A deal has been all but completed to sell the 94-year-old Shattuck Hotel and turn it into short-term student housing for international students, said city officials and hotel employees. 

The sale price has not been disclosed, but hotel manager Abhiman Kumar said the deal was in escrow, awaiting final approval from lenders to San Diego-based businessman Aki Ito. 

Ito, the owner of Vantaggio Suites, operates four short-term housing complexes—two in San Diego and two in San Francisco—that cater to international students with short stays in the U.S.  

Barbara Hillman of the Berkeley Convention and Visitors Bureau met with Ito last week and reported that he intends to turn Berkeley’s lone downtown hotel into a similar operation, though he’d consider keeping a small portion of the 175 rooms available to hotel guests. 

Ito did not return phone calls for this story. 

The change in operations could cost the city thousands in transient occupancy tax revenues it collects from the hotel. Any stay longer than 13 days doesn’t qualify for the 12 percent tax, one of the biggest moneymakers for the city, said Ted Burton of the Office of Economic Development. City officials refused to divulge tax revenues collected from the hotel, but said last year the city garnered $2.5 million from its 23 hotels. 

If finalized, the sale will jeopardize the jobs of the 25 hotel employees, Kumar said, since less upkeep will be needed for short-term housing. He said the hotel, which already houses about 60 students on a short-term basis, would remain open during the transition. 

Kumar was among several who questioned Ito’s premise that student housing could support the hotel. 

“He needs to look at the big picture,” Hillman said. “One hundred seventy-five rooms is a lot to fill with students. I don’t think he’ll find enough business to succeed that way.” 

Becky White, assistant director at Cal Rentals, said that with UC Berkeley shutting down its English Language Program this spring the demand for short term housing was likely to drop. “At the moment there is enough housing,” she said, adding that there was a market for international students arriving for short-term research assignments, but that she usually received one such case per week. 

The pending sale is the latest chapter in the saga of the star-crossed hotel.  

Jerry Sulliger, who operated the Shattuck from 1993 to 1999, said business was strong under his stewardship, but a limited lease kept him from undertaking major renovations.  

In 1999, Global Royalty Hotels, a Southern California-based chain, bought the building and business for $8.5 million, but its plans to renovate the hotel stalled immediately when the man they had pegged to develop it died in a car accident, Sulliger said. Two years later, they sold to Sanjiv Kakkar for $12.5 million. 

Kukkar has made upgrades, Hillman said, but not enough to make it viable in an increasingly competitive market joined by new hotels in Emeryville. “If a good owner invests money into it, it would do really well. But I don’t think he’s the guy. He’s going to do cosmetic work, but it’s not going to be a top of the line hotel. 

Ito received high marks from Darlene Esparza of the Office of International Services at UC San Diego, who said international students who stayed at his complex had never lodged a complaint. 

Burton said business at the Shattuck has declined recently while the Hotel Durant has held firm in a tough market. When the Shattuck was last up for sale in 2001, Burton said an independent hotel operator told him it would require a cash infusion of $15 million to bring it up to snuff. 

The Shattuck’s future as a hotel was already on shaky ground after UC Berkeley announced its intention last fall to build a 200-room hotel and convention center at Shattuck Avenue and Center Street, just one block away. 

Though Burton thought both hotels could thrive downtown, Sulliger said the new UC development would likely mean the end for the Shattuck. “The Shattuck is an older hotel that’s been remodeled,” he said. “People would go to a modern hotel if it’s next door..

FRIDAY, FEB. 6 

Tom Torlakson, California State Senator, will speak on “Regionalism: New Thinking for A New Century” at 1:30 p.m. at UC Berkeley Alumni House Toll Room. Sponsored by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) and the Political Science Department. 642-1474. 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with As’ad Abukhallil, Prof. Dept. of Politics, CSU, Stanislaus, “The Middle East After the Iraq War” 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.  

Upper San Leandro Reservoir Hike at 4 p.m. Meet at Valle Vistas Staging area. Rain cancels. For more information call Vonnie 925-376-5352 or Phyllis 525-2299. Sponsored by the Sierra Club Solo Sierrans. 

Berkeley Chess Club meets Fridays at 7:15 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Players at all levels are welcome. 652-5324. 

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 655-6169. www.bpf.org 

Overeaters Anonymous meets at 1:30 p.m. at the Northbrae Church at Solano and The Alameda. 525-5231. 

SATURDAY, FEB. 7 

Tour of Proposed UC Hotel and Conference Center Complex with UC Senior Planner & Project Manager Kevin Hufferd and organized by the Planning Commission subcommittee. Meet at 10 a.m. at the plaza in front of the Bank of America on the east side of Shattuck near Center St. In the event of inclement weather, the tour will be rescheduled. 

“A Walk Through History” The legacy of the past is on display in this stroll around Aqua- 

tic Park’s Middle Pond. Meet outside the Cabin at the park’s southern entrance at 10 a.m. Aquatic Park EGRET egret@lmi.net or 549-0818. 

Gardening for Wildlife Learn to diversify your gardens by including CA native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers that provide food, shelter, and nesting places for a variety of wildlife, including birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Coyote Hills Regional Park, 8000 Patterson Ranch Rd, Fremont. Cost is $25, pre-registration required. 231-9430. mary@aoinstitute.org 

Kids Garden Club We’ll build a cob greenhouse for the season of cold and chills. From 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park. Cost is $3. Wheelchair accessible. 525-2233. tnarea@ebparks.org 

Walk in the Eastshore State Park Learn about plans for creek daylighting and nature restoration. Meet at Sea Breeze market, University Ave. just west of the freeway at 10 a.m. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

Garden Basics, Part I with Robin North. Learn how to prepare for this spring’s planting season, and acquire some strategies for long-term success. At 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. 

Free Emergency Preparedness Class on Responding to Terrorism for anyone who lives or works in Berkeley, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Fire Department Training Center, 997 Cedar St. Register on-line at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes.html or by calling 981-5506. 

Free Emergency Preparedness Class on Earthquake Retrofitting for anyone who lives or works in Berkeley, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Building Education Centre, 812 Page St. Register on-line at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes.html or by calling 981-5506. 

Annual Ergathon from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Civic Center Park. Berkeley High School rowers will each be rowing 4000 meters on an erg, a machine that simulates rowing, for donations. All donations go toward needed equipment and scholarships so that any BHS student who wants to row can. For more information contact Jane Dulay, jldulay@comcast.net or Ergathon Coordinator, Evelyn Larsen erlarsen@earthlink.net www.berkeleyhighcrew.org  

Northbrae Community Church’s Silent Auction and Gala Dinner at 5 p.m. at 941 The Alameda. Cost is $30 for adults, $10 for children. The public is welcome. Please call 526-3805 for reservations. 

Piedmont Children’s Choir Auditions for ages 7-10, 9:30 a.m. to noon. Children with no experience are encouraged to apply. To arrange an appointment call 547-4441, ext. 2. 

An Evening of Improv Comedy with Platypus Jones at 8 p.m. at Café Eclectica, 1309 Solano Ave. Cost is $7, $5 with student i.d. 338-3899. 

The East Bay Marxist Forum Political Affairs Readers Group meets at 10 a.m. to discuss Democracy Matters: An Interview with Sam Webb, Chair of the Communist Party, USA, at 10 a.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. 595-7417. 

Introduction to the Alexander Technique, an educational method that helps you eliminate harmful habits of tension through increased awareness and control in everyday activities. From 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Berkeley YWCA, 2600 Bancroft Way. 848-6370.  

Visual Arts and Theological Studies Conference with a focus on the theological themes in three works of art: Junko Chodos’ “Requiem for an Executed Bird,” Stephen De Staebler’s “Winged Figure,” and Daniel Solomon’s Beth Israel Memorial Chapel. From 8:45 to 5:30 p.m. in the GTU Hewlett Library. Cost is $50, students $15. 849-8285. 

Rainbow Cafe ASTRAEA Fundraiser, lesbian singles dining and book tasting at 7:30 p.m. at Boadecia’s Books, 398 Colusa Ave. Cost is $30, dinner included. RSVP required. www.eastbayvoice.org/tickets 

SUNDAY, FEB. 8 

“Shorebirds of Berkeley's Wetlands” An array of over-wintering ducks has joined the resident population at Aquatic Park. Meet outside the Cabin at the park’s southern entrance at 2 p.m. Aquatic Park EGRET egret@lmi.net or 549-0818. 

Botanic Garden Foray Search for stinkpods, and learn why they should be called “stickpods” and other early bloomers in this native plant oasis. From 10 a.m. to noon at Tilden Botanical Garden, in Tilden Park. 525-2233. tnarea@ebparks.org 

Berkeley Women and the History of the University’s YWCA Dorothy Clemens, author of a book on the University’s YWCA, will discuss the role of Berkeley women, both town and gown, and the history of our own YWCA. From 2 to 4 p.m. at the Berkeley History Center, 1931 Center St. 848-0181. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc/ 

“Electronic Voting in Alameda County: Are we being fooled?” Join Green Party members and community activists discussing concerns regarding the controversial Diebold voting machines used throughout Alameda County. County Supervisor Keith Carson, District 5, will share his views and answer questions from attendees. From 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. 644-2293. countycouncil@yahoogroups.com 

A Tu B’Shvat Seder, celebrating the Jewish holiday of the trees will be held at 5:30 pm, at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. A benefit for the Jerusalem based Rabbis for Human Rights. 

Valentine’s Day Card Workshop Join us to make cards and to learn about the cultural history of Valentine’s Day, from 10 a.m. to noon at Tilden Nature Area. Materials provided. Cost is $5, non-residents $7. 525-2233. tnarea@ebparks.org 

Chocolate Tastings with Alice Medrich, author of “BitterSweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate” at 1 p.m. at The Pasta Shop, 1786 Fourth St. 528-1786. 

Workshop on Storytelling for the whole family from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Rep School of Theater, 2071 Addison St. Admission is free, please bring a children’s book as a donation to the John Muir School Library. 647-2972. 

The Berkeley Cybersalon invites everyone to a participatory discussion on the New Publishing Model with journalists/publishers from the SF Chronicle, Salon, Wired, and the UCB Graduate School of Journalism from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. $10 donation requested. www.berkeleycybersalon.com  

8th Annual Bike Film Fest from 4 to 9 p.m. at La Peña, 3015 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10-$20. Fundraiser for Bicycle Friendly Berkeley Coalition (BFBC). Free valet bike parking. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

MONDAY, FEB. 9 

“Fifty Years: Brown v. Board of Education: A Troubled Legacy” with Waldo Martin, Professor of History at UC Berkeley, at 10 a.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Death Penalty Vigil from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the North Berkeley BART Station. All are welcome to join us, please note day change due to planned execution. Sponsored by Berkeley Friends Meeting. 528-7784. 

The Women’s Cancer Resource Center Volunteer Orientation for compassionate volunteers to help support women with cancer and their loved ones. From 6 to 8 p.m. Please call Emily for more information 601-4040, ext. 109. emily@wcrc.org 

Tu Bishv’at Seder Celebrate the Jewish New Year of the Trees according to the rites of the Kabbalah. Rabbi David Seidenberg, Jewish eco-theologian, will lead this journey through the “four worlds,” at 7 p.m. in the GTU Dinner Board Room, 2400 Ridge Rd. Co-sponsored with the Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union. 649-2560. 

Fitness for 55+ A total body workout including aerobics, stretching and strengthing at 1:15 p.m. every Monday at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5170. 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

TUESDAY, FEB. 10 

Tuesday Morning Birdwalk at Tilden’s Vollmer Peak, 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Call if you need binoculars. 525-2233. 

“Willow Rescue” Descendants of the shoreline’s original willows are being returned to health through ivy removal at Aquatic Park. Meet outside the Cabin at the park’s southern entrance at 10 a.m. Aquatic Park EGRET egret@lmi.net or 549-0818. 

Mini-Rangers at Tilden Park Join us for an afternoon of nature study, conservation and rambling through woods and waters. Dress to get dirty and bring a healthy snack to share. From 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. For ages 8-12. Fee is $6 for residents, $7 for non-residents. Registration required. 525-2233. 

“Hiking the 60-Mile Diablo Grand Loop” with Seth Adams, Director of Land Programs for Save Mount Diablo at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

“A History of the Environmental Justice Movement” with Juliet Ellis, Executive Director of Urban Habitat, at 7 p.m. at the GTU Dinner Board Room, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2560. 

Writers’ Room Coach Training is offered from 7 to 9:30 p.m. for volunteers who would like to help students improve their writing and critical thinking skills. To attend please call Terry Bloomburgh at 849-4134 or email Bloomburgh@sbcglobal.net 

“Evolutionary Biology and Some Aspects of African History” with Wilmot G. James of The Human Sciences Research Council in Cape Town, South Africa, at 4 p.m. in 652 Barrows Hall. Sponsored by the Center for African Studies. 642-8338. http://ias.berkeley.edu/africa/ 

“Judaism, What is it all About?” an interactive lecture series with Rabbi Judah Dardik, at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at Beth Jacob Congregation, 3778 Park Blvd., Oakland. 482-1147. www.bethjacoboakland.org 

Handwriting Analysis with Kabbalistic Graphologist Yaakov Rosenthal, at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Co-sponsored by Chabad of the East Bay and the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center.  

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 234-4783. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 11 

“Migrations at Dusk” Black-crowned night herons leaving their willows in Aquatic Park cross paths with great egrets coming to roost above the Cabin. Meet outside the Cabin at the park’s southern entrance at 5p.m. Aquatic Park EGRET egret@lmi.net or 549-0818. 

Great Decisions 2004: “The Media and Foreign Policy” with Prof. Ben Bagdikian, UCB Grad. School of Journalism from 10 a.m. to noon at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. The Great Decisions program will meet for eight Wednesdays. Briefing booklets are available. For information and reservations call 526-2925.  

“Back in the Day” A Black History Celebration, featuring Miles Perkins, leader of the “Mingus Amungus Jazz Band,” and the Fantastic Steppers Tap Group, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5170. 

“Which Candidate?” The Berkeley Gray Panthers of the East Bay is sponsoring a debate to help senior citizens decide which candidate they might support in the March 2 democratic primary, at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 548-9696. 

Police Review Commission Community Forum on the proposed Berkeley Police Department (BPD) canine program. BPD would like to implement a canine unit using “find and bark” dogs. The dogs would be used primarily to increase officer safety in searching for violent suspects and to increase efficiency in finding missing persons. At 7 p.m. at the West Berkeley Senior Center.  

Fun with Acting class meets at 11 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Free, all are welcome. 985-0373. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Station, corner of Shattuck and Center. 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. 524-3034. 

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

THURSDAY, FEB. 12 

“Bayshore Cleaning” Bring renewed life to tidal plants by helping remove storm debris from the bay shoreline in Aquatic Park. Meet outside the Cabin at the park’s southern entrance at 10 a.m. egret@lmi.net or 549-0818. 

Introduction To Sustainable Landscape Design Create an environmentally friendly oasis in your yard using the principles of sustainability. We will cover the fundamentals of design, installation and maintenance of a sustainable landscape. Use of native plants, recycled materials, water conserving techniques and pest control will be discussed. From 7 to 10 p.m. at the Building Education Center, 812 Page St. Cost is $35. To register, call 525-7610. 

“Children Soldiers” with Sarah Williams, Rotary Peace Scholar, at 7:30 p.m. at International House, Piedmont Ave. at Bancroft. 642-9460.  

East Bay Mac User Group Meet Other Mac users F2F. Q & A session for all levels, software demos, tips, presentations and give-aways! Meets from 6 to 9 p.m. at Expression Center for New Media, 6601 Shellmound St. www.expression.edu 

ONGOING 

Vocal Jazz Workshops on Saturdays for teenagers and adults, beginners and intermediate, begin Feb. 7 and run to April 10, at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. Cost is $122 for Albany residents, $132 for others. 524-9283. 

Voice Technique Classes for Adults begin Feb. 11. Cost is $290 for 8 wks. Ongoing classes for children and teens. Verna Winter Studio, 1312 Bonita Ave. 524-1601. 

Valentine Day Weddings The Alameda County Clerk-Recorder’s Office is pleased to announce that the office will be open Valentine’s Day, Sat., Feb. 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to issue marriage licenses and perform wedding ceremonies. The office is located at 1106 Madison Street, in Oakland. The fee for a marriage license is $79, which includes one certified copy. The fee for a ceremony is $50 (cash or checks accepted). Interested parties should make an appointment. 272-6362.  

CITY MEETINGS 

Public Housing Resident Advisory Board meets on Mon. Feb. 9 at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Housing Authority, 1901 Fairview St. Angellique DeCoud. 981-5475. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/publichousing 

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon. Feb. 9, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St., Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/agenda-committee 

City Council meets Tues., Feb. 10. , at 7 p.m., with a Special Meeting at 5 p.m. in City Council Chambers, Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Commission on Disability meets Wed., Feb. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Paul Church, 981-6342. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/disability 

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Feb. 11, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/homeless 

Library Board of Trustees meets Wed., Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. at 2090 Kittredge. Jackie Y. Griffin, 981-6195. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/library  

Planning Commission meets Wed., Feb. 11, 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, Feb. 11, at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Barbara Attard, 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/policereview 

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Feb. 11, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. Cliff Marchetti. 644-6376 ext. 224. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/waterfront 

Commission on Early Childhood Education meets Thurs., Feb. 12, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Marianne Graham, 981-5416. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/earlychildhoodeducation  

Community Health Commission meets Thurs, Feb. 12, at 6:45 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. William Rogers, 981-5344. www.ci.ber 

keley.ca.us/commissions/health 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Feb. 12, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/zoning 

CORRECTION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I want to commend the Daily Planet for publishing Michael Rossman’s controversial article on Clark Kerr. In a letter which also speaks highly of Rossman’s piece, Gilbert Bendix is in error about the emasculation of the Enola Gay exhibition at the Smithsonian. This inexcusable act was performed by I. Michael Heyman, who, when he was chancellor of UCB attempted to keep the Free Speech Movement marker from being put in place in Sproul Plaza. In that attempt to stifle free speech Heyman was fortunately unsuccessful. 

Peter Selz 

• 

MEA CULPA 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Sherry Smith is right, and I was wrong. Indeed, I confused two former UCB chancellors. Clark Kerr had no connection with the Smithsonian. My apologies to all concerned. 

Gilbert Bendix 

• 

UNIVERSITY AVENUE 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

The city council is to be commended for initiating the long overdue process for adopting the zoning standards of the University Avenue Strategic Plan at their Jan. 27 meeting. 

The first meetings that eventuated in the plan were held more than 10 years ago, in the fall of 1993. The plan itself was approved by the council three years later. In those intervening three years, citizens, commissioners, city staff, and skilled consultants exercised an immense amount of care and effort to ensure that the plan represented the best, collaborative thinking of which our community was capable.  

Why is the city still struggling almost 10 years later with the problems that the plan addressed? In part, it is because the zoning standards developed in the plan have amazingly, after all this time, never been officially adopted. Passage of the plan raised expectations. By failing to enact the plan’s zoning standards, the city has guaranteed the perpetual dashing of those expectations and encouraged hopelessness and cynicism about planning in general as well as needless antagonisms between residents and developers.  

Residents deserve the protections and amenities they worked so hard to secure in the plan. Developers deserve the certainties that clear zoning standards offer and the confidence that they can proceed with their projects without facing interminable antagonism from shocked and apprehensive neighbors. 

The longer we delay enacting the fundamental recommendations of the plan, the more we exacerbate those negative features of the street identified in the plan and lose opportunities to develop its strengths, as envisioned by the plan. I hope others will let the city council know you appreciate their finally taking action to get those standards in the zoning ordinance. 

Rob Browning 

• 

YMCA RESPONSE 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Mark Johnson asked “Did it ever occur to the YMCA that its patrons could get a little exercise on their way to exercise at the gym by riding their bicycles there?” (Letters, Daily Planet, Jan. 13-15). 

Yes, Mark, it did. And many Y patrons do ride their bikes to the Y. 

But apparently it did not occur to you that not all of our “patrons” come to the YMCA “to exercise at the gym”. The Y has many programs not directed to exercise—Y-scholars, arts programs, family swims for pleasure, Head Start, summer camp, day care, etc. 

Moreover, some of our “patrons” are unable to ride bicycles to the Y, because of either age, health, disability, or circumstances (for example, we have many parents who bring very young children or a number of children to the YMCA, the transportation of which by bicycle would be impossible or impractical at best). We also have patrons who live in areas which would make biking impractical because of distance, hills, weather, or personal security (for example, woman at night in some areas). 

I hope that answers your question, and hopefully you will take the time to learn more about the YMCA, its programs, and its patrons. 

David M. Weitzman 

YMCA Board Member 

• 

AC TRANSIT PLAN 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

The City of Berkeley has always discouraged cars on residential streets, through the use of frequent stop signs, traffic barriers, etc. If AC Transit’s plan is implemented, where are cars supposed to go? Back on residential streets? Telegraph, Shattuck, Sacramento, and San Pablo are supposed to be the cross-town routes. 

In the future we may have noisy, diesel-spewing buses take over two of these streets. Why? Because AC transit wants more riders and figures faster buses would do it. Sorry, that won’t work. People drive their cars because cars go to places where buses don’t go. Parents prefer cars and vans because of all the impedimenta they carry around, such as car seats and sports equipment, not to mention car-pooling of kids to school. So there will be millions of dollars wasted, the streets will look like hell, everyone will be angry, and AC Transit will scratch its head and wonder what went wrong. 

I’m old enough to remember the “beautification of Shattuck Avenue.” For months (years?) Shattuck was a mess when BART was being installed. But that was OK, because we knew we would have a great transit system, and it would be underground.  

AC Transit should go back to the drawing board. 

Jean Shirley Auka 

• 

FAILING GRADE 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

I am writing to comment on, “Did Real Estate Drive Takeover of Schools?” (Daily Planet, Jan. 30-Feb. 2) by J. Douglas Allen-Taylor. The article implies that Sheila Jordan, Alameda County Schools Superintendent, is involved in some “plan” to put Oakland schools on the path to real estate development. I have two children in Berkeley schools and have worked closely with Sheila Jordan over the past four years on education projects. I know Sheila Jordan to be a dedicated leader in the education community. I am impressed with the many “plans” coming out of the Alameda County office of Education (ACOE). Did you do your homework before writing your article? I give your article an “F.” I sincerely hope you do better next time.  

Kim Boston 

• 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

I just returned from a short trip to New York City where, among other things, I spent some time at the office of the Board of Standards and Appeals, which is the NYC version of ZAB. We are partners with our daughter in a small apartment in Queens which overlooks a vacant lot where a developer wants to put up a monster building. The BSA staff person returned my call and invited me to look at the file which was provided by very courteous counter staff, who then provided me, unrequested, with a staff phone list in case I have follow up questions. Truly amazing.  

Christopher Adams 

• 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

How interesting it is that our hyper-violent and erotically-oriented corporate culture of entertainment blithely puts on an uncensored, national spectacle of crotch-grabbing, naked pomposity, yet succumbs to tremendous pressure on a film maker (Mel Gibson) to delete a biblical scene from one of the most anticipated and perhaps relevant motion pictures of our time. 

Marc Winokur 

Oakland 

• 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

In her letter to the Daily Planet (Jan. 30-Feb. 2 edition), Carolyn La Fontaine asks for an explanation of the awful parking situation around Andronico’s on Solano Avenue. Here it is.  

It seems that at the behest of Andronico’s, the Solano Avenue Association and Councilmember Mim Hawley, the city’s office of transportation installed city signs converting the seven parking spaces in front of the Solano side of the store into a loading zone from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday so that the area could be used by trucks making deliveries to the market.  

These signs are illegal. They directly violate the terms of Andronico’s use permit, which stipulate that except for meat and poultry, which may be hand-carried into Andronico’s Fresno entrance, all deliveries must occur on the store’s premises.  

Also illegal is the sign declaring the parking space on Fresno just south of Solano a loading zone 7-10 a.m. every day except Sunday, as well as the red cones and signs in the parking spaces on Colusa just south of Solano declaring the area a loading zone in the morning.  

