OAKLAND – Workers at the Claremont Resort and Spa received their holiday turkeys on Wednesday – but not from their employer, as they had every year in the past. 

Instead, with both Santa Claus and The Grinch officiating, the workers were given their turkeys courtesy of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 2850.  

The giveaway was the centerpiece of a rally designed to draw attention to the plight of Claremont spa workers, many of whom are attempting to organize a union. 

HERE represents hotel workers at the Claremont and is involved in the spa workers’ unionization campaign.  

Mayor Shirley Dean, councilmembers Kriss Worthington and Linda Maio and Oakland Vice Mayor Jane Brunner were on hand to show their support for Claremont employees.  

Union representatives were doing brisk business with the turkeys, as both spa and hotel workers came out to get their free birds. 

“Just the other day, my girlfriend said to me, ‘You know what? We’d better buy a turkey this year, because they’re not going to give you one,’” said Zachary Wroten, a table buser who has worked at the hotel for 15 years. 

“The union really stepped up to the plate.” 

Union officials awarded a “Golden Turkey” to Jadd Elkeshen, a Claremont manager who watched the turkey giveaway on behalf of the hotel. 

Stephanie Ruby, a HERE organizer, introduced Elkeshen to The Grinch, who, along with Santa Claus, presented him with the award. 

“The Grinch and the Claremont are of the same heart this season,” she said.  

Ruby said spa employees recently filled out “authorization cards” to show their support for a union. Claremont management, she said, refused to count the cards and establish whether they constitute a majority.  

“What the workers want is the company to count their cards,” she said. “It’s a very peaceful and non-confrontational way to establish a union.” 

“Count the cards!” became a rallying cry among the elected representatives present, who warned Elkeshen about a similar HERE unionization fight at Berkeley’s Radisson Hotel, which they said cost that company a good deal of money. 

“It might be instructive to see how much money the Radisson had to spend on lawyers,” said Worthington. “It’s probably not going to cost any more for you to simply accept the union, but the money would be going to your workers.” 

Maio said that during the unionization drive at the Radisson, organizations that had booked banquets and conferences at the hotel canceled to show their solidarity with the workers. The same thing would happen at the Claremont, she warned, if the spa employees were not allowed to unionize. 

“It’s a black eye I think you’d want to avoid,” she said.  

Elkeshen said that he was not in a position to comment on the situation, but was willing to listen to protesters.  

“Then you should send (management) a message, because this group has proven that they don’t stop until they win the war,” said Dean.  

Denise Chapman, the Claremont’s director of marketing and public relations, said that the company’s turkey giveaway was traditionally a Thanksgiving event, and it was true that this was the first year in some time that it had to be canceled. 

“In terms of the tourist industry, it’s been a tough time for everyone,” she said.  

However, Chapman said, the resort’s traditional Christmas celebrations went on this year as planned. She said the hotel had two separate parties for employees, one of them to which children and family members were invited. 

“We were very pleased we could continue that tradition,” she said. “It was a real priority for us.” 

Earlier in the day, Ruby lambasted the “misplaced priorities” of Claremont management and its parent corporation, KSL Recreation. 

Claremont management had said that the recent downturn in business following the Sept. 11 attacks meant that the hotel would have to tighten its belt.  

Ruby disputed that characterization. She noted that in November KSL Recreation bought the La Costa Resort and Spa in San Diego, for a price her organization estimates as $150 million. 

She pointed out the disparities in compensation between Claremont employees who work in the hotel and those who work in the spa. 

“Union members in the hotel have access to free or affordable health-care by working 20 hours a week,” she said. “People who work in the spa have to work 32 hours a week to get that, and many of them don’t get that many hours.” 

All the elected officials at the rally promised that they would stick with the workers’ fight until they were allowed to organize. 

Worthington said that he was struck by the contrast between the opulence of the hotel’s grounds and the low wages of its employees.  

“So little of the money that flows through this place gets down to the people who work here,” he said. “Considering how expensive it is to stay here, you’d think that they’d be able to pay people really, really well.” 

Brunner, who represents the Oakland part of the Claremont District on the Oakland City Council, said that she was concerned about the changes that have taken place at the Claremont since KSL took over the business. 

She said that her office was monitoring not only the situation of the workers at the Claremont, but also the owners’ reported attempts to alter the hotel’s historic gardens. 

“The community is watching the Claremont very carefully,” she said. 

Ruby said that a union butcher from an Albertson’s store arranged for the turkeys to be delivered.

Super sophomore Kamani Hill continued his amazing scoring run on Tuesday, racking up a hat trick in Berkeley High’s 4-1 win over El Cerrito in boys’ soccer. 

Hill now has 11 goals in Berkeley’s first three ACCAL games. The ’Jackets (4-1-1 overall, 3-0 ACCAL) came on strong after a shaky start to beat the Gauchos (3-6, 2-1), scoring two goals in each half of play while holding El Cerrito to just three shots in the game. 

“We’re starting to click, to get more consistent,” said Berkeley head coach Janu Juarez, who returns just three starters from last year’s league co-champs “We reached all of our objectives today.” 

Juarez has structured this year’s team to build from the back, even though none of the three returners plays regularly at fullback. That meant teaching an entirely new backline to keep possession of the ball until an opening becomes available, a skill most defenders don’t learn at a young age.  

Against El Cerrito on Tuesday, young fullbacks such as Chris Darby, Harris Cohn and Kevin Price swung the ball from side to side, probing for weaknesses in the Gaucho scheme with the kind of confidence Juarez has been looking for all year. 

“I feel very good about my young guys,” he said. “We start from the back, and we were able to keep possession under pressure.” 

The game started haphazardly, with the attack spilling into both ends El Cerrito got the first good scoring chance, but Berkeley goalkeeper David Present-Thomas managed to palm the shot past his post for a corner kick. The ’Jackets looked a little to eager on offense and were called for three offsides infractions in the first 10 minutes, but Hill was a force, working for three shots that were all saved by El Cerrito goalie Michael Gonzalez. 

The first goal of the game came in the 24th minute, as Berkeley’s David Ngov brought the ball inside from the left sideline, beating two defenders to set up a wide-open Hill. Hill crossed up Gonzalez with the shot and the goalie slipped on the damp turf as the ball hit the back of the net for a 1-0 Berkeley lead. 

Hill showed his full arsenal minutes later but just missed scoring, juking past two Gauchos on a long run before rocketing a shot off the crossbar. 

Berkeley scored again just before halftime, as a Willie Vega free kick found midfielder Liam Reilly in a crowd. Reilly put the ball past Gonzalez for the goal, but both Gonzalez and El Cerrito sweeper Ryan DelaRosa took offense at the score, taking cheap shots at Reilly after the ball was away. The Gauchos got a talking-to from the referee, but tensions would remain high for the rest of the game. 

The ’Jackets nearly scored on their first possession of the second half, as Darby headed a corner kick just over the bar.  

Senior Chris Davis, who was held out of the starting lineup with an illness, came into the game and nearly scored immediately, just putting a breakaway shot outside the post. But Davis got an assist on the next goal, putting a flick-header to Hill’s feet for an open shot that Hill finished with clinical coolness. Hill capped his hat trick shortly after when Giovanni Garcia-Perez made a long run down the right side, then cut inside before sliding the ball to Hill. 

The Gauchos were able to pull back one goal late in the game as forward Nate Kauffman was taken down in the Berkeley box. Spencer Selak slammed home the ensuing penalty kick, but it was far too late for El Cerrito to have any hope of catching Hill and the ’Jackets. 

“Kamani did a lot of work over the summer with his dad, and it’s paying off,” said Juarez. “He has a chance to be one of the best players I’ve ever worked with. He’s got focus, skill, good work rate, and he’s a consistent threat.”

Thursday, Dec. 20

Blanket Drive for  

Afghan Refugees 

8:30 - 9:30 a.m. 

2:30 - 3:30 p.m. 

Black Pine Circle School, Lower Campus 

2027 Seventh St. 

4:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Black Pine Circle School, Upper Campus 

2015 Sixth St.  

A large truck will be parked outside the lower school for collection of clean, serviceable, blankets, quilts, and sleeping bags. These will be delivered to the American Friends Service Committee in San Francisco, then shipped to refugee camps in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. 526-4771, nanscape@yahoo.com. 

Islamic Cultural Celebration 

7:30 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center  

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Mark the end of Ramadan with music, poetry, and stories from various partsof the Islamic world. Proceeds will be donated to RAWA. $10. 849-2568, www.lapena.org. 

California Shakespeare Festival 

10:30 a.m. 

Malcolm X Elementary School 

Friday, Dec. 21 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Berkeley Women In Black  

Vigil 

noon - 1 p.m. 

Telegraph Avenue at Haste 

(Outside Cody’s Books) 

Vigil in support of Women in Black in Jerusalem against military solutions to end the occupation of Palestine. 

Living Philosophers 

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst St., Room C 

Presentation and discussion with H. D. Moe. 528-8713.  

Saturday, Dec. 22

Santa’s Solstice Bazaar 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Metaversal Lightcraft 

1708 University Ave. 

Come shop while kids visit with Santa for free. Fine arts, crafts, 

clothing and gift booths in a magical and colorful scene. 644-2032, www.lightcraft.org. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers – jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market  

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Martin Luther King, JR. Civic Center Park 

Fair will include organic produce, handcrafted gifts, live choral music, massages, and hot apple cider. 548-3333, www.ecologycenter.org 

Magic School Bus Video  

Festival 

10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Ms. Frizzle takes her skeptical class from outer space to inside a dog’s noise in seven different video adventures. Free popcorn and free magic school bus gift. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Sunday, Dec. 23

A Service of Lessons and  

Carols 

4 p.m. 

St. Augustine Church 

400 Alcatraz 

The St. Augustine Choir fill an afternoon with carols. 653-8631. 

Christmas Photo Opportunity 

11 a.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church 

2727 College Ave. 

Children and adults are invited to be a part of the Christmas story by dressing up and having their pictures taken by the manger. New babies and children’s dolls are invited to take turns as the baby in the manger. Costumes and cameras will be provided. 845-6830. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers – jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Julia Morgan Center for the  

Arts Features A Celtic Peace:  

A Bay Area Celtic Christmas  

Celebration 

7:30 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Theatre 

2640 College Ave. 

“A Celtic Peace,” an evening of Irish music and dance for the whole family. This musical program is dedicated to world peace. $10 adults, $5 children. 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Editor: 

Bill Kinney of Sausalito writes to the BERKELEY DAILY PLANET to let us know that he will not shop in Berkeley any more because the City Council consistently takes positions hostile to the United States. Berkeley has, of course, provided pundits at a loss for thought with cheap shots ever since the Free Speech Movement. 

In the last several weeks, however, Berkeley has been knocked out of the running as Treason Central by Marin County. Everyone from Debra Saunders on up has reminded us that John Walker is symptomatic of a climate of privileged permissiveness that makes Marin a nursery of Taliban sympathizers. I myself have overheard upstarts discussing their treks in Nepal and personal swamies over lattes at Mill Valley’s Depot Cafe while I nursed a Folger’s drip and quiet indignation. Marinites stew in their hot tubs talking peace while real Americans work – or at least did until our corporations merged and exported their jobs to the United Arab Emirates. 

Yes, I know that it’s dangerous to generalize about a place; Novato is home to San Francisco’s heroic firefighters and policemen who daily must drive past that civic center through permissive towns like Sausalito on their way to work in a city where they no longer can afford to live. I, however, will no longer spend my money in a county that unapologetically harbors terrorists. 

Gray Brechin 

Berkeley 

Editor: 

Bill Kinney of Sausalito writes to the BERKELEY DAILY PLANET to let us know that he will not shop in Berkeley any more because the City Council consistently takes positions hostile to the United States. Berkeley has, of course, provided pundits at a loss for thought with cheap shots ever since the Free Speech Movement. 

In the last several weeks, however, Berkeley has been knocked out of the running as Treason Central by Marin County. Everyone from Debra Saunders on up has reminded us that John Walker is symptomatic of a climate of privileged permissiveness that makes Marin a nursery of Taliban sympathizers. I myself have overheard upstarts discussing their treks in Nepal and personal swamies over lattes at Mill Valley’s Depot Cafe while I nursed a Folger’s drip and quiet indignation. Marinites stew in their hot tubs talking peace while real Americans work – or at least did until our corporations merged and exported their jobs to the United Arab Emirates. 

Yes, I know that it’s dangerous to generalize about a place; Novato is home to San Francisco’s heroic firefighters and policemen who daily must drive past that civic center through permissive towns like Sausalito on their way to work in a city where they no longer can afford to live. I, however, will no longer spend my money in a county that unapologetically harbors terrorists. 

Gray Brechin 

Berkeley 

A glimpse of Berkeley High School’s future may be only a BART ride away. 

For months, local activists and politicians have debated the wisdom of converting BHS into a series of themed small schools. Earlier this week, the Daily Planet traveled to San Francisco’s Balboa High School, which has been divided into a series of compact “learning communities” since the late 1990s, to witness a small schools model in action. 

Parents, teachers, students, and administrators at Balboa, located in the city’s Excelsior neighborhood, said the shift to small schools has helped to engage students, encourage greater collaboration among teachers and reduce the school’s drop-out rate.  

But, they said, the high school has struggled to make improvements in vital areas, such as parent involvement and student achievement on statewide and national tests.  

“We’re far from perfect,” said Ted Barone, Balboa’s vice principal. 

Establishing small schools 

Wracked by poor student performance in the 1990s and the replacement of the entire staff in 1996, Balboa inched toward the small schools model in the early-to-middle part of the last decade. During that period, Barone said, teachers were upset with the direction of the school and worked to establish the Communication Arts Academy and the Law Academy, the first two schools-within-a-school at Balboa. 

The most dramatic shift came during the 1999-2000 academic year when Barone and Principal Patricia Gray took over and moved toward wholesale adoption of the small schools model. 

Today, ninth and 10th graders are each part of a “small learning community,” composed of 60 to 120 students and two to four teachers. The community focuses on core academic classes, community service and explorations of various career possibilities. 

In the 11th and 12th grades, students join one of five “school-to-career pathways” that provide both core classes and an emphasis on one particular career field. In addition to the Communication Arts and Law programs, pupils can choose to follow information technology, environmental science or health and science pathways. 

Students sample each of the pathways at a March fair and designate their first and second choices. The school has expanded the Communication Arts Academy because of its popularity, and Barone said most students get their first choice. 

The ethnic distribution of students among the schools, a concern for Berkeley activists and officials engaged in the small schools debate, is not an issue at Balboa, according to Barone. The school has a small white population, and relatively equal numbers of African-American, Latino and Filipino students and a relatively even racial distribution within the small schools, Barone said. 

With about 900 students, Balboa is much smaller than BHS, whose population is about 3,200. 

All at once? 

One of the most contentious elements of the small schools debate in Berkeley focuses on the speed of adoption. Members of the Coalition for Excellence and Equity, a community group, have called for the institution of wall-to-wall small schools at BHS beginning in the fall of 2003. 

Several members of the Board of Education, by contrast, have been hesitant to abandon the larger high school, and have called for the more gradual adoption of schools-within-a-school. 

Barone said Balboa opted for a rapid adoption of the small schools model in 1999-2000.  

“Some people wanted to wait,” Barone noted. “We said ‘no,’ it’s an all-or-nothing effort. Let’s get into it and iron out the kinks, because what we’re doing doesn’t work.” 

“You need to have a mass movement,” added George Lee, who has taught in the Communication Arts Academy for six years. “You need to make the leap.” 

Lee said the academy was not as effective when it was isolated within the school, without other academies around it. “We felt like a black sheep,” he said. 

Rick Ayers, who teaches at Communications Arts and Sciences, one of only three schools-within-a-school at Berkeley High, has warned that this sort of isolation is in place at BHS, and could lead to the withering of the small learning communities at the high school. 

“They are not institutionalized, they are not supported,” Ayers said of the existing small schools, at a student forum on Tuesday.  

Ayers argued that BHS should move toward full implementation of small schools. Under the current model, he said, CAS and the other existing “learning communities” do not have enough designated planning time, and other vital supports.  

Shirley Issel, president of the school board, who has called for a more gradual approach, agreed that the existing schools-within-a-school need greater backing. But, she said the high school must focus on pressing issues like discipline and attendance before it is ready for wholesale change. 

The logistics 

Students at Berkeley High School, and members of the school board have raised questions about how the small schools would fit together, and whether students in one learning community would be able to take classes in another. 

At Balboa, students take courses both within their pathways, and outside their small schools, all in accordance with a master plan developed by the central administration. 

“The master plan is certainly one of the most essential steps, but it ain’t easy,” Barone said, referring to the logistical difficulties of integrating the various learning communities. “It definitely can be done, and it’s done all over the country, but there are trade-offs.” 

Barone said that, under the small school system, student choice in electives is diminished, because pupils must take certain classes required by their specific learning communities. 

Students in Balboa’s Law Academy, for instance, are required to take pre-law courses in their junior and senior years, one taught by an instructor on loan from City College of San Francisco. 

Autonomy 

Berkeley residents have also debated the appropriate level of autonomy for each potential small school. Members of the Coalition for Excellence and Equity have called for relatively independent academies, while several school board members have suggested retaining a centralized administration. 

Balboa has chosen the latter course, although Barone says there are examples of successful, autonomous small school systems in place all over the country. 

Shaun Bond, an English teacher in the Law Academy, said each learning community still has a good degree of latitude, even under a centralized administration. 

“We’re pretty autonomous,” Bond said. “We get our theme and we’re pretty free to set our own curriculum.” 

Still, Bond suggested that the more freedom an academy has, the better. “Any system that’s overbureaucratized gets in the way of the goals of the institution,” he said. 

The Results 

Thus far, Balboa has not made significant gains in test scores. According to school district data, student performance on the reading and math portions of the Stanford Achievement Test 9 test have remained relatively constant since 1998. Scholastic Aptitude Test scores have improved incrementally in the same period, but are still below the district, state and national averages. 

Teachers and administrators say that parent involvement has not improved much either. “Parent engagement is a challenge at this school,” Bond said, citing typical barriers to involvement in an urban district.  

“The (parent) outreach, at least, is stronger, because you have two people working on it,” Bond added, referring to one of the benefits of heavy teacher collaboration in the small schools at Balboa. 

Collaboration among teachers in the same academies, supported by designated planning time, allows teachers to emphasize similar lessons in class, and collaborate on behavioral issues, said Balboa staff. 

But sometimes, full collaboration is not possible, said teachers and administrators. Teacher turnover, which has declined in recent years at Balboa, from roughly 40 percent per year in the mid-90s to about 20 percent now, prevents some people from teaming up in the summer before classes start, Bond said.  

In addition, said Barone, some teachers are not committed to their academies, or are matched up in unproductive partnerships. 

Balboa staff said that students, operating in small, focused settings, are more engaged in their schoolwork. A decline in drop-out rates in recent years, from 17.1 percent in 1997-1998, to 9.2 percent in 1999-2000, provides some support for the conclusion. 

Thadius Vinson, a senior who attended John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond his freshman year, said the small school model does add relevance to the course load. 

“If you don’t have a pathway and you just have different classes,” he said, “sometimes they don’t have any meaning to them.” 

But Lakeisha Rugley, a junior, said that students are still rowdy and unfocused in some classes. “It’s more about the teacher,” she said, arguing that it takes a compelling instructor to catch the attention of the students, no matter what the size of the school. 

The Decision 

Barone said high failure rates at Balboa High School in the 1990s, across the board, made the decision to move to small schools an easier one. Berkeley, he said, does not have the same uniform achievement level, making it more difficult to reach consensus. 

“One of the problems with Berkeley is you have a split population,” he said. “The old model does work for certain parts of the population and doesn’t for others.” 

The continued achievement of a portion of students at Berkeley High School has been a sticking point for many opponents of small schools. 

In the end, Barone said, Berkeley will have to focus on one question in deciding whether or not to move to small schools: “what is right for the kids?”  

The Daily Planet received a copy of this letter sent to the president of the Chamber of Commerce: 

We are in the process of relocating to the Berkeley area and came to your Web site considering joining the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce. I was surprised to find your anti-Berkeley political commentary on your Web page at http://www.berkeleychamber.com/chaminfo.html. If it is inappropriate for the Berkeley City Council to take a stance on the war in Afghanistan isn’t it doubly so for the Chamber of Commerce? 

Berkeley is widely admired for its political position regarding human rights. Whether the City Council passed a good resolution on October 16th I am not prepared to judge, but its action is certainly within keeping of its station and Berkeley’s world reputation. True, many people are disturbed by Berkeley’s non-conformist viewpoint, but I think the world would be a crueler place without that viewpoint. It is this aspect of Berkeley that makes it a world-recognized city. 

Please note that I am not suggesting you change your views or stop expressing them. I merely wish to draw your attention to the irony of them. 

Robin Rowe 

Partner, MovieEditor.com 

Richmond 

In a series of narrow votes reflecting conflicting visions of the city’s future, the City Council approved the housing, land use and transportation elements of the revised Draft General Plan on Tuesday. 

Planning Commissioner Rob Wrenn summed it up as he left the council chambers: “This is a plan that will promote affordable housing and alternate transportation and at the same time attempts to maintain what is unique about Berkeley.” 

After making some last-minute changes to the three proposed elements, the council approved each individually by a 5-4 vote.  

While many of the policies were agreed upon by the entire council, the close votes demonstrated fundamental political differences between the council’s progressive majority and the moderate minority on issues of affordable housing, rent control and public parking. 

The council distinguished itself from the Planning Commission, which unanimously approved all but two of the 600 policies, which are contained in the plan’s nine elements. 

“There were too many broad policies around rent control, parking and the core of the downtown that made the three elements unacceptable to us,” Mayor Shirley Dean said.  

Councilmember Linda Maio said she thought the moderates would have voted with the progressives more because so many of the amendments they had submitted were adopted. “Especially in the transportation element because 95 percent of the amendments were made by the mayor and Councilmember Hawley,” she said. 

According to Senior Planner Andrew Thomas, the council approved what are generally regarded to be the most important elements of the General Plan on Tuesday. 

“The two biggest issues in Berkeley that the Planning Commission, planning staff and the community have wrestled with while developing this plan are housing and transportation,” Thomas said. “Those are the two areas where people feel as though their quality of life is being threatened.” 

The council will consider six remaining elements, which include economic development, environmental management and disaster preparedness, early next year. 

The General Plan, which took the Planning Commission two years and 55 public meetings to develop, is an overarching document that gives city planners a navigation tool to chart the city’s future development. From the General Plan flows zoning ordinances, development codes and city budgets, which serve to make the plan’s nonspecific policies defined and binding. 

According to Thomas, the revised Draft General Plan is very similar, with a few exceptions, to the former plan adopted in 1977. “This plan doesn’t make any great changes but it does put greater emphasis on affordable housing, which is a major concern statewide,” he said. “It also includes updated language such as ‘encourage transit oriented development,’ phrases like that didn’t exist in 1977.” 

Thomas added that the plan has a annual-review feature that was not in the former plan. He said the review will give the Planning Commission and the City Council an opportunity to amend the plan to adapt to changing community needs. 

Housing 

Before approving the three elements on Tuesday night, each council faction had submitted lists of proposed amendments. The idea was that differing amendments would be discussed with the intention of reaching compromise. 

In the end, the progressive council faction got support for the development of low-income housing, rather than mixed income housing, on two developable pieces of land. And it pushed through continued support for the removal of a state law which guts rent control. 

The moderate housing proposals would have changed the language regarding the development of affordable housing on city-owned land such as the Oxford Lot and the Ashby BART air rights to include tenants of a mix of incomes. 

Another proposal would have deleted city support for the repeal of the Costa Hawkins Rent Control Act, which permits landlords, whose apartments are under rent control, to raise rents to market level when apartments become vacant. 

On Wednesday, Worthington said he felt very strongly the moderate proposals were designed to weaken city efforts to provide housing for working and low income families. 

“Their solution is to take money from low income people and that is not a positive step,” Worthington said. “And the Costa Hawkins Act has single-handedly increased rents in Berkeley by 40 to 50 percent destroying rent control as an excellent tool for maintaining a stock of affordable housing.” 

But Dean said it was never her intention to weaken affordable housing. She said that they proposal included mixed income levels because that make up meets less resistance from neighbors. 

“We hear it time and time again at the council and at the Zoning Adjustments Board, people are more comfortable with mixed-income housing,” she said.  

Hawley argued there was no point in wasting resources locally on a fight on the state level to repeal of the Costa Hawkins Act since there was no support for the move on the state level. 

Ultimately a list of housing amendments proposed by Maio and Councilmember Dona Spring were augmented by four moderate amendments and then adopted into the draft plan’s housing element. 

Transportation 

The adopted plan calls for new parking only after measures to support transit are tried. 

During the debate, the council remained sharply divided on the issue of a proposed two-year moratorium on studying available public parking in the downtown. The downtown is on the verge of an increase of businesses and city services and merchants, residents and Berkeley High School employees are concerned that there won’t be enough parking to accommodate employees and visitors to the downtown area. 

But supporters of the recently completed Transportation Demand Study have called for not creating new parking facilities before existing parking can be better utilized. The TDM study calls for measures to encourage people who work in the downtown area to take alternate transportation to work. 

The adopted amendment, proposed by Maio, removed the moratorium form the policy but replaced it with wording that calls for the TDM measures that will encourage people to not “warehouse their cars all day in downtown garages” before any public money is spent to develop new parking facilities. Her amendment also establishes a task force to set a reasonable amount of time to allow the measures to work.  

“We have to get people out of their automobiles and I don’t mean just in Berkeley,” Maio said, “we have to do it nationally and internationally.” 

Hawley argued, however, that, even though the moratorium was removed, the policy is short sighted. “I was hoping we could have adopted a policy that was reasonable,” she said. “We need an access study that includes everybody and not look at the issue in a limited way.” 

The council also approved a transportation policy that precludes the development of a proposal by Dean to build a garage with up to 500 spaces under the Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Park. The approved policy, submitted by Spring, identifies the Center Street Garage for expansion if it is determined additional parking is required. 

After the council approved the third element Planning Commissioner Chair Wrenn, who has put hundreds of hours into developing the plan over the last two years, was elated and, fist in the air, yelled “ALL RIGHT!” as he left the Council Chambers.  

Editor: 

I am writing to clarify the position of the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association on developer Avi Nevo’s project at 1820 Solano Avenue.  

As you report (Dec. 17), the proposed office/retail development received favorable reviews from both TONA’s Board and its general membership. 

But it is not true, as your article also implies, that TONA officially supported the project. Because of problems that have occurred in the past, TONA does not officially endorse proposals for development. If we think a project is acceptable, we do not oppose it. 

Thus it is also untrue, as Mr. Nevo reportedly claims, that "the building was so popular with local residents that the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association featured a sketch of it on the cover of their newsletter."  

Mr. Nevo’s architect, David Trachtenberg, was scheduled to present the project at our October general meeting. The drawing appeared on a leaflet that was inserted in the TONA newsletter so as to give neighbors a better idea of what was going to be discussed, not to indicate approval of the project. 

Zelda Bronstein 

President, Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association 

County releases API figures 

The Alameda County Office of Education released Academic Performance Index statistics for the Berkeley Unified School District on Monday. 

The index, calculated school by school, is based on students’ performance on the SAT 9 test. This year, eight of 16 Berkeley schools made improvements over last year’s API, but only two, Cragmont and John Muir, improved enough to qualify for the Governor’s Performance Award. 

This year, the award will provide eligible schools with about $75 per student. Each school will decide how to use the money, subject to the Berkeley Board of Education’s approval.  

In order to qualify for the award, schools must hit overall performance targets, and targets set for racial and socio-economically disadvantaged subgroups. 

Foundation awards $165,000 in teacher grants 

The Berkeley Public Education Foundation awarded nearly $165,000 in grants to local teachers in a ceremony at the Haas clubhouse on the UC Berkeley campus Friday afternoon. 

The grants, awarded to teachers at every school in the district, will fund take-home books for first graders, fourth-grade field trips to Sierra Gold rush sites and family math nights, among other things. 

“These grants reward the many dedicated teachers who are thinking creatively about ways to teach better, and they let teachers and their students know this community supports all their best efforts,” said Carolyn Weinberger, chair of the foundation’s grants committee. 

The foundation has awarded grants to teachers every year since its inception in 1983. This year, the organization funded 226 of the 246 proposals submitted by Berkeley teachers. 

Students collect money for Afghan children 

Students from Berkeley High School’s Communications Arts and Sciences school-within-a-school will be collecting money in BHS classrooms this afternoon to fund youth programs in Afghanistan and provide relief for the families of Sept. 11 victims in New York City. 

The pupils collecting money are part of a “student action group,” one of several such groups formed at CAS in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, and the ensuing war in Afghanistan. Other action groups are focusing on research, poetry and art. 

Students will go from room to room during sixth period collecting funds. According to Rick Ayers, a CAS teacher, money for Afghan children will go to the United Nations Children’s Fund, and donations for American victims will go to the United Way. 

E-mail David Scharfenberg at scharfenberg@ berkeleydailyplanet.net with school news for “Class Notes,”appearing every Thursday.

Editor: 

I read Robert Cabrera’s (Berkeley Property Owner’s Association) letter to see what kind of logical loop he was going to lead us on to convince us that the current market rents of $1,000 or more a month for a 1 bedroom apartment are actually beneficial for female headed households, the poor, the elderly, and students.  

I can see why he needed half of the opinion page to attempt this.  

At the heart of his appeal, he is concerned that Berkeley is going to continue to ask the state to repeal the rent decontrol law when the next General Plan is approved by the Berkeley City Council. Since the city is already in the tough situation of having the split the baby - affordable housing vs. free market - it would help if Mr. Cabrera actually presented his side more honestly. For example, if we want to attract good property owners to our area, those who will invest their time and capital in creating nice rental property, we may need to allow them the same freedom to participate in capitalism that other markets enjoy. In Berkeley, this has put property owners in the uncomfortable position of having to argue for this against female heads of households, poor people, the elderly, and students. You usually can’t have your cake and eat it too.  

I am pleased to see that we are willing to re-enter into this unpleasant and unpopular debate. But, if we are going to find more common ground between the different sides, it would help if we could keep the double speak to a minimum.  

Theresa Traynor 

Berkeley

VENTURA — A former Las Vegas topless dancer was ordered Wednesday to stand trial for allegedly stalking her ex-lover and creating a Web site with graphic photos of their trysts. 

At the end of a three-day preliminary hearing, a Superior Court judge ruled there was enough evidence to try Robin Kelly on felony and misdemeanor charges that carry up to seven years in prison if she is convicted, prosecutor Tom Temple said. 

Arraignment was set for Jan. 4. 

Kelly, 43, appeared in court but did not testify. 

Known as “Ruby Tuesday” when she worked in Las Vegas, Kelly allegedly had an affair between 1994 and 2000 with Jim Day, a married editorial cartoonist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. 

She moved to Simi Valley in 1999 and the affair finally ended the next year, authorities said. 

Kelly became furious and allegedly set up an Internet site that featured photographs of the couple having sadomasochistic sex, along with pictures of the man’s car, home, license plate and driver’s license and a map with directions to his Las Vegas home. 

She also allegedly sent postcards advertising the site to the man’s family, neighbors and boss. 

The Web site has been taken down. 

Kelly was arrested Nov. 13 and pleaded innocent on Nov. 15 to two felony counts of stalking, two counts of attempted witness intimidation and one count of attempted extortion. She also is charged with a misdemeanor count of violating a restraining order and two counts of making annoying phone calls, Temple said. 

The judge refused to lower her $200,000 bail on Wednesday and she remained in custody, Temple said.

Editor: 

The Flagged intersections to help pedestrians (12/13) is a great idea. Let’s hope the motorists will respect it. 

The idea however, is not new. Japan was using the crossing flags at least as far back in 1961 when I served there in the Marines. 

Additionally, Japanese elementary grade school children wear bright yellow caps to and from school. In low-crime Japan, elementary grade school children often walk, even ride the subway to school, unaccompanied. 

Dennis A. Cavagnaro 

Oakland 

BEVERLY HILLS — Dick Clark filed a $10 million lawsuit Wednesday against Recording Academy President Michael Greene, accusing him of barring artists who appear first on Clark’s American Music Awards from performing during the Grammy Awards. 

A visibly angry Clark said Greene persuaded Michael Jackson to break a promise to appear in the upcoming American Music Awards show on Jan. 9. The Grammys air on Feb. 27. 

“Mr. Greene has caused me a lot of pain and a lot of stress,” Clark said. “I’ve known Michael Jackson since he was a kid. ... To have another party interfere in that relationship makes me very, very angry.” 

Jackson publicist Dan Forman didn’t immediately return a voicemail message. 

The Recording Academy issued a statement denying any wrongdoing. 

“It clearly is the nature of the entertainment business to offer your audience something exclusive,” the statement read. “We do nothing outside normal industry business practices.” 

Clark said he understands the Grammy desire for exclusivity but objected to Greene pressuring performers to break existing agreements with the AMAs. 

In past years, Clark said Greene was responsible for preventing Britney Spears from appearing on the American Music Awards and banned Sean “P. Diddy” Combs and Toni Braxton from performing on the Grammys because they appeared on the American Music Awards. 

In the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Clark accused Greene and 10 unnamed defendants of interfering with contracts and prospective business relations, and unfair competition. 

Besides damages, Clark wants the alleged blacklisting tactics rescinded. Clark said he didn’t sue the Recording Academy because he doesn’t believe the general membership approves of Greene’s tactics. 

Clark said he had spoken with Greene about the issue in the past and had received assurances it wouldn’t occur again. 

Clark said he was compiling a list of all performers forced to back out of the American Music Awards or the Grammy Awards in past years because of the alleged tactics. 

The Grammys are considered the more prestigious of the two awards; the Grammy winners are determined by members of the Recording Academy, while winners at the American Music Awards are based on popularity. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.americanmusicawards.com 

http://www.grammy.com 

The Daily Planet received a copy of the following letter addressed to the Mayor and City Council. (The letter refers to the Draft General Plan, approved, in part, Tuesday.) 

Everyone has an opinion about parking. Merchants and entertainers seek to ensure their patrons have access to convenient parking; enviromentalists seek to encourage transit ridership; planners seek to provide a balance - both by encouraging transit ridership and accommodating some parking. 

As an urban designer and planner, I personally support a balanced approach. 

However, I also believe that public perception of the supply of parking must also be taken into consideration when creating parking policy, particularly in a downtown environment. And the perception of many Berkeley citizens is that there is a parking shortage. 

I am therefore writing to request that the draft General Plan be revised to eliminate the two-year timeframe for implementation of measures other than recommended TDM strategies, in order to assuage public concerns about limits being imposed on the parking supply. While I strongly support the TDM strategies for increasing utilization of the existing parking supply, I believe that the city should not completely preclude the construction of additional facilities or conducting a parking study in the near term. A comprehensive strategy for understanding and improving our downtown transportation environment should be our highest priority-including consideration of all of these approaches. 

Jennifer K. Avery 

Berkeley, 

SACRAMENTO — Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, conducted a capital bus tour Wednesday of vacant stores and empty car lots, highlighting a controversial tax-sharing bill meant to curb urban sprawl. 

Steinberg, touting a bill with statewide implications for growth, told his rolling audience of 40 supporters, “I truly believe if we don’t have the courage to change the system we’re all going to be losers in the end.” 

The legislator wants metropolitan Sacramento cities and six area counties share their growth in sales taxes after 2002. 

The tour showed a stretch of Florin Road, one of the city’s first major commercial streets, now struggling. 

“What’s happening here is this,” said Larry Carr, representing the Florin Road Partnership. “In older commercial corridors, businesses are moving out. They’re being attracted by new shops in the suburbs. We’re left with a heck of a job keeping this a viable commercial corridor.” 

Steinberg’s idea, pioneered in Minneapolis-St. Paul during the 1990s, aims to slow such blight and decay that often accompanies fast-growing metro areas. Some cities and commercial streets decline, he said, because other cities lure car lots and stores from them simply for the sales taxes. 

Bill Kennedy, treasurer of Sacramento Valley Residents for Regional Solutions, called it ironic that “while jurisdictions chase the tax they are chasing it in industries with jobs that are traditionally low pay. The jobs pay $8 an hour in cities that cost $12 an hour to live.” 

Steinberg’s bill, AB680, which must pass the Assembly by the end of January to stay alive, is opposed by metropolitan Sacramento’s newer cities and rural outlying towns and counties. Mayors and city council members in cities such as Folsom, Roseville and West Sacramento say it will punish them for success. 

Republican legislators, Dave Cox of Fair Oaks and Tim Leslie of El Dorado and Placer counties, say they’ll fight it in the Assembly. 

The tour also rolled through the university town of Davis, which has less sales tax income than most cities in metro Sacramento. 

Kennedy said the tax system punishes Davis for favoring a strong downtown of small stores over a regional mall and large department stores. Davis would get more money under Steinberg’s formula. 

——————— 

On the Net: Read AB680 at www.assembly.ca.gov. 

SACRAMENTO — Californians seeking records, documents and other information that public agencies keep secret may get new help next year. 

Advocates for open government are considering a constitutional amendment to make cities, counties and other agencies explain why providing documents would create a bigger problem. 

Sen. John Burton, D-San Francisco, said he will carry a bill to place the question on the November 2002 ballot. There it would require a two-thirds majority to pass. 

“I think the burden should be on the agencies to explain why they keep this stuff secret,” Burton said. 

California’s 13-year-old First Amendment Coalition, a group of newspaper publishers, attorneys and citizen advocates, wants to make it harder for government agencies to simply say no. 

“That’s often a knee-jerk response you get from an agency the first time you request something,” said Richard McKee, a Pasadena City College chemistry professor and coalition president. “If you show them you have knowledge of the law, they become a little more careful. But they know the only way you can get at them is to sue.” 

McKee has successfully sued several Southern California agencies to get previously refused documents on legal settlements and public spending issues. 

Florida already has such a constitutional amendment, said Terry Francke, the coalition’s attorney. 

Francke said the constitutional change won’t provide a specific list of what citizens, reporters and other public officials can and can’t see. Instead, he said, it makes public agencies explain in detail why making the documents public would endanger some private or public interest. 

“This doesn’t automatically make anything public that used to be confidential,” he said. “It simply would require the government to make a clear and convincing explanation of why secrecy is required in a given case.” 

Coalition director Kent Pollock said he thinks the amendment will make government better. 

“I think it means government will be able to conduct itself more effectively when people are participating and bringing scrutiny to the process. That is a valuable thing that public officials don’t acknowledge.” 

SACRAMENTO — California may need a quarter-cent sales tax increase to help pay the cost of responding to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, legislators said Wednesday, even as they called on the federal government to cover the bulk of the new precautions. 

Police, fire and medical groups already are drafting a November 2002 ballot measure that would boost the sales tax and provide more than $1 billion a year. 

“We’re not adequately prepared because we’re not adequately funded,” said Assembly Transportation Chair John Dutra, D-Fremont, as the Assembly’s Task Force on the Impact of Terrorism in California drafted recommendations for legislation and spending to be considered next year. 

The money should go to “first responders” like police, fire and emergency workers, suggested Assembly Public Safety Committee Chairman Carl Washington, D-Paramount. 

But other lawmakers quickly added to the possible beneficiaries. 

The state’s public health system is “woefully underfunded” and unprepared for possible bioterrorism attacks, and should be first in line for more money, said Health Committee Chairwoman Helen Thomson, D-Davis. Trauma centers that would likely handle injuries from terror attacks also are financially strapped, she said. 

California must combat drivers’ license fraud with high-tech — and costly — methods to cut counterfeiting, said Labor and Employment Chairman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood. He also wondered if the state should be doing more to increase security at the state Capitol. 

There is an urgent need to improve radio communications between law enforcement and emergency response agencies, and increase bioterrorism training for emergency responders, said Governmental Organization Chairman George Nakano, D-Torrance. 

It would cost about $300 million just to safeguard the most vulnerable state waterways, offered water committee Chairman Dean Florez, D-Shafter. 

Los Angeles-area transit systems need terrorism safety training, surveillance equipment and financial help because of decreased ridership, said Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach. 

And tourism, travel, manufacturing and other industries are calling for tax incentives and other subsidies to help them recover from business downturns they blame on the terror attacks, said Revenue and Taxation Chairwoman Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro. 

Since Sept. 11, the state has beefed up security at bridges, highways, nuclear plants, airports, aqueducts, and other potential targets at an estimated cost of $1 million a day. 

Law enforcement “is spending at levels that cannot be sustained without additional resources,” said Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys. 

Early versions of the proposed sales tax initiative give 28 percent of new income to fire agencies and 20 percent each to city police, county sheriffs and hospital and trauma centers. 

Tax opponents said the money should come from the state’s existing budget, already hard hit by the economic downturn and a dispute over repaying the money the state has spent to buy electricity on behalf of three cash-strapped utilities. 

Hertzberg and other lawmakers said they must put bipartisan pressure on Congress to pay the bulk of states’ costs. 

Gov. Gray Davis told U.S. homeland security director Tom Ridge a week ago that California had spent $143 million directly attributable to the attacks. 

Ridge said the federal government hopes to make a “substantial contribution” in the next federal budget year, though he offered no specific proportion. 

“We are putting an enormous financial burden this state and on this country,” Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, said Wednesday. “We need federal funding desperately.” 

Californians can make suggestions to the Assembly task force by calling: 1-800-977-SAFE. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Read about the Assembly task force at www.californiasafe.ca.gov. 

SACRAMENTO — Four people died and two were injured Wednesday in a fiery crash involving three tractor-trailers on a highway south of Sacramento, authorities said. 

The morning pileup closed Route 99 near Grant Line Road for hours. The northbound lanes reopened midday. But the southbound lanes were likely to remain closed most of the day and officers were diverting traffic to Interstate 5, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Tom Marshall. 

At least three trucks were involved in the crash shortly after 9 a.m. — two of which were engulfed in flames, Marshall said. 

Authorities did not yet know the names of those killed Wednesday afternoon. Two other victims were taken to an area hospital, at least one with burns, Marshall said. Their conditions were unavailable. 

The pileup apparently was triggered when one tractor-trailer crossed the highway’s center divide and hit two other trucks and an automobile, Marshall said. 

Witnesses told dispatchers the trucks appeared to be exploding, but Marshall said that likely was caused by the gasoline tanks. He said one of the trucks carried rice meal, another held electronic equipment and the third was nearly empty. 

The crash investigation continued Wednesday, but fog may have been a factor. The area’s heavy seasonal fog — often the cause of dangerous driving conditions and wrecks — was reported throughout the Sacramento region Wednesday morning. 

Last year fog-related crashes killed 44 people and injured 2,188, said CHP spokeswoman Anne DaVigo. In 1999, 52 people died in similar crashes and 2,064 were injured. 

Authorities are urging drivers to use caution when driving in fog. This year, Marshall said the CHP is running paid advertisements for the first time providing tips for driving in fog. 

They include: 

— Reduce speed. 

— Keep headlights on, but use low beams. 

- Partially open driver’s side window to hear outside activity. 

- If your car becomes disabled, pull off the highway as far as safely possible and turn off you headlights. If possible, get out of the car and walk away from the road while waiting for help. 

——— 

On the Net: 

For more driving safety tips see http://www.chp.ca.gov/ 

RIVERSIDE — A woman said she heard a gunshot on her ranch moments before spotting one of two suspects in the slaying of a 16-year-old Las Vegas girl, whose body was later found on the Southern California property, a detective testified Wednesday. 

Riverside County sheriff’s Detective David Scott Brown said during a preliminary hearing the woman identified 21-year-old Janeen Snyder as the person she saw on her Rubidoux ranch. 

Snyder and Michael Thornton, 45, both of Rialto, have been charged with torturing and killing Michelle Curran. 

Thornton and Snyder were initially charged with burglary for breaking into the woman’s home and a tack room. They were arrested while fleeing, Brown said. 

Authorities allegedly found a large amount of blood at the ranch and Curran’s identification in Thornton’s truck, but no body. 

“There were several theories and speculation” in the days before the body was discovered, Brown said at the hearing, which was scheduled to conclude Thursday. “Initially we believed there was a third outstanding suspect.” 

Brown said investigators visited the property at least four times before the body was discovered by the property owners in the compartment of a horse trailer. 

Deputy District Attorney Michael Rushton began laying out the case by asking Brown to trace eyewitness accounts of Turner and Thornton whereabouts on April 19, 2001, the day authorities believe Curran was killed. 

In the hour before Snyder was spotted on the Rubidoux property, the couple was seen with a dark-haired teen-age girl at a nearby park, Brown said. A park ranger who saw the three said they appeared to be under the influence of drugs, he said. 

The two were later spotted in a nearby neighborhood entering homes to try to elude authorities. 

“They said ’Don’t call the police,”’ Brown said. 

But Snyder’s attorney, Carl Johnson, questioned the eyewitness accounts. 

“They were asking for help?” he said. 

“Yes,” Brown said. 

“They made no direct threats?” Johnson said. 

“Verbal threats? No,” Brown said. 

Johnson also attacked the credibility of the crime scene at the Rubidoux ranch, suggesting it had been trampled by too many officers over too many days. 

“Is it safe to say there were 15 to 16 officers there?” he said. 

Brown said he did not know how many were at the ranch. Although he said in the subsequent days it ranged between two and 10 a day. 

Candy Curran, the teen’s mother, attended the hearing clutching a stuffed animal she said was one of the last gifts her daughter ever gave her. 

She said she would watch the entire hearing, which will determine whether Turner and Snyder stand trial. 

“I’m not prepared for it,” Curran said. “But I want to make sure these two get what they deserve.” 

Curran reported her daughter missing from her Las Vegas home April 5. Although authorities classified the case as a runaway, Curran’s mother has insisted her daughter was kidnapped and had no reason to run away. 

924 Gilman Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic, Breaker, Some Still Believe; Dec. 28: What Happens Next, Rambo, Lie, Youth Riot, Lugosi; Dec. 29: Defiance, The P.A.W.N.S., Panty Raid, Sexy, Gluk; Jan. 4: Champion, Carry On, Stay Gold, The First Step, The Damage Done; Jan. 5: Iron Lung, B.G., Crucial Attack, Blown To Bits; Jan. 11: Bananas, Numbers, Lowdown, Doozers, Iron Ass; Jan. 12: Plan 9, The Sick, The Hellbillies, Oppressed Logic, Deltaforce; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Dec. 20: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 27: Keni “El Lebrijano”; All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

Anna’s Dec. 20: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Dec. 21: Anna and Percy Scott on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 22: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 23: Jazz Singer Ed Reed; All music starts 8 p.m. unless noted. 1801 University Ave., 849-2662. 

Ashkenaz Dec. 20: 9 p.m., Darol Anger, Scott Nygaard and The Improbables, $8; Dec. 21: 8 p.m., “Celebrating the Life of David Nadel,” Aux Cajunals, Nigerian Bros., Tropical Vibrations, $8; Dec. 22: 9 p.m., SensaSamba, $11; Dec. 23: 8 p.m., Ecology Center /Media Alliance Cuba Trip Benefit, $10 - $12; Dec. 25: 10 p.m., Lickshot, DJ Tony Moses, $5; Dec. 26: 10 p.m., Zulu Spear, Fireproof, $5; Dec. 27: 10 p.m., Grateful Dead DJ Nite, $5; Dec. 28: 9:30 p.m., Mood Swing Orchestra, $11; Dec. 29: 9:30 p.m., Caribbean All Stars, $11; Dec. 30: 8 p.m., Marimba Pacific, $8; Dec. 31: 8 p.m., Balkan New Year’s Eve with Edessa and Anoush, $15; 1317 San Pablo Ave., 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.  

Blake’s Dec. 29: 11 p.m., Jack West & Curvature, $5; 2367 Telegraph Ave., 877-488-6533. 

Club JJang-Ga Dec. 22: Heaven & Hell, Blue Period; Dec. 29: Deducted Value, 3rd Rail, Noiz, Un Sed; 400 29th Ave., Oakland, (925) 833-7820, savageproductionssl@ yahoo.com. 

Cal Performances Jan. 20: 3 p.m., Midori and Robert McDonald. $28 -$48. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph. 642-9988 

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

Freight & Salvage Coffee House Jan. 5: The Bluegrass Intentions CD Release Party; Jan. 6: Allette Brooks; All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. 548-1761, www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Julia Morgan Theatre Dec. 23: 7:30 p.m., an evening of Irish music and dance with Todd Denman and friends. $10, $5 children; Dec. 31: 8 p.m., New Year’s Eve Gala Concert, Program of classical favorites of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra; Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, sizzling program of classical party music; Jan. 12: 8:p.m., “Club Dance,” Teens come together to express their individual personalities and gifts as dancers. $10, Students and Seniors $6, Children ages 5 and under $6. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Dec. 20: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 21: Crater; Dec. 22: Post Junk Trio; Dec. 27: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 28: Ben Krames & Candlelight Dub; Dec. 29: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Kirk Tamura Trio; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Dec. 23: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568, www.lapena.org 

Rose Street House Dec. 25: 3 p.m., Annual “Dykelah Escape-from-you-know-what-day Musical Extravaganza!”; Jan.17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@ yahoo.com. 

Yoshi’s Jazz House Dec. 22: 1 p.m. - 4 p.m., 7th Annual Youth Arts Benefit Concert and Dance, $15; Dec.18 - 23: Charlie Hunter; Dec. 26 - 31: New Year’s Fiesta, The Afro-Cuban Jazz Masters; Jan. 2 - 6: Charles Lloyd; Jan. 13: Jacqui Naylor Quartet; All shows at 8 p.m., and 10 p.m., unless noted. 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakland. Check for prices and Sunday Matinees, 238-9200, www.yoshis.com. 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Dec. 18: 8 p.m., under the direction of Maestro Kent Nagano, plus the world premiere of Ichiro Nodaira’s “Kodama” written for and featuring Mari and Momo Kodama. $21 - $45; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 841-2800, jeaston@berkeleysymphony.org. 

“Dotha’s Juke Joint: Everett and Jones Barbeque” Dec. 21: 8 & 10p.m., Faye Carol and her Off the Hook Blues Band, $15; Jack London Square, 126 Broadway at Second St., reservations, 663-7668.  

The Oakland Interfaith Youth Gospel Choir’s 5th Annual Christmas Concert Dec. 22: 7 p.m., “The Reason Why We Sing”; The Regents Theater, Holy Names College, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland, 839-4361, www.oigc.org. 

“Music on Telegraph” Dec. 22: Kaz Sasaki Duo, Blackberry Ginger, 2520 Durant; Dec. 23: Almadecor, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; All shows 2 - 4 p.m., Free. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley Jan. 6: 3 p.m., Stephen Genz in his West Coast debut; 2345 Channing Way, 527-8175, www.geocities.com/mostlybrahms. 

Berkeley Piano Club Jan.11: 8 p.m., Kate Steinbeck and Renee Witon; Berkeley Piano Club, 2724 Haste St., (510) 531-1487. 

Berkeley High School Dance Production Jan. 11, 12, 18 &19: 7:30 p.m., Diverse mix of classical and modern ballet to hard-core hip-hop. $5. Florence Schwimley Little Theatre, Allston way and MLK., 644-6120 

“Much Ado About Nothing” Through Jan. 8: Check theater for specific dates and times. Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy chronicles a handful of soldiers returning from a winning battle to be greeted by a gaggle of giddy maidens. Directed by Brian Kulick. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

“Every Inch a King” Jan. 11 through Feb. 9: Thur. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m.; Three sisters have to make a decision as their father approaches death in this comedy presented by the Central Works Theater Ensemble. $8 - $18. LeValls Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. 558-138, www.centralworks.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 Jan. 3: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Unfinished Song; Jan. 4: 7 p.m., 9:15 p.m., Going By; Jan. 5: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Under the Moonlight; Jan. 6: 1p.m., 3 p.m., Paper Airplanes, 5:30 Shrapnels in Peace; Jan.10: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., ABC Africa; Jan.11: 7:30 p.m., The Girl at the Monceau Bakery and Suzanne’s Career, 9:05 p.m. The Sign of the Lion with Place de l’Etoile; Jan. 12: 7p.m., La Collectionneuse, 8:50 p.m., My Night at Maud’s; Jan.13: 1p.m., 3p.m., Os 

“Veiled and Revealed” Through Dec. 23: Human beings, costumed in native dress are captured by visual artists in a seven-person exhibit. Sat. Dec. 8, 15, and 23, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. Simultaneously showing at ART-A-FACT, 1109 Addison St., and Metaversal Lightcraft, 1708 University Ave. 848-1985 

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” Dec. 19 through Jan. 8: An exhibit featuring Kathleen Flannigan’s drawing and furniture - boxes, tables, and mirrors, all embellished with images of the beauty and innocence of the natural world. Addison Street Windows, 2018 Addison St. 

“From With These Walls” Jan. 5: Educational studio opening celebration gallery show of student works in steel, bronze, aluminum, cast iron, glass, neon, ceramic, stone and paper; jewelry. The Crucible, 1036 Ashby St. (Entrance is one block south on Murray St.) 843-5511, fran@thecrucible.org. 

“The First Five Years” Through Jan.11: Exhibit represents a selection of drawings, paintings, prints and sculpture created by students during their 7th & 8th grade years. 7a.m.-9:30 p.m. Mon-Fri, 5:30- 9:30 p.m. Sat., Bucci’s Restaurant, 6121 Hollis St., Emeryville, 547-4725, www.bucci.com 

“Carving, Canvas, Color: Art of Julio Garcia and Wilbert Griffith” Through Jan.12: Brightly colored wooden figures and colorfully detailed paintings. Gallery is open by appointment and chance, most weekdays 10:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.; The Ames Gallery, 2661 Cedar St., 845-4949, amesgal@home.com 

“Matrix 195” Through Jan. 13: German artist, Thomas Scheibitz’s, first solo museum exhibition in the United States showcases semi-abstract representations of everyday objects and landscapes. Wed., Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $3-$6. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Analogous Biology: Balance and Use,” Mark J. Leavitt, Dec. 20 through Jan. 19; Tue. - Sat., 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland. 836-0831, www.artolio.com. 

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 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” Dec. 19 through Feb. 2: An exhibition of painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography and more by Bay Area and  

regional artists. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., www.proartsgallery.org. 

“Water Media” Jan. 10 through Feb. 8: An exhibit by Christine “Caipirinha” Mulder. Capoeira Arts Cafe Gallery, 2026 Center St., 666-1349 for hours. 

Traywick Gallery: “New Work by Dennis Begg and Steve Briscoe” Jan. 5 through Feb. 9: Dennis Begg’s sculpture explores memory as the building block of consciousness, learning and experience. Steve Brisco’s paintings on paper address issues of identity through evocative combinations of text and imagery. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., 1316 10th St. 527-1214 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” Through Feb. 15: 18 homeless and formerly homeless elders reveal how they learned and applied wisdom that is timeless. Mon. - Fri. and Sundays 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Reception and presentation by the elders Thurs. Nov. 15, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Free. St. Mary’s Center, 635 22nd St., Oakland, 893-4723 x222 

“The Other 364 Days: A Day in the Life of the Queer Community” Jan. 2 through Feb. 16: An exhibit of black and white photographs by East Bay photographer Limor Inbar-Hansen. Mon. - Fri., 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Sat., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Reception for artist, Jan. 12: 6 - 8 p.m., Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St., 644-1400, limor@indelible-images.com. 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” Dec. 12 through Mar. 10: A selection of photographs and memorabilia presenting a different perspective on Adam’s career as one of the leading figures in American photography. Wed, Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $4- $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Migrations: Photographs by Sebastiao Salgado” Jan. 16 through Mar. 24: Over 300 black-and-white photographs of immigrants and refugees taken by the Brazilian photographer. Wed. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. $4 - $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

"Earthly Pleasures" assemblage and photographs by Susan Danis, Jan. 11 through March 30: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Mon. - Sat.; Sticks, 1579 B, Solano Ave., 526-6603.  

“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, www.atelier9.com. 

Readings 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Jan. 8: Theodore Hamm discusses “Rebel and a Cause: Caryl Chessman and the Politics of the Death Penalty”; Jan. 10: Joan Frank reads from her new book, “Boys Keep Being Born”; Jan. 11: Christopher Hitchens, “Letters to a Youn Contrarian”; Jan. 14: Pamela Logan talks about “Tibetan Rescue: A Woman’s Quest to Save the Fabulous Art Treasures of Pewar Monastery”; All events are free and start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852. 

Coffee With A Beat - Word Beat reading series Dec. 22: Debra Grace Khattab, Jesy Goldhammer; Dec. 29: Steve Arntson, Michelle Erickson, Clare Lewis; All readings are free and begin at 7 p.m., 458 Perkins, Oakland, 526-5985, www.angelfire.com/poetry/wordbeat. 

The Humanist Fellowship Hall Jan. 9: 7 p.m., “Our Wings Are Pregnant Seesaws,” Reading performance of a play by H. D. Moe. 390 27th St., Oakland, 528-8713. 

“World Ground Poetry” Dec.19: 7-9 p.m., Featuring Abdul Kenyatta & Paradise Freejahlove Supreme; World Ground Cafe, 3726 Mac Arthur Blvd., 482-2933, www.worldgrounds.com. 

Tours 

Golden Gate Live Steamers Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Lomas Cantadas Drive at the south end of Tilden Regional Park Small locomotives, scaled to size. Trains run Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., noon to 3 p.m., weather permitting. 486-0623  

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 

Museums 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. 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 “Kwanzaa Community Celebration” Dec. 30: 12-4 p.m.,Nia Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that honors black family history; Through Jan. 13: Grand Lyricist: The Art of Elmer Bischoff, featuring paintings and works on paper that trace the evolution of Bischoff’s career. $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 Dec. 26: 1 p.m., Professor Smart’s Fun with Physics Show; Dec. 27: 1 p.m., Slapstick with Derique; Dec. 28: 1 p.m., Rhythmix; Dec. 29: 1 p.m., Magic with Jay Alexander; Dec. 30: 1 p.m., Music and Storytelling with Dennis Hysom; Dec. 31: 1 p.m., New Year’s Eve Party, special daytime holiday party for kids; Dec. 26 through 31: Free Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb; Through Jan. 26: Scream Machines: The Science of Roller Coasters; “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; Open daily, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley, 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org. 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.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Environmental scientists from around the world are supporting a plan for the U.S. Department of Energy to team with Columbia University to use Biosphere 2 for climate research, its director said. 

Government and academic scientists from countries including Russia, Japan, Italy, Australia and Israel met at the sealed giant terrarium to determine whether it would be a suitable site for such research. No specific plan has been devised. 

The conference, which ended Tuesday, was viewed as one that will guide the future of the Biosphere 2 Center, which now is an arm of Columbia University, managed by Columbia’s Earth Institute. 

University officials see the controlled-environment facility as critical to learning how the earth responds to changes in climate. Biosphere 2 has distinct ecological sectors, or biomes, that were built to mimic the earth’s: a rainforest, desert, savannah and its own miniature ocean. 

In addition, there is an area for growing crops or other plants which is now being used to test how cottonwood trees respond to different levels of carbon dioxide. Scientists say the research will provide insight into the effects of global warming. 

“Before the Department of Energy would reprogram funds to invest in Biosphere 2 or provide new funds for research projects, they require the scientific community to identify compelling scientific questions that can’t be addressed without a facility like Biosphere 2,” said Barry Osmond, president and executive director of the center, a 3.15-acre glass-and-steel domed complex northeast of Tucson. 

DOE officials also want to see a clear demonstration that the scientific community would use the facility if it was supported by the department, he said. 

“I think we got an abundant definition of those questions and indication that the community will participate,” Osmond said. 

Biosphere 2 has “considerable potential as a major facility at the frontier of global change science,” said Paul Rich of New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Laboratory. 

Scientists who attended the conference will put together a report for the DOE. The paper will suggest how studies at the facility would help the department in its objectives. 

Osmond said the likeliest outcome would be some kind of partnership between DOE and Columbia, “because there’s no doubt that Columbia wants this to be a university campus.” 

It might be modeled after projects that support oceanographic research, he said. There also were discussions about construction of additional facilities for researchers at the complex, Osmond said. 

“We would use Biosphere 2 as the sort of controlled experimental device but would like to put it into the context of all the outdoor real-world experiments that one can do in this region.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

Biosphere 2: http://www.bio2.edu/ 

Energy Department: http://www.energy.gov/ 

Shopping bags stuffed with gifts were given to 230 women and children Tuesday during the annual Christmas party for those who regularly use the services of the Women’s Daytime Drop-in Center. 

The celebration, complete with a holiday meal of baked ham, potatoes au gratin, mashed sweet potatoes, biscuits and blackberry pie, was held at North Berkeley’s School of the Madeleine. 

