Still mourning the loss of beloved friend Fred Lupke, Berkeley wheelchair advocates have started gearing up for a fight to make Berkeley streets and sidewalks safer. 

“Disabled people here in Berkeley need to use this as a lead to get together to do something,” said Blane Beckwith, local chair of national disabled rights organization ADAPT. 

Councilwoman Dona Spring struck the first blow this week, authoring a measure to authorize emergency funds to repair and widen sidewalks along blocks of Ashby Avenue between Martin Luther King Way and Ellis Street—the same stretch where a car struck Lupke’s wheelchair from behind. 

The measure—set to go before Council Oct. 14— would permit wheelchairs to use now off-limits bike lanes and direct the city staff to identify other pedestrian safety improvements along Ashby. 

“If there had been a passable sidewalk on that side of Ashby, Fred might be alive today,” Spring said, adding that the two blocks she wants repaired are heavily traveled by disabled residents on their way from the Ashby Bart Station to the South Berkeley Senior Center on Ellis Street. 

Spring estimates the repairs will cost approximately $100,000. She hopes the city can find the money in its budget, but she said the situation is so dire that, if necessary, the city should dip into its $6 million reserve fund to pay for the repairs. 

“Right now Ashby is a death trap for people in wheelchairs,” she said. The boulevard is designated as a state highway, meaning that the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is responsible for maintaining the road. Any call to widen the sidewalk along Ashby at the expense of the street would need state approval. 

Spring’s measure calls on the city to explore civil and legal actions to compel Caltrans to improve pedestrian safety on the street, but a movement led by residents to wrest control of Ashby from Caltrans could put the city in the driver’s seat. 

Berkeley Transportation Director Peter Hillier said he would like to follow through on long standing calls from residents to pursue city ownership of the street within the next two years. He said that while Caltrans was concerned primarily with upgrading traffic signals so that they could detect bicycles, they “did not seem to have interest in community concerns [like safety].” 

Hillier said the city recently accepted state grants that will pay for a lighted crosswalk at Ashby and Piedmont Street, with three more possible at the intersections of Ashby and Regent, Benvenue and California streets. 

In addition to Spring’s Council proposal, Berkeley’s Commission on Disabilities is planning to revive previous safety suggestions in hopes that city hall might be more receptive. 

Among a host of recommendations, the commission is seeking city help to crack down on cyclists crowding out wheelchair riders on sidewalks, chart traffic accidents involving wheelchairs, and aggressively enforce rules to keep sidewalks clear of overgrown vegetation, parked cars and garbage bins. 

“Fred had asked for some of these things for years,” said Disability Commission Chair Emily Wilcox, who wanted the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront to proactively inspect sidewalks for overgrown vegetation. Department head Lisa Caronna said budget cuts had recently forced her to slash a gardener and forester position, and that no money was available to pay for random inspections. 

Currently residents may complain about overgrown vegetation, and the city will give the property owner a 15-day notice to clear the sidewalk. 

While disabled advocates agreed the time was ripe to push the city for safety and accessibility improvements, the community remains unorganized. Most said they wanted to fight for safer roads but that no grassroots effort had begun. 

“We don’t have a clubhouse,” said Wilcox, noting that accessibility concerns made it difficult for locals to assemble even for commission meetings. She and other disabled residents said they hoped that high attendance at a planned memorial service for Lupke could lay the seeds for a unified movement. 

“This has just begun to stir. It isn’t over by a long shot,” said Michael Pachovas. In 1999, Pachovas was one of dozens of disabled activists who shut down Ashby Avenue for a day to demand safety improvements after Sharon Spencer was killed in her wheelchair as she tried to cross Ashby Avenue at Piedmont Street. 

The protest secured several concessions from the city, Pachovas said, but promised pedestrian right-of-way signs and other improvements never materialized. 

Pachovas and others interviewed hoped the Commission on Disabilities would take the lead in formulating proposals and lobbying the city. The commission will hold a transportation subcommittee meeting Friday to vet ideas and then use a Wednesday meeting to finalize an agenda to present to Council and city officials. 

Disabled advocates complained they didn’t get a fair shake with Council and city officials and said that Spring, who uses a wheelchair, is sometimes at odds with activists on key issues. 

“People think that because there is a woman with a disability on city council that she speaks for us, but that is not true,” said Pachovas, who noted that Spring has sided with bicycle advocates favoring speed bumps on residential streets, while many wheelchair riders insist the bumps cause pain. 

Spring, however, has full support from wheelchair riders in her drive to legalize wheelchair riding on residential streets. State law classifies wheelchair riders as pedestrians and relegates them to sidewalks—where they are at the mercy of painful bumps and divots that rattle their chairs.  

The law was reasonable decades ago, Spring said, when most wheelchairs were hand powered, but unrealistic now that motorized chairs travel up to 11 mph. California law states that wheelchair riders are allowed in bicycle lanes only if there is no sidewalk. The city attorney’s office would not comment if Berkeley had the authority to supersede state law. 

“For me to get to BART takes fifteen minutes on the street,” she said. “If I were to take the sidewalk it would take 40-45 minutes and I would be in so much more pain.” 

Wheelchair riders already use side streets, but say changing the law would give police greater leverage to punish drivers who hit them. The woman who hit Lupke from behind said she was blinded by the setting sun. She was not charged or ticketed, police said, because under the existing laws, Lupke was at fault for riding down Ashby Avenue. 

“Right now, if someone in a wheelchair gets hit, the police perception is that we were doing something wrong,” Pachovas said. “It’s galling that someone can say the sun was in my eyes, kill someone and not even get a traffic ticket.” 

Pachovas predicted a protest on Ashby similar to that one that followed Spencer’s death. But as far as a cohesive agenda, he said, disabled advocates needed more time. “This shouldn’t be a knee-jerk reaction,” he said. “We need to figure out what we want to do.”

FRIDAY, OCT. 3 

“The Shellmound Sites and Berkeley’s Early Native People,” with Malcolm Margolin and Kent Lightfoot, at 7 p.m. at Finn Hall, 10th St. near Hearst. Lecture is part of the 150th An- 

niversary of Ocean View, Berkeley’s earliest settlement, sponsored by The Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association and Berkeley History Society. Tickets are $12. For information call 841-8562.  

Master Class with Spanish Classical Guitarist Jaume Torrent, from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Arlington Community Church, 52 Arlington Ave., Kensington. Participants $20, public $5. For registration and information call 528-4633. 

North African Homecoming Dinner with a screening of “Play it Again Maurice” at at 7:30 p.m. at International House, Piedmont at Bancroft. 642-9460. 

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. wibberkeley@yahoo.com 548-6310, 845-1143. 

Meditation, Peace Vigil and Dialogue, gather at noon on the grass close to the West Entrance to UC Berkeley, on Oxford St. near University Ave. People of all traditions are welcome to join us. Sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. 496-6000, ext. 135. www.bpf.org 

SATURDAY, OCT. 4 

Northern California Solar Energy Association Annual Tour of Solar Homes in Berkeley. Self-guided tours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning at Cedar-Rose Park. Cost is $15 per group of up to 5 people. Visit www.norcalsolar.org/ 

tour for tour details and online registration or contact Suzie Zupan, 415-332-3676, skzupan@yahoo.com 

Quarterly Bird Walk from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Dr. Cost is $5, members, free. Registration required. 643-8155. www.mip.berkeley.edu/garden  

California Bulbs with Wayne Roderick from 10 a.m. to noon at the Visitor Center, Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Learn to identify brodiaeas, lilies, alliums, fritillaries, and many more in this workshop. Cost is $25 members, $30 non-members. Sponsored by the East Bay Regional Park’s Botanic Garden and the Native Plant Society. To register call 925-935-8871 or 925-820-1021. www.nativeplants.org 

Fall Permaculture: Seed Saving Find out when and how to harvest seeds from your garden and discover a good way to keep your favorite vegetable varieties year after year, at 10 a.m. at Wildheart Gardens, 463 61st Street, at Telegraph, Oak- 

land. Cost is $10 Ecology Center members, $15 others, no one turned away. For information call 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Sick Plant Clinic is offered by the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive, from 9 a.m. to noon. Free. 643-2755. 

Free Emergency Preparedness Class on Light Search and Rescue for anyone who lives or works in Berkeley, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 997 Cedar St., between 8th and 9th Sts. Register on-line at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes or by calling 981-5506. 

Pet Adoptions, sponsored by Home at Last, from noon to 5 p.m., Hearst and 4th St. 548-9223. 

Car Wash Benefit for Options Recovery Services of Berkeley, held every Sat. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lutheran Church, 1744 University Ave. 666-9552. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 5 

Feast of St. Francis Celebration at 10 a.m. at All Souls Episcopal Church, 2220 Cedar St., at Spruce. Join us in a celebration of creation, with an Earth Mass and a Blessing of the Animals. Fur, feathers, fins, skins - all are welcome! 848-1755. 

Free Sailboat Rides between 1 and 5 p.m. with the Cal Sailing Club. Bring warm waterproof clothes and come to the Berkeley Marina. Learn how to sail or windsurf. For more information see www.cal-sailing.org 

“Meditation for Balance and Healing,” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, OCT. 6 

The National Organization for Women will hold its monthly meeting at the Central Labor Council Building, 70 Hegenberger Rd. Oakland, cross street is Pardee. Meet in the parking lot at 6 p.m. for chapter elections, then phone bank in the building, to remind people to vote against the recall and against Prop. 54. 287-8948. 

In Celebration of the Free Speech Movement: Larry Flint at 7 p.m. in the Pauley Ballroom West, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Berkeley ACLU. 816-0563. abraham@berkeleyaclu.com 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 6 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

TUESDAY, OCT. 7 

“Observation on the Political Process,” with Tom Campbell, Dean, Walter A. Haas School of Business, at noon in the South Hall Annex. Sponsored by the Center for Studies in Higher Education. 642-7703. lapiz@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers We are a few slowpoke Seniors who walk between a mile or two each Tuesday, meeting at 9:30 a.m. in the Little Farm parking lot. To join us, call 215-7672 for information or check our web page, http://home.comcast.net/~teachme99/tildenwalkers or email teachme99@comcast.net 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 525-3565. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

Morris Dancing Workshop Learn the basics of an English ritual dance form that predates Shakespeare. Free and open to all. From 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. at Oxford. www.talamasca.com/berkmorris 

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 8 

Speaking Truth to Empire: End the Occupation of Iraq! with Norman Solomon, director, Institute for Public Accuracy, and Michael Parenti, author, Democracy for the Few, and a military family from Military Families Speak Out! At 7 p.m. in 145 Dwinelle, UC Campus. The event is free; donations will be accepted at the door. Sponsored by Berkeley Stop the War Coalition. www.berkeleystopthewar.org 

“Understanding the Americans and Understanding the French” with Pascal Baudry at 7:30 p.m. at the Haas School of Business, Anderson Auditorium. Sponsored by East Bay French-American School. 549-3867. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Sta- 

tion, corner of Shattuck and Center. Vigil at 6:30 p.m. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www.geo 

cities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

Urban Permaculture Benefit Three teachers will show slides to raise awareness that another way of life is possible in the city. From 7 to 9 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $5-$20 sliding scale. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Embracing Diversity Films and the Albany High School PTA co-host the screening of “Breathing Lessons” at 7 p.m. in the Albany High School-Multipurpose Room, 603 Key Route Blvd, Albany. A discussion will follow the movie. There is no cost for admission. 527-1328. 

Prose Writers Workshop We're a serious but lively bunch whose focus is on issues of craft. Novices welcome. Experienced facilitator. Community sponsored, no fee. Meets 7 to 9 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut, at Rose. For information call 524-3034. 

Community Dances, traditional English and American dances, 8 p.m. every Wednesday, $9. 7 p.m. first Sunday, $10. Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. 233-5065. www.bacds.org 

Free Feldenkrais ATM Classes for adults 55 and older at 10:30 and 11:45 a.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut at Rose. For information call 848-0237.  

Berkeley CopWatch open office hours 7 to 9 p.m. Drop in to file complaints, assistance available. For information call 548-0425. 

THURSDAY, OCT. 9 

Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace, with Rami Elhanan, a seventh generation Jerusalemite whose daughter was killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber and Ghazi Brigieth, whose brothers were shot and killed by Israeli soldiers. At 7 p.m. at 145 Dwinelle Hall, UC Campus. For more information call 464-4911 or email bayareapeacetour@yahoo.com www.rcnv.org 

“The Fantasy War: Liberation, Weapons of Mass Destruction, & Democracy,” with Robert Fisk, foreign correspondent recently returned from Baghdad, at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison, 5 blocks from North Berkeley BART. This is a benefit for the Middle East Children's Alliance. Tickets are $20, but nobody will be turned away. Buy tickets via Paypal, www.mecaforpeace.org, or send self-addressed stamped envelope to MECA, 901 Parker St., Berkeley CA 94710. For more information call 548-0542. 

“A Doctor in Chechnya” Khassan Baieva talks about his new book, “The Oath: A Surgeon Under Fire,” written with the assistance of Ruth and Nicholas Daniloff, at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave at Rose, 843-3533. 

“Hunger and Globalization” with Judith Lewis, UN Director of the World Food Program at 7:30 p.m. at International House, Home Room, Piedmont at Bancroft. 642-9460. 

Empowering Democracy Conference “Challenging Corporate Power & Deman- 

ding Accountability!” Skills training by and for corporate campaigners with the intent of sharing the skills necessary to challenge corporate rule, held Oct 9-11 at the First Unitarian Church, 685 14th St., Oakland. to register, 512-479-7744, www.empoweringdemocracy.org  

UC Botanical Garden Docent Training at 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fee and registration required. 643-1924. 

Grizzly Peak Flyfishers meets at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Community Center, 59 Arlington Ave. Bob Coates, a hydrologist, will speak about his stream restoration work. 547-8629. 

rorlando@uclink4.berkeley.edu  

St. John's Prime Timers Tap Dancing class meets on Thursday mornings at 9:15 a.m. at St. John's Presbyterian Church at 2717 Garber St. Gil Chun, well-known Berkeley dance teacher is the instructor. Class is free and open to anyone over 50. 527-0167. 

East Bay Mac User Group meets on the second Thursday of the month from 6 to 9 p.m. in the 3rd floor Community Room, Berkeley Central Library, 2090 Kittredge St. Free, all welsome. http://ebmug.org 

Lawyers in the Library, at 6 p.m. in the South Branch, Russell at MLK Jr. Way, 981-6260. 

ONGOING  

UC Berkeley’s Long Range Development Plan Public Comment Period has been extended to Oct. 10. For more information on the plan, visit http://ldrp/berkeley.edu Written comments can be emailed to 2020LRDP@cp.berkeley.edu or mailed to Jennifer Lawrence, Principal Planner, Capital Projects, 1936 University Ave., Suite 300, Berkeley, CA 94720-1382. 

Flu Shots will be offered at a number of Berkeley locations during the month of October, by Sutter VNA and Hospice. For a location near you plaese call 1-800-500-2400 or visit www.suttervnaandhospice.org 

“Berkeley Speaks” a community program for activists and artists on Berkeley Community Media, BETV Channel 25. For information on being on the program please call 848-2288. or visit www.betv.org 

Acting and Storytelling Classes for Seniors, offered by Stagebridge. Wednesdays and Fridays, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Arts First Oakland, 2501 Harrison St., close to BART and AC Transit. 444-4755. www.stagebridge.org 

Free Smoke Detectors for City residents and UC Berkeley students who live off-campus. Applications are available from the Environment, Health & Safety office of UC Berkeley, at any Berkeley Fire Station, or at the Fire Admin. Office located at 2100 MLK, Jr. Way. 981-5585.  

Free Energy Bill Payment Assistance The City of Berkeley has money to help low-income households pay their gas and electric bills. For applications contact the Energy Office at 644-8544. TDD: 981-6903. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/energy 

Swim a Mile for Women with Cancer The East Bay’s Women’s Cancer Resource Center is seeking participants, supporters, and in-kind donations for its annual non-competitive fundraising event, to be held on Oct. 4-5 at the Trefethan Aquatic Center, Mills College. For information and registration, please call 601-4040, ext. 180 or email swimamilewcrc@yahoo.com 

Cal Community Service Days Students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members are invited to participate in a series of workshops and community service projects until Oct. 4. For information on how to get involved, see http://students.berkeley.edu 

/calcorps/cad 

Fair Trade Week Oct. 6-12. Products bearing the Fair Trade Certified(tm) label, such as coffee, organic tea and chocolate will be featured at Andronico's Markets. www.transfairusa.org 

CITY MEETINGS 

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon., Oct. 6, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St., Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/agenda-committee 

Landmarks Preservation Commission meets Mon., Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Gisele Sorensen, 981-7419. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/landmarks 

Youth Commission meets Mon., Oct. 6, at 6:30 p.m., at 1730 Oregon St. Philip Harper-Cotton, 981-6670. www.ci.ber- 

keley.ca.us/commissions/youth 

Commission on Disability meets Wed., Oct. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Paul Church, 981-6342. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/disability 

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Oct. 8, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/homeless 

Library Board of Trustees meets Wed., Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. at 1901 Russell St. Jackie Y. Griffin, 981-6195. www.ci.ber- 

keley.ca.us/commissions/library  

Planning Commission meets Wed., Oct. 8, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Ruth Grimes, 981-7481. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/planning 

Police Review Commission meets Wed., Oct. 8, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Barbara Attard, 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/policereview 

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Oct. 8, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. Cliff Marchetti. 644-6376 ext. 224. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/waterfront 

Commission on Early Childhood Education meets Thurs., Oct. 9, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Marianne Graham, 981-5416. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/earlychildhoodeducation  

Community Health Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 9, at 6:45 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. William Rogers, 981-5344. www.ci.ber- 

keley.ca.us/commissions/health 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Oct. 9, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. ww.ci.ber- 

keley.ca.us/commissions/zoning

Indian Rock—for strangers to North Berkeley—is an ancient volcanic outcropping in a small city park just above Marin Circle. Though modest in height on the access road side, its flattish top affords splendid panoramic views over a picturesque wooded neighborhood to the Golden Gate, the “City by the Bay,” Angel Island, and Mt. Tamalpais. The Peninsula Hills stretch away to the far left, the grand terrain of Marin to the far right. 

Hardly more than a mile from the UC campus, this singular “view platform” can be reached by Indian Rock Road (tricky: study the map), or on foot up Indian Rock Path, which begins at the top of Solano Avenue. 

As a destination, it is eminently worth the effort. The little public park continues across the street, offering on its northeasterly side shady lawns instead of dramatic views, while up the road at the next corner, Mortar Rock, also a public park, is its own miniature landscape of boulders, writhing trees and grassy hollows—a gorgeous natural garden rather than a viewpoint. 

For generations, loners, lovers and families have made their secular pilgrimage to the rock-hewn view-bench at the top to contemplate the sunset, or, on some crisp February morning, to enjoy the toy city of towers across the water. Others have made as their goal conquest of the rock itself, which has long been a favorite training ground for climbers. Its almost sheer northwesterly side offers a variety of slopes and surfaces ideal for “bouldering”—the rock-climber’s term for climbing without equipment. 

When I was inspired in 1981 to try capturing this locally famous panorama in drawings, I decided to work by direct observation, and not use a camera. The drawing would be strictly informational, not a “work of art,” and not—very important—on expensive paper. Starting with a medium-sized sketchbook sheet, I drew at first, as we mostly tend to do, what fell within my natural angle of vision, but soon found—faced with such a daunting subject—that I needed to expand the original paper, and, in effect, turn myself into a wide angle lens. 

It soon became apparent that the celebrated sunset view centered on the Golden Gate didn’t make it as a balanced composition. Instead, I focused on Albany Hill, the dramatic foreground trees, and the handsome houses in between. A big dark pine on my left-hand edge, and the shaggy windblown redwood on my right, making a squarish format. Later, after much scrambling up and down the precarious stone-cut steps, I decided to include the “view backs” of San Mateo Road to create a wider, more panoramic picture that would promote the sculptural mass of backyard trees into the fulcrum of the whole awkward-yet-typical Berkeley view. 

In the end, the expanded, taped-together ballpoint pen drawing, aided by colored pencil and scribbled notes, became the information sheet for a large watercolor that remains for me the most precious of my pictures. This fond regard is apparently shared by other, for “Panorama From Indian Rock” is by far my most popular “Cityscape” card. In itself this is a revealing comment on the necessity for inventiveness in art, for here, more than usually, I didn’t invent a single thing. Mt. Tamalpais really echoes Albany Hill, the little cameo of the Richmond shore is really there, the enlivening red roofs really exist, and the rock’s jutting edge is exactly as shown. 

The same can be said for my drawing, done in black wax pencil on tracing paper, of the view toward Downtown Berkeley. Here the subject is less dramatic, but it does reveal the seductively picturesque quality of the early 20th Century Northbrae suburbs, those winding contour avenues sprawling out from Marin Circle that are largely the work of the remarkable Mason McDuffie Real Estate Company, which also donated to the city park-parcels around five rock formations, including Indian and Cragmont. Here, pleasant, modest-sized villas are transformed, by a romantic layout and generous planting, into an enviable residential environment whose totality is even prettier than its private panoramas. Sometimes romantic siting even takes preference over the now-mandatory bay view, as demonstrated by two houses set back from Indian Rock Path that directly face the rock itself as preferred “outlook.” 

Specially fine is the cluster of houses from 1911, on Indian Rock Road at Shattuck just below the park itself. Here, the architect John Hudson Thomas has created three Art Nouveau villas, all different in shape and plan but with matching character and details. Note how the garden-edge walls of the front lawns match the stone of the adjacent park—a rare example of city-developer collaboration! Admirers of the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the turn-of-the-century Scottish architect sometimes called “the European Frank Lloyd Wright” mustn’t miss this geographically far removed yet closely related work. 

But back to my pictures. Have these views changed much in almost twenty years? In terms of buildings, the answer is no. Protected largely by zoning, the residential areas look much the same. Trees, however, more subject to individual whim, come and go. In both my drawing and my painting, the beautiful pine-oak and the dark pine tree that, respectively, frame the left hand edge, are gone in the cause of more backyard light. As for the distant objects, Emeryville’s commercial skyline (top right in the drawing) is now much expanded, while, in the watercolor the green PG&E gas-holder peeing over the Portrero Hills, has long ago been dismantled. Sometimes good things actually happen!

FRIDAY, OCT. 3 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Berkeley Arts Festival Headquarters Opening from 4 to 6 p.m. at 2110 Shattuck Ave. 665-9496. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Cecile Moochnek Gallery, “Numinous Surfaces,” new paintings by Carol Dalton and Michael Shemchuk. Reception 6 to 8 p.m. Exhibtion runs Oct 3. to Nov. 16. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wed. through Sun. 1809-D Fourth St. 549-1018. www.cecilemoochnek.com 

FILM 

Heddy Honigmann: “Mind Shadows” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive with the filmmaker in person. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa. 

berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Christian Parenti reads from his new book, “Soft Cage: Surveillance in America From Slavery to the War on Terror,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Guided Tour: Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics, at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m., Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Gallery Talk: Japanese Figure Style with Lynne Kimura, Academic Liaison, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, on the creative explosion of figure styles in Edo painting, at 3 p.m. in Gallery C, Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $8, free to UC staff, faculty and students. 643-6494. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Djialy Kunda Kouyate, from West Africa, at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Shorty Long, Faraway Brothers, and Stiles and Ivey Ragtime Band perform at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Jaranon y Bochinche, traditional and contemporary Afro-Peruvian music and dance at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Larry Ochs Sax and Drumming Core and John Schott’s Typical Orchestra at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Sliding scale donation $7-$15. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Noggin, unplugged violin duo with Henry Kuntz, solo saxophone, at 3111 Deakin St. at  

8 p.m. Cost is $8. Presented by Acme Observatory Contemporary Music. 665-1980. http://music.acme.com 

Bitches Brew, big band tribute to the Electric Miles Davis era, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Rahim Alhaj, Iraqi oud master, performs at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Sterling Dervish, acoustic rock and roll at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. beckettsirishpub.com 

Fleshies, Toys That Kill, Killer Dream, Swing Ding Amigos, Civil Dysentery at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SATURDAY, OCT. 4 

Himalayan Papermaking Demonstration with Nimto Sherpa, papermaking master from Kathmandu, and Carol Brighton, Berkeley artist and papermaker, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Berkeley Arts Festival Headquarters, 2110 Shattuck Ave. 665-9496. 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Trax Gallery, “Summer Work” by Matt Metz and Linda Skikora, at 5 p.m. at 1812 5th St. 540-8729. 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Colibri, music from Latin America, at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

FILM 

Seventh Madcat Women’s International Film Festival: “Traditions and Trajectories” at 7 p.m., and “Educated Ladies” at 8:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Eat the Rich” at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751.  

www.thelonghaul.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jean Shinoda Bolen, reads from her new book, “Crones, Don’t Whine: Concentrated Wisdom for Juicy Women,” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. www.codysbooks.com 

Bruce Balfour, author of “The Digital Dead” at the Dark Carnival Bookstore, 3086 Claremont Ave, at 2 p.m. 654-7323. 

