One of Berkeley’s largest nonprofits—its survival threatened by accounting mishaps and mounting debt—has asked city and county officials for a helping hand to solve a looming cash shortfall, which some estimates place at $900,000. 

Some layoffs have already been scheduled, and more program cuts may be in order unless additional cash can be found. 

Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency (BOSS) administrators told local government officials last week that cash flow problems stemming from a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) audit earlier this year were far more serious than once thought, and that cash advances would likely be needed for the agency to keep meeting payroll. 

“We can’t afford to lose BOSS,” said Alameda County Health Care Services Director Dave Kears. The nonprofit runs a Berkeley homeless shelter, transitional housing units and the multi-agency service center in Berkeley, as well as other programs in Oakland and Hayward. 

“Most of what we do in mental health relies on people coming to us,” said Kears, who is working with BOSS on a bailout plan to present to HUD. “BOSS is unique in that it can go out and engage people.” 

BOSS’s financial woes are deep-seated. HUD auditors found that BOSS had mistakenly overcharged the federal agency for various services over the past three years and ordered the group to return approximately $600,000. BOSS—which operates on a roughly $5 million annual budget—hopes they can cut their HUD debt by one third by reassigning some of their reimbursement requests. Until last month BOSS officials had hoped HUD would accept all of their reimbursement requests once they organized their paperwork. 

Local officials faulted BOSS for the accounting mess, saying that as BOSS took on more federally funded services, it failed to upgrade its accounting department to handle the added bookkeeping complexity required. 

A three-year-old program to place former roughly 40 BOSS clients into subsidized housing exemplifies the nonprofit’s problems. 

In several cases BOSS administrators failed to note that the rents paid exceeded the fair market rate allowed by HUD. “Staff was so excited to put people in housing, it just slipped through,” said BOSS Executive Director boona cheema. 

BOSS also mistakenly filed for HUD reimbursements on work done by administrators—even though HUD policy was not to pay for upper management. 

Working without a professional accounting staff and using an antiquated bookkeeping system, BOSS financial records were so disorganized that employees and auditors couldn’t find which programs corresponded to the appropriate grants. 

“That’s where I didn’t make the right decisions,” said cheema, who has a policy of filling many of the non profit’s jobs with former clients. “When HUD started asking for a higher level of detail we should have changed internal staffing and brought in higher skilled people.” She said part of an organizational restructuring will include bringing in a professional Chief Financial Officer. 

Compounding the accounting morass, BOSS—trying to keep its programs running in a slowing economy—exhausted its $300,000 line of credit. 

In the past, BOSS dipped into its credit line to pay for services while it waited for foundation money to arrive. But when private donations dried up, BOSS continued to spend to keep programs running. 

Cheema said the agency received a $100,000 grant to open a youth shelter in Berkeley in 2000, but as funding shrunk to just $20,000, the non profit continued to run it from reserve funds, until it transferred the shelter to another non profit earlier this year. 

“We’ve been overspending,” cheema said. “Costs have gone up and we didn’t want to let people go.” 

Berkeley, Oakland and Alameda County have all pledged to help keep BOSS up and running while it deals with HUD. The accounting confusion has resulted in a slower release of funds from HUD—which accounts for 40 percent of the non profits’ funding. In September, BOSS delayed a scheduled payday for nearly a week while it scrambled to find enough money to pay employees. 

Berkeley is planning to give BOSS a three-month cash advance totaling $100,000 and Alameda County will kick in an extra $200,000 to help meet payroll, payroll tax and health care costs while it sorts out it accounting problems with HUD. 

Both the city and county have also provided funds to help BOSS to pay for an accounting consultant to modernize bookkeeping software and practices. 

With Berkeley already staring at an estimated $8 million deficit, city Housing Director Steve Barton said there is little more he can do for BOSS. “All we can do to help out is come up with greater efficiencies,” he said. “We can’t go to City Council and ask for money.” 

Cheema said she expected BOSS to survive the crisis, but that she wouldn’t know how much BOSS would have to cut until the start of the next fiscal year in June. Some layoffs were likely, she said, especially in departments outside the core mission of providing housing and homeless services.  

The four-person staff at BOSS’ Urban Gardens Institute, which trains clients for jobs in horticulture, has been notified that, barring a sudden reversal of fortune, they would be laid off at the end of November. 

Cheema said she had been cooperating with HUD to get BOSS’ books in order, and last week she submitted a plan to reorganize its bookkeeping procedures. She said she hoped the non profit will be allowed to pay the debt over time or that some of the debt would be forgiven. 

HUD did not respond to telephone calls for the article. 

The specter of layoffs is just one concern for BOSS’ approximately 100 unionized employees. Their contract expired this summer, and last week they voted to reject BOSS’ latest offer—which would have frozen salaries and increased fees for medical benefits. The union has agreed to call in a federal mediator to help reach a new contract. 

“It’s distressing that the three-year contract came up at this time when BOSS is having financial troubles,” said shop steward Lisa Stephens. “Otherwise, they would have come to us and negotiated instead of unilaterally changing the benefits package.”

TUESDAY, OCT. 21 

Student Study Skills Strategies for Success, a Berkeley High/PTSA program, featuring Classroom Matters, Nat Lewis, Eileen Abrams and Rory Bled, at 7 p.m. in the BHS Little Theater. 

540-7981.  

“The Case Againt the Chilean Military Death Squad” with Sandra Coliver of the Center for Justice and Accountability and Zita Cabelo, sister of Winston Cabello, an Allende government economist executed by a Chilean military death squad, at 7:30 p.m. at International House, Home Room, Piedmont at Bancroft. 642-9460. 

“The Struggle for Socialism From Below in South Africa” at 4 p.m. at 652 Barrows Hall. Sponsored by the Center for African Studies. 642-8338. asc@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley Garden Club hosts Larry Lee, horticulturist at U. C. Botanical Garden, who will speak on “Strange and Unusual Foliage.” Guests are welcome to attend the meeting at 1 p.m. and the free program at 2 p.m. Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. 524-4374. 

“Success in School: How to Help Your Child Thrive and Still Get into College,” with Denise Pope Clark, Ph.D., Stanford educator and author, at 7 p.m. at The College Preparatory School Auditorium, 6100 Broadway (north), Oakland. Admission is $10 adult, $5 student. 658-5202. 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Charles Fitch will show travel slides. We 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 . 

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

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 22 

Celebrating 20 years of Community Service Gala Annual Dinner to benefit Berkeley Booster Programs at 6:30 p.m. at The Doubletree Hotel, 200 Marina Blvd., Tickets are $65 per person, $500 for a table of 8. For reservations call 843-6542. www.berkeleyboosters.org 

“Africa on the Edge: Fighting Debt, AIDS and War” with Nunu Kidane from Eritria, member, Priority Africa Network, at 1:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Sponsored by the Berkeley Gray Panthers. 548-9696. 

“The Spirit of the Laws in Mozambique,” with Juan Obarrio, Dept. of Anthropology, Columbia University, at 4 p.m. at 652 Barrows Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Center for African Studies. 642.8338. asc@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Sustainable Food Culture in Japan, including food prepared by Chef Tomoe Suzuki of the Eco-Community Restaurant Project in Japan, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 848-1704 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Station. Vigil at 6:30 p.m. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www.geocities. 

com/vigil4peace/vigil 

Prose Writers Workshop meets 7 to 9 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut, at Rose. For information call 524-3034. 

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

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.  

THURSDAY, OCT. 23 

Green Living Series: Green Building Materials Learn about healthier building materials, and how to lower your utility bills, reduce home maintenance, and minimize remodeling construction waste, with Greg VanMechelen, architect. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave., near Dwight Way. Cost is $10 for Ecology Center members, $15 general, no one turned away. 548-2220 ext. 233. erc@ecologycenter.org 

“Optics for Birding” Ed Lehman, retired science teacher, will discuss principles of binoculars and telescopes, show how to test yours for common faults, compare models. Free admission. At 7:30 p.m., Oakland Public Library, Rockridge Branch, 5366 College Ave. 652-0107 or 654-4830. 

Public Workshop on Extension of Bay Trail through Marina at 7 p.m. at the Marina Conference Room, 201 University Ave. at 7 p.m. For information call Deborah Chernin at 981-6715. 

Berkeley Youth Alternatives Celebrates the opening of its new commercial kitchen for a culinary skills program on health and nutrition for low-income families. Celebration from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. includes creole cuisine and live music. Tickets are $45 in advance or $50 at the door. 1255 Allston Way. For reservations call 845-9010. 

“Berkeley Reads” Orientation for new volunteer tutors in the Berkeley Public Library’s adult literacy program, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the West Branch Library, 1125 University Ave. at San Pablo. For more information call 981-6299. 

Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh, recreational free duels, please bring your own cards. From 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Story Room at the Berkeley Central Library, 2090 Kittredge, 981-6223. www.inforpeople.org/bpl 

“Thoughts about Suicide Bombers and their Families,” with Ms. Amira Hass, Haaretz Correspondent in the Palestinian West Bank and the Gaza Strip, at 5 p.m. at 340 Stephens Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. 642-8208. cmes@uclink4.berkeley.edu 

FRIDAY, OCT. 24 

“The Precautionary Principle” a panel with Tom and Jane Kelley, Councilmember Kriss Worthington, and Jean Reinhardt Reiss of the Breast Cancer Fund at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists at 1924 Cedar St. Part of the Redwood Sequoia Congress. www.bfuu.org/rscongress 

“The Disabling of Democracy,” a panel with Mike Ruppert of From the Wilderness on 9-11, Tara Treasurefield on the electronic voting machine scandal, and Fred Burkes on mind control/ 

media control, at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists at 1924 Cedar St. Part of the Redwood Sequoia Congress. www.bfuu.org/rscongress 

END-dependence Spoken Word Tour, fundraiser for Rocky Boice, Jr., sponsored by MEXA/Centro Abya Yala Xicana/ Latino Agenda Office, at 8 p.m. 145 Dwinelle, UC Campus. $5-8 sliding scale. www.brownprde. 

com/END-dependence 

Literary Friends meets from 1:30 to 3:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. The film “Jane Eyre” and a video on the life of Charlotte Bronte will be shown. 232-1351. 

Family Literacy Night from 7 to 9 p.m. at the YMCA, 2001 Allston Way. Enjoy music, storytellers, fun activities, book swaps, and more. For information call 665-3271 or bwong@baymca.org 

“Berkeley Reads” Orientation for new volunteer tutors in the Berkeley Public Library's adult literacy program, from 10 a.m. to noon at the West Branch Library, 1125 University Ave. at San Pablo. For more information call 981-6299. 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Michael Nacht, Ph.D., Dean, Goldman School of Public Policy, “Post-War Iraq and the Mid-East.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $11.50 - $12.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020. 

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. 25 

United Nations Day Commemoration and flag raising ceremony at 11 a.m. in Jack London Square, Oakland, followed by a luncheon and talk by SF State Prof. Marshall Windmiller at 12:30 p.m. at the Spaghetti Factory. Tickets to the lunch are $25 and and can be reserved by calling 530-7600 or 652-3192. 

“The Prison-Industrial Complex,” a panel with former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Davida Coady, M.D., Dorsey Nunn and Meredith Maran at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists at 1924 Cedar St. Part of the Redwood Sequoia Congress. www.bfuu.org/rscongress 

Cynthia McKinney on “Confronting Empire” at 8 p.m. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, 1781 Rose St. For a full schedule of the weekend events, please see www.bfuu.org/rscongress 

Neighborhood Emergency Supplies A large multi-media emergency supply exposition event from 1 to 4 p.m. at Truitt and White Lumber Showrooms, 642 Hearst Ave. Workshops will include mini-first aid, search and rescue, fire suppression and home retrofit workshops. Wheelchair accessible. Co-sponsored by the City of Berkeley. For information call 981-5514 or email clopes@ci.berkeley.ca.us 

Pumpkin Carving and Costume Making from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Farmers’ Market, Center St. at MLK, Jr. Way. 548-3333.  

Gardening with East Bay Native Plants, a hands-on workshop held in a Berkeley garden that is built from local native plants, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Cost is $25. Pre-registration required. 231-9430. mary@aoinstitute.org  

Harvest Festival and Open Garden Day at the Gill Tract Professors Miguel Altieri and Clara Nichols will lead a walk through the garden to discuss agroecological approaches to weed and pest management. Professor Ignacio Chapela will discuss the benefits of urban agriculture as an alternative to agribusiness and biotechnology. Other activities include seedball-making, compost demonstrations, fresh produce and food, local musicians, face-painting, and more. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Gill Tract, 1050 San Pablo Ave., south of Marin St., Albany. 597-9819.  

Halloween Bazaar from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the New School of Berkeley, 1606 Bonita at Cedar. Activities include face painting, mask making, apple bobbing, rummage sale, bake sale and much more. Proceeds benefit the school’s scholarship fund. 548-9165. 

Green Living Series: Green Building Materials Learn about healthier building materials, and how to lower your utility bills, reduce home maintenance, and minimize remodeling construction waste. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $10 EC members, $15 general, no one turned away. 548-2220 ext. 233. 

Halloween Night Hikes Learn to turn your feet into eyes and other nature secrets for being friends with the night. Some walks will be short, easy and accessible for strollers and some will be longer and spooky; flashlights to be kept in your pack, pocket or left at home! From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park. 525-2233.  

Halloween Party at Lawrence Hall of Science, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., with games, activities, and candy fun you won't want to miss. Reservations are required. 643-5961. www.lawrencehallofscience.org 

Barbara Gates, on her memoir of life in Ocean View at 7:30 p.m. at Church of the Good Shepard, 9th and Hearst. This tour 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.  

Berkeley Path Wanderers, Paths of Northernmost Berkeley. Meet at Walnut and Portland Aves, at 10 a.m. For information 549-2906, 849-1142. 

Book Fair to benefit Center for Independent Living’s youth Services Program at Barnes and Noble, 2352 Shattuck Ave. from noon to 5 p.m. Bookfair vouchers required in order for the proceeds to benefit CIL, please call 841-4776 ext. 112, or visit www.cil-berkeley.org  

Yoga for Seniors at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St., from 10 to 11 a.m. Open to non-members of the club for $8.00 per class. For further information and to register, call Karen Ray at 848-7800. 

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. 26 

Redwood Sequoia Congress with panels on “Stratgies for Peace and Justice” at 1 p.m., “Strategies for Sustainability” at 3 p.m., “Confronting Corporate Rule” at 5 p.m. and “Confronting Empire” at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists at 1924 Cedar St. Part of the Redwood Sequoia Congress. 841-4824, 527-7543. www.bfuu.org/rscongress 

Berkeley City Club free tour from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tours are sponsored by the Berkeley City Club and the Landmark Heritage Foundation. Donations welcome. The Berkeley City Club is located at 2315 Durant Ave. For group reservations or more information, call 848-7800 or 883-9710. 

Balloons at the Berkeley Bowl, from 2 to 6 p.m. in support of workers. Come help blow up balloons, and distribute them to customers.  

Accessible Tools for the Internet, at 2 p.m. and Accessible Tools for Email at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 3rd Floor Electronic Classroom, 2090 Kittredge. 981-6121. 548-1240 (TTY). www.infopeople.org/bpl 

California Shakespeare Theater’s Annual Costume and Garage Sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 701 Heinz Ave. 548-4322. 

Tibetan Buddhism, special tour and introduction to Tibetan art, meditation and culture from 3 to 5 p.m. followed by “The Tibetan Mandala as a Map of Consciousness,” with Sylvia Gretchen at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Eckhart Tolle Talks on Video Free gathering at 7:30 p.m. to hear the words of the author of “The Power of Now” at the Feldenkrais Ctr., 830 Bancroft Way. 547-2024.  

MONDAY, OCT. 27 

Gardening with Kids Join your child in a fun exploration of gardening, at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens, 729 Heinz Ave.528-5587.  

League of Women Voters meets at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library. Henry Brady, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, UC Berkeley, will speak on “Integrity of Elections, How can we be sure our votes are counted correctly?”843-8824. 

“Faith: Trust Your Own Deepest Experience” with Sharon Salzberg at the First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing. Sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. 433-9928.  

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  

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 call 1-800-500-2400 or visit www.suttervnaandhospice.org 

East Bay Center for International Trade Development (EBCITD), part of the Economic Development Program at Vista Community College, offers seminars to assist companies, professionals and entrepreneurs with international trade related issues. For details on the seminars, visit http://eastbay.citd.org or call 540-8901, ext. 23.  

Free Smoke Detectors for 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.  

CITY MEETINGS 

City Council meets Tues., Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Berkeley Housing Authority meets Tues., Oct. 21, at 6:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers, Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. ww.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/housingauthority 

Civic Arts Commission meets Wed., Oct. 22, at 6:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Mary Ann Merker, 981-7533. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/civicarts 

Disaster Council meets Wed., Oct. 22, at 7 p.m., at the Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. Carol Lopes, 981-5514. www.ci.berkeley.ca. us/commissions/disaster 

Energy Commission meets Wed., Oct. 22, at 6:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Neal De Snoo, 981-5434. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/energy 

Mental Health Commission meets Wed., Oct. 22, at 6:30 p.m., at 2640 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Harvey Turek, 981-5213. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/mentalhealth  

Planning Commission meets Wed., Oct. 22, 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. 22, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Barbara Attard, 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/policereview 

West Berkeley Project Area Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. at the West Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7520. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/westberkeley  

Zoning Adjustments Board Thurs., Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci.ber 

keley.ca.us/commissions/zoning 

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon., Oct. 27, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St., Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/agenda-committee 

Parks and Recreation Commission meets Mon., Oct. 27, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Deborah Chernin, 981-6715. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/parksandrecreation 

Solid Waste Management Commission meets Mon., Oct. 27, at 7 p.m., at 1201 Second St. Becky Dowdakin, 981-6357. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/solidwaste

MISLEADING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The positioning of two articles in the Daily Planet’s Oct. 17-20 edition was misleading. On the one hand, J.Douglas Allen-Taylor’s article, “Discussing and Repenting at Leisure,” piercingly exposed the complacency that a telling majority of (at least voting society) has towards the abuse of women by its successful election of a real, live, and so-far unaccountable example of one. I looked over from that article, to find, right next to it, Matthew Artz’s article, “Battering’s Hidden Victims: Males.” In an unfortunate coincidence, Matthew Artz’s article no doubt provided handy cannon-fodder for dull-headed rebukes of Allen-Taylor’s thoughtful point of view. Artz’s article focused mainly on a man who was verbally abused.  

By way of generosity, I imagine the point of the article was that any abuse is significant. That’s all right, but the death-by-abuse figures that Artz quoted were not an objective way to compare the relative levels of abuse suffered by men and women. It only succeeded in “hiding” the relatively astronomical levels and varieties of abuse that are non-lethal to women, that is all. That’s another reason why Allen-Tayor’s article has much more relevance in a society where those women who pointed to Schwarzenegger as their sexual assailant, now have to witness him being looked up to as “Mr. Prominent Citizen.” With a leader like this, only the naive can expect better things for women.  

One last thing: Was our “other” righteous war, the one in Afghanistan, really meant to champion women’s rights when, for so long, society has ignored the same problem in this country simply because the same is done “American style?” 

Varshana Hayes 

• 

THE BOYS’ CLUB 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

J. Douglas Allen-Taylor’s question (Daily Planet, Oct. 17-20) is a good one. “Did the governor-elect assault 15 women?” he asks. Probably, given Schwarzenegger’s confession/apology and most women’s general experience. 

“Do we think that’s okay?” he asks. Of course not. Unwelcome physical and/or sexual contact is not okay under the law. But most women have long recognized what men recognize as well, that the women who raise an issue about such conduct are routinely dismissed as making a big deal out of nothing, having no “sense of humor,” or not being tough enough to handle what society considers tantamount to low-grade schoolyard hijinks. 

We still live in a boys’ club where male sexuality is admired and female sexuality is feared and reviled. The same atmosphere that protects men who commit sexual assault makes publicity regarding the sexual assault purposeless. A society which refuses to acknowledge any damage done by such behavior is not likely to respond to its exposure, making men and women who experience assault less likely to raise the issue or object. 

It lessens the weight of the collective complaints against Schwarzenegger that the men and women who were witnesses did not come forward earlier, but it is understandable that they didn’t, given the probability of being laughed at and dismissed. Another 50 women stepping forward with similar stories would have had no more effect than the original 15. 

The last question Allen-Taylor needed to ask was this: Is a revelation of a history of sexual assault an effective political strategy? Sadly, the answer seems to be no. 

Carol Denney  

• 

MAYORAL HYPOCRISY 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

While John Parman’s remark that “Berkeley’s plan to outlaw the theft of newspapers in the city . . . is rather oxymoronic” (Letters, Daily Planet, Oct. 17-20) is true, if this proposed law made the theft of newspapers because of its content a crime punishable by a mandatory jail sentence of, say three days, then it would truly take on Mayor Bates’ hypocrisy.  

Lloyd Morgan  

• 

PROMISES NOT KEPT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

During the November 2002 Mayoral election campaign, a brochure entitled “Tom Bates for Safe Neighborhoods” was delivered to every home in the Flatlands. It read, “We need early crime alerts” and “Tom will beef-up enforcement of our speed limits.” 

A year after Tom’s election, these promises are unkept. Since August, crime alerts and information have been scarce and late in coming. This is not a good omen for neighbors who are the “eyes and ears” of Berkeley Community Policing. Our streets have become increasingly dangerous with no beef-up of traffic law enforcement. 

Bates’ campaign literature showed Tom, Councilmember Margaret Breland, and Councilmember Maio’s aide, Brad Smith “discussing more effective community policing.” We got a preview of what that means at the September meeting of the Berkeley Safe Neighborhood Committee. Sergeant Steve Odom explained the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective Community Policing,” a take-off on Stephen Covery’s 1969 book about habits of highly effective people. 

Odom’s examples included: think win-win, synergize, the importance of patience and “sharpening the saw,” the concept that addressing “small” community problems like garbage, broken windows, abandoned homes and vehicles can help reduce crime, and much more. Fine! 

Almost lost in the rhetorºic was the theory that with “the new community policing” we will need fewer police and the police will make fewer arrests! According to Sgt. Odom, arrests are no longer a priority, since we have alternatives such as diverters, speed bumps, and a myriad of city services. We’ll solve crimes and problems by “thinking smarter” about the alternatives and by using crime analysis. But Berkeley employs only a half-time crime analyst! 