The situation on Colusa is particularly distressing. Even if it were legal for delivery trucks to park on Colusa north of the egress from the market’s parking lot, it would still be dangerous. Drivers turning out of the parking lot cannot see southbound traffic coming onto Colusa.  

When Andronico’s expanded in the early ‘80s, it accepted the terms of its use permit; it has not honored them. Instead, it has taken over the parking on the three streets that surround its site, while using its on-site delivery bays for storage. Worse yet, instead of getting Andronico’s to comply with the terms of its permit, the city is helping the store to evade them.  

Neighbors have complained before to the city before about the noise, the inconvenience and the parking and traffic issues raised by Andronico’s delivery trucks, to no effect. Nor have current objections gotten any response. Last Friday, an hour before reading Ms. La Fontaine’s letter, I delivered a letter from the board of the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association (TONA) to City of Berkeley Transportation Director Peter Hillier asking him to remedy the situation by removing the illegal signs and working with other city officials to ensure that deliveries on Colusa stop and those on Fresno be curtailed.  

Since then, I have not heard from Mr. Hillier. The signs and the cones remain, and the delivery trucks continue to park on the street instead of on Andronico’s property. Meanwhile, the word from Councilmember Hawley and her staff is that the store is going to seek a revision in its use permit that will allow the on-street parking of delivery trucks. Councilmember Hawley supports such an effort.  

Whether or not the market does pursue a revision, in the meantime its current use permit is in effect. The TONA Board will continue to press the city to get Andronico’s to play by the rules.  

Zelda Bronstein, President  

Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association  

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet:  

The latest piece of the Franklin Elementary School/Berkeley Adult School scam concerns a so-called “community garden” in Linda Maio’s e-mails to the e-mail list. Anything to take the focus off kids! It is essential to not only have a kid-friendly space, but to have a kid-oriented space. I don’t have kids and I never will, but it is morally repugnant to trash kids’ space. Period. The kids need a totland! 

Community gardens are locked. I considered joining the Peralta garden a while back and I received a letter from Karl Lynn saying I could join the homeowners group and pay money for access. Community gardens to get City of Berkeley money, but perish the though that a hungry person might try to eat the vegetables. 

Lingo is everything in this battle! 

Alice Jorgensen 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

In reading the redundant untruths about Israel by the likes of ISM’er Jim Harris and the so-called Jewish Voice for Peace, one asks why one should respond to such screed? Alas, the answer lies in Himmler’s infamous instructions to Hitler’s minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels: “If you repeat the same lies enough, the people will come to believe them.” 

Harris and JVP member Hauer defend our city council’s canonization of ISM’er Rachel Corrie and the council’s refusal to support the investigation of those scores of American Jews murdered by Palestinian terrorists. Neither Harris, Hauer nor the council were able to acknowledge the differences between the death of Corrie and the numerous Jews. The latter were in Israel largely to visit family, friends or tour their holy shrines. They were killed simply because they were Jews. And any investigation would surely underscore that their murders were either ordered or supported by the leadership of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the PLA’s Al Aqsa Brigade, and/or Yassir Arafat himself. 

Corrie, herself older than a good number of the Palestinian homicide bombers and capable for her own decisions, voluntarily joined International Sanctuary Movement—an organization which embraces Palestinian terrorists. Indeed, the term “”sanctuary”” is most appropriate as that organization both hid a leader of Islamic Jihad and played host to two Pakistanis who shortly thereafter became homicide bombers.  

Corrie died when she was trying to stop an Israeli bulldozer from destroying what later was found to be tunnels through which Palestinian terrorists imported arms from Egypt. As the sole ISM eyewitness told Reuters and Mother Jones Magazine, Corrie’s death was most likely an “accident.”  

Unlike the innocent Americans killed by Palestinian terrorists, Corrie was a member of an organization which aided and abetted said terrorists. Hence, she and her fellow ISM’ers could be termed “war criminals” as accessories to murder. It’s rather difficult to mourn for members of such an odious organization. 

If giving sanctuary to terrorists makes ISM well named, surely “Jewish Voice for Peace” is a misnomer in the vein of the American bomber the Reagan administration dubbed “The Peacekeeper.” JVP members, like their hero Noam Chomsky, are “Jewish” only by accident of biology. Chomsky forfeited any ties with his heritage by writing an introduction to a book by crackpot Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson. The JVP forfeit any connective tissue with their heritage by supporting Palestinian terrorists as freedom fighters and demanding a single party state encompassing Israel and the Palestinian territories, wherein Palestinians would have a ruling majority. 

Concerning the majority the Berkeley City Council who refused to consider a resolution calling for an investigation of American Jewish deaths in Israel, I would say, “Stop being a slave to the distortions of the pro-Palestinian ideologues of the so-called Peace and Justice Commission and try getting your news on the issue from sources other than the misinformation regularly swilling from KPFA.” 

Consistent lies about Israel are only the latest incarnation of one of mankind’s oldest form of bigotry, anti-Semitism. While distortions concerning 

Israel are not necessarily anti-Semitic, more often than not that is precisely what they are. 

Dan Spitzer 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Dear Mayor Tom Bates: 

I’d just like to thank you for your sincere efforts on behalf of Berkeley’s homeless. I think in your own way, you’ve made a unique and powerful statement on the subject of urban homelessness. And I hope some of these other mayors take note. 

As you’re probably well aware, the homeless problem is a national—and even international—problem in its scope and origin. And there’s probably not a lot that can be done on the local level, aside from putting Band-Aid solutions on the problem after the fact. But certainly the town of Berkeley can be proud of the Herculean effort it has made in that regard (a point I regularly make to some of these local bums who complain to me that Berkeley isn’t providing enough service to suit them. Compared to what?) 

Again, much thanks for your time, effort and good will. 

Ace Backwords 

• 

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Dear Mayor Bates: 

City staff paycuts and mandatory time off (MTO) is a Bushy neo-con, neo-liberal concession and the wrong thing to do in an economic crisis. Are you going to be supporting big-box stores and labor abuse at Safeway and Albertson’s next? The neoliberals expect you to roll over as they gain more ground strategically in the US. Fortunately, history has shown that neo-liberal policies nearly always fail: remember Chile and Argentina? Well paid city staff help fuel a healthy local economy. Your recommended paycuts and even the threat of paycuts by businesses that happily follow your bad example, will help to ruin our local economy. No paycuts or labor rule manipulations for city staff.  

There’s plenty of money in this community. Plenty of value that can be taxed to pay for necessary city services if both the federal and state governments are not providing the revenues needed for necessary city services. It’s a lie that there are more efficiencies to be made in this city. Most people in civil service social service jobs are working an equivalent of three jobs at once. This must end. The rich of Berkeley aren’t going anywhere. You and the Berkeley City Council have to tax the wealthy residents—both corporate and individual. Close all loopholes. You have to tax property transfers above a certain amount and come up with other direct ways of raising revenue. If balkers move to Texas or the wasteland of middle Amerika, plenty of high quality others will come to replace them. A stand needs to be taken somewhere about the right thing to do to maintain a civilized society that adequately provides an infrastructure for an evolving civilized city. This city leadership, as any city being victimized by poor-mouthing state and federal leadership, must take the reigns itself and adequately, pro-actively and compassionately provide for the well being and necessary public services for it’s remaining middle class and needy citizens. Unlike neo-liberal policies, these policies nearly always produce a higher quality of life for everyone. 

Mayor, please work hard to open up business planning to larger non-special interest public oversight. Firmly ban package stores, soulless department stores and big boxes. Employ the creativity of the residents of this city to enrich the local economy. I would think that we could effect a socioeconomic balance here in Berkeley. You’ve done better in the past. Do far better now for the people you are charged to help. We don’t need a turncoat neo-liberal like Jerry Brown in the City of Berkeley. We need Tom Bates, who over his long tenure brought much needed social improvements in over 200 pieces of legislation that significantly helped the poor and middle class to have a higher quality of life, even in the face of early neo-liberalism under Reagan as California governor. 

Frank Snapp 

Oakland 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet:  

John Kenyon somehow became aware of five buildings he calls “signs of architectural life,” in the Berkeley flatlands, and told us about them (Daily Planet, Jan. 27-29), which is fine with me, but he prefaces and concludes his story by dismissing over half of Berkeley—everything west of MLK!—with generalizations both factually inaccurate and offensive to the large numbers of your readers who live here: 

“…an uneventful mix of modest bungalows ranging from ‘Sub Craftsman’ to ‘Plebian Ranch,’ made bearable here and there by surviving old trees…(a) visual limbo… Only a dedicated urban geographer would wish to be exposed to San Pablo Avenue or any stretch of the bland streets on either side.” 

As a south Berkeley resident who walks all over town for pleasure, I can show you dozens of “signs of architectural life,” in every part of South Berkeley and West Berkeley, if that means interesting, quirky remodels and home construction projects such as those shown in the article. Many are on main streets where Mr. Kenyon must have passed them. Perhaps none of them are to his taste, but it’s just as likely that, driving to somewhere else, he didn’t even see them.  

Kenyon’s careless remarks play to the ignorance and snobbism of some hill dwellers and out-of-towners. They would not deserve notice if so many of those people didn’t vote on matters affecting us, and drive daily on our main streets, often at 40 mph, turning them into daunting obstacles for walkers and bicyclists. Contempt for the flatlands environment implies that restrictions on traffic or development aren’t needed here, since we have little of value to be lost.  

For the record: uncontrolled traffic through the flatlands is a major problem that stops residents from walking or biking, thus making all of Berkeley’s traffic and parking worse. Please remember that people live here and slow down! 

Ann Sieck 

FRIDAY, FEB. 6 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Frank Garvey “Genetically Modified Surrealism” Reception for the artist from 5 to 7 p.m. at Epic Arts Gallery, 1923 Ashby Ave. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Hilda Robinson “The Art of Living Black,” oil pastels, opens at the Women’s Cancer Resource Center, 5741 Telegraph Ave. 601-4040, ext. 111. www.wcrc.org 

THEATER 

Actor’s Ensemble of Berkeley, “Helen of Troy (Revised),” written by Wolfgang Hilesheimer, translated and directed by David Fenerty at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck. Fri. and Sat. through Feb. 21. Admission is $10. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Albany High School, “Grease” at 8 p.m. at Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd. Also on Sat. at 1 and 8 p.m. and Sun. at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5-$10, 558-2575. 

Aurora Theatre, “Man of Destiny” by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Barbara Oliver at 8 p.m. Through March 7. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley Repertory Theater, “Yellowman” by Dael Orlandersmith, directed by Les Waters, 2025 Addison St. Through March 7. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Impact Theater, “Say You Love Satan” opens at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid. Through March 13. 464-4468. www.impacttheater.com 

Independent Theater Projects, “Three One-Acts”, performed and produced by Berkeley High students, at 8 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Tickets are $4-$8 at the door. gcrane0601@hotmail.com 

Bill Santiago’s “Spanglish 101” at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

FILM 

Workshop with Robert Beavers at 3 p.m. and Anthony Mann: “The Great Flamarion” at 7:30 p.m. and “Strange Impersonation” at 9:10 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Merce Cunningham Dance Company at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $26-$46, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Mozart Birthday Celebration with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $20. 415-392-4400. www.sfchamberorchestra.org 

Ives Quartet, “Les Vendredis” chamber works by Russian composers, at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $10-$18. 415-883-0727. 

Christy Dana Quartet at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. 524-1124. 

Viviane e Prefixo de Verão, from Brazil, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Route 111, Thriving Ivory, Polly’s Orchid at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $6. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Pete Best Experience, Cover Girls at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Triple Play, jazz trio, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Ira Marlowe at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $10-$15. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Denise Perrier at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Quetzal at 9:30 p.m. benefit for Urban Promise Academy, at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

Steve Seskin & Allen Shamb- 

kin at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50 advance, $18.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Katy Jay Band at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Good Clean Fun, Time for Living, Kill the Messenger, Case of Emergency, at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Flowtilla at 9 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Teed Rockwell, Hindustani classical music at 8 p.m. at Bansuri’s Spring Gallery, 3929 Piedmont Ave. Oakland. 594-0754. www.bansuri.net 

Aleph Null, home-grown neo-Persion art music, at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$10, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

SATURDAY, FEB. 7 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Derique the clown at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $3-$4. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

“Wild About Books” storytime with the Brian Waite Band, at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

THEATER 

“Ben Franklin: Unplugged” with Josh Kornbluth in a comic, autobiographocal monologue at 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Tickets are $15-$22 in advance, $25 at the door. 848-0237. 

Independent Theater Projects, “Three One-Acts”, performed and produced by Berkeley High students, at 8 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., between Spruce and Euclid. Tickets are $4-$8 at the door. gcrane0601@hotmail.com 

FILM 

Victor Sjostrom: “His Grace’s Will” at 7 p.m. and “The Monastery of Sendomir” at 8:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with Forrest Gander and Elizabeth Robinson at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

Poetry Reading and Contest Winners Celebration from 3 to 5 p.m. with the Bay Area Poets Coalition at the South Branch Library, 1901 Russell St. 527-9905. poetalk@aol.com. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella at 8 p.m. in Wheeler Auditorium at UC Berkeley. Competing groups are California Golden Overtones, Cal Jazz Choir, University of Oregon Divisi, Stanford Harmonics, and others. Tickets are $7-$10. www.varsityvocals.com  

Merce Cunningham Dance Company at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $26-$46, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Flauti Diversi, “The Italians Are Coming,” baroque music in the Italian style from 18th century London at 8 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany. Tickets are $15-$18. 527-9840.  

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra with Melvyn Tan, fortepiano at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $29-$60. 415-392-4400 www.philharmonia.org  

Trinity Chamber Concerts Joyce Todd McBride, contralto, Dawn Kooyumjian, pianist, performing Haydn’s “Arianna a Naxos,” Brahms Lieder, and works for solo piano at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

Marina Lavalle and Lalo Izquierdo perform Afro-Peruvian music at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Faye Carroll, music from then to now, at 8 p.m. at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $10-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Bob Marley Birthday Celebration with Groundation at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

The Original Intentions at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$10, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

The Earl White Band, traditional old-time music at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50 advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freight- 

andsalvage.org 

The Lovemakers, Desoto Reds at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

The Servants, Trouble Horse, Jerry Hannon at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Matt Renzi, Peter Barshay and Eddie Marshall at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Tree Leyburn and guests at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

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

www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Braziu, samba, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $12. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

Kylesa, Brainoil, Iron Lung, Desolation, at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Bryan Girard Trio at 9 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Irina Rivkin and Making Waves CD fundraiser at Rose Street House of Music. Donation $5-$20. For information and location call 594-4000 ext. 687. www.rosestreetmusic.com 

Wataka Ensemble, Afro-Vene- 

zuelan dance and music at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation of $8-$15 suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.org 

SUNDAY, FEB. 8 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Matrix 210: Simryn Gill “Standing Still” Photographs exploring the idea of time standing still opens at the Berkeley Art Museum and runs through April 4. 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Animal Art at the Oakland Animal Shelter, by Jennifer Brault, Julia Kay and Debbie Sawin. Reception from 1 to 3 p.m. at 1101 29th Ave. 535-5605. www.oklandanimalservices.org 

FILM 

Robert Beavers “My Hand Outstretched” Program 3 at 3 p.m. and Victor Sjostrom: “Karin, Daughter of Ingmar” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“The Purple Heart” at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $2. 848-0237. 

8th Annual Bike Film Fest, a fundraiser for Bicycle Friendly Berkeley Coalition from 4 to 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$20 sliding scale. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with David Daniel and Jane Mead at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

“The True Story of Hansel and Gretel: A Novel of War and Survival” with author Louise Murphy, at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Co-Sponsored by Café Europa and Black Oak Books. 848-0237, ext. 112.  

Berkeley Women and the History of the University’s YWCA with author Dorothy Clemens at 2 p.m. at Berkeley History Center, 1931 Center St. 848-0181. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc 

“Jewish and African-American Artists of the Thirties: A Chronicle of Shared Experience” with cultural and art historian Bram Dijkstra at 2 p.m. at Judah L. Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. 549-6950. www.magnes.org 

Read Shakespeare Aloud with the Shakespeare Reading Club. No experience necessary. For information and location please call Clifford Schwartz 306-0206. cswilford@lycos.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Live Oak Concert “Le Gôut Italien,” music of Vivaldi and others at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. Cost is $9-$10. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Hilary Hahn, violin and Natalie Zhu, piano, at 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32-$56, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Organ Recital with Malcolm Rudland at 6:10 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. Donations appreciated. 845-0888. 

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra with Melvyn Tan, fortepiano, at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $29-$60. 415-392-4400. www.philharmonia.org  

Community Women’s Orchestra “Other Worlds” a family concert with works by Beethoven, Mozart, Holst and Shore at 4 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church, 5201 Park Blvd., Piedmont. $5 donation. 530-4213. 

“Oaktown Blue” an afternoon of song, dance, drama, and spoken word in salute to West Oakland in the ‘20s at 2 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

The Rebeca Mauleon Quartet at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $20. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com  

Ta Ke Ti Na Workshop with Zorina Wolf from 3 to 6 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $35. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble, annual fundraiser, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

024c and CMAU, experimental improvisors at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $8-$15 suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.org 

TUESDAY, FEB. 10 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

UC Berkeley Annual Faculty Art Exhibition, reception from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Worth Ryder Gallery, 116 Kroeber Hall, UC Campus. Exhibition runs to March 5. 642-2582. 

FILM 

Alternative Visions: “Resist the Present: Yvonne Rainer and Lee Anne Schmidt” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Helen Knode and James Ellroy present Knode’s debut novel, “The Ticket Out,” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Writers’ Workshop with Rhys Bowen discussing “How to Write a Sucessful Mystery Series” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-3635. 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Midnite performs reggae at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $17 in advance, $20 at the door. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Dayna Stephens House Jam at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $5. 649-8744.  

www.thejazzhouse.com 

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

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of up-and-coming ensembles from Berkeley Jazz- 

school at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Warsaw Poland Brothers, Monkey and The Connected at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 11 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

California College of the Arts Alumni Exhibition “Advance to Go” Reception 6 to 8 p.m. at 5212 Broadway, Oakland. Exhibition runs to March 6. 594-3712. 

FILM 

Film 50: “The Phantom Chariot” at 3 p.m. and Video: They Might be Giants: “Bill Viola” at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Madeline Albright talks about “Madame Secretary” at 12:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Gary Snyder reads from “Riprap & Cold Mountain Poems” and “Practiceof the Wild” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 

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

“The Israelis: Ordinary People in an Extraordinary Land” with author Donna Rosenthal at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0327, ext. 112. 

Stephen Altschuler introduces us to “Hidden Walks in the East Bay and Marin: Pathways, Yesterdays and Essays” at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave at Rose. 843-3533. 

Peter Manseau and Jeff Sharlet read from “Killing the Buddha: A Heretic’s Bible” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

4th Annual Erotic Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik, featuring Aya de León and Roger Bonair-Agard, at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10, $7 with student i.d. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Ben Jones reads from his Civil War novel, “The Rope Eater” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert Young Musicians Program at International House, Piedmont Ave. at Bancroft. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Gypsy Spirit, “Journey of the Roma” at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$38, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

“Back in the Day” A Black History Celebration, featuring Miles Perkins, leader of the “Mingus Amungus Jazz Band,” and the Fantastic Steppers Tap Group, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. 981-5170. 

Ragas and Talas, classical Indian music open jam at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $5. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Midnite performs reggae at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $17 in advance, $20 at the door. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

John Reischman and The Jaybirds, bluegrass and new grass at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Nicole and the Sisters in Soul at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

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

Patrick Greene Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Quiksand, Smith Point and Down Boy at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $4.  

848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

When word broke last week that the city’s largest free dinner, the Quarter Meal, will be reducing service and possibly closing, many wondered what further hits await Berkeley food programs already facing cuts in both city and private sector funding. 

Rising costs forced the cuts in the Quarter Meal, Berkeley’s oldest dinner service for low income and homeless residents. Run by the Berkeley Food and Housing Project (BFHP), the dinner—which usually operates five days a week—will cut back to three on March 1 and will close by June if financial problems aren’t resolved. 

As with other similar programs in Berkeley, the Quarter Meal’s troubles didn’t stem solely from city budget cuts. The program took in as much from the city this year as last, and private donations were up 24 percent.  

What threatens to sink the program are skyrocketing costs in health care premiums and workers compensation on top of mandatory compliance with the city’s living wage ordinance—which raised minimum the wage for city employees and anyone working on a city contract from $9.75 to $10.76 an hour to reflect inflation.  

“We could have handled any one of those problems on their own,” said Marci Jordan, BFHP executive director. Combined, however, the costs were too much. 

Jordan said the decision to cut the Quarter Meal came after months of eyeing the budget. The BFHP knew the new fiscal year would bring hardship, but staffers couldn’t predict just how badly. The decision to eliminate the meal service came only after cuts in other programs. BFHP employees haven’t had a raise in two years, vision plans were cut, medical plans with lower premiums were chosen and some positions were eliminated at other facilities run by the BFHP. 

Jordan said other projects were spared because cuts there would push people from shelters and transition programs back onto the streets. 

“It came to a choice of food or shelter,” she said. 

BFHP also operates the North County Women’s Center (which includes a women’s daytime drop-in center and a shelter), the men’s shelter at the Berkeley Veteran’s building, the Russell Street residence for the mentally disabled homeless, and the multi-service center (MSC)—a referral and intensive case management service. 

The Quarter Meal currently operates on a $207,012 budget, including $60,000 from the city. BFHP’s total budget is a little over $2 million. With the increase in service costs for the 45-50 BFHP employees, they now face a $110,000 hole they cannot fill. 

Jordan doesn’t blame the city, and she plans to ask them for more money—because without more money from the city and other donors, BFHP will soon have to make other cuts.  

“If [costs] continue to rise, we’re going to have to close programs that will put people on the street,” Jordan said. 

Jane Micallef, a City of Berkeley community services specialist, said city Housing Department Director Steve Barton recently surveyed all the programs, asking them to review their current budget problems and try to predict others they could face in the future. 

Like Jordan, Micaleff fears that the just-announced cuts are only the beginning. “I think this city has demonstrated enormous commitment to homelessness problems,” he said, “but there is only so much a city the size of Berkeley can do.” 

Unfortunately, say advocates, BFHP and Quarter Meal aren’t the only programs facing budgetary woes. Other food programs in Berkeley are also scrambling with city and private funding cutbacks. 

Jackie DeBose, volunteer director at New Light—a food service and delivery program that serves food to elderly people primarily in south and west Berkeley—said her service is getting by on a shoestring after the city cut their funds by $10,000. 

Founded by Maudelle Shirek, now a city councilmember, New Light opened three decades ago to provide healthier alternatives for the home-bound elderly. Their delivery service provides lunches on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, serving over 10,000 people a year, and feeds another 5,000 yearly at their California Street facility.  

New Light’s private donations fell this year, with a $25,000 reduction in last year’s $150,000 budget—including the loss of $15,000 from the San Francisco Foundation—forcing the organization to consolidate jobs and cut staff vacation pay. 

DeBose said the budget is so tight there isn’t money to organize a fundraiser or send out a mailing, and she’s heard that further cuts in city funding are imminent. 

“Another cut would be devastating to us,” she said. “There is a good chance that we would have to shut down.” 

DeBose said she’s frustrated with the city, pointing to other programs—including the proposed police K-9 unit—as examples of what she calls mismanagement.  

“I love dogs, but if you have on the one hand seniors who need to be fed, [and on the other, dogs], do you feed the seniors or the dogs?” 

She said the thought of the program closing and seniors lapsing back into unhealthy eating habits is painful. “We’re the bottom, we’re the net, and when you put a hole in the net, people fall through,” she said. 

Other local programs facing cutbacks include the county-wide Project Open Hand, the Women’s Day-Time Drop-In Center in Berkeley, and several others. 

Brian Devine, East Bay program manager for Open Hand (which also runs a larger program in San Francisco), said the past two or three years have been tough on the organization which delivers meals to people with terminal diseases. 

Most of Open Hand’s funds comes from corporate donors who have generally slashed grants in response to the poor economy. Devine said that because most corporations keep their donation money in the stock market, as the market slumped, so did contributions. 

