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Students educate peers about domestic violence

By Jeffrey Obser Daily Planet staff
Tuesday October 30, 2001

As dating and relationships become more common in the early teen years, Berkeley High students have been raising awareness about domestic violence by conducting peer education in middle school classes. 

At Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School on Monday, Kate Aughenbaugh’s seventh-graders heard how to recognize the warning signs of an abusive relationship, how to respond when a friend is in one, and what forms domestic violence can take – from physical to mental and emotional. 

“I see so many people who are in these situations and they need this, but they’re already in high school and they’re in the middle of it,” said Maeve McGovern, a junior who co-led the class with junior Molly Baldridge. 

Asking questions first, and then unfurling posters to explain the answers, the peer educators taught the class how to identify domestic violence, distinguish it from non-threatening arguments, and recognize that it takes many forms: Physical, verbal, mental, emotional and sexual. 

“It can also be where a lady batters a guy,” one boy offered, to nods of approval from the teachers. 

McGovern counted off the students from one to three, then asked everyone numbered one to rise. 

Now, one in three kids are at risk of being abused in a relationship by age 21,” she said. “How does that make you feel?” 

“Sad,” said one voice. 

Citing a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s August newsletter said one in five of high school girls report being physically or sexually abused by a partner – with the incidence rate much the same across racial and ethnic lines. These young women experience higher rates of substance abuse, eating disorders, and other problems, the newsletter said. 

Leuckessia Herse, the teen program coordinator at A Safe Place, an Oakland nonprofit giving outreach to schools and public agencies, said teens are especially vulnerable to getting trapped in bad relationships for two reasons: They don’t always recognize they’re in them, and if they do, they don’t know where to turn. 

“A lot of teens out there are pretty frustrated, they don’t feel like they can express what’s going on with them, and they don’t feel like they can be understood and have some action taken behind it,” Herse said. 

Teens are having relationships earlier than they used to (in order) to make up for the attention and companionship that have missed because “between family, friends and community, something is falling short,” Herse said. 

“Having a lack of those things is causing a lot of the issues with violence,” she said. “People who have been abused are abusing back. It seems like it’s a part of the whole cycle of violence, which is another thing we try to talk to them about.” 

At the classroom presentation on Monday, the cycle of violence was illustrated as three stages on a circle diagram: During “tension-building,” the abusive mate gets angry over small things and may be jealous. “Acute battery,” the second phase, sees open abuse. Then comes the “honeymoon” – remorse, presents, promises. 

“Which two might fade away over time?” Baldridge asked. 

Most students responded correctly. Sometimes, only the abuse is left. 

Shannon Singleton-Banks, the peer education coordinator at Berkeley High, said her student volunteers taught seventh and eighth graders at Berkeley Alternative School, Longfellow Middle School, and King in the last few years, as well as at Berkeley High. 

At Willard Middle School, she said, teachers give domestic violence education.  

Banks’ biggest challenge, she said, “is to get the guys to come and be a part of this peer education thing,” Banks said. 

Debbie Arthur, who coordinates the domestic violence prevention program for the Berkeley Department of Health and Human Services, said peer education was especially valuable for domestic violence because “young people, as opposed to turning to adults for advice, sometimes turn to their peers.” 

“We’re basically talking about power and control, and how they can be used to intimidate people, and also about attitudes and beliefs that we have in terms of how we treat each other and how does that play out in the school community,” Arthur said. “Relationship violence often starts during the teen years and may continue into the adult years as domestic violence, and it’s this continuum that we really want to prevent.”


Calendar of Events & Activities

compiled by Guy Poole
Tuesday October 30, 2001


Tuesday, Oct. 30

 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

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

 

Berkeley Organization for  

Animal Advocacy presents: 

7 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

2305 Tolman 

Dr. J. B. Neilands, Cal Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, will discuss his involvement in the animal rights movement and provide insight on the alternatives to animal experimentation on campus. 

925-462-7927/ www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~boaa 

 

Low-cost Hatha Yoga Classes 

6:30 -8 p.m. 

James Kenney Rec. Center 

1720 Eighth St.  

The city is offering low- cost Hatha Yoga classes for adults. Taught by certified instructor. Drop-ins are welcome. Bring a mat or towel. $6. 981-6650 548-3333 

 

California Politics Seminar 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

Chuck Rund, President of Charlton Research. 

642-4608 

 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips. 

531-8664 

 

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 

 

Aids in South Africa 

7 p.m. 

150 University Hall 

UC Berkeley 

Zackie Achmat, a South African AIDS activist, will discuss the struggle of people living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa to obtain life-saving drugs. $ 5-10 Suggested donation. 415-621-6196  

 


Wednesday, Oct. 31

 

Yoga for People with HIV/AIDS 

10:45 - 11:45 a.m. 

Center for AIDS Services 

5720 Shattuck Ave.  

Free Kundalini Yoga class for people with HIV/AIDS. Mats provided, you may bring a towel. Eating within an hour of class is not advised. Wear loose, comfortable clothing. Beginners and drop-ins welcome. 841-4339 

 

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 

 

Toddler Storytime 

7 p.m. 

West Berkeley Library 

1125 University Ave 

For families with children three years or younger, a program to expose the youngest readers to multicultural stories, songs and finger plays. 

Every Wednesday through Nov 28.November Out and About Calendar 

 


Thursday, Nov. 1

 

Latin Dance Class 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Salsa, Cha-cha, Merengue... $10, No partner necessary. All ages and levels welcome. 508-4616 

 

Justice for Tenants Rally and  

Picket 

4 – 5:30 p.m. 

1942 University Ave. 

Lacking affordable housing, renters are being pushed over the edge... Join the tenant fight back. Free food and music, 367-1225. 

 

Harris Seminar 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

Susan Hammer, former mayor of San Jose. 

642-4608 

 

Kayak Adventures on the  

Seven Seas 

7 p.m. 

REI 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Olaf Malver will share slides and stories of his sea kayaking adventures around the world: Turkey, Indonesia, Antarctica and more. Free. 527-4140 

 

Holiday Art Fest 2001 

6 - 8 p.m. 

Pro Arts Gallery 

461 Ninth Street, Oakland 

There will be live music and refreshments to celebrate the start of annual exhibit and sale of unique gifts and specialty items designed by Bay Area artists. 

 


Friday, Nov. 2

 

National Children’s Book Week 

3:30 p.m. 

North Branch Public Library 

1170 The Alameda 

Theatre company “Word for Word” in a children’s performance of two stories: “The Elephant’s Child” by Rudyard Kipling and “Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti” by Gerald McDermott. Geared for children 4 years and up. Free. 649-3943 www.infopeople.org/bpl. 

 


Saturday, Nov. 3

 

Media “Wedge Kit” Training 

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Ecology Center 

2530 San Pablo Ave. 

The goal of the Media Wedge Kit Training is to help participants create and insert dynamic, witty, and irresistible new language like a wedge into the mainstream media wall. $15 non-members, $10 members, nobody turned away for lack of funds, 548-2220 x233. 

 

National Children’s Book Week 

10:30 a.m. 

Central Branch Public Library 

2121 Allston Way 

3 p.m. 

Claremont Branch Public Library 

2940 Benvenue Ave. 

Theatre company “Word for Word” in a children’s performance of two stories: “The Elephant’s Child” by Rudyard Kipling and “Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti” by Gerald McDermott. Geared for children 4 years and up. Free. 649-3943 www.infopeople.org/bpl. 

 

Gardening with East Bay  

Native Plants 

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Class held offsite 

An Ecology Center sustainable living class. A hands on workshop in a local garden built from local native plants, restoration gardening, philosophy, ecology, design, local plant sources, and home propagation. Preregistration is required, 548-2220 x233. $15 non-members, $10 members, nobody turned away for lack of funds. 

 

Poetry Reading 

3 - 5 p.m. 

South Branch Public Library 

1901 Russell St. 

The Bay Area Poets Coalition hosts an open reading. 527-9905 poetalk@aol.com 

 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a nonprofit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, give free rides on a first come, first served basis on the first full weekend of each month. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least 5 years old and must be accompanied by an adult.  

Visit www.cal-sailing.org  

 

 

 


On war, Lee, and dissidence

Ariel Parkinson Berkeley Ariel Parkinson Berkeley
Tuesday October 30, 2001

Editor: 

I am proud to live in Berkeley. I am proud to be a citizen of the city whose congressional representative resisted assigning unlimited discretion for war and peace to the president, and whose Town Council recommended stopping a brutal and largely gratuitous military exercise. 

I am not proud of the many, many leaders of this country who have labeled any analysis of the etiology of the nature of the events of Sept. 11, as condoning the attacks, and as disloyal. 

In her strikingly courageous refusal to follow the moment’s common will, Barbara Lee was the true and loyal citizen, at that moment the most loyal citizen of this constitutional democracy. She was the only one to show by voting that an undefined sequence of military commitments of such importance and complexity must be openly tested and discussed. Instead of publicly castigating the council “radicals” for their support of Lee and of continued bombing in Afghanistan, the mayor could well have shown respect for council resolutions with which she disagrees. 

Civil liberties, open discussion, a multitude of perspectives, opinions, voices, have been the essence, and, so far, the salvation of this country. The threat now is not book-burning, and scissors. The threat is more insidious - a total and freely offered submission of will. The will not to see. The will not to know. The will not to discuss. It extends from New York Times’ relative suppression of accounts, figures, or images of the assault on Afghanistan and its censorship of comments by bin Laden, to hysterical verbal whip-lashing of unpatriotic “traitors,” and to many instances of physical attack on Middle Easterners, any Middle Easterner. From Council to Congress, elected representatives must remember and support the principles of social and economic justice, protection of the environmental conditions of life, a fair and reasonable technical and social infrastructure both locally and globally, the freedom to think, talk, and criticize... They must continue to support the principles for which, presumably, they were elected. 

Now is the time for the concept and observance of The Loyal Opposition to be honored here. 

Ariel Parkinson 

Berkeley 


Arts

Staff
Tuesday October 30, 2001

924 Gilman St. Nov. 2: Mood Frye, Manic Notion, Cremasters of Disaster, Bottles and Skulls, Lorax, Sociopath; Nov. 3: Cruevo, Nigel Peppercock, Impaled, Systematic Infection, Depressor; Nov. 9: Hoods, Punishment, Lords of Light Speed, Necktie Party; Nov. 10: Sunday’s Best, Mock Orange, Elizabeth Elmore, Fighting Jacks, Benton Falls; Nov. 16: Pitch Black, The Blottos, Miracle Chosuke, 240; Nov. 17: Carry On, All Bets Off, Limp Wrist, Labrats, Thought Riot; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

 

The Albatross Pub Nov. 3: Dave Creamer Jazz Quartet; Both shows 9 p.m. 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 albatrosspub@mindspring .com  

 

Anna’s Nov. 1: The Irrationals; Nov. 2: Anna de Leon and Ellen Hoffmann, 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Nov. 3: Robin Gregory and Bill Bell, 10 p.m. The Distones Jazz Quartet; Nov. 4: Danubius; Nov. 5: Rengade Sideman with Calvin Keys; Nov. 6: Singers’ Open Mic #1; Nov. 7: Bob Shoen Jazz Quintet All shows 8 p.m. unless noted. Free. 1901 University Ave., 849-2662 

 

Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Oct. 30: 7:30 p.m., Bluegrass Benefit Concert for the NY Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund. Peter Rowan, Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, Mike Marshall, Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin, Bluegrass Intentions, Kathy Kallick Band, Detour; $20. 1317 San Pablo Ave., 525-5099 www.ashkenaz.com 

 

Blake’s Oct. 29: The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Oct. 31: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2; Nov. 1: Ascension, $5; Nov. 2: Shady Lady, Buffalo Roam, $5; Nov. 3: Funk Monsters, Molasses, $5; Nov. 4: Lost Coast Band, Supercel, $3; Nov. 5: All Star Jam featuring The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Nov. 6: Inner, Ama, $3; Nov. 7: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2, Hebro, free; All shows 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave. 848-0886 

 

Cal Performances Nov 8: 8 p.m. Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance, $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; Oct. 19: Little Jonny and the Giants; Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

 

Freight & Salvage Nov. 1: Si Kahn $17.50 - $18.50; Nov. 2: Don Edwards $16.50 - $17.50; Nov. 3: Barbara Higbie $17.50 - $18.50; All Shows 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

 

Jazzschool/La Note Nov. 4: 4:30 p.m. SoVoSo, $15; Nov. 11: 4:30 p.m. Dave Le Febvre Quintet, $12. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 

 

Jupiter Nov. 1: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 2: Lithium House; Nov. 3: Solomon Grundy; Nov. 7: Go Van Gogh; Nov. 8: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 9: Xroads; Nov. 10: Post Junk Trio; Nov. 14: Wayside; Nov. 15: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 16: 5 Point Plan; Nov. 17: Corner Pocket; Nov. 21: Starchild; All shows 8 p.m. and free. 2821 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625/ www.jupiter.com 

 

La Lesbian @ La Peña: A Lesbian Performance and Film Series Nov. 1: 8 p.m., Singer/songwriters Faith Nolan and Megan McElroy, $14; Nov. 4: 5 - 9 p.m., Salsa, merengue, cumbia from DJs Rosa Oviedo and Chata Gutierrez, $7; Nov. 7: 8 p.m., I Love Lezzie, 20 member comedy troupe, $14; 320 45th St., Oakland 654-6346 www.lapena.org 

 

MusicSources Nov. 18 Harpsichordist Gilbert Martinez. Both shows 5 p.m. $15-18. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

 

The Stork Club Oct. 30: 9 p.m., Simple Things, Tombshakers, Ultrafiend, $5; Oct. 31: Oppressed Logic, Eddie Haskells, TBA, $5; 2330 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland. 444-6174  

 

Yoshi’s Restaurant and Jazz Spot Oct. 29: 8 & 10 p.m., The Mike Vax Jazz Orchestra, $10. 238-9200 www.yoshis.com 

 

Cal Performances Nov. 2: 7 p.m., Sightlines, Pre-performance discussion with guest artists. 8 p.m., “Music Before 1850,” with Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr. $32. First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way, 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

“Distaff Singers Annual Benefit Concert” Nov. 3: 8 p.m., Distaff Singers 64th Annual Benefit Concert for the Ida Altenbach Scholarship Fund. $10. Oakland Mormon Interstake Auditorium, 4770 Lincoln Ave., 658-2921 

 

 

“me/you...us/them” Nov. 8 through Nov. 10: Thur - Sat 8 p.m., matinee on Sat. 2:30 p.m. Three one-acts that look at interpersonal, as well as societal relationships from the perspective of the disabled. $10 - $25. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

“Nocturne” Through Nov. 11: Tues./Thurs./Sat. 8 p.m., Weds. & Sun. 7 p.m., matinee on Thurs./Sat./Sun. 2 p.m. Mark Brokaw directs Anthony Rapp in One-Man Show. Written by Adam Rapp. $38 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep. org 

 

“Tomas Carrasco of Chicano Secret Service” Nov. 15: 4 p.m. Performance by member of L.A.-based sketch comedy troupe that uses humor to tackle hot-button racial and political issues. Free. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

 

“Lost Cause” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Three space travelers stranded on a forgotten colony, find themselves in the middle of a bloody civil war, and have to decide between what’s right, what’s possible, and what will save their lives. Written by Jefferson Area, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7-12. La Val’s Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid Ave. 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

 

“Travesties” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., and Thurs., Nov. 15, 8 p.m. A witty fantasy about James Joyce meeting Lenin in Zurich during World War I. Written by Tom Stoppard, Directed by Mikel Clifford. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck. 528-5620 

 

Cal Performances “The Car Man” Oct. 30, 31: 8 p.m.; Nov. 1: 2 p.m., 8 p.m.; Nov. 2: 8 p.m.; Nov. 3: 2 p.m., 8 p.m.; Choreographer and director Matthew Bourne and his company re-invent Bizet’s “Carmen,” spinning the tale of a mysterious drifter in a small mid-western town, who changes the lives of its inhabitants forever. $32 - $64; Nov. 7: 8 p.m., “Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance,” more than 30 singers, dancers, and musicians present a musical synthesis of the authentic Roma styles. $18 - $30; Nov. 8: 11 a.m., SchoolTime Performance, “Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance,” $3 per student or chaperone, in advance only; Nov. 8: 8 p.m., “Orquesta Aragón,” $18 - $30. Nov. 11: 3 p.m., Recital - Angelika Kirschschlager, Bo Skovhus, and Donald Runnicles. “Wolf/ Die Italienisches Liederbuch,” $45; Nov. 16 - 17: 8 p.m., “La Guerra d’Amore,” director and choreographer, René Jacobs, conductor, Ensemble Concerto Vocale. Modern dance and early music from German choreographer Joachim Schlömer, $34 - $52; 

UC Berkeley, Zellerbach Hall. 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

“Macbeth” Nov. 9 through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. Presented by the Albany High School Theater Ensemble. $7 adults, $5 students and seniors. Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd. 559-6550 x4125 theaterensemble@hotmail. com 

 

“Saint Joan” Through Dec. 2: Wed. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., 7 p.m. George Bernard Shaw’s epic of a young girl determined to drive the English out of France with only her faith to support her. Directed by Barbara Oliver. $26-35. Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St. 843-4822 www.auroratheatre.org 

 

“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 

 

Pacific Film Archive Theater Oct. 29: 7 p.m., A Time for Drunken Horses; Oct. 30: 7:30 p.m., An Evening with Leslie Thornton; Oct. 31: 7:30 p.m., 9:20 p.m., Saudade do Futuro. 

2575 Bancroft Way, 642-1124 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

 

“The Search” Nov. 4:30 p.m. 1948 drama of American soldier caring for a young concentration camp survivor in post-war Berlin, while the boy’s mother is desperately searching all Displaced Persons camps for him. $2 suggested donation. Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237 

 

 

“African Harmonies,” the artwork of Rae Louise Hayward Through Oct. 31: Hayward’s art celebrates the beauty of African culture: its people, sculpture, textiles, jewelry and music. Tues. - Thurs. 1 - 7 p.m., Sat. noon- 4 p.m. Women’s Cancer Resource Center, 3023 Shattuck Ave., 548-9286/ www.wcrc.org 

 

“Cut Plates and Bowls” Annabeth Rosen, “Just Jars” Sandy Simon Through Nov. 3; Saturdays 10 - 5 or by appointment. Trax Ceramic Gallery, 1306 3rd St. 526-0279. cone5@aol.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 

 

“Architects of the Information Age” Through Nov. 10: A solo exhibit showcasing the works of Ezra Li Eismont. Works included in the exhibition are mixed media paintings on panel and assemblage works on paper and canvas. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland 836-0831 

 

“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. “Cleve Gray, Holocaust Drawings” Oct. 15 through Jan. 25: 21 works on paper inviting the viewer to consider the atrocity of the Holocaust in ways unattainable through words or text. 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. 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 

 

“In Through the Outdoors” Through Nov. 24: Featuring seven artists who work in photography and related media including sculpture and video, this exhibit addresses the shift in values and contemporary concerns about the natural world that surrounds us. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery, 1316 Tenth St. www.traywick.com 

 

“2001 James D. Phelan Art Awards in Printmaking” Honorees: Bridget Henry, David Kelso, and Margaret Van Patten. Through Nov. 30 Tues. - Fri. noon - 5 p.m., other times by appointment. Kala Art Institue, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 www.kala.org 

 

“Furniture Art” Through Dec. 7: An exhibit of metal and wood furniture that revisits furniture not only as art but as craft. 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. The Current Gallery at the Crucible, 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.org 

 

“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 1960s and 1970s. Wed. - Sun., noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Free. 644-6893 

 

GTU Exhibit: “Holocaust Series” by Cleve Gray through Jan. 25: Comprised of 21 works on paper that constitute “a catharsis... for all of humanity.” Mon. - Thurs. 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sun. noon - 7 p.m.; Free. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, Graduate Theological Union, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541 www.gtu.edu 

 

“The Art History Museum of Berkeley” 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. 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

 

Readings 

 

Boadecia’s Books Nov. 3: Editor Danya Ruttenberg and contributors Loolwa Khazzoom, Emily Wages, Billie Mandel will read their selections in the new anthology, “Yentl’s Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism.”; Nov. 9: Lauren Dockett will read from her latest book, “The Deepest Blue: How Women Face and Overcome Depression.”; 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 Telegraph Ave. Oct. 29: Arturo Pérez-Reverte reads from “The Nautical Chart”; Oct. 30: Ruben Martinez recounts “Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail”; Oct. 31: Barry Lopez reads from “Light Action In The Caribbean”; All shows at 7:30 p.m.; 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Nov. 10: 4 p.m. Ruthanne Lum McCunn reads from her novel “Moon Pearl”; Nov. 18: 4 p.m. Noel Alumit, M.G. Sorongon, and Marianne Villanueva read from their contributions to the anthology “Tilting the Continent: Southeast Asian American Literature”; 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

 

“Michael Moore” Oct. 29: 7:30 p.m. Author and film maker reads from his new book “Stupid White Men and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation”. $12-15. Sponsored by Cody’s. First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way 

 

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 Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., 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; Oct. 25: A Storytelling Pajama Party, 6 - 7 p.m.; Oct. 27: 4th Annual Habitot Halloween; Oct. 28: Family Arts Day; Oct. 31: Sugar-Art Halloween Frosting; Nov. 3: Tales from the Enchanted Forest, 11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.; Nov. 9: Living with the Earth; Nov. 17: Recycle that Stuff; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. Mon. and Wed., 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tues. and Fri., 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thur., 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

 

Oakland Museum of California through Nov. 25: Pasajes y Encuentros: Ofrendas for the Days of the Dead, highlights three thematic “passageways” that connect the dead with the living: tradition, humor and spirit. $6 adults, $4 seniors and students, free for children under 5. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m., 10th St., Oakland, 888-625-6873/ www.museumca.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. Mon. through Fri., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sat. and Sun., 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.  

 

University of California Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive has reopened after its summerlong 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. 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  

 

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


Public to comment on Draft General Plan

By John Geluardi Daily Planet staff
Tuesday October 30, 2001

The City Council will hold the first of two public hearings tonight on the Draft General Plan that, once approved, will govern city development for the next 20 years. 

City staff and planning commissioners expect some aspects of the draft plan to elicit controversy, including downtown parking, rent control and a proposed amendment by a nonprofit environmental development group that calls for the possibility of increased height limits downtown. 

The 191-page draft plan, prepared by the Planning Commission, is the result of two and a half years of public discussions and contains input from hundreds of Berkeley citizens and a variety of city commissions and boards.  

The council won’t weigh-in on the plan until after the second hearing on Nov. 6. The state requires the council to approve the General Plan by Dec. 18, the last council meeting of the year. 

The General Plan is a document of goals, objectives and policies, which govern land use, transportation and environmental management. 

Berkeley’s General Plan has not been updated since 1977, and Senior Planner Andrew Thomas said many of the goals of the old plan remain in the new draft although they reflect updated methods, concepts and theories. 

The Planning Commission unanimously approved the draft plan on July 11. But among the 600 policies approved, the commission was unable to agree on two issues: parking and rent control. 

The draft plan calls for a two-year moratorium on public parking studies, while seeing whether the city can make better use of existing parking.  

Business owners and arts groups in the downtown area believe a lack of new public parking will harm both existing businesses and the burgeoning Downtown Arts District. 

“We know that there is going to be more demand for short-term parking and the draft plan is asking: ‘Can we accommodate (automobiles) with our current parking supply before taking on the very expensive proposition of building more?’” Thomas said. 

Thomas added that the council may amend the draft plan to add a provision requiring that no downtown public parking is lost. 

He pointed to a city transportation report, the Transportation Demand Management study, which calls for getting traditional long-term parkers – usually people who work in the area – to take public transit or some other form of transportation, thereby freeing up parking spaces for theatergoers, shoppers and restaurant patrons. 

Another controversial issue might be a single sentence in the plan that supports the repeal of a 1995 Costa-Hawkins Bill. This state law allows landlords to increase residential rental rates when rental units become vacant. The policy in the draft plan would have no direct impact on the state law, but some city landlords object to its inclusion in the General Plan. 

Furthermore, Ecocity Builders, a nonprofit agency dedicated to creating open space in urban areas by increasing residential density along transportation corridors, is asking for four amendments to the plan. To support the proposed amendments, Ecocity Builders will submit a petition with more than 100 signatures from nonprofits, educational institutions and businesses, said Ecocity Builder President Richard Register. 

One amendment calls for establishing a Transfer of Development Rights policy. A TDR would allow developers to increase height limits in the downtown in exchange for purchasing and razing existing buildings in environmentally sensitive areas, over creeks for example, and then turning over the restored open space to the city. 

The draft plan sets a height limit in the downtown area for no more than seven floors. If the TDR amendment is approved, it would allow 10 or 11 story buildings Register said. 

“Biodiversity is extraordinarily important for the health of the Bay and for teaching our children how life systems work,” Register said. “If we are going to restore creeks we are going to need to remove occasional buildings and with a TDR policy you can also increase housing.” 

According to Thomas, the Planning Commission did not include the TDR policy in the draft because it did not want to create controversy by increasing height limits in the downtown area. 

“They didn’t want to get into the question of raising the height limits because the issue had been so controversial,” Thomas said. “This is the fourth draft of the plan and the first two recommended raising height limits but the public response against it was very strong. People came unglued.” 

The plan sets an ambitious goal to create 6,400 permanent affordable housing units during the next 20 years through acquisition of existing housing and new construction. Currently there are 1,600 units of affordable housing in Berkeley.  

The plan also reaffirms policies of dense in-fill development in the downtown area and along transit corridors.


Get heads out of sand The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter to the City

Charles Guion Baton Rouge, LA
Tuesday October 30, 2001

When you pass a resolution you are assuming to speak for the citizens of your city. I can't imagine that an entire city is as blind to the truth as its elected representatives. 

In case you pull your head out of the sand in the near future, maybe you will realize that our enemies do not want to smoke a joint with you, or ask for your forgiveness, they want to kill us, all of us, you included, including your children and/or your grandchildren. Maybe you should go to New York City and witness the absolute carnage, to breathe in the smell of death, and help pickup the body parts of those that were murdered by our enemies. 

If you can't accept this and want to continue to be traitors to this country, maybe you will consider giving up your citizenship and try living in a country that will kill you simply for opening your stupid mouth. 

 

Charles Guion 

Baton Rouge, LA 


Telegraph Avenue area’s crime rate has risen

By Imran Vittachi Special to the Daily Planet
Tuesday October 30, 2001

The number of assaults around Telegraph Avenue, south of the UC Berkeley campus, rose sharply last year, according to the latest available police crime statistics. 

While the city police department numbers point to felony rates dropping in parts of Berkeley, those same statistics reveal that the number of aggravated assault cases around north Telegraph Avenue nearly quadrupled between 1998 and 2000, doubling between 1999 and last year. 

Berkeley Police were unable to explain the sharp increase. 

“The figures are of deep concern (to us),” said Kathy Berger, executive director of the Telegraph Area Association, a grouping of residents and businesses. 

According to police department statistics, robberies, burglaries, and auto thefts have dominated crime in the neighborhood which is heavily populated by university students and encompasses Census Tract 28. Assault cases jumped to 104 in 2000 for that census tract from 50 in 1999 and 27 in 1998. The increase was sharper than in other census tracts of the city. Tract 28, which represents 6,407 people or 7.1 percent of Berkeley’s population, is bounded by College Ave., Oxford St. and Dwight Way.  

Last year, 7.6 percent of the city’s top eight major crimes took place in that area, a marginal increase from the previous year. This year’s overall crime rate, police statistics show, was identical to 1998: 7.6 percent. 

In the lexicon of criminology, “aggravated assault “ is one of those loosely defined terms where the crime can be treated as a felony or misdemeanor, depending on its gravity. 

Assault is not considered as serious as murder or rape. But the California attorney general’s office thinks it’s serious enough to rank it among the state’s top eight offenses. 

“If I say to you that I’m going to punch you in the face, and I move my fist toward your nose, and I hit you, that’s assault, “ said Susan Underwood, a legal expert with the attorney general’s crime prevention division. “If I say to you that I’m going to punch you in the face, and I move my fist toward your face but I stop myself from punching you – that’s still assault.” 

 


City found real American way The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to the City Council and the Chamber of Commerce:

Mandeep S. Gill U.C. Berkeley Graduate Student Palo Alto,
Tuesday October 30, 2001

I am so proud of my city standing up in the face of the lockstep jingoistic insanity going on in this country. I feel glad that Berkeley is so far ahead of its time, looking so very many years into the future, when the rest of humanity catches up (if it survives) and learns that acting righteous and keeping one's boot on the neck of those born by some chance in another place isn't what gets us the most security. 

In Truth, Justice -- and the real American Way. 

 

Mandeep S. Gill 

U.C. Berkeley Graduate Student 

Palo Alto,  


Law students’ conference raises issue of little Latino presence in profession

By Yahaira Castro Special to the Daily Planet
Tuesday October 30, 2001

Students and law professionals who attended the fifth annual National Latino and Latina Law Students Conference this weekend at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Law School agreed the field is hurting from a lack of Latinos. 

“There isn’t a level playing field in our courtrooms,” said Jessica Delgado, a public defender in Monterey. 

The situation is particularly dire in California, which has a population of more than 10 million Latinos. 

According to the California La Raza Lawyers Association, out of 1,600 superior court trial positions only 72 are held by Latinos. Furthermore, only 4 percent of the state’s attorneys are Latino. Therefore, clients who want a Latino lawyer have an especially small pool to choose from. 

Almost all who came to the conference expressed concerns that ranged from the number of Latino judges to universities’ admission policies. 

Margaret Montoya, a professor at University of New Mexico’s School of Law, said Latinos living in California make up one-third of its population and should expect to see a good representation of lawyers and judges they can turn to. 

“Supporters of legislation like Proposition 209 say that race is a proxy,” she said. “But we need to tell them that we are coming from a world view from which we understand the world and can help.” 

Gabriella Gallegos, 25, a student, said the university’s law school was once one of the most diverse schools in the country, and Proposition 209 has helped to change that. 

This year, only 17 of the program’s 299 enrolled students, identify themselves as Latino. 

But, Victoria Ortiz, an assistant dean, said the real problem of diversity in the school wasn’t admitting students. She said there was little money for scholarships to offer applicants. 

Out of 28 Latino students who were admitted but chose not to enroll, 27 went to Stanford, Ortiz said. Students chose Stanford over Berkeley because they received more scholarships to fund their education, she added. 

Yet, Delgado indicated that the issue wouldn’t be resolved by bringing in more judges and lawyers of Latin descent. She said there are many other challenges, which undermine the quality of representation the system offers clients. 

Delgado said she often sees Latino judges sentence clients more harshly than their white counterparts. 

“The benefit for the client whose case is being heard by a Latino judge is that the color of their skin and background should resonate with that judge,” she said. 

Delgado, who said she is often mistaken as an interpreter, also said the challenges she faces make the work of defending clients extremely difficult. She said she has had to convince judges, colleagues and even clients that a Latina could do the job. 

“I’ve had clients request a white male to be their attorney because they think a lawyer from that background will have better rapport with a judge,” said Delgado. 

Richard Paez, a judge with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, said he didn’t apply a different standard to determine decisions on cases brought against Latino clients. 

“When you take an oath at the federal level, you swear to judge the case that’s being advocated in your courtroom fairly,” he said. 

Nonetheless, he said, he can’t help but draw on his experiences and background to judge cases. However, he’ll use his knowledge to apply it on cases across racial and economic lines, he said.  

Panelists told students that forums like the weekend conference were important to bring about change. 

“Sometimes I feel like I’m a speed bump, but don’t misunderstand me,” Delgado told students. “I love what I do.” 

She said she feels elated when she wins small victories for a client whose rights have been trampled on. 

“You can affect people’s lives in a variety of different ways,” she told students. 

Valeriano Salcedo, a superior court judge in Tulare, said institutions of higher education needed to work on the K-12 grades, which can act as a “feeder system for students to enter competitive law programs.” 

Some professionals who attended the conference indicated that changing the status quo in law schools can impact the number of Latinos in those institutions. They said students are in a position to challenge university officials into changing the system. 

William Kidder, a researcher at Boalt Law School, said across the country there is a direct correlation with student activism and universities’ hiring of Latino professors and admission rates of Latino students. 

“The things that you do, at whatever school you’re going back to, can play a pivotal role in your school’s policy.”


Bombing comes home The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter addressed to the mayor and City Council:

Leuren Moret Berkeley
Tuesday October 30, 2001

Margo Shafer is right - the bombing of Afghanistan by U.S .government forces is our problem. I commend Councilmember Dona Spring for bringing this forward for debate. It is not true that it is happening “over there” so that it doesn’t affect us “over here.” Citizens must get good information in order to make good decisions and participate fully to ensure a democratic government. We are part of a global community, and should be informed and interested in government policy which does not directly affect us in our local community.  

The United States has hundreds of thousands of tons of depleted uranium piled in heaps outdoors at DOE facilities. It is 99.5 percent of what is left when the most fissionable isotope (one of three) is extracted from naturally occurring uranium. The extracted uranium is used in nuclear weapons or nuclear fuel for nuclear reactors. The 99.5 percent that is discarded cannot be put back into the mines it came out of because, after crushing and processing, the volume is greater than before it was removed from the mines. 

The Department of Defense got the bright idea of using DU in weapons because (1) it is very dense giving it greater penetrating power to destroy tanks etc. (2) it is pyrophoric – upon impact, it explodes into fire and smoke creating submicroscopic radioactive particles which travel great distances and can remain suspended until “rained out” of the atmosphere, (3) it is radioactive and will continue acting internally long after the battlefield has been cleared - with delayed effects which continue acting on soldiers and civilians the rest of their lives (4) it is cheap and passes the responsibility for disposal from DOE on to civilians (that means us) and the environment. The half life of uranium is 4.5 billion years - in 10 half lives radioactivity becomes an insignificant amount. In 45 billion years it will no longer be a danger. In other words - it’s “fun” for the DOD, it’s “cheap” for the arms manufacturers (at good profits), and “good riddance” says DOE. 

The United States has manufactured, used, tested DU in 39 states. The cleanup bill - just for the DU - at the Jefferson Proving Ground in Indiana would be $7.8 billion. It has not been cleaned up, but DOD has closed it. Communities living near these test ranges will continue to be exposed and suffer health problems. The Sierra Army Depot in California, for 40 years, has burned millions of tons of old munitions – including 20 times more DU than used in the Gulf War. The radioactive ash full of heavy metals, phosgene gas and dioxins contaminated local communities as well as Native American communities downwind - especially the Pyramid Lake Paiute reservation. The health problems in those communities has been horrendous. The Sierra Army depot burned old munitions in open pits - and was the single largest contributor to air pollution in California - 17-23 percent. 

Did anyone in this city know that, or do anything to inform the citizens? I doubt that anyone was aware or informed. Several months ago I made a short presentation to the Peace and Justice Commission. Norman Harry, former Pyramid Lake Tribal Chairman, and Senator Harry Reid worked with others to shut it down. Less than a month ago Lassen County refused to renew the burn permit for the Sierra Army Depot - finally. 

The United States has used DU weaponry in the Gulf War, Kosovo, Serbia, Vieques Island, Torishima Island near Okinawa, Japan, and sold it to at least 23 countries. Israel uses it nearly daily on the Palestinians. It is in the arsenal the United States is using on Afghanistan. It can be detected on gamma meters in Greece and Bulgaria on windy days. It’s the weapon that “keeps giving”... 

Leuren Moret 

Berkeley 


On love and loss

Leonard Schwartzburd Berkeley
Tuesday October 30, 2001

Editor: 

I wanted to reach out. There have been losses lately. Four people I love and like have suffered deep personal losses in a matter of days. The country has suffered a loss, and the world trembles and shakes. My heart is heavy. I have lost my dream that there could be a solution of courage, of existential acts which would transform. We are bombing the life out of Afghanistan, a land of my youthful romantic visions shaped by the pages of Mitchner's “Caravans.”  

Killing is horrible, but doing it without intimacy, without the mindfulness of what we do, from the air where those ordered to go cannot touch or be touched, I feel that is obscene. And the men and women who send them are even more removed. I hate it. 

Where is our courage? It is not Afghanistan which threatens us, that is simply the place the Saudis have bought to attack us from, perhaps in the hope that they can free themselves before their oil runs out and we don't need them any longer. Perhaps to cover that there are powerful and controlling forces in their midst which hate us because we are not them. Perhaps both. After all, the Saudi Royal Family is large and has to prepare for its future. 

Osama bin Laden is a front man, formidable but a front. The corrupt and cruel regimes of the Middle East are interested only in their own wealth and power. It's different there you know. In the West our power seekers, though selfish, identify with the nation and it's institutions. In the Middle East the nation identifies with the Power Man, and they don't get to vote him out.  

We know this---but we satisfy our primitive talonic need by bombing Afghanistan. Bush said, Turn him and his lieutenants and his thugs over and we''ll stop what we're doing to your country. “To your country!” he said. I am ashamed. The most powerful most technologically advanced country in the world crushing to dust a country where they have mostly stones.  

I hope to hell that we give them what they need to rebuild. But now, right now we have dropped 650,000 single day food packs. Are we rushing to send vast ship loads of our surplus grain, which we have sometimes allowed to rot? Doesn't our American spirit demand of us that we feed hungry people dislocated by our warfare, as the winter’s ice looms. 

Where is our courage? We have been attacked ruthlessly and the best we can do is bomb Afghanistan and sneak around on the ground at night blowing up small arms and killing some more pawns, while most of the real terrorist supporters and most of the rest of the world applaud politely. And while the worst thugs in Iraq thumb their noses at us, and in Iran they smile hardly even up their sleeves, at our seeming impotence. And maybe they tremble secretly at our raw power and our willingness to use it ruthlessly.  

The Taliban are thugs but... Where is our courage? I have been sitting with this for days. It helps to write. I feel a little more angry and a little less blue. 

Leonard Schwartzburd 

Berkeley


City Council to consider housing, festivals tonight

By John Geluardi Daily Planet staff
Tuesday October 30, 2001

Among the questions before the council tonight, is a $100,000 contract with the Flamingo Hotel to provide emergency housing for homeless people who are seriously mentally disabled.  

The funds will come from state grant money the city received last November. In the past the city’s Mobile Crisis Team has been able to house people at the Flamingo Hotel on an emergency basis. 

According to the report the contract with the Flamingo is stop gap measure until long-term housing is arranged. 

 

Homeless survey finds services lacking 

The council will hear a report on the status of homeless people residing in Berkeley. The report is based on a survey by Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency, a nonprofit organization that provides shelter and services for the homeless in Berkeley and Oakland, of 100 homeless men and women. 

The report concludes that Berkeley’s estimated 1,200 homeless are regularly harassed by the police, have insufficient access to shelter, health services and education. 

Among the solutions suggested in the report are that the city add to the number of shelter beds, create a detoxification facility and designate a legal camping area in the city limits. The report also asks for greater investigation of the relationship between the homeless and the Berkeley Police Department. Chief Dash Butler will be present to respond to some of the conclusions in the report. 

 

Relocating the folk festival 

The Commission on Disability is requesting the council relocate Berkeley’s annual Free Folk Festival to a location more accessible to diabled people. 

According to a COD report, the stage of the current location, Ashkenaz, has an inaccessible stage and the entrance ramp is of an unsatisfactory design.  

The report also claims the venue’s bathrooms, though recently improved, are still awkward to use. Access to them is more difficult during events when the narrow hallway outside the bathroom is crowded with people.  

The report suggests that the current venue does not adequately accommodate the growing number of people who attend the popular festival each year. 

It suggests moving the festival to one of Berkeley’s schools as a possible solution. Some schools have accessible auditoriums and space for workshops and related festival activities. 

