After racking up 50,000 periods of unexcused absences last year, Berkeley High students are sure to show up Wednesday evening when the school board considers adopting a policy that will automatically lower the grade of chronic absentees.  

The proposal raises the stakes for students, but for the high school, attendance has always been a high stakes game. Aside from obviously wanting students in the classrooms and learning, the district’s funding from the state is tied to daily attendance, and the loses have been steep. So far this year, average daily attendance at the 2,784-student school is 90.59 percent, consistent with prior years, but low enough to cost the district $116,399 in state funding. Any day a student misses three or more classes, excused or otherwise, the district misses out on state education dollars. 

The proposed policy is simple but, for a community uneasy with punitive measures, it is likely to generate real controversy. In short: Too many unexcused absences or chronic tardiness will result in automatic grade reductions. 

Not surprisingly, the high school’s students are not convinced of the merits of the new approach.  

“I have not spoken to a single student who supports it,” said Student Director to the Board of Education Bradley Johnson. “The administration thinks this will make things easy, but I don’t see how it will work.” 

Under the proposal, five unexcused absences from a class during the 45-day report card period equals one full letter grade drop, for example from a B-minus to a C-minus. The lowest a grade can drop due to attendance is D-minus. Three late marks are the equivalent of one unexcused absence and 15 late marks also lowers the grade. A student is tardy when he is not in the classroom when the bell rings and absent if he arrives more than 20 minutes late. Appeals would be available to students, who would also have three days to offer a valid explanation. 

Whatever the proposed procedure would replace is a mystery to students, teachers and administrators alike. 

“Right now, whatever our policy is, it’s not understandable to everyone, said Rory Bled, vice principal and author of the new policy. She reviewed attendance policies from numerous school districts and found that most either tied attendance to grades, or, even more frequent dropped truant students from a class altogether. 

School Board Director Terry Doran, who taught at Berkeley High for 30 years said the attendance policy had always been a hot issue of debate among teachers, and that while there were consequences for truant students, attendance rules were never mandatory or enforced by the entire staff. 

“Tardies have always been an issue of who’s on first,” said Vice Principal Mike Hassett. “If seven administrators try to enforce it for all 3,000 students that doesn’t work. And if 150 teachers [enforce] their own tardy policies, that leads to inequity.” 

Teachers have voted to back the new plan. Wyn Skeels, a history teacher, said the current policy is “not clear cut.” “You can be tardy every day right now without repercussions,” he said. “We need a plan that says ‘if you’re gone, this is what happens.’” 

The current policy has resulted in inertia. Though disciplinary measures include detention and on-campus suspension, truant students rarely get anything more than a call to mom and dad. 

“It’s very hard to enforce something complicated,” said Bled. “That’s why were trying to make something that’s concise.” 

Students, though, think the policy doesn’t attack the root problem—teaching—and that its enforcement could actually exacerbate the school’s attendance woes. 

“The blame for bad attendance is being shifted to students when the reason it’s so poor is that teaching is poor,” Student Director Johnson said. Too many teachers place more attention on homework than classwork, he said, so even high achieving students see little to gain from attending class. “If teachers cut down on homework and made classwork more relevant, we might see a change in attendance.” 

Johnson also warned that students who start a semester with several tardies would just give up and stop going to class altogether. “This policy wasn’t thought through, it is going to cause a drop in attendance,” he said. 

Bled doesn’t consider the plan punitive. To lose a letter grade, a student would need to be tardy for one of every three classes, she said. “That’s a pretty serious commitment to being tardy.” 

Students have six minutes to get from one class to the next, enough time to traverse the campus, Bled said. Most tardies and unexcused absences are recorded in periods one and four, right after lunch. 

Though the procedure might change, the creaky, sometimes unreliable method of recording attendance will remain in place. Teachers fill-in a bubble on a Scantron sheet for absent students. If the absence isn’t cleared in three days, an automatic dialer calls the student’s home. 

Johnson said teachers sometimes fill in the wrong bubbles and provide incorrect data. “Before they talk about putting grades on the line, they need to get the system straight,” he said. On a recent report card he added, an unexcused absence he forgot to clear didn’t show, but a different class had him out five times when he had perfect attendance.  

Bled said the school wants to put attendance online, but its technology grant has outfitted with the school with Macs, which struggle to support the school’s attendance software. 

The policy also raises questions of equity. While the administration expects parents acquiesce to grade drops, Johnson fears that less connected students will bear the brunt of the new policy. “Parents don’t want grades going down; they’ll be complicit in the act,” he said. “The second a kid in AP classes gets a grade dropped, the parents will complain and they’ll bring their friends.” 

Instead of punishing students, Johnson proposed using attendance data as staff development for teachers to gauge if their lessons are compelling. 

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FRIDAY, MARCH 5 

The Oakland Bird Club open meeting with Robert Hewitt who is involved in planning birding festivals at 7:30 p.m. at Oakland Public Library, Rockridge Branch, Upstairs Meeting Room, 5366 College Ave. 444-0355.  

“Tales of the San Joaquin: A River Journey” A documentary on the San Joaquin River and its role in the statewide water system at 7 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of CA, 1000 Oak St. at 10th St, Oakland. 238-2200.  

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with John Gjerde, Prof. History, UCB, “Immigration.” Luncheon 11:45 a.m. $11.50 - $12.50. Speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020. 

“Karate for Kids” a free introductory class with Dara Connolly at 5:30 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave., for ages 4 and up. 847-2400. 

Shambhala Buddhist Workshop on “A Life in Consort: Integrating Feminine and Masculine Principles” at 7:30 p.m. and continuing throughout the weekend at the Berkeley Shambhala Center, 2288 Fulton St. First lecture is $20, full weekend fee is $120. 841-3242. www.bayarea.shambhala.org 

American Social Gospel Lecture with Chris Evans on “Retrieving the Legacies of Walter Rauchenbusch” at 3:30 p.m. at the Bade Museum, Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Senic Ave. 849-8221. 

“The Under-reported Human Tragedy of Chechnya” a session on Humanitarian Aid at 3 p.m. and “Stories from the Front Line” at 7 p.m. at 159 Mulford Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, the Chechen Advocacy Network, and the Muslim Student Association. For further information contact didishka@yahoo.com 

Anarchist BookfairMovie Night with videographer Jay Finneburgh, at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674A 23rd St., Oakland. Donation $5. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

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. 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, MARCH 6 

Sick Plant Clinic from 9 a.m. to noon, the first Sat. of every month, UC plant pathologist Dr. Robert Raabe, UC entomologist Dr. Nick Mills, and their team of experts will diagnose what ails your plants. Free. Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. 

Kids Garden Club Join us as we discover the science of the kitchen and feast on garden goodies. From 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. For ages 7 - 10 years. Cost is $3, non-resident $4. Registration required, 525-2233. 

Orchid Collection Tour and Workshop Treat yourself to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Botanical Garden’s orchid collection, normally closed to the public, and a rare sale of unusual orchid species from the Garden collection. Workshop and tour led by Garden horticulturist and orchid expert, Jerry Parsons who will help you gain confidence with the basic skills of orchid ID and culture. Workshop covers the major groups of orchids, how to divide and mount them, and their care and culture. From 9 a.m. to noon at the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $50, $40 members. To register call 643-2755. http:// 

botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

Cerrito Creek Restoration Meet at 10 a.m. at the south edge of El Cerrito Plaza. We’ll re-plant salvaged native plants, plant new, and perhaps spread more chips on the trail. f5creeks@aol.com 

Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame awards ceremony at the Marriot Hotel, Oakland at 12:30 p.m. 535-7414. 

“In Song and Struggle” An International Women’s Day event featuring Copper Wimmin, Libby Kirkpatrick, Gwen Avery, Rebecca Riots and Rachel Garlin at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. Cost is $10 to $20 sliding scale. A benefit for Berkeley Copwatch. 548-0425. 

“Street Skills for Cyclists” a lecture and discussion from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Rockridge Library, 5366 College Ave. Sponsored by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. Free, but registration required 433-7433. 

35th Annual UC Open Taekwondo Championship, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Haas Pavilion. Tickets are $5-$7. 642-3268. www.ucmap.org 

Cal FIT 5K Race/Fun Run/Walk Start/Finish at Sather Gate, check-in starts at 9 a.m., race at 10 a.m. Cost is $10. 847-7633. www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~calfit 

Auditions for Showtime at the Apollo will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Amateur performers and groups wishing to audition may call Laura Abrams at 642-0212 or e-mail apollo@calperfs.berkeley.edu to schedule an audition. 

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, MARCH 7 

Aquatic Park EGRET and the Berkeley Rowing Club will plant coastal wildflowers and native shrubs in the circle at Aquatic Park’s south entrance beginning at 9:30 a.m. 549-0818. 

Breakfast with the Birds from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Bring your own beverage and we’ll watch what is feathered down at the lake. Cost is $3, $4 non-resident. Registration required. 525-2233. 

“On Her Own Terms: Annie Montague Alexander and the Rise of Science in the American West” with author Barbara Stein at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley History Center, 1931 Center St. 848-0181. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc 

Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, Palestinian physician and leading human rights activist, at 7 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Tickets are $20. Benefit for The Middle East Children’s Alliance. 548-0542. www.mecaforpeace.org 

“Dividing Walls” a close-up view of the Israel/Palestine conflict by Chris Brown at 7 p.m. at Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar. Sliding scale donation of $5-$15, benefit for the Palestinian program of the Christian Peacemaker Teams. 785-9509. 

Death Penalty Update at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley Friends Meeting, 2151 Vine Street at Walnut, in the Education Building. Update with Eric Moon, American Friends Service Committee staff person on death penalty and prison issues. Includes short video, “Interview with an Executioner.” All are welcome. 528-7784. 

Non-Violent Communication with Miki Kashtan, Certified NVC Trainer, Social Change and Project Coordinator for the Center for Nonviolent Communication in Berkeley at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

Purim Carnival from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Dance Party with the Mowtown Megillah at 7 p.m. at Beth-El, 2301 Vine St. Tickets for the dance party are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. Please RSVP to 848-3988, ext. 11. www.bethelberkeley.org 

Tibetan Buddhism, with Robin Canton on “Meditation and Creativity” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, MARCH 8 

Tea at Four Enjoy some of the best teas from the other side of the Pacific Rim and learn their cultural and natural history. Then take a walk to see wintering birds and dormant ladybeetles, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park. Registration required. Cost is $5 for residents, $7 for non-residents. Wheelchair accessible. 525-2233. 

Forum on “The Passion of Christ,” a Jewish-Christian conversation, hosted by the Graduate Theological Union, at 7 p.m. in the Dinner Boardroom, Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2482. 

“Photography, Melancholy and the Conception of Brazilian Nationalism” with Natalia Brizuela at noon at the Center for Latin American Studies, 2334 Bowditch St.  

Fitness for 55+ A total body workout including aerobics, stretching and strengthening at 1:15 p.m. 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. 

Women’s Cancer Resource Center, volunteer training from 6 to 8 p.m. at 5741 Telegraph Ave. To sign up call Emily at 601-4040, ext. 109.  

TUESDAY, MARCH 9 

“Trekking in Bhutan” a slide presentation with Himalayan guide Peggy Day, at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Traditional Regional Foods of Spain, with co-authors of “Cesar: Recipes from a Tapas Bar” James Mellgran and Olivier Said, at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave at Rose, 843-3533. 

“Rotten Foundations: The Reclamation Act and Urbanization of the West” with Gray Brechin, author and research fellow, Dept. of Geography, UC Berkeley, at 5:30 p.m. in 105 North Gate Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Water Resources Center Archives. 642-2666. 

Writing Workshop on the art of writing imminent fiction with Pamela Cranston and Michael Kurland at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble, 2352 Shattuck Ave. 644-0861. 

Death Penalty Vigil, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the North Berkeley BART station. Sponsored by Berkeley Friends Meeting. 528-7784. 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Blood pressure checks at 10:30 a.m. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

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

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. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10 

Great Decisions 2004: “Diversity in Islam” with Prof. John L. Hayes, UCB Dept. of Near Eastern Studies, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925.  

“The Patriot Act and Our Civil Liberties” with Jack Newman, Deputy Attorney General, State of California, speaking from his personal viewpoint, at 7 p.m. at the Rockridge Library, 5366 College Ave.  

“Faith and Environmental Injustice” A GTU Faculty Panel Discussion, at 6:30 p.m. at the Dinner Board Room, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2560. 

“The House We Live In” A film on how our laws, the courts, customs and real estate practices affect race relations and the accumulation of wealth, at 7 p.m. at Albany High School, Multi-Purpose Room, 603 Key Route Blvd.  

“The Crippling Effects of Landmines” with author John Gray at 7 p.m. at 145 Dwinnelle Hall, UC Campus. The East Bay Chapter of the United Nations Association. Admission is free, donations will go to landmine clearance programs. 540-8017. 

“Renaissance Images of Christ” with Jason van Boom, GTU, at 7:30 p.m. at All Souls Episcopal Parish, 2220 Cedar St. 848-1755. 

“Street Skills for Cyclists” a lecture and discussion from 6 to 10 p.m. at Rockridge Library, 5366 College Ave. Sponsored by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. Free, but registration required 433-7433. 

Poetry Writing Workshop, led by Danna Zeller, 7 to 9 p.m. in the Edith Stone Room, Albany Public Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 20. 

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 We’re a serious but lively bunch whose focus is on issues of craft. Novices welcome. Meets 7 to 9 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut, at Rose. For information call 524-3034. 

Berkeley Stop the War Coalition meets every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in 255 Dwinelle, UC Campus. www.berkeleystopthewar.org  

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

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

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

THURSDAY, MARCH 11 

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 at 849-4134 or email Bloomburgh@sbcglobal.net 

“Agriculture Under Occupation: Farming in the West Bank” Local landscaper and compost consultant Jon Bauer has returned from Israel and will share his findings on the ways in which the Occupation of the West Bank affects Palestinian farmers and farming in this fertile land. Accompanied by a slide show. At 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave, near Dwight Way. $5 donation requested. This is a benefit for the Wheels of Justice Tour. 548-2220, ext. 233. www.ecologycenter.org 

“Dabru Emet (Speaking the Truth): A New Statement on Jews and Christians for Our Time” at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, 2770 Marin Ave. 649-2482. 

"The House We Live In” A film on how our laws, the courts, customs and real estate practices affect race relations and the accumulation of wealth, at 7 p.m. at YWCA, 2600 Bancroft Way. 

East Bay Mac User Group for all levels, software demos, tips, presentations. We meet from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Expression Center for New Media, 6601 Shellmound St. www.expression.edu 

Grizzly Peak Flyfishers, a group dedicated to furthering the sport of fly fishing through education and conservation, invites you to its monthly meeting at 7 p.m at the Kensington Community Center, 59 Arlington Ave. in Kensington. 

ONGOING 

Free Income Tax Help is available on Tuesday mornings between 10 a.m. and 12 noon at St. John’s Presbyterian Church Prime Timers, 2727 College Ave., Berkeley. Ozzie Olson, AARP trained tax preparer is available by appointment. 845-6830.  

Find a Loving Animal Companion at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society Adoption Center, open from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. 2700 Ninth St. 845-7735. www.berkeleyhumane.org  

Medical Care for Your Pet at the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society low-cost veterinary clinic, 2700 Ninth St. For appointments call 845-3633. www.berkeleyhumane.org  

Spring Bulb Bonanza at the Botanical Garden, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., March 15 to April 15, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. http://botanical 

garden.berkeley.edu 

CITY MEETINGS 

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon. Mar. 8, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St., Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/agenda-committee 

Public Housing Resident Advisory Board meets on Mon. Mar. 8 at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Housing Authority, 1901 Fairview St. Angellique DeCoud. 981-5475. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/publichousing 

City Council meets Tues., Mar. 9. , 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., Mar. 10, 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., Mar. 10, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/homeless 

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Mar. 10, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/homeless 

Planning Commission meets Wed., Mar. 10, at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Ruth Grimes, 981-7481. www.ci.ber 

keley. ca.us/commissions/planning 

Police Review Commission meets Wed. Mar. 10, at the North Berkeley Senior Center, Barbara Attard, 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/policereview 

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Mar. 10, 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., Mar. 11, 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, Mar. 11, at 6:45 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. William Rogers, 981-5344. www.ci.ber 

keley.ca.us/commissions/health 

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs. Mar. 11 at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Oscar Sung, 981-5400. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/housing 

West Berkeley Project Area Commission meets Thurs. Mar. 11, at 7 p.m., at the West Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7520. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/westberkeley 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Mar. 11, in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci.ber- 

keley.ca.us/commissions/zoning  

ˇ

Berkeley voters ran into a number of glitches Tuesday when the machines that clear voter cards after they are used malfunctioned throughout the day, forcing several precincts to move to paper ballots which quickly ran out and had to be re-supplied by the county. 

According Elaine Ginnold, the Assistant Registrar of Voters for Alameda County, the county had trained poll workers to run the machines using a particular screen interface which somehow changed when the machines were set up at polls. As a result, the poll workers were unable to work the machines and had to call in for help. An estimated 200 precincts around the county were affected. 

Ginnold speculated that the problems happened because the machines’ batteries and/or memory cards were shaken lose during transport to the polling stations. 

The slowdowns forced by the machines, along with problems encountered at City Hall when Berkeley and Albany tried to submit the results to the county over secure phone lines, left Berkeley behind the rest of the county in submitting the vote tallies. 

According to Councilmember Kriss Worthington, by 9 p.m. when Alameda county had counted 33 percent of their totals, Berkeley had only counted 2 percent. By 11:49 p.m., when Alameda was at 89 percent, Berkeley was still at 38 percent. Alameda county was also slower than other counties, according to Worthington. San Francisco county was finished when Alameda’s count was only half done.  

The card encoders that caused Berkeley’s tardiness were controversial even before the vote, according to Jim March, one of the plaintiffs who recently filed a suit against Diebold, the manufacturer of the card encoders and the touch screen voting machines. He said the machines were never properly certified before they were bought by the county. 

Ginnold said the machines did get a conditional certification but are pending further review. 

Other problems encountered throughout the day included voting machine freeze-up. That forced poll workers, who were not trained to re-boot the machines, to call in county workers, again delaying voters. 

Leshaun Yopack, a employee for the county confirmed the freezes but said every instance they responded to was quickly fixed by wiping out initial votes and then giving voters the opportunity to re-cast their votes.  

Around the country, as well as in Berkeley, critics of the new electronic technology also used the day to enroll as poll workers to get a first-hand glimpse of other problems they say could potentially plague the system. Avi Rubin, a professor at John Hopkins university and co-author of the report that analyzed the software used by Diebold to run the machines, enrolled as an election judge in Baltimore County to help him examine firsthand several of his concerns. 

In particular, opponents are worried about the technology being vulnerable to hackers who could tamper with the voting machine, the systems used to submit the votes to the county and the machines used by the county to tally the votes.  

Here in Berkeley, Judy Bertelsen, a Berkeley physician who has attended several of the state-wide meetings concerning the new electronic machines, did the same as Rubin. She said she found several security concerns, prompting her to write a letter to Brad Clark, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. 

She said the voting machines were left unattended at her polling place the night before with only thin plastic strips locking them shut. One machine was not locked at all. During her training before the election, she also criticized the county’s decision to use the same password--1111—to run all the machines. 

“The minimal [security procedures] they run past us are insulting,” said Bertelsen. “Why have a password if everyone knows it?” 

At Bertelsen’s polling place, paper results of the totals were not posted, contrary to new security updates issued in a directive from Kevin Shelley, the California Secretary of State. In the directive, Shelley required that all polling places print out a paper record of the ballots cast by each machine and post them. 

“Some members of the public and the media have indicated concern that once the results of the vote leave the polling place citizens have no ability to check on whether the results from that polling place are accurately conveyed to the central counting facility. Therefore, a copy of the results from each voting unit that is capable of printing out a tabulation of the results shall be posted for public inspection for at least 24 hours outside each polling place," wrote Shelley. 

Bertelsen’s precinct printed out paper sheets that were sent to the accumulation site along with the voter cards that contained the tallies. “It would be such a minor thing to print a second one,” she said. 

According to Ginnold from the Alameda County Registrar’s Office, Shelley’s directive came too late for the county to include the extra safety measures in their training sessions for poll workers.  

On a statewide level, the malfunctioning voter card encoders also added to arguments of touch-screen opponents such as March, who say the cards and card encoder machines fall outside the current security checks that are required only for the machines used to actually cast the votes. According March, the card encoders are excluded from the security checks that only verify the information sent between the voting machines at the poll places and the county. 

He said malicious code or instructions could be placed on the cards from the card encoders that would continually tamper with votes. If a machine sent a switched vote, and the county recorded the vote, the paper audit trail would not be able to detect any switch because the too votes would still match. 

“If there is fun and games on these cards then all the downstream process gets funky,” said March. “This card presents a hack problem that is above the paper audit trail that posting results will solve.” 

In the midst of widespread speculation that District 2 Councilmember Margaret Breland will be leaving Berkeley City Council at the end of her term this year, an aide to the ailing councilmember said that Breland will make a decision in the next few weeks on whether she will run for re-election. 

Breland was hospitalized for several days after she suffered a minor stroke in early December. She has not attended a City Council meeting in person so far this year, but has participated in the debates and voted by telephone since the end of January. Longtime aide Mel Martynn said that Breland is “doing much better,” and is expected to return to full City Hall duties by the March 16 council meeting. 

Breland, who is also in remission from a bout with breast cancer, told the Daily Planet last year that she was unsure about her re-election plans and was leaving it “in God’s hands.”  

If Breland chooses not to run for re-election, she would be the second Berkeley councilmember to do so this season. Last fall, Miriam Hawley announced that she would not be running for her 5th District seat. In December of last year, Mayor Tom Bates told a City Council meeting that he expected at least two, and possibly three, city councilmembers to choose not to run for re-election in the fall. Councilmembers Maudelle Shirek and Betty Olds are also up for re-election this year. 

If Breland chooses not to run, it may set up a contest for the seat between at least two political heavyweights. Peralta Community College District Four Trustee Darryl Moore and Housing Advisory Commission Chairperson Zoning Adjustment Board (ZAB) member Deborah Matthews—both of whom, like Breland, are African-American—have both announced that they would consider running for the District 2 seat if Breland opts out. Both also stressed that it was Breland’s decision whether to run or not, and asked that their comments not be taken as an indication that either were trying to force her out. 

“I’ve been honored recently that people who have heard of Margaret’s health and heard from her that she’s contemplating whether or not to run again have called and e-mailed me and suggested that I run for her seat,” Moore said. “It’s humbling. I would definitely weigh that, given the response.” Moore said that he would “probably form a small, exploratory committee to see what a run for city council would look like.” 

Matthews called a run for the District 2 “a possibility. But out of due respect to [Breland] and her position in her seat, I would not declare candidacy unless she chose not to run. I haven’t taken it any further, because it is a sensitive issue.” 

Matthews, who was appointed by Breland to both the Housing Advisory Commission and ZAB, said she hoped, however, that the councilmember “will have some sense of what her direction is sooner, rather than later. That would best service the community.” 

“There is a greater likelihood than not that [Breland] is going to run” for a third council term this fall, said Martynn, her aide. “She really enjoys this job tremendously and from all indications I have, she would like to continue. She hasn’t thrown in the towel yet. Margaret feels that she can make a big contribution to the community and particularly to West Berkeley.” 

The 2nd District is in the extreme southwestern corner of Berkeley, bordered by University Avenue, Sacramento Street, the Oakland boundary, and the bay. 

“She’s laying low and trying to get her strength back so she can make a decision,” Martynn explained, adding that while her decision is “dependent on her health, it’s more energy than anything else. It’s just that she’s more tired now. She’s building up her endurance. Once she gets into coming regularly to Council meetings, again, I think she’ll be in a better position to know if she wants to continue doing this, or if it’s going to be too much.” 

As for Moore, he said that a Breland decision did not need to come until early summer. 

“The official campaign season doesn’t start until Labor Day, but I think one would have to be setting the groundwork in early July. One would have to start meeting with people earlier, but the actual fund-raising and other public activity one could easily begin by the first of the summer.” 

Nomination papers for city council candidates can be obtained starting July 12, and normally must be turned in by Aug. 6. If no incumbent files for a council seat, however, the deadline is extended by a week. 

Breland first came on Berkeley City Council in 1996 when she defeated five-term Councilmember Mary Wainwright. In 2000, she beat out four rivals to win re-election with 55 percent of the vote. ˇ

Three years after the Gaia Building opened, the first tenant may soon be moving into the ground floor space developer Patrick Kennedy built to help him win city approval to add extra floors to one of the city’s most controversial buildings. 

The long-vac ant 10,000-square-foot first floor, a sore point in Berkeley politics, has drawn the ire of one city commission and prompted two city councilmembers to announce they’ll be introducing new city regulations this month that will change the way the city handl es developers who promise public cultural space in exchange for bigger buildings. 

Building that cavernous unfinished space helped developer Patrick Kennedy capitalize on state and city laws and the machinery of government to build the extra floors of apa rtments that enriched his business. Even more perplexing, under the present state of city ordinances, as Berkeley Planning Manager Mark Rhoades told an Arts Commission forum two years ago, the regulations in place when Kennedy inked his Gaia Building deal merely obligated the developer to build the space, not to rent it out. 

By promising to offer 19 apartments for lower- and low-income tenants and reserving the first floor for cultural uses, Kennedy convinced the city to award him the lot and relax the d owntown five-story cap, allowing him to tack on greater height and build more apartment units under city and state “density bonus” programs. The Gaia Building’s height remains controversial. While Kennedy says seven stories, critics have charged its actua l height is that of a nine-story-plus structure, the difference consisting of in-apartment loft space. 

Today, the first floor windows—one dominated by a real estate agency sign—are shrouded with translucent plastic. Behind them, work has begun in the open-framed concrete-floored shell. On the floors above, 12 of the 91 apartments—not 19—are reserved for tenants who earn 80 percent and less of the median area income. And city councilmembers, commissioners, and staff cite the project as an example of what not to do. 

What happened with Gaia won’t happen again if Dona Spring and Kriss Worthington succeed in passing the measure they plan to introduce to their fellow city councilmembers March 16. 

“Basically, the way it is now, there’s nothing we can do to compel developers to have an arts space,” Spring said. Under the Spring/Worthington proposal, “If an owner left cultural space vacant for more than two months, the building would be declared in non-compliance.” 

When Anna de Leon closed her celebrated Anna’s Jazz Cafe on University Avenue, she thought she’d be moving soon into elegant new quarters in the Gaia building under a new name—the Blackbird. 

A year passed, and the space she thought was hers remained vacant, lacking even the interior walls and wiring that would let her begin installing furniture and fixtures. However, within the last few weeks construction crews have started building out the raw space and putting in the improvements that will finally allow De Leon to reopen after 13 months in limbo. 

The first would-be occupant of that same space went bankrupt before construction of the building was completed, and two others—a pair of nonprofit theatrical troupes that would have shared a 142-seat theater adjacent to De Leon’s café—were never able to take occupancy because Kennedy never built the theater. 

“It’s unacceptable for a developer to reap the benefits of the bonuses without providing the benefits,” Worthington said. “The Gaia Building is a case study of what shouldn’t happen,” he said, addi ng that city staff members will be working out ways to give bite to their proposal. 

Worthington said one possible solution is a city ordinance barring a developer from renting out additional apartment space acquired through the arts bonus until community groups are using the cultural facilities. 

Why did the Gaia Building’s other projects fail? “The bottom line,” Spring said, “is basically that Kennedy wanted too much money for the space to be genuinely accessible to the civic arts groups who are struggl ing to find performance space in the downtown arts district.” 

Kennedy acknowledged that the high costs had kept nonprofit tenants out, and said he saw no reason why commercial tenants shouldn’t qualify for the bonus if they serve the city’s cultural comm unity. 

Which goes a long way to explain why city officials pointed to the Gaia Building saga as the very thing they wanted to avoid when they gave preliminary approval to plans for the new nine-story Seagate project on Center Street. 

By the time developers and city staff pitched that proposal to the Civic Arts Commission last week, Seagate was holding a signed 20-year lease from the nonprofit Berkeley Repertory Theater for the 9,000 square feet of density bonus performing space they’d incorporated into their nine-floor Center Street edifice—and Berkeley Rep was committed to make their performance hall available to other civic groups 100 days a year. 

Seagate also claims another 2,000 square feet of arts bonus space for a public art gallery they’re provi ding in a corridor that leads to the performance space and connects on through the middle of the block to Addison Street. 

The Seagate deal also requires the owners to provide an annual audit, proving the arts space has been fully and properly used for artistic performances and rehearsals. Nothing similar was required of Kennedy. 

As the city’s largest developer of what urban planners call “infill development,” Kennedy and his Panoramic Interests have become lightning rods for critics of the large “mixed use” projects that have spouted up along the city’s major arteries—projects that grow larger than city regulations would otherwise allow because of the inclusionary (“low income”) housing and cultural density bonuses. 