While healthcare and workers comp costs have continued to escalate and Open Hand pays more for its meals because of the costlier specialty foods needed for those with restricted diets, Devine said his program’s overall private sector funds had remained constant—allowing the East Bay program to make do with minimal cuts, including the elimination of this year’s employee cost of living raises. 

Devine said that while program staff members have almost grown accustomed to cuts, “it’s been very disheartening.” 

The Women’s Day-Time Drop-In Center has survived reduced and redirected city funding thanks to increased private funding, said Claudia Madison. Program staff, who serve breakfast and lunch six days a week, still worry about cuts to other city programs however, because their organization functions primarily as a referral and management service. 

On Wednesday night, Quarter Meal clients were still in good spirits, trying to get their food and eat before volunteers started to clean up. News of the cuts could be heard in soft voices under the louder bustle of the crowd. Mike Douglas and Heather Noyes are both homeless and have eaten at the Quarter Meal four or five times a week since coming to Berkeley from Richmond two years ago. They say they’ll have to scramble more than usual from now on. They have no other option. 

“I just roll with the punches because reality is reality,” said Douglas.

BERKELEY FREE FOLK FESTIVAL 

To Berkeley Free Folk Festival participants and supporters;  

The Berkeley Free Folk Festival is a wonderful treasure for the City of Berkeley. If you are someone who cares about keeping the wonderful Free Folk Festival happening in Berkeley, please join us to discuss these questions and get an early start on making the next festival the best one ever.  

Unfortunately planning for the festival at some times in some ways has involved less than transparent information as to the ways to participate and ways to ensure increased accessibility for the disabled community. I believe that some individuals have attacked several people including disabled activists and myself for expressing concerns about accessibility and disabled issues. When people take the time and trouble to stand up for the ADA, it is important to acknowledge and respect such concerns. This is especially important because the ADA itself prohibits retaliation against advocates who point out access questions. At times there has been a climate of retaliation against those who attempt to raise festival related issues, including me. With no notice, a few years ago, I was kicked off the committee working on the event. Significant improvements have occurred gradually. May 2003 included at least one performer in a wheelchair and an improved location through the use of a school which is a state code building. Braille programs were made available, which was an exciting improvement. More improvements need to be made. I believe it is important to ensure permanent continuation of the festival. With proposals to reduce funding for festivals and community events threatening some of the heart and soul of Berkeley we must come together to defend our events and make them even better. I would like it to be easier for everyone involved whether they be folks who have previously made suggestions, or people who were complained about. We need a healing period or process and part of healing usually includes admitting the mistakes of the past and building structures to avoid repetition. Early planning is important to effectiveness. To increase clarity and reduce confusion for the next festival it would be beneficial to answer some questions.  

As the original sponsor of the festival I wish to express my concerns and discuss them in a meeting which will address the following proposed agenda:  

To be sure that this year the climate is not hostile but receptive, how do we prevent retaliation? How do we insure transparence of the process?  

How can we make this event a model of the best disabled accessibility? Who are the members of the committee and how are they chosen? What is the process for making decisions? How can we maximize participation of the musicians and supporters? How can we raise additional funds to support the event?  

If you are someone who cares about keeping the wonderful Berkeley Free Folk Festival, please join us to discuss these questions and get an early start on making the next festival the best one ever.  

We are happy to provide a meeting room here at the City Hall conference room, 2180 Milvia St .  

Councimember Kriss Worthington 

The Claremont Resort and Spa—the East Bay’s premier resort—is up for sale. 

Word came first from the Oakland-based Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (HERE) Local 2850 and confirmation followed from Patricia Peeples, a representative of Claremont owner KSL Resorts. 

Peeples said Thursday that the sale is part of a new financial venture with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), KSL’s main funding partner. KSL properties in Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Hawaii are also up for sale and two other California KSL properties have already been bought by KKR.  

According to KSL, the sales are part of expansion program that they hope will free them up to expand their property investments. The sales are also forced by KKR’s need to pay off investors. 

KKR’s website reported that $536 million of KSL’s initial start-up funding back in 1993 came from KKR. According to the union, KKR is funded primarily by public pension funds, several of which are liquidating those accounts, forcing KSL to sell property to repay investors. 

If the Claremont and other KSL properties are sold, union representatives said, KSL hopes to retain some equity by continuing to run the resort’s operations—though there could also be a full sale. Similar business models with operations and ownership split are now employed by several other successful hotel chains, including Hilton. 

“KSL is one of few companies to own 100 percent of its capital. What will happen now is KSL will have more capital for more acquisitions and reinvestment,” Peeples told the Desert Sun newspaper in Palm Springs, where the firm is also selling property. Peeples refused to discuss the Claremont sale with the Daily Planet. 

Meanwhile, officials from Local 2850 said they are excited by the news and hope the result will favor the labor struggle they’ve been waging with the Claremont for almost two years. 

“All the workers would be thrilled to death” if the Claremont was sold, said Leslie Fitzgerald, a Local 2850 organizer. The union and workers hope the labor strife will either force KSL to sign a contract in order to make the sale appealing to potential buyers, or that the dispute can be quickly resolved if the same company buys both operations and the property.  

“They feel like anyone would be better than KSL,” Fitzgerald said. 

Organizers and workers say the union-run boycott is partially responsible for the sale. Anne Appel, who refused to make any direct comment about business to the Daily Planet, told the San Francisco Chronicle last August that the boycott has affected the resort’s group business. In recent months the Claremont lost business from Kaiser Permanente, the HMO giant, and the UC Berkeley football team. 

“I think it’s really good news,” said Fidel Arroyo, a cook at the Claremont and member of Local 2850’s organizing committee. “We’re hoping we can find a new company that will negotiate. We don’t know what’s going to happen, [but we know] we want a just contract.”

What is happening in Berkeley’s downtown core, who is in charge, what is the vision? Despite being a longtime civic activist, I have no coherent idea of what is going on downtown beyond a series of catch-as-catch-can projects of varying degrees of attractiveness and plausibility, and behind the loud noise of a downtown boosterism that evidently masks a lot of confusion. Having checked with other citizen activists and city officials who should be in the know about downtown, I am convinced that no one is minding the downtown shop or has any clear notion of what our downtown will be like in 2020. 

The Idyllic Mid-century Main Street 

Up to the early 1970s, Berkeley had a workable, safe, and presentable small town downtown that included a modest department store (Hinks), a traditional five and dime establishment (Kresge’s), a quality market that even provided home grocery delivery (Blue and Gold), a presentable hotel with hotel restaurant (the Shattuck Hotel), several nice shops that catered to the city’s middle class (such as Morrison’s Jewelry), a few reasonably-priced American-type restaurants suitable for young family outings (Edy’s), and ample parking. Few persons actually lived in the heart of downtown (except for some elderly residents who were grandfathered into the Shattuck Hotel), but it was surrounded by modest and affordable working class homes whose owners and residents seemed to have few gripes about downtown commerce and activity.  

Berkeley High students had their own domain, in which they were reasonably contained, and UC denizens, expanding southward onto Telegraph Avenue and environs, had not significantly encroached across the eastern Oxford Street border into the downtown core. Apart from periodic political eruptions, this mid-century main street was serviceable and somewhat idyllic.  

Transformation and Decay 

Fast forward to the 1990s. By the ‘90s, the all too familiar forces of urban social change and dysfunctional politics, helped by BART construction disruptions, had transformed Berkeley’s downtown core into a scuzzy and dangerous low-rent district that no longer contributed to the city’s economic and social coffers and no longer held much appeal for the city’s middle classes. Put succinctly, there were too many homeless persons and social service establishments. Berkeley High students had become extremely rambunctious. There was no place to buy nice sheets and towels, in fact there was not much of anything to buy, nor to admire, in non-existent shop windows. There were too many copy shops. There were a lot of low-end food establishments but no comfortable place to sit down and dine. Parking became increasingly nightmarish, and the city’s parking control officers feverishly active. During the day, downtown Shattuck Avenue often seemed like an extension of Telegraph Avenue on a bad day. Nighttime was out of the question except for an occasional movie or Berkeley Rep performance, after which one could scurry to one’s car in fear. 

Something needed to be done. 

The Downtown Plan 

A city plan is a general statement of community priorities developed to guide public decision-making and steer day-to-day decisions in the desired directions. Since such plans are by nature general, unless there is clearly articulated vision and regular oversight, such plans are merely malleable documents that are not likely cumulatively honored.  

In 1990, the city enacted the Berkeley Downtown Plan as an amendment to the 1977 Berkeley Master Plan, and this downtown plan was re-adopted as part of the recent Master Plan update in 2002-2003. The downtown plan is chock full of worthy goals, objectives, and policies. Following is a small but important sampling of Berkeley’s goals, objectives and policies for the downtown core: 

“Create an appealing and safe downtown environment…Diversify, revitalize and promote the downtown economy.” 

“Develop a detailed streetscape plan.” (The city subsequently enacted a version of this in 1997, and most of the streetscape improvements mentioned therein and funded by Measure S have since been completed.) 

“Create a sense of community by locating housing for all income types in and near the downtown…Residents of downtown should be of a wide variety of social and income groups” 

“Enhance the economic vitality of the downtown with a mix of business to serve a wide variety of people…Ensure that the mix of uses in the downtown is appropriate to the downtown’s location both as part of Berkeley and the larger region…Strive for a socially diverse, economically thriving downtown, including a strong retail sector…Enhance the shopping activity in the downtown…” 

“Ensure that all public and private development downtown contributes positively to the downtown and pays its share of development costs and impacts associated with housing, traffic, parking, infrastructure and other impacts…” 

“Create adequate parking facilities to support land use policies for the downtown…Provide new long term parking facilities at remote locations adjacent to transit lines or shuttle service.” 

“Consider retail uses and residential uses as the highest priorities for the downtown with retail uses as a first priority…and residential uses second priority…Encourage land uses that will draw Berkeley residents to downtown for shopping and other activities. Attract a major retail anchor (department store or shopping complex…” 

So, since something needed to be done about the decay of Berkeley’s Downtown, the City took the proper first step by enacting the Downtown Plan. But initial clarity on concept was never followed up with clarity of execution. 

Politics and Piecemeal Development Trump Policy and Planning 

Berkeley’s big and perhaps now fatal mistake was to not follow up on the downtown plan with a detailed downtown visioning process and product, a formal downtown oversight body assisted by dedicated top-level staff, and enactment of the powerful legal tools, such as the creation of a redevelopment area, that are a prerequisite for master-planned land use. It is hard to believe, but there is really no one running the show and no show to run. There is no detailed downtown plan. There is no downtown staff czar or even consistent high-level staffing. There is no downtown advisory board representing a range of community interests and expertise. Instead, there is a hodgepodge of downtown development, some good and some bad. And, since there are several Berkeley individuals and groups who do care about downtown and do have opinions on large scale development, there is a hodgepodge of sniping at all proposed projects.  

We have a power void in our city with respect to our downtown and it is being filled by a mayor who, understandably wishing to leave his mark, is acting like a strong mayor in a weak-mayor town, in conjunction with disparate interest groups (such as developers, homeless advocates, creek freaks, ecocity dreamers, affordable housing gurus, preservation partisans) who, while having a right to their viewpoints, do not in any way speak for the community at large. As for Councilmember Spring, in whose district the critical downtown core happens to be located, she often speaks well for the surrounding neighborhoods but she is in no way authorized to be a sole-source provider of downtown input. 

Time to Develop the 2020 Vision 

So, although I am aware that the word moratorium will raise many hackles, and that our city staff and agenda is severely overburdened, I propose that we immediately implement the following measures: 

• Impose a moratorium on all large-scale downtown core development. 

• Establish a council-level downtown task force to undertake a serious downtown visioning/planning process. 

• Hire or appoint top-level planning staff for this task force, a “Downtown Czar” if you will, but a czar who is guided by constituent input and decisions. 

• Within six months, come up with a concrete vision and plan for the downtown core that will guide all large-scale downtown development. The plan should include visuals, recommended legal tools (including possible eminent domain and redevelopment powers), cash flow analyses of city costs and revenues, and all of the necessary ingredients to concretely plan and create a viable downtown for the entire Berkeley community. We already have an excellent framework in the 1990 downtown plan, so we need to move on from there to a detailed, concrete picture and action plan on which the larger community has agreed. 

We cannot restore our mid-century main street, nor would we want to, but we can certainly, together, try to create an updated main street that will be worthy of Berkeley and appeal to the entire community. We need to act immediately, before we are overwhelmed by misplaced “facts on the ground,” i.e., wrong developments. 

Barbara Gilbert is a longtime Berkeley resident and civic activist. 

KPFA General Manager Gus Newport announced Monday that he’s stepping down after eight short months at the helm of the Bay Area’s best-known alternative radio station. Newport said personal commitments, including the need to be with his 91-year-old mother who lives in New York, contributed to the decision. 

With local advisory board elections ending Thursday, Newport’s decision comes at a time when KPFA and Pacifica (the parent organization that runs KPFA) are already in the throes of change. After two plus years of internal struggle, KPFA—along with the other Pacifica stations including WBAI in New York, KPFK in Los Angeles, KPFT in Houston, and WPFW in Washington D.C.—is reorganizing its governing structure in an effort to democratize leadership. 

With a commitment to continue advising the station, Newport said a new general manager without outside obligations is needed to steer the station in the time of change. 

“I came to the conclusion that the time was right,” said Newport. “I love [KPFA] but it needs the full attention [of a general manager].”  

Jim Bennett, who filled in as interim general manager for almost three years during the battle with Pacifica over control of KPFA, will step in again until a replacement is found. The new local advisory board, which will be seated next week after the votes are counted, will begin its tenure by establishing a hiring committee. 

Bennett, along with others saddened by Newport’s decision, voices high hopes for a new era of stability as local boards settle around the country. “We basically have to catch our breath [and move on]” he said. 

Others are frustrated by Newport’s decision. Local advisory board Andrea Deflon, a volunteer producer and engineer at the station, said she never thought Newport was right for the job. 

She said others were impressed by his lengthy activist credentials. Newport served as the mayor of Berkeley from 1979 to 1986 and played a leading role as Berkeley’s became the first city in the nation to divest from South African investments. 

After his time as mayor, he led the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, a major urban redevelopment project in Boston which has served as the model for other projects across the country. He has held several teaching positions, including one at the University of California, Santa Cruz.  

“The main problem is Gus is a politician, and a good one at that,” she said. “[But] he’s used to having a whole staff under him.” The GM job needed more hands on attention and less delegation, she said. 

“What he’s saying with this decision is just that this is a job [he] doesn’t want to take on, and that’s OK. It’s not causing havoc, it’s just unfortunate, we’re still going forward. We need someone who understands the broader picture, the broader Pacifica notion. We’re up against the Right; we have to be visionary.” 

Local advisory board member Mary Berg agreed with Deflon that the GM position demanded different skills than Newport brought to the job. 

“I’m sure Gus is very talented and could pick it up. But why would a man in his seventies take that up?” she said. The whole process “was unfortunate for Gus.” 

Willie Ratcliff, chair of the local advisory board, said nobody should be hired before the new advisory board is seated. The station was going through too much change to try and recruit a new GM, he said, and Newport got caught in the middle. 

“[Newport has] all the qualifications that are needed. If things were all right he’d still be GM,” Ratcliff said. 

He said part of the problem stemmed from an internal struggle over guidance. 

“[The staff] are afraid that [management] is going to usurp their power, they’re going to have a boss and they don’t like it,” Ratcliff said. “If you can’t get people to work with you than why are you going to beat your brains out, it made him sick.” 

Newport said he did his best to stay out of internal struggles, and stressed that his departure results from a need to attend to personal commitments. “If there was a power dynamic I wasn’t aware of it, I managed to stay above all the fray,” he said. 

Larry Bensky, who served as station manager from 1974-77 and was national affairs correspondent for Pacifica, produces and hosts Sunday Salon. He said KPFA attracts people with strong opinions who are passionate about the struggle to keep KPFA afloat. The ensuing chaos, he said, was too much for Newport. 

“[KPFA] has been a place where people of passion and people who are dissidents tend to gather. There are a lot of strong personalities,” he said. “It’s very hard even at the best of times to manage such a passionate group of people.”  

In the end, Bensky said, Newport’s inability to take control over such a complex media outlet helped the decision to resign. 

“His biggest mistake was not getting more people into positions of management and administration who had radio experience,” he said. “He was confused and alienated and understandably so.” 

Everyone interviewed said they are resolved to see KPFA through the search. Accompanying the chaos and frustration is an air of excitement about the new local boards and the elections for the national Pacifica board that will follow. 

“We are saddened that Gus is leaving; his being here meant a lot to us,” said Bennett. “KPFA beyond a doubt is very fragile, and anything that happens in terms of stability, we have to do our best to keep it afloat.” 

“Gus wanted to make KPFA more powerful and make it a more effective communication tool for the left, and that’s what we have to continue to do. We have to do it in a way that brings us all forward.”

Amid a testy debate that unlocked the door on one of the Berkeley Unified School District’s most sensitive issues—white flight—the school board Wednesday approved a plan to further integrate elementary schools despite warnings from one board member that it was picking an unnecessary legal fight. 

The new plan adds socioeconomic factors—parental income and education—to race in assigning students to elementary schools at a time when California courts have ruled that race may not be taken into account under Proposition 209.  

That measure, passed by voters in 1996, precludes racial preferences or discrimination in public education, employment and contracting. 

Last year the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation, buoyed by a victory over a school district in Huntington Beach, sued Berkeley Unified over its school assignment plan. Though Wednesday’s vote institutes a new policy, lead PLF attorney Cynthia Jameson has said she would proceed with an amended case to cover the new plan as long as Berkeley Unified insisted on using race as a factor. 

The threat of a drawn-out lawsuit that could end in a legal defeat that could force the cash-strapped district to pay PLF legal fees tipped board member Shirley Issel against the plan. 

“I cannot believe that any of us on this board would choose to undertake a discretionary legal battle let alone use our children’s money to pay for it,” she said adding that the district’s contention that the plan held no financial implications “begs incredulity and violates the public trust.” 

Issel, who cast the lone vote in opposition, favored an assignment policy based solely on socioeconomic factors that a citizen committee—working on a mandate from former superintendent Jack McLaughlin—presented the board in 2002. That proposal was reworked by district officials into the current plan after a board majority made clear they wanted to retain race as a factor. 

Other board members took umbrage at Issel’s remarks, especially the Pandora’s box she opened when she argued that by reducing the odds of parents receiving their first choice in schools, the new plan would hasten middle class flight from the district and weaken parent involvement. 

“The logic of that argument would lead the district to 100 percent choice in Berkeley,” said board member Terry Doran. “That would attract a higher percentage of white students, but that would occur in segregated neighborhood schools. The community said no to that and the board is saying never again.” 

After Issel rejected any assertion she had a “hidden agenda” to return to segregated schools, student board representative Bradley Johnson pressed the issue further, saying his chief concern was middle class black flight which, he said, has sent most of his peers either to Catholic or other private schools. 

“It is incumbent that we address this issue,” said Bradley, who is African American. “We don’t have a group to bridge lower class blacks and upper class whites. It costs us parent involvement and academic leadership.” 

Superintendent Michele Lawrence argued that flight from the district was tied not to school assignment but resulted from years of district mismanagement. She said that as the district continues to address a poorly defined curriculum, violence, insolvency and low academic standards, confidence and enrollment will start to rise.  

Lawrence emphasized that the new school assignment plan was four years in the making and not tied to the PLF lawsuit. 

The new plan retains several features of the former policy. Elementary schools will still be divided into the same three zones, and students will still pick their three preferred schools and have priority to attend a school that a sibling already attends or that has a language program the child needs.  

But instead of placing children into elementary schools based, in part, on self-declared race, the new system will rely on assumed diversity characteristics of the planning area in which the student lives.  

Each planning area—about four to eight city blocks—will be given a value for parental income and education based on 2000 census information and racial breakdown between white and non-white, and based on multi-year K-5 enrollment.  

Planning areas will be assigned a value from 1 to 3—ranging from neighborhoods that tend to be more white with wealthier and highly educated parents to neighborhoods that have more minorities with poorer and less educated parents.  

Forms asking for student racial information will still be collected, in part, to monitor how well the system maintains racial balance at the district’s 11 elementary schools. 

Models calculated by district Admissions and Attendance Manager Francisco Martinez show the new system maintaining nearly identical levels of racial diversity while improving socioeconomic diversity. 

Choice could be slightly sacrificed under the new plan; Martinez estimates 67 percent of students would have received their first choice of schools this year, compared to 75 percent under the current system.  

The policy would also raise the acceptable deviation of student populations from a zone’s racial mix from the current five percent to a new maximum of 10 percent. Should the district opt for the 10 percent standard, more parents will get their first school choice, Martinez said. 

On the opposite side of the debate from Issel, about 30 members of the UC Berkeley group Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary (BAMN)—mostly students with a smattering of parents—spoke out against the new policy as a capitulation to the PLF and a retreat from its past as the first district to institute voluntary school desegregation.

Carl Freire absolutely, positively has to be in Japan next year. But a botched pick-up by Federal Express has cost the UC Berkeley doctoral candidate and 29 of his colleagues their best shot at a prestigious fellowship allowing them to study abroad.  

A computer glitch caused Federal Express to miss a scheduled pick-up of student applications for the Fulbright-Hayes fellowship Oct. 20, the postmark deadline date for all applications. 

Even though the applications were sent the following day with the airbill marked Oct. 20, the U.S. Department of Education ruled them invalid last week, much to the disgust of campus officials. 

“This is just a nightmare. It’s so stupid and senseless,” said Mary Ann Mason, dean of the graduate division. 

The university had spent weeks pleading their case, but appeals to Secretary of Education Rod Paige and a trip to Washington, D.C. by Chancellor Robert Berdahl failed to sway the department. 

“The facts are indisputable: UC Berkeley was negligent in failing to mail its application on time despite the fact that for years the university has applied for this program each fall,” wrote Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education Sally L. Stroup in a prepared statement. 

Campus officials broke the news to students Tuesday, who had been kept in the dark about the bungled delivery. 

“I don’t know what my thoughts are,” Freire said, a doctoral candidate in Japanese history who needs to visit archives in Japan to complete his dissertation. “A little bit of responsibility seems to be spread around on this one.” 

Fulbrights are among the most prestigious and generous fellowships offered to graduate students. Unlike other fellowships, Fulbrights allow students to propose their own budgets and receive allowances for spouses. Under application rules, individuals must apply through their university. 

Last year, half of Berkeley’s 30 applicants received grants ranging from $19,593 to $63,947, according to the university. 

Problems with the application process first arose in September, campus officials said, when students and professors had difficulty navigating the Department of Education’s online filing system, causing the campus to request a waiver to mail paper applications. 

In previous years, applications went out several days before the deadline, school officials said, but due to problems with the department’s online application system, applicants got a late start, so the deadline was pushed back to Friday, Oct. 17, with overnight express pick-up scheduled for Oct. 20. 

But despite two calls from UC, Federal Express never came. In a letter sent with the applications on Oct. 21, Federal Express Dispatch Operations Manager blamed the botched pick-up on “problems with a new system rollout.” 

Campus officials contended that since the shipping labels for the applications were dated Oct. 20 they should qualify under department rules, but Stroup held UC accountable for the mishap. 

“The university blames Federal Express and the department. However, the reality is that when it became apparent that Federal Express would not arrive in time, a simple trip to the post office would have ensured that the university’s application met the deadline. Sixty other institutions met the application deadline.” 

An employee for the Institute of International Education, which oversees a different class of Fulbrights for the State Department, was shocked by the Department of Education’s ruling. “To me it’s inconceivable that any grant provider would be that rigid. I can’t imagine that we would quibble like that,” said the employee.  

Mason said the university would offer some money to affected students, though not enough to compensate for the potential loss of a Fulbright. 

Freire, who had applied for about $30,000 to fund his time in Japan is hoping one of the other fellowships he applied for comes through. “The archives I need are only in Japan,” he said. “I have to get there one way or another.”

