Though Berkeley Police Tuesday were trumpeting the arrest of a former Black Panther as a key figure in Berkeley’s first cop killing, by the next morning the tone was considerably less triumphant. 

Don Juan Warren Graphenreed was arrested in Fresno Tuesday on a no-bail warrant for murder and conspiracy to murder in the Aug. 20, 1970, slaying of Officer Ronald T. Tsukamoto. 

But in a Wednesday morning press conference in front of the Ronald Tsukamoto Public Safety Building on Milvia Street, BPD spokesperson Officer Joe Okies told reporters that his department and the Alameda County District Attorney’s office had made “a joint decision not to charge” Graphenreed with either crime. He remains a suspect. 

Okies said the “cold case” reinvestigation initiated two years ago would continue. Though he allowed that detectives under Lt. Cynthia Harris had identified multiple suspects in the killing, Okies said “I can’t comment on the number.” 

News of the sudden switch from arrest to non-arrest didn’t reach Mayor Bates in time to stop the release of a written statement by his chief of staff at 2:27 p.m. Tuesday—more than four hours after the press conference. 

“I join the entire Berkeley community in applauding our police department for their hard work, dedication, and perseverance in this case. I am pleased that the police have apprehended one of the suspects in the terrible crime and look forward to the day when all the perpetrators have been arrested and convicted,” said the mayor in the formal announcement. 

Ten minutes later, a follow-up e-mail arrived from the mayor’s chief of staff announcing, “DeVries, Cisco, would like to recall the message, ‘Statement from Mayor Bates on Arrest of Supect in Officer Tsukamoto killing.’” 

Thirteen minutes later came yet another e-mail from DeVries, affirming the recall, with the added comment, “Obviously, circumstances have changed and it is no longer relevant.”  

Officer Tsukamoto had been wearing his badge less than 10 months when he stopped a motorcyclist for making a U-turn on University Avenue about 1 a.m. on that fateful August day almost 34 years ago. 

He was talking to the cyclist when a man in a long, dark coat approached him. The two spoke briefly, then the man pulled out a pistol and fired twice. One round missed but the other struck the young patrolman in the eye, killing him instantly. 

Police immediately launched a massive investigation, but there had been no arrests until Monday.  

Tsukamoto was born behind barbed wire on July 29, 1942, in the Tule Lake Segregation Center—five months and 10 days after President Franklin D. Roosevelt had ordered the internment of 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of them U.S. citizens. 

The family moved to West Berkeley after their release. The young would-be officer graduated from Berkeley High School in 1960 and attended Oakland City College, Contra Costa City College and San Jose State University before joining the Berkeley Police Department as its first Japanese-American officer.  

“We were raised here in Berkeley” said his older brother, Gary Tsukamoto, who talked to reporters on the sidewalk near the press conference site. “He always wanted to be a policeman. My parents were totally in shock when he was killed.” 

Tsukamoto said Berkeley police had contacted him Friday to let him know they had a suspect in the murder. “It’s surprising they would release him,” he said. “I would like to hear first-hand what is happening.” 

After the press conference, the slain officer’s brother was able to meet with detectives.  

Graphenreed, 55, was occupying a jail cell in Fresno at the time of his arrest, awaiting trial on burglary charges. Okies said Wednesday he’ll be sent back. 

Detectives and D.A.’s investigators had questioned Graphenreed “several times over the past few days,” Okies said. “The investigation will continue. Viable leads have been found, and investigators will take it from there.” 

The investigation had been reopened two years ago when detectives began a review of cold cases, Okies said. 

Though then-Berkeley Police Chief Bruce Barker blamed Black Panthers and other militants for stirring up mentally unstable people with their violent anti-police rhetoric, Okies yesterday declined to comment on any possible connection to the Panthers or other militant groups.›

Ready or not, here come new zoning regulations for University Avenue. 

At a heated fifth, and second-to-last, public hearing Wednesday, a majority of the Berkeley Planning Commission signaled it was content with bulk of the current staff proposal and proposed amendments that would potentially increase the size of new developments on University. 

Meanwhile, the big picture remained nearly identical to the start of the process in February: The staff still recommended buildings that would range from three to five stories depending on their location and various incentives offered to developers; residents griped that the prescribed buildings would be too bulky and would encroach on adjacent neighborhoods; developers complained that new restrictions would cease future construction, and planning commissioners bickered amongst themselves.  

Before the night was over, one commissioner left without warning, and a second left after an argument with a fellow commissioner. 

What has changed is that now the commission has one last meeting—June 9—to hammer out all its loose ends and make a final recommendation to the City Council.  

The deadline would give the council an opportunity to enact the new zoning before its summer recess. After years of complaints from residents that zoning rules on the city’s major east-west route allowed for bigger and bulkier buildings than called for in a 1996 strategic plan, both the council and the Mayor’s Task Force on Permitting and Development concluded new rules should be expedited so no additional developments are allowed to be submitted under the current guidelines. 

Still, some commissioners thought they needed more time and a different process. 

“This is a charade,” declared Commissioner Zelda Bronstein. “It’s completely unrealistic for this commission to put to the City Council a viable, realistic and well thought out plan.” 

She wanted to form a working group of commissioners, staff, residents and developers to talk through unresolved zoning issues. 

Evan MacDonald, a developer formerly of Panoramic Interests, and Robin Kibby, a resident who wants to limit the size of new developments, both welcomed the suggestion. 

Five of Bronstein’s colleagues on the commission did not.  

“This has not been a charade,” replied Commissioner David Taab. “I don’t want this to be railroaded. I want the commission to vote on it.” 

Commissioner David Stoloff concurred, saying that the public hearings had offered plenty of dialogue and that the commission had “covered quite a lot of territory.” 

Bronstein never asked for a vote, but bad blood from the heated exchange apparently carried over into the next discussion. 

During a debate on granting developers bigger concessions if they supplied more commercial parking, Bronstein pressed Commission Chair Harry Pollack to explain his support for the larger concession proposal.  

She asked if Pollack’s position was based on testimony given minutes earlier from Chris Hudson, a developer, and after Bronstein continued to insist on an answer, Pollack replied, “Zelda, you know what, it’s time to behave.”  

Bronstein walked out while her ally on the commission, Gene Poschman, muttered, “We sure don’t know what we’re doing about parking.” 

Bronstein’s premature departure marked the second consecutive meeting that a planning commissioner left early after a squabble with a colleague. Two weeks ago, Commissioner Rob Wrenn left after Commissioner Jerome Wiggins blasted a commission task force on the proposed UC hotel and convention center for not having representatives from South Berkeley.  

With Bronstein gone, and Wiggins having left a few minutes earlier, commissioners Taab, Stoloff, Pollack and Tim Perry recommended that staff consider increasing the amount of total space a developer could win from offering street improvements and increased concessions given to developers for building more commercial parking and bigger retail spaces.  

Originally, staff had proposed granting developers incentives that would add up to no more than 0.3 percent of the floor area ratio of the lot. While commissioners threw out different proposals before settling on 0.5 percent, Commissioner Susan Wengraf complained, “We’re just picking numbers out of a hat. It’s crazy.” 

Residents who have fought to limit the sizes of new developments were disheartened by the turn of events. 

“We got squashed like a bug,” said Kristin Leimkuhler, who had worked over the past two weeks, at the request of city staff and the commission, to devise three-dimensional designs of buildings under the current zoning proposal. 

For Robin Kibby, who works with Leimkuhler as part of PlanBerkeley, the visuals demonstrated that months of debate hadn’t changed much on University Avenue. 

“We entered this process so we wouldn’t be looking at big box buildings and that’s exactly what this has produced,” she said. 

The staff’s zoning proposal does shrink the base size of buildings along University. In terms of housing capacity, buildings on the north side of the avenue—where generous setbacks are required so buildings don’t shadow neighboring dwellings—housing capacity would be reduced 40 percent on most of the avenue and 24 percent at intersections targeted for retail growth. On the south side—which has a less generous 20-foot setback—housing capacity would decrease 23 percent on most of the avenue and remain unchanged on the targeted intersection. 

But several residents feared that when developers employed a state law that lets them builds 25 percent more housing space for projects that include affordable housing—as all large Berkeley developments must—they will end up with more boxy buildings that rise to four and five stories tall. 

Developer Chris Hudson offered a solution. Insisting that the current staff plan would make private development unfeasible, he suggested that the city drop its requirement to house low-income tenants in 20 percent of units in all new apartment buildings with more than four units. Without the requirement to create below market housing, he said, developers wouldn’t need to use the state density bonus to make a profit. 

“If you want three and four story buildings, promote market rate housing,” Hudson said.  

In response to concerns raised at the last meeting, city staff set height standards of 55 feet (five stories) for buildings, such as a senior home, that would be exempt from the new zoning rules. In addition, Berkeley Current Planning Director Mark Rhoades pledged to rework various incentives offered to developers so the additional building space they receive would be proportional to whatever “public amenity” they provided. o

The City Council Tuesday breathed new life into a proposed Longs Drugs store downtown, but warned the national retailer that it wouldn’t get the alcohol permit it’s demanding unless it yielded to city demands for a substantial produce department and strict limits on the sale of beer and wine. 

“We need to get some real concessions,” Mayor Tom Bates said after the council voted 5-4 (Bates, Shirek, Olds, Hawley, Wozniak, yes) to set a public hearing on the project for July 16. 

Also Tuesday the council ordered the city manager to draft five tax measures for the November ballot and further fine-tuned a measure that would make Berkeley the first city to publicly finance elections. 

The council vote on Longs came despite a recommendation from City Manager Phil Kamlarz to uphold a unanimous decision of the Zoning Adjustment Board last February denying a beer and wine license for the proposed shop at 2300 Shattuck Ave.—700 feet from Berkeley High School.  

Longs has insisted it won’t occupy the abandoned storefront without a license to sell beer and wine. Opponents of the plan, including members of the school board and Police Chief Roy Meisner, have argued that the store would potentially sell alcoholic beverages to high school students and increase crime in the downtown.  

Councilmember Linda Maio agreed with their concerns and reiterated the pressing need for a downtown grocery store. “I think having a liquor outlet at all there is a big mistake,” she said. “Longs wouldn’t add anything in terms of goods and services we don’t have in the downtown.” 

Bates, though, said a public hearing would give the city a chance to push for a larger produce section and possible limit on alcohol sales. 

Jim Novosel, the project’s architect, said after the meeting he wasn’t sure what types of concessions the mayor had in mind, but that Longs would soon contact Bates’ office. 

Bonnie Hughes, who opposes Longs, was surprised that Councilmember Maudelle Shirek—who passed on her initial opportunity to vote before siding in favor of a public hearing—backed the drug store. 

“Maudelle needs to come around. I don’t think she paid much attention,” Hughes said.  

When asked about her vote after the council meeting, the 92-year-old councilmember said Longs, which won’t sell malt liquor, wouldn’t carry the type of alcohol that tended to cause crime.  

“Maybe we can work out something,” Shirek said. “What we need a good food store downtown.” 

Budget and Ballot Measures 

City Manager Phil Kamlarz recommended Tuesday the City Council place a 1.5 percent Utilities Users Tax hike on the November ballot. The estimated $2.7 million tax increase on water, telephone, cable and gas and electric bills, he said, would expire after five years and serve as a bridge to preserve vital city services through 2009, Kamlarz said. 

Among the services the tax revenue could spare include $1.3 million for a fire truck company, $200,000 for programs at senior centers, $400,000 to fund community nonprofits, and $1 million to fill seven vacant police officer positions. 

The tax, which would go to the General Fund and require approval from a simple majority of voters, would take the place of a proposed fee increase for 911 services, the city dropped after learning of lawsuits over the fee in other jurisdictions. 

If voters approved the tax, and maintained program cuts, the city would be in line for a budget surplus in fiscal year 2007, when the governor has pledged to repay cities money lost from the repeal of the Vehicle License Fee increase and begin restoring other revenues the state has withheld to during its budget crisis. For Berkeley, that could mean an influx of $3.8 million in state money. 

The council asked the city staff to draft language for the Utilities Users Tax, a $1.9 million tax for libraries, a $1.2 million tax for paramedic services, a $1.6 million tax for youth services, and a $1.2 million tax to fix storm drain and clean water in creeks that run above ground. 

Mayor Bates said he would likely recommend leaving one tax proposal off the ballot and that the storm water measure “is a candidate.” 

Bates also touted a survey conducted last week by the Board of Education, which found that in addition to strong support for a new school tax, 77 percent of voters questioned supported the library tax, 72 percent supported the paramedic tax, and 68 percent supported the clean storm water tax. 

However, Paul Goodwin, the author of the survey which interviewed 600 likely voters, had earlier cautioned about reading anything into the city results because the survey lacked concrete information about how much money the measures would raise or specific services they would provide. 

One tax proposal that definitely won’t be in the November ballot is a 10 percent hike on the off-street parking tax proposed by the Transportation Commission. By a 5-3-1 vote (Worthington, Spring, Breland, yes, Shirek, abstain) the council rejected the $600,000 tax that would have been slapped on parking lot users.  

Councilmember Miriam Hawley said she was sympathetic to the concept, but that $600,000 was not enough money pursue a public campaign. 

Campaign Finance Reform 

Amid some confusion, the council voted 6-2-1 (Hawley, Olds, no, Shirek abstain) to accept recommendations from the Fair Campaign Practices Commission and add a few of their own to a proposal ballot measure to publicly finance all elections. 

The system would create an election fund from which eligible candidates could receive a set amount of money in return for agreeing not to raise additional funds. Candidates who didn’t qualify by demonstrating a base level of support or opted out of the system would be bound by the current rules forbidding contributions from businesses and limiting individual contributions to $250. 

The recommendations included strict penalties for candidates who violate the new rules, and a means to redistribute campaign allocations in the event that a large number of candidates run and the election fund doesn’t have enough money to fund them at the prescribed rate. 

Should the council opt not to place a measure on the ballot, the Berkeley Fair Election Coalition (BFEC) has promised to take a nearly identical reform plan to voters. During the debate, BFEC representative and UC Berkeley student Sam Ferguson was called on repeatedly to explain various facets of the plan to the council. 

Betty Olds, an opponent of taking the plan to voters this year chimed that “If I was working against this for the election I would play a tape of this meeting and show how confused everybody is.”g

FRIDAY, MAY 28 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with John M. Letiche, Prof. of Economics on “An Appraisal of Putin’s Works.” 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. 

Literary Friends meets at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center to discuss Remembering Mother and Father. 232-1351. 

Folk and Radical Politics Extravaganza, a benefit for Project X, with music by Folk This!, The Molotov Mouths, Samsara, and Sean Corkery at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674A 23rd St., Oakland. Donation $8-$20. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

Kol Hadash the Bay Area’s only Jewish Humanistic Congregation meets at 7:30 p.m. for Shabbat, the fourth Friday of every month, at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. 428-1492. www.kolhadash.org 

Signature in -Lieu of Filing Fee Opens for candidates running for local office in the City of Berkeley. Forms may be obtained from the City Clerk, 2180 Milvia St. 981-6900. www.cityofberkeleyinfo.elections 

SATURDAY, MAY 29 

Chocolate and Chalk Art Festival along the sidewalks of Solano Ave. 527-5358. www.solanoave.org 

Berkeley Fire Station Open House from 1 to 4 p.m. at Station 6, 999 Cedar St. Tour the station, see a safety presentation, and historical display and enjoy hot dogs and cake. Families and children especially welcome. 981-5506. 

Bay Street Emeryville Arts and Music Festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A portion of the proceeds benefit Anna Yates Elementary School Library Project. 655-4002. www.baystreetemeryville.com 

Guided Trails Challenge Hike in Claremont Canyon from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Snakes alive, this canyon is crawling with them! Learn to identify the harmless and poisonous species of serpents in the area. To register call 525-2233. 

Meet My Tarantula From the ferocious to the friendly, meet the arachnid that you will learn to love. At 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. Registration Required 525-2233.  

Permaculture Community Design and Group Processes Integrating permaculture principles we’ll discuss working in groups, group consciousness and process, the art of facilitation, design charettes, networking strategies, community building exercises. Resources will be provided for connecting with and plugging into local permaculture community working groups. 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. 

Berkeley Copwatch Know Your Rights Orientation Join us for this hands-on workshop including: what rights we have when we are stopped by the police, what to look for when someone else is stopped, keeping safe while observing police and more. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. This event is free, wheelchair accessible and open to the public. Donations accepted, but no one turned away. 548-0425. 

Vegetarian Cooking Class from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. at Castro. Cost is $30. To register call 238-5004. compassionatecooks@yahoo.com 

SUNDAY, MAY 30 

Fire: Friend or Foe? From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Tour a fire engine, meet Smokey Bear, and learn how fire is fought, as we explore the dangers and benefits of fire. 525-2233. 

History and Mystery of Redwoods from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Find out more about California’s State Tree – its history, growth and presence in the Bay Area. We’ll also take a walk to the “moon.” 525-2233. 

Bay Street Emeryville Arts and Music Festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A portion of the proceeds benefit Anna Yates Elementary School Library Project. 655-4002. www.baystreetemeryville.com 

Holistic Meditation with Ramon V. Albareda, Jorge N. Ferrer, and Marina T. Romero, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 830 Bancroft Way. Cost is $50. To register call 650-520-1123. holisticmeditation@hotmail.com 

Tibetan Buddhism A panel discussion on “Mother of Wisdom, Explorations into the Prajnaparamita” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY MAY 31 

Beginner’s Birdwalk from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., at Tilden Nature Center. Spring migrants are here and the woods are filled with bright color and song. Binoculars available for loan. 525-2233. 

Environmental Education Center Open House, in Tilden Park, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a variety of activities, homemade ice cream, the great potato chip taste off, and more! 525-2233. 

Holiday Pond Plunge at 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. With dip-nets and magnifiers in hand, we’ll discover the “denizens of the deep” – amphibians, insect larvae and more. For ages 4 and older. 525-2233. 

Pentecost: Sacred Circle Dance at 7 p.m. at St. Cuthbert’s Episcopal Church, 7900 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. StCuddy@aol.com 

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, JUNE 1 

Funding Excellence in Public Schools: New Possibilities A community forum with Michele Lawrence Superintendent, Berkeley Unified School District and Lawrence Picus, Director, Center for Research in Education Financing, University of Southern California School of Education at 7:30 p.m. at Longfellow Middle School Theater, 1500 Derby St. 

Breaking the Ice, with Doron Erel discussing how a team of Israeli and Palestinian non-climbers journeyed to the ends of the earth and reached the summit of an un-named peak in Antarctica, at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237, ext. 112.  

An Evening with Tom Sinestra on the best Bay Area outdoor adventures at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Baseball for Beginners and Diehard Fans with Jeff Lichtman, El Cerrito resident and author of “Baseball for Rookies.” Special guest will be former major league player, Pumpsie Green, the first African American to play on the Boston Red Sox. At 7 p.m. in the El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave. 526-7512. 

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 if you can join us. 415-336 8736. dan@redefeatbush.com 

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

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. 

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.  

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 

East Bay Theology on Tap meets to discuss “The Catholic Imagination of J.R.R. Tolkein” with Fr. Ayres at 7 p.m. at 4092 Piedmont Ave. Contact Norah at St. Leo the Great 654-6177. 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2 

“Seeds of Deception” with author Jeffrey Smith discussing efforts to keep genetically modified foods out of Alameda County’s ecosystems and food supply, at 7 p.m. at Café de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Dinner at 6 p.m. Cost is $15. 843-0662. 

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 

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

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

THURSDAY, JUNE 3 

Morning Birdwalk from 7 to 9:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Area. For information, or to reserve binoculars, call 525-2233. 

Community Meeting on the City Budget at 7 p.m. at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Sponsored by the City Managers Office. 981-7000. 

Quit Smoking Class offered by the City of Berkeley for residents and employees on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Alta Bates/Herrick Camopus, 2001 Dwight Way. To register, call 981-5330. 

Environmental Monitoring in India with Madhu Dutta, Anne Leonard and Denny Larson. The 1984 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal has led to community monitoring of local industries. At 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. www.ecologycenter.org 

Albany Library Annual Prose Night Open readings at 7 p.m. in the Edith Stone Room, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 20. 

Berkeley Farmer’s Market with all organic produce at Elephant Pharmacy parking lot, 1607 Shattuck Ave., at Cedar from 3 to 7 p.m. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org 

Friends of Faith Fancher, luncheon and celebration of Faith’s life at Scott’s Seafood Restaurant, Jack London Square, in a benefit for the new Breast Health Center at Alta Bates Summit. For tickets and reservations call 204-1667. 

“Why You Should Give a Damn About Gay Marriage” with Davina Koltulski at 7 p.m. at Changemakers, 6536 Telegraph Ave. 655-2405. 

Tea Dancing and Dance Lessons with Barbara and Jerry August from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., Costis $5, includes refreshments. 925-376-6345. 

“She Who Creates” A logo painting workshop with Shiloh McCloud from 6 to 9 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. Cost is $40, materials $20. 883-0600. www.belladonna.ws 

ONGOING 

Volunteer Coaches Needed for Twilight Basketball for the 13-15 year-old division on Saturdays at 5 p.m. beginning June 26. Please call Ginsi Bryant at 981-6678. 

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. 

Berkeley Video and Film Festival is calling for entries. The deadline for last call is July 10. For information please call 843-3699. www.berkeleyvideofilmfest.org 

Radio Summer Camp, four day sessions from June 4 through Sept. 6. Learn how to build and operate a community radio station. Sponsored by Radio Free Berkeley. 625-0314. www.freeradio.org 

Interesting Backyards Do you have a really cool backyard project or unusual sustainable living practice that you’d like to share with others in the East Bay? Consider becoming a stop on the 5th annual Urban Sustainability Bike Tour on Saturday, July 31. Past sites have included features such as graywater systems, chicken coops, bee hives, solar installations and permaculture gardens. For information call Beck at 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Summer Reading Games at the Albany Public Library, from June 14th through August 14th. For information call 526-3700. 

CITY MEETINGS 

Council Agenda Committee meets Tues. June 1, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St., Sherry M. Kelly, city clerk, 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/agenda-committee 

City Council meets Tues., June 1, 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., June 2, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Ruby Primus, 981-5106. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/women 

Fire Safety Commission meets Wed., June 2, at 7:30 p.m. at the Public Safety Building, 2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, 2nd floor. David Orth, 981-5502. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/firesafety 

Community Environmental Advisory Commission meets Thurs., June 3, at 7 p.m., at 2118 Milvia St. Nabil Al-Hadithy, 981-7461. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/commissions/environmentaladvisory 

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs., June 3, at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Oscar Sung, 981-5400. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/commissions/housing 

Public Works Commission meets Thurs., June 3, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jeff Egeberg, 981-6406. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/publicworks 

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A major residential and biotech research complex proposed for the Richmond waterfront has pitted a coalition of activists and neighbors against a developer who offers a healthy boost to the city’s stricken tax base. 