Kennedy said the Gaia Building, his tallest to date, is the only project for which he applied for additional size under the cultural density bonus. 

The building has been plagued by troubles. For months last year, a plastic shroud covered the rear of the building after mold was discovered b ehind leaking walls and crews stripped and replaced the affected exterior. Crews this week were wrapping up similar repairs at another of his nearby downtown developments, the Berkeleyan. 

Recently community activist Barbara Gilbert stood up at a city cou ncil session and asked why the building wasn’t being charged for city property tax assessments all the city’s other property owners were being forced to pay. When that dust settled, Kennedy owed $72,000 in back taxes on the building–plus another $90,000 on some of his other buildings—which he promptly agreed to pay. 

Kennedy’s first projected Gaia Building “cultural” tenant—intended as the sole occupant of the ground floor and the source of the structure’s name—was the Gaia Bookstore, a venerable New Age institution driven by high rents from its home of 13 years on North Shattuck Avenue in March, 2000. But economic realities—including the cost of furnishing their new quarters and the loss of customers to Internet discount booksellers—forced the store into bankruptcy before the building was finished. 

For replacements, Kennedy recruited two theatrical troupes along with De Leon. 

“We were supposed to be co-anchor tenants along with Shotgun Players,” said Gary Graves, company co-director of Central Works Th eater Ensemble. “It was supposed to open in July, 2002, and we even scheduled performances. But the (construction) work was never done, and it never became what it was supposed to be, a theater. 

“We lost faith that anything would happen, and we had no written agreement with him, despite our best efforts. We couldn’t continue in a place where we couldn’t be sure anything would ever be completed.” De Leon said she didn’t have a written lease until two months ago. 

Central Works briefly used the unfinished Gaia Building space for rehearsals before relocating to their present quarters in the Berkeley City Club on Durant Street. “We’re very happy with the facilities there, as is our audience,” he said. 

Graves said Kennedy cited high construction costs—estima ted at a million dollars—as the reason for not completing the theatrical installation, an account the developer acknowledges. “My guess is that the problems came because the building was designed and completed before the recession,” Graves said.  

Like ot hers in the city arts community, the theatrical director is reluctant to criticize Kennedy. “He’s a patron,” the director explained. “It’s a delicate matter.” 

No one from the Shotgun Players returned calls from the Daily Planet. 

With the Gaia building’s bottom floor vacant for almost two years, arts commissioners and others are wondering what’s going to become of a large block of space that was supposed to meet the needs of a city filled with groups eager to have a venue but unable to come up with the b ig bucks needed to realize their dreams. 

David Snippen, chair of the city’s Civic Arts Commission, says the Gaia Building highlights a current weakness in Berkeley’s procedures for dealing with new development. 

“The Arts Commission wasn’t involved at al l” in the process that led to the construction of the tallest downtown construction project in recent decades. 

Even the Seagate project, hailed as a model of compliance with the cultural and inclusionary bonuses, came to the Civic Arts Commission last we ek as a fait accompli. 

The problem, says Snippen, is that the city still hasn’t drafted ordinances precisely defining the rules governing the award of additional square footage under the cultural density bonus. “That’s something that has to be done by th e city staff, and every time someone gets started, they either get reassigned or they quit,” he said.  

Planning Commissioner Rob Wrenn agrees. “The Land Use element of the plan was adopted in December 2001, and [author] Andrew Thomas began writing the im plementation proposal. Then he left, and different members of city staff have been assigned to work on it, but they’ve all left or been reassigned. We’re been through five or six different drafts.” 

In the latest version, Wrenn said, no new downtown construction would be allowed over seven stories, including inclusionary and cultural density bonuses.  

Snippen and his fellow arts commissioners want enforcement language written into city regulations to give them a role in reviewing prospective tenants for cultural bonus space, as called for in the Land Use Element. “That’s our next major project,” he says. 

Spring, Worthington and the arts commissioners all want the space to go to nonprofits. 

“One of the things we learned from the Gaia Building is that th e whole idea of the cultural density bonus was to provide for public use,” Kamlarz acknowledged. “One of the problems is that the building was designed to fit one group, the bookstore, and we’ve learned not to have space that’s designed solely for one gro up.” 

In the Seagate proposal, the 9,000 square feet of performance space under Berkeley Rep’s control includes two separate halls, Kamlarz said, “so two different groups can use it at once. We want space that can be used simultaneously by different groups.” 

Meanwhile, Kennedy says he’s installing the walls that will block out both the theatrical space and the Blackbird and installing the restrooms that will serve both. Anna De Leon is ready. “Once Patrick gets everything in, I can be ready to open in a month,” she said, pending inspections and the approvals needed to get her new liquor license.o

Three years after the Gaia Building opened, the first tenant may soon be moving into the ground floor space developer Patrick Kennedy built to help him win city approval to add extra floors to one of the city’s most controversial buildings. 

The long-vacant 10,000-square-foot first floor, a sore point in Berkeley politics, has drawn the ire of one city commission and prompted two city councilmembers to announce they’ll be introducing new city regulations this month that will change the way the city handles developers who promise public cultural space in exchange for bigger buildings. 

Building that cavernous unfinished space helped developer Patrick Kennedy capitalize on state and city laws and the machinery of government to build the extra floors of apartments that enriched his business. Even more perplexing, under the present state of city ordinances, as Berkeley Planning Manager Mark Rhoades told an Arts Commission forum two years ago, the regulations in place when Kennedy inked his Gaia Building deal merely obligated the developer to build the space, not to rent it out. 

By promising to offer 19 apartments for lower- and low-income tenants and reserving the first floor for cultural uses, Kennedy convinced the city to award him the lot and relax the downtown five-story cap, allowing him to tack on greater height and build more apartment units under city and state “density bonus” programs. The Gaia Building’s height remains controversial. While Kennedy says seven stories, critics have charged its actual height is that of a nine-story-plus structure, the difference consisting of in-apartment loft space. 

Today, the first floor windows—one dominated by a real estate agency sign—are shrouded with translucent plastic. Behind them, work has begun in the open-framed concrete-floored shell. On the floors above, 12 of the 91 apartments—not 19—are reserved for tenants who earn 80 percent and less of the median area income. And city councilmembers, commissioners, and staff cite the project as an example of what not to do. 

What happened with Gaia won’t happen again if Dona Spring and Kriss Worthington succeed in passing the measure they plan to introduce to their fellow city councilmembers March 16. 

“Basically, the way it is now, there’s nothing we can do to compel developers to have an arts space,” Spring said. Under the Spring/Worthington proposal, “If an owner left cultural space vacant for more than two months, the building would be declared in non-compliance.” 

When Anna de Leon closed her celebrated Anna’s Jazz Cafe on University Avenue, she thought she’d be moving soon into elegant new quarters in the Gaia building under a new name—the Blackbird. 

A year passed, and the space she thought was hers remained vacant, lacking even the interior walls and wiring that would let her begin installing furniture and fixtures. However, within the last few weeks construction crews have started building out the raw space and putting in the improvements that will finally allow De Leon to reopen after 13 months in limbo. 

The first would-be occupant of that same space went bankrupt before construction of the building was completed, and two others—a pair of nonprofit theatrical troupes that would have shared a 142-seat theater adjacent to De Leon’s café—were never able to take occupancy because Kennedy never built the theater. 

“It’s unacceptable for a developer to reap the benefits of the bonuses without providing the benefits,” Worthington said. “The Gaia Building is a case study of what shouldn’t happen,” he said, adding that city staff members will be working out ways to give bite to their proposal. 

Worthington said one possible solution is a city ordinance barring a developer from renting out additional apartment space acquired through the arts bonus until community groups are using the cultural facilities. 

Why did the Gaia Building’s other projects fail? “The bottom line,” Spring said, “is basically that Kennedy wanted too much money for the space to be genuinely accessible to the civic arts groups who are struggling to find performance space in the downtown arts district.” 

Kennedy acknowledged that the high costs had kept nonprofit tenants out, and said he saw no reason why commercial tenants shouldn’t qualify for the bonus if they serve the city’s cultural community. 

Which goes a long way to explain why city officials pointed to the Gaia Building saga as the very thing they wanted to avoid when they gave preliminary approval to plans for the new nine-story Seagate project on Center Street. 

By the time developers and city staff pitched that proposal to the Civic Arts Commission last week, Seagate was holding a signed 20-year lease from the nonprofit Berkeley Repertory Theater for the 9,000 square feet of density bonus performing space they’d incorporated into their nine-floor Center Street edifice—and Berkeley Rep was committed to make their performance hall available to other civic groups 100 days a year. 

Seagate also claims another 2,000 square feet of arts bonus space for a public art gallery they’re providing in a corridor that leads to the performance space and connects on through the middle of the block to Addison Street. 

The Seagate deal also requires the owners to provide an annual audit, proving the arts space has been fully and properly used for artistic performances and rehearsals. Nothing similar was required of Kennedy. 

As the city’s largest developer of what urban planners call “infill development,” Kennedy and his Panoramic Interests have become lightning rods for critics of the large “mixed use” projects that have spouted up along the city’s major arteries—projects that grow larger than city regulations would otherwise allow because of the inclusionary (“low income”) housing and cultural density bonuses. 

Kennedy said the Gaia Building, his tallest to date, is the only project for which he applied for additional size under the cultural density bonus. 

The building has been plagued by troubles. For months last year, a plastic shroud covered the rear of the building after mold was discovered behind leaking walls and crews stripped and replaced the affected exterior. Crews this week were wrapping up similar repairs at another of his nearby downtown developments, the Berkeleyan. 

Recently community activist Barbara Gilbert stood up at a city council session and asked why the building wasn’t being charged for city property tax assessments all the city’s other property owners were being forced to pay. When that dust settled, Kennedy owed $72,000 in back taxes on the building–plus another $90,000 on some of his other buildings—which he promptly agreed to pay. 

Kennedy’s first projected Gaia Building “cultural” tenant—intended as the sole occupant of the ground floor and the source of the structure’s name—was the Gaia Bookstore, a venerable New Age institution driven by high rents from its home of 13 years on North Shattuck Avenue in March, 2000. But economic realities—including the cost of furnishing their new quarters and the loss of customers to Internet discount booksellers—forced the store into bankruptcy before the building was finished. 

For replacements, Kennedy recruited two theatrical troupes along with De Leon. 

“We were supposed to be co-anchor tenants along with Shotgun Players,” said Gary Graves, company co-director of Central Works Theater Ensemble. “It was supposed to open in July, 2002, and we even scheduled performances. But the (construction) work was never done, and it never became what it was supposed to be, a theater. 

“We lost faith that anything would happen, and we had no written agreement with him, despite our best efforts. We couldn’t continue in a place where we couldn’t be sure anything would ever be completed.” De Leon said she didn’t have a written lease until two months ago. 

Central Works briefly used the unfinished Gaia Building space for rehearsals before relocating to their present quarters in the Berkeley City Club on Durant Street. “We’re very happy with the facilities there, as is our audience,” he said. 

Graves said Kennedy cited high construction costs—estimated at a million dollars—as the reason for not completing the theatrical installation, an account the developer acknowledges. “My guess is that the problems came because the building was designed and completed before the recession,” Graves said.  

Like others in the city arts community, the theatrical director is reluctant to criticize Kennedy. “He’s a patron,” the director explained. “It’s a delicate matter.” 

No one from the Shotgun Players returned calls from the Daily Planet. 

With the Gaia building’s bottom floor vacant for almost two years, arts commissioners and others are wondering what’s going to become of a large block of space that was supposed to meet the needs of a city filled with groups eager to have a venue but unable to come up with the big bucks needed to realize their dreams. 

David Snippen, chair of the city’s Civic Arts Commission, says the Gaia Building highlights a current weakness in Berkeley’s procedures for dealing with new development. 

“The Arts Commission wasn’t involved at all” in the process that led to the construction of the tallest downtown construction project in recent decades. 

Even the Seagate project, hailed as a model of compliance with the cultural and inclusionary bonuses, came to the Civic Arts Commission last week as a fait accompli. 

The problem, says Snippen, is that the city still hasn’t drafted ordinances precisely defining the rules governing the award of additional square footage under the cultural density bonus. “That’s something that has to be done by the city staff, and every time someone gets started, they either get reassigned or they quit,” he said.  

Planning Commissioner Rob Wrenn agrees. “The Land Use element of the plan was adopted in December 2001, and [author] Andrew Thomas began writing the implementation proposal. Then he left, and different members of city staff have been assigned to work on it, but they’ve all left or been reassigned. We’re been through five or six different drafts.” 

In the latest version, Wrenn said, no new downtown construction would be allowed over seven stories, including inclusionary and cultural density bonuses.  

Snippen and his fellow arts commissioners want enforcement language written into city regulations to give them a role in reviewing prospective tenants for cultural bonus space, as called for in the Land Use Element. “That’s our next major project,” he says. 

Spring, Worthington and the arts commissioners all want the space to go to nonprofits. 

“One of the things we learned from the Gaia Building is that the whole idea of the cultural density bonus was to provide for public use,” Kamlarz acknowledged. “One of the problems is that the building was designed to fit one group, the bookstore, and we’ve learned not to have space that’s designed solely for one group.” 

In the Seagate proposal, the 9,000 square feet of performance space under Berkeley Rep’s control includes two separate halls, Kamlarz said, “so two different groups can use it at once. We want space that can be used simultaneously by different groups.” 

Meanwhile, Kennedy says he’s installing the walls that will block out both the theatrical space and the Blackbird and installing the restrooms that will serve both. Anna De Leon is ready. “Once Patrick gets everything in, I can be ready to open in a month,” she said, pending inspections and the approvals needed to get her new liquor license.

Berkeley voters, at least those who showed up to the polls Tuesday, won’t need a second ballot to let the city and county know how they feel about Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). By a whopping 72 percent, Berkeley passed Measure I, which—if ever implemented—would allow Berkeley voters to rank candidates by preference in the general election and eliminate the need for costly runoff elections. 

Voters also approved two other election reforms that, unlike IRV, go into effect in November. One, Measure H, seeks to squash vanity candidates by requiring all candidates for elected office to gather 150 signatures or pay a filing fee of $150. The other, Measure J, lowers the vote threshold from 45 percent to 40 percent for the leading candidate to be declared the winner without a runoff election and pushes back runoffs from December to February. 

Two countywide ballot measures also passed, one which raises local bridge tolls $1 to fund transportation projects, including a proposed Berkeley Ferry, and the other, a half-cent sales tax hike to fund county hospitals and health care providers. 

While Berkeley residents appeared to be in a giving mood Tuesday, many didn’t even volunteer the time to fill out a ballot. Only 28,230, or 36%, of Berkeley’s estimated 70,000 voters cast ballots on Measure I. Less than 28,000 voted on Measure H and only 26,753 voted on Measure J. In 2002, the ballot measures garnered between 34,000 and 38,000 votes. Full Berkeley votes for state and county elections have not been provided by the Registrar of Voters. 

The landslide victory for Instant Runoff Voting heartened supporters who wondered if it would even garner 50 percent in the face of staunch opposition from some city councilmembers. 

“It was a stunning victory,” said Councilmember Dona Spring, a member of the Green Party, which has long advocated the system to allow disaffected Democrats to vote Green without the fear that they were helping to elect a Republican. 

The system would also spare the city runoff elections. In 2002, the runoff in District 8 cost the city $90,000, City Clerk Sherry Kelly said. 

“This is a very strong mandate that will help us go to the county to get this in operation as soon as possible,” said Spring, who is hoping a system could be in place and certified by the state by 2006. How Berkeley would actually stage IRV elections would be up to the City Council after they determine that the system is practical and cost effective. 

Spring’s time frame might be too optimistic, said Kelly. To get the system up and running, software has to be manufactured for Alameda County’s Diebold voting machines, the county has to integrate the system into its elections procedures and the state has to certify it—something California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has so far been hesitant to do for San Francisco, which has had its IRV law on the books for two years, but still hasn’t been given the go-ahead. 

Considering that the county and Diebold continue to work out the kinks on the new touch-screen voting machines, adding complexity to the system won’t be a top priority in the next couple of years, Kelly said. 

Berkeley could stage its own election using IRV, but Alameda County doesn’t yet have the capacity to consolidate IRV ballots, said County Registrar Brad Clark. That means Berkeley would have to stage its own election at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Gordon Wozniak, the chief opponent of Measure I predicted Berkeley wouldn’t see IRV for at least 10 years. 

Berkeley’s other two winning ballot measures also have economic implications. By implementing a $150 filing fee for candidates, offset at the rate of one dollar for every signature collected, Berkeley hopes to cut back on the thousands it spends on administrative costs for vanity candidates. The measure passed with 62 percent of the vote. 

Michael Delacour, Berkeley’s most prolific third-party candidate for mayor, argued that the measure was more about stifling democracy, and though it was backed by several councilmembers, he blamed Mayor Tom Bates and his wife Assemblywoman Loni Hancock. 

“They’ve got quite a political machine, and they’re stomping on free speech anyway they can.” 

There was a similar divide for Measure H, backed by every councilmember, and passed by voters with 55 percent of the vote. By pushing runoff votes to February instead of 28 days after the general election, UC Berkeley students won’t be asked to vote during finals week, and the city clerk won’t have to rush through ballot mailings. Also by lowering the threshold for victory to 40 percent, the city might cut down on expensive runoff votes. 

Like Delacour, former Rent Board Commissioner Bob Migdal saw the measure as a further sign of Berkeley regressing from its egalitarian roots. “This was just about keeping councilmembers in office,” he said, remarking that despite no formal opposition the measure was nearly defeated. “I should have done something,” he added. “If the pro democracy group had gotten off its ass I think we could have defeated it.”  

One group that made its voice heard was supporters of Lyndon LaRouche—the left-wing student activist, turned fascist, turned Democrat, who has a history of anti-Semitism. LaRouche supporter Martin Garcia won one of the six slots on Berkeley’s Democratic Committee, which guides party strategies in the city.  

›

All hope is not lost for Berkeley Extension’s English Language Program that was terminated by campus officials in January. 

At the request of Academic Senate Chair Ron Gronsky, the Senate’s committee that oversees Berkeley Extension will investigate the decision to eliminate the English Language Program (ELP), which is one of the oldest and most respected programs of its kind in the country.  

“We’ll be asking for the basis on how the decision was made,” said Council Chair David Dornfeld, cautioning that since Extension is separate from the main campus, the Academic Senate has less influence over the fate of the program. “This will be a consolatory process,” Dornfeld said. “The dean and provost have a great amount of autonomy in how these programs run.” 

Berkeley’s English Language Program, which has offered English instruction to international students since 1973, has used the Berkeley name to attract students from mostly influential, upper-class families. ELP employs 32 teachers and 12 administrators, and in 2002 enrolled 2,733 students from 54 countries. Since Jim Sherwood, dean of University Extension, announced the closure of the program, effective May 7, teachers have been demanding an explanation for the decision. Dean Sherwood insists that his decision was based on a thorough evaluation of the program. On Thursday afternoon, ELP staff and about 100 students rallied on outside California Hall questioning the sincerity of the evaluation. 

“No one observed our classrooms, no one looked at our curriculum guides. Whatever purported review was done, we were totally unaware of it,” said ELP teacher Kimberly Green. She added that staff requests for a copy of the review had been rebuffed. 

Sherwood said the evaluation consisted of at least 30 interviews with University Extension and UC officials over several months, but was never made into a written report. The evaluation, he added, was part of the process for formulating a Strategic Plan towards realigning Extension’s curriculum closer to the university’s core mission. 

Using Strategic Plan buzzwords, “Berkeley Quality, Berkeley Appropriate,” Sherwood said he eliminated ELP because English immersion programs had grown more abundant and teaching English was not an appropriate mission for the university. The Strategic Plan, offered guidelines for reviewing programs, including student input and a curriculum analysis, but Sherwood said those didn’t apply in the case of ELP because he was only gauging its fit with UC. 

“I never questioned the quality of the program, I just determined it wasn’t something we should be offering,” he said. 

Dornfeld said his group will study relevant documents and, depending on the findings, might offer an opinion to the Academic Senate. 

The closure of the ELP appeared to lower morale at Berkeley Extension, already devastated by a series of layoffs. The Extension staff heckled Sherwood twice during a question and answer session at Wednesday’s annual Extension meeting and when two employees began arguing if the ELP issue should be dominating the forum, Sherwood intervened, saying “I don’t want to see this disintegrate into anything it shouldn’t be.” 

Since 2002, Extension has closed its San Francisco headquarters and eliminated 120 positions—slightly more than a third of its roster. It still carries a $4.7 million budget deficit, Sherwood said, which he is required to close by 2005. 

Sherwood said ELP was projected to lose $476,883 this year, but added financial reasons didn’t factor into his decision and he didn’t anticipate the need for future layoffs to get make Extension profitable.  

ELP teachers questioned his accounting and his motivations. Teachers had filed two unfair labor practices against the university, for failing to alert the teachers of labor policy changes.  

“Considering the administrative mess they’re in, they couldn’t have picked a more convenient time to close the program,” Green said in an earlier interview. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Johnny (last name withheld for his safety), 18, is a former youth reporter with Radyo Timoun (Children’s Radio) 90.9 FM in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. This week rebels looted and burned it along with the Aristide Foundation For Democracy in which the station was located. Johnny told his story to PNS contributor Lyn Duff via telephone from Port-au-Prince. 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—I was living in the gutter, dressing in old clothes and begging at the airport when President Aristide took office in 1990. One of the first things Titid [as President Aristide was popularly known] did when he moved into the National Palace was invite a group of children who sleep in the streets to visit the palace and speak out about the conditions of the street children.  

I heard on the radio the voice of Little Sony, one of the street children, speaking from the National Palace about the rights of children and I knew that the lives of the children in Haiti would change.  

When Titid became president he told the world that we street children were people, we had value, that we were human beings.  

Many adults didn’t like this message. They said we were dirty and should be thrown out like the trash that we are. But Titid loved us and when I met him, he kissed me and put his hand on my face and told me he loved me. And they were not the empty words of a politician.  

During the first coup in 1991 the street kids were attacked and Lafanmi Selavi [a shelter for homeless children started by Aristide when he was a parish priest] was burned. Aristide came back from exile in October 1994 and it was a new world for the children. Three years of horror were over.  

I was just a little child at that time but with Titid I felt important. We went to Titid and told him that we wanted to have a voice in democracy, to have a voice for children and he gave us Radyo Timoun. We were the first children’s radio station in the world, run by children and promoting the human rights of all Haitians. We spoke on the air about the news, about our hopes and opinions. Adults all over the country heard our voices and were forced to accept that we children are people too.  

In the past eight years the radio station has gone through many changes and transitions; it was criticized and vandalized but we knew that behind mountains there are more mountains. The radio station was moved from Lafanmi Selavi to the Aristide Foundation for Democracy.  

Yesterday at the Foundation I saw gangsters and criminals in army uniforms destroy the hopes and dreams of the Haitian people. They destroyed the building, burned books and killed many people. A new government run by these people will surely be bad not only for the children but for all the people of Haiti.  

I do not believe that President Aristide has abandoned us to this misery. There is no electricity so it is hard to find news about what is really happening but I have heard he was forced to leave and I believe that. He would never leave us willingly. Last week Titid said on the radio he would die before he would give up the struggle for democracy in Haiti.  

Right now it is hard to survive and we don’t know what we will do to find food and water. There are gangs everywhere in army clothes, looting and burning, attacking people and robbing those that are weaker. Everyone is fearful for the present and for the future.  

The U.S. Marines stood by and did nothing while the library at the Aristide Foundation was burned. With my own eyes I saw the American Marines stand and watch while rebels cut a woman and shot her. I yelled at them, “Do something!” and they swung their guns around toward me and yelled, “Get back!”  

While I hid in a field the American Marines put their hats on the bodies of dead people and posed for pictures with them. It made me sick because in Haiti we respect the dead. The Americans scare me; I don’t believe that they want anything good for the Haitian people because they support the criminals who oppose democracy.  

We are fearful of the old army because they are those who killed the street children of Lafanmi Selavi. They killed the peasants in the North who wanted to have democracy and supported Aristide.  

A new government has no hope for the children of Haiti. I am scared, I think the criminals will try to kill me too because I am one of Titid’s boys. But I am not just scared for myself. I am scared for all the children of Haiti. And today I cannot stop crying.  



Police Shoot Dogs 

A police officer shot and killed two dogs early Thursday afternoon on the 2500 block of Haste Street, on the sidewalk beside Peoples Park. Police spokesperson Kevin Schofield said the two dogs, which witnesses described as black pit bull mixes, escaped from a parked car and began attacking a yellow Labrador. 

An officer left a business on Haste, saw the dog fight, and determining that the owner was unable to control his dogs, shot both of them. 

One pit bull staggered from the gunfire and dropped dead on the sidewalk, the other pit bull ran on to Haste where the officer shot it again. That dog later died at an animal hospital, Schofield said. 

The Labrador was taken to an emergency veterinary clinic and was expected to survive. Schofield said shooting the dogs was a last resort, but was “certainly within policy” because the dogs were a threat to the other dog and to people in the area.  

Homeless Man Dies 

Eric Helmso, an oft-sighted Berkeley homeless man, was found dead early Monday morning at a bus stop at University and Sacramento avenues. Helmso, 42, apparently died of natural causes, friend Doug Freitag said.  

Beatdown in West Berkeley 

Several women attacked another woman at Sixth Street and Bancroft Way, police said. Police arrived after the attack had ended, and did not arrest any of the assailants, Schofield said. 

Southside Brawl 

Police received a call of six to eight men fighting on the 2300 block of Telegraph Avenue Sunday evening. Though the brawl had subsided when officers arrived, police arrested Antonio Sanders, 24, of Berkeley for felony assault as well as another man whose name was not available, Schofield said. 

Attempted Purse Snatch 

Police arrested Roy Jones, 46, of Berkeley in connection with an unsuccessful attempt to snatch a woman’s purse Sunday night.

Like most Americans, I find that I know very little about Haiti. 

I have read C.L.R. James’ seminal book, The Black Jacobins, which traces the country from its original Carib inhabitants, then through the French-sponsored slave trade, and finally to the uprising of its African inhabitants under Toussaint L’Ouverture and the military defeat of the armies led by Napoleon’s brother-in-law by an army composed of former captive Africans. 

I know a little about the brutality of the regimes of the Duvaliers, Papa and Baby Doc, which was swept away in the popular, democratic revolt that led to the first administration of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. 

I once saw the now-and-then former President Arisitde speak at a Berkeley church, in the early ‘90s, in the period of his last exile. I remember him them as a quiet but riveting mystic, with the kind of intensity that one imagines flowed from the great religious-political leaders of history. By great I do not necessarily mean good. I do not know, one way or the other. Like most Americans, I must confess that I did little to follow the policies of his administration while he governed Haiti. I know that he was the democratically elected president of that nation, and little more. 

And I have watched and read as ou r national government and national media, in the course of a day or two, have managed to take this blank slate of Haiti and Aristide and write upon it in such a way that we have come to accept—quite willingly, and before our eyes—our country’s participati on in, if not active orchestration of, the overthrow of a democratically elected government several hundred miles from our border. 

Haiti first got the attention of most of us sometime last week when, with armed rebels suddenly pouring across half the cou ntry like water through a sieve, Secretary of State Colin Powell came on television and suggested that Aristide should resign. Until then, I think, most Americans believed that this was no more than a minor revolt. 

On Monday morning we awoke to find that the Aristide regime was no more. 

“He made the decision to give up power on Saturday evening,” Christopher Marquis wrote in the New York Times, “hours after the White House in a statement questioned his fitness to rule.” Haiti’s crisis, the Bush administ ration wrote in a statement, “is largely of Mr. Aristide’s making.” 

But there was a curiousness to the write-up’s in both the Times and the Washington Post of those last hours of the Aristide government. Lydia Polgreen and Tim Weiner of the Times report ed March 1 that Aristide had “resigned” and “fled” the country, and both the Times and Post articles of that day paraphrased the questions the Haitian President was supposed to have asked in order to facilitate his exile. But even though both papers exten sively quoted individuals who spoke with Aristide in those hours, not a single one quoted Aristide as simply saying, “I wish to resign.” In fact, there were no direct quotations from Aristide at all. 

And the choice of words used by Times and Post reporters to describe those conversations—at second hand—were also interesting. Aristide “meekly” asked American ambassador if his resignation might help, Mr. Marquis wrote. The Times reported those questions as “poignant,” the Post as “plaintive.” Peter Slevin and Mike Allen of the Post wrote that Aristide “ran out of bluster,” with Marquis of the Times gave an editorial opinion that the Haitian President was “signaling [his] disconnection from the violence engulfing his country.” 

Do you think that these “embe dded” characterizations had no bearing on Americans’ rapidly-forming opinion about Aristide? 

Read them again, and think about the image they conjure. A pitiful little man, weak and terrified, unable to understand this sudden turn of events in his fortune, turns, at the very end, for help from the benevolent older brother—the U.S.—for whom he has so long held such scorn. How sad. 

