About 40 Service Employees International Union workers protested Thursday outside the government offices at 1947 Center St. challenging the property manager’s replacement of three union janitorial workers with nonunion workers, who earn less money and are not covered by medical benefits. 

The mostly Spanish-speaking SEIU members, who chanted: “Sin dignidad, no hay paz” and “Sin justicia, no hay paz,” at the building entrance, were joined by Councilmember Kriss Worthington and about seven State Department of Health employees who work in the building.  

Some of the workers wore New Year’s Eve party hats to call attention to the “un-happy new year” layoffs. 

In early December, Gerson Baker and Associates, the building’s property management company, canceled the janitorial contract with Universal Building Services, which had been in place for 13 years. UBS, a unionized company based in Richmond, had to give notice to the three janitors who performed the maintenance work in the six-story building. The three tenants in the building are the city of Berkeley, the State of California and University of California. 

“The janitors have been replaced with a company that pays their workers $7.50 an hour and offers no medical or vacation benefits,” said Alyssa Giachino, am organizer with the SEIU Local 1877. “This is a trend we are seeing more frequently in the janitorial industry.” 

The three janitors, Maria and Leon Munoz and Aldalberto Mendoza, were told during the first week of December that their jobs were coming to an end on Dec. 28. The Munozes had worked at the building for 13 years. All three were making $10 an hour and more importantly, they say, UBS offered medical benefits, which their families depended on. 

“We worked very hard here for many years and we don’t understand how the property manager can make this decision,” Maria Munoz said. 

Giachino said the union has asked UBS to reassign the janitors, but were told there are currently no jobs available. All three were put on a UBS waiting list. 

Giachino said Gerson Baker and Associates signed a new contract with California Janitorial Exchange, which subcontracted the janitorial contract to a smaller company that pays less and provides no medical benefits. 

“This type of sub, sub contract is a real problem because every time you sub contract it means less wages for the person who actually does the work,” Giachino said. 

State Department of Health Services employee Jolie Pearl who came out of the building to join the protest said Gerson Baker and Associates were clearly motivated by economic reasons. 

“These janitors do a really good job and I think it’s reprehensible that that the management company would take these jobs away from people who already don’t earn a living wage,” she said. “I know this is about money.” 

Gerson Baker manager Lori Samuel did not return calls to the Daily Planet on Thursday. 

The city signed a $2.5 million, five-year lease with Gerson and Baker last year for 18,000-square-feet of office space, which is used as administrative offices for the Department of Public Works.  

Worthington said he is considering asking the City Council to approve a resolution that would prevent the city from leasing commercial space from property managers that don’t contract with union companies. 

He added that he was in the process of reviewing the city’s lease with Gerson Baker and Associates to see if there is a possibility of breaking the lease.  

“The cost of leasing office space is coming down,” he said. “It may be that we can find something less expensive, which would be beneficial to both the city and the workers.” 

Giachino said she added that she was very grateful for the support of the Department of Health Services employees who joined the protest. 

“In the past it has been very difficult to gain support for janitorial workers,” she said. “They are often immigrants and the vast majority of them work at night when no one is around. For years they have been the invisible work force.”

The Berkeley High boys’ soccer team continued its romp through the first round of ACCAL play on Thursday with an easy 5-0 win over Pinole Valley. The victory made the ’Jackets 6-0 in league play, having vanquished their main rival for the league title, Richmond, earlier in the week. But to hear Berkeley’s coach talk, one would think his team was in bad shape. 

“You could say we’re in control of the league, but I don’t think we are,” Janu Juarez said after his team’s win on Thursday. “We have to go undefeated in league play to get an NCS spot, and that’s a lot of pressure to put on the kids.” 

Juarez is still peeved over his team’s treatment at the hands of the North Coast Section seeding committee last season, when the ’Jackets tied with Richmond for the league championship. The Oilers were given a spot in the playoffs, while Berkeley stayed home. Juarez said he expects nothing different this year, since the ACCAL is considered a weak league by the seeding committee. 

“We’ll only get one team in this year too, I’m sure,” he said. “We get no respect from the NCS.” 

But no one can dispute Berkeley’s dominance in league play so far. They have outscored their opponents 30-2 and have yet to give up a goal from open play. Both goals scored against the ’Jackets have been from penalty kicks. 

Berkeley sophomore Kamani Hill has devastated every opponent so far, scoring an astounding 14 goals in the team’s six league games. He continued his hot streak on Thursday, scoring a goal and an assist despite sitting for much of the second half as Juarez cleared his bench. 

The outcome of Thursday’s game was never really in doubt, although it took a while for Berkeley to dent the Spartan net. Hill, Liam Reilly and Chris Davis all had narrow misses for the ’Jackets before Reilly finally headed home a Davis corner kick in the 20th minute. 

It took just two minutes for Berkeley to score again, this time with Davis setting up Hill at the top of the box. The sophomore took one touch and blasted the ball past the Pinole Valley goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead. 

The ’Jackets’ final goal of the first half looked an awful lot like luck. Reilly took the ball on the left sideline, then hit what looked suspiciously like an errant cross. But the ball curved high and towards the goal and nestled into the top corner of the net for another Berkeley goal. 

With Hill, Davis and Reilly all resting at times during the second half, the Berkeley attack slowed a bit, but the Spartans couldn’t take advantage, getting off just four shots in the game. In the 73rd minute, Berkeley junior Chris Altieri-Dove dribbled down the right side all the way to the end line, cut back and shot the ball past the replacement goalie for the Spartans for his team’s fourth goal. Defender Jorge Ceja put the finishing touches on the win, standing dutifully at the back post as a Davis corner kick rolled through the box past several players. Hill got a tiny deflection on the ball, and Ceja finished it with authority.

Friday, Jan. 11

San Francisco Chamber  

Orchestra 

8 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 

2640 College Ave. 

A program of classical party music from Mozart to Stravinsky. $15. 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org 

Berkeley Reads 

10 a.m. - noon 

Public Library, West Branch 

1125 University Ave. 

The adult literacy program of the BPL. Program orientation for new volunteer tutors. 981-6299, prevedel@hotmail.com. 

Even Stronger Women 

1:15 - 3:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Bittersweet legacy art, poetry and stories compiled by Cynthia M. Brody. 232-1351. 

City Commons Club  

Luncheon 

11:15 a.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

James A. Donohue lectures on “Morality in Politics”. Social hour begins at 11:15. Lunch is served 11:45 - 12:15. Speaker begins at 12:30. $11 - 12.25 with lunch, $1 otherwise. 848-3533 

Saturday, Jan. 12

Mental Health and Public 

Policy 

8 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Wheeler Auditorium 

UC Berkeley 

A symposium designed to promote a greater understanding of mental illness, and link medical advances to public policy solutions in mental health care. 642-4608, www.igs.berkeley.edu:8880 

Vocal Jazz Workshop and  

Jazz Jam 

9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. 

Albany Adult School 

601 San Gabriel St. 

Workshops for singers and instrumentalists led by Richard Kalman to explore Jazz in a small jazz combo format. $5-$12 per class. 524-6796, richkalman@aol.com. 

National Writers Union  

Benefit 

7:30 p.m. 

Oakland YWCA 

1515 Webster St. 

The National Writers Union, Local 3 presents “A Dream Still Beckons: Multicultural Offerings for Peace and Justice in honor of Langston Hughes and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” The even features poetry readings and a dance party. Donations requested. 839-1248. 

Copwatch Nonviolence  

Training 

11 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

Copwatch Office 

2022 Blake St. 

For more info: 658-0702, berkeley-copwatch-admin@linefeed.org. 

East Bay Lesbian/Gay  

Democratic Club 

11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. 

EBL/GDC endorsement meeting for East Bay primary elections. All interested persons are invited to attend; only members are allowed to vote for endorsements. 548-9235. 

Natural Learning Rhythms  

Seminar 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

Public Library, Claremont Branch 

2940 Benvenue Ave. 

NLR is a system of holistic child development of their inherent capacities. Free. Registration is required, 800-200-1107. 

Gardening with East Bay  

Native Plants 

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Ecology Center 

2530 San Pablo Ave. 

A hands-on workshop, led by two local landscape gardeners, touching on many aspects of restoration gardening. $15 non-members, $10 members. 548-2220 x233  

Sunday, Jan. 13

Banjo Concert 

5 p.m. 

MusicSources 

1000 The Alameda 

Bill Evans explores more than 200 years of banjo music on a variety of vintage instruments. Reception follows concert. $15 - $18. 528-1685 

Compassion Chant for World  

Peace 

5 - 6 p.m. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute 

1815 Highland Pl. 

Sylvia Gretchen and Barr Rosenberg will lead in the chanting and meditation. 843-6812 

Video Showing 

7 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Fellowship Hall 

1924 Cedar 

Dr. Johan Galtung of the Oslo Peace Research Institute presents “Peace by Peaceful Means”. Nancy Hawami will lead a discussion following the presentation. 841-4824 

Monday, Jan. 14

Berkeley Community Chorus:  

Singers Wanted 

7 - 10 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana St., Between Durant and Channing 

BCCO commences rehearsals for its Spring production of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. No auditions. Wheelchair accessible. 964-0665 or download registration form: www.bcco.org. 

Interfaith Women For Peace 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Durant House 

2330 Durant 

A group of progressive women of diverse faith traditions who are 

committed to peace and justice. 527-6162. 

Tuesday, Jan. 15

Fibromyalgia Support Group 

12 - 2 p.m. 

Alta Bates Medical Center, Maffly Auditorium 

2001 Dwight Way 

Monthly meeting features Sandi Alstrand, Certified Acupressure Therapist. 601-0550 

Workers’ Compensation  

Medical and Legal Rights 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Back in Action Chiropractic Center 

2500 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Dr. Ethan Feldman and Patricia Jones present a forum. 843-2584 

Freedom From Tobacco 

6 - 8 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

The first of six quit smoking classes with the option of Acupuncture, using ear points to assist in quitting. 644-6422, quitnow@ci.berkeley. ca.us 

Berkeley Garden Club 

1 p.m. 

Epworth United Methodist Church 

1953 Hopkins St. 

Annie Hayes, owner of Annie’s Annuals, will introduce “New and Cool Plants.” Free. 524-4374. 

Camera Club Meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church 

941 The Alameda 

Weekly meeting of the Berkeley Camera Club offers the opportunity to share slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. 547-4514 

Franz Schurmann 

Pacific News Service 

The Bush administration yesterday switched automotive policy away from promoting high-mileage, gasoline-powered cars in favor of research on hydrogen-based fuel cells. Many in the American energy community reacted critically, noting that fuel cells are at least a decade away and calling for more immediate steps to halt Detroit's production of gas-guzzlers. 

But in the Middle East, reaction was apocalyptic. 

As word of the policy change leaked out last week, one Lebanese observer, Samir Attalah, wrote on Jan. 3 in the London-based, Saudi-financed daily As-Sharq al-Ausat, “the Gulf region faces unemployment, slump and violence for the first time since oil appeared on the Gulf scene decades ago.” Attalah first painted a picture of the region's sudden transformation from poverty to prosperity decades ago. He then predicted a similar transformation in the other direction. 

Until now, the oil-producing countries had believed that, whether in boom or slump, advanced nations needed ever-increasing amounts of oil. But now the oil-friendly Bush administration, led by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham (who is of Lebanese Arab descent), has decided to push America and the world toward a post-oil future. 

In a speech in Detroit announcing the new policy, Abraham said the ultimate aim was to eventually do away with the internal combustion engine. He said this surrounded by corporate chiefs of the American automotive industry. 

Attalah began his swan song piece by saying he had attended most of the 22 meetings of the “Gulf Cooperation Council” (GCC). But the council's most recent meeting, he said, would be its last. He knew this was so because his friend Jamil Al-Hejailan, the head of the GCC since its founding in 1981, had announced his retirement. Though the GCC never had 

much power, Al-Hejailan's resignation conveyed the message that an era was at its end. 

The GCC came into being in reaction to the threat posed by Iran's Islamic revolution. The majority of Iranians are Shi'a Muslims, though worldwide the Shi'a faithful only constitute 10 percent of all Muslims. However, most indigenous Gulf oil workers are Shi'a Arabs, even in the non-Arab, oil-rich Khuzistan province of Iran. 

In 1981, the GCC members, backed by a large U.S. military presence, concerned themselves mostly with preventing pro-Iranian elements from 

gaining political clout in the Gulf. But as the Iranian threat lessened, the GCC became a friendly go-between between Saudi Arabia and Iran. After Sept. 11, the GCC came out in full support of America's war on terrorism. 

For the last 20 years, the GCC has always acted to preserve the stunning prosperity of the Gulf countries. 

But the GCC's greatest protector, America, has now decided that its long-term goal is “doing away with the internal combustion engine.” The late John Ehrlichman, convicted felon in the Watergate scandal, once said, “We were left dangling in the wind.” So too is the GCC. 

The wind now battering the GCC and the entire Middle East is the turbulence unleashed by the war in Afghanistan. Every day it looks less likely that oil and natural gas can be peacefully extracted from all over the region. And with increasing global demand for oil, the biggest oil consumer of them all – the United States – is planning a non-oil energy future. 

During World War II, our two greatest enemies, Germany and Japan, fought and survived for years with substitute fuels after the Allies cut off their access to oil. The German word “ersatz” – alternative – made it into the English vocabulary. 

Since Sept. 11, President Bush has repeated that America and the world will be at war for a long time to come. That means the government will put its weight fully behind the new hydrogen-based fuel cell. 

In World War II, technological breakthroughs – predicted to take decades – were achieved in a few years. 

If this is what Secretary Abraham has in mind, then it is the first and possibly most important change to come in the wake of Sept. 11 last. 

PNS Editor Franz Schurmann (fschurmann@pacficnews.org) is emeritus professor at UC Berkeley. He has written on Middle Eastern oil since the late 1970s. 

“My body had become a stranger to me,” writes Helene Byrne, a dance and fitness professional who, after giving birth to her first child, wanted to get back into her original shape as fast as possible.  

“Everything felt disorganized and disconnected,” she says. “Nothing worked well.”  

The postpartum reconditioning program Helene Byrne developed for herself succeeded to her satisfaction, and resulted in a book: “Exercise After Pregnancy: How to Look and Feel Your Best,” just out from Celestial Arts in Berkeley.  

Byrne’s program focuses on realigning the spine, restoring muscle tone, and increasing core strength.  

While most parts of the body recover naturally from the stresses of pregnancy and childbirth, muscle tissue does not rebound as easily, which is why special efforts at muscle stimulation are important.  

A pregnant woman’s abdominal muscles, for example, stretch so much they become unavailable for spine support. After giving birth, most women’s abdominal muscles can no longer support her spine and internal organs. (It’s a good thing babies are cute.) 

Women who have given birth vaginally face additional trauma to their pelvic floor which can result in conditions such as uterine and/or bladder prolapse. These conditions are in addition to non-muscular changes from pregnancy and birthing, such as compression on the vertebrae and intervertebral discs and increased laxity of the ligaments. A woman is much more prone to injury and pain at this time.  

The first five chapters of Exercise After Pregnancy describe the ways women’s bodies are altered by pregnancy and childbirth. Basic information, such as where the “Bikini Triangle” is, and how to do a “Super Kegel,” are explained.  

Chapters five through eight supply a comprehensive series of exercises to help with specific issues such as lower back strain. These chapters also focus on building core strength.  

Chapter nine contains a “Test for Abdominal Separation” and a “Test for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.” There’s also information on which types of baby carriers can lead to additional muscle strain (Byrne says most baby frontbacks are problematic), and the optimal ways to breast feed and lift. 

While the wording in Exercise After Pregnancy contains a lot of jargon (such as “posterior tilt” and “kyphotic posture” – a definitions section would have been helpful), the exercise instructions are clearly, interestingly, and elegantly presented; the annotated illustrations are easy to understand, nice to look at, and well-explained; and the photographs are well laid out and helpful. The models – voluptuously fit new mothers all – are simply beautiful.  

But it’s the exercises themselves – some of which have cute names such as “Superwoman” and “The Egg” – which get my highest raves … and I say this after trying every position, squeeze and thrust. I’m not recently postpartum (though I couldn’t forget what being postpartum feels like if I tried.) The positions in Exercise After Pregnancy felt remarkably pleasurable, fun, straightforward and comfortable. 

Helene Byrne realizes, after a few months, that she won’t get into her exact pre-baby shape, but she still feels that her reconditioned and again fit body is wonderful.  

“By accepting that my body was just how Mother Nature intended it to be,” Helene Byrne writes, “I could appreciate what I had: A fit and beautiful ‘mommy body.’” Looking at my old clothes hanging in the closet was no longer devastating.” 

I hope Byrne’s next book is about stretch marks.

924 Gilman Jan. 11: Bananas, Numbers, Lowdown, Doozers, Iron Ass; Jan. 12: Plan 9, The Sick, The Hellbillies, Oppressed Logic, Deltaforce; Jan. 18: Christian Reigh, Dystrophy, Stalker Potential, Lower 48, Thought Crime, No Direction; Jan. 19: Capitalist Casualities, Phobia, Pig Destroyer, Index, Strong Intention; Jan. 25: Ludicra, Brain Oil, Creuvo, Scurvy Dogs, Arftificum Sanguis; Jan. 26: Mile Marker, Yaphet Kotto, Pirx the Pilot, Himsa, Confidante; Jan. 27: Bane, Over My Dead Body, Striking Distance, Breath In; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926. 

Anna’s Bistro Jan.11:Anna sings jazz standards/ 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Jan. 12: Robin Gregory & Sy Perkoff/ 10 pm Ducksn Distones Jazz Sextet; Jan. 13: “Choro Time” Brazilian sounds; Jan.14: “Renagade Sidemen” w/ Calvin Keyes: Jan.15: Mark Murphy’s jazz vocal workshop; Jan. 16: Bob Schoen Jazz Sextet; Jan. 17: Christy Dana Jazz Duo; Jan. 18: Karen Guthrie & Her Trio/ 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Jan. 19: Vicki Burns & Felice York/ 10 p.m. Ducksan Distones Jazz Sextet; Jan. 20: Aleph Null; Music starts at 8p.m., every night, second band at 10p.m., 1801 University Ave., 849-ANNA 

Blake’s Jan. 11: Five Point Plan, SFunk, $5; Jan. 12: Lavish Green, Stone Cutters, $5; Jan. 13: Alex Dolan & 22 Fillmore, $3; Jan. 14: All Star Jam Featuring The Steve Gannon Band & Mz. Dee, $4; Jan. 15: View From Here, $3; Jan. 16: Zion Rock, Hebro, $3; Jan. 17: Electronica with Ascension, $5; Jan. 18: Ten Ton Chicken, Black Dog Band with Peanut Daniels, $5; Jan. 19: Solemite, Monky, $5; Jan. 20: First Circle, The Locals, $6; Jan. 21: All Star Jam Featuring the Steve Gannon Band & Mz. Dee, $4; Jan. 22: WildSang; 2367 Telegraph Ave., 877-488-6533. 

Cal Performances Jan. 18 and 19: 8 p.m., The National Acrobats of Taiwan, R.O.C.; Jan. 20: 3 p.m., Midori and Robert McDonald. $28 -$48. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph. 642-9988 

Club Jjang-Ga Jan. 12: Sol Americano, The People, Solemite, American Rebus, Katie Knipp; Jan. 19: Dick, Multiply, Mental Case, Nine Pound Grind, The Elegy; Jan. 26: Krenshaw, Bearing, Lucid Inc., Zodiacal Circle; 400 29th Ave., Oakland, 261-1108, savageproductions1@yahoo.com. 

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. 11: Alex De Grassi, Franco Morone; Jan. 12: 10 a.m. - noon, Lily Tomlin, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Rebecca Walker discusses her memoir “Black, White and Jewish.”; 8 p.m., Viviana Guzman & Performers of the World; Jan. 13: Rob Ickes & Slide City; All shows begin 8 p.m. unless noted, 1111 Addison St. 548-1761, www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Jazzschool Jan. 20: 4:30 p.m., Madeline Eastman, $6-$12. Jan. 27: 4:30 p.m., Michael Zilber, Sons of Bitches Brew; $6-$12. 2087 Addison St., 845-5373, www.jazzschool.com. 

Julia Morgan Theatre Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, classical party music; Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Jan. 11: Hydeus Kiatta Trio; Jan. 12: Barefoot Bride; Jan. 16: Realistic; Jan. 17: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 18: Bigfoot In Paris Trio; Jan. 19: Netwerk: Electric; Jan. 23: Mitch Marcus Quintet; Jan. 24: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 25: The Sardonics; Jan. 26: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Fourtet; Jan. 30: Joel Harrison Quartet; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Cultural Center Jan. 20: 7 p.m., A Hip/Trip Hop Benefit for the Prison Activist Resource Center: Black Dot Artists Collective, COINTELPRO, DJ So Much Soul, EK Trip, Prophets of Rage and Renaissance. $10-$15. 3105 Shattack Ave, 893-4648.  

Live Oaks Concerts: Berkeley Art Center Jan. 20: 7:30 p.m., Marvin Sanders, flute, Kana Mimaki, piano, will perform Prokofiev’s Sonata #2 for flute and piano, and Ceasar Franck’s Sonata in A Major; Jan. 27: 7:30 p.m., Elaine Kreston, cello, Laura Carmichael, clarinet, perform otherworldly and intense duos by Xenakis and Kaaija Saariaho. $10, BACA Members $8, Students and Seniors $9. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., 644-6893. 

Rose Street House Jan. 17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks; Jan. 25: 8 p.m. DivaBands Showcase: Bern, Elin Jr., Roberta Donnay, Christy Claxton and Tiger Zane. $8-$20. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687rosestreetmusic@yahoo.com. 

Yoshi’s Jazz House 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. 

ACME Observatory Contemporary Performance Series Jan. 11 and 12: both at 8 p.m. The Transparent Tape Music Festival featuring classic and new recorded works by Edgard Varese, Pauline Oliveros and others. $7 for one night, $12 for both. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave., 649-8744, acme@sfsound.org. 

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

Fellowship Coffee House Jan. 18: 7:30 p.m., Carol Denney, open mike. $3 -$5. Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. 

Off Da Hook! Party. Jan. 19: 9 p.m., DJ’s SAKE1, Ab, special guests and live performances; $8-$15. 2670 Union St, West Oakland, 464-1011. 

Trinity Chapel Jan. 19: 8 p.m., Janine Johnson, harpsichord, Bach, Buxtehude and Pachelbel; 2320 Dana St., 549-3864. 

First Congregational Church Jan. 19: 8p.m., eight women’s voices and continuo, also baritone Hugh Davis will sing priest’s acclamations. $12- $25; First Congregational Church, Dana & Durant, Berkeley, (415) 979-4500. 

Mama Bears Jan. 19: 7:30 p.m., WildSang; 6536 Telegraph Ave. 595-4642. 

Roda Theatre Jan. 22 and 23: both at 8 p.m., The Berkeley Symphony, Music Director Kent Nagano, continues its 31st season with two performances of Schubert’s Symphony No. 5. $21, $32, $45, $10 students. 2015 Addison St. 841-2800, www.berkeleysymphony.org 

Berkeley Black Repertory Theatre Jan. 26: 6:30 - 10 p.m., The City of Berkeley and the Berkeley Black Repertory Theatre pay tribute to and welcome the return of “The Dru Band,” teenage recording artist from the Bay Area. $5. 3201 Adeline St., 625-2120. 

Organ Music Jan. 27: 5 p.m., Ron McKean performs Ferscobaldi, Froberger and Bach. $15 - $18. MusicSources, 1000 The Alameda, 528-1685. 

Dance 

Julia Morgan Theatre 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’s Feast of Dance,” An evening of conemporary dance performed by local dance groups to benefit dance in the East Bay. $15 suggested donation. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

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 

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. 558-138, 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 

“Rhinoceros” Jan. 23 through Mar. 10: Check theater for specific dates and times. An absurdist tragi-comedy about a small provincial town whose citizens slowly but surely transform into large cumbersome rhinoceroses. Directed by Barbara Damashek. $38 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2976 www.berkeleyrep.org. 

“Sisters” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. through Feb. 16. The story of the Prozorov sisters looking in a very human way at the gap between hope and fulfillment in their lives. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattack, www.actorsensemleofbkerkeley.com. 

Film 

Pacific Film Archive 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: 7 p.m., La Collectionneuse, 8:50 p.m., My Night at Maud’s; Jan. 13: 1 p.m., 3 p.m., Oscar’s Magic Adventure, 5:30 p.m., ABC Africa; Jan. 16: 7:30 p.m., So, To Speak: Videoworks of Jacqueline Goss; Jan. 17: 7 p.m., The Marquise of O...; Jan. 18: 7:30 p.m., Claire’s Knee, 9:30 p.m., Chloe in the Afternoon; 2527 Bancroft Way, 642-1412. 

Landmark’s Shattuck Cinema Jan. 18: 5 p.m., 7 p.m., Life And Debt, filmmaker Stephanie Black will speak. 2230 Shattuck Ave., 843-3456, www.landmarktheatres.com. 

Parkway Theatre Jan. 29: 6:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m., Boom! The Sound Of Eviction, a Just Cause Oakland benefit screening. $6-$20. 1843 Park Blvd., Oakland, 464-1011. 

Exhibits  

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” 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. 

“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 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. 

“Prints and Paintings by Liao Shiou-Ping” on view through Jan. 31; Tues. to Fri.10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sat.10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388-9th St., Suite 290, Oakland, 238-4491. 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” 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. 

“All Grown Up” Jan. 10 - Feb. 2: New paintings and drawings by Amy Chan. Thurs. 1 p.m. - 8 p.m., Fri -Sun 1 p.m. -6 p.m., 21 Grand Ave., Oakland, 444-7263 

“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” 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” 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. 

“Transformations: Through the Eye of a Needle” Jan.24 - Feb. 23: Two-person exhibition by Rebecca Bui and Linda Lemon including procelain and fabric dolls and mixed media works on handmade paper. Tues.-Sat., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland, 836-0831, www.artolio.com 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” 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.  

“Domestic Bliss” Collection of abstract paintings and mixed medium by Amy St. George. Her serious of work range from large abstract paintings to intimate boxes with collections of found objects, Jan.13 through Apr. 4th Albany Community Center Foyer Gallery, 1249 Marin Ave., Albany,524-9283 

“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 

AK Press Jan. 19: 8 p.m., Joel Schalit dissects the New World Order and the rise of religious fundamentalism in his new book “Jerusalem Calling”. 674-A 23rd St., Oakland, 208-1700, molly@akpress.org 

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 Jan. 12: Word Beat presents Tom Quantamatteo, Larry Beresford and Rose Mark; Jan. 19: Tim Donnelly and Anna May Stanley; Jan. 26: Paradise and 2nd feature TBA; Feb. 2: Julia Vinograd and Shauna Rogan; Feb. 9: Sydney Bell and Debrale Pagan; All readings 7-9 p.m., free and followed by open mike. 458 Perkins at Grand, Oakland, 526-5985.  

Jewish Community Center Jan. 14: 7:30-9 p.m., Emily Rose interweaves the family chronicle of her ancestors with the political and social events of the 18th and 19th centuries; Jan. 16: 7:30-8:30 p.m., Elizabeth Rosner will read from her debut novel “The Speed of of Light.” 1414 Walnut St. 

Mama’s Bears Women’s Bookstore Jan. 12: 7:30, Loolwa Khazzoom will be reading from her new book “CONSEQUENCE: Beyond Resisting Rape.” $8-10. 6536 Telegraph at 66th Oakland, 595-4642 

Poetry 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Jan. 12: The Great Night of Soul Poetry, $12-$15; 655-1425. 

Jack London’s Birthday Poetry Reading Jan. 12: 2 - 5 p.m., For all poets, bring poetry to share. 523-5980. 

Poetry Flash @ Cody’s Jan. 9: Karen Kevorkian and Gail Wronsky; Jan. 13: Phylis Koestenbaum and Carol Snow; Jan. 16: Tea Party magazine reading with Ariel, Rita Boagert, Daniel Y. Harris, Denise Mewbourne, Judith Offer, Andrena Zawinski; Jan. 23: Paul Hoover and Elizabeth Robinson; Jan. 27: Wanda Coleman, Austin Straus and Kate Gale; Jan. 30 Ralph Angel and George Higgins; All events begin at 7:30 p.m., $2 donation. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852. 

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, children under 5 free. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m.; 1000 Oak St., Oakland, 238-2200, 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. - 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 and Pacific Film Archive “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. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.; 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 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. 

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, www.lhs.berkeley.edu. 

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

Two former Berkeley residents were on Attorney General John Ashcroft’s list of people to be questioned in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to information released by the Berkeley Police Department. 

BPD Chief Dash Butler informed the Police Review Commission on Wednesday that the department was asked by the U.S. Attorney’s Office to interview two South Berkeley area residents in December. 

Butler said the department held a preliminary investigation and discovered that the two individuals no longer live in the city, and were therefore out of the department’s jurisdiction. 

“No further contact was made or attempted,” wrote Butler in a memo to the commission. 

The PRC passed a unanimous resolution at its Wednesday meeting recommending that the city not cooperate with Department of Justice requests to interview individuals on Ashcroft’s list. 

“Absent evidence linking such individuals to specific criminal acts, such targeting smacks of racial profiling and is discriminatory,” the resolution reads. 

In recent weeks, a number of cities, including Portland, Ore., Corvallis, Ore. and Ann Arbor, Mich., have made national headlines when they announced their refusal to assist the Department of Justice in interviewing people named on that list. 

Some people have held that the methods employed by the Attorney General’s office in the investigation violate constitutionally guaranteed rights, such as due process. 

Eighty-five of the 5,000 people on the Attorney General’s list live in the Department of Justice’s Northern District of California, which comprises most of the coastal region of the state north of Monterey County. 

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco said that they were not releasing information about which police departments they had asked for help with the interviews, nor about the departments’ response. 

However, in a press release dated Dec. 12, the San Francisco office denied that people were placed on the list for reasons of ethnic origin.  

All people on the list, according to the release, had two things in common: they entered the United States on or after Jan. 1, 2000, with a passport from a country in which al-Qaeda is believed to operate, and they are males between the ages of 18 and 33. 

On Dec. 3, the city’s Peace and Justice Commission passed a resolution that called for the city to “only cooperate with constitutionally valid requests from Attorney General John Ashcroft to question individuals.” 

The City Council will consider the resolution at its Jan. 22 meeting. 

On Thursday, Councilmember Kriss Worthington called the Attorney General’s project a threat to civil liberties. 

“Normally, in order to interrogate someone you have to have probable cause,” he said. “I think the threshold should be that there is probable cause, or a judge’s order, in each case.”  

Mayor Shirley Dean said that she would have to wait to hear a report from the police department before she could determine if any action from the City Council would be warranted. 

Dean noted that in most other cities, the decision not to cooperate in the project was made by a police chief or city manager – not by the City Council. 

“I would have to see what the police department’s general orders say right now,” she said.  

Dewayne Tully, spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department, said on Thursday that to his knowledge, the department has not yet been asked to interview anyone on the list.  

He said, though, that it was clear that the types of interviews that the Attorney General is asking for do not comport with SFPD policy. 

“Our policy is that we have to have some sort of probable cause to detain, question or arrest anybody,” he said. “It seems that in this case, the federal government wants police departments to question people pretty much because of their ethnic background.” 

Tully said that in addition to the constitutional questions that may arise from such interviews, they could have an counterproductive effect on local policing. 

“We have a working partnership with a lot of diverse communities in the city,” he said. “We feel that to comply with (the Attorney General’s) request would jeopardize that relationship in a very serious way.” 

EUGENE, Ore. – Frederick Jones scored 22 points and Anthony Lever had 12 as Oregon came from behind to defeat California 76-72 on Thursday. 

Chris Christoffersen and Luke Ridnour added 11 each, while Luke Jackson scored 10 for the Ducks (11-4 overall, 4-1 Pac-10), who are a perfect 9-0 at home this season. 

The Golden Bears (10-3, 1-2), playing only their third road game of the season, were led by Joe Shipp, who scored 24 points. Amit Tamir had 19. 

Down 65-58 with 4:13 to play, Oregon went on a 10-0 run to take a 68-65 lead with 1:44 left. Jones sparked it with a three-point play when he drew a foul on a rebound putback. Ridnour followed with a 3-pointer and Jackson a pair of free throws and a layup. 

Brian Wethers converted on a layup to pull the Bears within 68-67 at 1:14, but Oregon closed out the game by making eight straight from the foul line. 

Cal turned the ball over five times in the final four minutes, after giving it up only five times in the first 36 minutes. 

The Ducks, who lead the Pac-10 with an 88.1 points per game average, were held to a season-low 30 points in the first half and converted only seven field goals. 

The Ducks responded by shooting 52 percent from the floor in the second half. 

Jones gave Oregon its first lead since late in the first half on dunk at 9:50 to put the Ducks up 50-49. But Cal answered with a 9-1 run to go up 58-51 three minutes later, a lead extended to 65-58 on a 3-pointer by Tamir.

Editor: 

I read with dismay the article on violence at Berkeley High. My daughter who is a Freshmen had her backpack stolen three weeks before Winter Break during a PE class. That same week four other students that we know about also had backpacks stolen. Besides feeling personally violated the thefts resulted in lost textbooks, class work, cell phones, wallets and calculators. I can only imagine how widespread the problem is if this is just one week's work. 

I could not believe that School Board President Shirley Issel was quoted as saying “Security quickly became the highest priority for the high school.” 

Ms. Issel has been the most vocal opponent of the proposal to investigate Small Learning Communities at Berkeley High. Her comments at resent meetings bordered on complete arrogance. Research on SLC has repeatedly stated a major byproduct of breaking a large school into smaller schools is the decrease in violence and vandalism. Berkeley High's 3,200 student population is simply stated too large to manage. If Ms. Issel and other Board Members are truly committed to reducing violence than start by breaking the school into more manageable communities.  

Susan Brahan 

Berkeley  

It’s high noon and a crush of students has just descended upon the Hummingbird Café. 

In a 15-foot long space, no wider than a bar, six workers busily cut breads and spread spreads to fill hungry hands. Weaving together a series of near misses, they rotate from deli counter to sandwich station and back to the deli counter for another order. Then comes the Baklava question. 

A woman who leads the 20-person line is looking down her nose at the Middle-eastern treats. “Does the Baklava have peanuts?” she asks. “I don’t like the kind with peanuts,” she says, resting her arm on her travel bag’s handle. She’s visiting. 

The diminutive cashier, who rarely flusters, flashes a puzzled look at the balding man working the smoothie nook. He finishes his mix then steps toward the dessert tray. Greeks put peanuts and cinnamon in their Baklava, he explains. “This has walnuts and pistachios. This is more Syrian Baklava.” He speaks with a soft Arabic accent, his left hand rhythmically kneading the air. 

Jamal Fares knows his food. He opened the Hummingbird Café on Euclid Avenue near the UC Berkeley campus a little more than two years ago, piecing together its eclectic lunch-to-go menu from 20-some-odd years in the restaurant business.  

From the classic meat-n-cheese sandwich to falafel and humus, the fare is a twist of Greek, Italian, Arabic and American cuisine. 

“There’s plenty of choices,” says Fares. “This is special for the whole area,” he adds, referring to the slew of eateries dotting the north side of Berkeley’s campus. 

Fares moved to the United States about 16 years ago with aspirations of becoming a computer engineer.  

“I came to be a student, just like everybody else,” he says. When that didn’t work out, he went back to what he’s studied since he was a kid. “My mom cooks. I smell it, and that’s it,” he explains.  

His mother is the inspiration behind the soup he’s serving today – “Syrian lentil” reads the sign. “It’s an old recipe,” Fares says. “Onion, ginger, garlic. …” he summons the heavens for inspiration, “… parsley, lemon.” 

Spanning the standing-room-only café, two neatly painted murals depict the small town where Fares grew up. An intricate system of canals and waterwheels irrigate the mountainous country of Syria.  

“All over the cities, these canals, 2,000 years old – Roman built,” he says. “Still functioning as we speak.” 

Stand long enough at the L-shaped deli counter, and you might count 30 or 40 images of hummingbirds around the place. Photos and picture book cut-outs pasted on the walls. Paper ones and wooden ones dangle from the ceiling. Even the clock chirps every third hour. 

“I love birds, especially hummingbirds,” says Fares. “They’re very fascinating little birds to watch and observe – how it lives, how it feeds, how it runs.” 

His stoic face set beneath a thick mustache, Fares stands about 5 feet 6 inches, wears jeans, lumberjack boots, and a plaid flannel shirt with its sleeves rolled up past his elbow. His stocky arms and thick-fingered hands look like they’ve been tilling earth somewhere in Iowa. But they’re poetry in motion when he’s making a smoothie. 

Fares began blending drinks back in Syria at a little 10- by 12-foot juice stand. A customer named Jeremy took a picture of it, with a woman sipping juice before a mass of fresh fruits, when he was there last year and it now graces his store. Fares says the small stand courted a steady queue. “They don’t mind the line,” he says. “They chat. They know each other there.” 

At the outset of the latest smoothie craze, about 10 years ago, Fares worked at a juice bar that helped popularize the fruity refreshments. “Now, they are all over. They don’t do things from what they learn inside,” he says, pulling his fist to his chest. “They follow paper recipes.” 

Not Fares. He mixes drinks from the gut. His dark eyes barely leave the blender while his arms swing instinctively to and fro, pulling this juice and that. He meticulously crowns each drink with some dabs of frozen yogurt and a few raspberries and blueberries, then personally hands it to each customer. 

Fares rarely lets anyone else work the smoothie station. Leaning close, he whispers, “They don’t do it like I do it. It’s done how I feel.” 

Diane O’Connor holds up her mango smoothie. “This is the only reason I come here,” she says. “When it’s hot, I’m here a lot. Beats the heck outa Jamba Juice.” 

O’Connor has been patronizing the café since it first opened, but she hasn’t been in for several months. “Looks like you’re still doing real well here,” she says to Fares. 

Forty-something gardener George Jaqua bounces in. “That sandwich was so good yesterday – that roast turkey – I’ve gotta have another one,” he says. 

“You gotta come in before noon or else the line will be out the door,” warns engineering student Rowen Jones. As Jones pays for his smoked turkey, he reminds the cashier that he owes an extra $3.50 - Fares extended him credit yesterday. 

During a lull, Kathryn Hetzner stops in to chat with Fares. Hetzner, who works with Berkeley’s College of Engineering, is leaving for South America for about seven months. She asks Fares how things are in Syria right now. 

He tells her that people there are stressed out and frightened. He said he had been planning a trip home. “But after September 11th, I was really scared,” he says. Of the family’s eight sisters and seven brothers, Fares is the only one who lives in America. “I really miss them,” he says. “I think I went too far and got lost.” 

Before leaving, Hetzner asks how the business is doing. So far, so good, Fares replies. 

“I’m glad you persevered,” she says. “You serve a good product, and it’s been nice visiting with you and seeing your smiling face every day.” 

Fares watches Hetzner leave. “Good food, you cannot hide it,” he says.  

Superintendent Michele Lawrence and members of the Berkeley Board of Education backed away from a controversial change in board procedures Wednesday night, which would have had community organizations speak at the end, not the beginning, of board meetings. 

The board also approved an 18-month plan for the oft-maligned maintenance department, signed off on a change in the contract with the teachers’ union and heard about cost overruns from members of the Citizens Construction Advisory Committee. 

The board intended to change the order of its bi-weekly agenda, but amid protest, decided to not move oral reports from citizen oversight committees to the end of the list, which is what happened Wednesday.  

Several speakers during the public comment portion of the meeting, attacked the move, arguing that, with the change, board members would not hear vital testimony from citizen oversight committees before voting on issues of substance. 

“The opportunity to address the board after (the voting) is no opportunity at all,” said Yolanda Huang, chair of Maintenance Planning and Oversight Committee, which has clashed with the board in recent months. 

“The concepts of democratic participation and the whole community taking responsibility for raising our children are deeply rooted in Berkeley,” added Stephanie Allan, another member of the maintenance committee. “Having such participation means you may hear things you don’t like or wish weren’t made public.” 

“You...have to accept and respect public oversight,” she concluded. “I am saddened to see this effort to muzzle it or make it irrelevant.” 

“I would like to extend a sincere apology,” replied Superintendent Lawrence. “The intention was not to squelch, in any way, the community from coming forward.” 

Lawrence, who took responsibility for initiating the procedural change, said she simply wanted to move up the board’s votes so that important issues were not being discussed late at night. 

“We’ll just go back and have it the way it was,” she said. 

But Joaquin Rivera, vice president of the board, said he is unhappy with the previous structure, suggesting that it provides a platform for activists who may not represent their committees accurately.  

“A lot of times,” said Rivera, “I really get the impression that, when we get a committee report, it’s really just the opinion...of the person at the mic.” 

The vice president called for a more formalized process, ensuring that the entire committee’s views are represented. 

Better maintenance 

Later in the evening, Lew Jones, manager of facilities planning for the school district, presented an 18-month plan for improving the maintenance department. 

The plan listed 12 areas of improvement, ranging from accountability, to morale, to addressing the “backlog of safety and maintenance requests” at the schools. 

However, Jones’ report suggested that “the staff cannot simultaneously implement all the needed changes,” and recommended a focus on four areas in the next 18 months: staff development, increased work production, administrative accountability, and preventative maintenance. 

The plan also laid out a staffing model for the department, including a recommendation that the organization move from 22 full-time positions to 39.4 in the next 18 months. The staff would be paid, largely, out of funds from bond measure BB, passed by Berkeley voters in Nov. 2000, which provides the maintenance operation with roughly $4 million per year for 12 years. 

The original plan, approved by the board with the passage of BB, was to use bond funding to pay for 46.7 full-time positions, and Huang criticized the new plan for short-staffing the department at the Wednesday night meeting. 

Jones said maintenance department tasks and needs have shifted since the original estimate, resulting in the shift from 46.7 to the 39.4 figure. But, he suggested that the situation may change over time. 

“Frankly, we’re going to have to work through this to come up with an exact number,” he said. “It’s possible that we may need to add one or two maintenance engineers.” 

“There has to be some evolution,” Jones added in an interview Thursday morning. 

Contract changes 

The board also approved adjustments to Article 15 of the district’s May 1999 contract with the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, putting more uniform evaluation procedures in place for teachers. Previously, the procedures varied, depending on the experience of the teacher. 

The change also embraces a set of six state-wide standards known as the California Standards of the Teaching Profession, endorsed by the State Board of Education in July, 1997. 

Bruce Wicinas, of the Citizens’ Construction Advisory Committee, concluded the evening by pointing to multi-million dollar cost overruns for projects funded, in part, by bond Measure AA, passed in November 2000 that allocated $116.5 million for district construction. 

Wicinas, Jones and members of the board pointed out that the overruns could be offset by funding from a variety of sources, including the roughly $10 million insurance settlement resulting from a fire that tore through the high school’s B Building in April 2000. Jones said he hopes to receive $4.2 million from the settlement. 

Still, Wicinas told the board to stay on top of the issue. “If such increases accumulate,” he said, “we will be in trouble, in terms of keeping our promises to the voters about the amount of work we will complete.”  

California, which trailed the Oregon Ducks by only one point with 3:34 to play on Thursday night, is still looking for its first Pac-10 win of the season when they let down late in the game, leading to a 65-53 loss at Haas Pavilion.  

Senior Ami Forney once again shone for the Golden Bears, which dropped to 5-9 (0-5 Pac-10). Forney scored 13 points and collected eight rebounds on the night. LaTasha O’Keith also had a strong night for Cal, putting up 13 points in her 20 minutes on the floor.  

