They came, they saw, they liked. 

Berkeley’s Design Review Committee got its first look at plans for the David Brower Center and the accompanying affordable housing project Thursday and gave both a resounding seven thumbs up. 

It was the four-story Browe r Center—designed to be one of the world’s “greenest” buildings—that drew the most extravagant praise, but members had plenty of praise for the adjoining 96-unit, all-affordable Oxford Plaza housing building. 

San Francisco architect Dan Solomon, who desi gned both structures, called the project “an absolute dream commission on a crucial downtown Berkeley site.”  

The $47 million project could begin construction this year and be finished in two years, he said. 

The project is slated for construction on the site of the city’s Oxford Plaza parking lot along Fulton Street between Allston Way and Kittredge Street. The lost parking lots would all be replaced in a single level of underground parking. 

The 96-unit, six-floor Oxford Plaza affordable housing struct ure will offer 40 ground floor parking units, many featuring electric lifts that will accommodate two vehicles in one slot. No parking is planned for the Brower Center, in keeping with the organization’s pro-bike and mass transit agenda. 

The center build ing, a rounded front creation that extends from the Fulton Street/Allston Way intersection down Allston to the landmarked Cancun restaurant building adjacent to the Gaia Building, will offer offices to environmental and other organizations, green retailer s and restaurants and includes a 200-seat auditorium. 

“It’s very refreshing to see a mixed-use building that actually has substantial mixed use,” said DRC member and architect Rob Ludlow. “This is a very exciting project.” 

“We should be so lucky to have this building in Berkeley,” said member and architect Bob Allen. “When we get a really good project from a really good architect, we should refrain from dabbling.” 

“I’m actually for once going to agree with everything Bob said,” said DRC member and Landmarks Preservation Commission member Carrie Olson, drawing gasps and a quip from Dave Blake, a DRC member who also sits with Allen on the Zoning Adjustments Board. 

Olson’s main concern was the Brower Center’s failure to consider surrounding landmarks in their report. 

“This is a real thrill,” said DRC member and landscape architect Charles McCulloch. “It sort of makes my heart beat faster, 

“It’s handsome, appropriately scaled for the location and makes a persuasive case for an exception from the downtown plan” limits on building height, said architect/member Burton Edwards. 

Hired publicist Caleb Dardick organized a major turnout of supporters, just as he had done for the proposed Ed Roberts Center. 

Dean Harrison S. Fraker Jr. of UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design and chair of the school’s own Design Review Committee, called the project “a wonderful aesthetic addition to the city” that “adds an elegant urban rigor” to the city/campus border. 

“This is like a gift from the gods,” said Boona C heema of BOSS. 

Similar kudos came from the likes of former Earth Island Institute Executive Director David Phillips, Rain Forest Action Network President Randy Hayes, and prospective Gaia Building commercial tenant Anna De Leon. 

Many proponents were esp ecially excited about the Brower Center’s green building standards, which should qualify for the highest “platinum” rating conferred by the U.S. Green Building Council. 

The center features three floors of office space about the ground floor retail and ga llery area. 

By incorporating a new form of light redirecting glass that projects outside lighting across the ceilings, the second floor of offices will be passively lit to the full depth of the structure, Solomon said, with a skylight illuminating the upper level of offices. 

Natural ventilation photovoltaic cells on the roof will reduce energy consumption to minimal levels, and the usual of eco-friendly and recycled materials in construction will minimize the structure’s ecological footprint. 

In other matters, those commission’s seven enthusiastic thumbs turned fervently down for another project, a facelift-on-the-cheap to buildings at the northeast corner of Shattuck Avenue and Dwight Way. 

Owner Kenneth Matsumura submitted plans that would have cover ed much of the outer surfaces of the existing corner building, the attached building that sits between the corner structure and the Fine Arts Building—another Dan Solomon project—and a yet-to-be-constructed additional along Dwight Way, with panels of wire grillwork. 

Matsumura said the proposal was an inexpensive way of solving the otherwise costly problem of making distinctly different buildings look like one. 

Bob Allen said he had doubts that the metal add-ons would sit well atop an existing stucco surface. Chair David Snippen called it “a terrible, terrible mistake” that served to mask poor construction. 

“I can’t say anything positive about it,” said Olson. 

“It’s an insufficient renovation of an already insufficient building,” said Burton Edwards. “We can’t approve this kind of building.” 

Resubmitted plans for the Prince Hall Arms, a proposed housing structure with ground floor retail and space for a Masonic lodge at 3132 Martin Luther King, were more to the committee’s liking than earlier version, but not enough to win the committee’s approval.?

Just one week after the City Council approved the tallest building to hit downtown Berkeley in decades, an appellant has charged that Mayor Tom Bates’ meeting with the project’s developers before the crucial vote violated city rules on ex parte contact. 

The Seagate Building, approved overwhelmingly by the council last week, will rise nine stories at Center Street and Shattuck Avenue, complete with 149 apartments and rehearsal space for the Berkeley Repertory Theater. 

Visitor log records at city hall, first searched by Seagate opponent Zelda Bronstein and verified by the Planet, show that that Darrell de Tienne, the lead developer of the project had meetings at the mayor’s office as early as Jan. 20, 2004. After a second meeting Feb. 25, de Tienne and his partners with Seagate Properties, Inc. had another one-and-a-half hour meeting with the mayor and staff members April 26. 

All three meetings came while the council was supposed to be adhering to a strict law limiting contacts with advocates or opponents of projects on which the council might serve as the final arbiter, as it did on the Seagate project. 

Mayor Bates said he only met with de Tienne and Seagate principals on April 26 and that he didn’t violate the rule because they never discussed specifics of the proposed building. 

“We were very guarded not to talk about anything that might be a problem under the rule so I don’t think it was a problem,” Bates said. 

“Does anyone expect you to believe that [Bates] sat down with Darrell de Tienne for and hour and a half and never talked about the specifics of the plan?” charged Bronstein, a former chair of the Planning Commission, and the main author of an appeal to Seagate’s use permit. 

She called Seagate, which due to two space bonuses rose from five stories to nine, “the most flagrantly illegal project in Berkeley history. It’s just another example of people making decisions in high places not following the rules.” 

At the center of the controversy is a much criticized long-standing rule that limited so called “ex parte” contacts—private conversations with advocates or opponents for items on which the council might vote as an appellate body. Such contacts could prejudice a vote by giving a councilmember information not part of the public record. 

Until the council officially changed the law effective July 23 to allow for such contacts as long as councilmembers divulged their contents before a public hearing, some members of the council were known for going to great lengths to avoid any discussions of pending developments. Councilmember Kriss Worthington said he would walk out of neighborhood meetings if the participants began discussing a proposed development. 

“Prior to changing the policy, there was an iron clad prohibition on communicating with anyone about projects,” said Worthington who in past years questioned office visits by developers to his political rival, former Mayor Shirley Dean. 

But City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque said Monday that the rule was never intended to preclude any contacts with project applicants or opponents, only conversations specific to the development in question.  

“Unless the mayor gathered information about the project that was not a part of the public record, it’s really irrelevant,” said Albuquerque, adding that the Seagate appeal operated under the current rules. 

Since the council changed the rule July 23, city hall logs show three occasions—Aug. 10, Sept. 27 and Dec. 9—when de Tienne visited the mayor’s office with no corresponding disclosure form filed at the city clerk’s office detailing the content of the meeting. 

Calvin Fong, an aide to Bates assigned to the project, said the Aug. 10 meeting was with Richard Robbins, head of Wareham Development, who works with de Tienne and owns several properties in West Berkeley, but is not a partner in Seagate. Fong said he did not have a record of the other two meetings, but said Mayor Bates was on vacation Sept. 27. 

Even though de Tienne’s name appeared in the log as visiting the mayor’s office those days, Fong said the developer might have made a brief visit, while meeting with other city officials that wouldn’t require that he fill out a disclosure form. Fong did himself fill out seven disclosure forms relating to Seagate, six describing his own conversations with de Tienne, and the other his conversation with neighborhood activist Tim Hansen, who supported Bronstein’s appeal of the use permit granted by the Zoning Adjustment Board.  

›

Before the crack of daybreak, a nondescript white van cruises the residential streets of central Berkeley picking up people unknown to neighbors. 

For early risers along the residential blocks several blocks west of the downtown, the van has been a curious sight. But for city workers searching for a parking spot on far flung residential side streets, the van is a dependable lift to work. 

Since 2001, the Berkeley Police Department has spent around $12,000 annually for the van to shuttle department employees from city residential streets where they park to their jobs at police headquarters and City Hall. 

The goal, said Patrol Captain Doug Hambleton, is to provide safe transport to city employees and take some of the parking pressure off blocks adjacent to city offices.  

But several residents on the most affected block aren’t pleased that Berkeley is encouraging city employees to drive to work and monopolize parking on residential streets. 

“It’s not fair,” said Hank Clayton. “We pay the taxes. Either the workers should pay for parking or the city should build a garage. They shouldn’t park at our expense.” 

Clayton, who lives on Bancroft Way between Roosevelt and McGee streets, the nearest block to city offices that doesn’t have a two-hour parking restriction, said his block is the top prize for downtown commuters looking for a spot. It’s three blocks from the Public Safety Building on Center Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. 

“It’s not just the city workers. You’ve got the postal employees, business workers, high school seniors all competing against each other,” he said. 

Clayton’s next door neighbor Tim Moellering, a Berkeley High teacher, said he stopped using his car during the day because he knew there would be no spots for him when he returned. 

“The traffic here has increased dramatically,” he said, “because people are cruising for a place to park.” 

From around 6 a.m. to just before 8 a.m., the van, driven by a part-time police employee, circles the blocks from between Martin Luther King Jr. Way to Sacramento Street, between Channing Street to the south and Addison Street to the north. The prime pick-up points are those blocks without two-hour residential preferential parking limits. 

To keep city workers and other all day parkers off his street, Clayton needed to get more than 50 percent of the neighbors on his block to sign a petition requesting the block join the city’s residential preferential parking program. Most neighboring blocks have signed up for the program which allows them to pay a fee to restrict parking to under two hours for those who don’t live on the block.  

However, last year Clayton couldn’t muster up enough signatures from homeowners. He blamed the petition’s failure on a lack of interest from two businesses on the block and a high number of absentee landlords. But several neighbors interviewed said they would rather hunt for parking spaces than pay $30 for the permit to park on their own block. 

Still, with the city currently pressuring UC Berkeley to reduce new parking construction and encourage employees to commute on public transit, Councilmember Dona Spring said the city van shuttle sends the wrong message. 

“It’s a bad example for the city to set for other government agencies,” she said. “Instead of creating a shuttle to parking lots, we’re shuttling employees to residential streets.” 

Spring said she received neighborhood complaints about the van when it first started, but that former Police Chief Dash Butler brushed aside her recommendation that the department lease space from neighboring church parking lots.  

“He said the staff was so demoralized because they didn’t have a place to park,” she said. 

Parking for police officers and other city employees was more plentiful before the late 1990s when the city built the public safety building on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, the site of two surface level parking lots. At the behest of residents around McKinley Street, just west of the public safety building, the city closed down two more staff parking lots, which are set to be auctioned off this year to residential housing developers. 

Capt. Hambleton said the police started the shuttle to offset the loss of the parking lots. 

“We were getting a lot of complaints about employees parking in the neighborhood and going to move their cars during the day,” he said. “Having the shuttle spreads cars out so we don’t have as great an impact on any one neighborhood.” 

Hambleton added that police officers’ tendency to work overtime made it harder for them to carpool or rely on public transportation. Since the city closed the four staff parking lots, it has sought to discourage employees from driving alone to work, he said. 

Employees receive free AC Transit passes, $20 monthly commuter checks to pay for BART tickets, discount parking at the center street garage for carpools and a guaranteed taxi ride home in the case of an emergency, said Matt Nichols of the city’s transportation department. 

He added that operating a parking lot shuttle would likely be too expensive for the city especially considering that employees could just hop on an AC Transit bus. The success of the city’s program in boosting public transportation use remains unknown. The last city study showing that 47 percent of city workers drove to work alone was conducted in 2001, before the city rolled out the transit incentive program.ª

The City Council Tuesday is set to approve three affordable housing projects totaling 231 units—nearly double the number developed in Berkeley over the last five years. 

Funding the three projects, Oxford Plaza, Ashby Lofts and University Avenue Senior Homes, however, required the city to exhaust its housing trust fund three years into the future, meaning Berkeley is unlikely to entertain new affordable housing projects until around 2008. 

Also on Tuesday’s agenda, the council is scheduled to vote on a plan to reduce auto lanes on a stretch of Marin Avenue and decide whether or not to send a planned five-story apartment complex and restaurant back to the Zoning Adjustment Board for reconsideration. 

“We’re very happy that the city has found a way to fund all three affordable housing projects,” said Ryan Chao of Satellite Housing. 

Satellite, which had asked for $1.9 million from the city to help fund an 80-unit senior housing project on University Avenue near Sacramento Street, appeared to have lost out on city funding last month after the Housing Advisory Commission voted 5-4 to recommend two similarly priced competing projects: Oxford Plaza, a 96-unit project set to rise beside the David Brower Center on Oxford Street and Allston Way, and Ashby Lofts, a 55-unit building slated for West Berkeley. 

With only about $4 million in its housing trust fund, the city had to stretch resources to fund all three projects. Not only is the city committing trust fund revenues for the next three years for the developments, but it is also counting on receiving $300,000 a year from a bond refinancing program by the city’s redevelopment agency and at least $200,000 won by Rent Stabilization Board in a recent court settlement.  

If that funding doesn’t materialize or the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development reduces grants to the trust fund, the city would then use up to $500,000 from the general fund reserve to back the projects. 

The proposal before the council would solve a political battle over which projects received limited city funding. Initially, the housing commission’s subcommittee recommended holding off on Oxford Plaza, only to see a majority of the commission and several members of the council push for the development because of its connection to the Brower Center. 

Nonprofit-housing developers need city money to leverage state funds needed to build. The city’s financial commitment, however, doesn’t guarantee that the projects will get built, Berkeley Housing Director Steve Barton said. 

“It’s perfectly possible that one or two of these projects will lose out in the tough competition for affordable housing money,” he said. 

A new state law will likely force the council to send a five-story restaurant and condominium development, known as the Tune Up Masters project, back to the Zoning Adjustment Board. 

When the ZAB approved the 25-unit building with 32 parking spaces on University Avenue and the corner of McGee Street, it gave the developer a 25 percent density bonus for including affordable housing. 

However, city staff and the ZAB were unaware that a state law enacted in 2003 allowed only a 10 percent bonus for condominium projects offering affordable units for those earning between 80 and 120 percent of the area median income (AMI). 

Robin Kibby, a resident who lives near University Avenue, raised the issue in her appeal of the ZAB ruling. 

Under a 10 percent bonus, the building would decrease from 25 units to 22 units and possibly lose a portion of the fifth floor, which several neighbors argued made the building too tall for the avenue. 

If the project is returned to the ZAB, city staff is recommending either that the council direct the board to compel the developer to sell the affordable units for less than 80 percent of AMI, thereby triggering the 25 percent bonus or allow the developer to build the current project by granting concessions based on financial necessity. 

The council is also scheduled to vote on a plan to reduce auto lanes on a stretch of Marin Avenue—a popular access road for North Berkeley commuters heading to I-80. Last week, the council delayed a vote on the plan after hearing from 42 residents who split on the plan’s merits.

The proposed new Berkeley Bowl at Ninth Street and Heinz Avenue comes up for a Planning Commission workshop and hearing Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. 

The Berkeley Bowl project needs commission approval because it requires both a General Plan amendment and a rezoning before construction can begin. 

Located just off heavily traveled Ashby Avenue, the project has generated controversy both because of potential traffic impacts and because it will mean a reduction in the city’s light industrial-zoned sites. 

The commission meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 

Also on the agenda is another in a series of commission discussions on proposed amendments to the city’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. 

The panel will also hear a report on the county-wide Shelter and Services Survey and Special Housing Needs Plan from city Homeless Policy Coordinator Jane Micallef and Senior Housing Department Planner Tim Stroshane. 

Also on tap is a report from UC Berkeley Senior Project Manager Ken Hufferd on the university’s plans to construct a high-rise hotel and adjoining parking facility and conference center at the northeast corner of Shattuck Avenue and Center Street. 

—Richard Brenneman 



The union representing 30,000 northern California grocery workers announced Monday that it reached a contract settlement with three large grocery chains.  

After nearly five months of negotiations, union representatives said both sides agreed to a contract that does not include a two-tiered system that divides new and existing employees, one of the principal concerns for the union. 

According to Matthew Hardy, a spokesperson for the eight locals involved in the contract negotiations, the stores, which include Safeway, Albertsons’, and Kroger, had originally proposed a contract where new workers started with lower wages and would never have the opportunity to earn the top salaries that current employees do. Under the new contract, employees will be able to reach the top of the pay scale, but will have to work more hours to do so.  

Hardy said the union agreed to a similar health care proposal. New employees will not start with a health care plan as good as the one given to current employees, but will eventually acquire the same benefits if they continue to work at the stores. 

“The companies tried to change this into a permanent two-tier system,” said Hardy. “But we were able to fight that back.”  

Hardy said the union also stopped the store from using what is referred to as the “step-up” system where lower classified employees are asked to do the jobs of more senior employees. Additionally, they prevented the stores from using vendors to stock their shelves. Both agreements, according to Hardy, help protect jobs.  

The union is scheduled to hold meetings with all employees to inform them about the details of the contract. The workers are then expected to vote on the contract within the next three weeks. 

—Jakob Schillerr

A delayed district planning proposal is back on the agenda for Peralta Community College Trustees Tuesday night, when trustees will consider authorizing a six-month contract with Scala Design & Development company. 

The trustees meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Peralta headquarters at 333 East Eighth St. in Oakland, with broadcast on Channel 18 in Berkeley and Channel 28 in Oakland. 

Last December, on a motion by Trustee Nicky González Yuen, trustees tabled Chancellor Elihu Harris’ request for the $45,000 Scala contract, which would have given the Oakland-based company six months to prepare a district-wide Land Use Development report. 

Yuen said at the time that he made the tabling motion “because we need to take a slight step back in this process.” Trustees had complained, in part, that the Scala proposal did not include a resume for Scala principal Atheria Smith, and that trustees did not have enough information as to how the Scala proposal would be integrated with the district’s long-range plans. 

At the same December meeting, Harris announced that he had killed a proposed contract with IPA Solutions for a facilities management plan, and had chosen not to move forward with a Laney athletic fields development plan contract with Strategic Urban De velopment Alliance. 

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, trustees will hear a report from Chief Financial Officer Thomas Smith on the impacts of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget proposals on the Peralta District. 

—J. Douglas Allen-Taylore›

Berkeley Iceland on Monday delivered to city officials a long-awaited plan to bring its 64-year-old skating rink up to code. 

Rather than switch to a new cooling system, Deputy Fire Chief David Orth said the rink is proposing to upgrade its current ammonia-based system. 

Orth said the department was still reviewing the ice rink’s proposal. 

Last month the fire department gave Iceland officials a Jan. 8 deadline, later extended to Jan. 24, to address safety concerns about the current system, which is out of code compliance, or face a possible closure. 

—Matthew Artzˆ

A little more than a year after a district-commissioned report called for an overhaul of Berkeley Unified School District’s Special Education program, an internal report has revealed that many of the major problems still remain. 