Now some of this might sound funny to you, but this is not funny. I call this Berkeley-style community policing the “Think System” and you can read about it that great classic “The Little Engine that Could,” or see the video “The Music Man.” 

Since Tom Bates became mayor, the “progressives” have enjoyed a majority on Berkeley City Council—seven of nine councilmembers. Historically, the BCA political organization, which endorsed these seven politicians (and four of the five School Board members), has wanted to reduce the powers and numbers of officers in the police department. 

Merrilie Mitchell 

• 

XXXXXXX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The current discussion about access for wheelchair riders is another reason Berkeley is such a great city. The fact that sidewalks are in worse shape than many roadways suggests nirvana has yet to be achieved. But we limit ourselves by focusing solely on wheelchairs.  

Cities across the U.S., from Arizona to Maine and now Berkeley, are struggling to assimilate all kinds of new personal transportation devices. Local governments are confronted with retirement community residents, fully capable disabled, skatepunks, golfers, cyclists, eco-activists and users of slow, non-internal combustion transport machines demanding a fair share of the road for urban golf carts, electric and gas-powered scooters, EVs, three-wheeled bicycles, bikes with trailers, small and large motorcycles, mopeds, skateboards, roller skates, those wheelie things with the handle, children on hotwheels, rickshaws, pedicabs and even the ill-fated Segway riding machine. And it’s obvious they can’t all be on the sidewalk. 

American tradition and court rulings have affirmed the right to travel. City streets have never been the sole province of automobiles. Public roads serve multiple purposes beside transit; unloading groceries, pouring concrete, walking your dog, riding your wheelchair. Those who do not own a motorized vehicle retain 

the civil right to mobility. In addition, legal precedent affirms the right to go slow on all public roads except those with controlled access or minimum speed limits like freeways. Municipalities are only allowed to enforce traffic requirements such as periodic yields. Many of these laws come from rural areas where farm machinery and horses maintain the right to the road and include legal precedent from Amish country. 

Unfortunately, some localities dealing with electric and human-powered vehicles try to fashion laws giving slow vehicles a “little access,” amounting to second class citizenship, even requiring counterintuitive traffic gestures confusing to car drivers. But special rules setting apart various classes of vehicles are not the solution. Accident statistics prove what traffic engineers and bicycle scientists say. Full integration of bicycles in traffic is not only necessary for the cyclist’s right to travel, but is safer than segregation. Adding other classes of small personal vehicles will have similar minimal impacts on traffic if automobile users decide to share the road. 

Of necessity and inkling, wheelchair users are social pioneers, but we will all benefit from emerging forms of personal transportation and must support them, and we all must take cues from bicyclists who have struggled for access for more than one hundred years. Some day in Berkeley’s future is a city crisscrossed with trees and multi-purpose public spaces where automobile users are expected to yield to little children, EVs and Wheelchairs. The automobile will have it’s place, but so will the rest of us.  

Hank Chapot 

Oakland 

Bicycle commuter, employed in Berkeley 

• 

OFFENSIVE TERM 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

While reading your story, “City Council Listens a Lot But Doesn’t Do Much” by J. Douglas Allen-Taylor (Daily Planet, Oct. 17-20), I was greatly annoyed, even a bit appalled, by your use of the phrase “wheelchair-bound.” Doesn’t this writer, or editing staff know this phrase is totally incorrect? 

We are not “wheelchair-bound,” we are wheelchair users! Of all places, this is the last one where an antiquated, not to mention borderline insulting, phrase like this should be used. In most circles within the disability community, whenever a outdated, improper phrase like “wheelchair-bound” or “handicapped” is used, it often is taken as a sign that there may be a small lack of recognition of our equality, civil rights, or status, by the people using it. I hope that is not the case here. 

If it seems like I may be making a big deal out of something that is seemingly nothing, I am actually trying to make a valid point here. The point I am trying to make is, if the language about us is wrong then maybe the way people view us and our issues is also wrong. 

Fred Lupke was killed because his civil rights were violated when he was not given equal access, like that given to other pedestrians, to a safe and equal path of travel. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), if it would have been followed, would have protected him and saved his life. Yet, it seems that many people, except some of us disabled, cannot recognize this fact. It makes me very upset to hear that some people almost seem to blame Fred more for his own death than they blame an unresponsive, uncaring system.  

Why wasn’t the ADA followed in this case and a huge number of other cases across this country? I dare say the reason is the Almighty dollar! It seems money, or lack of it, outweighs the civil rights of persons with disabilities. Would any other minority group tolerate or accept a price tag on their civil rights? I doubt it!  

To me, when a improper phrase like “wheelchair-bound” is used, it gives me a slight hint that some people may need to change the way they view us and the various factors that effect our lives. 

Blane N. Beckwith 

• 

LEFTIST HYPOCRISY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

J. Douglas Allen-Taylor (Daily Planet, Oct. 17-20), in his attempt to lose no time in subverting our new governor-elect, compares the actor’s sexual conduct with the liberal and feminist darling, Bill Clinton. 

He states, “As far as I can tell from the public record....Mr. Clinton was never accused of putting his hands on a woman who did not so desire.” It is clear from this laughable statement that Mr. Allen-Douglas is no expert in public record-checking. 

I would suggest he check the public record on the accusatory Clinton cases of the cornering in the hotel room of Paula Jones, the groping of Mrs. Willits, and Juanita’s rape. What “extensive” public record was he checking?  

While these cases remain accusations, so do those against the governor-elect. Exactly what difference is there, other than that the claims against Mr. Clinton include actual rape?  

It is also in the public record that, until the noxious Ms. Lewinsky cavorted in the Oval Office, a major tenet of feminism was that power inequities in the workplace make consensual sex between a male boss (especially, The Boss) and a junior female employee intrinsically exploitative and even rapacious. 

Of course, once their Darlin’ Bill did it, it seems to have become just a minor “wrong”—but only for leftie icons and their rabid, hypocritical supporters. 

Ken Cohen 

Pleasant Hill 

• 

BAY TRAIL EXTENSION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I disagree with Norine Smith when she says (“Concrete Path Threatens Shoreline Tranquility,” Daily Planet, Oct. 17-18) that, “One of the most peaceful, tranquil, calming experiences in Berkeley is about to be unalterably destroyed.” Norine is referring to the new Bay Trail Extension that will connect the Bay Trail with the Berkeley Marina along the south side of the Berkeley Marina. After having attended most of the meetings that reviewed the plan for the Bay Trail Extension, it is my sense that the new trial will continue to provide just about the same experience it now provides, but provide it with even greater safety. It is also my sense that the new trail will provide a substantially better experience for people using the Bay Trail Extension in wheelchairs. Robert Cheasty reported at the last Waterfront Commission meeting that Citizens for Eastshore Park (CESP), an organization that over the years has carefully examined the balance between habitat preservation and human use, is satisfied with the plan. The proposed design of the Bay Trail Extension has been modified in response to public comment and is consistent with generally accepted standards, which is necessary to receive funding for the project. 

Norine also mentions that the plan states that it will replace only one of every four trees cut down. Actually, the plan will replace any tree removed with four trees. 

Brad Smith 

Chair, Waterfront Commission 

• 

RECALL THE RECALL 

Governator  

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Does California really deserve the privilege of voting? Of those who actually take the time to vote, most do not make an informed decision--rather, they vote for who they think is funny, or cool, or perhaps they just vote on a whim. Our last election shows us what completely ridiculous ways the minds of the voters of California can work in. First off, Schwarzenegger is misogynistic and fairly unintelligent. Many have argued that his repeated harassment of women is his own personal business and does not reflect his ability as a politician. This would be true, if these situations were consensual. However, they were not. We have elected a man who does not know that “no” means “no”--not much better than a hormone-driven teenage boy. As for his intelligence, it should be clear to anyone who watched the debate that Schwarzenegger is not very smart. It is disgusting that we would vote for someone whose resume consists mostly of B movies. But, of course, we did elect Reagan as governor and then as president. Other candidates, such McClintock, Bustamante, Camejo, are much more intelligent and had good platforms, while Schwarzenegger’s was barely defined. But, we elected him because he’s a famous household name. Do we even deserve democracy when we aren’t even informed on the issues? We spent billions of dollars that could have been used for welfare or education; billions of dollars that we didn’t have to put on another gubernatorial race because someone decided that since Davis only won by three pecent, he shouldn’t be governor. But he still won. Of course, after Bush and Gore, it seems like anything goes. The recall passed. By 54 percent. That’s only five percent off. And now all I can say is: time to recall the recall!  

Melissa Steele-Ogus  

It’s hard to imagine enhancing the inherent beauty of a violin or harpsichord until you see what Berkeley’s Janine Johnson can do with one. 

Using gold leaf and high gloss paint, Johnson decorates the instruments in intricate, classic designs that make them look like more like art objects than something you’d actually play.  

Four of Johnson’s painted violin creations will be auctioned off this Saturday as part of a fundraiser for the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, a San Francisco-based group that specializes in performing music from the Baroque, Classical, and early-Romantic eras on authentic instruments—periods when it was not uncommon to see elaborately decorated violins, harpsichords and other instruments. 

Today, only harpsichords are routinely decorated this way.  

While the instruments Johnson worked on for the auction are fresh from the factory and designed for violin students, the images she painted are true to the period. Lavishly decorated in gold leaf, one of Johnson’s creations—nicknamed “Goldilocks”—is modeled after a 17th century Italian instrument. Two others have been done in the French style known as Chinoiserie—one in gold metal on a black background, imitating Chinese lacquer. 

Another sports a white background, a knockoff of a 1702 harpsichord. 

Johnson’s fourth instrument design features a faux tortoise shell base with 23-karat gold leaf arabesques—an design of intertwined flowers, foliage and geometrical patterns common to the Italianate tradition. 

Adrian Carr, a San Francisco harpsichord designer, painted the fifth violin. 

The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra—which holds two of its four monthly performances in Berkeley, where many of its members live—won’t play Johnson’s violins, but they could. 

“We didn’t do heavy decoration on the fingerboards so that you wouldn’t be scratching the paint off when you put your fingers down on the strings,” says Johnson. “You might wear the gold leaf off of the tuning pegs, but they could just be redone. People have been caring for regular violins for years and years. I don’t see that it would be impossible to play them. I think it would be kind of neat actually.”  

The violins look the same as the instruments the orchestra plays, but Johnson points out that they are different—especially the way the bow is designed. “On a modern bow, the strength of your stroke is near your hand and in the Baroque bows it’s actually near the outer tip—so it makes for a very different style of playing,” she says.  

Although Johnson realizes that her creations are going to wind up as wall hangings, she still holds out hope for the musical future of one. “I think the tortoise shell one ought to be in a bluegrass band. That would be way cool.” 

Despite her enthusiasm for seeing the instruments played, Johnson doesn’t want to encourage anyone to bring her a high-end violin to paint. “If someone brought me a really nice violin to decorate, I would say no because there’s this whole mystique about the varnish,” says Johnson. 

“I might decorate the tuning pegs, something that’s not integral to the sound of the instrument, but I wouldn’t want to touch the surface of it. They’re so small that you add paint to it, it’s weight. It’s a different elasticity from what’s there already and it’s going to affect how it resonates.” 

Johnson, who estimates each violin took her about 40 hours to paint, volunteered her time on the project. Her real job is working for renowned Berkeley harpsichord maker John Phillips, where she not only decorates the instruments but, using her woodworking skills, helps build them as well.  

Decorating and building musical instruments is a pairing of Johnson’s two passions in life—painting and music. She was introduced to harpsichord music as a teenager in the early 70s by a piano teacher and wanted to buy one, but soon discovered it’s not the sort of instrument you can find down at the local music shop. 

Undaunted, Johnson convinced her father to send away for a kit to build one. “That kit turned out pretty good,” says Johnson. “I loved playing it and I painted and decorated the whole thing.” 

Johnson went on to study piano and art in her hometown at Cal State Northridge and, after receiving degrees in both, founded a harpsichord company with her then husband. In 1977 she moved to Berkeley and after splitting with her husband began working with Phillips. In her spare time she also paints landscapes and even plays the harpsichord. 

“In a way it’s been an inner struggle for me,” says Johnson of her music and art career. “I end up focusing on both and kind of exhausting myself. But I love music and I love the visual arts, so I don’t want to give up either.” 

The violins will be auctioned off this Saturday night (Oct. 25) at the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra’s annual auction, “An Evening at the Palace: Florentine Splendour.” The fundraiser will be held at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Tickets are $250. For more information and to view all five violins, visit the orchestra’s website: www.philharmonia.org.

TUESDAY, OCT. 21 

FILM 

The Cinema of Ernie Gehr, Program 3, with the filmmaker in person, at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa. 

berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Berkeley Writers at Work: John McWhorter, professor of linguistics, discusses his book “The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language,” and the writing process, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Morrison Library, 101 Main Library, UC Campus. Free, but registration requested, 642-6392. 

Joan Didion disusses “Where I Was From,” at 7:30 p.m. in the Large Assembly at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $5. Sponsored by Cody’s Books and the Graduate School of Journalism. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Dianne Bunnell will discuss her new book “The Protest” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Tish Hinojosa, Texas folk roots, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 22 

FILM 

From the Cafetorium in Berkeley: Better Bad News Berkeley artist Gerge Coates’ independent media project will be screened at the Berkeley Arts Festival Gallery at at Addison and Shattuck, at 6:30 p.m. and at 7 p.m. on BTV Channel 25. Ordinary citizens reverse the flow of information using the internet to rewrite the text fed to professional newscasters on the teleprompter. With Kurt Reinhardt, Annie Larson, Kris Welch, Doctor Mozzarella, Karen Ripley, Betty Halpern and students of the BUSD Adult School. 665-9496.  

www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Heddy Honigmann: “2 Minutes Silence, Please” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Cine Documental: “From the Other Side” Through images and interviews with Mexicans and U.S. law enforcement officers, this film examines the plight of Mexicans who try to immigrate to the U.S. At 7 p.m. at 160 Kroeber Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies. 642-2088. teodora@uclink.berkeley.edu  

“We Interrupt This Empire,” documentary about the protests in SF after the war in Iraq began, at 7 p.m. at 145 Dwinnelle, UC Campus. $5 suggested donation.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

David Maraniss introduces his new work, “They Marched into Sunlight: War and Peace, Vietnam and America,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

“Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950’s and 1960’s” with Gerald Nachman at 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Co-sponsored with Berkeley Hadassah and Black Oak Books. 848-0237. www.brjcc.org 

Cy Tymony will demonstrate “Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble.  

Café Poetry and Open Mic hosted by Paradise at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Donation requested. 849-2568.  

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.starryplough.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert Benjamin Simon, viola; Gianna Abondolo, ‘cello; and Karen Rosenak, piano perform Honegger and Abondolo at the Chevron Auditorium at International House, corner of Bancroft and Piedmont Aves. Admission is free. 642-4864. 

All Wrecked Up! performs post-mountain American music 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 

Edessa with Brenna MacCrimmon at 8:30 p.m., with a Balkan dance lesson with Gerry Duke at 7:30 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. 

Ross Hammond Trio at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $8-$15 suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Mas Cabeza, Latin salsa, funk, jazz band at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

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

THURSDAY, OCT. 23 

THEATER  

Dept. of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies presents “The Story of Susanna” by Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl, at 8 p.m. in Zellerbach Room 7. Admission is $7. 642-9925. jreil@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Woman’s Will, “Othello” The Bay Area’s all female Shakespeare company presents Shakespeare’s tragedy at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $12-$25. 420-0138.  

FILM 

“We Interrupt This Empire,” documentary about the protests in SF after the war in Iraq began, at 7 p.m. at 145 Dwinnelle, UC Campus. $5 suggested donation.  

Memorial Project Vietnam, two films by Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library’s Central Community Room, 2090 Kittredge. 981-6233. 

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

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Potters, Painters and Weavers of Ecuador Gallery talk with Javier Guerro, senior curator at the San Diego Museum of Man, at noon at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum, Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way at College Ave. 643-7648. www.gal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with featured readers Carol Hochberg and Ruth Levitan, at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave., near Dwight Way. 526-5985.  

Al Franken brings his “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right,” to Zellerbach Hall at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20-$36 and are available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Lara Starr will introduce her new book, “The Partygirl Cookbook” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble.  

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 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Secluded Journalists, Ayentee, Megabusive, Destined and Gavin, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Beth Custer at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $10-$20 suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Grateful Dead DJ Night with Digital Dave at 10 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Monks of Doom and Jonathan Segel at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $9.  

841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Tree Leyburn & Friends perfrom acoustic folk at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Davka performs new Klezmer/ 

Middle Eastern jazz fusion at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 in 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.  

Autana, light rock at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. beckettsirishpub.com 

FRIDAY, OCT. 24 

“A Tale of Symbiosis” Brecht, Bacteria, and the Biosphere, an evening of science, ecological storytelling, song, and artwork, co-authored by R.G. Davis and Joyce Todd McBride, with a 100-foot-long painted scroll by Ariel. Music by Schoenberg, Satie, and J.T. McBride. At 8 p.m. at Berkeley Arts Festival Gallery, 2324 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $8-$15 sliding scale. 665-9496. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

CHILDREN 

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with readings from “Dora the Explorer” and other stories, at 10:30 a.m. at Barnes and Noble.  

THEATER 

The Un-Scripted Theater Company, “Fear” a full-length thriller, no two shows are the same, at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. Tickets are $7-$10. 415-869-5384. www.unscripted.com 

Dept. of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies presents “The Story of Susanna” by Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl, at 8 p.m. in Zellerbach Room 7. Admission is $7. 642-9925. jreil@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, “Ain't Misbehavin’,” starring Vivian Jett from the original Broadway cast, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $29.50 - $50, and are available from 925-798-1300. www.juliamorgan.org 

FILM 

Heddy Honigmann: “Private” and “Good Husband, Dear Son” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Anne Garrels, introduces “Naked in Baghdad: The Iraq War as Seen by NPR correspondent Anne Garrels,” at 7:30 p.m. in the Large Assembly of First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $5. Sponsored by Cody’s Books and The Graduate School of Journalism. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

END-dependence Spoken Word Tour, fundraiser for Rocky Boice, Jr., sponsored by MEXA/Centro Abya Yala Xicana/ Latino Agenda Office, at 8 p.m. 145 Dwinelle, UC Campus. $5-8 sliding scale. www.brownprde. 

com/END-dependence 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Prague Chamber Orchestra and The Eroica Trio at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $30-$52. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Trinity Chamber Concerts, from West to East, piano to didjeridu at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Admission by donation, $12 general, $8 students, seniors, disabled. No one turned away. 549-3864. 

Festival Antiqua, “The Black Dragon,” music from the Time of Vlad Dracula at 8 p.m. at the Parish Hall, St. Alban’s Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany. Tickets are $15 general and $12 

students and seniors. 486-2803 or 524-7952. www.timrayborn.com/Festival 

La Monica “The Amorous Lyre,” a performance featuring music by 17th century Italian Baroque masters such as Monteverdi, Castello, and Marini at 8 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. Admission is $15, $9 for students and seniors. 323-547-4442. 

Ani DiFranco at 7:30 p.m. at the Greek Theater. 642-0212.  

The Slackers and Maxine perform Ska at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenez. Cost is $10 in advance, $12 at the door. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Kellye Gray, jazz singer, at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Mood Food, The Saul Kaye band, and Tad Jordan perform at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

www.starryploughpub.com  

peAktimes, experimental dance, music and theater based on todays’s news, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Suggested donation $5-$10. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.org 

Sylvia and the Silvertones at 9:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Bizar Bazaar improvise and jam at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Monster Cock Rally perform free jazz at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Donation of $7-$15, no one turned away. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Laurel Canyon Ramblers perform left coast bluegrass at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Lovemakers, Boy Skout, Ned at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Seventy, original pop influenced by the Beatles, Joe Jackson, etc. at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. beckettsirishpub.com 

SATURDAY, OCT. 25 

“A Tale of Symbiosis” Brecht, Bacteria, and the Biosphere, see listing for Oct. 24. 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Diversity in Figures,” featuring Phoebe Ackley, Janet Bradlor, The Artist Hines, and Michael Sacramento at 8 p.m., with music at 9 p.m. at 4th Street Studio, 1717D 4th St. 527-0600. 

THEATER 

Dept. of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies presents “The Story of Susanna” 

by Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl, at 2 and 8 p.m. in Zellerbach Room 7. Admission is $7. 642-9925. jreil@uclink.berkeley.edu 

The Un-Scripted Theater Company, “Fear” a full-length thriller, no two shows are the same, at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave. Tickets are $7-$10. 415-869-5384. www.unscripted.com 

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, “Ain't Misbehavin’,” starring Vivian Jett from the original Broadway cast, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $29.50 - $50, and are available from 925-798-1300. www.juliamorgan.org 

CHILDREN  

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

FILM 

New Latin American Cinema: “25 Watts” at 5 and 8:40 p.m. and “The Birthday” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Banned Books Week Join us for a community reading from “The Guinness Book of World Records,” from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Central Library Plaza, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6100. 

Rhythm and Muse with M.O.S.A.I.C., Eliza Shefler, Gael Alcock, Nicole Milner and Susan Newman at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Dan Rhodes and DBC Pierre read from their respective novels, “Timoleon Vieta Come Home” and “Vernon God Little” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Joel ben Izzy reads from “The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness,” at 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. www.brjcc.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

San Francisco Early Music Society presents Ensemble Mirable, Joanna Blendulf, cello; JungHae Kim, harpsichord; with guest artists Jay White, counter- 

tenor; Katherine Kyme, violin; and Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin, at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $25-22, $10 for students. 528-1725. www.sfems.org 

Kensington Symphony, with Laurien Jones, guest conductor, performs Beethoven, Vivaldi and Franck at 8 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 545 Ash- 

bury Ave. El Cerrito. Suggested donation $10, seniors $8. 534-4334. 

Conscious Fools, an evening of performance, poetry and fools, presented by Minoo Hamzavi at 8 p.m. in Western Sky Studio, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $10-$15, seniors and students $5. 848-4133. 

