On a night when Berkeley City Councilmembers deliberated a host of potential November ballot measures to shore up a $10 million budget deficit, council action made it likely that two other electoral choices will come before city voters this November.  

Despite some opposition voiced during debate, the council voted unanimously to have staff prepare language and a legal analysis of a proposed ballot measure to publicly finance elections in Berkeley. 

And to the tune of repeated hoots and hollers from medical cannabis demonstrators stationed outside the doors of Old City Hall, the council rejected a proposal to increase the number of marijuana plants licensed patients can grow. Medical cannabis advocates had threatened to take their cause to the voters if council did not pass the measure. 

The council also debated, but took no action, on four proposed property tax hikes that would raise a combined $4.2 million to preserve and improve services slated for cuts in the upcoming budget.  

At the request of City Manager Phil Kamlarz, the council held over—until next week—debate on a Transportation Commission recommendation on how to allocate $3.6 million in transit mitigations from the construction of a new downtown campus for Vista College. 

The council also announced at Tuesday’s meeting that at a special session the day before, Kamlarz was assigned the job of city manager. Kamlarz had been named acting city manager for a six-month mutual trial period in November when former City Manager Weldon Rucker retired. 

Campaign Finance Reform 

Despite some skeptics in its ranks, the council voted unanimously to have staff present them with a proposed ballot measure that would make Berkeley the first city in the country to fully finance its elections with public money. 

The current proposal, amended by the council Tuesday night, is nearly identical to a plan jointly devised for Berkeley by the Center for Government Studies at UCLA and Common Cause. Campaign finance reform advocates are planning to put that proposal on the November ballot if the City Council doesn’t act first.  

The council is planning a final vote on the measure for June 8, one week before the campaign reform advocates are required to submit the requisite number of signatures for their ballot initiative. 

Both plans would require candidates to prove their viability by submitting a required number of $5 donations—500 to qualify for mayor, for example. Under the plans, qualifying candidates would then be eligible for city campaign funds on the condition they adhere to spending limits. Candidates could opt out of the system, but if they exceed the city spending limits, their publicly-funded opponents would be eligible for more funding to make up the difference.  

Candidates for mayor would receive $150,000 in public campaign monies and council candidates $20,000, with more available in the case of a run-off. 

The Center for Government Studies estimated the cost of implementing the campaign finance proposal between $1.4 and $4 million. Expenses would be capped so that they would not rise above two-tenths of the city’s budget, said Sam Ferguson of the Berkeley Fair Election Coalition, the chief local proponents of campaign finance reform. Money would come from the general fund. Neither proposal included a tax hike to pay for it. 

The council proposal would give councilmembers additional power to suspend the campaign finance program by a two-thirds vote in the event of a budget shortfall. Also the council proposal would exclude rent board commissioners from public financing, but still include the mayor, City Council, city auditor and school board. 

Though the differences between the proposals are few, Mayor Bates argued the alternative to a council designed ballot measure was “much worse.” 

Still some councilmembers questioned the wisdom going forward with any initiative at all. 

Miriam Hawley doubted that voters would approve anything that would increase costs and added that public money didn’t necessarily translate into an even playing field. “The influence of money is overrated,” she said. Hawley added that endorsements from key interest groups and public officials were often more valuable than campaign funds.  

Wozniak, who spent $73,000 in 2002 on his runoff election, said he could support public financing but thought the spending limits laid out in the plan were too low. “You’re putting on an artificial cap that has nothing to do with reality,” he said. Wozniak fears that if caps are set too low, incumbents with higher name recognition would be the beneficiaries. 

Mayor Bates, who spent over $200,000 on his 2002 campaign, argued that once costs were fixed, candidates could keep expenses down since they wouldn’t have to worry that their opponents would outspend them. 

Budget Measures 

The council kept all of its options open, and even considered a couple of new ones, on proposed measures that would raise taxes to preserve city services in the face of a $10 million budget gap. The four proposals presented to them at a Tuesday work session—all of which included property tax increases—included $1 million to fund paramedics and emergency services, $1.2 million for the public library, $1 million for a clean water program, and $1 million to restore youth services threatened by budget cuts. The council has until July 13 to vote on which measures to take to the voters. 

The $1 million tax to fund emergency services appeared to have the widest support among councilmembers. Mayor Bates asked city staff to consider increasing the tax by $200,000 to guarantee that the first responding fire company to an emergency would be equipped to provide paramedic service. 

Jackie Griffin, Berkeley’s Director of Library Services, warned council that $1.2 million would be enough to preserve service on evenings and Sundays this year, but the library would likely have to ask for more to safeguard services in the future. Griffin said a new tax would also be likely to pay to get city librarians into elementary school libraries during after-school programs. Councilmember Wozniak questioned why a tax increase was needed one year after the city bumped up library revenue and asked for an analysis by the library board why a tax hike was necessary. 

On youth services, Mayor Bates called for the measure to be financed by a half-cent increase in the property transfer tax to pay for city-run after school programs, crossing guards and school-based police. Such a funding scheme would distinguish the measure from the school district’s planned November measure to increase property taxes. 

Councilmember Betty Olds urged that the measure only include vital programs so as not to be too expensive and turn off voters. Olds also called for splitting the proposed clean storm water measure into one measure that would fund storm drain repair and maintenance and a second measure that would clean up creek water and possibly provide money for daylighting Berkeley creeks. 

Wozniak urged the city staff to study possible taxes that wouldn’t fall solely on homeowners. He expressed interest in raising the Utility Users Tax and possibly reconsidering a tax on residents with multiple automobiles. 

In addition, City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque told the council that a proposed $2 million to $3 million surcharge for 911 service for telephone landlines and cellular phones might require voter approval. Originally the council considered the surcharge as a fee, which would only require a council majority for passage, but the passage of Proposition 218 raises legal concerns, according to Assistant City Manager Arrietta Chakos in an interview after the council meeting. Chakos said Albuquerque is scheduled to report back to the council on May 18 on the matter. 

Medical Marijuana 

By a vote of 5-1-3 (Wozniak, Olds, Hawley, Shirek, Breland, yes, Bates, Spring, no, Maio, Worthington, abstain), the council voted to table a bill that would have upped Berkeley’s limit from 10 marijuana plants to 72—the number of plants permitted in Oakland.  

Medical cannabis advocates said they planned to push forward with a November ballot initiative that would erase any limit on plant cultivation and place the city in charge of marijuana distribution in the event of a federal crackdown.  

“We’ll be happy to have voters educate the City Council on this,” said James Blair of the Cannabis Buyer’s Network (CBCB) after the council vote. If passed by a majority of voters, the proposed initiative would give Berkeley the most lenient medical cannabis law in the state.  

Blair and other supporters of less restrictive cultivation rules said the 10-plant limit Berkeley codified in 2001 was too low for patients to grow an adequate supply for their medicinal needs and forced many to break the rule. Since Berkeley is densely populated and outdoor plants are only permissible in secluded areas, they argued most cultivation is done indoors, where plants grow smaller and the yield is less.  

In addition to supplying their own needs, patients also stock Berkeley’s three retail cannabis clubs, which sell the marijuana at a 40-45 percent markup, Don Duncan, director of the Berkeley Patients Group told the council. He said patients were able to supply the club because many broke the 10-plant rule and others lived in cities that allowed more plants. Duncan added that the price markup paid for the expenses of running the cannabis clubs and was not taken as profit. 

Police Chief Roy Meisner warned the council that raising the limit to 72 plants would increase both the opportunity for patients to profit from their harvest and the likelihood of violent crime. He said 72 plants could produce 18 pounds of marijuana, which would have a street value of $90,000.  

“That’s a lot of money and a lot of temptation,” Meisner said. He added that Berkeley police detectives linked two murders last year to marijuana, and recently police broke up an armed robbery, finding the resident beaten and bound and three armed assailants carrying duffle bags packed with marijuana and $69,200 in cash. 

The fear of increased crime weighed heavily for the five councilmembers who opposed an increase in plant cultivation, but what apparently sunk the proposal was a separate dispute over Blair’s Cannabis Buyers Network plan to move to a building in a crime-ridden section of Sacramento Street in Council District Two, represented by Councilmember Margaret Breland. 

In 2001 Breland was one of four councilmembers to support a proposal allowing patients to grow 144 plants, but Tuesday she changed her tune. 

“Why do we have to keep sticking [cannabis clubs] down in District Two?” she asked. “I wish people who really want it would take it up to their district.” 

Amid staunch neighborhood opposition, Blair’s group will soon go before the Zoning Adjustment Board for a use permit to move its operations to Sacramento Street from its current home at Longhaul, an anarchist resources center and bookshop, at Shattuck Avenue and Woolsey Street. The owner of that building is displacing tenants for a planned construction project to build top floor apartment units.  

Breland also echoed the concerns of Councilmember Maudelle Shirek that more marijuana in Berkeley would result in more young African Americans getting arrested on drug charges. “We’re the ones always getting in trouble because we’re used to being out on the street,” she said. “This is one of the reasons I’m against drugs because all they have to do is find a little bit, no matter how much it is, and we are going to jail.” 

Councilmember Worthington argued that by raising cultivation limits fewer poor people of any race would be at risk of prosecution, and Councilmember Spring said the council’s focus should be on helping people to “ease their pain.” But Breland—considered by medical cannabis advocates as the swing vote on the issue—remained steadfast. 

“You can survive without marijuana,” said Breland who has battled breast cancer recently. “I have pain medication, I have prayer, I have faith, and I am strong. So don’t give me that about you need the marijuana to survive.” 

Community Development Block Grants 

As directed by the council last week, city staff found an extra $15,000 in funding for the Center for the Education of Infant Deaf. The extra money increases the nonprofit’s funding to $25,000, with a promise that it will be the first to receive additional funding if another recipient is disqualified. The organization had request $50,000 to enable it to utilize a separate federal grant to open an audiology suite that would guarantee timely diagnostic screenings to its infant patients. 

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The loss of 11 students is just a drop in the bucket to most college student organizations. But for the Native American Recruitment and Retention Center (NARC) at the University of California, it is enormous. 

Last week when UC Berkeley released statistics about new student admissions for the upcoming year, members of NARC stood in shock when they learned that 11 fewer American Indian students had been accepted to Cal. With Native Americans making up one of the smallest ethnic groups on the UC campus, that represented a 21.6 percent drop from last year, the second worst percentage decline for underrepresented students at the university. Only the 29.2 percent loss of African American UC students (87 less than last year) was greater. 

“Since the numbers have come out, just seeing how the majority [Asian and white populations] increased, it’s really like a stab in the heart for us,” said Lori Garrett, a student and chair of NARC. “It makes us feel like we are invisible.” 

For students like Garrett, the numbers are representative of a larger university and statewide trend that has continually made it harder for underrepresented students to attend college in California.  

Starting with the voter-passed Proposition 209 in 1997, which banned affirmative action in California’s government agencies (including colleges and universities), the state’s public higher education institutions have faced a series of laws, voter initiatives, Board of Regents edicts, escalating budget cuts, and other setbacks in recent years that have devastated minority outreach and retention programs. This year, all monies currently earmarked for state university-sponsored outreach programs are slated to be cut once the governor’s budget passes.  

Budget cuts, besides hurting outreach programs, also raise fees for students and reduce the amount of financial aid the university can offer. 

Like other underrepresented groups that have been affected by these set backs, American Indian students have done their best to come up with creative solutions. The creation and operation of NARC was one of them.  

Established in the mid-1990s, NARC runs a series of student-led recruitment and retention projects. Every year NARC sponsors programs in high school around the state, and sometimes out of state, to encourage Native American students to come to Cal. The group also provides on-campus retention services that help enrolled students stay at Cal. But like other recruitment and retention groups, NARC faces its own set of problems in the process. 

In particular, NARC representatives say they run into a series of unique cultural and historical barriers that make it very hard for American Indian students to attend college. 

“In the past [American Indian communities] really haven’t emphasized education,” said Dallas Goldtooth, a student and member of NARC. “There isn’t a push for the youth to go into education. It’s [because of] multiple reasons. Historically people have been beaten down and they have internalized this. Negativity has been projected upon us until we start believing it. We believe we are incapable of succeeding. It really makes it frustrating to try and go to school and there isn’t support from our community.” 

Goldtooth, who attended a boarding school in New Mexico for the last two years of high school, said he was on his own when it came to college. His parents were as supportive as they could be, but he said they didn’t really understand.  

“People don’t know that you can be Indian and go to college at the same time,” said Garrett. “There is a myth among people that all college is, is a bunch of white rich people. They don’t know that you can be poor and go to college.” 

There is a litany of other problems that also face American Indian students. Many come from rural areas and are frightened about transitioning into a more urban setting. Many have strong family and cultural ties that are hard to leave behind in order to attend school.  

With drop-out rates high in Native American communities, even making it through high school is often a challenge. Goldtooth said the communities he originally came from in Minnesota and South Dakota have a 30 percent graduation rate, and of that 30 percent, only one out of 10 end up going to college. Only one percent actually graduate from college, a number which usually translates into one or two students. 

Cal’s Native American students are not completely alone in their recruitment and retention efforts, however. The university does provide a staff person who recruits American Indian students. Bridgette Wilson is an admission officer for UC Berkeley, but is allowed to spend 50 percent of her time doing recruitment for American Indian students. 

Wilson, like the students, travels around the state encouraging students to come to UC Berkeley. She also does whatever she can to facilitate the process, such as helping them file for financial aid. 

“The campus at Berkeley has displayed their interest and desire to have [American Indian] students on the campus,” said Wilson, citing her hiring as an example of that interest. 

Wilson said she appreciates the campus allowing her to spend at least 50 percent of her time recruiting American Indian students, but still thinks they could do more. In particular, she said the university needs to be more supportive of retention services for the students once they are on campus. 

Alex Alday is an advisor in the student life advising services program. His primary job is a student counselor, but like Wilson, he is allowed to spend a certain amount of time focusing on American Indian students. Alday used to be a full-time student life advisor in the Native American studies department, but was moved to a general counseling position because of budget cuts. With the severity of the budget cuts the university is facing, he said he feels lucky that his office received any resources at all. 

Alday spends time helping American Indian students navigate their schedule, advising them on what classes to take to ensure they graduate on time. He said he also spends much of his time helping students figure out how they will pay for their books, tuition, and other school-related costs. And when they need it, he said he is there for emotional support. Academically, he said all the Native American students he sees are well prepared and motivated, but sometimes fall behind because of added burdens.  

Alday, Wilson and Ruth Hopper, the academic advisor in the Native American studies department, have also set up the Native American Advisory Council to combine their efforts as staff members.  

Students in NARC say their organization does a lot of retention work by providing the support students need to be successful once they are at Cal.  

Goldtooth said he and other students are constantly under strain to go back and support their communities. They also have cultural ties and obligations that draw them away from school. Without support from other students, he said, juggling all these responsibilities would have been much more difficult. 

“I told myself that in order to survive [I had] to find a community. This is a big school and [I] am going to get lost easily,” Goldtooth said. 

One of the larger retention programs NARC holds is their annual campus pow-wow, which attracts people from across the country. The gathering is a time to celebrate and relax. It also serves as a recruitment opportunity for the high school students who attend. 

All the work students put into these programs add up to a what they call a third job. They feel responsible for their community and are willing to put in the time but can also suffer the consequences if they don’t spend enough time on their academics.  

“Recruiting native students is a worry,” said Goldtooth. “As a native person I see it as my responsibility. What doesn’t help is worrying about what’s here, classes, or the Indian community here at Cal.” 

That’s why Goldtooth and other students say even in the face of budget cuts, the university needs to do whatever it can to ensure that American Indian students and other underrepresented groups continue to have the chance to attend and succeed.  

Now, said Garrett, is the time for “the university to invest.” 

In a 7-0 vote, a state voting panel decided Wednesday to allow 10 counties, including Alameda, to continue using their touchscreen voting machines provided those counties also supply all their polling places with paper ballots for any voters who choose to use them. 

  The Voting Systems and Procedures Panel, which could have voted to ban the machines altogether, produced the compromise with a string of other security regulations. These included bans on wireless or Internet connections, last-minute software changes and uncertified software or hardware. The panel’s decision also prohibited counties from purchasing new touchscreen machines that don’t produce a paper trail. The voting panel’s recommendations now go before Secretary of State Kevin Shelly who has the final say. 

  According to Elaine Ginnold, the assistant Registrar of Voters in Alameda county, the panel’s decision was viewed as a reasonable compromise. She said the county is glad it can still use its touchscreen machines and is in the process of figuring out how to meet the added requirements. 

  Ginnold said the county already provides paper ballots at polling places but not in the quantity the panel wants. It will not be a problem to have paper ballots printed, she explained but it will cost the county 40 cents apiece. While Ginnold said the county will not print ballots for each of the 700,000 voters in Alameda County, the registrar’s office must now figure out how many paper ballots will actually be needed to have on hand in November. 

  Alameda County already complies with several of the other requests including the ban on wireless and Internet connections. Vote tallies are submitted from accumulation centers, but over secure modem lines that are not connected to the Internet. The county’s machines are not set up for wireless transmission.  

  One of the few election operations in Alameda County the panel’s decision will actually affect is the time it will take to get the vote totals, Ginnold said. Counting paper ballots is much slower and takes place only after the tallies are in from the touchscreen machines. 

  For Judy Bertelsen, a Berkeley resident who has been monitoring the touchscreen debate closely, the state voting panel’s decision is a move in the right direction, but still not enough. Bertelsen said even if the touchscreen problem is alleviated by voting on paper, the current voting system still has several vulnerabilities.  

  “I would feel uncomfortable even if they had gotten rid of all the paperless machines,” she said. 

  In particular, she said, the server used by the country to tally and store the votes sent in from the accumulation sites has been highlighted for security flaws. Bertelsen is also worried about the way the county performs its mandated re-count of a small percentage of the vote to insure accuracy. She said the re-count does not catch several of the ways the votes could be tampered with when using the touchscreen system. 

  Overall, however, Bertelsen said, she thinks Alameda county does a good job and is more worried about the other parts of the country that use touchscreen systems. 

  “There are just so many vulnerabilities,” she said. 

The Berkeley Planning Commission’s UC Hotel Task Force wrapped up their last official business Tuesday, adopting the last of their recommendations on the biggest project to ever hit downtown Berkeley. 

Their report now heads to the full Planning Commission, for consideration at the commission’s May 12 meeting. 

The task force was charged with evaluating the proposal by UC Berkeley to build a massive hotel, conference center and complex of museums in the heart of downtown Berkeley in a two-block area bounded by Shattuck Avenue, Oxford Street, Center Street, and University Avenue. 

The task force meeting ended with applause for panel chair and Planning Commissioner Rob Wrenn, who had resisted efforts by Mayor Tom Bates to have the panel hold off on its actions. Bates had originally sponsored the City Council measure creating the task force, but later complained that its activities might interfere with negotiations between his office and the university. 

“The Planning Commission established a subcommittee to get this rolling, and we certainly could include a recommendation that this task force be included in any city design studies on the development of the site,” Wrenn said, in pushing for a continuing role for the group. 

Wrenn and fellow Planning Commission subcommittee members Zelda Bronstein and Gene Poschman also voted unanimously to ask the city to allow the task force to be the forum in which developers unveil their completed plans for the project. 

The proposal to “daylight” Strawberry Creek was one of the last items left on the panel’s plate when they gathered Tuesday. 

While the task force had given two thumbs up to turning a block of Center Street into a pedestrian plaza, they extended only qualified support Tuesday for unearthing Strawberry Creek along the length of the plaza. 

While creek daylighting advocates Richard Register, Kirsten Miller and Juliet Lamont pushed for a strong endorsement of the plan, 15 task force members voted only a qualified approval and four members abstained. The recommendation adopted endorses daylighting only should it prove financially, technically, esthetically and environmentally feasible—and if a plan is in place to assure cleanliness and avoid social problems such as an increased homeless population. 

The panel gave quick approval to a call for the developer to build ground- and second-floor cafes, preferably with outdoor seating, on the Center Street side of the project, and to request that all parts of the complex be wheelchair accessible. 

The panel was more divided by a recommendation by Berkeley Convention and Visitors Bureau President Barbara Hillman and Chamber of Commerce CEO Rachel Rupert that would urge the developers to incorporate the largest possible number of rooms in their hotel. 

“There are hotel and motel rooms in the city, but the owners are not renovating them,” Hillman said. 

“The people who presently own hotels aren’t reinvesting in their property in terms of cleanliness and amenities,” said Rupert, who cited reports of cockroach-infested rooms in some of the city’s larger facilities. 

“We need a clean hotel downtown that’s close to public transit and capable of handling larger events,” she said. 

When Planning Commissioner Bronstein said she was “nervous about calling for the largest number of rooms,” Wrenn said he was inclined to go along with the request because it came from the business community. 

“I’m concerned about saying we should build the hotel as big as possible because we’ve got cockroaches at these other hotels,” said fellow Planning Commissioner Poschman. 

An angry Hillman shot back, “You’re going to do whatever you want.” After grabbing a breath, she explained that given the UC feasibility study’s recommendation of 200 to 250 rooms, the task force should endorse the higher number. 

Wrenn then offered a recommendation that “consistent with design principles” endorsed at the task force’s previous session, “we recommend the developer pursue the maximum number of rooms.” 

The proposal carried on an 11 to 6 vote. 

Next up was a vote on the 12-story hotel height suggested in the university’s initial proposal. Following a brief discussion, the task force voted 12-4 to recommend that it is “not necessarily appropriate to have a 12-story building.” 

With the last proposal adopted, the panel then voted unanimously to approve their report, and members of the task force’s drafting committee started crafting the final versions of the just-adopted proposals into their largely completed 13-page report. 

Bronstein urged all panel members to turn out for the May 12 Planning Commission meeting where the report will be presented, and Wrenn said he would select a group from the panel to summarize sections for his fellow commissioners.  

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One of Berkeley’s largest and most fiscally troubled nonprofits is back in hot water with its labor union.  

The California Professional Employees Union, Local 2345, filed a grievance with the National Labor Relations Board Thursday charging that Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency (BOSS) illegally laid off an employee with just three days notice. The union’s contract requires a 30-day warning, but that can be suspended in the case of a fiscal emergency. 

“How in good conscience could BOSS take this insensitive position, while attempting to be an agency that provides services to homeless clients?” said Union Representative Christopher Graeber in a prepared statement. 

Last year the union, which represents roughly 90 workers at BOSS, filed complaints against the cash-strapped nonprofit for failing to meet its scheduled payday and implementing a higher health care co-payment. 

The two sides eventually reached a one-year contract on health and salary issues last fall. 

BOSS is currently running a $100,000 budget deficit, which is just the start of its financial woes. Last year a U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) audit found that BOSS owed the agency approximately $600,000 in invalid reimbursements it had claimed over several years. County and city agencies are working with BOSS on a plan to reimburse HUD without bankrupting the organization. 

BOSS Executive Director Boona Cheema said the organization’s fiscal crisis gave her no choice but to proceed with the layoff on short notice. 

“I had to make a cut and the union knows it,” she said. Cheema added that she had already reached an agreement with the employee to give her an extra week’s pay, a good recommendation, and assistance finding a new job.  

“This isn’t a story,” she said. “The story will be when we shut down and 90 people are unemployed. That’s where we’re heading.” 

—Matthew Artz

Cartoon: 

DeFreitas

University Avenue neighbors, who for years, to no avail, have been pushing for a change in zoning rules to limit the size of new buildings on the avenue, now have two new proposals drafted to address their concerns. 

At Wednesday’s meeting of the Planning Commission, planning staff presented a revised zoning overlay for the avenue that would restrict the size of new buildings to what many vocal neighbors have said was called for in the 1996 University Avenue Strategic Plan.  

“Tonight for the first time I have hope,” said Kristin Leimkuhler, of Plan Berkeley, a neighborhood group advocating stricter development standards.  

The newly proposed zoning overlay, requested by the commission at its previous meeting, goes much further to satisfy the demands of residents than the original proposal staff offered in March. Though the March plan also shrinks the building envelope, opponents argued that developers could still use the state density bonus law—that allows them to build 25 percent more space for developments that include affordable housing—to construct oversized buildings that block the sun and push up against neighboring properties behind the avenue.  

The new plan reduces the size of buildings further so that if a developer requests a density bonus, the total size of the building will grow no larger that what was called for in the planning staff’s March proposal: three story buildings along the avenue, four stories in selected intersections with strong retail potential and extensive building setbacks from private homes behind the avenue. 

Zoning on University emerged as a hot button issue last February when the Mayor’s Task Force on Permitting and Development made new zoning rules for University one of its top recommendations. The City Council has asked for a new zoning overlay to be returned for its consideration by July 13. 

A second new plan emerged, not yet analyzed by staff, at Wednesday’s meeting. Stephen Wollmer, an electronic map expert and Berkeley resident, submitted a proposal that would graft different zoning rules together for new buildings on University. Ground floor commercial space would be zoned with the standard currently used on the avenue, which requires minimal building setbacks and assumes ground floor retail with apartment units above. The second and third floors, however, would be zoned with guidelines used for residential neighborhoods, in this case meaning they would have stricter front and side setbacks. 

Wollmer argued that when developers employed the density bonus, they could build out from the stricter setbacks so the building wouldn’t get too tall or bulky.  

Smaller buildings, though, have consequences.  

A staff analysis presented Wednesday showed that both the staff proposal presented in March and the latest one would released Wednesday would decrease housing capacity on University Avenue. Under the existing zoning rules, the city had calculated in its general plan that it could build 618 units (773 units with the state density bonus) on 17 identified opportunity sites. The March proposal drops that number to 558 (698 with the state density bonus) and the latest proposal lowers it further to 519 units (649 with the state density bonus)—a 16 percent reduction.  

State law prohibits the city from decreasing its housing capacity without compensating for it. To keep capacity relatively stable, city planners identified two new opportunity sites on University Avenue, one at 1375-9 University and the other at 1627 University. 

After the staff presentation members of the public and planning commissioners spoke less about the zoning proposals and more about various facets of the plan, especially how to create viable retail opportunities on university.  

The 1996 strategic plan specifically called for mixed-use buildings with housing above ground floor retail along the avenue, but residents and planning commissioners asked the staff to study allowing residential only buildings in areas not identified as strong retail opportunities. 

Several storefronts at newly developed university avenue sites have remained vacant, said Principal Planner Alan Gatzke . Residents, who believe many of the storefronts were built as a token gesture to win city concessions, questioned if the retail spaces called for in the plan could be viable.  

“University Avenue doesn’t have the foot traffic to support pedestrian oriented business,” said Tom Hunt during the public hearing.  

To make retail space more attractive, several planning commissioners requested that the ceiling height for storefronts be increased to 15 feet and asked staff to consider requiring more commercial related parking at the intersections targeted as retail opportunities. 

Planning commissioners agreed that projects that consisted of only entirely affordable housing or senior housing should qualify for bonuses to build beyond the zoning requirements. They debated, but failed to reach a consensus on, which type of landscape improvements could qualify a developer for a similar break.  