This is all the more important when you come to realize that misters Marquis and Slevin and Allen neither heard these Aristide conversations themselves, nor spoke with anyone from Aristide’s side who might have characterized them in another way. 

Two members of Congress—Maxine Waters and Charles Rangel—as well as the respected Africa expert Randall Robinson did speak by telephon e with Aristide following the president’s ouster. Aristide, they reported, had described a completely different scenario of his departure from Haiti. He denied that he had resigned. Instead, Aristide said that armed U.S. Marines had come to the presidenti al palace, took him and his immediate family at gunpoint to the airport without allowing him to telephone anyone outside the country to report what was happening, and forced him on a U.S. airplane and into exile. 

“That’s nonsense,” Bush spokesperson Scot t McClellan was quoted by the Times. McClellan called that a “conspiracy theory.” 

But if the Secretary of State called for Aristide to leave Haiti—which we know Powell did, because we watched him say it on television—and if U.S. Marines forcibly escorted Aristide out of Haiti within a matter of days, that would not be a conspiracy theory. It would be an order. 

And that leaves aside that we are speaking about characterizations coming from the Bush administration which, one might delicately say, has not been entirely forthcoming to the public in recent months in matters of international activity. 

Meanwhile, on the day after Aristide’s ouster—however he went—the Times was not finished with him. In describing Aristide’s presidency, Tim Weiner of the Times wrote “Aristide rose from his priesthood in Haiti’s slums to his presidency by preaching democracy. But once in power, he dashed the hopes of many who had hailed him as a champion of the oppressed… In the end, the disillusioned say, he could not practice what he had preached.” 

It would be nice if Mr. Weiner had followed this up with some opinion directly from those Haitian oppressed. Instead, he quotes only U.S. sources. “As a politician, [Aristide] reverted to the same authoritarianism he had condemned for so long,” Mr. Weiner quotes former U.S. diplomat Robert E. White as saying. “I don’t believe Aristide had a democratic bone in his body.” 

Thus do we justify the stain on our own hands. Had anyone in the Bush administration made such an observation, I might have replied that this would be like rice calling cotton white. 



SANA’A, Yemen—The expensive, new U.S. television channel aimed at Arabs in this part of the world, looks like a bust. Since beginning Feb. 14, the station’s limited broadcasting time, tacky promos, and documentaries in English with clumsy Arabic subtitles, have all contributed to a growing sense of disappointment among viewers with the latest, and most expensive, U.S. overture to the Arab world.  

Al-Hurra, which translates to “the Free One” in Arabic, has a first year budget of $62 million, and is designed to be a 24-hour “accurate, balanced, and comprehensive” Arabic-language news network. Despite its current broadcast schedule of only 14 hours a day, with many programs repeated numerous times, the station should be at 24-hours-a-day strength by March 14.  

But for many here the first impression has been one of hubris and ignorance. It took the new al-Hurra television channel less than 15 minutes to lose the support of one young Yemeni. After watching interviews with President Bush and Norman Pattiz, head of the U.S. agency overseeing the station, on the first day of broadcasting, 24-year old Amar al-Audi, had seen enough. “It is just like everything America does, they say every other Arab station is wrong and they are right,” he said.  

This wasn’t the message President Bush was trying to convey to the Arab world. But with promos that feature men and women opening doors and windows onto a rising sun, close-ups of a series of eyes that are opening for what appears to be the first time, and, strangely, a group of horses galloping together through the snow until they stop to drink at a spring, that is the message that is getting through.  

The station is intended as an alternative to other pan-Arab news stations like al-Jazeera and al-Arabbiyya, which the United States has long accused of an anti-American slant in reporting. According to President Bush, al-Hurra will cut through this “hateful propaganda that fills the airwaves in the Muslim world,” and promote debate in the region.  

Al-Hurra’s website (www.alhurra. com) says the station is “a commercial-free Arabic-language satellite television network for the Middle East devoted primarily to news and information.” But it will also feature more general programs focusing on health, personal fitness, sports, fashion, and science and technology.  

What isn’t mentioned on the website, however, is that a number of these programs will be in English with only Arabic subtitles, a problem for the large number of Arabs, especially Arab women, who remain illiterate.  

Nor are cooking shows, stories on the Detroit car show, or segments on the U.S. Super Bowl, necessarily what the Arab world expected when Bush announced the birth of “the Free One.” While al-Hurra is often left broadcasting what sometimes look like infomercials in English, its competitors are showing the news in Arabic.  

For instance, on its program “Destination World” on Feb. 20, al-Hurra broadcast an English documentary with Arabic subtitles on Hindu warriors and Indian gurus with Hollywood connections, while in the same time slot al-Arabbiyya was showing a story on the U.S. presidential race, and al-Jazeera was interviewing Palestinians in the West Bank.  

But programming is not the only problem plaguing the fledgling news channel; credibility has also been a sticking point with its target audience.  

U.S. funding of al-Hurra has raised eyebrows around the Middle East, with many of its critics wondering if it can be anything other than a flashy American version of the state-run news media throughout the region.  

The issue of credibility is one that al-Hurra has been keen to address, and from the beginning it has been on the defensive. Within minutes of going on the air, al-Hurra broadcast portions of an exclusive interview with President Bush as well as an interview with Norman Pattiz, who heads the Middle East committee of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the agency that is overseeing the project.  

Pattiz said that al-Hurra would maintain editorial independence despite its ties to the U.S. government and stressed the fact that it was the American people, through Congress, who were funding the station.  

This sentiment has struck a chord with a few Yemenis like Abdu al-Awda, a local clerk, who says he enjoys the channel for the “picture of America” that it gives. But most here seem to view al-Hurra as nothing more than U.S. propaganda. Nor are they alone. Throughout the Arab world the reaction to al-Hurra has been overwhelmingly negative.  

The majority of the critics claim that they don’t want an explanation of the “values and the policies of the United States,” which President Bush promised al-Hurra would deliver, but rather a change in those policies.  

For the moment at least, it seems that the U.S. and the Arab world are once again talking past each other, with neither taking the time to listen.  

Pacific News Service contributor Gregory D. Johnsen is a Fulbright Scholar. His views do not reflect those of the Fulbright Commission.›

INAPPROPRIATE PHOTO 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing in response to your coverage of the death of 15-year-old Miguel Caicedo (”West Berkeley Go-cart Accident Kills Teenager,” Daily Planet, Feb. 24-26). I see that other readers have written letters focusing on the illegal and dangerous use of go-carts, or on the regrettable deficit of stop signs in the West Berkeley neighborhood where the accident occurred.  

Personally, I am still reeling from the shock of opening the paper to see the unnecessarily graphic photograph (of Miguel’s smashed go-cart underneath the front of the pickup truck) and description of the accident scene. As a newspaper it is your job to report the facts, which often includes compelling details and visuals. However, it is also your job to present such facts in a way that considers the overall context of the story, your audience, and the consequences of your representation of facts. I believe that you have exacerbated an already tragic situation by assuming that the disturbing photograph would have somehow served your readers or strengthened this story. It is unfortunate that my knowledge about this accident has come at the expense of Miguel’s family, friends, and even the truck driver, who all have to live with such an image imprinted on their minds. Your choice to include the photograph was inappropriate, irresponsible, and ultimately disrespectful to the community that mourns Miguel. 

Kris Helé 

• 

SLEEPWALKING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I’m writing in response to Erik Olson’s photo which accompanied an article about a fatal go-cart accident.  

As a photojournalist studying at UC Berkeley, I think about photo ethics. And the photo you ran depicting Miguel Caicedo’s mangled scooter beneath the fender of a truck, with pools of blood running in the street, was in poor taste, an unnecessary illustration of a tragedy and offensive to the family and friends of the 15-year-old.  

Remember the flak newspapers got after 9/11 when they published photos of people falling from the windows of the Twin Towers? The papers argued that although these were grisly portrayals of people dying, what kept this out of the realm of a morbid fascination with fatalities (a la “Faces of Death”) was that 9/11 was an inconceivable horror, the largest modern attack on American soil, and that those photos helped illustrate what no one could imagine or believe.  

The death of Miguel Caicedo is newsworthy. He was young and well loved and his friends held a week-long vigil at a memorial site to show their devotion to him. The grisly representation of the fatal collision that unceremoniously claimed his life is emotionally disturbing, like all roadway accidents must be. But we don’t see pictures of every accident scene in the paper. I think there’s 50, 000-80,000 U.S. roadway deaths a year. A casual snapshot of a bloody wreckage is unusual, and is not typically published not only because it is upsetting to see, but usually it is not in the public’s interest to see (what purpose did the photo serve?). 

I imagine that your editors were sleepwalking when they published this piece. For one, a four-letter word (“fuck,” will you print it again?) appears quite arbitrarily in the text, when paraphrasing the speaker would’ve worked just as well. Secondly, Caicedo’s name was misspelled in one reference.  

I’ve heard plenty of talk about this Daily Planet piece from people who knew Miguel Caicedo—I’ve been photographing the memorials and funeral this past week—and the only thing anyone has to say about your article is “Man, did you see that photo they used? That wasn’t right.”  

Keli Dailey 

• 

COMMUNITY SAVES LIVES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Recently I listened to a remarkable interview with Father Boyle, a Jesuit Priest, on NPR’s “Fresh Air with Terry Gross.” Father Boyle works with Latino gangs in Los Angeles. At one point he was asked, what works? And Father Boyle answered, “Community. Community saves gang members.” Of course. We all need community. Gang members need community. I need community. And community is the reason I have volunteered for 12 years at Willard Middle School. 

For these reasons I am deeply disturbed and puzzled at the leadership of our schools. For example, right now, every request for school district information must be personally reviewed by the Superintendent. This level of control and lack of transparency is not appropriate for Berkeley. The White House inhabited by Bush operates in this manner. BUSD should be open and transparent. 

When the Superintendent first came, she organized an elaborate system for input, and required every school to conduct a parent meeting in order to develop priorities. I personally attended two of these, one at Willard and one at BHS. The input went in, and nothing has come out. We’ve never found out the results. We’ve never been informed as to how the information is used, nor what decisions, if any were guided by all that effort. 

When I say “Our schools”, I mean all of us, students, parents, teachers, staff, neighbors, administrators, local businesses, all of us, which is what it should be. When I hear BUSD administrators say “our schools” the “our” usually denotes BUSD, and is being used to tell me that I’m excluded. Butt out. 

When schools are part of “our” community, the 65 percent of Berkeleyans who don’t have children attending BUSD, have been willing to support our schools with generous funding: $13 million extra every year.  

BUSD: Be a lot more user friendly; practice democracy which requires honest, open and easy access to information. 

Yolanda Huang 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

In regards to the flooding at Malcolm X School, I’ve been surprised that no one has mentioned the street re-paving that occurred in the summer of 

2002. Many of the streets in our neighborhood were changed by having the street level raised to within two inches of the top of the curb. A neighbor with an at-grade house succeeded in having them redo a section of his street to have a deeper gutter, and he still gets flooded. We are above grade, but this is the first year since 1977 that I’ve seen standing water rippling on our front walkway. I measured the gutter depth around Malcolm X and found that while Ashby has a nice five- to six-inch depth, King to the west has 3.5 to five inches, Ellis to the east (uphill) has only 2.5 to three inches, and Prince, to the south, has 2.5 to four inches. Not only is this less a barrier to high water, but once the flow spreads out over the street and sidewalk, it goes slower and removes less debris, perhaps leading to more blockage. 

Another problem is the (fairly recent) design of the front entryway on Prince Street. From the access ramp at the street there is no uphill slope before another elegant ramp curving down to access some below grade classrooms. In their patio-like entry way, there are some skinny little grates that, not surprisingly, are not up to the task of channeling the overflow from the street. Perhaps we could have an inexpensive competition among local architect students to design something that would channel water out to the street or drains but retain wheelchair access. 

Another solution would be to return to dirt and gravel streets. They are cheap, absorb more water, and have a side benefit of slowing traffic. 

Barbara Judd 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

While just about everyone agrees that the food served to our children in Berkeley schools is of vending machine quality, no district official has done anything to address the problem beyond rhetoric. Perhaps if the superintendent and school board were forced to eat what they serve our children, on a daily basis, we would see some change. Instead, I have witnessed district administrators eating lunch, on several occasions, at the trendy, expensive “Downtown” restaurant.  

The district’s contention that freshly cooked food, prepared on site, would increase costs is nothing more than an excuse to uphold the status quo. As someone who has prepared healthy food for large amounts of people, I have learned how simple and inexpensive it can be. The district would be saving money, not losing money. Unbeknownst to the district, there are many qualified cooks and organizers in our community who have the expertise to enact such a program. We wouldn’t demand the six-figure salaries and obscene benefits packages given away to our current food services director and others. We don’t need to hire any additional bureaucrats from out of town, to show us how it’s done. 

I pose a question to Ms. Lawrence and the school board: Are you willing to try a pilot program in which fresh food is prepared and served on one site for one day a week by qualified cooks? Are you willing to take this small step, or have your words been nothing but the same old rhetoric once again?  

Michael Bauce 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your article on the $100,000 overcharging of tenants by former rent control board employee Michael Berkowitz encapsulates all that is wrong with rent control. 

The hypocrisy and irony of a rent control advocate with close ties to the current board thumbing its nose at the system he helped create are well  

documented in the story so they are not worth repeating. However, from a public policy perspective this story illustrates that it is time to re-think rent control. 

Owners have been saying for years that the low annual adjustments granted by the rent board only create a disincentive to landlords who, as a result, eventually opt to sell their properties; most often these properties are never again used as rentals. 

The rent controlled rent for the Berkowitz five-bedroom house that is both close to campus and in a very desirable neighborhood where only wealthy people can afford to buy was $1,335 a month. This is roughly the market rate rent for a one-bedroom unit in an apartment complex.  

Mr. Berkowitz, just like countless other owners, chose to sell his property simply because it is not financially viable to continue renting for $1,335 a  

five-bedroom house that is worth $800,000 (the sales price of the 2820 Derby St. property according to the weekly sales database of the Hills newspapers). Currently the rent board controls about 19,000 rentals while the total number of rentals in 1980, the year rent controls were implemented, was 28,000. That is a staggering loss that mostly results in a one-way ticket from rental to owner occupancy. 

The fact that UC Berkeley is currently building thousands of units is a testament to this process in which students have lost private housing within  

walking distance to campus. 

At the other end of the spectrum, rent control has a corrosive effect on vacant units when there is a high vacancy rate. The current ordinance in fact  

admits to this by providing a clause by which the City Council can repeal rent control if the vacancy rate goes above five percent. The latest informal survey  

shows the vacancy rate hovering around 10 percent since November 2002. Here is the thinking that prevails in a punitive rent control environment such as Berkeley’s during a high vacancy rate period: An owner knows that he may rent to a tenant that will remain in the unit a very long time. That new rent  

will be virtually frozen in the foreseeable future as a result of rent control. Therefore the landlord is reluctant to offer the unit at a lower price and tenants are forced to pay a rent higher than necessary. It’s a situation where the landlord loses, the tenant loses, the city loses, the state loses, merchants see fewer sales, etc. 

Just do the math: A 10 percent vacancy rate translates into conservatively 4,000 fewer tenants living in Berkeley. That is a staggering loss of revenue for a cash-strapped city as fewer dollars flow as fees for telephone service, cable, sewer, business license fees, new auto taxes, etc. Just this past November, Cambridge Massachusetts—Berkeley’s ideological sister city—said no to a city ballot initiative to bring back rent control by a 61 to 39 percent margin after a 1994 statewide initiative repealed it. Cambridge’s voters compared rent control with what the market delivered during the past 10 years and they overwhelmingly chose the free market. It’s time for Berkeley to follow that lead.  

Robert Cabrera 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

I applaud Matthew Artz for writing the article about how “Bush Law Sabotages School’s Effort to Leave No Child Behind” (Daily Planet, Feb. 13-16) is wrongly giving Washington Elementary School a bad reputation. As a mother of a first grader at Washington, I felt really bad when I got the school district’s letter stating that Washington is a “needs improvement” school and I can opt to transfer my child to another Berkeley school. By the way, I heard from our Leadership Team meeting that not one Washington family opted to transfer. Last year, when I was searching for a school for kindergarten, I visited four schools in my zone and one private school. We selected Washington. Why? Because for my family, it is the best choice. My son is an intelligent and confident child, so I knew that he would be fine in public school. He had completed three years of Montessori preschool and was a good candidate for private school. But, I felt that a private school would be too homogenous. Frankly, how many families can afford $9,000 tuition a year? Not only am I interested in good academics, I want him in an environment that reflects the Bay Area in race, culture and economics, because social development is important too. 

Since being at Washington for two years now, I’m impressed with the school. I’m part of the Leadership Team, which comprise of the principal, staff,  

teachers and parents. As a group, we help make spending decisions together. I like this inclusion. Honestly, I’m learning more about Washington every year and I like what I see. Of course, I’m not happy about everything at Washington, but that would be unrealistic. Are there better schools than Washington? That is a personal question each family needs to search out for themselves. It upsets me when I hear that parents avoid Washington because of what they hear rather than what they see and experience for themselves. 

We need good parents and kids at all Berkeley schools so I hope that families take the time to research schools by visiting them. 

Mimi Chin 

Washington Elementary School Parent 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

For over five months now I have been part of a community group that respects the need for commercial development along San Pablo Avenue, but would like the City of Albany to respect our wishes to leave the neighboring streets residential. In less than five months, we have drafted a well-thought out and detailed Alternative E to the Planning and Zoning Commission’s commercial expansion proposed along San Pablo Avenue and we have attracted over 400 supporters from all over the city (not just the so-called “NIMBYs”). By contrast, it took some members of the commission more than seven years to come up with a radical expansion proposal that only he and one other member can support with a straight face. Unfortunately, these two have married themselves to a proposal that would ruin the spirit of Albany for no other reason than to preserve their fragile egos. 

Four-story buildings built up to the property line of single family homes would destroy the neighborhood—plain and simple. A radical increase in large commercial buildings would increase crime, traffic and pollution; such changes would have a negative impact not only on the neighboring streets but anyone living in Albany AND anyone attempting to drive through Albany, especially via San Pablo Avenue. This is not a case of “NIMBYism.” Keep in mind that San Pablo Avenue runs through the majority of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. You could be the next homeowner with a Wal-Mart opening in your backyard. I am amazed and appalled that the powers that be have let the voices of a few drown out the voices of hundreds. We just want to be heard! 

We have started a petition and urge potential supporters of reasonable, respectful development to contact us before the next Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on Tuesday, March 9. We have a hotline at 527-0923, and our website is http://stopsanpabloexpansion.com. 

Kamala Appel 

ˇ

IMPEACH BUSH 

On Tuesday, the Berkeley City Council will consider recommending to U.S. Representative Barbara Lee that she support the impeachment of Bush, 

Cheney, Rumsfeld and Ashcroft. 

These unelected criminals have not only violated U.S. and international law by involving the U.S. in wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan, but have now supported the violent overthrow of a legitimate democracy and ally in Haiti, and also kidnapped a chief of state and his wife. (The cross-examination of Noriega by the members of the Congressional Black Caucus yesterday demonstrated this without a doubt.) 

All of these actions are clearly impeachable offenses. These men are simply too dangerous to leave in office until the coming elections in November. They will very likely involve the U.S. in an invasion of Venezuela and Cuba before November. We have already gained a well deserved reputation as an aggressor nation; now, many thousands more will be killed and crippled for illegal motives that we don’t agree with. 

Berkeley has been a vanguard of opinion and action for peace and social justice in this nation. The National Coalition for Impeachment of Bush and Cheney has therefore called upon the Berkeley City Council and Mayor Bates to recommend to Barbara Lee that she either introduce articles of impeachment into the Congress, or immediately support that action if taken by another U.S. Representative. 

I am dismayed that preliminary indications have shown that several people on the council are reluctant to support this resolution. Some of the reasons I have heard are outrageous beyond my comprehension, e.g., equating Bush and Co.’s crimes with Clinton’s lying about oral sex, and using this idea in somehow determining the propriety of impeachment. Furthermore, another move being considered is the alternative of recommending “censure” of the administration. This absurdity will have absolutely no influence on a junta that has shown its willingness to go to war against the opinions and wishes of record numbers of its own people, and in defiance of the United Nations. “Censure” is nothing more than a formal expression of someone’s opinion, and it is quite evident by now that the Bush Administration will simply do whatever it can get away with, regardless of any opinion. Only impeachment has the force of law to remove these criminals, who lie and connive. Censuring Bush makes about as much sense as “censuring” Charles Manson, as an alternative to incarcerating him. And Manson was responsible for far less damage than Bush, Cheney, etc. 

Finally, it has been indicated Lee’s district office chief of staff Jeffrey Thomas that Congresswoman Lee balks at pursuing impeachment because it would “divert precious hours and energies away from other important legislative matters.” First, I would remind the Berkeley City Council that there are no more important legislative matters than keeping us out of wars of aggression—the highest crime on the planet. Second, we as citizens should not be taking our cue from Representative Lee—she should be taking her cues from us. We don’t work for her—she works for us. We would not be in this mess if Congress had been willing to appropriately exercise their duty of oversight of the executive branch. Let’s get real—tell them to indict these bastards, and remove them. 

I am reminded of a politician character in Walt Kelly’s comic strip Pogo, some years ago, who says, “The people have spoken, and I must follow, for I am their leader.” Well, that’s how it works, folks. 

Hank Levin 

San Rafael 

S

In a performance straight out of Alice in Wonderland, Seagate Corporation came before the Civic Arts Commission at our February meeting to deliver a message: “We are here to show you something we do not want you to examine” and “we are asking for your approval which we assure you we do not care about.” And, as if the message were not sufficiently clear, they brought a visual aid in the form of an enormous, expensive, elaborate model of their project and its environs which was designed not to be seen. 

The model of their building, to be built on Center Street, was totally hidden from view by models of existing buildings on Allston Way and Addison Street. The architect indicated details of interest which we could not possibly see by pointing down behind a wall of tall, blank, white buildings. Befuddled, we finally had to get up from our seats and peer over the tops of the old building models to get an uncomfortable glimpse of the new building. 

And by the end of an hour and a half of different versions of the same message, the Berkeley Arts Commission approved the project 6-3.  

Seagate has applied for two extra floors over the usual five story limit as a bonus for providing a minimum of 10,000 square feet of cultural usage, in addition to the two floors they get for a percentage of low cost housing, making a total of nine floors. The role of the Arts Commission was to determine if the cultural use they offer meets the standards set down in the General Plan Policy LU-19 which defines the suitable space as” fine and performing arts facilities...regularly programmed for public events.”  

In Richard Brenneman’s fine article (“Giant Project Leaps Nimbly Over First Legal Hurdle,” Daily Planet, Feb. 27-March 1), he described the cultural use as “performance space for the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.” There is every reason for him to have come away with that impression. The project seems to provide either 12,067 square feet or 10,000 square feet to the Berkeley Rep for rehearsal and storage space in the back of the building. In order to meet the General Plan’s definition of “public events” Berkeley Rep will rent the space out 52 nights a year to other arts groups, plus they themselves will put on open rehearsals or other performances 48 times a year for a total of 100 opportunities for public access. The details will be determined by the Berkeley Rep’s schedule. One of my waggish friends suggested that it would be fair for Seagate to get the rent from the two extra floors for only 100 days a year, and the rent for the other 265 days should go to pay for a proper downtown arts center.  

We need to answer two questions.  

One is how could we have accepted this project when there are so many arts groups that need space, when there are so many artists who haven’t had a chance to build audiences, when there is such a need for a multi- purpose arts center dedicated to presenting all of the arts, sufficiently subsidized to make it truly accessible to the public? 

The other question is what to do about the city making commissions irrelevant by setting up a closed system. No public input allowed, until the project is signed sealed and about to be delivered and then—“Oh my God how can you raise questions at this late date...shades of partial birth abortion.”  

We are told that the developer has complete freedom to choose whatever group he wants to designate for the cultural usage. Then the city staff will work with him for years—in this case 32 months—to shape the proposal to fit the loosest possible interpretation of “public events.” Where does satisfying the needs of the arts community come into this equation?  

If the city isn’t there to represent us and the developer certainly isn’t, then perhaps we should turn to the Cultural Trust, a volunteer organization set up a few years ago to lobby for the arts. When any one of its members hears of a possible opportunity like this one, it could be brought to the attention of the entire group to consider what best would serve the needs of all.  

But back to the real world. At the commission meeting, Seagate offered another small gesture to meet the requirement of “public events”—125 square feet of window space for the display of art in the fire corridor leading to the rehearsal and storage space, a corridor which they point out will be open through the block to Addison Street during the day. They told us that they originally wanted to provide a street-front gallery, but city staff insisted that the city wants only high quality retail stores on street frontage.  

Whoa... over and over we are told that the arts are the economic engine of downtown. We all know what luck they’ve had in attracting interesting businesses to the area. They prefer rehearsal space to a gallery? It certainly is confusing around here.  

It’s painful to know that if the people’s interests had been honored we could be on the road to building a downtown cultural center. Twelve thousand square feet is an enormous amount of space to lose for the public benefit. We could easily have had two performance spaces and a gallery. There could be all kinds of music, discussions, dance, poetry, composer forums, exhibitions, film previews, workshops, performances by all kinds of neighborhood groups, small theater and student productions….. (Does anyone remember seeing the wonderful Berkeley High Independent Theater Production of All of Shakespeare’s Plays in 30 Minutes at the Berkeley Store Gallery years ago?) 

Anyway, our work is cut out for us. We have to define the cultural bonus better and agitate for a more open process within the city bureaucracy. We have to build a downtown art center (with one of the few opportunities for space just removed from the picture) and at the very same time we have to shift our focus away from downtown to support the neighborhoods and the schools where the bubbling up of creativity starts and is often stopped for lack of funds and encouragement.  

Bonnie Hughes is the founder of the Berkeley Store Galleries and the Berkeley Arts Festival, and is a member of the Civic Arts Commission. The views expressed her are her own and do not necessarily reflect the opinons of the other members of the commission.  

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Director Doran, you are wrong. 

In your article “Daily Planet Trashes Berkeley Schools—Again” (Daily Planet, March 2-4) you describe Daily Planet pieces on the Berkeley Public Schools as “sensational,” ‘inflammatory,” “completely [missing] what happened.” You ask if the Planet intends to “turn our community against Berkeley Public Schools.” 

Your complaint? The articles “failed to state the positive.” 

Your efforts to serve our schools are laudable, but the idea of all-good news is an idea democracy cannot afford. Good people (that’s you) doing hard work for a good cause are the very people we depend upon to guard against all-good news. It’s the critical news, the difficult news, and even the bad news that needs your protection. As a public servant you must know the importance of good and bad news, especially when the bad news is delivered by honest people working hard, like you, to make public schools better. 

Balance. Without bad news, good news loses its meaning. Too much of either can be a dangerous thing, but I would argue that in a democracy a newspaper with too much bad news is less dangerous than a newspaper with too much good news. 

Those of us who follow school board meetings see decent people working hard for a good cause. Three years of fiscal emergency can take its toll on even the toughest advocates for public schools, however. Good news in hard times then becomes a seductive thing. When it turns into information management, and a determination to eliminate criticism, red flags must go up in every Berkeley household. 

One boardmember spent her entire comment period excoriating union representatives for failing to present more good news. This is a trend that shows a failure to understand and/or believe in the critical role played by those who responsibly present another point of view. 

Let’s look at the two “bad news” items disliked by Doran. It is in everyone’s best interests to find ways to save money that do not sacrifice the core mission of education. Our colleagues in Local 39 spoke responsibly in highlighting a hemorrhaging of money in the BUSD Food Service Department. For blowing that whistle you blame them, or the reporter for quoting them. Out colleagues with the Berkeley Federation of Teachers spent endless hours asking simple questions about flood damage at Malcolm X School, and BUSD administration has yet to honor them with a single meeting to share information. 

As for the Berkeley Council of Classified Employees, of which I am president, we take exception to your opinion that “the key point” of the Daily Planet articles should have been the relative relief felt this year, when “this year’s cuts, which targeted mostly non-teachers, sparked little citizen outrage. Class sizes are scheduled to remain stable and lost teacher jobs…are forecast to be offset by retirements and resignations.” We disagree with your idea that the focus of the article should have included a divisive expression of relief that “non-teachers” were the only ones to suffer. We know that our teaching colleagues support us in this. 

Here’s the outrage. How have we come to a time when our citizens have become so reconciled to the attrition of jobs, so battered by the erosion of faith in and funds for our public institutions that they do not protest? And, is their exhaustion then part of the good news? The elimination of 15 full-time-equivalent instructional assistant positions will not be good news for the special education students in their charge. The closure of the Vera Casey Center has been covered, but the elimination of other jobs has not been mentioned. These losses do not justify an entry into the plus side of any column, anywhere. 

We understand your desire to hear good news, and we appreciate your work toward creating it. Please don’t make the mistake of trying to clear out the bad news to make room for the good. It isn’t good for your cause, and it isn’t good fro democracy. 

