High startup costs and unknown effectiveness on voter turnout a turnoff 

After the newest trend in election procedures was spurned by Berkeley leaders last month, critics of the city’s stance are now foreseeing bad things for Berkeley voters. 

Known as instant runoff voting, the novel polling procedure requires voters to rank all of the candidates in order of preference instead of choosing just one candidate in a single-seat election. This way, if no one candidate gets the required percentage of votes to win, an instant runoff can be conducted among the top vote-getters using the second choices of losing candidates. A subsequent runoff election is thus avoided. 

The new procedure may seem like a technicality.  

But champions of the process say without it, Berkeley residents are losing a number of benefits including cost-savings, fairer representation and less negative political campaigning. 

San Francisco and San Ramon have recently adopted instant runoff voting, and officials with the Center for Voting and Democracy cite the Fourth of July as a ripe time to challenge Berkeley leaders who oppose the system. 

On June 11, City Council decided not to leave the instant runoff voting question up to voters in the November election. 

“We were just assuming City Council would put this on the ballot so advocates weren’t mobilizing,” said Steven Hill, western regional director of the Center for Voting. 

Mayor Shirley Dean, who voted to dismiss the new procedure, said the evidence wasn’t there to justify a complete overhaul of the city’s election procedures. 

“The technical questions have not been answered,” she said. “Instead of inventing the wheel, let’s watch someone else do it first and work off their experience and information.” 

High startup costs to prepare for the new voting procedure and a lack of proof about whether voter turnout will increase were issues cited by Dean. 

“If the voting process becomes more complicated with instant runoff voting, will voter turnout really go up?” she asked. 

Advocates of instant runoff voting argue that runoff elections – which for November races are often rescheduled during inconvenient holiday times – are never well attended, and the new procedure would surely solve that problem. 

A further advantage would be the cost savings of not having to hold a second election, estimated at $200,000, according to David Green, the East Bay chairperson for the Center for Voting. 

Green also explained that instant runoff voting would force candidates to appeal to voters not just as their top candidate but as a second or third choice as well. Such an appeal would curtail candidates’ criticism of one another during the campaign period, he said. 

The League of Women Voters has recently come out in favor of instant runoff voting as well. 

“When we compared the advantages and disadvantages, it was pretty obvious to us it was a desirable thing,” said Jim Lindsay, a member of the league. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who voted in favor of putting the question of instant runoff voting on the November ballot, said he was disappointed that the city hadn’t moved forward with a procedure that he said “expands democratic participation.” 

Berkeley’s current law requires candidates in a single-seat election to get 45 percent of the vote to win. The percentage was dropped from 50 percent to make it easier to pronounce a winner without a cumbersome runoff election. Instant runoff voting would allow the majority rule to be reinstated, advocates say. 

The preferred means and technology to implement instant runoff voting, though, remain a subject of debate. It is uncertain whether cities that have adopted the procedure, like San Francisco, will be able to implement it for this year’s elections. 

To the Editor: 

Local control of tobacco sales to youths is threatened by AB 1666, which is on the governor's desk for signature. If this becomes law it will be a disaster to the already beleaguered tobacco control programs of Berkeley as well as every county in California. At a time when budgets are being cut in half, programs are being eliminated and staff is being laid off, the fight against big tobacco can ill-afford yet another assault on what is left in the arsenals of county tobacco programs. 

Tobacco lobbyists claim AB 1666 is designed to “monitor retail tobacco sales and to insure compliance with tobacco tax and control laws." But the legislation actually has the potential to preempt all local youth access tobacco laws as well as the enforcement of existing local tobacco retail license laws.  

This is the latest attempt by the tobacco industry and their allies in the Legislature to undermine the remarkable success of California’s highly effective tobacco prevention program. 

Anyone interested in protecting teens and others from big tobacco's youth-targeted marketing campaigns should phone or fax the governor immediately. We must not stand by and allow AB 1666 to protect the cynical multi-billion dollar tobacco interests, devastate public health programs and escalate long-term state and local health care expenditures even more. 

Paul Fletcher 

Berkeley

It’s easy to understand the appeal of the Powerpuff Girls — just look at their eyes. 

These animated superheroines see the world with planet-sized orbs capable of expressing glee, frustration, curiosity, anger, surprise and Zen calm. They narrow to slits and get so wide they look like they might pop out of their oblong skulls. And when the girls are in action, their eyes shoot lasers — very cool. 

It’s no wonder the girls are drawn without noses or fingers — with peepers like that, they don’t need them. 

Unfortunately, the eyes are about the only remarkable thing about “The Powerpuff Girls Movie,” a labored adaptation of the Cartoon Network series that gets stuck between trying to satisfy fans and trying to explain everything to the unfamiliar. 

What the movie purports to tell is not as much a story as a back story — how the Powerpuff Girls were created and how they went from freakish outcasts to the saviors and protectors of the city of Townsville. All of this is certainly familiar to the girls’ fan base, if not in such detail, and director and lead writer Craig McCracken could dash off a two-minute prologue to bring the rest of the world up to speed. 

Instead, he decides to build the entire movie around how the Powerpuff Girls got started. It’s a bit like the “Star Wars” prequels in its unnecessary backtracking and obvious destination. 

The girls are the brainchildren of the naive Professor Utonium, who hopes to create the perfect girls out of the prescribed ingredients — sugar, spice and everything nice. But the professor’s lab assistant, a monkey named Jojo, drops “Chemical X” into the mix, giving the girls their superpowers — speed, flight and those fabulous laser eyes. At the same time, Jojo mutates into the evil, super-intelligent Mojo Jojo, the girls’ eventual archnemesis. 

Not knowing what to do with his flock of adorable mutants — bossy Blossom, giddy Bubbles and gruff Buttercup — the professor enrolls them in kindergarten, where all goes well until they’re introduced to the game of tag, which is a lot more fun if you have superpowers. 

In a thrilling if occasionally disquieting sequence, the girls turn themselves loose on Townsville, leaving destruction in their wake. When it’s over, the girls are vilified in the media. (One newspaper headline reads: “Freaky Bug-Eyed Weirdo Girls Broke Everything.”) 

Unfortunately, the movie never reaches this level of hyperkinetic excitement again. Shunned, the girls fall into the clutches of the devious Mojo Jojo, who enlists their unwitting aid in his evil world-domination scheme by insisting that if they help him, the town will embrace them for their powers. 

“The Powerpuff Girls Movie” adheres religiously to the superhero story template — a misfit discovers he has special powers, and after a few blunders learns how to harness them for the greater good. (Of course, these heroes are female, for which McCracken should be applauded, but he follows everything else to the letter.) 

“Spider-Man” has demonstrated anew the potency of this formula, but one would hope for something loonier from such quirky source material. As the plot steamrolls along, there’s no room for whimsical asides or inventive flights of fancy. Even Disney’s animated movies get sidetracked more often than this, and the diversions are usually the good parts. 

It’s a shame, because the girls are delightful, and the movie is skillfully made. Because of the show’s tight production schedule, the animation, drawn in Korea, is stylized but crude; there’s often very little motion in the frame. But the movie makes up for its fast-and-cheap look with aggressive editing, stringing the frames together to create something often spirited and occasionally magical. 

Still, the movie is just not fun enough. “The Powerpuff Girls Movie” lumbers to its conclusion when it should be light on its feet. 

McCracken should follow the lead of the girls, and glide. 

“The Powerpuff Girls Movie,” released by Warner Bros. Pictures, is rated PG for nonstop frenetic animated action. Running time: 87 minutes. Two stars out of four.

Thursday, July 4

Volunteers Needed for  

East Bay Habitat for Humanity  

Independence Day Build-A-Thon: July 4-7 

is seeking volunteers for the ! We will be framing 6 homes in 4 days over the Fourth of July weekend.  

251-6304.  

Pancake Breakfast 

9 to 11 a.m. 

The Berkshire, 2235 Sacramento St. 

Red, white and blue pancakes. 

841-4844 

Donations to local food back appreciated 

Saturday, July 6

Capoeira Batizado 

2 to6 p.m.  

Capoeira Arts Cafe 

2026 Addison, Berkeley 

A celebration of Capoeira with performances by local arts organization. 

For information: 666-1255, www.capoeiraarts.com 

Free 

The Great Rummage Sale 

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, 2700 Ninth Street (at Carleton) in Berkeley 

Warehouse full of household items, books, records, clothing, furniture, and lots more at great prices. All proceeds go to support of our shelter. 

845-7735 

Monday, July 8

Berkeley Gray Panthers Home Owners Meeting  

Monday, July 8th, 2002 at 3 p.m.  

Berkeley Gray Panthers Office,1403 Addison Street-behind University Avenue Andronico’s Super Market. 

Laurie Capitelli of Red Oak Realty runs down the options of selling homes 

All Welcome 

548-9696 or 486-8010 

Free 

Introduction to Accessible  

Software and Hardware  

6:30 to 8 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library Electronic Classroom, 2090 Kittredge Street 

RSVP to 981-6121- Alan Bern, Special Services Coordinator 

Tuesday, July 9

Mother’s Morning Out 

10:30 a.m. to noon 

Upaya Center for Wellbeing 

478 Santa Clara Ave. 

Craniosacral Therapy for Infants and Children 

www.upayacenter.org 

Free 

Thursday, July 11

Great Sierra Backpacking  

Destinations 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo  

Karen Najarian of Sierra Wilderness Seminars presents slides from her more that 20 years exploring the Sierra Backcountry. 

For information: 527-4140 

Free 

What Do You Believe? Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers 

6:30 to 8:00 p.m. 

Ellen Driscoll Playhouse 

325 Highland Avenue, Piedmont  

Film presented by Piedmont diversity groups; discussion with filmmaker, Sarah Feinbloom.  

655-5552, or maudep@aol.com 

Free 

Friday, July 12

Celebration of Emma Goldman's Birthday  

8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. 

Fellowship of Humanity Hall  

390 27th St  

An all-ages, alcohol-free party with live music, DJ, and dance lessons 

http://www.ebcaw.org  

$5 to $10 sliding scale  

Saturday, July 13

Peach / Stone Fruit Tasting 

Tasting & cooking demonstrations 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

15th Anniversary Derby  

Street Farmers Market 

Live music and & stone-fruit and peach tasting 

Tasting & cooking demonstrations. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Derby Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way  

Free 

Festival of New Versions  

of Classic Asian Games 

Noon to 5 p.m 

Dr. Comics and Mr. Games,  

4014 Piedmont Ave., Oakland  

Dr Comics and Mr Games Hosts Game a festival featuring two new versions of classic Asian board games 

601-7800 

Sunday, July 14

Hands-on Bicycle Repair  

11 a.m.to noon 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Learn from an REI bike technician basic bike repairs such as brake adjustments and fixing a flat. 

For information: 527-4140 

Free 

Family Health Day 

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Fourth Street and University Avenue 

Explore health concerns in a family oriented environment 

Free 

Tuesday, July 16

Berkeley Camera  

Club Weekly Meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church 

941 The Alameda 

Share slides, prints with other photographers 

525-3565 

Free 

Introduction to Accessible Software and Hardware  

10:30 a.m. to noon 

Berkeley Public Library Electronic Classroom, 2090 Kittredge Street 

RSVP to 981-6121. Alan Bern, Special Services Coordinator 

Wedneday, July 17

Doctors Without Borders 

Until July 18 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

UC Berkeley, Springer Gateway, West Entrance Crescent 

Interactive exhibit expalining medicines for people in developing countries; Film screenings 

www.doctorswithoutborders.org 

Free 

Thursday, July 18

Mystique of the Widerness 

7 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Phil Arnot presents slides from over 50 years of exploring such places as Alaska, New Zealand, the Sierra and the Rockies. 

For information: 527-4140 

Introduction to Accessible  

Software and Hardware  

3 to 4:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library Electronic Classroom, 2090 Kittredge Street 

RSVP to 981-6121. Alan Bern, Special Services Coordinator 

Saturday, July 20

Emergency Preparedness  

Classes in Berkeley 

Earthquake Retrofitting: Learn how to strengthen your wood frame home. 

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

812 Page St. 

981-5605 

Free 

Thursday, July 25

California Landscapes:  

A Geologist's Perspective 

7 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

John Karachewski presents an educational slideshw on such amazing places as the Sierra Nevada, Coast Ranges the Great Valley and Cascades 

For information: 527- 4140. 

Free 

Saturday, July 27

Test Ride Kestrel Bicycles 

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Preston Sandusky of Kestrel, a premier manufacturer of high-end, carbon-fiber road and mountain bikes, intrduces their latest design. 

For information: 527-4140 

Free 

"Neon: The Living Flame" 

7:00 p.m.  

Alameda Museum  

2324 Alameda Ave.  

The Alameda Museum presents Michael Crowe, author, and neon artist Karl Hauser 

lecture by Michael Crowe 

748-0796 or 841-8489.  

Members free, nonmembers $5  

Sunday, July 28

Hands-on Bicycle Repair  

11 a.m. to noon 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Learn from an REI bike techician basic repairs such as brake adjustments and fixing a flat. 

For information: 527-4140 

Free 

Wednesday, July 31

Mountain Adventure Seminars:  

Introduction to Rock Climbing 

7 to 9 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

An introduction to rockclimbing including knot tieing, belaying and movement. 

For information: (209) 753-6556 

$115 REI members; $125 non-members 

Former Cal star rising through the Padres’ minor-league system 

When Cal alumnus Xavier Nady signed with the San Diego Padres after the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft, expectations were high. He was a highly sought-after college baseball player who experts projected would be producing at the major league level sooner rather than later. Two years later, Nady is on the brink of proving the experts right. 

Earlier this year, in May, he was promoted to the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate, the Portland Beavers, just one rung on the ladder away from the major leagues.  

In 1997 the St. Louis Cardinals thought highly enough of Nady’s talent to make him a fourth-round draft choice out of Salinas High School. Nady chose instead to accept a scholarship from Cal.  

“(Choosing Cal) was an easy decision,” Nady said. “I felt going to college would make me a a better player. My days at Cal were the best time of my life.”  

Nady chose Cal over Pepperdine, the only other college that recruited him. He stepped in and right away drew national attention while leading the nation’s freshmen in a number of offensive categories, including home runs.  

“I felt welcomed by [then head coach] Bob Milano,” he said. “He put me in the third or fourth hole every game. I felt like I belonged there. Everything fell into place. I had a blast.”  

At the end of the year, he was named National Freshman of the Year by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. 

He left Cal as the school’s all-time leader in home runs (57), RBI’s (191) and total bases (479). He was a three-time All-Pac-10 selection and a two-time All American. His all-time slugging percentage (.729) is the highest in Pac-10 history, besting the .718 Mark McGwire chalked up at USC between 1982-1984.  

Before the 2000 season, Baseball America projected Nady as the top overall draft choice. He responded to the pressure with another All-Pac-10 season, but he slid to the second round. Some teams were rumored to have passed on him up in fear of dealing with his agent, notoriously tough negotiator Scott Boras.  

Considered an advanced hitting prospect similar to current major league stars Pat Burrell and Troy Glaus before him, Nady skipped two minor league levels, taking his first assignment with Lake Elsinore in the California League. Not many prospects can stay afloat at that level without prior experience, but for Nady it was easy. He was named the league’s Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year after leading the league in many offensive categories while making the move to first base.  

His performance earned him the distinction as best power prospect in the California League and second best overall prospect, trailing only teammate Dennis Tankersley, a pitcher who made seven starts for the Padres this year before being demoted to Double-A Mobile. 

This offseason Nady underwent Tommy John surgery, a ligament transplant to his throwing arm that prevented him from playing third base in the minors. A full recovery from the surgery typically takes nine to 12 months. Nady was prohibited from throwing a baseball to start the year.  

Nady began this year at Lake Elsinore again, this time as the team’s designated hitter. Over the course of the first couple of months he picked up where he left off, hitting .278 with 13 home runs and 37 RBI’s with plenty of walks, while playing DH while his arm healed.  

In May Nady was rewarded with another organizational jump, this time skipping Double-A Mobile and going straight to the Portland Beavers, the team’s Triple-A affiliate, just one step from the majors.  

“I heard that might happen over the winter. I was excited to skip Mobile,” Nady said. In the two months at that level Nady has not matched the numbers he put up at Lake Elsinore, as he continues to adjust to the new level of competition and recover from the surgery. He only has one home run in his first 137 at-bats.  

“The guys are a little older and they know how to pitch,” Nady said. 

His adjustments to the higher level of competition has been compounded by another position change, this time to left field. Since his freshman year in college, Nady has logged time at second, shortstop, third, first base and now the outfield. Nady is happy to play anywhere as long as it means getting some action on defense. 

“It’s much better to be running out there than DHing,” Nady said of playing left field. “I’m getting use to left field. I enjoyed first base last year. As long as you’re playing (on the field).” 

The Padres continue to be cautious with Nady. At Portland he is playing one of every three days on the field, then as DH another day and off the next, but he should be back to playing full time soon.  

The Padres have a glut of talent throughout the organization in the position that Nady played during most of his Cal career, third base. At the start of this season, the Padres moved Phil Nevin to first base and put Ryan Klesko in left field to make room for another top prospect, Sean Burroughs. On top of that, the Padres are stockpiling the best college hitters, regardless of position, for the past few years. The Padres have selected three high-round college third-basemen since 2000: Nady, former University of San Francisco player Tag Bozied and Tulane University’s Jake Gautreau.  

Nady has found that the best way to keep himself on the fast track to the major leagues is to continue producing the numbers that were expected from the former Cal star when he was drafted. At the very least, Nady is on track for another call-up this September.

Patricia Jameson said she noticed the new, bright pink building at 1600 University Ave. on her way to work a few days ago. But it was the name emblazoned on the side of the building – Magic Johnson – that drew her in. 

“I’m a fan,” said Jameson, an Oakland resident who works in Berkeley. 

The building is the Out of the Closet thrift shop, which held its grand opening Wednesday and will raise money for the Magic Johnson Clinic AIDS Healthcare Center on 30th Street in Oakland. 

The clinic is one of eleven health care centers operated by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in California. The foundation, which also operates clinics in Florida and New York, provides free HIV care and medicines to 11,000 patients nationwide, about half of them in California. 

Basketball star Magic Johnson, who has HIV, has lent his name to the organization and the foundation places that name on thrift stores and clinics in neighborhoods with substantial African-American populations. 

“He wanted to lend his name to help get African-Americans into care,” said Ian Killips, the foundation’s director of national marketing, noting that African-Americans are disproportionately affected by the virus. 

The thrift shop is the newest of 18 “Out of the Closet” stores in the state, and is the first in Northern California. 

“It’s a wonderful addition to the neighborhood,” said City Councilmember Dona Spring, who attended the grand opening. “It goes for a wonderful cause, to help people with a very serious illness.” 

Spring said the store also encourages locals to resell their clothing and appliances, rather than adding to landfills, which benefits the environment. 

“It’s everything Berkeley is about,” she said. 

General manager John Nieto said the foundation is looking to open another shop in Berkeley, possibly closer to the university, and a higher-end facility on Market Street in San Francisco. 

The University Avenue shop received a boost with a number of donations from the entertainment industry. The X-Files, a Fox TV series, donated a couch, dresser, computer desk and coffee table from its set, and a pool table from director Ron Howard is on the way. 

Killips said the foundation’s thrift shops account for $6 million to $7 million of the organization’s annual $70 million budget. 

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation also engages in political advocacy focused on HIV patients with limited political clout, Killips said. Gay men, people of color, immigrants and the incarcerated are some of the group’s primary constituencies, he said.

To the Editor: 

I'm glad to read that Gene Bernardi (letter June 2) was annoyed by my May 27 letter. The Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste (CMTW), like many Berkeley pressure groups, raise its probability of being heard at City Council by stuffing the system with speaker cards. 

I don't “blindly trust the Department of Energy,” but I'm sure not going to accept the CMTW propaganda instead. The CMTW, judging by what Bernardi and others say, is truly clueless about physics. 

Tritium is a low level source of radioactivity. It is a beta emitter, not a gamma emitter like plutonium. tritium is used as a radioactive tracer precisely because it is so low level. Tritium does not “dissolve in water” – it is water, a hydrogen atom in H2O. Tritium is not “a threat to public health for more than 100 years.” It has a half-life of about 12 years. It does not occur naturally, but must be generated in anaccelerator. 

The CMTW hysteria rises to a crescendo with statements like this (fromB ernardi): “... it is clear that there is NO threshold dose-level (no safe dose, so risk-free dose) of ionizing radiation. Thus, nuclear pollution, in the aggregate, causes premeditated random murder.” 

We all live with danger. One can get cancer from the sun, from air pollution, additives in our food. Rational citizens understand the concept of acceptable risk, and do not stay home hiding under the bed. 

Tritium, in the small amounts that might leak from LBNL, is much less of a risk than being run over in a crosswalk by a speeding driver – and we accept that kind of risk every day. 

Steve Geller 

Berkeley  

LAS VEGAS — A Las Vegas hotel is rebuffing requests from guests who want to book the room where The Who bass guitarist John Entwistle died last week. 

“We would prefer that the room number never get publicly identified, out of respect for John Entwistle and the band,” Don Marrandino, Hard Rock president and chief operating officer, said in a statement released Tuesday. 

Entwistle was found dead Thursday of an apparent heart attack. Clark County Coroner Ron Flud has said it could take weeks before a cause of death is known. 

The Hard Rock left the room vacant over the weekend before making it available for occupancy Monday. 

“We wanted to treat it with dignity and respect,” Marrandino told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We’re not going to put a plaque up there or anything else. I think a room a guy dies in is not a positive marketing opportunity.” 

The Hard Rock, known for its collection of rock ’n’ roll memorabilia, might create a permanent onsite memorial to Entwistle if bandmates approve. 

Executives also are debating whether to distribute, destroy or auction several thousand commemorative gambling chips that were to have been issued before Friday’s concert at the Hard Rock.

Thanks to donations from residents nearby and as far away as Tahoe a summer bicycle program for underprivileged kids is back on track. 

“There’s been an overwhelming community response from the entire Bay Area and even people from as far away as Tahoe and Chico,” said Kathy Corliss, program director for the Berkeley Boosters Police Activity League. 

Less than a week ago, all 25 of the Berkeley Booster’s bicycles were reported missing from a storage space near Allston Way and Shattuck Avenue.  

It appeared that plans for a summer bike ride and whitewater rafting trip would be canceled.  

But people who read about the crime reacted quickly. Now – other than just a few minor adjustments – the 125-mile ride to Coloma and a week of camping and rafting will happen this month as planned. 