Throw in chemically contaminated soil, rumors of radioactivity and view-threatening high-rise condo towers, and a classic confrontation shapes up. 

On one side are Russ Pitto (a Marin County developer whose Simeon Residential Properties and Simeon Commercial Properties development firms are major players in the Bay Area and Colorado real estate markets) and Cherokee Investment Partners (specialists in cleaning up and developing “brownfield”—contaminated—property). 

On the other side are a collection of East Bay activists and neighborhood groups worried about pollution, radiation, and high-rise development. 

“There’s a lot of contentiousness going back and forth between the developer and some of the neighborhood groups,” said Caron Parker, the Richmond Planning Department associate planner charged with conducting the project’s environmental review. 

The review under the California Environmental Quality Act is only the first stage toward approval of what Pitto hopes will be a 1,330-unit complex of owner-occupied high-rises, mid-rises, and townhouses and rental loft apartments to be constructed on a 40-acre site west of I-580 southwest of Meade Street at the Bayview Avenue exit. 

The site earlier housed the Stauffer Chemical and Zeneca Inc. manufacturing sites. Stauffer refined sulfur from iron pyrites on the site, the source of the major soil contaminants. Among the other confections whipped up on-site by Stauffer were nitric acid, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and a potpourri of other industrial compounds. Zeneca brewed up pharmaceuticals. 

Zeneca, the last owner before Cherokee Simeon, spent $20 million on site restoration, neutralizing acidic chemicals in the soil, capping the site with uncontaminated soil, and building an underground barrier to block contaminants from leaking to the bay. 

With the UC Berkeley Richmond Research Station its neighbor to the northwest, Pitto had initially obtained clearances to build a biotech research park on the site, but his plans changed with the post-9/11 market collapse, when the need for space evaporated. 

“Phase one of the project includes a 16-acre life sciences research center, and we’ve already put $16 million into that,” Pitto said. The project includes a pair of nicely landscaped buildings, and “we already have approval to two more 90,000-square foot buildings.”  

With the switch to residential use, a whole new set of concerns surfaced, based on round-the-clock occupancy as opposed to the typical, 40-hour-a-week presence of workers. 

“Everything’s on hold right now,” Parker said. “The Regional Water Quality Control Board has the final say on whether the site is suitable for residential use, and nothing can move forward till they make their ruling.” 

An earlier water board approval had been torpedoed by the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), which issued a stinging letter April 6 citing 10 “fatal flaws” in Pitto’s proposal. 

Barbara J. Cook, DTSC’s Berkeley-based chief of Northern California coastal cleanup operations, told a reporter she had retracted the letter, which had been written after Cherokee Simeon had submitted the wrong document. 

“We have the latest document now, and are conducting a joint review with the Regional Water Quality Control Board and we will make our recommendation based on that,” Cook said. 

Worries about on-site radiation surfaced after January, 2001, when the U.S. Department of Energy released a five-page list of sites covered by the Energy Employees Occupational Illnesses Compensation Act of 2000. 

That law provides funds to people who contracted illnesses working at sites where radioactive substances were produced or treated. There, next to last among the California entries, was Stauffer Metals, Inc., of Richmond—listed as both an “atomic weapons employer” and a Department of Energy Site. 

Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), a politically potent statewide coalition with offices in Oakland and Huntington Park, based their opposition to Pitto’s research park plan on the federal listing. 

Pitto then hired MACTEC Development Corporation to conduct a radiological survey of surface soils at the site, which turned up gamma radiation levels no higher than typical background counts. CBE withdrew their opposition, but concerns still remain in the community—and CBE has taken renewed interest in the site now that residential use is planned. 

If the DTSC and the water board approve on-site housing, the project must then complete Parker’s environmental review and obtain clearances from the city Design Review Board, Planning Commission and the City Council before Pitto can start preparing the site. 

Before he gets there, Pitto will have to overcome formidable opposition, judging by the turnout at a preliminary organizing meeting held Sunday in the Richmond Annex home of Patricia Leslie and Karl Smith. 

Among those on hand were City Council candidate Gayle McLaughlin, Mary Selva (Vice Chair of the Richmond Annex Neighborhood Coalition and chair of the groups Planning and Zoning Committee), Athena Honore of the North Richmond Shoreline Alliance, Dr. Henry Clark of the West County Toxics Coalition, Kaiser Permanente cardiologists Dr. Jeff Ritterman, and representatives of the Sierra Club and Greenpeace. 

Selva said the Panhandle Annex Neighborhood Council and Citizens for the East Shore State Park have also declared their opposition to the development project. 

Another well-organized foe, Bay Area Residents for Responsible Development, has been taking a leading role in efforts to mobilize opposition, said Norman LaForce, chair of the East Bay Public Lands Committee of the San Francisco Bay Sierra Club chapter. 

LaForce says that among other concerns, he is worried about the pets of project residents—cats and especially dogs are very hard on wildlife—and the addition of 3,000 or so frequent visitors to the sensitive Bay Trail environment.  

Pitto’s plans include restoration of Stege Marsh between the residential development and the Bay Trail hiking and biking path. Pitto said that his company is “spending $5 million on a two-year clean-up that will start in September and then break for the nesting season of the Clapper Rail,” an endangered bird that nests in the march. “The East Bay Regional Parks District has already signed off on the cleanup, and when its completed, they’ll manage the marsh, with the costs of management and maintenance paid by us.” 

Preliminary plans call for three 18-story high-rises at the northeast corner of the site, adjacent to the existing life sciences buildings, with the remainder of the project consisting of buildings of three to seven or eight stories. 

Projected prices for the owner-occupied units range from $260,000 for entry-level units to $650,000 for the townhouses closest to the shoreline, Pitto said. 

While the Sierra Club is waiting until after Parker’s draft Environmental Impact Report is ready before commenting on the project as a whole, “we’re definitely opposed to 18-story buildings right on the waterfront,” said Jonna Papalefthimiou, conservation manager for the Sierra Club’s San Francisco Bay Chapter. 

“There’s definitely room for 3,000 more residents in Richmond, but that site may not be appropriate,” she said, noting that besides impacting sensitive waterfront, “the history of the site is long and toxic.” 

Robert Cheasty, chair of Citizens for the East Bay Shore Park, an alliance of concerned citizens, the Sierra Club, the Audobon Society and Citizens for the Albany shore, said “We want a state park along the bay shoreline, a pearl necklace of open spaces to preserve for the generations to come. We’d like to see a 500-foot swath that’s free of development.” 

Cheasty’s group opposes the residential project both for its impact on sensitive shoreline and for its impact of the viewlines of other area residents. “We’ve had shoreline fights in Albany, Emeryville, Richmond and Berkeley, both to preserve the shoreline and to protect public access,” he said. 

Another source of opposition cited by Selva and other project foes is the project’s separation from BART and other mass transit services. Pitto counters by offering to provide regular shuttle service to BART similar to the shuttle UC Berkeley now provides between their nearby research and the downtown Berkeley BART station.  

“We’re also talking about park-and-ride in conjunction with bus service,” the developer said. 

Asked about concerns his high-rises might block the views of residents to the east of the site, Pitto concedes that his current plans for the site may undergo alteration after the city begins its review process. 

Cherokee Simeon Ventures won’t be constructing the actual housing units. “We’re getting the entitlement for the 1,330 residential units. We’ll develop streets, infrastructure, parks, utilities—everything but the buildings,” Pitto said. “We’ll sell the neighborhoods, segmented by product types, so we can get five or six builders working at one time. We’ll be spending about $40 million for infrastructure, and we’ll very tightly control the architecture. We have our own design review process builders must follow before they can ever take their plans to the city.” 

Planner Parker expects a lot more sturm und drang before the final curtain falls. 

“There were more than 30 speakers at first planning commission study session March 30, and it lasted over four hours,” Parker said. “There’s a lot of contentiousness, and its a very complicated project.” ô

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Berdahl is on his way out. But according to UC officials, the university has still not chosen his replacement. 

Berdahl, who has been chancellor at Berkeley for seven years, is scheduled to leave in June, but might have to stay on briefly if a new chancellor is not hired before then.  

According to Paul Schwartz, spokesperson for the UC Office of the President, the candidate pool has been narrowed to eight finalists. Schwartz said the panel assigned to the search hopes to narrow that to one final selection within the next four to six weeks and then have UC President Robert Dynes take that recommendation to the Board of Regents. When the university originally announced the panel to find the new chancellor, President Dynes said the committee had hoped to bring a recommendation to the Board of Regents by April.  

“The priority for us is to get the best person possible, not hit a pre-determined date,” said Schwartz.  

Although the UC system, Berkeley included, has been in the spotlight because of budget cuts, Schwartz said cuts have not either interfered with the search or delayed it.  

“Other institutional leaders are well aware of the financial problems facing the state and their impact on UCs,” said Schwartz. “Nevertheless, we feel that we’ve gotten a healthy pool of candidates. The search is running smoothly, but sometimes these things take more or less time than anticipated.” 

Marie Felde from the Public Relations office at UC Berkeley said not knowing who the new chancellor will be has not disrupted anything on campus. She did say that there is “a great deal of interest, not surprisingly,” as to who the new chancellor will be. 

—Jakob Schiller

The Berkeley Fire Department kicks off the start of its 100th birthday festivities with a Saturday open house at Station No. 6, 999 Cedar St. 

Similar fetes will be held later at each of Berkeley’s other fire stations. 

Saturday’s festivities run from 1 to 4 p.m. and feature station tours, firefighting demonstrations replete with ladders and hoses, an appearance by Sparky the Dog, and a historical display. 

Free barbecued hot dogs will be cooked up for all comers and served along with birthday cakes. Also on offer for younger visitors are free fire hats and balloons. 

The next open house will be held at Station 5, 2680 Shattuck Ave., on Saturday, June 12, followed by Station 1, 2442 Eighth St., on June 26.  

—Richard Brenneman

SAN FRANCISCO—“Accident or intentional?” asks the front page headline in El Bohemio News, a local Spanish-language weekly, about a deadly Honduran prison fire. The photo shows tattooed dead bodies lining a yard with police officers in blue jeans standing above them. 

News of the grisly incident and what it may say about the region’s hard-line anti-gang campaigns is important to all U.S. Latinos and especially to Central American immigrants, says Eber Huezo, editor of the weekly El Salvador Día a Día, based in Los Angeles. The fire has drawn extensive coverage in U.S. Spanish-language media, Huezo says.  

The fire, which killed 104 people, occurred May 17 in a single, overcrowded cellblock of San Pedro Sula state prison, 180 kilometers north of the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. The cellblock isolated alleged members of the gang Mara Salvatrucha 13 from other inmates. 

Whether or not the blaze was set intentionally—investigators suspect an electrical short circuit, but survivors say other inmates set the fire with gasoline while guards stood by—the fire has triggered new scrutiny of aggressive Central American gang-fighting policies that leaders have modeled on New York City’s “zero tolerance” approach. 

Observers ask whether authorities’ zeal to stamp out gangs has led to a dangerous dehumanization of suspects that is fueling human rights violations. NGOs allege the anti-gang crusade has legitimized and encouraged a shadowy, extra-judicial system of punishment operating in Central America’s streets and prisons.  

“In part, (the fire) could be an accident. On the other hand,” Huezo says, ensuring inmates’ safety and getting to the bottom of the blaze “is the responsibility of the prison authorities.” Noting that the government is investigating whether guards fired at inmates to keep them from escaping the burning cellblock, he adds: “I think that this case requires much investigation.”  

It was not an isolated case. In April 2003, at a different Honduran prison, nearly 70 people died in a fire that authorities say was triggered by gang fighting. The Associated Press reports that, as in the recent blaze, only suspected gang members in a single cellblock were killed.  

Some 100,000 people in Honduras are in gangs, according to official estimates. The largest gangs also operate on the streets of Los Angeles, home to some 1 million Central Americans, many part of the exodus triggered by Central America’s wars in the 1980s. 

In the 1990s, the United States began to deport alleged gang members in large numbers as their prison terms ran out. Ongoing deportations are at the root of Central America’s gang problem. Young people who are deported find few employment opportunities or educational and training resources in Central America, especially when families remain behind.  

Gangs in countries like Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador maintain webs of connection to the United States to gain experienced members and funding, says Marvin Ramirez of San Francisco’s bilingual weekly El Reportero.  

Four nations —El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala—recently coordinated strict laws against gang members. Critics say the laws threaten civil liberties and stifle forms of lawful dissent and assembly by outlawing gang membership and some public gatherings. The Honduran laws, passed last year, established a minimum sentence of 12 years for gang members. 

Hondurans can be arrested simply for having certain tattoos now, says Huezo of the El Salvador Día a Día newspaper.  

Thousands of gang members left Honduras after anti-gang laws were passed in August, according to Honduran President Ricardo Maduro, who was elected on his “zero tolerance” platform. Mexican authorities say some Central Americans fleeing the hard-line anti-gang regime have entered Mexico, joining the flow of migrants trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.  

Central America’s prison population has swelled. San Pedro Sula state prison, where the recent fire occurred, was filled to more than double its 800-person capacity. The burned cellblock was meant to house 50 prisoners, but contained 186.  

Honduran anti-gang tactics have drawn international scrutiny because of assassinations by death squads similar to those employed in the 1980s “dirty war” against supposed leftists, according to an investigative series by veteran journalist W.E. Gutman published in Los Angeles Spanish-language daily La Opinión.  

Gutman’s investigations detail how top-ranking Honduran police and security officials accuse one another of allowing death squads to operate or abetting their activities. Suspected human rights violators, however, are rarely brought to justice, the article says. 

Bruce Harris, director of Casa Alianza, a network of shelters that rehabilitate street children regionwide, is quoted as saying that links between Honduran security authorities and extra judicial executions are no longer “rumor, but a verifiable fact.” Casa Alianza reports that between January 1998 and February 2004, 2,200 people under the age of 23 were killed in Honduras, most shot in the head, execution-style.  

One La Opinión article quoted Honduran columnist Billy Peña from the El Tiempo newspaper: “The extra judicial executions are becoming as common as pan con mantequilla (buttered bread).”  

Peter Micek works for NCM, an association of over 600 print, broadcast and online ethnic media organizations founded in 1996 by Pacific News Service and members of ethnic media.

President Bush implied that Iraq would be “free and self-governing” in his speech before the Army War College on May 24, 2004. But the speech is a thin fabric of insubstantial promises. None of the points are new, and all of the implied efforts have failed to date. 

The five points President Bush presented, as cited in his speech, are: 

• Hand over authority to a sovereign Iraqi government. 

• Help establish security. 

• Continue rebuilding Iraq’s infrastructure. 

• Encourage more international support. 

• Move toward a national election that will bring forward new leaders empowered by the Iraqi people. 

A careful examination of these points demonstrates how hollow they are. 

In the president’s first point, it is unclear what the term “sovereign govern ment” means. A sovereign government would have the independent power, for example, to order foreign troops off its soil. Clearly, after June 30, the United States armed forces —138,000 of them—will still be in Iraq. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has i nsisted that the transition government will have full power to eliminate these foreign troops from Iraqi soil—but does anyone really believe that they would do so, with the United States controlling the ongoing political process? 

Blair’s statements, furt hermore, are not binding on the United States; his announcement can only be seen as a public relations fiction. One must assume that the transitional government will be sovereign in name only. 

The second point, seeking to help establish security, is a go al that has already failed. It is difficult to imagine how the United States could improve on its execrable current record. For 14 months, Americans have been killed by snipers and suicide bombers at the rate of more than one every day. Mistaken attacks on civilian populations have been common. Part of the reason is the nearly complete lack of preparation of American forces. Almost all U.S. troops in Iraq are fighting forces. Military intelligence, military police and civil affairs officers—all essential for security—are in short supply, according to commander Gen. John Abizaid. Knowledge of Middle Eastern culture and language is virtually non-existent, and very few troops have been trained in the basic skills needed to carry out security operations. 

Rebuilding Iraq’s infrastructure is the one area where some success has been achieved by the American occupation administration. However, the development has largely been carried out by highly compensated American contractors. When unemployment in Iraq runs at 50 percent, it is hard for Iraqis to watch imported Korean workers—whose foreign origin is difficult to disguise—taking jobs that many Iraqis could do themselves. After World War II, successful rebuilding of Germany and Japan was tied to the use of German and Japanese workers and industrial firms—a strategy almost entirely avoided in Iraq. 

As for encouraging international support for the transition to a “free and self-governing” Iraqi state, President Bush has failed so far. On the CNBC cable network immediately following the speech, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, the minority leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, pointed out that the president had yet to really “pick up the phone” and insist that European leaders help in the transition. It is unclear how this support will now be garnered.  

Finally, the “move toward a national election” is in reality a slow and painful crawl that is likely never to reach its goal. Many suspect the White House, despite Bush’s disclaimers, will establish a puppet regime governed from the U.S. Embassy. Why else would one appoint strongman ambassador John D. Negroponte and a 1,000-person staff, the largest embassy staff in the world? The “move” toward elections will likely involve a set of figureheads on June 30 who will provide the semblance of independence until after the U.S. elections in November. Then a sham election in January 2005 will bring a known American ally to power. The U.S. Army will stay on to guarantee this person’s rule. The United States wi ll perfectly recreate the political structure of British colonial rule from the early 20th century.  

If Iraq is to be “free and self-governing,” then America must be willing to relinquish control of the nation to the Iraqi people. This means that Preside nt Bush must be prepared to accept scenarios that may be detrimental to his political future: Shiite leadership, a federated state, a parliament and a military hostile to the United States—all of these are possibilities. They are the bitter pills the pres ident must be willing to swallow if the words of his speech are truly sincere. 

William O. Beeman teaches anthropology and is director of Middle East Studies at Brown University. He is author of the forthcoming book, Iraq: State in Search of a Nation (Pr aeger, 2004).›E

The Berkeley Unified School District named Glenston Thompson as its new Deputy Superintendent Tuesday. 

Thompson, who has 13 years of experience in public school finance—most recently as the assistant superintendent of business services in Coalinga, Calif.—will become the district’s top business official and second-in-command to Superintendent Michele Lawrence. 

He inherits a district that has made strides in upgrading its data processing and budgeting systems and is now preparing a two-year strategic planning process to reassess district priorities and finances. 

In a prepared statement, Thompson, the former chief executive director of administrative support services for the San Francisco Unified School District, said he was excited to return to the Bay Area and assume the Berkeley job. 

“At this juncture, Berkeley Unified School District presents real opportunities and challenges,” he said.  

Thompson replaces Eric Smith, who was widely credited with helping guide the district through the district’s recent fiscal crisis. Smith left the post after a year, citing personal reasons. 

Thompson’s boss in Coalinga, Superintendent Pat Lewis, was pleased for Thompson, but sorry to see him go. “He has been a valued asset to our organization,” she said. “Berkeley is fortunate to have him on their team.” 

—Matthew Artz

There may be a new revolution brewing in the Bay Area, but this time it’s taking place not in the streets but in the laboratories. Advocates of stem cell research suggest that we stand at the threshold of biomedical breakthroughs that may transform modern medicine. At the forefront of this effort are universities like Stanford and UCSF, and local companies like Geron. Stem cells hold promise for curing such devastating illnesses as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, juvenile diabetes, MS, ALS, paralysis, and some forms of cancer and heart disease. 

The healing potential of stem cell research—as well as its ethical and political dimensions—will be the subject of the First International Stem Cell Action Conference (www.fisca.info) at the UC Berkeley campus on June 5-6. The conference, held in Pauley Ballroom, will bring together scientists, bio-ethicists, patient advocates, and interested citizens, providing the public with the opportunity to learn more about stem cell research and the policy challenges it faces. 

The research currently stands at the center of a nationwide and worldwide debate. Proponents of stem cell research, including patients and their families who stand to benefit from its discoveries, advocate it passionately. Don Reed, a conference organizer from Fremont whose son was paralyzed in a football accident, believes that the research is safe and ethical, and that it might lead to a cure for his son Roman, enabling him to walk again. “There are millions of folks in wheelchairs whom this research could benefit,” he adds. 

Richard and Debbie Arvedon, who will be coming to the conference from Hartford, Conn., have a daughter with juvenile diabetes. Embryonic stem cells could possibly be developed into insulin-generating cells to cure her illness. Arvedon was a civil rights organizer in the South in the ‘60s, and now he’s engaged in a new cause, advocating on behalf of the research. 

Stem cells are the raw material, so to speak, from which all of the body’s mature, differentiated cells are made. They give rise to pancreatic cells, blood and heart cells, brain cells, liver cells, etc. Tissue formed from embryonic stem cells might help repair damaged and diseased organs, or provide an alternative to organ transplants.  

One source of embryonic stem cells is somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), popularly known as “therapeutic cloning.” This technique inserts the genetic material from a patient’s cell, such as a skin cell, into an egg cell to create transplantable stem cells that the patient’s body won’t reject in a therapy. 

A second source of embryonic stem cells is in vitro fertilization (IVF), which typically results in the production of excess embryos. Tens of thousands of these embryos are routinely destroyed in IVF clinics after couples finish their treatment. Instead of having these embryos go to waste, scientists propose to use stem cells derived from them in their research to deepen human understanding of diseases process and to find cures. 

However, the religious right, which is notoriously influential in Washington these days, regards embryonic stem cell research as tantamount to murder. In 1991, President Bush issued an executive order severely limiting federal funding for research using stem cells derived from left-over frozen embryos in fertilization clinics. At the behest of the current Republican administration, embryonic stem research has also been neglected by the National Institutes of Health. 

Religious conservatives hold that the research is wrong for the same reason that abortion is wrong: Every human embryo—even one that is only a few days old and microscopically small—has an inviolable right to life. On the other hand, those who favor the right to have an abortion and the right to do the research do not attribute full personhood to the embryo. Hence there exists a natural alliance between pro-choice and pro-research advocates. 

Joining the anti-abortionist opposition to the research are some leftists, who give expression to a widespread public concern that stem cell science may be harnessed to the harmful aims of reproductive cloning and eugenics. The latter fear is fed by horrific visions of cloned babies born into brave new worlds, as in the movies Godsend and Attack of the Clones. But therapeutic cloning (serving medical purposes) is quite distinct from reproductive cloning (to produce a baby), and hence provides scant supplies for these science fiction scenarios.  

Does research of this kind merit the considerable economic investment that it requires? It can be argued that public health and preventive measures are today neglected and should be medicine’s highest priority. For instance, the social/environmental factors that contribute to diabetes’ increase over the past two decades need to be addressed. Yet anyone who has seen a child suffering from diabetes surely hopes also that a medical remedy will be found. 