The Bay Area Poets Coalition holds an open reading, 3 to 5 p.m., West Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1125 University Ave. Free. For information, call 527-9905. poetalk@aol.com 

Improvised Comedy, at 8 p.m. at Cafe Eclectica, 1309 Solano Ave., Albany. Cost is $5. 964-0571. www.eastbayimprov.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

New Millennium Strings, with soloist Jaume Torrent, Spanish Classical Guitar, conducted by Laurien Jones, at 8 p.m. at University Christian Church, 2401 Le Conte Ave. Suggested donation $10, seniors $7. Children under 12 free. 528-4633. 

Live Oak Concert with Matthew Owens, ‘cello, at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center. Tickets are $8-$10. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Festival Antiqua, “The Ladder of Gold,” songs of Balkan Sephardic Jews at 8 p.m. at the Parish Hall, St. Alban’s Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany. Tickets are $12-$15. 486-2803 or 524-7952. www.timrayborn.com/Festival 

Michael Brecker and Roy Hargrove at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$48. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Primary Colors, celebrating the release of their new CD “Every Mother’s Son,” at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Luminaries: National Independent Talent Showcase, at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Genres include Hip Hop, R & B, and Reggae. Cost is $10 in advance, $12 at the door.  

849-2568. www.lapena.org 

FARWest, Folk Music and Dance Alliance regional meeting at noon, with evening showcases beginning at 7 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. For more information and to register, see www.far-west.org 

Zydeco Flames at 9:30 p.m., with a dance lesson at 8:30 p.m., at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13.  

525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Daevid Allen’s University of Errors, The Spindles perform at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

www.starryploughpub.com 

Scott Amendola, Dave MacNab and John Witala at 9:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers perform traditional jazz vocals at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Nicole McRory at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Champion, For the Crown, The Damage Done, Allegiance, Lights Out at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Blue & Tan, with bassist Vicky Grossi at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

The Original Intentions at 8 p.m. at the 1923 Teahouse. Suggested donation of $7-$12. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Anima Mundi Dance Company previews “Mountains and Rivers Without End,” at 2 p.m. at Yoshi’s Jazz Club, Jack London Square. Admission is $10-$15 sliding scale. 233-5550. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 5 

Berkeley Potters Guild Tour and Demonstration Members of this 32 year old, 20 member guild will demonstrate potters’ wheel throwing and hand buil- 

ding techniques, at 1 p.m. at the Potters Guild, 731 Jones St. at 4th. 524-7031. 

FILM 

Seventh Madcat Women’s International Film Festival: “Clear Visions, Silent Filmmakers” at 5 p.m. with live music by Epic and introduction by Heather Stilin; “Cut Snip Ooze: Contemporary Animated Films by Women” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa. 

berkeley.edu 

Arab Film Festival, Cinemayaat: 

“Planet of the Arabs,” “Lord’s Song in a Strange Land,” at 2 p.m., “Souha Surviving Hell,” “Meantime in Beirut,” at 3:45 p.m., “Travel Agency,” “Under the Sky of Baghdad,” at 5:30 p.m. Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. Tickets are $9, students and seniors $7. Closing Night Party at 10 p.m., $20. www.aff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry at Cody’s with John Brandi and David Meltzer at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

Jonathan Lethem reads from ”The Fortress of Solitude,” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. www.codysbooks.com 

2004 Slingshot Organizer, book release party and dinner at 7:30 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

New Millennium Strings, with soloist Jaume Torrent, Spanish 

Classical Guitar, conducted by Laurien Jones, at 3 p.m. at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, 2837 Claremont Blvd. Suggested donation $10, seniors $7. Children under 12 free. 528-4633. 

Takács Quartet with Richard Stoltzman at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $30-$52. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

The Balance: Poetry and Jazz The Word-Music Continuum, from 2 to 5 p.m. with Kirk Lumpkin, poetry and percussion; Mark Randall, bass; Paul Mills, guitar and The Real Band. Peralta Community Garden, Hopkins and Peralta. 231-5912. kirklumpkin@mac.com 

Crowden School Recital with Wei He, violin, and Miles Graber, piano, playing works of Bright Sheng, Beethoven, Strauss, and Ysaye, at 3 p.m. at Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose St. Tickets are $10, free for children 18 and under. 559-6910. www.thecrowdenschool.org 

Early Music Zachary Gordin, countertenor and Glibert Martinez, harpsichord perform vocal music of Vivaldi, at 4 p.m. at MusicSources, 1000 The Alameda, at Marin. 528-1685. 

www.sfems.org/musicsources  

Baroque Etcetera, “London Meets Paris,” instrumental and vocal works by Händel, Lully, Purcell, Jacquet de la Guerre, Boismortier and Draghi, at 5 p.m., at St. Ambrose Church, 1145 Gilman St. Suggested donation is $10, no one turned away. 540-8222. www.baroquetc.org 

Alice Stuart performs country blues favorites at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

New Era of Cuban Music, an Afro-Cuban celebration in honor of the Orishas, Orunmila, Eleggua, Oggún and Ochoshi, at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15 in advance, $18 at the door. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Hemispheres, world-infused jazz and free improvisation, at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Structure of Lies, Animosity, All Shall Perish, Hacksaw to the Throat at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

MONDAY, OCT. 6 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Loretta Napoleoni discusses “Modern Jihad: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry Express, featuring Claudette Sigg, open mic from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

Last Word Poetry Series presents Bucky Sinister and Dawn Trook from 7 to 9 p.m. at Pegasus Bookstore, 2349 Shattuck Ave.  

TUESDAY, OCT. 7 

FILM 

The Cinema of Ernie Gehr, Program 1, with the filmmaker in person at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Judy Collins dicusses the death of her son in “Sanity and Grace: A Journey of Suicide, Survival, and Strength,” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Turtle Island String Quartet David Balakrishnan, violin; Evan Price, violin; Danny Seidenberg, viola; Mark Summer, cello; perform jazz, classical and a little of everything else, at 8 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club. 525-5211. www.berkeleychamberperform.org  

Brass Menagerie performs Balkan music at 8:30 p.m., with a dance lesson with Gerry Duke at 7:30 p.m., at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Kirov Ballet and the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $42-$110, and are available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Dayna Stephens House Jam at The Jazz House. Donation $5. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Mimi Fox, solo guitar, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 8 

FILM 

Heddy Honigmann: “Mental and Melancholy,” at 7:10 p.m. Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Exhibiting Signs of Age, Panel Discussion at 4 p.m. in the Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall, UC Campus, with Thomas W. Laqueur, Interim Director, Doreen B. Townsend Center for the Humanities, and Professor of History, UC Berkeley; Guy Micco, M.D., Director, Center on Aging, and Director, Center of Medicine, Humanities, and Law, UC Berkeley; Beth Dungan, Exhibition Co-curator, Ed Kashi, Photographer; and Julie Winokur, Writer/Producer. 642-0808.  

www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Curator’s Talk, “One Struggle, Two Communities: Late 20th Century Political Posters of Havana Cuba and the San Francisco Bay Area,” with Lincoln Cushing at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Café Poetry and open mic, hosted by Kira Allen at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Gregory Edmont introduces “Spotted in France: A Dog’s Life ... on the Road” at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave at Rose. 843-3533. 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7,  

$5 with student i.d. 841-2082.  

www.starryploughpub.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert Robert Calonico, clarinet and Jacqueline Chew, piano perform Brahms and Milhaud at the Chevron Auditorium at International House, Bancroft and Piedmont Aves. Admission is free. 642-4864. 

Kirov Ballet and the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $42-$110, and are available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Sauce Piquante at 8:30 p.m. with a dance lesson with Cheryl McBride at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Jules Broussard, Bing Nathan and Ned Boynton at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Flowtilla plays a blend of psychedelic world groove funk-jazz at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277.  

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9 

FILM 

Genetic Screenings: “The Snowflake Crusade” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Daughter from Danang,” a film by Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco, at 7 p.m. at 2060 Valley Life Sciences Building. Sponsored by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies. 642-3609. cseas@uclink.berkeley.edu  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Ceramic Folk Art of Ecuador Gallery talk with Richard Burkett, professor of ceramics at San Diego State University, at noon at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way at College Ave. 643-7648. www.gal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

Lois Banner discusses her new biography, “Intertwined Lives: Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict and Their Circle,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with featured readers Mark States and Chokwadi, followed by an open mic, at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave., near Dwight Way. For information call 526-5985 or 205-1749.  

Gallery Tour of Junko Chodos “Requiem fran Executed Bird,” with the artist at 4 p.m. followed by a talk, “Spirituality and the Process of Creating Art” at 5 p.m. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, Graduate Theological Union, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541.  

Guided Tour: Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics, at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m., Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Curator’s Talk, “Aging and the Body” with Beth Dungan at 12:15 p.m. in the Theater Gallery, Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

A Doctor in Chechnya, Khassan Baieva talks about his new book, “The Oath: A Surgeon Under Fire,” written with the assistance of Ruth and Nicholas Daniloff, at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave at Rose, 843-3533. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Kirov Ballet and the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $42-$110, and are available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

New Century Chamber Orchestra, “A Musical Halloween” at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Tickets are $28-$39 and are available from 415-392-4400. www.ncco.org 

Grateful Dead DJ Night from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitar Festival, with Patrick Landeza, Dale Miller and Teja Gerken at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Nourish the New Brazil! An evening of news updates, with author Angus Wright, and Brazilian jazz and funk by Voz e Vento at 7:30 p.m., at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

May Pole, J. Othello (The Love Rino) and Poor Bailey perform at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Keni El Lebrijano, flamenco guitar, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

The Saga of the Kent Nagano Berkeley Banners has taken on something of the quality of a 19th century German symphony, with enough tension and plot twists to keep the audience abuzz through the intermission, sincerely convinced it’s getting its money’s worth.  

Will the world-class hero conductor gain his rightful honors in the town of his long-term triumphs? 

Will his fans beat back the querulous bureaucrats and barricaded barristers? 

For now, nobody knows for sure. 

Nagano is celebrating his 25th anniversary as conductor of the Berkeley Symphony, and symphony officials had hoped to mark the milestone with his picture on 30 banners strung up throughout the city’s arts and downtown district. 

The banners would temporarily replace the Downtown Berkeley Association banners currently flying throughout the city’s downtown and arts district. 

But the effort to honor Nagano stalled late in the summer after the city’s Acting Manager of Economic Development Thomas Myers said that it would violate the Berkeley’s stringent banner ordinance, which, Myers said, “prohibits [the hanging of banners in public places] to promote private activities or organizations.” 

Sturming to the rescue, Councilmember Dona Spring enticed City Council into setting up a schedule to consider revamping the city’s banner ordinance to allow the Nagano banners to be hung. That ended up on the back burner when it appeared that ordinance revisions would not come in time for the banners to be hung by the end of the symphony season, June 18. 

Representatives of the symphony, the mayor’s office, and Councilmember Spring thought that a compromise solution had been worked out Sept. 16 when—in consultation with the City Attorney’s office—City Council unanimously passed a resolution to host events in connection with the support of the arts and the Arts District, to issue a proclamation honoring Nagano’s anniversary, and requesting the City Manager hang banners in downtown Berkeley relating to the events. 

The resolution was crafted so that by being hung in accordance with a city-sponsored event, the Nagano banners would comply with the city’s banner ordinance. 

But the symphony’s opening night concert came and went Sept. 29 with no banners in sight. Councilmember Spring says that the banners have “been approved” by the city. 

City Attorney Albuquerque refused to comment for this story. 

And while symphony Director of Development and Marketing Jennifer Easton believes that an agreement to allow the Nagano banners is close, it is not yet in place. 

So what’s the holdup? 

“There’s still a hitch in the city attorney’s office,” said Easton. “We got over the ‘city-sponsored event’ hurdle. The next hurdle is how long the banners can stay up.” 

According to Easton, the city attorney’s office is interpreting the Sept. 16 Council ordinance as allowing the banners to hang for only three to four weeks. 

“The city attorney’s office is saying that there needs to be a timeliness between the date on the banner and the period of time that they are up,” said Easton. “They’re saying that if the sponsored event is on Feb. 15, for example, we can’t have the banners up from Jan. 1 through April 15, but only for about three weeks before the event and no more than a week afterwards. So the symphony is trying to see if there is a possibility of putting multiple dates on the banners, and if the city attorney would be okay with that. That would allow us a longer time to put them up.” 

Easton said that three to four weeks is not enough time to justify putting up the banners. 

One consideration is finance. 

Easton says it will cost the symphony approximately $70 apiece for the labor costs to hang the banners on the city’s poles, with another $70 apiece when they have to be taken down, adding up to a cost of $3,500 for what the symphony is now projecting as a 25 banner project. 

A spokesperson for Sign-A-Rama in Berkeley, a company which the Downtown Berkeley Association sometimes uses to hang its signs, said that the $70 estimate was reasonable. Sign-A-Rama did not provide the bid for the hanging of the Nagano banners. 

For her part, Easton said that she “almost fell on the floor when I heard that number. Who knew? That’s why we’re doing a limited number of banners.” 

Easton said that, given the cost, the symphony can only justify flying the Nagano banners if they can stay up long enough to drang up some lucre for the symphony’s fundraising efforts. 

Easton explained that the symphony is now trying to coordinate the raising of the Nagano banners with the removal of the Downtown Berkeley Association’s upcoming holiday season banners in January, thus cutting the symphony’s costs in half. 

The other time consideration, says Easton, is how it reflects on the community’s appreciation for Nagano. “I mean, three weeks—that’s how long you put up for the Pancake Breakfast. For us it would be terrific if we could get the banners up for three months. More if we could get it. The best of all possible worlds would be for them to stay up through the rest of Nagano’s 25th anniversary season.” 

Still, Easton understands the city’s dilemma concerning the Nagano banners. 

“The huge issue here is free speech and access to public property,” she said, explaining that city staff members are concerned that allowing the Nagano banners might open the door for Berkeley’s myriad political and religious associations to ask for equal treatment. “It’s a precedent thing.” 

“The small issue for the city—which is a large issue for us—is honoring Kent Nagano,” Easton continued. “We kind of got stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one. [The city] want[s] this to happen, but they want it to happen in such a way that they don’t get caught down the road.” 

Easton said that the symphony is currently revising the banner design and expects to bring it back to the city manager’s staff for discussion and approval within “a week or two.” 

She said that because City Council has already expressed its intent on the issue—to honor Kent Nagano—she hopes that the matter can be resolved at the City Attorney’s level without having to go back before Council again. “Everyone would like to avoid a rancorous public debate on this.”

MAXIMUM PENALTY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Should the investigation by the Justice Department into whether a member of the White House staff provided the name of a covert CIA agent to news journalists, it will be interesting to see if Attorney General Ashcroft continues to demand that prosecutors go with the most serious of possible charges, seeing that the penalty for conviction in this case would be death. 

G. W. Goth 

• 

NO ON PROP. 54 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In September the Berkeley Board of Education unanimously voted to oppose Proposition 54, the Ward Connerly ballot initiative. The Berkeley City Council has taken a similar stand. 

I urge every Berkeley voter, no matter what your personal view of the recall itself is, to vote NO on Proposition 54. If passed, this proposition would have a devastating impact on public health agencies, public education, and other public entities and their ability to track and monitor essential public data.  

John Selawsky 

Vice-president,  

Berkeley School Board 

• 

EARLY INDICATORS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It’s boring work, but somebody has to do it.  

If you hadn’t noticed, this morning the pedestrian space between Davis Hall North and Cory Hall (just south of the intersection of Hearst and LeRoy) was blocked for a “soil boring.” Signs say the work will continue from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Oct. 3.  

From our experience with recent UCB construction this sort of reconnaissance is one of the earliest indicators of major work to follow.  

When finished, you can expect the Davis Hall North Replacement Building (DHNRB, as it was labeled in the EIR) to top out at 85 feet, slightly taller than the 72-foot high Cory Hall to the east. There’s even been talk about a catwalk connecting the upper stories of both buildings.  

Say goodbye to that airspace above the funky concrete low-rise Davis Hall North while you still can. 

J.M. Sharp 

• 

GENERAL SPECULATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

General Clark seems to be regarded as a great danger by the Republicans. As soon as he declared his presidential intentions, they were all over him for admitting to have voted for Republicans in the past and to have agreed to and then condemned the war in Iraq. 

His first “admission” may just be an intelligent move to attract other than just Democratic voters in order to “bring us together.” 

The second complaint is a clear misrepresentation. General Clark may not have objected to a war with the cooperation of the U.N. but objected to the U.S. going alone and without U.N. consent. It is also doubtful that he would accept the role of a stalking horse for Mrs. Clinton, who made it clear that she intended to remain a senator from New York. But most of the talking heads speculate differently.  

Max Alfert 

Albany 

• 

A LOT OF DREAMS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In the movie “Field of Dreams” the hero hears a voice which says: “Build it, and they shall come!”. He was building a baseball field, his own field of dreams. The Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD), along with the Berkeley City Council have their own version of this movie in which they take that field of dreams and create a parking lot! The plot thickens as the Berkeley Adult School is ripped from its present home (against that neighborhood’s wishes), and stuffed into the Franklin Elementary School Site. Dragged along are 1,200 car-driving students.  

The first of many miracles now occurs when the BUSD’s “Field of Parked Cars” is found to have more than enough parking spaces for all the students and faculty.  

The second miracle unveils itself when there is absolutely no impact on pedestrian safety, noise or gridlock in and around the neighborhood. 

Later, the hero faces the BUSD and in a passionate plea states: “Your plans fly in the face of Berkeley’s Measure L (1986) in which the city promises to jealously protect all existing open spaces and aggressively create more whenever possible!” 

“We have decided,” answers BUSD, “That open space is not all that it’s cracked up to be, and besides, we answer to a higher authority!” 

“God?” asks the hero? 

“No,” retorts BUSD, “The state!”  

Saul Grabia 

• 

SATIATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Food, politics and much humor. Marty Schiffenbauer’s article (“Four Menus Offer Diners ‘Selective Satiation,’” Daily Planet, Sept. 26-29) was a gem. How clever of the editors to run this just before the “How Berkeley Can You Be?” parade. Keep up the good work. The Daily Planet is terrific. 

Burl Willes  

• 

ARNOLD AND CRONIES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Arnold Schwarzenegger claims to care about the environment yet he accepted $100,000 from Yellowstone Development, a Montana-based company which is facing fines from the Environmental Protection Agency. By the way, why does he drive a Hummer? 

Californians, if Schwarzenegger becomes governor can Bush and his oil drilling cronies be far behind to destroy our beautiful coastline? 

I used to be opposed to illegal immigrants obtaining driver’s licenses. After hearing Republican Peter Uberroth’s pro-license argument I realized that there is a significant safety issue involved. Illegal immigrants are here in California—they mow our lawns, they pick our food, they take care of our children, they wash our dishes and they drive. Wouldn’t you feel safer knowing that these drivers were licensed and many would probably have insurance? 

Karen Green 

Alameda 

• 

FRED LUPKE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Fred Lupke is someone I considered a friend, though we were not close. I myself am a wheelchair user who does water therapy at the Berkeley High Warm Poll. I attended several meetings of the Warm Pool Committee, organized and led by Fred. This committee advocates for preservation and improvements of Berkeley High’s marvelous Warm Pool for senior and people with disabilities, including disabled high school students. Also, I often chatted with Fred at the Warm Pool, and chance meetings elsewhere. 

I was always impressed with Fred’s grasp of all the issues affecting the Warm Pool—issues of politics, law, educational policy and disability rights. He was on good terms with many city officials who could affect the welfare of the Warm Pool and the people who use it.  

Fred told me his own disability had advanced to the point where he could not use the Warm Pool for his own therapy. His involvement with the pool was skillful activism, and I saw his advocacy for the pool as a substitute gratification for his inability to use it himself. 

My grief over the loss of Fred is increased by my own anxiety over pedestrians in Berkeley. As a wheelchair user, I’m concerned by the way many motorists chisel their way between pedestrians in crosswalks, especially turning from Shattuck into Center Street and Allston Way. When pedestrians move a foot, motorists advance a foot into the path of other pedestrians. 

Also, many motorists speed through crosswalks on the assumption that they will pass before or after the pedestrian does. The California Drivers’ Manual clearly states it’s illegal for motorists to enter crosswalks at all when pedestrians have the right of way. Why don’t the Berkeley Police cite these outlaw drivers? 

Tom Ross 

Oakland 

• 

BOGUS SURVEY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Lies, damn lies, and then there are statistics. 

I was a participant in the Berkeley City Survey (“City Bond Measure Survey Raises Electoral Questions,” Daily Planet, Sept. 30-Oct. 2). If you review the questions asked, you will see that this survey was designed to achieve the results shown in your newspaper. 

For example (paraphrased): Would you be willing to accept fewer fire services (close fire stations) or accept higher taxes? 

Would you accept fewer health services or accept higher taxes? 

Would higher taxes be acceptable if they were only on other (i.e. “rich”) people? 

There were a large number of questions asking about how you would prefer your taxes and fees to be raised. 

What they didn’t ask were the following kinds of questions: 

Do you feel that the city could provide the same level of services at the current tax levels if they were more efficient? 

How do you feel about the fact that Berkeley has approximately two times the number of employees as Hayward but has a lower population? 

Garbage in, garbage out. Guaranteed results. 

David Sudikoff 

• 

YOUTH VIOLENCE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I want to commend Laura Menard for having the courage and civility to come forward with her letter “Only Shared Values Can End the Violence” (Daily Planet, Sept. 30). As a person who has lived in Central Berkeley for twenty years, I am used to seeing diverse groups of teenagers walking to and from the high school. Over the past 20 years, I have seen very few problems with these groups of teenagers who are mostly just hanging out, who can also be loud and intimidating without realizing it. In February of this year, my illusions of safety were shattered when I was assaulted by a rat pack while walking my puppy. The attack happened following a night high school basketball game, just two blocks from our home. I am a white male in my late 40’s, and was physically assaulted and asked for my money by a group of African American teens. The rat pack may have been from Oakland, as I did not recognize any of them as BHS students.  

Realizing I was being robbed and mugged, and that I was grossly outnumbered, I first tried to outrun the group. However, several of the group were on small bicycles, and were able to ride ahead and cut me off. Realizing they were more interested in hurting me to show off than robbing me, I assumed they were unarmed, but still very dangerous. I had no choice but to resist as best I could, and did not surrender my wallet. Because of my physical stature, I escaped further injury by fighting back and was able to run off when I had the advantage. At the time of the attack there were witnesses, (also teenagers) who were asked by the police if they saw anything. According to the officer, one of them said “The white guy looked real scared,” but when asked why they didn’t call the police their response was “I don’t know.” The apparent apathy about contacting authorities creates an atmosphere where this sort of thing can occur. 