Gatzke said he would incorporate the input in a new draft when the planning commission returns to the subject on May 12. 

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Berkeley’s John Muir Elementary School was one of just three schools in Alameda County and 214 statewide to receive the prestigious Title I Academic Achievement Award, the State Department of Education announced Tuesday. 

The school will receive a cash award for its achievement, the amount of which remains undetermined. 

The award goes to schools with high levels of poverty that display strong standardized test scores for students from different racial and socio-economic backgrounds. To be eligible for the award, a school must have a poverty index equal to at least 40 percent of all students enrolled. 

In the latest state Academic Performance Index report, which ranks schools on a basis from one to 1000, John Muir had an overall score of 815. African Americans at the school scored a 734, while socioeconomically disadvantaged students scored a 752. For the district as a whole, the average score was 731 overall, 642 for African Americans and 665 for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. 

“We’re feeling proud and happy that the hard work everyone is doing is being recognized,” said John Muir Principal Nancy Waters. 

She said the school, which at 242 students is Berkeley’s smallest, is able to give students a lot of positive, individual support.  

Six times a year teachers send out postcards to students with praise about a specific area of progress, Waters said. 

“It’s part of our culture,” she added. “We’re constantly trying to find the good.” 

—Matthew Artz

Knowing your way around a particular town is like knowing your way around the English language: Just because you’re fluent doesn’t mean you can name all the working parts of a toilet or trade bons mots with an Oxford don. And just because you’ve lived in a town on and off for over 10 years, as I have in Berkeley, doesn’t mean you really know it as well as you might think, if at all—a fact I found out upon returning this year to Berkeley as the father of a newborn little girl.  

Being a new parent is largely a matter of running a major supply operation for a very demanding boss who refuses to say what she wants but requires instant gratification. Or else. Which means that mastering the logistics of where to find the really important things that keep the boss happy is a matter of life and death, sleep and sanity, and absolutely no diaper rash, usually all in the same 24-hour period.  

So it was with a certain level of panic that I discovered the complexity of setting up a proper baby supply-line when we moved back to Berkeley, just as my little dictator was hitting the one-month mark. I had assumed, based on something I now recognize to be profound ignorance, that the abundance in Berkeley of such diverse items as too-rich gourmet foods, endless kitchen supplies, over-priced real estate, and ridiculous amounts of camping equipment would extend to essential baby-related products. It turns out that I had a lot to learn.  

The first thing I learned is that geography is destiny when it comes to a baby’s needs. A large chain like Safeway or Walgreen’s can have a massive baby section in one store, replete with the kind of option overload that is our God-given birthright as yuppie Americans, and then present an out-of-stock baby shelf in another store that would make a Soviet-era retailer blush with pride. This is particularly true the closer a baby supply chain chief ventures towards the UC Berkeley campus, where the space that would otherwise have gone towards supplying babies is taken up by the ways and means of preventing them in the first place. (With an appropriate level of option overload, begging the question of why Cal students need 15 different kinds of condoms...) 

The second thing I learned is that, while Berkeley professes to being on the cutting edge of social change, many Berkeley retailers still assume that baby’s only procurer is mommy or some such other woman, preferably with a feminine hygiene problem in need of a little retail therapy. Hence the frequent placement of baby products next to the women’s products section. As an honorary member of the sisterhood, I honestly have no problem with the proximity of Monistat to Gerbers, and I am certainly grateful that the baby section isn’t next to a wall full of Maxim magazines or more striped condoms. But wouldn’t it make more sense to at least acknowledge the buying power of fathers in the baby business with an adjacent shelf dedicated to, say, romantic gifts for the tired partner staying at home with Junior while daddy escapes on a shopping trip? 

The final thing I learned is that the shop that doesn’t stick the diapers next to the tampons usually sticks them next to the cold remedies. Now that’s a successful retail strategy: Imagine the joy of turning the aisle, with newborn baby in a carriage about three feet off the ground, and finding the kid’s vital supplies blocked by a mass of sneezing, coughing germ factories looking for a new host for their miserable microbes. This is a particularly welcome sight in flu season, but it’s good for a quick exit any time of year.  

A few weeks passed and I eventually got the hang of this latest twist in getting to know quirky Berkeley. And at this point I’d say that I’ve pretty much mastered the current needs of my new master, who shows her benevolence by generally cooperating in my peregrinations to please her so-far wordless whims. Which brings us to the essential truth about fatherhood: You don’t need to be able to trade witticisms with a British bigwig or discuss part numbers with a plumber, as long as you’ve got your baby’s lingo down pat.

Laser Tagging Leads to Arrest 

A 13-year-old King Middle School student got more than he bargained for Monday afternoon when he started “dotting” passing drivers with a laser point. 

Berkeley Police arriving at the school nabbed the teenager and busted him on a misdemeanor charge under section 417.27 of the California Penal Code, which bans flashing the pesky devices into the eyes of anyone, particularly at motorists. 

Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Kevin Schofield added that California law also forbids sales of laser pointers to minors. 

Pistol-Packer Robs Motorist 

A Berkeley woman who was getting out of her car near the intersection of Josephine and Cedar streets at seven minutes before midnight Monday found herself confronting a gunman who demanded her cash. 

Wisely, she complied, and the bandit fled on foot. No suspects have been apprehended, say Berkeley police. 

Shouts and Punches Lead to Jail  

Berkeley police were summoned to the 1300 block of Carleton Street shortly before 4 a.m. Thursday by residents complaining about a man screaming threats on the street. 

When officers responded, the screamer challenged them to a fight, and when they moved in for the arrest, the man started throwing punches until the lawmen presented him with a new pair of bracelets. 

Police spokesperson Kevin Schofield said Terrence Ford, 38, of Berkeley, was booked into city jail on charges of assaulting and officer and resisting arrest. 

Juveniles Punch, Rob Septuagenarian 

Berkeley police said a group of juveniles punched a 74-year-old Berkeley man in Strawberry Creek Park shortly before 8:30 a.m. Monday, making off with his backpack. The victim didn’t require medical attention, according to police spokesperson Schofield. 

Gunmen Rip Off Dry Cleaner 

Two young men who may not have been old enough to drink walked into a dry cleaning establishment in the 2500 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard shortly before noon Wednesday and demanded cash. The clerk complied and the robbers fled with their loot. 

Cyclist Loses Wheels to Teens 

A band of teenagers ran up to a cyclist pedaling along at 62nd and King Streets shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday, knocked him to the ground and made off with his bike, Berkeley police said. 

The 33-year-old cyclist didn’t require medical attention. 

One of the more interesting things about living in Oakland in the Jerry Brown years is never quite knowing where our mayor is going to turn up. Lately Mr. Brown has been on cable television, hawking cars for the merchants at Oakland’s Auto Row, complaining that two-thirds or thereabouts of Oakland residents who have recently bought new cars have chosen not to do so in the city in which they live. 

One might argue that Mr. Brown’s auto commercials cannot really count as ongoing public appearances, no matter how many times they are aired, since they were probably all taped in a single afternoon. Meanwhile, Mr. Brown could now be anywhere. And often is. 

A quick glance at the mayor’s posted itinerary for the week of April 25-May 1 is—as I said—interesting. On Sunday, the 25th, he was interviewed on Fox Television’s Scarborough County. Then a break in the public schedule until Wednesday, when he was scheduled to introduce a book on “The Etiquette of Illness” at Cody’s in Berkeley. The next day, a weekly interview on KGO radio (I didn’t know the mayor was doing weekly interviews on KGO radio; I wonder what he talks about), and the day after that—Friday—a morning television interview with Phil Matier on Channel 4. At noon, the mayor has another weekly interview with KNX radio in Los Angeles, and, that evening, it’s down to Los Angeles to appear at an awards dinner for his late father’s institute. On Saturday, the 1st, he’s scheduled to give opening remarks to women educators at the Oakland Marriott in the morning, and then, that evening, a couple of appearances at local events promoting his School for the Arts (as well as, we are told, a fund-raiser for the restoration of the Fox Theater, of which we will speak further, later). 

I know I’m being picky here, but don’t you find a sort of scarcity, here, of activities related to the actual job for which Oakland residents are paying Mr. Brown such a handsome monthly stipend to perform? 

I happened to catch, quite by accident, a small portion of the Sunday night Fox interview, in which the mayor was offering advice to Senator John Kerry on how to run a Presidential campaign. This makes as little sense—for Mr. Kerry to take such advice—as it does for a a man to take singing lessons from a braying mule (the theory being that one should never confuse persistent and repeated attempts at a project—no matter now spirited—with a successful completion thereof). 

And though no-one—not me, anyways—would begrudge the mayor an L.A. trip to an event in honor of his father, a question must be raised about the noontime L.A. radio interview, announced as both a weekly event and intended to concentrate on “state and national issues.” Nice that he’s sharing his thoughts on various events not actually directly related to Oakland, I suppose. 

Meanwhile, the only person in the city who appears to be able to draw Mr. Brown into any sustained public discussion on Oakland issues is Rob Harper, the Oakland-based artist-activist whose complicated ties with the mayor go back to Sacramento in the days of father Brown’s gubernatorial years. Their running e-mail battles periodically, for some reason, land in my inbox. 

“Jerry, I’ve been thinking about you lately,” Mr. Harper recently writes (to Mr. Brown). “You’ll be leaving the mayor’s office someday, and you’ll have NO legacy to leave behind in Oakland... Say, for example, Mayor Harris, has left us with two beautiful office towers, the Federal Buildings, which occupy the Oakland skyline, and they help to define the idea of ‘City,’ and, of progress. You, have no physical structure to show your presence, nor to show your ‘magic kingdom.’” 

To which Mr. Brown (or someone doing a good job of pretending to be Mr. Brown while posting from “Jerry Brown jb@jerrybrown.org) replies: “Starting two great schools and restoring the Fox ain’t chopped liver. The Oakland Arts School earned the best scores in Oakland and has attracted more middle class and out of city kids than any other public school in the city. And, yes, it has enrolled a majority of African-American students and has the most integrated-across color and class lines-than any school in the East Bay, public or private. Just these three items I will stack up against any mayor in California. Go Oakland!” 

Let us concede, without checking, and solely for the sake of the argument, the truth of the above contentions. A couple of things sort of jump out at you about the mayor’s Statement of Legacy. 

The first is that saying the Oakland School for the Arts has attracted more out-of-city students than any other Oakland school is like saying Skyline High School has more students attending a high school whose name starts with an “S” than any other high school in Oakland. (If that’s confusing, I’ll wait while you read it again.) The fact is, since the job of public schools in Oakland is only to teach…well…Oakland students, the idea of beating Oakland public schools at teaching out-of-Oakland students does not seem much of an accomplishment. And since the Mayor offers in a follow-up e-mail that “the Arts School enrolls by audition, seeking young artists with the greatest potential talent,” the fact that it thereafter ends up with the best test scores—if that, indeed, is true—seems hardly a fair comparison to the aforementioned public schools, which cannot pick and choose among their charges, but are more of a whomsoever-shall-let-them-come operation. 

As for listing the restoration of the Fox as one of his accomplishments: well, I know I’m old-fashioned, but I was brought up to believe that an accomplishment is something that has…ummm…actually been accomplished. That would appear to drop the unoccupied and still-dilapidated Fox out of the list, at least for the time being, $65,000 marquis lights notwithstanding. 

Picky, picky, again, I know. In any event, let the stacking-up begin.

Residents from all neighborhoods in Berkeley have come together around the city’s current budget crisis as evidenced by their active participation at various City meetings. This is a Preliminary Statement that, in expanded form, was sent to all members of the City Council to respond to various proposals that have been put forward to date. 

We recommend that the following policies guide all future budget decision. 

1. Minimize impacts on essential services to the community. 

Safe neighborhoods are the foundation of a healthy city. So, we are extremely concerned to find that in the city manager’s Jan. 27 options to balance fiscal year 2005 budget and five-year projections the Fire Department is the only department listed for cuts in fiscal year 2007, and those cuts proposed for the department are $1,300,000. The report also details deep cuts proposed for fiscal year 2005 and 2006 to both the fire and police departments. These cuts are unacceptable. 

While our first priority is public safety, we also regard the arts and services to the homeless, youth, seniors and the mentally ill as essential. 

2. Additional local revenues must be broad-based rather than targeted to property-owners, and used solely for an identified service, program or purpose. 

Many residents have voiced their concern about Berkeley having the highest taxes in the state. It is apparent that you are planning for tax increases for the November ballot. We will not be fooled that the need for these tax increases is based upon avoiding deep cuts to essential public safety services, when what you intend to do is to shift General Fund moneys from essential services, and use that money to fund other services. This does not mean that we will not come to the conclusion that new revenue is needed, but any new revenues must meet the test of being broad-based rather than targeted to property-owners. 

3) The process to approve new revenues based on Assessment Districts must require a majority of ‘yes’ votes. 

Currently, assessment districts are based on formulae that must achieve a majority vote. Only the “no” votes are used to determine whether a majority objects. This makes it impossible for an assessment district to be turned down by the people in the proposed district. The council must reverse this procedure and require a majority of “yes” votes to approve new assessment districts. 

4) Minimize impact of reductions and require at least 45-day notice to employees, and agencies of impending layoffs, reductions or cuts. 

5) Take no action without full discussion with employees and community and without opportunity for response from affected parties. 

In order to carry out these policies, the City Council should: 

1. Identify quickly and clearly which services are deemed essential. The public is watching and we request that you undertake this process in public, not in the privacy of the Agenda Committee, nor at a 5 p.m. “workshop” when the public isn’t watching. 

2. Institute a requirement that in new and future budget reports, various departments and divisions of the city identify programs and services for which they are responsible, number of employees (FTE) assigned to implement those programs and services and the sources of funding that each program and service depends upon. 

3. Commit to the future development of accountability standards for each of the city’s programs/services, including agencies which are funded by the city to carry out various programs, and to include a timeline for completion of each step in the development of such accountability standards. 

4. Immediately clarify the city’s policy on staff layoffs. 

The city has had a no layoff policy for years but the city manager is currently exploring voluntary and involuntary one-day-a month layoffs for non-essential employees. If the City Council wishes to maintain a no layoff policy, how will it balance the budget? If the City Council intends to lay off employees, what services, if any, does it intend to offer to those employees who are affected? 

We have reviewed the city manager’s proposed budget cuts and agree with 70 cuts totaling approximately $3,200,000 if they can be implemented prior to the new fiscal year. (Our specific recommendations have been sent to the City Council.) The city manager states in his report that most of these cuts will have little or no impact on city services. However, we strongly disagree with the city manager’s proposed cuts of an additional $2,100,000 in the police and fire departments and are very concerned about reductions in animal services, mental health services, hours at senior centers, recreation programs for youth, civic arts funding, park maintenance, graffiti abatement, zoning code enforcement, elimination of ZAB video streaming and traffic control. 

BudgetWatch signatories: Barbara Allen, Marie Bowman, Kent Brown, John Cecil, Shirley Dean, Sam Herbert, Laura Menard, Dean Metzger, Bob Migdal, Terrylynne Turner,  

Trudy Washburn 

›

Is your concern for the environment a spectator sport? Or does it go beyond sporting a bumper sticker? A butterfly in Brazil can affect the climate here; what will happen if you turn off your kitchen lights? 

Members of Berkeley Friends Meeting (Quakers), hoping to contribute to the national dialogue about energy and environment, wanted to start by understanding their individual energy use. They decided to take a hard look at how much energy they consume—and how they could consume less. 

They began by collecting data about their own energy use over the course of a year, from energy bills to airline miles. 

After entering the data, members received a printout with graphs and charts showing their data, the average among participating members, and California and U.S. averages. Charts include: 

• Electricity and natural gas use (with a conversion to compare carbon emissions from both). 

• Residential and transportation carbon emissions. 

• Oil use for car and airplane. 

• Carbon emissions and oil use compared to the group, the U.S., the E.U., Portugal, Japan, and France. (Among rich countries (per capita income at least $5,000) the Portuguese report the highest level of happiness.) 

• Driving, compared with the group, the Bay Area, and Americans of various ages. 

“Now I know that I have to do more than install compact fluorescents. To really protect the planet, to really reduce energy use, I have to fly less, or not at all. This will be more difficult than I thought,” Joe Magruder learned. Meeting Clerk Miriam Berg noted, “This confirms that my house really needs to be better insulated.” Others were pleased to discover that they used less energy than the national average. A participating Midwesterner found, “I thought our family was better than the typical Americans, but we’re mo’ bettah than I thought. Also, I was struck by how much driving we do, even though I’m no longer commuting a long way to work several days a week.” 

Looking at energy use is more than an environmental concern. Our energy consumption has political effects. Degraded environments are expected to contribute much to this century’s conflicts. Control over diminishing energy resources also sparks conflict, igniting war and violence worldwide. Based on a foundation of non-violence, some Berkeley Friends have made these links between energy, environment and peace the focus of their work. 

To share their findings, the Berkeley Friends will host a booth at the May 8 Green Home EXPO and Energy Symposium in Civic Center Park, next to the farmer’s market from noon to 5:30 p.m. Admission is free. Stop by with your energy use data and see how your use compares. 

You can also submit your data early at www.quaker.org/fep/COTE.html and pick up a printout at their booth. More details on the Green Home EXPO and Energy Symposium can be found at www.GreenHome.EXPO.org. 

Karen Street is a member of Berkeley Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.›

BERKELEY HIGH 

Editor, Daily Planet: 

Thank you for the timely and positive article about Sunday’s Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting at Berkeley High (“Rave Reviews for Berkeley High’s Grand Opening,” Daily Planet, April 27-29). Matthew Artz captured the happiness of students, staff and community who are enjoying all of the new facilities. Students, community and staff members, led by Dibsy Machta, worked many hours planning and organizing the celebration. Alumni from the early 1900s, including a member of the 1935 girls’ archery team, shared their memories with us as part of the event. 

We would like to point out one item that needs correcting: The B Building did not burn down in 2000, but was disabled too much to be rehabilitated. We salvaged the library collection and had much of it in storage until moving into the spacious and beautiful new library this past January. Also, we wish that Mr. Artz had taken the time to talk to the Berkeley High library media teachers who were involved in planning the new space. Had he done so, the community would understand how our new library serves the specific needs of Berkeley High’s students and staff well. 

Thank you, citizens of Berkeley, for your generosity to generations of Berkeley High students. 

Ellie Goldstein-Erickson 

Susie Goodin 

Berkeley High School Library Media Teachers 

• 

CITY FEES 

Editor, Daily Planet: 

The practice of jacking up fees in order to pay for Berkeley’s runaway government costs is hardly unique to the Planning Department (”Paying for Democratic Decisions,” Daily Planet editorial, April 27-29). Sewer charges, dog licenses, business licenses, apartment registration fees, parking fines—-the list of “incidental” payments is lengthy and growing. 

Berkeley residents are being slapped silly with skyrocketing charges and fees. In some cases, the cost of interacting with the city is increasing 10 times faster than inflation. And most charges pay for things you probably thought the General Fund (and property taxes) were supposed to cover. 

Fortunately, there’s a solution. Citizens should call on the City Council—-and go to the ballot, if necessary—-to limit such increases to 65 percent of the local Consumer Price Index each year. The limit should apply to any fees, charges, or fines imposed by any elected body in the city. 

The rate is one that the council and Rent Board have already agreed (in another arena) represents the reasonable rate at which a resident’s costs should increase. Since they agree, there’s no reason not to include the costs that the city itself imposes on its residents. 

Michael Wilson 

• 

DOWNTOWN 

Editor, Daily Planet: 

I guess I ought to reply to some of the correspondence, since my previous letter keeps being quoted by other writers, most recently Joe Kempkes (April 27). I haven’t seen very much in any of the correspondence that directly contradicts what I wrote, namely a) that there is no general consensus on what kind of environment people want to see in downtown Berkeley, and b) that restricting parking in downtown is bad for retail businesses. I really don’t see, for example, how the “California Bike Commute Week” that Joe is promoting has any relevance to these two issues.  

As for being pro-business, yes, I am. Businesses provide jobs. They also provide sales tax revenues that permit things like bicycle lanes to be provided in Berkeley neighborhoods. They also make downtown look nicer (unless you feel that empty, poster-encrusted storefronts with homeless people sleeping in their doorways are a positive aesthetic). But if you want people to shop or eat out, in Berkeley, you have to provide somewhere for their cars. Have you ever tried carrying a TV or a kitchen table on a bike, Joe?  

So, I would still like someone to answer the question—what kind of downtown do you want in Berkeley? 

Malcolm Carden 

• 

MONEY FOR SCHOOLS 

Editor, Daily Planet: 

Berkeley citizens who are concerned about the serious financial situation in their Berkeley Unified School District SD, might be interested to know that there is a little-known pool of money just waiting out there. I am referring to the $40 million budget of the Alameda County Office of Education. While schools, community colleges and high education throughout the state are suffering from a dearth of funding, county offices of education continue with their plush budgets, ever increasing. The Alameda County Office of Education performs a very important function; that is, to educate a few hundred at-risk students in the Juvenile Court schools and at some other special schools. However, it only spends about $6 million of their budget on these programs.  

The remainder of the budget, about $34 million, goes to administrators, specialists, consultants, “experts”—most of them never see a student in the classroom. Some of these people do carry out grants and other required programs; but there is about $14 million that is not earmarked. In fact, the state gives the county office of education about $8 million yearly for service to local school districts. But local school districts are never given the choice of how it is used. No doubt, if they were allowed to take a cash amount instead of in-service training that they get now, 100 percent of them would jump at the cash. There is no reason why some of this could not be divvied out to local school districts on a per capita basis. The county superintendent of schools, Sheila Jordan, has vehemently rejected this idea. 

Berkeley residents could ask their representative on the county board of education, Jacki Fox Ruby; however, probably she will not help, because Superintendent Jordan helped her get elected to the board with an infusion of $17,000. Ruby has voted 100 percent for what Jordan wants including a 66 percent raise for Jordan. Four other board members—Palacios, Jones, Elizalde and Cerrato—belong to the 100 percent club too. Palacios and Jones were soundly defeated in the recent election. 

Citizens should organize and appear before the county Board of Education and demand to know how the $40 million public money is spent. It meets the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at its headquarters: 313 West Winton Ave., Hayward. Agenda found at www.acoe.k12.ca.us. 

Ernest A. Avellar 

Hayward 

• 

NOXIOUS ODORS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing in concern over the noxious odors that frequently foul the air in North and West Berkeley that originates from the Pacific Steel Casting Company in West Berkeley. The smell of burning pot handles emanating from this plant is most pronounced on what are otherwise beautiful warm sunny days, although it occurs much more frequently than that. The odor comes from the fumes of melting plastic resin that is used to line casting molds, which is burnt off as molten metal is poured into it. These fumes may or may not cause an immediate health threat but continued exposure is certainly detrimental to those of us who live in the West Berkeley, Westbrae, and North Berkeley, as well as Albany, El Cerrito and Kensington neighborhoods. 

I have lived in this neighborhood for over seven years and am getting quite concerned about the risks to my own health as well as the general air quality of the Berkeley area. My repeated inquiries with the Bay Area Air Quality District have disclosed that they are aware of the problem, but have not been able to remedy it, saying that it is really in the hands of the city. I have sent this concern to Mayor Bates on a couple of occasions, but have not as of yet received a reply. 

I would like to know if the City of Berkeley is aware of this problem and whether or not they taking any actions to rectify. I would imagine that, with the development of the Fourth Street retail shopping district and the skyrocketing real estate values in the area, this is becoming a major irritation for many in the area. In a city with a history of progressive politics and a much higher than average environmental awareness, it is puzzling to see this situation continue without any intervention from our City Council or citizens groups. I think the time has come to act in defense of the air quality and health of the residents of Berkeley. 

Anyone concerned or presently smelling this foul odor should immediately call the Bay Area Air Quality District at 1-800-34-6367 to place your complaint and concern, as well as calling the mayor’s office at 981-7100 to do the same. 

John Hawkridge 

• 

REASONS FOR HOPE 

Editor, Daily Planet: 

Since there has been much discussion of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict in these pages, I think it would be helpful to bring folks up-to-date on what is happening on the ground.  

The Israeli policy of assassination of political opponents continues unabated, with now a threat to kill President Arafat. This has been Israeli policy for years— to attack any kind of resistance, across the political spectrum, armed or not. Leaders have been subject not only to murder, but more often to arrest (administrative detention without trial), torture, and sometimes expulsion. This is old news.  

What might be considered new is the explicit support that has now come from U.S. officials, with Bush’s announcement refusing to condemn the killing of Palestinian leaders and announcing that it sees no need for Israel to cede land that it conquered in the 1967 war. And it officially stated that it did not recognize the right of Palestinian refugees, nearly a million of whom were forced off their land in 1948, to return to their homeland. Bush’s announcement enshrines the crime that land can be taken by force, of forced ethnic cleansing. This is nothing less than a prescription for endless conflict, for it precludes any possibility of reconciliation, of justice, and real peace.  

Yet there remain signs of hope. Even as the Israeli military continues the building of the apartheid wall inside the West Bank it is being met by demonstrators, mostly unarmed, facing down their opponents that threaten their livelihood. Ordinary Palestinians, men, women and youth, have taken enormous risks in continuing these protests against the confiscation of their land and crops and homes. Many have been arrested, some have been beaten, some shot at with live ammunition and some have died, yet others continue the struggle. What’s more, they have been joined by internationals, including Israelis, two of whom have been shot and seriously wounded by the Israeli military in recent months.  

Here in Berkeley we also see signs of hope. We see it in a newspaper that dares to let people of all perspectives express themselves and their support or dissent of official U.S. policy. And one week after a powerful protest in Oakland against using our taxes for occupation of Palestine there is a cultural celebration that packed La Pena to the rafters with music and generous support for a West Bank village called Deir Ibzia. We take heart from such things and continue to resist and continue to celebrate the possibility of a new reality. 

More information can be found at www.tomjoad.org. 

Jim Harris 

• 

PALESTINE CARTOON 

Editor, Daily Planet: 

It was with some interest that I read your defense/letters about your cartoon. You know, every time that a cartoon is taken by a fairly large section of people as anti-Semitic, the same excuses are trotted out--you have to make your point quickly in a cartoon; you have to use recognizable symbols; I am not an anti-Semite, some of my best friends, etc. In the end, there is the intellectual laziness that is often reflected in the same lack of rigor that the people who post these cartoons have in regard to a nuanced or evenhanded discussion of the issues. It is a given that the Jewish Star is both the symbol of a religion and the symbol of the State of Israel. Therefore, one should be exceedingly careful in using it in a political cartoon that many took as implying Jewish domination of the U.S. However, rather than conceding that you made a mistake by not taking whatever extra time it takes to create an effective cartoon without using the Star of David—you have to fall back on “I am sorry if anyone was offended.” Any educated adult could have figured out the firestorm of protest and “misreads” this cartoon would create—except, perhaps, the cartoonist and the editorial staff of the Berkeley Daily Planet.  

