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Remembering war, On the brink

By Matthew Artz Daily Planet Staff
Monday November 11, 2002

With war looming in Iraq this Veterans Day, local veterans attending a commemoration in Albany expressed solidarity with American troops stationed in the Middle East but were skeptical about the mission they might be assigned. 

“I’m not enthused about [possible war with Iraq],” said Carl, a veteran of Korea and Vietnam who did not give his last name. He feared that a U.S. attack might lead to a regional war. 

Don Diani, who fought in Korea, said he would support President Bush’s decision, but hopes the president will do his best to avert an armed conflict. “Certainly we don’t want to see more kids go to war. I’m praying that it doesn’t happen and we can solve this verbally,” he said. 

Carl and Diani were among 10 veterans and about 15 residents and city officials who attended Albany’s third annual Veteran’s Day Celebration at the Albany Veterans Building Sunday. 

 

Although attendance was low, spirits were high. The Albany Jazz Band played classic marching tunes that had most of the veterans tapping their feet and a couple singing and marching in place. 

“This is very nice. Everyone here is very respectful” said Diani, who grew up in the East Bay and is now a coach for Saint Mary’s High School baseball team. 

Veterans who spoke at the commemoration sounded a somber note. “I will always remember my comrades,” said Gus Luty of Albany Post 2658 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). “They were my friends and my buddies and I will remember them forever.” 

Most of the veterans at the ceremony were members of both the VFW and the Post 292 of the American Legion. They meet several times a month and are good friends. 

Carl said that despite their common bond, they rarely trade battle stories because the experiences of soldiers in World War II, Korea and Vietnam were so different. Instead they prefer to share humorous tales about the rigors of military life that are more universally experienced. 

As an example, he mentioned the many empty promises of receiving a warm meal while fighting on the front lines during the cold North Korean winter. 

Today Berkeley will honor its veterans with a 9 a.m. ceremony at Civic Center Park. San Leandro will host a Veterans Day Parade at 10 a.m., and the Emeryville Rotary Club will host a lecture at the Holiday Inn on Powell Street by Capt. John Lindford, a retired Air Force pilot. 

 

Contact reporter at  

matt@berkeleydailyplanet.net


Calendar

Monday November 11, 2002

Tuesday, Nov. 12 

Holiday Craft Baazar 

10 a.m. to noon 

St. John’s Presbyterian Curch, 2727 College Ave. 

Handmade items, sweet treats, and knick knacks will be for sale. All are welcome 

845-6830 

 

“Garbage and Globalization: Victories in the Fight Against Corporate Polluters” 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 

Inspiring talk on corporate accountability and environmental justice in the Philippines, Asia, and around the world 

548-2220 x233 

Free 

 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers 

9:30 a.m. 

Meet at Little Farm parking lot, Tilden Regional Park 

Join seniors and other slower walkers and enjoy the beauty of Tilden Park 

Contact Yvette Hoffner at 215-7672 or teachme88@yahoo.com  

 

Wednesday, Nov. 13 

League of Women Voters Meeting 

Noon 

LWVBAE office, 1414 University Ave. 

Discussion will focus on regional issues 

849-2154 

 

Thursday, Nov. 14 

Unitarian Univeralist Meeting Featuring Professor Michael Nagler on Peace 

12:45 p.m. 

UC Berkeley Faculty Club  

Professor Nagler, author and founder of UC Berkeley’s Peace and Conflict Studies Program, speaks on non-violent approaches to current events. Open to all 

For more information call (925)376-9000 

Free 

 

The Drug Resource Center-UC Berkeley 

6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Open House 

300B Eshleman Hall (on Bancroft) 

7;30 to 10:00 p.m., Celebration 

LaVal’s Pizza, 2156 Durant Ave 

Inaugural Event followed by an evening of food and fun, during which speakers will how the center will benifit the community. 

 

 

Berkeley Path Wanderers Meeting 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. 

Meeting to include a presentation by best- selling author Adah Bakalinsky who will speak about her book, “Stairway Walks of San Francisco” 

Free 

 

Grandparent Support Group 

10 to 11:30 a.m. 

Malcolm X Elementary School, 1731 Prince St. Room 105 A 

Support group facilitated by Marjorie Holloway LCSW for Kinship Caregivers and others 

644-6517 

Free 

 

Friday, Nov. 15 

“Imagining A World Without Prison” Opening Night Benefit 

8 p.m. to 1 a.m. 

Black Box, 1928 Telegraph Ave. 

The Prison Activist Resource Center events features dynamic speakers, music, art, and food. The exhibit, which features writing and artwork from prisoners, former prisoners, and family members of prisoners, runs Nov. 10 to 30  

For more information call 893-4648 or visit www.prisonactivist.org 

$5- $25 sliding scale 

 

 

Berkeley Free Folk Festival Meting 

4 p.m. 

2180 Milvia Way, 5th Floor, Red Bud Room 

Discuss final site location, date of 2003 festival, and volunteers 

649-1423, hlih@yahoo.com 

Free 

 

Saturday, Nov. 16 

Latina Leadership Conference 

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

UC Berkeley Campus 

Lambda Theta Nu Sorority Inc. will provide non-college bound Latinas information about options in higher education and tackle the high drop out rate of Latina girls  

Free 

 

Magic School Bus Video Festival 

10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

Lawrence Hall of Science, Centennial Drive-above UC Campus, below Grizzly Peak Blvd. 

www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

 

Puppet Show at the Hall of Health 

1:30 to 2:30 p.m. 

2230 Shattuck Ave, lower level 

Al children adn their parents are invited to see the award-winning puppet troupe, The Kids on the Block 

549-1564 

Suggested donation $2/ children under three free 

 

The First Ever Integrative Medicine Conference in Berkeley 

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

2060 Valley Life Science Building at the UC Berkeley campus 

Interactive day of speakers and workshops exploring alternative, complementary, and integrative medicine as a whole 

For information or reservations see www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~sim/conference 

$5 with pre-registration 

 

Sunday, Nov. 17 

17th Annual Jewish Genealogy Workshop 

12:30 to 4 p.m. 

Berkeley-Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 

Lectures and specialty sessions included 

Info at www.jewishgen.org/sfbajgs 

$5 for non-members 

 

Simplicity Forum 

7 to 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, Claremont Branch, 2940 Benvenue Ave. 

cecile@simplicitycircles.com 

Free 

 

Monday, Nov. 18 

Community Meeting 

6 to 8 p.m. 

Berkeley Alternative High School, 2107 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Led by the Superintendent, this discussion aims to serve as a collaboration towards establishing a long-term planning process 

R.S.V.P. to Queen Graham  

644-87649 

 

Women and Welfare Reform: Who Benefits and Who Loses? 

5 to 6:30 p.m. 

Women’s Faculty Club Lounge, UCB 

Lecture featuring Mimi Abramowitz of CUNY’s Hunter College 

 

Struggles for Racial Justice in Education 

4:30 to 6:30 p.m. 

Oakland Technical High School Library, 45th and Broadway, Oakland 

The Peace and Justice Caucus of the Oakland Education Association sponsors this event, which addresses race, youth, and education through a variety of community speakers 

654-8613 or jzern1@yahoo.com 

 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 19 

Concensus Unit: State Community College Study 

10:30 a.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch 

Community Room 

Shattuck Ave. and Kittredge 

Sponsored by the Berkeley League of Women Voters 

549-9719 

 

History and Planting of Golden Gate Park 

1 p.m. business meeting, 2 p.m. program 

Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. 

The Berkeley Garden Club presents Ernest Ng, volunteer city guide, who will speak about the history and planting of San Francisco’s historic park 

524-4374 

 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers 

9:30 a.m. 

Meet at Little Farm parking lot, Tilden Regional Park 

Join seniors and other slower walkers and enjoy the beauty of Tilden Park 

Contact Yvette Hoffner at 215-7672 or teachme88@yahoo.com 

 

Berkeley Intelligent Conversation 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Berkeley-Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St.  

Join the bimonthly discussion group informally led by fomer UC Berkeley extension lecturer, investment advisor and finncial planner Robert Berend. Open to all. Please bring light snacks or drinks to share. This session’s topic: To be determined by those present 

527-5332 

Free 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 20 

Mental Health Commission 

6:30 p.m. 

2640 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Auditorium 

981-5270 

 

“Deep Healing Sleep” 

6:30 to 7:30 p/m/ 

Pharmaca, 1744 Solano Ave. 

Stress management expert, author, and Oregonian Nancy Hopps leads this integrative session 

527-8929 

Free 

 

Berkeley Gray Panthers General Meeting 

1:30 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. at MLK 

Covering the Nuts and Bolts of Senior Health and Safety, with guest speakers 

548-9696 

 

Thursday, Nov. 21 

Workshop for Homeowners 

6 to 8 p.m. 

Learn how to lower your utility bills and use building materials that are healthier for your family and the environment at a free green building workshop 

Free 

 

Simplicity Forum 

7 to 8:30 p.m. 

Claremont Branch Library, 2940 Benvenue Ave. 

Kerrie Hein explores spirituality, life purpose, and simplicity in this discussion session. Open to all 

549-3509 or www.simpleliving.net 

Free 

 

“Green Building and Remodeling” 

6 to 8 p.m. 

Building Education Center, 812 Page St. 

Special fall seminar with architect Greg Van Mechelen and the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and Recylcing Board 

525-7610 

Free 

 

Monday, Nov. 11 

Renegade Sidemen 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

Featuring Calving Keyes 

$4 

 

Greatdul Dead DJ Nite 

10 p.m. to 2 a.m. 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

525-5054 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 12 

Open Mike with Ellen Hoffman Trio 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

$4 

 

Tom Rigney & Flameau 

7:30 p.m. doors open, 8 p.m. dance lessons with Patti Whitehurst, 8:30 p.m. show 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Violinist-fiddler-composer Tom “Rigo” Rigney’s East Bay quintet Flambeau play traditional Cajun and zydeco two-steps and waltzes, low-down-blues, and New Orleans R&B 

525-5054 

$8 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 13 

Classical Piano Concert 

1:15 p.m. 

North Bekeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. at MLK 

Solange Buillaume will be playing Beethoven, Bach and other cassical works 

Free  

 

John Wesley Harding 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

Harding’s biting social commentary and outrageous humor blend seamlessly with his warm, personal songs. 

548-1761 

$15.50-$16.50 

 

Jimmy Ryan Jazz Quartet 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

$4 

 

Brenda Boykin & Home Cookin’ 

7:30 p,m. doors, 8 p.m. swing dance lessons w/ Nick & Shanna, 9 p.m. show 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

East Bay belter Boykin and her band Home Cookin’ purvey a West Coast Swing dance style she calls Afrobilly Soul Stew-also the name of the band’s second CD. 

525-5054 

$8 

 

Thursday, Nov. 14 

Peter Mulvey, Mark Erelly 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

21+ 

$10 

 

Alef Null 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

Moroccan and Kurdish music 

$4 

 

Friday, Nov. 15 

Walter “Ogi” Johnson and His Native American Flute 

7:30 p.m. 

Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. 

Fellowship Cafe & Open Mike is sponsored by the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. Poets, singers, musicians, and storytellers are invited to sign up for the open mike.  

540-0898 

$5-$10 donation 

 

The Slackers w/ Buffalo Soldier, The Phenomenauts,The Locals and Hebro 

7:30 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

New York’s hot ska band, The Slackers, headline an almost non-stop evening of live reggae,ska and rock dance music. 

525-5054 

$10 

 

Classis Jazz with Anna de Leon 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

$4 

 

Cynthia Dall 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

21+ 

$8 

 

Saturday, Nov. 16 

An Evening of Choral Music 

7 p.m. 

Pacific School of Religion Chapel, 1798 Scenic Ave. 

A wide variety of choral styles from Bay Area groups including Voci, Opus-Q, Let’s Do It!, and New Spirit Community Church Choir 

849-8280 

$15-$20, sliding scale 

 

Jeff Tauber and Friends 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

$5 

 

Alpha Yaya Diallo 

9 p.m. doors, 9:30 p.m. show 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Rooted in West African Dance Music, Diallo’s lilting style brings in an African medling of Cuban, Cape Verdean, Arabic and North American blues and Jazz. 

525-5054 

$12 

 

Sunday, Nov. 17 

Mingus Amungus 

4:30 p.m. 

Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St. 

This seven-piece band combines be-bop, funk and hip hop jazz. 

845-5373 

$10-$15 

 

 

 

 

A Night at the Casbah 

6:30 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Alexandria & the Near Eastern Dance Company presents an evening of classical belly dance and authentic folk dance from the Near and Middle East 

525-5054 

$7 

 

Joanne Rand & Jenny Bird 

8 p.m. 

Rose St. House of Music, 1839 Rose St. 

The Dynamic Duo in Concert 

594-4000x687 

 

Zony Mash 

9:30 p.m. 

Blakes on Telegraph 

2367 Telegraph Ave. 

A mix of funky fusion, eclectic experimentation, and acoustic pieces for jazz quartet. 

848-0886 

$8 

 

Mamborama 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

Brazillian Jazz 

$5 

 

Monday, Nov. 18 

“Renegade Sideman” w/ Calvin Keyes 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

$4 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 19 

The Dave Haskell Group 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

$4 


Bears get sixth win, but will they be bowl-eligible?

By Bob Baum The Associated Press
Monday November 11, 2002

 

TEMPE, Ariz. – What a turnaround for the California Bears under first-year coach Jeff Tedford. Too bad it might not end in a bowl invitation. 

Kyle Boller matched his career high with five touchdown passes to lead California past No. 25 Arizona State 55-38 Saturday night. 

The Bears beat a Top 25 team on the road for the third time this season — a first in the school’s history. But Cal is ineligible for postseason because of NCAA rules violations that occurred under ex-coach Tom Holmoe, who was fired after last year’s 1-10 season. 

The Bears have appealed to the NCAA, but the outcome hasn’t been announced. 

“I’ve never been to a bowl game, so I’m fired up,” said senior running back Joe Igber, who ran for a season-high 144 yards. “Hopefully, the football gods are smiling upon us, whoever that may be, and maybe we’ll go. If we don’t, life goes on. My goal was to win.” 

Arizona State lost despite 477 yards passing and four touchdowns from Andrew Walter. He completed 29 of 50 passes and broke Arizona State’s single-season record for passing yards, even though he didn’t start until the fifth game. 

With two games to play, Walter has 2,994 yards, breaking the record of 2,878 set by Danny White in 1973. Walter’s 25 TD passes are second on the ASU single-season list. 

“Andrew certainly did some very nice things,” Sun Devils coach Dirk Koetter said, “but there’s no solace in numbers. There is only one number that counts, and that’s the one at the end.” 

Igber also had a 17-yard touchdown catch for the Bears (6-4, 3-3 Pac-10) in a game that featured six lead changes. 

The Sun Devils (7-4, 4-2) were doomed by three fumbles deep in their own territory, an interception returned 85 yards for a Cal touchdown, and a blocked punt that was returned for a score. 

“We have it posted in our locker room that the keys to winning are winning the turnover battle, win in the fourth quarter, and win the third-down battle,” Koetter said. “We didn’t do any of those things.” 

California, coming off a bye week, scored the game’s final 20 points after Arizona State took a 38-35 lead on Hakim Hill’s 2-yard touchdown run with 2:36 left in the third quarter. 

“It’s fun to keep battling back, that type of thing,” Tedford said. “It’s great to see the kids coming off the field, the look in their eyes, to keep encouraging them. When you see the kids laying it on the line out there, that’s what makes it worthwhile.” 

Cal led the Pac-10 in takeaways going into the game, and wound up recovering four fumbles along with the big interceptions. The Sun Devils recovered two Cal fumbles and picked off one pass. 

Shaun McDonald caught six passes for 138 yards for the Sun Devils, including touchdown receptions of 28 and 68 yards. McDonald broke Arizona State’s single-season record for receiving yards at 1,203. 

All of which was little consolation to a Sun Devils team that lost its second Pac-10 game in a row. 

“I think they were really affected by the loss last week against Washington State,” Igber said. “I could feel it while we were playing them that their minds weren’t totally there. Maybe it’s because we’re Cal.” 

Boller completed 16 of 35 passes for 213 yards and was intercepted once. 

There were 38 points scored in a third quarter that lasted almost 1 1/2 hours. The quarter ended in a 38-38 tie, and the Bears on the Arizona State 2. 

“That was the longest third quarter I could imagine,” Boller said. 

California led 35-24 after Nnamdi Asomugha intercepted Walter’s screen pass and raced 85 yards for a touchdown with 7:15 to go in the quarter. The Bears took a 28-17 lead when Ryan Gutierrez blocked Tim Parker’s punt and Wale Forrester returned it 18 yards for a touchdown with 10:03 to play in the third quarter. 

There were four touchdowns scored in a 3:17 span in the third period. The final one, an 85-yard pass from Walter to Daryl Lightfoot, cut Cal’s lead to 35-30 with 6:36 to play in the third. Hill’s 2-yard run, and Walter’s 2-point conversion pass to Skyler Fulton, gave Arizona State its brief, final lead. 

Mark Jensen’s 48-yard field goal tied it at 38 with 35 seconds left in the third quarter. 

Two plays later, a blitzing Paul Ugenti knocked the ball loose from Walter and Tully Banta-Cain recovered for Cal at the Sun Devil 13. The defense held at the 2, but Jensen’s 20-yard field goal put the Bears up for good 41-38 with 14:20 to play. 

A personal-foul facemask penalty set up Boller’s TD pass to Igber. Jonathan Makonnen caught his second touchdown pass of the night, from 28 yards, to seal the victory with 5:58 remaining.


Diversity not just about race

Derick Miller and Roia Ferrazares Student Assignment Advisory Committee
Monday November 11, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

Sharon Browne, an attorney with the Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation, is absolutely correct when she states (Daily Planet, Nov. 8) that “If they [Berekely Unified School District] are using different social indicators as a proxy for race, that would violate Proposition 209.” 

The Student Assignment Advisory Committee is not suggesting that we “drop racial balance,” as the title of the Daily Planet article implies, nor are we suggesting using diversity factors as a “proxy for race,” which Ms. Browne rightly cautions against. Our current student placement plan to achieve student diversity has two significant weaknesses: diversity is being narrowly defined as being only about race, and using race as a factor in our plan, which is now illegal. 

Our committee spent considerable time and effort considering the issues of diversity and equity in our schools. We examined district statistics, academic studies, legal cases, etc. We came to the conclusion that diversity is valuable in education for reasons that are of benefit to the individual student, the district, and the community at large. We concluded that diversity helps promote equitable schools and that mere racial diversity is not enough. We need racial and ethnic diversity as well as diversity by many other measures including the “social capitol” of the family (income, education, access to resources, etc.). 

The system we are proposing is designed to create diversity across a number of factors, something we have identified as beneficial. The proposed new system does not use race as a factor in placing students (in compliance with Proposition 209,) and it results in different measures of diversity including race, socioeconomic, etc. 

These issues are complicated and require significant time for proper explaination. To that end, we are holding a public forum at Malcolm X Elementary School on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. We invite members of the public to attend, understand the issues and share feedback with us. 

 

Derick Miller and Roia Ferrazares 

Student Assignment Advisory Committee


Cheese maker fined for overcharging customers

Monday November 11, 2002

The Associated Press 

 

SANTA ANA – A cheese manufacturer has been fined $300,000 after being accused of selling packaged products that weighed less than their labels indicated. 

Without admitting wrongdoing, Sorrento Lactalis Inc., which produces and distributes such specialty brands as Precious, Mountain Farms, and Dairy Fresh, agreed to pay the fine to settle a lawsuit brought by the consumer protection units of the district attorney’s offices in six counties. 

The Buffalo, N.Y.-based company, which has two plants in California, was accused of mismarking weight by as much as 12 percent due to poor quality control, said Orange County Deputy District Attorney Andrea L. Burke. 

Sorrento Lactalis cooperated fully in the investigation and made several changes to prevent future problems, including buying new equipment to better regulate its packaging, Burke said. 

The case was initiated by inspectors from the California Department of Food and Agriculture Division of Measurement Standards in 19 counties.


Enrollment gains at UC may violate pact with city

By David Scharfenberg Daily Planet Staff
Monday November 11, 2002

UC Berkeley enrollment for the fall semester is higher than expected, sparking fears that the university will violate an enrollment cap agreed upon with the city and put an additional drain on local services. 

Enrollment reached 33,145 students this semester, according to data released by the university last week, 585 more than expected. The 33,145 figure includes those studying abroad, so it does not reflect the actual number of students on campus – a figure that will be available in the spring. 

Under a 1990 agreement with the city, scheduled to expire in 2005, the university is not supposed to exceed a two-semester average of 31,200 students in Berkeley per year. 

Irene Hegarty, UC Berkeley’s director of community relations, said spring enrollment is generally lower than fall enrollment and may reduce the two-semester average this year. Still, she said the university is worried that it might exceed the cap. 

The town-gown agreement, part of a document called the Long Range Development Plan, does not set out any specific penalties for exceeding the cap. But it does require the university to conduct a new study of the effects of student growth on the local environment. It also calls for a new enrollment agreement with the city. 

Arrietta Chakos, chief of staff for city manager Weldon Rucker, said significant student and staff growth has significant fiscal impacts on the city. 

 

UC Berkeley enrollment for the fall semester is higher than expected, sparking fears that the university will violate an enrollment cap agreed upon with the city and put an additional drain on local services. 

Enrollment reached 33,145 students this semester, according to data released by the university last week, 585 more than expected. The 33,145 figure includes those studying abroad, so it does not reflect the actual number of students on campus – a figure that will be available in the spring. 

Under a 1990 agreement with the city, scheduled to expire in 2005, the university is not supposed to exceed a two-semester average of 31,200 students in Berkeley per year. 

Irene Hegarty, UC Berkeley’s director of community relations, said spring enrollment is generally lower than fall enrollment and may reduce the two-semester average this year. Still, she said the university is worried that it might exceed the cap. 

The town-gown agreement, part of a document called the Long Range Development Plan, does not set out any specific penalties for exceeding the cap. But it does require the university to conduct a new study of the effects of student growth on the local environment. It also calls for a new enrollment agreement with the city. 

Arrietta Chakos, chief of staff for city manager Weldon Rucker, said significant student and staff growth has significant fiscal impacts on the city. 

 

Berkeley provides a host of services for the university, including sewer, fire response, and paramedic response. Hegarty said the university, in accordance with the Long Range Development Plan, pays the city about $500,000 per year to offset costs. 

Chakos puts the figure between $300,00 and $500,000 and says it is not enough. 

“It’s our belief that [the payment] is woefully inadequate,” she said. 

The city has spent the past five months analyzing the cost of the services it provides to the university, but Chakos said Berkeley will need an outside consultant to complete the work. The city manager’s request for a $50,000 study is currently tied up in City Council politics. 

City Councilmember Kriss Worthington said that with negotiations on a new Long Range Development Plan set to begin soon, it is vital for the study to move forward. 

“The city is not in a good negotiating position because we don’t have the information,” said Worthington, whose district stretches south of the UC Berkeley campus. 

Mayor-elect Tom Bates said that, once the information is available, he will push the university to fully compensate Berkeley for city services. 

But the enrollment issue is bigger than UC Berkeley alone. Between 1999 and 2010 the larger, nine-campus University of California system is expecting a 40 percent surge in student enrollment, known as Tidal Wave II. UC Berkeley is expected to absorb 4,000 of the new students over time, and has taken in roughly 2,000 already. 

Bates said the city can take 4,000 new students but will have to work with the state and the UC Board of Regents to either limit the number of students coming to UC Berkeley long-term, after Tidal Wave II, or win state dollars required to properly reimburse the city for services. UC Berkeley, like all UC campuses, receives much of its funding from the state. 

In the meantime, Hegarty said UC Berkeley is considering a range of short-term strategies to keep enrollment down. In the past, she said, the university has provided $500 tuition rebates for students, near graduation, who finish their studies in the summer rather than spend an extra semester on campus. Hegarty said the university will probably put that program in place again this summer, but she warned that it has met with only limited success in previous years. 

“So far, we haven’t had huge numbers taking us up on that,” she said. 

Hegarty said the university will also consider expanding its study abroad program to draw more students away from the campus. 

Hegarty said that, while increased enrollment might raise concerns about the cap, there is a positive spin on the issue. 

“The good news... is that fewer students are dropping out,” she said. 

Bates added that the increase in students will also give the local economy a boost and provide the city with a jump in sales tax revenue. 

 

Contact reporter at  

scharfenberg@berkeleydailyplanet.net


Kirk’s goal saves the day for Cal women

By Jared Green Daily Planet Staff
Monday November 11, 2002

Cal senior midfielder Brittany Kirk scored with 14 seconds left in regulation to beat Arizona State, 2-1, on Sunday, keeping the Golden Bears’ postseason hopes alive. 

Kirk’s goal put 15th-ranked Bears in a tie with the No. 23 Sun Devils for sixth place in the Pac-10 Conference at 4-5. Had Arizona State won to knock Cal into seventh place, Kirk’s team might have missed the postseason tournament despite its national ranking. 

“The wins this weekend (Cal beat Arizona on Friday) keep us where we want to be,” Cal head coach Kevin Boyd said of his team’s tournament status. “We gave ourselves a little cushion to make sure we get in.” 

Freshman Tracy Hamm gave Cal a lead with a goal in the 24th minute, and the Bears managed to hold off a furious Arizona State charge for much of the second half. But when ASU put a free kick into the goalmouth in the 84th minute, Stephanie Peel knocked the ball into the Cal goal to tie the game. 

It looked as if the teams were headed for overtime when the Sun Devils had a throw-in deep in their territory with less than a minute left in regulation. But the ball came free to Cal’s Carly Fuller near the top of the box, and she slid the ball sideways to Kirk, who fired a shot from 22 yards out into the upper-right corner of the ASU goal for the game-winner. 

“I was just hoping for another chance before the whistle blew,” Kirk said. “I don’t know if I could have handled overtime.” 

Boyd was thinking the same thing, as moments before the goal he sent Kassie Doubrava to the scorer’s table to replace Kirk. But before Doubrava could get into the game, Fuller found Kirk and Kirk found the net. 

“Boy, I’m glad the ball didn’t go out of bounds,” Boyd said with a grin. “Brit looked like she was done, but I guess she had something left.” 

 

Cal 1, Fresno State 0 

• Calen Carr headed in the game-winning goal in the 75th minute for the Cal men’s soccer team Sunday afternoon at Edwards Stadium against Fresno State for a final score of 1-0. The Golden Bears improved to 13-3-2 (6-1-1 Pac-10) as the Bulldogs fell to 5-10-4 (2-6-1 Pac-10).  

Carr connected with a cross brought in by Nick Hatzke off of a corner kick to record his second goal of the year.  

 

The first half was uneventful, as Cal got off six shots to Fresno’s two.  

“It took us 45 minutes to get going,” noted Grimes. “We played well in the second half, creating a lot of scoring opportunities.”  

The Bulldogs best scoring opportunity came in the 59th minute when Kupono Low fired a shot right below the crossbar but was intersected by the outstretched Saunders.  

Cal, currently in second place in the Pac-10 conference, wraps up the Pac-10 season this upcoming weekend, traveling to Washington Friday and then facing Oregon State Sunday.  

 

Daily Planet Wire Service contributed to this story.


Veterans Day is a chance to reflect

Michael Council Berkeley
Monday November 11, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

Here we are at another Veterans Day holiday. Holiday? No. A holiday is when people have the day off from work to recognize that day. Take, for instance, Memorial Day. Most people say that it is the start of summer. Other say it is barbecue day. No one says that it is a time to reflect on people that have left this life for a better one. How many people actually go to Mass or reflect, in some way, upon the people who have passed on? The same is true of Veterans Day. Let’s remember the men and women who gave up their lives so that ours would be better. Take the day off. Tell your kids what Veterans Day means to Americans. Reflect. 

 

Michael Council 

Berkeley 


Hail to the chief: Albany chooses new top cop

By Matthew Artz Daily Planet Staff
Monday November 11, 2002

While Berkeley’s search for a new police chief is just getting underway, neighboring Albany recently selected a new top cop. 

Gregory Bone, a 25-year veteran of the Albany Police Department, was chosen by the Albany City Council in September to succeed 16-year Police Chief Larry Murdo. 

“Chief Bone brings years of local experience, strong leadership and innovative ideas to the Albany Police Department,” said Mayor Peggy Thomsen, who along with City Council members settled on Bone after conducting a nationwide search that included more than 60 applicants. 

Bone said the decision to promote from within was not lost on him or other officers. 

“It shows approval of the work we have been doing and the trust we have built over the years,” he said. 

Bone joined the APD in 1977 as a patrol officer and detective. In 1986 he was promoted to administrative and patrol sergeant, and in 1991 he was assigned the rank of lieutenant, responsible for the patrol division. 

As chief, Bone is not planning any major changes for the department. “Chief Murdo has gotten us in a good position. We have a good and relatively safe community,” he said. 

Bone’s appointment as police chief marks a first for Albany. Until last year, Albany and Santa Clara were the only two California cities to popularly elect their police chiefs. 

City Administrator Beth Pollard explained that the election practice, set forth in the 1909 city charter, was devised to ensure that the chief would be an Albany resident in touch with local issues.CHIEF BONE/From Page 1 

 

She said city officials saw no need to change the system as long as Chief Murdo continued to run for the post. 

But after he announced in 2000 that he would not seek another four-year term, voters approved a change to the city charter providing for an appointed chief. 

“It’s hard for police to live in the community as housing prices increase,” Pollard said. “It made the number of potential officers slim to none.”  

Bone, who resides in Moraga, said his first priority is to hire new officers to bring the department back up to full strength. 

Albany typically maintains 27 uniformed officers to protect a city of roughly 18,000. But, as has been the case throughout the Bay Area, early retirements have left the APD shorthanded, and it is currently making do with a force of 23. 

“Our immediate challenge is hitting the academies,” Bone said. He will have plenty of competition from other cities also looking to hire. Last year Berkeley offered its full retirement package to officers at age 50 in order to help it recruit and retain officers. Albany offers the same top benefits at age 55. 

Bone is hoping to foster improved cooperation between the Albany and Berkeley police departments. The APD uses the Berkeley jail and does some community service work with its Berkeley counterparts, but for the most part, they operate in separate spheres. 

Bone said he has spoken to acting Berkeley Police Chief Roy Meisner and is interested in the two departments performing joint traffic enforcement on Marin Avenue, a major boulevard which runs through both cities. 

Residents on both sides of Marin Avenue have complained about cars speeding down the street. However, Berkeley officials recently expressed concern about an Albany plan to reduce car traffic on the Albany stretch of Marin, fearing that motorists would opt for Berkeley roads instead. 

Last month Berkeley hired Roseville–based Bob Murray and Associates, an executive search firm, to conduct a nationwide search for a chief to succeed Dash Butler, who retired earlier this year. The search is expected to last six months, and current Berkeley officers are expected to apply for the post. 

 

Contact reporter at  

matt@berkerkeleydailyplanet.net 


Voter turnout disappoints

Tom Lent Berkeley
Monday November 11, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

With voter turnout at somewhere around 40 percent of the electorate, that means that 50 percent more people stayed home than voted, and that less than one quarter of the electorate voted Republican. The word “mandate” has lost all meaning. 

Our democracy rapidly becomes meaningless unless citizens take it seriously and participate. I would like to offer a modest proposal. The act of driving a gasoline consuming vehicle has major implications for both domestic and foreign policy. I propose, therefore, that receiving the license to drive be dependent upon accepting the responsibility of democratic participation in the policies that support it. No renewal of your drivers license unless you can prove that you have voted in at least two of the last three elections. 

 

Tom Lent 

Berkeley 


UC lab overseer resigns

Staff
Monday November 11, 2002

The University of California vice president who has overseen operations for the past year at Los Alamos, Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories has resigned. 

John McTague, the labs’ first vice president of laboratory management, announced his resignation Friday. The office was created in 2001 to give oversight to security, safety and accountability at the three national labs. 

McTague said he’s been planning to leave the UC system since February and that his decision has nothing to do with a recent FBI investigation that alleged two Los Alamos employees had illegally spent more than $50,000 using lab credit cards, The Albuquerque Journal reported. 

“We have been looking into the robustness of our purchasing system for some time now at all three of the labs,” he said.  

 

“I put into place an independent external investigation team to look at the whole issue of credit-card use and purchase orders.” 

McTague, 63, said once a replacement is found, he plans to return to teaching at UC Santa Barbara. 

He said he had been waiting to leave the labs until new management systems were in place. It was a “sensible time to leave,” since the systems became operational this fall, he said. 

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said he is indebted to McTague for his role in improving the management of the three national laboratories during his tenure.


Protecting the family

David James Randolph Albany
Monday November 11, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

A rattlesnake attacked a rancher and killed one of his children. The snake was cut into pieces, but the ranch was gripped by grief and fear. The rancher knew that there were other snakes and sooner or later they might strike if they weren’t destroyed. He talked with one neighbor who agreed because the snakes threatened his oil wells. Another neighbor agreed because he sold guns to kill snakes. The local pastor agreed that if snakes weren’t good for ranchers, they must be evil. Almost everyone agreed except one fellow who was not convinced that guns are the best way to get rid of snakes. 

Outside the ranch there was support and opposition. The snakes and those who love them were bitterly opposed. Some people agreed with the rancher that snakes are dangerous but thought the town should be consulted. Others suggested alternatives to guns. But nothing can stop a rancher who wants to protect his family; a man who wants to benefit his friends and believes that he is justified by faith. Not even the possibility that his efforts might destroy innocent people as well as snakes, impoverish many while enriching a few, and distort the faith he professes. 

 

David James Randolph 

Albany 

 


Arab officials urge Hussein to accept United Nations’ resolution

By Sarah El Deeb The Associated Press
Monday November 11, 2002

CAIRO, Egypt – Arab foreign ministers urged Saddam Hussein on Sunday to accept the U.N. Security Council resolution ordering new, tougher weapons inspections and demanded that Arab arms experts be included on the U.N. teams. 

The ministers adopted the eight-point statement shortly after the Iraqi leader ordered his nation’s parliament to meet to recommend a response to the U.N. resolution, which was adopted Friday and gives Baghdad a seven-day deadline for acceptance. Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said parliament would convene Monday 

The United Nations is not obliged to heed the Arab ministers’ demand on weapons inspectors, adopted at the end of a two-day meeting of the 22-member Arab League in Cairo. 

The United States, meanwhile, warned it will not tolerate any Iraqi failure to cooperate with weapons inspectors. “We do not need to waste the world’s time with another game of cat and mouse,” National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice warned while making the rounds of Sunday news talk shows in Washington. 

Arab foreign ministers, including Sabri, worked into the evening on a final communique that demanded Iraq and the United Nations work together and called on the United States to commit to pledges Syria said it was given that the resolution would not be used to justify military action. 

The Arab ministers “called on the permanent Security Council members who presented Syria with assurances to commit to what they presented, that the resolution is not used as an excuse to wage war on Iraq and does not constitute automatic military action,” the statement said. 

The Arab League document did not specify how many Arab experts it wants on inspection teams or say which countries they should represent. 

However, Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is an Egyptian, and would be on the advance team of inspectors headed to Iraq if Saddam accepts the resolution. ElBaradei’s agency is in charge of looking for clandestine nuclear arms programs. 

A spokesman for the U.N. inspection operation said a list of inspectors and their country of origin was not immediately available. 

The Arab League document also demanded “the continuation of U.N.-Iraq cooperation to solve all standing issues peacefully in preparation for the lifting of sanctions and the end of the (U.N.) embargo as well as the suffering of the Iraqi people.” 

It put forward a united Arab position of “absolute rejection” of any military action against Iraq, saying it represents a threat to the security of all Arab nations. 

In addition, it called on the Security Council to require Israel to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction because they “constitute a serious threat to Arab and international peace and security.” 

Arab foreign ministers have said they fully expect Iraq to accept the U.N. resolution. 

Rice dismissed the prospect of Saddam seeking parliament’s advice as “ludicrous.” 

“Saddam Hussein is an absolute dictator and tyrant, and the idea that somehow he expects the Iraqi parliament to debate this — they’ve never debated anything else,” Rice said Sunday on the ABC network’s “This Week” program. “I’m surprised he’s even bothering to go through this ploy.” 

Iraq’s parliament is stacked with Saddam’s allies. Should parliament recommend acceptance to the Revolutionary Command Council, led by Saddam, he would have some cover for retreating from previous objections to any new language in a resolution governing weapons inspections. 

In brief remarks to journalists on Sunday, Sabri said only that the Arab position is firm in rejecting any U.S. use of military force. He said Saturday that “no decision has been taken” by Baghdad on cooperating with the resolution. But if Saddam fails to follow through, U.S. officials have said a Pentagon plan calls for more than 200,000 troops to invade Iraq. 

Britain sent similar signals, with Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon telling Sky News on Sunday that his country is prepared for possible military action against Iraq should diplomatic efforts to disarm Saddam fail. 

Earlier Sunday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said he expected a positive response from Iraq, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal also indicated Iraq would agree to the resolution. 

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa said he received a letter from Secretary of State Colin Powell “in which he stressed that there is nothing in the resolution to allow it to be used as a pretext to launch a war on Iraq and that if the U.S. administration had any intention of resorting to military action, this resolution wouldn’t have taken seven weeks.” 

Syria, now holding one of the rotating seats on the U.N. Security Council, has taken on the task of selling Iraq and other Arab nations on the resolution.