Tom Rigney and Flambeau perform Cajun/Zydeco at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson with Patti Whitehurst at 8:30 p.m. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Blues and Otherstuff, with Miss Faye Carol and The Off The Hook Band at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15 and up, sliding scale. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

The Tiptons, Lemon Lime Lights, and Bill Holdens at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Hafez Modirzadeh, Persian-American saxophonist, at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10-$15. 845-5373. www.jazz- 

school.com 

Sarah Manning, jazz saxophonist, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations suggested.  

649-8744. www.thejazz- 

house.org 

Divas Latinas, the music of passion with Viviana Guzman and Tianne Frias 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 

Solo Oud Night with Tom Chandler and Eliot Bates at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Kellye Gray at 9:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Yaphet Kotto, Hot Cross, Lick Golden Sky, Anodyne, 30 Years Way at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Famous Last Words at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

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

SUNDAY, OCT. 26 

“A Tale of Symbiosis” Brecht, Bacteria, and the Biosphere, see listing for Oct. 24. 

Inspired by Chagall Artist and Arts Educator Nancy Katz opens her studio for play with assorted colorful materials. All, including creatively blocked adults, are welcome. From 1 to 4 p.m. at 2121 Bonar Street, #F, in the Strawberry Creek Design Center. 665-9496. 

Berkeley City Council, at its 5 p.m. working session tonight (Tuesday, Oct. 21), takes its second look at four proposed ballot measures designed to shore up the city’s projected $15 million budget deficit and change the way elections are held in the city. 

Council must approve the exact language of any measures by its Nov. 25 meeting in order for them to appear on the March, 2004 ballot. 

A $10 million parcel tax measure is almost certain to be presented to Berkeley voters next March. That was the recommendation of the Mayor’s Advisory Task Force on City Revenue, chaired by former Assemblymember Dion Aroner, in a bleak report issued last week. 

According to the report, despite Council’s institution of more than $6 million in cuts this year to balance the 2003-2004 budget, the city is looking at a budget deficit of more than $9 million next year. Unless there is a change in either the local or state economy, that deficit is currently projected to rise $1.5 million to $2 million each year if Council takes no corrective action. 

In addition, a likely reduction in the state’s Vehicle License Fee (either through action by Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger or through a proposed March, 2004 voter initiative ballot measure) will cost the city another $6 million a year in revenue received from the state. 

The city manager’s office has concurred with the call for a March tax measure, recommending that the money be earmarked for city fire services. Berkeley citizen support for a $10 million parcel tax measure was indicated in a telephone voter survey conducted last month by a San Francisco polling group and formally introduced to Council last week. 

In addition to the March parcel tax measure, Aroner’s committee recommended that Council explore a car tax and a payroll tax, as well as “aggressively pursue greater cost recovery from UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and other major non-profit organizations” operating in the city. 

The tax force report noted that “unlike private entities, these institutions pay no property tax or other service fees.” Noting that such institutions “use a substantial amount of city services,” the task force recommended that Berkeley should “pursue greater cost recovery efforts from such institutions…as a matter of basic fairness to Berkeley taxpayers.” 

Less certain for the March ballot are the proposed election reform measures. 

At the request of Council, the city manager’s office recently released a report on proposed changes in the way elections are conducted in the city. If passed by voters, one proposal would alter the requirements for running for office in Berkeley, upping the number of signatures needed to qualify for the ballot and adding fees. 

The other two proposals would change the way runoff elections are held in the city, adding Instant Runoff Voting and lengthening the time between the initial vote and runoffs. The city manager’s office made no recommendation on the changes themselves, merely giving Council alternatives to consider. 

If the election proposals are put on the March, 2004 ballot and approved by Berkeley voters, they would go into effect for the November, 2004 election. If the proposals are not put on the March, 2004 ballot, they would not be able to go into effect until at least 2006. 

Council has scheduled no discussion time for any item on its agenda for its regular 7 p.m. meeting , instead placing all the items on its consent calendar. 

While any Councilmember can pull a consent item at the last minute for public discussion, consent items are normally voted on in block by the council, without debate. 

Among other things, Council is set to pass—without discussion—upping the penalty for graffiti by placing a lien on the graffiti writer’s (or their parents’) property; extending the notification period of no-parking signs from 24 hours to 72 hours; approving the formation of an East Bay Sports Field Recreation Authority to govern sports fields in the Eastshore Park and other East Bay locations; looking into an action plan for alleviating problems on Telegraph Avenue near the UC campus; and exploring the creation of homeless storage lockers in the city. 

Council is also scheduled to vote on a resolution in support of unionizing efforts by workers at Berkeley Bowl.

Every Berkeley resident should be outraged that people in South Berkeley are living each and every day with violent crime. Just imagine having to cope with the ordinary day-to-day stress of raising children, working to earn a living, driving in today’s traffic and maintaining a household plus having to deal with crime and the threat of crime outside of your door. In the last few months, South Berkeley residents have had to live with gunshots in the night, a body dumped on the street, over 20 rounds fired from guns at high noon near a public school, young boys viciously attacked, kicked and beaten by other youngsters, killings related to a drug war stemming from shared social problems with Oakland, a resurgence of drug dealing, hate crimes that go unrecognized and so have little chance of being stopped, and a canceled high school football game because of the fear of violence.  

Neighborhoods are organizing, block meetings are occurring, rewards are being offered and the police are working on the problems. However, our city Council is absent from the scene. What is happening in South Berkeley is so important that it isn’t a matter for an individual councilmember to sit down and have a little chat with the city manager. The problem is so big and important that the entire Council must respond. Secondly, what is happening can easily explode further, so the response from the city must be as swift as possible. 

Since the Council can’t and shouldn’t do the job of the police department, you might ask why should they even be involved? Some of you might say let the police do their job, shrug your shoulders and go on reading your newspaper. Wrong. As leaders in this city, the Council must leave no doubt in any one’s mind that all of our neighborhoods are equally important and vital parts of creating a healthy community. The residents of Berkeley must remind them of this basic responsibility. So, what should the Council do? The Council can: keep the city focused on the problems and the task of finding solutions; ensure that adequate city resources are targeted to help; enact new policies and programs as appropriate; provide that the city’s response is built on a foundation of data and that accountability is not forgotten as an essential part of the solution; actively work to fulfill the true promise of community policing by supporting increased and meaningful communication between residents and police; bring together the city, school district and arms of the justice system to work cooperatively in a comprehensive response; and most importantly, work directly with the people in the area every step of the way. In the light of the important work to be done, it is simply not acceptable that following a six-week recess, Council meetings were canceled because one member went on an European vacation. It is not acceptable that it takes weeks to get even minor items on the Council’s agenda because they must be reviewed first by the new Agenda Committee. 

Not waiting for further damage to occur, several individual South Berkeley neighborhoods are already coming together in a single large focused group to forge a plan of positive action to work with the police, city, school district, District Attorney’s Office, and other agencies so that their children can be safe and their neighborhoods can be the pleasant places they expect and are entitled to. Areas in West Berkeley suffering from similar problems shouldn’t be forgotten. They, too, need to follow this same organizational pattern. South and West Berkeley coupled together could be a powerful force for change. 

The effort being undertaken by South Berkeley, and hopefully joined by West Berkeley residents as well, is promising and exciting. This effort needs to be supported by every resident and neighborhood group in this community. You can show your support by writing to the Council indicating your concern and asking for their immediate and active involvement in addressing these problems. The school district is to be commended for the work they have already done in weeding out troublemakers attending Berkeley Schools on transfer from other districts, but they should be encouraged to continue to address those problems and that of truancy. Our children cannot learn when they are not in school and children who are not positively involved with their schools are part of the problem. Write to the school district as well, thanking them for what they have done, and encouraging them to continue their efforts. The link between police department and District Attorney’s Office with our neighborhoods needs to be re-opened and strengthened. You need to write District Attorney Tom Orloff, telling him that Berkeley is serious about cleaning up the crime and drug dealing in our community. 

All of us have the responsibility to make Berkeley the wonderful community it can be. Let’s do it now! 

Shirley Dean is a former mayor of Berkeley.

AT THE THEATER 

Central Works Theater Ensemble, “Lionheart: The Last Great Crusade” written by Gary Graves, directed by Jan Zvifler. Runs through Nov. 23 at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $8-$20. For reservations and information call 558-1381. www.centralworks.org  

Shotgun Players, “The Water Principle,” by Eliza Anderson, directed by John Warren. Runs until Oct. 25, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 7 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults, $12 for seniors and students. 704-8210.  

www.shotgunplayers.org 

Shotgun Theater Lab, “EAT,” by Liz Lisle, directed by Kimberly Dooley, Mondays and Tuesdays, to Oct. 28, at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid. Tickets are $10. 704-8210. www.shotgunplayers.org 

Subterranean Theater, “Phaedra” by Euripides, adapted by Deborah Rogin, directed by Stanley Spenger. Runs to Nov. 21, Thurs. - Sat. at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $12, students and seniors $8 at Berkeley Arts Center, 1275 Walnut St. 234-6046.  

Transparent Theater, “The No Ghost Hamlet,” by William Shakespeare, directed by Tom Clyde and starring Melanie Flood as Hamlet. Runs through Nov. 23, Thurs. -Sat. at 8 pm, Sun. at 7 pm. Tickets $25, students $15. Thursdays are pay-what-you-can. 883-0305.  

www.transparenttheater.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

ACCI Gallery, “Whimsy” An exhibition of sculpture, ceramics, painting, and collage, featuring seven California artists. Exhibtion runs to Nov. 8. Mon. - Thurs. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sat. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave. 843-2527. www.accigallery.com 

Addison Street Windows, “Natural Forces” paintings by Bill Douglas, Corrine Innis and Orlonda Uffre. Runs to Oct. 31. 2018 Addison St. 658-0585.  

The Ames Gallery,"Ideal Worlds; Two Utopian Visions: Alexander Maldonado and A.G. Rizzoli" works by two San Francisco visionary artists, each of whom explored similar ideas for a utopian society, but presented them in very different styles. Exhibit runs until Dec. 15. The gallery is open Mon. - Fri., 10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. or by appointment. 2661 Cedar St. 845-4949. www.amesgallery.com  

Bancroft Library, “Towards A Sustainable Earth,” exploring the preservation of the American wilderness, the use of water resources, air quality, species survival, the development of alternative energy resources and urban development, and the cumulative effects of modern life on the environment in California and the American West. Runs to Nov. 21. Gallery hours are Mon. - Fri. 9 a.m - 5 p.m., Sat. 1 - 5 p.m. 642-3781. 

Berkeley Art Center, “One Struggle, Two Communities: Late 20th Century Political Posters of Havana, Cuba and the San Francisco Bay Area” Sixty Cuban posters from the Cuban Film Institute, OSPAAAL, and Editora Politica along with work by local artists Enrique Chagoya, Emory Douglas, Juan Fuentes, Rupert Garcia, Nancy Hom, Malaquias Montoya, Jane Norling, and Jos Sances. Curated by Lincoln Cushing, author of “Revolucion! Cuban Poster Art, Chronicle Books, 2003.” Exhbition runs until Dec. 13. Berkeley Art Center in Live Oak Park, 1275 Walnut St. Open Wed. - Sun. noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. 644-6893.  

www.berkeleyartcenter.org  

Berkeley Arts Festival Headquarters, “Sister Cities: Palma-Soriano, Cuba and Uma Bawang, Borneo” An exhibition of painting, woodcarving, basketry and sculpture from two of Berkeley’s sister cities. Runs to Oct. 31. 2110 Shattuck Ave. 665-9496. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Berkeley Art Museum, Matrix 208: Jim Campell, using technology to achieve humanistic results, to Nov. 16.  

“Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Gennomics” featuring contemporary artists’ visions of a genetically modified future, to Dec. 7.  

“Exhibiting Signs of Age,” images that explore the perception and representation of age, ranging from common stereotypes to frank self-portraiture. Runs to Jan. 18.“The Baum: An Emerging American Photographer Award Exhibition” runs to Nov. 30. “Turning Corners,” an exhibition of five centuries of innovative art, through the summer of 2004.  

The UC Berkeley Art Museum is open Wed. - Sun., 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Admission $8, free to UC staff, faculty and students, and free for the general public the first Thurs. of every month, 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808.                   www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley History Center “Early Women of Berkeley (1878-1953)” Curated by the College Women's Club/ 

Berkeley Branch of the American Association of University Women and the Berkeley Historical Society, this exhibition celebrates how women shaped Berkeley's history, working alone and through their clubs. Exhibition runs until March 27. Berkeley History Center, 1931 Center St. 848-0181.  

Berkeley Public Library, “5 x 3” Art by Ana Bravo, Malle Malaam and Joseph Alverez. Works will be displayed through October in the Library’s Central Catalog Lobby. 2090 Kittredge at Shattuck. 981-6100. 

Center for Latin American Studies, “Magical Mexico,” paintings by Xavier Castellanos, runs until Dec. 15. At 2334 Bowditch St. Call 642-2088 for exhibit hours.  

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

Doe Library, ”Design on the Edge: A Century of Teaching Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, 1903-2003” Runs through Dec. 31 in the Bernice Layne Brown Gallery, 1st floor, Doe Library, UC Campus. 643-7323.  

Emeryville Art Exhibition, featuring over 100 artists and craftspeople. Work includes paintings, sculpture, photographs, textiles, ceramics, jewelery and glass works. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 5616 Bay Street. Exhibition runs through Oct. 26. 652-6122. wwwEmeryArts.org 

Graduate Theological Union Library, “Requiem for an Executed Bird,” fourteen mixed media works on paper by Junko Chodos. Exhibtion runs to Feb. 15. Graduate Theological Union, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2541.  

Graduate School of Journalism Center for Photography, Micha Bar-Am, “Photographs of Israel” Exhibition runs to Jan. 20. 642-4825.  

Institute of Industrial Relations,“ Union Women's Alliance to Gain Equality” Photographs by Cathy Cade. Exhibit runs until Jan. 16 at 2521 Channing Way, near Telegraph. Call for hours. 643-8140. www.iir.berkeley.edu/exhibit/  

Judah L. Magnes Museum, “Brought to Light: The Storied Collections of the Judah L. Magnes Museum” Exhibition runs from Oct. 27 to April 25, ‘04. Sun.-Thurs. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 2911 Russell St. 549-6950. 

Kala Art Institute, 2003 Phelan Art Awards in Printmaking. Exhibition runs until Oct. 31. Gallery hours are Tues. - Fri., noon to 5:30 p.m., Sat. noon to 4:30 p.m. 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977. www.kala.org  

A New Leaf Gallery/Sculpturesite: “Focus on the Figure” An outdoor show of contemporary figurative sculpture by twenty-two artists working in bronze, aluminum, steel, concrete, stone, glass and ceramic. Exhibition runs to Nov. 9. Wed. - Fri. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat. - Sun. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1286 Gilman St. 527-7621. www.sculpturesite.com 

Phoebe S. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, “Photographs from the Great Age of Exploration, 1865-1915,” through March 2004. “Ecuadorian Pottery and Textile Traditions,” to Dec. 14. Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way and College Ave., UC Campus. Gallery hours are Wed. - Sat., 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Sun., noon - 4 p.m. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors age 55 and above, $1 for students age 13 and above, free for museum members, UC students, staff and faculty, free to the public on Thurs. 643-7648. http://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/outreach 

Photolab Gallery, Recent Pinhole Photographs by S. McGrath Ryan, Gallery hours are Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 2235 Fifth St. Exhibit runs until Oct. 25. 644-1400. www.photolaboratory.com  

Richmond Art Center, Berkeley Artists, Ariel, “The Inner Wilderness” in the South Gallery and Jos Sances, “Inter Bellum” in the West Gallery. Through Nov. 8. Gallery is open Wed. - Sat. noon to 4:30 p.m. 2540 Barrett Ave. 620-6772. www.therichmondcenter.org 

Trax Gallery, “Summer Work” by Matt Metz and Linda Skikora. Runs to Nov. 2. Gallery hours ar Wed. - Sun. noon to 5:30 p.m. 1812 5th St. 540-8729. 

Women's Cancer Resource Center, “Roots - Art” by Renata Gray and Rae Louise Hayward. Exhibition runs to Nov. 14. 5741 Telegraph Ave. 601-4040 ext. 111. wcrc@wcrc.org

Berkeley and Oakland Police have apprehended nearly all the suspects connected to a series of violent shootings along the South Berkeley-North Oakland border earlier this year, according to officers interviewed after a regional crime prevention meeting Friday. 

“We got almost all the main players in custody,” said Berkeley Police Patrol Captain Doug Hambleton. Berkeley and Oakland Police had made approximately 28 arrests in the area during the past three months, he said, charging the suspects with a variety of offenses including parole violations, drug felonies, weapons possession and felony assault, he said. 

Recent cooperation between Berkeley and Oakland police provided a central theme for the meeting of the East Bay Public Safety Corridor Partnership, a 10-year-old organization that aims to pool resources and coordinate policies across city and county lines to help prevent crime. 

Panelists including Oakland Police Chief Richard Word and Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates stressed that regional cooperation was increasingly vital in tough economic times. 

“In lean budgetary times, we cut technology so our people become less efficient. We cut training so our people become less competent,” Word said. 

Regional cooperation is especially crucial for Berkeley, Capt. Hambleton said, because around 64 percent of those arrested for robbery in Berkeley live in other cities—most commonly Oakland or Richmond. 

He and other top cops from cities along the I-80 corridor from San Pablo down to Oakland are pushing a data management system that would allow police instant access to a suspect’s records from any city within the corridor. 

“If someone is stopped in Oakland, we should know if the week prior he shot someone in Richmond,” Word said in an interview after the panel discussion. “Right now, I don’t know unless I call.” 

Berkeley and Oakland police communicate on different radio frequencies, leaving most Berkeley officers unable to monitor OPD radio reports and vice versa. 

Alameda County doesn’t have the technology to bridge the frequencies, so both departments recently purchased radios tuned to each other’s frequencies so patrol cars serving the South Berkeley-North Oakland border can communicate in their effort to fight violence. 

Word said OPD and BPD officers often rode in the same patrol cars this summer to give colleagues tips about the hot spots in their beats, and this fall, they say, investigators are cooperating more closely. 

For the time being, according to residents near the border, the tactics have worked. 

“Right now things are calm again,” said Ozzie Vincent, a member of the South Berkeley Crime Prevention Council. 

But members of the council said that even as Berkeley Police begin to communicate more effectively with their Oakland counterparts, the department is still failing to keep residents well informed. 

“Oakland officers let citizens develop organizations a heck of a lot better than Berkeley officers,” said Osman, who—although he lives in Berkeley—belongs to a North Oakland crime watch e-mail group that gets updated crime data and puts residents in immediate contact with beat officers and supervisors. 

“We’ve invited Berkeley Police to go to the Oakland groups to see how they work, but [the BPD] won’t come,” Osman said. “If there is a murder or drug problem the police are very effective at coming in and taking care of the problem, but they don’t give us much feedback.” 

Interviewed after the crime conference, Berkeley Police Chief Roy Meisner said he wasn’t sold on e-mail groups like the one that has sprouted in North Oakland and referred a reporter to beat-by-beat crime statistics available at the BPD’s website. 

Those statistics, however, aren’t nearly as current as the comparable data available to the Oakland e-mail group.

Patrons of the Downtown YMCA will soon get a sneak preview of Berkeley’s changed parking picture—which some describe as a crunch and others as a matter of lowered expectations. 

Last month and effective Nov. 1, TransAction Companies unilaterally terminated its agreement to provide Y patrons free parking during morning and evening hours at the company’s 2020 Kittredge St. garage, just behind the public library. 

“This will make it more difficult for me to get to the Y,” said Jody Bush, retired Deputy Director of Library Services for the city, who like many seniors drives to the YMCA for swimming and fitness classes. 

But Berkeley Transportation Director Peter Hillier said the city’s 420-space Center Street garage has had open spaces throughout the day all year, and that the Berkeley’s parking “problems” are as much subjective as real. 

“There are different expectations around this,” he said. “Some people don’t consider parking on the roof of the Center Street Garage acceptable.”  

Downtown business groups see TransAction’s move as part of a strategy to boot tenants from the Kittredge Street Garage, a 350-space lot that accounts for about 25 percent of the downtown parking supply, to pave the way for Library Gardens—a gargantuan 176-unit apartment complex and retail center providing housing for about 300 people. 

TransAction Senior Vice President John DeClerq, acknowledged the motivation behind the decision, saying it was time for parkers to start changing habits with the development scheduled to start next year.  

TransAction has already moved its employee parking from the Kittredge Street garage to the neighboring 612-space Great Western Garage on Allston Way, according to garage manager Denny Yang. 

Even with the Kittredge garage open, the downtown parking supply is stretched thin. During the robust economic years of the late 1990s, downtown lots were often filled to capacity during peak early afternoon hours and the Kittredge lot even occasionally used a valet service to squeeze cars into the garage. 

But the struggling economy has reduced demand for spaces, garage operators said. “This year we’ve had more spaces available,” Yang said, but with [Kittredge] closing we’ve started getting more cars and might be full by next month.” 

When first introduced in 2000, Library Gardens was promoted as the crown jewel of downtown development, promising to add retail shops and house residents near Shattuck Avenue while replacing the lost ground floor parking with one or two underground parking levels. 

But digging underground proved too expensive: DeClerq estimated that each basement parking spot would cost roughly $50,000. “Every week it was another million,” he said in an interview last October. 

Last November he reintroduced the development, keeping the 176-unit apartment complex and five ground floor shops but scuttling the underground garage. The plan now calls for a 116-space ground floor lot with 105 parking permits for residents—a net loss for the city of at least 208 parking spaces.  

City zoning laws require the development provide only 59 spaces, but downtown merchants fear that closing the Kittredge lot will severely impact business. 

“Losing the [Kittredge] Garage would have a huge impact for the downtown,” said Downtown Berkeley Association Executive director Deborah Bahdia. “It would most severely impact the Library and YMCA, which are the anchors for downtown. We rely on them to bring thousands of people downtown every day that support economic life in the area.” 

The project’s own Environmental Impact Report showed only modest displacement from loss of the lot, with demand only exceeding supply during peak early afternoon hours, but Berkeley activist Fred Lupke noted in an August letter to planning officials that the parking study was done in the summer—when UC Berkeley and Vista College were on recess—and a second survey was conducted on election day when most city employees stayed home. 