In a presentation at the school board meeting last week, Special Education Director Ken Jacopetti said that state administrators have recently criticized the district for what it called “over-identification” of special education students as well as for a low rate of transfers out of special ed. In addition, the staff report concluded that the district’s special education classes have an “over-representation of minority students.” 

Berkeley parent Julia Epstein, one of the founders of the Berkeley Special Education Network (BSPED) which lobbied the district into commissioning last year’s consultant report, said that while the district has “many extraordinary special education teachers” and “progress has been slow but promising,” she found the problem with overidentification “appalling” and said that students “should not get dumped into the special education program” just because the “general education program in the district is not working properly.” 

Last January, Kathleen Gee of Sacramento State University and Diane Ketelle of Mills College reported to the board and district officials that the district often pushed struggling students into special education—often segregating those students from classmates and erecting walls between the special education department and the rest of the schools. 

BUSD “need[s] to rethink the organization of their services to put more resources and efforts into instruction and fewer kids into special education,” Ketelle said last year. 

The school board accepted the consultants’ report. 

But in their report to the board last Wednesday, Jacopetti and BUSD Special Education Manager Amy Buster said that, at least statistically, little has yet changed. 

“While BUSD enrollment has been declining overall,” they wrote, “BUSD enrollment has increased in special education.” The report noted that BUSD special education enrollment rose from 924 students in December 2000 to 1,091 in December 2004, and the 12.1 percent special education enrollment rate in the district was now greater than the overall state rate of 10.3 percent. The report projected that at the current rate, BUSD special education students would account for more than 14 percent of the district’s population by the end of the year. 

The report also noted that while “the state expects that 6.5 percent of special education students annually should exit and return to general education,” BUSD currently puts 0.1 percent of its special education students back into the general school population. 

That translates to one student per year, a fact which was brought home to board members when Student Director Lily Dorman-Colby revealed that last year, “I was that student.” 

BUSD Superintendent Michele Lawrence told board members that with an exit rate that low, “a child is labeled a special education student all of their school life.” 

The report also showed that African-American students were enrolled in the BUSD special education program in greater numbers than their percentage in the district—51 percent of BUSD’s special education students are black, while 35 percent of the district’s students overall are black. The numbers were reversed for white students, 18 percent in special ed to 32 percent overall. The percentages of Asian, Hispanic, and mixed-race students in special education were roughly comparable to their percentages in the district overall. 

Superintendent Lawrence called the district’s special education a “Catch-22 situation,” telling board members that if some of the money used for current special education programs could be diverted directly to the district’s schools for intensive instruction of students who are showing early learning problems, “I would be willing to bet that special education referrals would plummet, because the schools would have the resources to intervene with all of their students.” 

Jacopetti said that district is looking into pilot programs at other state school districts where instead of doing evaluations of teacher-referred students with observed learning disabilities to see if the students needed to be assigned to special education, the districts are using the 50-day state-mandated assessment period to provide intensive extra reading instruction to those students. 

“The districts are finding that many of these students are responding to that extra instruction, and their test scores are going up,” Jacopetti said. “That means they don’t have to be assigned to special education.” 

The special education report was presented to the BUSD board as information only, which bothered BSPED member Julia Epstein. 

“I was concerned that there didn’t seem to be a plan as to what to do with the information,” she said. 

Epstein said that while she was “not completely disheartened” by the special education report, she suggested that the district consider rehiring Sacramento State’s Kathleen Gee as a consultant to look at what’s been put in place since last year’s report, and to give objective advice on future actions. 

“I think that would be a good use for a small bit of money,” Epstein said. She added that while the district “seems to be pushing some things forward,” it is natural for parents of special education students—such as herself—to get frustrated with the pace of the process. “Parents tend to see things through the lens of their own children,” Epstein said. “Most of them want to see these reforms in time to be of some benefit to their children. So it’s difficult when things take five and six years to get accomplished. By that time, many of these students will be out of school.”?

Four and a half months after he came on the job, Berkeley High Vice Principal Mark Wolfe has announced his resignation for what he described as personal and family reasons. The resignation was effective immediately, and Wolfe’s last day was Wednesday of last week. 

BHS Counselor Roland Stringfellow was promoted to fill the vice principal vacancy. 

BUSD Public Information Officer Mark Coplan said that Wolfe was “a great worker” and would be missed. Coplan said that while Wolfe was “terrific at his job,” t he demands of the vice principal position were putting strains on his family. 

“When he came in the office on Thursday morning, he had his three toddlers in tow,” Coplan said. “I think that’s the first time since he got here that his wife had any free tim e to herself. That just became too difficult for them to handle.” 

Wolfe, a Berkeley native and a BHS graduate, was hired by the high school last September out of Medford, Ore., where he and his family will be returning. His last official act was particip ation in a presentation to the BUSD Board Wednesday night supporting a proposal for BHS’ third small school. 

Stringfellow, who came to Berkeley High from Fort Wayne, Ind., was also hired in September. The school administration is currently seeking a perm anent replacement for Stringfellow’s position as counselor. 

—J. Douglas Allen-Taylor›

PUBLIC LIBRARY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In regard to your article of Jan. 14, on proposed budget reductions in the Berkeley Public Library, there are two important points for readers to keep in mind as proposals and counter-proposals are put before the Board of Library Trustees. First, the director proposes to balance the library’s budget by laying off many of the lowest paid employees (though not reducing the need for them) while simultaneously expanding middle management. The union proposes to spread the budget cuts across all employees and to reduce the overall cost of middle management. 

Second, almost everyone you see working in the library now, from the person who helps you find a book and checks it out for you, or puts it back on the shelf when you return it, to the one who decided to buy that book in the first place, or cataloged it, or even read it to your child at story time, is not a manager. Library managers are now encouraged to spend as little time as possible out on the floor with you, but rather to work entirely without public contact, while producing plans, reports, and proposals. 

Erich Keefe 

• 

UC LONG-RANGE PLAN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In your article on “UC Regents Approve LRDP, City Seeks Payments” (Daily Planet, Jan. 21-24) it states that the university criticized the estimate that the university costs the city $11 million per year, because the estimate “did not factor in university contributions to the city’s economy.” 

No property tax payer, who pays both an ad valorum property tax and fees and assessments for city services, has their tax bill reduced because of their contributions to the city’s economy. 

Many property tax payers also do their buying in Berkeley, adding to the city’s sales tax revenue, may hire local residents in their local business, and may even volunteer their time in the schools, on commissions, or with local non-profits. 

I have yet to hear a local property tax payer complain that their bills should be reduced because of their contributions to the city’s economy. 

If the university can win on this point, can you imagine what would happen to the city’s finances if we all tried this? 

Anne Wagley 

• 

ARTS DISTRICT  

GRAFFITI 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am Sherry Smith, a subject of Carol Denney’s Jan. 21 Daily Planet commentary headlined “Celebrating Poetry in the ‘Arts District.” 

I did indeed remove and toss into a recycling bin as many as I could of the notes that Carol Denney masking-taped alongside Addison Street bronze poetry insets. 

And why not? 

Ms. Denney’s notes accused the 130 poets honored by the plaques of “pimp[ing] poetry for rich people’s property values”. 

She arrives at this accusation by construing that efforts to enhance the new Downtown Arts District, centered on Addison Street, are a crass use of public money to enhance private property values. By Ms. Denney’s logic, a municipality may not use its considerable zoning power, its political pressure, and especially public funds, to improve any municipal ambiance because any such improvement is by its nature bound to increase the value of downtown property.  

So I ask you to find that, on the face of it, Ms. Denney is pursuing a logical non-sequitur. I ask you to find that cities should be striving to improve themselves...at the risk of benefiting everyone. I ask you to find that Ms. Denney did an un-civil thing by calling the poets (who were paid nothing and did not seek the honor of inclusion)... “pimps.” 

At least half of the poets are still alive, and 43 were personally present and being honored in a civic arts celebration the afternoon that Ms. Denney chose to lay her charge before them that they are pimps. 

Yes, I am guilty. I removed as much of Ms. Denney’s graffiti as I could. Ms. Denney wishes to cast my act as a denial of her right to free speech. 

I believe and hope that you would have done the same in my place. 

Sherry Smith 

Member, Civic Arts Commission 

• 

MORE ON PUBLIC LIBRARY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I have lived in Berkeley since 1961—I have seen a lot of things come and go through Berkeley in that time, and sadly, I must say, not always for the better. While many of the services available in Berkeley serve a minority of our citizens amicably—the Berkeley Public Library (BPL) serves all of us each and every day. The library is a ‘pulse’ between the City and its Citizens, measuring the ebb and flow of how people are doing in this diverse town. 

The recent budget crisis to BPL is a low point for Berkeley, and without sufficient funds, the board of directors for BPL will have to make some draconian decisions that will effect the entire City of Berkeley in many ways on many levels. I hope they make their decisions carefully, weighing all points of contention with others! In my humble opinion, as one who used to work for BPL and enjoy my years of service there for the most part (1989-1994), I am somewhat familiar with this institution and how it functions. The community needs teen-librarians at the branches, less so at the Main Library; they need their library assistants and library aides to shelve the books and for circulation purposes; has anyone ever considered that if the hatchet must fall, it should fall on administration, where although these people do much behind the scenes, they are behind the scenes and do not have direct day-to-day contact with the public as a branch or reference librarian would have? Has anyone considered reducing the hours of the administration hours’ per week? Perhaps their perks and other financially related funds could be cut in these bad times; perhaps the video dept. should be reduced or eliminated to save, as there are many resources for videos in Berkeley. I urge the BPL board of directors to consider cutting where it least effects the people of Berkeley, behind the scenes with administration—reduce hours to being closed on Sunday and perhaps close libraries at 4 p.m. on Saturdays? Perhaps cut the hours to 6 p.m., rather than 9 p.m. one or two days a week.  

Please be very thoughtful to the wonderful people who work for BPL when considering these budget cuts—why is it always the workers on the totem pole that get the ax? Why not begin at the top, where after all the budgetary crisis always begins and rarely if ever ends up there. For us the public who love this institution, one of the last vestiges of a department that ALL of us can enjoy and use on a day-to-day basis, and is not one of political correctness I urge the board of BPL directors to consider these and other comments made from the employees of BPL, and not just from management. 

Mark Bayless 

• 

WEST BERKELEY BOWL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The period for formal public comment on the initial environmental study for the proposed West Berkeley Bowl closed last Wednesday, Jan. 12. I suggest that it be re-opened and extended for two weeks, for the following reasons:  

1. The study was published on Dec. 15, the same day that the formal comment period opened. It’s unlikely that members of the public attended to land use matters during the holidays.  

2. The project is big and controversial.  

3. The city is legally required to respond only to public comment taken during the formal comment period.  

4. The public was not consulted once in the two years that city staff worked with the Berkeley Bowl’s developer.  

5. City offices were closed the week between Christmas and New Year’s weekends.  

When I raised these points in an informal conversation with Planning Director Dan Marks on Dec. 24, he told me that he expected the formal comment period to be extended. Shortly thereafter, he left for a three-week vacation out of the country. Now that he’s returned, I hope he will act on his expectations in this matter.  

Zelda Bronstein  

• 

BROWER CENTER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Has downtown Berkeley no shame? Must we insult the memory of Dave Brower by building a parking structure with his name on it? 

The environmentalists who will occupy the Brower Center should show Berkeley and the Bay Area that they can get along without cars, without parking. The Brower Center, located within a few steps of plenty of public transit, should consist of only car-free housing and car-free office space. 

If we really must have all that parking, then please put some anti-environmental person’s name on the project. How about calling it the George W. Bush Center, and give some free space to advocates for drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? 

Steve Geller 

• 

WILLARD SCHOOL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

What’s BUSD doing to the front of Willard? Palm trees in the middle of lawns next to mountain lilacs? It’s worse than mixed metaphors, its plant illiteracy. Add that to sprinkler heads sticking up and wired to rebar.  

Ugly in addition. 

C.N. Fang?

One day after Condoleezza Rice’s Senate confirmation hearing I curled up with the book that provides her best claim to seriousness as a scholar: Germany Unified and Europe Transformed. 

Since Rice is likely to become our new Secretary of State and her co-author Philip Zelikow may join her staff, I thought this 1995 book would give me some feel for what her conduct of American diplomacy would be like.  

The unification of Germany in 1990 was, after all, an “extraordinary episode in modern diplomacy,” and both Rice and Zelikow played roles in the process, as did Robert Zoellick, nominated as Rice’s deputy at the State Department. It was Zoellick who asked Zelikow to write the internal history of German reunification that became this book.  

Germany Unified is, then, the work of engaged scholars. While the authors’ involvement gave them a stake in putting the best face on the history they describe, it also gave them a useful close-to-the-ground look at what was happening.  

As they tell it, the story began when Mikhail Gorbachev set the Soviet bloc on a new course in 1985. Encouraging reform in both the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, he hoped to end the Soviet Union’s isolation from the international capitalist system. No one imagined that the reforms he set in motion would so quickly end the division of Germany, or dissolve the Soviet bloc and the Soviet Union itself. 

Here was a system that seemed to be fixed—a Soviet empire, a divided Germany—yet a series of quick developments undid it. No single player determined the outcome, but throughout the process Rice and Zelikow saw at work the power of forceful leadership. They give the most credit to West Germany’s Helmut Kohl. But they also note the “pivotal importance and firmness of Bush’s personal judgments.” 

A continuation of Reagan’s “crusade for freedom,” Bush’s vision of a democratic eastern Europe guided policy through the complex diplomatic maze that ended a status quo that had endured for nearly half a century.  

It is not much of a stretch to see the continuity between policy Rice helped to shape under Bush I and policy she has helped to shape under Bush II. In fact, I have wondered all along if Bush and Rice recklessly embarked on the democratization project in the Middle East out of a mistaken idea that the Middle East would be like Eastern Europe.  

If Bush II is continuing his father’s campaign to democratize the world, he is doing it in radically different style from his father. Again and again, Zelikow and Rice describe Bush I’s multilateral approach and appreciation for the sensitivities of the various countries involved, pre-eminently the most powerful players, West Germany and the Soviet Union. They present the Bush I administration as taking an opportunity to exercise leadership in this crisis—but quietly, carefully, even cautiously.  

Although they seem to approve of his style, Rice herself emerges as a voice for forceful action. 

It was Rice, along with another NSC staff member, who wrote a national security directive arguing for movement “beyond containment to the integration of the Soviet Union into the international system.” As events picked up speed, it was Rice who argued in favor of early reunification of Germany. “The Soviets would resist a more rapid pace. Yet they were in a difficult position, and Rice thought that the United States should go ahead and hit the accelerator.” 

Yet there is nothing in the book to suggest the reckless and impatient policy that has isolated the United States under Bush II. Nor, in the authors’ meticulous presentation and apparent regard for truth is there a hint of the carelessness with which Condoleezza Rice has handled facts as Bush’s national security advisor.  

As California Senator Barbara Boxer pointed out in Rice’s confirmation hearing, Rice has not only been careless of truth in her role as national security advisor but also unwilling to acknowledge what we might kindly call her misstatements. Both traits are unbecoming in a scholar and damning in a Secretary of State. As one senator pointed out during the testimony, America has suffered a steep loss of credibility in the world. 

In the end, therefore, I am not sure how much I learned from this book about how Rice might handle the Secretary of State’s job. Much stormy water has passed under the bridge since she and Zelikow wrote this book, and she has moved from a subordinate post in the shadow to a very visible place in the sun. If she could find again some of the circumspect commitment to truth we expect of a scholar, she would make a better—and more trusted—Secretary of State. 

Carol Polsgrove, professor of journalism at Indiana University, is the author of Divided Minds: Intellectuals and the Civil Rights Movement.›

Click here to view the latest work by Justin DeFreitas

Flying back from Jamaica to New York, in less than three and a half hours I went from nude, waited on and warm, to overdressed, ignored and freezing. It was an effort to put on clothes in Braco. It was equally hard to take them off once I returned to White Plains. From 85 degrees and sunny, to 1 degree with a wind chill factor of minus seven, it began to snow the moment our plane touched down at Kennedy and it didn’t stop until almost 24 hours later. The day before I was lying on the beach under a palm tree. Now I was shoveling snow from a porch in West Chester County. Where before I was sipping Piña Coladas and cooling off with multiple dips in the Caribbean, now I was drinking bad coffee and doing jumping jacks to keep warm. No one was calling me “madam” anymore or asking me if there was anything I wanted. Instead, people I didn’t know were yelling at me to get my ass in gear.  

There is a big difference in attitude between Jamaicans and New Yorkers, and it starts shortly after take off in Montego Bay, when you are forced to listen to fellow passengers complain about all the things that went wrong during their stay on the island. I personally don’t have a single complaint about my vacation, with the exception that I truly believe God invented clothes for a reason other than just keeping warm. Some people should never take their underwear off, it’s a simple as that. Forced (well not really forced, but wanting to fit in) to mingle with the nude and unclothed at the all inclusive resort my friends had brought me to, I did my best not to be too judgmental. 

But I gotta confess, it’s not easy to remain neutral about these things when male appendages and female breasts are swinging around haphazardly in front of you. What was particularly weird was to see women who from the rib cage up looked to be in their 40s, but from the bellybutton down were definitely not a day under 60.  

I had my doubts about this nudist thing before I left the tarmac at Kennedy. But my friends had outfitted me with “cruise wear” and told me to shut up and relax. Cruise wear is what you don when you go to the clothing side of the resort. You basically look like an Easter basket, all pink, yellow, green and blue. I had borrowed an outfit that morphed me into a walking palm tree, and another that I was told would make me look like “old money from Palm Beach,” but what I really resembled was a hard boiled egg dyed a rosy pink and lime green. Maybe there was a reason I should remove my clothes. 

I got used to the nudity after awhile. I even found myself participating in aqua aerobics, sans clothes though I was never tempted to play volleyball, croquet or dominoes with my fellow sun worshippers. Most of the time I curled up in a tiny ball under thick resort towels and hoped that the sun would disappear behind a cloud for a moment so that I could cool off, but it never did. And when I returned to New York, I wished for just the opposite: that the snow clouds would go away and that the sun would beam down and heat things up.  

It’s so hard to get what you really want, which is maybe why going on vacation once in awhile is a good lesson. It makes you appreciate what you’ve already got at home: temperate weather, friendly people, and clothes that don’t make you look like the Easter Bunny. As much as I enjoyed loafing about and being waited on, it’ll be good to return to Dover Street, where everyone misses me, or at least says that they do, and no one calls me madam. 

On Jan. 30 there will be national elections in Iraq. Insurgent violence will keep many Iraqis from voting and, as a result, some groups, particularly the Sunnis, will be under-represented in the new Assembly. Nonetheless, Jan. 30 represents a milestone f or the U.S. occupation, and, therefore, an opportunity for Americans to assess our prospects, to question our plan going forward. 

After the Iraqi election, there are three broad paths that the occupation might follow: America can continue with the Bush p lan to hang tough until the insurgency is defeated and Iraq enjoys a true democracy. Or, we could summarily declare victory and withdraw from Iraq. Finally, the U.S. occupation might take a radically different form—for example, by convincing the UN or NAT O to play a bigger role—one that would lead to a diminished role for our forces. 

This analysis considers the first of these scenarios, where America stays the course. 

In November, more than 60 million voters reelected George W. Bush; for many the pivota l reason was their belief that he is resolute, someone who says what he means. If Bush keeps to his word on Iraq—the U.S. will stay until it eliminates all the insurgents—then the results of the elections will bring little immediate change; the violence w ill continue unabated. 