Although I was physically hurt I was also verbally abused, using racial slurs while I was being punched. Fortunately, I only suffered a black eye and a few cuts and bruises. But I also suffered the loss of some of my trust in human nature, and to some extent, my belief in the value of living in a racially diverse community. At this point I was so devastated that I was ready to give up on living in Berkeley after 20, and move to the suburbs. Since the attacks, I have adjusted to the reality that racially motivated violence is a reality in our little “utopia.” After reporting it to the police I was told that there were seven such attacks near the campus that week alone.  

Recently (Sept. 10), the San Francisco Chronicle reported an attach by a group of African American teens on a man in Oakland who fought back and was able to chase and identify seven of his nine attackers. The article points to a pattern of such attacks in the vicinity of Oakland Technical High School, as well as the ongoing attacks near the southside of the campus. It also sheds light on the mob psychology of such attacks, something which we must acknowledge and understand better if we are to ever overcome this behavior in our community. 

As a victim I have also since tried to forgive my attackers, which relieves some of the hurt and anger that has resulted. It is easy to see from this experience, how anger and fear feed off of each other, like a cancer both in the victim and in the attackers. While passivism, and spirituality will help to reverse the anger and fear, and can heal the psyche, it will not stop the situation from happening again.  

One thing we can do is to be vigilant and more aware of our environment, especially at night. Avoid walking alone, and avoid groups of young men at night. Please report any suspicious activities and roving gangs to the police departments so that they can perform their sworn duty to protect our civil rights and preserve our safety. 

Name withheld by request 

• 

BEWARE OCT. 7 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Many counties have adopted computerized voting systems to decrease voter error. Unfortunately, voter error may increase due to system limitations and voter behavior. 

Having voted early, I witnessed several problems with the Diebold touch screen system adopted by 13 California counties. 

• Once you start voting you cannot return to the instructions screen. Although you can ask poll workers if you have a question, some voters may opt not to do this and submit unintended votes. Read the instructions you receive in the mail and bring them with you to the polling place. 

• With 135 gubernatorial candidates, it’s easy to press the wrong selection. If you do so, you must press this selection again before you can select another option. Although this procedure is covered in the instructions, some voters will not comprehend this and have difficulty submitting their intended choice. 

• You can vote no on the recall and still vote for a gubernatorial candidate. This is not addressed in the instructions screen. Apparently, some voters are still confused about this, perhaps, because it seems counter intuitive. 

It is ironic that computerized systems may result in more voter error than the systems they replaced. Such error will be difficult to detect because there is no paper trail to validate votes. The state has been investigating the vulnerability of these systems from a technological perspective. The government also needs to research ways to minimize human errors which are likely to occur in the aged and groups with low reading or computer literacy. 

• Counties which use the Diebold Accu-vote ES-2000 touch screen voting system include Alameda, Fresno, Humboldt, Lassen, Marin, Modoc, Placer, Plumas, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Siskiyou, Trinity, and Tulare. I do not know whether the limitations described above pertain to all counties using this voting system. 

Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D. 

Oakland 

• 

SCHOOL SWAP 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I want to thank Matthew Artz for his accurate reporting of the issues surrounding the lawsuit filed against the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) by the Friends of Franklin (FOF). 

As a party in this suit, I feel that it is important to state that this action was undertaken solely as a last resort, in order to protect the quality and character of the neighborhood surrounding the Franklin School site. It is not in any way meant to be retaliatory, vindictive, or punative. 

Neighbors of both the Franklin School and West Campus (the current location of Berkeley Adult School) have engaged in dialogue with BUSD for many months. These meetings, while initially encouraging, have now resulted in feelings of mistrust, frustration, and disillusionment with the school district and its staff. It is our contention that the district has inadequately addressed our concerns regarding the likely environmental impacts of this project, and have thereby violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In addition, they have failed to connect the relocation of the Adult School to other foreseeable and related projects, also a violation of CEQA. 

We, the FOF, believe that it is possible to protect the integrity of our neighborhood and the interests of the Adult School students and faculty, if all concerned parties engage in honest and meaningful communication. That it takes a lawsuit to accomplish this is indeed unfortunate. 

When all is said and done, not just the Franklin neighbors, but all of the people of Berkeley will have to live with the outcome of the district’s decisions regarding the use of its properties and facilities. The FOF would like to ensure that due process is adhered to with regard to such decisions, and the district be held accountable for its actions. 

If, in this case, a court decides that due process has been circumvented and project funds are compromises as a result, that indeed would be a terrible waste. However, the school district chose to condone this move in opposition to overwhelming neighborhood sentiment, which asked for the final decision to be postponed in order to better evaluate the entire plan. The district then will have to look no further than itself and its representatives for a reason as to why that outcome came to pass.  

Carrie Adams 

• 

PAMPHLET-BRAINED 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

While ISM member Jim Harris characterizes my letter condemning the Berkeley City Council’s call for an investigation of Rachel Corrie’s death as a “diatribe,” it’s telling that neither he nor fellow critic Gray Brechin respond to the substance of my commentary. 

As reflected in Mother Jones’ current issue, I noted that the ISM was kicked out of its shared office space by the International Red Cross in Jenin for hiding an 

Islamic Jihad soon thereafter arrested for plotting four homicide bombings. No response on this from Mr. Harris. Moreover, Harris made no mention of the subsequent distancing of NGO’s from his organization after they “socialized” with two Pakistanis of British citizenry who shortly thereafter blew themselves and a dozen innocent Israeli citizens up. 

At least Mr. Harris, despite his calls for “human rights,” didn’t deny what Joshua Hammer found when he investigated the ISM for his Mother Jones piece: that 

a good number of ISM members “embrace” Palestinian homicide bombers as freedom fighters. Were he being truthful, this is something Mr. Harris could hardly deny and therefore, he didn’t.  

And neither Mr. Harris nor Mr. Brechin deny that the ISM sent photos to Reuters of Rachel Corrie, saying that they were taken just prior to her death when in 

reality they were taken several hours before, thereby alienating much of the international press. They can’t pretend the ISM tried to lie to the world because  

through Reuters, we now know this to be a matter of public record. 

Finally, Harris and Brechin call Rachel Corrie’s death “murder,” despite the fact that the primary witness—a fellow ISM member—says it may well have been an 

accident. 

Of course, like a vocabulary-challenged teenager who absolutely must utter the “F-word,” Mr. Brechin can’t resist tossing in that old Pravda cliché, “Zionist 

imperialism.” Such language will do fine affirming his affinity with ideologues like the ISM, but like Mr. Harris, Brechin’s willingness to eschew facts for slogans confine him and his comrades to the bargain basement of Berkeley’s pamphlet-brained. 

A question for our fine progressive City Council majority: If you are going to take up the case of Rachel Corrie, how could you ignore the fact that 43 Americans have fallen victim to Palestinian suicide bombs? Is that not also worthy of investigation? Why not? It couldn’t be because they were Jews, could it? 

Dan Spitzer 

The 7th Annual Arab Film Festival winds up its Bay Area run in Berkeley Sunday, with screenings and a closing night party at UC Berkeley’s Wheeler Auditorium Film. 

Films slotted for Sunday include “Planet of the Arabs,” “Lord’s Song,” “Souha Surviving Hell,” “Meantime in Beruit,” “Under the Sky of Baghdad,” and “Forget Baghdad.” The closing party will also include a performance by Yuri Lane, a rising beat-box performer from San Francisco who is currently on tour performing his beat-boxed theatrical production, “From Ramallah to Tel Aviv.” 

Event organizer Tariq Elaydi said that this year the festival has tried to open its doors to a wide variety of films, including those of a more artistically experimental nature. The ones that will be screened at Wheeler Auditorium, however, are more political—meant to attract Cal students who organizers know have a history of political involvement. 

Elyadi said he also wanted to provide opportunities for younger people to be exposed to what has become a growing Arab and Arab American film scene. 

“We wanted to bring a whole new generation of people in and introduce them to Arab films, especially here at Berkeley because of its political history,” Elaydi said. 

The night’s closing film, the widely acclaimed “Forget Baghdad,” tells the story of four Jewish Iraqis now living in Israel, documenting their lives as part of a society where even though they belong to the religious majority, they still face discrimination because of their ethnicity. 

In an attempt to examine the “clichés of ‘the Jew’ and ‘the Arab’ in the last hundred years of cinema,” Elaydi says that the film does an excellent job of exposing Israeli prejudice against Arabs, in a very “subtle and convincing” way.  

The festival has grown every year, but Elaydi says it has also faced a number of hardships, and in the post 9/11 era, organizers have had to deal with fear and discrimination targeting Arabs. 

Elyadi said the festival itself hasn’t been scapegoated, but people occasionally have to be escorted out of films for making disruptions, and many festival donors have asked to remain anonymous so their names aren’t associated with any of the films. 

Overall, Elaydi said the festival has been a success, drawing large crowds in San Francisco every night. Berkeley was slow during the first round of films partly because the screenings were held on the day of the USC vs. Cal football game. For closing day, organizers encourage people to turn out to attend what Elaydi promised will be an astonishing lineup, then stay for Yuri Lane’s performance. 

Films will run starting at 2 p.m. and Forget Baghdad screens at 7:15 p.m. The closing party will start after the film, around 10 p.m. 

For more information on the films and times, and to buy tickets, go to www.aff.org.

The conservative legal foundation sponsoring a lawsuit challenging race-based desegregation in Berkeley public schools is now taking aim at the UC Berkeley student government. 

Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF)—at the request of the Berkeley College Republicans—is considering a suit against the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) for using compulsory student fees to fund a campaign against Proposition 54, the Oct. 7 ballot measure that would bar race-based research in California. 

“A lawsuit is a good possibility,” said PLF lawyer Greg Broderick. “Right now we’re looking into it. There’s not a lot of clarity about what happened.” 

Both university and student government officials have been tight-lipped this week as administrators continue to investigate if the Graduate Assembly (GA) and the ASUC violated university rules by earmarking $35,000 in GA funds—some from compulsory student fees—for the “No on 54” campaign operated out of ASUC offices. 

The university is reviewing the legality of its rules prohibiting student governments from funding ballot initiatives with mandatory student fees, as well as investigating if the earmarked funds were actually spent. 

Andrea Irvin, president of the Republicans, said the organization has pursued the lawsuit to send the ASUC a message. “We’re saying this isn’t right. We’re going to hold you accountable for how you use student fees.”  

Broderick said a lawsuit would seek to guarantee a refund for students who opposed the spending and require the ASUC to implement administrative safeguards to prevent future funding of partisan politics.  

He said the PLF would not seek to strip the ASUC of its nonprofit status, which would harm its ability to raise and spend funds. “We’re not interested in destroying the ASUC,” Broderick said. “We just want to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” 

He said that, depending on the evidence, a case could go before a state or a federal judge. The PLF will pursue the case free of charge to the Republicans. 

Broderick said a lawsuit would be predicated on evidence that the ASUC had spent the money allocated by the Graduate Assembly. The “No on 54” campaign bought posters, pins and stickers, but ASUC officials said that money came out of supporter’s pockets, and that the GA funds which were meant to reimburse them had not been tapped. 

The Republicans have sought access to the GA’s financial books, but Irvin said the GA has so far ignored a Freedom of Information request. She added that the Republicans might sue the GA to open their books if they refused a second request. 

GA officials did not return the Planet’s phone calls. 

The PLF filed a public records request with UC Berkeley’s Office of the Chancellor this week, Broderick said, and is awaiting a response. Any lawsuit would be based on UC’s assumption that since the ASUC is an official unit of the university, it must abide by the school’s neutrality clause that prohibits the university or any of its agents from lobbying for ballot measures or campaigns, Broderick said. 

April Labbe of the University of California Student Association (UCSA) said Broderick and university officials are misconstruing the relationship between the ASUC and the university. She said the university regents made the ASUC a unit in 1972 so that ASUC full-time employees could get the same benefits offered to university employees. 

The university, she said, has interpreted the designation strictly in this case, but in its policies has stressed that student government actions did not reflect positions held by the school. 

ASUC officials argue that they are not an arm of the university and insist that a 2000 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed the University of Wisconsin to permit student groups to use compulsory fees to fund campaigns shows that if California did the same it would not be violating any laws, as university officials have claimed. 

UC Berkeley counsel Michael Smith is reviewing the students’ arguments and will report to school administrators by early next week. He said his investigation has been hindered because the briefs offered by the students failed to say if the ASUC had spent any of the money allocated by the GA. 

Smith said he doubted that litigation would be needed to settle any issues between the ASUC and the university. “I hope they can work it out,” he said.

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In reviewing the history of Panoramic Interests’ 1950 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way project I ran a across a curious property transaction. As reported by the County Assessor, 1950 MLK (parcel 057-2060-001) was sold in February 2001 by its long-term owners to Aldar Investments at a transfer price of $2,650,000. Aldar Investments (Avi Nevo, Sole Director) held the property for 14 months, and then sold it on April 30, 2002 to 1950 MLK, LLC (Patrick Kennedy, Agent for Service) at a transfer price of $5,700,000. This represents a gross profit of $3,050,000 on an unknown investment by Mr. Nevo. What is so curious is that this transaction took place not between a rube and a city slicker, but between arguably the two most astute developers in Berkeley.  

This transaction has increased the land-cost basis of a project at 1950 MLK from $13,750 to $28,500 per unit (assuming 200 units). While this increase may in fact reflect a true doubling of land values along University Avenue over a 14 month period, it is also important to remember that land-cost is one of the major drivers of increases in density for affordable housing projects. Unlike in our world, where a homeowner, landlord, or developer who overpays for land is forced to eat their mistake, a developer of affordable housing project who overpays becomes eligible for additional ‘concessions’ on density and open space to make the project “feasible,” thus transferring the consequences of their bad judgment to the public at large, and the neighborhood in particular. 

We have all heard of “virtuous circles,” where positive change reinforces positive change. At first glance this is what we have here, a circle where land value drives increased density, which in turn increases land value, ad infinitum. Unfortunately I fear that what we really have is a development death spiral where Berkeley’s quality of life increases housing demand, which drives increased development and density, which will inevitably destroy our quality of life. Will the people of Berkeley let developers continue to build their over-sized mixed-use buildings until only those who can tolerate the traffic, noise, and lack of community along Berkeley’s transit corridors will be willing to live and shop here? 

When Mr. Kennedy’s project moves beyond the planning stage the city will be given the details of this transaction if he requests anything beyond the mandated 25 percent density bonus and a single zoning concession. I look forward to the city’s review of this transaction so they can assure the public that it was not an attempt to inflate the land-cost basis of this project, and that Mr. Nevo has no continuing interest in this project or any of Mr. Kennedy’s projects. 

Stephen Wollmer

The union representing the 10,000 teaching assistants, readers and tutors of the University of California system announced late Thursday that they would stage a one-day walkout Friday to protest what they called unfair labor practices at the school. 

United Auto Workers Local 2865 and the university began negotiations in March, the union said, and in the intervening months the local has filed 64 unfair labor practice charges alleging that the university has been bargaining in bad faith. 

The action comes only two days after Robert Dynes was installed as the new UC President. Local 2865 President Dan Lawson said “I hope it’s not a sign of things to come.” 

The union claims that UC caused talks to break down when the UAW contract expired on Sept. 30 by attempting demand that the UAW local abandon any right to support lawful picket lines thrown up by other UC unions. 

“ It is unacceptable to single out the UAW and treat us differently,” said Rajan Mehta, a UAW Bargaining Team member from UC Berkeley. “Moreover, if the UC administration truly wants to stop sympathy strikes, it should stop its unlawful and uncooperative labor relations practices that give rise to primary strikes.”

When Lucie Buchbinder brought the Bread Project to town last April, she joined the ranks of food visionaries who’ve made Berkeley famous for culinary innovation infused with a passion for justice. 

Like Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse and Edible Schoolyard and Frances Moore Lappe’s “Diet for a Small Planet,” the Bread Project is dedicated to the deceptively simple idea that food should be good. It should taste good. It should look good. It should be good for you. And it should be good for other people—namely, those who grow and prepare it.  

Honoring all these goals, the Bread Project is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help people escape poverty by teaching them not only a trade—baking—that will lead to a career but also the skills that will help them find and keep a job. The program operates in two venues—the San Francisco Baking Institute in South San Francisco and the Berkeley Adult School. 

Just a year-and-a-half-old, the Bread Project has received awards from Alameda County Social Services for innovation in sustainability and from Sustainable San Mateo County for contributing to the social sustainability of San Francisco County, along with Supervisorial, State, and Congressional commendations.  

Buchbinder, the project’s co-founder and executive director, talked about the project against a background of industrial-strength kitchen clatter and bustle in the Berkeley Adult School cafeteria.  

“The Bread Project got started,” says Buchbinder, “when my friend Susan Phillips and I, who were both involved in the development and management of subsidized housing, realized that our tenants needed jobs, and that most of them lacked training….We did some research and discovered that baking was a rapidly growing activity in the Bay Area. All these artisan breads were suddenly becoming popular, and supermarkets were building in-house bakeries.” 

Baking suited the needs of their prospective students. 

“You don’t need to speak perfect English; you don’t need an academic background—you don’t need to have a high school education even; you don’t have to have great skills to begin. All you have to have is a real interest in food,” Buchbinder said.  

The Bread Project opened its doors in South San Francisco in January 2001 and in Berkeley in April 2003. The program has an annual budget of $240,000--$180,000 in South San Francisco and $60,000 a year in Berkeley—less here because the school district pays the teachers’ salaries and provides the kitchen, utilities and telephones at no charge. 

Financial support has come from individual donors, foundations, corporations and private and public agencies, including Alameda County Social Services, Oakland Youth Employment Partnership, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, Wells Fargo, the Cisco Foundation, and the Walter & Elise Haas Foundation. 

The course is free to the students. Project director Buchbinder is a full-time volunteer. She and Assistant Director Lily Divito work out of a tiny room off the Adult School kitchen lined with racks of baking supplies.  

A visitor to the Bread Project finds the Adult School’s cavernous cafeteria filled with the sweet smell of freshly baked sticky buns and the kitchen alive with students in long white aprons, measuring and mixing ingredients, setting dough to rise, checking bread in the oven and cleaning up while Charlotte McDuffie stretched hard roll dough over her fingers to see if it had risen enough to go into the oven. 

She was “looking for the gluten window.” “If I can see my fingers, and it looks nice and silky without tearing, it’s ready”—as, she decided, this batch was.  

Around the corner, head teacher Betsy Riehle was conferring with another student over one of the kitchen’s giant Hobart mixers. “Every mistake you’ve made,” she told him, “I’ve made already.” 

In this case, the error was having set the mixer at too high a speed. Riehle described how early in her career, she had once done the same thing and ended up covered with sugar.  

Riehle is the bakery manager at the Fat Apple shops in Berkeley and El Cerrito. During a break she talked of the challenges of teaching at the Bread Project. 

“People have this image of baking from the Food Channel,” she said, “that it’s snazzy and fun and a lot of glory. And the reality is it’s hard work and a lot of repetition. A few people are famous and everybody else is just slugging it out day to day. I like that aspect; I have no desire to be famous. I stress that a lot in my class. I think there’s a dawning realization as the class proceeds that it’s not quite how they imagined it. Some of them love it even more, and some of them don’t like that direction.”  

Riehle learned her trade at the Dunwoodie Institute in Minneapolis, recently closed, but, she said, for fifty years the top school for American retail baking.  

“When I went to school I was very fortunate to have terrific instructors. I feel as if I’m maybe giving something back to the profession.” And she feels lucky to be returning the favor at the Bread Project. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for these people. A lot of them have very difficult situations. They have child care issues, it’s difficult for them to have money for bus fare to get here.” 

What drives them, she says, is that “a lot of them want to get a new start in their life.”  

In Berkeley about half the students are recruited at the Adult School through the project’s flyers and its baked goods. Others learn about the course through the Community Re-Entry Program of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office or the Alameda County Housing Authority. 

“We do outreach to homeless shelters,” says Buchbinder, “and to the one-stop centers for the unemployed such as CalWorks.” The students include people in recovery programs, incarcerated individuals on work furlough, people who are getting off welfare, immigrants and dislocated workers.  

One requirement for admission is a minimal command of English; students must be able to read the recipes and follow what a teacher says. Applicants must also be drug- and alcohol-free, without prior back injury and able to lift fifty pounds. 

School begins at 8 a.m. with a one-hour class, followed by baking for the rest of the day. 

“They have to be able to stay on their feet eight hours a day with just two breaks and a lunch hour,” explains Buchbinder, “because that’s what they’re going to face on the job.”  

They also have to be punctual. “They get dinged if they’re not on time.” Given these demands, I imagined that most of the students would be younger people. Not so. “We have students from 18 to 76,” Buchbinder told me. “And we have quite a few students in their 50s who’ve been laid off from Silicon Valley or who are recent immigrants and who want jobs.”  

Just as important as the culinary lessons is the education in life skills and job readiness. Bread Project students learn about where bakers work (it’s not just in the artisan bakeries dear to many Berkeley residents.) Says Buchbinder, “There are 25 different places where bakers can be employed, many places they wouldn’t think of looking, including airports, airlines, shipping lines, yachts, personal staffs, culinary temporary agencies, school districts, hospitals, prisons, jails.”  

They also learn how to get a job. Before the end of the class, each student must fill out perfect applications for bakery jobs at Safeway, COSTCO and Whole Foods--places where most of them can get hired with good entry-level benefits. 

“They learn about what to look for,” says Buchbinder. “It isn’t just the wages; it’s the benefits you get with them. We always have a representative from the Bakery Union. And for those that want to start their own little businesses, we have outside speakers coming from the Oakland Business Development Corporation. And we have someone from the Alameda County Housing Authority’s Self-Sufficiency program to talk about career development.”  

Applicants must be willing and able to accept employment in the food industry upon graduation. They must also be prepared to cooperate with program staff in a one-year follow-up of their employment careers. So far, over 100 very low-income men and women have been served. To date, 96 percent of those enrolled have graduated, 78 percent have found jobs, and a year after graduating 61 percent are still working.  

These numbers will grow, if Lucie Buchbinder has her way. She’d like to open a third Bread Project venue in the East Bay. 

“There’s such a need in East Oakland and in Richmond for this kind of program,” she says. She’d also like to start a café-bakery where her students can get internships and employment.  

On Saturday, Oct. 4, a High Tea to benefit the Bread Project will be held at 12 El Sueno in Orinda from 3-5 p.m. For more information, call 644-4575.  

The aptly named Killer Tomatoes, a Bay Area advocacy/watchgroup, will take to the streets Friday to protest the appearance of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman at the City Club in Berkeley, where UC Berkeley’s Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy will honor her as the 2003 Alumnus of the year. 

Tomato member Mary Bull said she finds Veneman’s honor quite ironic, since she represents what Bull calls the most important flaw in American public policy: Corporate influence. 

Before her appointment to the Bush cabinet, Veneman was a member of the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council, which Bull said is funded by food and agribusiness giants Cargill, Nestle, Kraft, and Archer Daniels Midland. She was also a director of Calgene, a subsidiary of Monsanto, one of the leading developers of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs).  

Calgene, coincidentally, is the company who developed the ill-fated frost-resistant Flavr-Savr tomato made from spliced fish and tomato genes that the killer tomatoes took their name from. 

“It’s so ironic that they would honor her with a public policy award, when she used to serve all these multinational corporations,” said Bull. 

The Killer Tomatoes say the international food production and processing conglomerates Veneman formerly represented are responsible for a host of problems including promotion of free trade agreements such as NAFTA and GATT which they say are destroying regional economies and the global environment. 

“If the U.S. cannot continue to strong arm the Third World into opening their fields, and Europe into opening their markets, companies like Monsanto are going to lose their shirts,” said Bull. “We’ve sold out souls, and we want to say ‘wake up America.’ The Killer Tomatoes are out to loosen the stranglehold.” 

The event starts at 6 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. and the group promises that all attendees are in for a show which will include free cherry “killer tomatoes” and possibly “Killer Bloody Marys,” made from GMO tomatoes. 

For more information on the Killer Tomatoes, 415-509-1188.

