At least two major properties built by prominent developer Patrick Kennedy are not paying Berkeley special fees and assessments, according to Alameda County property tax records and officials interviewed by the Daily Planet. 

Barbara Gilbert, a former aide to ex-Mayor Shirley Dean, raised the issue at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting when she declared, “We know the Gaia Building is not paying local assessments.” The accusation brought a stunned hush to the crowd at Council chambers. 

The Gaia Building, at 2116 Allston Way, is a downtown commercial/apartment complex built by Kennedy’s Berkeley development firm, Panoramic Interests, which is headquartered in the building. 

Acting City Manager Phil Kamlarz appeared surprised by Gilbert’s charge, responding to a request for clarification by Mayor Tom Bates that some portion of the Gaia Building “may be a nonprofit and therefore partially exempt, but it’s a mistake if they’re not paying taxes.” The complex does not claim non profit status on the county tax rolls. 

Kennedy, the founder of Panoramic Interests and a Piedmont resident who regularly contributes to candidates and campaign measures in the city of Berkeley, was curt in an initial interview two days after the meeting, saying that he knew nothing about the Gaia’s tax situation, and refused to give the Daily Planet access to anyone in his company who might know. 

“This is news to me.” Kennedy said. “I haven’t seen our tax bill. I don’t handle that.” Kennedy said that the company’s accountant handles its tax payments, but when asked how the Daily Planet could get in touch with the accountant to ask further questions, Kennedy said, “We don’t discuss financial matters relating to our project, to be honest with you. But I’m interested that you mentioned it. I’m going to take a look at it.” 

Kennedy later called back to say that “I’d like to say for the record that if there is an oversight on the part of the city, we’ll settle it, of course. I’m looking into it to see whether there is in fact some kind of oversight on the part of the assessors or anyone else. I know that we are current in [tax payments for] all of our properties.”  

The developer told a reporter “you are the first guy who told me about this.” 

A check of county tax rolls also revealed that Kennedy isn’t paying the special city assessments on another of his properties, the Berkeleyan, located at 1910 Oxford St. 

Heather Murphy, the City of Berkeley’s Revenue Collection Manager confirmed that both the Gaia Building and the Berkleyan are not currently being billed for Berkeley property fees and assessments. 

Murphy said that the Gaia Building is not being taxed by the city because it has not been issued a final use permit from the city’s Planning Department. But Murphy said that the city issued a final use permit for the Berkeleyan in July of 2000. 

Adding city fees and assessments to the Berkeleyan’s tax bill “kind of fell through the process in the communication between the building permits section and the Finance Department. It’s a process we’re still working on refining. [The Berkeleyan] should have started being assessed by July of 2001. And so we will be back billing them for those assessments.” 

Both the Gaia Building and the Berkeleyan are currently being billed for Alameda County property taxes as well as for special county fees and assessments, and there is no indication that Kennedy’s firm hasn’t paid for what it’s been billed.  

While city fees and assessments are paid through the property tax bill generated by the County Auditor’s office, supplying the information needed to generate the city’s fees and assessments is solely the city’s responsibility. 

Speaking of the Gaia Building, Murphy said that her office was already “looking at the building” as part of a regular reassessment process even before last Tuesday’s Council meeting. 

“Since we came to the realization that they do have a temporary certificate of occupancy,” Murphy explained, “we are now going back to assess how much of that square footage has actually been used or has been released to be used under the temporary certificate. We have all intentions of going back and billing them for the current year, and for last year.” 

But Murphy said that an investigation by her office showed that the Berkeleyan had not been placed on a list of properties to be reviewed for Berkeley fees and assessments prior to the Daily Planet’s query about the property. “It will certainly now be scheduled for review,” she said. 

Murphy also said that the city’s Finance Department was currently considering changing its procedure so that buildings with temporary occupancy permits can be billed immediately. 

Variables in how properties are assessed make it difficult to say exactly how much either the Gaia Building or the Berkeleyan owes from unbilled city fees and assessments. 

However, medical offices at 2850 Telegraph Ave. have a taxable value ($12.5 million) that is roughly equivalent to the taxable value of the Gaia Building ($12.4 million). The 2850 Telegraph property currently pays more than $49,500 per year in Berkeley property fees and assessments. 

And at $6 million apiece, both the Berkeley Bowl and the building at 1600 Shattuck Ave. that houses a Starbucks franchise have roughly the same taxable value as the Berkeleyan. The Starbucks building pays close to $19,000 per year in Berkeley property fees and assessments; the Berkeley Bowl pays more than $44,000. 

The Gaia Building was completed in 2001 and has operated under a temporary certificate of occupancy since that time. The Berkeleyan was completed in 1998. 

Gilbert raised the issue of the Gaia Building’s tax status after charging that Berkeley is not taxing significant portions of its tax base, primarily properties owned by nonprofits, during the council’s Special Session on Ballot Measures, called to consider a ballot measure to raise Berkeley property taxes to make up for an imminent budget shortfall.

FRIDAY, OCT. 24 

Peace Pole Planting in People’s Park Help plant a Peace Pole in the Roots of Peace Garden in People's Park, today, United Nations Day, at 4:30 p.m. at the southeast edge of the lawn area. A collaboration of Roots of Peace, the People's Park Community Advisory Board, and UC Berkeley. 642-7860. 

“The Precautionary Principle” a panel with Tom and Jane Kelley, Councilmember Kriss Worthington, and Jean Reinhardt Reiss of the Breast Cancer Fund at 5:30 p.m., and “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. 665-3271.  

“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. 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 reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020. 

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

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. 

Walking Tour of Ocean View, led by Stephanie Manning. Meet at 10 a.m. at Spenger’s parking lot, University and 4th St. 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 $10. For information call 841-8562.  

“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 

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 for $8.00 per class. For further information and to register, call 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 “Strategies 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 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 

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. 

TUESDAY, OCT. 28 

Human and Ecological Health Risk Assessment of the Lawrence Berkeley Lab  

A workshop for the public by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. For information call 866-495-5651, or 540-3932. 

Berkeley Organization for Animal Advocacy will screen “Lolita: Slave to Entertainment,” about a killer whale and the dark side of the aquarium industry, at 7 p.m. at 206 Dwinelle, UC Campus. www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~boaa 

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

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

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

Lawyers in the Library at 6 p.m. at the West Branch, 1125 University. 981-6270. 

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 29 

An Evening with Studs Terkel, “Keeping the Faith in Difficult Times,” a conversation with Harry Kreisler, producer and host of Conversations with History, at 8 p.m. in Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. Sponsored by UC Institute for International Studies, KPFA Free Speech Radio, and Mother Jones Magazine. Tickets are $18, students $12 and are available from Cody’s Books or 642-9988. www.calperformances.org 

“The Hidden Connections: A Science for Sustainable Living” with Fritjof Capra, Ph.D., physicist and systems theorist, is a founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy, at 4 p.m. at 160 Dwinelle Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by The Altieri Agroecology Lab and The Center for Sustainable Resource Development. 643-4200. 

“Common Grounds: Land, Coffee, and Rural Organizing in Guatemala” with Paulina Culum, a small coffee producer and organizer, describing the work of Plataforma Agraria at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave, near Dwight Way. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

“Wicked John and the Devil” A night of Halloween storytelling for youth ages 8 and up, at 7:30 p.m. in the fourth floor storyroom at the Berkeley Central Library at 2090 Kittredge. 981-6223. www.infopeople.org/bpl 

Haunted Honeymoon An old-fashioned haunted house, fun for all ages, in a private home. 1818 5th St. Open Oct. 29, 30 and 31 from 7 to 10 p.m. Cost is $5, children 12 and under free. Benefits Greyhound Friends for Life. www.BerkeleyHauntedHouse.com 

“The World Community and International Human Rights: Are Things Getting Any Better?” with Maurice Copithorne, Professor of Law, University of British Columbia, at 7:30 p.m. at International House, Home Room, Piedmont at Bancroft. 642-9460. 

Berkeley High School Academic Quiz Bowl Practice Session, last Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Barnes and Noble, 2352 Shattuck Ave.  

THURSDAY, OCT. 30 

Free Weatherization Information and free energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps, low-flow showerheads and aerators, will be offered at West Berkeley Senior Center 10 to 11 a.m., South Berkeley Senior Center 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and North Berkeley Senior Center 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Sponsored by the City of Berkeley Energy Office, together with California Youth Energy Services and Community Energy Services Corporation. 981-5435.  

Personnel Issues and Organizational Development for Non-Profits Free workshop on developing strategies to keep staff motivated during difficult fiscal times while staying true to organizational goals. Held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Alameda County Conference Center, 125 12th Street, 4th floor. Sponsored by Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson. To register, please call Felicia Moore-Jordan at 268-5376.  

“The WTO and its Critics: Perspectives on Cancun” a panel discussion from 5 to 7 p.m., Morgan Lounge, 114 Morgan Hall, near Hearst and Arch Streets, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Resource Development, College of Natural Resources, UCB and Graduate Student Pizza & Policy Organizing Committee. 643-4200. 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Henry E. Brady, Ph.D., Professor Political Science, UCB, “California After the Recall Election.” 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. 

“Deceptions and Cover-Ups: Fragments from the War on Terror” film showing, “Jenin, Jenin” plus a slide show and presentation by John Caruso, ISM member, at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Meeting Room of the Berkeley Central Public Library, 2090 Kittredge. Co-sponsored by Berkeley Peace Walk & Vigil. 

Reflections on Old Ocean View with Barbara Gates, author of “Already Home,” Janet Lukehart, Good Shepard archivist, and Stephanie Manning, Ocean View resident and poet. At 7:30 p.m. in the Church of the Good Shepard, at 9th and Hearst. Lecture is part of the 150th Anniversary of Ocean View, Berkeley’s earliest settlement, sponsored by The Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association and Berkeley History Society. Tickets are $10. For information call 841-8562.  

