,” said Mayor Shirley Dean, who also sits on the BHA Board. “If we don’t get this thing worked out, it’s gone.” 

For information on the section 8 program tenants can call 981-5406 and interested landlords can call 981-5407 . For a copy of the pre-application on the Web go to www.ci.berkeley.ca.us.


Let the mayor be proud of her cutting-edge city

Maris Arnold
Saturday September 29, 2001

Editor:  

Kudos to Mayor’s staffers Tamlyn Bright and Jennifer Drapeau for adroitly handling the overwhelming number of hate calls the Mayor’s office received concerning flags on fire trucks. (Daily P, 9/26). Knowing Tamlyn and Jennifer, I’m sure they handled each call with their usual aplomb, intelligence, and patience. No small feat. 

However, I’m a little troubled by the Mayor’s statements, putting on the same level Barbara Lee’s courageous stand and the Scout skirmish in the cultural war with the anti-Muslim Daily Cal cartoon and the flap over fire truck flags, saying in effect these events cast her in a strange role when she attends national, state, and county meetings.  

I can sympathize with her receiving weird looks, but the city of Berkeley is world famous for its cutting edge social services and impassioned democratic participation by its citizenry. The mayor is, if you will, our “ambassador” to less progressive cities. I wish she’d feel proud of Berkeley’s reputation and the actions that earned it instead of feeling apologetic. 

Maris Arnold 

Berkeley


When the School Board doesn’t follow the rules....

By Judith Scherr Daily Planet editor
Saturday September 29, 2001

 

An occasional column of  

commentary about those who’d rather shine us on. 

 

 

 

When the media spews disinformation, it’s shameful. So I say to those talk-show types who blatantly lied when they told the world our mayor refused to fly the flag: love it or leave it – your jobs, you idiots. 

 

But there’s more to media disinformation, than prevarication. 

Sometimes we want to bring you the complete story, but we’re foiled by our public officials, who reveal scant or no data. 

Public agencies are required under the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, to provide specific kinds of information to the press and public and to allow the press and public presence at most meetings. 

But we have a problem getting some local officials to follow the rules. Our school leaders are a case in point. 

Remember earlier in the year when the school board flew to LA to gather information about Michele Lawrence (who has since become superintendent)? They let the public know they were going, only after they’d already gone. 

And this very day, perhaps while you’re reading your Planet over a cup of (organic fair-trade) coffee, you’re being shut out of a meeting. 

It’s a closed session. And even though the Brown Act requires an open public comment period, none appears on the agenda. 

So if you’re lucky enough to read this before 9 a.m., with your lawyer and copy of the Brown Act in tow, you might want to forgo your second cup of java and hightail it to the first minutes of the closed-door session.  

Don’t bother to go to Old City Hall, where board meetings usually take place. Head straight up to the meeting at the superintendent’s home, at 1921 San Antonio Ave. If you use a wheelchair to get around and want to comment, sorry, you’re out of luck - the home’s not accessible. (The Brown Act as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that public meetings be held in accessible locations, by the way.) 

How did the school board come to schedule the meeting without a comment period? I put a call in to School Board President Terry Doran, well known as a fighter for democracy. Referring to a public comment period, Doran, who should know better, said: “I don’t know if we’re providing that or not.” He suggested I call the superintendent’s secretary. 

Sorry, Terry, it’s not for you to decide to provide or not. It’s a public right. 

As for the Saturday meeting itself, you’ve got to wonder why it’s so sensitive that it has to be held out of the public’s sight. 

The intent, says the agenda faxed to the Daily Planet, is for a “Public employment performance evaluation: Superintendent.” 

Doran explained the closed-door session as “a work meeting.” He said “it’s something Michele suggested to get feedback.” The board plans to meet at regular intervals in closed session to provide the feedback, he said. 

Terry Francke, general counsel to the California First Amendment Coalition, pointed out that “you’re talking about the chief executive of an agency. It’s hard to imagine what is not fair game for discussion.” 

Generally, evaluations are held annually. If they are to be held more often, “I would find that highly suspect,” Francke said. “The reason for an open board meeting is that the board is to be seen grappling with the problems” of the district. 

Francke said if the superintendent wanted feedback on how she was doing, she could put in calls to the board president. 

Then there’s the question of holding the meeting at the superintendent’s house. 

“It is just my opinion,” Francke said, “a matter of appearance rather than law,” that holding the meeting at the home of the person being evaluated is “singularly strange and inappropriate.” 

“If she expects feedback, she should go to them,” he said. 

To her credit, once the Daily Planet pointed out that holding a meeting without an open comment period and in an inaccessible location was not a good thing to do, the superintendent conceded that it would probably have been better to hold a public portion of the meeting in a public and accessible place. “I didn’t think about opening up in public,” she said apologetically. 

*** 

Brown Act non-compliance is not limited to the school board, here in the city where the Free Speech movement was born. 

Take our police department, for example. 

(But before we tear into the problems of getting information from the department, I should note that, without being defensive or making excuses, Police Chief Dash Butler promised Friday to make improvements in his department in order to serve the press and public with more complete and timely public information.) 

While Terry Francke says the police should give the press “timely” information in response to their requests, it often takes days for the Planet to get the info it is seeking – usually simple stuff like what happened in the latest bank robbery. 

PIO Lt. Cynthia Harris, currently on vacation, told the Planet a week ago or so that delays often happen because her first concern is taking care of criminal investigations. 

And isn’t that as it should be?  

If I had my favorite gizmo ripped off, wouldn’t I want the good lieutenant to be meeting with her detectives on my case, rather than giving some reporter the low-down on a bank robbery. Sure I would. 

So hire a civilian as PIO, I suggested to the chief. 

But Butler said civilians wouldn’t know what information is sensitive and what could be given out.  

Maybe you could hire a smart civilian. Go figure. 

But why hire a PIO at all, Francke asked, underscoring that the very best source is the cop on the beat who’s most familiar with the crime. 

*** 

If we don’t start getting better information from the cops, and the schools don’t start opening up their meetings as they should, the Daily Planet won’t rip a page out of G. Gordon Liddy or Rush Limbaugh’s book of Anything Goes – which they used to accuse the mayor of UnAmerican activity. We’ll keep plugging away for the truth, supporting Kriss Worthington’s Sunshine Ordinance – buried for the winter in the bowels of the bureaucracy – and hope the school district has the guts to adopt it as well. 


Elected officials support Barbara Lee

Terry S. Doran, President, Berkeley School Board
Saturday September 29, 2001

Editor: 

We support Barbara Lee’s courageous and moral stand in this moment of crisis and decision.  

The loss of life at the World Trade Center, in the destroyed aircraft, and at the Pentagon is a horrifying shock to the people of the United States and of the whole world. We are united in our intention to see that those responsible for organizing this criminal action are brought to justice. 

Congresswoman Lee has appropriately cautioned us. She voted against giving the Administration a blank check. We agree with her that this is not a conventional war and that an appropriate response will not be one that takes the lives of innocent people. 

We agree with Congresswoman Lee that “this crisis involves issues of national security, foreign policy, public safety, intelligence gathering, economics, and murder. Our response must be equally multifaceted. As we act, let us not become the evil that we deplore.”  

Thank you, Barbara, for having the courage to speak these truths at the time that they most need to be spoken. 

 

Terry S. Doran, President, Berkeley School Board 

Keith Carson, Supervisor, Alameda County 

Darryl Moore, Trustee, Peralta Community College District 

John Selawsky, Director, Berkeley School Board 

Max Anderson, Commissioner, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board 

Maudelle Shirek, Vice Mayor, City of Berkeley 

Kriss Worthington, Berkeley City Council 

Linda Maio, Berkeley City Council 

Donna Spring, Berkeley City Council 

Larry Harris, Commissioner, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board 

Selma Specter, Commissioner, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board 

Stefanie Bernay, Commissioner, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board 

Marc Janowitz, Commissioner, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board 

Sharon Maldonado, Commissioner, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board 

Judy Ann Alberti, Commissioner, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board


Student district bad idea

Doris E. Willingham
Saturday September 29, 2001

Editor: 

UC Berkeley students have a new rallying cry: they want their own district. 

The vociferous proponents of this proposal appear to think that it would be perfectly democratic and fair if students were given their own fiefdom in Berkeley and thus a voice on the City Council in running the entire town. 

Most students, constituting a constantly shifting 22 percent of Berkeley’s population, come here from out of town. Their parents no doubt claim them as tax write-offs. Berkeley students are able to vote here. That vote includes the opportunity to decide on local bond and assessment measures, to which the multitudes of eager student voters never have to contribute a penny. 

The Berkeley City Council should think long and hard about this issue. Do we need another “Only in Berkeley” here? 

 

Doris E. Willingham 

Berkeley


Back on planes, fear of racial profiling remains

By Sasha Khokha, Special to the Daily Planet
Saturday September 29, 2001

 

 

Bulent Altan put on his Planet Hollywood T-shirt Thursday to make sure no one thought he was a terrorist. 

Then Altan, a 24-year old native of Turkey, boarded a plane bound for Germany heading on a month-long trip. Like other passengers of Middle Eastern, South Asian, or West Asian descent, he feared he would be regarded with increased suspicion in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.  

He decided to make the trip anyway. 

“I definitely don’t change my plans for terrorist attacks,” said Altan, who lives in South Berkeley. In Turkey, he said, terrorism was a regular threat. 

Speaking to a crowd of travelers at O’Hare airport yesterday, President Bush urged Americans to support the failing airline industry. He told the public to “get on the airlines, get about the business of America.” 

But for travelers who may be perceived as Arab-American, the business of getting on an airplane may be more daunting. Bay Area travelers of Middle-Eastern or South Asian descent have experienced a range of emotions when it comes to air travel. Some, like Altan, said they won’t let a fear of scapegoating change their travel plans. Others said they have been reluctant to board airplanes since Sept. 11. Psychologists said these are all normal responses for those facing heightened discrimination. 

“It’s a dilemma for people who are targets of stereotypes,” said Clark McKown, a faculty fellow in the Psychology Department at UC Berkeley who specializes in the psychology of stereotyping. He said some people “choose to accommodate the environment” by limiting their activities to avoid situations where they face discrimination. Others move ahead with business as usual, deciding to express “their ethnic identity in a clear way and risk being targets of discrimination.” 

“It’s a dilemma that people of color have faced in different contexts,” said McKown, who compared the current situation for Arab-Americans to the climate Japanese-Americans faced during World War II.  

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted last week found that a majority of Americans favor requiring Arabs, including U.S. citizens, to undergo “separate, more intensive security procedures at airports.” About half of those polled support the idea that Arabs, even U.S. citizens, should carry special identification. 

But in recent weeks, suspicion has also been cast on Americans who are not of Arab descent. 

“I was afraid of what I was going to confront,” said Gurvinder Singh, 36, who said he has been under intense stress since the attacks. “I am a Sikh, I wear a turban, I have a beard.”  

Singh flies from Chino to the Bay Area weekly for work. He was in Santa Clara when the attack happened, and drove the nearly 400-mile trip home. He refused to get on a plane the following week. 

Singh’s fears were not unfounded. Since Sept. 11, pilots on several flights have ordered South Asian or Middle Eastern passengers to deplane because the crew “felt unsafe.” Helal Omeira, Executive Director of the Northern California Council on American-Islamic relations, said he was working to find legal counsel for a mother and child who were removed from a flight at San Jose Airport last week. 

Jo Murray, a spokesperson for Oakland Airport, said she was not aware of any incidents in which passengers were asked to get off aircrafts. 

Omeira said that such removals are embarrassing for passengers, who are usually released after questioning. “It’s just humiliating, because there’s nothing to hide,” said Omeira.  

“They find out that this guy grew up in California, or was born here, or that this woman has a head scarf on because she’s exercising freedom of religion.” 

Singh echoed Omeira’s statement. “When I took my oath and became an American citizen, it came from my heart,” he said.  

Singh said he considered changing jobs to avoid frequent air travel.  

“But for a person who looks as I do in the eyes of so many fellow Americans, I had to ask myself, ‘Am I going to be able to find another job?’” he said. 

Then, he had to ask himself a harder question, one he said every Sikh-American asked in the wake of the attacks. “Do Sikhs fit into America anymore?” 

Omeira said his group had received “a lot of pre-emptive calls” from Muslim travelers seeking advice as they headed to the airport.  

“I tell them to be very forthcoming with information, to answer all the questions,” he said. Omeira recommends Arab-American travelers arrive four or five hours in advance of their flights to “give law enforcement the necessary time to do what they need to do.”  

But he said, he prays and hopes any questioning “is not racially motivated.”  

Jerry Snyder, spokesperson from the Western Regional office of the Federal Aviation Administration, said that although strict security measures are in place, none are “aimed or directed at any ethnic group in any way, shape, or form.” He said that it is not in the FAA’s jurisdiction to require any sensitivity training for security personnel. 

Omeira said he expects air travel to pick up among Arab-Americans. “We all have our reasons for flying,” he said. “We all have family that we want to see.” 

He plans to visit his mother in Oklahoma for Thanksgiving.  

“I can’t think of a reason on this planet that would keep me away from my mom,” he said. 


Police Briefs

Staff
Saturday September 29, 2001

On Wednesday, members of California Peace Action, an anti-war group, reported that their group had received several hateful e-mails over the last few weeks, some of which may have risen to the level of threats. 

Police said that the group received two threatening messages on Sept. 13 and another on Tuesday. The first two messages included passages such as “Outfits like yours should be reduced to rubble,” “You disgust me to the core of my being,” and, simply, “Die.” 

The third e-mail contained nothing in its body, but its subject header read, “Be careful what you do, you may not like the results.” 

Sgt. Kay Lantow of the BPD said that the messages were all sent from different e-mail servers. 

“The number of these messages doesn’t compare to the overwhelming number of e-mails in support of what we’re doing,” said Andrew Page, Northern California director of Peace Action. 

Page said that while the messages were somewhat disturbing, they are not nearly so disturbing as the “race crimes” being committed across the country. 

“This doesn’t compare to the actual hate crimes against Arab Americans that are occurring,” he said. “We’re just trying to cover our butts.” 

*** 

Also on Wednesday, a woman who lives on the 1000 block of Cedar Street reported that her American flag had been vandalized. 

The officer who responded to the call noted that he had seen the flag on the victim’s wooden fence during the previous week. He reported that it had since been ripped down and stomped into the dirt, leaving it ripped and full of holes. 

The police have no suspects.


Car questions beget car answers in the world of Tom and Ray

By Tom and Ray Magliozzi
Saturday September 29, 2001

Dear Tom and Ray: 

I am horizontally and vertically challenged. Yep, that's right - I'm fat. I am as tall as I am wide (5 feet 3 inches in both directions). I would like a no-nonsense practical car like a Camry or an Accord, but I have discovered that they don't have enough room for ALL of me. I test drove a '94 Lexus this weekend, and it, too, left me looking for more room (although the car was so beautiful, I wouldn't mind if half my rear dragged out the front door, but the neighbors might!). The practical side of me would like a car that is about a year or two old, reliable and roomy. I can only spend about $18,000. What would you suggest? - Isabel 

TOM: Well, Isabel, we have a friend, children's author Daniel Pinkwater, who has similar problems. He refers to himself as "circumferentially challenged." 

RAY: I don't know if he's quite as wide as you are (or even if YOU'RE quite as wide as you suggest), but his biggest problem was always getting himself in and out of cars. 

TOM: No. His biggest problem was always getting anyone to buy his books. But getting in and out of cars was a close second. 

RAY: Then he called us one day and said he'd found the car of his dreams. It's a VW New Beetle. We were kind of skeptical, since we think of that as a small car. But according to Daniel, it's got very big doors, nice, big door openings and a tremendous amount of room inside due to its unusual "bubble" shape. He didn't say anything about the size of the seat itself. But I presume that if it can contain Daniel without a breach, it can probably hold you, too. 

TOM: And it happens to sell for about $18,000 brand new. So I think the Beetle is definitely worth a "test sit." 

RAY: If the Beetle's seat does prove too small, then I'd suggest you look at a few cars that come with bench seats in the front. In that category are the Toyota Avalon, the Ford Crown Victoria and the Mercury Gran Marquis - any of which can be had used for $18,000. And I've never seen anyone NOT be able to fit on a bench seat. 

TOM: And when your search is complete, post a note in the Special Needs Zone of our Web site (the Car Talk section of www.cars.com) so that other overextended people can benefit from your experience. Best of luck, Isabel.  

 

*** 

 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

My wife drives a Toyota Camry. Recently, it was stolen from in front of our house and abandoned, rather banged up. The locks, however, were undamaged. The cop said Camrys are so common that car thieves have master keys for them. Yikes! It's very disturbing to think that anyone who wants to can just get in our car and drive off. My wife feels that a good solution would be to replace our Camry's locks with a set of locks from a '78 Pinto or some car that thieves are unlikely to have keys for. How tough would that be for a mechanic to do? --Jacob 

RAY: Well, it's true that master keys are available. In fact, I have a set of them at the garage that allows me to get into just about any car. We have them on hand for those not-so-rare occasions when customers lock their keys in their cars. 

TOM: At least that's his story, and he's sticking with it. 

RAY: The keys are made of plastic or thin-gauge metal -- and there's usually a different one for each manufacturer. They work better on some cars than on others. Some locks require patience and a bit of careful jiggling, and some locks are nearly impossible to open. Unfortunately for you, the Camry is one of the easier ones. 

TOM: And I agree with you that it's unconscionable that, for about a hundred bucks, some enterprising teen-ager can get his hands on a set of master keys like this. 

RAY: Unfortunately, installing a lock from a different car isn't easy -- whether it's on the door or the ignition. Most locks are not interchangeable and won't fit other cars. The more cost-effective thing to do is to get an alarm system with an ignition-kill device. Or a deadly snake. 

TOM: And more importantly, you need a decal that lets people know that you HAVE an alarm system ... or the aforementioned deadly snake. You want potential thieves to see your decal, decide it's not worth it and go on to another car. Because even if they realize once they get in that they can't start your car, they might vandalize it in frustration. 

RAY: In fact, if you could buy JUST the warning decals, that would probably be enough. 

TOM: Hey, we should sell them. A set of four for $39.95. They could say: "Warning, Please Do Not Feed My Anaconda." 

 

*** 

 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

How do automatic gas-pump nozzles know when the car's gas tank is almost full, and therefore when to shut off? This question has bothered me since I was 16 and gas was two bits a gallon -- neither of which is true anymore. -- Ross 

RAY: Great question, Ross. The nozzle uses a simple mechanism that's been around for decades. 

TOM: Basically, there's a little hole near the end of the nozzle. You can look for it the next time you fill up. And attached to that hole is a tube that's connected to the handle. 

RAY: When gasoline is flowing freely (i.e., when the tank is not full), the moving liquid creates a vacuum as it pours into the tank, and air gets sucked freely through that tube. But as the tank gets full, the vacuum is reduced. 

TOM: And there's a mechanical, vacuum-activated switch in the handle that -- get this -- senses when the vacuum reaches a critical low point and then switches off the gas flow. 

RAY: This system is far superior to the previous method used to determine when the tank was full. My brother remembers using that system. 

TOM: Yeah, when you felt the gasoline trickle down your pant leg into your shoes, you knew it was just past time to stop squeezing the handle.  

 

*** 

 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

I need your help in solving a problem that really has me stumped. My 1992 Nissan Sentra has a few strange habits, most of which I can live with -- but not this one: When the car sits in the sun with the windows closed, it just will not start. I turn the key and get absolutely nothing. If I open the window and wait about five minutes, it starts up just fine. I replaced the battery, the starter and the battery cables. Nothing worked. Then I took it to a shop, and the mechanic wanted to replace the battery, the starter and the battery cables. Naturally, I declined. It started fine all winter. But now every time I go to the beach, it won't start. -- Erik 

TOM: You gave us two excellent hints, Erik. Now, wouldn't it be impressive if we could actually put them to some intelligent use? 

RAY: It would, wouldn't it? Well, one hint is that it's related to high temperatures inside the passenger compartment. So that would limit it to parts located where, Tommy? 

TOM: Inside the passenger compartment! 

RAY: Very good. And the second hint is that absolutely nothing happens when Erik turns the key. And that means what? 

TOM: It means Erik's sleeping on the beach tonight. 

RAY: Thank you, Dick Tracy. It means it's got to be a part that can completely interrupt current to the starter, because otherwise you'd get at least some sound or hear some effort by the car to start. 

TOM: So my guess is that it's a bad ignition switch. 

RAY: Good guess, but probably wrong. My guess is a bad clutch interlock. Assuming this car has a stick shift (you don't say, but many Sentras of this vintage do), there's a switch on the clutch pedal that prevents you from starting the engine unless the pedal is fully depressed. My guess is that the contacts are being affected by the extreme heat. 

TOM: It's an easy thing to test, Erik. Have your mechanic remove the clutch interlock and just shunt those two wires together -- taking the interlock completely out of the circuit. If the problem goes away, have him install a new clutch interlock (it's cheap), and you'll be all set. 

RAY: Just be careful during the test period, when you're driving around without a clutch interlock. You'll be able to start the car with the transmission in gear. And your delight in having the car actually start might dissipate quickly as you realize you just "started it" into a sand dune. 


Slower growth in Silicon Valley could lessen strain on resources

By Colleen Valles, Associated Press Writer
Saturday September 29, 2001

SAN JOSE — With the high-tech industry settling down and the economy slowing, Silicon Valley can expect slower growth over the next 10 years, according to a study released Friday. 

That should lessen the strain Silicon Valley’s meteoric growth has put on the availability and quality of resources, such as water, air and open space. But in order to ensure that trend continues, local businesses must shift their focus — from using the resources to build the hub of the high-tech industry to making sure the resources continue to be available and to maintain their quality, according to the report by the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group. 

From 1990 to 2000, the population of Silicon Valley, which encompasses parts of four counties, grew 12.6 percent to 2,370,120 people. By 2010, the growth rate is expected to be only 10.8 percent for a total of 2,625,219 people. 

The slower growth means communities will be better able to help their infrastructure, such as water and sewage lines, transportation systems and schools, keep pace with development, according to the report. But it still has a potential to harm the environment. 

“Just because our growth is declining doesn’t automatically mean it’s better for the environment,” said Joyce Taylor, Bay Area Regional president of Pacific Bell and member of the manufacturing group. 

If special attention isn’t paid to air and water, the protection of open space and the reduction of waste, then air and water quality could be severely diminished, habitat for species could be threatened, and landfills could become crowded and toxic. The report advocates monitoring these aspects of growth over the next 10 years. 

“This growth puts significant constraint on air, water and land resources,” Taylor said. “As we continue to improve our infrastructure, we need to make sure these improvements don’t negatively impact the environment.” 

Air quality officials in Silicon Valley have not yet presented state and federal regulatory agencies with an acceptable plan for cleaning up the air. The Bay Area could lose more than $1 billion in federal highway funds for 30 projects if it doesn’t come up with a plan that meets approval. 

Water is scarce and many of the region’s waterways are polluted by metal particles, oil, pesticides, debris and other contaminants. 

The report cites possible ways to sustain air and water resources, such as telecommuting and increased use of public transportation for air quality, and recycling water. 

“Industry has an incentive to be more sustainable because it benefits them economically,” said Terry Watt, of the Silicon Valley Conservation Council. 

Some businesses already use these tactics, and doing more will actually help companies because they’ll have more resources to draw from, Watt said. 


State utilities expect natural gas bills lower than last winter

By Karen Gaudette, Associated Press Writer
Saturday September 29, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — Natural gas prices are dropping nationwide, and two California utilities say their customers can expect substantially lower heating bills — a relief after gas bills exploded last winter by as much as 150 percent. 

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and Southern California Gas Co. both said Friday that increased drilling for natural gas and a boost in underground storage mean their customers can expect October gas bills to fall by up to half from last year’s levels. Between them, the two utilities deliver natural gas to more than 20 million customers. 

“The indications are that we’re seeing a downward trend in natural gas prices,” said Christy Dennis, a PG&E spokeswoman. 

In PG&E’s territory, residential customers with average use can expect to pay $14.33 for around 30 therms of natural gas in October, down from $28.77 last year. PG&E did not have breakdowns based on home size, nor an exact bill forecast for the rest of winter. 

The average single family in Southern California Gas’s territory can expect to pay less than $60 per month for about 75 therms of natural gas, down from $80 for the same amount last winter. For apartment dwellers, that’s about $25 — as opposed to $35 during the same months last year, said Denise King, a spokeswoman for Sempra Energy, parent company of SoCal Gas and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. 

Those low prices likely will carry through the winter months of November through February, both utilities predicted. SDG&E, which serves 740,000 natural gas customers in San Diego and north Orange counties, did not have its forecast available Friday morning. 

Analysts said prices have reached their current lows — after being the nation’s highest last year — because inventories are high. 

The futures market for wholesale gas suggests prices will rise gradually over the next two years. Prices could climb again as early as next summer as more gas fired-power plants begin running, said Greg Haas, an equity analyst in the Houston office of the investment brokerage firm Raymond James. 

Several factors conspired to boost natural gas prices last winter. 

Unusually cold weather caused consumers to crank up the heat, boosting demand. Drought-like conditions in the Northwest meant California could import less electricity from hydroelectric dams, forcing natural gas-fired power plants to churn out more megawatts by burning more supply. 

In addition, the state Public Utilities Commission, PG&E, and other natural gas sellers have accused natural gas marketer El Paso Corp. of driving up gas prices by preventing competitors from moving California-bound natural gas along its pipeline. El Paso maintains it did nothing illegal. 

A Federal Energy Regulatory Commission judge will soon decide whether there was wrongdoing and advise FERC commissioners in early October whether California gas customers are due refunds. 

 


Test scoring error sends reward money to the wrong schools

AP
Saturday September 29, 2001

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The state Department of Education may have to reclaim $750,000 it mistakenly awarded to San Joaquin Valley schools after a scoring error on a standardized test. 

The publisher of the Stanford 9 achievement test said scores were inflated because it measured the results of about 19,000 students on last year’s test against the wrong national sample. 

The money, which was awarded for improvement on the test, was erroneously sent to six public schools and more money was supposed to go to 16 schools where staff members expected bonuses up to $25,000. 

Teachers are upset about the prospect of having to return cash they received for achieving certain goals on the test. 

“We have some mad people,” said Scott Bishop, a high school math teacher and president of the Kerman Unified teachers union in Fresno County where teachers received nearly $600 each. “That’s a lot of money.” 

State Department of Education officials are looking into whether it can allow schools to keep the money they received and whether it can be reimbursed by test publisher Harcourt Educational Measurement. 

“We know that teachers have cashed these checks; we know schools are using this money,” said Paul Warren, the state’s deputy superintendent for accountability. “It would be difficult to ask for it back. We’re trying to find a solution that creates as little upset as possible.” 

Harcourt said it plans to work with the state to resolve the issue that arose when a Central Valley school district expressed concerns about test scores. 

Harcourt reported scores as if the students had taken the test in December rather than the following spring when they would have had more instruction. 

The Stanford 9 is the basis for the state’s testing and accountability program and is the sole criterion for ranking schools and determining their eligibility for taxpayer-funded rewards. 

The six schools that erroneously received money were all in Fresno County; five are in Reedley and one is in Kerman. 

Some teachers and administrators, who are critical of the rewards program want to see it dismantled. 

“We were seeing some divisiveness as a result of that program,” said Jean Fetterhoff, superintendent of Kings Canyon Joint Unified. “If I’m working really hard in a classroom for the right reasons and my kids don’t happen to test very well, but I see a neighbor across the district that is receiving big bucks for what I’m doing, there is a sense of unfairness about that.” 


Female state senator doesn’t celebrate women’s suffrage

By John Hanna, Associated Press Writer
Saturday September 29, 2001

TOPEKA, Kan. — A female state senator says she views women’s suffrage as a sign that American society doesn’t value the family enough but she wouldn’t deprive women of the vote. 

Sen. Kay O’Connor on Friday confirmed reports that she told leaders of the Johnson County League of Women Voters she does not celebrate the enactment of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which gave women the right to vote. 

“We have a society that does tear families apart,” said O’Connor. “I think the 19th Amendment, while it’s not an evil in and of itself, is a symptom of something I don’t approve of.” 

O’Connor, 59, who describes herself as an “old-fashioned conservative lady,” serves as vice chairwoman of the Senate Elections and Local Government Committee. 

She says she believes women should have the right to cast their ballot but if men were doing their job of taking care of women and children, then women wouldn’t be required to vote. 

“The 19th Amendment is around because men weren’t doing their jobs, and I think that’s sad,” she said. “I believe the man should be the head of the family. The woman should be the heart of the family.” 

O’Connor, one of the Legislature’s most conservative members on social issues, has said she was forced into the workplace because of her ailing daughter’s medical bills. 

She is serving her first year in the Senate after having served eight years in the House. 

Delores Furtado, co-president of the Johnson County League of Women Voters, told The Kansas City Star she asked the 59-year-old Republican to the league’s “Celebrate the Right to Vote” luncheon, and O’Connor responded: “You probably wouldn’t want me there because of what I would have to say.” 

Furtado said she was shocked because as a state senator “she is the beneficiary of a system she doesn’t support.” 

Thirteen of the Kansas Senate’s 40 members are women, and 10 are Republicans. In the House, women hold 40 of 125 seats, and they include 23 Republicans. 

“It takes both genders to cover the wide variety of issues in state government,” said Republican Senate Majority Leader Lana Oleen. “Kansans didn’t start out as homemakers. They started out as pioneer women.” 

O’Connor said she did not fear any reprisals for making her views known. 

“If I don’t get re-elected, my only punishment is to go home to my husband and my roses and my children and my grandchildren,” she said. “And if the trips to Topeka get to be too much and my husband asks me to quit I would.” 

Still, two statewide officeholders said she should resign and the chairman of the state GOP repudiated her remarks, while saying that the party doesn’t intend to censure her because she’s entitled to her opinion. 

“She should resign, so she can give her seat to someone who believes in the right of everyone to vote,” said Attorney General Carla Stovall, a Republican. 

Legislative leaders say they weren’t planning any action against O’Connor. 

“I admire her for the courage of her convictions; I just can’t imagine anyone in 2001 having those convictions,” said state Rep. Bill Reardon, a Democrat. 


Jury awards $100 million to plaintiffs who sued drug-maker over heartburn medicine

By Deborah Bulkeley, Associated Press Writer
Saturday September 29, 2001

PORT GIBSON, Miss. — A jury awarded $100 million Friday to plaintiffs who claimed a drug-maker pushed sales of a heartburn drug even as the federal government moved to ban it. 

Jurors returned the verdict after less than three hours of deliberations in the $1.2 billion lawsuit against drug-maker Janssen and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson. Plaintiffs said they suffered from anxiety, heart conditions and other health problems after using Propulsid. 

The trial was the first in the nation involving Propulsid. Hundreds of other suits are pending nationwide. 

During closing arguments, plaintiffs’ lawyer Jim Shannon said the drug maker changed Propulsid labels five times since 1994 to keep damaging information from the public. He said the companies also launched a marketing campaign to spur sales of the drug two years before it was taken off the market. 

“The quality of their life has been damaged,” Shannon said. “That’s what this is all about — 10 human beings and what happened to them just because a corporation wanted to make money.” 

Robert Johnson III, the drug makers’ lead attorney, said many of the plaintiffs had health problems unrelated to Propulsid and the manufacturer itself alerted the government to potential problems. 

“Janssen provided that information,” Johnson said. “They have 10,000 employees who are good people who work for a company that has been saving people’s lives.” 

Propulsid has been linked to 80 deaths. Janssen took it off the shelves in 2000, but it is still used in limited cases. 

The trial was for the original 10 plaintiffs, out of a total of 155. Each was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages. Circuit Judge Lamar Pickard set a hearing on possible punitive damages Saturday. 


Defense spending to favor spying, communication over bombs

By Gary Gentile, AP Business Writer
Saturday September 29, 2001

LOS ANGELES — In the nation’s “new kind of war” on terrorism, defense spending is likely to focus as much on information and surveillance as bombs and bullets. 

Unlike previous conflicts, which relied heavily tanks, fighter jets and ships, a prolonged campaign against terrorists will place increased emphasis on an electronic battlefield that will require sensors and software, analysts said. 

Companies such as Northrop Grumman Co., which is developing a long-range unmanned surveillance vehicle and has invested heavily in electronic warfare systems, should benefit. Other contractors building the next generation of satellite-guided missiles and sensitive snooping devices also will play a role. 

“This is a new war that will require new weapons,” said John Kutler, chairman and chief executive officer of Quarterdeck Investment Partners, a Los Angeles investment bank that focuses on aerospace and defense. “The Pentagon has been paying lip service over the past 10 years to its need to find a new mission in the post-Cold War environment. Unfortunately, it didn’t find the mission. The mission found it.” 

It’s too early to predict which companies and which weapons systems will be funded until the administration outlines the scope of its military response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Bush, two days after the attacks, said “a new kind of war” had been declared on the United States and added, “My resolve is steady and strong about winning this war.” 

Analysts said the new kind of warfare will rely more than ever on collecting and interpreting data, then communicating that information quickly and securely to troops in the field. That need is even greater if the United States attacks countries with few stationary military targets such as missile silos or bases. 

Companies including General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., which makes the Predator unmanned spy plane, and Raytheon, which makes radar systems and cruise missiles, should benefit. 

Bullets and bombs will still be needed to fight a sustained war, especially if ground troops are used to invade countries that harbor terrorists, analysts said. Money to upgrade existing weapons systems already was part of the Defense Department’s budget plans before the terrorist attacks. 

“During the Kosovo air war, we almost ran out of stuff to drop,” said John Williams, a spokesman for the National Defense Industrial Association, a trade group. “Munitions are probably the first thing, depending on how massively we want to do this and what the eventual targets are.” 

Congress will soon receive a Pentagon review of military spending, which should reveal the defense department’s priorities for the next four years. 

The Senate is considering a request for $343 billion for Defense and Energy department needs. The spending bill already has passed the House after legislators there diverted some money President Bush wanted for his missile-defense program to counterterrorism efforts. 

And an announcement on the next generation fighter plane, the joint strike fighter, should be made within the next month. Boeing and Lockheed Martin are competing for the contract. 

Other weapons programs, including a next-generation unmanned spy plane from Grumman, the Global Hawk, and computer warfare systems that can protect domestic computer networks and attack enemy systems, also are likely to receive funding. 

The Defense Department doubled spending for the Global Hawk program in its 2002 budget. The remote-controlled plane, with a wingspan comparable to a Boeing 737, will carry more surveillance equipment and systems designed to track moving targets than similar aircraft now in use. 

Grumman also is developing an unmanned combat craft called Pegasus, which will carry missiles and other weapons. Boeing is working on a similar system. Both are in the early testing stages. 

In March, the U.S. Air Force bought seven more Predators and signed an option for another seven, bringing the total number in service to 79. General Atomics is working on a jet-powered Predator that will carry more equipment and fly at higher altitudes, above the range of enemy fire. 

The Defense Department’s research arm also is working on a system to allow surveillance planes or satellites to track moving targets, something existing bombs and missiles cannot do with precision. The system uses airborne radar that tracks a target and provides the information immediately to missiles in flight. 

In addition to large, well-known contractors, a number of smaller firms, called special access defense companies, are conducting classified research on cyber warfare, analysts said. 

Companies involved in this area will discuss only their efforts to defend commercial and military computer systems against what Grumman chief executive officer Kent Kresa called an electronic Pearl Harbor in a speech last year. 

But analysts said the Defense Department is likely developing cyber warfare weapons of its own, designed to confound enemy weapons and scramble enemy communications. 

“There are people working to prevent terrorist hackers,” said Jacques Gansler, a University of Maryland professor and undersecretary of defense in the Clinton Administration. “On the other end of the spectrum, there are people working on highly classified offensive and defensive information warfare systems. On the offensive side, they can give false information or prevent (enemy) systems from working.” 

Computer Sciences Corp. of El Segundo declined to say whether it was working on such projects. But the company does provide software to protect military and civilian computer systems from intrusion, a service expected to play a pivotal role as the newly established Cabinet-level office of Homeland Security gets organized. 

“Cyber defense will be a part of the homeland defense,” said Thomas Burke, director of information assurance for CSC. 

 

 


Keep notes on today’s garden to help you grow tomorrow’s

By George Bria, Associated Press Writer
Saturday September 29, 2001

POUND RIDGE, N.Y. — Sooner or later a gardener finds the need to keep a journal. From simple jottings in a notebook to entries in a computer database, today’s diary helps to grow tomorrow’s garden. 

No garden is like another and thus a journal is especially valuable in recording what happens in your own. When do your flowers bloom or your vegetables mature? Knowing the dates lets you create a garden that flowers in spring, summer and fall and keeps fresh vegetables on the table through the seasons. 

What’s the weather like each day? When did rabbit, raccoon or deer last get over or through the fence? 

To aid you in crop rotation, keep track of where you plant your tomatoes, corn or beans each year. Moving them around makes for healthier plants. And your records show whether your harvests from perennials like asparagus and raspberries are in good shape or if the plants need help. You might think your tomatoes are late, but looking in your journal you find they’re actually early compared to two years ago. 

Also, you can record where you bought plants, seeds, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, their performance and their cost. 

Thomas Jefferson, a tireless gardener, started a journal when he was only 22. His first note, written in Virginia on March 30, 1766, said, “purple hyacinth begins to bloom.” He kept such brief reminders even when he was president. All of these, together with his garden correspondence and writings, are preserved in Thomas Jefferson’s Garden Book, published by the American Philosophical Society, Independence Square, Philadelphia. 

Always interested in new technology, Jefferson would likely have welcomed and experimented with today’s gardening software, which helps you keep a many-sided gardening journal, including even video and design. You can buy ready-made programs or craft your own from generic database applications. A big plus in a computerized journal is the search facility, enabling you to find an old record instantly. 

If you want to try out software, a Canadian firm offers one that you can download online or mail-order cheaply. Go to www.gardeners-shop.com/GardenersJournal/Index.html or write to Marco Software, 9 Cellini Court, Ottawa, Ontario, K1G 5J7, Tel. (613) 247-1336. 

Over the years, I’ve kept records with programs like that one and designed my own database, but settled finally with just doing the job with my word processor. I print them out at the end of the year, thus having both a paper and an electronic record. The beauty, of course, is that you can edit as you go along. 

Jottings do the job, too, but your handwriting better be good if you expect to read them next year. 

 


White is a versatile color in the flower garden

By Lee Reich, AP Weekly Features
Saturday September 29, 2001

White flowers and leaves are not the first things that come to mind when planning a colorful garden. Nonetheless, they can really spruce up a flower bed. 

White mixes well with all colors and makes for harmonious transitions between colors that would otherwise clash. Picture a mass of red zinnias next to some blue lobelias. Disturbing, isn’t it? Put an island of white, perhaps something soft such as baby’s breath, between the zinnias and lobelias and they peacefully coexist. Use the soft whites of flowers, or plants with grayish leaves, to harmonize a garden’s many hues. 

White not only pacifies clashes, it also adds zest to already bright colors. The flowers of rose campion are pink-magenta, but they sparkle even more brightly against the plant’s silvery-white leaves. The same goes for the white, woolly leaves of dusty miller, which highlight bright red geraniums or blue salvias. 

White flowers also are useful for cheering up dark areas. White alyssum can brighten up a somber row of yews, and night-blooming white flowers, such as moonflower and nicotiana, seem to glow through the night. 

Although white flowers are useful as complements in a garden, they can also stand on their own. The different textures and shapes offer infinite variety: dainty lilies-of-the-valley, sunny daisies, corpulent peonies, eerie angel’s trumpets, spires of hollyhocks and spidery cleomes. There is also a broad range of white shades: a beige lily, a yellowish-white marigold, a bluish-white anemone, a greenish-white hydrangea. 

The renowned British writer and gardener Vita Sackville-West (1892-1962) planted a garden of only white flowers at her Sissinghurst Castle garden. The overcast, misty climate of Sackville-West’s England puts an extra glow into white flowers. On this side of the Atlantic, however, bright and sunny afternoons often wash the life out of whites. Here, whites are reliably at their best in the soft light of morning or evening. 


News from around the state related to the terrorist attacks

By The Associated Press
Saturday September 29, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden Gate Bridge will reopen to pedestrian and bike traffic Monday, but for reduced hours. 

The bridge’s walkways and bike lanes will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. said Mary Currie, a bridge spokeswoman. she said it will remain closed during night hours for security reasons, as it has been since the this month’s terrorist attacks. 

Patrols by the California Highway Patrol and Coast Guard will continue, Currie said. The bridge will also keep running a bike shuttle service when the span is closed to bikes and pedestrians. 

Also reopening will be Vista Point on the bridge’s north side, as well as the southeast lot. 

*** 

SAN FRANCISCO — The FBI has requested the records of all 736 foreign students at Fresno State University, said California State University spokeswoman Colleen Bentley-Adler. 

Colleges and universities statewide have been approached by federal agents for records of specific students who are believed to be tied to this month’s terrorist attacks. 

At least one man, Ramez Noaman, has been taken into custody, Bentley-Adler said. Noaman was a student at California Polytechnic State University at Pomona since 1999 and also was taking business courses at San Diego State in fall of 2000. 

In the Bay Area, at least three schools — California State University at Hayward, Chabot Community College and the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo — have turned over students’ records. 

Seven of the 23 California State University campuses — Hayward, Maritime Academy, Fresno, Dominguez Hills, Fullerton, Pomona and San Diego— have been asked for student records. 

At most of the campuses, aside from the blanket request for records at Fresno and a request for records on 17 students at the Maritime Academy, the FBI asked for records for only one or two students, Bentley-Adler said. 

*** 

SARATOGA — Hundreds of South Bay residents awoke early Thursday morning to the sound of an aircraft that many feared was a terrorist attack. 

The plane was harmless, performing an annual check of electrical emissions from utility lines. The yearly check is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission. 

But emergency switchboards were inundated with 911 calls starting about 3 a.m. 

“We thought for sure it was a crop duster because it kept dipping and popping up, dipping and popping up,” said Lori Fox, a Saratoga resident. “We all started closing our windows and thought, ’This is it.”’ 

Chris Duros, owner of Flight Trax since 1989, said the airplane was flying at night because air space is far less congested. 

The plane covered an area in the South Bay that included Saratoga and neighboring cities. 

Fox said residents should have received prior notice of the flight. 

*** 

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE — The military has canceled next month’s open house and air show due to safety, security and workload requirements. 

“While it’s important to provide American taxpayers demonstrations of current air power capabilities, conducting an open house safely at this time would divert critical resources from the war on terrorism,” base commander Maj. Gen. Doug Pearson said. 

The open house and air show were scheduled for Oct. 20-21. It annually draws up to 500,000 weekend spectators. 

The air show is among more than half a dozen others that have been canceled since the Sept. 11 attacks. 

*** 

INDIO — Rep. Mary Bono told elementary school students that the United States war on terrorism was genuine and the government is committed to “bring the bad guys to justice.” 

Bono, R-Palm Springs, on Thursday praised President Bush for building an international coalition to fight terrorism and his plan to beef up airport security while pushing Congress for a $15 billion bailout package for the cash-strapped airlines. 

“The most important thing is to tell these bad people that this is going to stop, and we’re going to make them stop,” Bono told about 40 students, teachers and parents gathered at Mountain Vista Elementary School. 

Principal Ann Reinhagen said parents are alarmed about reports that the terrorists may be considering chemical weapons in their attacks. Bono said officials were “starting to look at where we might be vulnerable and how we can protect our water and the air we breathe.” 

“I think our preparation has been lacking in the past,” Bono said. “I think we all knew terrorism would rear its head on American soil in the next 20 years. It just came a little sooner than we were prepared for.” 

*** 

LOS ANGELES — Firefighters have been selling up to 20,000 aluminum bracelets each day in a fund-raising effort for fallen heroes in New York. 

When city firefighter Kevin Lowe and Orange County firefighter Ray Hoffman initially ordered 3,000 bracelets, they wondered if they would be able to get rid of all of them. 

“That turned out not to be an issue at all,” Lowe said. 

Just days after word spread about the fund-raising effort, Lowe and Hoffman were selling 20,000 bracelets a day and by Thursday they had raised $300,000. 

“Our mail order is astronomical; we are receiving phone calls from all over the country,” Lowe said. “Our current manufacturer is producing 20,000 a day, and it’s not enough to deal with the demand.” 

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, Hoffman telephoned Lowe to remind him about a Newport Beach police officer shot and killed a few years ago. Fellow officers had bracelets made, which were then sold to raise money for the fallen officer’s family. 

The brief brainstorming session soon led to the order for red, anodized aluminum bracelets, which are inscribed with two crossed axes, and the words: In Memory of our Fallen Heroes F.D.N.Y. 9-11-01. 

Money raised goes directly to the wives and children of the New York firefighters who died. 

“Fire departments and other agencies are like one big family,” Lowe said. 

*** 

SANTA BARBARA — Muslim students are heading home. 

Santa Barbara City College student Sari Asiri, who was beaten unconscious last week by two strangers, is returning to Saudi Arabia on Saturday. College officials said he was leaving at the urging of his parents, who fear for his safety. 

The 21-year-old was slashed and knocked out in as he walked on Calle Real on Sept. 17, a week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. There were no arrests. 

The beating led other area foreign students to leave. 

Mesfer Alkaltham, a 26-year-old Saudi Arabian in the University of California, Santa Barbara, Extension-International Program, said he was cutting short a scholarship from his government to go back home. 

“Before, my family was happy for me to be here to get a higher education. But first you have to have the essential things in life, such as food, shelter and safety. Now we miss the basic things,” Alkaltham said. 

At City College, four students — two from Kuwait, one from Jordan and one from Saudi Arabia — are also leaving, said Derrick Banks, director of the international students support program at the school. There are still about 20 Middle Eastern students at City College. 

In addition, about 15 Middle Eastern students from Chico State University have withdrawn. Another five students from non-Arab countries have also withdrawn, including a Brazilian student whose mother was afraid. 

——— 

LONG BEACH — It turned out legendary flag-waver Thomas “Ski” Demski’s giant Old Glory was a poor fit at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport event featuring President Bush. 

Demski, known for his massive American flags that have flown at monuments and stadiums across the United States, traveled to Chicago late Tuesday after he was asked to bring one of his flags for display at O’Hare. 

Created in honor of the release of American hostages from Iran in 1981, the flag measures 47 feet by 82 feet and weighs 127 pounds. Demski said organizers didn’t provide a big enough space for the flag. 

“We were only able to unfurl the field, and maybe one stripe,” Demski said. 

He later packed up his flag and returned to Long Beach. 

“I guess I’m back to being a Democrat,” he laughed. “But it’s not the president’s fault.” 

Demski still plans to take the flag to New York, where he is arranging to have it fly at ground zero on Oct. 11. The New York Islanders contacted Demski asking him if they could use the flag for their opening game on Oct. 13. 


Safeway earnings rise as chain girds for possible strike

By Michael Liedtke AP Business Writer
Saturday September 29, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — Supermarket giant Safeway Inc. on Friday announced higher quarterly profits amid weakening sales growth that executives said should continue as consumers react to the economic fallout from this month’s terrorist attacks. 

The chain of 1,759 stores earned $309.2 million, or 60 cents per share, in the three months ended Sept. 8 — a 15 percent improvement from net income at the same time last year of $270 million, or 53 cents per share. The earnings matched the consensus estimate among analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call. 

Revenue in the quarter rose 7 percent to $8 billion, but most of the gain stemmed from Safeway’s recent $530 million takeover of Genuardi’s, a 39-store grocery chain in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. 

In the most telling measure of growth, Safeway’s so-called “identical store” sales edged up by just 0.8 percent, the slowest pace in two years. This category tracks stores that have been open at least a year without being expanded. 

The Pleasanton-based company’s shares gained $1.22 to close at $39.72 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. 

Safeway CEO Steve Burd told industry analysts that the company is bracing for sales growth in the 1 percent range in this year’s final quarter. As long as the sales growth doesn’t fall far below that rate, Burd said the company expects to meet the consensus earnings estimate of 81 cents per share for the quarter. 

The final quarter could suffer from a threatened strike at 173 Safeway stores in the San Francisco Bay area. Earlier this week, Safeway made its “last and best” offer to store workers. Union leaders recommended that the employees reject the proposal, which would raise pay by 50 cents per hour. 

If the workers turn down the offer they could strike as early as Oct. 8 and embroil the company in a bitter labor dispute for the second straight year. A year ago, a 47-day strike by truck drivers at Safeway’s Northern California distribution center lowered Safeway’s earnings by $66 million. 

In a conference call Friday, Burd emphasized that management won’t budge from its “compelling offer” to store workers. Safeway already has been hiring potential replacement workers and, in a video delivered to current employees, Burd warned the company is prepared to reduce its latest contract offer if there is a strike. 

“If you are an employee and think rationally about things, you vote for this (offer),” Burd told analysts Friday. 

Safeway store workers in the Sacramento area accepted a nearly identical offer earlier this year. 