At the WDDC, homeless women and children receive support, meals and access to community resources. The nonprofit agency serves an average of 150 women and children each month. 

Gwen Grayson, a single mother of seven children aged between 2 and 14 years old and a client of the center, filled up one of the long tables with her smiling family.  

Grayson and her children recently found themselves homeless when they moved back to Berkeley from the Fresno area. She sought assistance from the WDDC, which quickly found the family housing in Oakland. 

Berkeley Police Department officers “donated a large number of gifts with cash out of their own pocket, along with other organizations too,” said Linda Lazzareschi, WDDC director. 

Reserve Police Officer Rich Wolfman had a central role, playing a jolly Santa Claus. Wolfman was mobbed by the younger children wanting to hug and touch Santa Claus, as he distributed the gifts. 

The WDDC is located at 2218 Acton St., Berkeley. For more information call 548-2884. Services are available at no fee to any homeless woman or child.  

The Berkeley Police Department and the Berkeley Fire Department were called to the 1700 block of McGee Avenue at around 9 a.m. Wednesday after a woman found a suspicious white powdery substance in her driveway. 

The victim told police that she suspected the powder may have been laundry detergent, since she could not find the box of it she bought the night before. Thinking the powder could have been anthrax, she evacuated the premises and asked the city to take a look. 

Officer Dan Frederick of the BPD was the first to arrive at the scene. After scrutinizing the powder’s appearance and smell, he determined that it was, in fact, detergent of some sort.  

Frederick considered using the victim’s garden hose to wash the substance away, but held off in light of the city’s policy on dumping materials into storm drains. 

Members of the BFD’s Station Four were temporarily stymied by the traffic-calming bumpers on McGee Avenue, but were able access the house after driving around the block.  

The firefighters confirmed Frederick’s detective work.  

They used a broom and dustpan from their truck to sweep up the bulk of the detergent, then used the garden hose to eliminate the remaining traces. 

Asst. Fire Chief Dave Orth later said it was the first anthrax call the department had received in quite a while. 

“The number of calls we’ve received has practically diminished to nothing,” he said. 

Orth said despite the fact that the scare turned out to be unwarranted, the caller did the right thing.  

“We don’t blame people,” he said. “If you really don’t know and you feel uncomfortable, you should call. That’s part of the service we provide.”

Researchers say they have discovered the key component in red wine that explains the so-called French Paradox, or the way the French can eat lots of cheese, buttery sauces and other rich foods and still suffer less heart disease than Americans. 

The explanation is pigments known as polyphenols. 

The pigments are not present in white wine or rose, and they seem to be less potent when they are present in grape juice. 

Polyphenols inhibit the production of a peptide that contributes to hardening of the arteries, researchers report in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature. 

In laboratory dish experiments, polyphenols in red wine decreased the amount of the peptide endothelin-1 produced by cells taken from the blood vessels of cows. 

Endothelin-1 is a potent blood vessel constrictor, and overproduction of the compound is thought to be a key factor in why arteries clog with fatty deposits, said the researchers from the William Harvey Research Institute at the London School of Medicine & Dentistry. 

In the study, the cow cells were exposed to extracts from 23 red wines, four white wines, one rose and one type of red grape juice. 

Researchers found the decrease in endothelin-1 levels was related to the amount of polyphenols in the wines. 

The white and rose wines — which contain little or none of the pigment — had no effect on endothelin-1 levels. 

Red grape juice, which has plenty of the pigment, was markedly less potent in reducing endothelin-1 than red wine. The researchers said that suggests that something in the winemaking process changes the pigment’s properties. 

Researchers believe the pigment comes from red wine skins. In white wine and rose, the grape skins are taken out before fermentation. 

The type of grape also appeared to matter.  

Four of the six most effective red wines used in the study were made entirely or partially from cabernet sauvignon grapes. 

“The key message is moderate consumption of red wine is likely to prevent heart disease, but we have no evidence that white wine or rose would have a similar benefit,” said Roger Corder, who led the study. 

The lower incidence of heart disease in France, despite a diet rich in butter and other fats, has led researchers to look to the consumption of red wine, another staple of the French diet. 

Other studies have shown red wine helps fight heart disease, and scientists have theorized that the benefits are caused by antioxidant compounds that prevent or slow the damaging effects of oxygen on the body. 

Corder’s research shows a different mechanism altogether. He said it is a more plausible explanation for the French Paradox. 

David Klurfeld, a researcher at Wayne State University who linked red wine and a reduction in heart disease in 1981, noted that the cells were tested in a dish and said it is unclear how polyphenols work in the body. However, he said, the research opens another pathway that should be pursued. 

“Is this the only mechanism, or is it a combination? There’s not enough evidence that points us in any direction,” Klurfeld said. “We’re basically playing spin the wine bottle here.”

BOSTON — The popular pain reliever ibuprofen blocks the heart-protecting effects of aspirin, according to a study that sounds a warning for people who take both medicines. 

“It would not do you a lot of good to take one medication only to have another wipe out its effects,” said Dr. Muredach Reilly, a University of Pennsylvania cardiologist who took part in the 30-patient study reported in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine. 

Many heart patients regularly take aspirin because it thins the blood and prevents the clots that cause heart attacks. Ibuprofen, which is in Motrin and Advil, is widely used for arthritis and other aches and pains. 

In the study, when patients took a single dose of ibuprofen beforehand, aspirin lost 98 percent of its blood-thinning power. When aspirin was taken first, three daily doses of ibuprofen sapped aspirin of 90 percent of its benefit. 

The researchers believe that ibuprofen clogs a channel inside a clotting enzyme known as cyclooxygenase-1. Aspirin gets stuck at the bottleneck and cannot reach its own active site inside the enzyme. 

The study found show no conflict between aspirin and three other arthritis drugs: rofecoxib, diclofenac, and acetaminophen, which is in Tylenol. But the researchers suggested that other drugs with structures like ibuprofen, such as indomethacin, will similarly block aspirin. 

Ibuprofen belongs to a widely used class of pain relievers known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. 

“This isn’t an indictment of all nonsteroidals, but it does give one pause,” said Dr. Leslie Crofford, an arthritis specialist at the University of Michigan. She wrote an accompanying editorial. 

She said researchers should now study humans to verify if these laboratory findings translate into a real danger of heart attacks. 

The study was funded partly by the National Institutes of Health and aspirin maker Bayer. 

Fran Sullivan, a spokesman for Advil maker Whitehall-Robins Healthcare of Madison, N.J., said if the study is right, “it’s more a matter of timing.” He suggested that regular aspirin be taken two hours before ibuprofen. He said enteric-coated aspirin, which is released more slowly into the blood, could be taken at bedtime without a conflict. 

On Thursday, the journal also published a separate study on unintended effects of aspirin and acetaminophen. The study, overseen at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, showed a 2 1/2 times greater risk of chronic kidney failure in patients who regularly take either drug. Earlier research suggested similar side effects.

SAN JOSE — With their $22.2 billion merger threatened, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp. fired back Wednesday with a 50-page report detailing their reasons for the deal and criticizing leading opponent Walter Hewlett. 

“In the words of Dave Packard, ‘In the fields of advanced and rapidly changing technologies, to remain static is to lose ground,”’ the document says. “Now is the time to take this decisive step to address the changes in our industry.” 

The report, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, says Palo Alto-based HP and Houston-based Compaq need each other to become stronger players in business computing, Internet access devices and printing, and to save at least $2.5 billion a year. 

HP’s fiscal 2003 pro forma earnings per share, the companies say, would rise 13 percent with the deal, creating value that exceeds the premium paid for Compaq. 

Also Wednesday, an HP lawyer denied that the company’s top leaders are threatening to resign if shareholders reject the Compaq deal. 

In a letter filed with the SEC, HP attorney Larry W. Sonsini told an attorney for Hewlett that such assertions are “incorrect and misleading.” Sonsini was responding to a letter from Hewlett’s lawyer that expressed concern over news reports implying top HP brass would step down if the Compaq deal falls through. 

For one, Hewlett was upset because HP director Richard Hackborn told The New York Times that shareholders “will have to get a board and a management” to fix HP’s problems if the deal fails. 

The fight over the merger has intensified in recent weeks, with Hewlett lobbying other shareholders to veto the deal and asking the companies to scrap it. Hewlett and Packard family interests with 18 percent of HP stock have lined up against the acquisition. 

Hewlett believes the deal is too risky and would increase HP’s exposure to the weak personal computer market while reducing the role of its cash cow printing division. Other opponents such as David W. Packard have criticized HP for planning to lay off as many as 15,000 employees if the deal is completed. 

The companies acknowledge that the combined HP-Compaq would lose revenue in the short term, but their report contends that Hewlett and his advisers greatly miscalculated the resulting effect on the company’s profits. 

Robert Wayman, HP’s chief financial officer and a member of the board, said he was confident analysts and investors would respond favorably to the filing. 

“This shows that if you put these two companies together, the result is a much stronger company both financially and competitively,” he said in an interview. 

Without the deal, the companies said, they are stuck with weak operating models in some fields and are not in position to respond quickly enough to customers’ needs. They blasted Hewlett for having no real competing vision and said he has failed to understand the growth possibilities in key areas such as servers and data storage. 

Hewlett believes the report wrongly singles out him out, spokesman Todd Glass said. 

“Walter Hewlett is not alone in his opposition to the Hewlett-Packard-Compaq transaction,” Glass said. “The market has been very outspoken on this transaction. ... We believe it is HP’s filings that rely on faulty financial assumptions and analysis.” 

HP also began running advertisements in newspapers around the country in hopes of winning shareholder support. The first shows one of HP’s earliest products, an oscilloscope, on one page and asks on the other, “What if we had stopped here?” 

Hewlett-Packard shares rose 20 cents to $20.70 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Compaq fell 9 cents to $9.02. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.hp.com 

http://www.compaq.com 

SAN JOSE — The number of people who have high-speed Internet connections at home grew to a record 21.3 million in November, a 90 percent increase over the same month last year, according to a report. 

In all, broadband users make up about 20.2 percent of the total of all home Internet surfers, whose ranks grew only 11 percent during the same period, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. 

The shift in growth, despite the slumping economy, bodes well for Internet commerce. Last year, broadband surfers spent 67 percent more money online than dial-up, or “narrowband” users, the report said. 

“Broadband surfers tend to log onto the Internet more often, stay online longer and are more likely to shop online than narrowband surfers,” said T.S. Kelly, NetRatings’ director and principal analyst. 

Other research firms estimate that about 12 million households will have broadband access by the end of this year. NetRatings differs by counting the number of unique users who have access, said Jarvis Mack, senior analyst at Nielsen/NetRatings. 

Cahners In-Stat Group, for instance, forecast about 12.1 million total households connected to the Internet via cable modem, Digital Subscriber Line, fixed wireless or satellite, said senior analyst Ernie Bergstrom. 

The year’s growth in broadband usage comes as several service providers have filed for bankruptcy protection or gone out of business. 

NorthPoint Communications and Rhythms NetConnections, which provided high-speed access over telephone lines, shut down earlier this year. 

ExciteAtHome, which provides services over television cable lines, announced earlier this month that it will close down at the end of February after months of financial turmoil. 

In most cases, users have shifted to other broadband providers, such as major telephone companies for DSL or cable companies for cable modem service. 

——— 

On the Net: 

NetRatings: http://www.netratings.com 

The Associated Press 

SAN FRANCISCO — Seeking to reassure investors about its financial strength, rapidly expanding power generator Calpine Corp. said Wednesday it plans to raise $400 million in a private placement of debt that can be converted into the company’s stock. 

The placement comes amid deepening concerns about Calpine’s plans to build 30 power plants during the next year. This month’s bankruptcy of industry giant Enron Corp. raised questions of taking on new debt to add more generating capacity during a time of falling energy prices. 

Calpine’s plans received another setback when Moody’s Investor Service downgraded the company’s credit rating to junk. 

San Jose-based Calpine has maintained that it remains a healthy business and Wednesday’s announcement seemed to hearten investors. The company’s shares gained 69 cents to close at $14.69 on the New York Stock Exchange. 

Calpine plans to use the proceeds to shore up its balance sheet by buying back a portion of its zero-coupon convertible debentures. The debt on those securities totaled $878 million as of Dec. 12. 

The interest rate on the new debt, as well as the stock conversion ratio, will be determined at a later date, Calpine said. 

——— 

On The Net: 

http://www.calpine.com 

PHILADELPHIA — Lawyers for Mumia Abu-Jamal said Wednesday they will ask a federal appeals court to grant him a new trial, expressing dismay that a judge upheld the former Black Panther’s 1982 conviction for murdering a police officer while throwing out his death sentence. 

U.S. District Judge William Yohn on Tuesday found errors in the sentencing phase of the original trial and ordered Abu-Jamal, 47, to be resentenced within 180 days, or face life imprisonment. 

But Yohn rejected 28 other defense claims, among them that the trial judge and jury were biased, evidence was suppressed, Abu-Jamal’s confession was fabricated and his lawyer was ineffective. 

“This is a partial victory,” said defense attorney Michael Coard. “There were more glaring errors in the trial itself, not just in the sentencing.” 

District Attorney Lynne Abraham is also preparing an appeal, calling the judge’s decision “legally flawed.” 

The appeals will likely take years to resolve, prolonging a case that has been a touchstone in the international death penalty debate. Abu-Jamal’s writings on the justice system have gained him a worldwide following of celebrities, foreign politicians and death-penalty opponents, while police groups say he deserves to die. 

If Abu-Jamal wins a new sentencing hearing, it will be nothing like the one conducted after his conviction for shooting Daniel Faulkner on Dec. 9, 1981, prosecutors and defense attorneys said Wednesday. 

In the first sentencing proceeding, only two witnesses testified. A police clerk confirmed Faulkner was employed as a police officer, an aggravating circumstance that allowed the jury to impose the death penalty. Abu-Jamal also took the stand during the one-day hearing, denouncing his lawyer as inadequate and the judge as a “black-robed conspirator” and a “hangman.” 

A second hearing would likely take weeks. The new jury would have to be informed on the facts of the case; witnesses and evidence from the original trial could be presented to help jurors decide on a sentence of death or life imprisonment; and Abu-Jamal’s lawyers could try to introduce new evidence they say exonerates him, said Joseph McGill, who prosecuted Abu-Jamal in 1982.

BOSTON — Excessive wear on a throttle linkage part has been blamed for more than a dozen crashes or forced landings of older Cessna planes, The Boston Globe reported Wednesday. 

In the most serious crash blamed on the throttle control arm, a Cessna 200 lost power and crashed during a sightseeing flight in Alaska in 1996, killing the pilot and two passengers, the newspaper reported, citing federal records. Cessna stopped using engines with the part in 1992. 

Over the last decade, pilots and some of the Federal Aviation Administration’s own inspectors have urged the agency to issue an order fixing the problem, the Globe reported. 

However, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency believes poor maintenance, rather than design problems, leads to rapid wear of the part, which is made of bronze rather than more durable steel. 

The FAA, Cessna and Teledyne Continental Motors — which made engines for Cessna planes before 1992 — have all urged pilots and mechanics to make frequent checks of the part in older Cessnas. 

Cessna officials say more than 1,000 of their aircraft built before 1996 have the part, and Teledyne officials said they have produced about 175,000 engines in the last 50 years with bronze throttle arms. 

When Providence, R.I.-based Textron bought Cessna in 1992 for $600 million, it switched to using only Textron Lycoming engines, which uses steel linkage parts. 

Cessna and Teledyne have blamed each other for the bronze throttle arm’s tendency to wear quickly. 

More than a year before the Alaska crash, Cessna urged Teledyne to make the arm out of steel, but the request went unheeded, the Globe said. Cessna officials refused to comment. 

Teledyne said any wear was due to Cessna’s design of the linkage, adding that some mechanics servicing the thousands of engines in the field were to blame for not making certain that connections were tight, the newspaper said. 

John Barton, chief technology officer for Teledyne Continental Motors, said the arm cannot wear if its connection is properly tightened. 

At least 25 failures of the throttle arm have been reported to the FAA since 1975, according to the Globe. Some were discovered in routine maintenance. However, at least 15 times before the fatal Alaska crash — and twice since — planes were forced to make emergency landings because of failure of the throttle arm, the newspaper said, quoting voluntary reports to the FAA. 

Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board found that the failure of the part caused the Alaska crash. 

The families of those killed in the Alaska crash received six-figure settlements from the companies last year. 

Berkeley High School students called on the district to put effective leadership in place at their school and to address the “achievement gap” separating white and minority students, during a student forum on small schools held Tuesday. 

“If you’re good at your job, then help us out,” said Joseph Abhulimen, a junior at BHS, addressing Shirley Issel, president of the Board of Education. 

The event, sponsored by Youth Together, a leadership group focused on school reform, drew about 30 students and a handful of teachers and activists. 

Participants questioned four panelists – Issel, Terry Doran, another school board member, Rick Ayers, a teacher who heads up the BHS Communication Arts and Sciences school-within-a school; and Dana Richards, director of Common Ground, another small school at the high school 

Kye Tavernier, a junior, and member of Youth Together, said the group sponsored the forum to give students a chance to influence the hotly-debated small schools’ policy put forward by the Coalition for Excellence and Equity. 

The coalition, a grassroots group of parents, teachers and education leaders, has called for the division of BHS into a series of compact, relatively autonomous “learning communities” with different themes. Activists say the creation of small schools will help to address the achievement gap and other lingering problems at BHS. 

“There’s been a lot of debate about small schools,” said Tavernier, “and a lot of students felt our voice...wasn’t coming across.” 

Students took the opportunity to tell panelists that the district needs to stop talking about solutions to the achievement gap and take action.  

“I’ve been in meetings like this since freshman year,” said Joy Broussard, a senior, “and nothing ever gets done.” 

Issel said she shares the students’ concerns, but has reservations about moving forward with small schools at this point. She said the district must have adequate time to assess the financial ramifications of changing the high school structure, and evaluate the successes and failures of the schools-within-a-school already in place at BHS. 

“It’s not the goal (that is the issue),” said Issel, “it’s how you get there.” 

Bradley Johnson, president of the high school’s sophomore class, said that if the school board rejects the small schools approach, it must come up with a plan to address the achievement gap within the existing, larger school. 

Issel agreed. “You are right to want that blueprint,” she said. “It’s been very distressing to all of us that we haven’t had leadership in this area.” 

Students also said they were frustrated with constant changes in leadership at the high school, including the departure of Principal Frank Lynch earlier this year. 

Issel said the selection of a new principal is a top priority, but she added that the current leadership team, composed of four vice principals, has been effective. 

“You have a darn good crew right now that’s doing an excellent job,” she said. 

Richards, director of the Common Ground program, sharply disagreed. “They’ve been putting down the leadership of the (existing) small schools,” he said, “and they’ve been elevating people who are into numbers and accountability and systems.” 

“These people are working on a kind of top-down, intimidating, fear style that shuts people up who are trying to be innovative,” he continued. 

Students voiced general support for the small schools concept, arguing that pupils in the existing schools-within-a-school have developed better relationships with teachers than those in the larger high school. 

But some said that ultimately, the quality of teaching, no matter what the school structure, will make the difference. 

“The main thing is for us to get better educated,” Broussard said, “and we can’t get better educated if the teachers don’t want to be there.” 

Ayers said poor teachers currently escape scrutiny in the larger BHS. If small schools are put in place, he said, unqualified teachers will not be able to hide, and teacher accountability will improve. 

The school board is set to consider the latest version of the coalition’s small schools policy at its bi-weekly meeting tonight. 

The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. It is broadcast on KPFB-FM 89.3 and Ch-25. 

Annie Borton knew that a tough pre-season schedule would prove beneficial in the long run, even if it meant dropping a few games. 

The logic went, if the young Berkeley High girls’ soccer team – after losing eight seniors from last year’s playoff team – could hang with the ultra-competitive “valley” teams early on, there’s no telling what could happen when the Yellowjackets squared off against their admittedly weaker league competition. 

“Even if you’ve lost these games you still feel like you’ve accomplished a lot,” Borton said of the pre-season matches. “It’s fun to win 10-0, but that doesn’t really help develop you as a player too much.” 

Maybe not, but it sure is fun clobbering league opponents, which is what Berkeley has done so far this season.  

Already, the ’Jackets have whipped ACCAL newcomer Hercules 15-0 in the league opener, and last week they thumped Encinal 10-0. 

For her part, Borton scored three goals and added two assists in the victory over Hercules. The junior forward knocked in another goal against Encinal. 

“We played such good teams in the pre-season that it really challenged us,” said Borton, who’s become a leader of the youthful Berkeley squad. “My first year we were in the EBAL and we only won two games. It was really competitive and in some ways it’s nicer to be in an easier league.” 

’Jackets’ head coach Suzanne Sillett intentionally scheduled challenging pre-season games against the likes of Arroyo, Clayton Valley, Monte Vista and Livermore, as well as the team that booted Berkeley out of the playoffs last season, Amador Valley. The only win the ’Jackets mustered in five games was a 4-1 triumph over Livermore in which Borton scored a goal and recorded an assist. 

Nevertheless, Berkeley’s pre-season performance wasn’t terrible, considering that Borton, as team captain, is leading a squad that’s returning just three starters from last year’s ACCAL championship team.  

It’s a tall order, but Sillett will be the first to acknowledge that Borton is capable of pulling the ’Jackets together. 

“She knows what’s expected of the team,” Sillett said. “Annie’s always led by example, but this year she’s become more vocal and that’s helped.” 

Continuing to describe Borton’s commitment to soccer and to the team, Sillett also praised the three-year starter’s work ethic.  

“She’s played practically every minute of every game since she came here her freshman year,” Sillett said. “She has an incredible intensity and I’ve never seen her give less than 100 percent.” 

Borton, 16, grew up in Berkeley and began playing soccer for a club team when she was 5 years old. But even before that, the young athlete could be seen kicking a soccer ball on the sidelines of her two older brothers’ games.  

Characterized by Sillett as a “naturally great athlete,” Borton has played on the Bay Oaks club team for eight years and competed in tournaments throughout the United States and the world.  

Three years ago the team traveled to Denmark where it competed in the Dana Cup. Borton’s select team, which requires annual three-day tryouts and is comprised of athletes from all around Northern California, won its division in the tournament. 

“That was great,” Borton said. “We went to this small town, Hjorring, that’s population doubles in size when there’s a soccer tournament, and we represented the United States. It was a lot of fun.” 

Borton takes time out from the Bay Oaks to play for the ’Jackets. Her entire calendar year – except maybe a couple weeks during the summer – is filled with soccer. Borton said the club team practices three days a week and competes on the weekends.  

During the high school season, she typically spends two hours a day, five days a week on the soccer field.  

“And on the weekends I usually do a little kicking or running,” she added. 

Volleyball, basketball, baseball and even the violin used to go head-to-head against soccer for Borton’s attention. But only one activity could win Borton’s full concentration. 

“I had to make a decision and I chose soccer,” she said. “It’s so much fun, really competitive and hard sometimes, but you get a good workout. I like the team aspect and I’ve been really lucky with the teams I’ve played on.” 

Although just a junior, Borton is Berkeley’s chosen leader this season. She’s played varsity for the ’Jackets since she was a freshman, was named all-league last year and teammates voted her Most Inspirational Player.  

This year, Borton is Berkeley’s team captain. 

Despite having nearly two full seasons of soccer left before graduating from high school, Borton said the opportunity to play collegiate soccer is a top goal. 

“I would love to play in college,” she said. “I’m looking a little more (at schools on the) East Coast, but I’m still pretty wide open. I haven’t got into that whole (recruiting) thing yet. I’m avoiding it.” 

When she does choose a school, it will probably have a good soccer team, but it will also likely help Borton move forward on her career path, which includes following in her father’s footsteps to become a lawyer. 

But for now, she’s focused on keeping the ’Jackets atop the ACCAL and headed into the playoffs for the second straight season.

Wednesday, Dec. 19

Blanket Drive for  

Afghan Refugees 

8:30 - 9:30 a.m. 

2:30 - 3:30 p.m. 

Black Pine Circle School, Lower Campus 

2027 Seventh St. 

4:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Black Pine Circle School, Upper Campus 

2015 Sixth St.  

A large truck will be parked outside the lower school for collection of clean, serviceable, blankets, quilts, and sleeping bags. These will be delivered to the American Friends Service Committee in San Francisco, then shipped to refugee camps in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. 526-4771, nanscape@yahoo.com. 

Feldenkrais Classes for  

Seniors 

10:30 and 11:45 a.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com 

Lecture Series on Women  

Medieval Mystics 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

All Souls Parish 

2220 Cedar St. 

Three Women Mystics: An Advent Lecture Series. Exploration of their spiritual quests designed to offer a new sense of spiritual possibilities in modern times. Free. Supervised childcare will be provided. 848-1755. 

Thursday, Dec. 20

Blanket Drive for  

Afghan Refugees 

8:30 - 9:30 a.m. 

2:30 - 3:30 p.m. 

Black Pine Circle School, Lower Campus 

2027 Seventh St. 

4:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Black Pine Circle School, Upper Campus 

2015 Sixth St.  

A large truck will be parked outside the lower school for collection of clean, serviceable, blankets, quilts, and sleeping bags. These will be delivered to the American Friends Service Committee in San Francisco, then shipped to refugee camps in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. 526-4771, nanscape@yahoo.com. 

Islamic Cultural Celebration 

7:30 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center  

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Mark the end of Ramadan with music, poetry, and stories from various parts of the Islamic world. Proceeds will be donated to RAWA. $10. 849-2568, www.lapena.org. 

Friday, Dec. 21

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave., between Dwight and Bancroft ways 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Berkeley Women In Black  

Vigil 

noon - 1 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. at Haste 

(Outside Cody’s Books) 

Vigil in support of Women in Black in Jerusalem against military solutions to end the occupation of Palestine. 

Saturday, Dec. 22

Santa’s Solstice Bazaar 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Metaversal Lightcraft 

1708 University Ave. 

Come shop while kids visit with Santa for free. Fine arts, crafts, 

clothing and gift booths in a magical and colorful scene. 644-2032, www.lightcraft.org. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers – jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Avenue. www.solanoave.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market  

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Martin Luther King, JR. Civic Center Park 

Fair will include organic produce, handcrafted gifts, live choral music, massages, and hot apple cider. 548-3333, www.ecologycenter.org 

Magic School Bus Video  

Festival 

10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Ms. Frizzle takes her skeptical class from outer space to inside a dog’s noise in seven different video adventures. Free popcorn and free magic school bus gift. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave., between Dwight and Bancroft ways 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Sunday, Dec. 23

A Service of Lessons and  

Carols 

4 p.m. 

St. Augustine Church 

400 Alcatraz 

The St. Augustine Choir fill an afternoon with carols. 653-8631. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers – jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Avenue. www.solanoave.org 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Julia Morgan Center for the  

Arts Features A Celtic Peace:  

A Bay Area Celtic Christmas  

Celebration 

7:30 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Theatre 

2640 College Ave. 

“A Celtic Peace,” an evening of Irish music and dance for the whole family. This musical program is dedicated to world peace. $10 adults, $5 children. 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Monday, Dec. 24

Midnight Mass 

11:45 p.m. 

St. Augustine Church 

400 Alcatraz 

Prelude music begins at 11:15 p.m., mass begins at 11:30 p.m. 653-8631 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave., between Dwight and Bancroft ways 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Tuesday, Dec. 25

Guided Tours of Jewish Art and History 

12 - 4 p.m. 

Judah L. Magnes Museum 

2911 Russell St. 

Family Day at the Museum. The tours will present over 250 objects from the Museum’s permanent collections on display in the major exhibition “Telling Time: To Everything There is a Season.” 549-6950 www.magnesmuseum. org 

Puppets and Puppet Making 

1 p.m. and 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

141 Walnut St. 

Jennifer Levine presents “Princess Moxie Rules!” a 30 minute puppet show followed by a puppet-making project. 848-0237, www.brjcc.org. 

Gerry Tenney & California Klezmer Jewish Music 

2 p.m. & 3 p.m. 

2911 Russell St. 

Hands-on Art Projects. 848-0237, www.brjcc.org. 

Wednesday, Dec. 26

Professor Smart’s Fun with Physics Show 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Professor Smart shrinks his head, has toilet paper flying, juggles and has the audience’s hair standing on end all the while demonstrating the principles of physics. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Thursday, Dec. 27

Slapstick with Derique 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Ham Bone body drumming, physical comedy, and circus arts are sure to stimulate your “funny bone” as New Vaudeville artist Derique lets you into his hip style of circus arts. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Friday, Dec. 28

World Rhythms 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Japanese taiko, African marimba and djembe, Middle Eastern dumbek, Afro-Cuban chekere, and conga drums celebrate musical traditions from around the world. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Saturday, Dec. 29

Magic Show 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Jay Alexander performs his magical mixture of comedy and illusion with special effects that will entertain visitors of all ages. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Sunday, Dec. 30

Music and Storytelling 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Familiar nursery rhymes and fairy tales come to life in musical stories by children’s performer Dennis Hysom. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Editor: 

Regarding “New Day at Willard,” 12/14, I was surprised by the story on Willard Middle School and its “new day.” The day before the story appeared there was a terrible fight at Willard between two girls. It was not the first this year. But more troubling is the lack of day-to-day discipline. Students walk into classes late, constantly interrupt teachers with conversations etc. and there are no consequences. My son’s teachers are all excellent, but they are hampered by the lack of a school wide plan for dealing with minor infractions. The small things lead to big problems. 

The Winter Dance was cancelled, even though the first one went well. Students have been told they cannot wear pajamas for a Spirit Week pajama day, the school is fanatical about keeping children from wearing hats. What our kids wear seems more important than what they do. My observations and those of other parents not interviewed for your story is that things are different this year, but not much better. 

Tonia Johnson 

Berkeley

MUSIC 

924 Gilman Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic,Breaker, Some Still Believe; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Dec. 19: Whiskey Brothers; Dec. 20: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 27: Keni “El Lebrijano”; All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

Anna’s Dec. 19: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 20: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Dec. 21: Anna and Percy Scott on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 22: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 23: Jazz Singer Ed Reed; All music starts 8 p.m. unless noted. 1801 University Ave., 849-2662. 

Ashkenaz Dec. 19: 8 p.m., The Earls, $10; Dec. 20: 8 p.m., Darol Anger, Scott Nygaard and the Improbables, $8; Dec. 21: 8 p.m., “Celebrating the Life of David Nadel,” Aux Cajunals, Nigerian Bros., Tropical Vibrations, $8; Dec. 22: 9:30 p.m., Sensa Samba, $11; 1317 San Pablo Ave., 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.  

Club JJang-Ga Dec. 22: Heaven & Hell, Blue Period; Dec. 29: Deducted Value, 3rd Rail, Noiz, Un Sed; 400 29th Ave., Oakland, (925) 833-7820, savageproductionssl@ yahoo.com. 

Cal Performances Jan. 20: 3 p.m., Midori and Robert McDonald. $28 -$48. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph. 642-9988 

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

Freight & Salvage Coffee House Jan. 6: Allette Brooks. All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. Call 548-1761 for prices or see www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Julia Morgan Theatre Dec. 23: 7:30 p.m., an evening of Irish music and dance with Todd Denman and friends. $10, $5 children; Dec. 31: 8 p.m., New Year’s Eve Gala Concert, Program of classical favorites of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra; Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, sizzling program of classical party music; Jan. 12: 8:p.m., “Club Dance,” Teens come together to express their individual personalities and gifts as dancers. $10, Students and Seniors $6, Children ages 5 and under $6. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Dec. 19: Spectraphonic; Dec. 20: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 21: Crater; Dec. 22: Post Junk Trio; Dec. 27: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 28: Ben Krames & Candlelight Dub; Dec. 29: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Kirk Tamura Trio; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Dec. 23: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568, www.lapena.org 

“Music on Telegraph” Dec. 22: Kaz Sasaki Duo, Blackberry Ginger, 2520 Durant; Dec. 23: Almadecor, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; All shows 2 - 4 p.m., Free. 

Berkeley Piano Club Jan.11: 8 p.m., Kate Steinbeck and Renee Witon present music of Bach, Taktakishvili, Hummel and Peterson-Berger. Berkeley Piano Club, 2724 Haste St., (510) 531-1487. 

Rose Street House Dec. 25: 3 p.m., Annual “Dykelah Escape-from-you-know-what-day Musical Extravaganza!”; Jan.17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@ yahoo.com. 

Berkeley High School Dance Production Jan. 11, 12, 18 &19: Fri. & Sat., 7:30 p.m., Diverse mix of classical and modern ballet to hard-core hip-hop. $5. Florence Schwimley Little Theatre, Allston way and MLK., 644-6120 

Yoshi’s Jazz House Dec.18 - 23: Charlie Hunter; Dec. 26 - 31: New Year’s Fiesta, The Afro-Cuban Jazz Masters; Jan. 2 - 6: Charles Lloyd; Jan. 13: Jacqui Naylor Quartet; All shows at 8 p.m., and 10 p.m., unless noted. 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakland. Check for prices and Sunday Matinees, 238-9200, www.yoshis.com. 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Dec. 18: 8 p.m., under the direction of Maestro Kent Nagano, plus the world premiere of Ichiro Nodaira’s “Kodama” written for and featuring Mari and Momo Kodama. $21 - $45; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 841-2800, jeaston@berkeleysymphony.org. 

“Dotha’s Juke Joint: Everett and Jones Barbeque” Dec. 21: 8 & 10p.m., Faye Carol and her Off the Hook Blues Band, $15; Jack London Square, 126 Broadway at Second St., reservations, 663-7668.  

The Oakland Interfaith Youth Gospel Choir’s 5th Annual Christmas Concert Dec. 22: 7 p.m., “The Reason Why We Sing”; The Regents Theater, Holy Names College, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland, 839-4361, www.oigc.org. 

Youth Arts Benefit Concert Dec. 22: 1p.m. to 4p.m., Yoshi’s House of Jazz and Poetry Works host the 7th annual Youth Arts Benefit Concert and Dance, $15. Yoshi’s World Class Restaurant, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland, 238-9200 

Blake’s Dec. 29: 11 p.m., Jack West & Curvature, $5; 2367 Telegraph Ave., 877-488-6533. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley Jan. 6: 3 p.m., Stephen Genz in his West Coast debut; 2345 Channing Way, 527-8175, www.geocities.com/mostlybrahms. 

THEATER 

“Much Ado About Nothing” Through Jan. 8: Check theater for specific dates and times. Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy chronicles a handful of soldiers returning from a winning battle to be greeted by a gaggle of giddy maidens. Directed by Brian Kulick. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

“Every Inch a King” Jan. 11 through Feb. 9: Thur. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m.; Three sisters have to make a decision as their father approaches death in this comedy presented by the Central Works Theater Ensemble. $8 - $18. LeValls Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. 558-1381 

“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 

FILM 

Pacific Film Archive Jan. 3: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Unfinished Song; Jan. 4: 7 p.m., 9:15 p.m., Going By; Jan. 5: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Under the Moonlight; Jan. 6: 1p.m., 3 p.m., Paper Airplanes, 5:30 Shrapnels in Peace; Jan.10: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., ABC Africa; Jan.11: 7:30 p.m., The Girl at the Monceau Bakery and Suzanne’s Career, 9:05 p.m. The Sign of the Lion with Place de l’Etoile; Jan. 12: 7p.m., La Collectionneuse, 8:50 p.m., My Night at Maud’s; Jan.13: 1p.m., 3p.m., Os 

“Veiled and Revealed” Through Dec. 23: Human beings, costumed in native dress are captured by visual artists in a seven-person exhibit. Sat. Dec. 8, 15, and 23, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. Simultaneously showing at ART-A-FACT, 1109 Addison St., and Metaversal Lightcraft, 1708 University Ave. 848-1985 

EXHIBITS 

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” Dec. 19 through Jan. 8: An exhibit featuring Kathleen Flannigan’s drawing and furniture - boxes, tables, and mirrors, all embellished with images of the beauty and innocence of the natural world. Addison Street Windows, 2018 Addison St. 

“From With These Walls” Jan. 5: Educational studio opening celebration gallery show of student works in steel, bronze, aluminum, cast iron, glass, neon, ceramic, stone and paper; jewelry. The Crucible, 1036 Ashby St. (Entrance is one block south on Murray St.) 843-5511, fran@thecrucible.org. 

“The First Five Years” Nov. 3 through Jan.11: Exhibit represents a selection of drawings, paintings, prints and sculpture created by students during their 7th & 8th grade years. 7a.m.-9:30 p.m. Mon-Fri, 5:30- 9:30 p.m. Sat., Bucci’s Restaurant, 6121 Hollis St., Emeryville, 547-4725, www.bucci.com 

“Carving, Canvas, Color: Art of Julio Garcia and Wilbert Griffith” Through Jan.12: Brightly colored wooden figures and colorfully detailed paintings. Gallery is open by appointment and chance, most weekdays 10:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.; The Ames Gallery, 2661 Cedar St., 845-4949, amesgal@home.com 

“Matrix 195” Through Jan. 13: German artist, Thomas Scheibitz’s, first solo museum exhibition in the United States showcases semi-abstract representations of everyday objects and landscapes. Wed., Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $3-$6. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Ardency Gallery, Mark J. Leavitt, “Analogous Biology: Balance and Use,” Dec. 20 through Jan. 19; Tue. - Sat., 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., 709 Broadway, Oakland. 836-0831, www.artolio.com. 

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 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” Dec. 19 through Feb. 2: An exhibition of painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography and more by Bay Area and  

regional artists. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., www.proartsgallery.org. 

“Water Media” Jan. 10 through Feb. 8: An exhibit by Christine “Caipirinha” Mulder. Capoeira Arts Cafe Gallery, 2026 Center St., call 666-1349 for hours. 

Traywick Gallery: “New Work by Dennis Begg and Steve Briscoe” Jan. 5 through Feb. 9: Dennis Begg’s sculpture explores memory as the building block of consciousness, learning and experience. Steve Brisco’s paintings on paper address issues of identity through evocative combinations of text and imagery. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., 1316 10th St. 527-1214 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” Through Feb. 15: 18 homeless and formerly homeless elders reveal how they learned and applied wisdom that is timeless. Mon. - Fri. and Sundays 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Reception and presentation by the elders Thurs. Nov. 15, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Free. St. Mary’s Center, 635 22nd St., Oakland, 893-4723 x222 

“The Other 364 Days: A Day in the Life of the Queer Community” Jan. 2 through Feb 16. An exhibit of black and white photographs concentrating on the exquisite in everyday life. Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Sat., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Reception for artist, Jan. 12. Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St., 644-1400, limor@indelible-images.com 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” Dec. 12 through Mar. 10: A selection of photographs and memorabilia presenting a different perspective on Adam’s career as one of the leading figures in American photography. Wed, Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $4- $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Migrations: Photographs by Sebastiao Salgado” Jan. 16 through Mar. 24: Over 300 black-and-white photographs of immigrants and refugees taken by the Brazilian photographer. Wed. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. $4 - $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

"Earthly Pleasures" assemblage and photographs by Susan Danis, Jan. 11 through March 30: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Mon. - Sat.; Sticks, 1579 B, Solano Ave., 526-6603.  

“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, www.atelier9.com. 

Readings 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Jan. 8: Theodore Hamm discusses “Rebel and a Cause: Caryl Chessman and the Politics of the Death Penalty”; Jan. 10: Joan Frank reads from her new book, “Boys Keep Being Born”; Jan. 11: Christopher Hitchens, “Letters to a Youn Contrarian”; Jan. 14: Pamela Logan talks about “Tibetan Rescue: A Woman’s Quest to Save the Fabulous Art Treasures of Pewar Monastery”; All events are free and start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852. 

Coffee With A Beat - Word Beat reading series Dec. 22: Debra Grace Khattab, Jesy Goldhammer; Dec. 29: Steve Arntson, Michelle Erickson, Clare Lewis; All readings are free and begin at 7 p.m., 458 Perkins, Oakland, 526-5985, www.angelfire.com/poetry/wordbeat. 

“World Ground Poetry” Dec.19: 7-9 p.m., Featuring Abdul Kenyatta & Paradise Freejahlove Supreme; World Ground Cafe, 3726 Mac Arthur Blvd., 482-2933, www.worldgrounds.com. 

Tours 

Golden Gate Live Steamers Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Lomas Cantadas Drive at the south end of Tilden Regional Park Small locomotives, scaled to size. Trains run Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., noon to 3 p.m., weather permitting. 486-0623  

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 

Museums 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. 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 “Kwanzaa Community Celebration” Dec. 30: 12-4 p.m.,Nia Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that honors black family history; Through Jan. 13: Grand Lyricist: The Art of Elmer Bischoff, featuring paintings and works on paper that trace the evolution of Bischoff’s career. $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 Dec. 26: 1 p.m., Professor Smart’s Fun with Physics Show; Dec. 27: 1 p.m., Slapstick with Derique; Dec. 28: 1 p.m., Rhythmix; Dec. 29: 1 p.m., Magic with Jay Alexander; Dec. 30: 1 p.m., Music and Storytelling with Dennis Hysom; Dec. 31: 1 p.m., New Year’s Eve Party, special daytime holiday party for kids; Dec. 26 through 31: Free Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb; Through Jan. 26: Scream Machines: The Science of Roller Coasters; “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; Open daily, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley, 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org. 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.

It’s 1:30 p.m. on a chilly afternoon at the south end of Aquatic Park, and about 15 men are engaging in a long-standing tradition in the remote and secluded area – cruising for casual sex with strangers. 

The small parking lot at the end of Bolivar Drive is filled with cars. About half of the drivers still sit behind their steering wheels, attempting to make eye contact with the drivers of other cars who are slowly circling a small roundabout covered with trees, shrubs and bright, green grass. 

Just inside the park, in a seemingly continual cycle, a lone male emerges from a grove of trees that separates the park from the railroad tracks, walks quickly to his car and drives off. Another car pulls into the available space and its driver, in turn, disappears into the same grove of trees. 

For 30 years the south end of Aquatic Park has been known as a gay cruising spot. The area has been convenient for the activity because of its seclusion and easy access to Interstate 80 from the Ashby Avenue on and off ramps.  

But an increase in park use by joggers, Frisbee enthusiasts and children is quickly making the traditional cruising area obsolete, according to Parks and Waterfront Director Lisa Caronna.  

In recent months the city has initiated a multi-departmental strategy to curtail sexual cruising in the area. 

“Our goal is make sure the park is safe and friendly and our policy is that we do not condone public sex of any kind,” she said. “This is a historic activity but not an appropriate one.” 

In the last year, the new Dreamland for Kids Playground and Frisbee golf course have brought new users to the park and Caronna said that once the Pedestrian Bridge across Interstate 80 opens up, the southern section of Aquatic Park will see a huge increase in use with bicyclists and pedestrians populating the park’s pathways to access the bridge. 

“The police have been making sure there’s no one in the park after 10 p.m. and maintenance crews have been trimming back some of the heavy underbrush where people tend to meet,” she said. 

In addition the Department of Health and Human Services is concerned because the casual sex that men are engaging in is considered to be high risk for contracting HIV. 

According to Leroy Blea, the city’s HIV/AIDS Program Director, outreach workers have been distributing condoms and information about the prevention of AIDS on a weekly basis in the park since March 2000. 

“Our work is focused on HIV prevention,” Blea said. “But besides risky sex, the people who participate in public sex environments are also vulnerable to police harassment, fines and being mugged.” 

Dr. Fred Conrad, who has rowed on the lagoon in the center of the park every day for the last six years, said he has seen a decrease in cruising activity in the last six months since the police and parks departments have begun to discourage it. But he said it still goes on. Especially on weekend afternoons. 

“It’s not unusual to see 20 to 30 men down there on weekends. I mean this is a lot of people, all guys,” Conrad said. “The number of guys down there is so great that you couldn’t go down there with your family and sit at the picnic tables and get out a picnic lunch. The atmosphere is too foreboding.” 

The Waterfront Commission has been considering a series of possible solutions to the problem including more education and outreach, enforcing the parking and park closure regulations and modifying the roadway to discourage illegal parking. 

Commissioner Claudia Kawczynska said for the last 30 years the city has either not had the resources to address the problem or has ignored it. 

“It’s an area that hasn’t been well-used by the general public and the city has neglected that part of the park for a long time,” said Kawczynska who frequently visits the park. “It might be one thing if people were cruising during the night but there are literally people there 24 hours a day.” 

Kawczynska said new parking signs, upgraded roadways and increased use by the general public will discourage cruising in the park. 

Blea said that many men who curse for anonymous public sex are often not openly gay, some are married with families, and generally have no other way to meet men.  

Frank Gurucharri, the director of the Pacific Center for Human Growth, a nonprofit that provides a host of services and support groups to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning individuals, said these individuals are faced with a particular dilemma. 

“They wouldn’t come to the Pacific Center because they don’t identify as gay or bi, which can leave them unable to access information that will help them understand the risk they are in and the risk they are putting others in,” he said.  

Gurucharri said that men cruising for casual sex are often motivated by sexual isolation and loneliness. 

“If you can go to a support service and get support from other men it’s a powerful alternative to casual sex,” he said. 

Blea and Gurucharri have been discussing the possibility of creating a group support center in the Health and Human Services Department that’s open to everybody. Such a place, Gurucharri said, would be a comfortable place for men who have sex with men but don’t identify themselves as gay or bisexual. 

But according to Blea there is currently no funding available for such a project. 

For more information about support services available at the Pacific Center for Human Development call 548-8283 or visit its Web site at www.pacificcenter.org.

Editor: 

I am writing to express my support for the work of the Coalition for Small Schools. Although my older daughter is a ninth grader in Common Ground (which she chose because of her interest in ecology), I had not formed an opinion on the question of transforming Berkeley High as a whole into small schools until I watched the School Board meeting last night on BTV. The presentation of the Coalition impressed me as thoughtful, well-researched, and persuasive. I was dismayed that some members of the Board seemed to dismiss the presentation as an expression of “passion” to be weighed against other expressions of passion. I trust that small schools proposal will be judged on its merits and weighted against other researched and reasoned proposals, if there are any, for achieving equity and excellence at Berkeley High. 

Although small schools will not in and of themselves solve the myriad problems of Berkeley High, this movement seems to me to offer our best hope for systemic change that will allow us to move in the direction of providing an excellent education for all of our children. In my experience of living eighteen years in Berkeley, half of them as the mother of children in BUSD schools, such a collaborative effort of parents and teachers reaching across differences of race, socio-economic status, and educational advantage is unique. I would be proud to be part of such a movement, and I tremble to think what will happen if the dream of transformation is deferred yet again. 

For what it is worth, I have seen the view from the front of the bus. I am white, highly educated, and middle-class. My children are high achievers and have benefited from the ability of my husband and me to act as effective advocates for their educational needs. They will probably be fine, academically at least, even if BUSD misses this chance to make our schools into laces where all children can get a good education. But Berkeley will not be fine. It will not be the kind of place where my children will want to settle and send their children to school. 

Carol S. Lashof 

Berkeley

Fears that a federal arts grant to the Berkeley Repertory Theatre might be denied on political grounds were dispelled on Tuesday, when the National Endowment for the Arts reported the theater was among the winners of its latest round of grants. 

The BRT applied for a NEA “Creativity” grant to produce “Homebody/ Kabul,” a new play by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tony Kushner, which is set partly in Afghanistan. 

The New York Times reported on Dec. 1 that Robert Martin, acting NEA chairman, had delayed the BRT’s grant application. Many people speculated that the chairman suspected something unsavory in the combination of Berkeley, Afghanistan and playwright Kushner.  

The author is probably best known for his two-part play, “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1993.  

Tony Taccone, The Rep’s artistic director, will direct the theater’s production of “Homebody/Kabul.” He said on Tuesday he was “relieved and excited” that the NEA grant came through and was thrilled to be working on the show. 

“It’s a very unique and original play,” he said. “(Kushner) is a writer of epic proportions.” 

Taccone said that the BRT had applied for the grant well before Sept. 11 and the war in Afghanistan, and he was somewhat puzzled by the reported review of his application. 

“We’ll never know exactly what happened, but probably someone red-flagged the play because it was about Afghanistan,” he said. “Then someone either decided the play was OK or that denying the grant would cause a scandal.” 

The NEA awarded the BRT only $60,000 of the $100,000 it had requested for the production. 

Susie Falk, the BRT’s public relations manager, said that she did not expect the $40,000 shortfall to delay or harm the production. She said that potential funders contacted the theater when it looked like NEA funding would not come through. 

“Several people have shown interest in the production since the story broke,” she said.  

Councilmember Kriss Worthington was one of the many Berkeley officials who was disturbed by initial indications that the NEA might kill the grant. 

Worthington said that he wrote a letter to NEA officials asking them to expedite the review of the application.  

“All we knew that (Robert Martin) had delayed the application to ask questions, which frequently is a sign that it will be killed,” he said. 

Mark Weinberg, the NEA’s director of communications, said that the organization could not discuss the details of the controversy.  

“I am obviously aware of those reports, but as a matter of long-standing practice we do not discuss the deliberative process,” he said.  

“Homebody/Kabul” is scheduled to run from April 19 to June 9 at the BRT. 

The play makes its American debut tonight at the New York Theatre Workshop. Its run at that theater has already been extended by two weeks because of the high demand for tickets. 

Seven other Berkeley organizations were awarded NEA Creativity grants on Tuesday – Heyday Books, Kelsey Street Press, Poetry Flash, Threepenny Review, Cal Performances, the Pacific Film Archive and Warzinake Productions. 

A total of $181,500 was given to the eight Berkeley-based grant winners. By contrast, only five Oakland organizations won awards, totaling $80,000. 

Wendy Lesser, editor of the Threepenny Review, said that the award would be used to pay for authors’ fees and a subscription drive for the small literary journal. 

Lesser said that the grant, which totaled $15,000 or 7.5 percent of the journal’s annual budget, was the largest it had ever received from the NEA.  

The Threepenny Review’s web site carries a blurb from Kushner, and Lesser said that when she heard about the controversy surrounding the BRT’s application, she wrote the theater and the playwright to offer her support.  

“I was afraid I’d have to renounce my grant if they refused theirs,” she said.

The Berkeley Daily Planet received this letter addressed to the Berkeley School Board: 

Five years ago BUSD spent a huge amount of energy and money into what was called “reconfiguration” the idea that K-5 schools are better for children than the previous K-3, 4-6 configuration. The whole process was very stressful for everyone caught in it, especially students and teachers who had to move to other schools apart from friends and colleagues. 

Now we are going though a similar thing, "small schools" at BHS, which has been tried 30 years ago. There seems to be a perpetual need for change for change’s sake in Berkeley. However, there is no evidence that these changes have improved the students’ academic achievement. The same problems seem to remain every time: truancy and achievement gap.  

We need to address these issues but has anyone stopped to think how these drastic changes might have negative affect on the students? The very same students tossed about in the reconfiguration are caught in this current turmoil. What are they seeing? Here they go again, parents arguing and teachers and community divided over issues. After having three principals in four years and many policy and schedule changes what the BHS students need is stability. How can we ask them to learn anything when things keep changing?  

Small schools are not for everyone. While they may be good for some students they are not for others. If they are forced they are bound to fail. The students in BHS have a choice, which other schools cannot afford. If there is a need for more small schools one or more could be created with willing teachers. There is no need to divide the whole school into small schools now. 

Change in itself does not always solve the problem. In some cases it enables one to elude responsibility for failure. Lets keep what is working now and work on improving what isn’t.. 

Noriko Nishizawa 

Parent of two BHS students 

Berkeley 

OAKLAND – There was standing-room-only Monday night as local candidates campaigned for endorsements from the Political Action Committee of the National Women’s Political Caucus, Alameda North Chapter.  

About 60 people packed a meeting room at the Rockridge branch library to hear candidates give short speeches and respond to questions.  

Chair Lori Durbin said this was the organization’s largest turnout ever, which she attributed to the number of candidates running for office. 

The NWPC Political Action Committee, a nonpartisan group, endorses women candidates only and bases its support on those who value the organization’s key tenets – non-discrimination, a woman’s “right to choose,” economic justice, education, health and wellness, and support for women and children.  

In addition to the published endorsement, chosen candidates also receive funds, training and volunteers to help their campaigns.  

Endorsed candidates are chosen by a vote of all members present at the candidates forum, with a majority of 60 percent needed to win. 

Longtime Berkeley resident Kitty McLean said the endorsement is about more than just money and official support. Word-of-mouth support from the powerfully connected women present can mean a lot to local candidates. 

Even though the NWPC doesn't endorse men anymore, “the men keep coming,” she noted. “At least they can hope we won’t endorse their opponents.” 

Education was the issue of the evening, and nearly every candidate listed it as a 

priority. 

The evening began with what is perhaps the most important race this election season – the primary for the 14th District State Assembly seat being vacated by term-limited Assemblymember Dion Aroner. (Since the district is overwhelmingly Democrat, the March primary is considered the key election.) 

Candidates Loni Hancock and Dave Brown both spoke to the gathering; attorney and West Contra Costa School Board member Charles Ramsey did not attend.  

It was no surprise that Hancock, longtime local leader and Berkeley mayor from 1986 - 1994, received the endorsement. A founding and current member of the local NWPC chapter, Hancock lost no time highlighting her 15 years in local politics, and pointing out that she’d already worked with a number of people in the room on other issues. 

Hancock stressed the importance of early childhood education and of college counseling to middle and high school students, especially in low-income areas. 

Candidate Dave Brown, the young former chief of staff for Oakland City Councilmember Alice Lai-Bitker, was the underdog of the evening. Brown emphasized his roots in the 14th District, and involvement in Democratic Party campaigns, including Assemblymember Wilma Chan’s supervisoral campaign. He also placed education at the top of his priority list, and said that his experience teaching in Richmond means he knows what works to improve underperforming schools. His highest priority in education is to ensure all students learn to read before they leave elementary school. 

Also featured was the race for the Alameda County Superior Court judgeship being vacated by Judge Judith Ford. G. Judson Scott Jr., Lise Pearlman, Michael Goldstein and Trina Thompson Stanley addressed the gathering Monday night; the endorsement went to Stanley. Voters countywide participate in electing a judge to this post. 

Stanley, presently a juvenile court commissioner, talked of her extensive trial experience, experience as a public defender, and her decision to mentor a local college student every year.  

“With me you get someone who has a great deal of dimension, a lot of diversity, and a very quick study,” she said to resounding applause. 

The contest between Jacki Fox Ruby and incumbent Jerome Wiggins for the Alameda 

County Board of Education, District 1 seat is shaping up to be one of the hotter races of this election. District 1 includes the cities of Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, and Piedmont and portions of Oakland. Though both parties were civil during the event, some mudslinging has already been going on in the campaign literature. No endorsement was made in this race. 

Wiggins, a board member since 1992, stressed his expertise in budgets and economics, his concern over recent deficits and budget problems, and his strengths in collaboration and compromise. 

Ruby, a longtime Berkeley resident and teacher for over 35 years, called for new leadership on the board.  

Also endorsed Monday night were incumbent Sheila Jordan for Alameda County 

Superintendent of Schools, Alice Lai-Bitker for Alameda County Supervisor, District 3, 

Desley Brooks for Oakland City Council District 6 and Susanne Lea for Oakland School 

Board District 4. 

No endorsement was made in the Oakland City Council District 4 race between David 

Stein, Melanie Sweeney-Griffith, Nedir Bey, and Jean Quan. 

Dan Siegel, incumbent for Oakland School Board District 6, addressed the forum as did Danny Wan, unopposed candidate for Oakland City Council District 2. 

Editor: 

Back a couple years ago, after that lady who used a wheelchair was killed in the crosswalk on Ashby, for a short period the Berkeley Police Department made regular enforcement efforts on Ashby, and for a period of perhaps six months after that, for the only time in the last quarter century, it was possible to cross Ashby between College and Telegraph without feeling like you were playing Russian roulette. Difficult as it is to believe, during this short period drivers actually obeyed state law and yielded right-of-way to people in crosswalks!!! 

Unfortunately, after a time BPD stopped its enforcement efforts and drivers figured out that they no longer would suffer any consequences if they went back to driving like they want to kill pedestrians who venture into crosswalks, and Ashby reverted to being a very dangerous road to cross on foot or bike. 

This suggests, rather strongly, doesn't it, that it would be a help if BPD went back to enforcing traffic laws here in Berkeley. Ashby especially needs it, but so does University and Shattuck and Hearst and Rose and Cedar and Marin, and other streets too numerous to mention. 

Incidentally, as a bicyclist I have come to the conclusion that most Berkeley drivers are quite courteous. It's the people driving in and out of town, to and from work or shopping, who drive like they either a) don't see me, or b) want to kill me. 

If the city plans to keep Polly Armstrong's flags waving, I suggest that each be stenciled with the statement: “I'm carrying this flag because BPD doesn't enforce traffic laws affecting pedestrian safety in Berkeley.” 

Jim Powell 

Berkeley 

The California Housing Finance Agency is loaning millions of dollars to Berkeley and 15 other California cities, including Oakland, to help create affordable housing opportunities for low-income residents. 

The $12.8 million in loans, announced Tuesday by Gov. Gray Davis’ office, go to Housing Enabled by Local Partnerships (HELP), a program designed to create affordable housing through private and public aid. The funds will “help communities provide housing for families, the disabled and senior citizens in need,” Davis said in a statement. 

The low-interest loans are coming from the California Housing Finance Agency as part of the HELP program's five-year, $100 million commitment, according to the governor. 

Monterey, Stockton and Merced will also receive aid.

Editor, 

This is a reply to Leuren Moret’s charge (Daily Planet 12/12/01) that I failed to file proper disclosure. After reading her letter I checked with the city clerk and the Fair Political Practices Commission and confirmed that an employment disclosure was not required. The city attorney had raised questions about a previous commissioner’s job links to the tritium labeling facility, but these concerns do not apply to my employment. I was laid-off at LBNL at the end of 1997, and now work there on a part-time as needed basis. In fact, I actually have not even had any LBNL work since October. As a “casual” employee I have no budgetary or management oversight over any lab projects. Prior to 1998 I worked on vision and lighting energy use issues. Since then I have done statistical modeling of window energy use, roof heat flows, and radon levels versus soil classifications. I have never worked for the tritium group, public relations, health and safety, or any of the lab operations and maintenance groups where I might have a conflict of interest with my duties as an environmental commissioner. 

As long-time readers of the Daily Planet may know, I became involved in the lab tritium issue in 1997, when it was claimed that field trips to Lawrence Hall of Science involved an unacceptable risk to our children. As a parent, I was naturally concerned. My analysis of the situation convinced me that the concerns were wildly overblown. Many of the claims that have since been put forth indicate a lack of understanding of the fundamental scientific factors involved in evaluating risks from radioactive releases. If policies based on what I feel are unscientific claims come before the Community Environmental Commission, I feel that I not only have the right to vote on them, but an ethical obligation to do so. 

LBNL has not “infiltrated” CEAC. I have mentioned my employment at LBNL in print and at meetings numerous times in the past. More to the point, I do not represent LBNL. 

Robert Clear 

Berkeley

Two UC Berkeley graduate students in anthropology are generating international interest with a 600-page anthology relating to the events of Sept. 11. 

Misha Klein and Adrian McIntyre, who are in the campus's College of Letters & Science, are busy sorting through requests for “September 11: Contexts and Consequences,” the thick, paperback reader they edited to provide critical thinking and informed debate about the new U.S. war. 

The anthology offers maps, background information, poetry, opinion pieces, research articles by scholars and an interview with Osama bin Laden – all relating to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.  

Hundreds of calls and e-mails have arrived from South Africa, Oxford University, London, Michigan, Australia, Texas and India, as well as from other universities and colleges across the 

United States, asking for the anthology or thanking the students for preparing it. 

Barrie Thorne, a professor in UC Berkeley's sociology and women's studies departments said the anthology feeds a tremendous hunger for knowledge and perspective about Sept. 11 and its aftermath. 

“This is a university at its best: scholars taking the initiative to compile and share knowledge, with a sense of collective urgency to learn and to discuss,” Thorne said. “Misha Klein and Adrian McIntyre have drawn together knowledge that makes a difference in the world.” 

Nezar AlSayyad, professor and chair of UC Berkeley's Center for Middle Eastern Studies, said the center has several copies of the anthology that are available for students and the public. 

“It is useful for anyone with little knowledge of the background and context of U.S./Arab and Muslim relations prior to 9/11,” he said. 

While there is a staggering amount of information on the Internet, Klein and McIntyre said much of the accurate, readable material they found came from the library of the UC Berkeley anthropology department, consistently one of the top three anthropology programs in the country.  

The students said they chose the information with their own families in mind.  

“What we really wanted to do was create a work with multiple perspectives that can be easily understood,” McIntyre said. “We asked ourselves, ‘Would our families want to read this?’”  