 

Traffic safety for school kids 

The council will consider a recommendation from Mayor Shirley Dean to review the school traffic safety plans. According to the recommendation, the council approved a proposal over a year ago that required each Berkeley school, public and private, to submit a safety plan for picking up and dropping off of children.  

But Dean said there is little evidence that the plans are in effect. The recommendation contends that a police officer, who once enforced a 10-minute parking limit on Ellis Street near Malcolm X School, is no longer there and children continue to cross Ashby Avenue at Ellis Street instead of walking one block west where there is a traffic signal. The report also describes a child struck by a car while crossing Ellis Street to reach a school yard.  

 

Public hearings 

The council will hold four public hearings, beginning with a proposal to increase parking fees at the Center Street Garage.  

The council will hear public comments on the formation and taxation of businesses in the Downtown Berkeley Business Improvement District. 

It will also hear an appeal of a declaration by the Zoning Adjustments Board that a property at 2507-09 McGee Avenue is a public nuisance.  

Finally, there will be a public hearing on the Draft General Plan and an Environmental Impact Report on the plan. Another public hearing will be held on the draft plan on Nov. 6. 

 

The council will also look at authorizing: 

• The acceptance of $800,000 in state grant money to construct the Berkeley Bay Trail. The additional funds will make the total state contribution to the project $3.5 million. 

• The city manager to develop a charter amendment to allow the redistricting process to occur after the decennial census is complete and any under or overcounts are adjusted. The recent redistricting process was marred by a Census Bureau undercount of nearly 4,500 people, mostly students in districts 7 and 8. 

• Six months of supplemental military leave benefits to employees called to active duty in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. 

 

Berkeley Housing Authority 

The Berkeley Housing Authority, which is made of the City Council and two affordable housing residents, will meet in the Council Chambers at 6:30 p.m. just prior to the regular City Council meeting. The BHA will discuss a report detailing an increase of 17 rental units to Berkeley’s section 8 housing program over the last three months. In order for the program to remain viable and to avoid financial cuts by the Office of Housing and Urban Development, the BHA has to reach a goal of 1,620 section 8 leases. Currently there are 1,270. 

The BHA will also discuss a report on the status of Section 8 Resident Council and the Public Housing Resident Council. The council and board are made up of section 8 and public housing residents. According to the report, the effectiveness of the resident councils is impeded by an inability to work together. In addition many of the board’s and council’s meetings have been canceled because not enough members show up to legally take action on items on their agendas.  

Housing Director Stephen Barton will also ask the BHA to approve a $90,000 contract with AA-1 Construction to provide building maintenance for city-owned public housing. 

The meeting will be held tonight at 7 p.m. at 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in the City Council Chambers. It will also be broadcast live on the KPFA Radio, 89.3 and Cable B-TV, Channel 25.


Davis touts CHP sky marshal plan

The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

WASHINGTON — After meeting Monday with federal officials, Gov. Gray Davis said he hopes to get approval within 30 days to allow California Highway Patrol officers to serve as sky marshals on flights within the state. 

The governor also wants federal approval to expand the duties of National Guard troops at California airports to include random searches of checked baggage. Currently, they are limited to checking carry-on bags at security checkpoints. 

Davis met in Washington Monday with Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and Federal Aviation Administration chief Jane Garvey, whom he described as receptive to his ideas. 

“Both proposals were received with interest,” Davis said. 

Davis first made the sky marshal proposal a month ago, explaining that CHP officers take 7,800 work-related flights a year. The highway patrol officers’ union has raised questions about the idea, but has not voiced opposition. 

Davis described both proposals as essentially free. CHP officers would serve as marshals only on flights they already would be taking, and airports would not need more National Guard troops to expand the reservists’ duties. 

The governor headed from his meeting with transportation officials to tour the Pentagon crash site. He also will visit the World Trade Center site in New York on Tuesday. The itinerary for his East Coast trip also includes a visit to his mother in Florida and two campaign fund-raising events in New York. 

Davis was not the only California official on attacks-related business on the East Coast. 

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca was in New York on Monday to testify before the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, and to present $244,305 to New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. 

The money, for the survivors of the police and firefighters who died in the collapse of the Trade Center buildings, was raised by the sheriff’s department through the sales of memorial bracelets and bumper stickers. 


INS detains 21 from Sri Lanka at San Diego border

The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

SAN DIEGO — Authorities detained 21 illegal immigrants from Sri Lanka at the U.S.-Mexico border, the Immigration and Naturalization Service said Monday. 

The men and women came in two groups at the Otay Mesa border crossing in San Diego and are being held while the immigration service decides whether any qualify to remain in the United States, INS spokeswoman Lauren Mack said. 

Because of privacy laws, the INS can’t disclose whether any in the group are seeking political asylum, Mack said. 

By far, most illegal immigrants caught at the border in San Diego are Mexican. Authorities occasionally stop people from other countries, but it is rare to encounter a large group from Sri Lanka in Southern California, she said. 

The Sri Lankans arrived on foot in two groups. Sixteen arrived Saturday and five more Sunday. 

They told authorities they traveled by plane from their South Asian island nation to Jordan, then came to Mexico by ship. Each paid between $19,000 and $31,000 for the journey. 

Last year, nine illegal immigrants from Sri Lanka who came individually or in small groups were detained at the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego, Mack said. 

Sri Lanka has been plagued by an 18-year civil war in which at least 64,000 people have died. 

Militants among the 3.2 million Tamils of the island-nation off the southern tip of India are leading an often violent campaign for a separate homeland. They allege that Tamils are discriminated against by the majority Sinhalese, who comprise 14 million of the country’s 18.6 million people.


New Napster on hold until next year; other online music services forge ahead

By Ron Harris The Associated Press The Associated Pres
Tuesday October 30, 2001

LOS ANGELES — Napster won’t let the music play until some time next year. 

The embattled song-swapping service’s chief executive, Konrad Hilbers, told a technology conference Monday that the company must still license more major record label music before it can go back online. That will probably be in the first quarter of next year, he said. 

Napster has been off-line since July in an effort to comply with a federal judge’s order that the free music trade be halted. Hilbers said Napster will replicate its popular file-sharing service in a secure environment while pressing for licensing deals with major labels. 

He hopes a settlement of the suit his company faces can help Napster recreate the song downloading magic that brought the company 60 million users at its peak. 

“Music, I think, makes close friends of people with nothing in common but a shared love of Incubus or Jerry Garcia’s Grateful Dead,” Hilbers said. 

Whenever Napster’s new service does come back online, Hilbers reiterated that digital song downloads will include technology that prevents unlimited copying and free distribution. 

All five major labels have vowed to come out with subscription online music services before year’s end. Sony and Universal have partnered to form pressplay while MusicNet is the joint venture of Warner, BMG and EMI. 

Analyst Phil Leigh, of Raymond James and Associates, said even if Napster remains on hold until early 2002 it could possibly time its re-emergence successfully. 

Leigh said Music Net and pressplay could serve to warm up consumers to the idea of subscribing for online music, to the benefit of Napster’s relaunch. 

“It doesn’t hurt Napster if they come in later when the offering becomes more attractive,” Leigh said. 

Jim Griffin, cheif executive officer of Cherry Lane Digital, said at the conference that the online music industry is not quite ready for prime time. He said the industry still needs a large pool of money and a fair way of dividing those funds up among copyright holders and music publishers. 

He said subscription online music businesses and major record labels would need to ignore many of the traditional models that worked for the recording industry in the past. Whatever business models emerge, they’ll be worlds apart from their predecessors, Griffin said. 

“It will not be about control. It will not be about clinging to content,” Griffin said. 

He predicts that subscribers will pay by the month, not per song, for downloaded and streaming music.  

Griffin believes wireless broadband access is a key component to the success of online music, a notion that dovetails with the goals of Evolab, a company he founded that focuses on wireless media services. 

Listen.com is making another play at the changing music landscape. Once merely a directory of legally downloadable music, the service is about to be reborn and will launch a new streaming music platform called Rhapsody. 

Rhapsody, set to launch in about two weeks, is an application where users can store and access streaming song playlists for a subscription fee set by independent distributors. 

But the same problem exists for Rhapsody, as with many others — no big name content. So far, Listen.com only has signed licensing deals with 37 independent labels to provide music content to the Rhapsody service. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.napster.com 

http://www.listen.com 


Top attorney of watchdog group at center of controversy

The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — The top lawyer for the state’s Commission on Judicial Performance is at the center of an ethical controversy, and experts say the watchdog agency must be careful in its handling of the issue. 

Victoria Henley, the commission’s chief counsel and top administrator, is accused of having a conflict of interest when she handled disciplinary action against a judge her husband was suing. 

How the commission, which is responsible for disciplining judges, handles the controversy could affect its integrity, experts say. The commission has already requested that an independent investigator handle the case. 

“That was the right thing to do,” Steve Barnett, a professor at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall law school told the Los Angeles Times. “The commissioners should be commended for the speed with which they acted on this.” 

In December, Henley and her staff accused Sonoma County Judge Patricia Gray of unfair campaign practices during her 2000 re-election campaign and began disciplinary proceedings. The charges claim she unfairly accused her challenger, deputy public defender Elliot Daum, of condoning the actions of those he defended in court. Gray lost the election. 

The commission could bar Gray from serving as a judge again if it sustains the disciplinary charges. 

But Gray’s lawyer says Henley should have disqualified herself from the proceedings because her husband, Alameda County lawyer Michael Boli, filed a malpractice suit against Gray for a 1994 civil case she handled while still a lawyer. 

Boli had already filed the suit against Gray when the disciplinary proceedings were launched. The suit is still pending. 

Gray’s attorney accused Henley of using the disciplinary proceedings against Gray to enhance the outcome of the civil suit if it’s decided in favor of Boli’s clients. 


FDA approves additional drug in fight against AIDS

By Randolph E. Schmid The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

WASHINGTON — A new anti-viral drug is being added to the arsenal of anti-AIDS medications. 

The Food and Drug Administration said Monday it has approved Viread for use in combination with other drugs in fighting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. 

The drug blocks reproduction of the virus, the agency said. Its technical name is tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. 

AIDS survival rates have increased in recent years as combinations of drugs are used to battle the virus. 

FDA noted that the virus mutates rapidly, however, and often develops resistance to drugs. That makes development of new medications necessary. 

The FDA said it approved the new pill after two clinical trials on more than 700 people who showed increased HIV despite treatment with other drugs. They showed significant reductions in the amount of HIV in their blood during the trials, the agency said. 

The new drug is taken as a single pill once a day. Supplies should be available by the end of this week, according to the manufacturer, Gilead Sciences of Foster City, Calif. 

Gilead spokeswoman Amy Flood said a year’s supply of Viread would cost $4,135, but added that much of that probably would be covered by insurance. 

In clinical trials the most common side effects of Viread were moderate diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and flatulence. Viread is a type of drug known as a nucleotide analog. Its action is similar to nucleoside analogs, which the FDA said have been connected to some serious liver conditions.


Bay Area Briefs

Staff
Tuesday October 30, 2001

Armed man killed 

 

SAN JOSE — An armed man who barricaded himself in his home Sunday afternoon and held police at bay for more then 10 hours as crisis negotiators tried to contact him, was shot and killed, San Jose police said Monday. 

According to police, the armed man left his house at about 3:25 a.m. Monday and walked about 50 yards toward a group of officers. He then raised his rifle and pointed it at the policemen. 

An officer fired a round from his rifle and struck the suspect in the chest, a police report said. Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene. 

The wife of the man called police at about 4 p.m. to report her husband was on pain medication, was hallucinating and had fired at least two shots from a gun in the garage. 

The man refused to respond to negotiators trying to contact him by phone and a bullhorn, the police report said. 

The Homicide Unit of the San Jose Police Department is investigating the incident. The name of the officer, as well as the name of the suspect and his wife, have not been released. 

 

 

 

Adoptive parents, fathers eligible for  

extension 

 

STANFORD — The faculty Senate unanimously has voted to include adoptive parents and new fathers on the list of those eligible for tenure clock extension. 

If the changes are to be instituted next January, the board of trustees must approve the revisions during its next meeting in December. 

The current policy applies only to birth mothers, and has been in place for three years. 

Under the revised Faculty Tenure Policy clause, new parents would be able to apply for the extension for up to one year after the birth or adoption of a child.  

In cases of adoption, the child usually must be no older than 5. 


Utility customers conserved, saved millions

The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — More than one third of eligible utility customers answered Gov. Gray Davis’ call to cut electricity use by 20 percent and earned a 20 percent discount on their power bills, utilities said Monday. 

Combined, the customers will save millions of dollars on their electric bills, and by reducing their power use kept themselves from being charged record rate hikes passed by the state Public Utilities Commission in the spring. 

To get the discount, customers of all sizes had to trim their power use by 20 percent or more during any one of the four qualifying summer months — June through September. 

A third of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s 4.6 million electric customers saved a combined $120 million on their electric bills.  

At Southern California Edison, more than 373,000 customers saved a combined $855,956. About 374,000 San Diego Gas and Electric customers earned a combined $6.24 million. 

Californians slashed their power use so much they were lauded by state and utility officials as a chief reason the state weathered the summer heat without having to shut off the lights.


Bioterror experts warn open research unwittingly could help terrorists

The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A leading bioterrorism expert has cautioned against the freewheeling exchange of scientific ideas, saying unfettered public access unwittingly could help terrorists. 

“We should be cognizant of the power of our own science,” Thomas Inglesby of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense told doctors gathered Sunday at the Infectious Disease Society of America Conference. 

Inglesby said the same biotechnology research used to create disease-fighting drugs could make it easier for terrorists to develop biological weapons. Scientists soon will complete the genetic mapping of flu viruses, and Ingelsby warned that such information should not be shared publicly on the Internet. 

Meanwhile, most of the doctors attending the four-day event in San Francisco were preoccupied with how to distinguish early onset of anthrax from normal colds and flu, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Julie Gerberding, acting deputy director of infectious disease control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, discussed the latest anthrax treatment guidelines via satellite hookup Sunday. 

The doctors were told that none of the patients with anthrax had a runny nose, a typical symptom of flu or cold. 

“Usually, inhalation anthrax shouldn’t cause runny nose or sinus congestion,” Northwestern University Medical School Professor Tina Stosor told the San Jose Mercury News, “but the verdict’s still out on that.”


Suspect in 22-year old shooting still wanted

The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

SAN JOSE — Police are looking for a 22-year-old suspect in the shooting death of a rookie officer. 

DeShawn Campbell of San Jose likely will face murder charges in Sunday’s death of 24-year-old Jeffrey Fontana, according to San Jose Police Sgt. Steve Dixon. 

Police believe Fontana had stopped a vehicle in an upscale neighborhood in San Jose early Sunday and was shot while approaching it. 

Residents called to report an officer on the ground near his patrol car. Fontana was pronounced dead at the scene, Dixon said. 

Police said Fontana, who was working his regular beat, never called for help and there was no record of a traffic stop. 

Fontana had just finished his 16-week field training and had been patrolling on his own in the last two weeks before being gunned down.  

He had been a member of the force for less than a year. 


Judge agrees to move trial in Yosemite murder case

By Brian Melley The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

MARIPOSA — The triple murder trial of Yosemite killer Cary Stayner will be moved out of this tiny community, away from the rugged mountains where he allegedly preyed on women, a judge ruled Monday. 

Judge Thomas Hastings agreed with the defense and prosecution that extensive news coverage of the case — including Stayner’s confession to four killings — would make it difficult to find a fair jury in this Sierra Nevada foothills county. 

Stayner, who appeared in court Monday with his head freshly shaved, could face the death penalty if convicted of killing three Yosemite tourists who were staying at Cedar Lodge, where he worked on the outskirts of Yosemite as a handyman. 

He is accused of killing Carole Sund, her daughter, Juli, and friend Silvina Pelosso in February 1999. 

The parents of Carole Sund said they were surprised by Stayner’s scalped look. Carole Carrington said he looked crazy. 

Defense lawyer Marcia Morrissey said outside of court that Stayner has shaved his head throughout his life as a result of a chronic hair-pulling disorder. 

He has always appeared in court with a crop of thinning hair. 

“It was a just a shock,” Francis Carrington said. “It looked like a long-term convict or something.” 

Stayner, 40, already is serving a federal life sentence for murdering Yosemite naturalist Joie Armstrong in July 1999. 

Hastings, a Santa Clara County judge assigned to the case, set a hearing for Dec. 17 to consider where to hold the trial. 

Prosecutor George Williamson recommended Sacramento, Santa Clara and Colusa counties. Morrissey suggested San Francisco or Los Angeles because they have larger jury pools. 

Court administrators will confirm which counties have adequate security, staff and courtrooms available for a trial starting Feb. 25.  

The court then will notify lawyers of the possible sites so they can conduct telephone polls or other research to determine how widely known the case is in those counties. 

Morrissey also said she would be filing motions to dismiss the charges against Stayner, and would seek to suppress witness statements. 

Morrissey left the court without making further comment. She said in the past she would seek to bar evidence of Stayner’s lengthy recorded confession to FBI agents. 

The tape of the confession was played at a hearing in June, with Stayner describing the methodical killings in graphic detail. 

He said a longtime fantasy of killing came alive the night of Feb. 15, 1999, when he saw “easy prey,” the mother and two teens, through the window of Room 509. 

Stayner went to the door and said he had to check a leak in the bathroom. Once inside, he pulled a gun and tied them up. He strangled Carole Sund, 42, and Pelosso, 16, in the room and put them in the trunk of their rental car. 

“I had no feeling, like I was performing a task,” he said about killing Carole Sund, the first of his victims. 

After repeatedly sexually assaulting Juli Sund, 15, he drove her to a remote lake and slashed her throat. He abandoned the rental car and torched it. 

He said it was the first time he ever felt in control of his life. 

Stayner was caught six months later at a nudist colony, after investigators found the headless body of Armstrong in a creek near her cabin in the park. Stayner was arrested after confessing to all four killings.


State expected to spend at least $1 million to toughen security at the Capitol

By Don Thompson The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

SACRAMENTO — California will spend more than $1.1 million to boost security at the state Capitol in the wake of last month’s terrorist attacks, legislators decided Monday. 

“Like it or not, the Capitol is a potential target,” said Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, chairman of the Joint Rules Committee that oversees security there. 

The state will spend $700,000 to install airport-style metal detectors and X-ray machines at four entrances to the building, eliminating public access at two additional existing entrances. The main and most ornate entrance to the Capitol will be reserved for tour groups. 

Officials said the new equipment will speed searches that have been conducted by hand since the Sept. 11 East Coast attacks, though it may be another two months before the machines are in place. 

In addition, an X-ray machine used to screen mail will be moved from its current location beneath the governor’s office to the California Highway Patrol Academy in West Sacramento, at a cost of $410,000. 

Legislators also are considering buying an irradiation machine that could kill anthrax and other bacteria in mail, but will first see what steps the U.S. Postal Service takes so as to avoid duplication, Cardoza said. 

Sixty large concrete flower planters already have been placed around the Capitol as a barrier to vehicles. The committee plans a public hearing Nov. 13 to consider whether they should be replaced by permanent metal posts or similar devices. 

The planters cost $10,000 to $15,000 but can be used at other state facilities if they’re not needed at the Capitol, said CHP Commissioner D.O. “Spike” Helmick. 

Cardoza estimated the state is spending $5,000 to $10,000 on other security measures, though some are as cheap and easy as locking previously unlocked doors.  

All told, the committee considered 25 precautions at its four-hour closed door meeting, the remainder of which were not made public for security reasons. 

“We don’t want to let the bad guys know what our points of vulnerability are,” Cardoza said. 

The security precautions were endorsed by Assembly members of the Joint Rules Committee, while Senate members still must be polled for their approval. 

Meanwhile, Helmick said the CHP has spent more than $17 million since Sept. 11 on increased security statewide, including more flights over aqueducts, power lines and patrols of bridges and dams. 

To pay the increased cost, Helmick said he is cutting back equipment, travel and training, though most training was postponed anyway because the officers are needed for the beefed up security patrols. 


Security liable to be indelible image of Salt Lake Games

By Tim Dahlberg The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

SALT LAKE CITY — National Guardsmen patrolling the airport with M-16s were not part of the original plan for the 2002 Winter Olympics. Then came Sept. 11, and the Salt Lake Games would never be the same. 

With the games scheduled to start 100 days from Wednesday, Olympic organizers who overcame scandal and financial problems now have just one overriding mission — protecting 2,500 athletes and the fans who come to watch them. 

Unlike the bloody history of the Summer Games, the Winter Olympics have never been disrupted by terrorist attacks. If they are in Salt Lake City, those who are running them know well that both the city and the games may be forever scarred. 

“If you don’t have a safe games, there’s nothing you can do to redeem yourself,” said Mitt Romney, who heads the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. 

About the only thing that will still be the same for 17 days in February is that the world’s best skiers, skaters and jumpers will be competing for Olympic gold. 

But getting in to see them will now take more patience, and new security measures will mute some of the festivities that normally surround an Olympics. 

Some residents who were once proud their city landed the games are now fearful that they will become a target. 

“There is an awful lot of people that if they can find a way to get out of town for three weeks are out of here,” attorney Bruce Baird said. “I think it is just dawning on people what it might be like.” 

Indeed, the enduring image of the Feb. 8-24 games for those attending may be one of tall fences topped with razor wire and standing in long lines to empty pockets and purses into large plastic tubs for security checks. 

At the downtown high-rise where Baird has his office, workers were evacuated last week in a pre-Olympic drill. 

“The attacks have changed people’s psyche. Nobody before thought it was possible,” said Robert Flowers, who heads the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command, the security umbrella for the games. “We weren’t talking about anthrax in Olympic venues before. Now we are. It caused us to take some things more seriously.” 

Before last month’s terrorist attacks, Olympic security officials thought they had built a strong, multifaceted plan at a cost of some $265 million. 

Now the tab is over $300 million, thanks to the addition of 2,000 National Guardsmen to help guard venues and materials and the need to buy more metal detectors, security fences and surveillance equipment. 

Some 10,000 security personnel will be on guard, outnumbering athletes 4-1. Another 5,000 SLOC workers will help guide ticket holders through metal detectors and other detection equipment and make sure they aren’t carrying backpacks or other items that might conceal a weapon. 

In the sky, U.S. Customs helicopters and radar planes will patrol, along with F-16s from nearby Hill Air Force Base. Extraordinary air security measures will likely include the closure of Salt Lake International Airport to air traffic during the opening and closing ceremonies and airspace restrictions at other times. 

On the streets, health officials will have stocked up on antibiotics, and portable decontamination units will be ready to speed to venues should suspicious substances be found. 

Experts will monitor the air for chemical and biological contamination, and thousands of volunteers have been trained to respond to any type of threat. 

“If there’s something found or spotted, we’ll have someone on the scene in minutes and we’ll know how to handle it and what to do,” Flowers said. 

The FBI will have 1,000 agents in Utah to investigate and respond to any threats. Last week, teams of Secret Service agents practiced for various scenarios in Salt Lake City. 

“The intent was to dial up the stress levels,” said Mark Camillo, Olympics coordinator for the Secret Service, which has overall responsibility for the games’ security. 

Indeed, organizers say about the only thing that hasn’t been planned is what to do if the games are canceled. SLOC has $150 million in cancellation insurance from an earlier policy, but Romney said nothing short of a world war could stop the games. 

SLOC has gone so far as to reserve charter planes to bring athletes to the United States should the world’s air travel system be in turmoil. 

“The circumstances that suggest you couldn’t go forward with the games are unthinkable in my view,” Romney said. “There is no Plan B. You proceed with the games almost regardless of the turbulence.” 

Organizers say they hope much of the security will be unobtrusive and barely noticeable, outside of the security fences and checkpoints and the bomb-sniffing dogs at competition sites. 

Much of the armed security will be in plain clothes to blend in with the crowds, while some 1,900 state and local police officers and 500 volunteer officers from around the country will be outfitted in yellow and black uniforms. 

With new plans in place, they’re now trying to convince both foreign governments and Olympic ticket holders that the safest place to be in February may actually be Salt Lake City. 

Romney said only 15 people asked for refunds in the wake of the terrorist attacks, and that the head of the Iranian Olympic committee wrote him a three-page letter congratulating him on the steps taken to protect athletes. 

At a security briefing Monday, Danish International Olympic Committee member Niels Holst-Sorensen said the plans are detailed and thorough. 

“Everything is very well in hand,” he said. 

The extensive plans, though, don’t stop security officials from fretting. A lone man was responsible for the Atlanta bombing that killed one and injured dozens of others, and they worry as much about that as they do about any large organized attack. 

“No one can have 100 percent security. It’s not possible,” Flowers said. “But if we feel we can’t give reasonable protection then we’d ask them not to hold the games.” 

Romney doubts terrorists would make the Olympics a target. 

“Attacking a group of young athletes from around the world doesn’t seem to be a good public relations move to me,” Romney said. “The terrorists didn’t attack the United Nations, they attacked symbols of America. I don’t think they would want to attack the Olympics.”


GM to sell Hughes to EchoStar for $25.8 billion

The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

DETROIT — The company that runs the Dish Network is poised to become the nation’s leading provider of home satellite TV service after reaching a deal to acquire rival DirecTV from General Motors Corp. 

EchoStar Communications Corp. is buying Hughes Electronics and its DirecTV subsidiary from GM for approximately $25.8 billion. The deal, struck Oct. 28 during a weekend session of GM’s board, came after News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch abruptly pulled a longstanding offer for Hughes off the table. 

With 10 million subscribers, DirecTV is the nation’s largest provider of home satellite television service. EchoStar’s Dish Network is a distant No. 2 to with 6.7 million. The combined 16.7 million subscribers would be slightly fewer than those of AT&T Corp., the leading cable TV provider. 

The new EchoStar would control nearly all of the U.S. satellite TV market, but GM said the new entity would have 17 percent of the total pay TV market while cable companies control 80 percent. 

Charles Ergen, chairman and chief executive officer of EchoStar, told reporters and analysts Oct. 29 that the deal would create “a true competitor to cable.” 

Ergen also said the new company would be able to reduce costs by sharing satellite spectrum, bargaining for lower programming costs and having one standard for set-top boxes. 

The new company would retain the EchoStar name, and DirecTV would become a brand for its services and related products. The deal must be approved by federal regulators and GM shareholders. 

Under terms of the deal, GM would technically spin off Hughes and merge it with EchoStar. A majority of EchoStar’s shareholders already have given their approval. 

EchoStar is offering 0.73 EchoStar shares for each share of Hughes. Based on EchoStar’s closing stock price Oct. 26 of $25.26, the deal values each share of Hughes at $18.44 — a 20 percent premium to Hughes’s closing share price of $15.35. 

EchoStar is also offering a $600 million breakup fee to Hughes in the event that the deal is turned down by regulators. 

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2002, the companies said. Hughes will control 54 percent of the stock, while EchoStar shareholders will maintain a 36 percent interest in the new company. 

GM president and chief executive officer Rick Wagoner said the deal would provide “significant benefits to Hughes, EchoStar, millions of present and future DirecTV customers, and shareholders of both GM and EchoStar,” 

Ergen said consumers would benefit from the company’s ability to increase the number of markets served with local channels via satellite and more high-definition TV offerings. 

In midday trading Monday, GM Hughes shares fell 67 cents to $14.6,00378 on the New York Stock Exchange, where News Corp. stock was off $1.91 at $27.14. EchoStar shares slipped 18 cents to $25.08 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. 

Ergen will remain chairman and CEO of the new company. The board of directors will have nine members, five of whom would be independent directors. 

Aside from DirecTV, Hughes also provides high-speed Internet service through DirecPC and its PanAmSat unit distributes entertainment and information to cable television systems, TV broadcast affiliates, telecommunication companies and corporations. 

Opposition to the transaction is likely to come from consumer groups who fear domination of the home satellite TV market by one company. 

Last week, the president of the National Consumers League asked the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department to look into the possible implications of an EchoStar takeover of DirecTV. 

GM wanted to sell off Hughes in order to focus on its core automotive business. 

Murdoch and GM had been in talks for more than 18 months, but when the automaker’s board failed to make a decision Oct. 27, Murdoch ended his bid for the company. 

Murdoch coveted DirecTV as an adjunct to the satellite TV services News Corp. operates overseas. Acquiring DirecTV would have given him a global satellite television network. 

EchoStar came into the picture last spring. Over the summer the company proposed a stock swap and assumption of almost $2 billion in debt for Hughes. 

Despite its market-leading position with DirecTV, Hughes lost $227.2 million in the third quarter and $481.6 million through the first nine months of the year. The company announced plans in August to lay off 10 percent of its 7,900 workers. 

——— 

On the Net: 

General Motors Corp.: http://www.gm.com 

EchoStar Communications Corp.: http://www.dishnetwork.com 

Hughes Electronics Corp.: http://www.hughes.com 

+++++ 

MORE 


Venture Capital investments, fundraising plunges in third quarter

By Michael Liedtke The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — Mirroring the technology industry meltdown, venture capital investments and fundraising continued to evaporate in the third quarter, dissolving hopes for a turnaround early next year, an industry report said Monday. 

Venture capitalists invested $7.7 billion in start-ups in the three months ended Sept. 30, a 73 percent plunge from the same time last year when the industry reached its quarterly high-water mark of $28.5 billion, according to statistics compiled by industry research firm Venture Economics for the National Venture Capital Association. 

It marked the industry’s lowest investment amount since the first quarter of 1999, when start-ups received $7.2 billion. 

The about-face has been especially dramatic in Northern California, the Silicon Valley home of the nation’s most prominent venture capitalists. Northern California start-ups received $2.36 billion in the third quarter, down from about $10 billion a year ago. 

This year’s steep decline stems largely from the frenetic pace of venture capital investment in 1999 and 2000. During the previous two years, venture capitalists invested $161 billion as they chased after stock market jackpots. Despite the drastic slowdown, 2001 still will represent the venture capital industry’s third-largest investment year. 

But with the level of investment falling for the fourth consecutive quarter, venture capitalists are becoming increasingly somber as they gird for even more erosion in the months ahead. 

Most venture capitalists don’t expect the industry to bounce back for another 12 to 18 months, said John Taylor, research director for the National Venture Capital Association, the industry’s main trade group. 

“Anyone expecting a quick turnaround is sadly mistaken,” said Jim Breyer, managing partner with Accel Partners, a major venture capital firm in Palo Alto. 

In another sign of the industry’s retrenchment, venture capitalists raised $6.2 billion for future investments during the third quarter, a 78 percent decline from the $27.6 billion collected at the same time last year. It represented the lowest amount of venture capital raised since the third quarter of 1997, when $2.6 billion trickled in to the industry. 

Venture capitalists aren’t raising more money largely because they still have so much left over from last year, when institutional investors and other money managers turned over $106.8 billion to the industry. 

Venture capitalists still have an estimated $45 billion to $50 billion remaining from their past fundraising efforts, Taylor said. 

With the stock market turning a cold shoulder to tech companies, venture capitalists are spending most of their time and money nursing their existing investments. The triage is forcing venture capitalists to impose harsh expense reductions that frequently include layoffs, a process that is “emotionally difficult,” said Howard Cox, a general partner with Greylock Financial in Boston. 

“One of the new roles venture capitalists are taking on today is as outplacement (specialists) helping the former employees at their portfolio companies find new jobs,” Cox said. 

Venture capitalists also are expected to fall by the wayside if the technology industry’s carnage continues, as most analysts predict. 

“There will be a significant shakeout in the venture capital business, just as there already has been a significant shakeout in the companies that we have invested in,” Breyer predicted. 

Spooked by a slump that already has saddled the industry with its worst losses ever, venture capitalists are throttling back on their technology investments. Internet businesses accounted for 27 percent of the venture capital invested in the third quarter, down from 46 percent of investments last year, according to Venture Economics. 

Meanwhile, venture capitalists are becoming more intrigued with start-ups involved in biotechnology and medical products.  

These “life sciences” companies received 14 percent of venture capital in the third quarter, up from roughly 7 percent last year


Stanford is in top 10 of fundraisers in country

By Karen Gaudette The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — Stanford University attracted more money from private donors than any other U.S. school last year, according to a new survey by the Chronicle for Philanthropy to be released later this week. 

Stanford raised $580.5 million during the 2000 fiscal year, which university officials attributed to the then-robust stock market. The sum ranked Stanford eighth nationwide among hundreds of competing charitable organizations. 

Harvard University, the only other school in the top 10, raised $485.2 million. 

“Stanford had a phenomenal year,” said David Glen, associate vice president of the school’s Office of Development. “We are very pleased with the results.” 

The figures came from the Chronicle’s annual survey of the top 400 nonprofit fund-raisers. To make that list, a charity needed to raise nearly $31 million from individuals, corporations, foundations and other private sources. 

The Salvation Army ranked first for the ninth consecutive year, pulling in $1.44 billion. The rest of the top 10 were: 

— Fidelity Investment Charitable Gift Fund: $1.1 billion 

— YMCA of the USA: $812.1 million 

— American Cancer Society: $746.4 million 

— Lutheran Services in America: $710.3 million 

— American Red Cross: $637.7 million 

— Gifts In Kind International: $601.9 million 

— Stanford University: $580.5 million 

— Harvard University: $485.2 million 

— Nature Conservancy: $445.3 million 

Glen said Stanford, like any institution, has peaks and drops in donations from year to year, and said the $580 million reflected the school’s best year to date. He said the total was a combination of smaller gifts, not any one large gift in particular. Stanford was 19th in the previous year’s survey. 

Stanford’s 2000 fiscal year ran from Aug. 31, 1999, to Aug. 31, 2000. 

In May of this year, Stanford received $400 million from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the second-largest donation to an institution of higher learning. 

Over the weekend, Gordon and Betty Moore and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation gave the largest donation — $600 million over 10 years to the California Institute of Technology. Gordon Moore was a co-founder of Intel. 

Around the country, charities have raised more than $1 billion to aid victims and support recovery from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, undercutting charities not playing a direct role in the relief effort. 

Groups raising money for causes such as the environment or AIDS research are postponing fund drives and scaling back programs as a result. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.philanthropy.com 


Ted Fang fired as Examiner editor and publisher ... by his mother

The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Examiner editor and publisher Ted Fang has been ousted by his mother, who put her own name on the masthead of the Oct. 29 edition. 

Florence Fang issued a four-paragraph statement Oct. 26 saying she had taken over as the newspaper’s editor and publisher while Ted Fang “had been relieved of all his operating duties and responsibilities for the Fang family newspapers.” 

Those duties included publisher of the San Francisco Independent and its related newspapers, giveaway weeklies delivered to doorsteps in the city and some suburbs. She said her son will remain on the Examiner’s board of directors. 

“Ted will continue to have the opportunity to consult and advise us on strengthening our businesses, and at the same time be free to pursue other interests,” Florence Fang said in the statement. 

Florence Fang is chairwoman of the Examiner’s corporate parent and the family business, ExIn LLC. 

Ted’s brother James Fang remains publisher of AsianWeek, another family paper, and Examiner Editor in Chief David Burgin “is taking more of a role in the other newspapers,” said the Examiner’s executive editor, Zoran Basich. 

Florence Fang’s office said she would have no additional comment, and calls to Ted Fang were referred to the Examiner, who said he was unavailable. Calls to his attorney, Darrell Salomon, were not returned. 

The Fangs acquired the Examiner’s name and some other assets last year from the Hearst Corp. for a token amount. The deal also included a subsidy from Hearst of up to $67 million over three years. Hearst had to give up the paper it founded in 1887 to satisfy antitrust concerns raised by its purchase of the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Ted Fang vowed to preserve a “second daily newspaper voice for the city.” The Examiner, which has a staff of about 50, hasn’t had an official circulation audit. 

Recently, the Examiner’s general manager, advertising director, circulation director and chief financial officer have left. 

Also, seven construction companies that installed the paper’s newsroom in a Fang family-owned building say they haven’t been paid, and have filed more than $1.4 million in liens against ExIn LLC, the Chronicle reported. 

Basich, who edited the paper’s editorial page before he was promoted in September, said the contractor lawsuits are “completely unrelated” to the reorganization. 

+++++ Two advertisers pull out of New York Post in protest over cartoon 

NEW YORK (AP) — Two advertisers have pulled out of the New York Post, saying they were offended by an editorial cartoon depicting Mort Zuckerman, publisher of the rival New York Daily News, as sealing an envelope bound for the Post that contained anthrax. 

The cartoon appeared Oct. 20, a day after the Post revealed that Johanna Huden, an assistant at the paper’s editorial page section, had developed anthrax on her skin after handling a suspect letter. The Post said Oct. 24 that a mailroom worker had also developed symptoms, including a sore, that were consistent with skin anthrax. 

The first panel in the two-part cartoon showed Post editor Col Allan sitting behind a desk, with a chart behind him showing increased circulation, being asked by another man: “What sort of twisted sicko would send us anthrax???” The next frame shows Zuckerman licking an envelope addressed to the Post, with a jar labeled “Anthrax” on his desk. 

Charles Chalom, who owns five area car dealerships, said Oct. 24 he decided to pull his regular advertising from the Post, which amounts to about $250,000 a year. He said it was the first time in 30 years he has suspended advertising from the newspaper. 

“They took it too far this time. This is way out of line,” Chalom said. “You’re telling the public that he’s a terrorist. It’s a time to stand together and fight a common enemy.” 

Harold Bendell, who owns about a dozen car dealerships in the New York area, has also pulled his advertising from the Post, citing the same reason. He said he normally spent up to $1 million a year on advertising in the Post. 

Zuckerman, a real estate developer who also owns U.S. News & World Report, declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Post did not return a call seeking comment on the advertisers. 

+++++ WSJ editor who escaped collapse now in intensive care 

NEW YORK (AP) — A Wall Street Journal editor who was caught in dust and debris after the World Trade Center collapsed has been hospitalized for a week in intensive care with complications related to vasculitis. 

Rich Regis, 49, the deputy national editor, underwent surgery last week at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Westchester, said Journal spokesman Steve Goldstein. Regis has been treated for kidney failure, a perforated colon and sepsis, all apparently related to vasculitis, which is an inflammation of the blood vessels, Goldstein said. 

The hospital, in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., declined to give his condition but confirmed that he is a patient in the ICU. 

“We don’t know whether this could have been caused by anything he might have inhaled Sept. 11 or if this is a totally isolated case,” said Goldstein. “He was at the scene, but so were a number of other people who are doing just fine.” 

Regis originally sought treatment several weeks ago for swelling of the legs. He was diagnosed with vasculitis, which can be life-threatening if the blood vessels are located in vital organs. 

He arrived at the Phelps emergency room with additional symptoms last week. 

“He is doing better and we hope that he will continue to improve,” Goldstein said. 

Goldstein said anthrax has been ruled out. 

Journal employees were forced to flee their offices at the World Financial Center when the nearby twin towers collapsed, and many were caught in the choking ash and storm of debris as they escaped. 

+++++ Daily in Portland, Maine, ceases publication after 13 issues 

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Portland Morning Sun suspended publication Oct. 25 after 13 issues. 

Edward G. Pickett, the Morning Sun’s editor and publisher, said individuals who were expected to invest in the paper after it launched backed out because of the unstable economy. Without more funding, the paper could not make it through the initial startup period. 

The paper, which was published Monday through Friday and distributed for free, debuted on Oct. 8 with a circulation of about 5,000 in the Greater Portland area. It had local reporters and carried news stories from The New York Times and The Associated Press. 

The paper’s largest competitor was the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, which is owned by The Seattle Times Co. and has a daily circulation of about 75,000. 

Pickett, owner and publisher of the Portland Business Journal, said advertising revenue was increasing. He said the newspaper might return at a later date. 

+++++ Auburn students will no longer elect weekly’s editor 

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Students at Auburn University will no longer elect the editor of The Auburn Plainsman, one of the last major campus newspapers still choosing its editor by popular vote. 