Berkeley Planning Commissioner Rob Wrenn would like to see DeClerq provide the minimum number of parking spaces for complex residents, allowing the rest to remain open to commuters. “If you compare his project to other downtown developments his stands out as providing far more parking spaces for residents,” he said. 

Closure of the Kittredge lot could create parking problems for Berkeley, Wrenn said, but he thought the city could alleviate a potential parking crunch by evicting long-term tenants from its Center Street Garage in favor of short-term users—who tend to favor the Kittredge site—or by expanding the Center Street facility during a much-needed earthquake retrofit. 

The project is scheduled to go before the Zoning Adjustment Board in December. 

In the meantime, many YMCA patrons could soon be facing a tough commute. Downtown YMCA Director Fran Gallati estimated that 500 patrons use the YMCA between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m., 400 of whom come by car. Of those, 250 park at the Kittredge Garage. 

TransAction for years had allowed YMCA patrons to park for free on weekdays between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. and between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. in return for a discounted monthly fee paid by the Y. 

Gallati has negotiated a deal with the Great Western Garage to supply $1 parking during evening and early morning hours, but has still not plugged the 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. slot—when the YMCA offers the bulk of its fitness classes to seniors, the disabled, and parents with young children who are more likely to travel by car. 

“It will be hard for a lot of our people not to drive,” he said. “If you have kids to bring for swimming lessons, or a medical condition and take part in a one- or two-hour class, you’ve built that into your lifestyle.” 

Gallati said he didn’t expect the potential 300 new residents at the complex to offset loses by members who could no longer find parking, because he expected many of Library Garden’s future tenants to be students, who would not be the YMCA’s natural customer base.

Rachel Odes, Michael Smith and Snehal Shingavi—the three UC Berkeley students found responsible Oct. 13 for violating two counts of the UC Berkeley student code of conduct during an anti-war protest—have refused to acknowledge any wrong-doing and have announced plans to run a full-page ad in the Daily Californian protesting their convictions. 

Within 24 hours of the announcement, the ad had gained over 500 signatures—including those of such well-known figures as Green Party gubernatorial candidate Peter Camejo and academics Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky. 

According to Todd Chretien of the ad hoc Committee to Defend Student Civil Liberties—created to defend the students—the numbers continue to grow. 

“We’re putting UC Berkeley on notice that we are not going to let them railroad these students,” said Chretien, an anti-war activist who recently graduated from San Francisco State. 

“This is an attempt to intimidate students at Berkeley at one of the most active campuses in the nation.” 

Among the concerns Chretien cited is what he calls a violation of the trio’s due process rights, stemming from the insufficient time he says they were given to prepare a defense before the hearing. He said the signatories also worry that punishing the students would set a precedent, allowing other universities to begin prosecuting students for anti-war activities. 

“If the students are convicted, it will send a message across the nation that universities can get away with this,” said Chretien. 

The three students still don’t know what penalties they might receive at the Oct. 28 sentencing hearing because the university has refused to comment. Before the hearing the school had offered a plea-bargain that included community service and a letter in their student file. But the students declined, saying that accepting the bargain would have sent the same message: that universities can target student anti-war activists. 

Peter Camejo, one of the signers who Chretien says has been particularly supportive of the students, knows UC discipline first-hand. He was arrested and eventually expelled from Berkeley in the late 1960s for anti-war activism. 

According to Camejo, who was 27 at the time of his arrest and an outspoken participant in the anti-Vietnam war movement, his run-in with UC officialdom began when he spoke at an open mike at Sproul Plaza at midnight after the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted to ban students from holding a meeting as part of an event called Stop The Draft Week.  

When students who were not allowed into the meeting—which was being held on campus—rallied at Sproul Plaza, word spread over the radio, drawing thousand to the event, which lasted until 5 a.m. 

Camejo said that, as with the recent protest, hundreds of people showed up but only a handful were charged. He was then suspended, along with 10 or 11 other leading campus anti-war activists. 

Camejo and the others then ran as a slate for the campus’s student government elections, but at 3 a.m. on the day before the vote, police appeared on his doorstep, arresting him for a charge he says neither he nor the officers could understand.  

Though the charge was dropped a day later, news of the hearing spread around campus, and students rallied around Camejo’s slate.  

Camejo and his colleagues won the election, but eventually he was officially expelled and was unable to finish his degree. 

“This is the same thing that happened,” Camejo said, referring to the three students not awaiting word of their fates. “People have this image that Berkeley is progressive, but the administration was hostile and paranoid toward the anti-war movement. 

“These students were protesting, so the administration wants to take these three leaders and make them the symbols. It’s an immense error. They should be cheering these students.” 

Camejo said he is particularly angry about the charges the three students face because the protesters continue to be right, just as during Vietnam, when students also protested what they saw as an unnecessary and unauthorized invasion.  

“[The students] are fighting for respect of the rules of the world, and for this they are being threatened,” said Camejo. 

Snehal Shingavi, one of the convicted students, agrees, calling the current proceedings “absolutely ludicrous. The fact of the matter is that the students were right, and this speaks a lot to how this trial is being used as a cover.” 

The students say that they will publicize the letter right up to the time of the sentencing, saying they refuse to let the convictions hold them back from continuing to organize. 

“We are genuinely excited that people see this as an important issue and encouraged by the outpouring of support,” said Shingavi. 

The statement is available online at: http://www.notinourname.net/police_state_restrictions/berk-students-16oct03.htm

The Women’s Sports Foundation Monday named Berkeley’s record-setting swimmer Natalie Coughlin and pro basketball player Lisa Leslie as their 2003 Sportswomen of the Year. The awards honor team and individual sport athletes for their achievements from August 2002 through July 2003 and were presented at a ceremony Monday night at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. 

The Foundation called Coughlin “the most feared and versatile female swimmer to hit the pools in decades.” 

As a member of the UC Berkeley swim team, she was running a 102-degree fever in July when she led the U.S. team to gold and silver medals at the FINA World Championships in the 400-meter free and medley relays. 

Named the 2003 NCAA Swimmer of the Year at the group’s championships, where she won the 100- and 200-yard backstroke and 100-yard fly, Coughlin has broken six world records, 34 American records and 11 Cal records.  

In August, 2002, she won five titles: the 100- and 200-meter events in both freestyle and backstroke and the 100-meter fly. In the 200-meter backstroke, she broke a 16-year-old American record. 

In all, Coughlin set three world, seven American and three NCAA records during the 2002-2003 season, including the world record as the first woman to complete the 100-meter backstroke in under a minute (59.58)—all at the age of 21. 

“I feel honored to be receiving the Sportswoman of the Year Award,” Coughlin told the Foundation. “It gives me great pride to be mentioned with so many extraordinary women and to be rewarded for my accomplishments. It has certainly been a successful year for many. I would like to thank the Women's Sports Foundation for their continual support.” 

Leslie, who received the Sportswoman of the Year Team Award for the second time, finished the 2003 WNBA season in the Top 10 in scoring (18.4 points per game, fourth), rebounding (10.0 rebounds per game, third), blocked shots (2.74 blocks per game, second) and recorded 13 double-doubles. 

The Sportswoman of the Year Award was originally awarded to a professional athlete and an amateur athlete until it was modified in 1993 to honor one outstanding female athlete who competes in an individual sport and one who plays a team sport. 

Founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King, the Women’s Sports Foundation is a national charitable educational organization seeking to advance the well-being and leadership skills of girls and women through sports and fitness. The Foundation is located in Nassau County, N.Y.

EDITOR’S NOTE: President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada resigned late Friday—after this article was written—following massive demonstrations in La Paz. His replacement, former Vice-President Carlos Mesa, said he would heed the demands of the Indians, who comprise the largest segment of South America's poorest nation. 

LA PAZ, Bolivia--Bolivians don’t know what’s good for them, declared the editors of the New York Post. Citing widespread opposition and protest to a proposed deal to export Bolivian natural gas to California, the paper observed: “And right now in Bolivia—the poorest country in all of Latin America—there are people fighting to remain poor.” 

The broad opposition to the proposed gas deal is not fueled by stupidity. Ordinary Bolivians have not stood before armed soldiers because they just don’t understand the subtleties of global economics. At work is a conflict between the country’s two very different populations, one glowingly rich and the other abjectly poor. 

The real issue in the “gas war” is how Bolivia should integrate itself into the global economy—who will win and who will lose.  

Two hundred miles away from the eye of the conflict in the capital city of La Paz lies the small city of Potosi and behind it the small mountain “Cerro Rico” (Rich Hill). For 300 years, from the mid-1500s to the mid-1800s, this single hill of silver bankrolled the Spanish empire. Millions of Bolivian Indians and slaves died extracting the silver for the Spanish. Here is a history written into the Bolivian soul—a country that sat atop one of the greatest sources of mineral wealth in the history of the planet ended up being the poorest in South America.  

Today the nation’s newest and probably last “Cerro Rico” is a mammoth underground reserve of natural gas that the government is planning to harvest, in association with a British-backed consortium, Pacific LNG. 

To Bolivia’s wealthy elite and their allies at the International Monetary Fund, the deal looks like a financial boon for a country that could very much use one. Average Bolivians see an unfolding repeat of the theft of the nation’s silver.  

“The money will all just end up in the pockets of the president, the ministers and other politicians,” says Lourdes Netz, a former Roman Catholic nun. “Look at all the public companies that have been privatized. Have the people benefited?” First give us political reforms so we have a government we can trust, many Bolivians say. Then we can cut the gas deal.  

For 15 years, Bolivia has been the main South American lab rat for the pro-privatization, unfettered-market theories of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The results have been disastrous. The economy has been in a crisis for half a decade.  

In 2000, Bolivia obeyed World Bank orders to privatize the public water system of its third-largest city, Cochabamba. This led to a takeover by Bechtel, the California engineering giant, massive rate hikes on the poor, and a civic rebellion that forced Bechtel to leave. 

Last February, when the International Monetary Fund sought to impose a belt-tightening package, citizens revolted and were met with army tanks. Thirty-two people were killed. Now, once again, Bolivians are being shot in their streets for the crime of confronting an economic model imposed from abroad and which they don’t believe in.  

There is another element of remembered history to the current conflict over gas. Pacific LNG wants to ship the gas out of landlocked Bolivia through its Pacific coast neighbor, Chile, a proposal that runs into deep, century-old national resentment over Chile’s seizure of Bolivia’s last remaining access to the sea in 1879. School children here are still taught that the nation must reclaim its ocean. For many Bolivians, the thought of giving such a big prize to Chile, without a sea access deal in return, is unacceptable.  

At least 75 people have been killed by the army since the conflict began. According to eyewitnesses and coroner’s reports, most of them suffered gunshot wounds at point-blank range. One soldier was reported killed by his superior when he refused to fire on a crowd.  

President Gonzalo Sànchez de Lozada, elected with 22 percent of the vote a year ago and now supported by less than 10 percent of his people, has earned a new nickname: “The Butcher.” The focus of the protests has now shifted from gas to a demand that the president resign.  

His vice president and key members of the government have already broken with him over the massacres, but he insists on staying, branding calls for his departure sedition. This is especially ironic given that Sànchez de Lozada himself called for his predecessor, Hugo Banzer Suarez, to step down two years ago during a national crisis far less extreme than the current one.  

It seems impossible for Sanchez de Lozada to regain anything near the credibility he needs to complete his remaining four years in office. But the U.S. Embassy and other powerful allies seem intent on keeping him in office.  

Bolivia’s conflicts over the game plans for global economics did not begin with the gas war and will not end with it. Bolivians have taken to the streets because they know better—they want to seize control of their own economic future.  

Jim Shultz is the executive director of The Democracy Center (www.democracyctr.org), based in California and Bolivia.

Emergency Supply Expostion 

Berkeley’s Office of Emergency services along with the Berkeley Fire Department and Disaster Resistant Berkeley are hosting the Emergency Supply Exposition this Saturday, where tenants along with home- and business-owners can learn about life-saving disaster reduction techniques and purchase or order emergency supplies. 

Berkeley residents who remember the Loma Prieta earthquake and the Berkeley-Oakland Hills fire might also know that the city continues to face other natural disasters, including the threat posed by the North Hayward Fault directly beneath the city. 

Disaster Resistant Berkeley program coordinator Carol Lopes said that prevention and preparedness programs like the one this Saturday will help the city develop the most comprehensive safety plan for residents and help individuals make plans that will allow them to be self-sufficient for five to seven days in the event of major disaster. 

This, she says, will help the city ensure that its infrastructure is back up and running as quickly as possible. 

At Saturday’s event residents can attend demonstrations of medical, fire suppression and search and rescue equipment by the Berkeley Fire Department and a question and answer session about wood frame housing with Jim Gillett, a licensed building contractor and instructor in earthquake retrofitting at the Building Education Center. 

The event takes place at the Truit and White Lumber Company Showrooms at 642 Hearst St. from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information, contact Carol Lopes at 981-5514 or clopes@ci.berkeley.ca.us. 

Earthquakes Rattle East Bay 

Sunday sleepers might not have felt them, but the East Bay had two minor earthquakes Sunday morning, the first registering a 3.5 and the second a 1.9, followed by another registering 3.4 on Monday. 

Sunday’s first temblor came at 8:32 a.m. with it’s epicenter 4 km from Lafayette and 4km from Orinda. The second came at 11:31 a.m. and was located at the relatively same position as the first. Monday’s shake happened around 10:50 a.m. 

According to Dr. Robert Uhrhammer, a research seismologist with the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory, these three quakes were actually part of what is called a swarm of tremors, with hundreds of small earthquakes happening throughout both days, most under magnitude 2—the threshold for feeling them. 

The swarm he says, “Is like someone turned them on and then will turn them off.” 

The earthquakes are occurring along the Pinole Fault, which Uhrhammer says is mostly under the San Pablo Bay. 

No damage was reported from the quakes and Uhrhammer says that typically no type of significant damage occurs until the quakes get above magnitude 4. 

Drunken Man Sets Jail Fire  

A homeless man arrested for public drunkenness Friday afternoon proved even more dangerous in jail than on the street. Police found Brett Walker, 37, in a bellicose mood in the 3000 block of San Pablo Avenue, and when they tried to arrest him, Walker fought and tried to flee. Once he’d been overpowered, officers took him to the jail at Berkeley Police headquarters, where the trouble really started. In the room where he’d been sent to make his obligatory telephone call, Walker smashed the phone. Officers then locked him in a solitary cell, from which the smell of smoke began wafting soon thereafter. When officers went to chewk, they found that he had set his bed ablaze and ignited the sheets—which he then pushed them under the cell door, setting fire to it as well. Police quickly extinguished the fire and did not need to evacuate the jail. Police reports did not say how the fire was set. Walker was then sent to a third cell where he repeatedly punched the Plexiglas window. Charged Walker with arson, damage to jail property and public intoxication, police sent him on his way to Santa Rita County Jail. 

Drug Arrest 

Police arrested two men they say they spotted drinking booze in their car at 9:12 p.m. Saturday evening. Officers in a patrol car driving on the 2300 block of Curtis Street—a noted drug hotspot—spotted the pair in a parked car, and one of the officers recognized one of the men as a parolee. When police approached the car to conduct a search, the passenger reached over and grabbed something, which he began to crush them. The officers ordered the man to drop the substance and then collected the crushed pieces, which they subsequently identified as rock cocaine. Virgil Luckett, 59, of Berkeley and Reginald Patillo, 38, of Berkeley were arrested for possession of cocaine, drinking alcohol from an open container and violating parole and probation.

The neighborhood kids were begging me to take them somewhere. 

“Suzy, take us to McDonalds,” shouted Robert, as he peered into my refrigerator. 

“Take us to the video store,” demanded Christopher as he sat on the couch scratching his big feet. 

“No, let’s go to the arcade,” said Eric, playing with the electric can opener. 

“Un-ah,” argued Jernae. “Suzy promised me she’d take me bowling, didn’t you, Suzy?” 

I batted Eric away from the appliances and shut the refrigerator door in Robert’s face. “Look, you kids have got to find someone else to play with other than me. I’m too old to hang out with you.” 

“No you’re not,” said Robert. “You’re just like us. You need to get out once and awhile too. Besides, you can drive a car and you’ve got money.” 

“Great,” I moaned. “I am so lucky to have friends like you.” 

All four of them sat on the couch and stared at me. 

“I give up,” I said, throwing my hands into the air. “How ‘bout a hike? I’ll take you to Redwood Park.” 

“Yahoo,” shouted Robert. “We better pack some food.” 

“I’ll go get my backpack,” said Christopher, running out the door. “Don’t go nowhere without me.” 

“I got me a backpack too,” said Eric. “I’ll be right back.” 

Suddenly it was much quieter. I turned to Jernae, “Put on your shoes and socks and get ready.” 

“What about food?” she asked. “We got to get a lunch packed before we go. We don’t want to starve to death out there in the wilderness. I’ll make us some sandwiches. What do you got to eat?” 

“Nothin’,” said Robert. “I just looked in the refrigerator and there ain’t a thing in there.” 

I headed toward the hallway. “I’m going upstairs to change my clothes. When I get down here, you kids are to be ready. I’m not waiting on any of you.” 

Ten minutes later I found all four of them dressed in bubble jackets and wearing designer sneakers. Enormous packs covered their small backs. 

“What do you have in those things?” I asked. 

“Sodas,” volunteered Eric. 

“Sandwiches,” added Christopher. 

“Chips and dip,” said Jernae. 

“I got me a knife,” said Robert. “In case we run into trouble.” 

We piled into the car and swung onto Highway 24 and then headed up Snake Canyon. “Where we goin’?” asked Christopher as I drove up the steep hill. “Dang, it looks like were goin’ into the mountains.” 

“There ain’t no bears up there, is there, Suzy?” asked Robert. 

“Of course there ain’t no bears up there,” shouted Eric. “You sure are stupid.” 

“Am not.” 

“Are too.” 

“That’s enough,” I said as I pulled into the Skyline trailhead parking lot. We tumbled out. “Got your stuff ready?” I asked. 

“Yep,” they shouted in unison. “Let’s go.” 

But we no sooner got 10 feet up the East Ridge path, when Jernae complained that her pack was too heavy. Then Robert said his feet hurt. Christopher shouted, “Dang, I didn’t know this trail was gonna be this dusty.” 

They set down their packs and peeled off their jackets. I gathered the puffy coats in a big ball and carried them in front of me, like a huge, soft basket of laundry. They hoisted their packs again onto their thin shoulders. 

“When we gonna eat?” asked Eric. “I’m hungry.” 

All three boys were in front of me, holding up their pants with one hand while they walked. But it was of no use. Their baggy jeans kept sliding down to their knees, exposing brightly checked boxer shorts. “I ain’t gonna make it,” groaned Robert. “These pants just won’t stay up.” 

It was true. We weren’t going to get anywhere with those pants. We headed back to the car. We ate sandwiches and shared chips and dip while looking out the open windows into the parking lot and the forest edge. 

“Man, this is fun,” said Robert between bites. “I just love the wilderness, don’t you?” 

For more information about hiking trails in the East Bay, contact East Bay Regional Park District, 562-PARK.

The East Bay has gotten a little more dangerous in the past few months. Without fanfare, the city of Oakland closed the fireboat. Not for a day, not for a week, but indefinitely. Shutters down, tanks empty, the Seawolf is destined for drydock.  

Simultaneously the city also closed Fire Station 2, which provides fire and medical protection for Jack London Square, one of Oakland’s prime tourist destinations. 

But the drop in fire protection for Oakland’s citizens is old news. Earlier this year the city closed two engines and one truck on a rotating basis—a rolling blackout on safety. Some days your neighborhood firehouse might be open and ready, some days not. Please try to make sure that nothing bad happens to you on a blackout day. 

The loss of the fireboat is a singular tragedy. 

Oakland has the fourth largest port in the country. We will now be the only one without a fireboat. The fireboat protects not only vessels off the coast, but also structures along the waterfront including restaurants, warehouses and private homes. In the event of an earthquake or large scale disaster, the fireboat can pump water from the bay in case EBMUD’s system is overloaded, as it was during the 1991 firestorm. 

Without a fireboat, responsibility for protecting the waterfront falls to the Coast Guard, an agency already dangerously overloaded by homeland defense. 

The loss of a fire station does not mean that residents of that district will be completely unprotected. Instead, the response will be slower, as it comes from farther away. Imagine that you live next door to a firehouse. If you dial 911 for a heart attack, you would expect an immediate response. But if your neighbors are off covering Jack London Square, you’ll have to wait for help from the next firehouse down the line. 

As more firehouses close, more dominoes fall as engines race around town covering unprotected districts. Having a heart attack is like drowning: without the heart, no oxygen reaches the brain. Try holding your breath for as long as you can. Now try holding it for another three minutes longer. That’s what happens when your firehouse is closed. Similarly, fires grow exponentially with time. What might have been a simple kitchen fire can turn into a full scale conflagration in just a few minutes extra. 

These closures aren’t just a problem for Oakland, they are a problem for everyone. 

In comparison to New York, San Francisco, or even San Jose, we’re all small departments over here, and we help each other out. If there is a fire in Alameda, Piedmont, Berkeley or Emeryville, you can bet that the OFD will be called for help. But if we’re already running short, we might not have any help to give. The dominoes fall outward in all directions from Jack London Square. 

I wish I could say that I have a perfect solution; I wish I could lay all the blame on the fire chief or the City Council. But the harsh reality is that the entire country is in fiscal crisis. There is simply not enough money to do all of the things that need to be done. 

As a firefighter I am admittedly biased: I think that our budgets should be inviolable. But my mother is a teacher, my father is a physician, and my wife works for the courts; we all have different ideas about which social services are sacrosanct. The fire department is a particularly ripe target for cuts, because we bring in essentially no revenue and we’re always breaking expensive things like ladders, fire trucks, and our bodies. 

There are no winners in a budget crisis. As we hold our breath through the dangerous month of October, marking the anniversaries the Loma Prieta earthquake and the Oakland Firestorm, the best that local citizens can do is roll the dice and hope that when the time comes, the fire station they need will have the lights on and the engine running. 

Zac Unger is an Oakland firefighter and frequent Daily Planet contributer.

Elevating a lowly side dish like coleslaw to haute cuisine status is not for the run-of-the-mill cook—precisely what Roxanne Chan of Albany is not. As a recipe “contester” she spends her days dreaming up ways to make everything from chicken to potato salad in new and exciting ways. 