They also said they chose materials that show the current conflict is far from new, but represents an escalation of a longstanding, international conflict on several levels.  

“Because we keep treating this as a crisis, there is no effort to understand it in any way other than as a series of isolated events,” Klein said. 

Klein and McIntyre drew on their experiences in anthropology, in the classroom and in the field. Klein is finishing her doctoral dissertation on ethnic and national identity in Brazil. 

McIntyre is a doctoral student focusing on the interpretation of history and heritage in contemporary Jordan.  

The material is organized in four sections: geographical, historical and cultural background; terrorism; war and violence; and post-Sept. 11 commentaries. 

In the first section, selections include a 1989 essay by UC Berkeley anthropologist Laura Nader noting that while the “West” laments the plight of women in Third World countries and vice-versa, misleading cultural comparisons by both sides divert attention from processes at work to control women in each society. 

It also features a primer with distinctions between terms such as Arab, Middle Eastern and Muslim. It explains what a “rogue state” really is and contains a piece detailing the anthropology of Islam. It explains the variety and forms of Islamic religion and spirituality with the goal of promoting understanding without labeling, the students said. 

The second section features the bin Laden interview, a 1982 piece by Chalmers Johnson about terrorism, Gore Vidal’s “Vanity Fair” article called “The Meaning of Timothy McVeigh” and an outline of 10 important things to know about terrorism. 

The third section focusing on war and violence includes material from Hannah Arendt, Margaret Mead and Sigmund Freud. 

In the final section are a couple dozen commentaries from the days following Sept. 11 by authors such as Susan Sontag, Arundhati Roy and Barbara Kingsolver. It also includes an 

explanation by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) about why she voted against the U.S. strikes against Afghanistan. 

“It is a superb collection of materials on Afghanistan, war, and the current situation following Sept. 11th, with a variety of anthropological and other informed sources,” said Gerald 

Berreman, professor emeritus of anthropology at UC Berkeley. “It should be essential reading for anyone seriously interested in ‘the politics of truth.’” 

“From World War II through the post-Cold War period, anthropologists such as Margaret Mead, Marshall Sahlins, Gerald Berreman and Laura Nader have dedicated themselves to understanding war while advocating for peace and justice,” wrote McIntyre and Klein. “We seek to continue this commitment to linking academic research with active engagement in broader public discussions.” 

The anthology is being made available on reserve at local public libraries in the city of Berkeley and at other colleges and universities around the San Francisco Bay Area, with the aid of some funding from the UC Berkeley Graduate Assembly. 

Deborah Pruitt appreciates having copies of the anthology available to her students in anthropology and cross-disciplinary research at Laney College in Oakland, Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Chabot College in Hayward and the Western Institute for Social Research in Berkeley.  

“For those of us teaching in community colleges and small private schools caught in the middle of a semester of overload teaching schedules, there is no time to do the background 

research necessary in a timely way to provide sufficient information to our students to help them make sense out of such dramatic world events,”she said. “This anthology allows us to broaden our scope quickly, facilitating accurate and thoughtful information flow.” 

The anthology is available at CopyCentral, 2560 Bancroft Ave., Berkeley. The CopyCentral phone number is (510) 848-8649 and its Web site is www.copycentral.com. The anthology, priced only to cover costs, is $41.68 plus tax.

SAN FRANCISCO — Advancements have been made in the fight against the vine-killing disease threatening California’s $33 billion wine industry, including the development of grapevines genetically engineered to be resistant to it. 

But consumers wary of genetically modified foods may not have to worry about their wine, since the new plants could have a hard time finding their way into vineyards. 

While many conventional growers appreciate the research, they’re not likely to switch their vines over to the new ones resistant to Pierce’s disease if they become available. 

Most growers are interested in learning more about the genetically engineered vines, but they haven’t yet expressed a desire to plant them, said Karen Ross, director of the California Association of Winegrape Growers. 

“Most growers and most of the people in the industry support doing genomic research because we believe it’s an important diagnostic tool to better understand the problems we’re facing,” she said. 

In an industry where old vines are prized, the new ones could have a hard time breaking into existing vineyards. New plants take four to five years before they bear fruit worthy of winemaking. And once the vines are producing, the wines take another two to three years to make, said Kari Birdseye, director of communications for the San Francisco-based Wine Institute. 

“Because we’re such a traditional industry to begin with and because wines take so long to make, it takes longer for us to implement new sciences like this,” she said. 

It also would be costly to plant the new vines. 

“You usually try to get 25 to 30 years at least out of a vineyard,” said Mora Cronin, vice president of public relations for Beringer Vineyards in Saint Helena. “You don’t replant on a whim.” 

Beringer has more than 10,000 acres of vines in California, and about 8,000 acres in Australia. 

Pierce’s disease is caused by bacteria, carried through California predominantly by the glassy-winged sharpshooter. It clogs the water vessels in the vines, causing them to die. There is no cure. 

California alone has spent about $10 million on research and about $40 million on efforts to combat the sharpshooter and the disease in the last two years. 

The new vines were developed by University of Florida researchers who patented the genes in May. The scientists still are doing research on the genes, and Dennis Gray, a professor of developmental biology at the University of Florida Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, said it could be almost a decade before the vines are ready to be sold to growers. 

If they ever are, growers will have to decide if it’s worth the expense to switch their vineyards over. 

“We want people to enjoy our wines,” Birdseye said. “If people aren’t going to buy our wines because of what we’re doing with our vines, that’s going to defeat the purpose.’ 

Jay Van Rein, a spokesman with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, also emphasized the research portion of the scientists’ work, and not the production of an altered vine. 

“I think the growers would question whether they would be able to sell that product,” he said. 

The European Union has banned biotech foods, effectively eliminating that market from California vintners if they decided to use genetically engineered vines. Exports of U.S. wine, 96 percent of which came from California, grew 2 percent in 2000 to $560 million. 

And certified organic wine growers can’t use genetically modified plants if they hope to keep their certification. 

“I find it very difficult to believe that we would rely on a genetically engineered plant,” said Ted Hall, owner of Long Meadow Ranch, a certified organic winery. “It seems to me there are many other approaches to maintaining balance in the environment than fundamentally altering the structure of a plant beyond what you could achieve with breeding and hybridization.” 

The damage to vineyards in California by Pierce’s disease hasn’t been measured very accurately, Van Rein said. It has mostly affected Southern California vines. 

Efforts to combat Pierce’s disease include inspecting shipments of nursery plants or agricultural commodities for the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Van Rein said. 

The state also is using a wasp that lays its eggs in the sharpshooter’s eggs to keep the bug under control. 

California wine accounts for the bulk of the wine consumed in the United States, with roughly three out of every four bottles sold in the country coming from the state. If California were a nation, it would be the fourth-leading wine-producing country in the world, according to Wine Institute statistics. 

SAN FRANCISCO — The California AIDS Ride, a feel-good event in which 11,000 cyclists have raised $40 million since 1994, is being abandoned by the nonprofit agencies it benefits. They say it’s unacceptable they get only 50 cents of every dollar raised. 

Cyclists from all over the country have joined the annual ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, a grueling, one-week, 575-mile trek down Highway 1. The inspiring cause — and the breathtaking views of the Pacific Coast — help ease the pain of the punishing hills. 

“It’s an amazing community of people that are there dedicated to doing something that changes the lives of people,” said 51-year-old Cathy Johnson, who alone has raised more than $22,000 from friends and family to participate in the past three California AIDS Rides. “That’s also what gets people past their personal boundaries on a day-to-day basis.” 

But the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center say Pallotta TeamWorks, the ride’s organizer for the past eight years, has mismanaged the event and increased its overhead so much that they’re better off running it themselves. 

So this year, they’re planning their own competing six-day fundraising ride, dubbed AIDS/LifeCycle, along the same route next summer, two weeks before the traditional AIDS Ride. 

In response, Pallotta Teamworks is suing the nonprofits, and has found a new charity for the AIDS Ride. 

“We’ve raised over $40 million in California since 1994 for people living with HIV and AIDS,” said Pallotta spokesman Norm Bowling. “Now the prospect of two competing events is just going to divide the community ... and will affect everyone ultimately by having less funds raised.” 

Johnson, who said she was “appalled” that only 50 cents for every dollar went to charity, already has signed up for AIDS/LifeCycle. 

“All the repeat riders I know are doing LifeCycle because people were really turned off by (the AIDS) Ride last year.” 

The charities say skyrocketing costs — from $2,373 per rider in 2000 to $3,022 last year — cut too far into the money they need to provide services for people living with AIDS and HIV. 

“We understand it’s an expensive event to produce,” said Bonnie Osborn, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. “Our concern is that it’s costing more now than in the past.” 

The California AIDS Ride provides about a quarter of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s $24 million annual operating budget, according to spokesman Gustavo Suarez. 

“This year they raised more money than ever before, and we got back a lower percentage,” he said. “Something happened to it.” 

In 2000, the foundation received 65 cents of every dollar raised. Last year, Suarez said, that went down to about 50 cents. 

Expenses generally should not exceed 35 cents per dollar, according to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. 

The California ride is one of the nation’s biggest AIDS rides. Tens of thousands of cyclists have participated in AIDS Rides across the country since 1994, raising nearly $70 million overall. 

Riders are totally supported with meals, medical care, sleeping tents, hot showers and portable toilets. They’re followed by trucks and trailers and swept up if they get into trouble. Such logistics ran 37 percent over budget this year, at $2.7 million. 

Riders also were hit with a barrage of marketing — slickly produced books, glossy brochures and signs — both before and during the ride. 

Bowling acknowledged that Pallotta ran 8 percent or 9 percent over budget overall this year, but he said the AIDS Ride has a “great track record” and that the charities are overstepping their bounds. 

He said the company’s contract with the charities specifically prohibits them from organizing their own bike-a-thon. 

“They can do any kind of fundraising event they want other than the California AIDS Ride,” Bowling said. 

The nonprofit agencies believe they’re on solid ground. 

“There are differences in the route and the focus and the feel of the event,” said Gwenn Baldwin, executive director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. “Using bicycles to fund raise is not a unique concept.” 

Both nonprofit agencies say they felt they had no choice but to sever their relationship with Pallotta. They said they’re still sorting out questionable expenses, including delinquent taxes owed to the city of Philadelphia, a Web address connected to a nonexistent canoeing event and executive travel to Chicago for a book tour. 

“There are many things that make us question exactly what is going on here,” Suarez said. 

Bowling acknowledged money disputes with the charities and said Pallotta is trying to resolve them through arbitration. 

The nonprofits also complained about heavy marketing and cross-promotion last year of other Pallotta-planned events, such as the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day walk. 

A court hearing on Pallotta’s suit is set for Jan. 14 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

GILROY — Bonfante Gardens, the bucolic but cash-strapped theme park built by a former supermarket mogul, is expected to open again in the spring after the City Council approved a rescue plan. 

The city agreed to allow development of 85 homes on 50 acres of nearby land owned by Michael Bonfante, who sold his Nob Hill grocery store chain in 1998 to build the tree-dominated amusement park. 

The zoning change effectively increases the land’s value, which will help Bonfante secure another $7.5 million in funding to keep the park in business. It is not known whether any new houses will be built. 

After more than 20 years of planning, the $100 million, 75-acre park opened last June to critical acclaim for its unusual focus on nature. It also featured rides such as the Artichoke Dip and Garlic Twirl. 

It closed for the season in September, 13 weeks early, due to a financial shortfall despite having attracted more than 280,000 visitors. 

Gilroy officials earlier rejected a plan that would have guaranteed bank loans. 

The park, located about 30 miles south of downtown San Jose, is expected to reopen March 29, said spokesman Dan Orloff. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Bonfante Gardens: http://www.bonfantegardens.com 

SAN FRANCISCO — The parents of John Walker Lindh, the 20-year-old American captured in Afghanistan alongside Taliban fighters, are upset that a letter they sent him through the Red Cross has not been delivered. 

In a statement released Tuesday, Frank Lindh and Marilyn Walker said they’re growing impatient because the Red Cross told them it has been unable to deliver their Dec. 4 letter of support. 

“It is very painful to think that John has no idea his family is sending him love and support during the most difficult time of his life,” Lindh’s parents said in a statement released by their attorney. 

The family reiterated its hopes the American public will withhold judgment on Lindh, seen by some as a traitor for taking up arms with the Taliban. 

A spokesman for the U.S. war effort had no immediate comment Tuesday on the letter, and questioned how the family knew it had not been delivered. 

Earlier in the day, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said Lindh is “being treated consistent with the Geneva protections for prisoners of war.” 

Under those rules, prisoners of war are allowed to send and receive letters and cards, which must be conveyed rapidly and cannot be withheld “for disciplinary reasons.” Wolfowitz added, however, that because Lindh “is not a legal combatant ... he’s not legally a prisoner of war.” 

Lindh, of San Anselmo, was found holed up with Taliban fighters after northern alliance forces brought an end to a prison uprising near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif more than two weeks ago. 

Lindh had been held as a prisoner in a detention center at Camp Rhino, the U.S. Marine base in southern Afghanistan. Late last week, he was flown to the USS Peleliu, the lead ship of a military unit off the coast of Pakistan. 

“We understand that there are many American parents who are concerned about the welfare of their children, especially at this time of year,” Lindh’s family said. “We continue to hope that the government will allow us access to John so that he knows his family loves him and wants to help him through this period.” 

The U.S. government has not yet determined whether Lindh’s case falls under the jurisdiction of military or civilian justice. 

“We are encouraged that President Bush and other administration officials have said that no conclusions should be reached about John until all of the facts are known,” the statement said. “We hope that all Americans will also withhold judgment until we know what all the facts are.” 

SACRAMENTO — The San Francisco Bay area produced nearly a third of the marijuana plants seized in California this fall, eclipsing the 16 percent seized in the North Coast’s “Emerald Triangle” area that once accounted for the majority of the locally grown crop. 

That reflects a dangerous trend toward huge pot farms tied to Mexican-based drug cartels that also produce and distribute narcotics, Attorney General Bill Lockyer said while releasing the statistics Tuesday. 

More than 101,000 of the 313,776 plants seized this growing season were in Santa Clara, San Mateo, Sonoma and Napa counties in the Bay Area. Officials aren’t sure if that reflects an increase in production or merely better law enforcement efforts there. 

The Central Valley, which last year accounted for half the seizures because of four large pot farm discoveries, this year produced 23 percent of the seized plants. Last year set the record with seizures of 345,207 plants, nearly triple the number seized in 1997 and 1998. 

Northern California had about 22 percent of seized plants this year, including 54,504 in Tehama County south of Redding, the most of any county. 

Santa Clara County in the Bay Area was second, with 47,574 plants, followed by Mendocino in the Emerald Triangle and the Bay Area’s San Mateo County. 

About 70 percent of marijuana farms statewide, and about 80 percent in the Bay Area, had apparent ties to Mexican drug cartels, Lockyer said. 

Most frequently, armed immigrants tend and guard farms hidden in remote areas of state and national forests and other public land, he said, where they pose a danger to unsuspecting hikers and hunters. 

Those same cartels are increasingly involved in producing and distributing methamphetamine and other drugs, Lockyer said. 

Methamphetamine labs provide the “seed money — no pun intended — for the marijuana operations,” said California Department of Justice spokesman Mike Van Winkle. 

The cartels have found it is generally easier to grow or manufacture the drugs in the U.S. than it is to smuggle them across the border, he said. 

The Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) has existed since 1983, and this year involved officers from more than 70 state, federal and local agencies under the supervision of Lockyer’s Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement. 

They conducted 149 raids in 23 counties from late July through early October, the prime growing and harvest season, made 20 arrests and seized 19 weapons along with the plants they valued at about $1.25 billion. 

——— 

On the Net: http://caag.state.ca.us 

SAN FRANCISCO — Makers and sellers of chewing tobacco have agreed to pay $2.75 million and post signs warning of smokeless products’ health hazards in stores to settle a suit, San Francisco City Attorney Louise Renne said Tuesday. 

“People, especially teens, need to know that chewing tobacco is toxic,” Renne said at a City Hall press conference. “It’s not the safe alternative to smoking.” 

San Francisco joined the nonprofit Environmental Law Foundation in filing suit in 1998 against eight tobacco companies and 11 retail chains under Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act approved by voters in 1986. 

The law requires consumers be given a clear warning they may be exposed to chemicals that may cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm. 

The tobacco companies agreed to pay $2.75 million toward anti-tobacco education in California. The San Francisco Department of Public Health will receive $313,465. 

“The money couldn’t have come from a nicer bunch of fellows,” said James Wheaton of the Environmental Law Foundation of Oakland. Wheaton accused the companies of marketing sweetened products such as cherry-flavored chewing tobacco to children in order to “hook them for life.” 

The retail chains agreed to display warning signs in their stores. 

San Diego Superior Court Judge Ronald Prager approved the settlement, Renne said. 

The suit is the fourth successful suit the retiring Renne has filed for San Francisco against tobacco companies. Two of those suits were part of the national tobacco settlement in 1998 that resulted in $12 billion in payments to California cities and counties. San Francisco received $500 million. 

LOS ANGELES — In another sign that Hispanics will dominate California’s future, a university study has found that the ethnic group accounted for nearly half of all births in the state by the end of the last decade. 

Hispanic mothers had 247,796 of the 521,265 children born in California in 1998, or 47.5 percent, according to the University of California, Los Angeles study scheduled to be formally released Wednesday. 

Non-Hispanic whites had 33.9 percent, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders with 10.7 percent. Blacks represented 6.8 percent of births and American Indians a half-percent of all births. 

California’s future economic health depends upon those Hispanics, who will soon be the majority of young adults and hence the working force, said David Hayes-Bautista, director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA. 

“We can see the future population of California looking into the delivery rooms of today,” he said. “We have a very few years to make some choices,” such as improving education. 

The center’s study, based on state health department statistics, confirms the ethnic shift that made 2001 the year that California officially lost its white majority. The U.S. Census showed Hispanics made up nearly a third while non-Hispanic whites slipped to less than half of the state’s total population of 33.9 million. 

California’s experience is part of a “sea change” in the United States, where 23 states already have Hispanics as their largest ethnic minority, said Harry Pachon, president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, a Claremont think-tank on Latino issues. 

Hispanics are becoming more prominent in everything from movies to politics, and that is good for the state, Pachon said. 

“If there was no penetration of social and political institutions, then you would have an isolated minority and that’s a recipe for social unrest,” he said. 

On the other hand, by the third generation one of every two Hispanics have married outside of their ethnic group, he noted. 

“There’s a Latinization of America but there’s also an Americanization of Latinos,” he said. “By third generation, a lot of them are losing their Spanish, they prefer American NFL to soccer.” 

The overall number of California births has been falling since the peak year of 1990 and the birth rate among all ethnic groups also has slowed. Hispanic births declined by 5.9 percent between 1993 and 1998. 

Nearly half of all Hispanic births were in Los Angeles County. Nearly 62 percent of all births in the county were to Hispanics, rising to nearly three-fourths in Imperial County, which borders Mexico. With a few exceptions, the number of Hispanic births in the far northern counties was small. 

The babies generally were as healthy as others, based on birth weight and mortality statistics, even though Hispanic mothers are less likely than others to receive prenatal care in the first trimester. 

“In spite of low income, low education and low access to care, Latino babies have a healthy profile,” Hayes-Bautista said. 

It is unclear why, he said, but other studies have shown that “in general, Latinas tend to smoke less, drink less, do drugs less — immigrants, especially.” 

Overall, nearly 65 percent of all Hispanic mothers were immigrants, ranking them second to Asian and Pacific Islanders at more than 84 percent. 

The babies tend to grow up healthy as well. Studies have shown that at virtually all stages of life, Hispanics, at least in California, Arizona and Texas, tended to suffer fewer major health problems such as heart attacks, cancer and strokes than other ethnic groups, Hayes-Bautista noted. 

The study supported previous research indicating that Hispanics lack private medical insurance and were more likely to rely on Medi-Cal. More than 58 percent of Hispanic mothers relied on the state program to pay for their deliveries — a higher percentage than any other ethnic group. 

Only about 15 percent of Hispanic mothers were 19 years old or younger. By comparison nearly 17 percent of blacks and 19 percent of American Indians were teen-agers. Non-Hispanic whites had a figure of nearly 7 percent.

LOS ANGELES — California dropped a few names and some big bucks into its latest ad campaign aimed at boosting the state’s slumping tourism. 

Gov. Gray Davis unveiled a 30-second television commercial Tuesday featuring actors Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson that urges people to start traveling again following the September terrorist attacks in New York. 

“Get out there,” says a leisurely Eastwood from the Pebble Beach golf course. 

Nicholson weighs in from courtside at Staples Center in Los Angeles. All work and no play “makes Jack a dull boy,” he says with his trademark grin. 

The ad, which also features world champion freestyle skier Glen Plake and restaurateur Michael Chow, will run in California and Mexico as part of a $7.5 million campaign, the second round of tourism marketing by the state since the attacks. 

In October, the government spent $5 million on print, radio and TV ads — its first attempt ever at encouraging Californians to enjoy their own state. 

Immediately following Sept. 11, California saw a 50 percent drop in tourism. The numbers have bounced back but are still 10 percent lower than last year, according to the California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency. 

Davis said the latest campaign is more upbeat than the dreamy, sunset tone of the first. It’s designed to be a shot in the arm to the hospitality industry, which has lost thousands of jobs in the last three months, he said. 

“American soldiers are fighting overseas and we’re fighting back here to restore the economy,” he said before debuting the ad at a red-carpet ceremony outside Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. 

California’s Economic Development Department is funding the promotion with existing money, the governor’s office said. Davis has proposed $2.24 billion in cuts to the current state budget after forecasts that the next budget could produce a $12.4 billion deficit. 

Locals on Hollywood Boulevard said they supported the marketing campaign. 

“I’m not particularly afraid of travel myself. But this is a good idea. Popular people can be opinion leaders,” said Robby Downing, a student living in Los Angeles. 

“It can’t hurt,” added Jerry Perchesky, an L.A.-based actor who travels regularly up to Monterey Bay to see family. “But a lot depends on the economy.” 

Tourism is California’s third largest industry, worth $74.9 billion annually, and it generates $5 billion a year in tax revenue. It employs more than 1.1 million people. 

The latest ad follows a similar promotional effort by New York, which featured celebrities Barbara Walters, Billy Crystal, Woody Allen and Robert DeNiro. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Jones called for California to boost its ranks of National Guard troops and give them more incentives to continue serving. 

The idea was part of an overall security plan offered Tuesday by Secretary of State Jones in a presentation before the California Public Policy Institute, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, nonpartisan think-tank. 

Among dozens of components, Jones’ plan calls for the creation of a 1,000-person National Guard force to protect California and urges the Legislature to offer Guard members a fee waiver at state colleges and universities. 

He also recommended that California create: 

— A California office of homeland security that would work with existing state agencies to catalog just how many vehicles, helicopters and airplanes California can count on to transport people and supplies during crises, such as a terror attack. 

— An advisory committee that would work with the FBI and other federal agencies to assess intelligence data and determine security recommendations. 

— A task force that would identify high-risk and potential targets for terrorists, such as nuclear power plants and water facilities, and create strategies for defending them. 

— A state health officer to assess public health threats and organize groups of doctors and health care workers with diverse areas of expertise that can respond quickly around the state. 

“We, all of us, are going to be held accountable,” Jones said. “This plan will be the one after the disaster that people go back and say, ’Why didn’t you do this?”’ 

Jones said the plan would cost at least $40 million, though not all costs were factored in. He said the state could cut costs by using already existing equipment and services. Funding for other parts of the plan would come from the federal government. 

Jones is vying with former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and businessman Bill Simon for the GOP nomination in the March primary. The winner will take on Gov. Gray Davis in November. 

Public documents show that Jones, a long-time lawmaker and farmer from Fresno, has a fraction of the personal fortune of his opponents. Jones also has struggled to raise campaign donations — drawing about $2 million, including more than $500,000 in loans, according to campaign finance records. 

A pair of recent statewide polls showed Riordan with a sizable lead over both Jones and Simon, and with a slight edge over Davis. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Davis: http://gray-davis.com/ 

Jones: http://www.BillJones.org/ 

Riordan: http://www.riordanforgovernor.org/ 

Simon: http://www.simonforgovernor.com/ 

SACRAMENTO — With winter still officially a few days away, state hydrologists say the Sierra Nevada already has accumulated half the snow the region normally gets in the wet-weather season. 

A series of storms brought enough snow to please ski resort operators and skiers, and local water supply managers say this could mean a healthy supply of water stored in the Sierra Nevada snowpack. 

The mountain range’s snowpack is the source of two-thirds of California’s water for cities, farms and recreational uses. 

The snowpack was at 136 percent of its normal water content for mid-December as of Tuesday, said Jeff Cohen, spokesman for the state Department of Water Resources. 

“We’re already at 51 percent of a normal winter for the Northern Sierra. That’s 51 percent of what we expect by April 1,” Cohen said. 

The measurements are better in the north, he said, with the region north of Tahoe at 146 percent of normal. The central region, between Tahoe and the San Joaquin River, is at 132 percent and the southern area is at 129 percent. 

“It just keeps snowing and snowing and snowing,” said Katja Dahl, spokeswoman for the Squaw Valley USA ski resort in Tahoe City. “I think we’ve had more great powder days so far this year than all season last year. Mother Nature has been kind and generous.” 

The National Weather Service forecasts the next storm approaching Wednesday, bringing periods of rain or snow through Thursday. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Department of Water Resources: http://www.water.ca.gov 

PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge threw out Mumia Abu-Jamal’s death sentence Tuesday and ordered a new sentencing hearing for the former Black Panther alternately portrayed as a vicious cop-killer and a victim of a racist frame-up. 

U.S. District Judge William Yohn cited problems with the jury charge and verdict form in the trial that ended with Abu-Jamal’s conviction and death sentence in the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. 

Yohn rejected all of Abu-Jamal’s other claims and refused to grant a new trial. But he ordered the state to either conduct a new sentencing hearing within six months or sentence Abu-Jamal to life in prison. 

District Attorney Lynne Abraham said she will appeal. Abu-Jamal “has always been a remorseless, cold-blooded killer,” she said. “We believe that the judge’s decision is legally flawed.” 

The ruling pleased neither side in a case that has pitted Faulkner’s family, police groups and others against death penalty foes who say Abu-Jamal, 47, is a political prisoner of a corrupt justice system. 

“I’m angry, outraged, and disgusted,” said Faulkner’s widow, Maureen Faulkner. “I think Judge Yohn is a sick and twisted person, after sitting on this case for two years and making this decision just before Christmas. He wants to play the middle road and try to appease both sides and it doesn’t work.” 

Abu-Jamal’s lawyers did not immediately return calls seeking comment. 

Pam Africa, leader of the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, said Abu-Jamal should have been released from prison. “The only way it would be a good ruling is if the judge was honest and fair and released Mumia,” she said. 

Abu-Jamal is perhaps America’s most famous death row inmate, drawing support from celebrities, foreign politicians and capital punishment opponents. He was recently made an honorary citizen of Paris and last year gave an audiotaped lesson in civil rights to Antioch College’s graduating class while Faulkner’s widow and others protested outside. Police groups and others convinced of his guilt say he should be executed. 

Abu-Jamal, a cab driver and sometime radio reporter, was convicted of shooting Faulkner, 25, after the white officer pulled over Abu-Jamal’s brother. According to testimony, Abu-Jamal was in his taxi across the street, saw the officer scuffling with his brother and ran toward the scene. 

Faulkner was shot several times, and police found Abu-Jamal wounded by a round from Faulkner’s gun. Police also found a .38-caliber revolver registered to Abu-Jamal at the scene with five spent shell casings. 

Defense attorneys say the bullet that killed Faulkner cannot be positively traced to the gun. 

Yohn’s ruling had to do with how the jury was told to weigh mitigating and aggravating circumstances in deciding whether to impose the death penalty. 

The jury said it had found one aggravating circumstance (the victim was a police officer) and one mitigating factor (Abu-Jamal’s clean criminal record). In death-penalty cases, each juror is supposed to weigh aggravating factors against mitigating ones to decide if the defendant should be sentenced to death. 

Yohn said the jurors should have been able to consider mitigating circumstances even if they did not unanimously agree that such circumstances existed. He said the jury instructions ran counter to a 1988 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. 

Temple University law professor David Kairys said the ruling identified “a very clear error” that prevented Abu-Jamal from getting a fair sentence. 

“What really happened here is Mumia Abu-Jamal just got the same rules applied to him that apply to everybody else,” Kairys said. “They’re not technicalities; they really go to the heart of whether the jury meant to impose the death penalty or not.” 

Abu-Jamal exhausted his state appeals two years ago, but a petition filed in September argued that the defense had new evidence to clear him, including a confession from a man named Arnold Beverly. In a 1999 affidavit, Beverly claimed he was hired by the mob to kill Faulkner because the officer had interfered with mob payoffs to police. 

Abu-Jamal’s former lawyers, Daniel Williams and civil rights attorney Leonard Weinglass, said they thought the confession was not credible, and Yohn refused to order Beverly to testify on Abu-Jamal’s behalf. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Abu-Jamal supporters: http://www.mumia.org 

Faulkner supporters: http://www.danielfaulkner.com 

CHICAGO — Hepatitis A outbreaks in all age groups could be prevented if children were routinely vaccinated against the liver ailment, a study in Northern California suggests. 

When 66 percent of eligible children in Butte County received free hepatitis A vaccinations over six years, cases in the county dropped nearly 94 percent. The number of reported cases fell from 57 in 1995 to 4 in 2000, the lowest number in more than 30 years, the study found. 

The study was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and was published in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association. 

Hepatitis A is an inflammation of the liver that can cause flu-like symptoms and jaundice. Children are less severely affected than adults and may even have no symptoms. The virus can be spread by human feces or contaminated water or food. The disease usually clears up in about two months. 

Federal estimates suggest there were 270,000 cases nationwide in 1997, and Western states are disproportionately affected. 

The CDC recommends routine vaccination of children in Western states with high rates of the virus: Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Washington. 

Only Oklahoma and Alaska require the vaccine for children 2 and older, said Dr. Philip Rosenthal, president of the Northern California chapter of the American Liver Foundation. Nevada will begin requiring the shots in January, but efforts to make them mandatory in California have so far failed, he said. 

The vaccine became available in 1995 for American children ages 2 and up. 

During the study, 29,789 children ages 2 through 12 in Butte County received at least one dose; 17,681 received the recommended second dose. No serious side effects were reported. The incidence last year of 1.9 cases per 100,000 population was the lowest of any county in the state. 

NEW YORK — Newsday is eliminating a third section on weekdays and offering more early retirement packages as part of an ongoing effort to cut costs. 

Stu Vincent, a spokesman for the Long Island-based newspaper, said Tuesday the cutbacks were part of a cost-cutting program occurring throughout parent company Tribune Co., which also publishes the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. 

The third section covered a different theme every day, including business, health, technology, entertainment and real estate. 

Newsday is moving many of the articles that had appeared in those pages into the main section, Vincent said. He said the biggest cutbacks would come in the technology and entertainment articles. 

The change will save the newspaper from making an extra delivery to newsstands since the first and second sections will now be delivered together. Previously the second and third sections had been delivered before the main news section, Vincent said. The second section contains feature articles and coverage of movies and television. 

Vincent also said the paper, which has 3,000 full- and part-time employees, expects about 50 staffers to accept the latest offer of retirement packages. That would be about the same number who accepted early retirement last summer. 

Vincent declined to say how much money the paper expected to save or exactly when the production changes and early retirement offers would be made.  

He said the newspaper has not made any layoffs. 

SAN JOSE — The leading opponent of Hewlett-Packard’s plans to buy Compaq Computer Corp. is demanding that HP clarify reports that directors and top executives would step down if shareholders reject the $22 billion deal. 

In a letter filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a lawyer for Walter Hewlett called such reported threats “shocking” and said they “raise serious questions about the directors’ compliance with their fiduciary duties.” 

“Although you previously discounted these reports in conversations with me, the threats no longer can be ignored,” Hewlett attorney Stephen Neal wrote to an HP attorney. 

“If the threats are true, then Hewlett-Packard must immediately provide detailed information to the shareholders and the market about which members of management and which directors will resign. ... If the threats are not true, then Hewlett-Packard must immediately correct the record.” 

Hewlett, a member of the HP board and the son of late co-founder William Hewlett, wants the matter clarified in fairness to the shareholders who would vote on the Compaq acquisition if it wins regulatory approval, a spokesman said. 

An HP spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment. 

Hewlett’s letter referred specifically to an interview published last week in The New York Times with Richard Hackborn, an HP board member and avid supporter of both the Compaq deal and chairwoman Carly Fiorina. 

Hackborn told the newspaper that if HP shareholders reject the deal, “they will have to get a board and a management” to fix HP’s problems. Unidentified sources have made similar comments in other news reports, according to the letter. 

HP shares dropped 26 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $20.50 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Compaq fell 38 cents, or 4 percent, to $9.11. 

In an HP filing with the SEC earlier Tuesday, the company quoted Fiorina as telling a group of top company managers that she was “disappointed and sad” about the Hewlett and Packard families’ opposition to the Compaq acquisition. 

But she reiterated her belief that buying Compaq is the best way for HP to serve more large corporations’ technology needs and take more leadership positions in the industry. 

“We are absolutely convinced that while this company always has options,” she said, “we have chosen the best one.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.hp.com 

http://www.compaq.com 

SAN JOSE — 3Com Corp. beat Wall Street expectations in the second quarter as the troubled network equipment maker’s loss narrowed and business showed signs of turning around. 

“Q2 was a quarter of great progress for 3Com,” said Bruce Claflin, the company’s chief executive. “Our second-quarter results confirm we are on or ahead of plan in virtually every part of our turnaround.” 

For the three months ended Nov. 30, 3Com lost $104 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with a loss of $142 million, or 41 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. 

Excluding special items, the company lost $47 million, or 14 cents a share, compared with a loss of $51 million, or 15 cents a share, a year ago. 

Analysts were expecting a loss of 22 cents a share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial/First Call. 

Revenues were down 50 percent to $394 million in the most recent quarter, from $789 million in the same period last year. It was a modest improvement from first-quarter sales of $390 million. 

The results were announced after the markets closed. Shares of 3Com closed up 27 cents, to $5.31 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. In after-hours trading, shares gained another 41 cents.

SALT LAKE CITY — In 1990, the idea of linking the central Wasatch Range’s seven ski areas came up in Salt Lake County planning circles and was rejected. Aerial trams over the top of the Wasatch and a tunnel through the range did not make much sense for the skiing public, although someone was sure to get rich off the scheme, recall those who participated in the debate. 

The so-called “interconnect” may have died a quick death, but the dream of linked ski areas is alive and well thanks to the gradual growth of Wasatch resorts. 

As a major winter storm began to pummel Little Cottonwood Canyon one recent Friday, a scene unfolded on Sugarloaf Pass that could be a sign of things to come for Utah skiing. 

Executives from Alta and Snowbird — neighboring rivals that boast the finest steeps and deeps in the ski business — opened the gate between Alta’s Albion Basin and Mineral Basin, Snowbird’s freshly developed backside bowl. 

For the first time in North America, skiers can glide from one resort to another on a combined pass. 

“This is just the beginning,” says marketing leader Kip Pitou, president of Ski Utah. “Interconnected resorts are the future for Utah skiing.” 

Let’s hope not, sigh Utah environmentalists, dismayed by the shrinking share of undeveloped Wasatch backcountry and the trend toward bigness in the Utah ski industry. 

“Each ski area and winter recreation area ought to have its own character,” says Salt Lake City ski historian Alexis Kelner, a founding member of Save Our Canyons. “Just because people are doing it in Europe doesn’t mean we should be doing it. Most of the people on the (Save Our Canyons) board are opposed to continual enlargement of ski areas in the face of declining demand for skiing.” 

Interconnect skiing is common in Europe’s Alps, where ski areas abut into vast networks of lift-serviced terrain and villages, but nonexistent in North America. Only in Utah is it even possible, thanks to the proximity of seven ski areas sandwiched between Park City and Alta — all within a six-mile radius of Solitude in Big Cottonwood Canyon. 

Two lifts could sew up a complete interconnect, assuming The Canyons completes its planned southward expansion to the edge of Park City Mountain Resort. Alta and Solitude are only a lift away via Grizzly Gulch. Same with Brighton and Park City Mountain Resort via Scotts Pass. 

Alta plans to offer cat skiing on private land in Grizzly, but officials declined to comment on rumors that the ski area is contemplating a lift there. 

As Utah backcountry skiers have known for years, you can already ski between canyons if you don’t mind hiking through avalanche terrain. For those less versed in the mysteries of avalanche avoidance and backcountry route-finding, there is Ski Utah’s Interconnect Adventure Tour — a $150 guided ski trek from Park City to Snowbird, riding lifts through five ski areas. 

“It’s an incredible marketing story,” Pitou says. “It’s something we can do that you can do nowhere else in the United States. We could have the biggest ski area in the world without adding infrastructure. You could ski all day without hitting the same lift twice.” 

Interconnecting resorts could cut down auto traffic in the canyons, since visitors staying at the three Park City ski areas could ride lifts — rather than drive — to Big and Little Cottonwood canyons, supporters say. 

“It is a natural. It’s all so close,” says engineer Beat VonAllmen of Alpentech, a Salt Lake City ski-industry consultant. “People are so interested in doing different things. They want extra variety.” 

But VonAllmen contends the concept was poorly thought out when it was first proposed and “interconnect” is now a loaded term that should be abandoned. 

Back in 1968, for example, when Salt Lake City began bidding to host the Winter Games, Olympic boosters touted ski-resort links as if the nonexistent tramways that would carry skiers from Midway to Brighton and Park City were already in place, according to Kelner’s research. 

This left people with the impression that interconnect was something to be forced down the public’s throat, rather than serve as a natural outgrowth of skier demand. 

Any trans-Wasatch interconnect would face major obstacles and could only happen one link at a time. 

“It will happen if it’s what skiers want and it’s best for the ski areas, not because of some grand marketing plan,” says Onno Wieringa, president of Alta Ski Lifts. 

After months of parent complaints, school officials reassigned a first grade teacher at Washington Communications and Technology Magnet School to another job in the district Friday afternoon, according to several people familiar with the move. 

Rita Kimball, principal at Washington, said the teacher, whose name the Daily Planet decided not to release, will not be working at her school any longer. Kimball said she did not know where the teacher will work, or what type of job the instructor will hold. 

Barry Fike, president of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, the local teacher’s union, would not comment on the instructor’s new placement, and school district officials did not return calls from the Daily Planet requesting information on the transfer. 

Superintendent Michele Lawrence could not be reached before the Daily Planet’s deadline, but according to Kimball, the superintendent’s office engineered the transfer. 

Parents happy about the reassignment had argued that the instructor lacked control of the classroom, allowed students to wander out of class, left a child unattended in class on at least one occasion, and failed to teach the students properly. 

“We are pleased, and for us, it’s a big sigh of relief that we no longer have to fight this battle,” said Judy Greenspan, parent of a first grader in the teacher’s class. “We look forward to them getting a competent teacher in the classroom after the holidays.” 

Still, parents said they did not win the reassignment until they threatened to pull their kids out of the classroom on Monday, and broadly publicize their concerns.  

Parents said the district should have acted much sooner to remove a teacher who has been the subject of complaints for years. 

“Mrs. Kimball, she knew about the situation,” said Shawn Cooks, whose daughter had the instructor two years ago for kindergarten, and was assigned to the teacher again this year, for first grade.  

Kimball offered no comment on the extent of parental complaints in previous years, citing the teacher’s right to privacy. But, she said she understood the parents’ concerns.  

“I think it’s just really hard for parents when they feel like things aren’t turning out right for their children,” Kimball said. However, she suggested that a teacher’s rights as an employee must be respected.  

“We need to make things happen for children,” Kimball said, “but we’re also bound by rules and laws and due process for human beings.” 

The most recent teachers’ contract, ratified in the spring, stipulates that an instructor can only be fired after receiving an unsatisfactory review at the end of a school year, and then taking another year to improve.  

Greenspan said the district should have given the teacher an unsatisfactory review in previous years, setting the stage for removal. “I think the problem is the result of the district’s failure to evaluate a bad teacher,” said Greenspan.  

Pamela Springer, whose son moved from the instructor’s class to another first grade class in early October, called for a complete change in the rules, allowing for swifter removal. “The process has to change to protect kids,” she said.  

Parents have been volunteering in the classroom, meeting with school officials, writing letters, and filing official complaints since school opened, charging that their children were in danger in the classroom. 

“We had real concerns for the safety of our children,” said Joseph Wakelee-Lynch, who was able to transfer his daughter to Berkeley Arts Magnet at Whittier three weeks into the school year. 

Wakelee-Lynch said he watched a child wander out of the classroom unnoticed during the first week of school, and filed an official complaint with the district based on the incident. 

Another parent, Tara Burton, said she approached the school on Nov. 5 and found one student standing by himself, upset, on a wooden ramp near the class, and another, Cooks’ daughter, sitting alone in the classroom, just as the fire alarm sounded. 

“Leaving a kid in a classroom unattended, during a fire alarm at that, was the last straw,” Burton said. 

Parents also complained that the instructor did not provide any structure in the classroom, and could not control the students. They said this lack of discipline effected their children’s ability to learn. 

“In that kind of environment, my daughter has a hard time learning,” said Wakelee-Lynch. “She needed more stability.” 

Springer said her son began acting out because of the lack of discipline in the classroom. 

“I can’t tell you how exhausting it was for me to come home to a kid who has learned that he can act out and be disruptive,” Springer said. 

Parents said their children lost the desire to learn under the previous instructor, and argued that it is essential to get a talented, new teacher in the classroom as soon as possible.  

“It’s important to get a competent teacher now, and repair the damage that has been done,” Greenspan said. 

Tuesday, Dec. 18 

The Spirit of Christmas Class 

7 - 9 p.m. 

1250 Addison St. 

Studio 103 

Explore the metaphysics of the Christmas Story. 540-8844, patricia@newthoughtunity.org. 

Feldenkrais Chair Class for  

Seniors 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com. 

Feldenkrais Floor Class for  

Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com. 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share your slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 525-3565. 

Wednesday, Dec. 19 

Blanket Drive for  

Afghan Refugees 

8:30 - 9:30 a.m. 

2:30 - 3:30 p.m. 

Black Pine Circle School, Lower Campus 

2027 Seventh St. 

4:30 - 5:30 p.m. 

Black Pine Circle School, Upper Campus 

2015 Sixth St.  

A large truck will be parked outside the lower school for collection of clean, serviceable, blankets, quilts, and sleeping bags. These will be delivered to the American Friends Service Committee in San Francisco, then shipped to refugee camps in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. 526-4771, nanscape@yahoo.com. 

Feldenkrais Classes for  

Seniors 

10:30 and 11:45 a.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com 

Lecture Series on Women  

Medieval Mystics 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

All Souls Parish 

2220 Cedar St. 

Three Women Mystics: An Advent Lecture Series. Exploration of their spiritual quests designed to offer a new sense of spiritual possibilities in modern times. Free. Supervised childcare will be provided. 848-1755. 

Thursday, Dec. 20 

Blanket Drive for Afghan  

Refugees 

daytime 

Black Pine Circle School 

2027 Seventh St. 

A large truck will be parked outside the lower school for collection of clean, serviceable, blankets, quilts, and sleeping bags. These will be delivered to the American Friends Service Committee in San Francisco and then shipped to refugee camps in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. 526-4771, nanscape@yahoo.com. 

Islamic Cultural Celebration 

7:30 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center  

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Mark the end of Ramadan with music, poetry, and stories from various parts 

of the Islamic world. Proceeds will be donated to RAWA. $10. 849-2568, www.lapena.org. 

Friday, Dec. 21 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Berkeley Women In Black  

Vigil 

noon - 1 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. at Haste 

(Outside Cody’s Books) 

Vigil in support of Women in Black in Jerusalem against military solutions to end the occupation of Palestine. 

Saturday, Dec. 22 

Santa's Solstice Bazaar 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Metaversal Lightcraft 

1708 University Ave. 

Come shop while kids visit with Santa for free. Fine arts, crafts, clothing and gift booths in a magical and colorful scene. 644-2032, www.lightcraft.org. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers – jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market  

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Martin Luther King, JR. Civic Center Park 

Fair will include organic produce, handcrafted gifts, live choral music, massages, and hot apple cider. 548-3333, www.ecologycenter.org 

Magic School Bus Video  

Festival 

10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Ms. Frizzle takes her skeptical class from outer space to inside a dog’s noise in seven different video adventures. Free popcorn and free magic school bus gift. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Sunday, Dec. 23 

A Service of Lessons and  

Carols 

4 p.m. 

St. Augustine Church 

400 Alcatraz 

The St. Augustine Choir fill an afternoon with carols. 653-8631. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers – jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Julia Morgan Center for the  

Arts Features A Celtic Peace:  

A Bay Area Celtic Christmas  

Celebration 

7:30 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Theatre 

2640 College Ave. 

“A Celtic Peace,” an evening of Irish music and dance for the whole family. This musical program is dedicated to world peace. $10 adults, $5 children. 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Monday, Dec. 24 

Midnight Mass 

11:45 p.m. 

St. Augustine Church 

400 Alcatraz 

Prelude music begins at 11:15 p.m., mass begins at 11:30 p.m. 653-8631 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Tuesday, Dec. 25 

Guided Tours of Jewish Art and History 

12 - 4 p.m. 

Judah L. Magnes Museum 

2911 Russell St. 

Family Day at the Museum. The tours will present over 250 objects from the Museum’s permanent collections on display in the major exhibition “Telling Time: To Everything There is a Season.” 549-6950 www.magnesmuseum. org 

Puppets and Puppet Making 

1 p.m. and 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center 

141 Walnut St. 

Jennifer Levine presents “Princess Moxie Rules!” a 30 minute puppet show followed by a puppet-making project. 848-0237, www.brjcc.org. 

Gerry Tenney & California Klezmer Jewish Music 

2 p.m. & 3 p.m. 

2911 Russell St. 

Hands-on Art Projects. 848-0237, www.brjcc.org. 

Wednesday, Dec. 26 

Professor Smart’s Fun with Physics Show 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Professor Smart shrinks his head, has toilet paper flying, juggles and has the audience’s hair standing on end all the while demonstrating the principles of physics. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Thursday, Dec. 27 

Slapstick with Derique 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Ham Bone body drumming, physical comedy, and circus arts are sure to stimulate your “funny bone” as New Vaudeville artist Derique lets you into his hip style of circus arts. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

– Compiled by Guy Poole 

, Dec. 28 

World Rhythms 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Japanese taiko, African marimba and djembe, Middle Eastern dumbek, Afro-Cuban chekere, and conga drums celebrate musical traditions from around the world. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Saturday, Dec. 29 

Magic Show 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Jay Alexander performs his magical mixture of comedy and illusion with special effects that will entertain visitors of all ages. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Sunday, Dec. 30 

Music and Storytelling 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Familiar nursery rhymes and fairy tales come to life in musical stories by children’s performer Dennis Hysom. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Monday, Dec. 31 

New Year’s Eve Party 

1 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

A daytime holiday party for kids featuring lots of hands-on activities. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

ONGOING EVENTS 

Sundays 

West Berkeley Market 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

University Ave., between 3rd and 4th Streets  

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

654-6346  

Mondays 

Tuesdays 

Easy Tilden Trails (?) 

9:30 a.m. 

Tilden Regional Park, in the parking lot that dead ends at the Little Farm 

Join a few seniors, the Tuesday Tilden Walkers, for a stroll around Jewel Lake and the Little Farm Area. Enjoy the beauty of the wildflowers, turtles, and warblers, and waterfowl. 

215-7672; members.home.co 

m/teachme99/tilden/index.html 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

2-7 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share your slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 525-3565. 

Wednesdays  

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 

Thursdays 

Free Anonymous HIV Testing (?) (?) 

5:15 - 7:15 p.m. 

Check in 5 - 7 p.m. 

University Health Services 

Tang Center  

2222 Bancroft Way 

Drop-in services and limited space is available.  

Call 642-7202  

Fridays 

Saturdays 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

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

548-3333 

Poets Juan Sequeira and Wanna Thibideux Wright 

Free Sailboat Rides  

1 - 4 p.m. 

Cal Sailing Club 

Berkeley Marina 

The Cal Sailing Club, a nonprofit sailing and windsurfing cooperative, gives free rides on a first come, first served basis. Wear warm clothes and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children must be at least five years old and accompanied by an adult. 208-5460, www.cal-sailing.org. 

2002: Jan.6; Feb. 3; March 3; April 14, 27; May 12, 26; June 9, 23; July 4, 14; Aug. 4, 18; Sept. 8,22; Oct. 6; Nov. 10; Dec. 8;

Study parking 

Editor: 

December 14, the Downtown Berkeley Association submitted 622 petition signatures to the Mayor and City Councilmembers opposing General Plan Policy T-35 and urging a balanced approach to parking in the downtown. Within a two week period, downtown businesses collected these signatures from their customers. Around 90 percent of the signatures are Berkeley residents. 

The petition calls for: encouraging the use of public transit; preserving the existing parking supply; studying the need for new parking in the downtown; removing General Plan policy T-35 that prohibits the city from spending funds to increase the number of parking spaces in the Downtown. 

Deborah Badhia 

Downtown Berkeley Association 

924 Gilman Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic,Breaker, Some Still Believe; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Dec. 18: Panacea; Dec. 19: Whiskey Brothers; Dec. 20: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 27: Keni “El Lebrijano”; All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

Anna’s Dec. 18: Tangria Jazz Trio; Dec. 19: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 20: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Dec. 21: Anna and Percy Scott on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 22: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 23: Jazz Singer Ed Reed; All music starts 8 p.m. unless noted. 1801 University Ave., 849-2662. 

Ashkenaz Dec. 18: 8 p.m., Tom Rigney & Flambeau, $8; Dec. 19: 8 p.m., The Earls, $10; Dec. 20: 8 p.m., Darol Anger, Scott Nygaard and the Improbables, $8; Dec. 21: 8 p.m., “Celebrating the Life of David Nadel,” Aux Cajunals, Nigerian Bros., Tropical Vibrations, $8; Dec. 22: 9:30 p.m., Sensa Samba, $11; 1317 San Pablo Ave., 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.  

Club JJang-Ga Dec. 22: Heaven & Hell, Blue Period; Dec. 29: Deducted Value, 3rd Rail, Noiz, Un Sed; 400 29th Ave., Oakland, (925) 833-7820, savageproductionssl@ yahoo.com. 

Cal Performances Jan. 20: 3 p.m., Midori and Robert McDonald. $28 -$48. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph. 642-9988 

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

Freight & Salvage Coffee House Jan. 6: Allette Brooks. All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. Call 548-1761 for prices or see www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Julia Morgan Theatre Dec. 23: 7:30 p.m., an evening of Irish music and dance with Todd Denman and friends. $10, $5 children; Dec. 31: 8 p.m., New Year’s Eve Gala Concert, Program of classical favorites of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra; Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, sizzling program of classical party music; Jan. 12: 8:p.m., “Club Dance,” Teens come together to express their individual personalities and gifts as dancers. $10, Students and Seniors $6, Children ages 5 and under $6. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Dec. 19: Spectraphonic; Dec. 20: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 21: Crater; Dec. 22: Post Junk Trio; Dec. 27: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 28: Ben Krames & Candlelight Dub; Dec. 29: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Kirk Tamura Trio; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Dec. 23: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568, www.lapena.org 

“Music on Telegraph” Dec. 22: Kaz Sasaki Duo, Blackberry Ginger, 2520 Durant; Dec. 23: Almadecor, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; All shows 2 - 4 p.m., Free. 

Rose Street House Dec. 25: 3 p.m., Annual “Dykelah Escape-from-you-know-what-day Musical Extravaganza!”; Jan.17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@ yahoo.com. 

Yoshi’s Jazz House Dec.18 - 23: Charlie Hunter; Dec. 26 - 31: New Year’s Fiesta, The Afro-Cuban Jazz Masters; Jan. 2 - 6: Charles Lloyd; Jan. 13: Jacqui Naylor Quartet; All shows at 8 p.m., and 10 p.m., unless noted. 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakland. Check for prices and Sunday Matinees, 238-9200, www.yoshis.com. 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Dec. 18: 8 p.m., under the direction of Maestro Kent Nagano, plus the world premiere of Ichiro Nodaira’s “Kodama” written for and featuring Mari and Momo Kodama. $21 - $45; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 841-2800, jeaston@berkeleysymphony.org. 

“Dotha’s Juke Joint: Everett and Jones Barbeque” Dec. 21: 8 & 10p.m., Faye Carol and her Off the Hook Blues Band, $15; Jack London Square, 126 Broadway at Second St., reservations, 663-7668.  

The Oakland Interfaith Youth Gospel Choir’s 5th Annual Christmas Concert Dec. 22: 7 p.m., “The Reason Why We Sing”; The Regents Theater, Holy Names College, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland, 839-4361, www.oigc.org. 

Blake’s Dec. 29: 11 p.m., Jack West & Curvature, $5; 2367 Telegraph Ave., 877-488-6533. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley Jan. 6: 3 p.m., Stephen Genz in his West Coast debut; 2345 Channing Way, 527-8175, www.geocities.com/mostlybrahms. 

“Much Ado About Nothing” Through Jan. 8: Check theater for specific dates and times. Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy chronicles a handful of soldiers returning from a winning battle to be greeted by a gaggle of giddy maidens. Directed by Brian Kulick. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

“Every Inch a King” Jan. 11 through Feb. 9: Thur. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m.; Three sisters have to make a decision as their father approaches death in this comedy presented by the Central Works Theater Ensemble. $8 - $18. LeValls Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. 558-1381 

“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 Jan. 3: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Unfinished Song; Jan. 4: 7 p.m., 9:15 p.m., Going By; Jan. 5: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Under the Moonlight; Jan. 6: 1p.m., 3 p.m., Paper Airplanes, 5:30 Shrapnels in Peace; Jan.10: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., ABC Africa; Jan.11: 7:30 p.m., The Girl at the Monceau Bakery and Suzanne’s Career, 9:05 p.m. The Sign of the Lion with Place de l’Etoile; Jan. 12: 7p.m., La Collectionneuse, 8:50 p.m., My Night at Maud’s; Jan.13: 1p.m., 3p.m., Os 

“Veiled and Revealed” Through Dec. 23: Human beings, costumed in native dress are captured by visual artists in a seven-person exhibit. Sat. Dec. 8, 15, and 23, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. Simultaneously showing at ART-A-FACT, 1109 Addison St., and Metaversal Lightcraft, 1708 University Ave. 848-1985 

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” Dec. 19 through Jan. 8: An exhibit featuring Kathleen Flannigan’s drawing and furniture - boxes, tables, and mirrors, all embellished with images of the beauty and innocence of the natural world. Addison Street Windows, 2018 Addison St. 

“From With These Walls” Jan. 5: Educational studio opening celebration gallery show of student works in steel, bronze, aluminum, cast iron, glass, neon, ceramic, stone and paper; jewelry. The Crucible, 1036 Ashby St. (Entrance is one block south on Murray St.) 843-5511, fran@thecrucible.org. 

“Carving, Canvas, Color: Art of Julio Garcia and Wilbert Griffith” Through Jan.12: Brightly colored wooden figures and colorfully detailed paintings. Gallery is open by appointment and chance, most weekdays 10:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.; The Ames Gallery, 2661 Cedar St., 845-4949, amesgal@home.com 

“Matrix 195” Through Jan. 13: German artist, Thomas Scheibitz’s, first solo museum exhibition in the United States showcases semi-abstract representations of everyday objects and landscapes. Wed., Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $3-$6. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Ardency Gallery, Mark J. Leavitt, “Analogous Biology: Balance and Use,” Dec. 20 through Jan. 19; Tue. - Sat., 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., 709 Broadway, Oakland. 836-0831, www.artolio.com. 

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 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” Dec. 19 through Feb. 2: An exhibition of painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography and more by Bay Area and  

regional artists. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., www.proartsgallery.org. 

Traywick Gallery: “New Work by Dennis Begg and Steve Briscoe” Jan. 5 through Feb. 9: Dennis Begg’s sculpture explores memory as the building block of consciousness, learning and experience. Steve Brisco’s paintings on paper address issues of identity through evocative combinations of text and imagery. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., 1316 10th St. 527-1214 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” Through Feb. 15: 18 homeless and formerly homeless elders reveal how they learned and applied wisdom that is timeless. Mon. - Fri. and Sundays 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Reception and presentation by the elders Thurs. Nov. 15, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Free. St. Mary’s Center, 635 22nd St., Oakland, 893-4723 x222 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” Dec. 12 through Mar. 10: A selection of photographs and memorabilia presenting a different perspective on Adam’s career as one of the leading figures in American photography. Wed, Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $4- $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Migrations: Photographs by Sebastiao Salgado” Jan. 16 through Mar. 24: Over 300 black-and-white photographs of immigrants and refugees taken by the Brazilian photographer. Wed. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. $4 - $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

"Earthly Pleasures" assemblage and photographs by Susan Danis, Jan. 11 through March 30: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Mon. - Sat.; Sticks, 1579 B, Solano Ave., 526-6603.  

“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, www.atelier9.com. 

Readings 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Jan. 8: Theodore Hamm discusses “Rebel and a Cause: Caryl Chessman and the Politics of the Death Penalty”; Jan. 10: Joan Frank reads from her new book, “Boys Keep Being Born”; Jan. 11: Christopher Hitchens, “Letters to a Youn Contrarian”; Jan. 14: Pamela Logan talks about “Tibetan Rescue: A Woman’s Quest to Save the Fabulous Art Treasures of Pewar Monastery”; All events are free and start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852. 

Coffee With A Beat - Word Beat reading series Dec. 22: Debra Grace Khattab, Jesy Goldhammer; Dec. 29: Steve Arntson, Michelle Erickson, Clare Lewis; All readings are free and begin at 7 p.m., 458 Perkins, Oakland, 526-5985, www.angelfire.com/poetry/wordbeat. 

“World Ground Poetry” Dec.19: 7-9 p.m., Featuring Abdul Kenyatta & Paradise Freejahlove Supreme; World Ground Cafe, 3726 Mac Arthur Blvd., 482-2933, www.worldgrounds.com. 

Tours 

Golden Gate Live Steamers Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Lomas Cantadas Drive at the south end of Tilden Regional Park Small locomotives, scaled to size. Trains run Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., noon to 3 p.m., weather permitting. 486-0623  

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 

Museums 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. 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 “Kwanzaa Community Celebration” Dec. 30: 12-4 p.m.,Nia Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that honors black family history; Through Jan. 13: Grand Lyricist: The Art of Elmer Bischoff, featuring paintings and works on paper that trace the evolution of Bischoff’s career. $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 Dec. 26: 1 p.m., Professor Smart’s Fun with Physics Show; Dec. 27: 1 p.m., Slapstick with Derique; Dec. 28: 1 p.m., Rhythmix; Dec. 29: 1 p.m., Magic with Jay Alexander; Dec. 30: 1 p.m., Music and Storytelling with Dennis Hysom; Dec. 31: 1 p.m., New Year’s Eve Party, special daytime holiday party for kids; Dec. 26 through 31: Free Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb; Through Jan. 26: Scream Machines: The Science of Roller Coasters; “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; Open daily, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley, 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org. 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.

After more than two years of public meetings and workshops, the City Council is expected to approve three sections of the Draft General Plan tonight. In question, however, is whether the council will move forward on four other proposed amendments, put forward by Ecocity Builders. 

Once approved, the plan will govern development, housing and environmental management for the next 20 years. 

While only the housing section of the draft plan faces a state-imposed deadline of Dec. 31, the council agreed two weeks ago to also approve the transportation and land-use sections tonight during its last meeting of the year. 

Prior to approving various proposed amendments, the council will have to work through several controversial policies, including a two-year moratorium on studying the need for additional public parking downtown, a policy calling for the definition of “cultural use” for downtown commercial space – the inclusion of cultural space means a developer can builder higher than zoning permits – and a series of amendments proposed by the nonprofit Ecocity Builders.  

Ecocity’s mission is to reshape cities and towns to environmentally benefit community centers and surrounding areas. At the heart of its strategy is the theory of increasing density in central locations, thereby allowing the restoration of surrounding natural resources, such as open space, creeks and wetlands. 

Headquartered in Berkeley with about 200 members, Ecocity Builders submitted four policies to the City Council as possible amendments to the draft plan’s land-use section. According to Ecocity President Richard Register, the four amendments have been endorsed by more than 100 educational institutions, nonprofits and businesses.  

The amendments would add language promoting energy efficient and environmentally sustainable building designs and increase housing density in the downtown and along transit corridors while restoring and daylighting creeks citywide. 