“The Human Rights Situation in Iran: What Can the International Community Do About It?” with Maurice Copithorne, Professor of Law, University of British Columbia, at 7:30 p.m. at International House, Home Room, Piedmont at Bancroft. 642-9460. 

ONGOING 

Tenants Rights Week Oct. 27 - 31. Stop by the booth in Sproul Plaza, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to learn about your rights. Sponsored by ASUC Renters legal Assistance and Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board. 644-6128.  

CITY MEETINGS 

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

“As California has become more solidly Democratic, the name [Left Coast]—with its political connotation—is most closely associated with that state. (Oregon and Washington are still up for linguistic grabs.) 

—William Safire,  

New York Times Magazine,  

Oct. 1, 2000, on the origins of the term “Left Coast.” 

A Mandate?  

I don’t believe anyone ever predicted Arnold Schwarzenegger’s actually obtaining more votes than Gray Davis in the Oct. 7 recall election. But he did. And out of all 58 counties in California, only 15 voted not to remove Governor Davis from office. And out of those 15, only 8 did not vote for Arnold. Is this a mandate? Well, maybe and maybe not.  

Maybe, because if you consider that turnout for the election—over 60 percent—was significant. More voters tends to equals more democracy. Maybe not, because the actual number of eligible state voters who cast a ballot for Arnold was fewer than 17 percent, according to the New York Times. Kind of startling isn’t it?! 

And what of this notion of the “Left Coast?” There were eight counties that voted no on the recall, led by San Francisco at 80 percent, and yes on Cruz Bustamante, also led by SF, where Cruz obtained 63 percent of all votes cast. The election results reveal an astounding polarization between a couple of geographical regions. It is not hard to find a real California “Left Coast” when perusing through the state-wide recall results. If this state is the last bastion of leftist politics in our nation, and it might be pretentious to think so, then it is the north left coast eight counties which are to be held responsible for such a reputation. If you look at the numbers it really is remarkable that these eight counties exist in the same state as a Kern County, an Orange County, or a San Bernardino County. Kern County, just east of San Luis Obispo County, might be San Francisco’s ideological opposite. Kern County voted to recall Davis with almost 76 percent marking yes.  

The PC Left Coast 8  

In case you are wondering who would make up the Left Coast 8, get out your California counties map. Beginning from the north and heading south this elite eight includes: Mendocino, Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties. (A footnote to this is that all of the other counties voting no on the recall but yes on Arnold, except Los Angeles, are contiguous to the Left Coast 8—Humboldt, Napa, Yolo, Solano, Contra Costa, and Monterey.) 

If California were ever to split up, the Left Coast 8 might be the most potent geo-political force in forming a new separate state. It would not be overblown to say that when taken together, this eight-county swath of the California coast is perhaps more politically left of center than anywhere else in America. Does it mean this Left Coast 8 is somehow moving toward socialism with a human face? Probably not yet.  

What it most likely means is that this more educated and higher income geographical grouping shares some very similar political and social concerns: environmental protection (clean air, clean water, anti-logging, anti-sprawl, slow-growth, a love-hate relationship with the automobile), a great compassion for the those less fortunate, and a general belief that things can be better if we only do something about it, i.e. “people make history, but often not under conditions of their own choosing.” So when New York Times Columnist William Safire, or anyone else, refers to the Left Coast, it is really these eight counties, the Left Coast 8, to which they are referring.  

Of course many questions arise about what it is that has this part of California voting in droves in the exact opposite direction of the rest of the state. The water? A 60s hangover? The spectacular scenic coastal environment created by an array of micro-climates? Hard to say exactly. In Berkeley you will hear some say, ‘Oh, all of you live inside of some kind of bubble, Berkeley is just not part of the real world.’ Well folks, if the results of this election are any indication, the Berkeley bubble is a helluva lot bigger than many critics thought. 

But Is There a Real Left Coast?  

Finally, consider the fact that the real left candidate, Peter Camejo of the Green Party did not do very well in this election. While he holds many positions similar to his Democratic rivals, he parts company with them when it comes to how things get paid for. Camejo is solidly in favor of 1) publicly financed elections, and 2) rich people paying more taxes for the simple reason that they have more of the money. What is telling about this election is that many Greens and green-Democrats seemed to make a conscious choice to defect from Camejo in favor of Bustamante for fear that Schwarzenegger would win. Camejo actually received a hundred and sixty thousand fewer votes (213,087) than he did last November (381,700). It would be interesting for us who live on the Real Left Coast if the exit polling had included questions about what candidate you would vote for in an ideal world, or who is the most principled candidate. Camejo might have done exceedingly well in such a poll. 

In the case of the Left Coast 8, this election clearly presents a picture in which Berkeley has much in common with many other Northern California cities. In other words, progressives in Berkeley can take heart, for they are not alone. And, look out Southern California! 

Christopher Krohn is a former mayor of Santa Cruz.

Smiling, understanding and patient, Seymour Fromer ambled through the museum he’s been building for the past four decades, explaining the remarkable touchstones to history he’s selected for the show that will mark the reopening of a treasured Berkeley institution. 

The Judah L. Magnes Museum reopens its doors to the public Sunday afternoon, celebrating its return to the city following a brief, unsuccessful and now-dissolved merger with the Jewish Museum of San Francisco. 

Free ice cream and other treats await visitors to the 2 p.m. festivities at the museum at 2911 Russell St. Mayor Tom Bates will extend an official welcome on behalf of the city.  

Now curator emeritus, Fromer praised the museum staff for “bringing together all the strands from before the merger. It was a big task.” 

As a man who has devoted his life to education, Fromer is proud of the institution he created with his wife, Rebecca.  

“A museum is different from a gallery. If we acquire a painting, an artifact, a book, we don’t simply display it, but we research it to learn its meaning and how it fits into history. It’s a big task, and we’ve tried to stick to it. . .to build a matrix for Jewish studies that will fit into the curricula of schools like the University, like Stanford, and the other colleges and universities in the region that are offering courses in Jewish traditions and Middle Eastern studies.” 

But Fromer’s connection to the museum’s remarkable collection is clearly more than mere intellectual satisfaction, revealed in the quiet passion of his voice and the gleam in his eye as he describes some of the haunting, evocative works he has chosen for this exhibit. 

One Plexiglas case houses papers of Koppel S. Pinson, the Queens College scholar chosen by the Allies at the end of World War II to catalog and attempt to restore to owners the artworks and libraries seized by the minions of Hitler and Himmler as the Holocaust rolled over the face of Europe. 

It was Pinson who suggested to the victors that the seized works should be handed over to the library of Hebrew University in Palestine—the school founded by Judah L. Magnes, the San Francisco-born, Oakland High School graduate who became the first rabbi born west of the Mississippi. 

As rabbi of New York’s Temple Emanu-El, Magnes took unpopular stands. A pacifist, he opposed America’s entry into the First World War, and as an ardent Zionist he was also a powerful proponent of Arab/Jewish reconciliation and established a Department of Arabic Studies at Hebrew University. 

One of the most haunting pieces in Fromer’s exhibit is a massive canvas by Polish painter Mauryey Minkowski, depicting the battered, bandaged victims of the 1906 pogrom in Bialystok, then a part of the Russian Empire. As police stood watching, members of the Black Hundreds—vicious anti-Semites backed by the Ohkrana, the Tsar’s secret police—beat, raped and murdered. The gaunt, stunned expressions on the faces of Minkowski’s subjects offer eloquent mute testimony of what had gone before. 

Another display case bears witness to a still-earlier and more methodical onslaught, the Spanish Inquisition. 

In elegant, formal swirls inked on creamy well-made paper, a scribe captured the words of the prosecutors and witnesses in the Majorcan trials of Alonso Lopez and Ana Ayala. A 17-year-old covert to Catholicism, Lopez was convicted as a heretic in 1672 and burned at the stake. Two decades later, the judges were kinder to Anguilo, sentencing her to 200 lashes, a fine, and exile. 

One of the museum’s most unique artifacts testifies to a compassionate response to persecution. 

When the Nazis banned Jews from fleeing the Reich aboard the ships of Germany’s main carrier, the Jews of Great Britain appealed to the British Cunard line, which was then building the Queen Mary. Cunard executives then gave orders for the liner’s designers to include a synagogue in the grand vessel, where Jews sailing to freedom could worship in glorious freedom. When the ship was decommissioned in 1976 and installed as a tourist attraction in Long Beach, the ark was acquired by a succession of small temples in Southern California before winding up in the Magnes. 

Designed by Cecil Jacob Epril, the ark is a classic example of Art Deco craftsmanship in burls and inlays with a fanciful grillwork and a crowning Star of David. 

On the secular side, Fromer selected letters and a drawing by that most famous of all modern Jews, Albert Einstein. The small sketch had posed something of a mystery until a UC physicist recognized it as an illustration of the wonderfully abstruse concept of length contraction that is a corollary of the Theory of Relativity. 

No Jewish museum could be complete without some examples of that most famous and poignantly whimsical of artists, Marc Chagall. The Magnes recently acquired a collection of rare Chagalliana from the estate of a retired San Francisco city planner, including lithographs and books. Fromer picked a few choice items for the exhibit. 

To illustrate the rich Jewish theatrical tradition, Fromer picked the colorful gouache sketches of Issachar Ryback’s costume designs for a Purim play, illustrating character from the Book of Ruth, and Sir Jacob Epstein’s magnificent, earthy color rendering of his design for the curtained backdrop of a Duke of York Theatre 1930s production of a ballet based on the life of King David. 

A wide selection of artifacts reflects another vanished era, the days when the Jews of the Mideast lived in peace dispersed throughout the Islamic nations. 

Fromer’s face lights up as he walks a reporter over to a an extravagant copper lamp, featured a three-dimensional camel mounted on an armature that rises from a rectangular base etched in Arabic calligraphy. The lampshade of beaten, pierced copper is festooned with hanging glass beadwork and surmounted by the Magen David, the six-pointed star. 