Ignoring Mayor Tom Bates’ request to “hold off on the formal creation of a [UC Hotel Complex] task force for a month or so until a permit process is negotiated with the university,” a four-member planning commission subcommittee moved forward with the immediate creation of the UC Hotel Complex Task Force this week, including compiling a list of 24 members to be presented to the Berkeley Planning Commission at their Feb. 11 meeting and scheduling a Saturday morning walking tour of the proposed hotel site. 

The task force, which was formed at the request of both Mayor Bates and the city council, is expected to make recommendations to the council in early May on a wide range of issues surrounding the proposed hotel complex, from financial mitigations to architectural design to traffic effects to the possible daylighting of Strawberry Creek and a proposal to turn the block of Center Street in front of the hotel into a pedestrian mall. 

A hotel and conference center complex has long been envisioned for the downtown block bordered by Shattuck Avenue, Center Street, Oxford Street, and Addison Street, a block which currently houses a Bank of America branch and several UC properties. The estimated $150-200 million project began to take shape last year when it was taken up by the University of California itself. The college is proposing putting a hotel and a conference center on the site, as well as relocating several university-owned museums. UC is currently in negotiations with the Bank of America to purchase its property on the block, as well as with Mayor Bates’ office over tax and zoning issues.  

The 24-member task force includes: Rob Wrenn, Zelda Bronstein, Susan Wengraf, and Gene Poschman (all members of the four-person Planning Commission Hotel Complex Subcommittee), Wendy Alfsen (Transportation Commission), Deborah Bahdia (Downtown Berkeley Association), Helen Burke (Sierra Club), John English (planner), Austene Hall (Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association), Barbara Hillman (Convention and Visitors Bureau), Liz Hinckle (East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy), Bonnie Hughes (Civic Arts Commission), Charles Kahn (architect), Juliet Lamont (Urban Creeks Council), Nathan Landau (AC Transit staff), Kirstin Miller (Eco City Builders), Claire Risley (Bicycle-Friendly Berkeley Coalition), John Roberts (landscape architect), Rachel Rupert (Berkeley Chamber of Commerce), Peter Selz (founder, UC Art Museum), Burton Edwards (design review), Soheyl Moderassi (downtown business owner), and Sara Shumer (Public Works Commission). All of the above members have agreed to serve on the task force. While downtown architect Marvin Buchanan was also nominated for the task force, he has not yet been formally contacted. A spot on the task force was also left for a member affiliated with the Pacific Film Archive, which is one of the museums which may move to the downtown site. 

Rob Wrenn, chair of the subcommittee which will now be absorbed into the task force, says that while there may be a role for the hotel task force following the presentation of its recommendations to the city council in May, it is possible that the group “may not be continued past that date. Right now, that’s in limbo.”

Renewing the question of how much money Berkeley may be missing in so-called “escaped property fees and taxes” because of blind spots in its assessment program, the Berkeley Finance Administration has increased the taxable assessment of Patrick Kennedy’s controversial Gaia Building following a query from a former member of the Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission. 

The new assessment adds slightly more than 5,000 square feet which finance administration staff originally listed as balcony space but which they have now determined to be corridors and walkways. Balconies are exempt from taxation under Berkeley ordinance, while corridors and walkways are not. 

The city manager’s office has scheduled a Feb. 24 report to the city council on plans to improve its methods of assessing and taxing properties in Berkeley. Escaped property fees and taxes became a major issue in Berkeley politics last year after revelations that several city property developments, including the Gaia Building and three other properties built by Kennedy’s Panoramic Interests company, had been either unbilled or underbilled for Berkeley property fees and assessments over the past several years. 

Notice of the Gaia Building reassessment came in a letter late last month from Deputy Planning Director Wendy Cosin to Tim Hansen, who served on the Berkeley Landmarks Commission at the time the Gaia Building was being built two years ago. “Finance staff is in the process of making the appropriate adjustments,” Cosin wrote. 

In his original query to City Auditor Ann-Marie Hogan in early January, Hansen noted that the Gaia Building balconies “are not decorative additions to a building but rather the hallways for entering and leaving the apartments. ... Is it the city’s position that all such hallways are not taxed? ... I certainly understand that there [are] different ways to measure for different purposes, but it is important that everyone is treated the same.” 

Hansen said he first noticed that the Gaia Building may have been under-assessed after seeing the property’s parcel tax numbers in a Daily Planet story. 

Neither Patrick Kennedy nor representatives of the Berkeley Finance Administration could be contacted by deadline in connection with this story. 

—J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

The Massachusetts Supreme Court advisory, stating that nothing short of marriage for same-sex couples would satisfy the state constitution, has sent legislators throughout the nation as well as President Bush scrambling to define marriage as between “one man and one woman.”  

These legislative attempts are doomed, because there is no clear, scientific and strict definition of “man” and “woman.” There are millions of people with ambiguous gender—many of them already married—who render these absolute categories invalid.  

There are at least three ways one might try to codify gender under law: biologically, psychologically and culturally. On close inspection, all of them fail.  

Biologically, one must choose either secondary sexual characteristics—things like facial hair for men or breast development for women—or genetic testing as defining markers of gender. Neither method is clear-cut. Some women show male secondary characteristics, and vice versa. Before puberty, things are not necessarily any clearer. A significant proportion of all babies have ambiguous gender development. It has been longstanding—and now, increasingly, controversial—medical practice to surgically “reassign” such babies shortly after birth so that they will have only one set of sexual organs.  

Sometimes doctors guess wrong, and children are “reassigned” and raised as males, when they are genetically female, and vice versa.  

In one condition, androgen insensitivity syndrome, genetic males are born with a genetic immunity to androgens, the hormones that produce male sexual characteristics. Though they are genetic males, these children typically grow up looking like females, although they have no internal female organs.  

Although figures are imprecise, experts in intersexuality, such as Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling of Brown University, estimate that persons born with some degree of ambiguous gender constitute approximately one percent of the population. This means that there are two million Americans who may be biologically ambiguous.  

Psychologically, another dilemma for those who seek to codify gender is the condition known as gender dysphoria, in which a person feels that their true gender is the opposite of that in which they were born. These individuals are often referred to as “transgendered.” Some experts estimate as many as 1.2 million Americans are transgendered. Gender dysphoria is a matter of personal identity and has nothing to do with sexual orientation. A male-to-female transgendered person may be attracted to women or to men.  

Finally, human societies around the world recognize individuals who are culturally female or culturally male no matter what their physical gender. The “berdache” is an umbrella term used by Europeans to designate a man who is culturally classified as a woman, and who may be a “wife” to another man. The practice is perhaps best known among the Zuñi Indians of Arizona, but is widely seen in other tribal groups as well. Outside of North America, the hijra of India, a cultural “third gender,” is important in ceremonial life. Hijra are classified as “neither man nor woman,” but they may marry males. These examples of cultural gender ambiguity are only two among dozens throughout the world.  

If the United States tries to enact a national law defining gender conditions for marriage, it is only a matter of time before the law falters on one of these rocks of ambiguity. There are undoubtedly existing marriages where the wife is a genetic male or the husband is a genetic female. In a medical examination, if it is determined that this genetic fact is discovered, is the marriage then voided? When post-operative transgendered persons wed, whom will they be allowed to marry—persons with the opposite set of chromosomes, or people with the opposite set of genitalia?  

There has already been one Texas decision where two “women” were allowed to marry, because one of them had originally been a male. We can expect far more stories like this should this legislative circus proceed.  

PNS contributor William O. Beeman teaches anthropology at Brown University.

Back in my other home, in South Carolina, there used to be a neighborhood woman who could predict the weather by the pain in her knee joints. I’ve never been able to do that, but lately I’ve been getting pretty good at predicting when an Oakland City Council election is coming up. When Henry Chang gets in the paper proposing some law about police or violence or something like that, it’s time to get ready to vote. 

Mr. Chang was first elected as the at-large member of Oakland’s City Council after the death of Frank Ogawa in 1994. Most Oakland residents don’t know that there is an at-large member on the city council who is representing all of us, which seems to suit Mr. Chang perfectly well. An observer reports Mr. Chang told a Greater Mandana Action Coaliton organization the other night that he prefers to let citizens go directly to their district councilmembers for assistance, leaving him virtually “invisible.” “Invisible,” by the way, was Mr. Chang’s word. 

In the 1980s and ‘90s, the at-large council seat was considered the “Asian” seat, set aside in a sort of a backroom, gentlemen’s/ladies’ agreement because it was difficult for Asian-descent Oaklanders to win any of the district council seats. It was not a perfect compromise, but a good one, since a city government is better served when all of its large ethnic groups are represented. But that sort of lost its purpose after two folks of Asian descent were elected to council districts—first Danny Wan, and then Jean Quan. And so now Mr. Chang has to figure out other reasons to convince us why we should keep him on the city council. 

Most days, Mr. Chang spends his time working to get the government of the People’s Republic of China to send over pandas to live at Knowland Zoo in Oakland, and has made several speeches on that issue at city council, and has made a number trips to China for that purpose. He’s also gotten the council to authorize sending money to China to induce them to send us the pandas. Why it is so important for Oakland to have pandas living at the Knowland Zoo is not quite clear, and in any event, “HE’S WORKING TO GET YOU THOSE PANDAS!” is not quite the slogan one would want to take to Oakland voters. We’re easy, but not that easy. 

So four years ago, just around election time, Mr. Chang advanced a proposal to decrease the number of handguns on Oakland’s streets. If there was a decrease in the number of handguns on the streets of Oakland, I have not so noticed. But that is not the point. Mr. Chang was re-elected in 2000 over several opponents. He made himself invisible again for several years to work on that panda thing, uncloaking every now and again to give us periodic updates. The pandas—normally reclusive animals—have managed to remain more invisible than even Mr. Chang. 

Faced with a tough challenge in the March election by newcomer Melanie Shelby, Mr. Chang resurfaced just a few days ago with a proposal to put cameras in Oakland police cars. The idea, it seems, is that we can get some sort of notion of what our police officers are doing out here on the streets of Oakland. Some of us already have a pretty good idea, of course, but others appear to need convincing. In any event, does this mean that there will soon be cameras mounted on Oakland police cars? Well, no, not necessarily. While the government of the People’s Republic of China appear to be perfectly content to welcome Mr. Chang as a periodic visitor and to accept the Oakland money he sends, there is no evidence that they intend to ever actually send us any pandas. And so, while Chief Richard Word says in the newspaper that he does not think that the camera idea is a terribly bad thing, we will have to wait and see. 

If the Oakland police cars ever do get cameras, however, they will show a decidedly different landscape than we saw just a few weeks ago, at least out here in East Oakland, where I live. The rolling “Operation Impact” squads of California Highway Patrol officers and Alameda County Sheriffs Deputies and Oakland Police Department officers of last fall have become sort of invisible themselves, disappearing virtually overnight from the International Boulevard corridor, leaving the OPD cruisers to go it alone again. 

One would hope that at some point, the public is going to be given some sort of accounting on the results of this grand experiment in police saturation, and we will be able to measure its success, or lack thereof. Meanwhile, we’ll just have to make do with our own limited observations. 

Operation Impact consisted of squads of officers from the three agencies virtually shutting down several dark and poor sections of Oakland during many weekends to, according to the police, “get… some of the criminal element off the streets… [to] reduce the possibility for more homicides.” The Oakland Tribune reported last September that “three such [Operation Impact] sweeps…have resulted in 240 arrests over the past week. Crime, violence and calls for police response in the areas targeted have decreased significantly, officials said.” 

A month and a half later, the Tribune quoted a CHP spokesperson as saying, “Every time we are out there, there are no street homicides and it reduces police calls for service.” 

Summing up the program in early January, the Tribune paraphrased remarks by Chief Word, stating the chief said that “teamwork by the law enforcement agencies made a big dent in gun violence in the last quarter of 2003.” 

Well, Oakland homicides did drop dramatically in the last quarter of 2003, but they began to spike again in December, jumping to 10 in a bloody first two weeks of 2004. All of this occurred during the time that Operation Impact was still in effect. 

Perhaps Chief Word will let us know why, sometime.

The Actor’s Ensemble, Berkeley’s oldest theater group (they’ve been around for 47 years) is staging a version of Helen of Troy which thumbs its nose at the story that most of us have heard over the years. You know, that’s the one that claims that the Trojan War’s 10 year’s worth of slaughter exploded into history because King Menelaos’ wife, Helen, run off with the gorgeous Greek Prince, Paris.  

Helen (played by the admirably cast Heidi Hooker) serves as narrator, an effective technique probably left over from Wolfgang Hildesheimer’s 1955 German radio play. Subsequently there was a second radio version, a stage production and a musical. Director David Fenerty, who has acted in several AE productions, both translated and adapted the current version. This time around, Helen promises to give us the “real story”—which cynics might comment bears a certain resemblance to the way the United States has ended up in Iraq. Not, mind you, that anyone is raising any questions about Laura Bush’s virtue. What Helen reveals is that the whole bloody war was a set-up. Menelaos was looking for an excuse to go to war with Greece.  

While Helen minces no words about either her rich and varied personal life or her quite understandable dislike of her husband, Minelaos (Hal Schneider), she is a bit surprised when he encourages her to initiate a romance with the youthful and attractive Greek prince, Paris (Tadamori Yagi). 

Janelle Carte does the most that can be done with her role as Hermione, Helen’s Miss Priss daughter, who understandably thinks the guy should be her own target, but hasn’t a chance up against her mother’s well practiced skills. The bulk of the first act is spent in Helen’s futile attempts to seduce the astonishingly naïve Greek prince. It’s an amusing exchange which continues to amuse for a surprisingly long time. 

The result, however, is that the second act bears the weight of about two-thirds of the traditional story content. The playwright, alas, while willing to take vast liberties with the characters, seems to feel required to crowd into that part of the production most of the events from a story which isn’t very funny at all. Real historical/political junkies may actually prefer the second act to the first, despite the fact that it requires Paris to abruptly adopt a totally different personality and Helen to limit much of her narration—one of the strongest elements of this production. Instead, after flinging out an interminable glob of historical information, her role seems to become something of an also-ran while the rest of the traditional events in the story are rushed along.  

Maybe there’s just no way to carry out the joke the play begins with, and maybe audiences long used to mixing traditional dramatic genres are inured to this sort of thing, but it does seem rather a shame. 

Helen of Troy shows Fridays and Saturdays through Feb. 21, with a special Thursday show Feb. 19. All performances are at 8 p.m. at the Live Oak Theatre; 1301 Shattuck Ave. Tickets $10. For reservations, call 649-5999.

It’s been quite a year for voles. The evidence for this is indirect: high numbers of hawks, from the pastures of Point Reyes to the farmlands of Solano County. Word seems to get around that there’s a bumper crop of tasty rodents. 

I don’t recall that I’ve ever seen a California vole—a six-to-eight-inch-long mouse with dark brown fur, small ears, and a short tail—that wasn’t being eaten by something, or about to be. They’re an important prey item for raptors, composing 90 percent of the diet of the white-tailed kite. Northern harriers, also known as marsh hawks, will snatch a vole nest out of the grass, give it a good shake to dislodge the occupant, and snag the mouse as it falls. 

Herons and egrets, normally thought of as fish-eaters, also go for voles. I’ve watched a great blue heron dunk a vole like a furry doughnut until it stopped struggling, then gulp it down. In peak years, opportunists like ravens and Western gulls get into the act. 

It’s not just birds, either. Voles also fall victim to coyotes, foxes, cats (feral and domestic), weasels, and snakes. Weasels have been known to move into voles’ underground homes after eating the occupants. 

Pressure from predators tends to favor some kind of defensive adaptation among prey: speed, cryptic coloration, protective armor, noxious chemicals. Voles have none of those. As a group, voles survive—and they’ve done quite well at it, with 44 species worldwide, 17 in North America—by being fecund in the extreme. The vole’s defense is its ability to produce lots of new voles. 

In terms of reproductive biology, voles are about the closest thing to Star Trek’s tribbles that this planet has to offer. (I don’t know how they would feel about Klingons). A female vole is fertile at the age of three weeks. Weaning takes place at two weeks, and some females can even become pregnant at that point. With a gestation period of 21 days, an average litter size of five (maximum 11), and four or five litters in a good season—well, do the math. 

This potential for explosive reproduction pays off when voles have the opportunity to colonize a new area. Brooks Island is a 55-acre chunk of grassland off the Richmond shore, once managed by a gun club for pheasant hunters but now maintained as a reserve by the East Bay Regional Park District. California voles managed to reach the island in the summer of 1958. Within six months, they had occupied all the available habitat. 

We know a lot about the voles of Brooks Island thanks to William Z. Lidicker, Jr., a UC Berkeley emeritus professor. The island population was ideal for long-term study of the rodent’s social structure and population dynamics. They seem to be testy little creatures. Males will fight each other at the slightest provocation; females are peaceful unless an adult male is present. They sort themselves out into monogamous pairs, although males can be polygynous when conditions are favorable. Males have glands on their hips which they appear to use to scent-mark their runways in a behavior that Lidicker describes as “swaggering.” 

In a typical year, the Brooks Island voles started breeding a few weeks after the fall rains began. Their numbers built up through the spring, then dipped in summer when the vegetation dried out. 

As populations grow, California voles can reach densities of up to 400 per acre. Females tolerate daughters that stick around the parental territory, but mom’s pheromones suppress the daughters’ maturation. Take this far enough and you get the hive societies of the naked mole-rat, a creature that frankly gives me the willies. The pheromones of strange males cause females to abort their litters, giving the males a fresh opportunity to spread their own genes around. 

With an increase in density, greater numbers of large (for voles) males appear. Vole researchers used to believe the supersized males were a genetically determined type that was favored at high population densities. This was christened the Chitty Effect, after volologist Dennis Chitty. But Lidicker found that the big males often occupied resource-poor territories and were no more likely than males of normal size to be paired with fertile females. His Big Wimp Hypothesis posited that these guys were just standard-model voles that had grown to unusual sizes because of abundant food. 

Lidicker also discovered an interesting distinction between his island subjects and their mainland counterparts. Voles, like their close relatives the lemmings, are subject to cyclic population booms and busts. In mainland voles, a three- to five-year cycle is typical. But the Brooks Island voles demonstrated only a weak two-year cycle. Lidicker thought the absence of mammalian predators on the island accounted for the difference. (The only other mammals there were house mice, which the voles crowded into extinction, and rats that scavenged dead voles but did not prey on live ones. ) It’s not just a matter of the rodents depleting their food base, or of behavioral changes at high density slowing population growth; predation also seems to regulate their numbers. 

Voles are important enough as prey to be considered a keystone species by ecologists—a species without which an ecosystem would collapse. And there’s one recent study that suggests they also promote plant diversity: James Bartolome, a professor of Ecosystem Sciences at UC-Berkeley, found more plant species around the entrances of California vole burrows than in similar voleless areas. Voles may be small and obscure, but they play an ecological role out of proportion to their size.

Over the next several days, join EGRET's Park Guides in exploring Aquatic Park. All events last 90 minutes and begin outside the cabin in front of Middle Pond at the park’s southern entrance. 

Saturday, Feb. 7, 10 a.m.: “A Walk Through History.” The legacy of the past is on display in this stroll around Middle Pond. 

Sunday, Feb. 8, 2 p.m.: “Shorebirds of Berkeley’s Wetlands.” An array of over-wintering ducks has joined the resident population. 

Tuesday, Feb. 10, 10 a.m.: “Willow Rescue.” Descendants of the shoreline’s original willows are being returned to health through ivy removal. 

Wednesday, Feb. 11, 5 p.m.: “Migrations at Dusk.” Black-crowned night herons leaving their willows cross paths with great egrets coming to roost above the cabin. 

Thursday, Feb. 12, 10 a.m.: “Bayshore Cleaning.” Bring renewed life to tidal plants by helping remove storm debris from the bay shoreline. 

Saturday, Feb. 14, 10 a.m.: “A Walk in the Garden.” Colorful blooms are already on display in this garden of California native plants. 

Sunday, Feb. 15, 2 p.m.: “Park Transformations to Come.” Walk the location where Coastal Conservancy may fund safer trail connections and habitat plantings. 

Visiting Aquatic Park: The southern end of the park can be reached along a somewhat convoluted route. Take Seventh Street or San Pablo Avenue south into Emeryville, and turn right on 67th Street. Continue across the railroad tracks and immediately turn right onto Shellmound which continues straight (north) into the park. As you reach the park, keep to the right to stay off the freeway on-ramp; the cabin is just ahead. 

Cyclists or pedestrians can also enter at Addison Street, Bancroft Way, or the I-80 bicycle/pedestrian overpass and head south one mile. 

For more information on Aquatic Park EGRET, call 549-0818 or write to egret@lmi.net.

“Look! This wasn’t here last week!” Mark Liolios shows visitors a strong green shoot on a willow trunk. Recent hand-clearing of tangled, sun blocking, ivy and brambles along the eastern edge of Berkeley’s Aquatic Park has encouraged the gnarled tree to vigorously re-sprout. 

It’s a chilly, overcast January morning and long-time Berkeleyan Liolios is energetically on duty for Aquatic Park EGRET (Environmental Greening, Restoration and Education Team), an affiliate of the nonprofit Berkeley Partners for Parks. EGRET is dedicated to improving conditions for wildlife and human visitors at Berkeley’s biggest, but perhaps least understood, municipal park.  

Aquatic Park may be Berkeley’s most visible public open space with tens of thousands of freeway drivers speeding past its western edge every day. To those passersby the park itself might appear empty, even abandoned. A visit, however, makes it clear that it is home to thousands of shorebirds and also well-used by the public. 

Rowers from the Berkeley Rowing Club tranquilly scull past. Disc (aka Frisbee) golfers compete along the shore. Joggers, parents with strollers, dog walkers and cyclists circle the water on extensive paths. The Dreamland children’s playground and the new pedestrian overpass to the Berkeley Marina have brought even more park visitors, Liolios says. 

Aquatic Park is a mix of human and natural constructs, edged on the east by railroad tracks atop a slight bluff along Berkeley’s original shoreline. The park encompasses three brackish lagoons, connected by pipes to the tidal flow of the San Francisco Bay.  

The lagoons and park appeared in 1937 when a four-lane highway for Bay Bridge access was built parallel to, but beyond, the shoreline. “That created a spot of shallow water which the City of Berkeley acquired and developed with Works Progress Administration funding,” says Liolios. The park opened with three days of elaborate citywide festivities. 

As evidence of that earlier era, along three banks of Middle Pond EGRET volunteers have gradually unearthed and cleared tiers of masonry stairs and viewing terraces for watching model yacht races. Nearby, EGRET’s crews have uncovered a substantial flagpole pedestal and plaza, probably a post-World War II veteran’s memorial. 

In recent years EGRET has been undertaking a sort of ecological archaeology, attempting to untangle, interpret, and re-knit layers of natural systems and human interventions. “The primary focus of EGRET is habitat stewardship”, says Lisa Stephens, another volunteer and former Parks and Recreation Commission chair.  

The nature of Aquatic Park’s habitat is complex and not always easily discerned. In one corner of the park, for instance, drivers headed for the freeway speed by a low and unremarkable bank of willow. But seen from its other side, across the water, the willow grove is revealed as the preferred daytime roost of black-crowned Night Herons, dozing just a few dozen feet from the moving cars. 

Even the non-native eucalyptus and black acacia trees below the railroad embankment presently have habitat value, providing secure roosts each night for great egrets that stand up to four feet tall. 

On this dreary winter day, the eucalyptus are in bloom and alive with small birds. “It’s not a eucalyptus tree, it’s a migratory bird feeder,” observes park visitor John Sutake, who pauses to share his binoculars and the reason several bird watchers are at the park today. A regal pair of hooded mergansers, rarely seen here, is serenely paddling amidst more plebeian ducks on Middle Pond.  

The park is an important stopping point for migratory birds along the Pacific Flyway and a year-round home to egrets, herons, and other species. Near dusk, Liolios says, birds crisscross the sky as “the night herons are going out to feed and the snowy and great egrets are coming in to roost for the night.” 