And that remedy should be available to every person who needs it. Federal funding for stem cell research can best insure that the research is properly overseen, serves the common good, and is not held back by patent and other proprietary interests. 

The Cures for California campaign, a sponsor of the First International Stem Cell Action Conference, has gathered over one million signatures to place the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative on the November ballot. The initiative authorizes state bonds to provide 295 million dollars per year over the next 10 years to stem cell research within the State of California. The state will benefit from royalties that result from the research, and the interest and principle payments on the bonds will be postponed for the first five years. Thus, the initiative is designed to protect and benefit the state budget. This initiative will be discussed at the FISCA conference in Berkeley, June 5-6. 

Information about the conference is available by telephone at 595-5551 and on the web at www.fisca.info. Registration for the conference is required. 

Raymond Barglow, Ph.D. lives in Berkeley and is a member of the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club. Marion Riggs is the founder of the Student Society for Stem Cell Research. 



DERBY FIELD 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was pleased to learn that plans for a baseball and sports park are finally moving forward. It has been at least seven years since this was first proposed. 

The benefits of a real park far outweigh the perceived negatives. The fire trucks and ambulances will find a new route that will go through residential streets, but they will eventually go through them on every call they make. The farmers’ market will have a much more appropriate setting for their natural products than a street. 

The original plans were designed to support other sports besides baseball, such as soccer and softball. There are many other sports the current “field” is being used for, including women’s rugby, and women’s and men’s lacrosse, among others. 

I am a resident of the neighborhood, and have lived in Berkeley over 30 years. Dealing with parking and traffic comes with living in a city. The current building has homeless people in and out of it. The streets around it serve as an overnight campground. Demolish that eyesore that was “East Campus” and let’s build the best possible park we can. 

Bart Schultz 

• 

PRESERVE ALBANY BULB 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The East Bay Regional Park System, and its bay, and its rules do not belong to “state and local park officials.” They belong to the people of the Bay Area. At hearings held by these officials, hundreds of people testified in favor of designating certain hill and water areas in this six million strong, densely populated urban complex for walking dogs off-leash. 

For 20 years now dogs and their humans have been walking together in harmless joy and harmless freedom on the wild, rip-rap seaward edge of an obsolete dump—and watched it slowly turn into a wonderful, zany, awkward, gracious place to roam. Albany Bulb is the only welcoming untrammeled, exhilarating bit of bay shore in or near the population centers of Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond and Alameda with shoreline paths and a small bounded beach for dogs to romp. Crowded, cramped and ugly, the district’s “dog-run” at Point Isabel is more like a prison exercise compound than a land and seascape. 

I am 77 years old. My housemate is a dog. I cannot drive the freeway to the sour wasteland of Point Isabel or some place (not yet discovered!) a hundred miles to the south. For 40 years I helped fight the battle to secure more of the bay for public access. Public access means access to the Bay Shore too. 

Now the Albany Bulb, this tiny, man-made bit of joy and freedom, has been sequestered—not for a supermarket, or a heliport, a junior college, or a racetrack—but by ecological purists who should be fighting more important and less discriminatory battles. 

Off-leash dog-walking, in one tiny, funky area in a sweep of what must be about a hundred miles should not be too much to ask. 

Ariel Parkinson 

• 

THE SCOOTER WAR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Daily Planet’s May 14-17 issue carried some great letters about the omnipresent motorized scooters, now spreading like fleas over the city. For $800 one can annoy an entire neighborhood, day or night. I have had several too-close encounters with these often recklessly and dangerously operated modern instruments of citizen torture. One tried to run me down in the street; others, sped up and down the sidewalks, narrowly missing pedestrians. Another was observed on a pedestrian path next to very young children and woman with baby carriages. Officers on the beat need new ordinances to help them deal with these pests. Some effective controls are needed now. 

Arthur Eaton 

• 

BROWER CENTER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Our representatives should not be giving away something valuable for nothing. Apparently, they have decided that the Brower Center, with new Section 8 housing, is worth giving away the city-owned land at Oxford between Allston and Kittredge. In exchange, the city will get parking spaces which will generate revenue, hopefully at the same level as the current parking spaces generate. That revenue, will, of course, not be available when construction is being done. 

In the mid-19th century, San Francisco had a school at Fifth and Market streets, the Lincoln School. It still owns the land where Nordstroms and the San Francisco shopping center now sit. The city granted a long-term lease to the developer of that building and now the San Francisco school district receives regular rent for that land. A large lot on Oxford Street across from the UC campus will always be valuable. The city should keep its ownership interest in the land. Taxpayers of Berkeley paid for that land and the city representatives should preserve that asset. Every year when the San Francisco school district gets the check for the “Lincoln School” rent, thanks go to the far-sighted officials who resisted the calls to sell the land. 

With luck, in the next century, Berkeley’s officials will thank the forward looking officials from 2004 who preserved the city’s asset so that it will continue to generate revenue for important city programs. 

By the way, if housing is to be built, why not build housing that firefighters or police officers or Berkeley High teachers could buy and live downtown? Being employed, they will not qualify for low-income housing, but they still deserve to live close to their job and there is an advantage to the city to having these city workers live and own property downtown. The city would even get property tax from those new homeowners. 

William Flynn 

• 

QUARTER MEAL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I read the article in the Daily Planet about the Berkeley Quarter Meal program being bailed out but I think you may have missed an even bigger story. Just who are the people involved in serving the meal in People’s Park. You state that they belong to the Dorothy Day house but the man I talked to serving food said he wasn’t with them and he and his friends just took over for the Quarter Meal when it seemed to them that no one else was going to feed people.  

I asked him how much they got paid for their services and just laughed and said, “I wish!!!.” The food is outstanding. The day I ate there they were serving a choice of barbecued beef, roast lamb, Fried chicken, real mashed potatoes with roast garlic, three different salads, asparagus in lemon butter, desert and juice! 

I don’t eat that well at home let alone expect to be served that kind of high quality food at a homeless meal. The following week I had dinner at the Quarter Meal to compare the two and it was really bad. 

So who are these people, why are they doing this and why isn’t the city racing around to find these cooks funding? They have been serving these meals in the parks for weeks. Does the Berkeley Food and Housing Project expect these fine folks to keep this up for a year? 

What’s going on here? 

Virginia Minton 

• 

THANK YOU 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The Oxford Elementary School Parent Teacher Association would like to convey a great big THANK YOU to the Berkeley community for their support of the Oxford Elementary School raffle, held in May. It is amazing how generous Berkeley, Oakland, El Cerrito and Albany businesses are in support of such endeavors. Nearly 60 businesses, individuals and organizations made contributions to make our fundraiser a success, a fundraiser that supports our librarian, gardening program and classroom field trips. Without this incredible community, our kids would not have some of these opportunities. Thanks! 

Kim Smith 

President, Oxford Elementary School Parent Teacher Association 

• 

UNDUE SYMPATHY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I found Jakob Schiller’s article (UC Lecturer’s ‘Intifada’ Comment Brings Death Threats, Daily Planet, May 25-27) to be unduly sympathetic to Hatem Bazian’s point of view, and insufficiently aggressive in challenging his attempts to explain away his comments. 

What he said at the anti-war rally was this: “Are you angry? [Yeah!] Are you angry? [Yeah!] Are you angry? [Yeah!] Well, we’ve been watching Intifada in Palestine, we’ve been watching an uprising in Iraq, and the question is that what are we doing? How come we don’t have an Intifada in this country?” 

Oh, but he now says he believes in non-violence, and he meant only an Intifada in a political sense? Give me a break. 

Tom Freeman 

• 

DOWNTOWN CREEK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

On May 20, more than 40 individuals—including Mayor Bates, Councilmember Dona Spring, representatives from the University of California and the Berkeley business association, as well as interested members of the community—visited San Luis Obispo to gather information about how the city’s downtown creek and plaza project benefits their downtown economy and how a similar vision could be achieved in Berkeley. 

We heard from all parties in SLO that their downtown environment is greatly enhanced by their open creek and pedestrian plaza. In fact, it is one of the main draws to downtown, which currently has no retail vacancies! David Garth, president of the Chamber of Commerce, David Romero, mayor of San Luis Obispo and Kenneth Schwartz, vice mayor, all credit the creek and plaza for making the downtown a special attraction which benefits local businesses tremendously. 

Berkeley could realize a similar vision with a Strawberry Creek Plaza on Center Street. The cost of daylighting the creek is actually not so great, especially considering the alternative cost of ongoing expensive repairs to the existing crumbling underground culvert and the economic benefits that would be returned to businesses with a pleasant creek and plaza giving people more of a reason to stay and enjoy Berkeley’s downtown district. 

The social, economic, and environmental benefits that could be realized in the heart of downtown Berkeley in the near future are enormous. The city 

and UC should seize this opportunity and form the necessary partnerships to make this positive and achievable dream a reality. 

Kirstin Miller 

Program Director, Ecocity Builders 

• 

W’S VERNAKULUR 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

He said “nukiler” when he meant “nuclear.” 

He said “calvary” when he meant “cavalry.” 

What is this man doing in the White House? 

Dorothy V. Benson 



I couldn’t agree more with Max Anderson’s assessment of the ongoing national and local political sophistry (“Rent Board Chair Chides Control Foe’s ‘Rant,’” Daily Planet, May 25-27). His own contentious diatribe is a prime example of the same sophistry he so deliciously condemns. He takes John Koenigshofer to task for supposedly misleading that he is a “...landlord and realtor who works out of George Oram’s firm, one of Berkeley’s largest real estate interests.” Mr. Anderson wisecracks facetiously that “...perhaps modesty prevented Mr. Koenigshofer...” from such a revealing label. If Mr. Anderson were not so inept in his own “... Ashcroftesque invasion of privacy...” he would have revealed that Mr. Koenigshofer and this writer organized and held the first public call for Richard Nixon’s impeachment, in of all places, Yorba Linda, Cal. He would have revealed that Mr. Koenigshofer holds a degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University, that he is an artist of considerable depth, a fabulous poet and an engaging storyteller. Mr. Anderson would have also revealed that Mr. Koenigshofer forsook an internship at A.C.T. as a playwright to attend to his dying mother. That he requires a hip replacement from decades of fence building, landscape construction and gardening that gave him the courage to purchase his first project with a couple of credit cards and an unflagging endurance. Perhaps Mr. Anderson’s own physicality and ailments is derived from his longtime position as “...chair of the Rent Stabilization Board,” or other supine endeavors. 

One thing is for sure: Labels never tell the whole story of a person. I doubt that viewing Mr. Anderson adjudicate from that same chair tells his whole story. Or does it? It might if the world is as starkly delineated as Mr. Anderson and his ilk envision: landlord = evil, anti-property = blessed.  

But the world is not so finely divided. I sincerely doubt that Mr. Koenigshofer advocates that the Rent Stabilization Board illegally violate its “...requirements of the ordinance and the associated regulations,” but to change those requirements and regulations. Laws can be changed. The implementation of rent control is after all, an example. But no matter how well meaning a law, a law may not be perfected or fair. Rent control, again, is an example. Just as an unfettered, unregulated marketplace can be and is unfair, so is the hyper-regulated, class-orientated municipal decree. 

As seemingly difficult as it is for Mr. Anderson to believe, Mr. Koenigshofer is “...unwilling to sacrifice... character... on the alter (sic) of economic greed.” One would expect the ideologues of the Rent Stabilization Board and those who benefit from its decrees to be just as unwilling.  

Justice Putnam is a poet and singer/songwriter. He resides in Berkeley and does not own property.›

University Avenue is the most important traffic corridor in Berkeley. As such, decisions about its development should not be controlled by the opinions of highly vocal minorities with vested interests in the outcome of these decisions. Berkeley currently has an opportunity to make plans that will benefit all of its citizens, not just those individuals who are directly and immediately impacted by development along University Avenue. For these reasons, I urge the citizens of Berkeley to contact the Planning Commission, and urge them to adopt the recommendations of the University Avenue Strategic Plan. 

The University Avenue Strategic Plan was developed as a result of lengthy discussion involving all of the parties with potential interests in University Avenue: commercial developers, residents, advocates of low income housing, city planners, small business owners, and any other group with a conceivable interest in development in this area of the city. The plan they developed carefully balanced all of these interests, and provided a blueprint for a new University Avenue that will be an asset to the entire city. The plan provides for large numbers of attractive new housing units, new retail and commercial units to attract small business to the area, and urban designs that encourage foot traffic and that enhance, rather than detract, from the quality of life of residents living in all of the neighborhoods adjacent to University Avenue. 

It should now be apparent that development in the absence of the University Avenue Strategic Plan has been a disaster. The new monolithic apartment buildings that have sprung up along the avenue fail with respect to all of the goals of the University Avenue Strategic Plan. First, the apartment units they provide are unattractive to tenants. These buildings have been unable to rent all of their units, and the turnover on these units is very high, despite advertisements indicating that most of the apartments are designed for long-term tenants (“professionals”), as opposed to students. Given the dire housing shortage in Berkeley, it is obvious that prospective tenants are “voting with their feet”; they did not come to Berkeley to live in huge, monolithic apartment blocks, and they have no interest in doing so. 

The situation with respect to retail units in the new developments is even more of a disaster. Instead of designing units that are attractive to small business owners, developers have designed ground-floor retail units that have remained vacant, months to years after the buildings were constructed. Building retail units that nobody wants to rent runs absolutely counter to the objective of increasing opportunities for small business along University Avenue. In addition, a long row of “for rent” retail units is unlikely to encourage foot traffic along the avenue. 

Finally, as the members of the Planning Department must be aware, years of research in urban design shows that the visual impact (“threat”) of buildings is a direct function of their height and mass, and people much prefer buildings that are in scale with their surroundings, as opposed to buildings that loom over and dominate them. Current development along University Avenue allows for building designs which are not just unattractive, but which discourage people from using them for any purpose: housing, retail, or even “window shopping” by passersby. In contrast, the University Avenue Strategic Plan, which was developed in light of this research, allows for grouped clusters of higher four-story buildings at “nodes,” surrounded by areas with lower development, and provides for building designs which are non-threatening, and which blend into surrounding neighborhoods. The result is a plan which, if implemented, would lead to development that is attractive to long-term renters, small businesses, and pedestrians. In addition, even for those who refuse to abandon their cars, this plan would produce a visually appealing “gateway to Berkeley” for everyone driving along University Avenue on their way in and out of the city. 

Given the time, expertise and input from all relevant parties that went into the development of the University Avenue Strategic Plan, I am alarmed to hear suggestions that many of its provisions may now be abandoned, as a result of pressure from special interest groups of one sort or another. I urge in the strongest possible terms that the planners not bow to vocal or powerful special interests, but instead take all possible steps to implement the provisions of the University Avenue Strategic Plan, to the benefit of all of the citizens of Berkeley. 

Judy Stamps is a Berkeley resident. 

›

As a medical cannabis patient (quadriplegic) fortunate enough to have a doctor’s recommendation for the past five years, I feel compelled to comment on recent developments in our community regarding the cultivation and dispensing of medical marijuana. On April 27 our City Council unfortunately tabled proposed amendments to the previous 2001 medical cannabis initiative. Their lack of decision has prompted a voter initiative drive and the rights of patients like myself have been overlooked and ill-served. I believe this process can be avoided with reconsideration by the Berkeley City Council.  

The facts of the matter are that initiative preparation, signature gathering and the expense and resources needed require much time and energy. Because the three existing Berkeley medical dispensaries (and their patients) are the prime initiators for this project, the needs and servicing of patients are strained. I praise these organizations for their continued operation as well as a past record of success deserving recognition. They have proposed reasonable amendments the City Council has chosen not to consider: a 72-plant limit for indoor cultivation, a peer review committee to help regulate and oversee existing and new dispensaries, and zoning considerations that would provide city sanctioning for the dispensaries. I worry that a protracted voter initiative struggle and further ballot measure campaign will negatively affect myself and other patients. 

Opposition to the amendments by the City Council were based on a lack of information and fear of increased crime. While 72 plants sounds like a great many, that is already the limit in neighboring Oakland. The limit is 99 in Santa Cruz, and there is no limit in San Francisco. What this number of plants might produce as well as how many times a year is surely both relative and debatable. Producing 18 pounds worth $90,000, thereby a cause for crime concern could be possible, but not probable at very many locations in Berkeley, most certainly not residential ones. Such an operation would be more suited to warehouses in Oakland and San Francisco. The 72-plant limit is primarily to protect patients already over the existing 10-plant limit in Berkeley. I most strenuously object to embedding medical cannabis with increased crime. One day a few weeks ago three banks in Berkeley were robbed so what should be done? If Police Chief Roy Meisner deserves commending for our lower crime rate, I think he is off base suggesting the increased plant limits may mean increased crime. And I seriously doubt the armed robbery mentioned at the City Council meeting was related to medical cannabis. Three years ago when there were problems at the then University Avenue dispensary, the now existing dispensaries were instrumental in it’s shutdown and ceasing of operations, also acknowledged by the City Council and police chief. 

The adoption of the amendments would ease patients’ concerns and help to provide a continued secure dispensing of medical cannabis. The proposed relocation of one dispensary, Cannabis Buyers Cooperative of Berkeley has been particularly disconcerting to patients, the City Council, and neighbors of the proposed new location. As Councilmember Kriss Worthington stated, the adoption of the amendments should not be related to the contentiousness surrounding CBCB’s move. With all due respect to council members Shirek and Breland, citing the arrested victims of the war on drugs, whether black or white, does not seem just cause for limiting or ignoring the needs and rights of medical cannabis patients. Because my own mother has the same response I can appreciate Margaret Breland’s faith in her doctor and his prescriptions, but medical cannabis is most definitely an alternative for so many. Councilmember Dona Spring best understood the importance of patients’ relief from pain. 

Three weeks ago before the City Council met, a Daily Planet front page story characterized the voter initiative as “threatening” the council to adopt the medical cannabis amendments. I believe “challenge” is more appropriate. Our elected city officials should reconsider these amendments. Their adoption would help provide continued safe and secure access for medical cannabis patients to their medicine by increasing the number of plants we may grow, and by officially mandating the city working with and sanctioning existing medical dispensaries. Finally, because of missing regulation and federal opposition these measures are necessary to help implement Proposition 215, approved by 86 percent of Berkeley voters. 

Charles Pappas is a Berkeley resident.  



The Traveling Jewish Theatre has come to Berkeley’s Julia Morgan Theater, bringing along with it Dybbuk—which is one chunk of a play—and two gifted actors. In the course of the evening Karine Koret and Keith Davis successfully play roles that run from a nice young couple happily celebrating the Sabbath together, to ones embodying possession by supernatural and terrifying spirits. In between they each portray a dazzling variety of ages and characters as well as an enormous emotional range. It is a very impressive pair of performances. 

Corey Fischer, director and co-founder of the Traveling Jewish Theatre, credits Bruce Myers as one of the people who inspired him to develop the idea of reimagining the Jewish storytelling tradition. Myers “reinvented” Dybbuk for modern audiences from the 1920 original play by S. Ansky. In both versions, the play has had international success starting from its premiere in Vilna, Lithuania. The present adaptation has been performed in England, France, South America and India and has been the basis for several operas, ballets and modern dances. 

The dybbuk is a concept coming from the Kabbalah, which my dictionary defines as “an occult religious philosophy (some centuries old) developed by certain Jewish rabbis, based on a mystical interpretation of the scriptures.” In this play, the dybbuk is an agonizing—seemingly evil—spirit which possesses the young woman after her lover’s death and “must be exorcised by religious or magical ceremonies.” 

What is confusing for someone unfamiliar with this centuries-old lore, is that the spirit which is so overwhelmingly painful for the young woman appears to be that of her dead lover. (You’d expect better of him). Whatever the religious significance of this portrayal, the exorcism is a terrific scene which most actresses would kill to play. Karine Koret makes the most of it, yet without any sense of over-dramatizing. There’s no artificiality in her performance—any of her performances.  

Keith Davis has as wide a variety of parts as does Koret, running from the adoring lover of a woman betrothed to another man, to the woman’s father, to the spiritually exhausted rabbi who must summon the vitality to assist in the exorcism; he does equally well by all the roles. What is key to the story is his character’s intense religiosity, again a Kabbalah-based situation. 

And that appears to be a major issue for the audience. Although it is certainly possible for someone with little or no knowledge of Kabbalah or, for that matter, even Conservative Judaism, to enjoy the play, such ignorance does generate a number of significant unanswered questions. For example, are the two main characters happily united in death at the end? They’re happy all right, and united, but are they alive or dead? And the delightful beginning of the play—which is a Shabbat Dinner between the two would-be lovers—is this the happy ending they reach if or when they die? Is this a picture from the future and are they supposed to be married? Or is it just a portrayal of the grace that exists between them?  

All in all, this production presents something of a problem. The performances are excellent, the staging is first-rate (the lighting design is particularly effective) but, unlike many of the Traveling Jewish Theatre’s productions, to fully comprehend it requires a degree of knowledge about Judaism that may be missing among the general population.›

FRIDAY, MAY 28 

CHILDREN 

Springtime is a Buzzzz! with storytelling at Barnes and Noble at 10:30 a.m. 644-3635. 

THEATER 

Berkeley Rep “Master Class” with Rita Moreno at The Roda Theater. Runs through July 18. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Impact Theatre “Money and Run” an action serial adventure with different episodes on Thurs., Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. Runs through June 5 at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid. For tickets and information call 464-4468.  

www.impacttheatre.com 

New Shakespeare Co., “Hamlet” directed by Stanley Spenger, at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, through June 5, no show June 3. Tickets are $10-$12. 234-6046.  

www.geocities.com/spoonboy_sf/hamlet.html 

Traveling Jewish Theater, “Dybbuk” at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater. Tickets are $22-30. 925-789-1300.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with Peter Streckfus and Ilya Kaminsky at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852.  

www.codysbooks.com 

Alexandra Fuller describes life in Africa in “Scribbling the Cat” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

Dyke Open Mike at 7:30 p.m. at Boadecia’s Books, 398 Colusa Avenue at Colusa Circle, Kensington. To sign up for a 5-10 minute slot, call Jessy 655-1015.  

www.bookpride.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley High “Dance Projects” at 8 p.m. at the Florence Schwinley Little Theater, Allstaon Way. Tickets are $5-$10. 