A call for job training

Ron Hoover Oakland
Monday November 11, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

The Republicans aren’t interested in helping people find and train for work. Once the Bush administration decided it was going to balance the budget and cut taxes at the same time, work and training didn’t look as appealing. Its answer was to drop the money from helping people find work and let the individual states do whatever they wanted. The states have every incentive to start a race to the bottom - any state that offers extra job assistance or extra cash will attract unwanted poor people from other states. 

 

Ron Hoover 

Oakland


Oakland schools to get $50 million

Monday November 11, 2002

OAKLAND – A $50 million cash advance from the county to help the Oakland School District pay its teachers will likely be approved this week, according to county officials. 

The school district’s cash shortage is unrelated to the fact that the district overspent by $37 million last year after gravely miscalculating its budget, officials said. 

The district typically borrows tens of millions of dollars from private lenders around this time of year to make ends meet until state funds come in, officials said. 

The budget crisis was discovered in recent months as the district switched to a new accounting system.


Marin volunteers ask residents reasons for elevated cancer rates

By Angela Wattercutter The Associated Press
Monday November 11, 2002

 

SAN RAFAEL – Women in wealthy Marin County suffer one of the nation’s highest breast cancer rates, a cluster that has confounded health officials. 

And women aren’t the only ones who suffer. The county has a high frequency of many other cancers, sometimes surpassing the national average. 

On Saturday, about 2,000 volunteers traveled door-to-door to gather what could prove to be important data — how many residents have cancer, where they live and if they have any idea why rates have climbed so high. 

“My hope now is that everybody realizes that as a community we can change our statistics,” said Judi Shils, a founder of the Marin County Cancer Project, which organized the effort. 

Shils said volunteers talked to at least 50,000 people and tried to collect at least $1 per person to fund an epidemiology map of cancer incidences based on 20 years of statistics gathered by the cancer center. 

But it wasn’t always easy getting people to participate. 

Tina-Lise Curtis, a 41-year-old dentist who volunteered for the project, walked away from many unanswered doors Saturday. She said she wasn’t sure the survey would have a large impact, but said that as a cancer survivor she wanted to help. 

“I don’t know what they’re going to gain from it. It’s a very small step,” Curtis said. “You think, ’Did we waste our time?’ I don’t think we did, someone had to do something.” 

Curtis, who said her family doesn’t have a history of cancer, was diagnosed with both squamous cell carcinoma, which is a form of skin cancer, and laryngeal cancer since she moved to San Rafael with her husband David in 1988. Both cancers are in remission. 

The volunteers asked residents a series of questions, ranging from age and ethnicity to family cancer history and whether they could identify any environmental factors that might contribute to the cancer rate. 

Many residents Curtis talked to only offered speculation based on what they had seen in the media. 

“I feel like I just found out in the last six months that it is an epidemic,” said Lisa Knutson, a longtime Marin resident who said that no one in her household has been diagnosed with cancer. 

According to the Berkeley-based Northern California Cancer Center, white women living in Marin County are 45 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than women elsewhere in the country. 

The researchers focused on white, non-Hispanic women because fewer than 10 cases of breast cancer are found each year in Hispanics, blacks or other populations in Marin County, which is 80 percent white. 

The center’s statistics also showed that Marin men are 25 percent more likely to get cancer than other men in California. 

“I’m concerned about it. There’s something wrong here,” said Frank Hanson, 81, who was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 1962. “They’ve just got to figure out what it is.” 

Hanson said that he didn’t think his cancer, which has been in remission for many years, had anything to do with his 78-year residency in Marin. 

While residents and researchers alike continue to search for an environmental cause, some scientists point to socio-economic factors. 

Marin County boasts a per capital income more than 200 percent the U.S. average and 44 percent of its adults hold at least a bachelor’s degree. The lifestyle linked with those populations — bearing fewer children, having them later in life or taking estrogen and other hormones to alleviate the onset of menopause — may trigger cancer, some researchers believe.


CHP to re-examine report on cell phone-related crashes

Monday November 11, 2002

LOS ANGELES – A new statewide report detailing the impact of cell phones on car accidents has been delayed as the California Highway Patrol re-examines how the data was collected. 

The report, which was given to Gov. Gray Davis last week, has been returned to the CHP after the agency learned the numbers may have been too low, CHP Commissioner Dwight O. “Spike” Helmick told the Los Angeles Times in an article published Sunday. 

The reworked report will include data showing drivers using cell phones had been blamed for nearly seven times the number of accidents originally cited in the report. Helmick said. 

“We’re not changing any of our conclusions,” Helmick said. “It’s just adding additional data that might make it clearer for everybody.” 

The report, which has not been made public, was ordered last year by the Legislature to assist in a debate on whether the state should require handsfree cell phones. 

The report counted only 913 accidents in 2001 in which officers statewide indicated cell phone use was to blame. Three of those accidents involved fatalities, and 423 caused injuries. 

But a Times analysis of traffic accident data showed the total would be higher if the CHP included all accidents in which the driver responsible for the crash was using a cell phone. 

Helmick said officers began collecting these numbers in April 2001 at the urging of the Automobile Club of Southern California. These figures suggest at least 4,699 accidents could be blamed on drivers using cell phones.


New shopping technology could breed supermarket discrimination

By Michael Liedtke The Associated Press
Monday November 11, 2002

 

MORAGA – What if a shopping cart became a computer on wheels, a sales vehicle sophisticated enough to analyze individual buying habits so it could pinpoint which shoppers got the best prices? 

Safeway Inc., the nation’s third-largest grocer, is quietly searching for the answer by testing a smart shopping cart. The trial reveals how retailers might capitalize on the reams of consumer information they have been stockpiling since the mid-1990s. 

It is unfolding at two of Safeway’s northern California stores, one in the affluent town of Moraga near San Francisco, the other in rural Cameron Park. 

Shoppers are greeted by the “Magellan” — a shopping cart with a book-sized computer on the front handle. A side slot lets shoppers swipe their Safeway “club” cards — the identification most major grocers now require for discounts on certain items. 

Reading the club card enables the shopping cart’s computer to tap into the buying histories Safeway has compiled on most customers. The cart can then display four grocery items offered at sales prices unavailable to anyone else. 

The computer also provides a guide to each consumer’s most frequently purchased items and monitors the shopper’s steps through the aisles, flashing ads to promote nearby merchandise. 

Safeway and other grocers experimenting with similar technology believe the tools will make it easier to reward their best customers and increase sales. 

Keeping these customers happy is becoming even more important to supermarkets as they face increased competition from the likes of retail powerhouse Wal-Mart Inc. 

The grocers also believe customers will embrace the cart’s other bells and whistles, such as store maps. 

Consumer advocates fear the smart carts will cultivate a caste system in which grocers cater to big spenders by offering deep discounts unavailable to poorer consumers. 

“I am concerned that some people are going to be left behind by this technology,” said John Vanderlippe, associate director for Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering, a watchdog group. 

The computer, for instance, could conclude that a single man generates relatively little profit compared to a mother buying groceries for her husband and two kids. 

There’s a powerful incentive for supermarkets to be more discriminating about their prices. 

Industry data show 30 percent of supermarket shoppers generate 75 percent of a store’s sales. Analysts say it makes sense for grocers to pamper the big-spending customers to make sure they keep coming back. 

But “the best customers at supermarkets often get some of the worst treatment,” said Arthur Middleton Hughes, a vice president for CSC Advanced Database Solutions, a database-building company in Schaumburg, Ill. 

As an example, supermarket customers buying the most groceries are routinely stuck in the longest checkout lines while shoppers with just a few items use express lanes, Hughes said. “Giving greater discounts to the best customers could be just one way to reward them for standing in longer lines.” 

But the technology also might work against big spenders. For instance, the smart cart might determine that a mother buys peanut butter for her kids every week, no matter the price, and conclude there’s no reason to ever offer that shopper a discount. 

Although the consumer response during the trials so far has been “fairly good,” Safeway doesn’t have any current plans to introduce the smart-cart system in all 1,650 stores nationwide, spokesman Brian Dowling said. 

“We think this could be a unique way to deliver more offers to our customers,” Dowling said. “It would be a bad assumption to conclude all the offers will only go to high-income individuals.” 

Helen Rosenberg of Moraga swipes her card through the computerized cart to get more good deals, but she doesn’t like the system. 

“It’s horrible. It’s totally like Big Brother is watching you,” Rosenberg said. 

Safeway isn’t the first grocer to experiment with smart shopping carts. Last year, Iowa-based Hy-Vee Inc. tested similar technology that used infrared tracking devices and video screens to make special offers at some Kansas City, Mo. stores. 

The company that developed that system, Salt Lake City-based Klever Marketing Inc., has been trying to sell its smart carts to toy stores, warehouse stores and other discount merchants, according to regulatory filings. Klever Marketing officials didn’t return calls seeking further comment. 

Smart-cart critics, meanwhile, hope the technology fails. 

“This idea could backfire,” Vanderlippe said. “It could help people realize just how much information they are sharing about themselves.”


Jobless rate steady; disturbing trends seen

By Gary Gentile The Associated Press
Monday November 11, 2002

LOS ANGELES – California’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.4 percent in October from September’s revised figure as the state produced a net gain of 19,800 jobs, the Employment Development Department reported. 

The rate still remained above the 5.9 percent recorded in September 2001. The state’s unemployment rate has remained fairly steady over the past six months. 

It also was higher than the national average. Last week, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the jobless rate climbed to 5.7 percent in August. 

About 1,122,000 Californians were unemployed last month, a decline of 7,000 from last month, but up by 90,000 compared with October last year. 

Of those, 655,300 were laid off, 98,100 left their jobs voluntarily and the rest were either re-entering the labor market or joining it for the first time, the EDD said Friday. 

“It is positive that we did gain 19,800 jobs because across the nation there is a loss of 5,000 jobs,” said Michael Bernick, director of the EDD. “We ran against the national trend.” 

Most job growth was in government, specifically in education as schools reopened after the summer break. 

Government jobs increased by 70,700 statewide in October, which was higher than expected. 

The largest employment decline was in the manufacturing sector, which lost 26,100 positions. 

“We continue to see some very disturbing trends,” said Brad Williams, chief economist with the Legislative Analyst’s Office. “The high-paying industries continue to lose jobs in the state. Manufacturers continue to be squeezed by soft business spending and slumping exports.” 

A bright spot in the report was that unemployment continued to decrease in Los Angeles County. 

The unemployment rate for October was 6.1 percent, down from 6.7 percent in September and 6.8 percent in August. 

But Williams said the drop may have more to do with population shifts and an increase in government jobs and does not reflect a rise in private sector employment, particularly in the aerospace industry.


Two El Cerrito men start campaign to send AOL CDs back

By Angela Watercutter The Associated Press
Monday November 11, 2002

By Angela Watercutter 

The Associated Press 

 

SAN FRANCISCO – Two El Cerrito men got so sick of receiving America Online promotional compact disks they decided to do something about it. Now they’ve had thousands delivered to their doors. 

Jim McKenna and John Lieberman, who are both in their 30s and work in information technology, are collecting the CDs from the four corners of the globe and say that when they get one million they’re going to AOL’s front door in Virginia to say, “You’ve got mail.” 

“Basically, we’ll enlist the help of volunteers who are willing to take a pickup load and drive back to AOL headquarters with us,” said McKenna. “We will be as obvious as possible and very polite.” 

With the assistance of their Web site, the El Cerrito men have collected more than 80,000 disks, which offer trial subscriptions to AOL’s services. 

Their site, which has received more than one million hits since it was launched in July of 2001, features pictures of the various things people have done with their unwanted disks and even has a section of Haiku poems that disgruntled folks have written about the CDs. 

The men say they want to build an international alliance for their cause. They already have partners in France, Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom. The allies have their own Web sites and serve as receiving points that send their accumulated disks on to Lieberman and McKenna. 

“People find this action very cool and the ecology aspect is very loved in France,” said Aziz Ridouan of Stop CD France, which has accumulated about 1,600 CDs for the men so far. 

Ridouan is the vice president of the League of Protection of the Internet with Cable, which was created to protest against AOL monopolies in some areas of France. Stop CD France is a part of the league, Ridouan said via e-mail. 

McKenna and Lieberman stress they have nothing against AOL, they just see the disks as a waste of resources and have found a creative way to ask the Internet giant nicely to stop making and sending them. 

“If they reach their goal ... I’d be happy to give them directions and greet them at the door,” said AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham. “We would make a contribution ourselves to put them over the top.” 

Graham wouldn’t say how many of the disks AOL distributes each year and noted that if anyone isn’t happy about getting the CDs they can call the company and ask to not receive them. He also noted that anyone can return their unwanted disks so the company can recycle them. 

But McKenna said AOL won’t block his address, although he has tried multiple times to be taken off the company’s mailing list. 

Just because McKenna and Lieberman may show up at the door with one million disks doesn’t mean that the company will stop distributing them. The promotion is still the best way for AOL to reach its customers and they have responded well to the disks, Graham said. 

Similar promotional tactics are used by companies like AT&T, Earthlink and others, but AOL uses the CD plan most pervasively. Their disks appear in magazines, at the post office, at movie theaters, and, of course, in mailboxes. 

“I can’t stand all the CDs I get from them,” said Leslie Byster of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, which handles problems caused by electronics waste. “It’s just adding more plastic to the scrap heap and the planet can’t afford to handle any more junk than it’s already getting.”


Damage lingers as Bay Area’s first storm blows itself away

By Justin Pritchard The Associated Press
Monday November 11, 2002

rains and wind blew themselves out heading into Sunday, damage lingered from a trio of powerful storms that swept through California. 

In all, nearly 1.6 million people suffered a power outage since the storms hit Wednesday night. By Saturday night, about 20,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers remained without power, while another 1,000 Southern California Edison customers were still in the dark. 

Clean-up crews in the Sierra Nevada foothills town of Sonora spent Saturday slogging through a muddy flash flood that rushed though city streets overnight. No injuries were reported. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard has called off searches for two people swept out to sea by giant waves — a 4-year-old boy who lived north of Eureka and a 26-year-old Connecticut man who was walking Friday afternoon on a beach near Santa Cruz. 

“The chances of survival were pretty much nil,” said Coast Guard Petty Office Carl Hausner of the Santa Cruz drowning. Buoys in the area showed swells between 20 and 25 feet. 

The storms dumped nearly two inches of rain on San Francisco and up to eight inches in coastal mountains south of the city, according to the National Weather Service. 

Downtown Los Angeles received close to two inches of rain in the past four days, said Philip Gonsalves, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. 

In Southern California, rain fell steady, but increasingly lighter throughout the day. Drivers also encountered dense fog that reduced visibility on the roadways to a quarter-mile. 

In Santa Monica, a one-story, Craftsman-style duplex slipped down a slight slope and ruptured a gas meter late Friday evening, prompting an evacuation of several nearby homes, fire officials said. The 1920s-era building was not bolted to the foundation and authorities had not determined if the incident was related to the weather. 

Light rain and clouds will continue through Sunday afternoon and a warming trend will begin Monday, Gonsalves said. 

The storms did have an upside. 

The only two Lake Tahoe ski resorts open so far – Boreal atop Donner Summit and Mt. Rose above Reno – offered top-to-bottom skiing Saturday for the first time this season. 

“It’s dumping right now. It’s awesome,” Boreal spokeswoman Jody Churich said. “People are totally stoked because it’s a light, dry powder.” 

State fire officials have lifted a dry-season ban on outdoor fires and were preparing to close fire season across Northern California. Also Friday, two inches of rain finally extinguished the four-month-old Biscuit Fire, which straddled the California-Oregon border and was the biggest single wildfire in the nation this year at nearly 500,000 acres.


Woman’s fight paves way for landmark Veterans’ Day cards

Monday November 11, 2002

CLAREMONT – Ever since Robyn Cole can remember, she has wanted to honor her father, a World War II veteran, with something as simple as a card on Veterans’ Day. 

This year, her wish has come true. 

After four years of writing letters and filling out petitions, Cole has finally helped persuade Hallmark to manufacture the cards for the first time in its history. Company officials said they had twice considered creating the special occasion cards, but dropped the idea because of a perceived lack of demand. 

When Cole, 32, recently saw the cards for the first time at a Hallmark store, she sat on the floor and cried — her emotions overwhelming her. 

“My father is my hero,” said Cole, who works in student services at Claremont Graduate University. “I want to honor him and celebrate the fact that he’s still here and that he fought for our freedom.” 

Cole’s father, Robert Sauter, served in World War II as a Navy medical corpsman assigned to the Marines from 1943 to 1946. He was stationed in the South Pacific. 

When Cole was a child, she would sit with her father as he watched war movies. 

“What I saw those men go through awe-struck me,” Cole said. “I can’t imagine going to a foreign country away from family and friends and go and shoot a gun and fight a war. It must be so frightening.” 

Cole first wrote to Hallmark in November 1998 with her idea for Veterans’ Day cards. She received a polite response thanking her for the suggestion and saying the idea would be given to company officials. 

She waited a year and wrote again, but she received no response from the company. Cole then sent e-mails through Hallmark’s web site. 

By November 2000, Cole had created a petition and gathered more than 50 signatures. She also dropped off petitions to several VFW posts with the hope they would fill them out and send them to Hallmark. 

After writing CEO Donald J. Hall, Cole received a letter in July saying Hallmark was touched by her story and would launch a nationwide line of 20 Veterans’ Day cards. 

Hallmark manufactured the cards believing about 5,000 stores would order them, but more than 18,000 placed orders nationwide, said company spokeswoman Rachel Boulton. 

Boulton complimented Cole’s determination and said the cards became a reality because of people like her. 

“Robyn was a big part of helping to get these cards produced,” Boulton said. “She deserves credit and was definitely part of the effort that helped bring the cards into the stores.” 

Cole’s father smiled as he thought of his daughter and her efforts. “I knew she would never give up, but I never thought she’d get her way,” Sauter said.


Marijuana advocates ready for battle after election losses

By Martha Mendoza The Associated Press
Monday November 11, 2002

ANAHEIM – Stung by the defeat of marijuana law reform measures in three states, proponents of decriminalizing the drug are preparing for a new round of political and legal battles. 

Voters on Tuesday defeated a Nevada measure to legalize possession of up to three ounces of marijuana, an Arizona initiative that would have likened pot possession to a traffic violation, and a South Dakota initiative that would legalize hemp farms. 

Several local measures did pass, including resolutions in 19 Massachusetts districts asking state representative to support making marijuana possession a civil rather than a criminal violation. 

But the “crown jewel” of marijuana reform laws was passed in San Francisco, authorizing the city to make it official policy to explore the establishment of a medical marijuana growing and distribution program, said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project. 

It is in that city, where the mayor, top prosecutor and many voters support legalizing medical marijuana, that his group’s fight will be centered. 

“We in hypocrisy-filled, stinkyville Washington, D.C., want to use your beautiful city as a beachhead in the drug war,” he said. 

Kampia joined about 500 marijuana reform advocates in Anaheim this weekend for a three-day conference to regroup after the election and plan their next step. 

All attendees agreed they have a lot of work to do. 

Federal drug enforcement officials said the election marked the beginning of the end of the legalization movement. 

The election was “a stunning victory of common sense over pro-drug propaganda,” said federal drug czar John Walters. He said that from now on, “the tide runs our way.” 

“Well, I“m up to the challenge,” countered Kampia. “I say we fight.” 

The next offensive for the reform movement will take place in several different venues, said Kevin Zeese, president of Common Sense for Drug Policy. 

Politically, advocates plan to press the San Francisco city government to follow through on what some considered a somewhat symbolic piece of legislation and actually start planting pot gardens and giving the drug as medicine to sick and dying people. 

That would be illegal under federal law, despite state and local laws that allow it, said Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman Richard Meyer in San Francisco. 

“Whoever cultivates, possesses or distributes marijuana is breaking federal law regardless of intended use,” he said. “We’ll be conducting business as usual.” 

Zeese said such confrontations are necessary. 

“Part of the process is to sharpen the conflict,” he said. 

Eight states have approved medical marijuana and 35 states have passed legislation recognizing marijuana’s medicinal value. But federal law bans marijuana under any circumstances. 

In the past year, DEA agents have raided several medical marijuana providers in California, mostly without support from local law enforcement. 

Shawn Heller, national director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, which has chapters at 200 college and high school campuses, said other local initiatives and perhaps another state proposal should be organized. 

On the legal front,a federal appeals court ruled last week in San Francisco that the government cannot revoke the prescription drug licenses of doctors who recommend marijuana to sick patients. 

During the next few months, federal judges in California are expected to hear several more cases involving a patient’s right to use medical marijuana, and in one case to retrieve pot confiscated in a raid. 

Angel McClary Raich, who uses marijuana every two hours to control pain for an array of medical problems including an inoperable brain tumor, has a case pending in U.S. District Court in Oakland. 

“I’m fighting for my life, but also I’m trying to help other patients,” she said. 

While lawyers and advocates are pushing for reform in public venues, a group of doctors have been investigating the possible medical benefits of marijuana. 

Those results, if conclusive, could sway the American Medical Association’s current opposition to medicinal marijuana and possibly result in the reclassification of marijuana under federal law. 

National Organization for Reasonable Marijuana Laws director Keith Stroup said his outlook for the marijuana law reform movement remains optimistic. 

He said the election losses “represent a temporary setback, but it’s one we know we can and will overcome.”


Pot club loses lease

Monday November 11, 2002

SAN DIEGO– It wasn’t federal agents but a real estate deal that closed a medical marijuana information center here last month. 

Steve McWilliams, owner of Shelter from the Storm, said the storefront closed because he lost his lease after the building was sold. 

“We were the only one operating in the entire county,” he said. 

McWilliams had set up a pot garden and cannabis club under Proposition 215, a state law that allows use of marijuana by patients with a doctor’s recommendation. 

But federal drug agents have cracked down on California clubs after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year held there was no medical necessity to violate federal drug laws. 

McWilliams pleaded innocent last month to federal charges of growing pot in a home garden. He faces five or more years in prison if convicted. 

Michael Barbee, a member of a city task force proposing medical marijuana guidelines, said the city will continue with a plan to issue identification cards to medical marijuana patients in San Diego. About 1,500 to 3,000 patients are expected to apply, Barbee said.


Berkeley schools may drop racial balance policy

By David Scharfenberg Daily Planet Staff
Friday November 08, 2002

 

Worried about a legal challenge from the right, the Berkeley Unified School District may drop a policy requiring racial balance in schools, district officials said Wednesday. 

Berkeley currently mandates that most of its schools reflect the racial make-up of the surrounding area. But, faced with a growing number of California court rulings that forbid the consideration of race in governmental decision-making, officials said they may use other factors like household income and parent education levels to ensure diverse schools. 

“We’re going to have to go to another means of achieving diversity,” said Board of Education President Shirley Issel. 

Any policy shift, though, will face significant resistance. Three of the school board’s five members have expressed strong reservations about a school assignment system that does not include race. 

“I want to make sure that we don’t go back to segregated schools,” said Vice President Joaquin Rivera at the school board’s Wednesday night meeting. “I think that would be a horrendous mistake.” 

Rivera said he is open to other approaches, but is skeptical that assignments based on household income or parent education level will result in racial diversity. 

Legal experts say the cash-strapped district will be vulnerable to a costly law suit if it continues to assign students by race. UC Hastings law professor David Hastings, who worked to overturn San Francisco’s race-based school assignment policy, said Berkeley has been exposed since 1996 when California voters approved Proposition 209, prohibiting preferential racial treatment by public entities. 

“They’ve had their heads in the sand for quite some time,” said Levine. “It seems to me that it’s just utterly foolhardy, given the law, for them [to keep the current policy in place.]” 

District officials have periodically revisited Berkeley’s desegregation plan since 1996 but have declined to make any changes, arguing that Proposition 209 language is vague and does not necessarily apply to school assignment plans. Several board members made the argument again Wednesday night. 

But in May, a state appellate court in southern California ruled that Proposition 209 forbids schools from using race to balance schools. In August, the California Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal, leaving the appellate court ruling as the law of the land. 

School board member John Selawsky said the case, which involved the Huntington Beach Union High School District, should be studied. But, he said he is still leaning toward a school assignment system that includes race, even if it results in a costly law suit. 

“I think it is important to stand up for what we believe in,” he said, predicting that liberal advocacy groups would come to the district’s aid and pay any legal fees. Berkeley Unified currently faces a $3.9 million budget shortfall. 

UC Berkeley law professor emeritus John Coons warned that, in the wake of the Huntington case, a policy making explicit use of race is unlikely to pass legal scrutiny. But he argued that there are ways to ensure diversity without relying upon race. 

The Student Assignment Advisory Committee, a citizen group that has worked with the Berkeley Unified School District for two years, has developed the outlines of an alternative plan. 

At the Wednesday night school board meeting, the committee recommended that the district, in assigning students, weigh some combination of four factors: household income, parental education level, English proficiency and single-parent family status. 

The citizen group will present a more detailed plan at the board’s Nov. 20 meeting and will seek public input at a Dec. 4 forum. The board is currently scheduled to vote on a final plan Dec. 11, but indicated Wednesday night that it may delay the vote until after Christmas. 

Nancy Riddle, an advisory committee member and newly-elected school board member who will take office next month, said the group’s proposal has tested well in simulations. Although it does not weigh race, she said, it still results in the sort of ethnically-diverse schools that are currently in place. 

But school board members worry that, as Berkeley demographics change, the new system may not continue to produce racially-mixed schools. 

Roia Ferrazares, also of the Student Assignment Advisory Committee, counters that the district could track racial diversity, English proficiency and other factors from year-to-year and make adjustments in school assignments. 

But Sharon Browne, an attorney with Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation, which sued the Huntington Beach district, warned against using measures like household income and English proficiency as stand-ins for race. 

“If they’re using different social indicators as a proxy for race, that would violate Proposition 209,” she said. 

 

Contact reporter at scharfenberg@ 

berkeleydailyplanet.net


A parable of freedom

By John Angell Grant Special to the Daily Planet
Friday November 08, 2002

Some feel America is now trading personal liberty for increased security in the current fight against terrorism. Opinions about the wisdom of this choice vary along the political spectrum. 

Berkeley Repertory Theatre chimed in on the question Wednesday with the opening of “Menocchio,” a new play written and directed by Lillian Groag. 

Intended as a cautionary tale about today’s narrowing political climate, “Menocchio” is a comedy/drama about one man’s discovery of independent thought in 16th century Italy. 

Playwright Groag is a well-known director of New York, regional and international opera and theater who has made forays into the world of scriptwriting in recent years. 

Berkeley Rep showcased her wonderful “Magic Fire” a few seasons back. The play about European immigrants to South America was based on Groag’s own family. 

Her “Ladies of the Camellias,” about dueling turn-of-the-century stage divas Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse, has been widely produced. 

Berkeley Rep’s “Menocchio” proves to be a strong technical production of a script that’s not quite there yet. Its black-and-white, good-and-evil story tends to be obvious and simplistic, and lecture downwards towards its audience. 

Based on an actual historical figure, Menocchio (Charles Dean) is an uneducated man and the operator of a mill. Taught to read by a local priest (Peter Van Norden) during fishing trips, Menocchio then reads a few banned books.  

He becomes fascinated with ideas about science, religion and other heresies. Word of his love of thinking filters through the community and reaches the ears of the church, which puts him on trial before an inquisitor. 

The acting is good in this production. Charles Dean is an amusing, twitching Menocchio, simultaneously both a simple man and a burgeoning thinker, discovering new parts of himself. 

Jeri Lynn Cohen is loving and sarcastic as his witty, agitated wife, concerned that Menocchio will get himself in trouble with the authorities. 

Dan Hiatt is wonderful as Menocchio’s worried friend Bastian. In one of the show’s highlights, Hiatt plays a hilarious succession of five characters brought in as witnesses in the church trial of Menocchio. 

Van Norden has amusing moments as the exasperated local priest, fearful that Menocchio’s unorthodox ideas will land him in the soup. Robert Sicular plays several roles effectively, including a foppish local nobleman and a vicious state prosecutor. 

Ken Ruta creates an interesting, multi-faceted church inquisitor with a low-key manner in the play’s second half. 

Designer Alexander V. Nichols has staged the action on an enormous astrolabe, a device for measuring the stars. The astrolabe rotates, and people rotate on it, as a reminder in this world of feudal religious views that we are part of a solar system governed by laws of science. 

“Menocchio” is a bit like a Mime Troupe show, but not a great Mime Troupe show. Broad agitprop, it is written in humorous, anachronistic, modern-day speech. 

Especially in the first half, the story tends to be black and white politically. Further, the humor of the script seems labored. The work of making it funny falls on the shoulders of the actors. 

Because the play tips its message early, it doesn’t have anywhere to go thematically. The message seems patronizing in its unsubtleness. The audience doesn’t learn so much as watch a tableau of sarcasm and ridicule. 

A cartoony description of evolution, for example, sends a frightened crowd fleeing from a bar. Later, a debate between Menocchio and the priest on their differing views reiterates the obvious. 

In the second act, when the play sets a serious tone at Menocchio’s trial, it is often more successful. Carried away with humorous self-confidence, Dean comes alive in a wonderful interaction with Ruta’s subtle, disturbing inquisitor,  

“Menocchio” is a cautionary story about intellectual freedom. But there’s a self-contradiction in this tale about the importance of thinking. The play asks the big questions, but before allowing the audience to think about them, quickly slips in the answers.


St. Mary’s drops both cross country titles

By Jared Green Daily Planet Staff
Friday November 08, 2002

Thursday was a bittersweet day for the St. Mary’s High cross country team, as the Panthers got one outstanding individual performance but saw their team hopes fall away at the Bay Shore Athletic League championship. 

Sophomore Gabriela Rios-Sotelo won the girls’ race by more than a minute, extending the St. Mary’s run of girls champions to four straight seasons. Current Cal runner Bridget Duffy won the last three BSAL titles for the Panthers. 

But it was Piedmont High that carried the day, winning both the girls’ and boys’ team titles. While the St. Mary’s coaches were prepared for the Highlanders’ depth to carry them in the girls’ race, the sloppy conditions and an outstanding effort from Piedmont kept the Panthers from contesting the boys’ race. 

After a steady downpour made the Joaquin Miller Park course a little muddy, a deluge just before the boys’ race made it a veritable pigsty. Combine steep, muddy hills with a pack of runners jostling for position and a fall is inevitable. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the tumble came from their best runner, sophomore Tino Rodriguez. Just after tossing his fogged-up glasses to coach Jeff Rogers, Rodriguez fell on a downhill stretch, moving him back three crucial spots. 

With each team’s first five finishers scoring points, the Highlanders looked like easy winners when their first four runners were in second, fourth, fifth and seventh place. The St. Mary’s runners came in almost as a pack, with Scott Howard taking eighth, Martinez ninth and Matt Mullarkey 10th. Emilio Flores and Jake Texara came in 12th and 14th, respectively, to close out the Panthers’ scoring, and all that was left was to wait for Piedmont’s fifth runner. St. Mary’s needed Joey Aurora to come in later than 34th, a hope that was dashed when he finished just behind the 24th competitor to lock up his school’s second title of the day. 

“I don’t think we lost it as much as Piedmont won it,” Rogers said. “They just ran a great race. Even if Tino hadn’t fallen, we wouldn’t have won.” 

On the girls’ side, Piedmont dominated the competition, but St. Mary’s sophomore Emily Olsen made a good showing. Considering her goal was to finish in the top seven, Olsen’s fourth-place finish was a remarkable achievement. But it was Rios-Sotelo who stole the show, increasing her lead on every lap and establishing herself as a favorite in the North Coast Section race in two weeks.


The American Policy Virus

Marvin Chachere San Pablo
Friday November 08, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

What stands in the way of success in our several wars? 

At first, our “War on Poverty” went OK, but eventually we lost ground and now seem to have given up. Our “War on Crime” continues, but it’s hard to say who’s winning. The net result of our “War on Drugs,” according to reports, is more drugs. Will our “War on Terrorism” follow the same inconclusive routine? What’s wrong? 

I found the answer a few weeks ago when I read about the opening of a brand new Air Force headquarters. A detachment of military personnel will be armed and ready for deployment, not against an enemy outside our borders, but anywhere there is trouble in the homeland. 

This proves that vital parts of our governing body are susceptible to the “American Policy Virus.” All policy-making organs are vulnerable; for instance, the use of vouchers to fix our broken down educational system may be the result of infection by the AP Virus. The AP Virus consists of: (a) identifying a problem, (b) giving it a name, and (c) using the name to deduce policy measures aimed at eliminating the problem. The active ingredient is (c). 

Very soon after the mass murder of 9/11, the Bush administration labeled the problem war, and as a metaphor, the label carried a double whammy – we do not take war lightly and once engaged we use every available resource to win. Then the AP Virus set in and our governing body proceeded to deduce policy measures from its metaphoric label – witness the almost unanimous passage of the so-called Patriot Act. 

An apt metaphor brings focus to a problem in the same way that a book’s title focuses attention on its contents. The AP Virus, in effect, causes the governing body to wave the book’s title fatuously about instead of opening the book, i.e. trying to find out what we can by rational analysis. 

It remains to be seen how much effect the AP Virus will have on the problem of worldwide terrorism. Is seems obvious that war as metaphor leads nowhere. 

 

Marvin Chachere 

San Pablo


Calendar

Friday November 08, 2002

Friday, Nov. 8  

Alexander Cockburn’s Incendiary Rants 

7 p.m. 

AK Press Warehouse, 673-A 23rd St. 

Release party for muckraking maverick Alexander Cockburn’s new spoken word CD “Beating the Devil” 

208-1700 

Free 

 

Berkeley Women in Black Vigil 

Bancroft at Telegraph Ave. 

Weekly protest to “End the Occupation” 

 

Saturday, Nov. 9 

Book Sale and Auction 

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The Center for AIDS Services, 5720 Shattuck Ave., Oakland 

This big sale will benefit the AIDS center 

655-3435 

 

An Afternoon of Mystery  

2 p.m. 

1901 Russell St. 

Berkeley’s South Branch Library presents mystery writers Jake Fuchs “Death of a Prof”, Owen Hill “The Chandler Apartments”, and Mary Halock “The Dog on the Roof” 

525-3948 

Free 

 

Sunday, Nov. 10 

World Run Day-national charity benefit 

All day 

Various cities across the nation  

(516) 859-3000, www.runday.com 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 12 

Holiday Craft Baazar 

10 a.m. to noon 

St. John’s Presbyterian Curch, 2727 College Ave. 

Handmade items, sweet treats, and knick knacks will be for sale. All are welcome 

845-6830 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 13 

Public Lecture by the Rev. Canon Naim Ateek 

7:30 p.m. 

UCC, on Dana St. between Durant and Channing 

Founder of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center and native of East Jerusalem, Rev. Ateek will lead a discussion sponsored by the First Congregational Church of Berkeley (UCC) and the Pacific School of Religion 

848-3696 

$10/ suggested donation 

 

League of Women Voters Meeting 

Noon 

LWVBAE office, 1414 University Ave. 

Discussion will focus on regional issues 

849-2154 

 

Thursday, Nov. 14 

Regret to Inform  

Reception 6:30 p.m. / Program 7 p.m. 

Berkeley High School Auditorium, 2234 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

A screening and discussion with filmmaker Barbara Sonneborn. 

979-0190, liz_vogel@facing.org 

Free 

 

Berkeley Path Wanderers Meeting 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. 

Meeting to include a presentation by best- selling author Adah Bakalinsky who will speak about her book, “Stairway Walks of San Francisco” 

Friday, Nov. 15 

“Imagining A World Without Prison” Opening Night Benefit 

8 p.m. to 1 a.m. 

Black Box, 1928 Telegraph Ave. 

The Prison Activist Resource Center events features dynamic speakers, music, art, and food. The exhibit, which features writing and artwork from prisoners, former prisoners, and family members of prisoners, runs Nov. 10 to 30  

For more information call 893-4648 or visit www.prisonactivist.org 

$5- $25 sliding scale 

 

Berkeley Free Folk Festival Meting 

4 p.m. 

2180 Milvia Way, 5th Floor, Red Bud Room 

Discuss final site location, date of 2003 festival, and volunteers 

649-1423, hlih@yahoo.com 

Free 

 

Saturday, Nov. 16 

Latina Leadership Conference 

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

UC Berkeley Campus 

Lambda Theta Nu Sorority Inc. will provide non-college bound Latinas information about options in higher education and tackle the high drop out rate of Latina girls  

Free 

 

Puppet Show at the Hall of Health 

1:30 to 2:30 p.m. 

2230 Shattuck Ave, lower level 

Al children adn their parents are invited to see the award-winning puppet troupe, The Kids on the Block 

549-1564 

Suggested donation $2/ children under three free 

 

The First Ever Integrative Medicine Conference in Berkeley 

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

2060 Valley Life Science Building at the UC Berkeley campus 

Interactive day of speakers and workshops exploring alternative, complementary, and integrative medicine as a whole 

For information or reservations see www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~sim/conference 

$5 with pre-registration 

 

Sunday, Nov. 17 

17th Annual Jewish Genealogy Workshop 

12:30 to 4 p.m. 

Berkeley-Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 

Lectures and specialty sessions included 

Info at www.jewishgen.org/sfbajgs 

$5 for non-members 

 

Simplicity Forum 

7 to 8:30 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, Claremont Branch, 2940 Benvenue Ave. 

cecile@simplicitycircles.com 

Free 

 

Monday, Nov. 18 

Community Meeting 

6 to 8 p.m. 