Ann Graybeal, President, Berkeley Council of Classified Employees, Local 6192 CFT/AFT/AFL-CIO 

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Although interest rates continue to be astonishingly low, the conservative 30-year fixed rate loan seems to be going the way of the Brontosaurus. According to the folks at Cohn’s Loans in North Berkeley, roughly two thirds of buyers are choosing alternatives to the 30-year fixed loans. Buyers are attracted to the low rates and flexible programs offered by adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). This low cost financing gives consumers greater buying power.  

Given the price of housing in Berkeley, buyers--especially first time buyers--are searching for ways to finance nearly all of their home purchase price. An entry level home or condo can easily cost over $400,000. A buyer may need 10 percent down, $40,000, plus closing costs of up to $15,000, for a total of $55,000. On top of that, once a buyer has jumped over this hurdle she is still faced with a monthly payment based on 90 percent or more of the purchase price. Today’s ARMs provide lower payment options that get buyers through the front door, but with a plethora of these programs to choose from it is easy to get lost.  

Mortgage lending, like most investing, is a game of trying to maximize returns and minimize risks. In making their investment decisions, lenders juggle numerous variables to reflect their own investment goals as well as the risk each borrower represents. The higher the risk a consumer’s profile suggests, the higher the interest rate the lender will demand. Just because your friend got an impressively low rate, doesn’t mean that you will qualify for that same rate.  

The following is a summary of two of the most popular loan programs buyers are choosing today: 

Short-term, fixed-rate Adjustable-Rate Mortgages (ARM): These loans are typically fixed at a low rate for three, five, seven or 10 years and then they adjust annually (or monthly) for the remaining life of the loan. The rates adjust based on a set margin over a moving interest index. The longer the fixed term, the higher the rate. These are fully amortizing loans, meaning that each payment is comprised of a portion of interest and principal. 

Ideal Borrower: This is the perfect loan for someone who wants a home but is planning on selling before the loan starts to adjust. If you anticipate a job relocation or a sudden change in family size this is a great loan option because it temporarily fixes your finance costs.  

Risks: Remember that the adjustable part of this loan exposes you to interest rate risks. Your rate is fixed for the first few years and then it adjusts to reflect changes in market rates. Make sure that your loan will adjust reasonably if you end up staying in your house longer than anticipated. The margin is a fixed amount that will be added to an index rate, which is variable, the adjustable part of the loan. Make sure the index on which your loan rate is based moves slowly. Research the history of the index so you don’t end up with one that tends toward sharp upward shifts. A prepayment penalty is often an option that will buy your rate down, but don’t get one unless you know you are definitely going to sit tight for a couple of years. Prepayment penalties are usually in effect for two to three years and typically cost two percent of the principle. This is a big chunk of change.  

Short-term, fixed-rate, interest-only ARMs: These loans are similar to the amortizing ARM described above, only they don’t amortize. That means you don’t pay down any of the principle. You may choose to increase your payment to pay down principle, but if you choose only to pay the interest the balance of the loan never decreases. You borrow $300,000 and after years of paying only interest you would still owe $300,000. Therefore the only equity you will have in your house is the initial down payment plus that gained from improvements and/or market appreciation. The difference in an interest-only payment is hefty. For example, if you have a loan amount of $300,000 and an interest rate of five percent, your fully amortizing payment would be $1,610, but your interest-only payment would be $1,250. The difference of $360 per month can make it or break it for many people. 

Ideal Borrowers: People with fluctuating incomes, who can afford to increase payments to pay down principle in some months, but need the security of making a lower payment in other months. Also, people who are planning on making home improvements and choose to leverage extra cash by making home improvements rather than spending it paying down the principle.  

Risks: The same risks apply as for the amortizing program. The difference here is that if you don’t increase your payments to pay down principle you will not build the certain equity that an amortizing program provides. 

When shopping for ARMs always compare the following details: 

• Initial fixed rate: For example five percent. 

• Initial fixed period: For example five years. 

• Index: For example the COFI (Cost of Funds Index) 

• Margin: For example 2.25 percent in addition to the index rate. 

• Cap Rate: For example 9.5 percent (this is the shocking amount the adjusting rate can never exceed) 

• Prepayment Penalty: For example two percent of balance if paid off within a certain number of years 

• Loan Origination Fee: Zero to two percent of the loan amount (aka “points”). The higher this fee the lower the rate—the more you pay now the less you’ll pay in the long run. 

• Lender Fees: For example $500 for processing and $200 for document preparation. 

When choosing a loan program it is very important to shop for the program that will suit your needs and your plans. The services provided by a trustworthy loan broker are valuable because brokers work with multiple lenders and have market and program knowledge that is not generally available to the layman. Ask your friends and your real estate agent for referrals, and make sure you compare cashews to cashews. ] 

Heather Sittig is a local real estate agent.  

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George Thomson, an otherwise sensitive, highly intelligent artist, collects tapes of Perry Mason episodes. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.) Does he see a pinnacle of thespian excellence in Raymond Burr’s work? No, his interest has to do with the similarity between the structure of the TV show and Haydn symphonies: 

“There is a familiar framework of what is expected; there will always be a woman who screams, ‘He was dead when I got there!’ but both the show and Haydn play beautifully with what happens in between.” 

Oh. 

The Berkeley Symphony associate music director’s unusual hobby and his straight-faced, semi-serious explanation for it both fit him well. He is invariably described as “funny,” “impressive,” “quirky” and “brilliant”... if and when he is discussed at all.  

Thomson has been a vital presence in the Bay Area’s musical life, but, until recently, something of an éminence grise. Like Père Joseph, Cardinal Richelieu’s powerful secretary and the first éminence grise, Thomson has been working behind the scenes, supporting the peripatetic, globetrotting conductor Kent Nagano.  

Thomson has been holding the fort while Nagano headed orchestras in Lyon, Manchester, Berlin, acting as the music director of the Los Angeles Opera, and filling guest-conducting assignments around the world. 

There will be a lot for Thomson to do backstage in the future as well. As announced earlier this week, Nagano becomes music director of the Montreal Symphony in 2006, at the same time when he is to take his most prestigious position yet: music director of Munich’s 300-year-old Bavarian State Opera.  

Ask Nagano about Thomson and he will spare no adjectives: “Maestro Thomson is an amazing person, an extraordinary musician, wonderful conductor, friend and colleague.”  

Not a bad reference from the boss for somebody just turning 41, the conductor equivalent of reaching post-puberty. Thomson’s youthful nature is also expressed in the vibrancy of his increasingly frequent music criticism in the web publication San Francisco Classical Voice (www.sfcv.org). Thomson’s blithe spirit lurks even in such a learned dissertation as his review of the San Francisco Opera’s St. François d’Assise, which included this memorable sentence: “Doubtless this is the first such event in history for which the entire audience could know going in just how much the score weighs.”  

Hoisting enough scores to equal the 25 pounds Messiaen’s opera requires, Thomson is about to appear as a conductor up front, leading performances in four venues in the coming weeks, three in Berkeley.  

• Thomson conducts his own Marin Symphony Youth Orchestra at 3 p.m., on Sunday, March 7, in the Veterans Auditorium. 

• On the same day, at 8 p.m., after a Nagano-like mad dash from one location to another, Thomson will lead the Berkeley Symphony’s “Under Construction” new music reading concert in St. John’s Presbyterian Church. (Nagano himself conducts “Madama Butterfly” at a Los Angeles Opera matinee the same day, flying in to participate in the concert as “host.”) 

• On Tuesday, March 16, Thomson will make his Berkeley Symphony subscription-concert conducting debut (after a decade “below the deck”), leading Elliott Carter’s Cello Concerto (Judiyaba is the soloist). 

• May 8-16 Thomson makes his Berkeley Opera conducting debut as music director for Handel’s “Acis and Galate.”  

Besides conducting and collecting “Perry Mason” tapes, Thomson has two other busy, important careers, as educator and instrumentalist. At Berkeley Symphony, he has been director of the manifold music education program and producer/director of “Under Construction.” He is also music director of the Marin Symphony Youth Orchestra, and program director/conductor of the San Domenico School’s famed Virtuoso Program.  

Says Nagano of Thomson: “As a music educator, he has a remarkable gift of communication. He has been impressively effective in having a powerful and important impact on our future generation of musicians and music lovers.” It is a testimonial Thomson appreciates, but from his Til Eulenspiegel side, he wonders who this legendary figures may be, sharing his name. 

As a violist, Thomson is one of those hyperactive musicians, somebody you might have heard in the Bay Area for almost two decades, since graduating from UC Berkeley, playing with the Carmel Bach Festival, the American Bach Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque, Earplay... and more. All the while, conducting has been the goal, beginning in Cupertino Junior High, where young Thomson led the school orchestra in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, albeit “only” the first movement. At Cal, he conducted the Summer Orchestra in Hertz Hall, in works by Haydn, Stravinsky, Ravel.  

In the small-world department, he auditioned for a program at Yale which Alasdair Neale attended (Neale is now music director in Marin), and at the Prometheus Symphony, he took the job over from Jonathan Khuner (now director of Berkeley Opera). 

All that playing, education and interest enabled this “emerging maestro” to take on assignments: There are some 50 more or less standard works in his repertory, from Adams to Wreede (both happen to be Berkeley-based), and his background in contemporary music is about as broad as anybody’s.  

Almost certainly, Thomson has mastered Fred Steiner’s scores as well. That would the composer/arranger responsible for the Perry Mason theme. 

d

All right, this is going to sound like heavy duty stuff—and, in a way it is, of course. 

Central Works’ new play The Duel, skillfully adapted by local playwright Gary Graves from Chekhov’s story of the same title, is loaded with plot and action and drama. There’s plot here, people! Lots and lots of plot. Adultery, heartbreak, a life-threatening duel, rape—all presented by an absolutely first-rate cast of six actors playing eight challenging parts. Even Nietzsche and Darwin’s theories—new stuff in Chekhov’s time—find their way into the mix. They just don’t make plays like this anymore. And oh is it good to see one! 

We’ve grown so accustomed to one- and two-person “plays” that it’s almost startling to be presented with a fully developed, multi-character, multi-faceted, comprehensible, drama. It’s enough to bring out the Luddite in us all. 

Michael Cheng (Vanya) and Jennifer Fagundes (Nadya) do great work as the pair of illegitimate lovers (she’s married) at the center of the action. But this is far from the traditional story of heavy breathing anguish that we’ve encountered so many times. Chekhov concerned himself with the aftermath of their passion. The play takes place two years after the couple have run off together to set up housekeeping in a barren, isolated town. And the bloom is definitely off the rose. 

By the time the play opens, Vanya is completely convinced that he wants out. Out of the relationship, out of his job, definitely out of the town. He is so ready to split that he’s more than willing to spill his situation to the tiny group of men who make up his only society. He has not, of course, mentioned his discontent to Nadya (who has some discontents of her own).  

The way Vanya sees things, his only real problem is that he needs somebody to “loan” him some money to give to Nadya so that he can leave her with a clear conscience. He’s not quite enough of a cad to just abandon her with no resources. Jobs were in short supply for adulterous women in 19th century Russia. Women of any kind, for that matter.  

His favorite candidate for the loan source is his friend and professional nice guy, Alexi (Richard Frederick) who never thinks to mention that he must borrow money himself in order to make the loan.  

But things get increasingly complicated with serious friction between Vanya and the rational, totally “modern” Kolya (John Patrick Moore), leading to a life-threatening situation for Vanya. Nadya’s vulnerability as the town’s admitted adulteress is equally destructive to her.  

Arguably, the only characters in the play who are left undamaged by the fall-out from the couple’s self-centered behavior are a rather simple cleric (Michael Shipley) who admits that he doesn’t really understand what he’s doing there, and a motherly—respectable—woman (Jan Zvaifler) who has befriended Nadya out of pity for her isolation.  

The Duel is serious, of course, but it’s not a downer; and it’s not melodrama. Chekhov was far too creative to fall into such superficiality and this production is far too sophisticated to head in that direction. It should be mentioned that in addition to the actors’ strong performances, several are gifted with first-rate singing voices which are used to great advantage toward the end of the play.  

While the material is old, this is actually a new play. All of Central Works’ plays are new. The hand-in-glove fit of the actors in their roles is more than good fortune: they’re selected before the play is written, and they then collaborate in the playwright’s creative process. It’s a method of play development based on the techniques of a British group called the Joint Stock Theatre Company of Britain.  

It works. 

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

The economy’s in trouble, but at Sun Light & Power on Folger Avenue, business is booming. The firm, one of the East Bay’s leading solar energy companies, doubled the size of its workforce to 23 in the past year. And while residential installation has been and remains its main gig, the company just won contracts to outfit the City of Berkeley’s Corporation Yard and Willard Swimming Pool with solar panels. 

Gary Gerber, Sun Light & Power’s founder and president, is not surprised that he’s prospering in the midst of a downturn. “My company has actually been on an anti-economy trend ever since we started,” he says, looking back on Sun Light & Power’s 28-year history. “When the economy isn’t doing as well, we usually do better.” 

That’s because it usually takes a jolt to get people to face questions like how are we going to meet our energy needs when we run out of cheap oil and natural gas? As long as energy is cheap, it’s easy to evade that question. It’s only when costs climb that people start looking for alternatives. 

“Most people can see the writing on the wall,” says Sun Light & Power designer and salesperson Doug Sorenberger. “They realize that our energy costs are going to go up, what with PG&E’s bankruptcy and the Enron scandal. As ratepayers, we’re going to shoulder the burden of the costs of deregulation.” But in the long run, which is getting shorter and shorter, even a regulated market wouldn’t prevent a steep rise in the cost of energy, simply because the earth’s supplies of fossil fuels are running out. Sun Light & Power staff hand out a copy of a 1998 Scientific American article by two oil industry consultants that predicts that global production of conventional oil will begin to decline by 2008. 

Solar energy is clean, quiet and, as long as the sun shines, renewable. The State of California offers both a tax credit on solar installations that amounts to 7.5 percent on the value of the system and, through the California Energy Commission, a rebate on a per-watt basis. According to Sorenberger, on a typical house the rebate is $8,500. That’s the best deal available from any state. These incentives can save homeowners up to half the cost of a solar system. 

Sun Light & Power installs about a hundred residential solar systems a year, mostly in Berkeley and Oakland. These units, consisting of solar modules, also known as photovoltaic or PV modules, are mounted on a roof facing south. The solid-state modules silently convert sunlight into electricity. The systems installed by Sun Light & Power have a capacity of 2,000-6,000 watts and generate between eight and 30 kilowatt hours a day. The cost of a typical home solar installation after the rebate ranges from $12,000 to $40,000, with an average of about $18,500. That sounds like a lot of money, but think of it in terms of your PG&E bill for years to come. 

“The conundrum with alternative energy,” observes Gary Gerber, “is the long view versus the short. In the long view, it’s always less expensive to go this way. If you buy a solar electric system, it’s like you’re prepaying for a good 30 years in one payment. You’re done. Let’s say that number is $25,000. That’s going to offset $75,000 to $100,000 worth of energy bills over the next 30 years.” 

Homes with solar systems remain connected to the utility grid, but they have a unique “buy/sell” relationship with the utility company. Under the “net-metering” program, on a sunny day, when energy demands are low and a home’s solar modules produce more electricity than the household uses, the meter runs backwards, effectively “selling” extra electricity to the utility company and creating an “energy credit.” Alternately, when the household uses power, the electric meter runs forward, using up the energy credit. The net result of installing a PV system is that homeowners purchase less electricity or none at all from the utility company. 

Gerber credits his success in part to the sophistication of his customers, people who’ve run the numbers far into the future and recognized that solar energy is going to save them money. They’re also people who are willing and able to do the right thing. 

Sun Light & Power helps them do it by taking care of all the paperwork and footwork. “All we ask the customer to do,” says Doug Sorenberger, “is to sign the checks and the contracts. We handle the permitting. I go get the permits myself. We have a woman in our shop who is a rebate specialist who deals with the California Energy Commission. We have engineers on staff. We’re a one-stop shop for solar.” 

If Gary Gerber has his way, Sun Light & Power will be a one-stop shop for all of his customers’ energy needs. Gerber talks about what he calls the Complete Energy Solution. “What I want to do,” he says, “is enable people to get completely off fossil fuel. That’s totally doable now. It’s even affordable.” 

Sun Light & Power practices what Gerber preaches. “We’re trying to be the model right here of all the things we’re talking about...We’re just completing the installation of our own biodiesel boiler. We run our vehicles on the biodiesel, we rerun an electric vehicle off the photovoltaics, we run our whole office off the solar electricity, we heat our office with the biodiesel, and we use the biodiesel boiler to make the biodiesel fuel out of used [cooking] oil” collected from local restaurants. “The only thing we don’t have here is the radiant heating, because we don’t own the building.” 

Gerber moved Sun Light & Power from Pt. Richmond to Berkeley in 1981. Now ready to be his own landlord, he says that keeping a Berkeley address is a must. “Berkeley is the only logical place for us to be….The city epitomizes what we’re all about: forward-thinking alternatives to the status quo.” And it’s companies like Sun Light & Power that keep Berkeley one step ahead of business as usual. 

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FRIDAY, MARCH 5 

CHILDREN 

Poetry for Children at 10:30 a.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861. 

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 

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

Berkeley Repertory Theater, “Ghosts” by Henrik Ibsen, at 8 p.m. and runs through April 11. 647-2917. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Central Works, “The Duel” a new play adapted from Chekhov’s novella, at 8 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., through March 27. Tickets are $8-$20. 558-1381. www.centralworks.org 

Everyday Theater, “The Bright River,” a show by Tim Barsky, at 8 p.m. at the Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. Through March 20. Tickets are $12-$20 available from 644-2204. 

Impact Theatre, “Say You Love Satan” at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, and runs through March 13. 464-4468. www.impacttheatre.com 

“Marat/Sade,” by Peter Weiss, directed by Philip Charles Sneed at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Playhouse. Also March 6, 12, 13 at 8 p.m. and March 7 and 14 at 2 p.m. UC Dept. of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies. Tickets are $8-$10. 866-468-3399. http://theater.berkeley.edu 

Un-Scripted Theater “Imrov Survivor” opens at 8 p.m. at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St. at Telegraph, and runs to April 3. Tickets are $7-$10. 415-869-5384. www.un-scripted.com 

FILM 

Asian American Film Fesitval: “Invisible Light” at at 7 p.m. and “See You Off to the Edge of Town” at 9 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Surplus” a Swedish documentary in a visual critique of consumerism at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Caroline Kraus describes “Borderlines,” the dark side of relationships between women, at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Paco de Luciá, flamenco and jazz guitar, at 7 p.m., Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$48, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“Johannes Brahms: Sacred and Secular Choral Music” with the California Bach Society at 8 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. Tickets are $12-$25. 415-262-0272. www.calbach.org 

University Symphony, under the direction of David Milnes at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-9988.  

An Evening of Shipyard Blues from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, at Oak and 10th Sts. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

“Groove Fest” with the Albany High School Jazz Band and the “Rhythm Bound” Band at 7 p.m. at Albany High School, 503 Key Route Blvd. 558-2500. 

Humble Soul, Native Elements, Marty Dread in a Hawaiian Roots Reggae concert at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Phil Roy and Julian Coreal at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 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 

Latin Music Calendar Party at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Joshi Marshall, modern jazz saxophone, at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Fruit, Australian jazz quintet, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50 advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Nino Moschella 8 p.m. at the Jazz House. Donation $5-$15. www.thejazzhouse.com 

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

Against Me!, Lucero, Grabass Charlestons, Mike Park, Love Songs at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Jump/Cut performs modern jazz at 9 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

El Jefe and The Greans perform hip hop at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7.  

848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Reggae Party with Irie Productions at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

SATURDAY, MARCH 6 

CHILDREN  

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

Wild About Books with the Shahrzad Dance Academy at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“The Art of Living Black” tour of over 40 galleries and studios in Berkeley, Albany, Oakland and Richmond. For a list of locations see www.therichmondartcenter.org or call 620-6772. 

“Super Six: Live in Berkeley” paintings, drawings, and sculpture by Cassie Davis, Megan DeArmond, John Poole, Matthew Scheatzle, Mark Seely and Becca Jo Young. Reception at 6 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. 848-1228. 

THEATER 

Berkeley Opera, “The Legend of the Ring” at 7 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $10-$40 available from 925-798-1300. www.juliamorgan.org 

Lucky Dog Theater, “Full Spectrum Improvisation,” directed by Joya Cory, at 8 p.m. at Eighth Street Studios, 2525 8th St. Tickets are $12 available from 415-564-4115. www.joyacory.com 

FILM 

Asian American Film Festival: “A Good Lawyer’s Wife” at 7 p.m. and “15” at at 9:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Bend it Like Beckham” at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, a reading room, library and community center in South Berkeley located at 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Kevin Odegard describes “A Simple Twist of Fate: Bob Dylan and the Making of Blood on the Tracks” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Bay Area Poets Coalition holds an open reading, 3 to 5 p.m., at the South Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1901 Russell St. 527-9905. poetalk@aol.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Palm Wine Boys at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

University Symphony, under the direction of David Milnes at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-9988. http://music.berkeley.edu/comcerts.html 

“In Song and Struggle” An International Women’s Day event featuring Copper Wimmin, Libby Kirkpatrick, Gwen Avery, Rebecca Riots and Rachel Garlin at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Cost is $10 to $20 sliding scale. A benefit for Berkeley Copwatch. 548-0425. 

The Stanford University Early Music Singers, under the direction of William Mahrt, perform Missa Fortuna Desperata at 8 p.m. at All Souls Episcopal Church, 2220 Cedar St., at Oxford St. Suggested donation $12. 848-1755. 

Holly Near at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $18 in advance, $20 at the door. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Purim Party with Adama at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10 for members, $20 general. Co-sponsored by Aquarian Minyan and Kehilla Synagogue. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Robin and Linda Williams, roots country originals, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50 advance, $18.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Po’ Girl, Chris Brown and Kate Fenner at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Sylvia and the Silvertones, songs of the 30s and 40s, at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

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

The Wayward Monks at 8 p.m. at the Jazz House. Donation $7-$10. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Snake Trio at 8 p.m. at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

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

www.beckettsirishpub.com 

DogFysh, Zachary Tree and Corporate Whore at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $6. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Prefixo De Verago, live Brazilian music at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $12. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

The Bananas, Shotwell, Defiance, Ohio, Before the Fall, Bastards of Young at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Gaucho Gypsy Jazz at 9 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

SUNDAY, MARCH 7 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“The Art of Living Black” tour of over 40 galleries and studios in Berkeley, Albany, Oakland and Richmond. For a list of locations see www.therichmondartcenter.org or call 620-6772. 

FILM 

“924 Gilman St.” a film by Jack Curran, premieres at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Asian American Film Festival: “The Other Final” at 3:20 p.m., “Travellers and Magicians” at 5 p.m. and “Bright Future” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rinzler’s Return #2, a workshop for writers at 3 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry Flash with Leonard Nathan and Peter Klappert at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

“Ant Farm 1968-1978” Guided Tour at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Live Oak Concert with Jupiter String Quartet at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. Cost is $9-$10. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra presents Under Construction No. 14, at 8 p.m. St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave. Free. 841-2800. 

“Dancing in the Isles” with Musica Pacifica performing Baroque folk music at 7:30 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany. Tickets are $15-$20 and are available at the door. 444-4113. www.musicapacifica.org  

Pacific Mozart Ensemble, “Monk in the Cathedral,” vocal music from the 16th to the 21st Century at 5 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $15-$20. 415-705-0848. wwwpacificmozart.org 

Novello Quartet performs Haydn’s Seven Last Words and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater at 3 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Basilica, 1109 Chestnut St., Alameda. 522-0181. Admission $10-$15. www.novelloquartet.org 

Lonnie Lazar & The Vaporizers, Jam Planet featuring Berkeley High students Andrew Harris and Julian Clark with Ethan Culler-Mayeno and Mike Ruby, at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz Cost is $10-$20 sliding scale, $5 age 17 and under. Benefit for Greenaction. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Submerge 2g Tour with Galapagos 4 and Secluded Journalist at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

International Women’s Day Celebration at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50 in advance, $18.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Zilber Trio 8 p.m. at the Jazz House. Donation $7-$10. www.thejazzhouse.com 

The Hot Club of San Francisco at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com  

John Schott and Ben Goldberg from 4 to 6:30 at Spasso Cafe, 6021 College Ave. at Claremont. 

MONDAY, MARCH 8 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“The Passion of Christ” A Jewish-Christian Conversation at 7 p.m. in the Dinner Boardroom of GTU’s Hewlett Library. All welcome, admission free. 649-2482. 

Ellen Sussman reads from “On A Night Like This” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry Express, featuring Tres Santos, Muteado, Chokwasi, Mark G. from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

David Bornstein tell us “How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

TUESDAY, MARCH 9 

FILM 

Asian American Film Festival: “On the Road: A Document” at 7:30 p.m.at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Orin Starn reflects on “Ishi’s Brain: In Search of America’s Last “Wild” Indian” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at 8 p.m., Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32-$58, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Tom Rigney & Flambeau at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson with Cheryl McBride aat 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 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. 

Pete and Joan Wernick, with Dr. Banjo of Hot Rize fame, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10 

THEATER  

Berkeley Opera, “The Legend of the Ring” at 7 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $10-$40 available from 925-798-1300. www.juliamorgan.org 

FILM 

Film 50: “Charulata” at 3 p.m. and Asian American Film Festival at 7 and 9 p.m. Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Mark Katz remembers “Clinton & Me” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

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

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

$5 with student i.d. 841-2082.  

www.starryploughpub.com 

Jean Thompson reads from her new novel, “City Boy” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert Early Keyboard Music with Davitt Moroney at International House, Piedmont Ave. at Bancroft. 642-4864.  

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at 8 p.m., Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32-$58, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Anthony Paule & Mz. Dee Band at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson with Nick and Shanna at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Slack Key All-Stars 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, Ned Boynton at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Ben Adams Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Moped, earRotator, Sign for Stereo at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com

Jazz is more than a passing fancy for Anna De Leon, a singer/composer who is currently wrapping up the mixing of her latest CD. The restaurateur/perfomer also holds two UCLA degrees in painting, and she was president of the Berkeley arts commission for three years. She also holds a law degree and once headed the Berkeley school board. 

She’d been a Patrick Kennedy tenant at her old location at 1801 University Ave., and she said the Gaia move came at his invitation. 

“My lease came up for renewal and I mentioned to him that customers were telling me I’d do better business downtown. That’s when he invited me to come to the Gaia Building,” she said. 

Anna’s, renamed the Blackbird, would occupy a street-front location a half-block up from Shattuck Avenue. 

De Leon closed her restaurant in February, 2003, vacating early so Youth Radio—a much admired nonprofit then desperately in need of a new home—could set up shop in a spot with zoning tailor-made for their needs. 

Then she made plans, bought a grand piano and some furniture. And waited. 

“I expected to move in about nine months ago. I don’t know what’s happened, although Patrick tells me he’s applied to the city for a building permit,” she said. “I can’t do anything till he puts in the walls, the wiring, the bathroom and the ventilation system. I could be done in a month once he puts in the shell.” 

And that, says Kennedy, could happen in a few weeks. 

De Leon said she’s made good use of her time. “I’ve been writing a lot,” she said, “and working on my new CD,” which features her singing and backed by jazz legends singer/composer/guitarist Taj Mahal, Harold Jones (the last drummer to back up the great Sarah Vaughn), and pianist Kenny Baron. 

And if everything goes the way she hopes, the Blackbird will soon be offering free vintage jazz movies on a large-screen TV during the afternoons and live music at night, “with an emphasis on local musicians”—which is why she disagrees with Spring on the suitability of her club under the cultural density bonus. “It will be a wonderful cultural use for the city,” said De Leon. 

Richard Kalman, a patron and jazz musician, agrees. “I played there, and it was a great place to hang out, too. I loved it. It was a great place for local bands to develop their craft. It was also a wonderful place for the after-theater crowd to go.” The San Francisco dubbed Anna’s “a quintessentially Berkeley cafe,” and the San Francisco Bay Guardian described it as “a rare place that recharges the soul.” 

City Councilmember Dona Spring, whose district includes the Gaia Building, say she’s also not convinced that De Leon’s relocated for-profit café justifies giving Kennedy more profit-making apartments. “When the cultural bonus was implemented, it was to help civic arts organizations that couldn’t afford downtown rents,” she said. “The idea was to create subsidized venues for non-profits, which Anna’s Jazz Cafe is not,” Spring said. “But the Zoning Adjustment Board did approve it.” 

Patrick Kennedy says Anna’s is a perfect fit. “My view is that the city should be grateful to have any cultural activity that’s willing to locate downtown,” Kennedy said. “‘Nonprofit’ is a distinction that doesn’t matter to me. Anna’s is a labor of love, and whether she makes a profit remains to be seen. 

“Besides, I’m really excited about having a venture that will appeal to the aging hipster,” he said. “I think there’s a dearth of those right now.” 