“We saw a great first half with an incredibly intense Cal team that showed in one half that they could probably beat anybody,” said Cal head coach Caren Horstmeyer. “You saw in the second half that we have to learn how to maintain our intensity for at least 30-35 minutes, and if we do that, then we’ll win some games.”  

The Ducks, who improved to 10-6 (5-2) with the win, were led by Catherine Kraayeveld, who notched a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Oregon’s leading scorer on the night was Shaquala Williams, who scored 16 points, playing nearly the entire game. She did struggle from the floor, shooting only 6-of-17.  

Oregon got off to a quick start, taking an early 12-6 lead. A quick shot by O’Keith followed by a Leigh Gregory 3-pointer less than a minute later keyed a 7-0 run, in which the Bears took their first lead of the game, a narrow 15-14 margin. The two teams battled back and forth, neither taking a lead larger than four points, and at the close of the half, Cal led the Ducks by two, 24-22. O’Keith and Kraayeveld led all scorers with eight points.  

“(O’Keith) is a very confident player,” Horstmeyer said . “She is very aggressive. I consider her a spark plug for us. Her defense in some ways led to her offense. She played so well defensively, that she got pumped on the offensive end.”  

It was the Bears’ turn to take an early lead in the second half, with Forney scoring five of the seven points in Cal’s run. Then it was the Ducks’ time to battle back, as over the next nine minutes, Oregon outscored Cal by a 26-10 margin to take a 50-41 lead with 6:29 remaining in the game. The Bears attempted yet another rally, reeling off a 10-1 run to pull within a point at 52-51, with 3:34 to go. Jackie Lord’s second 3-pointer of the game keyed the run. But Cal was only able to muster two points off of free throws by Forney for the rest of the game, as the Ducks put up 13 to pull away.  

Cal outrebounded Oregon by a narrow 36-35 margin, and took advantage of their opportunities from the charity stripe, converting 90 percent of their free throws. But they were unable to sink their shots from the field, notching a 38.5 percent field goal percentage, and turnovers proved to be the key, as the Bears gave up 27 to the Duck’s 16.  

“We’ve been working on that,” said Horstmeyer. “A lot of times we’re playing so hard on the defensive end that we’re a little bit frantic, and then we become a little bit more frantic on the offensive end. We’re just in that learning process where we have to slow down on the offensive end.”  

Cal next entertains Oregon State Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m. at Haas Pavilion.

SAN FRANCISCO — Actor Benjamin Bratt took his whole family out to the movies Wednesday for the local premiere of “Pinero,” which tells the story of hard-living Puerto Rican poet-playwright Miguel Pinero. 

Nearly 700 people attended the two screenings of the new Miramax film by director Leon Ichaso. The arty “Pinero,” shot in 28 days in New York and Puerto Rico, also stars Rita Moreno, Talisa Soto, Mandy Patinkin and Giancarlo Esposito. Moreno and Soto arrived arm-in-arm with Bratt at Wednesday’s screening. 

Bratt, 38, says he immersed himself in Pinero’s work to prepare for the role. A thin, bearded and haggard-looking Bratt in the movie spends a lot of time chain-smoking, snorting cocaine and shooting heroin. 

He says it wasn’t tough to leave his on-screen persona behind. 

“You just cut the hair and take a shower,” he joked. 

Pinero, who did time in Sing Sing prison for drug dealing and petty theft, turned his prison experiences into 1974’s Tony-Award nominated play “Short Eyes.” He died in 1988. 

Bratt’s brother, sisters and mother attended Wednesday’s screening of the film, which opened in New York and Los Angeles last month. 

The actor recently bought a house in San Francisco, his hometown.

The Westbrae community will miss Alberta Godfrey. She died this past week.  

Her funeral was on Friday, Jan. 4. 

I may not have all the facts right. Facts are slippery things. Even the bit I do know of her story may not be so. But this is what she shared with me. 

Alberta Godfrey was born in Louisiana and came here during World War II.  

She worked in the shipyards in Richmond. Eventually she married and had eight children.  

She came from good stock; her grandmother who was half Native American was a shaman, a healer and an herbalist.  

My husband Abbot was present when Berta had a vision of this grandmother. 

As a child Berta learned many things, including how to drive a team of horses.  

Yet she never learned to drive a car.  

Her husband died when her oldest son was 17.  

Berta worked as a cook at the Laney College cafeteria and did her best to care for her children. 

But I remember Berta from when I first went blind in the early ’70s. We would meet mornings at Bobby Freeman’s Wash House on Gilman Street.  

We would all have coffee and talk. Berta was thinking about going to school at Laney College, though she’d had only three years of schooling.  

She did it and graduated with a certificate in culinary skills. 

Mostly I think of Berta walking up Gilman Street from her Stannage Street home.  

She would carry a broom or hedge clippers to work on her Curtis Street property.  

Berta always took the time to stop and talk or to holler at you from across the street. 

There were many days when we sat on the bench in front of Toot Sweets laughing, crying, holding hands and singing hymns. 

“Precious Lord, take her hand.” 

I miss you, Berta. 

This obituary was written by Geneva Gates Foote

LOS ANGELES — Ogres, wizards, hobbits, can-can stars and a schizophrenic genius did well in movie nominations from the Producers Guild of America. 

Nominees announced Thursday for the best film productions of 2001 were: “A Beautiful Mind,” about schizophrenic scholar John Nash; the wizard fantasy “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”; the hobbit adventure “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”; “Moulin Rouge,” a musical set at a Paris can-can club; and “Shrek,” the tale of an animated ogre. 

The 13th Producers Guild awards will be handed out March 3. The guild movie winner has gone on to win the best-picture Oscar nine out of 12 times, including last year with “Gladiator.” 

Television drama series nominees are “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Law & Order,” “Six Feet Under,” “The Sopranos” and “The West Wing.” 

TV comedy series contenders are “Frasier,” “Friends,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” “Sex and the City” and “Will & Grace.” 

Nominees for movies, miniseries or other long-form television are: ”61,” “Anne Frank,” “Band of Brothers,” “Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows” and “Wit.” 

Lipton to close Santa Cruz plant 

SANTA CRUZ — Lipton Tea company announced it will close its plant in Santa Cruz by the end of the year. 

The announcement was made by Unilever Bestfoods Wednesday in New York. Spokesman Paul Wood blamed the closing on global economics. He said Unilever PLC, the $50 billion Anglo-Dutch parent company, had closed 34 food plants during the past 18 months in Europe alone. 

In Santa Cruz, 135 workers will lose their jobs. At its peak, the Lipton plant employed more than 500 workers. 

When the plant opened in 1971 it took in bulk teas from around the globe in 50-kilogram bags and blended them into the “brisk” tea made famous by its creator, the Scottish grocer Sir Thomas Lipton, more than a century ago. 

Workers in Santa Cruz packaged the blended tea into Lipton’s trademark “flow-through” tea bags as well as restaurant packages and shipped it to much of the United States. 

Dogs to roam free in S.F. park 

SAN FRANCISCO — The the state announced plans for a test project to let dogs roam free in two California parks, including one in San Francisco. 

Dogs would be allowed loose in Candlestick State Recreation Area and at San Buenaventura State Beach near Ventura. 

“Dog owners in urban areas often have little or no backyard, so this pilot program fills an important recreational need for responsible dog owners,” said state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, who sponsored the program in the Legislature. 

Unleashed dogs now are barred in all state parks. The proposal announced Wednesday grows out of complaints by dog owners, who are finding more local and federal parklands off-limits to free-running pooches. San Francisco alone is home to more than 100,000 dogs. 

The Department of Parks and Recreation has yet to secure the $100,000 per park needed to pay for fences, trash cans and other improvements. 

Meanwhile, officials of the National Park Service are moving to close popular off-leash areas in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, such and Crissy Field. 

Fake police wanted 

SAN JOSE — Police are offering a $5,000 reward in the case of one or two men who, posing as police officers, have kidnapped and attempted to sexually assault three women since October. 

The suspects wore police-style belts, had handcuffs and, in at least one case, flashed a badge, asking the women to get into a car, said San Jose Police Sgt. Steve Dixon. 

In the first two incidents, the women fought their way out of the vehicle; the third victim — the only one to be kidnapped during daylight hours — was released after being driven around and fondled, Dixon said. 

The abductions occurred on Oct. 19, Dec. 31 and Jan. 7. 

In one incident, a 63-year-old woman was assaulted with pepper spray, punched and dragged into the car after she refused to voluntarily accompany the “officer.” 

The three victims described the impostors as white or Latin males in their 20s or 30s, about 6 feet tall and weighing between 190 and 250 pounds. The man in the first kidnapping drove a blue 1980s model, full-sized sedan. The other victims described the car as a white, four-door, older model sedan. 

SAN FRANCISCO — The Bush administration urged a federal appeals court Thursday to overturn a court order halting proposed oil and natural gas exploration off California’s central coast. 

The government’s brief to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came in response to a federal judge’s June decision that blocked exploration off San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. 

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken’s decision stopped attempts to build the first new oil platforms off California’s coast since 1994. No drilling to explore for oil deposits has been conducted since 1989. 

The judge, a Clinton-era appointee, said the area cannot be drilled or explored until the federal government studies the environmental impacts and the California Coastal Commission approves of the plan. 

The federal government estimates there is enough oil in the area to run California’s refineries for two years and fuel five months worth of the state’s natural gas demands. Those estimates are about one-fifth the amount of energy within Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is being considered for drilling. 

California Gov. Gray Davis sued to block the coastal exploration days after President Clinton’s Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt extended the offshore oil leases for ten years in 1999 as they were set to expire. The lawsuit contended that Babbitt’s decision was subject to review by the state under a federal law giving California authority to determine whether offshore drilling in federal waters is consistent with the state’s coastal protection plans. 

Oil companies have paid $1.25 billion to the federal government for the 40 leases in dispute. Each covers about a nine square-mile expanse of ocean. The leases, which have yet to be turned into oil-producing platforms, were issued between 1968 and 1984. Four of them expired in 1999 with no moves to renew them. 

In its papers to the appeals court, the government said Wilken erred when she ruled that leases could be extended only upon California’s approval and proper environmental review. The administration added that environmental reviews would be conducted before the sites are developed or explored. 

But Drew Caputo, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the leases allow sonar exploration on at least one site to analyze the structure of the seabed. 

“Sea otters and other creatures are very sensitive to noise,” Caputo said. 

Gov. Gray Davis said he is opposing the offshore leases. “The governor will fight tooth and nail to protect California’s coast,” Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio said. 

The U.S. Minerals Management Service, which is handling the case, did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment. 

Oil exploration off California’s coast has been an explosive issue since 1969, when a massive oil spill soiled the Santa Barbara and Ventura county coastlines. 

The case is California v. Norton, C99-04964.

STOCKTON — Most 76-year-old men are taking life easy. Not Edward Christopher. 

Wednesday authorities held a news conference to introduce Christopher as the man who single-handedly saved some of the loot when he intervened in a bank robbery. 

Christopher took on two robbers Tuesday at a Bank of America branch, and managed to rip open one of several bags, spilling about 90 percent of the contents. The thieves escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash, said Doug Anderson, a Stockton Police Department spokesman. No arrests have been made. 

Christopher, who fought the Germans hand to hand during World War II, said he’s not crazy about police, reporters or even Bank of America, where he has banked since 1958. But he said he likes bank robbers even less, especially when they interrupt him when he’s cashing a check. 

“I was trained to kill and I’ve never been deprogrammed,” he said. 

Christopher tussled with the robbers when he saw them taking money from a teller. He wasn’t hurt, and he said he’d do it again. 

Police officers do not encourage witnesses to intervene, preferring them to lay low and get information that will help law enforcement. 

SAN FRANCISCO — State Attorney General Bill Lockyer sued PG&E Corp. Thursday, alleging the company siphoned $4.6 billion from its utility Pacific Gas and Electric and then illegally drove the subsidiary into bankruptcy. 

The unfair business practices suit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, paints a sinister image of San Francisco-based PG&E Corp., a holding company formed five years ago as part of California’s deregulated electricity market. 

In the suit, Lockyer alleges PG&E Corp. used the state’s largest utility as a piggy bank to finance its nonregulated businesses and then broke a promise to state regulators to support the utility during financial crises. 

PG&E Corp. dumped the utility into bankruptcy court nine months ago after rising wholesale electricity prices during 2001 and 2001 saddled Pacific Gas and Electric with billions in losses. 

“Instead of keeping its promise, PG&E Corp. drained the assets of its California utility and put billions of dollars into unregulated affiliates in order to achieve its ultimate objective of becoming one of the largest unregulated power companies in the nation,” Lockyer said. 

The suit seeks $600 million to $4 billion in damages on behalf of the utility’s customers. 

PG&E denied the allegations and vowed to defend itself vigorously against the civil complaint. Calling the allegations “unwarranted, discriminatory and harmful,” the corporation cast the suit as a waste of taxpayer money. 

“This misdirection of state resources is harmful to California during a time when we are working hard to recharge our economy,” PG&E spokeswoman Erica Jacobs said. 

PG&E Corp. said the California Public Utilities Commission has already reviewed the financial transactions and “found nothing inappropriate or illegal in the company’s transactions with the utility.” 

The utility itself did not immediately return calls seeking comment on the suit against its corporate parent. 

Lockyer’s lawsuit worsens the tensions developing between state officials and PG&E Corp. The California PUC, the chief regulator of Pacific Gas and Electric, has also lambasted the holding company for abandoning the utility in its time of need. 

Executives in the holding company are trying to free themselves of state oversight as part of the utility’s proposed reorganization from bankruptcy. The PUC and most consumer groups are opposing PG&E’s proposal. 

Several key bankruptcy court hearings are scheduled in the dispute during the next few weeks. 

The state-regulated utility was allowed to restructure into a holding company with both utility and nonutility activities in 1996. There were several conditions to that approved restructuring, including one that it give priority to the financial needs of the utility and keep it afloat with the necessary operating funds. 

Lockyer said after that restructuring, money was funneled away from the utility and into the parent corporation, thus allegedly violating the utility’s legal agreement to protect state ratepayers from holding company abuses. 

“The evidence of the illegality is the billions of dollars that were drained out of the utility into the coffers of the parent corporation,” Lockyer said. “The parent (corporation) acted like the child was the cash cow that could be milked.” 

Lockyer’s suit alleges that from 1997 through the summer of 2000, the utility provided $4.6 billion in cash to PG&E Corp. in shareholder dividends and repurchases of the utility’s common stock — all while the utility sank further into financial difficulties. 

Mike Florio, a lawyer with The Utility Reform Network, said his nonprofit organization was delighted with Lockyer’s decision to go after PG&E. He said PG&E “basically wants to secede from the State of California and take the money with them.” 

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On the Net: 

PG&E Corp.: http://www.pgecorp.com 

SAN DIEGO — The new wedding ring was a surprise that Jennifer Germosen planned to present to her Marine husband when he returned from overseas next month. She never got the chance. 

A few hours after buying the gold ring she thought was nicer than his original, military officials arrived at her apartment to tell her that Staff Sgt. Scott Germosen, 37, died with six fellow crew members of a plane that crashed into a mountain in Pakistan on Wednesday. 

The ring now sits in a place of honor, beside the computer where Germosen surfed the Internet to download the ’80s music he loved and beneath the first and only portrait of his small family. 

“I don’t have a finger to put it on now,” Jennifer Germosen said, crying as she held the couple’s 22-month-old daughter, Alyssa. 

In Missouri, the family of Capt. Daniel McCollum mourned the loss of the 29-year-old pilot whose wife is expecting their first child on the Fourth of July. The native of Irmo, S.C., was remembered as a superb athlete and popular leader. 

The mother of Gunnery Sgt. Stephen L. Bryson, of Montgomery, Ala., said her only child had called her on Tuesday, his 36th birthday, to say he was thinking of her. The family has a military tradition; Bryson’s uncle, Raymond Bryson, died in a plane crash while serving in the Mississippi National Guard. 

Flags were lowered at the tiny high school in Wilbur, Wash., to honor 1999 graduate Nathan P. Hays, an Eagle Scout and classic car buff. The 21-year-old sergeant had been proud to return to his hometown of 1,000 people in uniform to talk with students about life in the Marine Corps. 

Sgt. Jeannette L. Winters, 25, is the first U.S. servicewoman to die in combat since the 1991 Gulf War. Her family in Gary, Ind., recalled her as a committed athlete and fun-loving pianist who was determined to push herself to great accomplishments. Her father, who hadn’t seen Winters in two years, took up a guitar and played a ballad he had hoped would be a duet. 

Military officials said Thursday there was no indication that enemy fire had brought down the plane and the cause of the crash would take time to determine. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said efforts to recover the bodies were hampered by the difficult terrain. 

In Coos Bay, Ore., Cub Scouts honored Bryan Bertrand, the corporal with whom they had been exchanging letters. The former all-state football player was remembered as a hero. 

Capt. Matthew Bancroft was so proud of his hometown of Burney that he couldn’t resist “buzzing” by the remote Northern California area in a KC-130 refueling jet after he earned his pilot’s wings. 

“He was tall, straight and proud. That’s my son,” Bob Bancroft said. 

Germosen was the oldest member of the KC-130 crew. At 5-feet-7 inches, he was also the shortest. He took some good-natured ribbing, but loved his job as the loadmaster for a detachment based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. 

“The Marine Corps was his life and we were glad to be a part of it,” his wife said. 

Germosen, a New York native who lost a second cousin in the World Trade Center attack, volunteered for the overseas deployment. He and the others were part of a close-knit squadron of some 300 Marines, known as “the Raiders,” who took pride in their critical role of fueling jets in the sky and ferrying troops and supplies to battle. 

“Everyone knows exactly who everyone is in that squadron,” said Capt. Kent Kroeker, a close friend of Bancroft. “We fly with each other all the time. It’s one big team.” 

Kroeker struggled for words outside Bancroft’s home. From inside the house came the cry of the pilot’s 9-month-old daughter, and the roar of jets from Miramar thundered in the distance. “It’s just really, really hard,” he said. “He was a great pilot and a great man.” 

Across town, Jennifer Germosen, 25, accompanied by a fellow Marine wife, tried to make sense of the loss of her husband. 

Patting her daughter’s back, she said: “I have to figure out how to tell her she doesn’t have a daddy. I just don’t know.” 

Before he left on Dec. 11, she recalled feeling uneasy about the deployment. “You get this intuition in the pit of your stomach that you know it’s not right.” 

Despite his personal connection to the terrorist attacks, her husband didn’t talk about it with her. She said he discussed it with a military chaplain, keeping his anger to himself. 

“At home, he was as sweet as a teddy bear,” she said. 

Germosen first enlisted when he was 17. Later, he got a bachelor’s degree in psychology and worked as deputy sheriff and undercover officer for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. 

But he missed the Marines and he re-enlisted in 1996. Three months ago, his wife said, he re-upped for another four years and planned to stay. 

“He was a lifer,” she said. 

CORCORAN — Ten corrections officers went to the hospital after being attacked by inmates in two separate fights at a maximum-security drug rehabilitation center in a prison here, officials said. 

One of the guards suffered an eight-inch cut on his forehead, while another sustained a back injury in the fights Wednesday afternoon, according to Margot Bach, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections. 

The fights involved 25 inmates in a yard at the drug treatment facility, which is next to Corcoran State Prison, south of Fresno in central California. 

The first fight, involving nine inmates, may have planned as a way to distract officers from an attack on another prisoner, who was later found with a large cut on his face and neck. Weapons made by the inmates were found nearby, Bach said. 

As prison staff tried to clear the yard and return the inmates to their cells, another group of nine inmates attacked some of the officers, Bach said. Seven others tried to join in the fray, she said. 

The officers used pepper spray and gas and fired wooden or rubber bullets in their effort to contain the prisoners, she said. The 16 inmates involved in the second brawl were transferred to Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad. 

The incident came less than a week after three corrections officers were stabbed and a fourth was bruised in an assault by inmates at the “New Folsom” state prison in Sacramento. 

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On the Net: 

Corrections Department: http://www.cdc.state.ca.us 

Lose weight; quit smoking; exercise regularly; test the smoke detector. What have you resolved to do in 2002? If you’re like most Americans, along with ringing in the New Year, you’ve made a host of resolutions intended to improve your lifestyle and well-being. 

The examples, losing weight, quitting smoking and exercising are among the most common “to-dos.” Less common is the final example — testing the smoke detector in your home. Often overlooked, it is no less important than the other resolutions. 

Testing a smoke detector is just one of several home-maintenance tasks that should be performed on a regular basis. Maintenance performed regularly and on schedule provides optimum longevity, helps prevent potential breakdowns or malfunctions, and ensures maximum safety for you and your family. 

Here are a few tasks you should take on: 

Check Furnace Filters: The purpose of the filter on a forced-air furnace is to keep dust, soot, and other contaminants from collecting on the interior workings of your furnace. In addition, a high-quality filter will cut down on airborne dust and particulate matter that is blown into your living area. Once the filter has been sufficiently coated with this grime, it causes the furnace blower to work harder, making it more costly to operate and shortening its life span. A clean filter will help the furnace run more efficiently and save on operating costs. 

Since filter size and location vary from furnace to furnace, you’ll need to check the owner’s handbook for this type of information. If an owner’s handbook doesn’t exist, this information usually can be found on the furnace or on an inside panel of the furnace. Some furnaces have more than one filter that will need replacement. Buying replacement filters by the case will cut down on the unit price and will make replacement convenient. 

Check Water Filters and Softeners: Water filters are a great means of improving water quality (smell and taste). The secret to keeping water quality high is replacing filters regularly. The frequency depends upon the type of system and the condition of the water. Whole house filters, point-of-use dispensers and icemaker water supplies can each be changed in a matter of minutes. Besides providing better quality water, a clean filter will improve flow. 

Although a water softening system is reasonably maintenance-free, every now and again the brine solution becomes clogged at the base of the brine tank, preventing the solution from being siphoned into the resin tank. You know this is the case when your brine tank is full of salt and your water doesn’t have that slick feel. Check your owner’s manual for information on how to flush the brine tank, or call a service pro to do it for you. 

Clean the Dryer Duct and Filter: Clean the lint screen thoroughly after every load. If it’s filled and clogged with lint, the air won’t circulate and the clothes won’t dry. The dryer runs far longer, which wears it out faster and wastes energy dollars. Use a duct cleaning brush to clean the dryer duct at least twice annually. 

Clean and Freshen Sink Drains: Foul odors from a sink drain can make your home both unpleasant and uninviting. To keep sink drains in your home running freely — and absent of odor — try these methods: 1) Run hot water through the sink after each use; 2) Throw a handful of baking soda into the drain and follow it with hot water; 3) Pour a cup of vinegar into the drain and let is sit for a half-hour. Then chase it down with very hot water. 

Test Smoke Detectors: All smoke detectors and alarms have a “test button.” Once a month, get up on a chair, or use a broom handle for extra reach, and push it. If you don’t hear anything, your battery is dead. If after changing the battery, the smoke detector still is not working, immediately replace it with a new one. Test the smoke detector by striking three kitchen matches, blowing them out and holding them near the unit. While you’re up there checking your battery and testing the detector, brush or vacuum the alarm to keep dust out of the mechanism. 

Test Carbon Monoxide Detectors: The care and maintenance of a carbon monoxide detector is much the same as for smoke detectors with regard to cleaning and frequent testing. However, a carbon monoxide detector can’t be tested using an outside source. Therefore, it is imperative that the test buttons provided on the equipment be tested at least once each month. 

Flush the Water Heater and Check the PTR: Mineral deposits and sediment at the base of a water heater tank make the job of heating water infinitely more difficult and affect your utility bill. Check your water heater for sediment and remove at least once annually. 

The pressure and temperature relief valve (PTR) opens to release pressure buildup in the water heater when the temperature or the pressure gets dangerously high, thus preventing a possible explosion. To test the valve, simply raise and lower the test lever several times so it lifts the brass stem it is fastened to. Hot water should rush out of the end of the drainpipe. If no water flows through the pipe or you get just a trickle, replace the valve. 

Test GFCI receptacles: The Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) was developed to prevent electrical shocks. All GFCI receptacles have test buttons. You should test each receptacle in your home at least once a month. If the test doesn’t trip the breaker, replace the GFCI immediately. 

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For more home improvement tips and information visit our Web site at www.onthehouse.com. 

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Readers can mail questions to: On the House, APNewsFeatures, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020, or e-mail Careybro(at)onthehouse.com. To receive a copy of On the House booklets on plumbing, painting, heating/cooling or decks/patios, send a check or money order payable to The Associated Press for $6.95 per booklet and mail to: On the House, P.O. Box 1562, New York, NY 10016-1562, or through these online sites: www.onthehouse.com or apbookstore.com. 

Don’t cut forsythia branches for indoor flowers yet. Forsythia and other trees and shrubs are not ready for spring — indoors or outdoors. Woody plants can sense when winter is over and can’t yet be fooled into unfolding their blossoms. 

Changes in temperature and length of day tell plants when spring has arrived. Some plants need both cues; others respond to either temperature or day length. 

Apples, plums, and most other fruit trees — all of whose branches make beautiful, sometimes fragrant, indoor blossoms — respond to temperature alone.  

They won’t grow until they’ve experienced a certain number of hours of cool temperatures, called “chilling hours.” Chilling occurs at temperatures near 40 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Fruit trees need about a thousand total hours of chilling before they can resume growth in spring, but the exact amount needed varies with the particular plant.  

Plants native to regions with very mild winters and early springs need little chilling before they can resume growth in spring.  

Little chilling is also needed by plants native to regions where winters are long and steadily frigid.  

Then chilling requirements are not fulfilled until late spring, at which time plants must begin growth quickly in order to ripen their fruits within the short growing season. 

In many regions, trees and shrubs put some hours into their chilling “banks” in late fall, and in winter when temperatures fluctuate.  

Unfortunately, such weather often awakens “low-chill” plants too quickly in spring, so their flowers and fruits are damaged. 

Once days lengthen sufficiently or chilling requirements are fulfilled, plants can grow, and will do so as soon as temperatures warm.  

Forsythia branches can then be forced, but you have to wait long enough to begin. 

Even when plants are ready to grow, forcing demands patience. I 

f you rush the process, blossoms open sporadically along the branch, then dry up and fall off.  

So, first plump up buds by immersing cut branches in tepid water for a few hours.  

Then recut their bases and put them in a vase of water in a cool room. Move the vase out for display just as the buds are about to burst into bloom. The time for this will be shorter the closer to the natural bloom time that you begin forcing. 

If you’re impatient for blossoms now, try immersing branches for a few hours in 90 degree water.  

“Chilling bank” rules are not all that strict, and sometimes you can awaken a branch from its sleepy state with a high temperature shock.

HELPER, Utah — Workmen’s Market butcher Dean Nielsen turned off his meat slicer to consider how the 2002 Winter Olympics might affect his small mining town 120 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. 

“We’re going to be stuck with the bill,” he said. “And we don’t get nothing out of it.” 

Market owner Steven Giacletto was more optimistic: “It may leave us a few bills. But it might do us some good.” 

With the Winter Games only a month away, ambivalence reigns in rural Utah. 

In Green River, a desert city on Interstate 70 three hours from the capital, Mayor Glen D. Johnson pointed to an official Olympic banner still in its plastic wrapper. The mayor said he intends to hang it as soon as someone finds “the little things” necessary to affix it to whatever it will hang from. But procrastination aside, Johnson still supports the Olympics. 

“They will be good for the state, good for the country, especially after Sept. 11,” he said. “But will Green River gain? I don’t think so. The only way the Olympics are going to affect Green River is traffic going through. Maybe they’ll stop for a cup of coffee.” 

Olympic organizers expect to cut it close when it comes to paying for the 2002 Winter Games. And while the games are expected to give northern Utah a much-needed financial boost, economists say it won’t last more than three months, even in host Salt Lake City. 

Johnson fears the Olympics already have hurt Green River; legislators who once appropriated his city $2 million for golf course expansion have withdrawn the offer. “The Olympics (are) very, very expensive. I wonder if that had something to do with it,” he said. 

The one rural city that will see any real Olympic presence is Moab, the Olympic torch relay’s gateway to Utah. On Sunday, Feb. 3, the relay’s 61st day, the flame will depart Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, a symbol of Utah’s scenic grandeur, on its way to the opening ceremony. 

Marian DeLay, executive director of the Moab Area Travel Council, has spent nearly two years planning a torch festival that begins with dignitaries watching the flame’s progress on a Jumbotron television set amid the sandstone spires, domes and balanced rocks that make Arches a global attraction. 

In Moab’s city park, there will be dancers, fireworks and a Salt Lake Organizing Committee-approved music program. DeLay hopes the festival will draw people from northern Utah and points east during what normally is its sleepy off-season. 

“February isn’t a busy time for this community,” said DeLay, her Olympic enthusiasm matched by her high-energy intensity. “It’s a great time to be here, but the rest of the world doesn’t know that yet.” 

With no interstate travelers passing by, Moab’s big chance is to net some media attention that will entice future travelers, she said — a prospect that seems unlikely, since the torch relay won’t be on network television until it approaches the Olympic cauldron in Salt Lake City, 300 miles away. 

But Mayor Dave Sakrison, too, thought Delicate Arch, which has been incorporated into Olympic marketing, might lure tourists to Moab. 

“We’re hoping there’s a spillover. It can’t hurt. Might as well see the real thing,” he said, taking a break from selling coffee and sundries at Dave’s Corner Market, an out-of-the-way convenience store favored by locals. 

The market’s walls are festooned with artwork, including a black and white photo of a teen-age Sakrison next to John Wayne during the 1962 filming of “The Comancheros.” A huge blackboard lists all the gourmet coffees Sakrison sells by the pound. Vials of ginseng rest in the favored impulse-purchase spot next to the register. 

But there’s no Olympic banner in sight. “That’s because no one’s given me any, or I would put the damn things up,” Sakrison said. 

If they never fly, though, 17-year Moab resident Joe Kiffmeyer won’t complain, because he suspects the games will enrich a few at the expense of the many. “It’s a big nationalistic hype,” he said. 

Kiffmeyer’s wife, Jini Rivette, worked in Lake Placid during the 1980 Winter Games; she too doubted the 2002 Games would do well by Moab. 

“As a state, we’ll be paying for them for a long time,” she said. “They’re still paying for it in Lake Placid.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

Olympic Games: http://www.saltlake2002.com/ 

LAS VEGAS — The Clark County Marriage License Bureau has said “I do” to a new computer system that will speed up the licensing process and provide colorful and more professional marriage certificates. 

What’s more, that trip down the aisle won’t be quite as long, thanks to shorter lines and faster data processing. 

“This is long, long, long overdue,” Clark County Clerk Shirley Parraguirre told the Las Vegas Sun. “I used to see the lines out the door, down the stairs and around the courthouse. This is something I really wanted to do.” 

The bureau’s staff made the switch Wednesday from four Lexmark Wheelwriter 1500 typewriters and a microfilm machine to computers and scanners, ushering the self-proclaimed “marriage capital of the world” into the computer age. 

The old typewritten documents are black and white and sometimes blotched. The new certificates have calligraphic writing and carry the county’s seal in color. 

“They’re clean and perfect for framing,” Parraguirre said. 

By September, applications — which are now filled out in the office — will be available online. 

The bureau distributed 123,000 licenses last year. 

“It was already so convenient to get married here, and with these computers, it should be even more so,” said Ronnie Campbell, 64, who came from Broward County, Fla., to get married to Dolores Belivaeu, 59. 

“That way, my fiancee doesn’t have time to get away,” he said with a laugh. 

RENO, Nev. — Nevada officials reacted angrily to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham’s recommendation that the nation’s nuclear waste be stored at Yucca Mountain, vowing to continue the fight by emphasizing the vulnerability of waste shipments to terrorist attacks. 

“I told the secretary this decision stinks, the whole process stinks and we’ll see him in court,” Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn said Thursday after Abraham telephoned him with the news. 

“I explained to him that we are going to fight this with every ounce of energy we can mount. ... I also told him that on behalf of all Nevadans I’m outraged that he is allowing politics over sound science.” 

The long-awaited announcement sparked a number of reactions in Nevada: 

— Assistant U.S. Senate Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Nevada delegation lacks the votes to block the project in the Senate. But Reid, Guinn, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and the rest of the delegation said they would press their case scientifically, economically and politically to Congress and the White House. 

— Ensign said President Bush could cost Nevada Republicans two hotly contested congressional seats and threaten the GOP’s narrow majority in the House if he approves the dump. 

— Reid and Ensign said a key part of their argument will be based on concerns about transporting waste to the site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, especially after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

“We’re talking about 77,000 tons of the most poisonous substance known to man is going to have to get to Yucca Mountain somehow, either by rail or truck,” Reid said. 

Ensign said many Senators have “never heard the arguments about transportation. 

“And post Sept. 11, you can bet that is one of the arguments we are going to hit them on and hit them on hard,” he said. 

Backers of the dump say the waste will be transported in special canisters strong enough to withstand any crash or attack. 

“But nobody foresaw the World Trade Center towers and a plane becoming a weapon and the heat and all of that,” Ensign said. 

“It would be easy I would think, based on what we saw there, to design something to go in and break open one of these canisters as it is crossing across Los Angeles or Denver, Colorado or Chicago, Illinois or St. Louis, Missouri or any of those major cities. And we are going to target those senators in particular,” he said. 

In Las Vegas, Mayor Oscar Goodman pledged to warn members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors next week in Washington, D.C., about nuclear shipments through their cities. 

“This stuff is just a moving target for terrorists and teen-agers flying Cessnas,” Goodman said, referring to the Sept. 11 attacks and Saturday’s crash of a a single-engine plane piloted by a 15-year-old boy into a Bank of America tower in Tampa, Fla. 

Reid said dump opponents face an uphill battle in the Senate. 

“Right now the odds are that we can’t get 51 votes. But that’s today and we’ll see what happens a couple months from now. 

Reid said Abraham’s decision was hasty, dangerous and premature given “the mountain of evidence that the site is unsuitable.” 

“After he receives the secretary’s report, President Bush has an opportunity to cut through the bureaucratic pseudo-science, see this project for the sham that it is, and do the right thing for America and Nevada by changing course,” Reid said. 

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said he was disappointed but not surprised by the recommendation. 

“It is unfortunate that Secretary Abraham would continue green-lighting a project that has been riddled with corruption and mismanagement since its inception,” he said. 

Not all Nevadans are against the dump. 

Wally Everett, 76, a retired iron worker who worked at the Nevada Test Site and lives in Amargosa Valley, said he has no objection to the plan. 

“It’ll bring jobs to this town,” Everett said. 

Former Republican Nevada Gov. Robert List, the highest-profile Nevada resident to support the waste dump, said Abraham’s decision should spur the state to seek federal funding for other projects and services. 

“I think there’s a growing feeling that this project will be developed, a greater sense of reality on the part of the public,” said List, who has been hired by the Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear industry’s lobbying arm. “And certainly if that happens, there are certain benefits Nevada should get.” 

List predicted it could be six months before Congress votes on the Yucca Mountain project and said the state stands to benefit from jobs at the $58 billion, 17-year construction project, and should also seek funding for schools, roads and law enforcement. 

Kalynda Tilges, organizer of Citizen Alert, a Nevada environmental group opposed to the project, said she wasn’t surprised by the recommendation. 

“Obviously, Spencer Abraham’s visit Monday to Yucca Mountain was simply for show,” Tilges said. 

Guinn and Abraham met for about an hour Monday before Abraham’s first-ever tour of Yucca Mountain. 

Ensign said Bush still must act on the recommendation — and if he does, Guinn has the ability to veto the legislation. That would send the matter back to Congress, where the House and Senate could override Guinn’s veto by a simple majority vote. 

Ensign stressed that even then, the project only would advance to the licensing phase. He said some experts estimate the earliest nuclear waste could begin arriving at the site would be 2020. 

——— 

Associated Press writers Brendan Riley and Sandra Chereb contributed to this report. 

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A conviction in tribal court does not protect a Tulalip Indian from state poaching charges, the Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday in an unanimous decision. 

Anthony Moses Sr., a Tulalip tribal member, was charged in Cowlitz County, accused of poaching several elk on private property in February 1998. The elk were killed on posted private property more than 100 miles south of the tribe’s Marysville reservation. 

“Most of the elk survived until the next morning and they were in pretty bad agony,” said Pam Loginsky, a staff attorney with the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, who argued the case for the state. 

The Cowlitz County court convicted Moses in 1999 of hunting big game out of season, shooting from a public road, wastage of cow elk and hunting with artificial light. He was sentenced to 75 days in jail and fined $11,210. 

But the Tulalip Tribes had brought similar charges in the meantime. Moses pleaded guilty, was fined $2,500 and had his tribal hunting privileges revoked for one year — before the state conviction. 

He sought dismissal of the state case — including the larger fine — citing the legal principle of double jeopardy, which generally protects people from being prosecuted for the same crime by two different governments. 

Moses’ lawyer, John Hays, argued that the double prosecution violated a 1998 decision by the court that overturned the state drunken driving conviction of two U.S. Navy sailors who had already been punished under military law. 

While acknowledging tribal sovereignty, the high court upheld the lower courts’ rejection of Hays’ dismissal motion, saying the state’s double jeopardy law doesn’t specifically include tribal courts in the same way it recognizes the federal government. 

“Washington’s double jeopardy statute will not shield tribal members from Washington prosecutions where their actions violate the laws of both sovereigns,” Justice Charles Johnson wrote. 

Telephone calls to Hays and the tribe’s attorneys were not immediately returned Thursday. 

The court’s decision prevents tribal members from seeking refuge in tribal courts, where penalties for crimes as serious as first-degree murder are limited by federal law to a year in jail, Loginsky said. 

Loginsky said dual prosecutions are unusual because prosecutors typically hash out jurisdictional issues before charges are brought. 

Justices didn’t consider the other issue in the case — whether the tribe had jurisdiction over a crime so far from its land. 

Tribes have jurisdiction over their members who hunt on land where they have treaty rights, but the Tulalips’ treaty area is confined to parts of King, Pierce, Snohomish and Skagit counties, well north of Cowlitz County, said Capt. Murray Schlenker of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife enforcement division. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Washington Supreme Court: http://www.courts.wa.gov 

SACRAMENTO — A fatal chain-reaction crash north of Sacramento International Airport closed Interstate 5 for a time early Thursday afternoon, snarling traffic on the state’s main north-south artery. 

Two people were killed and at least eight were injured and taken to area hospitals, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Jim Harris. 

Two big rigs initially collided, and were struck by two passenger vehicles on a bridge, Harris said. One semi’s diesel fuel tank ruptured and ignited, causing heavy smoke. 

Both fatalities were in the area of that initial crash, Harris said. 

There was patchy fog in the area, the highway patrol said, but it was not determined if it was a factor in the crash. 

A public transit bus carrying eight to 10 passengers was subsequently rear-ended by a passenger car as it slowed because of the crash. Then two more passenger vehicles collided on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge about a mile north of the airport as traffic slowed further, Harris said. 

Diesel fuel from the big rig spilled into neighboring waterways, turning the accident into a hazardous materials scene, Harris said. The Department of Fish and Game and Governor’s Office of Emergency Services were called in as a result. 

SACRAMENTO — Household and Beneficial finance companies have agreed to pay about $12 million to settle California regulators’ allegations that they deliberately overcharged tens of thousands of California customers. 

The companies agreed to reimburse an estimated 60,000 consumers a projected $3 million for what the department called a “pervasive pattern of abusive lending practices,” including $1.5 million they already paid under a previously announced June agreement. 

Despite the June settlement, the California Department of Corporations sued in Los Angeles Superior Court in November alleging the companies charged excessive late fees, recording fees, repossession fees, penalties and interest payments. 

The companies will pay the state an estimated $8.9 million for those violations. 

The companies acknowledged they routinely charged $75 administration fees on small loans, exceeding the $50 state limit. They will pay the state $2,500 for each of those violations, the maximum possible, and will pay triple damages for each of the other violations. 

The department sought the maximum penalties because, “this is the exact sort of violation we saw in 1998 and asked them to stop doing it, and here we saw two years later they’re still doing it,” said Andre Pineda, the department’s assistant commissioner. 

The allegations helped prompt California to enact a new state law this year imposing additional restrictions. 

Pineda estimated predatory lending costs state residents nearly $1 billion a year in excessive fees and interest rates, based on a nationwide study of banking data last year by the North Carolina-based Coalition for Responsible Lending. 

The companies’ Prospect Heights, Ill.-based parent corporation, Household International Corp., also agreed to create safeguards against further overcharges, to an outside audit of its California businesses, and to let regulators review its loan files at a special new office to be set up in Pomona. 

“We’re glad that our customers have been made whole. One mistake is too many for our company, and in this case there were mistakes made,” said corporate spokeswoman Megan Hayden. 

Even as the corporation acknowledged its subsidiaries engaged in the practices, it denied they did so intentionally. Hayden said some of the repeated problems stemmed from Household’s acquisition of its Beneficial subsidiary. 

“Our solution wasn’t adequate, and we’re disappointed with that,” Hayden said. “We’re continuing to increase our own — Household’s own — oversight of our compliance, because it’s a priority for us.” 

Suzanne Alexander, a Household victim who now chairs the predatory lending committee for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, praised the state for tackling abuses she said often target senior citizens and other vulnerable families. 

“We continue to be concerned about their lending practices that are not addressed in this settlement, but it’s a great start,” she said. 

ACORN would like to see the new state law go even farther, said ACORN spokesman Brian Kettenring. ACORN is a nationwide group that has lobbied for reforms. 

The new state law limits fees, prepayment penalties, “balloon” payments and single-premium credit insurance that requires purchasers to borrow the full premium and repay it with interest. 

Administration officials plan a Sunday news conference to outline a new statewide program called STOPP, Statewide Outreach on Predatory Practices, a public education program aimed at teaching vulnerable populations how to avoid telemarketers, Internet investment scams, predatory lending and the like. 

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis proposed a $100 billion budget Thursday that cuts $2.7 billion from programs while borrowing from future tobacco settlement money and shifting funds to get the state through tough financial times. 

The spending plan cuts heavily from welfare and health programs for the fiscal year that begins July 1, slightly increases education and public safety spending and includes no new taxes. 

“I will not advocate a tax increase to bridge the budget gap,” Davis said. “I believe we have enough financial tools to bridge the shortfall without increasing taxes or severely damaging vital programs.” 

The much-anticipated announcement shows how Davis plans to close the expected $12.4 billion hole in the state budget. It’s Davis’ fourth budget and, for the first time since he took office, spends less than previous years. 

Davis called the budget work painful, adding that “we had to make some difficult choices and make some reductions I would prefer not to make.” 

Revenues have steadily declined in California and nationwide because of an already sagging economy and the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

This budget includes $78.8 billion in general fund spending, $19.9 billion in special fund money and $2.1 billion from bond funds to reach its total of just more than $100 billion. The 2001-02 budget approved last year totaled almost $103 billion. 

The budget plan puts Davis in some political risk, as it relies heavily on an expected economic upswing in the next 12 months and on the long-delayed sale of bonds to repay the state treasury for buying power through much of 2001. 

Thursday’s budget plans comes on top of almost $3 billion in cuts Davis proposed in November and which must be approved by a special legislative session. Combined with Thursday’s proposal, the combined effects are $5.2 billion in cuts, $586 million in funding shifts and $5.6 billion in loans, transfers and one-time measure to speed up receipts. 

It also freezes cost of living increases for state welfare recipients, which saves $100 million, and increases some state fees, including penalties for late payment of car registration fees. 

The budget increases spending for enrollment and cost of living growth in the state’s schools by about $1 billion, but makes small cuts to other education areas and assumes that the Legislature will approve $843 million in education cuts to the current budget. Davis also proposes to revive a plan to expand before- and after- school programs that he scrapped in the current budget. 