By Chris Nichols 

Daily Planet Staff 

Thanks to donations from residents nearby and as far away as Tahoe a summer bicycle program for underprivileged kids is back on track. 

“There’s been an overwhelming community response from the entire Bay Area and even people from as far away as Tahoe and Chico,” said Kathy Corliss, program director for the Berkeley Boosters Police Activity League. 

Less than a week ago, all 25 of the Berkeley Booster’s bicycles were reported missing from a storage space near Allston Way and Shattuck Avenue.  

It appeared that plans for a summer bike ride and whitewater rafting trip would be canceled.  

But people who read about the crime reacted quickly. Now – other than just a few minor adjustments – the 125-mile ride to Coloma and a week of camping and rafting will happen this month as planned. 

A number of local organizations contributed, including the Bayer Corporation which donated $500 to the Boosters, and Clif Bar which donated 5 new bikes and food products to the program. 

Several local community members also made significant donations. Checks of $3,500 and $2,500 were received from two anonymous donors. 

“This has all been very encouraging,” said Ove Wittstock, former executive director of the boosters club and current director of the Berkeley Guides. “It’s nice to have a good story every once in a while. People have been asking me all week ‘how can I help, what can I do?’” 

Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean, Rep. Dion Aroner, D-Berkeley, and the local Rotary Club also offered to help. 

“We’ve had to turn down some bikes because we just can’t take them all,” Wittstock said. He encouraged donors to help with other programs including the booster’s backpacking program, which is expensive to staff and equip. 

Support for the booster’s summer program has been so great that the boosters no longer need replacement bikes according to David Manson, executive director of the Berkeley Boosters. But, Manson said, contributions can be made to the booster’s many other programs, including a youth sailing program and the Berkeley Guides. 

“We would like to thank the entire Bay Area community for their tremendous outpouring of support. You have truly made an impact on our kids. They truly understand that they are important and that people do care,” Manson said on voicemail message Wednesday. 

The Berkeley Boosters Association, formed in 1983 as a nonprofit organization, aims to build bridges between the police department and the community.  

According to Mayor Dean, the contributions made to the boosters are especially important in light of the work the nonprofit does with kids. The boosters joined the California Police Activities League in 1987 and organizes basketball, softball, soccer, golf, tae kwan do, boxing tournaments and deep sea fishing excursions for kids.

To the Editor: 

Like Carol Denney (July 2), I too was disappointed that Rep. Barbara Lee did not vote against the congressional condemnation of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on the pledge of allegiance, but I can’t say that I was entirely surprised. 

Just before this year’s primary election, Rep. Lee sent her constituents a voting guide that sat on the fence on a number of important races (e.g., she endorsed two candidates in the State Assembly District 14 race), and failed to make any endorsement in the critical insurance commissioner’s race. I found her failure to endorse in the latter race especially troubling given the fact that her district lives under the constant threat of earthquake and fire, and has been poorly served by previous insurance commissioners. 

Our nation needs the leadership that Rep. Lee demonstrated last September. I hope that we will see more of it from her in the future. 

John Dynis 

Berkeley

LOS ANGELES — The number of movie and television roles for Screen Actors Guild members dropped 9.3 percent last year, with supporting actors among the hardest hit, the guild said. 

So-called runaway production, in which projects are filmed outside the United States, was one reason for the decline, SAG said. 

Guild members tend to be used only in principal roles abroad, said spokeswoman Ilyanne Kichaven. SAG believes U.S.-based productions would be more likely to use union actors in supporting roles as well, she said Tuesday. 

The rise of reality TV programs and a drop in production that followed SAG and Writers Guild of America contract negotiations in 2001 also contributed to the decrease, Kichaven said. 

For 2001, according to the report released Monday, 48,167 roles were cast under guild contracts, compared to 53,134 in 2000. 

“It is disappointing to see the total number of roles for SAG members declining,” SAG President Melissa Gilbert said. “SAG is actively seeking remedies to bring more opportunities to our members.” 

Kichaven said SAG’s “Global Rule One” drive could have an impact on the plight of supporting actors. On May 1, the union increased enforcement of its requirement that members work under SAG contracts for foreign-filmed projects intended for U.S. distribution. 

The SAG report, released Monday, also showed a decline in guild roles for minority actors. In 2001, a total of 22.1 percent of all roles went to minority performers, compared to 22.9 percent in 2000. 

Black actors received 14.4 percent of the contract roles cast in 2001, a drop from 14.8 percent the year before. There was a slight year-to-year drop for Hispanic actors, to 4.8 percent from 4.9 percent, and for Asian and Pacific Islanders (to 2.5 percent from 2.6 percent). 

An upward bump was recorded for American Indian actors, from 0.2 percent in 2000 to 0.37 percent in 2001. Given the small numbers, American Indian casting in a single project such as the recent film “Windtalkers” could account for the change, Kichaven said. 

Men received 62 percent of the roles cast in 2001 — a finding similar to previous years — and men worked nearly twice as many days as women in TV and movies roles, SAG said. 

The information is based on all TV and movie productions reported to the guild through a casting data report. Guild contracts do not include daytime TV, game or reality shows. 

Walkers: Sleeping is not a crime 

The upcoming week marks the final leg of the “Right to Sleep” walk, a statewide rally for homeless rights organized by the California Homeless Civil Rights Coalition (CHCROP). 

Seventeen walkers began June 7 in San Diego and will end July 10 on the north steps of the state Capitol building in Sacramento where a rally is scheduled 2 to 5 p.m. A sleep-inn on the lawn might also occur following the rally. 

The impetus for the walk is the criminilization of the right to sleep and antihomeless sleeping bans. 

“Sleeping is a basic necessity of any animal, and to criminalize that is abhorrent,” said Nancy McCradie in People's Park, where the walk made a stop and left again Wednesday afternoon. 

McCradie has been a Santa Barbara activist for 22 years, and is the co-director of Santa Barbara based Homes on Wheels. 

Accompanying the walkers is a white support vehicle dubbed the “white buffalo.” The large white truck has been parked on Dwight Street against People's Park, and is covered in posters advertising the walk and advocating the basic rights that are at the foundation of the walk. 

Michael Diehl works with Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS). Diehl explained that police have been using trespassing laws to ticket and arrest the homeless in Berkeley. “We've been successful recently in fighting this, but people are still getting arrested for their basic right to sleep,” Diehl said. 

The fight centers around a law against public lodging which includes RVs. Currently it is not a high priority for Berkeley police, but it is still being used against the homeless. 

“It's unfortunate, folks that are living in their vehicles aren't doing it for their pleasure,” said April Davis, a benefits advocate with the Homeless Action Center in Berkeley. 

“Local municipalities are dusting off old laws, or passing new ones that make the act [of sleeping] that any human being has to do to survive, illegal” said Chance Martin, project coordinator with San Francisco-based Coalition on Homelessness. “The police are selectively applying laws on the homeless people.”  

Martin explained that there is a sleeping ban in San Francisco, but said “if there's a man in business attire sleeping on a checkered cloth in Golden Gate Park it isn't a problem.” He added, “a homeless person doing the same thing is seen as a threat to civility.” 

McCradie and Diehl both feel strong about the need to decriminalize sleeping bans. 

“If you criminalize these actions, where can they go?” McCradie said.  

McCradie is confident that with decriminalized sleeping laws, the city would be much better equipped to help with the homeless problem. “Once people lose the tools for criminalizing, [the city] can go to work to help them” McCradie said. 

The organizers of the Right to Sleep Walk are realistic about the walk’s outcome. 

“They're not going to set off balloons for us on the Capitol lawn,” McCradie said, “but we won't quit even if the walk doesn't bring us glory.” The walk is the start of a civil rights movement, and a way to plant a seed, Mccradie said. 

Despite the low number of participants, the organizers remain hopeful and count on a large amount of local support once they reach Sacramento.  

“This will give people courage, knowing that someone is fighting for their rights,” said Paula Lomazzi, an activist with the Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee.  

“It's that hope and courage that can cut through the despair,” Diehl added. 

Diehl hopes to turn winter shelters into year-round housing for the homeless, and is in favor of setting up legal encampments for those living in RVs. 

“The solutions to homelessness are completely black and white,” McCradie said. “If you want people off the street, you have to put them somewhere they can relate to.” 

She added, “there are a lot of people in this city that are willing to face this challenge.” 

McCradie plans to set up a speaker's bureau in January to inform college students about the issues plaguing the homeless community. 

“It's a revolution through education,” said Lomazzi. 

To the Editor: 

The San Francisco court was right. Requiring school children to say the pledge is requiring them into religious worship. Why force others to pledge alegience to God, if they do not believe or prefere thier own method of worship. 

I'm sure that this issue is causing all of the framers and supporters of the constitution and especially the division if religion and State to feel much shame as to how thier hard won freedoms are being squandered by their decendents. 

George Leavitt 

Berkeley 

Couple to sprint  

down the aisle 

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Kentucky couple has decided to forgo the traditional walk down the aisle for a sprint down Main Street. 

Tim Bailey and Wendy Cegielski planned to get married Thursday at a downtown park during a short ceremony about 45 minutes into a 10k race. 

The newlyweds — clad in modified nuptial attire — will then finish the 26th Bluegrass 10,000 arm-in-arm before departing on their honeymoon — at a Costa Rican adventure camp. 

“I always thought traditional weddings were stuffy and too expensive anyway,” said Cegielski, 26, a high school teacher. “I wanted something I could remember.” 

Bailey, 44, is a teacher and cross-country coach who has run in every Bluegrass 10,000 — the last seven dressed as a superhero. 

He competed as The Silver Surfer last year and has donned Captain America, Spider-Man and Space Ghost costumes in previous years. In fact, it’s the costumes that led Cegielski to notice him. 

“I saw this guy dressed up as Spider-Man, and I thought, ’Who is that crazy guy, and why is he dressed up?”’ she said. “When I met him, I thought it was ironic that he was the guy I remembered.” 

“We started running together, and one thing led to another,” Bailey said. 

Don’t bring your kids  

to work, dad  

SOUTH FORK, Pa. — A 29-year-old man is accused of bringing his two young sons along while he tried to steal a cash box from a neighbor’s house. 

Shawn E. Popish was charged with burglary, criminal trespass and corruption of minors. 

Popish was seen June 25 trying to pilfer the box from the house, about 65 miles east of Pittsburgh, authorities said. 

The homeowner, Robert Fresch, told authorities he came home and found Popish’s sons — ages 4 and 6 — waiting for their father, said borough police Officer Michael H. Popma. 

Popish said he was stopping a burglary, not committing one. 

“He said he observed an individual go into the house and he was trying to be a good neighbor,” Popma told The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown. “It’s very unlikely.” 

Popish was jailed on $25,000 bond. The boys were turned over to their mother. 

Goat is a natural born  

marketing agent  

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A 4-month-old goat with a curious birthmark has fans of the late racing star Dale Earnhardt flocking to a north Florida farm. 

The brown Nubian goat, named Lil’ Dale, was born with a distinctive white three — Earnhardt’s number — on her right side. 

“It’s weird,” said her owner, Jerry Pierson. “I’ve seen people take pictures and get tears in their eyes.” 

“One woman said, ‘Man, she gives me chills,”’ Pierson said. 

Although she was born on a meat and dairy farm in Interlachen, about 50 miles south of Jacksonville, Pierson says Lil’ Dale likely has a career in advertising. 

“How couldn’t she be something to NASCAR or auto racing?” Pierson asked. “All you have to do is put an oilcan in front of her and it’ll sell.” 

Utility blasts family movie, saying it provides a dangerous example to kids 

Pacific Gas & Electric is warning children not to emulate rapper-turned movie star Bow Wow who grabs a pair of sneakers draped over a power line, gets shocked and emerges with serious basketball skills in “Like Mike,” a new family film that opened yesterday. 

“This is a horrible message to send to kids,” said PG&E spokesman Jason Alderman, who appeared at a series of East Bay press conferences Wednesday. “It’s not going to get you into the NBA, it’s going to get you in the morgue.” 

In the film 15 year-old Bow Wow, formerly Lil’ Bow Wow, climbs a roof to grab an old pair of sneakers that reportedly belonged to basketball legend Michael Jordan.  

Just as he reaches the sneakers lightning strikes a nearby pole, sending a jolt of electricity down the line and providing Bow Wow’s character, Calvin, with super-powered shoes. 

Calvin, using the shoes, turns into the NBA’s first child star. 

Alderman said a group of California utilities asked the film’s distributor, 20th Century Fox, to include a disclaimer, but the company has balked. 

“We tried to resolve this behind the scenes,” he said. “When 20th Century refused, we had no other recourse than to go to our customers directly.”  

A studio spokesperson had no comment on the disclaimer issue, but said the film was not promoting dangerous behavior. 

“ ‘Like Mike’ is a fantasy about magic shoes.  

The scene is clearly not meant to be real,” said Florence Grace, 20th Century Fox vice president of corporate communications. “The film in no way advocates taking dangerous risks of any kind, including touching power lines.” 

But Alderman said the film could have an effect on children. 

“There’s no doubt there’s a direct link between what Hollywood says and what kids do,” he said. 

PG&E is not alone. A number of utilities across the country, from Arizona to Florida, have issued statements in recent days condemning the scene. 

Alderman said there are 12,000 volts of electricity coursing through a typical power line in Berkeley. Touching lines could be lethal, he said. 

“The best case scenario is serious burns,” he said. “The worst case scenario, and most likely case scenario, is death.” 

PG&E does not insulate its lines because heavy electricity use heats the lines significantly and any insulation would simply melt away, Alderman said, dripping hot plastic on passersby.  

The regional agencies charged with solving the Bay Area’s traffic problems and eliminating its housing crunch has begun shuffling its ranks, and the city of Berkeley is ready to get involved. 

“We need to address things like why Berkeley is increasing its density by 20 percent when suburban cities haven’t even looked at the issue,” Mayor Shirley Dean said. 

Berkeley should weigh in on the operations of regional planners, said Dean, who is urging councilmembers to oppose a state bill that calls for the merging of two heavyweight planning boards: the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which focuses solely on transportation and the Association of Bay Area Governments, which looks broadly at regional issues like housing and open space.  

The bill says the merger is an attempt to streamline regional planning efforts 

Dean’s is not opposed to the merger itself, but to the structure of the proposed agency because it would shrink Berkeley’s political muscle, she said. 

Senate Bill 1243, authored by Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, makes MTC the lead agency in the proposed merger calling for the MTC to “assume land use responsibilities of the Association of Bay Area Governments” and to rename itself the Bay Area Land Use and Transportation Commission. 

Dean opposes MTC’s dominant position. 

“Just look at the numbers on MTC’s board. They don’t fairly represent the inner core cities in Alameda County,” she said. 

A 19-member panel sets MTC policy. Each of the Bay Area’s nine counties gets two representatives with the exception of the smaller counties of Marin, Sonoma, and Napa, which have one representative. The two additional members represent regional agencies – ABAG and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission. 

Larger counties like Alameda and Santa Clara stand to lose with a set number of panel appointments rather than having representation based on population. For this reason, the Alameda County Conference of Mayors and the city of San Jose have expressed opposition to SB 1243. 

“The structure and past actions of MTC do not adequately reflect and meet the needs of the Bay Area’s older dense cities,” Dean noted in a written report.  

A spokesperson from Senator Torlakson’s office said that the senator remains flexible about the new agency’s governing board structure. Torlakson was meeting this week with members of MTC and ABAG to work out a mutually acceptable union, the spokesman said. 

Staff at ABAG have also come out against the proposed structure of a new joint agency, which would take effect in 2004. 

The MTC is an effective funding agency for transportation, it has resisted prior attempts for it to assume broader planning functions for which it lacks expertise or experience, read an opposition statement from ABAG. The statement noted ABAG’s expertise with land use, environmental protection, economic development and a host of other regional issues. 

An additional concern is the difference in agenda between MTC and ABAG. MTC is a state sponsored body whereas ABAG is the creation of Bay Area governments. 

Last week, MTC’s panel came out against SB 1243 as well, saying they would support the merger once issues were worked out between ABAG and Torlakson. 

Like Mayor Dean, both MTC and ABAG support the merger in concept, just not as proposed. 

Calls to unite MTC and ABAG come amid gripes that the agencies are too bureaucratic and too isolated to develop effective, integrated policies. 

For years, promises by local leaders to work with neighboring governments to solve regional problems have been met only with a diminished housing supplies, worse traffic and longer job commutes. 

Dean plans to ask City Council to join her in her opposing SB 1243 next week.

According a National Low Income Housing Coaliton's 2001 report, rent for a one-bedroom occupancy in Alameda County is $991. Assuming that rent is no more than 30 percent of a person’s living costs, at minimum wage, a person would have to work 122 hours a week to pay rent. To make rent in 40 hours, a person must earn $19 an hour. 

With the homeless shelters full, and people being ticketed for sleeping outside, said Michael Diehl of Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS). “There's just no place anymore.”  

The misconceptions surrounding the homeless also contribute to the problem, McCradie said. She urges people not to label the homeless. “I can't see anything positive about 'cattle-izing' a group of people, and further separating the homeless from society,” said activist Nancy McCradie. 

The media often portrays the homeless as outlaws, said Chance Martin, project coordinator with San Francisco-based Coalition on Homelessness, and said that this unfair depiction only creates more hardship. The media presents the lowest, most destitute, and most visible group of people, he said, and fails to mention that 40 percent of the homeless in San Francisco shelters have jobs. “Most homeless people I know are not different than you and me, they just don't have a home,” Martin said. 

Employers suspicious that dock workers might  

intentionally slow down 

SAN FRANCISCO — Work continues at the nation’s 29 major Pacific ports, but billions of dollars in trade could grind to a halt if shipping lines conclude the dock workers they employ are staging a deliberate work slowdown. 

Both sides are negotiating a new contract, and the longshoremen’s union has promised not to strike. The shipping lines have said they’ll only lock out the 10,500 workers who staff docks at the ports if they show up but don’t do their jobs as efficiently as normal. 

The contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association expired Monday, though both sides approved a 24-hour extension both Monday and Tuesday. The deal covers ports from San Diego to Seattle that last year handled $260 billion in cargo, according to the association. 

The union hasn’t circulated word of a slowdown, and an association spokesman said Tuesday he didn’t expect any such labor disruption as long as the two sides kept talking. But the Labor Department was watching the situation closely. 

“Slowdowns severely disrupt the transportation system,” said Joseph Miniace, president and chief executive officer of the maritime association. “If the union strikes with pay by staging slowdowns at the terminals, the PMA will be forced to consider a defensive shutdown.” 

Shipping lines say longshoremen staged slowdowns just after the last two contracts expired — in 1996 and 1999 — while both sides remained at the table, cutting productivity in half at some port terminals. 

The union denies that charge. 

“They worked the way they were supposed to work,” said union spokesman Steve Stallone. “They just didn’t bust their butts overtime. And that is what the PMA described as a slowdown.” 

This time is different, however, because both sides appear committed to renewing the contract every 24 hours. 

“As long as contract remains in place, there won’t be an effort to organize a slowdown,” said Robin Lanier of the West Coast Waterfront Coalition, which represents shippers and transportation providers. “Even though people are popping Pepto-Bismol by the gallon, the day-to-day extension actually is viewed as a positive development.” 

An unexpected slowdown could hurt businesses as much as a strike or lockout. Companies tend to warehouse as few supplies as possible, so any interruption in the flow of goods could be costly. 

“You save on inventory costs, but if anything interrupts the supply line, bingo, your revenue is cut and the interest on your line of credit keeps mounting,” said Ernest Howard, chairman of the California Society of CPAs. 

Studies commissioned by the maritime association have put the cost to the national economy of a 20-day port shut down at $48.6 billion. 

With so much at stake, the White House has said it’s watching, and federal lawmakers have petitioned both sides to keep the ports open. 

Even were one side to quit negotiations, under federal law President Bush can block a strike and impose an 80-day cooling-off period. 

Negotiations have stalled over benefits and how to bring new cargo-handling technology to the ports, according to both sides. 

Shipping lines say they need to automate the ports to compete more efficiently in the global economy. 

Union leaders say they’re not against modernization — as long as new technology doesn’t mean jobs are shifted outside the union. 

West Coast docks saw strikes in 1934, 1936-37, 1948 and 1971. The two sides are negotiating in San Francisco, where both are based. 

Just in time for your July Fourth outing, a study concludes that insect repellents containing the chemical called DEET provide the best protection against mosquito bites. 

Bug sprays and lotions that rely on plant oils or another chemical don’t last as long and might require several applications, according to the report in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine. Three repellent wristbands tested didn’t work at all. 

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with using alternatives and I don’t think DEET is a perfect repellent. But it is still more effective and very safe,” said one of the researchers, dermatologist Dr. Mark Fradin of Chapel Hill, N.C. 

DEET has been on the market since 1957 and a 1998 review by the Environmental Protection Agency deemed normal use safe. Yet many consumers are reluctant to use DEET and seek out alternatives, the researchers said. 

Knowing which repellent works best is important when used to protect against mosquito-transmitted diseases such as West Nile virus, they said. 

Fradin worked with Jonathan Day of the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach to test the effectiveness of 16 products. 

Each was tested three times on 15 workers at the University of Florida lab using a design Day said was devised for a student’s ninth-grade science fair project. The student said she’s sensitive to bug bites and sought out Day’s help for a smaller test of repellents. 

For the study, each worker applied repellent, put their arm into a cage with 10 mosquitoes for a minute and reinserted it at intervals until the first bite. 

The DEET-based products offered complete protection for the longest time, and higher concentrations worked best, the researchers said. The highest concentration tested, about 24 percent in OFF! Deep Woods, lasted for five hours on average. Sawyer Controlled Release, with 20 percent DEET, worked for about four hours. 

A soybean repellent worked for about 1 1/2 hours while other plant-derived repellents, including citronella, lasted less than 20 minutes. Three wristbands — two with DEET and one with citronella — provided no protection. 

After the study was completed, repellents using oil of eucalyptus were introduced in the United States. In a preliminary test, a eucalyptus repellent worked for about two hours. 

Included in the study were four Avon products, including a moisturizer that some people claim wards off bugs and Avon’s Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard Plus with a chemical called IR3535. 

The moisturizer, Skin-So-Soft Bath Oil, worked for less than 10 minutes and the Bug Guard Plus protected for an average of about 23 minutes, according to the study. 

Janice Teal, chief scientific officer for Avon Products Inc., noted that the moisturizer isn’t sold as a repellent and questioned doing such a study in a lab. In a field test, she said, the Avon repellent worked as well as a DEET-based repellent, protecting against mosquito bites for four hours. 