Oakland Opera Theater “Akhnaten” by Philip Glass at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Tickets are $15-$27. Also Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun at 2 p.m. 763-1146.  

www.oaklandmetro.org 

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 

Folk and Radical Politics Extravaganza, a benefit for Project X, with music by Folk This!, The Molotov Mouths, Samsara, and Sean Corkery at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674A 23rd St., Oakland. Donation $8-$20. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

Alfredo Muro, Peruvian guitar virtuoso, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568.  

www.lapena.org 

Professor Terry’s Circus Band Extraordinaire at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761.  

www.freightandsalvage.org 

Beausoliel with Michael Doucet at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $20. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Ben Reebs at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

www.nomadcafe.net 

Fountain Street Theater Band, Sign for Stereo, Surf at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

Scavengers, The Plus Ones, Jericho, Deadley Weapons at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Damphibians, Mission Players at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886.  

www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Green & Root at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204.  

www.epicarts.org  

Jyemo & The Extended Family conscious dance music, at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $7. 548-1159.  

The Supplicants at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Shimshai and the Natural Mystiquensemble at 9 p.m. at Studio Rasa, 933 Parker St. 843-2787.  

www.studiorasa.org  

SATURDAY, MAY 29 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Wind and Water” kinetic and water-driven sculpture. Reception from 2 to 4 p.m. at A New Leaf Gallery/Sculpturesite, 1286 Gilman St. Runs through Aug. 1. 525-7621.  

www.sculpturesite.com 

“We Hold the Rock” a exhibition of photographs featuring Native American activism at the Free Speech Café, Moffitt Library, UC Campus.  

“American Masala” photographs from the Visual Storytelling class, UC School of Journalism. Reception from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St. 644-1400. 

“Dancing with the Tree of Life” open house and reception at 5 p.m. at Belladonna and the Color of Women Gallery, 2436 Sacramento St. 883-0600. www.belladonna.ws 

THEATER 

Traveling Jewish Theater, “Dybbuk” at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater. Tickets are $22-30. 925-789-1300.  

FILM 

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

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Matthew Sharpe reads from “The Sleeping Father” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

www.codysbooks.com 

MIUSIC AND DANCE 

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 

Audrey Auld, Australian country singer/songwriter, at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Ali Akbar College of Music with Smt. Lakshmi Shankar, vocals, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, table, and Pansist Ramesh Misra, sarangi, at 7:30 p.m. at Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. Tickets are $15-$50, available from 415-454-6264. www.acteva.com/go/aacm 

Kugelplex performs Klezmer at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473.  

www.albatrosspub.com 

Tim O’Brien, mountain music 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 

West African dance Music at 9:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Crazy Brother Resistance with Jouvert at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $17. 525-5054.  

www.ashkenaz.com 

Vaughn-Lee Stephens Group at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $8-$15 suggested. 649-8744.  

www.thejazzhouse.org 

JRhonda Benin and Soulful Strut 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 

Bay Area Ska All Ages Show at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

Fingertight, Thought Crime at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Artimus Pyle, Sunday Morning Einsteins, Born/Dead at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

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

SUNDAY, MAY 30 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Tilden Visions” Reception for artist Sheila Sondik, a mixed media specialist, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Environmental Education Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

THEATER 

Traveling Jewish Theater, “Dybbuk” at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater. Tickets are $22-30. 925-789-1300.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Chamber Music Sundaes with musicians from San Francisco Symphony performing Dvorak, Bartok and Hummel at 3:15 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $7-$18, available at the door. 415-584-5946. 

Early Music with Dan Winheld, lute, vihuela, steel string guitar, Miguel Fuenllana, Jean Paul Paladin, John Johnson, and Anthony Holborne at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. 644-6893. 

Harp Music from Around the World with the Bay Area Youth Harp Ensemble performing traditional music from Greece, Cuba, Argentina, Scotland, the Philippines, North America, Turkey, Afghanistan and more, at 4 p.m. at St. Mary Magdalene Church, 2005 North Berryman St. Tickets are $5-$15. 548-3326. 

Novello Quartet performs Haydn’s op. 50 string quartet, on period instruments at 4 p.m. at Skyline Community Church, 12540 Skyline Boulevard, Oakland. Tickets are $15. 531-8212.  

www.skylineucc.org 

Meta Man at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204.  

www.epicarts.org 

Americana Unplugged: Pete Madsen at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Sambada and Soul Majestic at 9 p.m. Ashkenaz. Cost is $12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Pit of Fashion Orchestra at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

MONDAY, MAY 31 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Al Molina’s “Latin Jazz Sextet” at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200.  

www.yoshis.com 

ACME Observatory Contemporary Performance Series Concert, featuring Ignaz Schick, electronics and turntables, solo and in a trio with Tom Djll, trumpet, and Matt Ingalls, clarinet, at 8:15 p.m. at The Jazz House, 3192 Adeline at Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Admission is free, donations accepted. 649-8744. http://music.acme.com 

TUESDAY, JUNE 1 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Charles Purdy discusses “Urban Etiquette” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Burke Schuchmann, cellist and Lois Brandwynne, pianist, chamber music at the Berkeley City Club. 236-5717. www.berkeleycityclub.org  

Édessa at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz, with a Balkan dance lesson with Nancy Klein at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

www.thejazzhouse.com 

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

Tiempo Libre, Afro-Cuban jazz, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Dance floor open. Cost is $10. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“We Hold the Rock” a exhibition of photographs featuring Native American activism at the Free Speech Café, Moffitt Library, UC Campus.  

“Transition/Exploration,” works by five Bay Area artists at A.C.C.I. Gallery, 1652 Shattuck Ave. Gallery hours are Mon.-Fri. 11a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sat. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 843-2527.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“MoveOn’s 50 Ways to Love Your Country” a panel discussion on taking politics on the road at 7:30 p.m. at Easy Going Travel Shop and Bookstore, 1385 Shattuck Ave at Rose, 843-3533. 

James Lee Burke at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

David Bacon describes “The Children of NAFTA: Labor Wars on the U.S./Mexico Border” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

“Seeds of Deception” with author Jeffrey Smith discussing efforts to keep genetically modified foods out of Alameda County’s ecosystemas and food supply, at 7 p.m. at Café de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Dinner at 6 p.m. Cost is $15. 843-0662. 

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 

Songwriter Showcase with Emily Fox, Adam Varona, Mike Rofe, Robyn Harris and Jason Broome at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $5. 644-2204.  

www.epicarts.org 

Keyser Soze and Beautiful Losers at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

ICE, Improvised Composition Experiment open jam at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donation $5. 649-8744.  

www.thejazzhouse.com 

The Key of Z: Experimental Instruments, and the Music They Make, with the New Zealand ensemble From Scratch, at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Sponsored by Amoeba Records. 642-1412. 

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

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

Don Braden’s Organ Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200.  

www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, JUNE 3 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“High Fiber” an exhibit exploring the intersection of digital technology and fiber-based artworks, at Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. Gallery hours are Tues.-Fri. noon to 5:30 p.m., Sat. noon to 4:30 p.m. 549-2977. www.kala.org 

THEATER 

“Primo” a play by Ed Davidson, on the last days of Holocaust author, Primo Levi, at 7:30 PM Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut Street. Cost is $15-$20. 925-798-1300. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

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

Randall Sullivan describes his work as “The Miracle Detective: An Investigation of Holy Visions” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Ballet Frankfurt, William Forsythe’s celebrated troupe performs as part of their first US tour outside NY in over 15 years at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu  

Summer Noon Concert with the Jackie Payne and Steve Edmonson Band at the Berkeley BART. Sponsored by the Downtown Berkeley Association. 

Mark Growden at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$10, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204.  

www.epicarts.org 

The Bills, folk roots from Canada, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $15.50 in advance, $16.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Flamenco Sur at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $13-$15. 849-2568.  

www.lapena.org 

Touch of Soul at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

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

www.starryploughpub.com 

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

Odd Shaped Case at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Sliding scale donation $8-$15. 649-8744. www.thejazzhouse.com 

Airto Moreira’s Jam Band at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.comô

Legumes are such an important partner of grains as a source of complete protein that one wonders how Europeans managed before the advent of foods from America. Although every continent seems to have indigenous legumes and pulses, Europe has only one bean, the fava or broad bean, Vicia faba. Historians have documented an increase in human populations in Europe after the arrival of beans from the Americas. These beans are often called French, having been introduced into Europe by French explorers in Canada. 

Whether called American, French, string, snap or green, beans in the genus Phaseolus require the warmer months for growing. Sown too early, they will not germinate. Once the earth warms up in May, timing in Berkeley is not critical. From now until July they will produce a lavish crop. 

Starting beans in little pots makes it easier to keep watch and re-sow if germination fails. Pre-soaking the seeds speeds germination. The soil is dampened and never watered until the beans fully emerge. They bend their stalks to force their way through the earth. Give shade in extremely hot spells. Transplant to the ground when true leaves appear. Pole beans require wire support to climb up. Although they are said to be less prolific than bush beans, they are productive for longer, and a healthy plant will be bountiful. 

Bush beans can give a quick fill-in crop after early potatoes have been dug and before fava beans go in, because favas need cool weather, fittingly for their origins. In Berkeley they are sown in mid-October and start to produce edible pods in April. By May the pods fill out and must be shelled. Favas must be cooked, and are delicious as a side dish, in sauces, and in salads. They do well in soups, purees and stews. They can cause a troublesome blood disorder in people of Mediterranean heritage. Everyone else can enjoy their sweet, nutty taste safely. 

Legumes are also an important component of crop rotation because of their ability to fix nitrogen from the air by nodules on their roots, clearly visible on an uprooted fava bean plant. For early farmers this meant an increase in crops to the acre, allowing more frequent intercropping and fewer fallow seasons. Not just better food, but more of it, was apparently the reason for the population increase. We can do the same in our vegetable gardens by planting legumes in a different spot each growing season. Dried beans of all kinds store well, so plant extra for winter nutrition. 

Peas, in the same Fabaceae family (formerly Leguminosae), may have been the source of a “pease pudding” jingle, but the bean is the stuff of legends. Kentucky Wonder is just one of many good candidates for Jack’s beanstalk and the downfall of a giant. Local nurseries carry a wide variety of seeds and seedlings. Farmers’ markets often sell unusual kinds ready to plant. The Scarlet Runner, a perennial, is spectacular in flower, coarse and hairy in the pod. In fact most varieties of green bean need a little help to be appetizing, even if only a few drops of tamari or some toasted cashews. The tiny narrow French haricot vert is perhaps the exception, with a naturally delicate flavor. The French serve it alone as a separate course where, along with their incomparable butter, it can be appreciated without distraction. As with all things French, this is the bean at its most exquisite.  

For those who benefit from the health-giving properties of spices, Monisha Bharadwaj has a worthwhile recipe for “string bean stir-fry,” Farasbean Bhaji, in her book The Indian Spice Kitchen. This beautiful book is packed with information about the exotic spice plants and delectable dishes of India. It is available from Cody’s on Fourth Street. The following has been adapted from that recipe. It seems that even a continent well supplied with indigenous legumes just loves those American beans. 

The exterminator receives a call to return to the scene of recent work. Upon arrival, he is confronted by the angry customer. 

“I thought you said that once you killed the rats, they ain’t coming back,” the woman scolds him. 

“That’s true, ma’am,” he answers. 

“Then what’s that I keep hearing?” she asks, pointed an accusing finger at the baseboard. 

He listens for a moment, intently, to the sound of furtive scurrying from behind the walls, then rises to confront her, thoughtfully. “Puppies,” he answers, without blinking. 

Having loudly announced the ridding the premises of the beast, it becomes difficult to explain its continuing presence. 

America was founded on the principle of freedom of religion, we are told, and, thus, religious intolerance does not exist between our shores. And so, in the midst of the Iraqi sinkhole, Americans continue to vehemently deny that which is readily apparent to everyone else. 

The country’s founders never actually declared religious intolerance abolished, of course. Instead, they opted for a level playing field. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” they declared in the first sentence of the Bill of Rights. Under that big tent, they figured, the various denominations could duke it out on equal terms. 

Except, as in Orwell’s Animal Farm, some of the animals were ink-quilled in as more equal than others. In America, the ban on prohibiting the free exercise of religion was gotten around by the convenient artifact of labeling other beliefs as “Not Religion.” 

And so came the Africans to America—in chains—with their religious practices older than Christianity and Judaism combined, beliefs more complicated than those which only recognized a monotheistic god, poles apart from either Abraham’s covenant or redemption through the blood of the Christ. Alarmed that these captives might organize around their various African religions to win their freedom, the slavers and slavemasters set out to attack those religions on all fronts. At times, they used the same familiar battle terms handed down from the old Christian wars against the ancient European pagans. Witchcraft, the German-based term that had devolved by the 1600s into a widely-accepted pejorative, was applied to the distinctly non-German beliefs and practices of the Mende and the Wolofs brought to American shores, in the process becoming as American a tradition as, well, apple pie. The Salem witch trials—from which, after all, comes our modern political term “witch hunt”—began in no small part with the charge that Tituba, an African servant-woman from Barbados (a “witch,” in the formal indictment) had introduced the devil and all his worship to two young Christian girls. To this day, in many circles, African spirit-practitioners still carry the label “witch doctors.” 

In time, as more Africans were kidnapped and brought to America, the elder African religious beliefs grew important enough to make themselves a particular target of denigration. Voodoo, based upon the Ewe and Fon words for spirits and deities of all types, became synonymous with wild, insane practices suitable for all ridicule. “Deceptive or delusive nonsense,” the American Heritage dictionary still carries it as one definition, also describing voodoo as the “animism and magic of slaves from West Africa.” The god of Christianity performs miracles. The practitioners of vodún must, alas, resort to magic. We all know the difference. The use of the term voodoo as an object of ridicule still has applicability in American belief and language, to this day. 

Meanwhile, of course, ridicule of the descendant beliefs of European paganism continues, unabated, down to the present. 

Having thus had long practice against the more ancient African and European pagan beliefs, many Americans find an easy transition to the dissing and dismissing of the more modern Islam. 

In World War II, despite our avowed enmity toward the godless bolsheviki of the Soviet Union, America had no trouble drawing distinctions and lining up side by side with Russia in our battle with the Germans, the Italians, and the Japanese. Attacked at Pearl Harbor, we did not send B52s over Moscow. 

But somehow, in a fit of collective confusion following Sept. 11, 2001, America ended up invading the nation of Iraq. We have since more or less come to our senses, and the majority of Americans look upon the earlier Bush administration assertions—Hussein was in close cooperation with Al Qaeda, and helped (in some way) in the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks—as both self-serving and more than a little shabby. Still, it raises the question, why was America so willing to send our troops to make war on such shaky grounds? 

There were winks and hints all along, of course. On Sept. 16, 2001, less than a week after the terrorist attacks, President Bush pronounced terrorism “a new kind of evil. … And the American people are beginning to understand. This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while.” The use of the term “crusade”—a reminder of the late Christian wars to take the Holy Land “back” from the Muslims—was later withdrawn by Bush aides and treated as an unfortunate error. The president is prone to errors, true, but generally in the direction of obfuscation, rarely towards clarity. This reference more looks like a designed notice to the radical Christian right as to where we were going, and why. Gird your loins, boys and girls. We’re marching on Jerusalem, again. The beachhead will be Baghdad. 

Last year Lt. General Jerry Boykin, the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, a veteran of the Somalia campaign and one of the men charged with leading the pursuit of Osama Bin Laden, was more clear, quoted at various times as saying that Islamic terrorists hate Americans “because we’re a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christian ... and the enemy is a guy named Satan. … We in the army of God, in the house of God, kingdom of god have been raised for such a time as this.” Talking about what gave him confidence in a battle with a Somalian Muslim commander, Boykin explained, “I knew my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real god and his was an idol.” 

The general’s words, from all I can gather, have never been retracted, or officially repudiated. 

It does not even take a good ear to hear the sound of scratching feet, scurrying around in our collective closet. The rats of our religious intolerance remain.

At least four teachers will be transferred involuntarily from Rosa Parks Elementary School next year—and many more might follow them willingly—two months after more than three-quarters of the faculty signed a letter of no confidence in their principal. 

Instead of reassigning second-year principal Shirley Herrera as the teachers had requested, Superintendent Michele Lawrence chose to keep Herrera and reassign some of the teachers who signed the petition. 

Lawrence refused to comment on “personnel matters,” but said any teacher who wished to transfer would be accommodated. 

Several teachers interviewed Monday said they were considering leaving the school because of low morale and their frustration with Herrera. With 29 credentialled teachers on staff, that could mean a major overhaul for the West Berkeley school, which is home to some of the district’s poorest students and has been plagued by subpar standardized test scores. 

The school is in year three of program improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which gives the district discretion to replace staff in consultation with the teacher’s union. 

Lawrence, however, insisted lagging test scores had nothing to do with the teacher transfers, and called her action Monday purely “a personnel issue.” 

Barry Fike, President of the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, challenged Lawrence’s motivations. “The evidence demonstrates that this is an attempt by the district administration to implement a phased-in reconstitution of the school unilaterally,” he said.  

Fike said the union was considering filing an unfair labor practice charge with the state Public Employee Relations Board. Under the teacher’s contract, the superintendent can transfer a teacher only for either matters of irreconcilable differences or an absence of classroom learning. 

Assuming Herrera remains at Rosa Parks, Fike also wants a “healing process” at the school to address teacher concerns about the principal’s leadership.  

Lawrence refused to comment on which schools the Rosa Parks teachers would be reassigned to and how the district would re-staff the school.  

She had alerted teachers several weeks ago that Herrera would be retained and some teachers transferred. Throughout Monday, Lawrence met individually with teachers to discuss the transfers.  

Lawrence hired Herrera in 2003 to bring stability to the school after a revolving door of principals passed through in preceding years. On Monday, Lawrence said the principal was “working in the best interest of that school and the children that she serves.” 

But teachers said the past two years had seen problems remain unsolved and morale drop so low they decided to sign the letter asking that Herrera be reassigned. 

“People felt like there wasn’t much hope to work productively with [Herrera] to solve the problems here at the school,” said one teacher, who wished to remain anonymous. 

The administration under Herrera had provided “unreliable leadership, inequitable treatment of students, teachers and staff, inconsistent evaluations and a serious lack of knowledge, respect and/or support for various policies, programs and families,” according to prepared statement from the Concerned Citizens of Rosa Parks School, a group comprising parents staff and teachers. 

The largely Latino school is a tight-knit community. After the district condemned the former school building—Christopher Columbus Elementary School—at the site for being seismically unfit, the local community fought to build a new school they renamed after Rosa Parks. 

Many of the teachers have been at the school since it reopened seven years ago, making the thought of leaving it and its students particularly agonizing. 

“I love this place and the families,” said one teacher who lives near the school. “It would be tough to leave, but right now it would be tough to stay.” 

›

For a city whose downtown recently has been characterized more by empty storefronts than thriving shops, Longs Drugs offers Berkeley an enticing opportunity. 

Aside from its standard inventory of pain relievers, packaged food and beauty supplies, the national chain estimates it would provide $100,000 in sales tax revenue in downtown Berkeley where this year, three national chain stores have already pulled out and the most recent city study conducted last year showed a retail vacancy rate hovering around 10 percent—more than double the tally from four years ago. 

But Berkeley doesn’t want everything Longs has to offer. Unlike most chain drug stores, Longs sells beer and wine, and company executives have insisted the proposed store at 2300 Shattuck Ave. at the corner of Bancroft Way—700 feet from Berkeley High School—not be an exception. 

That doesn’t sit well with school and city officials. Last November, at the urging of School Board President John Selawsky, the school board voted 3-2 to oppose the store. Then in February of this year, the Zoning Adjustment Board (ZAB) unanimously voted to deny Longs its beer and wine license. 

Now if the City Council votes to uphold the ZAB’s ruling at tonight’s meeting (Tuesday, May 25), as recommended by City Manager Phil Kamlarz, company executives have told city officials that the deal is off and the storefront at 2300 Shattuck will remain empty as it has been since 2001. 

The company wants a standard product line and that includes beer and wine, said Longs spokesperson Phyllis Proffer. Although, the Longs on Solano Avenue in Albany doesn’t sell any alcoholic beverages, Proffer said larger stores like the planned 15,500-square-foot outlet downtown would need to include all of the company’s inventory. 

To keep beer and wine out of the hands of students, Longs has pledged to install cameras in the alcoholic beverages section and electronically tag the items so they would set off an alarm at the front security gates if anyone tried to shoplift them. 

Under most circumstances, the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) would rule on Longs request for a beer and wine license. But when Longs applied in 2002, ABC couldn’t grant one because the store is in an “over-concentrated area.” According to a memo from ABC, there are already three off-sale licenses in the census where Longs would set up shop, yet the population authorizes only two licenses. To grant a license, the city would have to obtain a finding of Public Convenience or Necessity, a ruling the Zoning Adjustment Board refused to make. 

“They didn’t give us the [financial data] to back up their claims [that they needed to sell beer and wine], and that was the real problem,” said ZAB Commissioner David Blake. 

For Ed Kikumoto, a community organizer for the Oakland-based Alcohol Policy Network, the only figure that matters is the 700 feet the store would sit from the high school. 

Despite Longs’ assurances of technological surveillance, Kikumoto argued that chain stores, in general, pose a bigger risk than convenience stores like the E-Z Stop Deli one block away that sells liquor in addition to beer and wine. 

“With a small store you can hold the owner accountable, but bigger stores have difficulty controlling their clerks,” he said. There have been several documented instances, Kikumoto added, in which clerks in a chain store have sold alcoholic beverages to their friends. 

But according to the results of a recent Berkeley and UC Police sting operation, shopkeepers aren’t putting up a lot of resistance to teenagers thirsty for alcohol. 

A March sweep found that 14 of 26 targeted stores were willing to sell to minors—five times the average violation rate. 

When it comes to Downtown Berkeley, Police Chief Roy Meisner doesn’t want any more shops to monitor. He wrote to ABC and the city’s planing department that beer and wine sales at Longs would be expected to “add crime to the area.” The census tract already is 97 percent above the city average in calls where an officer suspected drugs or alcohol were involved. 

2003 Berkeley High Graduate Joseph Issel, however, doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. When his friends wanted to drink during school hours they went as far away from campus as possible, he said. “The closer you are to the school, the higher the risk of getting caught,” said Issel. 

His mother, school board director Shirley Issel, one of the two directors to oppose the resolution against Longs, said the campaign was a poor substitute for having a “proactive and preventative policy against drugs and alcohol.” 

“We have a policy where the motivation appears to be against corporations instead of in support of healthy children,” she said. 

If current trends continue in the downtown, there is reason to be leery of chain stores. So far this year, Eddie Bauer and Gateway Computers have closed shop and See’s Candies has announced plans to do the same. 

Bonnie Hughes, who lives on the same block as the proposed Longs and has worked with Kikumoto and School Board President Selawsky to oppose the project, fears that opening a Longs just three blocks from a Walgreens will ultimately result in more stores closings. 

“I don’t think you can have two drug stores in three blocks. Their whole point is to drive out other businesses,” she said. “That’s not a good neighbor and that won’t increase the tax base.” 