Fans of De Leon’s contralto riffs can catch her and other musicians Sunday at the International Women’s Day Concert at Freight & Salvage, 1100 Addison Way, starting at 8 p.m. Fellow performers include Barbara Dane, Ronnie Gilbert, India Cooke and others. For tickets or more information, call 548-1761 or go to www.thefreight.org.

Sitting in Albany Bowl last Wednesday, watching several life-long friends enjoying their weekly bowling leagues, Nobu Asami remembered a time when bowling was one of the few recreational sports Japanese Americans were allowed to participate in after World War II. 

Asami is the co-founder of the Go-Go Japanese American bowling league that meets weekly at Albany Bowl. Bowling has long been an important part of her life. The bowling alley was the one place she and her family and friends could publicly gather and not be questioned during the war. 

Asami’s story, however, has a twist. Bowling was not only a pastime, but at one point a career.  

Back in 1942, when Asami was only 21, she and her husband were forced to flee Berkeley and move to Colorado (where they hid out with friends) when the United States government began putting Japanese and Japanese Americans in internment camps. It wasn’t until 1945 that she was able to move back to Berkeley and reunite with her family, who had been living in an internment camps in Tanforan, Cal. and Topaz, Utah, where they slept in horse stables and barracks. 

“It was miserable, I cried all the way from here to Colorado,” said Asami. In Colorado she and her husband originally stayed on a farm in Brighton and then moved to an apartment in Denver with several friends. Like most Japanese Americans, when Asami got back she had to build a new life for herself. 

Asami and her husband eventually settled in Berkeley and had children. Asami said she often found herself at home taking care of the kids while her husband was out. She needed something else to absorb her energy and get her out of the house.  

Enter bowling. Asami bowled on her own or with her kids several times a week at several of the bowling alleys around the East Bay and quickly found a job at Richmond’s Uptown Bowling. At the same time, large bowling leagues were developing in the Japanese American community here in the Bay Area. The leagues were called Nisei leagues, which means second generation, and were separate from the traditional leagues, which until 1950 were only open to whites. 

Working at Uptown, Asami developed into a talented bowler. When racial integration finally came to the leagues in the ‘50s, she was promptly recruited by women bowlers from Alameda County. Another member of the Alameda women’s league was Helen Duval, one of the most decorated woman bowlers of all time.  

Bowling alongside Duval, Asami emerged as one of the premier bowlers in the country. She and Helen began touring the United States and overseas as part of circuit of leading women bowlers. 

While her children stayed at home with her mother, Asami spent five years touring the world. In 1964, Asami and Duval enrolled in the national doubles competition in Syracuse, New York, and won. That victory was the highlight of her career. She continued to bowl competitively but eventually settled down and got a job with the University of California, where she worked for 20 years. 

Then in 1982, Asami retired from UC. Her passion for bowling had never left so with her free time she helped found a new Nisei league called the Go-Gos, which means 55 in Japanese. Because there was a tradition of bowling among the community around her age, the league quickly gained a substantial membership, peaking at 200 members. 

Over the past two decades the league has continued to thrive. Asami, now 84, is not the most senior of the Go-Gos. Several members are in their late eighties and early nineties, although the average age falls somewhere in the eighties.  

Most of the bowlers in the Go-Gos have pushed their memories of the times when they could not participate in the traditional bowling leagues into the past and say they continue to bowl both out of tradition and for the recreation. 

“Athletically, we can’t play basketball and we’re too small to play football,” quipped Wheky Sumimoto, one of the Go-Gos. 

To this day, Asami can still bowl a good game. She is full of energy and a better bowler than most bowlers who are half her age. She sits out sometimes when the Go-Gos bowl because her average is still quite a bit higher than the rest. Her best average was 195 and her best score ever was a 299, only one point away from a perfect score. 

“I told my son that if I ever bowled a 300 I’d quit bowling. I guess that’s why I never stopped bowling.”  

FRIDAY, MARCH 5 

The Oakland Bird Club open meeting with Robert Hewitt who is involved in planning birding festivals at 7:30 p.m. at Oakland Public Library, Rockridge Branch, Upstairs Meeting Room, 5366 College Ave. 444-0355.  

“Tales of the San Joaquin: A River Journey” A documentary on the San Joaquin River and its role in the statewide water system at 7 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of CA, 1000 Oak St. at 10th St, Oakland. 238-2200.  

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with John Gjerde, Prof. History, UCB, “Immigration.” Luncheon 11:45 a.m. $11.50 - $12.50. Speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020. 

“Karate for Kids” a free introductory class with Dara Connolly at 5:30 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave., for ages 4 and up. 847-2400. 

Shambhala Buddhist Workshop on “A Life in Consort: Integrating Feminine and Masculine Principles” at 7:30 p.m. and continuing throughout the weekend at the Berkeley Shambhala Center, 2288 Fulton St. First lecture is $20, full weekend fee is $120. 841-3242. www.bayarea.shambhala.org 

American Social Gospel Lecture with Chris Evans on “Retrieving the Legacies of Walter Rauchenbusch” at 3:30 p.m. at the Bade Museum, Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Senic Ave. 849-8221. 

“The Under-reported Human Tragedy of Chechnya” a session on Humanitarian Aid at 3 p.m. and “Stories from the Front Line” at 7 p.m. at 159 Mulford Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, the Chechen Advocacy Network, and the Muslim Student Association. For further information contact didishka@yahoo.com 

Anarchist BookfairMovie Night with videographer Jay Finneburgh, at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674A 23rd St., Oakland. Donation $5. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

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. 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, MARCH 6 

Sick Plant Clinic from 9 a.m. to noon, the first Sat. of every month, UC plant pathologist Dr. Robert Raabe, UC entomologist Dr. Nick Mills, and their team of experts will diagnose what ails your plants. Free. Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. 

Kids Garden Club Join us as we discover the science of the kitchen and feast on garden goodies. From 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. For ages 7 - 10 years. Cost is $3, non-resident $4. Registration required, 525-2233. 

Orchid Collection Tour and Workshop Treat yourself to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Botanical Garden’s orchid collection, normally closed to the public, and a rare sale of unusual orchid species from the Garden collection. Workshop and tour led by Garden horticulturist and orchid expert, Jerry Parsons who will help you gain confidence with the basic skills of orchid ID and culture. Workshop covers the major groups of orchids, how to divide and mount them, and their care and culture. From 9 a.m. to noon at the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $50, $40 members. To register call 643-2755. http:// 

botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

Cerrito Creek Restoration Meet at 10 a.m. at the south edge of El Cerrito Plaza. We’ll re-plant salvaged native plants, plant new, and perhaps spread more chips on the trail. f5creeks@aol.com 

Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame awards ceremony at the Marriot Hotel, Oakland at 12:30 p.m. 535-7414. 

“In Song and Struggle” An International Women’s Day event featuring Copper Wimmin, Libby Kirkpatrick, Gwen Avery, Rebecca Riots and Rachel Garlin at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. Cost is $10 to $20 sliding scale. A benefit for Berkeley Copwatch. 548-0425. 

“Street Skills for Cyclists” a lecture and discussion from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Rockridge Library, 5366 College Ave. Sponsored by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. Free, but registration required 433-7433. 

35th Annual UC Open Taekwondo Championship, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Haas Pavilion. Tickets are $5-$7. 642-3268. www.ucmap.org 

Cal FIT 5K Race/Fun Run/Walk Start/Finish at Sather Gate, check-in starts at 9 a.m., race at 10 a.m. Cost is $10. 847-7633. www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~calfit 

Auditions for Showtime at the Apollo will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Amateur performers and groups wishing to audition may call Laura Abrams at 642-0212 or e-mail apollo@calperfs.berkeley.edu to schedule an audition. 

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, MARCH 7 

Aquatic Park EGRET and the Berkeley Rowing Club will plant coastal wildflowers and native shrubs in the circle at Aquatic Park’s south entrance beginning at 9:30 a.m. 549-0818. 

Breakfast with the Birds from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Bring your own beverage and we’ll watch what is feathered down at the lake. Cost is $3, $4 non-resident. Registration required. 525-2233. 

“On Her Own Terms: Annie Montague Alexander and the Rise of Science in the American West” with author Barbara Stein at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley History Center, 1931 Center St. 848-0181. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc 

Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, Palestinian physician and leading human rights activist, at 7 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Tickets are $20. Benefit for The Middle East Children’s Alliance. 548-0542. www.mecaforpeace.org 

“Dividing Walls” a close-up view of the Israel/Palestine conflict by Chris Brown at 7 p.m. at Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar. Sliding scale donation of $5-$15, benefit for the Palestinian program of the Christian Peacemaker Teams. 785-9509. 

Death Penalty Update at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley Friends Meeting, 2151 Vine Street at Walnut, in the Education Building. Update with Eric Moon, American Friends Service Committee staff person on death penalty and prison issues. Includes short video, “Interview with an Executioner.” All are welcome. 528-7784. 

Non-Violent Communication with Miki Kashtan, Certified NVC Trainer, Social Change and Project Coordinator for the Center for Nonviolent Communication in Berkeley at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

Purim Carnival from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Dance Party with the Mowtown Megillah at 7 p.m. at Beth-El, 2301 Vine St. Tickets for the dance party are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. Please RSVP to 848-3988, ext. 11. www.bethelberkeley.org 

Tibetan Buddhism, with Robin Canton on “Meditation and Creativity” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, MARCH 8 

Tea at Four Enjoy some of the best teas from the other side of the Pacific Rim and learn their cultural and natural history. Then take a walk to see wintering birds and dormant ladybeetles, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park. Registration required. Cost is $5 for residents, $7 for non-residents. Wheelchair accessible. 525-2233. 

Forum on “The Passion of Christ,” a Jewish-Christian conversation, hosted by the Graduate Theological Union, at 7 p.m. in the Dinner Boardroom, Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2482. 

“Photography, Melancholy and the Conception of Brazilian Nationalism” with Natalia Brizuela at noon at the Center for Latin American Studies, 2334 Bowditch St.  

Fitness for 55+ A total body workout including aerobics, stretching and strengthening at 1:15 p.m. 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. 

Women’s Cancer Resource Center, volunteer training from 6 to 8 p.m. at 5741 Telegraph Ave. To sign up call Emily at 601-4040, ext. 109.  

TUESDAY, MARCH 9 

“Trekking in Bhutan” a slide presentation with Himalayan guide Peggy Day, at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Traditional Regional Foods of Spain, with co-authors of “Cesar: Recipes from a Tapas Bar” James Mellgran and Olivier Said, at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave at Rose, 843-3533. 

“Rotten Foundations: The Reclamation Act and Urbanization of the West” with Gray Brechin, author and research fellow, Dept. of Geography, UC Berkeley, at 5:30 p.m. in 105 North Gate Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Water Resources Center Archives. 642-2666. 

Writing Workshop on the art of writing imminent fiction with Pamela Cranston and Michael Kurland at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble, 2352 Shattuck Ave. 644-0861. 

Death Penalty Vigil, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the North Berkeley BART station. Sponsored by Berkeley Friends Meeting. 528-7784. 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Blood pressure checks at 10:30 a.m. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

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

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. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10 

Great Decisions 2004: “Diversity in Islam” with Prof. John L. Hayes, UCB Dept. of Near Eastern Studies, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925.  

“The Patriot Act and Our Civil Liberties” with Jack Newman, Deputy Attorney General, State of California, speaking from his personal viewpoint, at 7 p.m. at the Rockridge Library, 5366 College Ave.  

“Faith and Environmental Injustice” A GTU Faculty Panel Discussion, at 6:30 p.m. at the Dinner Board Room, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2560. 

“The House We Live In” A film on how our laws, the courts, customs and real estate practices affect race relations and the accumulation of wealth, at 7 p.m. at Albany High School, Multi-Purpose Room, 603 Key Route Blvd.  

“The Crippling Effects of Landmines” with author John Gray at 7 p.m. at 145 Dwinnelle Hall, UC Campus. The East Bay Chapter of the United Nations Association. Admission is free, donations will go to landmine clearance programs. 540-8017. 

“Renaissance Images of Christ” with Jason van Boom, GTU, at 7:30 p.m. at All Souls Episcopal Parish, 2220 Cedar St. 848-1755. 

“Street Skills for Cyclists” a lecture and discussion from 6 to 10 p.m. at Rockridge Library, 5366 College Ave. Sponsored by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. Free, but registration required 433-7433. 

Poetry Writing Workshop, led by Danna Zeller, 7 to 9 p.m. in the Edith Stone Room, Albany Public Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 20. 

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 We’re a serious but lively bunch whose focus is on issues of craft. Novices welcome. Meets 7 to 9 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut, at Rose. For information call 524-3034. 

Berkeley Stop the War Coalition meets every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in 255 Dwinelle, UC Campus. www.berkeleystopthewar.org  

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

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

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

THURSDAY, MARCH 11 

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 at 849-4134 or email Bloomburgh@sbcglobal.net 

“Agriculture Under Occupation: Farming in the West Bank” Local landscaper and compost consultant Jon Bauer has returned from Israel and will share his findings on the ways in which the Occupation of the West Bank affects Palestinian farmers and farming in this fertile land. Accompanied by a slide show. At 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave, near Dwight Way. $5 donation requested. This is a benefit for the Wheels of Justice Tour. 548-2220, ext. 233. www.ecologycenter.org 

“Dabru Emet (Speaking the Truth): A New Statement on Jews and Christians for Our Time” at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, 2770 Marin Ave. 649-2482. 

"The House We Live In” A film on how our laws, the courts, customs and real estate practices affect race relations and the accumulation of wealth, at 7 p.m. at YWCA, 2600 Bancroft Way. 

East Bay Mac User Group for all levels, software demos, tips, presentations. We meet from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Expression Center for New Media, 6601 Shellmound St. www.expression.edu 

Grizzly Peak Flyfishers, a group dedicated to furthering the sport of fly fishing through education and conservation, invites you to its monthly meeting at 7 p.m at the Kensington Community Center, 59 Arlington Ave. in Kensington. 

ONGOING 

Free Income Tax Help is available on Tuesday mornings between 10 a.m. and 12 noon at St. John’s Presbyterian Church Prime Timers, 2727 College Ave., Berkeley. Ozzie Olson, AARP trained tax preparer is available by appointment. 845-6830.  

Find a Loving Animal Companion at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society Adoption Center, open from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. 2700 Ninth St. 845-7735. www.berkeleyhumane.org  

Medical Care for Your Pet at the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society low-cost veterinary clinic, 2700 Ninth St. For appointments call 845-3633. www.berkeleyhumane.org  

Spring Bulb Bonanza at the Botanical Garden, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., March 15 to April 15, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. http://botanical 

garden.berkeley.edu 

CITY MEETINGS 

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon. Mar. 8, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St., Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/agenda-committee 

Public Housing Resident Advisory Board meets on Mon. Mar. 8 at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Housing Authority, 1901 Fairview St. Angellique DeCoud. 981-5475. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/publichousing 

City Council meets Tues., Mar. 9. , 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., Mar. 10, 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., Mar. 10, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/homeless 

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Mar. 10, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/homeless 

Planning Commission meets Wed., Mar. 10, at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Ruth Grimes, 981-7481. www.ci.ber 

keley. ca.us/commissions/planning 

Police Review Commission meets Wed. Mar. 10, at the North Berkeley Senior Center, Barbara Attard, 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/policereview 

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Mar. 10, 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., Mar. 11, 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, Mar. 11, at 6:45 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. William Rogers, 981-5344. www.ci.ber 

keley.ca.us/commissions/health 

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs. Mar. 11 at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Oscar Sung, 981-5400. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/housing 

West Berkeley Project Area Commission meets Thurs. Mar. 11, at 7 p.m., at the West Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7520. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/westberkeley 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Mar. 11, in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci.ber- 

keley.ca.us/commissions/zoning  

›

By Matthew Artz 

At a meeting on Thursday, organic farmers, graduate students and Albany neighbors criticized a planned UC Development that threatens to uproot the area’s last farmland, demolish the university’s most affordable housing stock and create a 72,000 square foot supermarket and neighboring shops. 

“This is an end run around democracy,” said Jan Hitchcock, president of the Dartmouth Avenue Neighborhood Association. “God knows UC needs the money, but they’re using their tax-exempt status to do anything they want and we’re stuck with it.” 

Hitchcock was among about 30 opponents to speak at a scoping session on UC Berkeley’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the redevelopment of University Village. The 77-acre plot along San Pablo Avenue has for decades been home to housing for graduate students and agricultural research on nearly ten acres of farmland. 

The project—in the works since 1998—would move two baseball fields to the agricultural land, known as the Gill Tract, restore Cordornices Creek, near where the baseball fields currently sit, and tear down 564 units of aging student housing in favor of 1,333 new apartment units for faculty and graduate students—some on San Pablo Avenue above the new storefronts. 

The retail component of the plan is indicative of UC’s thrust into commercial development to boost revenues. Like the proposed hotel and convention center in Berkeley, UC plans to lease the land to a developer, allowing Albany to claim sales tax revenue, but insulating it from property taxes. UC estimates ground lease revenue for the commercial development at $250,000 per year. 

Albany officials say they are happy with the proposed supermarket, which they estimate will bring in $30,000 a year in sales tax, but fear the plan will leave them footing the bill for essential services.  

“This exceeds our preferred density by a longshot, said Planning Manager Dave Dowswell. “The impact on our fire services will be major and right now we’re not getting compensated for it.” 

A final EIR, including responses to the comments made Thursday and others submitted before the March 17 deadline, will go before the Regents in July. 

Though the plan satisfies Albany and UC objectives, Professor Miguel Altieri, who has tilled a steadily decreasing share of the soil at the Gill Tract since 1981, smells a rat. 

“The university is yielding to corporate research,” he said. “Corporate money has biased research towards biotechnology so the university thinks it doesn’t need fields, just labs to manipulate genes.” If the project goes through, he added, the university would move his organic farming research to Orinda or Pinole, making research nearly impossible for most of his students who commute by bike. 

That move was scheduled to happen this year, but concerns over the financing model have forced UC to push back construction work to 2005, granting the farmers a year reprieve. 

Altieri and many of his students have banded together to save the Gill Tract, going so far as to offer an alternative site plan that keeps the farmland and scales back the housing. 

UC Berkeley Capital Projects Planner Jeff Bond sees little chance the current plan would change. “The Regents have made it clear the priority is to provide student housing,” he said. 

But the plan for housing is also steeped in controversy. The plan would demolish 412 units built for students with children that currently rent for $768 and replace them with more than one thousand new units estimated to rent at $1,366—slightly less than the maximum amount student loans provide for housing. Construction would be funded through bonds repaid by increased student rents.  

Residents warned UC officials Thursday that they couldn’t afford the higher rents and that if UC didn’t opt for a cheaper plan to refurbish the buildings they might have to drop out of school.  

But UC Director of Housing Facilities Operations and Services Bob Jacobs said low interest rates and a soft construction market made this a prime opportunity to build new housing and that the students’ plan would only be a short-term fix. 

“If we just fixed up the units, we could keep rents lower for 15 years and then we’d be faced with the same problem again,” he said. 

Construction of the new housing for families would start in 2004, while the commercial and housing development on San Pablo and the relocation of the ball fields to the Gill Tract would begin in 2005. 

The demise of affordable housing has more than just students worried. Last year the Albany Board of Education voted to oppose the plan, based both on the loss of the Gill Tract farmland and the potential loss of students to the district. 

“We’re afraid this plan means fewer students with children could afford University Village, which means lower enrollment and less money from the state,” said Albany Board of Education member Miriam Walden, who added that enrollment in Albany schools has declined in the few years since UC demolished other affordable housing units at the site. 

Berkeley City Council has passed a resolution opposing the plan, but its Albany counterpart has remained silent. Albany Councilmember Alan Maris said he is satisfied with the proposal and didn’t know if there was a point in arguing about its merits because the university will have the final word. “We’re really not in a very strong position here,” he said.›

TUESDAY, MARCH 2 

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.  

National Nutrition Month “Eat in Season” from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, Derby St. at MLK. Cooking demonstrations, recipes and nutrition education. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org 

“Wildflowers of the East Bay” with Glenn Keator on Tuesdays to March 30, from 7 to 9 p.m. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost for the program is $145, $125 for members. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

“Kayaking With Whales Off Vancouver Island” a slide presentation with whale research biologist David Briggs at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

“Minorities in Israel” with Prof. Zeidan Atashi, an Israeli Druz Arab at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Sponsored by Bridges to Israel.  

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. The Writing Class will read from their recent works at 11 a.m. 845-6830. 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3 

Great Decisions 2004: “U.S. and Europe” with Prof. Anthony Adamthwaite, History Dept., UCB, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. Briefing booklets are available. For information and reservations call 526-2925.  

George Soros, “The Bubble of American Supremacy” at 7:30 p.m. at Zellerbach Auditorium, UC Campus. Tickets are available from 642-9988. 

Palestine and Iraq: A Panel Discussion on Opposing the US Empire, with Shireen Qaru and Mohamad Raad, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jobert Poblete, Berkeley Stop the War Coalition, at 7 p.m. at 110 Wheeler Hall, UC Campus. 928-1503. 

Refuse and Resist presents a documentary film, “A Life Matters: The Story of an Illegal Abortionist” at 6 p.m. at Rockridge Branch Library, 5366 College Ave. Donations welcome. 704-5293. 

“Free Trade, National Sovereignty, and Environmental Health in the Balance?” Featuring Sheila Foster, Fordham Univ. School of Law, at 12:45 p.m. Vegetarian lunch served. Room 121, 122, or 123 in Boalt Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by The Boalt Environmental Law Society. sarale@uclink.berkeley.edu 

Post-Primary Meet-up for Howard Dean Join supporters of Howard Dean to discuss next steps in this grassroots campaign to take back our country. At 7 p.m. at Au Coquelet, 2000 University Ave. and Sweet Basil Thai Restaurant, 1736 Solano Ave. For more information contact East Bay for Dean at 267-3796. 

Northbrae Community Church Monthly Dinner, with a presentation on Alaska by the Berkeley Camera Club, at 6 p.m. at 941 The Alameda. 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 Novices welcome. Experienced facilitator. 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 

Berkeley Stop the War Coalition meets every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in 255 Dwinelle, UC Campus. www.berkeleystopthewar.org  

“The Image of Christ Through the Ages” with Fr. Andrew Walmiseley, at 7:30 p.m. at All Souls Episcopal Parish, 2220 Cedar St. 848-1755. 

Buddhist Studies Lecture on “The Concept of Compassion” with Prof. Wakahara of Ryukoku Univ. Kyoto, at 2 p.m. at 2717 Haste St. 650-938-7192. 

“Assassination Tango” video followed by dance presentation with Paulo Araujo from Brazil at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Tango Studio. 655-3538. 

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. 

THURSDAY, MARCH 4 

“Travel to Cuba” a discussion with Fred Burkes, the interpreter and journalist who is challenging the Cuba travel ban, at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, Community Meeting Room, 2090 Kittredge St. Sponsored by the Berkeley-Palma Soriano Sister City Association. 644-9260. 

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 

“Faith, Work and Justice Forum” at 6:30 p.m. at the GTU Dinner Boardroom, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2560. 

“Cidade de Deus/City of God,” the housing project in Rio de Janeiro, with Paulo Lins at 4 p.m. at Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall, UC Campus. sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies. 642-2088. 

Host an International Student Let Europe come to you this summer. SWIFT Student Exchange program is bringing Spanish and French middle and high school students to the Bay Area for 3-4 week stays. Informational evening, from 6-8 p.m. at the SWIFT office in Oakland. Call 433-0414 for directions and more information. 

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, MARCH 5 

The Oakland Bird Club open meeting with Roaber Hewitt who is involved in planning birding festivals at 7:30 p.m. at Oakland Public Library, Rockridge Branch, Upstairs Meeting Room, 5366 College Ave. 444-0355.  

“Tales of the San Joaquin: A River Journey” A documentary on the San Joaquin River and its role in the statewide water system at 7 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of CA, 1000 Oak St. at 10th St, Oakland. 238-2200.  

“Karate for Kids” a free introductory class with Dara Connolly at 5:30 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave., for ages 4 and up. 847-2400. 

Shambhala Buddhist Workshop on “A Life in Consort: Integrating Feminine and Masculine Principles” at 7:30 p.m. and continuing throughout the weekend at the Berkeley Shambhala Center, 2288 Fulton St. Fir. lecture is $20, full weekend fee is $120. 841-3242. www.bayarea.shambhala.org 

American Social Gospel Lecture with Chris Evans on “Retrieving the Legacies of Walter Rauchenbusch” at 3:30 p.m. at the Bade Museum, Pacific School of religion, 1798 Senic Ave. 849-8221. 

“The Under-reported Human Tragedy of Chechnya” a session on Humanitarian Aid at 3 p.m. and “Stories from the Front Line” at 7 p.m. at 159 Mulford Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, the Chechen Advocacy Network, and the Muslim Student Association. All are welcome to attend. For further information contact didishka@yahoo.com 

Anarchist BookfairMovie Night with videographer Jay Finneburgh, at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674A 23rd St., Oakland. Donation $5. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

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 every Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the Northbrae Church at Solano and The Alameda. Parking is free and is handicapped accessible. For information call Katherine, 525-5231. 

SATURDAY, MARCH 6 

Sick Plant Clinic from 9 a.m. to noon, the first Sat. of every month, UC plant apthologist Dr. Robert Raabe, UC entomologist Dr. Nick Mills, and their team of experts will diagnose what ails your plants. Free. at the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. 

Kids Garden Club Join us as we discover the science of the kitchen and feast on garden goodies. From 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. For ages 7 - 10 years. Cost is $3, non-resident $4. Registration required, 525-2233. 

Orchid Collection Tour and Workshop Treat yourself to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Botanical Garden’s orchid collection, normally closed to the public, and a rare sale of unusual orchid species from the Garden collection. Workshop and tour led by Garden horticulturist and orchid expert, Jerry Parsons who will help you gain confidence with the basic skills of orchid ID and culture. Workshop covers the major groups of orchids, how to divide and mount them, and their care and culture. From 9 a.m. to noon at the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $50, $40 members. To register call 643-2755. http:// 

botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

Cerrito Creek Restoration Meet at 10 a.m. at the south edge of El Cerrito Plaza (near EC BART, just east of San Pablo, Albany/El Cerrito border). We’ll re-plant salvaged native plants, plant new, and perhaps spread more chips on the trail. f5creeks@aol.com 

Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame awards ceremony at the Marriot Hotel, Oakland at 12:30 p.m. 535-7414. 

“In Song and Struggle” An International Women’s Day event featuring Copper Wimmin, Libby Kirkpatrick, Gwen Avery, Rebecca Riots and Rachel Garlin at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Cost is $10 to $20 sliding scale. A benefit for Berkeley Copwatch. 548-0425. 

“Street Skills for Cyclists” a lecture and discussion from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Rockridge Library, 5366 College Ave. Sponsored by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. Free, but registration required 433-7433. 

35th Annual UC Open Taekwondo Championship, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Haas Pavilion. Tickets are $5-$7. 642-3268. www.ucmap.org 

Cal FIT 5K Race/Fun Run/Walk UC Campus, Start/Finish at Sater Gate, Check-in starts at 9 a.m., race at 10 a.m. Cost is $10. 847-7633. www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~calfit 

Yoga for Seniors at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St., on Saturdays from 10 to 11 a.m. The class is taught by Rosie Linsky, who at age 72, has practiced yoga for over 40 years. Open to non-members of the club for $8 per class. 848-7800. 

SUNDAY, MARCH 7 

Aquatic Park EGRET and the Berkeley Rowing Club will plant coastal wildflowers and native shrubs in the circle at Aquatic Park's south entrance beginning at 9:30 a.m. Further information at egret@lmi.net or 549-0818. 

Breakfast with the Birds from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Bring your own beverage and we’ll watch what is feathered down at the lake. Cost is $3, $4 non-resident. Registration required. 525-2233. 

“On Her Own Terms: Annie Montague Alexander and the Rise of Science in the American West” with author Barbara Stein at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley History Center, 1931 Center St. 848-0181. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc 

Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, Palestinian physician and leading human rights activist, at 7 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Tickets are $20. Benefit for The Middle East Children’s Alliance. 548-0542. www.mecaforpeace.org 

“Dividing Walls” a close-up view of the Israel/Palestine conflict by Chris Brown at 7 p.m. at Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar. Sliding scale donation of $5-$15, benefit for the Palestinian program of the Christian Peacemaker Teams. 785-9509. 

Death Penalty Update at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley Friends Meeting, 2151 Vine Street at Walnut, in the Education Building. Update with Eric Moon, American Friends Service Committee staff person on death penalty and prison issues. Includes short video, “Interview with an Executioner.” All are welcome. 528-7784. 