Union leaders insist the offer isn’t enough to offset the high cost of living in the San Francisco Bay area, where a mid-priced home sells for $476,000, a 66 percent increase since the store workers signed their last contract in 1997. 

Most of the affected Safeway store workers make $11.07 per hour under the current contract, according to labor leaders. The best-paid clerks make $17.58 per hour, which Safeway says is the highest retail rate in the region. 

“We are not saying that a clerk should make $90,000 per year, but they need to make enough to buy a home or pay for gas if they have to drive into work from somewhere else,” said Dennis Kimber, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 428 in San Jose. 

Safeway paid Burd $2.53 million last year, a 92 percent raise from his 1997 paycheck. 

 


A weekend seminar on activism

By John Geluardi Daily Planet staff
Friday September 28, 2001

Redwood-Sequoia Congress will focus on activist networking 

 

A 5 p.m. peace walk that will include puppeteers, singers and jugglers, will kick off a weekend of progressive panel discussions and workshops on activism as part of the second annual Redwood-Sequoia Congress. 

“We’re coming together to see each other, hear each other and build relationships,” said Richard Challacombe, an organizer of RSC and a member of the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. “You really don’t have any strength as a community until you get together and find common ground.” 

Originally the congress discussions were going to center around energy, but since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, the theme has been changed to the importance of peace. 

The panels and workshops will cover a variety of subjects and are designed to help progressive activists network and find common ground. 

“This is a rich activist community,” said Karen Pickett of the Bay Area Coalitions for Headwaters. “There are ways that people can be mutually beneficial to their various campaigns while not losing focus on their own agendas.” 

The peace walk will begin at Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Park at 5 p.m. It will stop at the Berkeley BART Station for several short speeches and then continue on to the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists where the weekend’s activities will take place.  

The opening event will include the unveiling of a mural by Alezandra Childs that was inspired by the 1955 poem “The Broken Water Jar” by Nobel Peace Prize winning poet Octavio Paz. 

After the unveiling, there will be music, poetry and speakers including KPFA talk show host Larry Bensky and Independent Media spokesperson Sue Supriano. 

There will be a series of panels and workshops on Saturday beginning at 9:30 a.m. and continuing to midnight. The five panels will cover a variety of issues such as the monopolization of food production by corporations, the plunder of the Amazon and Tongas forests and the prison industrial complex. 

In addition there will be four workshops that will offer tips on how to organize and formulate agendas, how to protest effectively and writing punchy leaflets, e-mails and booklets. 

In between the panels and workshops, there will be food and more speakers including media critic Norman Soloman. At 10 p.m. there will be dancing, skits and singing. 

On Sunday there will be several more panel discussions including one entitled “Right To Energy and Freedom From Bigotry,” which will be paneled by Mayor Shirley Dean and councilmembers Kriss Worthington, Dona Spring and Linda Maio. 

Worthington said that while the panel sounds like it’s covering two separate issues, there “is a great connection between how we treat the planet and how we treat each other.” 

The Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists is located at 1606 Bonita St. at the intersection of Cedar Street. For more information about this weekends events call 841-4824.


Out and About

–compiled by Guy Poole
Friday September 28, 2001


Friday, Sept. 28

 

Redwood Sequoia Congress 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

Human rights and environmental activists will gather in an annual examination of the human condition and the status of the planet. 841-1182 

 

Anti-War Art Making at Pro Arts  

6-10 p.m. 

461 Ninth Street, Oakland (near 12th Street BART)  

Pro Arts is providing an opportunity for artists to make their anti-war expressions visible, playable, audible and readable. Posters and other artwork can be used in the rally the next day at Dolores Park in San Francisco or for any other event the artist wishes. 763-4361 

 

Third Annual BFD Blood Drive 

8:30 a.m. - 2 :30 p.m. 

Fire Station #2 

2029 Berkeley Way 

In conjunction with the Red Cross, the Berkeley Fire Department is having it’s annual blood drive. Drop in or make an appointment. 981-5599 Ext. 4408 

 

City Commons Club 

12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

“Inside North Korea” with Timothy Savage, Senior Planner, East Asian Security, Nautilus Institute. 848-3533 

 

Autumn Moon Festival 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Presented by the North Berkeley Senior Center’s Chinese Club. Refreshments will include moon cakes. Free. 644-6107  

 

Daily Prayer and Meditation 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana at Durant 

Chapel open for prayer and meditation. 

 

Race and Achievement at  

Berkeley High 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley High School, Little Theater 

2246 Milvia St. 

An evening of poetry, spoken word, and testimonials. 

 


Saturday, Sept. 29

 

Antiwar Rally 

11 a.m. 

Dolores Park 

19th and Dolores streets, San  

Francisco 

10 minutes from the 16th Street BART Station (415) 821-6545 

 

Disaster First Aid 

9 a.m. - noon 

Office of Emergency Services 

997 Cedar St. 

Free classes in Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). 981-5605 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Strawberry Creek Work Party 

9 a.m.- noon 

Seabreeze Market 

University Avenue & Frontage Road 

Remove non-native pepperweed at the outflow to the Bay and learn about efforts to restore native Oysters to the San Francisco Bay. 

848-4008 bjanet@earthlink.com 

 

Redwood Sequoia Congress 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

Human rights and environmental activists will gather in an annual examination of the human condition and the status of the planet. 841-1182 

 

Get Published Workshop 

noon - 3 p.m. 

Albany Library 

1247 Marin Ave., Edith Stone Room 

Led by writing coach Jill Nagle and will cover query letters, book proposals, finding an agent and more. Preregistration strongly recommended. (415) 431-7491  

jill@jillnagle.com 

 

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour 

10 a.m. - noon 

Trish Hawthorne knows the Thousands Oaks neighborhood like no one else. Tours are restricted to 30 participants and require pre-paid reservations, $10. 848-0181 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc/  

 

Idealist.org Nonprofit Career Fair 

1 p.m. 

Preservation Park 

MLK Jr. Way and 13th St. 

For individuals interested in employment or internship positions in the nonprofit sector. (212) 843-3973 www.idealist.org 

 

The Crucible’s Open House and Fix-A-Thon Fundraiser 

noon - 6 p.m. 

The Crucible 

1036 Ashby Ave. 

Parking and entrance on Murray St.  

Featuring the faculty performing hands-on demonstrations of the skills and techniques they teach. Try blacksmithing, welding, stone carving, glass enameling, and other stuff. Bring your broken or cracked metal objects and low-tech electric devices in need of repair: furniture, lamps, castings, dull knives, cracked bike frames, etc. The staff will assess the damages and if the items are repairable, they will fix them for a reasonable fee. Free event. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.org 

 

 


Sunday, Sept. 30

 

6th Annual How Berkeley Can You Be? Parade 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Ave. 

The grand parade leaves from California St. and concludes at Civic Center Park where festival continues. Over 80 art cars, art bikes, Cal Marching Band, Electric Couch, Go Carts, plus live music and circus. 849-4688 www.howberkeleycanyoube.com  

 

Potluck Brunch 

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Bateman Park 

Rockridge / Elmwood Gay Lesbian Potluck Brunch. 595-1999 

 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Avenue between 3rd and 4th streets  

Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 

654-6346 

 

Yoga/ Tibetan 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Instructor Jack van der Meulen will discuss the three levels of Kum Nye practice and demonstrate some of the practices. Free. 843-6812 

 

 

 

 


The children will pay – again

Helen Finkelstein
Friday September 28, 2001

Editor: 

Who will pay for the recent attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon? It looks as if, once again, it will be children who pay the price. 

In Afghanistan: When the United States attacks Third World countries, it is the weakest people – especially children – who are killed by bombs, and by the starvation and epidemics that follow. 

In the United States: Across America, there are thousands of children who are hungry, living in shelters, attending inadequate schools. The billions of dollars that will be spent on a military campaign could be used to feed, house, and educate these children. They will pay with their stunted lives. 

What kind of country does not care about the next generation? We can stop this military madness now! 

 

Helen Finkelstein


Fraud and authenticity in the New York art world

by John Angell Grant Daily Planet Correspondent
Friday September 28, 2001

Berkeley Repertory Theater has kicked off the opening of its 34th season, in the company’s new Roda Theater, with a hypnotic world-premiere production of Naomi Iizuka’s new play, “36 Views.” 

Set in the pretentious and rapacious world of New York art dealers, critics and academics, “36 Views” is an intriguing mystery about fraud and authenticity in the discovery and collecting of historic fine art. 

Questions of artistic value, financial worth and personal self-identity are reflected and refracted back and forth inside the play’s complex psychological, financial and artistic hall of mirrors. 

In “36 Views,” slippery yuppie art dealer Darius Wheeler (a charming, Machiavellian, self-doubting Bill Camp), buys, sells and smuggles art genuines and fakes. 

When a 1,000-year-old Japanese “pillow book” materializes, it threatens to revolutionize the history of Asian art and turn the academic world on its ear. 

In this pillow book, a feminist account of love and infidelity reveals itself unexpectedly as a story of unfolding lesbian and bisexual love. “36 Views” turns the tables several times in the course of unraveling its tale.  

The play hits many themes, focusing on the ideas of authenticity, inauthenticity and value in art, human character and human relationships. 

This story of life in the cultural fast lane threatens to reveal itself at times as a mysterious and complex network of style, with nothing of substance at the center. 

But the story is not that cynical. In the final analysis, love saves it – maybe. “36 Views” is a romance, of sorts. 

Director Mark Wing-Davey’s production is superb, right up there with his “Galileo” from last year. “36 Views” is filled with magical, unexpected, sexy, suddenly changing visual and aural story elements. 

The acting is strong. All of the characters are interesting and distinctive. All of them have arcs that show them at the end as people different than they appeared to be originally. 

Camp is wonderful as smooth, slick, swashbuckling art dealer Darius. Liana Pai is his equal as art scholar Setsuko Hearn, matching wits in a romantic and financial cat-and-mouse game. 

Elaine Tse is effective and sexy as punky, wise-ass, mixed-media artist Claire. Ebon Moss-Bachrach is a surprising grad student turned con man. 

Peter Donat is amusing as a blustering, naive academic orientalist. Rebecca Wisocky has surprises up her sleeve as supposed art smuggler Beth. 

The electronic tech is strong in this new millennium story about art in the global village. 

Projection designer Ruppert Bohle provides strong story continuity with rear wall projections that join scenic designer Douglas Stein’s hanging designs, ultimately tying the story together in its final moments. 

Stein’s beautiful, versatile sliding-screen set tells the story simultaneously in one world and many worlds. 

Both David Weiner’s, abruptly changing lighting plot and Matthew Spiro’s sound design, play strong parts in the drama. 

For those who enjoy stylish, intellectual potboilers, this show’s for you. 

 

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


Arts and Entertainment Calendar

Staff
Friday September 28, 2001

 

924 Gilman Street Sept. 28: Erase Errata, The Intima, Ibobuki, (+tba); Sept. 29: DS-13, Beware, Blown To Bits, (+tba); Oct 5: Subincision, Gary’s Agenda, Eugene (+ tba); Oct 6: Tight Brothers from Way Back When, Smash Your Face, Cherry Valence, Bare Bones; Oct 12: One Line Drawing, Funeral Dinner, Diefenbaker, Till 7 Years Pass Over Him; Oct 13: Dead and Gone, Cattle Decapitation, Vulgar Pigeons, Wormwood, Antagony; Most shows are $5 and start at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 

 

Albatross Pub Oct 3: Wesley Brothers; Oct 4:Keni “El Lebrijano” Flemenco Guitar; All free shows begin at 9 p.m. 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 albatrosspub@mindspring.com  

 

Anna’s Sept. 28: Anna sings jazz standards, 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Sept. 29: Robin Gregory, Bliss Rodriguez, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Sextet, Donald Duck Bailey; Sept. 30: Acoustic Soul; All shows begin at 8 p.m. 1801 University Ave. 849-ANNA www.annasbistro.com 

 

Café de la Paz Poetry Nitro, performance showcase with open mike. All shows free, 7 - 10 p.m. 

 

Cal Performances Sept. 30: 7 p.m. Kronos Quartet, David Barron, $30; Oct. 12 - 14: Fri. and Sat., 8:00 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Ballet Nacional De Cuba, $24 - $46; Oct. 17 and 18: 8 p.m. Cesaria Evora, $24 - $36; Oct. 19: 8 p.m. Karnak, $18 - $30. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph, 642-0212,  

tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

Eli’s Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

 

Freight & Salvage Sept 28: Jenna Mammina, $16.50; Sept. 29: The Nigerian Brothers, $16.50; Sept. 30: Vasen, $17.50; Oct 2: Budowitz; Oct 3: The Robin Nolan Trio; Oct 4: Darol Anger & Mike Marshall; Oct 5: Golden Bough; Oct 6: The Limeliters; Oct 7: Eddie From Ohio; Oct 8: All Nation Singers, Walter Ogi Johnson, Thunder; All shows start at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.com 

 

Jack’s Bistro Sept. 28: 9 p.m. Tomas Michaud’s New World Flamenco Quartet, Jack London Square. 444-7171  

www.starland-music.com 

 

Jazzschool/La Note Sept. 30: 4 p.m., John Santos and the Machete Ensemble. $15. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5376 

 

Jupiter Sept. 28 Anton Schwartz Quartet; Sept 29: moderngypsies.net; All music starts at 8:00 p.m. 2181 Shattuck Ave.  

843-7625 www.jupiterbeer.com  

 

La Peña Cultural Center Oct 6: 10:30 a.m. Gary Lapow, $4 Adults, $3 Children; Oct 13: 10:30 a.m. Derique- the high tech clown, $4 Adults, $3 Children; 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 www.lapena.org 

 

Music Sources Sept. 30: 5 p.m. Ole Scarlatta! Portuguese and French keyboards and fortepiano joined by Jason McGuire on flamenco guitar, $18 General, $15 members, seniors, students. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

 

Sedge Thomson’s West Coast Live Radio Show Sept. 29: Nancy Miford, The Nigerian Brothers, Caroline Dahl. The Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison St. All shows 10 a.m. - noon. 252-9214 www.wcl.org 

 

Benifit Concert for the Native  

American Health Center Sept. 28: 8 p.m. Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ulali, Lorrie Church, The Mankillers. Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. 625-8497  

 

UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Collaborates with Art Department Sept. 28 and 29: 8 p.m. The Symphony will perform several works during an exhibition featuring examples of Leonardo diptychs for the basis of portraying art in motion. $8 general admission, $2 students. Hertz Hall solotoff@uclink.berkeley.edu 

 

“The Complete Shostakovich String Quartets--Part One” Sept. 29: 10 a.m. Quartets III & IV; Oct. 20: 10 a.m. Quartets V & VI. Performed by the prize-winning Alexander String Quartet with Robert Greenberg. $ 30, $84 for the Trio of concerts. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org. 

 

Magnificat Sept. 29: 8 p.m. First Congregational Church. The San Francisco early music ensemble of voices and period instruments present their tenth anniversary season with music of 17th century composers. Tickets $12-$45 (415) 979-4500 

 

The Mike Yax Jazz Orchestra Sept. 30: 2 p.m., Longfellow School of the Arts, 1500 Derby St. 420-4560 

 

“Le Cirque des Animaux” Sept. 29: 8 p.m. Hausmusik presents a wacky baroque musical cabaret on the subject of animals. Parish Hall of St. Alban’s Espiscopal Church, 1501 Washington St. (not wheelchair accessible). $18 general admission, $15 seniors, students and SFEMS members) 527-9029 

 

“Murder Dressed in Satin” by Victor Lawhorn, ongoing. A mystery-comedy dinner show at The Madison about a murder at the home of Satin Moray, a club owner and self-proclaimed socialite with a scarlet past. Dinner is included in the price of the theater ticket. $47.50 Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland. 239-2252 www.acteva.com/go/havefun 

 

“Twelfth Night” Sept. 25 - 30, Oct. 2 - 7, Tue. - Thurs. 7:30 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m., Student Matinees: Sept. 18, 20, 25, Oct. 2, @ 1 p.m. California Shakespeare Festival presents William Shakespeare’s comic tale of romance, loneliness, love and glory. Directed by Jonathan Moscone. $12 - $41. Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, Highway 24, Gateway Exit, one mile east of the Caldecott Tunnel. 548-9666 www.calshakes.org 

 

“Swanwhite” through Oct. 21: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. A new translation of the Swedish Play that asks the question what good is romantic love, directed by Tom Clyde. $20, Sundays are “Pay What You Can.” Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305, www.virtuous.com 

 

“Orestes” Oct. 5 through Oct. 21: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. An adaptation of the classical play by Euripides that incorporates passages inspired or taken from various 20th century texts. Written by Charles Mee, directed by Christopher Herold. $6-12. Zellerbach Playhouse on the UC Berkeley campus 642-8268 

 

“36 Views” through Oct. 28: Tues. 8 p.m., Wed. 7 p.m., Thu. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Thu., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Sat., Sun. 2 p.m., 8 p.m. Written by Naomi Lizuka, Directed by Mark Wing-Davey. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. 647-2949  

www.berkeleyrep.org 

 

Fine Arts Cinema “Dead Man” through Oct 3: 10 p.m. daily and 5:20 p.m Sunday. Johnny Depp plays a young man who embarks on a journey to a new town in search of a new life, and finds a heated love triangle that ends in double murder leaving William Blake (Depp) a wanted man. Directed by Jim Jarmusch; Oct 4 - Oct 9 “Battleship Potemkin” Directed by Sergei Eisenstein 2451 Shattuck Ave. 848-1143 

 

Pacific Film Archive Sept. 28: 7 p.m. Ugetsu, 8:55 Sansho the Bailiff; Sept. 29: 7 p.m. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part I, Joel Adlen on piano; Sept. 30: Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part II, Joel Adlen on piano; general admission $7, The New PFA Theatre 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412 

 

“Tree-Sit: The Art of Resistance” Oct 4: 7 p.m. Feature-length documentary chronicles 10 years of young activist’s struggle to protect ancient redwoods. La Pena Cultural Centre, 3105 Shattuck Ave. (415) 820-1635 

 

“Reykjavik” Sept. 28 - Oct. 4: A young man’s sexual impulses go haywire when he discovers the woman he has just been to bed with also happens to be his mother’s lesbian lover. Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Ave. 843-3456 

 

Nexus Gallery through Sept. 30: noon - 6 p.m. Jan Eldridge- Large charcoal drawings and acrylic collages; Tricia Grame- visual and textural autobiography of her spiritual evolution; Tanya Wilkinson- A sensuous exploration of the possibilities inherent in the medium of handmade paper. 

 

Bahman Navaee is exhibiting his paintings. Through Sept. 29: Persian Center, 2029 Durant Ave. 848-0264 

 

UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Collaborates with Art Department Sept. 28 and 29: 8 p.m. The Symphony will perform several works during an exhibition featuring examples of Leonardo diptychs for the basis of portraying art in motion. $8 general admission, $2 students. Hertz Hall solotoff@uclink.berkeley.edu 

“Debbie Moore’s Autobiographical Paintings” through Sept. 30 at Good Vibrations. Portraits of the artist’s sensual explorations spanning 25 years and reflecting changing ways of intimacy and body play. 2504 San Pablo Ave. 848-1985 

 

“Three Visions” through Sept. 30: 12 - 6 p.m., An Exhibition of Mixed Media. Nexus Gallery, 2707 Eighth Street  

(707) 554-2520 

 

“The Decade of Change: 1900 - 1910” through September. 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.  

 

“Squared Triangle” through Oct. 5: noon - 6 p.m. A minimalist art exhibit featuring three Bay Area artists working in different mediums while achieving the same elegant simplicity. The Crucible, 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511  

www.thecrucible.com 

 

“Inside Editions” through Oct. 12: Nine printmakers exhibit their work. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tue. - Fri. Free. Kala Art Insitute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 kala@kala.org 

 

“Census 2000: Asian Pacific Islander Americans” through Oct. 13; Wed. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Asian Pacific Islander American artists in roughly the demographic proportions indicated by the recent census. Free. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9470  

 

“MWP Perspectives” Jon Orvik: One artist’s journey. Through Oct. 27 Tues. - Fri. 12 - 5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 12 - 4 p.m. Solo artist exhibiting his journey through metal, wood and paint. Adapt Gallery and Design, 2834 College Ave. 649-8501  

www.adaptgallery.com  

 

“50 Years of Photography in Japan 1951 - 2001” through Nov. 5: An exhibition from The Yomiuri Shimbun, the world’s largest daily newspaper with a national morning circulation of 10,300,000. Photographs of work, love, community, culture and disasters of Japan as seen by Japanese news photographers. Opening Reception Sept. 5: 6 - 8 p.m. open to the public; Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. U.C. Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall, Hearst and Euclid. Free. 642-3383 

 

“Jesus, This is Your Life - Stories and Pictures by Kids” through Nov. 16: California children, ages four through twelve, from diverse backgrounds present original artwork, accompanied by a story written by the artist. Mon. - Thur. 8:30 a.m. -10 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. 12 p.m. - 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541. 

 

“Changing the World, Building New Lives: 1970s photographs of Lesbians, Feminists, Union Women, Disability Activists and their Supporters” through Nov. 17: An exhibit of black and white photographs by Oakland photographer Cathy Cade, who captured the inter-relationships of the different struggles for justice and social change. Opening reception Sept. 15, 5 - 8 p.m. Gallery Hours, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St. Free. 644-1400  

cathycade@mindspring.com 

 

“The Whole World’s Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s” through Dec. 16: A documentary photo exhibition which examines the rich history of the social movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Wed. - Sun., noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Free.  

644-6893 

 

“Musee des Hommages” Masterworks by Guy Colwell. Faithfull copies of several artists from the past, including Titian’s “The Venus of Urbino,” Cezanne’s “Still Life,” Picasso’s “Woman at a Mirror,” and Botticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours. Atelier 9, 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit  

www.atelier9.com 

 

 

Tours 

 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Fridays 9:30 - 11:45 a.m. or by appointment. Call ahead to make reservations. Free. University of California, Berkeley. 486-4387 

 

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  

 

 

Museums 

 

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  

 

UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology Lobby, Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley “Tyrannosaurus Rex,” ongoing. A 20 foot 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 will close its exhibition galleries for renovation. It will reopen in early 2002. On View until Oct. 1 : “Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture.” “Sites Along the Nile: Rescuing Ancient Egypt.” “The Art of Research: Nelson Graburn and the Aesthetics of Inuit Sculpture.” “Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Photographs by George Foster.” $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 Avenue. 643-7648 or www.qal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

 

University of California Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive has reopened after its summer-long seismic retrofit. “Martin Puryear: Sculpture of the 1990s” through Jan. 13; “The Dream of the Audience: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951 - 1982)” through Dec. 16; “Face of Buddha: Sculpture from India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia” ongoing rotation through 2003; “Matrix 194: Jessica Bronson, Heaps, layers, and curls” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; “Matrix 192: Ceal Floyer 37’4”” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; Wed., Fri., Sat., Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., PFA Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way; Museum Galleries 2626 Bancroft Way; 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

 

Lawrence Hall of Science “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. Space Weather Exhibit now - Sept. 2; now - Sept. 9 Science in Toyland; 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  

 

Oakland Museum of California “Half Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon Parks,” through Sept. 23; Wednesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sunday, noon - 5 p.m., Closed Monday and Tuesday. $6 general; $4 youths (6-17), seniors and students with ID. Free for museum members and children 5 and under. Free admission the second Sunday of the month. 10th & Oak streets, Oakland. 238-2200 www.museum.org 

 

 

Send arts events two weeks in advance to Calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.net, 2076 University, Berkeley 94704 or fax to 841-5694.


Winless Bears still looking for answers

By Jared Green Daily Planet Staff
Friday September 28, 2001

Holmoe says Boller is still the starter 

 

Having started the season 0-3 and just heading into the tough portion of their schedule, the Cal Bears are certainly a team in need of a lift. Head coach Tom Holmoe and senior linebacker Scott Fujita are both trying to do just that. 

“When I see a player down on the sideline, I grab him and look him straight in the eye,” Holmoe said Tuesday. “I’m trying to give them my strength.” 

Fujita has taken a different tack, talking to his teammates off of the field. 

“I’ve been soul-searching for ways to help guys,” he said. “I’ve been talking to guys one-on-one, and I try to help with things outside of football. I know our coaches don’t want to focus on those things, so I’m trying to help.” 

You can’t blame Holmoe and Fujita for trying new tactics. The Bears have been a huge disappointment so far this year, being trounced by Illinois, BYU and Washington State, not exactly a Murderer’s Row of opponents. The offense, defense and special teams have all performed well below expectations, and it could get worse with powerhouses Washington, Oregon and UCLA coming in the next four weeks. 

“Our patience, our wits and our dignity will be tested to the core,” Holmoe said. “The first game (a 44-17 loss to Illinois) took the wind out of our sails, and now we have to get back in the water. We’re at low, low tide when it comes to confidence level.” 

Sailing analogies aside, Holmoe knows his job is in serious jeopardy. Several sources have said that new athletic director Steve Gladstone has already decided to axe the fifth-year head coach once the season ends. Some of Holmoe’s comments this week sound as if he considers himself a lame duck. 

“These future eight games are all we have, so we want to enjoy them,” he said. “We’re addressing some unanswerable questions.” 

A good start would be upsetting the Huskies this Saturday. Although the Bears haven’t beaten Washington since 1976, they have come very close the last two tries. Two years ago, Washington’s Maurice Shaw scored with 50 seconds left in the game to give the Huskies a 31-27 win. Last season, the Bears had a 24-13 lead in the fourth quarter, but two fumbles, an interception and a blocked punt led to Washington scoring 23 points in a six-minute stretch, ending in a 36-24 Husky win in Seattle. 

“We know we can play with them. We almost had the game locked up last year, but we let it slip away,” Cal linebacker Matt Nixon said this week. 

The Huskies have a much different look on offense this season, as the loss of quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo to the NFL has left a hole in the passing game. Replacement Cody Pickett had thrown six passes coming into the season and has yet to throw for a touchdown. 

“Their offense clearly isn’t the same without Marques, but they are a very good team,” Holmoe said. 

That may be, but injuries have hit Washington hard. In last week’s 53-3 blowout over Idaho, the Huskies lost starting tailback Willie Hearst and premier tight end Jerramy Stevens, as well as backup running back Braxton Cleman. But as usual, they have exceptional depth at running back, with Rich Alexis steps in to the starting lineup after running for 740 yards last year, and Paul Arnold could move back from receiver after switching positions to start the season. Throw in the fact that the Washington offensive line averages 306 pounds per starter, and it could be a long day for the Bears run-stoppers. 

“We know they’re gonna pound the ball, so we just have to get ready for that,” Fujita said. “The front seven made a big step up and we need to carry our momentum into this game.” 

Momentum is something the Bears would love to have on offense, but that’s hard to get when you don’t even trust your starting quarterback. Junior Kyle Boller was yanked from last week’s 51-20 loss to Washington State, the first time Boller has sat the bench since he was a freshman. 

Backup Eric Holtfreter failed to impress during his time on the field, and Boller went back in late in the game. Holmoe said Boller is still the starter heading into Saturday’s game, but hopes the wake-up call got through to him. 

“Kyle’s a competitor, so he didn’t like coming out of the game, but he accepted the decision and played better when he went back in,” Holmoe said. “We didn’t do it to give him a slap on the hand. We wanted him to step out and watch, and get his groove back.” 

Holmoe was quick to point out that the offense’s failure to get into the end zone with regularity can’t be solely blamed on Boller. 

“This is not the time to say ‘you’re our only hope, it’s all on your shoulders,’” Holmoe said. “We’ve stepped up our game on offense, but we’ve been cutting our own throats with turnovers. Once adversity hits, the wheels just come off.


Car thefts increased by 33 percent since last year

By Mary Spicuzza Special to the Daily Planet
Friday September 28, 2001

The Toyota Camry cruising past their squad car didn’t match the color of the stolen Camry Emeryville police were looking for, but Detective Alan Johnson said officers quickly noticed something suspicious about its driver. The young man was so small, they could barely see his eyes peering over the dashboard. 

“He was looking over the steering wheel,” Detective Johnson, Emeryville’s theft investigator, said. “We pulled him over, and it turned out he was about 14 years old. He had his little brother with him.” 

Johnson said the boy they caught in the stolen Camry last month was one of many teen joy riders who cruise East Bay streets in stolen cars.  

Last Friday evening, Johnson patrolled the crowded rows of Emeryville’s Public Market parking lot, giving a quick wave to a security officer pedaling past on a bike. Johnson said guards and increased police presence has helped discourage thieves, who in early summer were stealing two to three cars a night from the massive lot near Shellmound Street every weekend.  

“Here somebody can take their time and pick out the car they really want,” Johnson said. “It’s the amount of cars available.” 

Most of Emeryville’s stolen cars disappear from the sprawling parking lots surrounding the large shopping areas and movie theater located in what officers call District 3, police reports show.  

 

Berkeley car thefts up 

These lots provide a glimpse into a larger Bay Area car theft problem. In Berkeley, for example, car thefts have increased by 33 percent since last year. Vehicle thefts throughout Alameda County have also risen dramatically in recent months, with Alameda County Regional Auto Theft Task Force (ACRATT) statistics showing a more than 16 percent increase in thefts since last year. Task force investigators said people stole nearly 5,572 vehicles in the county by the end of this August, an average of nearly 700 a month. And California Highway Patrol statistics from 2000 and 2001 show thieves statewide now favor the Toyota Camry.  

Sergeant Len Silva of ACRATT said his group brings together officers from CHP and local police agencies to create regional methods for preventing theft and recovering stolen cars. Silva said ACRATT was formed in 1995, after state agencies realized the rise in thefts “was becoming epidemic.”  

Silva said that car thefts have increased in the county, but people need to understand that periodic increases, or “spikes,” in theft are typical. 

“As bad off as we are, we’re not as bad as some other places,” Silva said, mentioning Fresno as a theft hotspot. National Insurance Crime Bureau statistics show Fresno is one of the top 10 cities for vehicle theft in the country. 

While Berkeley isn’t nearly as bad as Fresno in terms of car theft, Detective Jim Farr said he noticed a sharp rise in theft starting last year. 

“We’ve had an increase all over town,” Farr, theft investigator for the Berkeley Police Department, said. “You name the race, you name the sex, name the age. They’re all doing it. And it’s not just the same people getting arrested – it’s a new name everyday.” 

Farr said each month more than 100 cars are stolen in the city, compared to an average of 60 to 80 a month last year. He said he recently bought a club, or steering wheel lock, for his car. Compared to Berkeley’s 33 percent increase, CHP statistics show California thefts have risen less than 10 percent. 

Toyotas are the preferred car to steal 

On Tuesday, Farr read a list of more than two dozen cars stolen in Berkeley during the last week. About half of them were Toyota models. Farr, a 33-year veteran officer, said he helped bust groups of car thieves in the mid-90s that would cruise BART parking lots with filed-down Toyota keys.  

“Here comes this Toyota with five kids driving around the lot,” Farr said. “Four of the five got out, and they were all using filed keys to get Toyotas.” 

In Emeryville, where 17 of the 29 cars stolen during July were Camrys, Detective Johnson said many thieves don’t bother with special tools. 

“In the older model Camrys the ignition is really weak,” he said, mentioning late ’80s and early ’90s models. “Any key or scissors can turn over the ignition.”  

Johnson said newer Camrys are more secure. 

The Toyota Camry was followed by Honda Accord, Honda Civic, and Toyota pick-up trucks as the top cars stolen in the state during 2000, CHP spokesperson Anne DaVigo said. She said last year 181,427 vehicles, an average of nearly 500 a day, were stolen in California.  

Emeryville resident Monica Lee didn’t know her car was so popular with thieves. But when Lee, a UC-Berkeley senior, left for her Monday morning class on Sept. 10, she said she found an empty parking space where she’d left her 1990 Camry seven hours earlier. Her apartment building has a security fence, but one of its gates was broken.  

Less than a week later, officers called to say her car had been found in El Cerrito.  

When asked about plans to prevent another theft, Lee said, “I’m going to sell it and buy a new car.” 

Most cars come back 

Like Lee, most theft victims get their cars back. CHP statistics show 88 percent of California’s stolen vehicles are found eventually, although sometimes with missing parts. Alameda task force members said thieves are often looking for a joy ride, quick transportation, or car parts like stereos and airbags. And police said illegal street racers, for example, often steal cars to replace airbags they used during a crash. Other thieves sell parts to mechanics running illegal garages known as “chop shops,” police said 

The Bay Area has also had problems with car smuggling. Officer DaVigo said last fall CHP busted two gangs smuggling stolen cars out of the Port of Oakland. An undercover CHP unit caught smugglers stacking 42 stolen cars inside carriers and loading them into ships. 

But local officers said most East Bay cars face a less exotic fate. Detective Farr said three of four stolen cars found in El Cerrito last Tuesday were from Berkeley. And when a thief steals a car from the Sather Gate parking garage just south of the UC Berkeley campus, officers often find at least one other stolen car dumped there, Farr said. Police reports show stolen cars also turn up at the waterfront area and Berkeley Marina, where many car thefts occur.  

Last April, Emeryville Officer Michael Allen found a stolen Dodge Neon with a baby crying in the backseat. The car, stolen from outside a Berkeley coffeeshop, had been abandoned near Adeline and 40th streets. Allen found the 8-month-old girl, still in her carseat, about an hour after the car was stolen. 

“It was fortunate we found her so quick,” Allen said. “The communication with other agencies really helped.” 

Officers suggested that car owners protect their vehicles using car alarms, steering wheel locks, and tracking devices. But they said they couldn’t make any promises.  

Detective Johnson said he had a club and parked inside a security fence, but it didn’t stop the person who stole his ’67 Chevy Malibu a few years ago. 

“All you can do is just make it harder to steal,” Johnson said. “And hopefully, they’ll go to the next car.” 


40 salute Rep. Barbara Lee

Robin Hipolito
Friday September 28, 2001

 

Editor: 

On September 12 nearly 40 residents of Strawberry Creek Lodge joined together to express our support to Rep. Barbara Lee for her courageous act in standing as the sole voice in Congress in saying “no” to giving President Bush open-ended funding for wiping out whole countries “harboring” terrorists. 

In the wake of the escalating frenzy for war from the White House, the halls of Congress, the military, the media and those who stand to profit, the people of our country are being rapidly brain-washed. It is time to slow down this barrage and let the voices of reason be heard througout the media. 

We the undersigned residents of Strawberry Creek Lodge congratulate our courageous Representative, Barbara Lee, for her vote in opposition to the war powers resolution.  

We agree that the perpetrators of the terrorist bombings must be brought to justice, but we believe that more killing can only result in the death of innocent people. In addition, we have to ask, what is it in U.S. foreign policy that results in such blind hatred toward the United States? 

Your paper has the duty to reflect feelings and opinions of readers who are opposed to bombing other countries thus causing a long and deadly war. 

September 11 should remind all Americans that violence begets violence. Those behind this fearful terror must be found and punished. The frightening war propaganda should be restrained now. Please join us in calling for “Justice not Vengeance.”  

Robin Hipolito 

Berkeley


Berkeley coordinator glad to be rid of off-field issues

By Tim Haran Daily Planet Correspondent
Friday September 28, 2001

Former Mt. Tam head coach Johnson brings new system to BHS 

 

Each time Clarence Johnson steps onto the football turf at Berkeley High School, his sales pitch becomes a little more convincing.  

Almost immediately after arriving on campus last summer, the ’Jackets’ new varsity offensive coordinator knew he had plenty of individual talent to work with. It’s been trying to create what he didn’t see on the field – namely teamwork – which has become Johnson’s greatest challenge. 

“The biggest problem right now is that we have a lot of talented individuals but they have to learn to play as a team,” Johnson said. 

After 15 years of walking the sidelines, the former Mt. Tamalpais head coach is well aware that a successful team is built with talented players that are willing to forego individual honors if it means winning games. 

“That’s a hard sell,” Johnson said. “Especially to the kids who are used to being the star.” 

As Berkeley begins league play Friday against El Cerrito, strengthening its team togetherness may take a back seat to simply playing fundamental football. Johnson brought with him a complicated offensive playbook filled with more than 70 plays, some of which haven’t even been tested on the field yet. 

“It’s a good offense he’s teaching us,” said senior wide receiver Lee Franklin. “It’s just a matter of us learning it and executing.” 

Johnson, 43, gave up his head coaching job at Mt. Tamalpais High in Mill Valley to run Berkeley’s offense under first-year coach Matt Bissell.  

It’s been a tumultuous welcome. The ’Jackets scored just 12 points in three pre-season losses to formidable opponents Foothill, James Logan and Dos Palos.  

An entirely new coaching staff, the transfer of last year’s starting quarterback and star receiver and the graduation of the ’Jackets’ top rushing threat have all contributed to Berkeley’s early-season struggles. 

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Johnson said. “I knew going in that there was probably a tremendous amount of potential here, but I really didn’t know everything about that potential.” 

Another varsity newcomer, Bissell, who coached Berkeley’s junior varsity team last year, said that Johnson’s experience as a head coach has helped him learn the system. He also called it unfortunate that Berkeley has matched up against such tough opponents so early in the season. 

“The offense has sputtered at times, but I don’t attribute it to Clarence necessarily,” Bissell said. “None of the kids know the offense yet and we’re teaching them on the fly against very good defenses.” 

The slow start might be attributable to players adapting to the new system. But as a coach, Johnson said it’s his responsibility to raise the “stick by which we measure athletes” to ensure that Berkeley’s individual talent isn’t wasted. 

“If we hold it higher, they’re going to rise to it,” he said. “I don’t want to say they’re underachievers, but that’s what it is. It’s underachieving and the guys will settle for whatever level the stick’s at.” 

Now that Johnson wears the hat of offensive coordinator, he steers clear of eligibility issues, parents, boosters or the other administrative duties reserved for the head coach. Johnson said that he’s spending more time on the field working with football players, and that’s why he began coaching in the first place. 

“Even though we’ve lost our first three games, I’m having a great time because I’m back interacting with the kids,” he said. 

It helps that Johnson enjoys what he’s doing. After all, he spends more than 30 hours a week at practice, on the sidelines at games or in the office watching films. “It’s still not as bad as when I was head coach,” he said. 

Before he entered the coaching ranks for a Pop Warner team more than a decade ago, Johnson played as a defensive back for his high school in Baton Rouge, La. He finished his senior year in the Bay Area and attended San Francisco State University, where he ran track. 

Johnson readily admits that his competitive side dictates that he has to win football games. A league championship is a top goal, as is a trip to the playoffs. But to achieve those goals, Johnson knows he has to teach his players the importance of working together.  

“If you sell it, the team really becomes that much more important and that much better,” Johnson said. “If you’re good enough as an individual, you’ll shine even more when the team works together.” 

A few Berkeley wins could prove that the team is buying Johnson’s pitch.


Neighbors fear Alta Bates expansion will increase traffic

By Hank Sims Daily Planet staff
Friday September 28, 2001

A plan to rebuild and expand the emergency room at Alta Bates Medical Center is meeting opposition among neighborhood groups and a city commission. 

The plan would increase the size of Alta Bates’ emergency ward by incorporating an old radiology unit, and leaves open the possibility of future construction at Alta Bates. 

Public comment on a draft Environmental Impact Report on the project was recently closed.  

An EIR is a formal document explaining the impacts a project has on a nearby area. In this case, the EIR includes a study of the increased traffic that will result from the expansion. The EIR must include remedies when the environmental impacts are severe, or it can recommend a change in the project. 

Dr. Alan Lifshay, formerly head of the Alta Bates’ pulmonary department and currently a member of the Alta Bates Summit board of trustees, put the case for the emergency room expansion in a letter to the city’s planning department. 

“Last year, 44,000 East Bay residents turned to the Alta Bates Emergency Department for medical care in a space that was designed to accommodate 12,000 yearly,” he wrote. 

“Currently, teams of doctors, nurses and technicians work side-by-side in small, cramped rooms. Often there is little or no space left to accommodate medical equipment or visiting family members.” 

“The proposed emergency department upgrade will give Alta Bates larger treatment rooms, increased patient privacy and comfort, enough open areas for staff to circulate efficiently, and a much-needed separate entrance for ambulances, assuring improved neighborhood traffic flow.” 

But when the city’s Transportation Commission studied the draft EIR on Sept. 13, it came up with a list of concerns about traffic and parking in the neighborhood. 

Specifically, the commission said that the area of parking around Alta Bates was too widely defined, leaving the impression that there were many more parking spaces available in the neighborhood than were likely to be used. 

Some of the spaces included in the plan were as many as nine blocks away from the hospital. 

“It’s like studying traffic patterns for the University of California and saying parking in Berkeley won’t be affected, because people might park in Emeryville or Albany,” said Dean Metzger, a member of the Transportation Commission. 

“It’s a joke,” he added. 

In addition, Metzger said, while the draft EIR estimated the increase in traffic on Ashby Avenue that would follow the expansion, it took into account only increased trips by hospital patients, not by hospital staff. 

Metzger said that he and other members of the Transportation Commission were concerned about language in the draft EIR that would seem to imply that the data used in the current draft EIR – data he called “insufficient and inaccurate” – could be used in future hospital expansion plans. 

“We’re really talking about a draft EIR for the entire hospital master plan,” he said. 

“They’re using the emergency room expansion proposal to yank at peoples’ heartstrings in order to get everything else they want.” 

John Cecil, a member of the Claremont-Elmwood neighborhood group, said that he thought the draft EIR was dishonest, as it did not take into account all of Alta Bates’ operations in the Berkeley area. 

“This can’t include the comprehensive impacts of the expansion, because it has left out all the other sites Alta Bates operates in Berkeley,” he said. 

“This is supposed to be an incredibly thorough analysis of impacts, but there is no mention of interaction between (Alta Bates’) sites.” 

Carolyn Kemp, Alta Bates spokesperson, said that the hospital values the feedback it receives on its new projects. 

“We’re concerned that (community groups) have a voice too,” she said. “That’s why we’re going through the procedures that we’re going through now — to gather public comment, to hear their concerns.” 

At the same time, she said, there should be very little doubt that an expanded emergency room is needed.  

“I believe that the clinicians within a hospital are the ones who know best how to run a hospital, and we should listen to them,” she said. “This hospital has one mission, and that is to serve the community.” 

The planning department is currently reviewing all public comment on the draft EIR, and will forward its assessment of it to the Zoning Adjustments Board some time next month. The board will then choose whether or not to certify the project a few months later.


No justice in ‘shoot-em-up”

Anna Maria Taylor and Richard Lerner
Friday September 28, 2001

Editor: 

As long-time Berkeley residents, who have spent years living in Latin America and Asia, we urge the Daily Planet staff and readers to write and speak out against the “Ugly American,” “shoot-em-up-justice” of President Bush that is likely to cause the death of many more innocent civilians.  

The United States should use the rule of law and international agreements to insure security for all nations.  

This will be the best guarantee of our own country’s security. 

 

Anna Maria Taylor and  

Richard Lerner 

Berkeley


Bay Area Women Against Rape celebrates 30 years

By Jeffrey Obser Daily Planet Staff
Friday September 28, 2001

Bay Area Women Against Rape, an Oakland-based nonprofit that helps sexual assault victims navigate an often intimidating medical and law-enforcement process, will mark its 30th anniversary Friday evening with a reception at the Waterfront Hotel on Jack London Square. 

BAWAR was founded in 1971 after a young student was raped in a Berkeley High School stairwell. Executive director Marcia Blackstock, who joined the organization 23 years ago, said it was the first of its kind in the country. 

“Her mother and a few other women got together, sat around the kitchen table, and decided something had to happen,” Blackstock said. “After her assault, the treatment she received from hospital and law enforcement was pretty bad. Not intentionally bad, but there was nothing set in place for anybody to deal with sexual assault survivors.” 

The initial goals, she said, were to provide counseling to sexual assault survivors and to accompany them through the law enforcement and medical system. A 24-hour hotline was set up, and volunteers began counseling victims in person and accompanying them to hospitals, police interviews, and court. 

BAWAR’s eight paid staff and 50 volunteers now train police, clergy, therapists, and others all over Alameda County in dealing with victims sensitively. Some also work in the state prison system. 

“We do what we call “victim impact” workshops, trying to help offenders understand that there are long-term consequences to their actions,” said Ilana Gerjuoy, a volunteer for almost two years. 

BAWAR and similar organizations around the state have been instrumental in coaxing the state government to establish clear police and medical protocols. 

“I’ve worked with them for over 25 years. I think they’re a good outfit and they work well with the police department,” said Sergeant Kay Lantow, who supervises the Berkeley Police Department’s sex crimes detail and domestic violence prevention unit. “And probably they had at least some input in many of the changes as to how cases come together, are investigated, and how the county handles those things.” 

Five years ago, Lantow said, the state penal code was amended to require police to notify all sexual assault victims of their right to be accompanied by an advocate at all stages of their search for justice and medical care. Today, the Berkeley Police Department calls BAWAR for each of the 35 to 50 rapes reported annually in the city. 

“There’s a lot of progress that has been made,” said Blackstock. “I see amazing progress, but I have to couch that with a Bay Area and particularly Alameda County focus, because I think Alameda is pretty much ahead of the state in treatment of sexual assault survivors.” 

“When I go to statewide meetings” of rape-crisis advocates, said Gerjuoy, “I continue to hear rape crisis centers are doing battle with their law enforcement agencies.” 

Gerjuoy said she got involved because of a “general lack of understanding and competence” among those an assault victim must contact for help.  

“I’ve also opened up my view that any kind of anti-oppression work is linked, and men are also very valued clients,” she said. “Straight men also can be assaulted. The problem of sexual assault is really everyone’s problem. It’s not confined to women or to gay men.” 

The reward, she said, is to offer “crucial” human contact during the aftermath of a traumatic event. 

“Every time I talk to someone on the hotline or see someone in the hospital, I see the transformation they go through from the beginning to the end of the contact,” said Gerjuoy. “In the beginning they’re looking really scared and alone, then in the end when they see that they have allies and advocates. You can just see a difference in their demeanor when they realize they’re not alone in this. They say, I know I can get through the night now.” 

BAWAR’s anniversary reception, for which the group is asking $25 per person, is set for 8 p.m. to midnight at the Waterfront Hotel at Jack London Square. For information, call 430-1298 

BAYWAR’s hotline for victims of sexual assault is 834-7273.


Love America and the world even more

Lydia Maupin
Friday September 28, 2001

Editor: 

I too love America.  

But I love the whole world more, because the whole world contains more of our beautifully diverse brothers and sisters, mountains and seas. 

We are ALL children of God. So many of us pray for the killing of all innocents to stop, whether the person be brown or pink. 

Common sense tells us that when we stop using money here on Planet Earth, and learn to share, peace will come naturally. 

May our hearts be filled with love for all living beings. 

 

Lydia Maupin 

Berkeley


Program aims to build community within BHS

By Kimberlee Keala Bortfeld Special to the Daily Planet
Friday September 28, 2001

“Community” is not usually a word used to describe 3,400-student Berkeley High School. 

But for 250 students and teachers, community is what high school is all about. 

“We’re much more of a family,” said Dharini Rasiah, who teaches in the video program. “We take responsibility for each other.” 

Junior Mercedes Ruiz agreed. “It’s tight-knit. We know each other really well.” 

Rasiah and Ruiz are part of Communications Arts and Sciences, a school-within-a-school program established in 1997 as a means of personalizing the often-impersonal Berkeley High experience. Head teacher Rick Ayers explained that the program is based on the philosophy that all students can do well in a small learning context. Ayers also believes that the program can serve as a model for transforming all of Berkeley High into a community of schools-within-a-school. 

A transformation of this sort is currently among the top questions before the school community and policymakers.  

“Education happens in a community, out of relationships,” said Ayers. “There is peer motivation, and students get engaged and go deeper. They can get passionate about something.” 

 

Small schools might help 

With Berkeley High suffering from an achievement gap between minority and white students, and concerns from board members and teachers that truancy is a problem, many parents and teachers are taking a close look at what can be learned from the experiment.  

They may be on the right track.  

According to Ayers, Communications Arts and Sciences, which graduated its first class of 60 students in 2000, has higher graduation and college admission rates than Berkeley High overall. And while the white students in the program still outperform African American students in terms of grades, he said that the average GPA of African American students in the program is higher than that of the high school. He also believes that the graduation rate for African American students is double that of the school. Neither Ayers nor the Berkeley High administration had exact figures on GPAs or graduation rates. 

“We haven’t erased the gap, but we’re making progress,” Ayers said. The program reflects the ethnic makeup of the school with approximately 39 percent white, 36 percent African American, 15 percent Asian, and 10 percent Latino. 

Ken Garcia-Gonzales, who teaches ethnic studies, thinks that the community structure is one reason that students do better. “There’s more accountability for both students and teachers,” he said. Students cannot cut class, for example, without one or more of the 10 program teachers finding out.  

In addition, parents are more involved. Garcia-Gonzales said that even though school just started, he already received e-mail from parents introducing themselves.  

In the past year, more than 140 entering freshmen applied for the popular program and 80 were accepted. The students will now embark on a four-year curriculum that emphasizes media literacy, communication skills and social justice. Students take courses in English, history, science and video production together. They enroll in math, foreign language and other electives through the high school. The program aims to reflect the population of the school and seeks diversity in skill level and ethnic make-up. 