Berkeley Alternative High School, 2107 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Led by the Superintendent, this discussion aims to serve as a collaboration towards establishing a long-term planning process 

R.S.V.P. to Queen Graham  

644-87649 

 

Women and Welfare Reform: Who Benefits and Who Loses? 

5 to 6:30 p.m. 

Women’s Faculty Club Lounge, UCB 

Lecture featuring Mimi Abramowitz of CUNY’s Hunter College 

 

Struggles for Racial Justice in Education 

4:30 to 6:30 p.m. 

Oakland Technical High School Library, 45th and Broadway, Oakland 

The Peace and Justice Caucus of the Oakland Education Association sponsors this event, which addresses race, youth, and education through a variety of community speakers 

654-8613 or jzern1@yahoo.com 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 19 

Concensus Unit: State Community College Study 

10:30 a.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch 

Community Room 

Shattuck Ave. and Kittredge 

Sponsored by the Berkeley League of Women Voters 

549-9719 

 

History and Planting of Golden Gate Park 

1 p.m. business meeting, 2 p.m. program 

Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. 

The Berkeley Garden Club presents Ernest Ng, volunteer city guide, who will speak about the history and planting of San Francisco’s historic park 

524-4374 

 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers 

9:30 a.m. 

Meet at Little Farm parking lot, Tilden Regional Park 

Join seniors and other slower walkers and enjoy the beauty of Tilden Park 

Contact Yvette Hoffner at 215-7672 or teachme88@yahoo.com 

 

Berkeley Intelligent Conversation 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Berkeley-Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St.  

Join the bimonthly discussion group informally led by fomer UC Berkeley extension lecturer, investment advisor and finncial planner Robert Berend. Open to all. Please bring light snacks or drinks to share. This session’s topic: To be determined by those present 

527-5332 

Free 

 

Friday, Nov. 8 

The Librarians, Bitesize, and Glitter Mini 9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

All age show 

$7 

 

Chaskinakuy 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

Beautiful vocal harmonies in Spanish and Quechua 

548-1761 

$15.50-$16.50 

 

An Evening of Cultural Harmony 

8 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 

The Barbard Ensemble, the San Francisco Klezmer Experience, and Lichi Fuentes & Jackeline Rago will treat listeners to music from Iran, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. 

704-7480 x755 

$25 general admission 

Black Dice, Dearly Departed (ex-Subtonix), and The Mass 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

$8 

 

Saturday, Nov. 9 

An Evening of Cultural Harmony 

8 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 

The Barbard Ensemble, the San Francisco Klezmer Experience, and Lichi Fuentes & Jackeline Rago will treat listeners to music from Iran, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. 

704-7480 x755 

$25 general admission 

 

Sunday, Nov. 10 

The Sheldon Brown Group 

4:30 p.m. 

Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St. 

Reservations: 845-5373 

$10-$15 

 

The Starry Irish Music Session with Shay Black 

8 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

Tickets available on a sliding scale 

 

Monday, Nov. 11 

Renegade Sidemen 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

Featuring Calving Keyes 

$4 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 12 

Open Mike with Ellen Hoffman Trio 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

$4 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 13 

Classical Piano Concert 

1:15 p.m. 

North Bekeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. at MLK 

Solange Buillaume will be playing Beethoven, Bach and other cassical works 

Free  

 

John Wesley Harding 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

Harding’s biting social commentary and outrageous humor blend seamlessly with his warm, personal songs. 

548-1761 

$15.50-$16.50 

 

Jimmy Ryan Jazz Quartet 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

$4 

 

Thursday, Nov. 14 

Peter Mulvey, Mark Erelly 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

21+ 

$10 

 

Alef Null 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

Moroccan and Kurdish music 

$4 

 

Friday, Nov. 15 

Walter “Ogi” Johnson and His Native American Flute 

7:30 p.m. 

Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. 

Fellowship Cafe & Open Mike is sponsored by the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. Poets, singers, musicians, and storytellers are invited to sign up for the open mike.  

540-0898 

$5-$10 donation 

 

Classis Jazz with Anna de Leon 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

$4 

 

Cynthia Dall 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

21+ 

$8 

 

Saturday, Nov. 16 

An Evening of Choral Music 

7 p.m. 

Pacific School of Religion Chapel, 1798 Scenic Ave. 

A wide variety of choral styles from Bay Area groups including Voci, Opus-Q, Let’s Do It!, and New Spirit Community Church Choir 

849-8280 

$15-$20, sliding scale 

 

Jeff Tauber and Friends 

8 p.m. 

Anna’s Jazz Bistro, 1801 University Ave. 

$5 

 

Sunday, Nov. 17 

Mingus Amungus 

4:30 p.m. 

Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St. 

This seven-piece band combines be-bop, funk and hip hop jazz. 

845-5373 

$10-$15 

 

“Shove Off to Birthday Island” 

Through Nov. 30 

Reception Nov. 2 from 5 to 8 p.m. 

Tue. through Sat., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland 

A collaborative exhibition of Tonya Solley Thornton and Frank Haines including video and sculptural installations. 

836-0831 

 

Children of the Gulf War Photo Exhibit 

Through Nov. 30 

Mon. through Thurs., 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

Fri. through Sat.., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Sun., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 

Featuring works of Takashi Morizumi 

Information: www.savewarchildren.org 

 

Ceramics - Opening Reception 

Through Nov. 17 

3 to 5 p.m. 

A New Leaf Gallery, 1286 Gilman St. 

525-7621 

Free 

 

“Recent Acquisitions” 

Through Dec. 14 

Thurs. through Sat., 1 to 4 p.m. 

Berkeley Historical Society, Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center St. 

848-0181 

Free 

 

Menocchio 

Nov. 6 through Dec. 22 

Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 

Berkeley Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of Lillian Groag’s charged comedy 

647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org  

$38 and $54/ sliding scale 

 

Saturday Nov. 9 

Dorothy Allison and Jewelle Gomez appear in support of Boadecia’s Books 

8 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church 

559-9184 

$25/ sliding scale 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 12 

Open Mic 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

7:30 p.m. 

Free 

Wednesday, Nov. 13 

Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik 

8:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

Cash prizes up to $90 

21+ 

$7/ general, $5/ students with ID 

 

Friday, Nov. 8 

“El Che” 

7 p.m. 

Redwood Gardens, 2951 Derby St. 

Film screening followed by salsa dancing to support Berkeley’s Cuban Sister-City Palma Soriano. 

548-6941 

$10 / sliding scale 

 

“Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Times” 

7:30 p.m. 

First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way 

The Middle East Children’s Alliance will premiere a new film. 

548-0542 

$15 


Voters say no to any new tax hikes

By Matthew Artz Daily Planet Staff
Friday November 08, 2002

Berkeley progressives weren’t the only ones cheering on election night. 

While the far left celebrated gains on City Council, more conservative tax and spending opponents won an unprecedented victory with voters rejecting three of four proposed tax measures. 

Ballot initiatives calling for new taxes to pay for pedestrian safety, affordable housing and a retrofit of old City Hall were all soundly rejected. Only a property tax increase to pay for a new animal shelter met with voter approval. 

“The story of this election was a tax revolt,” said Bob Migdal, a former candidate for the 4th District City Council seat. He argued that mounting city budget deficits and middle class hardships had soured residents on supporting tax hikes for new spending. 

“Look at Proposition M,” Migdal said, referring to a call to increase the tax on home sales to pay for affordable housing, homelessness prevention and apartment retrofits. “Everybody [in council] signed on to that and it lost overwhelmingly. The old Berkeley would have approved it,” he said. 

In fairness to Berkeley’s tax and spend reputation, California law makes it hard to do either. A two-thirds vote is required to pass a ballot measure raising taxes. 

Until Tuesday, that was almost never a serious hurdle. 

Since 1997 Berkeley voters have passed eight of nine ballot initiatives calling for higher taxes. 

The only tax measure defeated by voters was a 2000 initiative that proposed property tax hikes to pay for new street lights. Though losing, the measure garnered 63 percent of the vote. 

This year, Measure M won only 51 percent of the vote. Measure L, which would have increased property taxes to raise $10 million for pedestrian safety improvements fared a little better, winning 54 percent support. The most expensive ballot initiative, Measure J, which asked property owners to cough up $21.5 million to retrofit old City Hall was soundly defeated. Only 40 percent of voters supported the plan. 

Deputy City Attorney Phil Kamlarz chalked the defeat of the tax measures to the weak economy. “Berkeley voters have been very generous and they may have reached a saturation point,” he said. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington who championed Measures M and L agreed. “[In other years] the city was awash in cash, people were awash in cash,” he said. 

Now, according to recent budget information, Berkeley is running a $2.1 million deficit, which is projected to swell to $6.4 million in two years. Last month, council approved a temporary spending freeze until plans for the next two-year budget are finalized in June. 

Worthington though didn’t think voter rejection of the ballot measures amounted to a tax revolution. He said that if council had put fewer tax initiatives on the ballot, they may have won enough support to win.  

I think a lot of people saw all the tax measures on the ballot and said ‘OK, I’ll vote for three,’ said Worthington. “If we only had the animal shelter, pedestrian safety and affordable housing [on the ballot], I think they all might have won.” 

With Berkeley lacking in funds and tax hikes rejected, city officials need to find creative ways to fund programs.  

City Housing Director Stephen Barton said he would try to get more grant money to pay for building affordable housing, but said the city might have to tank its program to help keep at-risk, low-income residents from becoming homeless. 

“The city is facing a bunch of nasty trade-offs,” he said. “There are a lot of programs that are all good and important. I don’t know how you make trade-offs between child care and emergency assistance to keep people in their homes.” 

 

Contact reporter at matt@ 

berkeleydailyplanet.net 


New inductees will join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Friday November 08, 2002

 

NEW YORK — Three British exports from rock’s “new wave” of the late 1970s — The Police, The Clash and Elvis Costello and the Attractions — will join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year. 

They’ll be inducted along with the Righteous Brothers, blue-eyed soul singers of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” and Australian hard rockers AC/DC. 

The 18th annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held March 10 in New York and televised later on VH1. 

The Police’s relatively short career included hits such as “Roxanne” and “Every Breath You Take.” Lead singer Sting maintains an active solo career.


Lady Jackets one win from another undefeated season

By Jared Green Daily Planet Staff
Friday November 08, 2002

 

Having already clinched a league title, the Berkeley High girls volleyball team moved one step closer to its third consecutive undefeated Alameda-Contra Costa Athletic League season on Thursday with a straight-set win (15-1, 15-6, 15-7) over El Cerrito High. 

As the Yellowjackets’ last regular-season home game, Thursday night was Senior Night, and Berkeley (20-10 overall, 13-0 ACCAL) seniors certainly came through with the spotlight on them. All four of the elder members of the team had good performances, led by middle blocker Vanessa Williams’ 12 kills, nine digs and four aces. Her front line partner, outside hitter Amalia Jarvis, had six kills, 10 digs and two aces, while setter Danielle Larue served up six aces. Rachel Phillips, who is a spot starter, took advantage of her increased court time with a season-high six kills to go with 12 digs. 

Berkeley has just one match left, a Tuesday match against Alameda High, in the way of an unblemished league record. Head coach Justin Caraway said he is “cautiously optimistic” that his team can run the table, which may be a bit of an understatement. Caraway’s squad hasn’t lost more than one game in an ACCAL match in the three years since joining the league, and Berkeley’s dominance doesn’t seem likely to end anytime soon. 

After the regular season, the Jackets will try to duplicate their remarkable North Coast Section title run of last year. Although several players are back from the upset wins over Bishop O’Dowd High and Castro Valley High, Berkeley’s subpar performance against top competition this year has Caraway a little nervous. 

“O’Dowd will be a mental hurdle again, because they’ve beaten us so many times,” Caraway said. “I also have no idea where we’ll be seeded because we have so many losses. I don’t know how that will affect us.” 

Berkeley came out on fire against El Cerrito (5-8 ACCAL), with Jarvis and Williams pounding the ball all over the court. Although the Jackets did let up in the subsequent games, allowing the Gauchos some easy points, Caraway was pleased with the emotion his players brought to the match. 

“I thought we came out and played very well in the first game, really put [El Cerrito] on their heels,” he said. “We lost some focus from there. We’ve struggled with the mental challenge of playing weaker teams all season.”


Kudos for coverage

Sarah Savage Davis
Friday November 08, 2002

o the Editor: 

 

Thank you Daily Planet. Web site sfgate.com couldn't provide sufficient election news. Not very surprising that sfbayguardian.com was asleep mid-week, and why did I waste time checking the Oakland Tribune and the San Jose Mercury News? Perhaps it's the agricultural runoff I've been drinking in the tap water. 

Thank you for being there in our own little planet so that I could get the news of Election Day. 

 

Sarah Savage 

Davis


Police nab armed robber

Matthew Artz
Friday November 08, 2002

After a several block car chase, police tracked down one of two armed robbers who put a gun to three UC Berkeley students early Thursday. 

According to police, the three students were standing on the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Channing Way at 12:41 a.m. when a man wearing a ski mask, whipped out a long black shotgun and demanded their money. 

The victims complied, and the suspect ran into a red get-away car, driven by an accomplice, said Officer Mary Kusmiss. 

Police were notified, and began searching the area. A patrol officer spotted the car at Shattuck Avenue and Channing Way and drove after the suspects, south on Shattuck and then west on Dwight Way. 

The suspects fled their moving car at Dwight and Martin Luther King Junior Way. Officers chased down one of the suspects behind a fence on the 2500 block of Martin Luther King.  

A search of the suspects’ car, which plowed into a tree on the 1800 block of Dwight, turned up a shotgun, a pistol and the victims’ belongings. 

Police arrested Jonathan Agreda, 19, from Oakland on charges of armed robbery and possession of a loaded gun. 


Gerta Farber Oakland Vote by absentee

Staff
Friday November 08, 2002

 

To the Editor: 

Do we need polling places? Do we need ballot glitches? Computer failures? Inept workers? Lines and traffic? 

My absentee ballots work just fine and, of course, includes the full identity of the voter. Most of us fill in those sample ballots we all get anyway. Why can’t we all vote by mail, saving a great deal of money and major headaches? 

I suspect we would get more voters as well. 

 

Gerta Farber 

Oakland


Four former SLA members plead guilty in murder-robbery case

By Steve Lawrence The Associated Press
Friday November 08, 2002

ACRAMENTO — Four former members of the Symbionese Liberation Army accused of killing a woman during a 1975 bank robbery pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Thursday. 

The four are William Harris; his ex-wife, Emily Montague; Michael Bortin; and Sara Jane Olson, who is already serving 14 years behind bars for a 1975 attempt to blow up two Los Angeles police cars. 

They face prison terms of six to eight years in the plea agreement they entered in Sacramento County Superior Court. Sentencing is scheduled Feb. 14. 

The pleas bring the legal proceedings involving the SLA, the radical group that became prominent when it kidnapped newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst in 1974, almost to an end. 

Montague admitted in court that she had pulled the trigger in the shotgun slaying of 42-year-old Myrna Opsahl during an April 21, 1975, robbery of the Crocker National Bank in suburban Sacramento. Montague received the longest term of eight years. 

Opsahl’s death was “a very violent, horrific senseless crime,” said Sacramento County Assistant District Attorney Robert Gold. 

Montague, 55, fought back tears and said the shotgun discharged accidentally. 

“I was horrified at the time,” she said. “There has not been a day in the last 27 years that I have not thought of Mrs. Opsahl and the tragedy I brought on her family.” 

She also denied ever calling Mrs. Opsahl a “bourgeois pig,” as Hearst alleged in her 1982 book, “Every Secret Thing.” Montague said she didn’t want anyone to think she considered Opsahl’s life insignificant. 

All four former SLA members apologized to Opsahl’s family, sitting in the front row of the courtroom. 

“I say that from the bottom of my heart,” said Harris, 57, of Oakland. He faces a seven-year sentence, unless he can convince prosecutors and Judge Cecil Thomas to lower it to six years, which Thomas called “an uphill battle.” 

Olson, 55, of St. Paul, Minn., will receive a six-year sentence under the plea agreement. She will be allowed to withdraw her plea if the state’s parole board disagrees with that agreement, authorities said. 

“I never entered that bank with the intent of harming anyone,” Olson said. “I am truly sorry, and I will be sorry until the day I die.” 

The state Board of Prison Terms in October lengthened Olson’s original prison term for the attempted bombing by five years, citing the potential for violence and harm from the multiple intended victims. 

Bortin, 54, a Portland flooring contractor, also received a six-year sentence. 

During the robbery, Bortin said in court Thursday, he held a handgun that he “waved a little bit” and was the one who announced it was a robbery. 

He was “devastated and very ashamed” about his role in the robbery and murder, Bortin said. “I know it doesn’t mean much to say I am sorry to the family. ... I just cannot imagine how horrible it must be.” 

Bortin said the actions of the revolutionary band did “horrible damage” to people who peacefully protested social conditions. 

The guilty pleas essentially mirror Hearst’s account of a bank robbery that wound up with an unintentional shooting. 

Hearst gave “the FBI this information first in 1976 and then she wrote a book about it in 1982 and from what I understand the information ... from the defendants in absolutely consistent,” said George Martinez, Hearst’s attorney. “Her reaction is basically gratitude that this chapter in her life may now hopefully be finished.” 

A fifth suspect in the case, James Kilgore, 55, has been a fugitive since the 1970s. 

Before the pleas, prosecutors had been building their case in the 27-year-old robbery and murder. They cited new forensic evidence in bringing the charges after the 1999 arrest of Olson, who had moved to Minnesota in the 1970s, changed her name from Kathleen Soliah and became a housewife and mother. 

Gold cited several reasons for accepting the pleas, including “evidentiary difficulties” that existed even when the case was fresh. Gold also explained that while the defendants were violent criminals at the time, for the last 20 years or more, “each defendant has led an otherwise law-abiding life,” and is no longer is a danger to society. 

He said the Opsahl family agreed to the case’s resolution as long as the defendant each publicly admitted responsibility for Myrna Opsahl’s death. 

All agreed to pay restitution if requested by the family, and to give up any rights to profit from selling their version of the high-profile national case. 

Myrna Opsahl’s son, Jon Opsahl, who led the fight to see his mother’s killers arrested and tried, was in the front row of the courtroom, sitting next to his widower father. 

A smiling Opsahl declined comment, saying “I want to see it before I believe it.” 

Olson, the only defendant in custody, appeared wearing orange pants, a yellow top, and was shackled at the wrists and ankles.


Dollars are power for the public

John Rippo Publisher and editor, ESPRESSO San Diego
Friday November 08, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

I and others in the coffee trade are glad that Measure O, the coffee initiative, went down to defeat. It was a short-sighted approach to a complex problem that could not have been solved by vote but rather by education of the public to the importance of what is an arguably better product, produced with greater respect to worthy concerns. 

In the future, the coffee trade will develop along the lines desired by Rick Young; that is already happening now. 

Consumer demand will drive the specialty coffee trade to produce more organic coffees to satisfy that demand. It is essential for the public to remember that their dollars are power – and that business has to answer to that power. 

 

John Rippo 

Publisher and editor, ESPRESSO 

San Diego 

 


Berkeley grandmother walks 800 miles

Melissa McRobbie – Melissa McRobbie
Friday November 08, 2002

Julia Wildwood, the 56-year-old grandmother who left Berkeley in late September to walk to Washington D.C., is now in Flagstaff, Arizona. 

Fed up with high rents and the sluggish job market, and facing the prospect of homelessness after the financial failure of her Berkeley baking business Looney Moon Cookies, the social activist decided she wanted out.  

“Those who know me know that writing and organizing for peace and justice has been my calling for some 33 years,” Wildwood said. “Those with a similar calling can relate to the difficulty of balancing such purpose with making a living.” 

Wildwood's solution to the dilemma was, simply, to walk. She left Berkeley Sept. 30 with nothing more than a backpack, a hat, sunglasses and two walking sticks. 

“Call it a protest. What it will accomplish, I don't know,” she said. 

With five weeks of the trek under her belt, Wildwood said she has had many adventures, including a spat with an armed security guard over a broken ATM machine. However, she says she’s “met mostly caring people along the way.” 

Wildwood expects to reach Washington, D.C. by June, 2003. 

 

– Melissa McRobbie


Rent control revisited

George Azar Berkeley
Friday November 08, 2002

 

To The Editor: 

 

Leon Mayeri's selective views and history of Berkeley's voter-approved 1980 Rent Stabilization Ordinance quite literally turn reality on its head (Forum Oct. 24). 

Mr. Mayeri's suggestion that a 45 percent across-the-board rent hike between 1990 and 1994 – the greatest rent increase in rent board history – was “anything but disastrous” for Berkeley's 19,200 rent controlled households is unfortunate. For tenants living in Berkeley at the time, the economic impact of this rent hike was, without exaggeration, staggering. 

Passed by a real estate industry-backed rent board majority, this 45 percent rent hike led directly to the 1994 landslide election victory of an affordable housing rent board slate. Since 1994, affordable housing majorities have won four consecutive rent board elections by wide margins – a solid vote of confidence by Berkeley's voters. 

In his letter, Mr. Mayeri cites a 1990 court decision (the “Searle Decision”) that pertained to the Rent Board. Mr. Mayeri implies that this court decision “ordered” the Rent Board to raise rents across-the-board by 45 percent. This notion is a myth. 

The Searle Decision never mandated or cited a specific rent level adjustment, percentage or number. The judge's decision only required the Rent Board to address the concerns of property owners who owned or bought Berkeley rental units before 1980 – the year Berkeley's rent control program started. 

Seizing upon this 1990 court decision at the time, the real estate-backed Rent Board majority first imposed an arbitrary 28 percent citywide rent hike, then passed additional rent hikes totaling 17 percent over four years (45 percent total). 

The board also imposed this 45 percent increase upon thousands of renters who lived in units purchased by property owners after 1980 – a clear contradiction of the Searle decision's intent. Taken together, all 19,000 rent controlled units were blindsided by these unreasonable and egregious rent increases. 

Finally, Mr. Mayeri complains that no study has ever been conducted to determine the household income of Berkeley tenants (“for fear of revealing the facts” about renter income levels). In fact, the 1990 U.S. Census details both Berkeley renter and property owner income levels. According to the U.S. Census, the median renter-occupied household income stood at $19,000. The median owner-occupied Berkeley household stood at $50,000. Meanwhile, the value of Berkeley property has exploded by 300 to 400 percent between 1980 and 2000. 

 

George Azar 

Berkeley


Stanford, Yale to end early decisions for applicants

By Diane Scarponi The Associated Press
Friday November 08, 2002

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Two collegiate powerhouses, Yale and Stanford, have decided to take some of the stress out of the admissions process by ending their binding early decision programs. 

Starting next fall, students will be able to apply early but won’t be forced to attend if they get in. 

The presidents of both universities hope their switch to nonbinding “early action” policies will prompt other top colleges to end their binding early decision programs, which have been criticized for putting too much pressure on high school students. 

“This new policy offers those who have set their hearts on attending Stanford the opportunity to apply early in their senior year, without the additional pressure of having to commit before they are ready,” President John Hennessy said in a statement Wednesday. 

Binding early decision policies are especially difficult for students who need financial aid, because they cannot weigh aid offers from competing schools. 

Yale and Stanford’s new policies, however, won’t allow early applicants to apply for other nonbinding programs — unlike Harvard, which does. Harvard also does not require students who apply early to attend if they are accepted. 

Yale President Richard Levin acknowledged that the change may cost the Ivy League school up to 20 percent of its top applicants. 

“Our final thinking was that it would be unfortunate, but the value of making the change outweighs the concern,” Levin said. “Early decision programs help colleges more than applicants.” 

Early decision started at most elite colleges to allow top students to win admission to their first choice without having to go through the longer admissions process. Students apply in the fall, instead of in the spring. 

It’s not clear what effect the changes at Yale and Stanford will have on other top colleges. 

Brown, which reluctantly started offering early decision last year, is considering whether to alter its policy, university admissions officials have said. 

Princeton has no plans to change its binding early admissions program, spokeswoman Lauren Robinson-Brown said. 


Teen injured in “Jackass” stunt

Daily Planet Wire Service
Friday November 08, 2002

 

SAN JOSE — A San Jose boy is lucky to be alive, and uninjured, after he and some friends decided to try a stunt they saw in the movie “Jackass.” 

The 14-year-old was spotted running down North Sixth Street in the downtown area by a San Jose Police officer on patrol Tuesday. The officer noticed him because he was yelling -- and his sweatshirt was on fire. 

“The flames were going above his head,” San Jose Police spokesman Sgt. Steve Dixon said this morning. 

The officer immediately pulled over, got a fire extinguisher from the trunk of her patrol car and sprayed the boy down.  

Amazingly, he suffered no burns and did not require any medical treatment, according to Dixon, who attributes that to the officer being in the right place at the right time. 

After the boy had been extinguished, the officer noticed a wet shirt around his neck. Dixon said the boy told her he and his friends had just seen the movie “Jackass” and he volunteered to be the guinea pig when the three decided to emulate one of the stunts for fun. 

The shirt had been dampened with lighter fluid. 

The boy was returned home to his mother, who “was not very happy,” Dixon said. 

“Jackass,” a movie based on the controversial MTV television series, stars Johnny Knoxville and a group of men who go around performing “a variety of strange, painful and often humiliating stunts for the amusement of themselves and those around them,” according to the movie's producers. 

Both the television series and the movie begin with this warning: “The following show features stunts performed either by professionals or under the supervision of professionals. Accordingly, MTV and the producers must insist that no one attempt to recreate or reenact any stunt or activity performed on this show. MTV insists that our viewers do not send in any home  

footage of themselves or others being jackasses. We will not open or view any submissions, so don't waste your time.” 

Regardless of the warning, Tuesday's incident in San Jose isn't the first time life has tried to imitate the new-age “art.” 

In January 2001, a 13-year-old Connecticut boy suffered second-degree burns when he copied a “Jackass” stunt in which Knoxville laid down on a barbecue in a fire-resistant suit hung with steaks. 

An 11-year-old boy, also from Connecticut, burned himself copying a stunt in which he soaked a rag with engine degreaser, wrapped it around his leg and set it on fire. 

In April 2001, an Ohio teen was injured after trying to jump over a moving car, a stunt that his friends videotaped and that spawned a lawsuit from the teen's parents.


Jury gets case of poisoning toxicologist

By Michelle Morgante The Associated Press
Friday November 08, 2002

 

SAN DIEGO — Jurors were asked Thursday to decide whether a county toxicologist murdered her husband to keep her drug use and office affair a secret or if he committed suicide. 

The seven-man, five-woman Superior Court jury began deliberating after two days of closing arguments. 

Kristin Rossum, 26, is accused of poisoning Gregory de Villers with a massive dose of fentanyl, a painkiller 80 times more powerful than morphine. 

His body was found in the couple’s bedroom on Nov. 6, 2000, with red rose petals scattered around him and a wedding photo propped up nearby. 

Rossum is charged with first-degree murder with special circumstances. She faces life in prison without possibility of parole if convicted. 

Prosecutors contend Rossum killed her husband to keep him from revealing to her employers at the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s office that she was a methamphetamine addict who was stealing drugs from work and having an affair with her boss, Chief Toxicologist Michael Robertson. 

In his closing argument Thursday, defense attorney Alex Loebig said there was no reason for Rossum to poison her husband, whose death was a tragic, unexpected suicide. 

The defense contended de Villers killed himself because he was despondent that his wife was about to leave him for Robertson. Loebig also said Rossum was not afraid her colleagues would learn of her affair because many of them already knew about it. 

“This idea of a secret relationship ... is malarkey. It’s not true,” he said. 

Prosecutor Dave Hendren claimed she had motive and thorough knowledge of the drug that killed him — as well as easy access to it. 

“She is a poison expert,” Hendren said in rebuttal. “Greg de Villers was killed with the perfect poison.” 

Prosecutors allege Rossum staged a suicide scene, scattering rose petals around him to mimic a scene from her favorite film, “American Beauty,” then placed a wedding photo nearby.


Pelosi moves to become leading Democrat

Friday November 08, 2002

 

San Francisco's Nancy Pelosi moved Thursday to become the highest ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, after Rep. Richard Gephardt announced he would step aside. 

Following the Democrats' poor showing in congressional races around the nation, Gephardt announced he would let others take the day-to-day reins while he took stock of the overall situation. 

Pelosi released a statement thanking the departing Democratic leader and supporting his vision and values. But she also said she planned to become a candidate for his job immediately.  

“I look forward to building upon the strong foundation he has established,” she said. Fellow Democrat Rep. Tom Lantos, of San Mateo, also expressed his gratitude to Gephardt for his eight years of service during “particularly difficult years for our party.” 

Pelosi, D-San Francisco, has been in the House since 1987. Last fall she made history by becoming the first woman to be named Democratic Whip, the party's No. 2 position in the House. 

She serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee as well as its Subcommittee on Labor Health and Human Services and Education.  

Pelosi has made human rights and health services, particularly AIDS and breast cancer, central themes in her legislative efforts.


California voters overwhelmingly back state and local school bonds

By Louise Chu The Associated Press
Friday November 08, 2002

 

SACRAMENTO — Voters’ widespread approval of state and local school bond measures marked a surprising victory in the face of the struggling economy, analysts said Wednesday. 

Californians approved most state and local school bond measures on Tuesday, putting $22.4 billion into the pipeline for construction and other projects. 

Topping the list was state Proposition 47, a $13 billion general obligation bond that is the largest in California history. It passed with a decisive 59 percent of the ballots cast. 

“That’s a big vote in a recession,” said Stephen Levy, a senior economist at the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy. “This is clearly an electorate that, in a time of recession, is saying these investments are important for the future and the state’s quality of life.” 

The funds generated by Proposition 47 will be used to make repairs and relieve overcrowding at schools throughout the state, from kindergarten to university campuses. 

Schools throughout California will be getting another $9.4 billion from 90 local school bond measures approved Tuesday, according to School Services of California, a company that provides consulting services to school districts. 

In many areas, school bonds are being used to make up for decades of a swelling student enrollment and limited school construction. 

Kim Rueben, a public finance economist at the Public Policy Institute of California, said the bonds also help local districts access state money, which often requires districts to provide matching funds. 

Proposition 39, approved two years ago, made it easier to pass local school bonds by lowering the percentage of votes required for approval from two-thirds to 55 percent in most cases. 

Among the measures passed Tuesday was a $3.35 billion bond for the Los Angeles Unified School District — the largest local bond in California history. The district intends to use the money to build 120 new schools and create 115,000 new classroom seats. 

The measure passed decisively with 68 percent of the vote. The LAUSD previously passed a $2.4 billion school bond in 1997. 

Elsewhere, a $685 million bond will be used to make safety repairs and upgrade facilities for the 100,000 students enrolled in the San Diego Community College District. The San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento County will put the $350 million from its successful bond measure toward “basic needed repairs of the schools we already have,” said Deidra Powell, spokeswoman for the district. 

Taxpayer groups and other opponents rallied against many of the measures, saying the money used to pay off California’s enormous bond debt would eventually come out of the pockets of taxpayers and the budgets of other state programs. 

But Levy drew a distinction between state and local school bonds. 

When voters approve local bonds, they also sign off on specific property tax increases to pay them off, he said. With state bonds, however, there’s an illusion that the money’s free because the measures are paid for from the state general fund.


Truckee level dropping as Tahoe slips

Friday November 08, 2002

TAHOE CITY — Raindrops and snowflakes were falling on Lake Tahoe Thursday, but drought has left the lake at its lowest level in eight years — falling below the spillways that feed the Truckee River. 

“The bottom line is were not getting any water out of the lake,” said federal Water Master Garry Stone. 

Officials hope a series of strong storms expected through the weekend and a strengthening El Nino could help reverse dry conditions plaguing the region the last three years. 

If dry conditions continue this winter, substantial water supply problems could come next summer and suppliers would be forced to tap water stored in upstream reservoirs for drought emergencies. 

Sufficient storage remains in Boca Reservoir to maintain the federally mandated flows in the Truckee for a couple more weeks, Stone said. 

By the end of November, only natural flow from creeks and springs will enter the river, which could go nearly dry in places until the spring runoff. 

Tahoe currently is a few centimeters above the spillway rims of 6,223 feet above sea level. Its lowest level ever recorded was 6,220.26 feet on Nov. 30, 1992, in the midst of a lengthy drought. 

When the lake is full, up to 6 feet of water is stored above the natural rim for release into the Truckee River. 

“We’re back in a drought situation again and its just a matter of waiting for some precipitation,” Stone said. 

To raise Lake Tahoe far above its diminished levels, a significantly above-average if not epic winter will be needed, said Lori Williams, general manager of the Truckee Meadows Water Authority.


Biotech CEO cashes in while shareholders lose investment

By Paul Elias The Associated Press
Friday November 08, 2002

SAN FRANCISCO — As the stock of drug maker Titan Pharmaceuticals crashed to all-time lows, at least one savvy shareholder made a killing: its chief executive officer. 

Dr. Louis Bucalo legally cashed in 200,000 shares on Oct. 2 for about $9.5 million, according to federal filings, giving him a windfall nearly 40 times greater than the $1.28-per-share price average investors sold at that same day. 

Bucalo’s good fortune can be attributed to an investment strategy known as a stock collar — a popular tool in the hedging community but a rare and controversial move for an executive to make with his won company’s stock. 

Two years ago, Bucalo simultaneously made two bets: first that the stock would fall below $51.02 a share, second that the price would rise above $78.86. 

That collared his sale price between those two numbers — locking in a guaranteed minimum value for his shares. In exchange, he sacrificed potential profits should the stock rise above $78.86. 

At the time, Titan was reporting positive results from a Phase III trial of its experimental schitzophenia drug iloperidone. Its stock hovered near its all-time high of $65 a share. 

Since then, Titan’s shareholders lost $1.6 billion as the company’s stock tumbled with the market. 

When Bucalo’s two bets came due Oct. 2, the stock had cratered and he was able to sell 200,000 shares at $51.02. 

Bucalo initially disclosed the move in a November 2000 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and again last month. Now, some are criticizing Bucalo for betting against the company he leads as chief executive and chairman. 

“It’s just not right for a chief executive of a development-stage company like Titan, which has never posted a profit, to bet against his company,” said David Miller, co-founder of the investment newsletter Biotech Monthly. 

Miller said the technique erodes investor confidence in money-losing startups and should be used only — if ever — by insiders at blue chip companies. 

Bucalo referred a telephone call for comment to Titan lawyer Fran Stoller of New York’s Loeb & Loeb. 

Stoller defended the collar as legal and appropriate, and said it was the first time Bucalo sold Titan stock since he founded the company in 1991. 

“After being in a company for ten years, it was time to do something,” Stoller said. “Everything he owns is in the company.” 

Judy Shine, president of money manager Shine Investment Advisory Services in Englewood, Colo., said it’s a good idea to hedge like Bucalo did when a person’s portfolio is loaded with a single stock. 

“I have presented this to people left and right,” Shine said. “It makes sense for a person with a highly concentrated portfolio to get into a collar.” 

Stoller said when Bucalo entered into the collar, nobody foresaw the stock’s crash. At the time, she said, Bucalo risked never realizing potential profits if the company’s stock soared past the $78.86 a share price. 

“He is no Ken Lay,” Stoller said. 

Stoller said the collar was a popular hedging strategy at the time. Miller and others disputed that, saying it’s rare among executives trading shares of their own companies. 

In the latest issue of Biotech Monthly, where Bucalo’s deal was first reported, nine biotechnology companies unanimously said they prohibit their executives from entering into similar deals, with one saying it was a fireable offense. 

“It happens, but not that often,” said Lon Gerber, director of insider research at Thomson Financial. “It is not a common practice.” 

SEC filings also show Bucalo bought 250,000 Titan shares at about $1.50 each in the week after his windfall. He now holds 300,231 shares in Titan, which is also developing drugs to fight cancer and Parkinson’s disease.


Student group urges shoppers to avoid Gap

By Steve Giegerich The Associated Press
Friday November 08, 2002

An international student group started a campaign that urges shoppers to avoid Gap clothing stores this holiday season by placing ads Thursday in newspapers at several leading universities. 

The United Students Against Sweatshops said it is acting in response to anti-union activity at factories manufacturing Gap products in El Salvador and South Africa. 

Ben McKean, the group’s spokesman, said Gap suppliers in those two countries have used physical harassment, termination and blacklisting to impede organizing efforts. 

“It’s hard enough to organize unions in a lot of these countries,” McKean said. “For management to take such a hard line is really unacceptable.” 

He called the group’s action a two-month “holiday campaign” meant to convey a message from the foreign factory workers to the American public. McKean said the effort is not a boycott, which he characterized as a movement that continues indefinitely. 

The organization will assess the effectiveness of the campaign early in the new year to determine if it will continue, McKean said. 

A spokeswoman for San Francisco-based Gap declined comment, referring to a section of the company Web site on “ethical sourcing,” where the retailer pledges to promote fair treatment for workers by the vendors who make Gap clothing. 

“All of us at Gap Inc. want factory workers to be treated with dignity and respect,” a statement on the site says. 

The anti-Gap campaign is starting with advertisements in five college newspapers, including those at Harvard University, the University of Arizona and the University of Michigan.