Planning Commission Chair Rob Wrenn said many Ecocity proposals, such as creek restoration and green building practices, were already included in the Draft General Plan and that the four amendments had been rejected by the Planning Commission because the commissioners thought they were too complex to implement fairly and they presented a threat to the development of affordable housing. 

While some aspects of the proposed amendments have been included in amendments put forward by councilmembers, Senior Planner Andrew Thomas suggested the council approve the land-use element of the draft plan and then convene a task force to study proposed amendments. 

“The financial aspects for transfer development rights would be very complex, perhaps too complex for the council to simply add to the plan without more study,” Thomas said adding that the General Plan can be amended up to four times a year. “The task force can carefully consider the possibility and then make recommendations to the Planning Commission and the City Council.” 

According to Register, one of the most important amendments is the Transfer of Development Rights policy. The TDR would allow developers to add as many as five floors to downtown developments in exchange for purchasing property on or near Berkeley creeks for the purpose of daylighting or restoration. 

The Draft General Plan, as it is currently written, calls for the daylighting and restoration of the city’s five creeks as well as restricted development over and nearby waterways. 

But Register said a TDR policy would additionally facilitate creek restoration by offering incentives to developers. The policy would increase downtown building heights from a maximum of seven stories permitted in the draft plan – and also in force today – to as many as 12 stories. Register also advocates increasing height limits on transportation corridors, such as University and San Pablo avenues, from four stories to seven or eight stories. 

“Unless you add higher density to these areas, you’re not going to solve the environmental problems facing us in the future,” he said.  

But Wrenn said during the 50 public hearings, meetings and workshops the Planning Commission held over the last two years, the public did not express a willingness to increase downtown height limits. 

“Transfer Development Rights have shown success in rural areas but they won’t work so well in a built-up urban area, especially one where property values are so high,” Wrenn said. 

Thomas agreed saying the exchange of increased building height for a section of restored creek is a “very complicated” thing to work out. 

“It’s not like the affordable housing bonus where it’s cut and dry,” Thomas said. “In that case it’s very clear that if a developer includes 20 percent affordable housing in a project, the overall density can be increased by 25 percent.” 

Thomas said there is no similar ratio with creek restoration and that is why he suggested a task force to study the issue and possibly come up with practical recommendations that might make the TDR policy, or a variation of it, possible. 

Wrenn said another reason the TDR policy – and another Ecocity proposal that would have allowed developers to add floors to downtown projects by donating to an environmental restoration fund – was not added to the draft plan was a concern that the policies would compete with the city goal of creating more affordable housing by giving developers more choices for density bonuses.  

“We didn’t want to dilute the affordable housing density bonus,” he said. “We really want to encourage first and foremost the development of affordable housing as we didn’t think the TDR was appropriate to that.” 

Register argued that if the downtown height limits were increased enough, they could create more affordable housing and restore environmental habitat. 

“If you don’t allow increased density, I suppose it’s true,” he said then added. “It’s a simple matter of allowing higher buildings in the downtown.”

Ecocity plan pro-profit 

Editor: 

The letters from density flack Richard Register usually make me mad, but the most recent one made me cruel. It made me want to give him a concertina, a guitar, a mike stand and mikes, a large salad, a hot apple pie, and watch him take the bus over to San Francisco’s Laurel Street in the rain. 

The “EcoCities Amendment” is a disguise for developer profits at the expense of real people with real transportation needs. Let’s get real about wheels, or risk sacrificing the livability of our beautiful town. 

Carol Denney 

Berkeley 

A pedestrian was reportedly hit by a car Friday morning at the intersection of Russell Street and Claremont Avenue, the very spot where flags had been placed with much fanfare the day before in order to make pedestrians more visible as they cross the street. 

As a result, some are asking if flags are enough, and if more radical traffic re-engineering might be necessary on busy Claremont Avenue. 

The details of the accident, according to The Associated Press, are as follows:  

Pedestrian Susan Wood, 53, was struck at about 10 a.m. Friday by Maya Bacha of Pleasant Hill, who was driving a Jeep. Bacha was cited for failing to yield the right of way to a pedestrian. Wood sustained minor injuries. 

Police have not yet released a report on the incident and will not comment. 

One other pedestrian vs. vehicle accident at the Russell Street and Claremont Avenue intersection was reported in November 1999, according to statistics covering the five years between Jan. 1, 1994 and Dec. 31, 2000. During that time, 17 vehicle vs. vehicle accidents were recorded. Seven injuries and no deaths were recorded as a result of the accidents.  

Councilmember Polly Armstrong, the force behind the flags popping up at various intersections around the city, still believes that the heightened pedestrian visibility will pay off in the end. Her district covers the intersection of Claremont and Ashby avenues – a block north of Claremont Avenue and Russell Street – through which 20,000 cars pass each day.  

The councilmember said the flags were never intended as “the solution to pedestrian safety.” That’s up to drivers who need to pay more attention. And to pedestrians who, even though they’re carrying a flag, still need to make eye contact with drivers of oncoming vehicles to make sure they’re seen, she said. 

“It’s just a check mark on the side of the power of pedestrians (vs. cars),” Armstrong said. 

But there are those, such bicycle activist Sarah Syed, who say greater changes need to be made, such as re-engineering Claremont Avenue. A proposal came to the Transportation Commission a few years ago to make a section of the busy Claremont Avenue south of Ashby Avenue a two-lane, rather than four-lane street. Syed said it would have slowed down traffic. (The stretch of Claremont where the pedestrian was hit is already a two-lane street.)  

The plan was opposed by nearby neighbors and eventually defeated in the Transportation Commission. 

Re-engineering “is likely to be more effective than putting out little flags,” said Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who had no plans at present to bring back the controversial lane-reduction proposal to City Council. 

Dean Metzger, who lives in the Claremont neighborhood, recalled the fight over the plan. “It was going to back the traffic up to Oakland,” he said. “It’s the only street that still works in Berkeley.” 

The re-engineering might have slowed down the traffic, Armstrong said, but the question is not speed, at that intersection. Rather, it’s a problem of distracted drivers talking on their cell phones or changing CDs. 

Armstrong said she’s had a positive response to the flags from neighbors living near Russell and Claremont. “We’ve just got to keep trying. We all have to be more careful.” she said. 

“I feel good about the flags, but bad about Ms. Woods.” 

Ecocity plan pro-neighborhood 

Editor: 

Berkeley should include ALL FOUR provisions of the proposed Ecocity Amendment in its’ General Plan update. Fears that the EcoAmendment would transform Berkeley into a glorified farm hostile to adequate housing, neighborhood integrity, and historic preservation are rendered groundless by a reasonably awake reading of the actual Amendment or a conversation with its sponsors.  

A significant net increase in affordable and market-rate housing as part of a viable, lively, diverse, “mixed-income/mixed-use,” and transit-oriented development downtown, as well as in other districts, would appear to be a cornerstone of the amendment, if what I’m reading is English in Policy Provision No. 3.  

And homeowners in Berkeley can relax – Policy No. 4 charts a course of gradual, voluntary, market-driven conversion of certain creek corridors and likely park and community garden sites into urban greenspace, which ought to add to surrounding residential property values. It is not out to destroy the value of single-family homes, or gobble up our cozy neighborhoods. On the contrary, we’d gain a number of additional assets in the mold of the Karl Linn Community Garden and Strawberry Creek Park.  

No, the EcoAmendment doesn’t seem to be out to assassinate our architectural heritage. The preservation and re-use of our John Galen Howards, Julia Morgans, and other historic buildings is readily acknowledged to be desirable and completely consistent with ecological redevelopment by none other than Richard Register and Kirstin Miller, principals in the EcoAmendment’s parent organization, Ecocity Builders.  

How do I know all this? I actually read the EcoAmendment myself.  

Sales for durable goods rose an amazing 12.8 percent during the month of October 2001, the largest-ever increase in sales in U.S. history. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Consumer Index Report,(http://www.census.gov/indicator/www/m3/adv/priorrel.htm) the vast majority of those purchases (more than 9 percent, or $15.3 billion) were the sale of cars and trucks. The bulk of those sales were for pick-up trucks and sport utility vehicles, or SUVs. 

Heavy advertising campaigns equating the purchase of a new truck or SUV with patriotism, combined with interest-free financing helped to spur record sales. However, the impact of these vehicles on the environment has yet to be calculated. 

The average SUV gets 17.5 miles-per-gallon (averaged between all makes and models’ city and highway driving, according to the U.S. Department of Energy – see http://www.fueleconomy. gov). By giving up a car that gets 25 miles per gallon, you will lose seven and one-half miles for every gallon of gas you burn. In an 18-gallon tank, that SUV will stop 135 miles short. Over the life of the vehicle, say, 100,000 miles, this will cost the owner an extra 1,714 gallons of gasoline to drive the same distance. At a conservative $1.55 per gallon, that’s more than a year’s tuition at UC Berkeley. 

It should also be noted that burning those 1,714 gallons of gasoline will produce more than 17 tons of greenhouse gasses, which contribute to global warming. The resultant air pollution will contribute to the destruction of the ozone, and to an increase in diseases related to increased vehicle emissions, such as asthma and cancer. And that is assuming the vehicle’s mileage doesn’t decline as it ages. 

Is there a better way to buy a new, and perhaps more reliable vehicle than to purchase a vehicle with so many downsides? New passenger vehicles have just as many safety features, and get better mileage than SUVs and trucks. The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars, currently set at 27.5 mpg, has not been increased since the 1986 model year, but there are Congressional efforts aimed at increasing the standard to around 40 mpg. To find out how much money you’d save by getting 40 mpg over your existing rate, go to the Sierra Club’s web site http://www.sierraclub.org/iwantmympg/calculator.asp and perform the calculation. Increased mileage improves the air we all breathe, and will save you thousands of dollars during the life of the vehicle.  

Hybrid vehicles are a realistic option, and are now available from several manufacturers. These vehicles use a combination of gas and electricity – when the electric batteries need charging, the gasoline motor takes over to run the vehicle and charge the batteries. Once the batteries are charged, the gasoline engine switches off, allowing the electric motor to take over again. At this time, there are no hybrid vehicles that allow the user to plug in the car and charge the batteries using household current or solar energy. 

Other alternative fuel vehicles include the fuel cell vehicle. Fuel cells are powered by hydrogen, and are even more efficient than electric hybrid vehicles. However, hydrogen is extremely flammable – the flame from burning hydrogen is ultraviolet light and invisible to the eye. Many details still need to be worked out to make it safe for the consumer, but progress is being made. Recently, a German scientist developed a method for creating hydrogen on board in small amounts, eliminating some of the dangers of carrying large quantities of hydrogen. (See http://www.dwelle.de for details.) 

If you are in need of a vehicle, there is an easy way to compare mileage for all makes and models of cars from 1986 and newer. The Department of Energy has teamed up with the Environmental Protection Agency and created a web site (http://www.fueleconomy.gov) that will let you compare mileage in all categories of cars and trucks. This is especially handy when considering purchasing a used vehicle – many older vehicles, such as the1994 Honda Civic, get better mileage than new vehicles (the 1994 Civic gets 40 mpg in the city, 47 on the highway.) 

Car sharing programs in the Bay Area offer the convenience of driving a new car without the hassle of ownership. Using a car-share program means you don’t have to pay for gasoline or oil, monthly car payments or insurance payments. You only pay for the time (about $2.50 per hour) and mileage (about $0.45 per mile) you put on the vehicle, plus a small monthly fee ($10.00 currently) and a refundable deposit of $300.00. Contact City Car Share at http://www.citycarshare.org for more information on car sharing programs in the East Bay. 

An alternative to purchasing a new vehicle is to have your old one tuned up and maintained to perform better, and increase its mileage. The amount of embodied energy (energy used to manufacture a product) is considerable in a new car or truck, so not purchasing one until you actually need a new one may be the best way to save money and energy.  

Public transportation is a great option, offering a way to relax and read while commuting instead of sitting in traffic jams, and the cost and availability of parking at your destination. 

By far, the best option is to bicycle or walk when you can while running errands or commuting. It’s great exercise (save on those health club fees), lets you get to know your neighborhood, and helps reduce your stress levels, blood pressure and increase metabolism. For every gallon of gasoline you save by walking or bicycling, twenty pounds of atmospheric pollution is saved. 

For more information on energy and transportation, visit the City of Berkeley’s Energy Office Web site at http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ENERGY.

There was some good transportation news in the Planet recently. Berkeley is providing the Eco-Pass to employees; several hundred have signed up, and will presumably be riding the bus for free. Earlier, the UC students voted to re-approve their “class pass”, even when the rate went up. 

But the car culture is still firmly in control. City streets are still snarled with traffic; most people still choose the car over the bus for all trips. 

It looks likely that the General Plan will not have a moratorium on more parking downtown. Berkeley looks likely to make policy T-35 meaningless, by eliminating the moratorium on new parking, and probably by not doing much of anything to improve public transit. 

Given the prevalent car-first attitude toward transportation, I can hardly blame downtown enterprises for pushing for more parking, or our Council for gutlessly going along. More parking is sure to bring more congestion, but the fact is that most people don’t care. 

The Eco-Pass is a great idea, but people still need good transit to ride. Parking gets most of the political attention, while public transit gets mostly lip service. Of course traffic will keep getting worse if public policy pours on the cars, and compounds the problem by leaving the buses to fight the resulting congestion. 

If we must endure all the cars, and provide them with parking, I think we should have bus-only lanes on major transit corridors like Shattuck, University and San Pablo. Elsewhere, these dedicated lanes have made a huge difference in transit service. BART keeps such a good schedule only because BART has a dedicated right-of-way. 

Among the issues the City Council will consider during its last meeting of the year will be an authorization for the city manager to increase a contract with Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity, Inc. by $50,000 to run the city’s Homelessness Prevention Program. The HPP program has already exhausted its annual $110,000 per year allocation due to an increase of clients. 

The HPP program is designed to assist people at risk of becoming homeless by providing cash and non-cash emergency assistance to those who can demonstrate they are in danger of losing their homes.  

According to the report, the HPP has seen an increase of clients since the economic downturn began last March. During the months of July, August and September, HPP served 37 clients, more than the agency served in all of 2000 during which the organization served a total of 30 clients. 

“The recession has hit a lot of people really hard and this is one of our best programs with a lot of human value,” said Housing Director Stephen Barton. 

Barton added that the additional $50,000 is to fund the program through the holidays and that it will still need another $90,000 to get through the end of the fiscal year. 

Civic cafe service 

The council will likely authorize the city manager to negotiate a contract with a cafe business to open a full-service cafe in the lobby of the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center. The contract would include a loan of up to $40,000 to help cover the estimated $80,000 it will take to make the plumbing and other interior upgrades necessary to operate a cafe. In the fall 2000, the city sent out Request for Proposals to approximately 15 cafe-styled businesses, mostly local, in the hopes of finding an operator who would be interested in opening a cafe to serve coffee and snacks. No proposals were received.  

The business indicated that there were not enough customers at the location and the restricted hours, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., would not make such an operation financially feasible. But the owners did express an interest in opening a full service cafe that would offer full breakfast and lunch as opposed to just snacks. In addition, the operator would cater civic events. 

Refrigerators for low-income households 

The council is expected to authorize the city manager to enter into a $235,000 contract with Galvin Appliance to purchase about 400 new refrigerators for low-income households. The city will replace refrigerators that are at least 10 years old with new ones as part of the Housing Department's free weatherization services. The program will begin in January. For more information call 981-5400. 

Winery boycott 

The Peace and Justice Commission is asking the City Council to endorse a boycott of the Charles Krug Winery in support of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. According to a report by the PJC, Krug locked out 43 union members during negotiations in July. The PJC is also asking the council to direct all city employees to not purchase Charles Krug Winery products until the union calls off the boycott. 

Scent of an environmental illness 

Councilmember Dona Spring will ask the council to approve a recommendation from the Commission on Disability to rewrite the language that appears on city agendas that alerts people to environmental illnesses caused by manufactured perfumed scents. 

According to Spring’s recommendation the current language is “misleading” and was adopted at the request of the perfume industry. 

Currently the notice reads: 

“Attendees at public meetings are reminded that other attendees may be sensitive to various odors whether natural or manufactured in products and materials. Please help respect their needs.” 

Spring would like to see the notice be more explicit like the one on BART meeting agendas: 

“Please refrain from wearing scented products (perfume, cologne, aftershave, etc.) to the meetings, as there may be people in attendance susceptible to environmental illnesses.” 

Closed session meeting  

The council will hold a closed session meeting at 5:30 p.m. at 2180 Milvia St. in the sixth floor conference room. During the meeting the council will confer with legal counsel on three existing cases in the Alameda County Superior Court.  

They are: The Alameda/Contra Costa Transit District v. the California Department of Transportation, the People on the Bus v. California Department of Transportation and the Bayside Commons v. the City of Berkeley. 

Housing Authority 

The Berkeley Housing Authority, comprised of the City Councilmembers plus one tenant member, will convene at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. The authority is expected to approve Department of Housing and Urban Development loan of $1.4 million to the Berkeley Housing Authority. The loan will be used to complete all of the deferred maintenance on the 75 units of city-owned housing including $859,000 for the rehabilitation of 58 units at an average cost of $17,000 each.  

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

Editor: 

I moved from Southern California to Berkeley in 1971 to pursue graduate studies at Cal, and except for one year during my graduate work, I have lived in Berkeley ever since. I met my wife in Berkeley, and we have raised our family here. I began an engineering consulting business in Berkeley in 1978, and paid somewhat higher rents specifically to have our offices located downtown because of the excellent mass transit capabilities for me and my employees. My wife began an independent travel agent business two years ago and generally works out of the home. The main office of the agency she is affiliated with is located near our home, and she normally walks there to pick up printed tickets and brochures. My wife and I both love Berkeley and plan to live here the rest of our lives. 

I am writing this letter because I am concerned that the current Draft General Plan contains a provision (Policy T-35) prohibiting spending any City funds to study the need for or construct more parking spaces over the next two years in the downtown area. As a businessperson, clients and colleagues often tell me of their reluctance to have meetings at our office because of parking difficulties. We often fax a map to people showing our office in relation to the main BART station and parking garages, but we still get numerous complaints. I am excited to see the new construction occurring downtown, along with the increased occupancy rates in existing buildings, particularly after the hardships and disarray that existed downtown in the 1970s and 1980s. However, as new shopping and entertainment opportunities have emerged, those who choose to drive downtown often encounter significant difficulties in finding a place to park, especially during the day. I believe a study of these current parking demands, as well as those that will exist as more downtown buildings are constructed, is critical to create a balanced approach to our downtown transportation demands. 

I am also concerned about possible substantial increases to fees paid by those with monthly parking permits. My company has eight permits in downtown garages because we monitor construction operations at job sites throughout the Bay Area. We need to transport our testing equipment and other materials with us, and most job sites are not located near public transit. Therefore, we need access to our vehicles throughout the day. A large hike in fees would be very difficult for us to accommodate. 

Alan Kropp 

President /Principal Engineer 

Teacher found dead in her car 

BENICIA — A high school teacher was found dead inside the trunk of a car in her garage Saturday night and one of her sons has been arrested, Benicia police said. 

Lieutenant Michael Daley said two friends found the body of Kathryn Scarpaci, 50, a special education English teacher at Benicia High School and an employee at a local bookstore. 

The friends were trying to locate Scarpaci at the request of her mother and a son who lives in Long Beach. Scarpaci’s relatives were unable to reach hear and she failed to show up at her job Saturday, Daley said. 

When police arrived they found the victim’s son, Patrick Scarpaci, 18, at the house and arrested him. 

Benicia High School Principal Bob Palous said the staff was advised of the death Sunday. Patrick Scarpaci is a senior at the school. 

Nonprofits receive early Christmas bonuses 

SUNNYVALE — The Silicon Valley Urgency Fund on Monday awarded $2 million to 38 regional nonprofit organizations. 

Each nonprofit received a grant of between $5,000 and $175,000. 

EBay co-founder, Jeff Skoll, initiated the SVUF in October with a grant of $2.5 million. It was an effort to persuade others to help nonprofits suffering a drop in donations due to the Sept. 11 attacks and recessed economy. 

Skoll said at the time he wanted to raise $25 million, which was his estimate of what Silicon Valley nonprofits will lose this year. 

Several local philanthropists joined the effort, raising the fund’s total to $2.82 million. 

The fund reserved approximately $800,000 to meet additional needs for critical services in early 2002. The fund will continue to accept donations through January. 

The nonprofits were chosen for delivery of critical services in the areas of shelter, food, and primary health care. They were asked to verify their budgets, to estimate the increased need for their services, and to estimate the gap between community needs and their available resources. 

Editor: 

Becky O’Malley and Michael Katz said in the Planet that I attacked Dona Spring “viciously,” and engaged in “name calling...” 

So I went back and re-read my editorial to check my mad dog habits and realized that O’Malley and Katz like biting people more than I do. On Monday O’Malley called up one local business and its manager called me up to say O’Malley had condemned the business person’s support for the amendment. 

I said not to worry. As far as I knew you can express your opinion in America. The same crowd of a dozen or so, turn up at planning and council meetings to employ extreme language to push their love of a low density, cozy green Berkeley frozen in time. For most of Berkeley I actually agree with them, and would like to see it even lower density and quieter along creeks so that they could be restored and parks and gardens expanded – which can only be made possible if the Ecocity Amendment is part of the General Plan. 

In reading my editorial again I noticed I did say that Spring’s support of lowering height limits was unfriendly to both people needing housing and to environmental health, and I absolutely believe it. I then challenged her to “be progressive,” and perhaps unadvisedly engaged in the “more progressive than thou game” pointing out that the Ecocity Amendment would make possible considerable new housing in pedestrian/transit centers and transit corridors, while down zoning would not.  

Let’s get down to content. Do I advocate demolishing 70 percent of our housing stock and throwing out 70 percent of our people? Rather, I have consistently argued for much more housing and higher density centers, the higher density part being precisely what I usually get attacked for.... 

SAN JOSE — A judge refused to drop elephant abuse charges Monday against a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus star, setting up a closely watched trial this week. 

Mark Oliver Gebel, 31, is charged with using a hooked stick known as an ankus to wound an elephant that was being paraded into a circus performance in San Jose on Aug. 25. The misdemeanor charge of elephant abuse carries up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. 

Animal rights groups hope the case supports their long-held claims that circuses with wild animals are cruel and outdated. 

Asking for the case to be dropped, defense attorney James McManis said that even if Gebel did what prosecutors allege, it was by no means the greatest blow on Earth. The wound in question was the size of a pinprick and left a blood stain as big as a nickel, McManis said. 

“That’s as good as this case will get, no matter how many days we spend trying this case, no matter how many witnesses we call, no matter how many jurors we inconvenience in this holiday season,” McManis told the judge. 

Prosecutor Carolyn Powell said, however, there’s no evidence the wound was merely equivalent to a pinprick. 

Judge Linda Condron agreed to let the case proceed, and set jury selection for Tuesday morning. The trial could last about a week. 

Gebel is the son of legendary Ringling Bros. trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams, who died in July at 66.  

Gebel said he was looking forward to getting the case over with but declined further comment.

SACRAMENTO — Corrections officers could see salary boosts of 20-30 percent in the final years of a tentative five-year state contract, officials said Monday. 

The proposal also cuts guards to a 40-hour work week, down from 42 hours in which the extra two hours are spent on training. It also boosts pension benefits to the level enjoyed by California Highway Patrol officers. 

“It’s about time that officers in our profession are compensated adequately,” said Lance Corcoran, vice president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. 

The contract also calls for the state to cut the number of guard vacancies, which a sharply critical audit last month blamed for costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in overtime and sick leave. Up to 12 percent of prison jobs can remain vacant currently, but that would fall to 5 percent under the pending contract. 

“We’ve got the same problems as law enforcement, but a (negative) stereotype that makes it even tougher to recruit and retain officers,” Corcoran said. 

The proposal delays pay increases for the powerful, politically connected union’s nearly 29,000 members until after next year’s election, and, state officials hope, after the state’s current budget crunch. 

The state agreed to pay 2 1/5 percent of officers’ pension contributions this year and an additional 5 percent at the July 1 start of the next fiscal year in lieu of standard pay increases. 

“To them it’s the equivalent of a 2 1/2 percent pay raise, almost, and to us it gives us a little more breathing room on when we have to pay it,” said Marty Morgenstern, director of the state Department of Personnel Administration. 

The state has similar deals with 14 other bargaining units that have reached tentative agreements.  

Contracts with six other unions remain unresolved, though their contracts all expired last July. 

The final three years of the officers’ contract, however, calls for increases to keep pace with salary boosts negotiated with the California Highway Patrol in September. 

By law, CHP salaries are supposed to match those in major metropolitan police departments in California, but currently lag 8 percent behind. CHP’s new contract calls for the state to catch up with those local salaries over the next five years, and for guards to receive equal increases that would still leave them trailing CHP officers’ base pay. 

Morgenstern estimated those increases could approximate 20-30 percent, depending on raises negotiated with local police. 

Correctional officers’ pay currently averages just under $50,000 annually, Morgenstern said. A guard’s highest base pay brings $54,900 a year, but there are additional payments for longevity, education and physical fitness. 

The contract, like all the tentative agreements, still must be ratified by the union and the state Legislature. 

LOS ANGELES — Can Barry Diller leave well enough alone? 

Diller has shown he can work media magic when it comes to turning around a troubled movie studio or starting a television network from scratch. He is credited with revitalizing ABC Television in the early 1970s, with turning around Paramount Pictures and with launching the Fox Television Network with such programs as “Cops” and “America’s Most Wanted.” 

He is known as a demanding boss, a hands-on manager with a clear vision for the companies he leads. He has also mentored such successful executives as Michael Eisner, chairman and chief executive of The Walt Disney Co., and Jeffrey Katzenberg, a founding partner of DreamWorks SKG. 

But in taking the reins at the newly formed Vivendi Universal Entertainment, which includes Universal Studios, Diller’s biggest challenge may be to stay out of the way of a team of executives behind two year’s worth of blockbusters, including “The Mummy,” “American Pie,” and “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” 

“I don’t see Barry reading scripts,” said Jeff Logsdon, an analyst at the investment firm Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co. “Barry has seen enough in his years at Paramount and Fox to use his instincts and his intelligence to be a positive contributor.” 

Last week, word that Diller might head the studio as part of Vivendi Universal’s purchase of the entertainment assets of Diller’s USA Networks reportedly sent shivers across the Universal backlot. 

Universal Studios president and chief operating officer Ron Meyer and Universal Pictures chairman Stacey Snider have led the two-year comeback of the studio. 

Calls to Universal Monday were not immediately returned. 

“In the movie business there is no such thing as a company that is totally in distress or a company that is totally healthy,” Eisner said Monday. “You’re only as good as your last few pictures. So I think that company is very lucky to have him and I’m sure he will work well and deferentially with Ron and Stacey.” 

Vivendi executives and Diller himself took pains Monday to reassure any nervous Universal executives. 

In the flurry of press releases released as part of the announcement, Vivendi Universal issued a separate, two paragraph release confirming that Meyer is “the No. 2 person in the U.S. to Barry Diller” and that Snider and other executives will report to Meyer, not directly to Diller. 

In a separate release, Diller reassured the two. 

“The executives of Universal, and in particular Ron Meyer and Stacey Snider are first rate, doing first rate jobs and, while I’m sure I’ll have opinions, I intend to join their fine culture rather than imposing my own,” Diller said. 

Logsdon said Diller’s ability to manage finances and encourage creative talent will serve Universal well. 

“The current management does not have to worry about Barry,” Logsdon said. “If anything, this should be a plus in their thinking because of his ability and clout to be sure the organization is going to support the business plan.” 

Kevin Wendle, who worked for Diller for nearly five years at Fox, said Universal executives have nothing to fear. 

“Barry does not suffer fools easily, but he knows how to extract the best from the best people,” Wendle, chief executive officer at IFilm, said. “He will not be threatening to the people who are performing. They will find him to be a mentor and a friend.” 

SAN FRANCISCO — In early October, investors still seemed willing to give Calpine Corp. whatever it needed to realize its goal of becoming the nation’s largest power generator. 

When Calpine turned to the public markets to issue $2 billion in debt, the response was so overwhelming that company management said it could have raised $5 billion. Calpine settled for $2.6 billion instead. 

Two months later, investors are dumping Calpine stock and analysts are advising the company to back off its aggressive expansion if it hopes to regain the market’s confidence. 

The rapid change in sentiment underscores the harsh reversal in fortune facing the entire power industry, which entered the year riding a wave of record profits that emboldened companies such as San Jose-based Calpine to lay out ambitious plans to become even bigger and more prosperous. 

Now, industry giants are shrinking to beef up their debt-laden balance sheets. 

In the last few days, both El Paso Corp. and Dynegy Inc. have announced major asset sales in an attempt to appease Wall Street. Other major players are expected to take similar steps as they try to boost sagging stocks and ward off downgrades by increasingly critical credit rating agencies. 

“The only reason to buy a stock is if you think it’s going to be worth more tomorrow and there is no reason to really think that until this industry has a chance to regroup,” said industry analyst Thomas Hamlin of Wachovia Securities. 

If power generators don’t do something to support their stocks, they will become increasingly vulnerable to takeover bids by stronger companies, including oil giants, looking to snap up potentially valuable assets at bargain prices, Hamlin predicted. 

Calpine, bedeviled by a stock that has slid by 40 percent so far this month, is among the more attractive takeover candidates, the analyst said. 

The tide began to turn against the power industry during the summer as energy prices descended. Then the bottom fell out last month with the collapse of the sector’s most prominent company, Enron Corp. 

Enron’s devolution from powerhouse to pauper raised worries about almost every other major company in the industry. 

“Every company in this industry needs to face reality, particularly the companies that have been expanding like Calpine,” said industry analyst Gordon Howald of Credit Lyonnais Securities. “The reality is we are in a global recession and energy demand is down. This is not the time to be adding more capacity. Calpine is holding on to the idea that their business model is still sound, but they are building on a delusion.” 

Although the distaste for power stocks is widespread, none of the industry’s heavyweights have been as hard hit as Calpine. The company’s shares fell 30 cents to close at $12.90 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. Calpine’s market value has plunged by 78 percent, or $12.6 billion, since the company’s stock peaked at $58.04 in March. 

The investor retreat is prompting power generators to scrap expansion plans to avoid taking on new debt and sell some assets to raise more cash to reassure investors fearing a repeat of Enron’s debacle. 

Natural gas giant El Paso Corp. became the first major player to retrench last week when it unveiled a reorganization plan that includes the sale of $2.25 billion in assets. To conserve cash, the company is reducing its capital expenditures from $4.6 billion this year to $3.1 billion next year. 

Houston-based Dynegy Inc. followed suit Monday by announcing plans to generate an additional $750 million by selling assets and reducing capital expenditures. To raise even more cash, Dynegy plans to sell $500 million in stock by September 2002. 

No company is growing faster than Calpine, which had just under 6,000 megawatts of power capacity at the end of last year. The company now has about 12,000 megawatts of capacity and is currently building 30 more power plants around the country that will add an additional 17,800 megawatts. 

By 2005, Calpine wants to have 70,000 megawatts in operation to make it the country’s biggest generator. 

Two major credit rating agencies cast doubts about the expansion in separate actions last week. Moody’s Investor Service lowered Calpine’s rating to junk status while Fitch warned it is considering a similar move. 

Both rating agencies are worried Calpine is taking on too much debt against the backdrop of its plunging stock price and declining prices for its power. 

In a statement Monday, Calpine said it intends to regain its investment-grade credit rating. Toward that end, the company is “committed to taking the steps necessary to address today’s challenging financial and power markets,” said Bob Kelly, president of Calpine Finance Co. A company spokeswoman declined to elaborate beyond the prepared statement. 

“What Calpine is trying to do may have made sense a few years ago, but not today,” said Fitch analyst Alan Spen. 

——— 

On The Net: 

http://www.calpine.com 

SAN JOSE — Palm Inc. said Monday it has chosen Texas Instruments as the “preferred supplier” of chips for its next generation of wireless handheld devices. 

The deal, however, is not exclusive, said Todd Bradley, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Palm’s Solutions Group, which handles Palm’s hardware products. 

Bradley said Palm continues to work also with Intel Corp. and Motorola Corp. to develop microprocessors based on ARM architecture, which has become a chip standard to support demanding wireless applications, such as streaming video or handling voice data. 

Shares of Santa Clara-based Palm fell 30 cents, or more than 8 percent, to $3.17 in Monday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. 

It’s likely investors were reacting to the announcement that the next-generation products using Texas Instruments’ chips will not be introduced until the end of next year, said Thomas Sepenzis, an analyst at CIBC World Markets Corp. 

“The expectation was that they would have it by June,” he said. 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

When the stock market soared, the worldwide network of United Methodist missionaries thought big. 

About $3 million was to go for a hospital in Kazakstan. Another $2 million was budgeted for land mine removal, and money was also earmarked for helping U.S. convicts rebuild their lives. Then the market tumbled, and with it went the bounty from the missionary division’s investments. The group has lost about $21 million in 2001, forcing administrators to lay off 45 employees. 

“Next year will be one of the worst,” said Randolph Nugent, who manages the agency, called the Board of Global Ministries. 

Other denominations also are feeling squeezed by the recession these days. Money for good works, once plentiful in the 1990s, has been drying up. 

Adding to the churches’ woes are a steep increase in health insurance costs and a post-Sept. 11 drop in contributions, as the faithful have redirected their giving to victims of the terrorist attacks. 

In Boston, that means the Roman Catholic archdiocese is scaling back some programs, though it won’t say which ones. Both Boston and the Erie, Pa., diocese have imposed hiring freezes. 

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) expects a deficit of about $2.5 million in its $136 million budget next year. 

Beyond the recession, that denomination is losing money because of a fierce debate over whether to repeal a ban on gay clergy. Some conservative congregations are withholding payments to headquarters while the issue remains unresolved, though no numbers have been released. 

Brad Hewitt, chief administrative officer of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, among the few faiths not facing losses, met last week with financial administrators from other large, Christian denominations. 

“I would describe the mood as concerned, not alarmed — more of a wait- and-see attitude,” Hewitt said. “Although, I would say that a few of them, if their numbers were as bad as they sounded, would have to take some layoffs.” 

The Presbyterians, to address their shortfall, plan to cut up to 15 jobs and reduce administrative expenses, said Joey Bailey, the denomination’s chief financial officer. A Presbyterian foundation that manages denominational assets has already eliminated 20 positions due to losses in the stock market. 

In Erie, the troubles for Catholic Bishop Donald Troutman began more than a year ago, when factories started shutting down in his blue-collar city. About 3,000 jobs will be gone by next year. 

Some of the unemployed have moved away, leaving collection plates a little lighter on Sundays. At the same time, health insurance costs for the diocese’s 109 employees rose by 14 percent, and the interest income Troutman had been using to cover some expenses evaporated when the stock market fell. 

“What we’ve tried to do is not have any new programs and that’s hurt us because we see a need for new programs,” Troutman said. “There are no layoffs at this point. We’re hoping not to do that, especially around Christmas.” 

Competition for money after the attacks has also hurt the bottom line of some denominations. The Greek Orthodox Church saw giving to its national office dip dramatically after Sept. 11, while donations to its social service ministries rose. 

“It seems a lot of parishioners are donating to our relief funds rather than sending us their obligated payments they have to make on a monthly basis,” said John Barbagallo, the denomination’s finance director. 

Not all denominations are suffering. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America saw income rise through Sept. 30, compared with the same period last year, but that was mainly due to bequests and large gifts. 

For Nugent, who oversees more than 2,500 missionaries, the last several weeks have been a painful dismantling of projects for the desperately needy. 

Nugent has tried to make the biggest cuts in administrative expenses, thereby preserving aid programs, but he still has had to shift money away from projects like land mine removal, hospital building and prison ministries. 

“It’s very hard, particularly when you’re in places where you’re seeing people who have no clothing, or don’t have enough to eat,” he said. 

——— 

On the Net: 

United Methodists: 

http://www.umc.org 

ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began training state and local health officials Monday on how to recognize smallpox and quickly contain an outbreak spread by terrorists. 

“It’s a sad day that we feel this meeting is necessary,” said Dr. Walter Orenstein, chief of the CDC’s National Immunization Program. “I hope and pray that this is a big waste of time.” 

The CDC stressed it has no evidence that intentionally released smallpox is any more of a threat than it was before Sept. 11. But about 200 public health workers began three days of classes on how the highly contagious and deadly virus might be spread. 

The virus, which could be much more dangerous than anthrax, causes a pock-like rash all over the body, and can be spread through the air. 

The CDC wants to make sure state and local health officers — the first line of defense against a bioterrorism attack — don’t confuse smallpox in its early stages with less dangerous infections, like chickenpox or syphilis. 

It also wants those officials to be familiar with the CDC’s emergency smallpox plan, released last month, which calls for immediate quarantine of a confirmed case and vaccination of people who came in contact with the infected person. 

“We have a large, susceptible civilian population,” Orenstein said. “The threat of smallpox is probably not zero, although it is close to zero, and given its severity we need to be better prepared.” 

Smallpox appears first as tiny bumps, sometimes too small to be noticed. The bumps gradually swell and become filled with pus, finally turning into contagious scabs that fall off the body. 

Mass vaccination against smallpox ended in the United States in 1972, and the disease was declared eradicated 1980, with small stocks of virus kept at CDC’s labs in Atlanta and in Russia. 

Bioterrorism experts fear some of the Russian stockpile may have fallen into the hands of rogue scientists in other nations. Monday’s speakers listed Russia, Iraq and North Korea as possible sites. 

CDC deputy director Dr. David Fleming urged the state and local officers to plan with their counterparts in law enforcement because an outbreak might require them to use unusual power to quarantine the public. 

Law enforcement might also have to handle a rush for smallpox vaccine if a case is confirmed, Fleming said. Health officials are wary of vaccinating people unnecessarily because hideous side effects and even death can caused by the vaccine in rare cases. 

——— 

On the Net: 

CDC smallpox site: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/smallpox.asp 

A year after a high-profile sexual assault against a 12-year-old student, Willard Middle School still does not have a police officer assigned to its campus. 

Cops are in place at Berkeley High School and the other two middle schools in the district, Longfellow and Martin Luther King. 

“We’re the only [middle school] that doesn’t have one, and we’re off Telegraph Avenue,” said Willard Principal Michele Patterson, who has placed an emphasis on safety this year. “I’d like to have a police officer on my campus.” 

Officer Trina Erby served as a “resource officer” at Willard two years ago until an off-site injury put her out of work. Lt. Cynthia Harris, spokeswoman for the Berkeley Police Department, said that a staffing shortage, spurred by heavy retirement in the last 12 to 18 months, has prevented a timely replacement. 

“We’re in a staffing crisis, but things are improving,” Harris said, pointing out that there are several recruits in training. “We hope to replace the officer up there soon.” 

Mark Coplan, parent of a Willard sixth grader, and district manager for Burns International Security, a private security firm in Fremont, said the department should be doing more, even in

Monday, Dec. 17

National Organization for  

Women (NOW) 

6 p.m. 

Rockridge Oakland Public Library 

5366 College Ave. 

NWPC-NOW joint meeting, “Candidates’ Night.” www.now.org. 

PG&E Care Program 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

Applications and answers provided. 644-6343 

Segmented Stereotypes: Race,  

Gender and Public  

Opposition to Welfare 

noon 

UC Berkeley 

119 Moses (Harris Room) 

Race, Immigration and American Politics Speaker Series - Martin Gilens. Brown bag. Free. 642-4608, www.igs.berkeley.edu 

Tuesday, Dec. 18

The Spirit of Christmas Class 

7 - 9 p.m. 

1250 Addison  

Studio 103 

Explore the metaphysics of the Christmas Story. 540-8844, patricia@newthoughtunity.org. 

Feldenkrais Chair Class for  

Seniors 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com. 

Feldenkrais Floor Class for  

Seniors 

2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com. 

Berkeley Camera Club 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share your slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 525-3565. 

Wednesday, Dec. 19

Blanket Drive for Afghan  

Refugees 

daytime 

Black Pine Circle School 

2027 Seventh St. 

A large truck will be parked outside the lower school for collection of clean, serviceable, blankets, quilts, and sleeping bags. These will be delivered to the American Friends Service Committee in San Francisco, then shipped to refugee camps in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. 526-4771, nanscape@yahoo.com. 

Feldenkrais Classes for  

Seniors 

10:30 and 11:45 a.m. 

Jewish Community Center 

1414 Walnut 

Gentle movement class for older adults. Free. ellmor1@home.com 

Lecture Series on Women  

Medieval Mystics 

7:30 - 9 p.m. 

All Souls Parish 

2220 Cedar St. 

Three Women Mystics: An Advent Lecture Series. Exploration of their spiritual quests designed to offer a new sense of spiritual possibilities in modern times. Free. Supervised childcare will be provided. 848-1755. 

Thursday, Dec. 20

Blanket Drive for Afghan  

Refugees 

daytime 

Black Pine Circle School 

2027 Seventh St. 

A large truck will be parked outside the lower school for collection of clean, serviceable, blankets, quilts, and sleeping bags. These will be delivered to the American Friends Service Committee in San Francisco and then shipped to refugee camps in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. 526-4771, nanscape@yahoo.com. 

Islamic Cultural Celebration 

7:30 p.m. 

La Peña Cultural Center  

3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Mark the end of Ramadan with music, poetry, and stories from various parts 

of the Islamic world. Proceeds will be donated to RAWA. $10. 849-2568, www.lapena.org. 

Friday, Dec. 21

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Berkeley Women In Black  

Vigil 

12 - 1 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. at Haste 

(Outside Cody’s Books) 

Vigil in support of Women in Black in Jerusalem against military solutions to end the occupation of Palestine. 

Saturday, Dec. 22

Santa's Solstice Bazaar 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Metaversal Lightcraft 

1708 University Ave. 

Come shop while kids visit with Santa for free. Fine arts, crafts, 

clothing and gift booths in a magical and colorful scene. 644-2032, www.lightcraft.org. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers -- jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market  

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Martin Luther King, JR. Civic Center Park 

Fair will include organic produce, handcrafted gifts, live choral music, massages, and hot apple cider. 548-3333, www.ecologycenter.org 

Magic School Bus Video  

Festival 

10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Drive, above UC Berkeley Campus 

Ms. Frizzle takes her skeptical class from outer space to inside a dog’s noise in seven different video adventures. Free popcorn and free magic school bus gift. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Sunday, Dec. 23

A Service of Lessons and  

Carols 

4 p.m. 

St. Augustine Church 

400 Alcatraz 

The St. Augustine Choir fill an afternoon with carols. 653-8631. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers -- jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Julia Morgan Center for the  

Arts Features A Celtic Peace:  

A Bay Area Celtic Christmas  

Celebration 

7:30 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Theatre 

2640 College Ave. 

"A Celtic Peace," an evening of Irish music and dance for the whole family. This musical program is dedicated to world peace. $10 adults, $5 children. 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Compiled by Guy Poole

Editor:  

I was surprised by the story on Willard Middle School and its “new day.” The day before the story appeared there was a terrible fight at Willard between two girls, it was not the first this year.  

But more troubling is the lack of day-to-day discipline. Students walk into classes late, constantly interrupt teachers with conversations etc. and there are no consequences. My son’s teachers are all excellent, but they are hampered by the lack of a schoolwide plan for dealing with minor infractions. The small things lead to big problems. 

The Winter Dance was cancelled, even though the first one went well. Students have been told they cannot wear pajamas for a Spirit Week pajama day, the school is fanatical about keeping children from wearing hats. 

What our kids wear seems more important than what they do. 

My observations and those of other parents not interviewed for your story is that things are different this year, but not much better. 

Tonia Johnson 

Berkeley 

924 Gilman Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic,Breaker, Some Still Believe; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Dec. 18: Panacea; Dec. 19: Whiskey Brothers; Dec. 20: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 27: Keni “El Lebrijano”; All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

Anna’s Dec. 17: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 18: Tangria Jazz Trio; Dec. 19: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 20: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Dec. 21: Anna and Percy Scott on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 22: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 23: Jazz Singer Ed Reed; All music starts 8 p.m. unless noted. 1801 University Ave., 849-2662. 

Ashkenaz Dec. 18: 8 p.m., Tom Rigney & Flambeau, $8; Dec. 19: 8 p.m., The Earls, $10; Dec. 20: 8 p.m., Darol Anger, Scott Nygaard and the Improbables, $8; Dec. 21: 8 p.m., “Celebrating the Life of David Nadel,” Aux Cajunals, Nigerian Bros., Tropical Vibrations, $8; Dec. 22: 9:30 p.m., Sensa Samba, $11; 1317 San Pablo Ave., 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.  

Club JJang-Ga Dec. 22: Heaven & Hell, Blue Period; Dec. 29: Deducted Value, 3rd Rail, Noiz, Un Sed; 400 29th Ave., Oakland, (925) 833-7820, savageproductionssl@yahoo.com. 

Cal Performances Jan. 20: 3 p.m., Midori and Robert McDonald. $28 -$48. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph. 642-9988 

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

Freight & Salvage Coffee House Jan. 6: Allette Brooks. All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. Call 548-1761 for prices or see www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Julia Morgan Theatre Dec. 23: 7:30 p.m., an evening of Irish music and dance with Todd Denman and friends. $10, $5 children; Dec. 31: 8 p.m., New Year’s Eve Gala Concert, Program of classical favorites of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra; Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, sizzling program of classical party music; Jan. 12: 8:p.m., “Club Dance,” Teens come together to express their individual personalities and gifts as dancers. $10, Students and Seniors $6, Children ages 5 and under $6. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Dec. 19: Spectraphonic; Dec. 20: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 21: Crater; Dec. 22: Post Junk Trio; Dec. 27: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 28: Ben Krames & Candlelight Dub; Dec. 29: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Kirk Tamura Trio; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Dec. 23: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568, www.lapena.org 

“Music on Telegraph” Dec. 22: Kaz Sasaki Duo, Blackberry Ginger, 2520 Durant; Dec. 23: Almadecor, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; All shows 2 - 4 p.m., Free. 

Rose Street House Dec. 25: 3 p.m., Annual “Dykelah Escape-from-you-know-what-day Musical Extravaganza!”; Jan.17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@yahoo.com. 

Yoshi’s Jazz House Dec. 17: Tribute to Cal Tjader featuring Spectrum; Dec.18 - 23: Charlie Hunter; Dec. 26 - 31: New Year’s Fiesta, The Afro-Cuban Jazz Masters; Jan. 2 - 6: Charles Lloyd; Jan. 13: Jacqui Naylor Quartet; All shows at 8 p.m., and 10 p.m., unless noted. 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakland. Check for prices and Sunday Matinees, 238-9200, www.yoshis.com. 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Dec. 18: 8 p.m., under the direction of Maestro Kent Nagano, plus the world premiere of Ichiro Nodaira’s “Kodama” written for and featuring Mari and Momo Kodama. $21 - $45; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 841-2800, jeaston@berkeleysymphony.org. 

“Dotha’s Juke Joint: Everett and Jones Barbeque” Dec. 21: 8 & 10p.m., Faye Carol and her Off the Hook Blues Band, $15; Jack London Square, 126 Broadway at Second St., reservations, 663-7668.  

The Oakland Interfaith Youth Gospel Choir’s 5th Annual Christmas Concert Dec. 22: 7 p.m., “The Reason Why We Sing”; The Regents Theater, Holy Names College, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland, 839-4361, www.oigc.org. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley Jan. 6: 3 p.m., Stephen Genz in his West Coast debut; 2345 Channing Way, 527-8175, www.geocities.com/mostlybrahms. 

“Much Ado About Nothing” Through Jan. 8: Check theater for specific dates and times. Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy chronicles a handful of soldiers returning from a winning battle to be greeted by a gaggle of giddy maidens. Directed by Brian Kulick. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

“Every Inch a King” Jan. 11 through Feb. 9: Thur. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m.; Three sisters have to make a decision as their father approaches death in this comedy presented by the Central Works Theater Ensemble. $8 - $18. LeValls Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. 558-1381 

“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 Jan. 3: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Unfinished Song; Jan. 4: 7 p.m., 9:15 p.m., Going By; Jan. 5: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Under the Moonlight; Jan. 6: 1p.m., 3 p.m., Paper Airplanes, 5:30 Shrapnels in Peace; Jan.10: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., ABC Africa; Jan.11: 7:30 p.m., The Girl at the Monceau Bakery and Suzanne’s Career, 9:05 p.m. The Sign of the Lion with Place de l’Etoile; Jan. 12: 7p.m., La Collectionneuse, 8:50 p.m., My Night at Maud’s; Jan.13: 1p.m., 3p.m., Os 

Landmark East Bay Shattuck Theater Dec. 21: How High, The Royal Tenenbaums; Dec. 25: Ali; Jan. 4: Kandahar; Jan. 11: Vengo; Jan. 18: Life and Debt; Jan. 25: Metropolis; Jan. 29 & 30: Spy Game; Feb. 1: Little Otik; Feb. 8: What Time is it There; Feb. 15: The Town is Quiet; Feb. 22: Chop Suey; Mar. 1: The Fluffer.  

Landmark East Bay Piedmont Theater Dec. 28: The Royal Tenenbaums; Jan. 4: Gosford Park. 

Landmark East Bay Act Theater Dec. 21: Devil’s Backbone; Jan. 25: In the Bedroom. 

Landmark East Bay Albany Theater Jan. 4: Gosford Park. 

Landmark East Bay Act 1&2 Theater Midnight Movies Jan. 2: Raiders of the Lost Ark; Jan. 9: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure; Feb. 16: Raising Arizona; Feb. 23: The Matrix; March 3: Better Off Dead; March 9: True Romance; March 16: Ghostbusters; March 23: Running Time (Bay Area Premiere); March 30: Aliens; April 6: The Neverending Story.  

“Veiled and Revealed” Through Dec. 23: Human beings, costumed in native dress are captured by visual artists in a seven-person exhibit. Sat. Dec. 8, 15, and 23, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. Simultaneously showing at ART-A-FACT, 1109 Addison St., and Metaversal Lightcraft, 1708 University Ave. 848-1985 

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” Dec. 19 through Jan. 8: An exhibit featuring Kathleen Flannigan’s drawing and furniture - boxes, tables, and mirrors, all embellished with images of the beauty and innocence of the natural world. Addison Street Windows, 2018 Addison St. 

“From With These Walls” Jan. 5: Educational studio opening celebration gallery show of student works in steel, bronze, aluminum, cast iron, glass, neon, ceramic, stone and paper; jewelry. The Crucible, 1036 Ashby St. (Entrance is one block south on Murray St.) 843-5511, fran@thecrucible.org. 

“Carving, Canvas, Color: Art of Julio Garcia and Wilbert Griffith” Through Jan.12: Brightly colored wooden figures and colorfully detailed paintings. Gallery is open by appointment and chance, most weekdays 10:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.; The Ames Gallery, 2661 Cedar St., 845-4949, amesgal@home.com 

“Matrix 195” Through Jan. 13: German artist, Thomas Scheibitz’s, first solo museum exhibition in the United States showcases semi-abstract representations of everyday objects and landscapes. Wed., Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $3-$6. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Ardency Gallery, Mark J. Leavitt, “Analogous Biology: Balance and Use,” Dec. 20 through Jan. 19; Tue. - Sat., 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., 709 Broadway, Oakland. 836-0831, www.artolio.com. 

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 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” Dec. 19 through Feb. 2: An exhibition of painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography and more by Bay Area and  

regional artists. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., www.proartsgallery.org. 

Traywick Gallery: “New Work by Dennis Begg and Steve Briscoe” Jan. 5 through Feb. 9: Dennis Begg’s sculpture explores memory as the building block of consciousness, learning and experience. Steve Brisco’s paintings on paper address issues of identity through evocative combinations of text and imagery. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., 1316 10th St. 527-1214 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” Through Feb. 15: 18 homeless and formerly homeless elders reveal how they learned and applied wisdom that is timeless. Mon. - Fri. and Sundays 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Reception and presentation by the elders Thurs. Nov. 15, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Free. St. Mary’s Center, 635 22nd St., Oakland, 893-4723 x222 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” Dec. 12 through Mar. 10: A selection of photographs and memorabilia presenting a different perspective on Adam’s career as one of the leading figures in American photography. Wed, Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $4- $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Migrations: Photographs by Sebastiao Salgado” Jan. 16 through Mar. 24: Over 300 black-and-white photographs of immigrants and refugees taken by the Brazilian photographer. Wed. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. $4 - $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.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, www.atelier9.com. 

Readings 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Jan. 8: Theodore Hamm discusses “Rebel and a Cause: Caryl Chessman and the Politics of the Death Penalty”; Jan. 10: Joan Frank reads from her new book, “Boys Keep Being Born”; Jan. 11: Christopher Hitchens, “Letters to a Youn Contrarian”; Jan. 14: Pamela Logan talks about “Tibetan Rescue: A Woman’s Quest to Save the Fabulous Art Treasures of Pewar Monastery”; All events are free and start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852. 

Coffee With A Beat - Word Beat reading series Dec. 22: Debra Grace Khattab, Jesy Goldhammer; Dec. 29: Steve Arntson, Michelle Erickson, Clare Lewis; All readings are free and begin at 7 p.m., 458 Perkins, Oakland, 526-5985, www.angelfire.com/poetry/wordbeat. 

“World Ground Poetry” Dec.19: 7-9 p.m., Featuring Abdul Kenyatta & Paradise Freejahlove Supreme; World Ground Cafe, 3726 Mac Arthur Blvd., 482-2933, www.worldgrounds.com. 

Tours 

Golden Gate Live Steamers Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Lomas Cantadas Drive at the south end of Tilden Regional Park Small locomotives, scaled to size. Trains run Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., noon to 3 p.m., weather permitting. 486-0623  

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 

Museums 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. 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 “Kwanzaa Community Celebration” Dec. 30: 12-4 p.m.,Nia Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that honors black family history; Through Jan. 13: Grand Lyricist: The Art of Elmer Bischoff, featuring paintings and works on paper that trace the evolution of Bischoff’s career. $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 Dec. 26: 1 p.m., Professor Smart’s Fun with Physics Show; Dec. 27: 1 p.m., Slapstick with Derique; Dec. 28: 1 p.m., Rhythmix; Dec. 29: 1 p.m., Magic with Jay Alexander; Dec. 30: 1 p.m., Music and Storytelling with Dennis Hysom; Dec. 31: 1 p.m., New Year’s Eve Party, special daytime holiday party for kids; Dec. 26 through 31: Free Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb; Through Jan. 26: Scream Machines: The Science of Roller Coasters; “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; Open daily, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley, 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org. 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.

Sharper scores 24 vs. Bethel 

The St. Mary’s boys’ basketball team are touted as one of the tops teams in Northern California, and on Saturday they finally lived up to their reputation, dominating Jesse Bethel, 69-46 in Berkeley. 

Senior John Sharper, forced to play the point while DeShawn Freeman recovers from a stress fracture, finally had a breakout offensive performance, pouring in 22 points in the first half as the Panthers took a 48-24 halftime lead. Sharper finished with 24 points to lead all scorers. 

“John’s getting used to his new role, and he’s been shooting better and better,” St. Mary’s head coach Jose Caraballo said. Sharper had four 3-pointers in the game, matched by teammate Tim Fanning, who scored 12 points. 

Derek Deven came off the bench to lead Jesse Bethel with 21 points, but no other Jaguar scored more than 7. The starters combined to score just 18 points. 

St. Mary’s came out playing hard on defense, pressuring the Jaguars into 12 turnovers in the first quarter. Sharper and Fanning were on fire in the opening period, combining to hit five 3-pointers to take a 24-12 lead. Fanning was a perfect 3-for-3 from the arc in the quarter, and forward Chase Moore and center Simon Knight controlled the boards, pulling down four rebounds each. 

“We were able to force some turnovers early, and that gets us easy scores,” Caraballo said. “My kids just came out and played hard right away.” 

The second quarter looked a lot different, with Jesse Bethel managing to commit just one turnover, but the result was exactly the same, with the Panthers again outscoring them 24-12 to take a 48-24 lead at halftime. Sharper scored 14 points in the quarter and Moore contributed six more. showing good versatility for a 6-foot-4 power forward. Moore stepped out and played the point for a few possessions, then went inside for an easy bucket. 

Moore, who scored 14 points in the game, continued to show his skills after the break, as he and Fanning hit back-to-back 3-pointers to stake the Panthers to a 30-point cushion. A minute later, Moore pulled down a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a driving layup, giving his team its biggest lead of the game at 60-28.  

The Panthers started to slow it down a bit after that, but Caraballo didn’t call off his pressure defense until halfway through the fourth quarter even though the victory was well in hand. The coach said his team, which has been depleted by injury and sickness all season, needed to work on some things defensively. 

“We were just practicing,” Caraballo said. “I haven’t had more than three or four 5-on-5 practices this year, so we needed to stay in our defense and do wome work.” 

The Panthers were impressive on offense, taking care of the ball with just 8 turnovers through the first three quarters before getting careless in the final period. With Freeman out until next month, the players are still getting used to playing with Sharper at the point. After winning the Division IV state championship last year, the Panthers will move up to Division I for the playoffs this season, and that means they’ll need to be hitting on all cylinders in February and March. With Freeman back as the quickest point guard around, Sharper and Fanning on the wings and Moore and a much-improved Knight down low, they could surprise some of the bigger schools. But Caraballo knows they’re not ready just yet. 

“We’re nowhere near where we need to be if we’re going to make a deep run,” he said. “But we’re working hard, and hopefully we’ll get healthy real soon.” 

Neighbors give mixed reviews Two empty lots in different parts of the city, both former Chevron stations, have presented different challenges for developer Avi Nevo and his company, Aldar Investments.  

For the first, a long-defunct space in the heart of the Solano Avenue shopping district, Aldar proposed a two-story office and retail building that has earned everyone’s affection, including that of the hard-to-please Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association. 

For the second, which lies between the Gourmet Ghetto and the KFC outlet on North Shattuck Avenue, the developer has pushed a five-story housing project that has been partially derailed by hostile neighbors and a unanimous thumbs-down from the city’s Design Review Committee. 

The proposed building at 1820 Solano Ave., which was approved by the Zoning Adjustments Board Thursday night, would have five retail outlets at ground level facing Solano and office space above. 

The ZAB voted unanimously in favor of the project, and many board members praised the building’s look. There was some concern, though, over its impact on parking in the neighborhood. Nevo and David Trachtenberg, the building’s architect, had asked the ZAB to grant their application even though they would be providing six fewer parking spaces than the building code required. 

The developers compensated for the shortfall by installing a bicycle locker and shower for office employees and promising to require businesses that move into the building to provide transit passes for their workers. 

That, plus some allowances the board made for the unusual topography of the lot, sealed the deal for a

The Berkeley Daily Planet received this letter addressed to Mayor Shirley Dean and the City Council: 

This letter is to support Policy T-35 of the Draft General Plan, in the hope of slanting future development of downtown Berkeley toward grass, trees and people, and less toward yet more shiny, idle sheet metal sitting in glaring possession of public sites. 

More parking downtown will simply render the area more vehicle-friendly. The past year has seen some tragic pedestrian deaths by motor vehicle in Berkeley. One of the worst only a few blocks from our home, that of a lovely young woman crossing Shattuck on a green light, some months ago. Statistically, more vehicles must result in more such incidents. 

Those of us who bike or walk are perhaps asking too much of our elected representatives: ours is, after all, a car culture. No community in this country will in the foreseeable future follow the example of some small European cities to establish a Ringstrasse, within which only public transportation and city-owned ride&leave bikes are permitted. This would give us the most humane and safe environment, but it won’t happen any time soon. 

But we can, at this point, adopt a moratorium on new parking. Traffic history in this, the most vehicularized country in the world, clearly shows that new provisions for automobiles are quickly maxed out, resulting in an exponential demand for ever more parking, still more roads. And our communities stew and steep in the exhaust fumes of ever greater numbers of stalled, idling automobiles. 

We cannot cure the automotive malaise anytime soon, but we can refrain from worsening it, limiting the magnitude of the mess that must be dealt with eventually. Please do not yield to the mercantile and automotive voices; this is a lot to ask, for they are very vocal, well moneyed, and represent the upper strata of the social hierarchy. To ask a political leader to stand firm in the face of all this may well be unreasonable. But Berkeley isn’t just any community. 

We initiated here the national movement that stopped the Vietnam venture; fruit pickers protection and representation began here, back in the ’60s. If a stand against the motor minds of the country is to start anywhere, this is the place, you are the people. 

Donald Schweter 

Berkeley

’Jackets win Mel Goode Classic

The Berkeley High boys’basketball team won the Mel Goode Classic on Saturday, beating Vallejo, 56-45, in the final. 