The student senate and a communications board voted in recent weeks to quit electing an editor at the 22,000-student campus, turning the selection over to a committee instead. 

Ed Williams, a journalism professor and faculty adviser on the Board of Student Communications, said the board will meet next month to decide on the makeup of the committee, the standards for candidates and the process of selecting one as editor of the weekly. 

He said the decision to switch leaves the University of Texas as “the only major college newspaper that elects its editor.” 

The Auburn Plainsman has been critical of some members of the Auburn Board of Trustees in recent years. The Board of Student Communications, which includes student leaders and faculty members, voted three years ago to censure then-editor Lee Davidson for the paper’s coverage of trustee Bobby Lowder, a Montgomery banker accused of trying to micromanage the school, a claim he denied. 

Williams said the change, which the board approved Oct. 11 and the student senate made final Oct. 15 in a 23-5 vote, was not in response to the paper’s coverage of trustees. “That was never even mentioned,” he said. 

Williams said the issue was thoroughly researched and the main objective was to get the editor’s post out of the political arena so candidates “won’t have to walk around, wear T-shirts and ask for votes” in a campaign alongside student government hopefuls. 

The Auburn Plainsman has a circulation of 18,000 and a $400,000 annual budget that includes no financial support from the university. It has been well regarded over the years, winning a number of national Pacemaker awards from the Associated Collegiate Press, including one when Davidson was editor. 

+++++ 

MORE 


eBay executives unveil aggresive long-term expansion targets

By Brian Bergstein The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

SANTA CLARA — EBay Inc. executives affirmed their aggressive long-term growth targets Monday and detailed plans to expand the sales of cars and other high-ticket items on the trading Web site. 

At the company’s annual meeting with financial analysts, chief executive Meg Whitman said she is even more confident than she was last year that revenue can reach $3 billion by 2005. 

One reason is that the company’s 24 international sites are not yet as profitable as eBay expects they will be in coming years. 

“We are really proud of the foundation we have built,” Whitman said. “It was in 2001 that eBay really hit its stride.” 

The chief financial officer, Rajiv Dutta, said he expects revenue to grow about 50 percent next year, to between $1.05 billion and $1.10 billion, with earnings per share of 70 cents to 73 cents. 

The average estimate on Wall Street was for earnings of 73 cents per share next year, excluding charges, on $1.03 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Financial/First Call. 

“The long-term potential of this business ... is nothing short of outstanding,” Dutta said. 

EBay shares fell $4.48, nearly 8 percent, to $52.52 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares were down to $52.36 in the after-hours session. 

Executives said they will push to make eBay a more mainstream Internet shopping option, encouraging people to make the site their first choice for Web commerce rather than a place to turn mainly for hard-to-find items. 

They said they would concentrate on increasing auctions and fixed-price sales in key categories such as automobiles, computers and real estate. 

In hopes of becoming a “major player” in online auto sales, eBay will soon add a short-term warranty to cars bought on the site and make it easier for buyers to have roving mechanics certify cars, said Simon Rothman, head of eBay Motors. 

EBay already had said it would combine its separate Half.com site into eBay.com in the coming months to increase its listings of items at set prices. Executives said Monday that Half.com will be renamed eBay Express Buys. 

Analysts said they were impressed that the company was able to stick to its long-term targets while still taking a conservative approach to its finances. 

“It’s a cash machine,” said Jeetil Patel, Internet analyst for Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown. “Despite the economy, these guys are able to grow on a global basis.”


Openwave cuts 300 jobs

By Matthew Fordahl The Associated Press
Tuesday October 30, 2001

SAN JOSE — Openwave Systems Inc., a leading provider of software behind Internet-surfing cell phones, met Wall Street’s reduced expectations in its fiscal first quarter but will cut about 300 jobs. 

The Redwood City-based company said Monday the job cuts are part of a plan that will save at least $20 million per quarter. The company has about 2,300 employees. 

Openwave, formed in last year’s merger of Software.com and Phone.com, has been hard hit as wireless carriers reassess plans to introduce next-generation features, such as high-speed Internet access and messaging. 

“Openwave is realigning our operations to navigate the unprecedented uncertainty of the telecommunications market,” said Don Listwin, the company’s chief executive. 

For the three months ended Sept. 30, the company lost $170.5 million, or 99 cents per share, compared with a loss of $168 million, or $1.04 per share, in the same period a year ago. 

Excluding special items, the company lost $5.9 million, or 3 cents per share, which met the expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call. 

The company posted first-quarter revenues of $117.2 million, compared with $80.8 million in the same period last year. 

Officials also lowered their estimates for the second quarter. Per-share loss is expected to be between 6 cents and 19 cents. Sales are expected to be about $100 million, plus or minus 15 percent. 

Analysts were expecting the company to break even on a per-share basis in its fiscal second quarter. 

Shares of Openwave fell $1.02 to $8.99 in trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. After its loss was announced, it lost another $1.96, or 21 percent.


New challenges ahead for ‘wired’ Berkeley High

By Jeffrey Obser, Daily Planet staff
Monday October 29, 2001

The Berkeley Unified School District’s two classroom technology coordinators have their work cut out for them. 

Under state law, they must write a detailed report by Jan. 1 explaining how the schools will spend public money on computers, digital cameras and related teacher training over the next three years. 

The problem is, with a big federal grant due to dry up at the end of the school year, they have to plan for things there may not be any money for. At the same time, they must not ask for so little that they miss out on some unexpected windfall. 

“How to ask for money without asking for money?” said Janet Levenson, who oversees the tech programs for the elementary and middle schools. “At this point I don’t think we can ask for anything that requires funding, so what we’re looking to do is sort of write it as a ‘plan to plan.’” 

The technology coordinators are on a tight timeline. They must draft the report by Nov. 26 and submit it for approval at the Dec. 5 school board meeting to meet the state’s Jan. 1 deadline. 

Ironically, as times change and the Internet craze of the 1990s seems like ancient history, Levenson and Carolyn Gery, Berkeley High’s technology coordinator, are also finding their mission hampered by the district’s recent success in rapidly bringing computers to every classroom. 

“Over the last year and half we’ve gotten completely wired and we’ve seen huge numbers of computers coming onto the campus,” said Gery. 

Now, Gery said, there is a minimum of two computers per classroom, plus myriad printers, scanners, digital video cameras and an instructional technician at each site to troubleshoot and help integrate the new technology into the curriculum. 

Statewide, 90 percent of schools were connected to the


City Council ‘extremists’ have lost sight of what is America

John Koenigshofer
Monday October 29, 2001

Editor: 

 

Our City Council’s vote regarding current military action in Afghanistan is best understood as a further expression of self-righteous ideologues. Berkeley is dominated by a political machine rooted in the extremist politics of three decades ago. It is a politic that thrives on symbol versus content, and slogan versus thoughtfulness. Kriss Worthington, Dona Spring, Maudelle Shirek, Margaret Breland and Linda Maio are the predictable spokespersons for leftist and often anti-American views. They object to the “anti-American” characterization, asserting that, “dissent is an American value.” Indeed it is. However, their anti-Americanism is not revealed by mere dissent but rather by their fundamental and consistent framing of political events in a way that fixates on and exaggerates America’s errors and mistakes. They ignore our nation’s profound success, accomplishments and contributions to human kind.  

Even at a time when America has been brutally attacked by an enemy that intentionally targets innocent civilians, these symbolic grandstanders cannot resist the opportunity to make a statement contrary to the policy of our nation. They are more outraged by our efforts to defend ourselves than they are by the murder of nearly 6,000 innocent people in our capital and in the heart of one of our great cities. It is one thing for them to express their views as individuals but to arrogantly adopt an official city position is a profound affront to many of Berkeley’s citizens. Undoubtedly these elitists imagine themselves to be the moral conscience for the rest of us. In fact, they are simply ignorant or prejudiced, failing to grasp what the simplest and most ordinary person has understood: our enemy is unyielding, uncompromising and utterly intolerant of any view or culture other than their own. It is an enemy bent on killing anyone with whom it disagrees. 

This is not the time for further cultivation of the same old self-doubt and self-criticism of which the far left is so adept. For elected leaders to engage in such actions at so grave a period in our history is, at best, seriously irresponsible. If our City Council felt compelled to make some statement, it should simply have expressed support for our soldiers who are now in harms’ way, defending not only our rights but our lives. 

The extreme left fails to note that the United States provides more free food and medicine to the world than any other nation. They fail to note that it is the United States and its Western allies who have developed the technologies that allow for global communications, travel, the mass production of vaccines and medicines and the mapping of the genome. These extremists act as if all nations have a free educational system, walk-in emergency rooms, or curb cuts for people in wheel chairs. They forget that we were the first nation to create laws to protect endangered species and are one of only a handful of nations that even thinks about animal rights. We are a humane and self-critical nation that constantly struggles to be more tolerant and fair. Because of our stature, power and ideals we are called upon to participate in the world in a broader and more exposed fashion than any other country in human history. By our necessary broad participation we run the risk of more mistakes. But our City Council and the left in general fail to recognize this context, our risks, and ultimately our generosity. Instead, they behave as apologists for terrorists and the self-righteous critics of America.  

As a 20-year resident of Berkeley, a veteran of the anti-war movement, and a Democrat, I fully support our war efforts and am sickened by the pathetic action of our City Council. Perhaps it is time for a recall. 

 

John Koenigshofer 

Berkeley


Art & Entertainment Calendar

Staff
Monday October 29, 2001

 

924 Gilman St. Nov. 2: Mood Frye, Manic Notion, Cremasters of Disaster, Bottles and Skulls, Lorax, Sociopath; Nov. 3: Cruevo, Nigel Peppercock, Impaled, Systematic Infection, Depressor; Nov. 9: Hoods, Punishment, Lords of Light Speed, Necktie Party; Nov. 10: Sunday’s Best, Mock Orange, Elizabeth Elmore, Fighting Jacks, Benton Falls; Nov. 16: Pitch Black, The Blottos, Miracle Chosuke, 240; Nov. 17: Carry On, All Bets Off, Limp Wrist, Labrats, Thought Riot; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

 

The Albatross Pub Nov. 3: Dave Creamer Jazz Quartet; Both shows 9 p.m. 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 albatrosspub@mindspring.com  

 

Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Oct. 30: 7:30 p.m., Bluegrass Benefit Concert for the NY Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund. Peter Rowan, Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, Mike Marshall, Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin, Bluegrass Intentions, Kathy Kallick Band, Detour; $20. 1317 San Pablo Ave., 525-5099 www.ashkenaz.com 

 

Blake’s Oct. 29: The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Oct. 31: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2; All shows 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave. 848-0886 

 

Cal Performances Nov 8: 8 p.m. Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance, $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; Oct. 19: Little Jonny and the Giants; Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

 

Freight & Salvage Nov. 1: Si Kahn $17.50 - $18.50; Nov. 2: Don Edwards $16.50 - $17.50; Nov. 3: Barbara Higbie $17.50 - $18.50; All Shows 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761  

www.freightandsalvage.org 

 

Jazzschool/La Note Nov. 4: 4:30 p.m. SoVoSo, $15; Nov. 11: 4:30 p.m. Dave Le Febvre Quintet, $12. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 

 

Jupiter Nov. 1: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 2: Lithium House; Nov. 3: Solomon Grundy; Nov. 7: Go Van Gogh; Nov. 8: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 9: Xroads; Nov. 10: Post Junk Trio; Nov. 14: Wayside; Nov. 15: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 16: 5 Point Plan; Nov. 17: Corner Pocket; Nov. 21: Starchild; All shows 8 p.m. and free. 2821 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625/ www.jupiter.com 

 

La Lesbian @ La Peña: A Lesbian Performance and Film Series Nov. 1: 8 p.m., Singer/songwriters Faith Nolan and Megan McElroy, $14; Nov. 4: 5 - 9 p.m., Salsa, merengue, cumbia from DJs Rosa Oviedo and Chata Gutierrez, $7; Nov. 7: 8 p.m., I Love Lezzie, 20 member comedy troupe, $14; 320 45th St., Oakland 654-6346 www.lapena.org 

 

MusicSources Nov. 18 Harpsichordist Gilbert Martinez. Both shows 5 p.m. $15-18. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

 

The Stork Club Oct. 30: 9 p.m., Simple Things, Tombshakers, Ultrafiend, $5; Oct. 31: Oppressed Logic, Eddie Haskells, TBA, $5; 2330 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland. 444-6174  

 

Yoshi’s Restaurant and Jazz Spot Oct. 29: 8 & 10 p.m., The Mike Vax Jazz Orchestra, $10. 238-9200 www.yoshis.com 

 

Cal Performances Nov. 2: 7 p.m., Sightlines, Pre-performance discussion with guest artists. 8 p.m., “Music Before 1850,” with Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr. $32. First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“me/you...us/them” Nov. 8 though Nov. 10: Thur - Sat 8 p.m., matinee on Sat. 2:30 p.m. Three one-acts that look at interpersonal, as well as societal relationships from the perspective of the disabled. $10 - $25. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

 

“Nocturne” Through Nov. 11: Tues./Thurs./Sat. 8 p.m., Weds. & Sun. 7 p.m., matinee on Thurs./Sat./Sun. 2 p.m. Mark Brokaw directs Anthony Rapp in One-Man Show. Written by Adam Rapp. $38 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

 

“Tomas Carrasco of Chicano Secret Service” Nov. 15: 4 p.m. Performance by member of L.A.-based sketch comedy troupe that uses humor to tackle hot-button racial and political issues. Free. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

 

“Lost Cause” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Three space travelers stranded on a forgotten colony, find themselves in the middle of a bloody civil war, and have to decide between what’s right, what’s possible, and what will save their lives. Written by Jefferson Area, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7-12. La Val’s Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid Ave. 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

 

“Travesties” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., and Thurs., Nov. 15, 8 p.m. A witty fantasy about James Joyce meeting Lenin in Zurich during World War I. Written by Tom Stoppard, Directed by Mikel Clifford. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck. 528-5620 

 

Cal Performances “The Car Man” Oct. 30, 31: 8 p.m.; Nov. 1: 2 p.m., 8 p.m.; Nov. 2: 8 p.m.; Nov. 3: 2 p.m., 8 p.m.; Choreographer and director Matthew Bourne and his company re-invent Bizet’s “Carmen,” spinning the tale of a mysterious drifter in a small mid-western town, who changes the lives of its inhabitants forever. $32 - $64; Nov. 7: 8 p.m., “Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance,” more than 30 singers, dancers, and musicians present a musical synthesis of the authentic Roma styles. $18 - $30; Nov. 8: 11 a.m., SchoolTime Performance, “Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance,” $3 per student or chaperone, in advance only; Nov. 8: 8 p.m., “Orquesta Aragón,” $18 - $30. Nov. 11: 3 p.m., Recital - Angelika Kirschschlager, Bo Skovhus, and Donald Runnicles. “Wolf/ Die Italienisches Liederbuch,” $45; Nov. 16 - 17: 8 p.m., “La Guerra d’Amore,” director and choreographer, René Jacobs, conductor, Ensemble Concerto Vocale. Modern dance and early music from German choreographer Joachim Schlömer, $34 - $52; 

UC Berkeley, Zellerbach Hall. 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

“Macbeth” Nov. 9 through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. Presented by the Albany High School Theater Ensemble. $7 adults, $5 students and seniors. Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd. 559-6550 x4125 theaterensemble@hotmail.com 

 

“Saint Joan” Through Dec. 2: Wed. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., 7 p.m. George Bernard Shaw’s epic of a young girl determined to drive the English out of France with only her faith to support her. Directed by Barbara Oliver. $26-35. Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St. 843-4822 www.auroratheatre.org 

 

“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


Beavers send Cal packing with seventh straight loss

The Associated Press
Monday October 29, 2001

CORVALLIS, Ore. – As long as defenses keep zeroing in on Ken Simonton, Oregon State will keep throwing the ball to James Newson. 

And that might be just what the Beavers need to achieve their goal of qualifying for a bowl game, which can only be accomplished by winning three of their last four games. 

Newson had his second straight outstanding game, catching eight passes for a career-high of 166 yards as Oregon State prolonged California’s misery with a 19-10 victory Saturday. 

“We’re going to ride on his back for a while,” said quarterback Jonathan Smith, who completed 14 of 23 passes for 234 yards and a 14-yard first-quarter touchdown to Newson. “With the way they’re playing the run, we’re going to keep throwing it.” 

Simonton added 110 yards rushing for the Beavers (3-4, 2-3 Pac-10), but he fumbled at the end of a 55-yard gain in the third quarter, and otherwise Cal (0-7, 0-5) kept him under control. 

Terrell Williams, playing in place of injured tailback Joe Igber, gained 104 yards for the Golden Bears, who have lost 10 straight games dating to last season, when the Beavers started the skid in Berkeley. Cal has four games left to avoid its first winless season since 1897. 

“We’re just trying to finish this season,” freshman quarterback Reggie Robertson said. “I didn’t have a doubt in the world that we were going to win this game. I still believe that we should have, but we didn’t.” 

To make matters worse, Igber has a broken clavicle in his right shoulder and might be out the rest of the season; he was hurt before a 28-yard gain in the second quarter, the key play on an 80-yard drive that produced Cal’s only touchdown. 

With Kyle Boller sidelined for a second straight game with an injured back, Robertson got the start ahead of senior Eric Holtfreter. Robertson scored on an 8-yard scramble to pull the Bears to 10-7 in the second quarter, but he was just 12-of-32 passes for 120 yards and an interception. 

Cal also turned the ball over three more times, bringing its season total to 23. The Bears forced two turnovers, but still have the nation’s worst ratio at minus-18. 

Newson had eight catches for 112 yards in last week’s loss at Arizona State, and despite a steady rain, he came up with several big grabs Saturday. After his touchdown, he caught a pass over the middle from Smith for a 58-yard gain that set up a field goal, and he later had receptions of 16, 35, 16 and 31 yards. 

“I look forward to that kind of weather,” Newson said. “I think it’s kind of fun.” 

Oregon State gained 174 of its 364 total yards in the first quarter, and the Beavers’ defense – particularly the linebackers – did the job in the second half. 

Nick Barnett had 18 tackles, and Richard Seigler pressured Robertson into an intentional grounding from his own end zone for a 2-point safety and the game’s final score with 9:54 left. 

“My hat’s off to the D,” Simonton said. “They’re keeping us in games, period.” 

Simonton gained 100 yards for the 24th time in his career, but he had been averaging just 72.3 yards per game before Saturday. He was so happy to find some room to roam on his long run, he didn’t even worry too much about coughing up the ball. 

“It was a good high for me, even when I fumbled,” he said. “It felt good to get out and stretch my legs a little.” 

Cal entered the game with the conference’s worst defense, and the group seldom had anything go its way. So inept were the Bears that they managed to turn a fine defensive play into an Oregon State touchdown. 

With his team clinging to a 10-7 lead late in the second quarter, Smith threw into a crowd, and free safety Nnamdi Asomugha intercepted. But as he grappled with the intended receiver, Josh Hawkins, the Beavers’ Shawn Kintner came around Asomugha’s right side and stripped the ball from his arms. 

Kintner ran 10 yards for the touchdown and a 17-7 halftime lead. 

“It was our whole season wrapped into one 5-second play,” said Cal defensive coordinator Lyle Setencich.


Calendar of Events & Activities

Compiled by Guy Poole
Monday October 29, 2001


Monday, Oct. 29

 

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 

 

Lecture - Discovery of  

Quilting 

7:30 p.m. 

First Unitarian Church 

1 Lawson Road, Kensington 

This is Dianne Hire’s own story, her personal expression of the intimate desires to create, to imagine and to express through the medium of quilting. $3 834-3706 www.hirealternatives.com 

 

Affordable Housing Advocacy  

Project 

3 - 5 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Learn about the latest changes in affordable housing at the state and federal level. 800-773-2110 

 

Race, Immigration and  

American Politics Speaker  

Series 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

David Sears, UCLA, “Race, Religion, and Sectional Conflict in Contemporary Partisanship.” 642-4608 


Tuesday, Oct. 30

 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

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

 

Berkeley Organization for  

Animal Advocacy presents: 

7 p.m. 

UC Berkeley 

2305 Tolman 

Dr. J. B. Neilands, Cal Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, will discuss his involvement in the animal rights movement and provide insight on the alternatives to animal experimentation on campus. 

925-462-7927/ www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~boaa 

Low-cost Hatha Yoga Classes 

6:30 -8 p.m. 

James Kenney Rec. Center 

1720 Eighth St.  

The City is offering low- cost Hatha Yoga classes for adults. Taught by certified instructor. Drop-ins are welcome. Bring a mat or towel. $6. 981-6650 548-3333 

 

California Politics Seminar 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

Chuck Rund, President of Charlton Research. 

642-4608 

 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share your slides and prints with other photographers. Critiques by qualified judges. Monthly field trips. 

531-8664 

 

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 

 

Aids in South Africa 

7 p.m. 

150 University Hall 

UC Berkeley 

Zackie Achmat, a South African AIDS activist, will discuss the struggle of people living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa to obtain life-saving drugs. $ 5-10 Suggested donation. 415-621-6196  

 


Wednesday, Oct. 31

 

Yoga for People with HIV/AIDS 

10:45 - 11:45 a.m. 

Center for AIDS Services 

5720 Shattuck Ave.  

Free Kundalini Yoga class for people with HIV/AIDS. Mats provided, you may bring a towel. Eating within an hour of class is not advised. Wear loose, comfortable clothing. Beginners and drop-ins welcome. 841-4339 

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 

 

Toddler Storytime 

7 p.m. 

West Berkeley Library 

1125 University Ave 

For families with children three years or younger, a program to expose the youngest readers to multicultural stories, songs and finger plays. 

Every Wednesday through Nov 28. 

 


Thursday, Nov. 1

 

Latin Dance Class 

7:30 p.m. 

Berkeley/Richmond Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut St. 

Salsa, Cha-cha, Merengue... $10, No partner necessary. All ages and levels welcome. 508-4616 

 

Justice for Tenants Rally and  

Picket 

4 – 5:30 p.m. 

1942 University Ave. 

Lacking affordable housing, renters are being pushed over the edge... Join the tenant fight back. Free food and music, 367-1225. 

 

Harris Seminar 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

Susan Hammer, former mayor of San Jose. 

642-4608 

 

 

Kayak Adventures on the  

Seven Seas 

7 p.m. 

REI 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Olaf Malver will share slides and stories of his sea kayaking adventures around the world: Turkey, Indonesia, Antarctica and more. Free. 527-4140 

 

Holiday Art Fest 2001 

6 - 8 p.m. 

Pro Arts Gallery 

461 Ninth Street, Oakland 

There will be live music and refreshments to celebrate the start of annual exhibit and sale of unique gifts and specialty items designed by Bay Area artists. 


Mayor wants UC to pay for looting

By John Geluardi Daily Planet staff
Monday October 29, 2001

Tired of picking up the tab for UC Berkeley social events that go awry, the City Council will consider making the administration financially responsible for school-sponsored events that result in property damage or looting. 

At its Tuesday meeting, the council will likely ask City Manager Weldon Rucker to study the possibility of implementing a city policy that would require the university to reimburse any costs associated with school events that result in police action or clean up.  

The recommendation, put on the agenda by Mayor Shirley Dean, is the result of a widely publicized dance on campus at the Pauley Ballroom in August. The student-sponsored dance ended in looting spree of nearby businesses south of campus. About 200 of the 1,300 that attended the dance participated in the looting and according to organizers, none were UC students. In addition, several people who attended the dance broke into a residence and terrified four young women who lived there. 

The incident was the second time within a year that looting followed a campus dance. In October a large group of people who were unable to get into a Pauley Ballroom dance looted stores on Telegraph Avenue. 

“I am deeply disheartened that yet another incident of lawlessness occurred following a dance at Pauley Ballroom,” Dean wrote in a letter to UC Chancellor Robert Berdahl. “It was only a year ago that university officials assured the city, merchants and residents in the Telegraph area that the rules governing social events on campus would be changed to prevent further disturbances.” 

According to police, 23 officers responded to the area in an attempt to contain the crowd of


Respond to violence with the love of God

Travis E. Poling
Monday October 29, 2001

The Daily Planet received this letter addressed to the Berkeley City Council: 

 

As our nation begins a new era of warfare that clearly shadows the destructive patterns of past administrations, the willingness to publicly renounce the American crusade against our enemies is a rare occurrence. After coming across a news article online I realized that I was not alone in my disapproval of the un-Christlike response to the events of Sept. 11. 

I am a member of the Church of the Brethren [http://www.brethren.org], a denomination which believes Jesus Christ’s central message is to respond to violence with nothing but the love of God. We try to “ask God to bless anyone who curses us, and pray for anyone who is cruel” (Luke 6.28 Contemporary English Version).  

The church has taught since its establishment in 1708 that “all war is sin.”  

Therefore, I support your decision to “condemn ‘the mass murder of thousands of people’ Sept. 11 and asking Congress to ‘break the cycle of violence’ and ‘bring the bombing (in Afghanistan) to a conclusion as soon as possible.” 

Although I can not come to Berkeley to pull the city out of the slump that may arise from the boycott, please know that I sincerely appreciate your statement. I do not support the individuals who attacked our nation, or anyone who has in the past, for the same reason that I do not support the American government’s agenda of revenge. God’s love was made clear by the life of Christ who healed, consoled and died for his enemies so that all may know what peace on earth is truly meant to be. 

I thank you for “calling on the U.S. to work with international organizations to bring the perpetrators of Sept. 11 to justice; and work with other nations' governments to address poverty, malnutrition, disease, oppression, subjugation and other conditions,” and “to lessen dependence on Middle East oil and commit to conversion to renewable energy sources such as solar and fuel cells within five years.” These issues are fundamental to reconciling the brokenness and outrage “that tend to drive some people to acts of terrorism” and drive others to acts of retribution.  

The Church of the Brethren continuously strives for constructive alternatives to violence in all its forms, and joins all who do the same in “seeking peace” in this present situation. May God’s blessings be with you all as you walk the path of the One who was also harassed, even killed, because of his belief that the only thing that will ever save our world is nonviolence. 

 

Travis E. Poling 

Hagerstown, MD


Surging Bears take down Oregon St.

By Jared Green, Daily Planet Staff
Monday October 29, 2001

The Cal men’s soccer team continued their hot streak on Sunday, scoring three goals in the second half to beat Oregon State, 4-0, at Edwards Stadium. Senior midfielder Chris Roner scored the first and last goals of the game. 

The win was the second straight for the Bears, who beat No. 4 Washington, 1-0, on Friday. Cal is now 8-5-1 overall and 2-2 in Pac-10 play, which puts them in a good position to lay claim to a spot in the NCAA postseason tournament, which has been expanded from 32 teams to 48 this season. 

“I feel like if we continue to play like this, we should be able to win some more games and find ourselves in the tournament,” Cal head coach Kevin Grimes said. 

Roner said the postseason is on all of the players’ minds as well. 

“Everybody really wants to make it,” he said. “This weekend should put us really close to getting there.” 

Roner scored the only goal of the first half off of a Mike Munoz corner kick. Midfielder Pat Fisher flicked the ball across the goal with his head right to the feet of Roner, who finished the easy opportunity. The Bears outshot the Beavers 10-0 in the first half as OSU resorted to hitting long balls out of the back to counter Cal’s attacks. 

Fisher got another assist on the second goal, which came in the 66th minute. Dribbling down the middle of the field, Fisher put a nice through ball for freshman Carl Acosta, who took two touches and slid the ball past Oregon State goalkeeper Peter Billmeyer for his first goal of his college career. 

The third goal was a stroke of luck for the Bears. Munoz, another freshman, put forward Austin Ripmaster through one-on-one with Billmeyer, but Ripmaster’s shot past the diving keeper was wide. Ripmaster lept over the prone Billmeyer and fell, and the referee called for a dubious penalty kick to the loud protests of the Beaver bench. Senior defender Leo Krupnik made the kick for a 3-0 lead. 

When asked whether Billmeyer had taken him down, Ripmaster responded with a smile. 

“Of course he did,” he said with a wink. 

Roner scored the final goal of the game in injury time, emerging from a tangle of players in the right corner with the ball. He dribbled along the baseline before sliding to hit a left-footed shot to the near post, somehow getting the ball past Billmeyer. 

Roner is one of just three seniors on a team that has eight freshmen seeing significant playing time. He said he doesn’t mind having such a young team in his final Cal season. 

“I think we have a good balance between us older guys and the young guys,” he said. “The definitely hold their own out there, and I just try to keep up.”


Stone soup for small schools

By Hank Sims Daily Planet staff
Monday October 29, 2001

A coalition of parents, students and Berkeley High teachers launched the next phase of the movement to dramatically reorganize Berkeley High School on Saturday. 

The coalition, led in part by Parents of Children of African Descent, a community group that pioneered the short-lived REBOUND! program, met with elected officials and interested community members at Berkeley Alternative High School for a “stone soup” luncheon and a presentation on the coalition’s new goals. 

The goal of the coalition is to transform Berkeley High into eight to 12 small schools, which would continue to meet on the Berkeley High campus but would be organized and administered autonomously, each with its own curricular emphasis and teaching strategy. 

A few “small learning communities,” including the Communication Arts and Sciences program, the Computer Academy and the Biotechnology program,


Barbara Lee for President! (of the Taliban)

Staff
Monday October 29, 2001

 

You reported that at a rally in Oakland, people held signs that read, “Barbara Lee for President.” 

I assume that they meant President of the Taliban. 

 

Mark Johnson 

Berkeley


Sans Schott, Cal women fall to No. 6 Cardinal

Daily Planet Wire Services
Monday October 29, 2001

STANFORD - No. 22 Cal fought a strong battle against No. 6 Stanford but lost 2-1 Sunday afternoon at Maloney Field. The Golden Bears fell to 10-5-1 (2-3 Pac-10) after losing their third-straight game, while the Cardinal improved to 12-1-1 (5-0).  

Cal played the entire game without All-American striker Laura Schott, who is still suffering the affects of a concussion she sustained Oct. 19 against Washington. The Bears also lost starting left back Kim Stocklmeir in the first half with a right ankle injury.  

Without two key players for all or most of the game, the Bears kept the game scoreless until the 68th minute when the Cardinal capitalized on a Cal defensive miscue. The Cardinal dented the scoreboard at 67:09 when Callie Withers headed in a Marcie Ward corner kick. Stanford was awarded the corner kick shortly after Cal goalkeeper Mallory Moser threw an errant pass directly to a Stanford player.  

Less than three minutes later, another Cal defensive breakdown led to Stanford’s second goal. Bear defender Kathleen Cain headed a ball to forward Marcia Wallis, who beat Moser on a one-on-one opportunity.  

The Bears didn’t quit, as they put four players up top for the final 10 minutes of the game. At the 87:43 mark, forward Krysti Whalen took a pass from midfielder Brittany Kirk and fired it past Cardinal goalkeeper Carrie Walsh to avert the shutout. The goal was Whalen’s second of the season.  

Stanford outshot Cal, 15-5. Yokers led the Bears with three shots. Moser matched her career high with six saves.  

Cal will be faced with additional personnel problems in its next game against Arizona on Friday. Central midfielder Kim Yokers was assessed her fifth yellow card of the season today and must miss the game against the Wildcats.


Dance begins South Asian Awareness Week

By Nilanga S. Jayasinghe Special to the Daily Planet
Monday October 29, 2001

The folk sounds of the Indian state of Gujarat resonated in the room as dancers and audience members came together to celebrate the vibrant dance of Raas Garba. Saturday night’s dance held in Pauley Ballroom led South Asian Awareness week to a rhythm-filled start. 

In keeping with relaxed South Asian time, the event began 45 minutes following the scheduled starting time. The feel of South Asia was palpable in the room as the traditionally-attired students walked in and mingled with the handful of older audience members.  

A kaleidoscope of color infused the dance floor as women in bright traditional clothing moved to the sounds. Participants moved in a circle, stepping in one direction while their hands coordinated the three claps of Raas Garba’s basic movement. 

The relatively long songs began slowly and increased in pace as they came to an end, with dancers accelerating the pacing of their movements. Each dance also gathered participants as the song progressed, making the circle of dancers wider and layered as movements increased. 

Tired dancers regained expended energy when the singers on stage took their breaks between songs.  

An audience member, a South Asian American not from the campus community, said that this was her first experience participating in UC Berkeley’s South Asian Awareness week. 

“I brought my daughter along because I wanted her to see the traditional dances,” she said. 

She also explained that Raas Garba, associated with the festival of Navratri — which means nine days — is a joyous amalgamation of culture and religion. 

Raas Garba is a traditional dance of Gujarat, which has its roots in folk tradition. It is said that the people of Gujarat work hard during the year to take nine days rest.  

These nine days, called Navratri, are looked forward to by those of every generation, because that is when they can put aside their work and begin dancing. 

The variations in the dancing come either through clapping while stepping to the beat or the use of the dandiya, or sticks. 

The music and singing to which the dancers move are mostly in praise of Hindu deities. Significant is the depiction of the Hindu deity Krishna and the gopis, or shepherdesses, with whom he was associated.  

Traditionally, the participants in the assorted variations of Raas Garba differ in sex according to the dance. While women mostly perform the dances in praise of the Goddess Amba, the Raas, which praises Krishna, normally includes only men.  

Saturday’s variations of the dance involved the participation of both men and women.  

Age, race, and cultural barriers were broken as a variety of audience members joined each other in celebrating the pure joy and energy of the music. 

Cultural ties were reinforced for those of Indian origin, while others, both observing and participating, were taken into a new world of South Asian culture.  

Although Gujerati in origin, student and audience participation in the dance proved that it went beyond India to a general appreciation of South Asian culture.


Brunner out of Assembly race

Daily Planet staff
Monday October 29, 2001

Stating that now is not the time, Oakland Vice Mayor Jane Brunner dropped her bid for Dion Aroner’s 14th District Assembly seat this weekend.  

Brunner’s campaign suffered a blow when the state Assembly redrew its district lines in September. The realignment excluded her Rockridge house of 25 years from the 14th District by less than two blocks.  

“The simple fact that my home and most of my council district were gerrymandered out of the 14th Assembly district contributed to my conclusion that this is not my time,” Brunner said in a prepared statement. “However, my highest priorities at this time are the revitalization of downtown Oakland, building affordable housing, promoting the restoration of our parks and creeks, continuing the improvement of Oakland schools and improving fire safety. These are issues best solved at the local level.” 

The race for the Democratic nomination is now wide open. Former Berkeley mayor Loni Hancock and Oakland attorney and Richmond resident Charles Ramsey are both running. Berkeley City Councilmember Kriss Worthington bowed out of the race to support Hancock. 

Aroner is also supporting Hancock. Former Alameda County supervisor Warren Widener, along with former Berkeley councilmember Mary Wainwright is supporting Ramsey.  


Parents upset after school asks them to buy laptops

The Associated Press
Monday October 29, 2001

PALO ALTO – Parents of students at Jordan Middle School are upset after school officials asked them to buy their sixth-graders $2,000 laptops. 

Two weeks ago, more than 300 parents got a letter from the school principal and the district’s technology director asking them to buy the Apple iBook laptops with wireless Internet access as part of the school’s new technology program. 

Both the letter and school staff said the purchase is optional, but enrollment in the program, which also will rely heavily on a bank of school-purchased laptops to be kept at school, is not. 

“An optional program is never really optional,” said Steve Weinstein, a parent who started an e-mail campaign to halt the laptop program. “There are a lot of people who don’t have $2,000 to spend, but they are going to be forced into it because it’s the Palo Alto way: ’My kid might be disadvantaged if he’s four steps behind, so I’ve got to do what is necessary.’ ” 

Informational meetings were held last week in the school’s library and at the Apple retail store on University Avenue. 

“They need to open their eyes that not everyone in Palo Alto is loaded,” said Kathryn Varda, the mother of sixth-grade twins enrolled at Jordan. “There’s no way I could afford to shell out four grand right now. But do you really want your child to be the one who is hanging back and watching everyone else use a computer?” 

School officials say 35 percent of the parents have said they will not be buying an iBook, but 25 percent say they will buy one. The rest are unsure. 

Supporters of the program are quick to highlight the experiences of 51 Jordan sixth-graders who participated in a pilot laptop program last spring. 

Students borrowed laptops for 90 days. They typed their notes in class, stored them in virtual lockers and then accessed the notes at home for their homework. With the wireless connection, they could conduct research from class, at the library or at a park.


Low scores hurt Edison Charter Academy

The Associated Press
Monday October 29, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO – Another round of low test scores has drawn more scorn for the Edison Charter Academy, the San Francisco public school managed by a for-profit company. 

Edison’s campus saw its state performance rating fall to 487 on a scale of 200 to 1,000, the lowest score of any school in town. 

Edison’s lagging test scores irk many in the community who have long railed against corporate managed public education. 

“It was at the bottom before privatization and it’s at the bottom still,” said Caroline Grannan, a San Francisco parent. 

Some parents with children at Edison’s San Francisco campus are satisfied with the school’s management, despite the lackluster test results. 

“There are people in San Francisco to this day who continue to wage a campaign to discredit us and harass us,” said Heather Mobley, whose two children are enrolled at Edison Charter Academy. 

“We’re trying to focus on our children and their success and ignore the naysayers as much as we can.”


California crime rates plummet further than much of nation

By Michelle DeArmond, Associated Press Writer
Monday October 29, 2001

FBI figures show big cities rates of violent and property crime drop 

 

Crime rates in California cities have plummeted more than in other parts of the country, according to the FBI’s latest per capita figures, knocking many of the state’s metropolitan areas down dramatically in the agency’s national crime rankings. 

The state’s best-known cities, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, all saw significant drops in their combined violent and property crime index, as did inland areas. While crime overall nationwide has fallen, the decreases in California were greater than those in much of the country. 

The combined violent and property crime index in four booming inland California cities was so high just a few years ago that they earned the dubious distinction of being among the nation’s 50 most crime-ridden metropolitan areas. All but one of those cities, Fresno, has dropped out of the top 50, according to the recently released figures in the FBI’s 2000 Uniform Crime Report. 

The news doesn’t surprise citizens like Danielle Prater, a Stockton mother of two who used to see drug dealers and prostitutes regularly roaming the streets in her city. Now, children in her neighborhood leave their bikes unattended outside without a second thought, and she is comforted by the frequent sight of police officers. 

“The whole town has gotten a whole lot better,” the prep cook said during a shift at Chuck’s Hamburgers, a cozy family-run restaurant that has packed in breakfast and lunch crowds for 41 years. 

“Five years ago, I was worried,” said Prater, 35. “Now, I don’t even lock my doors or roll my windows up.” 

The Stockton-Lodi area, along with the metropolitan areas of Fresno, Modesto and Sacramento, had the highest crime indexes among California cities in 1995. All of them have dropped significantly since then, with Fresno dropping from No. 10 to No. 44. 

Fresno was among the nation’s top five cities for motor vehicle theft in 2000, alongside Miami, Phoenix-Mesa, New Orleans and Detroit. It was the only California city to rank in the top five of any of the major crime categories. 

The Los Angeles-Long Beach area dropped out of the top 100 and was ranked just two notches above San Francisco in the year 2000 at No. 148. San Diego’s crime index declined markedly, too, sending it down to the nation’s 193rd slot. 

Stockton, a San Joaquin Valley city traditionally known for its vast farms, is one of several cities attracting hordes of new residents as housing markets in the crowded San Francisco and San Jose metro areas become too pricey for many workers. 

Nathan Barankin, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer, suggested one reason for the dramatic drops in the growing Central Valley areas is that many of the new residents are “generally law-abiding,” although he cautioned that it’s impossible to know definitively why the rates have changed. 

“Anyone who tells you that they know why crime rates go up and down is lying,” he said. 

Malcolm Klein, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Southern California, agreed. 