Gap reports higher sales

By Michael Liedtke The Associated Press
Friday November 08, 2002

SAN FRANCISCO — Just because Gap Inc.’s sales rose for the first time in 2 1/2 years doesn’t mean the long-slumping retailer finally has turned the corner, company executives and industry analysts said Thursday. 

Gap raised hopes for better times by reporting October sales that far exceeded expectations. The San Francisco-based company’s same-store sales — a key measure of how a retailer is faring compared to the previous year — climbed 11 percent in October. 

The surge ended 29 consecutive months of declining same-store sales at the Gap. Spurred by a catchy advertising campaign tied to the “Green Acres” theme song, the Gap’s discount chain — Old Navy — fueled the comeback with a 24 percent increase in same-store sales. 

Business rebounded so much during October that Gap said its third-quarter profit will be at least two times higher than investors previously expected. 

Gap expects to earn 12 cents to 14 cents for its just-completed fiscal quarter, well above the previous consensus estimate of 6 cents among analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. 

Investors cheered the news. Gap’s shares climbed 65 cents Thursday to close at $13.42 on the New York Stock Exchange. 

“The company is really starting to make things happen again, but it’s still too early to declare victory,” said industry analyst Richard Jaffe of UBS Warburg. 

Gap management isn’t ready to celebrate yet, either. 

“While we are pleased with October’s results, our outlook remains cautious until we see more consistent performance over time,” said Heidi Kunz, Gap’s chief financial officer.


Tech innovators share in $250,000 award

By Matthew Fordahl The Associated Press
Friday November 08, 2002

SAN JOSE — A group that provides inexpensive and clean lighting to the poor around the world was among five innovators honored for applying technology to benefit humanity. 

The Alberta, Canada-based Light Up The World Foundation will split a $250,000 cash prize with the other four winners of the second annual Tech Museum Awards ceremony held Thursday night. 

The awards, which are presented by the San Jose-based Tech Museum of Innovation and chip-equipment maker Applied Materials Inc., were established to encourage individuals, organizations and companies to implement technology to address global challenges. 

“The heartwarming and inspiring stories of these remarkable people and organizations remind us of the potential goodness of technology,” said Tech Museum chief executive Peter Giles. 

The Light Up The World Foundation uses White Light Emitting Diodes to generate comfortable reading light that consumes only one-tenth of a watt of electricity and provides light for 10 years. 

So far, the group has lit up more than 500 homes in Nepal, 100 homes in India and 50 homes in Sri Lanka for $17,350. 

Organizers estimate a third of the world’s population relies on dirty, fuel-based lighting after nightfall. Wood fires and kerosene lamps not only provide poor lighting but also generate toxic fumes.


Author of Proposition 51, the traffic congestion measure, steps down

Friday November 08, 2002

 

SACRAMENTO — The author of Proposition 51, the traffic congestion measure that failed passage this election, has resigned as executive director of the Planning and Conservation League. 

Gerald Meral said his departure has nothing to do with heavy criticism that Proposition 51 was a “pay for play” initiative designed to benefit developers and Indian tribes. 

Meral said he resigned because his wife, who’s a schoolteacher, is retiring and they plan to move to the Northern California coast. He said he will work part-time to raise money for an endowment for the Planning and Conservation League Foundation. 

Meral denied any pressure to step down, although Senate President Pro Tem John Burton wrote a letter to the league’s board of directors in September, calling the group’s approach to Proposition 51 “shortsighted, simplistic and heartless.” Burton also accused the group of “becoming a whore for the self-aggrandizement of Jerry Meral instead of being an organization committed to saving the environment.” 

Proposition 51 was one of only two state initiatives to lose Tuesday. Meral blamed newspaper coverage and legislative hearings for swaying voters. 

The initiative would have shifted about $900 million generated from vehicle sales tax revenue toward funding for more than 40 different projects. Though the league called the initiative a “traffic congestion relief and safe school bus act,” the projects ranged from construction of a railroad museum in Sacramento.


Got Milk? Biggs says no thanks

Friday November 08, 2002

DURHAM, N.C. — The stone gargoyles perched atop the doors to Duke University’s new Gothic dormitory were meant to surprise and honor two wealthy donors. 

The university succeeded at surprise: Aubrey and Kathleen McClendon, who gave $5.5 million to build the dorm, were shocked to find their own likenesses staring down from the hall that bears their name. 

So shocked that the sculptures will be taken down at the couple’s request. 

“They were grateful,” said Peter Vaughn, spokesman for Duke’s development office. “They just didn’t approve of the way we showed our appreciation.” 

The caricatures resemble bobble-head dolls, with oversized smiling heads and tiny bodies. 

The sculptures of Aubrey McClendon, a 1981 graduate and CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp. in Oklahoma City, and his wife, Kathleen, a 1980 graduate, will remain on McClendon Tower until new ones are crafted to replace them, university officials said. A plaque will honor the couple instead. 

In addition to the gift to Duke’s charitable trust, the McClendons’ have given other gifts to the university, including a $1 million donation to the Duke Basketball Legacy Fund.


Duke to take down stone gargoyles modeled after university donors

Friday November 08, 2002

DURHAM, N.C. — The stone gargoyles perched atop the doors to Duke University’s new Gothic dormitory were meant to surprise and honor two wealthy donors. 

The university succeeded at surprise: Aubrey and Kathleen McClendon, who gave $5.5 million to build the dorm, were shocked to find their own likenesses staring down from the hall that bears their name. 

So shocked that the sculptures will be taken down at the couple’s request. 

“They were grateful,” said Peter Vaughn, spokesman for Duke’s development office. “They just didn’t approve of the way we showed our appreciation.” 

The caricatures resemble bobble-head dolls, with oversized smiling heads and tiny bodies. 

The sculptures of Aubrey McClendon, a 1981 graduate and CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp. in Oklahoma City, and his wife, Kathleen, a 1980 graduate, will remain on McClendon Tower until new ones are crafted to replace them, university officials said. A plaque will honor the couple instead. 

In addition to the gift to Duke’s charitable trust, the McClendons’ have given other gifts to the university, including a $1 million donation to the Duke Basketball Legacy Fund.


Charters schools lack financial, academic oversight, audit says

By Jennifer Coleman The Associated Press
Friday November 08, 2002

SACRAMENTO — School districts that grant charters to independent public schools don’t watch the schools to ensure they’re financially sound and meeting academic goals, a state audit released Thursday found. 

Charter schools are public schools run by nonprofit or private organizations, such as parent and teacher groups and, in some cases, for-profit companies. The schools are monitored by individual school districts that grant the charter and are allowed to bypass much of the red tape that bogs down regular public schools in exchange for increased accountability. 

The schools are required to hired only credentialed teachers, offer a minimum number of instructional time and certify that their students have participated in the state’s testing program. 

Too often, however, the districts that grant charters are not “ensuring compliance with these legal requirements at each of their charter schools,” the report said. 

Districts also don’t examine the school’s finances well, the report said. 

While districts can charge schools a fee for the financial oversight, none of the districts examined had documented their costs and may be charging schools too much or too little, the auditors said. 

The four public school districts examined by the state auditor — Fresno, San Diego, Los Angeles and Oakland — submitted lengthy rebuttals to the audit, saying the state’s education code is vague when it comes to district’s responsibilities. 

Fresno Unified School District’s response called the report “fundamentally flawed” because the auditors misunderstood the state’s charter school laws. 

Charter schools “do not exist for the purpose of being held accountable to public school districts,” the school district’s response said. Instead, charter schools were created to give parents, teachers and students “different and innovative teaching methods” and other alternative programs within public schools, Fresno officials said. 

The audit “fails to understand that charter schools are not, and never were intended to be, subdivisions of school districts,” the response said. 

Assemblywoman Sarah Reyes, who asked for the audit following the collapse of the Gateway Academy in Fresno, disagreed with the districts’ assessment of the law. 

“Your right and responsibility in signing an agreement with a charter school is to make sure they’re successful and that those students benefit,” she said. 

The failure of Gateway, which closed in January after it racked up a $1.3 million debt, Reyes said, showed that “the state is largely in the dark about oversight procedures used by chartering entities to oversee schools that they have chartered.” 

But Reyes, D-Fresno, said she was most surprised about the lack of oversight of charter schools’ academic progress. 

“That is the responsibility of the charter school, but it is also the responsibility of the entity that grants that charter,” she said. “By not assessing student performance against the charter terms, the schools are not demonstrating their accountability for meeting their academic goals.” 

A Reyes bill signed by Gov. Gray Davis this year will require charter schools to operate in the district’s boundaries or in the same county. That bill was designed to make it easier for local communities to oversee charter schools. 

The new law also set up financial requirements for schools that close, and required charter high schools to notify parents and students if their classes do not match up with college requirements. 

Reyes said she was considering legislation for next year that would further clarify the districts’ responsibilities. 

California spends $524 million each year on charter schools, Reyes said, and more oversight needs to be in place to make sure state money isn’t lost. 

Gary Larson, a spokesman for the California Network of Educational Charters, said the school districts needed more guidance on how to oversee the charter schools. But new laws directing oversight might not answer the audit’s criticism, he said. 

“It’s difficult to legislate problems out of existence,” he said. “If that were the case, we’d see a better system of public education with all the legislation enacted in the last 30 years.”


Cities balk at state mandate

By Robert Jablon The Associated Press
Friday November 08, 2002

San Luis Obispo County is oak-studded hills, lush wineries and dramatic coastlines. But when the state ordered the region to zone for more than 18,000 homes in the next few years, it got anything but a bucolic response. 

The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments, representing six cities and the county, opposed the state figure as being 4,000 houses too many. Its members split recently on whether to wage a court fight, leaving the issue up in the air. 

For the first time in a decade, the state is issuing quotas to deal with California’s housing crisis, but some cities and counties are balking at what they see as forced urbanization. 

“They’re always afraid of becoming another Los Angeles,” said Ronald L. DeCarli, executive director of the San Luis Obispo government council. 

The council and some two dozen counties have until the end of next year to develop and adopt zoning plans to meet state projections of how much housing they will need in the next five years. Deadlines for other regions have been staggered, with the current cycle beginning in 1999 with San Diego County. 

Dense inner cities and rural towns alike have challenged the figures in court, in some cases arguing their growth rates won’t be as great as the state estimates. Local officials fear the consequences of rapid growth — from clogged freeways to water shortages — and worry they won’t be able to afford the roads, sewer lines and other services that waves of new residents will require. 

One recent lawsuit involves the Southern California Association of Governments, which represents a six-county area with 17 million residents. 

Even more governments have haggled with the state, negotiating to reduce the number of homes they must account for in zoning plans. 

“This has been something that communities haven’t had to struggle with for almost a decade, so they’ve kind of gotten out of the habit,” said Cathy Creswell, deputy director of the state Department of Housing and Community Development. “But the growth that has been projected is also higher than people have experienced in quite a long time.” 

Nobody argues that California is in a housing crisis. The nation’s most populous state is growing by 600,000 people a year and its population is expected to reach 52 million by 2030. 

An estimated 220,000 new housing units must be created each year to meet current growth, according to the state Department of Housing and Community Development. 

The best projections from government and industry sources have construction falling short by more than 50,000 units — in effect, the creation of a mid-sized town every year. 

With too many people and too few places to live, home prices and rental rates have soared in recent years, becoming a constant topic of conversation. The statewide median home price — the point at which half the homes sell for more and half for less — climbed to $323,310 in September, up more than 17 percent from a year earlier, according to the California Association of Realtors. 

The figure was much higher in some areas: $450,520 in Orange County and $529,250 in Santa Cruz County. 

Nine of the 10 least affordable metropolitan areas in the United States last year were in California, with the San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles area rated fourth, according to the National Association of Home Builders. 

The median home price there in September was $341,660, according to the real estate group. 

The lack of affordable housing has created both overcrowding and traffic congestion. State officials say garages are being converted into bedrooms, multiple families are packing into single households and people are moving farther from work, in some cases 100 miles or more, just to find housing they can afford. 

But state efforts to mandate planning for more homes has run up against public fear that building them will lead to urban sprawl, even worse traffic congestion, higher smog levels and crowded schools — in short, that runaway growth will destroy the charm of their local communities. 

The inexorable population growth has created a public backlash. Two years ago, there were 60 land-use initiatives on local ballots, most involving preserving land or slowing growth, said Dan Carrig of the League of California Cities, a nonprofit lobbying group for 477 cities. 

At least 25 growth issues are on Tuesday’s ballots in cities throughout the state. 

“You just have to look at the initiatives they are putting on the ballots ... to tell their own city councils when and where they’ve had enough,” Carrig said. 

Many local governments differ with state officials over how many housing units they’ll need through 2007. 

State law requires the so-called housing needs assessments to be made every five years, although budget cuts halted planning during the recession of the early 1990s. 

Using projected regional growth rates based on state Department of Finance population projections and other figures, the Department of Housing and Community Development issues a housing mandate to regional councils, who in turn divvy up the requirements to the counties, cities and towns that are their members. 

Those members then have a year to create zoning to allow the houses — although the law doesn’t require that a single home actually be constructed. 

So far, only about half of the cities and counties in the state currently have zoning plans that comply with state law. The state housing department believes it will achieve 70 percent compliance in the next few years. 

The state has no penalties for violating its requirements, but communities that fail to meet them aren’t eligible for potentially tens of millions of dollars in state and federal housing funds. 

If they adhere to the state numbers, many local government officials said they won’t be able to pay for the services required by the thousands of new residents who will follow new home construction. 

Local governments already twisting in the economic wind fear water supply problems and the cost of providing roads, sewer lines and schools to meet those obligations. Proposition 13, the 1978 initiative that capped property taxes, means single-family homes and other types of housing are money-losers, costing more in services than they provide in taxes, Carrig said. 

Cities and counties also are concerned they could overbuild if growth is slower than the state anticipates. 

“I think we know what we’re doing here. I think we have a good plan... I don’t think the state needs to tell us how to do this,” said Frank Mecham, mayor of Paso Robles, a town of 26,000 in San Luis Obispo County. 

Mike Rawson, director of the California Affordable Housing Law Project in Oakland, said he is involved in at least seven lawsuits involving elements of the state housing requirements. His group supports the state mandates as a way of providing critically needed housing. 

To Rawson, the critics have it wrong: making communities denser won’t create urban problems. Sprawl will. 

In his view, the age of the tract home is over. It leads only to clogged freeways and paved-over farmland. 

Rawson sees California cities being transformed into vibrant Paris-like communities of apartments and condominiums flourishing in the midst of restaurants, museums, parks and public transit. 

“Some communities have the vision of the ideal single-family neighborhood with tree-lined streets and everybody having a back yard and a front yard and two-car garage, and that’s not possible for half the families in California,” Rawson said. 

“There’s gonna be more urbanization,” he said. “Barring building a wall around the state and saying no one else can come in, that’s the only solution.”


Colorado couple’s land serves as orphanage

By Tom Ragan The Associated Press
Friday November 08, 2002

 

FLORENCE, Colo. — Tom and Cece Sanders always know when fall has arrived. 

It’s not when the aspens start to change color or when an occasional dusting of snow tops Pikes Peak. 

It’s when the dozen black bear cubs and yearlings penned up in their back yard in Custer County begin to eat endlessly. Invariably, their consumption picks up when the weather cools. 

It’s the nature of the beast. 

To make it through six months of winter hibernation, the bears will have to eat at least 20,000 calories a day, nearly 10 times the amount a human eats. 

So the bears have been devouring everything the Sanders manage to scrounge. 

For nearly 16 years, the couple’s Wet Mountain Wildlife Rehabilitation on 80 acres near Colorado Springs has served as a temporary orphanage for wayward bears. 

The cubs, their mothers nowhere to be found, usually become lost while searching for food along countless creeks leading to cities such as Trinidad, Pueblo and Colorado Springs. 

The bears were picked up by Division of Wildlife officers during the summer and will be released into the wild in November. 

This year has been unusually bad because the drought has dried up much of the state’s scrub oak, virtually killing all the acorns, which are the black bear’s primary food source. 

Not one of the bears the couple took in last summer weighed more than 25 pounds — opposed to the 100-plus pounds the animal should weigh. Of the dozen bears the Sanders care for, at least six were picked up in Colorado Springs. 

One was found in June after his mother was illegally shot by a hunter. Another was discovered in July about 100 yards from Interstate 25. In August, a third bear was retrieved from an automobile dealership parking lot. 

“We maintain them, feed them, clean them, then ignore them, hoping we can give them some sort of second chance,” said Cece Sanders, 55, whose hands are as rough as leather from years of looking after the bears. 

She paused, then added jokingly: “Basically, we’re slaves.” 

But somebody has to do it. 

As people move to Colorado in record numbers and foothills subdivisions continue to grow, more of the state’s estimated 10,000 black bears lose their natural habitats and cross paths with people. 

Two decades ago, rescuing bears in the middle of the city simply didn’t happen, because there was less development and black bears had a much wider range to roam. 

If people encountered a black bear, chances were they were hunting it. 

But today bear rehabilitation has become a common practice among dedicated animal lovers such as the Sanders, former Pueblo schoolteachers who created the Wet Mountain Wildlife Rehabilitation nine years ago as a not-for-profit organization. The legal distinction allows them to apply for grants.


Farmer Stanley embraces Tilden plot

By Mary Barrett Special to the Daily Planet
Thursday November 07, 2002

Stanley Ward, also known as “Farmer Stanley”, came to Tilden’s Little Farm three years ago. 

“Things were a bit run down,” Ward admitted, “and there was room for improvement.” 

But now, an increased sense of order and care permeate the Little Farm that sits in the Berkeley hills off of Grizzly Peak Boulevard. Ward’s knowledge experience and hard work have made their mark. Fences are renewed and sturdy, animals gambol “oink” and “quack” in clean pens and reseeded pastures.  

Ward’s animal farm, operated by East Bay Regional Parks, has provided Berkeley families a chance to learn about small farming for decades. There is no cost and the farm is open during regular park hours. With Ward tending the farm five days a week, there’s a good chance you’ll see Ward hard at work. 

“This is just the kind of work I enjoy,” he said. “I like being outdoors, I enjoy meeting the public, and I like working with nice breeds of animals on a small scale. (Because it’s a park,) I don’t have to squeeze profit out of the animals.” 

When asked how many animals he had at the farm, Ward said confidently, “19 hens, 2 roosters, 5 geese, 11 ducks, 5 female goats, 1 male goat, 16 female sheep, 2 rams, 3 cows-one is away at the bull to be bred, 2 calves, 2 pigs, 4 turkeys, and 2 rabbits, because the others were stolen, there should be 8.” 

Ward grew up in London and as a young boy had an interest in farming. His mother bought him the “Farmer’s Weekly” magazine. Ward took part in youth camps descended from the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry and was quickly introduced to the English countryside. 

At age 15, Ward became disillusioned with the state schooling he was receiving in London, he said, and left to hitchhike around Great Britain. Since he was good at carpentry, he found carpentry jobs and helped farmers with their hay harvests. He learned to shear sheep and became so good at shearing that he traveled to remote farms in Wales shearing as many as 280 sheep in an eight hour work day. 

In Wales, Ward later attended an agricultural college, becoming technically and practically trained in Animal Husbandry and Grassland Production. 

On holidays Ward liked to travel, sometimes to Ireland, sometimes farther a field; eventually he visited Sri Lanka. There he led bird safaris in wildlife sanctuaries and National Parks throughout India. In India he met his wife, Raju, who is from Orinda. 

This brought him to California in 1990 and, for several years, he studied geography and cartography at San Francisco State while working as a carpenter and landscape gardener. In 1998 he was hired by the East Bay Regional Parks as a carpenter and became the farmer at the Little Farm in 1999. 

One of Ward’s greatest accomplishments at the farm is his successful breeding program last year. He bred lambs, kids, calves and one litter of six piglets. One visitor, an Albany grandmother who brings her grandsons as often as possible, came to the farm last spring. They saw a nanny goat lick her just-born kid, and watched curly haired lambs leaping four feet into the air. The woman’s grandsons have stout boots like Ward and sometimes come to the park as much as twice a day.  

Over the past year, teachers and children alike have petted the real life versions of Wilbur, the pig from “Charlotte’s Web.” “Pigs are the most popular thing with the public, especially the baby pigs,” Ward said.  

Unfortunately, due to staffing restraints, the result of financial cut backs in the East Bay Regional Park system, the breeding program will not be possible this year. Ward has other goals. Among them, he would like to have a stronger educational emphasis. He believes urban and suburban people need more information about farming and the problems of real farmers. He thinks they should be educated about where their food is coming from and what is going on to produce it. 

Ward and his wife Raju are now raising their three-year-old daughter in Orinda so Ward intends to stay at the Little Farm for many years to come. 


Good sport about election losses

Gregory S. Murphy Berkeley
Thursday November 07, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

I want to congratulate the Daily Planet, and reporter David Scharfenberg in particular, for his outstanding coverage of the local campaigns this election cycle. His concise, objective reporting was not swayed or tilted to either side of the traditional partisan political process, yet he reported both the positive sides and the warts of every campaign with the same candor and lack of ulterior motive. 

I am also pleased that the Daily Planet did not make specific endorsements so as to be able to stand apart from the partisanship that has affected (some might say infected) local politics here for decades. My candidates took a beating at the polls – so be it. That is what democracy is all about. I'm glad, and you should be proud, that neither side took a beating in your paper but had their message relayed and their campaigns reported upon fairly and accurately. 

 

Gregory S. Murphy 

Berkeley


Calendar

Thursday November 07, 2002

Thursday, Nov. 7 

“Water, the Beverage of Life” 

11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst St. 

Aaron Miller, SF State Intern will discuss 

981-5190 

 

Additional Ferries from East Bay Sites 

noon to 2 p.m. 

Albany Public Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 

Discussion with a representative of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters 

843-8824 

Free 

 

Panel Discussion - “Resistance to the Free Trade Agreements in Mexico and Central America” 

7:30 p.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Featuring video presentation of “Tierra Si, Aviones No”, and performance by the NoPPP Players 

$5 and $10/ suggested donation 

 

Friday, Nov. 8  

Alexander Cockburn’s Incendiary Rants 

7 p.m. 

AK Press Warehouse, 673-A 23rd St. 

Release party for muckraking maverick Alexander Cockburn’s new spoken word CD “Beating the Devil” 

208-1700 

Free 

 

Berkeley Women in Black Vigil 

Bancroft at Telegraph Ave. 

Weekly protest to “End the Occupation” 

 

Saturday, Nov. 9 

Book Sale and Auction 

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The Center for AIDS Services, 5720 Shattuck Ave., Oakland 

This big sale will benefit the AIDS center 

655-3435 

 

An Afternoon of Mystery  

2 p.m. 

1901 Russell St. 

Berkeley’s South Branch Library presents mystery writers Jake Fuchs “Death of a Prof”, Owen Hill “The Chandler Apartments”, and Mary Halock “The Dog on the Roof” 

525-3948 

Free 

 

Sunday, Nov. 10 

World Run Day-national charity benefit 

All day 

Various cities across the nation  

(516) 859-3000, www.runday.com 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 12 

Holiday Craft Baazar 

10 a.m. to noon 

St. John’s Presbyterian Curch, 2727 College Ave. 

Handmade items, sweet treats, and knick knacks will be for sale. All are welcome 

845-6830 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 13 

Public Lecture by the Rev. Canon Naim Ateek 

7:30 p.m. 

UCC, on Dana St. between Durant and Channing 

Founder of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center and native of East Jerusalem, Rev. Ateek will lead a discussion sponsored by the First Congregational Church of Berkeley (UCC) and the Pacific School of Religion 

848-3696 

$10/ suggested donation 

 

League of Women Voters Meeting 

Noon 

LWVBAE office, 1414 University Ave. 

Discussion will focus on regional issues 

849-2154 

 

Thursday, Nov. 14 

Regret to Inform  

Reception 6:30 p.m. / Program 7 p.m. 

Berkeley High School Auditorium, 2234 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

A screening and discussion with filmmaker Barbara Sonneborn. 

979-0190, liz_vogel@facing.org 

Free 

 

Berkeley Path Wanderers Meeting 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. 

Meeting to include a presentation by best- selling author Adah Bakalinsky who will speak about her book, “Stairway Walks of San Francisco” 

Free 

 

Thursday, Nov. 7 

Gary Thorp 

7:30 p.m. 

Cody’s Books, 2454 Telegraph Ave. 

Thorp will read from “Caught in Fading Light” 

845-7852 

 

The Non Prophets  

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

Performing with special guest Vince Welnick of the Grateful Dead 

21+ 

$10 

 

Bandworks Recital 

7:30 p.m. to midnight 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Hear student bands play rock, blues, and pop at this annual recital event 

525-5054 

$11 

 

Friday, Nov. 8 

The Librarians, Bitesize, and Glitter Mini 9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

All age show 

$7 

 

Chaskinakuy 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

Beautiful vocal harmonies in Spanish and Quechua 

548-1761 

$15.50-$16.50 

 

An Evening of Cultural Harmony 

8 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 

The Barbard Ensemble, the San Francisco Klezmer Experience, and Lichi Fuentes & Jackeline Rago will treat listeners to music from Iran, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. 

704-7480 x755 

$25 general admission 

 

Black Dice, Dearly Departed (ex-Subtonix), and The Mass 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

$8 

 

Saturday, Nov. 9 

An Evening of Cultural Harmony 

8 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 

The Barbard Ensemble, the San Francisco Klezmer Experience, and Lichi Fuentes & Jackeline Rago will treat listeners to music from Iran, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. 

704-7480 x755 

$25 general admission 

 

Sunday, Nov. 10 

The Sheldon Brown Group 

4:30 p.m. 

Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St. 

Reservations: 845-5373 

$10-$15 

 

The Starry Irish Music Session with Shay Black 

8 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

Tickets available on a sliding scale 

 

“Shove Off to Birthday Island” 

Through Nov. 30 

Reception Nov. 2 from 5 to 8 p.m. 

Tue. through Sat., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland 

A collaborative exhibition of Tonya Solley Thornton and Frank Haines including video and sculptural installations. 

836-0831 

 

Children of the Gulf War Photo Exhibit 

Through Nov. 30 

Mon. through Thurs., 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

Fri. through Sat.., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Sun., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 

Featuring works of Takashi Morizumi 

Information: www.savewarchildren.org 

 

Ceramics - Opening Reception 

Through Nov. 17 

3 to 5 p.m. 

A New Leaf Gallery, 1286 Gilman St. 

525-7621 

Free 

 

“Recent Acquisitions” 

Through Dec. 14 

Thurs. through Sat., 1 to 4 p.m. 

Berkeley Historical Society, Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center St. 

848-0181 

Free 

 

Threads: Five artists who use stitching to convey ideas 

Through Dec. 15, Wed. through Sun., noon to 5 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

Live Oak Park, 1275 Walnut St. 

Information: www.berkeleyartcenter.org, 644-6893 

Free 

 

Menocchio 

Nov. 6 through Dec. 22 

Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 

Berkeley Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of Lillian Groag’s charged comedy 

647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org  

$38 and $54/ sliding scale 

 

Thursday, Nov. 7 

“Desert Hearts” 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst St. 

A 1950s lesbian romance featuring Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau. 

 

Friday, Nov. 8 

“El Che” 

7 p.m. 

Redwood Gardens, 2951 Derby St. 

Film screening followed by salsa dancing to support Berkeley’s Cuban Sister-City Palma Soriano. 

548-6941 

$10 / sliding scale 

 

“Cinemayaat: The Arab Film Festival” 

Through Nov. 12 

Various locations throughout Berkeley, San Francisco, and San Jose. 

For more information contact the Arab Film Festival at info@aff.org, (415) 564- 1100, or www.aff.org 

 

Saturday Nov. 9 

Dorothy Allison and Jewelle Gomez appear in support of Boadecia’s Books 

8 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church 

559-9184 

$25/ sliding scale 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 12 

Open Mic 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

7:30 p.m. 

Free 

Wednesday, Nov. 13 

Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik 

8:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

Cash prizes up to $90 

21+ 

$7/ general, $5/ students with ID 

 

Saturday Nov. 16 

Alice Walker and Brenda Boykin 

appear in support of Boadecia’s Books 

8 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda at Solano 

559-9184 

$25/ sliding scale 

 

Monday, Dec. 2 

Adam David Miller and Rita Flores Bogaert 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave 

The Last Word announces a poetry reading that will include an open mic and featured readers 

649-1320 

Free


Playing with passion

By Jane Yin Special to the Daily Planet
Thursday November 07, 2002

“Jazz is an idea that is more powerful than the details of its history – a concept bigger than any single one of its partisans could ever hope to define.” 

– Pat Metheny 

 

By Jane Yin 

Special to the Daily Planet 

 

Music without words sometimes speaks louder than lyric-filled melody. The Pat Metheny Group is case and point. Their latest musical creation “Speaking of Now” is a compilation of nimble jazz instrumentations that converse with the soul. With flavorful piano progressions running alongside Pat Metheny’s earth-shivering guitar-playing, the now six-piece group presents us with nine poignant pieces. The group performs at Zellerbach Hall next Tuesday evening. 

At the ripe age of 18, the mastermind guitarist and creator of the group, Pat Metheny, had already escalated his musical career far beyond that of most of his fellow musicians when he became the youngest instructor at the University of Miami. A year later, he became the youngest teacher in the history of Boston’s Berklee College of Music. As a musician and composer, Metheny has received more than 23 Grammy Awards for a number of achievements, including best electric guitarist and best guitar synthesizer. Metheny also performs as a solo artist and with his other group, the Pat Metheny Trio. Metheny is known for his extensive incorporation of the synthesizer in jazz music, even being hailed as an innovator by many musical experts. 

“My first relationship to any kind of musical situation is as a listener,” explained Metheny. “I have always considered myself to be someone who is a big fan of music in general who happens to occasionally find themselves in the middle of having to play or write something.” 

The seven-time Grammy-winning group has performed in more than 40 countries to sold-out audiences. The group’s sound, like the colorful collage that decorates their new album insert, inspires imagination of travel and exploration within listeners. Their music is a melting pot of the best sugars and spices, yet each instrument is granted an equal voice. 

“Speaking of Now” opens with “As It Is.” The track’s lurid piano and trumpet notes immediately captivate interest. “You,” track five on the album, is crafted with intricate artistry; the vocals provide a tender melody. The journey continues with the fast-paced, energized “A Place in the World” and slows down to a stroll with “Afternoon.” 

After taking a three-year break, the jazz greats constituting the original trio – Metheny as well as Lyle Mays and Steve Rodby – got back together after doing individual projects to add three new members and record “Speaking of Now.” They’ve acquired internationally recognized musicians, including drummer Antonio Sanchez, from Mexico City and Richard Bona, who is from Cameroon in West Africa. It wasn’t an effortless search for Metheny’s new members; some were a little more difficult to find than others. 

Metheny stumbled upon his last member, Cuong Vu, while listening to the trumpeter on an Internet radio station. Still overwhelmed by the excellent horn skills, Metheny quickly called fellow musicians to locate the musician with no luck. 

“Finally I just thought, ‘Well, how many Cuong Vu’s could there be in the phone book?’ I called 411, and it turned out that there was just one, a Brooklyn number, a likely place for a young aspiring musician in New York to live.” 

Metheny, armed with an undying passion for Jazz music, always looks toward the future, as he exclaimed, “We have to get our collective imagination working hard on a vision that is more concerned with what this music can become than what it has already been.”


Enscoe, Jackets take over ACCAL championship

By Jared Green Daily Planet Staff
Thursday November 07, 2002

What a difference a year makes. 

A full season after winning his first cross country race, Berkeley High junior Alex Enscoe repeated as the Alameda-Contra Costa Athletic League champion, winning Wednesday’s varsity boys race at Tilden Regional Park by 31 seconds. But in addition to Enscoe’s individual triumph, he led his team to its first ACCAL team title, ending Alameda High’s long reign at the top. 

“This was our most important race as a team,” Enscoe said. “Winning this one was our main goal going into the season.” 

After years of trailing Alameda, the Yellowjackets won Wednesday’s final race with a true team effort. While the Hornets had the second- and fourth-place finishers, Berkeley placed in spots five through eight to push for the title through strength of numbers. Although Alameda had the next two finishers, Berkeley wrapped things up by taking the 11 and 12 spots to close out the scoring and win by a margin of 23-34. 

“Berkeley has had a superb season,” Alameda coach Brian Lodge said. “They were good last year, but they’ve improved so much this year. We’re going to have to come up with something next year to challenge them.” 

Berkeley head coach Dave Goodrich said Wednesday’s win was the payoff for a hard summer and fall of work for his varsity group, which has largely been running together for three years. 

Just as in the first league meet of the season, Enscoe watched Alameda’s Yoji Reichert and Marty Skeels take an early lead in the race. Enscoe doesn’t like to be the pace-setter, preferring to sit back and let the other runners tire themselves out. By the time the race reached the top of the final hill, he knew the title was his. 

Enscoe’s emergence this season has been startling, even considering his breakout race last year at this event. He won all three of Berkeley’s ACCAL meets and has established himself as a favorite for North Coast Section honors. He ran Wednesday’s race with the cock-sureness of an undertaker, just waiting for his targets to fall. 

“Last year I knew I had a chance to win, but I had never won a race before,” Enscoe said. “This year I came in feeling a lot more confident, like I couldn’t lose.” 

Enscoe crossed the finish line before Reichert even came into view along the final stretch for a time of 16:54. Reichert came in at 17:25, then Pinole Valley’s Austin Hicks at 17:45. Skeels finished soon after, but then a flood of Berkeley runners filled the lane. Nic Riley, Bradley Johnson, Alex Weissman and Jon Finney crossed the finish line in that order with Enscoe urging them on, sealing the win. Sarmed Anwar and Gordon Jenkins finished Berkeley’s day, finishing just before the 20-minute mark. 

Alameda’s dominance didn’t take a holiday in the girls’ race, with the Hornets taking the top seven spots. Corrine Roberts was the first-place finisher.


City Council dynamic moves further to left

By Judith Scherr Special to the Daily Planet
Thursday November 07, 2002

It was a little past midnight Wednesday morning. 

Mayor-elect Tom Bates had already given his victory speech, received by wild cheers from more than 200 campaign workers and allies crowded into his Shattuck Avenue headquarters. 

Next it was campaign co-chair Russ Ellis’ turn. The former UC Berkeley vice-chancellor hummed into the microphone, grabbing the attention of the excited crowd, a mix of students, neighborhood activists and old old-guard Berkeley Citizens Action stalwarts. Ellis lifted a glass – actually a plastic cup – of champagne to toast the grinning, weary-looking Bates.  

The mayor-elect had been positive in his victory speech, but Ellis didn’t hesitate to take a jab at the losing candidate. 

“There was a moment in this campaign when we realized that (Mayor) Shirley Dean was not about song,” he said. “Tom Bates is. We’re gonna make some music. We’re going to make some moral music.”  

Activists at the gathering agreed, saying a Bates’ victory – along with the victories of progressive councilmembers Linda Maio, Dona Spring and Kriss Worthington – would bring significant positive change to the city. There will be a run-off in the 8th District race between graduate student Andy Katz, supported by progressives, and retired scientist Gordon Wozniak, supported by moderates. The progressives will have either a 6-3 majority or a 7-2 majority, depending on the runoff results. 

Now what does a supermajority mean? Will every council meeting will be an example of perfect harmony? Not necessarily. 

“The progressives are not monolithic,” said one attendee at the Bates victory party, who asked that his name not be used. Others around him agreed heartily. 

Progressive Councilmember Maudelle Shirek, who was not up for re-election Tuesday and could not be reached Wednesday, did not join her political allies this election season. She endorsed neither Bates nor his wife Loni Hancock, who won the state Assembly seat vacated by term-limited Assemblymember Dion Aroner. 

While the five members of the progressive block often vote together, they don’t do so exclusively. Councilmember Margaret Breland, for example, supported an early iteration of a very controversial housing project for San Pablo Avenue, while her council colleagues demanded modifications requested by neighbors before they would support it. 

Progressives also fought each other over whether police should be allowed to carry pepper spray. 

While citing Dean’s support for a McFrugals at the present Berkeley Bowl site and her support for office space in zones restricted to light industrial uses, Gene Poshman, vice chairperson of the Planning Commission, said he’s glad Dean will be out of the picture. Still, he said he’s not sure, without Dean as a common enemy, that the progressive supermajority will be united around planning issues. 

“The devil is in the details,” he said. 

One clearly uniting principle among all the councilmembers is that Berkeley’s vision for the future is better than that of the nation as a whole, moderate Councilmember Mim Hawley said, reflecting on the loss of the U.S. Senate to Republicans. “That (uniting vision) could be a start,” she said. 

Joe Brulensky, an active Bates’ supporter, has been a teacher in the Berkeley Unified School District for 33 years and looks forward to the new dynamic on council and Bates at the helm. 

Brulensky said he was excited about the education summit of teachers and public officials Bates promoted during the campaign. 

Berkeley librarian Jane Scantlebury had walked precincts for Bates, dropping literature and talking to neighbors about the race. She said that not only was Bates good for Berkeley as a whole, but that he would be able to bring the libraries and the city into closer collaboration. Under the current administration, the library has been a “separate, removed entity,” she said. “It was considered as an afterthought. Tom Bates is more conscious that it is part of the community.” 

Dave Fogarty is another city worker who pounded the pavement for Bates. He works in economic development and says the council bickering “affects the city’s reputation nationally,” which is not good for attracting new businesses. “Businesses just give up. They say nothing can be done in this environment.” 