And then you publish the letters. One letter of support was signed by someone with a clearly Jewish name. Cannot imagine why this letter was picked. 

Another letter—filled with half-truths about the Palestianian/Israel conflict—was written by a man who has praised Holocaust deniers on local website bulletin boards and has been banned from others for writing vicious personal attacks. Don’t think I won’t be advising your advertisers about the your printing such letters, either.  

Congratulations, your failure to exercise thought in your editorial cartooning has made you the hero of racists whose letters you are willing to publish. Everyone who criticizes Israel is not an anti-Semite, but every anti-Semite hates Israel. And there isn’t a clear line anymore between the Ku Klux Klan and elements of the Left in terms of their Jew hating. Lazy cartoonists like the one on your staff delight both poles of anti-Semitism.  

Since you’ re so sure your cartoon was not anti-Semitic, why don't your crack investigative reporters do a piece on why you published a letter by a vicious Holocaust denier in support of Mr. DeFreitias’ cartoon? Why don't you explore the use of leftist rhetoric and images like Mr. DeFreitias by dyed-in-the-wool Jews haters? Afraid to look under the rock of the people your second rate cartoonist appeals to? 

Nate Bloom 

Oakland 

• 

BALANCED VIEW 

Editor, Daily Planet: 

Thank you for attempting to give a balanced view on the Israel/Palestine issue. The Palestinians have no voice in this country’s media so when an attempt is made to give them a voice it is to be commended. It is just so sad that it is met with the knee-jerk accusation of anti-Semitism. There will be no peace with out justice in the Holy Land.  

Sarah Fike 

?

There’s a totally smashing production by TheatreFIRST at the Berkeley City Club which you need to rush over to see. Although it’s been extended through May 9, that still doesn’t give you much time. Missing the opportunity to see this South African work would be a definite loss. (We deeply regret that a communications failure kept us from reviewing the play earlier in the season). Mooi Street Moves isn’t produced in the U.S. too often. The only previous presentation here was in 1993 at the MetroStage in Alexandria, Virgina. In any case, it is hard to believe that it could be done with greater skill and talent than what we can see in this sterling production. 

The title doesn’t communicate much to an American audience, but the play itself is both totally comprehensible and moving. Set in the period of social chaos surrounding the end of apartheid, two extraordinarily gifted actors completely grasp their roles in the unexpected relationship that develops between a bright black hustler and the pathetically child-like white intruder into his life. 

David Skillman seems born to play Stix, the street-wise resident of a chaotic apartment in a formerly white middle-class neighborhood. Only the fact of Skillman’s impressive and varied resume keeps one from thinking that this has to be the role of his lifetime. It’s a part that requires a huge range, and he does it flawlessly. 

Into Stix’ apartment, and life, stumbles the naïve and not-too-smart Henry Stone, looking for his older brother, a “businessman” who lived in the apartment back in the years before apartheid ended. Henry is vague about the exact nature of his brother’s “business,” but has absolute faith that he will be able and willing to start Henry off into some kind of business success. 

It seems quite typical of Henry that it never occurred to him to write first before setting off to visit a brother he hasn’t seen for years; nor is it surprising that Henry arrives dead broke, having lost his meager bank account to a crude confidence trick that he doesn’t even realize was dishonest. 

Joseph Foss’ portrayal of the vulnerable and childlike Henry is, at times, heartbreaking. Through much of the first act, he clutches his pathetic bag of possessions to his chest, fearfully determined not to lose the last few items he can claim as his own. As he gradually figures out that his brother is gone and he is alone in an incomprehensible world, his fear is almost tangible. 

It is a profoundly moving performance. 

The play is set in the chaos that followed Mandela’s release from prison in 1990. Although political changes were made, and apartheid rejected, there remained huge areas of social behavior that were not addressed. Areas of housing that were historically white were literally abandoned and squatters moved into places where there were no utilities, no managers, and no safety. 

Maybe crime increased; it depends upon who you ask. Equally so, there are people who want to say that the period of disruption is over, but when the playwright, Paul Slabolepszy, revised the play for a performance in 2000, he made no significant changes to the text. 

What we have here is a brilliant presentation of a bright man Stix, who has made the best of his situation, becoming a skillful hustler and an easy manipulator of the system his world presents. His kindness to the vulnerable Henry, and his efforts to teach him street survival skills, is touching and convincing. 

A word about the set: It seems quite possible that the fairly staid City Club may never recover from the extraordinary outpouring of sheer stuff that the gifted Christina La Sala has used to create a convincing presentation of a street hustler’s collection of goodies to sell. Add to that the convincingly questionable standards of housekeeping, and the effects are awesome.  

This is a memorable production of a memorable play. 

TheatreFIRST’s Mooi Street Moves by Paul Slabolepsky plays through May 9, Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For tickets and reservations call 436-5085.

One of the advantages of living in a university town is that dramatic performances by not only visiting professionals but talented locals are frequent events, often in unique surroundings.  

You can catch one such activity Friday or this weekend when students of English 117T at Cal present Shakespeare’s comedy, “Much Ado About Nothing” in a dramatic outdoor setting on the university campus. These performances are free and are usually spirited events, with the students demonstrating what they’ve learned about Elizabethan drama during the past semester. The play is given in costume. 

Annual outdoor Shakespeare has been a campus tradition in recent decades, with the setting shifting from site to site. I recall one notable performance with the noble white granite façade of Wheeler Hall as the backdrop, and the performers playing from not only the steps in front of the building but from a second floor balcony as well. 

This year, the main eastern steps of South Hall form the stage, with the venerable red brick exterior of the university’s oldest building behind.  

There are three performances remaining. Today (Friday), 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, March 1 and 2, at 3 p.m. I’m told each performance runs over two hours. (In the event of rain, the performance shifts to the Maude Fife Room in nearby Wheeler Hall.) 

You can easily find the performance site. Just head for the Campanile, and South Hall is the red brick building downhill to the southwest.  

Although the university does allow public parking on campus on the weekends, spaces in this part of campus are extremely scarce. If you can’t walk or take public transit to the campus edge, look for a parking space in one of the university’s perimeter lots on Bancroft Way or Hearst Avenue and walk in; remember to pay the fee, post your parking permit on the dashboard, and read the instructions wherever you park (some spaces remained reserved for university uses even the weekends).  

(Parking tip: on weekends only, if you take Bancroft Way down towards Telegraph, turn right behind Sproul Hall and go north on Barrow Lane, a little one block street typically lined with police cars. Along Barrow Lane itself almost all the parking is reserved for university vehicles, but at the north end the road branches left into a small parking lot above Sather Gate, or right along Eshleman Road where there’s also curbside parking. If there’s no sign reserving the parking for special events, pay at the yellow vending machine. This is about as close as you can get in a private vehicle to the performance site; it’s just a short stroll north, across Strawberry Creek.)

Berkeley began as a blend of countryside, farmland, waterfront settlement, and academic village. By the end of the 19th century the town was still small, but featured neighborhoods of both stately and modest Victorian residences. Such homes were the glory of Berkeley a century ago. 

Twelve well-preserved and carefully cared-for homes from that Victorian era, all built between 1889 and 1900, have been generously volunteered by their proud owners and will be featured on Sunday, May 9, in the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association’s 29th Spring House Tour.  

“Berkeley 1890—At Home” is a Mother’s Day event where tour-goers can explore handsome and historic residences and indulge in light refreshments at a garden reception. The houses will be open from 1-5 p.m.  

This year the tour is concentrated in the LeConte district along Fulton Street (think east of Berkeley Bowl). In this neighborhood south of Dwight Way, Craftsman, Colonial Revival, and stucco bungalow homes line the quiet streets. There’s a notable cluster of Victorians—one of Berkeley’s best, most intact, Victorian districts—along the 2100 block of Ward Street and stretching north and south on Fulton. It’s these latter homes that are the focus of the tour. 

Berkeley, like other central Bay Area communities—San Francisco, Alameda, Oakland—got started in the 19th century with neighborhoods of wooden homes near rail (and, later, streetcar) lines. Modest early Victorian cottages in the Italianate style were soon surpassed by elaborate two and three story Eastlake and Queen Anne residences, as well as a fair number of “Carpenter Gothic” mansions built by or for the town’s elite and encrusted with ornate decorative millwork.  

Lumberyards, planing mills and construction companies in Berkeley served the local market. Developers energetically promoted Berkeley as a place to live. New Victorian homes fronted by “artificial stone” sidewalks lined streets that developers were rapidly laying out in patchwork fashion across town. Residents prided themselves on their front yard flower gardens, bordered by low, cast-iron fences or white-painted wooden pickets. 

Victorian style in Berkeley rose to a peak in the 1890s, then began to go out of fashion. Local designers, builders, and buyers began to emphasize the “simple home,” often built out of unpainted redwood and with understated ornamentation, in contrast to the elaborate earlier Victorians. Beaux Arts neo-classicism also entered the scene. Residential buyers now flocked to new streetcar suburbs of stucco bungalows, foursquare “Classic Box” residences, or brown-shingle homes. 

Many Victorians were altered to fit the new styles, and many others were torn down as large “villa lot” properties in the oldest neighborhoods were subdivided for more intense development. “Period revival” and more modern styles of architecture followed. Up through the mid-20th century, university expansion removed much of the old Victorian neighborhood in the south campus area and private development and municipal re-development accounted for many more demolitions of venerable Victorians throughout the city. Berkeley’s wooden Victorian downtown disappeared, replaced with larger brick and concrete commercial buildings.  

Today, more than a century after the Victorian heyday, only a few concentrated enclaves of homes from that era remain in Berkeley. Discover one of the best preserved on the BAHA Spring House Tour. 

Tips for the Tour 

The LeConte neighborhood is a trapezoid, bordered by Dwight, Telegraph, Ashby, and Shattuck. It’s guarded on north and south by traffic barriers so you can’t enter by car from Dwight or Ashby, except on foot. Come in from Telegraph or Shattuck, on or between Parker and Russell.  

Arrive on time to make full use of the four-hour tour. If you don’t have a ticket, they go on sale at Ward and Shattuck one hour before the tour, at noon. The tour is self-guided. You receive a tour booklet describing the history of each house and you can go at your own pace. Some like to go slowly, lingering when they find a favorite house; others briskly visit all the homes, then head for the reception area or return to take a longer second look at the most interesting buildings. 

Park in one place. There’s no need to move your car from house to house, because they’re close together. There’s often Sunday street parking available around LeConte School, bordered by Oregon, Ellsworth, and Fulton, just a few blocks south of the tour site. Don’t park in the Berkeley Bowl or Walgreen’s parking lot and head off to the tour, and don’t drive through traffic barriers or make right-hand turns against red lights along Telegraph. All these actions can result in an expensive ticket in this neighborhood. 

On the day of the tour, the 2100 block of Ward (east of Shattuck) will be closed to through traffic. You’ll be able to experience the street as in Victorian days, without noisy automobiles. 

The LeConte neighborhood has a number of intriguing sights beyond its Victorian homes. One of Berkeley’s best concentrations of flatlands brown-shingle homes lies along Fulton, north of Ward. Keep an eye out for unusual yard art such as a gigantic topiary squirrel (close to Fulton and Carleton) and a three-quarters buried car with broken “radiator” perpetually bubbling away in a front yard around Fulton and Derby.  

(LeConte, by the way, is also the neighborhood where science fiction and mystery writer Anthony Boucher once lived, SLA leaders plotted Patty Hearst’s kidnapping, and the Society for Creative Anachronism held its first mock-medieval event, although none of those sites are on the tour.) 

If you want to arrive a bit early in the neighborhood and have breakfast or brunch before you start, Sconehenge at Stuart and Shattuck offers full traditional breakfasts and lunches and some interesting specials, as well as take-out baked goods. Berkeley Bowl at Oregon and Shattuck opens at 10:00 AM on Sundays and has an on-site café with light fare. Both are within a few minutes stroll of the tour homes. And some of Berkeley’s best brunch places from the Elmwood to La Note on Shattuck are just a few minutes away by car.  

Ticket Information 

Tickets for the self-guided House Tour and Reception are $25 general admission, $20 for BAHA members and their guests. (You can join BAHA the day of the tour if you like). Tickets will also be sold on the day of the tour, starting promptly at noon, at a booth at the intersection of Ward and Fulton streets. 

For further information call the Berkeley Architectural Heritage office at 841-2242 or 841-1055. A printable order form is available online at www.berkeleyheritage.com/house_tour_tickets.html. 

If you volunteer to help during the tour, you can attend for free. At press time, volunteers were still needed. Call Sarah at 845-1632. Volunteering entails spending half of the tour (either beginning or end) at one of the houses, helping to guide the flow of visitors. Each site has an experienced “House Captain” who will let you know what to do. On a tour like this, where all of the houses are concentrated within a few blocks, it’s easy to both volunteer and see the sights. 

In addition to the tour, a related lecture by Paul Roberts entitled “A.W. Pattiani, Victorian Designer-Builder” on Wednesday, May 5. Both lectures will be held at the Church by the Side of the Road, 2108 Russell St. at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, at $7 each, will be available at the lecture site. 

›

After adopting a few last-minute amendments, the Berkeley Civic Arts Commission Wednesday night wound up its five-year effort to create an Arts and Cultural Plan for the city. 

Only commissioner Bonnie Hughes abstained from an otherwise unanimous vote to adopt the 31-page document. “I think it needs to be edited,” Hughes said. “I don’t like to send anything to the City Council that’s not as eloquent as possible.” 

Eloquent or not, the new document fulfills a requirement in the Economic Development Element of the city’s General Plan, adopted in 2001-2002, which called for an Arts and Culture Plan establishing citywide goals and strategies to support and develop local arts, culture and entertainment. In pursuit of that requirement, the Arts Commission created an advisory committee and hired ArtsMarket, a consulting firm based in Bozeman, Mont., to conduct an economic analysis of the Berkeley arts scene. 

A series of public hearings and written submissions followed, leading to the seven pages of the document that constitute the legal language of the plan itself. 

Wednesday night’s action followed the last public hearing Saturday, where individuals and organizations offered their final comments and suggestions. 

One addition—to the segment on Arts and Culture Districts—came at the urging of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association. The amendment calls on plan-related activities to support historic and architectural preservation “to preserve Berkeley’s rich cultural built environment.” 

That proposal passed on a unanimous vote. 

Another successful amendment came from Solano Stroll organizer Lisa Bullwinkle, who asked the commission to create uniform application procedures for fairs and festivals utilizing public space, based on the forms and peer review process the commission now uses for civic arts grants. 

Comments from Saturday’s session also led to another unanimously endorsed amendment, which calls on the city to consider a study on the feasibility of a revolving loan fund for nonprofit arts capital improvement projects. 

Another successful amendment came from the city’s Transportation Commission, which asks the city to encourage arts groups, galleries and fair and festival organizers to include information on public transit access in the flyers, ads, posters and ticket information. 

At that point, Commissioner Sherry Smith moved to send the plan on to the City Council with a recommendation for approval. 

Commissioner Jos Sances objected, saying, “We’re not covering some of the issues raised about West Berkeley.”  

Commission chair David Snippen countered that issues about preservation and enhancement of artists’ living, working, and performance space in West Berkeley “are zoning and housing issues beyond the scope of the arts commission.” 

“Isn’t there some way we can accommodate ourselves to the things they were talking about, that we should work with the planning commission to strengthen the West Berkeley Plan?” asked Commissioner Hughes. 

Commissioner Suzy Thompson noted that language in the plan “makes it sound like downtown is where everything is happening. Maybe the language should give equal weight to South and West Berkeley. The downtown Arts District hasn’t been there that long.” 

“We should have something that helps the city make changes to ordinances and zoning regulations that would help artists” by assisting in the creation of arts space “by facilitating the transformation of industrial and warehouse space to arts space,” Sances said. 

“Artists’ residential, studio and performing spaces all need to be protected,” said Hughes. “If you leave it too vague, people will interpret it like the cultural density bonus to mean anything they want.” 

The city’s cultural density bonus that permits builders to breach city height limits by adding space for cultural uses featured prominently in Saturday’s final public input session. 

Snippen had started Wednesday’s meeting with an announcement that he would be meeting soon with city planning staff to work out more specific language that would address that criticism. 

At Sances’ urging, the commission amended the plan to call for a city-wide inventory of existing arts facilities to ascertain what needs aren’t being met and calling on the city to facilitate creation of arts space by allowing property zoned for industrial and warehouse uses to be rezoned for arts uses. 

The amendment passed by unanimous vote. 

Another amendment, calling for eliminating the names of specific organizations in the plan, carried unanimously. 

The final amendment was proposed by City Councilmember Linda Maio at Saturday’s session and introduced by Commissioner Hughes Wednesday. 

The proposal called on the Arts Commission to work with the planning commission and city council to protect the city’s existing arts spaces and develop policies to protect and enhance permanently affordable arts space in the city. 

The language was needed, Hughes said, because nothing in the plan would prevent a developer from coming in and buying up existing property and erecting major developments that offered arts space on the ground floor. 

The amendment carried, but not unanimously. Commissioner Sherry Smith abstained. 

With the passage of the final amendment, the commission’s vote to adopt followed. 

The plan will now go to the City Council, possibly for its May 27 meeting.

In the Tuesday, April 27, story on the Arts Commission’s last public input session (“Arts Commissioners Call For Public Input,” Daily Planet, April 27-29), remarks by Berkeley Arts Center executive director Robbin Henderson were incorrectly attributed to city staff member Mary Ann Merker.

FRIDAY, APRIL 30 

CHILDREN 

The Little Engine That Could at Barnes and Noble at 10:30 a.m. 644-3635. 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Bella Mama” Mother’s Day jewelry show, reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at ACCI Gallery, 1652 Shattuck Ave. 843-2527. www.accigallery.com 

Jack London Art Invitational with art from five Bay Area studios, opens at 240 Third St., Oakland. Reception at 6:30 p.m. Gallery hours are Tues.-Thurs. 2-8 p.m. and Sat.-Sun. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 893-4100. www.jacklondondistrict.org/art  

“Re-Create” a recycled art exhibition by youth from Alameda County from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Museum of Children’s Art, 494 9th St., Oakland. 465-8770, ext. 350. www.mocha.org 

FILM 

Serge Daney: “Journey of a Ciné-Son” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “The Sisters Rosensweig,” a comedy by Wendy Wasserstein, opens at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck, through May 15. Tickets are $10. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Aurora Theatre Company “Antigone Falun Gong” at 8 p.m. Wed.-Sat., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. through May 16. Tickets are $28-$40 available from 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley High School “Man in the Musical” premiere of an original musical theater piece by Phil Gorman and Lila Tschappat at 8 p.m. at the Little Theater, Allston and MLK Jr Way. Also May 2 at 7 p.m., May 6-8 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5-$10. 332-1931. 

Berkeley Rep “The Mystery of Irma Vep,” Charles Ludlam’s theatrical cult classic at Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage, through May 23. Tickets are $39-$55. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

“Casino!” a musical comedy by Joyce Whitelaw at 8 p.m at The Glenview Performing Arts Center, 1318 Glenfield Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $20. 531-0511. www.glenviewpac.com 

Impact Theatre “Money and Run” an action serial adventure with different episodes on Thurs., Fri. and Sats. Runs through June 5 at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid. For tickets and information call 464-4468. www.impacttheatre.com 

Shotgun Players “The Miser” at 8 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Theater, Thurs.-Sun. through May 2. Free admission. 704-8210. www.shotgunplayers.org 

TheatreFIRST “Mooi Street Moves” by Paul Slabolepszy, one of South Africa’s leading contemporary playwrights, Thurs. - Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St., to May 9. For tickets and reservations call 436-5085. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash, Special National Poetry Month Reading with Gerald Sterna and Willis Barnstone at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Lawrence Osborne describes “The Accidental Connoisseur: An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

University Symphony performs Lutoslawski and Shostakovich at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-9988.  

Arauco, South American nuevo folk, at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12 in advance, $14 at the door. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Caminos Flamencos with Yaelisa with dinner at 6 and 9 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $42-$52, show only $17. 843-0662. wwwcafedelapaz.net 

Nuyulu Tatutunat Mayan native dance, music and poetry, at 7 p.m. at Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Sponsored by the Indigenous Permaculture Project. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Beat Box Showcase hosted by Andrew Chaikin and Tim Barsky at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10 in advance, $12 at the door. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

GoJoGo, world beats, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $8-$15 suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.org 

Greg Brown with Pieta Brown and Bo Ramsey at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. Tickets are $25.50 at the door. Presented by Freight and Salvage. 548-1761. 

Todd Sickafoose and the Tiny Resistors at 9 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway at 2nd St. Cost is $10. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Singer-Songwriter Night at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Craig Chaquico at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Red Pocket at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

Over My Dead Body, Internal Affairs, The Warriors at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Reggae Party with Irie Productions at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Donation of $7-$15. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Hyim and The Fat Foakland Orchestra at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $7. 548-1159.  

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

SATURDAY, MAY 1 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Lydia Mills and Arianna Guthries performing traditional and original Latin American songs at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $3-$4. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Wild About Books with Ruth Halpern, winner of the Parent’s Choice Award at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

FILM 

New From Trinh T. Minh-Ha: “Night Passage” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Bay Area Poets Coalition holds an open reading from 3 to 5 p.m. at the West Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1125 University Ave. 527-9905.  

May Day Poetry Reading with Poets for Peace, an evening with Gerald Stern, Meredith Striker, Ilya Kaminsky, Polina Barskova, Rob Lipton and Abdel Fattah Abu-Srour, at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center. 644-6893. 

Darren Shan shares more vampire stories in “Hunters of the Dark” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s on Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

Luis Alberto Urrea describes the dangerous crossing on the US/Mexican border in “The Devil’s Highway” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

San Francisco Early Music Society “Zarzuela” a Spanish program drawn from Sebastian Duron’s “Salir el Amor del Mundo” at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $25. 528-1725. www.sfems.org 

University Symphony performs Lutoslawski and Shostakovich at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-9988.  

Amici di Buxtehude by Trinity Chamber Concerts at 8 p.m. at 2320 Dana St. at Dana. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864. 

Caminos Flamencos with Yaelisa with dinner and dessert at 6 and 9 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $42-$52, show only $17. 843-0662. wwwcafedelapaz.net 

Motown Tribute Show, an all -ages high energy production at 7 and 9 p.m. at Claremont Middle School, 5750 College Ave., near Rockridge BART. Tickets are $25. 879-3170. 

Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited, music from South Africa, at at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $18. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Bay Area Follies with Gil Chun Musical comedy, tap, ballroom and ethnic dances at 8 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. Also on Sun. at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10-$15. 526-8474. 

Squeeze Box Social World Accordian Festival with Familia Pena-Govea, Creole Belles and California Klezmer at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Noche de Skatemoc: La Pachucada at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Broun Fellinis at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10-$12. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Wadi Gad and Jah Bandis, conscious roots reggae, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

West Coast Live with Luis Urrea, Jane Smiley, Duffy Bishop and others at 10 a.m. at the Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15 in advance, $18 at the door, available from 415-664-9500 or www.ticketweb.com 

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

E is for Elephant, Research and Development at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Marcos Silva at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

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

Braziu, Brazilian music, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

Fleshies, 50 Million, Shotwell, S.H.A.T., Kung-Fu USA at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, MAY 2 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Bird Houses” an exhibit of bird houses and bird art by local artists of all ages and backgrounds from 3 to 5 p.m. at NIAD Art Center, 551 23rd St., near Barrett Ave., Richmond. 620-0290. www.niadart.org 

FILM 

Film and Video Makers at Cal, works from the Eisner Award competition at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES  

Deborah Bloomfield, photographer, introduces “Four Corners” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Poetry Flash Tribute to Lennert Bruce at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Alan Bern reads from his new collection of poetry “No, No the Saddest” and Linda Weaver will perfrom dances choreographed to the poems at 2 p.m. at Diesel Bookstore, 5433 College Ave. Oakland. 653-9965. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

The Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra performs Verdi’s “Requiem” at 4 p.m at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Free, donations welcome. 964-0665. www.bcco.org  

Broceliande May Day Concert at 8 p.m. at St. Alban’s Parish Hall, 1501 Washington Ave., Albany. Suggested donation $10-$12. www.broceliande.org 

David Abel and Julie Steinberg, violin and piano, at 4 p.m. at the Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose St. 559-6910. 

Dance-Kenaz, a fundraiser for Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Center at 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5-$10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

ACME Observatory Contemporary Performance Series presents percussionist Tom Nunn, and Aaron Bennet and John Finkbeiners Drinking Straw Music at at 8:15 p.m. at The Jazz House, 3192 Adeline.  

Dick Hindeman Trio at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazz- 

school.com  

Squeeze Box Social World Accordian Festival with Baguette Quartet, Conjunto Romero and Tsvetan Mitev Chakurov at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Harlem Shake Burlesque at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Susan Werner, jazz-tinged orginals, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Cost is $18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

MONDAY, MAY 3 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Nicole Stansbury reads from her new collection of short stories, “The Husband’s Dilemma” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Christine Benvenuto will read from “Shiska: Gentile Woman in the Jewish World” at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Co-sponsored by Black Oak Books. 848-0237, ext. 127. 

Last Word Poetry Series presents Judy Wells and Mishell Erickson at 7 p.m. at Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Dave Douglas New Quintet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Tues. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, MAY 4 

CHILDREN 

Gary Lapow at 10:30 a.m. at Berkeley Public Library Claremont Branch, 2940 Benvenue Ave. 981-6270. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Bryan Sykes, professor of genetics, Oxford Univ. describes “Adam’s Curse: A Future Without Men” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Gloria Feldt talks about “The War on Choice: The Right-Wing Attack on Women’s Rights and How to Fight Back” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Marvin Korman will read from “In My Father’s Bakery: A Bronx Memoir” at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Co-sponsored by Black Oak Books. 848-0237, ext. 127. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Anoush performs Balkan music at 8:30 p.m. with a dance lesson with Norma Adjmi at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. 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. 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 5 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Shocked and Awed” an exhibit of drawings by Iraqi school children. Reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Museum of Children’s Art, 538 9th St., Oakland. Runs to June 6th. Gallery hours are Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sat.-Sun. noon to 5 p.m. 465-8770. www.mocha.org 

Huichol Art Show, yarn paintings, beaded bowls and animals from 4 to 7 p.m. at Gathering Tribes Gallery, 1573 Solano Ave. 528-9038. 