“We don’t know to what extent it’s police activity, to what extent it’s the booming economy ... to what extent it’s the act of God,” he said of the declines. 

Several police officers across the state speculated that beefed up community policing programs, increases in the size of police forces and low unemployment rates contributed to the declines, along with things including parole intervention programs and outreach to schoolchildren. 

“We can’t take all the credit for it,” said Stockton Officer Doug Anderson. “It’s also the prosecutors, the schools and many other factors.” 

Anderson noted that the actual number of crimes — not just the per-capita rate — in his city has declined dramatically in the past five years, contradicting any suggestion that its criminal element has been diluted by the influx of new residents. 

Sacramento Police Sgt. Daniel Hahn credited the community with helping keep crime rates down by communicating with police to assist in apprehension of suspects. 

“No police department is going to do it by themselves,” he said.


Critics claim security lax at state’s nuclear power plants

The Associated Press
Monday October 29, 2001

SAN ONOFRE – Security has been boosted at the San Onofre nuclear power plant, but critics claim that government officials have not added extra protections put in place at other nuclear facilities after the terrorist attacks. 

Southern California Edison has added more private, armed security guards at the Southern California plant and the California Highway Patrol and Coast Guard have increased patrols. 

Though the plant is at its highest stage of alert, government officials have not taken added measures being taken at nuclear plants in the northeastern United States and in Central California. 

The governors of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts called out the National guard to protect nuclear power plants in their states. Gov. Gray Davis has not made a similar move at San Onofre or at the Diablo Canyon plant that is located on the state’s Central Coast. 

The Coast Guard is keeping boats from coming within a mile of Diablo Canyon, but vessels are not being restricted at San Onofre. Vessels can come right to shore at San Onofre and beachgoers can still walk on the strip of sand between the facility and San Onofre State Beach. 

Edison officials claim their increased security is adequate. 

Industry officials say a concrete- and steel-reinforced “hardened target” such as a nuclear power plant likely would not become at target for terrorists 

“The plant was never designed for the impact from a commercial airplane,” said Ray Golden, Edison’s spokesman for San Onofre, which is owned and operated by the private utility. “That does not mean we wouldn’t withstand it.” 

Officials said the plant was designed to withstand truck bombs set off on the nearby San Diego freeway or the attempt by a small group of terrorists to enter the plant. 

Steven Dolley, research director of the Washington D.C.-based Nuclear Control Institute, wants the government to install anti-aircraft weapons at nuclear power plants, including San Onofre. 

“No one can predict these attacks,” Dolley said. “That’s become apparent. If they can’t predict them, we need to seriously consider the deployment of anti-aircraft forces.” 

Dolley’s nonprofit group also has called on Gov. Davis to deploy the National Guard at the state’s two nuclear power plants. 

Deploying the National Guard would be a huge waste of money, since thousands of Marines are already posted at nearby Camp Pendleton, said Rep. Darrell E. Issa, R-Vista, whose district includes San Onofre. 

Though the Marines are not involved in plant security, they would be available if called, said Lt. Mamie Ward of Camp Pendleton.


Search engines advance into multimedia scans

By Brian Bergstein AP Business Writer
Monday October 29, 2001

Refinements helping Web sites stay current 

 

SAN FRANCISCO – Search engines have always been among the Web’s most popular destinations. Then came multimedia – and frustration. 

How do you find music with a keyword search? 

In a sunny San Francisco loft, a tiny company called Friskit Inc. has spent the last two years honing a search engine that scans the Internet for songs and music videos available to Web surfers for free but often difficult to locate. 

Other search sites also are seeking refinements they hope will make them indispensable in the multimedia age. As more and more Web users get broadband access, such tools are sure to become attractive. 

Google recently began offering searches of images on the Web, rather than just words. Google performs that feat not by analyzing an image itself but by reading the text labeling the picture. 

Researchers at the “Googleplex,” the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., also are looking for ways to more directly connect Web surfers to online databases – and to run voice-activated searches from wireless devices. 

With better search techniques over handheld computers, for example, someone in a grocery store pondering an unfamiliar item could instantly call up product information or compare prices, said Craig Silverstein, Google’s director of technology. 

“Our mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” Silverstein said. 

Friskit is based on the notion that many users want links straight to a certain experience – such as hearing a song – rather than to static information. 

Though analysts note that several other multimedia search engines have come and gone without leaving much of a mark, Friskit’s executives hope to cash in by licensing their technology to Web portals, music sites, record labels or companies that want to catalogue their multimedia presentations. 

“Whether you want to find a Moby track, a Steve Jobs interview or an Osama bin Laden interview, you should be able to find it with one click,” said Jeff Morgen, Friskit’s chief operating officer. 

Morgen and Aviv Eyal, Friskit’s co-founder and technology guru, are aiming at the rapidly changing market for online music, which gained prominence with the popularity of Napster but has been bogged down in legal squabbles over copyright protection. 

Rather than offering downloads a la Napster, Friskit believes it can stay out of the fray by connecting users to streaming content, essentially making it a customized Internet radio station. 

Bill Rose, who has researched the market as vice president and general manager of Arbitron Webcast Services, said a multimedia search engine offers Web surfers more choice and control than current Internet broadcast sites, which often have a more limited pool of available content. 

Friskit can lump songs by genre or by musician, so users don’t have to be precise in what they’re looking for. It also accounts for common spelling errors, so it will ask if you meant to hear The Beatles when you entered “Beetles.” 

But even with such thoughtful features, it appears certain that Friskit’s life will get helter-skelter. 

At least one competitor with similar multimedia search technology, Seattle-based Singingfish Inc., already has signed partnerships with RealNetworks Inc. and Inktomi Corp. and is pursuing deals with the big portals as well. 

Through its connections as a subsidiary of Thomson Multimedia, a French consumer electronics giant, Singingfish hopes to become the search engine for the next generation of wireless devices and home entertainment systems. 

Analysts believe those kinds of partnerships will be essential. 

Many people prefer music downloads to stand-alone streaming media sites, since downloads tend to offer better quality and can be transferred to portable devices, said Lee Black, an analyst with Webnoize Inc. 

Singingfish’s president and co-founder, Mike Behlke, envisions future search engines delivering several kinds of results at once: some links to documents, some pictures, some direct connections to relevant streaming media. 

Danny Sullivan, editor of the SearchEngineWatch.com online newsletter, makes the same prediction. But he believes that at least in the short term, companies like Friskit and Singingfish will have trouble getting many Web sites to pay for their technology. 

The reason: even the largest Web sites are pressed for cash these days. 

“They’ve got enough trouble saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got one single program you’ve got to have – will you shell out $9.95 for this single program?”’ Sullivan said. “People don’t pay for any kind of search at the moment.”


ZAB places strict restrictions on liquor store

By Hank Sims, Daily Planet Staff
Sunday October 28, 2001

 

 

Before a highly-charged crowd of South Berkeley residents, the Zoning Adjustments Board declared Brothers Liquor, at 3039 Shattuck Ave., a public nuisance at its Thursday meeting, and imposed a restrictive set of regulations on its future operations. 

Neighbors allege the store is the center of serious criminal activity in the area.  

In a recent six-month period, the police department responded to more than 200 calls at or near Brothers Liquor. Nineteen of those calls resulted in arrests for crack cocaine possession or sales, prostitution, public drunkenness or creating a public disturbance. 

In her report to the ZAB, Victoria Johnson, the city’s senior zoning enforcement officer, presented the board with two possible solutions.  

The first allowed the liquor store to remain open with sharply curtailed hours of operation, the posting of security guards and the obligation to submit to ZAB review every three months. The second would shut the store down completely. 

The ZAB voted 7 - 2 for the first option, and added an extra conditions of its own. 

Board chair Carolyn Weinberger suggested the store be mandated to chain-off its parking lot when it closed its doors at 9 p.m. Board member Deborah Matthews added that the store should be required to clean and maintain its exterior. 

At the suggestion of Mark Rhoades, the city’s director of current planning, the board also put language into the declaration that would automatically trigger another public hearing on the store – one which would presumably result in its closure – if the Berkeley Police Department receives more than four calls having to do with store activities per month. 

Monsoor Ghanem, the store’s manager, said Friday that the charges against his store were unwarranted, and he would appeal the ZAB’s decision to the City Council. Members of the audience hissed and shouted when the board discussed the option of leaving the store open with restrictions. Several ZAB members addressed the crowd directly, assuring it that the conditions imposed on Brothers were very tough, and any deviation from them would be swiftly punished. 

“We’re giving them enough rope to hang themselves,” said Weinberger. 

Rhoades said city staff came up with the compromise declaration after consulting with the city attorney’s office. He said the imposition of conditions as a first step would bolster the city’s case if it were sued by the store’s owners. 

“The courts take a very dim view of cities closing businesses without giving them a chance to clean up their act,” Rhoades said. “But if, after three months, this business does not comply with the conditions, we can set another public hearing and the ZAB can close them down. You will already have declared them a public nuisance.” 

Board member, Gene Poschman, provoked applause from the audience when he said he favored putting the store out of business. 

“I want to revoke the thing,” he said. “I think the city attorney is being far too cautious. We’ve got six, maybe eight votes here for revocation here.” 

But, he said, the staff report had swayed him. 

“The staff is the reason we’re not revoking their business tonight,” he said. “That means there will be a special weight on staff to monitor this closely.” 

Matthews, a resident of South Berkeley, shared Poshman’s reservations, but she, too, voted for the compromise option. 

“I have a hard time accepting the recommendations of staff,” she said. 

“In the community of South Berkeley, in a five-mile radius we have probably 10 liquor stores, each of them with the problems we have here before us.” 

“It’s really important to me that we develop some kind of standard for identifying and dealing with these issues.” 

Rhoades told the board and the audience that the new restrictions – especially the police department “trigger” he had proposed – would assure that the store would be severely punished if the problems continue. 

“There’s 40 or 50 pairs of eyes and ears in this room tonight that will be monitoring this situation,” he said. 

“Do you hear that?” Weinberger asked the audience. “If three months from now it hasn’t improved, you come back to us and we will yank their business.” 

Only board member Paul Schwartz and Marie Bowman, who substituted for board member Mike Issel at Tuesday’s meeting, voted against the declaration. 

Schwartz said he was in favor of the restrictions on the business, but he wanted to vote for complete closure to expedite matters.  

“I don’t think they’re going to be able to stay in business with these restrictions, so they’ll probably end up shutting down anyway,” he said. 

At the end of the hearing, Rhoades thanked the board for voting for the staff’s recommendations. 

“I know it was a very difficult decision,” he said.


Out & About Calendar

– compiled by Guy Poole
Sunday October 28, 2001


Saturday, Oct. 27

 

Bay Area Coalition to End the  

Sanctions on Iraq 

5 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. program 

Berkeley Friends Church 

1600 Sacramento  

Speakers Hans Von Sponeck, former United Nations Assistant Secretary General, who resigned his position as humanitarian coordinator for Iraq to protest U.N. policies, and Kathy Kelly, founder of Voices in the Wilderness, who has taken 39 humanitarian aid trips to Iraq, call for an end to the U.S. led bombing and sanctions on Iraq. 538-0209 www.endthesanctions. org 

 

Greening Our City Centers 

9 a.m. - 10 p.m. 

The Gaia Building 

2116 Allston Way 

The Second Heart of the City Seminar celebrating the opening of Berkeley’s new showcase ecological building and the Gaia Cultural Center. Discussions will focus on strategies and tactics for generating awareness and implementing greener city centers. 649-1817 www.ecocitybuilders.org 

 

Saturday Morning Children’s  

Program 

10:30 a.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Charlie Chin presents traditional Chinese folk tales told in the “tea house” style. $4 adult, $3 children 

 

Berkeley Child Safety Seat  

Check-Up 

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (drop-in)  

Kittredge Street Parking Facility  

2020 Kittredge Street (the old Hinks Parking lot), 2nd Floor 

Trained child passenger safety technicians will inspect your safety seat installation, inform you of any recalls, and assist you in using your child safety seat properly. Free, sponsored by the Berkeley Public Health and Police Departments, 665-6839, dquan@ci.berkeley.ca.us. 

 

Targeting Civilians 

7 p.m. 

Berkeley Friends Church 

1600 Sacramento St. 

Former UN official Hans von Sponeck and Voices in the Wilderness’ Kathy Kelly will discuss the war on Iraq and the current bombing of Afghanistan. $10 Benefits Voices in the Wilderness.  

 

Raising the Bar: Latino and  

Latina Presence in the Judiciary and the Struggle for Representation 

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall 

Booth Auditorium 

An unprecedented gathering of Latino judges from across the country to celebrate and critically examine the contributions of Latinos on the bench. 643-8010 

 

Low-cost Hatha Yoga Classes 

9:30 - 11 a.m. 

James Kenney Rec. Center 

1720 Eighth St.  

The city is offering low- cost Hatha Yoga classes for adults. Taught by certified instructor. Drop-ins are welcome. Bring a mat or towel. $6. 981-6650 

 

Medical Mystery Festival 

1 - 4 p.m. 

Hall of Health 

2230 Shattuck Ave. 

A Halloween celebration that introduces children to the field of medical science and health-related issues. 549-1564 

 

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 

 

Help Cerrito Creek 

10 a.m. 

Meet at El Cerrito's Creekside Park (south end of Belmont Street). 

Join Friends of Five Creeks in removing invasive non-natives to improve habitat on lower Cerrito Creek. Bring shovels and work gloves if you have them. 848 9358, www.fivecreeks.org 

 


Sunday, Oct. 28

 

Archaeological Institute of  

America 

1:30 - 3:30 p.m. 

Shorb House 

2547 Channing Way 

AIA Sunday Symposium: Reports from the Field — Dr. Ian Morris on the 6th century BCE site of Monte Polizzo in Sicily; Dr. Marian Feldman on prestige goods of the Late Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean; Dr. Christine Hastorf on early architecture at Chiripa in the Titicaca Basin of the Bolivian Andes. 415-338-1537 barbaram@sfsu.edu 

 

Our Visual Heritage 

1 - 4 p.m. 

Ashkenaz 

1613 San Pablo Ave. 

Deaf and Hearing Project of Berkeley presents an ASL (American Sign Language) accessible event, in recognition of World and Domestic Violence Prevention Disability Awareness Month featuring, music, dance, information and more. $10, Children under 12 free. 644-2003, 644-2000 (TTY) 

 

Berkeley, Where Is It Going 

8 p.m. 

BTVU ch. 25  

Notable Berkeley neighborhood supporters give important informa 

tion about the General Plan that will be before the Council in Public Hearings on Oct. 30 and Nov. 6. 

 

Spirit Day at the West  

Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Avenue, between 3rd and 4th sreets  

Spirit Day will host an outdoor community alter to honor our elders and the people who have lost their lives since Sept. 11. Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 654-6346 

 

Vespers of St. Demetrios 

4 p.m. 

PAOI 

2311 Hearst Ave. 

A prayer service celebrating St. Demetrios, patron saint of the chapel of Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute. 649-2450 

 


Monday, Oct. 29

 

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 

Lecture - Discovery of Quilting 

7:30 p.m. 

First Unitarian Church 

1 Lawson Road, Kensington 

This is Dianne Hire’s own story, her personal expression of the intimate desires to create, to imagine and to express through the medium of quilting. $3 834-3706 www.hirealternatives.com 

 

Affordable Housing Advocacy  

Project 

3 - 5 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Learn about the latest changes in affordable housing at the state and federal level. 800-773-2110 

 

Race, Immigration and  

American Politics Speaker  

Series 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

David Sears, UCLA, “Race, Religion, and Sectional Conflict in Contemporary Partisanship.” 642-4608 

 

– compiled by Guy Poole 


Berkeley bakery once the largest in the East Bay

By Susan Cerny
Sunday October 28, 2001

In 1877 John G. Wright, an Englishman, opened Berkeley’s first wholesale-retail bakery at 2026 Shattuck Ave., just north of where the Kress building stands today. The original bakery which is pictured here, was a two-story wood frame building that had tall storefront windows and a covered wood veranda in front. The owners, as well as their bakery workers and student boarders, lived on the second floor. 

The bakery produced 26 varieties of bread, twelve types of cakes and pies and also had a catering service, dining room and retail sales shop. By 1905 the business had grown so large that it had a fleet of 40 horse-drawn trucks and motor cars.  

Wright was active in organizing the bakers union which was formally established in 1904 at the Golden Sheaf Bakery. But unionization led to the demise of family run bakeries and the rise of large companies. In 1909 the Wright family sold their business to Wonderbread and the old bakery building was torn down.  

Around the corner at 2071 Addison St. is a remnant of the Golden Sheaf Bakery. The brick-sided building was constructed in 1905 as a storage building and loading area for the bakery. But despite its rather humble use, the building was designed by noted architect Clinton Day.  

It is a Classic-inspired, two-story red brick and terra-cotta building with a three-part composition. Four pilasters frame three vertical bays, which contain three sets of paired arched windows on the second story. Above the central bay there is a sign molded in brick-colored terra-cotta depicting a sheaf of wheat and under this, the bakery’s name. Molded terra cotta was also used for the bases and capitals of the pilasters and for the cornice. The terra cotta was made by the Gladding McBean Company. 

After the bakery was sold, the building served as offices and shops until 1927, when it was converted into a garage. On July 20, 2000 a dedication ceremony was held for the Nevo Educational Center of the Berkeley Repertory Theater. The remodeled bakery-warehouse building will provide space for the theater’s education program.  

 

Susan Cerny, author of “Berkeley Landmarks,” writes this series in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.


Conventional warfare questioned in fight against terrorism

By Ken Norwood
Sunday October 28, 2001

Conventional warfare questioned in fight against terrorism 

 

The missile camera films and the aerial photos of bombs hitting Afghanistan targets looks little different to me than the 8th. Air Force’s “precision” bombing of NAZI targets I saw from the waist window of our B-24 four engine Liberator from early April to May 9, 1944. That was the day our plane was shot down and six of our 10 crew members bailed out over Belgium. The tons of bombs we POW’s saw falling in our direction from Allied planes bombing nearby German targets looked and felt no different to us than is being experienced by Afghani civilians on the edge of Afghani military targets – it is breath stopping terror. 

Remarkably that same W.W.II aerial warfare strategy is paralleled by the high-tech bombing, satellite surveillance, night vision technology now being used in the Middle East. Another similarity is the claim that precision bombing avoids civilian casualties and the dichotomy that despite sixty years the U.S. bombing errors, over-runs, and “accidents” continue to occur. To understand why is to realize that the high-tech advancements in airplanes, armament, rocketry, and guidance systems has the primary purpose of protecting Air Force planes and air crews from casualties. Now the planes are bigger, faster, and carry larger bomb loads, and yet require fewer crew. During 1941 through 1944 the Royal Air Force and the American air crew losses were up to 50 percent, some of whom became POW’s. 

Today’s B-51 has a crew of four compared with ten men each in W.W.II’s B-17 and B-24 bombers. Although WW II bombers flew lower and slower making accurate bombing apparently easier, technical and human errors by navigators, bombardiers, and pilots, and the interference by enemy German ack-ack and fighters caused unintended bombing of residential areas, churches, hospitals, Red Cross trains and convoys, and even harmless villages regularly. The WW II press seldom learned about those tragedies, but there lies the “collateral” damage rational of the military mind. Similarly, ground forces face the same moral dilemma, every U.S. war has been shrouded with “unintended” civilian 

deaths. 

The common denominator in the above comparisons to today is they are all “conventional” wars. “America’s New War” has been referenced to the “crusades,” and a “campaign ” or an “action,” the terms used historically for incursions into other countries when “war” is not politically correct. In this war all the military and patriotic rhetoric that have been used in past wars are present again. Today’s military-industrial complex, inherited from W.W.II, is making full use of the hardware capacity accumulated from pork-barrel Defense Department budgets that focus on modern warfare technology, but conventional in concept: bomb “them” into submission, use minimal ground forces, and get out. 

We need a new strategy that incorporates a geo-historic-cultural-political-moral concern for civilians. The proposed “Department of Peace” may not be too late to save us from retaliations from other terrorist cells, loss of support from the Muslim world, and alienation from those who normally are our allies. The admonitions and cautions about fighting terrorism have been heard long before Sept. 11, and immediately following the W.T.C. attack we were reminded again: the “eye for eye, and tooth for tooth” avenging of our losses on 9-11 can not justify fighting world terrorism conventionally. 

Terror is a bitter pill, composed of fear, anger, hate, and the inevitable retaliation, and it never tastes good. War is for cowards – shoot if it moves, ask questions later. To do otherwise is to the disadvantage of the soldier. Our nation will better endure by exercising our power of social, economic, and environmental justice for all. The escalation of the war in Afghanistan is too close to reality to allow the “old guard” unquestioned power. There are alternatives, if we stop, look, and listen. 

 

Ken Norwood is a Berkeley resident. 

 


Berkeley man’s wartime journal published

By Sari Friedman, Special to the Daily Planet
Sunday October 28, 2001

Robert L. Smith, a Berkeley resident since 1950, served as a medic in the 28th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1945. He aided the wounded in combat, helping to liberate Paris. Smith served approximately two months after the D-Day landings. 

Robert L. Smith’s new book, “Medic!” A WWII Combat Medic Remembers, chronicles his entry into the army, his plethora of experiences on the battlefield and some events he went through immediately after returning home – such as even though he was a discharged veteran with a Purple Heart, he was not yet 21 years old and too young to qualify for a California driver’s license.  

In the latter part of Smith’s book, he describes returning to Europe with his wife, Fran, in 1997-98. The Smiths travelled through many of the same areas he’d been half a century earlier. Fran’s photographs reference and counterpoint the fact-filled text.  

While the book reads, in part, like a really long post card, the story is riveting in parts and is almost always engaging.  

A quiet strength and steady bravery inform Smith’s voice. 

Smith’s comments about K rations, the combination of terror and tedium soldiers experienced and the forms of segregation he witnessed are sobering.  

Smith describes many of the individuals he came into contact with. 

Smith eloquently tells of the moral strength and honor shown by some American soldiers. For instance, Smith describes Caleb A. Converse, a litter bearer from Columbus, Ga.: “A slow, steady person who consistently was brave. Every night Converse carried out our critical cases on his back, one at a time, making three or four separate trips down the hill and across the fields and river to safety on the American side. He did something that none of the rest of us would do. Yet he did it voluntarily, never asking for help. He simply went on saving the lives of men who otherwise would not have survived.” 

Smith also describes the actions of some of the enemy soldiers and civilians he came into contact with. At one point an enemy soldier told Smith, in perfect English, that he is behind enemy lines and sent Smith in another direction, which probably saved his life.  

Smith’s perspective as a medic puts him in the center of both the physical and spiritual action. A medic’s job is to be heroic. As Smith explains: “Anyone else could yell for the medic, but I was the medic.”  

Smith portrays the challenges of trying to save lives in the heat of battle. Medics are called upon to provide immediate relief to injured soldiers during combat. The wounded call to them. Sometimes medics have the skills and materials they need to disinfect wounds and immediately affect the balance of life vs. death. At other times a medic’s skills and desire to bring relief are insufficient to remediate devastating damage.  

Smith writes: “I had gone to war full of conviction and came out having lost my naivete about some things that had previously been absolutes.” 

As we see in All Quiet On the Western Front, the classic WWI novel by Erich Maria Remarque, going to war is unlike any other human experience. And there are some stories only a warrior can tell. 

 

Sari Friedman teaches writing at local colleges and can be reached at literate2@earthlink.net 


Arts & Entertainment Calendar

Staff
Sunday October 28, 2001

 

924 Gilman St. Oct. 27: (Halloween show, $1 off if you’re in a (non-punk) costume!) Babyland, Tsunami Bomb, Scissor Hands, Dexter Danger; Nov. 2: Mood Frye, Manic Notion, Cremasters of Disaster, Bottles and Skulls, Lorax, Sociopath; Nov. 3: Cruevo, Nigel Peppercock, Impaled, Systematic Infection, Depressor; Nov. 9: Hoods, Punishment, Lords of Light Speed, Necktie Party; Nov. 10: Sunday’s Best, Mock Orange, Elizabeth Elmore, Fighting Jacks, Benton Falls; Nov. 16: Pitch Black, The Blottos, Miracle Chosuke, 240; Nov. 17: Carry On, All Bets Off, Limp Wrist, Labrats, Thought Riot; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

 

The Albatross Pub Nov. 3: Dave Creamer Jazz Quartet; Both shows 9 p.m. 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 albatrosspub@mindspring .com  

 

Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Oct. 27: 9:30 p.m., Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, $11; Oct. 28: 1:30 p.m., Derique McGee and Jazz Design, $ sliding scale; 9 p.m. Itals, Ras Jacob, Kanawah, DJ Ras D, $12; Oct. 30: 7:30 p.m., Bluegrass Benefit Concert for the NY Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund. Peter Rowan, Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, Mike Marshall, Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin, Bluegrass Intentions, Kathy Kallick Band, Detour; $20. 1317 San Pablo Ave., 525-5099 www.ashkenaz. com 

 

Blake’s Oct. 27: Felonious, $6; Oct. 29: The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Oct. 31: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2; All shows 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave. 848-0886 

 

Cal Performances Nov 8: 8 p.m. Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance, $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; Oct. 19: Little Jonny and the Giants; Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

 

Freight & Salvage Oct. 27: Ginny Reilly & David Maloney $18.50 - $19.50; Oct. 28: True Blue with Del Williams $15.50 - $16.50; Nov. 1: Si Kahn $17.50 - $18.50; Nov. 2: Don Edwards $16.50 - $17.50; Nov. 3: Barbara Higbie $17.50 - $18.50; All Shows 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

 

Jazzschool/La Note Nov. 4: 4:30 p.m. SoVoSo, $15; Nov. 11: 4:30 p.m. Dave Le Febvre Quintet, $12. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 

 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts Oct. 27: 8 p.m., Empyrean Ensemble, $18, $14 children. 2640 College Ave. 845-8542/ www.juliamorgan.org 

 

Jupiter Nov. 1: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 2: Lithium House; Nov. 3: Solomon Grundy; Nov. 7: Go Van Gogh; Nov. 8: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 9: Xroads; Nov. 10: Post Junk Trio; Nov. 14: Wayside; Nov. 15: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 16: 5 Point Plan; Nov. 17: Corner Pocket; Nov. 21: Starchild; All shows 8 p.m. and free. 2821 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625/ www.jupiter.com 

 

La Peña Oct. 28: 7:30 p.m., Mezcla from Cuba, $15dr. 320 45th St., Oakland 849-2568 www.lapena.org 

 

La Lesbian @ La Peña: A Lesbian Performance and Film Series Oct. 25: 8 p.m., comedian Elvira Kurt, $16; Nov. 1: 8 p.m., Singer/songwriters Faith Nolan and Megan McElroy, $14; Nov. 4: 5 - 9 p.m., Salsa, merengue, cumbia from DJs Rosa Oviedo and Chata Gutierrez, $7; Nov. 7: 8 p.m., I Love Lezzie, 20 member comedy troupe, $14; 320 45th St., Oakland 654-6346 www.lapena.org 

 

MusicSources Oct. 28: Keyboardist David Buice; Nov. 18 Harpsichordist Gilbert Martinez. Both shows 5 p.m. $15-18. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

 

The Stork Club Oct. 23: 9 p.m., Earwig, Butch Berry, $5; Oct. 24: 9 p.m., Cruevo, Jumbo’s Killcrane, Brainoil, Life in a Burn Clinic, $5; Oct. 25: 10 p.m., Painted Bird, Tinman, Fenway Park, $6; Oct. 26: 10 p.m., Birdsaw, Wire Grafitti, Breast, $5; Oct. 27: 10 p.m., Oxbow, Replicator, 60 Foot Time, $6; Oct. 30: 9 p.m., Simple Things, Tombshakers, Ultrafiend, $5; Oct. 31: Oppressed Logic, Eddie Haskells, TBA, $5; 2330 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland. 444-6174  

 

Yoshi’s Restaurant and Jazz Spot Oct. 29: 8 & 10 p.m., The Mike Vax Jazz Orchestra, $10. 238-9200 www.yoshis.com 

 

Cal Performances Nov. 2: 7 p.m., Sightlines, Pre-performance discussion with guest artists. 8 p.m., “Music Before 1850,” with Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr. $32. First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

 

Theater 

 

“The Odd Couple” Oct. 25 through Oct. 27: 7:30 p.m. The female adaptation of Neil Simon’s classic play. Directed by Antoine Olivier. $5 students, $7 adults. Bobby Barrett Theater, St. Mary’s campus, 1294 Albina. 981-1167 ruthcrossman@yahoo.com 

 

Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” Oct. 26: 8 p.m., Oct. 28: 3 p.m. Presented by the Oakland Lyric Opera, continuing the company’s opera showcase series of short, one-act operas and opera scenes, semi-staged concert performances. First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St. $25, $18 students and seniors, $15 children. 836-6772 

 

“Prometeh in Evin” Oct. 28: 8 p.m., A drama about political prisoners in Iran, performed by the brave and innovative Parsian Group. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. $25, Children, $15 2640 College Ave 845.8542 www.juliamorgan.org. 

 

“Approach” Through Oct. 27: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m. An examination of the search for intimacy as our most precious form of survival. Written by Susan Wiegand, Directed by Katie Bales Frassinelli. $15 general admission, $10 students and seniors. Eighth Street Studio Theatre, 2525 8th St. 655-0813 www.shotgunplayers.org 

 

“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 

 

“me/you...us/them”Nov. 8 though Nov. 10: Thur - Sat 8 p.m., matinee on Sat. 2:30 p.m. Three one-acts that look at interpersonal, as well as societal relationships from the perspective of the disabled. $10 - $25. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

 

“Nocturne” Through Nov. 11: Tues./Thurs./Sat. 8 p.m., Weds. & Sun. 7 p.m., matinee on Thurs./Sat./Sun. 2 p.m. Mark Brokaw directs Anthony Rapp in One-Man Show. Written by Adam Rapp. $38 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

 

“Tomas Carrasco of Chicano Secret Service” Nov. 15: 4 p.m. Performance by member of L.A.-based sketch comedy troupe that uses humor to tackle hot-button racial and political issues. Free. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

 

“Lost Cause” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Three space travelers stranded on a forgotten colony, find themselves in the middle of a bloody civil war, and have to decide between what’s right, what’s possible, and what will save their lives. Written by Jefferson Area, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7-12. La Val’s Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid Ave. 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

 

“Travesties” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., and Thurs., Nov. 15, 8 p.m. A witty fantasy about James Joyce meeting Lenin in Zurich during World War I. Written by Tom Stoppard, Directed by Mikel Clifford. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck. 528-5620 

 

Cal Performances “The Car Man” Oct. 30, 31: 8 p.m.; Nov. 1: 2 p.m., 8 p.m.; Nov. 2: 8 p.m.; Nov. 3: 2 p.m., 8 p.m.; Choreographer and director Matthew Bourne and his company re-invent Bizet’s “Carmen,” spinning the tale of a mysterious drifter in a small mid-western town, who changes the lives of its inhabitants forever. $32 - $64; Nov. 7: 8 p.m., “Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance,” more than 30 singers, dancers, and musicians present a musical synthesis of the authentic Roma styles. $18 - $30; Nov. 8: 11 a.m., SchoolTime Performance, “Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance,” $3 per student or chaperone, in advance only; Nov. 8: 8 p.m., “Orquesta Aragón,” $18 - $30. Nov. 11: 3 p.m., Recital - Angelika Kirschschlager, Bo Skovhus, and Donald Runnicles. “Wolf/ Die Italienisches Liederbuch,” $45; Nov. 16 - 17: 8 p.m., “La Guerra d’Amore,” director and choreographer, René Jacobs, conductor, Ensemble Concerto Vocale. Modern dance and early music from German choreographer Joachim Schlömer, $34 - $52; 

UC Berkeley, Zellerbach Hall. 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

“Macbeth” Nov. 9 through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. Presented by the Albany High School Theater Ensemble. $7 adults, $5 students and seniors. Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd. 559-6550 x4125 theaterensemble@hotmail.com 

 

“Saint Joan” Oct. 26 through Dec. 2: Wed. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., 7 p.m. George Bernard Shaw’s epic of a young girl determined to drive the English out of France with only her faith to support her. Directed by Barbara Oliver. $26-35. Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St. 843-4822 www.auroratheatre.org 

 

“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 

 

Films 

 

Pacific Film Archive Theater Oct. 22: 7 p.m., The Closed Doors; Oct. 23: 7:30 p.m., Super-8mm Films by Theresa Cha; Oct. 24: 7:30 p.m., The Rainy Season and Wai’a Rini; Oct. 26: 7:30 p.m., The Passion of Joan of Arc, 9:15 p.m., Vivre sa Vie; Oct 27: 7 p.m., New Music for Silent Films by UCB Composers; Oct. 28: 5:30 p.m., Vampyr; Oct. 29: 7 p.m., A Time for Drunken Horses; Oct. 30: 7:30 p.m., An Evening with Leslie Thornton; Oct. 31: 7:30 p.m., 9:20 p.m., Saudade do Futuro. 

2575 Bancroft Way, 642-1124 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

 

“The Search” Nov. 4:30 p.m. 1948 drama of American soldier caring for a young concentration camp survivor in post-war Berlin, while the boy’s mother is desperately searching all Displaced Persons camps for him. $2 suggested donation. Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237 

 

Exhibits 

 

“Photographs of Yosemite” by Richard Blair, Oct. 25: 5 - 8 p.m. Mr. Blair served as Park Photographer for Yosemite National Park in the early 1970’s and continues to photograph there often. Holton Studio, 5515 Doyle St., No. 2, Emeryville. 450-0350 www.holtonframes.com 

 

Panel Discussion on Documentary Photography Oct. 25: 7:30 p.m. Panelists include photographers Nacio Jan Brown, Jeffrey Blankfort, Cathy  

Cade, Ken Light and Michelle Vignes in discussion with moderator Scott Nichols. Free. UC Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, 120 North Gate Hall 644-6893/ www.berkeleyartcenter.org  

 

“First Annual Art Show” UC Berkeley Life Drawing Group Reception, Through Oct. 26: 7 - 10 p.m. Figure studies from the workshops at UC Berkeley. 1014 60th St., Emeryville. 923-0689 

 

“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  

 

“African Harmonies,” the artwork of Rae Louise Hayward. Through Oct. 31: Hayward’s art celebrates the beauty of African culture: its people, sculpture, textiles, jewelry and music. Tues. - Thurs. 1 - 7 p.m., Sat. noon- 4 p.m. Women’s Cancer Resource Center, 3023 Shattuck Ave., 548-9286/ www.wcrc.org 

 

“Cut Plates and Bowls” Annabeth Rosen, “Just Jars” Sandy Simon Through Nov. 3; Saturdays 10 - 5 or by appointment. Trax Ceramic Gallery, 1306 3rd St. 526-0279. cone5@aol.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 

 

“Architects of the Information Age” Through Nov. 10: A solo exhibit showcasing the works of Ezra Li Eismont. Works included in the exhibition are mixed media paintings on panel and assemblage works on paper and canvas. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland 836-0831 

 

“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. “Cleve Gray, Holocaust Drawings” Oct. 15 through Jan. 25: 21 works on paper inviting the viewer to consider the atrocity of the Holocaust in ways unattainable through words or text. 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. 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 

 

“In Through the Outdoors” Through Nov. 24: Featuring seven artists who work in photography and related media including sculpture and video, this exhibit addresses the shift in values and contemporary concerns about the natural world that surrounds us. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery, 1316 Tenth St. www.traywick.com 

 

“2001 James D. Phelan Art Awards in Printmaking” Honorees: Bridget Henry, David Kelso, and Margaret Van Patten. Oct. 19 - Nov. 30 Tues. - Fri. noon - 5 p.m., other times by appointment. Kala Art Institue, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 www.kala.org 

 

“Furniture Art” Through Dec. 7: An exhibit of metal and wood furniture that revisits furniture not only as art but as craft. 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. The Current Gallery at the Crucible, 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.org 

 

“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 1960s and 1970s. Wed. - Sun., noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Free. 644-6893 

 

“The Art History Museum of Berkeley” 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. 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

 

Readings 

 

Boadecia’s Books Oct. 22: J.M. Redmann reads from “Death By the Riverside”; Oct. Janell Moon will read from her new book, “Stirring the Waters: Writing to Find Your Spirit.”; Oct. 27: Pat Schmatz reads from “Mrs. Estronsky and the U.F.O.”; Oct. 28: 7 p.m., Poet Janet Mason will read from “When I Was Straight” and present her “Boobs Away.”; Nov. 3: Editor Danya Ruttenberg and contributors Loolwa Khazzoom, Emily Wages, Billie Mandel will read their selections in the new anthology, “Yentl’s Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism.”; Nov. 9: Lauren Dockett will read from her latest book, “The Deepest Blue: How Women Face and Overcome Depression.”; 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 Telegraph Ave. Oct. 23: Michael Downing will talk about “Shoes Outside the Door: Scandals of Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center; Oct. 24: Anita Roddick returns with “Take It Personally”; Oct. 25: Eric Muller discusses “Free To Die For Their Country: The Story of the Japanese American Draft Resisters in World War II”; Oct. 26 Sage Cohen & Mari L’esperance read their poetry; Oct. 27: Gregory Maguire reads “Lost”; Oct. 28: Christopher Hitchens with “Letters To A Young Contrarian”; Oct. 29: Arturo Pérez-Reverte reads from “The Nautical Chart”; Oct. 30: Ruben Martinez recounts “Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail”; Oct. 31: Barry Lopez reads from “Light Action In The Caribbean”; All shows at 7:30 p.m.; 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

 

Cody’s on Fourth St. Oct. 25: Simon Winchester discusses “The Map That Changed The World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology”; Oct. 26: Alice Medrich delivers “A Year In Chocolate: Four Seasons of Unforgettable Desserts”; Oct. 27: 11 a.m., Addi Someckh and Charlie Eckert - The Balloon Guys, play with “The Inflatable Crown Balloon Hat Kit,” for young readers; Oct. 28: 4 p.m., Darren Shan with “Cirque Du Freak,” and “The Vampire’s Assistant,” for young readers; All shows 7 p.m. unless noted, 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 

 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Nov. 10: 4 p.m. Ruthanne Lum McCunn reads from her novel “Moon Pearl”; Nov. 18: 4 p.m. Noel Alumit, M.G. Sorongon, and Marianne Villanueva read from their contributions to the anthology “Tilting the Continent: Southeast Asian American Literature”; 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

 

Ecology Center Oct. 22: 7 - 9 p.m. Toby Hemenway presents a slideshow and reads from “Gaia’s Garden: A guide to Home Scale Permaculture”; 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-220 x233 

 

“Michael Moore” Oct. 29: 7:30 p.m. Author and film maker reads from his new book “Stupid White Men and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation”. $12-15. Sponsored by Cody’s. First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way 

 

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 Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., 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; Oct. 25: A Storytelling Pajama Party, 6 - 7 p.m.; Oct. 27: 4th Annual Habitot Halloween; Oct. 28: Family Arts Day; Oct. 31: Sugar-Art Halloween Frosting; Nov. 3: Tales from the Enchanted Forest, 11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.; Nov. 9: Living with the Earth; Nov. 17: Recycle that Stuff; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. Mon. and Wed., 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tues. and Fri., 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thur., 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

 

Oakland Museum of California through Nov. 25: Pasajes y Encuentros: Ofrendas for the Days of the Dead, highlights three thematic “passageways” that connect the dead with the living: tradition, humor and spirit. $6 adults, $4 seniors and students, free for children under 5. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m., 10th St., Oakland, 888-625-6873/ www.museumca.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. Mon. through Fri., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sat. and Sun., 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.  