Non-Violent Communication with Miki Kashtan, Certified NVC Trainer, Social Change and Project Coordinator for the Center for Nonviolent Communication in Berkeley at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, a reading room, library and community center in South Berkeley located at 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

Purim Carnival from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Dance Party with the Mowtown Megillah at 7 p.m. at Beth-El, 2301 Vine St. Tickets for the dance party are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. Please RSVP to 848-3988, ext. 11. www.bethelberkeley.org 

Tibetan Buddhism, with Robin Canton on “Meditation and Creativity” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, MARCH 8 

Tea at Four Enjoy some of the best teas from the other side of the Pacific Rim and learn their cultural and natural history. Then take a walk to see wintering birds and dormant ladybeetles, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park. Registration required. Cost is $5 for residents, $7 for non-residents. Wheelchair accessible. 525-2233. 

Forum on “The Passion of Christ,” a Jewish-Christian conversation, hosted by the Graduate Theological Union, at 7 p.m. in the Dinner Boardroom, Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2482. 

“Photography, Melancholy and the Conception of Brazilian Nationalism” with Natalia Brizuela at noon at the Center for Latin American Studies, 2334 Bowditch St.  

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. 

Women’s Cancer Resource Center, volunteer training, every second Monday of the month, from 6 to 8 p.m. at 5741 Telegraph Ave. To sign up call Emily at 601-4040, ext. 109. emily@wcrc.org 

ONGOING 

Family Activist Resource Center A small group of East Bay parents is meeting monthly to set up a drop-in center where parents and caregivers can come with their children and do their political work while their children are cared for in a creative, respectful and nurturing manner. For information on the next meeting, contact Erica at ericadavid@earthlink.net or call 841-3204. 

Free Income Tax Help is available on Tuesday mornings between 10 a.m. and 12 noon at St. John’s Presbyterian Church Prime Timers, 2727 College Ave., Berkeley. Ozzie Olson, AARP trained tax preparer is available by appointment. 845-6830.  

Auditions for Showtime at the Apollo will be held Sat. March 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Whether you’re part of a gospel group, a chorus line, a barbershop quartet, or a jazz ensemble; if you’re a magician, a female impersonator or a one-man band; if you’ve dreamed of thousands applauding your talent at the piano, tuba or didgeridoo, you’ll have your shot at the “Big Time.” Amateur performers and groups wishing to audition may call Laura Abrams at 642-0212 or e-mail apollo@calperfs.berkeley.edu to receive an audition application and to schedule an audition. 

Find a loving animal companion at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society Adoption Center, open from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. 2700 Ninth St. 845-7735. www.berkeleyhumane.org  

Medical care for your pet at the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society low-cost veterinary clinic. 2700 Ninth St. For appointments call 845-3633. www.berkeleyhumane.org  

Spring Bulb Bonanza at the Botanical Garden, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., March 15 to April 15, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. http://botanical 

garden.berkeley.edu 

Starbucks Grants for Giving is offering $375,000 to local non-profits in Berkeley and other East Bay cities. Eligibility and application information can be obtained from any Northern California Starbucks location, by visiting www.starbucks.com/ 

grantsforgiving or by calling 1-866-535-GIVE.  

CITY MEETINGS 

Commission on the Status of Women meets Wed., Mar. 3, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Ruby Primus, 981-5106. www.ci.berk 

eley.ca.us/commissions/women 

Community Environmental Advisory Commission meets Thurs., Mar. 4, 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. Mar. 4, 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., Mar. 4, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jeff Egeberg, 981-6406. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/publicworks 

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon. Mar. 8, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St., Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/agenda-committee 

Public Housing Resident Advisory Board meets on Mon. Mar. 8 at 4 p.m. at Berkeley Housing Authority, 1901 Fairview St. Angellique DeCoud. 981-5475. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/publichousing 

The deposed President of the Caribbean island nation of Haiti has charged that he was forced out of office by a United States-orchestrated coup d’etat, and that view has been affirmed by Bay Area Congressmember Barbara Lee (D-Oakland). On Sunday of this week, under pressure from a rebel army which Lee characterized as “thugs,” Jean-Bertrand Aristide left Haiti under U.S. military escort. From temporary asylum in the Central African Republic, Aristide told CNN that “I was told that to avoid bloodshed, I’d better leave.” Aristide repeated that charge in telephone conversations Congressmembers Maxine Waters and Charles Rangel (both members of the Congressional Black Caucus) as well as with Randall Robinson, a respected African-American expert on African affairs. 

Earlier this month, while Aristide was still in power but with rebel forces causing chaos throughout the country, Congressmember Lee wrote a scathing letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell, charging that the Bush Administration was supporting the overthrow of a democratically-elected government. “Our failure to support the democratic process and help restore order looks like a covert effort to overthrow a government. There is a violent coup d’etat in the making, and it appears that the United States is aiding and abetting the attempt to violently topple the Aristide Government. With all due respect, this looks like ‘regime change.’ How can we call for democracy in Iraq and not say very clearly that we support democratic elections as the only option in Haiti?” 

On Monday, with rebels moving on the Haitian capital and rioting and looting beginning to engulf several cities in the Caribbean nation, members of the Congressional Black Caucus met in New York with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to see what could be done to stabilize the situation. Following that meeting, U.S. Congressmember Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), spoke by telephone with the Daily Planet about the Haitian crisis. 

Q. What was the purpose of the meeting with the Secretary General today, and what was the result? 

A. We wanted to talk to him about the international community’s role leading up to the coup and then moving forward. It’s very important that the UN provide that kind of security and humanitarian assistance, development assistance. I’m one of the greatest supporters of the United Nations. But personally told the Secretary General that I was extremely disappointed that the United Nations did not come in earlier and pass a security council resolution authorizing international security forces to nip this stuff in the bud before it got any further. 

Q. What was his response? 

A. His response was that he has member states [in the United Nations that he has to answer to]. But he did say that I was correct. 

Q. Is what we’re seeing in Haiti a U.S.-sponsored military coup? 

A. That’s my assessment. And I’ve watched this, not only last week and the week before, but for the past several years. I co-chaired the Haiti Task Force of the Congressional Black Caucus, and I’m on the [House of Representatives] International Relations Committee. So this is an issue that I know fairly well. I think that by giving a wink and a nod to these thugs—and that’s what they are—murderers and paramilitary folks carrying U.S.-made weapons, then I think we have a responsibility in [these events]. I think we did help overthrow [the Aristide] government. 

Q. I read that the leader of the rebel military forces is a U.S. citizen. 

A. Yes. Andy Apaid. Yes. He has a U.S. passport. He’s presently a U.S. citizen. If you look at who [his associates] are [the Group of 184], they’re very unsavory, all of them. They have ties to the drug industry. They are very, very scary kind of people. And the White House [has] circled the wagons around Aristide, not recently, but years ago, as the Bush Administration moved forward on this. 

Q. Did Aristide resign? 

A. The House International Affairs Committee is going to have a hearing on [the Haitian situation], beginning on Wednesday. We have to get to the bottom of this. I talked to President Aristide last week, and Mrs. Aristide—Mildred—also, and they indicated to me then that under no circumstances were they resigning. Under no circumstances. 

Q. So you weren’t part of that telephone conversation with him today? 

A. No. But I talked to Congresswoman Waters right after that. And she told me [that he denied resigning]. And I also talked to Congressman Rangel. And then I heard Secretary Powell and Rumsfeld and their spokespeople saying that these were conspiracy theories. So hopefully these hearings that we’re going to have, and these investigations, [will uncover the truth]. We’ve got to move forward and make sure that the Haitian people don’t suffer any more because of the lack of food and humanitarian assistance. But we’ve got to see what happened and what our country was engaged in. 

Q. When the rebels started their attack around the first of February, in your opinion, what should the Bush Adminstration have done at that point? 

A. Let’s go back to before February 1, because for the last three years, the Bush Administration has embargoed and squeezed Haiti on a humanitarian basis. The Administration blocked the release of their funds that they had negotiated, for infrastructure. They made the Aristide government jump through hoops. I’ve seen the Aristide government live up to almost every request that the United States government made before a nickel went down there. It was unbelievable. They really forced the Haitian government into a situation where they were desperate, and the people were desperate. Fast forward to February 1. The rebels, of course, see that this is now their moment. The politican opposition gives them a nod. What should have happened right then is that the Bush Administration should have gone down to Haiti and stopped it right there. [Secretary of State] Colin Powell should have gone down there and told them we were not going to let them do this. 

Q. If we go to this weekend, when the Haitian police forces were collapsing and the rebels had taken over half of the country, what should the Administration have done then? 

A. When I talked to President Aristide last week, [he said that] his request of the Bush Administration was that they needed some international security forces to help secure the country, to beat back these rebels. That didn’t happen. No-one came to their assistance. I told President [Bush] when we met with him last Wednesday that our country should be actively engaged in helping to forge a ceasefire right away. Not just talking about it, but doing it. And making sure that the rule of law was upheld and the Haitian Constitution would be the guiding force as we moved forward. And his response to the entire Congressional Black Caucus was that he couldn’t make a decision on the fly. It was quite unbelievable. 

Q. Do you think that we should have intervened militarily in support of President Aristide? 

A. I don’t think it would have taken military intervention. It would have taken an international security force. I think we could have discouraged the rebels. 

Q. How? 

A. By telling them that we weren’t going to encourage them. They never heard that. I wrote Colin Powell a letter and asked him if the U.S. was destabilizing Haiti, if we were funding the opposition. Didn’t he realize this was a coup in the making? And he publicly said, “We don’t support the overthrow of the President.” And so if that’s the case, why didn’t [the Administration] communicate that to these people to lay down their arms? Now, we’re talking about negotiating with the rebels. And so I said, Mr. Secretary, why are you negotiating with people like this? 

Q. Isn’t that an encouragement of military coups against democratically-elected governments? 

A. Certainly. The Bush Administration has it central in their foreign policy—regime change. This is not isolated. We’re seeing the Bush Administration’s foreign policy play out, right now. Haiti today. Cuba tomorrow, maybe? Venezuela. [The Bush Administration] taps and spouts democracy in areas where they want to see democracy for their interests to prevail, and in other areas, they undermine democracy. This is what they did in Haiti. They undermined democracy. 

Q. Has there been any evidence that any elements in the U.S. government have been giving financial or military aid to the rebels? 

A. No hard evidence. That’s the question. I hope Wednesday that we can uncover some of this. But you know how covert activities go. This is going to take unraveling and unraveling and unraveling. ›

Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, which owns many of the greatest recordings from the Golden Age of jazz, is for sale, according to a report in Billboard magazine. 

Fantasy executives refused to comment on the story published Friday, but one source confirmed the label was on the market. 

Billboard quoted an anonymous source that said the label, which generated sales of about $30 million in 2002, is being offered at $100 million, though a sale price will likely range from $64 million to $85 million, depending on yet unreleased 2003 earnings data. 

Fantasy—the largest record label in Northern California, with about 80 employees—owns legendary recordings by Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk. It is also home to Creedence Clearwater Revival, a famous rock group. The company is the product of decades of record label acquisitions that allowed it to amass one of the largest troves of jazz and rhythm and blues music in world. Much of the company’s profits come from the repackaging of its catalog and selling songs for commercials or compilation albums, though the label does maintain an active roster of performers, including Sonny Rollins, Jimmy Scott and Berkeley High graduate Dave Ellis. 

Typically when a record label is sold, the buyer keeps the operation in place to preserve relations with its musicians, said David Card, media analyst for Jupiter Research. But Fantasy’s emphasis on its catalog business has some wondering if a sale would mean the label would leave Berkeley. 

Fantasy spokesperson Terri Hinte said, “It was way too premature” to talk about what would happen to employees if a sale went through. 

Possible suitors include the label’s distributor, Beverly, Mass.-based Rykodisc, Beverly Hills-based Concord Records and New York-based Redux Records, Billboard reported. None of those companies returned phone calls Monday. 

Fantasy is a private company, and sorting through its financial data could be messy. Billboard speculated that this could result in a long due diligence period and a soft sales price. 

Fantasy also owns music studios located at its Berkeley headquarters. The company is headed by Saul Zaentz who has produced several movies, including The English Patient. 

A few years ago Fantasy backed out of a deal to sell its record business, said former Oakland Tribune Music Critic and Down Home Music Store employee Larry Kelp. He guessed that declining CD sales and the rapidly changing music business was driving their renewed interest in a sale. 

“Their money is in CDs and CDs might not even exist soon. They might not want to figure out the next step,” said Kelp, adding that Zaentz was no longer actively involved in the record business.  

Despite declining revenues in the record industry, Dave Zaworski, associated editor of Down Beat Magazine said Fantasy would attract heavy interest. “Their stuff will always sell,” he said. “It would be enticing for a lot of labels.” 

Though the record industry has been racing towards consolidation, Zaworski said jazz has experienced an opposite trend. Major labels, including Atlantic and Columbia have dumped their jazz divisions, he said, offering more opportunities for smaller record companies. 

Fantasy was started in 1949 by Max and Sol Weiss. Zaentz bought the company in 1967. After the success of Creedence, he went on a buying spree and purchased top jazz labels, including Milestone, Riverside and Prestige. 

Kelp said that Fantasy maintains a family atmosphere, which makes the prospect of a sale even more unsettling. “There’s probably almost 100 people who have been there most of their lives,” he said. “It’s not a cutthroat company where the management is separate from the people.”  

ˇ

A headline in last Friday’s Commentary section incorrectly stated  

that the League of Women Voters opposes Propositions 57 and 58. The League of Women Voters has taken no position on the two propositions. We regret the error. 

Neighbors of the defunct Franklin Elementary School have reached a tentative settlement with the Berkeley Unified School District, clearing the way for BUSD’s plan to shift its Adult School to the Franklin campus this fall. 

The deal, confirmed by BUSD Director of Facilities and Maintenance Lew Jones and Plaintiff Tim Arai, must still be approved by the school board next week. Neither Jones nor Arai would disclose details until the settlement is final. 

Last September Arai and his wife Carrie Adams, with the backing of several neighbors, filed suit against the district telling the Planet that the lawsuit was “a tool to try to get the district to deal with us in a responsible manner.” The suit charged that the district’s environmental plan for the move underestimated the traffic burden posed to neighbors and purposely ignored the second half of the district’s plan—moving the administrative offices to the West Campus site at 1222 University Ave., which currently houses the Adult School. 

The agreement, signed on Friday, just beat a district-imposed deadline. Neighbors said district officials threatened that if a settlement wasn’t reached by March 1st—the date the district needed to issue change orders to contractors—they would rescind concessions they had made on the site plan. 

Since the lawsuit was filed, district officials have met repeatedly with Franklin neighbors independent of the lawsuit proceedings. As concessions, the BUSD agreed to scrap its site plan for the school in favor of an alternative plan favored by the neighbors that allowed for better traffic flow through residential streets and more privacy for neighbors. 

In addition, the district agreed to perform an environmental study on installing lights on the smaller east parking lot, which would allow students to park there at night and not direct all of their headlights at neighbors facing the west parking lot.  

Arai did not seek an injunction against the district to stop construction which began last November. 

BUSD officials have insisted that that moving the 1,200 student adult school to Franklin, which borders San Pablo Avenue between Virginia and Francisco streets, was not part of a grand plan for reshuffling district facilities. They approved the current shakeup, they say, because the Adult School requires major construction work and moving the Adult School during construction, only to move it back later, would cost too much. 

Though the lawsuit is settled, several issues remain unresolved. A plot on the northeast corner of the property remains slated for a public garden, but, despite assurances from some school board members, the district has made no formal commitment to pay for the project or maintain it. Also neighbors along Francisco Street are pushing for some classrooms to have fogged windows to keep students from looking directly into their properties. 

The simultaneous negotiations among lawyers to settle the lawsuit and between district officials and neighbors over specific items in the district’s plans have left some neighbors questioning the value of the lawsuit. “It was unclear why the settlement talks were being held,” said Brad Smith, an aide to Councilmember Linda Maio and member of a neighborhood site committee that negotiated with the school district. “I would have been upset as a neighbor to have advances in the public process scuttled by the suit.” 

James Day, another member of the Site Committee, said negotiations had improved the plan, but he remained uneasy about the move. “This is still a big gamble for the neighborhood,” he said. “Some people want us to be happy, but how do we know until the cars and students come?” ˇ

The Zoning Adjustment Board gave the green light Thursday to Library Gardens—the largest development ever planned for the city center. But a ruling on the equally controversial Blood House development was postponed for two weeks while city staff analyze an independent proposal to spare a Berkeley landmark. 

By a 6-1 vote, the ZAB approved a use permit for Library Gardens, a 176-unit apartment complex with five street-level shops slated to rise at the site of the current 362-space Kittredge Street Garage, just west of the central library. 

To secure its passage, the developer, TransAction Companies, added one level of underground parking to offset some of the public parking lost by demolishing the garage. 

In January, ZAB rejected a similar proposal that did not include the extra level of parking. 

Thursday’s vote came after TransAction Senior Vice President John DeClerq assured the board that “significantly” more than half of the 130 spaces dedicated for the public will go to short-term parkers, not commuters or residents seeking monthly passes.  

DeClerq hopes to start construction in May. Any delays could cost TransAction millions, but their schedule might still be thrown off if the ZAB ruling is appealed to the city council. 

The Berkeley-Albany YMCA, which broke off negotiations in January to partner with TransAction on the underground parking, has emerged as the project’s chief critic. 

YMCA President and CEO Larry Bush refused comment on a possible appeal, but told the ZAB that TransAction’s original plan, scrapped two years ago, to build two levels of underground parking was feasible, despite TransAction’s claims otherwise.  

Bush also urged board members to follow through on any parking stipulations with the current plan because, “As we learned at the YMCA from our dealings with TransAction in the past that the stipulations are all important.” 

YMCA officials have said that in the early ‘90s, TransAction left them high and dry when it backed out on a deal to develop a downtown parcel the Y had purchased as part of its expansion. 

The ZAB also discussed the planned development at 2526 Durant Ave., even though developer Ruegg & Ellsworth pulled the 44-unit, 18-parking space project from the board’s agenda until the next meeting on March 11. 

In December, the ZAB ordered the developer to present alternative designs that would preserve a 19th-century landmarked Victorian already on the property that the original plan had marked for demolition. 

In a letter to city staff dated Jan. 9, Ruegg & Ellsworth presented four alternative plans, all of which they determined would lose money. 

However, city staff wrote to board members that an alternative proposal submitted by the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA) appeared to be viable, contingent on further economic and structural analysis. The BAHA plan calls for 38 units of housing, including five units in the preserved Victorian and the rest in an adjacent four-story building. Their plan provides no parking, as is encouraged by Berkeley’s Southside plan.  

The planning staff intends to provide a further review of the BAHA plan in time for the March 11 meeting. 

As a final order of business the board elected former city council candidate in District 8 and UC Berkeley graduate student Andy Katz as its new chair, succeeding Laurie Capitelli whose two-year term expired Thursday. 

Katz becomes the second UC student this year elected to chair a city commission. Leslieann Cachola was chosen to chair the Peace and Justice Commission last month. 

Katz received five votes to two for Deborah Matthews. Board member David Blake was elected Vice Chair.›

By J. DOUGLAS ALLEN-TAYLOR 

A slate of proposals by Mayor Tom Bates to alter several Berkeley City Council rules has been put on hold while the City seeks further public comment. If approved and implemented by City Council, the most controversial of the proposed changes would significantly limit the abillity of Berkeley citizens to present their views to Council. 

Three of the proposals—one to limit the time allotted to individual public speakers at various Council meetings and hearings, a second to allow the Mayor to “establish overall time limits” for presentations at public hearings, and a third to move contentious or lengthy Council public hearings from Tuesday nights to Thursday—have already drawn fire from several Berkeley citizens. 

Instead of going directly to the City Council, the Council Agenda Committee decided at its Monday, March 1st meeting that the proposed revisions will now be available on the city’s website for the public to review. The Agenda Committee set no time for the proposed revisions to be returned to the committee for further action. 

Councilmember Linda Maio said that the proposal to cut down the time for public speakers from the present three minutes to two was her suggestion. Maio told the Daily Planet that she made the suggestion in order to increase the number of persons who could speak on subjects at Council meetings. “I’ve looked out and seen a lot of disappointed faces [in the audience] because they couldn’t speak,” Maio said. 

But even before Monday’s Agenda Committee meeting, the proposals were drawing fire from some Berkeley citizens. The Daily Planet received copies of several opposition letters addressed to the Mayor and City Council. Among them was a letter from Planning Commission Chairperson Zelda Bronstein, who protested the method in which the proposed changes were brought forward. “In the past year, we have seen a continual effort to strengthen the Berkeley mayoral office through a series of piecemeal changes,” Bronstein wrote, “most notably, the establishment of an Agenda Committee appointed by the Mayor, the creation of Task Forces appointed by the Mayor (a practice that is, I believe, contrary to City law), and now, a proposal to have the Mayor set rules for the procedures to be followed at public hearings. Berkeley has a weak mayor system of government. If the Council or the Mayor or, for that matter, a group of citizens want to institute a strong mayor form of government, then such a change should be formally proposed and vetted in an appropriate public process, not slipped in through a series of incremental changes that are poorly publicized and insufficiently reviewed by the public.” 

Planning Commissioner Rob Wrenn also wrote to the Mayor and Council, in part, “I hope you will reject [the] proposal being considered by the Agenda Committee to limit public comment at regular City Council meetings to two minutes. ... To limit [speakers] to only two minutes is a ridiculous idea. Anyone who has spoken at a Council meeting knows that you have to be well organized and concise to say what you want to say in three minutes as it is.” Wrenn also called the Thursday public hearing proposal “a bad idea. ... Putting hearings on any other day [than Tuesday] will make it difficult for some people to participate [because of] conflicts with [Zoning Adjustment Board meetings], other commissions, neighborhood group meetings and meetings of other organizations that have an interest in civic affairs.” 

Mayor Bates made the 9-point proposal in a February 17th memo to the three-member Council Agenda Committee on “Council Rules of Procedure Revisions.” At that time, the Mayor wrote that “After discussion and appropriate changes [by the Agenda Committee], I suggest that we ask the City Clerk to return with specific changes to the Council Rules of Procedure to implement the requested changes. The Agenda Committee would then forward those recommendations to the full Council for review and approval.” Along with the time limit and public hearing changes, the memo also proposed allowing the Agenda Committee to move City Commission-generated items between the Consent and Action calendars on City Council’s agenda, as well as extending the authority of the City Manager to perform certain duties during Council recesses. 

Bates also suggested at last week’s Council meeting that he was considering another speaker proposal: ending the often-used practice of public speakers “ceding” their time to another speaker. Because speakers at Council meetings are chosen by random lottery, organizations often use this tactic in order to ensure that the spokesperson of their choice is the one who actually gets to address Council. The anti-”ceding” proposal, however, was not part of the Maor’s procedure revision proposal. 

City Clerk Sherry Kelly’s detailed workup of the proposed Bates changes were presented to yesterday’s (March 1st) Agenda Committee meeting, as well as posted to the internet at http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/agenda-committee/2004/packet/030104/2004-03-01%20AC%20Item%2008.pdf. 

Also opposing the two-minute limit in a letter sent this weekend to the City Council was Berkeley resident Wendy Alfsen. “Many members of the public not well versed in public speaking have trouble completing their comments in less than three minutes,” Alfsen wrote in a letter to Council. “Similarly, speakers on the many complex issues facing the City need a minimum of three minutes to adequately outline the issue presented.” Alfsen added that if the 2-minute speaking limit is adopted, Council should drop the present 30-minute total for all public speakers and “allow everyone who wishes to speak the opportunity to do so. Otherwise, the meaningful opportunity for public verbal input required by the Brown Act is not met.” 

Another Berkeley resident, Judith Scherr, suggested in writing that Berkeley “copy Oakland’s format & let all views be expressed before items come up for a vote on the agenda. The goal of public comment is to get out views on all sides of the issue.” Scherr called Berkeley’s practice of choosing public speakers by lottery “about the dumbest idea I’ve ever seen.” 

And resident Michael Katz wrote “Having occasionally attended Council meetings, I’m aware that sitting through 30 minutes of sometimes contentious, repetitious, or misinformed public comment is not the most enviable aspect of your jobs as Councilmembers. Still, I hope you will agree that receiving complete public comment is one of the Council’s most important roles. When the Council needs to make hard choices, the public will more readily accept those choices if each issue’s most passionate advocates feel they’ve had a chance to be heard.” 

Agenda Committee members were already tinkering with the proposed suggestions at Monday’s meeting, considering a suggestion that Thursday public hearings be limited to nights that the Zoning Adjustment Board is not meeting, and adding a change that the Mayor can establish overall speaking limits at public hearings “subject to authorization by the Council.”›

“I’ve enrolled Jernae in gymnastic class,” I said to my friend David. “I think she has potential.” 

“Are you kidding?” he scolded. “How old is she?” 

“Thirteen.”  

“Thirteen? She’s over the hill. You’ve got to start children in gymnastic lessons when they’re babies. Haven’t you ever watched the Olympics? Those kids are barely out of diapers.” 

“I’m not trying to make her into a champion,” I said. “I just want her to be able to do a few cartwheels and somersaults. You know, build up her self-confidence.” 

“It’s too late,” answered David with conviction. “You’ve missed the boat. I’m not sure you can teach her anything now. Get ready for juvenile delinquency, AA meetings and teenage pregnancy.  

I ignored David. I come from a family that believes in enrolling children in every lesson imaginable. By the time I was 10 years old I’d taken classes in swimming, piano, dance (tap and ballet), ice skating, horseback riding, tennis and golf. I hadn’t excelled at anything, but I had a very good time. 

I met Jernae when she was 8 years old. She did not know how to ride a bicycle or swim. Now, after a few sessions on the sidewalk in front of my house, she can pedal anywhere. She can swim across the short width of the public pool. I was sure she would do well in gymnastics if given the chance. 

But when we arrived at Head Over Heels in Emeryville I could see that she was the oldest child in the beginners class, and the only one wearing a bathing suit. Little girls were doing flips on trampolines and headstands on the balance beam. They were dressed in colorful leotards and they wore serious ace bandages on their tiny wrists.  

I held my breath and hoped that Jernae would stick with the lessons even though she was a foot taller than most of the kids in her class. After the first day she announced that she needed a leotard and bandages.  

I explained to her that the lessons were stretching my budget and that she’d have to continue in her bathing suit, minus the wristbands. She looked at me in disgust, but she went back the next day and the next. By the third week she could do one-handed cartwheels, a front flip on the trampoline and a back flip over the uneven bars. As we walked out of the studio, she did three cartwheels, walked on her hands, then skipped across a high balance beam as if she were strolling through a park. 

“Let’s do cartwheels when we get home,” she said. “How many do you think you can do, Suzy?” 

“Probably three or four,” I answered confidently. 

In the backyard Jernae made it look easy. She did two cartwheels and ended with a perfect somersault. “Your turn,” she said.  

I threw my hands over my head and put my feet in starting position. But suddenly I realized I wasn’t going to be able to do three cartwheels in a row. In fact, I wasn’t going to do even one. I was in shock. 

“I can’t,” I said, hardly able to speak. “What happened? I used to be able to do cartwheels, somersaults and handstands.”  

“You’re too old,” said Jernae. 

“What did you say?” 

“You’re over the hill,” she shouted as she laid on her back, and then pushed upward into a flawless arch.  

“Maybe I just need a leotard and ace bandages,” I said. 

“I doubt it,” she answered, now standing on her hands, her t-shirt covering her face. In one smooth motion she flipped over and stood up, placing her hands on her hips, her back straight, her head high. She looked tall and poised. The lessons were working. She was definitely gaining self-confidence. Now it was time to work on mine. 

h

Attack at King Middle School 

Several students pushed and kicked a fellow student at King Middle School Friday, police said. The victim was not injured, and none of the attackers were arrested. Youth Service detectives are investigating the incident, police spokesperson Kevin Schofield said. 

West Berkeley Fight 

Police arrested two youths Friday morning after receiving calls of a fight on the 2600 block of Ninth Street. Police spokesperson Kevin Schofield said police believe there were three or four people involved in the fight and that the lone victim was not injured.  

Safeway Robbery 

A woman had her purse snatched in the underground parking lot at the Safeway at 1444 Shattuck Place Friday afternoon, police said. The robber then fled in a gold American car that was also parked in the lot. 

Punches at Picante 

An employee of Picante Berkeley restaurant at 1328 Sixth Street was punched on the job Friday. Police spokesperson Kevin Schofield said the assailent was apparently an acquaintance of the victim, who was not seriously hurt. The assailent fled before police arrived, Schofield said..

Climb down the stairs inside La Val’s Subterranean Restaurant on Euclid Avenue (half a block away from the university’s North Gate) and you might think you’ve abruptly space-traveled into one of New York’s Off-Off Broadway theaters. It’s the kind of place where you wouldn’t be overly surprised to see a version of “Hamlet” in which Laertes is played by a golden retriever. (I swear I saw that performed in New York in what could have passed for the Subterranean’s twin sister.) 

The small, oddly shaped, and very black basement has for years been the home for newish theatre companies who’ve made it past their first efforts and are ready to take the next step up into a stable venue. Not surprisingly, the ones who get as far as La Val’s tend to be energetic and innovative and, often, very good. After six seasons of bouncing around from one venue to another, the Impact Theatre company is still jubilant about their first season in a place they can call their own—at least until the lease is up. 