Fromer’s obvious pride and delight offer eloquent testimony to the life he spent devoted to teaching at the Jewish Education Center in Oakland. 

“We felt we needed more material to educate people, and we realized there are a lot of people who move here from the east who have inherited things they don’t know what to do with,” he explained. One thing led to another, culminating in the launching of the museum in 1962. 

“Now we have rare books and manuscripts, graphics, arts and fine arts, Judaica—ceremonial art, prayer books, and so forth. We have the Western Jewish History Center, which has the foremost collection of Jewish artifacts from the eleven western states. We have complete runs of Jewish newspapers, and so much more. 

“Take the Inquisition papers. We’ve all heard of the Inquisition, but here you can see the actual documents, the minutes they kept recording the testimony given, the property seized, the punishments given. You come in first-hand touch with living history.” 

Fromer beams, his eyes sweeping across the collection he has so lovingly assembled. 

Born in New York City 81 years ago, Fromer came West in 1953, moving to Los Angeles to work for the American Association for Jewish Education after finishing his Master’s from Columbia University’s Teaching College. He met and married Rebecca Camhi that same year. 

Four years later, the couple headed north to Oakland, where Fromer served as Director of the Jewish Education Council of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. The museum opened as a single room in 1962—the year he found a high school graduation photo of Rabbi Magnes in an Oakland book store—and it hasn’t stopped growing since. 

Among the museum’s most unusual acquisitions are seven cemeteries in the Sierra Nevada. “They’re from the days of the Gold Rush and we wanted to preserve them,” Fromer explains, pointing to a display of black and white photos of tombstones carved with Yiddish characters. “The stone carvers were brought over from Europe.”  

The Magnes moved its exhibits to 2911 Russell St. in Berkeley in 1966, its present location. In 1997, the Magnes purchased a new building on Allston Way in the downtown Arts District, where the museum eventually plans to move. 

Fromer stepped down as director in 1998, though he remains an active figure. “It’s important to keep busy,” he says, smiling. 

The 140 pieces he selected for the reopening exhibit represent only a minuscule fraction of the museum’s 30,000 paintings, drawings, photographs, letters, books, sculptures, furnishings, and other items which comprise the third largest collection of Judaica in the country.  

The reopening exhibit was designed by Ted Cohen and is curated by Sheila Braufman. 

The Judah L. Magnes Museum is opening from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays. Admission is free. For more information, call 549-6950 or see http://magnes.org.

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.brownpride. 

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.jazz- 

school.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 today’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” 

see listing for Oct. 24.  

The Un-Scripted Theater Company, “Fear” see listing for Oct. 24.  

Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, “Ain't Misbehavin’,” at 2 and 8 p.m. see listing for Oct. 24. 

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. becketts- 

irishpub.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. 

Workshop with Anna Halprin, “Honoring the Living, Honoring the Dead,” with teacher and dancer, Anna Halperin, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Live Oak Park Gym, 1301 Shattuck Ave., culminating in a performance with participants. Cost is $100. By reservation. 665-9496. 

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

CHILDREN  

Caribbean Kids’ Show with Asheba from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $6 for adults, $4 for children. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

FILM 

“Heavy in the Game,” a docu/film depicting the lure of the drug life in East Oakland, written, directed and produced by Goldie the Poet. At 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5-$8. www.lapena.org 

Fernando de Fuentes: From the Revolution to the Comedia Ranchera “Let’s Go With Pancho Villa!” at 5:30 p.m. and “Over on the Big Ranch” at 7:20 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

International Women’s Writing Guild Celebration, featuring D. H. Melhem reading from her new book “Conversation with a Stonesman” at 3 p.m. at Cody’s Books, 1730 Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com  

Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics, Lecture with Paul Rabinow, professor of anthropology at 3 p.m. in the Museum Theater Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

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 

Poetry at Cody’s with Aliki Barnstone and Mark Turpin at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

University Symphony, under the direction of David Milnes, performs at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Auditorium. Cost is $2-$8. 642-9988.  

California Revels at 2 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $10 general, $5 children, and are available from 925-798-1300. www.juliamorgan.org 

Live Oak Concert Third Annual Harvest of Song at 8 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center in Live Oak Park. Pre-concert dicussion at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $8-$10. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

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

Marcelle Dronkers, soprano, and friends, in an afternoon of song and spoof from the world of opera and operetta, at 4 p.m. at The Crowden School, 1475 Rose St. Tickets are $12, children free. 559-2941. www.thecrowdenschool.org 

Deaf Electric at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Sliding scale donation suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.org 

Freddy Clark and All Over the World at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Tenores San Gavino performs traditional four voice Sardinian polyphony 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 

Kenny Washington Quartet at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Americana Unplugged, with Jupiter Jam-Bo-Ree at 4 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

MONDAY, OCT. 27 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Nell Freudenberger reads from her debut collection of stories, “Lucky Girls,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry Express, theme night Things That Scare You, from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Steve Gannon Band and Mz. Dee at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $4. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

TUESDAY, OCT. 28 

FILM 

Alternative Visions: The Films of Hannes Schüpbach, 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 Breathed on “Flawed Dogs: The Year-End Leftovers at the Piddletton ‘Last Chance’ Dog Pound” at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. www.codysbooks.com 

Don Lattin on “Following Our Bliss: How the Spiritual Ideals of the Sixties Shape Our Lives Today,” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way, entrance on Dana. Admission is free. Sponsored by Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Tom Bissell introduces Uzbekistan in ”Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Tim Cahill reads from world travel stories in “Hold the Enlightenment: More Travel, Less Bliss,” at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave at Rose, 843-3533. 

The Whole Note Poetry Series, with Selene Steese and open mic, at 7 p.m. at The Beanery, 2925 College Ave., near Ashby. 549-9093. 

Poets Gone Wild with Maryanne Robinson reading from “Pieces Together” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Landesjugendorchester of Rheinland-Pfalz, German youth orchestra, performs at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $20. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Band Concerts at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $4. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Tracy Grammer performs contemporary folk 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 

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

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 29 

FILM 

Fernando de Fuentes: From the Revolution to the Comedia Ranchera, “La Zandunga” at 7 p.m. and “Jalisoc Sings in Seville” at 9:05 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Studs Terkel on “Keeping Faith in Difficult Times” at 8 p.m. at Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. Tickets are $12-$18, available from Cody’s 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Donna Nebenzahl and Nance Ackerman will show slides and discuss their new book “Womankind: Faces of Change Around the World,” at 7:30 p.m. at Boadecia's Books, 398 Colusa Avenue at Colusa Circle, Kensington. 559-9184. www.bookpride.com 

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 

Lunchtime Concert: Strings with Robert Howard, cello and Cary Ko, violin at noon at Berkeley Arts Festival Headquarters, 2110 Shattuck Ave. Free. 665-9496.  

www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Wednesday Noon Concert with Shaw Pong Liu, violin and Monica Chew, piano perform Ginastera and Prokofiev 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 George Coates’ independent media project will be shown at 7 p.m. on BTV Channel 25. 665-9496.  

www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Manufacturing of Humidifiers Randy Proter, Ward Spangler, and Dan Plonsey in three solo performances, and then collectively as the Return of the Manu- 

facturing of Humidifiers, at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Arts Festival Headquarters, 2110 Shattuck Ave. 665-9496. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Adrienne Torf, pianist and composer, performs in a benefit for Breast Cancer Action, 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 

Band Concerts at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $4. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Edie Carey, singer/songwriter 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 

Savant Guard, electro-acoustic jazz rock combo performs at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

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

THURSDAY, OCT. 30 

FILM 

Genetic Screenings: “Demon Seed” with filmmaker Greg Niemeyer in person, at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“The Black Panthers (in Israel) Speak & Drowning by Bullets,” at 7 p.m. at 340 Stephens Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by Middle Eastern Studies. 642-8208 cmes@uclink4.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

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

Daniella Gioseffi introduces her revised “Women on War: An International Anthology of Writings from Antiquity to the Present,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

www.codysbooks.com 

Bram Dijkstra speaks on “American Expressionism: Art and Social Change, 1920-1950,” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. www.codysbooks.com 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Planet Grooves with DJ Omar at 10 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $6. 525-5054.  

www.ashkenaz.com 

Wake the Dead, Celtic music tribute to the Grateful Dead, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $18.50 in advance, $19.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Sarah Zaharako 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 

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

n an occasional series by UC Berkeley journalism students.  

For decades, children have used them to get to and from schools. People drive miles simply to walk their dogs along them. Others include them in their daily commutes, factoring in extra time to admire the beauty and peace they bring to the neighborhood. 

Seventy years ago, these 136 paths were integral to Berkeley’s daily life, allowing hill residents access to the electric streetcars running on Euclid and Spruce avenues.  

The pathways and steps are enduring evidence of the city’s commitment to the urban design principles of the Hillside Club, says historian Charles Wollenberg. 

In the 1920s, influential club members like naturalist Annie Maybeck and her husband, architect Bernard Maybeck, advocated streets that followed the contours of the hills connected by a system of pedestrian paths. 

“The city cooperated, and the pathways became public property,” says Wollenberg. 

The paths are maintained by the Departments of Public Works and Parks, Recreation and Waterfront. They are assisted by volunteers from the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association, who have mapped all the paths and re-opened many for public use. 

Pat De Vito, co-president of the Path Wanderers, moved to Berkeley in 1953, and she often used the paths as a Cal undergraduate.. She and three friends started the pedestrian advocacy organization five years ago. 

“We were four women around a kitchen table in 1998,” said De Vito.  

Those four women recognized that “these paths are a part of our historical heritage and were, at one time, walkable,” De Vito said, and they wanted to make these paths accessible to the public again.  

The issue of public access is particularly interesting to artist and writer Karen Kerm, who is working on a book about city paths across the country. Kerm views the paths as a “dialogue of public and private space” and a relationship between public and private property that is rare these days when privatization is a catchword to fix public facilities. 