“We feel that in a real-world condition our product clearly works,” she said.

HOUSTON — The first shipment of Russian oil to the United States arrived on Wednesday, and U.S. officials hailed the delivery as a step toward reducing dependence on Middle East oil. 

Mikhail Brudno, first vice president of the Russian oil company that made the shipment, said it would be the first of five or six to the United States this year. The 200,000-metric-ton shipment arrived in the Port of Houston aboard the supertanker Astro Lupus. 

Brudno said the shipment from Yukos, Russia’s No. 2 oil producer, had been purchased by Exxon Mobil Corp. and another buyer, whom he declined to identify. 

Yukos announced that it would begin shipments to the United States following a summit meeting in May at which President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an energy cooperation statement.

OAKLAND — Police shot a man holding his estranged wife at gunpoint on a San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge freeway overpass Wednesday morning, ending a situation that had forced officials to close most of the freeways approaching the bridge from the east. 

The highway closures caused a huge rush-hour traffic jam despite the fact that traffic was light on the day before the July Fourth holiday. 

Police investigators said the situation began Tuesday night when Clay Cael, 48, kidnapped his estranged wife, Bridgette Holt, 35, from a safe house in San Francisco at gunpoint. Police went to Cael’s home looking for him and instead found an 85-year-old woman who had been shot to death. 

Police said Cael and the homicide victim knew each other, although they were not related. 

Oakland Police spotted Cael and Holt in a white Honda at 4:40 a.m. The car was stopped — but Cael dragged Holt onto a freeway approach overpass at gunpoint. 

Authorities quickly closed the approaches to the bridge as they tried talking Cael into surrendering. Finally, they used a stun device and then shot Cael, taking him into custody at about 6:10 a.m. 

Cael was in stable condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland. Holt was taken to a hospital for observation. 

After Cael was captured, authorities began reopening the freeways. 

The San Francisco Police Department said Cael will be charged with murder and kidnapping.

SAN FRANCISCO — The appeals court judge who stunned the nation by declaring the Pledge of Allegiance an unconstitutional endorsement of religion says he was following Supreme Court precedents. 

Judge Alfred T. Goodwin, in an interview with The Associated Press, said he and concurring Judge Stephen Reinhardt believe the 2-1 decision last week by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was consistent with a long line of church-school rulings from the nation’s highest court. 

Most say if the case reaches the Supreme Court, it is unlikely to be upheld. 

Goodwin said the Constitution’s Establishment Clause, which calls for the separation of church and state, has been used by the Supreme Court to bar a host of religious activity in schools — including clergy-led prayers at graduations and student-led prayers at school sporting events. 

“The strongest cases were what the Supreme Court has been saying about school prayers, including at athletic events,” Goodwin said in a telephone interview from his home in Sisters, Ore. “This indicated that the Supreme Court was reading the Establishment Clause rather broadly. We felt we were consistent with those opinions.”

SAN FRANCISCO — A prosecutor said Wednesday he will appeal a judge’s decision to toss out Marjorie Knoller’s second-degree murder conviction in last year’s fatal dog mauling. 

District Attorney Terence Hallinan had planned to ask Judge James Warren to reconsider his June 17 decision, but instead will avoid further legal wrangling with Warren and go directly to the state appeals court. 

“We thought the reconsideration was not going to be successful,” Hallinan said. “It would be a lot of effort that would be better spent in other areas ... We also feel it’s important not to take the reversal of the murder conviction lying down.” 

Knoller faces a maximum four-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter when she goes back to court July 15. Her husband, Robert Noel, also convicted of involuntary manslaughter, received a four-year sentence last month. 

Knoller, 46, could have gotten 15 years to life in prison for murder. Though Warren said Knoller and Noel are “the most despised couple in this city,” the judge said the evidence did not support a murder conviction because Knoller had no way of knowing her dogs would kill someone when she left her apartment that day in January 2001.

SACRAMENTO — Californians will see extra police aircraft in the sky, more Coast Guard boats in the water and more patrolmen on the highways during Independence Day weekend as a result of last fall’s terrorist attacks. 

But there are no specific threats nor any indication California is being targeted by terrorists during the holiday, officials said Tuesday. 

All 30 highway patrol aircraft will be in the air virtually around the clock starting Wednesday, monitoring aqueducts, bridges, highways and areas where large groups are expected to gather, said California Highway Patrol Commissioner D.O. “Spike” Helmick. 

There will be extra sea and air surveillance of major bridges and ferries in the San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego areas. 

A 60-member “special operations team” trained in riot control will be stationed near Hollister, where 60,000 motorcyclists expected to attend the Hollister Independence Rally south of San Francisco. Another team will be on duty in Southern California. Both also could respond to other emergencies such as a terror attack, Helmick said. 

Patrol cars scattered around the state will be carrying radiation detection equipment, Helmick said, but they did that even before Sept. 11. 

The California National Guard will not be on any special alert, and no military air patrols are planned over major cities, as was the case immediately after Sept. 11, officials said. 

LOS ANGELES — The Hollywood buzz this week is whether Barry Diller will reprise his role as media mogul if Vivendi Universal decides to sell its U.S. entertainment assets. 

Diller already serves as chief executive of Vivendi Universal Entertainment, the company formed in December after Vivendi Universal bought the entertainment assets of Diller’s USA Entertainment for $10.3 billion. The unit includes Universal Studios, which runs theme parks, and Universal Pictures, one of the more successful movie and television studios. 

Diller also serves as head of USA Interactive, a collection of Internet properties including Ticketmaster and Expedia. 

Whether his role will broaden depends in part on how Vivendi Universal decides to reduce its considerable debt load after the ouster of its flamboyant chairman, Jean-Marie Messier. Vivendi’s board will meet Wednesday to appoint an interim chairman and formally dismiss Messier. 

French newspapers and analysts speculated that Vivendi may be split into more manageable parts. Messier’s grand vision of a global media empire would be reversed if Vivendi opted to sell off the movie studio it acquired when it bought Seagram for $30 billion in 2000. 

In an internal e-mail sent Tuesday to VUE employees and obtained by The Associated Press, Diller said workers should not be distracted by Messier’s departure or speculation about the future of the division. 

“It is reasonable to be upset, saddened or simply confused and weary by the turmoil of the last period and the resultant change in leadership,” Diller wrote. “But it’s more important right now to view this change as the end of an increasingly distracting and tumultuous time and the beginning of a clear-eyed, long term and stable strategy.” 

Since taking the helm of Vivendi Universal Entertainment, Diller has led the unit with a light hand, concentrating more on his interactive assets, as he had said he would. Despite concern over Diller micromanaging Universal Pictures, key executives there have all agreed to serve for another five years. 

“His passion is with the interactive assets. That still makes a lot of sense to me,” said SG Cowen entertainment analyst Peter Mirsky. “Most of his compensation comes from the interactive side.” 

Diller would be the logical choice to lead the studio again should the unit either be spun off with the backing of the Bronfman family, which sold Universal to Vivendi, or if he mounted his own purchase of the assets.

LOS ANGELES — Sharon Osbourne, wife of British rocker Ozzy Osbourne and star of the MTV reality show “The Osbournes,” underwent surgery Wednesday for a treatable cancer, a family publicist said. 

Spokeswoman Lisa Vega would not identify what type of cancer Osbourne has or where the surgery would take place, but said it would be completed by early evening. 

“The Osbournes,” the highest-rated program in MTV’s history, chronicles the unorthodox home life of Ozzy, Sharon, and two of their three children — 17-year-old daughter Kelly and 16-year-old son Jack. Thursday is the couple’s 20-year wedding anniversary. 

Vegas said the entire family, including daughter Aimee, 18, who does not appear on the show, were at the hospital with her. 

“Everyone is in good spirits because the prognosis is very positive,” Vega said. “The doctors have told them all she’s expected to make a full recovery. Obviously, they’re concerned for their mother and are by her side, but they’re all looking forward to a positive outcome.” 

Osbourne was scheduled to be hospitalized overnight, and Vega said she was not sure if the stay would last any longer. 

“We know Sharon will conquer this with the same tenacity and vibrancy she approaches everything else in her life,” the MTV network said in a written statement. “Our thoughts are with Sharon and the entire Osbourne family and we send her our love and support for a complete recovery.” 

Because of the surgery, the first two dates of Osbourne’s Ozzfest 2002 summer music tour, in Bristol, Va., and Pittsburgh, have been postponed.

Local trail map made by
volunteers is selling out  

The mission of the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association has been to create a usable map of pedestrian pathways in Berkeley and the surrounding communities for public use and enjoyment.  

Mission accomplished. 

Now that local bookstores have sold out of their orders for the maps and the group prepares to have more copies made, it is becoming clear that these little links of Berkeley’s past are ready to be discovered by the public. 

Since its printing two months ago, the initial run of 2000 maps has sold out. Some local bookstores tested buyer response cautiously, buying only a small number of copies, but they quickly ordered more copies when their stock sold out.  

Black Oak Books on Shattuck Avenue has sold out of their supply of the maps, with most of the customers noticing the map as they shopped at the store.  

“Now people are requesting it, especially in the last week,” said Rose Katz, a representative of the bookstore. “They've got a winner.” 

The map committee members of the BPWA volunteered for more than a year on the project, well-aware that their only reward would be the satisfaction of helping others find their way along the paths with greater ease, efficiency and enjoyment. 

It was not an easy task. 

The map, a thorough representation of the city and surrounding areas, effectively shows 136 paths, in passable or impassable form, in addition to several trails that run through Tilden Regional Park. Numerous public parks and creeks in the Berkeley vicinity are also shown.  

Paul Grunland recalls that there were times when he might have wanted to “throw in the towel” because of the long list of things he and the others had to do: check existing pathway maps with city maps from the 1920s, verify the passability of the paths and make the myriad of decisions regarding the actual production of the map - colors, information, legends, display of streets and so on. 

It was the benefit of a pathways map as a public resource that kept he and the other five map committee members of the BPWA going.  

Funding for the project came from a few different sources, primarily through member contributions and a grant from the city to publish the map. Upcoming editions of the map will be made possible with “revenue from the sale of the current map,” according to Jacques Ensign, a member of the map committee. 

Grunland leads walks along various pathways each month, and gives an excellent narrative given his broad knowledge of the history of the area.  

When describing the paths, he tells of a city during the first decade of the century, when Berkeley was uncluttered with automobile traffic, and developers and architects were more visionaries than urban constructors.  

“It was a different world,” Grunland said. “The paths were really the result of good planning - by developers who wanted the city to be beautiful. These were really altruistic kinds of people.” 

The functionality and beauty of the paths that remain serve as reminders of a period during the area’s unique development.  

With regard to the association’s ability to generate public awareness for path reparation and appreciation, District 6 Councilwoman Betty Olds remarked, “They have accomplished something that the city hasn't been able to do in fifty years.”  

Olds went on to say that the paths provide an excellent escape route during a disaster like earthquake or fire - events during which a knowledge of the easiest and quickest way to safety would be of great importance. 

Lisa Frieden, who joined the group in 1999, was enthusiastic when asked about the process of creating the map. “It was incredible,” she said. “A group of independent people coming together to do a volunteer thing - here we are a year and a half later, and we have this really cool map.” 

The proceeds of the map are going to be used to improve existing paths as well as to regain and reclaim the paths for the public. Frieden said that the citizens of Berkeley will now have a reliable resource to lead them through all the parts of the city with ease.  

Grunland is pleased that with the map, the efforts are becoming a “high-profile thing.” He said that the association has met one of its main goals.  

“The mission is to protect the paths through public knowledge and reverence. . .it’s becoming an enormously effective force,” he said. 

As the city puts up pathway signage, and local Boy Scout troops helping with labor, paths that were once defunct are now safe for pedestrians who require handrails and secure steps.  

The association’s map committee is already working on revisions for the next edition. At a meeting Saturday, updates to be considered will include the possibility of marking wheelchair access as well as the lesser issues of spelling and layout.  

“Minor tweaking,” Grunland said, proud that the first edition came out so well.  

Map committee member Ensign said that the second edition will be ready in about six weeks, just in time for the Solano Stroll.  

For those who enjoy walking for recreation, transportation, or even for exercise, getting their own copy of the pathways map will be worth the wait.  

To the Editor: 

Regarding street safety, an alternate fix presented itself with the recent sewer replacement work in our neighborhood. While our streets were sand and gravel there was considerably less traffic, and those who tried to speed mostly just redistributed gravel instead of accelerated. As a bicyclist riding on skinny tires, it was inconvenient for me – especially in the sand traps – but pedestrians were real safe. 

I don't know the maintenance costs of gravel roads or the runoff problems, but gravel inserts in intersections would slow traffic exactly where pedestrians are supposed to interact with vehicles. 

Barbara Judd 

Berkeley

LOS ANGELES — When Clifford Holland died of exhaustion during building of the tunnel linking lower Manhattan and New Jersey, a newspaper in 1924 extolled him as the “martyr engineer.” 

Ask people today where the Holland Tunnel got its name and odds are they’re more likely to credit the city’s Dutch roots than the dedicated scientist. 

That’s the estimation, at least, of Kenneth Mandel and Daniel B. Polin, filmmakers who give Holland and other should-be famous engineers their due in “Great Projects: The Building of America.” 

The four-part PBS documentary pays tribute to their enduring and often graceful work: the roadway, water and utility systems that make up the vast American infrastructure. 

Want to appreciate anew marvels that have stood for decades? Watch dramatic footage of the 1940 wind-whipped death of Washington state’s Tacoma Narrows Bridge, an engineering failure that torqued itself apart. 

Architects have boosters as lofty as Ayn (“The Fountainhead”) Rand to gush over them; engineers are akin to accountants, ignored until the paper hits the shredder. Mandel, a former engineer, and Polin were intent on showing the sweep and social impact of engineering, and even its romance. 

“Great Projects,” airing on consecutive Wednesdays beginning this week (check local listings for times), also focuses on the role that politics played, and play, in the development of the nation. 

Narrated by actor Stacy Keach, the documentary begins with “A Tale of Two Rivers” and the projects that tamed the powerful Mississippi and Colorado. A scientist-turned-politician had a hand in both efforts: Herbert Hoover, the rare engineer to serve as U.S. president and for whom Hoover Dam is named. 

In “Electric Nation,” airing July 10, the limelight shines on Thomas Edison and his longtime assistant Samuel Insull and on David Lilienthal, who through his work with the Tennessee Valley Authority became a champion of public financing and control of utilities. 

“Bridging New York,” on July 17, focuses on two engineers, Gustav Lindenthal and Othmar Ammann, who helped link New York’s terrain over a six-decade period with, among others, the Williamsburg Bridge and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Holland’s tunnel, one of the few projects to carry an engineer’s moniker, also is featured. 

The series concludes July 24 with “The Big Dig,” the nickname for a contemporary highway project in Boston that’s attempting to correct what previous builders got wrong by taking a 1950s elevated freeway underground. (The $14 billion project is far above budget and prompted a cost-overrun investigation.) 

The Big Dig is in sharp contrast to the past, when America tackled ambitious projects with vigor and, often, disregard for those opposed to them. “Mitigation,” the film says, is the key word for rare new projects like the Big Dig — meeting the objections of residents, environmentalists and others. 

Has America, as one newspaper columnist wrote concerning a proposed Southern California mountain tunnel, simply lost the will to move large amounts of dirt? 

“I think there’s a fear to embark on major projects, partly because we’ve made it so difficult to build them,” Mandel said in an interview. 

As with all the best documentaries, “Great Projects” is rich in historical sights and sounds, including 35mm film of the building of Hoover Dam that was shot by a construction firm and discovered in a university library. 

The documentary also is filled with intriguing interviews and reminisces, including one that improbably pairs Donald Trump with the memory of engineer Ammann. 

As a youth, Trump attended the 1964 opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and heard politicians and others bask in congratulations while Ammann drew a tip of the hat but wasn’t mentioned by name. 

That may have inspired the decision to emblazon his identity on Trump Tower to guard his legacy, the modest developer muses. 

Engineers, in contrast, generally emerge as unsung heroes who fail to insist on their place in history. 

“I once asked Milton Brumer, one of the engineers who worked for Ammann on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, if he ever thought about how much he was contributing, about how important these bridges were to the future of New York City and America,” said Mandel. 

“He looked at me like I was crazy. He said, ’No, we were into production, not reflection,”’ the filmmaker recounted. “I couldn’t think of anything that better sums up the attitudes of engineers. They just do the job.” 

Some would welcome a little understanding, if not glory, as Mandel learned after showing “The Big Dig” episode to project employees. 

“One of the young guys comes up to me and says, ’I was crying for the whole 60 minutes. I finally can tell my mother what I’m doing in life.”’ 

Wednesday, July 3

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil 

6:30 p.m. 

BART Station, Shattuck & Center 

Weekly candle-lit vigil and  

peace walk to raise 

awareness and gather support for opposition to the 'war on terrorism' 

vigil4peace@yahoo.com, 528-9217 

Thursday, July 4

Volunteers Needed for  

East Bay Habitat for Humanity  

Independence Day Build-A-Thon: July 4-7 

is seeking volunteers for the ! We will be framing 6 homes in 4 days over the Fourth of July weekend.  

251-6304.  

Pancake Breakfast 

9 to 11 a.m. 

The Berkshire, 2235 Sacramento St. 

Red, white and blue pancakes. 

841-4844 

Donations to local food back appreciated 

Saturday, July 6

Capoeira Batizado 

2 to6 p.m.  

Capoeira Arts Cafe 

2026 Addison, Berkeley 

A celebration of Capoeira with performances by local arts organization. 

For information: 666-1255, www.capoeiraarts.com 

Free 

The Great Rummage Sale 

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, 2700 Ninth Street (at Carleton) in Berkeley 

Warehouse full of household items, books, records, clothing, furniture, and lots more at great prices. All proceeds go to support of our shelter. 

845-7735 

Monday, July 8

Berkeley Gray Panthers Home Owners Meeting  

Monday, July 8th, 2002 at 3 p.m.  

Berkeley Gray Panthers Office,1403 Addison Street-behind University Avenue Andronico’s Super Market. 

Laurie Capitelli of Red Oak Realty runs down the options of selling homes 

All Welcome 

548-9696 or 486-8010 

Free 

Introduction to Accessible  

Software and Hardware  

6:30 to 8 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library Electronic Classroom, 2090 Kittredge Street 

RSVP to 981-6121- Alan Bern, Special Services Coordinator 

Tuesday, July 9

Mother’s Morning Out 

10:30 a.m. to noon 

Upaya Center for Wellbeing 

478 Santa Clara Ave. 

Craniosacral Therapy for Infants and Children 

www.upayacenter.org 

Free 

Thursday, July 11

Great Sierra Backpacking  

Destinations 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo  

Karen Najarian of Sierra Wilderness Seminars presents slides from her more that 20 years exploring the Sierra Backcountry. 

For information: 527-4140 

Free 

What Do You Believe? Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers 

6:30 to 8:00 p.m. 

Ellen Driscoll Playhouse 

325 Highland Avenue, Piedmont  

Film presented by Piedmont diversity groups; discussion with filmmaker, Sarah Feinbloom.  

655-5552, or maudep@aol.com 

Free 

Friday, July 12

Celebration of Emma Goldman's Birthday  

8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. 

Fellowship of Humanity Hall  

390 27th St  

An all-ages, alcohol-free party with live music, DJ, and dance lessons 

http://www.ebcaw.org  

$5 to $10 sliding scale  

Saturday, July 13

Peach / Stone Fruit Tasting 

Tasting & cooking demonstrations 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

15th Anniversary Derby  

Street Farmers Market 

Live music and & stone-fruit and peach tasting 

Tasting & cooking demonstrations. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Derby Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way  

Free 

Festival of New Versions  

of Classic Asian Games 

Noon to 5 p.m 

Dr. Comics and Mr. Games,  

4014 Piedmont Ave., Oakland  

Dr Comics and Mr Games Hosts Game a festival featuring two new versions of classic Asian board games 

601-7800 

Sunday, July 14

Hands-on Bicycle Repair  

11 a.m.to noon 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Learn from an REI bike technician basic bike repairs such as brake adjustments and fixing a flat. 

For information: 527-4140 

Free 

Family Health Day 

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Fourth Street and University Avenue 

Explore health concerns in a family oriented environment 

Free 

Tuesday, July 16

Berkeley Camera  

Club Weekly Meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church 

941 The Alameda 

Share slides, prints with other photographers 

525-3565 

Free 

Introduction to Accessible Software and Hardware  

10:30 a.m. to noon 

Berkeley Public Library Electronic Classroom, 2090 Kittredge Street 

RSVP to 981-6121. Alan Bern, Special Services Coordinator 

Wedneday, July 17

Doctors Without Borders 

Until July 18 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

UC Berkeley, Springer Gateway, West Entrance Crescent 

Interactive exhibit expalining medicines for people in developing countries; Film screenings 

www.doctorswithoutborders.org 

Free 

Thursday, July 18

Mystique of the Widerness 

7 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Phil Arnot presents slides from over 50 years of exploring such places as Alaska, New Zealand, the Sierra and the Rockies. 

For information: 527-4140 

Introduction to Accessible  

Software and Hardware  

3 to 4:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library Electronic Classroom, 2090 Kittredge Street 

RSVP to 981-6121. Alan Bern, Special Services Coordinator 

Saturday, July 20

Emergency Preparedness  

Classes in Berkeley 

Earthquake Retrofitting: Learn how to strengthen your wood frame home. 

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

812 Page St. 

981-5605 

Free 

Thursday, July 25

California Landscapes:  

A Geologist's Perspective 

7 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

John Karachewski presents an educational slideshw on such amazing places as the Sierra Nevada, Coast Ranges the Great Valley and Cascades 

For information: 527- 4140. 

Free 

Saturday, July 27

Test Ride Kestrel Bicycles 

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Preston Sandusky of Kestrel, a premier manufacturer of high-end, carbon-fiber road and mountain bikes, intrduces their latest design. 

For information: 527-4140 

Free 

"Neon: The Living Flame" 

7:00 p.m.  

Alameda Museum  

2324 Alameda Ave.  

The Alameda Museum presents Michael Crowe, author, and neon artist Karl Hauser 

lecture by Michael Crowe 

748-0796 or 841-8489.  

Members free, nonmembers $5  

vSunday, July 28

Hands-on Bicycle Repair  

11 a.m. to noon 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Learn from an REI bike techician basic repairs such as brake adjustments and fixing a flat. 