Davis’ plan also cuts $451 million from higher education but does not include an increase in student fees. 

He also proposes to trim $742 million from human services programs and delay $92 million in capital projects. His budget cuts $38 million from housing programs in anticipation the state will borrow the money instead, and cuts $35 million from environmental and natural resources programs. 

Local government programs see a $9 million cut, and the corrections department a $17 million cut largely based on lower prison populations. 

Davis’ budget also relies on a series of complicated accounting maneuvers, including $160 million worth of internal shifts, $579 million in internal borrowing, and shifting some debt to the future in hopes of economic rebound in the next year. 

The governor also hopes the federal government will the state $350 million to cover state and local spending to increase security after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Of that, Davis proposes $129 million go to the California Highway Patrol’s budget to pay for anti-terrorism measures this year and next. 

Davis said Thursday he hoped for federal “down payment” this year and more money in the new federal budget that takes effect in October. 

Without that federal money, administration officials warned that much of the money would have to come from the state’s general fund and other programs. 

The budget also uses future tobacco settlement money to pay for a $2.4 billion bond deal that would support health programs. That borrowing will cost the state $62 million next year and $190 million annually for the next 22 years. 

While not proposing new taxes, Davis has not firmly said he will reject any legislative tax increase proposals. 

Now the Legislature gets Davis’ new 2002-03 budget on top of the $2.2 billion in cuts he proposed for the current fiscal year. Already, some legislators have objected to some parts of the plans, foreshadowing what could be an intense fight in the Legislature over taxes and spending cuts. 

The 2002-03 budget is strikingly different from Davis’ first three spending plans, which came during an unprecedented economic boom, included billion in tax breaks and added new and expanded programs. 

But the state’s treasury depends heavily on cash from income, sales, capital gains and corporate taxes, as well as tourism and trade. And in the past year, the once-lucrative stock options from high-tech sector workers dropped off as the industry collapsed. The state was socked by a national recession and corporate downsizing, and then the Sept. 11 attacks further cut into tourism, jobs and other revenues. 

——— 

On the net: Details on the governor’s budget plan can be found at http://www.dof.ca.gov 

LOS ANGELES — The Sept. 11 attacks will obliterate an estimated 1.6 million jobs in major U.S. cities this year, a new study says. 

The losses will spread across industries, from tourism and dining to aerospace and financial services, according to a report to be released Friday by the Milken Institute, an economic think-tank in Santa Monica. 

New York City will lose nearly 150,000 jobs, more than any other city. Los Angeles will rank second with 69,000 positions lost. Chicago, in third place, is projected to lose more than 68,000 jobs. 

“The consequences of Sept. 11 for individuals and unique localities have been profound,” the report concludes. 

Las Vegas will prove the single most vulnerable metropolitan area, likely to see nearly 5 percent fewer jobs this year because of the attacks. 

Casino workers have taken some of the toughest blows, with one of every 20 casino jobs in the Las Vegas Valley lost in the first six weeks after the attacks. 

John Parker, a former housekeeping employee at the Rio hotel-casino, has been laid off since October and was at the Catholic Charities social services office Thursday looking for help with his $800-a-month rent. 

“I sold everything I had in my house to pay for the rent in November and December,” said Parker, 39, a single father of two children. That included his furniture and television. 

The Milken study estimates that 760,000 jobs will be lost in 2002 as a direct result of the attacks, with most of those coming in the travel and tourism sectors. The remaining 840,000 positions will come from ripple effects on other industries such as retail. 

The losses will come in addition to the 248,000 jobs lost in 2001 as a result of the attacks, the study says. 

Most cities are expected to begin to recover in 2003, with the exception of New York, which should start its rebound a year later, the study says. 

“The good news is that many of those jobs should come back,” said Ross DeVol, director of regional studies at the Milken Institute and principal author of the report. 

However, he expects the economic damage to linger into 2004. 

The study examined 315 cities, using economic models to extrapolate employment losses based on each area’s economic trends prior to Sept. 11. 

Nationally, the largest falloff in jobs will occur in the air transportation sector, which will account for about 20 percent of the 1.6 million lost positions. The amusement, recreational services and hotel sectors will be next hardest hit. 

Spending on airline travel dropped 38 percent in September, a decline of $12.5 billion, and improved only modestly in October. The airline industry responded in October and November by cutting 81,000 jobs, or 6.2 percent of its total work force, and more deep cuts are on the way, the study says. 

The impact of Sept. 11 will extend well beyond travel-related industries. The entertainment and advertising sectors will lose 150,000 jobs as a result of the attacks, primarily because companies are slashing advertising budgets. 

Across the country, the financial services industry will likely lose 96,000 positions through the year. Part of the losses relate to compensation payments made to victims’ families that have hit the profits of insurance companies. 

As the scene of the World Trade Center attack, New York lost billions of dollars worth of assets and thousands of jobs directly related to the shutdown of the financial district for a week. In addition, the city’s economy has yet to benefit from any reconstruction. 

Los Angeles is predicted to lose 69,000 jobs. 

“That is one big number,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. 

Even though the attacks had a huge initial impact on travel, tourism and related industries, Kyser is convinced the city will prove resilient and rebound by the end of the year as tourism and trade pick up. 

Las Vegas will take one of the biggest hits. 

“We do feel the impact, and it hurts,” said Erika Brandvik, a spokeswoman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “But nobody ever gets a long-term feeling of doom and gloom about the Las Vegas economy. We have a record of recovery.” 

Las Vegas hotels have managed to maintain high occupancy rates by offering discounts. In mid-week, more than 80 percent of its 125,000 hotel rooms remain booked, and on weekends that figure tops 90 percent, she said. 

But great deals will not be enough to stem further job losses in travel-related industries this year, the Milken study says. 

—— 

On the Net: 

http://www.milkeninstitute.org/repo/911prel.html 

Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency Executive Director boona cheema shows her excitement as she talks about plans to build a “village” where homeless families can rely on a safe, secure and supportive environment while gaining the skills to overcome the trauma of living on the streets. 

Sitting at a large meeting table at BOSS’s Berkeley office, cheema is surrounded by diagrams, budget sheets and other documents that have been compiled to help navigate the proposed Ursula Sherman Village, named after BOSS’s founder. 

BOSS is a nonprofit organization that has provided homeless services in the East Bay since 1971 and currently operates 29 facilities that provide a variety of services. 

If the proposed village would provide “a smorgasbord of resources for housing, health, social, cultural, educational and economic security” for up to 132 children, youth and parents with “extreme barriers to self sufficiency,” according to a BOSS information sheet. 

Construction of the project is proposed in two phases. Phase 1, Picante House, which will house up to 10 families, has already been promised $1.1 million in funding from various sources, but has yet to be approved by the city’s Zoning Adjustments Board. BOSS is still seeking funding for Phase 2, the Village Center that will include shared living quarters, a health and healing facility and adult and children’s education centers. 

The proposed Village programs will be incorporated with the existing Harrison House, an emergency shelter operating at 711 Harrison St. since 1975. 

“This will be a place where people can live with dignity,” cheema said, “a place where they can learn and where they can grow before moving back into the larger community with the skills they need to stay there.” 

Cheema said she expects the innovative, self-contained village to become a national model for combating homelessness. 

But before the two phases are approved, BOSS will have to overcome concerns about the proposed site, which is located in a traditionally industrial area in west Berkeley next to Interstate 80, the city’s waste transfer station and the railway tracks that cross the western part of the city. 

Harrison Soccer Field and the skate park project, adjacent to the site, have had environmental problems including preliminary test results from an ongoing air study that indicate elevated levels of particulate matter in the air and the presence of the carcinogen Chromium 6 in groundwater. The contaminated groundwater appeared during excavation of nine-foot-deep skate bowls last year. The water has since been removed and treated. The bases of the skate bowls were also “capped” to prevent future exposure. 

“The site has some challenges,” an undaunted cheema said. “It’s not unusual that when you find a solution to a problem that makes perfect sense, you still encounter challenges at every step. But I am prepared to address the problems and work with people to achieve this project.” 

Cheema said the village will provide residents with a three-tiered program to help them reenter society.  

“As the residents move from one tier to the next, they take on increasing responsibilities for themselves and the management of the village,” she said. 

The first tier is the emergency shelter where people initially come in from the street. There they can deal with their most critical needs, including food and shelter. They will also be able to access help for untreated mental and physical illnesses as well as substance abuse counseling.  

Once physically and mentally stable, residents will move to the second tier, the Picante House, where they can participate in more intensive counseling. During the second tier of the program, cheema said there is a much higher expectation of staying clean and sober as well as increased responsibilities in preparing meals and other domestic work. Some residents will begin to work at outside jobs and all of the residents will be expected to start saving money. 

The third tier is the Village Center, where up to 32 parents and children will live in shared housing. “This is the phase where residents are back on their feet, but still have little money,” cheema said. “They can continue to save money as well as take advantage of easy access to education, culture and support, all of which will be available on site.” 

Housing Director Stephen Barton said the concept shows promise. “What she is trying to accomplish is providing comprehensive transitional housing, social services and educational support in one community setting,” Barton said. “It’s a great concept, but there’s always the problem of funding.” 

Cheema admitted the per-unit cost for the village will be higher than traditional affordable housing projects because of the amenities such as education, medical and cultural facilities. But she said the investment will have a payoff. 

“This program will take financial pressure off other social services,” cheema said. “If you just continue to put people in the same dilapidated shelters, their behavior doesn’t change. But If you give people a place they can take pride in, their behavior really starts to change and healthy, functional people cost less.”

The Cal men’s basketball team’s season so far has come down to the equivalent of a real estate maxim: location, location, location. The Bears are a perfect 10-0 at home, with their latest triumph a shocking 68-54 win over archrival Stanford. But Cal has yet to get a win outside of Haas Pavilion, falling to both the Cardinal and South Florida by 20 points. 

Head coach Ben Braun doesn’t think the Bears’ fortunes are necessarily tied to their home court. He chalks the wide swing in performance up to his team’s effort. 

“I hope our players realize that no matter how good you are, that it’s something you can’t just turn on and off, that it has to be consistent,” Braun said. “Everybody gets excited at home. The challenge is greater.” 

The first challenge this weekend will be to shut down the explosive Oregon (10-4, 3-1 Pac 10) offense on Thursday night. The Ducks are averaging 88.1 points per game and have scored at least 85 in each of their last seven games. Ernie Kent’s squad has broken the 100-point barrier twice, including a victory over highly-ranked Arizona, 105-75. 

The Ducks are also undefeated at home (8-0) and will be focused after a road loss to Arizona State on Saturday. The upset kept Oregon from a rare Arizona road sweep, having defeated the Wildcats on Thursday night. 

“Arizona State brought the fight to us and it was a battle,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “We were upset but anxious to get back home. We’ve played extremely well at home. We play with a lot of confidence at Mac Court.” 

The best chance for the Bears will be to come with their best defensive effort, but the probable absence of senior center Solomon Hughes, who missed the Stanford games with a leg injury, could make that tough to accomplish. The Bears have the best defense in the Pac-10, giving up 61.4 points per game, and lead the conference in blocked shots with 60, but with Hughes on the bench they could have trouble against the extremely quick Ducks. Guards Luke Ridnour and Frederick Jones and forward Luke Jackson all average about 15 points per game buzzing around the perimeter, while gigantic center Chris Christoffersen (7-foot-2, 300 pounds) anchors the middle.  

Braun will be forced to counter Christoffersen with freshmen Jamal Sampson and Amit Tamir if Hughes is unable to go, and neither of them can match up with the Oregon center’s size. But Sampson should give Christoffersen trouble with his superior athleticism and quickness, while Tamir has shown a nice mid-range shooting touch. If they can draw Christoffersen out from beneath the basket, the matchup will favor the Bears. 

If Braun’s team can’t get a win on Thursday, they would seem to have a much better chance on Saturday against Oregon State (8-6, 1-3). The Beavers haven’t managed a quality win yet this season, with their only win coming over Arizona State at home. Their main threat is Phillip Ricci, a junior-college transfer who sat out last season with an injury. Ricci has recorded four double-doubles so far this year and leads the team in scoring at 17.5 ppg. Despite playing some low-level competition, the Beavers have been out-rebounded and committed more turnovers than their opponents, not a good sign for a team without an explosive offense. 

Thursday, Jan. 10

Kick the Debt  

7 p.m. 

Friends Church 

1600 Sacramento St. 

In honor of the global campaign to cancel the oppressive debts for the poorest countries. This follow-up meeting will cover the history and current status of the campaign. 528-0105, cagilb@pacbell.net. 

Skiing and Snowshoeing in  

Tahoe National Forest 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Catherine Stifter will present a slide show on her favorite ski and snowshoe tours off Highway 49 between Sierra City and Yuba Pass. 527-4140 

Grandparent Support Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

Malcolm X School of Arts and Academics 

1731 Prince St. 

Grandparents and relatives raising their grandchildren can express their concerns and needs, plus receive support, information and referrals for Kinship Care. 644-6517. 

Community Health  

Commission 

6:45 - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Prioritize list of health needs of the City of Berkeley to present to Alta Bates Sutter for consideration during needs assessment process for Community Benefit Plan. 

Housing Advisory Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Presentation of FY 2002-2003 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) housing proposals.  

Defending the Rights of  

Children 

12 p.m. 

Albany Public Library, Edith Stone Room 

1247 Marin Ave. 

Arnold Chavez, the Executive Director for the Alameda County Court Appointed Special Advocates program will discuss how his program works to defend the rights of children who have committed no crimes but, due to circumstances beyond their control are in the juvenile justice system. 

Public Works Commission 

7 p.m. - 9 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Informational Meeting on Applicant Financed Underground Utility District for the Spruce/Halkins/ Alamo/Cragmont School proposed district 

Berkeley Reads 

6 - 8 p.m. 

Public Library, West Branch 

1125 University Ave. 

The adult literacy program of the BPL. Program orientation for new volunteer tutors. 981-6299, prevedel@hotmail.com. 

Winter Holistic Health Groups  

1:15 – 2:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

For ages 55 and older. This week’s topic: Creative Aging. 526-0148. 

Berkeley Women in Black 

12 - 1 p.m. 

Corner of Haste and Telegraph 

A vigil to end the occupation of Palestine and to reject military solutions to the world’s problems. 548-6310, wibberkeley@ yahoo.com 

Friday, Jan. 11

San Francisco Chamber  

Orchestra 

8 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 

2640 College Ave. 

A program of classical party music from Mozart to Stravinsky. $15. 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org 

Berkeley Reads 

10 a.m. - noon 

Public Library, West Branch 

1125 University Ave. 

The adult literacy program of the BPL. Program orientation for new volunteer tutors. 981-6299, prevedel@hotmail.com. 

Even Stronger Women 

1:15 - 3:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Bittersweet legacy art, poetry and stories compiled by Cynthia M. Brody. 232-1351. 

City Commons Club Luncheon 

11:15 a.m. 

Berkeley City Club 

2315 Durant Ave. 

James A. Donohue lectures on “Morality in Politics”. Social hour begins at 11:15. Lunch is served 11:45 - 12:15. Speaker begins at 12:30. $11 - 12.25 with lunch, $1 otherwise. 848-3533 

Saturday, Jan. 12

Mental Health and Public 

Policy 

8 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Wheeler Auditorium 

UC Berkeley 

A symposium designed to promote a greater understanding of mental illness, and link medical advances to public policy solutions in mental health care. 642-4608, www.igs.berkeley.edu:8880 

Vocal Jazz Workshop and Jazz Jam 

9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. 

Albany Adult School 

601 San Gabriel St. 

Workshops for singers and instrumentalists led by Richard Kalman to explore Jazz in a small jazz combo format. $5-$12 per class. 524-6796, richkalman@aol.com. 

National Writers Union Benefit 

7:30 p.m. 

Oakland YWCA 

1515 Webster St. 

The National Writers Union, Local 3 presents “A Dream Still Beckons: Multicultural Offerings for Peace and Justice in honor of Langston Hughes and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” The even features poetry readings and a dance party. Donations requested. 839-1248. 

Editor: 

Thank you very much for the kind and accurate remarks printed about me in the Jan. 7 issue of your paper. (“Board lone ranger ends fight for small schools, talks compromise.”) 

I would just like to disagree on one point - your headline to the story about me was very misleading. No one, including myself, is ending the fight for small schools.  

We still feel it is the best possible way to improve Berkeley High School for ALL students. 

We must now pursue other ways to accomplish our goals; working out compromises in the short run, organizing more of the educational community for support, suggesting to the other board members policies that address their concerns about small schools, following the leadership of the vast majority of BHS staff who want small schools and finding school board candidates committed to deep reform of Berkeley High School.  

The fight continues, just in different ways. 

Terry Doran 

Berkeley School Board 

924 Gilman Jan. 11: Bananas, Numbers, Lowdown, Doozers, Iron Ass; Jan. 12: Plan 9, The Sick, The Hellbillies, Oppressed Logic, Deltaforce; Jan. 18: Christian Reigh, Dystrophy, Stalker Potential, Lower 48, Thought Crime, No Direction; Jan. 19: Capitalist Casualities, Phobia, Pig Destroyer, Index, Strong Intention; Jan. 25: Ludicra, Brain Oil, Creuvo, Scurvy Dogs, Arftificum Sanguis; Jan. 26: Mile Marker, Yaphet Kotto, Pirx the Pilot, Himsa, Confidante; Jan. 27: Bane, Over My Dead Body, Striking Distance, Breath In; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926. 

Anna’s Bistro Jan.11:Anna sings jazz standards/ 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Jan. 12: Robin Gregory & Sy Perkoff/ 10 pm Ducksn Distones Jazz Sextet; Jan. 13: “Choro Time” Brazilian sounds; Jan.14: “Renagade Sidemen” w/ Calvin Keyes: Jan.15: Mark Murphy’s jazz vocal workshop; Jan. 16: Bob Schoen Jazz Sextet; Jan. 17: Christy Dana Jazz Duo; Jan. 18: Karen Guthrie & Her Trio/ 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Jan. 19: Vicki Burns & Felice York/ 10 p.m. Ducksan Distones Jazz Sextet; Jan. 20: Aleph Null; Music starts at 8p.m., every night, second band at 10p.m., 1801 University Ave., 849-ANNA 

Blake’s Jan. 11: Five Point Plan, SFunk, $5; Jan. 12: Lavish Green, Stone Cutters, $5; Jan. 13: Alex Dolan & 22 Fillmore, $3; Jan. 14: All Star Jam Featuring The Steve Gannon Band & Mz. Dee, $4; Jan. 15: View From Here, $3; Jan. 16: Zion Rock, Hebro, $3; Jan. 17: Electronica with Ascension, $5; Jan. 18: Ten Ton Chicken, Black Dog Band with Peanut Daniels, $5; Jan. 19: Solemite, Monky, $5; Jan. 20: First Circle, The Locals, $6; Jan. 21: All Star Jam Featuring the Steve Gannon Band & Mz. Dee, $4; Jan. 22: WildSang; 2367 Telegraph Ave., 877-488-6533. 

Cal Performances Jan. 18 and 19: 8 p.m., The National Acrobats of Taiwan, R.O.C.; Jan. 20: 3 p.m., Midori and Robert McDonald. $28 -$48. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph. 642-9988 

Club Jjang-Ga Jan. 12: Sol Americano, The People, Solemite, American Rebus, Katie Knipp; Jan. 19: Dick, Multiply, Mental Case, Nine Pound Grind, The Elegy; Jan. 26: Krenshaw, Bearing, Lucid Inc., Zodiacal Circle; 400 29th Ave., Oakland, 261-1108, savageproductions1@yahoo.com. 

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. 11: Alex De Grassi, Franco Morone; Jan. 12: 10 a.m. - noon, Lily Tomlin, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Rebecca Walker discusses her memoir "Black, White and Jewish."; 8 p.m., Viviana Guzman & Performers of the World; Jan. 13: Rob Ickes & Slide City; All shows begin 8 p.m. unless noted, 1111 Addison St. 548-1761, www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Jazzschool Jan. 20: 4:30 p.m., Madeline Eastman, $6-$12. Jan. 27: 4:30 p.m., Michael Zilber, Sons of Bitches Brew; $6-$12. 2087 Addison St., 845-5373, www.jazzschool.com. 

Julia Morgan Theatre Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, classical party music; Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Jan. 11: Hydeus Kiatta Trio; Jan. 12: Barefoot Bride; Jan. 16: Realistic; Jan. 17: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 18: Bigfoot In Paris Trio; Jan. 19: Netwerk: Electric; Jan. 23: Mitch Marcus Quintet; Jan. 24: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 25: The Sardonics; Jan. 26: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Fourtet; Jan. 30: Joel Harrison Quartet; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Cultural Center Jan. 20: 7 p.m., A Hip/Trip Hop Benefit for the Prison Activist Resource Center: Black Dot Artists Collective, COINTELPRO, DJ So Much Soul, EK Trip, Prophets of Rage and Renaissance. $10-$15. 3105 Shattack Ave, 893-4648.  

Live Oaks Concerts: Berkeley Art Center Jan. 20: 7:30 p.m., Marvin Sanders, flute, Kana Mimaki, piano, will perform Prokofiev’s Sonata #2 for flute and piano, and Ceasar Franck’s Sonata in A Major; Jan. 27: 7:30 p.m., Elaine Kreston, cello, Laura Carmichael, clarinet, perform otherworldly and intense duos by Xenakis and Kaaija Saariaho. $10, BACA Members $8, Students and Seniors $9. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., 644-6893. 

Rose Street House Jan. 17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks; Jan. 25: 8 p.m. DivaBands Showcase: Bern, Elin Jr., Roberta Donnay, Christy Claxton and Tiger Zane. $8-$20. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687rosestreetmusic@yahoo.com. 

Yoshi’s Jazz House 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. 

ACME Observatory Contemporary Performance Series Jan. 11 and 12: both at 8 p.m. The Transparent Tape Music Festival featuring classic and new recorded works by Edgard Varese, Pauline Oliveros and others. $7 for one night, $12 for both. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave., 649-8744, acme@sfsound.org. 

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

Fellowship Coffee House Jan. 18: 7:30 p.m., Carol Denney, open mike. $3 -$5. Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. 

Off Da Hook! Party. Jan. 19: 9 p.m., DJ’s SAKE1, Ab, special guests and live performances; $8-$15. 2670 Union St, West Oakland, 464-1011. 

Trinity Chapel Jan. 19: 8 p.m., Janine Johnson, harpsichord, Bach, Buxtehude and Pachelbel; 2320 Dana St., 549-3864. 

First Congregational Church Jan. 19: 8p.m., eight women’s voices and continuo, also baritone Hugh Davis will sing priest’s acclamations. $12- $25; First Congregational Church, Dana & Durant, Berkeley, (415) 979-4500. 

Mama Bears Jan. 19: 7:30 p.m., WildSang; 6536 Telegraph Ave. 595-4642. 

Roda Theatre Jan. 22 and 23: both at 8 p.m., The Berkeley Symphony, Music Director Kent Nagano, continues its 31st season with two performances of Schubert’s Symphony No. 5. $21, $32, $45, $10 students. 2015 Addison St. 841-2800, www.berkeleysymphony.org 

Berkeley Black Repertory Theatre Jan. 26: 6:30 - 10 p.m., The City of Berkeley and the Berkeley Black Repertory Theatre pay tribute to and welcome the return of “The Dru Band,” teenage recording artist from the Bay Area. $5. 3201 Adeline St., 625-2120. 

Organ Music Jan. 27: 5 p.m., Ron McKean performs Ferscobaldi, Froberger and Bach. $15 - $18. MusicSources, 1000 The Alameda, 528-1685. 

Dance 

Julia Morgan Theatre 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’s Feast of Dance,” An evening of conemporary dance performed by local dance groups to benefit dance in the East Bay. $15 suggested donation. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

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 

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. 558-138, 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 

“Rhinoceros” Jan. 23 through Mar. 10: Check theater for specific dates and times. An absurdist tragi-comedy about a small provincial town whose citizens slowly but surely transform into large cumbersome rhinoceroses. Directed by Barbara Damashek. $38 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2976 www.berkeleyrep.org. 

“Sisters” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. through Feb. 16. The story of the Prozorov sisters looking in a very human way at the gap between hope and fulfillment in their lives. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattack, www.actorsensemleofbkerkeley.com. 

Film 

Pacific Film Archive 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: 7 p.m., La Collectionneuse, 8:50 p.m., My Night at Maud’s; Jan. 13: 1 p.m., 3 p.m., Oscar’s Magic Adventure, 5:30 p.m., ABC Africa; Jan. 16: 7:30 p.m., So, To Speak: Videoworks of Jacqueline Goss; Jan. 17: 7 p.m., The Marquise of O...; Jan. 18: 7:30 p.m., Claire’s Knee, 9:30 p.m., Chloe in the Afternoon; 2527 Bancroft Way, 642-1412. 

Landmark’s Shattuck Cinema Jan. 18: 5 p.m., 7 p.m., Life And Debt, filmmaker Stephanie Black will speak. 2230 Shattuck Ave., 843-3456, www.landmarktheatres.com. 

Parkway Theatre Jan. 29: 6:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m., Boom! The Sound Of Eviction, a Just Cause Oakland benefit screening. $6-$20. 1843 Park Blvd., Oakland, 464-1011. 

Exhibits  

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” 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. 

“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 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. 

“Prints and Paintings by Liao Shiou-Ping” on view through Jan. 31; Tues. to Fri.10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sat.10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388-9th St., Suite 290, Oakland, 238-4491. 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” 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. 

“All Grown Up” Jan. 10 - Feb. 2: New paintings and drawings by Amy Chan. Thurs. 1 p.m. - 8 p.m., Fri -Sun 1 p.m. -6 p.m., 21 Grand Ave., Oakland, 444-7263 

“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” 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” 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. 

“Transformations: Through the Eye of a Needle” Jan.24 - Feb. 23: Two-person exhibition by Rebecca Bui and Linda Lemon including procelain and fabric dolls and mixed media works on handmade paper. Tues.-Sat., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland, 836-0831, www.artolio.com 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” 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.  

“Domestic Bliss” Collection of abstract paintings and mixed medium by Amy St. George. Her serious of work range from large abstract paintings to intimate boxes with collections of found objects, Jan.13 through Apr. 4th Albany Community Center Foyer Gallery, 1249 Marin Ave., Albany,524-9283 

“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 

AK Press Jan. 19: 8 p.m., Joel Schalit dissects the New World Order and the rise of religious fundamentalism in his new book “Jerusalem Calling”. 674-A 23rd St., Oakland, 208-1700, molly@akpress.org 

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 Jan. 12: Word Beat presents Tom Quantamatteo, Larry Beresford and Rose Mark; Jan. 19: Tim Donnelly and Anna May Stanley; Jan. 26: Paradise and 2nd feature TBA; Feb. 2: Julia Vinograd and Shauna Rogan; Feb. 9: Sydney Bell and Debrale Pagan; All readings 7-9 p.m., free and followed by open mike. 458 Perkins at Grand, Oakland, 526-5985.  

Jewish Community Center Jan. 14: 7:30-9 p.m., Emily Rose interweaves the family chronicle of her ancestors with the political and social events of the 18th and 19th centuries; Jan. 16: 7:30-8:30 p.m., Elizabeth Rosner will read from her debut novel “The Speed of of Light.” 1414 Walnut St. 

Mama’s Bears Women’s Bookstore Jan. 12: 7:30, Loolwa Khazzoom will be reading from her new book “CONSEQUENCE: Beyond Resisting Rape.” $8-10. 6536 Telegraph at 66th Oakland, 595-4642 

Poetry 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Jan. 12: The Great Night of Soul Poetry, $12-$15; 655-1425. 

Jack London’s Birthday Poetry Reading Jan. 12: 2 - 5 p.m., For all poets, bring poetry to share. 523-5980. 

Poetry Flash @ Cody’s Jan. 9: Karen Kevorkian and Gail Wronsky; Jan. 13: Phylis Koestenbaum and Carol Snow; Jan. 16: Tea Party magazine reading with Ariel, Rita Boagert, Daniel Y. Harris, Denise Mewbourne, Judith Offer, Andrena Zawinski; Jan. 23: Paul Hoover and Elizabeth Robinson; Jan. 27: Wanda Coleman, Austin Straus and Kate Gale; Jan. 30 Ralph Angel and George Higgins; All events begin at 7:30 p.m., $2 donation. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852. 

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, children under 5 free. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m.; 1000 Oak St., Oakland, 238-2200, 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. - 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 and Pacific Film Archive “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. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.; 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 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. 

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, www.lhs.berkeley.edu. 

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

924 Gilman Jan. 11: Bananas, Numbers, Lowdown, Doozers, Iron Ass; Jan. 12: Plan 9, The Sick, The Hellbillies, Oppressed Logic, Deltaforce; Jan. 18: Christian Reigh, Dystrophy, Stalker Potential, Lower 48, Thought Crime, No Direction; Jan. 19: Capitalist Casualities, Phobia, Pig Destroyer, Index, Strong Intention; Jan. 25: Ludicra, Brain Oil, Creuvo, Scurvy Dogs, Arftificum Sanguis; Jan. 26: Mile Marker, Yaphet Kotto, Pirx the Pilot, Himsa, Confidante; Jan. 27: Bane, Over My Dead Body, Striking Distance, Breath In; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926. 

Anna’s Bistro Jan.11:Anna sings jazz standards/ 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Jan. 12: Robin Gregory & Sy Perkoff/ 10 pm Ducksn Distones Jazz Sextet; Jan. 13: “Choro Time” Brazilian sounds; Jan.14: “Renagade Sidemen” w/ Calvin Keyes: Jan.15: Mark Murphy’s jazz vocal workshop; Jan. 16: Bob Schoen Jazz Sextet; Jan. 17: Christy Dana Jazz Duo; Jan. 18: Karen Guthrie & Her Trio/ 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Jan. 19: Vicki Burns & Felice York/ 10 p.m. Ducksan Distones Jazz Sextet; Jan. 20: Aleph Null; Music starts at 8p.m., every night, second band at 10p.m., 1801 University Ave., 849-ANNA 

Blake’s Jan. 11: Five Point Plan, SFunk, $5; Jan. 12: Lavish Green, Stone Cutters, $5; Jan. 13: Alex Dolan & 22 Fillmore, $3; Jan. 14: All Star Jam Featuring The Steve Gannon Band & Mz. Dee, $4; Jan. 15: View From Here, $3; Jan. 16: Zion Rock, Hebro, $3; Jan. 17: Electronica with Ascension, $5; Jan. 18: Ten Ton Chicken, Black Dog Band with Peanut Daniels, $5; Jan. 19: Solemite, Monky, $5; Jan. 20: First Circle, The Locals, $6; Jan. 21: All Star Jam Featuring the Steve Gannon Band & Mz. Dee, $4; Jan. 22: WildSang; 2367 Telegraph Ave., 877-488-6533. 

Cal Performances Jan. 18 and 19: 8 p.m., The National Acrobats of Taiwan, R.O.C.; Jan. 20: 3 p.m., Midori and Robert McDonald. $28 -$48. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph. 642-9988 

Club Jjang-Ga Jan. 12: Sol Americano, The People, Solemite, American Rebus, Katie Knipp; Jan. 19: Dick, Multiply, Mental Case, Nine Pound Grind, The Elegy; Jan. 26: Krenshaw, Bearing, Lucid Inc., Zodiacal Circle; 400 29th Ave., Oakland, 261-1108, savageproductions1@yahoo.com. 

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. 11: Alex De Grassi, Franco Morone; Jan. 12: 10 a.m. - noon, Lily Tomlin, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Rebecca Walker discusses her memoir "Black, White and Jewish."; 8 p.m., Viviana Guzman & Performers of the World; Jan. 13: Rob Ickes & Slide City; All shows begin 8 p.m. unless noted, 1111 Addison St. 548-1761, www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Jazzschool Jan. 20: 4:30 p.m., Madeline Eastman, $6-$12. Jan. 27: 4:30 p.m., Michael Zilber, Sons of Bitches Brew; $6-$12. 2087 Addison St., 845-5373, www.jazzschool.com. 

Julia Morgan Theatre Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, classical party music; Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Jan. 11: Hydeus Kiatta Trio; Jan. 12: Barefoot Bride; Jan. 16: Realistic; Jan. 17: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 18: Bigfoot In Paris Trio; Jan. 19: Netwerk: Electric; Jan. 23: Mitch Marcus Quintet; Jan. 24: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 25: The Sardonics; Jan. 26: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Fourtet; Jan. 30: Joel Harrison Quartet; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Peña Cultural Center Jan. 20: 7 p.m., A Hip/Trip Hop Benefit for the Prison Activist Resource Center: Black Dot Artists Collective, COINTELPRO, DJ So Much Soul, EK Trip, Prophets of Rage and Renaissance. $10-$15. 3105 Shattack Ave, 893-4648.  

Live Oaks Concerts: Berkeley Art Center Jan. 20: 7:30 p.m., Marvin Sanders, flute, Kana Mimaki, piano, will perform Prokofiev’s Sonata #2 for flute and piano, and Ceasar Franck’s Sonata in A Major; Jan. 27: 7:30 p.m., Elaine Kreston, cello, Laura Carmichael, clarinet, perform otherworldly and intense duos by Xenakis and Kaaija Saariaho. $10, BACA Members $8, Students and Seniors $9. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., 644-6893. 

Rose Street House Jan. 17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks; Jan. 25: 8 p.m. DivaBands Showcase: Bern, Elin Jr., Roberta Donnay, Christy Claxton and Tiger Zane. $8-$20. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687rosestreetmusic@yahoo.com. 

Yoshi’s Jazz House 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. 

ACME Observatory Contemporary Performance Series Jan. 11 and 12: both at 8 p.m. The Transparent Tape Music Festival featuring classic and new recorded works by Edgard Varese, Pauline Oliveros and others. $7 for one night, $12 for both. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave., 649-8744, acme@sfsound.org. 

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

Fellowship Coffee House Jan. 18: 7:30 p.m., Carol Denney, open mike. $3 -$5. Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. 

Off Da Hook! Party. Jan. 19: 9 p.m., DJ’s SAKE1, Ab, special guests and live performances; $8-$15. 2670 Union St, West Oakland, 464-1011. 

Trinity Chapel Jan. 19: 8 p.m., Janine Johnson, harpsichord, Bach, Buxtehude and Pachelbel; 2320 Dana St., 549-3864. 

First Congregational Church Jan. 19: 8p.m., eight women’s voices and continuo, also baritone Hugh Davis will sing priest’s acclamations. $12- $25; First Congregational Church, Dana & Durant, Berkeley, (415) 979-4500. 

Mama Bears Jan. 19: 7:30 p.m., WildSang; 6536 Telegraph Ave. 595-4642. 

Roda Theatre Jan. 22 and 23: both at 8 p.m., The Berkeley Symphony, Music Director Kent Nagano, continues its 31st season with two performances of Schubert’s Symphony No. 5. $21, $32, $45, $10 students. 2015 Addison St. 841-2800, www.berkeleysymphony.org 

Berkeley Black Repertory Theatre Jan. 26: 6:30 - 10 p.m., The City of Berkeley and the Berkeley Black Repertory Theatre pay tribute to and welcome the return of “The Dru Band,” teenage recording artist from the Bay Area. $5. 3201 Adeline St., 625-2120. 

Organ Music Jan. 27: 5 p.m., Ron McKean performs Ferscobaldi, Froberger and Bach. $15 - $18. MusicSources, 1000 The Alameda, 528-1685. 

Dance 

Julia Morgan Theatre 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’s Feast of Dance,” An evening of conemporary dance performed by local dance groups to benefit dance in the East Bay. $15 suggested donation. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

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 

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. 558-138, 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 

“Rhinoceros” Jan. 23 through Mar. 10: Check theater for specific dates and times. An absurdist tragi-comedy about a small provincial town whose citizens slowly but surely transform into large cumbersome rhinoceroses. Directed by Barbara Damashek. $38 - $54. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 647-2976 www.berkeleyrep.org. 

“Sisters” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. through Feb. 16. The story of the Prozorov sisters looking in a very human way at the gap between hope and fulfillment in their lives. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattack, www.actorsensemleofbkerkeley.com. 

Film 

Pacific Film Archive 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: 7 p.m., La Collectionneuse, 8:50 p.m., My Night at Maud’s; Jan. 13: 1 p.m., 3 p.m., Oscar’s Magic Adventure, 5:30 p.m., ABC Africa; Jan. 16: 7:30 p.m., So, To Speak: Videoworks of Jacqueline Goss; Jan. 17: 7 p.m., The Marquise of O...; Jan. 18: 7:30 p.m., Claire’s Knee, 9:30 p.m., Chloe in the Afternoon; 2527 Bancroft Way, 642-1412. 

Landmark’s Shattuck Cinema Jan. 18: 5 p.m., 7 p.m., Life And Debt, filmmaker Stephanie Black will speak. 2230 Shattuck Ave., 843-3456, www.landmarktheatres.com. 

Parkway Theatre Jan. 29: 6:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m., Boom! The Sound Of Eviction, a Just Cause Oakland benefit screening. $6-$20. 1843 Park Blvd., Oakland, 464-1011. 

Exhibits  

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” 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. 

“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 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. 

“Prints and Paintings by Liao Shiou-Ping” on view through Jan. 31; Tues. to Fri.10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sat.10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388-9th St., Suite 290, Oakland, 238-4491. 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” 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. 

“All Grown Up” Jan. 10 - Feb. 2: New paintings and drawings by Amy Chan. Thurs. 1 p.m. - 8 p.m., Fri -Sun 1 p.m. -6 p.m., 21 Grand Ave., Oakland, 444-7263 

“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” 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” 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. 

“Transformations: Through the Eye of a Needle” Jan.24 - Feb. 23: Two-person exhibition by Rebecca Bui and Linda Lemon including procelain and fabric dolls and mixed media works on handmade paper. Tues.-Sat., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland, 836-0831, www.artolio.com 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” 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.  

“Domestic Bliss” Collection of abstract paintings and mixed medium by Amy St. George. Her serious of work range from large abstract paintings to intimate boxes with collections of found objects, Jan.13 through Apr. 4th Albany Community Center Foyer Gallery, 1249 Marin Ave., Albany,524-9283 

“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 

AK Press Jan. 19: 8 p.m., Joel Schalit dissects the New World Order and the rise of religious fundamentalism in his new book “Jerusalem Calling”. 674-A 23rd St., Oakland, 208-1700, molly@akpress.org 

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 Jan. 12: Word Beat presents Tom Quantamatteo, Larry Beresford and Rose Mark; Jan. 19: Tim Donnelly and Anna May Stanley; Jan. 26: Paradise and 2nd feature TBA; Feb. 2: Julia Vinograd and Shauna Rogan; Feb. 9: Sydney Bell and Debrale Pagan; All readings 7-9 p.m., free and followed by open mike. 458 Perkins at Grand, Oakland, 526-5985.  

Jewish Community Center Jan. 14: 7:30-9 p.m., Emily Rose interweaves the family chronicle of her ancestors with the political and social events of the 18th and 19th centuries; Jan. 16: 7:30-8:30 p.m., Elizabeth Rosner will read from her debut novel “The Speed of of Light.” 1414 Walnut St. 

Mama’s Bears Women’s Bookstore Jan. 12: 7:30, Loolwa Khazzoom will be reading from her new book “CONSEQUENCE: Beyond Resisting Rape.” $8-10. 6536 Telegraph at 66th Oakland, 595-4642 

Poetry 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Jan. 12: The Great Night of Soul Poetry, $12-$15; 655-1425. 

Jack London’s Birthday Poetry Reading Jan. 12: 2 - 5 p.m., For all poets, bring poetry to share. 523-5980. 

Poetry Flash @ Cody’s Jan. 9: Karen Kevorkian and Gail Wronsky; Jan. 13: Phylis Koestenbaum and Carol Snow; Jan. 16: Tea Party magazine reading with Ariel, Rita Boagert, Daniel Y. Harris, Denise Mewbourne, Judith Offer, Andrena Zawinski; Jan. 23: Paul Hoover and Elizabeth Robinson; Jan. 27: Wanda Coleman, Austin Straus and Kate Gale; Jan. 30 Ralph Angel and George Higgins; All events begin at 7:30 p.m., $2 donation. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852. 

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, children under 5 free. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m.; 1000 Oak St., Oakland, 238-2200, 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. - 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 and Pacific Film Archive “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. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.; 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 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. 

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, 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 School’s four co-principals, hoping to maintain accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, presented a series of draft reform proposals Tuesday night during a meeting of the high school’s Parent Teacher Student Association. 

WASC, a regional accrediting group, identified 11 problem areas at the high school in 1999, and has threatened to withdraw its seal of approval if BHS does not make progress in those areas. 

WASC’s accreditation runs through June. The organization will visit BHS in mid-May and will then decide whether to extend or cease the school’s accreditation. 

The co-principals’ proposals included an expansion of the “senior bridge” program, which pairs fourth-year tutors with struggling freshmen, a monthly departmental meeting focused on aligning curriculum from class to class and a requirement that teachers call parents after a student’s fourth unexcused absence. After the first unexcused absence, parents already receive notice from a computerized dialing system at the high school. 

But, with the district’s budget in disarray, and state funding cuts possible next year, administrators warned that some of their more expensive proposals might not come to fruition. 

“We’re going to have to do this within the system we have,” said co-principal Laura Leventer. “We’re in a budget crisis.” 

Some of the parents in attendance were skeptical of the proposed reform given budgetary realities.  

“I don’t think you have the resources to do what you put up on the screen,” said Bill Savidge, parent of a sophomore. 

The proposals come in the wake of a March 5 report, issued by WASC, which criticized the high school’s efforts to make improvements in those 11 problem areas. 

“Progress is, at best, spotty and fragmented,” the report read. “It’s sad to see the lack of progress made by a staff and community so rich in talent and resources.”  

Several parents at the Tuesday night meeting said the current leadership team, which took the reins in the fall after principal Frank Lynch resigned, appears to be making more progress than previous administrators at the high school.  

“I think, more than any other administrators, they are taking WASC seriously and making strides,” said Cindy Cohen, president of the PTSA. “I think they really want to make change at Berkeley High School.”  

The four co-principals, Leventer, MaryAnn Valles, Lawrence Lee, and Mike Hassett, presented recommendations in four areas: attendance, discipline, staff development, and the ninth grade program. 

Four focus groups, composed of high school administrators, BHS staff, district personnel, parents, and a few interested students, developed the recommendations early in the school year. 

Administrators convened the four groups after Superintendent Michele Lawrence held discussions with WASC and school administrators earlier this year, and decided to hone in on five of the concerns – the four considered by the focus groups, and a fifth involving the lack of “well-structured planning and decision-making process.” 

School administrators said they began to address the decision-making process earlier this year with the establishment of a new shared governance structure at the high school including administrators, department heads and a representative from the School Site Council. Co-principal Valles said this new structure has helped to centralize and clarify the process. 

Some activists have raised concerns about the apparent focus on only five of the issues, worrying that other problems identified by WASC, including the “achievement gap” separating white and minority students, are not being properly addressed. 

“I’m not suggesting they’re intentionally trying to hide it,” said Kathryn Burroughs, parent of a senior at BHS, discussing the achievement gap. “But, it seems to me that it’s out of sight, out of mind...We need to be talking about the root causes of disparity in achievement.” 

School and district administrators say that the high school has embedded concerns about the achievement gap in each of the focus group studies, arguing that improvements in attendance, discipline, staff development and the ninth-grade program will all help address the disparity. 

“I think everything we’re doing addresses the gap,” said Chris Lim, associate superintendent for instruction. 