The status quo is likely to hold for several months. Then, there might possibly be a substantial troop withdrawal, as most observers expect that the new Iraqi government, dominated by the Shiite majority, will ask for a quick end t o the occupation. The Bush administration could seize upon this as an opportunity to scale back military operations, regardless of internal conditions in Iraq and the readiness of newly trained security forces. 

Unfortunately, the most probable outcome of the Jan. 30 elections is a full-scale civil war, one where Iraqis who are now united in fighting the U.S., instead begin to fight each other. It seems improbable that America would withdraw in the midst of such chaos; or that we would abandon the Kurdish minority who occupy much of northern Iraq, as this would leave them open to invasion by Turkey. Further, the U.S. has constructed approximately a dozen “enduring” military bases in Iraq; it is unlikely that we would abandon these or simply cloister our troops inside them. 

Rather than withdraw, the Bush administration will probably muddle onward with an occupation dominated by American troops; we will continue to recruit and train Iraqi security forces, but, for the foreseeable future, our soldiers will engage in the worst fighting. 

However, many observers feel that the scope of the conflict might widen with an invasion and occupation of Iran and Syria. One of the excuses that the administration has given for their failure in Iraq is that large numbers of terrorists and weapons daily move across its mostly unsecured borders. An invasion of Iran and Syria might destroy terrorist staging areas and, in the eyes of the Bush administration, have the additional advantage of destabilizing governments that have been severe critics of the occupation. Further, an enlargement of the conflict would divert the American public from the failures of the occupation by shifting attention to what the U.S. military is good at—overwhelming infidels by means of superior tech nology. 

Of course, a strategy of expanding the scope of the occupation to include neighboring states has many possible negative consequences: our Iraq experience has proved that the American military is not an effective occupying force, and the expansion of our reach would further dramatize this (and continue to weaken our homeland security). Such a military action would, no doubt, find the United States acting alone; America would have to shoulder the entire cost of the operation, both in dollars and in casualties. Moreover, such an extreme example of U.S. unilateralism would have a profound affect on the international community; it would further alienate us from great powers such as China and Russia, and our traditional allies in Europe and Japan. At t he least, this would affect important diplomatic efforts and, most likely, have severe economic consequences, such as a rise in oil prices, further devaluation of the dollar, and a spike in interest rates. Lastly, a widening of the American presence in th e Middle East would further fuel the flames of anti-Americanism in the Arab world and strengthen support for the terrorist movement that we are trying to extinguish. 

At the moment, it seems most likely that after the formation of a new Iraqi govern ment, the occupation will muddle on as before, with an inexorable increase in American costs and casualties. This is the Bush “plan” that military experts allude to when they describe our involvement as going on for 10 or more years; operating under heavy administration censorship, they don’t put a price tag on this, but at roughly $100 billion per year, the occupation might cost more than $1 trillion. 

It’s the dreadful cost of this war, in lives and dollars, and in the loss of America’s integrity, that motivates progressives to search for a way out. 

?

Ran, Not Hit 

A woman called police Thursday morning to report that a driver had tried unsuccessfully to run her down with his car near the corner of Woolsey and California streets. 

No arrest have been made, said Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Shira Warren. 

Bullet Through Window 

A Grant Street resident who lives near the corner of Bancroft Way called police shortly before 11 a.m. Friday to report that someone had fired a .22-caliber round through his window. He said he had no idea who fired the shot. 

Tip Jar Heister Busted 

Berkeley Police arrested a 34-year-old man toting the tip jar from Taqueria La Familia at 2971 Shattuck Avenue Thursday afternoon, just minutes after he’d entered the restaurant, pulled a knife and grabbed the jar, said Officer Warren. 

Police immediately searched the area and quickly caught the suspect toting the rather commodious container. 

He was relieved of his loot and transported to the city hoosegow, where he was booked on suspicion of armed robbery. 

Wrong Bottle 

A gang of four young men in their teens to early twenties shoved a Berkeley man and made off with the bottle he was carrying near the corner of Rose and California streets shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday. 

They were probably surprised when they discovered its contents to be good ol’ vinegar. 

Brandisher Vanishes 

A resident who lives on Prospect Street near the corner of Bancroft Way called police a 7:34 p.m. Friday to report that a man brandishing a knife had just walked in front of his house and appeared to be headed for his back yard. 

He’d departed before the black-and-whites arrived. 

Bottle Bashers Flee 

A UC Berkeley officer called his city counterparts to report that two fellows were having at each other with bottles near the corner of Telegraph and Durant Avenues late Saturday morning. 

By the time Berkeley officers arrived the belligerent bottle battlers had bolted. 

Drunk, Disorderly and More 

A couple’s dispute edged over the line late Sunday evening when police saw the woman throw the man to the ground near the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Channing Way. 

Both departed, only to surface again when officers spotted the man trying to fend off the woman. Timely intervention left the man unhurt and the woman in handcuffs, facing charges of public drunkenness, possession of an open container of alcohol and resisting arrest.

THE CYCLIST AGENDA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I attended the Berkeley City Council’s public hearing on the reconfiguration of Marin Avenue in order to voice my opposition. Because this project came out of a bicycle hearing of several years ago I am convinced that this is the product of a vocal and obnoxious group of bicyclists who have an agenda that contravenes the interests of the vast majority. As Councilmember Worthington said, there are about 70,000 automobiles in Berkeley. The chair of the Transportation Commission showed his colors at the hearing. His characterization of all in the city who do not agree with his grand vision as losers shows that he, and I suspect the entire Transportation Commission, have an agenda that they wish to impose upon those of us who own automobiles. There must be reform of this commission and it should better represent the interests of the citizens of Berkeley. I suspect that the consultants may also share this agenda. 

The report from the traffic consultants, “City’s Notice of Intent to file a Negative Declaration for the Marin Avenue Reconfiguration Project,” is suspect. It is based upon a number of assumptions regarding the sources of traffic and potential bottle necks that are not realistic. The consultants refer to existing times of travel on Marin. They are referring to computer generated numbers based upon their model. They tell us that the field data is comparable. What does this mean? I would be more comfortable with the display of this data. We do not really know what existing times are. 

Project proponents claim that Marin will become safer with implementation. The report notes that the accident rates in the project area are below state averages. The members of the Transportation Commission, or Bike Reich, make a great deal of a pedestrian death on Marin last year. This is unfortunate, but it appears to be an anomaly. The proponents use this as manipulation and fear mongering of which they accuse others who oppose their utopian vision. Data do not support Marin as unsafe. 

There are other solutions to solving the perceived safety problem. One, would be more and timed traffic lights. This may be expensive, but Marin is an important artery and is worthy of some investment. Enforcement is another option. Apparently the Albany Police Chief says he can not reduce speed and that re engineering is required. Every time I hear a Highway Patrol officer in the media describing their efforts at enforcement they say their efforts do slow traffic. I do not know why this is not the case on Marin, other than to say the enforcement efforts are less than competent. In the old days I remember seeing three Albany Police cars in a row ready to make a U-turn at Curtis to head west on Marin and then pull someone over. I have not seen this level of enforcement lately. Just one officer lurking a couple of blocks from the freeway with a radar gun. Most police view themselves as great crime fighters and feel traffic enforcement is beneath them. I think the leaders of Albany need to light a fire under the rear end of their chief. 

I urge my fellow Berkeley residents to contact the city council and ask them to disapprove the Marin reconfiguration and negotiate with Albany to change its decision. If Albany proceeds, I would urge the Council to lobby the state to intervene as this street is too important a regional asset.  

Frederick O. Hebert 

• 

GO FIND A REAL ISSUE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

After reading the commentary by Barbara Gilbert regarding the proposed Marin Avenue reconfiguration, this north Berkeley resident is confused what her main objection is. It appears the possible loss of her speedy trip down Marin is underlying her tirade about (1) the process, (2) the Berkeley “bike lobby” (3) the City of Albany, and (4) the residents of Albany. Albany has had a very long and public debate on this subject over the past few years, and all concerned parties in Berkeley and Albany should have been aware of this. The Berkeley and Albany bike communities have focused very little time and effort on promoting this project. 

This is not a reduction from four lanes to two, but rather a reduction from four to three. Anyone who drives on this street has experienced the constant to need to change lanes from left to right and back again while traveling east or west. The presence of a center turn lane for left turns, and a broken line turn lane at intersections for right turns will eliminate this dangerous lane jockeying. That is correct—this solution will not just reduce a major safety problem (thousands of daily unsafe lane changes); it will eliminate it. 

Now that Albany is moving forward with a one year trial period, there is no logic to Berkeley not joining the experiment as well. We are only talking about five blocks of Marin Avenue in Berkeley that are not already one lane. 

Please go find a real issue to question, such as the UC expansion plans. 

Tom Fraser 

• 

SAVE THE DEBATE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Articles and letters in the last few issues of the Planet have called to mind a number of similar issues which may be instructive. Many years back the Christmas bonus at the company where my wife worked was the same for everyone, regardless of salary. When the company grew and new management came in, the bonus was made a fraction of one’s salary, so that management received a larger bonus. This was explained as being more fair, because higher paid employees need more money because they have higher expenses, with their kids going to private schools and so on. 

I was reminded of this by Barbara Gilbert’s article on the Marin avenue reconfiguration, where she rants against the ingratitude of Albany residents, and then states that “We are tired of Berkeley always being asked, in the name of some greater good, to make sacrifices that effectively enable others to avoid their fair share of the burden.” The “greater good” being in this case the safety of those who have the temerity to venture out upon Marin by foot or bicycle, while the “sacrifices” are the possible increases in time and fuel needed to commute on Marin with your car. 

Wait! Wait! There is more. Although other articles indicate that the Marin Avenue neighbors have been working on their traffic problem for seven years, Ms. Gilbert is concerned about the lack of timely notice, and blames the existence of a fifth column of traffic planners and bike enthusiasts for forcing this policy on Berkeley. 

I guess I really shouldn’t blame Ms. Gilbert for her paranoia. I myself have become extremely paranoid about George Bush and the Republican mandate. And of course there is the question whether anyone would pay attention if she had written that she knew that people had been working in good faith for seven years on the project, but she had missed the notices, and she felt that she should be given a chance to re-evaluate alternate solutions. 

Unfortunately, I think this is the point. There is more going on in this city, let alone the rest of the world, than any one individual can keep track of, let alone participate in. Not everybody is going to get their say, especially in a timely fashion. Re-striping Marin is a safety issue. Debates over best plan should not have taken the seven years that it already has taken, and they certainly should not be allowed to continue to put a safety plan on hold. The current plan includes a provision for the evaluation of its effectiveness. I respectfully submit that the debate should be saved for this second phase, and not the current phase. 

Robert Clear 

• 

IMPROVING SAFETY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Ultimately, the Marin Avenue reconfiguration is all about improving safety for all users. I am in favor of improving safety, so I am, therefore, in favor of the Marin Avenue reconfiguration. 

The speed limit on Marin is 25, most cars travel faster, and a lot travel at least 10 miles an hour faster than this limit. Marin Avenue contains multiple pedestrian generators since it is residential, with two schools and a library.  

Narrowing the roadway will serve several purposes: 

1) Distance pedestrians need to travel across traffic will be reduced.  

2) With only one lane of traffic, overall speed will slow to a safer rate. 

3) With an added center left-turn lane, left-turn vehicles will be able to remove themselves from traffic. 

4) With left-turn vehicles removed from traffic, traffic will flow more smoothly. 

5) With left-turn vehicles removed from traffic, sudden stops and unexpected movements of other cars will be significantly reduced. 

6) With bicycle lanes added, bicyclists will have a safer place to travel. 

7) Creation of the perception of increased activity along both sides of the traffic lane will also have the effect of slowing traffic.  

The City of Albany Police Chief reports that traffic enforcement to slow speeds was virtually ineffective, and expensive. Traffic engineering solutions are cost-finite, while enforcement solutions are infinite.  

The Berkeley portion of the Marin re-configuration is minimal, as is the cost. Compare this cost to the cost of a life. If it were my decision, I’d be voting on the side of protecting and preserving human life.  

It has been shown in studies that stop signs and signals are not effective on a street with Marin’s volume, where motorists tend to speed up after stopping. This stopping and starting would also increase pollution along the route. The best solution, for pedestrian, residents and motorists, is what is recommended in this Marin reconfiguration. 

Having read and heard of many similar road treatments I agree with the reports generated by engineers in this case. The Road Diet will slow traffic. Slowing traffic will not cost motorists much time overall, minimizing any potential overflow into neighborhoods.  

I would recommend that pedestrian refuges, in the form of middle islands be added, as well as sidewalk extensions or bulb-outs, when funds allow. This would serve to increase pedestrian safety especially for the oldest and youngest pedestrians, who take more time to cross the street. A recommendation to consider these additions could be added to the final council resolution. 

There are plenty of streets in Berkeley where motorists travel faster than the speed limit, creating hazardous conditions for pedestrians whether they are in a crosswalk, at a signalized intersection or crossing with the green light. When we have an opportunity to improve those conditions for the vulnerable pedestrian, at minimal expense to the city, and to motorists in terms of time and inconvenience, we should take it. 

Marcy Greenhut 

?

Most honorable profession at the point of a blade. 

The last pure form.  

Mastery without effort. 

Song of the executioner. 

The art of cleavage 

and making chips fly. 

Zen in motion: 

OK. Stand the slab on end, like so. 

No teetering, blockhe ad! That's it.  

Our little champion.  

Mr. conservative smarty pants. 

Too big for his Republican britches. 

One of the hollow men.  

Just like his daddy.  

Feet wide apart. Knees a little bent.  

Heft the shank easy like, fingers loose, never tight. 

Don’t s queeze the shaft! 

Stay balanced. 

Now, address the dodgy son of a bitch: 

Mr. President, do you still insist  

there were weapons of mass  

desecration?  

OK. OK, sir. Whatever you say. But on your knees!  

Perjurers, murderers of small children,  

and loote rs of the economy  

do not pass through Peter's gate. 

Find the mark.  

We’ll cultivate that little crack.  

An opportunity waiting to happen. 

Stay centered.  

Up the maul, most excellent tool of all my days.  

Razor edge of discrimination.  

Hammer of infinite heaven. 

Bane of knots and heart rot. 

Punk nemesis. 

Hewer of the toughest grain.  

Instrument of the mighty spheres unbound. 

Avenging angel filled with disdain  

for you  

and all of your cronies and  

carpetbaggers. 

Swift retribution is coming! 

Now straight and true  

and away with him... 

( ! ) 

Omigod! 

With that stroke  

we could've thrice cut the deficit. 

Pity the poor soul.  

See! Look! It flies away… 

—Mark Gaffney 

c

The Howard Wiley Trio will perform a tribute to jazz inspiration John Coltrane this Friday at 9 p.m., presented by The Jazz House at 21 Grand Art Gallery, 449 B 23rd St., Oakland. 

While Wiley’s combo pours out the “full gamut” of sounds from the great tenorman’s legendary career, Swiss-born painter Timothy Streuli will be creating artwork on the spot. The Jazz House—homeless though not silent since Halloween, when its location on Adeline was sold—continues to produce shows for both young and veteran players, waiting for the funding to acquire a new venue.  

Reedsman Howard Wiley, a Berkeley High graduate, is known around the Bay Area as an accomplished sideman, playing with Lavay Smith, Faye Carroll, The Big Belly Blues Band and others. 

“He can play straight ahead on a standard tune, then go way out,” says Rob Woodworth of Jazz House, “He’s recorded everything from Ragtime and New Orleans dirges on up to outside jazz on the same CD. He used to come into our Tuesday night jam sessions, likes to work with kids. As a sideman, he works four, five times a week; I called him up for this gig because I think he deserves more recognition as a leader.” 

Just out of the studio after recording his first CD, Wiley will be accompanied by Darrel Green and David Ewell, drums and bass. 

True to The Jazz House mission, Woodworth says there’ll be an opening act of young players preceding Wiley’s group on the stand—or in the round: the audience will be seated around the players and painter. Streuli’s “vibrant” art can be seen at www.tstreuli.com. 

This is the second show produced by The Jazz House since losing its venue; trumpeter and Berkeley native Steve Bernstein premiered his Diaspora Hollywood Band at the Berkeley Fellowship Hall in December. 

The Jazz House was founded by Rob Woodworth in late summer, 2002, as a “place to play in the real world” for young jazz musicians—and for professionals, too. 

“The kids open, sometimes sit in with big names; they learn about the music biz, touring, how pros set up,” he says. “Most jazz venues are around bars, restaurants ... I think we’re unique in that the kids aren’t playing in a bar or in a school—they need to get out, not just go home and practice a chart, get down a handful of standards, concentrate so hard on playing the exact note. There’s not a lot of feeling in that; they need to be more free, open, play what they feel. We get them involved in a lot of improv.” 

Woodworth, who moved to the Bay Area about eight years ago, is a native of Kansas City, Mo. (“Some jazz history there; I grew up with it.”) and a lifelong drummer, though, “I don’t play so much anymore,” he says. He is the entire staff of The Jazz House organization, assisted at performances by volunteers. 

The idea for The Jazz House came to Woodworth a few years back while he was working for an arts-for-youth nonprofit. “I wanted a place where the kids weren’t just getting a book education and maybe an annual recital for a few parents—though even that’s being gutted everywhere for lack of money. And we’ve never charged admission for kids; they’re in free. I realized, too, that nine out of 10 musicians’ bios in Downbeat talk about how, as kids, they were inspired by sneaking up to a club to hear the music through the windows. Why sneak? Some young kids play better than adults at jam sessions. They’re coming up; when people hear them, they realize they’re not ‘just a kids’ group.’” 

The Jazz House was open for two years at 3192 Adeline. “From the outside, it looks like a barn or an old shed; inside, it’s a big open room, with a pitched floor—I heard it was a silent movie theater, then a general store. We put in folding chairs, a wood stage. There was no sign outside, just an old cobalt light hanging on the front of the building that looked like it had been there forever. We’d put it on when there was music going on. ‘Look for the blue light!’ We got known for looking unknown.” 

At first, The Jazz House had a few shows a week, then “it exploded, got away from me,” Woodworth says. Some weeks there’d be seven events, with a jam every Tuesday hosted by Dayna Stephens. It attracted local players with regional or national repute—Scott Amandola, guitarist John Schott, the Rova Saxophone Quartet—and international names: Sam Rivers, great saxophonist and father of the New York loft jazz scene; American-Fillipina drummer Suzy Ibarra; and experimental bass player William Parker. 

Then the building sold, and there are rumors it’ll be torn down to make way for a parking lot. 

“People call me all the time, reporting on old buildings they think would be great for us,” says Woodworth. “But anytime there’s an audience of more than 50 people, you have to really be up to code. To satisfy that, what we need is to find funding to find a place. If I wanted a coffee shop, I could open tomorrow. We’re a 501C3 nonprofit; what we need’s an angel. And grant writers, development people, and some staffing! So far, it’s been a one-man show--and I’ve got a day job. 

“I want it to remain alcohol and smoke-free, but serve a little food—before, we’d just throw some cookies on the table and put on a pot of coffee. We had about 1,300 square feet before; with a little more, we could offer teaching and rehearsal space at low cost. But mostly we need a place that’s 100 percent legit. There’re too many underground music places. You can’t create a solid program, especially for kids, when the fire marshall can close you down any moment. It was bad enough when we had to close down on Adeline. The kids get up for a show; how can I tell them, ‘We’re not here anymore, I don’t know where you can play.’” 