Foiled Robbery 

An alert AC Transit bus driver prevented a burglar from stealing a $7,000 plasma television from a stereo store on the 900 block of University Avenue. 

According to police, the bus driver spotted the burglar inside the well-lit, closed store at 8:51 p.m. Saturday while he was driving his route. He called Berkeley Police, who surrounded the store only to find that the robber had fled from the premises—leaving the television behind. Police said the robber had entered the store by breaking through sheet rock and a window. They hope to use store surveillance film to identify the culprit. 

Police Chase 

A man driving with his lights off led police on a chase before he crashed into a parked car. According to police, an officer spotted the motorist at 3:55 a.m. Wednesday morning. When the officer signaled for the driver to pull over, he tried to flee and the officer pursued him to Harrison and Mable Streets, where the he fled the moving car and took off on foot. The officer parked his cruiser, then chased and apprehended the suspect, whose vehicle had crashed into a parked car. Police arrested Onyea Nwaonumah, 19, of Berkeley for resisting arrest, evading a police officer, driving without lights, driving without a license and violating probation. 

Purse Snatch 

A thief on a bicycle yanked a woman’s pocket book off her shoulder, and made off with several hundred dollars, police said. The woman was walking on Center Street between Milvia Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way at 2:33 p.m. Wednesday when the robber cycled beside her and grabbed her pocket book. She chased after him towards Milvia briefly, but then turned around and ran into the Police Station at MLK and Center. Police have not found the robber. 

Police Seek Witness 

Police are trying to find two men who robbed a woman at gunpoint and are urging a key witness to step forward with information. According to police, two men approached a woman at the intersection of Woolsey and Tremont Streets Saturday, Sept. 13. One pulled out a handgun and demanded her purse. The woman complied and the two men fled. 

Police say a woman carrying a guitar and riding her bike saw what happened and aided the victim, but didn’t stay around long enough to give police an account of what she saw. Police urge her to contact them with any information at 981-5742. Refer to case #03-52706.

Crews from the University of California were scheduled to cut down a grove of nearly 12 acres of eucalyptus trees at the head of Claremont Canyon Friday in a move campus officials said is designed to prevent wildfires in the hills. 

According to UC spokesperson Carol Hyman, the grove that occupies a low saddle on the slope of the East Bay Hills is a serious fire danger because it sits in a natural funnel that directs hot easterly Diablo winds down through dense chaparral in Claremont Canyon. 

The university planned the cutdown as part of its effort to reduce fire danger in the canyon and make the UC property safer and more attractive. 

The deforestration is being carried out in cooperation with East Bay Regional Parks, East Bay MUD and the City of Oakland in a collaborative effort to reduce the danger of wildfires. 

The work site for the project is the intersection of Claremont and Grizzly Peak boulevards. 

Hyman said the area being cut has been the site of several recent suspicious fires.

The Chief Financial Officer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was placed on administrative leave last week after a routine audit uncovered faulty bookkeeping practices. 

Lab officials said the mistakes are purely unintentional and that there is no evidence of fraud. 

The move heightens concerns about the operation of national laboratories run by the University of California in Berkeley, Livermore and Los Alamos, New Mexico. 

Last November scandal erupted at Los Alamos National Laboratory after investigators found that computers had been stolen and two building managers had billed thousands of dollars in hunting and camping equipment to the lab. Eighteen lab officials including the director were fired in the aftermath of the scandal. 

Berkeley Lab spokesperson Reid Edwards said any errors uncovered in the audit performed by Pricewaterhouse Cooper were “nowhere near the magnitude” of Los Alamos. 

“Our bookkeeping practices made it impossible for the auditors to finish the audit,” he said. Among the mistakes, Edwards added, lab accountants charged expenses to the wrong accounts.  

The errors were grave enough to convince UC officials to place lab Chief Financial Officer William A. Wasson on administrative leave while the university continues to inspect lab accounting procedures. Wasson, who Edwards said had been with the lab for a few years, faces a range of possible penalties from dismissal or suspension to a letter of concern. 

UC enlisted Livermore Laboratory Deputy Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Fernandez to sort out the accounting discrepancies and prepare the lab audit, which has still not been completed. 

“One of the nice things about managing three laboratories is that we can call on somebody when we see they can clearly help us,” said UC spokesperson Chris Harrington.

The National Labor Relations Board announced it will hold a January hearing to determine if Berkeley-based non-profit Building Opportunities for Self-sufficiency (BOSS) violated labor laws when it imposed higher health care costs on their unionized work force. 

The California Professional Employees Union, Local 2345 filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the NLRB in July, charging that BOSS illegally increased charges workers pay for health care after the labor contract expired. Should the NLRB rule in favor of the union after a January hearing, BOSS would have to restore benefits to their previous level. 

When the union’s three-year contract ended in July, BOSS, claiming financial hardship, changed health plans, raising employee doctor’s visit copayments from $0 to $15 and prescription drug copayments from $5 to $10. 

“The percentage increase over the previous plan is astronomical,” said union spokesperson Chris Graeber. 

BOSS Executive Director boona cheema said she had alerted the union that health costs would rise and that decreases in funding would force BOSS to tighten its belt. 

Graeber said the union rank-and-file would consider the latest BOSS contract proposal next week, but that union leadership had recommended rejecting the offer, which he said offered no pay raise. The previous labor contract that expired in July granted workers three percent annual raises over three years. 

cheema warned a ruling in favor of the union could have drastic repercussions for the nonprofit. “I’ll have to shut down many of the programs and lay off many people,” she said.

A wing of the Franklin Preschool, which burned in a suspected arson last month, will need to be demolished, said Lew Jones, director of facilities for the Berkeley Unified School District. 

The fire gutted two of the school’s five classrooms, but nearly all of the approximately 125 students were back at the school within a week, filling up the three remaining classrooms and a portable classroom that was pressed into service. 

The preschool is not located at the same site as the Franklin Elementary School. 

Jones said he was working with a hazardous materials specialist to make sure that demolishing the building would not release harmful chemicals into the air, and that he hoped to have the ruins gone “sooner rather than later.” 

After meeting with the district’s insurers this week to begin discussions on determining the cost for a new wing to the school, Jones said any part of the replacement costs that exceed the insurance estimate would be covered by Measure AA, which earmarks money to pay for rehabilitating school buildings.  

Jones didn’t expect a new wing to be completed for a couple of years. 

District Spokesperson Mark Coplan said the federal Head Start program has loaned Franklin students paper, paint, pencils, chairs and tables to replace items lost in the fire, and Oakland-based Link to Children has offered counseling to comfort grieving students. 

Police are still investigating the fire, which was set Saturday, Sept. 13., when someone jumped the school fence and lit combustibles—possibly paper—outside the wooden north wing.

NEW ORLEANS—All my friends are so pleased these days that the state of California is out-circusing Louisiana. “Louisiana politics ain’t so bad,” they say. “Look at Arnold.” That’s when I remind them of just what a sideshow our traditional political circus can be. Or a veritable zoo, even. 

I should know. Arnold Schwarzenegger may look and sometimes act like a gorilla, but it’s my father, Rodney Fertel, “The Gorilla Man,” who ran for mayor of New Orleans in 1969 on the platform that the Audubon Zoo needed a gorilla. 

My father’s family made most of its money in real estate, so he was in a position to play when he wanted to. And for the people of New Orleans, his sense of fun was his primary political asset. To them, a man who campaigned in a safari outfit, even sometimes in a complete gorilla suit, was sending up the clowns who ran the Third World banana republic that was their home. 

His campaign manager was named Black Cat Lacombe, a local racetrack promoter straight out of a Damon Runyon story. Allen LaCombe was called the Black Cat, he was happy to tell you, because he lost at everything. Legend has it that during a stint as a newspaper handicapper he selected nine winners one day in his column, then bet against each one of them. 

When he wasn’t promoting horseflesh, the Black Cat was promoting himself, always in it for laughs, a perennial candidate for whatever office was up for grabs. When he ran for governor in 1959, the Black Cat was invited to a dinner honoring Robert F. Kennedy, who was stumping for his brother JFK. Sitting at the head table with Kennedy and the other bigwigs, the Black Cat sported on his rented tuxedo a campaign button the size of a saucer that read, “Use Your Dome, Vote LaCombe.” 

It was because of this campaign against incumbent Gov. Earl Long in 1959 that A.J. Liebling came to immortalize the Black Cat in his masterpiece about Louisiana politics, “The Earl of Louisiana.” Leibling records the following exchange, overheard at a local bookie joint conducted in what we call here an Irish Channel brogue that sounds pretty much like Brooklynese: 

“A customer came over from the bar and said to the Black Cat, ‘I’m going to vote for you, governor; you’re better than them other sonsabitches, anyway.’ 

“‘What precinct you vote in?’ the candidate asked and, after the man told him, said, ‘Well I’m going to look at the returns Sunday, and if I don’t have one vote in that precinct I’ll know you’re a lying sonofabitch.’” 

The Black Cat didn’t make it to the governor’s office. Uncle Earl won the campaign, but then lost the war. Soon after returning to the governor’s mansion, his wife had him put in the state insane asylum. She tired of his publicly gallivanting with Bourbon Street stripper Blaze Starr. Of course in California, Blaze might be running for governor herself. 

In the next election, the Black Cat lowered his aim and ran for New Orleans mayor. This time he claimed he was qualified to serve the Crescent City because he “nearly went to high school.” He got 129 votes, which makes my father’s 308 votes a decade later look like a landslide. 

A perennial loser like the Black Cat is probably the last man you’d choose to run your campaign—unless your goal, like my father’s, was political surrealism rather than the mayor’s office. 

The culinary center ring of this political big-top was run by my father’s long-divorced wife and my mother, Ruth Fertel. Her New Orleans restaurant, the original Ruth’s Chris Steak House, has for decades been the place of choice for red-meat politics. The day before votes are cast, it’s a hotbed of deal-making and handicapping. The day after, it’s payback time, with winners eating steak and losers, red beans and rice, cooked for many years by my mother’s hand and sold for the price of a steak. 

Polling 308 votes, Dad was one of the red-beans guys. But he won a mock election at the University of New Orleans. Kids know a good joke on their elders when they see one. It was the 1960s, and maybe this was some more of that street theater they’d seen on the six o’clock news. Maybe the Gorilla Man was related to Abbie Hoffman, that other latter-day surrealist. You know: “Steal This Campaign.” 

Gorilla Man the thing Dad was proudest of is that after his landslide he went out and found not one, but two baby lowland gorillas for sale. He brought them back to the zoo, where they were a popular attraction for years. 

Dad named them Red Beans and Rice. And then he announced that he was the only candidate in history who had kept all his campaign promises even though he’d lost. 

So far, California’s gubernatorial hopefuls, however entertaining they may be, have shown little indication of proving so generous. 

PNS contributor Randy Fertel teaches English Literature at Tulane University. He is working on a memoir about his parents and New Orleans.

As someone who organized Chinese Americans to protest the treatment of Wen Ho Lee—the Los Alamos scientist accused of spying and who was later exonerated—I already see parallel patterns emerging in the arrest of Capt. James J. Yee, a Muslim U.S. Army chaplain at Guantanamo Naval Base. 

The first similarity is the treatment of both men’s families. Yee’s surprise arrest by the FBI at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., reportedly on charges of espionage, left his wife completely in the dark. Whoda Yee waited, “extremely worried,” for hours at the Seattle-Tacoma airport, and didn’t learn of her husband’s fate until a few days later. She has yet to speak with him. 

Wen Ho Lee and his relatives, friends, and colleagues across the country were kept in the dark for nine months as they endured an intimidating FBI investigation prior to Lee’s indictment on Dec. 10, 1999. Then, for nine more months, Lee was kept in solitary confinement in a federal detention facility in Santa Fe, N.M. Such inhumane and unconstitutional treatment is inexcusable. 

Second, the order to arrest Capt. Yee, according to the Washington Times, came from “the highest levels” of our government. That suggests a well-planned and calculated move on the part of the government to control and shape public perception of the case. In Lee’s case, the decision to indict him was made at a White House meeting that included National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, Attorney General Janet Reno, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, CIA Director George Tenant and FBI Director Louis Freeh, among others. Exactly who participated in the decision to arrest Capt. Yee remains unknown. 

Third, as in the Wen Ho Lee case, the government has chosen to prosecute Yee first through the nation’s news media, primarily through leaks. As with Dr. Lee, government sources leaked the story to a newspaper—this time, the extremely conservative and administration-friendly Washington Times. 

The timing of the leak appears to be strategic. Anti-Muslim sentiment still runs high since Sept. 11, 2001, and the Bush administration recently launched a high-profile campaign against China, which it blames for the loss of nearly 3 million jobs since Bush assumed the presidency (China’s undervalued currency is held responsible). 

Yee is both Chinese American and a Muslim. The cases of Yee and two other arrested Americans who worked at Guantanamo provide a clever diversion calculated to heighten Americans’ sense of vulnerability and further incite anti-Muslim and anti-Chinese sentiment at a time when many Americans and lawmakers in Congress are beginning to question Bush’s costly military occupation of Iraq. 

Capt. Yee was caught with “classified documents that may have included sketches or diagrams of Guantanamo’s high security prison Camp Delta, along with lists of detainees and their interrogators,” according to WABC reporter Cheryl Fiandaca and the Washington Times. But the true nature and contents of these “classified documents” has yet to be disclosed. 

During the Wen Ho Lee case, anonymous government sources went so far as to say that Lee had in his possession the “crown jewel” of the American nuclear arsenal, information that, if shared with America’s enemies, risked the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans. FBI agents later apologized in court for making such false statements to the media and to the court. 

So far, most media, perhaps having learned a lesson from the Wen Ho Lee case, are being more cautious. Capt. Yee has been described as a loyal American, a devout Muslim and a caring family man. 

We do not yet know precisely what Yee did or did not do in Guantanomo, or whether he did or was asked to do anything beyond his authorized religious duties. Nor do we know if he had uncovered unauthorized or even illegal information or activities at Guantanamo Bay. Either scenario could precipitate the harsh treatment he has been subjected to since Sept. 10. 

All Americans, however, are entitled to the rights guaranteed by the U.S. constitution. Instead of engaging in prejudicial leaks, the government should disclose precisely its charges against Capt. Yee. 

The Yee leaks are just as bad as the disclosure of the identity of the CIA officer whose husband is former U.S. ambassador Joseph Wilson. Capt. Yee should be given competent legal representation, including civilian lawyers, throughout the investigation and trial. 

Politicians, especially Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, must stop their political grandstanding. Some are acting as if Capt. Yee has already been tried and pronounced guilty, when in fact he has yet to be charged with any violation of civil, criminal or military law. 

Wen Ho Lee was subjected to similar partisan political lynching for two years. He was unjustly smeared by FBI leaks and unproven allegations, and subjected to cruel and unusual punishment without a trial. His case ended with all serious charges against him being dropped and a rare apology from the court. Because Capt. Yee is both a Chinese American and a Muslim American, we need to be vigilant in defending his rights. Like all Americans, he must be considered innocent until proven guilty. 

PNS contributor L. Ling-chi Wang is professor of Ethnic and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

California Democrats woke up to a nasty shock this week—the (possibly growing) possibility that Arnold Schwarzenegger could actually become the next governor of this state. In one of the most Democratic-leaning states in the nation, how could this happen? Credit California Republicans with some pretty good generalship. But also note a series of rolling Democratic Party mistakes, compounding exponentially, each one rising upon the last until it seems that only a last minute miracle can save the election.  

Five days from now, if the recall is defeated or if Cruz Bustamante wins the governorship, few newspapers are going to bother to talk about any Democratic Party errors. On the other hand, if Schwarzenegger wins, getting a word in edgewise about “what went wrong for the Demos” will be like trying to merge onto 880 at 5:15 p.m. So me, I’ll get my digs in early. Here are my Four Major Mistakes Why The Recall Got Out Of The Democrats’ Hands (even if the Democrats eventually end up winning by fate or luck): 

Mistake #1: Ignoring Angry Democrats  

During the early days of the recall—first, when the petitions were being circulated and later, when the recall had been certified—Democratic Party leaders portrayed it as part of a Republican plot to steal elections—a plot going back to 2000. That helped to rally hardcore Democrats, true. But it failed to win over that small, solid core California Democrats who were angry with Gray Davis about being the governor of the big donors, and about his actions (or, more properly, his inactions) at the height of the energy crisis. 

So angry, in fact, that they were willing to sign the recall petitions, and vote “yes” on the recall ballot. That core of angry Democrats—10 to 15 percent of the total?—were the sole reason why the recall ever had the chance. If the Democratic Party had a plan to address their concerns, it never showed up during the recall campaign.  

Mistake #2: Dithering At The Beginning 

In the first weeks after the certification of the recall petition, the California Democratic Party accepted the Gray Davis strategy that the way to beat the recall was to keep any Democrat off the ballot. Good for Davis, sure, because it would force Democrats to choose between the unpopular Gray or the evil, election-stealing Republicans. Bad for California Democrats, if they wanted to keep the governorship in Democratic hands. 

Then, when it became increasingly clear that Davis might lose the recall, Democratic leaders spent another couple of fruitless weeks trying to convince Senator Diane Feinstein to enter the race, even though she made it quite clear that she was not interested. By the time Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante got settled on as the Democratic candidate, critical time had been wasted, momentum lost.  

Mistake #3: Missing (Again…See Mistake #1) What The Recall Was All About 

The underlying disaffection about Gray Davis is the perception that he is the governor of big money donors. But the recall was made possible primarily by citizen anger over the budget: How did we go from comfortable surpluses to huge deficits and cuts? 

Like an angry father looking at his pregnant teenage daughter, Californians counted the months back to the energy crisis and saw two possible culprits: the oil companies who juked California out of billions of dollars by manipulating the deregulated energy market, or the governor (Gray Davis) who did practically nothing until our money was well on its way to Texas. 

The Republicans made this an election about Gray Davis. The Democrats should have made it an election about how the Republicans deregulated the energy market, thereby letting big oil rip us off. But to do so, they had to back a candidate who could say, yes, Gray Davis should have done more to get us out of the mess, but it was Pete Wilson Republicanism that got us into that mess in the first place. 

But by dithering around in the beginning of the recall campaign (see Mistake #2), the Democratic Party never coalesced around a candidate (Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi? State Treasurer Phil Angelides? State Attorney General Bill Lockyer?) who might have run such a campaign. Instead, the Democratic Party, by default, got stuck with one of the worst imaginable candidates: Cruz Bustamante, who was a mistake all by his lonesome.  

Mistake #4: Running The Wrong Candidate 

Why was Bustamante such a bad candidate? 

First, he lacked the public passion to put (as General Lee used to say) fire on the Republican hills, which Democrats needed to take the attention away from Gray Davis (think Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan at their best). 

Second, in his various big donor fumbles throughout the campaign, Bustamante reminded Democrats too much of the things about Gray Davis that many Democrats despise. 

Third, and maybe most important, Bustamante was estranged from the one constituency that a California Democrat absolutely needs to win statewide office: African-Americans. 

In late September, Bendixen & Associates conducted a poll that showed Bustamante was the choice of only 17 percent of African-American voters, the most loyal and lockstep of Democrats.  

Five days before the recall, Democrats can still win. But it will have to be in spite of—not because of—its state party’s strategies. This has been a bumble from beginning to almost-end.

Back in 1853, just half a decade after the Gold Rush overran Spanish/Mexican California, American settlers came to the western shore of the future Berkeley and established the little settlement of Ocean View on the fringe of Jose Domingo Peralta’s land grant ranchero. 

In that same year Alameda County was formally created and county officials had the future Berkeley’s first street, the Contra Costa Road—later San Pablo Avenue—surveyed.  

Down in Oakland, the beginnings of the private College of California—later to become part of the University of California—were also being organized in the momentous year of 1853. 

Pull these and other strands of local heritage together and you’ll find the beginnings of Berkeley.  

This fall, there are several free or inexpensive events—lectures, walking tours, classes, exhibits—to help you explore that history, and other aspects of local heritage. 

Ocean View’s 150th Anniversary 

The first week in October starts an ambitious schedule of no less than eight special lectures and events organized by Stephanie Manning and Barbara Gates to celebrate and explain the history of Ocean View. 

Ocean View was founded in 1853 when Captain James Jacobs brought his family to the undeveloped waterfront and built a dock for his freight-shipping sloop at the foot of what is now Delaware Street. 

Nearby that same year another former sea captain, William Bowen, built a small inn and stagecoach stop on the shoreline road, inland from the Jacobs wharf. 

According to Manning, these two establishments marked “the beginning of a new era characterized by large pioneer families and entrepreneurial spirit brought to California by the Gold Rush.”  

Factories, churches, a school, and substantial and modest Victorian homes soon dotted the Bay shore. In 1878, the area became part of the new town of Berkeley. 

The Ocean View events, which begin today and continue weekly through Nov. 20, include lectures, tours, and panel discussions that discuss the environment of the Berkeley area before urban development, the natural history of San Francisco Bay, and the heritage of the native Ohlone who left one of their largest shellmound/settlement sites in Berkeley. 

Also explored are the various ethnic migrations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that shaped the character of Ocean View/West Berkeley, the 1970s neighborhood struggle to save Ocean View from becoming an industrial park, the coming of artists live-work studios, and future planning. 

Scheduled presenters include Professor of Anthropology Kent Lightfoot from UC Berkeley, retired USGS engineer and San Francisco Bay expert Ken LaJoie, local creeks advocate Carole Schemmerling-Selz, naturalist Beverly Ortiz, native Ohlone Lisa Carrier, landscape ecologist and historian Robin Grossinger, and program organizers Manning and Gates. 

Several of the events will be held in historic buildings, including: Workingman’s Hall (used as the first town hall after Berkeley incorporated in 1878); one of Berkeley’s oldest houses of worship, the Church of the Good Shepherd; Spenger’s Fish Grotto; and Finn Hall, one of two community centers built by Berkeley’s large and vigorous Finnish immigrant community in the early 20th century. 

Tickets are $10 per event, or $45 for the series. However, Manning emphasizes that no one will be turned away for lack of money. The lecture series is co-sponsored by the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association and Berkeley Historical Society.  

Berkeley History Class 

Professor Charles Wollenberg of Vista Community College is reprising his “Berkeley: A City in History” course this Fall.  

It “puts the present into a historical perspective,” says Wollenberg. “You begin to understand Berkeley in the context of its past.” 

The one-credit course started Wednesday, Oct. 1, and includes seven Wednesday evening lectures (7-9 p.m.) at the Central Berkeley Library. 

Wollenberg, a Berkeley native, whose family once had Bernard and Annie Maybeck as neighbors, is the author of several books about local and California history.  

Each week there’s a different guest speaker, including publisher and author Malcolm Margolin, Peralta Community College District Trustee Darryl Moore, Bob Schildgren, former editor of the Berkeley Co-op News, and Marty Schiffenbauer, one of the authors of Berkeley’s Rent Control Ordinance. 

Although Vista College policy frowns on regular class attendance by those not formally enrolled, this course is held at Berkeley’s Central Library community room, where the public is welcome at events. Translation: If you want to be a regular at the lectures, it’s best to sign up for the class through Vista; if you want to drop in for a lecture or two, no one is likely to ask you to leave. 

Historical Society Walking Tours 

Two or three times each year, the non-profit Berkeley Historical Society organizes Saturday morning walking tours. The fall schedule is already underway, but you still have time to catch coming attractions. Don’t wait to make reservations, though; one tour is already sold out. 

Tours include a walk through the UC campus highlighting buildings and programs created by and for university women, an unusual tour of the Gilman Street Industrial Area, visiting several old buildings and sites reborn in recent years as a custom woodworking factory, a social services center, and Berkeley’s newly minted Municipal Skate Park and adjacent playing fields.  

Later in October, historian Paul Grunland who has led several tours in the north Berkeley Hills, guides a “Boundary Walk” tour along the 1853 border between Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.  

The tour schedule finishes with a “bonus tour” visiting housing projects recently constructed in downtown Berkeley by Panoramic Interests; participation is limited to those subscribing to at least three of the earlier tours. 