 

Teachers know students  

History teacher Bill Pratt, who has been with the program from its inception, explained that the small learning environment allows students and teachers to build ongoing relationships.  

“An integral part of what we’re trying to do is personalize the education all kids get,” he said. Through the program, Pratt hopes students will find “at least a few and hopefully many adults who know them well, care about them as people and are dedicated to them as teachers.”  

Students appear to be hearing the message. “Teachers (in the program) help a lot and care more than other teachers do,” said senior Haben Godefa.  

Although Pratt said that strong student-teacher relationships can develop in the larger school, it is more difficult because teachers have different students in class each semester. Communication Arts and Sciences, on the other hand, is structured so that teachers get to know students over longer periods of time.  

“The kids that graduated last year, I taught them since they were in ninth grade,” said Pratt. “So I knew them. I knew their families. I had dinner at their houses. I’ve been on field trips with them. I’ve been through hard times and good times with them. I saw them grow up in those four years.” 

Pratt has continued to remain in contact with students, even after they graduated. One of them, Carl Nasman, class of 2001 and a freshman at UC Santa Cruz, said that he used to play basketball with Pratt and other program teachers on a weekly basis. “I can’t imagine doing that with any other teachers.”  

Teachers in the program believe that the strength of their relationships with students, as well as students’ relationships with each other, not only creates a sense of community but facilitates classroom learning.  

“There’s a broader sense of community that comes into play among groups of students who are in multiple classes together,” said Pratt. “You walk into a senior class where 80 percent plus of those kids have been in three or more classes a day together for three years, and we are able to build on those dynamics.”  

Aquanetta Brooks, class of 2001 and a freshman at San Jose State University, remembered the depth of classroom discussions about such issues as race and civil rights. “We went deep with it. We didn’t just talk about how (Rosa Parks) just sat on a bus, but how she was involved with everything. We went into the details.”  

Alumni also say that the program prepared them for college in unique ways. For David Grunwald, class of 2000 and a sophomore at UC Berkeley, the internship experience required of all seniors served as a “bridge” to college. “It gave me a lot of freedom,” he said. “Senior year, I left campus three days a week and was on my own to deal with people on my own.” 

Among the program’s greatest advocates, though, are its teachers. Many say that the interdisciplinary nature of the program allows them to collaborate with each other and support one another. “Teachers can feel the same isolation and alienation as students if they don’t find a niche, especially in a big school like Berkeley. CAS allows me to collaborate with teachers who share the same values and commitments I do and who inspire me,” said Pratt.  

 

Problems persist 

But despite rave reviews by alumni, students and teachers alike, it is unclear whether small learning communities like Communication Arts and Sciences can solve all of Berkeley High’s problems. 

Ethnic cliques persist despite the close-knit and ethnically mixed nature of the program. “We’ve been with each other for all four years, but we still choose who to hang out with (people of the same ethnicity),” said senior Julian James.  

In addition, there are scheduling problems. Communications Arts and Sciences classes meet during the same periods as some Advanced Placement and African American studies classes, which has caused a few students to drop out of the program.  

Although most students are able to fit the classes they need into their schedules, Pratt said that conflicts are inevitable. 

Despite the logistical difficulties, most students and teachers agree that the program offers a quality of education lacking in the rest of the high school. “You really get a chance to explore education in CAS,” stated CAS student James.  


So Much Yet to be Given

Geneva Agnes Gates Foote
Friday September 28, 2001

There is sadness in everyone -  

Thousands of people are dead 

They went to work, 

Three planes struck their buildings 

Everything in flames - gone 

Not even pieces to say who they were 

Only loss to friends, family and children 

These people did nothing and yet it happened. 

 

Who is to blame? 

Shall we send planes and bombs? 

Kill, kill. 

Kill the others, the innocent others? 

Our country has done it again and again. 

Where to point a finger of blame? 

Always at the other but not ourselves. 

 

Can we not see, 

Yes, you and me? 

We are destroying the earth and its people - 

Seas rising, 

Air polluted,  

No water to drink.  

Shall we rush out and kill something? 

Am I not the enemy and the avenger too? 

Can we change our ways? 

The ways of our country? 

 

So much to do, 

So much to change. 

So much caring, 

So much love, 

Yet to be given.  

 

Geneva Agnes Gates Foote 

Berkeley


Another side to winemaking story

Steve Freedkin
Friday September 28, 2001

Editor: 

While Robert Mondavi gains “points” with a large contribution to the University of California (Daily Planet, Sept. 20), there is a the dark side to the Mondavi winemaking family: A concerted union-busting effort. 

The Mondavis (specifically, Peter Jr. and Marc Mondavi) have locked out the workers at their Krug Winery in St. Helena, Calif. since July 3.  

They are attempting to divide and conquer the workers by offering pay raises to a few while cutting pay to most – at a time when the winery is posting a 45 percent increase in sales. 

The 43 workers of the last unionized wine-production crew in Napa Valley remain united, though suffering as they are kept from their jobs. 

Krug Winery sells under the names Charles Krug and C.K. Mondavi.  

Boycotting these products is one more way to pressure the Mondavis to end the lock-out and bargain in good faith. 

 

Steve Freedkin 

Berkeley


LA mayor appointed to air safety task force

Associated Press
Friday September 28, 2001

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mayor James Hahn has agreed to head up a national task force on airport security and said he will work to restore the nation’s confidence in air travel. 

“Airport security is a top concern for mayors across the country,” said Hahn, who will lead the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ newly formed task force. 

Hahn was appointed by the president of the conference, Mayor Marc Morial of New Orleans. The task force will offer recommendations to the president and Congress for improving airport security. 

“We can see what works in our cities that maybe they’re not able to see directly at the national level,” Hahn said Thursday. 

He also said one of his top priorities would be to secure government assistance for airport employees who may be displaced as a result of new security measures, which might include replacing passenger and luggage personnel with law enforcement officials. 

Hahn said he already has sent a letter to President Bush, urging him to approve assistance packages that would include extended benefits and job training. 

The conference of mayors has also urged Bush to federalize airport security, which is now a local concern. On Thursday, Bush asked governors to mobilize their National Guard troops to boost airport security. 


Hundreds gather to honor UC’s community partners

By Kenyatte Davis Daily Planet staff
Friday September 28, 2001

UC Berkeley honored nine of its community partnership programs Tuesday during a two-hour gala held at the University House on the north side of campus. 

Hundreds gathered in the garden, ate hors d’oeuvres, drank white wine or sparkling water and admired the accomplishments of the honored organizations. 

The partners receiving recognition included Berkeley based Parents Guide Project, Suitcase Clinic, West Berkeley Neighborhood Collaboration and Berkeley Scholars to Cal. 

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Berdahl reflected on the importance of community as he presented certificates to representatives of each of the nine groups. 

“In a time of tragedy, one’s sense of community becomes even greater,” said Berdahl, “and that makes today’s event even more appropriate, as we honor those groups that have done so much to serve our community.” 

As Berdahl described each group and its community activity, five or six representatives stepped forward to receive their awards. 

“I think this is a great first step for building a strong bond between the university and the community,” said Willie Phillips, director of the West Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corporation. “That’s a bond that needs to be built because the community at Cal has resources that the community of Berkeley needs access to.” 

Students from UC Berkeley’s Consulting Program at Haas School of Business and Urban Planning Department have been very involved in the success of the WBNDC. With the resources that the university has made available, the non-profit organization has been able to produce a weekly marketplace, an interactive Web site, and the “West Berkeley Pride Guide,” a booklet of information celebrating West Berkeley.  

“The university brings resources that no non-profit could afford to buy,” said Phillips. “They play a critical role in building up the community.” 

One of the programs that was honored was the Interactive University Project, which, according Berdahl, was one of the first sites publicized on the Internet back in 1996. 

The program uses the Internet to give teachers from the Oakland and San Francisco school districts access to the resources of UC Berkeley. IU, as it is commonly called, has been fighting the digital divide for five years, not only by working with teachers locally, but by making the powerful learning tools available to teachers and students throughout the world. The Interactive University can be accessed at http://iu.berkeley.edu. 

The Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas, was another of the honored partnerships. The center, in partnership with UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, works with farm workers to research the effects of working in the fields and to ensure that they and their children are safe. 

Members of the Young Musicians Program, another of UC Berkeley’s community partnerships, provided the music for the evening. Students in the program attend a seven-week summer class on the UC Berkeley campus where they develop additional musical skills. The program boasts that it has sent 100 percent of its students to universities. 


Security tightened at Oakland Airport

By Gina Comparini Special to the Daily Planet
Friday September 28, 2001

At Oakland International Airport, the most common phrase used by one curb security supervisor is “no more.” No more curbside check-in. No more passengers taking their time to bid goodbye to loved ones who drop them off outside terminals. 

“They have to take care of all that on the way,” said curb security supervisor Marlon Condoll. “A car can’t sit at the curb in front of a terminal for more than one minute.” 

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the East Coast, changes along the perimeter of Oakland Airport could mean hassles and delays for passengers.  

Airlines are no longer offering curbside check-in, once considered a convenience for passengers. Instead, employees are working inside the airport to help passengers with their luggage, according to Whitney Brewer, a spokesperson for Texas-based Southwest Airlines. Federal Aviation Administration workers walk the airport making sure searches of shuttles and taxis parked outside terminals are being carried out, Condoll said. 

“It makes some customers leery, when they see me checking under a cab with a mirror,” Condoll said. “But it’s for their safety.” 

Companies that staff the airport are hiring more workers to accommodate security measures, and police officers are on hand to assist security workers, said Lester Patilla, a superintendent with the Port of Oakland, which manages the airport. The FAA must give approval before curbside check-in can resume, he said. 

Inside the airport, passengers must be prepared to have their carry-on baggage physically searched at security checkpoints, and random searches could occur at gates, Condoll said. Only passengers holding a ticket will be permitted to enter a security checkpoint, so passengers who purchase tickets electronically should contact airlines in advance, an FAA advisory warned. 

Keith Douglas, who works in Emeryville and flies frequently, said flying out of Oakland had posed no problems, and his only delay came when he decided to upgrade to first class at the last minute. Security measures at the airport following the Sept. 11 attacks are similar to those put in place during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, he said. 

“There was no curbside check-in back then, either,” Douglas said. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Feinstein’s proposed visa-freeze could hurt Berkeley

Steven Fyffe Special to the Daily Planet
Friday September 28, 2001

While Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s proposed six-month moratorium on student visas is designed to heighten security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, some people are saying that the measure could hurt Berkeley businesses and undermine cherished local values of freedom and democracy. 

Berkeley would be harder hit than most other parts of California if the proposed visa freeze went into effect, said Michael Dardia, senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. 

“Retail businesses have been hit hard already,” he said. “Retailers that cater to foreign students would suffer some pain, because small businesses tend to be much more cash dependent. They don’t have the reserves to carry them through slow periods.” 

In the last academic year, foreign students accounted for 19.6 percent of UC Berkeley’s graduate student population, according to Thomas Cesa, a statistician in the Office of Student Research at Berkeley. 

The freeze could take $10-$15 million out of Berkeley’s economy, Dardia estimated. 

California as a whole would stand to lose $175-$350 million, which is not a lot considering the amount of money the state generates, Dardia said. “It’s trivial. The state economy is $1.3 trillion. To put that in perspective, it is about three days of auto sales.” 

On a more ideological level, local Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Berkeley, is worried Feinstein’s proposal could undermine freedom and democracy, key values in Berkeley. 

“About a million students come into the U.S. to study, and this would in effect penalize the many because of the few,” said Andrew Sousa, Lee’s press secretary. 

“These programs are one of the best ways that we can support democracy throughout the world.” 

Lee would certainly support tightening the immigration process to make sure student visas are not being abused, Sousa said. 

“There does need to be some sort of a student visa process, that is clear. We need to make sure that the people who have student visas are using those to study here.” 

Senator Feinstein proposed the freeze on student visas after reports that Hani Hanjour, one of the suspected terrorists involved in the Sept. 11 attacks, entered the United States to study English at a language school in Oakland. 

Michael Palm, marketing director for the school, a division of Berlitz International Inc. which leases space at Holy Names College, said the school had accepted a man named Hani Hanjour into the program. 

Hanjour applied to study in Oakland through an agent in Saudi Arabia, providing a two-page application and a letter from a bank to prove he had enough money to pay for the course. When the fall quarter started, he did not show up for class. 

The FBI contacted the school and took Hanjour’s files within two days of the terrorist attacks, the spokesman said. 

“We have not received confirmation from the federal authorities that this is the same individual (that was involved in the attacks),” Palm said. 


Federal agents seek foreign students’ records after attacks

By Don Thompson Associated Press Writer
Friday September 28, 2001

SACRAMENTO — Federal investigators are reviewing foreign students’ records at California college campuses as they probe the Sept. 11 East Coast terrorist attacks, officials said Thursday. 

Agents have likely sought records from virtually every California campus, education officials said. Schools throughout the nation have also been asked for records. 

College officials are turning over records under the direction of a U.S. Department of Education legal opinion that says student privacy protections can be violated for reasons of health and safety. 

Investigators have “specific names of students who had some sort of connection to the terrorist attacks,” said Colleen Bentley-Adler, spokeswoman for the 23-campus California State University system. “We’re cooperating with the FBI and turning over the records.” 

Already, Middle Eastern students at California schools have been held as material witnesses. In San Diego, three men, all local students, were detained because investigators think they have ties to three hijackers who lived in San Diego before helping fly an airliner into the Pentagon. 

The FBI also picked up another student in Irvine, Calif., because of his suspected connections to the hijackers. 

A former CSU Sacramento student, Raed Hijazi, is on trial in Jordan on charges he intended to attack American tourists on the eve of the millennium. Hijazi took business classes at the school in 1989, and federal authorities said he has connections with two alleged hijackers and Osama bin Laden, the “prime suspect” behind the attacks. 

In Los Angeles, FBI agents were given records Friday on one student who is believed to have been on one of the hijacked flights, CSU-Dominguez Hills spokeswoman Pamela Hammond said. She said she couldn’t reveal the student’s name. 

Charles McFadden, spokesman for the 174,000-student University of California system, said officials there believe all nine campuses have been approached by FBI or Immigration and Naturalization Service agents. 

“They are asking for specific students records for the most part,” McFadden said. Neither he nor CSU spokeswoman Bentley-Adler knew of any blanket requests. 

That may have helped mute protests over release of the records, McFadden said. 

In Sacramento, however, the Los Rios Community College District gave agents a list of students enrolled in one academic program, spokeswoman Susie Williams told the Sacramento Bee. 

District officials first asked for a subpoena but relented upon the advice of federal education officials, Williams said. The district includes American River, Consumnes River and Sacramento City colleges. 

FBI agents reviewed records at CSU-Hayward last week, said spokesman Kim Huggett. 

“I think it’s probably unusual for college campuses in California not to be visited by the FBI,” given their ethnic diversity, Huggett said. “I would be surprised if they haven’t been to every college in the Bay Area,” which has a large Middle Eastern population. 

The 370,000-student CSU system enrolled 54,500 foreign students last year from dozens of countries, including 350 from Afghanistan. 

An FBI spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., said the agency wouldn’t comment on any part of its investigation, including student record searches. Bureau spokesmen in Sacramento and San Francisco did not immediately return telephone messages left by The Associated Press. 


In wake of attacks, Yom Kippur takes an even more solemn tone

By Richard N. Ostling AP Religion Writer
Friday September 28, 2001

 

 

The solemn tone of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, was made even more somber Thursday as worshippers remembered victims of the terrorists attacks. 

A day of fasting and prayer, Yom Kippur is normally devoted strictly to the confession of sins and reconciliation with God. But at Temple Emanu-El in Miami Beach, congregants who knew victims of the tragedy were asked to stand and call out the names of the dead. 

“September 11 is the Yom Kippur for America,” Rabbi Leonid Feldman said. 

The devastation “required a wholesale change of direction for us,” said Rabbi Kenneth Chasen of Westchester Reform Temple in suburban Scarsdale, N.Y., which lost two congregants. Services had to acknowledge worshippers’ grief while maintaining the age-old emphasis on “the humility of working to improve ourselves.” 

Congregation Ohev Shalom in Orlando, Fla., preserved the same balance. Said Rabbi Aaron Rubinger: “I’m a little hesitant to allow the terrorists to hijack the High Holy Days.” 

At Touro Synagogue in New Orleans, Rabbi David Goldstein’s Thursday sermon, in the form of a letter to his granddaughter, denounced “ugly xenophobes who don’t like Jews or blacks or, right now, don’t like Arabs either. 

“May you cherish pluralism and diversity and an unyielding tolerance for everyone,” he said. 

The Yom Kippur mourning ritual, which speaks of a book with the names of who shall live and who shall die, is “a very difficult thing to sit through” for many, even in an ordinary year, said Sherry Birnbaum, who has talked with many grieving families as a counselor at Westchester Jewish Community Services in Hartsdale, N.Y. That was only made worse by the events of this month. 

Larry Sherman, a member of North Shore Congregation in Glencoe, Ill., expressed the mood of many worshippers: “I can’t get it out of my mind. It’s hard to focus on anything but what happened.” 

Psychiatrist Michael Bennett attended worship at Boston’s Temple Israel. “It’s not just a Day of Atonement. It’s trying to gain perspective on your life,” he said. 

Judaism’s High Holy Days began with Rosh Hashana, the New Year, six days after the attacks. Yom Kippur concludes the season. 


Giuliani receives support for extending term as NY mayor

By Shannon McCaffrey Associated Press Writer
Friday September 28, 2001

NEW YORK (AP) — Rudolph Giuliani obtained the support of two of the three mayoral candidates Thursday for a plan that would allow him to stay on at City Hall for an extra three months while he guides the city through the aftermath of World Trade Center attack. 

But Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, one of the two Democrats still in the race, declined to support the idea, saying he was worried about the precedent it would set. 

Democrat Mark Green and Republican Michael Bloomberg agreed to go along with a proposal after meeting privately with Giuliani. 

Green spokesman Joe DePlasco said Thursday the Democrat would support legislation delaying the inauguration of the new mayor for up to three months “given the unprecedented World Trade Center catastrophe, the urgent need for a seamless transition and the importance of a united city.” 

Giuliani said at a news conference Thursday afternoon that he had met with the GOP nominee and “Mike Bloomberg agreed to it immediately.” The Bloomberg campaign confirmed its support for the deal soon after. 

Ferrer said he also met with Giuliani, “but after listening to his proposal and giving it careful and thoughtful consideration I have decided that I cannot support it. I know the politics of the moment might dictate a different position, but I am deeply concerned about the precedent this would set.” 

Ferrer and Green will face off in an Oct. 11 runoff for the Democratic Party’s nomination for mayor. 

Giuliani, who is supposed to leave office Dec. 31 because of term limits, said Wednesday he was discussing a plan with candidates vying for his job that would “unify the city” and provide him some role in New York’s recovery from the World Trade Center attack. 

Giuliani has been acclaimed for his leadership since the Sept. 11 attack and has been urged by some New Yorkers to stay on to help guide the city through the crisis. 

Various ideas have been floated about a Giuliani role. They include a three-month extension of his term, overturning city term limits to allow him to seek a full third term, or giving him some kind of position in charge of recovery operations. 

Giuliani made his strongest comments about his intentions in an interview broadcast Wednesday night on CBS’ ”60 Minutes II.” He said he was open to the idea of staying past the end of his term if New Yorkers wanted him to stay. 

“I want to do something that unifies the city because I love this city,” the mayor said. 

Earlier in the day, Giuliani called Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to seek the powerful Democrat’s support on legislation that would extend his term. 

Only the state Legislature or the Democratic-led City Council can overturn term limits. While there has been support in the GOP-led state Senate, the Democratic-controlled Assembly has given it a cool reception. 

“While the speaker is not a supporter of term limits, he is uncomfortable changing the rules,” said Silver spokeswoman Eileen Larrabee. 

She said Silver told Giuliani in their phone call Wednesday that he would bring it up with Assembly members. No date was set for such a discussion. 

The general election is Nov. 6. 

 


‘Desperately ill’ man becomes third recipient of artificial heart

By Michael Gracyzk Associated Press Writer
Friday September 28, 2001

HOUSTON — A “desperately ill” man became the world’s third recipient of a self-contained mechanical heart after a six-hour operation. 

The procedure Wednesday at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston follows the success of two implants of the AbioCor device at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Ky. 

“The procedure ... went as expected and the patient is resting comfortably,” the hospital said in a statement Thursday. 

“It couldn’t have gone better,” Dr. O.H. Frazier, who spent more than a decade helping develop the AbioCor replacement heart at the hospital’s Texas Heart Institute, told the Houston Chronicle. “Everything looks stable now. He’s not having any problems. We have some hope for him.” 

He told the newspaper the man had been “desperately ill for a long time” with heart failure and was not a candidate for a heart transplant because of complications involving his lungs. 

If the lung problem improves, doctors will reassess the possibility of a heart transplant, he said. 

The completely internal pump, made of plastic and titanium and weighing less than 2 pounds, is powered through the skin by an external battery pack. 

The hospital did not identify the patient or give his age and said it would withhold any information about the patient for at least 30 days. Officials said a news briefing was planned for Friday to discuss the procedure. 

University of Louisville surgeons implanted the first AbioCor hearts on July 2 and Sept. 13 at Jewish Hospital in Kentucky. 

The first patient, Bob Tools, is now in his 87th day. He is gaining weight and making excursions outside the hospital. Doctors said his kidneys, liver and lungs are functioning normally. 

Tom Christerson, just 14 days removed from the surgery, is still in the early stages of recovery, but doctors said his condition is improving. 

The heart, made by Massachusetts-based Abiomed Inc., is intended for patients with end-stage heart failure who have more than a 70 percent chance of dying within a month. 

The AbioCor study is initially limited to five people nationwide. Other approved sites in addition to the Houston and Louisville facilities include Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, both in Boston, and UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. 

The Texas Heart Institute, founded in 1962 by surgeon Dr. Denton Cooley, was the site of the nation’s first successful heart transplant and the first implantation of a total artificial heart. 

 


Engineers see measure of success in performance of WTC design

By Michelle Morgante Associated Press Writer
Friday September 28, 2001

CORONADO — As he watched the World Trade Center burn, Bob Hendershot knew the clock was ticking. In the safety of their San Diego home, his wife stared at the televised images and asked “What’s gonna happen?” 

The structural engineer knew that fire would most surely cause the buildings to collapse. At best, the thousands of people inside had three, maybe four hours to get out. 

In the end, the twin towers collapsed less than two hours after being rocked by jetliners. But Hendershot and his colleagues at a meeting in Coronado said Thursday they do not see the Sept. 11 disaster as a building failure. 

“From the point of view of those who escaped, this was a tremendously successful design,” he said. 

What lessons can be learned from the collapse of the World Trade Center towers is being discussed at the annual gathering of the Structural Engineers Association of California. 

Much of that will be determined after a team of “forensic engineers” goes to New York next week to begin reassembling the building debris. 

About a dozen structural engineers, metallurgists, fire protection engineers and other specialists will lay out pieces of the wreckage on a field in Staten Island, said Ron Hamburger, a member of the team. 

“Piece marks” recorded on the steel will be used as guides to enable them to put the debris together “like a giant jigsaw puzzle,” Hamburger said. 

The project will help explain what exactly caused the buildings to collapse. The engineers meeting at a Coronado resort have some preliminary ideas. 

The fires caused by fuel from the jetliners reached temperatures upward of 3,000 degrees, according to reports. Typical ceramic or asbestos fireproofing, such as that used in the twin towers, is intended to withstand fires as hot as 1,400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, steel is significantly weakened at 1,100 degrees. 

The damage from the jet crashes likely breached the towers’ fireproofing. That was why as he watched the buildings burn, Hendershot expected them to collapse. 

“Over a period of time, the steel would start to sag,” Hendershot said, recalling the time he watched the disaster unfold as emotionally traumatic. 

What likely happened, Hamburger said, was that in the intense heat, the connections which held the horizontal floor-framing members failed first. The floors then dropped off their horizontal support columns. 

“So as the floors started to fall off the columns as those connections failed, the columns would then begin to buckle,” he said. 

The weight of the dropping floors then caused a succession of buckling and collapse. 

But, Hendershot said, “these buildings withstood at least an hour, allowing thousands of occupants to exit — thousands of occupants. I think this is a testimony to quality engineering and consideration of life-safety issues.” 

Melvyn Green, who will replace Hendershot this week as the president of the California association, is joining a team of engineers who will consider whether the WTC disaster should lead to changes in building codes. 

One consideration Green has is the need to design stairways that accommodate firefighters entering buildings even as civilians are evacuating them. Workers who left the World Trade Center said they jostled to get past firefighters going up narrow stairwells. 

Designing “redundancy” in fire-protection mechanisms is another matter, he said. Green intends to stress the importance of alarms, practiced exit plans and perhaps fire wardens spaced throughout high-rise buildings. 

He also noted that the water sprinklers at the WTC were not effective against flammable liquid such as jet fuel and likely only served to spread the fire. 

The terrorist attack “was a horribly, carefully calculated procedure to do maximum damage,” he said. 

But planning for such unforeseeable catastrophes isn’t practical, due to the costs of using materials capable of withstanding intense heat, such as those used for space craft exteriors. 

“The fact is that when we design buildings, structures, bridges, we consider events that are likely to affect them, not any event that could credibly occur,” Hamburger said. The World Trade Center disaster “is not one that could credibly be anticipated.” 

Moreover, he said, the basic intent of designers is to allow people to safely evacuate a structure, not prevent structural damage. 

“Given that 90 percent or more of the occupants of the center were able to escape,” he said, “I think you would have to call it a success. A complete success? No. But a success.” 

 


Roll right through painting jobs with the correct tools

By James and Morris Carey For AP Newsfeatures
Friday September 28, 2001

Paint industry experts say that about 95 percent of do-it-yourself interior wall painting is done with a roller. Even a rank amateur can use a paint roller because they’re simple to use, effective and fast. 

But, even with the best and simplest of tools, there are things one should know to get the most work done while exerting the least energy. 

According to Ed Majkrzak, technical director at True Value Paint Co., “Good paint alone won’t do the trick.” Ed tells us that a good applicator is equally important. Since the roller cover itself is the most important part of the paint-rolling system, it is important to focus on how to choose the best one, and then, how to properly use it. 

The roller cover is a two-part contraption consisting of the core and the fabric covering. Majkrzak says that the core is the “foundation” of the roller cover and that the best type is made of phenolic-impregnated (resin-impregnated) craft paper. This core is made through an interesting process. First, craft paper is rolled into a continuous tube that looks like a cardboard mailer. Next, the paper tube is pressure-injected with a special resin and the whole thing is then sent into an oven and heat-cured. 

The resultant core is a hard material that is resistant to paint solvents, and creates a tube that is nearly impossible for the average person to crush. Plastic, on the other hand, will soften in certain solvents, and a plastic core that is not perfectly round will “bump” on the surface resulting in an uneven distribution of paint. 

Both water and solvents will soften the cheapest of the three cores — the plain-cardboard type. A plain-cardboard roller core will generally not hold up any longer than it takes to paint one room. 

Top-quality rollers pick up and release more paint per fill and provide more uniform coverage with less effort. Inexpensive rollers tend to mat-down, reducing the amount of paint the roller will hold and requiring more frequent fillings. 

The fabric covering also has much to do with the quality of a good roller cover. Unfortunately, all the commonly used fabrics are available in many grades, and, therefore, practically the only way to hope for good-quality material is to purchase top-of-the-line roller covers. 

Desired qualities in roller-cover fabric: 

—Ability to pick up paint. 

—Ability to release the paint evenly on the surface. 

—Ability to recover from compression. A fabric that mats down is no good. 

—What surface finishes it can create (smooth, rough, orange-peel, etc.). 

—Tendency to not shed. 

Keep the following in mind when selecting a roller cover: 

—For an ultra-smooth wall finish using enamel or semi-gloss paint, use a 1/4-inch mohair or a 1/4-inch all-purpose cover. 

—For brick or block use a 1-and-1/2-inch pile cover. 

—For flat finishes on walls and ceilings, use a 3/8ths-inch to 1/2-inch pile cover. 

Most manufacturers offer guides that suggest the best use for their roller cover. It is important to follow these guidelines. Doing so will help ensure a good job. 

Finally, it’s essential to know how to fill a roller and then how to properly distribute the paint on the wall. Properly filling a roller requires the use of a roller pan. The pan serves two purposes: a place to soak the roller with paint and a place to roll off the excess to ensure that the paint is evenly distributed throughout the roller. Dip the roller in the paint well and roll it back and forth until it is completely covered with paint. Then roll the cover back and forth over the angled section of the pan until the paint is evenly distributed all around the roller. 

Note: Don’t move a roller cover to the wall while it is dripping with paint. A dripping roller is one that is overfilled. Bring the roller back to the pan and roll it back and forth again until the paint no longer drips. 

To apply the paint, use an “M” or “W” shape stroke on the wall. Then move the roller up and down to evenly spread the paint. 

For more home improvement tips and information, visit our Web site at www.onthehouse.com. 

 


Kill mildew before it has a chance to grow

By Morris and James Carey For AP Weekly Features
Friday September 28, 2001

 

 

Q. Julie asks: I have a mildew problem on the ceiling above my shower. I do not have a window in the bathroom. I want to paint, but am worried it might just be covering a problem instead of repairing it. I use bleach about every two weeks to clean the ceiling and walls, and it does make the appearance of the mildew go away for a few days. What would be the best thing for me to do? 

A. Mildew in your home is easy to remove. Just mix one-third cup of powdered laundry detergent (less if concentrated) and 1 quart of liquid chlorine bleach with 3 quarts of warm water. Add the bleach to the water first and then the detergent. Scrub with a bristle brush, and in minutes the mildew will disappear. Rinse the area thoroughly and towel-dry. Although this reasonably mild solution can be used for most painted surfaces, you’ll want rubber gloves, eye protection and plenty of ventilation. 

But why spend time removing mildew when you can prevent it? Mildew can’t grow without a food source, and the food source that mildew thrives on is moisture. Mildew spores are in the air everywhere. They look for moist places to settle, feed and grow. 

How do you prevent mildew from growing? Reduce or eliminate the food source by cutting down on the amount of moisture, usually condensation, which settles on walls, floors and ceilings. This might not be as simple for someone who lives in Florida as for a family in west Texas, but, given varying degrees of attention, eradication is possible even in relatively humid climates. 

That you don’t have a window in your bathroom means that ventilation might be poor. Moreover, the lack of natural light provides optimal conditions for mildew growth. 

According to the Building Code, a bathroom without a window must have an exhaust fan to remove moisture and odors. Unfortunately, bath fans are often undersized, broken or simply not used. If you have an exhaust fan, make sure that it is cleaned periodically, that the duct is properly connected and in good shape and that it is always used during showering and allowed to run for 10 to 15 minutes after the shower is over. Also, check the CFM rating on your fan housing (that’s the amount of air that the fan moves expressed as cubic feet per minute); anything less than 80 cfms usually is too small for most American bathrooms. Consider upgrading to a larger model, if such is the case. 


Though a toilsome task, pulling weeds is essential to a healthy looking garden

By LeeReich AP Weekly Features
Friday September 28, 2001

Hot weather may not inspire any more gardening activity than plucking a juicy tomato off the vine, but don’t neglect weeding. Untended weeds become worse troublemakers later. 

Autumn is just around the corner, and its cool, moist weather is just what horse nettle, bindweed, and other perennial weeds need to firmly establish a home in your garden. Weeds weaken garden plants, diminishing the show of flowers and the yields of vegetables. 

Killing weeds now not only cuts the amount of weeding you’ll have to do next spring, it also will leave some bare soil in which to sow seeds in the coming weeks. Many perennial flowers — delphinium, clematis, and evening primrose, for example — do well if sown in autumn. Seeds of annuals such as snapdragon, poppy, and pansy can lie in the ground through winter, ready to come to life with the first breath of spring. 

Autumn is a bountiful time in the garden. The cool weather brings out the best in cabbages, Brussels sprouts, lettuces, mustard greens and turnips. Flowers such as stonecrop sedum, delphinium, viola, and, of course, chrysanthemum will burst into bloom. Even annuals like calendula, snapdragon, alyssum, and petunia continue their show until the mercury plummets well below freezing. 

But you’re not going to be able to see your flowers if they’re lost in a sea of weeds. You can kill the weeds with a hoe or a rototiller, or you can just bend down and rip them out with your bare hands, roots and all. You also can smother them beneath mulch. Four layers of wet newspaper, topped by wood chips or straw to hide the paper and hold it down, effectively kills weeds. 

Weeding need not be a daunting task. Start at one end of the garden, then slowly and methodically make your way across to the other side. Keep an eye on what you are doing, not what you have left to do. Work in the cool of early morning or evening, pleasant times to be in the garden, even if you are weeding. 


Flea markets can save you a bundle

By The Associated Press
Friday September 28, 2001

Here’s a comparison of what decorators Jane Bell Cammarata and Linda Clay estimate it would cost to buy items at a flea market to furnish a child’s room, and what the same items might cost new or at an antiques store (their purchases were hypothetical): 

- The 7- by 9-foot needlepoint rug would cost $50 at the sale; on the market, expect to spend $300 or more. 

- Slant-top desk would be a bargain at $75; a new one would probably cost about $600. 

- Yellow cabinet with glass doors would cost the decorators $125; market price for a similar item would be about $700. 

- A small lamp would go for $15 at the sale; new, it would run about $100. 

- Three pictures at the sale have an estimated cost of $20; if new, $100. 

- Two window treatments could be conjured up by the decorators from a $10 price for drapery remnants; similar new ones would be about $550. 

- The rush-seat stool would go for $7; new, it would be $45. 

- A $1 basket at the sale would cost about $10 in a store. 

- The child’s rocker picked up for $25 would cost $125 retail. 

- Bed linens, which the women say they could get for $20, would run around $200 new. 

- And the bird cage, priced at $30 for the sale, would cost around $90. 

Estimated flea market costs: $378 

Estimated retail costs: $2,820 

Estimated savings: $2,442 


Davis signs bills aimed at status quo in Legislature, Congress

BY STEVE LAWRENCE ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER SACRAMENTO
Friday September 28, 2001

Gov.Gray Davis has signed redistricting 

bills that will probably allow 

Democrats to dominate California’s 

Legislature and congres-sional 

delegation for the next decade. 

But the bipartisan measures 

also tend to strengthen Republicans’ 

hold on the seats they have 

now and may keep Democrats 

from winning a majority in the 

House of Representatives next 

year. 

“This reapportionment effort 

was a most cooperative bipartisan 

endeavor,” the Democratic 

governor said Thursday. “No 

plan is perfect, but the maps produced 

this year are fair and balanced.” 

Legislators are required to 

approve new districts for them-selves 

and the state’s congres-sional 

representatives every 10 

years to reflect population 

changes revealed by federal cen-sus. 

If one party controls the 

process it can draw the lines to 

try to create more winnable seats 

for its candidates. 

Democrats were firmly in 

charge of redistricting in Califor-nia 

this year because of their big 

majorities in the Legislature and 

the presence of Davis in the governor’s office. 

But Democrats decided to use 

the process to solidify their hold 

on the seats they have now 

instead of trying to draw several 

more Democratic leaning districts. 

That decision avoided a 

Republican Party challenge to 

the plans in court or through a 

voter referendum. 

However, a Democrat is likely 

to win the additional congres-sional 

seat that the state was 

awarded because of its popula-tion 

growth in the 1990s. That 

new seat is in Los Angeles 

County. 

Democrats currently hold 

26 of the 40 seats in the 

state Senate, 50 of the 80 

seats in the state Assembly 

and 32 of California’s 52 

seats in the House of Repre-sentatives. 

Davis said the plans were put 

together by “extremely diverse” 

legislative committees that 

included blacks, Latinos, Asians, 

gays and women. 

But some of the new districts 

have come under fire from Latino 

and Asian organizations that 

say the lines reduce the clout of 

minority group voters. 

And some female lawmakers 

have complained the 

Senate and congressional 

plans would prevent a number 

of assemblywomen from 

moving up the political ladder. 

 


State treasurer urges regulators to set stage for bond sale

By Jennifer Coleman Associated Press Writer
Friday September 28, 2001

SACRAMENTO — State Treasurer Phil Angelides said Thursday that delays by the California Public Utilities Commission mean the state won’t issue $12.5 billion in energy bonds to repay the state general fund until next year. 

Any more delays could cause a $9.3 billion deficit in the next fiscal year, Angelides said. 

California has spent nearly $9 billion buying power since January, when three utilities, who had amassed billions in debt, could no longer buy electricity for their customers. 

“This state started this year in very tough times,” Angelides said. “To keep the lights on, the state lent its nest egg, money intended for education, health care services, programs for the poor and basic services of state government. It’s time to pay that money back.” 

Before the state can sell the bonds, however, the PUC must approve two agreements, one which would set the initial portion of utility bills that will go toward repaying the state, the other to allow the state to raise electric rates if it isn’t collecting enough to repay the debts. 

To make the bonds appealing to buyers, there must be a guarantee that some part of customers’ rates will be dedicated toward repayment, Angelides said. 

But energy regulators have delayed voting on the agreements with the Department of Water Resources, the state agency charged with buying enough electricity to supply the utilities’ customers. 

PUC Commissioner Richard Bilas and other commissioners have said they aren’t happy about potentially giving up the PUC’s right to scrutinize how the state is spending ratepayer dollars and how high it could raise electric rates. 

“I think there are a lot of problems with the agreement,” Bilas said. But it may be the best the state can do and “you’ve got to trade that off against the fiscal integrity of the state.” 

After the PUC approval, it will take at least 60 days to arrange the bond sale, Angelides said, but a legal challenge could extend that timeline. The PUC is now set to vote on the issues Tuesday. 

“I see no way these bonds could be sold this year,” Angelides said. 

Without paying the state back by the 2002-03 fiscal year, the state will be short $9.3 billion, which would require cutting about 18 percent of California’s non-education spending, Angelides said. 

Such a shortfall would resemble the deficits of the mid-1990s, when the state raised taxes and made deep spending cuts, he said. 

The rate agreement has been stalled while the PUC examines an alternative plan for the bonds approved by the Legislature. 

That plan, proposed by Sen. John Burton, D-San Francisco, would set aside part of existing consumer electricity rates to guarantee the state has enough money to pay off the energy bonds. It would also limit the use of the bond money to cover electricity purchases and legislatively approved administrative costs and would require public hearings before the DWR could raise consumer rates to cover power purchases. 

Burton said there’s a consensus that his plan would save $1 billion and “make it easier to sell the bonds. Earlier this year, the treasurer endorsed splitting the bond payment, rather than giving carte blanche to the DWR.” 

Consumer advocate Jamie Court of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights also supports Burton’s plan, saying it would stop DWR and Gov. Gray Davis from having a “blank check” for power deals. 

 


Toy makers respond to parental concern by de-emphasizing violence

By Anne d’Innocenzio AP Business Writer
Friday September 28, 2001

 

 

NEW YORK — Patty Gonzales now keeps soldiers and other military toys in a closet, hidden from her 5- and 6-year-old sons. Instead, she bought them rescue hero figures such as firefighters and policemen. 

Lisa Eastman bought Lego blocks and puzzles for her 6-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy. 

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, more and more parents are trying to rid their children’s lives of violent toys. 

“We just need a break,” said Eastman, a 38-year-old Manhattanite. “My kids now have nightmares about fires and about all those bad guys.” 

The toy industry has been doing some soul-searching, too, editing product lines, pulling toys from retail shelves and delaying release of items that might be viewed as too violent. 

And though it’s too early to gauge post-disaster buying trends, retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., have noticed more sales of firefighter and policeman figures, as well as rescue vehicles. One hot seller has been Mattel Inc.’s Fisher-Price “Rescue Heroes,” a lineup of 7-inch characters unveiled in 1998. 

Toy analysts also believe Hasbro Inc.’s newly relaunched GI Joe could be attractive to parents who want to help children act out their fears. Wal-Mart reported an initial uptick in sales of GI Joe’s since the terrorist attacks. 

For others, such as Eastman and Gonzales, military figures are just too powerful when the real thing is on city streets. 

“It’s bad enough that they see the Army in the airports,” said Gonzales, a 24-year-old from Brooklyn. 

Chris Byrne, an independent toy analyst, predicts “those nasty toys that destroy enemies for the sake of unspecified violent play” will be replaced by heroes who restore order. 

“All of this destruction and combat play has been possible because it is so abstract,” he said. “Now ’the threat’ is real.” 

Mattel, the world’s largest toy manufacturer, has already withdrawn its Heli-Jet vehicle, which belongs to its Max Steel line of merchandise based on a teen superhero cartoon series. It contains a mission card with a specific goal: Save New York City from the villain called Vitriol, who stands atop the World Trade Center, ready to blast the city with deadly energy waves. 

Bandai America aims to play down the fighting aspect of its Power Rangers action figures and push “teamwork and friendship,” says Colleen Sherfey, director of marketing. She said the company has redesigned some of its advertising and marketing. 

This re-evaluation couldn’t come at a more critical time for retailers and manufacturers, which have already shipped their products into stores for the Oct. 1 holiday deadline. 

How long consumers’ increased sensitivity will last is anyone’s guess, but many consumer advocates see a new climate favoring less violent types of toys. 

Ann Brown, chairwoman of the Consumer Products Safety Commission, said she’s against any toys that “glorify violence.” 

What’s appropriate for children, she said, are toys that help children “deal with violence,” such as Army toys and GI Joes. “Kids need to really re-enact their fears as heroes,” she said, recommending toys that emphasize rescue workers like nurses and firefighters. 

“Children have fears anyway,” she continued. “The attacks have increased those fears. ... Now they have tangible evidence to focus those fears on.” 

She and other consumer advocates are closely monitoring the video game industry. 

Video game makers have already delayed some new games containing images of the World Trade Center to remove the graphics. But for the now-delayed fall launches of games that involve terrorist or other violent activity, the issue is trickier: When will the consumer be ready? 

“Video game makers are buying more time right now,” said Dan Hsu, editor in chief of Electronic Gaming Monthly. “I think they are going to take a safer approach to content for 2002 and 2003.” 

Sega of North America indefinitely postponed its “Propeller Arena” game, involving planes in combat in various cities. It had been set for the end of the month. 

Ubi Soft Entertainment, which owns Red Storm Entertainment, has delayed its PC game, part of a series based on Tom Clancy’s novels. The new release, “Rogue Spear: Black Thorn,” has players involved in counterterrorist games. 

Natasha Spring, 38, of Petaluma, Calif., now doesn’t plan to buy her children — two boys, ages 9 and 5, and a 2-year-old girl — a game console. 

“Even if they watch sports games, it just opens the door for violent games,” she said. “I think they are going to be sticking to Disney cartoons.” 

Merchants said they see no reason to remove existing violent games, even if they involve terrorist threats. They’re leaving it to consumer discretion. 

Zany Brainy, which has avoided carrying violent video games and toys, expects parents to gravitate this holiday season toward more toys with “open-ended play.” 

“I think we will be seeing strength in Legos, trains and board games, as well as arts and crafts,” said Tom Vellios, president and chief executive officer. 

Spokeswoman Lisa Orman said the retailer also expects more participation than ever in its program allowing a violent toy to be traded in for a safer one on a designated weekend. 


Slow-starting ’Jackets roll over Pinole Valley

By Jared Green Daily Planet Staff
Thursday September 27, 2001

When it comes to ACCAL play, the Berkeley High girls’ volleyball is a machine, chewing up opponents and spitting them out. The Yellowjackets went undefeated in league play last year, and head coach Justin Caraway is confident of repeat. 

“You’re looking at another undefeated league season,” Caraway said after his team had finished mopping the floor with Pinole Valley on Wednesday, 15-7, 15-1, 15-1. 

With 6-foot-5 USA youth team member Desiree Guilliard-Young manning the middle for the ’Jackets, no team in the league can match them at the net. And though Caraway lost four key members of last year’s squad to graduation, he has simply reloaded with a new set of talented players. 

Outside hitters Vanessa Williams and Amalia Jarvis are the keys to Berkeley’s post-season hopes. If they can maintain a threat on the outside and keep teams from keying on Guilliard-Young, things should go smoothly for Caraway’s team. The two combined for 10 kills against the Spartans and impressed their coach. 

“We had an outstanding game from all of our outside hitters, which we can do when we pass well,” Caraway said. “If we have a good passing day, we can get the ball to Desiree in the middle early, then get our swings on the outside later.” 

The ’Jackets started slowly against Pinole Valley, perhaps feeling some malaise from their lackluster effort against Richmond on Tuesday. Several Berkeley errors handed points to the much smaller Spartans, who held a lead of 7-6 before the ’Jackets got on track. With Nadia Qabazard serving, Berkeley ran off nine straight points to take the first game. 

“There’s no way (Pinole Valley) should get seven points on us,” Caraway said. “We didn’t pass particularly well, and we didn’t adjust to their different servers.” 

It was all ’Jackets from there on out. The Spartans struggled just to set up their hitters, and when they did, the ball usually was stuffed right back at them as Guilliard-Young and Williams combined for four blocks. Williams also had three kills in the final game, and Jarvis finished off the Spartans with the final two kills. 

Caraway doesn’t expect much competition in league play, with the exception of Encinal. With last year’s league MVP in Jackie Randolph, Caraway points the Jets out as the only team that could threaten his team’s dominance.  

Last year, Berkeley blew through the regular season, but was stopped in the first round by Bishop O’Dowd. Caraway hopes to toughen his team for post-season play this year by playing in several top-level tournaments, including the Bishop Montgomery/Piner event this weekend in Santa Rosa. 

“We have to play good teams to get ready to face tough teams in the playoffs,” Caraway said.


Thursday September 27, 2001

 

924 Gilman Street Sept. 28: Erase Errata, The Intima, Ibobuki, (+tba); Sept. 29: DS-13, Beware, Blown To Bits, (+tba); Oct 5: Subincision, Gary’s Agenda, Eugene (+ tba); Oct 6: Tight Brothers from Way Back When, Smash Your Face, Cherry Valence, Bare Bones; Oct 12: One Line Drawing, Funeral Dinner, Diefenbaker, Till 7 Years Pass Over Him; Oct 13: Dead and Gone, Cattle Decapitation, Vulgar Pigeons, Wormwood, Antagony; Most shows are $5 and start at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 

 

Albatross Pub Sept. 27: Kenji “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Oct 3: Wesley Brothers; Oct 4:Keni “El Lebrijano” Flemenco Guitar; All free shows begin at 9 p.m. 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

albatrosspub@mindspring.com  

 

Anna’s Sept. 27: David Jeffrey Fourtet, Brendan Milstein; Sept. 28: Anna sings jazz standards, 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Sept. 29: Robin Gregory, Bliss Rodriguez, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Sextet, Donald Duck Bailey; Sept. 30: Acoustic Soul; All shows begin at 8 p.m. 1801 University Ave. 849-ANNA www.annasbistro.com 

 

Café de la Paz Poetry Nitro, performance showcase with open mike. All shows free, 7 - 10 p.m. 

 

Cal Performances Sept. 30: 7 p.m. Kronos Quartet, David Barron, $30; Oct. 12 - 14: Fri. and Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Ballet Nacional De Cuba, $24 - $46; Oct. 17 and 18: 8 p.m. Cesaria Evora, $24 - $36; Oct. 19: 8 p.m. Karnak, $18 - $30. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph, 642-0212, tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

Eli’s Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10. Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

 

Freight & Salvage Sept. 27: Dick Gaughan, $18.50; Sept 28: Jenna Mammina, $16.50; Sept. 29: The Nigerian Brothers, $16.50; Sept. 30: Vasen, $17.50; Oct 2: Budowitz; Oct 3: The Robin Nolan Trio; Oct 4: Darol Anger & Mike Marshall; Oct 5: Golden Bough; Oct 6: The Limeliters; Oct 7: Eddie From Ohio; Oct 8: All Nation Singers, Walter Ogi Johnson, Thunder; All shows start at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.com 

 

Jack’s Bistro Sept. 28: 9 p.m. Tomas Michaud’s New World Flamenco Quartet, Jack London Square. 444-7171  

www.starland-music.com 

 

Jazzschool/La Note Sept. 30: 4 p.m., John Santos and the Machete Ensemble. $15. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5376 

 

Jupiter Sept. 28: Anton Schwartz Quartet; Sept 29: moderngypsies.net; All music starts at 8 p.m. 2181 Shattuck Ave.  