Hughes, who would prefer a food market at the site, worries that the E-Z Stop Deli, which she said has been a “stabilizing force” downtown whose owners have proved adept at dealing with high school students, would be Long’s first casualty. 

Ted Burton of the city’s office of economic development argued that Longs, which has promised to carry produce at the downtown store, caters to a different market than Walgreens (which doesn’t serve alcoholic beverages or fresh food) or E-Z Stop (which is a combination deli and liquor store). The project’s architect Jim Novosel insists the store could bring in $100,000 in sales revenue, the same as its North Berkeley store, Burton said the city hasn’t performed its own sales tax analysis. 

If the council upholds the ZAB ruling, finding another tenant at 2300 Shattuck (also known as the Coder building) won’t be easy said Jim Novosel, the project’s architect. The building, owned by the Lakireddy family, needs seismic bracing to house a retail outlet. The revenue from a lease with Longs was to be the catalyst to upgrade the building and renovate the three floors of vacant office space above the retail site.  

“Without Longs, the owners won’t have the economic ability to make improvements,” Novosel said. “The building will remain a dark hole in the fabric of downtown.” 

›

A recent speech delivered by a UC Berkeley lecturer during an impromptu anti-war protest in San Francisco has set off a firestorm of criticism around the country, including death threats and calls for his removal from the university. 

The speech, given by Hatem Bazian of UC’s Near Eastern Studies Department, at one point noted the intifada in Palestine and uprising in Iraq and then asked the crowd why the U.S. has not had its own political intifada to protest the lies U.S. government has used to lead this country to war. 

Critics took offense with his use of the word “intifada” and are claiming Bazian could be calling for an armed uprising like the ones in Iraq and Palestine. In Arabic, Intifada comes from a root word which means “shaking off,” but the word has come to be associated with the armed Palestinian struggle against Israel.  

But Bazian, who claims he has always advocated for non-violence, said the statement is being taken out of context. He also said the campaign appears to be a smear tactic to shut him down because he has been an outspoken opponent of the Israeli and American occupations in the Middle East.  

“I was calling for political change considering the lies and half truths that have been thrown at us to take the nation to war,” said Bazian. And in turn, he said, critics spun that to mean he was calling for “global jihad,” charging that his comment was “sedition” and “treachery.” 

Although no official group has come out and criticized the comment, Bazian returned to his office the Monday after the April 10 speech to find he had thousands of critical e-mails waiting for him, many of them openly threatening. Several of the e-mails were sent directly to UC Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl, calling on the chancellor to force Bazian to resign. In one day alone, Bazian received 18,000 e-mails—in another 12,000—in another 7,000. In total Bazian estimates he has received 100,000 e-mails. 

“Hey, you ready to start the an intifada in the U.S.?’ one e-mail reads. “Bring it on bitch, because I am certain I know who the first casualty will be. My brothers in arms in the USMC are kicking the shit out of the ‘insurgents’ in fallujah. It would be wise of you to think of that before starting anything over here. By the way, better look both ways twice next time you cross the street.” 

Another e-mailer writes: “hatem baziam, you are no better than a terrorist! How dare you advocate war against America. You are trash. You are slime. You have violated our Constitution and free speech. You should be immediately deported to swim on the blood of pigs. A proud American Citizen who supports Israel and our troops. The lower case of the first letters of your name is to shows my utter contempt and disgust for you.” 

Over the course of the week, Baziam said people also left nine death threats on his office voice mail. One said the caller was going to get thousands of rounds of magnums to go after Bazian, another told him to be on the lookout because “we” were watching, and another told him directly that he should be shot in the head. 

According to the university public relations department, Chancellor Berdahl has dismissed the calls for Bazians resignation, citing Bazian’s both right to free speech and the fact that he made the comments as an individual, not while representing the university. 

Still, Bazian said the campaign against him is a dangerous “smear tactic” used to silence anyone who challenges the campaigns in Iraq, or in his case, Israel as well. He said he has been criticized for speaking out against Israel in the past. 

“It’s been going on for a long time, anyone who speaks on the Palestinian issue and doesn’t tow the line will have to suffer a systematic smear tactic,” he said. “This is from Edward Said, to Chomsky…to Jesse Jackson to Pat Buchanan.” 

Bazian defends his latest statements on the one hand because they are based on fact. He said since the war broke out, his predictions have come true, in that the war was not based on the same facts the government lead the people to believe. As a result, he said he has the right to call for a challenge to the leadership who lied. 

“When I said we need a political intifada in this country, it was a point of reference for the audience. If you look at the lies cast out to the American public, it’s incredible that we still have the current leadership still lying out of its teeth about how we got to war,” he said. 

Nonetheless, the criticism against his remarks is still flying. He said after the news was initially published on the web, almost every right wing talk show in the country wanted him on their show. He denied most, but eventually agreed to appear on the well-known conservative news show, the “O’Reilly Factor,” hosted by Bill O’Reilly on Fox news.  

Bazian said he went on the show so he could get something on the record about the statement. According to Bazian, O’Reilly, who is known as an aggressive and outspoken conservative, received criticism from other right-wing groups for “going too soft,” even though Bazian said O’Reilly grilled him throughout the interview. 

Bazian said he always has to defend his public statements, but also said he feels he has to make them to because he is part of an “intellectual arena at a time when conformity is being asked for and alternative viewpoints are not being heard. The complete closing of airwaves by the mainstream media puts us in a position where we have to continue what we are doing, it must resonate. It does hurt, but nevertheless, it has to be said, even if it hurts.” 

While critical of those who are trying to get him fired, Bazian said he welcomes debate in general, calling it the “true essence of free speech.”  

“Let them share their point of view, and we will bring our people,” he said. “If we only heard from the white power structure, and dismissed what the African American were saying, we would have never had the Civil Rights Movement.”  

Students who have had class with Bazian have also rallied to his defense, calling him an “asset to the students.” They said Bazian has always presented both sides of the issue in his classes, letting students draw their own conclusions. They also said he has always been open to discussion and has been an active participant in the university community. 

›

TUESDAY, MAY 25 

Morning Birdwalk Meet at 7 a.m. just past the kiosk at the Bear Creek Rd. entrance of Briones. 525-2233. 

Return of the Over-The-Hills Gang Hikers 55 years and older who are interested in nature study, history, fitness, and fun are invited to join us on a series of monthly excursions exploring our Regional Parks. Today we’ll hike in Morgan Territory, enjoy grand vistas, sandstone mortars, and spring flowers. Meet at 10 a.m. at staging area on Morgan Territory Rd. Registration required 525-2233. 

Birding by Bike on the MLK Shoreline, Arrowhead Marsh. Now that the migrants are gone, see who stayed behind to raise their babies. We’ll look for Clapper Rails at the pier, then ride around the marsh to search for elusive owls. Bring your bike and a helmet. Meet at the last parking lot, by the observation deck at the end of the driveway off Swan Way at 4 p.m. For information or to reserve binoculars call 525-2233. 

Council Workshop on UCB’s Long Range Development Plan at the Planning Commission at 5 p.m. in City Council Chambers. Copies of the plan and the draft Environmental Impact Report are available at http://lrdp.berkeley.edu 

Quit Smoking Class offered by the City of Berkeley for residents and employees on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. To register, call 981-5330. 

Tikkun Leyl Shavuot from 6:30 p.m. to dawn. Over 40 Rabbis and Scholars, whose backgrounds range from Orthodox to secular, will be teaching to several hundred participants. All ages welcome. Free. Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 925-979-1998. 

David Harris and others in an evening of politics and entertainment at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Wilderness Survival and Outdoor Safety with Gene Ward, U.S. Air Force global survivial instructor and wilderness guide, at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Organic Produce at low prices sold at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon Streets 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.  

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 if you can join us. 233-2144. dan@redefeatbush.com 

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

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. 845-6830. 

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 

East Bay Theology on Tap meets to discuss “The Devil Made Me Do It” with Francis X. Mcaloon at 7 p.m. at 4092 Piedmont Ave. Contact Norah at St. Leo the Great 654-6177. 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 26 

Quiz Bowl Finals featuring the Berkeley High Quiz Bowl Team of Ian Rose, Ryan Devine, Tyler Brandt, Sam Nolting, and Mike Orloff, at 7 p.m. at Barnes and Noble Bookstore, 2352 Shattuck Ave. 644-0861. 

Legal Worshop for Cancer Patients covering employment, insurance, estate planning issues with representatives from the Legal Services Progam of the Bar Association of San Francisco, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Women’s Cancer Resource Center, 5741 Telegraph Ave. To register, call 601-4040, ext. 102. 

“News Medicare Card: Fact or Fraud?” with Jason Webster of Kaiser Oakland and other speakers at 1:30 p.m. at North Berkeley Senior Center. Sponsored by Berkeley Gray Panthers. 548-9696. 

Progressive Voice for Peace fundraiser for KPFA and Progressive Voice of California at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Speakers include Medea Benjamin, Van Jones, Rabbi Michael Lerner, and Solange Echevarria. Donation $10-$25, no one turned away. 420-0772. Progressivevoiceca@hotmail.comMedia 

Mountaineer Arlene Blum will talk about her Mt. Shasta climb and other expeditions at 7:30 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave.  

Cuban Arts and Artists, short films presented by Tina Flores, at 7 p.m. at Fellowship of Humanity, 390 7th St., Oakland. Donations accepted. 393-5685. 

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

THURSDAY, MAY 27 

Community Meeting on the City Budget at 7 p.m. at the West Berkeley Senior Center. Sponsored by the City Managers Office. 981-7000. 

Berkeley High School Film Festival at 7 p.m. at the Florence Schwimley Little Theater, featuring documentary, fiction, and experimental works from students at BHS and throughout the Berkeley Unified School District. Special selections from Washington, King, Longfellow, Thousand Oaks and The Academy. Cost is $3-$5. 

“Educating Our Children to be Active Citizens” with Barbara Penny-James and Rick Ayres. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Business meeting at 4:30 p.m. Dinner for $15 at 6:15, followed by speakers at 7 p.m. Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 526-5139. 

Berkeley Farmer’s Market with all organic produce at Elephant Pharmacy parking lot, 1607 Shattuck Ave., at Cedar from 3 to 7 p.m. 548-3333. www.ecologycenter.org 

“Bear in Mind: The California Grizzly” a slide show and lecture with Susan Snyder at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Yacht Club, One Seawall Drive. To benefit the Sierra Club East Bay. Admission $20, includes dinner. To make reservations call 526-2494. 

Community Water Issues and Local Solutions, a narrated slide show by Cleo Woelfle-Erskine and Andrea del Moral at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. www.ecologycenter.org 

Meet-Up for Kerry at 7 p.m. at two Berkeley locations: Sweet Basil Thai Restaurant, 1736 Solano Ave. and The Beanery, 2925 College Ave. Come learn about John Kerry, organize our campaign, and join working groups. EastBayKerry.com or Kerry2004.meetup.com 

Tea Dancing and Dance Lessons with Barbara and Jerry August from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., Costis $10, includes refreshments. 925-376-6345. 

Women’s Consciousness Raising for the New Century meets at 7 p.m. at Boadecia’s 398 Colusa Avenue at Colusa Circle, Kensington. Suggested donation $3-$5. 559-9184. www.bookpride.com 

FRIDAY, MAY 28 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with John M. Letiche, Prof. of Economics on “An Appraisal of Putin’s Works.” 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. 

Literary Friends meets at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center to discuss Remembering Mother and Father. 232-1351. 

Folk and Radical Politics Extravaganza, a benefit for Project X, with music by Folk This!, The Molotov Mouths, Samsara, and Sean Corkery at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674A 23rd St., Oakland. Donation $8-$20. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

Kol Hadash the Bay Area’s only Jewish Humanistic Congregation meets at 7:30 p.m. for Shabbat, the fourth Friday of every month, at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. 428-1492. www.kolhadash.org 

Herbal Tea at Three Learn tea lore, medicinal properties, and taste familiar and exotic varieties. Every Friday from 3 to 4 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy. 549-9200. www.elephantpharmacy.com 

SATURDAY, MAY 29 

Chocolate and Chalk Art Festival along the sidewalks of Solano Ave. 527-5358. www.solanoave.org 

Berkeley Fire Station Open House from 1 to 4 p.m. at Station 6, 999 Cedar St. Tour the station, see a safety presentation, and historical display and enjoy hot dogs and cake. Families and children especially welcome. 981-5506. 

Bay Street Emeryville Arts and Music Festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A portion of the proceeds benefit Anna Yates Elementary School Library Project. 655-4002. www.baystreetemeryville.com 

Guided Trails Challenge Hike in Claremont Canyon from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Snakes alive, this canyon is crawling with them! Learn to identify the harmless and poisonous species (oh yes, they’re here) of serpents in the area. For more information and to register call 525-2233. 

Meet My Tarantula From the ferocious to the friendly, meet the arachnid that you will learn to love. At 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. Registration Required 525-2233.  

Permaculture Community Design and Group Processes Integrating permaculture principles we’ll discuss working in groups, group consciousness and process, the art of facilitation, design charettes, networking strategies, community building exercises. Resources will be provided for connecting with and plugging into local permaculture community working groups. 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. 

Berkeley Copwatch Know Your Rights Orientation Join us for this hands-on workshop including: what rights we have when we are stopped by the police, what to look for when someone else is stopped, keeping safe while observing police and more. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. This event is free, wheelchair accessible and open to the public. Donations accepted, but no one turned away. 548-0425. 

Vegetarian Cooking Class from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. at Castro. Cost is $30. To register call 238-5004. compassionatecooks@yahoo.com 

SUNDAY, MAY 30 

Fire: Friend or Foe? From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Tour a fire engine, meet Smokey Bear, and learn how fire is fought, as we explore the dangers and benefits of fire. 525-2233. 

History and Mystery of Redwoods from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Find out more about California’s State Tree – its history, growth and presence in the Bay Area. We’ll also take a walk to the “moon.” 525-2233. 

Bay Street Emeryville Arts and Music Festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A portion of the proceeds benefit Anna Yates Elementary School Library Project. 655-4002. www.baystreetemeryville.com 

Holistic Meditation with Ramon V. Albareda, Jorge N. Ferrer, and Marina T. Romero, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 830 Bancroft Way. Cost is $50. To register call 650-520-1123. holisticmeditation@hotmail.com 

Tibetan Buddhism A panel discussion on “Mother of Wisdom, Explorations into the Prajnaparamita” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY MAY 31 

Beginner’s Birdwalk from 8:30 to 10:30am, at Tilden Nature Center. Spring migrants are here and the woods are filled with bright color and song. Join us for a look and listen. Binoculars available for loan. 525-2233. 

Environmental Education Center Open House, in Tilden Park, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a variety of activities, homemade ice cream, the great potato chip taste off, and more! 525-2233. 

Holiday Pond Plunge at 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. With dip-nets and magnifiers in hand, we’ll discover the “denizens of the deep” – amphibians, insect larvae and more. For ages 4 and older. 525-2233. 

Pentecost: Sacred Circle Dance at 7 p.m. at St. Cuthbert’s Episcopal Church, 7900 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. StCuddy@aol.com 

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 

Volunteer Coaches Needed for Twilight Basketball for the 13-15 year-old division on Saturdays at 5 p.m. beginning June 26. Please call Ginsi Bryant at 981-6678. 

CITY MEETINGS 

Citizens Budget Review Commission meets Wed., May 26, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7041. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/budget 

Civic Arts Commission meets Wed., May 26, at 6:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Mary Ann Merker, 981-7533. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/civicarts 

Energy Commission meets Wed., May 26, 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., May 26, 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., May 26, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Ruth Grimes, 981-7481. www. 

ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/planning 

Police Review Commission meets Wed., May 26, at 7:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, Barbara Attard, 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/policereview 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., May 27 at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/commissions/zoning ª

Richard Register and other Berkeley proponents of daylighting Strawberry Creek have come to San Luis Obispo so often that they’re “becoming a new type of economic tourism,” quipped San Luis Obispo City Councilmember Kenneth Schwartz. 

Accompanied by Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, Councilmember Dona Spring, Public Works Director Rene Cardineaux, and Downtown Berkeley Association Executive Director Deborah Bahdia, a contingent of activists set out Thursday on an overnight fact-finding trip to the Central Coast city. 

Organized by Register and Kirsten Miller of Berkeley’s EcoCity Builders, the trip focused on the history and impact of Mission Plaza, the project that revitalized the creek flowing through the heart of San Luis Obispo. 

Register, Miller and other Berkeley activists are calling on the City of Berkeley and University of California to “daylight” a block-long segment of Strawberry Creek along Center Street between Oxford Street and Shattuck Avenue as part of UC’s plans for a high-rise hotel/convention center and museum complex that would extended from Center to University Avenue between Shattuck and Oxford. 

Though the participants were scheduled to leave Oakland by train at 8:50 a.m. Thursday, an accident and other delays had the train running hours late. 

Amtrak lobbyist Tyrone Bland and the line’s two top West Coast executives filled nearly an hour of the delay with explanations of why Union Pacific—which owns the coastal rail lines and controls scheduling—seems intent on sinking passenger service. Vice President Dick Cheney’s name was invoked several times, never in a flattering way. 

When the excursion finally departed—minus three members in wheelchairs, including Spring—it was two hours late and in a Greyhound bus, much to the disappointment of the majority of participants who were eager to ride the rails. 

The next snafu came in an unscheduled stop for lunch in Salinas, when the driver got lost on the way to the bus station and wound up circling the city. 

The bus finally arrived at its destination in late afternoon. The train arrived seven hours later, so Spring and her traveling companions missed the introductory talks by San Luis Obispo Mayor George Romero and former mayor and present Councilmember Schwartz. 

Unlike Strawberry Creek, San Luis Creek didn’t run through an underground culvert through the section that became Mission Plaza. However, the San Luis Obispo project did entail tearing up and closing one block of heavily-traveled Monterey Street—just as Register and his allies propose for the block of Center Street between Oxford Street and Shattuck Avenue. 

The university has already turned thumbs down on funding the millions needed for the creek daylighting, and Mayor Bates has indicated a reluctance to part with the cash at a time when the city is already cutting back on services and salaries. 

Romero, Schwartz, San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce President Dave Garth, and a host of downtown merchants all praised the Mission Plaza project as a major factor in the revitalization on a struggling downtown riddled with vacant storefronts. 

“We have no vacancies downtown now,” Garth said. “Thirty years ago we had a 60 percent vacancy rate, and the creek and plaza area was basically a dump, filled with old tires, dead bodies and whatever anyone wanted to throw into it.” 

Creating the Plaza was a decades’ long effort in the face of initial opposition from elected officials and the business community. 

The original inspiration came in 1949 when a San Luis Obispo Junior College art teacher assigned students to come up with ways of beautifying the downtown. Three of her students collaborated on a proposal that called for closing off Monterey Street in front of the Spanish Colonial mission and creating a public garden. 

The local Soroptomists championed the notion, but failed to muster the necessary City Council support. 

Then three architecture students at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, took on the project, funded by $500 matching grants from America the Beautiful and the City Council—which insisted that they come up with at least one version that didn’t call for street closure. 

When the students started airing the first of their two plans—which called for a closure—an angry mayor gaveled the session to a close and demanded the students return their city funding. “He can’t do that,” called out a former city attorney, who then offered to represent the students for free. 

Then Schwartz decided to run for mayor, making support of the plaza a major plank in his campaign, and a citizens group formed to organize a referendum campaign calling for street closure. The referendum carried by a landslide, and soon afterward the election of Schwartz and another pro-plaza council candidate created a favorable majority. 

The first phase of construction began in 1970, with Alex Madonna—creator of the town’s famed Madonna Inn—as the contractor. A good portion of both the materials and the labor was donated, and Madonna kept costs well below prevailing rates. Even the concrete pavement was chopped into blocks and used to line sensitive areas of the creek bank. 

By the time major construction was completed, the city had been able to meet all costs out of the general fund, without the need for a bond issue or other special assessments. 

The surrounding downtown streets are filled with shops, mostly locally owned. A weekly Thursday night Farmers Market on nearby Higuera Street—originally created as a roadblock to a teenage “cruise night”—draws massive crowds, especially to the numerous stands featuring barbecued ribs, chicken, turkey legs and sausage. 

Romero and San Luis Obispo Economic Development coordinator Shelley Stanwick said one key ingredient in the downtown success story has been a concerted effort to encourage pedestrian traffic downtown along with ample public parking provided around the periphery. 

“The city is constantly providing more parking,” Romero said. 

“Traffic keeps the vitality and life downtown,” said designer Pierre Rademaker, chair of the city’s Parking and Access Task Force. 

Participants in the two-day trip came away impressed. “This is the cleanest downtown I’ve ever seen,” said Mayor Bates. “It’s quite impressive,” said Spring. 

All the participants save Councilmember Spring were able to catch Amtrak for the homeward leg Friday. A minor breakdown had kept the delay to under two hours. 

Spring decided to extend her trip over the weekend, her first extended out-of-town stay in years. ª

Pedestrian Killed in I-80 Accident  

A 50-year old Oakland woman was fatally injured early Saturday morning as she walked in the number four lane of Interstate 80 near the Gilman Street interchange in Berkeley, according to the Oakland office of the California Highway Patrol. 

Maria Toscano was struck by a 1999 Buick, which then spun out of control. That driver was arrested for driving under the influence. A second vehicle overturned as its driver swerved to avoid striking her. 

Officers said they are still trying to determine why Toscano was walking in traffic. 

Police Pick Pair as Officers of the Year 

Breaking with tradition, Berkeley Police picked a pair of their colleagues for Officer of the Year honors. 

Officers Van Huynh and Peter Hong will receive their honors Wednesday in ceremonies at the Albany/El Cerrito Rotary Club. 

Hong has served with the department nearly eight years, mostly in patrol. He’s also served on the department Drug Task Force and has served as a training officer for the last four years. 

Huynh joined the department in 1996, serving in Patrol and on the city’s Special Response Team. 

The two officers have worked adjoining beats for most of their career, said Officer Joseph Okies. 

Berkeley’s Troubles Come in Threes 

Youthful bandits traveling in troupes of threes have been staging strongarm stickups across the city over the last week, according to Officer Okies. 

The first heist happened shortly after five p.m. last Wednesday when a gang of three confronted a male pedestrian at Ward and Milvia streets and demanded cash. Their victim complied, and the trio fled. 

Another triad of young men in their late teens/early 20’s braced a passerby at Seventh and Cedar streets the same day shortly before 11 p.m. Once again, the victim complied, walking away poorer but unharmed. 

Yet a third threesome struck at 5 p.m. Saturday, confronting a pedestrian at Jones Street and San Pablo Avenue. Outmuscled, the walker parted with his cash. 