Most (but not all) tours start at 10 a.m. and last approximately two hours, led by volunteer guides. Tours cost $8 each for BHS members, and $10 each for the general public; the number of participants is limited. Information on starting points and other details is available to those making reservations. 

BHS members can purchase “season tickets” for $30; membership is $20 individual, $25 for family.  

Greene & Greene Houses 

“Evening on Piedmont Avenue,” a benefit organized by the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, offers a rare opportunity to explore a magnificent Arts and Craft home. 

The architects Greene & Greene designed better known “ultimate bungalows” in Southern California, but Berkeley has one of their best in the Thorsen House, built in 1909, and now owned and cared for by the Sigma Phi fraternity. 

On the evening of Friday, Oct. 17, you have a chance to see the superb interior of the house, with its intricate hand-crafted wood finishes and stained glass. The event includes a dessert reception at the house and a documentary film about the architects. 

(Steven Finacom is a local resident and historian. He is a volunteer board member of the Berkeley Historical Society and Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, organizational sponsors of some of the events described in this article, and will be a guest speaker at the Vista College Berkeley history course.) 

Friday, Oct. 3: Ocean View anniversary event #1. 7 p.m. at Finn Hall on Tenth Street, north of Hearst. Dr. Kent Lightfoot, anthropologist, and publisher and author Malcolm Margolin, speaking about the natural character and native American life and culture of the area that became Berkeley. $10 at door, $45 for the series. 

Friday, Oct. 10: Ocean View anniversary event #2. 7:30 p.m. at Spenger’s Fish Grotto, the ballroom. Landscape ecologist Robin Grossinger of the San Francisco Estuary Instate and Carole Schemmerling-Selz, talking about Berkeley’s creeks and early natural landscape. $10 at door, $45 for the series. 

Saturday, Oct. 11: BHS walking tour, “Gilman Street Industrial Area”, led by several guides, including Berkeley’s Parks Director Lisa Caronna. 10-12. $10 (discount for members). 

Sunday, Oct. 12, 3-5 p.m.: “Afternoon Tea” at the Berkeley History Center, celebrating Berkeley’s women’s club movement. Talk and slide show by Carol O’Hare, editor of “Jailed for Freedom”, on the movement to bring women the vote. Free, but call (510) 528-3284 for reservations.  

Thursday, Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m.: Ocean View anniversary event #3. Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont. Program by naturalist Beverly Ortiz on Ohlone Indian culture, in a park setting similar to the original character of the wetlands that once lined Berkeley’s shore. $10 at door, $45 for the series. 

Friday, Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m.: “Evening on Piedmont Avenue” at the historic Thorsen House, 2307 Piedmont Avenue (at Bancroft). $35 per 

person, including reception and film documentary on the architects. Make reservations with BAHA. Contact information below. 

Saturday, Oct. 18, 10-12 p.m.: BHS walking tour, “Boundary Walk”, along the northern edge of Berkeley, led by Paul Grunland. $10 (discount for members). 

Saturday, Oct. 25, 10-12 noon: Ocean View anniversary event #4. Meet at Spenger’s Parking Lot, Fourth and Hearst. Walking tour of old Ocean View’s architecture, history, and shellmound site, led by west Berkeley activist and historian Stephanie Manning. $10 for tour, $45 for the series. 

Saturday, Oct. 25, 10-12 noon: “Paths of Northernmost Berkeley”, sponsored by the Berkeley Pathwanderer’s Association. Meet at Ensenada and Portland Avenues. For more details, call Marilyn Siegel 549-2906 & Mardi Mertens 849-1142, or visit the BPWA website at www.berkeleypaths.org. Walk is free. 

Thursday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m.: Ocean View anniversary event #5. Church of the Good Shepherd, Ninth and Hearst. Talk by Barbara Gates, Ocean View resident and author of “Already Home”, a west Berkeley memoir. Remarks by Stephanie Manning and by the historian of the Church, which is one of Berkeley’s oldest houses of worship and was recently restored. $10 at door, $45 for series.  

Saturday, Nov. 1. 10-12 noon: BHS Bonus Tour. “Changing Face of Downtown Berkeley”, tour of housing developments by Panoramic Interests (Free to those who have attended 3 other BHS tours in the Fall series.) 

Saturday, Nov. 1: BHS bonus tour, “Behind the Scenes at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum and the Bancroft Library”. SOLD OUT. 

Thursday, Nov. 6. 7:30 p.m.: Ocean View anniversary event #6. Program on the ethnic migrations that have shaped West Berkeley since the late 19th century. Location and speakers to be announced. $10 at door, $45 for series. 

Thursday, Nov. 13: Ocean View anniversary event #7. History of San Francisco Bay, by retired U.S. Geological Service engineer and historian Ken LaJoie. Time and location to be announced. $10 at door. $45 for series. 

Thursday, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m.: Ocean View anniversary event #8. Location to be announced. Panel discussion of the 1970s neighborhood struggle to save Ocean View from becoming an industrial park, and the subsequent changes in the neighborhood. Several panelists. $10.00 at door, $45 for series. 

For further details and reservations for the BHS (Berkeley Historical Society) events noted above, go to www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc/ or call BHS at 848-0181, or visit the Berkeley History Center, 1931 Center St., between 1-4 p.m., Thursday-Saturday. Reservations required for tours. 

For details on Professor Wollenberg’s “Berkeley: A City in History” Vista College course, go to the Vista College Web site, www.vistacollege.edu/ and follow the links to “Classes,” “Class Schedules-Vista,” “History,” and “Berkeley,” or visit the Berkeley Public Library History Room online at www.infopeople.org/bpl/system/histrm.html where the on-line class text is located. 

For Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association events, call the BAHA office at 841-2242. 

For events in the special Ocean View lecture series, order tickets by mail from BAHA, P.O. Box 1137, Berkeley, Ca. 94701. Tickets $10 at door, $45 for series of eight events. For further information on the series, call Stephanie Manning at (510) 841-8562, or e-mail bahaworks@yahoo.com.

Mayor Tom Bates’ Advisory Task Force On City Revenue has recommended that the mayor should support a $250 per year parcel tax increase referendum to be placed on the March 2004 ballot in order to make up for falling city revenues—the same type of bond measure called for in a recent survey of Berkeley voters. 

If accepted by the mayor, the recommendation is scheduled to be presented to City Council at its Oct. 14 5 p.m. public working session. 

Representatives of the city manager’s office were scheduled to meet with City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque immediately after the task force meeting to work out the legalities of the parcel tax, and Mayoral aide Cisco DeVries said he expected to have a detailed, written task force report on bond measure recommendation available to the public by the end of next week. 

The City Revenue Task Force was assembled four months ago by Mayor Bates to determine what, if any, new taxes are needed to make up for what has been projected as a $27 million budget shortfall by 2008. 

The task force is chaired by former Assemblymember Dion Aroner and includes, among others, energy consultant Cynthia Wooten, Solid Waste Management Commissioner Jay Miyazaki, and political activist Dan Lindheim, as well as mayoral aide DeVries, Deputy City Manager Phil Kamlarz and City Clerk Sherry Kelly. 

The task force is scheduled to dissolve once a formal report is delivered to the mayor. 

The panel is also recommending that the March bond measure ballot measure include a spending oversight committee, a five-year sunset provision, and concentrate specifically on preventing cuts in the city’s fire services. 

Task force members stressed that they did not think Berkeley voters would support a new tax if it did not include some guarantee that service levels would not be reduced. 

The group decided not to wait to put the bond measure on the November 2004 ballot after learning that it would conflict with other bond measures scheduled for that date. 

The task force also discussed other methods of raising funds to meet the immediate budget shortfall besides a parcel tax, including seeking revenues from UC Berkeley and the Lawrence Laboratory and raising other city fees, but decided that these should be part of a long-term discussion of the health of the city’s finances. 

The task force will meet again Oct. 23 at 2:30 p.m. in the Milvia Street City Office Building. With the completion of its bond measure recommendation to the mayor, the task force is scheduled to disband following the Oct. 23 meeting.

A city-commissioned voter survey predicts that over six out of 10 Berkeley residents would support a bond referendum for a $250 per year average increase in city property taxes in order to maintain city services at their current levels—which may or may not be good news, depending on how and when the city eventually presents the notion to voters. 

Support among Berkeley voters jumps to close to seven out of 10 if a property tax increase is combined with such measures as exempting low-income residents from the tax and including a sunset provision. 

The telephone survey was conducted earlier this month by EMH Market Research of Sacramento. 

Some combination of raising revenue and service cuts is necessary for the city to stave off a projected budget deficit of $8 million to $10 million next year. City Council ordered the survey with an eye towards a possible bond referendum on the March, 2004 ballot. 

The David Binder Research company of San Francisco drafted the survey, which has a plus-minus error rate of 4.9 percent. CEO David Binder is scheduled to discuss details of the survey results to City Council on October 14 at its 5 p.m. Budget/Ballot Measures working session. Binder reports a wide variety of research clients, including the cities of San Francisco and San Diego, EBMUD, State Senator John Burton, the California Teachers Association, the AFL-CIO, Kaiser Permanente and Pacific Bell. 

Surveyed residents listed education, homelessness, and housing as the “single most important issues facing Berkeley today.” 58 percent of the surveyed residents said Berkeley is moving in the “right direction,” while they felt just the opposite about California, with 68 percent feeling that the state was on the “wrong track.” 

A large majority, 71 percent, reported feeling that the city was doing a good job in providing city services. The figure dropped to only a plurality, 39 percent, who thought that the city was doing a good job at managing taxpayer dollars. 

City Manager Weldon Rucker said the results show “strong support for new tax measures in order to avoid service reductions” and “strong opposition to service cuts, especially in social, youth and senior, health, homeless and public safety programs.” Rucker also said the survey concluded that “voters are happy with the services provided by the city.” 

Deputy City Manager Phil Kamlarz said that the Binder survey served two purposes. “One was to see if there was a potential for (raising) new revenue. The second was to get some sense of priorities among citizens, so that if we have to make some reductions, (they can be based upon) feedback from the community about their priorities.” 

Berkeley citizens listed fire, emergency medical, and city-funded schools as their top three priorities for city services. Among their lowest priorities were downtown parking, new housing, and the building or business permit process. Presumably, City Council would begin making any necessary service cuts in the areas that citizens listed as its lowest priorities. 

The specific percentage of voter support for a bond measure is critical not just for possible passage, but also for its timing. A bond referendum to raise money for specific city programs—such as library or fire services—requires a two thirds vote for passage. A bond referendum for money to go into the city’s general fund only requires a majority vote. While the specific program bond referendum could be held as early as next March, by law a general fund bond referendum must be held during the city’s general election. The next Berkeley general election will be held in November of next year. 

Given the city’s looming projected budget shortfall for next year, Kamlarz listed what he called “intermediate steps” for the city to take in the event it was determined that all money could not be made up in a bond referendum next spring. “Instead of a big ballot measure in March we could go for a couple of smaller measures, just to shore up some of our deficiencies in some of our smaller funds.” he said. 

Kalmarz mentioned libraries, parks, and emergency medical services as among the most important needs. “There are a couple of strategies we’re playing around with. The survey helps inform that decision.” 

The survey included a telephone poll of 400 registered voters and was restricted to citizens with working telephone numbers who had voted in one of the last two primaries and one of the last two general elections. 

The sample population was somewhat older and whiter than Berkeley’s actual population. While more than 21 percent of Berkeley’s population is between 18 and 25, that age group only represented 12 percent of the surveyed residents. And while close to 17 percent of Berkeley’s residents are Asian and close to 14 percent African-American, the survey only included five percent from each group. Whites, who make up a little under 60 percent of Berkeley, accounted for 76 percent of the survey participants.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 30 

“The Bush White House: How Covering the President Has Changed,” with Helen Thomas, newspaper columnist, UPI and White House bureau chief for 57 years; Daniel Schorr, reporter and commentator, senior analyst for NPR; and Scott Lindlaw, White House Correspondent, AP, at 7:30 p.m. in Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Graduate School of Journalism and The Commonwealth Club. Tickets are $10, $5 CC members, Students free with i.d. 642-9988.  

“Defend Environmental Justice, Defeat Prop. 54!” A forum with KPFA commentator and community activist Joy Moore and representatives from the Coalition for an Informed California, at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave., near Dwight Way. 548-2220 ext. 233. 

“The Arab-Israeli Conflict: View from a Dove,” with Marcia Friedman, former member of Knesset and president, Bit Tzedek Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace, at 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0327, ext. 112. www.brjcc.org 

“Post- War Reintegration of Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone” with Susan Shelper, Dept. of Education, UC Berkeley, from 4 to 6 p.m. at 652 Barrows Hall. Sponsored by the Center for African Studies. 642-8338. asc@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Super Sidewalk Book Sale University of California Press offers new and slightly scuffed books from our warehouse, $5 for paperback and $10 for hardback. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., 2120 Berkeley Way, between Shattuck and Oxford. 642-9828. 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 525-3565. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers We are a few slowpoke Seniors who walk between a mile or two each Tuesday, meeting at 9:30 a.m. in the Little Farm parking lot. To join us, call 215-7672.  

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Sta- 

tion, corner of Shattuck and Center. Vigil at 6:30 p.m. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www.geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

Meetup for Howard Dean, at 7 p.m. at three Berkeley locations: Au Coquelet, 2000 University Ave; Espresso Roma Cafe, 2960 College Ave.; and Sweet Basil Thai Restaurant, 1736 Solano Ave. Free. Wheel- 

chair accessible. For information call 843-8724. 

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 7:15 a.m. at Hide-A-Way Café, 6430 Telegraph Ave. For information call Fred Garvey, 925-682-1111, ext. 164. 

Amnesty International Berkeley Community Group meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1606 Bonita Ave., at Cedar St. Join fellow human rights activists to help promote social justice one individual at a time. 872-0768. 

Free Feldenkrais ATM Classes for adults 55 and older at 10:30 and 11:45 a.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut at Rose. For information call 848-0237. 

Berkeley CopWatch open office hours 7 to 9 p.m. Drop in to file complaints, assistance available. 548-0425. 

Community Dances, traditional English and American dances, 8 p.m. every Wednesday, $9. 7 p.m. first Sunday, $10. Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. 233-5065. www.bacds.org 

THURSDAY, OCT. 2 

“Direct Order,” a film on the use of the anthrax vaccine by the Dept. of Defense, at 7:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall, at Cedar and Bonita. 528-5403. 

“The California Recall: Who, Why and What it Means for the Environment,” with panel-ists Susan Rasky, Political Journalist and Professor, School of Journalism, Fred Keeley, Executive Director, Planning & Conservation League, and Jim Bushnell, Research Director, The University of California Energy Institute, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Morgan Lounge, 114 Morgan Hall, near Hearst and Arch Streets, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Resource Development. 643-4200. 

“How Can Peace Be Achieved Between Israelis and Palestinians?” a moderated debate sponsored by the Associated Students of UC, at 7 p.m. at 2040 Valley Life Sciences Bldg, UC Campus. 655-6384.  

UC Botanical Garden Docent Training at 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fee and registration required, 643-1924. 

Lawyers in the Library at 6 p.m. at the North Branch, 1170 The Alameda. 981-6250. 

Berkeley Liberation Radio 104.1 FM holds public meetings for all interested people first and third Thursdays, 7 p.m. at the Long Haul Info Shop, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 595-0190.  

FRIDAY, OCT. 3 

“The Shellmound Sites and Berkeley’s Early Native People,” with Malcolm Margolin and Kent Lightfoot, at 7 p.m. at Finn Hall, 10th St. near Hearst. Lecture is part of the 150th Anniversary of Ocean View, Berkeley’s earliest settlement, sponsored by The Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association and Berkeley History Society. Tickets are $12. For information call 841-8562.  

Master Class with Spanish Classical Guitarist Jaume Torrent, from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Arlington Community Church, 52 Arlington Ave., Kensington. Participants $20, public $5. For registration and information call 528-4633. 

North African Homecoming Dinner with a screening of “Play it Again Maurice” at at 7:30 p.m. at International House, Piedmont at Bancroft. 642-9460. 

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. wibberkeley@yahoo.com 548-6310, 845-1143. 

Meditation, Peace Vigil and Dialogue, gather at noon on the grass close to the West Entrance to UC Berkeley, on Oxford St. near University Ave. People of all traditions are welcome to join us. Sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. 496-6000, ext. 135. www.bpf.org 

SATURDAY, OCT. 4 

Northern California Solar Energy Association Annual Tour of Solar Homes in Berkeley. Self-guided tours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning at Cedar-Rose Park. Cost is $15 per group of up to 5 people, with $5 discounts for pre-registration by Oct. 1, and for NorCal Solar members. Visit www.norcalsolar.org/tour for tour details and online registration or contact Suzie Zupan, 415-332-3676, skzupan@ 

yahoo.com 

Quarterly Bird Walk from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Dr. Cost is $5, members, free. Registration required. 643-8155. www.mip.berkeley.edu/garden  

California Bulbs with Wayne Roderick from 10 a.m. to noon at the Visitor Center, Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Learn to identify brodiaeas, lilies, alliums, fritillaries, and many more in this workshop. Cost is $25 members, $30 non-members. Sponsored by the East Bay Regional Park’s Botanic Garden and the Native Plant Society. To register call 925-935-8871 or 925-820-1021. www.nativeplants.org 

Fall Permaculture: Seed Saving Find out when and how to harvest seeds from your garden and discover a good way to keep your favorite vegetable varieties year after year, at 10 a.m. at Wildheart Gardens, 463 61st Street, at Telegraph, Oak- 

land. Cost is $10 Ecology Center members, $15 others, no one turned away. For information call 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Pet Adoptions, sponsored by Home at Last, from noon to 5 p.m., Hearst and 4th St. 548-9223. 

Sick Plant Clinic is offered by the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive, from 9 a.m. to noon. Free. 643-2755. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 5 

Feast of St. Francis Celebration at 10 a.m. at All Souls Episcopal Church, 2220 Cedar St., at Spruce. Join us in a celebration of creation, with an Earth Mass and a Blessing of the Animals. Fur, feathers, fins, skins - all are welcome! 848-1755. 

Free Sailboat Rides between 1 and 5 p.m. with the Cal Sailing Club. Bring warm waterproof clothes and come to the Berkeley Marina. Learn how to sail or windsurf. For more information see www.cal-sailing.org 

“Meditation for Balance and Healing,” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, OCT. 6 

The National Organization for Women will hold its monthly meeting at the Central Labor Council Building, 70 Hegenberger Rd. Oakland, cross street is Pardee. Meet in the parking lot at 6 p.m. for chapter elections, then phone bank in the building, to remind people to vote against the recall and against Prop. 54. 287-8948. 

In Celebration of the Free Speech Movement: Larry Flint at 7 p.m. in the Pauley Ballroom West, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Berkeley ACLU. 816-0563. abraham@berkeleyaclu.com 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 6 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

ONGOING  

UC Berkeley’s Long Range Development Plan Public Comment Period has been extended to Oct. 10. For more information on the plan, visit http://ldrp/berkeley.edu Written comments can be emailed to 2020LRDP@cp.berkeley.edu or mailed to Jennifer Lawrence, Principal Planner, Capital Projects, 1936 University Ave., Suite 300, Berkeley, CA 94720-1382. 

Flu Shots will be offered at a number of Berkeley locations during the month of October, by Sutter VNA and Hospice. For a location near you plaese call 1-800-500-2400 or visit www.suttervnaandhospice.org 

“Berkeley Speaks” a community program for activists and artists on Berkeley Community Media, BETV Channel 25. For information on being on the program please call 848-2288. or visit www.betv.org 

Acting and Storytelling Classes for Seniors, offered by Stagebridge. Wednesdays and Fridays, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Arts First Oakland, 2501 Harrison St., close to BART and AC Transit. 444-4755. www.stagebridge.org 

People's Park Community Advisory Board is seeking members. Applications will be accepted until Sept. 30. They are available at the People's Park office, 642-3255; the UC Office of Community Relations, 643-5299; and via e-mail to plspark@uclink.berkeley.edu. 

Free Smoke Detectors for City residents and UC Berkeley students who live off-campus. Applications are available from the Environment, Health & Safety office of UC Berkeley, at any Berkeley Fire Station, or at the Fire Admin. Office located at 2100 MLK, Jr. Way. 981-5585.  

Free Energy Bill Payment Assistance The City of Berkeley has money to help low-income households pay their gas and electric bills. For applications contact the Energy Office at 644-8544. TDD: 981-6903. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/energy 

Swim a Mile for Women with Cancer The East Bay’s Women’s Cancer Resource Center is seeking participants, supporters, and in-kind donations for its annual non-competitive fundraising event, to be held on Oct. 4-5 at the Trefethan Aquatic Center, Mills College. For more information on how to register for this event, please call 601-4040, ext. 180 or email swimamilewcrc@yahoo.com 

Cal Community Service Days Students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members are invited to participate in a series of workshops and community service projects from Sept. 29 to Oct. 4. For information on how to get involved, see ttp://students.berkeley.edu/calcorps/cad.html 

Fair Trade WeekOctober 6th through October 12thcoffee, organic tea and chocolate. Products bearing the Fair Trade Certified(tm) labelAndronico's Market www.transfairusa.org 

CITY MEETINGS 

Commission on the Status of Women meets Wed., Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Ruby Primus, 981-5106. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/women 

Fire Safety Commission meets Wed., Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. David Orth, 981-5502. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/firesafety 

School Board meets Wed. Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m., in the City Council Chambers. Queen Graham 644-6147 or Mark Coplan 644-6320. 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board meets Thurs.,Oct. 2,  

at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers, Pam Wyche 644-6128 ext. 113. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/rent 

Community Environmental Advisory Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 2, at 7 p.m., at 2118 Milvia St. Nabil Al-Hadithy, 981-7461. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/environmentaladvisory 

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Oscar Sung, 981-5410. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/housing 

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon., Oct. 6, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St., Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/agenda-committee 

Landmarks Preservation Commission meets Mon., Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Gisele Sorensen, 981-7419. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/landmarks 

Youth Commission meets Mon., Oct. 6, at 6:30 p.m., at 1730 Oregon St. Philip Harper-Cotton, 981-6670. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/youth

Generations of Berkeley jazz fans have gone to San Francisco’s North Beach to get regular fixes of their favorite kind of music. They were not happy when one of the last real jazz venues in San Francisco—Pearl’s, at Columbus and Broadway—closed its doors in April, but they will be delighted to learn that Pearl’s has re-opened as Jazz at Pearl’s, thanks to a strong infusion of East Bay talent. 

The new owners are vocalist Kim Nalley and her husband Steve Sheraton. 

She’s a UC Berkeley alumna who sang with the Cal Big Band circa 1991, but she’s gone on to greater triumphs since then. Her up-to-the-minute Web page boasts this quote from Phil Elwood, dean of Bay Area jazz critics: “Her ability to shift vocal styles and to work through all types of songs with informal ease are the kind of cross-town leap that few singers, anywhere, can handle.” 

She’s even appeared with Michael Tilson Thomas (another jazz fanatic) and the San Francisco Symphony. 

In the course of getting her jazz chops up to speed, Nalley took lessons from some of the older generation of jazz masters. One of her teachers, saxophonist Hal Stein, will be featured at Pearl’s this Thursday, Oct. 2, in the lineup for the shake-down week which precedes the club’s official grand opening on Oct. 11. Nalley reminiscences about her lessons with Hal: “Oh, this was maybe eight years ago when I was a student at Cal.  

“I would go to his house in Berkeley and he would teach me all the hip scales and melodies to sing over difficult chord changes. He would charge me almost nothing and spend hours with me.” 

Hal Stein has plenty to teach. He played tenor sax at New York City’s Town Hall with Don Byas in 1943, when he was only 15, and he’s been playing with the greats ever since. He counts himself as part of the Charlie Parker tradition. He’ll be appearing on Thursday with his quartet.  