843-7625 www.jupiterbeer.com  

La Peña Cultural Center Sept. 27: 7:30 p.m. The local Friends of the MST will host a screening of the new documentary "Raiz Forte" or "Strong Roots" to present our community with a vision of their work and struggle. A discussion will follow. $5-$10; In the Cafe, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 www.lapena.org 

 

Music Sources Sept. 30: 5 p.m. Ole Scarlatta! Portuguese and French keyboards and fortepiano joined by Jason McGuire on flamenco guitar, $18 General, $15 members, seniors, students. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

 

Sedge Thomson’s West Coast Live Radio Show Sept. 29: Nancy Miford, The Nigerian Brothers, Caroline Dahl. The Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison St. All shows 10 a.m. - noon. 252-9214 www.wcl.org 

 

Benifit Concert for the Native  

American Health Center Sept. 28: 8 p.m. Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ulali, Lorrie Church, The Mankillers. Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. 625-8497  

 

UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Collaborates with Art Department Sept. 28 and 29: 8 p.m. The Symphony will perform several works during an exhibition featuring examples of Leonardo diptychs for the basis of portraying art in motion. $8 general admission, $2 students. Hertz Hall solotoff@uclink.berkeley.edu 

 

“The Complete Shostakovich String Quartets--Part One” Sept. 29: 10 a.m. Quartets III & IV; Oct. 20: 10 a.m. Quartets V & VI. Performed by the prize-winning Alexander String Quartet with Robert Greenberg. $ 30, $84 for the Trio of concerts. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org. 

 

Magnificat Sept. 29: 8 p.m. First Congregational Church. The San Francisco early music ensemble of voices and period instruments present their tenth anniversary season with music of seventeenth century composers. Tickets $12-$45 (415) 979-4500 

 

The Mike Yax Jazz Orchestra Sept. 30: 2 p.m., Longfellow School of the Arts, 1500 Derby St. 420-4560 

 

“Le Cirque des Animaux” Sept. 29: 8 p.m. Hausmusik presents a wacky baroque musical cabaret on the subject of animals. Parish Hall of St. Alban’s Espiscopal Church, 1501 Washington St. (not wheelchair accessible). $18 general admission, $15 seniors, students and SFEMS members) 527-9029 

“Murder Dressed in Satin” by Victor Lawhorn, ongoing. A mystery-comedy dinner show at The Madison about a murder at the home of Satin Moray, a club owner and self-proclaimed socialite with a scarlet past. Dinner is included in the price of the theater ticket. $47.50 Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland. 239-2252 www.acteva.com/go/havefun 

 

“Twelfth Night” Sept. 25 - 30, Oct. 2 - 7, Tue. - Thurs. 7:30 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m., Student Matinees: Sept. 18, 20, 25, Oct. 2, @ 1 p.m. California Shakespeare Festival presents William Shakespeare’s comic tale of romance, loneliness, love and glory. Directed by Jonathan Moscone. $12 - $41. Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, Highway 24, Gateway Exit, one mile east of the Caldecott Tunnel. 548-9666 www.calshakes.org 

 

“Swanwhite” through Oct. 21: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. A new translation of the Swedish Play that asks the question what good is romantic love, directed by Tom Clyde. $20, Sundays are “Pay What You Can.” Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305, www.virtuous.com 

 

“Orestes” Oct. 5 through Oct. 21: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. An adaptation of the classical play by Euripides that incorporates passages inspired or taken from various 20th century texts. Written by Charles Mee, directed by Christopher Herold. $6-12. Zellerbach Playhouse on the UC Berkeley campus 642-8268 

 

“36 Views” through Oct. 28: Tues. 8 p.m., Wed. 7 p.m., Thu. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Thu., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Sat., Sun. 2 p.m., 8 p.m. Written by Naomi Lizuka, directed by Mark Wing-Davey. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. 647-2949  

www.berkeleyrep.org 

 

Pacific Film Archive Sept. 28: 7 p.m. Ugetsu, 8:55 Sansho the Bailiff; Sept. 29: 7 p.m. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part I, Joel Adlen on piano; Sept. 30: Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part II, Joel Adlen on piano; general admission $7, The New PFA Theatre 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412 

 

“Tree-Sit: The Art of Resistance” Oct 4: 7 p.m. Feature-length documentary chronicles 10 years of young activist’s struggle to protect ancient redwoods. La Pena Cultural Centre, 3105 Shattuck Ave. (415) 820-1635 

 

“Reykjavik” Sept. 28 - Oct. 4: A young man’s sexual impulses go haywire when he discovers the woman he has just been to bed with also happens to be his mother’s lesbian lover. Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Ave. 843-3456 

 

Nexus Gallery through Sept. 30: noon - 6 p.m. Jan Eldridge- Large charcoal drawings and acrylic collages; Tricia Grame- visual and textural autobiography of her spiritual evolution; Tanya Wilkinson- A sensuous exploration of the possibilities inherent in the medium of handmade paper. 

 

Women’s Cancer Resource Gallery “Catastrophe, Crisis, and Other Family Traditions,” the photography of Jessamyn Lovell. Through Sept. 26; “The Arthur Wright and Gerald Parker,” through Sept. 26; Tues. - Thurs. 1 - 7 p.m., Sat. 12 - 4 p.m. 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 Ext. 307 www.wcrc.org 

 

Bahman Navaee is exhibiting his paintings. Through Sept. 29: Persian Center, 2029 Durant Ave. 848-0264 

 

UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Collaborates with Art Department Sept. 28 and 29: 8 p.m. The Symphony will perform several works during an exhibition featuring examples of Leonardo diptychs for the basis of portraying art in motion. $8 general admission, $2 students. Hertz Hall solotoff@uclink.berkeley.edu 

 

“Debbie Moore’s Autobiographical Paintings” through Sept. 30 at Good Vibrations. Portraits of the artist’s sensual explorations spanning 25 years and reflecting changing ways of intimacy and body play. 2504 San Pablo Avenue 848-1985 

 

“Three Visions” through Sept. 30: 12 - 6 p.m., An Exhibition of Mixed Media. Nexus Gallery, 2707 Eighth St. (707) 554-2520 

 

“The Decade of Change: 1900 - 1910” through September. 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.  

 

“Squared Triangle” through Oct. 5: noon - 6 p.m. A minimalist art exhibit featuring three Bay Area artists working in different mediums while achieving the same elegant simplicity. The Crucible, 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.com 

“Inside Editions” through Oct. 12: Nine printmakers exhibit their work. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tue. - Fri. Free. Kala Art Insitute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 kala@kala.org 

 

“Census 2000: Asian Pacific Islander Americans” through Oct. 13; Wed. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Asian Pacific Islander American artists in roughly the demographic proportions indicated by the recent census. Free. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9470  

 

“MWP Perspectives” Jon Orvik: One artist’s journey. Through Oct. 27 Tues. - Fri. 12 - 5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 12 - 4 p.m. Solo artist exhibiting his journey through metal, wood and paint. Adapt Gallery and Design, 2834 College Ave. 649-8501 www.adaptgallery.com  

 

“50 Years of Photography in Japan 1951 - 2001” through Nov. 5: An exhibition from The Yomiuri Shimbun, the world’s largest daily newspaper with a national morning circulation of 10,300,000. Photographs of work, love, community, culture and disasters of Japan as seen by Japanese news photographers. Opening Reception Sept. 5: 6 - 8 p.m. open to the public; Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. U.C. Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall, Hearst and Euclid. Free. 642-3383 

 

“Jesus, This is Your Life - Stories and Pictures by Kids” through Nov. 16: California children, ages four through twelve, from diverse backgrounds present original artwork, accompanied by a story written by the artist. Mon. - Thur. 8:30 a.m. -10 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. 12 p.m. - 7 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541. 

 

“Changing the World, Building New Lives: 1970s photographs of Lesbians, Feminists, Union Women, Disability Activists and their Supporters” through Nov. 17: An exhibit of black and white photographs by Oakland photographer Cathy Cade, who captured the interrelationships of the different struggles for justice and social change. Opening reception Sept. 15, 5 - 8 p.m. Gallery Hours, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St. Free. 644-1400 cathycade@mindspring.com 

 

“The Whole World’s Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s” Sept. 16 through Dec. 16: A documentary photo exhibition which examines the rich history of the social movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Wed. - Sun., noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Free. 644-6893 

 

“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 Botticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours. Atelier 9 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

 

Readings 

 

Boadecia’s Books Sept. 21: Deborah Kesten, “The Healing Secrets of Food;” Sept. 22: A special All Poetry Dyke Open Myke, to participate call 655-1015 or feroniawolf@yahoo.com; Sept 28: The Return of Gaymes Night; Sept 29: Ellen Samuels and other contributors to “Out of the Ordinary: Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian & Transgender Parents”; Mark Pritchard reads from “How I Adore You”; Oct 6: Terry Ryan reads from “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 words or Less”; All events start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise. All events are free. 398 Colusa Ave. 559-9184 www.bookpride.com 

 

Cody’s on 4th Street Sept. 20: 7 p.m. Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef, “The Naked Chef Takes Off”; Sept. 22: 10:30 a.m. Cody’s for Kids, Walter the Giant Storyteller; Sept. 25: 7 p.m. Nancy London has been cancelled; Oct 5: 7 p.m. Glen Davis Gold reads from “Carter Beats the Devil”; Oct 12: Cody’s For Kids- Rosemary Wells and Bunny Party; 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 

 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Sept. 17: Aldo Alvarez describes “Interesting Monsters”; Sept. 18: Clarence Walker discusses “We Can’t Go Home Again: An Argument About Afrocentrism; Sept. 19: Douglas Coupland reads “All Families Are Psychotic”; Sept. 24: Theodore Roszak discusses “Longevity Revolution: As Boomers Become Elders”; Sept. 25: Ken Croswell discusses “The Universe At Midnight: New Discoveries Illuminate the Hidden Cosmos” with a slide show presentation; Sept. 27: Bill Ayers talks about “Fugitive Days”; Oct 1: Urdsula K. Le guin reads from “The Other Wind”; Oct 2: Jonathan Franzen reads from “The Corrections”; Oct 4: Eric Seaborg looks at “Adventures in the Atomic Age: From Watts to Washington”; Oct 5: Victor Villasenor reads from “Thirteen Senses”; All shows at 7:30 p.m. 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

 

Cody’s Other Venues - Sept. 20: 7:30 p.m. Cody’s presents an evening with Margaret Atwood in conversation with professor Robert Alter. $12. First Congregational Church 2345 Channing Way; Sept. 28: 7:30 p.m. Cody’s presents a Community Forum on Race and the Achievement Gap at Berkeley High School. Little Theater, Berkeley High School; Oct 7: 7 p.m. Coleman Barks- The Soul of Rumi First Congregational Church of Berkeley 2345 Dana 

 

Coffee Mill Poetry Series Sept. 18: Ben Brose and Jen Iby followed by open mike reading. 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland 465-3935 ksdgk@earthlink.net 

 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Sept. 29: 7 p.m. Kip Fulbeck reads from his first novel, “Paper Bullets.” 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore Sept. 20: 7:30 p.m. Antarctica & The Nature of Penguins, An evening with Jonathan Chester; Oct 2: 7:30 p.m. “Dancing with the Witchdoctor: One Woman’s Adventure in Africa” by Kelly James. 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

 

Lunch Poems reading Series Oct 4: 12:10 p.m. Ishmael Reed; Morrison Libary in Doe Library at UC Berkeley. Free 642-0137 http://www.berkeley.edu/calendar/events/poems/ 

 

Spasso Sept. 10: Sharron Jones-Reid, Fruit of the Spirit poets, acoustic musicians, comedians, rappers, performance artists, writers. All welcome. 6021 College Ave. Free admission. 

 

Tours 

 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Fridays 9:30 - 11:45 a.m. or by appointment. Call ahead to make reservations. Free. University of California, Berkeley. 486-4387 

 

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  

 

 

Museums 

 

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  

 

UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology Lobby, Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley “Tyrannosaurus Rex,” ongoing. A 20 foot 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 will close its exhibition galleries for renovation. It will reopen in early 2002. On View until Oct. 1 : “Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture.” “Sites Along the Nile: Rescuing Ancient Egypt.” “The Art of Research: Nelson Graburn and the Aesthetics of Inuit Sculpture.” “Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Photographs by George Foster.” $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 Avenue. 643-7648 or www.qal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

 

University of California Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive has reopened after its summer-long seismic retrofit. “Martin Puryear: Sculpture of the 1990s” through Jan. 13; “The Dream of the Audience: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951 - 1982)” through Dec. 16; “Face of Buddha: Sculpture from India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia” ongoing rotation through 2003; “Matrix 194: Jessica Bronson, Heaps, layers, and curls” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; “Matrix 192: Ceal Floyer 37’4”” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; Wed., Fri., Sat., Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., PFA Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way; Museum Galleries 2626 Bancroft Way; 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

 

Lawrence Hall of Science “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. Space Weather Exhibit now - Sept. 2; now - Sept. 9 Science in Toyland; 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  

 

Oakland Museum of California “Half Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon Parks,” through Sept. 23; Wednesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sunday, noon - 5 p.m., Closed Monday and Tuesday. $6 general; $4 youths (6-17), seniors and students with ID. Free for museum members and children 5 and under. Free admission the second Sunday of the month. 10th & Oak streets, Oakland. 238-2200 www.museum.org 

 

 

Send arts events two weeks in advance to Calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.net, 2076 University, Berkeley 94704 or fax to 841-5694.


Love it or leave it

Thursday September 27, 2001

Love it or leave it 

 

Editor: 

At a rally in Berkeley last week, you reported Gloria La Riva saying that everywhere she has traveled - including Iraq, North Korea and Palestine - people have told her that while they love American people, they hate the American government. 

“It’s time for us to show that we hate our government as well,” she said. 

I feel some people really don’t get the grasp of things that happen in the world sometimes, especially when I see someone telling people we should hate our government. Seems to me that we have lately had that viewpoint moved into our back yard in New York and in Washington, D.C. Maybe some of the people the government should be looking for are still in our own back yards. 

I heard today some government official told the fire department to remove the American flags from the fire trucks in Berkeley. Now who in the hell is the Anti American in your city offices?  

We fly the flag out of respect and the fact we love our country. This land is free, fly your flags America and if there are people who don’t want to see those flags fly, then send them to some place where they don’t have flags of any kind.  

Since when does a political figure tell anyone not to fly the flag of the United States of America. You are telling people who risk their lives every day they can’t show respect for their brothers who have lost their lives and I think it’s time someone spoke up about it.  

Thank God for America my friends because if we didn’t live here we could be living in a place that always had wars and loss of lives.  

Would you really love to see our country be torn apart by destruction everyday? Would you really like to raise your children in streets where guns are fired all the time? Would you really like to live in a place where the people have no way to better themselves? I feel the people of Berkeley need to look at what some of your people are doing. 

I think for those right now who suggest we should hate our government maybe they should be living in a land like Iran and then let them open their mouths about how everyone should hate their government. Please fly the flags of our country with honor and show the world we will not stand for the innocents of our country being killed. Its one thing to have military against military but to kill people and leave about 1,000 children without parents who were just like you and I is not honorable but cowardly. 

Show the world how you feel by saying a prayer for those who have died and the ones who are still searching. Say a prayer for your families and friends that they may never have to experience the horrible deaths like we have seen take place on the 11th of this month. If you are an American then show it and if you don’t like this country then please catch the next plane out. 

Fly those flags where you feel you want to fly them because we are a free nation and yes to be proud of our country and its flag is being an American. 

God Bless America and all she stands for.  


–compiled by Guy Poole
Thursday September 27, 2001


Thursday, Sept. 27

 

Exploring Chile 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Wayne Bernhardson will present slides and provide information about this increasingly popular adventure destination. Free.  

527-4140 

 

Even Stronger Women 

1:15 - 3:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Free weekly cultural discussion class. This week: feminist influence on children. Discussion of Judy Blume’s books for girls.  

549-1879 

 

Café Literario 

7 p.m. 

Public Library West Branch 

1125 University Ave.  

A bilingual reading and discussion series. The book, “Odyssey to the North” by Mario Bencastro, will be discussed.  

644-6870 

 

Daily Prayer and Meditation 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana at Durant 

Chapel open for prayer and meditation. 

 


Friday, Sept. 28

 

Redwood Sequoia Congress 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

Human rights and environmental activists will gather in an annual examination of the human condition and the status of the planet.  

841-1182 

 

Anti-War Art Making  

at Pro Arts  

6-10 p.m. 

461 Ninth Street, Oakland (near 12th Street BART)  

Pro Arts is providing an opportunity for artists to make their anti-war expressions visible, playable, audible and readable. Posters and other artwork can be used in the rally the next day at Dolores Park in San Francisco or for any other event the artist wishes.  

763-4361 

 

Third Annual BFD Blood Drive 

8:30 a.m. - 2 :30 p.m. 

Fire Station #2 

2029 Berkeley Way 

In conjunction with the Red Cross, the Berkeley Fire Department is having it’s annual blood drive. Drop in or make an appointment. 981-5599 Ext. 4408 

City Commons Club 

12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

“Inside North Korea” with Timothy Savage, Senior Planner, East Asian Security, Nautilus Institute. 848-3533 

 

Autumn Moon Festival 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Presented by the North Berkeley Senior Center’s Chinese Club. Refreshments will include moon cakes. Free.  

644-6107  

 

Daily Prayer and Meditation 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana at Durant 

Chapel open for prayer and meditation. 

 

Race and Achievement at Berkeley High 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley High School, Little  

Theater 

2246 Milvia St. 

An evening of poetry, spoken word, and testimonials. 

 


Saturday, Sept. 29

 

Antiwar Rally 

11 a.m. 

Dolores Park 

19th and Dolores streets, San Francisco 

10 minutes from the16th Street BART Station 

(415) 821-6545 

 

Disaster First Aid 

9 a.m. - noon 

Office of Emergency Services 

997 Cedar St. 

Free classes in Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). www.ci.berkeley.ca.us 

981-5605 

 

Strawberry Creek Work Party 

9 a.m.- noon 

Seabreeze Market 

University Avenue and Frontage Road 

Remove non-native pepperweed at the outflow to the Bay and learn about efforts to restore native oysters to the San  

Francisco Bay. 

bjanet@earthlink.com 

848-4008 

Redwood Sequoia Congress 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

Human rights and environmental activists will gather in an annual examination of the human condition and the status of the planet.  

841-1182 

 

Get Published Workshop 

noon - 3 p.m. 

Albany Library 

1247 Marin Ave., Edith Stone Room 

Led by writing coach Jill Nagle and will cover query letters, book proposals, finding an agent and more. Preregistration strongly recommended.  

(415) 431-7491 jill@jillnagle.com 

 

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour 

10 a.m. - noon 

Trish Hawthorne knows the Thousands Oaks neighborhood like no one else. Tours are restricted to 30 participants and require pre-paid reservations, $10. 848-0181 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc/ 848-0181  

 

Idealist.org Nonprofit Career Fair 

1 p.m. 

Preservation Park 

MLK Jr. Way and 13th Street 

For individuals interested in employment or internship positions in the nonprofit sector. www.idealist.org  

(212) 843-3973 

 

The Crucible’s Open House and Fix-A-Thon Fundraiser 

noon - 6 p.m. 

The Crucible 

1036 Ashby Ave. 

Parking and entrance on Murray Street 

Featuring the faculty performing hands-on demonstrations of the skills and techniques they teach. Try blacksmithing, welding, stone carving, glass enameling, and other stuff. Bring your broken or cracked metal objects and low-tech electric devices in need of repair: furniture, lamps, castings, dull knives, cracked bike frames, etc. The staff will assess the damages and if the items are reparable, they will fix them for a reasonable fee. Free event.  

www.thecrucible.org 

843-5511  

 


Sunday, Sept. 30

 

Sixth Annual How Berkeley Can You Be? Parade 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Avenue 

The grand parade leaves from California Street and concludes at Civic Center Park where festival continues. Over 80 art cars, art bikes, Cal Marching Band, Electric Couch, Go Carts, plus live music and circus.  

www.howberkeleycanyoube.com 849-4688  

 

Potluck Brunch 

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Bateman Park 

Rockridge / Elmwood Gay Lesbian Potluck Brunch.  

595-1999 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Avenue between Third and Fourth streets  

Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 

654-6346 

 

Yoga/ Tibetan 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Instructor Jack van der Meulen will discuss the three levels of Kum Nye practice and demonstrate some of the practices. Free. 843-6812 

 

Monday, Oct. 1 

Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults Inquiry Program 

7:30 p.m. 

St. Mary Magdalen Parish 

2005 Berryman St. 

A program to learn everything you wanted to know about the Catholic Church but never had the chance to ask. 526-4811 

 

Franciscanism, Understanding the Vision 

1 - 2 p.m. 

Franciscan School of Theology 

1712 Euclid Ave. 

Graduate Theological Union presents seminar exploring the lives, times and writings of and about Francis and Clare of Assisi.  

848-5232 

 

–compiled by Guy Poole 

 


Anti-hate effort goes cultural

By Jeffrey Obser Daily Planet staff
Thursday September 27, 2001

A press conference and culture festival in the Florence Schwimmley Little Theater on Wednesday capped off Berkeley High School’s three-day student-led effort to raise campus consciousness of scapegoating in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

At the press conference, several students recounted incidents of verbal harassment in the last two weeks. City Councilmember Kriss Worthington presented the resolution, passed unanimously by the City Council Tuesday, that declared Berkeley a “Hate-Free Zone.” 

“This resolution is just the beginning,” Worthington said. “There will be a series of events to address individual cases, such as students discouraged from wearing their ethnic clothing and being verbally harassed.” 

School Board President Terry Doran also attended. “Young people are showing us the way, and they’re an inspiration,” he said. 

The student organizers, members of two campus groups vocal on minority issues, were prepared with name tags, some saying “press person.” Their press release stated that even in Berkeley, “the Muslim, Arab and Sikh communities, as well as those bearing a physical resemblance to them, live in a climate of fear, under the threat of daily violence. Physical and sexual violence, verbal threats, threatening phone calls, and a deluge of negative media images have created this climate of fear.” 

Shortly afterward, the Little Theater filled up for a “cultural festival,” organized by the Youth Together and Culture and Unity student groups, after school administrators nixed an outdoor rally-type event last week. (Students were allowed to attend in lieu of classes.) 

One by one, girls wearing the light-fabric dresses of South Asia and boys wearing green armbands went out on stage and read poems or sang songs in front of their schoolmates, each in some way expressing the urgency that people learn not to discriminate. Backstage, the students nervously fanned themselves with their poems, scrawled on lined notebook paper. Viveca Hawkins, a senior who sang a song named “Reflections” to screams of approval, shed tears when she came offstage. 

In a slightly trembling voice, Lily Colby, a freshman, read a poem she had written, with flowers as a metaphor for racial harmony. 

“It’s hard to talk to the teenagers,” she said afterwards, “because they’re always looking for the bad side – because they’re teenagers. It’s not like talking to adults.” 

Indeed, amidst the earnest message emanating from the stage, occasional wisecracks punctuated the audience chatter. When the performing students assembled side-by-side on stage toward the end, some in the audience sang a few bars of “We Are the World,” a 1980s rock fundraiser anthem that came to represent pop-culture kitsch among many youth. Scattered groans could be heard during the more politically strident moments, including anti-Bush comments by Josh Parr, the outreach coordinator at the school’s Student Learning Center and coordinator of Youth Together, one of the two student groups involved in the event and teach-ins. 

“He’s still George Bush, he’s still George junior, and he’s still following in the footsteps of his pops,” Parr said, attributing the current military buildup in South Asia to economic reasons, rather than political ones. 

“Some would say that war is another business,” he said. 

Barbara Lubin, head of the Middle Eastern Children’s Alliance, a Berkeley-based non-profit group that has organized trips to Iraq and the Occupied Territories, spoke to the audience about the consequences of U.S. policies there. 

“I was not surprised when I looked at those pictures” of the east coast attacks, she said, “because I saw pictures like this in Iraq at the beginning of the Gulf War when we killed 200,000 people.” 

Eman Tai, a Moslem woman and law student who teaches an American government class, said a prayer and told the students of the importance of identifying with those who suffer. 

“You guys really are the future,” she said. “How you really see these things, and how you treat one another, is the best part of being American.” 

The most rousing cheers and applause came during a Pakistani traditional dance by eight students, at least one of whom hit the floor for a brief interlude of break-dancing as exotic rhythmic music filled the hall. 

The festival ended with an attempt to teach everyone how to say “hello” and “good-bye” in Arabic, and a ritual of everyone clapping faster and faster in unison. 

Afterwards, the indefatigable Culture and Unity students left the theater and served a few dishes of Pakistani food from a table in the central courtyard during lunchtime.


Awards galore for Cal women’s soccer

Staff Report
Thursday September 27, 2001

 

 

Three Cal women’s soccer players won honors for their recent play this week, including freshman Kacy Hornor’s first career award. 

Hornor was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week for Sept. 17-23. Hornor, from San Francisco, posted three goals and an assist on the weekend, helping the Golden Bears to a pair of 3-1 road victories over UNLV and San Diego State. Against the Rebels Sept. 21, Hornor tallied two goals, including her first collegiate goal and the game-winner. She earned her first collegiate start against the Aztecs, responding with the game-winning goal and an assist on Cal’s final goal. Hornor is third on the team with nine points (3 goals, 3 assists). 

Junior forward Laura Schott and sophomore midfielder Kim Yokers were also honored this week. Both players were named to the Soccer America Team of the Week for their play during the week of Sept. 17-23, and Yokers was named to Soccer Buzz’s National Elite Team of the Week for her contributions in each of the Golden Bears’ three wins.  

Schott netted the game-winning goal in the 83rd minute to beat previously unbeaten and third-ranked Santa Clara, 2-1. She also scored twice and had an assist in the final 10 minutes to beat San Diego State, 3-1. Schott now leads the team with 14 points on six goals and two assists. 

Yokers dished off two assists in the 2-1 upset of the Broncos. She also scored a goal to clinch the 3-1 win over UNLV and had an assist on an insurance goal in the 3-1 victory over San Diego State. She has seven points (1 goal, 5 assists) this season and is tied for the Pac-10 lead for assists.  

This marks Schott’s second and Yokers first career selection to the Soccer America Team of the Week.  

The Golden Bears (6-1-0) return home to face Fresno State Sept. 28 at Edwards Stadium.


Solution to come from Israelis and Palestinians

Cheryl Leung,
Thursday September 27, 2001

Solution to come from Israelis and Palestinians 

 

Editor: 

I feel compelled to respond to a letter to the editor published in Monday’s edition. Barbarous syntax aside, Leo Breiman’s letter about the Students for Justice in Palestine was rife with unfounded accusations and utterly baffling propositions. He makes oblique reference to our “tactics” without ever delineating what exactly are those tactics he finds so objectionable. 

Peacefully occupying the office of the Daily Cal along with other student organizations while waiting for the editorial board to apologize for a racist cartoon hardly constitutes a call to violence. In response to his most ludicrous claim, I challenge Mr. Breiman to produce evidence of an SJP member ever advocating the “destruction of the state of Israel.” (Perhaps he has confused SJP with an obsolete PLO charter.) I suggest he consult the SJP Mission Statement.  

Mr. Breiman demonstrates a poor grasp of how Israeli/American political decisions are actually made. His plan is for SJP to meet with unspecified Jewish groups to draft a proposal for a resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that would be “favorably received by Israeli and American-Jewish groups.” Apparently the needs and concerns of Arabs are of no significance at all.  

Any lasting resolution must come from the Palestinian Arabs and Israelis who live there.  

SJP is concerned with university divestment from Israel, not with brokering diplomatic accords. Moreover, the commitment of these Jewish groups to “peace” can be evinced in the disgraceful behavior of the Israeli Action Committee and Jewish Student Union in support of the pro-war rally on the UC Berkeley campus on Sept. 25, 2001 (which was a thinly veiled pro-Israel, pro-America rally) who used obscenities and chanted “coward” at a Muslim student who was silently protesting.  

 

Cheryl Leung, 

Students for Justice in Palestine 

SJP-UC Berkeley 


City Council may need to take another look at Shellmound boundaries

By Hank Sims Daily Planet Staff
Thursday September 27, 2001

A lawsuit brought by West Berkeley landowners against the city may force the City Council to review the landmark status of one disputed corner of the West Berkeley Shellmound. 

The suit was filed last December by the 620 Hearst Group, White West Properties and Richard and Charlene deVecchi, all of whom own land on the west side of Second Street between University and Hearst avenues. They charge that their properties do not, in fact, lie on top of the subterranean mound. 

The plaintiffs, represented by Walnut Creek attorney Christian Carrigan, hold that the various city agencies that have studied the Shellmound, an ancient Native American site that today lies buried, have never had proof that the Shellmound was on their property. In fact, they say, many of the studies performed by the city show the contrary. 

Furthermore, they charge, their appeal of the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation of the Shellmound as a landmark was never properly heard by the City Council. Their suit against the city asks Judge James A. Richman of the Alameda Superior Court to issue them a “writ of mandamus,” a court order that would exclude their properties from the boundaries of the shellmound. 

City Attorney Zack Cowan appeared in Judge Richman’s courtroom Wednesday to defend the Shellmound boundaries as defined by the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the City Council. 

After Cowan and Carrigan presented their cases, Judge Richman, who repeatedly interrogated Cowan about the city’s evidence, asked Cowan what the city would wish for him to rule. 

Cowan requested that in place of issuing the writ of mandamus, Richman should ask the City Council to return to the issue, so that the plaintiffs’ arguments could be heard.  

Carrigan objected, saying that to send the issue back to the council would be “extremely prejudicial to (his clients).” The civic process in Berkeley, he noted, is often more time-consuming and expensive than it is in other cities. 

“The legal expenses incurred during these proceedings would be substantial,” he said. 

Cowan said that the issue would go back to the council only – not back to the Landmarks Preservation Commission – and that the council would only concern itself with the properties in question, not the landmark status of the whole Shellmound. 

Stephanie Manning, a Berkeley resident who was among the first to push for the Shellmound’s landmark status, said that she was “extremely unpleased” by Cowan’s offer. 

“I felt like he was arguing for the plaintiffs,” she said. “This would remove the Landmarks Commission from the process entirely. I think a deal has been cut.” 

The plaintiffs in the case charge that the city only has, at best, “inferential” evidence that the shellmound ever extended to their property lines. At the beginning of the hearing Wednesday, Judge Richman indicated that he agreed with this assessment, and asked Cowan for clarification. 

Cowan relied principally on the so-called “Dore map,” which was drawn in 1999 by Christopher Dore of Archaeological Mapping Specialists based on sketches done by early Berkeley archaeologist Nels Nelson in 1910.  

The map shows that the shellmound does not, in fact, reach the plaintiffs’ properties, but Cowan argued that Dore had insufficient data when he drew the map, and later recanted. 

“Mr. Dore agreed that the original boundary may have been incorrect” at a meeting of an ad hoc committee of the Landmarks Preservation Commission set up to study the Shellmound boundaries, Cowan said. 

Judge Richman, though, said that this was not noted in the minutes of the ad hoc committee meeting.  

In an interview Wednesday, Dore said that his map might not indicate the entire area of the Shellmound because the original archaeological sketches it is based on are themselves incomplete. 

The 1910 sketches by Nelson were necessarily incomplete, Dore said, because there was a large factory located on the disputed property at the time. Dore said that in his notes, Nelson wrote that the survey was incomplete. 

“So there’s no direct data to say anything about the presence or absence of archaeological material west of Second,” said Dore. “On the other hand, there is plenty of reasonable evidence that suggests it did (exist).” 

The Dore map shows the Shellmound as a large oval, abruptly blunted at one end by the east side of Second Street. 

If the issue does go back to the City Council, Dore said, new archaeological evidence would show that the Shellmound very likely did extend west of Second Street and the council would be able to affirm the current boundaries based on that data.  

Judge Richman is expected to rule on the case within the next few weeks. 


There are many shades of gray

Anne Smith
Thursday September 27, 2001

There are many shades of gray 

 

Editor: 

President Bush’s reiteration of “You’re either with me or you’re against me” is scary. On the face of it, this sounds reasonable. He is going to fight a war and he wants to know where other countries stand. But he is painting everything in colors of black or white.  

What is even scarier is the way some Americans are interpreting his words. “If someone does not look exactly like me, they are the enemy.” or “If someone does not think exactly like me, they are the enemy.” This is really, really scary. It brings up hauntingly horrible memories of McCarthy and Japanese internment camps and slavery. There is no room for any shade of gray or another other color for that matter. 

America is built on diversity. We cannot go down another path now. 

 

Anne Smith 

Berkeley 

 


Council considers competing redistricting plans

By John Geluardi Daily Planet staff
Thursday September 27, 2001

Despite heavy UC Berkeley student lobbying for a student-majority council district at a public hearing Tuesday, the City Council focused mostly on two other proposals that adhered to charter guidelines. 

About 35 students spoke at the hearing calling for the council to choose a plan devised by the Associated Students of the University of California. The plan would create a council district in which 75 percent of the registered voters would be between the ages of 18 and 24. 

But City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque issued an opinion last week stating that the student plan violated the City Charter because it too drastically moved district boundary lines and shifted too many people into other districts. 

Councilmembers focused their attention mostly on two of the five plans that were submitted to the city. One was the David Blake and Michael O’Malley Plan and the other was the Mary Ann McCamant Plan, submitted by 25 residents, mostly belonging to District 8 neighborhood associations. 

The city is required to redraw the boundaries of its eight districts every 10 years according to population shifts recorded in the census. The council will hold another public hearing on redistricting on Oct. 2 and choose a plan no later than Oct. 9, according to City Clerk Sherry Kelly. 

Prior to opening the public hearing, Albuquerque advised the council that the plans should follow the charter requirement that “any redistricting shall preserve, to the extent possible, the council districts originally established in 1986.” 

But there was a difference of opinion on the council on how to interpret the requirement. The moderates interpreted the work “preserve” to mean that as few people as possible should be moved to other districts and the progressives argued “preserve” refereed to maintaining the geographical shape of the districts.  

Albuquerque advised the council that the charter did not specify which interpretation was more correct and said they could use either interpretation or both to judge the district proposals. 

The plan popular with the council’s progressive faction was the Blake-O’Malley plan, which shifted district lines by no more than one block to maintain their geographical shapes. But this plan also moved over 9,300 people into new districts. 

The council’s moderate faction appeared to lean toward the McCamant plan, which moved only 7,800 people into new districts but shifted the southern line of District 8, six blocks into District 7, thereby significantly altering the geographical shape of the two districts. 

Councilmember Miriam Hawley, who represents District 5, said she did not care for the Blake-O’Malley Plan because the population shift in her district was too large.  

Blake argued he was only “nibbling” at the borders of her district by shifting the boundary lines by only one block as opposed to the “gobbling” that was occurring in other plans. 

“District 5 had an average of only 118 people (according to the 2000 census) and in your plan, you move 1,200 people to other districts,” said a skeptical Hawley. “That certainly can qualify as a ‘gobble.’” 

Mayor Shirley Dean agreed, saying that the plan underestimated how much people identify with their council districts. “You have not only gobbled but destroyed whole neighborhoods with your plan,” she said.  

Councilmembers Linda Maio, Dona Spring and Kriss Worthington said they favored the Blake-O’Malley Plan because of the minor changes to district shapes. 

“The original intent of the City Charter was to stay as close to the boundaries laid out in 1986,” Spring said, “and if you look at the maps, the Blake-O’Malley Plan boundaries are the most similar.” 

Worthington said no matter which plan is approved, he intends to put a proposal on the council agenda that would create a student advisory seat. “They wouldn’t have voting power because of charter restrictions, but they would certainly be able to give us the student perspective,” he said.  

A plan submitted by Elliot Cohen as a representative of Nuclear Free Berkeley made some significant changes to district boundaries and moved 8,400 people into new districts.  

Of the 44 speakers who addressed the council, the majority were students. Approximately 75 students attended the meeting, some waiving placards reading “Cal students deserve a voice,” and “Where’s my representative?”  

ASUC representatives said they don’t accept Albuquerque’s opinion and argued the student district should be allowable under federal law because it creates a community of interest. 

“We make up 22 percent of this city,” said ASUC President Wally Adeyemo, “and we still don’t have a voice on this council.”


Anti-war protesters do get it

L.A. Miller
Thursday September 27, 2001

Anti-war protesters do get it 

 

Editor: 

$30 billion dollars a year was not sufficient for U.S. intelligence to detect and prevent the attacks on 9/11.  

Heads should roll – instead; we are upping their budget. The apparent perpetrators were Saudi and Egyptian. Many had German passports. Do we intend to bomb Hamburg? The United States has provided $7 billion to the Taliban, a band of vigilante “students” until we began funding them.  

One-half million Iraqi children have died since our government began its inept attempt to hunt down the last great Hitler, Bush senior’s minion Saddam.  

Gratuitous bombing of the Middle East and the intentional ignorance of the citizens of this great country will not save us. 

Should you want to challenge my patriotism, my ancestors have fought in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, and WWI. My Grandmother was a five-star mother during WWII. The Vietnam War devastated my high school graduating class.  

The world court is the place to take our grievance against an as yet unknown assailant. These attacks were a crime, and also a clear communication of immense pain and desperation. To compound the loss and pain of the victims’ families and the walking wounded of Manhattan would be also be a crime.  

To murder 20 million Afghanis is not a way to honor them. 

 

L.A. Miller 

Berkeley 


Athlete, scholar, role model memorialized at Ohlone courts

Malcolm Gay Special to the Daily Planet
Thursday September 27, 2001

There’s a story Paul Freedman tells about playing basketball at Ohlone Park with his high-school friend Bobby Winslow. Unlike the usual lay-up where, if all goes well, ball meets backboard, hand brushes net, and two points are chalked up – Bobby could drive the hole like a pro. “Bobby was an incredibly graceful player,” said Freedman. Five-foot-eleven and slender, Winslow may not have been an obvious candidate for the fly-through-the-air-with-the-ball-behind-your-back acrobatics of their idol Michael Jordan, but in basketball, as in life, Bobby was exceptional.  

“Bobby could fly,” recalled Freedman, 22. “He probably had the best jump shot I’ve ever seen in a pick-up player.” And while his friends remained in the ranks of junior varsity basketball, Bobby made varsity his sophomore year. “There were numerous times when the coach gave Bobby the ball at the last minute,” Freedman said. “If Bobby makes the shot, we’d win – if he misses we’d lose.” They usually won.  

Robert Kim Winslow won at most things. The only son of Robert and Jennifer Winslow, Bobby grew up in a small two-bedroom apartment on Hearst Avenue, in west Berkeley. His father worked as a salesman at Levitz Furniture, and his Korean-born mother was an assistant in the University of California president’s office. Though they couldn’t afford their son’s private education, through scholarships and his parents’ sacrifice, Bobby managed to attend Bentley Middle School, and later, the prestigious College Preparatory School, both in Oakland. He graduated with honors, winning an award for academic and athletic excellence. He then went on to Yale, where he majored in economics and won an award upon graduation for kindness, dedication, and courage.  

After graduation Bobby took a job in Manhattan with Goldman Sachs. Everything seemed to be going his way – he had just passed a test to trade securities for the firm, and he was on his way to realizing his dream of buying his parents a house of their own – when he collapsed while jogging in Central Park. Unknown to Bobby, his friends and family, he was born with a misrouted artery exiting his heart. Its circulation was momentarily blocked, and he died in the park Sept. 9, 2000, 13 days after his 22nd birthday.  

A year after his death, Bobby’s friends and family have won approval from the Berkeley City Council to erect a memorial and rename the basketball court at Ohlone Park in his honor. His friends are designing the plaque, and they plan to finance the memorial without the city’s help. 

Bobby’s friends say they’re still amazed that with his superior basketball skills, he continued to play with them throughout high school. But skill was only part of their games’ meaning. In the coded languages teenagers create, basketball became their lingua franca. “When we played basketball it was a reflection of our personalities,” said Noam Pines, 23, another of Bobby’s friends. They were classmates at CPS, but the court was where they said they got to know each other. It was the place they went when they wanted to escape the pressures of home and school. They talked about their lives while taking free throws. They spoke of their futures while practicing jump shots. And, of great importance to 16-year-old boys, basketball was an excuse to ham and goof with friends. Bobby was the group’s center. “We needed to tease him about something,” said Freedman. “He just didn’t play defense very hard.”  

On the court and in the classroom Bobby was a leader. “To all of his friends he was a role model,” said Freedman. Friends say he taught them determination and kindness. “I can’t even start to list all the things I’ve learned from him,” Freedman said. “I say things all the time and I’m like, ‘I got that straight from Winslow.’”  

Kids from the neighborhood also gravitated to Bobby and the court. Guyve Shalileh, his downstairs neighbor during high school, said that whenever he heard Bobby bounce the ball down their apartment-complex’s stairs, he knew it was time to play.  

Bobby cared about school, and, say friends, his passion for learning rubbed off on them. Shalileh, who is now a student at UC Berkeley, credits Bobby for getting him interested in school. “He could always fit everything in, he could make the day longer,” said Freedman. “Bobby showed a way that you could study really hard and achieve traditional forms of success, and not give up cool.”  

And by all accounts, Bobby was cool. Friends say his sense of humor made people feel comfortable. “He would find tremendous humor in little tiny things,” said Freedman. He loved to play on words, and friends say he had an inside joke with everyone he knew. After mercilessly teasing Bobby one day for coming home from college wearing dress shoes, Pines showed up to a game wearing rugged brown sneakers reminiscent of hiking boots. “Every time I missed a shot, Bobby was like, ‘what’s up Hikel Jordan?,’” Pines said. “Every person that was his friend considered him one of his best friends.”  

The point was reinforced by Freedman, who figures that in high school he spent more time with Bobby than away from him. “Being Bobby’s friend was also an incredible letter of recommendation for people,” he said. “You gave people a lot of slack just because they were friends with Bobby.” 

But Bobby wasn’t all basketball, jokes, and school. He also played classical and jazz piano. He had a weakness for California rolls, and he was bowled over when he found out his mom had taken a sushi-making class. His mother said he was an extraordinarily loving son who appreciated little things as much as large. “Every single meal he sincerely appreciated,” said his mother Jennifer. “Whenever I wanted to give him something he said, ‘Mom, I don’t need it.’ But whenever we gave him something he really appreciated it.” 

He was also very close to his father, and was deeply affected when Robert Winslow suffered a stroke in 1996. “He took on his father’s sickness as another responsibility,” said Freedman. Bobby began leaving the court early so his father wouldn’t be left unattended. His mother said that although he had planned to go to Yale, when his father became ill he decided to go to Stanford instead. He wanted to be able to come home to help on the weekends. “I told him, ‘Son, you’ve got to live your life,’” she said. Bobby reluctantly accepted Yale.  

It’s been a long year for Bobby’s friends and parents. But the renaming of the court at Ohlone Park is only one of many honors bestowed on him. “Every place he’s been they’ve wanted to do something to honor him,” Freedman said. Yale has named an award after him. His high school is erecting a memorial in his honor.  

But the court on Hearst is special. “Anybody that played on the court knew it was Bobby’s court,” said Freedman. He said one of their favorite activities during high school was to watch a video called “Michael Jordan’s Playground,” (which Freedman described as “a video for ridiculous fans”). “Bobby always said this was ‘Bobby Winslow’s playground.’”  

Freedman and Pines plan to erect the plaque within the next month. When they conceived the project they were concerned that the city would say no because Bobby was so young when he died, and hadn’t done many of the things people who are memorialized usually do. Still, they went ahead with a neighborhood petition and approached the City Council. “If there’s any kind of person that you’d want to commemorate, this is the kind of person,” said Freedman. “Not only is this a great honor for Bobby, it’s a great honor for the city of Berkeley.” 


War on drugs fuels terrorists

Christopher Palkow
Thursday September 27, 2001

War on drugs fuels terrorists 

 

Editor: 

Now, perhaps more than ever, there is an even stronger case for changing our government’s positioning in the “War on Drugs.” 

In addition to disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of non-violent citizens, wasting our tax dollars on programs that get larger and deliver fewer results each year, and helping the spread of corruption among our police officers, prohibition of marijuana and other substances creates a black market, which is an easy source of funding for terrorists. 

Yes, that’s right. Terrorists profit directly from America’s “War on Drugs.” They grow crops and sell them at the black market’s outrageously inflated prices. 

That’s exactly what the Taliban was doing until this year, when George Dubbya handed over $40 million to coax them to stop.  

They destroyed the crops, but how much do you want to bet they will start right up after Bush pulls any future funding? 

Ending the ‘War on Drugs’ would remove the threat of prison from people who don’t belong there, generate tax dollars that aren’t there now, and pull money right out of the terrorists’ pockets.  

 

Christopher Palkow 

Norfolk, Virginia 


Supreme Court to consider if Catholic group must cover contraception

By David Kravets Associated Press Writer
Thursday September 27, 2001

By David Kravets 

Associated Press Writer 

 

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to review an appeals court decision requiring a Catholic charity to comply with a state law demanding employers include contraception in health plans that cover prescription drugs. 

Without comment, the high court’s six judges voted in private to review the July decision by the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento. Catholic Charities of Sacramento argued in a lawsuit filed in 2000 that the law should be set aside because it violates the group’s religious freedom. 

But the appellate panel thought otherwise in the first challenge to the law. 

The 1999 law “was enacted to eliminate discriminatory insurance practices that had undermined the health and economic well being of women,” the appeals court said in its July ruling, and “does not advance or inhibit religion.” 

The Roman Catholic Church considers contraception wrong. After the decision, Catholic Charities said the decision is forcing it “to act in direct contradiction of its religious, moral and ethical beliefs and any people of faith should be deeply disturbed.” 

The appellate court said the decision does not constrain Catholic Charities from advising employees and the public that it opposes contraceptives. 

Weeks before the decision, a Seattle federal judge ruled that federal anti-discrimination laws required employers to provide contraceptives to women if their health plans include prescription drugs. That case has been appealed. 

California’s law was adopted in 1999 and signed by Gov. Gray Davis. Former Gov. Pete Wilson had vetoed the measure three times. 

Catholic Charities spends about $80 million a year on California social services. It employs and serves mostly non-Catholics. 

The case is Catholic Charities v. Superior Court, S099822 


Bay Briefs

BDP Staff
Thursday September 27, 2001

UC Berkeley gets grant to control binge drinking 

 

U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced that three California universities, including University of California at Berkeley, will receive federal grants for programs aimed at curbing binge drinking and violent behavior on college campuses. 

“Higher education institutions have a unique opportunity to encourage responsible behavior and help young men and women avoid excessive drinking,” Paige said on Tuesday. “These grants complement efforts already underway to reduce high-risk drinking and related behavior among America’s college students.” 

The one-year grants to UC Berkeley, California State University, Chico and San Diego State University are among 14 colleges nationwide to be awarded the grants. The schools were selected from a pool of 110 proposals.  

The grants can be extended for an additional year with a successful progress report. 

Chico State, where a freshman from Palo Alto died last year after heavy drinking at a fraternity event, received the largest grant of $139,956, while San Diego State received $136,429 and UC Berkeley received $96,062. 

 

Caltrans stops  

Bay Bridge work to  

investigate fatal accident 

 

Caltrans has halted all construction work on the Bay Bridge while investigators determine what caused a steel and plywood panel to fall and kill a Hayward motorist driving on the lower deck Tuesday. 

The San Francisco Medical Examiner today identified the victim as 47-year-old Anthony Menolascino of Hayward. Menolascino was reportedly crushed to death at about 11:37 a.m. Tuesday as he was driving eastbound in his 1993 Toyota pickup. 

CHP officials said the panel, which weighed about 1,500 pounds, fell on top of Menolascino’s vehicle about a mile west of the Bay Bridge center anchorage. It landed on the hood of the truck and sheared off the vehicle’s roof. 

The impact caused Menolascino’s vehicle, which had been traveling in the number five lane, to rotate out of control across the number four lane and into the number three lane where it came to rest, authorities said. 

According to a CHP report, the 12-by-24 foot panel was part of a containment wall used by construction workers working Caltrans’ seismic retrofit project to prevent debris from blowing into the lanes. 

Caltrans crews have been doing seismic retrofitting work on the bridge since 1998 and are expected to complete the project by 2003. However, officials said Wednesday, that in light of Tuesday’s fatality, Caltrans is postponing all construction work on the bridge while it conducts a full investigation to determine the cause of the accident and how to prevent any similar occurrences in the future. 

“We intend to go forward with project once we know that safety issues have been addressed and solved. So we’re in a difficult position because we’re trying to make the bridge as safe as possible for earthquakes,” Caltrans spokesman Jeff Weiss said. 

 

Looking for volunteers 

 

Volunteers are being sought to work on projects for the Eighth Annual Community Impact Day Oct. 6.  

More than 1,000 volunteers are needed for a variety of projects in the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz. Volunteers can choose projects benefiting the environment, children, single parents, and dozens of other community-based causes. 

To volunteer or to get more information on a project near you, telephone (650) 965-0242 or go to www.communityimpact.org. 

 

Help restore a creek 

 

Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon, Friends of Strawberry Creek will remove non-native pepperweed at the Strawberry Creek outflow to the Bay and learn about efforts to restore native oysters to San Francisco Bay. Eco-crones will perform a short ritual. Save the Bay will offer an optional oyster workshop at 10:30 a.m.  

Meet at Seabreeze Market, University Avenue and Frontage Road.  