For information: 527-4140 

Free 

Wednesday, July 31

Mountain Adventure Seminars:  

Introduction to Rock Climbing 

7 to 9 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

An introduction to rockclimbing including knot tieing, belaying and movement. 

For information: (209) 753-6556 

$115 REI members; $125 non-members 

Nodar will try to continue Panthers’
recent boys’ basketball success 

St. Mary’s High completed a whirlwind search for a new boys’ head basketball coach on Monday, announcing the hiring of Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) assistant Manuel Nodar. 

Nodar, 32, was a coach at Sacred Heart for nine years, including the last two as an assistant on the boys’ varsity squad. He will also teach Spanish at St. Mary’s, the same job held by former coach Jose Caraballo. 

“I’m very excited,” Nodar said. “(St. Mary’s) is an excellent program, and I’m looking forward to coaching the program.” 

Athletic Director Jay Lawson said Nodar’s interview was the key factor in choosing him from the final four candidates. 

“I like the kind of person he is. I was impressed with his interview,” Lawson said. “He’s young and enthusiastic, and we hope that will rub off on the kids.” 

The search for a new coach began just two weeks ago, following the surprising resignation of Caraballo, the coach who helped make the Panthers into a state power the past two seasons. 

St. Mary’s qualified for North Coast Section play in each of Caraballo’s seven seasons, compiling a 147-67 record. The Panthers won the last two Bay Shore Athletic League titles, going undefeated in league play both years with a 59-8 overall record, and won the Division IV state title in 2001. 

“(Caraballo) did something no other coach has done here. He will be missed,” Lawson said. 

But Caraballo apparently felt he wasn’t given adequate support as a coach or teacher, and his resignation came at an inopportune time. Assistant Mark Olivier had already decided to accept the head coach job at Hercules High, and most high schools already had their staffs in place. Olivier threw his hat back in the ring for a time and was among the final choices, but the St. Mary’s administration ultimately decided on Nodar, whose experience at Sacred Heart should give him a head start. Both St. Mary’s and Sacred Heart are Lasallian schools, run by the Christian Brothers and the Daughters of Charity. 

“He fits everything we’re trying to do,” Lawson said of Nodar. “He’s a gem of a coach who we hope will stay with us for a very long time.” 

Sacred Heart Cathedral won 49 games over the last two seasons, were co-champions of the West Catholic Athletic League last season and won the Central Coast Section crown before falling to league rival and eventual state champion Archbishop Riordan in the Northern California finals. 

Lawson said Nodar will continue to use the Panthers’ all-out style of play, although they could struggle after the graduation of star guards John Sharper and DeShawn Freeman, both of whom will play at Division I colleges next season. 

“We feel he’s a real good man,” St. Mary’s athletic director Jay Lawson said. “He believes in everything we’re trying to teach our student-athletes and he’ll fit in real well. He runs an up-tempo, pressing style we like. He’s real positive in his teaching, very organized and has a lot of energy.” 

Lawson also said the administration met with most of the returning players and all of the students intend to stay at St. Mary’s despite the departure of Caraballo.

Landlord Lakireddy Bali Reddy may have pleaded guilty to various felonies including tax evasion and the importation of minors for illegal sexual activity but his holdings in the city of Berkeley and his net worth have apparently not been marred by his transgressions. 

“They may have convicted him but they did not take away his property,” said Michael Caplan of Neighborhood Services for Berkeley. “The two issues are unrelated. It’s my guess that he owns a fair percentage of all the available housing in the entire city, and that he is still worth upwards of $50 million.” 

An inconclusive search with property records showed that Reddy currently has at least 20 properties in the city of Berkeley, some individually assessed at $665,000. It is believed, however, that the Reddy family owns far more than what has come up in this property records search.  

The realty company works with various property managers that often serve as liaisons between the family and renters, according to Caplan. 

Last year, the Rent Stabilization Board sent letters to various Reddy Realty tenants, making them aware of their rights. 

“He’s the not the worst slum lord in the city, but he has a pretty bad history,” said Paul Hogarth of the Rent Stabilization Board. “So the rent board sent out letters to all Reddy’s tenants informing them of their rights because Reddy has had such a problem with the habitability of his properties.” 

Hogarth went on to say that cynically, one could probably guess how many properties were owned by Reddy just by looking. 

“It’s very easy to find out which properties are Reddy properties. They’re the ones that are painted pink,” said Paul Hogarth of the Rent Stabilization Board. 

Officially, however, the city appears to be able to divulge very little about the current property holdings of Reddy Realty. 

“We are very limited as to how much information we can release,” said a spokesperson of Berkeley’s property records division. “Not that much of this information is open to the public.” 

Reddy, a 63-year-old multimillionaire property owner pleaded guilty on March, 7, 2001 to various charges after a young female tenant of one of his apartment units died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty heating unit. 

A subsequent investigation into the woman’s death opened Reddy up to tax evasion, immigration fraud and importation of minors into the United States for illegal sexual activity convictions. 

Though various victims in the case say that Reddy was also guilty of rape and statutory rape charges in this case, he was not convicted on these charges. 

Reddy’s attorney George Cotsirilos was unavailable yesterday for a comment. 

To the Editor: 

It's fine that Bush called for the Palestinians to democratically elect new leaders, but what if Arafat made the same demand on the United States? The hypocrisy of a president who was selected, even though he had half a million fewer votes than his opponent, is not lost on the rest of the world. We need election reform in our own country; eliminate the electoral college. Each person's vote should count equally.  

Bruce Joffe  

Piedmont

Assuring increased exposure for its men’s basketball program, the University of California has reached a one-year agreement with KFRC Radio (610 AM, San Francisco) to provide live coverage of the team’s games during the 2002-03 season.  

The joint announcement was made by Bob Rose, Executive Associate Athletic Director, Communications at Cal, and Earnest L. James, Vice President and General Manager of KFRC.  

“We are extremely pleased to finalize this agreement,” said Rose. “KFRC is a legendary station in the Bay Area with a signal that will increase our audience considerably. Cal basketball fans as far north as Sacramento and as far south as Monterey now will be able to tune in to our broadcasts. Considering the steady ascent of Ben Braun’s basketball program in recent years, we believe this partnership with KFRC could not have come at a better time.”  

“KFRC is truly excited to enter into this association with one of this country’s great universities,” said James. “We have been very impressed with the new Cal athletic administration and feel that both parties will benefit greatly in this new partnership. We look forward to carrying these games to the many Golden Bear sports fans in Northern California.”  

Under the agreement, KFRC will air 28 regular-season games and all possible postseason contests this season. In addition, each broadcast will feature 20-minute pre-game and post-game shows.  

The station will also provide additional promotion for Cal basketball during the season. As part of the deal, KFRC will air weekly promotional spots, a special “Cal Bears Replay of the Game” feature on the station’s next “J.D. and Cammy Morning Show,” and a Cal coach’s show each Tuesday.  

“KFRC is undoubtedly a powerful marketing vehicle,” added Rose. “Earnest James and I believe we can both grow our audiences with this new association. Needless to say, we are absolutely delighted to welcome KFRC into the Cal athletic family.”  

The Bears, who open the 2002-03 regular season at New Mexico Nov. 23, return three starters from last year’s 23-9 club, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Start practicing your “oohs” and “ahhs.” 

About 1,000 shells of pyrotechnics are ready to be shot into the sky at the Berkeley Marina where more than 40,000 people are expected to gather tomorrow. The $10,000, 25-minute firework display comes as the pinnacle of the city’s seven-year tradition of food, games and celestial explosions on the Fourth of July. 

This year’s celebration, though, is bound to be a little different in light of the current international climate, Berkeley residents say. 

“This is our first chance to celebrate our country since Sept. 11 and people are looking for a good way to do it,” said assistant fire Chief David Orth. “I think we’re seeing a lot more patriotism.” 

Other Berkeley leaders said the same. 

“I’ve been invited to more barbecues this year and I think it’s because people want to pull closer together,” said Kriss Worthington, a city councilmember. 

One thing that the rapidly changing because of politics is Berkeley’s fireworks display, which has run for more than 20 years. The show is put on by Rialto-based Pyro Spectaculars Souza, producer of the world’s largest Macy’s show in New York City, as well as the neighboring San Francisco fireworks show, and hailed by pyrotechnics as the best west of the Mississippi River. 

Unlike the larger shows, the Berkeley show is hand-fired, meaning it has a more homespun approach, said Pyro Spectacular show manager Jeff Thomas. Instead shooting the fireworks automatically from a queue, a person will light each of almost 1,000 shells. 

The perilous job of lighting the shells and then standing back to let them blow out of a firing tube is performed only by experts, Thomas assured. 

Sounding more like a gardener than a pyrotechnician, Thomas described various segments of the show. Palm tree shells fire a branching stream of light. Peonies shoot a simple but colorful stream of fire. And chrysanthemums are one of the most elegant explosions of all. 

Thomas said his favorite firework is called the Brocade Kamuro shell. It’s a big, lingering, umbrella-like explosion he called the “crown jewel of the show.” 

A clear sky is important to the success of the show, Berkeley’s Waterfront Manager Cliff Marchetti said while sounding a little nervous because of the recent fog over San Francisco Bay. 

“I haven’t had a bad firework display in at least six years,” he said. “You could always see the show.” 

Before the fireworks start, among the day’s performers are the nine-member Troupe Tangiers belly dancers who will perform a variety of North African dances. One dance will involve balancing a 12-pound brass tray on each of their heads. Another will enlist water jugs. All dances showcase the rhythmic rolling of the stomach. 

Lessard said that her ability to perform tomorrow reminds her that she is free in this country to express her culture. 

Along with the belly dancers will be musical acts, puppet shows, free boat rides and more than 100 food and art vendors. Events start at noon. 

“It’s a celebration of a very diverse community,” said event organizer Lisa Bullwinkel. “It’s truly representative of what America is all about.” 

Berkeley police and firefighters are taking recent FBI warnings about terrorism seriously and will stage a presence at the Berkeley event. 

In addition, police will screen for fireworks and alcoholic beverages at checkpoints at entrances to the Berkeley Marina. 

“In past years, it’s been relatively quiet in Berkeley,” said Assistant Fire Chief Orth. “However, there is usually at least one house fire in the East Bay because of rockets landing on wood roofs.” 

Contact reporter at kurtis@berkeleydailyplanet.net

To the Editor: 

Yes, it’s one of those dirty little secrets: Section 8 units and buildings are not subject to routine inspections and Section 8 tenants haven’t been able to get consideration of their requests for inspections. Furthermore, not all tenant-based Section 8 units and buildings are “city-funded,” i.e. administered by the local housing authority. Some are project-based, operated by corporations. This is a matter that needs to be taken to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

Helen Rippier Wheeler 

Former Berkeley Housing  

Authority board member 

Ninemire, assistants named National
Coaching Staff of the Year 

COLUMBIA, MO – Cal head coach Diane Ninemire, assistant coaches John Reeves and Kim Maher, and student assistant Pauline Duenas have been named the 2002 Speedline/NFCA Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year.  

Ninemire and her staff guided California to its first-ever national championship as the Golden Bears defeated defending champion Arizona 6-0 in the title game of the Women’s College World Series. The Golden Bears compiled an 8-0 record in post-season play, posting wins over Fresno State, Stanford and Cal State Fullerton at the Fresno Regional, then sweeping through the WCWS with wins over Oklahoma, Florida State, Arizona State and Arizona. California became the first Pac-10 team other than Arizona or UCLA to win the Women’s College World Series.  

The California staff was selected by its peers as the Speedline Division I Pacific Region Coaching Staff of the Year and was then placed on the national coaching staff of the year ballot. They will be recognized as the 2002 Speedline/NFCA Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year at the NFCA National Convention in St. Petersburg, Florida, in December.  

Cal assistant Miller named to USA
staff for World Championships  

California assistant coach Ed Miller was named a United States assistant coach for the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Athletics Aug. 22-31, in Paris, France.  

Miller, one of seven individuals selected to head men’s coach Bubba Thornton’s staff, will coach the throws and the multi-events.  

In 1989, Miller served as the Olympic Festival team coach in Norman, Okla., and he is currently a member of the USATF’s Men’s Track and Field and Men’s Development Committees.  

The former Golden Bear recently completed his 19th season as an assistant coach at his alma mater. He has coached a number of outstanding athletes at Cal, including 1996 and 2000 Olympian Chris Huffins and 1996 Olympian Ramon Jimenez-Gaona. 

Minnesota gets probation, avoids shutdown  

MINNEAPOLIS – The NCAA hit Minnesota with two more years of probation on Tuesday, for rule-breaking in the women’s basketball program, but spared the school harsher penalties. 

The women’s basketball team will forfeit a scholarship in each of the two seasons, and recruiting will be trimmed back. The NCAA declined to shut down the program for two years, which was a possibility under the NCAA’s repeat violator rule, and didn’t ban the Gophers from postseason play. 

Minnesota already was serving four years’ probation for academic cheating uncovered in the men’s program in 1999. Tuesday’s action extends the probation until October 2006.

The Berkeley High School Parent Teacher Student Association resolved a tense, four-month fight over electing a new leadership team Monday night, appointing retired San Jose State professor Joan Edelstein to the vacant president’s post and naming several other high-level officers. 

The source of the tension is not Edelstein, who receives widespread praise, but PTSA auditor and school board candidate Cynthia Papermaster.  

“She makes everybody’s life miserable,” said one PTSA member, who asked to remain anonymous. “I think it would be a disaster if she were at the level of the school board.” 

But Papermaster says the critics are all longtime members of the organization who are just upset because she worked to shake up the PTSA leadership, creating a diverse team that would attract the entire school community. 

“I have bumped into people who want to hold fast to tradition,” she said. “Sometimes change is hard.” 

The conflict began in April. Papermaster, who also serves as parliamentarian for the districtwide PTA Council, an umbrella group for all PTAs, pushed Berkeley High PTSA to hold elections for next year’s officers this spring, in accordance with its bylaws, rather than wait for the fall, as it has done in recent years. 

Some PTSA members argue that Papermaster was too aggressive in pushing for spring elections. 

“She came in inappropriately,” said former PTSA President Cindy Cohen. “It was simply, ‘this is what you should do.’ She wasn’t even willing to have a dialogue about doing it any other way.” 

“Did I alienate some people? Yes,” said Papermaster. “But that was a byproduct of my desire to help the PTA function properly.” 

“Cynthia is a well-meaning person and not one time did she say anything that is untrue,” said Lee Berry, who was named PTSA Executive Vice President Monday night. “I have no knock on Cynthia. I love Cynthia to death.” 

Papermaster pushed for an official nominating committee, which sought out candidates in May, and the PTSA held elections June 4. At that meeting, the group elected parent activist Virgus Streets president, but he subsequently declined the election. 

Streets’s resignation made necessary the Monday night meeting and the Edelstein appointment. 

Papermaster said her work on the nominating committee helped bring in a larger, more diverse group of leaders, including Berry and another black member of the PTSA board. 

“I’m coming from a position of supporting and helping the PTAs to function so they are strong and inclusive and diverse,” she said. 

Even some critics credit Papermaster with increasing PTSA diversity.  

But detractors say Papermaster has a habit of stirring up unnecessary controversy – a habit, they say, that would not serve her well on the board.  

“Everywhere I go, she’s been driving people crazy,” said one PTSA member. 

“There are gadflies who are healthy,” said another PTSA member. “But Cynthia seems to need to be at the center of a storm, for reasons I can’t understand.” 

Papermaster said she only attracts criticism because she is “an agent of change.” 

In the end, she said, the PTSA has emerged with a committed, diverse leadership. Her critics agree. 

“I could not be more happy,” said Cohen, praising the entire board, and especially Edelstein. “She’s very skilled.” 

“We’ve all agreed to put aside any personal differences in order to work for the good of the parents, students and teachers,” Edelstein said.

To the Editor, 

The media frenzy regarding the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling on the Pledge of Allegiance has been an embarrassment. Where is the sober reporting of facts and informed commentary that viewers so desperately need, especially in the midst of a controversy? 

Within hours of the court ruling the U.S. Senate condemned the decision, the President declared it “ridiculous,” and the members of the House defiantly recited the pledge in front of hoards of news cameras. 

Meanwhile, news commentators were voicing their opinions and pollers were pounding the pavement. Are we to believe that all those who are sworn to represent the people and report the hard facts had actually read and digested the 32-page decision and were informed enough to make these decisions in so short a time? 

Upon closer review of the court’s actual decision, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is not declared illegal. However, the California statute requiring teachers to lead the compulsory recitation each day is. For those who believe this is unprecedented, it is important to note that the court reached a similar decision in 1943, declaring the compulsory recitation a violation of the First Amendment. 

Unlike the oaths taken in courtrooms across the country, there is no alternate pledge in schools without the words “under God.” And though the U.S. currency contains the words “In God we Trust” – which does seem out of place on money, of all things – no one is forced to pledge those words every time he or she receives or spends money. And if any member of Congress feels that his or her rights are being violated by having to recite a prayer before each session – which has always seemed out of place to me in a supposedly secular government – then he or she has the right to take the issue up at the next session.  

What is at issue here is not only the separation of church and state, but the freedom of conscience. A state cannot force its citizens to say or do anything that goes against his or her conscience. Freedom of conscience is at the heart of all our most precious freedoms. If only our fearless and overzealous leaders had taken the time to read the court’s decision, perhaps they would have realized this. But they forgot that leading doesn’t always mean speaking or taking action before anyone else. Sometimes it requires actually thinking first.  

Tora Chung 

San Francisco

Sprinklets for hire 

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A stay-at-home mom is responding to the recent water restrictions in her community by offering her services — and those of her three children — as “human sprinklers.” 

For about $15 an hour, Jinni Hoggard and her children — ages 12, 11 and 8 — will hand-water lawns, gardens or anything else in need of a drink. 

City officials in Greensboro, which is suffering from a four-year drought, have declared it illegal for residents to use sprinklers, but not hand-held hoses. 

Hoggard believes some people may be too busy to spend hours personally watering their lawns. 

“I thought, ‘Ooh, I could be a human sprinkler, and I could make my children sprinklets,”’ she said. 

Last week, Hoggard bought a classified newspaper ad to tout her services. She hasn’t received any gigs yet, but she thinks people will call as their gardens falter. 

No more peddling here  

SHALLOTTE, N.C. — The town of Shallotte has given roadside peddlers the boot, saying they clutter the town’s aesthetics and compete unfairly with permanent retailers. 

Sunday was the last day for sellers of everything from shrimp and peanuts to old clothing after the town council passed an ordinance banning peddlers. 

At least one peddler got around the ban. Peanut salesman Charles Williams had his brother, who owns the gas station where Williams’ stand is located, buy the peanut business. 

Shrimp dealer Richard Todd, who has peddled seafood for 16 years in the same location, said he would explore selling his operation to the owner of the lot where his stand is located. 

The ban came just as peddlers were gearing up for the busy July 4 holiday, when summer traffic gets busier in the coastal town. 

Home of the flag  

ANDOVER, Kan. — Mario and Cassie Aberle won’t need to hang an American flag outside their home for July 4th. That’s because their home is the flag. 

The couple wanted to do something big to show their patriotism following Sept. 11. 

They noticed they had 13 siding strips on their house, just the right number for the stripes on a flag. So, the couple painted the side of their home to look like Old Glory. 

Hundreds of people have stopped by to see the giant flag and snap photos. The Aberles say eventually they’ll have to repaint their house — but it will be at least another year before they do. 

A proposal to develop community gardens and a nonprofit plant nursery in the San Pablo Park neighborhood is expected to be submitted to the Berkeley City Council in time for possible consideration July 9. 

The proposal asks City Council to start negotiating a lease with Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency’s Urban Garden Institute, which wants to use two vacant parcels in the southwest flatlands near the intersection of Sacramento and Oregon streets.  

The undeveloped lots are part of the old Santa Fe Railroad right-of-way. 

This partnership between the Urban Gardening Institute (BUGI) and Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) was recently awarded a $300,000 Community Food Projects Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand local programs.  

The USDA grant, which can be used through September 2003, would cover $50,000 in initial costs for fencing, developing the garden, an electrical line, irrigation and miscellaneous expenses. Two other federal grants totaling $83,900 would cover staff expenses.  

BOSS also expects to generate revenues from plant sales. 

Final approval will require posting notices in the neighborhood for a public hearing. Approvals and permits for the project are needed from the City Council, Zoning Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission, before BOSS can convert the grassy parcels to community gardens and a seedling nursery for the public and Bay Area farmers. 

The proposal was skimmed through and discussed for one hour on June 27, before receiving the endorsement of the San Pablo Neighborhood Council. A total of 444 nearby residents have signed petitions in support of creating community gardens, which have been forwarded to the City Council. 

Other groups supporting the plan include the Russell Oregon California Streets Neighborhood Association, West Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corp., The Ecology Center, Berkeley Food Policy Council and the Alameda County Community Food Bank, said Daniel Miller, project director at the BOSS Urban Gardening Institute.  

“I think this is going to be a slam dunk,” said Linda Maio, councilmember representing District 1. Maio had been considering the feasibility of using one of the parcels to build affordable housing, but changed her mind after meeting with representatives of BOSS. 

“I’m probably one of the biggest supporters of the project now,” added Maio. “I’m a big gardening advocate, particularly when it’s linked to jobs and economic survival.” 

BUGI provides vocational job training in horticulture for people in transition from homelessness and drug abuse. Participants learn how to grow food and how to find or create their own employment. The group already grows organic foods distributed free to homeless shelters and low-income residents. Free job training classes and a computer lab are offered at the organization’s offices at 2880 Sacramento St. 

BUGI wants more space to expand job-training programs and raise money through sales of native plants and herbs. BOSS offers about 18 free classes annually. “We don’t have enough space to do what we want to do,” Miller said. 

Project plans include an outdoor classroom, greenhouse, shade-house, water gardens, a small orchard, benches and a pathway connecting Oregon Street with Sojourner Court for a possible future bicycle path. The gardens would be fenced and gated for security with daytime staff seven days a week and kept locked at night, Miller said. 

BOSS now provides social services for more than 3,500 people annually at 27 locations in Alameda County. In 2001, BOSS traded 12,873 lettuce, tomato and celery seedlings in exchange for food served at shelters. Firme Farms of Justine, Calif. benefited because it didn’t have to lay out cash for plantings prior to harvest. 

BUGI presently maintains two community gardens in Berkeley. One grows adjacent to the tool library on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, between Russell and Oregon streets. A second garden called the Harrison House Shelter Garden is situated near the corner of Fourth Street at 711 Harrison St. 