Nalley and Stein are familiar to Berkeley jazz fans from their recent appearances at Downtown, on Shattuck Avenue. Other East Bay stalwarts who will appear at Jazz at Pearl’s include Jeff Chambers, who lives in Albany, Kim’s pianist Dave Mathews, a longtime resident of Kensington, and Oakland’s Charles McNeal with his bassist Ron Belcher, Richmond-born and raised.  

WHEN: Jazz at Pearl’s is now offering music Monday through Saturday, with a grand opening party Oct. 11 and 12. The Hal Stein Quartet appears on Thursday, Oct. 2. Show times are 9:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. weekdays, 9:30 p.m.-1 a.m. weekends. The doors and the kitchen open at 7 p.m., with chef Stephanie Chan promising real food, a significant upgrade from the perfunctory kitchen maintained by the previous owners. 

WHERE: 256 Columbus Ave., at Broadway, San Francisco. (415) 291-8255.  

COST: Ticket price $5 weekdays, $10 weekends (except for special shows), no drink minimum.  

SCHEDULE: www.jazzatpearls.com.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 30 

FILM 

“Poetry is Not A Luxury,” documentaries in tribute to poet and activist Audre Lorde, at 6:30 p.m. in the Public Library’s Central Community Room, 2090 Kittredge. 981-6233. 

The Films of Germaine Dulac: “The Seashell and the Clergyman” and other films at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jhumpa Lahiri, 2000 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, reads from her new novel, “The Namesake” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Thomas Swick introduces us to “A Way to See the World: From Texas to Transylvania with a Maverick Travel Editor” at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Travel Shop & Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave at Rose. 843-3533.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Cocodrie at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson with Diano Castillo at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Dayna Stephens House Jam at The Jazz House. Donation $5. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Los Halos, Pine Martin at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1  

FILM 

Heddy Honigmann: “Crazy” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive, with the filmmaker in person. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Mike Perry reads from his new novel about small town living, “Population 485,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

www.codysbooks.com 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Nazelah Jamison and Karen Ladson, featuring DJ Tek Neek, at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7, $5 with student i.d. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Noon Concert with Cary Koh, violin and Miles Graber, piano, at the Chevron Auditorium, International House, corner of Bancroft and Piedmont Aves. Admission is free. 642-4864. 

Peter Rowan and Don Edwards, lonesome cowboys, perform at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761.  

www.freightandsalvage.org 

Robert Ball Benefit Concert with Jason Collins & The Funkonauts, Josh Jones Latin Jazz Ensemble, DeWayne Wiggins, Jimmy Dright, and MC Greg Bridges of KPFA/KCSM at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$20. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Jules Broussard, Bing Nathan and Ned Boynton at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Nicole McRory at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. becketts- 

irishpub.com 

THURSDAY, OCT. 2 

FILM 

Genetic Screenings: “Underexposed: The Temple of the Fetus” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Lunch Poems at 12:10 p.m. in the Morrison Library in Doe Library, UC Campus, with Robert Thomas, who won the Poets Out Loud award. 642-0137.  

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with featured readers Clara Hsu and Don Brennan, followed by an open mic, at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave., near Dwight Way. 526-5985 or 205-1749.  

New Word Series, Preliminary Poetry Slam Bouts, co-presented by Youth Speaks as part of the 3rd Annual Living Word Festival, a spoken word expo featuring internationally recognized spoken word artists, at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

“Poetry Is Not A Luxury” Forrest Hamer, Jewelle Gomez and Sharon Doubiago, and Theresa Harlan. California Arts Council Poet Fellowship recipients and affiliates read from their work and state the case about the demise of government arts support, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library’s Central Community Room, 2090 Kittredge. 981-6233.  

Albany Library Prose Night, featuring Jan Steckel reading her short stories, followed by an open mic for prose. From 7 to 9 p.m. in the Edith Stone Room, Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720. 

“Jewish Humor in American Cinema” with Maimone Attia, Thursdays, Oct. 2-30, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $45 for members, seniors and students, $50 for the public. 848-0237. www.brjcc.org 

Guided Tour: Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics, at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m., Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

James Carroll will read from his latest novel, “Secret Father,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Larry Ochs Sax and Drumming Core and John Schott’s Typical Orchestra at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Sliding scale donation $7-$15. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Hal Stein Quartet, with Berkeley saxophonist Hal Stein, at Jazz at Pearl’s, 256 Columbus Ave at Broadway, SF, at 9 p.m. Cost is $5. 415-291-8255. www.jazzatpearls.com, www.halsteinjazz.com 

The Cushion Theory, Ned, and Audrey Sessions at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Community Drumming Circle at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5-$7. 525-5054.  

www.ashkenaz.com 

Jimmy LaFave and Kevin Welch, with Michael Fracasso, Joel Rafael and others, perform music in the spirit of Woodie Guthrie, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Keni El Lebrijano, flamenco guitar, at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

The Shots, traditional Irish, American Bluegrass at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. beckettsirishpub.com 

FRIDAY, OCT. 3 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Berkeley Arts Festival Headquarters Opening from 4 to 6 p.m. at 2110 Shattuck Ave. 665-9496. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Cecile Moochnek Gallery, “Numinous Surfaces,” new paintings by Carol Dalton and Michael Shemchuk. Reception 6 to 8 p.m. Exhibtion runs Oct 3. to Nov. 16. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wed. through Sun. 1809-D Fourth St. 549-1018. www.cecilemoochnek.com 

Emeryville Art Exhibition opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m., featuring the work of over 100 artists and craftspeople. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 5616 Bay Street. Exhibition runs Oct. 4 through Oct. 26. 652-6122. www.EmeryArts.org 

FILM 

Heddy Honigmann: “Mind Shadows” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive with the filmmaker in person. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa. 

berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Christian Parenti reads from his new book, “Soft Cage: Surveillance in America From Slavery to the War on Terror,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Guided Tour: Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics, at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m., Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Gallery Talk: Japanese Figure Style with Lynne Kimura, Academic Liaison, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, on the creative explosion of figure styles in Edo painting, at 3 p.m. in Gallery C, Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $8, free to UC staff, faculty and students. 643-6494. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Djialy Kunda Kouyate, from West Africa, at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Shorty Long, Faraway Brothers, and Stiles and Ivey Ragtime Band perform at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Jaranon y Bochinche, traditional and contemporary Afro-Peruvian music and dance at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Larry Ochs Sax and Drumming Core and John Schott’s Typical Orchestra at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Sliding scale donation $7-$15. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Noggin, unplugged violin duo with Henry Kuntz, solo saxophone at 3111 Deakin St. at  

8 p.m. Cost is $8. Presented by Acme Observatory Contemporary Music. 665-1980. http://music.acme.com 

Rahim Alhaj, Iraqi oud master, performs at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Sterling Dervish, acoustic rock and roll at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. beckettsirishpub.com 

Fleshies, Toys That Kill, Killer Dream, Swing Ding Amigos, Civil Dysentery at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club.  

Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SATURDAY, OCT. 4 

Himalayan Papermaking Demonstration with Nimto Sherpa, papermaking master from Kathmandu, and Carol Brighton, Berkeley artist and papermaker, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Berkeley Arts Festival Headquarters, 2110 Shattuck Ave. 665-9496. 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Trax Gallery, “Summer Work” by Matt Metz and Linda Skikora, at 5 p.m. at 1812 5th St. 540-8729. 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Colibri, music from Latin America, at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

FILM 

Seventh Madcat Women’s International Film Festival: “Traditions and Trajectories” at 7 p.m., and “Educated Ladies” at 8:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Eat the Rich” at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751.  

www.thelonghaul.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jean Shinoda Bolen, reads from her new book, “Crones, Don’t Whine: Concentrated Wisdom for Juicy Women,” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. www.codysbooks.com 

Bruce Balfour, author of “The Digital Dead” at the Dark Carnival Bookstore, 3086 Claremont Ave, at 2 p.m. 654-7323. 

The Bay Area Poets Coalition holds an open reading, 3 to 5 p.m., West Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1125 University Ave. Free. For information, call 527-9905. poetalk@aol.com 

Improvised Comedy, at 8 p.m. at Cafe Eclectica, 1309 Solano Ave., Albany. Cost is $5. 964-0571. www.eastbayimprov.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

New Millennium Strings, with soloist Jaume Torrent, Spanish Classical Guitar, conducted by Laurien Jones, at 8 p.m. at University Christian Church, 2401 Le Conte Ave. Suggested donation $10, seniors $7. Children under 12 free.  

528-4633. 

Live Oak Concert with Matthew Owens, ‘cello, at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center. Tickets are $8-$10. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Festival Antiqua, “The Ladder of Gold,” songs of Balkan Sephardic Jews at 8 p.m. at the Parish Hall, St. Alban’s Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany. Tickets are $12-$15. 486-2803 or 524-7952. www.timrayborn.com/Festival 

Michael Brecker and Roy Hargrove at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$48. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Primary Colors, celebrating the release of their new CD “Every Mother’s Son,” at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Luminaries: National Independent Talent Showcase, at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Genres include Hip Hop, R & B, and Reggae. Cost is $10 in advance, $12 at the door.  

849-2568. www.lapena.org 

FARWest, Folk Music and Dance Alliance regional meeting at noon, with evening showcases beginning at 7 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. For more information and to register, see www.far-west.org 

Zydeco Flames at 9:30 p.m., with a dance lesson at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13.  

525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Daevid Allen’s University of Errors, The Spindles perform at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

www.starryploughpub.com 

Scott Amendola, Dave MacNab and John Witala at 9:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers perform traditional jazz vocals at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Nicole McRory at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Champion, For the Crown, The Damage Done, Allegiance, Lights Out at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Anima Mundi Dance Company previews “Mountains and Rivers Without End,” at 2 p.m. at Yoshi’s Jazz Club, Jack London Square. Admission is $10-$15 sliding scale. 233-5550. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 5 

Berkeley Potters Guild Tour and Demonstration Members of this 32 year old, 20 member guild will demonstrate potters’ wheel throwing and hand buil- 

ding techniques, at 1 p.m. at the Potters Guild, 731 Jones St. at 4th. 524-7031. 

FILM 

Seventh Madcat Women’s International Film Festival: “Clear Visions, Silent Filmmakers” at 5 p.m. with live music by Epic and introduction by Heather Stilin; “Cut Snip Ooze: Contemporary Animated Films by Women” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa. 

berkeley.edu 

Arab Film Festival, Cinemayaat: 

“Planet of the Arabs,” “Lord’s Song in a Strange Land,” at 2 p.m., “Souha Surviving Hell,” “Meantime in Beirut,” at 3:45 p.m., “Travel Agency,” “Under the Sky of Baghdad,” at 5:30 p.m. Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. Tickets are $9, students and seniors $7. Closing Night Party at 10 p.m., $20. www.aff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry at Cody’s with John Brandi and David Meltzer at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

Jonathan Lethem reads from ”The Fortress of Solitude,” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. www.codysbooks.com 

2004 Slingshot Organizer, book release party and dinner at 7:30 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

New Millennium Strings, with soloist Jaume Torrent, Spanish 

Classical Guitar, conducted by Laurien Jones, at 3 p.m. at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, 2837 Claremont Blvd. Suggested donation $10, seniors $7. Children under 12 free. 528-4633. 

Takács Quartet with Richard Stoltzman at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $30-$52. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

The Balance: Poetry and Jazz The Word-Music Continuum, from 2 to 5 p.m. with Kirk Lumpkin, poetry and percussion; Mark Randall, bass; Paul Mills, guitar and The Real Band. Peralta Community Garden, Hopkins and Peralta. 231-5912. kirklumpkin@mac.com 

Crowden School Recital with Wei He, violin, and Miles Graber, piano, playing works of Bright Sheng, Beethoven, Strauss, and Ysaye, at 3 p.m. at Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose St. Tickets are $10, free for children 18 and under. 559-6910. www.thecrowdenschool.org 

Early Music with Zachary Gordin, countertenor; Glibert Martinez, harpsichord perform vocal music of Vivaldi, at 4 p.m. at MusicSources, 1000 The Alameda, at Marin. 528-1685. 

www.sfems.org/musicsources  

Baroque Etcetera, “London Meets Paris,” instrumental and vocal works by Händel, Lully, Purcell, Jacquet de la Guerre, Boismortier and Draghi, at 5 p.m., at St. Ambrose Church, 1145 Gilman St. Suggested donation is $10, no one turned away. 540-8222. www.baroquetc.org 

Navarati Festival of Indian Folkdancing, with “Raas-Garba” from 3 to 6 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $6-$10 sliding scale. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Alice Stuart performs country blues favorites at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

New Era of Cuban Music, an Afro-Cuban celebration in honor of the Orishas, Orunmila, Eleggua, Oggún and Ochoshi, at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15 in advance, $18 at the door. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Hemispheres, world-infused jazz and free improvisation, at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Structure of Lies, Animosity, All Shall Perish, Hacksaw to the Throat at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926.

Of the two constitutional amendments on the Oct. 7 ballot, the one getting the least publicity this summer and fall—Proposition 53—could end up having the more dramatic long-term effect on the state of California. 

If passed, the Funds Dedicated for State and Local Infrastructure Constitutional Amendment would lock in up to a maximum of three percent of the state budget each year for repair and development of the state’s aging parks, highways and bridges, water resources, and state-owned public buildings. 

Currently there are no restrictions on how much—or how little—the state legislature spends on such items. 

The Berkeley City Council has come out in opposition to the amendment, saying that it “could have dreadful effects on the state budget” and charging that it is “not a practical or intelligent way to...maintain and improve our infrastructure.” 

There is no disagreement that California’s state-owned infrastructure needs both maintenance and improvement. 

The American Society of Civil Engineers recently listed roads and water as being of particular concern in the state, citing the fact that “72 percent of California’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition (and) 28 percent of California’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.” 

The society estimated the cost of repairs to the state’s drinking water infrastructure, wastewater infrastructure, and the “most critical” dams over the next two decades at nearly $30 billion. 

According to the Yes On Proposition 53 organization, this situation came about because the state legislature “failed to set aside adequate revenue for infrastructure during the last 30 years.” 

If passed, Proposition 53 would amend the California Constitution to mandate that one percent of the state budget in fiscal year 2006-07 be placed in an Infrastructure Fund. That amount would rise each year until it reached a maximum of three percent of the budget in fiscal year 2012-13. 

The state’s Legislative Analyst has estimated that the amounts set aside would run from “roughly $850 million in 2006-07 and grow to several billions of dollars in future years.” The proposition also has provisions to lower the set-asides in years of slow economic growth, and is specifically written not to conflict with the minimum education set-asides of Proposition 98, passed by California voters in 1988. 

Support for Proposition 53 ranges from civil engineering and construction trade organizations to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, and the East Bay Regional Park District. 

Opposition to the proposition has been led primarily by the California League of Women voters, which has traditionally supported bond measures to support infrastructure projects. 

However, the League opposes constitutional amendments containing “provisions which inhibit flexibility of governmental action to meet changing conditions.” In addition, the League feels that Proposition 53 will both conflict with other budgetary priorities and will not provide year-to-year funding stability for infrastructure projects. 

The ballot argument against Proposition 53 was signed by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell.

IMPORTANT WORK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It was disturbing to see Mr. Spitzer’s diatribe (Letters, Daily Planet, Sept. 19-22) against the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). His words were an attack on each of us who have volunteered with ISM. The charge that we “aid and abet the murder of innocent Israelis” is without factual foundation, and must be particularly hurtful to groups like Jewish Voice for Peace, and all those who have supported ISM in its brief two year history. 

Contrary to Mr. Spitzer’s assertion that human rights groups have distanced themselves from ISM, a consortium of human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have issued a statement of concern regarding the increased harassment of human rights monitors, such as volunteers with ISM, by the Israeli government. The statement calls on the Israeli authorities to “put an end to harassment, intimidation, threats, and deliberate attacks on human rights defenders” and demands that the Israeli authorities abide by the Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN, which states that “Everyone has the right…to promote and strive for the protection and realization of human rights …at the national and international level.” 

This is what Rachel Corrie was doing, and what ISM continues to do—promote international law and human rights as the path to a lasting peace for all the people of the Middle East. We will not be deterred by false accusations and the violence of those who would rely on a military solution. This work is too important for all of us.  

Jim Harris 

• 

A NEW LOW 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I thought that I was pretty inured to Israeli spin, but Dan Spitzer’s attempted justification of Rachel Corrie’s murder (“In sum, Rachel Corrie, who probably died by accident, was a young woman whose ideals were superseded only by her ignorance”) struck me as a new low of callousness. In sum, the rationale of Zionist imperialism here triumphs over Jewish ethical traditions. 

Such arguments as Spitzer’s typically begin in the middle of a chronology of injustices about which the American public is woefully uninformed. Can he, or anyone, enlighten me about the meaning of “Greater Israel,” or why there are any (let alone expanding) Jewish-only colonies on Palestinian territory? 

Furthermore, why am I—an American taxpayer—made to finance these expropriations and their perpetual incitement to further violence both there and here? 

Gray Brechin 

• 

YES ON PROP. 54 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

There is a difference between the Berkeley Daily Planet under the present management and that under its previous one. As with many things in Berkeley, the present management appears comfortable, both with a masthead that is false as to the paper’s frequency of issue and also with its tight reins on expression not totally congruent with local political correctness. I am in alignment with most local liberal viewpoints but am not a Birkenstock mentality. 

Given that Proposition 54 spells out clearly that it exempts, from all medical clinical and medical research activities (as well as from all law-enforcement uses for identifying individuals), its mandate of cessation of all our state government’s “classifying” (“collection and use,” as termed by the legislative analyst)—“in the operation of public education, public contracting, or public employment”—of information on “race, ethnicity, color, or national origin”—I would like voters to question why so many people appear to accept this proposition’s opponents’ frantic screams that its passage would greatly impede both the clinical and research health concerns of the people of this state. 

This opposition relies on argumentation of this sort contained in the section on Prop. 54 in the voter’s guide mailed out by the state. But the authors of those spins are mostly either an executive whose departments would be diminished after passage of this proposition (with the saving of public funds) or an ex-bureaucrat who hasn’t forgotten such manner of thinking. While the medical profession may be notoriously looked up to in our state, every day in the papers we are treated to facts that indicate truth is not as pervasive as we might desire in much of medicine. Instead, any voters who don’t believe that the wording of Prop. 54 will be adhered to should note that the racial/ethnic classifications of the state are very far from any biological-science categories that are useful either in care of individuals’ health or in determination of their relative susceptibilities to disease as consequent to their genetic makeups. 

It is further incongruous why Steve Geller (Letters, Daily Planet, Sept. 19-22) should fear, that we might have “to pretend there’s only one sex,” should Prop. 54 pass. As the state’s legislative analyst comments, Prop. 54 “[d]oes not prohibit classification by sex.” The functions of the state mentioned as subject to the mandate of the proposition clearly have functional interests in the sexual classification of persons they deal with. Given this concern, Mr. Geller could also demand that the three Prop. 54-targeted functions of the state be required to record the religions of those with which they deal. 

Political correctness should not be allowed to transcend otherwise sound horse sense and science. 

Raymond A. Chamberlin 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

I agree completely with Janice Thomas’s opinion piece (“Save Canyons for Open Space,” Daily Planet, Sept. 26-29). There should be no development in Strawberry Canyon. But if Thomas is head of the Panoromic Hill Association, she should admit that her house and the house of other association members are also development in Strawberry Canyon. When it comes to generating traffic and reducing the canyon’s value for recreation and wildlife habitat, each resident does more damage than each UC employee who commutes into the canyon.  

Thomas writes that she considers it a privilege to see owls, foxes, and quail near her house. But I don’t think those animals consider it a privilege to have her and her neighbors living in the canyon and constantly driving through their habitat.  

Charles Siegel  

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

After reading the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America endorsement of Bustamante (Letters, Daily Planet, Sept. 26-29) I won’t be surprised to next see Stalinists for Schwarzenegger (which would make more sense). 

At this point, no one can predict with certainty the recall outcome. What can be safely predicted is that if a Democrat fails to win the governorship, there will be much whining, and blaming Indie Arianna and Green Camejo as “spoilers.” Never mind the continual betrayal of progressive goals by the Democratic Party and its centrist strategy. This strategy gave us George Bush via failing to fight over the 40,000 African American Floridians purged from the voting rolls and Gray Davis with a 40 to 1 prison funding budget compared to education. This centrist strategy has been the “spoiler.”  

The recall is an opportunity to reject the expedient short term view that only results in the lesser of two evils, always netting a lesser, still evil.  

Still, Schwarzenegger is a horror. So I suggest voting no on the recall and voting your visionary conscience for a possible replacement. 

Maris Arnold 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

Berkeley sidewalks have been hazardous and obstructive for many years. Fred Lupke rode in the street to avoid breaking his wheelchair, and lost his life.  

As a disabled citizen of Berkeley of more than thirty years, I want to mention the efforts that I have made in the past 10 years to have Berkeley sidewalks cleared and repaired. This is not the first accident to a disabled citizen in Berkeley this month (Karen Craig was also hit by a car). 

In the past two years I have three times cut myself on objects left by merchants or drivers on sidewalks (on Shattuck in the past month). I have fallen over planters several times on sidewalks. Often I have tripped over recycling containers or rubber cones which are obstructive to people in wheelchairs, to those on crutches, and are particularly dangerous to blind pedestrians (when suctioned down in a stationary position). 

Once when I reported a dangerous situation, I was threatened by a police officer with a ‘5150’. 

The last time I reported being cut on the street, I was told by a city employee (Department of Public Works) that the object could not be found. 

Arlene Merryman 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

AWOL-dot-Com 

As terrorists rained death upon our land 

He darted through the air, here, there, and back 

Emerging later as if in command, 

A tailored leather jacked stuffed with flak. 

He lit upon the Lincoln like a flea 

To take a sound-bite and pop off again 

And smirk and then incite the enemy 

To kill our kids, on whom we all depend.  

He cannot face the soldiers whom he leads, 

He cannot beat the people he invades, 

He cannot face the record of his deeds 

Nor face himself as he ducks and evades 

Us all, less like a president than thief, 

Our AWOL-dot-Commander-not-in-Chief. 

Jonathan Christian Petty 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

Food, politics and much humor. Marty Schiffenbauer’s article (“Selective Satiation”) was a gem. How clever of the editors to run this just before the “How Berkeley Can You Be?” parade. Keep up the good work. The Planet is terrific. 

Burl Willes  

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

In the movie “Field of Dreams”, the hero hears a voice which says: “Build it, and they shall come!.” He was building a baseball field, his own field of dreams. The Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD), along with the Berkeley City Council have their own version of this movie in which they take that field of dreams and create a parking lot! The plot thickens as the Berkeley Adult School (BAS) is ripped from it’s present home (against that neighborhood’s wishes), and stuffed into the Franklin Elementary School Site. Dragged along are 1,200 car-driving students.  

The first of many miracles now occurs when the BUSD’s “Field of Parked Cars” is found to have more than enough parking spaces for all the students and faculty.  

The second miracle unveils itself when there is absolutely no impact on pedestrian safety, noise or gridlock in and around the neighborhood. 

Later, the hero faces the BUSD and in a passionate plea states: “Your plans fly in the face of Berkeley’s Measure L (1986) in which the city promises to jealously protect all existing open spaces and aggressively create more whenever possible!” 

“We have decided,” answers BUSD, “That open space is not all that it’s cracked up to be, and besides, We answer to a higher authority!” 

“God?” asks the Hero? 

“No,” retorts BUSD, “The state!”  

Saul Grabia 

Consider the local scene, circa 1926. 

“Berkeley is an exceptionally well regulated and well governed city with practically no vice nor crime conditions,” future California Governor Earl Warren tells the local League of Women Voters that year. “A better government is always found when women pay attention to civic affairs.” 

Fast forward to 2003.  

Against the booming, amplified, backdrop of Berkeley’s exuberant outdoor “How Berkeley Can You Be?” celebration, locals gathered at the Berkeley History Center Sunday to help open a new exhibit, “Early Berkeley Women: 1878-1953.”  