Berkeley filmmaker Tom Weidlinger wanted to make a documentary about international aid workers fostering self-sufficiency rather than dependency. In 2003, Weidlinger visited Action Against Hunger amid stifling heat, scorpions and malaria-carrying mosquit oes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. He decided he had come to the right place and found the right people. 

The result is Heart of the Congo, which will be shown at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco on Friday at 8 p.m.  

After the screening, Adam Ho chschild, author of the best-selling King Leopold’s Ghost about the Congo and the newly released Bury the Chains about Britiain’s abolitionist movement, will moderate a discussion with Weidlinger and Sophie Fournier, Action Against Hunger’s U.S. executive director. 

Then, Congolese singer-songwriter Samba Ngo, whose music is heard on the film’s soundtrack, will perform. Tickets are $10 for the film, or $35 for the whole event, including wine and dessert. All proceeds go to Action Against Hunger. 

The latest estimate of deaths in Congo from war, disease and starvation is 3.8 million in the past six years. That’s 15 times the number who died in the tsunami disaster, for which AAH is a major participant in relief efforts. That’s also a lot more than died in Rwanda, even in a genocide, or in Darfur, so far. 

As a friend, I was aware of Weidlinger’s mission from the beginning, suggested possible topics (luckily my advice was rejected) and received sometimes grim reports by e-mail while he was well beyond the w orld of telephones. 

My concerns were: Would the day-to-day activities of aid workers in an unattractive section of a faraway country turn into an interesting narrative? Would Tom actually live through the experience? (He got malaria and pneumonia.) Can y ou really complete a documentary by turning the cameras over to your subjects as you are being evacuated to a hospital in South Africa?  

The hour-long film speaks for itself. Western and Congolese aid workers feed children who are heartbreakingly malnour ished, but other children race joyfully through a nearby village. Wells are dug, because clean water is a basic need. Hygiene is taught. Nurses are trained. Fake nurses are discovered. Clinics are set up. Clinics are pillaged. 

In Congo, there are highs a nd lows, and one has to adjust. Sometimes, the colonial master-servant relationship reasserts itself. Tempers flare. Requests are made for gifts that, as a matter of policy, cannot be given. The gulf between those who have nothing and those who have “ever ything” is evident. 

Always, there is the shadow of terrible history—of Leopold’s atrocities and Mobutu’s dictatorship, of civil war and invasion. The current state of affairs is neither peace nor war. 

“The most important thing we can do for the Congoles e is give them courage,” says an aid worker, referring not only to violence. He is talking about facing the future in a harsh land where tomorrow is not guaranteed. The adage “teach a man to fish…’’ is applicable. Action Against Hunger establishes clinic s; Congolese will run them. 

Two expats stand out in their dedication, competence and grace under pressure—the engineer Mariona Miret and the nurse David Doledec. They also help to complete the filming. And once in a while, they even kick back. It is a re minder that they are young and that they are not Mother Teresa.  

Before Heart of the Congo, Weidlinger made documentaries about transition in Czechoslovakia (After the Velvet Revolution), bullying (Boys Will Be Men), collaboration between American and Vi etnamese theater companies (A Dream in Hanoi), and the civil rights movement (The Long Walk Home). I asked him what effect he would like his latest film to have. 

Weidlinger replied, “I hope the film will encourage people to think more critically and more deeply about the issue of humanitarian aid. As a result of the Southeast Asia crisis, there’s a tremendous outpouring of goodwill and concern. I hope that some of that concern can be transformed into a more sustained awareness of the need to respond to h unger and extreme poverty worldwide. 

“Humanitarian aid shouldn’t be just about feeding people. Charity should be linked to change—to helping people toward a self-sufficient future. We need to get away from aid which is just a Band-aid, which is primarily politically motivated and which is too easily derailed by donor countries’ political and strategic interests or, conversely, by corruption among the power structure of the recipient countries.’’  

Berkeley resident Lewis Dolinsky is a former editor and foreign affairs columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. 

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For an afternoon excursion to San Francisco, two galleries offer lively shows this week: 

Gallery Paule Anglim 

“I don’t know that I have a style. I just have stories.” Thus Jess, speaking in 1983, who died a little over a year ago. The Gallery Paule Anglim has mounted a show of some 35 works, both “paste-ups” and paintings, the latter rarely seen. The central image of the show, reproduced here, is “The Enamored Mage,” a portrait of Jess’ companion, the poet Robert Duncan, seen (with books) in the mid-1960s. At the very opening of the show is a charming, late photo of Jess by Leo Holub; back in the second “paste-up” gallery is Jess’ inked design for Robert’s volume of poetry, The Opening of the Field. The show is well-spaced, a challenging and true delight of unusual work; it closes Saturday, Jan. 29. 

Gallery Paule Anglim, 14 Geary St., San Francisco. (415) 433-2710. Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 

The Charles Campbell Gallery 

Across town, Charles Campbell has celebrated his ninetieth birthday.  

Arriving from Los Angeles in 1947 to open an art supply and then framing shop, Charles soon exhibited the work of the young painters at and around the nearby San Francisco Art Institute. Richard Diebenkorn, James Weeks, Elmer Bischoff, Joan Brown, Gordon Cook, Nathan Olivera, Manuel Neri, Christopher Brown, and Wayne Thiebaud are only a few of the painters he has championed. His new partner in the gallery, Steve Lopez has prepared this show of almost 150 works, mostly small, packed closely on the walls of the front gallery in alphabetical order. At the rear is the sun-lit office, with much other work, where Charles presides almost everyday. 

The exhibition is a solid survey of those artists that have come, gone and returned in the over 50 years of the gallery. On the ground-floor is The Art Exchange, the gallery of Claire Carlevaro, who started in Berkeley on Shattuck Avenue and moved to San Francisco in the early nineties; treasures abound. 

The Campbell show closes Feb. 19. The Charles Campbell Gallery, 647 Chestnut St., at Columbus. (415) 441-8680. Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday noon-4 p.m. 

The Art Exchange, 645 Chestnut St., (415) 474-4955. Tuesday-Saturday noon-6 p.m.

TUESDAY, JAN. 25 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Serving the People - Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party Photographs” opens at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. and runs to March 19. 981-6100.  

“The Art of Living Black” Ninth Annual Bay Area Black Artists Exhibition opens at the Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Ave., Richmond, and runs through March 20. 620-6772. www.therichmondartcenter.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Dublin Carol” the Aurora Theater production which opens Jan. 28, will be discussed at 1 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

The McKassons, fiddling and piano in the Scottish tradition, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50- $16.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Carlos Oliveira and Harvey Wainapel at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

McCoy Tyner wiith Stanley Clarke and Billy Cobham at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $25-$35. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 26 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Acting Out” Photographs by Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore opens at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way, and runs to Aug. 7. Admission is $5-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu  

“Blind at the Museum” An exhibition probing the nature of blindness and the visual arts opens at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way, and runs to July 24. Admission is $5-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Tino Soriano “La Zafra–The Sugar Cane Harvest” photographs from Haiti. Photographer’s talk at 5 p.m., followed by reception, at CLAS Conference Room, 2334 Bowditch St. 642-2088. 

FILM 

Film 50: History of Cinema “Edison to Early Griffith” at 3 p.m. and “Games People Play” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Peter Carey describes “Wrong About Japan: A Father’s Journey with his Son” at 7:30 p.m. at at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Kate Coleman describes “The Secret Wars of Judi Bari: A Car Bomb, the Fight for the Redwoods, and the End of Earth First!” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert, with The Mendelssohn String Quartet at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, with Nigel Armstrong, 14 year old winner of the BSO Young Artist award on violin, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$49. 841-2800. www.berkeleysymphony.org 

The Do or Die Kamikaze Tour, Chicano/Mexican punk with Flojos Nos Visten, and Los Kung Fu Monkeys at 8 p.m. at La Peña. Tickets are $7. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

Ron Hacker & The Hacksaws, Daniel Castro Band at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Happy Turtle, jazz-funk-lounge, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Gomez-Mendez Duo, guitar and piano tango duets from Buenos Aires, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50-$16.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Folk Revival with Mercury Dimes and Grizzly Peak at 8:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

THURSDAY, JAN. 27 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Celebrating African-American Artists with Disabilities” Reception for the artists at 6 p.m. at NIAD Art Center at 551 23rd St., near Barrett Ave., Richmond. 620-0290. www.niad.org 

“Blind at the Museum” Curators’ talk on “What Does it Mean to See?” at 12:15 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way, and runs to July 24. Admission is $5-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Preschool Art Show works of over 200 preschoolers. Reception at 5 p.m. at Habitot Children’s Museum, 2065 Kittredge St., at Shattuck. 647-1111, ext. 16. www.habitot.org 

FILM 

David Thomson History of Hollywood: “Magnolia” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Tragos” a cyber-noir thriller by Antero Alli at 8 p.m. at 21 Grand, 449-B 23rd St., Oakland. Filmmaker in person. Cost is $7-$12. www.verticalpool.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

William Powers describes “Blue Clay People: Seasons on Africa’s Fragile Edge” at 7:30 p.m. at at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Taigen Dan Leighton discus- 

ses his translation of the works of Eihei Dogen, a 13th century Zen master at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with featured readers Matt Wolf and Julia Vinograd at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Paquito d’Rivera & The Assads, Cuban-born saxopho-  

nist, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$42. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Henry Kaiser & Grooves of Mystery at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Cheap Suit Serenaders, ragtime and jazz, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Golden Shoulders, WIllie Wisely at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082 www.starryplough.com 

Showrinho, from Brazil, at 8 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Amy & Karen, Jug Free America at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10.  

Brian Kane, solo guitar, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

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

FRIDAY, JAN. 28 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, “Seduced” by Sam Shepard at 8 p.m. at the Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck at Berryman, and runs Fri. and Sat. through Feb. 19. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Aurora Theatre, “Dublin Carol” by Conor McPherson Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m.., Sun at 2 and 7 p.m.trhough March 6 at 2081 Addison St. Tickets are $28-$45. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

"Bridge & Tunnel" workshop performances by Sarah Jones at 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 7 p.m. Sun. through Feb. 20 at Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. tickets are $30-$40. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theater, “The Mousetrap” Agatha Christie’s classic mystery Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. through Feb. 19 at 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito. Tickets are $10-$15. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

Ragged Wing Ensemble “The Serpent” theater with movement, masks and puppetry, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., through Feb. 19, at the Eighth Street Studios, 2525 8th St. Tickets are $10-$20 sliding scale. 527-8119. www.raggedwing.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“California Landscapes” by Jim Brosnahan at 6 p.m. at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, Claremont and Russell St., also Sat from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sponsored by Options Recovery Services. www.optionsrecovery.org 

FILM 

David Thomson History of Hollywood: “Daisy Kenyon” at 7 p.m. and “Men in War” at 9 p.m. at Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Sierra Birds: A Hiker’s Guide” a dinner, lecture and slide show with author Jack Laws at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Yacht Club, One Seawall Drive. Tickets are $20, benefits the Sierra Club. For reservations, call 526-2494. 

Simon Singh describes “Big Bang: The Origins of the Universe” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Coltrane: A Tribute with saxophonist Howard Wiley at 9 p.m. at 21 Art Gallery, 449B 23rd St. between Telegraph and Broadway, Oakland. Presented by The Jazz House. Cost is $10. www.thejazzhouse.org 

West Side Story Remix at 7 p.m. at 4551 Broadway, Oakland. Cost is $3. 658-0967. 

Kaki King, guitarist, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Inspector Double Negative, Paris King and Friends at 9:30 at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Jeffrey Luck Lucas, Sonya Hunter, Sean Hayes at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Adrian Gormley Quartet, jazz at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198. 

Moonrise & Harmony Grisman at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10.  

Sara Manning Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Beth Robinson, singer-songwriter, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Harvie S and Mimi Fox at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazz- 

school.com 

Everton Blender, reggae, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. 548-1159.  

John Schott’s Typical Orchestra, avant folk-jazz-blues at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Betray the Species, Funeral Diner, This Song is a Mess at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

McCoy Tyner wiith Stanley Clarke and Billy Cobham at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $25-$35. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, JAN. 29 

CHILDREN  

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

EXHIBITIONS 

“Absolutely Abstract” Artwork by Zarmine Aghazarian, Peggy Cotton and Andrea Markus. Reception from 7 to 9 p.m. at Innersport, Strawberry Creek Design Center, 1250 Addison St. Exhibition runs through April. www.innersport.com  

“Resurrection” found object sculptures and assemblages by Gaelyn Lakin at John F. Kennedy University Arts Annex, 2956 San Pablo Ave. Reception for the artist from 5 to 8 p.m. Exhibition runs to Feb. 4. 521-0663. 

FILM 

David Thomson History of Hollywood: “Meet Me in St. Louis” at 6:30 p.m. and “The Bad and the Beautiful” at 9:05 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Japanese Mingei and the Way of Folkcrafts” a lecture by David Coates, Mingei Researcher, at 1 p.m. at Common House, 930 Clay St., Oakland. 528-0600.  

Douglas Coupland in troduces his new novel “Eleanor Rigby” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

www.codysbooks.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Opera “Il Trittico” at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater. Tickets are $15-$40. 925-798-1300. www.berkeleyopera.org 

Phillip Greenlief, saxophone and Diane Grubbe, flute at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St., between Bancroft and Durant. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864. http://trinitychamberconcerts.com 

Magnificat performs Charpentier’s “The Sacrifice of Abraham and the Prodigal Son” at 8 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Ellsworth and Bancroft. Tickets are $12-$25. 415-979-4500. www.magnificatbaroque.org 

Cirque Eloize at 2 and 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $26-$48. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

North Indian Classical Music Concert for Tsunami Relief with Terry Riley and friends at 7 p.m. at St. Alban's Parish Hall, 1501 Washington Ave. at Curtis, Albany. Suggested donation $35-$50. Please bring a cushion if you prefer floor seating, venue is not wheelchair accessible. Sponsored by Sur-Laya-Sangam. 

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson with Nick and Shanna at 8 p.m. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

John Murray, singer-songwriter, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Mitch Marcus Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Lou & Peter Berryman at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Kurt Ribak Jazz Group at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Tiempo Latino and La Familia at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Re-Ignition, Kaos, Zeitgeist, Fuzzplow at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Fred Randolph Quintet at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com  

Carney Ball Johnson at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Eileen Hazel & Andrea Guskin at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10.  

Wanda Stafford Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Love Equals Death, 1208, Instigator, Cigar, False Alliance at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, JAN. 30 

CHILDREN 

Lunar New Year Celebration for the whole family with lion dancing, Taiko drumming, mochi pounding and hands-on arts activities from noon to 4 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts., Oakland. www.museumca.org 

FILM 

David Thomson History of Hollywood: “Heat” at 5 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with Stellasue Lee and Alison Luterman at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

“The Art of Living Black” Artists’ talk at 2 p.m. at Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Ave., Richmond. 620-6772. www.therichmondartcenter.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Opera “Il Trittico” at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater. Tickets are $15-$40. 925-798-1300. www.berkeleyopera.org 

Ciaramella Composers of Liege and Burgundy 1400-1477 at 5 p.m. at MusicSources, 1000 The Alameda. 528-1685. www.sfems.org/musicsources  

Cirque Eloize at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $26-$48. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

“Ragamala Paintings” a musical performance by Rita Sahai, at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Manose, Himalayan flautist plays raga, Nepali folk, fusion and rock, at 7 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Donation $10-$20. 527-0450. 

Pappa Gianni and the North Beach Band from 2 to 5 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Flameco Open Stage with Yaelisa at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Lecture/demonstration at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Mark Hummel & The Blues Survivors at 4:30 at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Mike Marshall & Choro Famoso, Brazilian swing jazz fusion, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

MONDAY, JAN. 31 

FILM 

Seeing Through the Screen: Buddhism and Film, “Waking Life” at 3 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Samina Ali talks about life as a Muslim woman in “Madras on Rainy Days” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Laurence Gonzales discusses “Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Poetry Express with Ian Hoffman, Victor Infante and Lea Deschenes from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Gift Horse, fiddle duo, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Songwriters Symposium at 8:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

John Jorgenson Quintet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Oh joy, it’s January and the acacias are blooming. 

You’d think it would be pure joy, all these showy yellow flowers when it’s still winter. I used to like them in a uncomplicated fashion myself, but now I have a double grudge against them. Unlike most flowers that are this showy, acacia blossoms are allergenic, and I’m allergic to them. We’ve had a few nice days, the winds are relatively lazy, and ow, my sinuses; oh, my lungs. 

My bigger grudge is with just a few species—the same ones that are annoying me personally, for the most part. Acacia dealbata, Acacia decurrens, and a smaller, shrubby, thorny relative, Acacia paradoxa, have all escaped cultivation here and invaded wildlands. I believe Acacia melanoxylon is out there too, though the state officially calls it “rare” as an invader. 

The problem with letting exotic trees replace natives is this: Wildlands aren’t ornamental gardens. Whether they look pretty to us is a minor matter. They’re workplace and pantry, as well as home, to every wild species we have—bugs and birds, fish and frogs, lizards and lions, and other plants as well. What looks like another green thing to us looks and tastes and acts very different to anyone who has to eat it, and many of our wild neighbors find an acacia, like many other exotics, completely useless. It’s as if we’d replaced everything in the grocery store with that spooky plastic reproduction food you see in the windows of sushi bars. The fact that little or nothing eats them is one reason invasives manage to invade, and often look healthier than they do in their home ranges. Biologically, they don’t pay their way. 

They aren’t standard common street trees, at least. There are a few senior specimens left along Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, just across the border into Oakland. Most of the ones I notice are in parks or yards. A couple of the species here have one oddity: when they’re young, they have the feathery compound leaves that mark acacias, but as they age they grow simple, leathery blade-shaped “leaves” which are actually phyllodes, expanded petioles. (Petioles are the stem bits that hold leaves onto twigs.) If you cut a branch back far enough that it sends out sprout from its oldest wood, it might revert to the juvenile compound leaves. Go ahead, torture them, I don’t care. 

Aside from the leaves, you can tell most of the local acacias by their yellow flowers. Some of them even smell nice, if you dare to get close enough. Bees like them. Hmph. 

The reason acacias are here is that they’re handsome plants. You’ve doubtless seen that PBS photograph of an African plain with some large animal and a graceful flat-topped tree against a rosy sunset. That’s an acacia. Maybe a periodic giraffe drive from the Oakland Zoo along Route 13 would serve as a control, and they could sell tickets to the parade route. Koa, the mighty Hawai’ian canoe tree, is an acacia. (That’s one of those that have bladelike phyllodes.) The wattles of Australia are acacias. There are about 800 species of them around the world. 

There are several Central American and African species, the swollen-thorn acacias, that house symbiotic species of ants in those swollen thorns. The ants defend the tree from insect and even animal predators by rushing out and biting the bejabbers out of them with their formic-acid-laden jaws; in turn, the acacia gives them fortified homes in the hollow, swollen thorns. 

Acacias tend to be nitrogen fixers—they have associated bacteria that take nitrogen from the atmosphere and add it to the soil. Koas even have nitrogen-fixing nodules above the ground. Making fertilizer is a good quality in a farm crop, not so much in a wildland plant here because it favors the growth of other invasives. Like many nitrogen fixers, some acacias have nutritious, relatively high-protein seeds that are traditional human foods in their home ranges. Some are being considered for cultivation, because they’re drought-tolerant, generally tough, and because tree crops use less in the way of resources in the long run. 

All very well if we were farming or even eating them. Inhaling them, though, makes it hard to appreciate those cheerful yellow posies. 