Berkeley sophomore point guard Shawn Burl was named the tournament MVP after scoring 12 points against Vallejo. Forward Damien Burns also scored 12 in the game. 

Vallejo sophomore DeMarcus Nelson, who considered tranferring to St. Mary’s this summer, scored a game-high 25 points in the loss. 

Berkeley plays two tough games this week, with St. Joseph on Friday and Riordan on Saturday. Both games will be played at Berkeley’s Donahue Gymnasium and will start at 7:30 p.m. 

St. Mary’s girls fall to Northgate in tourney final

Northgate overcame a slow start to beat St. Mary’s, 44-29, in the final of the Walnut Creek Holiday Classic on Saturday. 

London McCurry scored 21points for Northgate, including 16 in the first half, while Nateanah Fripp led the Panthers with 10 points. 

Northgate trailed, 7-5, after one quarter but came back to take a nine-point lead at halftime, and St. Mary’s never led again.

When Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory announced the closure of its Tritium facility last September, many city officials and residents breathed a sigh of relief. But now a neighborhood organization is raising concerns about how the laboratory will dispose of left over radioactive and chemically toxic materials. 

Last September LBNL announced the December closure of the National Tritium Labeling Facility and an estimated $1 million decommissioning and decontamination process.  

The facility, which was managed by LBNL, provided medical researchers with the radioactive isotope tritium. The lab attached the tritium to pharmaceuticals and other medical compounds, in a process known as labeling, so the compounds can be accurately traced as they course through the living organisms. 

The facility, which opened in 1982, has been controversial since 1996 when a neighborhood group, the Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste, began asking

Editor: 

At the Dec. 13 meeting of the Berkeley Democratic Club, former mayor of Berkeley Loni Hancock, who is running for State Assembly, stated that the repeal of Costa-Hawkins should not be part of the Housing Element of the General Plan.  

In fact, one of her supporters is none other than Nick Petris, who cast the deciding vote for passage of the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act; at the time, Mr. Petris was considered one of the most liberal state senators representing the East Bay. Ms. Hancock is also supported by City Council members Breland, Maio, and Spring.  

Costa Hawkins was passed as a response to the catastrophic results of radical rent control in cities such as Berkeley, Santa Monica, East Palo Alto, Cotati and West Hollywood; it allows owners to set a market rate rent on vacant apartments (vacancy decontrol). 

To say that vacancy decontrol should be repealed basically says that we should go back to the housing policies of the eighties. The Census figures best explain the implication of this approach. 

In 1980, when the rent ordinance was implemented, 35 percent of Berkeley housing units were owner occupied, by 1990 this number had increased to 44 percent, which translates into a net loss of 3,967 rental units converted to owner occupancy, or a loss of 8,330 tenants for the decade (using the Census figure of 2.1 persons per household). The data were provided by a September 1993 city of Berkeley document.  

Now let us analyze who were some of these tenants who “disappeared” during the eighties due to the effects of rent control. The number of female head of household with children under 18 plummeted from 3,072 to 2,345, a 23.7 percent reduction; compare this to the statewide increase of 15.9, and the countywide increase of 2.8 in this category. 

The number of Social Security recipients dropped 6.9 percent in Berkeley during the eighties, while all other comparable size cities experienced increases in this category. 

The percentage of lower income renter households also decreased by 10.8 percent in Berkeley, while increasing in nearly all other Bay Area cities (lower income is defined as the category of low and very low income). 

The number of households with public assistance income dropped by 12.7 percent in Berkeley while increasing statewide by 17.7 percent. 

Lastly, Berkeley had the distinction of experience a decrease in the population of residents between the ages of 5 and thirty four.Berkeley was also the only city in which the number of students diminished according to the Census. The UC Housing and Transportation biannual survey confirm this trend showing a steady decrease in the number of students living in Berkeley private housing:, the percentage of students residing in the city for 1992, 1994, and 1997 were 48.5 percent, 52.2 percent and 54.0 percent respectively. (Costa-Hawkins was implemented in 1996). 

(During the decades of the sixties and seventies,before the passage of rent control, the percentage of students living in Berkeley private housing remained fairly constant at 62-64 percent). 

Clearly the trend was reversed with vacancy decontrol (Costa-Hawkins). The Rent Board’s own 1998 survey released in February 1998 showed that in the Campus /Downtown sub-area, the percentage of student households increased from 28 to 44 percent comparing the years 1988 and 1998. 

Thus calling for the repeal of Costa Hawkins in the Housing element of the General Plan basically says that we should repeat the mistakes of the eighties in which the city of Berkeley saw a decrease in female headed households, the poor, the elderly and students. 

To quote professor Michael Tietz of the Public policy Institute of California: “Finding ways to build alliances that could support moderate regulation while relaxing constraints on development might make more sense than fighting the same wars over and over.” 

Robert Cabrera 

President, Berkeley Property Owners Association

LOS ANGELES – Two Jewish Defense League members accused of terrorist activity thanked their supporters Sunday and asserted they would be found innocent of the charges against them. 

JDL chairman Irv Rubin and JDL member Earl Krugel issued a statement Sunday calling their arrest “politically motivated.” The statement was played on a JDL office telephone message, recorded by an unidentified male voice. 

The pair supported their statements by referencing a New York Times Internet article Sunday that said, in part, “federal officials in Los Angeles said the case (against Rubin and Krugel) should put to rest complaints that the authorities have been singling out Arabs and Muslims in their terrorism investigations since the attacks of Sept. 11.” 

The recorded statement also called the case “a political prosecution.” 

Rubin and Krugel were charged Dec. 12 in federal court for allegedly plotting to bomb a Culver City mosque and the office of Lebanese-American Rep. Darrell Issa, R-San Clemente. 

Authorities say they were tipped to the alleged plan in October by an unidentified informant who was a longtime JDL member. 

Rubin and Krugel are expected to plead innocent to the charges at a Dec. 31 arraignment and could end up facing more than 30 years in prison if convicted. 

On Sunday, Rubin and Krugel also thanked supporters who have donated money to their defense, adding: ”(To) ... people that believe they (Rubin and Krugel) were set up. The people that believe this is a political prosecution.” 

Rubin and Krugel also declared that anti-Semitic sentiment was widespread, citing a piece in the Opinion Section of Sunday’s Los Angeles Times written by Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. 

Cooper wrote, in part, “Jews, far from having their religion celebrated, have been confronted with new and virulent strains of anti-Semitism.” 

The JDL recording stated that “anti-Semitism is alive and well.”

Traffic monitor hit by car

BERKELEY – The city’s plan to help pedestrians cross intersections by providing small, bright-orange flags took a hit Friday when a Jeep struck a 53-year-old woman carrying one of the banners. 

The woman was not seriously injured. 

Berkeley implemented the plan this week in hopes that it would force drivers to take note of pedestrians at some of the city’s most dangerous intersections. 

Pedestrians take one of the flags, cross the street and leave it in the holder on the other side. 

That’s what Susan Wood did before the Jeep struck her. The Jeep’s driver, Maya Bacha of Pleasant Hill, was cited for failing to yield the right of way to a pedestrian. 

The accident did not dampen the enthusiasm of Berkeley officials, who say the program will help protect pedestrians in the long term. 

City imposes new stricter wood-burning regulations

BERKELEY – Planning to build a new house in Berkeley? You’ll have to nix plans to curl up in front of a fireplace. 

The city has imposed what may be the strictest wood-burning regulations in the Bay area. It hopes to reduce health risks from polluted air. 

New fireplaces and commercial open-fire appliances, such as wood-fired pizza ovens or mesquite grills, are banned under the ordinance. Substantial remodels of existing fireplaces and appliances also are banned. 

Existing structures are exempt, as are appliances that meet strict federal environmental standards. But the ordinance leaves many on both sides of the debate unhappy. 

Critics point out that since new houses are rare in Berkeley, the ban largely is symbolic. Representatives of the wood-burning appliance industry say the ban is based on flawed assumptions about wood smoke dangers. 

Unlike many other jurisdictions, Berekley’s regulations have been inserted into the building code. That makes it easier for the city to enforce, said Nabil Al-Hadithy, manager of the city’s Toxics Management Division.

SACRAMENTO – A Sacramento publisher’s commencement speech was drowned out by hecklers after she began speaking about threats to civil liberties posed by the federal government’s investigation of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

Janis Besler Heaphy, president and publisher of The Sacramento Bee, was delivering the mid-year graduation address at California State University in Sacramento on Saturday. She was interrupted for five minutes by the audience, which began clapping and stomping. 

The heckling began after Heaphy raised questions about racial profiling, limits on civil rights and the establishment of military tribunals. 

University President Don Gerth tried to quiet the audience, but Heaphy stopped speaking after more loud heckling erupted about three-quarters of the way through her eight-minute speech. 

Heaphy told The Sacramento Bee afterward that the hecklers were merely blaming the messenger. 

“This was a message about civil liberties and our acceptance of differing points of view in American society,” she said. “It’s a message that needs to continue to be heard.” 

Gerth said he was upset by the interruption, blaming it on students’ family members and friends in the audience. He said some students approached Heaphy after the ceremony to apologize. 

“Our students have a right to hear our speaker,” Gerth said. “I have never seen behavior like this. It is a day I will never forget. I am not proud of it.” 

Heaphy said the outbursts did not change her opinion and she plans to continue to voice her concerns about potential civil liberties violations. 

“When the university invited me to speak, I thought about what to say. I decided that the message should be one that emphasizes the need to continue to embrace the traditions of liberty that are at the core of American democracy,” she said. “Nothing that happened (Saturday) changes my mind for the need to continue to articulate those values.” 

Gerth said it was the university’s largest graduation crowd ever. The Arco Arena was packed Saturday and can hold more than 17,000 people. 

Heaphy’s speech will be posted in its entirety Monday on the university’s Web site, Gerth said.

MTC sets aside $1.7 million for bus passes for poor students

OAKLAND – Thousands of low-income students in Alameda and Contra Costa counties would get help in paying for bus fare under a plan debated Friday by a regional transit agency. 

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission set aside $1.7 million for a two-year pilot program that would give poor students discount bus passes. 

The size of the discount has yet to be determined. Advocates say thousands of East Bay children have to scrape together their transportation costs each month. 

Nearly 100 sign-carrying students from area schools attended the commission’s meeting and demanded free bus passes. 

Instead, commission members approved a more limited plan. They will try to work out the details and vote for final approval this Wednesday. 

Geologists find fault within S.F. borders

SAN FRANCISCO – Despite its history of destructive earthquakes, geologists have only just now found what appears to be a fault within San Francisco’s borders. 

Scientists say the fault is a relatively benign extension of the Serra Thrust Fault. Until now, that fault had been mapped only as far as Daly City, just to San Francisco’s south. 

The fault poses nowhere near the same threat as the San Andreas Fault, which cuts straight through towns to San Francisco’s south, but heads out to sea just south of the city’s border. 

New details of the little-known thrust fault were presented Friday by San Francisco State University researchers. 

The researchers say the buried fault has not rumbled to life anytime recently and was apparently quiet during both the 1906 San Francisco and 1989 Loma Prieta quakes. 

United Airlines adds security at SFO terminal

SAN FRANCISCO – United Airlines has added another security checkpoint at San Francisco International Airport. 

United hopes to shorten lines for all passengers, but those who travel light or fly first class likely will be happiest. 

That’s because United also created two new security lines Friday. One is for passengers who carry no luggage aboard other than a purse or briefcases, the other, for first-class passengers. 

Large carriers at Mineta San Jose International Airport and Oakland International Airport said they did not plan to offer similar treatment to first-class or light-traveling passengers. 

Most passengers say they are pleased at any effort to speed the wait for security checks at airports. Others say it’s unfair to speed some ticket-holders through security over others. 

Killer oil slick came from one source, state says

SAN FRANCISCO – State officials say an oil slick that killed more than 200 seabirds last month came from a single source. 

Dana Michaels, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Game, said scientists performing chemical tests on seven samples of the oil verified a match Friday. The oil almost certainly came from a ship, rather than from a natural seep, they have concluded. 

Coast Guard investigators now will attempt to match the unique chemical “fingerprint” of the oil to tankers that were in the area when the spill is believed to have occurred. 

On Nov. 24, seabirds coated with oil began washing up at Point Reyes National Seashore and the Farallon Islands off San Francisco. Since then, oiled birds have been found along 125 miles of California coastline, as far south as Monterey. 

Small-business owners optimistic about future

MENLO PARK – A survey of small-business owners found that most are optimistic about the future of their business and the economy and continue to believe the Internet is important to their success. 

The national survey of 976 small business owners, conducted by independent consultants for Homestead Technologies, Inc., found that 86 percent of those surveyed felt optimistic about the future of their own business, and only 9 percent expected to do worse in 2002 than they did this year. 

In addition, 67 percent said they felt optimistic about the U.S. economy, although 23 percent said they didn’t expect the overall economy to improve much in the next six months. 

Despite the recent collapse in technology stocks and the end of the “dot-com” boom, the survey also found that most were still feeling positive about the Internet as a business tool. 

Palestinian woman claims prejudice led to firing

SANTA CLARA – A Palestinian woman has sued Macy’s for firing her from her sales job in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

Alia Atawneh, 28, moved to Santa Clara four years ago with her husband, a Jordanian who’s been a U.S. citizen for more than 20 years. 

Atawneh’s parents also are naturalized U.S. citizens who moved to Bloomington, Ill., after living in Kuwait and Jordan. 

Atawneh alleges, in a suit filed Dec. 5 in Santa Clara County Superior Court, that she lost her job because she’s Palestinian. 

Atawneh, who worked in the men’s department at Westfield Shoppingtown Valley Fair, says Macy’s managers grilled her about her views after she was berated by a customer, and then wrongfully accused her of telling colleagues that “America deserved” the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. 

Macy’s lawyers referred questions to the chain’s public relations office, which refused to comment on pending litigation. 

Five finish 2,757-mile route 

PASADENA – Five New York City firefighters rode triumphantly up to Pasadena’s Old Firehouse on Sunday, the last stop of a cross-country bicycle tour that began Nov. 11 at the site of the World Trade Center. 

A crowd of supporters, including firefighters from Pasadena and nearby towns, met the men under a bright blue sky with cheers and shouts of “F-D-N-Y! F-D-N-Y!” Children clamored for autographs. 

The firefighters had just completed a 2,757-mile trek not to raise funds, but to express thanks to the nation for the support they say has overwhelmed them since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

“It was beautiful, overwhelming, great support from the country,” said one of the firefighters, Matt Hornung, 30, who was wearing bicycle shorts and a red plastic firefighter’s hat. “We intended on thanking people, and people came out and thanked us.” 

Hornung and the other firefighters come from the East Village firehouse of Engine Co. Nine/Ladder Co. 33, a station less than a mile from the World Trade Center that lost 10 men on Sept 11. Pictures of the fallen were displayed on a poster as the cycling firefighters listened to speeches from local officials and a rendition of “America the Beautiful.” 

“To be able to meet them face to face and be part of it for a few hours, it’s a dream come true,” said Pasadena firefighter paramedic Jim Todd, 40, as he watched from the crowd. “They’re the true heroes.” 

The firefighters pedaled down to Georgia from New York, then cut across the South to the West Coast, greeting well-wishers and sleeping in firehouses along the way. 

They rode about 100 miles a day, trailed by a support van driven by a sixth firefighter. 

“It’s been a very long trip, it’s been a great trip, and I wish it would not end,” said Dan “Pappy” Rowan, senior member of the firehouse and the bike tour’s mastermind. The other riders were Hornung, Sal Princiotta, Drew Robb and Gerard Dolan. Ralph Perricelli followed in the van. 

After speeches in front of the Old Firehouse, the firefighters boarded an authentic, privately owned New York Fire Department firetruck which ferried them across the street to a park for more speeches and applause. 

Elated onlookers snapped photos and asked the firefighters to sign their hats. 

“We’re just so proud of them and we wanted to show them how proud we are,” said Pasadena resident Adrienne Wilson, who attended the big event with her daughter Elizabeth. 

“We really admire these fellows, these guys and gals ... It was too good to miss,” said Terry Hartley, a 50-year-old high school librarian from Pasadena. 

The firefighters carried mementos of their fallen co-workers, a golf tee from one, a shoelace from another. 

“We have pictures of them. Of course we think about them all the time, every day,” Dolan said. 

Bethel, Conn., bicycle manufacturer Cannondale supplied lightweight bikes, with red, white and blue paint. The men were flying back to New York on Monday using tickets donated by United Airlines. 

Otherwise, the riders paid their own way, some using vacation days they hadn’t even earned yet.

Advocates say program will reduce landfills 

SANTA CLARITA – It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it. That’s what Santa Clarita plans with a pilot diaper recycling program. 

The 6-to 12-month project will involve 750 families in spring 2002. If successful, curbside diaper recycling will be made available to every home. 

Santa Clarita would be the first city nationwide to have such a program. The method already has been adopted in Ontario and the Netherlands. 

Proponents say it would help Santa Clarita avoid steep fines by meeting the state mandate to reduce its load of landfill trash by 50 percent. 

Advocates also say the commuter city 20 miles northwest of Los Angeles, with an average age of 34, is the ideal place to test a new technology that separates a diaper’s stinky deposits from reusable plastics and wood pulp. 

“This place is a baby factory, man,” said Councilman Cameron Smyth. 

The plan will be subsidized by Canadian firm Knowaste, which developed the technology, $250,000 from city taxes and a matching state grant. 

Opponents say the program could prove too costly to be feasible. U.S. experts estimate it costs an average $32 per ton to dump trash in landfills. The daiper recycling facility would probably have to charge more. 

Councilman Bob Kellar, the only one in the five-member council to oppose the idea, noted three Canadian cities abandoned similar trials during the 1990s after costs skyrocketed, with dumping fees reaching $150 a ton.

SAN FRANCISCO – If your e-mail box is already besieged by unwanted salutations and solicitations, brace yourself – the onslaught is about to get worse. 

Driven in part by anthrax scares, analysts say, e-mail volume will likely grow 45 percent next year, up from recent annual growth rates of 40 percent. 

A lot of it is junk. 

How to get out from under the electronic onslaught? 

Most e-mail programs – Microsoft’s Outlook and Netscape’s Messenger among them – include custom filtering features that most people don’t use. 

While that’s a start, smarter and heavier duty e-mail management tools are also available from a handful of technology start-ups. 

Some are designed to ward off one of the Internet’s biggest nuisances – the slew of marketing pitches commonly known as “spam.” Others promise to help people focus on the e-mail they consider truly important. 

“E-mail is the most popular application on the Internet, but it’s the No. 1 frustration as well,” said Tonny Yu, chief executive of Mailshell, which provides a service akin to Caller ID for e-mail. 

Much of next year’s e-mail volume is expected to be generated by direct-marketing companies. And that means “even more time is going to be sucked away” from people’s lives dealing with spam, says Joyce Graff, an e-mail analyst for the Gartner Group technology research firm. 

By some estimates, workers with e-mail accounts spend an estimated one hour per shift dealing with their incoming messages. 

And that’s the market for Yu’s Santa Clara-based Mailshell, which lets users create different e-mail addresses tied to a single e-mail account. 

For example, John Doe might use “amazon(at) jdoe.mailshell.com” when shopping at Amazon.com and “yahoo(at)jdoe.mailshell.com” when registering at Yahoo.com. E-mail sent to those addresses would then go to Mailshell, which would automatically forward them to Doe’s real e-mail box. 

If Doe is sick of mail coming from a particular source, he could delete the alias from the Mailshell site without losing e-mail from other sources. 

Mailshell offers a basic form of its service for free. A premium version, with more disk space and forwarding options, costs $29.95 per year. 

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of creating a new alias every time you sign up for an online service, several software products promise to block junk mail from reaching your main address. The top-sellers in this niche include SpamKiller and Spam Buster. 

Most of the anti-spam software programs aren’t 100 percent effective, though, because spam senders are constantly figuring out ways around the roadblocks. 

“The software is good at blocking yesterday’s spam, but not tomorrow’s,” said Graff. 

Powerful spam filters also run the risk of blocking legitimate e-mail. 

The problem stems partially from the vague definitions of spam. Some people regard all unsolicited e-mail as spam, whether it be an offer from a pornographic Web site or a chain letter passed along by a friend. Others are OK with certain unsolicited messages, such as those from charities and political organizations. 

By almost any definition, though, spam is proliferating. 

The spam attacks detected by Brightmail, an anti-spam service, have soared from 2,000 a day in mid-2000 to 28,000 during one day last month, said Gary Hermanson, Brightmail’s chief executive. Each attack could include tens of thousands of individual e-mail targets. 

San Francisco-based Brightmail makes software that is installed on e-mail gateways, including those of many major Internet service providers, to block spam and viruses. 

The service draws upon existing spam databases as well as automatic sensors that remain on the lookout for new sources of spam. Graff regards Brightmail and Burlington, Mass.-based Elron Software as the most effective spam filters. 

Other standalone software products are mostly prioritizers. 

Incline SoftWorks, a start-up in Lake Tahoe, Nev., builds eMailBoss around Outlook’s Rules. The software, which only works on Outlook, sorts incoming mail into programmable categories, including “VIP,” “Friends and Family” and “Junk Mail.” 

The software also includes spam-blocking features and will announce aloud when e-mail arrives from specified senders. After a free 30-day trial period, the software costs $39.95.

Student body at Oak Grove have reduced landfill output by almost 90 percent using worms and pigs 

GRATON – Kids do it. Pigs do it. Even worms who only like to squirm do it. What they do at Oak Grove elementary is recycle. And they do it well; students here have reduced their landfill output by nearly 90 percent. 

“We try to be a green school all the way around,” says Fred Hall, custodian, gardener and fervent recycler. 

Tucked into the tree-shaded town of Graton, about 65 miles north of San Francisco, Oak Grove doesn’t look much different than any other small country school. 

But there are subtle differences. 

In a corner of the school yard, rose-pink worms writhe in a pile of rich, black compost made of leftover paper towels, napkins, plant material and food scraps. 

Long, wooden boxes standing outside classrooms are devoted to vermiculture: take a handful of invertebrates and some wastepaper, add a weekly dose of food scraps and — voila! — the worms turn scraps to soil. 

The school lawns were ripped out long ago, replaced by drought-tolerant landscaping and vegetable gardens that supply some of the ingredients for school lunch salad bars. 

Inside every classroom, a formidable array of containers elevates the trash can from humble receptacle to planet-saving spectacle. “There’s no such thing as just a trash can,” says Hall. 

Most rooms have at least four bins, each labeled and color coded, one for mixed paper, one for compost material, one for mixed recyclables and one for nonrecyclable trash. 

Oak Grove went green about 10 years ago in an effort to save a different type of green — money spent on trash collection fees. 

Hall started by hauling school debris to the dump himself. Then, he pulled out the cardboard for recycling. Cardboard led to paper, bottles, aluminum and the current sophisticated system that recycles just about everything and even siphons off lunchroom leftovers to local pigs. 

In the first year, the school saved about $1,400. Hall hasn’t run the numbers lately but he figures they’re saving even more now: The school used to produce about 8 cubic yards of trash per week; now they’re down to 1. That’s a reduction of 88 percent, considerably more than the 50 percent reduction target set for cities and counties by state law. 

Last year, officials estimate, California cities and counties diverted 42 percent of their garbage from going to landfills. 

Oak Grove recyclers are in a class of their own. 

In the front office, a glass-fronted case holds a framed certificate and a gilded trophy, both awards for recycling efforts. One came with $10,000, which is being used to install solar panels on the school roof. 

On a recent day, Naomi Bosch, a third-grader with a winning smile, was on duty at the sorting bins, delving into trash cans supplied by various classrooms. 

A frown crossed her forehead as she pulled a piece of stapled paper out of a “nonrecyclable trash” can. 

“These people weren’t recycling right at all,” she said, her thin treble rising in indignation. 

Recycling is “great. Because it helps Mother Nature and it helps our landfills last longer,” she declared. 

“Did your mom tell you all this stuff?” asked Hall. 

“No,” the 8-year-old said firmly. “I KNOW it.” 

At lunchtime, the recycling action turned frenzied as Hall circulated the room with a plastic bucket, taking uneaten, unopened packages for donation to a food pantry of sorts. 

Amid the buzz of chattering children and the squeak of sneakers on wood — Oak Grove’s cafeteria triples as the school’s basketball court and auditorium — an array of seven trash cans staffed by student monitors stood ready to accept paper, plastic, juice boxes, cans, etc. 

At the end of the line a bin decorated with a picture of a pink, napkined pig with knife and fork at the ready marked the slop bucket that goes to a neighborhood sty. 

Scanning the scraps was 10-year-old Lindsey Fullerton, who slapped her gloved hands together briskly as she surveyed the gruesome mix of leftover tostadas and juice. 

“It feels good,” she said gleefully before plunging her arms into the mess to retrieve stray juice boxes, which were promptly squeezed flat and tossed into the correct container. 

Swine are divine recycling partners, according to Hall, because they’re happy with things like half-eaten sandwiches that don’t go down well with worms. 

The community likes the idea, too. Multiple offers of replacement pigs poured in after the school recently lost its longtime porcine partners when a local farmer retired. A new pigsty is now hogging the lunchroom leftover market. 

Hall estimates the school recycles about 2 cubic yards of paper a week — a stack about 3 feet wide, 3 feet high and 6 feet long. They save about the same amount of cardboard and about half a cubic yard of milk cartons and boxes. 

The result, he figures, is about 32 trees a week. 

“YOU ARE TERRIFIC,” he wrote in a recent letter to teachers and students. 

Hall has noticed that visitors are often struck by the bright outlook of Oak Grove students. 

“We’ve talked a lot about how special everything is and how special the kids are. I think that the whole focus on taking care of things and taking care of the Earth and seeing that they have some importance in that process has an effect,” he said. “These kids seem to be happy.”

SAN FRANCISCO – Burning Man organizers do not understand why the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has doubled fees over the past three years for those wishing to attend the popular festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. 

San Francisco-based Black Rock City LLC is a nonprofit with a $ 5 million budget to pull off the eight-day event every year. It covers a 5-mile section of the desert, 120 miles north of Reno near Gerlach. It ends with the burning of a 40-foot wooden figure. More than 25,000 people attended the event in September. 

It costs $135 to $250 a ticket to get in, but organizers do not rake in all of the money collected at the gate. They have to pay $4 per person to the Bureau of Land Management. 

A fee, they say, is just too much. 

“Before 1999, we paid $2 – then it doubled,” said Larry Harvey, one of the counterculture event’s founders. “That’s a gross inequality.” 

This year, Black Rock City paid the BLM $502,000. Nearly all of that money goes to the district that manages Black Rock Desert. 

But federal officials say they’re not out to gouge Burning Man organizers. The bureau is instead required by law to charge so much for various criteria. 

“We can’t negotiate it,” said Terry Reed, field manager for the BLM’s Winnemucca Field Office. “We can use either cost recovery or a fee schedule – but we have to use whichever is higher.” 

Reed also didn’t dispute the fact that the 16-year-old event, that attracts thousands of artists, techies and soul searchers, has boosted the budget. 

“It has definitely helped us financially,” Reed said. “Our receipts were around $500,000 (for the last event). After expenses – mainly processing and law enforcement – we had net revenues of about $250,000.” 

Harvey calls the fee structure an excuse to take more money. He argues the BLM, which oversees 9 million acres and 80 employees, is out to make a profit from the nonprofit event. 

“Basically, they now see us as a profit center,” Harvey said. “That being the case, they should be trying to encourage rather than throttle us.” 

Harvey said he has no intention of moving the event, which is dependent on the desert’s playa. He also does not plan on increasing admission fees, for fear it would limit the event only to wealthy people. 

“We just need to make BLM understand we can’t sustain these fees,” Harvey said. “They’re crippling us.”

The Berkeley Democratic Club, home to the moderate wing of the city’s Democratic Party, overwhelmingly endorsed Charles Ramsey for the 14th State Assembly District seat and Jacki Fox Ruby for the Alameda County Board of Education on Thursday. Both candidates are up for election in March. 

“I’m just happy and delighted and grateful for the support of the club,” said Ramsey. “I look forward to serving its constituency.” 

Almost 80 percent of more than 100 club members present, voted to endorse Ramsey, a member of the West Contra Costa Unified School Board since 1993. 

Seventeen percent supported former Berkeley mayor Loni Hancock, and 3 percent voted for David Brown, chief of staff for Alameda County Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker. 

In the county’s school board race, 60 percent of the members backed Fox Ruby, a long-time Berkeley teacher. Thirty-six percent voted to endorse incumbent Jerome Wiggins. 

Club members said they were impressed with Ramsey, and troubled with Hancock’s record as mayor.  

“We all like his warmth and his knowledge,” said City Council member Betty Olds, discussing Ramsey’s appeal. “Loni’s history goes against her for this club.” 

Olds said Hancock’s record on certain issues, such as her support for rent control, alienated members of the club.  

The session, which took place at Northbrae Community Church on The Alameda, began with opening statements by the Assembly candidates, one of whom will replace Assemblymember Dion Aroner, D-Berkeley, who must leave office next year because of term limits. 

Brown urged club members to buck Berkeley’s tradition of “machine” politics, and vote for an outsider.  

He also trumpeted his work as a teacher in the Richmond Unified School District, arguing it would be helpful in tackling statewide education issues. 

Hancock touted her experience in economic development and environmental issues as the city’s mayor during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and called on the moderate club to reach across the divide and support her progressive candidacy. 

“Often, this club and I have not agreed on local issues,” Hancock said.  

“I am quite sure we would agree on issues at the state level.” 

Ramsey said he has experience dealing with budget difficulties, like those confronting the state, noting that the West Contra Costa Unified School District went bankrupt only two years before he took a seat on the school board. 

“We all know about earthquakes,” Ramsey said. “Well, I fought the aftershocks.”  

The candidates agreed on most issues discussed, and focused on the importance of education, the environment, affordable housing, healthcare and economic recovery. 

The biggest clash of the night came after a question about Proposition 13 – a 1978 ballot initiative approved by California voters that capped property taxes, once a primary funding source for the state’s public schools. 

A club member, in a written question, asked whether the candidates would vote to repeal the measure. “Yes, I would,” said Hancock. “I think that Proposition 13 was a very bad piece of legislation.” 

Hancock said the measure has led to declining spending on education, and the loss of local control over school policy. 

Ramsey differed. “I think it would be a very irrational act to repeal 13,” he said. “To eliminate a law that has been in place for almost a quarter century would create havoc in the economy.” 

Ramsey, who is African-American, said the rise in property taxes that would result from the repeal of Proposition 13 would hit people of color particularly hard. 

Brown also opposed the repeal of the law, arguing that rising property taxes would harm senior citizens on fixed incomes. “It’s unfair to pull the rug out on them,” Brown said. 

Susan Wengraf, president of the Berkeley Democratic Club, said the debate over Proposition 13 caught her eye. “If Loni is in favor of repealing 13, that really does hit the pocketbooks of long-time residents,” she said. 

Wengraf said that, ultimately, Ramsey’s skill at getting things done set him apart. “I think Loni is an idealist...but I’m not sure she’s effective at implementing it,” she said. “And I think Charles is a problem-solver.” 

Mayor Shirley Dean was also impressed with Ramsey. “I think he came across as a very steady, serious candidate who is well-informed on educational issues,” Dean said, “not on the theoretical level, but on the day-to-day level.” 

Several club members said they liked Brown, but that he was simply too inexperienced at this point to be an Assemblymember. 

Joaquin Rivera, vice president of the Berkeley Board of Education, said the Democratic Club made a good decision in endorsing Fox Ruby, arguing that she could help to heal divisions on the county board, one of Fox Ruby’s leading arguments for her candidacy. 

Kriss Worthington, a progressive City Council member aligned with Berkeley Citizens Action, the more liberal political club in the city, said the BCA will make its endorsements on Feb. 3 at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 

Worthington, who removed himself as a candidate for the Assembly in favor of Hancock’s candidacy, said that he was surprised to hear about Ramsey’s position on Proposition 13. “It’s a pretty shocking position to take in the Democratic Party,” he said, arguing that progressives are pushing for a repeal of the proposition, combined with a shift of the property tax burden from homeowners to commercial real estate owners. 

Saturday, Dec. 15

Calendar Sale Fundraiser for  

Berkeley High School’s 

Communications and Art  

School 

9 - 11 a.m. 

2310 Valley St. 

A variety of calendars to raise funds for video equipment for CAS. 843-2780, lorberlin@aol.com. 

Berkeley Alliance of  

Neighborhood Associations 

9:30 a.m. 

Fire Side Room, Live Oak Park 

Shattuck Ave. & Berryman St. 

A network for and by local people to inform and support a positive future for all neighborhoods. 845-7967, anicoloff@aol.com 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market  

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Martin Luther King, JR. Civic Center Park 

Fair will include organic produce, handcrafted gifts, live choral music, massages, and hot apple cider. 548-3333, www.ecologycenter.org 

Santa’s Solstice Bazaar 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Metaversal Lightcraft 

1708 University Ave. 

Come shop while kids visit with Santa for free. Fine arts, crafts, clothing and gift booths in a magical and colorful scene. 644-2032, www.lightcraft.org. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers – jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Avenue. www.solanoave.org 

Berkeley Artisans Holiday  

Open Studios 

A Self-Guided Tour 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Various locations 

100 artists and craftspeople open their studios to the public. For a map and locations, www.berkeleyartisans.com, or 845-2612. 

Concert for the September  

11th Fund 

7:30 p.m. 

Congregation Beth El 

2301 Vine St. 

An evening of music, joy and community spirit. Adama band, with Achi Ben Shalom. All proceeds support the victims of the September 11th attacks. $18. 848-3988. 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. Free shuttle from Downtown Berkeley Bart. 

Cookie Decorating at the Albany Library 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Albany Library 

1247 Marin Ave. 

Decorate a cookie dove. The finished doves will be donated to a local agency that provides food for the homeless. Free and open to all ages. Light refreshments will be served. 526-3720 x19. 

Borneo Holiday Craft Sale  

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Café de la Paz  

1600 Shattuck Ave. 

The Borneo Project’s second annual holiday craft sale includes artists from around the world. Handmade rattan baskets, mats, beadwork, carved shields, artifacts and weavings. 547-4258, borneo@earthisland.org. 

Crone Moon Ceremony 

7:30 - 9:30 p.m. 

Epworth Church 

1953 Hopkins 

Women of all ages gather in circle to release the past. $10. 874-4935, www.eco-crones.org. 

Solidarity with Nicaraguan Potters 

2 - 4 p.m. 

Anna’s Bistro 

1801 University 

Film on the black pottery of Nicaragua, live music, food, ceramics for sale. Donation requested. 

Sunday, Dec. 16

Community Hanukkah of  

Reconciliation  

5 - 6:30 p.m. 

2215 Prince St. 

Bring your menorah--Everyone welcome. 486-2744, bayareawomeninblack@earthlink.net. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers – jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Avenue. www.solanoave.org 

"Foundations: A Course in  

Theology"  

First Congregational Church of Berkeley 

2345 Channing Way 

Taught by Jennifer DeWeerth, Assistant Dean and Registrar at Pacific School of Religion. 849-8239, www.psr.edu. 

Berkeley Artisans Holiday  

Open Studios 

A Self-Guided Tour 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Various locations 

100 artists & craftspeople open their studios to the public. For a map and locations, www.berkeleyartisans.com, or 845-2612. 

18th Annual Telegraph Ave.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. 

Afghanistan: A Cultural Journey 

2 - 4 p.m. 

Florence Schwimley Little Theater  

Berkeley High School 

1920 Allston Way 

Bay Area Afghan event to raise cultural awareness and money for relief organizations. $5-10 (Children free). 415-244-7449, afghanevent@earthlink.net. 

– Compiled by Guy Poole 

A recent exhibit at the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum explored the concept of environmentally responsible architecture. The buildings presented in the exhibit were designed and built within the past few years and their design was distinctly contemporary.  

But in Berkeley there are many buildings designed in the early years of the 20th century which meet the criteria of environmentally responsible design and provide inspiration to contemporary architects.  

Julia Morgan’s 1929 Berkeley City Club is an excellent example and can serve as an inspiration for contemporary environmentally responsible architecture.  

Rather than building a solid, six-story structure, Morgan designed a Gothic-Romanesque styled reinforced-concrete building with a central tower of six stories flanked by two, two-story wings. The building is not treated symmetrically and the wings are not the same height nor do they have the same decorative detailing or fenestration.  

The interior is designed around two courtyards, which are lushly landscaped. These allow light and air into the center of the building, are large enough for substantial plantings, and provide views of foliage and flowers from various rooms and corridors. The windows are operable and framed in steel, some in a diamond pattern reminiscent of medieval leaded windows. The entrance hall contains a grand staircase with gothic details.  

The building was designed to accommodate a variety of functions and there are reception rooms of various sizes, a large ballroom/auditorium, large and small dining rooms, a library, tearoom, and several floors of residential rooms. On the second floor is an open garden terrace, covered by an awning, overlooking one of the courtyards. The club is well known for its beautiful tiled swimming pool. Morgan also designed the light fixtures, furnishings, dishes, and even the linens.  

The Berkeley City Club, originally the Berkeley Women’s City Club, was organized in the late 1920s as part of the Progressive Era, and is a significant expression of women having attained a place in the community. The City Club was dedicated to cultural, educational, and philanthropic activities.  

Susan Cerny is author of “Berkeley Landmarks” and writes this in conjunction with the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association 

Editor: 

I write out of my own concern about the work environment at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and because it is a situation that I think the taxpayers that fund LBNL should be aware of.  

The Coalition of University Employees has filed a grievance with the Lab on behalf of a female worker (who prefers to remain anonymous) documenting the verbal and physical harassment that she has been experiencing for over three years. Previous to this grievance she had, on numerous occasions, contacted her supervisors and upper level management about the situation and was told to “work it out with him (her harasser).” The alleged harassment has included verbal attacks and physical intimidation including blocking her into her office and violently slamming doors. In one incident a manager in her department allegedly told her “if you don’t shut up, I’ll slap you.” 

Despite the duration and severity of this harassment and the fact that numerous witnesses can attest to its validity, the Lab management has offered no resolution to the situation at the first two steps of the grievance process. The Lab’s lack of effort in remedying this harassment comes at a time when they have also come under fire for other issues of harassment and discrimination. The Lab recently settled a lawsuit that showed that it had illegally performed medical tests on African- American employees that were not performed on other employees. Not a good record for our National Laboratory. 

Lee Purbaugh 

LBNL CUE Chief Steward 

Albany resident 

Splendor of the masters reborn in pages of many fine art booksxZ 

Of course you’d love to give a work of art of heart-stopping beauty to a person dear to you, at this gift-giving season. Perhaps a small Renoir portrait, a folk-art carving, or a museum-quality Oriental embroidered panel? 

Not a hope — such items are often not for sale, and anyway the prices might well be in the thousand- or million-dollar range.  

But don’t give up, the solution is easy, in plain sight: art books, glowing with glorious illustrations. 

As reminders of art seen, and perhaps not currently on view, or as introductions to new works, books condense within their covers an unparalleled power to evoke the splendor and emotion of the originals. 

“American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum” (American Folk Art Museum-Abrams, $75) by Stacy C. Hollander coincides with the opening of the museum’s new building in midtown Manhattan, and Esmerian’s gift of his stunning collection. 

The famous portrait Ammi Phillips painted of “Girl in Red Dress With Cat and Dog” (circa 1830-1835) may be familiar, and yes, we’d all be thrilled to get that as a present — but a fetching variety of other portraits in the collection vie with it in their ability to connect. 

Turning to 3-D objects, how about a comically proud little red-glazed earthenware lion made in Pennsylvania around 1850 — or a suave 6-foot Tin Man (1930), or Dapper Dan (circa 1880) carved in wood? 

No need to gift-wrap them separately, they come with the book, more than half of whose 572 pages are occupied by color photographs, but which also includes a complete catalog of Esmerian’s collection. 

The collection is on show as the inaugural exhibition of the new museum premises through June 2002. 

In contrast to the American museum book, “Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art” (Abrams, $85) introduces us to living artists — we meet about 180, see their portraits and their vibrant work. Dramatic photos of the art works in high-saturation color against black backgrounds exude the energy of the culture. 

Traditional materials, clay, silver, wood, textiles and stone, emerge in forms that range from deeply traditional to quite astonishing, or incorporate both characteristics. 

The work of Manuel Jimenez Ramirez is an example. He’s a renowned wood carver from a village in the state of Oaxaca who fashions figures for creches, but also produces brightly painted fantasy figures based on mythical animals. Illustrations of the latter practically leap off the pages of the book. 

The art works are from the collection of Fomento Cultural Banamex, a Mexico City organization that supports Mexican folk artists and international traveling exhibitions of their works. 

The Asia Society is also marking a reopening with an exhibition and an accompanying richly illustrated book. 

The Manhattan museum’s building, which was closed for renovation and expansion, is now in business again with the exhibition documented in “Monks and Merchants: Silk Road Treasures From Northwest China” (Asia Society-Abrams, $65) by Annette L. Juliano and Judith A. Lerner. 

Stone, ceramic and bronze figures of supreme grace and power are among treasures featured in this collection that many of us would happily see on our living room shelves. Gold and silver jewelry, too, from the same fourth-to seventh-century period are equally pleasing, equally available only to gaze at, but just as generously illustrated in the book. 

The text tells us that many of the objects from this historically significant period and region have been excavated only recently and are new to Western eyes. The exhibition is on view in New York through Jan. 6, and will then be shown at the Norton Museum of Art, Palm Beach, Fla., Feb. 9 to April 21. 

“Souls Grown Deep: African American Vernacular Art” (Tinwood Books, $100) by William Arnett and Paul Arnett brings into focus a richly varied body of work by contemporary grass-roots artists of the South that goes far beyond folk art in its imaginative reach. 

A first volume of this study published in 2000 dealt with the earlier phases of the genre. In this handsome second volume, the authors look at paintings, sculpture and mixed media works of many artists of the 1980s and ’90s, with separate chapters focusing on 30 or so individuals. 

Photos of the works, including many pieces that have never been published, bring vivid life and color to the pages; much of the art is shown in the context of the artist’s home or environment. 

Among books focusing on individual artists, some show recent works that would not fit into any conventionally scaled home. The bookshelf comes into its own with one such, “Anselm Kiefer” (Abrams, $85) by Daniel Arasse. 

Kiefer, born in 1945 in Germany, is often described as controversial for his austere paintings, installations and sculpture, often monumental in size, often with darkly disturbing visual themes related to World War II and its aftermath. 

The book reproduces many of these acclaimed and highly influential works; even in page size, their strength, mystery and stark beauty is evident. 

Among other works about individual artists for those who already love or wish to know more about them: 

“Caravaggio” (Abbeville, $95) by John T. Spike includes new research into the work and life of this marvelous 17th-century Italian painter, who is now often dubbed “the first modern painter.” 

That comes from his robust originality, especially in showing religious scenes in contemporary settings with a realism uncommon for his time. Nearly every work extant by Caravaggio is reproduced in color in the book. 

“Gustav Klimt: Modernism in the Making” (Abrams, $60), edited by Colin B. Bailey, does not solve the question of where art merges into decoration, a question that often comes up when the work of this Austrian artist is debated. It does, however, offer a generous selection of illustrations that conjure up his fin-de-siecle elegance with its contrasts and rich patterns, and its links with Art Nouveau and Symbolism. 

In “Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South” (Thames & Hudson, $65), Douglas W. Druick and Peter Kort Zegers delve deeply into the intense friendship and sometimes rivalry that may have challenged the two artists to make some of the most significant advances in their respective careers. 

Plenty of illustrations back up a text packed with intriguing details, quoted correspondence and anecdotal evidence of the artists’ vivid interactions. This is the companion book to an exhibition of the same title, on show at the Art Institute of Chicago through Jan. 13, and after that at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Feb. 9 to June 2. 

Craft has its own aficionados, and among many books about them, two elaborate very different mediums: 

—“Behind the Scenes of Tiffany Glassmaking: The Nash Notebooks” (St. Martin’s, $50) is an account by Martin Eidelberg and Nancy A. McClelland of the development and production of the famous glass that makes use of unpublished sources and images. 

—“Ottoman Embroidery” (Abrams, $45) by Marianne Ellis and Jennifer Wearden may well inspire many an amateur to go look for needle and thread again. There are detailed pages of color illustrations showing the luxuriant work done during the long period the Turkish empire held sway (late 13th to early 20th century), with working diagrams of stitches. 

Something for absolutely everyone on your gift list? 

Art histories cover the whole spectrum, though many of them need strong wrists to handle — perhaps you’d better include book stands with your gifts. Among those available are two massive slip-cased works of scholarship, with abundant illustrations: 

—“History of Art” (Abrams, $95) is the sixth edition of the reference work first published in 1962. H.W. Janson wrote the original text; his son, Anthony F. Janson, has been its author since his father’s death in 1982. 

—“Art History” (Abrams, $95) by Marie Stokstad, a two-volume second edition of this comprehensive work of scholarship, which first appeared in 1995. 

Finally, in contrast, “The Art of the Piano: Drawings” (Paragon, $24.95 hardback, $16.95 paperback) by John Diebboll is disarmingly portable, almost pocket-size. 

The book’s delicately precise color illustrations are a witty series of designs intended for one-of-kind art-case pianos, drawn by Diebboll, New York-based architect and artist. 

One piano design titled “Tortoise” is for his son, with a simple tortoiseshell-patterned case. Others borrow familiar shapes: see the “Guggenheim,” “Diner” and “Sail” pianos. And of course there’s inspiration from music, as in the “Philip Glass,” “Mingus,” “Aida” and “Carmen” designs. 

The book is a small treasure that will not weigh any recipient down, in any sense. 

924 Gilman Dec. 15: Strung Out, Limp, The Frisk, The Deadlines, The Creeps; Dec. 16: 5 p.m., Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Downway, Audio Crush; Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic,Breaker, Some Still Believe; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Dec. 15: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; Dec. 18: Panacea; Dec. 19: Whiskey Brothers; Dec. 20: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 27: Keni “El Lebrijano”; All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

Anna’s Dec. 15: Jazz Singers Vicki Burns and Felice York; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 16: The Jazz Fourtet; Dec. 17: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 18: Tangria Jazz Trio; Dec. 19: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 20: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Dec. 21: Anna and Percy Scott on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 22: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 23: Jazz Singer Ed Reed; All music starts 8 p.m. unless noted. 1801 University Ave., 849-2662. 

Ashkenaz Dec. 15: 9 p.m., California Cajun Orchestra, $15; Dec. 16: 2 - 5:30 p.m., Alexandria Parafina and The Near Eastern Dance Company belly dance, $ 7; Dec. 16: 7 p.m., Afghan Women’s Benefit Dance, $8 - $15; Dec. 18: 8 p.m., Tom Rigney & Flambeau, $8; Dec. 19: 8 p.m., The Earls, $10; Dec. 20: 8 p.m., Darol Anger, Scott Nygaard and the Improbables, $8; Dec. 21: 8 p.m., “Celebrating the Life of David Nadel,” Aux Cajunals, Nigerian Bros., Tropical Vibrations, $8; Dec. 22: 9:30 p.m., Sensa Samba, $11; 1317 San Pablo Ave., 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.  

Club JJang-Ga Dec.15: Bad Karma, Motiv, Inhalent, Sick Machine, Un Id; Dec. 22: Heaven & Hell, Blue Period; Dec. 29: Deducted Value, 3rd Rail, Noiz, Un Sed; 400 29th Ave., Oakland, (925) 833-7820, savageproductionssl@ yahoo.com. 

Cal Performances Jan. 20: 3 p.m., Midori and Robert McDonald. $28 -$48. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph. 642-9988 

Eli’s Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; Dec. 16: 3-8 p.m., Beverly Stovall Benefit, Jimmy McCracklin, JJ Malone, Jimi Mamou, Johnny Talbott. $10. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Freight & Salvage Coffee House Dec. 15: Robin Flower & Libby McLaren; Jan. 6: Allette Brooks. All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. Call 548-1761 for prices or see www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Julia Morgan Theatre Dec. 23: 7:30 p.m., an evening of Irish music and dance with Todd Denman and friends. $10, $5 children; Dec. 31: 8 p.m., New Year’s Eve Gala Concert, Program of classical favorites of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra; Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, sizzling program of classical party music; Jan. 12: 8:p.m., “Club Dance,” Teens come together to express their individual personalities and gifts as dancers. $10, Students and Seniors $6, Children ages 5 and under $6. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Dec. 15: Norah Jones and Jim Campilongo; Dec. 19: Spectraphonic; Dec. 20: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 21: Crater; Dec. 22: Post Junk Trio; Dec. 27: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 28: Ben Krames & Candlelight Dub; Dec. 29: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Kirk Tamura Trio; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Dec. 16: 5 p.m, Flamenca Community Juerga, Free; Dec. 16: 7 p.m, Modupue & UpSurge, $8; Dec. 23: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568, www.lapena.org 

“Music on Telegraph” Dec. 15: Thelonious On The Move, Bison Brewing, 2598 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 16: Howard Kadis, Musical Offering Cafe, 2430 Bancroft; Dec. 22: Kaz Sasaki Duo, Blackberry Ginger, 2520 Durant; Dec. 23: Almadecor, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; All shows 2 - 4 p.m., Free. 

Rose Street House Dec. 14 & 15: 7:30 p.m., Benefit Concert and Birthday Party, Shelly Doty and grassroots community of women singers and song writers; Dec. 25: 3 p.m., Annual “Dykelah Escape-from-you-know-what-day Musical Extravaganza!”; Jan.17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@ yahoo.com. 

TUVA Space Dec. 16: 8 p.m., A concert of new compositions for string trio by young composers from Berkeley High School. $0 to $20. 3192 Adeline, td@pixar.com. 

Yoshi’s Jazz House Dec. 11 - 16: David Sánchez Quartet; Dec. 17: Tribute to Cal Tjader featuring Spectrum; Dec.18 - 23: Charlie Hunter; Dec. 26 - 31: New Year’s Fiesta, The Afro-Cuban Jazz Masters; Jan. 2 - 6: Charles Lloyd; Jan. 13: Jacqui Naylor Quartet; All shows at 8 p.m., and 10 p.m., unless noted. 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakland. Check for prices and Sunday Matinees, 238-9200, www.yoshis.com. 

“WAVE,” Women’s Antique Vocal Ensemble Dec.14: 7:30 p.m., concert of Christmas music. $10, Students $5. Calvary Presbyterian Church, 1940 Virginia St., 848-9132. 

Bella Musica Chorus and Orchestra Dec. 15: 8 p.m.; Dec. 16: 4 p.m., Fall 2001 Concert, $15; St. Joseph-the Worker Church, 1640 Addison, 525-5393, www.bellamusica.org. 

“The Christmas Revels” Dec. 15: 1 & 5 p.m., Dec. 16: 1 & 5 p.m., celtic music, dance and storry telling. $15-$30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 893-9853 www.calrevels.org.  

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Dec. 18: 8 p.m., under the direction of Maestro Kent Nagano, plus the world premiere of Ichiro Nodaira’s “Kodama” written for and featuring Mari and Momo Kodama. $21 - $45; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 841-2800, jeaston@berkeleysymphony.org. 

“Dotha’s Juke Joint: Everett and Jones Barbeque” Dec.21: 8 & 10p.m., Faye Carol and her Off the Hook Blues Band, $15; Jack London Square, 126 Broadway at Second St., reservations, 663-7668.  

The Oakland Interfaith Youth Gospel Choir’s 5th Annual Christmas Concert Dec. 22: 7 p.m., “The Reason Why We Sing”; The Regents Theater, Holy Names College, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland, 839-4361, www.oigc.org. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley Dec. 15: 2 p.m., “All-Brahms piano recital,” Yu-Ting Chen performs. Free; Jan. 6: 3 p.m., Stephen Genz in his West Coast debut; 2345 Channing Way, 527-8175, www.geocities.com/ mostlybrahms. 

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Dec. 15: 7:30 p.m.California Shakespeare Festival Student Company, presents a comedy with romance. Free. Rehearsal Hall, 701 Heintz St. 548-3422 X114. sunny@calshakes.org. 

“Brave Brood” Through Dec. 16: Robert O’Hara directs Robert O’Hara’s searing tale of money, desperation, and the fight for survival. $20. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305 www.transparenttheater.org 

“Black Nativity” Through Dec. 16th: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2:30 p.m. 8 p.m., Sun. 5:30 p.m.; The birth of Jesus unfolds in this drama written by Langston Hughes. Directed and produced by Betty Gadling. $15 adults, $8 seniors and students, $5 children over 5. Allen Temple Baptist Church, 8501 International Blvd., Oakland 569-9418 www.allen-temple.org 

“The Christmas Revels” Through Dec. 16: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. - Sun. 1 p.m., 5 p.m.; A cast of adults and children present a celebration of the winter solstice that combines dance, drama, ritual, and song. $15 - $30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 510-893-9853 www.calrevels.org  

“Much Ado About Nothing” Through Jan. 8: Check theater for specific dates and times. Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy chronicles a handful of soldiers returning from a winning battle to be greeted by a gaggle of giddy maidens. Directed by Brian Kulick. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

“Every Inch a King” Jan. 11 through Feb. 9: Thur. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m.; Three sisters have to make a decision as their father approaches death in this comedy presented by the Central Works Theater Ensemble. $8 - $18. LeValls Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. 558-1381 

“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 

Film 

Pacific Film Archive Jan. 3: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Unfinished Song; Jan. 4: 7 p.m., 9:15 p.m., Going By; Jan. 5: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Under the Moonlight; Jan. 6: 1p.m., 3 p.m., Paper Airplanes, 5:30 Shrapnels in Peace; Jan.10: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., ABC Africa; Jan.11: 7:30 p.m., The Girl at the Monceau Bakery and Suzanne’s Career, 9:05 p.m. The Sign of the Lion with Place de l’Etoile; Jan. 12: 7p.m., La Collectionneuse, 8:50 p.m., My Night at Maud’s; Jan.13: 1p.m., 3p.m., Os 

Landmark East Bay Shattuck Theater Dec. 14: The Business of Strangers, Tuvalu, Vanilla Sky; Dec. 21: How High, The Royal Tenenbaums; Dec. 25: Ali; Jan. 4: Kandahar; Jan. 11: Vengo; Jan. 18: Life and Debt; Jan. 25: Metropolis; Jan. 29 & 30: Spy Game; Feb. 1: Little Otik; Feb. 8: What Time is it There; Feb. 15: The Town is Quiet; Feb. 22: Chop Suey; Mar. 1: The Fluffer.  

Landmark East Bay Piedmont Theater Dec. 14: Not Another Teen Movie; Dec. 28: The Royal Tenenbaums; Jan. 4: Gosford Park. 

Landmark East Bay Act Theater Dec. 21: Devil’s Backbone; Jan. 25: In the Bedroom. 

Landmark East Bay Albany Theater Jan. 4: Gosford Park. 

Landmark East Bay Act 1&2 Theater Midnight Movies Jan. 2: Raiders of the Lost Ark; Jan. 9: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure; Feb. 16: Raising Arizona; Feb. 23: The Matrix; March 3: Better Off Dead; March 9: True Romance; March 16: Ghostbusters; March 23: Running Time (Bay Area Premiere); March 30: Aliens; APR 6: The Neverending Story.  

Exhibits  

“Berkeley Creations” Dec. 15: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., A group exhibit. Artist-at-Play Studio and Gallery, 1649 Hopkins St., 528-0494. 

“The Paintings of Bethany Anne Ayers and Sculpture of Alexander Cheves” Through Dec. 15: Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Ardency Gallery, 709 roadway, Oakland. 836-0831 gallery709@aol.com 

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

“Veiled and Revealed” Through Dec. 23: Human beings, costumed in native dress are captured by visual artists in a seven-person exhibit. Sat. Dec. 8, 15, and 23, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. Simultaneously showing at ART-A-FACT, 1109 Addison St., and Metaversal Lightcraft, 1708 University Ave. 848-1985 

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” Dec. 19 through Jan. 8: An exhibit featuring Kathleen Flannigan’s drawing and furniture - boxes, tables, and mirrors, all embellished with images of the beauty and innocence of the natural world. Addison Street Windows, 2018 Addison St. 

“From With These Walls” Jan. 5: Educational studio opening celebration gallery show of student works in steel, bronze, aluminum, cast iron, glass, neon, ceramic, stone and paper; jewelry. The Crucible, 1036 Ashby St. (Entrance is one block south on Murray St.) 843-5511, fran@thecrucible.org. 

“Carving, Canvas, Color: Art of Julio Garcia and Wilbert Griffith” Through Jan.12: Brightly colored wooden figures and colorfully detailed paintings. Gallery is open by appointment and chance, most weekdays 10:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.; The Ames Gallery, 2661 Cedar St., 845-4949, amesgal@home.com 

“Matrix 195” Through Jan. 13: German artist, Thomas Scheibitz’s, first solo museum exhibition in the United States showcases semi-abstract representations of everyday objects and landscapes. Wed., Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $3-$6. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Ardency Gallery, Mark J. Leavitt, “Analogous Biology: Balance and Use,” Dec. 20 through Jan. 19; Tue. - Sat., 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., 709 Broadway, Oakland. 836-0831, www.artolio.com. 

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 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” Dec. 19 through Feb. 2: An exhibition of painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography and more by Bay Area and  

regional artists. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., www.proartsgallery.org. 

Traywick Gallery: “New Work by Dennis Begg and Steve Briscoe” Jan. 5 through Feb. 9: Dennis Begg’s sculpture explores memory as the building block of consciousness, learning and experience. Steve Brisco’s paintings on paper address issues of identity through evocative combinations of text and imagery. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., 1316 10th St. 527-1214 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” Through Feb. 15: 18 homeless and formerly homeless elders reveal how they learned and applied wisdom that is timeless. Mon. - Fri. and Sundays 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Reception and presentation by the elders Thurs. Nov. 15, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Free. St. Mary’s Center, 635 22nd St., Oakland, 893-4723 x222 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” Dec. 12 through Mar. 10: A selection of photographs and memorabilia presenting a different perspective on Adam’s career as one of the leading figures in American photography. Wed, Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $4- $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Migrations: Photographs by Sebastiao Salgado” Jan. 16 through Mar. 24: Over 300 black-and-white photographs of immigrants and refugees taken by the Brazilian photographer. Wed. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. $4 - $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.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, www.atelier9.com. 

Readings 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Jan. 8: Theodore Hamm discusses “Rebel and a Cause: Caryl Chessman and the Politics of the Death Penalty”; Jan. 10: Joan Frank reads from her new book, “Boys Keep Being Born”; Jan. 11: Christopher Hitchens, “Letters to a Youn Contrarian”; Jan. 14: Pamela Logan talks about “Tibetan Rescue: A Woman’s Quest to Save the Fabulous Art Treasures of Pewar Monastery”; All events are free and start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852. 

Coffee With A Beat - Word Beat reading series Dec. 15: Norm Milstein, Barbara Minton; Dec. 22: Debra Grace Khattab, Jesy Goldhammer; Dec. 29: Steve Arntson, Michelle Erickson, Clare Lewis; All readings are free and begin at 7 p.m., 458 Perkins, Oakland, 526-5985, www.angelfire.com/poetry/wordbeat. 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore Dec. 11: 7:30 p.m., Lisa Bach, editor of “Her Fork in the Road”, a collection of stories blending food and travel, and a panel of contributors to the anthology, present an evening of readings and discussions. Free. 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

“Rhythm & Muse Open Mic” Dec. 15: 7 p.m., Featuring poets Lara Dale and Mary-Marcia Casoly. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 527-9753 

Shambhala Booksellers Dec. 16: 7 p.m., Eli Jaxon-Bear reads from his new book, “The Enneagram of Liberation: from fixation to freedom.” 2482 Telegraph Ave., 848-8443.  

“World Ground Poetry” Dec.19: 7-9 p.m., Featuring Abdul Kenyatta & Paradise Freejahlove Supreme; World Ground Cafe, 3726 Mac Arthur Blvd., 482-2933, www.worldgrounds.com. 

Tours 

Golden Gate Live Steamers Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Lomas Cantadas Drive at the south end of Tilden Regional Park Small locomotives, scaled to size. Trains run Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., noon to 3 p.m., weather permitting. 486-0623  

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 

Museums 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. 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 “Kwanzaa Community Celebration” Dec. 30: 12-4 p.m.,Nia Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that honors black family history; Through Jan. 13: Grand Lyricist: The Art of Elmer Bischoff, featuring paintings and works on paper that trace the evolution of Bischoff’s career. $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 Dec. 26: 1 p.m., Professor Smart’s Fun with Physics Show; Dec. 27: 1 p.m., Slapstick with Derique; Dec. 28: 1 p.m., Rhythmix; Dec. 29: 1 p.m., Magic with Jay Alexander; Dec. 30: 1 p.m., Music and Storytelling with Dennis Hysom; Dec. 31: 1 p.m., New Year’s Eve Party, special daytime holiday party for kids; Dec. 26 through 31: Free Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb; Through Jan. 26: Scream Machines: The Science of Roller Coasters; “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; Open daily, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley, 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org. 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.