Her recent entry in a coleslaw recipe contest featuring raspberries took third place and a $100 prize—just another day at the office for Chan. In the roughly 2,000 contests Chan has entered in the last 20 years, she’s racked up 580 prizes including a new French sedan, trips, cash prizes of up to $5,000, cook books and kitchen equipment—including six Cuisinearts.  

“You can’t make a living. It’s only a hobby. I do it for the intellectual stimulation of creating, coming up with a great idea,” says Chan, who gets inspiration for recipes from the fruits, vegetables and herbs she grows in her spacious Albany hill garden. 

The raspberry coleslaw was no exception. “We had raspberries in the garden and so that’s what clicked,” says Chan. 

A stay-at-home mom with a sophomore at Albany High School, Chan caught the recipe contest bug after friends impressed with her dinner parties suggested she put her show on the road. Starting out small, she entered her creations in local contests like the San Francisco crab contest, the Walnut Creek walnut festival and the Gilroy garlic festival and started winning. 

The prizes gave Chan a taste for the hobby and she began subscribing to newsletters touting the various national contests (these have since been replaced by the website www.recipecontests.com.) 

Food contests fall into two categories: a recipe contest, where you submit a recipe through the mail, and cook-offs, where you go and attend a function, usually a food festival, and prepare your recipe to be judged on-site. 

Chan especially enjoys the cook-offs which are usually held in the summer months. “That’s where you meet people—that’s part of the fun of the hobby too.” She stays away from the ubiquitous chili and barbecue cook-offs and is not much of a baker. Her emphasis is on salads and chicken dishes. “There’s lots of chicken contests out there cause you can do a lot with it and I’m more into that than into beef. I don’t do much beef.” 

Because she consistently wins on the recipe “tour” Chan has become something of a legend in the annals of recipe contesting. The recently published “Cookoffs—Recipe Fever in America,” a book about the phenomenon, has a whole chapter devoted to Chan entitled simply “Roxanne.”  

Chan attributes her fame in the field of contesting to her longevity more than anything else. “I keep on winning. There are contesters that win bigger prizes than I do more consistently, but I do win quite a bit.” 

It’s no surprise to Chan that she won for her latest slaw entry. “Slaws are one of my big things. I’m known for my prize-winning slaws,” says Chan. “I just like to experiment with all different types of cabbages, fruits and vegetables.” 

While that love of experimentation has won her awards, Chan is quick to point out that in order to be successful as a contester you have to know your audience. 

What might work with Steinfeld’s, the sauerkraut company from Oregon that sponsored her raspberry slaw recipe, wouldn’t necessarily go over in the more conservative dining Midwest. 

“This recipe might not fly in a national contest because it’s a little bit too California cuisiney,” says Chan. “I wouldn’t send this in to some national slaw contest. But, Oregon, Washington, California, out here you would do it. These are the types of things you pick up from experience.” 

While you might not know Chan’s name at first glance, there’s a good chance you’ve tried one of her recipes. They’ve been published in conjunction with contests co-sponsored by Sunset and Bon Appetite magazine and have even appeared on food packages. A Ronzoni pasta package featured her salmon pasta dish, complete with her name, for years.  

While Chan has five large photo albums stuffed with her winning recipes—enough for more than a few recipes books—she realizes that they are the property of the companies that sponsored the contests. For Chan to have them published under her name would require the company’s consent, but don’t look for that anytime soon. “Of course, I have enough to put together a book but I would probably only do it when I stopped contesting,” says Chan. 

The Berkeley City Council on Tuesday will consider whether it will join a regional governing body that would oversee the development and operation of sports fields throughout the East Bay. 

The formation of the joint powers authority, called the East Bay Sports Recreation Authority, would allow Berkeley and other member cities to coordinate their efforts and tap into resources not available to individual cities. The cities of Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, El Cerrito and Richmond will possibly become members of the JPA, which can be legally formed with a minimum of two cities. 

Advocates of the proposed JPA say it would make it possible for member cities to fund development of much-needed organized sports fields in the region. 

“It is very difficult for municipalities to get money,” said Yolanda Huang, a member of the Berkeley Parks and Recreation Commission, which voted 5-3 to approve the formation of the JPA at its Oct. 9 meeting. “The idea is that by having a collective, it’s easier for these cities to get grants.” 

The first project for the proposed JPA involves the development of a 16-acre plot of land located in Golden Gate Fields. Under the proposal, the JPA would lease the $12 million parcel from the East Bay Regional Parks District and construct sports fields on the land with funds available through Proposition 40. 

Advocates of the JPA, including representatives from the area’s youth sports’ league, are urging cities to quickly approve the JPA so that it can apply for state grant money. Deadlines for two applicable grants are Dec. 15 and Jan. 15. 

Huang said she initially had concerns about the JPA when it was presented to the commission its Sept. 29 meeting, but voted in favor of it at the Oct. 9 meeting. She said an earlier draft of the JPA proposal did not grant cities ultimate authority over the development of the land. A newly revised draft, which will be presented to the Berkeley City Council Tuesday, contains language that gives individual cities the power to veto any development they don’t want, Huang said. 

The revised version of the proposal also addresses the concerns of the major environmentalist players in the campaign to form the JPA. Robert Cheasty is president of Citizens for Eastshore Park, a 1,800-acre park that runs from Emeryville into Richmond. 

The Eastshore Park was designated a state park in December after 20 years of lobbying by Cheasty and other East Bay residents. CESP proposed the idea of forming a JPA for the purpose of developing fields on the Gilman site, which is surrounded by but not part of the state park. One of the reasons for forming the sports field JPA, Cheasty said, is to protect the Albany Plateau, a site located within Eastshore State Park that environmentalists consider a valuable wildlife sanctuary. 

But when the original draft of the JPA proposal went to the Albany City Council for approval on Oct. 7, Cheasty and other environmentalists objected. 

“We thought the original version was too broad and didn’t have enough environmental protections,” Cheasty said, adding that the original proposal would have allowed for commercial development at the expense of environmental protection. 

The Albany City Council voted down the proposal, pending revisions to the plan that would address environmentalists’ concerns. 

In the two weeks following the Albany meeting, Cheasty said, all parties involved have worked together to come up with a draft proposal that addresses the environmental concerns. The revised version includes language protecting the environment and barring damage to habitat and existing species, he said. It also specifically forbids creating ballfields on the Albany Plateau. 

“We think we have reached a JPA draft that everyone can live with,” Cheasty said. “The idea that everyone would put aside their concerns and cooperate is amazing. There are a lot of strong personalities, so to manage to get everyone on the same boat is very difficult to do.” 

Still, others are urging caution and vigilance on the issue. Marco Barrantes is one of three Parks and Recreation commissioners who voted against the proposal. He said he is somewhat comforted that Cheasty and others have managed to get more environmental protection guarantees into the proposal, but said the creation of a regional entity for the sole purpose of creating ballfields will inevitably mean that other uses, such as community gardens and less formal recreation space, will take a back seat. 

“This JPA is a powerful governing body that is going to tilt the balance of power related to land use,” Barrantes said. “It would have the ability to have eminent domain over lots of land that could go to a lot of other uses and would be able to generate a lot of money for the sole purpose of sports fields.” 

He added that even though cities would have veto power under the new proposal, such power may not significantly dilute the power of the JPA. “It is rare for secondary bodies to oppose something that has been approved by a primary body. For example, if something is approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission, it usually isn’t voted down at the City Council,” he said. “It usually requires someone who is really willing to fight and is politically tactful enough to get enough votes. It doesn’t happen that often.”

FRIDAY, OCT. 17 

Dance Benefit for Berkeley Liberation Radio 104.1FM at 8 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. With Sokrates the Virgo, Elementactics, Space Vacuum, Jay Jay Johnson, and many others. $10 donation requested.  

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. 548-6310. 

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. 496-6000, ext. 135. www.bpf.org 

Charity Fashion Show by the Asian Business Association at 7 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. All proceeds benefit the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Tickets are $10 for ABA members, $12 general. For more information visit www.juliamorgan.org  

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with G. Steven Detlinger, Vice President, Morgan Stanley, on “Today’s Market.” Luncheon 11:45 a.m. $11.50 - $12.50. Speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020. 

SATURDAY, OCT. 18 

Berkeley Association of Neighborhood Associations meets at 9:15 a.m. in the Sproul Room, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 587-3257. www.berkeleycna.com 

Berkeley High School Independent Studies Garage Sale, Bake Sale and Car Wash from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also on Sunday. Held at the Independent Studies Campus at Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Derby Sts. Money raised will help Art, French and Spanish students on a trip to Europe.  

Michael Moore, award-winning documentarian and author, on the “American Economic and Political Climate” at the Greek Theater at 1 p.m., Tickets are $15 and $30. 642- 9988. 

Autumn in Asia, walking tour through the Asian Area of the Botanical Garden, with Horticulturalist Elaine Sedlack, from 9 to 11 a.m. Space is limited, registration required. 643-2755. http:// 

botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu  

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour of the Berkeley Kensington border at 10 a.m. Reservations and a donation of $8 required. Please make check payable to Berkeley Historical Society, and mail to P.O. Box 1190, Berkeley, CA 94701-1190. 848-0181. 

Wilderness First Aid with Steve Donelan, covering subjects ranging from hypothermia to frostbite, stings to injuries, water purification to first-aid kits. From 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.at the Sierra Club, SF Bay Chapter, 2530 San Pablo Ave, near Dwight. Cost is $50, plus $15 for Sierra Club membership if you aren’t a member already. Reservations required. For information email donelan@wildernessemergencycare.com or visit www.wildernessemergencycare.com 

Free Emergency Preparedness Class on Earthquake Retrofitting for anyone who lives or works in Berkeley, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 812 Page St. Register on-line at www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes or by calling 981-5506. 

Yoga for Seniors at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St., on Saturdays from 10 to 11 a.m. The class is taught by Rosie Linsky, who at age 72, has practiced yoga for over 40 years. Open to non-members of the club for $8.00 per class. For further information and to register, call Karen Ray at 848-7800. 

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. 19 

Fun Run/Walk Benefit for the Uninsured, sponsored by LifeLong Medical Care. Registration at 8 a.m., run/walk begins at 9 a.m. at the Berkeley Marina. Donation to enter is $25. 704-6010, ext. 255. 

Spice of Life Food and Arts Festival, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto, on Shattuck Ave. between Francisco and Vine Sts. 540-6444. info@northshattuckassociation.org  

Growing Food in the City, from 1 to 4 p.m. with Daniel Miller, Project Director of BOSS Urban Gardening Institute, at the Subsistence Garden Center, 2838 Sacramento St, at Oregon. karenjoy@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Prehistoric Plants Life cycles and natural history of liverworts, hornworts, mosses and ferns will be our theme as we walk the Pack Rat Trail, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park. 525-2233.  

Mewsic and A Howling Good Time, benefit for Hopalong Animal Rescue from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Oakland Zoo. Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at the door. For reservations call 530-5154, ext. 505. www.hopalong.org 

“Digital Democracy: The Effect of the Internet in Participatory Politics,” with MoveOn.org cofounder Joan Blades; Ask Jeeves founder Garrett Gruener; Lauren Gelman, assistant director, Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society; Zane Vella, executive director, Campaign Video Project; and Tyler Ziemann, CEO, Affinity Engines, at 6 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. $10 donation at the door. 

California Peace Action Network meets at 4 p.m. at Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

“Is Anti-Zionism Anti-Semitic?” A panel on Counter Punch’s new book, “The Politics of Anti-Semitism,” with Alexander Cockburn, Jeffrey Blankfort, Lenni Brenner and Scott Handleman at 7 p.m. at 145 Dwinnelle, UC Campus. A donation of $5-$10 requested. Sponsored by the Middle East Radio Project and Students for Justice in Palestine. 415-255-9182. 

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

Tibetan Buddhism “World Peace Ceremony,” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Free Hands-on Bicycle Repair Clinic from 11 a.m. to noon at REI. 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140.  

MONDAY, OCT. 20 

Friends of Strawberry Creek will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library Public Meeting Room, 2090 Kittredge. Please note this is a change of location. For more information email bjanet@earthlink.net, jennifemaryphd@hotmail.com, caroleschem@hotmail.com 

“Looking at the Middle East Conflict from the Heart and from the Head” with Riva Gambert and Dawn Kepler of Building Jewish Bridges, at 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. For information on the speakers, call 839-2900 ext. 347. www.jfed.org/interfaith 848-0237. www.brjcc.org 

Investigative Reporting: Past, Present and Future, with Frank McCulloch, Stephen Engelberg, David Barstow, and Mark Schapiro, in conversation with Lowell Bergman, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Graduate School of Journalism Library, North Gate Hall, UC Campus. 643-9411. 

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. 21 

Student Study Skills Strategies for Success, a Berkeley High/PTSA program, featuring Nat Lewis, Eileen Abrams and Rory Bled, at 7 p.m. in the BHS Little Theater.  

“The Case Againt the Chilean Military Death Squad” with Sandra Coliver of the Center for Justice and Accountability and Zita Cabelo, sister of Winston Cabello, an Allende government economist executed by a Chilean military death squad, at 7:30 p.m. at International House, Home Room, Piedmont at Bancroft. 642-9460. 

“The Struggle for Socialism From Below in South Africa” at 4 p.m. at 652 Barrows Hall. Sponsored by the Center for African Studies. 642-8338. asc@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley Garden Club hosts Larry Lee, Horticulturist at U. C. Botanical Garden, who will speak on “Strange and Unusual Foliage.” Guests are welcome to attend the meeting at 1 p.m. and the free program at 2 p.m. Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St. 524-4374. 

“Success in School: How to Help Your Child Thrive and Still Get into College,” with Denise Pope Clark. Ph.D., Stanford educator and author, at 7 p.m. at The College Preparatory School Auditorium, 6100 Broadway (north), Oakland. Admission is $10 adult, $5 student. 658-5202. 

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

Tuesday Tilden Walkers 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 . 

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 

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 22 

Celebrating 20 years of Community Service Gala Annual Dinner to benefit Berkeley Booster Programs at 6:30 p.m. at The Doubletree Hotel, 200 Marina Blvd., Tickets are $65 per person, $500 for a table of 8. For reservations call 843-6542. www.berkeleyboosters.org 

“Africa on the Edge: Fighting Debt, AIDS and War” with Nunu Kidane from Eritrea, member, Priority Africa Network, at 1:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Sponsored by the Berkeley Gray Panthers. 548-9696. 

“The Spirit of the Laws in Mozambique,” with Juan Obarrio, Dept. of Anthropology, Columbia University, at 4 p.m. at 652 Barrows Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Center for African Studies. 642.8338. asc@uclink.berkeley.edu 

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 

Free Marketing Workshops, sponsored by Sisters Headquarters, for women entrepreneurs, every Wed. from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 643 17th St. Oakland. For information call 238-1100. 

Prose Writers Workshop meets 7 to 9 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut, at Rose. For information call 524-3034. 

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

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.  

THURSDAY, OCT. 23 

Green Living Series: Green Building Materials Learn about healthier building materials, and how to lower your utility bills, reduce home maintenance, and minimize remodeling construction waste, with Greg VanMechelen, architect. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave., near Dwight Way. Cost is $10 for Ecology Center members, $15 general, no one turned away. 548-2220 ext. 233. erc@ecologycenter.org 

“Optics for Birding” Ed Lehman, retired science teacher, will discuss principles of binoculars and telescopes, show how to test yours for common faults, compare models. Free admission. At 7:30 p.m., Oakland Public Library, Rockridge Branch, 5366 College Ave. 652-0107 or 654-4830. 

“Berkeley Reads” orientation for new volunteer tutors in the Berkeley Public Library’s adult literacy program, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the West Branch Library, 1125 University Ave. at San Pablo. For more information call 981-6299. 

Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh, recreational free duels, please bring your own cards. From 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Story Room at the Berkeley Central Library, 2090 Kittredge, 981-6223. www.inforpeople.org/bpl 

“Thoughts about Suicide Bombers and their Families,” with Ms. Amira Hass, Haaretz Correspondent in the Palestinian West Bank and the Gaza Strip, at 5 p.m. at 340 Stephens Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. 642-8208. cmes@uclink4.berkeley.edu 

ONGOING  

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 call 1-800-500-2400 or visit www.suttervnaandhospice.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 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 

East Bay Center for International Trade Development (EBCITD), part of the Economic Development Program at Vista Community College, offers seminars to assist companies, professionals and entrepreneurs with international trade related issues. Foe details on the seminars, visit http://eastbay.citd.org or call 540-8901, ext. 23.  

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.  

CITY MEETINGS 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board meets Mon., Oct. 20,  

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

Peace and Justice Commission meets Mon., Oct. 20, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Manuel Hector, 981-5510. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/peaceandjustice 

City Council meets Tues., Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Berkeley Housing Authority meets Tues., Oct. 21, at 6:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers, Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. ww.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/housingauthority 

Civic Arts Commission meets Wed., Oct. 22, at 6:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Mary Ann Merker, 981-7533. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/civicarts 

Disaster Council meets Wed., Oct. 22, at 7 p.m., at the Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. Carol Lopes, 981-5514. www.ci.berkeley.ca. us/commissions/disaster 

Energy Commission meets Wed., Oct. 22, at 6:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Neal De Snoo, 981-5434. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/energy 

Mental Health Commission meets Wed., Oct. 22, at 6:30 p.m., at 2640 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Harvey Turek, 981-5213. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/mentalhealth  

Planning Commission meets Wed., Oct. 22, 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. 22, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Barbara Attard, 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/policereview 

West Berkeley Project Area Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. at the West Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7520. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/westberkeley  

Zoning Adjustments Board Thurs., Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci.ber 

keley.ca.us/commissions/zoning

The West Coast’s largest showing of Cuban Poster art, an exhibit called “One Struggle, Two Communities,” is underway at the Berkeley Art Center, highlighting the release of a new book that chronicles the island nation’s rich history of cultural and political posters. 

The book, Revolution! Cuban Poster Art, written by show curator and Berkeley resident Lincoln Cushing, is being hailed by some as the newest Buena Vista Social Club. Like the movie, the book and show are meant to showcase a rich art form well-known in Cuba but unfamiliar to many in the United States—in part due to the two countries’ less than friendly political relations. 

The show features 60 Cuban posters but also includes several Bay Area political poster artists, building what Cushing calls a “dynamic interchange.” The decision to include the two different communities, partly at the behest of the art center, also shows what Cushing calls “currency between art communities”—where ideas and styles are able to “ebb and flow” between countries without regard for political barriers. 

The posters span a time period between the mid-60s into the 1980s, and, as Cushing puts it, “are stylistically all over the map.” Themes range from baseball to Imperialism, from Japanese samurai movies to the Black Panther party. Artistically, the style is unique, fusing simplistic symbolism with complicated themes and bright pastel colors to create a captivating presence. 

Cushing explains that Cuban posters were originally produced by three main agencies: the Cuban Communist Party, the Cuban Film Institute, and the Agency For International Solidarity. 

As posters, the graphics served as propaganda tools, alerting the public to issues of concern such as the conservation of water and electricity and the war in Vietnam, and as art they livened up a country that—unlike the U.S.—is not dominated by advertising and marketing billboards and placards. 

This unique dual purpose helped to inspire at least one of the Bay Area artists in the show, Juan Fuentes, whose trips to Cuba and political involvements in the United States drew him towards posters, which he says offered the perfect blend of politics and art. 

“Posters were a way to popularize an image and not make it so singular,” he said. 

Fuentes said he graduated from San Francisco State in the early 1970s at a politically charged time during the height of the struggles in Latin America and at the beginning of the Native American Movement and the Third World Liberation Movement. 

He said that, at the time, several of his friends were involved in organizations that today might be labeled as terrorist cells, where members studied how to assemble and maintain guns to train before moving off to places like Central America to participate in the liberation struggles. Fuentes said that when he realized he might wind up dead if he went the same route, he began to recognize that his contribution was going to come through art. 

Fuentes began to volunteer his services to political groups and has since become a well-known political artist, producing posters for a wide variety of groups, several of which are at the show. 

Cushing, who himself has spent years creating political posters, was born in Cuba, where his father was stationed at the American embassy. During several of his return trips, he said, he “realized that there was a huge amount of work that hadn’t been disseminated to the American public,” inspiring him to begin collecting, cataloging and preserving the posters. 

A political activist himself, Cushing said that his push to expose the art was an attempt to help people look at Cuba with open eyes. 

“Cuba has been demonized in this country and I want people to be able to have an open mind,” said Cushing. “I’m trying to build bridges, not walls.” 

The exhibit itself is carefully assembled and well-displayed, making it very hard to pick a favorite poster. Cushing’s own pick is the first poster he ever acquired. The central image is an inverted conical straw peasant’s hat, still in the making, suspended over the South and North Vietnamese flags, which are fused into one. The strands of straw from which the hat is being woven and the threads that complete the neat meshwork pattern spell out the word “solidarity” in several languages. Completing and empowering the image is the falling bomb the hat intercepts as it hurtles toward the flags. 

The image’s simplistic style and its direct yet complex message is characteristic of many of the other posters, whose messages hit home, often with amazing force. 

The show is a worthy stop for anyone with an eye for politics or art—and especially to those who appreciate both. The book is also a must for anyone interested in the range and vitality of this little-known art form. 

The show will be up until Dec. 13 and admission is free. 

The Berkeley Art Center is located at 1275 Walnut St., tel. 644-6893. For more information see the Center’s website: www.berkeleyartcenter.net Revolution! Cuban Poster Art, 132 pages, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, $19.95. 

FRIDAY, OCT. 17 

French Sculpture An exhibit of photographic prints by Howard Barkan at the Westside Bakery Café, 2570 Ninth St. Mid-show party from 6 to 9 p.m.  