 

University of California Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive has reopened after its summerlong 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. 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  

 

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


Panthers roll over Albany

By Jared Green, Daily Planet Staff
Sunday October 28, 2001

After a heartbreaking loss to rival Kennedy last week, the St. Mary’s High football team needed a game to get out some aggression while keeping everyone healthy. A game with Albany was just what the doctor ordered. 

St. Mary’s jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead against the Cougars on Friday afternoon and cruised home with a 34-6 win. Tailback Trestin George ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries and quarterback Steve Murphy threw for two scores to wide receiver Courtney Brown in the victory. 

“We knew if we played a good first half that we could get ahead of them,” St. Mary’s head coach Jay Lawson said. “It’s nice to get an easy win once in a while.” 

The Panthers (4-4 overall, 2-1 BSAL) came into the game looking to put heat on Albany quarterback Harold Lueders, and they did just that. They sacked Lueders three times in the first quarter, including two by linebacker Omarr Flood, and knocked him out of the game early in the second quarter. His replacements, J.P. Koehn and Garin Hecht, were clearly in over their heads, completing just 6-of-23 for 83 yards with Lueders on the bench with a possible separated shoulder. Koehn, who played most of the second half, also threw two interceptions, including one that George returned 100 yards for a score. 

“We have better athletes in our secondary than they have at receiver,” Lawson said. “We thought our defensive backs could man up and let us get a lot of heat on the quarterback, and we did that.” 

Flood, who also had an interception to go with his two sacks, enjoyed the freedom to blitz for most of the game. 

“Being aggressive is the name of the game on defense,” he said. “We sent them a message that we weren’t playing out there.” 

Linebacker Julian Taylor got the ball rolling with a punt block on Albany’s (3-5, 0-3) opening possession, giving the St. Mary’s offense the ball on the 23-yard line. Two plays later, Murphy threw a quick pass to Brown, who juked one defender and found the end zone to open the scoring. 

George came up big on the next drive, running three times for 54 yards. In fact, the entire series was on the ground, as St. Mary’s ran the ball seven times for 78 yards. George finished the drive with a spectacular 19-yard touchdown run during which he broke five tackles and destroyed one Albany defender on his way to the end zone. In fact, it looked as if George was actually looking for defenders to hit instead of the other way around. 

“I was just hungry to run somebody over,” George said. “I lowered my shoulder, then put on a little shake. Then the last guy stepped up and I hit him as hard as I could.” 

Brown put on a show of his own early in the second quarter, taking a short pass over the middle and turning it into a 55-yard score, juking two defenders and racing up the right sideline to make the score 22-0, a lead the Panthers took into halftime. 

The second half was a slow-paced affair, with the Panthers looking to run out the clock and Albany unable to get anything going on offense. George took control early with runs of 19 and 20 yards on the first drive of the half, capping it with a nine-yard touchdown run. 

Albany answered back with a good drive, keyed by a screen pass to running back Michael Estis for 34 yards that put the ball inside the St. Mary’s 10. Estis scored from a yard out sson after for Albany’s lone score of the day.  

But the next Albany drive turned into George’s interception return, and it was clear there would be no comeback. All that was left was the self-destruction of the Albany offense, including an unforced fumble that St. Mary’s Jerrell Booker recovered and an easy interception by safety Jason Bolden-Anderson.


BHS tries team leadership approach

By Jeffrey Obser Daily Planet staff
Sunday October 28, 2001

In the wake of Principal Frank Lynch’s departure last week, Berkeley High School’s vice principals will run the school as a team until a new principal can be found.  

“(We) built the model being optimistic that we could get someone by second semester, but if we couldn’t, it could certainly go through the end of the year,” Superintendent Michele Lawrence said. 

Vice principals Mary Ann Valles and Laura Leventer will be co-principals, vice principal Mike Hassett will primarily oversee the ninth-grade program, and Executive Vice Principal Larry Lee will oversee day-to-day operations and discipline. 

In addition, the district placed job announcements Thursday for two new deans, who will oversee student discipline and report to Lee. 

“We’ve had deans in the past, but it is a new position,” said Chris Lim, the associate superintendent for instruction. 

District administrators met with Berkeley High staff on Wednesday to unveil a detailed list of the duties for each of the vice principals. 

Valles, who led the San Francisco schools technology program until coming to Berkeley High last summer, will primarily look after attendance, grades, and student services. Among those are counseling and the Student Learning Center, which provides tutoring. She will also continue to act as liaison to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges as the school struggles to be renew its accreditation next fall. 

Leventer, the high school’s former math department chairwoman, will coordinate scheduling, field trips, the Web site and “E-tree,” assemblies, clubs, and relations with the Parent Teacher Student Association. She has been designated lead contact person for parents and the press. 

Hassett, a longtime English department chair before taking on his administrative post, will be the lead person on testing in addition to the ninth-grade retention programs, including the new Critical Pathways program, which is intended to remedy the “achievement gap” among African-American and Latino students. 

“Don’t be deceived by the short list of tasks he has,” Leventer wrote in a community e-mail Thursday. “This is probably the most challenging job there is and Mike is the most qualified for it.” 

Lee, who served as interim principal for three years before Lynch’s predecessor, Teresa Saunders, will manage the buildings and everything from disaster preparedness to relations with the Shattuck Avenue merchants and others in the surrounding community.  

Lawrence said she had decided against hiring an interim principal this time because she was “concerned... not to throw another variable into a school that has had so many over this period of time. And seeing how well the four administrators work together, I was convinced that that relationship could sustain the school.” 

Lawrence said during recent meetings with representatives of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, which has demanded changes at the school before renewing its accreditation next fall, she has pared down the 11 areas of concern it cited last spring to five: Discipline and safety, attendance, decision-making processes and collaboration, retaining low-achieving ninth-graders and teacher training. 

These goals, she said, would be spread among the vice principals. 

“I felt that by more clearly aligning the responsibilities that each of them could shepherd through one of those important aspects of meeting the WASC requirements,” Lawrence said. 

The new plan also calls for a “shared governance committee,” made up of teachers, administrators, and small school leaders, with the power to vote on school policy and longer-term decisions. 

“There will be command decisions that will be made by the co-principals and vice principals, but a lot of decisions you want more input from staff members,” said Leventer. “There’s always been something where teachers felt they didn’t have a voice in administrative decisions and they wanted a sub-group. What we’re doing here is to pull that subgroup into the administrative body in order to be more focused.” 

The shared governance committee will have a representative from the School Site Council, mandated by the state to oversee staff development and the site plan. It will combine functions of an older shared governance committee that lacked decision-making power and another made up of department district chairs. 

Teachers are to elect three of their own to the committee: one representing the union, another the Parent Teacher Student Association, and another “at large,” Leventer said. 

“We actually want teachers to come up with the system to do that, since it shouldn’t come from administrators,” she said.  

A teacher who asked that her name not be used said the new plan suits the school better than having a single principal. 

“I think they’re working towards a model that we should look at as a permanent plan for administration,” the teacher said. “I think a cadre or team is a much better model for a school this size.” 

School Board President Terry Doran said the board and superintendent needed to look at the principal’s job in its current form and “ask what are the aspects of the job that are driving people away.” 

“We need to solve that and come up with some answers before we begin trying to find a new principal,” Doran said.


Groans for Audie

Hank Chapot
Sunday October 28, 2001

Editor, 

The loud groans heard across the East Bay last week were from local Green activists upon hearing Audie Bock announce for Congress. Though her departure from the Greens to the Democrats improved both parties, let there be no doubt; the local, state and national Green Party supports Barbara Lee and her brave vote against a blank check for war making. Audie Bock threw away the only constituency she ever had when she left the Green party and it was a slap in the face to a lot of hard working people. 

She obviously didn’t hear the voice of the voters when she failed to get re-elected, and like any other politician needing another campaign, she seems to think she can go to Washington on the back of a brave congessional leader besieged during troubled times. As one who groaned the loudest, I want to apologize to the voters of the 16th District for foisting Audie on them in the first place. In politics, sometimes you get a lemon. 

Hank Chapot 

Oakland


Aggressive ’Jackets punish Encinal

By Jared Green Daily Planet Staff
Sunday October 28, 2001

Playing the best they have all year, the Berkeley Yellowjackets destroyed Encinal on Friday night, forcing five turnovers and holding the Jets to 103 yards of offense in a 47-0 win. 

The ’Jackets (4-3 overall, 3-0 ACCAL) were a team on a mission against the Jets, and it showed in their pure aggression in all facets of the game. They scored on plays of 45, 29, 23 and 20 yards on offense, as well as getting their first defensive touchdown of the season, a 75-yard interception return by linebacker Leonard Scarborough in the third quarter. The Berkeley defense was flying all over the field, punishing the Encinal running backs every time they touched the ball and breaking up several passes with huge hits. 

“I can’t imagine it happening any better for us,” Berkeley head coach Matt Bissell said. “One player makes a good play, and it’s contagious. Everyone wants to get it on it. It’s like a mob mentality.” 

The game was clearly out of hand by the second half, and the Encinal (3-4, 3-2) coaches waved the white flag by asking the officials to let the clock run before the fourth quarter began. 

The ’Jackets had their long passing game working on Friday, with quarterback Raymond Pinkston hooking up with wideout Sean Young for nearly identical touchdown passes of 45 and 29 yards, both fly patterns into the right corner of the end zone. Young, who runs the 40 in 4.5 seconds, has become the deep threat that the ‘Jackets need to keep teams from ganging up on their stable of running backs. 

“Raymond and I are just hooked up right now. We practice it all the time and now we’ve got it down perfectly,” Young said. 

The one-two punch of tailbacks Germaine Baird and Craig Hollis has become a potent one. Baird ran for 95 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, while Hollis crammed 72 yards and a score into just four carries. Throw in fullbacks Aaron Boatwright and Roger Mason, who each scored touchdowns themselves, and the ’Jackets piled up 228 yards on the ground. 

But while the offense has come to life in the last four games, the Berkeley defense really broke through with a big game against a tough opponent. Besides the five turnovers, the ’Jackets held Encinal’s senior running back, DeAndre Geen, to just 68 yards on 21 carries, and completely shut down the Jets’ passing game, allowing just five completions for 15 yards. 

Several Berkeley players said the game was a statement directed at ACCAL rival Pinole Valley, the league’s other undefeated team. The two will clash in two weeks in the regular season finale for both teams. 

“We want Pinole to look at this score and know we ain’t backing down,” said linebacker Akeem Brown, who had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on Friday. “We want them to know we’re coming for them.” 

“It’s just between us and Pinole now,” defensive end/kicker Greg Mitchell said. “We thought this would be a big game, but now we know it’s all about the last game.” 

Bissell said he wants his players to concentrate on next week’s game against Richmond, but realizes that may be unrealistic. 

“Obviously we’ve got the Pinole game looming ahead of us, so it’s hard not to look past Richmond,” he said. “But we’ve got our eyes on the league title, and we have to take it one game at a time.” 

NOTES: The Berkeley-De Anza game postponed earlier this season will not be rescheduled, the league announced this week... In junior varsity action, Berkeley defeated Encinal 24-12 on Friday. 

 


Elmwood residents about to loose their sick elms

By John Geluardi Daily Planet staff
Sunday October 28, 2001

Century-old trees diagnosed with Dutch elm disease 

 

Neighbors on quiet, tree-lined Elmwood Avenue are preparing themselves for the removal of the street’s namesake – 100-year-old American elm trees that have been diagnosed with the relentless Dutch elm disease. 

“We understand that the trees have to come down,” said neighbor Naomi Janowitz. “We’re just in mourning over them.” 

Residents on Elmwood Avenue, located in the southeast Berkeley “Elmwood District,” say they are concerned about what type of tree will be planted in place of the stately elms that have characterized the neighborhood for the last 90 years. 

Jerry Koch, the city’s senior forestry supervisor, said Berkeley is working with neighbors to try and determine what type of tree to plant in place of the elms. 

“We’re trying to work with the neighborhood to come up with a suitable species that will be resistant to disease,” he said. “We do have guidelines though, we are not going to plant a redwood tree in a two-foot plot.” 

Koch said whatever the new trees are, they will have to be compatible with the homes, utilities and sidewalks in the neighborhood. “We want to put in a beautiful tree that will be there for a good number of years.” he said. “But the city will be responsible for maintenance, trimming branches and repairing damaged sidewalks and utility wires, so we’re not going to get ridiculous about it.” 

Koch is meeting with a group of neighbors Sunday and says he will present them with a frontier elm, which the city has been planting in other sections of town. 

However, neighbors say they are not yet sold on the frontier elm, which only grows to 40 feet, much shorter than the American elm. They said they may consider the liberty elm, which grows as high as 100 feet, might be a more appropriate replacement. 

The American elms were diagnosed with Dutch elm disease last year. Caused by a fungus, the disease is transmitted by two species of bark beetles.  

Once the fungus is established within a tree, it spreads rapidly via its water-conducting vessels. The presence of the fungus damages the vessels, which causes the tree to wilt and eventually die.  

The first known case of Dutch elm disease was discovered in Ohio more than 70 years ago. It has now spread throughout North America and has destroyed more than half the elm trees in the northern United Sates. 

So far, only one tree has been felled on Elmwood Avenue. Janowitz pointed to a tree, marked with a blotch of red paint, across the street from her home.  

“That one comes down on Monday,” she said.  

The only elm tree not being cut down on Janowitz’s street is the one in front of her home. She said she is glad it is still healthy because her 10-year-old son, Noah, likes to watch the squirrels and hawks that nest in the tree from his bedroom window.  

Another neighbor, who declined to give her name, said she feared that whatever trees replace the American elms would be about five feet tall and grow at a rate of one foot or so a year. 

“In other words we’ll all be dead before we see trees like this again,” she said with an upward nod.


Don’t elect a hypocrite

Gray Brechin
Sunday October 28, 2001

Editor: 

Though I support Barbara Lee's lone stand in Congress, I can understand that there are others who may disagree. I urge them to support an opposition candidate who speaks from principle rather than Audie Bock who, by her shameless exploitation of patriotism, war fever, and human tragedy, has once again shown herself to be a well-lubed weathervane that turns in the direction of big money. 

Gray Brechin 

Berkeley 

 


Cal shocks No. 4 Washington

Daily Planet Wire Services
Sunday October 28, 2001

Ripmaster scores game’s only goal as Bears win upset 

 

The California men’s soccer team outlasted the fourth-ranked Huskies, 1-0, Friday afternoon at Edwards Stadium in its Pac-10 home opener.  

California drew first blood as senior Austin Ripmaster slipped past two defenders and launched a shot from 20 feet out at 18:28 for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. It turned out to be the game winning goal as the Bears went on to win, 1-0, against their sixth nationally ranked opponent this season.  

“We were pushing hard to make their defense give us the ball on the counter-attack,” said Ripmaster. “Angel (Quintero) and (Chris) Roner stepped up, played it to Carl who slotted it perfectly with me and the keeper for a one-on-one chance. I was able to slip it past him.”  

UW had two great opportunities in the half. The first came in the 29th minute as Seth Marsh took a shot that went just over the cross bar.  

The other chance came when a shot was misdirected, landing in front of Kyle Fukuchi just five yards from goal. Kyle Navarro came to the defense as Saunders dove in to salvage an otherwise sure score.  

In the second stanza, the Huskies came out strong, forcing Cal back on its heels. UW controlled possession for most of the first five minutes but the Bears staved off the initial wave of attacks and settled in allowing five shots on goal the rest of the way. The battle was at midfield in what ultimately turned out to be a defensive battle in the second half for both sides.  

“Washington came out strong in the second half and put a lot of pressure on us” said coach Kevin Grimes. “We weren’t able to capitalize on the counterattack but our defense played solidly and we came out with the win.”  

The Bears defeated a ranked opponent for the second time this season after edging No. 14 San Jose State, 3-2, on Sept. 16. Cal hosts Oregon State Sunday at 2 p.m. at Edwards Stadium.


Annual meeting hopes to lessen public’s anthrax worries

By Hannah Schardt, Special to the Daily Planet
Sunday October 28, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO – At Berkeley’s Alta Bates Medical Center – and at hospitals across the country – panicked people are showing up, wanting to be tested for exposure to anthrax. 

“There’s a lot of anxiety-mongering going on out there, and the media are fanning the flames,” said Carolyn Kemp, spokesperson for Alta Bates. “It’s a scary time, and there’s a lot of incorrect information out there.” 

Judging by the concerns of infectious disease experts gathered this week across the Bay, the problem is growing. 

Sunday is the last day of the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s 39th annual meeting, which was held Oct. 25 - Oct. 28 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.  

Bioterrorism – previously scheduled as a small part of the conference – has understandably become the focus of this year’s event. 

A hastily-planned slate of events geared toward answering questions in the wake of the current anthrax scare started off Friday with a well-attended discussion led by two experts on bioterrorism. 

The question-and-answer session, which will be repeated this morning, was led by James Snyder, an anthrax expert from the University of Louisville, and Maj. Jon Woods, a doctor in the United States Air Force. 

As they took questions from the audience, it was apparent that many of those in attendance are under pressure from the public to administer anthrax tests and antibiotics – even when it is inadvisable. 

“Nasal swabs are not that productive except for epidemiological purposes,” said Snyder. 

Woods agreed. 

“(Nasal swabs) are really not useful for deciding who should receive treatment,” he said. “It’s foolhardy to use them to decide if a person is going to receive prophylactic (treatment).” 

But many in the audience said they are having a hard time convincing the public. 

One man, who works in Long Island, New York, said he is being pressured by unions. 

“Two of the unions in our area represent a lot of postal workers,” he said. “They are not asking but demanding to be given a nasal swab.” 

He said he explains to them the uselessness of the swab for disease detection, but “their response is: ‘Are you not going to know until the first person dies?’” 

The answer, at least for now, seems to be yes. 

“We don’t know who the future targets are going to be,” said Woods. “You can’t do swabs on 260 million people. So for now, that first person in a new group is unfortunately going to be very hard to save.” 

Many in the audience – most of whom never work with bioterrorism – attended out of curiosity. 

Suzanne Phelps, 33, of Alameda said the discussion of nasal swabs “did kind of surprise me. But it makes sense when I think about it. You don’t want to go give swabs to the whole state of New York, but you don’t want to make the search so narrow that you miss anyone.” 

Phelps works for an Oakland project which studies infectious diseases – but not anthrax. She said she understands the public concern but also sees how, in excess, it could itself become a problem. 

“You have to look at the risk of exposure, “ she said. “Right now, if you’re not in Florida, Washington, D.C., New York or New Jersey, you’re not at risk. And you’re just taxing important resources if you insist on being tested.” 

Kemp agreed. The Berkeley hospital instituted a bioterrorism response plan early last year, she said, and is prepared to deal with both real threats and panic. 

“If you come in and you’re worried that you feel sick, and you’re afraid the white powder next to the coffee machine might have made you sick, we need to find that out,” said Kemp. 

 

 

 


Keep police out of politics in Albany

Jerome Blank,
Sunday October 28, 2001

Editor: 

Having lived in Albany for over 70 years, my memories go back to old John Glavinovich, our Town Marshall prior to the new City Charter. He stood on the corner of San Pablo and Solano, directed traffic and escorted children across the street. In 1927, the new City Charter gave John the title of Chief of Police. He oversaw 3 persons, 2 of whom were motorcycle officers, without radios. Woe to the person who exceeded 25 miles per hour in Albany, as tough cop Frank Davis mercilessly gave out tickets. 

The Charter made the Chief's office elective, as did most small cities in those days. We in Albany have been fortunate to have had citizens living in Albany who had the qualities to head a small town department. As cities grew, most every city found that to obtain qualified chiefs, they had to select them from outside their boundaries. Only two cities in all of California still elect their Chief, one being Albany. To select a Chief for a modern department with all its complexities and problems, a city had to advertise the opening, demanding experience and qualifications, just as we do now for our Chief Administrative Officer, Public Works and Zoning Officers. 

By voting "YES" on Measure C, we do not give up any voting rights. After our present Chief retires, Measure C would allow our duly elected representatives on the Albany City Council to select a qualified experienced person from amongst a pool of applicants, who are screened and interviewed as to qualifications to head our department. Would we give up any rights as citizens if Measure C passed? A hearty NO! At present anyone having a non-police problem in the city can complain at weekly City Council meetings and have a hearing. If we have an unresponsive Council, we can elect new Councilpersons every two years, with persons who will listen to the citizens. On the other hand, at present, what citizen not satisfied with any action of the Police Department, would have the temerity to criticize the Police Department or its Chief should they have a problem. They would have to wait for four years to make any kind of change via an election. 

How long can we be so fortunate as to have qualified applicants for chief living in the city? The answer is to keep our Police Department out of politics and let our elected City Council and its Chief Administrative 

Officer handle the administration of every department of the city while allowing each Department Head to perform his or her duties. For Albany's future we must adopt Measure C by voting YES! 

Jerome Blank,  

former councilman and mayor 

Albany


Cal falls to Stanford

Daily Planet Wire Services
Sunday October 28, 2001

STANFORD – The Cal women’s volleyball team lost to No. 4 ranked Stanford, 3-0 (30-16, 30-18, 30-20) Friday night at Maples Pavilion. The Bears were led by seven kills by sophomore Gabrielle Abernathy and six kills apiece from senior Candace McNamee and sophomore Jessica Zatica. Sophomore middle blocker Heather Diers added four block assists for Cal.  

Stanford, which outhit the Bears, .464 to .138, was led by junior Olympian Logan Tom’s 12 kills.  

In game one, Cal (7-12 overall, 2-9 Pac-10) jumped out to a 4-2 lead with the help of a McNamee kill, a service ace by sophomore Ashleigh Turner and a kill by junior Leah Young. That was the highlight for the Bears as Stanford (18-2, 10-1) broke away from a 16-12 lead by going on a 8-0 run for a 24-12 advantage, finally winning game one, 30-16.  

A highlight for Cal in game two was the Bears coming back from a 9-5 deficit to take a 10-9 lead behind two kills from Abernathy, two service aces from junior Reena Pardiwala and a kill by McNamee. However, Cal only had one more lead after that, 11-10 on another Abernathy kill, before falling 30-18. In game three, the Bears fell behind 5-0 early and were never really in the contest, losing 30-20. .  

Cal will next travel to Oregon Thursday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. at McArthur Court, before facing Oregon State, Friday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. at Gill Coliseum.


Six measures to be on March ballot

The Associated Press
Sunday October 28, 2001

SACRAMENTO — California voters will act on six ballot measures when they go to the polls for the March 5 primary election, state officials said Friday. 

The measures include five proposals put on the ballot by the Legislature and an initiative that would extend term limits to allow lawmakers to serve up to four more years. 

That proposal will be Proposition 45, the secretary of state’s office said. 

Also appearing on the ballot will be: 

— Proposition 40, a $2.6 billion bond measure to pay for park, clean-air and a variety of other environmental programs. 

— Proposition 41, which would allow the sale of $200 million in bonds to buy updated voting equipment. 

— Proposition 42, a constitutional amendment that would earmark gasoline sales taxes for transportation programs. 

— Proposition 43, which would create a constitutional guarantee that a voter’s vote will be counted. 

— Proposition 44, a measure to crack down on auto insurance fraud. 

The numbering of propositions for an election generally starts where the previous election left off, although legislators can designate numbers for the measures they put on the ballot. 

The numbering reverts to Proposition 1 every 10 years. 

———— 

On the Net: Read the legislation — AB1602, AB56, ACA4, ACA9 of 2001 and SB1988 of 2000 — at www.senate.ca.gov and the initiative at www.ss.ca.gov 


Consider long-term effect

Margo Shafer
Sunday October 28, 2001

Editor: 

Those who are calling for a Berkeley city boycott, and others who oppose the Berkeley City Council resolution calling for an end, as soon as possible, to the bombing of Afghanistan should consider the following: 

Regardless of political persuasion, the people of the United States need to come to terms with the fact that the weapons in the U.S. arsenal are extremely toxic. They include depleted uranium, among other harmful chemicals, and the residues will continue killing the people of Afghanistan for generations to come. 

As in Iraq, the people of Afghanistan can expect high rates of cancer and birth defects as a result of these attacks. Doctors in Iraq report sharp increases in all types of cancer, especially childhood leukemia, and the hospitals around Basra report many babies born with birth defects. Of those babies, approximately two each day are severely deformed, such as babies born with no limbs or no recognizable facial features. The damage to the Iraqi gene pool is permanent, and the land can never be cleaned up. 

In addition to the environmental and genetic damage, the bombing in Afghanistan is creating a humanitarian crisis of immense proportion. Numerous international aid agencies serving Afghanistan are calling for a cessation in the bombing so that essential supplies can be delivered into the area before winter sets in. It is estimated that 7 million people, almost a third of the population, will perish without these supplies. Many of those who die will be children, as half of the population of Afghanistan is under the age of 16. 

As our nation mourns, we must question the wisdom of inflicting this horrific and lasting damage upon the people and environment of Afghanistan. 

 

Margo Shafer 

Berkeley


Responding to misinformation

Mark Tarses
Sunday October 28, 2001

Editor: 

I have received several very angry e-mail messages lately, trashing Berkeley, and one even calling me a traitor for living in this city. I now have a standard reply, and here it is: 

A lot of very irresponsible and erroneous news stories about Berkeley have appeared in nationally known and respected newspapers since destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Contrary to what you may have heard or read: 

There have been no pro-bin Laden or pro-Taliban rallies in Berkeley! There are no stores in Berkeley with pictures of Osama bin Laden or Mohammed Omar (the head of the Taliban) in their windows. 

Berkeley is well-known for it’s left-wing politics. The people who run the government of Afghanistan torture and murder leftists, socialists, and communists. 

The domestic policies of the Taliban are universally despised in Berkeley. In Afghanistan, the penalty for teaching girls to read is death. Women are prohibited from working outside their homes, even if they are starving and work is the only way they can earn money to buy food. Flying a kite is punishable by death. (I don’t know why. I can’t figure that one out.) Homosexuals are publicly executed by dropping concrete blocks or collapsing walls on them. 

Anyone who thinks that policies like these are popular in Berkeley or that they are supported by anyone in Berkeley city government has absolutely no idea what Berkeley is really like! 

Also, despite claims to the contrary, there have been no fund-raisers in Berkeley for Osama bin Laden or the Taliban. Bin Laden is a millionaire many times over. Nobody is quite sure how much he is worth, but it’s more money than he’s going to spend in his lifetime. 

The Taliban controls and taxes opium production. Half the world’s heroin originates in Afghanistan, and the Taliban makes billions of dollars a year in opium taxes. 

Why would people in Berkeley (or anywhere else) hold fund-raisers for people like this?!? It’s utterly ridiculous! 

The attack on the World Trade Center saddens, angers, and frustrates us all. We don’t know who is responsible. The people who hijacked the airplanes on Sept. 11 are all dead and can’t be punished or even questioned. I don’t know who to blame either, but there is no point in blaming Berkeley. 

 

Mark Tarses 

Berkeley


Police Briefs

– Hank Sims
Sunday October 28, 2001

 

Shortly after midnight Wednesday, two armed robbers held up the Office Depot store at 1025 Gilman Street, according to Berkeley Police Department Spokesperson Lt. Cynthia Harris. 

The men approached two employees as they closed the store for the night. They forced the employees back inside the store and made them hand over an undisclosed amount of cash. No merchandise was taken. 

The suspects are described as black males in their 20s, one around 6 feet tall and 170 pounds., the other around 5 feet 6 inches tall and 160 pounds. Both were wearing black, hooded, long-sleeve sweatshirts, baggy black jeans and black tennis shoes. Both carried handguns. 

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call the BPD Robbery Detail at 981-5742. 

 

 

Three juvenile females robbed a purse from a woman near the corner of Shattuck and University avenues on Wednesday at 9:45 a.m., according to Harris. 

One asked the woman for the time as she walked down the street. When the woman stopped to check her watch, another juvenile allegedly reached into a bag the woman was carrying and pulled out her purse. The three then fled on foot. 

Police have no suspects at this time. 

 

There were reports of shots fired Tuesday evening. 

Many neighbors near the corner of Derby and Milvia Streets reported hearing a series of gunshots around 9:40 p.m. One witness said he saw what appeared to be one male firing at another.  

Police were unable to find any suspects or victims in the neighborhood. 

 

– Hank Sims


Maio explains council resolution

Linda Maio
Sunday October 28, 2001

Editor: 

We all seek peace, for ourselves, our families, our nation, and indeed, the world. Our nation is engaged in a national debate on how we achieve that peace. The City Council resolution asks that we work to break the cycle of violence and urges that we make an investment in our security, in achieving peace.  

The loss of innocent lives at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, and in the destroyed aircraft is a horrifying shock to people throughout the world. Our hearts go out to the victims, to their families, and to their friends, who have suffered so deeply. We are a nation in mourning.  

We need to ask how the perpetrators could have reached such levels of hatred and frustration. The explanation that they are brainwashed by a perverted leader who holds seemingly magical power over them has to be a dangerous simplification. Such anger can only have been constructed over time, through a combination of historical events resulting in a deep sense of threat and sustained exclusion. Our nation’s response has everything to do with whether we reinforce this alienation and thus provide the soil, seeds, and nutrients for future cycles of revenge and violence. Or whether it changes. 

Our enemies believe they are fighting an evil system that wishes to eradicate them and their people. We need to destroy this myth, not their people. Military action that attacks already vulnerable civilian populations will sow more hatred, confirming those who regard us as evil and nurturing yet another generation of recruits prepared to attack us at all cost.  

Monumental times require monumental change. Now is the time for a different, an unexpected, response from the United States. Countries like Pakistan, Tajikistan, and yes, Iran and Syria should be approached by the West, and especially by the United States, with a question of strategic importance: How can we help you meet the fundamental needs of your people? The single greatest pressure we can put on our enemies now is to remove the justification for their “holy” war. We can overcome terror by making it irrelevant. Let’s do exactly what our enemies do not expect. Let’s seek justice, of course, but at the same time work vigorously to create a different future, one that does not breed hatred and make the world unsafe for Americans everywhere. 

Our global challenge is how to engage others effectively to ensure a new kind of future, a future based on the life-affirming ethics that are present in every cultural tradition. Our challenge is to engage with people everywhere, deeply respecting their own traditions and religious beliefs, to help them meet their own fundamental needs. Such an effort will bequeath to the generation of our children’s children a legacy far more secure than could result from any amount of military might. The current situation poses an unprecedented opportunity for this to happen. Let us have the wisdom and strength to rise to it, to seize the opportunity to construct a better future for ourselves and, indeed, the world. 

We need to respond to well-organized, decentralized, self-perpetuating sources of terror by thinking and acting differently. Our enemies are now counting on us to strike back, harm the innocent, and create more desperate and lasting rage. Let us not fulfill their prophecy by providing them with the martyrs and justifications they need. They changed the face of war. They entered our lives by turning our own tools against us. We will not win peace, justice, or security with the traditional weapons of war. We need to change the terms of engagement.  

 

Linda Maio 

city councilmember 

with help from John Paul Lederach


Dead snake costs transit system $1 million in San Francisco

The Associated Press
Sunday October 28, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — Transit officials will have to pay more than $1 million for stopping construction on a project near the airport while wildlife officials investigated a rare dead snake found at the site. 

In all, $1.07 million will be paid by Bay Area Rapid Transit to Tutor-Saliba/Slattery, the construction company that was working near San Francisco International Airport. 

Work on the BART extension project was halted for 18 days after an endangered San Francisco garter snake was discovered dead at the site. 

The pencil-thin snake, which has a turquoise blue belly and vivid red and black stripes, is listed as endangered by the state. It also is found in parts of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, where it lives primarily in ponds, creeks, marshes and meadows. 

State Department of Fish and Game sleuths were unable to figure out who was responsible for the snake’s death, so BART will pay the bill for stopping construction. 

“Nobody has ever been able to find out what happened to the snake,” said BART spokesman Mike Healy. “There was no evidence that the contractor or anyone was directly at fault.” 

BART already has spent close to $6 million to comply with environmental laws. The transit agency captured and relocated 77 snakes during construction near wetlands in San Bruno. Those snakes have been returned to their original habitat. 

New safety standards were set after the dead garter snake was discovered. The speed limit in the construction area was slowed to 10 mph and workers now arrive at the site by bus rather than in their personal vehicles to limit snake squishings. 

Extending the BART transit line to San Francisco Airport is estimated to cost $1.48 billion and be completed by December 2002. 


As you sow

Carl da Costa
Sunday October 28, 2001

Editor: 

Whether the Berkeley City Council passes resolutions or not; whether we, as individuals, support or reject these resolutions; whether we are vocal or silent on the issue of the United States attacking or not attacking Osama bin Laden and the Taliban forces in Afghanistan ? What difference does it make? 

I am not a Christian, nor do I follow any religion. But I do believe in cause and effect, and so do the various scriptures. In the King James version of the Bible, in Galatians 6:7, it is written “For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” 

What happened in New York on Sept. 11, 2001 was an effect. The bombing of Taliban forces in Afghanistan is also an effect. Whatsoever Osama bin Laden sowed, it is certain that he shall also reap. Whatsoever anyone of us sows today, that too shall he or she reap. 

It should be somewhat obvious, then, that every moment of our lives we are simply receiving our just harvest. And if this is true, then the issue at hand isn’t one of religion or politics, but rather of agriculture! We can be more careful what we sow. 

 

Carl da Costa 

Berkeley


Air traffic controller pleads guilty to holding up banks

The Associated Press
Sunday October 28, 2001

OAKLAND — A San Francisco International Airport air traffic controller who had been struggling with a series of personal and financial problems pleaded guilty Friday to a bank robbery spree. 

Rick Lee Davis, 43, the president of the air traffic controllers’ union local, changed his plea after originally pleading innocent. He pleaded guilty Friday to six counts of bank robbery. 

Davis, nicknamed the Robust Robber because of his stocky build, was arrested Aug. 3 after a spree of nine Bay Area bank robberies over a 10-month period. Police say he made off with $40,000. 

He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 15. Davis faces a sentence of 120 years in prison. 

Davis had been working as an air traffic controller at SFO since 1998, earning $98,000 a year. In 1996, Davis was seriously hurt when his car hit a cow in Hawaii, where he had been living with his wife and two sons. Davis later divorced and filed for bankruptcy. 


Keep up the good work, Berkeley

Satnam Bains
Sunday October 28, 2001

 

Editor 

I am also against war and for quick conclusion to the problems instead of killing poor people and achieving nothing.  

I am with your city and will support you in all possible ways and I am very sure most of the Americans are also with your city. It’s just few crazy people trying to ruin the reputation of the city and trying to scare the people by saying they will boycott Berkeley. I am sure that not even they have the guts to boycott Berkeley because I am sure they will not survive without Berkeley.  

I am very proud of people of Berkeley and wish them to keep up the good work. 

 

Satnam Bains 

Yuba City


Calif. power demand low

The Associated Press
Sunday October 28, 2001

SACRAMENTO — Demand for electricity in California has been so low at times that the state has had to give away power and even pay utilities to take it, according to state financial records. 

The state lost a total of $26 million in its first three months of trading power on the daily wholesale electricity market as demand and prices declined, documents released this week show. 

“They’re selling electricity that taxpayers paid for at 10 cents on the dollar,” said Harvey Rosenfield of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. 

State officials say Gov. Gray Davis’ power-trading program averted blackouts this summer. 

The state began buying power in January but didn’t begin selling it until April when the daily scramble to meet power needs eased. 

State traders gave away a total of 1,414 megawatt-hours. 

A few times the state had to pay a utility to take the excess power in order to avoid paying penalties that the operator of the state’s power grid charges for dumping surplus electricity, said Oscar Hidalgo, spokesman for the state Department of Power. 

DWR is the state department charged with managing the state’s power buys. The state stepped in to purchase power on behalf of three utilities in January, when high wholesale electricity prices led the companies to the brink of bankruptcy. 


Don’t vote away our freedoms in face of fear

Dennis M. Burke
Sunday October 28, 2001

Editor: 

In this time of intense patriotism, who among us is truly ready to risk death for our freedoms? I suspect that many people deeply believe that they are. But which freedoms will they risk death to preserve? The freedom of privacy? Of habeas corpus? Of speech? Of free assembly? Of free expression? The freedom from unreasonable search and seizure? Are we willing to risk death at the hands of terrorists as the price of these freedoms? 

I see many people waving our flag and – remarkably – at the same time proclaiming that we must give up our constitutional freedoms in order to be safer. I see members of Congress quick to legislate away our freedoms for our safety. Where is the courage and patriotism in that? 

Now that we must chose between safety and freedom, we must not flinch if our flag is to mean anything: The courage of our convictions is being tested by history. We should let our representative know that we are not so fearful as to have them legislate away the freedoms and privacies that other generations have died to give us. 

Dennis M. Burke 

Phoenix, Arizona  


Former prime minister seeks freedom under newly signed Anti-Terrorism Act

By David Kravets The Associated Press
Sunday October 28, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — Hours after President Bush signed an anti-terrorism bill granting police unprecedented powers Friday, a former Ukrainian prime minister on trial here argued the new legislation proves he did not commit a crime on U.S. soil. 

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavel Lazarenko is on trial for allegedly laundering millions of dollars in the United States with money obtained by extorting or bribing Ukrainian businesses, according to a grand jury indictment unsealed in July. 

In a court hearing Friday, Lazarenko’s attorneys urged a federal judge to dismiss the case. 

They argued that the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001 broadens money-laundering crimes that were not expressly outlawed when Lazarenko was accused.  

That means he cannot be prosecuted because it was not a crime before Friday’s law was created, said Lazarenko’s attorney Dennis P. Riordan. 

Senate amendments to the bill for the first time include acts “for money laundering, the very conduct by a foreign official with which Lazarenko is charged in the pending indictment,” Riordan argued. 

Wearing brown jail smocks, Lazarenko sat quietly and listened to the two-hour proceedings translated through a Russian-language interpreter. 

Riordan argued that prior to the new law, money laundering was only a crime for foreign public officials in the United States if the money was obtained through extortion or drug deals — not bribery. 

The package Bush signed Friday changed that to also criminalize money obtained through bribery. 

Federal prosecutors said Lazarenko can still be prosecuted under the old law because he extorted millions from Ukrainian businesses. Extortion, the government maintained Friday, is the same as bribery. 

“For this case, Congress didn’t need to make the amendment,” argued Assistant U.S. Attorney Martha Boersch. 

But Lazarenko’s attorneys said the U.S. Supreme Court has outlined extortion as a “violent or terrorist act” for which Lazarenko is not accused. Some charges allege Lazarenko took money from businesses, which in return received government favors. 

U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins said he would rule on the dispute before Nov. 20. 

Lazarenko is a political centrist who fled his country for the United States in February 1999. He was named prime minister in 1996 by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, serving 13 months before losing a power struggle. 

He fled to the United States after the Ukrainian government accused him of stealing about $2 million. Lazarenko has maintained the accusations were part of an attempt by his enemies, including Kuchma, to silence political opposition. 

The U.S. government has accused Lazarenko of conspiring to transfer about $200 million in ill-gotten funds to U.S. bank and brokerage accounts to conceal their origin. 

Officials want forfeiture of Lazarenko’s 41-room home in Novato, north of San Francisco, and the laundered money. 

In February, meanwhile, Ukrainian prosecutors instituted a criminal case against opposition leader and former Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Julia Tymoshenko, who was dismissed by Kuchma in mid-January after prosecutors accused her of wide-scale corruption. She is charged with paying millions of dollars in bribes to Lazarenko. 

The case argued Friday is United States v. Lazarenko, CR-000284. 


Bay Area Briefs

Staff
Sunday October 28, 2001

OAKLAND — Attorneys for three former Oakland police officers accused of criminal misconduct said Friday they will seek to have their clients tried outside of Alameda County. 

Michael Rains, attorney for Clarence Mabanag, said pretrial publicity in the so-called “Riders” case would make it hard to seat a panel of unbiased jurors. 