When it comes to Northern California dominance, the Berkeley High girls’ basketball team is usually right up there with De La Salle football. But although the Spartans won yet another NorCal title this season, times may be changing for the Lady ’Jackets. 

Berkeley was outrun, outrebounded and outhustled by the Pleasant Valley Vikings on Friday night, falling 72-61 for their first home loss in at least two years. The loss is the third this season for the ’Jackets, and things don’t get any easier; they head to Phoenix next week for the Nike Tournament of Champions, where they will face some of the top teams in the country. 

Friday night’s loss may have been a wake-up call for Berkeley, as the slower and smaller Vikings used backdoor layups and outstanding foul shooting to beat the vaunted ’Jacket press, committing few turnovers and getting good shots.  

“Today was a good lesson for us,” Berkeley co-head coach Gene Nakamura said. “If we have 40-point blowouts every game we’d never learn anything. They had better fundamentals, and they beat us at our own game.” 

Pleasant Valley point guard Lauren Himmelspach certainly played the role of teacher, shredding the Berkeley defense for 31 points and 6 assists, handling the pressure with ease, and the Viking starting five scored every point for their team. Forward Anna Griffin scored 15, while Erin Gonzales and Jamie Ferguson contributed 13 and 10, respectively. They were 27-of-33 from the free throw line, including a 17-of-20 effort from Himmelspach. 

Pleasant Valley head coach John Shepherd didn’t use his bench much during the game, as Jessica Margia was the only Viking substitutute until the final 30 seconds of the game. Himmelspach played the entire game until the final four seconds, leaving to a standing ovation from the visiting Viking fans and begrudging applause from the Berkeley faithful. 

“My kids just played within themselves, and they didn’t press,” Shepherd said. “They’ve been playing together for six years, and the things I teach are pretty simple.” 

With an up-tempo game and a team famous for their depth, the j’Jackets should have had the Vikings gasping for breath late in the game, but it just didn’t happen. Berkeley got decent production from its starters, with Sabrina Keys and Natasha Bailey leading the way with 14 points each, but the bench, usually a strength, managed just 7 points. 

After an initial bout of nerves that resulted in three straight turnovers to start the game, the Vikings calmed down and didn’t commit another for the rest of the opening quarter. Himmelspach found Griffin on backdoor cuts for two easy layups and drove the lane for two of her own as the Vikings built a 13-10 lead after one quarter.  

Ferguson scored an old-fashioned 3-point play on another backdoor cut, but a Rebekah Payne 3-pointer and Keys turnaround jumper kept it close. The Vikings then went inside as Gonzales scored three times in the post to pump up the Pleasant Valley lead to 29-19, and two Himmelspach free throws made it a 12-point advantage, which they would carry into halftime at 40-28. 

The second half consisted mostly of Berkeley making small dents in their deficit, but the Vikings always answered back with a run of their own. The ’Jackets got closest late in the third quarter when Bailey hit back-to-back treys to cut the lead to 45-39, but Himmelspach hit four straight free throws to put her team back up by 10, and Berkeley wouldn’t get closer than that for the rest of the game. 

“I’m not surprised at all that we lost. That’s why we scheduled them. We knew they were a tough team,” Nakamura said. “What surprised me was the quality of the refereeing. It was horrendous.” 

The officials called two technicals on Berkeley, one on freshman center Devanei Hampton for wrestling for a jump ball too hard, and the other on Berkeley co-head coach Herb Miller for a comment that was directed at Nakamura. Nakamura was upset with what he considered some poor calls when Miller told him not to yell at the officials, and one of the referee’s gave Miller at T. 

“That was some bush league stuff,” Nakamura said. “Herb was talking to me, so how does he get a technical?” 

Regardless, a Berkeley team with three losses with more likely on the way in Phoenix is not what Nakamura imagined to start the season. But he’s confident that his young team will come around in time for the playoffs in February. 

“Come see us at the end of the season, and I think you’ll see a different team,” he said with a wink.

Berkeley police officers exchanged high-fives in Old City Hall Thursday night after the Zoning Adjustments Board voted to shutter the Golden Gypsy Massage Parlor for good. 

City staffers made a convincing case to the board that the so-called massage parlor at 2628 Telegraph Ave. operated, in fact, as a brothel. 

The board was presented with reviews of individual Golden Gypsy prostitutes found on the Internet. Police played a tape of a suspect confessing that he bought sex at the parlor for years, even after the BPD shut it down last July. 

The police also said they discovered about 80 videotapes secretly shot at the parlor during a raid on the house of Thomas Robinson, the parlor’s owner. 

The Golden Gypsy matter seemed incongruous with the ZAB’s usual business of weighing the desirability of new buildings in the city. It does have the power, though, to revoke the Gypsy’s “use permit,” which allows it to conduct business on the site – a power the board exercised with a 7-1 vote. 

The permit, which was awarded in 1977, is for a massage parlor, and it stipulates that no “other activities” are allowed on the premises. 

Though members of the planning staff, the city attorney’s office and the Berkeley Police Department made calm and professional presentations to the board, the tale they told was unquestionably lurid. 

BPD Detective Stan Libed told the board that he was assigned to investigate the case in May, after the department received two letters from concerned citizens: one from a disappointed client who had hoped to get a real massage, and another from a member of a “well-known Berkeley family” who discovered, after hiring a private investigator, that her husband was visiting the site. 

Libed said that another officer searched the internet for references to the Golden Gypsy, and found the reviews that were given to board members before the meeting. He then staked out the building and found condoms and related materials in the dumpster. 

Shortly afterwards, the BPD sent undercover officers into the parlor. They were propositioned, many arrests were made and the business was closed. 

Later, officers conducted a search of Robinson’s home, where they discovered videotapes that they suspected were shot at the Golden Gypsy. 

When they returned to the parlor in October to confirm that the videos were shot there, they ran into a man coming down the stairs. Upstairs, they found a used condom, a bag containing lingerie, $300 and Robinson’s wife. 

Deputy City Attorney Laura McKinney played the board the audio of the man’s confession to police interrogators. The man admitted that he gave the money and the lingerie to Mrs. Robinson, whom he knew as “Lacey.” 

“The $300 was for what?” police asked the suspect. 

“A massage and... other activities,” he answered. 

“What activities, specifically?” 

“Sex.” 

The police asked the suspect to be even more specific, and he complied. 

“When we left the Golden Gypsy, you received a call on your cellular phone,” the officer continued. “Who was it?” 

“Lacey.” 

“What did she say?” 

“She said that she was sorry about what happened.” 

“Did she say anything else?” 

“She said she wanted to have her attorney call me. I told her I wasn’t into that.” 

The ZAB spent very little time discussing whether or not to revoke the parlor’s use permit. Board member Dave Blake, however, did mount an argument in opposition. 

“I think this is a moral issue, and I’m surprised it has gotten this far with the city,” he said. 

Blake said that when considering a revocation, the board normally measured the violator’s impact on the community.  

“It seems to me the worst detriment to the community here is increased parking and traffic,” he said. 

“It’s certainly possible to run a bad house of prostitution. This is a quiet one. I don’t think it’s such a detriment.” 

Board Chair Carolyn Weinberger reminded Blake that they had received a letter from a doctor that works in a medical office near the Golden Gypsy. The doctor said that she was often harassed and even propositioned when she walked past the parlor. 

Blake conceded the point, but not his vote.  

On Friday, he said: “If this were any other misbehaving permit holder, we would have just said, ‘Clean up your act, buddy.’” 

Robinson has the right to appeal the board’s decision to the City Council, but according to Matt LeGrant of the planning department, he will not. 

“The attorney for the property owner at 2628 Telegraph represented in writing, in the form of a letter to the city attorney’s office, that they would not contest the revocation proceedings that the board finished last night,” LeGrant said on Friday. 

The attorney, William Berland, was not present at the meeting. On Friday, a receptionist in Berland’s office said that he refused to comment on the issue.

Editor: 

In her letter to the Planet (12/8-9), Deborah Bahdia of the Downtown Berkeley Association suggests that the draft General Plan’s Transportation Element is “not balanced” with respect to parking and transit. 

She is mistaken. The Plan includes 11 policies and 43 actions related to parking, including actions that specifically call for improving the parking situation for visitors to the Downtown. It has nine policies and 45 actions related to transit. 

For years, the city has, on paper, been committed to transit, but much more has actually been done to accommodate cars than to improve things for transit riders. The City subsidizes parking in its Downtown garages and lots by offering an hour of free parking. About 260 cars park for free each day in the Center Street Garage. Parking is also free on Sundays. And during weekends in December, shoppers in Downtown can also park at meters for free. By charging less than the market rate charged by private garages, the City forgoes tens of thousands of dollars in revenue each year. The Downtown property owners who Ms. Bahdia represents have benefited substantially from these generous subsidies. 

Things are beginning to change. Balance is being restored. The City recently initiated the Eco Pass transit subsidy program for City employees. The Draft General Plan includes other actions for encouraging transit, as well as bicycling and walking. 

Unlike the Downtown Berkeley Association, the Planning Commission has to take a broader view of transportation issues. It has to consider not only shoppers from out of town who complain when they can’t park right in front of a Downtown business, but also Berkeley residents concerned about the growing volume of traffic, which is overflowing onto neighborhood streets. The General Plan EIR identifies traffic as the biggest environmental impact facing the City. The commission also has to consider the mobility needs of the one fifth of Berkeley residents who don’t have cars. 

The challenge is to accommodate some job and housing growth as well as growth in the Arts District without adding additional traffic and air pollution. This can be achieved by a relatively modest mode shift from cars to transit, bicycles and walking. Most drivers will continue to drive, but if a smaller percentage of trips are made by car, then growth can be accommodated without detrimental environmental impacts. The General Plan Transportation Element and the TDM Study recommendations provide the means for meeting this challenge. 

Rob Wrenn,  

chair, Berkeley Planning Commission

City may crack down on local businesses to ward off fakers

Palm readers, fortune tellers and psychic consultants may soon face heightened scrutiny before opening businesses in Berkeley that trade on claims of extrasensory abilities. 

At its meeting Tuesday, the City Council asked staff to examine creating tighter regulations on psychic businesses to ensure that “unscrupulous persons” don’t swindle trusting customers, especially the elderly, frail and lonely.  

“We should at least be doing a background check to make sure that the people opening up these businesses don’t have criminal records,” said Mayor Shirley Dean, who sponsored the recommendation, “My understanding is that now all they have to do is simply open their doors.” 

Dean said she authored the recommendation because of concerns of a long-time psychic business owner who is worried that new psychics in Berkeley are giving the trade a bad name.  

“She would like to see the city regulate this type of business to protect innocent victims and maintain the integrity of her profession,” Dean’s recommendation read.  

Both police officials and Dean said they have not recently heard of complaints of illegal activity at local psychic businesses. 

Currently psychics, like other for-profit businesses, must apply for a business license. According to Planning and Development Principal Planner Matt LeGrant, there are no specific requirements that psychic businesses have to comply with.  

LeGrant said psychic businesses fall into a catch-all category, which requires them to be approved by the Zoning Adjustments Board if they apply for a location in a small commercial district.  

If the application is in a primarily commercial district, such as downtown or along University Avenue, the application can be approved by planning staff without going before ZAB. 

Neither LeGrant nor Economic Development Director Bill Lambert could say how many such businesses currently exist in Berkeley.  

Daniel Sabsay, president of the East Bay Skeptics Society, an organization dedicated to a comprehensive and responsible examination of contemporary claims of fringe science and “paranormal” phenomena, said that creating stiffer regulations for psychic businesses could backfire on the regulators. 

“The problem is that issuing these businesses a license based on a criminal background check can easily be used by the businesses to confuse the public into thinking their psychic abilities and moral ethics have been validated.” 

Sabsay, a software engineer who lives in Oakland, said the EBSS would like to see psychic businesses, especially those that offer psychic healing services, regulated in the same way a drug manufacturer is.  

“Let’s figure out what these people claim they can do and then test their abilities,” he said. “Needless to say there is no psychic that could pass such a test.” 

Four psychic businesses and the Academy for Psychic Studies did not return calls to the Daily Planet on Friday.  

However Shawn Mountcastle, a minister of the Church of Divine Man, which sponsors the Berkeley Psychic Institute, did discuss - in a limited fashion - services offered by the church, which has operated in Berkeley for 28 years. 

“The mayor’s recommendation does not really apply to what we do,” she said. “We are not like those businesses (store-front psychic retail) that the recommendation seeks to control. We don’t sell psychic services.” 

Mountcastle is right in that any new regulations the city establishes won’t affect BPI, which has been established in Berkeley for many years.  

But according to the BPI Web site (www.berkeleypsychic.com) the church does sell a variety of psychic-oriented merchandise and services including psychic tape recordings (between $40 and $90 per set), telephone psychic readings ($39.50 for 10 minutes) and even psychic vacation tours to exotic destinations such as Egypt, the Philippines and Nepal. 

Editor: 

Bush claims that Iraq is solely to blame for the 500,000 deaths resulting from our sanctions policy. Why do progressives argue with American policy? Let’s look at the facts behind this smokescreen.  

The United States supported Saddam Hussein for years while we knew he was gassing Iraqis because he was fighting our enemy Iran. When he then threatened our oil supply by invading Kuwait, he was suddenly (and rightfully) painted as the Adolf Hitler of the region (the “Butcher of Baghdad”). Papa Bush riled up the righteous indignation of the United States to free the region of the presence of this evil man. As we were chasing the Revolutionary Guards to Baghdad and encouraging the Iraqi Kurds and Shiites to revolt, suddenly the Papa Bush Administration made the unconscionable decision to halt. While hiding behind the limitations of a United Nations resolution, officials in the Papa Bush administration came forth with the following actual cause for the halt: Saddam Hussein was necessary to maintain stability within Iraq and prevent the country from fragmenting into ethnic divisions. Should we have left Hitler to run Germany after pushing him from France to prevent Germany from splitting in two for 40 years? 

After watching Hussein massacre the opponents we encouraged to revolt, we installed a sanctions regime which we know harms the population of Iraq much more than Hussein. This is a policy of containment that we know allows Hussein to remain in power and “stabilize” Iraq and thus safeguard our oil supply, but at the cost of 500,000 lives. Does America really stand for democratic values? We should have installed a democracy in Iraq. After “freeing” Kuwait, did we listen to Kuwaitis and set up a democracy? No! We reinstalled an absolute monarchy! We support an oppressive monarchy in Saudi Arabia. Our international policy does not revolve around respect for democratic values as Baby Bush claims. It revolves around a stable supply of oil. The Union of Concerned Scientists has pointed out that raising fuel efficiency standards to 32 mpg would eliminate all oil imports from the Middle East. Remember this when you step into your SUV! 

Bill Mitch 

Berkeley

Floyd Lee Gill, owner and operator of Gill’s Ambassador Shoe Repair Shop in Berkeley for 48 years, died Dec. 12 from natural causes. He was 77 years old. 

Services for Mr. Gill, who was born in Red Bird, Okla. and served in the U.S. Army during World War II, will take place at 11 a.m. Dec. 18 at Fuller Funeral Chapel, 3100 Cutting Blvd., Richmond. Visitation will be at Fuller Funeral Chapel on Monday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

He will be buried at the San Joaquin National Cemetery in Gustine, Calif. 

Mr. Gill is survived by his wife, Argalee Gill, his son Cicil Gill, daughters Carolyn J. McGee and Linda Bailey, three grandchildren and one great grandson.

Editor: 

Here is a letter I have sent to one of your local businesses. It is important for the City of Berkeley to remember that actions have consequences. The city has often chosen to boycott businesses to express displeasure with policy, now I can do the same to the city: 

Gentlemen, 

As far as I can determine, you are the only Bay Area dealer for what looks like a great line of sailing boots made by the New England Overshoe company. 

Unfortunately, you are located in Berkeley. Because your city government consistently takes positions that are hostile to the government of the United States, I refuse to shop there. If you think this is unfair, maybe you aren’t aware of the craziness your local government is up to. Check the link below, and email your City Council members if you disagree. 

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/peaceandjustice/2001peaceandjustice/minutes/110501M30.htm 

Bill Kinney 

Sausalito 

BATH, MAINE – The following local residents recently received academic honors from the independent, character-based Hyde School in Bath: 

• Adam Stern of Berkeley, son of Richard Stern and Risa Kagan, recently received an Excellence Award for academic achievement during his senior year. 

• Ariana Stewart of Berkeley, daughter of George Stewart and Poki Namkung, recently received an Excellence Award for academic achievement during her junior year.  

Hyde School emphasizes attitude more than aptitude, effort more than ability and character more than talent, a press statement from the school says. 

Following are some local-serving community agencies that can use financial and/or volunteer help. The Daily Planet is listing these nonprofits as a public service and does not have first-hand knowledge of the work of most of the agencies. 

Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society 

2700 Ninth St., Berkeley, CA 94710-2606 

845-7735 x11 

Shelters and places adoptable animals in loving homes. Seeks financial donations and volunteers. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-1347069 

Berkeley Neighborhood Computers 

PO Box 2435 Berkeley, 94702 

845-1226 

Refurbishes computers for low-income families, schools. Seeks financial 

donations, volunteers (but not computers now). 

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-3218936 

Berkeley Public Education Foundation & Berkeley School Volunteers 

1835 Allston Way, Berkeley 94703 

644-6244 

Supports Berkeley public schools with grants to teachers. Seeks community volunteers, financial donations. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-2918219 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra 

2322 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704 

841-2800 

Directed by Kent Nagano, brings classical music to residents, elementary schools. Seeks financial support, volunteers. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 23-7219508  

Berkeley Youth Alternatives 

1255 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94702 

845-9010; www.byaonline.org 

BYA serves Berkeley and Bay Area children, youth, and families. Seeks financial donations, tutors, mentors. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-1711728. 

Housing Rights, Inc. 

2718 Telegraph Ave. #100, Berkeley. (Mailing address: P.O. Box 12895, Berkeley, 94712) 

548-8776 

Provides housing counseling, tenant organizing support to low and very low income individuals. Seeks financial donations, volunteers. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-3-6-4129 

Malcolm X Elementary School Garden 

1731 Prince St. 

Berkeley, CA 94703 

524-2916 

Donate funds, volunteer for garden teaching science, math, nutrition, ecology to students kindergarten through fifth grade. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-3145183 

Northern California Land Trust 

3126 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, 94705 

548-7878 

Creates affordable homeownership through cooperatives and condominiums for low-income households. Seeks financial donations, volunteers. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 23-7380534 

Resources for Community Development 

2131 University Ave., Suite 224, Berkeley, 94704 

841-4410; fax 548-3502 

Renovates, builds affordable housing for individuals with the fewest options. Seeks financial donations.  

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-2952466 

South Berkeley YMCA 

2901 California Street, Berkeley, 94703 

843-4280 

An academic enrichment program providing tutoring in basic skills and mentoring. Seeks books, educational software. 

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-1156635 

Stiles Hall 

2400 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, 94704 

841-6010 

Helps inner-city youth stay in school; promotes lasting interracial understanding among future leaders.  

Nonprofit tax ID: 941156636. 

The Berkeley Chess School 

P.O. Box 136, Berkeley, CA 94701 

843-0150; www.berkeleychessschool.org. 

We are accepting donations which will go towards bringing chess to low-income area schools.  

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-3225242 

Women’s Daytime Drop-In Center 

2218 Alston Way, Berkeley 94702 

548-2884 

Provides meals, support, and referrals for homeless women and children. Seeks volunteers and financial donations.  

Nonprofit tax ID: 94-3123986

CASTRO VALLEY — Within a 10-month period in 1999, three women who worked in the same office at Eden Medical Center were diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer, a very rare and aggressive type of the disease that strikes just a few dozen women in the Bay Area every year. 

One of the women died last month. Now, the other two are trying to unravel a medical mystery, and they suspect toxic materials in the building where they had handled the hospital’s billing for more than 13 years. 

The suit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court this week, says the work environment led to various cancers and other illnesses. It also argues the hospital fired the employees for reporting the problems. The suit asks for unspecified monetary damages for lost wages and medical expenses. 

Eden spokeswoman Cassandra Phelps denied the allegations, saying hospital and state health officials studied the building but came up with no problems another than an inadequate ventilation system that was later fixed. 

The employees were not terminated, she said, but rather offered several options, including other positions, after billing services were contracted to an outside company. All of them declined the offers, she said.

Lt. Cynthia Harris of the Berkeley Police Department said that the case was under investigation, and the BPD was not releasing any additional information to the public at this time. 

Harris said that unknown persons have recently been taking the free newspaper off the streets in bulk and selling them for scrap. 

After taking the papers, the suspect put them in a car and drove away. The deliverer noted the car’s license plate, Harris said, and the case is under investigation. 

The victim was walking down the street at around 11:30 a.m., when two men approached her from behind. One of them grabbed her purse. 

A bystander shouted at the suspects to give the purse back. One of the suspects told the bystander that he had a gun, although no one reported seeing it. The two then fled on foot. 

The suspects are described as African-American males between the ages of 16 and 20.  

One was about 5 feet 9 inches tall and of stocky build. He wore a black jacket that reversed to gray and dark jeans. 

The other suspect was about 5 feet 10 inches tall and of medium build. He wore a black jacket that reversed to white and green and dark jeans. 

The victim told police that he had let a friend walk Sputnik, his German shepard/rottweiler mix, on Tuesday evening. The friend did not return, and the suspect called the police shortly after midnight. 

The incident was entered into the books as a petty theft. The BPD is investigating. 

At around 5:30 p.m., the victim was loading goods into his truck on the 2000 block of Shattuck Avenue. The suspect approached, and told the victim that he needed a ride across town. The victim replied that the suspect would have to find another way. 

The suspect then asked the victim to give him a large brown bag that was sitting on the passenger seat of the victim’s Ford Ranger. The victim declined. The suspect then opened his jacket and showed the victim that he was carrying a gun. The suspect took the bag and fled on foot. 

The suspect is described as an dark-skinned African-American male in his late 40s. He was around 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed around 180 pounds. He had a mustache and a beard, and wore a dark watch cap and a dark green jacket. 

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call the BPD Robbery Detail at 981-5742. 

Terrorist leader reminds one Bay Area resident of a gloating, smirking criminal 

SAN FRANCISCO — Families of Bay Area terrorism victims watched with horror Thursday as Osama bin Laden celebrated the Sept. 11 attacks on videotapes released by the Department of Defense. 

They called bin Laden’s reaction appalling, horrifying. Some wished they hadn’t watched it. 

“He reminds me of a criminal who gloats and smirks in the courtroom in order to taunt the families he has victimized,” said Alice Hoglan, one of the thousands of loved ones left in mourning by the terrorist attacks. 

Hoglan’s son, Mark Bingham of San Francisco, was among a group of passengers who apparently prevented United Flight 93 from crashing into a Washington landmark after two planes toppled New York’s World Trade Center and a third crushed part of the Pentagon. 

Thomas Burnett of San Ramon called his wife, Deena, four times from the flight and told her he and other passengers planned to do something. They have been hailed as heroes for charging terrorists on the plane, which crashed in a Pennsylvania field. 

“It was just horrifying. I’m numb for having watched it. It’s one thing to have a picture of Osama bin Laden, but it’s another thing to see him celebrating,” Deena Burnett said. 

Jack Grandcolas of San Rafael lost his wife, Lauren, on Flight 93. He said the video was hard to watch. 

“It’s a confession of guilt. It’s remorseless. It’s a joyous admission of guilt,” Grandcolas said. He said he felt satisfaction that bin Laden never mentioned Flight 93. 

“That’s because it was the first win in the battle of good over evil,” he said. “That field in Pennsylvania wasn’t a target for anyone. And I find it almost providential that it was not far from the battlefield in Gettysburg, where other patriots died.” 

New BART dog sniffs onboard for drugs

SAN FRANCISCO — Officer Millie, a black labrador retriever, is roaming the Bay Area Rapid Transit system sniffing for riders who might have thought the train was an easy way to transport narcotics. 

The drug sniffing dog started work Wednesday night as part of a new drug enforcement program by BART and U.S. Customs Service. The first day’s work resulted in four arrests. Three were minor citations, police said. 

BART Police Cmdr. Wade Gomes said the program is a way to stem the drug transportation flow, which might become even more important after BART completes its new station at San Francisco International Airport next year. 

BART is working together with customs agents, who are in charge of the dogs. The dog walks along and sniffs around the passengers. When the dog smells drugs, it simply sits next to the suspect and looks at him or her. 

Dale Gieringer, coordinator of the California chapter of NORML, the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws, which supports legalizing marijuana, said people who use marijuana for medical purposes might also unfairly be caught and cited. 

School board bans  

sugary foods

OAKLAND — The school board has barred the sale of substances that are consumed in dangerous amounts on many of the city’s campuses: soft drinks and sweets. 

Students looking for their daily sugar fixes won’t be able to score on campus anymore, the Oakland Unified School District board decided Wednesday over objections from some board members who said the move would take money away from various school programs. 

Oakland may be the first district in the state to pass such a wide-reaching embargo against the sale of sweet drinks and foods, experts in the field of school nutrition said. 

Whether the ban can be enforced, however, is another matter. And students and teachers say they use money from candy sales to pay for everything from camping trips to sports equipment to ink ribbons for fax machines. 

Vending machines alone bring in an estimated $200,000 a year for schools. 

One of the women died last month. Now, the other two are trying to unravel a medical mystery, and they suspect toxic materials in the building where they had handled the hospital’s billing for more than 13 years. 

The suit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court this week, says the work environment led to various cancers and other illnesses. It also argues the hospital fired the employees for reporting the problems. The suit asks for unspecified monetary damages for lost wages and medical expenses. 

Eden spokeswoman Cassandra Phelps denied the allegations, saying hospital and state health officials studied the building but came up with no problems another than an inadequate ventilation system that was later fixed. 

The employees were not terminated, she said, but rather offered several options, including other positions, after billing services were contracted to an outside company. All of them declined the offers, she said, 

Installing a frost-proof sillcock 

Growing up in the West, except for the occasional trip to the mountains for a day or so of frolicking, we saw little snow. As children, we associated snow with fun and pleasure. It wasn’t until later that less pleasurable aspects of snow, such as shoveling and dealing with ice dams, came to light. 

We then became familiar with a device that we had never before seen — a frost-proof sillcock. We learned that a sillcock is an outdoor water faucet or “hose bib.” What we had yet to understand was how a hose bib could be frost-proof. After all, on those rare occasions when the mercury dipped low enough to be a threat, we simply wrapped the hose bib and adjacent pipes with rags to prevent the pipes from freezing and, thus, bursting. 

A sillcock is just another name for a hose bib. It is called by that name because it is typically located just above the “sill” — the board that is anchored to the top of a foundation. It also is mounted to the “header joist” which in some parts of the country is referred to as the “sill.” In other regions, it’s called the “rim joist.” 

The pipe that supplies water to the sillcock has a shut-off valve located in the basement some distance in from the exterior wall. Thus, when the weather gets cold, the valve can be turned off and drained to prevent a burst pipe. Although it’s a reasonably good means of prevention, it can be somewhat inconvenient. And what happens when one forgets to close the shut-off valve and drain the pipe? The consequences can be disastrous. 

Enter the “frost-proof sillcock.” It looks much like your run-of-the-mill hose bib except for the vacuum breaker that sits atop the valve. When a frost-proof sillcock is turned off, air rushes into the sillcock through the vacuum breaker to break the seal of water and help the residual amount to drain. 

What is more amazing is what one can’t readily see. Unlike a traditional hose bib where the valve stem is an inch or two in length, the valve stem for a sillcock is six to 30 inches long. Thus, the valve is well within the exterior wall and protected from the cold and freezing. What’s more, you don’t need to worry about whether you remembered to close the shut-off valve, since one isn’t required. 

Installing a frost-proof sillcock is reasonably simple especially if you have previous experience soldering. Besides the sillcock, you’ll need a torch, solder, flux, a flux brush, fine sandpaper or steel wool, a copper tubing cutter and a rag. Start by removing the existing sillcock. Close the shut-off valve and drain residual water from the faucet. Adjust the tubing cutter to surround the pipe and tighten the handle while rotating the cutter around the pipe. Remove the old sillcock and position the new frost-proof one in its place. Check the length of the supply line, make a pencil mark and — using the tubing cutter — cut the pipe again to correspond with the length of the new sillcock. 

Use fine sandpaper or steel wool to polish the end of the water supply and the inside of the copper fitting at the end of the sillcock. Apply a small amount of flux (soldering acid) to both the end of the supply line and the interior of the fitting at the end of the sillcock, and join the two. Next, light the torch and, with the torch in one hand and a length of solder in the other, apply the tip of the flame to the fitting at the end of the sillcock. Be sure that the sillcock valve is open all the way to prevent damage to rubber gaskets from the heat. Place the tip of the solder at the joint between the pipe and the fitting and continue to apply heat until the solder is drawn into the joint. Move the tip of the solder around the joint and remove the flame to prevent the pipe from overheating. Use just enough heat to cause the solder to flow. Immediately after removing the flame, use the flux brush to apply a small amount of flux around the entire joint. 

Turn the torch off and allow the fitting to cool. Use a rag to remove excess flux, and clean the joint. Finish the job by fastening the sillcock flange to the exterior siding with a couple of screws. First, apply a generous bead of caulk between the siding and the flange for a good waterproof seal. Turn on the water supply (once and for all) and flush the new sillcock before turning it off.

Q. Roy asks: Help! I recently moved into a house that has a wooden front door with a large oval window, which takes up most of the door. In the past two months a gap has slowly formed and grown between the door and the window molding. It is about 3/4 of an inch at the top of the window and tapers down as it follows the contours of the window. You can see through it to the outside. It appears that the window is settling. Is this possible? What can I do to fix it? Is there a caulk I should use, or will I have to replace my front door? 

A. There is a very good chance that the base of the window was originally placed on wooden spacers — a very common practice with glass. It would probably be a good idea to remove the trim and inspect the window to see if the spacers have slipped out of place. Our guess is that this is what has happened. If you aren’t handy, you might want to pop the door off its hinges and take it to a door company. Someone there will know how to deal with the removal of the trim without damaging it or the glass. If you are able to remove the trim yourself, simply make and install new spacers, caulk the window to door joint with clear silicone and replace the trim. This job is easier if the door is on a table. 

For more home improvement tips and information, visit our Web site at www.onthehouse.com. 

Door hinge fill-in 

Updating an older home, you’ve permanently removed an interior door from its jamb? And now the recesses for the hinges and strike plate remain? You can just paint over them, but it’ll look better if they’re gone from sight. That means filling in with putty, and sanding. It could take several applications and lots of time — and the results might still be less than perfect. The answer: First fill the recess with a piece of a paint stir stick. You’ll find the thickness of the stick is close to the depth of the recess. Just cut to size and glue it in place. Use one coat of putty to fill in around the patch. Follow with a quick sanding and a touch of matching paint.

BERTHOUD, Colo. — Bent over a 14-foot-long ponderosa pine log, Peter Haney gripped a 19th-century broad ax and meticulously shaved small slices of wood from its right side. 

Haney’s green cloth chaps became sprinkled with sawdust from the knee down as he worked; his calloused palms were already dotted with layers of dried pine sap. 

“This is backbreaking work,” the Fort Collins man said. “It’s about one of the most physically demanding tasks that I can think of in logging work.” 

An expert in traditional building crafts such as logging, Haney spent several weeks building a new western wall for a 130-year-old log cabin that sits near the Little Thompson River southwest of Berthoud in north-central Colorado. 

Crews with the Berthoud Historical Society uncovered the cabin in May after they bulldozed three clapboard additions previous owners had built around it. 

The society wants to renovate the homestead structure and possibly turn it into a small museum. 

For now, though, the cabin simply needed a western wall to protect it from the area’s wintry weather, and that’s where Haney stepped in. 

A timber-framing teacher at Colorado State University’s Pingree Park campus west of Fort Collins, Haney is drawing from his experience in traditional building crafts to build the cabin’s remaining wall using tools and techniques from the 19th century. 

Hefting one of eight logs that will make up the wall onto a pair of homemade sawhorses, Haney talked about how Colorado’s pioneers made their log homes more than 100 years ago. 

Many times, Haney said crews of men and boys — women weren’t allowed to perform such work — would cut and hew logs in the forest using axes and hand saws so they were easier to pull back to the homesite. 

Thanks to modern technology, Haney got his logs from a sawmill and used a chain saw to shave large chunks from the sides of the 300-pound logs. 

After those initial cuts, Haney reverted to the old-fashioned methods and used a felling ax to make little chops in the logs that break up the wood fibers for the more delicate hewing process. 

Walking the perimeter of the cabin, Haney pointed to similar marks in the original 130-year-old logs. 

Because he’s been building cabins since 1980, Haney can identify which marks were made with an ax and which cuts resulted from hand saws or other tools simply by looking at them. 

“The ax came in from that direction,” he said, staring at a handful of chop marks, “so I can tell this guy was right-handed.” 

According to Haney, most of Larimer County’s log cabins — including this one — were crudely built because pioneers needed shelter quickly once they reached their destinations. 

Still, Haney said the cabin built by Prussian immigrant Charles Meining southwest of Berthoud is in pretty good shape, and might be the last one like it in the Little Thompson Valley. 

“It’s in good condition,” he said. “It’s not leaning too much. 

“I couldn’t believe when I first walked in and saw this pioneer cabin entombed in a stick frame house.” 

Continuing work on the new western wall, Haney begins the tricky process of fitting the new logs into existing north and south walls, which are no longer symmetrical. 

Haney said the project had turned into an ongoing process of testing different notches and fits. 

“I’m having to custom cut everything,” he said. 

After Haney finishes the wall, the Historical Society will try to find funding to fully restore the cabin. 

Member Mark French said the society still wants to apply for grants to help pay for renovation efforts and likely will hold a fund-raiser for the project next year. 

Haney speculated it might be easy to get funding for the cabin if it is one of the only log structures left in the area, as he believes. 

“On the plains there are very few left. ... It’s a very rare connection to the early days,” Haney said. 

Years of protesting, complaining come to a head as one prominent performer opens a bloody wound on an elephant 

SAN JOSE — This is the moment animal activists have all been waiting for: One of the most prominent performers in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is going on trial Monday for allegedly using a hooked stick to open up a bloody wound on an elephant’s side. 

Protesters have complained for years that circus animals are consigned to miserable lives, trained with painful methods and inhumanely chained, caged and handled. But few circus workers have ever faced criminal charges. 

Now activists hope the trial of Mark Oliver Gebel, son of the legendary animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams, lends more credibility to their claims against “The Greatest Show on Earth.” 

“This is going to be a very interesting trial, mainly because it is Ringling, which bills itself as the top-of-the-line circus, with the best record, best resources, best treatment of animals,” said Richard Farinato, director of captive wildlife protection at the Humane Society of the United States. “This is pretty high-profile in the battle over whether circuses should use wild animals.” 

Gebel, 31, is charged with elephant abuse, a misdemeanor that carries up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. 

His attorney, James McManis, calls the case preposterous. He said Gebel would never be anything but kind to animals, having grown up around them during the 21-year Ringling Bros. career of his father, who died in July at age 66. 

“I think these animal rights people are making a big mistake if this is where they’re going to make their stand on animals in the circus, because nothing happened here,” McManis said. “This is going to be a big embarassment.” 

In this year’s circus program, Gebel says he’s “grown up with many of the elephants here.” 

“And the bond we have is as powerful as between any friends. These elephants are always there for us. In return, they know that we’ll always be there for them.” 

Humane Society officers and a San Jose police sergeant were monitoring the animals outside a show here on Aug. 25 when they allegedly saw Gebel, wearing a flamboyant coat with a high collar and tails, lunge at two elephants and yell at them to move faster. They say an elephant named Asia quickly jolted forward. 

The elephants went into the arena and performed, but after the show, the witnesses noticed “a nickel-sized red bloody spot” on Asia’s left front leg. 

The witnesses believe Gebel punctured Asia’s skin with an ankus, a metal stick with a hook at the end that resembles a fireplace poker. Ringling Bros. says the ankus, or bull hook, is used to guide elephants like a leash or a set of reins, not to cause pain or discomfort as activists insist. 

McManis contends that the red mark on Asia disappeared when she was washed later that day, and that a veterinarian found no sign she had been injured. He said the witnesses were too far away to clearly see what Gebel was doing and were motivated by an anti-circus agenda. 

Last year, the same witnesses said they found cuts and puncture wounds on seven Ringling elephants performing in San Jose. Prosecutors said then that there was not enough evidence to bring charges. 

This time, the witnesses’ reports were enough to persuade the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office to take the case. Prosecutor Carolyn Powell said she has gotten hundreds of supportive letters and e-mails from animal lovers around the world. 

Among the supporters is Tom Rider, a former Ringling barn worker who now travels the country protesting with animal rights activists at Ringling performances. 

“They use the bull hook in an aggressive manner every day at Ringling,” Rider said. “They hit them on the head, trunk, legs, shoulders — it’s systematic daily abuse.” 

In 1998, the U.S. Department of Agriculture accused Ringling of forcing an ill elephant named Kenny to perform before he could be examined by a veterinarian. Kenny died, and Ringling’s parent company, Feld Entertainment Inc., settled the complaint by agreeing to pay $20,000 to elephant-related causes. 

Since then, USDA investigators have looked into at least two complaints from the public about puncture wounds or lesions on Ringling elephants, including one “possibly secondary to excessive use of an overly sharp ankus hook.” 

In both cases, the agency found no evidence of any wounds or abuse, though the inspections occurred 21 days after one complaint and four months after the other. 

Pat Cuviello, 41, who has covertly videotaped workers at circuses in the San Francisco Bay Area for 14 years, showed The Associated Press footage of several Ringling Bros. workers — though not Gebel — poking or hitting elephants, in a few cases after looking around first, apparently to see if anyone was watching. 

In one clip that activists hope will provide compelling evidence at the trial, Gebel can be seen briefly reaching with a stick, possibly an ankus, under an elephant before a show the next day near San Francisco. 

However, Gebel appears to use the stick rather casually, while talking to a man next to him, and McManis said the tape in no way depicts abuse by Gebel. 

Ringling spokeswoman Catherine Ort-Mabry said the other workers filmed by Cuviello were reprimanded for “unprofessional behavior” but did not harm the elephants. She said those incidents — and other complaints against the circus — are extremely isolated. 

“If there is trauma to an animal, it shows up in the animal’s behavior,” she said. “You can see the obvious affection between the animals and the handlers. The animals are healthy, in good shape and they live great lives.”

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Interior Secretary Gale Norton says she supports forming a task force that would help her smooth money-management problems with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

“As your trustee, I have a responsibility to see that this system gets fixed,” she told tribal leaders from across the nation during a daylong meeting Thursday in Albuquerque. “I’m open to alternatives. I want to know, though, that at the end of this process that we haven’t let things go on as usual.” 

Tribal leaders told Norton they oppose her plan to reorganize and consolidate the management of billions of dollars in Indian trust assets, saying they were never consulted. 

“You should be looking out for the tribes,” Ernie L. Stensgar of the National Congress of American Indians, told Norton, who faces contempt charges on whether she misled a judge about efforts to fix a century of mismanaged Indian trust funds. 

“If you’re going to have the trust of the tribes who you’re supposed to represent, you must do better than this,” Stensgar said. 

Thursday’s meeting was the first of seven on the proposal to move trust responsibilities from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to a new Bureau of Indian Trust Assets Management. The next will be Dec. 20 in Minneapolis. 

Last month, Norton announced the formation of the new agency to oversee the accounting of $500 million a year in historically mismanaged royalties from Indian land. The Bureau of Indian Affairs had managed the assets but a federal court ordered the system reformed. 

The Bush administration wants the BIA to handle education, social programs and law enforcement and the new bureau to handle natural resources and minerals and the trust assets. 

Navajo Nation President Kelsey Begaye of Window Rock, Ariz., said the Navajo tribal attorney general is asking Norton’s department for documents having anything to do with trust asset management since Sept. 1. 

The request went to Norton on Thursday as a Freedom of Information request, and Kelsey said he wants consultation meetings halted until the Interior Department provides the information. 

“We’re simply asking to be consulted, not insulted,” Begaye said. 

Darnell J. Maria, vice president of the Ramah Navajo chapter in New Mexico, said the trust asset management will only create more red tape for people seeking Indian services. 

“I’m afraid the new agency isn’t going to know how to deal with Indian people and Indian issues,” he said. 

At a gathering of the National Congress last week, some 193 tribes adopted a resolution opposing the reorganization and transfer of trust responsibilities to the new Bureau of Indian Trust Assets Management. They suggested the Interior Department, which oversees the BIA, set up a task force that would allow tribes a chance to comment on what should be done. 

Norton, in an interview with The Associated Press during a break in the meeting, said she would support a task force that would study her proposal and provide alternatives. 

“There’s widespread consensus that we need improvement,” Norton said. “We need to work together now on what process will allow that improvement to happen.” 

Norton said Thursday her agency has been criticized both for waiting too long to make a proposal and for consulting with tribes too soon in the process. 

The Interior Department doesn’t have a lot of details to offer the tribes yet because it is awaiting tribal comments, she said. 

“We are in a position of having to have a proposal for change. ... Until we have something to substitute, this is the best we have to offer,” she said. 

Tribal leaders objected to the proposed changes and the way the administration has presented them. 

Olney Patt Jr., chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, said the reorganization “is a defense strategy.” 

“I think the final result is the BIA will be dismantled, and that’s our only presence in the federal government. We’d like to see it retained and not destroyed,” Patt said. 

Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth opened contempt hearings for Norton and Neal McCaleb, assistant secretary for Indian affairs. A lawyer for the tribes has accused them of misleading the judge about efforts to fix the mismanaged Indian trust funds. 

Lamberth must decide if Norton and McCaleb misled the court about the security of the Indian trust fund, concealed repeated failures of a $40 million trust fund accounting system and deceived the court about efforts to piece together how much Indian money was lost due to government mismanagement. 

——— 

On the Net: 

NCAI: http://www.ncai.org 

Interior Department Indian trust management: http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust/ 

TUCSON, Ariz. — Federal, academic and international scientists will be eyeing Biosphere 2 this weekend to determine its suitability for climate research. 

More than 60 specialists in climate and earth systems science research will gather at the once-controversial 3.15-acre sealed greenhouse with its own environment, independent of the outside world. A series of workshops and meetings Saturday through Tuesday is sponsored by Columbia University and the Energy Department. 

“Scientists are a little bit like kids in a sandbox, and Biosphere 2 is just an incredible sandbox,” said Barry Osmond, president and executive director of the steel-and-glass domed giant terrarium 35 miles northeast of Tucson. 

The conference is critical to the future of the Biosphere 2 Center, which is managed by Columbia’s Earth Institute, and is important to the emerging discipline of climate change — but DOE probably isn’t viewing it as a potential new national laboratory, Osmond said. 

“It’s the only controlled-environment facility of that scale available anywhere on the planet to do experiments that are critical to climate-change science,” said Osmond. 

The kinds of experiments Biosphere 2 can conduct will be critical to better understanding how the earth will respond to climate changes, he said. 

“It’s the only place you can dial up the climate and run an experiment where you cause it to rain when you want it to rain,” or set a desired temperature or carbon dioxide concentration, he said. 

At the same time, Osmond said he thinks it’s too soon for Biosphere 2 to be seen as a potential new national laboratory, such as Los Alamos, N.M., or Oak Ridge, Tenn., which focus on nuclear research. 

“We’re still in the exploratory stage of climate change, and frankly this is the only device that is readily available for experimental kind of change,” Osmond said. 

Among specialists attending will be researchers from the DOE, the Smithsonian Institution and five national labs, the Russian Academy of Science, institutes or universities in eight other countries, and more than a dozen American universities including Arizona, Arizona State and Harvard. 

A report after the conference ends will assess the facility’s suitability for studying earth system science from the federal agency’s standpoint. 

Providing experimental evidence for climate-change impact as part of the global warming issue has become part of the DOE mission, Osmond said. 

Biosphere 2, financed at a cost of $200 million by Texas billionaire Edward P. Bass, debuted in 1991 as a space colony prototype, with distinct ecological sectors, or biomes: its own miniature ocean, rainforest, savannah, desert and farming area. 

Eight “biospherians” lived inside for two years, growing their own food and recycling air, water and wastes, and the structure became a tourist attraction. 

But crew members and operators were viewed as cult-like and critics questioned Biosphere 2’s scientific research, particularly when problems surfaced requiring outside intervention. 

Subsequently, Bass ousted Biosphere 2’s administrators and turned day-to-day management over to Columbia University in late 1995, in hopes of shoring up its scientific credibility.  

Columbia has used it for educational, environmental and global science research and tourism purposes. 

Osmond noted that a National Academy of Sciences report just released lists the need for facilities for controlled-environment studies to help explore and understand climate-change science. 

“We’ve got the prototype,” Osmond said. “We’ve had five years’ experience in making it work.” 

The structure’s million-gallon ocean currently has 18 ongoing research projects, 10 run by other educational institutions partnered with Columbia. 

Among its ocean experiments, a study has shown that coral reefs will be harmed as atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide increase. 

A nonocean project is examining the impact of different levels of carbon dioxide on tree growth. 

Biosphere 2 can and will undergo physical changes inside. “I think it’s still a work in progress,” chief of staff Chris Bannon said. “We are only restricted by the glass on the building.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.bio2.edu/ 

reighter departs on two-day voyage egging on embargo debate 

NEW ORLEANS — A freighter loaded with corn left for Cuba on Friday, the first commercial U.S. shipment of food to the communist nation since 1963. 

The two-day voyage to Havana sparked fierce debate on the docks over the future of the decades-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. 

Critics of Cuban leader Fidel Castro warned that the shipment may lead to the lifting of the embargo. Others, like Illinois Gov. George Ryan, welcomed the opportunity for increased trade between the two nations. 

“This is a bridge we need to build,” Ryan said. “Corn is forming a bridge today that we need to build with the people of Cuba.” 

Last year, Congress passed a law allowing U.S. companies to sell products to Cuba on a humanitarian basis. Archer Daniels Midland and other food processors have since signed contracts to supply more than $14 million worth of chicken, corn, wheat, soybean meal, rice and other foods. 

The Cuban government said the 24,000 metric tons of corn aboard the first freighter will be used to replenish reserves lost when Hurricane Michelle struck Nov. 4, destroying crops and thousands of homes. The United Nations said Cuba could face food shortages in the next few months. 

George Fowler III, general counsel of the anti-Castro Cuban American National Foundation, said his group favors humanitarian shipments. But he said unrestricted trade with Cuba will put money in Castro’s pocket to export revolution. 

“Cuba is a terrorist nation,” Fowler said. “Castro has been at the center of terrorist activity.” 

The first shipment includes corn from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. 

American farmers said they could send tons of agricultural products to Cuba if the embargo were lifted. 

Four decades of trade sanctions against Cuba “have done nothing more than hand trade with Cuba to our foreign competitors,” said Ron Warfield, president of the Illinois Farm Bureau Association.

RALEIGH, N.C. — A death row inmate who is said to have the mind of a first-grader became the first person to have his sentence reduced under a new North Carolina law barring execution of the mentally retarded. 

Superior Court Judge B. Craig Ellis declared Sherman Elwood Skipper to be retarded and reduced his sentence to two life terms Wednesday. 

Skipper, 59, was convicted in the 1990 murders of his girlfriend and her grandson. 

He was the first death row inmate to challenge his sentence under the new law, approved this year. 

To be declared retarded under the law, a prisoner must have an IQ below 70 and show an inability to adapt to society before age 18. 

Both sides agreed Skipper’s IQ tested at 69.  

A hearing was held before Ellis last month on whether Skipper met the other conditions. 

“The testimony clearly showed that our client had the mind of a first-grader,” said defense attorney Gretchen Engel. 

District Attorney Rex Gore had argued that alcohol was the primary reason for Skipper’s problems with the law. 

BALTIMORE — A public relations firm is under fire for inviting students with only straight, chemically processed or short hair to appear in a TV commercial for historically black Morgan State University. 

Sahara Communications sent a letter — which arrived Monday at the university’s theater department — saying that students with dreadlocks, head wraps, corn rows or braids were not wanted for the campaign. 

The request outraged many students, who saw it as a blatant attempt to portray a false image of the school, where 90 percent of the 5,700 students are black. 

“It’s ridiculous that a black college would typecast its students,” sophomore Zakiyyah Seitu said. “For a long time, black people have had to change who they are so they can fit in, and a lot of us go to a black college so we don’t have to change who we are.” 

The only two men in the theater department were told they could not be in the ad because of their hairstyles, and a female student was asked to go home and change her hairdo, students said. 

While the filming continued, school administrators met with about 20 upset students and assured them that all interested students could participate, college spokesman Clinton R. Coleman said. 

“The commercial was not intended to be exclusive from our point of view,” he said. 

Sahara spokeswoman Karen D. Sloane-Thomas said company officials met with students Tuesday and “the issue discussed has been resolved.” The firm, owned by Morgan State graduate Sandy Harley, would not elaborate. 

Morgan State signed a three-year, $1 million contract with Sahara in July and hopes to air the commercial next spring on area TV stations. 

“They don’t want to portray Morgan as a historically black college, but other people have got to be aware, if they come to Morgan, they’re going to be around people with head wraps,” said senior Yullanda Hinds. “If you look around this campus, what do you see? Hair.”

LOS ANGELES — The number of Californians out of work topped 1 million for the first time in nearly five years in November, as increasing job cuts in the state comprised a disproportionately large amount of the national total, officials said Friday. 

California’s net job loss in November totaled 53,000 non-farm positions. The amount represents 16 percent of the 331,000 non-farm payroll jobs lost across the country, although the state’s work force comprises only 11 percent of the national total. 

California’s unemployment rate climbed to 6 percent — a level not seen since Sept. 1998 — up from 5.8 percent in October, according to figures released by the Employment Development Department. 

“Cumulatively, the results aren’t as bad as the full national picture, but we contributed our share for the first time in a while,” said Howard Roth, chief economist at the California Department of Finance. 

The biggest job losses in California occurred in the manufacturing of electronic and industrial equipment. Combined job cuts in manufacturing, construction, transportation, wholesale trade, retail trade and services totaled 57,800. 

“This was quite a broad-based decline in jobs,” Roth said. 

The seasonal spurt in part-time retail jobs did not match expectations for the holiday buying season, causing a seasonally adjusted loss of 11,300 positions in that sector. 

“It looks like retailers think this is not going to be a very good shopping season,” Roth said. 

November’s job losses were partially offset by a gain of 4,400 jobs in three sectors: government, mining, and finance and real estate. 

On a seasonally adjusted basis, government added 3,200 positions. Though state government has imposed a hiring freeze, teachers continued to be hired as part of a long-term commitment to improve education. 

The number of unemployed people in California reached 1,047,000 in November. The last time the state recorded more than 1 million unemployed was in January 1997. 

The UCLA Anderson Forecast, a widely watched look-ahead on the economy released earlier this month, predicts the state unemployment rate will continue rising gradually and peak at 6.4 percent in early 2003. 

“A lot of people coming to the job market in January will have to readjust their salary expectations,” said Tom Thrower, general manager of Management Recruiters International in Oakland. 

Scott Tyler Shafer, 26, said he’s prepared to adjust his long-term career plans if necessary. He was laid off Nov. 30 from his writer job at Red Herring magazine in San Francisco. The publication covers the sagging tech industry. 

“I’m not worrying yet,” Shafer said. “I’m trying not to take a bad job that I’ll be miserable in.” 

Shafer would like to stay in journalism. But the bleak economic outlook has him weighing a wide range of occupations. 

“I’m considering anything,” he said. 

Despite the latest jump in unemployment, some business segments are still hiring. The biotech and medical equipment industries are contributing to the strength of the local economies in Orange County and San Diego, Roth said. 

The pace of job creation within the biotech and pharmaceutical industries in California has not shown any signs of slowing down, according to a spokesman for Monster.com, the online career site. About 5 percent of all the California-based jobs listed on Monster.com are in those two areas, he said. 

The defense industry, meanwhile, anticipates benefits from new federal contracts. Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp., a principal subcontractor to Lockheed Martin Corp. on the Joint Strike Fighter program, plans to hire about 700 people in 2002 to work on the project in El Segundo. 

The company said it could add another 50 to 100 jobs if the government accelerates plans on an unmanned aircraft known as Global Hawk. Most of the jobs will be in engineering and manufacturing. 

Northrop and other defense contractors are picking up some of the displaced workers from the beleaguered information technology sector for their skills in such areas as communication systems and imagery software. 

LOS ANGELES — Media mogul Barry Diller could emerge as head of Universal Studios if Vivendi Universal buys the film and TV assets of Diller’s USA Networks, sources familiar with the negotiations said Friday. 

Vivendi Universal confirmed earlier this week that it is negotiating with USA Networks to “increase synergies” with Vivendi’s production divisions, including its highly successful Universal Studios and USA’s distribution outlets such as the Sci-Fi Channel and USA Network. 

Paris-based Vivendi emphasized Friday that the negotiations may or may not result in a deal and refused to comment on speculation regarding Diller’s role if negotiations are successful. 

“Let’s see first if those negotiations are leading or not to an agreement,” Vivendi Universal chairman and chief executive Jean-Marie Messier said during a conference call with reporters. “Business issues first, then we will deal together with the personnel question.” 

According to a source familiar with the talks, Diller could become chief executive of Universal Studios or a new company encompassing the assets of Universal and the film and television divisions of USA. 

But Diller may not assume day-to-day control of Universal, which has been extremely successful in recent years under the leadership of Universal Studios president and chief operating officer Ron Meyer and Universal Pictures chairman Stacey Snider with a string of blockbusters. 

Instead, Diller’s role could be more strategic and center on running the “transactional” parts of the company, including the Home Shopping Network and Internet divisions such as Ticketmaster. 

Calls to USA Networks were not immediately returned. 

Messier seemed to be taking pains Friday to assure Meyer, Snider and other Universal executives that their roles would not be eclipsed if Diller, who previously ran Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox, is named head of Universal. 

”(We have) an outstanding team at the head of Universal Studios,” Messier said. “They are the key driver of the wonderful slate of successes of Universal Studios.” 

Meyer and Snider are credited with leading a turnaround at the studio with major releases such as “The Mummy Returns” and last year’s “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” 

REDWOOD CITY — Preparing to go out of business at the end of February, bankrupt cable Internet provider Excite@Home laid off 400 of its 1,300 employees Friday. 

The remaining 900 employees will help the company shut down and transition service for the cable companies that will be moving from Excite@Home onto other high-speed Internet networks. 

The company’s public relations team was among the casualties of the cuts announced Friday. 

A federal bankruptcy judge this week approved Excite@Home’s plans to maintain its service for about 2.1 million subscribers through Feb. 28 in exchange for $355 million from six cable companies.

Breaking in brakes 

Dear Tom and Ray: 

I am writing to ask your opinion about some advice my husband gave me. I have a 1992 Subaru Legacy with 123,000 miles. I just had the brake pads and rotors replaced. My husband insists that I have to "break them in." He told me to apply steady pressure to the pedal and stop from 40 mph. He says I need to do this several times. Since I clearly did not understand his instructions, he had to do it himself. So now this is a purely intellectual question. Is my husband correct about breaking in the brakes? I don't know whether to believe him or not, since a lot of his actions around cars have a cabalistic aspect to them. – Alice 

RAY: What a great word, Alice: cabalistic -- as if he's a member of a cabal, or secret society. I love it. And every wife in America is probably nodding her head in agreement right now. 

TOM: Oh, I thought it was a reference to cabal TV. 

RAY: Well, the old caballero happens to be right this time, Alice. New brakes should be broken in. Although, of course, most brakes eventually break in on their own if you just drive around long enough. 

TOM: When we do a brake job on a car, we take it out and do exactly what he describes. We get it up to 40 or 45 miles per hour, and then apply steady brake pressure and bring it to a halt. Some cars are fine after the first time you do this, and some require several applications before the brakes feel good. 

RAY: This "breaking in" routine also serves another important purpose: For those times my brother forgets to put the pads in or forgets to add the brake fluid, the surprise is on HIM during the "break-in" rather than on the customer when he or she leaves the shop and drives into the nearest lamppost. 

TOM: What actually happens during this break-in is that the pads and the rotors are forced to "match up," or "seat," with one another. The new parts often start out either too smooth (so there's not enough friction to provide good braking) or not smooth enough (so there's not enough surface contact between them). And in either case, you can get increased stopping distances and/or brake noise. 

RAY: And riding the brakes a little bit (which is essentially what you're doing when you apply constant pressure to break them in) gets the two surfaces completely in sync. Like they're members of the same cabal. Thanks for writing, Alice.  

In tribute to a beloved teacher 

TOM: Today's column is dedicated to Dan Gade, a friend we didn't know we had until we read this obituary by Sally Ryen in The Davis (Calif.) Enterprise:  

Dan Gade not only restored cars, but he restored hearts as well. Students and staff at Davis High School were devastated Monday (Nov. 19) when the news reached them that beloved teacher Daniel Lee Gade had died over the weekend. Gade, 56, had taught auto shop and power tech at DHS since August 1994. In that short time, Gade made an impact on many Davis teens 

“He took academic types and exposed them to the blue-collar world,” said Kathy Ware, whose two sons, Mike and Matt Erke, took classes from Gade. “Here were two boys who didn't exactly like getting their hands dirty, and he made auto shop come alive for them.” 

Gade died in his sleep on Monday morning of apparent heart failure. He was found by his wife, Robyn, who is an attendance secretary at Davis High. Students and staff mourned for both halves of the popular couple. 

“It's evident from the strong emotions exhibited by students and staff that Dan was dynamic, a much-beloved teacher, colleague and friend,” said Marilyn Mansfield, interim principal. 

Gade taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 12 years before coming to Davis. He taught both industrial arts and art in Southern California. He took a break from teaching between 1981 and 1991 to work for Snap-On Tools in Sacramento, Calif., where he was promoted to sales manager. 

Known for wearing wild shirts that displayed his love for all kinds of cars, the twinkle-eyed, smiling, mustachioed Gade reached a cross-section of students that transcended academic, social, economic and racial differences. 

“He was a nice, grounded, all-around guy who talked to you as a person, and not as a teacher, to students,” said junior Christine O'Neil. “He was warm and loving, and it just made the class something to look forward to.” 

All over campus, posters went up proclaiming love and affection for both of the Gades. Counselors sat with bereft students in the auto-shop building, where a sign went up that read: "Dan Gade: We love you with all of our hearts." Photo memorials sprang up on doors, while a photo album Gade maintained circulated throughout the school. 

“One student told me that Dan had just told him last Friday that he was going to be a great man,” said counselor Courtenay Tessler. “He said nobody had ever told him that before. I said, ‘Well, Mr. Gade never lied, so I guess he left you with quite a gift,’ and the boy just beamed.” 

One student wrote: “Dear Robyn: The reason why so many students loved Dan was because he respected all kinds of people. He was everything a teacher should be.” 

An avid fan of the automotive wizards of Boston, Click and Clack, Gade had a tradition of reading their syndicated column aloud every week to his classes.  

“Nobody could read ‘Click and Clack’ like he could,” said one student, “but we're going to keep reading it in his honor.”  

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.

Dangerous playground equipment, exposed piping and moldy bathroom floors are just a few of the safety hazards at LeConte School that parents and principal Patricia Saddler have been urging the district to fix for months. 

“The building looks terrible,” said Martha Cain, co-chair of the LeConte Parent-Teacher Association, one of several parents who signed a Nov. 9 letter to Superintendent Michele Lawrence laying out maintenance concerns. 

Cain said the district has not responded to the letter.  

“We haven’t heard from them,” she said. “There’s been no response.” 

Saddler said her official requests for school repairs have gone unanswered as well. “I’ve done my part,” she said. “I’ve notified the district and put the maintenance requests into the system.” 

Lew Jones, manager of facilities planning for the school district, said the repair delays are the result of short staffing in the maintenance department, and lengthy bureaucratic processes that cannot be avoided. 

Many of the parents’ concerns, for instance, focus on items in the school playground – a faulty swingset, a boarded-up wooden play structure and a pipe, covered with a porous metal crate, that attracts kids. 

This year’s budget includes a $400,000 allotment for playground upgrades. In order to make proper improvements at LeConte and at other schools, Jones said, the district must go through the lengthy process of hiring a consultant to make playground recommendations, packaging together significant repairs and replacements, and seeking bids on the work. 