Two other community gardens are managed by the BOSS partnership in Oakland, the 59th Garden between Market and Adeline streets and the California Hotel Community Garden, behind 3501 San Pablo Ave.

Listeners of KPFA are raising money to help pay for an emergency, vision-saving procedure for the station’s longtime producer and contributor Mary Berg.  

Last week Berg was told she needed an expensive eye surgery, but was without health insurance. Members of the radio community came to her side and to make the procedure possible by temporarily footing the bill. 

“It is heartwarming that the KPFA community stepped up on such short notice, so generously and decisively,” said Phil Osegueda, KPFA’s assistant general manager. Now the Coalition for a democratic Pacifica has started raising funds to pay that bill. 

Two weeks ago Berg was experiencing some difficulty with her vision. She was seeing random, bright flashes and obstructive floating bodies.  

She went to see a doctor last Tuesday, and was diagnosed with a detached retina. The doctor said she would need to undergo a sclera bucket surgery immediately if she were to continue to see.  

Because she did not having health insurance she had to pay $14,000 before the hospital would go forward with the surgery.  

The KPFA community came to her rescue.  

“I was really lucky,” Berg said. “I had friends and KPFA came to my support.”  

The fund to help Berg is being conducted through the Agape Foundation. A benefit is planned July 21. 

Berg has been working at KPFA since the late 70s. KPFA listeners know her as the host and producer of “A Musical Offering,” a radio show that airs early on Sundays, 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. KPFA advisory board member Lewis Sawyer said Berg is a tireless worker and that her involvement with the station is unmatched.  

At KPFA Berg is a volunteer. She supports herself while working as a sound and editing free-lancer.  

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research estimates that 4.5 million California residents younger than 64 are uninsured. 

DONATIONS 

To help pay for Mary Berg’s eye surgery money can be sent to the Coalition for a democratic Pacifica (CdP), PO Box 2813, Berkeley, 94702 

SAN FRANCISCO – Federal prosecutors announced today that a San Francisco man has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for selling baseball bats he claimed had been used in major league games by All-Star shortstops Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra. 

Herbert Derungs, 32, pleaded guilty to six counts of mail and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to sell baseball bats on eBay between April and December 2001 that he claimed had been used by the two sluggers. He also admitted to fraudulently obtaining the bats from The Original Maple Bat Co. based in Ottawa by claiming to be Jeter and Garciaparra. 

In addition to the prison term imposed Monday, U.S. District Court Judge James Ware prohibited Derungs from coming within 1,000 feet of Pacific Bell Park upon his release in connection with a threatening e-mail he had sent to a ballpark employee. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross Nadel said Derungs obtained 64 bats from The Original Maple Bat Co. and sold 22 of them for more than $23,000. 

Nadel, head of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office, said authorities are devoting more resources than ever to fighting high technology-related crime. 

Companies or individuals who believe they may be victims of high-tech crime are encouraged to contact Nadel at (408) 535-5035.

Billions of dollars in trade
>are at stake; lockout would
cut flow of goods across nation 

SAN FRANCISCO — Shipping companies and dock workers agreed that goods will continue to move through West Coast ports for now after deciding to extend their contract on a “day-to-day” basis, giving federal officials and businesses across the country a brief reprieve from fear of the economic impact of a strike or lockout. 

Both sides negotiated through a Monday contract expiration deadline, and both sides promised not to force an immediate labor disruption. 

Billions of dollars in trade are at stake, and a strike or lockout would cut off the flow of goods that enter the nation’s 29 major Pacific ports and move to store shelves across the nation. 

The union representing 10,500 longshoremen who work the docks has not voted to authorize a strike. The shippers’ association, meanwhile, has promised not to lock out the dock workers — unless they stage a work slowdown. 

“We have an enormous responsibility to negotiate an agreement without any work interruption on the waterfront,” said Joseph Miniace, president and chief executive officer of the Pacific Maritime Association. 

The contract expired at 5 p.m. Monday — 10 minutes before that deadline, the two sides reconvened at their San Francisco bargaining table for the first time since Saturday. 

Both sides concluded the evening by agreeing to extend the contract on a “day-to-day” basis and to resume talks Tuesday at 2 p.m. PDT, according to a statement from the association. 

A union spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking comment. 

During the last round of negotiations in 1999, the deadline came and went, longshoremen kept working, and two weeks later the two sides settled. 

The three-year contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the shippers’ association covers all America’s major Pacific ports, from San Diego to Seattle. Last year, longshoremen handled $260 billion in cargo, according to the association. 

With the association expecting that value to double as trade with Asia surges over the next decade, West Coast ports are a linchpin of the nation’s economic prosperity. A shutdown would send a shiver through the economy, especially since many holiday-time products are imported over the summer and ever-leaner U.S. firms have slimmed inventories to keep costs down. 

“Can you imagine what would happen to America if there were no stuff in the malls?” asked Stephen Cohen, a University of California, Berkeley professor of regional planning who studied the economic impact of a port closure for the shippers’ association. “They should stick these guys at Camp David or Guantanamo Bay and settle it.” 

Cohen cited numbers that a port shut down of five days would cost the economy about $4.7 billion, while a 20-day shut down would cost $48.6 billion. 

“Hopefully, they realize the national implications of the dispute,” said Lawrence Fineran, a vice president at the Washington-based National Association of Manufacturers, which has sent letters of concern to the White House and several cabinet departments. 

With so much at stake, the White House has said it’s watching, and federal lawmakers have petitioned both sides to keep the ports open. 

Even were one side to quit negotiations, under federal law President Bush can block a strike and impose an 80-day cooling-off period. The Labor Department, which has a representative monitoring the discussions, declined comment Monday. 

The union spent Monday preparing a counter proposal to shippers’ Saturday offer, a package that a union spokesman described as “an offer that was designed to be rejected.” 

“First they offered us nothing but cutbacks” in benefits and pensions, said union spokesman Steve Stallone. “Now they’re offering us peanuts. That’s how much it’s moved.” 

association spokesman said Monday night that 

Negotiations have stalled over benefits and how to bring new cargo-handling technology to the ports, according to both sides. 

Shippers say they need to automate the ports to compete more efficiently in the global economy. 

Union leaders say they’re not against modernization — as long as new technology doesn’t take the place of manpower. 

“Ever since computers were brought to the docks, they’ve tried to outsource our jobs,” said spokesman Steve Stallone. 

Shippers promise that modernization isn’t a code word for layoffs and promise that no union job will be lost. 

Union officials also say shippers are trying to cut their health benefits and gut the grievance process. Shippers say their offers keep the union’s health package the envy of the working class. 

Wages are also at issue. A longshoreman’s $80,000 average annual salary for full-time dock work rises to a $167,000 average for the most experienced foremen. 

West Coast docks saw strikes in 1934, 1936-37, 1948 and 1971.

LOS ANGELES — After nearly four years of acquisitions that propelled Northrop Grumman Corp. from an endangered company in 1998 to the nation’s second-largest defense contractor, the company may be done growing — at least for now. 

After four months of wrangling, Northrop on Monday announced its deal to buy TRW Inc. for $7.8 billion in stock. Northrop also will assume about $4 billion in TRW debt. 

Government regulators wounded Northrop 1998 when regulators rejected a proposed merger with Lockheed Martin Corp. Instead of breaking itself up, it regrouped and transformed itself from an aircraft company into a diversified defense giant, specializing in high-tech computer warfare and surveillance systems. 

With its purchase of Litton Industries in 2001 and last year’s acquisition of Newport News Shipbuilding, it also became the nation’s largest shipbuilder. 

“I think they are probably pretty satisfied with where they are at this point,” said Paul Nisbet, an analyst with JSA Research. “I would have said after the first shipbuilding company that they would rest for a while and they’ve done two or three things since.” 

With TRW, the company becomes a major maker of high-tech unmanned surveillance vehicles, spy satellites, computer software and other equipment central to America’s war on terrorism. 

The company, which will maintain its Los Angeles headquarters, now makes Global Hawk unmanned surveillance planes, which have been used in Afghanistan, as well as the kind of database management systems vital to linking information housed on the computers of various intelligence agencies.

Demands U.S. review  

guides for launching raids 

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — In an unprecedented statement, the Afghan government demanded Tuesday that the United States take “all necessary measures” to avoid civilian casualties following an air attack in which scores of villagers died. 

U.S. troops who inspected the hospital in Kandahar where some of the wounded had been taken came under fire late Tuesday as they were returning to the American base outside the city, U.S. military spokesman Col. Roger King said. One soldier was wounded in the foot, he added. 

In Kabul, the government said President Hamid Karzai “called officials and commanders of the United States forces to his office and strongly advised them of the grave concern and sorrow” over Monday’s attack in Uruzgan province, in which the Afghans say 40 civilians were killed and 100 were wounded. 

The statement said Karzai, who relied on U.S. support for his rise to power, insisted that coalition forces “take all necessary measures to ensure that military activities to capture terrorist groups do not harm innocent Afghan civilians.” 

Circumstances of the attack remain unclear; a joint U.S.-Afghan team was unable to reach the site Tuesday. 

U.S. officials insist American forces were attacking a legitimate target using a B-52 bomber and an AC-130 gunship. Pentagon officials said it appeared gunfire, rather than an errant bomb dropped by the United States, was responsible for the deaths. An AC-130 can fire Gatling guns, cannons and 105 mm howitzers. 

At the Pentagon, Gen. Peter Pace said Tuesday a U.S. AC-130 gunship in the vicinity fired on “six individual locations that were spread over many kilometers.” Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said it was too early to determine what happened. 

Despite the uncertainty, Afghan officials were convinced the United States was to blame for what they believe is the latest in a series of “friendly fire” mishaps. It was the first time Afghan authorities at the national level have issued such a strong statement after such an incident. 

Neither Afghan nor U.S. authorities have calculated Afghanistan’s civilian death toll in the war. Although estimates have placed the civilian dead in the thousands, a review earlier this year by The Associated Press suggests the toll may be in the mid-hundreds, a figure reached by examining hospital records, visiting bomb sites and interviewing witnesses and officials. 

In the capital, Foreign Minister Abdullah said coalition military operations against al-Qaida and Taliban should continue but the rules for launching attacks “should be reviewed to avoid such incidents.” 

Abdullah said four villages were attacked early Monday around the hamlet of Kakarak about 175 miles southwest of Kabul. He said 40 civilians were killed — including all 25 members of one family — and 100 people were injured, including celebrants at a wedding. 

“Strong measures have to be taken to avoid such further incidents,” he said. 

Karzai met in Kabul on Tuesday with the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Dan K. McNeill. Afterward, McNeill said he and Karzai had differing accounts of what had happened, but he would not elaborate. 

“It is not part of the parameters of this coalition to attack innocents,” McNeill said at Bagram air base north of Kabul. 

In London, Amnesty International called on the United States to release the findings of any investigation, saying: “U.S.-led forces should take sufficient precautions to protect civilians in selecting military objectives.” 

The strong reaction by the Afghan government reflects the pressure on Karzai from his fellow Pashtuns who live in areas where U.S. military operations are continuing more than six months after the defeat of the Taliban regime. 

However, Abdullah, the foreign minister, said the government had “no doubts” that U.S. forces were “targeting terrorists” and had received information that al-Qaida forces were in the area. Afghan officials say Mullah Mohammed Omar, leader of the Taliban, may be hiding in the area. 

However, some survivors said they were looking to Karzai to prevent them from getting caught in the cross fire. 

“Karzai himself should take charge of the investigation,” said Shawali, whose wife Shabibi was wounded Monday. 

He spoke at this southern hospital where many of the wounded were brought for treatment. Five U.S. medical officers visited the hospital Tuesday to determine whether they could treat the casualties. After leaving the hospital, the Americans were fired on about 1 1/2 miles outside the city. 

Afghan military escorts returned fire but it was not known if the attackers suffered any casualties. 

——— 

EDITOR’S NOTE — Associated Press Writers Amir Shah and Dusan Stojanovic in Kabul and Regan Morris in Bagram contributed to this report. 

KALGOORLIE, Australia — American adventurer Steve Fossett drifted into aviation history Tuesday, becoming the first person to fly a balloon solo around the world. 

Flying through the darkness 27,000 feet above the ocean south of Australia in his silvery Spirit of Freedom balloon, Fossett crossed east of 117 degrees longitude, the line from which he set off two weeks ago. 

The 58-year-old Chicago investment millionaire covered 19,428.6 miles by the time he crossed the finish line, according to his Web site, finally succeeding in his sixth attempt at the record. 

“It is a wonderful time for me,” Fossett, sounding calm, said over satellite telephone. “Finally after six flights I have succeeded and it is a very satisfying experience.” 

Fossett doesn’t plan to call it quits. He says his next possible adventure will be to fly a glider into the stratosphere to above 60,000 feet. He didn’t discuss the details of that mission. 

With weather largely on his side throughout this trip, Fossett finally completed the nonstop feat after five previous, crash-plagued attempts spread over more than six years, conquering one of aviation’s last barriers.KALGOORLIE, Australia — American adventurer Steve Fossett drifted into aviation history Tuesday, becoming the first person to fly a balloon solo around the world. 

Flying through the darkness 27,000 feet above the ocean south of Australia in his silvery Spirit of Freedom balloon, Fossett crossed east of 117 degrees longitude, the line from which he set off two weeks ago. 

The 58-year-old Chicago investment millionaire covered 19,428.6 miles by the time he crossed the finish line, according to his Web site, finally succeeding in his sixth attempt at the record. 

“It is a wonderful time for me,” Fossett, sounding calm, said over satellite telephone. “Finally after six flights I have succeeded and it is a very satisfying experience.” 

Fossett doesn’t plan to call it quits. He says his next possible adventure will be to fly a glider into the stratosphere to above 60,000 feet. He didn’t discuss the details of that mission. 

With weather largely on his side throughout this trip, Fossett finally completed the nonstop feat after five previous, crash-plagued attempts spread over more than six years, conquering one of aviation’s last barriers.

NEW YORK— A longtime organizer of cultural events in Lower Manhattan was appointed Tuesday to oversee creation of a memorial to victims of the World Trade Center attack. 

Anita Contini, 58, a vice president for global sponsorships and events marketing for Merrill Lynch, will be vice president and director of memorial, cultural and civic programs for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the city-state agency charged with rebuilding the area. 

The size and location of the monument to the more than 2,800 victims of the Sept. 11 attack has been a contentious issue, with some relatives wanting the entire 16-acre site to become a memorial. On Saturday, Gov. George Pataki promised there would be no commercial development on the one-acre patches each tower occupied. 

“I know that there are many viewpoints and different views,” Contini said. 

Before joining Merrill Lynch in 1999, Contini directed the arts and events program at the World Financial Center since 1986. In 1973, she founded Creative Time Inc., a nonprofit arts organization,

The Board of Education unanimously approved the 2002-2003 budget despite fears that the county will reject the district’s financial plan for a second straight year. 

“I find it very difficult to vote for this budget,” said board member Ted Schultz during the board’s meeting last week. 

Earlier this year, the board approved heavy layoffs and chopped millions of dollars from the system. But the final budget still includes a $2.8 million shortfall. 

Last week the board approved the broad outlines of a fiscal recovery plan for next year that it hopes will close the gap. The plan includes solvency for a troubled cafeteria fund, the possibility of further staff reductions and, as a last resort, the sale of district property. 

The county has 45 days to accept the budget and the fiscal recovery plan. 

Alameda County Superintendent Sheila Jordan, who will have final say, at the meeting last Wednesday praised the district for making difficult cuts earlier this year. She commended officials for working closely with the county and with the state-run Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team [FCMAT], an agency the board appointed after last year’s budget was rejected.  

Jordan is optimistic that the county office of education will approve the 2002-2003 budget. 

“My hope is that we’ll be able to pass it with a list of what needs to happen,” she said. “If it’s not passed, it’s not necessarily a terrible thing either.” 

If Jordan rejects the budget, the district will have 45 days to address the county’s concerns. 

Jordan said that while the county has not yet reviewed the final budget, its two primary concerns are the $2.8 million deficit and a recovery plan that is too general. 

If the county rejects the budget, Jordan said, it will likely ask for a more detailed recovery plan and could require the district to make additional cuts within the 45-day window. 

Schultz praised the staff for producing a budget during difficult circumstances, but said he had trouble approving the document because it provided a poor estimate of state and federal funding for the district and was difficult to decipher. 

“It’s really lacking in the clarity area,” Schultz said. “I wish the county luck in figuring it out.” 

Joel Montero, FCMAT deputy executive director, acknowledged the shortcomings identified by Schultz, but said the staff had done an admirable job considering that FCMAT, which started working in the district in October, asked the district to change its entire budgeting process in a matter of months. 

Health inspector could pay with jail time for free meals 

HACKENSACK, N.J. — There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Vincent Strignile found out the hard way. 

Eight years of allegedly eating free meals could land him in prison for 10 years if he’s convicted of official misconduct charges. 

Strignile, 53, a part-time health inspector in Saddle Brook, allegedly ate free meals at more than a dozen restaurants that he was responsible for inspecting. 

Ike Gavzy, an assistant county prosecutor, said Strignile allegedly accepted the meals from January 1993 until he was arrested in March 2001. 

Authorities began investigating Strignile when a restaurant owner complained that the inspector had refused to pay his bill and conducted inspections that were “cursory at best,” Gavzy said. After Strignile was arrested, authorities received several more complaints. 

“On many occasions, he would say, ‘I’m the health inspector; I don’t pay,”’ Gavzy said last week. 

Whiz bag grosses out court 

PACIFIC, Wash. — There was no way to maintain order in the court when testimony turned to the Whizzinator, an artificial body part worn in an effort to pass urine drug tests. 

Snickering arose Thursday as community corrections officer Nadine Wallace told Judge Stephen L. Rochon about confiscating the contraption, which is designed to be worn as an undergarment and includes a hidden bag for holding drug-free urine. 

“Occasionally the court needs a little comic relief, but this is just unbelievable,” Rochon said. 

Wallace said she also seized illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia June 14 when Jason Smith, 24, was arrested at his home in Auburn. 

Smith, who pleaded guilty last year to possession of drug paraphernalia and driving with a suspended license, was accused of failing to meet probation requirements, including drug treatment and random drug tests. 

When he read a promise that the device is reusable, Rochon said, “It just simply grosses the court out.” 

One nation under dog 

SARASOTA, Fla. — The newest candidate challenging Secretary of State Katherine Harris in her bid for Congress is truly an underdog: a border collie mix. 

Percy the dog is running as a write-in candidate in the Republican primary, said his owner and campaign manager, Wayne Genthner. 

Genthner is offering up his canine candidate as both satire and as a protest against the political establishment. 

“No one has a realistic expectation that a dog can get elected,” Genthner said last week. “But plenty of people will be willing to vote for a dog to represent their discontent with the political system.”

To the Editor: 

Since your June 25 article on the District 8 city council race interviewed only two of the three candidates, but not the best one, please let me give your readers some good reasons to support Gordon Wozniak.  

Gordon has extensive experience on three different and crucial city commissions. He has managed to transcend the usual boundaries in Berkeley politics in order to find creative solutions to difficult problems. He tackled the budget as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission and was able to work out a new approach. It saved the Parks budget and increased the funding for our local parks without increasing the tax rate, by requiring that Measure A funds could only be spent on parks. He brought science and logic to the often emotional arguments of the Community Environmental Advisory Commission and won the respect of many of his fellow commissioners, moving up to the rank of vice chairman. He is currently a member of the Planning Commission and is successfully balancing the need for more affordable housing with protection of existing neighborhoods. Gordon is committed to working on the city’s and District 8’s toughest issues: traffic and pedestrian safety, parks and open space, housing and improving our roads and sewers. He would bring an intelligent, calm and independent voice to the City Council. It is time for Berkeley to move beyond the old politics that have paralyzed the city for 30 years. Gordon Wozniak could help open a new era of cooperative and independent thinking in Berkeley politics. 

Linda Schacht Gage  

Berkeley 

Monday, July 1

“Children of AIDS” film 

6:30 p.m.  

Mama Bears Bookstore and Coffee house, 6536 Telegraph Avenue  

Presented by the National  

Organization for Women  

549-2970, 287-8948  

Free 

What You Need to Know  

Before you Remodel 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Building Education Center 

812 Page St. 

Discussion by builder  

Glen Kitzenberger 

525-7610 

Free 

Tuesday, July 2

Adopt A Special Kid (AASK) 

7 to 9 p.m. 

7700 Edgewater Drive, Suite 320, Oakland 

A workshop for singles or couples, gay and lesbian, experienced or older parents, interested in adoption. 

533-1747, Ext. 12, or www.adoptaspecialkid.org 

Free 

Wednesday, July 3

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil 

6:30 p.m. 

BART Station, Shattuck & Center 

Weekly candle-lit vigil and  

peace walk to raise 

awareness and gather support for opposition to the 'war on terrorism' 

vigil4peace@yahoo.com, 528-9217 

Thursday, July 4

Volunteers Needed for  

East Bay Habitat for Humanity  

Independence Day Build-A-Thon: July 4-7 

is seeking volunteers for the ! We will be framing 6 homes in 4 days over the Fourth of July weekend.  

251-6304.  

Pancake Breakfast 

9 to 11 a.m. 

The Berkshire, 2235 Sacramento St. 

Red, white and blue pancakes. 

841-4844 

Donations to local food back appreciated 

Saturday, July 6 

Capoeira Batizado 

2 to6 p.m.  

Capoeira Arts Cafe 

2026 Addison, Berkeley 

A celebration of Capoeira with performances by local arts organization. 

For information: 666-1255, www.capoeiraarts.com 

Free 

The Great Rummage Sale 

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, 2700 Ninth Street (at Carleton) in Berkeley 

Warehouse full of household items, books, records, clothing, furniture, and lots more at great prices. All proceeds go to support of our shelter. 

845-7735 

Monday, July 8

Berkeley Gray Panthers Home Owners Meeting  

Monday, July 8th, 2002 at 3 p.m.  

Berkeley Gray Panthers Office,1403 Addison Street-behind University Avenue Andronico’s Super Market. 

Laurie Capitelli of Red Oak Realty runs down the options of selling homes 

All Welcome 

548-9696 or 486-8010 

Free 

Introduction to Accessible  

Software and Hardware  

6:30 to 8 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library Electronic Classroom, 2090 Kittredge Street 

RSVP to 981-6121- Alan Bern, Special Services Coordinator 

Tuesday, July 9

Mother’s Morning Out 

10:30 a.m. to noon 

Upaya Center for Wellbeing 

478 Santa Clara Ave. 

Craniosacral Therapy for Infants and Children 

www.upayacenter.org 

Free 

Thursday, July 11

Great Sierra Backpacking  

Destinations 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo  

Karen Najarian of Sierra Wilderness Seminars presents slides from her more that 20 years exploring the Sierra Backcountry. 