“It’s land for the people that unfortunately our planners today don’t value,” said Kerm. 

However, even if planners stop valuing the idea of public access, the pathways are here, providing not only a practical way of getting to where you’re going, but meeting pedestrians’ aesthetic needs as well. 

“They’ve been around for 90 years,” said De Vito. “They are a part of our open space, a calm place to be, away from the street.” 

“And they also have some of best views and vistas of the canyons, the bay, and San Francisco when you climb to the top of them,” she added.  

As Casen Maloy leisurely walks down Billie Jean Walk she is following a timetable controlled by a bus. 

Maloy, a first year undergraduate at UC Berkeley, has lived on Hilldale Avenue since April, but only recently discovered the picturesque steps that connect Hilldale to Euclid Avenue.  

Maloy, 19, with red hair and sunglasses, looked as if she was on her way to the beach. Instead, she was headed for the corner of Euclid and Marin where she had a

The future site for the Berkeley Adult School will have a different look as neighbors had demanded, but some now fear that the additional expenses required could cost them a planned playground.  

On Monday, a site committee of seven neighbors and six Berkeley Unified School District officials and employees voted to scrap the district’s site plan for the old Franklin Elementary School Campus at San Pablo Avenue between Virginia and Francisco streets and replace it with the neighbor’s proposal, designed by a local architect. 

The vote was a victory for neighbors, who had argued for months that the district’s plan directed too much traffic onto residential streets. But their triumph was tempered when shortly before the vote, BUSD Director of Facilities Lew Jones warned that the added costs required by the new plan would have to come from money slated for the playground. 

“It was a bombshell,” said Carrie Adams, a neighbor who along with her husband has filed suit against the project. “None of us had previously thought there was any question about the establishment of the playground,” she said. 

Jones disagreed. “It’s never been clear whether there will or will not be a playground,” he said, adding that some neighbors had complained that a playground would lead to increased vagrancy near the school. 

The northeast corner of the school site has housed a playground since 1989. When Franklin Elementary School closed in 2002, the district fenced in the entire property, including the playground—which needs repairs. 

Neighbors thought the $8.8 million plan included an un-touchable $130,000 for the playground, but Jones said that sum was part of a $250,000 contingency fund to cover necessary changes during construction.  

He said the new site plan and interior changes requested by the Adult School would cost nearly $300,000, jeopardizing playground funding. Adult School Principal Margaret Kirkpatrick requested a new kitchen to house a nonprofit baking group, an expanded computer lab and the division of a large classroom, which Jones said will cost the district around $140,000 

After the discussion ended, the committee passed the new site plan 10-2-1, contingent on winning Caltrans approval for a driveway on San Pablo Avenue and with an added clause that the vote “not prejudice” construction of the playground.  

The recommendation now goes to Superintendent Michele Lawrence and then to the school board for ultimate approval. Caltrans, which manages San Pablo Avenue is expected to approve the driveway within a month. 

Since Monday’s meeting, School Board Director and Site Committee member John Selawsky has reassured neighbors that the playground will be included. 

“I’ve made a commitment to neighbors to work something out,” he said.  

While the playground remains in question, neighbors and school officials both say they have a better design for traffic and parking. 

The new plan—designed pro bono by local architect Dietmar Lorenz—shifts the orientation of the school from Virginia Street to San Pablo Avenue, constructing a pedestrian walkway on San Pablo and keeping much of the mass transit, pedestrian and car traffic off residential streets. It also alters the parking arrangement to offer more space for planted buffers between parked cars and neighboring houses. 

Jones said the pedestrian walkway and extra plantings are among the added costs that have inflated the price tag by about $150,000. 

Lorenz became involved with the project when he attended the unveiling of the original plan this summer. 

“I was startled as an architect how poorly designed it was,” he said. “It seemed like a wasted opportunity so I worked with neighbors to determine an alternative site plan.,” 

“I think it really improves the site,” Selawsky said. “I don’t think district staff had the sense that re-orienting the site to San Pablo was so important.”  

Franklin Elementary School had been oriented to Virginia Street because young children needed to enter and exit school grounds away from car traffic, but adult school students, both sides agreed, would be better served by the new design. 

Any construction at the site remains contingent on the outcome of a lawsuit filed by Adams and her husband, Tim Arai, who have charged that the district’s Environmental Impact Report was insufficient under the California Environmental Quality Act. Attorneys for both parties met Monday, but were unable to bridge their differences. Adams said she was still considering filing an injunction to halt construction, which is planned to start in early November.

On this date in 1945, World War II battle-weary nations came together in San Francisco in the War Memorial Building, appropriately enough. They agreed to establish an international organization that could ensure world peace, and they brought the United Nations into existence with the highest of hopes. Today, the Bush administration charges that the UN has become an outmoded debating society lacking the gumption to act. But as the president should know, the UN was not designed to exercise power on its own; rather, it was intentionally set up to be almost entirely dependent on the will and wishes of its member states. Thus, when the Bush administration pulls the rug out from under the UN and then blames the UN for falling down, the administration is deliberately misleading the public on the rules by which the UN operates. 

But if we dim the spotlight on the Security Council for a moment, we can see more clearly how the UN, despite severely diminished resources and escalating physical risk to UN staff, does quite often successfully “think globally, and act locally.” In Iraq for example, despite the disturbing fact that the UN role there remains largely undefined, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is nonetheless dealing with hundreds of thousands of refugees; the UN World Food Programme is transporting and supplying tons of food; and UNICEF is delivering water and milk to children and providing them with emergency school materials. Take another look throughout the world where the work of UN agencies saves lives and occasionally dignity: the World Health Organization in dealing with AIDS and with SARS; the UN Population Fund’s work on prenatal care and childbirth; the UN Development Programme’s technology assistance to less-developed countries; the UN Development Fund for Women’s input into improving women’s health; and the Food and Agriculture Organization’s life-preserving foodstuffs delivered to millions who would otherwise starve. In East Timor, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and other sites, UN missions are helping societies move from war toward peace, stable government and progress. These are more than statistics and do-good stories; what these activities have in common, simply put, is their valuing of human life. 

While far from flawless, the United Nations and its agencies have become an invaluable and trusted partner throughout the world, more relevant every day to hundreds of thousands of women, children and men needing the food and medical support they supply. Is it enough? Certainly not. Much more needs to be done to assist more people more comprehensively, to help lift them out of dependence into self-sufficiency. 

That said, here in our community is a shining example of the global-to-local link: The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, headquartered in the UN’s Geneva offices, helps fund a San Francisco human rights organization, the Center for Justice & Accountability. CJA represents survivors of torture in civil suits against perpetrators living in or visiting the United States. Recently, two Salvadorans generals living in Florida were found guilty when a West Palm Beach jury determined that the generals bore “command responsibility” for the torture of three San Francisco-based Salvadoran refugee clients of CJA. The jury awarded a $54.6 million judgment against the generals. The steep amount reflects an American jury’s determination of the gravity of the harm done.The relieved survivors, however, subsequently declared the monetary award, whether or not any of it ever reaches them, to be of no real importance. Achieving a measure of justice is what matters. 

So the UN global-to-local link worked again. And survivors living among us were helped to regain a sense of wholeness. In the process, the rule of law—a basic tenet of the UN and the American system—was reaffirmed. 

Can the UN do better? Undoubtedly. Can we? As Danny Glover, a UN Goodwill Ambassador, can be heard repeating over the airwaves these days: 

“Today, we are taking notice of the world around us. Today, we understand that what happens in even the most remote part of the earth affects each and every one of us. Today, more than ever, Americans understand the value of the United Nations as an instrument of change. 

“This Oct. 24, join me in celebrating United Nations Day. To find out more about the UN, go to unausaeastbay.org or call 849-1752. “This Oct. 24, get involved. Get to know the UN and get to know the world.” 

Rita Maran is a lecturer in international human rights law at UC Berkeley. She is also president of the United Nations Association-USA East Bay Chapter and a boardmember of CJA.

As Casen Maloy leisurely walks down Billie Jean Walk she is following a timetable controlled by a bus. 

Maloy, a first year undergraduate at UC Berkeley, has lived on Hilldale Avenue since April, but only recently discovered the picturesque steps that connect Hilldale to Euclid Avenue.  

Maloy, 19, with red hair and sunglasses, looked as if she was on her way to the beach. Instead, she was headed for the corner of Euclid and Marin where she had a date with the 65 University-bound bus.  

She was taking part in a ritual that, although it isn’t as old as the hills, dates back to the development of Berkeley. 

Electric trolleys ran on major streets from the late Nineteenth Century until the 1940s. Residents of the hills could walk down the paths to streets such as Euclid and Spruce to meet a trolley, much in the same way as Casen Maloy walks to the bus.  

From Euclid, Billie Jean Walk begins with a steep set of steps that lead up to a sloping path. The path rises lazily upwards for about 15 yards before connecting with another steep stairway that leads up to Hilldale. 

The walkway is covered by branches of bottlebrush trees and green bushes. The canopy provides good cover for those making the inclined walk up to Hilldale on a warm afternoon. A view from the top of the path provides a spectacular vista of the San Francisco Bay. Treasure Island and the Bay Bridge sparkle from the vantage point on a sunny day. 

Seven decades before Maloy moved to Berkeley, Billie Jean Walk was named after one of its own. Billie Jean Harris, the adopted daughter of local haberdasher Joe Harris and his wife Pearl, was born on January 26, 1931. In a San Francisco Examiner article published later that year, Harris expressed his joy of being a proud parent by working to have the path named in honor of his daughter.  

Billie Jean D’Anna née Harris, now resides in San Bruno. On occasions she has been seen in Berkeley having her picture taken by the path sign. “I always have to remind people that it’s not named for Billie Jean King!” said Mrs. D’Anna during a phone interview. 