Lim added that a series of programs put in place in the last couple of years also address the problem directly. The “Critical Pathways” and “Smart” programs, for instance, provide at-risk freshmen with a summer orientation and intensive support in English and math. 

(Sidebar) 

The Proposed Reforms 

Berkeley High School’s four co-principals have proposed a series of reforms in four areas: attendance, discipline, staff development, and the ninth-grade program.  

“I know these don’t sound like state-of-the-art things,” said MaryAnn Valles one of the co-principals, “but we have basic systems to fix.” 

The following is a list of the highlights: 

Attendance 

• Teachers will call parents after a fourth unexcused absence. 

• As truancy problems escalate, the school will convene parent conferences, send home letters to parents, and develop intervention plans. 

Discipline 

• BHS will have two new deans focused on attendance and discipline beginning next semester. 

• The school will refine its security camera system to cover more “dead spots” on campus. 

• A new information system will allow for a broader dissemination of information among guidance counselors, staff at the BHS Health Center and special education instructors. 

• Administrators will have meetings with suspended students after they return to school, and will better monitor their progress. 

Professional development 

• The departments will convene monthly curriculum meetings to align curriculum from class to class and discuss teaching methods. 

• Teachers in a voluntary program, will visit other classrooms to learn what works and what does not. Over 80 percent of teachers, in an internal survey, said they would take part in the program. 

• BHS will provide monthly learning opportunities for its teachers, covering everything from curriculum to technology. 

Ninth grade program 

• The school will expand the Summer Bridge program, a summer orientation session for at-risk students. 

• BHS will expand its “senior bridge” program to include math. Currently, the program focuses on English, pairing fourth-year tutors with struggling freshmen.

The St. Mary’s High boys’ soccer team dug its way into a deep hole on Wednesday against Albany, giving up two second-half goals to the underdog Cougars. But through constant pressure and a bit of luck, the Panthers managed to avoid the upset by scoring three goals in the last 20 minutes of the match to win, 3-2, in their BSAL opener. 

Seniors Pat Barry, Stephon McGrew and Bryan Warren each scored a goal to lead the Panthers (5-9, 1-0 BSAL) to victory. McGrew and Warren’s goals, the tying and winning scores, both went through the hands of Albany goalkeeper Juan Carlos. 

“We got lucky, but we’re the much better team,” Barry said. “We had some other shots that could have gone in, but they didn’t.” 

The seniors’ heroics was necessary because of a short defensive lapse by the Panthers that handed Albany (1-5, 0-3) two easy goals early in the second half. St. Mary’s head coach Teale Matteson decided to move sweeper Brenden Slevin out to the wing to get more offense, but Slevin’s absence left a big hole in the Panther defense. Albany’s Spencer Dill took advantage, starting with a great through ball to teammate Sean Carey. St. Mary’s goalkeeper Danny Penza hesitated to come out, and Carey slid the ball past him for the game’s first goal in the 55th minute. 

Dill nearly had another assist a minute later with another through ball, this time to Christian Garcia, but Garcia put his shot over the crossbar. But Albany didn’t wait long for another goal, this time with Dill taking a through pass from Jake Mayers. Dill slammed the ball past Penza, and the St. Mary’s sideline looked shell-shocked. A loss to bottom-feeding Albany would have been a crushing blow to the Panthers’ title hopes, especially to start league play. 

“My intent was to create offense for us, but it backfired a little bit,” Matteson said. “I was getting ready to make the correction when (Albany) scored their second goal, so it was a coaching error on my part.” 

But the Panthers started to attack the Albany goal, getting several opportunities to score before Barry got them on the scoreboard by putting home a rebound from a Slevin shot in the 70th minute. 

St. Mary’s got a lift when Matteson inserted Warren for the final 15 minutes of the game. Warren is one of the team’s best players, but was sitting out due to violation of team rules. Matteson realized that since the team needed a win, Warren gave them the best chance to getting one. 

“I figured we needed a jolt, and Bryan can give that to us,” Matteson said. “But I was surprised he played as well as he did.” 

With Warren and McGrew dominating the midfield, the Panthers continued their assault on the Albany goal. Several chances came and went without a score, but when a McGrew pass came right back to him at the top of the box, he decided to take a shot with his left foot. The ball snaked through a group of players, then took a funny hop in front of Carlos. The ball came up, hit the goalie on the shoulder, hit the inside of the post and went in for a tie game. 

Warren showed his temperamental side soon after, getting into a tussle with several Albany players after missing a close shot. But he proved his value to the team with just a minute left to play. McGrew went down in the box but didn’t get a call, and the ball bounced out to Warren. Shooting from the same spot as McGrew’s goal, Warren sent a low liner at Carlos. The goalkeeper went to his knees for the save, but the ball squirted through his hands for the game-winner. 

“We dodged a bullet today,” Matteson said. “It was exciting though, wasn’t it?” 

Editor: 

Is it my aging memory, or is it at this point just a fading urban legend that recounts the story whereby the city of Berkeley passed a bond issue in the ’60s to accomplish the complete undergrounding of utilities throughout the city? The sad tale goes that soon after passage the bond money lay dormant while antagonistic neighborhood groups squabbled over whom should be the first to benefit.  

Resulting delays amounted to years; resulting escalation in project costs made the bond money inadequate for the task, and so the question became even more contentious: who would get undergrounding and who would not? Could the few residential streets that we see with underground utilities be the result of a wonderful vision undermined? 

If anyone has doubts about the benefits of undergrounding (beyond the obvious opportunity to control the electromagnetic fields surrounding power lines, which some epidemiologists suggest are linked to increased incidences of childhood leukemia) take this tour: to settle the aesthetic question simply drive west on Alcatraz Avenue from Telegraph on down, and imagine the absence of the wires.  

The view to (gasp!) Alcatraz Island would be tremendous. Streets without such grand views would benefit hugely as well.  

For another example of the safety issue, take a look at the wooden telephone pole at the southwest corner of Rose and Josephine Streets; I shudder to think what would happen if a car were to clip the single 4 x 4 wooden post that is holding this entire mess up. 

Urban Legend? 

Gary Parsons 

Berkeley 

Running for re-election with a $12-billion-plus budget hole is not an enviable position for an incumbent gearing up for a tough campaign. 

Gov. Gray Davis tried to shed the best light possible on his first term in office during his State of the State address Tuesday evening, promising to balance the budget with no new taxes. 

Is it possible? 

The Daily Planet asked the three local State Assembly hopefuls what they thought about the speech.  

The candidates: David Brown, former chief of staff to Supervisor Alice Lai Bitker, Loni Hancock, former Berkeley mayor and Charles Ramsey, trustee on the West Contra Costa School Board – will vie March 5 for Dion Aroner’s 14th Assembly District seat. Aroner is term-limited out of office. 

Revenue 

One way to plug the hole would be to raise taxes, not a popular stance for any candidate. 

“The budget I will submit to you in two days will be fair, will preserve the major gains of the last three years, will protect local government and will not increase taxes,” Davis told a less-than-enthusiastic legislature. 

While none of the three Assembly candidates proposed increasing personal income taxes, two had some thoughts about raising other taxes. 

Ramsey said he would look at an increase in sales taxes in order to stimulate the economy. The increased revenue should be used especially to stimulate the business sector which, in turn, will increase spending and tax revenues. Public works projects should also be encouraged. Building new schools, retrofitting bridges and expanding BART creates new jobs, which then increases spending and sales tax revenue, Ramsey said. 

Hancock said that one area in which she would like to see increased levies is taxing oil as it comes out of the ground. “There’s no oil severance tax (in California),” Hancock said, noting that in other oil-producing states, there is a small tax per barrel of oil extracted from the ground. 

Brown said he would be “hesitant to increase taxes,” but noted that he would have to see if Davis could plug the deficit hole in other ways. 

Program cuts 

Davis promised program cuts to help close the gap. Where would the candidates make those cuts? It took some prodding to get the candidates to respond to the unpopular question. 

When they did answer, both Hancock and Brown pointed to the prison system. Brown called for a cap on spending in the correctional system. “With Proposition 36 (which supports treatment for drug offenders rather than jail time) there’s a slow down of inmates,” Brown said. 

While Brown said no cuts should be made in school spending, he argued that the money can be spent more efficiently. Currently the state requires expenditures on certain “categorical” programs. Brown suggests that more flexible decision making in school spending might be permitted at a local level, as long as there is accountability. “Ultimately, it’s got to be kids and classrooms first,” he said. 

Hancock said she would “not prioritize prison construction.” Rather, she said, “I’d like to see school construction.” 

While Ramsey did not name specific areas in which he would make cuts, he acknowledged that they must be done. Citing his experience on the West County School Board, he said that when he first came to the district, it was in distress and deep cuts were necessary, which included school nurses and librarians. “Teachers took a 10 percent salary cut,” he said, underscoring that the cuts were followed by a stabilized school district. 

Post Sept. 11 

In his prepared remarks, Davis pointed to accomplishments in the post Sept. 11 era, having set up both the State Committee on Terrorism and the state Threat Assessment Committee as well as establishing the Anti-Terrorism Information Center in the attorney general’s office. Davis then proposed that the state have a greater ability to monitor suspected terrorists and “allow ‘roving’ wiretaps on suspects.” 

All three candidates questioned the conservative Democratic governor on that issue. 

“I’m a civil libertarian,” Hancock said. “I’m concerned about the direction of the country,” including the idea of using military tribunals to try suspected terrorists. Hancock said the federal government already has all the power needed for wire taps. “(The federal and state agencies) should coordinate,” she said. 

Similarly Ramsey urged care in this area. “We have to be cautious about doing something like this,” he said, calling for the protection of an individual’s rights. “We can’t be intrusive.”  

And Brown said the proposal is a concern to him, though he’d have to look at the specifics. “While the state has to be concerned about public safety, the protection goes both ways.” 

Making schools accountable 

In his speech, Davis put education at the top of his agenda and touted his administration for its educational success, as measured by test scores which have risen three years in a row. 

All three candidates also place education as their No. 1 priority, but they say that testing may not be the best way to judge school improvement. 

One also needs to take children’s engagement and excitement about learning into consideration, Ramsey said, adding that one can judge pupils by looking at “how they behave, whether they are attending school and if they are hungry.” 

Brown, who has been a teacher in West Contra Costa County, said that “standardized tests do not mirror what is taught in schools” and so tell only part of the story. Still, he said, schools need to be accountable. 

Hancock, who worked in the Education Department under Clinton, said that while she was glad Davis had prioritized education, she noted that a month ago he froze $800 million in education funds targeted to urban schools. “To me that’s unacceptable,” she said. 

Test scores are only one measure of school success, she added. Rising test scores may be an indication of improved attendance, decreased school violence and other factors and lower test scores may be an indication of low expectations, she said.  

Davis will reveal the specifics of his budget in a speech on Thursday.

This season is clearly a time of rebuilding for the Cal women’s basketball team. They have lost eight of their last nine games and are 0-4 in Pac-10 play. But eventually, the young players (seven freshmen, four sophomores) need to grow up and contribute to some wins. 

Senior forward Ami Forney has been the Bears’ only consistent weapon this season, averaging 14.6 points per game, but teams have started to collapse on her and double-team her in the low post. While Forney has stepped up her game in conference play, scoring nearly 20 ppg in the four losses, she has had little help. While the collapsing defenses should open up the outside for Cal’s collection of shooters, the result has been disappointing. 

“We can talk about some of the other post players, but the bottom line is that you have to have people that can score on the perimeter,” Cal head coach Caren Horstmeyer said. “We need some people to shoot it, and ultimately that’s going to take the pressure off of Ami.” 

As the Bears host two of the Pac-10’s top teams this weekend in Oregon and Oregon State, now would be a perfect time for some of those shooters to get hot. The prime suspect is freshman guard Jackie Lord, who has recovered from an injury and should be ready to contribute. But Lord is shooting just 37 percent from the floor and has looked tentative in her six appearances. 

“We know Jackie Lord can shoot. We’ve known that for a long time,” Horstmeyer said. “For her, some of it is confidence. She hasn’t had a lot of practice. I do think she has a scoring mentality, and I know she can score. It’s just a matter of time.” 

Horstmeyer’s squad should also get a scoring boost from the return of freshman Leigh Gregory, who has missed all of the team’s conference games due to injury. The team’s only other double-figure scorer (10 ppg), Gregory has the ability to help Forney out inside and shoulder some of the scoring load. 

The Bears have been solid on defense, giving up a Pac-10 best 57.7 points per game, they have been unable to stop teams late in close games, contributing to their loss total. Horstmeyer said her players have gotten away from their solid start to the season. 

“I don’t think our defense is where it was a month ago or a month and a half ago,” she said. “If that’s our bread and butter, we need to get back to where it was.” 

The Bears will face two teams this weekend that are positive examples of successful teams with one main scorer. Oregon features 1999-2000 Pac-10 Player of the Year Shaquala Williams, while Oregon State leans on last year’s Player of the Year, Felicia Ragland. Both teams have started conference play well with matching 4-2 records while leaning heavily on their leaders. 

Williams, who missed last season with a knee injury, has shown that she is all the way back, averaging 18.5 ppg in Pac-10 play. The senior could have a field day against the Cal guards, who have limited quickness. 

Ragland is an even more dominant force, scoring more than 20 points per game while no other Beaver averages more than 8. 

Horstmeyer’s strategy for beating the Oregon schools this weekend sounds remarkably similar to the formula Cal’s opponents have come up with. 

“Felicia Ragland and Shaquala Williams are going to get their points, but you have to make them work for their points and not give them easy baskets,” Horstmeyer said. “The other part of that is that you don’t let anyone else go off.”

The Daily Planet received a copy of this poem, written by a student to Berkeley High School teacher Joseph Blaine French on the death of his wife Tatia Malika Oden French. 

To mourn death would be too painful 

To enjoy it would be wrong 

To except it would be the way of humanity 

But to unite would be a great conquest 

There is no man who holds against the pain of  

A lost one 

There is no man who can be strong with just pride 

Because it is not pride that builds his strength, 

It is love a man can give to leave for others 

Strength will keep you alive, 

Strength will be there to provide and 

Strength will never be an eternal lie. 

Louis Joseph Lawyer 

Student in J.B. French’s Video Production class

Cynthia D. reached the end of the line 10 and a half years ago. She can tell you the exact day: July 5, 1991. 

She had just come off a month-long binge on crack cocaine, her drug of choice. At the end of it, she looked in the mirror, and at her 5-year-old son, and realized that something had to change. 

“I’m a child of the ’70s,” Cynthia says. “I came up in an era when it was all about drugs, sex and rock and roll. My parents didn’t raise me that way, but it seemed to me that people who were getting high were having so much fun.” 

“In the beginning, it was all right. Then I met crack.” 

Cynthia says that her life had degenerated into an incessant, single-minded quest for the drug. She committed every crime in the book, except for rape and murder, to get her fix. 

“I wasn’t a mother, I wasn’t a daughter, I wasn’t an employee,” she says. “I wasn’t even a friend.” 

The contrast between the Cynthia of today and the stories she tells about her past are startling. Cynthia D. is a charming, confident, well-dressed woman who’s not shy about deploying a teasing gleam of the eye to underline a point.  

But even more incredible than the apparent transformation is the fact that Cynthia turned her life around without going into a treatment program and without being thrown in jail. 

She turned her life around, she says, through her own force of will, with a little help from Narcotics Anonymous. 

Cynthia – who, in accordance with NA procedures, did not give her last name – says that NA provided her with a new life after she decided to discard the old one. 

She met friends that she says she would “trust with her life” – even with that of her son, who is now a sophomore at Berkeley High. She says that sometimes, when she and her son get into an argument, he will call some of her NA friends and ask if he can stay at their house for the weekend.  

“It’s like Hillary Clinton said – it takes a village to raise a child,” she says. “Well, this is my village.” 

Cynthia points to a particular passage in the NA big book that she says explains the philosophy of the program. 

“An addict who does not want to stop using will not stop using. They can be analyzed, counseled, reasoned with, prayed over, threatened, beaten or locked up, but they will not stop until they want to stop.” 

NA, like other 12-step programs, emphasizes a person’s innate willpower. That, along with the fact that NA provides a ready-made community of leaders and peers that have been addicts, may account for the program’s success. 

In May of last year, the Stanford University School of Medicine released the results of a year-long survey of drug addicts in Veterans’ Administration rehabilitation programs.  

The survey found that 12-step programs like NA are over 25 percent more effective than more traditional, “scientific” approaches to addiction. 

In addition, 12-step programs are free of charge. 

But Robert Long, coordinator of the Berkeley Multi-agency Service Center, says that despite success stories like Cynthia’s, 12-step programs should never be considered a complete solution to addiction. 

Once in a while, says Long, one of the homeless people who use the service center will tell staff that they want to clean up – to get off alcohol or drugs. 

The staff of the service center will often refer these people to a 12-step program, says Long, as it is the only option available for people with no money. 

However, Long says, a homeless addict trying to kick the habit is soon reunited with the street, cold nights and old friends. 

“Alcoholics Anonymous is wonderful and NA is wonderful,” he said. “But in this situation, there are other forces that need to be addressed, and that’s housing.” 

Cynthia says that her five brothers and sisters, are still, in one way or another, involved in the drug lifestyle. 

“They call me Miss NA,” she says. “I just tell them, ‘that’s right.’” 

But the rewards of being clean far outweigh jibes like this, she says. 

“Friends and family who used to cross the street to avoid me now welcome me into their homes,” she says. “Now they say, ‘Come over to my house and stay for the weekend.’ I’m still amazed by that.” 

For information on Narcotics Anonymous meetings in the East Bay, call (510)444-4673.

Editor: 

In a recent article, this reader noted that the mural in the City Council Chambers may be escorted out of town on a national tour.  

Hopefully, genuine patrons of the arts might engage in a fundraising campaign to ensure that this work stay on tour for the entire millennium.  

Then, if we are victorious in keeping the mural’s graffiti like quality in distant time zones, we might strategize how to rid ourselves of the sexist and Wal-Martish portion of it that the city embraces as its logo. 

Bruce McMurray 

Berkeley 

Board president violated by-laws 

Members of the Coalition for Excellence and Equity, a community group calling for the division of Berkeley High School into a series of small, themed learning communities, are upset with Shirley Issel, president of the Board of Education, for violating the board’s by-laws at its Dec. 19 meeting. 

At the meeting, board member Terry Doran, a coalition ally, made a motion calling for the discussion of a draft policy written by the group, which lays out basic structures, standards and admission procedures for the proposed small schools model. 

None of the regular members of the board, who oppose the coalition’s policy, seconded the motion. But, after a period of silence, student representative Sarena Chandler attempted to second the motion, to the wild applause of small schools supporters. 

Issel, after turning to the superintendent and members of the board for guidance, said that Chandler, as a student representative, or “student director,” could not second the motion. As a result, the policy discussion did not take place. 

In a recent interview with the Planet, Issel said she learned of her error after the meeting. “That was an incorrect call. Our by-laws do allow student directors to second a motion,” she said. “It was a mistake, but it was ignorance, not design.” 

Perata to hold Cal Grant seminar 

Berkeley’s representative to the State Senate, Don Perata, D-Oakland, will host a Cal Grant event for area high school seniors and their families on Feb. 16, tentatively scheduled to take place at 9 a.m. at Oakland Technical High School, 4351 Broadway St., Oakland. 

At the event, representatives from the California Student Aid Commission, a state body, and people trained by the organization, will assist families and students in applying for Cal Grants for college. 

There are several types of Cal Grants. Some are open to high school seniors with a 2.0 grade point average, and some to those with a 3.0 GPA. Grants are available for low-income students only, and must be used at colleges in California. 

Bryan Dickason, associate financial aid analyst for the California Student Aid Commission, said Cal Grants are underused because not enough people know about them. He said grant money can help convince a low-income student to go to college. 

“You put a little money in their hands and they say, ‘hey, maybe I’ll give it a try,’” Dickason said. 

Dickason said the state expects to provide $500 million in grants to some 200,000 students next year. The deadline to apply for a Cal Grant is March 2. 

Perata’s Oakland office will host a training on Monday at 6 p.m. for local volunteers who would like to assist families during the Feb. 16 event. Bilingual volunteers, in particular, are needed. 

Call 286-1333 to volunteer, or to find out more about applying for the grants. 

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

Editor: 

Regarding Letter by Jason Scorse (1/04/02) “The Real Issues Behind the Afghan War.” 

The point was well made that our government was supporting with grants the Taliban government months before 9/11. 

Our foreign policy is driven by the self interest of a small group of people in the United States government, including Bush and Cheney, whose interests in global oil fields and profits from war contracts have put us in a position of having killed more people than were destroyed by the catastrophe of 9/11. 

Imagine, if you can, that we would have spent the $1 billion a month since 9/11 to feed and house people in the poor country instead of bombing them. That certainly would help end hopelessness and hunger that may lead to acts of desperation. 

We have a well funded intelligence system that should be able to track criminals and bring them to justice. 

Sylvia E. Levy 

Oakland 

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — A man who allegedly threatened to kill former co-workers after he was fired from a nuclear power plant was in custody Wednesday after authorities found a weapons cache that included a rocket launcher, tear gas and hand grenades. 

Authorities believe David Reza, 43, wanted revenge for losing his job as a mechanic at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and was not part of a terrorist plot. 

“I believe he acted as an individual, as a disgruntled employee,” said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. 

Reza was arrested late Tuesday and booked for investigation of terrorist threats. He was being held in Orange County Men’s Central Jail in Santa Ana. 

In a telephone interview from the jail, Reza told the Orange County Register he did not threaten anyone. He said he was being picked on because he is a Native American and because of an ongoing disability dispute with Southern California Edison, which runs the nuclear power plant 65 miles south of Los Angeles. 

“I was just upset and told this guy...’do I have to come over there and put my foot in your (expletive deleted) to get them moving?”’ he said. 

Reza said the guns found by deputies are antiques that he has been collecting since he was a kid. 

“The police took a bunch of antiques,” Reza’s live-in girlfriend, Kristi Mattauch, told The Associated Press. “Did they tell you most of it was from the 18th century? Did they tell you most of it was BB guns?” 

“I’ve called the NRA. This is just ridiculous. He didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. 

Sheriff’s officials did not immediately return a call for comment about the weapons. 

Deputies served search warrants at the man’s Laguna Niguel home and a storage unit in nearby San Juan Capistrano, finding 54 weapons at the house and more than 200 in the storage locker. 

The locker also contained 4,000 to 5,000 rounds of ammunition and four inert hand grenades lying next to a container of explosive powder. 

Some of the weapons were illegal to possess, authorities said. 

“We take every threat serious, especially those from former employees of a nuclear power plant,” Amormino said. “Is the person capable of carrying out the threat? Considering we found a cache of weapons and ammunition, we think the answer is yes.” 

The man was fired from his job at the San Onofre plant last month and called the plant several times allegedly threatening employees and supervisors, Amormino said. 

Ray Golden, a spokesman for Southern California Edison, said the man had worked at the facility since 1984 and did not have access to the nuclear reactor. 

The man’s access permit to that area was revoked in 1995 but Golden would not say why. He also declined to say why the man had been fired. 

The man “made statements outside the workplace” about employees that caused plant officials to alert the FBI and Orange County Sheriff’s Department, but he did not threaten the plant, Golden said. 

“The FBI determined it was not a federal issue and referred it to the Sheriff’s Department,” Golden said. 

Edison has increased security at the generator since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

Amormino said the man had threatened to “come back and shoot” employees. 

“He did threaten supervisors ... and anyone who had anything to do with his termination,” he said. 

No other arrests have been made. 

At the storage unit, two deputies were overcome by a yellowish vapor that officials believe was military-grade tear gas stored in an ammunition canister. 

Both deputies were taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo where they were treated and released. A hazardous materials team and the Orange County bomb squad responded to the storage unit. 

Shirley Wickham, manager of the Capistrano Properties Self-Storage facility, said the man had rented the space for more than four years. She described him as “an easygoing, single man who enjoyed life.” 

She was unaware that he worked at the nuclear plant and said he represented himself as a construction worker. 

“I thought he was self-employed,” Wickham said. 

At Reza’s house in an upscale development of two-story homes, an American flag hung from a pole near the front door. The shades were drawn and a black truck was parked in the driveway. 

Neighbor Sharon Walde said he had moved into the house with Mattauch, a real estate agent, nearly two years ago. 

“They were just your average quiet family,” Walde said, adding they rarely attended neighborhood block parties or other gatherings. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Shares of ImClone Systems Inc. fell sharply Wednesday after remarks by its chief executive failed to ease concerns about the biotechnology company’s disclosure of troubles with an experimental cancer drug. 

ImClone CEO Samuel Waksal admitted there were serious problems with the company’s application to gain Food and Drug Administration approval of cancer drug Erbitux, which was rejected Dec. 28. 

Waksal said the FDA’s chief concern is the company’s failure to document some patients in a key clinical trial. 

“It’s not an insignificant problem. The data does not exist,” Waksal told an overflowing crowd attending the 20th Annual J.P. Morgan H&Q Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. 

Waksal said the company is exploring several options, including looking at other studies it conducted in Europe to determine if data from those trials will satisfy the FDA. He conceded ImClone may have to conduct a new human trial if the other options don’t satisfy the FDA. 

ImClone shares fell $5, or 13.5 percent, to close at $31.85 Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The company’s stock has lost more than 42 percent of its value since closing at $55.25 a share Dec. 28. 

At least a dozen federal class action suits — including seven on Wednesday — have been filed against the company since Monday, after an industry newsletter suggested the New York-based company’s problems with the FDA over attempts to gain approval of the Erbitux for treatment of colorectal cancer were more extensive than executives had acknowledged. 

On Wednesday, Waksal insisted he disclosed all the FDA’s major concerns soon after receiving the bad news. 

When the FDA rejected the Erbitux application Dec. 28, analysts at the time said Waksal told them the company’s application wasn’t completed properly. 

The Cancer Letter said the FDA was concerned with additional matters, such as the company’s failure to provide details on cancer patients enrolled in clinical trials who died during the tests. 

“We have answers for them,” Waksal said, adding that ImClone has the detailed narratives of the patients who died and will be submitting them to the FDA. 

“These issues, while important and we are going to address them with the agency, aren’t the reasons for the refusal-to-file letter,” Waksal said 

Waksal said ImClone will work closely with drug titan Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. to quickly refile an improved application. 

“We believe very strongly in this drug,” Waksal said. “We are committed to getting this very important drug on the market.” 

Bristol-Myers Squibb in October invested $1 billion for a 20 percent stake of ImClone and agreed to pay another $1 billion to share in Erbitux revenues. The drug company’s investment was seen as a big boost for fledgling ImClone, which had never submitted an FDA drug application. 

While Waksal defended his company at the conference, law firms across the country continued to file suits on behalf of shareholders. 

The New York law firm of Stull, Stull & Brody filed one of the first suits against the company Monday in federal court in Manhattan alleging ImClone executives “knew, or recklessly disregarded, that its FDA application was preliminary, incomplete and premature, and had little chance of approval, yet represented otherwise to the investing public.” 

The other suits make similar allegations. The company said it does not comment on pending litigation. 

Analysts have downgraded shares of the fledgling drug company, which was hoping to make a big impression at the biotechnology investor conference in San Francisco instead of the damage control executives have been doing since Monday. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.imclone.com 

http://www.fda.gov 

BILLINGS, Mont. — Ranchers hungry for meatier returns on their cattle are weighing their production options — and more of them are holding the antibiotics. 

“Demand has been more than we ever anticipated,” said Ray Killian, president of Meyer Natural Angus. 

The Montana company, with producers in about a dozen states, plans this year to slaughter about 35,000 cattle — nearly double the number last year — that are raised according to its strict protocol, which includes using no antibiotics and no growth hormones and focusing on animal health. 

From natural food stores to supermarkets to mainstream restaurants, beef raised without antibiotics has found a receptive audience, including health-conscious consumers and meat eaters who want to a better idea of where their cuts originated. 

Keying in on the market and like-minded consumers, some beef producers have taken the additional step of not using growth hormones. Such hormones are sometimes used to fatten animals before slaughter. 

Killian said raising cattle without the use of antibiotics is more than just an effort to capitalize on a niche market; it’s motivation to raise cattle differently. 

“What it does is force us to have a ’well-animal program’ to keep the animals healthy so they don’t have to be treated, and I think that’s a positive contributor to the taste and the quality of the product,” Killian said. 

At the Missoula-based Meyer Natural Angus and at Montana Range Meat Co., a Billings-based operation with a network of producers, cattle requiring antibiotics for health reasons are culled from the herd, treated and later sold at traditional markets. 

Potential health benefits from beef raised without antibiotics are still being debated. 

Dr. David Wallinga, with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, is among those who argue that overusing antibiotics contributes to antibiotic resistance that could be passed on to humans. 

John Paterson, an extension beef specialist at Montana State University, said many consumers perceive beef raised without antibiotics to be healthier. So far, however, he said there is no solid evidence to back that up. 

“But, as meat producers, if the consumer wants the product, we’re going to produce that product for them,” he said, noting projections for the beef market that show continued interest in such products. 

Producers who market their beef as being raised without antibiotics must provide the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service with written documentation about their handling procedures of the animals, a spokeswoman said. The agency approves labeling of products making special claims, such as “raised without antibiotics,” before they can be used. 

T.G.I. Friday’s now serves Meyer Natural Angus burgers in its restaurants, a decision bolstered by the meat’s taste and performance in consumer surveys, said Tom Koenigsberg, vice president of domestic marketing for T.G.I Friday’s. 

Steve Pilcher, executive vice president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, said there’s room for diversification in the industry, and he applauds efforts to tap new markets. But he said he did not want to send a message that one method of raising beef was superior to another, or that treating livestock with antibiotics to keep them healthy is bad. 

Lee Leachman, chief executive officer of Montana Range Meat Co., which specializes in Piedmontese cattle raised without antibiotics or growth hormones, said producers the past two years received premiums averaging 13 cents per pound of carcass weight. 

“The premiums we’re offering can make it so, in the bad years, (a cattle rancher) breaks even and in the rest of the years, he makes double what he would have. That’s pretty significant,” said Leachman, whose family also owns Leachman Cattle Co., a breeding stock business. 

Killian said the market represents an opportunity for ranchers. 

“We, as cattlemen, are going to have to target our cattle to some specific market. We can’t just go out and raise cattle and then hope that somebody buys them,” he said. “This is just an option for some ranchers who want to target the natural beef marketplace.” 

Two high-ranking officials from Japanese political organizations conferred with Councilmember Dona Spring Monday to discuss possible strategies for their country’s fledgling anti-war movement. 

“In Japan it is very difficult to receive accurate information about American anti-war responses,” said Kiyoshi Matsuya, who heads Japan’s Rainbow and Green organization. “That is why we came here, so we can learn about the American anti-war (movement) and spread this information so Japanese cities and towns can become just like Berkeley.” 

Also attending Monday’s meeting, conducted through an interpreter, was Community Environmental Advisory Commissioner Leuren Moret, Japan’s Secretary General of the All United Workers Union Ippei Torii and Ichiro Kobayashi, a freelance journalist who has organized several “peace walks” in Tokyo, one in which 5,000 people participated 

Matsuya said there are many people in Japan who are interested in the anti-war movement, but since the movement is new in Japan, there is no existing organization. He said the small contingent had come to Berkeley seeking possible models. 

He added that until recently there had not been a need for an anti-war organization because the Japanese constitution had been largely successful in preventing military action. 

According to the Global Green Conference 2001 Web site, Japan’s Rainbow and Green organization, which is similar to the Green Party of the United States, was formed in 1999 and has approximately 200 representatives elected to local and state offices, although none have been elected to Japan’s national parliament. 

Matsuya wanted to meet with Spring, because she authored the controversial resolution that called for an end to the bombing of Afghanistan as quickly as possible. The resolution, which the City Council approved by a 5-4 vote, generated thousands of e-mails, letters and phone calls from around the country that both condemned and supported it. 

“Berkeley is a very unique place,” Spring said. “This community has a different world view than many other parts of the country and a majority of the city’s residents agree with the statement the resolution made.” 

During the meeting, Matsuya invited Spring, and Vice Mayor Maudelle Shirek and councilmembers Linda Maio, Kriss Worthington, Margaret Breland, who supported Spring’s resolution, to attend an international peace conference in Japan in the coming months. He said he also intended to invite Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, who was the only member of congress to vote against giving President Bush war powers to respond to the terrorist attacks. 

“We would like to help creating a great anti-war network,” Matsuya said. He also announced that about 20 representatives from various Japanese peace organizations are scheduled to come to Berkeley sometime in February. 

According to Matsuya, there is a growing concern in Japan over an apparent backslide from his country’s constitutional renunciation of war. After World War II, the Japanese were so adamant about not participating in future military activity that Article 9, which completely renounces war and the maintenance of land, air and sea military forces, was added to their constitution. 

But during the U.S. military response to the terrorist attacks, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi ordered naval vessels to provide rear support to the American military campaign against Afghanistan.  

The Japanese naval vessels, according to Steven Vogel, associate professor of Political Studies at UC Berkeley, were available to participate in almost every facet of the campaign including transportation of supplies, medical support and intelligence gathering. In a phone interview Monday, Vogel said the only activity the Japanese could not participate in was battle. 

“The anti-war voice has gotten weaker in Japan,” Vogel said. “While their contribution to the Afghanistan campaign was not overwhelming, it represents a major upgrading in the scope of Japanese military activity.” 

In addition to participating in the military action, Koizumi, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, led a successful campaign to change national laws that had previously limited the geographical scope in which the Japanese could participate in military activity. 

“We believe the Japanese Prime Minister used the occasion of the terrorist attacks to pass these laws,” Matsuya said. “The attacks were a big shock to the Japanese people and since the attacks, the mass media has given the prime minister a great deal of support.” 

Spring agreed and said President Bush was able to manipulate some American laws because of a climate of fear and anger over the terrorist attacks, such as activation of military tribunals for suspected war criminals and the withholding of selected presidential documents. 

“The threat of war and war itself are very powerful for politicians because it allows them to play on people’s fear,” Spring said. “Unfortunately it’s very difficult to convince people that violence will only make the world a more unsafe place.”

Wednesday, Jan. 9

Baby Bounce and Toddler  

Tales 

7 p.m. 

Public Library, West Branch 

1125 University Ave. 

A participatory program for families with children up to age 3. Stories, songs and fingerplays as entertainment and as a way for parents to learn some new material to share with their young ones. 981-6270. 

Berkeley Public Library 

Board of Library Trustees 

Regular Meeting 

7 p.m. 

South Branch 

1901 Russell St. 

Among the reports for action/discussion are an update on the building project.. 644-6095. 

Waterfront Commission 

Regular Meeting 

7 p.m. 

Marina Office Conference Room 

201 University Ave., Berkeley Marina 

Action Calendar: Insurance Requirement for Berthers. Info/Staff Reports: East Shore State Park Update. 

Police Review Commission 

Regular Meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Discussion or Action: BPD involvement in intelligence gathering and anti-terrorism efforts. 644-6716, www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/prc/. 

Peace Walk and Vigil 

7:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley BART Station 

A peace walk and vigil to demonstrate opposition to U.S. bombing of Afghanistan. Ends at MLK Civic Center Park. www.indymedia.org. 

Near-death Experience  

Support Group 

7-9pm 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Church 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

International Association for Near-Death Studies offers supportive environment for the exploration of near-death experiences. 428-2442. 

Thursday, Jan. 10<.h3> 

 

Kick the Debt  

7 p.m. 

Friends Church 

1600 Sacramento St. 

In honor of the global campaign to cancel the oppressive debts for the poorest countries. This follow-up meeting will cover the history and current status of the campaign. 528-0105, cagilb@pacbell.net. 

 

Skiing and Snowshoeing in  

Tahoe National Forest 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Catherine Stifter will present a slide show on her favorite ski and snowshoe tours off Highway 49 between Sierra City and Yuba Pass. 527-4140 

 

Grandparent Support Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

Malcolm X School of Arts and Academics 

1731 Prince St. 

Grandparents and relatives raising their grandchildren can express their concerns and needs, plus receive support, information and referrals for Kinship Care. 644-6517. 

 

Community Health Commission 

6:45 - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Prioritize list of health needs of the City of Berkeley to present to Alta Bates Sutter for consideration during needs assessment process for Community Benefit Plan. 

 

Housing Advisory Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Presentation of FY 2002-2003 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) housing proposals.  

 

Defending the Rights of  

Children 

12 p.m. 

Albany Public Library, Edith Stone Room 

1247 Marin Ave. 

Arnold Chavez, the executive director for the Alameda County Court Appointed Special Advocates program will discuss how his program works to defend the rights of children who have committed no crimes but, due to circumstances beyond their control are in the juvenile justice system. 

 

Public Works Commission 

7 p.m. - 9 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Informational Meeting on Applicant Financed Underground Utility District for the Spruce/Halkins/ Alamo/Cragmont School proposed district 

 

Berkeley Reads 

6 - 8 p.m. 

Public Library, West Branch 

1125 University Ave. 

The adult literacy program of the BPL. Program orientation for new volunteer tutors. 981-6299, prevedel@hotmail.com. 

 

Winter Holistic Health Groups  

1:15 – 2:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

For ages 55 and older. This weeks topic: Creative Aging. 526-0148. 

 

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Friday, Jan. 11

San Francisco Chamber  

Orchestra 

8 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 

2640 College Ave. 

A program of classical party music from Mozart to Stravinsky. $15. 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org 

Berkeley Reads 

10 a.m. - noon 

Public Library, West Branch 

1125 University Ave. 

The adult literacy program of the BPL. Program orientation for new volunteer tutors. 981-6299, prevedel@hotmail.com. 

Even Stronger Women 

1:15 - 3:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Bittersweet legacy art, poetry and stories compiled by Cynthia M. Brody. 232-1351. 

Saturday, Jan. 12<.h3> 

 

Mental Health and Public 

Policy 

8 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Wheeler Auditorium 

UC Berkeley 

A symposium designed to promote a greater understanding of mental illness, and link medical advances to public policy solutions in mental health care. 642-4608, www.igs.berkeley.edu:8880 

 

National Writers Union Benefit 

7:30 p.m. 

Oakland YWCA 

1515 Webster St. 

The National Writers Union, Local 3 presents “A Dream Still Beckons: Multicultural Offerings for Peace and Justice in honor of Langston Hughes and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” The even features poetry readings and a dance party. Donations requested. 839-1248. 

 

East Bay Lesbian/Gay  

Democratic Club 

11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center  

1901 Hearst Ave. 

EBL/GDC endorsement meeting for East Bay primary elections. All interested persons are invited to attend; only members are allowed to vote for endorsements. 548-9235. 

 

Natural Learning Rhythms Seminar 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

Public Library, Claremont Branch 

2940 Benvenue Ave. 

NLR is a system of holistic child development of their inherent capacities. Free. Registration is required, 800-200-1107. 

 

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Sunday, Jan. 13

Banjo Concert 

5 p.m. 

MusicSources 

1000 The Alameda 

Bill Evans explores over 200 years of banjo music on a variety of vintage instruments. Reception follows concert. $15 - $18. 528-1685 

Monday, Jan. 14

Berkeley Community Chorus: Singers Wanted 

7 - 10 p.m. 

First Congregational Church 

Dana Street, between Durant Avenue and Channing Way 

BCCO commences rehearsals for its Spring production of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. No auditions. Wheelchair accessible. 964-0665 or download registration form: www.bcco.org. 

Interfaith Women For Peace 

7 - 9 p.m. 

Durant House 

2330 Durant 

A group of progressive women of diverse faith traditions who are 

committed to peace and justice. 527-6162. 

Tuesday, Jan. 15

Fibromyalgia Support Group 

12 - 2 p.m. 

Alta Bates Medical Center, Maffly Auditorium 

2001 Dwight Way 

Monthly meeting features Sandi Alstrand, Certified Accupressure Therapist. 601-0550 

SAN FRANCISCO – After the names and the utterances of prime ministers and secretaries of war are forgotten, after the madmen in the desert have been hunted and killed, after the capable youth of today’s soldiers has been undermined by the blessing of a long life, history will, I think, remember this time – our lifetime – as a religious moment, both dangerous and capable of great grace. 

This is or should be a deeply embarrassing time for anyone in America who claims to be “religious.” On videotape, Osama bin Laden celebrates death and destruction with joyful invocations to God. What we see in the face of our adversary – this Muslim terrorist – is the mad glint of the otherworldly, as ancient as religious belief. 

As a Christian, I have been forced by the angry, bearded face of Islam in recent months to wonder about my own religious face. I believe, through history, organized religion has done more good than harm in the world. That is not a dashed-off piety – I really believe it. 

My own Roman Catholicism has encouraged me to do good in the world; to prize love above all other emotions. But Muslims speak of the “Crusades” as a fresh offense, and I cannot forget now that religion – mine certainly – has caused havoc in the world, brought destruction to “infidel” and “heretic” in the name of God. 

Not without reason did the founders of America establish a secular society. The secular state’s protection of all religious and non-religious belief has been interpreted by some Americans, in recent decades, as an excuse to remove religion from our public life altogether or denigrate it (as post-modern Hollywood regularly does in its comic portrayals of Christianity). But at its best, the American secular state has protected religious rights in America, and protects, not coincidentally, Muslims today. 

It serves Osama bin Laden to ignore the point of our secularism. He is, or portrays himself as, too medieval a man to understand us. He describes America as a “Jewish-Christian” alliance, attempting thereby to separate Muslims from our national company. 

President Bush’s great patriotism at this time has been his insistence that American military action is not a war against Islam. He has been photographed with American Muslim clerics, dined with them in the White House, and prayed with them. 

Less impressive has been the gaudy parade of American clerics and ministers who seem unable to address the dark implications for religious belief of Sept. 11. Catholic bishops merely assure us now that ours is a “just war.” The Rev. Jerry Falwell deciphers the events of Sept. 11 as God’s wrath against gays and abortionists. And from Billy Graham’s son, Frank, we hear a hymn of Christian triumphalism against Islam. 

Confrontation with the darker aspect of religion – thus of ourselves – is difficult for America. Despite 19th century persecution of Mormons on our soil, for example, or the trampling of American Indian spirituality by pioneers, the country has generally been free of religious conflict. 

Beyond our borders, we have not cast ourselves as religious warriors. We went to war, for example, against the Empire of Japan, not against an emperor who was said to be a god in the Shinto religion. And after World War II, Americans grew accustomed to a Cold War enemy that was simply “godless.” 

Now, however, we face a self-proclaimed religious adversary, a circumstance unprecedented in our history. Most embarrassing for me is that this adversary’s religious belief causes me to question my own. For the God that he professes is also mine, in a foreign translation. 

After Sept. 11, it is oddly pertinent to notice how the three desert religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the three religions that are claimed by most Americans – can become not a way of life, but a cult of death. 

Jewish settlers in the West Bank make an eschatological claim on the land; Muslims, dreaming of a paradise that resembles the Playboy Mansion, chant the name of Allah as they slam jetliners into office towers. And some Christians – though not the sort who get polled by Gallup – speak of waiting for the Rapture, the Endtime. 

It is, I know, not completely fair to equate these three religions in this way. As a minority faith, a faith of the “chosen,” Judaism was not a universalist religion, has never sought to be. It is therefore less inclined than Christianity or Islam to persecute other faiths in the quest for converts. 

But from Judaism came a monotheistic theology, crucial for the development of Christianity and Islam, an idea about God both wonderful and dangerous. The idea basic to Judaism is that God acts in history. If God acts in history, then we are not alone, our lives are not meaningless, our sensibilities are not mockery and our history not mere confusion. This is the overwhelming consolation of Jewish belief that watered all religions of the desert. 

But the dangerous aspect of this theological insight is that the God who acts in history becomes decipherable to us, indeed becomes a partner to our wishes (rather than the reverse), even chooses to be on our side. Yahweh, God or Allah ends up a prisoner of his followers who assume his will. 