If you get there after 9 a.m., walk behind the market along University Avenue to the outflow and you’ll see us. Bring shovels and work gloves if you have them. Call 848-4008 for more info. 

 


Feinstein seeks to increase screening of foreign students

By Mark Sherman Associated Press Writer
Thursday September 27, 2001

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., wants to close U.S. borders to new foreign students for six months to give immigration authorities time to put in place initial background checks and a tracking system once students are in this country. 

The proposal was prompted by the discovery that a suspected hijacker in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks entered the country with a student visa. Hani Hanjour, suspected of being on the airliner that crashed into the Pentagon, said he would study English at Holy Names College in Oakland, Calif., but never enrolled. 

“I know this isn’t politically correct, but what has happened ... indicates I think serious caution is a prudent thing on our part,” Feinstein said in an interview Wednesday. 

Feinstein, who plans to introduce her proposal in coming weeks, would suspend student visas for six months while the Immigration and Naturalization Service readied a system of performing background checks on applicants for student visas. 

Foreign students apply to U.S. schools from their home countries, then go to the nearest U.S. consulate or embassy to apply for a visa. The State Department decides whether a visa should be issued, but Feinstein said it is crucial to have INS involved in the screening process. 

Her legislation also will call for giving the INS $32.3 million for a computerized monitoring system to track foreign students once they are in the country. The system would apply to the nearly 600,000 foreign students at U.S. colleges and universities. 

Congress authorized such a database in response to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. But the program languished amid political opposition and remains only a pilot project involving 25 schools in the Southeast. 

The database program, which is supposed to be fully operational by 2003, would require schools to report any change in a foreign student’s status, such as enrollment, change of major or a move to a new address. 

“Our country is a sieve,” Feinstein said. “These visas are being misused and the time has come to do something about it.” 

The University of Southern California, New York University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have the highest number of foreign students, according to the American Council on Education. Its members include most accredited American colleges and universities. 

David Ward, the council’s president, said he opposes a suspension of visas, but supports a tracking system and stepped-up screening of visa applicants. 

“Our view would be that since student visas are only 2 percent of the total, it really isn’t solving the security problem,” Ward said. “People can come as visitors and in many other ways.” 

Ward said similar legislation proposed by Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., would tighten screening and hold institutions more accountable for their foreign students without shutting down the visa program. 

Meanwhile, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said Wednesday she would propose legislation to bring back the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration to aid the battered travel industry in attracting foreign visitors to the United States. The Republican-led Congress abolished the agency and its $16 million annual budget in 1996. 


Study: State too dependent on natural gas

By Jennifer Coleman Associated Press Writer
Thursday September 27, 2001

SACRAMENTO (AP) — California could face another energy crisis by relying too heavily on new natural gas-fired plants to boost electricity production, said the author of a study released Wednesday. 

After a year of volatile natural gas prices, the state should not depend too much on gas and should instead invest more in renewable energy, according to “Predictably Unpredictable,” a study by the California Public Interest Research Group. 

“By putting all of our eggs in one basket, California is setting itself up for another energy crisis,” said Susanna Churchill of CalPIRG. 

Even before the start of California’s energy crisis, the state depended on natural gas for more than one-third of its energy needs, the report said. Eighty-five percent of that gas came from out of state. 

“Because the state is so dependent on this one fuel source, the price spikes had a tremendous impact on our energy markets,” the report says. 

Increasing that dependence will only cause future price spikes, said Brad Heavner, a CalPIRG policy analyst and author of the report. about 95 percent of the plants that have been built or are under construction are fired by natural gas. 

Natural gas “is being treated as a magic bullet in this state and around the country,” Heavner said. 

Natural gas is cleaner than coal, less expensive than nuclear and the state’s new fleet of peaker plants — small gas-fired power plants that come online when demand is highest — can be built quickly. 

But Heavner said California’s demand for natural gas is rising faster than the federal Department of Energy forecast that calls for a 2.3 percent annual increase in the next 20 years. 

“This just means California is particularly vulnerable to any supply disruptions nationwide,” Heavner said. 

As demand is rising, natural gas production is waning, he said. There are 2 1/2 times the number of natural gas wells nationwide as there were in 1973, but each well produces a third as much gas, Heavner said. 

To stabilize the state’s energy supply, CalPIRG recommends that officials encourage a broader mix of fuels by requiring utilities to buy 20 percent of their power from renewable resources. 

The new California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority has set a goal of increasing the state’s renewable energy output to 20 percent by 2006, said Amber Pasricha, spokeswoman for the authority. 

The authority has signed 14 letters of intent for new renewable power plant projects, including 12 wind and two bio-fuel projects, she said. 

CalPIRG also recommends that state energy regulators deny any pending applications for natural gas-fired plants and offer government subsidies to renewable power providers and customers. 

The report also recommends the state review all contracts that the Department of Water Resources has signed with natural gas-fired power producers and explore canceling contracts that involve the construction of new gas-fired plants. 

 


9th Circuit Court of Appeals denies challenge to Northstar oil development

By Maureen Clark Associated Press Writer
Thursday September 27, 2001

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a challenge to the development of the Northstar oil field in the Beaufort Sea. 

The environmental group Greenpeace and a group of North Slope Natives had argued that the environmental impact statement for the project was inadequate. The group also said BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. did not have an adequate oil spill response plan. 

In its ruling Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit said the impact statement “reasonably documented the environmental effects of Northstar.” The panel denied a request to review the Interior Department’s approval of the project. 

The judges dismissed the group’s complaint about the adequacy of BP’s oil spill response plan, saying that was an issue for U.S. District Court, not the appellate court. 

Jenna App, the lawyer who argued the case for Greenpeace, said she was surprised at the speed with which the court ruled and disappointed with the decision. The court heard arguments in the case in Anchorage just last month. 

“We had obviously hoped for a lot better,” she said. 

BP spokesman Ronnie Chappell said the decision was not unexpected. 

“The Northstar project is one that has undergone a tremendous amount of scrutiny by the regulatory agencies here in Alaska, both local, state and federal and we were confident that their decisions would stand up to judicial scrutiny,” Chappell said. 

The 176 million-barrel Northstar field lies primarily beneath the Beaufort Sea and is the first offshore oil project in the Alaska Arctic. Drilling would take place on an island, six miles offshore and oil would be carried to shore through a six-mile-long pipeline. Production at Northstar is expected to begin in November. 

Greenpeace filed the lawsuit nearly two years ago on behalf of Natives who fear an oil spill at the site could hurt the marine mammals they depend upon for subsistence. 

Greenpeace and the Native group complained that the Minerals Management Service didn’t collect data on the effects of an oil spill from the Northstar site. Instead, the federal agency used data from an oil spill risk analysis done prior to the August 1998 Beaufort Sea oil lease sale in approving the impact statement. 

But the court said that the data was relevant and yielded a useful analysis of the extent to which spilled oil would spread under the least favorable conditions. 

The lawsuit also charged that the EIS didn’t adequately analyze cumulative impacts of the project, including effects on air quality, vegetation, subsistence and the use of fresh water from lakes to build ice roads. 

The court found that the study was adequate and reasonable. 

Greenpeace campaigner Melanie Duchin said her group would look at other options to stop the Northstar Development. 

“We still are very interested in stopping this project for a number of reasons, from global warming to subsistence to the very real threat of a spill,” Duchin said. 

 


Terrorist threat renews push for military on border

By Suzanne Gamboa Associated Press Writer
Thursday September 27, 2001

 

WASHINGTON — The military, which ended armed patrols on the U.S.-Mexico border after a Marine fatally shot a West Texas teen-ager in 1997, could return under an amendment approved by the U.S. House. 

The amendment, authored by Rep. Jim Traficant, D-Ohio, was approved 242-173 late Tuesday. Similar amendments sponsored by Traficant have been approved by the House the past three years and then killed in the Senate. 

Some opponents say the same will happen this year. But the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have brought new scrutiny to immigration and border policies, and have some lawmakers rethinking border security. 

“If 300,000 illegal immigrants can gain access to America every year, trying to find a better life, do not doubt for one moment that a larger contingent of people with evil intentions could gain entry into America and continue to kill American citizens,” Traficant said during Tuesday’s debate. 

His spokesman Charles Straub said Wednesday that Traficant’s amendment is not a “knee-jerk reaction” to the attacks. Because of new concern about homeland security, the amendment this year “may resonate better with the Senate,” Straub said. 

The use of the military to guard the border became a flashpoint in 1997 when camouflaged Marines on a drug-fighting mission fatally shot 18-year-old Esequiel Hernandez Jr. in West Texas near the U.S.-Mexican border. 

Marines said Hernandez fired first, and were cleared of wrongdoing. 

Hernandez at the time carried an antique .22-caliber rifle. His death and the exoneration of the soldiers left the boy’s family and many on the border outraged. 

The military suspended its patrols after the shooting, and armed soldiers have not returned. The military has been on the border only to assist in construction, training or other unarmed capacities. 

Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, has opposed Traficant’s amendments each time they have emerged, writing letters to senators and conferees asking them to defeat the measure. This year will be no different, his office said, despite the terrorist attacks. 

He suggested spending some of the $40 billion Congress approved last week at the president’s request to hire immigration and customs inspectors, FBI, Border Patrol and drug agents and U.S. marshals. 

“Militarization of the border with soldiers unfamiliar with border situations and not trained to deal with them is an invitation to disaster,” said Reyes, a former Border Patrol chief. 

Opponents also argue using military on the borders violates the 1878 Posse Comitatus act prohibiting the military from performing civilian law enforcement functions. 

Traficant’s amendment would allow military to inspect cargo, vehicles and cargo at points of entry and to be accompanied by a law enforcement agent. 

The troops could be assigned only at the request of the attorney general or treasury secretary in coordination with the director of the new Homeland Security agency and the president. 


IMF warns terrorist attacks could trigger global recession

By Martin Crutsinger AP Economics Writer
Thursday September 27, 2001

WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday that severe fallout from the terrorist attacks in the United States could trigger a growth recession worldwide. But the 183-nation lending agency insisted that this outcome could still be avoided by aggressive government policy actions to stimulate growth. 

IMF chief economist Kenneth Rogoff called a recession in the United States a “done deal.” However, later in his briefing he sought to soften that comment by saying it was still too early to tell whether the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks would push the already weak U.S. economy into a full blown recession. 

Rogoff said the real question was whether the United States had entered a sustained recession or would bounce back quickly. 

Rogoff said there was “every reason” to believe the U.S. economy would enjoy a quick rebound next year, noting that the Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates aggressively all year and Congress has approved billions of dollars in increased funding for reconstruction and to help cushion the economic fallout at U.S. airlines. 

The global economy was already flirting with recession because of a longer-than-expected slowdown in the United States and spreading weakness around the world, the IMF said in its latest “World Economic Outlook” forecast. 

Even before the Sept. 11 attacks, the IMF had slashed its global growth forecast to just 2.6 percent for this year. That would be the poorest showing since 1993 and down 0.6 percentage point from a May forecast of 3.2 percent growth for 2001. 

In the view of economists, global growth below 2.5 percent constitutes a growth recession because economic activity at that pace is not strong enough to keep unemployment from rising substantially in parts of the world with high population growth. 

The IMF said even its reduced figure of 2.6 percent may not be realized depending on the severity of the fallout from the terrorist attack which Rogoff said was having “a negative effect on activity now in many regions of the globe.” 

Rogoff said that there are reasons to be optimistic that a global recession can be avoided. He cited the sizable government stimulus that has been injected through interest rate cuts in the United States and many other countries and large increases in U.S. spending for reconstruction and increased security. 

For that reason, Rogoff said, the IMF would not be changing its reduced 2.6 percent growth forecast for this year or its projection of 3.5 percent growth for 2002. 

He conceded that actual growth in 2002 is likely to be rather lower than 3.5 percent. 

The IMF compared the attacks to the costliest natural disaster in modern history, the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan. That quake caused over 6,400 deaths, 35,000 injuries and property damage of $120 billion, or about 2.5 percent of Japan’s gross domestic product. 

The direct impact of the Kobe quake on the Japanese economy was larger than that of the attacks on the American economy, the IMF said. The total effect of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. economy could be more far-reaching, particularly if shaken consumer confidence does not rebound, it said. 

“Since the terrorist attack was a deliberate action with long-term security implications, the effects on consumer psychology may well not be comparable,” the IMF said. 

The IMF’s latest “World Economic Outlook” described unusually large uncertainties and risks facing industrialized countries and the developing world. 

“There is now no major region providing support to global activity,” the IMF said. “This has increased the vulnerability of the global economy to shocks and heightened the risk of a self-reinforcing downturn whose consequences could prove difficult to predict.” 

For the United States, the IMF projected the GDP would grow a weak 1.3 percent this year, 0.2 percentage point lower than its May forecast. For 2002, the IMF forecast U.S. growth would rebound slightly to 2.2 percent. The U.S. economy grew 4.1 percent in 2000. 

The IMF’s outlook for Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, was even gloomier. Japan is probably already in its fourth recession of the decade, the IMF said in projecting Japan’s GDP would shrink by 0.5 percent this year and manage only a tiny 0.2 percent gain in 2002. 

For Germany, the largest economy in Europe, the IMF put growth this year at 0.8 percent, 1.1 percentage point below its May projection. It forecast Germany would grow by 1.8 percent next year. 

The 12 European nations that have adopted the euro as a joint currency will see growth of 1.8 percent this year and 2.2 percent in 2002, the IMF estimated. 

The IMF said it expected China’s economy would grow by 7.5 percent this year, up by 0.5 percentage point from the May forecast, and by 7.1 percent in 2002. 

Growth in developing countries was expected to be 4.3 percent this year and 5.3 percent in 2002. Last year, the developing world managed growth of 5.8 percent. 

 


Terror attacks leave thousands unemployed and without severance pay

By Leigh Strope AP Labor Writer
Thursday September 27, 2001

WASHINGTON (AP) — Carl Chambers’ job crumbled with the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, and since, he has relied on his union and government help to make ends meet. 

Chambers, 56, monitored elevators and escalators in the Twin Towers for contractor AMB, his employer for 27 years. He knew many, many employees in the towers, he said. 

“I lost my family and my friends and my job,” he said. “I lost everything.” 

Workers employed at or near the World Trade Center, by the airline industry and in other jobs related to travel, are feeling reverberations of Sept. 11. More than 100,000 layoffs have been announced in the airlines and related industries, and many of those workers are being let go without severance pay, health care and other benefits. 

“I think there’s a recognition that there is a crisis upon us,” said AFL-CIO legislative director Bill Samuel. 

Chambers’ local of the Service Employees International Union represents 1,820 janitors, elevator operators, security guards, window washers and tour guides displaced by the attack that destroyed the World Trade Center and nearby buildings. 

Twenty-six of the local’s members were among more than 6,000 missing and presumed dead. Chambers said he was late for work on Sept. 11 and had not arrived when the hijacked jetliners struck the towers. 

Union leaders met with employers after the attack and negotiated for those workers to receive six months of health and supplemental unemployment benefits. 

“I’m waiting and hoping for the best, but I need to keep working,” Chambers said. 

Thousands of airline workers are getting pink slips without severance packages included in their union contracts. Carriers say there is a war emergency that justifies withholding those benefits. 

Many employees at hotels and restaurants are nonunion and part-time and weren’t promised severance benefits. 

Layoffs could climb to 500,000 in industries related to the airlines and travel, said economist Mark Zandi of Economy.com. The nation’s unemployment rate soared to 4.9 percent in August from 4.5 percent, the biggest one-month jump in more than six years. 

More layoffs will take a toll on the economy because consumer spending has been keeping it from tipping into a recession. 

“Almost everyone now is being touched by unemployment,” Zandi said. “You may not have lost your job, but you know someone who has.” 

President Bush was considering ways Tuesday to help laid-off workers. One option under discussion was to extend unemployment benefits to workers caught in the aftermath of the attacks. 

The economic output lost from the attack is expected to amount to some $25 billion in September alone. The air passenger and freight industry will take the biggest hit, losing almost $5 billion in the month, followed by the hotels and securities industries, Zandi said. 

Congress approved a $15 billion bailout last week for the airline industry that includes nothing for the estimated 100,000 laid-off workers. Organized labor is pressing Congress for a relief package that would include health care coverage, extended unemployment benefits and job training for displaced workers. 

A proposal by Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo., is aimed at laid-off airline workers, and would extend employment benefits beyond 26 weeks and provide job training, health care coverage and relocation benefits. 

Airlines, including American, Continental, Northwest, United and US Airways, have cited clauses in some of their labor contracts that void severance packages in emergencies, airlines and unions said. 

Unions say they will fight for the benefits workers are guaranteed in contracts, such as severance pay, seniority benefits and relocation assistance. 

“It’s not for one side or another to unilaterally determine what that agreement means, says or which portions of it they’ll honor or ignore,” said International Association of Machinists spokesman Frank Larkin. 

Northwest Airlines announced Wednesday it would not pay severance to laid-off workers, then later reversed that decision. 

AirTran Airways mechanics and other workers represented by the Teamsters union have agreed to a shorter work week and reduced compensation to avoid layoffs. 

The Teamsters also represents airport food service workers, cargo handlers, curbside check-in employees and rental car workers, all of which are facing layoffs, said Teamsters spokesman Bret Caldwell. 

 


A vote to dissent is not unpatriotic

John Burris Oakland civil right attorney
Wednesday September 26, 2001

A vote to dissent is not unpatriotic 

 

Editor: 

It is shocking the number of calls for Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s proverbial head because of her vote against giving President Bush unlimited authority to fight the terrorists. Anyone can join a parade, but it takes a strong and principled person to vote her conscience in the face of a national call for unity.  

Her vote was not against finding and eradicating the terrorists but a lone cry that we should have a period of reflection, and thoughtfulness before engaging the full resources of the United States and its allies against an elusive enemy that is driven by an unflinching hatred for the American way of life.  

Historically, Barbara Lee has demonstrated an abiding commitment for protecting the most vulnerable members of the world populations.  

Her words and vote suggest that she is fearful that the rush for revenge without careful consideration will cause many more innocent people to be killed.  

She believes Congress should at least require the President to come forward with a plan before being given unbridled authority to fight a war where there are no identifiable geographical boundaries and where the enemy lives amongst us.  

Whether her concerns will manifest themselves remains to be seen but at least she had the courage to vote her convictions when many other similar thinking Congresspersons did not.  

 

John Burris 

Oakland civil right attorney


Wednesday September 26, 2001

 

Pacific Film Archive Sept. 26: 7:30 p.m. Touch Tones; Sept. 28: 7 p.m. Ugetsu, 8:55 Sansho the Bailiff; Sept. 29: 7 p.m. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part I, Joel Adlen on piano; Sept. 30: Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part II, Joel Adlen on piano; general admission $7, The New PFA Theatre 2575  

Bancroft Way 642-1412 

 

Nexus Gallery Sept. 26-30: noon - 6 p.m. Jan Eldridge- Large charcoal drawings and acrylic collages; Tricia Grame- visual and textural autobiography of her spiritual evolution; Tanya Wilkinson- A sensuous exploration of the possibilities inherent in the medium of handmade paper. 

 

Women’s Cancer Resource Gallery “Catastrophe, Crisis, and Other Family Traditions,” the photography of Jessamyn Lovell. Through Sept. 26; “The Arthur Wright and Gerald Parker” Through Sept. 26; Tues. - Thurs. 1 - 7 p.m., Sat. 12 - 4 p.m. 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 Ext. 307 www.wcrc.org 

 

Bahman Navaee is exhibiting his paintings, through Sept. 29: Persian Center, 2029 Durant Ave. 848-0264 

 

“Debbie Moore’s Autobiographical Paintings” through Sept. 30 at Good Vibrations. Portraits of the artist’s sensual explorations spanning 25 years and reflecting changing ways of intimacy and body play. 2504 San Pablo Ave. 848-1985 

 

“Three Visions” Sept. 26 through Sept. 30: 12 - 6 p.m., An Exhibition of Mixed Media. Nexus Gallery, 2707 Eighth Street (707) 554-2520 

“The Decade of Change: 1900 - 1910” through September. 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.  

 

“Squared Triangle” through Oct. 5: noon - 6 p.m. A minimalist art exhibit featuring three Bay Area artists working in different mediums while achieving the same elegant simplicity. The Crucible, 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.com 

 

“Inside Editions” through Oct. 12: Nine printmakers exhibit their work. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tue. - Fri. Free. Kala Art Insitute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 kala@kala.org 

 

“Census 2000: Asian Pacific Islander Americans” through Oct. 13; Wed. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Asian Pacific Islander American artists in roughly the demographic proportions indicated by the recent census. Free. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9470  

 

“MWP Perspectives” Jon Orvik: One artist’s journey. Through Oct. 27 Tues. - Fri. 12 - 5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 12 - 4 p.m. Solo artist exhibiting his journey through metal, wood and paint. Adapt Gallery and Design, 2834 College Ave. 649-8501  

www.adaptgallery.com  

 

“50 Years of Photography in Japan 1951 - 2001” through Nov. 5: An exhibition from The Yomiuri Shimbun, the world’s largest daily newspaper with a national morning circulation of 10,300,000. Photographs of work, love, community, culture and disasters of Japan as seen by Japanese news photographers. Opening Reception Sept. 5: 6 - 8 p.m. open to the public; Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. U.C. Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall, Hearst and Euclid. Free. 642-3383 

 

“Changing the World, Building New Lives: 1970s photographs of Lesbians, Feminists, Union Women, Disability Activists and their Supporters” through Nov. 17: An exhibit of black and white photographs by Oakland photographer Cathy Cade, who captured the interrelationships of the different struggles for justice and social change. Opening reception Sept. 15, 5 - 8 p.m. Gallery Hours, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St. Free. 644-1400 cathycade@mindspring.com 

“The Whole World’s Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s” Sept. 16 through Dec. 16: A documentary photo exhibition which examines the rich history of the social movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Wed. - Sun., noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Free.  

644-6893 

 

“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 Botticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours. Atelier 9 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

 

Readings 

 

Boadecia’s Books Sept. 21: Deborah Kesten, “The Healing Secrets of Food;” Sept. 22: A special All Poetry Dyke Open Myke, to participate call 655-1015 or feroniawolf@yahoo.com; Sept 28: The Return of Gaymes Night; Sept 29: Ellen Samuels and other contributors to “Out of the Ordinary: Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian & Transgender Parents”; Mark Pritchard reads from “How I Adore You”; Oct 6: Terry Ryan reads from “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 words or Less”; All events start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise. All events are free. 398 Colusa Ave. 559-9184 www.bookpride.com 

 

Cody’s on 4th Street Sept. 20: 7 p.m. Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef, “The Naked Chef Takes Off”; Sept. 22: 10:30 a.m. Cody’s for Kids, Walter the Giant Storyteller; Sept. 25: 7 p.m. Nancy London has been cancelled; Oct 5: 7 p.m. Glen Davis Gold reads from “Carter Beats the Devil”; Oct 12: Cody’s For Kids- Rosemary Wells and Bunny Party; 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 

 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Sept. 17: Aldo Alvarez describes “Interesting Monsters”; Sept. 18: Clarence Walker discusses “We Can’t Go Home Again: An Argument About Afrocentrism; Sept. 19: Douglas Coupland reads “All Families Are Psychotic”; Sept. 24: Theodore Roszak discusses “Longevity Revolution: As Boomers Become Elders”; Sept. 25: Ken Croswell discusses “The Universe At Midnight: New Discoveries Illuminate the Hidden Cosmos” with a slide show presentation; Sept. 27: Bill Ayers talks about “Fugitive Days”; Oct 1: Urdsula K. Le guin reads from “The Other Wind”; Oct 2: Jonathan Franzen reads from “The Corrections”; Oct 4: Eric Seaborg looks at “Adventures in the Atomic Age: From Watts to Washington”; Oct 5: Victor Villasenor reads from “Thirteen Senses”; All shows at 7:30 p.m. 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

 

Cody’s Other Venues - Sept. 20: 7:30 p.m. Cody’s presents an evening with Margaret Atwood in conversation with professor Robert Alter. $12. First Congregational Church 2345 Channing Way; Sept. 28: 7:30 p.m. Cody’s presents a Community Forum on Race and the Achievement Gap at Berkeley High School. Little Theater, Berkeley High School; Oct 7: 7 p.m. Coleman Barks- The Soul of Rumi First Congregational Church of Berkeley 2345 Dana 

 

Coffee Mill Poetry Series Sept. 18: Ben Brose and Jen Iby followed by open mike reading. 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland 465-3935 ksdgk@earthlink.net 

 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Sept. 29: 7 p.m. Kip Fulbeck reads from his first novel, “Paper Bullets.” 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore Sept. 20: 7:30 p.m. Antarctica & The Nature of Penguins, An evening with Jonathan Chester; Oct 2: 7:30 p.m. “Dancing with the Witchdoctor: One Woman’s Adventure in Africa” by Kelly James. 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

 

Lunch Poems reading Series Oct 4: 12:10 p.m. Ishmael Reed; Morrison Libary in Doe Library at UC Berkeley. Free 642-0137 http://www.berkeley.edu/calendar/events/poems/ 

 

Spasso Sept. 10: Sharron Jones-Reid, Fruit of the Spirit poets, acoustic musicians, comedians, rappers, performance artists, writers. All welcome. 6021 College Ave. Free admission. 

 

Tours 

 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Fridays 9:30 - 11:45 a.m. or by appointment. Call ahead to make reservations. Free. University of California, Berkeley. 486-4387 

 

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  

 

 

Museums 

 

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  

 

UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology Lobby, Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley “Tyrannosaurus Rex,” ongoing. A 20 foot 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 will close its exhibition galleries for renovation. It will reopen in early 2002. On View until Oct. 1 : “Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture.” “Sites Along the Nile: Rescuing Ancient Egypt.” “The Art of Research: Nelson Graburn and the Aesthetics of Inuit Sculpture.” “Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Photographs by George Foster.” $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 Avenue. 643-7648 or www.qal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

 

University of California Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive has reopened after its summer-long seismic retrofit. “Martin Puryear: Sculpture of the 1990s” through Jan. 13; “The Dream of the Audience: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951 - 1982)” through Dec. 16; “Face of Buddha: Sculpture from India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia” ongoing rotation through 2003; “Matrix 194: Jessica Bronson, Heaps, layers, and curls” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; “Matrix 192: Ceal Floyer 37’4”” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; Wed., Fri., Sat., Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., PFA Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way; Museum Galleries 2626 Bancroft Way; 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

 

Lawrence Hall of Science “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. Space Weather Exhibit now - Sept. 2; now - Sept. 9 Science in Toyland; 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  

 

Oakland Museum of California “Half Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon Parks,” through Sept. 23; Wednesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sunday, noon - 5 p.m., Closed Monday and Tuesday. $6 general; $4 youths (6-17), seniors and students with ID. Free for museum members and children 5 and under. Free admission the second Sunday of the month. 10th & Oak streets, Oakland. 238-2200 www.museum.org 

 

 

Send arts events two weeks in advance to Calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.net, 2076 University, Berkeley 94704 or fax to 841-5694.


Wednesday September 26, 2001


Wednesday, Sept. 26

 

New Dates for PRC Meeting 

The meetings of the Police Review Commission scheduled for Sept. 26, Oct. 10 have been cancelled. A special PRC meeting will be held Oct. 3 at South Berkeley Senior Center. Regular PRC meetings will resume on Oct. 24 

 

A Taste of the World: Cultural Understanding Through Food 

6 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Enhance your cooking skills and experience the cuisines of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Morocco and Israel with chef Daniel Herskovic. All classes are “hands on.” Class includes meal and cooking lesson. $25. Every Wednesday through Nov. 1. 655-8487 

 

Socratic Circle Discussions 

5 - 6 p.m. 

1309 Solano Ave. 

Cafe Eclectica 

Does your brain need a workout? All ages welcome. 527-2344 

 

"Nels Nelson: The Early Days of Berkeley Archaeology"  

noon 

ARF, 2547 Channing, Room 101 

Brown Bag Lunch Lecture 

After Kent's talk, we'll go to the 2 p.m. court hearing before Judge Richman, Alameda Co. Superior Court to watch Berkeley Asst. City Attorney Zack Cowen defend the landmark designation of the West Berkeley Shellmound. The hearing is at the Post Office Building, 201-13th Street, Department 31, second floor, Oakland. The Shellmound is being challenged by the property owners who filed suit against the City's designation of the mound site. 841-8562 sfbayshellmounds@yahoo.com 

 

Lion’s Center for the Blind 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

A representative of this organization will discuss its services.  

644-6107 

 

Prose Writers’ Workshop 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish  

Community Center Library 

1414 Walnut St.  

From op-ed to fiction, memoir to the feature article - a community 

writers' group to support and encourage a community of interests. Workshop format. Free.  

524-3034 

 

Jose Bove 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Adult School 

1222 University Ave. 

Jose Bove and fellow farmer Francois Dufour will assure us “The world is not for sale.” For them, food is more than fuel; it is sacred relationship, family, love, tradition and well-being. $12.  

(415) 255-7296 x200 

 

Daily Prayer and Meditation 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana at Durant 

Chapel open for prayer and meditation. 

 


Thursday, Sept. 27

 

Exploring Chile 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Wayne Bernhardson will present slides and provide information about this increasingly popular adventure destination. Free. 527-4140 

 

Even Stronger Women 

1:15 - 3:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Free weekly cultural discussion class. This week: feminist influence on children. Discussion of Judy Blume’s books for girls. 549-1879 

 

Café Literario 

7 p.m. 

Public Library West Branch 

1125 University Ave.  

A bilingual reading and discussion series. The book, “Odyssey to the North” by Mario Bencastro, will be discussed. 644-6870 

 

Daily Prayer and Meditation 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana at Durant 

Chapel open for prayer and meditation. 

 


Friday, Sept. 28

 

Anti-War Art Making  

461 Ninth Street, Oakland (2 blocks from 12th BART Station, near Broadway)  

6 to 10 p.m. Pro Arts is providing this opportunity for artists to make their anti-war expressions visible, playable, audible and readable. Musicians, please come with instruments. Posters and other artworks can be used in the Rally the next day at Dolores Park in San Francisco or for any other event the artist wishes. 763-4361 

 

Redwood Sequoia Congress 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

Human rights and environmental activists will gather in an annual examination of the human condition and the status of the planet. 841-1182 

 

Third Annual BFD Blood Drive 

8:30 a.m. - 2 :30 p.m. 

Fire Station #2 

2029 Berkeley Way 

In conjunction with the Red Cross, the Berkeley Fire Department is having it’s annual blood drive. Drop in or make an appointment. 981-5599 Ext. 4408 

 

City Commons Club 

12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

“Inside North Korea” with Timothy Savage, Senior Planner, East Asian Security, Nautilus Institute. 848-3533 

Autumn Moon Festival 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Presented by the North Berkeley Senior Center’s Chinese Club. Refreshments will include moon cakes. Free. 644-6107 

 

Daily Prayer and Meditation 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana at Durant 

Chapel open for prayer and meditation. 

 

Saturday, Sept. 29 

Disaster First Aid 

9 a.m. - noon 

Office of Emergency Services 

997 Cedar St. 

Free classes in Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). 981-5605 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us 

 

Strawberry Creek Work Party 

9 a.m.- noon 

Seabreeze Market 

University Avenue & Frontage Road 

Remove nonnative pepperweed at the outflow to the Bay and learn about efforts to restore native Oysters to the San Francisco Bay. 

848-4008 bjanet@earthlink.com 

 

Redwood Sequoia Congress 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

Human rights and environmental activists will gather in an annual examination of the human condition and the status of the planet.  

841-1182 

 

Get Published Workshop 

noon - 3 p.m. 

Albany Library 

1247 Marin Ave., Edith Stone Room 

Led by writing coach Jill Nagle and will cover query letters, book proposals, finding an agent and more. Preregistration strongly recommended. 415-431-7491 jill@jillnagle.com 

 

–compiled by Guy Poole 

 

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour 

10 a.m. - noon 

Trish Hawthorne knows the Thousands Oaks neighborhood like no one else. Tours are restricted to 30 participants and require pre-paid reservations, $10. 848-0181 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc/  

 

Idealist.org Nonprofit Career Fair 

1 p.m. 

Preservation Park 

MLK Jr. Way and 13th St. 

For individuals interested in employment or internship positions in the nonprofit sector. 212-843-3973 www.idealist.org 

 

The Crucible’s Open House and Fix-A-Thon Fundraiser 

noon - 6 p.m. 

The Crucible 

1036 Ashby Ave. 

Parking and entrance on Murray St.  

Featuring the faculty performing hands-on demonstrations of the skills and techniques they teach. Try blacksmithing, welding, stone carving, glass enameling, and other stuff. Bring your broken or cracked metal objects and low-tech electric devices in need of repair: furniture, lamps, castings, dull knives, cracked bike frames, etc. The staff will assess the damages and if the items are repairable, they will fix them for a reasonable fee. Free event. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.org 

 

Sunday, Sept. 30 

6th Annual How Berkeley Can You Be? Parade 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Ave. 

The grand parade leaves from California St. and concludes at Civic Center Park where festival continues. Over 80 art cars, art bikes, Cal Marching Band, Electric Couch, Go Carts, plus live music and circus. 849-4688 www.howberkeleycanyoube.com  

 

Potluck Brunch 

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Bateman Park 

Rockridge / Elmwood Gay Lesbian Potluck Brunch. 595-1999 

 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Avenue between 3rd and 4th streets  

Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 

654-6346 

 

Yoga/ Tibetan 

6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Place 

Instructor Jack van der Meulen will discuss the three levels of Kum Nye practice and demonstrate some of the practices. Free. 843-6812 

 

 

 

 


School to move into old train depot

By Jeffrey Obser Daily Planet staff
Wednesday September 26, 2001

The Berkeley Montessori School has gone into high gear with plans to renovate the former Santa Fe Railway depot at 1310 University Ave., currently home to the Santa Fe Bar and Grill restaurant. 

In June, the school purchased the site from the Catellus Corporation, which inherited the assets of the now-defunct Santa Fe and Pacific Railroad. It developed Mission Bay in San Francisco, among other projects. 

Assistant Head of School Lynne Miles said the eventual look and feel of the school would be influenced by the Montessori educational philosophy, which puts a premium on appealing visual environments and large classrooms with space for independent projects. 

“One of the things we’re working on is to get the new design to give a nice flow from the inside to the outside,” Miles said.  

Five architectural firms from as far away as Santa Monica have been invited to submit proposals for the domed Mission Revival structure, built in 1904 with a major addition to the rear in the 1940s. 

A panel of judges, including three University of California faculty, noted architects and Montessori school board members, will decide on the architect in December. 

With encouragement from the school, the Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously on Sept. 10 to designate the depot as a city landmark, and a vote by the City Council is pending. Commission officials could not be reached by press time to discuss how such a designation might impact renovation plans. 

“When we bought the property we knew it would be landmarked,” said Wes Boyd, a parent who chairs the site committee. “It’s going to be the gem of Berkeley Montessori, so we wanted to leave it in its historic form.” 

The school will hold a public input session at the restaurant on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. A similar meeting for parents and supporters was held at a school facility last Saturday.  

Boyd said that neighbors’ concerns might include parking and the daily pick-up and drop-off of kids. “It’s hard to guess what the neighbors’ concerns would be, but those are the obvious things,” he said. “We want to get feedback up front rather than waiting for design to be done.” 

The school runs two facilities with 260 students: a kindergarten and a pre-school it owns on Francisco Street, and an elementary and middle school in leased space at the former Hillside Primary School at 1581 LeRoy Ave. Though the Hillside site has more space than the old depot, administrators decided to move partly because the Hayward Fault is 200 meters away. 

“Nobody could guarantee us how the building would perform if it’s right on the trace,” said Boyd. 

In addition, said Sharline Chiang, the school’s spokesperson, leasing from the Berkeley public school system had kept the school in a somewhat uncertain position. “We don’t want to build our future here,” she said. 

David Madson, chairman of the school’s fundraising campaign, said that “a handful” of individual donors had already donated $400,000 toward a goal of $1 million. The school intends to raise another $2.2 million he said. 

The Berkeley depot began passenger service in 1904, after the fast-expanding Santa Fe Railway ran a line from Richmond to Oakland. It was designed by Charles Whittlesey, a key innovator of Mission Revival architecture who also designed the landmark El Tovar hotel at the Grand Canyon’s south rim. Oakland’s similarly styled depot was demolished in 1963, but trains still rumbled across University Avenue and by the Berkeley depot and nearby residences into the 1970s. 

In 1969, the site became the home of the Santa Fe Bar and Grill. Today, it is well-shrouded with shrubs, and an organic garden out back – laid out where rails once ran – provides owner Ahmad Behjati with fresh produce. 

Behjati, who owns two other high-end restaurants downtown, has not yet made plans to relocate. “We’ll stay in Berkeley,” he said, adding that the restaurant will remain open at its current spot until the renovation begins. 

According to Boyd, work is due to commence in the second half of 2002 and the school hopes to teach there in the 2003 fall semester. 

The former Jay Vee liquor store next door has been closed and will be replaced by the Netivot Shalom congregation’s new synagogue. The neighborhood currently offers a mixture of residences and businesses, the Berkeley Adult Learning Center, and, on Addison, Strawberry Creek Park. 

“It’s very significant that a synagogue and a private school are moving into that neighborhood,” said Chiang, who added that the two institutions may coordinate on site planning, parking and other issues. The school, she added, will strongly support establishing a public bicycle and walking trail along the railroad right-of-way, which still stretches off to the north and south of University Avenue, fenced off and mostly vacant. 

“We think it’s a great neighborhood,” said BMS Head of School Lairolyn (Lee) Davis. The school, she said, would retain the Santa Fe Grill’s organic garden “as much as we possibly can.”


Look at whole picture

Kathie Griego Jermstad Camino, Calif. Kathie Griego Jermstad Camino, Calif.
Wednesday September 26, 2001

Look at whole picture 

 

Editor: 

I want to address the anti-war rallies occurring at college campuses. Although my Alma Mater is UC Davis, I was present at the sit-in at Sproul Hall in 1964 when Mario Savio made his memorable speech. I was at Bloody Thursday when James Rector was shot. Therefore, I hope my letter will be regarded as I express my reserve about the recent protests against our country. This is not like anything that has happened before. And although, restraint is needed, I fear that young people will become carried away with the momentum of rhetoric and hucksters who love to stir things up for their own adrenaline rush and ambitious dreams.  

I hung my head in shame the day the World Trade Center came crashing down killing so many of my countryfolk. I know if the intelligence agencies had not been so restricted by civil privacy laws, the terrorist cells would have been sniffed out sooner. I console myself that the CIA and FBI were “corrupt and needed to be leashed.” Now, I wish them to be unleashed for the protection of our people and our environment.  

Young people, research into the short reign of the Taliban. Learn how they treat their women and children and how it directly conflicts with the religion they profess. Protest that. 

I commend young people today for their social conscience – a conscience that seemed to be asleep for a couple decades. Just be sure to choose your battles wisely for the protests of today will undoubtedly shape government policies in the future.  

 

Kathie Griego Jermstad 

Camino, Calif. 

 


Hemophila drug shortage attributed to Bayer Pharmaceuticals

By Hank Sims Daily Planet staff
Wednesday September 26, 2001

There is a worldwide shortage of medicines to treat hemophilia, due partly to the fact that the Bayer Pharmaceuticals plant in west Berkeley has been under fire by the Food and Drug Administration for its deficient quality control procedures. 

The National Hemophilia Foundation issued a “medical advisory” on Monday that called the shortage a “crisis” and said that “given the current severe shortage, there is a real danger that (the medicines) might not be readily available for someone in a critical emergency.” 

Berkeley’s Bayer plant is its principal producer of Kogenate and Kogenate FS, drugs that can coagulate the blood of most hemophilia patients. In December 2000, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, a division of the FDA, performed inspections at the Berkeley site.  

The agency found several violations of quality control standards at the plant, including failure to establish cleaning procedures for equipment and failure to establish appropriate procedures to test drugs for strength and purity. 

According to the National Hemophilia Foundation, the FDA inspection has meant that Bayer has been able to release very little product so far this year, and will not be able to do so “for the foreseeable future.” 

In addition, several batches of Kogenate FS, the company’s successor to Kogenate, have been recalled due to the fact that they were stored at improper temperatures. After Kogenate FS went on sale, it was found that one of its ingredients decomposed at room temperature, weakening the product. 

FDA spokesperson Lenore Gelb said that “the company has responded, and we are working with them.” 

The NHF estimates that the product manufactured at the Bayer facility in Berkeley accounts for 30 percent of the global supply of all types of blood coagulants. 

Hemophilia is a genetically inherited disease, in which the body is unable to produce one of the “factors” – a type of protein – that causes blood to clot. The active ingredient in Kogenate is octocog alpha, also known as “factor VIII.” It is used to treat “type A” hemophiliacs, which account for approximately 85 percent of those who suffer from the disease.  

Kogenate and Kogenate FS are genetically engineered drugs, relatively new treatments for hemophilia. Bayer first introduced the Kogenate in 1993, after buying rights to it from Genentech, Inc.  

Previously, type A hemophilia could only be treated with octocog alpha extracted directly from human blood plasma. This approach, which is still employed in some cases, carried with it a number of serious problems. The plasma, which is donated by or purchased from volunteers, is mixed into large batches before the coagulants are removed, increasing the chance that diseases such as hepatitis or HIV are passed from donor to recipient. In the 1980’s, thousands of hemophiliacs were infected by HIV after taking plasma-based coagulants. 

Val Bias, president of the Hemophilia Foundation of Northern California, was one. 

“I got hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV from plasma,” he said. “In the old days, these things were seen as normal side-effects of hemophilia.” 

Kogenate is made by introducing human proteins into the kidney cells of baby hamsters and growing the resultant tissue in sterile cultures. The procedure eliminates the risk of transmissible disease.  

“Because of these drugs and their success in the hemophilia community, we have children that are actually playing sports – baseball, even karate and hockey,” said Bias. “This has been a dream come true for the community.” 

But with the current shortage of the genetically engineered product, many people have to return to plasma-based remedies. Even though the risks of plasma have been greatly reduced, Bias said, the substitution is “deeply disturbing.”  

“The return to blood products is a step backward that this community is very concerned about,” he said. “To say to a parent in 2001 that they are going to move children to plasma is absolutely horrifying.” 

In addition, according to the NHF, so many patients have been forced to switch to plasma-based coagulants that supplies of that drug are becoming scarce. Hemophiliacs are being asked to postpone any elective surgery they have planned and to reduce their intake of coagulants. 

“I’m hearing from patients is that they are not going to let their kids play,” said Bias. “It’s a return to the days when hemophiliac kids were allowed to color, and that’s it.” 

Bayer Pharmaceuticals could not be reached for comment.  


Don’t blame the United States

Joshua Hurwitz Oakland
Wednesday September 26, 2001

Don’t blame the United States 

 

Editor: 

The common wisdom in Berkeley holds that America is an evil empire, justly hated around the world. One of the speakers at a Berkeley rally (Protesters rally against war, Sept. 19) encouraged us to, “show that we hate our government too.” Apparently, the blame for most of the human suffering that occurs in the world is our fault. 

While acknowledging that we’ve made plenty of mistakes in the past, I wonder how much better off the world would be without a United States of America.  

What if, by the wave of some magician’s wand, this country vanished from the Earth tomorrow? Would the world’s chances for peace, justice, and freedom be any greater? 

Why not place the blame where it belongs - on the inability of other governments to create a free and just society for their citizens? 

 

Joshua Hurwitz 

Oakland 

 


Mayor’s office besieged by angry telephone calls

By John Geluardi Daily Planet staff
Wednesday September 26, 2001

In the aftermath of the fire chief’s decision last week to remove the American flag from city fire trucks – a temporary measure, in fact – work in the mayor’s office has been brought to a screeching halt, with an endless succession of angry telephone calls.  

Mayor Shirley Dean said the calls seemed to become more hostile Tuesday after conservative radio talk show host G. Gordon Liddy, not only falsely accused the Berkeley mayor of ordering the removal of the flags, but also gave out her office phone number to his estimated 8 million listeners. 

“Well, now I’m an un-American, stinko, commie bitch,” said the mayor’s Executive Assistant Tamlyn Bright after fielding another hostile call. At the next desk over, another of the mayor’s aides had a blank look on her face while she held a telephone receiver arms’ length from her ear.  

Bright said she has spent the last four days trying explain to callers that the mayor had nothing to do with the removal of the flags and in fact is a supporter of the city’s fire department displaying the flags on fire trucks.  

The issue received national attention last Wednesday when Berkeley Fire Chief Reginald Garcia, concerned about protecting firefighters during an anti-war demonstration, ordered American flags removed from all of the city fire trucks.  

Concerned that firefighters, with flags on their trucks, responding to an emergency situation related to the demonstration might incite demonstrators to turn their attention to the vehicles as they did during Gulf War protests, Garcia had the flags removed.  

“As soon as I heard they were going to remove the flags, I argued against it, and argued mightily as a matter of fact,” Dean said. “But this idea that I’m responsible is persisting.” 

City Manager Weldon Rucker agreed with Garcia that protecting the firefighters during the demonstration was of paramount concern and agreed to the removal of the flags, according to the manager’s Chief of Staff Arrietta Chakos. 

Chakos explained that the flags were to be removed only for the duration of the demonstration and were replaced on the fire vehicles last Friday. 

But the talk show hosts somehow attributed Rucker and Garcia’s decision to Dean. Bright said the misconception that Dean ordered the removal of the flags began last week on the Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage radio shows, and despite staff efforts to correct the error, other talk hosts like Liddy and Dr. Laura Schlessinger have not let it stop them from broadcasting the inaccurate information. 

“None of the shows called this office to fact check first,” Bright said. The calls began to come in Wednesday afternoon as soon as a local raidio show aired news of the decision and they haven’t stopped since, according to the mayor’s Chief of Staff Jennifer Drapeau. 

“We’re all shell-shocked here,” Drapeau said with a sweeping gesture toward her desk piled with documents. “Nothing has been done in this office since last Wednesday afternoon.” 

Drapeau said the calls have ranged from curious to upset to outright hostile. “There has been a lot of ranting and name calling,” she said. “And when we try to explain they just hang up.” 

She added that those who take the time to listen to the staff’s explanation seem to be satisfied, and that the office has received some e-mails of apology. 

Dean said the notoriety is not good for Berkeley. There have been a series of news events that have reflected badly on Berkeley beginning with the decision not to hold a ceremony at City Hall for a group of Japanese Boy Scouts because of the anti-gay policy of the Boy Scouts of America, Dean said. Controversies over an alleged anti-Muslim cartoon in the campus newspaper, the Daily Californian, and Rep. Barbara Lee’s sole anti-war vote have made Berkeley a national target, the mayor said.  

“This is hurtful to Berkeley,” Dean said. “I go to national, state and even county meetings and they look at me like I’m from Mars.” 

The Daily Planet was unable to reach any of the talk show hosts who had targeted Dean in the flag controversy. 


Justice, not revenge

Marianne Robinson
Wednesday September 26, 2001

Justice, not revenge 

 

The Daily Planet received this letter addressed to Rep. Barbara Lee: 

Thank you for your courageous voice of conscience and reason in opposing the rush to all-out war against an undetermined enemy within hours of the horrendous attacks in New York and Washington.  

I just returned from a rally in downtown Berkeley where people of all ages and colors voiced their fervent desire for justice, not revenge, and against war as a solution to any world problems. 

I am among the thousands who are proud to be your constituents and who are working every day for peace and justice, not domination, racism, and hatred at home and abroad. We are committed to organizing the voices for peace, justice and sanity so that they will be heard loud and strong by the powers-that-be. As ordinary citizens, we do not equate patriotism with war and violence and domination, and we do not want to be hated and feared by people in countries our government has exploited and manipulated to maintain its power and political advantage. 

Keep up the good work and know that we are with you. 

 

Marianne Robinson 

Berkeley 

 

 


Ergonomics a hot issue in UC clerical workers’ contract talks

By Steven Fyffe Special to the Daily Planet
Wednesday September 26, 2001

Clerical workers at the University of California say the chairs, desks and computers they are forced to sit at all day are crippling them. Their union, which began contract negotiations with the university at its Oakland headquarters on Monday, is seeking a complete overhaul of university policies on ergonomics. 

Although a 14 percent wage increase over three years is the biggest single issue for the 18,000-strong Coalition of University Employees, the union is also targeting what it says is an outdated and wholly inadequate program for ensuring safe clerical work areas. 

CUE wants a certified ergonomic specialist to test every clerical worker’s computer workstation in the University of California system within 30 days of being hired or of the new contract going into effect. 

Repetitive motion injuries are a growing problem across the University of California system and at UC Berkeley in particular, according to Chloe Osmer, a volunteer organizer for CUE. 

“There is so much outdated furniture,” Osmer said. “Old desks are not set up for eight-hour computer days. 

“It’s a problem that the UC is going to have to deal with soon or Workers’ Compensation claims are going to skyrocket.” 

Workers’ Compensation claims for repetitive motion injuries have been steadily rising at Berkeley over the last three years, according to Steve Lustig, assistant vice chancellor of Health and Counseling Services. 