A centerpiece of EGRET’s work has been creation of a garden of California native plants along a causeway at the southern end of the Main Lagoon. Volunteers have meticulously cleared non-native vegetation from two wide shoreline berms, and carefully replanted with California flora. Native shrubs and wildflowers (soon to begin their spring bloom season) dot the shore and snowy egrets gravely stalk through the shallows hunting for lunch. Now closed to motor vehicles, the causeway is a tranquil setting for walkers and bird watchers. 

EGRET’s plan, Liolios says, is to cluster native plantings along the shore to provide screening and roosting sites for the wildlife, interspersed with gaps through which visitors can view the water and birds.  

“We want the park landscaping to better serve both visitors and wildlife,” he explains. “Beautiful and useful” is the goal, Stephens adds. 

In almost every part of the southern end of the park there is evidence of EGRET’s on-going stewardship work. Groups of volunteers wearing EGRET t-shirts (with a handsome logo created by local design firm BGDI) work there regularly. More are needed, Leolios says. 

EGRET, Liolios adds, is happy to structure a volunteer activity to fit a lunch hour or complement a picnic. “Even a small scale project fits a much larger biological picture,” he explains. Volunteer work is always combined with wildlife observation and education. EGRET also offers guided walks and a self-guided tour booklet. 

EGRET is now working with the City of Berkeley to get California Coastal Conservancy funding for trail, habitat, and water quality improvements. Plans call for safer trail connections for pedestrians and cyclists, clearing unneeded asphalt to create more native plant areas, seating for wildlife observation, and better water circulation to improve the biological health of the lagoons. The former model yacht club cabin—a rustic structure with beamed ceilings, knotty pine paneling and a whimsical porthole window—can serve as a nature center for park visitors. 

Despite the scale of the projects, the enthusiasm and dedication of EGRET’s habitat stewards is clear. “It’s a lifetime of rewarding work,” Liolois says. 

The Quarter Meal—Berkeley’s only daily dinner service for low income and homeless residents and one of the city’s largest programs to meet their needs—will cut back service from five days a week to three beginning March 1, and to shut down by June 24. 

According to a press release issued Monday by the Berkeley Food and Housing Project (BFHP)—the organization that administers the program—cuts were forced by unexpected mid-year expenses, including rising workers compensation premiums, employee medical benefits and mandatory compliance with the city’s Living Wage Ordinance. 

Program workers serving meals Monday night refused additional comment on the cutbacks, referring reporters to the single-page press release.  

In the release, the BFHP say they support living wage increases (which they are mandated to meet because they have a contract with the city) but were unable to budget for the extra $110,000 in total expenses they now face. 

Other programs administered by the BFHP were reviewed before the decision was made to cut the Quarter Meal, but those programs were spared, according to the release, because they focus on housing and support services for homeless and people in transition. 

BFHP said that while donations were up 24 percent from this same time last year they weren’t enough to meet increased costs. 

In the meantime, BFHP said they hope to find a funding commitment for the program that will last three to five years, sometime before the planned June closure. They will also help those who regularly attend the meals find other sources in the city. 

“It’s a real bummer,” said John Spencer, one of the people who regularly eats at the Quarter Meal. “A lot of people depend on it.” 

He said he expects he’ll find other places to eat, but the convenience and reliability of the program will be a real loss. 

“We can eat in this city, but it takes all our time to do so,” he said.

TUESDAY, FEB. 3 

UC Hotel and Conference Center, Planning Commission Sub-Committee, meets at 1 p.m. in the 2nd floor conference room, Permit Center, 2120 Milvia St. 

“Whales, Bears, Eagles and Icebergs: The Wonders of Alaska” with wildlife photographer Ron Sanford at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

“Conscience and the Constitution” a film about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WW2, at 6 p.m. at Rockridge Branch Library, 5366 College Ave. Sponsored by Refuse and Resist. 704-5293. 

Writers’ Room Coach Training is offered from 7 to 9:30 p.m. for volunteers who would like to help students improve their writing and critical thinking skills. To attend please call 849-4134 or email Bloomburgh@sbcglobal.net 

“Taking Care of Your Elderly Parent” meets Tuesdays, Feb. 3 - 24 at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Fee is $40. 848-0327, ext. 112. 

Berkeley Ecological and Safe Trasportation (BEST) monthly meeting at 6 p.m. at the Berkeley Central Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 913-4682. 

“Judaism, What is it all About?” an interactive lecture series with Rabbi Judah Dardik, at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at Beth Jacob Congregation, 3778 Park Blvd., Oakland. 482-1147. www.bethjacoboakland.org 

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.  

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Paul Bendix, Transportation Advocate, will talk about Amtrak’s Coast Starlight and the future of Amtrak at 11 a.m. 845-6830. 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 234-4783. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 4 

Public Meeting/Workshop on West Street, formerly Santa Fe Railroad Right of Way, Improvement Project for Bikeway and Pedestrian Path that will run from Delaware St. to University Ave., at 7 p.m. at Ala Costa Center, 1300 Rose St. For information call Niran at 981-6396 or Michael at 981-2490. 

Lynne Stewart will speak at 6 p.m. at Boalt Law School, UC Campus. Sponsored by the National Laywers Guild. For more information call 684-8270. www.lynnstewart.org 

Want your country back? Join your neighbors at the next Meet-up for Democratic presidential Candidate Howard Dean. Learn more about Dr. Dean, and what you can do to make a difference, at 7 p.m. at three Berkeley locations: Au Coquelet, 2000 University Ave., Sweet Basil Thai, 1736 Solano Ave., and Raleigh's, 2438 Telegraph Ave. 843-8724. http://Dean2004.Meetup.com.  

Northbrae Community Church monthly dinner at 6 p.m. at 941 The Alameda. The Berkeley Camera Club will show slides on “Bhutan and Nepal.” Dinner cost is $7.50 for adults, $3.50 for children. For reservations call 526-3805.  

Fun with Acting class meets at 11 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Free, all are welcome. 985-0373. 

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

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Station, corner of Shattuck and Center. Vigil at 6:30 p.m. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. ww.geocities.com/ 

vigil4peace/vigil 

Amnesty International Berkeley Community Group meets at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1606 Bonita Ave., at Cedar St. 872-0768. 

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

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

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, FEB. 5 

Tuesday Morning Birdwalk at Tilden Nature Center from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Call if you need to borrow binoculars. 525-2233. 

“Oil, Power and Empire: Iraq & the U.S. Global Agenda” with Larry Everest and Daniel Ellsberg, at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. 548-0542. www.mecaforpeace.org 

“Insurrection: Citizen Challenges to Corporate Power” with Kevin Danaher and Jason Mark from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave, near Dwight Way. 548-2220, ext. 233.  

Berkeley Democratic Club general meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda.  

Alameda County Measure A organizing committee to support the initiave which would raise the sales tax to support our county’s public health system from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m at District 5 headquarters, 2135 Broadway, Oakland.  

“The Bancroft Library: Past, Present, and Future” with Charles Faulhaber, Director of The Bancroft Library, at 6 p.m. at the Society of California Pioneers, 300 Fourth St. at Folsom in SF. 415-957-1849. www.californiapioneers.org 

“How the West was Made: Faults, Plates, and Other Geological Wonders” with Dr. Tanya Atwater, professor of geophysics at U.C. Santa Barbara, at 7:30 p.m. at The College Preparatory School, Buttner Auditorium, 6100 Broadway (north), Oakland. Cost is $5-$10. 658-5202.  

Presentations and Public Dialogue on 9/11, Demolishing Pretexts For The “War On Terror” at 6:30 p.m. at 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Sponsored by the Social Justice Committee of the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. Suggested donation $5. 527-7543.  

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

FRIDAY, FEB. 6 

Tom Torlakson, California State Senator, will speak on “Regionalism: New Thinking for A New Century” at 1:30 p.m. at UC Berkeley Alumni House Toll Room. Sponsored by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) and the Political Science Department. 642-1474. 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with As’ad Abukhallil, Prof. Dept. of Politics, CSU, Stanislaus, “The Middle East After the Iraq War” 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.  

Upper San Leandro Reservoir Hike at 4 p.m. Meet at Valle Vistas Staging area. Rain cancels. For more information call Vonnie 925-376-5352 or Phyllis 525-2299. Sponsored by the Sierra Club Solo Sierrans. 

Berkeley Chess Club meets Fridays at 7:15 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Players at all levels are welcome. 652-5324. 

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 655-6169. www.bpf.org 

Overeaters Anonymous meets at 1:30 p.m. at the Northbrae Church at Solano and The Alameda. Parking is free and is handicapped accessible. 525-5231. 

SATURDAY, FEB. 7 

Tour of Proposed UC Hotel and Conference Center Complex with UC Senior Planner & Project Manager Kevin Hufferd and organized by The Planning Commission subcommittee. Meet at 10 a.m. at the plaza in front of the Bank of America on the east side of Shattuck near Center St. In the event of inclement weather, the tour will be rescheduled. 

“A Walk Through History” The legacy of the past is on display in this stroll around Aquatic Park’s Middle Pond. Meet outside the Cabin at the park’s southern entrance at 10 a.m. Aquatic Park EGRET egret@lmi.net or 549-0818. 

Gardening for Wildlife Learn to diversify your gardens by including CA native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers that provide food, shelter, and nesting places for a variety of wildlife, including birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Coyote Hills Regional Park, 8000 Patterson Ranch Rd, Fremont. Cost is $25, pre-registration required. 231-9430. mary@aoinstitute.org 

Kids Garden Club We'll build a cob greenhouse for the season of cold and chills. From 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park. Cost is $3. Wheelchair accessible. 525-2233. tnarea@ebparks.org 

Walk in the Eastshore State Park Learn about plans for creek daylighting and nature restoration. Meet at Sea Breeze market, University Ave. just west of the freeway at 10 a.m. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

Garden Basics, Part I with Robin North. Learn how to prepare for this spring’s planting season, and acquire some strategies for long-term success. At 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. 

Free Emergency Preparedness Class on Responding to Terrorism for anyone who lives or works in Berkeley, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Fire Department Training Center, 997 Cedar St. Register on-line at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes.html or by calling 981-5506. 

Free Emergency Preparedness Class on Earthquake Retrofitting for anyone who lives or works in Berkeley, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Building Education Centre, 812 Page St. Register on-line at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes.html or by calling 981-5506. 

Piedmont Children’s Choir Auditions for ages 7-10, 9:30 a.m. to noon. Children with no experience are encouraged to apply. To arrange an appointment call, 547-4441, ext. 2. 

An Evening of Improv Comedy with Platypus Jones at 8 p.m. at Café Eclectica, 1309 Solano Ave. Cost is $7, $5 with student i.d. 338-3899. 

The East Bay Marxist Forum Political Affairs Readers Group meets at 10 a.m. to discuss Democracy Matters: An Interview with Sam Webb, Chair of the Communist Party, USA, at 10 a.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library 6501 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. 595-7417. 

Introduction to the Alexander Technique, an educational method that helps you eliminate harmful habits of tension through increased awareness and control in everyday activities. From 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Berkeley YWCA, 2600 Bancroft Way. 848-6370.  

Visual Arts and Theological Studies Conference with a focus on the theological themes in three works of art: Junko Chodos’ “Requiem for a Executed Bird,” Stephen De Staebler’s “Winged Figure,” and Daniel Solomon’s Beth Israel Memorial Chapel. From 8:45 to 5:30 p.m. in the GTU Hewlett Library. Cost is $50, students $15. 849-8285. 

Rainbow Cafe ASTRAEA Fundraiser, lesbian singles dining and book tasting at 7:30 p.m. at Boadecia’s Books, 398 Colusa Ave. Cost is $30, dinner included. RSVP required with www.eastbayvoice.org/tickets 

Yoga for Seniors at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St., on Saturdays from 10 to 11 a.m. Open to non-members of the club for $8 per class. 848-7800. 

SUNDAY, FEB. 8 

“Shorebirds of Berkeley's Wetlands” An array of over-wintering ducks has joined the resident population at Aquatic Park. Meet outside the Cabin at the park’s southern entrance at 2 p.m. Aquatic Park EGRET egret@lmi.net or 549-0818. 

Botanic Garden Foray Search for stinkpods, and learn why they should be called “stickpods” and other early bloomers in this native plant oasis. From 10 a.m. to noon at Tilden Botanical Garden, in Tilden Park. 525-2233. tnarea@ebparks.org 

Berkeley Women and the History of the University’s YWCA Dorothy Clemens, author of a book on the University’s YWCA, will discuss the role of Berkeley women, both town and gown, and the history of our own YWCA. From 2 to 4 p.m. at the Berkeley History Center, 1931 Center St. 848-0181. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc/ 

A Tu B’Shvat Seder, celebrating the Jewish holiday of the trees will be held at 5:30 pm, at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. A benefit for the Jerusalem based Rabbis for Human Rights. 

Valentine’s Day Card Workshop Join us to make cards and to learn about the cultural history of Valentine’s Day, from 10 a.m. to noon at Tilden Nature Area. Meterials provided. Cost is $5, non-residents $7. 525-2233. tnarea@ebparks.org 

Chocolate Tastings with Alice Medrich, author of “BitterSweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate” at 1 p.m. at The Pasta Shop, 1786 Fourth St. 528-1786. 

Workshop on Storytelling for the whole family from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Rep School of Theater, 2071 Addison St. Admission is free, please bring a children’s book as a donation to the John Muir School Library. 647-2972. 

The Berkeley Cybersalon invites everyone to a participatory discussion on the New Publishing Model with journalists/publishers from the SF Chronicle, Salon, Wired, and the UCB Graduate School of Journalism from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. $10 donation requested. www.berkeleycybersalon.com  

8th Annual Bike Film Fest from 4 to 9 p.m. at La Peña, 3015 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10-$20. Fundraiser for Bicycle Friendly Berkeley Coalition (BFBC).. Free valet bike parking. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

MONDAY, FEB. 9 

“Fifty Years: Brown v. Board of Education: A Troubled Legacy” with Waldo Martin, Professor of History at UC Berkeley, at 10 a.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

The Women’s Cancer Resource Center Volunteer Orientation for compassionate volunteers to help support women with cancer and their loved ones. From 6 tp 8 p.m. Please call Emily for more information 601-4040, ext. 109. emily@wcrc.org 

Fitness for 55+ A total body workout including aerobics, stretching and strengthing at 1:15 p.m. every Monday at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5170. 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

ONGOING 

Young People’s Symphony Orchestra misses its alums! As our nation’s second oldest youth orchestra, based in Berkeley, YPSO is in possession of a treasure trove of memorabilia dating as far back as 1936. To preserve and share these photographs, letters, programs and other interesting materials YPSO is creating a Digital Online Museum. If you participated in the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra please contact David Davis at davisde@yogashorts.com or 543-4054. 

Did Your Family Live in Berkeley from 1890 to1925? This spring the Berkeley Historical Society is opening an exhibit on early Berkeley Bohemians, artists, poets, writers, musicians, photographers and other creative folks who lived in our city 1890-1925. If your family was here then, check your photo albums and other records to see if you have any photos or personal accounts of these activities. If so, we would like to try to include this information in our exhibit. If you can help, please contact Ed Herny, co-curator for this exhibit at 415-725-4674 or by e-mail at edphemra@pacbell.net  

Vocal Jazz Workshops on Saturdays for teenagers and adults, beginners and intermediate, begin Feb. 7 and run to April 10, at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. Cost is $122 for Albany residents, $132 for others. 524-9283. 

Voice Technique Classes for Adults begin Feb. 11. Cost is $290 for 8 wks. Ongoing classes for children and teens. Verna Winter Studio, 1312 Bonita Ave. 524-1601. 

Valentine Day Weddings The Alameda County Clerk-Recorder’s Office is pleased to announce that the office will be open Valentine’s Day, Sat., Feb. 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to issue marriage licenses and perform wedding ceremonies. The office is located at 1106 Madison Street, in Oakland. The fee for a marriage license is $79, which includes one certified copy. The fee for a ceremony is $50 (cash or checks accepted). Interested parties should make an appointment. 272-6362.  

CITY MEETINGS 

Commission on the Status of Women meets Wed., Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Ruby Primus, 981-5106. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/women 

Fire Safety Commission meets Wed., Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m. at the Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. David Orth, 981-5502. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/firesafety 

Community Environmental Advisory Commission meets Thurs., Feb. 5, at 7 p.m., at 2118 Milvia St. Nabil Al-Hadithy, 981-7461. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/commissions/environmentaladvisory 

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs. Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Oscar Sung, 981-5400. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/housing 

Public Works Commission meets Thurs., Feb. 5, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jeff Egeberg, 981-6406. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/publicworks 

West Berkeley Project Area Commission meets Thurs. Feb. 5, at 7 p.m., at the West Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7520. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/westberkeley

GETTING IT STRAIGHT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Gilbert Bendix, in a letter to the Daily Planet (Jan. 30-Feb. 2 edition), alleges that the Smithsonian Institution “emasculated the Enola Gay exhibit on Clark Kerr’s watch.” 

To my knowledge, Clark Kerr never had any connection with the Smithsonian during his long and distinguished life. Mr. Bendix is possibly referring to I. Michael Heyman, former chancellor at Berkeley and former secretary of the Smithsonian for a few years. If Mr. Bendix wishes to denigrate someone, he should at least get his people straight. 

Sherry Smith 

• 

COUNCIL CHANGES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

When I came to Berkeley 17 years ago, I soon went to a city council meeting to get a feel for what was happening here. After 20 years of life in Orange County’s Fullerton, I was astounded by the difference in style. 

In Berkeley there were women on the council—even the mayor was female—and the members listened and were responsive to citizen input. Besides, it felt like the best show in town, with individual citizens shouting rudely from their seats, groups chanting slogans and folks wearing costumes and carrying picket signs. 

In Fullerton, strict decorum was maintained. Any of the aforementioned behavior would have led to immediate banishment. The councilpersons—all male for many years—filed in punctually, wearing three-piece suits and a stony expression. Meetings always started with both a Christian benediction and the Pledge of Allegiance. Although residents did have the opportunity to make statements, we all knew that the council had already reached a decision and sat through citizen participation because it was mandatory. Meetings rarely went past 10 p.m. 

Having experienced both ends of the spectrum, I much prefer the Berkeley spirit, but I wish a couple of changes could be made: (1) Let’s not turn the meeting into a circus. Save the show for street theater where it belongs. (2) During open mike, please limit the number of speakers per issue to two speakers who will not repeat each other. This will allow time to cover additional issues. In this period of budget-cutting, we need to provide first-hand information that would be helpful to the council and staff in making decisions. 

Rhoda Levinson 

• 

GLASS COMMISSION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is now about one month since I wrote about the broken glass gracing the sidewalk of Bancroft Way just west of Shattuck Avenue. At the time I wrote an opinion piece mentioning it (“Berkeley Officialdom Ignores an Impending Danger,” Daily Planet, Jan. 2-5) the broken glass had been there for more than three months without the city having done anything to clean it up. There are now, I am told, 49 separate city commissions. I suggest we set up a fiftieth (it’s a round number) to study the problem of the broken glass on the sidewalk. Then hire a couple of $100,000-a-year consultants to advise what to do. On second thought, I take it back. They might decide to bestow official landmark status on the broken glass. 

Paul Glusman 

• 

CRITIC CRITIQUE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As a 20-year resident of Central Berkeley, I feel compelled to respond to the commentary “Architectural Surprises Await in the ‘Flatlands’” by John Kenyon (Daily Planet, Jan. 27-29). The article attempts ‘architectural criticism’ but fails because it only shows the bias of the author’s perspective. Kenyon seems shocked to find examples of architecture worthy of his attention in the ‘visual limbo’ of the flatlands. Kenyon states: “Apart from a handful of surviving Victorians in Oceanview, the original water-based settlement is an uneventful mix of modest bungalows ranging from ‘Sub Craftsman’ to ‘Plebian Ranch,’ and made bearable here and there by surviving old trees and the city’s generous street-tree program.” Furthermore, “The busy traffic grid with its sea of humble dwellings on identical lots, seems boring if not ugly, and hardly gets a mention in architectural guidebooks.” Please, give me a break!. The examples he gives of encouraging trends are mostly post-industrial remodels which may fit his avant garde tastes, but which often do not fit the character of a neighborhood, and end up looking prematurely dated, and—dare I say it—ugly, over time. He salutes the “freedom from the sort of ‘contextualism’ that is, all to often, timid conformity to the prevailing neighborhood look.” One person’s ‘freedom from contextualism’ is another person’s sore thumb. 

Doug Smith 

• 

SCHOOL FLOODING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In response to John Crockett of BUSD grounds crew’s letter (Daily Planet, Jan. 30-Feb. 2), my comments about the flooding at Malcolm X had nothing to do with whether you can or cannot rake leaves. Maybe this has less to do with ability than how the grounds crew is utilized. At UC, during the winter, the primary job of the grounds crew is clearing leaves and pruning. And a cursory look at the UC campus is evidence of this effort.  

Two days after the newspaper article on the Malcolm X flood, I walked the perimeter of Willard, and the back of Willard was full of leaves, with a huge pile over the rear drain by the cafeteria back door. The scraggly bushes along the east and north fence of the ball field look no different than they did 12 years ago, and I have photos to show.  

Crockett refers to the new lawns at Cragmont and King. From my knowledge, lawns aren’t mowed much in winter. They certainly don’t need watering. I apologize if it’s not apparent what the grounds crew does during the winter. So what is the grounds crew doing in the winter? How is our tax money being spent?  

Yolanda Huang 

• 

BUS ROUTES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

For a quarter of a century the city of Berkeley has strongly advised motorists to use Telegraph Avenue and the 24 Freeway from/to the Caldecott Tunnel, the Warren Freeway, the Bay Bridge, and the Nimitz Freeway. This was done to relieve traffic pressures on College Avenue and in the Warring-Derby-Belrose corridor. The proposed rapid bus service would not be “more appealing” to any of these motorists; it does not reach any of their widely scattered and far-away destinations. If Telegraph Avenue is downsized....? Enough said? 

Wolfgang Homburger 

Kensington 

• 

TEXTBOOK PRICES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was very happy to see the issue of textbook price gouging being brought up in the article, “Study Hits Textbook Prices” (Daily Planet, Jan. 30-Feb. 2). This is an issue that affects the entire nation each year as parents and students are taxed with the great burden of paying outrageous prices for textbooks on top of the already high cost of college tuition. 

When I went to the student store, here at UC Berkeley, looking for my calculus textbook, I was shocked and frustrated that the only books available were brand new textbooks that cost over $100! There were no used books available, as the company had just released a new edition which I was forced to buy complete with a CD-ROM that I never even need or use. 

After reading your article I compared this new edition to a friend’s copy of the old one and quickly came to the conclusion that they were exact replicas. The idea that sales representatives intentionally deceive professors into ordering books at an increased cost in order to maximize their profits angers me even more. Publishing companies should take responsibility for their blatant exploitation of students and change their practices immediately! 

Liya Gendler 

UC Berkeley student 

• 

PRICING PRACTICES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was thrilled to read that a group has finally stood up and expressed what most of us students want to yell out during the first weeks of each semester: “Textbooks are just too expensive!!” This year I’ve spent well over $700 on books. The cost of textbooks combined with the increasing tuition fees and other expenses that students must deal with every year makes us feel overwhelmed. I’m glad to hear that there is a solution to this problem. As CALPIRG reported, there is a lot that the publisher can do to lower the price of books. By eliminating the practice of bundling textbooks, and letting editions stay on shelves longer, books become more affordable to students like me. I’m glad that the students are becoming aware of the gimmicks used by the publishing companies, and hopefully the textbook companies will reconsider their pricing practices. 

Cynthia Lopez 

UC Berkeley Student 

• 

ARNOLD’S DOUBLE WHAMMY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Gov. Schwarzenegger now proposes to cut money for education. That would reduce the quality of education for thousands of California students. It would raise costs substantially for others. And it would close the door entirely for thousands more. 

But that is not all. He then proposes to issue $l5 billion in bonds. And who would pay them off? A big hunk would be paid by the very same children whose education he now proposes to underfund. 

All because the governor refuses to raise taxes on the wealthy and to stop wasteful spending. He could save billions by releasing non violent offenders from prison and laying off some high paid prison guards. And he could stop the wasteful spending in Sacramento that Candidate Arnold promised to uncover. 