FILM 

Heddy Honigmann: “The Underground Orchestra” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Sammy and Rosie Get Laid,” at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Susan Snyder will show slides and discuss her new book, “Bear in Mind: The California Grizzly,” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. www.codysbooks.com 

George Packer and Todd Gitlin introduce “The Fight is For Democracy: Winning the War of Ideas in America and the World,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. www.codysbooks.com 

Randy Fingland will be featured at the Fellowship Café & Open Mike, from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at the Fellowship Hall, Cedar and Bonita Sts. A donation of $5-$10 is requested. 540-0898. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Chamber Music Concert with Jerry Kuderna, piano and Elaine Kreston, cello, at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Arts Festival Gallery, 2324 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 665-9496. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

The Starry Plough’s 30th Anniversary with Chuck Prophet and Stephanie Finch, the Moore Brothers, Bart Davenport, Etienne de Rocher, and Willow Willow at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Free. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

“Another Abstraction” with Joel Davel, marimba lumina, percussion; Roberto Morales, piano, buchla piano bar, jarocho harp, flute, pre-Columbian flutes, electroacoustics; and Matt Wright, electroacoustics, percussion, at 8 p.m. at The Center for New Music and Audio Technologies, 1750 Arch St. Cost is $10 general admission, $5 students. Wheelchair accessible. For map and directions see www.cnmat.berkeley. 

edu/Home/WhereisCNMAT.html 

Steve Lucky and The Rhumba Bums, with Ms. Carmen Getit perform East Coast Swing and Lindy Hop at 9 p.m., with a dance lesson with Nick and Shanna at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

La Peña Community Chorus presents “Canto Para Una Semilla,” a cantata based on the autobiographical verses of Violeta Parra, at 8 p.m., at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Ellen Robinson, jazz vocalist, 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 

Denise Perrier at 9:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

All Bets Off, Powerhouse, Life Long Tragedy, Love Hope and Fear at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Spinside, featuring members of Solomon Grundy, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

The Skin Divers perform funky blues rock at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. beckettsirishpub.com 

Tim Barsky, Ashkenazi storyteller and oral historian, at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

SATURDAY, OCT. 18 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Asheba, improvisational singer/songwriter from Trinidad, at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Kids on the Block Puppet Show, promoting acceptance and understanding of physical and cultural differences at 2 p.m. at the Hall of Health, 2230 Shattuck Ave., lower level. Sug- 

gested donation $3. Children under 3 free. 549-1564. 

FILM 

Festival Film Program, “I Have a Dream,” by recent Berkeley High graduates, “Of Rights and Wrongs,” “Let’s Face It,” “Across Time & Space,” “A Home on the Range: The Jewish Chicken Farmers of Petaluma” and other films, from noon to 6 p.m. at Berkeley Arts Festival Gallery, 2324 Shattuck Ave. 665-9496. 

New Latin American Cinema: “Bolivia” at 5:25 and 8:50 p.m. and “Maids” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

A Tribute To Pablo Neruda, an evening of poetry readings, music, and a preview of an upcoming documentary on his life and work, at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Janna Levin explains “How the Universe Got its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Richard Lupoff will speak on “Versatility: The Writer as Jack of All Trades” from 10 a.m. to noon, Barnes and Noble, 2352 Shattuck Ave. www.berkeleywritersclub.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

The Starry Plough’s 30th Anniversary with the Naked Barbies, George Pederson and His Pretty Good Band, Mark Growden, and Faun Fables at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Free. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

An Evening of Improv Comedy with Platypus Jones at 8 p.m. at La Val’s, 1834 Euclid. Cost is $10, $7 with student i.d. 338-3899. www.platpusjones.com  

“Another Abstraction” - see listing for Fri. Oct. 17.  

Bluegrass Intentions, traditional bluegrass quintet, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Stephanie Bruce performs at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Tickets are $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Tim Barsky, Ashkenazi storyteller and oral historian, at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15, no one turned away. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Kotoja performs Afro-Beat at 9:30 p.m. with an African dance lesson with Comfort Mensah at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Mind Club at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

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

Octomutt, with members of Drizzoletto, at Epic Arts Studios, 1923 Ashby. Donation of $7-$10. 644-2204. 

The Pitt of Fashion Orchestra at 9:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Cripple Bastards, Phobia, Born Dead Icons, La Fraction, Depressor at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 19 

Berkeley Potters Guild Tour and Demonstration at 1 p.m. at the Potters Guild, 731 Jones St. at 4th. 524-7031. 

FILM 

Fernando de Fuentes: From the Revolution to the Comedia Ranchera, “Prisoner Number 13” at 5:30 p.m. and “El Compadre Mendoza” at 7:05 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Late Marriage,” an Israeli film about arranged marriages among Georgian immigrants in Haifa, at 2 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Suggested donation $2. 848-0237. www.brjcc.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry at Cody’s with Geoff Brock and Sidney Wade at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Peter Nichols discusses his new book, “Evolution’s Captain: The Dark Fate of the Man Who Sailed Charles Darwin Around the World,” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. www.codysbooks.com 

Guided Tour: Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics, at 2 p.m., Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Piano Concert with Jerry Kuderna performing Scriabin, Debussy, Swift and Chopin at 3 p.m. at Berkeley Arts Festival Gallery, 2324 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 665-9496. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Peace it Together An exporation of the elements of lasting peace and building community through collaborative art and performance, with Betsy Rose, singer/songwriter; Adam David Miller, poet; Gael Alcock, cellist; and Tomoko Murikami, dancer and visual artist, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Charlie Dohr Park, 2216 Acton. Free. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Organ Recital by David R. Hunsberger performing the music of Sweelinck, Buxtehude, Bach, Hindemith, and Rheinberger at 7 p.m. at St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave.  

Classical Encounter Philharmonia presents music of four of the most popular composers of the Classical era at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Channing at Dana. Tickets are $29-$60 and are available from 415-392-4400, or on-line at www.philharmonia.org  

Student Gamelan Ensemble performs in the Morrison/Hertz Breezeway, UC Campus, at 3 p.m. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Afro-Caribbean Music, featuring Francisco Barroso, Afro-Cuban Rumba, Susana Arenas, Hector Lugo, Puerto Rican Bomba at 6:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. A fundraiser in support of Yaya Maldonado’s effort to continue his studies of Ifa in Africa. Cost is $12-$15 sliding scale. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Music from Scotland, England and Beyond with Fil Campbell with Tom McFarland at 7:30 p.m. Donation of $12 in advance, $15 at the door. For reservations and location email sally@greenberg.org 

Metta Quintet, performing from their new CD, at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10-$15. 845-5373. www.jazz- 

school.com 

Vasen, Swedish folk revivalists, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door.  

548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Americana Unplugged, with The Saddle Cats at 4 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

TUESDAY, OCT. 21 

FILM 

The Cinema of Ernie Gehr, Program 3, with the filmmaker in person, at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Berkeley Writers at Work: John McWhorter, professor of linguistics, discusses his book “The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language,” and the writing process from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Morrison Library, 101 Main Library, UC Campus. Free, but registration requested, 642-6392. 

Joan Didion disusses “Where I Was From,” at 7:30 p.m. in the Large Assembly at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way, entrance on Dana. Tickets are $5. Sponsored by Cody’s Books and the Graduate School of Journalism. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Dianne Bunnell will discuss her new book “The Protest,” inspired by the religious hijaking of her daughters, at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Ain't Misbehavin’,” starring Vivian Jett from the original Broadway cast, Oct. 21, 22, 24, 26 at 8 p.m., Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Theater. Tickets are $29.50 - $50, and are available from 925-798-1300. www.juliamorgan.org 

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

Tish Hinojosa, Texas folk roots, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 22 

FILM 

Heddy Honigmann: “2 Minutes Silence, Please” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Cine Documental: “From the Other Side” Through images and interviews with Mexicans and U.S. law enforcement officers, this film examines the plight of Mexicans who try to immigrate to the U.S. illegally. At 7 p.m. at 160 Kroeber Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies. 642-2088. teodora@uclink.berkeley.edu  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

David Maraniss introduces his new work, “They Marched into Sunlight: War and Peace, Vietnam and America,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

“Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950’s and 1960’s” with Gerald Nachman at 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Co-sponsored with Berkeley Hadassah and Black Oak Books. 848-0237. www.brjcc.org 

Cy Tymony will demonstrate “Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble.  

Café Poetry and Open Mic hosted by Paradise at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Donation requested. 849-2568.  

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.starryplough.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert with Benjamin Simon, viola, Gianna Abondolo, cello and Karen Rosenak, piano perform Honegger and Abondolo at the Chevron Auditorium at International House, corner of Bancroft and Piedmont Aves. Admission is free. 642-4864. 

From the Cafetorium in Berkeley: Better Bad News Berkeley artist Gerge Coates’ independent media project will be shown at 7 p.m. on BTV Channel 25. Ordinary citizens reverse the flow of information using the internet to rewrite the text fed to professional newscasters on the teleprompter. With veteran formers Kurt Reinhardt, Annie Larson, Kris Welch, Doctor Mozzarella, Karen Ripley, Betty Halpern and students of the BUSD Adult School. 665-9496.  

www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

All Wrecked Up! performs post-mountain American music 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 

Edessa with Brenna MacCrimmon at 8:30 p.m. with a Balkan dance lesson with Gerry Duke at 7:30 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. 

Ross Hammond Trio at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $8-$15 suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Mas Cabeza, Latin salsa, funk, jazz band at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

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

THURSDAY, OCT. 23 

THEATER  

Dept. of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies presents “The Story of Susanna” by Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl, at 8 p.m. in Zellerbach Room 7. Admission is $7. 642-9925. jreil@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Woman’s Will, “Othello” The Bay Area’s all female Shakespeare company presents Shakespeare’s tragedy at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $12-$25. 420-0138.  

FILM 

Memorial Project Vietnam, two films by Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library’s Central Community Room, 2090 Kittredge. 981-6233. 

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

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Potters, Painters and Weavers of Ecuador Gallery talk with Javier Guerro, senior curator at the San Diego Museum of Man at noon at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum, Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Way at College Ave. 643-7648. www.gal.berkeley.edu/~hearst/ 

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

Al Franken brings his “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right,” to Zellerbach Hall at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20-$36 and are available from642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Lara Starr will introduce her new book, “The Partygirl Cookbook” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble.  

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 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Secluded Journalists, Ayentee, Megabusive, Destined and Gavin, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Beth Custer at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $10-$20 suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Grateful Dead DJ Night with Digital Dave at 10 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Monks of Doom and Jonathan Segel at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $9.  

841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Tree Leyburn & Friends perfrom acoustic folk at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Davka performs new Klezmer/ 

Middle Eastern jazz fusion at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 in 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.  

Autana, light rock at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. beckettsirishpub.com 

“When the sixties finally ended in Berkeley, sometime around 1994, the only thing left standing from that bygone era was the Cheese Board. Odd that a time and place so thoroughly associated with outrage and rebellion should all melt down into 400 or so tasty blobs of Camembert, Port Salut, and Bleu des Causses. Those of us old enough to remember its first tiny storefront have watched fads in politics, haircuts, nose rings and bread dough come and go, but the Cheese Board stands alone.”  

—Alice Kahn, writer and Cheese Board customer 

Hoorah! 

Berkeley’s seminal landmark, the Cheese Board Collective, has finally put together a big, beautiful, wonderful book of stories and recipes that will warm the hearts, tongues and tummies of anyone who likes to eat. 

Unlike any other cookbook, The Cheese Board: Collective Works has been created from 35 years of collective baking experience. In other words, a lot of blood, sweat, tears, salt, flour and butter have gone into the making of this tome. 

With a forward by Gourmet Ghetto resident and neighbor Alice Waters, and support from cooking luminaries such as Mollie Katzen (The Moosewood Cookbook), Michael Wild (chef-owner of BayWolf), and Lindsey Shere (former pastry chef of Chez Panisse), the Cheese Board Collective can’t complain about lack of lofty endorsements. And as any Cheese Board customer knows, it’s praise that is well deserved. 

Started in 1967 in a hole-in-the-wall space wedged into a converted alleyway on Vine Street in North Berkeley, Elizabeth and Sahag Avedisian dreamed of running a small cheese store and making use of their “down time” to pursue other interests and studies. They envisioned a slow-paced, neighborhood specialty shop based on a European model. 

Despite having no real retail experience and little knowledge of cheese, Sahag and Elizabeth soon had a steady stream of customers and within months it was necessary to hire helpers for the busy store. 

The first employees were friends and frequent visitors to the nearby Berkeley Consumer Co-operative grocery store and Peet’s, a newly established coffee shop. “Creativity and personal expression were supported by the staff and owners. Most people worked part-time in order to pursue their outside interests,” Kahn writes. 

“The combination of the store’s character, the appreciation of European culture and the changing politics of the times created exactly the right environment to foster experiments in alternative work and lifestyles. People began to drop by out of curiosity as well as for cheese.” 

Inspired by time spent on an Israeli kibbutz, Elizabeth and Sahag offered to sell the shop, at cost, to their employees. In 1971, the two owners and six employees formed a worker-owned collective. In 1975 bread was introduced into the equation and soon thereafter local writer Alice Kahn labeled the neighborhood the “Gourmet Ghetto.” 

By then, the Cheese Board was surrounded by other small specialty shops and restaurants including the Pig-by-the-Tail Delicatessen, Lenny’s meat market, North Berkeley Wine, Cocolate, the Fish Market, the Juice Bar and Chez Panisse. “The neighborhood exchanged ideas over food, and there was a shared belief that good food was essential, honest, and important,” Kahn writes. 

In 1985, when the recession hit, the business suffered and the collective brainstormed on ways to stay viable. What started out as a regular staff lunch—pizza—ended up reinvigorating sales. It was so successful that an entirely separate storefront and new members were added to the collective in order to handle the volume. 

The Cheese Board: Collective Works is divided into seven chapters including The Morning Bakery, Yeasted Breads, Sourdough Breads, Rye Breads, Holidays, The Cheese Counter, and The Pizzeria. Also included are sections on equipment, ingredients and methods, a source list, a bibliography and a directory of cooperative and collective organizations. 

Within the pages are many black and white photos, recent and archival, that lovingly depict the day-to-day operations and challenges of the Cheese Board Collective. Wonderful illustrations by Ann Arnold and Collective members make this much more than just a cookbook. 

Thumb through casually and stop on any page. Readers will be charmed by the photos, the personal anecdotes, the special sections that impart important, quirky information such as: “Cheese Facts (or Fiction),” “Can I Eat the Rind?” “Cheese and the Sourdough Connection,” or my personal favorite, “The Nasal Tour” in which the store’s goat cheese section is described as smelling like a “barnyard” and the Muenster section is labeled “stinky feet,” 

The facts and information are almost endless, and I, for one, look forward to many evenings of simply leafing through this cookbook’s rich pages and imagining the smells, sounds and tastes of the Cheese Board Collective. Naturally, I also plan on trying out the recipes. Which one will I follow first? The Stinky Cheese Plate, of course! 

Currant Scones 

“This is the original Cheese Board breakfast scone, and for years it was the only kind of scone … baked. …The production of this scone has changed from its humble beginnings of about sixty scones a day to over six hundred being made on Saturdays.”  

Makes 10 to 12 Scones 

Preparation time including baking: 45 minutes 

Ingredients: 

3-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

3/4 cup sugar 

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes 

1 cup dried currants 

3/4 cup heavy cream 

3/4 cup buttermilk 

Topping 

1/4 cup sugar 

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. 

Sift the flour, baking soda and baking powder together into a large bowl.* 

Add the salt and sugar to the bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Add the butter and cut it in with a pastry cutter or 2 dinner knives until is the size of small peas. Using the spoon, mix in the currants. Make a well in the center and add the cream and buttermilk.  Mix briefly, just until the ingredients come together; some loose flour should remain at the bottom of the bowl.   

Gently shape the dough into balls about 2-1/4 inches in diameter (they should have a rough, rocky exterior) and place them on the prepared pan about 2 inches apart. 

For the topping, mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture on the top of the scones. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool. 

The Cheese Board: Collective Works 

Bread-Pastry-Cheese-Pizza 

Ten Speed Press 

230 pages/$21.95

Berkeley school officials tempered optimism about skyrocketing test scores for Berkeley High School students reported in the Daily Planet (“BHS Student Test Scores Soar,” Oct. 14-16) with cautions that the upbeat numbers failed to take into account differing testing populations and the worrisome stagnation of some groups of students. 

“I’m pleased Berkeley kids did better than the state average, but it is a serious concern to me that we have almost 200 juniors (nearly 25 percent of the class) that, had this counted for them, might not have been able to graduate,” said Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Michele Lawrence. 

The state Monday released scores from last spring’s California State Exit Exam, which—starting with the class of 2006—all students must pass in order to graduate. The test, aimed to ensure that students acquire basic language and math skills, was initially set to have gone into effect for the class of 2004, but state education officials, faced with thousands of failing grades, pushed back the requirement this July. 

Students who fail the test as sophomores will be given seven tries to pass during their next two years. 

Results just released showed marked improvements from the 2002 scores, but BUSD Director of Research and Evaluation Peter Bloomsburg said comparison between the two years were unfair because the testing populations were different. 

Students aren’t required to take the test until they are sophomores, but hundreds from the class of 2004 volunteered to take the test in 2001 as freshmen. Those who passed were excused from taking the test again, so the bulk of test takers in 2002—unlike those in 2001 or 2003—had either failed the test the year before or had elected not to take it as freshmen. 

The best comparison to measure progress, Bloomsburg said, is to match sophomores from the class of 2005—who took the test for the first time last spring—against freshman from the class of 2004, who took the test for the first time in 2001. 

Of the roughly 700 sophomores who took the test last spring, 75 percent passed the math section, compared to 64 percent of freshmen in 2001, and 86 percent passed English, compared to 76 percent in 2001. In 2002, 39 percent passed math and 57 percent passed English. 

Among tenth-graders taking the exam for the first time last summer, Berkeley continued to outpace students from across the county and the state. In Alameda, 65 percent of sophomores passed math and 75 percent passed English, compared to statewide passing rates of 59 percent and 78 percent. 

But district officials said the news wasn’t all good. 

Students who took the exam as juniors last year after failing one or both sections as sophomores did poorly, with 29 percent passing math and 39 percent passing English. That meant that had the state kept the exit exam as a graduation requirement, more than 200 members of this year’s senior class would be in danger of not receiving diplomas. 

Similarly distressing was the performance of English learners—foreign students who have yet to score in the 50th percentile on standardized English tests. They trailed their counterparts across the state in English with a passing rate of 31 percent compared to 33 percent statewide. 

“Our kids need to be better than the state,” said Lawrence, adding that English learners were a difficult subgroup to analyze because many were recent arrivals in the district. 

High stakes tests like the state high school exit exam have mushroomed over the past five years in response to concerns that students—especially in poor urban and rural districts—graduate without a grasp of basic skills. 

Gov. Davis signed the exam law with bi-partisan support in 1999, but a growing legion of critics is questioning the fairness and effectiveness of the tests. 

“They’re a political tool,” said Tammy Johnson, director of the Race and Public Policy Program at the Oakland-based Applied Research Center. “The districts and politicians get the headline that scores are up. Meanwhile students suffer with emergency licensed teachers and out-of-date textbooks.” 

She and other critics argue that exit exams lead to more spending on test preparation courses instead of on enrichment classes, stifle teacher creativity, and create a biased system in which kids in poorer districts lacking educational resources are expected to compete with students in wealthier schools. 

Test scores show that, across the state, economically disadvantaged students scored far lower than other students, with passing rates of 31 percent for math and 51 percent for English, compared to 51 percent and 75 percent for wealthier students. 

Recent studies of high school exit exams now mandated in 19 states show mixed results. 

Keith Gayler of the Washington-based, non-partisan Center on Education Policy authored a report released in August that found that exit exams highlighted educational disparities and led to more funding for poorer districts. 

His study also found exit exam schools did a better job of teaching to state curriculum standards. “Talking to teachers, they said [the exams] really change what they do for kids because they know the stakes are higher for them,” he said. 

But the high stakes can have devastating implications for students struggling to pass the test, leading to increased dropout rates. “These tests are the tipping point for many students,” he said. “If they fail, that’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back.” 

Recent news accounts have spotlighted districts that push struggling students towards lower diplomas to keep district test scores improving. A scandal erupted in the Houston school district—praised as a model for the benefits of high stakes testing by former Texas Governor George W. Bush—when investigators found that 16 of the district’s middle and high schools had falsified student records and listed dropouts as transfers in order to boost test scores. 

Another concern for Gayler is that states are mandating the tests without providing districts money to help students struggling to pass it. 

Lawrence said that has been an issue in Berkeley, where the district faces a steep budget deficit and has limited resources to help students at risk of failing. The district offered a summer prep course for students who failed previous tests, said Berkeley High Vice Principal Mike Hassett, but demand evaporated after the state pushed back the requirement to the class of 2006.  

District officials said they had set up a test prep course for English Learner students, focused math and English classes to address exam material, set up a community-assisted volunteer writing lab, and opened opportunities for students to take an extra class in a subject in which they are struggling. 

The California test remains on shaky ground despite the two-year postponement. 

Mike Kirst, a professor at Stanford who helped design the test, said that if failure rates continue to hover around 20 percent, state legislators would face enormous pressure to postpone the exam again. This year several states, including Nevada, Washington and Florida either postponed their tests or eased standards due to low scores. 

Kirst warned the test could be prone to a lawsuit, after the state’s independent analyst, Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO), found that many districts had so far failed to absorb the state curriculum, potentially hindering those districts’ students from passing the test. “If I’m a lawyer, I take that report and hang it around the state’s neck,” Kirst said. 

The HumRRO report suggested that students who fail the exam but pass their classes could possibly receive a supplemental diploma. 

Lawrence derided the proposal as a “terrible idea,” arguing that a lesser diploma would segregate students and take the pressure off the district to make sure that students are prepared to pass the exam.

FRANKLIN VANDALS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I have it on good authority that the Franklin site is being vandalized on a regular basis. This has been happening more since all of the hoopla in the paper. We all know that the school district is not rich with throw away money but that is what they are doing because of all the broken windows in the school. Every time they find a broken window they must send out a couple of workers to board up the window. This usually happens at night when the night crew, funded by Measure BB, is working. They have to stop doing the needed upkeep and repairs to the school site that they are at and go board up the window(s). 

I would like the neighbors around the school to keep a sharper eye out for the vandals that are wasting your tax dollars. If the vandalism is stopped the night crew can continue doing the repairs and maintenance that you want them to do. After all they are working on your dime. 

Name withheld  

• 

NEWSPAPER THEFT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Regarding Berkeley’s plan to outlaw the theft of newspapers in the city, this is rather oxymoronic. It is already illegal to steal newspapers nationwide, and it is illegal (and immoral) to dump said newspapers to hide information from the public. It is astonishing that Bates’ atonement for a crime that has been repeated so often on the Berkeley campus will turn out to be so flaccid and devoid of originality. Perhaps instead he would allow that the various city papers have the opportunity to air their election choices on the steps outside city hall. Except that he might turn off the microphone on that plan. 