For information: 527-4140 

Free 

What Do You Believe? Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers 

6:30 to 8:00 p.m. 

Ellen Driscoll Playhouse 

325 Highland Avenue, Piedmont  

Film presented by Piedmont diversity groups; discussion with filmmaker, Sarah Feinbloom.  

655-5552, or maudep@aol.com 

Free 

Friday, July 12

Celebration of Emma Goldman's Birthday  

8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. 

Fellowship of Humanity Hall  

390 27th St  

An all-ages, alcohol-free party with live music, DJ, and dance lessons 

http://www.ebcaw.org  

$5 to $10 sliding scale  

Saturday, July 13 

Peach / Stone Fruit Tasting 

Tasting & cooking demonstrations 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

15th Anniversary Derby  

Street Farmers Market 

Live music and & stone-fruit and peach tasting 

Tasting & cooking demonstrations. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Derby Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way  

Free 

Festival of New Versions  

of Classic Asian Games 

Noon to 5 p.m 

Dr. Comics and Mr. Games,  

4014 Piedmont Ave., Oakland  

Dr Comics and Mr Games Hosts Game a festival featuring two new versions of classic Asian board games 

601-7800 

Sunday, July 14

Hands-on Bicycle Repair  

11 a.m.to noon 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Learn from an REI bike technician basic bike repairs such as brake adjustments and fixing a flat. 

For information: 527-4140 

Free 

Family Health Day 

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Fourth Street and University Avenue 

Explore health concerns in a family oriented environment 

Free 

Tuesday, July 16

Berkeley Camera  

Club Weekly Meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church 

941 The Alameda 

Share slides, prints with other photographers 

525-3565 

Free 

Introduction to Accessible Software and Hardware  

10:30 a.m. to noon 

Berkeley Public Library Electronic Classroom, 2090 Kittredge Street 

RSVP to 981-6121. Alan Bern, Special Services Coordinator 

Wedneday, July 17

Doctors Without Borders 

Until July 18 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

UC Berkeley, Springer Gateway, West Entrance Crescent 

Interactive exhibit expalining medicines for people in developing countries; Film screenings 

www.doctorswithoutborders.org 

Free 

Thursday, July 18

Mystique of the Widerness 

7 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Phil Arnot presents slides from over 50 years of exploring such places as Alaska, New Zealand, the Sierra and the Rockies. 

For information: 527-4140 

Introduction to Accessible  

Software and Hardware  

3 to 4:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library Electronic Classroom, 2090 Kittredge Street 

RSVP to 981-6121. Alan Bern, Special Services Coordinator 

Saturday, July 20

Emergency Preparedness  

Classes in Berkeley 

Earthquake Retrofitting: Learn how to strengthen your wood frame home. 

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

812 Page St. 

981-5605 

Free 

Thursday, July 25

California Landscapes:  

A Geologist's Perspective 

7 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

John Karachewski presents an educational slideshw on such amazing places as the Sierra Nevada, Coast Ranges the Great Valley and Cascades 

For information: 527- 4140. 

Free 

Saturday, July 27

Test Ride Kestrel Bicycles 

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Preston Sandusky of Kestrel, a premier manufacturer of high-end, carbon-fiber road and mountain bikes, intrduces their latest design. 

For information: 527-4140 

Free 

"Neon: The Living Flame" 

7:00 p.m.  

Alameda Museum  

2324 Alameda Ave.  

The Alameda Museum presents Michael Crowe, author, and neon artist Karl Hauser 

lecture by Michael Crowe 

748-0796 or 841-8489.  

Members free, nonmembers $5  

Sunday, July 28

Hands-on Bicycle Repair  

11 a.m. to noon 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Learn from an REI bike techician basic repairs such as brake adjustments and fixing a flat. 

For information: 527-4140 

Free 

Wednesday, July 31

Mountain Adventure Seminars:  

Introduction to Rock Climbing 

7 to 9 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

An introduction to rockclimbing including knot tieing, belaying and movement. 

For information: (209) 753-6556 

$115 REI members; $125 non-members 

Saturday, August 3

Mountain Adventure Seminars:  

Introduction to Rock Climbing 

8 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

An introduction to rockclimbing including knot tieing, belaying and movement. 

For more information: (209) 753-6556 

$115 REI members; $125 non-members 

Saturday, August 10

Tomato Tastings 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Tastings and cooking demonstrations  

Free 

Sunday, August 11

Hands-on Bicycle Repair 

11 a.m. to noon 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Learn from an REI bike technician basic repairs such as brake adjustments and fixing a flat. 

For information: 527-4140 

Free 

West Berkeley arts Festival 

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Fourth Street and University Avenue 

Explore the many resident artists located in Berkeley 

Free. 

Tuesday, August 13

Tomato Tasting 

Tasting & cooking demonstrations 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Derby Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way  

Free 

Berkeley Camera Club  

Weekly Meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda 

Share slides, prints with other photographers 

525-3565 

Free 

Sunday, August 18

Hands-on Bicycle Repair 

11 a.m. to noon 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Learn from an REI bike technician basic repairs such as braqke adjustment and fixing a flat. 

For information: 527-7470 

Saturday, August 24

Cajun & More 

Four Live Bands, crafts fair, Cajun food, dance lessons, micro-brewery beer & dance floor. 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

Saturday, September 8

Watershed Environmental  

Poetry Festival 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

Sunday, September 15

Heritage Day 

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Fourth Street and University Avenue 

International BBQ and beer festival 

Free 

Saturday, October 12

Indigenous People's Day Pow Wow, Indian Market & Fall Fruit Tasting 

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

Tuesday, October 15

Fall Fruit Tasting 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Derby Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way  

Free 

Saturday, October 26

Pumpkin Carving & Costume Making 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

Sunday, October 27

Spirit Day 

11 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

4th and University 

Construct altars in a day of reflection 

Free 

Saturday December 7, 14, 21

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

Saturday December 14 

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

Saturday December 21 

Holiday Crafts Fair 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

DENVER — Jeff Kent hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning as the San Francisco Giants rallied for an 8-6 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night. 

Colorado led 6-5 after eight innings, but closer Jose Jimenez (2-5) hit leadoff hitter David Bell and Ramon Martinez followed with a single. 

Kent then hit Jimenez’s first pitch to left field for his 14th of the season. 

Kent had three hits and is 13-for-24 with 15 RBIs since moving from cleanup to the third spot in the lineup five days ago. 

Colorado has lost six of seven after winning five straight. The Giants have won four of six. 

Felix Rodriguez (3-4) didn’t allow a hit in one inning to pick up the victory. Robb Nen worked a perfect ninth to earn his 22nd save. 

Reggie Sanders, who stranded six runners in the Giants’ 7-0 loss to Oakland Sunday, had a two-run triple in the first after Colorado’s Terry Shumpert took a bad angle on a line drive to left. 

Larry Walker answered with a three-run homer in the bottom half, a 455-foot shot to the second deck in rigrun on second with none out in the seventh, but Justin Speier struck out Barry Bonds and got a pair of fly outs to right. 

Bonds finished 0-for-4 and walked once. 

Colorado’s Juan Pierre had three hits to end a 2-for-24 slump. 

Colorado starter Shawn Chacon allowed five runs on seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. Chacon also had a single and scored a run. 

San Francisco starter Kirk Rueter allowed six runs — four earned — on eight hits in six innings. He is 1-4 since winning six straight and hasn’t won since June 4. Notes: Giants 1B J.T. Snow, who missed two games with turf toe, was a defensive replacement in the ninth. ... Walker is 11-for-26 in his career against Rueter.... Bonds was walked intentionally for the 38th time this season in the fifth inning. The major league record is 45, set by Willie McCovey in 1969. ... Sanders is 1-for-7 this season after Bonds walked intentionally. ... Colorado’s Todd Zeile ground into a double play in the seventh and leads the majors with 20. 

his previous eight starts. In interleague play, he improved to 3-0 this season and 8-1 overall. He walked three and struck out one. 

“We just started playing pretty good baseball about the start of interleague play,” Hudson said. “We have a lot of guys on the team with all-star caliber talent and hopefully we can carry that momentum to the American League.” 

Hudson, who retired 14 of 15 during one stretch, also recorded his eighth career complete game. 

“You have to give Hudson credit for throwing the shutout,” said Giants manager Dusty Baker. “We had opportunities early, but we couldn’t capitalize.” 

Russ Ortiz (6-5), who was 2-0 in his previous five starts, lasted five-plus innings. He allowed six runs on nine hits, walked four — including three in the second inning — and struck out four. 

“I was throwing hard, but my location was off today,” Ortiz said. 

The A’s finished interleague play with a major league-best 16-2 mark. Their only losses came to the Giants, who won three of their previous four games. The A’s are 66-38 in interleague play, best in the majors. 

“I hope we can look back on it and say that’s the reason we got into postseason,” A’s manager Art Howe said. “Everything fell into place for us.” 

Oakland scored twice in the third as four of the first five batters reached. Mark Ellis and Hatteberg each singled and Tejada drove in a run with a single. One out later, Eric Chavez added a run-scoring single. 

Hatteberg added an RBI single during a three-run rally in the sixth. 

Jeff Kent continued to flourish in the No. 3 spot for the Giants. He was 2-for-4 and is 10-for-19 with 12 RBIs since flip-flopping with Bonds in the lineup four days ago. He has hit safely in 17 of his past 18 games.

Three weeks after Berkeley leaders urged city residents to boycott the high society Claremont Resort and Spa, hotel managers are calling the boycott a failure. 

The city’s stance is a protest to the hotel’s unresponsiveness to organized labor. 

In a letter to the Daily Planet, Claremont managers said that the recommended sanctions undermine employees’ interests. 

“If there are fewer guests, there is less work, and that would directly and negatively affect the people that work here at the hotel,” the statement read. “It just doesn’t make sense to us.” 

City Council’s June 11 boycott came amid a three-month standoff between hotel managers and union leaders over what process employees must go through to join a union. 

While 250 of the hotel’s food and beverage employees are currently represented by Local 2850 of Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, many of the hotel’s 140 nonunion workers lack the health benefits of their co-workers. Most of them are part time employees in the hotel spa and have begun an effort to unionize. 

Local 2850 leaders, with support from the city, insist that the employees ought to have the opportunity to unionize through a card count. In a card count a union automatically forms if a majority of employees sign up. Hotel managers, though, demand a more formal election process before they recognize non-union employees as unionized. 

Nearly a month into the city-backed boycott, hotel managers remain committed to their demands, adding that the boycott has had little, if any, economic impact on the hotel. 

“The union’s efforts in this regard have had no negative effect on our business,” the hotel’s statement read. “In fact, business is up at the Claremont and our guests continue to come here.” 

The hotel’s report is in stark contrast to the city’s belief that the boycott is making a difference. 

Mayor Shirley Dean said that she was recently visited by the Claremont’s president, the general manager and their attorney. The management team was unsuccessful in an attempt to win the support of city leaders and expressed anger about the boycott, Dean noted. 

“I think they were pretty ticked off by it,” she said. “I come to the conclusion that we’re having an impact.” 

Warren Mar, labor policy specialist at the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, in time the boycott may have an impact on the hotel’s operation. 

Most business at the Claremont is convention-driven, Mar said, so a residential boycott will not likely have a direct effect. However, news of the boycott could eventually influence convention organizers, he said. 

“Businesses will respect the boycott, not because they’re necessarily pro-union, but because they don’t want a hassle during their visit,” Mar said. The university is among the Claremont’s clients. 

Mar is hoping that the boycott might cause speakers or entertainers sympathize with the union and cancel scheduled appearances at the hotel. 

City leaders who are trying to have a say in the labor dispute have history on their side. 

Two years ago, employees at Berkeley’s Raddison Hotel won a union contract nine months after City Council adopted a similar resolution that urged a boycott. 

Both hotel managers and union leaders said that they will continue to meet. But the stalemate continues.

Today’s Highlight in History: 

On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution saying that “these United Colonies are, and of right, ought to be, Free and Independent States.” 

On this date: 

In 1881, President Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau at the Washington railroad station; Garfield died the following September. 

In 1890, Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act. 

In 1926, the U.S. Army Air Corps was created. 

In 1937, aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator. 

In 1961, author Ernest Hemingway shot himself to death at his home in Ketchum, Idaho. 

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law a sweeping civil rights bill passed by Congress. 

In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty was not inherently cruel or unusual. 

In 1990, more than 1,400 Muslim pilgrims were killed in a stampede inside a pedestrian tunnel leading to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. 

In 1994, a US Air DC-9 crashed in poor weather at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, killing 37 of the 57 people aboard. 

In 2000, opposition candidate Vicente Fox won Mexico’s presidential elections, ending the Institutional Revolutionary Party’s 71-year reign. 

Ten years ago: The Labor Department reported that the nation’s unemployment rate the previous month had risen to an 8-year high of 7.8 percent, compared to 7.5 percent in May. President George H.W. Bush vetoed the so-called “motor-voter” registration bill. (President Clinton later signed a revised version into law). 

Five years ago: Actor James Stewart died in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 89. 

One year ago: Robert Tools received the world’s first self-contained artificial heart in Louisville, Ky. (He lived 151 days with the device.) Vice President Dick Cheney returned to work, flashing an “OK” sign to reporters two days after receiving a new pacemaker. A year to the day after his stunning election victory, President Vicente Fox surprised Mexico again by marrying his spokeswoman and longtime love, Martha Sahagun. 

Today’s Birthdays: Country singer Marvin Rainwater is 77. Actor Brock Peters is 75. Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos is 73. Jazz musician Ahmad Jamal is 72. Actor Robert Ito is 71. Actress Polly Holliday is 65. Former White House chief of staff John Sununu is 63. Actor Ron Silver is 56. Luci Baines Johnson, daughter of President Lyndon Johnson, is 55. Actor Saul Rubinek is 54. Rock musician Roy Bittan (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band) is 53. Actress-model Jerry Hall is 46. Actor Jimmy McNichol is 41. Rock musician Dave Parsons (Bush) is 37. Actress Yancy Butler is 32. Singer Michelle Branch is 19. Actress Vanessa Lee Chester is 18. Actress Lindsay Lohan is 16. 

To the Editor: 

Steve Geller (in a letter) writes, “The label, ‘in God we trust’ doesn't harm our money.” 

Until 1957, dollar bills bore no reference to God. They were silver certificates. Each bore a promise that the bearer could exchange it for silver. A new Chevrolet sedan cost $2,100. 

Silver certificates were replaced by Federal Reserve notes. Under the new standard, bearers were advised, “In God we trust.” 

Since then, the dollar has plummeted in purchasing power. A comparable new Chevrolet to day costs $21,000. 

Hmmm. 

Robert R. Piper 

Berkeley  

Approximately 30 residents of west Berkeley met with police and city officials Monday night to request the city’s assistance in dealing with an increase in speeding, crime and drug dealing in the neighborhood. 

“The best way to keep a kid away from criminal activity, in my opinion, is to give them a job,” Berkeley Youth Alternatives Development and Policy Director Kevin Williams said. 

Event organizer Rachel Crossman said that drug dealing in west Berkeley has increased dramatically in the last few months. Residents have noticed heightened attention from the Berkeley Police Department, but what neighbors want more of are activities for at-risk kids, said Crossman and other people in the room. 

“If the kids are in trouble, there needs to be more activities for them,” said Sydney Vilen, a six-year resident of The Strawberry Creek Lodge in the 1300 block of Addison.  

Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean, Neighborhood Services’ Michael Caplan, Berkeley Police Department’s west Berkeley Area Coordinator Erick Upson and Executive Director of the Police Activities League David Manson were also at the meeting. 

Vilen said that senior citizens living at the lodge have been mugged, which is unsettling. But her chief worry is the city’s decision to close down Berkeley Adult School pool six months each year. 

Several other residents agreed, adding their concern over several underutilized parks and facilities where youth could congregate in structured environments. Rosa Parks Elementary School is not accessible to the public often enough, either, residents said. 

“Rosa Parks after it was renovated was closed off to the kids n the neighborhood. It’s beautiful now but now the kids can’t use it,” Crossman said. “What do we have to offer these kids in terms of constructive, supervised activities.” 

In turn, Dean said that she would make sure that the park became more available to the community. 

“I will unlock the gate myself. Then I will lose the lock and the key,” Dean said. “We want your neighborhood to look like, feel like and be like everyone — you and the city — cares about it.”  

Dean spoke frankly with the group about the violent crime surges in various sections of Berkeley. She said the police department currently faces several challenges, and that she is hoping the new personnel would not lose sight of the department’s history of effective community policing. 

“Crime is up and we need to deal with that. We’re not Oakland yet, but the point is we don’t want to be,” Dean said. 

In addition to an increase in crime, the community wanted to know why there are not more city sponsored, supervised alternatives for at-risk youth. One resident even commented that she would like to see creative sentencing proposed for juvenile crime. For example, a youth might be forced to take part in Berkeley Youth Alternatives if caught stealing a car. 

BYA is a nonprofit group that tries to connect at-risk youth with employment. It is working in coordination with the Police Activities League in attaining a gang prevention grant.  

Dean and Caplan offered a city web site that could serve as a clearinghouse for summer activities for youth. They also offered there support as the community moved forward with making concrete demands from the city that ranged from traffic calming devices to better outdoor lighting of recreational areas. 

To the Editor: 

I am not an atheist. And, in fact, my life is devoted to religious and spiritual pursuits. However, I applaud the court for the courage it took to rule that “under God” should not be a part of the Pledge. It is upon these kinds of freedoms that our country was founded. We must not allow ourselves to fall into narrow-minded opinion of any kind. 

Ann Rogers 

Middletown

With “Men in Black II,” as with its predecessor, clothes make the movie. 

Both films work passably well not so much for their overload of creature effects but for those dark suits and sunglasses, suitable uniforms for the cool comic charisma of Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. 

The story is no great shakes, the jokes certainly aren’t out of this world, and the visuals are nothing beyond what you’ll find in umpteen other effects-driven flicks. 

So it’s got to be the duds and the dudes. 

The aura of “Men in Black” is akin to that of “The Blues Brothers,” which owed its success not to the world’s biggest car crashes but the idea of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd running around in black suits and glasses and copping an attitude. 

The computer effects, alien puppets and other visual trappings are bigger and better in “Men in Black II” than in the original, but the film still lives and dies in the relationship between the wiseacre Agent Jay (Smith) and the surly Agent Kay (Jones). 

Director Barry Sonnenfeld, returning for the sequel, does not mess with that winning combination, so count on an enjoyable dose of more of the same from Smith and Jones (with the added attraction of Jones going postal in a mailman’s dorky shirt and shorts for his early scenes, an image almost worth the price of admission by itself). 

The movie picks up five years after the original, with Jay now the hotshot agent in the secret government unit that polices alien life on Earth. Kay, his memory obliterated after his retirement in the first movie, grumpily supervises a rural postal facility, unaware of his past career as an alien buster. 

But MIB boss Zed (Rip Torn), realizing one of Kay’s past close encounters holds the key to a new alien menace, dispatches Jay to bring back his old partner and restore his memory. 

The danger comes from Serleena, a shape-shifting beastie that comes to Earth disguised as a Victoria’s Secret model (Lara Flynn Boyle) to hunt for an alien artifact she can use to destroy a rival planet. 

The story never gels much beyond that, but no matter. This is a film of gags hanging along a loose narrative thread, so it doesn’t really hurt that the plot is undercooked. 

What fun there is to be had comes in watching Jay and Kay go through the old motions, zapping things with their elephantine ray guns, wiping memories with their little “neuralizers,” and hamming it up with old associates. Tony Shalhoub returns as Jeebs, the pawnshop owner with the renewable head, while the filmmakers wisely expand the presence of the amusing alien Worm Guys and especially Frank the talking pug (voiced by Tim Blaney), who steals every scene he’s in. 

Newcomers are led by Rosario Dawson as Laura Vasquez, a witness to Serleena’s shenanigans who proves so charming and attractive that the lovelorn Jay cannot bring himself to follow protocol and neuralize her memory. 

Dawson, who has quietly built up a list of impressive credits in mediocre studio films (“Josie and the Pussycats”) and little-seen independent projects (“Chelsea Walls”), holds her own against Smith and Jones in her first chance to shine in a really big film for a really big audience. With good dramatic credits behind her and an endearing comic touch here, Dawson is one to watch down the road. 

Craig Harmon’s journey across the nation will end in San Francisco on July 4. But on Monday, the history buff made one last stop in Berkeley to pay tribute to a local writer who helped inspire his trip. 

Harmon, founder of the Lincoln Highway National Museum and Archives in Galion, Ohio, has been traveling the nation in an old fire truck since July 2000, drawing attention to the historic thoroughfare that stars in his museum back home. 

The Lincoln Highway dates back to 1913, when a group of motor enthusiasts and governors created the first transcontinental highway. They named the patchwork of connected roads from New York City to San Francisco after Civil War-era president Abraham Lincoln. 

The highway route originally included Foothill Boulevard in Oakland, but in 1928 shifted to San Pablo Avenue and University Avenue in Berkeley. It made its way to the Berkeley Pier where cross-country travelers could take a boat to their final destination of San Francisco. 

Harmon, who credits the Lincoln Highway founders with spurring the modern-day system of interstate highways, told the West Berkeley Lions Club Monday that a Depression-era Berkeley resident, David R. Lane, helped inspire his trip. 

Lane, once an Associated Press reporter, wrote a 1935 history of the thoroughfare titled “The Lincoln Highway: The Story of a Crusade That Made Transportation History.” 

In a 1998 trip to the Bay Area, while researching the highway, Harmon stumbled across an old copy of the book and found an engraving from Lane. 

Until then, the authorship of the book was in dispute. But Harmon tracked down Lane’s daughters, Phyllis Lane of Alameda and Edith Lane Turner of Berkeley, and found further evidence that the former AP reporter had penned the history. 

Inspired by the trip, he returned to Ohio, started the museum, and began to plan his cross-country journey. 

“If it wasn’t for Edith and Phyllis,” he said, “I wouldn’t be standing here today.” 

Turner is pleased with Harmon’s work. 

“I had all my father’s papers in the attic and I was beginning to wonder what I would do with them,” she said. 