Bush is not the first among presidents for ending his speeches with “God bless America” – it has become a sort of platitude of political oratory. Now that invocation sounds differently – and seriously – an echo of Islamic militancy. Now, we should not be unaware of the implications of such a prayer within a political speech, how easily religion can be drafted. 

I think of Pope John Paul II, instead, whose papacy may end up most remembered for the litany of apologies he has made for the church’s misdeeds. In early December, the Pope encouraged Catholics worldwide to fast on the last day of Ramadan, and thus to share the spirituality of the Islamic world. The Pope’s suggestion, though little broadcast in the United States, seems to me a particularly valuable one for the future – and nowhere in the world more so than in the United States, where Methodist lives next door to Jew who lives next door to Muslim who lives next door to atheist. 

Precisely because I live in secular America, I find myself able to admire people whose religious faith is not my own. And I feel my own faith burnished by their good example. I do not forget, however, that secular Europe and North America have inadvertently given birth to dark sons – from John Walker in California to Richard Reid in London – sons who end up warring against the freedom and the religious and irreligious diversity of their neighborhoods. 

But the secular state of America might also give birth to a new sort of believer, a new sort of Catholic, a new sort of Baptist, a new sort of atheist. A new sort of Muslim, as well – someone who professes Islam within the cosmopolitan and diverse city. This American Muslim could end up the bright grace for us all in this dark religious moment. 

924 Gilman Jan. 11: Bananas, Numbers, Lowdown, Doozers, Iron Ass; Jan. 12: Plan 9, The Sick, The Hellbillies, Oppressed Logic, Deltaforce; Jan. 18: Christian Reigh, Dystrophy, Stalker Potential, Lower 48, Thought Crime, No Direction; Jan. 19: Capitalist Casualities, Phobia, Pig Destroyer, Index, Strong Intention; Jan. 25: Ludicra, Brain Oil, Creuvo, Scurvy Dogs, Arftificum Sanguis; Jan. 26: Mile Marker, Yaphet Kotto, Pirx the Pilot, Himsa, Confidante; Jan. 27: Bane, Over My Dead Body, Striking Distance, Breath In; All shows start a 8 p.m. unless noted; Most are $5; 924 Gilman St. 525-9926 

Anna’s Bistro Jan.9: Jimmy Ryan Jazz Quartet; Jan.10: Graham Richards Jazz Quartet; Jan.11:Anna sings jazz standards/ 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Jan. 12: Robin Gregory & Sy Perkoff/ 10 pm Ducksn Distones Jazz Sextet; Jan. 13: “Choro Time” Brazilian sounds; Jan.14: “Renagade Sidemen” w/ Calvin Keyes: Jan.15: Mark Murphy’s jazz vocal workshop; Music starts at 8p.m., every night, second band at 10p.m., 1801 University Ave., 849-ANNA 

Blake’s Jan. 9: Kid Glove Entertainment Presents, Hebro; Jan. 10: Electronica w/ Ascension, $5; Jan. 11: Five Point Plan, SFunk, $5; Jan. 12: Lavish Green, Stone Cutters, $5; Jan. 13: Alex Dolan & 22 Fillmore, $3; Jan. 14: All Star Jam Featuring The Steve Gannon Band & Mz. Dee, $4; Jan. 15: View From Here, $3; Jan. 16: Zion Rock, Hebro, $3; 2367 Telegraph Ave., 877-488-6533. 

Cal Performances Jan. 18 and 19: 8 p.m., The National Acrobats of Taiwan, R.O.C.; 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. 9: Ken Waldman; Jan.10: Silk Road Music; Jan. 11: Alex De Grassi, Franco Morone; Jan. 12: Viviana Guzman & Performers of the World; Jan. 13: Rob Ickes & Slide City; All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. 548-1761, www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Julia Morgan Theatre Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, classical party music; Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Jan.9: Ezra Gale Quartet; Jan. 10: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 11: Hydeus Kiatta Trio; Jan. 12: Barefoot Bride; Jan. 16: Realistic; Jan. 17: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 18: Bigfoot In Paris Trio; Jan. 19: Netwerk: Electric; Jan. 23: Mitch Marcus Quintet; Jan. 24: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 25: The Sardonics; Jan. 26: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Fourtet; Jan. 30: Joel Harrison Quartet; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

La Pena Cultural Center Jan. 20: 7 p.m., A Hip/Trip Hop Benefit for the Prison Activist Resource Center. Featuring: Black Dot Artists Collective, COINTELPRO, DJ So Much Soul, EK Trip, Prophets of Rage and Renaissance. $10-$15. 3105 Shattack Ave, 893-4648.  

Rose Street House Jan. 17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks; Jan. 25: 8 p.m. DivaBands Showcase featuring: Bern, Elin Jr., Roberta Donnay, Christy Claxton and Tiger Zane. $8-$20. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687rosestreetmusic@ yahoo.com. 

Yoshi’s Jazz House 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. 

ACME Observatory Contemporary Performance Series Jan. 11 and 12: both at 8 p.m. The Transparent Tape Music Festival featuring classic and new recorded works by Edgard Varese, Pauline Oliveros and others. $7 for one night, $12 for both. Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave., 649-8744, acme@sfsound.org. 

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

Off Da Hook! Party. Jan. 19: 9 p.m., 317 Lester presents and evening of soul, salsa, dancehall, hip hop, etc. from reknowed DJ’s SAKE1, Ab, special guests and live performances. Raffle every hour. $8-$15. 2670 Union St, West Oakland, 464-1011. 

Trinity Chapel Jan. 19: 8 p.m., Janine Johnson, harpsichord, Bach, Buxtehude and Pachelbel. 2320 Dana St., 549-3864. 

Live Oaks Concerts: Berkeley Art Center Jan. 20: 7:30 p.m., Marvin Sanders, flute, Kana Mimaki, piano, will perform Prokofiev’s Sonata #2 for flute and piano, and Ceasar Franck’s Sonata in A Major; Jan. 27: 7:30 p.m., Elaine Kreston, cello, Laura Carmichael, clarinet, perform otherworldly and intense duos by Xenakis and Kaaija Saariaho. $10, BACA Members $8, Students and Seniors $9. Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., 644-6893 

Roda Theatre Jan. 22 and 23: both at 8 p.m., The Berkeley Symphony, Music Director Kent Nagano, continues its 31st season with two performances of Schubert’s Symphony No. 5. $21, $32, $45, $10 students. 2015 Addison St. 841-2800, www.berkeleysymphony.org 

Berkeley Black Repertory Theatre Jan. 26: 6:30 - 10 p.m., The City of Berkeley and the Berkeley Black Repertory Theatre pay tribute to and welcome the return of “The Dru Band,” teenage recording artist from the Bay Area. $5. 3201 Adeline St., 625-2120. 

Organ Music Jan. 27: 5 p.m., Ron McKean performs Ferscobaldi, Froberger and Bach. $15 - $18. MusicSources, 1000 The Alameda, 528-1685. 

First Congregational Church Jan. 19: 8p.m., eight womens voices and continuo, also baritone Hugh Davis will sing priest’s acclamations. $25 general, $18 senior, $12 students., First Congregational Church, Dana & Durant, Berkeley, (415) 979-4500 

Julia Morgan Theatre 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’s Feast of Dance,” An evening of conemporary dance performed by local dance groups to benefit dance in the East Bay. $15 suggested donation. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

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 

“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 

“Sisters” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. through Feb. 16. The story of the Prozorov sisters looking in a very human way at the gap between hope and fulfillment in their lives. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattack, www.actorsensemleofbkerkeley.com 

Pacific Film Archive 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., Oscar’s Magic Adventure, 5:30 p.m., ABC Africa; 2527 Bancroft Way, 642-1412. 

“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 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. 

“Prints and Painting by Liao Shiou-Ping” on view through Jan. 31; Tues. to Fri.10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sat.10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free Admission. Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388-9th St., Suite 290, Oakland, 238-4491 

Pro Arts: “Juried Annual 2001-02” 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. 

“All Grown Up” Jan. 10 - Feb. 2: New paintings and drawings by Amy Chan. Thurs. 1 p.m. - 8 p.m., Fri -Sun 1 p.m. -6 p.m., 21 Grand Ave., Oakland, 444-7263 

“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” 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” 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. 

“Transformations: Through the Eye of a Needle” Jan.24 - Feb. 23: Two-person exhibition by Rebecca Bui and Linda Lemon. Included in the exhibition are procelain and fabric dolls and mixed media works on handmade paper. Tues.-Sat., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland, 836-0831, www.artolio.com 

“Ansel Adams in the University of California Collections” 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. 

“Domestic Bliss” Collection of abstract paintings and mixed medium by Amy St. George. Her serious of work range from large abstract paintings to intimate boxes with collections of found objects, Jan.13 through Apr. 4th Albany Community Center Foyer Gallery, 1249 Marin Ave., Albany,524-9283 

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. 

Poetry Flash @ Cody’s Jan. 9: Karen Kevorkian and Gail Wronsky read their poetry; Jan. 13: Phylis Koestenbaum and Carol Snow read their poetry; Jan. 16: Tea Party magazine reading with Ariel, Rita Boagert, Daniel Y. Harris, Denise Mewbourne, Judith Offer, Andrena Zawinski; Jan. 23: Paul Hoover and Elizabeth Robinson reading their poetry; Jan. 27: Wanda Coleman, Austin Straus and Kate Gale, reading their poetry; Jan. 30 Ralph Angel and George Higgins reading their poetry; All events begin at 7:30 p.m. and require a $2 donation unless noted. 2454 Telegraph Ave., 845-7852 

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. 

Mama’s Bears Women’s Bookstore Jan. 12: 7:30, Loolwa Khazzoom will be reading from her new book “CONSEQUENCE: Beyond Resisting Rape,” which takes a fresh, street-savvy look at street harassment. $8-10. 6536 Telegraph at 66th Oakland, 595-4642 

Coffee With a Beat Jan. 12: Word Beat presents Tom Quantamatteo, Larry Beresford and Rose Mark; Jan. 19: Tim Donnelly and Anna May Stanley; Jan. 26: Paradise and 2nd feature TBA; Feb. 2: Julia Vinograd and Shauna Rogan; Feb. 9: Sydney Bell and Debrale Pagan; All readings 7-9 p.m., free and followed by open mike. 458 Perkins at Grand, Oakland, 526-5985.  

Jewish Community Center Jan. 14: 7:30-9 p.m., Emily Rose interweaves the family chronicle of her ancestors with the political and social events of the 18th and 19th centuries; Jan. 16: 7:30-8:30 p.m., Elizabeth Rosner will read from her debut novel “The Speed of of Light.” 1414 Walnut St. 

AK Press Jan. 19: 8 p.m., Joel Schalit dissects the New World Order and the rise of religious fundamentalism in his new book “Jerusalem Calling”. 674-A 23rd St., Oakland, 208-1700, molly@akpress.org 

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, children under 5 free. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m.; 1000 Oak St., Oakland, 238-2200, 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. - 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 and Pacific Film Archive “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. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.; 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 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. 

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, www.lhs.berkeley.edu. 

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

An alleged attack on a sophomore at Berkeley High School last month has renewed concerns about safety and security on campus. 

David Calvert, a partner at Berkeley law firm Miller Clark Calvert & Obenour, said a group of students made an unprovoked attack on his son in Building C on Dec. 13. 

According to Calvert, the students knocked down his son from behind and kicked him in the head repeatedly, leaving him with a bruised ear, cuts on the lip and nose and a dental bill totaling $1,500. Calvert said his son may lose one or two teeth. 

Marian Magid, public information consultant for the school district, said Superintendent Michele Lawrence is working on the matter directly. 

“She is very disappointed about the incident,” said Magid, speaking for Lawrence. “She has been in contact with the family, has been reviewing code and policy with staff, and is evaluating what can be done to stop such incidents.” 

“(Security) quickly became the highest priority for the high school,” said Shirley Issel, president of the Board of Education, describing the reaction to the alleged attack among district leaders. “We have a way to go before I would feel that safety is up to the standards that would be acceptable to the community.” 

Parent activists said the attack, which followed a series of assaults by students in ski masks this fall, is emblematic of a larger problem at the high school that is not being properly addressed. 

“There’s a lot of denial,” said Laura Menard, a parent who served on the school’s safety committee last year. “People don’t want to look at it, because it’s scary.” 

According to the district’s statistics, 72 crimes were reported on the high school campus last year, including more than 20 assaults. 

Natashya Brooks said her son, now a sophomore, was attacked last year by a group of students who put a box over his head and beat him. Brooks said her son is now fearful the moment he arrives at school. 

“When he gets out of the car, he does this check thing, where he looks left, right and behind,” said Brooks. 

Both Menard, who is white, and Brooks who is Asian and Native American, say they believe some of the attacks have been racially motivated, with minorities lashing out at students, like Brooks’ son, who appear white. 

But Katrina Scott-George, an African-American parent activist who taught at BHS last year, says that white students are not the only victims. 

“Nobody talks about the assaults on black kids,” said Scott-George. “It happens a lot.” 

Scott-George added that the school must do much more to win the interest of minority students and get them invested in school. 

“We need to engage the kids so it’s a place of learning, not a place where some kids are being educated and other kids are simply being contained,” said Scott-George, who as a member of a community group called the Coalition for Excellence and Equity, has called for the division of BHS into a series of small, themed schools, to create greater community. 

Brooks agreed that the schools need to nurture students of all backgrounds, and said small schools could help improve matters. But, she said the district must draw the line somewhere.  

“We’re all frustrated and angry, but we don’t have a right to go around attacking people,” she said, noting that her own children come from difficult circumstances, but have managed to avoid violence. 

Students on campus made conflicting statements Tuesday afternoon about the degree of violence on campus. One pupil, who asked not to be identified, said that there are an average of two fights per week at BHS. 

But Ainye Long, a senior, said the reports of violence are overblown. “I think safety and security is fine,” she said. “You have 3,500 teenagers all in a school together. Kids are going to be kids.” 

No matter what the degree of violence, most agreed that campus security is ineffective. “The kids just avoid the security guards,” said Leon Carr, a senior at BHS, arguing that the on-campus safety officers do not move around enough to keep students off balance. 

But vice principal Lee said campus security works well. “Any incident that is reported here, we pursue, and in most cases, it gets resolved,” he said. 

Still, Lee said, BHS is working to upgrade its security operation. For instance, he said BHS is moving toward a new system of distributing information that will inform special education teachers, guidance counselors and staff at the BHS Health Center of violent incidents, allowing them to better coordinate appropriate services for the students involved.  

Until now, Lee said, violent incidents have been handled largely in isolation, in his own office. 

Lee added that BHS will have two new deans, assigned to handle attendance and discipline issues, starting next month. He also said the school is working to fine-tune its surveillance system to cover more of the campus. 

Editor: 

Chris Kavanagh’s recent letter about housing (“Spring, a champion for affordable housing” 1/3) represents a confusion that is common in Berkeley. Councilmember Dona Spring was attacked for not supporting more housing, and Kavanagh defended her by listing the publicly-funded affordable housing projects she has supported. 

But we will never build enough subsidized housing to solve the crisis of affordability caused by the Bay Area’s housing shortage. There was plenty of affordable housing in Berkeley in the 1950s and 1960s, much of it in elegant old homes. But during the 1970s, the NIMBY movement became very influential, and there were down-zonings in Berkeley and throughout the Bay Area. Because of the housing shortage they caused, affordable units were gentrified away. 

When I came to Berkeley in 1970, I rented a room in a nice old 1920s house for $40 a month. But during the 1970s, that house shifted from rental to owner-occupancy. Recently, it sold for $500,000. If progressives back affordable housing but not market rate housing, the people who would have bought that market-rate housing do not disappear. They bid up the price of the existing housing stock. 

When there is a housing shortage, the rich are not the ones who end up on the street. Poor people are displaced from their homes as prices go up. On the other hand, if progressives all over the Bay Area were strong supporters of smart growth – of new market rate housing as well as affordable housing concentrated around transit nodes and corridors – we could ease the housing shortage before it becomes bad enough to gentrify away the remaining affordable units in the East Bay. 

Unfortunately, Berkeley’s progressive councilmembers have supported affordable housing, but they have been lukewarm (at best) about supporting housing in general. No city in the Bay Area makes life harder for developers who want to build housing. 

Charles Siegel 

Berkeley 

A dream for Berkeley is getting rid of all the telephone poles in town. But the city needs just a little help from homeowners. 

The Department of Public Works is gearing up to launch a informational campaign to achieve what a city Underground Utilities Task Force once called a “Berkeley Without Wires.” 

The only problem: owners of homes in a would-be pole-free zone must themselves pay the high costs of moving power, cable and telephone lines underground. 

Several neighborhood associations have expressed an interest in forming “applicant-financed underground utility districts” to privately finance the removal of unsightly and potentially dangerous utility poles, according to Lorin Jensen, a civil engineer in the Department of Public Works. 

None of them have gotten off the ground yet, though, and some residents are starting to express concern that the scheme may be doomed to failure. 

“I don’t think it’s ever going to happen,” said Councilmember Betty Olds. “It would cost about $20,000 to $25,000 per household, and I think that’s a pretty insurmountable amount.” 

Mel Webber, a resident of the El Dorado/Del Norte neighborhood, said early estimates of the cost had proved daunting, but his group was continuing to study the issue. 

“The estimates are too high, but we’re hoping we can get them down,” he said. “The cheaper the better.” 

Since the late 1960s, undergrounding has been supported by the utility ratepayers. 

By order of the California Public Utilities Commission, Pacific Gas and Electric places a 3 1/3 percent surcharge on every electric bill in the state. The money collected by the surcharge is place in an “undergrounding” fund that cities can use to move utilities underground in key neighborhoods. 

Many such projects have already been completed in Berkeley over the years. Wires along Martin Luther King Way and University Avenue, as well as in many neighborhoods, have been placed underground. 

Currently, work is proceeding on the undergrounding project for lines along Arlington Avenue in northeast Berkeley. Ratepayer funds will be next used to do work on Park Hills Road. 

However, the utility money has always been slow in coming, and there are continual fears that PG&E may discontinue the program altogether. 

Supporters of the private utility districts say that they could speed up the process considerably. 

“It’s one of the options that the CPUC has always had in place – if applicants want this, they can organize to get it without waiting for the PG&E money,” said Carlene St. John, a member of the Public Works Commission. 

However, apart from the high costs of undergrounding, residents interested in pursuing private financing face an uphill battle in getting their neighbors to sign on. Seventy percent of homeowners in a proposed district must commit funds to the undergrounding for the project to proceed. 

However, if a neighborhood is able to demonstrate this level of support, the city has offered staff support and guidance to support the project.  

“Hats off to Berkeley for this,” said Jason Alderman, a PG&E spokesperson. Alderman said that Berkeley is one of the few communities in the state that is promoting the private alternative. 

There will be a public meeting to discuss private underground utility districts on Thursday, Jan. 17 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Members of various city departments will be on hand to take questions.

Editor: 

Your article about the new Berkeley School Board President, Shirley Issel, (“Bathroom mom takes reins” 1/5-6) quotes her as saying “that a school which cannot even take attendance properly is at least six to eight years away from administering major reform.” Why do we have such low expectations for our schools and school leadership? Businesses execute turnarounds in quarters, not years. Any business with expectations this low would fold before they made the necessary changes.  

We need school reform now. It’s time to stop moving the deck chairs on the Titanic. I believe that small schools are our best opportunity to improve the experience of all the students at Berkeley High. Kids need better connections to their teachers and their peers to thrive. Small schools support these connections and in the process support higher achievement, and safer and more satisfying school experiences for kids, teachers and parents. Decades of research support small schools. Most teachers at Berkeley High support the creation of small schools. 

This is a moment of opportunity. But the high school and district leadership isn’t listening. Following the Columbine massacre the federal government put forth a program encouraging high schools of over 1000 to investigate and implement small schools. (This is a very important connection to make. Alienated unhappy kids are a danger to themselves and others both academically and physically.) Berkeley High got a federal planning grant. We are now poised to walk away from implementation grant money. I think we need small schools grant or no grant. I’d kinda like the extra money for our school myself. 

Parents are outraged that kids of all backgrounds are lost in our huge impersonal high school. Numerous African American boys that attend Berkeley High fail to graduate. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. I personally know many kids who thrive at Berkeley High, but I also know many others who, even with all the advantages, don’t make it. I worry about my own son going to a school where it’s so easy to get lost. We can create a school where most kids do wonderful work. We must try. Better attendance taking is nice, but I think we should expect and even demand much more. 

Joan Blades  

Berkeley

A shudder went through the redwood-loving world Tuesday with news that the towering trees may be susceptible to the disease that has been laying waste to California oaks. 

The warning was preliminary; scientists are still waiting for the results of lab tests to see whether redwoods are acting as hosts or could become infected. 

Still, even the suggestion of redwoods in danger struck an ominous note. Huge and majestic, the trees are key to timber and tourism and as essential as sun, sea and fog to the California mystique. 

“Obviously, it is of great concern to us,” said Ruskin Hartley, conservation planner for the 84-year-old Save-the-Redwoods League. “We’ve watched in concern as the oaks in California have fallen.” 

The disease, sudden oak death, has killed tens of thousands of black oak, coast live oak and tan oak trees from Monterey County near San Francisco to southern Oregon, about 500 miles north. Campsites have been closed and trees chopped down to try to contain the infection. 

The disease-causing organism, Phytophthora (fy-TOFF-thora) ramorum, sometimes referred to as a fungus but more like brown algae, is related to the same type of organism believed to have caused the Irish potato famine in the mid-19th century. No cure has been found, although some chemicals have been shown to reduce infectious lesions. 

The disturbing new discovery is that DNA from Phytophthora ramorum spores has been extracted from coastal redwood sprouts. Sprouts are how redwood trees reproduce; when a redwood dies a new tree grows from one of its sprouts. 

University of California, Berkeley, forest pathologist Matteo Garbelotto says tests are now being conducted to see whether the spores are simply on the surface of the tree or whether they have burrowed into the tissue, meaning the redwoods can be a host. Plant experts also have injected healthy redwood sprouts with the disease to see whether they become infected. 

Results are expected in a few weeks. However, even if they show redwood sprouts can be infected, it would be several months before researchers will know whether big trees also would succumb, Garbelotto said. 

Meanwhile, a Marin County arborist, Ken Bovero, says lab tests showed Phytophthora in a dying redwood he was called out to treat. The lab didn’t confirm the pathogen was Phytophthora ramorum (there are a number of different types), but Bovero suspects it is to blame. 

In September, forest pathologists attending a conference in Carmel noticed dead sprouts coming out of redwood trunks in a state park. Lab tests detected the spores in those sprouts and later on trees at the UC Berkeley campus, leading to the current investigation. 

Results so far indicate “it is very likely that redwoods are going to be a host,” Garbelotto said. 

“The worst-case scenario is that, yes, large trees will be susceptible and that in some areas there’s going to be a lot of mortality of redwoods,” he said. “More than that, I can’t say. It’s rare to see a microorganism completely wipe out a tree.” 

Even if lab tests show the redwood only acts as a host, it could prove ruinous to the state’s timber industry and dwindling old-growth forests. 

A statewide quarantine currently limits the movement of wood products containing the pathogen. Such a finding in redwoods could make it hard for companies to get their lumber to mills. 

Meanwhile, the flocks of tourists who visit protected old-growth groves might face restrictions because of concern they would spread the spores. 

Stacy Carlsen, agriculture commissioner of Marin County and a member of the California Oak Mortality task force, said more research is needed to gauge the severity of the threat. 

“Detecting DNA in leaf samples is a far step removed from having redwoods dying,” Carlsen said. 

If more research does show the redwoods are at risk of getting the disease, it will add a new facet to a fight that up until now has pitted logging and development interests against conservationists. 

The lure of the redwoods, says Hartley, is apparent in the cathedral-like hush of an old-growth grove. 

“There’s a sense of quiet. There’s a sense of calm and there’s something intangible that seems to stretch into the past and reach into the future,” he said. 

“One of the advantages the redwoods have is they’re a very diverse species. They have survived for many millions of years, and let’s hope that they survive for many million more.” 

——— 

On the Net: 

Oak Mortality Task Force: http://www.suddenoakdeath.org/ 

Save-the-Redwoods League: http://www.savetheredwoods.org/default.htm 

Garbelotto lab: http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/garbelotto/ 

A man was held up by a gun-wielding robber as he was going to work Monday morning, according to Lt. Cynthia Harris of the Berkeley Police Department. 

The victim told police that he was walking down Tremont Street to the Ashby BART Station at around 7:45 a.m. when a man suddenly approached him and stuck a gun in his face. 

The victim said he pushed the gun away. The suspect again allegedly pointed the gun at the victim’s face. He then demanded the victim’s money. 

The victim told the suspect that the money was in his jacket, then reached into his jacket, grabbed the cash and handed it to his assailant. The suspect fled on foot. 

The suspect is described as a dark-complected African-American male in his 20s, 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing about 180 pounds. He wore a blue, hooded sweatshirt and blue or gray baggy pants. 

The victim also described the suspect as “clean-shaven, polite and soft-spoken.” 

Another gunpoint robbery occurred Monday evening in roughly the same neighborhood, according to Harris. 

The victim told police he was walking down Russell Street east of Fulton Street when a man walked up and pointed a gun at him. The suspect demanded the victim’s money. 

The victim told the suspect that he was not carrying any money. The suspect told the victim to give whatever he had. The victim found $7 and gave it to the suspect. The suspect fled on foot. 

The suspect in this case is described as a light-complected African-American male in his early 20s, about 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighing about 175 pounds. He wore a dark jacket with a gray pullover underneath, and carried a gray semiautomatic handgun. 

A domestic dispute could have ended in the death of an allegedly wayward husband Monday, according to Lt. Harris. 

The husband said he received a phone call from his wife, from whom he had been separated, early Monday morning. Words were exchanged, and the husband thought it best to leave the house. On the street, near the corner of Bancroft Way and San Pablo Avenue, he ran into his wife, who had apparently called from nearby. 

An argument over the husband’s alleged involvement with another woman ensued. The victim told police that his wife pulled out a gun and fired at him three times. 

Harris said the reports of gunfire had not yet been confirmed by independent witnesses, though there were calls to 911 about the incident. Police are investigating the case. 

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis said Tuesday his budget proposal won’t include a tax increase to close a $12.4 billion budget shortfall, but will combine cutbacks, borrowing and deferring spending until brighter economic times. 

“Even with the cutbacks I will propose, California will be much stronger than it was just three years ago,” Davis said in prepared remarks for his fourth State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature. 

The half-hour address focused on accomplishments and gains, but the speech capped a tumultuous third year in office for Davis. 

He reviewed a year that brought rolling blackouts, a high-tech collapse and sagging job approval. And he previewed his plans to deal with an expected $12.4 billion budget shortfall and the threat of terrorism in the nation’s most populous state. 

The crash of the high-tech industry, a general economic slump and the fallout of the Sept. 11 attacks have left the state facing its steepest revenues declines since World War II. Davis pledged to protect education, public safety and children’s health care, but said he planned to use spending cuts to absorb the shortfall, rather than tax increases. 

Davis said he “will not advocate raising taxes” but will instead cut spending. He offered no specifics in the address. His budget proposal is will be released Thursday. 

He did, however, propose new spending on some fronts, including measures to attract more nurses in the state and expanding affordable childcare and lead poisoning prevention programs. 

Also, Davis said he will guard spending for security, public health and other programs that he called crucial in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

Though the state was not directly hit, each of the four hijacked airplanes used in the Sept. 11 attacks were bound for California. More than 100 Californians died. And the state’s already faltering economy took another blow from job cuts, decreased tourism and security costs. 

He highlighted anti-terrorism measures including working with the federal government to create a tiered public warning system and to boost the number of sky marshals on flights. Davis also said he will propose expanding state wiretap laws to allow easier monitoring of suspected terrorists. 

Davis acknowledged several relatives of California’s terrorist attack victims’ relatives. The relatives, along with several law enforcement leaders, attended the evening address in the state Capitol’s ornate Assembly chambers. 

Davis also saluted the mother and stepfather of Brian Cody Prosser, the 28-year-old U.S. Army staff sergeant of Bakersfield killed in Afghanistan Dec. 5 by a U.S. bomb that missed its target. 

The terrorism attacks overshadowed the statewide power crisis that dominated the first half of the year. Davis declared energy success in his address, highlighting conservation and the licensing of 17 new major power plants. 

“California defied the odds, and the prognosticators,” Davis said. 

This year’s State of the State is politically pivotal for Davis, who is facing re-election in November. In the past year, he saw his popularity fall to its lowest point, after six days of rolling blackouts and the financial collapse of the state’s largest utility. 

And three Republicans — backed by a state and national GOP hungry to regain ground after a series of losses in California — launched campaigns to challenge Davis.

SANTA ANA— The judge overseeing the battle for the estate of ex-Playmate Anna Nicole Smith’s oil tycoon husband urged both sides Tuesday to settle the case out of court, indicating neither will approve of his ruling. 

“It’s going to be an awfully blunt decision,” U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said after lawyers for both sides concluded closing arguments. “I’m concerned over what it may hold for one or both of you.” 

He gave them a day to consider reaching a settlement before he starts writing his opinion, which he doesn’t expect to issue before the end of the month. He also said he may call additional witnesses to clarify testimony during the four-week hearing. 

Smith has fought a lengthy battle in several courtrooms for half of the estate left behind by her late husband, J. Howard Marshall II. Opposing her is one of the oil tycoon’s sons, Pierce Marshall, who says she should get nothing. 

The former Playboy Playmate, whose real name is Vickie Lynn Marshall, met her husband in 1991 when she was working as a stripper. The couple married three years later when she was 26 and he was 89. He died the following year. 

In closing arguments, attorneys for each side hurled allegations of perjury and slander. Both cited missing or altered evidence and accused one another of outright lies in the courtroom. 

Smith’s attorney, Philip Boesch, accused attorneys for Marshall’s son of refusing to turn over evidence, such as legal documents, and altering documents. 

“The biggest lie in this court is that J. Howard Marshall wanted all of his wealth to go to ... Pierce Marshall and not the person he loved most — his wife,” Boesch said. 

Attorney Rusty Hardin fired back, telling Carter that Boesch had painted nothing more than a conspiracy theory. 

“He has accused, according to my count, 10 people of perjury,” he said. “In all due respect, judge, he has slandered a bunch of people.” 

After they were finished, Carter told them case could be “easily resolved” outside of court. 

“I would like to see a settlement in this matter if it can be reached in good faith,” he said. 

That seemed unlikely, given that both sides have twice rejected suggestions that they reach a settlement. Neither side would comment Tuesday after Carter advised them against discussing the case until it has been resolved. 

Whatever ruling he issues, Carter told both sides, he fully expects one or the other, and perhaps even both, will take the matter to another court. 

Pierce Marshall is appealing a previous California court decision awarding Smith more than $400 million of his father’s money. After that ruling was followed with one from a Texas jury that concluded Smith had no right to any money, Carter decided to resolve the matter himself. 

Marshall and Smith sat on opposite sides of the court during Tuesday’s closing arguments. 

At one point, Marshall shook his head in disagreement during Boesch’s characterization of his wealth, which was put at well over $1 billion. 

Smith left the courtroom during Hardin’s closing argument, but returned for the rebuttal portion, limping into court, sitting down and using an inhaler. She didn’t say what was ailing her. 

Boesch told the judge the evidence proved there was a reasonable expectation on Smith’s behalf she would receive a portion of her late husband’s estate. She had testified earlier that he promised her half. 

“Does this court really believe that a man purported to be the richest man in Texas” would have left no provisions for his wife, he said. 

Hardin argued that was exactly what the elder Marshall meant to do. He said an audio tape made by Smith in 1995 was further proof. 

“No where on that tape does it say I want her to have half of everything I own,” he said. 

SACRAMENTO — The insurance industry’s attempts to limit its liability for future acts of terror were rejected Tuesday by California’s insurance regulator, though they have been approved by 41 other states since Sept. 11. 

Insurance Commissioner Harry Low labeled various of the proposed new limits and exclusions “arbitrary and-or unfair,” “overly broad and unreasonable,” and “anticompetitive.” 

Even proposed definitions of terrorism is too broad, Low said, “used to define everything ranging from vandalism to hate crimes.” He wants a narrower definition that would leave intact coverage of other incidents such as arson. 

The limitations were proposed by Insurance Services Office Inc., which drafts proposed regulations for the insurance industry. They were approved by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which represents state regulators, over the objections of regulators from California, New York and Connecticut. 

Jim Masek, regional director of government relations at the Insurance Services Office’s San Francisco office, said the ISO is evaluating the rejection but may ask Low’s office to reconsider. The ISO can modify its application, accept the disapproval, or request a hearing. 

Low’s ruling covers both commercial and homeowners’ policies. Other states have allowed insurers to exempt commercial property from terrorist acts, and two states have allowed exemptions in homeowners’ coverage, said Scott Edelen of the California Department of Insurance. 

The proposed exclusions would kick in if a terrorist act or acts caused more than $25 million in damage nationwide within a 72-hour period, or if more than 50 people were killed or injured. Biological or chemical incidents would be totally excluded. 

Insurers told California lawmakers last month that they can absorb the $30 billion to $70 billion cost of the Sept. 11 East Coast terrorist attacks, but might be bankrupted by another act of mass destruction such as a nuclear attack. 

Insurance companies and state regulators alike have been lobbying Congress to adopt national standards that would make state actions unnecessary. Federal lawmakers are expected to resume their debate later this month. 

They also want Congress to establish an insurance fund to help pay for future terrorist acts. If not, California may need to create a state terrorism insurance pool similar to one it created to handle claims from the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Peter Gorman, vice president of the Alliance of American Insurers, told legislators. 

Insurance executives and industry analysts said they expect insurance prices will spike through this year before leveling off.

LOS ANGELES — Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan’s inaugural television advertisement in his campaign for the GOP gubernatorial nomination paints his background in glowing terms. 

But it does so by selectively representing his record. 

The ad, the first to appear as the March 5 primary approaches, began running Tuesday in areas of the state outside of Los Angeles. Its main claims about Riordan’s eight years as mayor: 

—The city added a quarter-million new jobs and unemployment was cut in half. 

—The budget was balanced with no tax increases. 

—The police force grew by 2,100 as crime fell by 50 percent. 

The claims about jobs, budgets and the crime rate generally stand up to scrutiny, though crime fell only by 42 percent, according to Los Angeles Police Department figures. 

The claim about the police force is misleading. 

The 2,100 figure comes from the peak of department staffing levels in November 1999. By the time Riordan left office in June of last year, the force had increased by only 1,408 officers from when he took office in 1993. 

Moreover, the ad does not mention that Riordan pledged to add 3,000 officers to the force. 

Unsurprisingly, Riordan does not mention what critics consider the failures of his administration, like the Rampart police scandal or poor relations with the City Council. 

And whether he can take credit for the successes he lists is open to debate, because Riordan presided during a period of record national prosperity, said Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles. 

“I’d have to say Riordan must be one of the luckiest politicians around having left office in June, before Sept. 11, before the economy turned around, because I think almost any chief executive could have made the same claims as he did,” Stern said. “If Gray could’ve stopped his term office as of June 30, 2001, he could be saying exactly the same thing.” 

Democratic Gov. Gray Davis is the target of portions of the ad, though he is not mentioned by name. Polls show Riordan ahead of his more conservative Republican opponents — Secretary of State Bill Jones and Los Angeles businessman Bill Simon — and the ad ignores them. 

Without mentioning specifics, the ad cites “gross mismanagement” on the budget and “hostile policies” toward business that it alleges are driving jobs from the state. 

Davis press secretary Roger Salazar rejected those characterizations Tuesday. 

“I don’t think anything could be further from the truth,” Salazar said. He said Davis has focused the state’s reserve spending on one-time costs and has offered businesses incentives. He said the budget deficit is attributable to a downturn in the technology sector and the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. 

“It’s sad to see him start off with a negative attack during the campaign season,” Salazar said. 

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis formally called a special session of the Legislature Tuesday to deal with an expected $12.4 billion budget shortfall this year and next. 

Davis said in November that he would call an emergency legislative session to deal with $2.2 billion in proposed cuts to the current budget. Making it official Tuesday, he ordered the special proceedings to run concurrent with the regular session that began Monday. 

In his order, he said the Legislature should take up his proposed cuts, as well as economic stimulus plans and a proposal to make a newly enacted unemployment benefits increase retroactive to Sept. 11. 

Davis will release his 2002-03 budget Thursday. He is expected to propose deeper cuts to state programs to deal with the shortfall. Davis also has imposed a statewide hiring freeze. 

Analysts blame the budget shortfall on an already slumping economy, the high-tech industry collapse, the effects of the Sept. 11 attacks and billions in state spending to stem a statewide power crisis.

LOS ANGELES — A well-equipped Cadillac these days means adding armor to the accessories. 

At the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show this week, General Motors Corp. is showing off an armored Cadillac that protects passengers in a steel and glass cocoon, deflecting .44-caliber bullets and grenades. 

It was originally conceived for overseas markets and U.S. diplomats, but the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks increased security concerns domestically. 

Bedford Park, Ill.-based Scaletta Moloney Armoring Corp. is building the armored cars in partnership with Cadillac. 

Scaletta Moloney president Joseph Scaletta said inquiries have soared 40 percent. 

“It’s a concept car to see if the retail market is interested,” Cadillac’s Jay Fanfalone said, adding there appears to be enough interest to sell several hundred armored Cadillacs annually for personal and corporate owners. 

“Ninety percent of the luxury vehicles we armor are Cadillac DeVille’s. It was born to be armored,” Scaletta said. The company builds so-called flag-holder and motorcade vehicles for the U.S. government, but Scaletta was reluctant to give details. 

The personal, anti-ballistic Cadillac Sedan DeVille, which weighs another 1,100 pounds for a total rolling weight of 3 tons, would compete with armored versions of BMW’s 7-Series and DaimlerChrysler’s Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedans. 

The black Cadillac on display in Los Angeles is stretched eight inches and has run-flat tires, inch-thick bullet-deflecting windows and steel plating to protect the passenger compartment, including undercarriage steel plates to protect against grenades. 

It’s positioned on the showroom floor alongside an identical black Sedan DeVille and it is difficult to tell them apart. 

“The whole purpose of having an armored car is having it blend in,” said David Ransom, Cadillac manager of professional vehicles. “If people know it’s armored it takes away from the security purpose of the car.” 

Ransom wouldn’t disclose the price tag for the armored versions, but he said it would be competitive with the Mercedes and BMW models costing $100,000 to $154,000. 

Scaletta Moloney is in the midst of delivering a new line of armored diplomatic DeVilles for the U.S. government’s fleet. Secretary of State Colin Powell is already using one of the DeVilles. 

“We’ve had the most demanding customer on earth as our biggest customer for years, so we think that the credibility we’ll bring to the private sector will be unchallenged,” Scaletta said. “There is a need for these cars and the market has forced us to address a changing world.” 

For Cadillac, that demand means offering armored cars. 

“If you are going to go global you need to address armoring,” Ransom said.

SACRAMENTO — Singers and performers in California’s $41 billion recording industry could break their long-term contracts under a bill introduced by state Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Culver City. 

The bill would also block record contracts beyond seven years, ending a longtime industry practice. The bill, which must pass this year and be signed by the governor to become law, bans record companies from collecting damages against artists who walk out after seven years. 

Murray, a former music agent, manager and attorney for singers, introduced the bill, SB1246, after a hearing on record contracts held last September. Recording artists such as sometime Hole front woman Courtney Love and Eagles drummer Don Henley slammed long-term contracts as unfair to artists. 

They told senators the standard seven-album contract often forces artists to spend 14 to 15 years with the same record label. 

Love has sued her label, Vivendi Universal, attempting to break her contract. Recording artists The Dixie Chicks are in a similar dispute with their label. 

State law prevents personal service contracts beyond seven years. But a 1987 exception exempts the record business from state labor laws, which Murray’s bill repeals. 

Record executives argue that their system is necessary in an industry that takes big risks on acts that often fail.  

During the hearing, executives called the complaining artists arrogant superstars who forgot that the industry once took a chance on them. 

Singers, forming a group called the Recording Artists Coalition, have scheduled five benefit concerts in Los Angeles on Feb. 26 to raise money for the legislative fight.

LOS ANGELES — City Council President Alex Padilla has agreed to repay more than $76,000 to the city for exceeding spending and contribution limits in the 1999 election, officials said. 

Padilla also will pay $2,500 in fines for accepting two campaign contributions in excess of a $500 limit. The money owed by Padilla comes after an Ethics Commission investigation, the third of its kind into the council member’s 1999 campaign. In 1999, the commission fined the political arm of the Los Angeles County of Federation of Labor $2,000 for not disclosing $31,000 it spent on a campaign backing Padilla. A year later, the commission fined cable company MediaOne for excessive campaign contributions to candidates, including Padilla. 

The agreement signed by Padilla and LeeAnn Pelham, executive director of the ethics panel, still needs approval by the commission Thursday. If approved, the agreement would be the largest payment made in a settlement since the commission was created. 

Padilla apologized to his colleagues and constituents Monday. 

“It was not my intent or the intent of my campaign to exceed the spending cap,” he said. “Exceeding the spending cap . . . was a mistake on my part and on the part of my 1999 campaign committee.” 

His campaign committee received matching funds from the city in exchange for agreeing not to spend more than $275,000 in the 1999 election. A commission audit found he exceeded that limit by $54,738. Now, he must repay the city $76,821. 

Padilla said invoices for services that were submitted after the election pushed his campaign over the spending limits. 

Padilla won the 1999 runoff election with 67 percent of the vote against health agency administrator Corinne Sanchez, who spent $126,574 in the race. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Former Netscape Communications CEO James Barksdale and his three venture capital partners are going their separate ways after investing most of a $180 million fund created in 1999 during the dot-com boom. 

The Barksdale Group’s decision to disband, announced Tuesday, illuminates the uphill battle facing small venture capital firms in a high technology downturn that has imperiled hundreds of tech start-ups launched in the past two years. 

When they started their firm, the Barksdale partners joined a crowd of wealthy technology executives looking to build upon their riches by investing in promising Internet start-ups. Using $90 million of their own money, the Barksdale partners bet their pedigree would help separate them from the rest of the pack. 

The group included three former Netscape executives — Barksdale, Peter Currie and Quincy Smith — who worked at the company while its Web browser paved the way for the dot-com frenzy. 

Another partner, Danny Rimer, made a name — and fortune — for himself by handling some of Silicon Valley’s hottest initial public offerings of the 1990s, including the stock market debuts of Netscape, At Home Corp., CNet, Verisign and Inktomi. 

But a tech meltdown that began in 2000 forced venture capitalists to spend more time nursing their existing portfolios, while making it difficult to raise more money for future investments from skittish institutional investors. 

Veteran venture capital firms with resources are in a better position to cope with the shakeout than a boutique firm such as the Menlo Park-based Barksdale Group, Currie and Rimer said in separate interviews Tuesday. 

“In an environment like this, operating from a bigger platform is a sounder way to invest,” said Currie, a Barksdale general partner who is leaving to join the Palo Alto office of General Atlantic Partners 

Greenwich, Conn.-based General Atlantic has 18 partners and more than 130 employees in offices in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. 

More venture capitalists probably will seek refuge at bigger firms during the next few years, Rimer predicted. A native of Switzerland, Rimer is leaving the Silicon Valley for London, where he will scout new investment opportunities for the Geneva-based Index Fund. 

“You are going to see a lot of consolidation, similar to what we have seen in the investment banking industry,” said Rimer, 31. 