Which will he do? Will he be a statesman and raise taxes on the rich? Or will he give our children the double whammy. If he does that, he will go down in history as the governor who left no child unharmed. 

Karl M. Ruppenthal 

• 

ON CLARK KERR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In my letter published in your Jan. 30 edition, I asked for Michael Rossman’s credential’s justifying publication of his castigation of Clark Kerr. Consequently, I have learned that he was an odd, but admired, teacher of my granddaughter at the Ecole Bilangue and that, as a student, he had been an agitator in the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s. His diatribe was, I believe, based on his assumed role that Kerr played at the student sit-in in Sproul Hall. 

At the time of the sit-in, Ed Strong, the vice-chancellor, served as the campus executive while Kerr was out of town. Strong asked the various deans for advice on how to deal with all the students occupying Sproul Hall. As an assistant dean, I sat in on a meeting held to arrive at a recommendation: allow students to remain there for a time or remove them by force. We recommended against force, but Strong decided to call in the police. His action led to dire consequences: the National Guard helicopter spraying tear gas, etc., and to Kerr’s dismissal by Ronald Reagan—an act which probably contributed to Reagan’s election to the presidency. 

Karl Kasten 

Professor Emeritus  

TUESDAY, FEB. 3 

FILM 

Robert Beavers: “My Hand Outstretched” Program 1 at 7:30 p.m., with the artist in person, at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Susie Bright introduces “The Best American Erotica 2004” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of ensembles from Berkeley Jazzschool at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 4 

FILM 

“The Fog of War” clips from the Oscar-nominated documentary followed by a panel discussion between former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert. S. McNamara and film director Errol Norris. at 7:30 p.m. at Zellerbach Auditorium. Cost is $5-$10. 643-3274. 

Film 50: “The General Line” at 3 p.m. and Video: They Might be Giants, “Gary Hill” at 7:30 p.m. at Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa. 

berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES. 

Z.Z. Packer talks about her new book, “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Nazelah Jamison and Karen Ladson at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7,  

$5 with student i.d. 841-2082.  

www.starryploughpub.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert with Perfect Fifth, 16-voice a cappella ensemble, at International House, Piedmont Ave. at Bancroft. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Jonathan Lemalu, baritone, with Malcolm Martineau, piano, at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $46. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Dennis Kamakahi, Cyril Pahinui and Cindy Combs, Hawaiian singers and guitarists at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50 in advance, $18.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Nicole and the Sisters in Soul at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

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

Vince Wallace Jazz Machine at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Safeway, Implied Five, The Hunks at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5.  

848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

THURSDAY, FEB. 5 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Time’s Shadow: Photographs from the Jan Leonard and Jerrold Peil Collection” opens at the Berkeley Art Museum, Theater Gallery, through Aug. 8. 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

THEATER 

Aurora Theatre, “Man of Destiny” by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Barbara Oliver at 8 p.m., through March 7. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

FILM 

They Might be Giants: “The Passing” at 5:30 p.m. and Robert Beavers “My Hand Outstretched” Program 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Lunch Poems with Maxine Hong Kingston at 12:10 p.m. in the Morrison Library in Doe Library, UC Campus. Free. 642-0137. http://lunchpoems.berkeley.edu 

Alice Flaherty discusses “The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer’s Block, and the Creative Brain” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Sayre Van Young, a Berkeley research librarian, introduces us to “London’s War: A Traveler’s Guide to World War II,” at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533. 

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with Barbara Minton and Grace Morizawa, at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

George Pederson and His Pretty Good Band at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Vanessa Lowe and Bug-eyed Sprite, acoustic, experi-pop quartet at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

San Francisco Medicine Ball at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Savant Guard at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

FRIDAY, FEB. 6 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Frank Garvey “Genetically Modified Surrealism” new paintings, drawings and prints. Reception for the artist from 5 to 7 p.m. at Epic Arts Gallery, 1923 Ashby Ave. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Hilda Robinson “The Art of Living Black,” oil pastels, opens at the Women’s Cancer Resource Center, 5741 Telegraph Ave. 601-4040, ext. 111. www.wcrc.org 

THEATER 

Actor’s Ensemble of Berkeley, “Helen of Troy (Revised),” written by Wolfgang Hilesheimer, translated and directed by David Fenerty at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck. Fri. and Sat. eves through Feb. 21. Admission is $10. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Albany High School, “Grease” at 8 p.m. at Albany High School Little Theaer, 603 Key Route Blvd. Also on Sat. at 1 and 8 p.m. and Sun. at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5-$10, 558-2575. 

Aurora Theatre, “Man of Destiny” by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Barbara Oliver at 8 p.m., through March 7. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley Repertory Theater, “Yellowman” by Dael Orlandersmith, directed by Les Waters, 2025 Addison St. Through March 7. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Impact Theater, “Say You Love Satan” opens at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid. Through March 13. 464-4468. www.impacttheater.com 

Independent Theater Projects, “Three One-Acts”, performed and produced by Berkeley High students, at 8 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Tickets are $4-$8 at the door. gcrane0601@hotmail.com 

Bill Santiago’s “Spanglish 101” at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

FILM 

Workshop with Robert Beavers at 3 p.m. and Anthony Mann: “The Great Flamarion” at 7:30 p.m. and “Strange Impersonation” at 9:10 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Merce Cunningham Dance Company at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $26-$46, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Mozart Birthday Celebration with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $20. 415-392-4400. www.sfchamberorchestra.org 

Ives Quartet, “Les Vendredis” chamber works by Russian composers, at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $10-$18. 415-883-0727. 

Christy Dana Quartet at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. 524-1124. 

Viviane e Prefixo de Verão, from Brazil, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Route 111, Thriving Ivory, Polly’s Orchid at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $6. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Pete Best Experience, Cover Girls at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Triple Play, jazz trio, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Ira Marlowe at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $10-$15. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Denise Perrier at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Quetzal at 9:30 p.m. benefit for Urban Promise Academy, at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

Steve Seskin & Allen Shambkin at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50 advance, $18.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Katy Jay Band at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Good Clean Fun, Time for Living, Kill the Messenger, Case of Emergency, at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Flowtilla at 9 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Teed Rockwell, Hindustani classical music at 8 p.m. at Bansuri’s Spring Gallery, 3929 Piedmont Ave. Oakland. 594-0754. www.bansuri.net 

SATURDAY, FEB. 7 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Derique the clown at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $3-$4. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

“Wild About Books” storytime with the Brian Waite Band, at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

THEATER 

“Ben Franklin: Unplugged” with Josh Kornbluth in a comic, autobiographocal monologue at 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Tickets are $15-$22 in advance, $25 at the door. 848-0237. 

Independent Theater Projects, “Three One-Acts”, performed and produced by Berkeley High students, at 8 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., between Spruce and Euclid. Tickets are $4-$8 at the door. gcrane0601@hotmail.com 

FILM 

Victor Sjostrom: “His Grace’s Will” at 7 p.m. and “The Monastery of Sendomir” at 8:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with Forrest Gander and Elizabeth Robinson at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

Poetry Reading and Contest Winners Celebration from 3 to 5 p.m. with the Bay Area Poets Coalition at the South Branch Library, 1901 Russell St. 527-9905. poetalk@aol.com. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella at 8 p.m. in Wheeler Auditorium at UC Berkeley. Competing groups are California Golden Overtones, Cal Jazz Choir, University of Oregon Divisi, Stanford Harmonics, and others. Tickets are $7-$10. www.varsityvocals.com  

Merce Cunningham Dance Company at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $26-$46, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Flauti Diversi, “The Italians Are Coming,” baroque music in the Italian style from 18th century London at 8 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany. Tickets are $15-$18. 527-9840.  

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra with Melvyn Tan, fortepiano at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $29-$60. 415-392-4400 www.philharmonia.org  

Trinity Chamber Concerts Joyce Todd McBride, contralto, Dawn Kooyumjian, pianist, performing Haydn’s “Arianna a Naxos,” Brahms Lieder, and works for solo piano at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

Marina Lavalle and Lalo Izquierdo perform Afro-Peruvian music at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Faye Carroll, music from then to now, at 8 p.m. at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $10-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Bob Marley Birthday Celebration with Groundation at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

The Earl White Band, traditional old-time music at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50 advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freight- 

andsalvage.org 

The Lovemakers, Desoto Reds at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

The Servants, Trouble Horse, Jerry Hannon at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Matt Renzi, Peter Barshay and Eddie Marshall at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Tree Leyburn and guests at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

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

www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Braziu, samba, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $12. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

Kylesa, Brainoil, Iron Lung, Desolation, at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Bryan Girard Trio at 9 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Irina Rivkin and Making Waves CD fundraiser at Rose Street House of Music. Donation $5-$20. For information and location call 594-4000 ext. 687. www.rosestreetmusic.com 

Wataka Ensemble, Afro-Vene- 

zuelan dance and music at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation of $8-$15 suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.org 

SUNDAY, FEB. 8 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Matrix 210: Simryn Gill “Standing Still” Photographs exploring the idea of time standing still opens at the Berkeley Art Museum and runs through April 4. 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Stephen A. Fisher, “Perspectives” photographs with recurring compositions. Reception for the artist from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at the Community Art Gallery, Alta Bates Medical Center, 2450 Ashby. Through March 26. 

Animal Art at the Oakland Animal Shelter, by Jennifer Brault, Julia Kay and Debbie Sawin. Reception from 1 to 3 p.m. at 1101 29th Ave. 535-5605. www.oklandanimalservices.org 

FILM 

Robert Beavers “My Hand Outsretched” Program 3 at 3 p.m. and Victor Sjostrom: “Karin, Daughter of Ingmar” at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“The Purple Heart” at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $2. 848-0237. 

8th Annual Bike Film Fest, a fundraiser for Bicycle Friendly Berkeley Coalition from 4 to 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$20 sliding scale. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with David Daniel and Jane Mead at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

“The True Story of Hansel and Gretel: A Novel of War and Survival” with author Louise Murphy, at 2 p.m. at Bereley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Co-Sponsored by Café Europa and Black Oak Books. 848-0237, ext. 112.  

Berkeley Women and the History of the University’s YWCA with author Dorothy Clemens at 2 p.m. at berkeley History Center, 1931 Center St. 848-0181. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc 

“Jewish and African-American Artists of the Thirties: A Chronicle of Shared Experience” with cultural and art historian Bram Dijkstra at 2 p.m. at Judah L. Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. 549-6950. www.magnes.org 

Read Shakespeare Aloud with the Shakespeare Reading Club. No experience necessary. For information and location please call Clifford Schwartz 306-0206. cswilford@lycos.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Live Oak Concert “Le Gôut Italien,” music of Vivaldi and others at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. Cost is $9-$10. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Hilary Hahn, violin and Natalie Zhu, piano, at 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32-$56, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Organ Recital with Malcolm Rudland at 6:10 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. Donations appreciated. 845-0888. 

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra with Melvyn Tan, fortepiano, at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $29-$60. 415-392-4400. www.philharmonia.org  

Community Women’s Orchestra “Other Worlds” a family concert with works by Beethoven, Mozart, Holst and Shore at 4 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church, 5201 Park Blvd., Piedmont. $5 donation. 530-4213. 

“Oaktown Blue” an afternoon of song, dance, drama, and spoken word in salute to West Oakland in the ‘20s at 2 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

The Rebeca Mauleon Quartet at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $20. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com  

Ta Ke Ti Na Workshop with Zorina Wolf from 3 to 6 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $35. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble, annual fundraiser, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

024c and CMAU, experimental improvisors at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $8-$15 suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.org

Berkeley—virtually world headquarters of the educated eccentric—would seem a perfect home for Paul Mitchell. 

A licensed airplane body and engine mechanic, the Manhattan-born, Toronto-raised and widely traveled Mitchell (Europe, Africa, Japan, and Brazil) has a B.A. in English from Cornell University and a Masters in Educational Psychology from Santa Clara University. Tall, articulate, and soft-spoken, a former athlete, with a thick, salt-and-pepper beard and hair stuffed into a bright-colored knit cap, the 55-year-old Mitchell can talk for hours—if you let him—on subjects ranging from black literature to the Prince Hall Masons (the black Masonic organization) to the origins of blue tick coonhounds (George Washington, he will tell you, received five of them as a gift from the Marquis de Lafayette, which is how the dogs got to America in the first place). 

On Thursday, Mitchell will learn from the Berkeley Housing Authority if he’ll have to keep living in a van on the Berkeley streets with his two dogs. 

Three months ago, Mitchell was evicted from his rental home in a two-story peeling-paint duplex across the street from Malcolm X Elementary on Ashby Avenue, where he had lived since December, 2002. Because he failed to notify the Berkeley Housing Authority about his eviction, the agency soon began the procedure to revoke Mitchell’s Section 8 Housing voucher. 

Section 8 vouchers are like gold for low-income renters. In Berkeley alone, with only 1,700 vouchers issued, there are 5,000 people on the waiting list to receive them. Without the voucher, which authorizes the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to pay 70 percent of Mitchell’s rent, his Supplemental Security Income disability checks aren’t enough to pay for housing. His disability comes from a recreational accident that resulted in a steel rod in his lower leg. 

And why did Mitchell fail to notify the Berkeley Housing Authority about his eviction? 

Because he was in the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin when the eviction notice was issued. 

“I tried to contact the housing authority,” he says. But it’s a long-distance telephone call from Dublin to Berkeley, he explains, and “the housing authority doesn’t accept collect calls.” 

Berkeley Housing Director Steve Barton said he was prohibited by law from talking about the case, and wasn’t even permitted to confirm the names of participants in the city’s various subsidized housing programs. 

Tenants qualify for Section 8 vouchers by either earning less than half of area median income, or by meeting a joint disability and low-income guideline. Qualified tenants are then placed on a waiting list for the vouchers, where can last several years. 

Barton said the vouchers can be revoked if a tenant fails to follow HUD guidelines. 

Paul Mitchell’s present problems began one evening last September when, after an evening of being “a little depressed and walking the street after drinking several Guinesses,” he said stumbled against the side of a home near the corner of McGee and Addison streets. While Berkeley police initially charged him with burglary, the charge was later reduced to trespassing. 

Mitchell’s still awaiting trial in the case, represented by the Alameda County Public Defenders Office. 

While still at Santa Rita, Mitchell received a three-day eviction notice. Released soon after, he says he returned to his Ashby Avenue house to find the locks already changed and his belongings confiscated. 

According to Mitchell’s attorney with the East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley, Laura Lane, Mitchell was evicted for “threatening other tenants” at the duplex, as well as for keeping his two dogs in his rental house (a Blue Tick Coonhound, of course, and a Chow). 

“He’s got to have the dogs,” Lane explained. “He’s got doctors orders for them, as companions, for his disability.” 

Landlord Chris Swain received a default judgment on the eviction, which Lane is presently fighting in Alameda County Superior Court on the grounds that Mitchell did not answer the original complaint because he was never served. 

“We’re not trying to get him back into the house,” Lane said. “Somebody else has already moved in there, and the courts aren’t going to evict the second tenant in order to satisfy the first. We’re just trying to get the eviction default off of his record. Otherwise, it will be next to impossible for him to find another house to rent.” 

Thursday’s housing authority hearing, where Mitchell will be represented by East Bay Community Law Center attorney Sharon Djemal, will determine whether the housing authority will revoke Mitchell’s Section 8 voucher. Djemal said the eviction by itself wasn’t enough to trigger the voucher revocation. 

The crucial factor was that Mitchell didn’t report it to the housing authority, and Djemal says she will argue that his incarceration prevented him from doing so. 

With the voucher, Mitchell will join 110 other Berkeley residents looking for units to rent. Without it, he’ll almost certainly remain on the street, swelling by one the ranks of Berkeley’s homeless.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a letter sent to Berkeley Chief Building Official Joan MacQuarrie, Mayor Tom Bates, Planning Director Dan Marks, Housing Director Steve Barton and Mark Rhoades for submission to the Members of the Zoning Adjustments Board. 

The Berkeleyan building at Oxford Street and Berkeley Way, completed in 1998, appears to be the third of the new breed of mixed-use buildings to require major stucco repair at a youthful age—scaffolding now covers the courtyard area on the west side of the building. 

The east side of University Lofts (University Avenue and Grant Streets, completed in 1997) was replaced in Summer, 2002. The south side of this building now shows many ominous, discolored cracks from which water oozes during wet weather.  

The south side of the Gaia building (completed in 2001) required replacement of several layers of material (even the insulation) over a 10-month period starting just 16 months after completion. Were all of the removed materials recycled? Will the other three sides of the building need the same protracted repair? 

I have been puzzled and amazed at the rapid deterioration of these lauded examples of “smart growth” and “sustainable development.” They have, after all, won awards from the Downtown Berkeley Association, the Pacific Builders Conference and the Berkeley Design Advocates for innovative mixed-use development. Perhaps old-fashioned workmanship beats innovation in mundane and practical matters such as water-proofing. 

I consulted my contractor friends about the technicalities of stucco construction. Each thought that the building standards with respect to exterior cladding had been lowered in the last two decades—probably due to pressure from the building industry—and that many of the materials used now are experimental. 

While investigating stucco failure, I became interested in a product called oriented strand board (OSB), often used instead of plywood. It can be seen out in the elements at job sites, such as the shockingly large project at Shattuck Avenue and Haste Street. OSB is composed of wood strands and glue. The manufacturers claim it is equivalent to plywood, but it is known to absorb moisture with enthusiasm and is particularly susceptible to the growth of mold.  

I don’t know whether it’s the OSB or other “innovative” cost-cutting measures which have caused the rapid failure of the largest new buildings in Berkeley, but there are many handsome 1920s buildings in town still wearing their original stucco cladding. 

After reading every article I could find about water intrusion and envelope failure in new construction, I learned that leaking stucco is a nationwide problem in post-1980 buildings in both the U.S. and Canada. One article discussing the national debate about the cause of these failures concludes: “Unfortunately, this indicates that stucco may not be compatible with the wall systems being built today.” 

In another article written by an engineer about leaky condominiums, he explains the problem to be that designers, builders and regulators are unaware of the consequences of failing to achieve moisture control. He concludes: “What appears to be called for is a return to more traditional practices, in which the building has a drainage system and, therefore, can breathe.” 

I ask each of you to use your respective positions to bring the permitting process for multi-story stucco-clad buildings to a halt until the cause of these failures has been determined. Ms. MacQuarrie, please launch an investigation into the building practices currently used, and the reasons for the dramatic stucco failures in new construction of the last seven years. Mr. Marks, please do what you can to rein in a planning staff who never met a colossal edifice they didn’t love. Finally, Mayor Bates, do you want to be remembered forever for encouraging a rash of flawed, leaking and ultimately hated construction projects disfiguring this once beautiful town? The choice is yours. 

Gale Garcia describes herself as one of those pesky Berkeley natives who thinks “smart growth” is just developer propaganda.

Thomas Jefferson’s legacy in Berkeley may rest on the vote of school children born after William Jefferson Clinton took office. 

But not if Jefferson Elementary School Principal Betty Delaney can stop it. 

According to Jefferson PTA President Linda Safarik-Tong, Delaney told the PTA that concerns from parents and teachers have led her to seek permission from the Berkeley Unified School District to waive a requirement that students as young as five vote on the controversial drive to strike the name of the author of the Declaration of Independence from the school. 

“It’s an emotional minefield for students,” said Jefferson first grade teacher Marguerite Talley-Hughes, who along with parents and fellow teachers initiated the effort last spring to rename the school so it wouldn’t bear the mark of a slaveholder.  

District policy requires that proposed name changes first win approval form 20 percent of parents, staff and students at the school. 

Last spring advocates for a new name collected signatures from 40 percent of staff and 32 percent of parents—but on the principal’s order, students have remained on the sideline. 

“My responsibility is to keep [students] safe and out of the process until we formalize what will happen,” said Delaney, who refused comment on any intention to request a waiver barring a vote either for all students or for Kindergarten, first-, second- and third graders. 

Delaney, who has remained neutral throughout the debate, has faced criticism from parents that the process has been under the radar, and her request for a waiver is clouded in confusion. One parent said he heard “third-hand” that the district had denied the request, while Superintendent Michele Lawrence said Delaney hasn’t broached the subject with her. 

With enough votes from staff and parents to proceed with a name change, the weight of the process falls on students, with parents on both sides of the debate, but most agreeing that the issue is better suited to fourth- and fifth-graders. 

“It could be really good for social studies,” said Rachel Chernoff, the mother of a kindergarten student she acknowledged didn’t know who Jefferson was. 

Mark Piccillo, a parent who opposes the name change and is slated to sit on a newly formed committee to guide the name change process, said he disagreed with some parents he said were pushing for a student vote in hopes of “deep sixing” the proposal. 

“When it comes to serious stuff like this, where there are strong feelings and no clear answers, it should be up to the parents,” he said. 

Should Jefferson go, he would be the latest in a steady stream of dead white males given the heave-ho from Berkeley schools. Shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., James Garfield Middle School was renamed in his honor. Abraham Lincoln Elementary became Malcolm X under a groundswell of community support, and just four years ago Christopher Columbus Elementary was rebuilt and renamed after Rosa Parks. 

Rosa Parks Parent Liaison Maria Gonzalez said their school followed the rules to a tee, allowing students to vote first on a name change and then on a new name. Although in Rosa Parks’ case there was little controversy over the call for a name change, there was heated debate on whether the new name should honor Parks or Caesar Chavez. 

Lawrence said she opposed changing district policy to fit one circumstance and disagreed with those who wanted to keep students out of the debate.  

“That’s a dangerous road to go down saying young children can’t be educated on issues that are controversial in nature. I don’t agree with that as a parent or as an educator,” she said. 

However, many teachers and parents interviewed said they feared a vote could traumatize students who aren’t emotionally or intellectually mature enough to deal with slavery. 

“It would be a very hurtful discussion,” said Beverly Thiele, a second grade teacher at Jefferson and a supporter of the name change. She feared that a vote would put her students at risk of accusations of racism or insensitivity. “It’s OK to include them on future names, but not this,” she said. 

If the students must vote, Talley-Hughes insisted the Jefferson debate be presented to them in a forthright manner. “It they are going to be part of the process we must be honest with them. We can’t couch it in terms that cloud the issues at hand.” 

District policy doesn’t specify guidelines for a student vote, leaving it up to the school to decide whether or not to teach special lessons on Jefferson before polling the students. 

Lawrence envisioned several methods to involve children, including having the principal go to each classroom and explain the issue or calling an assembly that presents both sides of the issue, then allows students who support a name change to sign the petition. 

Should 20 percent of students support the name change, the remainder of the process is equally vague. A committee of parents and staff, formed to guide the process, has yet to meet, while the student vote issue remains unresolved. 

Ultimately, a new name must receive support from 50 percent of parents, staff and students—and Jefferson’s name won’t be excluded from the competition, giving hope to some in the Jefferson camp that the ultimately the status quo might survive. 

“A lot of us want the name kept,” Piccillo said. “No one’s going to beat Jefferson.”

• 

FIVE CORRECTIONS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

This letter is to correct a number of factual errors in Becky O’Malley’s recent editorial about the planning commission’s hotel subcommittee (“Weak Mayor, Open Policy,” Daily Planet, Jan. 30-Feb. 2).  

First and foremost, I continue to support the work of the planning commission’s hotel subcommittee—which was authorized in a city council item that I authored. I, along with many members of the public, have attended those subcommittee meetings and I believe it is serving a very useful purpose. 

Second, as my open letter to the hotel subcommittee clearly states, I am not opposed to the creation of a community task force. I simply requested the planning commission hold off on the formal creation of a task force for a month or so until a permit process is negotiated with the university and presented to the city council and the community for discussion.  

Third, when I was elected to the state assembly in 1976, I did everything I could to stop move of the California Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. Unfortunately, it was too late to stop the move and the property was given to the university. I did then work with Councilmember Loni Hancock and the immediate neighbors to get the university to limit the number of students and cars, open up the track, sports field and swimming pool to the community, deed all the land behind the school to East Bay Regional Park District (to ensure that it would remain in open space), build senior housing on the site and agree to a deed restriction on the land to guarantee the terms of the agreement. 