FILM 

Film 50: “The Man Without a Past” at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Susan Moon, editor, is joined by contributors to “Not Turning Away: The Practice of Engaged Buddhism” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

“A.W. Pattini, Victorian Designer-Builder” with Paul Roberts at 7:30 p.m. at Church by the Side of the Road, 2108 Russell St. Tickets are available from Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assoc. 841-2242. www.berkeleyheritage.com 

Hampton Sides introduces his unique compilation of “Americana: Dispatches From the New Frontier” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry for the People with Mohja Kahf at 3:15 p.m. at Unit 3 All Purpose Room, UC Campus. 642-2743. www.poetryforthepeople.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 Javanese Gamelan at International House, Piedmont Ave. at Bancroft. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Songwriter Showcase at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $5. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Cinco de Mayo Celebration with Conjunto Coyote at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

I.C.E. Series, experimental music jam at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $5. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

David Lindley, string instrumentalist, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $18.50 in advance, $19.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Whiskey Brothers perform old time and bluegrass at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatross- 

pub.com 

Jules Broussard at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Ryoko Moriyama at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $26. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Oswald, Jacuzzi, Crackpot Theory at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.comÅ

FRIDAY, APRIL 30 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Kiren A. Chadhry, Prof. Political Science, UCB, on “Challenges in Iraq.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $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. 

“Media, Democracy, and the Informed Citizen,” The 8th Annual Travers Ethics Conference, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. at Lipman Room, 8th floor, Barrows Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by Charles T. & Louise H. Travers Program on Ethics and Government Accountability, Political Science Department, Institute of Governmental Studies, The Commonwealth Club of California. 642-4691. http://ethics.berkeley.edu/ 

SATURDAY, MAY 1 

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour “La Loma Park, Maybeck Country” led by Robert Pennell from 10 a.m. to noon. 848-0181. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc/ 

UNICEF Open House at 1403-B Shattuck Ave. from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sponsored by the United Nations Association - East Bay. 849-1752. 

Thousand Oaks School Carnival from 11 a.m. to 3 pm. Games, cakewalk, talent show, fortune telling, tostadas, cupcakes, quilt raffle, and silent auction. 840 Colusa Ave, north of Solano. 

Butterfly Gardening Identify our local species and how to attract them to your garden while you help with our planting and weeding. From 1 to 3 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. We have tools, call if you need gloves. 525-2233. 

St. Joseph the Worker Church 125th Anniversary Celebration at 6:30 p.m. at Doubletree Hotel, Berkeley Marina. 843-2244. 

May Day Celebration of Labor Solidarity from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $5 donation requested. 595-7417. 925-828-8184.  

“Prospects and Challenges of Peace in Nepal” at 5 p.m. at Live Oak Recreation Center, 1301 Shattuck Ave. Sponsored by Helping Hands of the Himalayas. 932-2039. 

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, at the Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755. 

Organic Plant Sale Beautiful, healthy organically grown vege- 

table starts, herbs, and flowers for sale, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the corner of Walnut and Virginia Sts. www.ocf.berkeley. 

edu/~soga/ 

Iris Show and Sale, featuring all iris in bloom locally, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Lakeside Park Garden Center, 666 Bellvue, Oakland. Free. 525-6536. 

Permaculture Ethics and Activism Learn permaculture ethics and explore what they really mean when applying them to permaculture activism. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $10 EC members, $15 general, no one turned away for lack of funds. 548-2220, ext. 233.  

Education Not Incarceration Teach-In, Speak-Out from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Oakland Tech High School, 4351 Broadway. Childcare and refreshments provided. www.ednotinc.org 

Festival of Digital Arts hosted by Vista College Multimedia Arts Dept. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. Also on Sun., May 2. Cost is $10-$15. For details see www.vistacollege.edu/multimedia/if 

Free Emergency Preparedness Class on Responding to Terrorism from 9 a.m. to noon at 2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. To sign up call 981-5605. www. 

ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes.html 

Car-Free Morocco Slideshow a slide presentation by CarBusters’ Randy Ghent, at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave, near Dwight Way. Experience the maze of Morocco’s medinas, medieval pedestrian cities. Co-sponsored by Berkeley Ecological and Safe Transportation, The Ecology Center, EcoCity Builders & Bicycle Friendly Berkeley Coalition. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

“Dialogues Towards a Strong Women’s Movement Diversity Summit,” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Oakland Airport Hilton, 1 Hegenberger Rd. Cost is sliding scale $10-$45. Sponsored by California NOW, Black Women Organized for Political Action, California Women’s Agenda, Casa de las Madres, National Asian Women’s Health Organization, and Women of Color Resources Center. To register call 916-442-3414, or go to www.canow.org/ 

conf04/home.html 

Projects for Peace in Israel/ 

Palestine from 9 to 11 a.m. at Oakland Public Library, Madison St. between 13th and 14th. The Friends of Deir Ibzi’a describe their projects for women and children in Palestine. 653-0776. 

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. 

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

Dream Workshop on Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to noon at 2199 Bancroft Way. Cost is $10. www.practicaldreamwork.com 

SUNDAY, MAY 2 

Bicycle Tour of San Pablo Ridge Explore the history and preservation of Wildcat Watershed. Meet at 10 a.m. at Inspiration Point, Tilden Park. Bring helmet, liquids and snack. For ages 12 and up. registration required. 525-2233. 

Bicycle Tour “Hidden Gems of Berkeley” A 10-12 mile ride to explore historic street car and creek lines. Begins at Halcyon Commons, Halcyon Ct. next to Prince St. at 3:30 p.m. 847-0575.  

Bay-Friendly Gardening: From Your Backyard to the Bay Simplify garden care, reduce chores and use as few resources, from water to fertilizer, as possible. Free self-guided tour of over 30 residential gardens from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 444-SOIL. www.stopwaste.org 

Bloomin’ Paper Want to turn paper into flowers? Make recycled paper embedded with seeds to take home and plant in your own garden. From 1 to 3 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. For ages 7 and up. Cost is $3. Registration required. 525-2233. 

Native Plant Restoration Join Friends of Five Creeks and the California Native Plant Society restoration team on Codornices Creek at Live Oak Park, removing more ivy and tending the many native plants we put in last fall. Email for time and other information f5creeks@aol.com 

Honoring Lake Merrit’s Birds at the Bird Refuge, 600 Bellevue Ave. foot of Perkins St. at Lakeside Park, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Please RSVP to 238-3739. 

St. Joseph the Worker Church 125th Anniversary Celebration begins at 9:30 a.m. with a Children’s Mass followed by a Family and Friends Festival at 10:30 a.m. 1640 Addison St. 843-2244. 

Open Forum on Haiti, moderated by KPFA’s Dennis Bernstein at 5 p.m. at Pro Arts Gallery, 550 2nd St. Oakland. 415-391-3844. 

National Women’s Political Caucus honors Joan Blades at 4 p.m. at Hiller Highland Country Club, 110 Hiller Drive, Oakland. Tickets are $50. 452-1600. www.nwpcan.org 

“Searching for Asian America,” documentary film screening at 12:30 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Slingshot New Volunteer Meeting Want to work on a radical newspaper? Come to the meeting and work on the upcoming issue at 1 p.m. at The Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751. www.longhaul.org 

Critical Mass & Carbusters Cafe Nite Join us for “Medieval Urbanism in Morocco: Lessons for the Modern World,” with Randy Ghent of Car Busters at 8 p.m. at The Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751. www.longhaul.org 

“Healing the Mother in Your Heart” with Teresa LeYoung Ryan and Linda Joy Meyers in a celebration of motherhood through writing at 2 p.m. at Borders Books and Music, 5800 Shellmound St. 654-1633. 

Treats and Talents Auction from 12:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302. 

Iris Show and Sale, featuring all iris in bloom locally, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lakeside Park Garden Center, 666 Bellvue, Oakland. Free. 525-6536. 

“Behind the Headlines: A Palestinian-Israeli Talks Frankly About the Conflict” with Kahled Abu Toameh, correspondent for Palestinian affairs for the Jerusalem Post at 7 p.m. at Congregation Beth-El, Arch and Vine Sts. Donation of $10 requested. 848-3988. 

Golden State Model Railroad Museum open from noon to 5 p.m. Located in the Miller-Knox Regional Shoreline Park at 900-A Dornan Drive in Pt. Richmond. Admission is $2-$3. 234-4884 or www.gsmrm.org 

Tibetan Buddhism, with Abbe Blum on “The Tibetan Wheel of Life” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

“Father of the Modern Mystic Movement” at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302. 

“Eckhart Tolle Talks on Video” at 6:30 p.m. at the Feldenkrais Ctr., 830 Bancroft Way. First and third Sunday of each month. $3 donation requested, no one turned away for lack of funds. Contact Maitri at 415-990-8977. 

MONDAY, MAY 3 

“Green Roofs and Hanging Gardens” with Paul Kephart, environmental consultant with Rana Creek Habitat Restoration, and Aurora Mahassine, designer of “vertical habitats” for cities, at 7 p.m. at the Friends of Five Creeks meeting at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin. All welcome; the meeting is free. 848 9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

National Organization for Women Oakland/East Bay Chapter of meets at 6 p.m. in the Oakland YWCA, 1515 Webster St. Guest speaker from the Bay Area Women Against Rape. 287-8948. 

“Urban Conversions: Reworlding African Cities” with Abdoumaliq Simone of the Wits Institute, Johannesburg, at 5 p.m. at 112 Wurster Hall, UC Campus. 642-8338. http://ias.berkeley.edu/africa/ 

BTV Public Orientation How to get involved by becoming a member, take classes and get on the air on B-TV Channel 28 using the media facilities at Berkeley Community Media, from 6 to 8 p.m. 848-2288 ext. 12. www.betv.org 

Baby Yoga at 11 a.m. and Yoga and Meditation for Children at 2:45 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. 883-0600. www.belladonna.ws 

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

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

TUESDAY, MAY 4 

NFL Flag Football for ages 9 to 11 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at 1255 Allston Way. Free for Berkeley residents, $15 for non-residents for the six week program. Sponsored by Berkeley Youth Alternatives. 845-9066. www.byaonline.org 

Mid-Day Meander through Tilden Park. Bird songs, oak galls and ferns on the trails today. Meet at the Tilden Nature Center at 2:30 p.m. 525-2233. 

Robert Reich on “Social Justice & Social Empathy” at 5:30 p.m. at Anderson Auditorium, Haas School of Business, UC Campus. Sponsored by the Center for the Development of Peace & Well-Being. 643-8965. 

American Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at 6230 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Advance sign-up needed 594-5165. 

Kerry-oke for John Kerry for President Sing your own or traditional lyrics to popular songs that are pro-Kerry, pro-America, or ..... at the Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave., from 8 to 11 p.m. A $25 donation for John Kerry’s campaign is requested, $15 for student/low income. Also featuring performance by DeCadence, Berkeley a capella group. To RSVP call 697-1126. 

Phone Banking to ReDefeat Bush from 6 to 9 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Bring your cell phones. Please RSVP if you can join us. 233-2144. dan@redefeatbush.com 

Paddling 101, an introduction to canoes and kayaks, and places to paddle close to home, at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Guided Autobiography for Mature Seniors on Tuesdays to July 6 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Tilden Regional Park, Botanic Gardens. Cost is $85 for the 10-week session. To register call 636-1684. www.ebparks.org 

“Environmental Policy and Environmental Injustice” with Dr. Dara O'Rourke, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, UC Berkeley, at 7 p.m. in the GTU Dinner Board Room, 2400 Ridge Rd. 649-2560. trees@gtu.edu 

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. Leonar Joy will peak on Human Rights at 11 a.m. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

Organic Produce at low prices sold at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon Sts every Tuesday from 3 to 7 p.m. A project of BOSS Urban Gardening Institute and Spiral Gardens, for more information call 843-1307. 

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.  

Goddess Grace Moving Meditation at 10 a.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. Cost is $7-10, bring a yoga mat or blanket. 883-0600. www.belladonna.ws 

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, MAY 5 

Public Hearing on UCB’s Long Range Development Plan at 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Copies of the plan and the draft Environmental Impact Report are available at http://lrdp.berkeley.edu 

“A.W. Pattini, Victorian Designer-Builder” with Paul Roberts at 7:30 p.m. at Church by the Side of the Road, 2108 Russell St. Tickets are available from Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assoc. 841-2242. www.berkeleyheritage.com 

National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Break the Silence of Sex with hip-hop and spoken-word performances and a showing of the film, “Silence Ain’t Sexy” at 7 p.m. at King Middle School Auditorium. Sponsored by PinchMe Films and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.  

“Rhythm and Smoke” a documentary on the cigar-making process in Cuba, interspersed with a variety of Cuban music at 6:30 p.m. at the South Branch Library, 1901 Russell St. 981-6260. 

Cinco de Mayo Celebration Workshop Bridging Zapatismo to our communities. Celebrate 5 de Mayo by looking at the Zapatista Indigenous struggle in Chiapas, Mexico and bridging local struggles in the SF Bay Area with other struggles in the US & the world. At 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-10. 849-2568.  

Cinco de Mayo Films “Santiago de Cuba” and “Oggun” presented by Tina Flores at 7 p.m. at Fellowship of Humanity, 390 27th St. Oakland. 393-5685.  

“Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter” with Lloyd Kahn who continues his odyssey of finding and exploring the most magnificent and unusual hand-built houses in existence, at 7:30 p.m. at Builders Booksource, 1817 Fourth St. http://bbevents.c.tep1.com 

Considering Teaching? Find out about UC Berkeley’s teaching credential programs, from 6 to 8 p.m. in 2515 Tolman Hall. To RSVP, email gserecruiters@berkeley.edu 

Reading Workshop for Parents of 1st-3rd Graders at 8 p.m. at Classroom Mattters, 2607 Seventh St., Suite E. Free, but reservations required 540-8646. www.classroommatters.com 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Pauley Ballroom, MLK Student Union, UC Campus. 1-800-GIVE-LIFE. 

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 7:15 a.m. at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. For information call Robert Flammia 524-3765. 

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 Sta- 

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

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

Berkeley 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. 548-0425. 

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

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

CITY MEETINGS 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board meets Mon. May 3, at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, Pam Wyche 644-6128 ext. 113. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/rent 

Peace and Justice Commission meets Mon., May 3, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Manuel Hector, 981-5510. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/peaceandjustice 

Youth Commission meets Mon., May 3, at 6:30 p.m., at 1730 Oregon St. Philip Harper-Cotton, 981-6670. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/youth 

City Council meets Tues. May 4, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers, Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Commission on the Status of Women meets Wed., May 5, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Ruby Primus, 981-5106. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/com 

missions/women 

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Sweet potato recipes invariably seem overburdened with other ingredients, causing one to wonder whether we dislike the natural taste of vegetables so much that we go to great lengths to hide it.  

This seems not only a pity, but a waste of time. It is so easy to caramelize sweet potatoes on the stove top, and the result is so toothsome, that there is no point in looking for more complicated recipes that include orange juice, marshmallows and hours of oven baking. 

The sweet potato is often called a yam, a common name used in the tropics for many tubers. Unrelated to the African yam, our sweet potato is a South American native in the morning glory (Convolvulaceae) family. To prepare, simply peel the scrubbed sweet potatoes with a swivel-type vegetable peeler. Cut them into medallions a little under a quarter of an inch thick. Layer these in a heavy cast-iron pan. Add small quantities of water, sweet butter, soft brown sugar and a tiny pinch of salt, barely covering the slices. Cook very slowly with the lid on for ten minutes. If liquid evaporates and starts to caramelize before the slices are soft, add a little more water, butter and sugar. They will be done in fifteen to twenty minutes. Serve the slices with the sticky, toffee-like sauce drizzled over them. Their sweet potato flavor will still come through. 

Caramelized sweet potatoes go very well with any savory dish, even fresh sardines or mackerel, split and grilled. Or treat them as dessert, still warm, with chilled lebne, the thick Middle Eastern sour cream. This can be found in several of West Berkeley’s ethnic groceries. It is made from milk and live cultures. Avoid brands with fillers like gelatin and tapioca.  

Sweet potatoes are tremendous fun to grow at least once in a lifetime. The process is more complicated in temperate climates like ours than simply burying a tuber in the ground. The sweet potato, organically grown, is balanced in a glass jar of water, supported if necessary with toothpicks, the stalk end barely submerged. Put the jar in, or close to, a sunny window. Eventually the tuber will be covered with leafy sprouts. When these are about four inches long, carefully slice them off with a piece of flesh attached. Dust this area with hormone rooting powder, available from local nurseries. Plant five in a bushel basket of sandy potting soil and put in the sunniest, warmest part of your garden. Shade the little plants from direct sunlight if they wilt, and water them regularly until they are established, when they become drought-tolerant. 

At the end of summer or fall (do not wait until frost) the leaves will have yellowed, and a surprising quantity of sweet potatoes can now be tipped out of their container. To increase their sweetness and durability they must be cured in high levels of heat and humidity, at which point the gardener will doubtless put away tools and add sweet potatoes to the shopping list. Without curing, they are bland. Perhaps our tendency to overflavor them dates from our early history, before their horticultural needs were fully understood. 

Sweet potatoes are particularly rich in vitamin A. The deeper the color, the greater the food value. In stores they are called garnet or ruby: jewels indeed.  

›

In advance of their eighth and final session today (Tuesday, April 27), members of the Planning Commission Task Force on the proposed downtown UC Hotel complex are looking over the first draft of the report they’ll give the City Council in early June. 

The 13-page document spells out the recommendations the panel adopted in their April 13 session, which ended before decisions were reached on: 

• Daylighting Strawberry Creek along the block of Center Street between Shattuck Avenue and Oxford Street that the panel already voted should be closed to routine traffic and transformed into a pedestrian corridor. 

• Offering ground-level eateries on the hotel side of the proposed Center Street plaza, preferably with outdoor seating. 

• A call for streetfront facades to conform to the rhythm of existing buildings. 

• Grouping retail uses into a continuous frontage. 

• Utilizing universal accessibility design in pedestrian public spaces and addressing universal accessibility needs at every level of planning and design. 

• A few proposals relating to economic impacts, taxes and finance. 

Decisions on those items will be made from 1 to 3:30 p.m. today (Tuesday, April 27) in the Sitka Spruce Conference Room of the Permit Service Center, 2120 Milvia St. 

Drafters of the task force’s preliminary report, which will be finalized after today’s session, grouped their recommendations into nine main subject areas: 

• 1. “Create a public pedestrian-oriented open space or plaza on Center Street between Shattuck Avenue and Oxford Street, immediately to the south of the proposed hotel and conference center site.” 

While Task Force members agreed on closing Center Street to traffic, they want it done in a way that doesn’t degrade transit service quality in downtown Berkeley. They also agreed the closed area should include benches, trees, plantings and public art to encourage pedestrians to linger, supplemented by areas for shopping and outdoor dining. 

• 2. “Create an overall master plan for the two-block area bordered by University Avenue, Oxford Street, Center Street, and Shattuck Avenue.” 

Members agree that the project should be designed as a single integrated project, with a priority on an early study of the impacts of street closure on local businesses and on pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Land swaps should also be considered when appropriate. 

Key participants in planning should be the city, the university, local transit agencies, the project developer and the public. Further, the proposed plan envisions that the city should initiate an all-encompassing downtown urban design study to arrive at a community vision for the city core. 

• 3. “Implement good design principles for the entire project and its surroundings.”  

Task force members want the design to blend harmoniously with the rest of the downtown, offsetting the hotel tower from Shattuck Avenue as far northeast as possible while harmonizing streetfronts with the facades of existing buildings and preserving solar access as much as possible to nearby buildings. 

Underground hotel parking should be sited deep enough to avoid creating a garage wall on Center Street, and above ground parking along University Avenue should be offset sufficiently to preserve the street’s retail character. 

Developers should hire architects and designers of the highest possible quality to create a bold and distinctive complex. 

• 4. “Provide public amenities and community access.” 

Members want mid-block pedestrian passageways or galleries to connect Center Street, Addison Street, University Avenue and Walnut Street, improved access from the complex to the Downtown Berkeley BART station (possibly by a sub-street tunnel), a design that directs conference attendees toward downtown shops and merchants. 

The task force wants an artist included on the design team, as well as a project budget that allocates at least 1.5 percent of costs to go toward public art, including creations for the plaza. 

One suggestion that many Berkeley groups should like calls for conference center operators to consider offering a lower “community rate” on available meeting rooms to non-profits and community groups. 

• 5. “Conserve, adaptively re-use, and respect the area’s historic uses.” 

Developers will be urged to design their buildings to complement nearby historic buildings and the early 20th Century feel of the downtown. Specifically, the task force is expected to ask that consideration be given to preserving the historic UC Press Building and the street facade and retail character of 2154-2160 University Ave. 

• 6. “Design, construct and operate the projects according to green building principles.” 

Ideally, developers should aim for creating the greenest hotel in the country following LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) guidelines, incorporating solar energy and sunlight access while minimizing runoff water and installing treatment systems to reduce suspend waste solids and reducing the amount of tap water in sewage flow. 

• 7. “Emphasize alternative and public transit instead of automobile access, and provide only limited on-site parking.” 

Among proposals adopted are calls for limited parking space available to hotel guests—no more than 25 spaces per hundred rooms—at expensive prices, no free parking for hotel staff and executives (who could be provided with BART ECO Passes), relocation of Center Street bus stops and layovers to other downtown locales and provision of transit information to hotel and conference guests and outdoor displays for pedestrians. 

• 8. “Assure labor peace and equity.” 

Developers should have a labor agreement in place before construction begins, including a card check neutrality agreement, and give preference to East Bay contractors and subcontractors. 

Contractors should include an agreement to comply with city prevailing wage, equal rights benefits, and First Source hiring requirements, provide adequate health car benefits to employees and their families, and contribute to the city job training program. 

Members also called for builders to pay city childcare and housing development linkage and mitigation fees. 

• 9. “Maximize net economic benefits for the city and for neighboring businesses.” 

While the developer will pay city property taxes and fees on the hotel, the task force recommends that the university offer the equivalent amount of taxes and fees on property acquired for non-commercial uses such as the proposed museum complex. 

One final suggestion, offered in the preliminary submission by task force chair and Planning Commissioner Rob Wrenn, calls for suspending the task force once the final draft is submitted, instead of dissolving it as originally planned. The suggestion said the task force and planning subcommittee could be reactivated in conjunction with the formal presentation of the developer’s detailed proposal for the site. After contributing their insights throughout the approval process, the panel could then be dissolved with the final city authorizations9

West Berkeley, the proposed nine-story Seagate Building and the need for more performance and exhibition space dominated audience concerns Saturday when Civic Arts Commissioners called for public comments on its proposals for the Cultural Element of the city’s General Plan. 

The commission will ponder adoption of suggestions from Saturday’s session at their next regular session from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. Once adopted by the commissioners, the plan goes to the City Council in May or June. The council is expected to adopt a final version to be incorporated into the city’s General Plan. 

Two councilmembers, Mim Hawley and Linda Maio, took it all in from the audience. 

First to comment Saturday was West Berkeley woodworker John Curl. “The city ordinances are written in a Kafkaesque way, and just getting them in line with the West Berkeley Plan will go a long way toward helping the arts in Berkeley.” 

Curl also requested reactivation of the city’s West Berkeley Building Acquisition Fund to help groups of artists and artisans buy buildings funded by mitigation payments paid by developers who have eliminated industrial uses in the area. In addition, he called for a change in city zoning laws to allow for a change in building use from industrial and manufacturing to arts and crafts. 

Bob Brockl of the Nexus Gallery and Collective called for city recognition of West Berkeley as both an arts and a historic district, while deploring the city’s use of $100,000 in mitigation funds from the Durkee Building renovation allocated for affordable artists’ space to fund Urban Ore. Brockl called Urban Ore “a nice place, but certainly not an arts and crafts use.” 

He also called for the city to create an inventory of arts and cultural spaces in Berkeley, “the locations, square footage, and the number of people involved in them. You should start by figuring out what you have and where it is and go from there.” 

Austene Hall lamented the commission’s endorsement of the Seagate Building, a controversial nine-story edifice which busted the city’s downtown five-story height limit by qualifying for “density bonuses” by offering low-income apartments and two theatrical venues totaling 11,000 square feet. 

“Seagate should have been required to provide 40,000 square feet of cultural density space, 10,000 for each of the four lots they’re building on,” Hall said. 

Arts Commission chair David Snippen told Hall that plans for the projects had been worked out in conjunction with the city planning director and the city’s Office of Economic Development in compliance with the General Plan. 

“The language is unclear,” Hall responded. “Look at the Gaia Building,” another height-busting downtown project that relied on a combination of low income apartments and a ground floor reserved for a nonprofit bookstore that went bankrupt before the building opened. “Now they’re putting in a restaurant,” Hall said. “That’s art space?” 

Snippen responded that he has “already been talking to city staff about the cultural density bonus.” 

An impassioned performance artist George Coates declared that the Seagate project had been “rammed down the city’s throat in secret” after 32 months of negotiations, resulting in “a valuable treasure downtown” being handed to one group—the Berkeley Repertory theatrical troupe—when “artists in West Berkeley, North Berkeley, and South Berkeley would like to have a place downtown where they can sing for their supper.” 

“Unfortunately, the language of the density bonus isn’t in place yet,” Snippen replied. “We have met with the city on creating language for enforcement, but nothing has been adopted by the City Council.” 

Snippen said that because the council hasn’t given final approval on the Seagate project, “we’re trying to work within the framework of regulations and ordinances in place now. We’re with you, George.” 

“I’d like to suggest one possible mitigation,” Hall interjected. “Seagate owns the Wells Fargo tower and the annex behind it, which is hard to rent. It might be worth looking into converting that into arts space.” 

“Don’t forget the historic and artistic importance of our buildings,” said Wendy Markel, vice president of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA). “We want to bring your attention to the West Berkeley Plan, which calls for identifying, maintaining, and preserving historical places. We recommend creating an Arts and Crafts Historic District in West Berkeley.” 

“I’d like to see something here like the Palo Alto Arts Center,” said artist and art teacher Bob Horning. “How about [city arts funding] of about $25 [per capita]?” 

“In Berkeley [per capita arts funding is] $1.65,” said Commissioner Bonnie Hughes. 

“Berkeley’s certainly at the low end of the scale in terms of supporting the arts,” said Snippen, “and $25 came up as a suggested figure during our discussions.” 

“In San Francisco, it’s $15, and it’s certainly reasonable for us to come within $10 of what Stanford’s city does,” said Mary Anne Merker, the city staff member assigned to work with the commission. 

“One of the things we see in this plan is that the terms haven’t been defined,” Hughes said. “What do we mean by ‘arts’? By ‘culture’? It seems to refer mainly to visual arts, and almost everybody here (in the audience) is a visual artist.” 

Artist Archana Horsting proposed amending the city requirement that builders install public visual art in new buildings to allow them to contribute the equivalent cash to a city grant program that could fund non-visual arts like music and theater. 

“The ordinance specifies visual arts,” Snippen said. 

“And here I am, a visual artist, calling for funds for the other arts,” Horsting responded. 

Merker picked up on Hughes’s question of definitions. “The word ‘culture’ is very slippery, and I’d like to see it excised from this document and replace by ‘arts’. . .because a restaurant could be considered ‘cultural’.” 

“We wrestled with this,” said commissioner Sherry Smith, “but the general plan calls for a ‘cultural’ plan.” 

“The devil is in the details,” said Brockl, who said the plan “is so nonspecific that it becomes kind of meaningless and pious.”  