A trial date for the former police officers, Mabanag, Jude Siapno and Matthew Hornung, has not yet been set. A fourth officer, Frank Vazquez, fled soon after the investigation began. 

The officers were fired by the Oakland Police Department after they were accused of beating suspects and falsifying police reports during a two-week period in June of 2000. 

About 25 activists from the community group PUEBLO, People United for a Better Oakland, held a rally outside of the Oakland courthouse and urged a more comprehensive investigation. 

PUEBLO claims that misconduct runs rampant within the Oakland Police Department and that the investigation should not be restricted to the four defendants charged. 

 

 

SAN FRANCISCO — The Exploratorium here hosted more than a dozen of the brightest minds in the world Friday as it marked the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize. 

Four Nobel laureates took time to discuss the impact of the Nobel Prize. Chemist Paul Berg and economist Milton Friedman were among those who described how they earned their awards and how the prize changed their lives. 

The Nobel Prize is the most prestigious award in science, and California’s universities and research facilities lay claim to more Nobel laureates than any other place in the world. 

On Saturday, the Exploratorium hosts a live event called “Stump the Scientist,” where Nobel Prize winners will try to explain some of the curious Exploratorium exhibits for members of the public in attendance. 


CA imprisons fewer inmates, but for longer terms

By Don Thompson, Associated Press Writer
Sunday October 28, 2001

SACRAMENTO — California is sending inmates to prison at a far lower rate than just a few years ago, but the prisoners are serving longer sentences, figures released Friday show. 

The number of prison inmates is expected to drop in the next two years from the current 159,114 to as low as 155,720 in mid-2003 before beginning a slow climb to about 164,620 by mid-2007. 

That’s thousands fewer inmates than prison officials predicted just six months ago. 

However, the slumping economy could boost crime and convictions beyond projections, said California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Margot Bach. 

Prison population swings tend to be cyclical, she said, and it remains unclear if the drop in imprisonments is a long- or short-term trend. 

The trend stems largely from policy decisions and runs counter to California’s rapidly growing population, said Frank Zimring, a University of California, Berkeley law professor who has studied California prisons for more than 20 years. 

For instance, most of the slowdown is in minimum- and medium-security inmates, particularly women, in large part because of a state initiative that took effect July 1 requiring treatment instead of prison or jail for first- and second-time nonviolent drug offenders. 

The drug initiative will cut the prisons’ population by about 5,440 next year and by more than 7,700 inmates by 2007, the department predicts. 

However, the state’s maximum security population, particularly inmates serving life terms and extended sentences under the three-strikes law, continues to grow, according to the department’s fall report now being reviewed by the governor’s office. Those inmates require higher security prisons and more supervision, Bach said. 

The number of inmates serving life in prison has grown from about 9,800 or 10 percent of the total population a decade ago to 20,429 or about 12.8 percent of the total today, Bach said. 

The state’s prison admission rate has also dropped significantly, from 293.5 felons per 100,000 Californians five years ago to 239.2 per 100,000 today. 

However, prison sentence length throughout the system has grown by 20 percent in less than a decade, from an average 47.9 months in 1993 to the current 54.6 months, the figures show. 

Actual time behind prison walls has grown from an average 23.6 months to 35.7 months when early release incentives and time spent in county jails prior to imprisonment are taken into account. 

That increase could partly be a function of weeding out inmates like drug offenders who would have served shorter sentences, Zimring said. 

The state’s prison population is expected to grow 6.3 percent over the next 10 years, Bach said, down sharply from the 14.5 increase in the number of inmates California saw during the 1980s. 

“California’s prison rate kept growing while the crime rate kept dropping,” said Zimring. “We were defying gravity until 1999. That’s when we stopped toughening up (anti-crime policies). That’s when the declining crime rate could catch up.” 

The 19,725 inmates who entered California prisons in the first half of this year is 4.5 percent lower than the number of incarcerations during the same period last year. 

The number of parolees returned to prison for parole violations is also fewer than projected by prison officials just six months ago. 

Bach said the drop was due to changes in police crime-fighting tactics, a state program to help recently released inmates succeed on parole, and an emphasis on keeping persons with two convictions from committing a third crime that would bring a far longer sentence under the state’s three-strikes law. 

Supervision of twice-convicted parolees was doubled so that one parole officer now oversees about 40 parolees instead of 70 or 80, Bach said. 

“We want to keep them from coming back for their third strike,” she said. 


Rodney King pleads guilty to drugs, will get treatment

The Associated Press
Sunday October 28, 2001

 

POMONA — Rodney King, whose videotaped beating by police led to the 1992 Los Angeles riot, pleaded guilty Friday to drug-related charges and was ordered to spend a year in treatment. 

King, 36, unexpectedly entered the pleas during a brief hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court. 

King admitted to three misdemeanor counts of being under the influence of PCP and one count of indecent exposure, the district attorney’s office said in a statement. 

He was ordered to spend a year in the American Recovery Center, a live-in drug treatment facility in Pomona. 

King, who was free on $7,500 bond, checked into the center after the hearing, defense attorney Antonio J. Bestard said. 

“I think he will be successful because he wants to get rid of this,” the attorney said. “He’s had a very bad time this year.” 

“I think this was the best result,” he added. “I think the court, particularly, was very understanding.” 

Prosecutor Thomas Gowen had sought a year in county jail for King, who could have faced more than three years in jail if he had gone on trial and been convicted. 

But district attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons called the sentence acceptable. 

“It’s obvious that Mr. King needs some help and, hopefully, he’ll get it there,” she said. 

King was arrested earlier this month in Pomona for allegedly driving while under the influence of a psychedelic drug. 

On Sept. 29, he was arrested by Pomona police for allegedly being under the influence of PCP and exposing himself. 

And earlier last month, he pleaded innocent to another charge of being under the psychedelic drug, stemming from an Aug. 28 arrest by Claremont police at a hotel. 

His guilty pleas end all three cases, but he faces a Nov. 20 hearing in San Bernardino County for allegedly violating probation in a 1999 misdemeanor domestic abuse case. 

King’s 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police led to the 1992 riot when a jury acquitted four officers of most state charges and deadlocked on one count. Two officers were later convicted in federal court of violating King’s civil rights. 

King won a $3.8 million settlement in a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles. 


Meningitis bacteria vaccine is useful with preschoolers

By Maria-Belen Moran, The Associated Press
Sunday October 28, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — A recent study on more than 80,000 preschoolers demonstrates a new vaccine is highly successful in preventing the bacteria that causes meningitis, one of the co-authors of the study said Friday. 

Meningitis causes about 200 deaths in preschoolers nationwide each year, and more than 1 million deaths worldwide annually among infants and toddlers. 

A vaccine to protect older children and adults against pneumococcal infections, the principal cause of meningitis, has been available for 20 years.  

But a vaccine for children younger than 2 was just approved last year. 

The valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, or PNCV7, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in February 2000, but this study was the first of its effects in the general public, said Dr. Steven Black, co-director of the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center in Oakland and one of the study’s co-authors. 

Researchers say one of the most relevant findings of the study is a herd immunity effect, which means that vaccinated infants and toddlers seemed to be protecting those who had not been vaccinated. 

“It lowers the percentage of children who carry the disease in their throat,” Black said. “In fact, some evidence from the CDC shows adults are also being protected.” 

The pneumococcal bacteria can cause meningitis — an infection of the lining of the brain — which can lead to death, blindness, deafness, paralysis and learning problems. 

The bacteria also causes blood stream infections, pneumonia and middle ear infections. The bacteria is spread through close contact, including sneezing. 

“I would predict a decrease in the disease in the adult population as well,” said Black, a pediatrician with 25 years of experience, who explained that 20 percent of adults living with a young child contracts the disease — compared with only 5 percent of adults who don’t have any contact with preschoolers. 

The study will be presented Saturday during the 39th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in San Francisco. 

“The vaccine is highly effective, it is important not only for the U.S. but also for countries in the developing world,” Black said. 

No serious side effects to the vaccine were reported during the study, Black said. Common side effects are similar to those of other vaccines and include soreness and redness at the injection site, as well as fever. 

The FDA recommends all children up to 24 months of age be given the vaccine in four doses, at 2, 4, 6 and 12 to 15 months of age.  

Black said the vaccine already is available in some countries in Europe, South America and Australia. 


Cal State Hayward says accountant, now dismissed, embezzled $150,000

The Associated Press
Sunday October 28, 2001

HAYWARD — Exploiting a lack of checks and balances, an accountant in the Cal State-Hayward fundraising department embezzled more than $150,000 over five years, regaling himself with gifts including a personal computer and home improvements, according to a university audit. 

The employee was fired over the summer, but not before he used a series of accounting tricks to take the money beginning in July 1996, the report by the Cal State system auditor said. 

The audit, which ran from May through late September, did not use the employee’s name. It said campus police were investigating the employee, but neither spokesmen from the campus nor the system’s headquarters returned calls abut the status of that probe. 

The employee worked for Cal State-Hayward’s Educational Foundation, an organization affiliated with the campus that solicits donations from alumni and grant makers. He was the primary accountant for the foundation’s vice president. 

According to the audit, which was dated Monday, the man forged documents to buy $5,200 in personal computing equipment and made more than 40 fraudulent disbursements to get cash and pay contractors remodeling his house and credit card bills. 

The report suggested the fundraising office implement a series of tighter accounting procedures.


S.F. doctors report increase of syphilis

The Associated Press
Sunday October 28, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — A significant rise in syphilis infections is being driven by gay men having unprotected sex with multiple partners, according to city public health officials. 

At 116 reported infections this year through September, the caseload may not be overwhelming — but the rise is precipitous. The city’s department of public health reported just 39 cases in 1998, 47 in 1999 and 71 in 2000. 

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease that can be treated with penicillin. The telltale sore often goes unnoticed, however, and over time, it can damage organs. 

The number of infections more than doubled among gay and bisexual men from 2000, according to a report city officials will deliver Saturday at the Infectious Diseases Society of America meeting in San Francisco. 

There have been 93 cases among gay or bisexual men so far this year, up from 47 last year. There were just 10 such reported cases in 1998. 

The study suggests the rise comes because gay and bisexual men are having unprotected sex with unfamiliar partners they meet in sex clubs and adult bookstores, and on the Internet. The 93 men reported having 1,225 sexual partners and could identify only 8 percent of them by name. 

Similar syphilis spikes have been reported in San Diego, Florida, Boston and Chicago, said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.dph.sf.ca.us/ 


Some fear clearcuts could increase fire danger

By Colleen Valles The Associated Press
Sunday October 28, 2001

ANDERSON — The state’s largest timber company is shifting its logging practices from selective thinning of forestland to clearcutting, in order to help small trees grow big, it says. 

Sierra Pacific Industries says the shift also will cut down on fire danger, with new techniques making clearcutting more efficient and safer. But environmentalists and some neighbors charge that clearcuts are not good fire management tools. 

One thing is clear. With California’s fire season drawing to a close after more than 293,700 acres of wildland was burned, the issue of whether clearcutting is an effective fire management tool is heating up. 

“We try to design these along major ridge lines or roads so we can control fire better,” said Mike Mitzel, a district manager for Sierra Pacific Industries. 

Environmentalists say clearcuts eventually could lead to greater fire danger if the replacement trees are allowed to grow back too densely. 

“If you take everything away, a fire’s not going to burn effectively,” said Sierra Club organizer Warren Alford. “But in eight to 10 years, in a dense forest, that’s an increasingly dangerous fire opportunity.” 

The company plans to use a technique called “visual retention” on 70 percent of its 1.5 million acres, about 3.7 percent of forestland in California. Visual retention is a harvesting technique that leaves four to eight trees per acre in what otherwise would be a clearcut. 

Once the company completes the visual retention or clearcuts, it will go back to selective harvests, said Mark Lathrop, community relations manager for Sierra Pacific. That could take decades. 

On average, timber companies clearcut about 8,350 acres of the state’s 279,000 acres that are harvested in a typical year, according to the California Forestry Association. 

All agree that the Sierra forests where trees grow so thick that their trunks are inches apart and their branches are indistinguishable are not as healthy as those where the trees grow as much as six feet apart and the sunlight filters down to the forest floor. 

Fire is a natural, important part of a healthy Sierra Nevada forest — it leaves old, dead trees, called “snags,” for birds and other animals to nest in; it clears away small trees and leaves the large ones to provide habitat; it keeps the trees from crowding each other; it helps return nutrients to the soil. 

But the fires that consume unhealthy dense forests can burn so hot they burn up all the nutrients in the soil and make the ground as hard as concrete. Even water can’t penetrate it, and the water and ash run off into streams. 

Logging almost always increases fire danger, said Steve Pyne, professor and fire historian at Arizona State University. 

“All of the large fires in American history have followed logging or land clearing,” he said. “Because you’ve created a huge amount of fuel. A lot of material may be used, but a huge amount is left — branches, needles, small stuff or slash, that’s particularly vulnerable to fire.” 

And the trees planted to replenish the clearcuts are susceptible to fire because they are young and small. Older, bigger trees are more resistant to fire. 

But harvesting trees can be beneficial if they are properly maintained. 

“Where logging works as a fire protection measure is really kind of gardening,” Pyne said, “where you convert it to a garden and you intensively weed it and manage it and cultivate it.” 

That practice, however, can cost the forest biodiversity and ecosystem health, and it’s expensive and labor-intensive, Pyne said. 

The threat of intense, catastrophic fires has increased because the more frequent, cooler fires typical of the Sierra Nevada have been suppressed, and the forests don’t receive the fires’ restorative benefits. 

That’s where clearcutting comes in, according to Sierra Pacific Industries. 

“If you want to keep a system, you need disturbance,” said Cajun James, principal research scientist for the company. 

Sierra Pacific maintains the clearcuts or visual retention will provide the disturbance needed to let new trees grow to restore the health of the forest, and help prevent intense fires. 

“Nothing can stop a fire in these dense stands,” James said. “We’ve suppressed fires long enough that when they get that intense, they can’t fight them.” 

The Sierra Club’s Alford counters that clearcutting does not mimic a healthy fire in the Sierra Nevada. He said too much is taken out for a healthy forest to grow back in its place, and the herbicides that are put on clearcuts — to keep down the vegetation that might interfere with replanted trees — can be harmful to people. 

Clearcutting is controversial throughout the state. Even the U.S. Forest Service has significantly cut back on its clearcutting, cutting only a few acres at most and doing it rarely, said spokesman Matt Mathes. The Forest Service used to clearcut and sell the timber. It stopped the practice in 1992. 

“Society has made it fairly clear to us that they want to see less emphasis on timber harvesting,” Mathes said. “The laws of the land to protect wildlife and water quality have been factors in our move away from clearcutting.” 

Instead, the Forest Service thins the forests, taking out brush and small diameter trees, then finishes up with a “prescribed” burn, which means it sets controlled fires in the spring and fall to clear the rest of the fuel that could feed a catastrophic fire. 

The Forest Service owns 20 million acres — or one-fifth of the land in California. About 4.5 million acres of that is designated as wilderness and has no timber cutting done on it. Another 600,000 acres in river corridors are not cut either. 

According to the California Forestry Association, state loggers do a relatively low amount of clearcutting. There are 40 million acres of forest land in the state and 16.7 million of that is harvestable, the association says. 

Lumber from California in general brought in more than $1.6 billion in 1999, the latest year for which numbers were available, said Butch Bernhardt, director of information services for the Western Wood Products Association in Oregon. 

Fighting wildfires is costly for the state, consuming 90 percent of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s $450 million budget. 

END Advance 


New faces on home-improvement jobs

The Associated Press
Sunday October 28, 2001

So you finally found the ideal general contractor for your major home-improvement or repair job. The interviews went well. The background checks checked out. You really trust this person. 

But what’s with these new faces on the job? 

They’re probably subcontractors — specialists hired by the general contractor to perform specific jobs. According to an expert who shepherds home-improvement tasks for a living, homeowners should understand their relationship and responsibilities to subcontractors. 

“Subcontractors work indirectly for the homeowner because their contract is with the general contractor,” says Michael Christy, director of market development for the Home Service Store. “Some homeowners assume the general contractor performs all the work and are surprised when other workers show up at the front door.” 

The role of the general contractor is to coordinate the project. Dozens of tasks, such as drywall, plumbing, wiring and roofing are farmed (subcontracted) out to independent contractors, who specialize in a particular trade. Homeowners usually have no role in the selection of subcontractors. However, homeowners who have heard from friends and neighbors about the good work of a subcontractor can suggest names to the general contractor. 

Christy says general contractors “should be very clear with homeowners about the jobs and work schedules of subcontractors. Homeowners need to insist upon a work calendar that shows approximate time frames when subcontractors will be on the job. That’s the only way everyone stays on the same page and the job stays on track.” 

Subcontractors, or subs, are paid by the general contractor. The payments are often drawn against an amount of money the homeowner provides to the general contractor to pay for project costs.  

“Homeowners would do well not to make the advance payment one large, lump sum,” says Christy. “Instead, they should add money to the fund only when certain jobs involving subcontractors are performed.” 

Although subcontractors are not paid directly by the homeowner, it is the homeowner’s responsibility to make certain the general contractor makes payments on time. Christy says payments are due when the subcontractor is at a point when critical materials are needed or when the job is done. 

If the general contractor does not make payments, subcontractors can take action against the homeowner.  

These actions, often filed as liens, place the financial burden squarely on the homeowner’s shoulders. If liens aren’t taken care of quickly, work on the project can grind to a halt. “Worse still,” says Christy, “liens may show up years later when the home goes up for sale. No sale can be completed until past liens are resolved.” 

The working relationship with subcontractors is the general contractor’s job. He or she makes sure the quality of workmanship and materials by subcontractors is in line with project plans or homeowner expectations. 

The general contractor makes certain subcontractors have the necessary licenses and insurance. 

The homeowner can exercise some clout on subcontractor performance.  

Christy says “a cost of delay clause should be inserted into the contract with the general contractor. If the subcontractor doesn’t show for work, the general contractor can be held financially responsible.” 

If the homeowner believes subcontractor work is shoddy, Christy advises the homeowner to first bring the problem to the attention of the general contractor.  

If that does not yield results, the homeowner can seek arbitration between the parties. The last resort is litigation. 

In extreme cases, subcontractors can be removed from the job for failure to perform, argumentativeness or drug and alcohol abuse.


Job availability within state’s entertainment industry hits low

The Associated Press
Sunday October 28, 2001

LOS ANGELES — Employment in the entertainment industry has hit a four-year low, as an already tumultuous year in Hollywood was made worse by the terrorist attacks. 

State employment figures show that  

September was the slowest month for movie, television and video production since June 1997.  

A total of 143,500 people were employed in the industry last month — down from 158,300 in November 1998, the high mark of the last four years. 

The latest numbers do not include the thousands of independent contractors who are also out of work. 

“This is a worse hit than anyone expected, and we really don’t know the full ramifications,” said Stephen Katz, an independent analyst who monitors employment in the industry.  

“There’s a trickle-down effect, and what’s so concerning is that these companies are laying off their full-time employees.” 

All across Hollywood, projects have been delayed or even canceled since Sept. 11, weakening the already fragile industry. 

The Entertainment Industry Development Corp. found that location shooting for feature length films in Los Angeles last month was half of the September 1999 total.  

Commercial shooting was down nearly a third from the same period. 

Alternately frenetic and stalled, the industry saw a rush to production in the past year, driven by fear of dual strikes by the actors and writers unions.  

Once they were averted, the industry had to deal with a minor slowdown caused by an excess of projects. 

Business was just starting to pick up when the terrorist attacks struck New York and Washington. 

“We were anticipating things would start back up again in September,” said Gabe Videla, president of Special Effects Limited. “And then all of the sudden the World Trade Center happened, and we got hit below the knees.” 

Industry officials have said production is unlikely to pickup until late winter or early spring 2002. 


Fighter work won’t rejuvenate California aerospace sector

By Gary Gentile The Associated Press
Sunday October 28, 2001

LOS ANGELES — The Joint Strike Fighter program may be the single largest defense project in history, but its impact on California’s economy will be a far cry from what it might have been in the 1980s, when the state was the center of the national aerospace industry. 

Most of the work on the $200 billion fighter project will be done at the Lockheed Martin Corp. plant in Ft. Worth, Texas. 

Friday, the Department of Defense awarded Lockheed the contract to develop the next-generation, supersonic stealth fighter. Lockheed will be the lead contractor, working with Northrop Grumman Corp., based in Los Angeles, and BAE Systems of Great Britain. 

Northrop Grumman said the award will mean a total of 1,600 new jobs for the company across the nation, with 1,200 in California. Officials declined to estimate the financial impact of the award on the company. 

Most of the California jobs will be in El Segundo, where Northrop will design and assemble the plane’s center fuselage. 

Lockheed competed with Boeing Co. for the contract. But no matter which company received the lucrative contract, tech companies in California were expected to benefit from subcontracting work.  

Still, the impact will be nowhere near what it would have been a decade ago, when Southern California was heavily dependent on defense spending. 

“It seems likely this is the beginning of a very slow upturn, but not the beginning of defense dependence or anything like that again,” said Stephen Levy, an economist at the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. 

Levy said the 1,200 new jobs in the state must be seen in the context of the 280,000 defense jobs that left California in the 1990s. 

“Getting hotel occupancy back up again will have a far greater economic impact than this,” he said, referring to the current collapse of the state tourism industry. “But it should have some confidence-building impact in terms of Southern California remaining a place to do business for this kind of work.” 

Northrop Grumman is the last big defense contractor with headquarters in California. With a handful of other firms, it will likely benefit from a general increase in defense spending as the country fights its new war on terrorism. 

“We have ongoing expertise in military satellite capabilities and defense systems that might be part of a national missile defense system, which seems to have a head of steam now,” said Tom Lieser, senior economist for the UCLA Anderson Forecast. “The impact on the companies may be more significant than the impact on the economy.” 


Click and Clack Talk Cars

Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Sunday October 28, 2001

Dear Tom and Ray: 

 

My son, who is a certified mechanic and sells lots of tires, tells me that if I go to a higher-profile tire on my '98 Chevy Cavalier for a softer ride, terrible things will happen: The computer will sizzle, gas mileage will drop to 4.3 miles per gallon and I will roll the car on the first lane change. He says he has been told this in his certification classes (he has stripes down his sleeve like a sergeant major). On the other hand, I have a couple of college degrees and a lot of experience, so I don't believe it. What do you clowns believe? – Richard 

 

TOM: Gee, Richard, I'm surprised your son didn't mention the rapid hair loss and the rash on your butt that will last a month. 

RAY: The kid does have a flair for exaggeration, Richard, but the truth is, he's right. He's right to discourage you from switching to a non-manufacturer-recommended tire size. 

TOM: Here's the story. When a car is designed, it's tested for handling and emergency-control characteristics with a certain size and type of tire. If you change that, you, by definition, alter the handling characteristics of the car. Enough to fry the computer? No. Enough to seriously alter your gas mileage? No. Enough to flip the car in a lane change? Probably not. 

RAY: But the problem is, nobody knows exactly what the new handling characteristics of the car will be, because the car has never been tested using higher-profile tires. 

TOM: Now, if you make a modest change in tire size in one direction or the other, chances are the car will still be safe. In fact, you probably won't even notice any difference; most cars probably have a reasonable safety margin built in. But if you're dealing with a sport utility vehicle or something else that already handles peculiarly, then changing the type or size of the tires can be very dangerous. And that's why your son is taught to recommend against it. 

RAY: And we're with him, Richard. 

 

How to break into a car 

 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

 

My dear, departed daddy told me that if you broke in a new car engine at slow speeds, it would always be slow and sluggish. Is this true? What's the real skinny? Is there a preferred break-in protocol? – Susan 

 

TOM: Great question, Susan. But since we never speak ill of the departed, we can't answer it. 

RAY: Actually, I'm sure your daddy was right about many OTHER things and was a superior human being in all other regards. 

TOM: But his story about break-in is an old myth, Susan. And we don't know how it got started. Probably by some teen-age boy who got caught racing his dad's new car. 

RAY: It assumes that the car somehow "learns" to go slow when it's young, and then it never knows how to go at normal speeds later on. Kind of like my brother at work. 

TOM: But it's just not true. There IS a legitimate protocol for breaking in a new vehicle. It varies slightly from car to car, but the main purpose is to allow the piston rings to "seat," or conform to the exact shape of the cylinder walls so that they make a tight seal. And most experts agree that the best way to do this is to keep the engine rpm below 3,000 and to vary the engine speed (i.e., don't drive at one constant speed for a long time). 

RAY: And the break-in period generally lasts anywhere from 500 to 1,000 miles. Or until your check clears at the dealership, whichever comes first. 

TOM: If the piston rings don't seat correctly, your car might burn oil later on. And nobody wants that. 

RAY: So the speed at which you break the car in might have an effect on how much oil it burns. But it has absolutely no effect on how fast or slow the car goes. 

TOM: Last time we checked, that was mostly affected by the position of your foot on the gas pedal.  

 

Got a question about cars? Write to Click and Clack in care of this newspaper, or e-mail them by visiting the Car Talk section of cars.com on the World Wide Web. (c) 2001 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.


ZAB places strict restrictions on liquor store

By Hank Sims, Daily Planet Staff
Saturday October 27, 2001

Before a highly-charged crowd of South Berkeley residents, the Zoning Adjustments Board declared Brothers Liquor, at 3039 Shattuck Ave., a public nuisance at its Thursday meeting, and imposed a restrictive set of regulations on its future operations. 

Neighbors allege the store is the center of serious criminal activity in the area.  

In a recent six-month period, the police department responded to more than 200 calls at or near Brothers Liquor. Nineteen of those calls resulted in arrests for crack cocaine possession or sales, prostitution, public drunkenness or creating a public disturbance. 

In her report to the ZAB, Victoria Johnson, the city’s senior zoning enforcement officer, presented the board with two possible solutions.  

The first allowed the liquor store to remain open with sharply curtailed hours of operation, the posting of security guards and the obligation to submit to ZAB review every three months. The second would shut the store down completely. 

The ZAB voted 7 - 2 for the first option, and added an extra conditions of its own. 

Board chair Carolyn Weinberger suggested the store be mandated to chain-off its parking lot when it closed its doors at 9 p.m. Board member Deborah Matthews added that the store should be required to clean and maintain its exterior. 

At the suggestion of Mark Rhoades, the city’s director of current planning, the board also put language into the declaration that would automatically trigger another public hearing on the store – one which would presumably result in its closure – if the Berkeley Police Department receives more than four calls having to do with store activities per month. 

Monsoor Ghanem, the store’s manager, said Friday that the charges against his store were unwarranted, and he would appeal the ZAB’s decision to the City Council. Members of the audience hissed and shouted when the board discussed the option of leaving the store open with restrictions. Several ZAB members addressed the crowd directly, assuring it that the conditions imposed on Brothers were very tough, and any deviation from them would be swiftly punished. 

“We’re giving them enough rope to hang themselves,” said Weinberger. 

Rhoades said city staff came up with the compromise declaration after consulting with the city attorney’s office. He said the imposition of conditions as a first step would bolster the city’s case if it were sued by the store’s owners. 

“The courts take a very dim view of cities closing businesses without giving them a chance to clean up their act,” Rhoades said. “But if, after three months, this business does not comply with the conditions, we can set another public hearing and the ZAB can close them down. You will already have declared them a public nuisance.” 

Board member, Gene Poschman, provoked applause from the audience when he said he favored putting the store out of business. 

“I want to revoke the thing,” he said. “I think the city attorney is being far too cautious. We’ve got six, maybe eight votes here for revocation here.” 

But, he said, the staff report had swayed him. 

“The staff is the reason we’re not revoking their business tonight,” he said. “That means there will be a special weight on staff to monitor this closely.” 

Matthews, a resident of South Berkeley, shared Poshman’s reservations, but she, too, voted for the compromise option. 

“I have a hard time accepting the recommendations of staff,” she said. 

“In the community of South Berkeley, in a five-mile radius we have probably 10 liquor stores, each of them with the problems we have here before us.” 

“It’s really important to me that we develop some kind of standard for identifying and dealing with these issues.” 

Rhoades told the board and the audience that the new restrictions – especially the police department “trigger” he had proposed – would assure that the store would be severely punished if the problems continue. 

“There’s 40 or 50 pairs of eyes and ears in this room tonight that will be monitoring this situation,” he said. 

“Do you hear that?” Weinberger asked the audience. “If three months from now it hasn’t improved, you come back to us and we will yank their business.” 

Only board member Paul Schwartz and Marie Bowman, who substituted for board member Mike Issel at Tuesday’s meeting, voted against the declaration. 

Schwartz said he was in favor of the restrictions on the business, but he wanted to vote for complete closure to expedite matters.  

“I don’t think they’re going to be able to stay in business with these restrictions, so they’ll probably end up shutting down anyway,” he said. 

At the end of the hearing, Rhoades thanked the board for voting for the staff’s recommendations. 

“I know it was a very difficult decision,” he said.


Out & About Calendar

Compiled by Guy Poole
Saturday October 27, 2001


Saturday, Oct. 27

 

Bay Area Coalition to End the  

Sanctions on Iraq 

5 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. program 

Berkeley Friends Church 

1600 Sacramento  

Speakers Hans Von Sponeck, former United Nations Assistant Secretary General, who resigned his position as humanitarian coordinator for Iraq to protest U.N. policies, and Kathy Kelly, founder of Voices in the Wilderness, who has taken 39 humanitarian aid trips to Iraq, call for an end to the U.S. led bombing and sanctions on Iraq. 538-0209 www.endthesanctions. org 

 

Greening Our City Centers 

9 a.m. - 10 p.m. 

The Gaia Building 

2116 Allston Way 

The Second Heart of the City Seminar celebrating the opening of Berkeley’s new showcase ecological building and the Gaia Cultural Center. Discussions will focus on strategies and tactics for generating awareness and implementing greener city centers. 649-1817 www.ecocitybuilders.org 

 

Saturday Morning Children’s  

Program 

10:30 a.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center 

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Charlie Chin presents traditional Chinese folk tales told in the “tea house” style. $4 adult, $3 children 

 

Berkeley Child Safety Seat  

Check-Up 

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (drop-in)  

Kittredge Street Parking Facility  

2020 Kittredge Street (the old Hinks Parking lot), 2nd Floor 

Trained child passenger safety technicians will inspect your safety seat installation, inform you of any recalls, and assist you in using your child safety seat properly. Free, sponsored by the Berkeley Public Health and Police Departments, 665-6839, dquan@ci.berkeley.ca.us. 

 

Targeting Civilians 

7 p.m. 

Berkeley Friends Church 

1600 Sacramento St. 

Former UN official Hans von Sponeck and Voices in the Wilderness’ Kathy Kelly will discuss the war on Iraq and the current bombing of Afghanistan. $10 Benefits Voices in the Wilderness.  

 

Raising the Bar: Latino and  

Latina Presence in the Judiciary and the Struggle for Representation 

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

UC Berkeley, Boalt Hall 

Booth Auditorium 

An unprecedented gathering of Latino judges from across the country to celebrate and critically examine the contributions of Latinos on the bench. 643-8010 

 

Low-cost Hatha Yoga Classes 

9:30 - 11 a.m. 

James Kenney Rec. Center 

1720 Eighth St.  

The city is offering low- cost Hatha Yoga classes for adults. Taught by certified instructor. Drop-ins are welcome. Bring a mat or towel. $6. 981-6650 

 

Medical Mystery Festival 

1 - 4 p.m. 

Hall of Health 

2230 Shattuck Ave. 

A Halloween celebration that introduces children to the field of medical science and health-related issues. 549-1564 

 

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 

 

Help Cerrito Creek 

10 a.m. 

Meet at El Cerrito's Creekside Park (south end of Belmont Street). 

Join Friends of Five Creeks in removing invasive non-natives to improve habitat on lower Cerrito Creek. Bring shovels and work gloves if you have them. 848 9358, www.fivecreeks.org 

 


Sunday, Oct. 28

 

Archaeological Institute of  

America 

1:30 - 3:30 p.m. 

Shorb House 

2547 Channing Way 

AIA Sunday Symposium: Reports from the Field — Dr. Ian Morris on the 6th century BCE site of Monte Polizzo in Sicily; Dr. Marian Feldman on prestige goods of the Late Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean; Dr. Christine Hastorf on early architecture at Chiripa in the Titicaca Basin of the Bolivian Andes. 415-338-1537 barbaram@sfsu.edu 

 

Our Visual Heritage 

1 - 4 p.m. 

Ashkenaz 

1613 San Pablo Ave. 

Deaf and Hearing Project of Berkeley presents an ASL (American Sign Language) accessible event, in recognition of World and Domestic Violence Prevention Disability Awareness Month featuring, music, dance, information and more. $10, Children under 12 free. 644-2003, 644-2000 (TTY) 

 

Berkeley, Where Is It Going 

8 p.m. 

BTVU ch. 25  

Notable Berkeley neighborhood supporters give important informa 

tion about the General Plan that will be before the Council in Public Hearings on Oct. 30 and Nov. 6. 

 

Spirit Day at the West  

Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Avenue, between 3rd and 4th sreets  

Spirit Day will host an outdoor community alter to honor our elders and the people who have lost their lives since Sept. 11. Family-oriented weekly market. Crafts, music, produce, and specialty foods. 654-6346 

 

Vespers of St. Demetrios 

4 p.m. 

PAOI 

2311 Hearst Ave. 

A prayer service celebrating St. Demetrios, patron saint of the chapel of Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute. 649-2450 

 


Monday, Oct. 29

 

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 

Lecture - Discovery of Quilting 

7:30 p.m. 

First Unitarian Church 

1 Lawson Road, Kensington 

This is Dianne Hire’s own story, her personal expression of the intimate desires to create, to imagine and to express through the medium of quilting. $3 834-3706 www.hirealternatives.com 

 

Affordable Housing Advocacy  

Project 

3 - 5 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Learn about the latest changes in affordable housing at the state and federal level. 800-773-2110 

 

Race, Immigration and  

American Politics Speaker  

Series 

noon 

Institute of Governmental Studies 

UC Berkeley, 119 Moses Hall 

David Sears, UCLA, “Race, Religion, and Sectional Conflict in Contemporary Partisanship.” 642-4608 

 

– compiled by Guy Poole 


Berkeley bakery once the largest in the East Bay

By Susan Cerny
Saturday October 27, 2001

In 1877 John G. Wright, an Englishman, opened Berkeley’s first wholesale-retail bakery at 2026 Shattuck Ave., just north of where the Kress building stands today. The original bakery which is pictured here, was a two-story wood frame building that had tall storefront windows and a covered wood veranda in front. The owners, as well as their bakery workers and student boarders, lived on the second floor. 

The bakery produced 26 varieties of bread, twelve types of cakes and pies and also had a catering service, dining room and retail sales shop. By 1905 the business had grown so large that it had a fleet of 40 horse-drawn trucks and motor cars.  

Wright was active in organizing the bakers union which was formally established in 1904 at the Golden Sheaf Bakery. But unionization led to the demise of family run bakeries and the rise of large companies. In 1909 the Wright family sold their business to Wonderbread and the old bakery building was torn down.  

Around the corner at 2071 Addison St. is a remnant of the Golden Sheaf Bakery. The brick-sided building was constructed in 1905 as a storage building and loading area for the bakery. But despite its rather humble use, the building was designed by noted architect Clinton Day.  

It is a Classic-inspired, two-story red brick and terra-cotta building with a three-part composition. Four pilasters frame three vertical bays, which contain three sets of paired arched windows on the second story. Above the central bay there is a sign molded in brick-colored terra-cotta depicting a sheaf of wheat and under this, the bakery’s name. Molded terra cotta was also used for the bases and capitals of the pilasters and for the cornice. The terra cotta was made by the Gladding McBean Company. 

After the bakery was sold, the building served as offices and shops until 1927, when it was converted into a garage. On July 20, 2000 a dedication ceremony was held for the Nevo Educational Center of the Berkeley Repertory Theater. The remodeled bakery-warehouse building will provide space for the theater’s education program.  

 

Susan Cerny, author of “Berkeley Landmarks,” writes this series in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association.


B-24 crew member recalls 1944 ‘Precision Bombing’

Ken Norwood
Saturday October 27, 2001

 

By Ken Norwood 

 

The missile camera films and the aerial photos of bombs hitting Afghanistan targets looks little different to me than the 8th. Air Force’s “precision” bombing of NAZI targets I saw from the waist window of our B-24 four engine Liberator from early April to May 9, 1944. That was the day our plane was shot down and six of our 10 crew members bailed out over Belgium. The tons of bombs we POW’s saw falling in our direction from Allied planes bombing nearby German targets looked and felt no different to us than is being experienced by Afghani civilians on the edge of Afghani military targets – it is breath stopping terror. 

Remarkably that same W.W.II aerial warfare strategy is paralleled by the high-tech bombing, satellite surveillance, night vision technology now being used in the Middle East. Another similarity is the claim that precision bombing avoids civilian casualties and the dichotomy that despite sixty years the U.S. bombing errors, over-runs, and “accidents” continue to occur. To understand why is to realize that the high-tech advancements in airplanes, armament, rocketry, and guidance systems has the primary purpose of protecting Air Force planes and air crews from casualties. Now the planes are bigger, faster, and carry larger bomb loads, and yet require fewer crew. During 1941 through 1944 the Royal Air Force and the American air crew losses were up to 50 percent, some of whom became POW’s. 

Today’s B-51 has a crew of four compared with ten men each in W.W.II’s B-17 and B-24 bombers. Although WW II bombers flew lower and slower making accurate bombing apparently easier, technical and human errors by navigators, bombardiers, and pilots, and the interference by enemy German ack-ack and fighters caused unintended bombing of residential areas, churches, hospitals, Red Cross trains and convoys, and even harmless villages regularly. The WW II press seldom learned about those tragedies, but there lies the “collateral” damage rational of the military mind. Similarly, ground forces face the same moral dilemma, every U.S. war has been shrouded with “unintended” civilian 

deaths. 

The common denominator in the above comparisons to today is they are all “conventional” wars. “America’s New War” has been referenced to the “crusades,” and a “campaign ” or an “action,” the terms used historically for incursions into other countries when “war” is not politically correct. In this war all the military and patriotic rhetoric that have been used in past wars are present again. Today’s military-industrial complex, inherited from W.W.II, is making full use of the hardware capacity accumulated from pork-barrel Defense Department budgets that focus on modern warfare technology, but conventional in concept: bomb “them” into submission, use minimal ground forces, and get out. 

We need a new strategy that incorporates a geo-historic-cultural-political-moral concern for civilians. The proposed “Department of Peace” may not be too late to save us from retaliations from other terrorist cells, loss of support from the Muslim world, and alienation from those who normally are our allies. The admonitions and cautions about fighting terrorism have been heard long before Sept. 11, and immediately following the W.T.C. attack we were reminded again: the “eye for eye, and tooth for tooth” avenging of our losses on 9-11 can not justify fighting world terrorism conventionally. 

Terror is a bitter pill, composed of fear, anger, hate, and the inevitable retaliation, and it never tastes good. War is for cowards – shoot if it moves, ask questions later. To do otherwise is to the disadvantage of the soldier. Our nation will better endure by exercising our power of social, economic, and environmental justice for all. The escalation of the war in Afghanistan is too close to reality to allow the “old guard” unquestioned power. There are alternatives, if we stop, look, and listen. 

 

Ken Norwood is a Berkeley resident. 


Berkeley man’s wartime journal published

By Sari Friedman Special to the Daily Planet
Saturday October 27, 2001

Robert L. Smith, a Berkeley resident since 1950, served as a medic in the 28th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1945. He aided the wounded in combat, helping to liberate Paris. Smith served approximately two months after the D-Day landings. 