TUESDAY, JAN. 25 

Bird Walk in Tilden Meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Little Train parking lot, Lomas Cantadas and Grizzly Peak Blvd. to look for birds of the grassland and great views. 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. Meet at 10 a.m. at Sobrante Ridge to explore this ecosystem and visit a rare stand of Alameda manzanita. Registration required. 525-2233.  

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

“The Future of Education Funding in California” with Ken Hall, Chairman, School Services of California at 7 p.m. in the Berkeley High Library, corner of Addison and Milvia. 644-8549. www.berkeley.k12.ca.us 

Best Ski Tours in the Sierra and Beyond with Marcus Libkind, founder of Snowlands Networks, at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

“Epiphany West 2005: Truth and Dialogue” a conference with theologians exploring issues facing the Episcopal Church today, through Jan. 29, at Church Divinity School of the Pacific, 2451 Ridge Rd. 204-0720. www.cdsp.edu 

Ralph Nader, Matt Gonzales and Guests “End the Iraq War and Occupation” at 5 p.m. at St. Marks Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. Cost is $5-$10. 213-1569. 

Mills College MBA Open House at 7 p.m. at Reinhardt Hall, Mills College. For information call 430-3173. 

Sing-A-Long every Tues. from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic. All ages welcome. 524-9122. 

“Getting Along with Your Adult Children” a participatory workshop at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $35-$40. 848-0327, ext. 110. www.brjcc.org 

Berkeley PC Users Group Problem solving and beginners meeting to answer, in simple English, users questions about Windows computers. At 7 p.m. at 1145 Walnut St., near corner of Eunice St. All welcome, no charge. 527-2177.  

Organic Produce at low prices sold at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon Streets every Tuesday from 3 to 6 p.m. This is a project of Spiral Gardens. 843-1307. 

Family Story Time at the Kensington Branch Library, Tues. evenings at 7 p.m. at 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

School Age Storytime for ages 5 and up at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext.17.  

Brainstormer Weekly Pub Quiz every Tuesday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Pyramid Alehouse Brewery, 901 Gilman St. 528-9880. 

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  

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. 

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 26 

Winter Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes and a warm hat. Heavy rain cancels. 548-9840. 

“Children of the Dirt” and “The Tour, Baby!” Special screening of two great bicycling films at 7 p.m. at Berkeley High School Community Theater, enter on Allston Way across from Civic Center Park. Cost is $10, proceeds benefit the NorCal High School Mountain Biking League. 325-6502. www.norcalmtb.org 

“The Downside: No State Money, Crumbling Cities” with Terri Waller, Research Coordinator, Assemblywoman Loni Hancock’s office and Phil Kamlarz, Berkeley City Manager at 1:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Sponsored by the Berkeley Gray Panthers. 548-9696. 

“Radical Islamist Thoelogy: What Does it Mean for the Jews” with Yitzhak Santis of the Jewish Community Relations Council at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. 839-2900, ext. 211. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers interested in helping in Berkeley Public schools at 7 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

“Dead Man” Jim Jarmusch film of an accountant on a spiritual quest at 7 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Free, $5 donations accepted. 393-5685. 

Artify Ashby Muralist Group meets every Wed. from 5 to 8 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, to plan a new mural. New artists are welcome. Call Bonnie at 704-0803. 

Stitch ‘n Bitch Bring your knitting, crocheting and other handcrafts from 6 to 9 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198. 

Gelateria Naia Blood Drive from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 2106 Shattuck Ave. To make an appointment, stop by the store or call 883-1568.  

Tap Into It Jazz and Rhythm Tap classes at Montclair Recreation Center, 6300 Moraga Ave., Oakland. Experienced at 6:30 p.m., beginners at 7:30 p.m. 482-7812. 

“Radical Islamist Ideology: What Does it Mean for the Jews” with Yitzhak Santis at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $5. 848-0327, ext. 110. www.brjcc.org 

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

vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, JAN. 27 

“The Death Penalty on Trial” with Cold Case Files executive producer and American Justice anchor Bill Kurtis, author of the new book “The Death Penalty on Trial” and UCB law professor Frank Zimring, author of “The Contradiction of American Capital Punishment,” at 6:30 p.m. at The Independent Institute, 100 Swan Way, Oakland. Cost is $15 for non-members. Reservations required. 632-1366. 

Black August Organizing Committee Fundraiser with Fred Hampton Jr., Chairman of the Chicago Chapter of the POCC, and Tarika Lewis, the first woman to join the Black Panthers, at 6 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. 658-7079. 

Berkeley Gray Panthers Older People United discussion group for elders over 75, at 1:30 p.m. at 103 Addison St. 548-9696. 

“The Legacy of the Pinochet Case” with Judge Carlos Castresana Fernández of the Central Prosecution Service Against Corruption in the Attorney General’s Office in Spain, at 4 p.m. in the Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall, UC Campus. 642-2088. 

“Seeds of Learning: Creating a Biblical Garden” with Shirley Pinchev Sidell at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $5. 848-0327, ext. 110. www.brjcc.org 

FRIDAY, JAN. 28 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Leslie Michael on “OSHA.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $13, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020. 

“Sierra Birds: A Hiker’s Guide” Dinner, lecture and slide show with author Jack Laws at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Yacht Club, One Seawall Drive. Tickets are $20, benefits the Sierra Club. For reservations, call 526-2494. 

“The Pinochet Case” a film directed by Patricio Guzmán at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the CLAS Conference Room, 2334 Bowditch St. 642-3260. www.clas.berkeley.edu 

Ice Cream Social and Family Fun Night at the Berkeley YMCA from 7 to 9 p.m. to raise funds for Save the Children and World Vision for tsunami relief. Sponsored jointly by Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action and Berkeley Youth United in Action. 658-2467. 

What Kind of State Are You Livin’ In? anarchist hip hop propaganda at 7 p.m. at the AK Press Warehouse, 674-A 23rd. St., Oakland. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

African American Health Summit Health Expo Public nutrition and exercise health fair, free, everyone invited. From 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Oakland Marriott City Center. 

Literary Friends meets at 1:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley enior Center to discuss Limericks. 549-1879. 

Berkeley Chess Club meets Fridays at 7:15 p.m. at the East Bay Chess Club, 1940 Virginia St. Players at all levels are welcome. 845-1041. 

“Three Beats for Nothing” a group that meets to sing, mostly 16th century harmony, for fun and practice, at 10 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 655-8863, 843-7610.  

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. wibberkeley@yahoo.com 548-6310, 845-1143. 

Meditation, Peace Vigil and Dialogue, gather at noon on the grass close to the West Entrance to UC Berkeley, on Oxford St. near University Ave. People of all traditions are welcome to join us. Sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. 655-6169. www.bpf.org 

Shabbat with Kol Hadash at 7:30 p.m. at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. info@kolhadash.org 

SATURDAY, JAN. 29 

“Winter Blooms!” Free garden tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden. Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. 845-4116. www.nativeplants.org 

Wetland Planting with Save The Bay Winter restoration activities include planting native seedlings, non-native plant removal, site monitoring, and shoreline clean-up. From 9 a.m. to noon at Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland. 452-9261, ext. 109. dshea@savesfbay.org 

Tour and Restoration of Rheem Creek in North Richmond from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. meeting at Parchester Village Community Center, 900 Williams Drive, Richmond. Reservations requested. 644-2900, ext 109. 

Fruit Tree Pruning at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. www.magicgardens.com 

Human Rights in Haiti with Fr. G´rard Jean-Juste, a freed Haitian political prisoner at 7:30 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Suggested donation $5-$15. 558-9010. 

Emergency Response Training Class on “Shelter Operations” from 9 a.m. to noon at the Fire Dept. Training Center, 997 Cedar St. To register call 981-5606. www.ci.berkeley.ca. 

us/fire/oes.html 

“Conscious Cabaret” Awakening Consciousness through Comedy Theater with Errol & Rochelle Alicia Strider at 8 p.m. at Unity of Berkeley, 2075 Eunice St. Cost is $15, or two for $25. 528-8844. www.unityberkeley.org 

Community Sing and Lighting of the Abalone Altar with the Threshold Choir at 7 p.m. at Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. The Threshold Choir is composed of Bay Area women who sing at the bedsides of those who are dying. Suggested donation $10, benefit for Tsunami Relief. http://thresholdchoir.org 

“Pola’s March” with filmmaker Jonathan Gruber and Pola Susswein, with dinner and Havdalah at 6:45 p.m. at Congregation Beth El, 2301 Vine St. at Arch. Donation $10, call for reservations 848-3988, ext. 11. 

“The Cahokia Native Indians of North America” lecture at 7:30 p.m. at New Acropolis Cultural Association, 1700 Dwight Way. 665-3740. guy@acropolis.org 

Design and Build Workshop Learn the details of a successful remodeling project. From 9 a.m. to noon at Truitt and White Conference Center, 1817 2nd St. Cost is $25-$30, registration required. 558-8030. 

Pre-School Storytime for ages 3-5 at 11 a.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext.17. Ends Feb 19 

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

SUNDAY, JAN. 30 

Newt Walk Join the (almost) annual trek to Sindicich Lagoons, breeding grounds for the California newt. Hike is about five miles up and over the Briones Crest. Children age 8 and up welcome. Bring lunch and liquids. Meet at 10 a.m. in the upper parking lot at the Bear Creek Rd. entrance. 525-2233. 

The Hidden World of Cryptogamic Plants An introduction to mosses, lichens, liverworts, and ferns. We will learn how to identify them, then take a walk in the garden. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Visitor Center, Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Cost is $40 members/$45 nonmembers. 845-4116. 

“Ralph Bunche and the Evolution of Human Rights” an address by Charles P. Henry, Prof. of African American Studies, UCB, at 3:25 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. Free. www.unaeastbay.org 

Conscientious Objection in the 21st Century Worried about the draft, military recruiters, or militarism in our schools? Berkeley Quakers invite you to presentations by Dan Seeger, plaintiff in the U.S. landmark CO decision, and Steve Morse, of Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, at 1 p.m., at Berkeley Friends Meetinghouse, corner of Vine and Walnut. 525-2390. 

Lunar New Year Celebration for the whole family with lion dancing, Taiko drumming, mochi pounding and hands-on arts activities from noon to 4 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts., Oakland. www.museumca.org 

Family Mardi Gras Art Afternoon from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Arlington Community Church, United Church of Christ, 52 Arlington Ave., Kensington. Come make a mask and learn some of the history of Mardi Gras. Free, but reservations requested. 526-9146. 

White Elephant Preview Sale from noon to 4 p.m. at the WES warehouse, 333 Lancaster St. at Glasscock, Oakland. Benefit for the Oakland Museum. Tickets are $12.50 in advance, $15 at the door. 238-2200. www.museum.ca.org 

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

“The Last Sephardic Jew” a film about a young rabbi who takes a journey back into history at 2 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $5. 848-0327, ext. 110. www.brjcc.org 

Tibetan Buddhism with Abbe Blum on “What is Knowledge of Freedom?” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, JAN. 31 

Tea and Hike at Four Taste some of the finest teas from the Pacific Rim and South Asia and learn their natural and cultural history, followed by a short nature walk. At 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park. Cost is $5-$7, registration required. 525-2233. 

“Approaches to Adequacy: What Are Essential Elements of Schools?” with David Conley, Associate Professor, University of Oregon, at 7 p.m. in the Berkeley High Library, corner of Addison and Milvia Sts. 644-8549. www.berkeley.k12.ca.us 

Mystical Music, Poetry, and the Sufi Zikr at 7 p.m. at the M.T.O. Center, 2855 Telegraph Ave., Suite 101. Free but please call to reserve a seat. 704-1888.  

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people 60 years and over meets Mondays at 9:15 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Join at any time. Cost is $2.50 with refreshments. 524-9122. 

Bayswater Book Club meets to discuss “Rabbi Paul” by Bruce Chilton at 6:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble Coffee Shop, El Cerrito Plaza. 433-2911. 

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 

Albany Berkeley Girls Softball League is looking for girls in grades 1-8 to play girls softball. Season runs March 5-June 4. Scholarships available. To register call 869-4277.  

Dance Access & Dance Access/KIDS! offers creative dance classes for children and teens with and without physical disabilities. All classes are held at Eighth Street Studios, 2525 Eighth St. Pre- registration is required. 625-0110. alisa@axisdance.org  

Docent Training for the Magnes Museum for those interested in Jewish culture, history and art. Classes will be held on Thurs. evenings starting Feb. 3, at the Museum, 2911 Russell St. For more information contact Faith Powell at 549-6933. 

“Half Pint Library” Book Drive Donate children’s books to benefit Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland. Donations accepted at 1849 Solano Ave. through March 31. 

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

Berkeley Rhino Rugby Club is are seeking new high school age players for the Spring 2005 season. No experience required. Practices are Tues. and Thurs. 5 to 7 p.m. at San Pablo Park. 466-5113. 

CITY MEETINGS 

City Council meets Tues., Jan. 25, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

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

commissions/civicarts 

Disaster Council meets Wed. Jan. 26, at 7 p.m., at the Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. William Greulich, 981-5502. www.ci.berkeley.ca. us/commissions/disaster 

Energy Commission meets Wed., Jan. 26, at 6:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Neal De Snoo, 981-5434. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/energy 

Planning Commission meets Wed., Jan. 26 at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Janet Homrighausen, 981-7484. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/planning 

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs., Jan. 27, at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Oscar Sung, 981-5400. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/housing

A certain quiet seemed to gather over Berkeley on Thursday morning. As President Bush was inaugurated for his second term, it seemed many in Berkeley could only sit and watch in displeasure. 

The same was not true for a group of protesters who gathered at the Downtown Berkeley BART station. Armed with the poem, “Let America Be America Again,” by Langston Hughes, those gathered at the BART read the poem again and again, played music and read their own work and that of others.  

“We are listening to dea d language from D.C.,” said Al Young, a Berkeley poet and author. “I know what Hughes meant when he said, ‘Let America Be America Again.’” 

“O, let America be America again— 

The land that never has been yet— 

And yet must be—the land where every man is f ree. 

The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME— 

Who made America, 

Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, 

Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,  

Must bring back our mighty dream again.”  

The crowd, a mix of the yo ung and old, included several City Council members, the mayor and Ishmael Reed, the Oakland author and old friend of Hughes.  

Bill Trampleasure, a Berkeley resident, carried his United Nations flag and wore an American flag shirt, he explained, to reclai m the symbol. 

“When a nation loves itself more than the earth it shared with everyone, it’s trouble, war and destruction,” he said. 

Near the end of the event, Yaljfir Kafei, a.k.a Sleepee Bone Messiah, a 22-year-old hip-hop artist from Oakland, took the stage to recite a song called, “Breakin’ Away.” Raising his fists, and almost shouting into the mike, Kafei told a story about the world he knows as a young man. 

“It’s important to be here today because this country is built on blood and war, people are still eating unhealthy food, and living in ghettos,” he said. “It makes me sick to my stomach.”  

Earlier in the morning, Not In Our Name draped a large banner protesting the inauguration from the pedestrian bridge over Interstate-80 near the marina, slo wing early commute traffic along the highway.›

The City Council gave the go ahead Tuesday to the Seagate Building, which when completed will rise nine stories—the third tallest building in Berkeley. 

In other matters, the council endorsed the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and assigned the city’s air rights at the Ashby BART Station along the east side of Adeline Street to a consortium of disability organizations. In addition, the council held off voting on a plan to reduce auto lanes on Marin Avenue after holding a public hearing where 42 residents split on the issue. 

Seagate developer Darrell de Tienne of Seagate Properties Inc. said he planned to start demolition work sometime between March and June. When completed, the building slated for Center Street just west of Shattuck Avenue will rise 115 feet, include theater space, a retail shop and 149 apartments. 

Despite an 8-0-1 vote (Worthington, abstain) denying the appeal to Seagate’s use permit granted by the Zoning Adjustment Board (ZAB), several councilmembers criticized concessions given to the developer to maximize profits. 

In a separate motion, the council voted unanimously for a Planning Commission review of city procedures allowing extra stories for including art space and affordable units. 

At issue was city staff’s rationale for applying the two bonuses to maximize the building’s height from five stories to nine and its interpretation of affordable housing law to allow the below-market units to have on average fewer bedrooms and amenities. 

“I know this is a capitalist society and there is a certain hierarchy related to wealth and class,” said Councimember Max Anderson. “But I expected in Berkeley that we would take special care that we didn’t perpetuate those kinds of policies.” 

Nevertheless Anderson voted for the building, saying he couldn’t look a constituent in the eye if he opposed a project that provides affordable housing. 

Several councilmembers said that the building’s potential to lure upper income residents to the downtown and raise revenues outweighed concerns about process. “We have to stimulate the economy to broaden the tax base and pay for those things we value,” said Councilmember Linda Maio. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington, fearing the opponents of the plan might file suit against the city, requested the council delay a vote until after a public hearing. Only Councilmember Dona Spring joined Worthington’s motion. 

Marin Avenue 

The council postponed until Tuesday its decision on the future of Marin Avenue, home to 21,000 daily car trips and the preferred route for many in North Berkeley to reach I-80.  

With Albany already set to re-stripe the bulk of the lower portion of Marin from four lanes of car traffic to two lanes with a center turning lane and side bicycle lanes, Berkeley has proposed to follow suit on four additional blocks heading east to The Alameda. 

Among the speakers at the meeting, the majority of those who lived on Marin supported the plan, arguing that speeding cars endanger pedestrians and bicyclists. Most of the speakers from nearby side streets or the Berkeley hills opposed it for fear that it would disperse traffic onto their streets and slow commute times. 

“I hope it does divert a little traffic,” said Dale Nesbitt, a Marin Avenue resident. “How would you like it if there were 21,000 cars zipping down your street so its too dangerous to cross.” 

“I feel bad for the people on Marin, but it’s a highway,” said Howard Stone, who lives near the avenue. 

Motorists average 31 mph on Marin, six miles above the speed limit, according to a report from the traffic engineering firm Fehr and Pierce. From 2001 through 2003, there were 114 collisions on the section of the avenue encompassed by the plan, according to the report. 

Last June, Berkeley resident Thomas Bowen was killed crossing Marin at Modoc Street when the driver in the inside lane didn’t see Bowen crossing the intersection, his neighbor John Stoops told the council 

Unconvinced that the re-striping project would improve safety, Michael Katz recommend the council take targeted pedestrian initiatives instead, like new traffic signals, while Albany tried re-striping. “It would be a wonderful controlled experiment,” he said. 

If approved, the $30,000 re-striping project would be reviewed after one year. City staff has pledged to perform before and after traffic studies at nine intersections to monitor the program’s success. 

Pressed by Councilmember Laurie Capitelli whether a 20 percent increase in traffic volume on side streets would be considered a limited diversion, City Bicycle Planner Heath Maddox replied that the city had not yet set thresholds for acceptable levels of traffic diversion. 

Other Matters 

The council voted unanimously to reject a proposed three-story house in the Berkeley hills that would have blocked the bay views of an existing house directly to the east.  

“If you’re here first, you shouldn’t have your view blocked by a neighbor’s construction,” said Mayor Tom Bates. 

The council instructed the ZAB to require the owner of the proposed home to either reduce it by one story or move it to the back of the lot. 

›

Berkeley’s town-gown dispute moved one step closer to the courtroom Thursday when the UC Board of Regents certified UC Berkeley’s 15-year-expansion plan. 