Another Trio, Another Trouble 

Police are seeking another gang of three in a potentially more dangerous offense after officers and the Berkeley Fire Department were summoned to Jefferson School, 1400 Ada St., after three youths were observed planting an incendiary device. 

No arrests have been made. 

Pair Sought in Board-Bashing  

Berkeley Police are seeking two men who bashed another man over the head with a section of two-by-four during a Thursday morning altercation at Derby Street and McGee Avenue. The victim was treated at the scene by Fire Department paramedics shortly after 9 a.m. 

Merchant Robbed by Gun Threat 

A teenager who claimed to have a gun robbed a merchant at Eighth Street and Channing Way late Thursday afternoon. 

Berkeley Police Release Robber Pix 

Berkeley Police have released pictures of two of the three bank robbers who struck on May 12 (below). Each of the three banks was hit by a different robber. 

The suspect wearing glasses hit the Wells Fargo branch at 1995 University Ave. about 1 p.m.. He is described as a heavy-set male in his late 30’s to early 40’s who stands about 5’5”. 

The second suspect in the flashy sweatshirt hit the Wells Fargo at 2959 College Ave. three hours later. He is described as a teenager between 17 and 20 years of age, and about 5’7” tall. 

Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies urged anyone who can help with identifications to call the department’s robbery detail at 981-5742 or send tips via e-mail to police@ci.berkeley.ca.us. 

The biggest news swirling around tonight’s (Tuesday, May 25) City Council meeting isn’t on the agenda.  

A controversial recommendation from the Citizen’s Budget Review Commission requesting the council take a tough stand on city unions was kept off the council agenda after the city attorney’s office determined the commission had not properly listed the item on its meeting agenda. 

As far as what’s on the council agenda for Tuesday, five proposed ballot measure items take center stage. 

The Budget Review Commission resolution that didn’t make the agenda had requested that the council, in future union negotiations, make employees pay for contributions to their pension plans and called on unions to re-open collective bargaining on their contracts before the November elections when a series of new taxes are expected to be on the ballot. 

However the agenda for the meeting only mentioned a “budget update” and made no mention of the resolution, passed 5-1 by the commission. 

Placing the recommendation on the council agenda would violate a state law, known as the Brown Act, said Deputy City Attorney Zach Cowan. The law requires that legislative bodies give “reasonable notice” when considering an action. To reach the council, the commission will have to vote on the resolution again at its Wednesday meeting. An agenda for the meeting has not been made public as of press time. 

Budget Commissioner Leonard Schwab, the author of the resolution, said the commission secretary and City Budget Director Tracy Vesely failed to put the item on the May 5 agenda even though he e-mailed it to her on April 23. 

Schwab said he is assuming that its absence was an “innocent oversight,” but Barbara Gilbert who serves on the Berkeley Budget Oversight Committee—an unrelated group—thinks politics were involved. 

Gilbert fears that the delay is a ploy to sidestep the controversial issue of costly long term union contracts she said accounted for about 75 percent of city expenses. With the city in negotiations with unions on possible givebacks and the council considering a variety of tax measures to plug the city’s $10 million budget deficit, Gilbert said the recommendation was an urgent matter. She fears that at the Wednesday meeting commissioners will be pressured to change their vote so not to put political pressure on the council. 

“Their attitude has been we won’t deal with it and we’ll just raise taxes,” she said. “I think they’re just scared of the unions.” 

Meanwhile the city continues to negotiate with its unions on a three percent salary giveback this year to help the city balance its books. If the unions don’t comply, City Manager Phil Kamlarz has threatened to raise the money by instituting monthly one-day closures of all non-essential city services starting July 1.  

Because the city would have to give employees a month notice before the first shutdown, a resolution on union concessions must be hammered out by June 1, said Deputy City Manager Lisa Caronna. 

Eric Landes-Brenman of Local One of the Public Employees Union, which represents 160 city managers has proposed the city take advantage of a state retirement program to defer retirement contributions for employees for several years until the city’s finances are in better shape and stock market returns improve. 

Ballot Measures To Be Considered 

In addition to the usual suspects to be considered by the council at tonight’s meeting—measures to publicly finance campaigns and raise property taxes to offset the city’s $10 million budget deficit—the council will get its first look at measures that would change Berkeley rent control laws and take a different tact in raising revenue.  

Without any prodding from the council, the Transportation Commission has proposed doubling the city’s off-street parking tax from 10 to 20 percent to raise $551,000 for the general fund. The tax hike, said Transportation Commissioner Wendy Alfsen would tax service users instead of property owners like most of the proposed taxes the council is considering. 

The commission originally wanted to dedicate the revenue for transportation-related improvements, but after learning that state law would require that type of tax to win two-thirds of the vote, the commission opted for the added revenue to go to the general fund. 

At 20 percent, Berkeley would have the second highest off-street parking taxes in the state, behind San Francisco, which has a 25 percent rate. 

Councilmember Betty Olds said she doubted the council would vote to raise the price of parking in the midst of the city losing the Kittredge Street parking lot.  

After a series of official meetings between four members of the City Council and the rent board, known as a 4X4 Committee, the council can ask for voter approval to several changes in the city’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, two of which would provide added protection for renters. 

One provision would place tenants with Section 8 vouchers under rent control. Previously, participants in the federal housing program have not qualified for rent control because the city feared that landlords would opt out of the program if rent increases were constrained. 

Historically, under the Section 8 program, a tenant pays 30 percent of his income towards the apartment unit and a federal subsidy covers the rest of the rent, including a market rate rent increase. However, the Bush administration has changed the program so that if the landlord raises the rent, the tenant must pay the increase, in addition to paying 30 percent of his income.  

According to a city staff report, some Section 8 tenants have already opted out of the program in response to the increased rent burden. By applying the city’s rent control laws to Section 8 units, tenants would be safeguarded from large upsurges in the rental market, the staff report said. 

The commission also recommended new language in the ordinance that would prohibit a landlord from “unreasonably” refusing a subletter in circumstances where a tenant’s roommate had moved out of the apartment. Rent Board Executive Director Jay Kelekian said that a small minority of landlords refused to allow tenants to refill open rooms in order to create frequent turnover of the unit and bring it up to market rent. 

Additionally the council will also reconsider a ballot initiative to make Berkeley the first city in the country to publicly finance elections. The measure before the council Tuesday would create a “Fair election Fund” that would annually appropriate no more than $490,000 annually to fund eligible candidates for public office. 

A similar ballot measure is being circulated by the Berkeley Fair Election Coalition. Should the council fail to put their measure on the ballot, coalition members have pledged to move ahead with their proposal. 

The council will also consider a litany of tax measures to fund programs and services jeopardized the by the budget crisis. Among the proposals include, $1.6 million for youth services, $1.7 million for library services, $1.2 million to repair storm drains and clean creek water, 1.2 million for paramedic services and between $2 and $3 million in utility users tax increases. 

It was two in the afternoon and I was unloading groceries from my car. On the second trip out the front door I saw her rounding the corner and coming toward me: a small, waif-like woman dressed in flannel pajama bottoms and a bubble jacket. I knew what was coming. I was going to get nailed. 

She’d asked me for money before but I always had an excuse. I’d be pulling weeds in the front yard. “No, I don’t have any money,” I’d say indignantly. “Can’t you see I’m gardening?” Other times she’d come to the front door and it was fairly easy to say no and shut it without further discussion. But this time it would be difficult to come up with an excuse. I had bags of groceries in my arms. I obviously had money. 

“Suzy,” she said softly, standing far enough away from me so that I could barely hear her. “Durnell’s daddy got shot and he’s in the hospital in San Francisco. I gotta go see him. I haven’t told Durnell ‘bout his daddy. I need $8 for BART.” 

She knew that she was going to get me. Using Durnell’s name was all it took. He was her son, an adorable fourth grader who often came over to my house to see what I was doing. I’d taken him swimming a few times and once bought him a belt in the futile hope that it would assist him in keeping his jeans from falling down around his ankles. 

But there could be a grain of truth in her tale. Certainly the sum of $8 was about right. A little high perhaps, but if she were heading for San Francisco General and back, and catching a bus in addition to BART, then it might take about that amount. And Durnell’s daddy having been shot was not out of the question. I read the newspaper. I knew the homicide rate for young black men. Still, I couldn’t help myself. My middle class values always took over in these situations. I couldn’t give without making a point. “Why don’t I just give you a ride to San Francisco,” I suggested.  

She didn’t miss a beat. “Well,” she said. “You see, I got this job interview, too, so I gotta go a couple of places. Not just to see Durnell’s daddy.” 

“You’re going to a job interview dressed like that?” I asked. 

“No,” she laughed. “I gotta get dressed.” 

“Okay,” I said. “After you’re dressed come back and I’ll give you the money. I’m doing this for Durnell,” I added. I hated myself for being such a halfway do-gooder, someone who demanded a performance before making a payment. But Durnell’s momma didn’t seem to care.  

“I’ll be right back,” she said. “Thank you,” she added as she tuned away, letting me know that she could play the game too. 

I had barely unloaded the groceries before she returned. She wasn’t going for an interview to work at the deli section of Safeway, that was for sure. She must have had an application in at O’Farrell’s or the Condor. She smiled at me. 

“Here,” I said, handing her eight crumbled one dollar bills. “Where’s Durnell? Do you want me to watch him while you’re gone?” 

“Oh no,” she said. “He’s at school. I’ll be back before he gets out.” 

I looked at my watch. There was no way that she could go to San Francisco and visit Durnell’s daddy and have a job interview before Durnell was out of class, unless, of course, Durnell was also attending night school. 

“I’ll pay you back on Saturday,” she said as she bounced down the steps. “And thank you again,” she added as her high heels clicked along the sidewalk. Our transaction was over. Our dance was done, until the next time. I made a mental note that in the future I would unload groceries at the far end of the driveway, away from the street. 

On May 22, more than a quarter of the graduating class of Boalt Hall law students protested actions taken by Boalt law professor John Yoo during his tenure as deputy assistant attorney general for the Bush administration. In January, 2002, Professor Yoo authored a 42-page memo for the Department of Justice advising that the U.S. is not constrained by the Geneva Conventions in its treatment of Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners captured in Afghanistan. The State Department vigorously opposed this position on several grounds, arguing that it could do great damage to our international standing and the legitimacy of our foreign policy. Subsequent events in both Iraq and Afghanistan and have borne out these concerns. 

The day before graduation, we authored a petition asking Professor Yoo to repudiate his official position, or else to resign from the Boalt faculty. (The petition is available online at www.PetitionOnline.com/bh2004/petition.html. As of now, more than 250 students and alumni have signed on.) In subsequent media articles on the petition, Professor Yoo and others opposed our efforts on several grounds. While he refused to comment on the memo, Professor Yoo characterized the petition as an “unfortunate attack on academic freedom,” and asserted that the link between his memo and prisoner abuses in Iraq was “speculative.” He also stood by his original position that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to prisoners captured in Afghanistan. 

Professor Yoo’s response is misplaced. First, our petition is not an attack on academic freedom. It is explicitly worded as a response to official government actions taken by Professor Yoo in his capacity as deputy assistant attorney general. Professor Yoo has been espousing his viewpoints as an academic for years, yet we never before called for his resignation. We mounted this petition only in response to recent media revelations regarding his official role.  

Academic freedom protects viewpoints; it does not amount to immunity for immoral or illegal actions. If a professor commits a crime or behaves in a morally reprehensible way, the community has the right to demand accountability. If, as we believe, Professor Yoo’s actions amount to aiding and abetting war crimes, that absolutely demands accountability. 

Second, one need not “speculate” about whether the abuse of Iraqi prisoners was a result of Professor Yoo’s position. There is much evidence that similar abuses have occurred to prisoners captured by the United States in Afghanistan as well. The New York Times recently reported on investigations into a substantial number of suspicious deaths occurring to Afghani prisoners held in U.S. custody. According to Professor Yoo’s position, if these investigations determine that U.S. nationals or military personnel tortured or murdered prisoners captured in Afghanistan, these persons could not be prosecuted under the War Crimes Act. 

We encourage readers to read Professor Yoo’s memo (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5032094/site/newsweek/). The most telling aspect of the memo is that it analyzes the applicability of the Geneva Conventions through the lens of the War Crimes Act (the federal law that makes U.S. nationals and military personnel criminally liable for grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions). The question of whether torturing or killing prisoners captured in Afghanistan would violate the Geneva Conventions is a secondary consideration in Professor Yoo’s memo. The primary question is whether U.S. nationals and military personnel could actually be prosecuted for such behavior—behavior that would undoubtedly constitute war crimes if inflicted on “conventional” prisoners of war. 

Finally, Professor Yoo’s interpretation of the Geneva Conventions rests on deeply flawed assumptions. Professor Yoo adopts an overly narrow, hypertechnical reading of the treaty that exploits loopholes and magnifies ambiguity to reach the desired conclusion. But he ignores the fact that, in reality, many prisoners have nothing whatsoever to do with the Taliban and al Qaeda. Indeed, the United States has released a large number of prisoners from Guantanamo, presumably after failing to find any evidence of their participation in these groups. We need not stretch our imaginations in wondering just how brutally these persons must have been interrogated before their captors realized they were innocent. 

In the protected ivory tower of academia, Professor Yoo has every right to formulate his legal opinions with disregard for such realities. But in the real world, legal positions have real world consequences, as we are now discovering in the most unfortunate way. Those responsible for these consequences must be held accountable. 

Michael W. Anderson, MA, PhD, JD, is a member of Boalt Hall’s graduating class of 2004. 

f

LAKOFF LECTURE 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

I left George Lakoff’s lecture, hosted by the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club this Friday evening devastated rather than hopeful, defeated rather than energized. While I greatly enjoyed Professor Lakoff’s talk, I experienced profound disappointment as I watched a room filled with people who pride themselves on their fairness, compassion, and empathy applaud and wave as a young man desperate in his need to be heard, was surrounded, intimidated, silenced, and finally escorted from the room. I understand that the organizers, participants, and audience (myself included) were eager to hear Dr. Lakoff, were anxious to maintain order, and knew of no other way in that moment to both receive this young man’s words with compassion and attend to their own hopes and desires. At the same time, I know that if we are to really effect change in Washington or Sacramento, we must act on our values even when things do not go as we planned. I have very little hope that the people of the United States can move in a new direction if we just speak about compassion and empathy and forget to embody it. 

Erica Grevemeyer 

• 

OVERBUILT CAMPUS 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

The sad fate of Reginald Zelnick, the professor who was run over by a delivery truck last week in the center of campus is a sorry indicator of the state of UC Berkeley. Once considered among the most beautiful in the nation the university is now grotesquely overbuilt and exploited for uses that are peripheral or unrelated to the mission of an institute of higher learning. The place has become a neverending commotion that is a money-sink for the construction and service industries. 

Professor Zelnick was caught up by failing to register that the grove of academe in which he gave so much real service to the community is now become a place where you cross at your own risk. 

Bruce Loeb 

• 

COP-OUT 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

It appears that “...most councilmembers [at the May 18 City Council meeting] expressed support for decriminalizing or legalizing prostitution, yet they instead chose to send it for review to the city’s Commission on the Status of Women. (“City Council Faces Gloomy Budget,” Daily Planet, May 20-24).” 

What a cop-out! According to the city website, this commission for months has been incomplete, lacking two of a potential eight members. It now lacks only one member! Moreover, the last posted minutes of meetings date back to Feb. 4, when the entire agenda/action taken consisted of electing chair and vice chair and identifying recipients of the 15th annual Outstanding Berkeley Women award[s]—a non-feminist concept in this voter's opinion. 

Helen Wheeler 

• 

UC HOTEL TASK FORCE 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

The downtown UC hotel project presents an opportunity of huge proportions not seen recently in Berkeley. As said before, it can be a disaster, or, as preferred, it can be a jewel in the heart of downtown Berkeley. 

The task force given the charge to make recommendations for the development of this site, at the northeastern-most corner of Shattuck and Center, has allowed for the best while avoiding the worst. A group of 25 dedicated volunteers gathered for weeks to learn from experts, and make informed and democratic decisions. Though not a member of the task force, I attended nearly all the meetings, learned and contributed and witnessed the process.  

As a resident of South Berkeley, only one BART stop away, the potential for this project is exciting. It will provide jobs for local residents, a place for visitors to stay, groups to convene and a central destination for everyone living in and visiting Berkeley. My parents, who would travel to Berkeley to visit my family several years ago, had little choice for comfortable lodging. Envisioning the recommendations made by the task force, I imagine the UC Hotel being just the right choice for generations of families to come. It’s what’s been missing in Berkeley. 

I support the task force recommendations. They cover the elements I’d want to see addressed and then some. There is room and encouragement for excellence, a focus on the positive potential. If the recommendations are followed, downtown could be transformed into a vibrant, healthy environment for pedestrians, retail business, travelers and families. I hope that the work of the task force will be taken seriously by our City Council, project developers, architects and the university.  

Marcy Greenhut 

Transportation Commission 

President, Berkeley Ecological and Safe Transportation 

• 

PARKING ENFORCEMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

In response to Mr. Brenneman’s article on parking enforcement in Berkeley (“Wozniak Seeks Changes in Parking Enforcement,” Daily Planet, May 14-17): Perhaps if the city promoted their Epark smart cards for the single headed parking meters they could solve part of the problem. Epark cards work when meter are eating coins and not giving time on the meters. If the meter is actually broken the card will make the meter go to the fail mode. Cards are sold in increments of $10 and deduct in increment of .25 with each movement in the meter. The city has revenue up front and the user does not have to worry about a ticket due to a “broken meter” or lack of change. The Epark cards have been available for over two years. I have yet to see an article written in the Daily Planet or an ad placed by the city, which it seems to be running weekly for some city service or department. If you want a demonstration of how the Epark works and to purchase a $10 card come to Al Lasher’s Electronics, 1734 University Ave. 

Ellen Lasher 

• 

UC LONG RANGE PLAN 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Projects will be tiered off the LRDP and so it is incumbent upon the community to bring forward all significant impacts now and not in some hypothetical future.  

A project near and dear to my heart is one that would urbanize a remarkably suburban residential area along Piedmont Way and on Panoramic Hill: the university’s intention to install 282 TV broadcast quality lights at Memorial Stadium. 

Please insist that the EIR describe the range of potential lighting projects: The stadium is a coliseum holding 80,000 people and cannot be fairly compared to impacts from lighting to other sports fields either on campus or off-campus. Just as a range of traffic impacts was described in this DEIR, likewise the environmental review document needs to identify the range of light impacts as a function of the range of possible lighting projects. As a policy document, this LRDP otherwise fails miserably.  

Please demand that the EIR adequately describe the city environs. For example, Memorial Stadium is adjacent to Canyon Road, and Memorial Stadium is described as part of the Campus Park, yet the DEIR does not identify Canyon Road as an “adjacent area.” Neither does the DEIR identify the Cultural Resources on Canyon Road even though according to the State Inventory of Historic Resources there are three listed houses on Canyon Road alone.  

Any project-specific review in the future will be encumbered by the document now before us. As such, it is incumbent upon us to create a public record of substantial evidence sooner rather than later. The document’s vagueness is the University administrators’ strategic advantage; local knowledge is ours.  

Janice Thomas 

• 

DERBY FIELD 

Editors, Daily Planet:  

Anyone with a young soccer or baseball player in the family knows that sports recreation fields are in short supply in Berkeley. That’s why I applaud the Berkeley School Board’s decision to use its land at Derby and MLK for a multi-purpose athletic field, including a plan to accommodate the Tuesday farmers’ market.  

For our family and for dozens if not hundreds more Berkeley families this plan is a three-fer. Less driving to ball fields in Alameda and Oakland, a chance to watch the Berkeley High baseball team play on a decent field, and more opportunities to shop at the farmers’ market after games or practices. 

I urge the City Council to get behind this plan for Berkeley families and Berkeley kids. 

David Fogarty 

• 

TASK FORCE DIVERSITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The UC Hotel Task Force has plenty of diversity, both in its members and the citizen groups supporting those members. The work of those people 

and the well-thought recommendations they produced are part of the good tradition of Berkeley politics. If any group was not represented, it was because they made no effort to get represented. I’m not on the task force, but I attended several meetings of a coalition of groups supporting the Task Force; we sent in a letter with our recommendations. Any group in Berkeley was free to do the same. 

Against this background, the racist outburst by one of the commissioners was particularly mean-spirited and divisive. Complaining of lack diversity 

based on a quota count is part of the bad tradition of Berkeley politics. 

The Daily Planet article (“Task Force Criticized for Lack of Diversity,” Daily Planet, May 14-17) may have become part of the bad tradition by not mentioning the long list of people and groups who spoke up at the Planning Commission meeting, supporting the task force recommendations. 

I hope the Planning Commission, after tempers have cooled, will return to the good tradition of Berkeley politics to make their recommendations to the City Council. 

Steve Gellerˇ

Staff proposals for implementing the University Avenue Strategic Plan (UASP) are so confusing that the public, the commission, and even staff find it difficult to understand them, as is shown by each succeeding draft having additional mistakes and inconsistencies. The drafts have come so quickly that issues presented weeks ago have not been resolved, and have been buried by many new questions raised by the later revisions. Staff is pushing the commission to complete a final draft before the City Council recess in July, but neighbors and merchants are not convinced that the proposed zoning code changes will lead to the viable and vital University Avenue that the UASP promised. 

Staff is demanding, in numerous ways, “flexibility” in application of the zoning code; they argue for the freedom to approach each project individually and evaluate it in it’s own context and particular details. While in principle this sounds admirable, past experience shows that developers are adept at finding the soft underbelly of the zoning code. For this reason the community is loathe to support language that leaves so much undefined and subject to change outside of the public view. 

Blanket unlimited exemptions for certain preferred types of development leave neighbors unable to anticipate all the ways potential projects can grow far beyond what the UASP envisioned. While staff has incorporated minimum design standards for streetscape amenities, including sidewalk bulb-outs, minimal open space requirements, and a grudging recognition of what quality retail space requires, they have steadfastly refused to incorporate the core requirement of the UASP: that the maximum heights may be granted only “if all other solar, privacy, open space, signage, design, and parking standards are met” (P34, UASP).  

It has become apparent, after two months of Planning Commission public hearings and five zoning code drafts that much of staff’s efforts are toward: 

• A significant up-zoning in little noticed areas of the code. 

• Avoidance of any hard and firm development standards that are not subject to easily met standards for waivers and modifications. 

• Fine sounding platitudes for design standard incentives that richly reward large projects, fail to help small projects and impose a significant cost on merchants and adjoining neighborhoods. 