Harmon is hoping to organize several celebrations in the coming years as the 2009 bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth approaches. Included is a re-enactment of the 1913 “sacred fire of liberty” ceremony, in which 300 communities along the highway lit bonfires to commemorate Lincoln. 

But Lincoln is not the only focus of Harmon’s trip. The curator, traveling in a 1964 Maxim fire truck, has spent much of his time the last two years in firehouses. After the Sept. 11 attacks, which claimed so many firefighters’ lives, Harmon took on another cause. 

“You couldn’t pretend it didn’t happen,” he said.  

Harmon began collecting helmets signed by firefighters across the country, and plans to present them to the New York Fire Department on the one-year anniversary of the attacks. 

But first, on Thursday, Harmon will celebrate the conclusion of his two-year journey with an event at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco – the official ending point of an old highway reaching for a place in history.  

To the Editor: 

Too bad Congresswoman Barbara Lee's “inner voice” didn't mention the separation of church and state. Her refusal to vote against the congressional condemnation of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on the Pledge of Allegiance was in no way “heroic.” 

Carol Denney 

Berkeley

LOS ANGELES – While progress has been made by the music, movie and video game industries in curtailing the marketing of violent content to teens, the Federal Trade Commission found more could be done. 

In the third follow-up to a 2000 report on violence in entertainment, the agency said Friday industry leaders could further refrain from advertising for violent movies and explicit-content music recordings in magazines and on television programs popular with teens. 

The commission found that film studios are doing a good job of complying with voluntary guidelines restricting the advertising of R-rated films before family movies in theaters. Hollywood is also better explaining to audiences why movies have been given restricted ratings. 

The industry has also, for the most part, complied with guidelines restricting the advertising of R-rated films in media where children under 17 make up more than 35 percent of the audience, the report found. 

But restricted movies are still being advertised on television shows and in magazines that appeal to a predominantly teen-age audience. 

For instance, the report found the R-rated “Resident Evil” was advertised during episodes of “Moesha,” “The Simpsons,” and “The Real World.” 

Similarly, ads for the R-rated “Training Day” aired during episodes of “Jamie Foxx” and “Family Guy.” 

The music industry got mixed reviews from the FTC. 

More ads for records containing explicit lyrics contained a parental advisory label, the commission found. 

But the industry continues to place ads for such records in media popular with teens, saying that unlike movie ratings, parental advisory warnings are not and should not be age-based. 

The video game industry similarly received praise for clearly marking games unsuitable for children with detailed warning labels. 

But the report faulted the industry for not going far enough to restrict ads in media popular with teens. 

Congress ordered the report in 2000 after becoming concerned about violent entertainment being marketed directly to young children and teens. But Congress has stopped short of calling for federal action that might curtail the entertainment industry’s First Amendment rights. 

In response to the FTC’s first report and congressional hearings, the entertainment industry adopted voluntary guidelines to disclose more information to parents and restrict marketing and advertising campaigns.

Parents protest proposed changes to bilingual program 

For the second consecutive week, parents of children in the programs taught in Spanish and English argued against combining third- and fourth-grade classes, or fourth- and fifth-grade classes to cut costs. 

Parents said the move would threaten the integrity of a program that works. 

“I understand you’re in this time of budget crisis,” Esfandiar Imani said at the school board meeting last week. “We need to focus on programs that have been successful and this is one.” 

The program exists at Rosa Parks, Cragmont and LeConte elementary schools. 

Superintendent Michele Lawrence said that no final decision has been made about the class combinations, but that the district is leaning toward third-fourth and fourth-fifth grade classes at Rosa Parks and Cragmont. There would be no class combinations at LeConte, she said. 

Officials are weighing the move. They say the bilingual classes are less cost efficient because the fourth and fifth grades have fewer students than regular education classes. 

Program supporters lamented the move but said it may be necessary. Board member Terry Doran said that he had failed in the early years of the program to foresee the budgetary dilemma emerged and the disruption that resulted. 

- David Scharfenberg 

Teachers gain time for planning 

at Willard Middle School 

The board endorsed a plan to lengthen class time at Willard Middle School on four days of the week next year while ending the school day early one day – Wednesday, so teachers can spend time on collaborative planning and staff development. 

“For me, it warms my heart, because staff has been trying to do this for 10 years, unsuccessfully,” said Doran, praising Willard principal Michele Patterson and the district administration for pulling the plan together. 

Lawrence said Willard will serve as a model for other schools in the district, particularly Berkeley High School, as it makes the transition to small schools in the fall of 2003. Collaborative teacher planning is a hallmark of the small schools model. 

- David Scharfenberg 

Oakland skipper dies after  

falling overboard in Sydney  

SYDNEY, Australia — The American skipper of a small yacht died of an apparent heart attack after falling into Sydney Harbor during a race, the sailing club in charge of the event said Monday. 

Peter Campbell of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia said Gary McPike, a 55-year-old from Oakland, Calif., who lived with his wife in Sydney, died Sunday after falling from his yacht, Joyride. 

Two crew members from another yacht dived into the harbor and hauled McPike, an experienced yachtsman, out of the water but they were unable to revive him. 

He was transferred to a water police boat and taken to shore, where an ambulance was waiting. He was pronounced dead a short time later. 

McPike was an authority on yachting rules and had been a national judge and umpire in the United States before moving to Sydney, Campbell said. 

McPike recently umpired at the Congressional Cup, one of the biggest yachting events in the United States, and had applied for status as an international judge and umpire. 

To the Editor: 

Unfortunately there are still a lot of people in the Western world who blame U.S. foreign policy for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It is important to understand that U.S. policy toward Islamic regimes is a consequence of Islamist ideology in Arab countries, and certainly not its cause. 95 percent of current conflicts on earth involve Islamists (e.g. Kosovo, Algeria, Philippines, etc). 

We should not consider ourselves responsible for the behavior of Islamic fundamentalists. The terrorist attacks on the U.S. soil didn't occur because of our own behavior but because of theirs, their education, indoctrination, fanatism, education, obscurantism, lack of human freedom, lack of freedom and justice for women, lack of pluralism, and lack of respect for other cultures and religions. The Taliban destroyed the Buddhas of Bamyan in Afganistan, not because of U.S. policy, but because of their deficit of respect for other cultures and religions. 

We have been hit because we do not believe in such restricted values that limit in a tremendous way human freedoms, and especially women’s rights. A camel is more valuable for Islamists than a woman whose only role is to deliver babies. How many women were killed because they went into a hairdresser or school, or even worse because they had been raped. We also need to understand the differences between Islam and Islamism. Islamism is a set of ideologies in Islam that apply the laws of Islam (Sharia) to its full extent. Fortunately most Muslims do not comply or accept this extreme practice of Islam. 

Will we stop believing in democracy, respecting pluralism and other religions, listening to music and watching movies, drinking alcohol, having sex, or enjoying our freedom just to please Islamist fundamentalists that apply the Sharria as delineated by the Koran? Should American men grow long beards and women wear a tchador to please them? Politics are an essential objective of Islam, the extension of which can only be done via territorial conquest. It is an 

obligation for Islam to conquer non islamic lands (Djihad) and to let non-Muslims decide between conversion or extermination. What a program. Or rather, what a pogrom... 

We should face the truth, not deny it, and each nation should back Israel and the United States in their fight against Islamic terrorism. A murderer who kills dozen of civilians in a bus, a restaurant, ian ice-cream parlor or a night club should not be compared to his innocent victims. He died because he is a murderer and it's morally wrong to consider him as a victim of his own crime. Fanatism and indoctrination made him become a homicide bomber, not despair. Plenty of desperate people all over the world, who also claim for for a state and for independence are not involved in such ignoble criminal acts (e.g. in Tibet and Kurdistan). 

Howard Oggman 

Berkeley

LOS ANGELES — Public pension funds across the country were stung by millions of dollars in losses from the recent debacles at Worldcom, Enron and other companies, but their managers say they have no immediate plans to change strategies. 

Those losses, while huge, represent a tiny portion of most funds’ well-diversified assets. But they show how even professional money managers were caught unaware of the fundamental problems underlying these once high-flying companies. 

Pension fund officials say there was no way they could have known that WorldCom, the nation’s second-largest long-distance telephone company, was hiding nearly $4 billion in expenses from the investing public. 

“We’re scrutinizing things closer than we might have,” said Gary Bruebaker, chief investment officer of the Washington State Investment Board. “The trouble is, all we can use is publicly available information.” 

Some experts argue that institutional investors must scrutinize more closely the information companies provide to them, as well as intensify their own research. 

“A good analyst has to go beyond what a company feeds them,” said Beth Young, a pension fund consultant in Takoma Park, Md. 

Professional money managers also need to be skeptical about “too good to be true” stories, she said. 

The California Public Employees Retirement System, the nation’s largest pension fund, said it has lost $235 million on WorldCom shares and about $330 million on WorldCom bonds — paper losses for now, since the shares haven’t been cashed in. That represents about 0.4 percent of the fund’s total assets of $150 billion. 

New York state’s pension fund, the nation’s second largest with assets of about $112 billion, suffered its biggest single loss in history through its WorldCom investment. The fund lost about $300 million on its holdings in the telecom giant, aides to state Comptroller H. Carl McCall said. 

The nation’s third largest pension fund, the California State Teachers Retirement System, estimates that it is looking at $99.4 million in losses on WorldCom stock and $9.2 million in losses on WorldCom bonds. 

That’s a fraction of the fund’s $100 billion portfolio. But it follows losses last fall on Enron investments of $47.5 million. 

The Florida State Board of Administration, which invests the state’s pension fund, said its losses in WorldCom are between $85 million and $90 million, about 0.1 percent of the $90 billion fund. It had taken a $300 million hit on Enron. 

The Washington State Investment Board, which manages $53 billion in assets, has lost $75 million in WorldCom bonds and stands to lose at least another $8.5 million in WorldCom stock, Bruebaker said. That’s on top of a $97.5 million loss on Enron stocks and bonds. 

From Oregon to South Carolina, fund officials say none of the losses will affect their ability to pay pensions. But that hasn’t stopped a flurry of calls from members who worry what impact WorldCom, Enron, Global Crossing and other disastrous investments will have on their benefits.

LOS ANGELES — For years, consumers and electronics manufacturers have had an unwritten agreement. 

Shoppers keep spending billions of dollars to upgrade their gadgetry, knowing their investments will quickly become outdated. 

In return, the makers of computers, TV accessories and audio devices keep innovating, bringing consumers greater value and selection. 

But widespread piracy in the music and film industries is threatening to short-circuit that arrangement. 

In an aggressive effort to protect their content, film studios and record labels have helped draft legislation that would require electronic equipment makers to build products that limit online distribution while preventing consumers from making multiple versions of copyrighted material. 

The technology industry is resisting Hollywood’s effort, which would likely result in a new generation of DVD players, computers and other products that would not work with some existing content or equipment. 

“If all of a sudden they pull a U-turn, it could be disastrous,” said Ravi Krishnaney, a San Francisco entrepreneur who has spent between $15,000 and $20,000 on his home entertainment system and has a library of about 200 movies on DVD.

SACRAMENTO — Another fiscal year, another California budget deadlock. 

The state began a new fiscal year Monday without a budget in place, the 14th time that has happened in the last 25 years. 

A new spending plan fell five votes short Sunday night in the Assembly as Republicans warned about a looming “fiscal train wreck” and Democrats accused the GOP of holding up the budget to try to defeat Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in November. 

“That’s what all this has been about: embarrassing the governor,” said Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles. “Holding up this budget is not about fiscal policy; it’s not about protecting taxpayers.” 

Davis, at a news conference after the vote, echoed Goldberg, accusing Republicans of proposing “totally bogus” budget cuts that wouldn’t be allowed by federal law and holding up the budget for political reasons. 

“They have no plan. They have no end game. They have no direction. Their only goal is to stall,” he said. 

The budget needed at least 54 votes, a two-thirds majority, to pass the 80-seat house. It got 49, all from Democrats. Twenty-six lawmakers, all Republicans, opposed it. 

The budget and a $3.6 billion tax increase needed to help balance it were approved by the 40-seat Senate on Saturday night as a lone Republican, Sen. Maurice Johannessen of Redding, joined all 26 Senate Democrats to vote for the bills. 

But Assembly Republicans refused to budge, complaining bitterly about the tax increases and contending that the state could erase a $23.6 billion budget deficit with more cuts. 

“You Democrats have had your imperial way with this state the last 3 1/2 years,” said Assemblyman Rod Pacheco, R-Riverside. “In exchange for citizens giving you this great unchecked control over their lives you repay them with this worthless trash.” 

Assemblyman Tony Strickland, R-Thousand Oaks, compared the state’s finances to the Titanic. “It’s not a revenue problem; it’s a spending problem,” he said, adding, “We’re on a sinking ship.” 

But Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, said the budget contained cuts for every program except education and reminded Republicans that a number of them voted for budgets that raised spending during Davis’ first years in office. 

“Republicans suggest additional cuts,” said Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. “Where are you going to cut? Education? Cut corrections? The Republicans have offered no creditable proposals for cuts of the magnitude you’re talking about.” 

State officials said there would be no immediate impact if a budget wasn’t in place by Monday, but a long budget deadlock could delay some spending, including payments to the businesses that supply the state with goods and services. 

Last year the budget wasn’t passed until July 22 and lawmakers have gone as late as Aug. 29 in recent years before passing a budget. 

The tax measure, which didn’t come up in the Assembly, would help erase the deficit in part by boosting vehicle license fees and cigarette taxes. 

Vehicle fees would more than double for one year, raising an extra $1.3 billion. For example, the license fee for a 2002 vehicle purchased for $33,000 would jump from $215 to $497. 

The measure would raise the cigarette tax, currently 87 cents a pack, to $1.50, generating an additional $650 million for the state treasury in the new fiscal year. 

Other provisions of the bill would suspend the teacher tax credit for a year, limit deductions large banks and other financial institutions can take to cover bad debts and suspend for two years the ability of businesses to deduct net operating losses.

SAN FRANCISCO — California joined most of the nation’s other states Monday in reporting new cases of HIV infection, an effort officials hope will help identify which demographic groups are suffering most from the virus. 

California’s system will differ from the 33 states that track HIV by reporting patients’ names. Instead, the system is similar to coding methods used in Maryland, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Vermont and Puerto Rico. 

California’s system, authorized by the Legislature in 2000, requires doctors and labs to report the last four digits of the patient’s Social Security number, their gender and date of birth. That information will be combined with sexual history and ethnicity and added to the statistics compiled by state health officials. 

Those tested anonymously at clinics will not be reported until they enter the health care system. 

California had been reluctant to track HIV infections because of privacy issues. Until Monday, full-blown AIDS cases were the only numbers reported, and names are used in that tracking. 

SAN DIEGO — A funny thing happens when you put an animal in a more natural setting. It acts naturally. 

When the San Diego Zoo used this advertising campaign a few years back to promote a new tiger exhibit, they led a nationwide zoo trend. 

Only now though, are zoos around the country are receiving the time, money and space to complete the projects that began more than 25 years ago. 

And San Diego is once again adding to the trend with another habitat, this time for the monkeys. They plan to finish the project by 2003, thanks to some recent grants and private donations. 

“Zoos in places like Baltimore and of course San Diego are putting mixed species in natural habitats,” said Jane Ballentine, spokeswoman for the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. “No longer are people seeing a jaguar in an iron cage. Now zoos show that he can climb trees and sleep up there.” 

In the last couple years, zoos in El Paso, Texas, Denver and San Francisco have received millions of dollars from voter-approved bond measures. Officials said this money is going toward placing their animals in natural habitats. 

“In 1995 we opened a new Asian section,” said El Paso Zoo spokesman Hector Montes. “This new bond issue will help build a section for African animals and will approximately double the size of the zoo.” A new marine mammal exhibit is also underway. 

Denver Zoo spokeswoman Angela Baier said a $62.5 million bond was passed in 1999, helping the zoo to raise part of a $125 million plan to start work on natural habitats. 

“We have many natural habitat exhibits already but we plan to revitalize all the exhibits and make them more lush and more naturalistic,” Baier said. “The exhibits will look like predator and prey are together, but they will actually be separated” by moats and walls and glass. 

Richard Lattis, the senior vice president at the Bronx Zoo in New York, said his zoo is always looking for ways to evolve. Tiger Mountain will open in 2003. 

“When we opened (in the late 1800s), there weren’t natural habitat exhibits,” said Lattis, who also is the director of living institutions for the Wildlife Conservation Society that oversees the zoos and aquarium in New York. “But over the years we have been moving toward fewer species in more natural settings. Most zoos are.” 

The move toward more natural habitats for zoo animals actually started in the late 1970s after researchers such as Jane Goodall discovered that chimpanzees and other animals live as families, not alone as researchers once believed. 

And where it was once thought that being able to hose down cement cells was best for the animal, researchers found it healthier for them to be placed in settings that simulated the African savannah, mountains and jungles. 

Alan Sironen, a mammal curator at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, said the Internet has also spurred this change. 

“People can search (the Internet) about these animals and see an animal at a watering hole in Africa,” he said. “So they want to see that at zoos, too. They don’t want to see them in cages.” 

San Diego Zoo spokesman Ted Molter agreed, adding that when he was growing up, his classmates made fun of him for knowing the 19 different kinds of penguins. 

“These days though, it’s not surprising that kids would know something like that,” Molter said, strolling proudly through the zoo. “With the Internet, kids can really make that connection. So it’s important that we are helping to educate even further at the zoo.” 

The move into natural habitats is also helping animals to reproduce and decrease boredom, said Patrick Janikowski, a Seattle architect who helped design Disney’s Wild Animal Kingdom, the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and the Los Angeles Zoo. 

“There has been a decrease in pacing,” Janikowski said. “And a mixed species environment adds to the enrichment of the animal’s life. Every zoo would like to do natural habitats. It’s money that is the problem.” 

Jon Coe, a zoo architect in Philadelphia who worked on natural habitats at zoos in Philadelphia, Detroit, and South Carolina, said he has seen the habitats change animal behavior. 

“The gorillas in the exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo had chronic diarrhea but once they were moved, that went away and their coats got better,” Coe said. 

Zoo experts acknowledge some drawbacks to natural habitats. For example, the more foliage, rocks and caves in exhibits, the more places there are for animals to hide. 

“The other is that tigers really like playing with balls. So do you give them a ball after you have spent all this money on their natural environment?” Lattis said. “But really, we are just looking at whatever we can do for the animal.” So zoos have compromised with the animals, designing toys that look like logs and rocks. 

Molter agreed, as he watched families scramble to spot two tiger cubs hiding behind a rock. 

“Sometimes, the animals want to get away and that’s good for them,” he said, his voice drowned out by the sound of waterfalls from a nearby exhibit. “They feel safe this way and that’s better for their mental and physical being.” 

In the meantime, a cub popped his head above the rock and the crowd laughed and cheered. 

“I think they know how good they have it,” Molter said. 

But it wasn’t clear if he was talking about the animals, or the people.

Police steal show at SF’s
27th annual Gay Parade 

With thunderous applause, police upstaged transvestites, Dykes on Bikes, patriotic bodybuilders, leather folks, San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, Grand Marshall Sir Ian McKellen and thousands of others marching in Sunday’s Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco. 

One police officer walked holding hands with a buff shirtless companion, as men and women in uniforms clearly proved to be the darlings of the day. 

More than one million spectators were estimated in attendance at the 27th annual parade, which was followed by a festival at San Francisco’s Civic Center, featuring live entertainment, dancing, arts and crafts and food vendors. The official theme: Be yourself, change the world.  

Less than a generation ago, police were often targets of scorn during gay pride celebrations, as marchers condemned police discrimination and violence. Not this year. 

The Bay Area’s gay community commemorated Officer Jon Cook, who two weeks ago became San Francisco’s first openly gay cop to die in the line of duty. Cook was killed in car crash while chasing a domestic violence suspect. 

A blaring police car siren following police officers whipped crowds into a cheering and clapping frenzy.  

No other group received as much applause as the cops, except maybe sheriff deputies and firefighters, though this may have been residual applause, as they marched directly behind the police contingent. 

In front of police, marchers advocating medical marijuana and legalization of marijuana hardly raised an eyebrow. The crowd barely reacted to the marijuana marchers, including those from Berkeley. 

This year’s marchers seemed more in the mood to celebrate than fight for equal rights compared to the vocal expressions of passion and angry protest signs characteristic of marches in the 1980s and 1990s. Though there were muffled cheers for groups advocating for civil union rights or same-sex marriage. 

As the parade has become more mainstream in recent years with corporate sponsors promoting the likes of alcohol and breath mints, public displays of nudity, bare breasts and bare-chest men have been less common sights. 

Mayor Brown said the parade and related events promoting diversity and sexual freedom is economically beneficial, generating more than $150 million in business for the city. 

Despite the abundant sunshine and balmy temperatures the mostly 20- and 30-something men and women mostly kept their shirts on, which surely disappointed voyeurs. 

Among the best dressed in the parade were colorfully-costumed gay Native Americans, Pacific Islanders and a handful of marching bands. Only about half the marchers dressed in parade costumes while politicians, political activists, AIDS groups wore regular street clothes. A few floats passed with dancers wearing nothing but Speedos, and one passed with buff bodies covered by skimpy shorts with American flag patterns, accompanied by red, white and blue tassels adorning their muscular legs. 

The biggest display of naughtiness marching in the parade this year was a giant two-headed penis, which stretched the length of about six cars and was held aloft by nine people. Other naughty revelers included a naked man seen parading past 555 Market St. and a few female marchers with the Extra Action Marching Band wearing dildos strapped over their costumes. 

To the Editor: 

The city’s elected officials and staff members, as well as its commissions, boards and agencies, conduct the people’s business. The people do not cede to these individuals and entities the right to decide what their constituents should know about the operations of local government. 

That’s what the San Francisco Sunshine ordinance says. And the same goes for Berkeley. Government business is our business, and it invariably works better and more equitably when its operations are open to public view. 

Yet many of us – reporters, commissioners and other citizens – have been thwarted when we’ve tried to gather information from, and gain timely access to, the city government and school administration. The Berkeley Citizens Sunshine Coalition wants to know if you’re getting all the information you need to fulfill your role in government, or if your attempts to gain access have been stymied... and if so, how. We invite your specific suggestions for better communication to and from government. We also want to know where Berkeley is doing a good job in keeping its citizens informed on and involved in the operations of government. 

Please visit us at Berkeley Citizens Sunshine Coalition, 2887 College Ave. #338, Berkeley, CA 94705-2154; or e-mail your comments to our open “bulletin board” at B–Sunshine@yahoogroups.com or our more private mailbox at Berkeleysunshine@yahoo. 

com. 