Two years ago, 211 injury claims were processed. That figure rose to 274 in the last fiscal year, which ended in June. Some of them were lifting injuries, but most were computer related, he said. 

Repetitive motion injuries are also growing as a percentage of total injuries, up from 26 percent two years ago to 29 percent today. 

The numbers may be climbing, but the average cost of treating each injury seems to be dropping. The figures could be misleading because they do not reflect the full cost of treatment, Lustig said. 

“You don’t really know the full cost of a claim until two or three years down the road.” 

Claudette Begin, a member of CUE’s governing board, said the university needs to take a broader look at working conditions and workstations and help prevent injuries. 

“The university is totally underestimating or overlooking this problem,” she said. “A number of clerical workers have become injured and are no longer able to work. Sometimes it is for short periods. Sometimes they are never able to do work on a computer again. What opportunities are there for working in an office if you can’t use a computer?” 

Hillary FitzGerald-Nicholson, 46, said she filed a workers compensation claim last year, after transferring to the UC Berkeley Office of the Registrar and being ordered by her supervisor to “workstation hop” and train other employees on how to use the computer system. 

“Because I had carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms before, I told them it was something I couldn’t do,” she said. “But they didn’t care.” 

FitzGerald-Nicholson, a member of the CUE negotiating team, said her reports of neck aches and shooting pain in her arms were not taken seriously by her supervisors. 

“Management just treats you like a criminal, like you’re a liar,” she said. “They just think you are playing a game and because they can’t see your injury, they question it.” 

Her claim was approved within three months, she said. She was off work for a month and received regular medical treatment afterwards. 

Paul Schwartz, a university spokesman, declined to comment on the rising number of reported injuries, saying only that the health and welfare of all UC employees is a “top priority” for the university. 

“We take the matter of safe working conditions extremely seriously,” he said. 

On the Berkeley campus, the entire ergonomics program is a two-person operation. 

“I would need a huge staff to test every workstation at Berkeley,” said Barbara Pottgen, ergonomics program manager for the campus. 

“That’s a huge job. We train department-based evaluators to go and do preventative evaluation in their departments. 

“What we have really tried to do is develop a program that works with the resources that we have.” 

Two hundred department evaluators have been trained in the last two years, Pottgen said. 

But the evaluators do not have enough training, and the self-enforcement system gives departments too much power over their employees, according to CUE’s Osmer. 

“It’s being done very haphazardly,” said Osmer. “Some departments are good and some aren’t. We want to get it done throughout the campuses.” 

Pottgen said departments have the responsibility for enforcing evaluations, which might have caused some “unevenness” across campus. 

CUE has also proposed a mandated 10-minute break every hour for workers that spend more than 60 percent of their time at computers. The union wants to establish a joint-committee with the university to recommend and review ergonomic policy as well. 

Schwartz declined comment on any of the unions’ specific proposals. 

“We believe that bargaining should take place at the bargaining table and not in the arena of public opinion,” he said. 

The current contract was set to expire at the end of the month, but CUE’s chief negotiator said the union would ask for the deadline to be extended until the end of October. 


Understanding Afghanistan’s history

Beatriz Coda
Wednesday September 26, 2001

Understanding Afghanistan’s history 

 

Editor: 

It’s fascinating to read in my old encyclopedia that the United States signed a treaty of friendship with Afghanistan in 1926 – but an American official (the minister to Iran) didn’t visit Kabul until 1941. (US Trade with the Afghans included fur from the Persian caracul lynx.) Of course the tyro colonialist Americans lagged behind the British imperialists, who made many earlier incursions into Afghanistan and once even made it a virtual protectorate. 

The Brits finally recognized Afghan independence in 1921, after signing a treaty in Rawalpindi in 1919.  

American military leaders today should ponder on Afghan history – those descendants of Genghis Khan made the Brits pay dearly for their misdeeds by killing virtually the entire army in Kabul in 1842. After the Brits occupied Kandahar in 1878, their entire garrison was similarly wiped out. And of course the Russians, who had signed a treaty much earlier in 1878, in the 20th century created their own Vietnam in that country.  

Afghan history is replete with assassinations of their leaders and constant anarchy. Emir Amanullah, a progressive ruler who visited Europe in 1928, was fiercely opposed by the mullahs infuriated by his reforms decreeing the unveiling of women, free education for both boys and girls, the adoption of western clothing and the order for men’s beards to be shaved off but mustaches retained (shades of the Taliban!).  

What did the Emir in was when his Queen Suriya appeared at a state function unveiled and clad in the latest Paris fashion. Incited by the mullahs, Afghanis revolted and forced the Emir to flee. All his modern projects were abolished, and Kabul’s trolley line was torn up, with the remaining car put in the Kabul museum.  

Who knows, the Afghans’ legendary toughness could be the result of their preference to tackle their country’s rugged terrain by caravan, rather than getting soft by travelling in that decadent Western invention, the railway. 

 

Beatriz Coda  

Berkeley  


Police seek suspected bank robber

– By Hank Sims and Kenyatte Davis
Wednesday September 26, 2001

 

Berkeley Police are asking for help in identifying a man they say may have been involved in three bank robberies, or attempted bank robberies, over the last few weeks. 

The latest attempt was foiled Monday when a teller refused to cooperate. 

Police say that a man approached a Wells Fargo teller at the College Avenue branch around noon. The man allegedly told the teller to give him money, and that he was carrying a bomb.  

Upon hearing the word “bomb,” the teller backed away from the suspect. When he saw this, the suspect left a suspicious package on the counter and walked away, police said. 

The bomb squad was called upon to deal with the package. It was removed from the premises and x-rayed, whereupon it was determined to be a fake, police said. Meanwhile, all traffic within a block of the bank was diverted. 

The suspect is described as African American, 30-35 years old, approximately six feet tall and weighing around 180 pounds. He had a goatee, and wore black frame glasses with light blue lenses. He had on shiny blue denim jeans with a matching jacket, a white cap with a dark bill and white shoes with red, or partly red, soles. 

Berkeley police say a man with a similar appearance and mode of operation was involved in two previous bank robberies earlier in the month: one at Bank of the West in Orinda on Sept. 4, and one at a branch of the Mechanics’ Bank in Berkeley on Sept. 13. 

“We don’t get fake bombs very often, so when something like this comes through, we take notice,” said Detective Steve Rigo. 

Anyone who can provide the police with information is asked to call Detective Rigo at 981-5742. 

*** 

The suspect who attempted to rob a real estate agency Monday morning may also be the suspect in an El Sobrante bank robbery, according to Berkeley Police Sgt. Kay Lantow. 

The suspect, described as a 5 feet 6 inches, 180 pound white or Latino male in his early 20s with a mustache, walked into the real estate office on 1400 block of Shattuck Avenue Monday and demanded money, apparently thinking he was in a bank, Lantow said. When an employee of the agency said, “excuse me,” the suspect grabbed her by the arm and pulled out a small steel automatic pistol and said, “this is not a joke” 

The worker told the man that he was in a real estate agency and not a bank and the suspect left, according to Lantow. 

The suspect was wearing a blue beanie, a blue sweater and blue jeans; he fit the description of a man that El Sobrante police gave chase to after he allegedly robbed a bank in their jurisdiction, Lantow said. No further information about the El Sobrante case is available. 


State regulators fine two HMOs $404,000 for late payments

AP
Wednesday September 26, 2001

SACRAMENTO (AP) — California regulators fined two HMOs a total of $404,000 for late payments to doctors, hospitals and emergency rooms, officials said Tuesday. 

Daniel Zingale, director of the state Department of Managed Health Care, said a $100,000 fine against Health Net of California was the second largest amount levied against an HMO in the 15 months the department has existed. 

Health Net of California paid the fine, plus $54,000 in interest on the late payments, Zingale said. 

“Late and nonpayment to emergency rooms, providers and hospitals isn’t a problem unique to Health Net, but it was disrupting patient care,” Zingale said. “It was creating a situation where doctors didn’t want to be on-call in emergency rooms because they weren’t assured of getting paid.” 

The HMO serves more than 2.4 million Californians and is the fourth largest health plan in the state. 

Health Net spokesman David Olson said the company had corrected a computer problem that had resulted in the late payments. 

“We’re very, very confident that the claims processes are fully in compliance with state regulations,” Olson said. 

The state also issued a $50,000 fine against Heritage Provider Network, a health plan that serves 150,000 enrollees in Southern California. 

Heritage, based in Reseda, Calif., was also ordered to pay $200,000 in interest penalties, Zingale said. 

 


$7.1 million grant for new Technology Research Center

Wednesday September 26, 2001

BERKELEY — The National Science Foundation announced Tuesday a five-year, $7.1 million grant to a technology research center, a new University of California, Berkeley-led initiative. 

The NSF grant will support work in two of the major application areas the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) is exploring: energy efficiency and disaster preparedness. 

The awards are part of the federal government’s Information Technology Research (ITR) initiative, a program that began in 2000 and is designed to foster innovative information technology research. 

CITRIS is a partnership between UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis and UC Merced. The state is investing $100 million in the CITRIS institute over the next four years, and that amount will be matched by at least $200 million in additional support from companies, federal agencies and private donors.


New medical procedure could aid women who have lost fertility

By Lindsey Tanner AP Medical Writer
Wednesday September 26, 2001

 

CHICAGO — Sections of ovaries taken from two patients were implanted in their arms and continued to function there, raising hopes women can avoid the loss of fertility that often accompanies treatments for cancer and other diseases. 

In both cases, the tissue produced clearly visible welt-sized bumps — mini ovaries, really — on the forearm, just below the elbow. But more important, the tissue appears to be functioning normally and has produced mature eggs and regulates the menstrual cycle. That offers hope that the women, both in their 30s, could become pregnant. 

“It’s very promising,” said Dr. Kutluk Oktay, a Cornell University reproductive endocrinologist who performed the transplants at New York Methodist Hospital. 

Oktay and colleagues describe the procedure in a report in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association. 

Oktay said the procedure could potentially benefit the estimated 40,000 to 50,000 U.S. women diagnosed annually with cancer during reproductive years, who may require chemotherapy or radiation that can damage the ovaries. The tissue could be removed before treatment begins, then implanted in the arm after chemotherapy has finished and kept out of the way of radiation. 

Thousands of others who take sterility-inducing drugs for ailments such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis also could potentially benefit, Oktay said. 

If pregnancy were attempted, it would be through in-vitro fertilization, and eggs would be retrieved in a simple procedure through a syringe, similar to drawing blood, he said. 

Other attempts at preserving fertility include freezing patients’ unfertilized eggs, but only a few such cases have resulted in successful pregnancies. Whether tissue implants will prove more successful is unknown, said Dr. William Keye, director of reproductive endocrinology at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. 

Still, Keye called the research “a pretty unique and exciting new development.” 

“It’s certainly an important step forward in our understanding of this whole process,” Keye said. 

A few hundred women nationwide already have had ovarian tissue removed and frozen before undergoing cancer treatment, hoping that a medical advance will allow them to use it someday to become pregnant, said Dr. Michael R. Soules, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. 

Soules said it’s uncertain how long implanted tissue will continue to function. He noted that while Oktay’s patients show functioning for more than a year so far, their tissue was never frozen, a procedure that could “traumatize” the tissue and make long-term success more doubtful. 

Oktay and his colleagues used only part of the patients’ ovaries because it wasn’t necessary to take more, and it allows doctors to take only healthy tissue from damaged ovaries. 

In a previous experiment, Oktay transplanted a patient’s ovarian tissue inside her pelvis, near the original ovary site, but he said the newer procedure is less invasive and the implanted tissue is much more accessible for monitoring. In addition, the forearm can be kept out of the way in cancer patients who may require repeated pelvic radiation. 

Oktay noted that forearms also have been used successfully as an implant site for tissue from parathyroid glands located in the back of the neck. Those glands produce a hormone that helps control the level of calcium in the blood. 

Rebecca Pryce, a 28-year-old television producer in Charleston, S.C., had ovarian tissue frozen after she was diagnosed with lymphoma, a lymph-tissue cancer, in January 2000. 

Single, with no children, Pryce said learning she’d become sterile was almost harder to accept than the cancer diagnosis. 

“That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” she said. “That’s when I started to cry.” 

Although she won’t be ready for an implant for several years, Pryce said she’s thrilled to learn of Oktay’s preliminary success. 

“When you are in my shoes,” Pryce said, “any bit of positive news takes on a phenomenal amount of importance.” 

Oktay said the patients in the JAMA report did not want to discuss their experiences. 

One, a 35-year-old woman, had her ovaries removed before undergoing radiation for cervical cancer. After biopsies showed no cancer cells had spread to the ovaries, small strips of tissue were transplanted in November 1999 into her forearm, using local anesthesia. 

That patient wanted children right away, so she was given fertility drugs to stimulate the tissue to produce several mature eggs. An attempt at in vitro fertilization failed, but the woman has continued to show normal ovarian function, Oktay said. 

The second patient, a 37-year-old, had her ovaries removed because of benign cysts. Healthy ovarian tissue was transplanted to her forearm in April last year, and it also has functioned like a normal ovary. 

 


Starbucks apologizes for charging NYC rescue workers for water

By Allison Linn AP Business Writer
Wednesday September 26, 2001

 

SEATTLE — The head of a Brooklyn ambulance company said Tuesday that the president of Starbucks has personally apologized after rescue workers in New York City were forced to pay a Starbucks shop $130 for water to treat victims of the terrorist attack. 

Midwood Ambulance Service President Al Rapisarda said he received a hand-delivered reimbursement check — and a personal call from Starbucks President Orin Smith — after reports of the incident became public. 

“It was a misunderstanding with Starbucks,” Rapisarda said after talking to Smith. 

Midwood Ambulance Service alerted Starbucks to the incident in an e-mail, which was obtained by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 

Smith said Tuesday he had no idea why the coffee shop near the World Trade Center towers charged the rescue workers. 

“It’s totally inconsistent with the kind of behavior we would have expected from our people, so it has been very upsetting to learn of this,” Smith said in an interview with The Associated Press. 

Shortly after the Sept. 11 attack, rescue workers rushed into a nearby Starbucks store to get water to treat shock victims, Rapisarda said. Ambulance company workers said employees in the shop demanded they pay $130 for three cases of bottled water. The workers paid cash, out of their own pockets. 

Reached by telephone, the manager of the shop, the Battery Park Plaza Starbucks, declined to comment. Smith said the company felt confident the tale was true. 

Later, suspecting the workers had been overcharged, ambulance company officials called Starbucks and sent e-mail to the company, but said their queries were ignored. 

Smith said he didn’t know why the ambulance company apparently got a cold shoulder, but he defended the company’s New York City operations. 

“It’s not the way I want our people to behave in those circumstances, but I wasn’t there,” he said. “They are having to deal with several thousand people who are in a state of shock.” 

Rapisarda said he has been assured the rescue workers weren’t overcharged and was happy with Starbucks’ conciliatory gestures, which Smith said included free coffee and other gifts. 

“It’s not a big deal anymore,” Rapisarda said. 

Starbucks closed stores nationwide for a day after the attacks, although the company said several stores near the World Trade Center and New York City hospitals served coffee — and water — to rescue workers for free. 

He said the company also has donated coffee and other services throughout New York City since the attacks. 

 


News stations eager to get helicopters back in sky

By Christina Almeida Associated Press Writer
Wednesday September 26, 2001

By Christina Almeida 

Associated Press Writer 

 

LOS ANGELES — Television in California has long been tuned to freeway congestion, car crashes and chases. So when news helicopters were grounded Sept. 11 because of the terrorist attacks, traffic reporting lost a dimension. 

“People aren’t able to get the kind of coverage they need,” said Dave Corsello, general manager of Helinet Aviation Services, which contracts helicopters to five Los Angeles news stations. 

The Radio and Television News Directors Association has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to lift the restriction, calling it “constitutionally suspect.” 

But FAA spokesman Hank Price said the helicopter flights are restricted “because of national security.” He would not comment further. 

The situation has made it tough for news crews to get compelling video. 

“A story we could tell with pictures has to be told with just words or a map with an arrow showing where something has happened,” said Kevin Keeshan, news director for KGO-TV in San Francisco. 

At KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, producers recently had to wait for a ground crew to arrive at a brush fire and transmit footage instead of showing live video from the air. 

“It has certainly curtailed our ability to cover news,” said Jeff Wald, news director of the station. “With Los Angeles being as spread out as it is, helicopters are an essential part of our newsgathering operation.” 

Some viewers welcomed the change. 

“It’s refreshing not to turn on the TV set and see another police chase,” said Enrique Robles, 23, of Los Angeles. 

“I really don’t need to see every disaster from a million different perspectives,” added Kali Pappas, a Web designer in Los Angeles. “It’s so easy for bad pictures to substitute for good journalism.” 

For the past two weeks, KTLA’s morning traffic reporter, Jennifer York, has been reporting live from her helicopter — as it sits on the tarmac at Van Nuys Airport. Without the ability to monitor traffic conditions from above, York has been relying on information from Web sites run by the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans. 

“Those don’t serve me well,” she said. “A lot of the time we get to the scene of an accident and it’s already been cleared.” 

All-news radio stations have also been grappling with their traffic segments. Crys Quimby, news and program director for KFWB-AM in Los Angeles, said traffic reporters in helicopters are essential in helping motorists avoid trouble spots. 

Some television stations have downplayed the impact of the ban. KCBS-TV news director Roger Bell said his newsroom has been focused on stories about the terrorist attacks. 

“If somehow the war on terrorism were to recede, and we were covering more local stories, then the helicopter becomes much more important,” he said. 


Utah city sells ‘honorary citizenships’ to pay anti-U.N. costs

AP
Wednesday September 26, 2001

LA VERKIN, Utah (AP) — The City Council has voted to sell $10 honorary citizenship certificates to defray costs from its anti-United Nations campaign. 

The largest bills related to the U.N.-free zone ordinance total about $4,700, and do not include telephone calls, employees’ time and faxes, said City Manager Douglas Wilson. 

The City Council was presented with the two largest bills at its council meeting last Wednesday. Attorney fees totaled $3,600 and fees for city spokeswoman Tracie Sullivan amounted to $1,100. 

The expenses were incurred from July 4, when the council first adopted its ordinance declaring the community to be United Nations-free, through the end of August. The city’s postage was also approximately $500 above normal during that period. 

Wilson said that after the ordinance was passed, for about four weeks he was busy fielding telephone calls and answering e-mails, taking a majority of his time. 

Councilmember Al Snow suggested selling certificates declaring the purchaser to be an honorary citizen of La Verkin. 

“This man called me last week from Maryland and inquired about annexing three acres of land he had in Maryland into the city of La Verkin,” Snow said. “I told him that wasn’t possible but told him maybe we could make him an honorary citizen.” 

The council agreed with Snow, and voted to sell the certificates for $10 each. 

Snow has no idea how many certificates the city may sell, but he said he has more than 400 people who have requested forms from across the country. 

“Quite a few people in La Verkin have requested to be an honorary citizen to show their support for the ordinance,” Snow said. “I don’t know how much money we will get, but I hope it is enough to pay the expenses. I really don’t know what the potential is.” 

City Council members, blaming the United Nations for environmentalism and other perceived dangers, watered down their anti-U.N. ordinance in late July to avoid being sued. 

The changes were made after Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and City Attorney Lowry Snow advised them that their original law violated residents’ constitutional rights of speech, assembly and equal protection. 

The revised ordinance no longer requires residents and businesses working for the United Nations or its supporters to post signs on their property and file reports with the city. 

A clause barring the city from contracting or investing with companies with U.N. ties also was deleted. 

Instead of banning U.N. flags and symbols from city property, the city now only forbids flying the U.N. flag from the flagpole at City Hall. 

The council left intact provisions declaring La Verkin a U.N.-free zone and banning that organization from taxing the city or stationing troops there unless authorized by the state or federal government. 


Supreme Court to rule in Oakland public housing case

By Anne Gearan Associated Press Writer
Wednesday September 26, 2001

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is set to rule on a zero-tolerance policy intended to purge drugs from public housing projects. 

The court agreed Tuesday to review the national one-strike-and-you’re-out rule that critics say unfairly punishes relatives of troublemakers. 

The court accepted an appeal from a 63-year-old great-grandmother that arose from the policy endorsed by the Clinton administration in 1996 and by the Bush administration this year. 

The Bush administration wants the court to overturn a lower federal appeals court, which called the policy needlessly harsh. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made the one-strike policy unenforceable in the nine states plus Guam covered by the California-based court. 

The zero-tolerance policy allows entire families to be evicted if one member is caught once with narcotics, regardless of where an arrest was made or whether anyone else in the family was aware of the crime. 

Supporters of the initiative say the fear of losing a home is a powerful deterrent and that law-abiding families are on waiting lists for public housing. One-strike eviction laws have been on the books since 1988, but were spottily enforced before President Clinton made tougher national standards a campaign-year pledge. 

“For some, one strike and you’re out sounds like hardball. Well, it is,” Clinton said in announcing the policy in 1996. “If you mess up your community, you have to turn in your key.” 

The Department of Housing and Urban Development followed up with an enforcement program that stated a tenant could not avoid eviction simply by claiming ignorance of the crime or an inability to stop it. 

That year, Congress also toughened eviction rules to include drug activity outside the public housing unit. 

Evictions rose 84 percent in the first six months of the tougher 1996 policy, an analysis by The Associated Press at the time showed. 

The Department of Housing and Urban Development does not have recent statistics on people who have lost their government-subsidized housing because of drugs. 

At issue for the high court is whether Congress intended the rule to be as far-reaching as HUD and local public housing agencies have made it. 

The 9th Circuit ruling in January arose from eviction orders issued to four tenants in Oakland public housing. 

Pearlie Rucker got an eviction notice after her mentally disabled daughter was caught with cocaine three blocks from the apartment she shared with her mother and other family members. 

In the other three cases, eviction notices came to an elderly person whose grandchild or hired nurse was the drug abuser. 

The four went to federal court to block enforcement of the one-strike rule in Oakland unless the housing agency had proof that a tenant personally used drugs, or knew of the drug crime beforehand and had the ability to prevent it. 

The tenants won, but a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit overruled the first court. Then, the full appeals court reversed that finding and upheld the original court’s order blocking enforcement. 

“The decision of the court of appeals drains much of the meaning and significance,” from the 1996 law and HUD’s rules for enforcing it, the Justice Department wrote in asking the high court to get involved. 

“The result is to deprive public housing authorities of an important tool to achieve safe and livable public housing, and to deprive public housing tenants of protection that Congress found to be of central importance for their security and well-being.” 

Lawyers for the four tenants argued that the Supreme Court should not get involved at this stage, because there has never been a trial on the merits of the issue in lower court. 

The cases are Department of Housing and Urban Development v. Rucker, 00-1770. 

 


Police chemist fired for shoddy work and misleading testimony

By Tim Talley Associated Press Writer
Wednesday September 26, 2001

OKLAHOMA CITY — A police chemist was fired Tuesday for allegedly performing shoddy work and giving false or misleading testimony in criminal cases, including some in which she helped send men to death row. 

Joyce Gilchrist was dismissed by Chief of Police M.T. Berry, who said the decision was based on the recommendations of an administrative panel who heard testimony about Gilchrist’s alleged misconduct. 

Reasons for firing Gilchrist “include laboratory mismanagement, criticism from court challenges and flawed casework analysis,” a statement from Berry’s office said. Berry said the termination was effective Tuesday. 

“I am very, very disappointed,” said Gilchrist, who disputed Berry’s findings. Gilchrist faces allegations in an undetermined number of criminal cases. Hundreds of her cases are being re-examined. 

Her attorney, Melvin Hall, said the termination letter was inaccurate and vague. He said the letter does not outline the specific misconduct that led to her dismissal. 

“Joyce Gilchrist doesn’t know what she did wrong,” Hall said. 

Gilchrist, whose work is being investigated by the FBI and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, has been on paid administrative leave from the Police Department since February, earning a base salary of $59,528. 

“This is just the first step in Joyce Gilchrist’s long, long fall,” said Jack Dempsey Pointer, president of the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, who has been critical of Gilchrist and the Police Department’s forensic laboratory. 

No criminal charges have been filed, but Pointer has said he wants Gilchrist to be investigated by a state grand jury impaneled by Attorney General Drew Edmondson. A spokesman for Edmondson, Gerald Adams, declined to comment on the grand jury’s investigative agenda. 

In May, Jeff Pierce, who was convicted of rape in 1986 after Gilchrist testified about hair evidence, was freed after 15 years behind bars when new testing indicated his DNA did not match that of the person who committed the crime. 

Last month, a federal appeals court overturned a convicted killer’s death sentence because of problems with Gilchrist’s testimony about DNA evidence. And a few years ago, a death row inmate who was put there in part by Gilchrist’s testimony was exonerated after a DNA semen analysis proved he didn’t attack the victim. 

Pointer said he believes other innocent people have been wrongly convicted based on Gilchrist’s testimony. 

“We don’t even have a clue how many,” Pointer said. 

Hall said Gilchrist has been evaluated by the department 17 times during the past two decades and each time was rated either competent or commendable. The termination letter is “the first negative piece of paper in 21 years to be placed in her personnel file,” Hall said. 

In April, the FBI recommended a review of all cases in which Gilchrist’s work was significant to securing a conviction. 

Gilchrist has been involved in 11 cases in which people were put to death, but the state attorney general’s office has said there is no indication that any innocent people have been executed. 

State investigators said this month that a forensic team had reviewed 583 case files and marked 99 for further review. There were 574 case files left to review. 

Police spokeswoman Sgt. Cris Cunningham said Gilchrist has the right to file a grievance to appeal her dismissal. Gilchrist has not decided whether to appeal, Hall said. 


Conference focuses on terrorist preparedness, first response

By Bill Poovey Associated Press Writer
Wednesday September 26, 2001

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — With added urgency, emergency officers from across the country met with terrorism experts Tuesday to discuss ways to respond to a possible new wave of attacks, including assaults with chemical or biological weapons. 

“We in law enforcement know how to take care of people with guns,” said John Skipper, a sheriff’s captain in Anderson, S.C. “We need to learn more about biohazardous stuff. Law enforcement is in the dark on a lot of this.” 

“The way we are going to find it ... we are going to find five or six dead cops,” he said. 

Skipper was among scores of officers from 45 states attending the first day of the National Institute for Urban Search and Rescue fall conference. The annual event took on new significance in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. 

Anthony Wood, the institute’s chief of staff, said the program was designed for “first responders” to help them focus on how to better coordinate response and management. 

“Perhaps the next time we will be a little bit more prepared,” said Roland Monette, a board member of the institute, based in Santa Barbara, Calif. He said America is “at war. The rules change in war, especially when you live in a war zone.” 

Leon Schenck, a former FBI agent and anti-terrorism specialist who is now Huntsville’s deputy police chief, told the conferees that “New York was a soft target,” unlike military bases or other protected places. He said other American cities are just as vulnerable. 

Schenck said that in dealing with suicide-terrorists, “any target they want to destroy, we have to make it difficult.” 

“If somebody wants to kill you and they are willing to sacrifice their lives to do it, chances are they are going to be successful,” he said. 

Schenck said terrorists are much more likely to use chemical or biological weapons than nuclear weapons. He said a biological attack with smallpox could be catastrophic because there is not enough vaccine to protect America’s population. 

“It’s going to take years to build up enough,” he said. 

 


Davis to call Legislature back to work out Edison deal

By Jennifer Coleman Associated Press Writer
Wednesday September 26, 2001

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis will call state lawmakers back to Sacramento next week in an attempt to keep Southern California Edison from declaring bankruptcy, an aide to the governor said Tuesday. 

Davis will bring the Legislature back by calling his third extraordinary session to address energy. The governor will issue a proclamation by Wednesday, and the session will likely start Tuesday, said Davis’ spokesman Steve Maviglio. 

Edison, the state’s second largest utility, amassed $3.9 billion in debts from high wholesale electricity costs last year that they could not pass on to customers. The state’s largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., also ran up billions in debts and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April. 

That month, Davis said he and Edison had agreed on a rescue plan, and the Senate and Assembly each passed their versions of the plan this summer. But the two houses couldn’t reconcile their plans before the regular session adjourned Sept. 15. 

Davis’ original plan called for the state to buy the utility’s high-voltage transmission grid for $2.76 billion and allow Edison to sell revenue bonds for the remaining debt. 

Both houses passed plans that gave the state a five-year option to buy the Edison lines. The Senate limited the price to the lines’ book value, about $1.2 billion, and the Assembly offered twice that. 

The two plans diverged on how much in bonds Edison could sell. The company backed an Assembly plan that offered $2.9 billion, while the Senate plan limited the bonds to $2.5 billion. 

Edison said the Senate’s plan wouldn’t keep it from following PG&E into bankruptcy. 

PG&E filed its reorganization plan Thursday, proposing to put its power plants, electrical transmission lines and natural gas pipelines into three new companies. Those companies would be under the umbrella of the utility’s unregulated parent company, PG&E Corp. 

Assemblyman Fred Keeley, D-Boulder Creek, last week called the PG&E reorganization plan “the worst of what many of us predicted would happen if you let these companies go bankrupt.” 

PG&E’s plan would shift its prime assets from state regulation to that of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has not supported California leaders during the energy crisis, Keeley said. 

Such a flawed plan would motivate lawmakers to help Edison, he said. 

But Assemblyman Dean Florez, D-Shafter, said the PG&E plan helps consumers because it doesn’t involve a rate increase. That’s why the Legislature should let Edison file for bankruptcy, too. 

“The PG&E plan, from a ratepayer’s point of view, seems to be a better deal,” said Florez. “In this deal, all creditors get paid, either in cash or with bonds, but they get paid 100 percent.” 

Florez, a member of the Assembly Energy Committee, said he hasn’t seen any new plans from Davis or other lawmakers and he doesn’t “see any sense in going back unless there’s a new deal on the table.” 

A Field Poll released Tuesday found that a majority of California voters didn’t support a rescue plan either. The statewide poll found 68 percent of those polled opposed Davis’ plan to allow the utility to issue bonds that would be paid by ratepayers. 

The statewide poll questioned 1,003 California adults by telephone on Sept. 7-10. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. 


Beaten-down venture capitalists hunker down for more trouble

By Michael Liedtke AP Business Writer
Wednesday September 26, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — Already beaten down by the collapse of the technology industry, venture capitalists are hunkering down for even rougher times ahead as the economy recovers from the devastation of this month’s terrorist attacks. 

While remaining bullish on the industry’s long-term prospects, venture capitalists generally are pessimistic about the outlook through 2002, according to two informal industry surveys taken over the past week. 

Venture capitalists are preparing for “an extremely difficult” environment for the next 12-18 months, said the National Venture Capital Association, an industry trade group that polled 60 major firms across the country last Friday and Monday. 

Most of the 56 firms that responded to a survey by VentureWire — an online news service focused on the industry — also predicted the fallout from the terrorist attacks will slow the money flow to start-ups at least through next year. 

“To say we are in for choppy times is an understatement,” said Jim Breyer, managing partner with Accel Partners in Palo Alto. Breyer predicted the financial fallout from the Sept. 11 tragedy will be even more dramatic than the October 1987 stock market crash, which hurt the venture capital industry for at least three years. 

After furiously raising money last year to finance the buildup of the Internet Economy, venture capitalists still have plenty of money to invest — an estimated $45 billion, according to the National Venture Capital Association. A large chunk likely will be earmarked for previously financed start-ups as venture capitalists scramble to salvage their previous investments. 

“I would not want to be an entrepreneur searching for my first round (of capital) right now,” said Mark Heeson, president of the National Venture Capital Association. “Venture capitalists are going to be a lot tougher even with more seasoned entrepreneurs. It’s just going to be a harsher environment.” 

Venture capitalists “will have to be prepared to support their companies for longer periods of time and recognize that they might not be able to meet their original budgets because this recession is going to make everything more difficult,” said Howard Cox, a general partner with Greylock Financial in Boston. 

Like most of the technology start-ups that they helped fund, venture capitalists were grappling with a sharp contraction in their industry well before the Sept. 11 tragedy. 

As tech stocks have plummeted on Wall Street, venture capitalists have been forced to pour more money into their existing portfolio of companies instead of cashing out in initial public offerings, or IPOs. The shift has saddled venture capitalists with unprecedented losses after reveling in record profits in the late 1990s. 

Before Sept. 11, some venture capitalists had been hoping that the worst was just about over in the tech sector and the window for IPOs might crack open again early next year. 

“This has pretty much splashed cold water on that talk,” said Geoff Yang, a partner at Redpoint Ventures in Menlo Park. 

In many ways, venture capitalists say their duties won’t change much from the past six months. They expect to continue their triage on their existing start-ups while keeping an eye out for promising new ideas. 

“This just is going to elongate the cycle. We already knew things were tough, and this just really puts a hammer in it,” said Wes Raffel, general partner of Advanced Technology Partners in Palo Alto. 

The venture capital downturn already has produced ripple effects beyond the start-ups that depended on the money to stay afloat. Thousands of workers have lost their jobs at well-established technology and media companies that have dismantled expansions undertaken to cash in on new business financed by the venture capital boom. 

Venture-backed companies generated $736 billion in revenue and accounted for 7.4 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product last year, according to WEFA, an economic consulting firm. 

Venture capitalists invested a record $103 billion last year, but are rapidly backpedaling this year. Through the first half of this year, venture capital investments totaled $22.8 billion, a 58 percent decrease from last year’s pace. 

 


Students rally to support war

By Hank Sims Daily Planet Staff
Tuesday September 25, 2001

A rally at the UC Berkeley campus to show support for America’s proposed war against terrorism quickly turned into an emotional confrontation between those who called themselves “pro-America” and anti-war demonstrators on Monday. 

The “Rally for America” at Sproul Plaza was organized in part as a response to the anti-war protests in the community and on campus last week. Organizers said that they also wanted to make a stand against the racism – including, they said, racism directed against Jews – that has surfaced on campus after Sept. 11. 

Around 400 students and members of the community attended to support the rally, with about half that many there to protest it.  

“Let the nation know that thousands of Berkeley students stand behind the country,” said event organizer Randy Barnes.  

The demonstration was organized by a number of campus groups – including the College Republicans, the Cal Democrats, the Delta Upsilon fraternity and the Israel Action Committee – but speakers emphasized that they were not speaking on behalf of their organizations, but as individual students and Americans. 

“Part of the rally today is to verbalize our rage at the backlash against the U.S.,” said Barnes, who works with the IAC. “We felt that this needs to be voiced – there are students who oppose terrorism, and equally stand against racism.” 

A few minutes before the rally began, anti-war activists mixed with the demonstrators and exchanged views. Their conversations were mostly civil, but both sides were clearly frustrated. 

“People are saying they’re against terrorism – I’m just saying that this won’t stop terrorism,” said Hoku Jeffrey of the Stop the War Coalition. “How can you say you are against racism and then do something that will exacerbate it?” 

Rob McFadden, president of the College Republicans said that the sentiments expressed at last Thursday’s anti-war rally were not supported by most students. 

“Like the country, most of the campus stands together in this cause – Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians,” said McFadden. “It’s just that there’s a very vocal minority in opposition.” 

Speaking from the podium, Barnes recalled the words of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain after the Munich conference in 1938: “I believe it is peace for our time. Go home and get a nice quiet sleep.” Barnes went on to say that appeasement, in this case, should not be an option. 

Barnes said that acts of hatred directed at Muslim students were unacceptable, but that anti-Semitism was also in evidence over the past two weeks. 

In particular, he said, several anti-Semitic messages were found on the posterboards on which students wrote their thoughts Sept. 11. 

Among the messages, Barnes said, were “It’s the Jews, stupid,” “Jews control the media” and “Jews are happy because this makes Israel look good.” 

Ajay Kshatriya, a chemical engineering senior, said that the United States was the only country in which kids from middle-class families could get a first-class education. He said that while the country has clearly made foreign policy mistakes in the past, he was tired of hearing it run down. 

“No country in existence has been as respectful and tolerant of other countries as the U.S.A.,” he said. 

Shortly after Kshatriya’s speech, a verbal confrontation between a group of people attending the rally and a group of anti-war demonstrators broke out on the west side of Sproul Plaza. Mike Vallarelli, a student who lost friends in the World Trade Center and the father of a friend on one of the hijacked airlines, argued with the anti-war activists. He lunged for a sign, held by one of the anti-war people, that read “The USA is still the world’s greatest terrorist.” 

“They’re just misinformed,” said Vallarelli. “They think it’s noble to be a pacifist. They have a lot of noble ideals. But this thing didn’t affect them.” 

At one point, separated only by a line of camera-toting journalists, each side erupted in warring chants: 

“U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” 

“One, two, three, four – We don’t want your racist war! 

The shouting was temporarily interrupted when the sound of a air horn came over the loudspeaker, and the silence held while “Taps” played. After Barnes thanked everyone for coming, impromptu groups formed again to express their mutual rage. 

Near the end of the rally, a man walking his dog through the campus joined a circle of people arguing. He said that 20 years ago, he was a UC Berkeley student involved in the anti-war movement; now, he said, he lived near Yosemite and was in town to work on an environmental lawsuit. 

“Personally, I see a lack of honesty among the people protesting the war here,” said the man, who did not wish to be identified. “First, a lack of honesty about what’s just happened and second, a lack of historical honesty about America’s role in the world.” 

The man said he thought that the left should play a serious role during the crisis, especially in the upcoming debate over the restriction of civil liberties, but that what he heard from anti-war protesters Monday did not impress him. 

“What I’ve been hearing is that this was the U.S.’s fault, that the people that did this were fighting for freedom,” he said. “Well, sorry, that doesn’t work.”


Guy Poole
Tuesday September 25, 2001


Tuesday, Sept. 25

 

 

Berkeley Housing Authority Monthly Meeting 

6:30 p.m. 

City Council Chambers  

2134 MLK Jr. Way, 549-2970  

 

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. 525-3565 

 

Redistricting of Berkeley City Council Districts 

7 p.m. 

2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Public hearing to consider proposals to amend Council District boundaries based on the 2000 census figures. Members of the public are invited to comment on all proposals. 981-7000 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us 

 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

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

 

Free Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday. 655-8863 

New Student Reception 

5 - 7 p.m. 

UC Berkeley- Institute of  

Government Services 

109 Moses Hall 2370 

Welcome new Cal students and share in food and drinks. 

 

Annual PTA Reception 

6 - 8 p.m. 

Rosa Parks Environmental  

Science Magnet School 

920 Allston Way 

Multi-Purpose Room 

Reception for the 2001 - 2002 PTA Officers. 644-8764  

 

Daily Prayer and Meditation 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana at Durant 

Chapel open for prayer and meditation. 

 


Wednesday, Sept. 26

 

 

New Dates for PRC Meeting 

The meetings of the Police Review Commission scheduled for Sept. 26, Oct. 10 have been cancelled. A special PRC meeting will be held Oct 3 at South Berkeley Senior Center. Regular PRC meetings will resume on Oct. 24 

 

A Taste of the World: Cultural Understanding Through Food 

6 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish  

Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Enhance your cooking skills and experience the cuisines of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Morocco and Israel with chef Daniel Herskovic. All classes are “hands on.” Class includes meal and cooking lesson. $25. Every Wednesday through Nov. 1. 655-8487 

 

Socratic Circle Discussions 

5 - 6 p.m. 

1309 Solano Ave. 

Cafe Eclectica 

Does your brain need a workout? All ages welcome. 527-2344 

 

"Nels Nelson: The Early Days of Berkeley Archaeology"  

noon 

ARF, 2547 Channing, Room 101 

Brown Bag Lunch Lecture 

After Kent's talk, we'll go to the 2 p.m. court hearing before Judge Richman, Alameda Co. Superior Court to watch Berkeley Asst. City Attorney Zack Cowen defend the landmark designation of the West Berkeley Shellmound. The hearing is at the Post Office Building, 201-13th St., Department 31, Second floor, Oakland. The Shellmound is being challenged by the propertyowners who filed suit against the City's designation of the mound site. 841-8562 sfbayshellmounds@yahoo.com 

 

Lion’s Center for the Blind 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

A representative of this organization will discuss its services. 644-6107 

 

Prose Writers’ Workshop 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center Library 

1414 Walnut St.  

From Op-ed to fiction, memoir to the feature article - a community 

writers' group to support and encourage a community of  

interests. Workshop format. Free.  

524-3034 

 

Jose Bove 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Adult School 

1222 University Ave. 

Jose Bove and fellow farmer Francois Dufour will assure us “The world is not for sale.” For them, food is more than fuel; it is sacred relationship, family, love, tradition and well-being. $12. (415) 255-7296 Ext. 200 

 

Daily Prayer and Meditation 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana at Durant 

Chapel open for prayer and meditation. 

 


Thursday, Sept. 27

 

 

Exploring Chile 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Wayne Bernhardson will present slides and provide information about this increasingly popular adventure destination. Free. 527-4140 

 

Even Stronger Women 

1:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Free weekly cultural discussion class. This week: feminist influence on children. Discussion of Judy Blume’s books for girls. 549-1879 

 

Café Literario 

7 p.m. 

Public Library West Branch 

1125 University Ave.  

A bilingual reading and discussion series. The book, “Odyssey to the North” by Mario Bencastro, will be discussed. 644-6870 

 

Daily Prayer and Meditation 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana at Durant 

Chapel open for prayer and meditation. 

 


Friday, Sept. 28

 

 

Redwood Sequoia Congress 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

Human rights and environmental activists will gather in an annual examination of the human condition and the status of the planet. 841-1182 

 

Third Annual BFD Blood Drive 

8:30 a.m. - 2 :30 p.m. 

Fire Station #2 

2029 Berkeley Way 

In conjunction with the Red Cross, the Berkeley Fire Department is having it’s annual blood drive. Drop in or make an appointment. 981-5599 Ext. 4408 

 

City Commons Club 

12:30 p.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

“Inside North Korea” with Timothy Savage, Senior Planner, East Asian Security, Nautilus Institute. 848-3533 


Lee’s a patriot

Stephanie Don Berkeley
Tuesday September 25, 2001

 

Editor: 

Congressional Representative Barbara Lee has been heavily criticized for her lone vote against the War Powers Resolution, being called anti-patriotic and divisive to our united front. With the rest of the House and Senate unanimously supporting the measure, our government and nation’s resolve to respond to the horrendous terrorist acts is unquestionable. Knowing the measure would be enthusiastically passed, Lee took a symbolic stand reminding America that peace is still an option and that there are many who support it. During these past tumultuous weeks much of the country has been whipped into a pro-vengeance, pro-war fervor. Lee’s vote does not undermine justice for the victims and their families, rather she is asserting that Congress should retain its right to check Bush’s power and maintain limits on the military’s actions. In the tense times preceding potential war, when civil rights are tightened and national ethics are softened, Barbara Lee is the voice for the basic American Ideals we must not lose sight of Freedom and Democracy.  

 

Stephanie Don 

Berkeley 


Staff
Tuesday September 25, 2001

MUSIC 

 

924 Gilman Street Sept. 28: Erase Errata, The Intima, Ibobuki, (+tba); Sept. 29: DS-13, Beware, Blown To Bits, (+tba); Oct 5: Subincision, Gary’s Agenda, Eugene (+ tba); Oct 6: Tight Brothers from Way Back When, Smash Your Face, Cherry Valence, Bare Bones; Most shows are $5 and start at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 

 

Albatross Pub Sept. 25: Mad and Eddie Duran; Sept. 27: Kenji “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Oct 3: Wesley Brothers; Oct 4: Keni “El Lebrijano” Flemenco Guitar; All free shows begin at 9 p.m. 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 albatrosspub@mindspring.com  

 

Anna’s Sept. 25: Tangria; Sept. 26: Bob Schoen Jazz Quintet, Cheryl McBride; Sept. 27: David Jeffrey Fourtet, Brendan Milstein; Sept. 28: Anna sings jazz standards, 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Sept. 29: Robin Gregory, Bliss Rodriguez, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Sextet, Donald Duck Bailey; Sept. 30: Acoustic Soul; All shows begin at 8 p.m. 1801 University Ave. 849-ANNA www.annasbistro.com 

 

Café de la Paz Poetry Nitro, performance showcase with open mike. Sept. 24: Jim Watson-Gove; All shows free, 7 - 10 p.m. 

 

Cal Performances Sept. 30: 7 p.m. Kronos Quartet, David Barron, $30; Oct. 12 - 14: Fri. and Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Ballet Nacional De Cuba, $24 - $46; Oct. 17 and 18: 8 p.m. Cesaria Evora, $24 - $36; Oct. 19: 8 p.m. Karnak, $18 - $30. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph, 642-0212, tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

Eli’s Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; Sept. 3: 2 - 8 p.m. Big West Coast Harmonica Bash, afternoon benefit for Red Archibald. $10 donation; Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

 

Freight & Salvage Sept. 26: Clive Gregson, $16.50; Sept. 27: Dick Gaughan, $18.50; Sept 28: Jenna Mammina, $16.50; Sept. 29: The Nigerian Brothers, $16.50; Sept. 30: Vasen, $17.50; Oct 2: Budowitz; Oct 3: The Robin Nolan Trio; Oct 4: Darol Anger & Mike Marshall; Oct 5: Golden Bough; Oct 6: The Limeliters; Oct 7: Eddie From Ohio; Oct 8: All Nation Singers, Walter Ogi Johnson, Thunder; All shows start at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.com 

 

Jack’s Bistro Sept. 28: 9 p.m. Tomas Michaud’s New World Flamenco Quartet, Jack London Square. 444-7171  

www.starland-music.com 

Jazzschool/La Note Sept. 30: 4 p.m., John Santos and the Machete Ensemble. $15. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5376 

 

Jupiter Sept. 25: Craig Graham Trio; Sept. 26: Starvin Like Marvin; Sept. 28 Anton Schwartz Quartet; Sept 29:  

moderngypsies.net; All music starts at 8 p.m. 2181 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625 www.jupiterbeer.com  

 

La Peña Cultural Center Sept. 27: 7:30 p.m. The local Friends of the MST will host a screening of the new documentary "Raiz Forte" or "Strong Roots" to present our community with a vision of their work and struggle. A discussion will follow. $5-$10; In the Cafe, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 www.lapena.org 

 

Music Sources Sept. 30: 5 p.m. Ole Scarlatta! Portuguese and French keyboards and fortepiano joined by Jason McGuire on flamenco guitar, $18 General, $15 members, seniors, students. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

 

Sedge Thomson’s West Coast Live Radio Show Sept. 29: Nancy Miford, The Nigerian Brothers, Caroline Dahl. The Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison St. All shows 10 a.m. - noon. 252-9214 www.wcl.org 

 

Benifit Concert for the Native  

American Health Center Sept. 28: 8 p.m. Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ulali, Lorrie Church, The Mankillers. Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. 625-8497  

 

“The Complete Shostakovich String Quartets--Part One” Sept. 29: 10 a.m. Quartets III & IV; Oct. 20: 10 a.m. Quartets V & VI. Performed by the prize-winning Alexander String Quartet with Robert Greenberg. $ 30, $84 for the Trio of concerts. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org. 

 

Magnificat Sept. 29: 8 p.m. First Congregational Church. The San Francisco early music ensemble of voices and period instruments present their tenth anniversary season with music of 17th century composers. Tickets $12-$45 (415) 979-4500 

 

The Mike Yax Jazz Orchestra Sept. 30: 2 p.m., Longfellow School of the Arts, 1500 Derby St. 420-4560 

 

THEATER 

 

“Le Cirque des Animaux” Sept. 29: 8 p.m. Hausmusik presents a wacky baroque musical cabaret on the subject of animals. Parish Hall of St. Alban’s Espiscopal Church, 1501 Washington St. (not wheelchair accessible). $18 general admission, $15 seniors, students and SFEMS members) 527-9029 

“Murder Dressed in Satin” by Victor Lawhorn, ongoing. A mystery-comedy dinner show at The Madison about a murder at the home of Satin Moray, a club owner and self-proclaimed socialite with a scarlet past. Dinner is included in the price of the theater ticket. $47.50 Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland. 239-2252 www.acteva.com/go/havefun 

 

“Twelfth Night” Sept. 25 - 30, Oct. 2 - 7, Tue. - Thurs. 7:30 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m., Student Matinees: Sept. 18, 20, 25, Oct. 2, @ 1 p.m. California Shakespeare Festival presents William Shakespeare’s comic tale of romance, loneliness, love and glory. Directed by Jonathan Moscone. $12 - $41. Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, Highway 24, Gateway Exit, one mile east of the Caldecott Tunnel. 548-9666 www.calshakes.org 

 

“Swanwhite” through Oct. 21: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. A new translation of the Swedish Play that asks the question what good is romantic love, directed by Tom Clyde. $20, Sundays are “Pay What You Can.” Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305, www.virtuous.com 

 

“36 Views” through Oct. 28: Tues. 8 p.m., Wed. 7 p.m., Thu. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Thu., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Sat., Sun. 2 p.m., 8 p.m. Written by Naomi Lizuka, Directed by Mark Wing-Davey. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

 

FILMS 

 

Pacific Film Archive Sept. 25: 7:30 p.m. Alternative Requirements 2001, Artists in Person; Sept. 26: 7:30 p.m. Touch Tones; Sept. 28: 7 p.m. Ugetsu, 8:55 p.m. Sansho the Bailiff; Sept. 29: 7 p.m. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part I, Joel Adlen on piano; Sept. 30: Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part II, Joel Adlen on piano; general admission $7, The New PFA Theatre 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412 

 

EXHIBITS 

 

Nexus Gallery Sept. 26-30: noon - 6 p.m. Jan Eldridge- Large charcoal drawings and acrylic collages; Tricia Grame- visual and textural autobiography of her spiritual evolution; Tanya Wilkinson- A sensuous exploration of the possibilities inherent in the medium of handmade paper. 