Fourth, I do not support changing Berkeley’s city manager form of government.  

Fifth, I did not play quarterback for the Cal Bears’ Rose Bowl football team. That position was played by Joe Kapp. I played tight end and defensive end. 

Tom Bates 

Mayor

Nearly eight years after 86 percent of Berkeley voters approved a state ballot initiative opening the door for medical marijuana, local cannabis clubs fear the city might abandon its arm’s length embrace of them for a full-on bear hug. 

“That’s the direction they’re heading in, which is fine,” said James Blair founder of the Berkeley Cannabis Buyer’s Network (CBCB). “We just don’t want them to regulate us into illegality. 

On Wednesday, Oakland City Council might do just that to some of the city’s dozen or so clubs as it debates an ordinance calling for the city to license no more than four. 

Blair’s group was Berkeley’s first—and for now, at least—its most controversial cannabis club. CBCB’s plans to move its operations from its seven-year home on Shattuck Avenue to a blighted section of Sacramento Street drew such staunch opposition from neighbors fearing further drug violence that last month the city revoked the leaseholder’s use permit to house nonprofit administrative offices as added insurance to keep the cannabis club out. 

The dispute, Blair said, is indicative of a Berkeley’s response to Proposition 215, passed by voters in 1996. “Berkeley has been a very reluctant partner,” he said. “They didn’t encourage it, they don’t want it, they wish it would go somewhere else.” 

Don Duncan, who runs one of Berkeley’s three pot clubs that dispense marijuana as pain medicine for licensed patients, had kinder words for the city, but also voiced fears of what officials might ultimately have in store for the clubs. 

“Government regulation is inevitable,” he said. “Our hope is that the clubs will be involved with the process.” 

So far Berkeley has hesitated at offering guidelines for implementing the medical marijuana law, which club officials say has led to unnecessary confusion. 

As Berkeley’s pioneer club, the CBCB went through a labyrinth of commissions before winning city council approval as the city’s lone provider. But when a moratorium on new clubs ended two years later, others followed suit by getting over-the-counter permits for miscellaneous retail. 

“I told the guy at the permit center it was for a cannabis club. He said ‘That sounds pretty miscellaneous to me,’” Duncan said. 

The city has since required all prospective club operators to announce their intentions and file for a special permit, but most other efforts to regulate the industry have fallen by the wayside. 

The city council rejected a sweeping 1999 ordinance championed by the clubs and Councilmember Kriss Worthington that would have granted rights to cannabis providers and users and zoned clubs as appropriate for retail districts. 

After years of debate, a whittled-down version of the ordinance was passed in 2001 regulating how many plants patients and clubs could grow and stockpile—but not where clubs could locate. 

“That law has been a pain in the butt,” said Dale Gieringer, California Coordinator for the National Association for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). 

The ordinance allowed patients to grow 10 plants, which is enough for residents of Humboldt County—where plants grow as tall as Christmas trees, Duncan said—but not in Berkeley, where most plants are grown in flower pots. 

Berkeley Health Director Fred Madrano said Berkeley has, until now, avoided taking a strong regulatory stance because of the legal ambiguities posed by the clubs, which by their very existence are in violation of federal law. “How do you regulate something that is illegal,” he mused. 

But the trend, club operators say, is towards increasing government intervention. 

In addition to the proposed Oakland ordinance, Hayward has implemented strict zoning limitations for its four clubs, and last year the state passed Senate Bill 420 giving counties purview to assign patient cards and organize cultivation facilities. 

In Berkeley, a slew of armed robberies two years ago at a University Avenue club drew city attention, until ultimately the city and other clubs decided to shut it down. 

Then after the robbery last December of a club on Telegraph Avenue, police determined that a patient at the club was reselling cannabis on the street and officials gave the operator a stern warning. 

“We said, ‘Look, this is not the kind of operation we want you to run here and you need to fix this stuff,’” Madrano said. 

To set new ground rules, the clubs last year proposed an ordinance declaring them appropriate for retail corridors, but the bill died when supporters realized they lacked a majority on the city council. 

Now, with CBCB’s future home dangling in the wind due to neighborhood opposition, club operators fear they could be pushed into industrial areas of the city. 

“Obviously we’re worried,” Duncan said. “We thought their move would be a routine matter. We just don’t want to see a laundry list of restrictions to push us out into the fringes where patients can’t get care.”

Berkeley’s bed and breakfast owners have nine days left to apply for a 

city license that will allow them to continue operating their ultimate “home 

businesses” in residential neighborhoods—though for former school principal 

Helen Christensen, the red tape has proved only a minor inconvenience. 

To keep operating her home as a B&B, Helen Christensen had to install a 

new smoke alarm, start keeping her dogs out of the kitchen and apply for a 

business license and health permit—tasks the retired school administrator 

performed easily.n a school principal, I’m a very good bureaucrat,” said Christensen, 67, sitting by the fireplace in the living room of the north Berkeley home she runs as the Brown Shingle B&B.  

The inspections and paperwork were part of the requirements that city health and budget officials recently started demanding of the handful of Berkeley residents who have long quietly welcomed short-term lodgers into their homes. 

Bed and breakfast owners have been under increased scrutiny since budget officials discovered in the summer of 2002 that they weren’t paying hotel taxes.  

Officials soon realized that the B&B owners were violating zoning laws by running businesses in residentially zoned areas—something that hadn’t previously attracted attention because their neighbors hadn’t complained—and that no agency was monitoring their adherence to health and safety standards.  

Councilmembers voted last fall to let the proprietors stay in business, exempting them from hotel taxes as long as their average occupancy stayed below 50 percent. The ordinance councilmembers approved also required innkeepers to apply for business licenses and allow health and safety officials to inspect their homes by Feb. 11. 

So far, a dozen or so B&B operators have applied for their licenses and permits. City budget officials are publicizing the policy in the weeks leading up to the deadline through newspaper advertisements and press releases. 

But the zoning code exemptions will only apply to the currently operating B&Bs—which means the city may be left without bed and breakfasts when the current operators stop taking guests.  

And this seems inevitable: many of the city’s bed and breakfast owners are older residents who won’t be able to accommodate guests indefinitely.  

Some city officials—as well as many current B&B operators—say it’s unfair that homeowners with empty rooms to rent are being denied the chance at some extra income.  

So along with granting the zoning and tax exemptions, councilmembers asked the city’s planning commission to look into establishing a way for further inns to open in residential areas without violating the city’s zoning ordinance. The planning commission is scheduled to take up the issue in an upcoming meeting, according to planning department secretary Ruth Grimes.  

“I’m all for the bed and breakfasts,” said Councilmember Betty Olds, whose Berkeley Hills district has many of the inns. “They add a lot to the city and people like to stay in them. For the city to freeze them out is absolutely wrong.”  

Bed and breakfasts operating on Berkeley’s residential streets account for only about 30 of the city’s roughly 1,200 guest rooms, said Barbara Hillman, president of the Berkeley Convention and Visitors Bureau.  

“It’s a very small portion, but it’s a very important one,” said Hillman “A lot of people like the ambiance of staying in a homey environment. They fill a niche that hotels can’t.”  

The city’s housing and environmental health departments are now in the process of checking whether the inns are eligible to continue filling that niche.  

Harmindar Sran, a city health specialist, said her agency has inspected all but one of the inns and that about half of them were deemed eligible for permits. B&Bs that offer food—which not all do—need health permits, Sran said, even if they are serving items prepared elsewhere using their own dishes and utensils.  

Inspectors are making sure that inns’ refrigerators are the right temperature, that they have hot and cold running water, and that they have a three-compartment sink or a dishwasher, Sran said. Innkeepers also have to demonstrate that they are getting the food they serve from sources that have their own permits, she said.  

Sran said that B&Bs are exempted from many of the requirements demanded of formal restaurants, which must use restaurant-grade equipment and provide a changing area for employees. That’s because the state food safety laws that her agency is just now starting to enforce at the inns have long offered exceptions to bed and breakfasts.  

“This isn’t something new that’s been concocted,” said Sran. “It’s just the city didn’t have these places as permitted places.”  

Housing department inspectors, meanwhile, have so far evaluated only one inn, which passed, said housing inspector Carlos Roma. Since the city’s B&Bs were originally built as single-family homes, the inns are being inspected as residences, rather than as hotels, said Roma. They are the same type of housing inspections—where lighting, ventilation and access to entrances and exits are evaluated for compliance with city codes—that are undertaken when a home is newly built or renovated, he said.  

In the months leading up to the inspections, both agencies have been fielding questions from the innkeepers about what they need to do to pass muster. “I received inquiries and I gave them some generalizations of what the minimum housing code standards are,” said Roma.  

But innkeepers say that the inspectors’ demands haven’t really required them to rethink how they run their B&Bs. They were already meeting most of the requirements without explicitly knowing what they were, they said.  

“It’s common sense,” said Mary Leggett, 64, who runs her Elmwood home as M’s Bed and Breakfast. “You put up smoke alarms. You put a pad under the rug so no one slips. You do the same things for your own family.”  

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series about people and businesses that make things in Berkeley.  

People don’t often think of Berkeley as a factory town, but manufacturing has been going on here for over a century. West Berkeley grew up around factories and still houses our lively industrial district.  

Over the years, the nature of our industry has greatly changed, shifting from heavy to light, introducing new technologies and incorporating many artists and artisans. Manufacturing remains a vital part of our town’s economy and culture. To many Berkeleyans, it’s also an invisible part.  

Americans are starting to grasp the importance of industry to the nation’s prosperity. Going behind the walls of our factories and laboratories, workshops and warehouses, this series will enable Berkeley citizens to get acquainted with their own town’s industrial scene, the challenges it faces and the unique contributions it makes to our local life.  

Berkeley’s Body Time Was the Original Body Shop  

In the past thirty years, three Berkeley-born businesses revolutionized their industries and made their names famous around the world: Chez Panisse, Peet’s Coffee and The Body Shop. You may be thinking: Chez Panisse and Peet’s, for sure, but The Body Shop? Isn’t that the company run by that famous British woman entrepreneur, Anita Roddick?  

It is now. But in the beginning, The Body Shop was the name of the one-of-a-kind business that was started in 1970 on Telegraph Avenue by two fifty-something sisters-in-law, Peggy Short and Jane Saunders, with the help of their good friends Hank and Charlotte Libby.  

As Manda Heron, Peggy Short’s daughter, and Body Time’s current owner and president, tells it, her aunt proposed to her mother that they start a French-style perfume store, where customers could do their own blending. Hank Libby, the pharmaceutical chemist who ran Libby Labs in West Berkeley, urged them to have not just perfumes but shampoos, lotions and bubble baths.  

“They didn’t have any money,” says Heron. “So they bought cheap empty plastic bottles; they hand-labeled all their own products; they poured all the products from gallon bottles; the soap was in slabs, and they cut it with a big cleaver; they wrapped everything by hand; and everything was sold by the ounce. So you could come in, and bring your own bottle in, or you could bring The Body Shop bottle in and have it refilled. They also started custom scenting. They had a lot of unscented products, mostly body oils, and you could custom scent them with all these perfume oils. Plus they sold the perfume oils in little vials.”  

In 1970, this was a radically new way to sell personal care products. Heron lies The Body Shop’s innovations to the spirit of the times. “All these young people were involved in fighting the Vietnam War,” she says. “There was the sense of hope that things could be changed.”  

Certainly anyone walking into the first Body Shop, on Telegraph Avenue, immediately felt a big change from the too-often intimidating cosmetics counter of a department store. The mood was friendly and relaxed. The Body Shop staff dressed casually, with little or no makeup. The place was homey, its counters made of naturally finished wood, its walls hung with an antique mirror and a wood mantelpiece.  

And the products were noticeably different from the standard offerings of the industry. The Body Shop’s offerings were biodegradable. Many of them, such as Papaya Moisture Cream, Avocado Lotion, Cocoa Butter Cream and Camomile Shampoo, emphasized natural ingredients. Their quality was as high as anything sold by major manufacturers, but thanks to the absence of fancy packaging and expensive advertising, the prices were much lower. And you could recycle the company’s empty containers at the store. “There wasn’t anything like it,” says Heron, and it took off right away.  

By the mid-1970’s, The Body Shop had grown to include several retail stores, as well as mail order and wholesale divisions. The two founders continued to run the company, with the added assistance of their two daughters each.  

Meanwhile, imitators had sprung up across the country and abroad. In 1976 a British company calling itself “The Body Shop” opened a similar business in England. The owner, Anita Roddick, wanted to expand into the United States but couldn’t use the name because the Berkeley-based company already had it.  

Peggy Short and Jane Saunders had gotten the original name for their store from Charlotte Libby. When they’d told her that they’d found a counter space for their new shop in C.J.’s Old Garage on Telegraph, which was being turned into small stores, she’d said, “Oh, call it The Body Shop!”  

In 1987, after much negotiation, Peggy Short and Jane Saunders sold the rights to the name to Roddick’s firm for $3.5 million. In 1992, the original Body Shop changed its name to Body Time.  

Today perhaps the biggest challenge facing Body Time is that the business concept it pioneered has gotten too successful. After Anita Roddick’s organization came into the United States, Heron says, “big-time corporate money—The Limited, Victoria’s Secret—imitated them.” Then came the green grocers and the holistic pharmacies, also selling environmentally friendly personal care products. In the face of a saturated market and a faltering economy, Body Time saw its sales drop by 20 percent last year.  

Body Time’s founders had many offers to franchise their business. They preferred to keep it a small, family-run and family-owned operation. Manda Heron, 55, carries on the tradition. The company’s intimate character, she says, is suited to its high level of customer service.  

“Because we do mixing in the stores, customers need highly qualified help. It’s easy to overscent a product. If you put too much essential oil into a perfume or a lotion, it’s ruined.”  

Body Time staff are trained to know the properties of different oils—almond and citrus can be caustic, lavender is soothing—and which ones enhance each other. It was the company’s staff who developed China Rain, for 20 years Body Times’ best-selling scent.  

But customers are welcome to come up with their own fragrance recipes. Indeed, a customer suggested the basic formula for Heron’s favorite perfume, a mixture of amber resin and jojoba oil.  

Body Time’s ingredients come from Prima Fleur in San Rafael and West Berkeley’s Libby Labs, now run by Hank’s daughter Susan.  

“We get big drums from Libby, and we pour their contents into four-, eight- and 16-ounce containers and send them to the stores, where they get labeled. We also send the stores gallons, which they pour on site. If a product’s not real popular, they pour it in the stores. If it’s real popular, we pour it. And we have a little teeny pouring machine for putting perfume oils in little vials.”  

Body Time collaborates with both Libby Labs and Prima Fleur on new products. Right now Heron’s working on a body butter that can be custom scented.  

Many of the items in the store’s “menu” have won a loyal following of longtime customers. In fact, customers are so loyal that it’s hard to close a product line. Often, when a product has been discontinued, Body Time brings it back in response to customer complaints.  

That responsiveness is another hallmark of the company. “We write back to everybody. The reason we can do it is because we’re small, and we want to do it.” Many customers have been patrons for 15 or 20 years.  

Today Body Time has seven retail outlets, including four in Berkeley. The company’s offices, warehouse and substantial mail-order operation are all located in a handsome new building in West Berkeley.  

The Berkeley connection matters. “We thought about moving the headquarters to Richmond, but I really wanted to stay in Berkeley,” says Heron. “We have employees who get to work on the bus. Getting to Richmond would be a horrible trek for them.” 

But there’s more at stake in the Berkeley address than convenience. There’s also a commitment to history. “What happened on Telegraph Avenue,” Heron says, “could only have happened on Telegraph Avenue.”  

Thanks to her family, their employees and their customers, it’s still happening on Telegraph and everywhere else that Body Time products are produced, sold and used.

KOLKATA, India—Usually the dour official at the Kolkata airport barks, “Any gold? Electronics? Computer?” But this time, when I landed in India from America via Singapore, he was more interested in the food I was carrying. Cooked food from abroad, especially from Southeast Asia, is now suspect. In the age of the bird flu, I have been upgraded from potential electronics smuggler to a disease vector. 

In a world of collapsing boundaries, as flights from every corner of the globe disgorged passengers into the transit lounge of Singapore’s Changi International Airport, alarmed officials try desperately to guard their borders against diseases that spread at Boeing speed. The duty-free shop in San Francisco warned that beef jerky purchased there had to be consumed before landing in Seoul, since South Korea had just banned American beef products. At Hong Kong, large signs asked passengers if they had a persistent cough and flu-like symptoms. In Singapore, airport officials peered into a monitor as each deplaning passenger passed through what looked like an x-ray machine.  

But the flu rages through Southeast Asia, claiming another six-year-old in Bangkok and four million chickens in Karachi, Pakistan, making mincemeat of the governments’ efforts to corner it. For the anti-globalization activists, departing from the recently concluded World Social Forum in Mumbai, the bird flu is another potent reminder of how difficult it is to de-globalize the world once the genie has left the bottle. 

India, however, is trying to seal its boundaries against the flu, which is front page news, topping upcoming India-Pakistan peace talks in February. In fact, the bird flu has brought a bit of a chill in the recent thaw between the two prickly neighbors. Even as Indian and Pakistani bureaucrats plan talks on everything from Kashmir to drug trafficking and the countries resume air flights between each other, New Delhi is contemplating a ban on all poultry from Pakistan, where a strain of the flu killed the chickens. Indian newspapers are already dubbing it the Karachi flu.  

In an age where terrorism is conducted by stateless actors like Al Qaeda, the bird flu has proved just as elusive. Governments are trying to counter it on a war footing. The Animal Resources Development Minister in India has just announced a “massive hunt” for evidence of any suspected case. In Thailand, soldiers and prisoners have been pressed into service, culling chickens in the 13 provinces where the flu has been detected. But even as Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra claimed that almost all the chickens in the outbreak areas have been slaughtered, neighboring Laos confirmed that the flu had spread to that country. 

Globalization, which had greased the path for the free movement of goods across borders, whether pirated copies of The Lord of the Rings or Big Macs, now finds that diseases like SARS and the bird flu come in their wake. The World Health Organization is holding its breath, warning that if the Asian bird flu meets and mates with another human influenza virus moving toward the region, it could trigger a global pandemic that could kill millions of people. 

Faced with that possibility, governments are reduced to literally counting their chickens after they are hatched. In India, health officials are trying to force hatcheries to maintain a daily record of dying birds and clinically establish the cause of death of each one. It’s the poultry equivalent of cleaning the Augean stables in a country as vast as India. Meanwhile, the ritzy Taj Hotel in Kolkata is trying to reassure its foreign patrons by having a microbiologist examine each chicken. In Vietnam, Kentucky Fried Chicken, a popular hangout for foreigners, is offering fried fish instead of chicken. Singapore is banning the public from its seven poultry farms.  

As confidence-building measures, they seem puny and bureaucratic. India, which had been largely sanguine through the mad cow scare because its millions of Hindus don’t eat beef anyway, is not yet hysterical about the chicken flu. But Arambag Hatcheries, a popular purveyor of chicken parts, is reporting a dip in sales.  

Arambag had pioneered western-supermarket style sales of chicken parts—boneless thighs separate from chicken breasts. But customers are going back to more traditional sources for chicken, ones where they know for sure the bird didn’t die of some mysterious illness. At the market next to my family’s home in Kolkata, white chickens squished against each other in wire-mesh cages peck at their feed, while shoppers point out the one they want. The chicken seller hauls one squawking bird out and with one swift stroke chops off its head. “Look, it’s so fresh it’s still kicking. No flu here,” he says, as the headless bird jerks and twitches in a pool of blood and feathers. 

Sandip Roy is host of “Upfront,” the Pacific News Service weekly radio program on KALW-FM, San Francisco. He is currently traveling in India. 

Farmworker groups sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle last month, charging the agency with ignoring important health data in 2001 when it re-approved use of two pesticides extremely hazardous to farmworkers. 

The pesticides, azinphos-methyl (AZM) and phosmet, are highly toxic organophosphates, derived from nerve agents developed during World War II and among the most powerful neurotoxins routinely used in the U.S. 

Acute exposure to organophosphates (OPs) can cause dizziness, vomiting, seizures, paralysis, loss of mental function, and death. 

AZM and phosmet are used extensively in such orchard crops as apples, peaches and pears, and are registered for use on 32 food crops. About 60 million pounds of OPs are applied to crops in the U.S. every year. 

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Agricultural Chemical Database reports 1.5 million pounds of AZM and phosmet were applied agriculturally in 2001. Although both pesticides are used across the nation, Washington, Oregon and California growers are responsible for approximately half of all AZM and phosmet agricultural use in the U.S. 

In addition to occupational exposures to OPs, migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families often live where pesticides drift and settle, and are also exposed through "take-home" exposures on clothing, cars, and skin. Tests of dust in farmworker homes in Washington reported in Environmental Health Perspectives found 85 percent contained AZM residue, and a study published in Environmental Research found four to five times more chemicals in the bodies of farmworker children and people living within one quarter-mile of agricultural fields in Washington state than in the general population. 

The lawsuit charges that the EPA has continued to allow uses of these pesticides without considering the risks posed to workers, their children, and communities. "It is outrageous that U.S. EPA authorized the use of these pesticides, putting thousands of workers at risk of serious illness every year," said Erik Nicholson of the United Farmworkers of America (UFW). "These two pesticides can poison so many farmworkers that EPA found the risks unacceptable, but the agency still allowed them to be used." 

The EPA, while acknowledging that agricultural pesticide poisonings are severely underreported, has estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 agricultural workers are sickened each year by pesticides. No national system exists to track pesticide poisoning incidents, and attorneys report that officials in California, Oregon and Washington have all expressed concern for the adequacy of their state reporting systems. 

A 2003 survey of farmworkers by the Washington Department of Health found 75 percent of workers surveyed reported a job-related pesticide exposure. That survey also noted that workers often do not seek care for symptoms out of fear of employer reprisals, and a belief that doctors downplay symptoms due to state and employer pressures.  

AZM is the fourth most frequent pesticide associated with poisoning complaints in the state of Washington. According to UFW, about 30,000 workers in Washington's apple industry are potentially at risk from exposure to AZM and phosmet, with thousands more working in pear and cherry crops also at risk. 

The lawsuit argues that U.S. EPA analyzed the estimated economic value of using these two pesticides to farmers but failed to quantify the risks to people and the environment, discounted the use of safe and proven alternatives to these dangerous substances, and used industry-generated data without subjecting it to public comment, even though a federal law allows public input. 

AZM and phosmet also pose risks to wildlife, can poison fish, beneficial insects, and contaminate water supplies. USGS data indicate AZM is one of the pesticides most frequently exceeding levels for aquatic safety in U.S. surface waters. 

The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Seattle by attorneys with Earthjustice, Farmworker Justice Fund, California Rural Legal Assistance, and the Natural Resources Defense Council on behalf of Sea Mar Community Health Centers, UFW, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), Beyond Pesticides, and Frente Indígena Oaxaqueña Binacional. 

PANUPS is produced by Pesticide Action Network North America, a nonprofit and non-governmental organization working to advance sustainable alternatives to pesticides worldwide.

Editor’s Note: Former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and documentarian Errol Morris will discuss the Oscar-nominated film The Fog of War with UC Journalism Professor Mark Danner Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall on the UC campus, accompanied by clips from the film. Admission is free to students, $10 for the general public and $5 for Commonwealth Club members. The film is playing in its entirety at the Act I and II Theater, 2128 Center St. 

Living in Vietnam during the war as a child, I witnessed enough of American military power to know that no ideology or rationale can justify killing more than a million innocent civilians. So it is gratifying to hear Robert McNamara, secretary of defense under presidents Kennedy and Johnson and one of the principle architects of that war, finally confess on-screen that he, too, thought it was a mistake for Americans to go into Vietnam. 

Yet as I watched The Fog of War, the documentary by Errol Morris about McNamara, I felt disappointed. McNamara is a highly intelligent man living a kind of self-deception. While readily confessing that the war was wrong, and that he knew it was wrong all along, he somehow absolved himself just as quickly. Arrogantly, the ex-secretary of defense suggests on camera that he did the best he could under the circumstances and that, if he hadn’t been at the helm micromanaging the war’s first half, things might have been far worse. Never mind that under his watch the war widened and escalated. 