Barksdale is joining Currie as a special adviser at General Atlantic. He intends to split his time among board meetings, investments and working on the Barksdale Reading Institute, a Mississippi literacy program that he seeded with a $100 million donation last year, spokeswoman Leslie Bottoms said. 

Smith hasn’t announced what he will do next. 

The Barksdale partners will continue to hold regular telephone meetings as they decide what to do with the roughly $54 million left in their fund. The money, representing 30 percent of the original fund, is being held in reserve primarily to provide additional financing to 14 Barksdale-backed companies still in business — a list that includes Tell Me Networks, myCFO.com, Neoteris, Kontiki and Moxi Digital. 

“The jury is still out on our fund, but we fully expect to have positive returns,” Rimer said. 

The Barksdale Group’s investments included a $5 million stake in one of the Internet’s most spectacular failures, online supermarket HomeGrocer.com, which merged with rival Webvan in 2000 and landed in bankruptcy court last year. 

Two other Barksdale-backed start-ups were sold last year — online photography site Ofoto to Eastman Kodak for $58 million in cash and software maker CrossGain Corp. to BEA Systems for $25.1 million in cash and stock. The proceeds were divvied among many other investors besides the Barksdale Group.

SAN FRANCISCO — Angry shareholders have filed at least four lawsuits this week against ImClone Systems Inc., which allegedly had more trouble with its experimental cancer drug than it previously acknowledged. 

Also, analysts have downgraded their views of the stock of the fledgling drug company, which was hoping to make a big impression Wednesday at a major biotechnology investor conference. 

Instead, ImClone has been doing more damage control, particularly since The Cancer Letter on Friday published passages from a confidential Food and Drug Administration document explaining why the agency declined to review ImClone’s application to market its much-anticipated colon cancer drug Erbitux. 

The industry newsletter said the Dec. 28 FDA letter suggests the agency’s concerns were more extensive than ImClone executives disclosed during a Dec. 31 conference call with analysts. 

Chief executive Samuel Waksal plans to address the issue Wednesday at the 20th Annual J.P. Morgan H&Q Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, where ImClone’s FDA trouble has been a hot topic among the 5,000 analysts, investors and competitors. 

“We believe the company was forthcoming,” said Chief Operating Officer Harlan Waksal, Samuel’s brother. “We made very clear this was a refusal-to-file letter. It’s the most dramatic letter you can get from the agency.” 

The company’s stock plummeted from $55.25 a share on Dec. 28 to close at $36.85 on Tuesday. Shareholders lost $650 million on the first trading day after ImClone revealed the FDA rejection. 

“As analysts we are trained to be skeptical,” said Jason Zhang of Stephens Inc., which downgraded ImClone’s stock on Jan. 2 and again on Tuesday. “But I think in this case we are little bit surprised.” 

J.P. Morgan, among others, also downgraded its stock outlook. 

“We believe the details disclosed in The Cancer Letter article suggest additional deficiencies in ImClone’s biological license application (BLA) beyond those already disclosed by the company in its conference call on Dec. 31,” J.P. Morgan said in a research note. 

The analysts said they came away from ImClone’s Dec. 31 conference call thinking the New York-based company simply had problems with documentation. The Erbitux application was its first with the FDA. 

That problem was supposed to be remedied in part by the experience of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., which four months ago invested $1 billion for a 20 percent stake in ImClone. The giant drug manufacturer also agreed to pay ImClone another $1 billion in three installments upon the achievement of certain milestones of the Erbitux development and approval process. In exchange, Bristol-Myers gets to share Eribitux revenues with ImClone. 

A Bristol-Myers Squibb spokeswoman did not return a telephone call Tuesday requesting comment. 

Harlan Waksal said ImClone still expects the FDA to approve the cancer drug once the company addresses all the agency’s issues. According to the newsletter, the FDA said ImClone’s key clinical trial was not “adequate and well controlled.” The FDA also said it needed more data. 

“This is a bump in the road and we plan to overcome this,” Harlan Waksal said Tuesday. 

Harlan Waksal declined to say when he expects FDA approval. Before receiving the FDA letter last month, the company had hoped for approval by the middle of this year. 

In the meantime, ImClone will have to defend itself in court. 

The New York law firm of Stull, Stull & Brody sued Monday in federal court in Manhattan alleging ImClone executives “knew, or recklessly disregarded, that its FDA application was preliminary, incomplete and premature, and had little chance of approval, yet represented otherwise to the investing public.” 

At least three other law firms filed class-action shareholder suits Tuesday. 

Harlan Waksal declined to comment on the suits.

RENO, Nev. — A wildlife group wants a small population of sage grouse found along the Nevada-California line in the eastern Sierra to be listed as an endangered species. 

The Institute for Wildlife Protection in Eugene, Ore., filed a petition for an emergency listing with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Jan. 2. 

The petition argues that the birds found in Mono County and Lyon County, Nev., should be considered a “distinct population segment” separate from the Western grouse found in declining numbers around the West. 

The population requires federal protection, the petition said, because of the bird’s threatened extinction from such factors as dwindling habitat, its isolation and a planned airport expansion in the winter resort town of Mammoth, Calif. 

Biologists have determined the birds are “genetically unique,” but have not concluded they are otherwise distinct. They are thought to be a subgroup of a larger population also found in surrounding counties, said San Stiver, a leading sage grouse biologist with the Nevada Division of Wildlife. 

Once abundant throughout the sagebrush terrain of western states, sage grouse numbers have declined by as much as 80 percent over the past 20 years. Many states, Nevada included, have been working on conservation plans to protect the bird and stave off an Endangered Species Act listing, which would force strict land use and other regulatory restrictions. 

“We realize there’s some habitat problems out there. ... and we’re already on the ground planning and getting people involved,” said state wildlife spokesman Chris Healy. 

Randi Thompson, spokeswoman for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Reno, said the federal agency will work with wildlife biologists in Nevada and California to review the status of the Mono Basin grouse.

HELENA, Mont. — The U.S. Forest Service has made no decision yet whether it will appeal a judge’s ruling that halted a plan to log thousands of acres of burned timber in a national forest in Montana, the agency said Tuesday. 

Environmentalists, meanwhile, urged the agency to forgo any further court appeals and reopen the Forest Service plan to additional public comment. 

“I hope what will happen now is that the agency will really take the words of the judge to heart and do the right thing,” said Jennifer Ferenstein of Missoula, Mont., national president of the Sierra Club. “First and foremost, the Forest Service should go back and look at its project and take the time to listen to the public.” 

Heidi Valetkevitch, spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C., said the agency planned to meet with its attorneys to review Monday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula, and would decide later whether to pursue an appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. 

A coalition of environmental groups filed suit in federal court last month after the director of the Forest Service and a U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary approved the contentious plan for the Bitterroot National Forest, a 1.6 million-acre stretch of public land along the Montana-Idaho border. 

The Forest Service maintains its proposal on about 45,000 acres of the Bitterroot would improve the health of the forest, 307,000 acres of which was scorched by wildfires in 2000. In addition to salvaging dead and dying trees that were burned in 2000, the plan calls for closing logging roads and planting new trees. 

Environmental groups, however, argued the project’s approval was illegal, because the Forest Service had violated its own internal appeals process. 

In a decision released late Monday night, Molloy agreed, saying the plan could not move forward until the Forest Service complied with its own appeals process. 

Spike Thompson, deputy forest supervisor at the Bitterroot National Forest, declined to comment Tuesday on Molloy’s ruling, referring questions to Montana U.S. Attorney Bill Mercer, who represented the Forest Service in the dispute. 

Mercer said he was disappointed with Molloy’s ruling, but would not know the government’s next move until he had a chance to review the decision with the Forest Service and USDA, which oversees for Forest Service. 

The logging plan would salvage about 181 million board feet of timber. Opponents fear logging will cause other environmental problems, including additional sediment in streams that could harm native fish. 

Molloy addressed those concerns only briefly in his ruling, focusing instead on the Forest Service’s decision to bypass its appeals process. 

Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth had said earlier that he wanted to avoid the internal appeal because he believed it would be a waste of time, considering the existing threats of litigation from opponents over environmental concerns. 

He and other federal forestry officials said it was a wiser use of time to avoid the appeal and go right to court. 

Lawsuits based on environmental concerns of the plan are still likely. The Sierra Club’s Ferenstein said if the Forest Service completes its internal review and still approves the logging plan, her group and others would likely file a separate lawsuit. 

LOS ANGELES — An asteroid large enough to wipe out France hurtled past the Earth at a distance of about a half-million miles just days after scientists spotted it. 

The asteroid, dubbed 2001 YB5, came within 520,000 miles of Earth — approximately twice the distance of the moon. 

The asteroid, estimated to be 1,000 feet across, was traveling about 68,000 mph relative to the Earth when it zipped past on Monday. 

“It’s a fairly substantial rock. If it had hit us at that sort of speed, you would be taking out a medium size country, France, I suppose, or Texas, or something of that order,” said Jay Tate, director of the Spaceguard Centre in Wales. 

Astronomers with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program discovered 2001 YB5 on Dec. 26. As the asteroid travels around the sun, it crosses the orbits of Mars, Venus and Mercury, as well as that of the Earth. 

Soon after its discovery, astronomers calculated the asteroid’s orbit and determined that there was no danger it would strike Earth. 

Had it been on a collision course, it would have created “one of the worst disasters in human history,” said Steven Pravdo, the NEAT project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. 

“What could we have done about it? The answer is not much,” Pravdo said. 

Dozens of asteroids pass close by the Earth each year. On Friday, for instance, an asteroid known as 2001 UU92 will pass within 11 million miles of Earth. However, just 19 others have come closer than 2001 YB5 since 1991, Pravdo said. 

As astronomers discover more and more near-Earth asteroids, they seek a standardized way of alerting the public to what potential hazard they pose. 

Among programs already in place is the Spaceguard Centre’s Comet and Asteroid Information Network, which began work Jan. 1. 

——— 

On the Web: http://www.spaceguarduk.com/ 

NEAT Project: http://NEAT.jpl.nasa.gov/ 

Berkeley seventh-graders scored significantly lower than their counterparts in other school districts on a statewide fitness test conducted in spring 2001 and released by the California Department of Education last month. 

The California Physical Fitness Test, which assesses fifth-, seventh- and ninth-graders, also revealed a physical “achievement gap” separating white and Asian students from African-American and Latino students in the fifth and seventh grades. 

The test measures students in six areas: aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength, trunk extension strength, upper body strength and flexibility. 

The state launched the test in 1999 and administered it again in 2001. Berkeley, like many districts around the state, did not use the prevailing state model in 1999, making a comparison to previous figures impossible. 

Only 34 percent of Berkeley seventh-graders met five of the six fitness standards set out in the 2001 test, compared with 50 percent in the county and 51 percent at the state level. 

Fifth-graders scored slightly higher than the statewide averages, and ninth-graders came in just below the average mark.  

But even those figures disappointed many throughout the district with only 22 percent of fifth-graders and 19 percent of ninth-graders meeting all six standards. 

Still, with budget, maintenance and business systems in disarray, physical education does not appear to be a top priority. 

“Someone needs to pay attention to (physical education) districtwide,” said John Selawsky, a member of the Board of Education. “Having said that, I’m not sure who’s going to do that at this point, and what priority it is.” 

Christine Lim, associate superintendent for instruction, said she was particularly concerned about the poor showing at the seventh-grade level. “It provokes me to inquire with the principals and staff as to why that is,” Lim said. 

Parents, administrators and physical education teachers at the city’s middle schools could not explain the disparity between seventh-graders and other students. But they did suggest a number of reasons for the poor performance of Berkeley students overall. 

“I see a lot of kids being brought, literally, to the front door by their parents,” said Jack Ball, head of the physical education department at King Middle School. “They don’t ride a bike, or walk to school.” 

“As a nation, we hear many times that students are working less outside and are doing more inside,” added Nancy D. Waters, principal of the John Muir Elementary School, making reference to heavy television viewing and video game play. “And, with fast food and parents being so busy – it’s easier to drive through somewhere than to peel a cucumber.” 

Debbie Vigil, a consultant with the California Department of Education, concurred. “Society has a role in this as well,” she said. “With the computer age, kids are finding entertainment other than physical (activity).” 

But, some suggested that funding and policy problems in the district also play a role. “I don’t think that the public schools offer enough physical education,” said Anita Martinez, parent of a seventh-grader at Longfellow Arts & Technology Magnet Middle School, and member of the PTA. “I would like to see more programs and better support.” 

Ball, of the King School, says that, when it comes to budget cuts, physical education has actually fared better than arts and music programs over the last 40 years. But, he suggests that increased funding for smaller class sizes could help. 

At the elementary school level, where regular classroom teachers often take the lead on physical education, it’s a question of scheduling and priorities, with academic subjects such as math and reading often taking top billing. 

“I’m really proud of the quality of our program, but not with the quantity,” said Marlo Warburton, a fourth and fifth grade teacher at John Muir who helps run the physical education program at the school. “We have such time constraints with our instructional minutes that we can only do exercise twice a week.”  

At Berkeley High School, athletic director Robert Traum says a school board policy allowing athletes to skip physical education classes has been destructive. 

“It’s a horrible idea, because it substitutes specialization in one area for the broad background an adolescent needs,” said Traum, arguing that an athlete focused only on swimming or baseball, for instance, fails to develop a whole host of skills explored in physical education classes. 

Athletes, Traum argues, also miss out on important social benefits. For instance, he said, gym classes are more racially-integrated than academic courses that often divide by race when it comes time for advanced placement study. 

Selawsky said the school board has been considering a shift in the policy for six months, but that many parents have lobbied to maintain the policy because it gives athletes more time to take other courses. 

“We’re balancing two things here,” he said, “the students who need to take electives, or even requirements, and what I think is the importance of having a broader physical education program.” 

The Berkeley figures revealed a significant racial disparity in test scores that mirrors the academic “achievement gap.” For instance, among fifth graders, 63 percent of white students and 54 percent of Asian students met five of six standards on the test, compared with 47 percent of Latinos and 39 percent of African-Americans. 

Berkeley educators were surprised by the figures and could not offer solid explanations for the disparities, although they suggested that the same economic and cultural factors that drive the academic achievement gap could play a role in the physical education chasm. 

Dianne Wilson-Graham, consultant for the California Department of Education, said there has been no comprehensive study of the gap at the state level. 

But she said that, in her initial research, schools that have improved the academic gap have also improved the physical gap, suggesting that there may be a link between the two. 

Tuesday, Jan. 8

Friends of Strawberry Creek 

6:30 - 8 p.m. 

Corporation Yard Green Room 

1326 Allston Way  

Will meet to review our first year and plan for 2002. 848-4008, info@strawberrycreek.org. 

New Testament Workshop 

7:30 p.m. 

Norton Hall 

UC Berkeley Campus 

Al Moser, Associate Pastor at Newman Hall-Holy Spirit Parish, will lead the workshop.  

Our School Information Night for Prospective Parents 

7 - 9 p.m. 

St. John’s Community Center, Rm. 203 

2727 College Ave. 

Information event providing an opportunity for parents to learn about Our School’s approach to education. Call to register - 704-0701. www.ourschoolsite.ws. 

Blood Pressure Screening 

10:30 a.m. 

2727 College Ave. 

St. John’s Senior Center is open to adults 55 and older and offers a variety of crafts, classes, exercise, creative writing and an inexpensive lunch. 

Early Music Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Our small group sings madrigals and other voice harmony. 655-8863, ann@integratedarts.org. 

Wednesday, Jan. 9

Baby Bounce and Toddler  

Tales 

7 p.m. 

Public Library, West Branch 

1125 University Ave. 

A participatory program for families with children up to age 3. Stories, songs and fingerplays as entertainment and as a way for parents to learn some new material to share with their young ones. 981-6270. 

Berkeley Public Library 

Board of Library Trustees 

Regular Meeting 

7 p.m. 

South Branch 

1901 Russell St. 

Among the reports for action/discussion: Building Projects Update/Move. 644-6095. 

Waterfront Commission 

Regular Meeting 

7 p.m. 

Marina Office Conference Room 

201 University Ave., Berkeley Marina 

Action Calendar: Insurance Requirement for Berthers. Info/Staff Reports: East Shore State Park Update. 

Police Review Commission 

Regular Meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Discussion or Action: BPD involvement in intelligence gathering and anti-terrorism efforts. 644-6716, www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/prc/. 

Peace Walk and Vigil 

7:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley BART Station 

A peace walk and vigil to demonstrate opposition to U.S. bombing of Afghanistan. Ends at MLK Civic Center Park. www.indymedia.org. 

Near-death Experience  

Support Group 

7-9pm 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Church 

1606 Bonita Ave. 

International Association for Near-Death Studies offers supportive environment for the exploration of  

near-death experiences. 428-2442. 

Thursday, Jan. 10

Sking and Snowshoing in  

Tahoe National Forest 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Catherine Stifter will present a slide show on her favorite ski and snowshoe tours off Highway 49 between Sierra City and Yuba Pass. 527-4140 

Grandparent Support Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

Malcolm X School of Arts and Academics 

1731 Prince St. 

Grandparents and relatives raising their grandchildren can express their concerns and needs, plus receive support, information and referrals for Kinship Care. 644-6517. 

Community Health Commission 

6:45 - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Prioritize list of health needs of the City of Berkeley to present to Alta Bates Sutter for consideration during needs assessment process for Community Benefit Plan. 

Housing Advisory Commission 

7:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. 

Presentation of FY 2002-2003 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) housing proposals.  

Defending the Rights of  

Children 

12 p.m. 

Albany Public Library, Edith Stone Room 

1247 Marin Ave. 

Arnold Chavez, the Executive Director for the Alameda County Court Appointed Special Advocates program will discuss how his program works to defend the rights of children who have committed no crimes but, due to circumstances beyond their control are in the juvenile justice system. 

Public Works Commission 

7 p.m. - 9 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Informational Meeting on Applicant Financed Underground Utility District for the Spruce/Halkins/Alamo/Cragmont School proposed District 

Berkeley Reads 

6 - 8 p.m. 

Public Library, West Branch 

1125 University Ave. 

The adult literacy program of the BPL. Program orientation for new volunteer tutors. 981-6299, prevedel@hotmail.com. 

Winter Holistic Health Groups  

1:15 – 2:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

For ages 55 and older. This weeks topic: Creative Aging. 526-0148. 

Friday, Jan. 11

San Francisco Chamber  

Orchestra 

8 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 

2640 College Ave. 

A program of classical party music from Mozart to Stravinsky. $15. 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org 

Berkeley Reads 

10 a.m. - noon 

Public Library, West Branch 

1125 University Ave. 

The adult literacy program of the BPL. Program orientation for new volunteer tutors. 981-6299, prevedel@hotmail.com. 

Even Stronger Women 

1:15 - 3:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Bittersweet legacy art, poetry and stories compiled by Cynthia M. Brody. 232-1351. 

Saturday, Jan. 12

Mental Health and Public 

Policy 

8 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Wheeler Auditorium 

UC Berkeley 

A symposium designed to promote a greater understanding of mental illness, and link medical advances to public policy solutions in mental health care. 642-4608, www.igs.berkeley.edu:8880 

National Writers Union  

Benefit 

7:30 p.m. 

Oakland YWCA 

1515 Webster St. 

The National Writers Union, Local 3 presents “A Dream Still Beckons: Multicultural Offerings for Peace and Justice in honor of Langston Hughes and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” The even features poetry readings and a dance party. Donations are requested. 839-1248 

Natural Learning Rhythms Seminar 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

Public Library, Claremont Branch 

2940 Benvenue Ave. 

NLR is a system of holistic child development of their inherent capacities. Free. Registration is required, 800-200-1107. 

Sunday, Jan. 13

Banjo Concert 

5 p.m. 

MusicSources 

1000 The Alameda 

Bill Evans explores more than 200 years of banjo music on a variety of vintage instruments. Reception follows concert. $15 - $18. 528-1685 

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

As a West Berkeley resident and past Ocean View “meddler” in city affairs, I want to thank the city of Berkeley for its investment of considerable effort and expense in providing a pedestrian overcrossing of the freeway just south of University Ave. My thanks include Mayor Dean, the City Council, the Planning Department, various commissioners, and interested citizenry who pushed for a quality bridge, and last but not least, the tax payers.  

This bridge, now nearing completion, is a substantial mitigation for the injury done to the Ocean View neighborhood when the railroad and freeway conspired to rob us of our access to the beach and the Bay.  

But it is not just a bridge – it is a grand and ample bridge. I applaud the designers who, with that arched shape, mimic the curve of the old Bay shore in Aquatic Park. Rather than an imposition, it is pleasing to the eye.  

To those who think the city spent too much money on this project, I say it is always better to do something well, for it will continue to repay us for years.  

There is still much to do – land acquisitions, the restoration of the beach, and lots of effort to keep zealots from over-developing the land – but this piece of infrastructure sets a new high standard for what is to follow – that is, the Shoreline Park. 

Curtis Manning  

Berkeley 

924 Gilman 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 

Blake’s Jan. 8: Operation Interstellar, $ 3; Jan. 9: Kid Glove Entertainment Presents, Hebro; Jan. 10: Electronica w/ Ascension, $5; Jan. 11: Five Point Plan, SFunk, $5; Jan. 12: Lavish Green, Stone Cutters, $5; Jan. 13: Alex Dolan & 22 Fillmore, $3; Jan. 14: All Star Jam Featuring The Steve Gannon Band & Mz. Dee, $4; Jan. 15: View From Here, $3; Jan. 16: Zion Rock, Hebro, $3; 2367 Telegraph Ave., 877-488-6533. 

Anna’s Bistro Jan. 8: Singers’ Open Mik w/ Trio!!!; Jan.9: Jimmy Ryan Jazz Quartet; Jan.10: Graham Richards Jazz Quartet; Jan.11:Anna sings jazz standards/ 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Jan. 12: Robin Gregory & Sy Perkoff/ 10 pm Ducksn Distones Jazz Sextet; Jan. 13: “Choro Time” Brazilian sounds; Jan.14: “Renagade Sidemen” w/ Calvin Keyes: Jan.15: Mark Murphy’s jazz vocal workshop; Music starts at 8p.m., every night, second band at 10p.m., 1801 University Ave., 849-ANNA 

Cal Performances Jan. 18 and 19: 8 p.m., The National Acrobats of Taiwan, R.O.C.; Jan. 20: 3 p.m., Midori and Robert McDonald. $28 -$48. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph. 642-9988 

Roda Theatre Jan. 22 and 23: both at 8 p.m., The Berkeley Symphony, Music Director Kent Nagano, continues its 31st season with two performances of Schubert’s Symphony No. 5. $21, $32, $45, $10 students. 2015 Addison St. 841-2800, www.berkeleysymphony.org 

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. 9: Ken Waldman; Jan.10: Silk Road Music; Jan. 11: Alex De Grassi, Franco Morone; Jan. 12: Viviana Guzman & Performers of the World; Jan. 13: Rob Ickes & Slide City; All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. 548-1761, www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Julia Morgan Theatre Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, classical party music; Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Jan.9: Ezra Gale Quartet; Jan. 10: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 11: Hydeus Kiatta Trio; Jan. 12: Barefoot Bride; Jan. 16: Realistic; Jan. 17: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 18: Bigfoot In Paris Trio; Jan. 19: Netwerk: Electric; Jan. 23: Mitch Marcus Quintet; Jan. 24: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 25: The Sardonics; Jan. 26: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Fourtet; Jan. 30: Joel Harrison Quartet; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

Rose Street House Jan. 17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@yahoo.com. 

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

Trinity Chapel Jan. 19: 8 p.m., Janine Johnson, harpsichord, Bach, Buxtehude and Pachelbel. 2320 Dana St., 549-3864. 

Organ Music Jan. 27: 5 p.m., Ron McKean performs Ferscobaldi, Froberger and Bach. $15 - $18. MusicSources, 1000 The Alameda, 528-1685. 

First Congregational Church Jan. 19: 8p.m., eight womens voices and continuo, also baritone Hugh Davis will sing priest’s acclamations. $25 general, $18 senior, $12 students., First Congregational Church, Dana & Durant, Berkeley, (415) 979-4500 

Dance 

Julia Morgan Theatre 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’s Feast of Dance,” An evening of conemporary dance performed by local dance groups to benefit dance in the East Bay. $15 suggested donation. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

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 

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. 558-138, 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 

Film 

Pacific Film Archive 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., Oscar’s Magic Adventure, 5:30 p.m., ABC Africa; 2527 Bancroft Way, 642-1412. 

Exhibits  

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” 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. 

“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 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” 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” 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” 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” 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. 

“Domestic Bliss” Collection of abstract paintings and mixed medium by Amy St. George. Her serious of work range from large abstract paintings to intimate boxes with collections of found objects, Jan.13 through Apr. 4th Albany Community Center Foyer Gallery, 1249 Marin Ave., Albany,524-9283 

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. 9: Karen Kevorkian & Gail Wronsky read their poetry $2; Jan. 10: Joan Frank reads from her new book, “Boys Keep Being Born”;Jan. 11: Christopher Hitchens, “Letters to a Youn Contrarian”;Jan. 13: Phyllis Koestenbaum & Carol Snow read their poetry $2; 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. 

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. 

Jewish Community Center Jan. 14: 7:30-9 p.m., Emily Rose interweaves the family chronicle of her ancestors with the political and social events of the 18th and 19th centuries; Jan. 16: 7:30-8:30 p.m., Elizabeth Rosner will read from her debut novel “The Speed of of Light.” 1414 Walnut St. 

AK Press Jan. 19: 8 p.m., Joel Schalit dissects the New World Order and the rise of religious fundamentalism in his new book “Jerusalem Calling”. 674-A 23rd St., Oakland, 208-1700, molly@akpress.org 

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, children under 5 free. Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. noon - 5 p.m.; 1000 Oak St., Oakland, 238-2200, 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. - 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 and Pacific Film Archive “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. - Sun. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.; 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu. 

Lawrence Hall of Science 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. 

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, www.lhs.berkeley.edu. 

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

Last week the city clerk made census packages available for citizens who want to roll up their sleeves, dust off their calculators and sharpen their pencils to take another shot at redrawing the city’s eight council districts. 

This is the second attempt at redrawing the district lines. The City Charter requires an adjustment following the census every 10 years so each district contains just about the same number of people. 

The first redistricting plan was scrapped by the City Council on Nov. 28 after the grassroots organization Citizens for Fair Representation, upset with what it called a lack of public input into the plan, collected enough signatures during a petition drive to put the controversial plan on the ballot.  

But instead of putting the plan to the voters, the council voted to drop the plan and start the process from scratch. 

One of the problems that contributed to the plan’s downfall was a Federal Census Bureau undercount of approximately 4,500 residents, mostly students, in districts 7 and 8. 

According to a notice in the packets, the Federal Census Bureau indicated that revised census numbers would be available by mid-January. These numbers, however, won’t reflect the city’s actual population, said Federal Census Bureau spokesperson Edison Gore. 

The 2000 census counted 102,500 people. 

“In no case will the new numbers include an actual recount,” he said. “Federal law requires us to conclude number tabulations by a certain date prior to the release of the census figures.” 

So instead of a new count, the census bureau will re-shift the population count in the city’s census tracts to “spread out the undercount,” Gore said.  

According to a spokesperson in the Office of the City Clerk, the old numbers were being released with the new packets as a safety precaution. She said the redistricting process has to get underway if the city is going to meet a tight April 1 deadline to submit an approved plan to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, in order for the new districts to valid for the Nov. 5 elections, during which the mayor and four council seats will be decided. When they are available, those working on new redistricting plans will switch to the new numbers. 

The deadline for submitting a redistricting plan is Feb. 1. The City Council will hold public hearings on the plans on Feb. 19 and Feb. 26. The council is expected to decide on a new plan on Feb. 26. 

During the last redistricting process, the city received four redistricting plans, in addition to two city staff plans.  

The plan, originally approved and later rescinded, was submitted by David Blake and Michael O’Malley. It was approved by a 5-4 council vote, with the progressive majority voting in support. 

The plan drew fire from Citizens for Fair Representation because large numbers of residents were shifted across district lines, with the majority of the 4,500 people ending up in District 8, represented by Councilmember Polly Armstrong. CFR supporters pointed out that with more people in District 8 than in others, each person’s vote would count less. No CFR representative was available for comment on Monday. 

Blake defended the plan on Monday saying he and O’Malley attempted to distribute the undercount throughout the city’s eight districts. Blake said he would not be submitting another redistricting plan this time around.  

Another controversial plan was submitted by the Associated Students of the University of California. They sought to create a student-majority district, in the hopes of electing a student to the City Council, by drastically altering the shapes of districts 7 and 8. The city attorney determined the plan was illegal because the City Charter requires new districts to be similar to the original districts, which were drawn in 1986. 

“We’re not sure yet if we will be submitting another plan this time,” said ASUC’s External Affairs Redistricting Coordinator Michael Wagaman. “But we intend to ensure that students are given their fair voice in city government.” 

Another plan that didn’t get much recognition during the redistricting process was the Elliot Cohen Plan, which, according to Cohen, was the only plan that came close to fairly evening out the population count among the city’s eight districts. “My plan was the one that came closest to one person, one vote,” he said. “The plan I submit this time will do that again as well as reflect the constructive comments I received during the last round.” 

For more information about obtaining a redistricting package call the City Clerk’s Office or visit the city’s Web site at http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us.

Editor: 

Last September, the National Institutes for Health defunded the controversial Tritium Facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab for lack of worthwhile activity there. Community leaders and activists rejoiced that a 10-year campaign to close this radioactive nightmare had succeeded. For over 30 years this building had been continuously dumping clouds of rad-waste out a stack 25 feet from the fence of the Lawrence Hall of Science children’s museum. The site is super-fund eligible. 

Well, it’s time to put the corks back in the bottles as LBNL’s nuclear wizards are not done using Berkeley for a radioactive trash can. Defunded, the tritium work for the large corporations they have been doing may actually cease, but LBNL has restarted its incinerator for mixed waste - dioxins, heavy metals and other cancer-killers that have become radioactive. The lab is calling the device an oxidation chamber which is as honest as calling the process a “treatability study,” a sham which allows them to operate the incinerator without the normal permits that even they would have trouble obtaining.  

The so-called oxidation chamber, cleaner than a crude incinerator, involves the igniting of oxidizers, volatiles and rad-waste in a contained chamber which introduces the real possibility of an explosion. Previously, they operated their mixed waste treatability study in secret for three years on a slightly different kiln-type incinerator until a horrible accident on July 24, 1998 dumped at least 50 curies of tritium and who knows what else onto the museum. LBNL waited 10 days before admitting the accident which did nothing for the kids, parents and workers at the museum that day. Do we really need to be doing this kind of dangerous experimental work next to the area’s largest children’s facility? Why doesn’t LBNL ship their rad-waste (and their oxidizing incinerator) to Idaho like all the other Dept. of Energy operations? 

Unfortunately, LBNL won’t be dismantling the highly contaminated exhaust stack, building or other equipment until they study-incinerate all the remaining waste from the tritium fiasco. As to whether LBNL will just continue processing mixed waste from their other operations or even other DOE facilities, they are staying tight-lipped though one of their lawyers let it slip that the schedule for the treatability study is “open - ended.” Every day I hear of a new cancer, leukemia or other genetic malady which has been directly linked to exposure to these poisons. LBNL cannot be trusted with the well-being of our children or our community and we should send Dr. Strangelove, his rad-waste and his oxidizing incinerator packing.  

Incidentally, the new chair of Berkeley’s Environmental commission, Elmer Grossman, has been leading a one-man campaign to re-fund the Tritium Facility, including an investigation of NIH and why they pulled the money plug. Only in Berkeley.  

Mark McDonald 

(acting co-chair) Committee to MinimizeToxic Waste 

Berkeley 

The Office of Physical and Environmental Planning at UC Berkeley has released the Final Environmental Impact Report regarding a proposed amendment to the 1990 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP).  

The LRDP must be amended because the Northeast Quadrant Science Safety (NEQSS) Projects entails a net increase in square footage beyond what the LRDP originally allowed. 

The NEQSS Projects include the replacement of Stanley and Old Davis Hall, seismic upgrades of Cory Hall, the Naval Architecture Building and New Davis Hall, and the construction of a new building north of Soda Hall as well as additional parking at the Lower Hearst parking structure. 

The final EIR responds to comments received from the city and the community. It is available at the Physical and Environmental Planning Office, Room 300, 1936 University Ave., Berkeley, CA, 94720-1382. Questions on the FEIR may be addressed to Jennifer Lawrence at 642-7720. 

Editor: 

This letter is in response to one written by Robert Clear, Jan. 4-5 “too much emotion too little reason.” Clear suggests that recent letters printed in the Daily Planet were too full of emotion and had too little reason. I would suggest Clear seems to believe in ‘magic’ and practice selective ignorance. 

First the ignorance; strange Clear is jumping into the fray about high-rises after 55 public meetings over three years on the General Plan that he didn’t bother to attend. This is not brain surgery, one either supports more high-rises downtown or not. The use of a few visual images to make a point is hardly irrational. 

Set-backs: the opponents of massive high rises in Berkeley have always demanded set-backs. Set-backs with trees/bushes make for a more pleasant walking city. Set-backs are currently required only for residential properties because of the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance. The developers are strongly opposed to them. 

Evaluate the last 20 apartment houses or commercial properties developed in Berkeley. They are all built up to the property line, some like the Berkeleyan even hang over a square of the pedestrian sidewalk. I requested set-backs for commercial properties in the new General Plan three years ago and continued the refrain for another year. No dice. It is not in the final draft. 

Difference in scale: the proponents of high-rises are always suggesting Berkeley be more like Paris, Portland, Seattle, New York City or Washington, D.C. I did not compare Berkeley to San Francisco, only to the street experience of downtown Montgomery, Sansome, and Battery streets, if we dot our downtown with vertical walls of concrete. There is a lot more to San Francisco than the downtown financial district. 

This is the city of my birth and youth. I would not refer to it as ‘Gotham City.’ The horrible experience at 101 Montgomery Street, of wind and darkness is not experienced at 444 Market St. because of the 40-foot set back with trees and benches. 

Sprawl and auto use: who ignores the obvious correlation between suburban sprawl and auto use? Here’s where Clear’s belief in magic surfaces. No matter how many new units are built in San Francisco or Berkeley the demand for cheaper housing on the outskirts does not abate. The folks who buy a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house on an acre with pool for $500,000 are not interested in living in an inner city, be it Berkeley or San Francisco. This is why Tracy, Fairfield, Vallejo, Napa, Sonoma, Antioch, Brentwood, Santa Rosa, Windsor, Bencia, Modesto, Merced, Madera, Gilroy, et al keep over-flowing into the surrounding farm lands. 

There is not a finite number of émigrés to our fair state. Eight million come every decade. Once in awhile there is a slowdown like during the current recession but it will pick up again all too soon. Trashing Berkeley is not the solution to urban sprawl, we’ll just end up with a concrete-covered city and the outer ranch land also covered in concrete. The only way to save open space is to give generously to the Nature Conservancy, California Land Trust and all the other organization that buy up ranch land until it can be sold to the Feds or the State for parks.  

Norine M. Smith 

Berkeley 

The Berkeley Unified School District’s revised annual expenditure plan for Facilities Maintenance is available for public viewing in the Superintendent’s office at 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way any time after Dec. 26, 2001. The plan is mandated by Measure BB, the Berkeley Schools Facilities Safety and Maintenance Act, passed by voters in 2000. 

The Board of Education will vote on the expenditure plan at its regular meeting on Jan. 9. 

SACRAMENTO — California must re-evaluate a decades-old forest fire prevention program in which the state paid for controlled burns on private land, a judge ruled Monday. 

The state isn’t adequately gauging the environmental affects caused by participating private landowners who are likely to use herbicides to control re-growth once an area is burned, ruled San Francisco Superior Court Judge David Garcia. 

Louis Blumberg, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, couldn’t immediately say if the department would comply or appeal the decision. 

He called the vegetation management program “a critical part of our fire prevention efforts” that has burned an average of 37,000 acres a year for 20 years. The state has conducted the burns for more than 50 years, he said, and last year burned 65 plots totaling 23,700 acres at a cost of $125 to $150 per acre. 

“For every dollar we spend on prevention, we save $8 to $12 down that line that we would be spending on fire suppression,” Blumberg said. 

But Patty Clary of Californians for Alternatives to Toxics (CATS), one of the groups that brought the suit, called the program “a timber company welfare program.” 

The state pays 80 percent of landowners’ costs, but can’t control what landowners do with the private property once the program is complete, Blumberg said. 

CATS, based in Arcata, and the Environmental Protection Information Center in Garberville alleged the state’s failure to take into account the private landowners’ subsequent actions violates environmental restrictions, and the judge agreed. 

“Californians want protection from wildfires but don’t want the environmental degradation” that could be result, EPIC spokeswoman Cynthia Elkins said in a statement. 

The state must take into account the possible effects of erosion, harm to sensitive species, and the potential spread of noxious weeks from the burning programs, in addition to the potential harm from herbicides, the environmental groups said. 

The judge’s ruling comes as the state and federal governments focus increasing attention on fire prevention efforts across the West. 

It is the second similar court victory for CATS. Last year, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Forest Service to reevaluate the potential environmental harm from using herbicides to control re-growth in 320,000 acres of planned fire breaks in three Northern California national forests.

Study projects local economy rebound  

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Bay area economy will be on the mend in coming years, springing back from its worst slump in decades, according to a joint study released Monday by three public policy groups. 

The region’s economy will grow at a rate of 4.3 percent to 5.1 percent during the next three to five years, based on projections from the Bay Area Council, the Bay Area Economic Forum and the Association of Bay Area Governments. 

The key to how fast the Bay Area bounces back will depend, in part, on how long it takes the national economy to recover. 

The report found the Bay Area remains the most productive regional economy in the nation, and produces goods and services more efficiently than other areas. 

The report, authored by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co, found that $65,090 worth of goods was produced for every person in the region in 2000. That figure was 84 percent higher than the national average and far outdistanced Boston, which ranked second in producing $42,294 per person. 

The Bay Area’s high cost of living tempered its economic success, the report noted. 

“When you factor in the cost of living, the 84 percent lead in output per capita gets shaved down to 36 percent,” said Sean Randolph, president of the Bay Area Economic Forum. 

Experts say mass transit systems are terrorist targets 

SAN FRANCISCO — Bay Area rail and bus systems carry 1.3 million weekday passengers, making them vital economic arteries — and an inviting target for terrorists craving mass casualties, societal disruption and media attention. 

“Terrorists clearly have identified public transportation — whether it’s the subways in Moscow, Paris and London, or Israeli buses — as a killing field, ” said Brian Michael Jenkins, a security expert who co-wrote a new international study to glean the best counterterrorism tactics from Bay Area, London and Tokyo transit systems. 

Issued by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University, the study praised BART’s readiness for nuclear, biological and chemical attacks. 

But researchers criticized the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s light-rail and bus lines for being “less concerned with the thought of a terrorist threat than such issues as fare avoidance and graffiti.” 

Officials at the South Bay transit agency countered that the two-year study overlooked the agency’s disaster-response drills and its plans to install security cameras, vehicle-locator and communication technology on all trains and buses. 

Convict claims to be a Temptation  

SAN FRANCISCO — Alan Young sings, dances and puts on quite a show when he poses as the former musical director of the Temptations. Trouble is, police say, his unknowing victims get stuck with the tab. 

Young, a 50-year-old parolee from Oakland who has a criminal record dating to 1978, has variously claimed to be Cornelius Grant, the soul group’s one-time musical director, and Ali Ollie Woodson, a former Temptations lead singer, investigators say. 

Young was jailed Dec. 28 and has since pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of fraud and identity theft involving Woodson and Grant and four alleged victims — an art dealer, an attorney, an accountant and a Hayward church choir singer. 

Authorities believe Young took the four for thousands of dollars. 

The real Grant, who is 58 and lives in West Hollywood, is flabbergasted by it all. 

“I think it is amazing that a guy using my name can get onto a private jet, and I’m the real guy and I can’t get a dime,” he said. 

Grant was the Temptations’ musical director for 20 years and co-wrote some of the soul group’s hits, including “I Know I’m Losing You” and “You’re My Everything.” 

Marin foundation may spend out of county 

SAN RAFAEL — San Francisco supervisors want the Marin Community Foundation to spend Buck Trust money outside Marin County, and the board has asked the state attorney general to look at how the foundation awards grants. 

However, a resolution approved by the board in August never was sent to the foundation, which distributes the Buck Trust, or to the attorney general. 

It wasn’t until Dec. 19 that foundation chief executive Thomas Peters learned that San Francisco’s elected body had its eye on the foundation’s assets. 

“I was flabbergasted, number one at the content and explicitness of their run at the Buck Trust, but also sort of procedurally amazed that they never saw fit to send the resolution,” Peters said. 

The Buck Trust was left in 1975 by Ross philanthropist Beryl Buck for “charitable, religious or educational purposes in providing care for the needy in Marin and for other nonprofit charitable, religious or educational purposes.” 

In 1986, the San Francisco Foundation, first distributor of her trust, lost a lengthy legal battle to distribute the money throughout the Bay Area. 

But last August, San Francisco Supervisor Geraldo Sandoval drafted the San Francisco supervisors’ resolution at the request of the Greenlining Institute, a San Francisco public policy and advocacy organization. 

The institute says the foundation is not adequately serving Marin’s poor and needy, and in December asked Attorney General Bill Lockyer to investigate.SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco supervisors want the Marin Community Foundation to spend Buck Trust money outside Marin County, and the board has asked the state attorney general to look at how the foundation awards grants. 

However, a resolution approved by the board in August never was sent to the foundation, which distributes the Buck Trust, or to the attorney general. 

It wasn’t until Dec. 19 that foundation chief executive Thomas Peters learned that San Francisco’s elected body had its eye on the foundation’s assets. 

“I was flabbergasted, number one at the content and explicitness of their run at the Buck Trust, but also sort of procedurally amazed that they never saw fit to send the resolution,” Peters said. 

The Buck Trust was left in 1975 by Ross philanthropist Beryl Buck for “charitable, religious or educational purposes in providing care for the needy in Marin and for other nonprofit charitable, religious or educational purposes.” 

In 1986, the San Francisco Foundation, first distributor of her trust, lost a lengthy legal battle to distribute the money throughout the Bay Area. 

But last August, San Francisco Supervisor Geraldo Sandoval drafted the San Francisco supervisors’ resolution at the request of the Greenlining Institute, a San Francisco public policy and advocacy organization. 

The institute says the foundation is not adequately serving Marin’s poor and needy, and in December asked Attorney General Bill Lockyer to investigate.SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco supervisors want the Marin Community Foundation to spend Buck Trust money outside Marin County, and the board has asked the state attorney general to look at how the foundation awards grants. 

However, a resolution approved by the board in August never was sent to the foundation, which distributes the Buck Trust, or to the attorney general. 

It wasn’t until Dec. 19 that foundation chief executive Thomas Peters learned that San Francisco’s elected body had its eye on the foundation’s assets. 

“I was flabbergasted, number one at the content and explicitness of their run at the Buck Trust, but also sort of procedurally amazed that they never saw fit to send the resolution,” Peters said. 

The Buck Trust was left in 1975 by Ross philanthropist Beryl Buck for “charitable, religious or educational purposes in providing care for the needy in Marin and for other nonprofit charitable, religious or educational purposes.” 

In 1986, the San Francisco Foundation, first distributor of her trust, lost a lengthy legal battle to distribute the money throughout the Bay Area. 

But last August, San Francisco Supervisor Geraldo Sandoval drafted the San Francisco supervisors’ resolution at the request of the Greenlining Institute, a San Francisco public policy and advocacy organization. 