So far, the company, which is currently presenting its second production at La Val’s (“Say You Love Satan” by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa), has brought in new material of first quality. 

“Satan” is a light-hearted, often hilarious, gay-themed fantasy which deservedly won first prize in Manhattan’s Fringe Theatre contest. Perhaps one of the nicest things about the play is that it doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of hidden meanings—it’s a bit of a rarity to encounter a new production which seems to be there just for fun. 

What we have are the complications in the love life of a New York graduate student—who is much given to Doesteyevsky. Andrew, played by 

David Ballog, drops a too-nice doctor boyfriend Jerrod (Brian Erlich) for an exciting stranger named Jack (Eric Moore), who admits to being the Devil’s son—but might actually be the devil himself. 

Either way, Jack is very bad news indeed, and it takes a lot of effort by Andrew’s bossy friend Bernadette (Courtney Greenlaw) and a Druid Cultist Martin (played by Ross Pasquale who also appears as yet another of Andrew’s boyfriends) to straighten things up. John Atwood plays a gay bouncer at a club where Andrew and Jack go on their first date, and Nomadicdj is the club’s DJ.  

It would be tedious to go through such a large—and strong—cast and comment on their work individually. It just isn’t necessary—there isn’t a weak performance in the lot.  

Like a great chunk of Impact’s productions, this is a West Coast premier. The company is clearly carrying through on their commitment to produce new plays that an 18 to 35 year-old audience will find compelling. 

What they’re doing is important: If live theater is to survive as an art form, it is critical for younger people to develop an interest in the medium. Over-all, the great majority of theater audiences comes from an aging demographic. Some day it’s bound to go “pop” and disappear completely. So far, Impact has been successful—over 80% of their audience comes from the younger group they’ve set out to woo. We need more companies throughout the country serving the same purpose. 

But it just doesn’t seem fair for the kids to have all the fun. While some of us may be showing a bit of wear and tear, a funny play and a great production is still a funny play and a great production. Can we come, too?  

The good news is that Director Joy Meads, in good Berkeley style, hastily insists that there are no prejudices here. If you’re willing to come down the stairs (and La Val’s has fixed the banister very nicely) they’ll be quite pleased to accept your modest payment. Part of the company’s commitment is to keep the price down to something that their elected demographic can afford—college students, you know.

The UC Berkeley committee overseeing changes to the student code of conduct voted Thursday night to accept revisions that would prevent students from using lawyers to represent them in on-campus cases—unless it was deemed necessary by the University. 

The decision, which many students object to, was offered as a compromise by the committee because its original proposal would have banned lawyers altogether. The decision will allow for student advisors or Dave Madden, the student advocate for the University, to sit in and help students during their case.  

Michael Smith, who along with two other students, was arrested and charged for his participation in an anti-war protest last March and originally faced suspension for a full semester from the University, said the decision was “not a step forward for student rights.” 

“Having to ask for permission [for legal representation] is counterproductive to say the least,” said Smith, who along with the other two students currently has an appeal into the University challenging the ruling against them.  

Smith and the two other students charged said banning a lawyer from a campus hearing would violate their due process rights. Two of them could receive a letter or warning in their file that is reportable if they apply to a government job or waive their rights to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). 

The students say it’s unfair to face such legal consequences without legal representation. 

Committee members said the changes were made to help make the hearing process more educational—and less adversarial—so students can learn from the process, instead of being distracted by a lawyer who they said usually takes over. The decision prevents lawyers from speaking for students but does not prevent students from seeking legal advice. 

Lawyers tend to “stand in for [students]”, said Bob Jacobson, a Physics professor, committee member and the chair of the panel who oversaw Smith’s case, making the process “much less valuable.”  

Madden, the student advocate, said the decision was “not ideal” but better than what was originally put on the table. 

“It’s a large step from where we were when the administration was ready to eliminate representation,” he said.r

TUESDAY, MARCH 2 

FILM 

Alternative Visions: “Slumberland” 3-D Projection Performance at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Michael Shermer looks at “The Science of Good and Evil” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Christos Papadimitriou, Prof. of Computer Science, UCB, reads from “Turing: (A Novel about Computation)” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Zabava! Izvorno, Late Cift at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Balkan dance lesson with Lise Liepman at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Berkeley Youth Arts Festival opens at the Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. Reception from 5 to 7 p.m. 644-6893. www.berkleyartcenter.org 

“Images from the Georgia-Chechnya Border” opens at the Hearst Museum, Kroeber Hall, Bancroft Ave. and College Ave. Cost is $1-$4. 643-7648. 

FILM 

Film 50: “All That Heaven Allows” at 3 p.m. and Meet Your Makers: Open Outcry: Documentaries by Ben Rubin and Jon Else at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

THEATER  

Berkeley Repertory Theater, “Ghosts” by Henrik Ibsen opens and runs through April 11. 647-2917. www.berkeleyrep.org  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Susan Douglas takes on “The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How it Has Undermined Women” 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 The Streichner Trio, at International House, Piedmont Ave. at Bancroft. 642-4864.  

Dromedary performs gypsy, klezmer, Andean and Appalach- 

ian music at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Whiskey Brothers, old time and bluegrass, at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

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

Gator Beat at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun/zydeco dance lesson with Pattie Whitehurst at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Nicole and the Sisters of 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. 

THURSDAY, MARCH 4 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“High Touch Low Tech” a joint art exhibition with Piedmont High School and National Institute of Art and Disabilities, exploring works that visually stimulate the sense of touch, at the Florence Ludins-Katz Gallery, 551 23rd St., near Barrett Ave., Richmond. Reception for the artists from 6 to 8 p.m.  

FILM 

Women of Color Film Festival “Laughter and Activism” at 5:30 at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Lunch Poems with Lyn Hejinian at 12:10 p.m. in the Morrison Library in Doe Library, UC Campus. Admission is free. 642-0137.  

Jo Freeman introduces “At Berkeley in the Sixties” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

“Ant Farm 1968-1978” Guided Tour at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

“Tuscany and Umbria: Cradle of the Renaissance” a video presentation and talk by Jim Hilgendorf at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave. at Rose. 843-3533. 

Nanos Valaoritis and Thanasis Maskaleris introduce their new anthology, “Modern Greek Poetry” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with featured readers Phillip T. Nails and Charselle, at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985. 

Poetry at the Albany Library, featuring Jack and Adelle Foley from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Edith Stone Room. 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 20. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Paco de Luciá, flamenco and jazz guitar, at 8 p.m., Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$48, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

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

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

The Uptones and La Plebe perform in a benefit for the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen perform traditional and contemporary folk at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50 in advance, $18.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

FRIDAY, MARCH 5 

CHILDREN 

Poetry for Children at 10:30 a.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861. 

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 

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

Berkeley Repertory Theater, “Ghosts” by Henrik Ibsen, at 8 p.m. and runs through April 11. 647-2917. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Everyday Theater, “The Bright River,” a show by Tim Barsky, at 8 p.m. at the Transparent Theater, 1901 Ashby Ave. Through March 20. Tickets are $12-$20 available from 644-2204. 

Impact Theatre, “Say You Love Satan” at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, and runs through March 13. 464-4468. www.impacttheatre.com 

Central Works, “The Duel” a new play adapted from Chekhov’s novella, at 8 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., through March 27. Tickets are $8-$20. 558-1381. www.centralworks.org 

“Marat/Sade,” by Peter Weiss, directed by Philip Charles Sneed at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Playhouse. Also March 6, 12, 13 at 8 p.m. and March 7 and 14 at 2 p.m. UC Dept. of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies. Tickets are $8-$10. 866-468-3399. http://theater.berkeley.edu 

FILM 

Asian American Film Fesitval: “Invisible Light” at at 7 p.m. and “See You Off to the Edge of Town” at 9 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Surplus” a Swedish documentary in a visual critique of consumerism at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Caroline Kraus describes “Borderlines,” the dark side of relationships between women, at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Paco de Luciá, flamenco and jazz guitar, at 7 p.m., Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$48, available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“Johannes Brahms: Sacred and Secular Choral Music” with the California Bach Society at 8 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. Tickets are $12-$25. 415-262-0272. www.calbach.org 

University Symphony, under the direction of David Milnes at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-9988. http://music.berkeley.edu/comcerts.html 

An Evening of Shipyard Blues from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, at Oak and 10th Sts. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

“Guitars for Life” Benefit Concert for the Progeria Project Foundation, with Eddie Money and The Tubes, at Berkeley Community Theater. 644-8957. 

Humble Soul, Native Elements, Marty Dread in a Hawaiian Roots Reggae concert at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Phil Roy and Julian Coreal at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 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 

Latin Music Calendar Party at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Joshi Marhall, modern jazz saxophone, at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Fruit, Australian jazz quintet, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50 advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Against Me!, Lucero, Grabass Charlestons, Mike Park, Love Songs at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SATURDAY, MARCH 6 

CHILDREN  

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

Wild About Books with the Shahrzad Dance Academy at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“The Art of Living Black” tour of over 40 galleries and studios in Berkeley, Albany, Oakland and Richmond. For a list of locations see www.therichmondartcenter.org or call 620-6772. 

“Super Six: Live in Berkeley” paintings, drawings, and sculpture by Cassie Davis, Megan DeArmond, John Poole, Matthew Scheatzle, Mark Seely and Becca Jo Young. Reception at 6 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. 848-1228. 

THEATER 

Berkeley Opera, “The Legend of the Ring” at 7 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $10-$40 available from 925-798-1300. www.juliamorgan.org 

Lucky Dog Theater, “Full Spectrum Improvisation,” directed by Joya Cory, at 8 p.m. at Eighth Street Studios, 2525 8th St. Tickets are $12 available from 415-564-4115. www.joyacory.com 

FILM 

Asian American Film Festival: “A Good Lawyer’s Wife” at 7 p.m. and “15” at at 9:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Bend it Like Beckham” at 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, a reading room, library and community center in South Berkeley located at 3124 Shattuck Ave. Wheelchair accessible. 540-0751. www.thelonghaul.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Kevin Odegard describes “A Simple Twist of Fate: Bob Dylan and the Making of Blood on the Tracks” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Bay Area Poets Coalition holds an open reading, 3 to 5 p.m., at the South Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1901 Russell St. 527-9905. poetalk@aol.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Palm Wine Boys at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

University Symphony, under the direction of David Milnes at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-9988. http://music.berkeley.edu/comcerts.html 

“In Song and Struggle” An International Women’s Day event featuring Copper Wimmin, Libby Kirkpatrick, Gwen Avery, Rebecca Riots and Rachel Garlin at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Cost is $10 to $20 sliding scale. A benefit for Berkeley Copwatch. 548-0425. 

The Stanford University Early Music Singers, under the direction of William Mahrt, perform Missa Fortuna Desperata at 8 p.m. at All Soul’s Episcopal Church, 2220 Cedar St., at Oxford St. Suggested donation $12. 848-1755. 

Holly Near at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $18 in advance, $20 at the door. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Snake Trio at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Purim Party with Adama at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10 for memebrs, $20 general. Co-sponsored by Aquarian Minyan and Kehilla Synagogue. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Robin and Linda Williams, roots country originals, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50 advance, $18.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Po’ Girl, Chris Brown and Kate Fenner at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Sylvia and the Silvertones, songs of the 30s and 40s, at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

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

Snake Trio at 8 p.m. at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

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

www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Prefixo De Verago, live Brazilian music at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $12. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

The Bananas, Shotwell, Defiance, Ohio, Before the Fall, Bastards of Young at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, MARCH 7 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“The Art of Living Black” tour of over 40 galleries and studios in Berkeley, Albany, Oakland and Richmond. For a list of locations see www.therichmondartcenter.org or call 620-6772. 

FILM 

“924 Gilman St.” a film by Jack Curran, premieres at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Asian American Film Festival: “The Other Final” at 3:20 p.m., “Travellers and Magicians” at 5 p.m. and “Bright Future” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rinzler’s Return #2, a workshop for writers at 3 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry Flash with Leonard Nathan and Peter Klappert at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com  

“Ant Farm 1968-1978” Guided Tour at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Live Oak Concert with Jupiter String Quartet at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. Cost is $9-$10. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra presents Under Construction No. 14, at 8 p.m. St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Ave. Free. 841-2800. 

“Dancing in the Isles” with Musica Pacifica performing Baroque folk music at 7:30 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington St., Albany. Tickets are $15-$20 and are available at the door. 444-4113. www.musicapacifica.org  

Pacific Mozart Ensemble, “Monk in the Cathedral,” vocal music from the 16th to the 21st Century at 5 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $15-$20. 415-705-0848. wwwpacificmozart.org 

Novello Quartet performs Haydn’s Seven Last Words and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater at 3 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Basilica, 1109 Chestnut St., Alameda. 522-0181. Admission $10-$15. www.novelloquartet.org 

Lonnie Lazar & The Vaporizers, Jam Planet featuring Berkeley High students Andrew Harris and Julian Clark with Ethan Culler-Mayeno and Mike Ruby, at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz Cost is $10-$20 sliding scale, $5 age 17 and under. Benefit for Greenaction. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Submerge 2g Tour with Galapagos 4 and Secluded Journalist at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

International Women’s Day Celebration at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $17.50 in advance, $18.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Hot Club of San Francisco at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com  

John Schott and Ben Goldberg from 4 to 6:30 at Spasso Cafe, 6021 College Ave. at Claremont.

For two weeks running the Daily Planet has run sensational and inflammatory headlines about the Berkeley Public Schools while, in my mind, burying the real stories. Is it the Daily Planet’s intention to turn our community against the Berkeley public schools or is it to try and constructively report the conditions under which public education must exist in this time of declining revenues and state and federal support? On Feb. 20 you ran a story about the schools, “BUSD Kills Program For Teen Mothers.” Then on Feb. 27 your story reads “ BUSD Losing Big Bucks On Food Service Program.” Both stories highlight and focus on one aspect of what happened and fails miserably to give the public the main thrust of the events being reported. 

The Feb. 20 story was about the fact that the school board had to cut $3.1 million from the school’s budget for next year, a very important issue for our community. However, the elimination of the Vera Casey Center for pregnant teens and teen mothers, one of many cuts we were forced to make, while certainly part of the story, should be described, in my opinion, in light of the overall budget crisis in the Berkeley schools.  

Despite the sad fact that we had to cut $3.1 million more from our budget, the district was able to do so without laying off any permanent teachers or cutting class sizes for over 9,000 students. Rather than emphasize the positive, the Daily Planet devoted nine inflammatory paragraphs to a program that serves eighteen students.  

Buried deep in your story (paragraph 16!) is the key point about the budget crisis: “In contrast to budget battles from the previous two years, this year’s cuts, which targeted mostly non-teachers, sparked little citizen outrage. Class sizes are scheduled to remain stable and lost teacher jobs due to an estimated decline in enrollment of 176 students are forecast to be offset by retirements and resignations.” Why wasn’t this statement in your opening paragraph? 

And the Feb. 27 story and headline about a School Board Workshop held Wednesday, Feb. 25 completely missed what happened. Here you had Alice Waters from Chez Panisse, Zenobia Barlow from the Center for Ecoliteracy, and Dr. Bert Lubin, head of the Pediatric Department of Children’s Hospital describing how they are forming a partnership with the food service department of the school district to help make possible healthy, nutritious food for all our school children. But the Daily Planet writes a story about old news, discussed a week before during the school board’s budget deliberations, that the food department cannot live within the meager budget provided by the Federal government. 

If this partnership is successful, as even the Daily Planet described in it’s story; “…it would be the first district to free itself from the mass produced food cycle forced on districts by stingy federal and state school lunch programs that act as subsidies for large corporate food processors to provide food that offers little flavor or nutritional value.” 

Again, why wasn’t this the highlight of your story?  

I am committed to finding alternative funding sources for the Vera Casey Center and creatively striving to improve the quality of food for our school children. But let’s not forget that budget cuts are painful and worthy programs are being eliminated or reduced because the state and federal governments continue to starve our public schools.  

Terry Doran is a member of the Berkeley School Board. 

t

Six cowhide trivets. Five napkin rings. Four serving trays, three yearbooks, two end tables…and a photograph of Yosemite. 

That’s some of what I bought at the last Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale.  

Commonly shortened to “WES,” the event might be call ed with equal accuracy the Mother of All Garage Sales. Held in a warehouse on the Oakland Estuary, the sale has grown to gargantuan proportions during the 40-plus years since it was born as a modest fundraiser in an East Bay garage. The 2004 edition of th e WES takes place this coming Saturday, March 6 (9 a.m.-4 p.m.), and Sunday, March 7 (11 a.m.-4 p.m.), at 333 Lancaster St. in Oakland. 

Reputed to be the largest sale of its type in the world, the WES draws thousands of customers eager to cull through yesterday’s treasures and pay bottom dollar for them. The event raises more than a million dollars a year for the Oakland Museum of California. 

The WES has become not only a local tradition but a cross section of the oddity and excess of American material culture. Generations of useful and useless objects past their time eventually wash up here as flotsam on the shores of our cultural sea, ready for another chance to shine on the bric-a-brac shelves or disappear into the cluttered garages of Bay Area resid ents. 

The scale of the sale is staggering. Thousands of objects are priced as little as 25 cents or 50 cents and or just a dollar or two. Prices for some of the larger or rarer items—such as Persian carpets and antique furniture—can run up to several hun dred dollars. 

Among the items for sale every year are a few hair-raising aesthetic atrocities and a large number of things that were must-haves for the stylish contemporary home of anywhere from two to six or eight decades ago. (Visit the lamp section; y ou’ll understand.) Any adult will recognize (or, perhaps, cringe) at the familiar gewgaws of past generations arranged here for sale at pennies on the original dollar.  

Many items have made the transition from trendy or stylish to kitschy (remember Rubik’s Cubes? Wooden salad bowls carved in the shape of tropical fruit? Giant ornamental clusters of plastic grapes? 1970s furniture designed to make your home look like the captain’s cabin of a pirate ship? Any sort of decorative candle? Anything avocado green or burnt orange…oh, wait, that’s trendy again). 

Some WES goods are on their way to being “collectible” and there are true treasures hiding here and there. Other things you’ll just want because you didn’t buy them when they were new a few decades ago, and thank goodness that you didn’t, since you’d have paid full price then! Some objects you’ll remember from childhood and just have to have for nostalgia’s sake. 

That’s not at all to say that everything at the WES is a decorative object. There are many finds of great value, practical and inexpensive items, from attractive and/or serviceable furniture to luggage, small appliances, sewing machines, perfectly worthwhile clothing, lamps, tools, home medical equipment such as walkers and crutches, dishes, an d endless aisles of good hardcover books. You could outfit a college apartment, campsite, or even a permanent home here, if you had the time and the truck to haul away all your second-hand loot. 

Here’s how the WES works.  

The sale is staffed by volunteers from the Oakland Museum Women’s Board and their friends and husbands. They’re the friendly people with badges and white cloth coats. Many of them labor throughout the year to get the sale items properly prepared. One volunteer has supposedly worked at more than 40 consecutive sales; others are said to represent three generations of the same family. And they’re fun to talk with. At one checkout counter a volunteer packing up my purchases delivered a mini-lecture on the history of basketry.  

Items for sale are meticulously organized; furniture and other largish items crowd the center of the warehouse, and smaller objects are grouped by type in bays around the perimeter. There are extensive sections for books, art, clothes, housewares, electronics, toys, and several other categories.  

Each section is further subdivided. In one section you may wander past the multitude of wicker baskets, alcoves filled with decorations arranged by holiday, brassware, miscellaneous office supplies, shelves burdened with bric-a-brac and, oh yes, a case of genuine white elephants (the latter not for sale). 

Let’s say you pause in the large area devoted to decorative glass. Around you are tables and shelves occupied by a bewildering variety of blue glass, brown glass, glass vases, glass jars, glass ashtrays, glass lanterns, stained glass, in every conceivable molded, blown, cut and poured shape. And, there’s more! Investigate other sections of the warehouse and you’ll find areas with fine glass (crystal vases and what not), mirrors, glass dishware, punch bowls, wineglasses, picture glass in frames, glass sculptures and old-style glass aquariums. 

As you lug your treasures away you may spot the disclaimer posted on the wall saying the Oakland Museum Women’s Board does not war rant that objects purchased at the WES “can be used for any particular purpose.” Don’t let that deter you. It’s essentially the lawyer’s definition of a white elephant. You’re still having fun, participating in a local tradition, and making room in the warehouse for all the donations for next year’s sale.

By freeway from Berkeley, take I-880 south past Downtown Oakland and exit at the Fruitvale/29th Avenue ramp. As you reach the bottom of the exit make a hard right onto Derby. The WES warehouse is two blocks ahead (and a block long) at the edge of the water. Parking is very limited. Quite possibly you’ll need to walk blocks. Make sure you park legally, and don’t block driveways or other cars. 

There’s also a free shuttle that runs to the WES from the Fruitvale BART Station. 

It’s up to you to cart your purchases away, same day. So make sure that you have a suitable vehicle if you have any inclination to buy floor lamps, extension ladders, couches, or armoires.

• Dedicated shoppers arrive early to get close-in parking and good places in the line, which can swell to hundreds before the doors open. You can come later and avoid the long line, although the selection will be smaller. Just be sure to give yourself a few hours inside because the place is big. 

• Dress appropriately for an outdoor wait (if you’re going to stand in line) and also for spending time indoors in an unheated, windowless, space built of metal and concrete.  

• Travel light and wear comfortable shoes. There are few places to sit down outside or in (except on furniture for sale), and you’ll quickly be burdened with objects you’d like to buy. 

• The sale is going to be crowded. The aisles are often narrow. Move around in a determined, but considerate, way. 

• You must pay for your purchases before you leave a section; you cannot cart books next door to buy in the lamps and electronics area, for instance. The section clerks will box or bag your purchases, seal them up, and tape or staple a receipt to the container. Don’t lose the receipt! You can’t get your purchases out the exit without it. 

• If you really want something or the price seems too good to pass up, get it now. If you wander away and come back, chances are someone else will have snapped it up (except for that picture frame ornamented with someone’s collection of wine corks in the art section). 

• Use the free checkstand/holding area at the north end of the warehouse (and make sure to keep track of your claim tickets). Remember that as the end of the sale nears, there may be long, slow, lines to pick up items at the holding area and to leave the building. 

• If at all possible, convince a friend or family member to come along. Trade off taking new purchases to the holding area, waiting in lines, or going back to get the car once you’re ready to leave but need someone to watch your pile of purchases at the exit. 

• Amenities are few; this is a warehouse in an industrial neighborhood. Port-a-potties are found outside. A snack is a good thing to bring if you’re waiting in line. But no food inside. 

• Don’t bring your own carrying containers. Bags and boxes are provided inside. You also cannot enter with strollers or shopping carts or baskets. 

• Everything you buy is As Is, Buyer Beware, No Returns. Most items are used, although generally clean and in good condition. There are no warranties. So if you fall in love with something, make sure you check for small dings, chips, stains, missing small parts, or other subtle wear and tear before you buy it. 

• Bring sufficient cash, and/or a checkbook. It’s pay as you go. 

• Don’t carp about the prices. The money is for a good cause, and most of the items are very inexpensive, even compared to flea markets, junk shops, and many yard sales. 

• For more information, visit the Oakland Museum website (www.museumca.org) and click on the news updates on the WES. 

• Finally, if you want to shop early next year, ask about becoming a volunteer or plan on the preview sale in February. You pay $12.50 in advance or $15 at the door, but you get to shop a month before the free sale. Also, if you make a modest donation of goods to sell, you get a free shopping day between the preview sale and main sale in March.

El Cerrito resident Charles Amirkhanian is a composer with an impressive resume. He’s been at it a long time, and has broken new ground along the way. He’s also one of those rare artists who acts as more than a champion of his own work. His considerable skills as a communicator and organizer have been harnessed to advance a great deal of daring music by others. As director of the Speaking of Music series at the Exploratorium in San Francisco from 1983 to 1992, then as music director of KPFA from ‘69 to ‘92, he’s been in the trenches for a long time, fighting the good fight. In other words, he’s in favor of music that doesn’t sound like everything else. And that’s what the Other Minds Festival is all about. 

The standards at the Other Minds Festival have been very high all during its 10-year run, and that’s a vital component when you’re hoping to bring in people who may be skeptical, or gun-shy, about new music. Amirkhanian has pulled it together this year in style. There is an impressive array of offerings at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco this Thursday through Saturday. The players are superb, and the music that is programmed looks to be what we hope for in a festival of new music: It’s daring and it’s extremely varied. 

Opening night, Thursday March 4, features premieres by Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian, and by composer Hanna Kulenty—the latter for quarter-tone flute and chamber orchestra. Amirkhanian tells me he’s also excited about the premiere of “The Hear and Now,” by composer Jon Raskin of the ROVA Saxophone Quartet, for that ensemble. That’s also on Thursday night. This piece throws ROVA together with an acclaimed ensemble of musicians from Asia, featuring Kyaw Kyaw Naing on pat waing. The Bay Area’s own Gino Robair conducts. 

On Friday, March 5, there is a special 4 p.m. performance arranged with composer Stanley Shaff, who is creating a “total sensory experience” in the darkness of the Audium, at 1616 Bush St. in San Francisco, this being a salute to the composer’s seventy-fifth birthday.  

The evening concert at Yerba Buena on Friday features the U.S. premiere of “Ashtayama,” by Italy’s Amelia Cuni, one of the few Western women to have mastered the classical Indian dhrupad vocal style. Her multi-media piece, which Amirkhanian says is a not-to-be-missed event, is called Song of Hours. Ms. Cuni has toured with Terry Riley and has been mowing them down, apparently, in the U.K. On Friday evening you can also hear accordionist Stefan Hussong performing transcriptions of John Cage’s keyboard music, with dance accompaniment by “stilt choreographer” Pamela Wunderlich. There are several other U.S. premieres for accordion. 

There’s more. Also on Friday, a premiere from Oakland-based composer Mark Grey, with Joan Jeanrenaud the featured soloist on cello. I know Mark Grey a bit, and have heard his music. He’s a heavy-hitter. An associate of Philip Glass, his own music is an adventurous exploration of the color and fire found where acoustic and electronic instruments meet.  

The closing program on Saturday is really three events: Joan Jeanrenaud returns to perform a piece of her own for cello and electronis, a world premiere commissioned for the festival (I bet she’s getting tired of hearing “Formerly of the Kronos Quartet,” but there you have it. If you think you don’t know Ms. Jeanrenaud, you’re probably wrong. Next up, Francis Dhomont surrounds the audience with a 12-piece “loudspeaker orchestra.” Then, answering the question “How do you follow that?” bassist Alex Blake appears with his quintet. Panamanian-born Blake, long a sideman with Sun Ra, Dizzy Gillespie and McCoy Tyner, cites Jimi Hendrix as a primary influence.  

There’s a panel discussion at 7 p.m. on each night of the festival for those who want to hear from these artists about what they’re doing. 

And there’s more happening around the edges… 

Women in Music: a panel discussion on Saturday, March 6, 9 a.m.-noon, YBC Forum. Presented by the Women’s Philharmonic, it’s free and it features Israeli-American composer Shulamit Ran as special guest. (www.womensphil.org.) 

Film: Also Saturday, 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m., “My Cinema for the Ears.” YBC Forum. As regards the musique concrète of Francis Dhomont and Paul Lansky. Tickets: $5; Other Minds 10 pass holders free. 

Also Saturday, but this at 3 p.m., a screening of “Khachaturian,” a new documentary on the composer’s life and music during the great Soviet Experiment. The film, which premiered in New York in October, was recently named Best Documentary at the 2003 Hollywood Film Festival. A short program follows the screening, featuring pianist Dora Serviarian-Kuhn, composer Tigran Mansurian, who appears in the film, and Other Minds director Charles Amirkhanian. Tickets: $10; Other Minds 10 pass holders free. 

There’s an exhibition and sale of original scores in the YBC Theater Lobby, featuring original musical manuscripts by Other Minds 10 Festival composers. 

And—last but not least—a photography exhibition; a selection of John Fago’s black-and-white photographs from past Other Minds Festivals on exhibit in the YBC Forum (701 Mission St. ) during Other Minds 10.  

Tickets to Other Minds Festival 10 you can get at the Yerba Buena Center Box Office, 701 Mission St., open from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. for walk-up sales (the box office at 700 Howard St. opens 90 minutes prior to all events). Or you can order by telephone: (415) 978-ARTS; daily 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Or online at www.YerbaBuenaArts.org; $5 per-order service fee (except films). Individual concert tickets are $35 Premium; $27 Regular; $18 Budget. Festival passes to all public events: $80 Premium; $65 Regular; $45 (for budget student discount deduct $3 Premium; $2 Regular; $1 Budget off concert tickets and passes). The Friday 4 p.m. program at Audium is $12, sliding scale for students. Audium has limited seating, so if you plan to attend, call to reserve at (415) 771-1616. And the films work like this: My Cinema for the Ears, is $5, and the Khachaturian is $10. 