John Parman 

• 

BAY TRAIL EXTENSION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It will be a big mistake and waste of money to build the Bay Trail through the southern part of the Berkeley Marina. This is a park with picnic areas, playgrounds and Bay and wildlife viewing sites along a shoreline connected by an 8-foot-wide path. 

Replacing this path with a 16-foot-wide (12-feet pavement, 4-feet shoulder) roadway, plus pavement for the “interpretation point/overlook/bench/seawall” will require reducing the size of the small much-used lawn areas, and removing the windbrakes of trees and shrubs which shelter them. The widening of the pathway creates a hazardous roadway with fast-moving cyclists riding two to three abreast through a place where people have gathered to stroll, play and relax. This design is a detriment to public safety and the enjoyment of the park. 

Cyclists can access the park from the Bay Trail by walking their bikes on the path, or riding into is on the roads at the Sailing Basin, Shorebird Park and Seawall Drive from the Bicycle Lane on University Avenue. People enjoying the park should not have to dodge bicycles. 

The Bay Trail website lists the benefits of the Bay Trail to be: “accessible recreation opportunities, wildlife observation, broader environmental education” and “a comfortably scaled place that brings people together.” The exiting park at the Berkeley already meets these benefits of the Bay Trail. It is an asset to our community. 

Redesign this proposal so that the Bay Trail is connected to the Berkeley Marina—but does not go inside the park.  

Sheila Andres 

• 

BUILDING BLOCK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Chips ahoy, matey. It was truly depressing to read (“City Adopts Controversial RFID Chips,” Daily Planet, Oct. 10) that the public library system in the supposedly “progressive” City of Berkeley has approved the installation of Radio Frequency Identification chips (RFIDs) into all library materials. This new system of tiny electronic chips, which are about the size of a single grain of wheat, is currently being considered for imbedding in consumer clothing and other goods.  

Some experts have falsely claimed that these RFIDs can be “deactivated” as you leave the store or the library. These are passive devices that are energized by signals broadcast by any properly configured remotely-based external scanner. The only way that they can be “deactivated” is by being physically crushed, say with a hammer or a pair of pliers. This new RFID universal surveillance system is an important building block in the construction of the coming worldwide corporate police state, from Cheney-Bush-Haliburton Inc. to Walmart Inc. to your local public library. Chips ahoy, matey.  

James K. Sayre 

Oakland 

• 

MONUMENTAL BLUNDER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

If Berkeley ever needs a monument to bureaucratic blundering, we don’t have to look further than the city’s radio tower. It took extraordinary blindness to stick that thing in our historic civic center. It took Neanderthal obtuseness to plunk it across the street from a residential neighborhood. It took breathtaking carelessness to build it without plans or drawings. It took amazing arrogance to build the second tallest structure in Berkeley without any public review. 

A consultant has told City Council that we don’t have to live with the bureaucrats’ blunder. We can do it differently. We can get the radio services we need without violating virtually every standard of planning, process and elementary aesthetics that citizens have a right to expect from responsible government. Let’s demonstrate the courage and decency for which Berkeley deserves to be known and get rid of this shameful monument. 

Arthur and Carol Dembling 

Critics of former Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean used to say that under her chairmanship, Berkeley City Council meetings used to bog down under the endless partisan bickering until the late hours of the night. 

At Mayor Tom Bates’ Council there’s been a lessening of partisan bickering. Some have begun to charge that the Mayor’s attempts to reorganize and streamline the Council process has led to a lessening of public debate on important issues as well. 

And while Bates’ Council meetings end earlier than Dean’s, they also often begin two hours earlier with a working session, so the end result may be a statistical wash. 

Last Tuesday night, Council set aside all of the scheduled one-and-a-half hours of its 5 p.m. public working session to discuss four proposed ballot measures. One would be a property tax increase bond referendum to shore up the $10 million of the projected $15 million structural deficit beginning with next year’s city’s budget, while the other three are proposed city charter amendments that would substantially alter the way candidates are elected in the city. 

In order for them to appear on the March, 2004 ballot, Council must agree to sponsor the proposed measures—with exact ballot language included—by the end of November. 

But discussion of the actual content of the proposed measures got short shrift at the working session. Instead, Council took more than half of its time listening to reports. 

First a slide show presentation from pollster David Binder—who conducted last month’s Berkeley voter survey to gauge support for a bond measure—explaining how the results of the survey pointed to the possible passage of a bond referendum. 

Then a report from former Assemblymember Dion Aroner—who chaired the mayor’s Revenue Task Force—explaining why the task force came to recommend the property tax bond measure as the best way to plug the budget gap. 

Then, finally, a second slide show report—this time from City Clerk Sherry Kelly—explaining the variables of changing the present four-week runoff schedule for Berkeley elections. 

That left little time for Council questions, and almost no discussion of the other two proposed electoral ballot measures: adopting Instant Runoff Voting and changing the cost and other requirements for candidates to run for Berkeley elections. 

There was no public comment about the ballot measure proposals, which were released to the public in preliminary form last week. 

All of the proposed ballot measures are scheduled to be the subject of next week’s 5 p.m. Council public working session. That leaves little time for public input before Council must take a final vote on the matter Nov. 25. That is the deadline for measures to be put on the March, 2004 ballot. Council is not scheduled to meet on Oct. 28 or Nov. 11. 

Council was a little more productive at its regular 7 p.m. session Tuesday. It took up two issues of intense interest to wheelchair-bound Berkeley residents, moving forward on recommendations to bolster sidewalk and street safety issues in the wake of the recent automobile accident death of disabled activist Fred Lupke, but putting off a decision to issue city permits specifically for wheelchair-approved taxis. 

Lupke was hit while riding in his wheelchair on the side of Ashby Avenue last Sept. 18, reportedly after he was forced into the street because his wheelchair could not navigate a sidewalk default. He died a week later. 

After hearing emotional testimony from Councilmember Dona Spring—also wheelchair-bound—and from members of the city’s Disability Commission, Council voted to take several actions to improve wheelchair safety on the city’s streets, including replacing and widening the sidewalks on the north side of Ashby between MLK and Ellis where Lupke was killed, pressuring Caltrans to make other pedestrian safety improvements along Ashby, and conducting a study to see what improvements the city can do itself. 

The Council resolution said that the situation on Ashby Avenue “currently poses a very dangerous threat to the lives of disabled people.” 

Representatives of the city’s disabled community were considerably less satisfied with Council’s decision to delay a request from both the Commission on Disability and Commission on Aging to issue 10 permits specifically for taxis equipped with the capability of carrying wheelchair-riding passengers. No such taxis currently operate in Berkeley. Council referred the request to the city manager’s office, with instructions to come back with recommendations at its Nov. 25 meeting. 

After the meeting, the chairperson of the Disability Commission, Emily Wilcox, expressed “disappointment” at the delay, and explained that Berkeley’s disabled community had been working on the wheelchair-accessible taxi plan for several years. “We’ve been paring down our request over time so that we could get something passed,” she said. 

Wilcox also said that the city’s disabled community doesn’t have the ability to mobilize large numbers of wheelchair-bound citizens to come to a Council meeting to show their concern “because many of them don’t have any way to get to Council meeting; that’s why the taxis are needed.” 

The newest member of the Disability Commission, Ed Gold, said he once had to push his wheelchair-bound daughter five miles through Berkeley because his van got towed downtown and he was not going to a destination near a bus route. Wilcox declined further statement, but said that she would “certainly have something to say” after the city manager’s report comes back in a month and a half. 

Council also passed, without debate, the first reading of a measure making it a misdemeanor to steal newspapers from racks in the city. Council also agreed to move forward with the Precautionary Principle, a model for making proactive, environmentally-sensitive decisions in city purchasing, contracting, and other activities. City staff was directed to come back in a year with a draft ordinance and purchasing policy to implement the principle.

One of the most peaceful, tranquil, calming experiences in Berkeley is about to be unalterably destroyed. 

I am referring to the path just south of the Marina Boulevard intersection with University Avenue. When you take this left off Marina Boulevard you will immediately be on a narrow 7-to-8-foot path adjacent to pecking, scurrying sandpipers and other shorebirds in the tide and mud flats below you to the east. You can stand on this path and quietly enjoy this restful, contemplative experience or enjoy it from the 40-foot span of lawn to your west. This soft verdant lawn area is bordered by large Monterey pines making for a very contained, wind free environment. The current plan authored by 2M Associates, at city staff’s request, is to replace this path with 12 feet of concrete with 2-foot borders on each side for a total of 16 feet. This will guarantee much faster traffic flowing through here. Bicyclists at 5 to 15 miles per hour versus the walkers, rollerbladers, wheelchairs and even bicyclists now sauntering through at a leisurely 1 to 3 miles per hour. The border of Monterey pines will be clear cut along with 98 other trees in the Marina. Yet there is “no negative impact to either biology, aesthetics or habitat,” states the LSA Mitigated Negative Declaration.  

Take a stroll down this path and come to your own conclusions about the proposed changes.  

Rather than destroy this oasis, one alternative solution is to bring the Bay Trail extension into the southwest perimeter at the first western most parking lot. There were supposed to be three public workshops regarding this important realignment of our Marina; instead there was one. The windsurfers obtained their demands: a step-down entrance into the Bay on the western side of His Lordship’s with adjacent parking. A multi-million dollar bridge over the mouth of strawberry creek was also shelved for a less expensive one by demand from Friends of Five Creeks. Walkers, birders’ and other environmentalists’ issues were not considered, though the price for the plan to the city taxpayers was $200,000. 

The Waterfront Commission voted to retain the current width of the path around the southwest perimeter and hold at least one more public workshop, preferably two. Staff and consultants were not happy with this and went straight to City Council. Bicyclists’ needs were addressed there and voted on but no one addressed walkers and your garden variety path wanderers. City Council approved the initial study that night, July 15, 2003. There is already a perfectly good high speed bicycle path straight down University Avenue to the Berkeley pier. This could be enlarged from the more than generous auto lanes on this end of University Avenue. The two auto lanes are 18 feet each. Four feet could be cut from each lane to create an 8-foot bicycle path. Parking is prohibited on this end of University Avenue. The sidewalk here should be re-surfaced also, for wheel chair usage. This would be a fraction of the cost of tearing up the southwest perimeter path from Marina Boulevard to His Lordship’s. The plan also states it will replace only one of every four trees cut down. If you want a concrete, sanitized bleak Berkeley Marina, do nothing. 

Otherwise avail yourself of one of the few copies of this study that are supposed to be available at all Berkeley libraries, but of course are not; only the city clerk’s office has them. This means working folks cannot easily obtain a copy. If you have access to a computer go to the Berkeley web site, Department of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront. Please inform yourself of this major change to our Berkeley waterfront and make your objections know directly to City Councilmembers. The Coastal Conservancy will pay for this paving over of the Marina but Berkeley doesn’t have to say yes. We can say a resounding, NO. It is our city property, not the state’s. The trail between our beautiful, aqua pedestrian bridge, past the Seabreeze Deli and down University Avenue to the Marina Boulevard must be paved and expanded. Right now the culvert over Strawberry Creek forces pedestrians right out into traffic as the path there is about 2 feet wide. It is a most scary experience with speeding cars whisking right past your shoulders. The rest of the marina can remain as is. “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Sage advise appropriate here. 

Consider making your thoughts known about this proposed drastic makeover to our Berkeley Marina to all our City Councilmembers. Betty Olds and Dona Spring voted for the Waterfront Commission version, still you might include your comments to them also. 

Norine M Smith is a Berkeley Waterfront Commissioner. Her opinions are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the commission.

Workers at the Claremont Hotel were joined by scores of supporters Wednesday as they rallied in front of the resort to dramatize their long-running battle to force the Claremont to negotiate new contracts for workers throughout the resort. 

For over two years, the hotel has been embroiled in a battle with the Oakland-based Hotel Employees and Restaurant Workers Union (HERE) Local 2850, which has been promoting a boycott against them and is currently trying to help employees in the food and beverages department and rooms division negotiate new contracts. 

The union is also involved in helping workers at the resort’s spa negotiate their first-ever contract through a card-check agreement. 

Organizers said the theme of the rally was “Together at Last,” because it was the first time workers from all three parts of the hotel could demonstrate together. Until recently, workers from the rooms division—which includes workers from room service and the front desk—were still under contract and prohibited from walking a picket line. 

Workers were joined Wednesday by a host of elected officials who came out to show their support, including Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, State Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, Berkeley City Councilmember Linda Maio and a representative from Barbara Lee’s office. 

“I support business and want everyone to thrive, but at the same time, especially here in the East Bay with the high cost of living, we need the workers to be compensated,” said Carson. “If you have happy workers you have a healthy business.” 

Claire Darby, a Local 2850 organizer working with the Claremont employees, said everyone involved was happy to see the turnout and felt confident that the Claremont is getting the message from the community that they want them to provide all the workers with a fair contract. 

“I was really excited to see the political and community support,” said Darby. “It just shows that the support is getting stronger and stronger.” 

Darby said that ever since the room services department’s contract expired it has been obvious that the Claremont has “been living in fear” of a possible worker walkout from all departments which could effectively shut the resort down. 

“They were fearful that the rally was going to be a worker stoppage, so they sent out a letter to employees saying that if there was a walkout they would lock them out,” she said. 

The Claremont did not return calls concerning the rally. 

Darby said the resort has returned to the bargaining table with new offers that are closer to what the workers are demanding—offers she described as positive but still inadequate. 

“They have moved a lot on health care, one of the main issues, but the workers have said we can do better,” Darby said, adding that workers had compared the offer to other East Bay union contracts and decided it didn’t match up.  

“People know what they want and what they deserve and are going to keep fighting for it,” she said.

Usually when folks speak of being strong supporters of labor I discern an echo of the mantras “I’m a uniter, not a divider,” and “fair and balanced reporting.” With supporters like that, who needs enemies? The Berkeley Budget Oversight Committee’s analysis, though expansive, is shallow and misleading. Several of the statements are factually inaccurate or thinly veiled attacks on labor, charities, and the less privileged.  

Follow the bouncing ball as I try to make sense of the Oct. 14 letter from the BBOC. It’s the same pattern as the call for war on Iraq: First, scare the audience with the specter of an imminent disaster; next, try to convince the audience there is specific proof even though the evidence is dubious or inadequate; divide the audience between those reasonable would-be victims that agree with your story, and those dead-enders who are evil; then tell the audience there is only one tough but necessary solution; finally, prepare an excuse for any disappointing aftermath by pointing out the lack of perfect knowledge. 

Many of Berkeley’s public service workers, like myself, used to, but no longer live within the city limits only because we cannot afford to buy a home here on the salaries we make. We economic refugees live in Oakland, Emeryville, and beyond only because we can’t afford to live in Berkeley. However, we do buy cars, food, clothing, entertainment, gardening and building materials in Berkeley, just like residents. 

Homeowners should disbelieve the contention that Berkeley’s taxes are too high when compared to Hayward, Emeryville, and Oakland; the truth is you get what you pay for. San Francisco living does not bear the same cachet as life in Daly City. Like San Francisco, Berkeley is beautiful. It has clean streets, good public schools, art and music, restaurants, well-maintained parks and waterfronts that the other towns can’t hold a candle to. The handicapped and seniors seem to live better in Berkeley than in neighboring towns. When out-of-state friends visit me, they notice that violent crime and social desperation are less prevalent on the north side of Alcatraz Avenue. They wander around Berkeley for hours yet never seem to yearn for a stroll down A Street. Sure, you could live in a city where taxes are lower, but expect that your quality of life will be lower too. I’d gladly pay more taxes to have my sow’s ear more resemble a silk purse. 

Labor costs are repeatedly cited as a problem, while misleadingly omitting the fact that labor is what delivers services. Inevitably, some of the deliverers get hurt doing their jobs. It might save the city a lot of money if the injured simply evaporated when hurt, but long ago the state decided that it might not be so bad to help them live to work again. While again scapegoating labor, and downplaying the effect of Prop.13, Enron, and W., the writer fails to mention that Berkeley’s labor force does not determine workers compensation law. State law is made in Sacramento, not on Milvia Street, and it is a little disingenuous to repeatedly lump in tales of workers’ compensation abuses and expense with disgruntlement about fairly negotiated wages that remain lower than those of other jurisdictions. 

They write about “overcompensated city employees,” but I’ll be damned if the letter names one, or specifically states the manner or amount of overcompensation. Is it the meter maid who gets spat on and crushed by cars? Maybe they meant the sewer maintenance guy who risks infections from hepatitis as he toils in the wet, cold, dark streets. The mental health worker who tries to calm the Telegraph Avenue denizen who has had too much of a bad thing could be one of the overcompensated, but probably not as likely as the animal control officer with the abandoned pit bull snapping at her leg. In fact, if you follow the pointed finger, you’ll only find a scapegoat being targeted. Perhaps, like weapons of mass destruction, merely stating the existence of the thing is proof enough. 

Though the “prior labor contracts” may have caused envy among ex-mayoral aides, wiser brothers and sisters may recall that Berkeley city workers were paid less than the workers in other jurisdictions. Unlike the closeted regressives, labor union members actively support fairness for all workers. It is our desire that all workers and non-workers enjoy a good living standard, regardless of their skills or education. The so-called envious workers are actually fine, but struggling people—due to lack of experience, marketable skills, social status, or a decent break—are relegated to low paying jobs with few fringe benefits. They all know the truth we workers share: Achieving an unimaginable dream begins at schools that prepare people for higher paying occupations, though even that is not always enough. The BBOC solution seems to be to reduce the standard of living so that no worker is envious. It sure worked during slavery. We workers generally welcome change in the economic relationships long established outside of Berkeley’s city limits, but inciting dissension within the workers’ ranks will not make the erroneous analysis any truer. In true regressive form, the BBOC solution includes hiring a new expert audit team that would receive a cut of the money fund (maybe they deem the existing audit team is among the “overcompensated.”)  

Lastly, we are threatened with what? Recall? Revolution? Arnold? The serious budget problems deserve better analysis and more thoughtful, comprehensive solutions than the knee jerk reaction proffered by the BBOC.  

Patrick McCullough is an employee of the City of Berkeley and an Oakland resident.

October is Domestic Violence Prevention Month and Berkeley Police are trying to help a rarely talked about, but significant percentage of its victims—men. 

Men comprise about 14 percent of Berkeley’s domestic violence victims, about even with the Alameda County average, said Detective Jennifer Louis of the BPD’s Domestic Violence Prevention Unit. 

Reported violence against men is up approximately four percent, she added, since the mid-1990s. 

Last year Berkeley reported 339 cases of domestic violence, 44 of which were attacks on males. Four of those attacks were male-on-male violence while women perpetrated the other forty. 

The rise in reports ofdomestic violence against men follows changes in California law several years ago that mandated arrests in certain cases, and corresponding police training that instructed officers to determine which partner was the aggressor. 

Det. Louis said men are still hesitant to make calls requesting police help and that usually the partner or a neighbor will call to report the violence. “There is still a stigmatism,” she said. “If we do get calls, it’s men saying they want [their partner] removed from the house.” 

While men account for a clear minority of domestic violence victims, they make up nearly half of all domestic violence deaths, said Chief Assistant District Attorney Nancy O’Malley. Some of the deaths were retribution murders for past abuse, she said, “but not as many as you’d think.” 

Last year, six of the 19 Alameda county residents killed in domestic violence disputes were men. 

Now one advocate is urging county officials to provide more services for male victims. 

“You’ve got a shelter for the women, you’ve got counseling for the women, but there’s nothing out there for the men,” said Darnell Levingston, an Oakland resident who has pushed for such services for years and found out recently how vital they could be. 

Stuck in a relationship with a woman he said verbally abused him, Levingston decided to leave her home, but had nowhere to go. “There were no resources out there, no shelter or safe place,” he said. Levingston spent several nights in his car looking for a place to spend the night. “I tried the police, Catholic Charities, non-profit shelters. They all said they didn’t have any beds.”  

Det. Louis said the county has few services to assist battered men or their female abusers. While anyone convicted of domestic violence is required to enroll in a year-long batterer’s program, Louis said Alameda County doesn’t have a public women’s program, so locals are often made to seek treatment in San Francisco or Marin. 

Levingston said he is working with O’Malley to set up a hotline for men to call for help, and would like to start a shelter if he can raise the funds. “We need to get a place for these guys to live while they’re going through this,” he said. 

To assist any victim of domestic violence get the help they need, the BPD has created two new pamphlets, one designed for batterers and the other for male victims. Police urge any resident who is the victim of domestic violence to call the DVPU at 981-5736.

Senior Beaten, Kidnapped and Robbed 

A 76-year-old Berkeley man suffered no serious injuries after two armed men plucked him from a sidewalk, forced him at gunpoint into their car, beat him inside the car and then made him withdraw money from an Oakland ATM machine. According to police, the man was walking towards the corner of Shattuck Avenue and Parker Street at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday when two men driving south on Shattuck pulled up next to him. The men, one carrying a gun and the other a knife, jumped out of the car, grabbed the pedestrian and threw him into the backseat, where they began to punch him in the head. Then they drove to a Bank of America near Lake Merritt, where they made him withdraw money. The robbers took the cash and fled in a late 80s or early 90s full-sized green sedan. The victim called a taxi to get home, suffering from a cut on his head that did not need medical attention. 

Security Guard Stabbed 

An Alta Bates Emergency Room patient stabbed the hospital security guard Tuesday night while she was waiting for a doctor. Police said the guard noticed the woman walking maniacally in and out of the bathroom. When he approached her, she plunged a pair of scissors into his left shoulder. The wounded guard managed to pin the woman against the wall until other emergency room workers could subdue her. She was taken to the psychiatric ward, while the guard stayed in the emergency room for stitches to close his wound. 

Armed Robbery 

A robber fired two shots at a store clerk and threatened to shoot the only customers—a woman and two-year old baby—before fleeing a convenience store on the 1400 block of Sixth Street with the cash from the register. Police said the gunman entered the store at 7:20 p.m. Tuesday, showed the clerk his gun and demanded money. When the clerk said he couldn’t open the register, the gunman shot at him, but missed. He then grabbed a female customer who was clutching her two-year-old daughter and pointed the gun at them threatening to shoot both if the clerk didn’t hand over the money. The clerk complied, but after taking the money, the bandit fired another shot at the clerk, again missing, then ran outside. No one has been arrested.