 

Women’s Cancer Resource Gallery “Catastrophe, Crisis, and Other Family Traditions,” the photography of Jessamyn Lovell, through Sept. 26; “The Arthur Wright and Gerald Parker,” through Sept. 26; Tues. - Thurs. 1 - 7 p.m., Sat. 12 - 4 p.m. 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 Ext. 307 www.wcrc.org 

Bahman Navaee is exhibiting his paintings, through Sept. 29: Persian Center, 2029 Durant Ave. 848-0264 

 

“Debbie Moore’s Autobiographical Paintings” through Sept. 30 at Good Vibrations. Portraits of the artist’s sensual explorations spanning 25 years and reflecting changing ways of intimacy and body play. 2504 San Pablo Ave. 848-1985 

 

“Three Visions” Sept. 26 through Sept. 30: 12 - 6 p.m., An Exhibition of Mixed Media. Nexus Gallery, 2707 8th St. (707) 554-2520 

 

“The Decade of Change: 1900 - 1910” through September. 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.  

 

“Squared Triangle” through Oct. 5: noon - 6 p.m. A minimalist art exhibit featuring three Bay Area artists working in different mediums while achieving the same elegant simplicity. The Crucible, 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.com 

 

“Inside Editions” through Oct. 12: Nine printmakers exhibit their work. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tue. - Fri. Free. Kala Art Insitute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 kala@kala.org 

 

“Census 2000: Asian Pacific Islander Americans” through Oct. 13; Wed. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Asian Pacific Islander American artists in roughly the demographic proportions indicated by the recent census. Free. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., Oakland 763-9470  

 

“MWP Perspectives” Jon Orvik: One artist’s journey. Through Oct. 27, Tues. - Fri. 12 - 5 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 12 - 4 p.m. Solo artist exhibiting his journey through metal, wood and paint. Adapt Gallery and Design, 2834 College Ave. 649-8501 www.adaptgallery.com  

 

“50 Years of Photography in Japan 1951 - 2001” through Nov. 5: An exhibition from The Yomiuri Shimbun, the world’s largest daily newspaper with a national morning circulation of 10,300,000. Photographs of work, love, community, culture and disasters of Japan as seen by Japanese news photographers. Opening Reception Sept. 5: 6 - 8 p.m. open to the public; Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. U.C. Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall, Hearst and Euclid. Free. 642-3383 

“Changing the World, Building New Lives: 1970s photographs of Lesbians, Feminists, Union Women, Disability Activists and their Supporters” through Nov. 17: An exhibit of black and white photographs by Oakland photographer Cathy Cade, who captured the interrelationships of the different struggles for justice and social change. Opening reception Sept. 15, 5 - 8 p.m. Gallery Hours, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St. Free. 644-1400 cathycade@mindspring.com 

 

“The Whole World’s Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s” through Dec. 16: A documentary photo exhibition which examines the rich history of the social movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Wed. - Sun., noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Free. 644-6893 

 

“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 Botticelli’s “Primavera” Ongoing. Call ahead for hours. Atelier 9 2028 Ninth St. (at Addison) 841-4210 or visit  

www.atelier9.com 

 

READINGS 

 

Boadecia’s Books Sept 28: The Return of Gaymes Night; Sept 29: Ellen Samuels and other contributors to “Out of the Ordinary: Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian & Transgender Parents;” Mark Pritchard reads from “How I Adore You;” Oct 6: Terry Ryan reads from “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 words or Less;” All events start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise. All events are free. 398 Colusa Ave. 559-9184 www.bookpride.com 

 

Cody’s on Fourth Street Sept. 25: 7 p.m. Nancy London has been cancelled; Oct 5: 7 p.m. Glen Davis Gold reads from “Carter Beats the Devil;” Oct 12: Cody’s For Kids- Rosemary Wells and Bunny Party; 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 

 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Sept. 25: Ken Croswell discusses “The Universe At Midnight: New Discoveries Illuminate the Hidden Cosmos” with a slide show presentation; Sept. 27: Bill Ayers talks about “Fugitive Days”; Oct 1: Urdsula K. Le guin reads from “The Other Wind”; Oct 2: Jonathan Franzen reads from “The Corrections”; Oct 4: Eric Seaborg looks at “Adventures in the Atomic Age: From Watts to Washington”; Oct 5: Victor Villasenor reads from “Thirteen Senses”; All shows at 7:30 p.m. 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

 

Cody’s Other Venues - Sept. 20: 7:30 p.m. Cody’s presents an evening with Margaret Atwood in conversation with professor Robert Alter. $12. First Congregational Church 2345 Channing Way; Sept. 28: 7:30 p.m. Cody’s presents a Community Forum on Race and the Achievement Gap at Berkeley High School. Little Theater, Berkeley High School; Oct 7: 7 p.m. Coleman Barks- The Soul of Rumi First Congregational Church of Berkeley 2345 Dana 

 

Coffee Mill Poetry Series Sept. 18: Ben Brose and Jen Iby followed by open mike reading. 3363 Grand Ave., Oakland 465-3935 ksdgk@earthlink.net 

 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Sept. 29: 7 p.m. Kip Fulbeck reads from his first novel, “Paper Bullets.” 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore Sept. 20: 7:30 p.m. Antarctica & The Nature of Penguins, An evening with Jonathan Chester; Oct 2: 7:30 p.m. “Dancing with the Witchdoctor: One Woman’s Adventure in Africa” by Kelly James. 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

 

Lunch Poems reading Series Oct 4: 12:10 p.m. Ishmael Reed; Morrison Libary in Doe Library at UC Berkeley. Free 642-0137 http://www.berkeley.edu/calendar/events/poems/ 

 

Spasso Sept. 10: Sharron Jones-Reid, Fruit of the Spirit poets, acoustic musicians, comedians, rappers, performance artists, writers. All welcome. 6021 College Ave. Free admission. 

 

Tours 

 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Fridays 9:30 - 11:45 a.m. or by appointment. Call ahead to make reservations. Free. University of California, Berkeley. 486-4387 

 

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  

 

 

Museums 

 

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  

 

UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology Lobby, Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley “Tyrannosaurus Rex,” ongoing. A 20 foot 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 will close its exhibition galleries for renovation. It will reopen in early 2002. On View until Oct. 1 : “Ishi and the Invention of Yahi Culture.” “Sites Along the Nile: Rescuing Ancient Egypt.” “The Art of Research: Nelson Graburn and the Aesthetics of Inuit Sculpture.” “Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Photographs by George Foster.” $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 Avenue. 643-7648 or www.qal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

 

University of California Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive has reopened after its summer-long seismic retrofit. “Martin Puryear: Sculpture of the 1990s” through Jan. 13; “The Dream of the Audience: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951 - 1982)” through Dec. 16; “Face of Buddha: Sculpture from India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia” ongoing rotation through 2003; “Matrix 194: Jessica Bronson, Heaps, layers, and curls” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; “Matrix 192: Ceal Floyer 37’4”” Sept. 16 through Nov. 11; Wed., Fri., Sat., Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., PFA Theater, 2575 Bancroft Way; Museum Galleries 2626 Bancroft Way; 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

 

Lawrence Hall of Science “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. Space Weather Exhibit now - Sept. 2; now - Sept. 9 Science in Toyland; 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  

 

Oakland Museum of California “Half Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon Parks,” through Sept. 23; Wednesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sunday, noon - 5 p.m., Closed Monday and Tuesday. $6 general; $4 youths (6-17), seniors and students with ID. Free for museum members and children 5 and under. Free admission the second Sunday of the month. 10th & Oak streets, Oakland. 238-2200 www.museum.org 

 

 

Send arts events two weeks in advance to Calendar@berkeleydailyplanet.net, 2076 University, Berkeley 94704 or fax to 841-5694.


Students take over BHS classrooms to teach tolerance

By Jeffrey Obser Daily Planet Staff
Tuesday September 25, 2001

Students took the helm at dozens of classes at Berkeley High School Monday in a blitz of consciousness-raising seminars on tolerance, scapegoating, and the meaning of terrorism.  

“It’s an incredible direction for them to be taking at the beginning of a school year,” said Susan Werd, a ninth-grade counselor. 

Amid nationwide harassment of people of Middle East origins, Muslims and even Sikhs, in the wake of the East Coast terrorist attacks, two campus groups teamed up to educate the school community and the public that Berkeley has not been immune to racist intimidation and scapegoating. 

Some 20 members of Culture and Unity, a campus group founded by students of mostly South Asian descent, and Youth Together, which acts on issues important to students of color, spent their lunch periods Monday comparing notes on the morning’s classes and finalizing teaching schedules. 

“I had such a great morning!” said junior Maliyah Coye, capturing the electric energy in the room. “We reached them, but we entertained them at the same time.” 

Sarena Chandler, a senior and the school’s representative on the school board, and junior Deborah Ortiz took over David Bye’s 12th grade advanced placement English class shortly before lunchtime. They hung posters on the chalkboard with various definitions of terrorism and scapegoating written in magic marker. 

“After Sept. 11 a large community of people including Afghans, Pakistanis and Indians have been tremendously harassed,” Chandler told the class. School girls had been followed home, she added; people had gone through the Yellow Pages to call up and “cuss out” proprietors with Arabic-sounding names. 

“Students and even teachers are being incredibly unjust,” she said. 

In an exercise, Chandler asked a student a question and then cut her off in mid-sentence to illustrate how commonly people indulge “this whole little twist about putting their own side into it.” 

“When is the last time anyone actually listened to you?” she said. 

Students were then paired off with one required strictly to listen while the other talked for two full minutes about the forms discrimination took, in their own lives or in others’. Afterwards, Emil Reyes volunteered to leave the classroom and come back in with a sign on his back that said something unknown to him. Chandler told the rest of the class to start calling Reyes names based on their associations with the word on the sign: terrorist. 

“Watch his psyche and how he physically turns around,” she said. 

Reyes entered the room and the calls began with “Arab!” This was followed by “Guy with a beard,” “7-11 owner,” “Murderer,” “Camel jockey” and others. A female student said “male!” and David Bye, the class’s usual teacher, said “CIA trainee.” 

“This is really degrading,” Reyes said. 

“He’s not a terrorist,” Chandler said, “but because we’ve put this label on him, it’s easy to dehumanize him.” 

Students then shared their stories from the discussion time. Adam Akullian said he flew on Saturday and when four Middle Eastern-appearing passengers boarded, some passengers could be heard hoping aloud that they weren’t Arabs. Immanuel Foster blamed the media for dwelling on the race of the hijackers, and said, “They should just be talking about ‘those people who went over the edge.’” 

“We all have to appeal to the better side of our natures, otherwise it’s just going to lead to hate crimes that are unfounded,” said Sarah Goodin. 

In a wide-ranging discussion of the varying sects of Islam, the origins of the term “jihad,” and the State Department definition of terrorism posted on the chalk board, Bye encouraged the class to ask if the acts of Sept. 11 might be rooted in economics. To the terrorists, he said, “Those World Trade Centers could represent American greed and how America has taken so much of the world’s wealth for itself.” 

Chandler ended the class by urging the students to “analyze” the media’s representations. “And when you see other people who you don’t think have as conscious a view as you do, educate them,” she said. 

About 45 such teach-ins, four or five per class period all day, were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. Chandler said she had thought up the teaching devices with help from family members over the weekend. 

Some classes went more smoothly than others, Bye said.  

“They’re quiet at first,” he said. “I think people are really hesitant to talk about it.” 

Later, Madeleine Tajima’s tenth grade world literature class was much less talkative. Yasmeen Drummond, one of the teach-in leaders, tried to spark a class-wide discussion about the current wave of discrimination. 

“Did anybody see it on the news?” she asked. 

“Yeah,” said two or three students. 

“Did anybody know it was taking place?” 

“Yeah.” 

Gradually, when the class leaders turned the discussion from discrimination to the bombings and the U.S. response, some students spoke up. 

“A lot of the times we go and bomb other countries and they don’t tell us about it,” said Brandis Monroe. “That’s the reason why so many people are like, you know, finally America got what it deserved.” 

Others voiced the opinion that anyone who would bomb America was “really, really stupid” and should expect retaliation. 

Students in both classes attended by the Daily Planet said they felt that fear, stereotyping, and discrimination were simply a part of human nature that had to be struggled against but also accepted. 

“Don’t listen to those people who put you down,” LaToya Dowell told the student teachers in the tenth grade class – Drummond, Amelia Maffin, Manjinder Kaur, and Umair Khan. “They don’t know what they’re saying.” 

Watching coverage of the two recent family massacres in Sacramento, Dowell admitted, “I thought white people were crazy.” 

“I don’t hate you guys,” she added. 

 

 

 

 


Special Events Planned in Response to Terror Attacks

Staff
Tuesday September 25, 2001

Friday, Sept. 28 

Anti-War Art Making  

Pro Arts 

461 Ninth Street, Oakland (2 blocks from 12th BART Station, near Broadway)  

6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Pro Arts is providing this opportunity for artists to make their anti-war expressions visible, playable, audible and readable. We are gathering donations of art materials for people to use. Musicians, please come with instruments. Posters and other artworks can be used in the Rally the next day at Dolores Park in San Francisco or for any other event the artist wishes. At this moment, works will be for immediate use and are not intended for use in an exhibition at Pro Arts. 763-4361 

 

Sunday, Sept. 30 

Peace walks  

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace leads weekly peace walks around Lake Merritt in Oakland every Sunday at 3 p.m. 

People meet at the columns, between Grand and Lakeshore avenues.  

763-8712, lmno4p@yahoo.com


Taking flag off fire trucks violates free speech

Nick Zingo Los Angeles
Tuesday September 25, 2001

 

Editor: 

Imagine that! The first amendment guarantees the right to freedom of speech. The courts have interpreted that as meaning displaying symbols as well, including our flag. As a police officer in Southern California I find it appalling that the Berkeley Fire Department ordered its firefighters to remove U.S. flags from its trucks prior to a UC Berkeley anti-war demonstration. It is obvious that the Berkeley Firefighters have no rights, especially first amendment rights. How narrow-minded are you folks anyway?  

Imagine what would happen if the Berkeley Police Department was directed to stop all vehicles with U.S. flags and have them removed ... think there would be a few problems?  

It is interesting to note that the residents, students etc. have the right to protest under the first amendment, but others are denied that same right. A true double standard that only Berkeley, California could be accused of.  

 

Nick Zingo 

Los Angeles 

 

Editor’s note: city officials have apologized and the flags are flying on the trucks. 


Council may call on lab for a thorough clean up of tritium facility

By John Geluardi Daily Planet staff
Tuesday September 25, 2001

In the wake of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s surprise announcement that it will close its controversial Tritium Labeling Facility, the City Council will consider a resolution tonight asking the lab to thoroughly clean up the site and to allow public monitoring of the cleanup. 

“Since there has been some denial from the lab about problems related to the facility, we want to make sure that attitude doesn’t prevail in the effort to remove radioactive materials and equipment from the site,” said Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who, along with Councilmember Dona Spring, put the item on tonight’s City Council agenda. 

The agenda item also seeks to thank the lab and the National Institutes of Health for closing the tritium facility and asking that the decommissioning and decontamination of the facility be open for public review.  

The National Tritium Labeling Facility attaches radioactive tritium to pharmaceuticals and other medical compounds, in a process known as labeling, so they can be accurately traced by medical researchers as they course through living organisms. 

The lab announced on Sept. 14 that, after 19 years of operation, it will close the facility in December. A lab spokesperson said the closure was the result of the National Institutes of Health withdrawal of funding for the facility.  

But Worthington and Spring both speculate that the scheduled closure is related to public pressure put on the lab by the Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste, a group that has criticized the facility since 1996. 

Largely through CMTW efforts, the City Council unanimously approved resolutions calling for the closure of the facility in 1996 and again in 1998.  

CMTW member Gene Bernardi said she was glad the LBNL decided to close down the facility. But she is also concerned the lab thoroughly cleans up the facility and surrounding area.  

“There’s a big job to be done there and it has to be complete,” Bernardi said. “The clean up should conform to the California Environmental Quality Act and the National Environmental Protection Act.” 

Last year the council commissioned a study of the tritium facility by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, in Heidelberg, Germany. The $33,000, 53-page report, evaluated the level of public exposure to tritium and assessed potential health risks. The final version of the report was released on Aug. 23. 

Dr. Bernd Franke, who prepared the report, concluded that data, provided by the facility, showed tritium emissions were lower than the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended exposure levels. But Franke was also critical of the agency for not deploying a sufficient number of air monitoring devices in the area surrounding the tritium facility. 

Franke also challenged an LBNL report that claimed the labeling facility posed no, or very little, risk in the event of a fire, earthquake or other disaster. 

According to LBNL spokesperson Ron Kolb, after the lab closes, there will be a two-phase clean up process. The first phase will take six months and include the removal of all remaining tritium stock. The second phase will take an estimated 12 months and include the dismantling of the four-room facility and decontamination of any equipment or materials that may have traces of radioactivity. 

“We are confident the site will be completely cleaned up,” Kolb said. “We certainly will follow all regulations that govern decommission and decontamination.” 

Kolb added that operations at the facility have begun to wind down in anticipation of the December closing and that the four people employed at the tritium facility have been given notices of termination. 

Worthington and Spring are also asking that members of the CMTW be given 10 minutes to express their appreciation to the council and the community for their support to close the facility.


Anti-war protesters don’t get it – people died

Eric Watkinson Newark
Tuesday September 25, 2001

 

Editor: 

When I look at the anti-war protesters I am reminded of a spoiled child who closes its eyes and makes its demands known by screaming at the tops of its lungs. The protesters have decided to close their eyes to the fact that over 6,000 innocent American lives were lost in New York City, taken by the worst fascist-tyrant the world has seen in generations. After seeing images of innocent human beings plummeting from the World Trade Center, how can these protesters rationalize the position they have taken? Let’s not kid ourselves about what is going on, bin Laden is practicing genocide upon Americans of all color. The destruction at the WTC did not discriminate against its victims.  

We can modify our foreign policy as much as we like, it will not stop the attacks on innocent Americans lives. Bin Laden needs an outside enemy to keep his terrorists united, without an outside enemy they would soon turn to fighting amongst themselves. As a freedom-loving people, we must use every means at our disposal to rid the world of this evil that we do not want to face. If we chose to ignore the problem, our grandchildren will curse us for having placed the yoke of slavery about their necks. 

 

Eric Watkinson 

Newark 


Redistricting could be based on incorrect census figures

Gabriel Spitzer Special to the Daily Planet
Tuesday September 25, 2001

When the Berkeley City Council tackles citywide redistricting at tonight’s public hearing, it will be stuck with a population count from the 2000 census that, by most accounts, missed thousands of Berkeley residents. 

The council must redraw district boundaries every 10 years in order to keep the population of each district roughly equal. The City Charter requires the council to base the whole process on numbers from the most recent census.  

So now the city must rework its district map using numbers it is nearly certain are way off.  

“My best estimate is that the census undercounted about 6,000 people,” said Patrick DeTemple, a senior systems analyst for the city who has been working with the Census Bureau. “At least three-fourths of them were in the area south of campus, so the vast majority were students.” 

The presumed undercount disproportionately affected a swath that runs across the northern portions of districts 7 and 8, containing many of the university’s large dormitories and student apartment housing.  

“This issue is generally what is fueling the entire redistricting process,” said Kriss Worthington, council member from District 7. “If students had not been undercounted, there would be incremental changes here and there, but there would not be the dramatic shifts in districts 7 and 8.” 

And while redistricting may make the populations in each district equal according to the census numbers, an undercount would mean districts 7 and 8 will have several thousand more people than the other districts.  

“The fluke of the student undercount means that districts 7 and 8 will actually have more residents that any other district in the city,” Worthington said. “So in those two districts, each individual person’s vote is worth a tiny bit less.” 

The presumed undercount also means that any federal money doled out to cities on a per-resident basis would short Berkeley by 3-5 percent, depending on the actual size of the undercount. 

University officials who worked closely with the Census Bureau in the months leading up to the count said the problems began when the bureau was supposed to put surveys in the students’ mailboxes.  

“The census folks didn’t have the right numbers of envelopes,” said Je Nell Padilla of the university’s residential and family living/new student services department. “In some cases they had envelopes with no surveys in them. They missed whole chunks of people; they’d miss a building or whatever.”  

There was supposed to be a second round of counting, Padilla said, when census workers would return to catch the students they had missed. But it never materialized. 

“I went back and asked what they were doing with round two,” said Padilla. “And they said they didn’t have the staff to do it – even though it was part of the plan we had cooked up together. It was just crazy and disorganized.” 

The city first suspected a massive undercount just days after the Census Bureau released its initial figures in May. According to the 2000 census, Berkeley has a population of 102,743. Its population in 1990 was 102,724.  

“We saw that it was virtually the same as 10 years ago, even though we’ve had a big increase in housing,” said DeTemple. “Then we did a block-by-block comparison between 1990 and 2000. Specific blocks that contained dorms revealed radical drop-offs, when we knew that the dorms were still there and still inhabited.” 

One block, said DeTemple, dropped from 1,070 residents in 1990 to exactly one resident in 2000.  

“That was when we knew there was a very specific and serious problem.” 

The city alerted the Census Bureau of the problem within weeks. Soon after, a report from California’s department of finance confirmed the city’s findings, estimating that 6,000-7,000 Berkeley residents were missing from the census tallies.  

It is the bureau’s policy not to recount. The bureau is moving the city’s complaint through its count question resolution program, which can adjust the totals if residents were counted but missed in the final tally because of processing errors.  

Still, according to the program guidelines, any Berkeley residents who were never counted to begin with cannot be added at this point. Moreover, even if the bureau adjusts its official numbers at all, it will likely be too late to affect redistricting.  

That leaves the city few options to correct the problem.  

“We haven’t found a way,” said Worthington. “There is a possibility that after we get new numbers we could redistrict again and get people all bent out of shape again. But I don’t know if people will want to go through it all again.” 

 

 

 

 


Thanks for coverage

Robert Torres Oakland
Tuesday September 25, 2001

 

Editor: 

On the morning of Sept. 13, 2000, a Modesto SWAT team burst into the home of the Sepulveda family on the premise of apprehending drug pushers.The SWAT team ordered family members to lay on the floor. Eleven year old Alberto Sepulveda did as he was told,without any type of struggle. Minutes later the 11 year old was dead, shot in the back by a shotgun wielding SWAT member. The officer said the shotgun discharged on its own,though he is the only witness. No drugs or paraphernalia were found. The officer, SWAT team, city and county so far have been cleared of any wrong doing. They have pledged to upgrade their training. This is no small comfort to the Sepulveda family. I would like to thank this newspaper for being the only Bay Area paper to print (the Associated Press’) detailed article at the time. None of the main television stations or main newspapers covered this tragedy and miscarriage of justice as they should have.This is a newspaper worth reading.  

Robert Torres  

Oakland 

 

 

 


City Council round-up: Commendation for Rep. Lee and other issues

By John Geluardi Daily Planet staff
Tuesday September 25, 2001

Praising Rep. Barbara Lee 

The City Council is expected to approve a commendation for Rep. Barbara Lee’s “wise and courageous vote in opposition to authorizing President Bush to wage war against terrorism.” 

On Sept. 14, Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against giving President Bush absolute authority to make decisions about using military force against terrorism. Lee’s lone stance has drawn both harsh criticism and high praise from around the country. 

The commendation, submitted by Councilmember Miriam Hawley and Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek, applauds Lee for recommending justice over retribution. Hawley and Shirek also wrote in the commendation that “Lee’s leadership will be a rallying point for citizens seeking a reasoned and measured response to the atrocities of September 11.” 

 

ECO Pass 

The council is expected to approve a contract with AC Transit that will provide all city employees with a trial transit pass for AC Transit routes including Transbay lines. The ECO Pass program will go into service on Nov. 1 and expire on Dec. 31, 2002. 

The cost of the program is estimated to be $100,000 and will cover the city’s 1,600 full-time employees. The cost per employee is about $60 for the entire year. Employee ridership will be monitored by AC Transit and a monthly report will be provided to the city. If the program is successful it will become permanent. 

The council asked the city manager on June 12 to look into expanding the program to cover Berkeley Unified School District employees and also negotiating with BART for a similar program. Both of those proposals are still being considered. 

 

Law enforcement block grant 

The council will hold a public hearing prior to authorizing the city manager to accept a $250,000 federal grant, which would be used to hire two patrol officers for approximately 24 months. 

The money would come from the federal Local Law Enforcement Block Grant. The council has supported the use of LLEBG grant money to hire patrol officers since 1997. The grant amount is based on a formula that includes population and rates of various types of crimes. 

In past years the city has been able to fund three officers with the two-year grant. Because of increased salaries and a reduction of available grant money, only two officers will be funded for the next two-year cycle.  

According to a police department staff report the grant will help the city reach its goal of 204 sworn officers. Currently there 194 sworn officers.  

 

Redistricting 

The council will hold the first of two public hearings on five proposals to redraw the boundary lines of the city’s eight council districts. The city collected four plans from Berkeley residents and another was submitted by city staff.  

After the public hearing, the council will select one redistricting plan and hold another public hearing on Oct. 2, after which the council is expected to approve the selected plan possibly contingent on some minor changes.  

One controversial plan was submitted by the Associated Students of the University of California. The plan drastically redesigned districts 7 and 8 to create a student-dominated district. ASUC members have said their goal is to elect a student to the City Council who will represent student interests such as housing and safety.  

The city attorney described the student plan as non-conforming because it was in conflict with the City Charter, which requires only small adjustments to existing districts.  

The council will also discuss: 

• Signing a contract with the Berkeley Alliance for $80,000 for administrative support to the school district. 

• The purchase of 96 energy efficient refrigerators for low-income households at a total amount of up to $53,000. 

• Reestablishing food-cart licenses 

• Supporting the efforts of local organizations to eliminate racism and discrimination against people of Arabic descent and Muslim faith through education and media campaigns and establish Berkeley as a Hate Free Zone. 

• Funding for sign-language interpretation at the city’s Free Folk Festival. 

 

Other related meetings: 

 

Closed session 

The City Council will hold an executive session meeting at 4 p.m. at 2180 Milvia St. on the sixth floor to hold a a conference with the Berkeley Police Association, the department’s union, which is in the process of negotiating a new contract.  

 

Housing Authority 

The Berkeley Housing Authority will hold a meeting at 5 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, to discuss several issues including a plan to reorganize the BHA and review an information report about reopening section enrollment for 8 applications. Section 8 enrollment began on Sept. 7 and will end Oct. 5. 


A few suggestions for Kennedy

Garrett Murphy, Oakland
Tuesday September 25, 2001

Editor: 

Patrick Kennedy's proposal for a new building housing a new Fine Arts Theater seems to me to be an admirable one, especially in alleviating the structural drawbacks of the current theater and building, but I have a couple of suggestions: I would hope that this new theater, in addition to its art-deco exterior, have an art-deco (or similarly grand) interior as well (and perhaps Kennedy is already considering this), particularly in the auditorium.  

One need look no further than the Shattuck (at least the original ones) or the Grand Lake's two small screens for examples of what can be done. Make the Fine Arts a real “Fine Art.” 

I would also suggest that Kennedy make every single effort he can to help the Fine Arts operation continue to progress and prosper in the interim. It is a wonderful asset to Bay Area filmgoers, and it would be a shame if it befell a similar fate to Gaia Bookstore. While I do not necessarily blame Kennedy for that, losing two venerated institutions on his watch would not help his already fairly controversial reputation. 

 

Garrett Murphy 

Oakland


Study of health effect of students’ backpacks vetoed

Associated Press
Tuesday September 25, 2001

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Gray Davis vetoed a bill Monday that called for a state study of the amount of weight California pupils are carrying in their backpacks. 

The measure, by Assemblyman Rod Pacheco, R-Riverside, sought to determine if a shortage of locker space exists and whether increasingly heavy backpacks are hurting children’s spines. 

But Davis said the $140,000 to conduct the study was not included in the 2001-02 budget. 

He also said in a statement that the weight of backpacks and the length of time students carry them “varies widely among districts and solutions need to be developed at the local level.” 

The state education and health departments would have conducted the study, which was to include the weight of hardcover textbooks, the lack of lockers on many campuses and possible alternatives to students carrying heavy backpacks. 

Lawmakers wrapped up their 2001 session on Sept. 14 and Davis has until Oct. 14 to sign hundreds of bills approved at the last minute. 

 


Crop dusters grounded amid fears of potential terrorist threat

By Amanda Riddle Associated Press Writer
Tuesday September 25, 2001

BELLE GLADE, Fla. — The government grounded thousands of crop-dusters across the country for a second straight day Monday amid fears the planes could be used in an airborne chemical or biological attack. 

The move came after it was learned that one of the suspected hijackers in the attack on the World Trade Center, Mohamad Atta, had shown interest in crop-dusters and that another person now in federal custody had downloaded information about the planes, Attorney General John Ashcroft said. 

The “intelligence community came to us and encouraged us to shut down the crop-dusters,” Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Scott Brenner said. The FAA said the ban was in effect through 12:05 a.m. Tuesday local time. 

Ashcroft told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that the FBI had gathered information raising fears that the small farm planes could be used in a biological or chemical attack. But he said there was “no clear indication of the time or place of these attacks.” 

It was the second time the planes have been grounded since the FAA cleared the way for most flights to resume Sept. 14, three days after terrorists slammed planes into the twin towers and the Pentagon. 

James Callan, executive director of the National Agricultural Aviation Association, said the ban covered about 3,500 agricultural aviators. 

The association posted a message from the FBI on its Web site, urging members to “continue to be vigilant to any suspicious activity relative to the use, training in or acquisition of dangerous chemicals or airborne application” of the chemicals. 

The FBI is believed to be investigating a group of Middle Eastern men — including Atta — who repeatedly visited a Florida fertilizer company before the Sept. 11 attacks. 

J.D. “Will” Lee, general manager of South Florida Crop Care in Belle Glade, said Monday he told FBI agents that the men, in groups of two or three, visited nearly every weekend for six or eight weeks before the attacks. The visits included the weekend before the assaults. 

Co-worker James Lester told the FBI that one of the men was Atta, who is believed to be one of the suicide hijackers aboard the first airliner to hit the trade center. He said Atta was persistent with questions about a crop-duster during a visit in February. 

“I recognized him because he stayed on my feet all the time. I just about had to push him away from me,” Lester said. 

Lee said the men pestered employees with “odd questions” about his 502 Air Tractor crop-duster. He said they asked about the range of the airplane, how much it could haul in chemicals, how difficult it was to fly and how much fuel it could carry. 

During one visit, they followed Lester around, asking questions while he was working on one of the planes. Another time, they carried video equipment and asked to photograph the inside of the cockpit. 

Lee said he declined their repeated requests. 

“I wouldn’t spend any time talking to them or telling them anything because I didn’t think it was any of their business,” Lee said. 

In Belle Glade, a small community in the Florida Everglades surrounded by sugar cane fields, police closed one entrance to the airport where Lee’s business is based and allowed only employees to enter the second entrance. The airport is about an hour’s drive from the beachfront communities where some of the suspected hijackers stayed before the attacks. 

The Washington Post has also reported that investigators found a crop-duster manual among the possessions of Zacarias Moussaoui, who was detained after he sought flight training in Minnesota and the school grew suspicious. 

Ray Dyson, chief pilot of Southeastern Aerial Crop Service in Fort Pierce, said crop-dusting aircraft — typically carrying 200 gallons of fuel and 500 to 600 gallons of fertilizer and liquid spray — require extensive training and are extremely difficult for a novice pilot to fly. “When they’re heavily loaded they take a very deft hand to fly,” Dyson said. “One false move and you fall out of the sky and crash.” 

Florida officials have checked with all registered aerial applicators about their security measures, said Terence McElroy, spokesman for the state Agriculture Department. 

When flights resume, pilots will be required to notify state officials of their flight times and aircraft tail numbers, McElroy said. 

“It’s damn sure going to ruin our industry and us, but it’s a small price to pay for the security of our nation,” said Jerry White, an aerial applicator based in Orlando. 

The ban affected the state’s spraying for mosquitoes as part of its effort to battle the West Nile and Eastern equine encephalitis viruses. 

In New Jersey, helicopters used for spraying against mosquitoes have been grounded indefinitely because of the attacks. In Georgia, the ban will affect cotton growers who need to defoliate plants before harvest. 

Kelly Wingate, owner of Wingate Flying Service of Camilla, Ga., said the groundings were inconvenient but pilots and growers understood the need. 

“The aerial applicators and the farmers — you won’t find bigger patriots,” he said. “We know what this country is going through and we’re in 100 percent support of what they’re doing.” 

 


Cincinatti officer acted carelessly, then lied to save his job, prosecutor argues

By John Nolan Associated Press Writer
Tuesday September 25, 2001

CINCINNATI — A white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man, sparking rioting, acted carelessly and lied to investigators to save to his job, a prosecutor argued Monday. 

Officer Stephen Roach had his finger on the trigger of his revolver and rashly fired in a dark alley rather than use other means to stop the fleeing suspect, prosecutor Stephen McIntosh said in closing arguments. 

Other officers chasing Timothy Thomas, 19, on April 7 testified they had not drawn their weapons, he said. 

“At some point, Officer Roach is moving down the alley with his finger on the trigger, discharging the weapon into the darkness,” McIntosh said. “Tim was essentially cornered. There was no place to go.” 

Judge Ralph E. Winkler, who heard the case without a jury, said he will announce his verdict Wednesday. 

The shooting sparked three days of rioting, the city’s worst racial unrest since the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968. A dawn-to-dusk curfew was ordered, dozens of people were injured and more than 800 were arrested. 

Roach, 27, could face nine months in jail if convicted of negligent homicide and obstructing official business. 

Defense lawyer Merlyn Shiverdecker said the officer’s fear caused him to involuntarily fire his weapon. He also said the dim light in the alley affected the officer’s sight and hearing. 

The prosecution failed to counter scientific testimony on either point, and police homicide investigator Charles Beaver failed to investigate those things at the scene, he said. 

“He was precipitous and premature,” Shiverdecker said of Beaver. “His logic was faulty and flawed.” 

Roach, a city officer since 1997, did not testify at the trial. He declined comment in the courtroom after sitting quietly through the closing arguments. 

McIntosh said Roach told homicide investigators differing versions of what happened to save his job. 

The officer initially told investigators that Thomas made a threatening move toward him, and he thought Thomas had a gun. Investigators said they interviewed Roach again after finding discrepancies between their evidence and his statement. 

Three days later, Roach told investigators that Thomas stepped around a corner in the alley and startled him, and that the officer accidentally shot him. 

Police later found that Thomas — who was wanted on 14 charges, including traffic offenses and fleeing from police to avoid arrest — had no weapon. 


Oakland P.D. moves recruiting office downtown

Associated Press
Tuesday September 25, 2001

OAKLAND (AP) — With increased responsibilities and fewer recruits, the Oakland Police Department is moving its recruiting office downtown. 

The office will open in its new location Friday. 

The department currently has 40 vacancies. Another 44 officers are off, injured or sick. 

The department is being stretched further as it takes over security for Oakland’s public schools and beefs up patrols at the airport. 

Police hope the office’s new location will attract more potential officers and will speed up the hiring process.


Hacker’s changes to Yahoo articles highlight quiet Web danger

By Brian Bergstein AP Business Writer
Tuesday September 25, 2001

SAN JOSE — The dangers of Internet worms and viruses are well known, but security experts are warning of a more pernicious and potentially more damaging kind of attack — the manipulation of content on trusted Web sites. 

Last week, Yahoo was alerted by security intelligence company SecurityFocus.com that a hacker had rather easily entered Yahoo’s news pages and inserted phony quotes and wrong information on stories. 

The hacker, 20-year-old Adrian Lamo of San Francisco, says he wanted to show Yahoo! Inc. that it needed to fix what he considers a basic mistake in its network setup. 

Yahoo said it has taken steps to solve the problem. Nevertheless, the incident highlights how vulnerable the Internet could be as a tool for quickly spreading misinformation. 

That premise could be dangerous, considering the sensitivity of the news surrounding the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath. 

Yahoo, which claims to have 200 million registered users, is one of the Internet’s most popular sources of information. The company aggregates information from several news providers, including The Associated Press. 

“A lot of attention has been given to the fact that data is stolen, but not necessarily that the integrity has been altered,” said Elias Ladopoulos, a former hacker who is launching a wireless security company in New York called Digital Frameworks. 

“Any hacker, given enough skill, can change the content to produce whatever they like,” Ladopoulos said. “Once content gets out on the Internet, it’s pretty hard to retract that.” 

Bruce Schneier, chief technology officer at Counterpane Internet Security in Cupertino, said he expects a new wave of such incidents. He calls them “semantic attacks,” or assaults on meaning, rather than on computer networks themselves. 

With network administrators improving their detection of viruses, worms and other threats, Schneier said some hackers will resort to subtle tactics that play off people’s tendency to believe everything they read. 

News organizations’ sites have been defaced by boastful hackers before, but the changing of their content is a more damaging assault on their credibility. 

Last year, someone broke into the Orange County Register’s Web site and replaced the name of an arrested hacker with that of Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates. 

Last Wednesday, someone put a false story on the site of the Daily Californian, the student newspaper at the University of California, Berkeley. The bogus piece said the paper’s editors had apologized for a controversial political cartoon. 

Lamo said he was troubled by how easily he got access to Yahoo’s news pages. He exploited a flaw that let its corporate network be tricked into thinking it was communicating with an internal computer. 

He also said he believes other parts of Yahoo’s site and other Internet content providers are vulnerable in similar ways, with video archives and stock prices subject to being manipulated. 

In particular, Lamo tinkered with an Aug. 23 story by the Reuters news agency about Dmitry Sklyarov, the Russian computer programmer charged with circumventing copyrights on Adobe Systems Inc. software. 

The converted piece said Sklyarov could face the death penalty if convicted (the real maximum is five years in prison), and included a fake quote from Attorney General John Ashcroft. 

Lamo said he had doctored quotes in other Reuters articles that eventually expired from Yahoo’s news pages, though he kept images of how those stories appeared. Yahoo said it could not confirm Lamo had altered more than one story. 

Lamo alerted Yahoo to what he had done by telling SecurityFocus.com. Lamo said he did not inform Yahoo directly because “hackers contacting companies personally have a dismal success rate.” 

“I’d be gratified to see it bring about sweeping changes in network security,” he told the AP. 

Yahoo released a statement saying it had taken “appropriate steps to block unauthorized access to help ensure that we maintain a secure environment.” A spokesman would not elaborate, nor would he say whether the company would complain to federal authorities. 

The FBI said Monday it did not appear that a complaint has been filed, however. 

Reuters spokeswoman Nancy Bobrowitz said Yahoo has given the agency “strong assurances” that its news pages could not be hacked again. 

“They have taken it very seriously,” she said. “Our priority is to make sure subscribers are protecting the integrity of the news which we take such great care to produce. ... We are not aware of any other incidents where our content has been hacked.” 

Some security experts say the integrity of online information could be assured with more certainty if more companies would use digital signatures, which are based on a technology that makes a signature invalid if content is changed after it is sent. 

But the technology is not being widely implemented because it increases networks’ cost and complexity. 

And Schneier thinks digital signatures would only make the problem worse — he believes they are not as foolproof as advertised. He suggests companies use monitoring software that alerts network administrators when Web pages have been changed. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.yahoo.com 

http://www.counterpane.com 


Some Arab students leaving U.S. colleges in wake of attacks

By Nicholas K. Geranios Associated Press Writer
Tuesday September 25, 2001

PULLMAN, Wash. — The dormitories of this college town are 2,200 miles from the East Coast, but Arab students are feeling the reverberations of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. 

Some 47 students from the United Arab Emirates have dropped out of Washington State University, called back home by parents fearful of war and anti-Arab sentiments in the United States. 

Other Arab students are leaving colleges across the country, although the numbers do not appear to be large. 

“There are some students who feel anxiety,” said Shafeeq Ghabra, spokesman for the embassy of Kuwait in Washington, D.C. “Their parents back home in Kuwait are more anxious than they are. Some would like to be together with their children.” 

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are providing financial and other assistance to any students from their countries who want to return home. 

About 570,000 foreign students are in the United States, about 40,000 of them from Arab countries, according to the American Council on Education. 

While it’s unclear how many are leaving, one of the biggest exoduses appears to be from Washington State, a land-grant institution with 18,000 students in the Palouse wheat country in the southeast corner of the state. 

About 47 students from the UAE, mostly junior college transfers who arrived on the Pullman campus a few weeks ago for the start of school, are leaving the country, officials said. 

“For the most part it’s because their parents want them back,” said Ranna Daud, 20, head of the Muslim Student Association at WSU. 

Daud, an Arab-American raised in Pullman, said there has been no overt discrimination against the students, although some have received verbal harassment. 

Efforts to contact some of the departing students were not successful. 

The vast majority of Arab students seem to be staying. 

At Montana State University in Bozeman, all the Arab students appear to be staying, said Abdullah Bahazig, head of the university’s Muslim Student Association. 

“I think Bozeman is one of the safest places in the U.S. for an international student,” Bahazig said. 

The worst terrorist attack on American soil took place two weeks ago, when hijacked jetliners were flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A fourth plane crashed in the Pennsylvania countryside after doomed passengers apparently struggled with the hijackers. More than 6,000 people are dead or missing. 

The Saudi Arabian government is providing free airfare to students who wish to go home. Those who choose to do so will not lose their scholarships. 

Kuwait has more than 3,000 students in the United States, Ghabra said. 

“We have encouraged students to stay,” he said. 

Those who are fearful are getting Kuwaiti government assistance to come home, but are being asked to return to the United States in three months, Ghabra said. 

“I am assuming we’ll end up with several hundred doing that,” Ghabra said. “Then we ask them to come back and be there for spring semester.” 

Ghabra has a daughter who is a junior at American University in Washington, D.C. 

“There were some difficult times for her in the first days, but she is over it,” he said. “My daughter is staying on and her friends are staying on.” 

However, more than 30 Arab students have left American University. 

There were scattered reports of Arab students leaving other colleges. 

—About two dozen Arab students have left both the University of Missouri and the University of Colorado at Denver. 

— Up to 30 students from Arab countries have left California State University, Long Beach. 

—Four Middle Eastern students have left the University of Arizona. 

—At Boston University, five Arab students have left. 

—Three students from the United Arab Emirates have withdrawn from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. 


Intifada week scaled back

Staff
Tuesday September 25, 2001

In light of recent events, a planned conference of activists calling for divestment from Israel will not take place in October. 

Students for Justice in Palestine, a UC Berkeley campus group that has led the divestment movement nationally, has decided to postpone the conference until at least next semester. 

The organization also said the scope of its “Intifada Week,” a series of demonstrations which began Monday, has been altered.  

“In light of Israel’s escalation of its siege on the Palestinian people, SJP has decided to proceed with the week of events,” the organization said in a prepared statement. “The calendar has been scaled down and modified for several reasons.” 

Some events, including a “mock trial” of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, have been canceled. 

Events will include: a discussion on International Law and and the Intifada at 12:30 p.m. today at 140 Boalt Hall on the UC Berkeley Campus. Wednesday at 7 p.m. there will be a talk on the backlash after Sept. 11 against Middle-Eastern and South Asian people at 2040 Valley Life Sciences Building.  

 


Napster strikes deal with music publishers

By Matthew Fordahl AP Technology Writer
Tuesday September 25, 2001

SAN JOSE — Edging closer to legitimacy, Napster Inc. on Monday tentatively settled a suit filed by music publishers and struck a deal that could lead to legal and fee-based song distribution online. 

Under the proposed settlement with the National Music Publishers’ Association, Napster will pay $26 million for past unauthorized use of music and $10 million down payment on future royalties. 

The deal also sets up terms under which songwriters and music publishers can license music to Napster’s upcoming fee-based service, which is now expected to be launched by the end of the year. 

“This will enable Napster to move forward with the launch of its new service, knowing that a growing range of content will be available to consumers,” said Napster chief executive Konrad Hilbers. 

But Napster, which has been shut down since early July, still has big hurdles to overcome, including the resolution of suits filed by the major labels that own the performance rights. 

Both the performance and publishing copyright issues must be resolved before a song can be legally distributed on Napster or anywhere else. Monday’s deal covers only the publishing rights of up to 700,000 songs. 

Officials were hopeful that the agreement could serve as a framework for future settlements. 

Under the agreement, a portion of the revenue collected for each song would be reserved for royalty payments. Of that amount, one-third would be paid to the publishers and songwriters, officials said. 

The remaining two-thirds would be reserved for holders of the performance rights. Specific terms, such as the size of the overall royalties chunk, were not disclosed. 

However, officials said the fractions reserved for songwriters and publishers is significantly larger than what is now paid out. 

“We’re very pleased we were able to assist each other in breaking new ground in new areas of delivering more product and at a much better rate to our songwriters and creators of American music,” said Ed Murphy, NMPA’s chief executive. 

The settlement must be approved by a judge, the board of directors of the NMPA and individual publishers. 

The Recording Industry Association of America, which represents the major music labels, declined to comment on the NMDA’s settlement. Hilbers, however, said some progress is being made in talks. 

The association led efforts to have Napster’s free service turned off earlier this year for allowing copyright infringement. And its members are now developing their own fee-based services for distributing music online. 

Napster has been shut down since late summer, when it tried to better comply with a federal judge’s order and strengthen the filtering of copyright music turned into extended downtime. 

Napster’s paid service had been expected to launch this summer. On Monday, Hilbers said it will launch before the end of the year. 

The Redwood City, Calif.-based pioneer could be re-entering a crowded field. One competitor, pressplay, is a collaboration between Sony and Universal Music Group. 

Napster previously announced it has signed a distribution deal with another potential competitor, MusicNet, which was founded by RealNetworks, AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann and EMI. 

A lot has changed since Napster’s heyday, when it boasted of millions of people freely swapping billions of songs. 

As Napster’s legal woes increased, alternative song-swapping services started to take off. Though not as easy to use as Napster, they offer the same tunes plus other digital content such as software and movies. 

There also are questions about how useful Napster’s service will be and whether consumers will be able to transfer music to portable players or onto compact discs. 

”(Monday’s agreement) will matter only when the service comes up and we can see what it looks like,” said P.J. McNeally, an analyst at Gartner Dataquest. “From a consumers’ standpoint, this means nothing.” 

 


Tech magazine’s assets sold for $1.4 million

Associated Press
Tuesday September 25, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The bankrupt Industry Standard sold the subscriber lists and other assets of its once-thriving technology magazine for $1.4 million in a court-supervised auction Monday. 

Media giant AOL Time Warner, which publishes the rival technology magazine Business 2.0, bought the Standard’s paid subscriber list and liabilities for unfulfilled subscriptions for $500,000. 

The Standard’s majority owner, the International Data Group, will pay $900,000 for the lists of readers who received free copies of the magazine or electronic newsletters through e-mail. 

In an internal memo to its employees, IDG disclosed that it has no plans to revive the Industry Standard in the United States. After abruptly closing last month, the Standard held out hope that it might return to newsstands under another owner. 

Before the past year’s high-tech slump dried up the magazine’s advertising support, the Industry Standard cashed in on the dot-com boom in the Silicon Valley. The San Francisco-based magazine and its operations generated $140 million in revenue last year, but suffered a 70 percent drop-off in business this year. 

——— 

On The Net: 

http://www.industrystandard.com 


Former Cal student eulogized as hero

By Olga R. Rodriguez The Associated Press
Monday September 24, 2001

BERKELEY — Sen. John McCain gave a tearful eulogy Saturday for one of the heroic victims of United Airlines Flight 93, calling passenger Mark Bingham’s political support “one of the greatest honors of his life.” 

McCain once met Bingham, a longtime admirer of the Republican from Arizona. The senator is one of 15 senators co-sponsoring a bill that would award the 44 passengers and crew members with the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest civilian honor. 

It would recognize Bingham and three other passengers who investigators believe helped thwart terrorist highjackers from crashing Flight 93 into its intended target, possibly a Washington landmark. 

“I very well may owe my life to Mark,” McCain told mourners. “He supported me, and his support now ranks among one of the greatest honors of my life.” 


Out and About Calendar

Compiled by Guy Poole
Monday September 24, 2001


Monday, Sept. 24

 

Free Legal Workshop 

6 - 8 p.m. 