He added that he hopes Bates’ leadership would make a difference, not only in bringing peace to the council, but in streamlining a slow permitting process. “The new mayor could make a difference over time,” he said, adding the caveat: “But there’s no guarantee.” 

South Berkeley neighborhood activist Joy Moore worked with Bates on improving Berkeley schools’ food, a project which, she said, was abandoned by the high school before it was given a chance to succeed. “School food is served to people with limited resources, African American and Latino children – our kids are eating that food,” she said, adding that she believed that Bates would have the clout to get additional resources for the project. 

Moore took a shot at Dean for ignoring the neighborhoods. She cited the current mayor’s campaign statements touting her role in economic development – for example attracting clothing store Eddie Bauer to the city. “The first thing out of her mouth is downtown. What about Sacramento (Street) and Ashby (Avenue)?” Moore asked. 

Among the most joyful at the Bates’ victory was Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who had first dropped his plan to run for the state Assembly, when Assemblymember-elect Hancock put her name into the running, then Worthington put aside plans to run for mayor when Bates put his candidacy forward. Worthington said Hancock and Bates both had better chances to win their respective seats than he did. 

In his bid for a third term on the council, Worthington trounced Dean-supported challenger, Micki Weinberg, an 18-year-old student active in the UC Berkeley Israeli Action Committee. In what Bates called an attack of “guilt by association,” Dean targeted Worthington in debates and campaign literature, arguing that it made it difficult for her to work with the university after Worthington joined an overnight student demonstration at the chancellor’s home protesting the lack of student housing.  

“For six years I have been abused and attacked (by Dean),” Worthington said. (Dean, in turn, has said she feels attacked by Worthington.)  

Councilmember Linda Maio, who won her council race with ease, said, similarly, that Bates would be a problem solver, building bridges between moderates and progressives. “He has the ability to work collectively,” she said. 

Moderate Councilmember Betty Olds, who lost both her longtime council ally Councilmember Polly Armstrong, who did not to run for a new term and ally Shirley Dean, said, when reached Wednesday by phone, that she was sick and unable to talk. 

Moderate Hawley, on the other hand, was able to react to the defeat with some lightheartedness – she had gone shopping Wednesday morning to relieve some of the stress.  

She also expressed the sadness she felt at the loss of her council colleagues. “I’m going to miss Shirley and Polly,” she said. “It means a lot to have people to talk to on the issues, even if there is some disagreement.” 

Still Hawley said she thought there were a number of projects on which she could work easily with Bates, such as cooperating with neighboring cities, particularly on the housing-jobs imbalance problem: tens of thousands of people come into Berkeley to work every day, but do not live in the city. 

Hawley also remarked that she has allies among the progressive faction. “I’ve worked with Linda (Maio) on various things. I enjoy working with her,” she said. “And (Vice Mayor) Maudelle (Shirek) and I co-sponsored a couple of kid-related things.” 

Still, “It sure is going to be different,” Hawley added.


Clarity on the coffee initiative

Travis Jordan Berkeley
Thursday November 07, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

It is very disheartening that Measure O, which intended brewed coffee served in the city to “be Fair Trade, shade-grown, OR organic”, was listed in the Alameda County touch screen voting as “be Fair Trade, shade-grown, AND organic”. Only one of the three conditions was required in the Berkeley Responsible Coffee Initiative – not all three. This misrepresentation of the measure is a great disservice to voters and the coffee farmers who may have benefited from its fairly chosen adoption. 

 

Travis Jordan 

Berkeley 


Asian art museum postpones opening date

Thursday November 07, 2002

SAN FRANCISCO — The Asian Art Museum will postpone the opening of the new renovated museum, located at the San Francisco Civic Center, a spokeswoman announced Wednesday. 

Construction snafus have caused the museum to push its grand opening date back two months to March 20, 2003. 

“This construction project - seismic upgrade, historical renovation and adaptive re-use of an existing landmark building - is extremely complex, and our original opening date was quite optimistic,” said Emily Sano, museum director. “While construction schedules typically change ... the museum realized that the status of the building's renovation had impacted the schedule.” 

Once completed, the Asian Art Museum will encompass 40,000 square feet of gallery space, expanded educational service and state-of-the-art storage and conservation facilities.


Sports Shorts

Thursday November 07, 2002

Panthers third in BSAL 

The St. Mary’s High girls volleyball team will be the third seed in the Bay Shore Athletic League playoffs next week after beating St. Elizabeth High 15-9, 15-6, 15-12 on Tuesday. Jazmin Pratt had eight aces and six kills for the Panthers (9-3 BSAL), while Brittney Murrey had seven kills and nine assists. 

 

Sweeney wins ACCAL tournament 

Berkeley High swept the singles competition at the Alameda-Contra Costa Athletic League girls tennis championship tournament this week. 

Sophomore Megan Sweeney, who was undefeated as Berkeley’s top singles player, won three matches to take home the league title. She beat teammate Clara Mattei, 6-1, 6-2, in the final. 

Mattei beat No. 2 seed Gina Gossette of El Cerrito High to reach the final.  

Sweeney gets an automatic spot in the North Coast Section tournament, while Mattei will apply for an at-large berth. The Yellowjackets will also apply for team at-large berth. 

 

Cal water polo gains top ranking 

The Cal men’s water polo team was unanimously voted the top-ranked team in the country this week by the American Water Polo Coaches Association. 

The Bears, ranked No. 3 last week, beat formerly top-ranked Stanford last weekend as well as UC Davis. Their 15-4 record has them near the top of the MPSF Conference, led by junior All-American Attila Banhidy’s 40 goals. 

In addition, Cal senior goalkeeper Russell Bernstein was named MPSF Player of the Week after blocking 12 shots in his team’s 9-8 win over Stanford, including a save of a penalty shot. 

Cal returns to action on Saturday against MPSF-leader Pepperdine. The game starts at 10 a.m. at Spieker Aquatics Complex.


District 8 run-off campaign begins

By David Scharfenberg Daily Planet Staff
Thursday November 07, 2002

Just when you thought it was over, Berkeley’s election season, it appears, will continue. 

With nearly all the votes counted Wednesday, moderate 8th District City Council candidate Gordon Wozniak fell just short of the 45 percent threshold required to avoid a run-off for the seat, taking 42 percent of the vote. Progressive-backed UC Berkeley graduate student Andy Katz finished second at 36 percent in a four-way race to succeed retiring council moderate Polly Armstrong. 

Now voters in the 8th District, which stretches south of the UC Berkeley campus, will choose between Wozniak and Katz in an election that will help shape the political contours of a sharply-divided City Council. 

Before Tuesday, Berkeley’s progressive faction held a 5-4 edge over the moderates. On Election Day, the left built on its majority. Progressive incumbents won re-election in Districts 1, 4 and 7 and progressive mayoral candidate Tom Bates thumped moderate incumbent Shirley Dean. Berkeley’s mayor sits on the City Council, and with Bates in place, the progressives will have at least a 6-3 advantage. A Katz victory would increase the majority to 7-2. 

Moderates are intent on securing a Wozniak victory and avoiding a 7-2 progressive edge. 

“I think it would be a pity to have such an overwhelming progressive majority,” said moderate City Councilmember Miriam Hawley, who did not face re-election this year. “We need some balance on the council.” 

Katz and Wozniak play down the moderate-progressive divide. Both argue that they will work as independent officials, cooperating with council members of all political stripes and focusing on nuts-and-bolts issues like housing and safety. But, just a day into the new campaign, Berkeley’s political schism is already playing a role. 

“I think there is certainly a large constituency in my district and other districts that deserve representation – what the press calls the ‘moderates,’” Wozniak said. “I think it’s important that we keep this seat in the moderate column.” 

Katz, for his part, said the progressive gains in this year’s election demonstrate that Berkeley voters “want a change,” arguing that he can be a part of that change. He also suggested that his ties to the progressive majority would help him deliver for the district. 

“Certainly having support from the mayor-elect and five members of the council shows that my working relationships with them will help me bring back the best for District 8,” he said. 

Human rights consultant Anne Wagley finished third in the 8th District race, with 19 percent of the vote, and observers say the runoff between Wozniak and Katz could turn on which candidate wins over Wagley supporters. 

Precinct-by-precinct vote totals were not yet available Wednesday, so it was difficult to tell if Wagley’s support came from tenants, homeowners, students or some combination. Wagley, who ran a centrist campaign focused on improved public process, said Wednesday that her support is broad-based. 

She said she will probably endorse Katz or Wozniak, but declined to tip her hand. Wagley was closer to Katz on several campaign issues and the UC Berkeley student said he would push Wagley’s concerns if elected. 

“The issues Anne brought up in the race are very important to me – fiscal accountability and openness in government,” Katz said. 

But Wozniak argued that Katz’s constituency is among students, while he probably split the residential vote with Wagley. Wozniak, who has pushed the concerns of small homeowners in the campaign, suggested that residential voters will naturally gravitate toward his candidacy. 

Voter participation will be a key factor in the run-off. Just over 4,000 8th District voters participated in the Tuesday election, although the number may rise by a few hundred when the final absentee and provisional ballots are counted, said City Clerk Sherry Kelly. She added that participation usually drops by about one half in Berkeley run-off elections, predicting that roughly 2,000 voters will cast ballots.  

The 8th District run-off voting will be conducted by mail, with ballots scheduled to arrive in mailboxes on Nov. 15 or 16. Voters will have until Dec. 3 to mail back or drop off their ballots. 

Katz said the chief hurdle in mobilizing his supporters will be simply letting them know that there is a run-off and ensuring that they don’t accidentally throw away ballots. But, the candidate may face the additional hurdles of student malaise and a run-off that will coincide with finals season at UC Berkeley. 

Wozniak said he had not yet devised a “get out the vote” strategy for the run-off, but suggested that a mail-in campaign might require a different tack than the general election. 

 

Contact reporter at scharfenberg@berkeleydailyplanet.net 


Return to paper ballots

Sameer Parekh Berkeley
Thursday November 07, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

Yesterday I voted using one of those new Accuvote-TS systems the city spent a great deal of money on, ostensibly to secure more reliable voting. The intent was to give citizens a greater assurance that their vote was being counted. The Accuvote-TS system, however, had the opposite effect. 

I am a former software entrepreneur. I am no Luddite. I know computer technology well enough that I trust paper ballots far more than I will trust a touch screen computer to record my vote. While with paper ballots there are actual ballot boxes that have to be thrown into the bay in order to accomplish wholesale voter fraud, it only takes a few clicks of a mouse to commit fraud in an electronic voter system. The Accuvote-TS provides for no audit trail and no accountability. 

To add insult to injury, the voting “booths” were hardly booths. What has happened to the secret ballot? There was no privacy given to me when I was voting. Everyone in the room could have seen how I voted. 

Please give us back the paper ballot. 

 

Sameer Parekh 

Berkeley 


Baker will not return to Giants

Thursday November 07, 2002

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants announced Wednesday that they will not retain Dusty Baker as manager, only weeks after he led the team and the city to Major League Baseball's World Series Championship. 

A three-time National League Manager of the Year, Baker has worked with the Giants for 15 years.


Hail to the recently defeated

By Matthew Artz Daily Planet Staff
Thursday November 07, 2002

 

Micki Weinberg, we hardly knew you. The UC Berkeley sophomore was one of seven City Council candidates to come up short Election Day. But as this year’s crop of overmatched and outspent longshots counted their losses, most took defeat with a stiff upper lip and an endearing sense of humor. 

“I didn’t really ever think I was going to win,” said 4th District candidate Bob Migdal, who garnered 20 percent of the vote compared to Dona Spring’s 67 percent. 

When told last week by a Spring supporter that she had been working 12 hours a day for three months on the campaign, he said reality set in. 

“I don’t want it that much,” Migdal said. “I don’t have it in me.” 

Still the disappointment of losing in Berkeley’s cut-throat political circus can leave scars. 

“I didn’t have to travel to the Congo to see the heart of darkness,” said Weinberg who managed 39 percent of the vote in a surprisingly nasty race against Councilmember Kriss Worthington in the 7th District. 

LA Wood, who like Migdal trailed far behind Dona Spring, expressed frustration with the entrenched support enjoyed by sitting council members. 

“I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to unseat an incumbent,” Wood said. “It was wishful thinking.” 

Berkeley politics has never been conventional, but the power of incumbency is as strong on the council as it is elsewhere in the nation. In the past two City Council elections incumbents have won six out seven contested seats. 

Norene Smith who ran an unsuccessful bid in 2000 to unseat Betty Olds in District 6 now muses on the difficulty of running an insurgent campaign. “She outspent me $38,000 to $7,000 and, let me tell you, after all her beautiful glossy mailings, if I weren’t an informed voter I would have voted for Betty too,” she said. 

“I tried ringing door bells, but in [hilly] District 6 I had to climb up 85 stairs and then the person doesn’t answer,” she added. 

This year’s candidates experienced many of the same frustrations. “I learned it’s very hard to run against two established machines,” said Anne Wagley who finished third behind the moderate and progressive candidates in the 8th District. 

Wagley spoke for most of the candidates when she expressed relief that the campaign was finally over. “I’ll be having dinner with my family tonight,” she said noting that making personal time for loved ones hadn’t been easy during the past few months. 

But, she and others said they plan to stay active in Berkeley politics. 

“I’m winding up not slowing down,” said LA Wood who said he will remain a fixture at City Council meetings. Still, despite his disappointment at losing, he acknowledged there was some upside to defeat.  

“It will be nice to still be able to go home [from council meetings] at a reasonable hour and indulge in my own passions. We have so little time,” he said. 

 

Contact reporter at matt@ 

berkeleydailyplanet.net


Voting day dream

Kathleen Lassiter Jenner
Thursday November 07, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

To my “fellow Americans”; 

I prayed for a dream to be realized before voting day, and it seems that the answer to this prayer is coming in a different form than I had imagined. I had hoped more people would get out and vote, and had prayed that no matter how disgusted we were about business as usual, we would still exercise this right. I am feeling let down by the results of this election. But perhaps it is because we still have work to do on a grassroots level and with our consumer votes. 

Now, my challenge to all of my country men and women is to send a message to the corporate criminals by refusing to shop. What if everyone who is so disgusted by this new regime decided to choose only one day out of the month to do something other than go to the store to buy stuff? What if we chose to buy secondhand only for a while? What if we chose to stop driving so much, use mass transit wherever possible, and do recreational activities at home or closer to home, within our own communities? What if we chose to buy items from locally owned small businesses and stopped going to the larger big box blights on the landscape? What if we decided to conserve all of our resources, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because we would not be putting more money into the hands of the corporate criminals? What if we all looked at our options for change and realized that without our money, the minority group of small minded fearful businessmen and women (who seem to need desperately to control everything) would not be getting richer at our expense, and then the power of greed would not be running the show? Perhaps we would all look at the problems of the world in a different way and then we would see we are all in this together.  

If we don't, we will have seen that this human experiment was a good idea while it lasted. Mother Earth will decide to get rid of us (with our cooperation, of course) and start again. Perhaps we will understand next time 

 

Kathleen Lassiter 

Jenner 


Suspected arson displaces eight

By Matthew Artz Daily Planet Staff
Thursday November 07, 2002

Eight Berkeley residents remain stranded in local hotels and a property owner says he faces financial peril after a suspicious fire damaged three south Berkeley buildings last week. 

“[City inspectors] won’t allow us back until the building is brought up to code,” said Shawn Goad, who lives one story above J&B Fine Foods at 3242 Adeline Street, where the displaced residents lived. 

Ali Kassim who owns both the ground floor shop and the building on Adeline Street says he doesn’t have the money to repair electrical circuits damaged by the fire and cannot pay relocation costs of the now homeless residents. 

The Red Cross is currently paying for temporary lodging, but after the aid expires Friday, Kassim is obligated to pay for the difference in the tenants’ housing costs for the next three months or until they can move back, as required by Berkeley law. 

“I’m in so much debt, I don’t even have enough money to pay my rent,” he said. 

The fire damaged the building’s electrical wiring, prompting fire inspectors to order power shut off to the building until repairs are made. 

Kassim said the lack of power at his store cost him $10,000 in spoiled foods and is now depriving him of further income he could use to repair the building. 

City officials said Kassim should take out a short-term loan to make repairs and get his business re-opened. Without a loan, Kassim likely will have to wait until his insurer sends a check, which city officials said could take months.  

Before tenants will be permitted to move back, Kassim must show city inspectors that all of the fire damages have been repaired and that no outstanding code violations exist. 

Goad who has been put up at the Shattuck Hotel by the Red Cross, said the top floor is not nearly ready to re-occupy. 

“The landlord hasn’t cleaned up at all,” he said. “There are scraps hanging from the ceiling, the floors are soaked, and there are holes in the back stairway,” he said. 

City officials said evidence at the scene of the fire points to arson as the cause of the fire. 

“It appears from fire inspectors that an excelerent [highly flammable material like gasoline] was present,” said Berkeley police spokesperson Mary Kusmiss. Police have no suspects in the case. 

Nobody was hurt in the three-alarm blaze that fire officials estimate caused $130,000 in damages. 

About 40 to 50 percent of Berkeley fires are intentional said Fire Department Assistant Chief David Orth, noting that Berkeley was ranked among the upper fifth of California cities for arson. 

The south Berkeley fire came one week after 69 residents of the UA Homes at 1040 University Ave. were allowed to return to their apartments after spending nine weeks in hotels while the building’s owners made repairs. That fire was not believed to be arson related. 

 

Contact reporter at matt@berkeleydailyplanet.net


San Pablo woman, 113, named oldest American

By Ron Harris The Associated Press
Thursday November 07, 2002

SAN PABLO — She’s short, strong-willed and has a taste for KFC chicken dinners and Twinkies. Meet 113-year-old Mary Christian of San Pablo — the newest oldest American. 

Christian was pronounced the oldest American last week by the Gerontology Research Group, a nonprofit collection of volunteer demographers who study aging and chronicle those who age long and gracefully. 

Christian became the nation’s eldest after last week’s death of Mary Parr, 113. After Parr’s death, John McMorran, also 113, held the title briefly until Christian’s age was confirmed. 

Born in Taunton, Mass. on June 12, 1889, Christian now holds the distinction all to herself. 

“She’s physically in good health. She’s always astounding her doctors,” said her great-granddaughter, Sharon Hanney. “She had a cold when she was 102 and got over that.” 

Christian moved with her family from Massachusetts to California at age 10. She was working in a Richmond chocolate factory when the 1906 earthquake hit, and she recalled for relatives that the boss let employees take bits of the broken sweets home after they fell on the floor from the shaking. 

Christian now lives at the Creekside Care Center in San Pablo, an eastern suburb of San Francisco. Only a few of her closest relatives can hold a conversation with her, as she only recognizes their familiar voices, Hanney said. 

The elderly woman worked at a cannery, and later at a Macy’s, and grew up in Richmond before the city held that name. Christian has lost much of her vision, and essentially is bedridden, but retained her taste for fast food until two years ago. 

“She used to be just crazy about Kentucky Fried Chicken. We would take her to KFC,” Hanney said. “She also loved Twinkies.” 

It’s the genes Christian inherited that are whetting the academic appetites of researchers, says Dr. Stephen Coles, an instructor of gerontology the UCLA school of medicine. 

“Supercentenarians live as long as they do because they grow old more uniformly and they don’t have a weak link like heart disease that takes them out of the running early,” Dr. Coles said. 

Dr. Coles is part of the group that verified Christian’s age.


Oakland voters OK more cops, but don’t approve funding

By Kim Curtis The Associated Press
Thursday November 07, 2002

OAKLAND — Voters approved adding 100 police officers to Oakland’s streets, but refused to raise taxes to pay for them. Supporters say that means they want the department to increase efficiency, but some opponents argue voters didn’t understand the ballot. 

Measure FF, which passed Tuesday with 53 percent of the vote, would put 100 new police officers on the streets, paying their salaries with new tax revenue. The proposal was put on the ballot by Mayor Jerry Brown in response to the city’s rising homicide rate. 

But the three separate measures intended to fund the new jobs failed — all with more than 56 percent of the vote. They would have raised taxes from 7.5 percent to 8 percent on hotel stays, parking and utilities including electricity, gas and alternate fuels, as well as telephone and cable television. The tax increase would have amounted to $63.5 million over five years. 

That additional revenue would have paid for the new officers, who were to form new foot and bicycle patrols and work in neighborhoods impacted by the recent rise in crime. 

“People want more police and more crime prevention programs,” Brown said Wednesday. “But they want City Hall to prioritize and become more efficient. The voters are saying, ’Take a second look, do your job, but don’t come back to us with more taxes.”’ 

But a leading opponent of the measure, Oakland City Council member Nancy Nadel, said the outcome doesn’t necessarily mean that people want more cops on the streets. She said the measure, called “violence prevention” on the ballot, was confusing. 

“It’s very hard to vote against violence prevention, but most people don’t consider cops to be violence prevention,” Nadel said. “We need actual job programs, a mini WPA for our ex-offenders, after-school programs ... Police are just a small part of it.” 

Oakland, with a population of 406,000, is on track to surpass 100 homicides by year’s end for the first time since 1995. This year’s pace harkens back to the years of 1986 to 1995, when the city averaged 138 murders a year. 

As voters went to the polls Tuesday evening, the city’s murder toll rose to 96 when a 38-year-old man was killed in East Oakland just before 6 p.m.


Voters say yes to many measures

Daily Planet Wire Service
Thursday November 07, 2002

Voters in Castro Valley have rejected a proposal to become an incorporated city and Fremont voters passed a $51 million fire station bond measure, according to complete unofficial election returns. 

Voters Tuesday night overwhelmingly rejected Measure Q, which would have created the new city of Castro Valley. The proposed city would have existed as of July 1, and been governed by a five-member city council. Some critics of the plan had said they were worried that the city would not be able to support itself financially. 

Nearly three in four Fremont voters approved Measure R, a $51 million bond measure that will replace three small fire stations and seismically upgrade seven others. A two-thirds was required for passage. 

Measure S, a bid to raise the salaries of Fremont City Council members and the mayor, went down to defeat. Under the measure, the monthly salary of each member of the City Council would have increased to $2,083 from  

$1,407 and the salary of the mayor would have increase to $2,916 from $2,211 per month. 

Alameda County voters passed Measure C, which will amend the county charter to specify that any county chief probation officer taking office after Wednesday will be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Board of Supervisors. 

On Friday, the current probation chief, Sylvia Johnson, announced that she would retire from office on Jan. 31. 

Measure A, approved by the voters, will allow the county to adopt a hotel and lodging tax of 10 percent of the rental charge that would apply to unincorporated areas of the county. With the exception of Piedmont, all cities in the county currently impose a hotel and lodging tax of 8 to 12 percent. 

Measure B, passed by the voters, will enable the county to continue to impose a business license tax in unincorporated areas. 

Measure AA, which would enable the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District to levy a $24 annual parcel tax over the next five years, to protect bus services for children and seniors, help ensure passenger security and help reduce traffic congestion and air pollution appeared to have been passed by at least two-thirds of the voters in Alameda County in final unofficial returns. However, the measure was falling just shy of the two-thirds mark in Contra Costa County returns. 

Measure BB would allow the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District to issue up to $1.05 billion in bonds to perform seismic upgrades on BART facilities in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties. The passage of the measure is still too close to call by unofficial election returns. Measures AA and BB require a two-thirds majority in multiple counties for passage.


Bay Area Briefs

Thursday November 07, 2002

S.F. sues major contractor 

SAN FRANCISCO — The city of San Francisco has sued the major contractor that worked on San Francisco International Airport’s expansion, accusing the company of defrauding the city of tens of millions of dollars. 

The suit, filed Friday in federal court, seeks $30 million in damages from Sylmar-based Tutor-Saliba Corp., as well as forfeiture of profits and possibly millions more in damages from Tutor-Saliba and its partners, Massachusetts-based Perini Corp. and Pennsylvania-based Buckley and Co. It also seeks to keep Tutor-Saliba from bidding on future contracts in San Francisco. 

The city claims the company overbilled and company manipulated and defrauded the city-run minority contracting program to win lucrative airport contracts it shouldn’t have gotten. 

Company owner Ronald Tutor denies the charges. 

“I’m really taken aback. I did not believe they would do anything so unreasonable,” he said. 

 

U.S. Postal Service offers amnesty 

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Postal Service is offering an amnesty to anyone in possession of its white plastic bins, commonly used to distribute large amounts of mail to businesses. 

The post office says about 10 percent of its 10 million boxes are missing nationwide. Each bin is worth about $3.50, but misuse of a single box can lead to a $1,000 fine or possible jail time. 

Each container, which is government property, clearly warns in blue print that the theft or misuse of it can entail the fine and a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment. 

 

Diversity enrollment up due to smaller class size 

BERKELEY — This fall’s diversity increase in enrollment at UC Berkeley is mainly due to a smaller freshman class than last year’s, said a university representative. 

The freshman class has a total of 3,655 students, a 5 percent decrease from last year, said assistant vice chancellor for admissions and enrollment, Richard Black. The university received 36,000 applications, accepting roughly one in four. 

Hispanics, blacks and American Indians compose 15.6 percent of the fall freshmen class, up from 14.7 in fall 2001. In 1997, the year before the Prop. 209 ban on affirmative action went into effect, the percentage of underrepresented students was 21 percent. 

Asian Americans increased to 46 percent.


Winona Ryder theft scandal upstaged movie career

By Anthony Breznican The Associated Press
Thursday November 07, 2002

LOS ANGELES — A grainy, security camera videotape has upstaged Winona Ryder’s movie work. 

Footage of the two-time Academy Award nominee walking out of a Beverly Hills Saks Fifth Avenue store with $5,500 worth of unpurchased items culminated Wednesday in two convictions. The jury in the shoplifting trial found the star of “Girl, Interrupted” guilty of felony grand theft and vandalism but cleared her of burglary. 

Ryder, 31, is expected to receive sentences of community service and probation — but the lingering embarrassment of the scandal may become an unofficial punishment. 

Months before the trial, the actress attempted to make light of the theft accusations during appearances to promote her films “Mr. Deeds” and “Simone.” 

In a “Saturday Night Live” monologue, Ryder deadpanned: “You know, people have been acting a little strange around here. You know, there’s like, you know, a lot of like locking of doors and — and shifty eyes and — and a lot of frisking.” 

In a later shoplifting sketch, she mockingly scolded other characters for stealing. 

Ryder also appeared on the cover of W magazine wearing a “Free Winona” T-shirt. 

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office bristled at her apparently unremorseful attitude, rejecting Ryder’s efforts to get her charges reduced to misdemeanors.


Cisco Systems’ third-quarter earnings beat expectations

By Matthew Fordahl The Associated Press
Thursday November 07, 2002

SAN JOSE — Cisco Systems Inc.’s fiscal first-quarter earnings beat Wall Street expectations Wednesday despite the weak economy and soft demand for networking gear. 

But the company, which has managed to outperform competitors in recent quarters, predicted a soft fiscal second quarter with sales remaining flat or falling slightly. 

For the three months ended Oct. 26, Cisco earned $618 million, or 8 cents per share, on sales of $4.85 billion. For the comparable period last fiscal year, the company lost $268 million, or 4 cents a share, on revenues of $4.45 billion. 

Excluding special items, Cisco earned $1 billion, or 14 cents per share, compared with a profit of $332 million or 4 cents a share in the same period last fiscal year. 

Analysts were expecting a first-quarter profit of 13 cents per share on sales of $4.81 billion, according to a survey by Thomson First Call. 

“Despite the challenging market, we continued to execute ahead of our competitors, resulting in another solid quarter for Cisco,” said John Chambers, the company’s chief executive. 

In August, the company said first-quarter sales would range from flat to a slight percentage increase from the $4.83 billion reported in its fiscal fourth quarter. 

“They’re really driving the operational execution of the company to a very high tempo,” said Barry Jaruzelski, managing partner of the global technology practice at Booz Allen Hamilton, a consulting firm. 

Cisco has been particularly hard hit by the meltdown in spending by telecommunications companies, which drove much of its growth in the late 1990s. To compensate, the company has dramatically cut costs and focused more attention on other business opportunities. 

Chambers told analysts he remains optimistic about the company’s long-term prospects, saying Cisco’s results will quickly follow improvements in its customers’ sales and profits. 

“It is no surprise given our customers’ visibility is limited that our own visibility is limited,” he said. 

The company expects its fiscal second-quarter revenues to be flat to down as much as 4 percent over the first quarter, said Larry Carter, Cisco’s chief financial officer. 

In the worst-case scenario, Cisco’s second-quarter sales would be $4.6 billion. The consensus analyst estimate for the period was $4.9 billion. 

“It would not be a big surprise if factors increased or decreased,” Chambers said. “As our customers’ business improves, so will our business with a slight lag time.” 

Cisco, the leading maker of routers, switches and other network equipment, has managed to continue posting profits even as rivals Lucent Technologies, Alcatel and Juniper Networks Inc. post losses. 

Jaruzelski compared Cisco’s performance to Dell Computer Corp. in the personal computer business. 

“It’s a flat, not attractive marketplace with penny-pinching customers,” he said. “They’re getting more than their fair share ... at the expense of others. They’re not doing it by giving their products away.” 

In the past month, Cisco’s shares have risen about 50 percent. 

On Wednesday, shares closed up 27 cents, to $12.96, in trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. After the company released its earnings, shares gained 10 cents in extended-session trading.


Tenet to audit Medicare

By Gary Gentile The Associated Press
Thursday November 07, 2002

LOS ANGELES — The federal government is investigating whether Tenet Healthcare Corp. hospitals overbilled Medicare millions of dollars for costly procedures, the company said Wednesday. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will audit Tenet’s accounts at several hospitals. The probe was triggered by an insurance company reporting concerns over billings for a higher-than-average number of procedures, such as heart surgeries, that qualify for special payments. 

The so-called “outlier” payments are meant to reimburse hospitals for expenses over and above the flat fee Medicare pays for certain conditions. 

“We’re seeing indications of a problem there and want to see how extensive it is,” said Katherine Harris, a spokeswoman for the inspector general’s office of the health department. 

The payments in question were made over a period of months this year, Harris said. 

“We’re going to visit hospitals to be sure Medicare claims complied with Medicare regulations and were based on usual and customary charges for private pay patients,” Harris said. 

“We are pleased to cooperate with this audit, as we are confident that it will demonstrate that our hospitals did, in fact, obey the rules,” said Jeffrey Barbakow, chairman and chief executive officer of the Santa Barbara-based company. 

Last week, federal agents searched the office of two doctors who practice at a Tenet hospital in Redding. Tenet also is investigating allegations that the two performed unnecessary heart surgeries. 

The California medical board is seeking a restraining order against the two doctors, saying the evidence to date constitutes probable cause that the pair performed unnecessary invasive heart surgeries.


Palm still lagging behind

By Peters Vensson The Associated Press
Thursday November 07, 2002

Palm handhelds were something of a revelation when first launched in April 1996 — small, nifty computers that did a great job of organizing personal data and ran for weeks on a single set of batteries. 

Yet the very thing that let Palm succeed where others had failed — a simple, stripped-down operating system — is what’s been holding it back in recent years. 

The operating system and antiquated processors it runs on simply doesn’t have the muscle and the flexibility to support wireless network cards, cameras and stereo music. 

Palm’s new operating system, called OS 5, attempts to remedy that.


State budget battle may intensify after Democrats lose two seats

By Jim Wasserman The Associated Press
Thursday November 07, 2002

SACRAMENTO — A California state budget process that broke down last summer, triggering a record impasse between Republicans and Democrats, may become still more difficult next year with Republican election gains in the state Assembly. 

Assembly Democrats, who already needed four Republican votes for a two-thirds majority to pass a budget, now need six crossover votes — and possibly seven — in the two-year legislative session that begins in January. 

The final tally hinges on a lone San Joaquin Valley Assembly race that remained undecided on Wednesday. 

Elections officials in Kern, Kings, Tulare and Fresno counties said it may take two weeks to determine a winner in the 30th Assembly District. While thousands of absentee and provisional ballots remained uncounted, Democrat Nicole Parra held only a 475-vote edge over Republican Dean Gardner.


Bates in a landslide

By Matthew Artz Daily Planet Staff
Wednesday November 06, 2002

Progressive Tom Bates who returned to Berkeley politics last May, fresh off a six-year political hiatus, declared victory Tuesday night in his race to unseat Mayor Shirley Dean. 

“The work has just begun,” the former state Assemblyman told more than 200 supporters at his campaign headquarters on Shattuck Avenue. 

With 85 percent of the vote counted, Bates held a commanding 56 to 42 percent lead over the moderate incumbent at press time early Wednesday morning. 

Bates’ triumph ends a race that featured two of the city’s pre-eminent politicians. The pair offered similar visions for the city, but did so in contrasting and sometimes antagonistic styles. 

Bates, positioning himself as a consensus builder, won support of voters tired of a City Council that has been marred by partisan bickering. 

Noting nationwide gains for Republicans Tuesday, Bates insisted late Tuesday that Berkeley now has a mission to keep the progressive spirit alive. 

“We need to provide hope for the nation going in the wrong direction,” he said. 

Dean gave a short speech to supporters early Wednesday, but campaign officials refused to comment on their apparent defeat. 

Berkeley election returns filtered in slowly Tuesday night, with voters packing polling stations up to the 8:00 p.m.. closing time. Many polls remained open until 9:30 p.m. to accommodate crowds, according to City Clerk Sherry Kelly.  

The candidates’ headquarters told the story of the vote. 

While Bates’ headquarters was a raucous party with supporters cheering with each updated vote total, Dean played host to roughly 35 mostly subdued supporters, most of whom filed out by 10:30 p.m.  

The race for mayor pitted two political Goliaths who were close on many policy issues but stood on opposite sides of Berkeley’s moderate versus progressive divide for nearly 30 years. 

Dean, a 15-year member of City Council, was elected mayor in 1994, ending the progressives’ 16-year stranglehold on the office. Bates rode his progressive Berkeley base to 20 years in the state Assembly until term limits forced him to retire in 1996. 

The race, which saw both candidates raising roughly $150,000, was one of the most expensive in Berkeley history and sometimes appeared driven more by personal animosity between the candidates than by substantive policy differences. 

Dean fired the opening salvos, blasting Bates for allegedly blocking the construction of student housing and warning voters that a Bates victory would mean a return to run-down buildings and a derelict downtown. 

Bates eventually fired back, calling Dean a mean-spirited person. He blamed her for the partisan bickering at City Council meetings and noted her ballyhooed trip to Ohio to dig up dirt on arch rival Councilmember Kriss Worthington. 

The campaigns also dueled in the ring of campaign finance. Bates’ treasurer Mal Burnstein found that Dean had misfiled approximately $3,000 in campaign contributions from the 1998 race. Dean was ultimately ordered by a citizen commission to re-allocate the money to her previous campaign and file amended fundraising reports with the city. 

Dean’s campaign responded by plugging two citizen petitions, accusing Bates of illegal fundraising. Both charges against Bates were dismissed by the citizen commission.  

With both candidates calling for a Berkeley with more housing along transit corridors, better public transportation, good relations with the university and support of small businesses, Dean and Bates often ended up debating who was better suited to achieve their similar visions. 

Bates said his political connections throughout the state gave him an edge. Noting his ties to Sacramento politicians, including his wife, former Berkeley Mayor Loni Hancock, who was overwhelmingly elected to fill Bates’ former Assembly seat, Bates said he was better positioned to win state grants and negotiate with the university from a position of strength. 

Dean insisted that she had already made progress on these issues, and that Bates was at the head of a political machine that sought to control city politics.


No media coverage for protesters?

Ann Lehman El Cerrito
Wednesday November 06, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

My nine year old son and I were at the demonstration against the war in Iraq on Saturday in San Francisco. It was astounding, with apathy at appalling rates, to see so many thousands of individuals show up for anything. This was not just students or young people; there were lots and lots of families, young and old, brown, black, white and every color under the rainbow. When I said to a friend, “This is amazing,” she answered, “Yes but will the media cover it?” And I thought, “Of course they will.” 

Generally, I'm am very cynical about things, but I thought (mistakenly) that there was no way the media could ignore these numbers protesting our government’s war policy. I’m astounded I could have been so naive and so wrong. Where was most of the media? The demonstrations involved over 100,000 people in Washington D.C., and 50,000 in San Francisco, and concurrent events throughout Europe in the pouring rain. There was no real main stream reporting and, even when it was mentioned, no analysis. 

It saddens me, almost as much as our government's war policies, to realize that if these demonstrations had not been peaceful and nonviolent, they would have been considered newsworthy. When was the last time that many folks have turned out for any one event? 

 

Ann Lehman 

El Cerrito


Calendar

Wednesday November 06, 2002

Wednesday, Nov. 6 

North Berkeley Senior Center Advisory Council Meeting 

10 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst St. 

981-5190 

Community Members Welcome 

 

Monthly Birthday Party 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst St. 

Featuring Jim Steinke, guitar and mandolin wizard 

981-5190 

 

2002 Surjit Singh Lecture 

5:30 p.m. 

Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Common Room, 2451 Ridge Rd. 

649-2440 

 

“The Chinese and Religion in the Context of Globalization” 

Reception 5:30 p.m. / Lecture 7 p.m. 

Bade Museum at Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. 

A noted scholar and author, Professor Zhuo Xinping speaks 

649-2440 

 

Thursday, Nov. 7 

“Water, the Beverage of Life” 

11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst St. 