“They’ve really put our backs to the wall,” said Mayor Tom Bates Tuesday after the Regents Committee on Grounds and Buildings unanimously recommended the plan for approval. Hours after the committee meeting, the City Council voted to proceed with a lawsuit. 

Meanwhile the two sides remain several million apart on how much the university should pay the city as compensation for its exemption from city taxes that pay for services such as the fire department and sewers. 

The university has offered to boost its annual payments by about $500,000 to $1.1 million, said UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau after Tuesday’s committee meeting. City officials, facing a $7.5 million deficit this year, are holding out for between $3 and $5 million annually, according to UC spokesperson Trey Davis. 

Last year, the city released a consultant’s report that calculated the city lost $11 million annually in unpaid services to the university. UC officials criticized the study for not factoring in university contributions to the city’s economy. 

Bates refused to disclose the city’s proposal, but said he was asking that the university pay in the neighborhood of $1.7 million for fire services and $1.4 million for sewers.  

Chancellor Birgeneau argued that annual payments of $3 million would cost 300 students the chance to attend the university. “We’re willing to help [the city] in any way except take 300 students out of the university,” he said. 

The university’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) projects 2.2 million square feet of new administration and academic space, 2,600 new dorm beds and 1,800 to 2,300 new parking spaces by 2020. The university would defer 500 parking spaces if AC Transit builds a planned rapid bus system to serve the campus. 

City officials charge that the plan will further congest city streets and give UC Berkeley a blank check for a building boom that would strain city services and skirt strict environmental review. 

At Tuesday’s committee meeting, the mayor urged the Regents’ committee to postpone a vote until March to bolster the city’s negotiating leverage. 

“I believe if you ratify this we will be at a competitive disadvantage with the university,” he said. “They’ll have gotten what they need and can move forward.” 

Regent Odessa Johnson rejected the mayor’s argument, saying that the differences would take more than a few months to iron out and that the Regents would monitor negotiations even thought the plan’s approved. “I’m sure Berkeley will keep us informed how [the negotiations] go,” she said. 

Beyond the issue of university payments, the city has also failed to compel the university to pinpoint the exact location of new construction and set thresholds for which projects would require environmental impact reports—the most stringent form of environmental review.  

More progress has been made in bridging the divide over parking. UC Berkeley is offering to trim the number of new parking spaces further to below 1,800, and is looking to include BART as part of its faculty transit pass, said Irene Hegarty, the university’s director of community relations.  

Despite the Regents’ decision, Bates still hoped to avert a lawsuit, which he estimated would cost the city $250,000. A lawsuit could stall university construction on an Asian studies center whose EIR is tied to the long range plan and, if successful, could force the university to revise the plan. 

Should the city file suit, Bates expects it will retain as its lead attorney Michelle Kanyon of the Oakland firm McDonough Holland & Allen PC. 

At Tuesday’s committee meeting, Bates was joined by Councilmembers Gordon Wozniak, Darryl Moore, Linda Maio and Kriss Worthington, about a dozen city residents and two UC Berkeley student leaders. 

Addressing student concerns over the proposed increase in parking spaces, ASUC Executive Affairs Vice President Liz Hall told the committee, “If you’re really concerned about sustainability, you will send this plan back to UC Berkeley.” 

Andrea Pflaumer, a member of Berkeleyans for a Livable University Environment, urged the university to locate new research facilities in Oakland and Richmond. “Rather than make Berkeley bust at the seams any further, the university could use new facilities to help communities in a much broader area,” she said. 

In addressing the committee, Chancellor Birgeneau defended the plan’s scope of new development as well as its lack of specifics as necessary to meet future demand for research facilities. 

“More and more of the responsibility for research in the U.S. is falling on universities,” he said, adding that new endeavors like state-funded stem cell research meant that the university must keep its building plans flexible. 

A throng of anxious residents and two city councilmembers turned out Wednesday to meet the new owners, operators and remodellers of Berkeley’s long-troubled Harriet Tubman Terrace Apartments. 

They emerged from the meeting with significant concessions, especially a promise that no resident would have to pay anything during the days they’d be moved out of their apartments during renovations. 

Poorly maintained and long-plagued by drug, crime and accountability problems, the 91-unit senior housing complex at 2781 Adeline St. hasn’t officially changed hands, though residents learned that final approval by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development is expected soon. 

Unlike most affordable senior housing in the city, Tubman is owned by a for-profit company. The outgoing owner, Los Angeles-based Century Pacific Housing Partnership, is selling to another for-profit, New Jersey-based Michaels Development. 

Though the sale isn’t final, pending approval by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), city officials scheduled the Wednesday meeting out of concerns that tenants of the affordable housing complex hadn’t been properly informed of the potential impacts of the sale. 

“They sent out two letters at our insistence, and we didn’t consider either one to be adequate,” said City Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who attended the session along with his recently elected colleague, Max Anderson. 

“There have been enormous worries and concerns among tenants that the change of ownership could mean that they could no longer afford the units. Their letters didn’t address the issue of affordability,” Worthington said after the meeting. 

Following the meeting, Residents and Tenants Council President Barry C. Gardner Jr. said he was pleased with most of what he heard, but wanted a second meeting to address residents’ security concerns. 

Speakers included officials from Michaels; Interstate Realty Management, the firm which will manage repairs and finances at the Adeline Street facility; a vice president of Icon Builders, which will conduct sorely needed repairs; and the executive director of Pacific Housing Inc., the non-profit firm that will provide education, training, recreation and other services for residents. 

“We know you have lots of concerns,” Bill Scheidig, MIchaels’ vice president of construction, told the 80 or so residents gathered in Tubman’s multipurpose room. “We thought it in your best interests to call you together and let you know what’s going to occur. We’ll be doing rehabilitation and remodeling early this year.” 

When one resident asked Scheidig if Michaels would retain the same on-site staff, his affirmative response drew applause from the audience.  

Residents expressed delight again when he assured them that their rents wouldn’t be going up, though subsidies might increase for his firm. 

One of the happiest bits of news for many residents was the announcement that Harriet Tubman Terrace would continue as affordable housing for the next 55 years, ensuring guaranteed housing for as long as current residents are alive. But the promised improvements also ranked high on their lists.  

Carin Schmidt, vice president and senior project manager for Icon, said her crews would be installing new kitchens in all the units, including floors and hardware, installing new toilets and shower valves as well as linoleum and fresh paint in all the bathrooms, putting in new windows, screens and patio doors and adding new smoke detectors and sensors in all units that will turn on entry hall lights when the door is opened. 

Other improvements will include adding two new boilers to improve the facility’s often ailing steam heating system, upgrading elevators, replacing the roof, renovating the entryway and repairing broken sidewalks and walkways. 

Under state and federal housing fund allocation statutes, a non-profit must be the managing partner of any subsidized housing project owned by a for-profit company. In the new Tubman Terrace ownbership structure, Sacramento-based Pacific Housing Inc. is the non-profit minority owner and managing partner. 

Cynthia Brooks, the tenant services manager, promised that residents would have a full range of programs, including table games, bingo, a regular game night and other activities based on a survey of resident interests. 

“We’re here to make that happen, and we anticipate we will begin our services in the summer,” she said. 

Scheidig, a property manager for 25 years, said construction would take from six to nine months. “We want to be completely done this year, and we’ll be doing 12 apartments a week. Residents will need to be out of their apartments for two days while working is going on.” 

“We’re all happy to see the renovation, but I’m concerned about the adequacy of the relocation allowance,” said Anderson, who was elected to the City Council in November. “I’m anxious that the changes be as smooth as possible, and I’m concerned with the people and their needs while all this is happening.” 

“There is a $200 allowance management will provide on the day of each move,” Scheidig said. “We will help relocating them for those two days if needed. We will select a hotel, but if they want to go and stay with friends, they’ll still get the money.” 

“People also need transportation, too,” said a resident. 

“I really want to hear a commitment from you that none of these residents will incur any expenses,” said Anderson. “The expenses this lady alluded to are real expenses. I don’t know of any hotel in Berkeley that rents rooms under $100 a night, and I want to make sure no one incurs any expenses.” 

“We can commit to that,” said Chuck Durnin, vice president of Interstate Realty Management. 

“Good,” said Anderson to the residents’ applause. 

Following the meeting, Anderson and Worthington expressed qualified satisfaction. 

“It’s an important step to have renovations for these seniors who have wanted them for a long time,” Anderson said. “I was also pleased at the significant commitment they made that tenants won’t suffer any out-of-pocket expenses—and my office is available to advocate for them if they have any problems.” 

“I want to see their promises in writing,” Worthington said. “We’ll write up a letter saying what we understand they said, and we’ll ask them to confirm it in writing to the residents, especially the agreement to cover expenses in case some residents have to be out of their apartments for a third night.” 

Residents and Tenants Council President Gardner said he was pleased at the outcome of Wednesday’s session, but cautioned than much remains to be done. 

A former HUD investigator, Gardner said safety concerns remain a big issue, especially problems with drug dealers who some residents invite into the building. 

“I have good relations with the police, and we had a narcotics raid here in June where four people were arrested, and that’s a bigger problem than all of the physical stuff with the building,” he said. “We have transients coming in through the front door, and I advise tenants not to talk to them because they’re dangerous. That’s the key thing now.” 

During the meeting, Michaels officials outlined plans to redo the entrance and lobby, but Gardner said additional steps are needed to ensure tenants safety. 

Gardner said the physical problems were real, due mainly to cheap construction methods. “They used aluminum wiring instead of copper, and the pipes are poor quality and can’t carry enough steam pressure to reach all the units adequately. 

“But we have these people coming in most nights, and that’s a far bigger problem.” 

Gardner liked what he heard about the new management. 

“The last time I saw any official from Gateway Properties of Fresno, the old management company, was back in April or May.” 

Chabad of San Francisco, an Orthodox Jewish congregation, had been listed as the previous tenant service provider, but Gardner said he hadn’t seen anyone from the group in years. Chabad did not return calls for this article. 

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With no dissent and much praise, the Berkeley Unified School District’s Board of Directors approved Berkeley High School’s third small school this week. 

The new School of Social Justice and Ecology (SSJE) is scheduled to join BHS’ Communications Arts and Science and Community Partnership Academy in the fall with a freshman enrollment of 56. 

The SSJE was listed on the board’s agenda as a conference item for possible placement on a future agenda, but the Board decided to act on it immediately instead. 

In an emotional scene in board chambers following the vote, SSJE promoters exchanged hugs with each other and with BHS principal Jim Slemp, and received handshakes of congratulations from board members. 

The BUSD board has committed itself to remaking the 3,000-student BHS into a half-small-school environment by the end of the next school year. 

Slemp noted that while BHS’ first two small schools were crafted out of existing school programs, SSJE was put together “from scratch.” 

Board Vice President Terry Doran called the approval of the school a major step “in a long journey to improve Berkeley High. This is so much greater than my original narrow vision of what was needed at the high school 15 years ago.” 

Student Director Lily Dorman-Colby said that she was particularly impressed with SSJE’s proposal to have students assigned to a single counselor to track them throughout their four years at the school. 

“The problem with Berkeley High is that there are opportunities, but only if you can get to them,” she said. “There’s nobody holding your hand.” 

BHS teacher Joel Hildebrandt, who will be moving from the larger school to teach at SSJE, said, “the climate has changed so that small schools are now in the forefront of Berkeley High. We’re making presentations to the board, instead of meeting in someone’s basement.” 

Hildebrandt was among five presenters at this week’s meeting. He was joined by parent Gina Wolley and BHS senior Scott Rasmussen, who worked on the SSJE proposal for more than a year even though he would never be able to attend the school. 

They presented a 43-page proposal and accompanying PowerPoint slideshow describing a school where science, math, and literacy will be blended together in a curriculum that emphasizes leadership, training and critical thinking, and where students will take trips to such locations as the Galapagos Islands and the Costa Rican rainforests to study ecology. 

Presenters stressed that while SSJE will have a higher graduation standard than most of Berkeley High (the goal will be UC-CSU-qualified for all graduates), grades and test scores are intended to be means to an end, rather than ends in themselves. One presenter noted that students will be allowed to retake tests and rewrite papers until they are satisfied with the results, with teachers acting more as collaborators than authority figures. 

“This is not going to be a ‘rip-and-rote’ environment,” she said. 

Math teacher George Palen explained that “learning at SSJE will be based on inquiry and problem-solving.” Rasmussen added that “SSJE will make high school not something to survive, but an experience to cherish. The most important thing is that students will be able to see their teachers in a new light, as real people.” 

The school board is scheduled to review an application for BHS’ fourth small school—the Arts and Humanities Academy—at its Feb. 2 meeting. 

In other action at Wednesday’s meeting, the board authorized the creation of an advisory committee to review the possible sale of the building and property at the old Hillside School, after rejecting a proposal to expand the committee to advise on all possible surplus properties in the district. 

Saying that he is “not willing to concede any other properties at the present time,” Director John Selawsky said that “surplusing school property is an extreme action and I don’t plan to make a habit of it.” 

The Hillside property has been ruled unsuitable for public school use because it sits directly on the Hayward earthquake fault. The board’s action in setting up the committee does not commit the district to selling the Hillside property, but only preserves that as a legal option. Those wishing to serve on the Hillside Surplus Advisory Committee were asked to contact the office of the superintendent or individual board members. 

The board also postponed, at Board President Nancy Riddle’s request, approval of a budget timeline so that Superintendent Michele Lawrence could include times for input from the district’s various budget advisory panels, especially the Planning and Oversight Committee of the Berkeley Schools Excellence Project. 

Riddle said these committees are “important to the budget process. Putting them in the timeline demonstrates to them and to the public at large our recognition of that importance.” 

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God of Compassion,  

You let your rain fall on the just and the unjust,  

Expand and deepen our hearts so that we may love as You love,  

Even those among us who have caused the greatest pain by taking life. For there is in our land a great cry for vengeance as we fill up death rows and kill the killers in the name of justice, in the name of peace.  

—Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ  

Gilbert Saavedra took a small photo from his jacket pocket: a smiling Patty Geddling, murdered in 1981 by Donald Beardslee. “She was my cousin. Tonight she’s getting justice.”  

Geddling and Stacey Benjamin were murdered in 1981 by Donald Beardslee, now 61, while he was on parole for a 1969 murder. Beardslee, administered a lethal combination of diuent, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride, was pronounced dead at 12:29 a.m. Wednesday. He had lost all legal appeals; Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denied him clemency.  

“He was found guilty by a jury of his peers. Justice is justice,” said an emotional Saavedra, who walked with a few family members among the crowd that organizers estimated at about 500 people. They gathered at the San Quentin gates to pray, meditate, cry and speak out against “state-sanctioned killing.”  

Saavedra wanted others to understand his pain. “My cousin never got to see her children grow. Never got to see her grandchildren. Patty—the victims have rights too.”  

Death penalty foes, brought together by the Bay Area Anti-Death Penalty Coalition, addressed the crowd that swelled as midnight drew near, despite the icy cold. “We know that killing people here doesn’t bring anyone back,” said Sujal Parikh, of the Berkeley chapter of the Campaign to end the Death Penalty. A Hindu, Parikh said his faith teaches that non-violence is the highest creed.  

“All the ills of society get loaded down on this person (Beardslee) and they stop his heart,” said Wilson Riles, former Oakland City Councilmember, and former Western Region director of the American Friends Service Committee. Death, he said, is something that should be left to a higher power. “How can one man do the act of God? It shouldn’t be that way.”  

Former inmate Dorsey Nunn, organizer with Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, introduced the speakers. He asked, “Ask yourself at five minutes past 12—will you be any safer?”  

Speakers, including State Assemblymembers Sally Lieber, (D-Mountain View), and Mark Leno, (D-San Francisco), condemned Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for refusing to grant Beardslee clemency.  

Talya Brott, 11, of Oakland, stood in the crowd listening and also blamed the governor. “I don’t think the death penalty is right,” she said. “Killing people who kill is contradicting themselves. Arnold Schwarzenegger can stop that right now.” If she had a chance, Talya said she would ask the governor, “What are you getting out of killing this person who is mentally impaired. You could stop it!”  

One of the defenses lawyers invoked in appeals that were denied is that Beardslee’s brain damage—he was said to have been impaired since birth, then brain damaged again in two separate accidents—was not considered and that, with modern medical equipment, the extent of the impairment could be proven.  

In a statement denying clemency, however, the governor had asserted earlier in the day, “We are not dealing here with a man who is so generally affected by his impairment that he cannot tell the difference between right and wrong.”  

While some called for a moratorium on the death penalty until the newly constituted California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice could report on the fairness and effectiveness of California’s death penalty, many in the crowd opposed it under any circumstances. 

Faye Butler, 75, of Fremont, has come to all 11 vigils with Pax Christi since 1992. “I’m not at all for vengeance. Killing doesn’t stop killing; it continues the cycle of violence,” she said. 

Sally Hindman of the Berkeley Friends Meeting believes similarly. “Killing people is wrong,” she said, “especially killing to make amends for killing.”  

Beardslee was one of 640 people on California’s death row, the largest in the nation.  

For some, opposing the death penalty may be harder than others. Lee and Murray Richardson lost their 10-year-old son to murder. They spoke earlier in the evening at a prayer vigil at Saint John’s Catholic Church in El Cerrito. 

“First there was tremendous anger, then bewilderment,” Murray Richardson said. The words of St. John’s pastor Fr. John Maxwell helped him. “I began to open my heart,” he said. The couple has come to believe that “the state is as wrong for killing murderers as it is for murderers to kill.” The Richardsons work with Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation.  

Hal Carlstad, 79, of Berkeley Unitarian Fellowship’s Social Justice Committee, chose another way to express his opposition to the death penalty. Along with Fr. Louis Vitale of St. Boniface Catholic Church in San Francisco, and three others, he was arrested blocking the gate at San Quentin on Monday. Carlstad spent the night in jail; charges were dropped Tuesday. 

The experience was instructive, he said in an interview Wednesday. His cellmate was a 24-year-old man whose father was in prison. The young man had never held a job and has a number of arrests for theft. 

“The state needs to spend its funds on programs for people like him and not on executions,” Carlstad said.  

As the 12:01 a.m. Wednesday execution time drew near, the crowd at the San Quentin gates, continuously videotaped by prison officials atop a nearby roof, became still. The saddened voice of Father Bruce Bramlett, a San Quentin spiritual advisor, came over the loud speaker. “There is no more time to teach; there is no more time to protest. It is time to pray. Brothers and sisters, let us hold each other tight.”  

Two days before a four-hour community meeting on the proposed 2,500-slot addition to the Casino San Pablo card room, Sen. Diane Feinstein’s office announced she would introduce a bill to remove the site’s eligibility for tribal gaming. 

East Bay Assemblymember Loni Hancock, who is calling the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday gathering, praised the move. 

“I’m very grateful that she’s doing it, and I hope she gets the support needed to pass it,” Hancock said. 

An earlier version of the bill failed to make it through the 108th Congress in 2003. 

U.S. Congressional Rep. George Miller had tacked on a rider to the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act of 2000, backdating the Lytton Rancheria of Pomos claim on land they purchased that year to 1988, making it eligible for a tribal casino. 

No new tribal casinos can be built on land acquired after that date unless the tribe was deemed to have unfairly lost their reservation status prior to that date. 

Feinstein’s bill would strike the line of the provision, eliminating the ability to expand the cardroom, while allowing the tribe to retain the land. 

“The people made in clear in the last election that they are concerned about increased gambling when they rejected Propositions 68 and 70,” Hancock said. 

The two measures, floated by conflicting gambling interests, would have resulted in further casino expansion. 