Robert L. Smith’s new book, “Medic!” A WWII Combat Medic Remembers, chronicles his entry into the army, his plethora of experiences on the battlefield and some events he went through immediately after returning home – such as even though he was a discharged veteran with a Purple Heart, he was not yet 21 years old and too young to qualify for a California driver’s license.  

In the latter part of Smith’s book, he describes returning to Europe with his wife, Fran, in 1997-98. The Smiths travelled through many of the same areas he’d been half a century earlier. Fran’s photographs reference and counterpoint the fact-filled text.  

While the book reads, in part, like a really long post card, the story is riveting in parts and is almost always engaging.  

A quiet strength and steady bravery inform Smith’s voice. 

Smith’s comments about K rations, the combination of terror and tedium soldiers experienced and the forms of segregation he witnessed are sobering.  

Smith describes many of the individuals he came into contact with. 

Smith eloquently tells of the moral strength and honor shown by some American soldiers. For instance, Smith describes Caleb A. Converse, a litter bearer from Columbus, Ga.: “A slow, steady person who consistently was brave. Every night Converse carried out our critical cases on his back, one at a time, making three or four separate trips down the hill and across the fields and river to safety on the American side. He did something that none of the rest of us would do. Yet he did it voluntarily, never asking for help. He simply went on saving the lives of men who otherwise would not have survived.” 

Smith also describes the actions of some of the enemy soldiers and civilians he came into contact with. At one point an enemy soldier told Smith, in perfect English, that he is behind enemy lines and sent Smith in another direction, which probably saved his life.  

Smith’s perspective as a medic puts him in the center of both the physical and spiritual action. A medic’s job is to be heroic. As Smith explains: “Anyone else could yell for the medic, but I was the medic.”  

Smith portrays the challenges of trying to save lives in the heat of battle. Medics are called upon to provide immediate relief to injured soldiers during combat. The wounded call to them. Sometimes medics have the skills and materials they need to disinfect wounds and immediately affect the balance of life vs. death. At other times a medic’s skills and desire to bring relief are insufficient to remediate devastating damage.  

Smith writes: “I had gone to war full of conviction and came out having lost my naivete about some things that had previously been absolutes.” 

As we see in All Quiet On the Western Front, the classic WWI novel by Erich Maria Remarque, going to war is unlike any other human experience. And there are some stories only a warrior can tell. 

 

Sari Friedman teaches writing at local colleges and can be reached at literate2@earthlink.net 


Arts & Entertainment Calendar

Staff
Saturday October 27, 2001

 

924 Gilman St. Oct. 27: (Halloween show, $1 off if you’re in a (non-punk) costume!) Babyland, Tsunami Bomb, Scissor Hands, Dexter Danger; Nov. 2: Mood Frye, Manic Notion, Cremasters of Disaster, Bottles and Skulls, Lorax, Sociopath; Nov. 3: Cruevo, Nigel Peppercock, Impaled, Systematic Infection, Depressor; Nov. 9: Hoods, Punishment, Lords of Light Speed, Necktie Party; Nov. 10: Sunday’s Best, Mock Orange, Elizabeth Elmore, Fighting Jacks, Benton Falls; Nov. 16: Pitch Black, The Blottos, Miracle Chosuke, 240; Nov. 17: Carry On, All Bets Off, Limp Wrist, Labrats, Thought Riot; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

 

The Albatross Pub Nov. 3: Dave Creamer Jazz Quartet; Both shows 9 p.m. 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473 albatrosspub@mindspring .com  

 

Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Oct. 27: 9:30 p.m., Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, $11; Oct. 28: 1:30 p.m., Derique McGee and Jazz Design, $ sliding scale; 9 p.m. Itals, Ras Jacob, Kanawah, DJ Ras D, $12; Oct. 30: 7:30 p.m., Bluegrass Benefit Concert for the NY Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund. Peter Rowan, Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, Mike Marshall, Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin, Bluegrass Intentions, Kathy Kallick Band, Detour; $20. 1317 San Pablo Ave., 525-5099 www.ashkenaz. com 

 

Blake’s Oct. 27: Felonious, $6; Oct. 29: The Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee, $4; Oct. 31: Erotic City, DJ Maestro, $2; All shows 9:30 p.m. 2367 Telegraph Ave. 848-0886 

 

Cal Performances Nov 8: 8 p.m. Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance, $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; Oct. 19: Little Jonny and the Giants; Doors open at 8 p.m. unless noted. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

 

Freight & Salvage Oct. 27: Ginny Reilly & David Maloney $18.50 - $19.50; Oct. 28: True Blue with Del Williams $15.50 - $16.50; Nov. 1: Si Kahn $17.50 - $18.50; Nov. 2: Don Edwards $16.50 - $17.50; Nov. 3: Barbara Higbie $17.50 - $18.50; All Shows 8 p.m. 1111 Addison St. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

 

Jazzschool/La Note Nov. 4: 4:30 p.m. SoVoSo, $15; Nov. 11: 4:30 p.m. Dave Le Febvre Quintet, $12. 2377 Shattuck Ave. 845-5373 

 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts Oct. 27: 8 p.m., Empyrean Ensemble, $18, $14 children. 2640 College Ave. 845-8542/ www.juliamorgan.org 

 

Jupiter Nov. 1: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 2: Lithium House; Nov. 3: Solomon Grundy; Nov. 7: Go Van Gogh; Nov. 8: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 9: Xroads; Nov. 10: Post Junk Trio; Nov. 14: Wayside; Nov. 15: Joshi Marshal Project; Nov. 16: 5 Point Plan; Nov. 17: Corner Pocket; Nov. 21: Starchild; All shows 8 p.m. and free. 2821 Shattuck Ave. 843-7625/ www.jupiter.com 

 

La Peña Oct. 28: 7:30 p.m., Mezcla from Cuba, $15dr. 320 45th St., Oakland 849-2568 www.lapena.org 

 

La Lesbian @ La Peña: A Lesbian Performance and Film Series Oct. 25: 8 p.m., comedian Elvira Kurt, $16; Nov. 1: 8 p.m., Singer/songwriters Faith Nolan and Megan McElroy, $14; Nov. 4: 5 - 9 p.m., Salsa, merengue, cumbia from DJs Rosa Oviedo and Chata Gutierrez, $7; Nov. 7: 8 p.m., I Love Lezzie, 20 member comedy troupe, $14; 320 45th St., Oakland 654-6346 www.lapena.org 

 

MusicSources Oct. 28: Keyboardist David Buice; Nov. 18 Harpsichordist Gilbert Martinez. Both shows 5 p.m. $15-18. 1000 The Alameda 528-1685 

 

The Stork Club Oct. 23: 9 p.m., Earwig, Butch Berry, $5; Oct. 24: 9 p.m., Cruevo, Jumbo’s Killcrane, Brainoil, Life in a Burn Clinic, $5; Oct. 25: 10 p.m., Painted Bird, Tinman, Fenway Park, $6; Oct. 26: 10 p.m., Birdsaw, Wire Grafitti, Breast, $5; Oct. 27: 10 p.m., Oxbow, Replicator, 60 Foot Time, $6; Oct. 30: 9 p.m., Simple Things, Tombshakers, Ultrafiend, $5; Oct. 31: Oppressed Logic, Eddie Haskells, TBA, $5; 2330 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland. 444-6174  

 

Yoshi’s Restaurant and Jazz Spot Oct. 29: 8 & 10 p.m., The Mike Vax Jazz Orchestra, $10. 238-9200 www.yoshis.com 

 

Cal Performances Nov. 2: 7 p.m., Sightlines, Pre-performance discussion with guest artists. 8 p.m., “Music Before 1850,” with Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr. $32. First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

 

Theater 

 

“The Odd Couple” Oct. 25 through Oct. 27: 7:30 p.m. The female adaptation of Neil Simon’s classic play. Directed by Antoine Olivier. $5 students, $7 adults. Bobby Barrett Theater, St. Mary’s campus, 1294 Albina. 981-1167 ruthcrossman@yahoo.com 

 

Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” Oct. 26: 8 p.m., Oct. 28: 3 p.m. Presented by the Oakland Lyric Opera, continuing the company’s opera showcase series of short, one-act operas and opera scenes, semi-staged concert performances. First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St. $25, $18 students and seniors, $15 children. 836-6772 

 

“Prometeh in Evin” Oct. 28: 8 p.m., A drama about political prisoners in Iran, performed by the brave and innovative Parsian Group. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. $25, Children, $15 2640 College Ave 845.8542 www.juliamorgan.org. 

 

“Approach” Through Oct. 27: Thur. - Sat., 8 p.m. An examination of the search for intimacy as our most precious form of survival. Written by Susan Wiegand, Directed by Katie Bales Frassinelli. $15 general admission, $10 students and seniors. Eighth Street Studio Theatre, 2525 8th St. 655-0813 www.shotgunplayers.org 

 

“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 

 

“me/you...us/them”Nov. 8 though Nov. 10: Thur - Sat 8 p.m., matinee on Sat. 2:30 p.m. Three one-acts that look at interpersonal, as well as societal relationships from the perspective of the disabled. $10 - $25. Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. 925-798-1300 

 

“Nocturne” Through Nov. 11: Tues./Thurs./Sat. 8 p.m., Weds. & Sun. 7 p.m., matinee on Thurs./Sat./Sun. 2 p.m. Mark Brokaw directs Anthony Rapp in One-Man Show. Written by Adam Rapp. $38 - $54. Berkeley Repertory’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

 

“Tomas Carrasco of Chicano Secret Service” Nov. 15: 4 p.m. Performance by member of L.A.-based sketch comedy troupe that uses humor to tackle hot-button racial and political issues. Free. Durham Studio Theater, UC Berkeley 

 

“Lost Cause” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 7 p.m. Three space travelers stranded on a forgotten colony, find themselves in the middle of a bloody civil war, and have to decide between what’s right, what’s possible, and what will save their lives. Written by Jefferson Area, directed by Sarah O’Connell. $7-12. La Val’s Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid Ave. 464-4468 www.impacttheatre.com 

 

“Travesties” Through Nov. 17: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., and Thurs., Nov. 15, 8 p.m. A witty fantasy about James Joyce meeting Lenin in Zurich during World War I. Written by Tom Stoppard, Directed by Mikel Clifford. $10. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck. 528-5620 

 

Cal Performances “The Car Man” Oct. 30, 31: 8 p.m.; Nov. 1: 2 p.m., 8 p.m.; Nov. 2: 8 p.m.; Nov. 3: 2 p.m., 8 p.m.; Choreographer and director Matthew Bourne and his company re-invent Bizet’s “Carmen,” spinning the tale of a mysterious drifter in a small mid-western town, who changes the lives of its inhabitants forever. $32 - $64; Nov. 7: 8 p.m., “Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance,” more than 30 singers, dancers, and musicians present a musical synthesis of the authentic Roma styles. $18 - $30; Nov. 8: 11 a.m., SchoolTime Performance, “Gypsy Caravan 2: A Celebration of Roma Music and Dance,” $3 per student or chaperone, in advance only; Nov. 8: 8 p.m., “Orquesta Aragón,” $18 - $30. Nov. 11: 3 p.m., Recital - Angelika Kirschschlager, Bo Skovhus, and Donald Runnicles. “Wolf/ Die Italienisches Liederbuch,” $45; Nov. 16 - 17: 8 p.m., “La Guerra d’Amore,” director and choreographer, René Jacobs, conductor, Ensemble Concerto Vocale. Modern dance and early music from German choreographer Joachim Schlömer, $34 - $52; 

UC Berkeley, Zellerbach Hall. 642-9988/ www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

 

“Macbeth” Nov. 9 through Nov. 18: Fri. - Sat., 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m. Presented by the Albany High School Theater Ensemble. $7 adults, $5 students and seniors. Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd. 559-6550 x4125 theaterensemble@hotmail.com 

 

“Saint Joan” Oct. 26 through Dec. 2: Wed. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., 7 p.m. George Bernard Shaw’s epic of a young girl determined to drive the English out of France with only her faith to support her. Directed by Barbara Oliver. $26-35. Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St. 843-4822 www.auroratheatre.org 

 

“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 

 

Films 

 

Pacific Film Archive Theater Oct. 22: 7 p.m., The Closed Doors; Oct. 23: 7:30 p.m., Super-8mm Films by Theresa Cha; Oct. 24: 7:30 p.m., The Rainy Season and Wai’a Rini; Oct. 26: 7:30 p.m., The Passion of Joan of Arc, 9:15 p.m., Vivre sa Vie; Oct 27: 7 p.m., New Music for Silent Films by UCB Composers; Oct. 28: 5:30 p.m., Vampyr; Oct. 29: 7 p.m., A Time for Drunken Horses; Oct. 30: 7:30 p.m., An Evening with Leslie Thornton; Oct. 31: 7:30 p.m., 9:20 p.m., Saudade do Futuro. 

2575 Bancroft Way, 642-1124 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

 

“The Search” Nov. 4:30 p.m. 1948 drama of American soldier caring for a young concentration camp survivor in post-war Berlin, while the boy’s mother is desperately searching all Displaced Persons camps for him. $2 suggested donation. Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237 

 

Exhibits 

 

“Photographs of Yosemite” by Richard Blair, Oct. 25: 5 - 8 p.m. Mr. Blair served as Park Photographer for Yosemite National Park in the early 1970’s and continues to photograph there often. Holton Studio, 5515 Doyle St., No. 2, Emeryville. 450-0350 www.holtonframes.com 

 

Panel Discussion on Documentary Photography Oct. 25: 7:30 p.m. Panelists include photographers Nacio Jan Brown, Jeffrey Blankfort, Cathy  

Cade, Ken Light and Michelle Vignes in discussion with moderator Scott Nichols. Free. UC Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism, 120 North Gate Hall 644-6893/ www.berkeleyartcenter.org  

 

“First Annual Art Show” UC Berkeley Life Drawing Group Reception, Through Oct. 26: 7 - 10 p.m. Figure studies from the workshops at UC Berkeley. 1014 60th St., Emeryville. 923-0689 

 

“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  

 

“African Harmonies,” the artwork of Rae Louise Hayward. Through Oct. 31: Hayward’s art celebrates the beauty of African culture: its people, sculpture, textiles, jewelry and music. Tues. - Thurs. 1 - 7 p.m., Sat. noon- 4 p.m. Women’s Cancer Resource Center, 3023 Shattuck Ave., 548-9286/ www.wcrc.org 

 

“Cut Plates and Bowls” Annabeth Rosen, “Just Jars” Sandy Simon Through Nov. 3; Saturdays 10 - 5 or by appointment. Trax Ceramic Gallery, 1306 3rd St. 526-0279. cone5@aol.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 

 

“Architects of the Information Age” Through Nov. 10: A solo exhibit showcasing the works of Ezra Li Eismont. Works included in the exhibition are mixed media paintings on panel and assemblage works on paper and canvas. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland 836-0831 

 

“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. “Cleve Gray, Holocaust Drawings” Oct. 15 through Jan. 25: 21 works on paper inviting the viewer to consider the atrocity of the Holocaust in ways unattainable through words or text. 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. 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 

 

“In Through the Outdoors” Through Nov. 24: Featuring seven artists who work in photography and related media including sculpture and video, this exhibit addresses the shift in values and contemporary concerns about the natural world that surrounds us. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Traywick Gallery, 1316 Tenth St. www.traywick.com 

 

“2001 James D. Phelan Art Awards in Printmaking” Honorees: Bridget Henry, David Kelso, and Margaret Van Patten. Oct. 19 - Nov. 30 Tues. - Fri. noon - 5 p.m., other times by appointment. Kala Art Institue, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977 www.kala.org 

 

“Furniture Art” Through Dec. 7: An exhibit of metal and wood furniture that revisits furniture not only as art but as craft. 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. The Current Gallery at the Crucible, 1036 Ashby Ave. 843-5511 www.thecrucible.org 

 

“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 1960s and 1970s. Wed. - Sun., noon - 5 p.m. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Free. 644-6893 

 

“The Art History Museum of Berkeley” 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. 841-4210 or visit www.atelier9.com 

 

Readings 

 

Boadecia’s Books Oct. 22: J.M. Redmann reads from “Death By the Riverside”; Oct. Janell Moon will read from her new book, “Stirring the Waters: Writing to Find Your Spirit.”; Oct. 27: Pat Schmatz reads from “Mrs. Estronsky and the U.F.O.”; Oct. 28: 7 p.m., Poet Janet Mason will read from “When I Was Straight” and present her “Boobs Away.”; Nov. 3: Editor Danya Ruttenberg and contributors Loolwa Khazzoom, Emily Wages, Billie Mandel will read their selections in the new anthology, “Yentl’s Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism.”; Nov. 9: Lauren Dockett will read from her latest book, “The Deepest Blue: How Women Face and Overcome Depression.”; 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 Telegraph Ave. Oct. 23: Michael Downing will talk about “Shoes Outside the Door: Scandals of Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center; Oct. 24: Anita Roddick returns with “Take It Personally”; Oct. 25: Eric Muller discusses “Free To Die For Their Country: The Story of the Japanese American Draft Resisters in World War II”; Oct. 26 Sage Cohen & Mari L’esperance read their poetry; Oct. 27: Gregory Maguire reads “Lost”; Oct. 28: Christopher Hitchens with “Letters To A Young Contrarian”; Oct. 29: Arturo Pérez-Reverte reads from “The Nautical Chart”; Oct. 30: Ruben Martinez recounts “Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail”; Oct. 31: Barry Lopez reads from “Light Action In The Caribbean”; All shows at 7:30 p.m.; 2454 Telegraph Ave. 845-7852 

 

Cody’s on Fourth St. Oct. 25: Simon Winchester discusses “The Map That Changed The World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology”; Oct. 26: Alice Medrich delivers “A Year In Chocolate: Four Seasons of Unforgettable Desserts”; Oct. 27: 11 a.m., Addi Someckh and Charlie Eckert - The Balloon Guys, play with “The Inflatable Crown Balloon Hat Kit,” for young readers; Oct. 28: 4 p.m., Darren Shan with “Cirque Du Freak,” and “The Vampire’s Assistant,” for young readers; All shows 7 p.m. unless noted, 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500 

 

Eastwind Books of Berkeley Nov. 10: 4 p.m. Ruthanne Lum McCunn reads from her novel “Moon Pearl”; Nov. 18: 4 p.m. Noel Alumit, M.G. Sorongon, and Marianne Villanueva read from their contributions to the anthology “Tilting the Continent: Southeast Asian American Literature”; 2066 University Ave. 548-2350 

 

Ecology Center Oct. 22: 7 - 9 p.m. Toby Hemenway presents a slideshow and reads from “Gaia’s Garden: A guide to Home Scale Permaculture”; 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-220 x233 

 

“Michael Moore” Oct. 29: 7:30 p.m. Author and film maker reads from his new book “Stupid White Men and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation”. $12-15. Sponsored by Cody’s. First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way 

 

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 Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., 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; Oct. 25: A Storytelling Pajama Party, 6 - 7 p.m.; Oct. 27: 4th Annual Habitot Halloween; Oct. 28: Family Arts Day; Oct. 31: Sugar-Art Halloween Frosting; Nov. 3: Tales from the Enchanted Forest, 11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.; Nov. 9: Living with the Earth; Nov. 17: Recycle that Stuff; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. Mon. and Wed., 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tues. and Fri., 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thur., 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 2065 Kittredge St. 647-1111 or www.habitot.org  

 

Oakland Museum of California through Nov. 25: Pasajes y Encuentros: Ofrendas for the Days of the Dead, highlights three thematic “passageways” that connect the dead with the living: tradition, humor and spirit. $6 adults, $4 seniors and students, free for children under 5. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m., 10th St., Oakland, 888-625-6873/ www.museumca.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. Mon. through Fri., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sat. and Sun., 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.  

 

University of California Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive has reopened after its summerlong 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. 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  

 

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


Panthers roll over Albany

By Jared Green Daily Planet Staff
Saturday October 27, 2001

After a heartbreaking loss to rival Kennedy last week, the St. Mary’s High football team needed a game to get out some aggression while keeping everyone healthy. A game with Albany was just what the doctor ordered. 

St. Mary’s jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead against the Cougars on Friday afternoon and cruised home with a 34-6 win. Tailback Trestin George ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries and quarterback Steve Murphy threw for two scores to wide receiver Courtney Brown in the victory. 

“We knew if we played a good first half that we could get ahead of them,” St. Mary’s head coach Jay Lawson said. “It’s nice to get an easy win once in a while.” 

The Panthers (4-4 overall, 2-1 BSAL) came into the game looking to put heat on Albany quarterback Harold Lueders, and they did just that. They sacked Lueders three times in the first quarter, including two by linebacker Omarr Flood, and knocked him out of the game early in the second quarter. His replacements, J.P. Koehn and Garin Hecht, were clearly in over their heads, completing just 6-of-23 for 83 yards with Lueders on the bench with a possible separated shoulder. Koehn, who played most of the second half, also threw two interceptions, including one that George returned 100 yards for a score. 

“We have better athletes in our secondary than they have at receiver,” Lawson said. “We thought our defensive backs could man up and let us get a lot of heat on the quarterback, and we did that.” 

Flood, who also had an interception to go with his two sacks, enjoyed the freedom to blitz for most of the game. 

“Being aggressive is the name of the game on defense,” he said. “We sent them a message that we weren’t playing out there.” 

Linebacker Julian Taylor got the ball rolling with a punt block on Albany’s (3-5, 0-3) opening possession, giving the St. Mary’s offense the ball on the 23-yard line. Two plays later, Murphy threw a quick pass to Brown, who juked one defender and found the end zone to open the scoring. 

George came up big on the next drive, running three times for 54 yards. In fact, the entire series was on the ground, as St. Mary’s ran the ball seven times for 78 yards. George finished the drive with a spectacular 19-yard touchdown run during which he broke five tackles and destroyed one Albany defender on his way to the end zone. In fact, it looked as if George was actually looking for defenders to hit instead of the other way around. 

“I was just hungry to run somebody over,” George said. “I lowered my shoulder, then put on a little shake. Then the last guy stepped up and I hit him as hard as I could.” 

Brown put on a show of his own early in the second quarter, taking a short pass over the middle and turning it into a 55-yard score, juking two defenders and racing up the right sideline to make the score 22-0, a lead the Panthers took into halftime. 

The second half was a slow-paced affair, with the Panthers looking to run out the clock and Albany unable to get anything going on offense. George took control early with runs of 19 and 20 yards on the first drive of the half, capping it with a nine-yard touchdown run. 

Albany answered back with a good drive, keyed by a screen pass to running back Michael Estis for 34 yards that put the ball inside the St. Mary’s 10. Estis scored from a yard out sson after for Albany’s lone score of the day.  

But the next Albany drive turned into George’s interception return, and it was clear there would be no comeback. All that was left was the self-destruction of the Albany offense, including an unforced fumble that St. Mary’s Jerrell Booker recovered and an easy interception by safety Jason Bolden-Anderson.


BHS tries team leadership approach

By Jeffrey Obser, Daily Planet staff
Saturday October 27, 2001

In the wake of Principal Frank Lynch’s departure last week, Berkeley High School’s vice principals will run the school as a team until a new principal can be found.  

“(We) built the model being optimistic that we could get someone by second semester, but if we couldn’t, it could certainly go through the end of the year,” Superintendent Michele Lawrence said. 

Vice principals Mary Ann Valles and Laura Leventer will be co-principals, vice principal Mike Hassett will primarily oversee the ninth-grade program, and Executive Vice Principal Larry Lee will oversee day-to-day operations and discipline. 

In addition, the district placed job announcements Thursday for two new deans, who will oversee student discipline and report to Lee. 

“We’ve had deans in the past, but it is a new position,” said Chris Lim, the associate superintendent for instruction. 

District administrators met with Berkeley High staff on Wednesday to unveil a detailed list of the duties for each of the vice principals. 

Valles, who led the San Francisco schools technology program until coming to Berkeley High last summer, will primarily look after attendance, grades, and student services. Among those are counseling and the Student Learning Center, which provides tutoring. She will also continue to act as liaison to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges as the school struggles to be renew its accreditation next fall. 

Leventer, the high school’s former math department chairwoman, will coordinate scheduling, field trips, the Web site and “E-tree,” assemblies, clubs, and relations with the Parent Teacher Student Association. She has been designated lead contact person for parents and the press. 

Hassett, a longtime English department chair before taking on his administrative post, will be the lead person on testing in addition to the ninth-grade retention programs, including the new Critical Pathways program, which is intended to remedy the “achievement gap” among African-American and Latino students. 

“Don’t be deceived by the short list of tasks he has,” Leventer wrote in a community e-mail Thursday. “This is probably the most challenging job there is and Mike is the most qualified for it.” 

Lee, who served as interim principal for three years before Lynch’s predecessor, Teresa Saunders, will manage the buildings and everything from disaster preparedness to relations with the Shattuck Avenue merchants and others in the surrounding community.  

Lawrence said she had decided against hiring an interim principal this time because she was “concerned... not to throw another variable into a school that has had so many over this period of time. And seeing how well the four administrators work together, I was convinced that that relationship could sustain the school.” 

Lawrence said during recent meetings with representatives of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, which has demanded changes at the school before renewing its accreditation next fall, she has pared down the 11 areas of concern it cited last spring to five: Discipline and safety, attendance, decision-making processes and collaboration, retaining low-achieving ninth-graders and teacher training. 

These goals, she said, would be spread among the vice principals. 

“I felt that by more clearly aligning the responsibilities that each of them could shepherd through one of those important aspects of meeting the WASC requirements,” Lawrence said. 

The new plan also calls for a “shared governance committee,” made up of teachers, administrators, and small school leaders, with the power to vote on school policy and longer-term decisions. 

“There will be command decisions that will be made by the co-principals and vice principals, but a lot of decisions you want more input from staff members,” said Leventer. “There’s always been something where teachers felt they didn’t have a voice in administrative decisions and they wanted a sub-group. What we’re doing here is to pull that subgroup into the administrative body in order to be more focused.” 

The shared governance committee will have a representative from the School Site Council, mandated by the state to oversee staff development and the site plan. It will combine functions of an older shared governance committee that lacked decision-making power and another made up of department district chairs. 

Teachers are to elect three of their own to the committee: one representing the union, another the Parent Teacher Student Association, and another “at large,” Leventer said. 

“We actually want teachers to come up with the system to do that, since it shouldn’t come from administrators,” she said.  

A teacher who asked that her name not be used said the new plan suits the school better than having a single principal. 

“I think they’re working towards a model that we should look at as a permanent plan for administration,” the teacher said. “I think a cadre or team is a much better model for a school this size.” 

School Board President Terry Doran said the board and superintendent needed to look at the principal’s job in its current form and “ask what are the aspects of the job that are driving people away.” 

“We need to solve that and come up with some answers before we begin trying to find a new principal,” Doran said.


Groans for Audie

Hank Chapot
Saturday October 27, 2001

Editor, 

The loud groans heard across the East Bay last week were from local Green activists upon hearing Audie Bock announce for Congress. Though her departure from the Greens to the Democrats improved both parties, let there be no doubt; the local, state and national Green Party supports Barbara Lee and her brave vote against a blank check for war making. Audie Bock threw away the only constituency she ever had when she left the Green party and it was a slap in the face to a lot of hard working people. 

She obviously didn’t hear the voice of the voters when she failed to get re-elected, and like any other politician needing another campaign, she seems to think she can go to Washington on the back of a brave congessional leader besieged during troubled times. As one who groaned the loudest, I want to apologize to the voters of the 16th District for foisting Audie on them in the first place. In politics, sometimes you get a lemon. 

Hank Chapot 

Oakland 


Aggressive ’Jackets punish Encinal

By Jared Green, Daily Planet Staff
Saturday October 27, 2001

Playing the best they have all year, the Berkeley Yellowjackets destroyed Encinal on Friday night, forcing five turnovers and holding the Jets to 103 yards of offense in a 47-0 win. 

The ’Jackets (4-3 overall, 3-0 ACCAL) were a team on a mission against the Jets, and it showed in their pure aggression in all facets of the game. They scored on plays of 45, 29, 23 and 20 yards on offense, as well as getting their first defensive touchdown of the season, a 75-yard interception return by linebacker Leonard Scarborough in the third quarter. The Berkeley defense was flying all over the field, punishing the Encinal running backs every time they touched the ball and breaking up several passes with huge hits. 

“I can’t imagine it happening any better for us,” Berkeley head coach Matt Bissell said. “One player makes a good play, and it’s contagious. Everyone wants to get it on it. It’s like a mob mentality.” 

The game was clearly out of hand by the second half, and the Encinal (3-4, 3-2) coaches waved the white flag by asking the officials to let the clock run before the fourth quarter began. 

The ’Jackets had their long passing game working on Friday, with quarterback Raymond Pinkston hooking up with wideout Sean Young for nearly identical touchdown passes of 45 and 29 yards, both fly patterns into the right corner of the end zone. Young, who runs the 40 in 4.5 seconds, has become the deep threat that the ‘Jackets need to keep teams from ganging up on their stable of running backs. 

“Raymond and I are just hooked up right now. We practice it all the time and now we’ve got it down perfectly,” Young said. 

The one-two punch of tailbacks Germaine Baird and Craig Hollis has become a potent one. Baird ran for 95 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, while Hollis crammed 72 yards and a score into just four carries. Throw in fullbacks Aaron Boatwright and Roger Mason, who each scored touchdowns themselves, and the ’Jackets piled up 228 yards on the ground. 

But while the offense has come to life in the last four games, the Berkeley defense really broke through with a big game against a tough opponent. Besides the five turnovers, the ’Jackets held Encinal’s senior running back, DeAndre Geen, to just 68 yards on 21 carries, and completely shut down the Jets’ passing game, allowing just five completions for 15 yards. 

Several Berkeley players said the game was a statement directed at ACCAL rival Pinole Valley, the league’s other undefeated team. The two will clash in two weeks in the regular season finale for both teams. 

“We want Pinole to look at this score and know we ain’t backing down,” said linebacker Akeem Brown, who had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on Friday. “We want them to know we’re coming for them.” 

“It’s just between us and Pinole now,” defensive end/kicker Greg Mitchell said. “We thought this would be a big game, but now we know it’s all about the last game.” 

Bissell said he wants his players to concentrate on next week’s game against Richmond, but realizes that may be unrealistic. 

“Obviously we’ve got the Pinole game looming ahead of us, so it’s hard not to look past Richmond,” he said. “But we’ve got our eyes on the league title, and we have to take it one game at a time.” 

NOTES: The Berkeley-De Anza game postponed earlier this season will not be rescheduled, the league announced this week... In junior varsity action, Berkeley defeated Encinal 24-12 on Friday. 

 


Elmwood residents about to loose their sick elms

By John Geluardi, Daily Planet staff Dutch elm disease
Saturday October 27, 2001

Century-old trees diagnosed with Dutch elm disease  

 

Neighbors on quiet, tree-lined Elmwood Avenue are preparing themselves for the removal of the street’s namesake – 100-year-old American elm trees that have been diagnosed with the relentless Dutch elm disease. 

“We understand that the trees have to come down,” said neighbor Naomi Janowitz. “We’re just in mourning over them.” 

Residents on Elmwood Avenue, located in the southeast Berkeley “Elmwood District,” say they are concerned about what type of tree will be planted in place of the stately elms that have characterized the neighborhood for the last 90 years. 

Jerry Koch, the city’s senior forestry supervisor, said Berkeley is working with neighbors to try and determine what type of tree to plant in place of the elms. 

“We’re trying to work with the neighborhood to come up with a suitable species that will be resistant to disease,” he said. “We do have guidelines though, we are not going to plant a redwood tree in a two-foot plot.” 

Koch said whatever the new trees are, they will have to be compatible with the homes, utilities and sidewalks in the neighborhood. “We want to put in a beautiful tree that will be there for a good number of years.” he said. “But the city will be responsible for maintenance, trimming branches and repairing damaged sidewalks and utility wires, so we’re not going to get ridiculous about it.” 

Koch is meeting with a group of neighbors Sunday and says he will present them with a frontier elm, which the city has been planting in other sections of town. 

However, neighbors say they are not yet sold on the frontier elm, which only grows to 40 feet, much shorter than the American elm. They said they may consider the liberty elm, which grows as high as 100 feet, might be a more appropriate replacement. 

The American elms were diagnosed with Dutch elm disease last year. Caused by a fungus, the disease is transmitted by two species of bark beetles.  

Once the fungus is established within a tree, it spreads rapidly via its water-conducting vessels. The presence of the fungus damages the vessels, which causes the tree to wilt and eventually die.  

The first known case of Dutch elm disease was discovered in Ohio more than 70 years ago. It has now spread throughout North America and has destroyed more than half the elm trees in the northern United Sates. 

So far, only one tree has been felled on Elmwood Avenue. Janowitz pointed to a tree, marked with a blotch of red paint, across the street from her home.  

“That one comes down on Monday,” she said.  

The only elm tree not being cut down on Janowitz’s street is the one in front of her home. She said she is glad it is still healthy because her 10-year-old son, Noah, likes to watch the squirrels and hawks that nest in the tree from his bedroom window.  

Another neighbor, who declined to give her name, said she feared that whatever trees replace the American elms would be about five feet tall and grow at a rate of one foot or so a year. 

“In other words we’ll all be dead before we see trees like this again,” she said with an upward nod.


Don’t elect a hypocrite

Gray Brechin
Saturday October 27, 2001

Editor: 

Though I support Barbara Lee's lone stand in Congress, I can understand that there are others who may disagree. I urge them to support an opposition candidate who speaks from principle rather than Audie Bock who, by her shameless exploitation of patriotism, war fever, and human tragedy, has once again shown herself to be a well-lubed weathervane that turns in the direction of big money. 

Gray Brechin


Cal shocks No. 4 Washington

Daily Planet Wire Services
Saturday October 27, 2001

 

Ripmaster scores game’s only goal as Bears win upset 

 

The California men’s soccer team outlasted the fourth-ranked Huskies, 1-0, Friday afternoon at Edwards Stadium in its Pac-10 home opener.  

California drew first blood as senior Austin Ripmaster slipped past two defenders and launched a shot from 20 feet out at 18:28 for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. It turned out to be the game winning goal as the Bears went on to win, 1-0, against their sixth nationally ranked opponent this season.  

“We were pushing hard to make their defense give us the ball on the counter-attack,” said Ripmaster. “Angel (Quintero) and (Chris) Roner stepped up, played it to Carl who slotted it perfectly with me and the keeper for a one-on-one chance. I was able to slip it past him.”  

UW had two great opportunities in the half. The first came in the 29th minute as Seth Marsh took a shot that went just over the cross bar.  

The other chance came when a shot was misdirected, landing in front of Kyle Fukuchi just five yards from goal. Kyle Navarro came to the defense as Saunders dove in to salvage an otherwise sure score.  

In the second stanza, the Huskies came out strong, forcing Cal back on its heels. UW controlled possession for most of the first five minutes but the Bears staved off the initial wave of attacks and settled in allowing five shots on goal the rest of the way. The battle was at midfield in what ultimately turned out to be a defensive battle in the second half for both sides.  

“Washington came out strong in the second half and put a lot of pressure on us” said coach Kevin Grimes. “We weren’t able to capitalize on the counterattack but our defense played solidly and we came out with the win.”  

The Bears defeated a ranked opponent for the second time this season after edging No. 14 San Jose State, 3-2, on Sept. 16. Cal hosts Oregon State Sunday at 2 p.m. at Edwards Stadium.


Annual meeting hopes to lessen public’s anthrax worries

By Hannah Schardt Special to the Daily Planet
Saturday October 27, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO – At Berkeley’s Alta Bates Medical Center – and at hospitals across the country – panicked people are showing up, wanting to be tested for exposure to anthrax. 

“There’s a lot of anxiety-mongering going on out there, and the media are fanning the flames,” said Carolyn Kemp, spokesperson for Alta Bates. “It’s a scary time, and there’s a lot of incorrect information out there.” 

Judging by the concerns of infectious disease experts gathered this week across the Bay, the problem is growing. 

Sunday is the last day of the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s 39th annual meeting, which was held Oct. 25 - Oct. 28 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.  

Bioterrorism – previously scheduled as a small part of the conference – has understandably become the focus of this year’s event. 

A hastily-planned slate of events geared toward answering questions in the wake of the current anthrax scare started off Friday with a well-attended discussion led by two experts on bioterrorism. 

The question-and-answer session, which will be repeated this morning, was led by James Snyder, an anthrax expert from the University of Louisville, and Maj. Jon Woods, a doctor in the United States Air Force. 

As they took questions from the audience, it was apparent that many of those in attendance are under pressure from the public to administer anthrax tests and antibiotics – even when it is inadvisable. 

“Nasal swabs are not that productive except for epidemiological purposes,” said Snyder. 

Woods agreed. 

“(Nasal swabs) are really not useful for deciding who should receive treatment,” he said. “It’s foolhardy to use them to decide if a person is going to receive prophylactic (treatment).” 

But many in the audience said they are having a hard time convincing the public. 

One man, who works in Long Island, New York, said he is being pressured by unions. 

“Two of the unions in our area represent a lot of postal workers,” he said. “They are not asking but demanding to be given a nasal swab.” 

He said he explains to them the uselessness of the swab for disease detection, but “their response is: ‘Are you not going to know until the first person dies?’” 

The answer, at least for now, seems to be yes. 

“We don’t know who the future targets are going to be,” said Woods. “You can’t do swabs on 260 million people. So for now, that first person in a new group is unfortunately going to be very hard to save.” 

Many in the audience – most of whom never work with bioterrorism – attended out of curiosity. 

Suzanne Phelps, 33, of Alameda said the discussion of nasal swabs “did kind of surprise me. But it makes sense when I think about it. You don’t want to go give swabs to the whole state of New York, but you don’t want to make the search so narrow that you miss anyone.” 

Phelps works for an Oakland project which studies infectious diseases – but not anthrax. She said she understands the public concern but also sees how, in excess, it could itself become a problem. 

“You have to look at the risk of exposure, “ she said. “Right now, if you’re not in Florida, Washington, D.C., New York or New Jersey, you’re not at risk. And you’re just taxing important resources if you insist on being tested.” 

Kemp agreed. The Berkeley hospital instituted a bioterrorism response plan early last year, she said, and is prepared to deal with both real threats and panic. 

“If you come in and you’re worried that you feel sick, and you’re afraid the white powder next to the coffee machine might have made you sick, we need to find that out,” said Kemp. 

 

 

 


Keep police out of politics in Albany

Jerome Blank
Saturday October 27, 2001

Editor: 

Having lived in Albany for over 70 years, my memories go back to old John Glavinovich, our Town Marshall prior to the new City Charter. He stood on the corner of San Pablo and Solano, directed traffic and escorted children across the street. In 1927, the new City Charter gave John the title of Chief of Police. He oversaw 3 persons, 2 of whom were motorcycle officers, without radios. Woe to the person who exceeded 25 miles per hour in Albany, as tough cop Frank Davis mercilessly gave out tickets. 

The Charter made the Chief's office elective, as did most small cities in those days. We in Albany have been fortunate to have had citizens living in Albany who had the qualities to head a small town department. As cities grew, most every city found that to obtain qualified chiefs, they had to select them from outside their boundaries. Only two cities in all of California still elect their Chief, one being Albany. To select a Chief for a modern department with all its complexities and problems, a city had to advertise the opening, demanding experience and qualifications, just as we do now for our Chief Administrative Officer, Public Works and Zoning Officers. 

By voting "YES" on Measure C, we do not give up any voting rights. After our present Chief retires, Measure C would allow our duly elected representatives on the Albany City Council to select a qualified experienced person from amongst a pool of applicants, who are screened and interviewed as to qualifications to head our department. Would we give up any rights as citizens if Measure C passed? A hearty NO! At present anyone having a non-police problem in the city can complain at weekly City Council meetings and have a hearing. If we have an unresponsive Council, we can elect new Councilpersons every two years, with persons who will listen to the citizens. On the other hand, at present, what citizen not satisfied with any action of the Police Department, would have the temerity to criticize the Police Department or its Chief should they have a problem. They would have to wait for four years to make any kind of change via an election. 