So what’s the upshot of all this? Well, for a few days this weekend, the odds of your hearing something unique, strange, unprecedented, perhaps even beautiful and unforgettable, are vastly increased. Hats off to Charles Amirkhanian. There have been others in the Bay Area who have curated new music as well as created it: trail-blazer Henry Cowell, for instance, founded the New Music Society in 1925.  

While Henry Cowell has gone on to the big Festival in the Sky, Charles Amirkhanian is very much with us. In the company of Kent Nagano, Sarah Cahill, Stuart Canin, Paul Dresher, and a handful of other area artists, Mr. Amirkhanian seems willing to attempt the unlikely again and again, in this case pulling together scant resources to present the flip side of popular music. The flip-side of popular music, of course, is not unpopular music. It is the music that we’re rarely, if ever, given a chance to hear.  

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The Scottish seaside town of Stonehaven, birthplace of the deep-fried Mars bar, now has a second claim to fame. Mike Newman, an Aberdeen bus driver and amateur palaeontologist, recently discovered the fossil remains of the oldest known land animal there. The half-inch-long creature has been named Pneumodesmas newmani in his honor. Although some might not consider it an honor: P. newmani is, after all, a millipede. 

How do we know it lived on land? It’s well enough preserved to show tiny spiracles—intake vents for air. These would not have worked at all under water. 

Millipedes don’t get a lot of respect or affection. They lack charisma, they’re not cuddly, and most of them smell bad. Many otherwise reasonable people have a strong aversion to them just be cause they have an excessive number of legs. (No millipede has a thousand legs, as you might assume from the name; the champion, a Southeast Asian species, has only 750, or 375 pairs). 

But you have to admire their sheer staying power. P. newmani, recogni zably a millipede, lived 428 million years ago during the Silurian era, when Scotland lay near the Equator as part of the Old Red Sandstone Continent. A lot of flash-in-the-pan lifeforms have come and gone since then, but you can still find creatures a lo t like P. newmani in your flower bed, or in the nearest shady patch of woods. 

The place wouldn’t have looked much like Scotland, though. Sheep and heather had yet to evolve. The barren land had only recently been colonized by algal crusts, lichens, and p rimitive plants like mosses and liverworts. Soil as such was just beginning to develop as these pioneers wore away the rock and added their remains to the first humus.  

Newman’s find may have lived on detritus—dead plant matter—as most millipedes still d o. Its world must have been a kind of arthropod Eden: plenty to eat, no predators. But that didn’t last long.  

Eventually the ancestors of the modern scorpions came ashore and found bountiful hunting grounds. Insects evolved at least 400 milllion years a go, likely from a millipede-like ancestor.(The earliest insect fossil, also found in Scotland, languished in a drawer in the British Museum for 80 years before someone recently recognized it for what it was). Some became formidable hunters as well: dragon flies with the wingspan of a Cooper’s hawk. Then came the first land vertebrates, lumpish toothy horrors. All these would have found the early millipedes fair game. 

Some millipedes, over time, responded by getting big. One line culminated in a behemoth c alled Arthropleura, 6 feet long and a foot and a half wide, likely the largest terrestrial arthropod that ever existed, or could, due to inherent design constraints. You may remember Arthropleura from the coal swamp diorama in the Academy of Science’s Life Through Time exhibit, now somewhere in storage. 

Others went a different route: they got toxic. One such, the clown millipede (Harpaphe haydeniana), inhabits Northern California. It’s striking in its own way, glossy black with a pair of yellow spots on each segment; it has a relatively modest 62 legs. For people with an aversion to both clowns and things with too many legs, this would be a hard animal to love. The coloration is a warning to would-be predators that it’s loaded with cyanide. I’ve never h andled one myself, but the clown millipede is said to give off a definite whiff of almonds. 

In his splendid book For Love of Insects, Thomas Eisner, more or less the founder of the science of chemical ecology, describes his work with a New York millipede, Apheloria, back in the 1950s. (No, millipedes aren’t insects, they’re myriapods. But Eisner’s curiosity transcends taxonomic categories). He verified earlier anecdotal reports that Apheloria did emit hydrogen cyanide, and figured out how its chemical de fense worked. The millipede produces a precursor substance called mandelonitrile, stored in a special reservoir. When threatened, it telescopes its body segments to squeeze the chemical into another chamber containing a catalytic enzyme. The ensuing react ion releases the hydrogen cyanide, which seeps through ducts along the millipede’s side.  

Eisner’s book includes a wonderful photograph of a toad which has just tried to swallow an Apheloria millipede. You wouldn’t think a toad’s face would be capable of much emotional range, but the amphibian’s disgust is palpable. 

The cyanide trick isn’t universal among millipedes. Other species produce benzoquinones. Still another, a chunky, pillbug-like form known as Glomeris, secretes a chemical that sedates predat ors. Wolf spiders that attacked a Glomeris became “motionless, flaccid, and totally unresponsive”, and could take up to 5 or 6 days to recover. The two key chemicals at work here, glomerin and homoglomerin, are quinazolinones, akin to methaqualone, aka Qu aalude. (One of Eisner’s colleagues was able to demonstrate that Quaalude does not knock out spiders, if you were wondering). 

Ground-up millipede was part of the standard pharmacopeia in 17th-century England, along with wolf’s liver, peony root, and stee l syrup. We can only speculate as to what effect this had on the patient.  

In addition to being able to brew poisons and sedatives, some millipedes are luminescent and others fluoresce under ultraviolet light, as do scorpions. No one seems to know what a daptive value this has for the animals. 

Those refinements, though, came long after Pneumodesmas newmani roamed the Scottish tropics. Here’s a salute to that unsung pioneer, or whatever many-legged ancestor first ventured onto terra firma. It was many small steps for a millipede, but one giant leap for animalkind.  

POLICE DOGS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Perhaps I am alone in this opinion, but I find the notion absurd that but for the efforts of a few courageous so-called “progressives” on the Berkeley City Council and elsewhere that Berkeley would be overrun with Lynch Mobs and Brown Shirts. Recent views expressed in East Bay papers opposing Police Dogs in Berkeley seem disingenuous at best. 

In my experience Berkeley Police efforts have been hamstrung by “progressive” politicians and other ideologues who have shown re markable tolerance for violent drug crime, battery, and rape, in South Berkeley. 

I believe many youth at risk in Berkeley (including those who have committed brutal crimes) have been neglected, abandoned, and given a pass by the “progressive” power struc ture in Berkeley which is loath to consider even constructive common sense interventions. 

This neglect results in harm to everyone concerned. 

The scores of beatings, shootings and other violent crimes, in my neighborhood alone, (including murder and rap e) perpetrated by criminals of all ages (very often drug related) have been both treated with sarcastic humor and cast as the victims’ responsibility. “Progressives” also seem to have no problem with drug dealers raising vicious pit bulls. 

I believe I ha ve, what should be, an acceptable compromise concerning the police dog issue: Use smaller, lower profile, dogs like Beagles that could accomplish many of the needed and beneficial tasks. Contrary to the clarion call of denial by Berkeley “progressives,” c rime actually does happen in Berkeley. 

John Herbert 

• 

MALCOLM X FLOOD 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The drainage problem at Malcolm X is a storm sewer problem at King and Prince streets. That is, there isn’t a storm drain at King and Prince. Sure, there’s a ho le at the corner that fools people into believing it’s a drain. But it doesn’t go anywhere! There is a fine great drain at Ashby, several feet below grade. The City of Berkeley needs to install a real drain at King and Prince that connects to the Ashby pi pe. 

I know more about this than any human deserves. I stood in knee-deep water during El Nino, in 1996, at that intersection and watched the lower depths of Malcolm X flood. Water will not go down a drain, no matter how splendid its engineering, if the a djacent street is inundated over curb level. The architects of the Malcolm X renovation investigated and considered running their own pipe to the Ashby storm drain—and in retrospect probably should have. I probably won’t live to see the city deal properly with this. So BUSD takes a $100,000 hit every time this happens, which is getting to be more than once a year rather than once in five years as formerly. I sqawked to the architects, to the district, to the civil engineers, predicting these recurrences. But I’m only a citizen who doesn’t have time to attend many meetings on the behalf of a mundane public good. 

Lawsuits speak louder than words, I guess. Maybe that’s becoming America’s method of choice for getting action, since common sense doesn’t seem t o have much potency. 

Bruce Wicinas 

• 

MARRIAGE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Erich Fromm wrote, “To love one’s flesh and blood is no achievement....Only in the love of those who do not serve a purpose, love begins to unfold.” 

It’s not that I disagree with Becky O’Malley’s advocacy of marriage (“Marriage: Good for Spouses, Kids and Community,” Daily Planet, Feb. 17-19), but compared with Fromm’s presentation of the fusion of two who truly love each other as the pathway to the eternal (“Erotic love is exclusive, but it loves in the other person all of mankind, all that is alive”), her perspective comes across as pretty drab and duty-driven. The institution we are given by state or religion is a palliative, and too often a shroud; and it could represent a breach of trust with one’s soul to rest in it too complacently. If we require a legal contract to ‘bind’ our decision to love, we’re lost. 

Pamela Satterwhite 

• 

PUBLIC COMMENT 

Editor, Daily Planet: 

Mayor Tom Bates’ proposed changes to public comments and public hearings at city council meetings strike yet another blow at the democratic process. 

A majority of Berkeley voters elected Tom Bates mayor in the misguided belief that he would look after their interests. They are now learning to their sorrow that they have entrusted the chicken coop to the fox. 

Issues brought by the public to the city council often are too complex to cover in three minutes. Reducing public comments from three minutes to two will make it even more difficult to get the message across. 

Moving public hearings to Thursday nights would assure that concerned citizens who follow important developments at the council and ZAB will have to sacrifice one in order to attend the other in two out of four cases. 

Tom Bates, your proposals are bad. I t’s best to withdraw them at once. The least you can do is hold a public hearing, where the people will tell you what you should have learned at the parcel tax hearing. 

It’s time for Tom Bates to ask: “Why am I here, and who am I supposed to serve?” 

Dani ella Thompson 

• 

DEMOCRACY NOW 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As the Bush administration brazenly backs the overthrow of the democratically elected government in Haiti it is once again clear that we in the United States are living under the rule of criminals. 

W e need to impeach this administration; we need to indict this administration; and we need to begin a serious push for democracy in this nation. 

George Palen 

• 

SO WHAT? 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I read your article and accompanying memo from Mr. Cowan to th e mayor and I’m wondering what all of the brouhaha is about. It reads like a clear and simple explanation of what the city’s possible options are, and not, as Councilmember Spring says, a “plan for how the city can grease the tracks and overcome any citizen concern and input.” 

From the way I read it we’re going to have a fight on our hands anyway and we’ve got to find some common ground (something often in short supply). City center is sadly and slowly hollowing out and to have a large hotel and tourist destiniation (the museum complex) to provide jobs would be great. 

Bill Newton 

• 

MURAL ART 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing to correct misinformation in an article entitled “Mural’s Sad Fate Spotlights Art Program” in your Feb. 5 issue. It was wonderful article describing the ways in which art, expecially mural art, is so underaprreciated and that the artists are so often unrecognized. The article shows a nice picture of the La Pena Cultural Center mural and then mistakenly credits it to Osha Neumann alone. I wated to write this letter assuming Mr. Neumann would correct this mistake since, in fact, the mural was created by four artists: Anna de Leon, Ray Patlan, O’Brien Thiele and Neumann. 

I know this for two reasons. All four artist’s names are printed on the base of the mural. In addition, I was personally involved since the soaring ceramic birds that represent the condor of Chile, the eagle of Mexico and the quetzal of Guatelmala were created by Anna de Leon and fired in my kiln on Parker Street. As far as I know, this mural is unique in that it combines the painted surface and the more dimensional ceramic, which gives so much vitality and surface interest to the mural. Also, the ceramic withstands ravages of the elements indefinitely, even as the paint fades. 

I believe that when artists come together to make art, they should all, not just the most vocal or the one interviewed, be recognized for their work. I believe that was the point of Jakob Schiller’s article, for which I thank you. 

Francesca Roveda 

• 

TYRANNY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was amazed to see the laughable headline, “Tyranny Seen in the Oakland School Takeover” in the recent article by J. Douglas Allen-Taylor (Daily Planet, Feb. 20-23). I have enjoyed most of your columnist’s previ ous UnderCurrents essays, but now he seems to have gone off the deep end. The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) under the leadership of Superintendent Dennis Chaconas has managed to run up many millions of dollars in deficits in the last few years. T he OUSD asked the State of California for a $100,000,000 loan to bail them out of the financial hole that they had managed to dig themselves into.  

State control of the OUSD operations was the price that they had to pay. Now folks are whining about any a nd every cost-cutting measure, including school closures. Its time for protesters and whiner-babies to get a grip and grow up. The OUSD Board members, Superintendent Chaconas and his top administrators failed in their sworn responsibility to keep the (OUS D) in good financial order. Millions and millions of dollars has been looted from the (OUSD) by staff embezzlers, crooks, thieves and just common grafters.  

A recent story in the Oakland Tribune (2/19/04) reported how several former OUSD employees were m iraculously still receiving paychecks long after their employment with the District had ended. 

It is evident that many teachers and staff members showed zero loyalty to the OUSD and happily looted the District budget for as much as they could get away wi th. Endless cell phone calls to friends and 

relatives paid by the District. It was, “Get on board the OUSD reparations train, we’re pulling out of the 

station soon. Bring your friends, relatives and neighbors too. It the biggest party in Oakland ever. Don’t miss out.”  

Tyranny is what Bush has created in Iraq, it is not tyranny for the new State Administrator of the OUSD to balance the District’s budget. 

James K. Sayre 

Oakland 

• 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I found your recent BUSD budget article (20-23 Feb 2004) interesting in that the Vera Casey Center budget shortfall is $100k. With 10 students regularly using its services, this amounts to $10,000 per student. According to the article, the Vera Casey Center operates on a state grant, meaning th at its budget is larger than $100,000; unfortunately the center’s budget is not noted in the article. Surely the center’s services can be provided in a more cost-effective manner. 

Peter Zielinski 

• 

XXXXXXXXXX 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In the ongoing discus sion about the $72 million dollars in ABAG loans Patrick Kennedy scored, he states, “The general benefits to the city of the additional 425 units of new housing are also there for people to judge (Daily Planet, Feb. 20-23).”  

The buildings LEAK. Many peo ple would consider leaking five-story buildings to be a problem rather than an asset. Maybe Mr. Kennedy will take a moment to tell us what measures are being taken to prevent his three projects under construction from being the next batch of leakers to “benefit” this proud city. 

C. Osborn 

• 

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Editors, Daily Planet: 

Schwarzenegger’s office gravely warns the public that gay marriages being performed at San Francisco’s City Hall will cause mayhem, that it will “lead to anarchy.” Other foes of gay marriage warn of a “fierce backlash.” 

What now: Will Washington policymakers initiate preemptive military strikes against San Francisco—as they did in Kabul, Khandahar and Baghdad? 

Will Gov. Schwarzenegger or President Bush call in the U.S. military to drop cluster bombs on civilian wedding parties—as in Afghanistan? 

I suppose we should take the warnings seriously. After all, there’s no knowing from one minute to the next what this administration will drop on our heads, or—God forbid—on the heads of others. 

Sheila Newbery 

[Yesterday I e-mailed you a letter responding to Elizabeth Will’s letter in the Daily Planet for 17 Feb; that letter can stand, but if it’s not much trouble I’d replace it with this] 

In the Daily Planet for 17 February, Elizabeth Will wonders whether pilots and/or air traffic controllers have started to zero in on her house near El Cerrito Plaza, and whether “zoning” allows such. Like her, I know nothing about zoning, but Bay Area aeronautical charts don’t show any no-fly zones. I n any case, anyone who spends an hour or two on the BART platform will wonder what the fuss is about. When Oakland Airport is using runway 11, its arrivals from the south and east pass over the Berkeley-to-El Cerrito area westbound at 3000-4000 ft; some a re audible but none are bothersome. Once in a while an equally unobtrusive SFO arrival will appear at 6000 ft. But most of the year Oakland is using runway 29, which means 80-90% of OAK-SFO traffic is miles away from El Cerrito, and the few airliners that do appear are either level at 5000 ft or climbing above 10000 ft. Neither is loud enough to attract attention. 

Tim Zukas 

455 41st St #2  

Oakland CA 94609-2536  

510-653-4585 

I applaud Matthew Artz for writing the article about how “Bush Law  

Sabotage s School’s Effort to Leave No Child Behind” is wrongly giving  

Washington Elementary School a bad reputation. As a mother of a first  

grader at Washington, I felt really bad when I got the School District’s  

letter stating that Washington is a “needs impr ovement” school and I can  

opt to transfer my child to another Berkeley school. By the way, I heard  

from our Leadership Team meeting that not one Washington family opted to  

transfer. Last year, when I was searching for a school for kindergarten, I  

visited four schools in my zone and one private school. We selected  

Washington. Why? Because for my family, it is the best choice. My son is an  

intelligent and confident child, so I knew that he would be fine in public  

school. He had completed three years of Montessori preschool and was a good  

candidate for private school. But, I felt that a private school would be  

too homogenous. Frankly, how many families can afford $9,000 tuition a  

year? Not only am I interested in good academics, I want him in an  

e nvironment that reflects the Bay Area in race, culture and economics,  

because social development is important too. 

Since being at Washington for two years now, I’m impressed with the school.  

I’m part of the Leadership Team, which comprise of the principal, staff,  

teachers and parents. As a group, we help make spending decisions together.  

I like this inclusion. Honestly, I’m learning more about Washington every  

year and I like what I see. Of course, I’m not happy about everything at  

Washington, but that would be unrealistic. Are there better schools than  

Washington? That is a personal question each family needs to search out for  

themselves. It upsets me when I hear that parents avoid Washington because  

of what they hear rather than what they see and experience for themselves. 

We need good parents and kids at all Berkeley schools so I hope that  

families take the time to research schools by visiting them. 

Washington Elementary School Parent, 

Mimi Chin 

Mimi Chin 

Principal Architectural Associa tes, Design Services 

Residential and Student Service Programs 

2610 Channing Way, 4th Floor 

Berkeley, California 94720-2272 

Telephone: 510-643-4338 

Fax: 510-643-1222  

I have one minor correction to make to Lesley Emmington’s wonderful  

article about t he Blood house and the continuing destruction of  

Berkeley’s historic resources. While the Southside, and indeed much of  

the City, did support and benefit from the Neighborhood Preservation  

Ordinance; it was in fact authored by Martha Nicoloff along wit h the  

Oceanview Committee in response to the wholesale bulldozing of houses in  

the West Berkeley Redevelopment Project Area. Committee members threw  

themselves prostrate in front of bulldozers and then unsuccessfully sued  

to force the Redevelopment Ag ency (which at the time was a separate  

board headed by the City Manager) to comply with the newly adopted NPO  

and to stop the razing of some of the oldest houses in the City. It was  

then that the City Council became one of the first in California to  

d eclare itself to be the Redevelopment Agency and they created a plan to  

restore the Oceanview neighborhood. A fragment of the original  

committee continues to exist as the Oceanview Tenant and Neighborhood  

Associations and we’re still waiting for the Ci ty to fulfill the  

promises that it made so long ago.  

Rhiannon 

731 Virginia St 

Berkeley Ca 94710 

510-524-9586 

?

A proposal has emerged that will certainly engage the attention of thoughtful Berkeley residents. Should Jefferson School be renamed because Thomas Jefferson was a slaveholder? 

The shame that is the heritage of those of us whose ancestors held slaves is painful but certainly nothing beside the pain that the heritage of slavery must represent to black Americans. 

Thomas Jefferson struggled throughout his life in the cause of justice, grappling time and again with what he called the “abominable crime” of slavery. He believed deeply, as he wrote in the Declaration of Independence, that all of us “are created equal” and he agonized to the end of his life over the “condition of moral and political reprobation” of the slaveholding society he lived in. As a young attorney in the courts of pre-revolutionary Virginia he dared repeatedly to raise questions about the “evil” of slavery. The first legislation he proposed as a new 26-year-old member of Virginia’s colonial legislature in 1769 called for the abolition of slavery. The proposal was resoundingly rejected. In his law practice he regularly declined fees in cases of people seeking their freedom from slavery. Defending such a man in 1770, he stunned the jurists of the Virginia General Court, a dozen of coloni al America’s wealthiest slaveholders, by declaring “Under the law of nature, all men are born free. Everyone comes into the world with a right to his own person, which includes the liberty of moving and using it at his own will. This is what is called per sonal liberty.” He lost the case. 

Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in the hot Philadelphia summer of 1776. In that powerful, succinct, and graceful document this 33-year-old radical summarized the case for American independence from Englan d and gathered the principles that have guided our nation in its best moments for over 200 years, principles that resonate with particular force in such dismal days as our own. In Jefferson’s original draft those principles included the abolition of the slave trade, which he called a “cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people” who are captured and carried “into slavery in another hemisphere.” He condemned “this execrable commerce” of “a market where MEN” are “bought and sold.” 

Jefferson was disgusted by the timidity of his fellow delegates to the Second Continental Congress when they insisted on removing his condemnation of slavery from the final document. That rejection of his proposal for a peaceful end to slavery meant, tragically, that the evil institution would persist almost a century more before it was violently abolished in the cataclysm of the Civil War. 

Perhaps Jefferson’s most potent contribution to the cause of emancipation was his authorship of the Northwest Ordinance in 1784, the law that set the terms under which new states were to be admitted to union with the original thirteen. Jefferson’s ordinance abolished slavery in the new territories. Had slavery been extended into the West, our racial history would certainly have been even more brutal than it has been, and the Union would not have possessed the balance of power that finally enabled its victory in the Civil War. 

Today we ask of course how a man s o committed to the eradication of slavery could himself remain a slaveholder. Responding at the age of 71 with his characteristically sturdy optimism to a younger man who had sought his guidance on this subject, Jefferson wrote: “[My views] on . . . slave ry . . . have long since been in possession of the public, and time has only served to give them stronger root. The love of justice and the love of country plead equally the cause of [emancipation], and it is a moral reproach to us that they should have p leaded it so long in vain . . . . From [my own generation] I soon saw that nothing was to be hoped. . . . I had always hoped that the younger generation . . . would have sympathized with oppression wherever found, and proved their love of liberty beyond t heir own share of it. But [they have not] made . . . the progress I had hoped. . . . Yet the hour of emancipation is advancing . . . . It will come . . . This enterprise is for the young; for those who can follow it up, and bear it through to its consumma tion. It shall have all my prayers . . . . My opinion has ever been that, until more can be done for them, we should endeavor, with those whom fortune has thrown on our hands, to feed and clothe them well, protect them from all ill usage, [and] require su ch reasonable labor only as is performed voluntarily by freemen.” 

Like each of us, Thomas Jefferson was inescapably a man of his time and place. Like each of us, he was handed the conditions of his life. If he had done nothing toward improving those cond itions for his contemporaries and successors, for you and me, few would remember him, let alone honor him with a school bearing his name. 

By today’s standards, he clearly failed to do the obviously right thing: free his slaves. By the standards of his own day, he did his best: he protected within an evil system those for whom he was responsible and fought valiantly to change that system. 

Consider a comparison: We all know that the automobile and the vast infrastructure that supports it have for decades wrought untold damage on our natural environment, the environment that sustains life on earth. It poisons the air we breathe. It destroys the protective ozone layer of our atmosphere. Agricultural lands that we depend on for our food and wild lands that n urture us otherwise are paved and encroached upon by the urban sprawl encouraged by the automobile. Land and sea are scarred and polluted in our frenzy to fuel it. Some thoughtful, visionary, and—like Jefferson—optimistic people work to reverse this behav ior. It is a slow process. In the meantime, most of us go on driving, effectively at a loss to alter behavior we know is destructive. 

Perhaps our teachers—at Jefferson School and elsewhere—can draw some lessons from the example of Jefferson: 

• Doing th e right thing is not always easy. 

• Judging others, especially people in distant times and places, as though they were our contemporaries and neighbors, will probably distort our understanding of them. 

• Doing your best, even against great odds and in the face of repeated failure, is perhaps the truest sign of greatness. 

In a city that many regard as a beacon of civil liberties, perhaps we can still find reason to honor the author of the Declaration of Independence. 

Rob Browning is a longtime Berkeley activist and formerly an editor of UC Berkeley’s Mark Twain Papers. µ

The pages of the Daily Planet have been full of controversies about what constitutes appropriate speech in the past month or so. To partisans in the various discussions, their own case probably seems unique, but there are common threads which unite them.  

We’ve printed some, though not all, of the letters about who shouted what at the Daniel Pipes lecture on the UC campus. We’ve acknowledged that we made a mistake printing a letter reporting that an attendee said something specific which he denies. But the value of the brouhaha, as far as I’m concerned, is that I didn’t know much about Pipes before this happened, and now I do. I looked at his website, and can now report that I find his views reprehensible. Do I condemn the organization that sponsored his visit? No, because the more the public knows about people like this, the better. Do I condemn the people who created a scene during the talk? I wasn’t there, so I don’t know if they prevented the audience from hearing or not. Pipes has the right to speak, and the audience has the right to listen. But I commend the protesters, photographed for the Planet, who stood outside with signs indicating their disapproval. 

A journalism student in this issue criticizes the Planet’s use of a graphic black and white photo of an accident scene on an inside page. I approved the use of the photo myself, and the reason I did so is because it so clearly shows the disparity in size between the go-cart and the truck which literally ran over it. The editor for that issue and I, both parents and grandparents, hoped it might serve as a warning that it is never safe to operate these little motorized vehicles in the street. Showing the victim’s blood spilling out beneath the truck was unavoidable, but not the central focus of the picture. 

The death of one person, old or young, is “an inconceivable horror.” Many 15-year-olds cannot “imagine or believe” in their own mortality. It does no one, including family, friends and especially other kids who are tempted to live dangerously, any service to cover up the reality and finality of death in order to save their sensibilities.  

Bowdlerizing will never be Daily Planet policy. When a speaker uses “dirty” language in everyday speech, that tells the reader something about who the speaker is and what his values are. When a young man who has spent time in juvenile hall says “the police always fucked with him” he's using strong language to express strong anger, and his choice of language tells the reader something about who he hangs out with.  

If the letter writer is a journalism student, chances are she’s somewhat younger than my 64 years. I was educated in a convent school, but it doesn't shock me to see the word “fuck” in print. Journalists have been accurately quoting strong language for at least 40 years in my experience, and civilization still survives.  

Then there’s the request of a school board member that the Planet print more good news about the schools. I’ve already written one editorial about that topic, reprising the bad witch Evilene from “The Wiz” saying “don’t nobody never bring me no bad news!” but perhaps Mr. Doran didn’t read it. (I know he saw the show when they did it at Berkeley High). I’ve supported the Berkeley public schools for 30 years, but there’s just no point in pretending that things are better than they really are. Doran’s suggestion that our reporter should have focused on a future program involving a celebrity chef instead of current problems with food service reminded me of the old song Woody Guthrie used sing: “There’ll be pie in the sky by and by.” Even if, by and by, there will be quiche in the schools, children are already eating school lunches every day, and they need good food now. 

Next, we’ve seen recent attempts to make sure that major projects downtown will be done deals before the public knows what’s happening. The Seagate behemoth and the UC hotel megaplex might or might not be good ideas, but the powers that be, whoever they are, seem determined to turn one or the other into a new Gaia-type scandal by doing everything behind closed doors. That’s how mistakes happen. 

And finally, we have the continuing effort of whoever is running the show in the city administration to shut off the flow of information from the citizenry to the electeds. The erstwhile “rules” committee, now re-baptized the “agenda” committee, was set up by the new mayor to limit what the City Council gets to consider. True, the original version was loosened up after many complaints, but new proposals pop up regularly to further encroach on public access to elected officials. Two of the latest bad ideas: truncating the commission system, which provides many person-years of unpaid citizen labor to solve all sorts of problems at no cost to the city, and moving public comments at council meetings even more in the direction of soundbytes by cutting them to two minutes per person.  

(Well, at least the current system draws speakers’ cards at random from a basket. When I first moved to Berkeley, the mayor held the cards, and shuffled them at will to select favored speakers.) 

One more chorus from the choir: Free public speech, and lots of it, is the best way in a democracy to be sure that the right things happen. Berkeley owes a lot to the civic watchdogs whose howls of outrage regularly appear in these pages.  

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

Alice Strang spoke last Sunday at the Berkeley community memorial for her late brother, Fred Lupke. It was held at the Berkeley Public Library, one of the many good causes he supported. Lupke, also a dedicated volunteer for the Berkeley Daily Planet, was killed last September when a car struck his wheelchair as he traveled in the street on Ashby between Harper and Ellis. Disabled activists charged at the time that he had been forced into the street because the sidewalk on that block was sloping and badly cracked. The city of Berkeley has recently completed repairs to the sidewalk.