Hancock will be joined Saturday by two Democratic Assembly colleagues, Joe Nation from Marin County and Joe Canciamilla of Pittsburg, whose district abuts Hancock’s.  

Hancock has assembled an all-star panel featuring two of the country’s leading experts on gambling, Nelson Rose of Whittier Law School and economist William Thompson of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. 

Margie Meija, president of the Lytton Band of Pomos, will present the tribe’s perspective at the meeting. 

Among the others on the program are Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, San Pablo City Manager Brock Arner, city councilmembers from San Pablo, Richmond, Oakland, San Leandro and Alameda, and officials from the West Contra Costa County School District, CalTrans, the Hotel Employees Restaurant Employees union, the Sierra Club, and the Gambling Addiction Institute. 

Hancock said she is particularly concerned about the potential traffic impacts of “a Las Vegas-sized casino built right next to I-80” and by impacts on the nearby Doctors Hospital, the only public emergency room within a 25-mile radius.  

The Lyttons are one of five tribal groups who signed pacts with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger granting the tribes exclusive geographic franchises in exchange for 25 percent of net gambling revenues. 

The accords require legislative approval, and the San Pablo pact has been stalled after fierce opposition arose. Schwarzenegger and the tribe agreed to scale back the deal from 5,000 slot machines to 2,500, but that wasn’t enough for opponents. 

State revenues would be further reduced if two tribal groups win approval for casinos of their own at Point Molate and North Richmond—the latter a mere five or so miles from the San Pablo site. 

“Once the compact is signed, there is no guarantee that the negative effects of a giant casino will be mitigated,” Hancock said. “Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), local governments have the right to enforce mitigations, but the San Pablo agreement is only called CEQAesque. No contract should be signed in any case without provisions for strict enforcement of compliance.” 

The Lyttons are building support through an impressive media campaign. 

Tribal leaders will present San Pablo Mayor Joe Gomes with a list of 1,500 casino supporters this morning (Friday) and are expected to attend Hancock’s meeting. 

Saturday’s meeting begins at 10 a.m. in the Knox Center for the Performing Arts at Contra Costa Community College in San Pablo. 

DIRECTIONS: Take I-80 to the El Portal Drive exit, then left under the freeway, continuing westbound to Castro Drive. The center is right at the intersection.

Mired in an eight-figure debt and hemorrhaging red ink just seven months ago, Richmond has finally emerged from debt, announced City Councilmember Tom Butt 

“Just 12 months after we were hit by a fiscal train wreck,” Butt said, “the city is once again solvent with a balanced budget, no structural deficit and no cumulative deficit.”  

Butt divided the credit among his fellow councilmembers, voters who enacted a new sales tax, city employees who agreed to a 10 percent pay reduction and to new management at the upper levels of municipal government. 

As a result of the debt elimination, Butt said, Moody’s Investors has upgraded the city’s bonds four ranks to Baa2. Similar upgrades are expected form Standard & Poor’s, the other major rating service. 

If the second upgrade follows, Richmond bonds will be once again considered investment grade and the city will be once again able to turn to the market to raise needed revenues, Butt said.  

—Richard Brenneman?

In a demonstration of Ward Connerly’s ability to influence California events even on his way out the door, the University of California Board of Regents this week debated diversity issues in American law schools and passed a policy affirming intervention in the K-12 achievement gap battles in Connerly’s last meeting as a regent. 

Connerly was appointed for his eight-year term in 1993 by then-Governor Pete Wilson. The two-day Regents meeting was held at the UCSF Laurel Heights campus in San Francisco. 

At Connerly’s request, regents heard a presentation from UCLA Law School professor Richard Sander on his controversial “mismatch” theory that affirmative action policies designed to give a boost to African-American law school admissions have actually been detrimental to the African-American law school applicants themselves. 

Shortly before, the regents approved Policy RE-56, co-introduced by Connerly and Student Regent Judi Anderson, “affirming engagement in the preschool-through-postsecondary education system as fundamental to the university’s mission.” 

Connerly is well-known for his belief that affirmative action is morally wrong and should be ended, both in California and in the nation. At Connerly’s initiative, the UC Regents banned affirmative action in the UC system in 1995. A year later, California voters passed Connerly’s Proposition 209, ending the practice in state agencies. 

What is less-known and little-discussed about Connerly is his companion belief that while government has no right to intervene to end racial inequalities, it has every responsibility to make sure that underrepresented minorities are equally prepared. This week, he made good on pledges to advance that agenda as well. 

“While it’s not critical to go to college to lead a productive life, for most people it’s the ticket,” Connerly told the regents. “This policy gets the university engaged in getting all our students into higher education. It’s not an asterisk or an afterthought. It’s part of our core commitment.” 

Anderson said that the new policy “sends a message to California schools that they need to address and ameliorate educational inequality in our state.” 

The new policy acknowledges that “significant gaps in achievement exist in the pre-K-16 education system” and pledges university support and resources in an “unambiguous effort” to “reduce educational inequities.” 

The proposal calls upon “the UC President, in collaboration with the Governor, the Legislature, the other segments of California public education, and business and community leaders, develop and implement a plan for meaningful, consistent, and long-term funding” for a program of ‘Academic Preparation and Educational Partnerships’ between UC and K-12 public schools. The proposal commits UC to “broad efforts … to build the capacity of [California’s] preschool-postsecondary education system to academically prepare students for their future endeavors.” 

The proposal passed unanimously, with little discussion. 

That was not the case with Professor Sander’s “mismatch” theory presentation, which drew some 30 minutes of dissent and debate. 

Sander’s presentation was a slideshow summary of his 117-page “A Systematic Analysis of Affirmative Action in American Law Schools” published this week in the Stanford Law Review. 

In the paper, Sander concludes that “the annual production of new black lawyers would probably increase if racial preference were abolished tomorrow.” In a Los Angeles Times interview last November, Sander said, “The big picture is that this system of racial preferences is no longer clearly achieving the goal of expanding the number of black lawyers. There’s a very good chance that we’re creating such high attrition rates that we’re actually lowering production of black lawyers, and certainly we are weakening the preparation of the black lawyers we are producing.” 

In his presentation to the regents, Sander said that lowering admissions standards to allow African-Americans into top-tier law schools has produced what he calls the “cascade effect,” meaning that each succeeding tier of schools is forced to admit what he called lesser-qualified blacks in order to reach racial goals. 

Connerly told Sander that his only criticism of the study was that its conclusions were based on the fact that affirmative action in the nation’s law schools is not working in its intended goal to produce more black lawyers. 

“I think the use of race is morally wrong, regardless of the result,” Connerly said. “If that weren’t the case, someone could come up with a study to show benefits from segregation.” 

UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law Dean Chris Edley disputed Sander’s assumptions and conclusions in a following presentation to the regents, stating that the failure of many black lawyers to follow up top-tier law school inclusion with equal success in the workplace could be due to “lingering discrimination in our society,” and that prospective black lawyers should not be judged on their test scores alone. 

“Even in a color-blind world there will still be a score gap between blacks and whites,” he said, adding that it was performance that ultimately counted. “And a lot of things are driving performance other than standardized test scores that are stamped on students’ heads when they enter the door.” 

Answering Sander’s contention that higher grades, regardless of the prestige of the law school, were the real key to success after graduation, including bar passage rates and salary, Edley said that “if you say that it’s better to get an A from the University of Tennessee than it is to get a C from Vanderbilt, one possible response might be to say ‘My God! Don’t let them go to Vanderbilt, then!’ Another response might be to say, ‘What is it that Vanderbilt is doing wrong in preparing its black graduates for their careers? How can we change that?’” 

Regent Judith Hopkinson, a Gray Davis appointee, told Sander that “it bothers me that we would come to certain conclusions based on your research. It seems as if you only looked at racial factors, but it’s not clear that if you looked at socioeconomic factors, you wouldn’t come to the same conclusions.” 

And regent Tom Sayles, a Wilson appointee, said that if lower grades—and not graduation from prestigious law schools—were the main criteria for career success among all students—both white and black— “then maybe we should just be dumbing down and sending everybody to lower-tiered schools.” 

In the end, regents agreed with Edley’s contention that more research on Sander’s study was needed before any conclusions could be drawn or action taken. Edley called Sander’s Stanford Law Review paper “a good and needed addition” to that study. 

At an interview with reporters during a lunch break, UC President Robert Dynes said that Connerly’s legacy on the Regents Board was going to be mixed. 

“On such things as domestic partner benefits and lowering costs for students, he did good work, very good work” Dynes said. “But I disagreed with him on affirmative action. That’s no secret.” 

For his part, the 65-year-old Connerly said following the meeting that he was taking off from public life for a knee operation in a few weeks, after which he would be prepared to talk about any possible future actions.Å

Lily Hearst (nee: Lily Elisabeth Roger), the oldest citizen in Berkeley, died Wednesday at her home in her sleep.  

Lily was born in Oswiciem, Austria (Poland) on May 31, 1897. Her father was an official with the Railroad System of the Austrian Empire, a nd the family was living in Oswiciem at the time of her birth. She lived the first third of her life in Vienna. She was an avid piano student and a sports lover. 

She and her sister were among the most ardent and adventurous female skiers in the Vienna of their time, both proudly defying convention by wearing ski pants and rejecting skirts while on the ski slopes. 

It was on a ski train that Lily met her future husband, Alphonse Bernard Hirsch. Alphonse was a skilled mountaineer and skier, and it was this connection which initially brought them together. Climbing mountains was one of their great joys. 

As a married woman, Lily studied piano at the Music Academy of Vienna, and in the last decades of her life she was primarily known by her friends for her p assion for classical music. Her brother, Kurt Roger, was an accomplished composer. 

Following her marriage in 1929, Lily gave birth to two children in Vienna, Helga Louise in 1931, and Hans Eugen in 1935. In 1938, six months after the German anschluss, th e Hirsch family was fortunate to emigrate to the United States, and Lily’s life transitioned from her relatively privileged life in Vienna as the wife of a banker, to that of a woman raising two children in a third floor apartment in East Orange, NJ, whil e Alphonse commuted to his employment as an accountant in NYC. 

Near the end of World War II, Lily and Alphonse became American citizens and changed their family name from Hirsch to Hearst. During this period, Lily gave piano lessons to young students and retained her passion for music through attendance of concerts at Carnegie Hall and opera at the Metropolitan Opera. These years constituted the second third of Lily’s life. 

In 1970, Alphonse and Lily moved to Berkeley, California, to be near the family of their son who had been re-named John, a Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley. Thus, Lily began the last third of her life. Alphonse died in 1978. Lily retained her energetic interest in life for 26 more years, being an active member of the Berkeley Hiking Club and a swimmer at the Berkeley City Club, attending the North Berkeley Senior Center nearly every day, and devotedly attending both the weekly noon concerts at Hertz Hall on the Berkeley campus and every opera season at the San Francisco Opera. 

For years, she played and taught piano at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Up until late December 2004, Lily still rose early every morning to practice an hour on the piano, playing Chopin and Mozart before breakfast, and continued to give piano lessons to special friends. In the last three years, she was featured in the “How Berkeley Can You Be” Parade as the oldest living Berkeleyan. She attributed her longevity to her years of mountain climbing. 

Death came gently in her 108th year, on Jan. 19. She is survived by her daughter, Helga Shareshian, her son, John Hearst; four grandchildren, John and Steven Shareshian and David and Leslie Hearst; and by three great-grandchildren, Kiley and Zane Hearst, and Robin Shareshian. 

Donations in Lily’s memory may b e made to the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave., Berkeley, 94709 or to a charity of your choice.

BERKELEY BOWL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

All those who oppose Berkeley Bowl in West Berkeley obviously have never had to take the bus to go grocery shopping They have never had to dedicate most of a Saturday just so they can have food in the house. 

Berkeley Bowl is one of the unique places in Berkeley where I see women in saris shopping while chatting in Hindi; where Spanish is being spoken as the bins of many types of fresh chilis are perused; where there are durian, star fruit, a plethora of medicinal mushrooms, lotus root, nopales, and yes, potatoes other than white russets. There are over 800 varieties of potatoes in my native Bolivia, and I am glad that there is a store supporting small farmers who are growing heirloom varieties. 

I welcome a place where I can walk to buy potatoes that reflect the diversity of plants and the diversity of culture. And I thank Berkeley Bowl for always having fresh varieties of many things which are essential to third world cuisine. 

Xo Huarez 

• 

PUT IT IN WRITING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Please, please, please, Planning Commission, so we don’t continue to have the distress to everyone concerned, as with the Roberts Center and 1650 La Vereda Road addition, make a decision in writing concerning when and how a project presented to city staff is put before the Landmarks Commission and the Zoning Adjustments Board. It is so hard to try to heal the wounds from these battles. 

Joan Seear 

• 

BUSH THE BELIEVER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Regarding Jane Stillwater’s Jan. 14 letter: Believe it or not Bush is not acting, I mean the man is not even capable of remembering his lines if he was. But he is definitely a pathological liar, which is an illness where one actually believes their own lies. So we do not have an actor up there as president but actually we have a very ill person who believes his own lies. Also Bush is not the only one in his administration who is a pathological liar, there is quite a few there. Obviously this is not a good situation for the country or for the rest of the world. The question now is what can be done about having such ill people in these very powerful positions within the Bush administration? 

Thomas Husted 

Alameda 

• 

FLYING COTTAGE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I have been considering a letter ever since the article you wrote on the “Flying Cottage” at 3045 Shattuck Ave. (Daily Planet, Dec. 21, 2004), because of various inaccuracies and biased reporting. Now I see a letter to the editor (Jan. 14) on your website in which one of the inaccuracies is repeated: “Andus Brandt told the Design Review Committee that a city employee looking over Christina Sun’s plans ... suggested she could add a third story.”  

Let me clarify the record on this. I, as architect of record, said “[Ms. Sun’s] original intention was to strengthen the foundation, when a helpful plan-checker suggested she could develop the whole under-floor area for little more expense ... Upon negotiating a contract, her contractor told her she could actually have two residential floors above a commercial space, if square footage is under 5,000.”  

One other item I’d like to clarify, while I’m at it, is that your article implied that the design was mine. It is not. You can call me if you’d like to know about my involvement.  

For lack of time I won’t address any other inaccuracies or biases in this letter. 

Andus H Brandt 

• 

DOWNTOWN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

If it turns out that a convention center would not be economically viable for downtown or UC then I have some ideas for other uses that would perhaps benefit us. Build a modern hotel (which our downtown sorely needs) with underground parking, ice skating rink, bowling alley, live music dancing/night club venue and expose the creek on Center Street expanding the pedestrian walk way. This block with these amenities would be user-friendly to existing nearby communities and to distant communities through the BART. I believe there are not enough fingers on two hands to count the benefits. 

In short, Becky O’Malley’s editorial does a great job of stating what she does not want for Berkeley. She stands tall in the “build absolutely nothing” column. This would be ok except for the fact that she controls considerable financial and editorial resources which she brings to bear on the majority through her “Town Crier” the Berkeley Daily Planet. There seems to be no room in this paper for the role of “Town Booster” extolling a more optimistic view and direction of development in our town and its future. You have worked hard to bring this paper to the community, but as I recall the citizens helped fund it—so please remove the blinders from your editorial. The Daily Planet and the city would both benefit.  

Peter Levitt 

• 

PERALTA ELEMENTARY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A round of applause is due the California Board of Education for recognizing the outstanding work of parents and teachers at Oakland’s Peralta Elementary School. 

Last week the State Board of Education listened to parents and voted to grant the school an exception to an overly rigid rule that would have prevented Peralta from receiving an API school test score for 2004. The school had to apply to the state board for a waiver after a teacher made an error administering one question of 77 on the test to 17 students. Because Peralta is a small school, this put them over the threshold to deny them a test score.   

Peralta is a tight knit community where parents, neighbors, teachers staff and administrators work as a team to help every student, and their work shows. Scores went from 638 in 1999 to 757 in 2003. Peralta’s test score goal is 800 and they are almost there.     

It was a pleasure to support and work with such a dedicated school community to win the board’s approval and an honor to represent Peralta in the California Assembly. 

Wilma Chan 

Assemblywoman, 16th District 

• 

MORE FROM SPITZER 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

There are two basic genres of news publications in the free world: 1) newspapers who attempt to present balance and objectivity in their reportage 2) advocacy journals with defined ideological postures on the events they cover such as the Bay Guardian. For a newspaper to pretend to its readers to be the former when in reality its reportage consistently advocates the perspective of a particular stance is duplicity “in extremis.” 

Unfortunately, the Daily Planet—taking its cue from the news department of KPFA, aka Radio Jihad—regularly departs from the realm of balanced reportage when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian issue. The paper’s Jan. 18 edition is exemplary. Assigned to cover the Rally Against Global Terrorism in which the bombed remains of a Jerusalem bus stood as a haunting symbol, the BDP’s writer chose to devote coverage of the pro-Palestinian counter-demonstration at a ratio of 3:1 to the content of the rally. In fact, while there were numerous quotes from the pro-Palestinian faction, there was not one sentence from the articulate speakers at the rally, including an Israeli doctor who treats Jews and Arabs alike and Nonie Darwish, an Egyptain who deplored the propaganda Arab children are inculcated with that ultimately leads to murderous martyrdom. 

No other news service, save Radio Jihad, covered the rally with such unmitigated bias. Correspondingly, may I suggest that Ms. O’Malley drop her pretense of objectivity and come out of the closet as the publisher of an advocacy journal which openly expresses her desire for the end of Israel as a Jewish state? Hopefully, by now, those few readers she has left will have recognized this rag for being the toxic font of bias which in truth it is... 

A question for the reporter: Since he saw fit to largely cover the pro-Palestinian demonstrators, why didn’t he put in print their two most prominent chants, regurgitated ad nauseum? After all, they speak volumes about the Palestinian stance on terrorism: “Black, red, green and white, we’re Palestinians. We’re here to fight.” And “Two, four, six, eight, we are martyrs, we can’t wait.” 

Dan Spitzer 

Kensington 

• 

TILDEN PARK 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Not all issues are earth-shaking; some are aesthetic. For instance: 

The best 360-degree viewspot in Tilden Park is on the broad, high, east-end trail variously known as Seaview or Ridgeway, at a hilltop lookout vista. As a reward for your uphill hike, you can see the bay, the Golden Gate and the ocean one way, and Mt. Diablo and beyond on the other. There’s a circular concrete-lined foundation there (probably a remnant of World War II fortifications), some 20 feet in diameter, on which, from time to time, people have placed over 100 stones in an attractive and intriguing spiral—instant folk art, which to those of us walking there are as attractive as, say, the piles of stones sometimes encountered in Yosemite Park.  

Unfortunately, these inviting Tilden designs get wiped out and thrown far down the hill periodically, probably by the powers that be that are fearful that nefarious cults (or Al Qaeda, perhaps???) will be dominating the park. Right now there is no design, not even a stone, left, just an unsightly concrete foundation. Hikers and bikers who stop there are baffled by all this gratuitous vandalization. If the spiral of rocks is so objectionable out in the wild, why doesn’t the park administration simply remove the whole concrete foundation? 

In the meantime, let sleeping stones lie! 

Paul Hertelendy 

• 

MISLEADING STORY, HEADLINE 

Editor, Daily Planet: 

I attended the Landmarks Preservation Commission meeting reported on by Richard Brenneman in your Jan 14-17 issue. I would not say that commission members “blasted” city Housing Director Tim Stroshane for his work on the Ed Roberts Center. Not even by a long shot. As Brenneman reports eight paragraphs later, members were disappointed and frustrated, which was more like it. 