Aaron Miller, SF State Intern will discuss 

981-5190 

 

Additional Ferries from East Bay Sites 

noon to 2 p.m. 

Albany Public Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 

Discussion with a representative of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters 

843-8824 

Free 

 

Panel Discussion - “Resistance to the Free Trade Agreements in Mexico and Central America” 

7:30 p.m. 

La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Featuring video presentation of “Tierra Si, Aviones No”, and performance by the NoPPP Players 

$5 and $10/ suggested donation 

 

Friday, Nov. 8  

Alexander Cockburn’s Incendiary Rants 

7 p.m. 

AK Press Warehouse, 673-A 23rd St. 

Release party for muckraking maverick Alexander Cockburn’s new spoken word CD “Beating the Devil” 

208-1700 

Free 

 

Berkeley Women in Black Vigil 

Bancroft at Telegraph Ave. 

Weekly protest to “End the Occupation” 

Saturday, Nov. 9 

Book Sale and Auction 

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The Center for AIDS Services, 5720 Shattuck Ave., Oakland 

This big sale will benefit the AIDS center 

655-3435 

 

An Afternoon of Mystery  

2 p.m. 

1901 Russell St. 

Berkeley’s South Branch Library presents mystery writers Jake Fuchs “Death of a Prof”, Owen Hill “The Chandler Apartments”, and Mary Halock “The Dog on the Roof” 

525-3948 

Free 

 

Sunday, Nov. 10 

World Run Day-national charity benefit 

All day 

Various cities across the nation  

(516) 859-3000, www.runday.com 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 12 

Holiday Craft Baazar 

10 a.m. to noon 

St. John’s Presbyterian Curch, 2727 College Ave. 

Handmade items, sweet treats, and knick knacks will be for sale. All are welcome 

845-6830 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 13 

Public Lecture by the Rev. Canon Naim Ateek 

7:30 p.m. 

UCC, on Dana St. between Durant and Channing 

Founder of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center and native of East Jerusalem, Rev. Ateek will lead a discussion sponsored by the First Congregational Church of Berkeley (UCC) and the Pacific School of Religion 

848-3696 

$10/ suggested donation 

 

League of Women Voters Meeting 

Noon 

LWVBAE office, 1414 University Ave. 

Discussion will focus on regional issues 

849-2154 

 

Thursday, Nov. 14 

Regret to Inform  

Reception 6:30 p.m. / Program 7 p.m. 

Berkeley High School Auditorium, 2234 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

A screening and discussion with filmmaker Barbara Sonneborn. 

979-0190, liz_vogel@facing.org 

Free 

 

Berkeley Path Wanderers Meeting 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. 

Meeting to include a presentation by best- selling author Adah Bakalinsky who will speak about her book, “Stairway Walks of San Francisco” 

Free 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 6 

Zabava! Izorno and Brass Menagerie 

7 p.m. doors open/ 8:30 live performance 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Enjoy this celebration with live music from the Balkans, including dance lessons begining at 7:30 

525-5054 

$8 

 

Christopher Hitchens 

7:30 p.m. 

Cody’s Books, 2454 Telegraph Ave. 

Hitchens will discuss “Why Orwell Matters” 

845-7852 

 

Saadet Turkoz with Miya Masaoka and George Cremaschi 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

Mysterious improvisations based on ancient Central Asian music in collaboration with local luminati Masaoka and Cremaschi on contrabass 

548-1761 

$15.50-$16.50 

 

 

Thursday, Nov. 7 

Gary Thorp 

7:30 p.m. 

Cody’s Books, 2454 Telegraph Ave. 

Thorp will read from “Caught in Fading Light” 

845-7852 

 

The Non Prophets  

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

Performing with special guest Vince Welnick of the Grateful Dead 

21+ 

$10 

 

Bandworks Recital 

7:30 p.m. to midnight 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Hear student bands play rock, blues, and pop at this annual recital event 

525-5054 

$11 

 

Friday, Nov. 8 

The Librarians, Bitesize, and Glitter Mini 9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

All age show 

$7 

 

Chaskinakuy 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

Beautiful vocal harmonies in Spanish and Quechua 

548-1761 

$15.50-$16.50 

 

An Evening of Cultural Harmony 

8 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 

The Barbard Ensemble, the San Francisco Klezmer Experience, and Lichi Fuentes & Jackeline Rago will treat listeners to music from Iran, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. 

704-7480 x755 

$25 general admission 

 

Black Dice, Dearly Departed (ex-Subtonix), and The Mass 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

$8 

 

Sunday, Nov. 10 

The Sheldon Brown Group 

4:30 p.m. 

Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St. 

Reservations: 845-5373 

$10-$15 

 

Images of India-2002 

7 p.m. 

International House Auditorium, 2299 Piedmont Ave. 

‘Asha for Education,’ a campus based non-profit organization, holds its 12th annual event  

665-4889, ioi@ashanet.org 

$15-$25 / $10 students 

 

The Starry Irish Music Session with Shay Black 

8 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

Tickets available on a sliding scale 

 

“Shove Off to Birthday Island” 

Through Nov. 30 

Reception Nov. 2 from 5 to 8 p.m. 

Tue. through Sat., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland 

A collaborative exhibition of Tonya Solley Thornton and Frank Haines including video and sculptural installations. 

836-0831 

 

Children of the Gulf War Photo Exhibit 

Through Nov. 30 

Mon. through Thurs., 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

Fri. through Sat.., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Sun., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 

Featuring works of Takashi Morizumi 

Information: www.savewarchildren.org 

 

Ceramics - Opening Reception 

Through Nov. 17 

3 to 5 p.m. 

A New Leaf Gallery, 1286 Gilman St. 

525-7621 

Free 

 

“Recent Acquisitions” 

Through Dec. 14 

Thurs. through Sat., 1 to 4 p.m. 

Berkeley Historical Society, Veterans Memorial Building, 1931 Center St. 

848-0181 

Free 

 

Threads: Five artists who use stitching to convey ideas 

Through Dec. 15, Wed. through Sun., noon to 5 p.m. 

Berkeley Art Center 

Live Oak Park, 1275 Walnut St. 

Information: www.berkeleyartcenter.org, 644-6893 

Free 

 

Menocchio 

Nov. 6 through Dec. 22 

Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 

Berkeley Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of Lillian Groag’s charged comedy 

647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org  

$38 and $54/ sliding scale 

 

Thursday, Nov. 7 

“Desert Hearts” 

1 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst St. 

A 1950s lesbian romance featuring Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau. 

 

Friday, Nov. 8 

“El Che” 

7 p.m. 

Redwood Gardens, 2951 Derby St. 

Film screening followed by salsa dancing to support Berkeley’s Cuban Sister-City Palma Soriano. 

548-6941 

$10 / sliding scale 

 

“Cinemayaat: The Arab Film Festival” 

Through Nov. 12 

Various locations throughout Berkeley, San Francisco, and San Jose. 

For more information contact the Arab Film Festival at info@aff.org, (415) 564- 1100, or www.aff.org 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 6 

Poetry Slam with host Nazelah Jamison and Karen Ladson 

8:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

Cash prizes up to $90 

21+ 

$7/ general, $5/ students with ID 

 

Saturday Nov. 9 

Dorothy Allison and Jewelle Gomez appear in support of Boadecia’s Books 

8 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda at Solano 

559-9184 

$25/ sliding scale 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 12 

Open Mic 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

7:30 p.m. 

Free 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 13 

Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik 

8:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

Cash prizes up to $90 

21+ 

$7/ general, $5/ students with ID 

 

Saturday Nov. 16 

Alice Walker and Brenda Boykin 

appear in support of Boadecia’s Books 

8 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda at Solano 

559-9184 

$25/ sliding scale 

 

Monday, Dec. 2 

Adam David Miller and Rita Flores Bogaert 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave 

The Last Word announces a poetry reading that will include an open mic and featured readers 

649-1320 

Free


Johnson wins fourth Cy Young

By Ronald Blum The Associated Press
Wednesday November 06, 2002

NEW YORK — Randy Johnson won yet another Cy Young Award and then he teed off. 

No, not on baseball. The Big Unit was getting ready to play Pebble Beach Golfs Links when his latest honor was announced Tuesday, and rather than delay his round, Johnson grabbed a cell phone and talked about his fastballs and sliders while deciding among woods and wedges. 

“I’m trying to make a putt on No. 2 right now,” he said, the California coast off to his side. 

No doubt, his score Tuesday was far lower than his perenially high strikeout total. 

Johnson was a unanimous pick over Arizona teammate Curt Schilling, winning a record-tying fourth straight National League Cy Young and fifth overall — one short of Roger Clemens’ record. 

The Big Unit, who will earn an additional $4 million because of the award, received all 32 first-place votes and 160 points from a panel of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. 

“The big picture, obviously, is to get to the World Series. If you remain consistent and have a good year, it’s kind of a bonus,” Johnson said, referring to the award. “This has come from maintaining consistency, hard work and dedication, and my teammates being very supportive offensively, defensively and in the bullpen.” 

Schilling was runner-up for the second straight season, getting 29 second-place votes and three thirds for 90 points. Atlanta closer John Smoltz was third with 21 points. 

Johnson matched Greg Maddux (1992-95) as the only pitchers to win four straight Cy Youngs and became the NL’s 11th unanimous winner, the first since Maddux in 1995. Johnson and Schilling became the first pitchers to finish 1-2 in Cy Young voting in consecutive years. 

Johnson, who has won the award in all four seasons since signing with the Diamondbacks as a free agent, earned his first Cy Young with Seattle in 1995. 

“I’ve got them in my office, and they’re displayed nice,” he said. “I’m a very simple person, and I work hard, and I push myself, and this is the reward.” 

The Big Unit went 24-5 with a 2.37 ERA and 334 strikeouts, becoming the first major leaguer since Boston’s Pedro Martinez in 1999 and the first NL player since the Mets’ Dwight Gooden in 1985 to win pitching’s triple crown. 

The 39-year-old Johnson set a career high for wins, led the major leagues in strikeouts for the ninth time and became the first pitcher to reach 300 in five straight seasons. He also led the majors in innings (260) and complete games (eight), and led the NL in opponents’ batting average (.208). 

Schilling went 23-7 with a 3.23 ERA, 316 strikeouts and just 33 walks in 259 1-3 innings. Schilling, who has never won a Cy Young, was 21-5 with a 2.77 ERA though Aug. 31, while Johnson was 19-5 with a 2.63 ERA. 

Johnson sealed the award by going 5-0 with an 0.66 ERA in September as Schilling was 2-2 with a 6.19 ERA. On Sept. 20, Schilling allowed eight earned runs for only the third time and a career-high 14 hits in 9-4 loss to Colorado at Coors Field. 

Arizona, the NL West champion, was 55-15 when Johnson or Schilling started, 43-49 the rest of the time. The defending World Series champions were swept by St. Louis in the first round of the playoffs. 

Last year, Johnson and Schilling were co-MVPs of the seven-game World Series win over the New York Yankees. Johnson called that the “top of the mountain” and recalled the thrill of having his family at the Diamondbacks’ parade. 

Injuries to Luis Gonzalez and others crippled Arizona.


PC coffee, height limits voted down

By Kurtis Alexander Daily Planet Staff
Wednesday November 06, 2002

Berkeley’s two most-watched ballot measures appeared well on their way to defeat late Tuesday night. 

With 68 percent of city precincts reported, residents were appearing jittery about calls for socially-conscience coffee, voting 70 to 30 percent against the initiative that would require retailers to brew and sell only organic, shade-grown or “Fair Trade” cups of coffee. 

Berkeley voters also weighed in on the increasingly contentious issue of urban growth, rejecting an initiative that aimed to steer high-rise housing out of the city. 

With 68 percent of precincts reported, the initiative was losing 79 to 21 percent. 

Both Measure P, the height initiative, and Measure O, the coffee initiative, pushed historic thresholds of citizen-driven initiatives, bringing such issues as international trade and population growth into the realm of local policy-making. 

While disappointed by the loss of the height initiative, supporters remained confident that their attempts to put limits on the heights of new buildings could be established through other means. 

“There are three lawsuits against the city in regard to development and others in the pipeline,” said height initiative author Howie Muir, claiming that the city has illegally approved oversized projects and will likely be admonished by the courts. 

The height initiative had sought to reduce Berkeley’s population density by cutting permissible height limits along several major traffic corridors. On sections of San Pablo Avenue, under the initiative, limits would have dropped from four stories to two and on parts of University, Shattuck and College avenues height limits would have dropped an average of one story. 

“We’re the 20th densist city in the country for cities with more than 100,000 people,” Muir noted. 

While campaign literature conjured images of the Manhatten skyline taking shape in Berkeley, opponents of the height initiative said the rhetoric was overdone. 

Garnering support from the League of Women Voters, the entire City Council and advocates of so-called smart growth, the opposition made the case that much-needed housing opportunities would be lost if the measure passed. 

“We need to be able to continue revitalizing corridors like San Pablo and provide affordable housing along transit corridors. Measure P wouldn’t allow either of these things,” said Stuart Cohen, executive director of the Oakand-based Transportation and Land Use Coalition. 

A sign held by an opponent of the measure read, “Don’t P on Berkeley.” 

Opposition to Berkeley’s high-profile coffee initiative met with similar success. 

Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Starbucks Coffee and the National Coffee Association, each throwing more than $10,000 into the opposition effort, argued that politically correct coffee would hurt both local businesses and consumers because of its higher wholesale cost. 

Supporters of the coffee initiative, though, said untold costs of labor exploitation and environmentally-destructive farming practices would far exceed any local price increases. 

“If this would have passed, my money would have gone to small farmers who are struggling to survive. Now it goes to corporate farms and companies that don’t care about labor practices,” said Rick Young who authored the coffee initiative.


Housing density and transportation

Robert R. Piper Former Director of Transportation Berkeley
Wednesday November 06, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

Interpreting the population density numbers being bandied about is a challenge. Let me address impacts on transit. As most of you know, that has been my field for 30 years. 

Average density for cities or neighborhoods is irrelevant to transit ridership. What counts is how many people and what activity is within walking distance of stops or stations. The rule of thumb is that people walk up to five minutes to a bus stop. On flat land, that is around a quarter mile. Both numbers stem from research on how far passengers actually walk. I have done some of the research. Our results duplicated those of other investigators. Historically, people have tended to walk further to rail transit stations. 

It is important to understand what the quarter mile means. It means that few passengers walk further. Beyond a quarter mile, you are looking at the tail of the distribution. Most passengers come from less than that. Since they come from all directions, imagine concentric circles, the market penetration (riders per unit of area) tails off even more rapidly with distance from the stop. 

Residences and activities have to be clustered really densely around stops if we expect many people to use transit. “Around” means just that. The high-density node should extend a block or two on either side of the arterial as well as along it. 

If we seek to shift future travelers from automobiles to transit, zoning must encourage high density at stops, not inhibit it. 

 

Robert R. Piper 

Former Director of Transportation 

Berkeley 


Fans pay tribute to Jam Master Jay

By Michael Weissenstein The Associated Press
Wednesday November 06, 2002

NEW YORK — Pallbearers wearing white unlaced Adidas carried the body of slain Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay from a funeral service Tuesday at which he was remembered as “the embodiment of hip-hop.” 

A funeral cortege of white stretch limousines and luxury SUVs was lined up outside the Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in the rapper’s native Queens. Inside, bandmates Joseph “Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniel eulogized their friend, whose real name was Jason “Jay” Mizell, as a great man and groundbreaking musical force. 

“Jason helped build hip-hop, and his job is finished,” said Joseph Simmons, now an ordained minister, wearing a broad-brimmed black hat and clerical collar. “He just couldn’t leave without drama.” 

The funeral came six days after Mizell was shot to death in his Queens recording studio by a masked assailant. No one has been charged. 

A who’s who of hip-hop attended the service. LL Cool J, Chuck D of Public Enemy, Queen Latifah and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, the brother of Joseph Simmons, were among the mourners. Many in the church and among the crowd outside wore the white Adidas and black leather that Run-DMC turned into a fashion trend in the 1980s. 

As DJ for the pioneering group, Jam Master Jay had worked the turntables as Simmons and McDaniels rapped a string of hits over nearly 20 years. 

McDaniels brought the overflow crowd of 2,300 to its feet with his eulogy, getting in a dig at anyone who would call the slaying just another example of rap violence. 

“Jam Master Jay was not a thug,” McDaniels said. “Jam Master Jay was not a gangster.”


Battle beginning over Angels’ rally monkey

By Gary Gentile The Associated Press
Wednesday November 06, 2002

ANAHEIM — The World Series champion Anaheim Angels aren’t about to let anyone monkey around with their mascot, especially when it comes to a movie. 

Larry Cano, an executive producer of the 1983 film “Silkwood,” views the Rally Monkey as a perfect role model for kids and wants to make a movie featuring the crowd-pleasing primate. 

Cano has filed both a trademark application for the term “Rally Monkey” and a script treatment with the Writer’s Guild of America. 

There’s only one problem. The Angels and major league baseball say they have prior rights to the name, and have already begun to enforce them against others looking to make a buck from the monkey. 

“The mere fact that somebody filed for trademark registration does not give them any special legal status,” said Rick Schlesinger, an attorney for the Angels. “Our position is that ’Rally Monkey’ is a protected trademark of the Angels and has been so since we first used it in the fall of 2000.” 

Not to mention the fact that The Walt Disney Co., which owns the Angels, might want to make its own Rally Monkey movie someday. 

The monkey with seemingly miraculous powers first made his appearance on June 6, 2000, when the Angels, losing to the San Francisco Giants, needed a boost. The operator of the video scoreboard in right-center field played a clip from the movie “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” that showed a capuchin monkey jumping up and down. 

Fans went wild, the team won and a tradition was born. 

Until this year, the monkey restricted his appearances to inside the stadium. But as the Angels moved closer and closer to the baseball playoffs, the monkey made his way to T-shirts and other items.


Six-period day will stand

By David Scharfenberg Daily Planet Staff
Wednesday November 06, 2002

In a recent union vote, local teachers overwhelmingly approved Berkeley High School’s controversial shift from a seven- to a six-period day, averting the financial cost and logistical nightmare of a mid-year switch back to the seven-period schedule. 

“I can start sleeping nights,” joked Berkeley High Co-principal Laura Leventer. “We’re very happy we don’t have to switch back to the seven-period day.” 

Teachers from all 15 of Berkeley’s public schools voted 297-54 to approve the switch during a two-week voting period, Oct. 14-25. A rejection would have required the high school, which has operated on a six-period schedule since August, to return to a seven-period day at the start of the spring semester. 

Proponents say the move to a six-period day has saved the cash-strapped district money, increased overall classroom time for students and eliminated “gaps,” or periods without class, for most pupils. Erasing gaps, they argue, has cut down on the number of students roaming the hallways and improved safety. 

Opponents complain that the move has cut into the high school’s successful double-period science program and reduced the number of electives available in music and African-American Studies. But district officials note that the overall number of electives has actually increased this year, with new classes in ceramics, photography, acting and other areas. 

Opponents also argue that the shift to a six-period day, which eliminated teacher hall duty, has cut down on the adult presence in the hallways during class and reduced student safety. 

The teachers’ vote ensures that the controversial schedule will remain in place at least through the end of the school year. But, with the current teacher contract set to expire in June, the issue will be on the bargaining table again in a matter of months. 

“Who knows what will come out of the negotiations this spring?,” said Berkeley Federation of Teachers (BFT) President Barry Fike, noting that teachers might re-assess the six-period day after a year of experience with the new schedule.  

The Board of Education approved the shift to a six-period schedule in February and determined that it would go into effect in August, with the start of the 2002-2003 school year. 

But the union argued, at the time, that the board could not unilaterally implement a six-period day. BFT held that the shift would affect the teachers’ contract and therefore had to be negotiated. This summer, an independent arbitrator agreed with the union, throwing the issue into formal negotiations. 

On Oct. 7, after six grueling sessions, the district and union hammered out a deal. The union agreed to accept the six-period day in exchange for several small concessions. But the deal did not go into effect until the rank-and-file membership approved it with the Oct. 14-25 vote. 

Initially, union and district officials had real concerns about teacher approval of the agreement. Shortly after inking the Oct. 7 deal, the union conducted a non-binding, informal poll of high school teachers who only approved of the agreement by a slim 62-46 margin. 

At the time, Fike said opposition was rooted in general disapproval of the six-period day and concerns, among some, about the quality of the concessions the union was able to win from the district. 

In the end, Fike said, fears of disrupting the Berkeley High schedule halfway through the year weighed on some teachers in voting for the deal.


Rethinking hydrogen

Greg Hoff Oakland
Wednesday November 06, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

Jeff Hoffman wrote a misleading and inaccurate letter to the editor (Forum, Nov. 4). Mr. Hoffman thinks that AC Transit should convert to hydrogen power immediately to reduce the use of oil and thereby pollution. While I wholeheartedly agree that we need to reduce our use of oil, Mr. Hoffman evidently doesn't understand that making hydrogen requires energy which is made using oil (hydroelectric power is all spoken for by our houses – additional energy is made from burning oil). Making hydrogen uses lots of energy – more than the hydrogen gives back. In fact, making hydrogen uses 50 percent more oil than the equivalent power obtained from putting the oil directly into a car. And hydrogen is not green. Just because a hydrogen powered bus isn't spewing pollution, doesn’t mean it is non-polluting. It just relocates the pollution to where the power is made, someone else’s neighborhood, and 50 percent more pollution to boot. 

We should support hydrogen power for the right reasons – as part of research into alternative energy systems. Just understand that every hydrogen powered vehicle right now is burning more oil and creating more pollution than if that vehicle were conventionally powered. They say that instead of learning how to make hydrogen powered vehicles, we should be learning how to make hydrogen cost effectively. 

 

Greg Hoff 

Oakland 

 


Progressives win big on council

By David Scharfenberg Daily Planet Staff
Wednesday November 06, 2002

Berkeley’s progressive political faction appeared on course to win at least three of four City Council races and the mayor’s race late Tuesday night, solidifying its control over local politics. 

Incumbent councilmembers Kriss Worthington, Dona Spring and Linda Maio, all progressives, led by significant margins after midnight and former state Assemblyman Tom Bates, also a progressive, had declared victory over moderate Mayor Shirley Dean. 

Moderate Planning Commissioner Gordon Wozniak held a solid lead in a four-way race for the empty 8th District City Council seat. If he wins, Wozniak would succeed retiring moderate Polly Armstrong. 

But, just after midnight, with 80 percent of precincts counted, Wozniak had not reached the 45 percent threshold required to avoid a run-off. Wozniak held a 43 to 35 percent edge over his closest competitor, progressive-backed UC Berkeley student Andy Katz. 

If neither candidate wins 45 percent, the city will mail ballots to 8th District voters for a Wozniak-Katz runoff. The votes would be tallied Dec. 3. 

The Berkeley City Council consists of eight councilmembers and the mayor. Before Tuesday, progressives held a 5-4 edge on the panel. A Bates victory, coupled with the re-election of Worthington, Spring and Maio, would increase the progressive majority to 6-3. A Katz victory would mean a 7-2 edge. 

Four of Berkeley’s eight council members – moderates Betty Olds and Miriam Hawley, and progressives Margaret Breland and Maudelle Shirek – did not face re-election this year. 

A 6-3 or 7-2 re-alignment, progressives said, would lead to greater harmony on a council that has been sharply divided by partisan bickering. 

“We will have a completely different environment and tenor on the council,” said an exuberant Maio, late Tuesday night. “I’m looking forward to it.” 

Worthington was reluctant to declare victory in his own race, despite a late 60 to 38 percent lead over UC Berkeley student Micki Weinberg, but rejoiced in Bates’ apparent win.  

Still, Worthington played down the idea of a new progressive super-majority on the council and said Bates will work with both progressives and moderates. 

The 8th District race for an empty seat was the most competitive City Council contest this year. Moderates lined up behind Wozniak, while progressives backed Katz, who hopes to be the first student elected to City Council since 1984. Human rights consultant Anne Wagley and air conditioning mechanic Carlos Estradaran outside Berkeley’s two dominant political factions.


Don’t attack Iraq

Graduate Theological Union Berkeley
Wednesday November 06, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

We at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley join our colleagues at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and other voices around the world in urging the U.S. government not to attack Iraq. As Christians, we share a strong moral presumption against war. 

As members of international Jesuit centers for the study of Roman Catholic theology, it is our judgment that unleashing massive violence in a military invasion of Iraq is neither necessary or moral. 

We find the situation in Iraq and throughout the world deeply troubling. We share, with others, overwhelming concern about the stockpiling of biological and chemical weapons in Iraq and elsewhere. 

However, as persons of conscience, we are persuaded that the present circumstances do not warrant the use of force against Iraq. Our “Just War” tradition insists that peaceful and diplomatic alternatives must first be exhausted. It has not been demonstrated to the satisfaction of allies of the U.S. or its public that we have reached the point where war is our last resort. 

For 12 years innocent Iraqi civilians, especially children, the elderly and the infirm have suffered the effects of desperate deprivation brought about by military strikes and economic sanctions against their nation. 

As we read the signs of our times, we cannot remain silent in the face of a haunting moral question: What would become of a divided and chaotic Iraq after an attack? Given the course of U.S. interventions in Haiti, Somalia, Afghanistan and elsewhere, we cannot fail to observe that in the recent past the U.S. has demonstrated little of the patience that is required for the task of reestablishing order after imposing regime changes. Indeed the very phrase “nation-building” has acquired stigma in foreign policy discourse. 

In light of these observations and questions, we urge creative efforts in cooperation with United Nations, allies of the U.S. and the international community to find ways to contain and curtail Saddam Hussein’s threats without resorting to a military attack on Iraq. 

We, as followers of Jesus Christ, appeal to you: Pursue the ways of peace through diplomacy, not war. 

 

Graduate Theological Union 

Berkeley


Issel, Doran and Riddle take school board

By David Scharfenberg Daily Planet Staff
Wednesday November 06, 2002

With 85 percent of city precincts reporting late Tuesday night, it appeared Board of Education members Shirley Issel and Terry Doran would win re-election and parent activist Nancy Riddle would take the third school board seat up for grabs this year. 

A total of six candidates ran for three slots on the five-member panel. The two seats held by board members Joaquin Rivera and John Selawsky were not up for re-election this year. 

After midnight, Riddle had 24 percent of the vote. Doran was second with 21 percent and Issel had 20 percent. The next closest competitor, recent Berkeley High School graduate Sean Dugar, had nearly 13 percent of the vote. 

“I’m feeling pretty good,” said Riddle, who is chief financial officer for Monster Cable of Brisbane, speaking to the Daily Planet late Tuesday night. “I think probably the financial background helped a lot.” 

Issel and Doran won re-election despite persistent fiscal woes plaguing the Berkeley Unified School District, which faces a $3.9 million budget shortfall this year. 

Issel said her re-election marked an endorsement of the steps the board has taken in the past few years to bring solvency to the district. 

“I think the message is really clear – the voters feel we’re on the right track,” said Issel. 

The district’s financial woes were a chief issue in the campaign. Riddle suggested that the board, which slashed millions last year and still faces the $3.9 million budget shortfall, has taken a haphazard approach to cuts. 

She said members must demand detailed budgets and a range of cost-cutting options rather than “highly summarized budgets” and a few recommendations for cuts from Superintendent Michele Lawrence. 

Riddle also said the district needs to engage in long-term financial planning, rather than year-to-year cuts, if it hopes to get out of a cycle of financial crises. 

But Issel and Doran argued that the board has taken important steps on the road to fiscal recovery, replacing most of the district’s upper-level management in the last couple of years and putting a new data processing system in place that will help fix sloppy accounting practices.


Davis edges out Simon for governor

By Alexa H. Bluth The Associated Press
Wednesday November 06, 2002

LOS ANGELES — Once considered a future presidential contender, Gray Davis was content to win re-election Tuesday as governor of the nation’s most populous state. 

Davis’ aspirations were rarely mentioned as he struggled to combat a steep decline in popularity to secure his re-election against a lackluster candidate. 

Despite spending $68 million and facing rookie Republican challenger Bill Simon, Davis barely held onto his lead. 

As he enters a second term, he faces a multibillion dollar budget shortfall and the remnants of a statewide energy crisis that drove down his support. 

Even Davis’ confidantes concede he likely won because of the amount he spent and because of Simon’s low popularity and controversies surrounding his business practices. 

“If you have a sitting governor whose job ratings tanked a year-and-a-half ago and have never recovered, and you have roughly half the people in the state who think the state’s headed down the wrong track, those two things combined are usually a death knell for a sitting governor,” said Davis’ senior campaign adviser Garry South. “We are going to win anyway, in spite of that. That’s what our money got us.” 

Davis blamed his declining popularity on a nationwide recession and a generally negative mood among voters. 

A man who rarely lets down his guard, Davis has marched through 20 years in elected office defined by moderate politics and rare and unbending personal and professional discipline. 

He insists on being kept abreast of state business, is preoccupied with his public image and guarded about personal activities. He often focuses on headline-making issues while brushing off smaller troubles until they swell into crises. 

On the eve of the election, Davis vowed a state takeover of the tiny West Fresno Elementary School District after a fiscal crisis led teachers and staff to walk out. Davis had previously vetoed legislation that would have authorized a takeover and averted the crisis. 

Davis finds supporters in a range of groups — from environmentalists to police unions. He is credited with boosting spending for schools and signing scores of laws from expanding health care for poor children to ensuring overtime pay after an eight-hour workday. 

Personally, Davis, 59, is not known for small talk and is meticulous in his appearance.


Community rallies around plumber

Wednesday November 06, 2002

A Berkeley plumbing contractor who hit hard times recently is now finding himself surrounded by friends. Greg Ticehurst, a Berkeley resident of 14 years, was involved in a motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed in late September.  

Ticehurst had been in the process of remodeling his home when the accident occurred and was unable to complete the project. Now, a group calling themselves “Friends of Greg” is determined to finish the job for him. 

The group, organized by longtime friend Gregory Sieben of Innovation Builders in Emeryville, is composed of friends, acquaintances, and other volunteers. Currently, said Sieben, there are about nine volunteers per weekend working on Ticehurst’s house. Local companies and individuals have donated money and materials for the project, and Sieben expects the remodel to be completed by Dec. 1. 

Many “Friends of Greg” know Ticehurst from the contracting industry. But Sieben said he is struck by the fact that many of the volunteers and donors are total strangers. He attributed the community’s generosity to karma. 

“Greg is a really giving person and has always helped people himself. He’s the type of guy who inspires this kind of giving in others,” said Sieben. 

Ticehurst was not able to comment on the effort, due to medical conditions from the accident. 

 

Donations can be made care of Innovation Builders at 1467 Park Avenue, Emeryville, CA 94608. Checks should be addressed to “Friends of Greg.” 

 

– Melissa McRobbie


Missing girls returned to their father

The Associated Press
Wednesday November 06, 2002

SAN FRANCISCO — Two young sisters who had disappeared during a custody battle were dropped off at the doorstep of a San Francisco Bay area television station. 

Two members of a group that helps parents get custody of children in county protective care delivered Anna Nunez, 6, and her sister Emily, 4, safely to KGO-TV studios in San Francisco Monday. 

The girls had been at the center of a custody dispute after the 1999 divorce of their parents, Danny and Kelli Nunez of Contra Costa County. 

The mother had accused Danny Nunez of child abuse, and the girls disappeared in April after Kelli Nunez picked them up from a day care center. Danny Nunez has never been charged with child abuse. 

Kelli Nunez was arrested shortly after the disappearance, after telling a judge she had given the girls to strangers and had no idea where they were. She has been held on contempt of court charges at Contra Costa County jail.


Oakland police investigate 96th killing of the year; four injured by gunmen

Daily Planet Wire Service
Wednesday November 06, 2002

OAKLAND – The Oakland Police Department says homicide detectives began investigating the city's 96th slaying of the year Tuesday night. 

Police were called to the scene of a multiple shooting in East Oakland, near the intersection of 105th Avenue and Acalanes Drive, at 5:55 p.m. 

A total of four people were injured by gunfire, police said.  

Three of the victims were taken by ambulance to Highland Hospital, where one of them was pronounced dead on arrival, a nursing supervisor said.  

A fourth victim from the same shooting walked in to the hospital. 

The three surviving victims were listed in stable condition Tuesday night.


’Three-strikes’ law heard by Supreme Court

By Gina Holland The Associated Press
Wednesday November 06, 2002

WASHINGTON —The Supreme Court struggled Tuesday over the constitutionality of a California sentencing law that put a man who shoplifted children’s videocassettes in prison until 2046 and gave another man a life sentence for taking three golf clubs. 

Their sentences are due to California’s three-strikes-you’re-out law, which has been challenged as cruel and unusual punishment. The law requires tough sentences for repeat offenders. 

“No other state in the country would impose a punishment like this,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, the attorney for the man who stole $153 worth of videotapes. 

The three-strikes law was passed in 1994 after voters endorsed tougher sentences amid public furor over the kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas. The law has been credited with lowering crime in California, and state officials said it gets career criminals off the streets. 

“There comes a point when the state has a right to say enough is enough,” Douglas Danzig, a deputy attorney general in California, told justices. 

More than 7,100 inmates are serving third-strikes sentences, including about 350 who received life terms for petty offenses, officials said. Justices are considering if the punishment fits the crime. 

Justice Antonin Scalia said the crimes may be more serious than they appear to be because of the potential for violence. 

But Justice John Paul Stevens questioned if states could also give long prison sentences to people who repeatedly break traffic laws, because of public safety concerns. 

Some court members seemed unsure how to handle the cases. 

“We cannot convert this court into a sentencing commission,” noted Justice Stephen Breyer, who also said the crimes seemed minor. 

Leandro Andrade, a heroin addict had previous burglary convictions when he was caught shoplifting nine videotapes, including “Snow White” and Cinderella,” from Kmart. Under his three-strikes sentence, he’ll be at least 87 when he gets out of prison. 

The California law requires a sentence of 25 years to life in prison for any felony conviction if the criminal was previously convicted of two serious or violent felonies. It is one of the toughest sentencing laws in the nation, although most states also impose longer terms for revolving-door criminals.


FDA approves new birth control device

Daily Planet Wire Service
Wednesday November 06, 2002

SAN CARLOS — The federal Food and Drug Administration has approved a new non-surgical method of female sterilization developed by a San Carlos company.  

The Essure device, manufactured by San Carlos-based Conceptus, Inc., can be implanted in a woman's fallopian tubes under a local anesthetic and without the need for any incisions. 

“Unlike other currently available surgical sterilization procedures for women, placement of the device does not require an incision or general anesthesia,” according to an FDA statement. 

The device is a small spring-like metallic implant that causes scar tissue to form in the fallopian tubes, blocking sperm from fertilizing an egg. 

None of the more than 600 women that have been successfully implanted with Essure devices in both fallopian tubes have become pregnant, according to the FDA. 

An estimated 700,000 women a year undergo sterilization by tubal ligation, a surgical procedure requiring general anesthesia and a hospital stay. Conceptus President Steve Bacich believes that Essure will provide an attractive alternative for women seeking permanent birth control. 

“After researchers have worked for more than three decades to develop an alternative to surgical tubal ligation, Conceptus is extremely proud to have developed Essure and be one step closer to bringing this breakthrough option to women seeking permanent birth control,” Bacich said in July when a FDA committee approved the product. 

The FDA formally approved the device Monday. The company hopes to begin offering the device nationwide by next spring.


Controller may spoil Democratic hopes for statewide sweep

By Seth Hettena The Associated Press
Wednesday November 06, 2002

LOS ANGELES — California Democrats hoping for their first sweep of statewide offices in more than a century found only the Republican nominee for state controller standing in their way Tuesday night. 

With more than two-thirds of precincts reporting, well-funded Democratic incumbents won their races for attorney general, treasurer and lieutenant governor. Democrats also were elected as insurance commissioner, secretary of state and superintendent of public instruction. 

Only state Sen. Tom McClintock, the Republican nominee for state controller, threatened to spoil the Democrats’ party — they haven’t swept all statewide offices since 1882. 

But McClintock, a veteran lawmaker, saw his lead dwindle as the evening wore on. Both he and Democrat Steve Westly, a dot-com millionaire who poured more than $5 million of his own money into his campaign, had 45 percent of the vote. 

Democrat John Garamendi defeated Republican challenger Gary Mendoza, 46 percent to 42 percent, to recapture the office he held as the state’s first insurance commissioner from 1991-1994. 

The state GOP had considered Mendoza a good bet to win and directed more than $1 million to his campaign in the final week. 

The only current Republican statewide officeholder, Secretary of State Bill Jones, has to give up his seat because of term limits. 

After trailing early in the race for secretary of state, Assembly Majority Leader Kevin Shelley, D-San Francisco, beat Republican Keith Olberg, a former Assemblyman, 46 percent to 42 percent. 

Gov. Gray Davis and Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante became the first pair of top office holders from the same party to win re-election in 40 years. 

Bustamante beat Sen. Bruce McPherson, a moderate Republican from Santa Cruz, 49 percent to 42 percent. 

Attorney General Bill Lockyer was already looking beyond his race against Republican state Sen. Dick Ackerman to a potential run for governor in four years. Lockyer won with 51 percent of the vote to Ackerman’s 40 percent. 

Treasurer Phil Angelides beat Greg Conlon, who struggled with a record as a former public utilities commissioner who advocated electricity deregulation, 49 percent to 41 percent. 