Somewhere along the way, the UASP disappeared in the discussion of zoning code sections and sub-sections. The changes have resulted in a code that only a land-use attorney could love, because it will be a source of work for years to come, as each section is tested as to what it truly means when it is applied to a real design as every project moves through the approval process. With zoning language that will allow buildings even bigger than Acton Court, there will be an endless stream of projects being appealed to the City Council. It is sad that throughout this entire process the Planning Commission has refused to, even once, sit down and have an actual dialogue with the community. The community would like to know how we got so lost from the clear task set by the City Council; to implement the UASP design guidelines, not fundamentally change them. 

Kristin Leimkuhler, Stephen Wollmer, Richard Graham and Robin Kibby are contributors to PlanBerkeley.org.  

The season of political sophistry is well underway in Berkeley as it is across the nation. Evidence of this can be seen in John Koenigshofer’s less than rational, less than honest anti-rent control rant. The latest thoughtless tirade appeared on the op-ed page in the weekend edition of May 11-13. Mr. Koenigshofer signed his piece as “a Berkeley resident.” Perhaps modesty prevented Mr. Koenigshofer from revealing that he is a Berkeley landlord and realtor who works out of George Oram’s firm, one of Berkeley’s largest real estate interests. 

Let’s examine this latest diatribe one strawman at a time: 

1. That the Rent Stabilization Program is “counterproductive and unfair.” Our program effectively and fairly advances the mission and goals of the ordinance, which was passed overwhelmingly in 1980 by the voters of Berkeley and has withstood every legal and electoral challenge since. Berkeley has had a chance to experience what Mr. Koenigshofer and his cohorts consider “fair,” such as fraudulent owner move-ins corrected by Measure Y which voters approved in 2000; in the early 1990s when real estate interests controlled the Rent Stabilization Board(RSB), rents were jacked-up nearly 50 percent. Fairness?  

2. Mr. Koenigshofer wants the RSB to fund social service and affordable housing programs with our resources. An annual per-unit registration fee that is collected yearly funds the program. The present registration fee is $136 per unit. This is the same level that was in effect 1991. Well, certainly he knows that by law the RSB funds are restricted and therefore cannot be used for purposes other than fulfilling the requirements of the ordinance and the associated regulations. Even more substantive is the fact that Rent Stabilization Program is the largest and most effective affordable housing program in the city. Is this more deception or ignorance?  

3. It has long been a staple of landlord lore that tenants in Berkeley should be means tested. Apparently Mr. Koenigshofer is not deterred by the concerns regarding illegality and irrationality of this proposal. What did silence the proponents of this Ashcroftesque invasion of privacy, was the counter suggestion that rental property owners be means tested to determine if profits in excess of a “reasonable return” on their investment are being realized. And that any excess profits be returned to renters. Its worth noting that based on 2000 census data that the median income for homeowners was $80,324 (one could reasonably expect many landlords faired even better), while the median income for households headed by tenants (excluding students) was $27,241. 

4. Then Mr. Koenigshofer finally gets down to his real mission: “Rent control is not needed.” Well, without it what would Berkeley look like? The disabled, the elderly, the working poor, racial, cultural and economic diversity would be a thing of the past. Thankfully a sizable majority those who live and vote in Berkeley respect and embrace the diversity of our city and are unwilling to sacrifice the character of our city on the alter of economic greed.  

5. Finally, Mr. Koenigs-hofer‘s disdain for the ordinance is only exceeded by his disregard for the facts. He asserts in his letter that “every member of the Rent Board receives the benefit the of rent control.” The fact of the matter is that of our nine-member board only two commissioners live in units that fall under the control of the ordinance. 

While they may not be a reliable source of accurate information, I have no doubt small number of real estate ideologues will continue their distorted attacks on rent control. However, I’m equally confident that the electorate in Berkeley will continue to see through these paper-thin attempts to undermine the protections that rent control offers. 

Max Anderson is chair of the  

Rent Stabilization Board. 

Jesse Arreguin recently wrote in this newspaper (Letters, Daily Planet, May 14-17) that “Costa Hawkins and excessive rent levels led to the lack of housing in Berkeley.” I doubt that Mr. Arreguin was living in Berkeley when rent control began in 1979, or that he has taken the time to study the history of this issue.  

A large number of evictions occurred during the period between the rent freeze mandated by Measure I (which started rent control) and the beginning of eviction control about a year later. I watched this happen. Several previously rented houses in my neighborhood were emptied out in 1979 by owners who wished to evade this regulation.  

The sudden onset of the housing shortage in 1979 was well documented in local newspapers, such as the Berkeley Gazette, the Daily Californian and the Oakland Tribune. Articles from this time have been preserved on microfilm and are available in the periodicals room of UC’s Doe Library for anyone who wishes to look into Berkeley history.  

For example, the Daily Cal reported that the UC Student Housing Office was swamped with 6,000 more homeseekers in August of 1979 than in August of 1978, yet had 32 percent fewer listings to offer. An article in September 1979 referred to “a housing shortage unprecedented since World War II.” Chancellor Albert Bowker appealed to homeowners in the community to rent rooms in their houses to incoming students, or else some of them might have to give up their plans to study at Cal.  

Property owners removed rental units from the market in a number of ways, mostly by conversion to owner occupancy. Tenancy in common (TIC) sales flourished in the nicer parts of town, as duplexes and triplexes which had been rented were sold to multiple owners for shared occupancy. As long as rent control was perceived as excessively Draconian, removed units stayed off the market, one way or another. 

Some buildings ceased to be used for housing. The “Ellen Blood House” at 2526 Durant Ave. was sold in the 1980s to a large landowner who promptly changed it to commercial usage without benefit of a use permit (in fact, several attempts to legalize this usage were denied). Ironically, the same owner now wants this historic building expunged because he thinks replacing it with 44 superfluous units will be profitable. It will not—our apartment glut is not going away any time soon. 

Despite Mr. Arreguin’s odd claim, the Costa Hawkins Act, which mandated vacancy decontrol in 1999, brought back rental units which would otherwise never have been available again—lots of units—enough to cause rents to drop dramatically, and the advertising of vacancies to become pervasive. 

Certain individuals who regard themselves as liberal have made it clear that they wish I would be silent on this topic; they seem to think that saying anything bad about rent control is naughty, even if it’s true. But Berkeley is suffering the consequences of the housing shortage which began in 1979, and people will not believe that it is over until they understand its origin. I suggest that exhaustive review of Berkeley’s history be required of everyone employed by the city or engaged in city politics, because failure to study the history of a town leads to disastrous land use choices in the present, and to problems forever into the future. 

Gale Garcia is a Berkeley resident. 

Last week, San Francisco’s City Arts & Lectures offered a tantalizing twofer at Herbst Theatre: renowned urbanist Jane Jacobs was interviewed by Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for the New Yorker and, before that, for the New York Times. Jacobs, 88, lives in Toronto and seldom ventures into these parts. Not surprisingly, the event sold out. 

Jacobs’ rare local appearance was occasioned by the release of her latest book, Dark Age Ahead, a sweeping survey of a civilization—ours—on the brink of catastrophe. But you’d have scarcely known that from her hour-and-a-half-long exchange with Goldberger, which touched only once on the book.  

Goldberger proposed that, its title notwithstanding, Dark Age Ahead is no jeremiad. Jacobs agreed. “I don’t think we’ve reached a point of no return,” she said. “There’s nothing deterministic or supernatural about this.” In other words, the dangerous mess we’re in is of our own making, and the clean-up, if it happens, will be of our making, too. Dark Age Ahead, however, has much more to say about how we’ve made the mess than about how we might clean it up. 

You might expect Jacobs to frame her cautionary message in terms of ecology or the environment. Instead, the key keyword in her new book is culture, by which she means the attitudes and practices that guide daily life. Jacobs fears that we’re on the verge of a “cultural collapse” brought on by “mass amnesia.” She identifies five “cultural pillars” that are at risk: community and family, higher education, effective science and science-based technology, democratic governance, and self-policing by the learned professions. 

Scanning this list, you may be thinking: I’ve heard this all before. No doubt, you’ve heard some of it. What makes Dark Age Ahead worth a read is the way in which its author brings her famously independent and inductive mind to bear in fresh ways on familiar topics.  

So, for example, in the chapter titled “Families Rigged to Fail,” Jacobs devotes a single sentence to divorce, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, and spousal abuse and then focuses on family finances strained by runaway housing costs, and the erosion of family and community life by our automotive culture and economy.  

Turning to “Science Abandoned,” Jacobs homes in on, not the current usual suspect (the Bush administration and its denial of global warming or its politicized suppression of scientific research), but the myopic findings of economists, epidemiologists and traffic engineers.  

In another chapter, “Dumbed-Down Taxes,” she deplores the “disconnect between public treasuries and local domestic needs.” She enumerates the destructive effects that that separation has had on her adopted home town of Toronto: the degradation of “once-excellent” public schools and public transit, the new dirtiness of streets and parks, and the destruction of a popular program of sensitively designed infill public housing. With respect to this last item, she writes, incredibly, that “only 74 subsidized apartments affordable by low-wage earners, single-income families, disabled persons, and others on welfare have been added to the city’s housing stock in more than a decade.”  

What makes Toronto’s civic decline particularly scandalous, says Jacobs, is that its source is not fiscal “but purely administrative and governmental.” The culprits are the “provincial kleptocracies” that wield their sovereign authority over local jurisdictions so as to take far more in taxes than they return, leaving cash-starved cities to depend on “only very minor taxation, such as property taxes.” Administrative kleptocracy is a major issue in California as well. Our cities’ and counties’ dire budgetary predicaments stem not only from the dot.com bust but also from longtime, repeated diversions of locally generated tax monies to state coffers.  

Drawing on vivid examples from both Canada and the United States, Jacobs’ ominous report resonates all too closely with this American reader’s experience. But Dark Age Ahead is supposed to be hopeful as well as gloomy. It’s hard to see its hopeful side. Given Jacobs’ oft-expressed disdain for abstraction, we shouldn’t expect her to present a sweeping plan for recovery. We might, however, expect her to serve up a slew of heartening anecdotes. Instead, she recounts many defeats and few victories. The upshot is an argument that offers little alternative to despair.  

In a striking contrast, the mood at Herbst Theatre last week was celebratory. The upbeat feeling stemmed in part from Jacobs’ presence itself. The book that made her famous, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, was published in 1961. How inspiring to see her, 43 years later, still leading the life of an active public intellectual. Her toughness and vitality were evident before she’d said a word: She walked onto the stage leaning heavily on a cane and then sank into the chair opposite Goldberger with a look of triumphant relief.  

The sense of enduring achievement and possibility was reinforced by the evening’s discursive tone. Gracious, charming and modest, Goldberger fulsomely praised his senior colleague. The Death and Life of American Cities, he proposed, is “one of the few books of our time about which it could be said, it changed the world....It is to the world of architecture and planning what Freud is to the world of psychology.....How much contemporary thinking comes from it!” 

Jacobs accepted the tribute. And why not? At 88, she’s entitled to rest on her considerable laurels. 

But the evening would have been far more interesting if she had said something like: If The Death and Life of Great American Cities had had the influence with which you credit it, I would have had far less reason to call my new book Dark Age Ahead.  

At one point, she did hint at her dissatisfaction with the current state of the planning field, after Goldberger asked her opinion of the New Urbanist movement.  

Jacobs replied: “I feel sorry for the New Urbanists. They talk a very good line. They’re a delight to read and to hear....But they don’t have very good tools, so what they create is very much what they like to hate.”  

These comments begged for a follow-up question. New Urbanists count Jacobs as a major source; some of their precepts—mixed use, transit-oriented development, traditional neighborhoods, and densification (yes, it’s a real word)—are central to Jacob’s own thought. So why the put-down? The issue has special relevance for Berkeleyans, who employ a city planning staff for whom these concepts are stock in trade. Frustratingly, Goldberger moved on to another theme. 

Dark Age Ahead holds some clues as to what Jacobs meant. Discussing how to fight sprawl, she argues that planners need to stop fixating on ground coverage, density and land use and start focussing on “performances,” which is to say, on what built environments actually do to people’s lives. “Whether densification actually can improve suburbs as places in which to live, work, have fun, learn, and raise families,” she writes, “will not depend on abstractions like densification and smart growth [first cousin to the New Urbanism], but rather on tangible, boring details.”  

The details she has in mind are the “dreaded side effects” of development that people routinely cite at zoning hearings—things like heavy automotive through-traffic, bad smells, “transgressions against harmonious street scales,” and the destruction of loved buildings and views and access to sun and sky, among others. We need “performance codes,” Jacobs writes, that are both direct and adaptable, as well as enforceable by “civil court orders requiring noncomplying and noncorrecting offenders to halt outlawed performances forthwith or vacate the premises.” 

What’s signal here, besides Jacobs’ attention to specifics and her endorsement of appropriate regulation, is her profound respect for ordinary people—even when those people are, in her own words, “suburbanites suspicious of change.” Jane Jacobs is first and foremost a democrat with a small “d”. Her new book is only 176 pages long, but in it she twice quotes Lincoln’s vow that “government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.” That statement, she says in her final paragraph, embodies the ‘core values” of both American and Canadian culture.  

I stress Jacob’s democratic commitments because these days such commitments are often lacking among those who style themselves her followers. Of the local figures who readily come to mind here, the one who stands out is Berkeley’s most aggressive developer, Patrick Kennedy, an avowed Jacobs fan who has publicly characterized neighbors who oppose his ungainly projects as “vigilantes.”  

Kennedy might as well apply that label to Jacobs herself. Developers, planners, and other professionals who focus on her support of high density seem to forget that she came into her own as the leader of the successful fight to save her Greenwich Village neighborhood from high-rise urban renewal in the 1950s. To this day, Jacobs is not merely an active public intellectual; she’s also an active neighborhood activist, and one whose faith in democracy is complemented by an abiding distrust of credentialled authorities.  

Both the faith and the distrust were in lively evidence at Herbst Theatre. Repeatedly, Jacobs voiced skepticism about “experts.” As for formulating the “precise standards” that she considers indispensable to good urban development, Jacobs said that “the beginning step is going to zoning hearings and listening to what people are really saying.”  

City of Berkeley planning staff and public officials, please take note. ô

John King’s review of Jane Jacobs in the May 20 San Francisco Chronicle concluded with a swipe at the UC Hotel Task Force. 

“[A]s Berkeley activists call for creation of a car-free zone alongside the block of Center Street where UC Berkeley wants to build a downtown conference center,” wrote King, “consider [he then quotes from Jacobs’ 1958 Fortune magazine article, “Downtown is for People”]: ‘There is no magic in simply removing cars from downtown ... the whole point is to make the streets more surprising, more compact, more variegated, and busier than before—not less so.’" 

Objection: Even the scant information provided by King makes it clear that “Berkeley activists” would like to make just one block, not all of downtown, car-free. 

Moreover, what King either doesn’t know (hard to believe) and at any rate fails to mention is that with or without cars, this block is and will remain the area with the highest foot traffic—10,000 people a day—in town, simply because it’s the most direct route between downtown Berkeley’s transit center and the University of California campus.  

In the past few years, the city has upgraded the south side of the street by widening the sidewalk, installing street lights and attractive, well-scaled trees. Merchants have set out tables for dining. The other (sunny) side of the street is now inhabited by an oversized Bank of America, the bank’s underused surface parking lot, and the university’s printing plant. UC plans to relocate the plant offsite and put three museums in its place. The university also plans to buy the bank’s property and has signed an agreement with a hotel developer (Carpenter & Co.) to build a hotel/conference center there.  

When news of these plans became public last fall, the Planning Commission convened a citizen task force to make recommendations regarding the project. The 26-person task force just filed its report with the commission. One of the chief recommendations was that developer “create a public pedestrian-oriented open space or plaza,” closing the street “to cars, trucks and buses in a way that does not degrade transit service quality.” The report also recommends that all surface parking be removed, and that the current bank and curbside parking be relocated under the hotel/conference center and museum sites. 

It’s hard to imagine why King would want to take a cheap shot at these proposals.

For a nation created in part as a rebellion against corporate power, the United States has embraced the corporation to a degree unprecedented in history, enshrouding it with the protections Jefferson enshrined to shelter the individual from the undue intrusion of government. 

The Boston Tea Party, that iconic moment when befeathered colonials dressed as native tribal folk to toss tea into the harbor, was in fact a revolt of merchants against the crown-backed power of the East India Company, the most powerful of British corporate creations. 

Andrew Jackson later led the political revolt against the first national bank chartered in the country. 

How then did a nation once so hostile to the corporate form come to surrender so much of its sovereignty to this most powerful of entities? 

That’s the question that led Ted Nace, founder and former owner of Berkeley’s Peach Pit Press, to write Gangs of America, the Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy. 

Nace’s research reveals a powerful Northern California connection to the transformation of the corporation from a tightly shackled and narrowly focused entity into the all-encompassing Frankenstein we behold today. 

The story of the modern corporation is inextricably linked to the rise of the railroads, and in particular to a San Francisco judge and the “Big Four”—Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins and Charles Crocker, founders of the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific. 

It was Stanford who personally recommended California Supreme Court Chief Justice Stephen J. Field to Abraham Lincoln for the top slot on the newly created federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal based in San Francisco. Lincoln, himself a former railroad lawyer, took Stanford’s advice and gave Fields the slot—which at that time also automatically made Fields an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. 

If Fields had been the railroads’ friend on the state courts, he became their virtual pimp from then on, constantly pushing his colleagues to grant them right after right. 

Fueled by the cash generated by massive land grants and the often-exorbitant shipping charges, the railroads became the dominant force in American politics, extracting endless promises from candidates in exchange for their support and paying out huge sums in bribes. 

In an 1877 dissent, Fields first signaled his intent to effect a legal revolution, declaring that the corporation, as a legal “person,” should be granted the same civil rights that the 14th Amendment bestowed on the newly freed slaves. 

In 1883, a key case reached the Ninth Circuit, where Fields still held the top slot. Santa Clara County was assessing Southern Pacific’s land at full value, while the railroad insisted that they be taxed at the value minus the cost of outstanding bonds. 

As a key element in their defense, the railroad claimed that the 14th Amendment’s equal protection provisions required they be treated as flesh-and-blood landowners, whose land was then taxed at the actual worth minus outstanding mortgages. 

Field agreed, though his rationale was that it was the railroad’s shareholders’ rights which were at stake, not those of the corporate “person.” 

The county appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the Ninth Circuit decision. 

Then came the curious incident of the reporter’s note. 

In those days, Supreme Court reporters—officials who transcribed the oral arguments and decisions into print—earned more than the justices. J.C. Bancroft Davis was the reporter who compiled one of the two final official versions of the verdict. Bancroft was not only a former railroad lawyer, he’d also been a railroad president. 

Which may go a long way toward explaining the curious headnote Davis inserted in the Santa Clara decision: “The defendant Corporations are persons within the intent of the clause in section I of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” 

Though the phrase wasn’t included in the court’s written decision, subsequent courts at all levels followed the doctrine Davis laid out, and over the years granted corporations all the protections spelled out in the Bill of Rights. 

Since corporations are theoretically immortal entities of vastly greater wealth, reach and power than mere mortal fleshy persons, their embrace of the rights Fields spearheaded have made many as powerful as most nations on earth. 

Nace spells out how their reach has been expanded by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and agreements such as NAFTA, to the point where multinational corporations can use secret tribunals to challenge and overturn national laws, imposing backbreaking fines on nations that dare challenge the new corporate imperium. 

Gangs of America offers a chilling look at the Frankenstein of the Post-Industrial Age—a legal fiction that now holds democracies in thrall and governs the smallest details of our lives. 

Nace has created a crucial addition to the emerging global debate on corporate power, providing vitally needed insights into the question. 

Gangs of America, The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy, by Ted Nace, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., San Francisco, 281 pages, $24.95.

Sayre Van Young’s face and name are familiar to many Berkeley residents. For nearly four decades, she’s worked for the Berkeley Public Library, helping to answer the most common and esoteric questions posed at the reference desk. 

Van Young is a research librarian and community historian and the organizer and godmother of the Berkeley History Room in the recently expanded Central Library. But her most exhaustive and intriguing reference accomplishment to date is quite possibly one centered half a world and half a century away from today’s Berkeley.  

Earlier this year, Ulysses Press published her book, London’s War: A Traveler’s Guide to World War II. It’s a historical and geographical exploration of the sites, scenes, events and heritage of the central part of the great British metropolis during World War II. 

In 1940, after “Peace in Our Time,” after the Phony War, the Blitzkrieg against France and the Low Countries, after Dunkirk, when Germany had occupied or negotiated control of most of Continental Europe but had been checked in the aerial Battle of Britain, London became an irresistible target for Hitler. 

High explosives, including incendiary bombs that burned at 2,000 degrees, rained down on London and its environs for 57 days during the London Blitz in 1940. Heavy bombing continued for another six months and intermittently throughout the war, culminating in the first use of modern missile technology, the V-1 and V-2 “flying bombs.” 30,000 Londoners died in air attacks. More than a thousand London firemen were killed. 

Londoners took refuge at night and during raids in subways, basements, and backyard shelters and went about their business despite food rationing, fears of gas attacks, nightly blackouts, and daily carnage in the streets. Van Young says she wanted to describe “how ordinary people survived a very unordinary time…the landscape of war…a war waged against ordinary citizens in their own homeland.” 

She came to this subject through a childhood chance. Growing up in the American Midwest, outside Chicago, her first trip to London was at age 10. An English great aunt had left her mother a small bequest, but British law then prohibited taking money out of the country. So off the family went to London—then in its early postwar years—to spend the money there.  

“It was absolutely magical,” she says. “The British people thought we as Americans were great.” There followed a long interlude without return trips. She went to college at the University of Chicago, transferred to UC Berkeley to finish a Library School degree, and settled here permanently. 

Van Young started a career at the Berkeley Public Library in 1967, and found herself going back to London again and again. “I go as often as I can.” Last year, she made three trips and is just back from another. “It’s just a magical place for me…everyone needs a place where their passion is.” 

As she visited, she began to think seriously about wartime London and look for not only the major remnants of the war such as vacant lots and visible ruins, but the little reminders like faded signs pointing the way to former bomb shelters. “As a reference librarian I just looked everywhere. The word ‘obsessive’ has been used by my friends.” 

Walking purposefully, soberly dressed, and often carrying a clipboard for notes, Van Young found Londoners unfailingly helpful with her research but often mistaking her for some civil authority. “I can’t tell you how many people have come running up to me and said, “I’ll move the car! I’ll move the car!” 

As the information piled up, it also spilled out. Back in Berkeley, she and a group of co-workers went to have a sociable beer after work six or seven years ago and she found herself explaining how Londoners drank during the war (they often brought their own mugs to the pub) and other items of wartime trivia. “You really ought to write a book,” one co-worker remarked.  