As Maloy walks by the ivy and blackberry vines that border the path, she is unaware of the history that surrounds her. It is just a pleasant part of her commute to class. Maloy, reared in San Francisco and Marin, says, “It makes getting up and down the hill easier.”

The Berkeley Rent Board entered a new era Monday, but the results looked a lot like the old as members agonized over a dizzying array of rent hike proposals—with the monthly dollar differences between the lower and higher increases barely enough to cover the cost of a cup of coffee. 

“We’re splitting hairs here,” said Rent Board Commissioner Paul Hogarth as he fought efforts to trim the rent increase he had proposed. 

Hogarth finally yielded to the majority of the nine-member board, which set the annual rent increase lower than both recommendations offered by the board’s subcommittee. 

Tenants in Berkeley’s roughly 19,000 rent-controlled units will pay between 1 and 1.6 percent more on rent next year, depending on whether the landlord invoked a 1999 state law that effectively ends rent control after units are vacated. Renters in private homes or buildings constructed after rent control went into effect in 1980 are not covered by rent control laws. 

The nine popularly elected rent board commissioners determined that since the law—known as Costa-Hawkins—has created a dual rental market in Berkeley in which tenants in unregulated units pay almost twice as much as other tenants, the annual rent adjustment should reflect that reality. 

Under the proposal finally adopted, landlords and tenants will probably need their calculators to figure out the new rents. 

Rents for tenants in market rate units will increase by one percent plus $3—a monthly increase of $15.20 for the average renter paying $1,220. 

Tenants covered by rent control—who pay an average rent of $698—will see rents jump by 1.5 percent plus $3, for an average monthly increase of $9.12. The extra three dollars are a pass along for unexpected costs from Berkeley’s new Rental Housing Safety Program. 

This year’s adjustment was supposed to have been simple. In February, the pro-tenant Rent Board settled a lawsuit brought against the panel by the Berkeley Property Owners Association (BPOA), which had charged that the board unfairly used its discretion to set arbitrarily low annual increases. 

To end 23 years of bickering, both sides agreed to follow the lead of other California cities with rent control and use a fixed formula to determine the annual increase—in Berkeley’s case, 65 percent of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). 

Voters must now ratify that agreement on next November’s ballot, but both sides agreed to use the formula this year so long as the CPI number didn’t vary too far from a report of owner expenses which the board commissioned a subcommittee to prepare. 

But that’s just what happened. 

While 65 percent of the CPI constituted a one percent rent hike, a series of unforeseen expenses to landlords—chief among them the city’s new safety program and increased Rent Board fees—added up to a 2.8 percent increase, turning the settlement designed to “free” the rent board into a political straitjacket. 

Legally obligated only to give owners the one percent increase, commissioners felt pressure from their tenant base not to pass along the entire 2.8 percent called for by the report.  

At the same time, the board didn’t want to antagonize landlords, whose support they need if voters are to approve the settlement agreement next year. 

“There was a concern not to engender a lot of hoopla that could put the November ballot at risk,” said Commissioner Bob Evans, the only member of the board who opposed the settlement. 

Landlords also acknowledged the political necessity of reaching a compromise. BPOA President Michael Wilson told the board before its deliberations that passing along owner expenses to tenants would be the “the politically intelligent thing to do.” 

“All of the tax increases that the city is going for right now, people are freaking out about it,” he said. “At the end of the day they are going to wonder if this settlement was intelligent or not depending in large part by what is decided here tonight.” 

The board struggled to reach a compromise, which requires the support of six members. Derided for years by property owners as a pro-tenant monolith, the panel divided over which owner expenses to pass on to tenants. 

The four-member subcommittee failed to agree on a recommendation to the full board, instead forwarding two proposals—one, submitted by Evans, for 1.8 percent plus $2 for market rate units and 1 percent plus $2 for controlled units, and the other, calling for 2 percent plus $3 and $1 plus $3, submitted by Selma Spector, who could not attend the full meeting. 

When the debate started, members first sought to bridge the difference between the two subcommittee suggestions. Hogarth, who supported a $4 passthrough for the safety program and the fee increases, adopted Spector’s proposal. 

Before the board could vote, Evans offered a counterproposal: 2 percent and 1 percent, but only a $2 passthrough, which the board rejected that 5-2-1-1—paving the way for Commissioner Howard Chong to alter the scope of the debate. 

Arguing that 2 percent was too high considering that many long-term tenants are on a fixed income and that the board did not need to go above 1 percent, Chong proposed 1.5 percent plus $4 and 1 percent plus $3. 

Hogarth held firm, arguing that the dollar amounts weren’t enough to abandon Spector’s proposal. “I don’t think that’s huge,” he said. 

“You don’t have to pay it,” declared Evans. 

Chong’s proposal also failed 5-2-1-1 when Commissioner Matthew Siegel—concerned that the different dollar passthroughs would be too confusing—joined Hogarth in opposition. Commissioner Chris Kavenaugh abstained. 

Siegel then tried to bridge the gap, proposing 1.8 percent plus $3 and 1 percent plus $3. “Don’t ask me for the rationale,” he said. 

The vote was agonizing. Three of the first five board members passed on voting, waiting for their colleagues to make the first move. 

“Wait, wait, wait, wait! Start at the other end of the alphabet please,” said Commissioner Judy Ann Alberti. When the vote came back to her 5-2 in favor, Alberti said, “I’m going to abstain.”  

Motion failed. 

Siegel tried again. “One percent plus $3 and 1.5 percent plus $3”—the lowest rent increase proposal of the night. That passed unanimously after Hogarth—his head in his hands—assented. 

Unlike other years, landlords didn’t rush to attack the board. “I acknowledge it as a good faith effort by the rent board to try to pass along costs, and I give them credit for that,” Wilson said. 

“This has never been about one tenant and one landlord; it’s about deeply held political philosophies,” he added. “That’s why it’s so difficult to get consensus from nine rent board members and that’s why we need the settlement to get us out of this.”

BOSS WOES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your story on BOSS (“BOSS Accounting Woes Force Cutbacks, Layoffs,” Daily Planet, Oct. 21-23) missed two critical issues that are at the heart of the agency’s financial problems. First, providers of social services pursuant to government contracts are not given the funding to hire the high-priced accounting staff they need. While federal, state and local contracting requirements are becoming more and more complex, these public entities will not give nonprofit groups money to hire the high-skilled administrative and financial support required for such programs. It is easy for local officials to blame BOSS for “failing to upgrade its accounting department” to handle the added bookkeeping complexity, but with the group’s budget being cut there was no new money to provide such an upgrade (and you can imagine how the BOSS employees facing layoffs and benefit cuts would have felt if the agency then went out and hired a high-priced financial officer). Bookkeeping errors due to a lack of highly skilled staff continue to undermine nonprofit groups throughout the Bay Area; this structural problem has only become more evident as cutbacks in the social service budgets have grown. 

Second, the framing of your story as one involving an allegedly poorly managed nonprofit ignores the real villains: the Bush Administration and Republican Congress that has bludgeoned social service funding while lavishing tax breaks on the wealthy. BOSS would not be having any of its problems had their public funding not been decimated, and nearly all homeless serving groups must watch every dollar even in the “good” times. Conservatives love the idea of contracting out social services to the nonprofit sector but then provide the bare minimum of necessary resources. When the downturn comes the blame then all goes to groups like BOSS, while the real perpetrators of the service cuts and layoffs are not held responsible. 

Randy Shaw 

• 

THE GENERAL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Wesley Clark, a sometime Democrat, made general by being a good soldier in wars that I and many other vigorously opposed--Viet Nam, Kosovo, the Gulf War and others. Now we should admire him for his experience and judgment because he out-militarys Bush!  

There is something wrong with this picture.  

No thanks... 

Margot Smith 

• 

MORE BOSS WOES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your recent front page story, “BOSS Accounting Woes Force Cutbacks, Layoffs” (Daily Planet, Oct. 21-23) was very interesting.  

The Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency (BOSS) agency, a non-profit overseer of several programs to help the East Bay homeless, seems to be plagued by accounting errors and omissions. In the middle of the article it is revealed that BOSS has been staffing the accounting and bookkeeping departments with its former clients: homeless from the streets. So this is not a case of the lunatics running the asylum, but merely of the lunatics auditing the books of the asylum. Hmm. Just what exactly is the root of problems of doing government bookkeeping in the East Bay? Is it the air? Is it the fog? It there a noxious mental drift from Baghdad-by-the-Bay? Or is it merely the coming together of white upper class liberal guilt interacting with the allegedly downtrodden lower classes?  

It seems to be part and parcel of the functioning of the school districts and local governments in the East Bay that they cannot add and subtract dollars and 

cents when attempting to create and maintain budgets. Are these folks all graduates of Oakland and Berkeley public schools? Maybe they are operating under the 

notion that if they don’t add up the bills, that the deficits won’t exist. Dreamland, thy name is East Bay. 

BOSS has placed some 40 homeless into housing with a budget of about $5 million per year: This amounts to $125,000 per formerly homeless person per year. That should cover the rent, I guess. Does it really require 100 staff members to cut rent subsidy checks to forty persons per year? What do the other 99 staff members do in the remaining 51 weeks each year? Assuming that the 40 formerly homeless persons each get $10,000 per year in rent subsidies, this amounts to an overhead rate of over 90 percent. Kids, can you say “boondoggle?” Maybe BOSS needs to hire some outside auditors, say some good Republicans from Florida, à la Arnold? Maybe Berkeley and Oakland could also place “Arithmetic Free Zone” signs on its borders. 

James K. Sayre 

Oakland 

• 

A FEW POINTS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

J. Douglas Allen-Taylor should read Partners in Power by Roger Morris for a thorough critique of the Clintons from the Left. Bill Clinton did indeed physically assault several women over many years. Many of us believe that Clinton has been credibly accused of rape. 