“We’re trying to promote the arts, to set a basis for policy and eventually have real funding to support the arts at a far greater rate,” Snippen said. “We want a mechanism for what’s happening when and where. That’s the sort of information you have to find now by looking at telephone poles” [or from the Daily Planet’s Calendar page—editor.] “But we have to define who’s going to do it.” 

“Right now there’s a dearth of rehearsal space [for performing artists],” said another audience member. “It doesn’t have to be in a prime real estate area, just clean and wheelchair accessible.” 

“We want affordable cultural space with workshop space for artists,” said commissioner Jos Sances. “One of the main points of the plan is that people want space where they can make and do art—and there’s a definite need for affordable work space in West Berkeley.” 

“There are two separate issues,” said Hughes. “One is building new space, and the second is preserving the space that already exists.” 

Lisa Bullwinkle, organizer of the Solano Stroll, said she would like to see city funding for the arts administered through a grants program “administered by people with some artistic sense like the Civic Arts Commission, and not as a pork barrel program to be administered by the City Council.” 

“We have extracted that promise from the city council,” Snippen said. 

“Then it should be spelled out in the plan,” Bullwinkle replied. 

“We need to be sure we’re going to have some structural part in city government to pursue the objectives of the plan, Snippen said. “We’ve designed one based on what’s in place in the City and County of San Francisco.”n

The people at Berkeley High think the newest addition to their school has a lot going for it. On Sunday they gathered to share their exuberance with the entire community. 

A crowd estimated at about 2,000 showed up for the grand opening of the campus’ first addition since the Donohue Gym in 1979 to see what $37 million and more than a decade of planning could do for a school better known for having a building burn down than built up. 

By and large, everybody was impressed. “This is just gorgeous,” said Daniella Thompson, a Berkeley resident. Thompson had opposed a previous design plan, which she said would have clashed with the neighboring 1930 art deco buildings. 

Inside the stuccoed structures, wood is the most dominant feature, and functionality rules. The two new buildings—christened D and E—front Milvia Street at Allston Way and Bancroft Way and account for about 86,000 square feet of space that includes a new library, college center, administrative wing, food court, gym, locker rooms, parent center, swimming pool and dance studio. 

“It just feels more like a real high school now,” said Caitlin Boucher, a sophomore. “It’s hard to imagine we didn’t even have a cafeteria until a few weeks ago.”  

That wasn’t all Berkeley High was missing, students said. For years, Jessica Kingeter and her teammates on the girls water polo team had to trek to Willard Middle School, where they scraped the tops of their feet trying to tread water in a pool that in some sections measured only three feet deep. “This makes you feel more like a part of the school,” she said shortly after emerging from the new regulation size pool that opened last week. 

Maria Hossey, a member of the school’s Afro-Haitian Dancers, said the new studio was a “huge improvement” from the space at the universally despised Old Gym where she said paint was peeling off the walls and the roof leaked. 

For several years Rory Bled, now a vice principal, ran the college center from the Old Gym right next to the boy’s locker room. “It just reeked,” she said. “I used to spray Lysol every time a college interviewer would come.” 

The new buildings came into being because of the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. Responding to concerns that schools were seismically unsafe following that natural disaster, the district won voter approval for two bond measures—the first for $158 million in 1992, the second for $116 million in 2000—that have funded repairs or total reconstruction for every school in the district. 

Though two high school buildings were upgraded in the early 90s, the campus mostly languished for a decade while other schools got facelifts. Former superintendent Jack McLaughlin said that after the seismically unsafe old cafeteria was leveled in 1993, the eastern edge of campus along Milvia Street consisted of a steam plant, a parking lot and rubble. In 2000, after an arsonist burned down the B building, that gave way to a sprawl of portable classrooms. 

When it comes to the design, McLaughlin insists the credit belongs to him. “I drew the whole thing out on paper,” he said. 

“This is truly the house the Jack built,” agreed Lloyd Lee, a former school board director, who recalled McLaughlin constantly tinkering with cardboard models of the buildings. 

Once the exterior was set, determining what should go inside the new buildings wasn’t too hard to figure out, said Lee. “We knew we needed a new cafeteria and gym. Everyone agreed the old library was dismal and the old pool and locker rooms were disgusting.” 

The big question was how the different pieces would fit. “There was a holy war over who would be in the middle,” said School Board Director Joaquin Rivera. The board ultimately chose to put the food court and gym at the center of the facility to emphasize that it was a student center, Rivera said. 

Two enormous glitches in the plan were the presence of underground PG&E storage tanks on the site that contributed to an eight-month delay in the completion of the project, as well as the arson at the B Building.  

Lee said the new pool was designed to connect to that building, which had been slated to house the dance studio, and a weight room. The dance studio was moved to the new building, but a new weight room will have to wait for the next round of construction, according to Lee, who still serves on the district’s School Construction Oversight Committee. Lee added that the beginning of the new construction is not too far off. 

The district is shopping for a master planner to redesign the south end of campus, which will also be paid for with the voter-approved bond money. A new design will tackle the shortage of playing fields and parking spaces at the campus and determine what to do with the Old Gym complex, which houses the warm water pool used by many of Berkeley’s disabled residents.  

Several students interviewed hoped the next round of construction would include classrooms, which, they say, are becoming increasingly overcrowded despite declining enrollment. 

“People have to sit on the back ledge of my physics class,” said Zack Mitchell, a senior. 

There were a few other complaints as well. Kathleen Winger and Mischa Spieglemock of the school’s badminton team were angry that they would be temporarily relegated to the Old Gym after the contractor apparently forgot to lay badminton lines on the floor of the new gym. “We’d even take the Donohue Gym,” Winger said. “Something that doesn’t leak, maybe.” 

TerryLynne Turner, a Berkeley High parent and school librarian in Union City, said the new library “looks beautiful,” but was “way too small” for a school with 2,750 students. “The librarian should have her own classroom,” she said. “I have a full room [in the school library in Union City] with a door that shuts.” 

But graduates of Berkeley High marveled at how far their campus had come since their days at the school. “As a freshman I was afraid to go to my locker in the G building. It was so dark and bleak,” said Stephanie Baker who graduated in the early 1980s and now teaches in Richmond. “Hopefully the students will keep it nice, because not all schools look as good as this.” 

Karen Gordon Brown was so elated by what she saw Sunday she said she would consider moving from Oakland when her son reaches middle school. “I’ve been impressed by the people here, the conversations I’ve heard, and the interest they’ve shown,” she said. “This has opened my eyes that there might be other options for my child besides private school.” 

Berkeley voters will get some clues about the future state of the city’s financial affairs tonight (Tuesday, April 27) when the City Council considers an array of potential November ballot measures to help plug a $10 million budget deficit. In addition, the council is scheduled to take a first look at reforming the city’s campaign financing rules. 

The measures are scheduled for presentation by the city manager’s office at the council’s 5 p.m. working session, with the council set to vote on what action to take at the regular 7 p.m. council meeting. The council has until July to decide on which ballot measures, if any, will be put before Berkeley voters in the fall. 

Also at its 7 p.m. regular session, the council will consider a bill calling for more than a seven-fold increase in permissible cannabis cultivation by licensed patients. 

First on the agenda at the 5 p.m. work session will be discussion of four ballot measures that would raise $4.2 million in property taxes to compensate for deficits in the city’s General Fund and special funds.  

They include: 

A $1 million tax increase to fund the city’s emergency medical services fund that pays for roughly 40 percent of ambulance and paramedic services for Berkeley residents. The measure would impose a citywide special tax on improvements to real property. 

A $1.2 million tax increase to erase the deficit in the library fund that threatens to reduce hours and cut staff. The library board of trustees has not yet considered the tax measure, which would also place a special tax on improvements to real property. 

A $1 million tax increase to fully implement the Clean Storm Water fund to repair and improve the city’s storm drainage system. Money would also go for creek restoration projects, and Councilmember Dona Spring said she hoped that it could help to fund the unearthing of Strawberry Creek beside a planned hotel and conference center. Mayor Tom Bates has said previously he did not support this tax measure. 

A $1 million tax increase to fund youth services slated to be cut from the General Fund. The measure would sustain city-run summer camps, literacy programs, after school programs, crossing guards, and school-based police officers. It could be funded either by taxing improvements on real property or by raising the tax on property transfers.  

The youth fund services measure was proposed by Bates and Councilmembers Linda Maio and Worthington before the Board of Education made it clear they planned to proceed with a $12 million school support tax of their own. 

City Manager Phil Kamlarz recommended the other three measures last month. 

On campaign finance reform, after failing to reach a consensus in March the council has three options before them.  

They can choose not to change the current system which prohibits contributions from businesses and limits individual contributions to $250. They can proceed with a limited ballot measure asking voters to amend the Berkeley Election Reform Act (BERA) so the council can devise a publicly financed campaign system at some point in the future. Or they can ask voters to amend BERA with a detailed plan to publicly finance campaigns. 

Kamlarz recommended opting for the limited measure that would leave the details for a later date, but Mayor Bates and Councilmember Spring have proposed going forward with a detailed system devised for Berkeley by the Center for Governmental Studies and Common Cause. 

Authors of the Center plan estimated that it could cost the city between $1.4 million and $4 million each election cycle. A city manager’s report put the cost of publicly financing the next mayor’s race at between $425,000 and 975,000. 

On the medical marijuana issue, three years after the council limited Berkeley patients to no more than ten cannabis plants, medical marijuana advocates continue to insist that the limit prevents patients from growing enough to meet their needs.  

They back a proposal by Councilmember Worthington to increase the limit to 72 plants, ten of which could be grown outdoors, where plants usually grow far larger. The bill would bring Berkeley in line with Oakland, which has one of the most liberal medical cannabis cultivation laws in the state.  

Worthington’s bill would also codify a peer review committee to oversee the operation of medical cannabis dispensaries. A peer committee already exists with city support, but is not written into Berkeley ordinance. 

Don Duncan, director of the Berkeley Patients Group and other medical cannabis advocates have threatened to put a measure on the November ballot to support their goals if the council does not pass Worthington’s bill. The advocates’ ballot measure would allow patients to grow as much cannabis as they need. In addition, it would order the city to distribute the marijuana to patients in the event of a federal crackdown.  

At tonight’s meeting, the council will also take its first look on how it wants to allocate the $3.6 million it will receive from Vista College in transit mitigations for the school’s new downtown campus.  

Mayor Tom Bates has said previously he expected to allocate the majority of the funds towards the construction of a bigger, seismically safe Center Street Garage—estimated to cost $18 million. 

The Transportation Commission, however, proposed spending $2 million for improving alternative modes of transportation, and $1.6 million for different parking programs. Transportation Commissioner Dave Campbell said the commission’s breakdown was based the project’s Environmental Impact Report, which showed that only 42 percent of trips to Vista are drive-alone commutes. “It’s eminently reasonable,” Campbell said. “The mayor has said he wants at least $1 million for alternative transit measures, it’s our job to push for more.” 

ˇ

TUESDAY, APRIL 27 

Morning Birdwalk Meet at 7 a.m. at Tilden Nature Area to look for Laurel Canyon birds. 525-2233. 

Return of Over-the-Hills Gang at Black Diamond Regional Preserve. Hikers 55 years and older who are interested in nature study, history and fitness are invited to join us on a hilly 3 mile hike, meeting at 10 a.m. at the end of Somersville Rd. Registration required. 525-2233. 

Robert B. Reich “Taking Back Politics” at 11:30 a.m. at the Doubletree Hotel, Berkeley Marina. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Tickets are $50 and reservations can be made by emailing lwvbae@pacbell.net 

Phone Banking to ReDefeat Bush on Tuesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Bring your cell phones. Please RSVP 233-2144. dan@redefeatbuch.com 

Berkeley Special Education Parents Network Forum with Michele Lawrence, Ken Jacopetti, and Gerald Herrick, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Ala Costa Center, 1300 Rose St. 525-9262.  

Ohlone Dog Park Association meets at 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 843-6221. 

Biodiesel and Sustainability A panel discussion from 7 to 9 p.m. at BioFuel Oasis, 2465 4th St. at Dwight. Donation $5-$15. 

Adventure Racing: Spring Training Tips for Women with Terri Schneider at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Both men and women welcome. 527-4140. 

“The Integration Trap, Generation Gap” with Oba T’Shaka at 5 p.m. in Dwinelle 370. Part of the Distinguished Lecturer of Color Series. 642-2876. 

“The Gender Agenda in Africa” with Jacqueline Adhiambo Odoul, US Int’l Univ., Nairobi, Kenya, at 4 p.m. in 652 Barrows Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by Center for African Studies. 642-8338. 

“Is Middle East Peace Possible?” with Iftekhar Hai, United Muslims of America, Souleiman Ghali, Pres. Islamic Society of SF, and David Meir Levi, Dir. Israel Peace Initiative at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley Ave. 848-3440. www.ahimsaberkeley.org 

Organic Produce at low prices sold at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon Sts. every Tuesday from 3 to 7 p.m. 843-1307. 

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

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 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, APRIL 28 

“The Local Housing Crisis” with Kriss Worthington, Berkeley Councilmember, and Nancy Nadel, Oakland Councilmember at 1:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Sponsored by the Gray Panthers of the East Bay. 548-9696. 

“Victorian Glory in the San Francisco Bay Area” with Paul Duchscherer at 7:30 p.m. at Church by the Side of the Road, 2108 Russell St. Tickets are available from Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assoc. 841-2242. www.berkeleyheritage.com 

“Fact and Fiction: An Inside Look at Islamic Cultures” An exchange of perspectives with Peace Corps volunteers and recent immigrants from Islamic countries at 7 p.m. at International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. sswiderski@peacecorps.gov 

“A Place Called Chiapas” A documentary by Nettie Wild covering eight months inside the Zapatista Uprising in 1997, at 7 p.m. at The Fellowship of Humanity, 390 27th St., Oakland. 393-5685.  

“Compassion Defies Violence and Hate” on the five year peace- 

ful journey of Falun Gong at 6 p.m. at 182 Dwinelle, UC Campus. 

Bayswater Book Club monthly dinner meeting will discuss Richard Clark’s “Against All Enemies” at 6:30 p.m. at Liu’s Kitchen Restaurant, 1593 Solano Ave. 433-2911. 

“Beyond Networking: Building Win-Win Strategic Partnerships” at 7 p.m. at Gate 3: Emeryville, 1285 66th St. Emeryville. 665-1725. 

Acdemic Quiz Bowl with high school teams at 7 p.m. at Barnes and Nobel, 2352 Shattuck Ave. 644-0861. 

“Astral Travel & Dreams” a free 9-week course starts April 28, meeting from 6:30 to 8 p.m at 2015 Center St. 654-1583. www.mysticweb.org 

Fun with Acting Class every Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Free, all are welcome, no experience necessary. 

THURSDAY, APRIL 29 

Dining Out for Life at participating East Bay restaurants to benefit The Center for AIDS Services. For a list of participating restaurants call 282-0623. www.DiningOutForLife.com 

“Gardening and the Ethics of Place” with Australian EcoFeminist Val Plumwood, a forest activist/dweller, wombat mother, and crocodile survivor. She has authored over 100 papers and a number of books including “The Fight for the Forests” and “Feminism and the Mastery of Nature.” At 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Public Works Commission Public Hearing on Foothill Bridge at 7 p.m. at North Berkeley Senior Center. For information call Jeff Egeberg, 981-6406. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/publicworks/default.htm  

Community Sing Honoring Mothers with Jennifer Berezan, Melanie DeMore and Betsy Rose at 8 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St., at Castro. Sliding scale admission of $10-$20 benefits the Berkeley Women’s Daytime Drop-in Center. 

“The Imagined Worlds of Martyrdom” a conference sponsored by the GTU and the Center for the Study of Religion and Culture, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. ocker@sfts.edu 

“Living With The Genie - On Technology and the Quest for Human Mastery” A panel discussion with Denise Caruso, Ray Kurzweil, Howard Rheingold, Richard Rhodes, and Mark Schapiro at 7 p.m. at Pimentel Hall, UC Campus. http://journalism.berkeley.edu/events 

“Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits” with William Porter, author “Red Pine” at 5 p.m. in the IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St, 6th Floor. 549-2668. http://ieas.berkeley.edu/events  

FRIDAY, APRIL 30 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Kiren A. Chadhry, Prof. Political Science, UCB, on “Challenges in Iraq.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $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. 

“Media, Democracy, and the Informed Citizen,” The 8th Annual Travers Ethics Conference, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. at Lipman Room, 8th floor, Barrows Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by Charles T. & Louise H. Travers Program on Ethics and Government Accountability, Political Science Department, Institute of Governmental Studies, The Commonwealth Club of California. 642-4691. http://ethics.berkeley.edu/ 

SATURDAY, MAY 1 

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour “La Loma Park, Maybeck Country” led by Robert Pennell from 10 a.m. to noon. 848-0181. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/histsoc/ 

UNICEF Open House at 1403-B Shattuck Ave. from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sponsored by the United Nations Association - East Bay. 849-1752. 

Thousand Oaks School Carnival from 11 a.m. to 3 pm. Games, cakewalk, talent show, fortune telling, tostadas, cupcakes, quilt raffle, and silent auction. 840 Colusa Ave, north of Solano. 

St. Joseph the Worker Church 125th Anniversary Celebration at 6:30 p.m. at Doubletree Hotel, Berkeley Marina. 843-2244. 

May Day Celebration of Labor Solidarity from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $5 donation requested. 595-7417. 925-828-8184.  

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. 

Organic Plant Sale Beautiful, healthy organically grown vege- 

table starts, herbs, and flowers for sale, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the corner of Walnut and Virginia Sts. www.ocf.berkeley. 

edu/~soga/ 

Iris Show and Sale, featuring all iris in bloom locally, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Lakeside Park Garden Center, 666 Bellvue, Oakland. Free. 525-6536. 

Permaculture Ethics and Activism Learn permaculture ethics and explore what they really mean when applying them to permaculture activism. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $10 EC members, $15 general, no one turned away for lack of funds. 548-2220, ext. 233.  

Education Not Incarceration Teach-In, Speak-Out from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Oakland Tech High School, 4351 Broadway. Childcare and refreshments provided. www.ednotinc.org 

Berkeley Festival of Digital Arts hosted by Vista College Multimedia Arts Dept. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. Also on Sun., May 2. Cost is $10-$15. For details see www. 

vistacollege.edu/multimedia/if 

Free Emergency Preparedness Class on Responding to Terrorism from 9 a.m. to noon at 2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. To sign up call 981-5605. www. 

ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes.html 

Car-Free Morocco Slideshow a slide presentation by CarBusters’ Randy Ghent, at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave, near Dwight Way. Experience the maze of Morocco’s medinas, medieval pedestrian cities. Co-sponsored by Berkeley Ecological and Safe Transportation, The Ecology Center, EcoCity Builders & Bicycle Friendly Berkeley Coalition. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

“Dialogues Towards a Strong Women’s Movement Diversity Summit,” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Oakland Airport Hilton, 1 Hegenberger Rd. Cost is sliding scale $10-$45. Sponsored by California NOW, Black Women Organized for Political Action, California Women’s Agenda, Casa de las Madres, National Asian Women’s Health Organization, and Women of Color Resources Center. To register call 916-442-3414, or go to www.canow.org/ 

conf04/home.html 

Projects for Peace in Israel/ 

Palestine from 9 to 11 a.m. at Oakland Public Library, Madison St. between 13th and 14th. The Friends of Deir Ibzi’a describe their projects for women and children in Palestine. 653-0776. 

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. 

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

Dream Workshop on Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to noon at 2199 Bancroft Way. Cost is $10. www.practicaldreamwork.com 

SUNDAY, MAY 2 

Bicycle Tour “Hidden Gems of Berkeley” A 10-12 mile ride to explore historic street car and creek lines. Begins at Halcyon Commons, Halcyon Ct. next to Prince St. at 3:30 p.m. 847-0575.  

St. Joseph the Worker Church 125th Anniversary Celebration begins at 9:30 a.m. with a Children’s Mass followed by a Family and Friends Festival at 10:30 a.m. 1640 Addison St. 843-2244. 

Bay-Friendly Gardening: From your Backyard to the Bay simplify garden care, reduce chores and use as few resources, from water to fertilizer, as possible. Free self-guided tour of over 30 residential gardens from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 444-SOIL. www.stopwaste.org 

Native Plant Restoration Join Friends of Five Creeks and the California Native Plant Society restoration team on Codornices Creek at Live Oak Park, removing more ivy and tending the many native plants we put in last fall. Email for time and other information f5creeks@aol.com 

Elegant Salvias from Africa and California with Betsy Clebsch, author of “New Book of Salvias: Sages for Every Garden” from 1 to 4 p.m. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Dr. Cost is $25-$30. Registration required. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

National Women’s Political Caucus honors Joan Blades at 4 p.m. at Hiller Highland Country Club, 110 Hiller Drive, Oakland. Tickets are $50. 452-1600. www.nwpcan.org 

“Searching for Asian America,” documentary film screening at 12:30 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Slingshot New Volunteer Meeting Want to work on a radical newspaper? Come to the meeting and work on the upcoming issue at 1 p.m. at The Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751. www.longhaul.org 

Critical Mass & Carbusters Cafe Nite Join us for “Medieval Urbanism in Morocco: Lessons for the Modern World,” with Randy Ghent of Car Busters at 8 p.m. at The Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. 540-0751. www.longhaul.org 

“Healing the Mother in Your Heart” with Teresa LeYoung Ryan and Linda Joy Meyers in a celebration of motherhood through writing at 2 p.m. at Borders Books and Music, 5800 Shellmound St. 654-1633. 

Treats and Talents Auction from 12:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302. 

Iris Show and Sale, featuring all iris in bloom locally, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lakeside Park Garden Center, 666 Bellvue, Oakland. Free. 525-6536. 

Honoring Lake Merrit’s Birds at the Bird Refuge, 600 Bellevue Ave. foot of Perkins St. at Lakeside Park, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Please RSVP to 238-3739. 

Open Forum on Haiti, moderated by KPFA’s Dennis Bernstein at 5 p.m. at Pro Arts Gallery, 550 2nd St. Oakland. 415-391-3844. 

“Behind the Headlines: A Palestinian-Israeli Talks Frankly About the Conflict” with Kahled Abu Toameh, correspondent for Palestinian affairs for the Jerusalem Post at 7 p.m. at Congregation Beth-El, Arch and Vine Sts. Donation of $10 requested. 848-3988. 

Golden State Model Railroad Museum opens from noon to 5 p.m. Located in the Miller-Knox Regional Shoreline Park at 900-A Dornan Drive in Pt. Richmond. Admission is $2-$3. 234-4884 or www.gsmrm.org 

Tibetan Buddhism, with Abbe Blum on “The Tibetan Wheel of Life” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

“Father of the Modern Mystic Movement” at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302. 

“Eckhart Tolle Talks on Video” at 6:30 p.m. at the Feldenkrais Ctr., 830 Bancroft Way. First and third Sunday of each month. $3 donation requested, no one turned away for lack of funds. Contact Maitri at 415-990-8977. 

MONDAY, MAY 3 

“Green Roofs and Hanging Gardens” with Paul Kephart, environmental consultant with Rana Creek Habitat Restoration, and Aurora Mahassine, designer of “vertical habitats” for cities, at 7 p.m. at the Friends of Five Creeks meeting at Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin. All welcome; the meeting is free. 848 9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

National Organization for Women Oakland/East Bay Chapter of meets at 6 p.m. in the Oakland YWCA, 1515 Webster St. Guest speaker from the Bay Area Women Against Rape. 287-8948. 

“Urban Conversions: Reworlding African Cities” with Abdoumaliq Simone of the Wits Institute, Johannesburg, at 5 p.m. at 112 Wurster Hall, UC Campus. 642-8338. http://ias.berkeley.edu/africa/ 

BTV Public Orientation How to get involved by becoming a member, take classes and get on the air on B-TV Channel 28 using the media facilities at Berkeley Community Media, from 6 to 8 p.m. 848-2288 ext. 12. www.betv.org 

Baby Yoga at 11 a.m. and Yoga and Meditation for Children at 2:45 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. 883-0600. www.belladonna.ws 

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

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

ONGOING 

Vista College Study Abroad in Mexico Live with a family and learn language skill in a two-week session in July in Guadalajara. For information please call 981-2917 or visit www.peralta.cc.ca.us/interntl/studyabr.htm. 

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  

CITY MEETINGS 

City Council meets Tues. Apr. 27, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers, Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Citizens Budget Review Commission meets Wed., Apr. 28, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7041. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/budget 

Civic Arts Commission meets Wed., Apr. 28, at 6:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Mary Ann Merker, 981-7533. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/civicarts 

Disaster Council meets Wed., Apr. 28, at 7 p.m., at the Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. Carol Lopes, 981-5514. www.ci.berkeley.ca. us/commissions/disaster 

Energy Commission meets Wed., Apr. 28, at 6:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Neal De Snoo, 981-5434. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/energy 

Mental Health Commission meets Wed., Apr. 28, at 6:30 p.m., at 2640 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Harvey Turek, 981-5213. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/mentalhealth  

Planning Commission meets Wed. Apr. 28, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Ruth Grimes, 981-7481. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/planning 

Public Works Commission Public Hearing on Foothill Bridge, Thurs. April 29, at 7 p.m. at North Berkeley Senior Center. For information call Jeff Egeberg, 981-6406. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/publicworks/default.htm ô

Something like a close cousin, St. Joseph the Worker Church fits right into the heart of Berkeley. The church is a reflection of a community with a unique history and strong commitment to social justice and equality. 

  Founded around the same time, the city and St. Joseph’s have now been together for 125 years. This Saturday, the church will be celebrating its birthday, and all are encouraged to come out and remember its legacy. 

  St. Joseph the Worker might be most well-known for its beloved priest Father Bill O’Donnell, who amassed a protest arrest record that rivals the many other well-known Berkeley activists. 

  But the legacy of St. Joseph doesn’t start with Father Bill. Since its founding, St. Joseph has been committed to the kind of principles that are associated with Berkeley.  

  St. Joseph originally started as a convent and school for girls founded by Mother Mary Teresa Comerford in 1878. With a growing Catholic population in the area, it was necessary to have more than a school to minister to the community’s religious needs. As a result, Mother Teresa invited Father Pierce M. Comerford, her brother, from Ireland to come and be the pastor for a newly established church connected to the school.  

  The church structure was quickly built, and began to hold services for a diverse Catholic community primarily made up of immigrants from Ireland, Chile, France, Germany, Portugal and Canada. A school for boys was also started in the same early period. 

  While the community attended mass together, their children all went to school together, and a close knit community centered around the church began to form. 

  “The school was a large part of the integration of those groups into the parish,” explains Father George E. Crespin, the church’s current priest. “From very early on it was a very diverse community, unconsciously diverse. There has been a diverse community long before diversity became a quality to be touted.” 