Berkeley Citizens 

Sunshine Coalition

Monday, July 1

“Children of AIDS” film 

6:30 p.m.  

Mama Bears Bookstore and Coffee house, 6536 Telegraph Avenue  

Presented by the National Organization for Women  

549-2970, 287-8948  

Free 

What You Need to Know Before you Remodel 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Building Education Center, 812 Page St. 

Discussion by builder Glen Kitzenberger 

525-7610 

Free 

Tuesday, July 2

Adopt A Special Kid (AASK) 

7 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

7700 Edgewater Drive, suite 320, Oakland 

A workshop for singles or couples, gay and lesbian, experienced or older parents, interested in adoption. 

(510) 533-1747, ext. 12, or www.adoptaspecialkid.org 

Free 

Wednesday, July 3

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil 

6:30 p.m. 

BART Station, Shattuck & Center 

Weekly candle-lit vigil and peace walk to raise 

awareness and gather support for opposition to the 'war on terrorism' 

vigil4peace@yahoo.com, (510) 528-9217 

Thursday, July 4

Volunteers Needed for East Bay Habitat for Humanity  

Independence Day Build-A-Thon: July 4-7 

is seeking volunteers for the ! We will be framing 6 homes in 4 days over the Fourth of July weekend.  

251-6304.  

Pancake Breakfast 

9 to 11 a.m. 

The Berkshire, 2235 Sacramento St. 

Red, white and blue pancakes. 

841-4844 

Donations to local food back appreciated 

Saturday, July 6

Capoeira Batizado 

2-6 p.m.  

Capoeira Arts Cafe, 2026 Addison, Berkeley 

A celebration of Capoeira with performances by local arts organization. 

For more information: (510) 666-1255, www.capoeiraarts.com 

Free 

The Great Rummage Sale 

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, 2700 Ninth Street (at Carleton) in Berkeley 

Warehouse full of household items, books, records, clothing, furniture, and lots more at great prices. All proceeds go to support of our shelter. 

845-7735 

Saturday, July 6- Sunday, July 21

Marin Classic Theatre presents "Born Yesterday" 

8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sunday matinees; 7 p.m. Sundays 

A bittersweet comedy by Garson Kanin. 

For more information: (415) 892-8551, www.MCTheatre.com 

$18 evening performances, $15 matinees 

Monday, July 8

Berkeley Gray Panthers Home Owners Meeting Monday, July 8th, 2002 at 

3 p.m.  

Berkeley Gray Panthers Office,1403 Addison Street-behind University Avenue Andronico’s Super Market. 

Laurie Capitelli of Red Oak Realty runs down the options of selling homes 

548-9696 or 486-8010 

Free 

Introduction to Accessible Software and Hardware  

6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library Electronic Classroom, 2090 Kittredge Street 

RSVP to 981-6121- Alan Bern, Special Services Coordinator 

Tuesday, July 9

Mother’s Morning Out 

10:30 to12 p.m. 

Upaya Center for Wellbeing, 478 Santa Clara Ave. 

Craniosacral Therapy for Infants and Children 

www.upayacenter.org 

Free 

Thursday, July 11

Great Sierra Backpacking Destinations 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo  

Karen Najarian of Sierra Wilderness Seminars presents slides from her more that 20 years exploring the Sierra Backcountry. 

For more information: (510) 527-4140 

Free 

What Do You Believe? Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers 

6:30 to 8:00 p.m. 

Ellen Driscoll Playhouse, 325 Highland Avenue, Piedmont  

Film presented by Piedmont diversity groups; discussion with filmmaker, Sarah Feinbloom.  

655-5552, or maudep@aol.com 

Free 

Friday, July 12

Celebration of Emma Goldman's Birthday  

8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. 

Fellowship of Humanity Hall, 390 27th St  

An all-ages, alcohol-free party with live music, DJ, and dance lessons 

http://www.ebcaw.org  

$5?$10 sliding scale  

Saturday, July 13

Peach / Stone Fruit Tasting 

Tasting & cooking demonstrations 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Free 

15th Anniversary Derby Street Farmers Market 

Live music and & stone-fruit and peach tasting 

Tasting & cooking demonstrations. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Derby Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way  

Free 

Festival of New Versions of Classic Asian Games 

noon to 5 p.m 

Dr  

Comics and Mr Games, 4014 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland  

Dr Comics and Mr Games Hosts Game a festival featuring two new versions of classic Asian board games 

(510) 601-7800 

Sunday, July 14

Hands-on Bicycle Repair  

11 a.m.-12 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Learn from an REI bike technician basic bike repairs such as brake adjustments and fixing a flat. 

For more information: (510) 527-4140 

Free 

Family Health Day 

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

4th and University Ave. 

Explore health concerns in a family oriented environment 

Free 

Tuesday, July 16

Berkeley Camera Club Weekly Meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share slides, prints with other photographers 

(510) 525-3565 

Free 

Introduction to Accessible Software and Hardware  

10:30 a.m. to noon 

Berkeley Public Library Electronic Classroom, 2090 Kittredge Street 

RSVP to 981-6121- Alan Bern, Special Services Coordinator 

Wedneday, July 17

Doctors Without Borders 

(Through July 18) 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

UC Berkeley, Springer Gateway, West Entrance Crescent 

Interactive exhibit expalining medicines for people in developing countries; Film screenings 

www.doctorswithoutborders.org 

Free 

Thursday, July 18

Mystique of the Widerness 

7 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Phil Arnot presents slides from over 50 years of exploring such places as Alaska, New Zealand, the Sierra and the Rockies. 

For more information: (510) 527-4140 

Introduction to Accessible Software and Hardware  

3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library Electronic Classroom, 2090 Kittredge Street 

RSVP to 981-6121- Alan Bern, Special Services Coordinator 

Saturday, July 20

Emergency Preparedness Classes in Berkeley 

Earthquake Retrofitting: Learn how to strengthen your wood frame home. 

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

812 Page Street 

981-5605 

Free 

Thursday, July 25

California Landscapes: A Geologist's Perspective 

7 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

John Karachewski presents an educational slideshw on such amazing places as the Sierra Nevada, Coast Ranges the Great Valley and Cascades 

For more information: (510) 527- 4140. 

Free 

Saturday, July 27

Test Ride Kestrel Bicycles 

11 a.m.-1 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Preston Sandusky of Kestrel, a premier manufacturer of high-end, carbon-fiber road and mountain bikes, intrduces their latest design. 

For more information: (510) 527-4140 

Free 

"Neon: The Living Flame" 

7:00 p.m.  

Alameda Museum, 2324 Alameda Ave  

The Alameda Museum presents Michael Crowe, author, and neon artist Karl Hauser; Lecture by Michael Crowe 

748-0796 or 841-8489.  

Members free, non-members $5  

Sunday, July 28 

Hands-on Bicycle Repair  

11 a.m.-12 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Learn from an REI bike techician basic repairs such as brake adjustments and fixing a flat. 

For more information: (510) 527-4140 

Free 

ednesday, July 31

Mountain Adventure Seminars: Introduction to Rock Climbing 

7 p.m.-9 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

An introduction to rockclimbing including knot tieing, belaying and movement. 

For more information: (209) 753-6556 

$115 REI members; $125 non-members 

Saturday, August 3

Mountain Adventure Seminars: Introduction to Rock Climbing 

8 a.m.-3 p.m. 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

An introduction to rockclimbing including knot tieing, belaying and movement. 

For more information: (209) 753-6556 

$115 REI members; $125 non-members 

Saturday, August 10

Tomato Tastings 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

Center Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way 

Tastings and cooking demonstrations  

Free 

Sunday, August 11

Hands-on Bicycle Repair 

11 a.m.-12 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Learn from an REI bike technician basic repairs such as brake adjustments and fixing a flat. 

For more information: (510) 527-4140 

Free 

West Berkeley arts Festival 

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

4th and University Ave. 

Explore the many resident artists located in Berkeley 

Free. 

Tuesday, August 13

Tomato Tasting 

Tasting & cooking demonstrations 

Berkeley Farmers' Market 

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Derby Street at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way  

Free 

Berkeley Camera Club Weekly Meeting 

7:30 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda 

Share slides, prints with other photographers 

(510) 525-3565 

Free 

Sunday, August 18

Hands-on Bicycle Repair 

11 a.m.-12 

REI Berkeley, 1338 San Pablo 

Learn from an REI bike technician basic repairs such as braqke adjustment and fixing a flat. 

For more information: (510) 527-7470

Superstar scores twice to tie Pele’s mark,
erase bad memories of ‘98 Final loss 

YOKOHAMA, Japan – The World Cup of upsets and upstarts ended with a fitting champion and a rejuvenated superstar. 

Ronaldo scored both goals to lead Brazil to a 2-0 victory over Germany on Sunday for the team’s record fifth title, capping a superb tournament that helped erase bad memories of his knee injuries and the team’s 1998 World Cup final. 

“Today we lived a beautiful dream,” he said. 

The Brazilians won with a style and artistry reminiscent of their past champions and overcame the cool efficiency of the Germans, who were undone by a blunder from the world’s best goalkeeper, Oliver Kahn. 

Brazil, just months ago considered one of the weakest teams ever from the country, went 7-0 in the world’s most popular sporting event, playing in the final for the third straight time. 

Appropriately, the greatest of all Brazilian players, Pele, handed over the golden World Cup trophy to captain Cafu as fireworks and streamers flew from a stage on the field and teammates bounced up and down in a sea of silver confetti. 

Pele then hugged and kissed Ronaldo, who tied his national record of 12 goals by scoring eight times in this tournament — the most in a World Cup since 1970. 

Thousands of flashbulbs went off as the first World Cup in Asia ended in a much more satisfying way for Brazil and Ronaldo than in ’98, when he was ill before the game and played poorly in a 3-0 loss to host France. 

“Everything changes,” Ronaldo said through tears. “People said Brazilian soccer was decadent and in crisis. But this will prove that Brazil’s soccer is alive.” 

Alive and beautiful, as it was for the champions of 1958, ’62, ’70 and ’94. This team wasn’t supposed to be as strong or graceful or cunning as those. But it was every bit as successful in its first World Cup meeting with Germany. 

And Brazil certainly celebrated in classic Brazilian style. 

At the final whistle, every Brazilian player ran onto the field carrying a flag or draped in one. Goalkeeper Marcos, who outplayed Kahn, kneeled in the net, his body covered with his country’s green, blue and gold flag, as coach Luiz Felipe Scolari ran to hug him. 

With a sign in Portuguese saying, “People of Brazil, thank you for the affection,” players paraded before an ecstatic crowd that chanted “Penatcampeao” (five-time champion) while it did the samba in the stands. 

Each member of the Brazilian contingent held hands and gathered in a circle in the middle of the field just before Cafu accepted the trophy. 

“We did not have a debt, but we are free now of the weight on our consciences,” Ronaldo said. 

That weight now might fall on Kahn, the best goalkeeper of the tournament until he made an egregious error in the 67th minute.The Germans actually were controlling play, looking as adventurous as Brazil, until Ronaldo struck. 

He stole the ball from Dietmar Hamann and fed his attacking partner, Rivaldo. The hard left-footed shot was stopped by Kahn, who was impenetrable for nearly the entire month, allowing just one previous goal. 

But the ball ricocheted off Kahn’s arms directly to Ronaldo, who touched it home with his right foot. 

“Of course, it’s bitter when you make a mistake in the final,” Kahn said. “I think it was the only mistake in the tournament, and it was bitterly punished — it’s 10 times as bitter. 

“There’s no consolation, but we have to go on.” 

Ronaldo got another goal 12 minutes after his first, one featuring that special Brazilian magic. Rivaldo cleverly allowed Kleberson’s pass to roll through his legs directly to Ronaldo just inside the penalty area. He right-footed a low shot that a sprawling Kahn could not reach. 

“Today God reserved this for me and the Brazilian team,” Ronaldo said. “I’m very happy and proud. I dedicate these goals to my family and to Dr. Gerard Saillant.” 

Saillant is the French doctor who performed surgery on his knee, saving the career of the 25-year-old striker. 

The victory set off wild celebrations in Brazil, where the sounds of car horns, plastic trumpets and fireworks filled the air. Thousands of beach-goers danced in their bathing suits and yellow Brazil jerseys to the music of Samba drums before a giant-screen TV up on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach. 

Many fans in Germany were devastated. They hoped this team, which no one expected much from before the tournament, could end its surprising run with a fourth World Cup championship. 

In Berlin, as a crowd of 3,000 filed away from Potsdamer Platz, many fans remained in front of a large screen TV, holding their faces and crying after the final whistle blew. 

During a tournament highlighted by upsets from the very beginning, when Senegal beat defending champion France in the opener, the Brazilians never faltered. 

While such favorites as France, Argentina and Portugal went home early, and South Korea, Turkey — even the United States — was making its mark, Brazil ignored it all. 

“They have these incredible individual skills,” Germany coach Rudi Voeller said. “They are so strong one-on-one. 

“They are worthy world champions. They showed it today and in other games as well.” 

They showed it with flair, particularly from the “Three Rs,” with midfielder Ronaldinho returning from suspension to spice the attack that Ronaldo finished off. 

They did it with defense, particularly from Edmilson, who made a brilliant block of Jens Jeremies’ header early in the second half. 

They did it with Marcos, who had four shutouts and was unbeatable. His best work Sunday came on Oliver Neuville’s blistering free kick he barely tipped off the goalpost and out of play. 

And they did it for Brazil. 

“The secret is enthusiasm, friendship, union and sacrifice,” Scolari said. “We had to revive the image of a victorious Brazil.”

The scene was reminiscent of the final out of the World Series or the last seconds of the Super Bowl. Not that anyone mistook the San Francisco Fog Rugby Club for the Yankees or the Raiders, but the pride and exhilaration shared by players and fans Saturday at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco were genuinely big league. 

When the final whistle blew, ending the inaugural Mark Bingham Invitational Rugby Tournament, the victorious Fog embraced each other in triumph. 

They were a battered band, sporting black eyes and bloody noses, and one of seven predominantly gay rugby teams from the United States and England participating in the weekend play. 

When the cameras stopped flashing, the players, called ruggers, hobbled around on bruised legs and took turns hoisting and drinking Guinness from the freshly minted Mark Bingham Cup. 

The San Francisco Fog, one of five American Gay Rugby Clubs, was Mark Bingham’s last team, and in many ways, they and the tournament they held in his honor are a living testament to him. 

On Sept. 11, Bingham was a passenger aboard United Flight 93. The plane was hijacked by terrorists and crashed in rural Pennsylvania. Many believe Bingham was one of the passengers who fought the terrorists, ultimately preventing the passenger jet from hitting an intentional target. 

Bingham, owned a San Francisco public relations firm. He was working on opening a New York City office, which was why he was on the flight from Newark, NJ to San Francisco. 

Bingham’s teammates remember him as a kindhearted, gregarious man. But, to anyone who watched Saturday’s tournament, it was Bingham’s passion for Rugby, starting on three collegiate national championship teams at UC Berkeley, which will be his greatest legacy.  

Rugby is barely a blip on the U.S. sports scene. Most sports fans know it only as a rugged foreign game, in which combatants, usually endowed with 20-inch necks and tree-trunk size legs barrel into each other at full speed without the slightest bit of padding. 

But for Bingham, the competition and the camaraderie on the Rugby field, called a pitch, gave him confidence and comfort to be himself.  

When his friend, Derrick Mickle formed the Fog in 2000, Bingham withdrew from his more competitive team to work with the new club, the majority of whose members had never played Rugby or any other team sport before. 

The Fog now has more than 70 members, and since the publicity surrounding Bingham’s death last September, three new gay Rugby teams have formed, in Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York. Across the country, gay ruggers are finding in rugby the same joy and sense of belonging that Bingham cherished. 

“Gay men have always wanted to be athletes, but they never felt welcome. These teams allow them to be comfortable as athletes and gay men,” said Mickle. 

For Jason Rosado, who has been with the Fog for about a year, his rugby experience has been inspiring. “I’ve never been with a greater group of guys,” he said. “The sense of camaraderie we have is amazing. I’ve never experienced it in any other sport.” 

For experienced players, the gay-friendly teams have encouraged them to return to competitive play, or like Bingham, leave their straight club. 

“A lot of us felt we could never truly be ourselves on straight teams,”said Scott Glassgen, founder of the New York club. “I played for straight teams, but I could never say to them ‘this is my boyfriend.’”  

Russell Jaszewski, a rugger for the Manchester Spartans, which along with the Kings Cross Steelers traveled from England for the tournament, says the situation is identical across the Atlantic. “There’s a huge difference,” said Jaszewski, who recently joined the Spartans after playing for a traditional team in Scotland. “It’s so much nicer to be yourself on a gay team.” 

Gay people aren’t the only ones who have felt welcome on the clubs. All of the seven teams in the tournament had some straight members, who prefer the cooperative spirit that thrives on the teams.  

The Fog’s, Derrick Kundargi, is straight and played rugby in high school and college, but said he got burnt out on the “macho stuff.” “It wasn’t the vibe I wanted,” he said. “The Fog is more about support than putting someone down to win.”  

In the United States, each geographical region has a rugby league. The Fog play in the Northern California Rugby Football Union, and like the other predominantly gay teams, their opponents are all straight teams within their region. 

To a man, the ruggers attest that the togetherness they enjoy on their clubs has been matched by the acceptance they have received from the their opponents. 

“I don’t know why it is that rugby has a unique culture, but as soon as it’s all over we’re mates,” said Cameron Geddes, the Fog’s captain and graduate student at UC Berkeley. 

Part of rugby’s culture includes a tradition that home team takes the guests to the pub of their choice for drinks and singing rugby songs. According to Brian Stansberry of the Washington Renegades, the first U.S. gay rugby team, the postgame partying has resulted in amusing and positive experiences for everybody involved. 

“Washington DC is still a fairly conservative town, so for a lot guys, we’re taking them to their first gay bar. On the flip side, they take us to places we probably wouldn’t ever go on our own, but it’s always a great time.” 

For the ruggers that played in the Bingham tournament, the camaraderie and sense of belonging they have gained from the game is important, but it is their competitive drive that motivates them, as evidenced in the Fog’s final huddle before their championship match against the Kings Cross Steelers of London Saturday. 

“This is the world cup final. Nothing matters but the next forty minutes,” shouted Gettes.  

The Fog went out and played like champions, dominating play, and outscoring their opponents five tries to one.  

When the game was over, the players’ focus shifted back to their teammate. They celebrated with Bingham’s mother Alice Hoglin, lifting her onto their shoulders, and chanting her name.  

“Mark was such an inspiration for the guys on this team,” Mickle said. 

Hoglin was touched by the outporing of emotion for her and Mark. 

“I’m so proud that my son was the inspiration for this,” she said. “I really think Mark’s spirit is here today.” 

To the Editor: 

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. Americans should applaud this responsible decision. The court found that the reciting of the pledge by teachers and students “amounts to a government endorsement of religion,” going so far as to compare the phrase “under God” with “under Zeus.”  

Bravo.  

The reaction to this ruling is further proof that we need to end prejudice of all types in this country. Offending pantheists or atheists, while not seen or heard much, still have their rights. While the court continues to make good rulings, extremists, yes extremist come in all color/sizes/religions, try to deny the rights of all. 

Time to mean what we say in the Constitution. 

Barry Hoffman 

San Francisco

Garden party honors
late environmentalist 

If Berkeley native David Brower’s message was to reclaim the earth through common action, then the late conservationist’s soul was appeased on Saturday. 

At a day-long event honoring Brower’s legacy, two community gardens on Sacramento Street in southwest Berkeley became gathering places for residents of all ages to have a healthy lunch, get their faces painted, learn how bees make honey, and most importantly, plant a crop of vegetables that will find its way to local dinner tables this fall. 

Billed as the 2nd Annual Brower Day by the Brower-formed Earth Island Institute, the day’s co-sponsor was Strong Roots, a decade-old organization that encourages youth to get their hands dirty– in the garden.  

Brower died in October of 2000 at the age of 88, and with the exception of his granddaughter Rosemary, who was helping local beekeeper Khaled Almaghafi sell some honey Saturday, not many at the event knew the man. Most, though, had heard of him, and some, like Sherri Crighton of Martinez, came quite a distance to pay tribute. Along with her 20-month-old son, Nolan, Crighton was watering a new row of tomato plants that had been planted just that morning. 

Representing Brower’s generation was Berkeley Vice-Mayor Maudelle Shirek, 91, long-time activist and political representative in southwest Berkeley. However, Shirek refused to speak as a politician on this day. Donning a simple straw hat, Shirek told the Daily Planet, “I’m just a farmer.” 

She proceeded to talk at some length about her childhood growing up on an Arkansas farm, and smiled when recounting the vegetables and fruits that were raised by her family: peas, butter beans, peaches, apples, plums, berries and the like. 

“It’s very helpful (for these children) to be connected to the earth. That’s what’s missing now,” she said.  

Reinforcing Shirek’s statements about the positive impact of the garden on the locals, Strong Roots’ Shyaam Shabaka said, “before we started here, this land had two and a half tons of glass and garbage on it. Today we are planting tomatoes, peppers, corn, mustard and collard greens, turnips. The house just across the street a few years ago was the worst crack house in the neighborhood, where two people got killed and one person was shot 10 times.” 

The land was donated to Strong Roots by local resident Bill Beasley. 

Shabaka says the garden has helped “turn the community around” and that one of the young people who once worked with Strong Roots now has a civil engineering degree from UCLA. 

The fruits of the first harvest will go to a willing audience. “Most of what we grow here will be donated to the New Light Senior Center and other senior centers, who can appreciate fresh organic vegetables,” said Shabaka. Shabaka is working on developing a similar project with the Earth Island Institute in Richmond. 

Neighbors Michele Morgan and Joseph Camacho, who moved to Woolsey 

Street just three years ago, lent their hands at making home-made ice cream. They, too, noted the impact of Strong Roots youth team on the once-vacant lot. 

“It’s fascinating to do this in honor of a ‘conservation celebrity,” said Morgan. “There was nothing here before.” 

A strong sun shone on plants and planters alike as the day progressed. Lunch plates were put down and the bending, digging, planting and watering began in earnest. 

Oakland resident Raul Garcia, who came to Strong Roots via the East Bay Conservation Corps, forced a smile and said, “It will be a long hot summer, but it’s worth it. It’s fun and I enjoy doing it.” 

If David Brower was looking down on the day’s events, no doubt he was smiling, too.