The institute says the foundation is not adequately serving Marin’s poor and needy, and in December asked Attorney General Bill Lockyer to investigate.

SAN FRANCISCO — Three years after rewriting the books on computer design and simplicity with the iMac, Apple Computer Inc. on Monday unveiled updated models with a flat-screen display, faster processor and a new look. 

The revamped iMac looks nothing like its egg-shaped predecessor, or any other PC for that matter. A 15-inch liquid crystal display attaches by a chrome swivel bar to a white base that holds the guts of the computer. 

“This is the best thing I think we’ve ever done,” Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and chief executive, said during a two-hour speech at the Macworld Expo trade show. 

Mac fans had been wondering for weeks what might be introduced during the show, which for years has been used by Apple to announce new products and strategies. 

Most believed a new iMac would be revealed. There were other rumors, such as the possible debut of a new handheld computer or an update to the Mac OS X. 

It remains to be seen whether the new iMac will take off as did its predecessor, which sold 6 million units in three years. Computer makers have been suffering through the current economic recession. 

Apple now has less than 5 percent of the total PC market, according to Gartner Dataquest and other analysts. Some consumers have balked at higher prices and the limited software that runs on the Apple platform. 

“Our share in the computer market is larger than either Mercedes or BMW in the car market, just to put that in perspective,” Jobs said in an interview. “When people see what a Mac can do, they get real excited.” 

The basic configuration, which will cost $1,299 and be available in March, runs on a 700-megahertz G4 processor. It has 128 megabytes of memory, a 40-gigabyte hard drive and a rewritable compact disk drive. 

The middle model, available in February, has twice as much memory and a combination rewritable CD drive and DVD player. It is priced at $1,499. 

The flagship model, which will start selling this month, has an 800 MHz G4 processor, 256 megabytes of memory, a 60-gigabyte hard drive and a combination “SuperDrive” that can write and record CDs and DVDs. It will cost $1,799. 

Apple spent about two years developing the new machine and chose early on to make revolutionary changes in its design rather than create a smaller version of the original iMac, Jobs said. 

All wires — including the power cord, universal serial bus cables and others — run from the back of the machine’s white base. DVDs and CDs are inserted at the front, just below a large silver Apple logo. 

Yet the most noticeable difference is the sharp, non-flickering liquid crystal display. The viewable area on the 15-inch monitor is the same as most 17-inch, old-style cathode ray tube monitors. 

The monitor tilts in all directions and swivels. The base is heavy enough to prevent the unit from tipping over — or being used as a replacement for a laptop computer. 

“This is in my mind the most aggressive model they have ever introduced,” said Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co. “They blew out my expectations with this machine.” 

Jobs said the new iMacs will form a digital hub to which cameras, music players and other devices can be connected. 

Since announcing the digital hub strategy last year, Apple has unveiled several Mac-only programs and gadgets, including the popular iPod music player and iTunes music software. 

On Monday, Jobs unveiled another component: A program called iPhoto that imports, stores and helps share pictures taken by a digital camera. It also links to Internet services for printing pictures and even publishing a book. 

The company also enhanced its iBook line of laptops, adding a souped-up model with a 14-inch screen rather than a 12-inch screen. 

Jobs also touted the increasing number of applications that now run on Mac OS X, the Unix-based operating system that was launched in March. By the end of this month, all new Macs will first boot up using OS X, though the classic Mac OS 9.1 will remain an option, he said. 

In trading Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Apple shares were down 3.3 percent, or 79 cents, at $22.90. Shares regained 10 cents in after-hours trading. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Apple Computer: http://www.apple.com 

SAN FRANCISCO — Wells Fargo & Co. is poised to introduce a discount service for wiring money to Mexico, representing the latest move in the banking giant’s courtship of the steadily growing Hispanic population in the United States. 

The new service will charge a $10 flat fee for wiring as much as $1,000 to Mexico. 

The price undercuts the rates charged by the dominant financial wire services, Western Union and Moneygram. The market leaders collect a $15 fee on a comparable wire transfer of up to $300 and charge as much as $50 for sending $1,000 to Mexico. In some cases, Moneygram charges a flat fee of $15 for any amount. 

Mexicans living in the United States wire an estimated $8 billion annually to friends and relatives back home. 

Wells, the nation’s fifth-largest bank, intends to test its new wire service in a Phoenix, Ariz., branch and seven Texas branches under a pilot program that will begin before April. 

The San Francisco-based bank eventually plans to offer the wire transfer service — operated as a joint venture with Grupo Financiero Bancomer SA, Mexico’s second-largest bank — in all 3,000 of its branches located in 23 states. 

The service represents Wells’ latest offering aimed at Hispanic consumers, particularly Mexican-born immigrants without bank accounts. 

“It’s an extremely attractive market,” said Bob Byrne, Wells’ director of divergent services. “We want to stay close to it by tailoring products that fit the market’s needs.” 

To tap into the “unbanked” market of Hispanics, Wells in November began to recognize Mexican documents called “matriculas” as an acceptable form of identification. Mexican consulates issue matriculas to migrants lacking the conventional papers to establish residency in the United States. 

Wells signed up 1,000 new customers using matriculas during the first few weeks of the program. Meanwhile, Wells has drawn fire from anti-immigrant activists who believe the bank’s loosened identification requirements will encourage more Mexicans to illegally cross the border. 

Wells also has been heavily promoting another long-running program, called Intercuenta, that lets customers send money to Mexico through account transfers completed on the Internet or automated teller machines. 

The new Mexican wire service will be offered to non-accountholders, as well as current Wells customers. 

Wells’ sharper focus on Hispanics reflects the market’s widening appeal. 

The Hispanic population in the United States increased 58 percent during the 1990s, according to census data. The disposable income of Hispanics jumped 118 percent during the 1990s to $452 billion in 2001, according to a study by the University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth. 

Disposable income among non Hispanics rose by 68 percent during the same period, the study said. 

By drawing more Hispanic non-customers into its branches, Wells is betting it will be able to persuade them to open an account and then sell them a variety of other financial services products, said industry analyst Joseph Morford of RBC Dain Rauscher. 

Wells’ success at cross-selling products to its existing customers is a major reason its revenues have been growing at a faster clip than most other big banks during the last few years, Morford said. 

With its expansion into the wire service business, Wells will be competing against two well-established services with substantially more outlets scattered in stores around the country. Western Union, owned by Minneapolis-based First Data Corp., has been wiring money to Mexico for more than 100 years. 

Western Union is closely watching Wells’ new wire service but has no immediate plans to change its prices, said spokesman Pete Ziverts. 

“Our service has stood the test of time,” he said. “We believe we can compete on the overall convenience and customer service that we offer.” 

——— 

On The Net: 

http://www.wellsfargo.com 

http://www.westernunion.com 

http://www.moneygram.com 

By Brian Bergstein 

The Associated Press 

SAN JOSE — The infighting at Hewlett-Packard Co. resumed Monday with the board accusing dissident director Walter Hewlett of misrepresenting his reasons for voting for — and then publicly opposing — the acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp. 

In a letter filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Chairwoman Carly Fiorina and seven other HP directors told Hewlett they were “particularly disturbed” by his recent contention he originally voted for the $24.7 billion deal only to help HP secure the best possible price. 

Hewlett said in a Dec. 27 SEC filing that he voiced concerns about the deal at several board meetings, but that an HP lawyer told him the stock-exchange ratio in the deal would have to be reworked if it did not have the unanimous support of the board. 

Hewlett said he was told he could approve the deal as a board member and vote against it as a shareholder, and made his intentions known even before the deal was announced Sept. 3. 

The new letter from the other directors said that “to suggest that you were pressured into approving the merger is inaccurate and inappropriate.” 

“You were never advised that HP would be forced to pay a higher price for Compaq if you voted against the merger,” the letter said. 

The letter also said the board and management had no idea Hewlett would vote his personal shares against the deal until a half-hour before he announced that publicly on Nov. 6. 

However, at the time, HP management said it was not surprised by Hewlett’s announcement. An HP spokesman did not return a call seeking comment. 

Hewlett opposes the HP-Compaq deal because he believes it is too risky, would lessen the contribution of HP’s profitable printing division and increase the company’s reliance on personal computers without effectively improving its services business. 

HP and Compaq are awaiting regulatory approval before setting a date for a shareholder vote, but Hewlett already is lobbying other investors to oppose the deal. His opposition camp includes Hewlett and Packard family interests with 18 percent of HP shares. 

The companies believe merging will make them a dominant player in key technology markets, improve their business-computing products and services and save them $2.5 billion a year. 

“We collectively concluded that the merger represented by far the single best strategic alternative for the company,” Monday’s letter said. “Quite frankly Walter, you have never offered an alternative strategy that we all haven’t debated and rejected.” 

The letter also criticized Hewlett for missing board meetings in which the merger was discussed. A Hewlett spokesman was unavailable for comment. 

Shares of Palo Alto-based HP fell 14 cents, less than 1 percent, to $23.02 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. Compaq gained 29 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $11.68, after the Houston-based company said fourth-quarter results will be better than previously expected. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.hp.com 

http://www.compaq.com 

SACRAMENTO — California legislators returned to their antique wooden desks in the Capitol on Monday, kicking off a new year of budget shortfalls and promising to keep the state solvent. 

Coming back after three months in their small towns, farms and big cities, 80 Assembly members and 40 senators reveled in the rituals of opening day beneath the Capitol dome. They shook hands, hugged and gossiped on the floors of their palatial-style chambers. 

Outside, the Capitol Christmas tree still stood and wet paint signs adorned a building accessible only by showing identification to security forces. 

During a 13-minute session, the Senate played host to an emotional speech by Sen. Bruce McPherson, R-Santa Cruz, asking that it adjourn in memory of his late son, Hunter. The 27-year-old McPherson was shot and killed during a Nov. 17 robbery in San Francisco. 

“He was the best son a father ever had,” said an emotion-choked McPherson as tears flowed in the Senate chamber. 

Afterward, senators hugged and offered condolences to McPherson and his wife, Mary. 

The Assembly adjourned its 40-minute session in memory of Brian Cody Prosser of Bakersfield, the 28-year-old U.S. Army staff sergeant killed in Afghanistan Dec. 5 by a U.S. bomb that missed its target. 

The Democratic-dominated Legislature faces another turbulent year, following a troubled and dramatic 2001 session that focused mainly on keeping California’s lights on. A $12 billion budget deficit leads the priorities, alongside PG&E’s bankruptcy status, a weakened economy and an array of anti-terrorism proposals. 

“The way things are happening, every year there’s something exciting,” said Assemblyman Herb Wesson, D-Culver City. “This year it’s the budget crisis. It is what it is. We will survive this.” 

Wesson expects to be elected the Assembly’s 65th Speaker on Thursday. 

He will take office Feb. 6. 

Current Speaker Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, said the Legislature hopes for quick upturn in the state’s economy. 

“Economists are telling us this is a short-term issue,” Hertzberg said. 

But many analysts believe budget cuts may be painful, especially after years of record surpluses from the mid-1990s to 2000. Most of the Legislature is also inexperienced at budget cutting. Efforts last year to craft a $103 billion budget led to weeks of impasse between ruling Democrats and Republican holdouts. 

Gov. Gray Davis will propose a 2002-2003 budget for the fiscal year beginning this July 1 on Thursday. Davis also makes the governor’s annual state of the state address at 5 p.m. Tuesday. 

Further overshadowing the session that began Monday are March 5 primary elections and a Nov. 5 general election in which, in which the entire Assembly and half the Senate seats are up for grabs.

LOS ANGELES — Settlement talks were under way Monday on the eve of trial for 15 Greenpeace activists and two free-lance journalists charged in connection with trying to stop a missile-defense test at Vandenberg Air Force Base, both sides said. 

The 17 are accused of conspiracy, trespassing and violating a safety zone for allegedly riding inflatable rafts into a Pacific Ocean “exclusion zone” on July 14 as the Air Force prepared to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile for use as a target. 

The protest caused about a two-minute delay in launching the unarmed Minuteman II. The ICBM’s mock warhead was then destroyed 144 miles above the Earth by an interceptor rocket launched from a Pacific isle. 

The activists, some from overseas, were scheduled to go on trial Tuesday but Greenpeace officials and the U.S. attorney’s office said Monday that the case could settle first. 

“There are ongoing settlement discussions between the government and the individuals who are facing trial tomorrow,” said U.S. attorney’s spokesman Thom Mrozek. “As of right now there has been no resolution to the case although there may be before the start of trial tomorrow.” 

Mrozek declined to disclose details of the negotiations, as did Greenpeace spokeswoman Carol Gregory. 

“At this time, at this second, we’re still prepared to go to trial tomorrow morning,” Gregory said. 

If convicted the activists and journalists could face up to six months in prison, Mrozek said. 

Gregory identified the Greenpeace activists indicted in the case as: Jon Aguilar of Carpinteria, Calif.; Nic Clyde of Sydney, Australia; Patrick Eriksson of Oja, Sweden; Katie Flynn-Jambeck of Minneapolis; Henk Haazen of New Zealand; Brent Hanssen of Columbia, Mo.; Tom Knappe of Germany; Stuart Lennox of Australia; Guy Levecher of Greenfield Park, Quebec; Kelly Osborne of Littleton, Colo.; Bill Nandris of London; Samir Nazareth of Nagpur, India; Mathias Pendzialek of Hamburg, Germany; Dan Rudie of Minnesota; and John Wills of Great Britain. 

The free-lance journalists are Jorge C. Torres of Los Angeles and Steve Morgan of Cottingham, England, Gregory said.

STOCKTON — The bodies of three young children left alone in a Stockton home were discovered after the the single-story house went up in flames. 

The bodies of Javier Sanchez, 7, Annette Sanchez, 5, and Francis Sanchez, 3, were found after the flames were extinguished early Sunday. Preliminary reports indicated the children succumbed to smoke inhalation, officials said. 

Neighbors said the children’s mother, Maria Aguilar, 24, left the house with her boyfriend Saturday afternoon. 

The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office will determine whether criminal charges will be filed against Aguilar, authorities said. 

It was the second such tragedy in a week for the area. 

In Bakersfield, two children ages 6 and 3 died in an apartment fire on New Year’s Eve after their mother allegedly left them home alone while she went out with friends. 

The children’s mother, Jodi Ranae Saldana, 26, pleaded innocent to two counts of felony child endangerment and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. 

She was jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail and faces a maximum sentence of seven years, four months in prison if convicted. 

LOS ANGELES — An investment adviser must repay nearly $19 million he took from 400 investors and spent on himself, including paying for his honeymoon and his wife’s cosmetic surgery. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission Monday said it won a final judgment in federal court last month against Jerry Womack, a Nevada resident who did business in Los Angeles. 

According to the terms of the judgment, which was entered Dec. 17, Womack must repay $18.9 million, plus interest, and pay a civil penalty of $110,000. Womack was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering in federal court in May because of the same actions cited in the civil case. He is in custody awaiting sentencing. 

The SEC’s judgment was issued in default, because Womack and his attorney never responded to questions or other summonses in the case, according to Nick Morgan, senior trial counsel in the SEC’s Pacific regional office. 

A call to Womack’s attorney was not immediately returned. 

The SEC accused Womack of offering to invest money in the stock market using an investment strategy called the “Womack Dow Principle.” He sold the securities to investors across the country from August 1997 through June 1999. 

While he told investors he was making them money, Womack bought homes, art work, jewelry and cars. The SEC says Womack used the money on a number of personal things, including his honeymoon and cosmetic surgery for his wife. 

Womack used only about a quarter of the money actually trading securities at a loss. He spent some of the money paying investors their purported profits and principal. 

PASADENA — PBS said Monday it is launching a weekly news program with veteran journalist Bill Moyers that will round out its Friday night public affairs lineup. 

“NOW with Bill Moyers” will begin Friday, Jan. 18. It will air after “Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser.” 

The program, proposed by PBS to Moyers less than two months ago, is being rushed to air in part because of increased attention to news following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, PBS said. 

Moyers, a longtime public television contributor whose previous weekly PBS shows included “This Week with Bill Moyers,” said “NOW” aims to avoid what he called the “contest of pitbulls” on other public affairs programs. 

“NOW” also will differ from network news magazines that emphasize human interest stories, with its focus on important issues facing democracy, Moyers said. 

He was busy with other projects and initially balked at accepting the job. It was PBS executives’ commitment to making public TV relevant and a forum for “diverse voices” that changed his mind, he said. 

He “didn’t want to let PBS down,” Moyers said. 

“NOW” will include interviews, analysis, documentary pieces and significant contributions from National Public Radio, said PBS President Pat Mitchell. 

“We will look at what’s on our minds and in our hearts now,” Mitchell told a meeting of the Television Critics Association. The series will be anchored from Thirteen/WNET’s New York studio. 

Other PBS Friday night programs are “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” and “Washington Week in Review.” NOW will air at 9 p.m. PST (check local listings). 

“NOW” is taking over the slot briefly held by “Life 360,” a theme-based magazine which had a shaky start this fall. It will be revamped and return in summer, Mitchell said. A time period was not announced. 

Mitchell said that PBS honored its commitment to children’s programming by sticking with its regular shows on Sept. 11, deciding not to break away for coverage of the news. 

But PBS’ ability to go behind the headlines was demonstrated by shows pertinent to the crisis it quickly aired, including reruns of the series “Islam: Empire of Faith” and a “Frontline” profile of Osama bin Laden, she said. 

The White House, Congress and “even the Queen of England” requested copies of the shows, Mitchell said. 

Mitchell noted a 14 percent December increase in viewer-members, the largest source of money for public TV stations. Through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and grants, PBS receives about 15 percent of its budget from the federal government. 

SALT LAKE CITY — Workers for some major Salt Lake City employers will be at the office as early as 4 a.m. next month in hopes of avoiding downtown traffic snarls during the Winter Olympics. 

In fact, so many workers are altering schedules, taking vacation time or telecommuting that the downtown streets could be nearly empty of everyday commuters and the congestion they cause. 

The Salt Lake Organizing Committee has asked for a 20 percent reduction in background traffic during the 17-day Winter Games, which begin Feb. 8. If companies, government agencies and nonprofits don’t comply, officials warn, the city could face gridlock. 

Most are obeying. 

Many of the 180 employees in the federal Bureau of Reclamation’s Salt Lake office plan to begin work at 4 a.m. 

“I guess they’re old farm boys or something,” said Barry Wirth, a bureau spokesman. 

Wells Fargo employees at two offices a few blocks from the hub of downtown Olympic activity will clear out in time to watch events from the comfort of their couches. About 500 of them will start at 7:30 a.m. and end by 2 p.m., said Bob Hatch, Wells Fargo’s president and chief executive for Utah. 

Transportation planners want to emulate Atlanta and Los Angeles’ success in reducing traffic during Summer Games in 1996 and 1984. In those cities, traffic flowed more smoothly during the Olympics than during normal times. 

Laid out on a grid, downtown Salt Lake struggles on a normal day with commuters entering and leaving downtown. One of the most popular Olympic sports — figure skating — will be held at the downtown Salt Lake Ice Center. Both events start in the early evening — the typical commute time. 

Within walking distance of the ice center is the enormous medals plaza, the daily site of an awards ceremony and concerts for up to 20,000 people. Nearly four large downtown blocks will be closed to traffic, and many parking spots and lots have been blocked off or taken over by SLOC. 

Administrators at LDS Hospital, which sits several blocks away from downtown, are most concerned with its 11 p.m. shift change, near the time events at the medals plaza will end. The hospital won’t change hours for its 5,000 employees, but they’ve warned staff that if some workers are stuck in traffic, others should expect to stay overtime. 

For its part, between 6,000 and 10,000 of the state’s 16,000 employees are expected to alter work schedules. Lane Beattie, the state’s Olympic officer, said all critical services — such as family welfare, Medicaid, Department of Health — would continue on a normal schedule. 

Many of the Mormon church’s 2,500 employees who work downtown will come in between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., leaving by 3 p.m., said Steve Ostler, director of employee relations for the church. 

Some businesses, however, say they don’t plan to budge on schedules. Telephone company Qwest won’t alter its 1,100 employees’ schedules. It occupies a 15-story building in the heart of downtown. 

“For us the Olympics means work, and we expect our employees to be here,” said Caroline Roemer, communications director for Qwest. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.saltlake2002.com 

SALT LAKE CITY — Workers for some major Salt Lake City employers will be at the office as early as 4 a.m. next month in hopes of avoiding downtown traffic snarls during the Winter Olympics. 

In fact, so many workers are altering schedules, taking vacation time or telecommuting that the downtown streets could be nearly empty of everyday commuters and the congestion they cause. 

The Salt Lake Organizing Committee has asked for a 20 percent reduction in background traffic during the 17-day Winter Games, which begin Feb. 8. If companies, government agencies and nonprofits don’t comply, officials warn, the city could face gridlock. 

Most are obeying. 

Many of the 180 employees in the federal Bureau of Reclamation’s Salt Lake office plan to begin work at 4 a.m. 

“I guess they’re old farm boys or something,” said Barry Wirth, a bureau spokesman. 

Wells Fargo employees at two offices a few blocks from the hub of downtown Olympic activity will clear out in time to watch events from the comfort of their couches. About 500 of them will start at 7:30 a.m. and end by 2 p.m., said Bob Hatch, Wells Fargo’s president and chief executive for Utah. 

Transportation planners want to emulate Atlanta and Los Angeles’ success in reducing traffic during Summer Games in 1996 and 1984. In those cities, traffic flowed more smoothly during the Olympics than during normal times. 

Laid out on a grid, downtown Salt Lake struggles on a normal day with commuters entering and leaving downtown. One of the most popular Olympic sports — figure skating — will be held at the downtown Salt Lake Ice Center. Both events start in the early evening — the typical commute time. 

Within walking distance of the ice center is the enormous medals plaza, the daily site of an awards ceremony and concerts for up to 20,000 people. Nearly four large downtown blocks will be closed to traffic, and many parking spots and lots have been blocked off or taken over by SLOC. 

Administrators at LDS Hospital, which sits several blocks away from downtown, are most concerned with its 11 p.m. shift change, near the time events at the medals plaza will end. The hospital won’t change hours for its 5,000 employees, but they’ve warned staff that if some workers are stuck in traffic, others should expect to stay overtime. 

For its part, between 6,000 and 10,000 of the state’s 16,000 employees are expected to alter work schedules. Lane Beattie, the state’s Olympic officer, said all critical services — such as family welfare, Medicaid, Department of Health — would continue on a normal schedule. 

Many of the Mormon church’s 2,500 employees who work downtown will come in between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., leaving by 3 p.m., said Steve Ostler, director of employee relations for the church. 

Some businesses, however, say they don’t plan to budge on schedules. Telephone company Qwest won’t alter its 1,100 employees’ schedules. It occupies a 15-story building in the heart of downtown. 

“For us the Olympics means work, and we expect our employees to be here,” said Caroline Roemer, communications director for Qwest. 

——— 

On the Net: 

http://www.saltlake2002.com 

SALT LAKE CITY — Yas Tokita, owner of Mountain West Travel, “bet the bank” on turning a profit by snapping up tickets and hotel reservations for the Winter Olympics. 

Now, barely a month before the games, the resale market for Olympic tickets remains sluggish. And the slumping economy and Sept. 11 travel scare have given brokers little hope for a rebound. 

Desperate to move Olympic travel packages, Tokita says he’s willing to offer hotel rooms at or below cost. 

As if his small travel agency wasn’t hurting enough, other ticket brokers are “begging us to find customers,” says his son, Steve Tokita. “They’re trying to minimize their losses instead of making the big Olympic buck.” 

As far as the Salt Lake Organizing Committee is concerned, ticket sales have been brisk. SLOC said months ago it sold more than 85 percent of $180 million worth of tickets. That’s money in the bank for the organizers, but brokers could be left holding the bag. 

Organizers say they sold $2.25 million worth of tickets to brokers. Industry experts say the figure probably is much higher, partly because SLOC doesn’t always know with whom it’s dealing. 

Some brokers grumble that Olympic officials have done little to promote the games or counter perceptions that decent tickets and hotel rooms have become scarce. 

“They scared people off,” says Kathy Derham of Wasatch Tickets, a broker trying to move $200,000 in tickets to many popular Olympic events, including figure skating and hockey. “We’re getting killed on these games.” 

That means spectators are likely to find plenty of tickets right up to the games. It’s happened at other Olympics. Desperate sellers might even let some tickets go for face value — or less. 

“They’re just trying to break even,” Derham said. “Everything is open to negotiation.” 

Brokers will open storefronts in Salt Lake City, and scalping is legal in Utah. SLOC will fence off areas where individuals can get their tickets validated for resale or trade. 

There’s still hotel rooms in broker inventories, and organizers and corporate sponsors have been quietly relinquishing some of their hotel rights. 

In Evanston, Wyo., 600 rooms once blocked out for Olympic workers and sponsors are back on sale. Evanston is 45 minutes of open highway east of Park City, possibly making for less driving time than it will take from Salt Lake City during the games. 

Many privately owned condominiums at Utah ski areas also remain available, and there’s no lack of Salt Lake homes on the market for Olympic rentals. Prices, which started out sky-high, are dropping fast. 

Travel brokers “took a gamble, expecting people to come,” Steve Tokita said. “We have a large surplus of rooms at The Canyons resort and Park City’s Silver Queen hotel.” 

His travel agency also can arrange Olympic bookings at 15 Deer Valley condos and 43 hotel rooms at Snowbird ski resort. Tokita said he can let some rooms go for as little as $330 a night. 

Brokers can only hope for a rush of last-minute Olympic fans this month. 

——— 

On the Net: 

Salt Lake Organizing Committee: http://www.saltlake2002.com 

Mountain West Travel: http://www.mountainwesttravel.com 

Golden Tickets: http:://www.goldentickets.com 

Atlas Ticket Sales: http://www.atlastickets.com 

Ticket Lady: http://www.ticketlady.com 

BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho company landed a $3 million contract for what might be the most sought after seats at the Winter Games in Salt Lake City — the portable potties. 

“Jobs of this scope are very rare,” said Larry Moore, chairman of A-Company Inc. 

The job is so big that A-Company has had to partner with four other firms to supply the 2,600 portable toilets Olympic organizers have ordered for the Winter Games. 

Because of the size of the project, the company realized it would be difficult to handle it all, so they recruited four other companies to help, Moore said. The other companies are Andy Gump Inc. and A Throne Co., both of California, and Northwest Cascade of Tacoma, Wash., and Super Bowl Portable Restrooms Inc. of Denver. 

Moore said the Olympic potty contract is 10 times bigger than any other in the company’s 29-year history. The firm has had the portable toilet contract for the Boise River Festival for the past few years, but that job only involved a few hundred potties. 

Still, Moore is confident he can handle the job. 

“There’s a lot of work involved, but we feel good about it,” he said. “We’re right on schedule.” 

The firm’s road to the Olympics began in earnest two years ago when the Moore brothers started putting together a bid for the project. 

Jeff Moore said they ended up spending more than $40,000 just preparing the bid. 

A-Company was awarded the contract in March 2001, and since then has been busily preparing for the job. All 2,600 restrooms are new and are being assembled onsite in Utah. The company has until Feb. 3 to have everything completed and ready to go. 

The Moores admit they have heard their share of potty jokes and horror stories. But all smirking aside, they said they want everyone who attends this year’s Olympics to have nothing but good things to say about their portable toilet experiences. 

“If our job isn’t taken seriously it will hurt the whole industry,” Larry Moore said. “Our whole goal is to make sure that portable restrooms and sanitation comes off as a high point in the Olympics.” 

A Letter to the Readers: 

One day a couple of months ago, I looked up from the pile of newspapers I scan daily before heading to the office and saw the leaves on the plant hanging above me in my living room had turned brittle and brown. Nearby, I remarked that paint had started to peel away from the door frame between my kitchen and living room. 

Why hadn’t I noticed? 

But, then, outside my duties at the Daily Planet, I haven’t noticed much for quite a while.  

My tax preparer will attest, as he regularly reminds me, that I haven’t filed for 2000 yet. And, as my youngest granddaughter does not fail to point out, I haven’t set foot in her classroom in more than two years.  

While I’ve been chasing story ideas, checking facts, worrying about apostrophes and commas, whether freelancers’ paperwork is processed, what to do when a story falls through and how to help new reporters learn their beats, life outside our offices at 2076 University Ave. seems to have zipped ahead without me. 

Not that editing the Daily Planet isn’t riveting much of the time. Working with our reporters and UC Berkeley Journalism School students on our top-notch local coverage of the response to Sept. 11 was a tremendous experience. By covering the Boy Scout flap, the Afghanistan resolution and the flags-on-firetrucks controversies objectively, rather than from the angle of outside spin masters whose goal is to trivialize actions in our community, I believe the Daily Planet made an important contribution to the community debate. 

The “Berkeley Lite” column has given me the opportunity to exercise my own voice – chiding the school board for ignoring the state’s open meeting laws, the mayor for buying her undies in Walnut Creek, the cops for making public information difficult to access. (Our finest, by the way, have taken real steps forward in this domain.) 

I’ve been proud that we’ve been able to get to you, our readers, much of the not-so- “sexy” news that consumes the days and nights of our hardworking mayor, councilmembers and commissioners grappling with questions of how to make our city – our buildings and our streets – safer; how to make our small community more livable for all those who live and work here, saving creeks and open space, while building housing, supporting the arts, providing for those who cannot provide for themselves; how to support the academic greatness that comes from our renown university, while not being swallowed by it. There’s so much more… 

And most of that “more” is All of You – voices that come through on your page – Forum - strong voices debating the multiple angles of so many of the questions from near and far that touch our community. 

So, you see - yes, I am getting to the point – I’ve been weighing this incredible opportunity to direct a growing and increasingly professional newspaper against the long hours it takes to do so, the management stuff that drives me nuts and the fact that I scarcely have a minute these days between phone calls to write any more – and factoring in an idea for a book that has been gnawing at me for months - about Berkeley, of course. 

In the end, with the encouragement of friends and family, I’ve decided to leave my post here as editor. 

The good news is that I’m leaving you in the first-rate hands of Devona Walker, talented and experienced editor who helped start the San Mateo Daily Journal about 17 months ago. 

Walker, 32, originally from Oklahoma, graduated from the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism and went on to work in various capacities – reporter, copy editor, associate editor – at the Seattle Times, the Los Angeles Daily News, the Los Angeles Times and the Las Vegas Sun.  

“I’m looking forward to working in a city where people feel passionately about the city,” Walker said, adding that she sees the Daily Planet as a vehicle to help people get involved in their community. 

Before I head off to my new adventures in about two weeks – I want to thank you all for the warm – and yes, ever critical – welcome you’ve given to the Planet, which I joined one month after its founding, almost three years ago. It’s you, out there, who have kept me focused on what’s important, given me great tips about what’s really happening behind all those locked doors and closed mouths and kept my spirits up when I thought I couldn’t stand changing one more “your” to “you’re.” 

There’s others to thank before I go. Our three hard-working reporters, our ever-persistent freelancers, the journalism-school students and staff whose contributions have added depth to our coverage. And those whose names you don’t see listed – our “ambassadors” who take the papers to your places of work; our distribution team that rises in the wee hours of the morning to get the papers into the boxes; our sales guys that keep the ads flowing into the paper and production team that fits them neatly on the page. Our copy editor-paginator, whose creativity has added beauty and clarity to our pages; our calendar assistant and his team of volunteers that gets out the news of your events. And lastly I have to thank publisher Arnold Lee and the other of the papers’ founders for choosing Berkeley to launch their first free daily and for their commitment to journalistic integrity, maintaining that brick wall between editorial and advertising functions. 

And so, we’ll see each other around town as I work on my book, freelance some stories, maybe teach a few classes, and take a long moment to drink a latte slowly in the sun – bound to return in a week or so – as I read all about your doings in the Daily Planet. 

In what may be viewed as sad irony Charlotte Ortega, the special education teacher found dead in the bay, had hoped to build a homeless shelter in Lagos, Nigeria to be called the Lazarous House. On Wednesday, the Alameda County District Attorney charged Lazarus Ortega with the murder of Charlotte Ortega, his adoptive mother. 

Members of the Agape Community Church in San Pablo pledged to complete their fellow parishoner’s vision for Lazarus House at an emotional memorial service on Saturday. 

Ortega, a Berkeley resident and a teacher in the Oakland Unified School District, was a devout and incredibly giving woman, according to her friends.  

Pastor John Ojewole, leader of the mixed Nigerian and American Agape congregation, said that her leadership was essential in organizing the church’s mission to Nigeria in early 1999.  

On that trip, the church was able to establish a low-cost medical clinic, supported by the congregation, that assists Nigerians who can not afford health care. 

"We thank God for the way he has used this woman for good during her path to glory," Ojewole said. 

Because of her disabilities, Ortega could not go travel to Nigeria, but she did send her daughter. 

Jean Matulis, one of Ortega’s closest friends for more than 20 years, told of Ortega’s belief in forgiveness and salvation and exhorted everyone present to follow her example. 

"Charlotte and I had our differences, but we always made up," she said. "There is no doubt in my mind that Charlotte loves and forgives anyone who has hurt her in her entire life." 

Richard Owen, Ortega’s father, told of a letter he recently received from his daughter, in which she thanked him for all the ways in which he raised her. 

"It seems unfair that you did all these things for me and I don’t know how to pay you back," Ortega wrote. 

Owen, who lives in Chicago, said that he called his daughter shortly after he got the letter. 

"I said to her, ‘Charlotte, you’re not supposed to pay me back. You pay that back to others -- to your children, to your friends and especially to strangers. That’s the way of civilization." 

"But I realized it was a waste of time to tell Charlotte to be kind to people. She was way ahead of me on that one." 

Deborah Kropp, who met Ortega when they both came to Berkeley in the early 70s, imagined her friend in a Heaven that closely resembled the home she chose in life. 

"I know that Charlotte is up there in Heaven, sitting in a coffeeshop with her friends and drinking her cappuccinos," she said. 

Kropp said that in the 70s, Ortega worked with several progressive Berkeley Christian organizations -- the Christian World Liberation Front, the Berkeley Christian Coalition and Right On magazine. 

Pastor Ojewole said that he had talked to Ortega just a few days before her death on Dec. 30. He said that she was joking with him on the phone -- "you know the jokes she would tell… hoo boy!" -- and he was amazed, in retrospect, at how lively a woman she was. 

Ojewole said that he looked forward to meeting Ortega again in Heaven. 

"On that day when I see her again, I will give her a big hug!" he said "Up there where there is no pain! No strife! And I will sing!" 

"When we all get to Heaven 

What a day of rejoicing that will be! 

When we all see Jesus 

We’ll sing and shout the victory." 

Lazarus Ortega will enter his plea at Alameda County Superior Court on Jan. 16. 

On Friday night, the Cal Bears stopped Stanford’s two main scorers, Casey Jacobsen and Curtis Borchardt, but still lost by 20 points. Sunday night, the Bears stopped just about everyone the Cardinal threw at them, breaking a 10-game losing streak to their rivals with a 68-54 win at Haas Pavilion. 

Forward Ryan Forehan-Kelly hit two key 3-pointers down the stretch as Cal (10-2 overall, 1-1 Pac-10) led for the last 17 minutes of the game. Forehan-Kelly led the Bears with 19 points, while freshman forward Amit Tamir scored 10. 

Jacobsen did manage to score a game-high 20 points, but was just 4-of-13 from the floor in his second straight lackluster performance after scoring a season-low 7 points on Friday. Jacobsen was the only Stanford player to score in double figures on Sunday. 

Although they led for all but one possession of the second half, the Bears didn’t pull away until the final five minutes. Forehan-Kelly hit his team’s first 3-pointer of the game to make the score 54-47, and point guard Shantay Legans hit another with the shot clock running down on the following possession for a 10-point lead.  

“Once you taste blood, you have to work even harder,” Forehan-Kelly said. 

The Cardinal (8-3, 1-1) would never get closer than six points the rest of the way, and Cal’s fans rushed the court as time ran down in a long-awaited victory. 

The Bears started hitting from the outside just in time. Including another Forehan-Kelly bomb late in the game, they hit their final three 3-pointers after starting the game 0-for-14 from behind the stripe. 

Sunday was the first time the first time the Bears have emerged victorious over Stanford since Jan. 29, 1997. 

The game turned just before halftime. With the score tied 26-26 with a minute left in the half, backup point guard A.J. Diggs went in among the tall trees to pull down an offensive board and get the putback. Stanford freshman Josh Childress got free but clanged a dunk off the back iron, and Tamir made a layup. Legans then swiped the ball from Tony Giovacchini and found Forehan-Kelly for a reverse layup at the buzzer to give Cal a 32-26 lead at the break. 

“That six-point swing just before halftime was critical,” Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery said. “I felt we should have been ahead at that point, but instead we went in behind.” 

The Cardinal tied the score at 34-34 after halftime, but Cal went back up 43-36 on baskets by Dennis Gates, Brian Wethers and Tamir. And just when Stanford started to get hot, cutting the deficit to one point on back-to-back 3-pointers from Jacobsen and Chris Hernandez, the Bears got a lift from two walk-ons. Forward Conor Famulener, making a rare appearance in a meaningful spot due to an injury to Solomon Hughes, scored on a backdoor cut, then got a steal at the other end. 

When Stanford got within a point once again, it was Diggs who came through. He pressured Giovacchini into a 10-second backcourt violation, then picked Julius Barnes’ pocket and converted a 3-point play on the other end. He didn’t stop there, forcing Giovacchini into a bad pass that Wethers intercepted. While Diggs was credited with just two steals in the game, he forced at least four turnovers in his 13 minutes of action. 

“A.J. is a catalyst for us. He’s aggressive on the ball, and his energy level is phenomenal,” Braun said. “He helped turn this game around for us.” 

Sunday’s win was the first over Stanford for every player on the Cal squad. Throw in Stanford’s seven-game winning streak on the football field, and it’s been a while since Cal had anything to hang its hat on against its most bitter rival. 

“It feels good,” Wethers said. “We’ve wanted this for a long time.”

Monday, Jan. 7

New Testament Workshop 

7:30 p.m. 

Norton Hall 

UC Berkeley Campus 

Al Moser, Associate Pastor at Newman Hall-Holy Spirit Parish, will lead the workshop.  

Tuesday, Jan. 8

New Testament Workshop 

7:30 p.m. 

Norton Hall 

UC Berkeley Campus 

Al Moser, Associate Pastor at Newman Hall-Holy Spirit Parish, will lead the workshop.  

Wednesday, Jan. 9

Near-death Experience  

Support Group 

7-9 p.m. 

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Church 

1606 Bonita Ave 

International Association for Near-Death Studies offers supportive environment for the exploration of near-death experiences. 428-2442. 

Baby Bounce and Toddler  

Tales 

7 p.m. 

Public Library, West Branch 

1125 University Ave. 

A participatory program for families with children up to age 3. Stories, songs and fingerplays as entertainment and as a way for parents to learn new material to share with their young ones. 981-6270. 

Peace Walk and Vigil 

7:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley BART Station 

A peace walk and vigil to demonstrate opposition to U.S. bombing of Afghanistan. www.globalexchange.org. 

Thursday, Jan. 10

Sking and Snowshoing in  

Tahoe National Forest 

7 p.m. 

Recreational Equipment, Inc. 

1338 San Pablo Ave. 

Catherine Stifter will present a slide show on her favorite ski and snowshoe tours off highway 49 between Sierra City and Yuba Pass. 527-4140 

Grandparent Support Group 

10 - 11:30 a.m. 

Malcolm X School of Arts and Academics 

1731 Prince St. 

Grandparents and relatives raising their grandchildren can express their concerns and needs, plus receive support, information and referrals for Kinship Care. 644-6517. 

Community Health Commission 

6:45 - 9:30 p.m. 

South Berkeley Senior Center 

2939 Ellis St. (at Ashby Ave.) 

Prioritize list of health needs of the City of Berkeley to present to Alta Bates Sutter for consideration during needs assessment process for Community Benefit Plan. 

Defending the Rights of  

Children 

12 p.m. 

Albany Public Library, Edith Stone Room 

1247 Marin Ave. 

Arnold Chavez, the Executive Director for the Alameda County Court Appointed Special Advocates program will discuss how his program works to defend the rights of children who have committed no crimes but, due to circumstances beyond their control are in the juvenile justice system. 

Public Works Commission 

7 p.m. - 9 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave. 

Informational Meeting on Applicant Financed Underground Utility District for the Spruce/Halkins/Alamo/Cragmont School proposed District 

Winter Holistic Health Groups  

1:15 – 2:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center 

1901 Hearst Ave.  

For ages 55 and over. This weeks topic: Creative Aging. 526-0148. 

Friday, Jan. 11

San Francisco Chamber  

Orchestra 

8 p.m. 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 

2640 College Ave. 

A program of classical party music from Mozart to Stravinsky. $15. 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org 

Saturday, Jan. 12

Mental Health and Public 

Policy 

8 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Wheeler Auditorium 

UC Berkeley 

A symposium designed to promote a greater understanding of mental illness, and link medical advances to public policy solutions in mental health care. 642-4608, www.igs.berkeley.edu:8880 

National Writers Union  

Benefit 

7:30 p.m. 

Oakland YWCA 

1515 Webster St. 

The National Writers Union, Local 3 presents “A Dream Still Beckons: Multicultural Offerings for Peace and Justice in honor of Langston Hughes and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” The even features poetry readings and a dance party. Donations are requested. 839-1248 

Sunday, Jan. 13

Banjo Concert 

5 p.m. 

MusicSources 

1000 The Alameda 

Bill Evans explores over 200 years of banjo music on a variety of vintage instruments. Reception follows concert. $15 - $18. 528-1685 

Just a week ago an editorial by Iris Starr (Dec. 22, 23) stated that there are “educational inequities between whites and people of color.” She claims that many adults “deny the students - needs, life experiences and cultural and racial identities are ignored;” and that “the Board of Education and the Superintendent have only acknowledged an achievement gap with no action taken, year after miserable year.” 

This seems an exaggeration of the situation. I have lived in Berkeley for 31 years, and have been very involved in Berkeley schools (the Maintenance Advisory Committee, the BHS Grounds Committee, the Steering Committee for the Edible Schoolyard, the BHS Development Group as well as helping start many school gardens and being Recycling Coordinator for five years). Most people in Berkeley, white or people of color, try very hard not be racist, sexist or ageist. We, the parents, teachers and administrators believe in giving all students the utmost in care and quality time and the long hours teachers spend with students illustrates that they are achieving that goal. 

In my daughter’s experience (BHS class of 1999) all of her classes were diverse, from her science class at King to her math class at BHS. Her BHS Freshman and Sophomore years were the first to have Core English and History, with only 20 students to a class, meaning all the students got more individual care. 

I don’t think the problems of the underachieving students can be solved only by the schools. More attention needs to be focused on the family situation. If you ask teachers, they would say students often come unprepared, which means they are not getting the support from home they need. By helping single parents, we will see students who can concentrate more on whatever is important to them.  

We all talk about the disintegration of “The Family,” but we need to strengthen the weak connection between the family support and the work assigned at schools. 

Specifically, the Small Schools movement is a good one. Do the BUSD parents know that there are already eight small schools ? 

These Small Schools already give students the kind of atmosphere they need to do well.  

By hiring more teachers, more counselors and establishing Mentor programs we can assure all students that they will get the attention they need. 

I’m tired of hearing people say that our Berkeley community doesn’t honor and respect part of it’s population; that is just not so. I see people of color and whites work side by side in our government and our schools, daily. 

They all make the extra effort not to stereotype someone who may not think or talk the way they do. I am proud to say I live in Berkeley and work for the schools, and I think many citizens feel the way I do. 