In nonpartisan races, three members of the California Supreme Court, justices Marvin Baxter, Carlos Moreno and Kathryn Werdegar were voted to another term. In the contest for superintendent of public instruction, teacher-turned-legislator Sen. Jack O’Connell, D-San Luis Obispo, defeated Katherine Smith, an Anaheim School Board president, 61 percent to 39 percent. 

In 1998, only two Republicans kept statewide office, Jones and Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush, who was forced to resign in scandal in 2000. 

Republican leaders feared another poor showing could stall efforts to rebuild the party in the nation’s most populous state, leave few viable candidates for future statewide races and hurt their chances to help President Bush in 2004.


Redwood city woman sentenced for threat

Daily Planet Wire Service
Wednesday November 06, 2002

REDWOOD CITY – A 55-year-old Redwood City woman was sentenced Monday to 35 days in the San Mateo County Jail for making bomb threats to her son's former parochial school last year. 

Linda Chulbna was also ordered to pay $360 in probation fees and $200 in restitution fines. She was actually sentenced to 60 days in jail, but has been credited for 25 days already served, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office. 

Chulbna was accused of making a number of threatening phone calls to the Mt. Carmel Catholic School, at least one of which falsely reported a bomb, in April and May 2001. Administrators took the bomb threat very seriously, and on May 1 last year had to evacuate the 200-300 students there so that the campus could be checked for explosives. 

Chulbna was arrested after the calls were traced to her home and to St. Raymond's School, where she worked as a teacher's aide. 

Prosecutors said Chulbna had a grudge against Mt. Carmel school because her son was not allowed to remain going there more than six years before the threats were made. 

Originally charged with three counts of making criminal threats and one count of falsely reporting a bomb, Chulbna waived her right to a jury trial and was convicted of the bomb charge in August. The prosecution dismissed the threats charges before her trial before Judge Phrasel Shelton. 

Chulbna is scheduled to begin serving her jail sentence on Dec. 14, and until then remains free on $50,000 bail


Tablet PC to launch amid some skepticism

By Matthew Fordahl The Associated Press
Wednesday November 06, 2002

SAN JOSE — After years of dreams and hype, Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates will launch digital tablets that can handle text like a paper notepad but run all the programs of a notebook PC. 

The “Tablet PC” is nothing but revolutionary, according to Gates, who has predicted the ultralight gadgets will be the most popular personal computer style within five years. 

But analysts who have toyed with the devices are not so impressed, particularly with the limited screen real estate and short battery life. And it’s not clear customers see the need, they say. 

“A lot of system architects are scratching their heads trying to figure out what the big advantage is here,” said Richard Doherty, director of The Envisioneering Group, a research firm. 

On Thursday, Gates will officially launch a version of the Windows XP operating system specifically for the devices. Thirteen hardware vendors from Hewlett-Packard Co. to Fujitsu will unveil models based on Microsoft’s software. 

All the tablets weigh about 3 pounds and are about the size and shape of a standard ultralight notebook. They have swiveling screens that can be written on with a pen-like stylus. 

The tablets are based on one of two designs, with a few mixing elements of both. Some are only tablets, with no input device other than the digital pen. Others are notebook computers in which the keyboard can be folded away and the screen used for entering data. Others still can be docked into a unit that provides network connections or additional drives. 

Microsoft’s operating system includes software that recognizes handwriting scribbled on the screen and converts it into plain text. Jotted notes also can be used in programs as graphics. 

Prices vary. Hewlett-Packard’s entry model costs $1,699 without wireless capability and $1,799 with wireless. Acer’s starts at $2,199 without wireless and $2,395 with the feature. 

Analysts say the devices are especially handy for those who have to enter data into forms while on the go, such as insurance or health care workers. Similar devices, which essentially bolted Windows onto proprietary hardware and software, have been available for 10 years and have sold well in industries where mobile form entry is important.


UPS looks to deliver more services

By Michael Liedtke The Associated Press
Wednesday November 06, 2002

SAN FRANCISCO — With its “What Can Brown Do For You?” ad campaign, United Parcel Service Inc. uses its familiar brown-garbed workers and brown trucks to remind people of the company’s role in their lives and work. 

The ads also show a different UPS — a one-stop problem solver that handles a range of chores for corporate customers. They’re part of CEO Michael Eskew’s drive to develop services to complement the company’s bread-and-butter package delivery business. 

Under Eskew’s plan, more companies would hire UPS to serve as a distribution hub, an inventory warehouse, a high-tech repair shop and even a telephone call center for customer inquiries. 

“He has clearly articulated this vision — no ifs, ands or buts about it,” said industry analyst Stephen Jacobs of U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray. “It’s an absolutely pivotal strategy for UPS.” 

To diversify, Atlanta-based UPS has spent $1.3 billion on 27 acquisitions since 1998. The biggest deals came last year, when UPS picked up retail shipping chain Mail Boxes Etc. and freight forwarding service Fritz Cos. 

The shopping spree helped UPS’s non-package business generate revenue of $1.93 billion through the first nine months of this year, a 36 percent increase from the same time last year. UPS operates in 200 countries, generating more than $30 billion in annual revenue while delivering about 3 billion packages each year. 

Although this year’s shipping volume is slightly lower than last year and the company isn’t making as much money as investors hoped, UPS stock has held up well amid Wall Street’s turmoil. The company’s shares are up 13 percent so far this year, compared with a 21 percent decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. 

Eskew, who became CEO 10 months ago, recently talked to The Associated Press about UPS’s performance and his plans for the future.


Calpine’s profit dives 50 percent

The Associated Press
Wednesday November 06, 2002

SAN JOSE — Calpine Corp. on Tuesday said third-quarter net income plunged 50 percent as higher fuel and project development costs and falling prices hammered the company’s bottom line. 

The San Jose energy concern Tuesday said profit fell to $161.3 million, or 36 cents a share. It earned $320.8 million, or 88 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. 

The latest results included a gain of $12.9 million, or 3 cents a share, from the sale of discontinued operations. 

The company also booked charges totaling 5 cents a share, including severance and other costs, deferred project-cost write-offs and a loss on the sale of turbines. 

Excluding items, the company said it earned $170.9 million, or 38 cents a share, below its August earnings estimates of 40 cents to 55 cents a share. The results, however, matched analysts’ expectations, according to Thomson First Call. 

Revenue, meanwhile, slipped 1 percent to $2.5 billion from $2.52 billion. 

Fuel expenses jumped 60 percent to $525.5 million, and project development costs more than quadrupled to $23.9 million.


Election Day Coverage

Wednesday November 06, 2002

Mayor 

*75 precincts reporting 

Tom Bates 56% 

Shirley Dean 43% 

John Patrick Boushell 1% 

 

City Council; District 1 

*8 precincts reporting 

Linda Maio 86% 

Rhiannon 14% 

 

City Council; District 4 

*7 precincts reporting 

Bob Migdal 21% 

Dona Spring 66% 

David A. Freeman 2% 

L.A. Wood 10% 

 

City Council; District 7 

*10 precincts reporting 

Micki Weinberg 39% 

Kriss Worthington 61% 

 

City Council; District 8 

*10 precincts reporting 

Carlos Estrada 3% 

Andy Katz 36% 

Anne Wagley 19% 

Gordon Wozniak 42% 

 

City Auditor 

*75 precincts reporting 

Ann-Marie Hogan 99% 

 

Director, Rent Stabilization Board (5 Elected) 

*75 precincts reporting 

Howard G. Chong Yes 

Chris Kavanagh Yes 

Selma Spector Yes 

Pinkie Payne Yes 

Robert J. Evans Yes 

 

Berkeley Unified School 

District (3 elected) 

*75 precincts reporting 

Lance Montauk 7% 

Cynthia Papermaster 8% 

Shirley Issel 20% 

Derick Miller 6% 

Nancy Riddle 25% 

Terry S. Doran 21% 

Sean P. Dugar 13% 

 

Measure I; New Animal Shelter 

(General Obligation Bond) 

*75 precincts reporting 

Yes (2/3 vote required) 68% 

No 32% 

 

Measure J; Old City Hall Retrofit (General Obligation Bond) 

*75 precincts reporting 

Yes (2/3 vote required) 40% 

No 60% 

 

Measure K; School Board Director Pay Raise (Charter Amendment) 

*75 precincts reporting 

Yes 67% 

No 33% 

 

Measure L; Property Transfer Tax for Pedestrian Safety Improvements 

*75 precincts reporting 

Yes (2/3 vote required) 54% 

No 46% 

 

Measure M; Property Transfer Tax 

*75 precincts reporting 

Yes (2/3 vote required) 51% 

No 49% 

 

Measure N; Waterfront Amendment 

*75 precincts reporting 

Yes 67% 

No 33% 

 

Measure O; Brewed Coffee Sale Restrictions (Citizen Initiative) 

*75 precincts reporting 

Yes 30% 

No 70% 

 

Measure P; Building Height Limits (Citizen Initiative) 

*75 precincts reporting 

Yes 20% 

No 80%


Election Day Coverage

Wednesday November 06, 2002

County Measures 

Measure A; Hotel and Lodging Tax (Majority Approval Required) 

*930 precincts reporting 

Yes 53% 

No 47% 

 

Measure B; Business License Tax (Majority Approval Required) 

*930 precincts reporting 

Yes 64% 

No 36% 

 

Measure C; Probation Officers (Charter Amendment - Majority Approval Required) 

*all precincts reporting 

Yes 59% 

No 41% 

 

Measure AA; Property Tax for Transportation – Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (2/3 Vote) 

*568 precincts reporting 

Yes 68% 

No 31% 

 

Measure BB; Seismic Safety – San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (Bond Issue - 2/3 Vote) 

*930 precincts reporting 

Yes 66% 

No 34% 

 

 

 

 

 

 

State Executive 

Governor 

*19, 314 precincts reporting 

Peter Miguel Camejo, Green 5% 

Gray Davis, Dem. 48% 

Bill Simon, Rep. 42% 

 

Lieutenant Governor 

*18, 516 precincts reporting 

Bruce McPherson, Rep. 42% 

Donna J. Warren, Green 4% 

Cruz M. Bustamante, Dem. 50% 

 

Secretary of State 

*18, 521 precincts reporting 

Kevin Shelley, Dem. ..................46% 

Larry Shoup, Green ......................4% 

Keith Olberg, Rep. .....................42% 

 

State Controller 

*19, 108 precincts reporting 

Tom McClintock, Rep. 45% 

Laura Wells, Green 6% 

Steve Westly, Dem. 45% 

 

State Treasurer 

*17, 503 precincts reporting 

Jeanne-Marie Rosenmeier, Gr. 5% 

Phil Angelides, Dem. 49% 

Greg Conlon, Rep. 41% 

 

Attorney General 

*17, 508 precincts reporting 

Glen Freeman Mowrer, Green 4% 

Bill Lockyer, Dem. 51% 

Dick Ackerman, Rep. 41% 

 

Insurance Commissioner 

*17, 362 precincts reporting 

Gary Mendoza, Rep. 42% 

John Garamendi, Dem. 46% 

David I. Sheidlower, Green 4% 

 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction 

*17, 416 precincts reporting 

Katherine H. Smith 39% 

Jack O’Connell 61% 

 

State Assembly 

Member; District 14 

*103 precincts reporting 

Lori Hancock, Dem. 98% 

 

Board of Equalization 

Member; District 1 

*930 precincts reporting 

Mark S. Bendick, Rep. 27% 

Carole Migden, Dem. 67% 

 

Judicial 

California State Supreme Court 

*930 precincts reporting 

Carlos R. Moreno Yes 

Marvin R. Baxter Yes 

Kathryn M. Werdegar Yes 

 

State Court of Appeal; 

District 1, Division 1 

*930 precincts reporting 

Sandra L. Margulies Yes 

William D. Stein Yes 

James J. Marchiano Yes 

 

State Court of Appeal; 

District 1, Division 2 

*930 precincts reporting 

J. Anthony Kline Yes 

 

State Court of Appeal; 

District 1, Division 3 

*930 precincts reporting 

Stuart R. Pollak Yes 

William R. McGuiness Yes 

Joanne C. Parrilli Yes 

 

 

State Court of Appeal; 

District 1, Division 4 

*930 precincts reporting 

Patricia K. Sepulveda Yes 

Maria P. Rivera Yes 

 

State Court of Appeal; 

District 1, Division 5 

*930 precincts reporting 

Mark Simons Yes 

Barbara Jones Yes 

Linda M. Gemello Yes 

 

Superior Court Judge; County of Alameda; Office 5 

*930 precincts reporting 

Lise Pearlman 32% 

Trina Thompson Stanley 68% 

 

Special Districts 

Director; East Bay Municipal Utility District; Ward 4 

*97 precincts reporting 

Charles L. Whitbeck 14% 

David Richardson 85% 

 

State Propositions 

Proposition 46; Housing and Emergency Shelter Act of 2002 

*930 precincts reporting 

Yes 65% 

No 35% 

 

Proposition 47; Public 

Education Facilities Bond Act 

*930 precincts reporting 

Yes 68% 

No 32% 

 

Proposition 48; Court 

Consolidation 

*930 precincts reporting 

Yes 76% 

No 24% 

Proposition 49; Before and After School Programs 

*930 precincts reporting 

Yes 55% 

No 45% 

 

Proposition 50; Water Quality and Supply 

*930 precincts reporting 

Yes 63% 

No 37% 

 

Proposition 51; Distribution of Existing Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax 

*930 precincts reporting 

Yes 44% 

No 56% 

 

Proposition 52; Election Day Voter Registration 

*930 precincts reporting 

Yes 51% 

No 49% 

 

U.S. Congress 

U.S. Representative; District 9 

*431 precincts reporting 

Jerald Udinsky, Rep. 15% 

Barbara Lee, Dem. 81% 


Many voters expected to stay home during election

By Matthew Artz Daily Planet Staff
Tuesday November 05, 2002

Berkeley politicians have done their best to stir up interest in an election that will determine the city’s next mayor and the height of new buildings. But despite a virtual Shirley Dean–Tom Bates road show that has included 27 debates and has both candidates admitting the race is too close to call, Berkeley voter turnout is expected to hit all-time lows. 

“Everything we know says statewide there is going to be very low turnout,” said David Mermin of Lake, Snell, Perry and Associates, a polling firm hired by the Dean campaign. 

The latest Field Poll suggests low turnout as well. According to the non-partisan survey group, only 55 percent of registered California voters are projected to cast ballots today. 

Like most political observers, Councilmember Kriss Worthington fears that voter disenchantment with the major party candidates for governor will keep many Berkeley voters away from polling stations. 

“The turnout will be really low because there is no liberal gubernatorial or presidential candidate to get excited about,” he said. 

Early indications attest to Worthington’s pessimism. Only about 150 voters cast ballots during two weeks of early voting this October, said City Clerk Sherry Kelly. In 2000 she said about 500 residents took advantage of early voting. 

History suggests that Berkeley voters are more likely to turnout for presidential elections than off-year elections. In 2000, 76 percent of registered voters cast ballots compared to 60 percent in 1998, the year of the last Mayoral election. 

But UC Berkeley student leaders say a surge of student registrations could boost turnout and affect two key races. 

Eight thousand students have registered to vote this semester, about 6,000 more than were registered during the 2000 campaign, said Jimmy Bryant Vice President of External Affairs for the Associated Students of the University of California. 

“This is the biggest voter drive we’ve ever done,” he said. Bryant said he hoped that between 40 to 50 percent of the newly registered voters will vote today. 

Students make up about 30 percent of the city’s population, but historically they choose not to vote or opt to vote via absentee ballot in their home towns. 

Bryant believes a large student turnout should help 8th Council District candidate Andy Katz, a UC Berkeley graduate student as well as progressive mayoral candidate Tom Bates. 

“Housing is the biggest issue for most students,” Bryant said. Both Katz and Bates support current rent control laws, while their most prominent opponents Gordon Wozniak and Mayor Shirley Dean both support eliminating rent control for wealthy tenants. 

Dean campaign manager, Bryan Schwartz, however, said he thinks a high student turnout could play into Dean’s hands. 

“We anticipate having a lot of student support,” Schwartz said, noting that the UC Berkeley newspaper the Daily Californian endorsed Dean Monday. 

There is no historical correlation between high voter turnout and success for either of Berkeley’s political factions. 

In 1994, the year Dean was first elected mayor and moderates won a council majority, 61 percent of all eligible voters cast ballots. In 1996, when progressives regained the a council majority, 60 percent of eligible voters turned out. 

Both mayoral candidates will do everything in their power to make sure their supporters get to polling places. The Dean and Bates campaigns will both provide cars for voters who otherwise would not be able to get to a polling station. They have also assigned local campaign captains for nearly every neighborhood to make sure that their supporters cast ballots. 

Voting itself will actually be more inconvenient this year. Berkeley will have only 77 polling stations for this election down from the usual 93. 

Bradley Clark, of the Alameda County Registrar’s Office, said stations were dropped because a new law allows any resident to vote by absentee mail ballot. 

The consolidation of voting stations will most adversely affect residents of the 7th Council District on a 3-block stretch north of campus from Hearst to Le Conte avenues, that is primarily home to students. They will have to go about 10 blocks to the nearest voting booth on Bancroft Way, on the other side of campus. 

 

Contact reporter at  

matt@berkeleydailyplanet.net 


Is Library Gardens smart growth

Marc Mathieu Berkeley
Tuesday November 05, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

Smart growth in city planning is intended to introduce and sustain a number of innovations. One of these is increased and facilitated public transportation, along with walkable destinations. Work and leisure activity would not, in theory, require automobile use or ownership for persons residing in large mixed-use buildings in the Berkeley downtown and on transit corridors. The Daily Planet (Oct. 26-27), has developer John DeClerq saying he would open his Library Gardens parking lot to the public on the assumption that residents would drive to work for the day. This statement contradicts smart growth intentions in regard to automobile use. It seems that ideology and practice in this case of development are not aligned. Opportunity and profit for the developer, usually disguised by claims of smart growth planning, are here revealed as the real motives for building big in Berkeley. 

 

Marc Mathieu 

Berkeley


Calendar

Tuesday November 05, 2002

Tuesday, Nov. 5 

Flu Shots for Everyone 

10 a.m to 12:30 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 

Sponsored by the Berkeley Public Health Department 

845-6830 

 

Berkeley Intelligent Conversation 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Berkeley-Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 

Join the bimonthly discussion group informally led by fomer UC Berkeley extension lecturer, investment advisor and finncial planner Robert Berend. Open to all. Please bring light snacks or drinks to share. This session’s topic: Work ethic vs. playing and having fun 

527-5332 

Free 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 6 

North Berkeley Senior Center Advisory Council Meeting 

10 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst St. 

981-5190 

Community Members Welcome 

 

Monthly Birthday Party 

1:15 p.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst St. 

Featuring Jim Steinke, guitar and mandolin wizard 

981-5190 

 

2002 Surjit Singh Lecture 

5:30 p.m. 

Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Common Room, 2451 Ridge Rd. 

649-2440 for more info 

 

“The Chinese and Religion in the Context of Globalization” 

Reception 5:30 p.m. / Lecture 7 p.m. 

Bade Museum at Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. 

A noted scholar and author, Professor Zhuo Xinping speaks 

649-2440 

 

Thursday, Nov. 7 

“Water, the Beverage of Life” 

11:30 a.m. 

North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst St. 

Aaron Miller, SF State Intern will discuss 

981-5190 

 

Additional Ferries from East Bay Sites 

noon to 2 p.m. 

Discussion with a representative of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters 

Albany Public Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 

843-8824 

Free 

 

 

Panel Discussion - “Resistance to the Free Trade Agreements in Mexico and Central America” 

7:30 p.m. 

Featuring video presentation of “Tierra Si, Aviones No”, and performance by the NoPPP Players 

La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 

Requested donations between $5 and $10 

 

Friday, Nov. 8  

Alexander Cockburn’s Incendiary Rants 

7 p.m. 

Release party for muckraking maverick Alexander Cockburn’s new spoken word CD, Beating the Devil at the AK Press Warehouse, 673-A 23rd St.  

208-1700 

Free 

 

Berkeley Women in Black Vigil 

Bancroft at Telegraph Ave. 

Weekly protest to “End the Occupation” 

548-6310 

 

Saturday, Nov. 9 

Book Sale and Auction 

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The Center for AIDS Services, 5720 Shattuck Ave., Oakland 

This big sale will benefit the AIDS center. 

655-3435 

 

An Afternoon of Mystery with Authors 2 p.m. 

1901 Russell St. 

Berkeley’s South Branch Library presents mystery writers Jake Fuchs (Death of a Prof), Owen Hill (The Chandler Apartments), and Mary Halock (The Dog on the Roof) 

Free 

 

Sunday, Nov. 10 

World RunDay - national charity benefit. 

All day 

Various cities across the naton - contact www.runday.com 

(516) 859-3000 for more info 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 12 

Holiday Craft Baazar 

10 a.m. to noon 

St. John’s Presbyterian Curch, 2727 College Ave. 

Handmade items, sweet treats, and knick knacks will be for sale. All are welcome 

845-6830 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 13 

Public Lecture by the Rev. Canon Naim Ateek 

7:30 p.m. 

UCC, on Dana St. between Durant and Channing 

Founder of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center and native of East Jerusalem, Rev. Ateek will lead a discussion sponsored by the First Congregational Church of Berkeley (UCC) and the Pacific School of Religion 

848-3696 

$10/ suggested donation.  

 

 

League of Women Voters Meeting 

Noon 

LWVBAE office, 1414 University Ave. 

Discussion will focus on regional issues 

849-2154 

 

Thursday, Nov. 14 

Regret to Inform  

Reception 6:30 p.m. / Program 7 p.m. 

Berkeley High School Auditorium, 2234 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

A screening and discussion with filmmaker Barbara Sonneborn. 

979-0190, liz_vogel@facing.org 

Free 

 

Berkeley Path Wanderers Meeting 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Hillside, Club, 2286 Cedar St. 

Meeting to include a presentation by best- selling author Adah Bakalinsky who will speak about her book, “Stairway Walks of San Francisco” 

Free 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 5 

Garrison Keillor 

7:30 p.m. 

First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way, entrance on Dana between Channing and Durant 

Keillor will be reading from “Good Poems”  

www.codysbooks.com 

$10 / $5 with purchase of “Good Poems” 

 

The Duo-Tones 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

Paul Johnson and Gil Orr play pure, essential surf music like you’ve never heard before. 

548-1761 

$15.50-$16.50 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 6 

Zabava! Izorno and Brass Menagerie 

7 p.m. doors open, 8:30 live performance 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Enjoy this celebration with live music from the Balkans, including dance lessons begining at 7:30 

525-5054 

$8 

 

Christopher Hitchens 

7:30 p.m. 

Cody’s Books, 2454 Telegraph Ave. 

Hitchens will discuss “Why Orwell Matters” 

845-7852 

 

Saadet Turkoz with Miya Masaoka and George Cremaschi 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

Mysterious improvisations based on ancient Central Asian music in collaboration. 

548-1761 

$15.50-$16.50 

 

 

Thursday, Nov. 7 

Gary Thorp 

7:30 p.m. 

Cody’s Books, 2454 Telegraph Ave. 

Thorp will read from “Caught in Fading Light” 

 

The Non Prophets  

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

Preforming with special guest Vince Welnick of the Grateful Dead 

21+ 

$10 

 

Bandworks Recital 

7:30 p.m. to midnight 

Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 

Hear student bands play rock, blues, and pop at this annual recital event 

525-5054 

$11 

 

Friday, Nov. 8 

The Librarians, Bitesize, and Glitter Mini 9 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

All age show 

$7 

 

Chaskinakuy 

8 p.m. 

Freight & Salvage, 1111 Addison St. 

Beautiful vocal harmonies in Spanish and Quechua. 

548-1761 

$15.50-$16.50 

 

Saturday, Nov. 9 

An Afternoon of Mystery 

2 p.m. 

South Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1901 Russell St. at Martin Luther King Jr. Way 

Featuring local Bay Area authors Jake Fuchs, Owen Hill, and Mary Madsen Hallock 

525-3948, Kimmac@pacbell.net 

Free 

 

An Evening of Cultural Harmony 

8 p.m. 

St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 

The Barbard Ensemble, the San Francisco Klezmer Experience and Lichi Fuentes & Jackeline Rago will treat listeners to music from Iran, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. 

704-7480 x755 

$25 general admission 

 

Black Dice, Dearly Departed (ex-Subtonix), and The Mass 

9:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

$8 

 

Sunday, Nov. 10 

The Sheldon Brown Group 

4:30 p.m. 

Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St. 

Reservations: 845-5373 

$10-$15 

 

 

Images of India-2002 

7 p.m. 

International House Auditorium, 2299 Piedmont Ave. 

‘Asha for Education,’ a campus based non-profit organization, holds its 12th annual event  

665-4889, ioi@ashanet.org 

$15-$25 / $10 students 

 

The Starry Irish Music Session with Shay Black 

8 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

Tickets available on a sliding scale 

 

“Shove Off to Birthday Island” 

Through Nov. 30 

Reception Nov. 2 from 5 to 8 p.m. 

Normal hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday 

Ardency Gallery, 709 Broadway, Oakland 

A collaborative exhibition of Tonya Solley Thornton and Frank Haines including video and sculptural installations. 

836-0831 

 

Children of the Gulf War Photo Exhibit 

Through Nov. 30 

Mon. through Thurs., 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

Fri. through Sat.., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Sun., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 

Featuring works of Takashi Morizumi 

Information: www.savewarchildren.org 

 

Ceramics - Opening Reception 

Through Nov. 17 

3 to 5 p.m. 

A New Leaf Gallery, 1286 Gilman St. 

525-7621 

Free 

 

 

Menocchio 

Nov. 6 through Dec. 22 

Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St. 

Berkeley Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of Lillian Groag’s charged comedy 

647-2949 or www.berkeleyrep.org for tickets 

Regular tickets between $38 and $54, with group, student, youth, and senior discounts available 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 5 

Open Mic 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

21+ 

Free 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 6 

Poetry Slam with host Nazelah Jamison and Karen Ladson 

8:30 p.m. 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

Cash prizes up to $90 

21+ 

$7/ general, $5/ students with ID 

 

Saturday Nov. 9 

Dorothy Allison and Jewelle Gomez appear in support of Boadecia’s Books 

8 p.m. 

Northbrae Community Church  

941 The Alameda at Solano 

559-9184 

$25, sliding scale 

 

Tuesday, Nov. 12 

Open Mic 

The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. 

7:30 p.m. 

Free 


Versatile Murphy is Panthers’ ultimate weapon

By Dean Caparaz Daily Planet Correspondent
Tuesday November 05, 2002

Steve Murphy is a man without a position – because he plays everywhere. 

Well, not quite everywhere, but the St. Mary’s senior football player lines up wherever head coach Jay Lawson and the Panthers need him. 

Nominally the quarterback, Murphy also plays tailback and cornerback – when he isn’t returning kicks and punts, that is. His production in different facets of the game has led the Panthers to a 4-3-1 record so far this year. 

“His season is going very well,” Lawson said. “He came into the season as one of the big leaders on our team, starting on offense and defense for us. He’s very versatile and is a very instrumental part of our team.” 

St. Mary’s takes advantage of Murphy’s athleticism and speed, particularly on offense, as the 5-foot-10, 180-pounder runs a 4.5 40-yard dash. 

“We see Steve as an offensive weapon who can score anytime he touches the ball,” Lawson said. “We use him in different matchups. He can run inside or outside. We can throw to him out of the backfield. He has a quick change of direction and is able to run people over. From last year to this year, he developed his speed and now has that breakaway speed.” 

St. Mary’s has the luxury of moving Murphy around because it occasionally uses Scott Tully at quarterback. The Panthers coaches anticipated playing the sophomore somewhat this season, and they had played him a few plays here and there prior to the Oct. 11 Oakland Tech game. But a deep thigh bruise to Murphy against Tech forced their hand, and Tully started the following two games against Kennedy and Albany. 

Murphy’s thigh healed and allowed him to take back the reigns to the offense in the last week’s game, a 40-35 loss at St. Patrick-St. Vincent. 

Even though Murphy is healthy, Lawson says he will continue to bring in Tully when the situation warrants, which is fine with Murphy. 

“I’m still going to be starting the games, and when it’s time, he’ll bring Scott in,” he said. “I don’t have a problem with that. Me and Scott, we don’t compete against each other at all. Coaches try to pump it up like that in practice, but we don’t take it like that at all.  

“We have our roles. My role is to start and to lead the team. His role is to come in and keep us putting points on the board and do his thing.” 

Tully is more of a drop-back passer than Murphy, whose speed allows him to make plays in and out of the pocket. Bringing in the former allows the Panthers to pair Murphy with leading rusher Fred Hives in the backfield. 

Whatever position he plays, Murphy is the team’s unquestioned leader. 

“Steve’s our starting quarterback,” Lawson said. “The team really follows him. He’s really mobile and allows us to do different things. We like to bring in Scott, which gives us both Steve Murphy and Fred Hives, who emerged last month as an outstanding running back for us. It makes defenses defend us honestly, so they can’t key on one back. With Scott in as QB, we’re actually more dangerous running the ball.” 

With all his success on the offensive side of the ball, Murphy will likely play defense, and just one position, in college. Murphy, who’s being recruited by several schools, with Cal and Oregon as the frontrunners, says he knows he’ll end up as a cornerback, which is his favorite position. 

“I like the contact,” he said. “I like to hit people and like to be able to guard people. It’s a challenge.”


UC clericals reject offer

By David Scharfenberg Daily Planet Staff
Tuesday November 05, 2002

The Coalition of University Employees (CUE), which represents 18,000 secretaries, library assistants and other clerical workers at the University of California, rejected a comprehensive UC contract offer last week. The rejection will probably lead to state intervention in a 1 1/2-year-old contract dispute over wages and workplace safety that has sparked strikes on five of UC’s nine campuses since late August. 

The clericals’ Oct. 31 refusal came just one day after UC lecturers, locked in a 2 1/2-year-old battle with the university over wages and job security, turned down a contract offer of their own. State intervention in that fight also appears likely. 

CUE and the University Council-American Federation of Teachers, which represents the lecturers, will have separate meetings with the university in the next two weeks. But UC officials are not optimistic, in either case, about a break in contract talks. 

If there are no new agreements, university officials suggest that they will declare an “impasse” in both negotiation processes, sparking state intervention. 

“We’ve been negotiating with CUE for a year and a half and it’s time to bring these talks to a close, even if that means impasse proceedings,” said Gayle Cieszkiewicz, executive director of UC labor relations, in a statement issued after the clericals rejected the university offer. 

If the university declares an impasse, in the case of CUE, the state’s Public Employment Relations Board, or PERB, would decide if a true deadlock exists and could then appoint a state mediator. If there is still no resolution after mediation, a PERB panel would make a non-binding “finding of fact” and recommend a contract settlement. If both sides reject the proposal, the university would have the power to impose a final contract. 

The process would be the same for the lecturers, but would skip the mediation phase because a state mediator has already been involved in negotiations. 

CUE’s chief negotiator Margy Wilkinson, criticized the university for moving toward state intervention. 

“We don’t see any need to go impasse when there’s still room for negotiation,” said Wilkinson, arguing that the two sides are close on layoff and workplace safety procedures, among other elements of the contract. 

One issue where the two sides remain far apart is wages. The union is asking for a 15 percent pay hike over two years, while the university is offering 3.5 percent.  

UC officials say they can offer no more because of limits in state funding for salary increases. Union officials say the nine-campus UC system has a $2.3 billion unrestricted reserve that it could tap for salary increases. But UC says the money is labeled “unrestricted” for technical reasons only and is in fact tied up in several obligations. 

Wilkinson said the union, scheduled to meet with the university Nov. 13 and 14 at UC Riverside, is unlikely to change its demand for a 15 percent pay hike in the coming week. The university appears rigid as well. 

“We don’t have any more movement to make on wages,” said university spokesperson Paul Schwartz. 

UC Berkeley clericals and lecturers went on strike in August, claiming that the university has engaged in bad faith bargaining. Lecturers at UC campuses in Santa Cruz, Irvine, Davis, Riverside and Santa Barbara walked off the job in October. Clericals joined in at all the campuses except for Irvine. 

The lecturers’ union has indicated that future strikes are possible. Wilkinson, of the clericals’ union, declined to comment on the possibility of future work stoppages. 

“I just can’t predict the future,” she said. 

The university has argued that the strikes are illegal and counterproductive. 

 

Contact reporter at scharfenberg@berkeleydailyplanet.net


An argument for war

Paul Schafer Concord
Tuesday November 05, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

President Bush should be applauded for taking a courageous stand against Saddam Hussein's outlaw regime and its reckless pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. As the president noted in his recent address to the nation, the riskiest option for dealing with Iraq is to do nothing. Inaction would only give Hussein time to complete his malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons and would embolden tyrants and terrorists everywhere.  

Acting now to disarm Hussein, using military force if necessary, is the only way we will keep America safe from weapons of mass destruction that fall into the hands of freedom's enemies. President Bush is right – our nation cannot let world events be dictated by brutal and lawless dictators.  

 

Paul Schafer 

Concord 

 


Baker’s contract ends Wednesday

By Janie McCauley The Associated Press
Tuesday November 05, 2002

 

SAN FRANCISCO — Manager Dusty Baker’s future should be much more clear within days. 

Baker’s agent, Jeff Moorad, has spoken with San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean to discuss whether Baker will remain with the organization, a team official said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Now the Giants are waiting to hear back from Moorad. 

Baker’s contract expires Wednesday, 10 days after the Giants lost Game 7 of the World Series to the Anaheim Angels. 

Sabean agreed to a new multiyear deal with the Giants last week, and one of his first priorities is hiring a manager. 

Before Game 7 of the World Series, Baker made it sound as if he was on his way out. He said he had not been convinced the Giants wanted him to return. 

When asked what he would need to hear from Giants owner Peter Magowan to stick around, Baker said, “If somebody wanted me back, a lot of times they wouldn’t wait until the last minute to tell them.” 

The 53-year-old Baker, who just completed his 10th year with the Giants, said when the playoffs began that he did not intend to “break the bank” — meaning the $6 million a year Joe Torre got from the Yankees — “but I want to be near the bank.” 

Neither Baker nor Sabean could immediately be reached for comment. 

Baker’s name has been mentioned for the vacant managerial jobs in Seattle and with the Chicago Cubs — two attractive openings that have yet to be filled after many clubs have already made their hires. 

While the Cubs haven’t expressed interest in Baker publicly, their search for a new manager is on hold until he resolves his situation. 

General manager Jim Hendry hasn’t interviewed anyone new, and is in Arizona for the team’s organizational meetings. 

Mariners general manager Pat Gillick has been careful not to call Baker a candidate, saying he didn’t want to comment when Baker was still under contract. But Seattle, which has been openly naming its candidates, has said it has a “mystery candidate” in the mix.


Judge rules against Wheeler Hall protesters, hearings to continue

By David Scharfenberg Daily Planet Staff
Tuesday November 05, 2002

An Alameda County Superior Court judge has rejected a request by 32 pro-Palestinian student activists facing possible expulsion to intervene in UC Berkeley student conduct hearings. 

The protesters, who participated in the April 9 takeover of the university’s Wheeler Hall, asked Judge James Richman, among other things, to block the use of police videos, reports and testimony in the student conduct hearings. The students argued that such testimony was legally banned and would unfairly bias the disciplinary process. 

But Richman, who heard the case Oct. 28 and mailed out his ruling Oct. 30, agreed with university arguments that the courts should not get involved, if at all, until after the hearings are completed. 

“The university is pleased with the result,” said Jeff Blair, who argued the case for UC. 

Richman based his decision on a number of prior court rulings which have established that “as a general rule” the courts will not intervene in quasi-judicial hearings until the “administrative agency,” in this case the university, issues a final ruling. After a ruling, the case law suggests, the accused can go to court if they feel the administrative agency has handled the case improperly. 

“I am disappointed, but I’m not surprised,” said Dan Siegel, lead attorney for the students. “It was a relatively low probability of success, but we thought we had a strong case.” 

The students and their attorneys attempted to put the best spin on the ruling, noting that Richman did not rule on the substance of the case, but rather on the timing of court intervention. 

“All he really said is, I can’t deal with this at this time,” said Roberto Hernandez, 23, one of the students facing conduct charges. 

UC Berkeley began the first conduct hearing Sept. 30, focusing on the Hernandez case in particular, but suspended the proceeding when the students filed suit Oct. 7. Now that Richman has issued a ruling, UC Berkeley officials say they plan to restart hearings “as soon as possible.” 

Siegel said that, if the rest of the hearings mirror the Hernandez proceeding, the students will almost certainly take the university to court when the hearings are complete. But Blair said he is confident that the university would win a court case on the merits. 

The students’ lawyers have complained, among other things, about a university decision to close the Hernandez hearing to the public and about the composition of the committee hearing the Hernandez case. 

But university officials say they have acted within the UC Berkeley student code of conduct. The rules allow the hearing committee chairperson to close the proceedings to preserve order and university officials say there had been talk of activists storming the Hernandez proceeding, a charge that activists deny.  

University lawyers also note that, while the code of conduct dictates that a five-person committee should run a conduct hearing, it allows a quorum of three, as in the Hernandez case, to preside. 

The students sought remedies on the issues of open hearings and committee composition, in addition to a block on police evidence, in their Oct. 7 lawsuit. But Richman declined to intervene in any way. 