City Vote Totals Reported 

Preliminary city results released by the Alameda County Registrars Office show a predictable Berkeley vote in last week’s recall election. Berkeley voters overwhelmingly opposed the recall, 40,490 to 5,005. 

In addition, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante garnered by far the top Berkeley vote to replace Gov. Gray Davis, netting 31,720 votes out of a total 45,495 votes cast. Tied for a distant second and third were Green Party candidate Peter Camejo and the now-Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger with 3,744 and 3,720 respectively. Republican Congressmember Tom McClintock got 1,288 Berkeley votes and political commentator Arianna Huffington, who dropped out at the last moment to throw her support to Bustamante, got 578 votes in the city. 

The two ballot propositions also lost heavily in Berkeley. Proposition 53, the infrastructure setaside, was defeated 30,196 to 10,855 while Proposition 54, UC Regent Ward Connerly’s color consciousness measure, was defeated 38,935 to 5,485. 

A spokesperson for the Registrar’s office said the results have not yet been certified, and do not include some absentee and challenged ballots, some of which have not yet been counted. 

—J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 

PAL to Hold Annual Dinner 

The Berkeley Boosters/Police Activities League will hold an Annual Dinner Gala Wednesday night, Oct. 22, to celebrate 20 years of working with low-income Berkeley youth. The dinner, which includes a silent auction of various items, will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel in the Berkeley Marina. 

The Boosters/PAL was formed in 1983 at the request of the chief of the Berkeley Police, and came at a low point in relations between the city’s police department and many of its low-income young citizens. Volunteers consist of Berkeley police officers as well as other community residents. The organization now operates a number of youth-oriented programs; from a wilderness experience component that includes whitewater rafting and sea kayaking, sponsorship of several sports teams, and Adventure Camp summer programs. 

Individual tickets to the 20th Annual Dinner are $65, with VIP eight-table seating for a $500 donation. Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Boosters/PAL office at (510) 843-6542. 

—J. Douglas Allen-Taylor 

Panel Judges UC Students 

Three UC Berkeley students from the Berkeley Stop the War Coalition walked away from their own hearing Monday shortly before a panel ruled they had violated two parts of the student code and acquitted them of two other allegations. 

Rachel Odes, Snehal Shingavi and Michael Smith were arrested March 20 along with 119 others from a crowd of 400 who were staging a sit-in at Sproul Hall as part of a large anti-war protest. 

According to UC spokesperson Marie Felde, the panel for the hearing—made up of representatives from UC Berkeley faculty, staff and students—found the three responsible for one count each of disturbing the peace and a second count of non-compliance with the directives of a university officer. 

Smith was also separately found responsible for resisting officers. 

The three were found not responsible for allegations of unlawful entry and disruption of the university. 

A sentencing hearing has been set for Oct. 28. Students say that along with their appeal they plan to protest the current charges at the hearing. 

The university will not comment on the range of penalties that the students might face. 

—Jakob Schiller 

Print Media Pumped Up Schwarenegger’s Campaign 

The print media pumped up Arnold Schwarzenegger’s gubernatorial campaign, spotting the bodybuilder-turned-governor considerably more coverage than his top democratic recall rival, according to a report released this week by a UC Berkeley professor. 

“Californians were bombarded with mostly positive messages of Schwarzenegger for the first few weeks of the campaign,” said Bruce Fuller, a UC Berkeley Professor of education and public policy who headed the study. “Soon thereafter, Schwarzenegger’s support rose from 20 percent to over 40 percent of those polled.” 

Fuller’s team at the Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), a think tank at UC Berkeley, examined more than 1,500 news stories written during the nine-week campaign by staff writers from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News. Just under 75 percent of the stories focused on Schwarzenegger. 

The paper most under Arnold’s spell? By far, The New York Times.  

“I was surprised that the Times could be so star-struck with a new political celebrity,” Fuller said, noting that of 35 headlines the paper printed about the recall, 34 included Schwarzenegger’s name, and that the movie star appeared in 87 percent of the Times’ recall articles—compared to 44 percent for Bustamante. 

Serious candidates even had trouble getting out from the shadow of Schwarzenegger’s famous wife on the pages of the Times. Maria Shriver’s name appeared three times more often in campaign coverage than Green Party candidate Peter Camejo. 

—Matthew Artz

A drug known as “soma” is making a dangerous resurgence among Asian Pacific Americans, according to Michael Kinoshita, manager of Wellness Programs at the Asian American Recovery Services (AARS) in San Francisco. 

Among the risks of the sedative’s prolonged use are brain seizures. The consequences of its abuse, however, extend beyond that, according to Kinoshita. 

“For parents, it’s hard watching your son or daughter die slowly in front of your face when they’re full blown into it,” Kinoshita said at the AARS center on Mission Street. “It’s too late by the time you see the dangers.” 

Soma, otherwise known as carisoprodol or “Danz,” is available as a prescription drug to relieve muscle tension; but it is also available on the street for a relatively low cost of one to two dollars per pill. 

Soma may cause the user to feel less inhibited, which may be a contributing factor to its popularity among APAs, according to Darryl Inaba, CEO of the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic in San Francisco. He noted that people in the Japanese, Chinese, South East Asian and Filipino populations have historically gravitated towards sedatives. 

“Quaaludes,” which were pills of the sedative methaqualone, were popular with APAs in the 60s and 70s, but were eventually banned due to the high level of their abuse, Inaba explained. Today, soma may be taking their place. 

One of its appeals may be the fact that close to one-half of APAs experience a “flushing” effect as a result of drinking alcohol, in which the individual’s face turns red and he or she becomes nauseous, according to Inaba. A user of soma may feel drunk without the flushing result. 

Those aged 19 to 28 and in their mid-to-late 30s are the main age groups using the drug, according to Kinoshita, who added that there are people surfacing who have been using it for the past eight to 10 years. He also noted that there are younger users, some of whom take it after using ecstasy. 

The Richmond and Sunset districts of San Francisco are among the areas where soma is more commonly being used, Kinoshita said. 

Of recent concern has been the use of soma among APA females. Women comprise close to a third of the patients treated at the Bill Pone Memorial Unit, a subdivision of Haight Ashbury that focuses on services for APAs, according to Magdalen Chang, the center manager. Overall drug use in the female population, however, is on the rise, she said. 

Kinoshita also talked about APA women and soma. 

“The bottom line is you can get taken advantage of,” Kinoshita said. “It’s really sad to see them messed up on it.” 

Soma blocks pain receptors in the body which can cause a relaxed physical feeling. This is due to its effect of slowing down the activity of the brain that, in turn, affects the heart, blood pressure and other body reactions. 

“Unfortunately, as time progresses, you start to get dependent on it, and you’re taking more,” said Kinoshita, who added that those who are addicted “are putting their life in danger and anybody else’s, because they can seize up driving a car. They can seize up and die.” 

While the pills are available in the pharmacy and on the street, they can also be purchased on the Internet through companies that sell generic brands of carisoprodol. 

AARS, established in 1985, is one organization aiming to diminish substance abuse among APAs in the San Francisco Bay Area. The service runs educational programs in local high schools and also offers treatments for drug dependency, such as an intake and assessment program for patients. 

“We’ve had clients here that have seized up, and we’ve had to call 911,” Kinoshita said. 

AARS also makes referrals to drug treatment centers, such as the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, where patients can go through medical detoxification. Haight Ashbury also provides counseling and medical and psychiatric evaluation. 

While the center regularly treats patients who are addicted to cocaine, heroine and methamphetamine, the number of individuals with soma- related cases has been on the rise, according to Inaba, who attributes this increase partly to the lack of laws regulating its abuse. 

Chang said that the influx in soma-related cases has hit the Bill Pone Memorial Unit over the past few months. She explained that soma’s abuse may be the result of “a sense of maladjustment with the environment” and that its users may see its effects as “a way of escape.” 

The Bill Pone Memorial Unit operates drug prevention programs, through such means as presentations coordinated with the Japanese Community Youth Council, Korean Center, Vietnamese Youth Development Center, Chinatown Youth Center and West Bay Philipino Multi-Services Center. 

Those involved with prevention efforts speak at community centers and at schools. The unit also offers counseling in Chinese, Korean and Japanese. The Haight Ashbury Free Clinics also runs services dedicated to the needs of the African American, Latino and gay communities of the Bay Area. 

Both the Clinics and AARS have made commitments to educating the public about the dangers of substance abuse, including that of soma. 

“It’s sad to see our community, Asians in general, or anybody tore up,” Kinoshita said. “All we do here is try to do the best we can and give them hope and give the family hope.”

Governor-elect Schwarzenegger is publicly floating the idea that—to take quick advantage of his electoral popularity while it lasts—he is considering initiating a November, 2004 referendum to ask the voters to put a constitutional cap on state spending. And isn’t that a chilling reminder of the first days of the Jerry Brown era in Oakland? 

For those readers who don’t know the history, Brown was elected mayor of Oakland in a landslide victory in the spring of 1998. Even before he took office, Brown announced plans to ask voters to expand the mayor’s powers. The result was the passage of Measures X and D, the first to give the mayor (among other things) control of the city’s bureaucracy, the second to allow the mayor to appoint three members to a formerly all-elected Oakland Unified School District Board. We can discuss the details of this when we have more time, but five years later, with business development stalled, crime soaring, and the public schools seized by the state, many Oaklanders are now feeling that our arrangement with Jerry Brown—like that between the young Count Vlad and God in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Dracula”—has not turned out entirely satisfactorily. 

Act in haste. Repent at leisure. Or so some people say. 

Measures X and D were passed in the euphoria of the original Brown election, without a lot of reading of the fine print, or much of a discussion of the possible pitfalls and long-term implications. In preparation for a revote on Measure X next year, Oaklanders have recently been studying the law at some length, trying to figure out exactly what it was that we did. This is sort of a barndoor-horse-escape kind of a thing. Perhaps Californians in general might want to learn from the Oakland lesson and do the careful review of Mr. Schwarzenegger’s proposed referendum before the fact, rather than after. But we shall see. 

Meanwhile, at the risk of having all of my good Republican friends admonish me to get over it, I’m wondering if we are going to have any sort of resolution of Mr. Schwarzenegger’s Affair Of The Fifteen Women. 

For those of you who missed that one (or held your hands over your ears and shouted, “I don’t wanna hear it! I don’t wanna hear it! I don’t wanna hear it!”), shortly before the recall election, the Los Angeles Times released a story saying they’d found some 11 women who said that Mr. Schwarzenegger had physically assaulted them over the past several years. After the story was published, another four women came forward with similar charges. 

I deliberately use the term “physically assaulted” rather than “groped” (the term that most newspapers used when reporting the incidents) for a reason. “Groped” has a sort of teenage-boy-snicker sound to it, a sort of “yeah, the girls might have squealed but they really liked it” feel. “Assault,” on the other hand, is the legal term used when someone puts their hands on you without permission (its close cousin, “battery,” is used when that assault leads to physical harm). And that’s what the 15 women accused Mr. Schwarzenegger of doing. Not of being boorish. Of breaking the law. 

Immediately after the charges against Mr. Schwarzenegger surfaced, my conservative friends accused my liberal friends of “hypocrisy” because—according to the argument—liberal Democrats were castigating Mr. Schwarzenegger for the same activity that they, the liberal Democrats, so recently excused in the former President Clinton. 

This type of thinking must have been filed under the “It Happened To Women And It Had Something To Do With Sex, So It Must All Be The Same” category. 

As far as I can tell from the public record—and the public record here is more extensive than one might desire—Mr. Clinton was never accused of putting his hands on a woman who did not so desire. Mr. Schwarzenegger was, and is. The difference is enormous. This does not mean that Mr. Clinton was not wrong. It merely means that Mr. Schwarzenegger—if he did, indeed, do the things of which he stands accused—was wronger. 

I can understand (while not agreeing with) why so many of my conservative friends chose not to listen to the charges about Schwarzenegger before the election. After all, if conservatives stood up and took the charges seriously and believed them, it left these conservatives with a difficult choice. If they went ahead and voted for Schwarzenegger, they would have to admit—to themselves in the privacy of the ballot booth, if not to the public—that all this loud, chest-beating self-righteousness they have subjected the nation to on moral issues these past few years has been so much blown smoke. On the other hand, if they followed their consciences and moral compasses and didn’t vote for Schwarzenegger, conservatives risked leaving the state in the hands of either Gray Davis or Cruz Bustamante (lagging in the polls, Tom McClintock could probably not pulled it out under any circumstances). So just say that it’s all a liberal plot or a Gray Davis dirty trick. But the election is now over, and we have no more excuses. 

For Californians of all political persuasions, the questions now hang: did our governor-elect assault 15 women and, if he did, do we think that’s okay? 

As the father of four daughters, I’m especially interested in the answer.

When the Berkeley Police Department presented its proposal for a K-9 unit with its civilian oversight commission last week, almost a decade had passed since the city last had a police dog.  

“I think we blew it in terms of deploying and training it,” Police Chief Roy Meisner told the Berkeley Police Review Commission at a South Berkeley Senior Center meeting.  

He was talking about Pepper. 

In the early 90s, when crack cocaine clogged city streets, a black Labrador mix named Pepper was recruited as a “find and bark” drug dog. But city officials and community members said he wasn’t a good fit. So he was reassigned to the California Highway Patrol, where he has recovered over $5 million worth of drugs. 

The chief said the department is looking for a breed of dog that is smart enough to adapt to training and big enough to handle problems. Like a German Shepherd. 

Doberman Pinschers, Rottweilers, Dutch Shepherds and Belgian Malinois are also being considered. 

The proposal calls for $30,000 for the purchase, care and training of two dogs to enhance the city’s Community Safety Program. The new unit is slated to help locate missing persons and crime scenes and apprehend dangerous suspects.  

According to the proposal, approximately 85 percent of the nation’s police departments have K-9 units, and Berkeley occasionally borrows dogs from neighboring municipalities and agencies, including BART’s K-9 unit.  

But the chief said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates had urged him to create a new canine unit, complete with dogs, handlers and procedures. If approved by Bates and city council, the Berkeley unit could be on the job within six months. 

“This is a big policy change,” Police Review Commissioner Jacqueline Debose said. “I think that it needs to start from the bottom rather than be pushed from the top.” She proposed community hearings to gauge the public’s response to having dogs capable of attacking suspects on Berkeley’s streets. 

Commissioner Jack Radisch said it was hard not to associate the unit with images of Eugene “Bull” Connor, the infamous Birmingham, Alabama, sheriff who ordered police dogs to attack civil rights demonstrators in 1963. 

Chief Meisner said the dogs would not be used for crowd control. 

Instead, he cited the approximately 70 Alzheimer patients and others who walked away from Alta Bates Summit and Herrick hospitals this year. Instead of tying up half of his patrol staff looking for walkaways, the chief said, police could rely on the dogs. 

Two of the seven commissioners present said they supported the creation of the unit, but sought assurances that the dogs would not be used to attack or needlessly maul suspects. 

Andrea Pritchett of Berkeley’s Copwatch, a volunteer organization that monitors police activity, said she was skeptical about any assurances. She said there are reports throughout California about unresisting suspects who are bitten by police dogs. 

“It’s kind of weird to have attack dogs doing search and rescue,” she said. “I’d like to see the documented instances when police couldn’t apprehend or find someone and only a dog could help.”  

“Police dogs are typically used to move people along. That’s what BART does,” Pritchett said. “They don’t search and rescue.” 

The Berkeley Police Review Commission will delay plans for its 30th anniversary celebration, members said, and focus instead on holding open hearings about the police dog program.

The latest act in the seemingly ceaseless saga which is Mayor Bates’ Task Force on Permitting and Development is now underway. A “Discussion Draft” of a final report has been posted on the web, and the first of two discussions of it took place last Friday, with a second scheduled for next Friday. Participants included original task force members, selected by the mayor with heavy weighting toward developers, and self-selected residents who regularly attend the group’s meetings.  

These residents are not shy. They comment vocally whenever they’re allowed to by the chair, realtor Laurie Capitelli. Some of them—unsolicited—have contributed long, densely reasoned position papers to the task force’s web site. The most tenacious of the resident commentators, Sharon Hudson, whose rented apartment is very close to the American Baptist Seminary mega-expansion site on the Southside, spoke up last Friday about the elephant in the middle of the living room. 

Many residents (particularly Flatlands residents, who feel that their neighborhoods have big bulls-eyes painted on them in planning maps) think that the city’s Department of Planning and Development is entirely too chummy with developers. This perception has been raised frequently in the task force meetings, both by the peanut gallery of residents and occasionally by task force members. For example, Jean Safir, a veteran professional planner in other cities, said she thought that Berkeley’s practice of having a staff planner present a developer’s proposal before City Council was unusual and inappropriate.  

Nonetheless, the draft final report’s introductory chapters, which were prepared by the mayor’s staff, did not even mention this very widespread perception, let alone speculate about whether it could possibly be true. It is fashionable in professional planning circles to dismiss resident concerns as NIMBYism or paranoia. But there’s ample justification for citizens to worry about whether Berkeley’s paid planners think of themselves as regulators of development or advocates for developers. 

This problem was emphasized for me recently when I heard from a friend who has been active in promoting affordable housing in Santa Barbara, where she lives. She attended some sessions at the American Planning Association meeting which took place there in late September, among them a panel discussion about development in Berkeley. 

The presenters included City of Berkeley staff members Wendy Cosin, Mark Rhoades, and Tim Stroshane, joined by two developers, Kevin Zwick from Affordable Housing Associates and Patrick Kennedy from Panoramic Interests. What she heard shocked her and some of the other audience members, she told me. She was particularly surprised by Kennedy’s role in the presentation because, she said, “he had nasty things to say about Berkeley at every opportunity.” She commented that “I found him appalling in his expression of hatred for the city and the people who live there.”  

Since she’d taped the discussion, she sent me a copy. A rough transcription of some of the main topics has been placed on the Daily Planet’s web site, in case anyone’s interested. It’s at HTTP://www.berkeleydaily.org/transcript.html 

Nothing said will shock veterans of the Berkeley planning process. The Planet and its owners, of course, were prime targets. That’s no surprise to us, and we can take it.  

What should give task force members pause, though, is that such a discussion took place in a venue where City of Berkeley sponsorship was implied, and that citizens were attacked without being given equal time to defend their point of view. Some people might think that putting together a panel consisting only of city staff and developers was inappropriate in the first place.  

The characterization of the role of public input in the planning process at the Santa Barbara session clearly revealed the Berkeley Planning and Development Department staff’s attitudes and prejudices. Land Use Planning Manager Mark Rhoades said it most clearly: “This has been tremendously difficult in Berkeley, to try to start to change the culture about what infill development can actually do.”  

His casual remark highlights a key question for the task force: is “changing the culture” the role of city staff, or is it their job to reflect the culture and decisions of the citizenry as expressed in the general plan and elsewhere? In other words, should staff be spinning citizens? Could this be the source of the perception of bias? 

These are important questions, and the task force’s final report should not be issued until they have been fully examined. 

Becky O’Malley is executive editor of the Daily Planet.  

Went to church again last night, for the second time this fall. Following Rev. Al Sharpton at Allen Temple Baptist Church on the revival circuit, this time the preacher was Rev. Molly Ivins, appearing at Berkeley’s First Congregational under the auspices of Cody’s Books to preach about her latest, “Bushwhacked.” The choir was all there to shout hallelujah—Berkeleyans of all descriptions who couldn’t be counted on to have a civil conversation at a commission meeting in the North Berkeley Senior Center, but who do realize that politics stops at the water’s edge. The water’s edge, in this case, is the easily predictable Bush-Schwarzenegger deal to carve up California and feed it to the corporations, especially the energy czars and the lumber barons. (Entrail readers on the Internet, notably Greg Palast, have seen the auguries in Arnie’s meeting with Enron honchos a couple of years ago.) And on the other shore, we’re on the edge of the deep muddy that is the Iraq occupation.  

Rev. Molly didn’t get into that kind of stuff—she didn’t need to. Her congregation already knows what’s up, chapter and verse, and what they really wanted to find out was what to do about it. 

Earnest Dean devotees in matching t-shirts asked leading questions designed to elicit an Ivins endorsement for their guru, which didn’t happen. Molly allowed as how she, like most political commentators, bets on elections, but, she says, she wins real money, unlike the others. Her secret is waiting until six weeks before the election to put her money down. With all due respect, that’s not a hard time to make the call. 

What’s hard, judging by the questions from the audience, is to know what to do now. 

Ivins told them she wasn’t doing what she’d done in the past, endorsing the candidate who best represented her political philosophy. No Kucinich, Sharpton or Moseley Braun for her this time. Even her Nader vote, she confessed, was kind of cheating, since in a state where Bush was sure to win she paired with a Republican in a swing state. So, what now, asked the congregation. She kind of likes Edwards, who’s turning out to be a pretty good populist. Kerry has more Elvis than she thought at first. She didn’t seem ready to comment on Clark.  

More questions, all with an underlying theology: How do we avoid one of the Sins Against the Holy Ghost, despair? Let a little sunshine in, said Rev. Molly. If her talk had one theme, it was that Politics Should Be Fun. That’s a hard sell in Berkeley. Her audience had come looking for some fun, and they laughed at all the jokes in the sermon, but when they stopped laughing the little worry lines were right back on their foreheads.  

As an action item she endorsed a standard piece of advice for liberal do-gooders: register new voters. To survivors of the Schwarzenegger coup this one seems tricky—who were all those people who voted for him, anyhow? Wouldn’t want to register more of them, whoever they were. Journalism students in the group asked how you inform the people when they don’t read anymore. No good answer to that one…. 

Where do we go from here? My own stock answer for a while now has been that we should put together bus-loads of non-threatening middle-aged Bay Area women to trek to the swing states in the middle of the country to encourage other older women to oppose Bush in a more vigorous way. They already know he’s a disaster. Women of a certain age consistently profile out as having the most sense in any electorate—the gender gap. We just need to let them know that they’re not alone. The Grandma-to-Grandma strategy…it could work. And if the Rev. Molly Ivins would agree to lead this crones’ crusade, it could even be fun.  

Becky O’Malley is executive editor of the Daily Planet.