As far as Molly Ivins goes, she is like an old comedy act that was stale forty years (like much liberal thinking in Berkeley). Molly was a shill and an apologist for the Center-Right Clinton policies for years. 

As far as Becky O’Malley’s repeated snide comments on Dean, he is the only genuine anti-war candidate running that has a chance at the nomination and beating Bush. The only “populist” constituency that John Edwards represents is the trial attorneys. Clark voted for Reagan and Bush and Nixon ! He’s no alternative, which is precisely why he is being pushed by the DLC-Clinton crowd. Kerry sold out long ago and has been endorsed by Feinstein, which all one needs to know about him. 

Michael P. Hardesty 

Oakland 

• 

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 percent, 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 5 percent off. And now all I can say is: time to recall the recall!  

Melissa Steele-Ogus  

• 

$87,000,000,000  

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As a retired math teacher large numbers get my attention. I revived some skills and did a little arithmetic with the number of dollars the president wants to “do the right thing” in Afghanistan and Iraq.  

The figure 87 followed by nine zeros represents an increase of about 24 percent in the defense budget, at $368 billion it is larger than the combined military spending of our closest allies.  

It also represents roughly the average of the president’s latest tax cut, about $300 for every man, woman and child in the country.  

Put another way, if each person in the country sent the president 83 cents a day for a year he’d have the money he wants. Congress has already allocated the money. So in effect the Bush administration reduced taxes and now takes back a daily average of a few cents more than it gave. 

Finally, $87 billion will enable the president to hang onto the tiger’s tail in Iraq until after the next presidential inauguration.  

Marvin Chachere 

San Pablo 

• 

GET IN SYNCH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Notice how dark it is in the morning? How more difficult it is to awaken before the sun? It’s more than 4 weeks since the Autumn Equinox (Sept. 21), when daylight and nighttime are of equal duration. Now that days are shorter and nights are longer, our clocks should revert from Daylight Savings back to Standard Time. That is scheduled to happen at the end of October, but it would be better if it were done at the end of September. 

Similarly, in the Spring, we start Daylight Saving Time much later than the Spring Equinox (March 21), thereby loosing precious daylight in the late  

afternoon. 

It’s time to adjust the way we set our clocks. Let’s get better synchronized with the reality of Nature. 

Bruce Joffe 

Piedmont 

• 

WHAT’S IN A NAME 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Apropos the ongoing flap over PETA’s proposed name change for the town of Rodeo, CA a REAL rodeo is now underway at the San Francisco Cow Palace, the annual Grand National Rodeo & Livestock Show. Legalized cruelty at taxpayers’ expense, some would call it. 

A lobbyist for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the event’s sponsor, recently opined in the East Bay Express that the terrified roping calves were not “babies” but “livestock.” In the same spirit of concern, the PRCA has recently changed the name of the calf roping event to “tie-down roping,” a transparent attempt to deflect growing criticism of this brutal activity Can you spell “hypocrisy”? Words DO matter. 

Eric Mills, coordinator 

Action for Animals 

Oakland 

Last Tuesday’s Berkeley City Council meeting began with a love fest and ended with a bloody fistfight...literally. 

Council’s evening session began with a farewell reception and an extended tribute to City Manager Weldon Rucker, who is retiring from his position Nov. 1 after 32 years at City Hall. 

The night ended on a surreal note when Berkeley Police Chief Roy Meisner had to call off his testimony on local law enforcement block grants to rush downstairs to help break up a fistfight between two homeless men on the steps of City Hall. The noise of the fight was so loud that several Councilmembers and staff rushed to the windows to see the cause of the commotion. 

One of the fight participants was so badly hurt that he later had to receive EMT assistance. 

At its 5 p.m. working session, Council gave direction to the City Manager’s office to prepare reports on three proposed March, 2004 ballot measures. As formulated in the reports, the proposed $10 million special tax measure will include a cost of living adjustment, a low-income exemption and a sunset clause of seven years. 

The report on the proposed election runoff charter amendment calls for changing the date of runoffs in city elections from December to February, and would lower the percentage of votes needed to win an initial election in the city from 45 percent to 40 percent. The staff report on the proposed candidate nomination charter amendment adds filing fees to the requirements for running for office in the city. 

Council reserved the right to make changes in the proposed ballot language, which it will discuss again at its Tuesday, Nov. 4 meeting. 

Council also decided to postpone putting an Instant Runoff Voting ballot measures before the voters until at least the November, 2004 election. 

In other action at its regular 7 p.m. meeting, Council decided to postpone until Nov. 4 making a recommendation on the appeal of City Center neighborhood citizens to replace the current Berkeley Public Safety Building antennae tower with two smaller towers. 

At its tribute to Rucker, Council members were lavish in their praise of the City Manager and wished him well in his retirement years. Councilmember Maude Shirek cautioned Rucker that “there’s one thing I want you to remember—watch your diet!” Councilmember Dona Spring told him she “hopes you’ll come back and run for mayor some day.” That brought a chuckle from current Mayor Tom Bates, who said, “I’d be glad to resign and let him have it if that will bring him back.” 

In his remarks, Rucker said that “Somebody asked me one time when I was going to retire, and I said I’d do it the day after Ms. Shirek.” Smiling at the 92-year-old councilmember, who shows no sign of plans to step down from her position, Rucker added, “I just couldn’t last.” Rucker said before meeting that his immediate plans after he leaves his city position next week are to take off time and travel. “But after I get bored, I’ll get back into some things. I’m not leaving Berkeley. I’ll be here.”

Residents on a South Berkeley block victimized by a rash of car vandalisms are uniting to build a community they hope will be strong enough to stop the culprit from striking again. 

During the past year and with increasing regularity, someone has tampered with the engines of two cars, poured sugar, soda or ash into the gas tanks of six cars and slashed tires and spray-painted the exteriors of several others, said neighbors who Wednesday attended the second meeting of a fledgling neighborhood group formed primarily to address the vandalism. 

“We know who it is,” said Lisa—who declined to give her last name for publication—a neighbor who last weekend found a nail jammed into the tire of the car she’d parked outside her home on Ward Street between McGee and Grant streets. “Whenever there is a fight or argument with this guy, the next day your car is messed with.” 

Lisa said that over the past year, several neighbors mentioned that their cars had been vandalized, but most had chalked it up to random lawlessness. But then she noticed a common thread: “Every time it happens to a new person, I ask them if they had a confrontation with this person and the answer is always yes.” 

Neighbors said it’s hard to avoid conflict with the man they suspect of the crimes. He revs up his motor and races his car down Ward and Derby Streets and loses his temper easily, especially when someone parks too close to his car or truck. 

James Breunig, a lifelong resident of McGee Street, said he learned that lesson first-hand about a month ago. Driving down Ward Street, he found his path blocked temporarily by the suspect in his truck. The two exchanged cold stares as Breunig waited for his path to clear. Three days later he noticed his car’s acceleration was off and discovered a mixture of ash and oil clogging the fuel line. 

That wasn’t the end for Breunig. 

A few days later he spotted the man loitering in his driveway. When questioned, the man asked Breunig if he owned the car in the driveway, then walked away to join several other men waiting in a dark blue car parked nearby. A few days later Breunig spotted the same car circling his house and drove after it. After both cars parked, a passenger from the blue car got out, stood at Bruenig’s window and warned him that if he did anything to the man suspected in the vandalism, “I’ll come back around and firebomb your house.” 

Breunig didn’t know about the car vandalism until a family member talked to Lisa and they joined forces to rally the neighbors. “All I’m trying to do is make a difference and stop this,” he said. 

Sixteen neighbors attended Wednesday’s meeting after last week’s session—which ended on a sour note when Maria—another neighborhood organizer reluctant to allow her last name to be printed—returned home to find someone had spray-painted black on the hood and roof of her car. 

It was the second time her vehicle had been vandalized. “Last month he put Coca-Cola in my tank,” she said. The soda clogged her fuel system, resulting in a $1,700 repair bill. 

Maria responded by inviting the man to Wednesday’s meeting. Even though he didn’t attend and professed his innocence, Maria said she hoped the encounter might convince him to stop the attacks. “Usually he flies off but this time he was calm,” she said. 

Berkeley Police Officer Rob Rittenhouse offered to help neighbors organize block-by-block neighborhood watches, compile a list of complaints for a detective to study and schedule safety inspections for neighbors. But he cautioned that catching the suspect in the act would be tricky. 

“These crimes are difficult because they’re quick. Slashing a tire doesn’t leave much to go on.” 

Police statistics available at press time showed a high concentration of crime on the 1700 block of Ward Street. So far this year, residents of the block have reported 20 cases of vandalism, auto vandalism or auto burglary. 

“That definitely appears to be high,” said police spokesperson Kevin Schofield, who said that beat officers have been alerted to the high rate of property crimes on the block. 

Rittenhouse will work alongside Jim Hynes of Berkeley’s Problem Property Team to marshal the city’s resources to stop the vandalism. Earlier this month, the team successfully galvanized neighbors to help secure warrants for drug dealers operating out of a West Berkeley home. 

Some neighbors said they think the only answer is electronic surveillance. “As much as I don’t like the idea I’m considering buying a wireless camera. It’s the only way I can see catching him in the act,” Breunig said. “All we have is a bunch of circumstantial evidence. We need something to tie him to it.” 

Lisa opposes the idea. “As much as I don’t want him to do it anymore, I don’t want to bring Big Brother into the neighborhood. That doesn’t build community.” 

Breunig called on his neighbors to band together and file $5,000 small claim court lawsuits against absentee landlords on Ward Street whose properties are used to sell drugs—a tactic employed to some success in Oakland and West Berkeley—while Lisa and Maria want more neighborhood bonding events to foster a sense of community. 

Lisa also lamented that the vast majority of those in attendance were white homeowners. “I’m begging for the renters to come,” she said. 

By the meeting’s end, neighbors had formed the roots of a neighborhood watch group and agreed to draft a letter to residents in adjoining blocks, warning them not to argue with the suspect for fear of reprisal. But many remain skeptical they could stop the attacks. 