Women’s Cancer Resource Center 

3023 Shattuck Ave. 

Find out about the Family Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disability Act, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. Laws protect you from termination during an experience with cancer or other serious medical condition. 601-4040 x302 

 

Eastshore State Park Regional Workshop #2 

7 p.m. 

Hs Lordship’s Restaurant 

2nd Floor Georgian Ballroom 

199 Seawall Drive, Berkeley Marina 

The public is being asked for their input and suggestions on the long-term master plan for the development of the new Eastshore State Park (ESP), stretching along the shoreline from the touchdown of the Bay Bridge to Marina Bay in Richmond. www.eastshorestatepark.org 

 

NOW Meeting 

6:30 - 8 p.m.  

Mama Bears Bookstore & Coffee House  

6536 Telegraph Ave. 

Monthly meeting of the Oakland East Bay Chapter of the National Organization for Women. Nonmembers welcome.  

Free. 549-2970 

 

Psychology Discussion 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Psychologist Betty Goren will lead a discussion titled “Does Talking Help Get Rid of the Blues.” 644-6107 

 

Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults Inquiry Program 

7:30 p.m. 

St. Mary Magdalen Parish 

2005 Berryman St. 

A program to learn everything you wanted to know about the Catholic Church but never had the chance to ask. 526-4811 

 

Affordable Housing Advocacy Project Open Forum 

5:30 - 7 p.m. 

South Branch Public Library 

1901 Russell St. 

Maintain and increase landlords and property management firms participation in the section 8 program, while building a better rapport with all those concerned. 548-8776 

 

Daily Prayer and Meditation 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana at Durant 

Chapel open for prayer and meditation. 

 


Tuesday, Sept. 25:

 

Berkeley Housing Authority Monthly Meeting 

6:30 P.M. 

City Council Chambers, 2134 MLK Jr. Way  

549-2970.  

 

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. 525-3565 

 

Redistricting of Berkeley City Council Districts 

7 p.m. 

2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Public hearing to consider proposals to amend Council District boundaries based on the 2000 census figures. Members of the public are invited to comment on all proposals. 981-7000 www.ci.berkeley.ca.us 

 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

 

Free Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony every Tuesday.  

655-8863 

 

Annual PTA Reception 

6 - 8 p.m. 

Rosa Parks Environmental Science Magnet School 

920 Allston Way 

Multi-Purpose Room 

Reception for the 2001 - 2002 PTA Officers. 644-8764  

 

Daily Prayer and Meditation 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana at Durant 

Chapel open for prayer and meditation. 

 


Wednesday, Sept. 26

 

A Taste of the World: Cultural Understanding Through Food 

6 - 9 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Enhance your cooking skills and experience the cuisines of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Morocco and Israel with Chef Daniel Herskovic. All classes are “hands on.” Class includes meal and cooking lesson. $25. Every Wednesday through Nov. 1. 655-8487 

 

Socratic Circle Discussions 

5 - 6 p.m. 

1309 Solano Ave. 

Cafe Eclectica 

Does your brain need a workout? All ages welcome. 527-2344 

"Nels Nelson: The Early Days of Berkeley Archaeology"  

noon 

ARF, 2547 Channing, Room 101 

Brown Bag Lunch Lecture 

After Kent's talk, we'll go to the 2 p.m. court hearing before Judge Richman, Alameda Co. Superior Court to watch Berkeley Asst. City Attorney Zack Cowen defend the landmark designation of the West Berkeley 

Shellmound. The hearing is at the Post Office Building, 201-13th Street, Department 31, 2nd floor, Oakland. The shellmound is being challenged by the propertyowners who filed suit against the City's designation of the mound site. 841-8562 sfbayshellmounds@yahoo.com 

 

 

 

 


The United States should take care of its terrorism first

Nicole Williams
Monday September 24, 2001

 

Editor: 

Representative Barbara Lee, the only member of Congress to vote against using force against the so called terrorists, is the only sane voice in Washington. 

If the United States sincerely wants to destroy terrorists, they should start in their own backyard with the KKK and other white supremacist hate groups. These groups have been allowed to terrorize americans of color, especially blacks for decades. 

They have bombed black churches and killed innocent children. Where were all the flags and tears then? 

When Timothy McVeigh bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City, why weren’t other whites attacking every white male in sight? 

As long as the United States was bombing and killing black and brown babies all over the world and supporting terrorists for its own capitalistic gains, there was no national outcry. 

I support representative Barbara Lee. She has more balls then all those white males in Congress and Colin Powell put together. 

 

Nicole Williams 

Richmon


Artn and Entertainment

Staff
Monday September 24, 2001

 

924 Gilman Street Sept. 28: Erase Errata, The Intima, Ibobuki, (+tba); Sept. 29: DS-13, Beware, Blown To Bits, (+tba); Oct 5: Subincision, Gary’s Agenda, Eugene (+ tba); Oct 6: Tight Brothers from Way Back When, Smash Your Face, Cherry Valence, Bare Bones; Most shows are $5 and start at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 

 

Albatross Pub Sept. 25: Mad and Eddie Duran; Sept. 27: Kenji “El Lebrijano” Flamenco Guitar; Oct 3: Wesley Brothers; Oct 4:Keni “El Lebrijano” Flemenco Guitar; All free shows begin at 9 p.m. 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 albatrosspub@mindspring.com  

 

Anna’sSept. 24: The Renegade Sidemen, Calvin Keyes, Dave Rokeach and Pals; Sept. 25: Tangria; Sept. 26: Bob Schoen Jazz Quintet, Cheryl McBride; Sept. 27: David Jeffrey Fourtet, Brendan Milstein; Sept. 28: Anna sings jazz standards, 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Sept. 29: Robin Gregory, Bliss Rodriguez, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Sextet, Donald Duck Bailey; Sept. 30: Acoustic Soul; All shows begin at 8 p.m. 1801 University Ave. 849-ANNA www.annasbistro.com 

 

Café de la Paz Poetry Nitro, performance showcase with open mike. Sept. 24: Jim Watson-Gove; All shows free, 7 - 10 p.m. 

 

Cal Performances Sept. 30: 7 p.m. Kronos Quartet, David Barron, $30; Oct. 12 - 14: Fri. and Sat., 8:00 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Ballet Nacional De Cuba, $24 - $46; Oct. 17 and 18: 8 p.m. Cesaria Evora, $24 - $36; Oct. 19: 8 p.m. Karnak, $18 - $30. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph, 642-0212, tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

Eli’s Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; Sept. 3: 2 - 8 p.m. Big West Coast Harmonica Bash, afternoon benefit for Red Archibald. $10 donation; Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

 

Freight & Salvage Sept. 24: April Verch, $16.50; Sept. 26: Clive Gregson, $16.50; Sept. 27: Dick Gaughan, $18.50; Sept 28: Jenna Mammina, $16.50; Sept. 29: The Nigerian Brothers, $16.50; Sept. 30: Vasen, $17.50; Oct 2: Budowitz; Oct 3: The Robin Nolan Trio; Oct 4: Darol Anger & Mike Marshall; Oct 5: Golden Bough; Oct 6: The Limeliters; Oct 7: Eddie From Ohio; Oct 8: All Nation Singers, Walter Ogi Johnson, Thunder; All shows start at 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.com 

 

Jack’s Bistro Sept. 28: 9 p.m. Tomas Michaud’s New World Flamenco Quartet, Jack London Square. 444-7171 www.starland-music.com 

 

Jazzschool/La Note Sept. 30: 4 p.m., John Santos and the Machete Ensemble. $15. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 510-845-5376 

 

Jupiter Sept. 25: Craig Graham Trio; Sept. 26: Starvin Like Marvin; Sept. 28 Anton Schwartz Quartet; Sept 29: moderngypsies.net; All music starts at 8:00 p.m. 2181 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625 www.jupiterbeer.com  

 

La Peña Cultural Center Sept. 27: 7:30 p.m. The local Friends of the MST will host a screening of the new documentary "Raiz Forte" or "Strong Roots" to present our community with a vision of their work and struggle. A discussion will follow. $5-$10; In the Cafe, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568 www.lapena.org 

 

Music Sources Sept. 30: 5 p.m. Ole Scarlatta! Portuguese and French keyboards and fortepiano joined by Jason McGuire on flamenco guitar, $18 General, $15 members, seniors, students. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

 

Sedge Thomson’s West Coast Live Radio Show Sept. 29: Nancy Miford, The Nigerian Brothers, Caroline Dahl. The Freight and Salvage, 1111 Addison St. All shows 10 a.m. - noon. 252-9214 www.wcl.org 

 

Benifit Concert for the Native American Health Center  

Sept. 28: 8 p.m. Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ulali, Lorrie Church, The Mankillers. Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. 625-8497  

 

“The Complete Shostakovich String Quartets--Part One” Sept. 29: 10 a.m. Quartets III & IV; Oct. 20: 10 a.m. Quartets V & VI. Performed by the prize-winning Alexander String Quartet with Robert Greenberg. $ 30, $84 for the Trio of concerts. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Ave. 845-8542 www.juliamorgan.org. 

 

Magnificat Sept. 29: 8 p.m. First Congregational Church. The San Francisco early music ensemble of voices and period instruments present their thenth anniversary season with music of seventeenth century composers. Tickets $12-$45 (415) 979-4500 

 

The Mike Yax Jazz Orchestra Sept. 30: 2 p.m., Longfellow School of the Arts, 1500 Derby St. 420-4560 

 

 

“Le Cirque des Animaux” Sept. 29: 8 p.m. Hausmusik presents a wacky baroque musical cabaret on the subject of animals. Parish Hall of St. Alban’s Espiscopal Church, 1501 Washington St. (not wheelchair accessible). $18 general admission, $15 seniors, students and SFEMS members) 527-9029 

 

“Murder Dressed in Satin” by Victor Lawhorn, ongoing. A mystery-comedy dinner show at The Madison about a murder at the home of Satin Moray, a club owner and self-proclaimed socialite with a scarlet past. Dinner is included in the price of the theater ticket. $47.50 Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland. 239-2252 www.acteva.com/go/havefun 

 

“Twelfth Night” Sept. 25 - 30, Oct. 2 - 7, Tue. - Thurs. 7:30 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m., Student Matinees: Sept. 18, 20, 25, Oct. 2, @ 1 p.m. California Shakespeare Festival presents William Shakespeare’s comic tale of romance, loneliness, love and glory. Directed by Jonathan Moscone. $12 - $41. Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, Highway 24, Gateway Exit, one mile east of the Caldecott Tunnel. 548-9666 www.calshakes.org 

Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck, 849-2568, www.lapena.org  

 

“Swanwhite” Through Oct. 21: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. A new translation of the Swedish Play that asks the question what good is romantic love, directed by Tom Clyde. $20, Sundays are “Pay What You Can”. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305, www.virtuous.com 

 

“36 Views” Through Oct. 28: Tues. 8 p.m., Wed. 7 p.m., Thu. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Thu., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 8 p.m. w/ 2 p.m. matinee every other Sat., Sun. 2 p.m., 8 p.m. Written by Naomi Lizuka, Directed by Mark Wing-Davey. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

 

 

 

Cal Performances Sept. 19 - 20: 8 p.m. American Ballet, “Bruch Violin Concerto,” “Jabula,” “Gong,” and “Black Tuesday.”; Sept. 21: 8 p.m., Sept. 22: 2 p.m. & 8 p.m., Sept. 23: 3 p.m. American Ballet, the full-length 19th Century “Giselle” $36 - $64; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph, 642-0212, tickets@calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

 

Pacific Film Archive Sept. 24: 7 p.m. Chile, Obstinate Memory and For These Eyes; Sept. 25: 7:30 p.m. Alternative Requirements 2001, Artists in Person; Sept. 26: 7:30 p.m. Touch Tones; Sept. 28: 7 p.m. Ugetsu, 8:55 Sansho the Bailiff; Sept. 29: 7 p.m. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part I, Joel Adlen on piano; Sept. 30: Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, Part II, Joel Adlen on piano; general admission $7, The New PFA Theatre 2575 Bancroft Way 642-1412 

 

 

Nexus Gallery Sept. 26-30: noon - 6 p.m. Jan Eldridge- Large charcoal drawings and acrylic collages; Tricia Grame- visual and textural autobiography of her spiritual evolution; Tanya Wilkinson- A sensuous exploration of the possibilities inherent in the medium of handmade paper. 

 

Women’s Cancer Resource Gallery “Catastrophe, Crisis, and Other Family Traditions” The photography of Jessamyn Lovell. Through Sept. 26; “The Arthur Wright and Gerald Parker” Through Sept. 26; Tues. - Thurs. 1 - 7 p.m., Sat. 12 - 4 p.m. 3023 Shattuck Ave. 548-9286 x307 www.wcrc.org 

 

Bahman Navaee is exhibiting his paintings. Through Sept. 29: Persian Center, 2029 Durant Ave. 848-0264 

 

“Debbie Moore’s Autobiographical Paintings” Through Sept. 30 at Good Vibrations. Portraits of the artist’s sensual explorations spanning 25 years and reflecting changing ways of intimacy and body play. 2504 San Pablo Avenue 848-1985 

 

“Three Visions” Sept. 26 through Sept. 30: 12 - 6 p.m., An Exhibition of Mixed Media. Nexus Gallery, 2707 8th Street 707-554-2520


De Anza wears down Panthers for 28-14 win

By Jared Green Daily Planet Staff
Monday September 24, 2001

Dons score 21 in 2nd half 

 

Using a relentless style and a horde of running backs, the De Anza Dons outscored St. Mary’s 21-0 in the second half on Friday to claim a 28-14 victory. 

Running back Tyke Moore led the Dons (2-1) with 92 yards and scored one touchdown, while teammate Marcus Russell ran for two second-half scores. In all, De Anza used six different running backs in the game, gaining 218 yards on the ground, including 188 in the second half. 

“It pretty much came down to line play today,” St. Mary’s head coach Jay Lawson said. “My guys just started getting tired.” 

The Dons tied the game 14-14 on a Russell 14-yard run at the end of the third quarter, then broke the Panthers with a six-minute, 12-play, 53-yard drive culminating with a Moore nine-yard touchdown run. 

It’s hard to blame the Panthers (1-2) for their second-half letdown, as they suited up just 22 players for Friday’s game. Among the players in street clothes on the St. Mary’s sideline were starting offensive linemen Rodny Acda and Jonathon Tarranto, and they were joined before halftime by fellow linemen Jarrell Booker and Nick Osborne. Although Booker and Osborne played in the second half, they were clearly less than 100 percent. 

“Our numbers were already light, and they just started wearing our line down,” Lawson said. “There were times we wanted to send in a substitute, but we didn’t have anyone on the sideline who could play.” 

The depleted roster also contributed to the Panthers’ offensive woes. St. Mary’s has yet to score a second-half offensive touchdown, and tailback Trestin George was forced to play nearly every down on defense on Friday. After a 75-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to open the scoring, George had just 65 yards in the final three quarters, finishing with 165 yards on 21 carries. 

While the St. Mary’s defense sagged late in the game, the De Anza defenders seemed to get stronger as the game went on, especially linebacker George Morris. After forcing a fumble from St. Mary’s quarterback Steve Murphy on a blindside hit to open the game, Morris disappeared until the end of the game. But when the Panthers made a late defensive stop and got the ball back at their own 30 down 21-14, Morris came to life. On third down, he combined with Russell to sack Murphy on the 15, then finished the Panthers’ hopes with another sack on fourth down. Morris came unblocked on both plays, as the makeshift St. Mary’s offensive line struggled with their assignments. 

“We just kept pounding on them, beating up their line,” De Anza head coach George Pye said. “I know what it’s like to have players going both ways, and I know fatigue will kick in eventually.” 

Two plays later, Russell scored from a yard out to cap the scoring. 

The Panthers had a 14-6 halftime lead, thanks to the long run by George and a 2-yard touchdown dive by Murphy with just one second left on the clock. But the Dons dominated the second half and could have scored more points. Their opening drive was impressive as they used eight runs to go 43 yards down to the St. Mary’s 25. But when they tried to go to the air, St. Mary’s defensive back Ryan Coogler made a leaping interception of Gary Davenport’s pass to temporarily save his team’s lead. Davenport completed just one pass in the game, but it was a big one, a 50-yard bomb that set up Russell’s tying touchdown.


Redistricting may change city’s political landscape

By John Geluardi Daily Planet staff
Monday September 24, 2001

The City Council will hold a public hearing tomorrow on five redistricting plans that some are saying could alter the balance of power on the city’s governing board.  

The City Charter requires the city’s eight districts be re-drawn every 10 years according to population shifts reported by the United States census. The charter also requires the council to approved the new district boundaries by Dec. 31. 

According to the census, Berkeley’s population is 102,743, which requires the city to redraw district lines so that as close to 12,843 people are in each district. 

The council will consider five redistricting plans, four submitted by citizens and one submitted by the office of city manager Weldon Rucker. According to the city’s July 2 Redistricting 2001 Information Packet, redistricting plans were to meet three legal requirements, districts should be as close to equal in population as possible, districts should be preserved as much as possible according to how they were originally established in 1986 and compliance with the Federal Voting Rights Act.  

According to the packet, redistricting plans could also consider other criteria such as communities of interest, topography and geography.  

After tomorrow’s public hearing, the council will choose one of the five plans. The council will hold another public hearing on the chosen plan at a special meeting on Oct. 2. After the second public hearing, the council may make some final adjustments to the plan before adopting it as a city ordinance on Oct. 9. 

Redrawing the 2001 district lines was made especially difficult because of alleged census


A safer bridge could be built for less money and less time

Robert R. Piper
Monday September 24, 2001

Editor: 

 

As your article implied, the central debate over funding seismic retrofit of state-owned Bay Area toll bridges concerned how much subsidy the rest of California should contribute. Bay Area legislators ensured that nobody be dissuaded from driving by something so crass as higher tolls. If you thought Bay Bridge congestion was already bad, think again. 

Legislators showed remarkable indifference about what the$2.6-$3 billion designated for the east span of the Bay Bridge buys. As local readers know, the California Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission jointly chose a design to which added capacity in the form of passenger trains cannot readily be added. The new span is to have five traffic lanes in each direction, same as the existing one.  

There is more that Caltrans and MTC choose not to discuss. The design is an invitation to calamity. Competent, well credentialled engineers warn that the (self-anchored) single tower suspension design is uniquely vulnerable to terrorist attack.  

The roadbed serves as an integral part of the suspension structure. Tension in the cables that support the roadbed is maintained by compression of the roadbed itself. Failure of the roadbed would cause the entire structure to collapse. Experts say that explosives delivered in a pick-up truck could do the job. The same bomb set off on a conventional structure would just leave a hole that could be repaired. A tanker truck accident like the one in the Caldecott Tunnel could do equivalent damage. 

The suspension section was adopted simply as an adornment to make the bridge look pretty. It adds about $1 billion to construction cost but serves no transportation function. As a symbolic gateway and as vital infrastructure, it will make a tempting target.  

Legislation (AB 1171), awaiting the governor’s signature, mandates the risky, self-anchored suspension design. Deleting this requirement would allow engineers to re-evaluate safety from a terrorism standpoint. They could then adopt a design that is simpler and safer. Such a bridge might be built quicker and cheaper.  

 

Robert R. Piper 

Berkeley


Gesser, Cougars tear up reeling Bears

The Associated Press
Monday September 24, 2001

PULLMAN, Wash. – Setting a record is sweet, but it’s even sweeter when it comes with an impressive win. 

Jason Gesser threw for a career-high 432 yards and four touchdowns as Washington State adjusted to California’s blitzes and put the Bears away 51-20 Saturday in the Pacific-10 Conference opener for both teams. 

“It’s always fun getting a record, especially in addition to getting a win,” Gesser said after the Cougars (3-0, 1-0 Pac-10) started the season with three wins for the first time since 1998. The Cougars had 513 total passing yards, surpassing the school record of 492 set in the 1992 Copper Bowl. 

“The important thing is that we won,” Gesser said. “The record is just a pleasure on top of that.” 

The Bears (0-3, 0-1) lost 118 yards on 12 penalties, lost two fumbles and Cal quarterbacks were intercepted twice. 

“We are struggling to wrap up a game. Today on offense, we dropped a lot of balls,” Cal coach Tom Holmoe said. “Their offense is better than our defense. We had a good pass rush today, but Gesser is better out of the pocket than he is in the pocket.” 

Defensively, “we missed a lot of tackles, and that’s frustrating,” Holmoe said. “You can’t win without attacking. Breakdowns cost us the game.” 

With California blitzing and pressuring Gesser, Washington State trailed for much of the first half, but outscored the Golden Bears 35-7 in the second half. 

“We were just a bit jittery in the first half from all the blitzing, but we just calmed down and I just started seeing everything in slow motion,” Gesser said. “We just came out and adjusted in the second half. We did a good job getting ahead before halftime and in the second half, we just put them away.” 

Washington State coach Mike Price credited his defense with keeping the team in the game in the first half, and his coaches for making adjustments to handle Cal’s defensive schemes. 

“We said all along that we needed a challenge. I was interested to see how this team would play through adversity,” he said. “Sure enough, they came out and we fought through it. Our players competed really hard and we finished them off in the second half.” 

Gesser’s favorite target was Nakoa McElrath, who caught nine passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. 

Two other Cougars receivers caught passes for more than 100 yards. It was the first time in school history that three receivers had over 100 yards in a single game. Mike Bush caught five for 144 yards and a touchdown and Jerome Riley had 124 yards and a touchdown on three catches. 

Gesser completed 19 of 43 passes and was intercepted once. Washington State had 605 yards of total offense, compared to Cal’s 367 yards. 

Dave Minnich scored on a 2-yard run and Allen Thompson ran 6 yards for another score. 

Drew Dunning hit field goals of 38, 23 and 37 yards as Washington State took a 16-13 halftime lead. 

Charon Arnold hauled in a 45 yard pass from Kyle Boller to put Cal up 7-3 early. 

Terrell Williams, starting in place of injured Cal running back Joe Igber, carried 17 times for 63 yards and caught a 15-yard scoring pass from Boller. 

Eric Holtfreter took over for Cal starter Boller early in the second period, but Boller returned in the fourth quarter. Boller finished with 10 of 22 pass attempts for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Holtfreter was 10-of-27 for 161 yards. 

Mark Jensen hit field goals of 45 and 20 yards for Cal. 

Gesser’s performance surpassed his previous best game total of 348 last year against Arizona.


Praise for school retention program

By Jeffrey Obser Daily Planet Staff
Monday September 24, 2001

The Berkeley Unified School District Board offered cautious praise at last Wednesday’s meeting to Critical Pathways, a new Berkeley High School program intended to give a boost to ninth graders in danger of failing. 

“I’m very pleased with what I’ve heard, and I’m very hard to please,” said Board Vice President Shirley Issel. The program, she said, “required a tremendous amount of coordinating and commitment.” 

“I thought it went really well,” Berkeley High School Principal Frank Lynch said after the meeting, “Only because we have our


Soccer field has its share of stories waiting for investigation

Doug Fielding
Monday September 24, 2001

Editor: 

 

Regarding your 9/21 story entitled “Youth soccer field air tests shows cause for concern,” your story left out a couple of things. While I am heartened that it showed concern for the welfare of a soccer playing child who spends probably two hours a week at the site (at most six), what about the homeless people who live at the site seven days a week? The story didn't even have a word for them.  

I also think it would be a nice touch if the reporter would do a little research to help inform rather than inflame readers. For example, it is mentioned that on one day (Sept. 8), the PM10 was three times the state's 24-hour standard. What does this mean for a child who spends two hours (out of 24) on the field? Do they have an exposure that is 75 percent below the state’s standard? Also, the story neglected to tell readers that the readings referred to are only for a two-hour period, not the entire day. Are we entering the world of irresponsible journalism here? 

Doesn’t the Planet have the resources to put out well researched, well thought out think pieces on the issue of air quality rather than these shallow sound bites? There are lots of good questions that need to be answered. For example, what is the relationship between the state’s 24-hour standard and a person who is exercising for two hours in this environment? Are there health issues at the homeless shelter that might be related to air quality? If the transfer station is a source of air pollution is there anything that could be done to reduce its emissions? There are lots of really good and interesting stories here — give us these.  

 

Doug Fielding 

Berkeley 

Chairperson, Association of Sports Field User


Cal downs SLO 4-0

Daily Planet Wire Services
Monday September 24, 2001

California (3-3-0) collected its second shutout win of the season as the Bears took out Cal Poly (1-1-1), 4-0, Saturday afternoon at Edwards Stadium.  

It may have been the long layoff or just a superior Cal team, but the Mustangs definitely had no answer for the Bears' attack. Cal freshman Mike Munoz, further established himself as a playmaker after assisting on three goals and netting one of his own.  

Pat Fisher scored off a corner kick set up by Munoz in the third minute to open the scoring for the Bears. 16 minutes later, Fisher returned the favor sending a long through-ball that Munoz converted for his first career goal.  

In the second stanza, forward Austin Ripmaster put home his fourth goal of the season in the 61st minute chipping a shot over an aggressive Greg Blevin, who came 15 yards out of the goal in an attempt to make the save.  

Freshman Alex Martinez wrapped up the scoring in the 76th minute as he dribbled into the box uncontested for his first goal as a collegian.  

The Bears out shot Cal Poly 15-11 for the game. Junior keeper Josh Saunders made seven saves to preserve the shutout.


Garbage — not your average dinner

By Todd Dayton Special to the Daily Planet
Monday September 24, 2001

At a windswept lot on the San Francisco Bay, hundreds of thousands of worms are happily munching on yesterday’s pizza crusts, leftover meals, and apple cores — the stuff that even Berkeley’s starving students won’t touch. 

Berkeley Worms, or the Associated Students of the University of California Composting Project, is a student-run collective that gathers food waste from dorm cafeterias, campus restaurants, sororities, and other shared housing units and turns it over to a resident colony of red wriggler worms. Red wrigglers are voracious eaters with a real fondness for food waste. Collective members harvest the castings (what worm lovers call poop) as a high-end fertilizer, which sells for $300 a cubic yard or $12.50 a cubic foot. 

Berkeley Worms was founded in 1994. Its mission was simple:


Student groups should work toward peace, not war

Leo Breiman
Monday September 24, 2001

Editor: 

 

Their tactics of the Students for Justice for Palestine are unfortunate. The implications of their activities serves to convince the public that the Palestinians will settle for nothing less than the complete destruction of Israel and that negotiations with the Palestinians for anything less is impossible. 

Instead I suggest that these students meet with the Jewish student groups on campus which are more in favor of a just and lasting peace with the Palestinians that the present Sharon government. Let the two groups draw up the parameters for a Palestinian state existing side by side with a Jewish state. Then both groups can work together to push their solution which would, I’m sure, be received favorably by a large number of American Jews and Israelis. 

 

Leo Breiman 

Berkeley


Pac-10 Football Roundup

Staff
Monday September 24, 2001

No. 7 Oregon 24, USC 22 

EUGENE, Ore. – Jared Siegel kicked a 32-yard field goal with 12 seconds left as the Ducks pulled off yet another breathtaking victory over USC, 24-22 Saturday night. It was Oregon’s unprecedented fourth straight over the Trojans. 

 

No. 12 UCLA 13, No. 21 Ohio State 6 

PASADENA – UCLA stymied Ohio State throughout Saturday’s only matchup of Top 25 teams in beating the Buckeyes 13-6 before an enthusiastic crowd of 73,723 at the Rose Bowl. 

 

No. 13 Washington 53, Idaho 3 

SEATTLE – The Huskies had another spectacular day on defense and special teams and the offense finally managed to get untracked in a 53-3 victory over Idaho on Saturday. 

Arizona 38, UNLV 21 

TUCSON, Ariz. – The quality of the opposition may not have been impressive, but it’s still three up and three down for new Arizona coach John Mackovic. 

Jason Johnson threw for three touchdowns, two to Bobby Wade, and Tremaine Cox scored on an 80-yard run Saturday night as the Wildcats beat winless UNLV 38-21. 

 

Stanford 51, Arizona State 28 

STANFORD – Randy Fasani led Stanford’s offense to 548 total yards and a blowout victory that embarrassed Arizona State. 

Fasani threw for 295 yards and four scores, and seven Stanford players scored touchdowns in a 51-28 victory over the Sun Devils on Saturday night.


Struggling travel agents hope for more business

By Rachel Searles Special to the Daily Planet
Monday September 24, 2001

Disruptions caused by attacks may steer customers back to using agents’ services 

For the past several years, major airlines have been attempting to shift ticket sales to the Internet to eliminate the need for travel agents, but the confusion in air travel ensuing from last week’s terrorist attacks has once again put travel agents in demand. 

“Airlines were telling people to call their travel agents,” said travel agent Janine Stagg of Ocean View Travel on Delaware Street. “We did whatever we could to help.” 

Ocean View and other Berkeley agencies were inundated by the flood of travelers’ problems and invested the majority of their manpower in refunding and rescheduling. 

“People could not get through to the airlines last week; they were stranded all over the world,” said Stagg. “We were here every day to see if we could get them out.” 

One morning last week, David Shepherd, manager at Northside Travel on Euclid Avenue, was busy at his desk canceling a Eurail Pass, one of many recent cancellations handled by his office.  

“Last week was primarily a scramble to assist distressed passengers,” Shepherd said, referring to customers caught in the middle of trips or about the take one. 

Most cancellations have been made by travelers unable to make it to planned meetings or conferences because their flight had been canceled or postponed.  

Some, however, were due to fear.  

“There’s a lot of shock and confusion right now,” said Shepherd.  

For customers who needed to postpone their trips, Shepherd and his agents created alternative travel plans. A when these fell through, they created more alternatives, a situation Shepherd described as “a lot of churn.”  

Northside, like most of the other travel agencies, has not been charging for these travel changes. 

“This rescheduling has made us very busy with work that had already been completed,” said Cheryl Bickley, agent and part-owner of Great Escapes travel agency on The Alameda. “Here we’ve had a few cancellations but most people going on their trips are still going to go.”  

In addition to being buried with unbillable work, business at these travel agencies has taken a hit as a result of the number of canceled travel plans.  

“We refunded more tickets last week than we sold,” said Shepherd. “That’s a first in this office.”  

Shepherd, however, was confident that the volume of air travel will return to normal within a few months, and added that sales have already increased in the current week. “We are doing new bookings, people are gong forth with their travel plans,” he said. 

“Rather than selling we have been giving back money,” said Stagg. “Business has been significantly slower, but this week we have seen the business travelers come back. … We’re hoping for the best.”  

She expressed concern about how the downturn in the airline industry will affect small travel agencies like Ocean View, which have already been hit hard by the airlines’ recent commission cuts.  

Travelers who bought their tickets on the Internet are finding themselves caught in a bind, said Shepherd.  

“Every day we’ve had numerous people call and come by who bought their tickets on the Internet,” he said. 

Agents can only offer advice to these people, as they have no capability to change tickets booked on the Internet.  

Most travelers who purchase tickets on the Web do so for reasons of convenience or to avoid commission fees. In addition to the commission, Northside charges an extra $20 for every ticket booked, but Shepherd believes that that is a small price to pay for the security offered by a travel agency.  

“Our customers really got something for their money,” he said. 

Stagg said that while travelers may feel like they are saving money by purchasing tickets on the Internet, many are beginning to realize that it is not worth the potential problems.  

“People are coming back to travel agents,” she said. 

Travel agencies expressed hope that airlines will reconsider their attempts to eliminate the need for travel agents in light of recent events. Bickley believes transferring all ticket sale transactions to the Internet would be a mistake.  

“This past week’s crisis has shown that you cannot have an information system that does not include a human being to give information,” she said.


Eastshore Park workshop set

Guy Poole
Monday September 24, 2001

A public workshop for input on the masterplan for development of the new Eastshore State Park is scheduled for today. The park stretches along the shoreline from the Bay Bridge to Marina Bay in Richmond.  

The ESP will become an 8.5-mile ribbon of park land, seamlessly connecting recreational and habitat areas of Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley, Albany and Richmond.  

The workshop is to assist in the creation and preparation of the park plan.  

The workshop is 7 p.m. at H’s Lordship’s Restaurant, 2nd Floor, Georgian Ballroom, 199 Seawall Drive. For more information visit www.eastshorestatepark.org.  

– Guy Poole 


Does megahertz really matter?

By Matthew Fordahl AP Technology Writer
Monday September 24, 2001

SAN JOSE – When insurance agent Yolanda Barba went shopping for a new home computer, she sought a faster system that could run more programs than her old PC. 

A salesman told her the speed of the processor – measured in megahertz or gigahertz – is the best measure of performance. She bought the pitch and an 800 megahertz PC. 

Now, Barba isn’t so sure she made the right decision. 

“It’s slower than the ones I use at work. I should have researched it a little bit more,” the Patterson, Calif., resident said. “In the end, you get what you pay for.” 

For years, clock speed has been a reliable yardstick to compare the performance of processors, the “brains” of a computer. Now, analysts say, faster chips do not necessarily perform better. 

“It has become an increasingly poor predictor of performance over the years because there are so many things that affect system performance,” said Nathan Brookwood, with the research firm Insight 64. 

Clock speed defines time within the microprocessor, in cycles per second. It’s the rate – in millions or billions of ticks per second – at which the processor performs its most basic functions. 

But like the revolutions per minute of a car engine, the raw power can be harnessed in different ways. That’s the role of the chip’s architecture. 

Starkly different designs have never been directly comparable. Apple Computer Inc., which uses PowerPC chips in its Macintosh computers, has long claimed its processors perform better than those designed with the dominant Intel architecture, even though PowerPC chips run at a lower speed. 

For years, however, competing chips from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Intel Corp. shared similar architectures. A megahertz war erupted, with each company trying to top the other’s highest frequency. 

“Because the AMD chip and the Intel chip had similar designs, it still was reasonable to compare the two processors based on megahertz ratings,” Brookwood said. “Even though it was not an ideal metric, it didn’t give you the wrong answer.” 

All that changed late last year when Intel introduced a new architecture along with its Pentium 4. 

Early versions of the Pentium 4 carried a faster clock speed yet underperformed AMD’s lower-megahertz Athlon processors in tests involving some common business applications. 

At the same time, the Pentium 4 outperformed the AMD in tasks involving multimedia, such as video editing. Intel also points out that overall performance will improve as more software is optimized for the new design. 

“In the beginning of any architectural shift, you create the hardware and put it into the marketplace, and you work with software community to take full advantage of it,” said Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Desktop Platforms Group. 

Though AMD was the first to reach the 1 GHz threshold with its Athlon series last year, it has since fallen behind in sheer numbers. The Athlon now tops out at 1.4 GHz, while Intel recently introduced a 2 GHz Pentium 4. 

Not surprisingly, AMD is now downplaying megahertz, joining Apple in the dismissal of what has become known as the “megahertz myth.” 

Executives say what matters is the number of instructions performed per cycle, as set by the chip’s architecture. And, AMD claims, the Athlon executes more instructions per cycle than the Pentium 4. 

“Performance used to equal frequency. Now, it’s a combination of instructions per clock cycle times frequency,” said Pat Moorhead, AMD’s vice president of desktop and mobile marketing. “It’s really a new paradigm.” 

Both Intel and AMD plan to keep pushing the megahertz envelope, and Intel maintains that the frequency remains a valid guide for consumers in addition to reviews and benchmark tests.  

But analysts say it’s now more important than ever to look at other factors – including a PC’s total memory, hard drive, graphics card and software – that play critical roles in determining overall performance.


Opinion

Editorials

Iranian national who allegedly threatened to ‘kill all Americans’ held without bail

By Michelle DeArmond, Associated Press Writer
Saturday September 29, 2001

LOS ANGELES — An Iranian national who allegedly threatened to “kill all Americans” when he was caught smoking on an international flight was ordered held without bail Friday after a prosecutor argued his actions threatened thousands of lives. 

Javid Naghani was not only a threat to the 145 people aboard Air Canada Flight 792 but to thousands of people on the ground in Los Angeles, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Rubinstein told Judge Magistrate Jennifer Lum at a hearing in federal court on Friday afternoon. 

Naghani’s attorney, Richard Novak, argued for bail, saying his client is a successful businessman with strong ties to the community, but Lum was not moved. She ordered Naghani to return to court Oct. 15 for a preliminary hearing. 

Naghani, a legal resident with an office-cleaning business called Cleaning of America, was traveling with his wife aboard Air Canada 792 to Toronto when authorities say he was caught smoking in the Boeing 767’s bathroom. 

When flight attendants confronted him, he said he would “kill all Americans” and said he belonged to some sort of unspecified group, according to a criminal complaint filed against him Friday. Naghani also accused the staff of being racist and said, “You do not know who I am,” attendants told an FBI agent. 

“His words are how this court should judge Mr. Naghani’s actions. Those words were spoken to convey a threat and they certainly did,” Rubinstein told the judge. “He was risking the lives of everybody on that plane and also the citizens of Los Angeles that were on the ground.” 

Novak said Naghani is a successful businessman and property owner but also a person who has a drinking problem, adding that may have contributed to the confrontation aboard the plane. He said several government buildings are among those serviced by his cleaning business. 

In arguing against bail, Rubinstein said Naghani has also had previous brushes with the law, including a conviction for reckless driving in 1988 and one for possession of a dangerous weapon, a dagger, in 1995. He didn’t elaborate. 

The defendant, dressed in shorts and an untucked, button-downed shirt, tried to interrupt the hearing at one point, telling the judge the allegations were false. 

“I didn’t say those words, I swear to my mother,” he said. 

After Naghani allegedly made his threat, the pilot turned the jet around and two U.S. fighter planes escorted it back to Los Angeles International Airport less than an hour after departure. Authorities took Naghani into custody and most of the flight’s passengers eventually made it to Toronto on Friday morning. 

Flight attendants told the captain “they were intimidated, fearful and unwilling to deal with Naghani, and that Naghani needed to be removed from the aircraft,” FBI agent David Beall said. 

Naghani’s wife, Rose Hinojos, told a flight attendant her husband had been drinking wine before the confrontation. She told The Associated Press Thursday night she did not see him smoking. 

Hinojos also denounced the authorities, saying they treated her and Naghani like terrorists. 

“I was handcuffed all over like I am a terrorist,” said Hinojos, who was released after questioning. “This is not the way to treat residents. This is the United States. My husband and I are not terrorists. 

“My husband is the kindest person I have ever met,” Hinojos said, adding that Naghani, a businessman, “treats his employees very well.” 

A neighbor described Naghani on Friday as a boisterous chain smoker with a penchant for hard liquor and a “good heart.” 

Helene Apper, who has lived near Naghani for five years, said he was nervous about flying in the wake of the East Coast terrorist attacks. Apper suggested Naghani likely had too much to drink out of nervousness, but was not someone who would actually carry through on violent threats. 

“He loved America and the freedoms it gave him,” she said. 


Rally ‘round the mayor – she deserves it

Sam Herbert
Friday September 28, 2001

Editor: 

I was horrified to read that the Mayor, and her office, had been targeted for political profiling, of the worst and most unfair variety, in the incident over the removal of flags from the Fire Department vehicles.  

For all those who rush to defend those wrongly accused for (supposed) political attitudes and alliances with America’s enemies, because of their ethnic identities, consider this: We are unlikely to ever contribute to the causes of peace and rational problem-solving in the world arena, when we are so quick to accuse our own, in such an unreasonable way. Mayor Dean is the last person in the world to deserve such libelous accusations. 

As it happened, I went over to the Mayor’s office on a personal errand, on Sept. 11. The mood in the office was somber, concerned, and conscientious, that the City of Berkeley respond to this national tragedy in a way that would support all those injured by the terrorist attacks.  

In addition to responding as heart-connected individuals, who wanted to do everything in their power to help, the Mayor and her staff was also mindful of the symbolic role of the city’s leadership. In particular, I was told that Mayor Dean’s first comment, upon arriving at City Center that day, was to be alarmed that the U.S. flag in front of the building had not already been lowered to half mast, in respectful honor of those killed, and the nation’s sorrow.  

Not only was Mayor Dean unreasonably accused of being responsible for the removal of the U.S. flags, she is the last person I can think of, who would have WANTED them removed. 

Those talk show hosts who attributed the act to her were more than irresponsible.  

I am shocked that they would pass on a clear and obvious lie, without any effort to ascertain the truth of the matter.  

I am surprised that their attorneys would let them expose themselves to a lawsuit for libel, just for the sake of a few cheap gibes at Berkeley’s expense.  

We ought to be rallying around our Mayor, who works like a dog to keep this unruly city grounded and functioning, instead of allowing her to be cruelly attacked by cheap pundits.  

Truth is, we don’t deserve a Mayor as good as Shirley Dean. 

 

Sam Herbert 

Berkeley


Airliner returns to LA under F-16 escort after passenger incident

By Erica Werner Associated Press Writer
Friday September 28, 2001

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A passenger allegedly uttered an anti-American threat after he was caught smoking aboard an airliner, forcing the Air Canada jet to return to Los Angeles International Airport under escort by Air Force fighters Thursday. 

The FBI identified the passenger as Javid Naghani, an Iranian citizen in the United States legally. He was in custody Thursday evening, said FBI spokesman Matt McLaughlin, and was expected to appear before a federal magistrate sometime Friday. He was not immediately charged with a crime. 

Authorities would not describe the threat. 

“Shortly after departure a male passenger was apprehended smoking in the lavatory,” said Nicole Couture-Simard, spokeswoman for Air Canada in Montreal. “The passenger became verbally abusive and uttered an anti-American threat.” 

The confrontation aboard Air Canada Flight 792 to Toronto was resolved without further incident, and the plane landed safely less than an hour after takeoff, authorities said. 

Naghani was traveling on the Boeing 767 with a woman. She was also questioned but was not arrested, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley. 

A third man was questioned as a material witness, said Nancy Castles, an airport spokeswoman. 

Couture-Simard said it was not necessary to restrain the passenger and the plane’s crew had control of the situation at all times. 

“There was no physical aggression. In-flight crew handled the situation professionally. The pilot elected to return to Los Angeles as a precautionary measure only,” she said. 

There were 145 people on the plane, including a crew of seven, Castles said. The jet took off at 12:47 p.m. and returned to the airport at 1:39 p.m. Passengers were taken to the Tom Bradley International Terminal and rebooked on a flight scheduled to leave at 11:45 p.m. 

Two F-16s escorted the Air Canada flight into the airport. Castles said the jets were likely responding to a Federal Aviation Administration request after the pilot of the 767 described the situation to the FAA. 

The Pentagon recently confirmed that two Air Force generals have been authorized to order the military to shoot down any civilian airliner that appears to be threatening U.S. cities. 

The incident occurred as Gov. Gray Davis was traveling to an airport press conference by shuttle bus from a remote parking lot where all passengers who arrive by car must park. Private vehicles have been banned from roads serving terminals. 

“We were about five minutes out of Lot C when those two jets buzzed the airport, so we knew something was up,” said Davis, who announced a call-up of National Guard troops to bolster security, then took a flight to San Francisco to demonstrate confidence in air travel. 


Only blowing off steam

Steve Wagner
Thursday September 27, 2001

Only blowing off steam 

 

Editor: 

I might be a little more impressed by the "pro-war rally" on the University of California at Berkeley campus if it had ended at the recruiting office instead of looking like a bunch of football fans blowing off steam during half-time. The participants must have returned to their safe and privileged lifestyles afterwards feeling oh-so-good about themselves for having flapped that flag around for a few minutes. 

Patriotism used to be called the last refuge of scoundrels. Now it appears to be the first.  

 

Steve Wagner 

Oakland


New Forest Service proposal for roadless areas alarms greens

By Katherine Pfegler Associated Press Writer
Thursday September 27, 2001

WASHINGTON — The Forest Service is proposing to give its local managers more discretion to skip environmental analysis and public input for small logging and road-building projects in some of the most pristine areas of the national forests. 

The agency is seeking public input on the proposal, which environmentalists say is further indication of the Bush administration’s desire to roll back the Clinton-era “roadless rule” banning logging and road building on a third of national forest lands. 

“The Forest Service is changing the rules so that it doesn’t have to do the environmental reviews” in some cases, said Mike Anderson, senior research analyst with the Wilderness Society. “There are a number of forest activists that are quite alarmed about it.” 

Rhey Solomon, the Forest Service’s assistant director for ecosystem management coordination, acknowledged the way the proposal is written gives some environmentalists cause to be upset. 

“I would be the first to say that using the words we have used now, there may be some significant concerns,” he said. 

Solomon said the intent was to clarify conflicting court decisions to allow some limited projects in sensitive areas — such as installing a rain gauge or collecting mushrooms — to go forward without lengthy review. 

However, as written, the proposal also could give Forest Service officials discretion to decide on a case-by-case basis whether analysis or public comment are needed before allowing small timber sales, limited road construction, certain mining projects, off-road vehicle trails and other development in environmentally sensitive areas. 

“It has some bad implications for roadless area protection,” Anderson said. “What is going on is the Forest Service is making it easier for managers to do management activities in roadless areas and other environmentally sensitive areas by giving them greater discretion.” 

Roadless areas have been a controversial issue for the Bush administration, which promised revisions to the roadless rule in May, arguing that all local interests hadn’t provided input before Clinton adopted the rule just before leaving office. The administration officially reopened debate on the issue in July, asking the public 10 questions about the policy. The responses still are under evaluation. 

A timber industry representative was hoping that the latest proposal would lead to faster decision-making, particularly on projects to remove trees from dense forests to reduce wildfire risks, called thinning. 

“You’ve got to look at the consequences of not doing something, and those may be greater than the consequences of doing ... something minor,” said Chris West, vice president of the American Forest Resource Council. “That’s how the assessment needs to be done, especially in times where we’ve got so many areas at risk for catastrophic wildfire.” 

The Forest Service made the proposal in the Sept. 20 Federal Register. It is seeking public input until Nov. 19. 

 


Maio’s dismissal of Craig correct

Nicholas W. Feldman
Wednesday September 26, 2001

Maio’s dismissal of Craig correct 

 

Editor: 

I have read your recent articles about the dismissal of Karen Craig from the commission on disability. I have been living and working in Berkeley for the past seven years. I would like to take this opportunity to give praise to Councilmember Linda Maio for her actions around Karen. I have participated in many meetings and discussions with Karen both on the commission and around disability issues which were both related and unrelated to EDI. I have witnessed inappropriate conduct where Karen persists with her own agenda and cannot open her mind to other ideas or speak in a professional way about matters concerning the entire disability community. 

I liked Karen and her persistence about making Berkeley more accessible to all residence with disabilities. However, I cannot condone the outlandish way she speaks to both other commissioners as well as city staff. It takes a lot for a councilwoman in the city of Berkeley to differentiate between someone with a disability who sits on a commission because of their disability and someone who is professional enough to carry out the mission of responding and acting for the entire community and not just for personal gain.  

I believe that Karen has served her time and done the community a lot of good. But, like most good things, it must end eventually. I wish that people will let Karen keep doing her brilliant activism and let the new commissioner, Bob Allamand show his new perspectives and carry on with the rest of the commissioners to keep leading the country in the large disability community which Berkeley is so lucky to have.  

I commend Karen for all of the progressive work she has done and I also commend Linda Maio for taking a stand and knowing when it is time for change.  

I sincerely hope that commissioners do not let this delay the work that lies ahead for the commission as well as the entire Berkeley disability community. Thank you for your time. 

 

Nicholas W. Feldman 

Berkeley 

 


Council commends Rep. Lee, City becomes Hate Free Zone

Daily Planet staff
Wednesday September 26, 2001

Tuesday evening, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution commending Rep. Barbara Lee for her “wise and courageous vote in opposition to authorizing President Bush to wage war on terrorism.” It also unanimously passed a resolution establishing Berkeley as a Hate Free Zone, which means the city will support the efforts of local organization to eliminate racism, discrimination and actions of hate against people of Arabic descent and the Muslim faith. 


State files first claim in PG&E bankruptcy

Associated Press
Tuesday September 25, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California’s attorney general filed a $179.4 million claim Monday in the bankruptcy of Pacific Gas and Electric Co., for power the state bought for PG&E customers. 

Other state claims estimated to top $230 million for items such as unpaid taxes and pollution cleanup will be filed by the Oct. 3 deadline, said Attorney General Bill Lockyer. 

Lockyer had earlier advised state agencies not to file any claims in the bankruptcy because it could jeopardize the state’s sovereign immunity, the state’s right not to be sued in federal court. But since the judge had set a deadline for claims, the state had to file or risk not being included in the bankruptcy settlement. 

“In seeking to recover money owed by PG&E, the state of California is limiting its waiver of sovereign immunity as to these claims only,” Lockyer said. 

Lockyer said his office was examining PG&E’s reorganization plan “because of serious concerns that the utility is seeking to evade further scrutiny” from state regulators. 

The first state claim covers electricity purchased by the Department of Water Resources from April 6 to May 31 for PG&E customers. 

The state has been buying power on behalf of PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric Co., since January when generators, alarmed that the utilities had amassed billions in debts, refused to sell electricity to the companies. 

PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April. State lawmakers and Gov. Gray Davis have been trying to craft a deal for Edison that would prevent that utility from following PG&E into bankruptcy.