A total of 79 protesters, including students and community members, took over Wheeler Hall April 9, demanding that the nine-campus University of California system divest from Israel. 

In June, the Alameda County District Attorney dropped all criminal charges against the activists, including resisting arrest and, in Hernandez’s case, assaulting an officer. The county agreed to a “factual finding of innocence” for all the protesters, including a seal on all the activists’ arrest records. 

But the university decided to proceed, on a separate track, with student conduct charges against the 41 students who took part in the Wheeler Hall takeover. 

Nine of the 41 students agreed to a “stayed suspension,” essentially a one-semester probation, leaving 32 to face formal student conduct hearings. 

Last week the students’ lawyers argued that, under the terms of the deal with the District Attorney, all “records of arrest,” including videos, reports and even officers’ testimony, are under seal and cannot be used in any setting, including student conduct hearings. 

The university argued that the law only requires it to eliminate any direct reference to arrest in the evidence. Last month, UC Berkeley blacked out any mention of the word arrest in the Hernandez police report, but kept the rest of the report in the record. 

Blair said the university will have to decide how to handle the police videos, which depict UC police officers walking or dragging protesters away from the foyer of Wheeler Hall and booking them in a hallway. 

Blair said UC will have to remove images of bookings, which is a clear “record of arrest,” but may be able to show officers walking or pulling activists away from the foyer. 

“Just because you’re removing a student from a room doesn’t mean you’re arresting them,” he argued. 

 

Contact reporter at scharfenberg@berkeleydailyplanet.net


Does war make sense?

Gary Gresher Berkeley
Tuesday November 05, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

President Bush’s threats and blandishments against Iraq make sense only if we plan to bomb Saudi Arabia in the morning, getting our just desserts in the desert, or so to speak. 

Equally nonsensical is Bush’s letting Bin Laden’s boys beat it out the back door in Afghanistan. And does anyone really believe that Bin Laden is on the outs with his family? Trust me, the rich know how to dispossess one of their own. 

The big game is back on, folks. It may be only days until 1914, and oil is king. In a recent book review in the “Scientific American,” it was stated that a significant fraction of the world’s petroleum geologists and engineers believe that Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves will begin to tap out in the next five to 10 years. If true, this might explain much about our leader’s animus against Iraq. But then, I may be wrong. 

 

Gary Gresher 

Berkeley 


Raiders’ kicker pleads innocent to DUI charges

Daily Planet Wire Service
Tuesday November 05, 2002

OAKLAND — Oakland Raiders place-kicker Sebastian Janikowski pleaded innocent in Alameda County Superior Court Monday to two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol. 

Janikowski, 24, who was born in Poland and now resides in Castro Valley, was not in court for Monday's arraignment in misdemeanor court in Oakland. 

A complaint filed Oct. 9 charges the football player with driving under the influence and driving with a blood-alcohol content in excess of 0.08 percent. 

Janikowski's attorney, Cris Arguedas of Emeryville, entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of her client Monday. The lawyer is scheduled to return to court for a pre-trial hearing in the matter on Nov. 19. 

“We entered a plea of not guilty,” Arguedas said outside of court. “Now I'll take a look at the reports and we'll see what we're going to do after we see the evidence.” 

Commissioner Beverly Daniels-Greenberg ordered Monday that while the matter is pending, Janikowski, who remains free on his own recognizance, refrain from driving while there is any “measurable amount” of alcohol in his blood. 

According to a California Highway Patrol report of the arrest, on Oct. 1 at about 11:55 p.m., an officer on patrol in the area of eastbound Interstate Highway 580 near High Street observed a red Mercedes-Benz S-500 allegedly traveling at 86 mph. 

The officer pulled over the vehicle, which bore the license plate “CBASS11,” apparently in reference to Janikowski's nickname, Sea Bass, and his jersey number. 

Janikowski was behind the wheel, and a friend, Mike Qutob, 38, of Castro Valley, was in the passenger seat. Qutob was not charged in the case. 

The officer wrote in a report that Janikowski allegedly had alcohol on his breath, red watery eyes and “slow and slurred speech.” The report also noted that Janikowski was polite.


State races hold little appeal

By Robert Jablon The Associated Press
Tuesday November 05, 2002

Arnold Schwarzenegger may be big at the box office, but pollsters say even he doesn’t have enough star power to attract voters to the polls for an election that includes a lackluster governor’s race, secession in Los Angeles and homelessness in San Francisco. 

Only 58 percent of registered voters are expected to go to the polls today — a fraction of a percent better than 1998’s record low for a gubernatorial race, Secretary of State officials said Monday. 

Analysts say Democrat Gray Davis and GOP challenger Bill Simon have turned off their constituents with repeated allegations of corruption and incompetence. Voter after voter complained they were ignoring issues. 

An estimated 25 percent of California voters didn’t commit to either major candidate. 

Ray Wirta, a 58-year-old lifelong Orange County Republican, said he believes Davis has done little in office but he is only voting for Simon as “the lesser of two evils.” 

Democrats, meanwhile, will try for their first sweep in state history. A new poll shows them with significant leads for five of seven offices, including incumbents in the races for lieutenant governor, attorney general and treasurer. 

Los Angeles residents will be asked whether to split Hollywood and the sprawling San Fernando Valley into separate cities. Supporters say LA’s downtown government has short-shrifted the regions on services while critics say the resulting new cities wouldn’t do any better. 

“Secession is by far the foremost issue,” said Dan Biers, a 45-year-old Valley resident who planned to vote against the measure. “There’s very little way I could affect the national issues. There is no president in this election, no senators.” 

A raft of state initiatives and local measures take aim at untamed growth and the sickly California economy. 

With California facing a $15 billion budget deficit, voters are being asked to put the state further into debt by approving more than $18 billion in bond measures for education, water and housing projects. 

Proposition 49, championed by Schwarzenegger, would allocate as much as $550 million in existing school money to before- and after-school programs. 

A Los Angeles County measure seeks a new tax to save the county trauma system from financial collapse. 

A proposed $3.3 billion bond, the largest local bond in California history, would build 120 new schools and create 115,000 new classroom seats in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest.


Rent control difficulties

John Koenigshofer Berkeley
Tuesday November 05, 2002

To the Editor: 

 

Few Berkeley residents understand the injustices brought about by rent control. Consider the following actual case. 

A single mother with two children and editor of a local magazine, needs to buy and move into a house soon. Just divorced, she wants to stabilize a home for her children. She purchases a house in Berkeley occupied by tenants who have resided there for 18 months. The tenant's lease has expired. They have been aware of the sale for months. In theory, single family homes are exempt from rent and eviction controls but not in practice. A lawyer tells the tenants that in Berkeley they can prolong eviction for months. The attorney tells the buyer this and suggests she offer relocation money to secure a vacancy. When it is suggested to the attorney that this is extortion, he responds: “In Berkeley this is how it's done.” Final outcome, single mom pays thousands of dollars to move into her own home.  

I am personally familiar with numerous cases of such extortion facilitated by Berkeley rent laws. Such cases are only the tip of the iceberg. The devil is in the details. The details regarding rent control expose a system that regularly violates common sense and basic rights.  

 

John Koenigshofer  

Berkeley 

 


U.S. kills senior al-Qaida leader in Yemen with missile strike

By John J. Lumpkin The Associated Press
Tuesday November 05, 2002

WASHINGTON — U.S. forces killed a top associate of Osama bin Laden in Yemen in a missile strike, expanding the war on terror with America's first overt attack on suspected al-Qaida operatives outside of Afghanistan, a U.S. official said Monday. 

Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi was one of several al-Qaida members traveling by car in northwest Yemen when a Hellfire missile struck it Sunday, killing him and five others. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the attack was believed to have been conducted by a CIA aircraft, possibly a missile-carrying Predator drone. 

The official Yemeni news agency, local tribesmen and the U.S. official confirmed the strike killed al-Harethi. Witnesses said they saw an aircraft, possibly a helicopter, in the area. Hellfires can also be launched by attack helicopters. 

The others killed were believed to be low-level operatives. The attack occurred in the northern province of Marib, about 100 miles east of Yemen's capital of San`a, where al-Qaida is considered active. 

U.S. counterterrorism officials have said al-Harethi, also known as Abu Ali, was al-Qaida's chief operative in Yemen and a top target of U.S. anti-terrorism efforts. An associate of bin Laden since the early 1990s in Sudan, al-Harethi is a suspect in the bombing of the destroyer USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, on Oct. 12, 2000. 

The CIA declined comment. On Monday, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told a Pentagon press conference, “It would be a very good thing if he were out of business.” 

A Yemeni official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “Authorities have been monitoring this particular car for a while and we believe those men belonged to the al-Qaida terror network.” 

Many al-Qaida operatives fleeing the U.S.-led war on Afghanistan have joined comrades in Yemen. After the United States detected growth in al-Qaida presence there this spring, hundreds of U.S. troops deployed to Djibouti, the tiny African nation facing Yemen across the Gulf of Aden, officials said. The Marine amphibious assault ship Nassau recently replaced the USS Belleau Wood in the waters between the two nations. 

Inside Yemen, U.S.-trained Yemeni troops deployed to suspected al-Qaida hotbeds in August. 

Besides al-Harethi, at least one more Yemeni al-Qaida operative linked to the Cole attack, Mohammad Hamdi al-Ahdal, is thought to be in Yemen, U.S. officials say. In the Cole attack, two suicide bombers slammed an explosives-laden boat into the hull of the ship, killing 17 U.S. sailors and disabling the vessel. 

Also believed to be in Yemen are Shaykh Dabwan and Suwaid, described as al-Qaida operatives who plan and provide support to terror operations, and an al-Qaida communications expert known as Miqdad, said a U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

Many al-Qaida followers in Yemen, bin Laden's ancestral homeland, are led by Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, bin Laden's Persian Gulf operations chief, U.S. counterterrorism officials said. 

U.S. intelligence believes Yemeni-based terrorists linked to al-Qaida carried out the Oct. 6 attack on a French oil tanker, the Limburg. A small boat apparently crashed into the ship and exploded, blowing a hole in its hull and spilling 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Aden. One crewman was killed. 

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, the CIA has used remotely operated Predator drone aircraft to make pinpoint strikes on al-Qaida leaders and do reconnaissance. 

Mohammed Atef, bin Laden's military chief and a Sept. 11 organizer, was killed in November near Kabul in a joint airstrike by a Predator and U.S. military aircraft. 

A Predator targeted Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar at the start of the war on Afghanistan.


Suspicious bag forces evacuation

The Associated Press
Tuesday November 05, 2002

SAN JOSE — Three planes were evacuated, at least 56 flights were delayed and hundreds of people were cleared out of Mineta San Jose International Airport after a suspicious bag slipped past screeners last weekend. 

The airport’s most serious security problem since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack began when a piece of luggage tested positive during a routine swabbing for explosives. A second test of the luggage was negative and the passenger left the checkpoint with the bag. 

When a supervisor was told what had happened, the alert began Sunday afternoon. 

When screeners checked the explosives detection machine, they determined that almost 30 minutes had passed since the alarm had been activated. At least one flight had departed before a Transportation Security Administration supervisor was alerted to the security breach, police spokesman Joseph Deras said. 

Once that plane landed in San Diego, all passengers were rescreened, officials said.


Bay Area Briefs

Tuesday November 05, 2002

Less church for Marin residents 

SAN RAFAEL — Marin County residents are below the national average in church attendance, but are far from being spiritually disenfranchised, according to a study by a San Francisco-based religious think tank. 

The study, “Religious and Spiritual Change in America: the Experience of Marin County, California” was done by the Institute for Jewish & Community Research’s Gary Tobin and Patricia Lin. 

“I think it’s a great laboratory at looking at the ways religious identity and belief and practice are changing,” Tobin said. 

Second of two protesters dead 

SAN FRANCISCO — The second of two North Bay protesters died Sunday from massive head trauma received while standing through the skylight of a double-decker bus passing through Broadway Tunnel in San Francisco Saturday Oct. 26. 

According to San Francisco General Hospital nursing supervisor Gloria Rodriguez, Sebastopol resident Diana Canning died at 2 p.m. Sunday in the intensive care unit. Marin resident Tony Hernandez died Oct. 30, he too was housed in the intensive care unit.


Alameda county probation chief to step down Jan. 31

Daily Planet Wire Service
Tuesday November 05, 2002

Days before voters in Alameda County will be asked to give the Board of Supervisors control over the county's next chief probation officer, the current officeholder announced her retirement. 

Sylvia J. Johnson, the current chief probation officer, said Monday she plans to step down on Jan. 31. She said she provided notice of her intentions on Friday. 

“This will be the conclusion of a career spanning 45 years,” Johnson said Monday, reading from her retirement memo. “I have enjoyed and valued every moment.” She thanked members of her staff for their support over the years. 

Asked Monday about the timing of her retirement announcement, she said simply, “You live, you work, you age, and you retire. Forty-five years.” 

Johnson, who said she began as an entry-level probation officer in 1958 and became chief probation officer in Alameda County in October 1993, said she does not plan to seek another job. 

“I will enjoy my grandson,” she said. 

Johnson said it is her belief that she will be remembered for bringing positive change to the Probation Department. 

“What people have told me is that I brought resources and service to people who are at risk, children and families who are involved in the criminal justice system and in need of intervention,” she said. 

Johnson said that she could not offer her successor any advice on negotiating county politics because the situation is “dynamic.” 

The Board of Supervisors currently has no control over Johnson, who is supervised by the presiding judge of the Alameda County Juvenile Court. The supervisors control the probation department's budget, however. 

Measure C, if approved by a majority of those casting ballots, would not apply to Johnson, only to her successor. The ballot measure would amend the county charter so that any county probation officer taking office after Wednesday would be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the five-member Board of Supervisors.


Lawyers argue for return of pot to couple

The Associated Press
Tuesday November 05, 2002

SAN JOSE — The Santa Cruz couple who ran a medical marijuana farm raided by federal agents in September argued Monday that their pot plants, as well as confiscated videos and photo albums, should be returned to them. 

Federal prosecutors said they need the seized items as evidence. 

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel said he would make a ruling in a few weeks. 

Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested Valerie and Michael Corral and cut down the 130 plants they grew for the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana. 

Valerie Corral said the alliance continues to grow medical marijuana at a secret location. 

State law and city and county ordinances say marijuana is legal if recommended by a doctor, but under federal law, it is illegal as a medicine or a recreational drug. 

Nearly two weeks after the raid, Michael Corral helped distribute medical marijuana to people gathered outside City Hall. Several city leaders attended to show their support of medical marijuana, and no law enforcement was present.


Jailed JDL leader on life support

By Sandra Marquez The Associated Press
Tuesday November 05, 2002

LOS ANGELES — Jewish Defense League leader Irv Rubin, jailed on charges of plotting to bomb a mosque and the office of an Arab-American congressman, was brain dead Monday after what federal authorities called a suicide attempt. 

“We’re told that he is brain-dead and on life support,” said Rubin attorney Peter Morris. Rubin’s wife and two sons were called to his bedside, he said. 

U.S. marshal’s spokesman Bill Woolsey described Rubin’s condition as critical after more than two hours of surgery at an undisclosed hospital. 

Rubin used a razor to slash his neck and throat and then fell or jumped from a prison balcony as he and other inmates lined up for breakfast before 5:30 a.m., Woolsey said. 

“There is no evidence at this point that it was anything but a suicide,” Woolsey said. 

Rubin fell as far as 18 feet at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center, said Mark Werksman, an attorney representing Rubin’s co-defendant. Rubin was not handcuffed at the time, Woolsey said. 

Initially, hospital personnel told prosecutors and defense attorneys that Rubin had died in surgery, said Bryan Altman, also a Rubin attorney. Lawyers in turn told Rubin’s family that he had died. 

The FBI was investigating what it was calling a “crime in a government property,” said spokeswoman Laura Bosley. She could not confirm that it was a suicide attempt. 

Rubin’s family alleged that Rubin had been attacked by someone. 

“My husband would never kill himself. This was a hit, this was a hit,” said his wife, Shelley Rubin. 

“I saw my husband yesterday. He was just the same as before. He didn’t say goodbye. He said I will see you in court tomorrow. He was fine,” she said. 

Rubin and associate Earl Krugel were arrested Dec. 11 on charges of plotting to bomb the King Fahd mosque in suburban Culver City and an office of Rep. Darrell E. Issa, R-Calif., who is the grandson of Lebanese immigrants. 

Rubin and Krugel were arrested after an FBI informant delivered an explosive powder that authorities believed was the last component in making pipe bombs. The charges carry up to 40 years in prison upon conviction. 

Rubin, who by his own account has been arrested more than 40 times, joined the JDL early in the 1970s and quickly moved up, becoming chairman in 1985. 

In 1989, the leader of the rival Jewish Defense Organization was charged with firing shots at Rubin and wounding three others in New York. Mordechai Levy was convicted of assault. 

According to his biography, Rubin learned to fight anti-Semitism while growing up in Montreal, “where some hotel owners and other business people hung signs reading ’No Dogs or Jews Allowed’ on their doors and where French Canadian schoolchildren taunted him because he was Jewish.”


Venture capitalists still curtailing fund raising

By Michael Liedtke The Associated Press
Tuesday November 05, 2002

SAN FRANCISCO — Taking their cue from the skittish stock market, venture capitalists continue to scale back their fund-raising efforts for future investments, according to industry figures released Monday. 

Venture capitalists raised $1.7 billion in the third quarter, a 76 percent drop from the same time last year when the industry collected $7 billion from investment partners, said Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association. 

The slowdown continued a retrenchment that began after the dot-com investment bubble burst 2 1/2 years ago. 

As the Internet business woes spread throughout the high-tech industry, the stock market turned a cold shoulder toward most of the unprofitable startups financed by venture capitalists. 

The frigid investment conditions have saddled venture capitalists with the worst losses in the industry’s history and made them more reluctant to finance other startups. Venture capitalists invested $16.9 billion during the first nine months of this year, a 50 percent drop from last year, according to Venture Economics. 

“If the market is ugly, why should you raise more money and risk losing even more? It’s better to wait until things get better,” said Wes Raffel, a general partner with Advanced Technology Ventures in Palo Alto. 

Like a lot of venture capital firms, Advanced Technology is still sitting on a pile of money raised during the boom times. An estimated $90 billion in venture capital still needs to be invested, lessening the need to raise more money. 

Most of that money poured into venture capital during the Internet frenzy of 1999 and 2000, when the industry raised $159 billion. 

The industry’s surplus is so large that venture capitalists refunded $2.7 billion during the second quarter. An insignificant number of refunds occurred in the third quarter, said Jess Reyes, a vice president for Venture Economics. 

Based on the patterns of past industry slumps, Reyes expects the venture capital drought to last at least six more months. 

This already shapes up as the industry’s driest year since 1993, when venture capitalists raised $3.7 billion. Venture capitalists this year are on pace to raise $7.3 billion, slightly below the $7.8 billion collected in 1994, according to the National Venture Capital Association. 

Some venture capitalists think the industry should throttle back even more. 

“We are still raking in too much money,” said Mark Saul, general partner with Foundation Capital in Menlo Park. “There are still too many venture capitalists chasing after a limited number of good deals.”


Applied Materials to cut 1,750 jobs

The Associated Press
Tuesday November 05, 2002

SAN JOSE — Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials Inc. said Monday it will cut 1,750 jobs, or 11 percent of its work force, as it struggles with the continuing high-tech slump. 

The Santa Clara-based company said about 800 of the jobs will be cut at its Silicon Valley operations and another 200 from its Austin, Texas, facility. The remaining reductions will take place at other locations. Employees will be notified starting Tuesday. 

“This was a painful but necessary decision to make in order to enable the company to align our operations with the current level of business and position for future growth,” said James C. Morgan, Applied Materials’ chief executive. 

The job cuts were necessary despite other cost-cutting measures, Morgan said. 

Applied Materials, the leading supplier of products and services to computer chip makers, said it will post a restructuring charge in its fiscal first-quarter results. It did not specify the amount. 

In September 2001, the company cut 2,000 positions. At the end of the year, it announced it was cutting another 1,700. 

Applied Materials currently has 16,000 employees around the world. 

Before the company announced the cuts, shares of Applied Materials closed up 73 cents to $16.45 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.


Teamsters to shut down concerts

By Kim Curtis The Associated Press
Tuesday November 05, 2002

SAN FRANCISCO — Teamsters pledged Monday to shut down two Rolling Stones concerts this weekend at Pacific Bell Park if the promoter, Clear Channel Communications, does not agree to use union workers. 

“We’ve been having trouble with Clear Channel for years,” said William Cromartie, president of Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 85. “They want to bring in kids to work for $6 or $7 an hour and give them a T-shirt.” 

About 50 Teamsters picketed Monday outside Pac Bell Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, as tractor-trailers began arriving to deliver equipment for the Friday and Saturday shows. At least three trucks turned around without making deliveries after Teamsters talked to the drivers. 

The Teamsters say they should be unloading those trucks and unionized stagehands should be setting up the stage and the lights. Instead, Bill Graham Presents, San Francisco’s largest concert promoter and a subsidiary of Clear Channel, will use its own nonunion workers. 

Cromartie said that means union members will miss out on about 100 jobs during the next eight days. 

Calls placed to San Antonio-based Clear Channel were not immediately returned. 

Bill Graham Presents said it’s never had a relationship with the Teamsters. 

“We have the expertise developed to do those jobs,” said spokeswoman Sherry Wasserman. “They are using this high-profile show to strongarm us.” 

Wasserman said the San Francisco concert promoter does have a relationship with the stagehands’ union. But if they refuse to work, nonunion workers will be hired to replace them. 

“Some of their work starts today,” Wasserman said. “If they decide to honor this strike for union reasons, we will have a crew ready and we will have a show.” 

Giants Enterprises, which organizes non-baseball events at the stadium, uses union workers to sell concessions, to serve food and beverages and to clean the park. 

But when they sign contracts with concert promoters, “we don’t provide the service that they need for their staging equipment,” said spokeswoman Shana Daum. “We don’t dictate who they can and can’t use.” 

Mark Fabris, a trade show foreman picketing on Monday, also spent $608 for two 18th row tickets for Friday’s show. He said Teamster bylaws prohibit him from crossing any picket line. 

“I’m a big fan. I’ve never seen them before,” he said. “But I’ve been a Teamster for almost 20 years and I’m not going to go if this is still going on.”


CHP says crash of almost 200 cars and trucks was preventable

By Tom Harrigan The Associated Press
Tuesday November 05, 2002

LOS ANGELES — The chain-reaction crashes that piled up nearly 200 cars on the Long Beach Freeway likely could have been avoided if drivers had simply slowed down when they hit foggy conditions, California Highway Patrol officials said Monday. 

The crashes, which left a five-mile section of the freeway looking like an auto junkyard, shut down the highway for 11 hours Sunday. Eight people suffered critical or serious injuries in the accidents that took place within minutes along the one-mile stretch of freeway. 

Motorists reported driving into fog so thick that it reminded some of being on an airliner as it travels into the clouds. 

“In that weather condition, we’re sure if drivers had drastically reduced their speeds, this could have been avoided,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Luis Mendoza. 

A total of 198 cars and trucks were involved in the crash 25 miles south of Los Angeles, with a total of 41 people hurt. Nearly 150 vehicles, torn and tangled, ended up in one pile, with nearly 50 others crammed together a half mile away. 

After the injured were treated or taken to five area hospitals, tow trucks began hauling away the remains of crumpled vehicles, including some that ended up on top of others. 

Scores of emergency personnel and stranded motorists were fed by the Red Cross. Portable toilets were brought in as some people waited by their cars. Others sat on the road away from the heavy smell of leaking fuel. 

With visibility reduced to only 50 to 100 feet “the fog moisture caused the roadway to become slippery so that braking vehicles slid into others,” Mendoza said. 

“All of a sudden you see a wall,” William Carter of Long Beach said of the fog resembling a cloud. He told the Long Beach Press-Telegram he skidded to a stop among other cars without a collision, but soon his car was hit from behind. 

“It was crazy unreal,” Joe Bozek of Upland said of watching cars sliding about before his pickup was hit in the rear. 

CHP Capt. Cliff Williams said, “Today’s accident is living testimony of the importance to slow down when there is fog like this.” 

Seven Long Beach fire engines were sent to the scene, along with a rescue truck containing a “Jaws of Life” device firefighters used to cut into crumpled cars and rescue trapped motorists. 

“I’ve never seen anything like it,’ said Jan Andriese, a 13-year firefighting veteran who was on his way to work when he saw cars smashing into each other in front of him. 

“I checked as many cars as I could, to the front and the back,” Andriese said. He found two trucks leaking fuel, and joined with other motorists to channel it into roadside dirt so it could be absorbed. 

Fire Department spokesman Wayne Chaney said Andriese also helped stabilize a driver with broken ribs while other rescuers worked to get the man out of his car. 

“Everyone knew exactly what their role was,” Chaney said of the emergency response worked out in disaster drills. “We were able to give patients the best care, take them to the right hospital and do it in a timely manner.’


Opinion

Editorials

Federal judge deliberates June’s Earth First! verdict

By Matthew Artz Daily Planet Staff
Monday November 11, 2002

 

A jury decision this summer awarding $4.4 million to Earth First! activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney is now in the hands of a U.S. District Judge. 

Judge Claudia Wilken must decide the merits of a post–trial motion filed by attorneys for six Oakland Police Officers and FBI agents found liable for violating the civil rights of the two activists. There is no time table for Wilken to make a ruling. 

“There are fairly significant issues for her to address,” said Bill Simmons, an Oakland City Attorney who is representing the Oakland police officers in the case. 

The motion asks Wilken to consider either a new trial, a reduction in damages awarded to the plaintiffs, or a reversal of a portion of the jury’s verdict. 

Simmons and his fellow defense attorneys argue that the jury’s decision suffered from several inconsistencies, that the evidence it was based on was insufficient and that some of the evidence was improperly admitted. 

Two weeks ago Wilken held a 90–minute hearing on the motion. Most of Wilken’s questions were directed at the attorneys for the police and FBI, said Alicia Littletree, an employee at the Law Office of Dennis Cunningham, which represents Bari and Cherney. 

The two environmental activists were injured in 1990 when a bomb exploded inside their car.  

Oakland police immediately arrested them in connection with blast, insisting that they had accidentally detonated the bomb, which police said was constructed for use during an Earth First! operation. 

Prosecutors, though, declined to charge Bari and Cherney for the bomb blast.  

In 1991, the activists filed suit, claiming that Oakland Police and the FBI falsely arrested them and searched their homes to interfere with their political agenda. 

Simmons said he expected that the case will be heading to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals no matter how Judge Wilken rules.


California hit by first storm of the season

By Louise Chu The Associated Press
Friday November 08, 2002

SACRAMENTO — Power outages and traffic accidents brought in the rainy season Thursday, as northern and central Californians stumbled their way through their first storm of the fall. 

About 73,000 customers in the San Francisco Bay area lost power sometime during the day, according to Paul Moreno, a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. spokesman. All but 7,300 had their power restored by early evening. 

“It’s a very busy outage,” Moreno said, explaining that high winds were taking a toll on power lines. “We definitely feel this one.” 

The gusts blew tree limbs onto electric lines that then tumbled into each other, which can cause a short circuit. Mighty winds also prompted the California Highway Patrol to shut down the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Thursday night due to construction debris blowing across the roadway. 

The lights also went out in Sacramento County for 1,500 homes, said Chris Capra, spokesman for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. 

Some of the outages were caused by high winds, he said, but most were the result of “typical first-storm conditions.” 

That’s when the first storm doesn’t carry enough rain to wash off the accumulated dust and dirt on power lines, he said. Instead, there’s just enough moisture to create “a mud-like substance that drips down the lines to the pole.” 

“Electricity is always seeking ground, and the mud now provides an off-ramp and will short-circuit the lines,” he said. 

The CHP also spent Thursday scrambling to respond to a slew of traffic accidents caused by drivers struggling to adjust to lower visibility and more slippery roads. 

“The oil is clearly mixing with the water, and it’s becoming a formula for disaster in our state and local highways,” said Sgt. Wayne Ziese of the CHP’s Golden Gate Division, which oversees most of the Bay Area. 

Incidents of cars spinning out and crashing in that area have more than tripled overnight since the rain hit, Ziese said. 

The National Weather Service has issued a high surf advisory along much of the California coast and coastal flood watch in the northern and central part of the state through Sunday. 

The wet weather has been a much-needed change for California’s skies, after a hot, dry summer that has driven Central Valley farmers to request federal relief funds. 

Rainfall has been down as much as 70 percent in the San Joaquin Valley and southern California. 

The rain broke Sacramento’s third longest dry spell in recorded history — 167 days without rain. The city only saw less rain in 1903, with 174 consecutive dry days, and 1880, with 194. 

The storm, covering most of northern and central California, has also laid down a fresh layer of snow on the slopes. The Boreal ski resort announced it would be the first California slopes to open on Saturday, thanks to recent snowfall. 

Meteorologists are predicting unstable weather conditions in the coming months because of El Nino, a warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean that can dramatically affect weather patterns across much of the world. 

This year’s El Nino, considered a moderate but solid one, is expected to bring above-average rainfall across much of the South, Nevada and California.


U.S. takes aim at passing resolution on Iraq weapons

By Edith M. Lederer The Associated Press
Thursday November 07, 2002

UNITED NATIONS — The United States pushed for a quick U.N. vote Wednesday on a revised Iraq resolution which threatens Saddam Hussein with “serious consequences,” while trying to ease concerns about setting off a new war. 

But after eight weeks of intensive wrangling in the Security Council, and some major concessions by the Bush administration, France and Russia are still not satisfied. 

French President Jacques Chirac called Russia’s Vladimir Putin Wednesday to discuss the new text and both agreed that “ambiguities” that could be used to trigger an attack on Iraq must be removed, Chirac’s spokeswoman said. 

Nonetheless, both leaders saw “many improvements” in the new U.S. proposal, Colonna said. 

U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said the United States intends to put the draft resolution to a vote on Friday and “deserves consensus support.” 

If the resolution is adopted on Friday, Iraq would have seven days to accept the terms. U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said an advance team would be in Baghdad within 10 days of its acceptance. 

Inspectors would have 45 days to actually begin work, and would have to report to the council 60 days later on Iraq’s performance. 

While the revised draft offers concessions to critics, including a greater role for the Security Council, it still meets the Bush administration’s key demands: toughening inspections, threatening Iraq with “serious consequences,” and freeing the United States to take military action against Iraq if inspectors say it isn’t complying. 

At the same time, it gives Iraqi President Saddam Hussein “a final opportunity” to cooperate with weapons inspectors, holds out the possibility of lifting 12-year-old sanctions imposed after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait and reaffirms the country’s sovereignty. 

Negroponte officially introduced the new text at a closed-door council meeting, where Blix and other members noted several problems. “We’ll see if we can find some way to accommodate the concern that other delegations expressed and the points that Dr. Blix made,” Negroponte said. 

But the U.S. administration said that it was now in the endgame and that the new text offered Iraq an opportunity to avoid war. 

The Security Council scheduled another round of negotiations on Thursday, and Singapore’s U.N. Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani said “it’s very clear that we are moving closer and closer to consensus.” 

But whether the United States, and its co-sponsor Britain, can get all 15 council members on board remains to be seen. 

For a resolution to be adopted, it needs at least nine “yes” votes and no veto by a permanent member — the United States, Russia, France, China and Britain. 

No council member has mentioned a veto. Syria, Iraq’s Arab neighbor, remains opposed to any new resolution. Norway, Colombia and Bulgaria appear to be on board with the United States while Mexico and Singapore said their governments were studying the draft. 

“We are not there yet,” said Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Sergey Lavrov. 

He wouldn’t comment publicly on the new U.S. text, but diplomats said that inside the council, Lavrov said Moscow still saw several hidden triggers for the use of force. France had similar concerns, which Chirac and Putin discussed, diplomats said. 

Negroponte sidestepped a question on whether the new draft could authorize military action. 

Instead, he noted that President Bush believes “the use of force, war, would be a last resort. He wants to give the United Nations and the Security Council a chance.” 

Negroponte said the new resolution “is the best way to achieve the disarmament of Iraq by peaceful means provided that Iraq complies fully with those obligations.” 

Negotiations for a new Iraq resolution began after Bush’s Sept. 12 speech to the U.N. General Assembly, when he challenged world leaders to deal with Iraq’s failure over the last 11 years to comply with resolutions or stand aside as the United States acted. 

Both France and Russia initially favored two resolutions, one giving Iraq a chance to cooperate, and a second authorizing military action only if Iraq failed to comply. But the United States insisted on a single resolution which would not “handcuff” the administration. 

During negotiations, Washington modified language that would have authorized the use of force against Iraq and agreed to a two-stage process: inspectors would report any Iraq violations to the Security Council, which would then consider what to do. France’s U.N. Ambassador Jean-David Levitte said “very important progress” had been made on this issue. 

The latest draft softens one reference to Iraq being in “material breach” of its obligations to disarm under U.N. resolutions. Moscow and Paris believe the legal reference could be used by Washington to launch a war without Security Council authorization. 

But there is a second reference to Iraq being in “further material breach” if it makes any “false statements or omissions” in the declaration of its weapons programs and fails to cooperate with inspections. That still bothers Russia and France, diplomats said. 

Secretary of State Colin Powell spent a second day on the phone discussing the text with his French, British and Russian counterparts. 

A cornerstone of the U.S. proposal is a tough new inspections regime responsible for hunting for illicit weapons and reporting on any Iraqi failures to comply with its disarmament obligations. 

It requires Iraq to provide inspectors with “immediate, unimpeded, unconditional, and unrestricted access to any and all” areas, including eight presidential sites, where advance notice was previously needed for inspections. 

Inspectors could also decide whether to interview Iraqi scientists and government officials.


GOP captures control of Senate

By Alan Fram The Associated Press
Wednesday November 06, 2002

WASHINGTON — Republicans narrowly seized control of the Senate on Wednesday, ousting Democrats in Georgia and Missouri and giving President Bush’s legislative agenda a major boost in the next Congress. 

By winning their 50th seat in Missouri, the GOP was ensured control of the chamber next year because Vice President Dick Cheney will cast tie-breaking votes. 

Democrats took just one seat from Republicans when Arkansas Attorney General Mark Pryor, the son of former Sen. David Pryor, defeated incumbent Sen. Tim Hutchinson. 

In Georgia, Republican Rep. Saxby Chambliss defeated moderate first-term Democratic Sen. Max Cleland, a triple amputee from the Vietnam War, after chiding him for opposing President Bush’s plan for creating a new Department of Homeland Security. 

The GOP also could take control of the lame-duck session of the current Congress, which convenes next week to tackle unfinished budget business and perhaps other legislation because of Rep. Jim Talent’s victory in Missouri. 

Talent could be quickly sworn into office after defeating Democratic Sen. Jean Carnahan. She was appointed to the seat after her husband, Mel Carnahan, was elected in 2000, three weeks after he was killed in a plane crash. That would give the GOP at least 50 seats in Senate returning next week — enough for control because of Cheney. 

Rep. John Sununu was victorious for the GOP in New Hampshire, retaining a Republican-held seat that Democrats had high hopes of winning. He defeated Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, despite a lack of help from many conservatives bitter over his primary defeat of Republican Sen. Bob Smith. 

In Colorado, incumbent Republican Sen. Wayne Allard held off lobbyist and former U.S. Attorney Tom Stickland in a rematch of their race six years ago. 

The triumph came on a night that began with Democrats clinging to a one-seat margin, and it meant they will have to relinquish the majority they have held since Vermont Sen. James Jeffords abandoned the GOP in June 2001. 

With at least 47 senators, Democrats will still be able to use filibusters — procedural delays — to kill Republican initiatives because such roadblocks need only 41 votes to succeed. 

Even so, the GOP’s capture of the Senate denied Democrats their major remaining source of power. Republicans already control the White House and they recaptured their House majority Wednesday.


Nurses strike in San Pablo

Daily Planet Wire Service
Tuesday November 05, 2002

SAN PABLO — More than 400 nurses turned out Monday to strike at Doctors Medical Centers in San Pablo and Pinole, leaving patients under the care of temporary healthcare workers. 

The company that owns the two hospitals, the Santa Barbara-based Tenet Healthcare Corporation, has signed a 30-day contract to bring in nurses from out of state in order to operate the hospital during the strike. 

Officials from the California Nurses Association and Tenet have been negotiating without much progress since July and nurses have been working without a contract since August. 

Nurses want a defined benefit plan for retirement that that goes beyond the 401K plan that Tenet presently offers, including pension payments and health coverage. 

While nurses have walked out, a Tenet spokesman says patient care has not changed. 

“There has been no effect on quality of care, we still have elected procedures and the emergency room is open as normal,” said David Langness, a spokesman for Tenet Healthcare Corporation. “Patient care is not in jeopardy.” 

Nurses on strike disagree however, saying that the strike compromised hospital services. “Emergency room nurses have told us that the hospital is overcrowded,” said Tami Roncskevitz, a spokeswoman for the California Nurses Association. “Tenet is doing a disservice to the community.”  

A spokesman for the Doctors Medical Centers in San Pablo and Pinole, Michel Burleson, said earlier Monday that some nurses may cross the picket line. 

But Liz Jacobs, a registered nurse at Doctors Medical Center, said that only a handful of striking nurses returned to work Monday. 

“Nurses are digging their heels in,” said Jacobs.