  Over the years, the church has continued to attract such widespread and varied groups to its parish. Large groups of African American from heavily-Catholic southern Louisiana and East Texas came to the Bay Area during World War II and soon joined. In the 1970s the influx of Mexican, Central and South American immigrants also made St. Joseph’s their main church. 

  St. Joseph’s diversity and success is not just luck, however. Since its founding, the church has had a commitment to the community and a strong leadership that have turned into Berkeley’s flagship church.  

  St. Joseph’s has always viewed itself as a community organization of sorts as well as a church, according to Father Crespin.  

“This parish really is home to me,” said Norma Gray, who has lived in Berkeley since 1936. Starting with her husband, who went to the school, Gray has raised 10 children who have also gone to the school, and she has sung in or led the church choir since 1944.  

  “It was so good to raise [my kids] here,” she said. “You didn’t need to get along, you just did.” 

  And while the beloved Father Bill O’Donnell might be the most well-known priest to lead St. Joseph’s, the lineage of priests is equally noteworthy. At least one of the other notable priests was Father Patrick Galvan, who started in 1951. During his time, Father Galvan saw rapid increases in the number of immigrants and helped shape a church that they could call home.  

  Gray said he was also known for hanging out with Free Speech activist Mario Savio, who lived next door. 

  “I don’t think it changed either of their minds,” said Gray about the conversations Savio and Father Galvan used to have about politics and the different worlds they came from. 

  And of course, no one more than Father Bill O’Donnell helped shape St. Joseph as the community now knows it. A committed activist, community figure and religious leader, many say Father Bill is the unofficial saint of Berkeley.  

During his lifetime he notched over 240 arrests on his record for his participation in various protests. His list of involvements, like his police record, was long, including work with Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and the Farm Worker’s movement, his work in Central America, the Middle East, the anti-Apartheid and anti-nuclear movements, and at Georgia’s Fort Benning, home to what was formerly known as the School of the Americas. Activists have charged that the school teaches torture tactics to foreign police personnel. 

Father Bill’s recent death attested to his reach in the community, as thousands poured out to remember and celebrate his life. 

Today, Father Bill’s legacy and the legacy of the church carry on. With a growing Latino population the church holds a separate mass in Spanish, a tradition Father Bill started and one that Father Crespin proudly carries on. The school continues to flourish, although it is in the process of raising money for repairs. The parish continues to open its doors to the community with several organizations such as the church’s social justice committee. 

“I think what we’re trying to emphasize is the history,” said Father Crespin about the upcoming birthday celebration. “It’s honoring that faith, that commitment. It’s celebrating what is unique to us, the strong commitment to education, the living out in very practical ways [the idea] of diversity and more recently the commitment to social justice.” 

St. Joseph the Worker encourages all to attend its birthday mass which will be held Saturday May 1 at the church at 4:30 p.m. After the mass there will be a celebration at the Double Tree Hotel at the Berkeley Marina, with a no-host bar at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 7:30 p.m. For tickets and information about the mass and or the dinner, contact the church at 843-2244.  

ˇ

Sexual Battery Suspect Busted 

Following an attack on a 15-year-old student near the Berkeley High School campus, police arrested a 36-year-old man they had already identified as a suspect in a series of recent sexual batteries near the UC campus. 

The young woman was walking along Allston Way at Milvia Street when a man grabbed her from behind. Drawn by the woman’s screams and the sight of her struggling with her assailant, an unidentified Good Samaritan grabbed the attacker and the student was able to flee to safety.  

The attacker also fled, but Melvin Scott was arrested and taken to Berkeley City Jail after the student picked his image from a photographic lineup, said BPD spokesperson Kevin Schofield—who urged anyone with information on this or other recent attacks to call the departments Sex Crimes Detail at 981-5735. 

Strong-arm Robbers Grab Purses, Phone 

A hapless 20-year old woman walking near the intersection of College Avenue and Parker Street was thrown to the ground by a strong-arm robber who made off with her cell phone. No suspects have yet been identified, according to Berkeley Police spokesperson Kevin Schofield. 

Police arrested a 17-year-old juvenile early Sunday morning Sunday after two strong-arm types robbed a pedestrian at Prince and Sacramento streets. A suspect, unidentified, suspect remains at large.  

Sunday’s second strong-arm attack came shortly before 1 p.m., when a thief grabbed the purse of a Berkeley woman walking along Telegraph Avenue at Channing Way. The robber fled on foot, and no suspects have been arrested.  

Mother charged with kidnap, abuse 

When neighbors called police after hearing screams and cries for help in the 1300 block of Harmon Street Sunday evening, nine Berkeley police officers responded. 

BPD spokesperson Kevin Schofield said the incident involved the mother of a 3-year-old girl and the foster parents charged with caring for the daughter. 

The mother, 26-year-old Christina Petite, was arrested on charges of kidnapping and child abuse, then taken to Berkeley City Jail. 

Piano tuner Ben Treuhaft says he started sending pianos to Cuba in 1995 “as sort of an enema to [then-President Bill] Clinton’s Cuba policy, but somehow his Commerce Department gave their approval.” 

Not so under the regime of George W. Bush, whose Commerce Department ordered the program shut down in February after the State Department said it wasn’t in the interests of the president’s foreign policy. 

But Treuhaft’s not known for turning away from a scrap, due in part to his exuberantly scrappy parents, both active communists when he was born. 

His mother, muckraker Jessica Mitford, was the daughter of English aristocracy. Her first husband, a nephew of Winston Churchill, perished during World War II. In 1943 she married Ben’s father, Robert Treuhaft, a scrappy labor and civil rights attorney born in the Bronx to Hungarian Jewish immigrants. 

Ben Treuhaft was born five years later, after his parents had settled into a comfortable house at 6411 Regent St. in Oakland . 

His parents left the Communist Party in 1958, part of the mass exodus that followed Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev’s exposure of Josef Stalin’s bloody misdeeds. But neither gave up their commitments to labor, civil rights, and the exposure of corporate corruption. 

Robert Treuhaft played a major role in the defense of students arrested in the Free Speech Movement’s struggles at UC Berkeley. Mitford worked with current City Councilmember Maudelle Shirek to bust the restrictive covenants barring African Americans from owning homes in much of Berkeley.  

Small wonder, then, that their son turned his ostensible trade as a tuner of Steinway pianos into an act of political defiance. 

“I went to Cuba in 1993 on a trip organized by Global Exchange to challenge the embargo on tourism,” he said. “We wanted to get arrested so we could challenge the policy in a courtroom. But they never arrested us.” 

Treuhaft did learn that Cuba’s pianos were in terrible shape, leading to his first shipment of pianos to the island nation in 1995 after the Clinton administration approved their request for an exemption from the trade embargo. 

Three years later, he departed for the Big Apple. “I decided 50 years was enough,” he said. 

He loaded up his gear from the Underwater Piano Shop—named, he says, “because I sometimes work under middle-C level”—and set up shop in Manhattan, while he continued his Send-A-Piana-to-Havana campaign (see his website, www.sendapiana.com). 

With the help of volunteers and donations, he had sent 237 instruments and made several trips to tune pianos in Cuba before the Bush administration clamped down in February. 

Treuhaft enlisted the support of Oakland attorney Tom Miller and Congressional Representatives Barbara Lee of the East Bay and Jose E. Serrano of New York to help plead his cause. 

In a joint letter, the lawmakers praised his program as “a first-class example of Americans applying their expertise to improve the lives of Cubans, while sharing the democratic and humanitarian principles of the United States.” 

Miller’s letter, written with a dry wit, included a direct jab targeted at the administration’s heavy tilt toward the evangelical community. After pointing out that many of the pianos ended up in Cuban churches, the attorney asked, “How an attempt to silence Cuba’s churches is the fulfillment of U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba is difficult to comprehend. Please explain.” 

“I figured that appealing to religion was the way to them,” Miller said. 

“After they read Miller’s letter, they capitulated,” Treuhaft said. “They called on Friday and told us they were sending a letter confirming that we’d get our license,” he said, adding, “I think they pulled our license originally because they realized we were anti-embargo.”›

Thursday Diners Contribute to AIDS Services 

Anyone looking to do well by doing good will have an opportunity Thursday when an array of East Bay restaurants—including 14 in Berkeley—are scheduled to contribute between a quarter to a half of your tab to the Center for AIDS Services. 

The Center, located at 5720 Shattuck Ave. in Oakland, provides meals and other services to HIV/AIDS patients and their loved ones. 

Dining Out for Life is one of the Center’s major fund-raising efforts. “Last year we raised $35,000 and this year we hope to raise $50,000,” said event coordinator Simona Fina. 

Some restaurants are participating for a single mealtime (breakfast, lunch or dinner), while others participate for two or more meals. For a complete list of participating restaurants, their addresses and benefit mealtimes, see the Center’s website at thecenter.org (note: not www) and click on the upper right hand corner of the opening page. 

Participating restaurants in Berkeley include Bar Ristorante Raphael, Breads of India & Gourmet Curries, Cafe Cacao, Cesar (which is donating half the tab), Filippo’s, the Claremont Hotel, Juan’s Place, Kirala, Le Theatre, Locanda Olmo, Meal Ticket, Pomegranate, Rick & Ann’s Unicorn Pan Asian Cuisine, Venezia, Venus and Zatar. 

—Richard Brenneman 

Firefighter Loses Cancer Battle 

Veteran Berkeley firefighter Bill Wigmore died last Wednesday after a six-month battle with cancer. Wigmore was 59. 

Wigmore joined the Berkeley Fire Department in 1977 and in 1983 he was promoted to apparatus operator. 

Assistant Chief Michael Migliore joined the department at the same time as Wigmore and remembered his co-worker as completely dedicated to his profession and his colleagues.  

“Bill would extend himself to anyone associated in the fire service,” said Migliore, who recalled Wigmore renting a room in his house to the daughter of a fire captain in Los Angeles until she could find her own place. 

Earlier this month, Wigmore’s fellow Berkeley firefighters shaved their heads to raise money for the American Cancer Society. 

Wigmore is survived by his sisters Patti and Linda.  

A memorial service will be held on Tuesday April 27 at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph the Worker church located at 1640 Addison St. 

—Matthew Artz 

Every spring I head for Alamos, a pink-adobed, cobblestoned village tucked against the western slopes of the Sierra Madres in the state of Sonora, Mexico. It’s a pinprick spot on the map, located at the end of a narrow, two-lane road. The way to Alamos was paved in 1962. Before that it was just a rugged, pot-holed dirt track through miles and miles of high Sonoran desert. 

Mammoth saguaro cacti and oddly striated rock formations punctuate the monotonous scenery until you arrive within a few miles of Alamos. Then things begin to get interesting. The terrain grows hillier and the road becomes windy. Bougainvilleas bursting with color grow tangled and thick between crooked vara blanca fences, tethered together with bits of string and pieces of cloth. Orange, red and day-glow pink explodes over earth-tone walls capped in smooth adobe or pointy shards of broken soda pop glass. Green, blue and purple doorways demand that one wear sunglasses, not because of the glare of the hot Sonoran sun, but from the sheer intensity of their brilliance. Emerald palms, neon parrots, tropical flowers, trees laden with bananas, mangos and dates make it impossible not to squint in Alamos. 

I have friends who live in this colonial paradise—Bay Area transplants who once took Highway 15 due south from Tucson, followed the road until it dead-ended in Alamos, and quite simply never came back. Sure, they visit relatives and friends from time to time, head up to Tucson for supplies, jaunt here and there across the border as needed, but their hearts and minds are back in Alamos. It is not a bad place to be. 

Dogs and children run lose and wild in Alamos. Roosters crow throughout the day. Burro hoofs click on the narrow cobblestoned streets, echoing off the high adobe walls of the old haciendas and the ancient, crumbling cathedral. And throughout the village, day after day, week after week, year after year, the people of Alamos sweep...and sweep...and sweep. 

There is nothing more sweet sounding to me then the lilt of straw bristles hitting tile, palm fronds swishing against stones, crooked coarse sticks sweeping over packed dirt in a mesmerizing, soothing melody. Alamos could be the epicenter of the universe when it comes to sweeping. It’s a wonder it hasn’t already been swept away. 

Everywhere you go in Alamos, someone is holding a battered metal dust pan and a smooth wooden handled broom, its bristles well-worn, but in perfect alignment. On doorsteps, in churches, within tiny bodegas, outside on the sidewalks and in the middle of the street—sweeping tile, wood and bare ground into a high polish—pushing a broom and holding a dustpan is the rhythm of Alamos. It is its song and its dance. Everyone is sweeping the town dust-free until a flock of chickens skitter around a corner, the wind comes up, or a farmhand in a perfectly white straw hat, plaid shirt, tight jeans and a tired pair of cowboy boots pushes through the bodega’s swinging doors. 

In Alamos I awake to street sweepers—not monstrous, obnoxious five-ton city trucks, but one or two stooped old men pushing dust back and forth outside my high bedroom window. 

Back home in the East Bay I own two vacuum cleaners—bulky, heavy pieces of machinery that perch precariously on my steps, snake awkwardly around corners and squeeze tightly underneath the sofa. They roar and rumble, choke and snort, like wild pigs truffle-hunting in a cluttered forest. 

I grab a broom in frustration and try to sweep the way people do in Alamos. But it is not a natural rhythm for me. It’s not in my genes, my blood or my family history. It is not a dance I know. No matter how hard I try to sweep in Oakland, it never sounds like Alamos. 

For information about Alamos, go to www.solipaso.com. 

›

ANSWERED FEARS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Justin DeFreitas’s cogent, balanced and thoughtful response to his inflamed readers may be dangerous to his career as a cartoonist — it suggests that he should consider being a columnist, as he is a very fine one indeed. 

Frankly, I feared his recent cartoon (an American flag emblazoned with a star of David impaling a prostrate Palestine) might be implying that (among other things) “the Jews control America.” We Jews do sometimes have a reaction of fear (hmm, I wonder why?). But he answered my fears and his somewhat intemperate critics well, and articulated briefly a position with which I and many other Jews agree: both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine, deeply saddened and angered by many of the actions on both sides (not to mention the recent actions of our own destructive president).  

Thank you, Justin, and write some more sometime! 

David Herzstein Couch 

• 

HORRIFYING CARTOON 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

This is to strongly protest the inappropriate and horrifying cartoon in the Berkeley Daily Planet by your staff member DeFreitas (“State of Palestine,” Daily Planet, April 16-19). This is not the sort of thing you ought to run in your newspaper. Earlier in the week you ran a highly anti-Semitic commentary. Shame on you! You should print a retraction and an apology for suggesting that Jews run America and promoting other anti-Semitic ideas. In these time when anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide, you should be a voice for reason and tolerance. We cannot be proud of you, or support you, as our local paper. 

Stefanie C.Guynn 

William H. Guynn 

• 

THOUGHTFUL RESPONSE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thank you for your thoughtful, intelligent response to those who would libel you anti-Semitic. Out here in the suburbs there are some of us who are also horrified by Israel’s actions and our government’s approval of them. 

Any ideas on how to make our voices heard and have an effect on this unbelievable situation? 

Tina Lekas Miller 

Alamo 

• 

SUPPRESSING FREE SPEECH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was disgusted by the spate of threatening letters sent to the Daily Planet in an attempt to suppress free speech and full debate on Palestine and Israel. The DeFreitas cartoon suggests that the U.S. is primarily responsible for the expansionist and violent policies of the theocratic State of Israel. Most reasonable viewers of the crisis would agree with his assessment. The Israeli military would grind to a halt in one month without the massive donations of American arms and money. To raise the charge of anti-Semitism in defense of Israel’s land grabs is to desecrate the sacrifices and the memories of real victims of anti-Jewish hatred. 

I am currently a renter in Berkeley, planning to buy a house in the near future. You can be sure I will never use the services of Joan Brunswick in seeking out a real estate agent, not after she announced her boycott of the Planet in an attempt to stifle free speech. Her bullying attitude is something she can choose but we can also choose to steer a wide swath around her in our economic dealings. 

Sam Markham 

• 

FALSE CRIES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Three cheers for Justin DeFreitas and his right to draw a political cartoon depicting U.S. and Israeli injustice against the Palestinians, and kudos to the Daily Planet editors for defending his right to freely tell the truth! I really wasn’t surprised at the usual threats and hate mail pouring in from the local Israel-backers—to them, any criticism of “dear, blameless Israel” is cause to raise a false cry of “anti-Semitism”—the first refuge of a Zionist scoundrel. 

Israel has killed over 3,500 Palestinian civilians since the beginning of the current Palestinian uprising against Israel’s violent and illegal occupation of their homeland. Israel has imprisoned and tortured thousands of Arabs without trial, bulldozed and destroyed over 20,000 Palestinian homes, and uprooted over a million trees from Palestinian soil—while some 850 Israelis have died during the same period. These numbers alone tell us that not only is the occupation harming both Arab and Jew, but obviously the Palestinians are suffering far greater violence at the hands of the U.S.-backed Israeli military. Before complaining of Hamas violence, Israel’s local backers should examine Israel’s own role as a far more violent terrorist state—and their own role in supporting that terrorism. 

With Bush supporting Sharon’s unilateral seizure of West Bank land and confinement of 3.5 million Palestinians in walled-up ghettos, Israel has truly become the apartheid “White South Africa of the Middle East.” With U.S./Israeli rejectionism on Palestine and the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the obvious policy of the Bush regime’s neo-cons is simply perpetual war against the entire Arab world, disguised as the “war on terror” —really a war for oil and empire, driven by neo-con ideologues like Abrams, Wolfowitz, Pearle and Feith. Am I an “Anti-Semite” just for pointing out that these leading Neo-Cons —all Jewish—are all rabid, right-wing Israel-backers? Is their agenda really in the best interests of U.S. citizens here at home? 

If American Jews are truly worried about anti-Semitism, they should do all they can to stop Israel’s racist ethnic cleansing and terror against the Palestinians. If they wish to stop the identification of the Star of David with injustice, they should speak out against that injustice—as I know many Jews of good conscience continue to do here, in Israel, and around the world. 

Mark Dewhurst 

• 

ASSASSINATIONS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Israel’s recent assassinations of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi are cause for mourning not celebration. Murder with impunity of a demonized “monster” cannot further peace, justice or even stability. Rather, these murders, and the ongoing killings of children and youths in the Palestinian refugee camps, have made their victims martyrs and will serve only to inflame the hopelessness, hatred and desperation of Palestinians trapped in their own land by a foreign invader and occupier. 

People everywhere have fought for their land and will always do so, and the right to resist colonial domination by proportionate force is recognized in international law. What made Yassin and Rantisi heroes to most Palestinians was their steadfast and unyielding opposition to Israeli subjugation and occupation. 

There will never be peace in the Middle East until Israeli Jews see themselves as part of it, value the lives of Arabs as much as their own, and think of the Palestinians as their true blood brothers instead of as Untermenschen to be exterminated like so many vermin. 

Ken Scudder 

San Francisco 

• 

HUMANE SOCIETY RUMMAGE SALE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

What happened to the rummage sale? We made at least $600 a month in a slow month. All items were donated and all the help were volunteers; it was pure profit for BEBHS. 

The public is extremely disappointed in not bringing back the rummage sale. It was like a family get together on the first and third Saturday of the month— all to support the animals. 

It has been almost a year and still no rummage sale. I am surprised that a nonprofit organization can afford this. 

Please bring back the rummage sale for the good of the animals and the communities that supported it. 

Jane E. Roberts 

• 

PUBLIC ART 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Myrna Sokolinsky writes (Letters, Daily Planet, April 20-22) that we should all vote on public art in Berkeley. Somehow, in a town where so few can agree on anything, I doubt that voting on art would produce much of lasting value, if anything at all. 

She concludes by saying that “we can’t really afford to buy art at this economically stressed time anyway.” The Great Depression was arguably worse than this disastrous age of Bushanomics, but under the enlightened leadership of FDR and his advisors, the (publicly funded) arts flourished, and we now regard “WPA art” as communal treasures. San Francisco is particularly rich in New Deal art; in the East Bay, we have the reliefs on Berkeley High and the Community Theatre, mosaics on the old UC Power House, a fresco and relief in the post office, and inlaid murals in the Alameda County Courthouse, itself a WPA project. In addition, New Deal workers left us innumerable life-enhancing landscapes such as the Berkeley and Oakland Rose Gardens, the John Hinkel and Woodminster Amphitheatres, the Berkeley Marina, and a great deal of the recreational features of Tilden Park. 

What was done once before could be done again if we only had the will; we could put people to work building something worthy of the name civilization rather than destroying it both here and abroad. 

Gray Brechin 

• 

AQUATIC PARK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A grant application to the State Coastal Conservancy to fund habitat improvements at Aquatic Park will be on the City Council’s agenda this evening (April 27). Make your wishes known to support funding for striped bike lanes and a walkway separated from cars. Connect the trail south of Dreamland more safely with Shellmound in Emeryville. New landscaping can replace former parking lots. Native coastal shrubs can create shorebird screening. New egret roosts can be planted to replace those being lost. Visitor seating overlooking the waterbirds will be a perfect introduction to these wetlands. Better connections to the tidal waters of San Francisco Bay can bring a fresher, life-giving flow to this amazing biological resource. Lend your voice of support for Berkeley’s precious baylands. 

Mark Liolios 

• 

ON PEOPLE’S PARK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your invigorating story on the founding of People’s Park ended too early (“The Bloody Beginnings of People’s Park,” Daily Planet, April 20-22). After the murder of Rector and the shooting of many others that day, the park remained in UC hands and a tall chain link fence kept the people out of their park. 

Months passed. Fortunately, a massive Berkeley protest of the Vietnam war got out of hand and opportunity opened to take the park. A segment at the front of some 2,000 demonstrators decided to trash Telegraph Avenue. At the time the demonstration broke in two I was among those marching up Dwight. The police melted away from us to rush to protect property on Telegraph. A cry went up, “Take the park!” Hundreds of us descended upon the chain link fence. It took nearly ten people between each pole to yank down the sturdy fence. When it lay on the ground someone started singing “Ding dong the witch is dead...” Hundreds of people danced while singing over and over the song from the Wizard of Oz. 

The next morning a hundred or so of us gathered to role up the torn down fence. We were but a few minutes into our work when half a dozen squad cars zoomed to a stop at Haste and Bowdich. The cops lept out holding rifles not clubs. One of our number shouted, “Don’t move when they shoot. “ The idea took. The cops marched a few feet down Haste. We went on folding the fence. They fired. I moved so that if I was hit it would be in the back. I heard cries of pain and “ouch,” and also “Don’t move.” The cops freaked. They left and didn’t come back till late afternoon. By that time People’s Park was well on its way. 

Ted Vincent 

• 

SLIGHT OVERSIGHT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was surprised to read a quote by me in Matt Artz’s article of April 20, 2004 regarding Ex Parte (“City Council to Tackle Ex Parte Rule Reform,” Daily Planet, April 20-22). In fact, I was not surprised by Marie Bowman fabricating the quote, but rather by Matt not checking with me about it. I have been impressed by Matt’s effort to provide balanced views on issues he writes about and it seems he had an oversight in this case. 

This is not the first time Ms. Bowman fabricates things about me or about Affordable Housing Associates. She has done so in community meetings, at Council meetings and in the courts. So far, the community and the courts have made their judgements about her. 

She claims I bragged about how Councilmember Maio had made certain promises to me regarding the approval of Sacramento Senior Homes. This is just not true. By the time we had submitted our zoning application to the City, Ms. Bowman and I were communicating only through mediators. 

Ali R. Kashani 

AHA Executive Director 

• 

THE U.S. AND HAITI 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Why is the news from Haiti being virtually ignored by the American mainstream press? Why are we Americans not outraged by the United States’ role in removing the democratically elected leader of Haiti and supporting a violent military coup in that poorest of poor countries? This is a sobering example of the Bush administration’s total disregard for international laws and the sovereignty of foreign nations, and makes a mockery of the U.S. government’s claim that it is promoting democracy worldwide. 

Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected President of Haiti twice, each time by large majorities in internationally supervised elections. In 1995, President Aristide disbanded the Haitian military, which had been the source of much violence and repression in the country. His government made literacy, health care, AIDS treatment, and agricultural production its top priorities. These are priorities I wish my own government would support, both in Haiti and here at home. 

As concerned Americans, we need to call for a full congressional investigation into the role of the United States government in the deliberate destabilization of the Haitian government and the implementation of the coup. 

Sandy Kroigaard 

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom 

The increasing development by UC Berkeley beyond its traditional boundaries and its resulting encroachment on the city’s central business district and adjacent neighborhoods has been accelerating at an alarming rate. New and proposed construction will require untold additional city services, including fire and police protection as well as public works expenditures. 

The total impacts, which can’t even be calculated at this time, will place an ever-growing burden on an already diminished city tax base. 

UC’s Long Range Development Plan, adopted with much fanfare over a decade ago, was to be a roadmap for UC development, but also assurance to the city that growth would not go unchecked. This has proved to be illusory. The plan is constantly being revised to reflect UC’s latest priority. “Our goal,” writes the chancellor in a recent newsletter, “is to promote social interaction and intellectual collaboration, preserve open space, protect our architectural treasures, and help enrich the communities around u s.” UC, however, has taken the position that as a state institution it can expand wherever and whenever it wants to, and that it is exempt from city zoning regulations. 

The latest project to implement its plan is a UC hotel and conference center in the heart of downtown, with up to 200 rooms and 20,000 square feet of development. In this proposal, unlike others, UC would agree to be subject to the city’s review process—but only because it needs the city to contribute substantial public works to make the project feasible. 

We believe that, in the light of relentless UC expansion, and the severe fiscal problems facing the city over the long term, the best solution would be for the city to declare bankruptcy and for the university to take over the city, acting as agent for the State of California. This would benefit the city and UC in a number of ways: 

• UC could end its piecemeal dismemberment of the city—they could have it all at once, without delays or acrimonious meetings with city commissions. 

• Berkeley homeowners and businesses would no longer have to pay onerous local property taxes, since university ownership of the city would mean city properties would be tax exempt. 

• Substantial savings would be achieved by eliminating overlapping staff s, services and facilities. Also, there would be no need for costly municipal elections, or the expense of maintaining our City Council and its paid staff. 

• Since the city’s bond rating is higher than the state’s, the latter would be able to borrow more cheaply and pass these savings on to UC for land development, even beyond city boundaries. Conceivably, when it runs out of space locally, the university could acquire arch-rival Stanford. 

We propose that the Regents, together with the governor, appoint a committee to further explore these recommendations and to lay the groundwork for a strategic implementation plan.  

Finally, we recommend that any newly created entity have a name which reflects the reality of the present situation. No, it would not b e “UC-Berkeley.” It would be “U-Saw Berkeley.” 

Alan Goldfarb and Frank Trinkl are concerned Berkeley citizens.  

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El Cerrito’s City Council is putting the finishing touches on a new view ordinance. Will view-deprived property owners get to preserve and restore views via an ordinance “with teeth,” as in Tiburon? Or, will tree lovers achieve an ordinance geared to compromise, as in Berkeley? El Cerrito’s past ordinance implied a right to views. This worked when downhill neighbors read it the same way. But when tree owners dug in their heels, and disputes went for resolution to a “Tree Commission,” it showed the rules weren’t suited for a clear-cut court decision, pun intended. 