I had hoped for an honest, gut-wrenching mea culpa. What I got instead was an elaborate explanation that sounded like an excuse. Not once did McNamara say, “I’m sorry.” His well-argued confessions seemed rehearsed and disconnected from the emotional honesty one associates with remorse. It is as if the head acknowledged that mistakes were made, but the heart refused to feel the horrors that were unleashed. 

Near the end of the film, McNamara talks about what he calls the fog of war. “What the fog of war means,” he says, “is that war is so complex it’s beyond the ability of the human mind to comprehend all the variables. Our judgment, our understanding are not adequate, and we kill people unnecessarily.” 

Errol Morris, known for his films The Thin Blue Line, about an unjust murder conviction, and A Brief History of Time, about physicist Stephen Hawking, uses that statement to give the movie its title. In a recent interview, Morris says, “I look at the McNamara story as ‘the fog of war ate my homework’ excuse.” He adds: “After all, if war is so complex, then no one is responsible.” 

While the Vietnamese, both north and south, are not free from blame for killing each other in Vietnam’s bloody civil war, McNamara and his bosses, presidents Kennedy and Johnson, are clearly responsible for escalating it. The U.S. government, after all, under McNamara and president Kennedy, helped engineer the coup that killed South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem, when Diem was considering peace negotiations with the North without U.S. interference. His death destabilized South Vietnam and plunged it into another dozen years of bloodshed. 

McNamara kept sending American troops to Vietnam while knowing deep in his heart that the war was not winnable, and encouraged the South to continue fighting. It is no wonder that South Vietnamese tell the story of their relationship with America as one of spectacular betrayal. The United States abandoned the South Vietnamese government in the middle of a war. Many South Vietnamese officials died in communist gulags after the war’s end, and more than two million Vietnamese fled overseas as boat people, many ending up at the bottom of the sea. McNamara never made references to the suffering of the South Vietnamese people as a direct cause of his administration of the war, as if somehow an entire people have conveniently ceased to exist. 

If those who survived the Vietnam War are waiting for an apology from McNamara or the U.S. government, they should not hold their breath. 

McNamara left the Johnson administration in 1967. Despite what he knew about the war, he refused to speak out against it, and watched in silence as more body bags came home. Foggy or not, someone as smart as McNamara should know right from wrong. If the secretary of defense knew it was wrong to continue the war, why did he keep his silence until now, more than three decades later? 

Morris asks him precisely that. “Why,” he inquires near the end of the film, “did you fail to speak out against the war after you left the Johnson administration?” 

“I’m not going to say any more than I have,” McNamara responds. “These are the kinds of questions that get me in trouble. You don’t know what I know about how inflammatory my words can appear.”  

The documentary has a subtitle: Eleven Lessons From the Life of Robert S. McNamara. One of them is, “Believing and seeing are both often wrong.” What that means to McNamara is that doing the right thing turned out to be an enormous error. To me, it means I can’t trust the man’s confessions. It seems the fog hasn’t lifted at all for McNamara—it has only thickened with the years.  

Andrew Lam is a journalist and short story writer, and an editor at Pacific News Service. 

My husband Ralph is back in the Intensive Care Unit at Oakland’s Kaiser Permanente Hospital. We are old hands at this. I can’t count the number of times we’ve been on the third floor, but this is our first visit to the most critical wing, the place where there is one nurse for every two patients, an always-on-duty respiratory therapist, television screens that monitor the patients’ rooms 24/7. 

Most, but not all, the patients here are on ventilators. Ralph is one of them. For the past 27 days he hasn’t been able to breathe without the help of a machine. For over two weeks he had a tube down his throat, another up his nose and one piercing the back of each hand and an artery in his neck. Last week he was given a tracheotomy, so now the ventilator tube has been moved from his mouth to an opening below his Adam’s apple. The IV in his neck is gone. He still has a feeding tube in one nostril. He looks very, very uncomfortable.  

What do you do when visiting someone in the hospital who can’t move and who can’t speak, but who is wide awake, staring at you with bright blue, questioning eyes? You talk to him, sometimes too loudly, too softly at other times. 

“Do you want me to move your arm?” you shout. “Do you want me to bend your leg?” He nods yes, no or raises his eyebrows which may indicate “I don’t know” or “I don’t care” or “I need something else and I hope you can guess what it is.” 

You do crossword puzzles until the little boxes become blurry and your eyes burn. 

You watch really bad TV, try to read but can’t concentrate. 

You take walks up and down Piedmont Avenue, drink too much coffee, eat too much Chinese take-out. 

You ask the attending doctors, residents, nurses, therapists, interns, assistants and janitors over and over about your husband’s prognosis. 

The question is always the same, “When can he come home?” No one knows the answer. 

When I get home after a day at the hospital I try to unwind. Sometimes I have a drink (or two), sometimes I lie down on the couch, even though I’m not all that tired. And sometimes I make myself do things I don’t want to do but know I must: fill out forms for MediCare, Social Security, and the IRS. I walk the dog, mop the kitchen floor, pay bills, return phone calls and e-mails, check and recheck our bank statements. 

The people who normally work for us, helping me take care of Ralph, can’t pay their own bills because they’re not getting paychecks from me. I loan them money and give them rides to places they need to go. I hope they’ll stick around long enough to be there when Ralph comes home. If he does come home.  

I try to exercise. I swim lap after lap at the public pool—Temescal if it’s not too late, Willard if it’s after 7 p.m. I try to concentrate on my strokes and not obsess on how ironic it is that I can hold my breath when underwater, breathe deeply from side to side as I swim forward, move every muscle in my body over and over again until it is pleasantly, painfully exhausted while Ralph lies in a hospital bed, immobile, waiting. 

Sometimes I wish I could run away. Go to Mexico, Hawaii or Bali, somewhere where it is always warm and sunny, where the water is aquamarine and crystal clear, and the sand below a pristine white, not dirty, faded and cracked, like the bottom of the public pool which I’ve spent hours and hours staring at, trying to make my mind go blank. But most of the time I can’t help thinking about Room 335 on the third floor of ICU. 

I wonder how it is that scientists can send an exploratory machine to the red surface of Mars but can’t figure out a way to hold a ventilator in place with anything other than raggedy pieces of white tape.

Telegraph Avenue Robbery 

A gunman held up a vitamin store on the 2300 block of Telegraph Avenue Friday afternoon, police said. He managed to escape on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash despite pursuit from both UC and Berkeley police. 

West Berkeley Robbery 

A man who police say robbed a West Berkeley art supply store at gunpoint Thursday morning didn’t get far, officers said. They first spotted Damien Stuart, 21, of Berkeley, just a block away from Amsterdam Art at the corner of Tenth Street and University Avenue and after a lengthy search found him hiding in bushes on the 1700 block of Ninth Street. Stuart was arrested on suspicion of robbery, evading an officer and committing a felony while out on bail. 

Kidnapping Suspect Nabbed 

Police last month arrested Antoine Hodges, 24, of Oakland in connection with the kidnapping and robbery of a 76-year-old Berkeley man who was punched repeatedly while being driven to the Oakland ATM Machine where he was forced to withdraw cash. Two other men are sought in the case. 

Police are investigating if Hodges might be connected to a robbery and sexual assault of a woman last November and the robbery of a 76-year-old woman two weeks ago, who was also driven to an ATM and made to withdraw cash.

An incident that left a $10,000 mural—meant to celebrate the city’s bike users—sitting at the Public Works Department’s corporate yard, caked in mud and punctured by gouges and holes, raises questions about Berkeley civic arts program 

Critics say the incident is just one of the city’s many fumbles involving public art. 

“Bicycle Mural,” painted by Tricia Tripp for the city of Berkeley six years ago, had been banished to an open storage unit at Public Works for several years after vandals attacked the work at its first location along Addison Street near Shattuck Avenue and then again while up at Berkeley High. 

Rene Cardinaux, city director of Public Works, said the department was told the piece would be stored for a couple of weeks. Instead the mural--which is painted on several plywood panels--sat in an open storage unit for so long that a crew accidentally mistook it for scrap wood when they were hunting for something to dam up an overflowing ditch. 

Jos Sances, chair of the city’s arts commission, said the mural was already a subject of controversy for many residents because it was commissioned without public approval. Originally requested by Councilmember Dona Spring, funding for the project was approved by the city council but the Office of Economic Development never ran the request by the arts commission, allowing the project to be painted without public input. 

Spring said the incident prompted the council to re-write the rules to ensure arts commission oversight of any public art project, but many were still angered by the city’s lack of process. 

According to Mary Ann Merker, civic arts coordinator for the city of Berkeley, laws mandating oversight by the arts commissions are part of legislation encompassing the entire civic arts process, some of which existed before the mural incident but were subsequently updated. 

As the law now stands, proposals are sent to artists, and the top three are selected to go before a public panel that includes community members and other artists. Each artist is given $500 dollars from the city to create a mock-up of their project before the finalist is chosen. The city’s art commission then takes over and administers the project. 

Before the process was streamlined, other artists suffered under city policies, including Osha Neumann, the city’s well-known homeless rights legal advocate and muralist, who had one of his own creations ruined when the Berkeley Unified School district hired a contractor to repair the gym at Willard Middle School. 

Back in 1980, Neumann and a host of volunteers, funded by a state grant, painted “Intersections,” a large mural on the school’s west wall. Meant to depict the intersections of life, Neumann said the mural was nearly three stories high and almost a third of a block long and took months to paint. 

The mural was painted over after the architect hired to renovate the gym requested approval at a school board meeting Neumann didn’t attend. He learned of the action only after passersby noticed the destruction and called the city to investigate after painters were two-thirds finished with the cover-up. The painters were stopped, but too late for Neumann to restore the lost sections. 

“It was really profoundly thoughtless,” said Neumann, “To make all these decisions and never consult the artists or the community.” He said the money spent to paint over the mural would have paid for an entire renovation of the piece. 

Neumann has painted several other murals in Berkeley including the rendition of People’s Park on the north side of Amoeba music and the front of La Pena Cultural Center. 

He said the school mural “was a project I had put my heart and soul into, I knew it would never happen again, we would never get the resources again.” 

Even today, with stringent guidelines and public oversight, the city still receives heavy criticism for their public arts programs. 

Until recently, said Sances, the city never paid much attention to civic arts. He estimates that Berkeley has a higher per capita ratio of artists than Manhattan, which increases the competition and the quality of the art. Yet he says the amount of public art in the city is minimal. 

“Up until five or so years ago, there wasn’t much public art,” said Sances. “The notion that Berkeley has had an active civic arts program is a recent occurrence.” 

Some city commissions, including the mural that usually hangs above the city council—painted by Romare Bearden, a pre-eminent African American artist—have helped the city’s civic arts project gain recognition. But, he said, compared to the quality and quantity of art the community could potentially produce, Berkeley lags behind. 

The city recently generated considerable coverage for additions to the downtown arts project funded by the voter-approved Measure S. Critics, who have not complained as much about the funding, have targeted the project’s focus on downtown. 

“I’m completely against [the city] gathering the art they consider worthy and putting it in one place,” said Carol Denney, a Berkeley resident and well-known singer-songwriter. 

Mayor Tom Bates said the project improvements are meant to enhance the downtown area and in turn generate revenue for business. He said the city’s retail sales tax revenues have steadily fallen and hopes a more attractive downtown will help the existing businesses. 

Denney sees the district improvements as a project that neglects the rest of the city while promoting an already affluent area. 

In a recent satirical newsletter she produced, Denney gathered a number of poems written about potholes and holes in the sidewalks which she says the city consistently neglects while continuing to focus on downtown. 

One of the poems, a haiku called “Speak Within” reads,  

murmur to the hole,  

You will always be safe from, 

this stupid Council. 

She partially blames the city’s disrepair for the death of Berkeley’s well-known disabled activist Fred Lupke, who like others in wheelchairs, sometimes had to venture into the street because the sidewalks were broken. 

“Unless you want to circle the same block eternally, you have to venture into the street,” she said. 

Mayor Bates said he is concerned with the city’s disrepair but said the number of projects the city faces outweighs their resources. 

“The declining infrastructure is a major problem,” he said. “It seems like we can never catch up.” 

According to the civic arts department’s Merker, the downtown project’s budget is $300,000 plus an additional $60,000 received in donations. The current civic arts budget, which fluctuates and rolls over from year to year, is $400,000. 

Money for the civic arts program is generated from capital improvement projects, or new city construction, with 1.5 percent of a project’s total revenue automatically earmarked for the civic art.  

Compared to the 50-plus percent of the entire city budget that goes to police and firefighters, Santos said the figures alone says quite a bit about the city’s priorities. 

“The city has traditionally taken the arts for granted,” he said. “The problem with art is that it is easy to not have. The public can be very harsh on art. It doesn’t have a seeming purpose, and we’re cultivated to think that everything needs a purpose. [But] the world is a much better place with art, it’s the kind of thing that cultivates us.”

The city’s bed and breakfasts—generally houses long inhabited by homeowners-turned-innkeepers who decided they had room to spare for short-term visitors to the city—offer a more personalized experience than a hotel, many guests say.  

“A hotel is a cold environment,” said Luiz Fernando Barella, a 17-day guest at north Berkeley’s Brown Shingle B&B. “Here we’re treated like family.”  

Barella, who had come from Sao Paolo, Brazil, with his wife to visit family in Berkeley, said innkeeper Helen Christensen had been generous with her time, bringing the couple with her to a New Year’s Eve party and offering abundant sightseeing advice.  

“This is a historical place,” said Barella, whose windows offered views of architect Bernard Maybeck’s Temple of the Wings up the hill, as well as the UC Berkeley campus down below. “If you don’t know what to look for, you miss a lot of things.”  

B&Bs are especially convenient for people visiting family or friends, since they offer guests a place to stay in the same neighborhoods as the folks they’re seeing, said Wendy Sprague, 52, who accommodates guests in her home near the Berkeley-Albany border.  

The inns also place guests close to neighborhood shops and markets that might be overlooked by visitors staying in centrally located hotels. “Being part of the community is a real draw,” said Sprague, who will soon have her living room transformed into a second guest room for her Brick Path Bed and Breakfast.  

But the biggest draw, B&B owners agree, is personal attention. “It’s more intimate,” said Sprague. “It’s more personal. You have contact with an individual instead of a person who works for a company.”  

Sprague and other owners say that getting to know their guests is their favorite part of running a bed and breakfast.  

“The best part of the bed and breakfast is meeting people,” said Mary Harrow, who runs Mary’s Bed and Breakfast in her home on a quiet street in Elmwood. “You meet people you really get to like.”  

Most of Berkeley’s bed and breakfasts are run by older retirees whose grownup children have left behind empty rooms they can rent to supplement their incomes. Many are women whom divorce has left alone in large homes they’d have trouble affording to maintain on their own, said Christensen.  

“Several ladies found themselves alone in a big house and didn’t want to move, but we still have to pay for the gardener and the general maintenance of the house,” said Christensen, who began taking guests into her home after separating from her husband a decade ago.  

Taking in guests also brings some life into the grand north Berkeley or Elmwood homes that would otherwise feel empty.  

“It didn’t take me long to go from saying ‘No I don’t want strangers in the house’ to ‘Hey, it’s kind of lonely,’” said Mary Leggett, remembering when the breakup of her marriage left her alone in her large half-timbered home in Elmwood she’s run as M’s Bed and Breakfast for the past seven years.  

Leggett now lives in an apartment she had built for herself in the basement to keep the bedrooms free for guests. But her living room is still the venue for the neighborhood Christmas party she’s held for the last 37 years for friends and longtime acquaintances.  

“A lot of it is people that have nice homes that are large and they’re empty,” said Berkeley visitors bureau president. “Having a bed and breakfast helps with their incomes and provides a service for people visiting Berkeley.”

Greens! Who needs them? 

We know we all do, and we know that we’re not getting enough of them. The leafier ones in particular are said to yield significant amounts of health-protective vitamin A, and provide the best source of folacin, crucial for conception and gestation. In fact, the word folacin derives from the Latin word for leaf. 

The downside of leafy green vegetables is that cooking and storage destroy much of their nutritional value, which might explain why children instinctively try to avoid them. 

So what to do? 

Organic and farmer’s markets are good sources. But the very best answer is of course to grow your own. We in Berkeley have a climate in which these vegetables thrive. Furthermore, many are of the cut-and-come-again kind, so that one can stroll into the garden, snip off a few tender leaves and have them steamed or sautéed within minutes, without harming the plant. Of these, the closely-related kale and collards are perhaps the easiest to grow and digest, and the most rewarding to harvest. 

Kale and collards can be planted out as young plants in early fall when they are available in local nurseries. They thrive in heavy, rich soil. Farmers swish the roots in a sludge of manure before planting them deeply—up to the first leaves—and firming them in with a boot. 

A mulch of hay moderates temperature, and as it breaks down, it adds nutrients and improves tilth, or texture. A nip of frost does no permanent damage and seems to sweeten the leaves. In March, they will take off, providing leaves until the following spring, when they will put forth delicate yellow four-petalled flowers true to their Cruciferae family. The buds are edible too, and even if the plant is beheaded, side shoots emerge. It seems that healthy, well-fed plants, like children, simply thrive in all ways, and are rarely attacked by pests. 

One can also plant in early spring, but if we have had our usual February rain, the ground is often too cold, wet and unworkable. However, if one flowering plant is left to go to seed, it will surround itself with infants, and these and a dried pod or two will keep the kitchen continuously replenished. Seed stays viable for several years.  

Leafy greens do well in planter boxes too. 

The taste of homegrown vegetables is incomparable to that of store-bought ones. Greens plainly simmered in lightly salted water will be meltingly tender in very few minutes. If you’ve used too much water, drain it into a glass, add tamari or tomato juice and enjoy a hot cocktail. 

When steamed on top of home-made tomato sauce, with a slice or two of creamy goat cheese melted on top, greens are simply ambrosial. A sprinkling of hard sheep’s cheese—such as pecorino—adds a tart dimension. Season with a vinaigrette as the Italians do, and eat them warm. Mixed with chopped parsley, added to soups, stews, pasta sauces—one could go on and on. There’s simply no excuse for not eating—and growing—our greens! 

And let your balky child eat them with their fingers, a tactic that seems to enhance the flavor of all greens, including the most boring of all, lettuce.

A national cleaning chain settled a lawsuit last week that charged it with polluting Berkeley’s Strawberry Creek. 

Burlingame-based Coit Services agreed to pay $42,000 in civil penalties—half in the form of a fine—and submit to county monitoring. 

The settlement came on the day Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Susan Torrence filed charges against the company for allegedly allowing van operators to discharge hundreds of gallons of soapy wastewater into storm drains at UC Berkeley’s Foothill Housing Complex that feed Strawberry Creek. 

“It’s a pretty serious form of non-point pollution,” Torrence said, noting that laboratory tests performed by the California Department of Fish and Game found the solution “deleterious” to fish. 

The suit specified four times in May 2002 that Coit van drivers were spotted illegally dumping the mixture of soap and dirty water beside the dormitory instead of following standard procedures to pump it into a sanitary sewer or return it to the company’s headquarters. 

UC Berkeley Environmental Specialist Steve Maranzana said he caught the drivers red-handed with their hoses discharging directly into the storm drain. “They tried to drive away just as the DA pulled up,” he said. 

Coit refused to accept responsibility for the discharge. Company Vice President of Operations Veny Pirochta said that while drivers interviewed had no recollection of the dumping, Coit nevertheless opted not to fight the charges. “If it did happen we want to make sure everyone is comfortable that it won’t happen again,” he said. 

UC Berkeley still contracts with Coit to clean dorm carpets and upholstery. 

To comply with the settlement, Coit technicians must keep logs showing how they dispose of wastewater from their 50-gallon van tanks, hire an environmental compliance officer, and submit disposal records to the Alameda County Environmental Health Department. 

Pirochta said the company avoids chemicals that could do serious harm to the creek that is home to fish, insects and plants. “All we use is mild soap,” he said. “Since we clean in homes where little kids play on carpets it has to be the safest possible materials. 

That’s a silly argument, said environmental consultant Julia Lamont. “Unless it was something completely biodegradable, it can build up in organisms and contaminate the whole ecosystem,” she said. 

The university opted not to perform a fish count in the days following the contamination, UC Berkeley Associate Director of Environment, Health and Safety Greg Haet said, so it’s unclear the extent of damage, if any, caused by the contamination. 

Soap discharge into Strawberry Creek is a common occurrence, said Tom Kelly, a member of Berkeley’s Health Commission. From monitoring the creek at Strawberry Canyon Lodge in West Berkeley, he said two-to-three-foot-high suds appear every couple of weeks. “I don’t know how the hell the fish survive,” he said. “Hopefully this will send a message that it’s not OK to pollute the creek.”

Checking on UC Extension’s recent decision to shut down its world-renowned English Language Program was a discouraging exercise. While our reporter asked ELP faculty for their views on what hit them, I called looking for an official explanation and got more than I bargained for. I reached one of UC’s ubiquitous PR people, who offered to fax me part of Extension’s Strategic Plan (Capitalization is sic throughout, and they use a lot of it). It was headlined Ensure Program Quality. When I read the second sentence, I knew we were in trouble: “ …Extension will institutionalize the process of curricular review according to the criteria of Berkeley quality that was developed during the planning process.” ELP instructors could tell the author that criteria takes a plural verb.  

And it got worse. It seemed to be a seven-page excerpt from a parody of the business self-help books sold in airports when I was a business traveler in the ‘80s. It was chock full of sententious and meaningless slogans obviously derived from Powerpoint presentations: “meaningful and engaging learning experiences offered in high-quality facilities or using best practice program formats”; “Organizational Analysis of Learner Feedback”; “…seize entrepreneurial opportunities”…. 

The key mantra seemed to be: “Ensure that Extension’s Programs are Berkeley Quality and Berkeley Appropriate.” It was frequently repeated, abbreviated as “BQ/BA” and defined thus: “Extension will continuously review our programs for their fit with criteria developed during the strategic planning process to clarify the characteristics campus stakeholders identified as ‘distinctively Berkeley’.” That’s one I recognize, as an occasional unwilling consumer of trashy ‘80s business magazines like Inc. when my plane offered no other reading matter. It’s primitive branding strategy, albeit much less sophisticated than the way they do it in successful businesses these days.  

When I started asking the PR lady pointed questions, she, much to my surprise, offered to put the extension dean on the phone. The dean, who came here a year and a half ago from Nebraska, was confident that he and his staff know what’s “Berkeley Appropriate.” 

So why did they decide to axe the English Language Program? He said that the decision was “driven by the strategic planning process” and that the program didn’t match up with the characteristics in the Strategic Plan, which was developed by a Fourth Street consulting firm (whose website shows that their major experience to date has been in city planning.) He claimed that ELP didn’t have the appropriate connection with the UC campus and was not using campus faculty. I told him that this surprised me, since I happen to know several distinguished linguistic department faculty members who lecture in the program. Oh, he said, they only do it randomly. 

He emphasized that the decision was absolutely not a cost decision, that the ELP’s revenues cover its costs. But he said that when the program started it was unique, and now there are many “providers” in the Bay Area. Since I still couldn’t relate what he was telling me to what I knew about the excellent international reputation of ELP, I asked if I could get a copy of the whole Strategic Plan. Oh no, he said, “the Strategic Plan is a confidential document that we don’t share.” “Remember,” he went on, “we are a business, in competition with other providers in the area”. 

Ah. That explains it all. In the old days, UC Extension used to be an educational institution, but in the brave new world of the 2lst Century it’s a business. I asked if I could see their Strategic Plan if I made a formal request under the California Public Records Act . He said no, because it’s a self-supporting business, not a state agency. I asked if UC Extension employees still got state paychecks. At that point he said that any further questions would have to be directed to “the person I report to,” UC Berkeley Provost Paul Gray.  

Without a scorecard, it’s harder and harder to tell the difference between universities and the corporations they’re slavishly trying to imitate. And that’s too bad. 

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