Beebo Turman 

Berkeley

924 Gilman 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 

Blake’s Jan. 8: Operation Interstellar, $ 3; Jan. 9: Kid Glove Entertainment Presents, Hebro; Jan. 10: Electronica w/ Ascension, $5; Jan. 11: Five Point Plan, SFunk, $5; Jan. 12: Lavish Green, Stone Cutters, $5; Jan. 13: Alex Dolan & 22 Fillmore, $3; Jan. 14: All Star Jam Featuring The Steve Gannon Band & Mz. Dee, $4; Jan. 15: View From Here, $3; Jan. 16: Zion Rock, Hebro, $3; 2367 Telegraph Ave., 877-488-6533. 

Anna’s Bistro Jan. 7: “Renagade Sidemen” w/ Calvin Keyes; Jan. 8: Singers’ Open Mik w/ Trio!!!; Jan.9: Jimmy Ryan Jazz Quartet; Jan.10: Graham Richards Jazz Quartet; Jan.11:Anna sings jazz standards/ 10 p.m. Bluesman Hideo Date; Jan. 12: Robin Gregory & Sy Perkoff/ 10 pm Ducksn Distones Jazz Sextet; Jan. 13: “Choro Time” Brazilian sounds; Jan.14: “Renagade Sidemen” w/ Calvin Keyes: Jan.15: Mark Murphy’s jazz vocal workshop; Music starts at 8p.m., every night, second band at 10p.m., 1801 University Ave., 849-ANNA 

Cal Performances Jan. 18 and 19: 8 p.m., The National Acrobats of Taiwan, R.O.C.; Jan. 20: 3 p.m., Midori and Robert McDonald. $28 -$48. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph. 642-9988 

Roda Theatre Jan. 22 and 23: both at 8 p.m., The Berkeley Symphony, Music Director Kent Nagano, continues its 31st season with two performances of Schubert’s Symphony No. 5. $21, $32, $45, $10 students. 2015 Addison St. 841-2800, www.berkeleysymphony.org 

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. 9: Ken Waldman; Jan.10: Silk Road Music; Jan. 11: Alex De Grassi, Franco Morone; Jan. 12: Viviana Guzman & Performers of the World; Jan. 13: Rob Ickes & Slide City; All shows begin 8 p.m., 1111 Addison St. 548-1761, www.freightandsalvage.org.  

Julia Morgan Theatre Jan 11: 8 p.m. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, classical party music; Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

Jupiter Jan.9: Ezra Gale Quartet; Jan. 10: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 11: Hydeus Kiatta Trio; Jan. 12: Barefoot Bride; Jan. 16: Realistic; Jan. 17: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 18: Bigfoot In Paris Trio; Jan. 19: Netwerk: Electric; Jan. 23: Mitch Marcus Quintet; Jan. 24: Chris Shot Group; Jan. 25: The Sardonics; Jan. 26: Berkeley Jazz School Presents: Fourtet; Jan. 30: Joel Harrison Quartet; All shows are free and begin at 8 p.m. unless noted. 2181 Shattuck Ave., 843-7625, www.jupiterbeer.com. 

Rose Street House Jan. 17: 7:30 p.m., Allette Brooks. 1839 Rose St. 594-4000 x687, rosestreetmusic@yahoo.com. 

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

Trinity Chapel Jan. 19: 8 p.m., Janine Johnson, harpsichord, Bach, Buxtehude and Pachelbel. 2320 Dana St., 549-3864. 

Organ Music Jan. 27: 5 p.m., Ron McKean performs Ferscobaldi, Froberger and Bach. $15 - $18. MusicSources, 1000 The Alameda, 528-1685. 

First Congregational Church Jan. 19: 8p.m., eight womens voices and continuo, also baritone Hugh Davis will sing priest’s acclamations. $25 general, $18 senior, $12 students., First Congregational Church, Dana & Durant, Berkeley, (415) 979-4500 

Julia Morgan Theatre 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’s Feast of Dance,” An evening of conemporary dance performed by local dance groups to benefit dance in the East Bay. $15 suggested donation. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave., 845-8542, www.juliamorgan.org. 

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.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., Oscar’s Magic Adventure, 5:30 p.m., ABC Africa; 2527 Bancroft Way, 642-1412. 

“Images of Innocence and Beauty” 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. 

“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 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” 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” 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” 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” 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. 

“Domestic Bliss” Collection of abstract paintings and mixed medium by Amy St. George. Her serious of work range from large abstract paintings to intimate boxes with collections of found objects, Jan.13 through Apr. 4th Albany Community Center Foyer Gallery, 1249 Marin Ave., Albany,524-9283 

Cody’s on Telegraph Ave. Jan. 8: Theodore Hamm discusses “Rebel and a Cause: Caryl Chessman and the Politics of the Death Penalty”; Jan. 9: Karen Kevorkian & Gail Wronsky read their poetry $2; Jan. 10: Joan Frank reads from her new book, “Boys Keep Being Born”;Jan. 11: Christopher Hitchens, “Letters to a Youn Contrarian”;Jan. 13: Phyllis Koestenbaum & Carol Snow read their poetry $2; 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. 

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. 

Jewish Community Center Jan. 14: 7:30-9 p.m., Emily Rose interweaves the family chronicle of her ancestors with the political and social events of the 18th and 19th centuries; Jan. 16: 7:30-8:30 p.m., Elizabeth Rosner will read from her debut novel “The Speed of of Light.” 1414 Walnut St. 

AK Press Jan. 19: 8 p.m., Joel Schalit dissects the New World Order and the rise of religious fundamentalism in his new book “Jerusalem Calling”. 674-A 23rd St., Oakland, 208-1700, molly@akpress.org 

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.

As of January 1, anyone buying a firearm also has to buy a trigger lock thanks to a first-of-its-kind state gun control law, which advocates say will prevent accidental gun deaths, especially among children. 

The law, co-authored by assemblymembers Dion Aroner, D-Berkeley and Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, requires gun dealers to sell trigger locks to their customers when they purchase firearms or require the customer to sign an affidavit stating that they have a secured area to store the firearm, such as a safe.  

Director of state Affairs for Americans for Gun Safety Mark Chekal-Bain said the law will also require law enforcement agencies to send accidental shooting reports to the state Department of Health and Human Services so that the information can be analyzed and possibly used to fashion other preventative legislation.  

“When this law was written in 1998, there were 100 unintentional deaths in California and untold numbers of injuries due to accidental gunshot wounds,” said Chekal-Bain who assisted in developing the law while he worked for Scott as an legislative aide.  

“This new law will go a long way in reducing those deaths,” he added. 

There are no licensed gun shops in Berkeley but Bob Weaver, owner of the Old West Gun Room in El Cerrito, said the new law is difficult for gun dealers to understand and will accomplish little besides making criminals of otherwise law abiding customers. He says many will simply sign the affidavit instead of bothering to purchase the lock. 

“Anytime you make anything too difficult to obey, you turn people into criminals,” he said. “People are going to have a choice of buying a lock or signing a form, which one do you think they’re going to do?” 

The law was signed by Governor Gray Davis in August 1999 but did not go into effect until this year so 41 different trigger-lock devices could be thoroughly tested to determine which locks best matched the various types of firearms. 

“This law develops, for the first time anywhere in the world, standards for trigger locks, cable locks and trigger guards.” Chekal-Bain said. “All the locks have been tested and matched to specific firearms so the locks will be as effective as possible.” 

Chekal-Bain went on to say the state of Massachusetts is currently using California’s trigger-lock law as a model for similar legislation.  

Aroner’s Legislative Director Hans Hemann, said previous bills were not easy to pass under former Gov. Pete Wilson’s administration but as soon as Davis came into office, it was clear the environment towards gun control laws had changed. 

“We put similar bills on Gov. Wilson’s desk four and five times and they were all vetoed,” Hemann said. 

Hemann added that Davis gave indications early on that he was interested in the law and that Attorney General Bill Lockyer was also enthusiastic about the legislation.  

Weaver says he does not anticipate that the change in law will have a detrimental effect on gun sales, but he did suggest it will have an effect on legal gun sales. Weaver also says he doubts it will do much to prevent accidental shootings.  

“Those who were too dull to protect their children before this went into effect aren’t going to do so now,” he said.  

But Chekal-Bain disagrees.  

“Most gun owners are law abiding, and I think they will obey this law and if they don’t I would be shocked,” he said. 

Berkeley resident Lynn Dix, who became a strong advocate for the law after losing her 15-year-old son in an accidental shooting in 1994, said she did not want to comment on the new law until she had time to review its wording.  

But Dix, who testified on behalf of the law to the state legislature, described the pain of losing her son on the Pacific Center for Violence Prevention’s Web site. 

“From the moment I was told that my 15-year-old son was shot and killed, I felt like my world had utterly collapsed. His sudden absence weighed heavily on my mind and heart. It was permanent, final; it was forever. I would never see him again the rest of my life. I could hardly bear to contemplate it,” she wrote. 

NASSAU, Bahamas - The California women’s basketball team did not have an answer for junior guard Molly Creamer - last year’s Patriot League Player of the Year - as it lost to Bucknell, 59-56, in the championship game of the Nassau Knockout Saturday night at the National Gymnasium.  

“Down the stretch, we allowed one person who we knew was going to take over the game, to take over the game,” said Cal head coach Caren Horstmeyer. “[Creamer] ended up with 27 tonight. We didn’t do a good enough job defending her. Our defense let us down at the end of the game. They stepped up. They made some plays. They went to their go-to person. We tried to go to our go-to person, and they executed better than we did.”  

Creamer, the MVP of the tournament, paced the Bison (7-6) with 27 points, including 20 in the second half. The Bison only played seven players, and offensively were a two-person show. Post Vicki Quimby, an all-tournament pick, added 19 points.  

Senior center Ami Forney rebounded from a four-point performance against Lipscomb yesterday to post 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bears. Freshman point guard Kristin Iwanaga was Cal’s next-leading scorer with eight. Forney and Iwanaga were each named to the all-tournament team.  

The Golden Bears fall to 5-8 (0-4 Pac-10) with their fifth loss of the season by six or fewer points.  

The game was close from wire to wire, and Cal held the biggest lead of the game of 10 in the first half.  

Following a three-point play by Forney with 4:20 left in the game, Cal held its biggest second-half lead at 51-45. The experience of Bucknell, which returned all five starters from last year’s 20-8 team, took over down the stretch.  

Quimby scored six points and Creamer added four as Bucknell went on a 12-2 run to go up by four (57-53) with 38 ticks on the clock.  

Cal called its final timeout with eight seconds left in the game down by three. Out of the timeout, freshman guard Jackie Lord then fired a long three-pointer which was on target but fell short.  

Turnovers weren’t one of the Bears main nemesis down the stretch as they have been in the past. Cal committed a season-low 16 turnovers in the game. Cal just couldn’t hit its shot when it needed to, and didn’t come up with enough offensive rebounds. For the game, Cal shot 33.9 percent from the floor after converting on 63 percent of its attempts yesterday. Bucknell hit for 46.7 percent. Bucknell also held a 41-33 rebounding advantage.  

“Last night, we shot really well,” said Horstmeyer. “Tonight we didn’t. I would credit that they wanted the game more than we wanted it. We’re going to keep working, and we’re going to keep learning. We’ve got a lot of young kids. Our future is bright.”  

With the game tied at 10-10 with 8:20 until halftime, Cal went on a 10-1 run over the next four minutes, 13 seconds to got up 21-11. The Bears were sparked by the only made three-pointer for either team in the first half from the hands of Lord. The Bison responded with a 7-2 run to make it 23-18 at the half.  

Despite the loss to Bucknell, Horstmeyer had many positive things to say about Cal’s Bahaman experience.  

“It was great,” said Horstmeyer. “We had a great time. This was a great tournament for us. The hospitality of the Bahamians was outstanding. What I liked most about them is that they’re always smiling.”  

Cal returns to Pac-10 action against Oregon Thursday, Jan. 10 at Haas Pavilion. Game time is 7 p.m.

While traveling through Europe recently, my wife and I stopped for two days in Montpellier, in the south of France. Hardly for the first time, I was awed by the way Europeans make things work—things like transportation systems and cities, for example. The implications for Berkeley are profound. 

Montpellier is a dynamic, growing university town of about 200,000. Its center, dating back to the middle ages, is perched on a hilltop about seven miles from the Mediterranean. Outward from the center flows the new Montpellier. 

What’s remarkable about Montpellier is the way the city has refused to let the private automobile dominate everyday life. Almost the entire center is a car-free zone. On many streets all but service vehicles are prohibited. The other streets are constrained by rows of thick concrete stanchions that prohibit parking and force traffic into narrow lanes where speeding is impossible. 

Yet Montpellier’s city center is a magnet for strollers and shoppers. Plazas, restaurants, stores, and cafes abound. If you have to drive, you can park your car in one of many large garages on the periphery. But people do a lot of walking and bicycling in Montpellier. 

The city has an excellent transportation system. Particularly impressive is the tram loop of the center. The gleaming blue trams occupy their own dedicated streets. On either side of the tramways are pedestrian walkways. No other motorized vehicles are permitted. When the tram reaches the huge main square, the tracks go underground, leaving the square to the sounds of itinerant musicians, pedestrians, and pigeons. 

At the lower end of the main square begins “new” Montpellier in the form of a huge indoor shopping mall. The mall follows the terrain of the city downhill. You can enter at the top level and descend through three levels of shops to the ground floor. There you step out onto a neoclassical plaza that leads to a wide walkway through an enormous new complex of offices, shops, apartments, and restaurants. Also closed to cars, the promenade, about a city block wide, passes through variegated gardens, terraces, and plazas for about three-quarters of a mile until it reaches Montpellier’s attractive riverfront. 

It’s possible to walk from the large wooded garden at the top of the hill to the riverfront about two miles away and scarcely see a car. This amazing pedestrian zone is traversed only a few times by major traffic-bearing streets. Cars have been banished, and the city is thriving. 

Montpellier is known throughout France for its progressive urban design. I asked a friend there how all this came about. “It’s been going on for 20 years,” he said. “It’s because of our mayor. He’s a real visionary.” 

“Didn’t people need to vote on all these changes?” I asked. 

“That’s not how we do things in France,” he replied. “The mayor is a benevolent totalitarian. But one time he didn’t get his way. He wanted to tear up the city's oldest square to build an underground car park. He promised the square would be rebuilt, but it would have meant removing some of the city’s oldest trees. People campaigned against it vigorously. Finally he backed down.” 

How is all this relevant to Berkeley? One thing I’ve noticed in the discussions of the General Plan, particularly the debate about parking downtown, is a cynical and defeatist attitude along the lines of “You’ll never get people out of their cars, and nothing will ever make public transit appealing.” It’s that cynicism and pessimism that underlies the outcry for more parking downtown and Mayor Dean’s far-fetched proposal to tear up Civic Center Park for an underground parking garage. 

Cynicism and pessimism can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The opposite is vision and leadership. Given Californians’ over-dependence on cars, I don’t think major changes will be easy. But I’ve seen Montpellier. There is an alternative. All we need is the vision and will to achieve it. 

Hank Resnik 

Berkeley 

Hank Resnik served on Berkeley’s Transportation Committee for nine years

These days, Terry Doran is the lone ranger on Berkeley’s Board of Education. He stepped down as board president last month to make way for Shirley Issel, but has been the sole voice on the committee in support of the hotly-debated small schools policy put forth by the Coalition for Excellence and Equity.  

The coalition, a community group that counts Doran as a member, has asked that Berkeley High School be divided in the fall of 2003 into a series of small learning communities. Coalition leaders say the reform will help to address safety and accountability issues at the high school, and work to shrink the “achievement gap” separating white and minority students. 

Doran says his greatest regret during his time on the board, which began with his 1998 election, has been his inability to convince his colleagues of the merits of a rapid move to small schools. 

“It’s very frustrating,” Doran said. “I have always felt that I had the ability to work with a lot of different people, and I really feel disappointed that I wasn’t able to convince more members.” 

But the other four boardmembers contend the high school has too many fundamental problems to engage in a radical restructuring at this point. They have, instead, called for a reform of basic safety, maintenance and attendance systems at BHS in the near term, and they have advocated for a more gradual and partial shift to small schools. 

aaBut, if Doran has been unable to win a consensus on small learning communities, he has enjoyed many other successes on the board – rallying his colleagues around the selection of two new superintendents, initiating a child nutrition program with a national reputation, and pushing for the passage of multi-million dollar school maintenance and construction bond measures in 2000. 

Some community members say that Doran has also built a reputation for caring about kids and schools and listening.  

“I have such regard for him,” said Stephanie Allan, a community activist who has been focused on school maintenance issues in recent years.  

“It is not about Terry’s ego, it’s only about the schools and the kids,” she added. 

Teachers and activists say he developed a genuine rapport with students while he was a teacher at the high school. 

“He was really a stellar teacher and really connected with students,” said Rick Ayers, an English and journalism instructor at BHS, “especially students who are often left out of the system.”  

“We have a very unequal society and the schools can 

play a key role in changing that,” Doran said. “I was 

lucky to do that for a number of kids.”  

But Doran does have his detractors, particularly among small schools opponents, who charge that he is embracing an unrealistic vision for the high school, and in some cases, failing to address concerns about the coalition’s proposal. They are concerned about shifting towards small schools and say Doran has been less than willing to listen to those concerns.  

Jenny Harrison, a math professor at UC Berkeley with a son at BHS, says she is worried that the change would be very expensive, and would limit students’ ability to choose from the wide range of classes currently available under the large school model. 

She also says that she has raised these concerns with Doran and that he has been less than responsive.  

“It’s hard to have a dialogue with him,” she said. “Some of us have tried and haven’t had too much luck.” 

When told of Harrison’s complaints, Doran said “I’m sorry that hasn’t happened. I did try to respond to as many people as I could who sent messages.” 

Doran says he is committed to community dialogue on a range of issues, and his claim resonates with many in Berkeley.  

Still Doran argues the high school’s large, unmanageable structure has allowed too many students to fall through the cracks. Small schools, he says, are a way to remedy that problem.  

But he concedes that the chance for small schools dialogue on the board may have passed. He says he will encourage allies to run for the school board this fall when Doran, along with Issel and school board member Ted Schultz, are up for re-election. 

“One of my obligations as a board member is to get people I can work with,” said Doran.  

In the end, he argues, the board’s responsibility is 

to serve Berkeley’s students, and implementing small 

schools, he says, is a vital part of that mission.  

The path to Berkeley 

Doran was born in 1943, and raised in south-central Los Angeles, the son of a nurse and union activist. In 1960, Doran left behind a “non-descript childhood” in a white, working-class neighborhood, headed off to UC Berkeley and “never looked back.”  

In 1964, he married Lenore Merzon, whom he’d met at summer camp at age 16. The couple would later have two sons who were educated in the Berkeley Unified School District.  

In 1966, Doran began a lengthy teaching career in the Berkeley schools when he took a job at the now defunct McKinley School.  

In 1969, he moved to BHS, where he would remain until 1998, teaching everything from photography, to history, to sex education, and winning a battle with cancer in 1993 and 1994 that left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. 

The small schools debate – next steps 

With the board unwilling to engage in a rapid restructuring of BHS, Doran says he is thinking about making a deal.  

“Maybe a compromise is that we do it in stages and see what happens,” he said.  

Doran acknowledges that some members of the Coalition for Excellence and Equity may be unhappy with a slower movement to small schools, but he suggests that debate and compromise may be the best route available. “Right now, we have nothing,” he added. 

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco supervisors have scheduled a last-minute committee meeting for Monday to consider what the board should do officially.  

Supervisor Matt Gonzales asked last month that a committee hearing be held on the question.. Several of his colleagues pointed out that one of the measures voters backed on Nov. 6, Measure E, created a new Elections Commission and tighter rules to oversee the troubled department. The implementation of that measure was set to begin on Jan. 1 but has been put off because the supervisors declined to declare the results official. 

On Tuesday, incoming City Attorney-elect Dennis Herrera is scheduled to be sworn in but that could also be held up unless the supervisors act on Monday. Herrera, a former police commissioner, came in first in a runoff election held last month and defeated Jim Lazarus, the man who had been the front-runner on Nov. 6. 

Gonzales has also called for a recount of votes from both November 2000 and November 2001 - matters the Rules Committee is also set to take up on Monday. This fall, a number of questions were raised about the handling of ballots, including thousands moved away from City Hall on Nov. 6 for security reasons, 240 that were counted late and several hundred blank ones that disappeared for weeks when a disgruntled poll worker apparently took them home. 

SAN FRANCISCO — A stolen vehicle believed to have been driven by a man suspected of killing his wife and three children in Oregon was found this morning at San Francisco International Airport. 

According to San Francisco Police Sergeant Larry Ratti, the green Dodge Durango believed to have been driven by Christian Longo was found at 8:15 a.m. in the short-term parking lot following a police sweep of the various lots surrounding the airport. 

Ratti said that all flight logs are being studied to determine if Longo took a flight or left the vehicle in the lot. 

“Considering recent security measures it would be very difficult to travel with phony identification even if the ID's were very close in description,” Ratti said. 

Ratti said that despite doubts that Longo took a flight, San Francisco Police in collaboration with the FBI are investigating every available angle. 

The officers that discovered the stolen car came across information inside the vehicle that indicate Longo was using the vehicle, Ratti said. 

Longo may be using the aliases Jason Joseph Fortner or John Thomas Christopher with birth dates of Jan. 23, 1974, April 17, 1973, or May 23, 1974. 

Longo, 27, is charged in a Lincoln County, Ore. arrest warrant with aggravated murder and in a federal warrant on charges of unlawful flight.

SAN FRANCISCO – Not all doctors who are ordered to pay damages to patients end up paying the price on their records, according to a newspaper investigation that found only some cases ever make it into the Medical Board of California’s records. 

One-third of 66 reviewed cases were entered into the agency’s computer database, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. However, all of the cases’ verdicts and arbitration awards were widely reported by the media over the past three years. 

The Medical Board licenses, monitors and disciplines physicians. The agency also is where thousands of patients turn when evaluating and selecting their doctors. 

In some cases, the agency said it was unaware of the decisions partly because it was not informed by court clerks and insurance agencies. 

“Not everything that is reportable is being reported,” said Medical Board spokeswoman Candis Cohen. 

But she said the agency consciously decided not to disclose the verdicts of about half of the cases to the public. It does not disclose medical malpractice settlements, misdemeanor criminal convictions or complaints filed against physicians. A legislative hearing to review that policy is set for Jan. 23. 

“That is unconscionable,” said Julianne D’Angelo Fellmeth, administrative director for the University of San Diego’s Center for Public Interest Law. “That is information about physicians whose incompetence and negligence can kill people.” 

Last year, 130,000 people called the agency’s hot line and its online database was searched 3 million times. Consumers who want more detailed information must request it from the board in writing, which can be a lengthy process. 

Last month, Medical Board Executive Director Ron Joseph told legislators the state’s computer system is too antiquated to add more detailed information to its database. 

The agency also told the Chronicle some of the cases in the newspaper’s investigation were left out of the database because they were later settled. Agency attorney Nancy Vedera said the Medical Board is only required to report final judgments, not verdicts or settlements. 

The law does not prohibit the agency from reporting such outcomes, but Vedera said the board does not want to prompt a lawsuit from the California Medical Association, which represents physicians. 

“The Medical Board has to be prudent in what we report,” Vedera said. “We don’t have a lot of money” to fight lawsuits. 

State law, however, does require court clerks to contact the Medical Board within 10 days of a judgment or settlement of more than $30,000. Insurers also are supposed to notify the agency, but no penalty exists for failure to do so. 

“I don’t feel too good about that,” said Sen. Maurice Johannessen, R-Redding, a member of the Legislative Sunset Review Committee, which is reviewing the Medical Board. “If there are judgments, they should be on the public record.”

SANTA ANA – Nearly 350 injury reports were filed last year under a new law regulating California theme parks, and they offer a rare glimpse into the secretive ride industry. 

The reports, analyzed by The Orange County Register for Sunday’s paper, show that many injuries at state parks were caused by restraining devices that are supposed to keep riders safe. One third of the injuries were to children, and 73 occurred at California water parks. 

Among the other details: 

• Seventeen patrons suffered bone fractures, including two with broken necks at Raging Waters in San Dimas. 

• Eight riders dislocated their shoulders or knees, including one man whose arms came out of their sockets while he rode the Stealth roller coaster at Paramount’s Great America in Santa Clara. That accident remains under investigation. 

• Fourteen people needed stitches, mostly after hitting their faces on lap bars or crashing into each other at water parks. 

• There were three deaths, two as a result of brain aneurysms that state investigators concluded should not be blamed on the parks. In the third fatal accident, which remains under investigation, a mother of five died after falling from the Perilous Plunge at Knott’s Berry Farm. 

Overall, half of the injury reports and complaints led to full investigations by the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s Permanent Amusement Ride Section, the Register said. 

Half of those investigations ended with requirements to make repairs, retrain employees or review procedures. 

The new ride-inspection program was approved by legislators in 1999 following the deaths of a tourist on Christmas Eve 1998 at Disneyland and a boy who fell from a tower at Paramount’s Great Adventure. 

Last year was the first full year that the ride section’s offices in Sacramento and Anaheim were up and running. 

The new law requires amusement parks to report serious injuries and allows the state to inspect rides after an accident occurs. Technical rules were still being hammered out and were expected to be adopted by late February. 

The requirements aren’t as tough as some lawmakers wanted, but the bill’s author said he is pleased with the results so far. 

“This industry resisted regulation for decades,” said state Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch. “I am confident amusement parks today are safer because of this (legislation), and the trends are in a positive direction.” 

Ride-safety advocates welcome the new regulation efforts. 

“It’s like night and day now,” said ride-safety advocate Kathy Fackler. “The parks are reporting injuries now. And when big stuff happens, (the state) is going out to do investigations.”

SACRAMENTO – A $1.2 million state program launched this week has the California Highway Patrol working overtime to ticket speeding truckers. 

Authorities hope to reduce big-rig accidents by 5 percent. In the past 5 1/2 years, 698 people have been killed on state highways in such crashes. 

Between 1996 and June 2001, big-rigs were to blame in 98,377 accidents, according to the CHP. Those collisions resulted in injuries to 33,604 people. 

The 18-month program will target commercial truck drivers who speed, follow too closely, make unsafe lane changes or drive under the influence.

LAS VEGAS – Amid the latest in high-tech – from wearable gadgetry to automobile accoutrements – the loudest buzz at the 2002 International Consumer Electronics Show will likely center on entertainment devices for the living room. 

At the show that opens Tuesday, hardware makers plan to unveil DVD players that double as digital music or photo storage centers. New entries are also expected among a small but fast-growing crop of networked devices that are designed to play MP3s and Internet radio as well as host personal music collections. 

Analysts think one product in particular will stand out because it appears to deliver the best yet in digital convergence – the ability to integrate digital audio, video, television and computer data in a single device. 

The Moxi Media Center is a souped-up digital media server with an 80-gigabyte hard drive. It can deliver to as many as four televisions video recorded from a TV signal and video or audio stored on the hard drive or from a built-in DVD/CD player. 

It supports interactive TV, instant messaging and e-mail. 

Not only does this set-top box hook up to multiple televisions via extension boxes connected via wireless or Ethernet networks, it can also feed computers. 

In secret development for two years, the product comes from a company founded by WebTV entrepreneur Steve Perlman. 

“It takes all the digital media and brings it not only to your PC but also your TV and audio system,” said Perlman. His Palo Alto, Calif.-based company is also announcing a name change, to Moxi Digital Inc. from Rearden Steel Technologies. 

The media center’s built-in software is designed to work with cable or satellite TV, and later versions will also support digital photo and video management, the company said. 

A user in one room could watch a television program – live or recorded – while someone in another room could watch the same program but also be able to pause it or otherwise control the video recorder. At the same time, yet another person in the house could use the media center to listen to music files. 

Josh Bernoff, an analyst with Forrester Research, thinks the Moxi threatens not just major consumer electronic companies but also software providers and makers of current digital video recorders. 

“This is a real disruptive technology,” he said. 

Moxi’s business strategy differs from those of rivals that are struggling to become profitable. The company has no plans to manufacture the hardware, which some providers of interactive TV or digital video recorders have found to be a rough, often money-losing venture. Instead, it plans to license the technology to cable and satellite TV operators, which in turn can choose their own hardware and software partners. 

Moxi uses the open-source Linux operating system, meaning other companies can easily change software layers or build new applications on top of the platform. The company says its technology allows cable operators to reduce their average manufacturing cost of digital set-top boxes from $570 per TV to $425 for a single-TV household and $250 to equip a second TV. 

The company has a powerful, wide range of investors, including cable media giant AOL Time Warner, satellite TV provider Echostar Communications, and networking equipment giant Cisco Systems. 

Echostar, which is poised to merge with its larger rival DirecTV, was to announce at CES its plans to use Moxi’s technology. 

“The innovation coming out of this Moxi company is really a generation beyond what other companies are doing,” Bernoff said. “If it works, they’ll own the world.” 

Analysts say Moxi’s technology, open-ended platform and licensing model could help lead the way to the next generation of personalized television – a world of movies on demand in which programs and advertisements could be tailored to household tastes. 

But Moxi is not alone. 

The race to successfully converge the television with the personal computer, VCR or DVD player and stereo is crowded with companies vying for a piece of a very lucrative pie – 100 million television-viewing households in the United States alone. 

Companies like TiVo Inc. have pioneered personal video recorder technology, which allows viewers to pause live TV and record shows onto a hard disk, giving viewers more control of what they watch and when. 

Cable and satellite TV companies and their set-top manufacturers are already offering advanced boxes that incorporate home networking, personal video recording and interactive TV features. 

“It’ll be a squeeze in an already very confusing and squeezed marketplace,” Richard Doherty, president of The Envisioneering Group, said of Moxi. “But there’s nothing else on the drawing board that even comes close.” 

Although Moxi appears to have a head start over others, Perlman knows from his WebTV days that success is not guaranteed. 

WebTV, now part of Microsoft’s TV division, only has about 1 million subscribers after more than four years on the market. 

The greatest unknown is how consumers, still warming to the potential of digital entertainment, will receive the technology. 

“The world isn’t really ready for this,” said Bernoff. “But in 2002, we’ll see the world getting itself ready for this kind of product.”

SAN JOSE – Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on Monday are launching the fastest models yet of their flagship processors, the electronic brains of personal computers. 

Intel’s new top Pentium 4 chips run at 2.2 gigahertz and 2 GHz, or 2.2 and 2 billion of cycles per second. AMD’s latest, the Athlon XP 2000+, clocks in at 1.67 GHz. 

Despite the speed difference, AMD has claimed its Athlons have more efficient architectures and perform better than faster Intel chips running the most popular applications. 

But Intel’s new chips are the first to be built using a new process that allows smaller transistors and other features, doubled on-board memory and a 30 percent reduction in overall processor size. 

The result is a roughly 10 percent performance boost beyond the gain from bumping up the processor speed, said Louis Burns, general manager of Intel’s Desktop Platform Group. 

“It’s the beginning of an architecture, not the extension of an old architecture, which some people are doing in the marketplace,” he said. 

Analysts also expect the new process technology to help Intel meet demand for the Pentium 4 as well as improve profit margins by increasing the number of chips from each silicon wafer. 

“The cost structure is better. And they’ll get more performance out of them,” said Hans Mosesmann, an analyst at Prudential Securities. “It’s a very good deal for Intel.” 

Intel’s previous top chip was the 2 GHz Pentium 4, which was introduced in August. It was built using the older process technology. 

The 2.2 GHz Pentium 4 will cost $562 when purchased in volumes of 1,000. The new 2 GHz chip is priced at $364. The Athlon XP 2000+ costs $339.

FREMONT — Ten local Afghan-Americans have been elected to serve on the Electoral College of Afghans, representing their community to the U.S. government. 

The 10 San Francisco Bay area residents will join 30 other delegates to help advise government officials about how to rebuild their homeland. 

About 1,000 Afghan-Americans gathered last Sunday at the Flamingo Palace banquet hall in Fremont to cast their votes. 

“It was so exciting,” said Farida Anwary, the top vote-getter and news broadcaster for a San Jose-based Afghan radio station. “We wanted to take the first step toward democracy in our own society to see how it works because we’ve never done it before. And if we don’t practice the democracy here among ourselves in a country who taught us, so how can we do it at home? How can we especially expect it from them who have never had it before?” 

Rahim Sherzoy, former Afghan ambassador to Pakistan and adviser to exiled Afghan King Muhammed Zahir Shah, spoke to the gathering about the election’s importance and the need for the intellectual and cultural elite who left Afghanistan to return and help rebuild their country. The longtime Fremont resident plans to return next week to assume his new post as deputy foreign minister. 

The other Northern California delegates are: Rona Popal, Waheed Momand and Farid Younus, all from the Fremont-based Afghan Coalition; Fatima Hotak and Zabih Esmati who, like Anwary, belong to the Fremont-based Worldwide Afghan Unity Foundation; Sayed Masood Majrooh, a former mujahedeen journalist for the National Islamic Front who now runs a Fremont security firm; and Afghan community leaders Gul Ahmad Zekria, Fazal Ahmad Abdiany and Muhammed Omar Sediqi. 

The 40 delegates will attend an organizational meeting in Washington, D.C., sometime next month. 

The Bay Area, the nation’s largest Afghan-American community, is home to about 60,000 former residents of Afghanistan.

The Berkeley Rent Board receives more than 300 inquiries a week ranging from very specific questions about individual units, to broader questions about rent control in general. In this column we will reproduce some of the more interesting questions and answers. Our topics will include permissible rent ceilings, the effects of vacancy decontrol, permissible grounds for eviction, habitability of units, the rules concerning security deposits and other issues of interest to renters and property owners. You can e-mail the City of Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board at rent@ci. berkeley.ca.us with your questions, or you can call or visit the office at 2125 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA. 94704 (northeast corner of Milvia/Center Streets) Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, between 9 a.m. and 4:45 p.m., and on Wednesday between noon and 4:45 p.m. Our telephone number is (510) 644-6128. Our Web site address is www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/rent/. 

Question: 

I am interested in buying a house that has an in-law unit on the property. My realtor says it’s a “golden duplex” and therefore not subject to rent control. What exactly is a golden duplex and why would it not be under rent control? 

Answer: 

First, for Rent Board purposes, a duplex is any two-unit property. Some duplexes are exempt from rent control, or “golden,” while others are not. A duplex is exempt from rent control if an owner lived in one of the units as his or her principal residence on Dec. 31, 1979 and an owner currently occupies one of the units as his or her principal residence (it need not be the same owner). “Owner” in this context means an owner of record with at least a 50 percent interest in the property.  

The rationale for this exemption from rent control is the belief that an owner who shares a small property with a tenant will have a more familial relationship with his tenant and, therefore, there is less need for external rules to protect the tenant from unwarranted rent increases.  

So, why aren’t all owner-occupied duplexes exempt? The exemption is limited to two-unit properties that were owner-occupied on Dec. 31, 1979 to protect tenants living in non-owner-occupied duplexes. If any duplex would become exempt by virtue of an owner residing on site, it is likely that every duplex in Berkeley would eventually be owner-occupied because of the financial benefit that comes with owning a rental unit with an unregulated rent. Such a broad exemption would effectively remove a significant number of units from the rental market and displace hundreds of renters. Therefore, to preserve the composition of the rental market, the exemption is limited to current owner-occupied duplexes that were owner-occupied at the beginning of rent control.  

Question: 

I moved into a house with three other roommates two years ago. We each paid one roommate $500 for the security deposit, and he, in turn, paid the landlord $2,000. Now I am moving out and I want my security deposit back, but our landlord says he doesn’t have to return it until my roommates move out. Is that correct? 

Answer: 

Yes. According to Rent Board Regulation 706, a landlord is not required to refund any portion of a security deposit until he has recovered possession of the unit, i.e., until the unit is vacant. Because there is no telling when the unit will be vacant, especially if roommates are replaced as each one moves out, you should ask for your share of the security deposit from the remaining tenants or from your replacement, if there is one.

Editor: 

To learn that violence is a problem on the Berkeley High campus is sadly of little surprise after my own incident. 

Last Oct. 24, a co-worker and myself (adult 30 year old males) were attacked by a gang of kids outside Willard Junior High School on our way on Telegraph Avenue after lunch. The kids turned out to be BHS students, let out of class early after a “pep” rally. Go team. 

If violence is being tolerated at BHS, then those lessons of tolerance are being taken into our streets.  

And we all pay for it, literally - I just got my emergency room bill and I am shopping for a lawyer. 

Todd Stiers 

Berkeley 

Supervisors may call for massive recount 

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is moving closer to ordering an unprecedented recount of two elections in hopes of getting at the root of problems plaguing the city’s voting operation. 

All ballots for city races in November 2000 and November 2001 would be recounted under a proposal by Supervisor Matt Gonzalez that came before the board’s Rules Committee on Monday. 

Gonzalez and the committee’s other two members directed the city attorney to draft legislation to re-examine the ballots from the two elections. The job could fall to an independent auditor, the civil grand jury, District Attorney Terence Hallinan’s office or another investigative agency. 

In the case of the November 2000 election, the passage of time makes it highly unlikely that the results of any contests would be overturned. In that election, supervisors were elected by district for the first time in two decades and voters considered two highly charged growth measures. 

Still, Deputy City Attorney Buck Delventhal said the review could prove helpful for two reasons: “to make a better accounting of what happened and, second, to decide whether the board needs to change the way elections are done.” 

As for the November 2001 election, there is still time under state law to challenge the results through an official recount conducted by the Department of Elections. 

Lab hired to investigate bridge scaffold collapse 

OAKLAND — An engineering laboratory has been hired to determine why scaffolding collapsed last Friday morning on the Bay Bridge, killing a painter, state officials said Monday. 

FTI Anamet Laboratory of Hayward will conduct the tests on the scaffolding, which buckled in the center as it was being lowered onto a truck, trapping Daryl Clemons, 33, and three other workers against the bottom of the bridge’s upper deck. Clemons was killed, and the other three received minor injuries. 

The 18,000-pound scaffolding was being used on the bridge’s seismic retrofitting project. The state Department of Transportation has suspended all work on the retrofitting until further notice, and the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered the painting subcontractor, Robison Prezioso, not to lower or lift any of the three remaining overhead scaffolds on the bridge until the cause of the collapse is determined. 

Superintendent sues district again 

PITTSBURG — A year after school trustees sacked Superintendent Robert Newell for the second time, he has slapped the Pittsburg district with another lawsuit, this time alleging slander. 

Among its many allegations, the suit accuses the Pittsburg Unified School District of ruining Newell’s reputation by leaking information about a poor job review to the public and violating Newell’s privacy by releasing information about his health. 

Newell has no grounds for a suit, according to Laurie Juengert, an attorney for Pittsburg schools. 

This will be Newell’s second legal battle with the district. After he was dismissed in 1997, Newell sued the district. In a settlement, he won back his job and $135,000 in damages. 

The district fired him again in December 2000, just as he returned from several months of sick leave, and paid him to finish the remaining year and a half of his contract.  

That cost the district $189,000. 

Newell then took a job as a teacher in the district, a right reserved for administrators under California law, but he did not teach and remained on medical leave until he resigned from that position last June. 

All told, the district has paid Newell about $600,000 in its two attempts to remove him. 

While he was superintendent, Newell was accused of ruling by intimidation.  

Many blamed Newell when, after two years of failed contract negotiations, teachers went on a weeklong strike in June 2000.

Richard “Grizzly” Brown 

April 4, 1960-Jan. 2, 2002 

Known for his massive stature, as well as the size of his heart, Richard “Grizzly” Brown, also recognized by his Muslim name, Saad Muhammad, of Berkeley left this life Jan. 2. He was 41 years old.  

Born to Carolynn and Eugene Brown on April 4, 1960 he was raised in Berkeley and attended Berkeley and Albany schools. Upon leaving high school he pursued a career as a weight lifter and strongman.  

For two consecutive years, 1985 and 1986, he competed in the World’s Strongest Man Contest as a representative of the United States. He held a place in the Guinness World Book of Records for the largest biceps – more than 25 inches (cold, not pumped).  

After retiring from the sport of strongman in 1987, he secured a position with the Berkeley Unified School District as a campus monitor and later a school safety officer, when he served as a mentor, counselor and father figure to hundreds of students at Berkeley High School.  

In 1989 he transferred to Willard Middle School, where he served students and the school community for 11 years.  

In 1991, he began his study of Islam and later converted.  

In 1994, he met his wife, Jennifer, at Willard Middle School where they were both employed. 

In 1997 they joined in marriage at the “Wedding Court” at Willard Middle School.  

He was the proud father of three young sons, Timothy, 10, Donnell, 6, and Aadam, 3. Preceded by his father in death, he is survived by his wife, Jennifer, three sons, Timothy, Donnell and Aadam, his mother Carolynn Bell-Brown, his grandparents Eli and Mattie Bell (all of Berkeley), two half brothers, Eugene and Brandon, as well numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and colleagues.  

A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, Jan. 12, 2002, at 11:00 a.m. at Willard Middle School, 2425 Stuart St. Berkeley, CA.  

This obituary was written by Mr. Brown’s family.

SACRAMENTO – A California Indian tribe has received the permission it needed to construct a $100 million Nevada-style casino outside Sacramento, where it is expected to draw gamblers who now head for Reno, Nev. 

The U.S. Department of Interior took trust to 49 acres of unincorporated land near Roseville, northeast of Sacramento, on behalf of the United Auburn Indian Community. 

“It’s an ideal location. It’s on the I-80 corridor between San Francisco and Reno, below the snow line,” said tribal spokesman Doug Elmets on Friday. “Those who don’t like going over the (Sierra Nevada) mountains in winter will find this incredibly convenient.” 

Construction may begin this fall and will likely take about a year. 

Reno-area casino operators have said they view the casino as perhaps their biggest competitor among the tribal casinos built or pending in Northern California. 

However, Elmets said the tribe and its Las Vegas-based management partner, Station Casinos Inc., intend to market the casino mainly to the Sacramento area. 

Nor will the 200,000-square-foot casino have the look or feel of glitzy Las Vegas or Reno, Elmets said, but will be designed to fit visually with the surrounding Sierra foothills communities. 

Opponents have 30 days to file objections. 

Local opposition was muted after the tribe reached voluntary agreements with Placer County and surrounding communities that were praised Friday by Interior Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Wayne Smith, Placer County Supervisor Robert Weygandt, and one-time opponent Cheryl Schmit of Stand Up for California! 

The tribe agreed to make up for lost local property taxes, pay $900,000 a year to compensate for increased police, fire and emergency services and contribute $50,000 annually to fight compulsive gambling in the county. It also agreed to create an advisory committee to hear community grievances, and to submit to arbitration despite the tribe’s immunity from lawsuits. 

The tribe settled on the unincorporated Roseville location after an unsuccessful attempt five years ago to put the casino near Schmit’s home in Penryn, close to two day-care centers and a Buddhist temple. 

It will now be in an industrial park, near a county landfill, recycling center and several factories, although subdivisions are being built within eyesight of the location. The 24-hour-a-day casino will be built near two large retirement communities and an upscale shopping mall, and is projected to attract 8,000 gamblers a day. 

Tribal Chairwoman Jessica Tavares said Friday’s announcement means “a new chapter in our history — one marked with renewed hope and economic self-sufficiency.” 

The United Auburn Indian Community was recreated by an act of Congress in 1994, 27 years after it officially ceased to exist. It reached an agreement with Gov. Gray Davis’ administration in 1999 that will allow it to provide Las Vegas-style gaming. 

Some of the tribe’s approximately 220 members live on an impoverished 30-acre reservation in Newcastle, but the tribe hopes to use gambling proceeds to buy and improve an 1,100-area area near Sheridan for those who wish to relocate.