This dispute has a long history. More recently, three years ago, the neighborhood above Canyon Trail Park saw a chance to have the city remove some 50 Monterey Pines, which had over the years obscured views for uphill house owners. But park users rallied to have red crosses painted on the condemned trees, and insisted the city come up with a staged plan to preserve habitat and park ambiance. It became apparent that City Hall is capable of chopping trees, but is not ready to spend the money to seriously apply “Urban Forest Plan” principles. Staff turned the City Council’s call for a “phased plan” into a “tree inventory” with no follow-up, and stopped calls for further action. Presumably by pointing out that “If one park gets clear-cut, why not others?” and “Money (to not just cut but to re-plant) does not grow on trees.” 

Frustrated above-park residents have since then allied themselves with residents deprived of views by privately owned trees “to correct mistakes of the past.” Joined by real estate interests and new hillside property owners seeking valuable view rights, even in “little and placid” El Cerrito, it makes for hundreds of vocal view-seekers demanding action from the council. With a council election looming in November and many voters probably agreeing there needs to be “some right to a view”, the council asked the Tree Commission and the city attorney to craft a new ordinance. Just as predictably, City Hall protected itself by excluding “public trees,” leaving some view-seekers in limbo. 

The Tree Commission’s proposal was deemed too Berkeley-like by the view-seekers, whereupon Mayor Letitia Moore, proposed a Tiburon-like ordinance: “No person shall plant, maintain, or permit to grow any tree that unreasonably obstructs views.” The mayor is up for re-election and shows blatant favor to “hillside votes and money.” Predictably, the tree-lovers have mounted a counteroffensive, and the excesses are being whittled away, mainly by environment-friendly Councilmember Mark Friedman. 

The final ordinance outcome is unclear. If it is unacceptable to tree promoters, they may try for a referendum to defeat it. If unacceptable to view rights people, they may go for an initiative, or even seek a new council. At this stage it seems that El Cerrito is heading towards political and legal battles when it should be confronting crucial economic issues. 

This is not an intractable problem. Most voters would agree that view and tree rights should be fairly balanced. But the devil is in the detail. A council, needing to raise taxes while preserving political control, is unlikely to come up with well-crafted ordinance. It may be ready “to ditch” one or the other extreme position. Balancing property rights and quality-of-life interests, rights to maximum profits for uphill homeowners versus the economic interests of the overall community, taking into account soil stabilization and other environment concerns, are complex issues. This is not the proper time to risk alienating one or another of two large voter groups, possibly both. It may be better to have this issue be resolved, not by council fiat, but by voters directly choosing either a Berkeley or a Tiburon-like ordinance. Another possibility is for the two outgoing Councilmembers on either side of the tree vs. view debate, Mark Friedman and Gina Brusatori, to invite the leaders of the two “citizen groups,” Glenn Davis and Ann Thrupp, to hammer out as much of a compromise as possible, geared to the specifics of El Cerrito. 

Council and staff are tempted to exploit this issue to forge new alliances and divert attention from pressing problems. On the other hand, heated-up politics may be what El Cerrito needs. Pruning can benefit politics as much as it does the greenery. It is time for citizens to look beyond trees and views and notice politicians seeking reelection, staff protecting their jobs, attorneys spending hours to craft an ordinance. Once voters start clearing away deadwood they may go beyond what’s on the ground and start looking to the city’s true issues and interests, good neighbor relations between all residents. Most tree/view disputes are settled amicably, it is silly for the council to even consider an ordinance which provokes so much discord. Leave it to the voters! 

›

RESPONSE FROM WINOKUR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Morris Berger in his response (Letters, Daily Planet, April 13-15) to my April 9, Good Friday commentary on Jesus and the Jews (“Film Shows Need for Complex Interpretation of History,” Daily Planet, April 9-12), claims that it is the “excesses” in Mel Gibson’s The Passion that “demonstrate the persistence of the virus of anti-Semitism.” But anti-Semitism has been on the rise long before The Passion of the Christ hit the silver screen. As a matter of fact, indications are that the film may, in fact, be reducing such prejudice. After all, it spends most of its energy beating the daylights out of a poor Jewish man. Even hard-core Christian bigots might likely respond with some minimal empathy, as it is their guy, in all his Judaic glory, who takes it on for the sake of humanity. 

In my article I made it clear (as he quotes) that when referring to the crucifixion I am speaking, historically, only of: “some of the Jews.” But with all due respect to the Jewish tradition and its spiritual establishments, I believe that mainstream Judaism has made a disingenuous omission by continuing to treat Jesus as if he were barely a footnote in their history. Fortunately, there are growing exceptions to this, demonstrated by such rapidly growing movements as Messianic Judaism and Jewish Renewal. Represented right here in Berkeley, by the burgeoning membership of Kehilla Synagogue, the Renewal movement, at least gives Christ the respect of an essential teacher in the tradition of such prophets as Baal ShemTov. 

Meanwhile, let’s not obfuscate the issue by invoking uncertainty about details as a means of conveniently denying probability. When it all sifts out, sacrifice and resurrection aside, we are talking about a political execution. Of course, castigating all Jews for all time is draconian and unjust. But are repeating the old weary mantras of accusation and denial producing anything but insecurity and systemic suspicion? Bringing Jesus into the mainstream, ritual Jewish experience is the least we can do for our own legacy, and perhaps toward healing one of the monumental, inscrutable schisms in the history of religion.  

Marc Winokur 

• 

UNIQUENESS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Regarding Marc Winokur’s commentary on Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ: 

I would doubt the “uniqueness” of Jesus’ message. Jesus speaks with the same voice as the Old Testament prophets, and is supported by a great deal of earlier scripture. It is a principle known in the Orient as “parampara” or “disciplic succession.” Some of his sayings were Aramaic proverbs inserted into the Gospel narrative. To say that nobody ever spoke of peace, love, and forgiveness before Jesus would be ridiculous. 

Jesus was a man of submission to God, not an “iconoclastic rebel.” If rebel, he certainly joined the Establishment in a hurry, becoming the whitewashed plaster Icon of the dominant order for 2000 years. 

And of course the Jews killed him, and so what! Had he preached in Mongolia, the Mongolians would have killed him! They would have killed him wherever he preached! Since every Mother’s son of us is going to die, why make so much of the death of this one individual – there are many similar deaths, and, “Neither he who thinks the living entity the slayer nor he who thinks it slain is in knowledge, for the Self slays not nor is Slain.” (Gita 2:19) 

It is not a simple matter of “complex interpretation of history” but of simple common sense and a little spiritual understanding to come to terms with Ol’ Jesus. Gibson’s Passion is a passion play. Passion plays have been popular for thousands of years—this is a particularly violent and bloody passion play—very Catholic. For those who like such things, good! I would not see it because I don’t like to see the spiritual master treated in such a manner. As far as the complaint of the Jews that they are painted as the bad guys—shouldn’t have done the first thing! Does political correctness indicate that we can’t blame the Germans for the deaths of so many Jews? 

Clayton C. C. O’Claerach 

AIN’T BUYING IT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Here’s a modest but radical proposal: Isn’t it time Berkeley stopped promoting knee-jerk anti-automobile policies that threaten to run businesses, cultural institutions, and their patrons out of town? 

Berkeley residents aren’t buying Rob Wrenn’s notion that reducing parking somehow reduces traffic congestion (“Taking Away Parking Did Not Increase Europe’s Traffic Congestion” Daily Planet, April 9-12). At least, not judging by the contrary letters the Daily Planet has run both before and since his April 9 commentary. I think Berkeley will ultimately reject his broader “pedestrianization” notions too, and Wendy Alfsen’s specific proposal (in an April 16 commentary) to close Center Street. 

Mr. Wrenn took up a whole page trying, but failing, to rebut Jon Alff’s earlier letter about how limited parking and good transit have failed to reduce traffic congestion in European cities like Bilbao, Spain. Mr. Wrenn failed because he presented no evidence that excluding or inconveniencing motorists improves anyone else’s quality of life. 

Certainly, such evidence is hard to find locally. Berkeley’s most “pedestrianized” areas are Telegraph Avenue north of Parker Street, and the Shattuck Avenue BART/bus/movie plaza from Center to Kittredge. Given American realities, both strips have drawn such hostile sidewalk dwellers that many Berkeley residents either stay away entirely, or dash through as fast as they can. 

Does Mr. Wrenn seriously propose expanding these no-linger zones? Do he and Ms. Alfsen really want to extend Shattuck’s chain of gaping, vacant storefronts onto Center Street? Center now hosts a thriving restaurant/commercial row, thanks to both city investment and automobile access. 

Mr. Wrenn also blithely writes that “London has implemented congestion charging which has reduced traffic in the center.” But let’s be specific: Surveillance cameras now photograph the license plate of every car driving into central London, and computers send the owner a bill for $9. This is arrogant Orwellianism up with which Americans will not put. 

Does Mr. Wrenn want to dig a similar electronic moat around Berkeley, to kill off the rest of the city’s businesses? This intrusive scheme is failing even in London—where traffic volumes are creeping back up, but businesses are failing. 

I heard a sad radio report last week about a venerable London bookstore that’s closing down specifically because of the congestion charge. Its employees don’t want to pay it, and nor do its (former) patrons, who’ve stayed away in droves. 

Berkeley can manage cars and traffic through reasonable incentives, design, and enforcement. But we shouldn’t risk our city’s vitality by deferring to unelected nonprofessionals who have an ideological axe to grind—and whose abstract schemes are running on too few cylinders. Evidence matters, and so do consequences. Let’s have the broad public debate that Jon Alff’s April 6 letter called for. 

Henry Sloan 

• 

BICYCLE REVOLUTION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Beginning with Rob Wrenn’s thoughtful, articulate and well-researched commentary on traffic in Berkeley (“Taking Away Parking Did Not Increase Europe’s Traffic Congestion” Daily Planet, April 9-12) to Malcolm Carden’s letter in response to Wrenn’s article (April 13-15) to UC Berkeley students Andy Katz, Brandon Simmons and Jesse Arreguin’s commentary “UC on Collision Course with Traffic Jam” (Daily Planet, April 13-15)...are we seeing a trend here? 

Mr. Carden begins his agenda with a boost-business pitch: “Restricting parking and vehicular access in downtown Berkeley will mean less retail sales since shoppers will be required to schlep their shopping bags large distances from the stores to their cars.” He then assumes the role of the devil’s advocate by entertaining the Berkeley-moonbeam idea of a “totally pedestrianized downtown” as a possible alternative scenario. Finally, he tightens his stiff collar and gets back to business when he admonishes readers: “Don’t complain about the absence of quality retail stores. You can’t have your cake and eat it.”  

UC Berkeley students Katz, Simmons and Arreguin seem near paralysis struggling with their apocalyptic vision: “Imagine 2,900 new commuter parking spaces in Berkeley’s downtown and southside making Berkeley’s traffic nightmare only worse.” Only once in their long commentary did they allude to bicyclists and pedestrians, and then only as victims of tailpipe emissions in a landscape of marooned cars: “People getting to campus by bicycle and on foot will travel in clouds of car exhaust as 2,900 cars rest parked in the middle of major streets if the vision of the UC Berkeley Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) is realized.” 

While many people are concerned about the connection between public health, transportation and land use in Berkeley, the Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority (ACTIA) is actually doing something about it. Recently it’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee recommended large cash disbursements of Measure B Alameda County Sales Tax Revenue to two Berkeley-based programs: The UC Berkeley Bicycle Plan and the Tinkers’ Workshop. The UC Berkeley Bicycle Plan addresses issues of bike access with the goal of increasing bike commuting and safety, access to the campus and bike parking. The Tinkers’ Workshop offers free opportunities for Berkeley residents to develop skills using bike repair and maintenance tools. The also offer bike workshops for youth (averaging 75 participants per week) as well as a rides-program for 100-youth participants. 

California, and Berkeley in particular, are experiencing a huge bicycle revolution: In the biggest bicycle commute event in state history, an expected 35,000 cyclists will take part in “California Bike Commute Week 2004” from May 17-21. More than 200 pit stops will operate during the event offering riders an attractive alternative to the currently soaring gasoline prices. 

While some Berkeleyans see only traffic jams others, like author Iris Murdoch in “The Red and the Green,” see the dark side of run-away technology, as well as a more life affirming vision of the future: “The bicycle is the most civil conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart.” 

Joe Kempkes, Vice Chairperson 

Bicycle and Pedestrian  

Advisory Committee,  

Alameda County  

Transportation Improvement Authority 

Fact: In the United States over 550,000 children are in foster care. Over 150,000 of them are awaiting adoptive placements. 

My foster baby is sleeping. He’s breathing puffy breaths that are slow compared to the rapid beat of his heart. I know its rhythm well, because with  

each heartbeat a green light flashes on the monitor that’s connected with wires to electrodes on his chest. My foster baby is tiny in his cotton nightshirt, the wires snaking out beneath it. The light pulses green over and over, and if he stops breathing it will turn red and the monitor will shriek like a smoke alarm. Maybe I’ll have to perform CPR. So far, I’ve only performed CPR on plastic dummies provided by the Red Cross during the refresher courses I take to continue being a certified foster parent. 

I think he’s number 16, but I’m not sure. I’ll have to check the ledger where I write down the names of all my foster children, the duration of their stays. This one is with me because of testing positive for methamphetamine during the premature birth. His mother received no prenatal care and was ordered to complete a drug treatment program before he could be returned to her, so for now he lives with us. 

My son and daughter accept the comings and goings of my mostly younger foster children as easily as if it’s normal for every family to house a rotating cast of “throwaway” kids: premature babies who need to be hooked up to monitors lest they die in their sleep, children and toddlers who were starved by neglectful parents, abused by relatives, or developmentally delayed due to drugs or alcohol.  

Last night was rough. The baby began crying and didn’t stop for two hours, even after being fed and bathed and massaged. I put on a CD of classical music and then one of Mexican lullabies and when those didn’t work I tried reggae. My son said, “I think you should take him to the hospital.”  

“You don’t take a baby to the hospital because he’s crying,” I reminded him, adding, “Maybe he’s crying because on some subconscious level he knows his mom rejected him.” I halfway believed myself, and finally when my baby dozed off I hooked him up to the monitor before placing him gently in his bassinet.  

To relax, my son and I stayed up late watching old eight millimeter home movies of me in the family I’d grown up with during the ‘60s and ‘70s. My dad has been putting them on videotapes for us. Lying on the sofa I asked my first-born, “How would you rate my appearance as a thirteen-year-old on a scale of one to 10?” Without hesitating he answered “Oh, four or five.” I smiled to myself, not really offended, merely noting how much less important my physical appearance is to me than what I’m doing with my life that gives it shape and purpose—being a foster parent.  

We watched the strangely soundless but happy scenes of my youth: me turning somersaults in the backyard wearing paisley bellbottoms, then mischievously pushing my sister off an inflatable chair. I thought of how my foster baby, and many of the other children I’ve fostered for varying lengths of time might never know the easy stability of a permanent home with loving parents. Thought of how I’ve felt occasionally self-righteous but simultaneously humbled being foster parent to children with biological families whose realities I try not to judge: parents too often helpless to fight a system that takes their kids and might never give them back; men and women vulnerable to the ways society still preys on minorities of lower socioeconomic status, causing stress factors that can make it difficult to raise children without instances of abuse or neglect. 

Impulsively I asked my son, “How would you rate me on a scale of one to 10 as a foster parent?” 

“Eight,” he responded. 

Then, before I had a chance to say anything, he added “...teen.” 

“Eighteen?” I asked, flattered. “On a scale of one to 10?” 

“Yeah,” he said, expressionless, embarrassed to acknowledge his pride in me.  

“Wow, thanks, kiddo. That makes me feel really good.” 

Just then the foster baby started crying—a jagged, raspy cry, from the bassinet in my bedroom. 

Freelance writer Annie Kassof lives in Berkeley with her son and her adopted daughter and foster children. She is certified with A Better Way Foster Family and Adoption Program, which is always recruiting new foster and fost-adopt parents. They can be reached at 601-0203. 

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Saturday April 24 was a hot day for a garden makeover, or any other strenuous outdoor activity. But approximately 30 volunteers turned out to help transform the grounds of Chaparral House, a skilled nursing facility at Allston Way, under the auspices of Rebuilding Together. 

Formerly known as Christmas in April, Rebuilding Together organizes annual clean-up and fix-up work parties at private homes and community institutions. All over Berkeley, teams were painting, drywalling, laying carpet, constructing fences and garden beds.  

We’ve admired this group’s work for years, but never expected to get involved in one of their projects—let alone wind up wearing the gray shirts of authority, labeled House Captain and First Mate. But when Sandi Peters, Chaparral House’s high-energy Activities Director, asked for help, it was impossible to say no. Chaparral is a nonprofit without a huge budget for maintaining or improving its grounds. When Joe’s mother lived there, we noticed that the front and interior gardens, while extremely pleasant places to hang out and watch the birds and feed (or frustrate) the squirrels, were beginning to look a little threadbare. We got together with the family members of other residents to plan long-term improvements and schedule work days. Rebuilding Together’s involvement was a natural follow-up. 

A core group of family members strategized how to deploy Rebuilding Together’s volunteers for a big push to upgrade the gardens. Landscape architect Charles McCulloch arranged for donations of compost—eight cubic yards of prime Walt Whitman from American Soil Products—and plants from The Dry Garden and other nurseries. Several private individuals pitched in with plant donations. Chaparral House’s Environmental Supervisor Rafael Gutierrez rounded up tools, work gloves, dust masks. 

Saturday dawned bright and cloudless. The volunteers began to report—a mix of ages and skills, people from UC Berkeley student groups Gamma Zeta Alpha and Tau Beta Pi and their friends, a local LDS church, the office of Judge Julie Conger, plus some Chaparral House family members and a rep from the UC vice-chancellor’s office. Cal and the Oakland Tribune co-sponsored our site. 

Team leaders McCulloch, Dennis Fox, and Anne Hudes sorted them out and put them to work. One group, armed with power tools, went after the ivy that had overwhelmed a garden fence and invaded the only accessible raised bed; another prepared the streetside and entrance areas for planting; a third cleaned and replanted an interior courtyard. A pick-up group also planted a newly cleared corner that gets a lot of wheelchair and walker traffic, and horticultural therapist Sam Moreau used the day to assemble and fill planters that hang from deck railings, easy to reach and work on from wheelchairs. 

Things got a little chaotic at times, but the collective energy and good will more than compensated. Volunteers who claimed to know nothing about plants proved to be naturals at pruning and planting. Willowy-looking young women worked like stevedores, while folks on our side of middle age kept plugging away under the broiling sun. A row of purple-leaf plum trees went into the ground along the driveway; bright perennials were tucked into margins; four pickup truckloads of ivy went to the dump. Site Safety Coordinator Karuna Fosselius had no mishaps to report. As First Mate, Joe went “Arrrgh” a lot and muttered darkly about the rats getting into the hardtack. Ron’s primary act as captain was informing the crew that “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” scans perfectly to the theme from Gilligan’s Island. 

This day’s work was a kickoff to a long-term project to make Chaparral House’s gardens more useful and accessible to its current residents—a group older and more frail, on the whole, that the population of 15 years ago, when the place was an assisted-living facility. The plantings in front, particularly those plum trees, will improve the view (currently an asphalt driveway and the parking lot of the city’s corporation yard) and improve the vision; they’ll filter sunlight through the big living room windows, eliminating the glare that aging eyes can’t handle. The raised bed will become more useable when it’s lowered by a few inches and the splintery wood top rail is replaced by smooth repurposed-plastic lumber. 

One member of Chaparral’s landscape cabal knows a couple of Friends of Strawberry Creek, and they dropped by to talk to us too. An amalgam of creeks’ friends has been re-landscaping the margins of Strawberry Creek, whose daylighted section near Bonar Street borders both Chaparral’s gardens and the grounds of Strawberry Lodge, a larger independent seniors’ residence. They had ideas for opening the view of the creek and integrating it into the garden. Now we hope to combine the interests of the creek people, the native-plant people, wildlife advocates, the seniors’ residences, the City of Berkeley, the clean-water folks, the neighborhood, Alameda County, and gardeners including those living at Chaparral House to make the most of this urban oasis. 

As the afternoon got late, we realized that whatever else happened, eight cubic yards of compost had to disappear from the front lawn. Shovels swung furiously, wheelbarrows barreled through the garden, spontaneous work chants broke out. The last newly planted trees and shrubs, irises and pelargoniums got their blanket of Walt and a good soaking. The last volunteers, including those indefatigable Cal engineering students, took off, hardly limping at all. 

Some of us, although almost too tired to eat, had enough energy left to make it to Rebuilding Together’s picnic at Live Oak Park. Standing in line for burgers, barbeque, and a splendid array of desserts, we swapped tales of construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction. And some of us were a bit surprised to hear ourselves talking about doing it again next year. 

TUESDAY, APRIL 27 

THEATER 

First Stage Children’s Theater “Confession of a Cat Burgler” at 7:30 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $4 at the door. 845-8542. 

FILM 

47th SF International Film Festival at 6:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Ar chive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Steve Olson describes “Count Down: Six Kids Vie for Glory at the World’s Toughest Math Competition” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Brad Olsen introdu ces “Sacred Places Around the World” at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave. 843-3533. 

Jacqueline Kramer introduces “Buddha Mom: The Path of Mindful Mothering” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

The Whole Not e Poetry Series with Mary Rudge and poet contributors to peace and justice anthologies at 7 p.m. at The Beanery, 2925 College Ave. 549-9093. 

Poets Gone Wild Readings from the historical anthology “California Poetry” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0 861. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Dennis D’Mennance, Brimstone and Kingston 12 perform reggae at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a showcase of up-and-coming ense mbles from Berkeley Jazzschool at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Flora and Fauna” and “Garden of Peace” two new exhibitions open at ACCI Gallery, 1652 Shattuck Ave. Gallery hours are Mon. - Fri. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 843-2527. www.accigallery.com 

FILM 

47th SF International Film Festival at 3 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Victorian Glory in the San Francisco Bay Area” with Paul Duchscherer at 7:30 p.m. at Church by the Side of the Road, 2108 Russell St. Tickets are available from Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assoc. 841-2242. www.berkeleyheritage.com 

Joan Blades introduces MoveOn’s “50 Ways to Love Your Country” at 7:30 p.m. at Diesel Bookstore, 5433 College Ave. in Oakland. 653-9965.  

Daniel Dorman discusses “Dante’s Cure: A Journey Out of Madness” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Susan Halpern describes “The Etiquette of Illness: What to Say When You Can’t Find the Words,” in a benefit for Alta Bates Comprehensive Cancer Center at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

Nina Marie Martínez describes an adventure story/soap opera in “!Caramba!” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Berkeley Poetry Slam Finals for the National Slam Team Competition at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Andrew Carriere & Cajun Classics at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $4. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Swing Mine at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Julio Bravo performs salsa music at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Ragas and Talas open jam session of Classical Indian music at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $8-$15 suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.org 

THURSDAY, APRIL 29 

EXHBITION OPENING S 

“Still Moments in a World of Flux” photographs by Dafna Kory, Elizabeth Lane, and Jason Malinsky at Wuster Hall Lobby, UC Campus. Reception from 5 to 8 p.m. 

THEATER 

“Scenes of Unseen Prejudice” Presented by Piedmont’s Appreciating Diversity Committee at 7 p.m. at Piedmont’s Veteran’s Hall, 401 Highland Ave., Piedmont. Free. 663-9649. 

FILM 

47th SF International Film Festival at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jesse Shepard reads f rom his collection of short stories, “Jubilee King” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Jonathan Rausch talks about “Gay Marriage: Why it is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Arianna Huffington describes “Fanatic and Fools: A Game Plan for Winning Back America” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-5900. www.codysbooks.com 

“Navigating the Space Between Brilliance and Madness” a discussion o f bipolar worlds with Sascha Scatter and Ashley McNamara at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674 A 23rd St., Oakland. Donation $5. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with featured readers April Chartrand and Phillip Nails at Mediter raneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

New Century Chamber Orchestra performs Mendels- 

sohn, Shostakovich and Grieg at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $28-$39. 415-392-4400. www.ncco.org 

Quetzal performs Chicano music at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Greg Brown at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. Tickets are $25.50 at the door. Presented by Freight and Salvage. 548-1761. 

John Schott’s Typical Orchestra and Myles Boisen’s Past Present Future at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

Sacred Music Night at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Donation of $7-$15. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Swoop Unit at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

FRIDAY, APRIL 30 

CHILDREN 

The Little Engine That Could at Barnes and Noble at 10:30 a.m. 644-3635. 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

Jack London Art Invitational with art from five Bay Area studios, opens at 240 Third St., Oakland. Reception at 6:30 p.m. Gallery hours are Tues.-Thurs. 2-8 p.m. and Sat.-Sun. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 893-4100. www.jacklondondistrict.org/art  

“Re-Create” a recycled art exhibition by youth from Alameda County from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Museum of Children’s Art, 494 9th St., Oakland. 465-8770, ext. 350. www.mocha.org 

FILM 

Serge Daney: “Journey of a Ciné-Son” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “The Sisters Rosensweig,” a comedy by Wendy Wasserstein, op ens at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck, through May 15. Tickets are $10. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Aurora Theatre Company “Antigone Falun Gong” at 8 p.m. Wed.-Sat., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. through May 16. Tickets are $28-$4 0 available from 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley High School “Man in the Musical” premiere of an original musical theater piece by Phil Gorman and Lila Tschappat at 8 p.m. at the Little Theater, Allston and MLK Jr Way. Also May 2 at 7 p.m., May 6-8 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5-$10. 332-1931. 

Berkeley Rep “The Mystery of Irma Vep,” Charles Ludlam’s theatrical cult classic at Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage, through May 23. Tickets are $39-$55. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

“Casino!” a musical comedy by Jo yce Whitelaw at 8 p.m at The Glenview Performing Arts Center, 1318 Glenfield Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $20. 531-0511. www.glenviewpac.com 

Impact Theatre “Money and Run” an action serial adventure with different episodes on Thurs., Fri. and Sats. Runs thr ough June 5 at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid. For tickets and information call 464-4468. www.impacttheatre.com 

Shotgun Players “The Miser” opens at 8 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Theater, Thurs.-Sun. through May 2. Free admission. 704-8210. www.shotgunplayers.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash, Special National Poetry Month Reading with Gerald Sterna and Willis Barnstone at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Lawrence Osborne describes “The Accidental Connoisseur: An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

University Symphony performs Lutoslawski and Shostakovich at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channin g Way. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-9988.  