Curator Phyllis Gale, who organized the exhibit on behalf of the Berkeley Historical Society and the Berkeley Chapter of the American Association of University Women, said she remembered raising her children in Berkeley and “finding out that the girls took everything for granted” about opportunities for women in American society. 

“They had no clue what had gone on before.” 

What had gone on? 

As the exhibit shows, quite a lot. 

The exhibit begins in the post-Civil War era, also coincident with the years of Berkeley’s founding, when American women were beginning to realize that political and social reforms they cared about required that they secure the vote. 

The women’s suffrage movement was the result, along with a burgeoning array of other causes and activities championed by women. 

The history of women in Berkeley “mirrors that time—and it’s here for you to read and see,” Gale told the crowd. 

Exhibit sections profile numerous women, grouped by occupation or activity, from health care to politics to architecture. 

Want to find out about Berkeley’s first woman dentist?  

She’s here, as are several other health care pioneers, teachers, architects, and Berkeley’s first two women City Councilmembers (Carrie Hoyt and Agnes C. Moody, 1923).  

In addition to individuals, organizations are profiled, particularly the clubs that served a variety of philanthropic, political and social ends and also constituted almost a “shadow government” in Berkeley, according to Gale. 

One powerful organization was the local League of Women Voters that, in the first half of the 20th Century, advocated for proper local sewage disposal, promoted school bonds and good municipal administration and “waged war against rats” to keep Berkeley healthy. 

These are the little gems scattered throughout the displays, bringing to life women who sought to change their times in meaningful ways.  

For example, take Berkeley’s first policewoman, Elizabeth G. Lossing, trained in social work and hired in 1924 by progressive Chief of Police August Vollmer. 

Lossing started the “Children’s Room,” described as an “unofficial probation program” in which she counseled and assisted more than 500 underage offenders referred by the local courts.  

Then there’s Mary Hyde who in 1877 “had come West to help lost, mistreated Indians, but could not find any,” in Berkeley at least, according to an account by her daughter. 

Undeterred, Hyde opened the first school in the eastern part of Berkeley. 

Or consider Theresa Maria Jacquemine who marched into the Alameda County Recorder’s office and demanded she be registered to vote—in 1896. 

The exhibit opening featured several costumed figures from Berkeley’s past, including architect Julia Morgan (Betty Marvin), UC Regent and philanthropist Phoebe Hearst (Linda Rosen), and Bishop George Berkeley himself (local artist Stefen), who had also marched in character in the morning’s parade. 

“Julia Morgan” spoke to the crowd, describing her life and career in the East Bay, and noting the care she had taken as an architect to design decent quarters and facilities for women in domestic work and those other occupations “that made life tolerable but were not well compensated.” 

“I’m sure your time has dealt with these inequalities,” she added, to an amused and appreciative audience. 

The exhibit includes art and textiles by local women and some other material objects, the majority of the displays are panels that incorporate both text and photographs. Come prepared to read. 

Some visitors may find the amount of text wearying, while others will appreciate the care taken by the exhibit’s organizers to present more than a superficial gloss of history. 

Much of the information on individuals in the exhibit came from oral histories. “I can’t tell you how important these oral histories have been. Without them we may have lost their voices,” Gale said. 

She also made a plea that local residents search their family records for information on Berkeley women and organizations of yesteryear and donate materials—or copies, at least—to local historical repositories, so part of Berkeley’s cultural history won’t be lost.  

“I am convinced that there is more information on Berkeley women in the attics and basements of this town that there is in the Bancroft Library and historical societies,” she added. 

Displays on individual women and organizations are supplemented by a wall-length timeline of early Berkeley history prepared by former Historical Society President Linda Rosen. 

Gale chose 1953 as a cutoff date for the women and organizations featured in the exhibit. “Most of them have passed away and I don’t have to argue with them. We just put them up on the walls,” she joked. 

The exhibit will be augmented in coming weeks by additional display panels, and a future exhibit may be organized to cover local women’s history from the more recent half century. 

The Berkeley History Center is typically open 1–4 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The free exhibit continues until early 2004.  

Visit www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc/ for more information, or call 848-0181. 

An upcoming event related to the exhibit is an Afternoon Tea on Oct. 12, honoring the Women’s Club movement in Berkeley and featuring Carol O’Hare, speaking on the Suffragette Movement and her book, “Jailed for Freedom.” The event is free. Call 528-3284 to reserve your space. 

Steven Finacom is a local historian and a Board member of the Berkeley Historical Society. 

Frederick J. Lupke, III, known to his many Berkeley friends as Fred, died Thursday, Sept. 25, as a result of injuries he received when he was struck by a car on Ashby Avenue near the South Berkeley Senior Center. 

Born in Detroit, Michigan, on June 18, 1945, and a graduate of Rochester High School in Rochester, Mich., he began his studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor as a chemistry major, but was drafted and served in the US Army Signal Corps in Korea for two years. 

When he returned to the University of Michigan in 1970, he decided to study linguistics, was accepted for doctoral studies under Professor George Lakoff (now at the University of California Berkeley) and received a Master’s degree. 

In late 1973, he was diagnosed with a spinal tumor. Following surgery, he completed his doctoral course work, but after his medical condition got worse, he decided to give up his studies and look for an environment more amenable to his long-term prognosis. In 1986 he found a solution to his situation when his close friend, Richard Rhodes, was offered a position at the 

University of California, Berkeley. 

Fred had spent summers in Berkeley as a young child with his grandmother, who lived on Spruce Street. In August of 1986 Fred and Richard moved together into a faculty apartment where the current Foothill dormitory complex is now located. 

The following summer, when Richard’s family came to join him in California, Fred moved first to an inaccessible apartment. His condition continued to deteriorate until he became permanently wheelchair-bound, so he found an affordable accessible apartment on Shafter Avenue, just over the Oakland border, where he lived at the time of his death. 

After a period of adjustment to life in a wheelchair, he became progressively more involved with community affairs, especially in Berkeley, with which he felt a special affinity. 

Long-time Berkeley activist Nancy Carleton, campaign manager for the parks measures on the Berkeley ballot in 2000, and coordinator of the joint campaign for libraries, parks, and water pools in that same election, said Monday that “Fred possessed the rare ability to reach across Berkeley’s political lines to elicit support for the basics of a healthy community—pools, parks, libraries, schools, accessibility. I believe he was able to accomplish so much because he always saw you as a person first, not as a political category.” 

As a wheelchair user himself, Fred served disabled citizens by both political and practical activities. He was often seen in public places with his tape measure out, measuring doorways for wheelchair accessibility. 

But Fred went beyond his personal situation to think of Berkeley’s general welfare. He worked for the preservation of the warm water pool at Berkeley High School, which he used to maintain his own health, and in the process became an effective advocate for all public school funding—even though he was not a parent himself. In the period preceding the invasion of Iraq, he was an active participant in anti-war protests. 

As a well-educated man of scholarly temperament, Fred loved the Berkeley Public Library. He kept a careful eye on its recent renovation, and worried about proposed downtown buildings which he feared might encroach on it. This concern led him to become a diligent researcher and active participant in Berkeley’s ongoing discussion about the appropriate relationship between the urban landscape and affordable housing needs. 

He was a great reader, and a strong supporter of the free press in general and the Berkeley Daily Planet in particular. When the original Planet went out of business, he took a vigorous role in the process which eventually resulted in its resurrection under new ownership. 

Fred hated to miss a meeting or a party, which is probably why he viewed the calendar as the most important part of a community paper. To make sure that the new Planet had a calendar which met his exacting standards, he volunteered to work on gathering information and proofreading, putting in as many hours as his health permitted twice a week until his death. 

Fred was the son of the late Frederick J. and Marian W. Lupke. He is survived by his sister, Alice Strang of Charlottesville, Va., her husband, Harold, a niece, Dana Hartling, and a nephew, John Strang. Other survivors include beloved long-time friends, Richard and Mary Rhodes of Castro Valley, and their three children, Betsy, Russell, and Edwin, and many others. 

Funeral services will be Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 3 p.m. at the Sunset View Cemetery at Fairmount and Colusa in Kensington. Directions can be found at www.sunsetviewcemetery.com. The gravesite was chosen to be accessible, according to family friend Rich Rhodes, who said that people in wheelchairs should arrive early to get to the gravesite. Berkeley friends are hoping to organize a community memorial to be held later this fall at a time and place to be announced. 

In memory of Fred, his family suggests contributions to the following nonprofit groups: 

BPFP/United Pool Council Fund 

c/o Karen Davis 

2329 Carleton St. 

Berkeley, CA 94704 

Center for Independent Living 

2539 Telegraph Avenue 

Berkeley, CA 94704 

Earmark in lower left corner: In memory of Fred Lupke

The following was addressed to Berkeley City Council and the Berkeley School Board.  

A few years ago my kids were victims of racial attack in our local park. It was not investigated as a hate crime. We live in the historically black neighborhood of South Berkeley, perhaps now the most racially and economically diverse area of the city. My sons are white and the boys and parents who encouraged this attack were black. The park was filled with families; no one did anything to stop the violence. They watched my 13-year-old get kicked repeatedly in the head. It is not difficult to understand how deeply impacted we were by this brutality and bigotry. Worse yet is living in a community where there is a code of silence from the city and school leadership about racial violence against whites.  

Since that day we have seen more and more of the boys we know become victims. Many do not believe it worthwhile to make police reports. Some contact the police and are told that this type of violence is a part of the youth culture; others learn this has been going on for years and it is a shame. Rarely have I seen the responsible youth held accountable or the racial factor identified or discussed. A few weeks ago two 11-year-olds were slugged in the head at the corner store. In this case the victim’s parents were so upset and demanding of the police that they got some action. Another change was when I went over to the park and spoke to the recreation program directors, who then asked around the center, found out who was involved, called the parents, and the kids were held accountable. This is the way a community can share common values. However, there is resentment from some because the police came around and because the victim’s mother was so upset. There is still much dialogue and understanding needed to move forward. .  

I spoke out about my experience at the City of Berkeley Hate Crimes Forum last year. I felt supported and validated by the closing statement from City Manager Weldon Rucker. Rucker acknowledged that our community needed to improve its response and understanding of black on white teen violence. The local newspaper account of the forum left this out of their reporting. The reporter gave a detailed account of all the speakers except for the parents who spoke about this issue. I sent a letter to the editor, which was not published.  

How is this silence helping the community? It does not help the targets or the perpetrators. In fact, the silence continues to assign kids these roles while the adults ignore their responsibilities.  

At the end of the last school year, hate graffiti appeared in South Berkeley. I contacted the Public Works Department to remove the graffiti. It took four neighbors complaining and over a week to get the graffiti removed from the second location. While one police officer told me “it must be intimidating for white kids who have been victimized to read a message that says “ Whitey will pay,” another officer suggested that “whitey” could be someone’s name.  

I know exactly what was meant by the graffiti. I have lived in south Berkeley for 25 years and been chased by “ratpacks,” bitch-slapped by angry teenage girls who had been out all night drinking and doing drugs, told to get my white ass out of the neighborhood and, worst of all, the stomping of my son in the park. My sons have heard “no white kids in the park” yelled at them when going to sports practice. The answers should be in the data collected by the police and the schools. How many white kids have been the target of this bigotry and ignored?  

The victims are further harmed by the code of silence. It is not safe to discuss how they felt targeted because of their skin color. In questioning this silence I hope to encourage parents and community leaders to adopt common community values for our kids and develop a sense of our shared humanity.  

Laura Menard has been a South Berkeley resident for 25 years.  

Thanks in part to the recall election, those error-prone punch cards are well on their way out in California. The bad news is that their replacement has some voters fearing the cure may be worse than the disease.  

At issue are the new touch screen voting machines now being used throughout Alameda County—which critics say have the potential for skewing voting outcomes in ways far more serious than chad-hanging punch card ballots. 

Critics say the notorious potential for hacking posed by computer-driven systems, plus the inherent fallibility of computer systems combined with the absence of paper-based verification, could prevent accurate recounts. 

“With these machines you have no way to really confirm the outcome of an election,” said Katherine Forrest, co-founder of the Commonweal Institute, a Menlo Park think tank, who discussed the issue last week with members of Berkeley’s Gray Panthers organization. 

“Based on what we’ve heard from computer experts, there are real questions about the reliability and security of the machines,” Forrest said. “There is a fear that the election will not represent the will of the voters.” 

The machines used in Alameda County are manufactured by Diebold, one of three large companies that make the majority of touch screen machines used in the country. 

Alameda County Registrar of Voters Brad Clark said the county first used the machines in 1999, and within three years they were the only voting mechanism used. 

Clark said the county started looking to replace the old voting system in 1995, and settled on the touch screen because of features they thought would facilitate and expedite clean and fair elections.  

Proponents of the machines downplay security concerns, saying the devices are rigorously tested and certified to ensure accuracy. 

Frank Kaplan, Diebold’s Western Region Manager, said tests go on for months at a time and include verification by Wylkie Industries, an outside consulting firm. 

Tests include a line-by-line examination of source code for bugs and any glitches that could affect the machines’ accuracy. They are also put through several voting simulation tests before they are put into use. 

Clark and Kaplan disagree with the accusation that there is no way to create an accurate paper trail, pointing out that after each voter verifies his or her choices, the computer captures a digital image of the ballot which is then stored in case of a recount. 

Under California election law, every county must do a hand recount of at least one percent of the precincts to ensure accuracy, hence the reason for the digital image capture. 

None of this satisfies opponents. 

Judy Bertelsen of the Wellstone Democratic Club in Berkeley has been researching the machines and charges that the systems contain numerous vulnerabilities.  

She says that the digital image stored on the machine could be an exact copy of a mistake. 

“How can I be assured that my vote was cast accurately and how can I assure that is was counted accurately?” she asked. 

David Dill, a computer science professor at Stanford University, said the problems posed by Bertelsen and other critics show exactly why the machines could be problematic. 

“Why should we trust a machine?” he said. “Nobody has been able to answer that.” 

Dill says that even though the machines go through testing, there is still room for error because they are programmed by humans. Bugs are inevitable—and without a means to double check how the machine processed the vote, such as a paper receipt, voters are leaving their choices to chance, hoping that they get recorded and counted accurately. 

“What happens if the machine goes up in smoke? You can’t go back and check the paper trail,” said Dill. 

Opponents also point out that the software Diebold uses to run the machine is proprietary, which Diebold’s Kaplan said is necessary to protect that company’s livelihood. 

Kaplan said Wylkie Industries has had access to the code and, acting on a request by Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, another independent firm, Science Application International Corp., just concluded a favorable review of the Diebold machine and its code. 

Dill said that much of what the firms check for is malicious code written by programmers that could do things like change votes after they are cast. He said a well-written string of malicious code could recognize a test and function correctly, then begin manipulating the vote once it recognized that the balloting was official. 

He said one possible means of spotting test versus real voting might be time recognition, where it would recognize that more votes were being cast at certain times—like early morning, the lunch hour, and then in the evening, while in a test votes might be cast at random times. 

Independent investigations are not satisfactory, Dill said, adding that what is really needed is public disclosure of the code in order to accurately and fairly assess the software. 

Another negative review came from a team from John Hopkins University, who stumbled across the software for the Diebold machine on an unprotected Web site. After conducting a number of tests, they concluded that the software was full of flaws. 

Diebold said that the software was an outdated version no longer in use, but Bev Harris, who runs the blackboxvoting.org, posted an article written by Wired.com that found that the code had been used in the November, 2002 general elections in Georgia, Maryland and in counties in California and Kansas. 

Harris, who many call the Erin Brockovich of voting equipment, is a writer and literary publicist who has dedicated much of her time to monitoring new touch screen voting machines, and has time and time again found what she declares are major flaws. 

Diebold recently got her Web site taken briefly offline after Diebold threatened a suit for copyright infringement.  

Among Harris’s finds was an open Diebold FTP site where she found a software patch that had been applied to all the voting machines in Georgia just before the 2002 election. Because the site was openly accessible to Web surfers, many critics worried that the patches were malicious.  

Several people are also concerned about the Diebold software counties use to run the servers that tally votes for all precincts. 

Kaplan said that the firm’s software and the servers the counties use are reliably isolated, and when a county’s results are sent out they are first copied onto a CD from the server and only then sent over the Internet—and from another computer that is not connected to the county’s server in any way. 

He said the server is locked behind a pair of code-locked doors and that the server’s software, like that on the individual touch screen machines, is also closely tested. 

Critics again point to the fact that machines make mistakes, and that many of the same problems that apply to the individual voter machines also apply to the server. 

Diebold is not the only company drawing fire. 

Election Systems and Software (ES&S) attracted considerable media attention after Chuck Hagel, the Republican Senator from Nebraska, and the former CEO of ES&S—at the time called American Information Systems—ran in and won two elections where 85 percent of the votes were counted by ES&S machines. 

Hagel held stock in the company during both the elections, and in 1996 he scored one of the biggest upsets of the year, becoming the first Republican to win a Nebraska senatorial campaign in 24 years. 

Here in Berkeley, City Clerk Sherry Kelly says that the city has had no serious problems with the Diebold machines. When several voters were unable to complete their votes last November, the machines were cleared and restarted and the voters were eventually able to cast their votes successfully. 

Still, critics are not satisfied, remaining skeptical about a procedure they believe could potentially damage a crucial part of the democratic process, the right to vote. 

In the meantime, those who are hesitant about the new machines are voting absentee, which leaves a paper trail. They encourage others to get their paper ballots in before the deadline Tuesday.

The following was an address to Berkeley City Council on Sept. 7. 

We are all aghast at how inflamed passions and explosive hatred in the Middle East have spun out of control, causing endless death and destruction. How much blood must be spilled and how many human beings maimed or killed before a rude awakening occurs to the reality that the strategies of the Israeli government and Palestinian suicide bombings are a dead end and are counterproductive.  

During my lifetime I have witnessed several seemingly intractable, entrenched conflicts of momentous scope resolved through nonviolence. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela will always be regarded as inspiring heroes.  

As a Holocaust survivor, the terror of violence and repression deeply engrained in my being, I have felt throughout my life a calling to work for Jewish security. Over the years I have observed that neither upward economic mobility, racial segregation, nor military might have provided safety for Jews. Israel, which had been envisioned as a safe haven for Jews, has instead become a most dangerous place. I came to realize that only experiencing what Martin Buber would call “the immense otherness of the other,” growing friendship and community, will create real security for Jews. 

I commend the Berkeley City Council action to support House Resolution 111, calling for an investigation into the death of Rachel Corrie, because I believe that their action reflects a desire to reduce the level of violence in the Middle East. If the investigation reveals a callous use of force by the Caterpillar operator, it would provide deplorable evidence of the hardening and brutalizing of young Israeli soldiers, which threatens the erosion of human decency in Israeli society. Resultant political pressures might have a humanizing effect on Israeli society.  

Reducing military power worldwide is a pressing need. Nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare represent an unfathomable threat to life on earth. Nonviolent conflict resolution based on meaningful dialogue has become a survival imperative for humanity.  

The Berkeley Council’s action occurred as Jews were still reeling from news of yet another devastating suicide bombing. This triggered deep-seated Jewish fears for life caused by centuries of persecution. We should mourn the victims of all the suicide bombings and the Palestinian victims of Israel’s current political and military policies, along with the death of Rachel Corrie.  

I wish that the killing in the Middle East rather than polarizing our Berkeley community would motivate us to reflect on the preciousness of our precarious existence here on earth and celebrate our shared humanity. 

Karl Linn is a member of East-Bay Dialogue Group of Arabs and Jews and president of Berkeley EcoHouse.

Ursula Sherman Village—Berkeley’s most ambitious proposed home for homeless families—is two steps closer to becoming a reality, but environmental and funding concerns are forcing an outcome somewhat different than the original design. 

Two weeks ago, teams from Golden Gate Tank Removal Inc. removed a pair of underground storage tanks—measuring three feet by eight feet—buried beside Harrison House, the existing homeless shelter at the site of the proposed homeless village at Harrison and Fourth Streets. 

Removal took five days and cost $75,000, paid for with money from the city public works department and city housing funds that had been earmarked to upgrade Harrison House. 

The tanks, discovered when a vent was spotted protruding above ground, were found to contain small amounts of gasoline and required disposal at a state-approved facility, said Deputy Manager of Public Works Patrick Keilch. 

They were just the latest in a series of environmental concerns the project has had to overcome since Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency (BOSS) first conceived of it four years ago. 

BOSS envisions the project as a supportive, self-contained four-building village where about 40 homeless families and 80 individuals can live and receive social services on site. The non-profit has secured city and state funding to build two homes to house abut 35 families next to Harrison House, which they also operate. 

A planned community center with some extra housing for residents remains unfunded. 

The shelter’s location on city property away from residential neighborhoods in the heart of industrial West Berkeley has been both a blessing and a curse. 

While BOSS planners haven’t had to placate any neighborhood groups, air pollution blown in from the project’s closet neighbors—the Berkeley Transfer Station, Interstate I-80 and the Union Pacific Railroad—nearly derailed the project. 

Air samples collected last year by the city’s Department of Toxics showed elevated levels of particulate matter—airborne solids or liquids from various sources—that at times exceeded state standards. The dirty dust, much of it coming from vehicle exhaust, is known to aggravate asthma. 

In July, the city’s Zoning Adjustment Board approved air quality mitigations listed in the project’s Environmental Impact Report, giving BOSS the green light to proceed. 

“Yes, it’s not wonderful air quality, but the project has overriding social value,” said Berkeley Housing Director Stephen Barton. “It’s healthier than if [the residents] were out on the street.” 

To reduce risk to shelter residents, the city has implemented mitigations at its garbage transfer station across the street from the shelter. After installing a mist system inside the station last year to knock the dust particles from the air, Tom Farrell, manager of the city’s recycling and solid waste division, said the city recently erected a 16-foot vine-covered fence to trap some of the dust before it blows to the shelter. The city also planted poplar trees to block dust and designated a street sweeper to clean the grounds at the station. 

Because transfer station modifications may fail to reduce particulate matter below state standards, BOSS reworked their building plan. 

Originally designed as a state-of-the-art sustainable structure using straw bail insulation, BOSS is now focusing costs on purifying the air inside the buildings. 

“We want to give [the residents] the best air possible so we are going with a higher end air filtration system,” said BOSS Executive Director boona cheema. Residents with a history of respiratory problems will be housed at a different BOSS shelter. 

Diminished funding forced BOSS to scale back plans for the community center. “We’ve shrunk the project a little bit in terms of the community space because we don’t think we will be able to raise the money,” cheema said, adding that government money earmarked for housing cannot be used to pay for amenities like a child care center or a job training lab. That money comes from private foundation grants, which have dried up recently, she said. 

cheema said she hopes to sign a long-term lease with the city in November and start construction on the two housing projects in January. Harrison House itself will have to wait until at least another year.

After almost five months of organizing, Berkeley Bowl workers filed a formal request with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Friday, asking them to schedule a date for a union election. 

According to Tim Hamann, president of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Butcher's Union Local 120—the union helping the workers organize—the NLRB should schedule a secret ballot vote within four to six weeks, where all eligible employees will have a chance to cast votes to decide whether or not to allow the union to represent them in contract negotiations with the store. 

Workers who had originally proposed a card check agreement that management rejected said they have been left with no recourse but to move forward with an NLRB election.  

Workers had tried to avoid an election through the NLRB because they say it favors management, who will now have time to run what they expect will be a strong anti-union campaign. As a compromise, workers had advocated a card check followed by an NLRB election within a week that would be monitored by a neutral third party. 

Management has not released a statement concerning the filing.

Proposition 54, the Oct. 7 ballot measure that promises to create a colorblind society, doesn’t look quite so benign to medical researchers in Berkeley and environs, who say that, author Ward Connerly’s protestations notwithstanding, the measure could do severe damage to public health programs. 

Take Contra Costa County, where health department officials have used racial data to reverse a long-standing gap between black and white women in early stage breast cancer detection rates. 

Opponents of Prop. 54, which would prevent state agencies from classifying people by race, ethnicity or national origin, say that if the initiative passes, programs such as the one in Contra Costa County would not be possible. 