“I don’t feel real comfortable,” said Lisa. “I feel something might happen to my car tomorrow. But maybe next year we’ll be a tighter community and this won’t be a problem anymore.”

Hate Crime 

Workers at a Palestinian rights organization found swastikas scrawled on a bathroom poster Monday, in what police are investigating as a possible hate crime. 

Middle East Children’s Alliance co-founder Barbara Lubin said she walked into the bathroom Monday afternoon and noticed the defaced poster of 12-year-old Palestinian girls. 

“It’s really upsetting that someone could look at these beautiful children and see them as Nazis,” she said. 

The poster was marked over in ball point pen with about 7-8 swastikas drawn among the scribble, said BPD Spokesperson Kevin Schofield.  

Monday’s vandalism is the 25th reported hate crime in Berkeley this year, though the police department’s homicide unit—which investigates hate crimes—may ultimately change some of those classifications. Berkeley has seen a sharp increase in hate crimes since Sept. 11, rising from 10 in 2000 to 23 in 2001 to 38 in 2002.  

Police have no suspects in the case. The nonprofit, which advocates for children in Palestine and Iraq, shares its office with a graphics company also run by the founders. The company generates a lot of visitors, Lubin said noting that many people used the office bathroom Monday morning. 

Monday’s crime was the latest in a seemingly perpetual stream of low level property crimes at the West Berkeley nonprofit. In July, someone defaced a mural of Palestinian children, writing “I’m a terrorist,” in a bubble coming from the mouth of the children. Earlier this year an office window was broken and employees car locks were glued shut. 

The defacing of the poster was the first time a vandal struck inside the offices and was also the first hate crime since Alison Weir of Pro-Palestinian group If Americans Knew received a death threat warning her not to come to her office. 

Lubin remained unfazed. “I was on the school board for four years in Berkeley,” she said. “Nothing is spookier than that.” 

—Matthew Artz 

Rally Opposes University Village Teardown 

Members of the University Village Residents Association have planned a noontime rally for Monday on the steps of Sproul Hall to protest UC Berkeley’s plans to demolish 564 Albany apartments to make way for new units that will rent for twice the price of the existing apartments. 

Members of the VRA say the new rents will be higher than the monthly take-home pay of Graduate Student Instructors and campus researchers. 

Following the Sproul Hall gathering, protesters say they will march to California Hall to present their case directly to UC Chancellor Robert Berdahl.

Chief Makes Arrest 

Tuesday’s City Council meeting was disrupted when two homeless men started screaming and throwing punches outside Old City Hall. When the sounds of the dustup drifted into council chambers, Police Chief Roy Meisner left the meeting and headed outside to break up the fight. Meisner, along with other officers, separated the pair, one of whom was bleeding profusely from his face from as wound inflicted by a metal belt buckle. Police arrested the belt-wielder, Marlin Norrise, 21, for assault with a deadly weapon and sought medical attention for the victim, who was not charged. Norrise told officers the two had fought the previous week and that he was trying to sleep when the victim started bothering him. 

Purse Robbery 

A woman swung her purse at three robbers approaching her from behind, but couldn’t keep them from getting what they wanted. According to police, the woman was walking northbound on Milvia at 12:22 a.m. Tuesday when she heard loud footsteps coming from behind. She looked over her shoulder and saw three teenagers running at her, one with his fists raised. Acting on instinct, she reached back and swung her purse at them, but the strap broke and the purse landed on the sidewalk. As she fled on foot, the teenagers grabbed the purse and headed southbound on Milvia. 

Alert Neighbor 

A resident on the 2400 block of Telegraph Avenue spotted a burglar prowling his neighbor’s backyard Monday evening. When he tried to stop the burglar from stealing his neighbor’s two unlocked bikes, the burglar managed to escape. The neighbor called police, who found the suspect three blocks away with a third bike. Police arrested Lavell West, 52, of Oakland for grand theft. 

Robbery 

A robber armed with a screwdriver grabbed a purse from a woman on the 2700 block of Prince Street late Tuesday morning. The woman told police she had just parked in her driveway when she opened the car door when the thief appeared. When he threatened to stab her with the screwdriver if she didn’t hand over her purse, the woman complied. The thief then jumped into a gray coupe and sped away.

Back home—meaning, the back South version of back home—there used to be an older woman who, under certain unusual circumstances, would raise her hands, roll her eyes, and declare, “Oh, my God, it’s scooty-time again.” By “scooty-time,” I think she meant a series of odd, unexplained circumstances that were not especially remarkable or noteworthy in and of themselves, but put together in a long string, they added up to a condition of general looniness. As for me, “scooty-time” always gave me the image of a pack of old men wearing dark shades and riding scooters, running around in circles bumping smack into each other and anything else that got in the way. But maybe it’s the same thing. 

Scooty-time. 

Bill Lockyer, the Attorney General of the state of California and a member of the Democratic Party, without apparent prompting, announces a few days after the gubernatorial election that he cast a vote for Mr. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, in that election. This is very much like Red Queen justice from the Alice stories (if you haven’t read the book, you might not get the reference, so just skip over this next part if that’s the case). First came the election. Then came the announcement of support. Next will come—what?—an announcement that Mr. Schwarzenegger is free and clear of any sexual battery crimes he might have been accused of? (Has that already happened? And in advance of a trial, too.) In any event, figuring out why Mr. Lockyer favored us with these particular revelations is like trying to plot a graph from one dot on a piece of paper. You’ll just have to wait for the next move, which is sure to come. 

Five years and some five hundred violent deaths after he was hired as Chief of Police of Oakland, Richard Word releases a plan to reduce violence in our city. I don’t mean no harm to a fellow who seems like a decent-enough guy, but don’t you think this might have been one of the first things the Chief should have taken up first off? 

Alameda’s own Don Perata gets elected to the California State Senate in a special election to serve out the second half of the four-year term of Barbara Lee after Ms. Lee trades up to Congress. Mr. Perata serves two years, and then gets elected for a full four-year term. Now he wants to run for another four-year term, but finds that he is blocked by the voter-approved term limit law, which says, pretty emphatically, that he can run again only if that first two-year term he served was “less than half of the full (four-year) term.” Not to worry, says the aforementioned State Attorney General Lockyer. Even though he was elected in November of 1998, Mr. Perata did not actually first report for work in until Dec. 7, three days after all the other legislators reported. Because of this, according to Mr. Lockyer, Mr. Perata served less than half of that first four year term, and just last week, a California Superior Court Judge agreed. And so, solely because he reported late for work on his first day on the job, Mr. Perata is declared eligible to run for the State Senate past the normal term limit time. 

And you thought there were no rewards for being a slacker. 

On May 30 of this year, the state superintendent took over the Oakland Unified School District because the district’s budget was out of balance and the district was forced to take out a $100 million loan from the state. The State Superintendent hired Randolph Ward to run the Oakland schools, taking all control out of the hands of the city’s elected School Board. Some of that control is supposed to be returned to the elected School Board after certain criteria are met. In a report issued last month, the state-sanctioned school oversight group called FCMAT (the Fiscal Crisis and Management Team) spelled out those criteria, saying the Oakland schools must bring up its standards in five areas: Community Relations and Governance, Personnel Management, Pupil Achievement, Financial Management, and Facilities Management. Problem is, the person responsible for bringing up the district’s standards in those five areas is—guess who?—Randolph Ward. Maybe I’m reading this wrong, but doesn’t this seem to mean that so long as he keeps the Oakland schools below FCMAT’s standards, Mr. Ward gets to keep running Oakland’s schools? 

And, finally…  

Earlier this year, the City of Oakland reached an agreement with Camden USA builders of Texas to put up a high-rise housing project between Preservation Park and the Dellums Federal Building. As part of the deal, Camden agreed to buy the vacant property from the city for $7 million. But now that the deal has been signed, Camden says that because of the downturn in the rental market, they want a guarantee that the city will return to them half of that $7 million if Camden doesn’t make enough of a profit on the project. According to the Tribune, “[Oakland] Redevelopment Agency Director Dan Vanderpriem said [this proposed rebate is] not a subsidy because Camden is still paying the appraised market value for the land if not more, even if the city gives something back.” Is this what my Republican friends call “fuzzy math”? 

Or is it merely what that lady used to call “scooty-time”?

EDITOR’S NOTE: For residents of a smoggy black neighborhood in a small Georgia city, federal agencies’ failure to address environmental racism—documented in a scathing new government report—is felt each time they take a breath.  

GAINESVILLE, Ga.—Leave your car for a few hours in the south end of town and you may return to find it covered with fine yellow dust from nearby mills. Mae Catherine Wilmont, a lifelong resident in her 50s, says she hardly notices the odor any more, but when employers from the mostly white north side drop her off at night, they sometimes wrinkle their noses and ask, “What is that smell?”  

Thirteen of Gainesville’s 15 toxic-producing industries are located around the African American neighborhood called New Town, even closer than its schools. New Town may be the kind of community the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights had in mind when it endorsed a report Oct. 17 slamming federal agencies for failing to comply with a Clinton-era presidential order to make environmental justice part of their work and programs. Race is a bigger predictor today of exposure to environmental hazards than geography or income, say studies cited in the 200-page report, “Not in My Backyard.”  

The 1994 presidential order clearly told agencies—the EPA, HUD and Departments of Transportation and the Interior—to consider effects on minority neighborhoods when deciding where to put landfills, toxic dumps and polluting industries. They don’t, determined the commission.  

The leadership of the agencies, said Commission Chair Mary Frances Berry, “lacks commitment to ensuring that low-income communities and communities of color are treated fairly during the decision-making process” about where to put hazardous sites. The report cited evidence of disproportionate incidence of environmentally related disease in those communities, lead paint in homes, dangerous waste sites and toxic playgrounds.  