How long can we be so fortunate as to have qualified applicants for chief living in the city? The answer is to keep our Police Department out of politics and let our elected City Council and its Chief Administrative 

Officer handle the administration of every department of the city while allowing each Department Head to perform his or her duties. For Albany's future we must adopt Measure C by voting YES! 

Jerome Blank,  

former councilman and mayor 

Albany


Six measures to be on March ballot

The Associated Press
Saturday October 27, 2001

SACRAMENTO — California voters will act on six ballot measures when they go to the polls for the March 5 primary election, state officials said Friday. 

The measures include five proposals put on the ballot by the Legislature and an initiative that would extend term limits to allow lawmakers to serve up to four more years. 

That proposal will be Proposition 45, the secretary of state’s office said. 

Also appearing on the ballot will be: 

— Proposition 40, a $2.6 billion bond measure to pay for park, clean-air and a variety of other environmental programs. 

— Proposition 41, which would allow the sale of $200 million in bonds to buy updated voting equipment. 

— Proposition 42, a constitutional amendment that would earmark gasoline sales taxes for transportation programs. 

— Proposition 43, which would create a constitutional guarantee that a voter’s vote will be counted. 

— Proposition 44, a measure to crack down on auto insurance fraud. 

The numbering of propositions for an election generally starts where the previous election left off, although legislators can designate numbers for the measures they put on the ballot. 

The numbering reverts to Proposition 1 every 10 years. 

———— 

On the Net: Read the legislation — AB1602, AB56, ACA4, ACA9 of 2001 and SB1988 of 2000 — at www.senate.ca.gov and the initiative at www.ss.ca.gov 


Responding to misinformation

Staff
Saturday October 27, 2001

 

Editor: 

I have received several very angry e-mail messages lately, trashing Berkeley, and one even calling me a traitor for living in this city. I now have a standard reply, and here it is: 

A lot of very irresponsible and erroneous news stories about Berkeley have appeared in nationally known and respected newspapers since destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Contrary to what you may have heard or read: 

There have been no pro-bin Laden or pro-Taliban rallies in Berkeley! There are no stores in Berkeley with pictures of Osama bin Laden or Mohammed Omar (the head of the Taliban) in their windows. 

Berkeley is well-known for it’s left-wing politics. The people who run the government of Afghanistan torture and murder leftists, socialists, and communists. 

The domestic policies of the Taliban are universally despised in Berkeley. In Afghanistan, the penalty for teaching girls to read is death. Women are prohibited from working outside their homes, even if they are starving and work is the only way they can earn money to buy food. Flying a kite is punishable by death. (I don’t know why. I can’t figure that one out.) Homosexuals are publicly executed by dropping concrete blocks or collapsing walls on them. 

Anyone who thinks that policies like these are popular in Berkeley or that they are supported by anyone in Berkeley city government has absolutely no idea what Berkeley is really like! 

Also, despite claims to the contrary, there have been no fund-raisers in Berkeley for Osama bin Laden or the Taliban. Bin Laden is a millionaire many times over. Nobody is quite sure how much he is worth, but it’s more money than he’s going to spend in his lifetime. 

The Taliban controls and taxes opium production. Half the world’s heroin originates in Afghanistan, and the Taliban makes billions of dollars a year in opium taxes. 

Why would people in Berkeley (or anywhere else) hold fund-raisers for people like this?!? It’s utterly ridiculous! 

The attack on the World Trade Center saddens, angers, and frustrates us all. We don’t know who is responsible. The people who hijacked the airplanes on Sept. 11 are all dead and can’t be punished or even questioned. I don’t know who to blame either, but there is no point in blaming Berkeley. 

 

Mark Tarses 

Berkeley


Police Briefs

– Hank Sims
Saturday October 27, 2001

Shortly after midnight Wednesday, two armed robbers held up the Office Depot store at 1025 Gilman Street, according to Berkeley Police Department Spokesperson Lt. Cynthia Harris. 

The men approached two employees as they closed the store for the night. They forced the employees back inside the store and made them hand over an undisclosed amount of cash. No merchandise was taken. 

The suspects are described as black males in their 20s, one around 6 feet tall and 170 pounds., the other around 5 feet 6 inches tall and 160 pounds. Both were wearing black, hooded, long-sleeve sweatshirts, baggy black jeans and black tennis shoes. Both carried handguns. 

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call the BPD Robbery Detail at 981-5742. 

 

 

 

 

Three juvenile females robbed a purse from a woman near the corner of Shattuck and University avenues on Wednesday at 9:45 a.m., according to Harris. 

One asked the woman for the time as she walked down the street. When the woman stopped to check her watch, another juvenile allegedly reached into a bag the woman was carrying and pulled out her purse. The three then fled on foot. 

Police have no suspects at this time. 

 

 

 

There were reports of shots fired Tuesday evening. 

Many neighbors near the corner of Derby and Milvia Streets reported hearing a series of gunshots around 9:40 p.m. One witness said he saw what appeared to be one male firing at another.  

Police were unable to find any suspects or victims in the neighborhood. 


Maio explains council resolution

Linda Maio
Saturday October 27, 2001

Editor: 

We all seek peace, for ourselves, our families, our nation, and indeed, the world. Our nation is engaged in a national debate on how we achieve that peace. The City Council resolution asks that we work to break the cycle of violence and urges that we make an investment in our security, in achieving peace.  

The loss of innocent lives at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, and in the destroyed aircraft is a horrifying shock to people throughout the world. Our hearts go out to the victims, to their families, and to their friends, who have suffered so deeply. We are a nation in mourning.  

We need to ask how the perpetrators could have reached such levels of hatred and frustration. The explanation that they are brainwashed by a perverted leader who holds seemingly magical power over them has to be a dangerous simplification. Such anger can only have been constructed over time, through a combination of historical events resulting in a deep sense of threat and sustained exclusion. Our nation’s response has everything to do with whether we reinforce this alienation and thus provide the soil, seeds, and nutrients for future cycles of revenge and violence. Or whether it changes. 

Our enemies believe they are fighting an evil system that wishes to eradicate them and their people. We need to destroy this myth, not their people. Military action that attacks already vulnerable civilian populations will sow more hatred, confirming those who regard us as evil and nurturing yet another generation of recruits prepared to attack us at all cost.  

Monumental times require monumental change. Now is the time for a different, an unexpected, response from the United States. Countries like Pakistan, Tajikistan, and yes, Iran and Syria should be approached by the West, and especially by the United States, with a question of strategic importance: How can we help you meet the fundamental needs of your people? The single greatest pressure we can put on our enemies now is to remove the justification for their “holy” war. We can overcome terror by making it irrelevant. Let’s do exactly what our enemies do not expect. Let’s seek justice, of course, but at the same time work vigorously to create a different future, one that does not breed hatred and make the world unsafe for Americans everywhere. 

Our global challenge is how to engage others effectively to ensure a new kind of future, a future based on the life-affirming ethics that are present in every cultural tradition. Our challenge is to engage with people everywhere, deeply respecting their own traditions and religious beliefs, to help them meet their own fundamental needs. Such an effort will bequeath to the generation of our children’s children a legacy far more secure than could result from any amount of military might. The current situation poses an unprecedented opportunity for this to happen. Let us have the wisdom and strength to rise to it, to seize the opportunity to construct a better future for ourselves and, indeed, the world. 

We need to respond to well-organized, decentralized, self-perpetuating sources of terror by thinking and acting differently. Our enemies are now counting on us to strike back, harm the innocent, and create more desperate and lasting rage. Let us not fulfill their prophecy by providing them with the martyrs and justifications they need. They changed the face of war. They entered our lives by turning our own tools against us. We will not win peace, justice, or security with the traditional weapons of war. We need to change the terms of engagement.  

 

Linda Maio 

city councilmember 

with help from John Paul Lederac


Dead snake costs transit system $1 million in San Francisco

The Associated Press
Saturday October 27, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — Transit officials will have to pay more than $1 million for stopping construction on a project near the airport while wildlife officials investigated a rare dead snake found at the site. 

In all, $1.07 million will be paid by Bay Area Rapid Transit to Tutor-Saliba/Slattery, the construction company that was working near San Francisco International Airport. 

Work on the BART extension project was halted for 18 days after an endangered San Francisco garter snake was discovered dead at the site. 

The pencil-thin snake, which has a turquoise blue belly and vivid red and black stripes, is listed as endangered by the state. It also is found in parts of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, where it lives primarily in ponds, creeks, marshes and meadows. 

State Department of Fish and Game sleuths were unable to figure out who was responsible for the snake’s death, so BART will pay the bill for stopping construction. 

“Nobody has ever been able to find out what happened to the snake,” said BART spokesman Mike Healy. “There was no evidence that the contractor or anyone was directly at fault.” 

BART already has spent close to $6 million to comply with environmental laws. The transit agency captured and relocated 77 snakes during construction near wetlands in San Bruno. Those snakes have been returned to their original habitat. 

New safety standards were set after the dead garter snake was discovered. The speed limit in the construction area was slowed to 10 mph and workers now arrive at the site by bus rather than in their personal vehicles to limit snake squishings. 

Extending the BART transit line to San Francisco Airport is estimated to cost $1.48 billion and be completed by December 2002. 


As you sow

Carl da Costa
Saturday October 27, 2001

 

Editor: 

Whether the Berkeley City Council passes resolutions or not; whether we, as individuals, support or reject these resolutions; whether we are vocal or silent on the issue of the United States attacking or not attacking Osama bin Laden and the Taliban forces in Afghanistan ? What difference does it make? 

I am not a Christian, nor do I follow any religion. But I do believe in cause and effect, and so do the various scriptures. In the King James version of the Bible, in Galatians 6:7, it is written “For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” 

What happened in New York on Sept. 11, 2001 was an effect. The bombing of Taliban forces in Afghanistan is also an effect. Whatsoever Osama bin Laden sowed, it is certain that he shall also reap. Whatsoever anyone of us sows today, that too shall he or she reap. 

It should be somewhat obvious, then, that every moment of our lives we are simply receiving our just harvest. And if this is true, then the issue at hand isn’t one of religion or politics, but rather of agriculture! We can be more careful what we sow. 

 

Carl da Costa 

Berkeley


Air traffic controller pleads guilty to holding up banks

The Associated Press
Saturday October 27, 2001

OAKLAND — A San Francisco International Airport air traffic controller who had been struggling with a series of personal and financial problems pleaded guilty Friday to a bank robbery spree. 

Rick Lee Davis, 43, the president of the air traffic controllers’ union local, changed his plea after originally pleading innocent. He pleaded guilty Friday to six counts of bank robbery. 

Davis, nicknamed the Robust Robber because of his stocky build, was arrested Aug. 3 after a spree of nine Bay Area bank robberies over a 10-month period. Police say he made off with $40,000. 

He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 15. Davis faces a sentence of 120 years in prison. 

Davis had been working as an air traffic controller at SFO since 1998, earning $98,000 a year. In 1996, Davis was seriously hurt when his car hit a cow in Hawaii, where he had been living with his wife and two sons. Davis later divorced and filed for bankruptcy. 


Keep up the good work, Berkeley

Satnam Bains
Saturday October 27, 2001

Editor 

I am also against war and for quick conclusion to the problems instead of killing poor people and achieving nothing.  

I am with your city and will support you in all possible ways and I am very sure most of the Americans are also with your city. It’s just few crazy people trying to ruin the reputation of the city and trying to scare the people by saying they will boycott Berkeley. I am sure that not even they have the guts to boycott Berkeley because I am sure they will not survive without Berkeley.  

I am very proud of people of Berkeley and wish them to keep up the good work. 

 

Satnam Bains 

Yuba City


Calif. power demand low

The Associated Press
Saturday October 27, 2001

SACRAMENTO — Demand for electricity in California has been so low at times that the state has had to give away power and even pay utilities to take it, according to state financial records. 

The state lost a total of $26 million in its first three months of trading power on the daily wholesale electricity market as demand and prices declined, documents released this week show. 

“They’re selling electricity that taxpayers paid for at 10 cents on the dollar,” said Harvey Rosenfield of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. 

State officials say Gov. Gray Davis’ power-trading program averted blackouts this summer. 

The state began buying power in January but didn’t begin selling it until April when the daily scramble to meet power needs eased. 

State traders gave away a total of 1,414 megawatt-hours. 

A few times the state had to pay a utility to take the excess power in order to avoid paying penalties that the operator of the state’s power grid charges for dumping surplus electricity, said Oscar Hidalgo, spokesman for the state Department of Power. 

DWR is the state department charged with managing the state’s power buys. The state stepped in to purchase power on behalf of three utilities in January, when high wholesale electricity prices led the companies to the brink of bankruptcy. 


Former prime minister seeks freedom under newly signed Anti-Terrorism Act

By David Kravets The Associated Press
Saturday October 27, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — Hours after President Bush signed an anti-terrorism bill granting police unprecedented powers Friday, a former Ukrainian prime minister on trial here argued the new legislation proves he did not commit a crime on U.S. soil. 

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavel Lazarenko is on trial for allegedly laundering millions of dollars in the United States with money obtained by extorting or bribing Ukrainian businesses, according to a grand jury indictment unsealed in July. 

In a court hearing Friday, Lazarenko’s attorneys urged a federal judge to dismiss the case. 

They argued that the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001 broadens money-laundering crimes that were not expressly outlawed when Lazarenko was accused.  

That means he cannot be prosecuted because it was not a crime before Friday’s law was created, said Lazarenko’s attorney Dennis P. Riordan. 

Senate amendments to the bill for the first time include acts “for money laundering, the very conduct by a foreign official with which Lazarenko is charged in the pending indictment,” Riordan argued. 

Wearing brown jail smocks, Lazarenko sat quietly and listened to the two-hour proceedings translated through a Russian-language interpreter. 

Riordan argued that prior to the new law, money laundering was only a crime for foreign public officials in the United States if the money was obtained through extortion or drug deals — not bribery. 

The package Bush signed Friday changed that to also criminalize money obtained through bribery. 

Federal prosecutors said Lazarenko can still be prosecuted under the old law because he extorted millions from Ukrainian businesses. Extortion, the government maintained Friday, is the same as bribery. 

“For this case, Congress didn’t need to make the amendment,” argued Assistant U.S. Attorney Martha Boersch. 

But Lazarenko’s attorneys said the U.S. Supreme Court has outlined extortion as a “violent or terrorist act” for which Lazarenko is not accused. Some charges allege Lazarenko took money from businesses, which in return received government favors. 

U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins said he would rule on the dispute before Nov. 20. 

Lazarenko is a political centrist who fled his country for the United States in February 1999. He was named prime minister in 1996 by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, serving 13 months before losing a power struggle. 

He fled to the United States after the Ukrainian government accused him of stealing about $2 million. Lazarenko has maintained the accusations were part of an attempt by his enemies, including Kuchma, to silence political opposition. 

The U.S. government has accused Lazarenko of conspiring to transfer about $200 million in ill-gotten funds to U.S. bank and brokerage accounts to conceal their origin. 

Officials want forfeiture of Lazarenko’s 41-room home in Novato, north of San Francisco, and the laundered money. 

In February, meanwhile, Ukrainian prosecutors instituted a criminal case against opposition leader and former Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Julia Tymoshenko, who was dismissed by Kuchma in mid-January after prosecutors accused her of wide-scale corruption. She is charged with paying millions of dollars in bribes to Lazarenko. 

The case argued Friday is United States v. Lazarenko, CR-000284. 


Don’t vote away our freedoms in face of fear

Dennis M. Burke
Saturday October 27, 2001

Editor: 

In this time of intense patriotism, who among us is truly ready to risk death for our freedoms? I suspect that many people deeply believe that they are. But which freedoms will they risk death to preserve? The freedom of privacy? Of habeas corpus? Of speech? Of free assembly? Of free expression? The freedom from unreasonable search and seizure? Are we willing to risk death at the hands of terrorists as the price of these freedoms? 

I see many people waving our flag and – remarkably – at the same time proclaiming that we must give up our constitutional freedoms in order to be safer. I see members of Congress quick to legislate away our freedoms for our safety. Where is the courage and patriotism in that? 

Now that we must chose between safety and freedom, we must not flinch if our flag is to mean anything: The courage of our convictions is being tested by history. We should let our representative know that we are not so fearful as to have them legislate away the freedoms and privacies that other generations have died to give us. 

Dennis M. Burke 

Phoenix, Arizona  


Bay Area Briefs

Staff
Saturday October 27, 2001

OAKLAND — Attorneys for three former Oakland police officers accused of criminal misconduct said Friday they will seek to have their clients tried outside of Alameda County. 

Michael Rains, attorney for Clarence Mabanag, said pretrial publicity in the so-called “Riders” case would make it hard to seat a panel of unbiased jurors. 

A trial date for the former police officers, Mabanag, Jude Siapno and Matthew Hornung, has not yet been set. A fourth officer, Frank Vazquez, fled soon after the investigation began. 

The officers were fired by the Oakland Police Department after they were accused of beating suspects and falsifying police reports during a two-week period in June of 2000. 

About 25 activists from the community group PUEBLO, People United for a Better Oakland, held a rally outside of the Oakland courthouse and urged a more comprehensive investigation. 

PUEBLO claims that misconduct runs rampant within the Oakland Police Department and that the investigation should not be restricted to the four defendants charged. 

 

 

SAN FRANCISCO — The Exploratorium here hosted more than a dozen of the brightest minds in the world Friday as it marked the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize. 

Four Nobel laureates took time to discuss the impact of the Nobel Prize. Chemist Paul Berg and economist Milton Friedman were among those who described how they earned their awards and how the prize changed their lives. 

The Nobel Prize is the most prestigious award in science, and California’s universities and research facilities lay claim to more Nobel laureates than any other place in the world. 

On Saturday, the Exploratorium hosts a live event called “Stump the Scientist,” where Nobel Prize winners will try to explain some of the curious Exploratorium exhibits for members of the public in attendance. 


CA imprisons fewer inmates, but for longer terms

By Don Thompson Associated Press Writer
Saturday October 27, 2001

SACRAMENTO — California is sending inmates to prison at a far lower rate than just a few years ago, but the prisoners are serving longer sentences, figures released Friday show. 

The number of prison inmates is expected to drop in the next two years from the current 159,114 to as low as 155,720 in mid-2003 before beginning a slow climb to about 164,620 by mid-2007. 

That’s thousands fewer inmates than prison officials predicted just six months ago. 

However, the slumping economy could boost crime and convictions beyond projections, said California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Margot Bach. 

Prison population swings tend to be cyclical, she said, and it remains unclear if the drop in imprisonments is a long- or short-term trend. 

The trend stems largely from policy decisions and runs counter to California’s rapidly growing population, said Frank Zimring, a University of California, Berkeley law professor who has studied California prisons for more than 20 years. 

For instance, most of the slowdown is in minimum- and medium-security inmates, particularly women, in large part because of a state initiative that took effect July 1 requiring treatment instead of prison or jail for first- and second-time nonviolent drug offenders. 

The drug initiative will cut the prisons’ population by about 5,440 next year and by more than 7,700 inmates by 2007, the department predicts. 

However, the state’s maximum security population, particularly inmates serving life terms and extended sentences under the three-strikes law, continues to grow, according to the department’s fall report now being reviewed by the governor’s office. Those inmates require higher security prisons and more supervision, Bach said. 

The number of inmates serving life in prison has grown from about 9,800 or 10 percent of the total population a decade ago to 20,429 or about 12.8 percent of the total today, Bach said. 

The state’s prison admission rate has also dropped significantly, from 293.5 felons per 100,000 Californians five years ago to 239.2 per 100,000 today. 

However, prison sentence length throughout the system has grown by 20 percent in less than a decade, from an average 47.9 months in 1993 to the current 54.6 months, the figures show. 

Actual time behind prison walls has grown from an average 23.6 months to 35.7 months when early release incentives and time spent in county jails prior to imprisonment are taken into account. 

That increase could partly be a function of weeding out inmates like drug offenders who would have served shorter sentences, Zimring said. 

The state’s prison population is expected to grow 6.3 percent over the next 10 years, Bach said, down sharply from the 14.5 increase in the number of inmates California saw during the 1980s. 

“California’s prison rate kept growing while the crime rate kept dropping,” said Zimring. “We were defying gravity until 1999. That’s when we stopped toughening up (anti-crime policies). That’s when the declining crime rate could catch up.” 

The 19,725 inmates who entered California prisons in the first half of this year is 4.5 percent lower than the number of incarcerations during the same period last year. 

The number of parolees returned to prison for parole violations is also fewer than projected by prison officials just six months ago. 

Bach said the drop was due to changes in police crime-fighting tactics, a state program to help recently released inmates succeed on parole, and an emphasis on keeping persons with two convictions from committing a third crime that would bring a far longer sentence under the state’s three-strikes law. 

Supervision of twice-convicted parolees was doubled so that one parole officer now oversees about 40 parolees instead of 70 or 80, Bach said. 

“We want to keep them from coming back for their third strike,” she said. 


Rodney King pleads guilty to drugs, will get treatment

The Associated Press
Saturday October 27, 2001

POMONA — Rodney King, whose videotaped beating by police led to the 1992 Los Angeles riot, pleaded guilty Friday to drug-related charges and was ordered to spend a year in treatment. 

King, 36, unexpectedly entered the pleas during a brief hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court. 

King admitted to three misdemeanor counts of being under the influence of PCP and one count of indecent exposure, the district attorney’s office said in a statement. 

He was ordered to spend a year in the American Recovery Center, a live-in drug treatment facility in Pomona. 

King, who was free on $7,500 bond, checked into the center after the hearing, defense attorney Antonio J. Bestard said. 

“I think he will be successful because he wants to get rid of this,” the attorney said. “He’s had a very bad time this year.” 

“I think this was the best result,” he added. “I think the court, particularly, was very understanding.” 

Prosecutor Thomas Gowen had sought a year in county jail for King, who could have faced more than three years in jail if he had gone on trial and been convicted. 

But district attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons called the sentence acceptable. 

“It’s obvious that Mr. King needs some help and, hopefully, he’ll get it there,” she said. 

King was arrested earlier this month in Pomona for allegedly driving while under the influence of a psychedelic drug. 

On Sept. 29, he was arrested by Pomona police for allegedly being under the influence of PCP and exposing himself. 

And earlier last month, he pleaded innocent to another charge of being under the psychedelic drug, stemming from an Aug. 28 arrest by Claremont police at a hotel. 

His guilty pleas end all three cases, but he faces a Nov. 20 hearing in San Bernardino County for allegedly violating probation in a 1999 misdemeanor domestic abuse case. 

King’s 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police led to the 1992 riot when a jury acquitted four officers of most state charges and deadlocked on one count. Two officers were later convicted in federal court of violating King’s civil rights. 

King won a $3.8 million settlement in a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles. 


Meningitis bacteria vaccine is useful with preschoolers

By Maria-Belen Moran The Associated Press
Saturday October 27, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — A recent study on more than 80,000 preschoolers demonstrates a new vaccine is highly successful in preventing the bacteria that causes meningitis, one of the co-authors of the study said Friday. 

Meningitis causes about 200 deaths in preschoolers nationwide each year, and more than 1 million deaths worldwide annually among infants and toddlers. 

A vaccine to protect older children and adults against pneumococcal infections, the principal cause of meningitis, has been available for 20 years.  

But a vaccine for children younger than 2 was just approved last year. 

The valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, or PNCV7, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in February 2000, but this study was the first of its effects in the general public, said Dr. Steven Black, co-director of the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center in Oakland and one of the study’s co-authors. 

Researchers say one of the most relevant findings of the study is a herd immunity effect, which means that vaccinated infants and toddlers seemed to be protecting those who had not been vaccinated. 

“It lowers the percentage of children who carry the disease in their throat,” Black said. “In fact, some evidence from the CDC shows adults are also being protected.” 

The pneumococcal bacteria can cause meningitis — an infection of the lining of the brain — which can lead to death, blindness, deafness, paralysis and learning problems. 

The bacteria also causes blood stream infections, pneumonia and middle ear infections. The bacteria is spread through close contact, including sneezing. 

“I would predict a decrease in the disease in the adult population as well,” said Black, a pediatrician with 25 years of experience, who explained that 20 percent of adults living with a young child contracts the disease — compared with only 5 percent of adults who don’t have any contact with preschoolers. 

The study will be presented Saturday during the 39th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in San Francisco. 

“The vaccine is highly effective, it is important not only for the U.S. but also for countries in the developing world,” Black said. 

No serious side effects to the vaccine were reported during the study, Black said. Common side effects are similar to those of other vaccines and include soreness and redness at the injection site, as well as fever. 

The FDA recommends all children up to 24 months of age be given the vaccine in four doses, at 2, 4, 6 and 12 to 15 months of age.  

Black said the vaccine already is available in some countries in Europe, South America and Australia. 


Cal State Hayward says accountant, now dismissed, embezzled $150,000

The Associated Press
Saturday October 27, 2001

HAYWARD — Exploiting a lack of checks and balances, an accountant in the Cal State-Hayward fundraising department embezzled more than $150,000 over five years, regaling himself with gifts including a personal computer and home improvements, according to a university audit. 

The employee was fired over the summer, but not before he used a series of accounting tricks to take the money beginning in July 1996, the report by the Cal State system auditor said. 

The audit, which ran from May through late September, did not use the employee’s name. It said campus police were investigating the employee, but neither spokesmen from the campus nor the system’s headquarters returned calls abut the status of that probe. 

The employee worked for Cal State-Hayward’s Educational Foundation, an organization affiliated with the campus that solicits donations from alumni and grant makers. He was the primary accountant for the foundation’s vice president. 

According to the audit, which was dated Monday, the man forged documents to buy $5,200 in personal computing equipment and made more than 40 fraudulent disbursements to get cash and pay contractors remodeling his house and credit card bills. 

The report suggested the fundraising office implement a series of tighter accounting procedures.


S.F. doctors report increase of syphilis

The Associated Press
Saturday October 27, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO — A significant rise in syphilis infections is being driven by gay men having unprotected sex with multiple partners, according to city public health officials. 

At 116 reported infections this year through September, the caseload may not be overwhelming — but the rise is precipitous. The city’s department of public health reported just 39 cases in 1998, 47 in 1999 and 71 in 2000. 

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease that can be treated with penicillin. The telltale sore often goes unnoticed, however, and over time, it can damage organs. 

The number of infections more than doubled among gay and bisexual men from 2000, according to a report city officials will deliver Saturday at the Infectious Diseases Society of America meeting in San Francisco. 

There have been 93 cases among gay or bisexual men so far this year, up from 47 last year. There were just 10 such reported cases in 1998. 

The study suggests the rise comes because gay and bisexual men are having unprotected sex with unfamiliar partners they meet in sex clubs and adult bookstores, and on the Internet. The 93 men reported having 1,225 sexual partners and could identify only 8 percent of them by name. 

Similar syphilis spikes have been reported in San Diego, Florida, Boston and Chicago, said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.dph.sf.ca.us/ 


New faces on home-improvement jobs

The Associated Press
Saturday October 27, 2001

So you finally found the ideal general contractor for your major home-improvement or repair job. The interviews went well. The background checks checked out. You really trust this person. 

But what’s with these new faces on the job? 

They’re probably subcontractors — specialists hired by the general contractor to perform specific jobs. According to an expert who shepherds home-improvement tasks for a living, homeowners should understand their relationship and responsibilities to subcontractors. 

“Subcontractors work indirectly for the homeowner because their contract is with the general contractor,” says Michael Christy, director of market development for the Home Service Store. “Some homeowners assume the general contractor performs all the work and are surprised when other workers show up at the front door.” 

The role of the general contractor is to coordinate the project. Dozens of tasks, such as drywall, plumbing, wiring and roofing are farmed (subcontracted) out to independent contractors, who specialize in a particular trade. Homeowners usually have no role in the selection of subcontractors. However, homeowners who have heard from friends and neighbors about the good work of a subcontractor can suggest names to the general contractor. 

Christy says general contractors “should be very clear with homeowners about the jobs and work schedules of subcontractors. Homeowners need to insist upon a work calendar that shows approximate time frames when subcontractors will be on the job. That’s the only way everyone stays on the same page and the job stays on track.” 

Subcontractors, or subs, are paid by the general contractor. The payments are often drawn against an amount of money the homeowner provides to the general contractor to pay for project costs.  

“Homeowners would do well not to make the advance payment one large, lump sum,” says Christy. “Instead, they should add money to the fund only when certain jobs involving subcontractors are performed.” 

Although subcontractors are not paid directly by the homeowner, it is the homeowner’s responsibility to make certain the general contractor makes payments on time. Christy says payments are due when the subcontractor is at a point when critical materials are needed or when the job is done. 

If the general contractor does not make payments, subcontractors can take action against the homeowner.  

These actions, often filed as liens, place the financial burden squarely on the homeowner’s shoulders. If liens aren’t taken care of quickly, work on the project can grind to a halt. “Worse still,” says Christy, “liens may show up years later when the home goes up for sale. No sale can be completed until past liens are resolved.” 

The working relationship with subcontractors is the general contractor’s job. He or she makes sure the quality of workmanship and materials by subcontractors is in line with project plans or homeowner expectations. 

The general contractor makes certain subcontractors have the necessary licenses and insurance. 

The homeowner can exercise some clout on subcontractor performance.  

Christy says “a cost of delay clause should be inserted into the contract with the general contractor. If the subcontractor doesn’t show for work, the general contractor can be held financially responsible.” 

If the homeowner believes subcontractor work is shoddy, Christy advises the homeowner to first bring the problem to the attention of the general contractor.  

If that does not yield results, the homeowner can seek arbitration between the parties. The last resort is litigation. 

In extreme cases, subcontractors can be removed from the job for failure to perform, argumentativeness or drug and alcohol abuse.


Job availability within state’s entertainment industry hits low

The Associated Press
Saturday October 27, 2001

LOS ANGELES — Employment in the entertainment industry has hit a four-year low, as an already tumultuous year in Hollywood was made worse by the terrorist attacks. 

State employment figures show that  

September was the slowest month for movie, television and video production since June 1997.  

A total of 143,500 people were employed in the industry last month — down from 158,300 in November 1998, the high mark of the last four years. 

The latest numbers do not include the thousands of independent contractors who are also out of work. 

“This is a worse hit than anyone expected, and we really don’t know the full ramifications,” said Stephen Katz, an independent analyst who monitors employment in the industry.  

“There’s a trickle-down effect, and what’s so concerning is that these companies are laying off their full-time employees.” 

All across Hollywood, projects have been delayed or even canceled since Sept. 11, weakening the already fragile industry. 

The Entertainment Industry Development Corp. found that location shooting for feature length films in Los Angeles last month was half of the September 1999 total.  

Commercial shooting was down nearly a third from the same period. 

Alternately frenetic and stalled, the industry saw a rush to production in the past year, driven by fear of dual strikes by the actors and writers unions.  

Once they were averted, the industry had to deal with a minor slowdown caused by an excess of projects. 

Business was just starting to pick up when the terrorist attacks struck New York and Washington. 

“We were anticipating things would start back up again in September,” said Gabe Videla, president of Special Effects Limited. “And then all of the sudden the World Trade Center happened, and we got hit below the knees.” 

Industry officials have said production is unlikely to pickup until late winter or early spring 2002. 


Fighter work won’t rejuvenate California aerospace sector

By Gary Gentile, The Associated Press
Saturday October 27, 2001

LOS ANGELES — The Joint Strike Fighter program may be the single largest defense project in history, but its impact on California’s economy will be a far cry from what it might have been in the 1980s, when the state was the center of the national aerospace industry. 

Most of the work on the $200 billion fighter project will be done at the Lockheed Martin Corp. plant in Ft. Worth, Texas. 

Friday, the Department of Defense awarded Lockheed the contract to develop the next-generation, supersonic stealth fighter. Lockheed will be the lead contractor, working with Northrop Grumman Corp., based in Los Angeles, and BAE Systems of Great Britain. 

Northrop Grumman said the award will mean a total of 1,600 new jobs for the company across the nation, with 1,200 in California. Officials declined to estimate the financial impact of the award on the company. 

Most of the California jobs will be in El Segundo, where Northrop will design and assemble the plane’s center fuselage. 

Lockheed competed with Boeing Co. for the contract. But no matter which company received the lucrative contract, tech companies in California were expected to benefit from subcontracting work.  

Still, the impact will be nowhere near what it would have been a decade ago, when Southern California was heavily dependent on defense spending. 

“It seems likely this is the beginning of a very slow upturn, but not the beginning of defense dependence or anything like that again,” said Stephen Levy, an economist at the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. 

Levy said the 1,200 new jobs in the state must be seen in the context of the 280,000 defense jobs that left California in the 1990s. 

“Getting hotel occupancy back up again will have a far greater economic impact than this,” he said, referring to the current collapse of the state tourism industry. “But it should have some confidence-building impact in terms of Southern California remaining a place to do business for this kind of work.” 

Northrop Grumman is the last big defense contractor with headquarters in California. With a handful of other firms, it will likely benefit from a general increase in defense spending as the country fights its new war on terrorism. 

“We have ongoing expertise in military satellite capabilities and defense systems that might be part of a national missile defense system, which seems to have a head of steam now,” said Tom Lieser, senior economist for the UCLA Anderson Forecast. “The impact on the companies may be more significant than the impact on the economy.” 


Click and Clack Talk Cars Dear Tom and Ray: My son, who is a certified mechanic and sells lots of tires, tells me that if I go to a higher-profile tire on my '98 Chevy Cavalier for a softer ride, terrible things will happen: The computer will sizzle,

Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman
Saturday October 27, 2001

Don’t switch tire size 

 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

 

My son, who is a certified mechanic and sells lots of tires, tells me that if I go to a higher-profile tire on my '98 Chevy Cavalier for a softer ride, terrible things will happen: The computer will sizzle, gas mileage will drop to 4.3 miles per gallon and I will roll the car on the first lane change. He says he has been told this in his certification classes (he has stripes down his sleeve like a sergeant major). On the other hand, I have a couple of college degrees and a lot of experience, so I don't believe it. What do you clowns believe? – Richard 

 

TOM: Gee, Richard, I'm surprised your son didn't mention the rapid hair loss and the rash on your butt that will last a month. 

RAY: The kid does have a flair for exaggeration, Richard, but the truth is, he's right. He's right to discourage you from switching to a non-manufacturer-recommended tire size. 

TOM: Here's the story. When a car is designed, it's tested for handling and emergency-control characteristics with a certain size and type of tire. If you change that, you, by definition, alter the handling characteristics of the car. Enough to fry the computer? No. Enough to seriously alter your gas mileage? No. Enough to flip the car in a lane change? Probably not. 

RAY: But the problem is, nobody knows exactly what the new handling characteristics of the car will be, because the car has never been tested using higher-profile tires. 

TOM: Now, if you make a modest change in tire size in one direction or the other, chances are the car will still be safe. In fact, you probably won't even notice any difference; most cars probably have a reasonable safety margin built in. But if you're dealing with a sport utility vehicle or something else that already handles peculiarly, then changing the type or size of the tires can be very dangerous. And that's why your son is taught to recommend against it. 

RAY: And we're with him, Richard. 

 

 

 

How to break into a car 

 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

 

My dear, departed daddy told me that if you broke in a new car engine at slow speeds, it would always be slow and sluggish. Is this true? What's the real skinny? Is there a preferred break-in protocol? – Susan 

 

TOM: Great question, Susan. But since we never speak ill of the departed, we can't answer it. 

RAY: Actually, I'm sure your daddy was right about many OTHER things and was a superior human being in all other regards. 

TOM: But his story about break-in is an old myth, Susan. And we don't know how it got started. Probably by some teen-age boy who got caught racing his dad's new car. 

RAY: It assumes that the car somehow "learns" to go slow when it's young, and then it never knows how to go at normal speeds later on. Kind of like my brother at work. 

TOM: But it's just not true. There IS a legitimate protocol for breaking in a new vehicle. It varies slightly from car to car, but the main purpose is to allow the piston rings to "seat," or conform to the exact shape of the cylinder walls so that they make a tight seal. And most experts agree that the best way to do this is to keep the engine rpm below 3,000 and to vary the engine speed (i.e., don't drive at one constant speed for a long time). 

RAY: And the break-in period generally lasts anywhere from 500 to 1,000 miles. Or until your check clears at the dealership, whichever comes first. 

TOM: If the piston rings don't seat correctly, your car might burn oil later on. And nobody wants that. 

RAY: So the speed at which you break the car in might have an effect on how much oil it burns. But it has absolutely no effect on how fast or slow the car goes. 

TOM: Last time we checked, that was mostly affected by the position of your foot on the gas pedal.  

 

Got a question about cars? Write to Click and Clack in care of this newspaper, or e-mail them by visiting the Car Talk section of cars.com on the World Wide Web. (c) 2001 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.


Longfellow V.P. honored by fund

By Jeffrey Obser, Daily Planet staff
Friday October 26, 2001

Veteran educator Thelette Bennett receives award for lifetime dedication 

 

Thelette A. Bennett, vice principal at Longfellow Arts and Technology Magnet Middle School and a 32-year veteran of the Berkeley school system, received a Berkeley Community Fund Award Thursday for a “lifetime of dedication to educating and nurturing Berkeley students.” 

Bennett, 54, brimming with energy, juggled phone calls and congratulatory flower deliveries while telling a reporter her life story. 

On her desk were a few odd specimens from the many student presents she has received over the years, most prominently a ceramic Fred and Wilma Flintstone. 

“I’m on my second generation of kids here now,” she said. “My kids’ kids are here. I can give them a look and they act right!” 

Bennett, who has lived in Berkeley her entire life – except her first few days at Oakland Kaiser Hospital – went to work as a student activities’ director at Berkeley High in 1969. 

She stayed there for 22 years. 

“I really like and love kids, and I feed off of them most of the time,” she said. 

Terry Doran, school board president, worked with Bennett at the high school and the students loved her so much that each senior class competed to outdo its predecessor in buying the most impressive gift. The contest culminated in a fur coat that “embarrassed” Bennett for its price tag. 

“She just always was able to connect to the wide array of students at Berkeley High in very positive ways,” Doran said. “I really enjoyed working with her.”  

Ten years ago, Bennett moved to Longfellow, first as an activities coordinator and more recently as vice principal with the official title “Director of Community Relations.”  

In the years since, the school has won an astonishing array of awards for its innovative technology curriculum, including the 2000 Smithsonian Technology Award. Bennett insisted the credit for this should mostly go to Nancy Elnor, the school’s technology director, and to Jim Rousey, its ubiquitous technology volunteer. 

Rousey pushed some of that credit back in Bennett’s direction. 

“Without a doubt, Thelette Bennett is one of the single most important factors in the success of Longfellow,” he said . “Her dedication and willingness to sacrifice her personal life to support this school and student population here is without parallel in my 30 years of volunteering in schools.” 

Bennett’s parents, Harold and Laura Bennett, were born in the South but moved the family to Berkeley from Beaumont, Texas in 1944 to escape segregation. “They wanted to give their kids a better opportunity,” Bennett said, and they set an example with longtime commitments to community groups such as the YMCA, the San Pablo Neighborhood Council, and the South Berkeley Church. 

“I grew up with a village of people, and they all made sure I came up on the straight and narrow,” she said. 

Bennett said her parents’ take-charge attitude has shaped her approach to students. When she has to give them a talking-to for fighting, she said, she tells them to refrain from assigning blame or fancying themselves as victims. 

“My mama said: ‘You do the crime, you do the time.’ And my father said: ‘Life isn’t fair – you handle it.’ So I say (to misbehaving students)