But proponents of the measure, including Connerly, disagree. They say the medical exemption clause clearly allows researchers to gather such data. 

The measure seems to have stalled in the polls, and the health community appears united in its denunciation of the measure. 

They point to cases like Contra Costa County’s breast cancer program as an outreach program that would have been impossible without 1992 racial and ethnic data from the Northern California Cancer Center and the California Cancer Registry. 

In 1991 only 40 percent of Contra Costa County black women with breast cancer were diagnosed at an early stage where treatment is more likely to lead to a positive outcome, compared to 71 percent of white women. 

It was this knowledge, health officials said, that gave the county’s Breast Cancer Partnership a basis for targeting their outreach efforts. 

By 2001, their efforts succeeded, and new data showed that 71 percent of both white and black women were diagnosed with breast cancer at an early stage.  

“This was a huge issue, we knew through research that early detection was a key ingredient in successful treatment,” said Kim Cox, program manager for women’s health in Contra Costa County Health Partnership. “We knew one of the reasons had to be access.” 

According to language included on the ballot set for Oct. 7, the proposition states that “otherwise lawful classification of medical research subjects and patients shall be exempt.”  

But Dee W. West, the chief scientific officer for the Northern California Cancer Center, believes the work of the Northern California Cancer Center would suffer from the confusion the law would create. 

“Cancer rates are reported by hospitals and by physicians to the regional registry,” West said. “I don’t think hospitals will be as likely to act in getting that information if they’re not sure whether they should be doing it and if state agencies aren’t asking them to do it. If that information is not included in a person’s medical record, we’re going to have a tough time collecting it.” 

Rachel Moran, a law professor at UC Berkeley, said the “medical exemption” language included in the ballot initiative is too vague to determine who would be considered “medical research subject” or “patient.”  

So while researchers may be able to collect data from people who are currently classified as “patients” or “subjects,” it may preclude getting the same from breast cancer survivors no longer considered patients, Moran said. 

It may also prevent researchers from determining whether there are cancer clusters within certain racial or ethnic communities, she said. 

“When you’re surveying people, they are not necessarily ‘a patient’ and they’re not necessarily ‘a medical research subject,’” Moran said. “Sometimes cancer runs in families, something it varies by race. Technically, none of these people would be considered research subjects.”  

Moran said the language might also create problems for health and social welfare researchers. 

“The exemption also raises the question of what will or will not count as medical research,” Moran said. “This may create a problem for researchers who want to gather data on...communities [at risk to] develop alcohol and drug addiction. Do these surveys really count as ‘medical?’ You could also make the argument that community based health that is preventive in nature rather than reactive would also not be included.”

Foiled Robbery 

A clerk at a San Pablo Avenue jewelry shop single-handedly stopped a woman from stealing $1,400 worth of jewelry Sunday. According to police, a woman walked into the store on the 2300 block of San Pablo Avenue, snatched a handful of jewelry from a display rack and bolted for the door. The clerk raced after her and corralled her outside the shop. The burglar punched the clerk in the face, bit her arm and pulled her hair, police said, but the clerk held on until officers arrived, arresting Kamella Lemmons, 21, of Oakland. During a search, they found she was carrying heroin and needles. 

Robbery 

A man claiming to be carrying a gun robbed a pedestrian late Saturday night at the corner of Eighth and Grayson Streets. According to police, the victim was searching for a house party when the robber approached him, threatening to shoot if he didn’t hand over his wallet. The victim complied and the robber escaped in blue Chevrolet Astrovan. 

Fistfight 

Two men were arrested for fighting on the 1500 block of Oregon Street yesterday afternoon after a witness saw the pair squaring off to fight and called police. When an officer arrived, the two had just started to brawl and about eight onlookers rushed to encircle them and watch the fight. The officer called for backup and then tried to stop the fight. Neither combatant wanted to quit, so the arriving backup officers had to subdue both. Charles Durant, 28, of Berkeley and Eric Perry, 39, of Berkeley were each arrested for battery. 

Reward in Berkeley Murder 

The city of Berkeley is offering $15,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the murder of a Mark David Sorensen, a 29-year-old Berkeley resident. Sorensen was shot to death and dumped from a moving car at the corner of Alcatraz and Adeline Avenues at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 5. Witnesses described the car as silver, similar to a Nissan, with tinted windows. Police have no suspects or motives at this time.

Prominent Bay Area advocates will debate the core Mideast conflict on the UC Berkeley campus Thursday evening under the sponsorship of the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC). 

Entitled “How Can Peace be Achieved Between Israelis and Palestinians,” the debate begins at 7 p.m. in room 2060 of the Valley Life Sciences Building. Because of limited seating, early arrival is recommended. 

The debate pits Hatem Bazian, Ph.D., a UCB lecturer in the Near Eastern Studies and Ethnic Studies Departments, and freelance journalist Alison Weir, founder and executive director of If Americans Knew (www.ifamericansknew.org) against David Meir-Levi, director of the Israel Peace Initiative (www.ipi-usa.org) and Dr. Eric Sirkin, Ph.D., a Palo Alto technology firm executive. 

This event is free and open to the public. 

The debate will begin with initial presentations by both sides, followed by rebuttals and a question-and-answer period with the audience.

I recently accepted an assignment to attend a Cybersalon debate entitled “Matchmakers Duke it Out Over Best Strategies.” Though I didn’t think I was the best person to attend since I’m married and haven’t been in the dating game since 1983, I was curious to learn more about this growing social phenomenon. 

And besides, I’m a believer in keeping your options open. You never know when you may need the help of a dating service.  

About 75 people crowded into the Berkeley Hillside Club, located just above Shattuck Avenue on Cedar Street. I looked around the room. I wasn’t much older than a lot of the folks attending. Pizza and beverages were available and as promised, at 7 p.m. the debate began. 

Actually, it wasn’t much of a debate since it took most of the allotted hour to introduce people in the audience and the panel—which included representatives from eMode, Tribes, Table for Six and SmartFlirts. 

Local resident, high tech publicist and moderator Sylvia Paull started the Cybersalon eleven years ago in her home with the goal of gathering together friends and people she admired to discuss how technology is changing society. The events grew so big and popular that she had to move them from her house to a larger venue. 

This is the first year that Cybersalon has taken place at the Hillside Club. 

Among the audience members Sylvia introduced was Lee Felsenstein, the inventor of the world’s first portable personal computer, called the Osborne-1. 

Felsenstein said he met his wife in a chat room on The Well. After several correspondences via e-mail, they met for a live date. She wasn’t his type, he said; she was overweight. But he soon realized his ideal was not necessarily his life partner. 

Seven years later they were married. 

The first panelist to speak was Mark Pincus who is creating a Web site called Tribes. 

“It’s a social network,” said Mark. “A way to connect to each other on the Internet without being buried in a database or spending money to find one another.” 

Mark’s original goal behind Tribes was to get a date for himself. He was attracted to cyberspace matchmaking because his sister had found her husband on jdate.com, a Web site for Jews seeking other Jews. When Sylvia asked Mark if he was currently seeing someone, he said yes. 

“And how did you meet this special someone?” asked Sylvia. 

“The traditional way,” said Mark. “At a party.” 

Psychologist Dr. Courtney Johnson, eMode’s director of research, was the next presenter. 

She said her goal was to find the formula for love by using personality tests that access values, attitudes, bonding and communication styles. She has also developed a compatibility test to match eMode users with others on the site.  

Table for Six founder Julia Paiva was the only representative from the non-Internet variety of dating services. She said that men and women want the same thing and that they need to be physically in front of one another in order to experience attraction. She provides that face-to-face contact by setting up dinners and outdoor activities in which like-minded singles can meet.  

Ned Engelke explained how SmartFlirts utilizes cell phone text messaging to make instant connections with others. He said text messaging “removes the overhead for blind dating,” i.e. getting ready for a date, giving information about your whereabouts to a friend in case you need a bail out, etc. 

With only 160 characters allowed in text messages, Ned enthusiastically declared, “You don’t have to be Tolstoy in order to get a date!” 

Cynthia Typaldos’s angle on cyberspace dating was different from the other panelists. 

She’s mostly interested in connecting professional guilds, but she had originally played matchmaker via a golfing Web site in which she connected golfers with other golfers who were looking for playing partners.  

Last to speak was dana boyd (her name has been legally changed to lowercase), who didn’t represent any company but who has recently arrived in Berkeley (via MIT and Brown) and seems to be an expert on all kinds of humanistic topics including types of dating behaviors which she divides into three groups: random hook-up, asking a friend, and getting to know the “familiar stranger,” the person you see at the bus stop everyday but don’t necessarily talk with. 

Finally, from the audience came a representative of PlanetOut, a highly successful Internet site that connects gays and lesbians, although its CEO, Megan Smith, admitted that she’d first met her life partner in the flesh at a job networking party.  

What’s a 51-year-old woman, who’s been married eleven years and with the same guy for twenty, to think of all this? 

Well, it was nice to be in a room full of optimists, people who believe they can help others to connect with one another, and with folks who are interested in doing the connecting. 

However, being the old-fashioned wedded type, I have to admit that I’m interested in the after effects of marriage more than the beginnings. 

By that I mean, what happens after you meet Mr. or Ms. Right, fall in love, get married and then, suddenly or gradually, the relationship changes? 

As the wife of a man who had an accident after I’d said “I do … in sickness and in health, and until death do us part,” I want to know how one keeps those promises when real life, not cyberspace, intervenes.  

Cybersalon meets at the Berkeley Hillside Club the third Sunday of every month, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. 

Next month’s forum is entitled Digital Democracy. The speaker is Joan Blades, founder of www.moveon.org. 

For more information about Cybersalon, contact Sylvia Paull at whoisylvia@aol.com. A list of upcoming Cyberspace events can be found at www.hillsideclub.org 

Tribes: www.markpincus.blogspot.com  

eMode: www.emode.com 

Table for Six: www.tableforsix.com 

SmartFlirts: www.smartflirts.com 

Cynthia Typaldos Consulting: www.typ aldos.com 

PlanetOut: www.planetout.com  

You can always count on Berkeley to provide an alternative take on anything, so I expected nothing less from the High Holiday services I attended Friday night, put on by Kehilla Community Synagogue, one of several alternative congregations in Berkeley. 

From parents chasing toddlers down the aisles and the skateboard-toting teenager to the overt progressive political references and the warm, community feel, one had no doubt that these services were far from typical.  

Originally founded in 1983, Kehilla is part of a growing number of Jewish congregations that are part of the Jewish renewal movement founded by Rabbis Shlomo Carlebach and Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.  

As defined by the ALEPH: Alliance For Jewish Renewal, Jewish renewal is a trans-denominational sect grounded in Judaism's prophetic and mystical traditions but with an emphasis on tikkun olam, Hebrew for what ALEPH defines as healing the world by “promoting justice, freedom, responsibility, caring for all life and the earth that sustains all life.”  

In Berkeley, Kehilla originally started as a Hebrew school, but two decades later it has grown into a flourishing community organization. 

Burt Jacobson, the group’s founder and first Rabbi, said he started Kehilla to provide individualized teaching for students studying for bar and bat mitzvahs. Today the Hebrew school still exists—but now 400-plus families belong to a rapidly growing congregation. 

What makes Kehilla unique depends on who you talk to, but for many it’s an alternative take to what they have found to be an oppressive and stuffy experience. Members say it is a way for them to be Jewish, but in a non-traditional and much more accepting way. 

Jacobson said he founded Kehilla as a way to mesh convergent parts of his life—his political commitment and his spiritual needs. An anti-nuclear activist, he found himself stranded after the coalition he worked with fell apart. He was also part of the renewal movement that was growing at the time and decided to create “a progressive and religious community that would stick together.” 

“I was never really comfortable with the secular political view. It didn’t account for everything,” Jacobson said. 

From its inception, Kehilla confronted political issues such as the Israel/Palestine conflict from a balanced perspective, advocating for a just solution for both sides—an approach that attracted some and dissuaded others. 

“In the early years there were a lot of people who wouldn’t touch us with a 10-foot pole,” said Jacobson. 

Jewish renewal according to ALEPH was heavily influenced by the women’s movement, and so Kehilla has also made a concerted effort to critique and overcome what Jacobson calls the patriarchal aspect of Judaism. 

For several years, Jacobson said, Kehilla was called “the dyke synagogue” for its stance on equality for homosexuals. 

Kehilla’s commitment to spirituality is strong, and Jacobson said that, for many, the mystical and traditional roots of Judaism still offer a way to understand and adapt to the modern and postmodern world. 

This mix has created a welcoming environment for many Jews—myself included—who, like Jacobson, find that Judaism is a part our lives that works in combination with other themes. And for many, belonging to Kehilla is a way to be Jewish but unconfined and comfortable without being overly religious. 

High Holiday celebrations are a way for many Jews to be Jewish once a year. Like Christians on Christmas or Easter, Jews turn out en masse for the celebrations and Kehilla congregants are no exception—with several times the normal attendance showing up at the Scottish Rite center in downtown Oakland, one of the few regional venues large enough to accommodate the massive turnout. 

Throughout the services, Kehilla’s unique appeal was front and center, as the congregation sang, danced, meditated and celebrated the beginning of the Jewish year 5764. 

Women wore yarmulkes, traditional religious headgear usually reserved for only men. Screaming kids—who usually take away from an event—only added to the warmness, as mom and dads, sisters and brothers rocked and cooed to them. 

New Rabbi David Cooper addressed the audience in a warm, welcoming tone as the cantor and others sang songs that filled the auditorium and moved many to tears. 

Like many others, I left the services renewed and invigorated—unlike the stiff, unfulfilled feelings I’d often experienced after other more traditional services. 

Kehilla was not the sole alternative. Over the weekend, several other organizations and synagogues also catered to the unique demands of Berkeley’s Jewish High Holiday attendees.  

The Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center (JCC) offered a free service at a time when tickets for other services are usually expensive and hard to come by. Executive Director Joel Bashevkin said that the center has been offering a free service for years to people who couldn’t get tickets to other services or who do not belong to a synagogue. 

“All the people who don’t get into the other services get sent to the JCC,” Basheukin said. 

Even the more traditional synagogues, including Beth El, Berkeley’s largest Reform congregation, make an effort to accommodate the wide range of people who attend services. 

With over 500 families, Beth El offered two services, with parts of the congregation spilling into the nearby Episcopalian Church for a special service. Rabbi Ferenc Raj said the two services were held both because of attendance but also because the earlier service was more liberal and the later more conservative. 

As with all the other congregations, the Beth El services focused on self examination as a way to prepare and improve for the new year. 

The cycle of services still isn’t over, so there are still opportunities to attend the Yom Kippur eve and day services which mark the end of the 10-day celebration period that started last Friday. 

Kehilla will have services Sunday, Oct. 5 and Monday, Oct. 6. For more information call 527-5452 ext. 11. Beth El will also offer services on the Oct. 5 and 6. For more information call 848-3988. The JCC will also have services on the Oct. 6. For more information call 848-0237 x 6.

A truck fire rendered a local couple homeless Monday as they were driving to work. 

Sharon and James Clark had been living in their 1983 GMC SUV and working odd jobs to get by, but their most recent assignment proved to be more than their truck’s engine could handle. 

On their way to UC Berkeley to distribute fliers for discount subscription rates on the New York Times, James Clark spotted smoke escaping from underneath his hood. 

“I put in some transmission fluid and started driving again,” Clark said. Smelling burning rubber, Clark pulled over at the corner of Hopkins and Gilman Streets and asked a passerby to call the Berkeley Fire Department.  

The Fire Department fielded the call at 11:01 a.m., arrived three minutes later and extinguished the blaze within ten minutes. 

Deputy Fire Chief David Orth said the fire was located in the engine compartment. He said there was little risk of an explosion because the fire had not spread to the gas tank, shock absorbers or wheels. 

Firefighters managed to salvage the couple’s possessions from the back of the truck as well as the fliers they were hired to distribute. Police are working with the couple to safeguard their belongings while they seek shelter. 

Clark said he didn’t have insurance to pay for repairs and that he hoped the city would junk it for him. 

“I didn’t think it was going to catch on fire,” said Clark. “I was hoping for the best, but it turned out for the worst.” 

Orth said the fire department did not receive the emergency call immediately because the caller dialed 911 from his cell phone, instead of from a telephone. Because cell phone calls are usually routed to the California Highway Patrol via cellular towers on highways, Orth urged Berkeley residents to call the fire department directly at 981-5900 when reporting an emergency on their cell phones.

Sorry. It will certainly look like bad taste to some if the Daily Planet allows itself a bit of a gloat over the results of the city’s likely voter survey. But we can’t resist saying, humbly but loudly if that’s possible, We Told You So. What was the first task force appointed by Mayor Bates? The one on the permitting process. And what comes in dead last on the list of voter concerns? The permitting process. And second to last: new housing, also a part of the task force’s charge. So why have almost eight months, uncounted hours of paid city staff time (and unpaid but still valuable volunteer time) been spent on (and we really hate to sound like a broken record) fixing what’s not broke? 

One problem is the constitution of the task force. The mayor, or whoever picked the list of participants on his behalf, was not bound by Berkeley’s fair representation ordinance, which requires more permanent bodies such as commissions to have members chosen by all of the city’s elected officials on a pro rata basis. If the members were answerable to City Council, who in turn are accountable to the voters, they might have a better idea of what Berkeleyans think. Instead, the majority of the members seem to have been chosen because of their connection with development interests, and two of them don’t even live in Berkeley. Anyone who knows anything about campaign finance shouldn’t be surprised by this, since it’s a cliché among those who study such things that the building industry and its allies are always big time political contributors. This is one of the perennial arguments for public financing of elections. Let’s hope Arianna’s Huffington’s Clean Money initiative has a remedy for this problem. 

Another problem with the task force is that even the best intentioned participants started out with very little knowledge of how things actually work in Berkeley. An unconscionable amount of time was spent on explaining things like the difference between a building permit and a use permit. Maybe the remedy would have been to start out with a crash course on how the permitting process actually works, with a pre-test and a post-test to make sure everyone got it. The discussion of the Landmark Preservation Ordinance was a particularly embarrassing display of pooled ignorance coupled with special interest lobbying. It might have been nice if the task forcers had at least read the ordinance before they started critiquing what they thought was in it, or if any member of the Landmarks Commission had been invited to the meeting to answer questions.  

On the other hand, even though Berkeley voters are not particularly interested in new housing per se, they placed homeless services high on their list of concerns, not far behind services for the elderly and disabled. It’s not too much of a jump to suggest that most of us would like to see people who are now homeless decently housed if possible. It’s just that we don’t think that it’s necessary to expedite the production of another thousand units of luxury student housing under the pretext of providing a very few low-income units in each big building. 

There’s one question which wasn’t asked by this survey. Would citizens support the city’s building a reasonable number of carefully targeted units directed specifically at the neediest part of the population? If it were asked, the answer would undoubtedly be yes, based on the strong affirmation by survey participants of their willingness to support services for Berkeley residents who need them. Maybe it’s time for the mayor to convene a task force on housing the homeless. 

Becky O’Malley is executive editor of the Daily Planet.

There was a small traffic jam on Gayley Road on Friday just before noon, like a miniature version of the big tie-ups when pop stars are playing the Greek Theater. I’m not sure of the cause, but it’s tempting to believe that it was because a big crossover star was on the bill at the Haas Business School. That’s crossover between academia and journalism—Paul Krugman, today’s top poster boy for intellectual types who are deeply worried that the United States is seriously, perhaps terminally, ill. Krugman, both a New York Times columnist and a Princeton economics professor, told the overflow crowd at his noon lecture that his own favorite columnist quote was from Molly Ivins: “What I hate most about the Bushies is that they make us feel like paranoid conspiracy theorists all the time.” In the audience, we roared our approval of that one. We are all getting tired of feeling paranoid, it’s true. 

Krugman’s talk was sponsored by the UC School of Journalism, so he was introduced by its dean, Orville Schell, who described the speaker as plain-spoken. Krugman is indeed blunt, but he’s blunt in a very clever way. He gave his standard stump speech at UC, honed to perfection from a long book tour on behalf of his latest release, “The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century.” Like all popular professors, he’s got his lecture down pat, so it’s easy to take notes in outline form. Former Chronicle columnist Lewis Dolinsky claims to have heard it three times, including all the same jokes, but, he says, “I laugh at them every time”.  

It’s whistling-past-the-graveyard gallows humor, for sure. The scariest bullet point is that the U.S. economy, because of the massive deficits created by the Bush administration, is headed for an unprecedented crisis, what he calls “the big crackup.” At present the U.S. is taking in only about 75 percent of what it spends. That contributes to a debt snowball which is heading for a deficit of at least $550 billion each year, give or take $50 billion.  

So why doesn’t anyone do anything about it? The bond markets, he says, are simply “in denial.” 

Krugman thinks that the U.S. will eventually have a “Wile E. Coyote moment,” named for the character who chases the Road Runner in cartoons. Like the Coyote, investors will run headlong over a cliff, then look up and try to backpedal furiously, but will end up crashing all the same. When will this happen? “The U.S. will have a Wile E. Coyote moment at exactly 3 p.m. on May 30, 2008,” says Krugman jocularly, though he admits he doesn’t really know. 

He says that K Street (traditionally the location of lobbyists’ offices) and Pennsylvania Avenue have merged under Bush, so that there’s no policy anymore, just politics. The lobbyists have moved into the White House. 

He compares the administration’s selling of their tax cuts to their selling of the war against Iraq. Both, he says, used similar dishonest tactics. First, the ostensible rationale keeps changing. The tax cuts were originally supposed to return the surplus to the taxpayers. When the surplus suddenly evaporated in 2001, they were sold as the answer to the slowdown in the economy. But, he points out, a $500 billion deficit should produce 10 million average worker’s jobs, and instead Bush will be the first president since Hoover to end his term with a net job loss.  

Also, both the tax cut and the war were sold under false pretenses. The Treasury Department’s tax modeling program clearly showed from the beginning that most benefits will go to a few people at the top of the income chain, and that budget surplus projections were lies. But the administration no longer discloses the results from running the model, though some think tank economists outside government still have access to it. 

Most of the information needed to understand such deceptions is in the public domain, Krugman says. He’s made a rule for himself not to use “insider stuff,” just data available to anyone. Anyone could predict what was going to go wrong in Iraq by reading the foreign press, he says. 

There’s a lot more to his spiel, and it’s terrifying. Asking people around Berkeley this weekend, though, I was surprised to learn that many well-read political people haven’t yet heard about Krugman’s crusade. He’s gone, in three years, from a free market capitalist, almost a neo-liberal, to a neo-Nostradamus, but he’s done it on the op-ed page of the New York Times, and not everyone reads the Times. Since he started his book tour, he’s been on television and radio, so that new people (a checker at Andronico’s, for example) are finally catching his message.  

Why hasn’t his analysis appeared much in other media? Krugman believes that parts of the media, e.g. Fox News, are just components of the administration’s propaganda machine. The rest of the press and media want to be objective, he says, but that’s hard, so they settle for being even-handed, which is not the same thing. He jokes that some papers, when confronted with claims that the earth is flat, would run the headline SHAPE OF EARTH: VIEWS DIFFER.  

When Krugman first started writing for the Times, during the 2000 presidential campaign, he went “from puzzlement to outrage” as he heard what Bush and his allies were saying, but the paper wouldn’t let him use the word “lies” in commenting on it. In the question period J-School faculty member Cynthia Gorney, who used to work for the Washington Post, asked why “lies” was forbidden. He said it was Howell Raines’ decision, a desire to be “gentlemanly.” ( He thinks Raines was “unfairly vilified,” nevertheless.) The Times lets Krugman say anything he wants these days.  

He reports that he’s seen other organizations and journalists get “aversion therapy” from people they’ve criticized, and back off. Paul Krugman is the best argument there is for the academic tenure system. His ace in the hole, he admits, is that he can always go back to being a professor, if journalism gets too uncomfortable.  

Becky O’Malley is executive editor of the Daily Planet.