The effort to be fair in locating dangerous dumps and factories is simply a low priority, the commission says. The issue is apparently considered so marginal that not a single agency reports any comprehensive assessment of environmental justice activities—the Department of Transportation categorizes the activity mandated in the executive order as “collateral.”  

Some Bush critics say the picture reflects a current Republican administration policy that is unfriendly to the environment in general. Others warn the report will hurt business opportunities and jobs.  

Berry, an Independent, and three Democratic members voted to endorse the report; two Republicans voted no and one abstained. Another member was absent.  

What the Civil Rights Commission determined in Washington is no surprise to the women on the ground in New Town. “What they find at the federal level we find with the state and the local level,” said Faye Bush, president of the Florist Club. The women push efforts to bring attention to their neighborhood, including conducting “Toxic Tours” aimed at college students, and at African American youth “so they know they need to get involved and keep this from happening again,” says Mae Catherine Wilmont.  

In the early l990s, Wilmont joined the Florist Club when she learned she had lupus, which she attributes to a lifetime in the polluted neighborhood. When the club began in the l950s, women simply collected money for funeral wreaths for low-income neighbors, and accompanied the bereaved to funerals as a group, wearing black in winter, crisp white in summer. By the l980s, as a veteran member recalls, they began to ask, “Why are so many of us dying?”  

Slowly, methodically, the women conducted interviews and found a high number of cases of cancer, and lupus, an incurable immune system condition. They joined with researchers, had their hair clipped and sent for analysis, and found significant levels of toxins in their systems. A state health survey found unexpectedly high levels of mouth and throat cancer. “It got so we asked all kinds of questions,” said Mozetta Whelchel, whose 16-year-old daughter Moselee died of lupus in the l980s. Towers of a dog food factory loom over her house. Her son Deotris died of lupus too, shortly after high school graduation. Faye Bush, Whelchel’s sister, has lupus, and so does Jerry Castleberry across the street.  

Experts argue environmental triggers can be key in the appearance of cancers and lupus; direct links are extremely difficult to prove. “We know this is coming to us from the outside,” said Welchel, however, a view held by the neighborhood.  

Joel Armstrong, an environmental justice specialist at the Washington-based Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, knows New Town and sees “bright spots” for such struggling communities in the Commission’s recommendations to federal agencies, if they are implemented. One of the “more helpful,” he says: A recommendation that the EPA broaden its authority to establish “adverse disparate impact” on communities where state or other laws shield or limit that process.  

The Florist Club is taking cases to court, and new members are joining, including some young women with college educations.  

“If we keep on working with it somebody is gonna learn they’re wrong,” said Mozetta Whelchel. She runs a hand across her bald-looking scalp, the effect of treatment for a second brain tumor. “We got to talk about it, the same over and over.”  

The Civil Rights Commission has no enforcement mandate. Previous reports have drawn public attention to key issues. The new report is scheduled for distribution to members of Congress and President Bush.  

Pacific News Service Editor Mary Jo McConahay is a longtime journalist and a filmmaker.

EDITORS NOTE: This is the first article in an occasional series by UC Berkeley journalism students.  

For decades, children have used them to get to and from schools. People drive miles simply to walk their dogs along them. Others include them in their daily commutes, factoring in extra time to admire the beauty and peace they bring to the neighborhood. 

Seventy years ago, these 136 paths were integral to Berkeley’s daily life, allowing hill residents access to the electric streetcars running on Euclid and Spruce avenues.  

The pathways and steps are enduring evidence of the city’s commitment to the urban design principles of the Hillside Club, says historian Charles Wollenberg. 

In the 1920s, influential club members like naturalist Annie Maybeck and her husband, architect Bernard Maybeck, advocated streets that followed the contours of the hills connected by a system of pedestrian paths. 

“The city cooperated, and the pathways became public property,” says Wollenberg. 

The paths are maintained by the Departments of Public Works and Parks, Recreation and Waterfront. They are assisted by volunteers from the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association, who have mapped all the paths and re-opened many for public use. 

Pat De Vito, co-president of the Path Wanderers, moved to Berkeley in 1953, and she often used the paths as a Cal undergraduate.. She and three friends started the pedestrian advocacy organization five years ago. 

“We were four women around a kitchen table in 1998,” said De Vito.  

Those four women recognized that “these paths are a part of our historical heritage and were, at one time, walkable,” De Vito said, and they wanted to make these paths accessible to the public again.  

The issue of public access is particularly interesting to artist and writer Karen Kerm, who is working on a book about city paths across the country. Kerm views the paths as a “dialogue of public and private space” and a relationship between public and private property that is rare these days when privatization is a catchword to fix public facilities. 

“It’s land for the people that unfortunately our planners today don’t value,” said Kerm. 

However, even if planners stop valuing the idea of public access, the pathways are here, providing not only a practical way of getting to where you’re going, but meeting pedestrians’ aesthetic needs as well. 

“They’ve been around for 90 years,” said De Vito. “They are a part of our open space, a calm place to be, away from the street.” 

“And they also have some of best views and vistas of the canyons, the bay, and San Francisco when you climb to the top of them,” she added.

As Casen Maloy leisurely walks down Billie Jean Walk she is following a timetable controlled by a bus. 

Maloy, a first year undergraduate at UC Berkeley, has lived on Hilldale Avenue since April, but only recently discovered the picturesque steps that connect Hilldale to Euclid Avenue.  

Maloy, 19, with red hair and sunglasses, looked as if she was on her way to the beach. Instead, she was headed for the corner of Euclid and Marin where she had a date with the 65 University-bound bus.  

She was taking part in a ritual that, although it isn’t as old as the hills, dates back to the development of Berkeley. 

Electric trolleys ran on major streets from the late Nineteenth Century until the 1940s. Residents of the hills could walk down the paths to streets such as Euclid and Spruce to meet a trolley, much in the same way as Casen Maloy walks to the bus.  

From Euclid, Billie Jean Walk begins with a steep set of steps that lead up to a sloping path. The path rises lazily upwards for about 15 yards before connecting with another steep stairway that leads up to Hilldale. 

The walkway is covered by branches of bottlebrush trees and green bushes. The canopy provides good cover for those making the inclined walk up to Hilldale on a warm afternoon. A view from the top of the path provides a spectacular vista of the San Francisco Bay. Treasure Island and the Bay Bridge sparkle from the vantage point on a sunny day. 

Seven decades before Maloy moved to Berkeley, Billie Jean Walk was named after one of its own. Billie Jean Harris, the adopted daughter of local haberdasher Joe Harris and his wife Pearl, was born on January 26, 1931. In a San Francisco Examiner article published later that year, Harris expressed his joy of being a proud parent by working to have the path named in honor of his daughter.  

Billie Jean D’Anna née Harris, now resides in San Bruno. On occasions she has been seen in Berkeley having her picture taken by the path sign. “I always have to remind people that it’s not named for Billie Jean King!” said Mrs. D’Anna during a phone interview. 

As Maloy walks by the ivy and blackberry vines that border the path, she is unaware of the history that surrounds her. It is just a pleasant part of her commute to class. Maloy, reared in San Francisco and Marin, says, “It makes getting up and down the hill easier.”

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. 

A curmudgeon, according Merriam-Webster Online, is a crusty, ill-tempered old man, so I guess I don’t qualify as a full-fledged curmudgeon. But, except for the man part, every year as Halloween approaches I feel more like a curmudgeon than ever. Halloween used to be a nice, low-key, non-sectarian opportunity for the kids to have a little cheap fun. It wasn’t part of any religious group’s traditional calendar, so everyone could participate.  

Now the kinds of chain stores which don’t advertise in the Daily Planet are featuring electrified vinyl pumpkins, presumably to save kids the trouble of carving their own, to give them more time to watch TV. And adults have taken over the celebrating. Halloween, even in Berkeley, has turned into an opportunity for conspicuous consumption, as people who have too much time on their hands try to out-compete their neighbors with lavish public displays.  

When I was a child, we didn’t even say “trick or treat.” We said, “My name is Jimmy and I’ll take what you gimme.” I lived in St. Louis, so that could have been a regional variation from the national standard, but the idea was that the people who answered the door pretended to be fooled by our obviously homemade costumes. Some of the really old people on our block, the ones who were at least 55, made us sing a song or perform in some other way—that was the “trick,” for us in those days.  

Treats were homemade, too. The Department of Urban Legends, a sub-division of the Ministry of Truth, tells us that it’s now unsafe for kids to eat the apples, cookies, cupcakes and popcorn balls that neighbor ladies used to offer. And no, don’t tell me that children will be poisoned by anything except individually wrapped commercial candy, because psychologists and folklorists have convincingly debunked the myth of trick-or-treaters being poisoned by neighbors. For twenty years I’ve offered to pay $100 to anyone who can prove that a single such incident has actually happened, and I’ve never paid out a penny. October candy sales are way up, though. 

We wore our costumes to school, and had simple parties where bobbing for apples (who knows what that is anymore?) was the main game. Now some schools have banned Halloween parties because right-wing religious nuts think that the holiday has some connection with Satanism. Then again, in Berkeley, perhaps the parties might be banned because some local citizens think they show disrespect for Satanism. You never know, these days, who might be offended or by what. 

Grown-ups, on the other hand, now have bigger and better parties. Growing up is hard to do, and Halloween is a chance to pretend that you don’t really have to. In and of itself, it’s okay to act childish occasionally. But when the child you choose to imitate is a malicious and destructive brat, it can be unpleasant to watch, which is why some gay groups are asking that the Castro scene be toned down this year.  

Is it ever going to be possible to reclaim holidays from exploitation? There’s a trend to expand the celebration of new holidays which are off the radar of the dominant commercial culture. But I fear it’s only a matter of time before some enterprising manufacturer comes out with products for Indigenous Peoples Day like an electrified drum which you don’t have to beat, or a string of lights in the shape of kachinas to put up on your porch.  

Becky O’Malley is executive editor of the Daily Planet.

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.