Arauco, South American nuevo folk, at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12 in advance, $14 at the door. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Caminos Flamencos with Yaelisa with dinner at 6 and 9 p.m. at Cafe de la Pa z, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $42-$52, show only $17. 843-0662. wwwcafedelapaz.net 

Beat Box Showcase hosted by Andrew Chaikin and Tim Barsky at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10 in advance, $12 at the door. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

GoJoGo, world beats, at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $8-$15 suggested. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.org 

Greg Brown with Pieta Brown and Bo Ramsey at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. Tickets are $25.50 at the door. Presented by Freight and Salvage. 548-1761. 

Todd Sickafoose and the Tiny Resistors at 9 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway at 2nd St. Cost is $10. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Singer-Songwriter Night at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Red Pocket at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

Over My Dead Body, Internal Affairs, The Warriors at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Reggae Party with Irie Productions at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Donation of $7-$15. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Hyim and The Fat Foakland Orchestra at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $7. 548-1159.  

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

SATURDAY, MAY 1 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Lydia Mills and Arianna Guthries performing traditional and original Latin American songs at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $3-$4. 849-2568. www.l apena.org 

Wild About Books with Ruth Halpern, winner of the Parent’s Choice Award at 10:30 a.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

FILM 

Vista College Independent Festival of Digital Arts from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 2020 Addison St. Tickets are $4-$15. 981-2800. 

New From Trinh T. Minh-Ha: “Night Passage” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Bay Area Poets Coalition holds an open reading from 3 to 5 p.m. at the West Branch Berkeley Public Library, 1125 University Ave. 527-9905.  

Darren Shan shares more vampire stories in “Hunters of the Dark” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s on Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

Luis Alberto Urrea describes the dangerous crossing on the US/Mexican border in “The Devil’s Highway” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

San Francisco Early Music Society “Zarzuela” a Spanish program drawn from Sebastian Duron’s “Salir el Amor del Mundo” at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $25. 528-1725. www.sfems.org 

University Symphony performs Lutoslawski and Shostakovich at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $3-$10. 642-9988.  

Amici di Buxtehude by Trinity Chamber Concerts at 8 p.m. at 2320 Dana St. at Dana. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864. 

Caminos Flamencos with Yaelisa with dinner and dessert at 6 and 9 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $42-$52, show only $17. 84 3-0662. wwwcafedelapaz.net 

Motown Tribute Show, an all -ages high energy production at 7 and 9 p.m. at Claremont Middle School, 5750 College Ave., near Rockridge BART. Tickets are $25. 879-3170. 

Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited, music from South Afri ca, at at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $18. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Bay Area Follies with Gil Chun Musical comedy, tap, ballroom and ethnic dances at 8 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. Also on Sun. at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10-$15. 526-8474. 

S queeze Box Social World Accordian Festival with Familia Pena-Govea, Creole Belles and California Klezmer at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Noche de Skatemoc: La Pachucada at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost i s $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Broun Fellinis at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10-$12. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Wadi Gad and Jah Bandis, conscious roots reggae, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

West Coast Live wi th Luis Urrea, Jane Smiley, Duffy Bishop and others at 10 a.m. at the Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15 in advance, $18 at the door, available from 415-664-9500 or www.ticketweb.com 

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

E is for Elephant, Research and Development at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Marcos Silva at 8:30 p.m. at Downt own. 649-3810. 

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

Braziu, Brazilian music, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

Fleshies, 50 Million, Shotwell, S.H.A.T., Kung-Fu USA at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, MAY 2 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Shocked and Awed” an exhibit of drawings by Iraqi school children at the Museum of Children’s Art, 538 9th St., Oakland. To June 6th. 465-8770. www.mocha.org 

“Bird Houses” an exhibit of bird houses and bird art by local artists of all ages and backgrounds from 3 to 5 p.m. at NIAD Art Center, 551 23rd St., near Barrett Ave., Richmond. 620-0290. www.niadart.org 

FILM 

Vista College Independent Festival of Digital Arts from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 2020 Addison St. Tickets are $4-$15. 981-2800. 

Film and Video Makers at Cal, works from the Eisner Award competition at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES  

Deborah Bloomfield, photographer, introduces “Four Corners” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Poetry Flash Tribute to Lennert Bruce at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.c om 

Alan Bern reads from his new collection of poetry “No, No the Saddest” and Linda Weaver will perfrom dances choreographed to the poems at 2 p.m. at Diesel Bookstore, 5433 College Ave. Oakland. 653-9965. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

The Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra performs Verdi’s “Requiem” at 4 p.m at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Free, donations welcome. 964-0665. www.bcco.org  

Broceliande May Day Concert at 8 p.m. at St. Alban’s Parish Hall, 1501 Washington Ave., Albany. Suggested don ation $10-$12. www.broceliande.org 

David Abel and Julie Steinberg, violin and piano, at 4 p.m. at the Crowden Music Center, 1475 Rose St. 559-6910. 

Dance-Kenaz, a fundraiser for Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Center at 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5-$10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

ACME Observatory Contemporary Performance Series presents percussionist Tom Nunn, and Aaron Bennet and John Finkbeiners Drinking Straw Music at at 8:15 p.m. at The Jazz House, 3192 Adeline.  

Dick Hindeman Trio at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazz- 

school.com  

Squeeze Box Social World Accordian Festival with Baguette Quartet, Conjunto Romero and Tsvetan Mitev Chakurov at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Harlem Shake Burlesque at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Susan Werner, jazz-tinged orginals, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Cost is $18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.orgˇn

To Bolivian-born author Edmundo Paz Soldan, Berkeley is a magnifying glass through which he examines the world from which he came.  

While studying for his Ph.D. in literature at UC Berkeley in the early ‘90s, Paz Soldan started walked the streets of the city, noticing its history painted on walls, noting its awareness for social justice issues. He was inspired, he said, to take a closer look at his native Bolivia. 

“I couldn’t unplug myself [from Berkeley], there was always something going on, it was in the air, it was hard to avoid,” Paz Soldan said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. “What I tried to see was what my experience in the U.S. would help me understand in Latin America.” 

After social and cultural upheavals that dominated the continent into the ‘80s, Latin America seemed to be on idle when Paz Soldan left to study in the United States. But what he discovered when he looked back—and what he began to write about—was a flourishing, vivid subculture, not widely acknowledged. 

Other young authors like Paz Soldan were also taking another look at their southern native lands, and daring to acknowledge the changes that were quietly reshaping Latin America. Like Berkeley, their work went against the grain, creating a backlash from literature critics.  

The grain this new group of Latin American authors was working against had been set down by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the near-mythical Colombian novelist whose ground-breaking, prize-winning work has made modern Latin American literature synonymous with the term “magical realism.” In that genre, fantasy and fact merge into a seamless narrative whole, almost as if someone told a fairy tale in the manner of a news story. Once that form became a popular seller in the United States, Latin American authors who did not conform found themselves without publishing contracts. 

But Paz Soldan and his fellow Latin-American up-and-coming authors were realists (in their writing form, if not necessarily in their approach to the potential market). They kept writing, however, and eventually created a new generation of Latin American literature called McCondo. The name itself is both a parody and a political-social statement. It derives from Maconda, the town that was the setting in the Marquez book—One Hundred Years of Solitude—that put the author on the literary map and is still considered the seminal magic realism work. But the altered spelling is meant to symbolize the Yankification of Latin America—a play on the cultural world of McDonalds, Macintosh computers, and condominiums. 

For Paz Soldan, the McCondo literary form symbolized looking at his native land through the eyes of an outsider—from Berkeley.  

“I realized that I could contribute,” he said, “because I had an outside perspective. [That idea] jelled for me at the time, [the idea that] I’m changing, I’m seeing my country with the eyes of a stranger.” 

This allowed him to recognize certain things that others took for granted, like the heavy American cultural influence that was shaping Latin America culture. And the political apathy of his generation that was very different from both the previous Latin American generation as well as from the political sensitivity that dominated Berkeley. 

“In 1993 in Bolivia, for the first time, they chose an indigenous leader,” Paz Soldan explained. “I lived that through the eyes of Berkeley. I read it in an article about how things were changing in Latin America. Of course, I was very happy. So when I went back home that summer with all my multicultural Berkeley points of view, I was shocked to see that they were shocked to have an Indian as vice president. They would say, ‘can you imagine, if the president dies, then we will have an Indian president?’ If I had stayed in Bolivia I might have been like them. But I was in Berkeley.” 

Like the other authors in the McCondo genre, Paz Soldan wrote the world as he saw it, with all its quirks and faults and changes. Paz Soldan was not afraid to expose the fact that the modern Latin America was different from the Latin America Garcia Marquez and others had described in their books.  

For example, he said he originally read some of the other authors’ work and saw how much their characters sounded like American teenagers. At first he thought it was just an attempt to mimic America because it was “cool.” But then he realized that these authors had caught an important point. 

“The cultural forces industry in Latin America is not very strong,” he said. “Maybe in Mexico and Argentina. [But if] a kid in Bolivia meets a kid from Ecuador and they want to talk about something common, they talk about The X-Files. The kid in Bolivia hasn’t seen Ecuadorian sitcoms. American popular culture was becoming a way to communicate.” 

Paz Soldan said the Latin American cultural critics, while secretly revering the United States, refused to publicly acknowledge their respect. So McCondo’s attempt to expose the U.S. cultural dominance of Latin America generated heat. 

In his most recent book, The Matter of Desire, Berkeley continues to be an important theme. The book is about a young Bolivian, much like Paz Soldan, who comes to the United States only to refocus on Latin America. In the book the protagonist returns to Bolivia after teaching in the U.S. to rediscover the life of his father, an iconic revolutionary figure, whose manifesto is aptly titled Berkeley.  

“I wanted to show what Berkeley represented for Latin America, it was the symbol of the fight against the war, for civil rights,” he said. 

The young man’s father, who was in Berkeley during the 60s, finds his political calling and returns to Bolivia to fight. He then dies, before the protagonist really grows to know him. All the young man knows of his dad is the posters and statues of him hung around the country. 

Without giving away the plot, the young man decides he has to return to Berkeley to try and find what created the human being behind the poster. What he finds is something we here in Berkeley all know to be true, that times have changed. 

“Berkeley represents many things [in the book]. It represents a lost paradise,” Paz Soldan said. “One day all these dreams were in place. But afterwards Berkeley became a pale imitation of itself with the years. But the stereotype remains, and many people have benefited from that stereotype.” 

Paz Soldan’s new book, The Matter of Desire, is published by Houghton Mifflin and is available at all major bookstores. 224 pages. $12. ›

The just-published Quick Index to the Origin of Berkeley’s Names delivers on the promise of its title, offering in 28 pages a definitive account of the reasons behind the names of the city’s streets, creeks, walks, paths and parks. 

Created by the Berkeley Historical Society under the guiding hand of editor and fifth-generation city resident John Ginno Arnovici, the text offers concise one- to seven-line accounts of how some unfamiliar and very familiar names in the city came to be. 

Consider Telegraph Avenue. Originally named Telegraph Road for the wires stretched along its length from Oakland to Claremont Canyon, it became—successively—Choate and then Humboldt Avenue before reverting to an upgraded version of the original. 

The telegraph also figures in the name of Ellsworth Street, which was named for federal patent commissioner Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, who enticed Congress to come up with $36,000 for Samuel F.B. Morse’s first telegraph line. 

Many Berkeley names derive from early settlers, business folk, prominent figures in the history of UC Berkeley, and activists. 

Journalists left their brands on at least three streets. Early Oakland Tribune scribe Herman Whitaker lent his last name to the avenue, and each of former San Francisco Chronicle editor Scott Newhall’s names adorns one of the city’s paths. The last name of California’s most famous early newsman, Mark Twain, graced both an avenue and a path. Later, the walkway was renamed Anne Brower Path after the environmental activist. 

One avenue was named after a play—Posen Avenue—for the drama Sam’l of Posen.  

There are streets named after poets, playwrights, English cities, real estate developers, city officials and naturalists. 

There’s even a street—Prince—named for a horse that belonged to early Berkeley resident J.B. Woolsey. 

One name residents stopped seeing for political reasons is Axis Drive, renamed University Drive in World War II, when the U.S. was waging battle against the so-called Axis Powers of Germany, Japan, and Italy. 

As a nifty bonus to the Quick Index, there are photos of some of the early settler who gave their names to local landmarks, as well as a foldout panel of three maps which locate the city’s creeks, neighborhoods, and successive annexations. 

In short, it’s the perfect bathroom and nightstand book. 

Quick Index to the Origins of Berkeley’s Names is available for $10 from local bookstores and at the Berkeley Historical Society, Veteran’s Memorial Building, 1931 Center St., 94701, or by mail for $15 from B.H.S., P.O. Box 1190, Berkeley 94701. 

A cascade of doubts over the Iraq war has been resurfacing in U.S. Latino media, coinciding with the recent announcement that Honduras will join Spain in withdrawing troops from Iraq amid escalating violence. 

On March 19, Spanish-language daily La Opinión ran an editorial criticizing the U.S. presence in Iraq, reminding readers that President Bush started the war by calling Iraq an “imminent threat” due to its weapons of mass destruction and ties to Islamic terrorism. “Twelve months later none of these charges has been proven and, on the contrary, our country has been bogged down in the reconstruction of a society where it is not even welcome.” 

Recent surveys indicate that a majority of U.S. Latinos would agree with this evaluation. A poll released April 4 by the Miami Herald found that more than half of Latino voters oppose the Iraq war, according to an article in New York City Spanish-language daily Hoy. 

In fact, the disapproval of the war in Iraq has consistently been higher among Latinos compared to the general U.S. population, as indicated by a series of polls conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center. In its survey released this week, 59 percent of native-born and 44 percent of foreign-born Latinos said they thought the Bush administration deliberately misled the public about the threat in Iraq before the war. 

An editorial in the April 16 issue of the bilingual weekly La Prensa San Diego responds to the President’s reaffirmation that he intended to keep U.S. troops in Iraq: “Señor Presidente, perhaps you would have been more correct to have said: ‘The war in Iraq will continue no matter how many poor and middle class servicemen are killed.’”  

More than 600 Americans have been killed in Iraq since the war began. This month, more than 80 Americans have been killed. 

“The war that was intended to secure Americans has done the opposite, and has instead caused more violence and attacks against Americans in Iraq,” writes Eva Munoz in the L.A.-area bilingual weekly chain Eastern Group Publications (EGP). In interviews with Latinos ranging from age 18 to 55, she finds that they have “more questions than answers” about the war. 

Latinos in the United States may be more critical of the U.S. war in Iraq because they face a more precarious economic situation in the United States. Salaries are down for Latino workers, reports La Opinión, and unemployment is higher than in the general population, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.  

With economic uncertainty at home, many Latinos are likely skeptical of funds and resources expended in a foreign war. 

The history of U.S. interventions in Latin America also informs the skepticism. The U.S. military invaded Mexico three times, and the CIA’s involvement in Central and South America in the 1980s makes Latin American leaders dubious of U.S. intentions in Iraq. 

“[Latinos] have the image of the United States as the super-powerful country that is always abusing its power to dominate other nations,” said Miguel Angel Báez, editor of Noticiero Semanal. “Many Latin American nations are victims of the U.S. interventionist policy that has provoked economic, social and political crises in those nations, forcing immigrants to come to this country. I believe that this in part is a reason why we tend to identify more with (the) less powerful nations.” 

Connections between the United States’ mission in Iraq and its role in Latin America may not be so far off. President Bush’s recent appointment as U.S. ambassador to Iraq happens to be John Negroponte, former U.S. ambassador to Honduras in the 1980s. Negroponte has been criticized for assisting the Contras, U.S.-funded insurgents fighting to oust the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, according to an Associated Press report published in the April 19 edition of Fresno, Calif., bilingual weekly Vida en el Valle. 

The article reports: “When questioned by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on whether he had acquiesced to human rights abuses by a Honduran death squad funded and partly trained by the CIA, [Negroponte] said: ‘To this day, I do not believe that death squads were operating in Honduras.’” 

Negroponte’s denial that the death squads ever existed has led him to be described by Stephen Kinzer, the New York Times Nicaraguan bureau chief from 1983 to 1989, as “a great fabulist” who “professed to see a Honduras almost Scandinavian in its tranquility, a place where there were no murderous generals, no death squads, no political prisoners, no clandestine jails or cemeteries.”  

Meanwhile, young, low-income Latinos and other minorities are disproportionately targeted by military recruiting propaganda, according to data collected by Rick Jahnkow and University of California at San Diego Professor Jorge Mariscal, members of Project YANO (Youth and Non-Military Opportunities), reports Raymond R. Beltrán in bilingual weekly La Prensa San Diego.  

Slogans such as “Army of One” appeal to the ideals of youth, says poet and screenwriter Jimmy Santiago Baca. And as part of Bush’s No Child Left Behind policy, high schools cannot receive financial aid from the government unless they make available students’ personal contact information to military recruiters. 

Elena Shore works for New California Media, an association of over 600 print, broadcast and online ethnic media organizations founded in 1996 by Pacific News Service and members of ethnic media.›

I have a love/hate relationship with fruitless mulberry trees—in fact, I have a love/hate relationship with the individual outside my house. It shades a big south-facing window quite nicely in summer, then drops its leaves so we get some much-needed sun in winter. It gives me a bird’s-eye view of birds, when the local robins and finches and chickadees hang out in it, and it provides a customary perch for Himself, the Anna’s hummingbird that rules our front-porch feeder. When we’re lucky and get the right sequence of weather in fall, the whole street glows a glorious yellow, between the trees and their runway carpet of fallen leaves. It has a friendly, leafy presence, and aesthetically, the row of them on our street is one of the best things about it. 

However. 

It’s also giving my little front garden more shade than I’d prefer—picky, picky, I know, but it’s a shady lot in general. The leaves are big and sturdy and while they make OK mulch, we really have to keep them raked when they fall, or they’ll smother some small plants. They’re also slippery when wet. But these are just the standard price for having a tree. My big complaint is with its sex. 

Fruitless mulberries, like a lot of fruitless tree cultivars, are all male clones. They make decent street trees and, in hot places like the Central Valley and Nevada, they’re used to shade yards and buildings too. One common strategy is to pollard them, cutting most of the branches every year, starting when the tree is young, back to the same few points. This creates knobs from which lots of fairly straight, densely leafy shoots grow (it originated as a way to harvest firewood without killing trees). You have to cut back to the top of this knob every year, and allow only a year or two between cuttings for safety, because the branches that grow out are weakly attached and will fall if they get large. Planetrees and mulberries tolerate this treatment well. 

Male trees, especially wind-pollinated ones (which usually have small, inconspicuous flowers) dump lots of pollen into the air. I can sit on my front porch and watch the pollen curling off the catkins like cigarette smoke in spring. Fetching, but allergenic as heck. It infuriates my sinuses, which in turn abuse the rest of me. I’m not alone—cities in Nevada and Arizona have forbidden planting fruitless mulberries, and olives too. Same problem—and I love olives. 

You can find dried white mulberries, called “tut” (pronounced “toot” in Farsi), in Middle Eastern groceries; they’re mildly sweet. Fresh, they’re even better, but they don’t travel well so you rarely see them for sale. 

There was a red mulberry—the fruiting kind—near my house when I was a kid. We used it as a playhouse; its branches drooped to the ground in a wide arc and there were a couple of handy limestone boulders under it for furniture. We climbed it too, and ate lots of the lovely fruit it bore. We’d come home happy and quite purple-stained. Sometimes a bird would feast too and leave a thank-you on the laundry drying on lines in the yards. I suppose I’ve inherited my love/hate relationship with mulberries from my mother.

Recent discussions before the Civic Arts Commission and in these pages remind me of what I learned in my stint in the 1970s as an intern at the California Arts Council, when Jerry Brown was still playing his Governor Moonbeam role and I was a law student. The council’s executive director was the redoubtable Eloise Pickard Smith, a painter and political activist. Among the illustrious commissioners were actor Peter Coyote, poet Gary Snyder and Luis Valdez, founder of El Teatro Campesino. Watching from the sidelines as these politically savvy artists allocated public funding for the arts taught me many lessons. The most surprising thing I learned was how much many members of the public hate public art. Or rather, how much they hate certain kinds of public art. Or most specifically, how they actively dislike large non-representational sculptures plopped into public spaces. We got letters, we got lots and lots of letters, almost all complaining about such installations.  

A couple of decades have passed since then, but I don’t think the public mind has changed much on this topic, as a recent letter to the Daily Planet decrying the latest Downtown Berkeley public sculpture additions shows. The letter writer suggested that the public should be allowed to vote on such projects, or perhaps that they should be canceled altogether when the economy is slow.  

My guess is that voters would have vetoed 90 percent of the public sculpture proposals which have been funded in the last 20 years. The Vaillancourt Fountain on the Embarcadero in San Francisco still generates many outraged letters when it’s mentioned in the press. 

A subsequent Planet letter writer opposed voting on specific projects, but spoke out vigorously for the concept of publicly supported art, even in hard times, pointing to the many fine projects completed by the federal Works Progress Adminstration during the great depression which the public still enjoys, such as the reliefs on the Berkeley Community Theater. The two letter writers aren’t really in disagreement. Americans aren’t against art, but they do care a lot about what kind of art it is. WPA-style artistic enhancements to needed public projects seldom are opposed, even today. But large standalone works of art-for-art’s-sake which are perceived as self-righteous attempts to “improve” popular taste have always been resented by a large segment of the population.  

One important question is how much public support should go to art as process, and how much to art as product. The current building boom in Berkeley has created a fund of more than half a million dollars to be used for the commission and purchase of public art products. This is supported by a law requiring allocation of 1.5 percent of a new building’s cost to public art, both on and off the building site, and it has paid for most of the visible new art constructs in downtown Berkeley, the ones which have been the focus of considerable public ire. Grants to individuals and organizations for their own work are about half as much as the public art total, on the other hand, and are seldom controversial. 

Speakers at the recent hearing on the Civic Arts Commission’s draft cultural plan did complain about the gap between government funding of public visual art products and support for operating expenses and space for performing arts, including theater and music. Others faulted the draft plan for neglecting the question of preserving existing spaces which are now used for both visual arts and performing arts, while lots of money goes to lavish building projects for already-flush organizations. Another bone of contention was the practice of making allocations in a tiered structure as a percentage of an organization’s operating budget, which was thought to favor rich organizations like the Berkeley Rep. The ill-conceived and badly administered “cultural bonus” for developers was roundly excoriated by all. The finished plan, which the Civic Arts Commission passed on Wednesday, doesn’t completely answer these complaints, but some improvements were made. 

As the city’s budget gets tighter and tighter, it will be important to continue the open public dialogue about what kinds of arts endeavors government should be supporting. Otherwise, sentiments like those of our letter writer who opined that “we can’t really afford to buy art at this economically stressed time anyway” will gain more adherents among the voters. 

—Becky O’Malley

It wasn’t easy, but the Daily Planet managed to get an advance look at the Planning Commission’s agenda and packet for Wednesday. Among the items we noticed was a proposal from the planning director to raise fees on most planning and zoning permits by 10 percent “to cover higher cost-of-living, equity and fringe benefit rates.” Also, he wants to place a 15 percent surcharge on discretionary applications to pay for “the cost to maintain the General Plan and the Zoning Ordinance.”  

Now, the ordinary Berkeley citizen, ever skeptical of corporate influence on public policy, might be pleased by this at first glance. Finally, she might say, the nasty developers are being forced to pay their own way. But just a minute. It’s not quite that simple. In the first place, the fee hikes apply to everyone, not just the big guys. Want to rebuild a deck? That’s going to cost you a bit more, in order to fund the latest round of staff pay increases. Never mind that, with the current state fiscal crisis, some staffers in, for example, Santa Cruz, have agreed to decreases to help their city’s bottom line. 

And what about the new fees which are supposed to pay for “maintaining” the General Plan and Zoning Ordinances? Exactly what do homeowners’ taxes go for, if not for enforcing these laws? Well, in fact, the current controversy about the University Avenue Strategic Plan is about just that— the city’s had eight years to update the Zoning Ordinance to match the plan, and it still hasn’t happened. And might never happen. The staff’s progress report on that boondoggle didn’t make it into this week’s Planning Commission packet, even though it’s on Wednesday’s agenda. It’s one of those infamous TBD documents—To Be Delivered to the Commissioners Whenever, certainly too late for Plan Berkeley to distribute it to the public at large. The timing can’t help but reinforce public suspicion that the promised zoning revisions will turn out to be yet another attempt to evade the citizen-approved plan on behalf of developers.  

But won’t the new fees at least save taxpayers money by dinging developers? The proposal notes that “the purpose of increasing and adding new fees is to recover the cost of providing services as much as possible, thereby minimizing the need for General Fund support.” Surely that’s A Good Thing. The director speaks optimistically about a goal of “full recovery”—a planning department completely funded by pay-as-you-go levies on projects. But this strategy contains a hidden built-in incentive toward increased development. No projects? No budget, no staff increases, maybe even layoffs. In the eyes of staffers, Not A Good Thing.  

Call us idealists, but we think the staff should be paid from the General Fund to enforce plans and zoning laws. It’s just a cleaner deal that way. One of the main citizen complaints is that land use plans are honored more often in the breach than in the observance. The proposed Seagate building (generator of many lucrative fees for the Planning Department even under the existing schedule) is believed by many to violate Downtown Plan guidelines, and the Big Ugly Boxes growing on University Avenue flagrantly contravene the University Avenue Plan .  

It’s also staff’s legal contention that Berkeley as a charter city can violate its own land use plans if it wants to, and that might unfortunately be true. If it’s not, there are always plan amendments, which a majority of the City Council can approve. They will probably be tempted to amend the West Berkeley Plan on behalf of the Berkeley Bowl’s proposed megastore. 

Citizens are not now getting what they’re already paying for, given the current dismal level of fealty to hard-fought adopted land use plans. They might eventually be tempted to look for other remedies.  

A Planet correspondent forwarded a column by the Miami Herald’s redoubtable foe of exploitative development, columnist (and satiric mystery author) Carl Hiassen. A new statewide ballot initiative, the Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment, would give citizens the final vote on projects requiring changes to local comprehensive land-use plans. In Hiassen’s pungent prose: “such a radical notion-- giving voters a direct say over projects that affect their lives -- is viewed as pure poison by the special interests that hold power.” He describes Florida’s so-called Growth Management Act as “a polite charade in which the public’s input is sought, acknowledged, then often ignored.” Sound familiar?  

Now, Berkeley is not exactly Florida, where development controversies have traditionally been so lurid they’ve inspired two great crime novelists, Hiassen and John McDonald. But Hiassen’s take on how citizens get steamrollered by the growth professionals rings true in many details. His conclusion, which I can’t improve on, is this: 

“In theory, of course, we shouldn’t have to go out and vote on every major development. In theory, the people we elect to office should be able to make those decisions competently and free of secret influence. 

“In theory, the interests and welfare of a neighborhood should carry just as much weight as those of... any…big powerful company. 

“Maybe things really work that way somewhere in the universe, but not here in Florida. 

“Not in real life.” 

And not always in Berkeley, either. 

—Becky O’Malley›