On Nov. 14, the Board of Education authorized the district to spend up to $50,000 to hire Moore, Iacofano, Goltsman, a Berkeley consulting firm, to review the playgrounds and make recommendations. The district has not yet finalized the contract with MIG, Jones said. 

Brad Lord, parent of a kindergartner at LeConte, said he is encouraged that the district is pursuing larger playground repairs. But, he said the system must do a better job of basic maintenance in the meantime. 

“Neglect of the grounds allows for the continuing deterioration of the grounds,” Lord said, “and that lends itself to abuse.” 

Jones said some of the upkeep is the responsibility of LeConte’s custodial staff, and not the district’s maintenance department.  

For instance, parents and staff have argued that the bathroom floors were not properly sealed during school renovations in 1999 and 2000, leading to dampness and mold. Jones said the school’s custodial staff can do the resealing if the district provides the necessary sealant. 

Other repairs, such as the proper handling of exposed pipes in the school yard and one of LeConte’s hallways, are the responsibility of the maintenance staff and will be addressed, Jones said. 

Parents say that the appearance of the school grounds is almost as important as safety. Cain, the PTA co-chair, who is also a teacher at Longfellow, said the district must maintain its schools properly if it hopes to attract families which have fled to private schools. 

“LeConte looks crummy,” she said, “and that’s your first impression of the school.” 

Cain said the appearance is unfortunate, because the school is actually on the upswing, with strong leadership, a conversion to magnet school status this year and the recent introduction of a dual language immersion program that places English- and Spanish-speaking students in the same classroom. 

A major reason for maintenance shortcomings at LeConte and elsewhere, said Jones and members of the district’s Maintenance Planning and Oversight Committee, is under-staffing. 

The addition of new maintenance workers has been a controversial subject this year. For months, parents on the maintenance committee have called for the immediate hiring of more staff, but Jones has warned that the recruitment and selection process will take some time. 

Parents and district officials have also sparred over the types of maintenance workers to be hired, with the district moving to hire “maintenance engineers,” skilled in several trades, while committee members argue that multi-skilled workers are too expensive, and difficult to find.  

In the end, the schools will hire about 15 new staff members over the next six months, according to Jones, some sooner than others. 

Friday, Dec. 14

Partial-Solar Eclipse Viewing 

11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 

Centennial Dr., just above UC Berkeley Campus 

Telescopes and specially designed sun-spotters will be set up for safe viewing of the partial eclipse. $3 - $7. 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Community Hanukkah  

Candle Lighting and Men's Club Latka Bake 

6 p.m.  

Congregation Beth El 

2301 Vine St. 

6 p.m., Pot luck dinner with latkas; 7 p.m., community Hanukkah candle lighting; 7:30 p.m., Shabbat/Hanukkah Service, dreidel contest after services. 848-3988. 

Berkeley High School Jazz Lab Band 

7:30 p.m. 

Little Theatre 

1920 Allston Way 

First concert of the year. $8 for adults and $5 for seniors, BHS staff, and students. marylgear@ yahoo.com. 

Still Stronger Women 

1:15 - 3:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Literature, arts, women writers' short stories. Free. 232-1351. 

Berkeley PC User Group 

7 p.m. 

Vista College, Room 303 

2020 Milvia St. 

Monthly meeting features Jan Fagerholm discussing Linux. 527-2177, meldancing@aol.com 

Saturday, Dec. 15

Calendar Sale Fundraiser for  

Berkeley High School’s 

Communications and Art  

School 

9 - 11 a.m. 

2310 Valley St. 

A variety of calendars to raise funds for video equipment for CAS. 843-2780, lorberlin@aol.com. 

Berkeley Alliance of  

Neighborhood Associations 

9:30 a.m. 

Fire Side Room, Live Oak Park 

Shattuck Ave. & Berryman St. 

A network for and by local people to inform and support a positive future for all neighborhoods. 845-7967, anicoloff@aol.com 

Berkeley Farmers’ Market  

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 

Martin Luther King, JR. Civic Center Park 

Fair will include organic produce, handcrafted gifts, live choral music, massages, and hot apple cider. 548-3333, www.ecologycenter.org 

Santa's Solstice Bazaar 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Metaversal Lightcraft 

1708 University Ave. 

Come shop while kids visit with Santa for free. Fine arts, crafts, 

clothing and gift booths in a magical and colorful scene. 644-2032, www.lightcraft.org. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers – jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

Berkeley Artisans Holiday  

Open Studios 

A Self-Guided Tour 

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Various locations 

100 artists and craftspeople open their studios to the public. For a map and locations, www.berkeleyartisans.com, or 845-2612. 

Concert for the September  

11th Fund 

7:30 p.m. 

Congregation Beth El 

2301 Vine St. 

An evening of music, joy and community spirit. Adama band, with Achi Ben Shalom. All proceeds support the victims of the September 11th attacks. $18. 848-3988. 

18th Annual Telegraph Avenue.  

Holiday Street Fair  

11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Telegraph Ave. 

Between Dwight Way and Bancroft 

Telegraph Avenue presents a mix of free music, good food, festive lights, colorful decorations. More than 300 artists will display handmade crafts. Free shuttle from Downtown Berkeley Bart. 

Cookie Decorating at the Albany Library 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Albany Library 

1247 Marin Ave. 

Decorate a cookie dove. The finished doves will be donated to a local agency that provides food for the homeless. Free and open to all ages. Light refreshments will be served. 526-3720 x19. 

Borneo Holiday Craft Sale  

11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Café de la Paz  

1600 Shattuck Ave. 

The Borneo Project’s second annual holiday craft sale includes artists from around the world. Handmade rattan baskets, mats, beadwork, carved shields, artifacts and weavings. 547-4258, borneo@earthisland.org. 

Crone Moon Ceremony 

7:30 - 9:30 p.m. 

Epworth Church 

1953 Hopkins 

Women of all ages gather in circle to release the past. $10. 874-4935, www.eco-crones.org. 

Sunday, Dec. 16

Community Chanukah of  

Reconciliation  

5 - 6:30 p.m. 

2215 Prince St. 

Bring your menorah--Everyone welcome. 486-2744, bayareawomeninblack@earthlink.net. 

So Lovely! So Lively! Solano! 

12 - 6 p.m. 

Solano Ave. 

Berkeley and Albany 

More than 50 street performers – jazz bands, carolers, talking trees, & toy soldiers during the holiday season along Solano Ave. www.solanoave.org 

“Foundations: A Course in  

Theology” 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley 

2345 Channing Way 

Taught by Jennifer DeWeerth, Assistant Dean and Registrar at Pacific School of Religion. 849-8239, www.psr.edu. 

– Compiled by Guy Poole 

Editor: 

John Geluardi wrote (12/11/01): “According to the mayor’s report, her office has been ‘contacted’ by longtime practitioner of psychic consulting who is concerned that ‘unscrupulous persons’ who falsely claim psychic abilities are establishing extrasensory consulting businesses in Berkeley.” 

But - all people claiming “psychic abilities” do so falsely! 

Dan Dugan 

San Francisco 

For a good time you can search the bathroom walls for phone numbers, try a quirky new salsa recipe or get into your favorite pajamas to watch yet another rerun of “Sex in the City.” 

For a very good time you might want to get yourself a copy of “Sweet Life: Erotic Fantasies for Couples,” a collection of short stories edited by Good Vibrations sex educator and Berkeley resident Violet Blue.  

Blue is also the founding editor of Good Vibrations Magazine, a columnist and the author of two previous books on oral sex. 

The title, “Sweet Life,” expressed in Italian as La dolce vita, refers to a life experience rich in steamy savory pleasures.  

The couples described in the the book’s 21 short works of fiction certainly do appreciate pleasure. In each story one or both members of a heterosexual couple introduces a forbidden sexual fantasy or tantalizing obsession – ranging from spankings to strap-ons. The plot thickens as the fantasy or obsession is transformed into reality.  

These stories are described in Blue’s introduction as “addictive, hot little reads.”  

I would have to agree. To my delight, many of these stories include literary and/or lavishly sensual touches that even the most stereotypically repressed librarian would have to (ahem) enjoy. 

In “Roger’s Fault,” author, Eric Williams cunningly constructs a story replete with unpredictable developments and some near-poetic lines such as:  

“Vinyl skin reached out to touch me” and “pouring the lube in a slick river.”  

In “Gerald,” by Alice Blue we get the wry, lovely, and somewhat tormented first-person narration of a police officer who thinks: “I remember thinking, as I walked up the steps to the little house… that anyone who blasted Beethoven couldn’t be a lot of trouble to deal with. I was wrong.” 

Like Conan Doyle’s short story “The Purloined Letter,” starring Sherlock Holmes, there’s an astonishing object in plain sight in “Gerald” – but this time it isn’t a letter. 

Each of the fictional characters in “Sweet Life” is engaged in a voyage of discovery. Because this book does qualify as erotica (vs. pornography), yes, Virginia, there is even some interesting characterization along with a satisfyingly perverse and diverse range of subject matter.  

As in any work in this genre, there are the ubiquitous cute story titles. Examples from “Sweet Life” include: “Check Your Inhibitions by the Door” by Ann Blakely, “Roaming Charges” by Charlotte Pope, and “Bob & Carol & Ted (But Not Alice)” written by M. Christian, the author of another newly released collection, Dirty Words. 

These are imaginative, well-written, and sexy stories. You wouldn’t want to throw even one out of bed. 

Here’s a taste from “Playing Doctor” by Dante Davidson: 

“My fantasies are getting stranger,” Katie began. Her voice was low, even though it was only the two of us in the room. 

“Tell me about them.” 

“I’m embarrassed, Jack,” she said, before instantly correcting herself. “I mean, I’m embarrassed…. Doctor.” 

“Nothing that the human mind produces should embarrass you,” I assured her. “There is a reason for everything, every thought, every desire.” 

924 Gilman Dec. 14: Hot Water Music, American Steel, F-Minus, Trial By Fire; Dec. 15: Strung Out, Limp, The Frisk, The Deadlines, The Creeps; Dec. 16: 5 p.m., Good Riddance, Missing 23rd, Downway, Audio Crush; Dec. 21: Kepi, Bonfire Madigan, Kevin Seconds; Dec. 22: The Lab Rats, Onetime Angels, A great Divide, Last Great Liar, Gabriel’s Ratchet; Dec. 23: 5 p.m., Over My Dead Body, Panic, Breaker Breaker, Some Still Believe; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

The Albatross Pub Dec. 15: Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet; Dec. 18: Panacea; Dec. 19: Whiskey Brothers; Dec. 20: Keni “El Lebrijano”; Dec. 27: Keni “El Lebrijano”; All shows start at 9 p.m., 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473  

Anna’s Dec. 10: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 11: Singers’ Open Mike #2; Dec. 12: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 13: Rev. Rabia, The Blueswoman; Dec. 14: Anna and Mark Little on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 15: Jazz Singers Vicki Burns and Felice York; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 16: The Jazz Fourtet; Dec. 17: Renegade Sidemen w/ Calvin Keyes; Dec. 18: Tangria Jazz Trio; Dec. 19: Bob Schoen Jazz Quartet; Dec. 20: Jazz Singers’ Collective; Dec. 21: Anna and Percy Scott on piano; 10 p.m., Bluesman Hideo Date; Dec. 22: Jazz Singer Robin Gregory; 10 p.m., The Distones Jazz Sextet; Dec. 23: Jazz Singer Ed Reed; All music starts 8 p.m. unless noted. 1801 University Ave., 849-2662. 

Ashkenaz Dec. 12: 9 p.m., Mz. Dee & Blues Alley, $8; Dec. 13: 10 p.m., Grateful Dead DJ Nite, $5; Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Musicians for Medical Marijuana benefit featuring: Fact Or Fiction and Greggs Eggs, $15; Dec. 15: 9 p.m., California Cajun Orchestra, $15; Dec. 16: 2 - 5:30 p.m., Alexandria Parafina and The Near Eastern Dance Company belly dance, $ 7; Dec. 16: 7 p.m., Afghan Women’s Benefit Dance, $8 - $15; Dec. 18: 8 p.m., Tom Rigney & Flambeau, $8; Dec. 19: 8 p.m., The Earls, $10; Dec. 20: 8 p.m., Darol Anger, Scott Nygaard and the Improbables, $8; Dec. 21: 8 p.m., “Celebrating the Life of David Nadel,” Aux Cajunals, Nigerian Bros., Tropical Vibrations, $8; Dec. 22: 9:30 p.m., Sensa Samba, $11; 1317 San Pablo Ave., 525-5054, www.ashkenaz.com.  

Club JJang-Ga Dec.14: Venus Bleeding, Hot Box, Angry Amputees, Eric Core; Dec.15: Bad Karma, Motiv, Inhalent, Sick Machine, Un Id; Dec. 22: Heaven & Hell, Blue Period; Dec. 29: Deducted Value, 3rd Rail, Noiz, Un Sed; 400 29th Ave., Oakland, (925) 833-7820, savageproductionssl@yahoo.com. 

Cal Performances Jan. 20: 3 p.m., Midori and Robert McDonald. $28 -$48. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph. 642-9988 

Eli’s Mile High Club Every Friday, 10 p.m. Funky Fridays Conscious Dance Party with KPFA DJs Splif Skankin and Funky Man. $10; Dec. 16: 3-8 p.m., Beverly Stovall Benefit, Jimmy McCracklin, JJ Malone, Jimi Mamou, Johnny Talbott. $10. 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. 655-6661 

Freight & Salvage Coffee House Dec. 10: John Wesley Harding, David Lewis & Sheila Nichols; Dec. 12: Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart; Dec. 13: Kevin Burke; Dec. 14: Dale Miller; Dec. 15: Robin Flower & Libby McLaren; Jan. 6: Allette Brooks. All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. Call 548-1761 for prices or see www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Julia Morgan Theatre Dec. 23: 7:30 p.m., an evening of Irish music and dance with Todd Denman and friends. $10, $5 children; Dec. 31: 8 p.m., New Year’s Eve Gala Concert, Program of classical favorites of the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra; Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, sizzling program of classical party music; Jan. 12: 8:p.m., “Club Dance,” Teens come together to express their individual personalities and gifts as dancers. $10, Students and Seniors $6, Children ages 5 and under $6. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Dec. 12: Mushroom; Dec. 13: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 14: Broun Fellini’s; Dec. 15: Norah Jones and Jim Campilongo; Dec. 19: Spectraphonic; Dec. 20: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 21: Crater; Dec. 22: Post Junk Trio; Dec. 27: Joshi Marshal Project; Dec. 28: Ben Krames & Candlelight Dub; Dec. 29: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Kirk Tamura Trio; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Holly Near, $15-$17; Dec. 16: 5 p.m, Flamenca Community Juerga, Free; Dec. 16: 7 p.m, Modupue & UpSurge, $8; Dec. 23: 3:30 p.m, Café Domingo de Rumba, Free; La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 849-2568, www.lapena.org 

“Music on Telegraph” Dec. 15: Thelonious On The Move, Bison Brewing, 2598 Telegraph Ave.; Dec. 16: Howard Kadis, Musical Offering Cafe, 2430 Bancroft; Dec. 22: Kaz Sasaki Duo, Blackberry Ginger, 2520 Durant; Dec. 23: Almadecor, Ann’s Kitchen, 2498 Telegraph Ave.; All shows 2 - 4 p.m., Free. 

Rose Street House Dec. 14 & 15: 7:30 p.m., Benefit Concert and Birthday Party, Shelly Doty and grassroots community of women singers and song writers; Dec. 25: 3 p.m., Annual “Dykelah Escape-from-you-know-what-day Musical Extravaganza!”; Jan.17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@yahoo.com. 

TUVA Space Dec. 16: 8 p.m., A concert of new compositions for string trio by young composers from Berkeley High School. $0 to $20. 3192 Adeline, td@pixar.com. 

Yoshi’s Jazz House Dec. 11 - 16: David Sánchez Quartet; Dec. 17: Tribute to Cal Tjader featuring Spectrum; Dec.18 - 23: Charlie Hunter; Dec. 26 - 31: New Year’s Fiesta, The Afro-Cuban Jazz Masters; Jan. 2 - 6: Charles Lloyd; All shows at 8 p.m., and 10 p.m., unless noted. 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakland. Check for prices and Sunday Matinees, 238-9200, www.yoshis.com. 

“WAVE,” Women’s Antique Vocal Ensemble Dec.14: 7:30 p.m., concert of Christmas music. $10, Students $5. Calvary Presbyterian Church, 1940 Virginia St., 848-9132. 

Bella Musica Chorus and Orchestra Dec. 15: 8 p.m.; Dec. 16: 4 p.m., Fall 2001 Concert, $15; St. Joseph-the Worker Church, 1640 Addison, 525-5393, www.bellamusica.org. 

“The Christmas Revels” Dec. 14: 8 p.m., Dec. 15: 1 & 5 p.m., Dec. 16: 1 & 5 p.m., celtic music, dance and storry telling. $15-$30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 893-9853 www.calrevels.org.  

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Dec. 18: 8 p.m., under the direction of Maestro Kent Nagano, plus the world premiere of Ichiro Nodaira’s “Kodama” written for and featuring Mari and Momo Kodama. $21 - $45; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, 841-2800, jeaston@berkeleysymphony.org. 

“Dotha’s Juke Joint: Everett and Jones Barbeque” Dec.21: 8 & 10p.m., Faye Carol and her Off the Hook Blues Band, $15; Jack London Square, 126 Broadway at Second St., reservations, 663-7668.  

The Oakland Interfaith Youth Gospel Choir’s 5th Annual Christmas Concert Dec. 22: 7 p.m., “The Reason Why We Sing”; The Regents Theater, Holy Names College, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland, 839-4361, www.oigc.org. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley Dec. 15: 2 p.m., “All-Brahms piano recital,” Yu-Ting Chen performs. Free; Jan. 6: 3 p.m., Stephen Genz in his West Coast debut; 2345 Channing Way, 527-8175, www.geocities.com/mostlybrahms. 

Theater 

“Macbeth” Dec.13: 1p.m; Dec.14: 8p.m., Drama class of Arrowsmith Academy presents Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” Durham Studio Theatre, UC Berkeley Campus, 540-0440. 

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Dec. 14: 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 15: 7:30 p.m.California Shakespeare Festival Student Company, presents a comedy with romance. Free. Rehearsal Hall, 701 Heintz St. 548-3422 X114. sunny@calshakes.org. 

“Brave Brood” Through Dec. 16: Robert O’Hara directs Robert O’Hara’s searing tale of money, desperation, and the fight for survival. $20. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. 883-0305 www.transparenttheater.org 

“Black Nativity” Through Dec. 16th: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2:30 p.m. 8 p.m., Sun. 5:30 p.m.; The birth of Jesus unfolds in this drama written by Langston Hughes. Directed and produced by Betty Gadling. $15 adults, $8 seniors and students, $5 children over 5. Allen Temple Baptist Church, 8501 International Blvd., Oakland 569-9418 www.allen-temple.org 

“The Christmas Revels” Through Dec. 16: Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. - Sun. 1 p.m., 5 p.m.; A cast of adults and children present a celebration of the winter solstice that combines dance, drama, ritual, and song. $15 - $30. Scottish Rite Theater, 1547 Lakeside Dr., Oakland 510-893-9853 www.calrevels.org  

“Much Ado About Nothing” Through Jan. 8: Check theater for specific dates and times. Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy chronicles a handful of soldiers returning from a winning battle to be greeted by a gaggle of giddy maidens. Directed by Brian Kulick. $10 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2949 www.berkeleyrep.org 

“Every Inch a King” Jan. 11 through Feb. 9: Thur. - Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 5 p.m.; Three sisters have to make a decision as their father approaches death in this comedy presented by the Central Works Theater Ensemble. $8 - $18. LeValls Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. 558-1381 

“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 

Film 

Pacific Film Archive Jan. 3: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Unfinished Song; Jan. 4: 7 p.m., 9:15 p.m., Going By; Jan. 5: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., Under the Moonlight; Jan. 6: 1p.m., 3 p.m., Paper Airplanes, 5:30 Shrapnels in Peace; Jan.10: 7 p.m., 9 p.m., ABC Africa; Jan.11: 7:30 p.m., The Girl at the Monceau Bakery and Suzanne’s Career, 9:05 p.m. The Sign of the Lion with Place de l’Etoile; Jan. 12: 7p.m., La Collectionneuse, 8:50 p.m., My Night at Maud’s; Jan.13: 1p.m., 3p.m., Os 

Exhibits  

“Berkeley Creations” Dec. 15: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., A group exhibit. Artist-at-Play Studio and Gallery, 1649 Hopkins St., 528-0494. 

“The Paintings of Bethany Anne Ayers and Sculpture of Alexander Cheves” Through Dec. 15: Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Ardency Gallery, 709 roadway, Oakland. 836-0831 gallery709@aol.com 

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

“Veiled and Revealed” Through Dec. 23: Human beings, costumed in native dress are captured by visual artists in a seven-person exhibit. Sat. Dec. 8, 15, and 23, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free. Simultaneously showing at ART-A-FACT, 1109 Addison St., and Metaversal Lightcraft, 1708 University Ave. 848-1985 

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” Dec. 19 through Jan. 8: An exhibit featuring Kathleen Flannigan’s drawing and furniture - boxes, tables, and mirrors, all embellished with images of the beauty and innocence of the natural world. Addison Street Windows, 2018 Addison St. 

“Carving, Canvas, Color: Art of Julio Garcia and Wilbert Griffith” Through Jan.12: Brightly colored wooden figures and colorfully detailed paintings. Gallery is open by appointment and chance, most weekdays 10:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.; The Ames Gallery, 2661 Cedar St., 845-4949, amesgal@home.com 

“Matrix 195” Through Jan. 13: German artist, Thomas Scheibitz’s, first solo museum exhibition in the United States showcases semi-abstract representations of everyday objects and landscapes. Wed., Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $3-$6. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808 www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Ardency Gallery, Mark J. Leavitt, “Analogous Biology: Balance and Use,” Dec. 20 through Jan. 19; Tue. - Sat., 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., 709 Broadway, Oakland. 836-0831, www.artolio.com. 

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 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” Dec. 19 through Feb. 2: An exhibition of painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography and more by Bay Area and  

regional artists. Pro Arts, 461 Ninth St., www.proartsgallery.org. 

Traywick Gallery: “New Work by Dennis Begg and Steve Briscoe” Jan. 5 through Feb. 9: Dennis Begg’s sculpture explores memory as the building block of consciousness, learning and experience. Steve Brisco’s paintings on paper address issues of identity through evocative combinations of text and imagery. Tues. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., 1316 10th St. 527-1214 

“Enduring Wisdom: Artwork and Stories by Homeless and Formerly Homeless Seniors” Through Feb. 15: 18 homeless and formerly homeless elders reveal how they learned and applied wisdom that is timeless. Mon. - Fri. and Sundays 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Reception and presentation by the elders Thurs. Nov. 15, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Free. St. Mary’s Center, 635 22nd St., Oakland, 893-4723 x222 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” Dec. 12 through Mar. 10: A selection of photographs and memorabilia presenting a different perspective on Adam’s career as one of the leading figures in American photography. Wed, Fri. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thur. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. $4- $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Migrations: Photographs by Sebastiao Salgado” Jan. 16 through Mar. 24: Over 300 black-and-white photographs of immigrants and refugees taken by the Brazilian photographer. Wed. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. $4 - $6. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.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, www.atelier9.com. 

Readings 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Jan. 8: Theodore Hamm discusses “Rebel and a Cause: Caryl Chessman and the Politics of the Death Penalty”; Jan. 10: Joan Frank reads from her new book, “Boys Keep Being Born”; Jan. 11: Christopher Hitchens, “Letters to a Youn Contrarian”; Jan. 14: Pamela Logan talks about “Tibetan Rescue: A Woman’s Quest to Save the Fabulous Art Treasures of Pewar Monastery”; All events are free and start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852. 

Coffee With A Beat - Word Beat reading series Dec. 15: Norm Milstein, Barbara Minton; Dec. 22: Debra Grace Khattab, Jesy Goldhammer; Dec. 29: Steve Arntson, Michelle Erickson, Clare Lewis; All readings are free and begin at 7 p.m., 458 Perkins, Oakland, 526-5985, www.angelfire.com/poetry/wordbeat. 

Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore Dec. 11: 7:30 p.m., Lisa Bach, editor of “Her Fork in the Road”, a collection of stories blending food and travel, and a panel of contributors to the anthology, present an evening of readings and discussions. Free. 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533 

“Rhythm & Muse Open Mic” Dec. 15: 7 p.m., Featuring poets Lara Dale and Mary-Marcia Casoly. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 527-9753 

Shambhala Booksellers Dec. 16: 7 p.m., Eli Jaxon-Bear reads from his new book, “The Enneagram of Liberation: from fixation to freedom.” 2482 Telegraph Ave., 848-8443.  

“World Ground Poetry” Dec.19: 7-9 p.m., Featuring Abdul Kenyatta & Paradise Freejahlove Supreme; World Ground Cafe, 3726 Mac Arthur Blvd., 482-2933, www.worldgrounds.com. 

Tours 

Golden Gate Live Steamers Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Lomas Cantadas Drive at the south end of Tilden Regional Park Small locomotives, scaled to size. Trains run Sun., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rides: Sun., noon to 3 p.m., weather permitting. 486-0623  

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 

Museums 

Habitot Children’s Museum “Back to the Farm” An interactive exhibit gives children the chance to wiggle through tunnels, look into a mirrored fish pond, don farm animal costumes, ride on a John Deere tractor and more. “Recycling Center” Lets the kids crank the conveyor belt to sort cans, plastic bottles and newspaper bundles into dumpster bins; $4 adults; $6 children age 7 and under; $3 for each additional child age 7 and under. 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 “Kwanzaa Community Celebration” Dec. 30: 12-4 p.m.,Nia Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that honors black family history; Through Jan. 13: Grand Lyricist: The Art of Elmer Bischoff, featuring paintings and works on paper that trace the evolution of Bischoff’s career. $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 Dec. 26: 1 p.m., Professor Smart’s Fun with Physics Show; Dec. 27: 1 p.m., Slapstick with Derique; Dec. 28: 1 p.m., Rhythmix; Dec. 29: 1 p.m., Magic with Jay Alexander; Dec. 30: 1 p.m., Music and Storytelling with Dennis Hysom; Dec. 31: 1 p.m., New Year’s Eve Party, special daytime holiday party for kids; Dec. 26 through 31: Free Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb; Through Jan. 26: Scream Machines: The Science of Roller Coasters; “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; Open daily, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., $7 for adults; $5 for children 5-18; $3 for children 3-4. Centennial Drive, UC Berkeley, 642-5132, www.lawrencehallofscience.org. 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.

Berkeley High girls’ soccer coach Suzanne Sillett intentionally scheduled a very tough pre-league schedule for her team this year, intending to get the young ’Jackets ready for ACCAL play. But if the first two games are any indication, Sillett didn’t need to worry too much. 

Coming off of an easy win against league newcomer Hercules on Tuesday, the ’Jackets kept the momentum going with a 10-0 whipping of Encinal on Thursday night in Berkeley. Sophomore forward Maura Fitzgerald scored a hat trick in the first 26 minutes of the match, and Berkeley got goals from seven different players in the comprehensive victory. 

“Games like this are an opportunity to work on what we’ve been practicing in a game situation,” Sillett said. “Changing the point of attack is something we’ve been trying to do, and we did that well tonight.” 

The tone was set right away, as Berkeley nearly scored before a Jet player touched the ball. The ’Jackets (3-5 overall, 2-0 ACCAL) took the opening kickoff down the field, and Hannah Grenfell’s header from a Fitzgerald cross just missed going in. But Berkeley kept the ball in the Encinal end and Fitgerald scored two minutes later on a breakaway. She had a chance for another score on the next possession when forward Annie Borton found her wide open in front of the Encinal goal, but Fitzgerald shot right at the Jet goalkeeper. 

Encinal managed to hold the ’Jackets scoreless for the next 15 minutes, but then Berkeley midfielder Rocio Guerrero put Laila Nossier through on the goal. Nossier cut one way to beat the last defender, then slid the ball past the goalkeeper with the outside of her foot for a 2-0 Berkeley lead. 

Fitzgerald scored twice in the next eight minutes, prompting the Encinal coach to replace his goalie. The move paid off for the rest of the half, as Berkeley seemed to let off the pressure just a bit. But the Jets still couldn’t get out of their own end, managing just one shot in the half on their way to three in the game. 

Encinal’s best scoring chance came just after halftime, as Berkeley goalkeeper Sara Corrigan-Gibbs gave the ball right to a Jet player, but the shot was right back at Corrigan-Gibbs, and the missed chance doomed Encinal to a shutout. 

Berkeley let loose with an avalanche of goals starting in the 52nd minute. Freshman Dea Wallach started the flood by just beating the goalie to a Kira Mandella cross, and Borton got her lone goal of the match two minutes later, pouncing on a corner kick right in front. Midfielder Veronica Searles got into the act in the 60th minute, stealing the ball from an Encinal defender and scoring an easy goal, then Elise McNamara went through the Encinal defense on her own to score on a breakaway. Searles fed Wallach for another goal in the 70th minute, and Guerrero headed in a Fitzgerald corner to put the ’Jackets in double figures and close the scoring five minutes later. 

So after beating up on two inferior opponents to open league play, is Sillett still glad she gave her team such a tough early schedule? 

“It definitely prepared us, but we just have to make sure and maintain that intensity,” she said. “Any team can surprise you.”

After almost three years of strife, peace may be returning to the five listener-sponsored Pacifica Foundation radio stations.  

The network’s board members and the listeners, local advisory members and “dissident” board members who sued them agreed to a settlement Wednesday in the Alameda County Superior Court. The agreement places the stations in the hands of those who have been fighting for a democratic board of directors. 

“The good guys have won,” said Larry Bensky, who now volunteers as a programmer, having been fired by Pacifica in 1999 as national affairs correspondent. “We accomplished the best deal we could have gotten.” 

“It’s a real opportunity to try to turn the network around,” added KPFA Interim Station Manager Jim Bennett. “Now we can get KPFA back on track financially.” 

The fight that pitted programmers and listener-sponsors of KPFA against the Pacifica Board began March 31, 1999 in Berkeley, when Pacifica management refused to renew the contract of a popular station manager.  

Programmers condemned the action on the air, and management instituted a gag order, demanding the issue not be made public. Programmers ignored the ban and Pacifica fired or banned several of them, eventually boarding up and closing down the station and broadcasting piped-in music. 

Listeners reacted by rallying in the street almost daily, camping out at the station every night and even chaining themselves to the station doors. Their civil disobedience provoked 100 arrests during that summer. One march amassed 10,000 supporters. 

The station re-opened about three weeks after it closed, and the fight moved to the state legislature, where the Joint Audit Committee asked to review Pacifica’s finances – the Foundation had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on armed security guards and a public relations firm that summer.  

And the fight went to the courts – listeners and “dissident” board members sued the “majority” Pacifica board, contending that the board was not adhering to the network’s mission to serve its listener-sponsors, and was acting in an undemocratic manner, including withholding information on the finances of the foundation from board members. 

The clash between listeners/programmers and the board spread to other stations across the country. One year ago, in what is now known as the “Christmas coup” WBAI-NY staff was fired and banned from the station. Democracy Now! the network’s nation-wide news magazine left WBAI alleging harassment by management and is now heard only on KPFA and Pacifica affiliates, and not on the other four Pacifica stations. 

Wednesday’s agreement is the resolution of four consolidated lawsuits, which had been slated to go to trial Jan. 8. It states that the interim board will serve for 15 months and will be comprised of: 

• Five members chosen from the present “majority” board. (They are Marion Barry, former Washington, D.C. mayor, Wendell Johns, a vice president at Fannie Mae; George Barnstone, James Furguson, Burt Lee.) 

• The five members of the present “minority” board. (Tomas Moran and Pete Bramson of KPFA, Leslie Cagan of WBAI-New York, Rob Robinson of WPFW-Washington, D.C. and Rabbi Aaron Kriegel of KPFK-Los Angeles.) 

• Five members, one chosen from each of the five stations’ local advisory boards. (These members will eventually be replaced by persons selected from elected local advisory boards – at present only KPFA elects its LAB.) 

KPFA activists say the current “minority” position will become the majority, since “dissidents” control four out of the five local advisory boards. 

Decisions will be made by majority vote, but that majority must have one vote from each of the three different interest groups on the board, or must garner two-thirds support. If no consensus can be reached, then the board takes the question to Judge Ronald Sabraw of Alameda County Superior Court for resolution. 

While she signed on to the agreement, litigant and KPFA activist Barbara Lubin says she would have preferred that decisions be made by a simple majority vote. But “it’s as good as we can get,” she said. 

Sherry Gendelman, chair of KPFA’s Local Advisory Board, was more upbeat: “We got what we needed to achieve the restoration of the network,” she said. “It gives us the basic tools and structure to pull this off.” 

The alternative would have been to “gamble” on a trial, said Gendelman, an attorney. She said that she thinks any impasse will be easily resolved in Judge Sabraw’s court. 

The board will be charged with writing new bylaws as well as resolving a number of questions the settlement describes as “hot issues.” 

They include the question of returning “Democracy Now!” to all five stations; the question of Pacifica National News stringers who went out on strike, protesting censorship of the news by Pacifica management; the fate of the New York station staff fired and banned from WBAI; the issue of doing an audit and hiring a comptroller; ending gag rules, currently imposed at the four stations other than KPFA. 

Barbara Lubin said she was exhausted from the fight, but cautioned that it’s not yet over. It is still to be a “long, long struggle,” she said, noting that the foundation is $2 - $3 million in debt. 

Interim Station Manager Bennett, who has had to concentrate on keeping the station running – Pacifica is behind paying KPFA’s bills – said that now he can focus on what is important. “It gives us more of a chance to concentrate on radio.” 

Robert Farrell, former Los Angeles city councilmember, a member of the board “majority” and chair of the Pacifica Board until the new board is formally constituted – possibly next week – said he is elated by the agreement. “It points Pacifica in a new direction, toward a new future,” he said. “It will be a challenge to all of us to keep this momentum going.” 

And Bensky said it would give stations across the country an opportunity to hear programming which fulfills the mission of the station, founded in 1949 by pacifists. The fact that people in four listener areas could not hear Democracy Now!, the news reported by the striking Pacific Network News stringers and Bensky’s national perspective, especially during the critical post 9-11 era, “is in direct conflict with the mission of the organization,” Bensky said. 

Turning his attention to Pacifica supporters, he added: “We accomplished this only because of tens of thousands of people who would not give up and would not let us give up. It’s heartening to see how many people get it – free speech has to be fought for. We can’t let it be stolen.” 

Editor: 

John Geluardi wrote (12/11/01): “According to the Mayor’s report, her office has been ‘contacted’ by longtime practitioner of psychic consulting who is concerned that ‘unscrupulous persons’ who falsely claim psychic abilities are establishing extrasensory consulting businesses in Berkeley.” 

The East Bay Skeptics Society proposes that all so-called psychic’s be “registered” only if they can pass a scientific test of their “powers”. We will be happy to consult with the city of Berkeley to help design such a test. 

Daniel Sabsay,  

president 

East Bay Skeptics Society 

NEW YORK – His long hair trimmed and his goatee shaved, Jason Giambi stepped into Yankee Stadium wearing a three-piece suit and looking like a new man. 

As in, the kind of guy who puts on pinstripes for a living. 

After weeks of anticipation, the prime free agent and the New York Yankees made it official Thursday: He signed a $120 million, seven-year contract. 

“This is my best fit,” said Giambi, who briefly choked up at the podium. “This was the team I was hoping would come after me.” 

Once he became a free agent, Giambi seemed destined to sign with the Yankees. But the A’s had their chance long ago to lock him up. 

Last spring, Giambi turned down a $91 million, six-year extension offered by the Athletics because they refused to include a no-trade clause. 

“The A’s never moved where they stood,” Giambi said. 

On Thursday, Athletics co-owners Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann tried to explain how such a popular player got away. 

“The Oakland Athletics made Jason a solid offer that would’ve paid him more than one-third of our team’s annual payroll,” they said in a statement. “This is just another example that the economic problems of major league baseball are out of control.” 

About a dozen fans met Giambi outside the ballpark when he arrived on a cold, damp afternoon. The slugging first baseman signed autographs and showed off his wild side, engaging a spirited bit of give and take. 

“You know you’ll hear me screaming,” one man playfully shouted. 

“I better!” Giambi shot back. 

The 2000 AL MVP, Giambi was runner-up for the award this season after hitting .342 with 38 homers and 120 RBIs for Oakland. 

Giambi, 30, also led the league in on-base percentage (.477) and slugging (.660) last season. 

From City Hall to the Bronx, people were buzzing about the new big bopper. 

“Jason Giambi has a star quality that fits in New York,” Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said. 

“He’ll add a dimension to the Yankees that’s terrific as a slugger, the way Reggie Jackson did and Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth –– all left-handed power hitters.” 

Giuliani, Berra and manager Joe Torre were among several luminaries who called Giambi, trying to lure the first baseman to New York. Former first baseman Don Mattingly wrote him a letter. 

Berra was at the park to greet Giambi. While the entire Yankee Stadium field was torn up to work on the drainage system, the legacy of greatness was intact. 

“I told him there’s a tradition here,” Berra said. 

Not that Giambi needed to hear about all the history. He already knew it after growing up in California as a Yankees’ fan, idolizing Mantle. 

Unable to wear the No. 16 he sported in Oakland – the Yankees have retired it to honor Hall of Famer Whitey Ford – Giambi put on his new uniform with the No. 25. 

Giambi picked the number because the digits added up to the Mick’s No. 7. 

“Well, pop, it’s not 7, but it’s pinstripes,” he told his dad. 

His father, John, sat a few feet away and could hardly stop smiling. Also a lifelong Yankees’ rooter, he was momentarily speechless when Berra came over and introduced himself. 

Giambi joined a team that has won four of the last six World Series. His contract includes a club option for an eighth year. 

“You have the most incredible surroundings to win,” Giambi said. “Besides the money, all the other things, the intangibles.” 

One thing that was very visible: a clean-cut Giambi, who said, “I wanted to make sure it was cut and shaved.” 

His hair was free flowing and hung almost to his shoulders when he starred for the Athletics. That’s not the Yankees’ style, and Giambi seemed comfortable with his hair well above the collar. 

“I’m just very happy to have him,” owner George Steinbrenner said in a statement. “He’s one great kid and I know he’s going to be a great Yankee.” 

After losing Game 7 of this year’s Series to Arizona, New York swiftly made changes. 

The Yankees traded for third baseman Robin Ventura and outfielder John Vander Wal and signed free agent Steve Karsay. They have reached preliminary agreements with outfielder Rondell White and pitcher Sterling Hitchcock. 

But Giambi was the biggest acquisition. He became part of team that has not had someone hit even 30 home runs in 10 of the last 14 seasons. 

Giambi’s left-handed power stroke is ideal for Yankee Stadium, with its short right field. He is a career .245 hitter at the park, with just one home run in 102 regular-season at-bats, but that was against New York’s stellar staff. 

The Yankees chased the A’s from the playoffs in the last two seasons, both times in a decisive Game 5. Last October, Giambi went 4-for-4 while Oakland lost 5-3 in the final game. 

Giambi takes over for first baseman Tino Martinez, who hit 34 homers. 

“I know I’m replacing a great Yankee,” Giambi said. “He’s a winner. He’s got World Series rings to prove it.” 

Torre said he was not sure where Giambi would hit in the lineup.

City Council to consider definition of ‘culture’ 

Bicycle advocate Jason Meggs stepped up to the lectern during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s City Council meeting and placed a portable tape recorder next to the public address system microphone.  

“EHHH, EHHH, EHHH EHHH, EHHH.” 

“That’s the sound of the gapping maw of death,” Meggs said referring to the recorded warning sound made at downtown garages when a vehicle is about to exit to the street. “That is the sound that warns pedestrians to give up their God-given right to walk down the sidewalk.” 

Meggs, along with about 50 other bicycle and pedestrian advocates, attended the meeting to support a controversial Draft General Plan policy that calls for a two-year moratorium on downtown parking studies. 

The policy, known as T-35, is designed to encourage commuters and visitors to use alternate transportation in getting to the downtown area, thereby taking pressure off the existing parking garages.  

Bicycle and pedestrian advocates have argued strongly that increasing parking will increase traffic by encouraging more people to use their cars. 

T-35 has been strongly opposed by downtown business owners concerned that the influx of new businesses, such as the Auroa Theater, Freight and Salvage Coffee House and the newly remodeled Central Library, will put too much pressure on existing garages. 

The council is now reviewing the nine sections of the draft plan and has agreed to approve the Housing, Land Use and Transportation sections by next Tuesday. 

The council set aside the plan’s more controversial issues, like T-35, so it could move quickly approve 14 of 20 staff-recommended amendments. The amendments the council approved, nearly all by unanimous votes, were generally minor changes such as language corrections. 

The council will delve into the parking study policy, as well as a series of controversial land use issues such as an amendment written by the Ecocity Builders and the definition of “cultural facility” on Tuesday prior to approving the three elements. 

Council urged to be “visionary” 

Bicycle Friendly Berkeley Coalition Events Coordinator Sarah Syed urged the council to create a more “visionary” downtown plan and then submitted approximately 120 postcards signed by people who support policy T-35.  

Syed said the large showing of T-35 supporters was to balance an equally large showing of business representatives who spoke during the Draft General Plan public hearing last month. 

“The council hadn’t heard from the public on this issue,” she said after the meeting. “The public hearing was dominated by business owners, managers and their employees, especially from the YMCA.”  

YMCA Executive Director Fran Gallati said the YMCA is against T-35 because the downtown businesses are expanding and its important to at least be able to study possible parking issues. 

“The downtown is rapidly becoming a vibrant place that has a lot to offer the community,” he said. “T-35 does not support a strong Y, a strong new Central Library and a strong arts district.” 

Gallati pointed out the YMCA promotes alternate transportation to its members and employees including handing out maps with bike and transit routes, the installation of bike racks and touting the health benefits of walking. But he said some people, especially seniors and parents, are not able to use alternate modes of transportation. 

Mayor Shirley Dean, who leads the council’s minority moderate faction, opposes T-35 and has proposed that a parking study of current parking needs and the projection of parking needs over the next five years given the number of businesses that are expected to move into the downtown area. 

To the dismay of bicycle and pedestrian advocates, it appears there may be support among the five-member progressive majority for deleting the two-year moratorium on parking studies from the draft plan. Councilmember Linda Maio removed the two-year moratorium from her list of suggested amendments and instead has called for a visitor access survey. 

“I suggested the visitor survey because visitors are the people who patronize the restaurants and stores,” Maio said. “Parking availability for visitors is important because that’s what makes for a vibrant downtown.” 

Maio said she wants to convince downtown business owners to discourage their employees from leaving their cars parked in meter spots all day, which ties up the most popular parking spaces. 

What is culture? 

Another controversial issue that will be debated Tuesday is the definition of “culture facility.” A Planning Commission policy in the land use section of the draft plan seeks to encourage arts and performance organizations in the downtown by allowing developers to increase building heights by one bonus floor if they lease commercial space to a nonprofit “cultural facility.” 

But Dean wants to adopt the Civic Arts Commission’s definition of “cultural facility” which would include for-profit arts organizations.  

“I think the Civic Arts Commission is in a better position to define cultural uses than the Planning Commission,” Dean said. 

Civic Arts Commission Chair Sherry Smith said the difference is that the CAC definition expresses a preference for nonprofits but also allows for profit art galleries, arts and craft supply stores and book stores to apply for the cultural facility bonus. 

“The Planning Commission definition is too narrow,” she said. “What if there’s a for-profit organization that everybody wants in down there like the jazz school? The Planning Commission definition would exclude them.” 

But Planning Commission Vice Chair Zelda Bronstein said that if for-profits were allowed to vie for downtown cultural space they would be have a better chance because developers are generally more interested in the lessee’s ability to meet rent payments than in supporting the arts. 

“If a landlord has a choice between a nonprofit arts organization and for-profit business, the landlord will take the for-profit business, especially the larger corporate business because there is a better guarantee of financial security,” Bronstein said. “We have to decide, do we want to help subsidize another Barnes and Noble book store or a unique nonprofit like the Freight and Salvage Coffee House?” 

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

Editor: 

Here are some of the alternatives suggested by the Transportation Demand Management Study which can be implemented for a small fraction of the cost of new parking: 

Commuter Check gives a tax break to employees who use transit. Employers even save money as their payroll tax contribution decreases. 

More frequent, attractive bus and BART service with night time hours would help many gain access to downtown. The $35,000 cost of building one parking space could provide 500 hours of additional bus service. When some take public transit, it leaves ample parking for those still driving. At present, all day owner and employee vehicles fill spaces meant for shoppers. 

The Class Pass used by UC Berkeley students works well. An Eco-pass for all city, UC Berkeley and downtown employees would encourage many to consider switching from driving and parking. The Downtown Berkeley Association could sponsor an Eco-pass program for members’ employees. The city’s Eco-Pass has been instantly popular. Each time one Eco-pass works (there is one less parked car) $35,000 of our tax dollars can go to sewers, streets and sidewalks, affordable housing or the arts – not to parking. 

Free parking to van and car pools reduces the need for parking spaces, freeing spaces for people who truly have to drive and park.  

An arts and entertainment nighttime parking pass program would assure the prime parking for Arts District events. Anyone could pay to park; arts pass holders park for free. Arts passes could be purchased when ticket holders order tickets.  

Better signs telling people where parking and transit connections are located reduces search congestion, better using our present resources. 

Incentives to existing parking garages to remain open to the public at night creates more parking spaces without the costs of construction. There are more than 1,000 such spaces currently underutilized in or near downtown Berkeley.  

Moving all day and monthly parkers out of existing garages and onto transit or remote parking frees those spaces for shoppers and visitors. 

It’s only prudent to determine what our true resources and needs are before we spend money on a presumed gap between need and supply. This is how we “solved the energy crisis” we lowered peak demand by conservation not by new construction.  

That’s the orderly process T-35 proposes for downtown: 1. Conservation of our existing parking resources for those who need them most by switching some who don’t to other travel modes, lowering peak demand; 2. Assess visitor access and the remaining demand as compared to the supply; 3. Spend scarce tax dollars to build more parking garages only if still needed. TDM predicts that if a modest 3 percent of all day parkers switch, we will have an adequate supply. 

T-35 is the balanced approach. The draft General Plan’s Policy T-35 is also a sensible tax-saving approach – move some all-day commuters out of parking spaces downtown while continuing to accommodate the business, shopper, and visitor short term parking.  

Wendy Alfsen 

Berkeley

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Cal swimmer Natalie Coughlin was named the female November 2001 Athlete and Team of the Month Award winner for athletic accomplishments during the month by the United States Olympic Committee on Wednesday.  

Coughlin nearly swept the women’s race. The Cal sophomore had a memorable month, winning nine events in five days from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2. Coughlin set two world records, two American records and six meet records while participating in the FINA World Cup in East Meadow, N.Y., and the Texas Invite in Austin, Texas.  

Swimming in the World Cup, Coughlin broke world records in the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke (short course meters), earning her first world records ever. Her 200-meter back record was 1.5 seconds faster than the previous mark, and her 100-meter world record was 1.4 seconds faster than the old record. She followed those performances with an American and U.S. Open record in the 50-meter fly. On the first day of the Texas Invite, Coughlin posted the second-fastest time ever in the 100-yard fly, setting a new meet record; she also won the 50-yard free in 22.51, making her the 10th-fastest in history in the event.  

Topping the voting in the men’s race was 2001 U.S. National champion Sean Townsend. Representing USA Gymnastics, Townsend earned a World Championship gold medal on the parallel bars, claiming the first gold medal for the U.S. men’s team since 1979.

Editor: 

In a Dec. 3 letter attacking his long enemies’ list, Richard Register saved an especially vicious attack for City Councilmember Dona Spring. Such name-calling, regardless of its target, abuses these pages and degrades public discourse. 

Let’s call Richard’s bluff when he claims, “It’s time for progressives to get real about strategies to actually deliver housing and environmental policy....” In fact, this is what hundreds of Berkeley residents (of all political persuasions) accomplished in open public meetings over the last 2-1/2 years. The resulting draft General Plan is one of the “greenest” city plans ever written, with unusually strong affordable-housing policies. The City Council should pass it – essentially intact. 

The “Ecocity Amendment” that Richard mentions has been considered and rejected – again and again – by the city’s environmentally aware, and pro-housing, Planning Commission and staff. They refused his unworkable pet project for very good reasons: beneath some nice-sounding rhetoric, Richard’s “Ecocity” proposals are as bizarre and inappropriate as his attack-dog style. Richard’s notions would reduce – not increase – Berkeley’s supply of affordable housing, by undercutting current affordable-housing incentives. They would worsen – not improve – the city’s real environmental impacts. They would diminish the city’s “livability,” by toppling the current protections for views and solar access that make high density bearable. And they have no real voter support. 

Richard’s whining that anyone “wants to keep people out of town” is absurd, false, and comes from the city’s least appropriate source. Richard’s past writings indicate that he favors throwing about 70 percent of Berkeley residents out of their homes, to make way for “a return to agriculture and nature.” 

Does any sane person think demolishing 70 percent of our housing stock would promote affordability? Consider the costs of building replacement housing at current prices. 

Does any sane person think massive demolition would be good for the local environment? Consider the former World Trade Center’s continuing “fallout” of airborne asbestos and other contaminants. 

To our knowledge, Richard’s favorite developer, Patrick Kennedy, has never built a single affordable housing unit beyond the bare minimum required to win his height bonuses. He has reportedly even disputed the city law that requires new buildings to include room for moderate-income people. Although Richard crows about the Bay view he enjoys from his subsidized nest up near the 11th floor of “The World’s Tallest Seven-Story Building,” he would pull up the ladder and deny the benefits of affordability and views to others. 

By contrast, the publicly written General Plan appropriately makes affordable (not premium-priced) housing its first housing priority. 

We think even Richard would acknowledge this if he’d bothered to read the plan. He’s evidently been too busy collecting his trumpeted “endorsements.” These typically come from one- or two-person “letterhead organizations” (much like Richard’s own “Ecocity Builders”), with a handful from small endorsement committees of larger groups. 

Endorsers large and small are now distancing themselves from Richard – praising his “spirit” but disavowing his “specifics” – as they learn his valid points were in the General Plan all along. 

To again call Richard’s bluff: Let’s “get beyond government by...appeasing the badgerers.” The General Plan vote will be a test not for any one councilmember, but for the whole City Council. Rejecting Richard’s silliest suggestions would decisively repudiate the city’s old “Berzerkeley” stereotype, and demonstrate that Berkeley does not cave in to the most strident badgerer. 

Passing the publicly written General Plan – unencumbered – would honor the staff and community members who did their homework, produced rational and productive results, and respectfully accommodated their neighbors’ concerns.  

Michael Katz  

and Becky O’Malley  

Berkeley

Jolyn Warford, Regional Marketing Coordinator for Whole Foods, said she provided the Planet with inaccurate information for its Dec. 5 story, “Protesters say hemp is food not drugs.” Warford said that, contrary to her previous statements, Whole Foods will continue to stock hemp food despite a new federal regulation banning the products. She said Whole Foods does not believe hemp food contains enough THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana, to justify the ban.

Editor: 

Your story of Dec. 5 on hempseed foods did the industry and your readers a great disservice. Had you taken the time to talk to an actual hempseed importer, you would have learned that we already comply with DEA’s Interim Rule!  

Many of us have had zero THC hempseed foods for years. Therefore, the Interim Rule should have no effect on the vast majority of hempseed foods, including those of HempNut, Inc. (www.thehempnut.com), and its customers Nature’s Path, French Meadow Bakery, and Alpsnack. 

DEA’s Rule is a clarification of the basis under which all responsible hempseed importers have already been operating under for quite some time. However, that simple fact has been lost on those who do not import hempseed and thus have no burden of compliance, but are attempting to manipulate the meaning of the Rule for political reasons. 

The unfortunate result of all this “DEA bans hemp food” hype, is that it succeeds where even the DEA never could: make the demand for hemp foods dwindle, and scare away the trade upon which we depend to sell our foods. For more information I suggest the Hemp Food Association website: www.HempFood.com. 

I trust the citizen will make the appropriate corrections.  

Richard Rose,  

Founder and Director Hemp Food Association,  

Citing a “conflict of interest,” the federal court judge presiding over the trial of Vijay and Prasad Lakireddy, sons of jailed Berkeley landlord Lakireddy Bali Reddy, has handed the case to a colleague. 

Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong signed an order recusing herself from the Lakireddy case on Monday.  

Judge Claudia Wilken will preside over the trial of the brothers, who stand accused of conspiracy to bring aliens into the United States illegally, importing aliens for immoral purposes and traveling to engage in a sexual act with a juvenile. 

The dates of all future hearings in the case have been canceled. Wilken will reassign new dates during the coming weeks. 

In her order, Brown Armstrong gave no explanation of the “conflict of interest,” leaving observers puzzled about what that conflict may be. 

Lucas Guttentag, an ACLU lawyer representing several of the victims in the case, said on Thursday that Brown Armstrong’s reticence on the subject was not unusual. 

“She wasn’t required to give any more information than she did in the order,” he said. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Scientists are uncertain how much of the carbon dioxide given off naturally each year within the North American ecosystem is reabsorbed by that system, complicating calculations of the net effect of human activities on emissions of the greenhouse gas. 

The calculation is important because it establishes a baseline to gauge incremental sources of carbon dioxide — namely that produced by the burning of fossil fuels, scientists said Thursday at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. 

Stating outright whether North America is a source or sink is currently “problematic,” said Pieter Tans, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist. 

“The evidence is not strong enough,” Tans said. 

Should scientists determine that the United States absorbs more carbon dioxide than is naturally emitted within its borders, it could subtract that from the total amount that escapes to the atmosphere from its smokestacks and tailpipes, said Christopher Potter, a scientist with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Ames Research Center. 

“It’s very important we try to pin this down and know its variability,” Potter said. 

Carbon dioxide is the main culprit behind the rise in global temperatures that is widely accepted by scientists, Establishing how much individual nations emit is a thorny issue. 

Last month, negotiators from 165 countries agreed on rules for implementing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which calls on about 40 industrialized nations to limit carbon dioxide emissions or cut them to below 1990 levels. The United States has rejected the accord. 

Together, the U.S. and Canada emit about 1.7 billion tons of carbon each year, mainly as carbon dioxide. The amount is huge but still a fraction of the estimated 140 billion tons of carbon that cycles through the atmosphere, land and oceans during the same period. 

Of the total, scientists are unsure how much is taken up within the two nations’ forests, farms and wetlands. Year-to-year variations in temperature and rainfall can skew the numbers significantly. 

Estimates derived from NASA satellite measurement of plant growth across the United States and Canada suggest that the region absorbs anywhere from one-fourth to one-third more carbon than it emits. In short, that means the amount taken up by plant growth exceeds that rereleased to the atmosphere through rot and fire. 

Jing Chen of the University of Toronto said warmer and wetter weather — possibly due to global warming — has extended the growing season by as much as a week over the last century. That increased growth could translate into more carbon dioxide being removed from the atmosphere, he said. 

“It is difficult to have high confidence in these calculations,” Chen said. 

OAKLAND — The Association of Bay Area Governments on Thursday announced Projections 2002, a forecast that details expected economic and demographic trends in the Bay Area. 

The forecast shows new patterns in population, employment, labor force, income, and households in the Bay Area for the next 25 years, especially after the dot-com economy plummeted. 

The new forecast predicts recovery from the Bay Area recession will begin during the second half of 2002, with jobs and population growing at a pace of one to two percent per year. 

Data shows that the area’s economy will continue to be driven by high technology, biomedical research and development, the finance sector, tourism, retail goods and services, and government. 

Currently the Bay Area’s population is at 6.8 million and projected to grow to 7.5 million in 2010 and 8.2 million in 2025. 

SAN FRANCISCO — The Bay Area Poll 2001 showed that this year, more residents are concerned about the regional economy than last year, but respondents still cite transportation as the biggest regional problem. 

From a total of 600 surveyed residents, 27 percent ranked the economy as the biggest regional problem compared to only 4 percent in 2000. But more expect economic conditions to get better in the coming 12 months than to worsen. Thirty-eight percent expected improvement, 25 percent saw the economy staying the same, while 32 percent, predicted a worsening economic scenario for the region. 

Transportation still remains the biggest problem facing the region, according to 32 percent of residents. But the survey registered a 25 percent drop in the number of residents putting transportation at the top of the list. 

Housing, as the top problem facing the Bay Area, dropped from second place 24 percent in 2000 to third place this year, earning 14 percent of the residents’ ire. 

The poll, conducted by the Field Research Corporation and commissioned by the Bay Area Council, surveyed residents from the nine Bay Area counties and has a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percent. 

SANTA CLARA — A judge on Wednesday ordered Cathline Repunte, the San Jose school bus driver accused of killing a co-worker and injuring three others, to undergo evaluations by court-appointed doctors to determine whether she is competent to stand trial. 

Police say more than a dozen witnesses at Laidlaw Transit watched in terror as Cathline Repunte allegedly opened fire early on the morning of April 23. 

While family members claim Repunte has a history of mental problems, prosecutors have said there is no evidence of that. 

SAN FRANCISCO — NASA will cease communicating with its Deep Space 1 spacecraft on Tuesday, ending a three-year mission capped in September when the probe imaged what may be the darkest object in the solar system. 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration will stop sending the robotic probe commands next week and let it drift, leaving it to silently orbit the sun, Robert Nelson, the mission’s project scientist, said Thursday. 

Members of the $164 million mission, based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, had hoped to extend the life of the spacecraft into next year and send it flying past an asteroid known as 1999 KK1 to capture images of the space rock at close range. The feat would have cost NASA several million dollars. 

“We did not get an enthusiastic response from NASA headquarters,” Nelson said. 

During its short lifetime, Deep Space 1 successfully flew past two other solar system objects, the asteroid Braille in 1999 and, more recently, the comet Borrelly on Sept. 22. 

On Thursday, scientists gave reporters at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco an update on what they learned from the Borrelly encounter, which marked only the second time a spacecraft was able to photograph the dark nucleus of a comet. 

During the flyby, the spacecraft flew within 1,360 miles of Borrelly, snapping images of the shoe-shaped comet, mapping its topography and making other scientific measurements. 

The images showed the surface of Borrelly is nearly as dark as the almost pure carbon used as toner in photocopiers, Nelson said. On average, the surface absorbs as much as 97 percent of the sunlight that fall onto it. 

The spacecraft’s cameras also captured bright jets of dust and gas shooting in tight columns from the comet. 

“They cross each other like a bunch of searchlights coming off a city at night,” said Larry Soderblom of the U.S. Geological Survey and head of the mission’s imaging team. 

Comets grow active when their orbits take them on close approaches toward the sun, which can bake them with its warming rays. Scientists said they were able to measure temperatures as high as 162 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface of Borrelly. 

That heat boils off the frozen mix of water and dust that make up the interior of comets, sending it spewing into space. That material represents the frozen remnants of the stuff from which our solar system coalesced some 4.5 billion years ago. 

Soderblom called that mix the “most primitive materials from which we, the solar system and life arose.” 

Although cometary nuclei are typically jet black, the luminous glow of the cloud of gas and dust that envelops the frozen snow balls can be among the brightest objects visible in the night sky. 

“It is one of the great and fun curiosities of science,” Nelson said. 

Scientists are still unsure if Borrelly is the absolute darkest known object in the solar system. The only known rival is Iapetus, one of the moons of Saturn. 

NASA designed Deep Space 1 to test a dozen innovative technologies in space. Mission members consider its afterlife as a science mission as a bonus.

Oakland A’s hitter caught in Vegas airport with a half-ounce in bag 

LAS VEGAS — Oakland Athletics designated hitter Jeremy Giambi was cited at McCarran International Airport after security officers said they found about a half-ounce of marijuana in his bag. 

“It happened at 9:30 a.m. Monday during a routine security check,” Las Vegas police spokesman Tirso Dominguez told The Associated Press on Thursday. 

“While going through the checkpoints, airport personnel found what appeared to be marijuana,” he said. 

Police cited Giambi, who was traveling to Phoenix, with a misdemeanor for possession of a controlled substance. 

He was allowed to continue on to his flight, said airport unit Lt. Ted Moody. 

“We didn’t have him long. We impounded the marijuana, wrote the citation and sent him on his way,” Moody told the Las Vegas Sun. “He got a ticket just like anyone else would.” 

A McCarran spokeswoman confirmed Thursday that Giambi was cited while attempting to pass through a security checkpoint, but said the incident was turned over to police. 

A January court date was set for the 27-year-old slugger who owns a home in Henderson. 