So Van Young did, although from the beginning of research to the final product, it became a labor of nearly 10 years, numerous trips to London, and innumerable web searches, research calls, interviews, and sorting through historical publications. 

The result is a guidebook like no other I’ve seen. The entries come in bite-sized pieces, carefully blending history and present-day observations. The text is well written, engaging, and packed with information, but not pedantic. The photographs are small—that typical bane of the guidebook format, which mandates both massive content and portable size—but well chosen and clear. Historic images are blended with contemporary views, many of them taken by Van Young herself.  

The book is organized around 20 manageable walking tours of the central London area. Each chapter starts with a short survey of practical advice from local transportation tips, useful Internet resources, and “photo ops” to suggested “cultural preparations,” including works of history, period novels, diaries, movies and other resources that will help the reader understand a particular neighborhood, event, or era. 

The writing is by turns thoughtful, informative, poignant and amusing. (“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten lost here and I urge you to do the same” she writes of one labyrinth of law court buildings.) “This was a book written in a conversational style.”  

Her main focus is simply to explain what was there then, what’s there now, what happened, and how people reacted at the time. “I like to stand in the place where someone stood and see what they saw. It’s a true history, not a ‘good’ history.” 

Boxed sidebars provide thoughtful and practical tips on everything from how to understand British coinage to where to find obscure but still public building entrances and handy restrooms, to “vertigo alerts” when a recommended exploration requires a climb to especially precipitous heights.  

There are also interludes Van Young entitles “Footsteps of the Famous” in which she traces the lives of, and wartime sites associated with, notable Londoners and visitors, from Winston Churchill, sculptor Henry Moore, and author Virginia Woolf to Eleanor Roosevelt (who chatted with the Queen about bombs that had plunged into Buckingham Palace, and found a line painted in her bathtub there indicating that she could fill it to a certain depth with hot water, and no further).  

Finally, there are numerous cogent entries clarifying history and terminology from the nature of the barrage balloon (sent aloft and anchored by a cable designed to deter or snare low-flying German planes) to how Londoners handled tea-shortages, made themselves accommodations in the subway, and cared for pets during a siege. 

Van Young says the book was a labor of love that has not been unrequited. “I’ve been thrilled by the reception.” Readers have sent her lengthy e-mails with both questions and answers about aspects of London’s wartime history. She was particularly touched by one who wrote “I have to tell you this is the first guidebook that made me cry.” 

.

TUESDAY, MAY 25 

CHILDREN 

Gary Lapow, musician and songwriter, at 10:30 a.m. at Berkeley Public Library South Branch, 1901 Russell St. 981-6260. 

Asheba, Caribbean storyteller, at 10:30 a.m. at Berkeley Public Library, North Branch, 1170 The Alameda. 981-6250. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Con le Nostre Mani” photographs of Italian Americans at Work in the East Bay. Reception at 7 p.m., followed by a talk with Laura E. Ruberto, in the Central Library Community Room, Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6233. 

Stephen Altschuler reads from his new book “The Mindful Hiker: On the Trail to Find the Path” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Diane Ackerman looks into “The Alchemy of the Mind: The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

www.codysbooks.com 

David Harris and others in an evening of politics and entertainment at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Poets Gone Wild Translators Nanos Valaoritis and Thanasis Maskaleris discuss their anthology “Modern Greek Poetry” at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble. 644-0861. 

“Can Art Transcend Violence?” with artists Anthony Dubovsky and Yu Chunming at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley Ave. 848-3440. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

The Whole Noyes, presented by Berkeley Chamber Performances, music from the 16th and 17th century Italy at 8 p.m. at Berkeley City Club. Tickets are $15-$20 at the door. 525-5211. 

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

Suede, pop, jazz and blues diva, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $19.50 in advance, $20.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Edie Carey at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204.  

www.epicarts.org 

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

www.thejazzhouse.com 

Danielo Pérez Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Wed. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 26 

CHILDREN 

Asheba, Caribbean storyteller, at 10:30 a.m. at Berkeley Public Library, West Branch, 1125 University Ave. 981-6270. 

THEATER 

“We Always Had the Words” Night of Beatbox & Jewish Theatre with Dan Wolf, Tim Barsky & Yuri Lane at 8 p.m., at the Teahouse, Epic Arts Studios, 1923 Ashby Ave. Tickets are $10-20 sliding scale. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Hilton Obenzinger reads from the memoir of his aunt, Zosia Goldberg, “Running Through Fire: How I Survived the Holocaust” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Alice Randall reads from her new novel “Pushkin and the Queen of Spades” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with Charles Ellik at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082 www.starryplough.com 

“The Sea Ranch” with architect Donlyn Lyndon, FAIA, at 7 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California. Tickets are $5-$30 and may be reserved by calling 464-3600. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Rahsul & The Sword of Gideon at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Swing Mine performs 40s and 50s Western Swing at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Clockwork and Ro Sham Bo, a capella jazz, at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Girl Talk at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

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

The New Trust at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5. 848-0886.  

www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Ubzorb and The MC Rai Band at 9 p.m. at The Lucre Lounge, 2086 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-1390.  

THURSDAY, MAY 27 

THEATER 

Traveling Jewish Theater, “Dybbuk” at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater. Tickets are $22-30. 925-789-1300.  

FILM 

Berkeley High School Film Festival at 7 p.m. at the Florence Schwimley Little Theater, featuring documentary, fiction, and experimental works from students at BHS and throughout the Berkeley Unified School District. Special selections from Washington, King, Longfellow, Thousand Oaks and The Academy. Cost is $3-$5. 

“Havanna Feelings” a film of Havana in the 40s and 50s by Silvio Heufelder at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $6-$8. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Independent Exposure looks at thirteen works from four countries on the subject of “Spring” at 8 p.m. at 21 Grand, Oakland. Tickets are $5-$10 sliding scale.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Marilyn Yalom reads from her new book, “Birth of the Chess Queen: A History” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Davy Rothbart introduces “Found: The Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items From Around the World” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Sayre Van Young, Berkeley Reference Librarian introduces “London’s War: A Traveler’s Guide to World War II” at 7:30 p.m. at the North Branch Library, 1170 the Alameda. 981-6109.  

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with featured readers Charles Ellik and Keith Mosier at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave., near Dwight Way. 526-5985, 205-1749.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Crowden School’s 21st Annual Spring Concert at 7 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, Dana and Durant Sts. It features string orchestra and choral music performed by Crowden students age 9 to 14. Admission is free. 559-6910.  

Professor Terry’s Circus Band Extraordinaire at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Metal Show with Drink the Bleach, Totimoshi, and Laudanum at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

The Weepies at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. 649-8744.  

www.thejazzhouse.com 

John Pizzaarelli Trio’s “Bossa Nova” at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $16-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

FRIDAY, MAY 28 

CHILDREN 

Springtime is a Buzzzz! with storytelling at Barnes and Noble at 10:30 a.m. 644-3635. 

THEATER 

Berkeley Rep “Master Class” with Rita Moreno at The Roda Theater. Runs through July 18. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Impact Theatre “Money and Run” an action serial adventure with different episodes on Thurs., Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. Runs through June 5 at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid. For tickets and information call 464-4468. www.impacttheatre.com 

New Shakespeare Co., “Hamlet” directed by Stanley Spenger, at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, through June 5, no show June 3. Tickets are $10-$12. 234-6046.  

www.geocities.com/spoonboy_sf/hamlet.html 

Traveling Jewish Theater, “Dybbuk” at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater. Tickets are $22-30. 925-789-1300.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with Peter Streckfus and Ilya Kaminsky at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852.  

www.codysbooks.com 

Alexandra Fuller describes life in Africa in “Scribbling the Cat” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

Dyke Open Mike at 7:30 p.m. at Boadecia’s Books, 398 Colusa Avenue at Colusa Circle, Kensington. To sign up for a 5-10 minute slot, call Jessy 655-1015. www.bookpride.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley High “Dance Projects” at 8 p.m. at the Florence Schwinley Little Theater, Allstaon Way. Tickets are $5-$10. 

Oakland Opera Theater “Akhnaten” by Philip Glass at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Tickets are $15-$27. Also Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun at 2 p.m. 763-1146.  

www.oaklandmetro.org 

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 

Folk and Radical Politics Extravaganza, a benefit for Project X, with music by Folk This!, The Molotov Mouths, Samsara, and Sean Corkery at 7 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674A 23rd St., Oakland. Donation $8-$20. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

Alfredo Muro, Peruvian guitar virtuoso, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Professor Terry’s Circus Band Extraordinaire at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $16.50 in advance, $17.50 at the door. 548-1761.  

www.freightandsalvage.org 

Beausoliel with Michael Doucet at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $20. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Ben Reebs at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

www.nomadcafe.net 

Fountain Street Theater Band, Sign for Stereo, Surf at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

Scavengers, The Plus Ones, Jericho, Deadley Weapons at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Damphibians, Mission Players at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886.  

www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Green & Root at the 1923 Teahouse at 8 p.m. Suggested donation of $7-$15, no one turned away for lack of funds. 644-2204.  

www.epicarts.org  

Jyemo & The Extended Family conscious dance music, at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $7. 548-1159.  

The Supplicants at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Shimshai and the Natural Mystiquensemble at 9 p.m. at Studio Rasa, 933 Parker St. 843-2787. www.studiorasa.org  

SATURDAY, MAY 29 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Wind and Water” kinetic and water-driven sculpture. Reception from 2 to 4 p.m. at A New Leaf Gallery/Sculpturesite, 1286 Gilman St. Runs through Aug. 1. 525-7621.  

www.sculpturesite.com 

“We Hold the Rock” a exhibition of photographs featuring Native American activism at the Free Speech Café, Moffitt Library, UC Campus.  

“American Masala” photographs from the Visual Storytelling class, UC School of Journalism. Reception from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Photolab Gallery, 2235 Fifth St. 644-1400. 

“Dancing with the Tree of Life” open house and reception at 5 p.m. at Belladonna and the Color of Women Gallery, 2436 Sacramento St. 883-0600. www.belladonna.ws 

THEATER 

Traveling Jewish Theater, “Dybbuk” at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater. Tickets are $22-30. 925-789-1300.  

FILM 

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

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Matthew Sharpe reads from “The Sleeping Father” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

www.codysbooks.com 

MIUSIC AND DANCE 

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 

Audrey Auld, Australian country singer/songwriter, at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Ali Akbar College of Music with Smt. Lakshmi Shankar, vocals, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, table, and Pansist Ramesh Misra, sarangi, at 7:30 p.m. at Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. Tickets are $15-$50, available from 415-454-6264. www.acteva.com/go/aacm 

Kugelplex performs Klezmer at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473.  

www.albatrosspub.com 

Tim O’Brien, mountain music 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 

West African dance Music at 9:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Crazy Brother Resistance with Jouvert at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $17. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Vaughn-Lee Stephens Group at 8 p.m. at The Jazz House. Donations of $8-$15 suggested. 649-8744.  

www.thejazzhouse.org 

JRhonda Benin and Soulful Strut 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 

Bay Area Ska All Ages Show at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryplough.com 

Fingertight, Thought Crime at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Artimus Pyle, Sunday Morning Einsteins, Born/Dead at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

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

SUNDAY, MAY 30 

EXHIBITION OPENINGS 

“Tilden Visions” Reception for artist Sheila Sondik from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Environmental Education Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

THEATER 

Traveling Jewish Theater, “Dybbuk” at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater. Tickets are $22-30. 925-789-1300.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Chamber Music Sundaes with musicians from San Francisco Symphony performing Dvorak, Bartok and Hummel at 3:15 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $7-$18, available at the door. 415-584-5946. 

Harp Music from Around the World at 4 p.m. at St. Mary Magdalene Church, 2005 North Berryman St. Tickets are $5-$15. 415-554-9600. 

Novello Quartet performs Haydn’s op. 50 string quartets, on period instruments at 4 p.m. at Skyline Community Church, 12540 Skyline Boulevard, Oakland. Tickets are $15. 531-8212. www.skylineucc.org 

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

Americana Unplugged: Pete Madsen at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Sambada and Soul Majestic at 9 p.m. Ashkenaz. Cost is $12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Pit of Fashion Orchestra at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

MONDAY, MAY 31 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Al Molina’s “Latin Jazz Sextet” at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200.  

www.yoshis.com 

ACME Observatory Contemporary Performance Series Concert, featuring Ignaz Schick, electronics and turntables, solo and in a trio with Tom Djll, trumpet, and Matt Ingalls, clarinet, at 8:15 p.m. at The Jazz House, 3192 Adeline at Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Admission is free, donations accepted. 649-8744. http://music.acme.com 

Melaleucas are blooming now; there’s a double row of Melaleuca linariifolia on Jefferson Street, on both sides of its intersection with Bancroft, and a nice row of them by the BART tracks on Masonic in Albany, among others. They look nifty in rows, with their profusion of tiny white flowers mounding the edges of the rounded crowns. One of their English names is “snow-in-summer,” a name shared with an easy herbaceous groundcover, Cerastium tomentosum. They look a little odd together, though, because they have such different color palettes: The tree is pale tan and slightly olive-ish green with creamy flowers, and the herb is silvery and cold white.  

The other English name of the melaleucas on Jefferson street is “flaxleaf paperbark.” The leaves are small, thin, and stiff—almost prickly—and the bark is pale and very odd indeed. If you find one of these trees, touch it—poke it, in fact. The bark is thin and papery and exfoliates in bits and layers, but there’s so much depth to it that it feels densely foam-rubbery, much bouncier than cork. You press it and half expect the tree to object: “Oof!” It’s half the fun of knowing the tree. 

That bark, though it looks like so much tinder, functions to protect the tree against fire, rather the way redwood bark does. Melaleucas are members of an Australian genus, mostly, and like eucalypts they have learned how to survive wildfires—in fact, fire is one of the conditions that select for melaleucas as opposed to other species. They tend to like wetter conditions that most eucs, though, so they compete better in marshy spots back home. They’re members of a taxon that stayed with Australia when the Gondwanaland supercontinent broke up, along with eucs and banksias and those other odd things like casaurinas. (It amazes me sometimes, how many of the Gondwana species thrive here—makes the place seem like a sort of biological antique shop.)  

From what I’ve seen, the melaleucas planted most often here are that flaxleaf paperbark and its cousin Melaleuca quinquenervia, cajeput tree. I haven’t heard of their being invasive in California—and they stand little chance of invading our wildlands from the sites I’ve seen them in, surrounded by pavement—but cajeput is certainly a pest back East, especially in Florida. In several states there, it’s an official weed. It’s threatening the Everglades, substituting a practical monoculture of its biologically useless seed-lings for the sawgrass that is the foundation of that incredible, unique environment.  

Another cousin, Melaleuca alternifolia, is the source of that medicinal fad, tea tree oil. It occurs naturally in only a small area of New South Wales, but people have been making plantations of it all over. The yield of oil is scant—one or two percent of the weight of leaves and branches that get distilled—so if the stuff tests out well enough to get really popular, it’s going to take a lot of trees and land. I have found it to be pretty allergenic and straightforwardly irritating when aerosolized (as in a topical spray) myself, so be warned. It certainly smells… effective. 

In California flaxleaf paperbark is popular as a street tree, for good reason. It’s droughty but tolerates water and poor drainage, which we get with our clay soils and aggravate with city conditions like paving and compacting soils. It’s easy on sidewalks, doesn’t buckle them much. It’s short, so it works well under powerlines. And it’s pretty! It seems worth the bit of labor it requires, sweeping up its spent flowers in summer.  

There are 170 to 200 species of melaleucas (the number is disputed, as species are still being described) and some are pretty handsome. Many have flowers that resemble those of bottlebrush—no surprise, as they’re close relatives. It would be interesting to see what others would make it as street trees, though the example of invasive cajeput would suggest caution. Meanwhile, go have a look at the flaxleaf paperbarks in and around Berkeley. They’re handsome as single specimen trees, but the effect of a row of them lining a street is grand. And go ahead; give one a squeeze. 

Cartoon by Justin De'Freitas

The next Berkeley City Council race should be shaping up right about now. The first of a series of important dates for potential candidates is today, May 28. This is the first day to take out petitions to file as a candidate without paying a fee. Ordinarily, a candidate running for local office in the City of Berkeley is required to pay a filing fee of $150 at the time he or she takes out nomination papers. However, instead of paying all or part of the fee, a candidate can get signatures of support from up to 150 Berkeley registered voters. Each valid signature reduces the filing fee by $1. The city clerk’s office at City Hall (2180 Milvia St.) has the petition forms, which must be filed at least 15 days prior to the close of the nomination period, which closes Friday, August 6. Candidates who pay the fee can wait until then to file, though they also must collect some signatures to be eligible. The city clerk’s office has ample information on all this in the form of a pamphlet and on the city’s website. 

Only one incumbent (Hawley) has announced her intention of retiring as yet; two candidates have spoken of seeking her seat. As far as the public is aware, the other three incumbents (Breland, Shirek, Olds) are still in the race. However, people who live in those districts should be exploring the possibility of candidacy should their councilmember drop out before August.  

An incumbent’s late departure from the race gives insiders, especially insiders supported by the incumbent, a better chance to succeed. This motivates incumbents who want to continue to retain influence over government to delay announcing that they’re not running as long as possible. This makes it hard for ordinary citizens who don’t like the way things are going in government to consider running for office. Berkeley’s habit of choosing the mayor and councilmembers from the inside track like this has not produced good government lately. 

There’s no better illustration of what’s wrong in Berkeley than the ongoing machinations around the Planning Commission. The commission has recently been packed, by both Mod and Prog mayor and council members, with advocates of super-density, much to the alarm of neighbors of University Avenue and residents of West Berkeley. The crowning outrage was Councilmember Margaret Breland’s unceremonious dumping of West Berkeley Planning Commissioner John Curl—an artisan who supports the West Berkeley Plan—in favor of an outspoken proponent of redeveloping the area which the plan now reserves for light manufacturing and arts. A cursory analysis of the large percentage of mega-developer money in Breland’s campaign contributions in the last two elections could have predicted this outcome, of course, but it’s disheartening to citizens who participate in planning processes in good faith. 

That’s why the question of her replacement, if any, is one that citizens of her district should start taking seriously, and now. Even if Breland runs, University Avenue and West Berkeley residents might want to oppose her. And if she doesn’t run, as seems likely, they should certainly find the right replacement. At least one potential candidate, Peralta College Boardmember Darryl Moore, has spoken privately about his desire to succeed Breland, and he might be a good choice, but district residents should leave nothing to chance, and particularly nothing to back room deals in which they can’t participate. 

Residents of the other two possibly contestable districts might take the same advice. They shouldn’t just sit around waiting to find out who’s going to run, they should be proactively seeking candidates who represent their interests, in case vacancies “turn up” just before the August filing date, as they have a habit of doing. Be prepared, as the Boy Scouts and Tom Lehrer used to say. 

—Becky O’Malley›

A famous Celtic bard once wrote: 

“O wad some Power the giftie gie us  

To see oursels as ithers see us!  

It wad frae monie a blunder free us,  

An' foolish notion:  

What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,  

An' ev'n devotion! “ 

In modern English,  

“Oh would some Power give us the gift 

To see ourselves as others see us! 

It would free us from many a blunder 

And foolish notion. 

What airs in dress and gait would leave us, 

And even devotion!” 

That’s from Robert Burns’ poem “To a Louse,” in which the poet describes his reaction on seeing a louse crawling on the bonnet of a pretentious and well-dressed churchgoer.  

The Daily Planet has been deluged with letters from pagans around the world, as far away as South Africa, because our man Richard Brenneman dared to poke a little gentle fun at last week’s Interfaith Pagan Pride Parade. Or perhaps we should say from Pagans, since we got at least one letter saying that (contrary to the advice of our dictionaries and style books), the word should be capitalized, as is Christian, because Pagans have a real religion too. 

We certainly agree that they have a real religion. Which is precisely why they, like all other religions, are fair game for having fun poked at them by the irreligious. Making fun of religion is a tradition as old as some of the traditions which today’s neo-Pagans believe themselves to be reviving. Mark Twain practiced it. While the irate p/Pagans are web-surfing, they should check out, for example, his 1867-1869 letters to the San Francisco journal Alta California, in which he makes fun of both Mormons and Christian evangelicals. Today, Garrison Keilor’s Prairie Home Companion regularly ridicules Lutherans, Catholics, and any other representatives of mainstream religions who live in his fictional Lake Woebegon, Minnesota. (He never mentions p/Pagans, so there must not be any in Lake Woebegon.) We reprinted a long angry letter from the p/Pagan parade co-coordinators on the same page with our regular comic strip from Dan O’Neill, who chose on that very day to make fun of Christians, Jews and Muslims all in one strip.  

San Francisco’s Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of gay guys, make fun of Catholic nuns. As someone who was educated by nuns, and who found them in the main to be women of kindness, intelligence and strong character, I might take offense at the parody. As a feminist, I might complain that the SPIs are secretly resentful of women who are in a position of power. But over the years I’ve noticed that, while seeming to mock nuns, they’ve also noted the good works nuns have done, and have imitated them by doing good works in their own community, the sincerest form of flattery.  

By the way, Brenneman’s description of the Christian group giving out free water at the event was also tongue-in-cheek, but the ironic tone he employed seems to have escaped many of the letter writers. Some of them, of course, admit that they didn’t read the piece, but are just responding to an alert broadcast on p/Pagan blogs on the Internet. 

A few of the letters we’ve received from the p/Pagans have threatened to sue the Planet for libel, and one cited the ACLU’s sponsorship of their parade as justification for that point of view. I’d check with the ACLU before taking that theory too far. If one wanted to get into a deep First Amendment analysis of the p/Pagan event, questions might be raised about whether or not fees paid to the city of Berkeley were 100 percent compensation for the cost to the city of policing and cleaning up, and if not, why not? Would the same courtesies have been extended to, for example, Lutherans on the Loose, as to p/Pagans on Parade? Under the U.S. Constitution, governments are not supposed to do special favors for any particular religion.  

And who’s going to compensate the farmer’s market vendors for lost business? One farmer told me that one might expect that events in Martin Luther King Civic Center Park would be good for business, but in fact the reverse is true: Big gatherings with blocked-off streets and amplified sound drive away food shoppers.  

In our book, people are welcome to hold any religious beliefs that they choose, but that doesn’t give them a free pass from criticism, whether it’s in the form of ridicule or as serious disagreement. Religious belief has always been used as justification for outrageous and intolerable actions, and that includes some of the beliefs and practices espoused by today’s new Pagans. Many people believe that the world would be a better place without religion, and a cursory look at today’s activities in the region which spawned the three desert monotheistic religions suggests that they might be right. 

—Becky O’MalleyZ