A spokesman for the Oakland Athletics could not be immediately reached for comment and Giambi was unavailable. 

Giambi signed on with the Athletics in spring 2000. 

He played for Oakland with his older brother, Jason Giambi, who signed a $120 million, seven-year contract with the New York Yankees on Thursday. 

Jeremy Giambi made his big-league debut with the Kansas City Royals in 1998. 

This past season, he played first base, outfield and designated hitter for Oakland as he hit .283, with 12 home runs and 57 RBI, in 124 games. 

A new Nevada law that went into effect Oct. 1 eased penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana. 

Formerly a felony, possession of an ounce or less of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum $600 fine for a first offense — instead of the old felony provisions of up to four years in prison.

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court has upheld the tax-evasion conviction of Brian Setencich, California’s former Assembly speaker. 

“There was sufficient evidence in the record to support appellant’s conviction,” the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a one-paragraph memo released Thursday. 

In September of last year, he was sentenced to seven months in a halfway house. 

Setencich was convicted of looting his campaign account and understating his 1996 income by $19,301, ending his right to vote or hold public office. 

Setencich, a Republican, was Assembly speaker in late 1995. San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown has hired him to work in the city’s emergency communications office. 

The case is United States v. Setencich, 00-10445. 

SACRAMENTO — The California Department of Corrections said Thursday it will pay for the legal defense of three current correctional officers and one former employee accused in a pending federal civil rights lawsuit. 

The guards are accused of setting up the rape of inmate Eddie Dillard by leaving him in the cell of a known sexual predator, Wayne Robertson. 

The decision means the state would pay any compensatory damages from the federal suit, said Dillard’s attorney, Robert L. Bastian Jr., though the four may be personally liable for any punitive damages. 

The agreement comes after a state court in Hanford ruled the department is legally required to defend the Corcoran State Prison guards. The state is dropping its appeal, which had been set for a hearing later this month. 

The 118-pound Dillard alleges he was repeatedly raped over two days in March 1993 by Robertson, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound convicted murderer known as the “Booty Bandit.” 

However, a Kings County Superior Court jury acquitted four guards in 1999 of aiding and abetting sodomy in concert. 

Three of the four guards – Robert Allan Decker, Joe Sanchez and Anthony J. Sylva – and a fourth former employee, Kathy Horton-Plant, are named in the federal civil rights lawsuit awaiting a January 8 hearing in U.S. District Court in Fresno. 

The suit is expected to go to trial next spring.

ATLANTA — Smoking is more common in the Midwest and South than other parts of the nation, while Orange County has the lowest rate in the country, the government said Thursday in its first city-by-city study of tobacco use. 

Smoking rates are lower in the Northeast and West, where clean indoor-air laws are stronger and cigarette taxes in many states are higher, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. 

Toledo, Ohio, had the highest rate of any metropolitan area in the country, with more than 31 percent of its residents reporting they were smokers. Orange County had the lowest rate — just 13 percent. 

The study examined 99 cities last year, asking respondents in a random telephone survey whether they smoked at least on some days and whether they had smoked more than 100 cigarettes. Those who answered yes to both were labeled smokers. 

Federal health officials hope breaking down the statistics to individual cities will help pinpoint areas where anti-tobacco programs need to be stronger, said Dr. Terry Pechacek of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. 

Eventually, the government hopes to examine the smoking data alongside Census figures to highlight cultural variations in cities that might be leading more people to smoke. 

“We think we’ll find out a lot more about the variability,” Pechacek said. “This is serving as a baseline to many of these local areas, as they start doing more on tobacco control.” 

In the Midwest, cities reported a median smoking rate of 23.7 percent, with the South close behind at 23.2. The figure was lowest in the West at 20.6, with the Northeast at 20.8 percent. 

CDC analysts credited strong anti-smoking programs in the regions with low rates. 

Smoking rates nationwide have remained mostly stagnant since the mid-1990s, with just under one-fourth of the population saying they smoke cigarettes. 

In a separate report, CDC released state-by-state smoking data. Kentucky led the nation with 30.5 percent of its population smoking, and Utah had the lowest rate, just 12.9 percent. 

Those figures do not surprise health officials. Kentucky, a major tobacco producer, topped the list from 1995 to 1999 and was briefly unseated last year by Nevada, with its 24-hour, smoke-friendly casinos and bars. 

Utah, where the Mormon Church’s opposition to smoking has been credited with keeping rates low, was also at the bottom of the list last year. 

The government characterizes tobacco use as the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. 

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On the Net: 

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov 

Goodwin taken into custody for slaying of racing legend, wife 

LOS ANGELES — The former business partner of racing legend Mickey Thompson was arrested Thursday for investigation of murder in the 1988 slaying of Thompson and his wife. 

Michael Frank Goodwin was taken into custody at his Dana Point home in Orange County shortly after 3:30 p.m. and booked at the Orange County Jail, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Hellmold. 

He was booked on two counts of murder, one count of conspiracy and three special circumstances, which were lying in wait, murder for financial gain and multiple murder, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. Prosecutors said they will decide later whether to seek the death penalty. 

Goodwin, who was being held without bail, was scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Orange County. 

Goodwin, 56, has long been a suspect in the shooting deaths of Thompson, 59, and his wife, Trudy, 41 outside their suburban Los Angeles mansion in 1988. Investigators suspect a broken partnership that led to Goodwin filing for bankruptcy prompted the killings. 

Goodwin has repeatedly maintained his innocence, saying he has been the target of overzealous prosecutors and Thompson’s sister, who is a prominent victims’ rights advocate. 

Thompson became known as the “Speed King” during the 1950s when he set the first of his nearly 500 auto speed and endurance records. In 1960, he became the first person to travel more than 400 mph on land. 

He was also a drag racing innovator, building and driving the sport’s first “slingshot” dragster. 

Goodwin, once known as the “Father of Supercross” for his 1980s dirt bike competitions, had a business partnership with Thompson that ended in a bitter breakup. 

The split resulted in Thompson winning a $514,000 judgment that helped force Goodwin into bankruptcy. 

Thompson and his wife were shot to death in the driveway of their palatial home in a gated community in Bradbury, about 15 miles east of Los Angeles, on March 16, 1988. 

Witnesses said they saw two men fleeing the area on bicycles. Authorities have said Thompson’s wife was shot in front of him as he pleaded for the killers not to harm her. 

Authorities don’t believe Goodwin actually killed the Thompsons but aided two other men who did. According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Goodwin is suspected of providing a stun gun to the killers, who have never been captured. 

As investigators eliminated possible motives, they began focusing on the broken business relationship between Goodwin and Thompson. 

Goodwin refused to submit to police questioning, however, and the case languished for years. The investigation reintensified in recent months after the district attorney convened a grand jury. 

Goodwin has conceded that bad feelings existed between him and Thompson but he insists they settled things in the weeks before Thompson’s murder. 

“They will say and do anything to get me,” he told The Associated Press earlier this year. “I believe they will probably indict me. But they are never going to prove it. I didn’t do it.” 

His lawyer said Thursday’s arrest was no surprise. 

“We’ve been expecting it and planned for it,” attorney Jeff Benice said. 

“I don’t think anybody, including Mr. Goodwin could put into words the kind of depressing, demeaning conduct and state of mind he’s been subjected to by authorities,” Benice added. “His reputation has been destroyed.” 

Goodwin has said scrutiny of him as a suspect was pushed by Thompson’s sister, Collene Campbell, who has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the killers’ conviction. 

Campbell issued a statement Thursday night saying her family was “relieved that finally we are headed toward justice.” 

“Just before he was murdered, my brother, Mickey, told me and other credible friends, that he feared for Trudy’s life, as well as his own, at the hands of Mike Goodwin,” she said. 

“For 5,011 days, that’s 13 years and nine months, I have prayed that justice would be served,” Campbell said. “An arrest and conviction won’t bring Mickey and Trudy back, but it will make a lot of us feel better.”

BEVERLY HILLS — Actress Winona Ryder has been arrested for illegal drug possession and shoplifting from a Saks Fifth Avenue boutique, police said Thursday. 

Security guards at the Wilshire Boulevard store detained the Oscar-nominated star of “Little Women” and “The Age of Innocence” about 7 p.m. Wednesday after discovering her trying to steal “numerous items of clothing,” Beverly Hills police Lt. Gary Gilmond said. 

He said the items were worth $4,760 and included hair accessories. 

Ryder was booked on felony charges of grand theft and possessing pharmaceutical drugs without a prescription. 

Her lawyer Mark Geragos denied the allegations. He said Ryder has a prescription for the painkillers found in her possession and receipts for the items she allegedly stole. 

“It’s a misunderstanding on the part of the store,” he said, adding that Ryder was merely carrying items between store departments. 

Gilmond said Ryder may have a prescription for the drugs but she was booked because she couldn’t immediately produce it. 

Gilmond said store security officers saw Ryder remove tags from items, place them in her bag and leave the store. 

The waifish actress was released from custody about 11:40 p.m. Wednesday after posting $20,000 bail. 

Mara Buxbaum, Ryder’s publicist, said the actress had no immediate comment on the arrest. 

Ryder, 30, is best known for playing ponderous, melancholy characters in movies such as “Girl, Interrupted,” “Heathers,” “Beetlejuice” and “Reality Bites.” 

Her latest starring role was in last year’s satanic thriller “Lost Souls,” in which she played the survivor of a childhood exorcism. 

Ryder, who has dated actors Matt Damon and Johnny Depp, has maintained a grueling film schedule that she has blamed for causing occasional mental breakdowns. 

She has been hospitalized several times for exhaustion and has told reporters she sometimes tried to drown her anxiety attacks and depression in alcohol. 

The actress’s mental problems have occasionally hurt her career. She lost a pivotal role in 1990’s “The Godfather: Part III” days before filming began because of anxiety and exhaustion.

Babar, Curious George are renewed and fun for kids 

NEW YORK — It’s a chilly winter night and the gang’s all here. Mom and dad, teens and toddlers, Babar, the Nutcracker and Curious George are snuggled together, enjoying a good story. 

This could be a scene from 1951 or 2001 since the fictional characters have remained favorites with adults and kids all these years. 

They’ve lasted because they’re interesting and compelling and they go through rites of passage that children of any generation can relate to. 

“I’m so in love with the little girl in this story,” says Maurice Sendak, who illustrated a version of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s “Nutcracker” in 1984. “Her inner life is so dynamic and full of curiosity — and those are the kids I like in real life.” 

The Sendak book, published by Crown and out of print for a number of years, is back in stores. Hoffmann originally penned the fairy tale about a girl on the threshold of womanhood in the 19th century. 

Sendak continues: “Kids see right through dumbed-down books. Parents buy into them and grandparents buy into this notion of what kids ‘should’ read ... but the luckiest children are those who discover a great story, like the ‘Nutcracker,’ and not have it forced on them.” 

The adventure, excitement and emotion of growing up is always modern, says Sendak, but the “Nutcracker,” when kept true to Hoffman’s vision, is quirky and a little scary, which keeps children coming back for more. 

It’s a tale often shortened for “children’s” versions and theatrical performances but, given the chance, Sendak says young readers remain engrossed in the full story. 

“I and they (children) can appreciate and love simple books with depth. That’s very different than ‘dumbed down.”’ 

Laurent de Brunhoff picked up where his father Jean left off when he died in 1937: writing and illustrating Babar books. His father insisted — and Laurent de Brunhoff has continued — to write “good” books that aren’t targeted to a specific audience. 

The formula seems to work. Babar is celebrating his 70th birthday, with Laurent doing 30 books in addition to his father’s seven. 

(He’s also starred in movies and TV shows.) 

“When I do a book, I never say ‘This is for children so I should do this and that for them.’ I’m doing it for me. I’m living out my childhood fantasies. But little kids today happen to have the same needs and have the same fun as little kids in the 1930s,” de Brunhoff explains. 

Consistent themes are problem solving, family, friends, fun and adventure. Who can’t relate to those? the author asks. 

And de Brunhoff says adults enjoy the stories, including the most recent “Babar and the Succotash Bird” (Harry N. Abrams), because they have fond memories of the elephant from their own childhood but they also have a newfound appreciation for the poetic style of the books. 

“Pat the Bunny” author Dorothy Kunhardt’s daughter Edith also has furthered the original book, making it a series, including the newest titles “Pat the Birthday Bunny” and “Tickle the Pig.” But a spokeswoman for Random House Children’s Books says that throughout its many printings, “Pat the Bunny” hasn’t undergone any significant changes since it was published in 1940. 

The familiar smell of the scratch-and-sniff flowers is inviting to youngsters and pleasantly nostalgic to parents. 

Margaret and H.A. Rey spent at least a year on each Curious George book and the effort shows, says Maire Gorman, vice president of special markets for Houghton Mifflin Publishers. The couple didn’t have children of their own so they understood the need to really engage parents and grandparents in the now-60-year-old monkey’s adventures, she observes. 

The Reys wrote seven books as a couple between 1941 and 1966. Margaret then did a Curious George filmstrip series in the 1970s that has been turned into a “new adventure” series of books. 

Gorman attributes their enduring popularity to George’s overwhelming desire to experience life. “Everyone has had times when their curiosity got them into situations they didn’t anticipate,” she says. 

Luckily for George, and his fans, there is always a comforting resolution.

The best holiday tales are wrapped together in “A Christmas Treasury: Very Merry Stories and Poems” (HarperCollins, $16.95, all ages), a beautiful gift from illustrator Kevin Hawkes. 

The book includes a tasty morsel from “Wind in the Willows” as old pals Mole and Rat enjoy a holiday meal with their new friends. In “Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn,” Mr. Dog, posing as Santa Claus, shares his generous spirit with his friends and learns about the gift of giving. 

“He found some long wool out in Mr. Man’s barn for his white whiskers, and he put some that wasn’t so long on the edges of his overcoat and boot tops and around an old hat he had. Then he borrowed a big sack he found out there and fixed it up to swing over his back, just as he had seen Santa Claus do in the pictures.” 

Hawkes’ drawings, mostly of happy Christmas Eve preparations, complement each story and all seem to bask in the same warm glow. 

Inspired by “The Friendly Beasts”, a medieval song, Helen Ward’s “The Animals’ Christmas Carol” (Milbrook Press, $17.95, ages 4-8) gives voice to the animals in the Nativity story. The animals, including a bear and lion, are drawn at a kid’s eye level (in camel brown, ram black, rooster reds and peacock teal inks) so the readers see things from their own perspective. 

In the Christmas spirit, the animals cooperate to guard the sleeping baby. Dog brings the sheep. Woodworm spares the stable its wormy holes. Moth avoids the candle’s flame to keep it steady, and mongoose keeps poisonous snakes away. 

”‘We,’ said the camels from Eastern lands, ‘we carried three men over desert sands to place their gifts in your tiny hands. We,’ said the camels from Eastern lands.” 

“Baboushka: A Christmas Folktale From Russia” (Candlewick, $15.99, ages 4-8), retold by Arthur Scholey and illustrated by Helen Cann, tells of missed opportunities. 

The stenciled pages and traditional-style, brightly colored illustrations complement the text about a peasant woman who spends her life “preparing” — for what, no one knows. 

While the villagers are excited about a star in the night sky, she mutters: “All this fuss for a star! ... I don’t even have time to look. I’m so behind, I must work all night!” 

But a knock at her door reveals three kings in need of a place to rest on their journey to see a newborn king. When the kings leave, they invite Baboushka to go along. “This new king could be your king, too.” 

Baboushka says she will follow “tomorrow.” But when she finally sets out, she can’t find the kings or the child they were so eager to see. As she continues to search for them, the woman leaves gifts at the homes of sleeping children. 

It isn’t only the lights that make a Christmas tree shine. 

In “Cobweb Christmas: The Tradition of Tinsel” (HarperCollins $15.95, ages 4-8) by Shirley Climo and illustrated by Jane Manning, Tante (aunt in German) has made it a tradition to decorate the most beautiful tree in the village and gives the most wonderful gifts to all. But no one can fulfill her holiday dream: to experience a little Christmas magic. 

Leave it to Kriss Kringle and a clan of curious spiders to weave glittering webs that light up the holiday for Tante. 

Rumor has it that tinsel has been a tree-trimming tradition ever since! 

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John Speirs’ “The Little Boy’s Christmas Gift” (Abrams, $16.95, ages 4-8) combines medieval artistry and Christian tradition for a new tale. 

Speirs uses light, illuminated text, gold inks and color to create a rich tapestry for the warm story of a gardener’s son who has an unusual gift to give a newborn king. 

“A boy helped his father tend the gardens of three exceedingly learned men, Balthazar, Caspar and Melchior.” 

Knowing the bright star in the sky signaled the birth of a new king, these men set off on their search. The boy is told he must stay behind since he has no worthy gift, but he follows the procession in the shadows. 

“And, so they journeyed on. ... The wise men with their richly laden camels, the nomads with their bright woven rugs, the herdsmen with their goats, the olive growers with their jars of oil, the farmers with their loaves of bread and the beekeepers with their combs of sweetest honey.” 

The gardener’s son, unnoticed in the crowd, then steps forward to offer his gift, decorated with green and purple olives, threads from the rugs and a star of golden beeswax. 

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The night of the play arrives and when there is no star in the sky or on the tree, Porcupine finds his moment to shine in “Little Porcupine’s Christmas” (HarperCollins, $9.95, ages 3-6) by Joseph Slate and illustrated by Felicia Bond. 

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Santa Claus has plenty of help preparing for his big night in “Santa’s Workshop” (Sterling, $12.95, ages 4-8), illustrated by Alastair Graham. The secrets hidden behind a satisfying number of flaps are sure to delight children. 

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Laura and Mary worry that Santa Claus will not find them since the creek is so swollen with rain, in “Santa Comes to Little House” (HarperCollins, $15.95, ages 4-8). 

This chapter from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House on the Prairie” is filled with affectionate illustrations by Renee Graef. 

Of course, Ma and Pa wouldn’t let their girls go without Christmas, even if it turns out to be a little different from the holiday they all were expecting. 

Other Christmas books 

—“Santa’s Toys” (Sterling, $12.95, ages 3-6) by Sam Williams and Tim Gill finds Santa Claus under the tree, unable to resist looking inside a dollhouse or playing with a toy train that rolls across the page of this pull-the-tab book. Planes fly above and soldiers march off alphabet blocks in a book that captures the sheer joy of Christmas toys. 

—“A Shepherd’s Gift” (HarperCollins, $15.95, ages 4-9) by Mary Calhoun and illustrated by Raul Colon is a sweetly told Christmas tale. Its unusual and textured illustrations and gentle text tell about a simple shepherd boy who is searching for his lost lamb when he stumbles upon a newborn child in a hillside stable. 

—“The Christmas Story” (DK, $7.95, baby to preschool) by Deborah Chancellor and illustrated by Julie Downing, is an easy-to-read, glowingly illustrated story of the birth of Jesus that makes a good introduction for toddlers. 

—“Christmas Magic” (Dutton, $15.99, baby to preschool) by Michael Garland is a magical, mystical Christmas Eve in brilliant color for a snowman, snowwoman and Emily. 

—“Christmas Is Coming!” (Chronicle, $6.95, baby to preschool) by Claire Masurel and illustrated by Marie H. Henry captures a little girl’s — and her toys’ — anticipation of the big day. After Juliette is asleep, the curious toys go downstairs for another peek at the Christmas tree and find more than they expected. 

—“The Christmas Promise” (Blue Sky-Scholastic, $15.95, ages 4 and older) by Susan Bartoletti and illustrated by David Christiana captures the emotion and the small glimmer of hope of a Depression-era Christmas. Retro-style illustrations in black and white with touches of color capture both the hardship and happiness shared by a father and daughter. 

Kiss someone under the mistletoe and you’re doing what the Druids did centuries ago. That’s all that remains from the many mistletoe legends of European peoples of centuries ago. 

A sprig of mistletoe wasn’t always so innocent. Mistletoe was regarded by the ancients as having supernatural powers, sometimes good and sometimes evil. Two thousand years ago, mistletoe was known by some as a beneficial medicinal herb. In Scandinavian mythology, however, mistletoe was responsible for the destruction of the sun god Baldur the Beautiful. 

Mistletoe is only a small wisp of a plant, so why would the ancients credit it with such awesome powers as healing or overpowering gods? The reason is because mistletoes are capable of killing large trees, even the massive oaks venerated by the Druids. 

Mistletoes are parasitic plants. They nestle into the branches of host trees, then penetrate the bark to sap nutrients and water. This weakens and, in some cases, kills the tree. As the ancients gazed up into tree branches, they recognized that the tufts of mistletoe, though intimately associated with the tree, were nonetheless different from the rest of the tree. Our word “mistletoe” is a derivation of the Saxon word “mistl-tan,” meaning “different twig.” 

European legends were based on their native mistletoe, known as true mistletoe. As the Americas were colonized, European customs were carried across the Atlantic and applied to one of the native mistletoes, called Christmas mistletoe or true American mistletoe. Christmas mistletoe is relatively rare, occurring in isolated pockets south of New Jersey, and then west to New Mexico. It lives on junipers and deciduous trees, but usually is not life-threatening to the host tree. In fact, Christmas mistletoe could be considered an agricultural crop, as it supports a Christmastime industry. 

Not all native American mistletoes are innocuous. Another species, dwarf mistletoe, can devastate whole stands of forest trees. 

Notice the white berries of mistletoe. Within the berries are sticky seeds, just right for sticking to the bark of a tree. Birds and other animals carry the seeds from tree to tree. In the case of dwarf mistletoe, the ripe seeds are shot out of the berries, often as far as 50 feet. 

Where mistletoe is “cultivated,” gardeners take the sticky seeds and sow them in the bark of a suitable host tree. Most gardeners prefer to get their mistletoe from the florist, using it as a plant for the doorway, not the garden. 

HONOLULU — Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are such a tiny minority in the United States that only seven states count them as more than one-tenth of a percent of the population, according to a 2000 census report released Thursday. 

Not surprisingly, more than half of them live in Hawaii and California, and nearly three-fourths are concentrated in the West. 

Of the 281.4 million people in the United States, 398,835 respondents in the 2000 census checked off Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. 

A total of 874,414 checked that category in combination of one or more other races, the report said. When taking another race into account, twice as many states — a total of 14 — could count those as more than one-tenth of a percent of the population. 

Nationally, more people identified themselves as Native Hawaiian, 401,162, than any other Pacific Islander group, followed by Samoan, 133,281, and Guamanian or Chamorro, 92,611. 

In Hawaii, where whites account for less than a quarter of the population, more than one in five identified themselves as multiracial, the highest percentage of any state. 

Of the 1.2 million people in Hawaii, 282,667 identified themselves as Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders alone or in combination with another race, or 23.3 percent of the state population, by far the highest in the nation. 

Honolulu has the most Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders with 25,457, or 6.8 percent of the population of 371,657. New York had the second largest population of Pacific Islanders who counted themselves as more than one race, 19,203, but that accounted for just two-tenths of 1 percent of the city’s 8 million people. 

Nearly three quarters of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders live in the West, the report said. Eight states — Hawaii, California, Washington, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Arizona and Colorado — reported Pacific Islanders populations of 10,000 or more.

LAS VEGAS — California must meet a commitment to reduce its dependence on Colorado River water over the next 15 years, a federal Interior Department official warned Thursday. 

“If California is not successful, the results could be grave for California,” said Bennett Raley, the assistant interior secretary who handles water issues. 

Dennis Underwood, vice president of Colorado River Resources for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said he was confident the goals will be met through conservation and agreements to obtain water from other sources. 

The urban water district serves 17 million people from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border, but has to yield Colorado River water rights to agricultural users in three other districts — the Imperial Irrigation District, Coachella Valley Water District and the San Diego County Water Authority. 

“We’re the lower priority, so we’re the ones who would be hit the hardest,” Underwood said. 

Raley, speaking to an annual Colorado River Water Users Association conference, said several more dry years like 2001 could limit other states’ ability to send surplus water to California. 

He acknowledged that a cut in water to Southern California would have a ripple effect. He predicted battles about agricultural water use and the possibility of a north-south water war in the state. 

“In contrast,” Raley said, “we have so much to gain from successes.” 

Raley said he was Interior Secretary Gale Norton’s emissary to complete an agreement that former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt negotiated last year among California and the six other Colorado River Basin states — Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada. 

It is due to be completed by December 2002. 

Dubbed the ”4.4 Plan,” it lets California receive surplus Colorado River water that would otherwise go to the other states, in return for California’s pledge to reduce reliance on the river within 15 years. 

California is entitled to 4.4 million acre feet of water a year under the 1928 Boulder Canyon Project Act. That agreement was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1964. Nevada is allotted 300,000 acre feet. Arizona gets 2.8 million acre feet. 

An acre foot of water is about 326,000 gallons, or roughly the amount needed for an average family of five for one year. 

In recent years, California’s annual draw has grown to as much as 800,000 acre feet above its allotment. 

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — With a heavy snow in the mountains, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has decided to release a small amount of irrigation water to some farmers who typically leave their fields flooded in the winter. 

Water began flowing to the Klamath Drainage District on Wednesday, an area that includes mostly grain farms about 15 miles south of Klamath Falls. The district makes up about 10 percent of the entire Klamath Reclamation Project. 

Reclamation officials said they can drain some water from the Klamath River and still conserve enough water in Upper Klamath Lake to keep the lake at the minimum level required by Jan. 1. 

The Bureau of Reclamation is required to raise the lake level to 4,140 feet above sea level by that date, while maintaining a flow of 1,300 cubic feet per second in the Klamath River at Iron Gate Dam in California’s Siskiyou County. 

The river flows are designed to protect threatened coho salmon, while the lake level protects endangered sucker fish. 

About 200 cubic feet of water per second began flowing from the Klamath River through the North Canal near Midland, Bryant said. About 150 cubic feet per second will go to fields in the Klamath Drainage District, while 50 cubic feet per second will go to the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. 

Flooding of grain fields will provide a wintertime habitat for migratory waterfowl and bald eagles, said Jim Bryant, chief of land and water operations for the Klamath Reclamation Project. 

Farmers in the Lower Klamath Lake area typically flood their fields in the winter and then draw the water off in the spring before they plant grain. 

The water content of the snowpack in the Upper Klamath Basin was 169 percent of average on Wednesday, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.  

ELKO, Nev. — The mother of a teen-ager who was slain by a Bureau of Indian Affairs police officer said the officer shot her unarmed son in the back after a struggle at their home on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation. 

Jake Thomas, 19, a member of the Duck Valley Reservation Tribe, was shot twice in the upper torso early Sunday by a BIA agent responding to a domestic dispute, BIA officials said. 

Thomas was transported to the Owyhee Community Health Facility, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The BIA has refused further comment pending the outcome of an investigation. The FBI also is investigating. 

Thomas’ mother, Brenda Scissons, 42, Duck Valley, said she was the one who called police to the house about 4 a.m. because her son had been drinking whiskey and had a tendency to become violent when he was drunk. 

“I only wanted them to put him in the drunk tank until he sobered up. I didn’t think he would be killed,” she told the Elko Daily Free Press. 

“People in the community have told me that the BIA police are saying the officer had multiple stab wounds and that my son was shot from the front,” she said. 

But Scissons said it’s not true. She said her son was unarmed. She said he was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt and could not have concealed a weapon. She said the officer hit him in the head with his flashlight and they struggled before he was shot. 

“My son never hit him with his fist or anything. They hit the rocking chair and fell to the floor and the officer tried to get his cuffs out and dropped them on the floor,” she said. 

Scissons said her son has been arrested by BIA police a few years ago after he struggled with an officer. 

“They know he couldn’t stand to be restrained or in handcuffs,” she said. 

She estimated they struggled for about 10 minutes and both were on their knees when she “got Jake’s attention and I tried to get him to stop fighting. 

“He tried to get up himself and when he was getting up ... the officer told him to calm down.” 

At that point, she said, the officer pulled his gun out of his holster and shot Thomas in the back while he was still on his knees and looking at her. 

The BIA has not identified the officer, who is on a paid leave of absence pending the investigation. But Larry Berger, a New York attorney representing the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, identified the officer as Patrick Pipe. 

“It is much too early to give a substantive comment about these events,” Berger said. 

Officials at the Boise St. Alphonsus Hospital confirmed that Pipe was treated and released Sunday, the day of the shooting. 

Scissons said her 17-year-old daughter charged the officer and he shot her with mace on the porch. She said she heard her son gurgling blood and she turned him on his side, then went outside. 

“I told the officer to call the ambulance because I thought Jake was dying,” she said. “He told me to go back inside or he would shoot me.” 

Later, she said the officer handcuffed her and told her she was under arrest. She said she was freed after an ambulance left with her son. 

Richard Armstrong, law enforcement commander for the BIA’s district office in Phoenix, said in a news release Monday that the officer confronted Thomas and arrested him. 

“The suspect resisted being placed under arrest and a physical fight ensued, which resulted in the police officer being assaulted, sustaining facial lacerations and bruises on his upper eyelid, jaw and head,” Armstrong said at the time. 

“The suspect’s failure to cease his physical attack on the police officer resulted in the officer shooting the suspect twice,” he said. 

Armstrong was out of the office and not available for comment Thursday, a BIA spokeswoman said. 

BIA Criminal Investigator Marc Leber did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment Thursday. He told the Elko newspaper three separate and independent investigations are currently under way. 

The first is administrative and is being conducted by BIA internal affairs to determine whether the officer acted within bureau policy. 

The second is a criminal investigation, which Leber is handling. 

Agents from the FBI’s office in Boise also are investigating, he said. 

Leber said if the case goes to trial it will be held in Boise because the crime occurred on the Idaho side of the reservation. 

WASHINGTON — The Agriculture Department cut the first checks Thursday to significantly boost payments to timber-dependent communities since Congress approved a new aid formula last year. 

The department said the new system will provide a 98 percent increase in federal funding over last year to pay for roads, schools and other projects in counties that have national forests within their boundaries. The U.S. Forest Service is part of the Agriculture Department. 

About $384 million will be sent out, and the department expects to provide an additional $1.1 billion over the next six years. 

Because national forest lands aren’t subject to property taxes, counties have historically received 25 percent of the proceeds from federal timber sales in lieu of the missing taxes. However, since logging has declined sharply in the last decade, many counties have found themselves in a pinch. 

At a press conference complete with a giant check, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and a handful of lawmakers applauded the new money as a way to help stabilize the income of rural counties. 

“When timber sales began to decline, these dependent communities and school districts really became isolated, revenue-lost islands that had very little capacity to generate revenue on their own,” said Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who helped craft the legislation. 

Under the new formula, counties can ask for the average of their three highest federal payments between 1986 and 1999, or they can choose to continue receiving 25 percent of revenues from timber sales and a few other sources. 

About 75 percent of more than 700 eligible counties decided to use the new formula and received more money. 

Checks will go to 41 states and Puerto Rico. Among the largest are Oregon, which will receive $154 million; California, $65 million; Washington, about $44 million; and Idaho, nearly $23 million. 

In Oregon, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden is unhappy with the Legislature and governor for deciding not to direct the federal education dollars to rural counties, choosing instead to spread the money around the entire state. Wyden is pushing for language in a spending bill that would require Oregon — and any other state that follows its lead — to use federal money for rural schools as he said Congress intended. 

Wyden’s chief of staff, Josh Kardon, said the bill clearly stated the money was to supplement, not replace, existing rural school dollars. He said the state got it wrong. 

“You hijack the money, dole it out, and then cry foul when Congress tries to return it to its rightful owner,” Kardon said. 

Linda Ames, an Oregon state budget analyst, said by law each student in the state has consistently received the same amount of money, even as revenues dropped in rural counties from decreases in logging. 

Ames said the legislature engaged in lengthy discussions about how to use the money created under the new formula and decided to continue to spend the same amount on each student. 

Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., supports Wyden’s legislation, though Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., said he is reluctant to back the measure because it will create winners and losers, even in his district. 

And “I am hesitant to judge the state legislature,” he added. 

Wyden’s measure was attached to a spending bill in the Senate, but not the House. Negotiators are now working out the differences between the bills to submit for final congressional and White House approval. 

——— 

On the Net: 

U.S. Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us/ 

RENO, Nev. — Executives behind the largest maker of cat litter in the world figured they’d found the perfect place for a West Coast mine and processing plant when they discovered premium clay deposits in a high-desert valley north of Reno. 

Afterall, Nevada is the Silver State, the mining capital of the Comstock Lode, the third-biggest producer of gold in the world behind South Africa and Australia. 

Oil-Dri Corp. executives had every reason to believe the fast-growing northern Nevada county of 300,000 would embrace their new mine — the 100 new jobs and estimated $12 million annual impact on a local casino-based economy that area business leaders are trying desperately to diversify. 

Instead, they find themselves accused of “environmental racism” in a running battle with a coalition of conservationists, labor activists and the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, which borders the proposed site about 10 miles north of downtown. 

The critics have staged rallies and picketed county meetings, purchased radio ads and even bought shares of Oil-Dri stock, enabling them to attend the company’s annual meeting in Chicago and protest the 300-acre project. 

Oil-Dri countered by donating a ton of cat litter to a local animal shelter in an effort to reverse some of the ill will and demonstrate its desire to be a good neighbor. 

“We were absolutely stunned at the reaction here,” admits Bob Vetere, Oil-Dri vice president and general counsel. “We’ve never had such opposition. Everybody loves to work for us.” 

For Washoe County commissioners, who ultimately could determine the fate of the mine near Reno, it’s a classic struggle between the environment and the economy. 

And it comes at a time local businesses are more susceptible than usual to concerns about an economic downturn. 

Reno civic leaders and elected officials have been working for years to attract new industry and high-tech firms to ease the area’s heavy reliance on gambling revenues. The emergence of casinos on Indian reservations in neighboring California has underscored the urgency of the transition. 

“This state and this community spends large amounts of money annually networking and trying to attract different industry to our area, so we don’t want to shoot ourselves in the foot,” Commissioner Joanne Bond said. 

On the other hand, the mine has the potential to have a major physical impact on the area, from tapping precious water supplies to increasing truck traffic, dust and noise, she said. 

“We are trying to balance that. It’s a tightrope between two poles with a fire pit below,” Bond said. 

The Washoe County Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing Tuesday on a proposed special use permit that would set out county conditions on the project. 

Planning commission staff have recommended that the planners deny the permit. The staff concluded in a 95-page report that “while most direct environmental impacts from the proposed use can be properly mitigated, there are still a number of indirect impacts that cumulatively affect the surrounding residential communities.” 

Opponents said that conclusion should help doom the project. But company officials said it represents only a staff recommendation, which the full planning commission could overturn. 

The company also has indicated it would appeal any unfavorable action by the planning commission to the full county board of commissioners, which has the final say. Likewise, opponents have threatened legal action if necessary. 

“Our tribal government will do whatever it takes to stop this mine,” said Arlen Melendez, chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. 

“We’ll continue to fight this to the end, even if it means litigation,” he said. “This wouldn’t be built in an affluent neighborhood’s back yard.” 

The county permit is key to the opponents’ efforts because the Bureau of Land Management already has said it has no authority to stop the operation on federal land, based on Oil-Dri’s legitimate claim to the minerals under the 1872 Mining Law. 

“Since the BLM has let us down, we’re asserting ourselves to county officials as a last defense against the industrialization of our neighborhoods,” said Ben Felix of Citizens For Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods. 

But Vetere is confident Oil-Dri’s plans will withstand any legal challenge. 

“The bottom line is, we are in an area where our special use is permitted,” Vetere said. “When you couple that with the rights we have acquired under the 1872 Mining Law so as to be able to remove the minerals from the land, I don’t know that they could do that would stand up in court.” 

Oil-Dri wants to build the plant to meet growing West Coast demand for the cat box products it manufacturers for Wal-Mart, Chlorox and others. 

“There are 75 million cats in the world. Until they all get toilet trained, there is going to be a market for our product. It is a $1 billion industry,” Vetere said. 

Backers say critics are exaggerating the impacts. 

“The boundary of the colony is only a few hundred feet from the north area mine, but the distance from housing is more like a mile and a half. So we’re really not mining in anybody’s back yard,” said Jeff Codega, president of a Reno-based planning and design firm that has worked with Oil-Dri on the project. 

Dave Howard, public policy director for the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce, says it in economic terms. 

“Northern Nevada is suffering like every other community is suffering from recession,” he said. “We see it as jobs, dollars, economic multipliers in the community.” 

Ray Bacon, executive director of the Nevada Manufacturers Assocaition, said the products Oil-Dri makes help clean up fuel spills and other hazardous leaks. 

“We’ve got environmental groups trying to stop a product that is as environmentally friendly and environmentally useful as there is out there,” Bacon said. “It may not be as glamorous as gold, but it is focused on pollution reduction.” 

And it isn’t just any clay. 

“The clay you get out of your backyard is worth $2 to $3 a ton. This clay is worth 100 times that because of its capability to absorb,” Vetere said. 

Oil-Dri had sales topping $175 million last year and already operates clay mines in Mississippi, Georgia and Illinois. Company officials rented a suite at a Reno casino in October to make their case to local news reporters, complete with a 10-minute videotaped message from the company president as well as several workers at Oil-Dri manufacturing facilities in the South. 

One after another, the workers described how well they had been treated and community leaders told of contributions that made school improvements and other civic construction possible in places like Ripley, Miss. 

“The more information that gets disseminated and the more people are willing to look at the facts the more they realize we are really not the satanic, evil force that we are being made out to be,” Vetere said. 

Melendez and Diana Crutcher-Smith were among tribal members who took Oil-Dri up on an offer to tour its facilities in Mississippi earlier this year. 

“The whole town relies almost solely on Oil-Dri. People told me their dad and their granddad worked in the plant and someday their kid would work there too,” Crutcher-Smith said. 

Melendez said it reminded him of coal mining country. 

“People need jobs. Coal miners will accept black lung disease because they have to feed their families,” Melendez said. “I don’t know exactly what the standard of living is in Ripley, Mississippi, but it looked to me like they needed that plant there, so they are in a different situation. 

“Nevada is the fastest growing state in the nation. I think we can be more selective of who we want to target. We’re not like Ripley, Mississippi, and other places where you have to take whatever comes along.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

Oil-Dri: http://www.oildri.com/ 

Reno-Sparks Indian Colony: http://www.rsic.org/ 

SAN FRANCISCO — If your e-mail box is already besieged by unwanted salutations and solicitations, brace yourself — the onslaught is about to get worse. 

Driven in part by anthrax scares, analysts say, e-mail volume will likely grow 45 percent next year, up from recent annual growth rates of 40 percent. 

A lot of it is junk. 

How to get out from under the electronic onslaught? 

Most e-mail programs — Microsoft’s Outlook and Netscape’s Messenger among them — include custom filtering features that most people don’t use. 

While that’s a start, smarter and heavier duty e-mail management tools are also available from a handful of technology start-ups. 

Some are designed to ward off one of the Internet’s biggest nuisances — the slew of marketing pitches commonly known as “spam.” Others promise to help people focus on the e-mail they consider truly important. 

“E-mail is the most popular application on the Internet, but it’s the No. 1 frustration as well,” said Tonny Yu, chief executive of Mailshell, which provides a service akin to Caller ID for e-mail. 

Much of next year’s e-mail volume is expected to be generated by direct-marketing companies. And that means “even more time is going to be sucked away” from people’s lives dealing with spam, says Joyce Graff, an e-mail analyst for the Gartner Group technology research firm. 

By some estimates, workers with e-mail accounts spend an estimated one hour per shift dealing with their incoming messages. 

And that’s the market for Yu’s Santa Clara-based Mailshell, which lets users create different e-mail addresses tied to a single e-mail account. 

For example, John Doe might use “amazon@jdoe.mailshell. com” when shopping at Amazon.com and “yahoo@jdoe. mailshell.com” when registering at Yahoo.com. E-mail sent to those addresses would then go to Mailshell, which would automatically forward them to Doe’s real e-mail box. 

If Doe is sick of mail coming from a particular source, he could delete the alias from the Mailshell site without losing e-mail from other sources. 

Mailshell offers a basic form of its service for free. A premium version, with more disk space and forwarding options, costs $29.95 per year. 

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of creating a new alias every time you sign up for an online service, several software products promise to block junk mail from reaching your main address. The top-sellers in this niche include SpamKiller and Spam Buster. 

Most of the anti-spam software programs aren’t 100 percent effective, though, because spam senders are constantly figuring out ways around the roadblocks. 

“The software is good at blocking yesterday’s spam, but not tomorrow’s,” said Graff. 

Powerful spam filters also run the risk of blocking legitimate e-mail. 

The problem stems partially from the vague definitions of spam. Some people regard all unsolicited e-mail as spam, whether it be an offer from a pornographic Web site or a chain letter passed along by a friend. Others are OK with certain unsolicited messages, such as those from charities and political organizations. 

By almost any definition, though, spam is proliferating. 

The spam attacks detected by Brightmail, an anti-spam service, have soared from 2,000 a day in mid-2000 to 28,000 during one day last month, said Gary Hermanson, Brightmail’s chief executive. Each attack could include tens of thousands of individual e-mail targets. 

San Francisco-based Brightmail makes software that is installed on e-mail gateways, including those of many major Internet service providers, to block spam and viruses. 

The service draws upon existing spam databases as well as automatic sensors that remain on the lookout for new sources of spam. Graff regards Brightmail and Burlington, Mass.-based Elron Software as the most effective spam filters. 

Other standalone software products are mostly prioritizers. 

Incline SoftWorks, a start-up in Lake Tahoe, Nev., builds eMailBoss around Outlook’s Rules. The software, which only works on Outlook, sorts incoming mail into programmable categories, including “VIP,” “Friends and Family” and “Junk Mail.” 

The software also includes spam-blocking features and will announce aloud when e-mail arrives from specified senders. After a free 30-day trial period, the software costs $39.95. 

——— 

On The Net: 

http://www.mailshell.com 

http://www.brightmail.com 

SAN JOSE — Charges will be dropped against a Russian computer programmer accused of violating electronic-book copyrights in exchange for his testimony in the trial of his company, ending part of a case that has generated worldwide protests. 

Dmitry Sklyarov, 27, had been charged in the first criminal prosecution under the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. He could have faced up to five years in prison and a $500,000 fine. 

Sklyarov will be required to give a deposition in the case and possibly testify for either side, prosecutors and defense attorneys said Thursday. If he also refrains from violating copyright laws until the case against his employer is settled, the charges will be dropped. 

“Until I’m in Russia, it is too early to say that I’m happy,” Sklyarov said in a statement. “But this agreement looks like the first significant change in my situation for the last five months, my first real chance to get home.” 

Sklyarov and his employer, ElComSoft Co. Ltd. of Moscow, were charged with releasing a program that let readers disable restrictions on Adobe Systems Inc. electronic-book software. The program is legal in Russia. 

Sklyarov was arrested after speaking at a hacking convention in Las Vegas on July 16. He was freed on bail in August but was required to remain in Northern California while the case proceeded. He now will be allowed to return home with his wife and two children. 

“With this agreement, Dmitry gets everything he could get from an acquittal, and more. The indictment will be dismissed eventually, he gets to tell his story truthfully without pressure from the government, and he gets to go home now, rather than wait in the U.S. while the case is fought,” said Sklyarov’s attorney, John Keker. 

ElComSoft’s chief executive, Alex Katalov, said he was pleased that the company, not Sklyarov, would bear sole responsiblity for the charges. 

Critics of the case have contended that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act stifles legitimate computer research and gives book publishers, record companies and movie studios too tight a grip on online content — at the expense of the “fair use” and “first-sale” premises traditionally found in U.S. copyright law. 

Adobe’s eBook Reader gives publishers a format for selling books online. It is designed to prevent the transfer of materials between users and devices without publishers’ consent. 

Sklyarov found flaws in the software’s encryption scheme and created ways for users to make backup copies of e-books or transfer them to other devices, such as handheld computers. ElComSoft used the techniques in a program it sold as the Advanced eBook Processor. 

After the software became available for download in the United States, for around $99, Adobe complained to the FBI, which arrested Sklyarov as he was preparing to fly back to Russia from the computer security convention. 

Adobe eventually dropped its support of the case after Internet policy groups threatened to organize a boycott of the company’s products. Protesters in many cities in the United States and abroad have spent months calling for the case against Sklyarov to be dropped. 

“The public was simply unsupportive of putting software programmers in jail for writing software that is legal in the country they live in,” said Robin Gross, staff attorney for intellectual property at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which supported Sklyarov. “It was a little heavy-handed.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

Prosecutors: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/can/index-2.html 

Electronic Frontier Foundation: http://www.eff.org 

Watching a smiling Osama bin Laden assess the Sept. 11 terror attacks, a man who was in the World Trade Center that day said he wanted to smash his TV screen. Said a Marine who also watched bin Laden, “He needs to be taken out.” 

For many other Americans, seeing the tape Thursday confirmed their already solid belief in bin Laden’s guilt and hatefulness. 

Some American Muslims worried that release of the videotape, showing bin Laden and top aides cheerfully discussing the attack’s outcome, would provoke a new wave of harassment and vandalism against them, while the father of a Sept. 11 victim wished it had never been made public. 

“Whenever I saw it on television I changed the channel,” said Anthony Gambale, whose daughter, Giovanna, was killed at the World Trade Center. 

“It should be filed away and let the government and the CIA take care of it,” Gambale said. “Let everybody rest in peace. Let us get on with our lives.” 

Mark Finelli, an investment banker who was on the 61st floor of one of the twin towers on Sept. 11, wasn’t surprised by what he saw. Nonetheless, the 25-year-old from Tucson, Ariz., felt “very violent and enraged. ... I just wanted to punch the screen.” 

“I’m a very strong supporter of capital punishment, but in this case, with someone who wants to die, I’m very much in favor of letting him rot.” 

In San Diego, Marine Lance Cpl. Tate Parmer said he and his colleagues had never doubted bin Laden was responsible for the attacks. 

“I figured it was him all along,” said Parmer, 30, of Salt Lake City, a military policeman at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. “He’s an evil man. He definitely needs to be taken out.” 

In New York City, scores of people gathered on the sidewalk in Times Square to watch the tape. 

“I can’t believe they’re actually praising their god for this,” said David Castellano, 27, a computer technician from Brooklyn. “They seem overjoyed by the fact that it was a worse tragedy than they anticipated.” 

Tad Heitmann, a public relations executive from Laguna Beach, Calif., watched bin Laden on a TV in a Philadelphia hotel lobby. 

“If that translation is correct, he’s our man, definitely,” Heitmann said. “This must be very painful for people who lost loved ones.” 

Sarah Eltantawi, communications director for the Washington-based Muslim Public Affairs Council, said the council shared the view that bin Laden masterminded the attacks. But she worried the video would stir up anti-Muslim sentiment among some Americans. 

“The harassment has calmed down since the immediate aftermath of the attacks,” she said. “But whenever there is a new alert, we see a jump in hate crimes. We worry about the releases of tapes like this.” 

In Dearborn, Mich., home to an estimated 20,000 Arab-Americans, Lebanese-born Lamia Hazimy, 32, struggled to understand the conversation on the tape, but said it proved bin Laden’s guilt. 

“I don’t know much about bin Laden, but I know I do not like him,” she said. 

Imad Hamad, director of the Dearborn regional office of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said the U.S. government translation on the tape seemed accurate. 

“It’s clear in the tape that he had the prior knowledge,” Hamad said of Bin Laden. “And he was happy about it. This is insane.” 

In Indianapolis, firefighters at Station No. 13 said the tape reinforced their feelings on to deal with bin Laden. 

“He’s just admitting to it and boasting,” said Matt Hahn, 30. “What we’re all looking for now is a swift, stern, exact punishment.” 

Lt. Scott McCarty, a firefighter for 19 years, was a member of an Indiana task force that helped in the recovery effort at the World Trade Center. 

“We had a lot of good friends that we lost in New York,” said McCarty. “It doesn’t matter what he said. It doesn’t bring those people back.” 

Stuart Fischoff, professor of media psychology at the Los Angeles campus of California State University, said the tape lacked a “smoking gun” but was persuasive nonetheless. He was particularly struck by bin Laden’s demeanor. 

“He’s a new type of demon, a villain who is so quiet,” Fischoff said. “The power of his threat is not in his expansive emotionalism but in the quiet way he hisses his words.”

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA struggled Thursday to understand a fleeting but perplexing problem with one of space shuttle Endeavour’s key navigation devices. 

One of three inertial measurement units aboard Endeavour malfunctioned early Thursday, setting off an alarm in the cockpit after the astronauts had gone to bed. It was immediately taken off-line, another unit took over, and shuttle commander Dominic Gorie was told to go back to sleep. 

The unit started working again, even though it was not being used to guide Endeavour, said flight director Wayne Hale. He stressed that nothing is jeopardized by having just two reliable inertial measurement units — only one is needed to fly the shuttle. 

But if another one fails — an unlikely event, according to Hale — the shuttle would be forced to return to Earth because there no longer would be any redundancy. 

At this point, engineers are merely trying to figure out what went wrong. One of the gyroscopes in the device apparently started to rotate slowly, which disturbed the stability of the unit, Hale said. An intermittent electrical failure in circuitry may be to blame. 

“I’ve got to stress that the engineering community is still out there thinking about this,” he said. “While I think it’s a long shot, they might come back and say this is an explained condition and we really don’t have anything to worry about, although right now we’re being very conservative with how we treat this particular black box.” 

The departing international space station residents, meanwhile, ceremoniously handed over control to their successors Thursday. 

“The ship is now your responsibility,” said outgoing commander Frank Culbertson. He presented his replacement, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Onufrienko, with the ship’s log and firmly grasped his right hand. 

Departing cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin noted that the next space station crew is bound to have difficulties during the next six months. “So good luck, guys. The best wishes to you,” he said. 

Culbertson, Tyurin and Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Dezhurov actually moved out of the space station and into the docked Endeavour last weekend. At that point, Onufrienko and American astronauts Daniel Bursch and Carl Walz became the official space station residents. 

But it wasn’t until Thursday that the two crews held the customary change-in-command ceremony based on the traditions of the high seas. Unfortunately, the communication link was lost in the middle of the ceremony, and nothing could be seen or heard from the orbiting complex for 90 seconds. 

The link was restored just in time to see the 10 space travelers embrace and shake hands. 

Endeavour will undock from the space station Saturday and land two days later. The touchdown will end a 129-day mission for Culbertson and his crew, which began in August. 

BOSTON — US Airways concourses at Logan International Airport were closed for 90 minutes Thursday after the FAA discovered some employees at security checkpoints were improperly trained. 

The checkpoints were being run by Argenbright Security Inc., Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said. 

“We noticed some things going on, we went over, we asked some questions and it turns out some of the screeners who were manning the checkpoints were not adequately trained,” he said. 

Argenbright spokesman Brian Lott said he didn’t know about the incident and had no immediate comment. 

Argenbright, the nation’s largest airport security company, agreed last month to cease operations at Logan after several breaches. Its final day at Logan is Friday. 

US Airways passengers were being checked again, and those who were already in the air would be screened upon arrival, Peters said. Thirty US Airways flights along the East Coast were delayed or canceled, he said. 

Argenbright agreed to pay a $1 million fine last year for hiring convicted felons. Massachusetts police tried to revoke the company’s state license, but agreed Argenbright could leave Logan while continuing business elsewhere in the state. 

Argenbright does not provide security at Logan for American or United, the two airlines whose jets were hijacked from Boston and crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

EL CENTRO — A veteran Border Patrol agent has been charged with repeatedly molesting the daughter of a former illegal immigrant from Mexico. 

Agent Joseph Socorro Olvera, 45, was charged with six felony counts of lewd acts upon the girl, who is now 11, Imperial County Deputy District Attorney Deborah Owen said Wednesday. 

Olvera began a relationship with the girl’s mother in 1993, when she was an illegal immigrant and he came to her El Centro home claiming she failed to show up for a court appearance, Owen said. 

The woman has since become a legal immigrant, she said. 

Authorities believe the molestation began when the girl was in the second grade and continued at least until March, while Olvera was on temporary assignment in the Charleston, S.C. area. 

Olvera pleaded innocent at his arraignment Tuesday. 

The agent, who now lives in El Centro, is on paid administrative leave pending further investigation into his alleged conduct, said Border Patrol spokesman Dionicio Delgado. 

Olvera faces a maximum of eight years in prison on each count if convicted. His defense attorney did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. 

The Daily Planet received a copy of the following letter addressed to City Manager Weldon Rucker: 

The North Berkeley Senior Center Advisory Council is an elected, representative body that “assists and advises other participants, volunteers, and city or other agency staff on activities, schedules, services, projects, policies...” At its December meeting, it was unanimously agreed that I contact you in behalf of the many Berkeley elders who, for reasons of finance, convenience, or ecology are bus riders. 

We understand that the installation of bus shelters in Berkeley was legislated some time ago. It is our belief that the work should and could be begun immediately. Advisory Council members who are Council-appointed members of the Commission on Aging as well as the NBSC Advisory Council Indicate that the Planning Department has provided updates on this lagging bus shelter matter... all was said to be well, and assurances received that they would indeed be up by the start of the rainy season! 

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your intervention in behalf of bus riders in Berkeley. The next meeting of the NBSC Advisory Council will be held at the Center on Wednesday, January 3rd at 10 A.M. 

Lee Gaines, President 

Berkeley 

A spokesman for the Alameda County Coroner’s Office identified one of the two people killed by an Amtrak train at Gilman Street Saturday evening as Jorge Alvarado. 

The two were struck at 5:47 p.m., about 200 feet East of Gilman by a Capitol Corridor commuter train traveling from Oakland to Sacramento, according to an Amtrack spokesperson. 

Alvarado, who was about 30 years old, was from Mexico, which it is why it took investigators a few days to obtain a positive identification, the coroner said.  

The other victim, who has yet to be identified, is also said to be of Latino origins.  

The train was moving at about 60 mph when it struck the men, probably killing them instantly, said Amtrak spokesman Mike Furtney.  

The exact cause of the accident is still under investigation, Furtney said. However, an unofficial account of the incident indicates that the two people were sitting on the track and failed to move as the train bore down, even after the engineer blew his whistle.

SAN FRANCISCO — NBC announced Monday it is buying San Jose-based KNTV for $230 million from Granite Broadcasting Corp., giving the network an owned-and-operated station in the San Francisco Bay area. 

NBC programming has been broadcast in the area by San Francisco-based KRON, which was acquired by Young Broadcasting for $737 million in July 2000. Young later turned KRON, Channel 4, into an independent channel after balking at NBC’s terms for continued network affiliation. 

NBC’s purchase comes after weeks of negotiations between the network, Young and Granite, and puts to rest speculation that NBC would buy KRON back from Young. Instead, NBC gets its own station in the nation’s fifth-largest market for a fraction of what Young paid. 

“I think NBC got an affiliate in a top-five market for a very good price,” said Kagan World Media analyst Robin Flynn. She compared the deal to the 1999 CBS purchase of a Dallas station for $485 million, pointing out that the Texas hub is a smaller market than San Francisco. 

“It really is practically a steal for NBC,” Flynn said. 

KNTV takes over NBC programming on Jan. 1, reaching viewers on AT&T cable channel 3 and broadcast channel 11. This may frustrate about 118,000 non-cable viewers in parts of San Francisco and other areas, since KNTV broadcasts from farther south and its signal doesn’t match the footprint of KRON’s antenna, on the highest point in the city. 

“Obviously, NBC is aggressively looking for ways to improve the signal, including possibly relocating the transmitter farther north,” Cory Shields, an NBC spokesman, said Monday. 

According to NBC research, there are 2.4 million television households in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose market; 1.9 million have cable, and 200,000 have satellite dishes. 

About 400,000 get only the over-the-air signal, and about 100,000 of these households couldn’t get NBC on KRON either because of the Bay Area’s coastal mountains and other impediments. 

Whenever networks change stations, some viewers have trouble finding their favorite shows, but NBC is counting on a big boost from the Winter Olympics in February, which should encourage people to seek out the network’s new home. 

Granite will operate the station as an NBC affiliate until the deal closes and gets government approval, expected in the first half of 2002. NBC is also in the process of acquiring 11 Telemundo stations, including San Francisco’s KSTS. 

Deborah McDermott, executive vice president of operations for Young Broadcasting, says KRON would use expanded news broadcasts to keep its current viewers tuned in. She predicted NBC will have a tough time earning new viewers at the expense of KRON. 

“For the San Francisco market, this is a new television station. Whenever you introduce something new in the market it takes a long time,” McDermott said. 

“People are going to tune in (to NBC) for ‘Friends’ but they’re not going to tune in for the news. 

“I think they’ve got a tough job ahead of them and we’re totally prepared to be an independent.” 

Shares of NBC’s parent company, General Electric, rose 65 cents to close at $38.30 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Granite shares rose 48 cents to close at $2.55 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Shares of Young Broadcasting fell 82 cents, closing at $16.55 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.granitetv.com 

http://www.nbc.com 

Editor: 

Many of us know the YMCA as a positive place which brings together the diverse communities of Berkeley like no other, a sort of town square with walls. However, I am saddened to see the role the YMCA is playing for the parking lobby, despite its mission of building strong and healthy communities. 

The YMCA already heavily subsidizes parking, and not just parking for those with special needs – the YMCA gives out a parking validation system which for the casual user more than pays for YMCA membership. Yet extensive efforts over the past two years to bring the Y around to embracing and encouraging the healthier, gentler modes have been very frustrating. 

It is one thing to subsidize low-income, children’s, women’s, disabled, and other programs. It’s quite another to take the position that driving is not only to be subsidized, but is all that will be supported. Watching the Y’s director (whose position in the parking-heavy Downtown Berkeley Association may direct his shunting of the Y’s mission) campaigning for more taxpayer-subsidized parking is appalling. When Y employees were the most prominent speakers at one hearing I had to wonder, were they paid? Were they pressured? Or just misinformed? Misusing the Y’s influence this way is truly harmful to Berkeley. 

For the Y to be true to its members, it needs to be true to its mission and support a healthier, stronger community. That means supporting a vision of Downtown where it’s safe and convenient to walk, roll and enjoy transit, and actively helping its members embrace those modes. 

SAN DIEGO – An American Airlines flight about to take off for Chicago was delayed more than three hours on the runway Sunday after a fake grenade used to test security screening rolled out of a carry-on bag. 

A woman was in custody and authorities were trying to determine how she ended up with a bag belonging to a security screener that contained the phony grenade, said Rita Vandergaw, spokeswoman for the Unified Port of San Diego, which runs Lindbergh Field. 

The fake grenade is used as a prop to test the security screening system. 

The passenger may have inadvertently picked up the bag at a security checkpoint, Vandergaw said. 

“She made a big mistake one way or the other,” Vandergaw said. “Whether it was inadvertent or not, she shouldn’t have had that bag.” 

Flight 788 was scheduled to depart for Chicago at 1:30 p.m. 

After boarding the plane, the passenger pulled a jacket out of the bag and the phony grenade rolled down the aisle, Vandergaw said. 

The pilot brought the MD-80 to a halt and city firefighters and Department of Defense crews were sent to the scene. A nearby street briefly was closed. 

The fake grenade was removed and the plane returned to the gate. All passengers were taken off the aircraft and rescreened. The airplane was rechecked before it departed at 4:45 p.m. 

Further information about the woman wasn’t immediately available. 

Police officers in Berkeley are once again teaming up with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves to deliver toys to the children of needy families this holiday season. 

Families have until Dec. 19 to register for the Toys for Tots program, which provides free toys for children from low-income families. 

Qualifying families can apply for toys for up to five children, ages 3 to 13. 

Those interested in applying to receive toys should contact the Northern California Community Services Council help line at (800) 273-6222. 

The help line is available from Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

The distribution of the toys will take place on Saturday, Dec. 21 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the lobby of the Berkeley Hall of Justice, 2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

The Berkeley Fire Department is offering several tips that could help people reduce the chances of being a fire casualty this holiday season. 

Candles might add to the holiday spirit, but they should be kept away from decorations and other combustible materials. It is also important to keep all candles and matches away from children. 

Candles should also not be used as Christmas tree ornaments. When buying Christmas lights, buy only those that have been laboratory tested, and always unplug them before you leave or go to sleep. 

It is also important to buy a fresh tree and keep it that way by watering it daily.  

Dried-up trees are extremely flammable, and all trees should be kept away from exits and heat sources. 

The Berkeley Fire Department is also warning against the use of Christmas tree fire alarms, or fire alarms that look like ornaments, which have not been approved by the State of California Fire Marshal for use on any tree. Since Christmas tree fires move extremely fast, the devices are inappropriate for use on trees and their use might give people a false sense of security. 

And as always, it is good common sense to check the batteries on your smoke alarms and make sure that the detectors are working properly. 

For more information on these tips, contact the Berkeley office of emergency services at (510) 981-5605.