While colorful language like “blasted” makes for entertaining headlines and one is accustomed to find it in tabloid journalism, Berkeleyans might expect better from its hometown paper, notwithstanding its tabloid format! Especially when the topic is civic in nature and the discussion is serious. 

Otherwise, readers may want to adjust their journalistic emotional thermostats down several notches to get an accurate picture of what Brenneman reports on and his headline writer summarizes. 

D. Mayeron 

• 

CRAGMONT ELEMENTARY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In response to last week’s article on Cragmont Elementary School: 

I was interviewed for this article last autumn, a few weeks before the November election. Measure B for our Berkeley Public Schools was on the ballot. At the time I was concerned that Berkeley might deny more funding but thankfully this measure passed. I stated then that while Cragmont Elementary School, with its awe-inspiring architecture and bay views, may appear to be the “public school on the hill,” our issues are the same in all our schools: how to meet the needs of each student. The enriching difference in our Berkeley public schools is diversity. We will succeed in our public education when every student feels valued, educated and safe. Sometimes the PTA seems disempowered to the belittling capacity of doing nothing more than supplying balls and hoola hoops for the playground. However, the bigger picture is that we are truly dedicated to doing something differently here in our Berkeley schools. I am grateful this article appeared on the Friday before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. It is his vision and ideals we wish to put to practice here. The success of our schools depends upon the success of our community. If public education and diversity can thrive anywhere, it is here. 

Ann Williams 

Co-Chair, Cragmont PTA 

• 

A CORRECTION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I understand that it is your policy that requests for clarification of facts incorrectly reported in the Berkeley Daily Planet must be made directly by the company involved, and that you were uncomfortable relying upon material provided by NORAM’s Communications Counsel, Ron Heckman. 

With regard to your December 28 story mentioning NORAM, your statements regarding the timing of NORAM’s business relationships with certain federally-recognized Indian tribes was not accurate, leaving the impression that NORAM jumped from one tribal partner to another. This erroneous impression certainly has the potential to harm NORAM’s good name and reputation in Indian Country. 

NORAM’s relationships with both the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians and the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo date back to 2002. NORAM’s relationship with Scotts Valley preceded NORAM’s relationship with Guidiville by several months. 

NORAM’s relationship with each of the 3 tribes are not inter-related, and NORAM’s relationships with Scotts Valley and Lower Lake had nothing to do with any changes in our relationship with Guidiville. All of our tribal relationships were begun long ago and were pursued concurrently. 

I would appreciate your correcting the inaccurate impression your article created as the opportunity to do so presents itself. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  

Paul N. Filzer, 

General Counsel 

NORAM Equities, Ltd. 

Maitland, FL 



Click here to view the latest work by Justin DeFreitas

Two actions by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in recent days show that the bare threads are beginning to show on his coat of many colors (note: “coat of many colors” is a Biblical reference for my Christian friends who think I don’t love them). 

Anyways, let’s take the governor’s actions in reverse order of chronology. 

This week, the Oakland Tribune reports that in an editorial board interview, Mr. Schwarzenegger referred to Attorney General Bill Lockyer, state Treasurer Phil Angelides and state schools chief Jack O’Connell “the Three Stooges” because they criticized his budget policies. The governor’s newly-acquired habit of ridicule-by-labeling his opponents is not one of the actions I’m speaking of. It’s an art at which Mr. Schwarzenegger is p articularly awful, but having hit a home run with his “girlie-men” remark last year, we can expect that he will keep taking mighty swings and whiffing for the rest of his political career, so we might as well get used to it (history is on our side in this conclusion; after giving one of modern movie’s most memorable and wittiest one-liners in The Terminator—“I’ll be back”—he repeated the attempt, ad nauseum, ad infinitum, in each of his subsequent movies, of which he had many, with increasingly dismal res ults). 

Anyways, again, the Tribune reports that in its interview with Mr. Schwarzenegger, the governor “referred to ‘all the investigations’ hamstringing some of his other outspoken Democratic foes.” The reference, of course, was to State Senate President Don Perata of Oakland, and the ongoing federal grand jury investigation into lobbyist Lily Hu and other aspects of Mr. Perata’s political empire. 

In this, the governor stepped dangerously close to the line, if not actually crossing over, and if you’re looking for a joke, here, sorry, but I haven’t got one. 

This column is no particular admirer of Mr. Perata, at whom we will continue to stick as many jabs as are both appropriate and possible. But an investigation, after all, is only an investigation. It is not a conviction, or an indictment. It is not even an allegation. Mr. Schwarzenegger, who stood in the pulpit at Oakland’s Allen Temple this week and praised Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his “courage, courage, courage,” might take care to be reminde d that the FBI was used repeatedly during Dr. King’s career—not to convict him of serious charges—but to smear him with innuendo and, thereby, discredit his work. As California governor and therefore the state’s judge of last resort (he decides, after all, the ultimate: who lives and who dies in our state’s death chamber), Mr. Schwarzenegger has a particular responsibility to pay attention to the foundations of law. While the rest of us might speculate, in public or in private, over the meaning and possib le outcomes of Mr. Perata’s recent legal difficulties, the governor—of all of us—needs to adhere to the fundamental tenet of American law: all citizens are presumed innocent of any and all crimes unless and until they are found guilty in a court of law. T his is something that both the left and the right of the political spectrums ought to be able to unite on. 

To talk of Mr. Perata’s odd lobbying activities is fair game, even for the governor. But for Mr. Schwarzenegger—who so often substitutes one-liners for thoughtful and reasoned comment—FBI and federal grand jury investigations ought to be way off limits. 

Which brings us back to the governor’s “Three Stooges” reference to Attorney General Bill Lockyer, state Treasurer Phil Angelides and state schools chief Jack O’Connell because of their criticism of his budget policies. “In particular,” the Tribune explains, the three top state Democrats were “attacking the governor’s borrowing to balance his spending plan and for what they say are his broken vows t o fully fund education.” 

Actually, it wasn’t what Mr. Lockyer, Mr. Angelides, and Mr. O’Connell say are Mr. Schwarzenegger’s broken vows to fully fund education. This rises beyond the level of political attack and up to the area of actual fact. 

Last yea r, in his efforts to present a balanced budget to the Legislature, Mr. Schwarzenegger made deals with various statewide groups. One of these groups was the state Education Coalition, an alliance of school boards, teachers and education workers unions, and PTAs. In exchange for the Education Coalition’s promise not to fight temporary suspension of Proposition 98 and K-12 education cuts in the 2004-05 state budget, Mr. Schwarzenegger promised to restore that money in the 2005-06 budget, and to make sure tha t public education got its full share of funding in the years beyond. This was not just a vague promise of unknown numbers to be figured out at a later date-the actual amounts are determined by the formulas laid out by the voters in Prop 98. It’s like the governor getting a book today, and promising to return to the bookstore next week to pay the $14.95. 

Only now it’s next week, and Mr. Schwarzenegger is back saying that he’s not paying. In the summary of his submitted state budget, he sums it up thus: “To achieve balance in 2005-06, virtually every part of state government must take a reduction in the funding that it would otherwise have received if spending were allowed to grow unchecked. … Last year, the education community joined with the governor in postponing $2 billion in what Proposition 98 would otherwise have provided. …[The 2005-06] Budget reflects a decision not to appropriate Proposition 98 increases of $1.1 billion in 2004-05 and $1.17 billion in 2005-06. These increases would otherwise hav e been required were the Proposition 98 guarantee allowed to run on autopilot next year.” 

Let us turn aside from the official reasoning given by the governor for the reneging, that “left unaltered, the operation of Proposition 98 would have crowded out a ll available general funds-and would have resulted in deeper and more severe cuts to health and human services programs provided by the state.” That may be true, but it’s not the point. 

Politicians—within their own circle—are the most honest people I kno w. No deal between politicians is made with a written contract. Most are done outside of public view, without even so much as a handshake. If carpenters’ tools of trade are their hammers, then politicians’ are their word. A politician might lie through hi s teeth to his constituents and the rest of the world, but among other players in the political world, he keeps his word, or he’s got nothing left with which to trade. 

Mr. Schwarzenegger remains a formidable power in California, still with an enormous re servoir of support among voters. In a straight-up contest between the governor and the rest of California’s politicians, Mr. Schwarzenegger will still win, hands-down. But it is with these other politicians that Mr. Schwarzenegger must deal in order to make his government move forward. And after the education pullback, who is going to trust his word? 

Like the ghost of Hamlet’s father, this one will come back to haunt. 

?

Bus Fracas Suspect Charged 

Berkeley Police identified the man arrested during a Sunday fracas over a bombed Israeli bus on exhibit at Martin Luther King Jr. Park as Reuven Kahane. 

An Oakland man, he identified himself to Jewish News Weekly in 2003 as the first cousin of Meir Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defense League in American and the anti-Arab Kach Party in Israel. 

The State Department currently lists Kach as a terrorist organization.  

The elder Kahane was convicted of arms smuggling in 1971, and JDL members were implicated in a series of bombings targeting Soviet and Arab organizations as well as American Jewish entertainment mogul Sol Hurok, whose talent agency booked Soviet artists. 

Numerous other JDL members have been convicted of bombings, assaults, and other charges. 

The same year Meir Kahane was convicted, he moved to Israel, where he founded the virulently anti-Arab Kach Party, later banned by the Israeli government. 

He was assassinated in New York in 1990 by an Arab terrorist who belonged to the same cell that bombed the World Trade Center three years later. 

Berkeley Police initially took both Kahane and his 14-year-old victim into custody, “when it was discovered that the young man was actually a victim,” said Berkeley Police Spokesperson Officer Joe Okies. 

Kahane was booked on one count of battery. 

“While there was lots of verbal confrontation, that was the only physical altercation,” Okies said.  

First Crash, Then Piece 

After two vehicles collided in the 2300 block of Curtis Street just minutes into last Friday, their respective motorists became entangled in a bit of verbal acrimony which soon escalated to something considerably more ominous when one of the aggrieved parties produced a piece and brandished at the other. 

Fortunately, a modicum of sense then entered the picture before a trigger-finger twitch could result in grievous bodily harm. 

When it was over, the unarmed party called nine-one-one. 

Officers discovered that the two parties knew each other before the fender-bending, and the case remains under investigation, said Officer Okies. 

How Shoplifting Becomes Robbery 

After an alert clerk at the Gilman Street Walgreen’s spotted a putative shopper stuffing goods inside his coat and heading to the door without stopping by the cash register, he confronted the fellow, who responded with a shove—in the process, dropping a considerable quantity of pilferage. 

By laying hands on the clerk, the shoplifter not only lost much of his swag; he had thereby transformed his lesser, potentially misdemeanor offense into something that carries the promise of lengthier incarceration, namely strong-armed robbery. 

The pushy felon remains at large, said Officer Okies. 

Stalking Suspect Nabbed 

A 53-year-old Berkeley man finds himself facing the possibility of a strenuous stretch in stir. 

After he made contact with his former partner in the predawn hours last Saturday, she called police, who arrived within minutes and launched a search of the surrounding area. 

Caught within minutes, the suspect was booked on suspicion of stalking and making threats of great bodily injury or worse to his ex-companion. 

Blue-eyed, Stranger 

A Berkeley woman called police last Saturday to report an odd occurrence of the day before. 

She’d been walking by the Salvation Army store in the 1800 block of University Avenue when she caught the attention of a thin, denim-jacketed, khaki-bag-carrying blue-eyed stranger, who then proceeded to show her a part of himself she didn’t want to see. 

Purse-Snatcher Caught 

Berkeley Police arrested three juveniles on suspicion of grand theft following a Sunday evening purse-snatching on Channing Way near the corner of Shattuck Avenue. 

Their victim called police, who arrived a moment later and found the trio within minutes during the subsequent area check, said Officer Okies. 

Trespass, and More 

An hour after police apprehended the trio of purse-snatching suspect, they were called to the 1900 block of McGee Avenue after the homeowners spotted a stranger doing sneaky things in their back yard. 

When police arrived, they took the 35-year-old man into custody after discovering he had a pocket full of amphetamine as well as some items that didn’t belong to him. 

Armed Robber Sought 

While many Berkeley folk were watching the six o’clock news Monday, one dreadlocked felon was carrying heat and looking for a victim and a 35-year-old woman was strolling along the 3200 block of Baker Street. 

The gunman walked up to the woman, pulled out his pistol and demanded cash. She complied, and the felon booked. 

No arrests have been made, said Officer Okies. 

Anonymous Victim 

A caller reported from College Avenue at 3:20 a.m. that he’d just been threatened by a man holding a black pistol. Police have little to go on, since the victim refused to give his identity.  

Wine Generator Swiped 

The operators of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant at 1605 San Pablo Ave. called police at 9:43 a.m. Tuesday to report that someone had swapped their generator—an essential tool for maintaining the temperatures of delicate vintages during power outages. 

The generator remains at large. 

Brandished Nozzle? 

A College Avenue resident rang up Berkeley Police just at 4:41 Tuesday afternoon to report that two juveniles had swiped his hose nozzle and were brandishing in a threatening way at two others. 

By the time officers arrived to the corner of Beverly Place and Monterey Avenue, threateners, threatenees and the nozzle had trickled out of the scene. 

Radio Shack Rip-Off 

A strongarm bandit emptied the till at the 1652 University Ave. Radio Shack just before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. 

Prescription Forger Bust 

Police arrested a 48-year-old Berkeley woman at Abbot’s Pharmacy, 2320 Woolsey St., Wednesday morning after she tried to fill a forged prescription. A second charge was added when investigators discovered she’d done the same thing at Elephant Pharmacy.  

Road Rage Threat 

Police are investigating a case of road rage that occurred following a minor fender-bender between two cars on Shattuck Avenue just south of Kittredge Street. 

The driver of one of the cars told officers that the woman behind the wheel of the other vehicle had barked out the threat that “my old man is going to kill you.”?

I celebrated Dr. King’s dream by accompanying my family to a church in West Oakland where my granddaughter and her choir had been invited to sing. This was the seventh annual Dr. King celebration for the Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church at Adeline and 12th Street. With almost 500 people packing the benches and the aisles, from nearly every community in the East Bay, I felt an excitement and enthusiasm that took me back to my college days organizing in the South during the late ‘60s. Like then, children came with their parents, music bounced up into the upper balcony, and we all merged our identities to celebrate Dr. King’s dream. 

Bridging the two eras, 90-year-old honoree Oscar Wright talked about his experiences growing up in the Mississippi Delta, and how much of a positive influence his father had been on him, insisting on registering to vote in 1939, a time when such actions were often punished with death. Mr. Wright eventually moved to Oakland and became dedicated to the education of its children. It was Mr. Wright who filed a lawsuit on behalf of African American students against the Oakland Public School District under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Mr. Wright noted that much work is still to be done, and lamented the growth of AIDS, especially in Southern Africa. 

Keynote speaker Greg Hodge, Oakland Public School Board member, reminded all of us to read not just parts of Dr. King’s speeches but to study them in their entirety. He noted that Dr. King’s vision changed with his deeper involvement in social issues, leading him to stress the importance of economics, and an anti-imperialism philosophy. Mr. Hodge also emphasized Dr. King’s role as a “good father.” He finished by calling for even more holidays dedicated to women, such as Ella Baker and Fannie Lou Hamer. 

Oakland Councilmember Nancy Nadel was also honored for her support in helping to develop local programs that prevented violence, including training and jobs. Her work for Congresswoman Lee’s courageous stand for peace was also mentioned. 

It was an inspiring program, and after some wonderful singing and dancing from our youth, I left the church with renewed inspiration to continue working to fulfill Dr. King’s dream. Then, driving only a few blocks away, I noticed a group of people doing construction work behind a sign that said Habitat for Humanity, one of our ex-president’s Jimmy Carter’s initiatives. It turned out that about 30 employees from Kaiser Permanente had agreed to use this holiday to put into reality the very dreams of Dr. King. They had volunteered to help build homes in West Oakland for needy families who likewise would have to provide some sweat equity of their own. This amazing program can be reached at www.eastbayhabitat.com Some funding is provided by local corporations and various government agencies. But they can use as much people power as possible. Thank you Dr. King for your dream. We are still gaining from your legacy. 

Mel Martynn is a teacher and former aide to Berkeley City Councilmember Margaret Breland. 

Next Wednesday, Jan. 26, the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing run like a workshop on the proposed West Berkeley Bowl. The stipulation that the hearing is to be run like a workshop may seem trifling. It’s not, given the efforts of city staff and certain Planning Commissioners to railroad this controversial project through the legal channels required for approval.  

A little background: the 92,000-square-foot development proposed for Ninth and Heinz, just off Seventh and Ashby, includes a 55,000 -square-foot supermarket (25 percent larger than the existing, 42,000-square-foot Bowl) and a 30,000-square-foot warehouse. Traffic consultants say it will generate 50,000 new vehicle trips a week. The Seventh and Ashby intersection is already backed up in all directions. And the surrounding neighborhood is already parked up all day throughout the week.  

In May 2003, the architect and developer, Kava Massih, invited a group of local residents to a meeting where he unveiled plans for a 27,000-square-foot, neighborhood-scale West Berkeley Bowl, an idea that garnered unanimous support. Shortly thereafter, Massih changed his application to double the size of the market in order to draw traffic off Interstate 80 to what had morphed into a regional superstore. He never told the neighbors about the big change. Indeed, it appears that he never told city staff that he had originally presented a 27,000-square-foot market. What he did tell staff was that the local community overwhelmingly supported the larger project. But the great majority of nearby residents, businesspeople and educators—two schools are each within a block or so of Ninth and Heinz—have made it clear that they oppose an expanded, 55,000-square-foot market, due to concerns about increased congestion and air and noise pollution.  

For at least two years City staff have been meeting with Massih behind closed doors. Not once in all that time have they consulted the people who live and work near Ninth and Heinz. On Dec. 15, staff presented a schedule that moved the new Bowl through the Planning Commission to the City Council by Feb. 8, and through the Landmarks Commission and Design Review to the Zoning Adjustments Board on Jan. 27. Staff proposed that the Planning Commission do its part by scheduling a public hearing in January.  

Which brings us back to the differences between a workshop and a hearing. Many of the numerous speakers who trooped up to the Planning Commission’s public comment mike on Dec. 15 asked that the commission hold a workshop instead of a public hearing, because, they said, the planning process for the West Berkeley Bowl needs to be slowed down—a lot. Mary Lou van Deventer of Urban Ore, which is right across Ashby from the project’s proposed site, hit the nail on the head when she observed that a public hearing properly comes at “the end of a planning process.” Her main point was that “the public really needs to be consulted in a fundamental way.” Hence the commission ought to proceed as if planning for the new Bowl was in an early stage, not the final one.  

Van Deventer was right. Workshops, to cite the City of Berkeley Commissioner’s Manual, “are devices designed to elicit citizen input in an informal manner, allowing maximum interaction between citizens and commissioners or for commissions to work on issues in an in-depth manner” [emphasis added]. By contrast, public hearings are formal affairs in which members of the public each get a maximum of three minutes to speak and then have to remain silent unless queried by a commissioner.  

Beyond format, there’s an even more important difference. “Workshop sessions,” says the Commissioner’s Manual, “do not culminate in action.” But public hearings do, for they “are quasi-legislative; the commission is making policy or programmatic recommendations to the City Manager or City Council.” In other words, the focus of a public hearing is limited to a particular proposal or policy that appears on the public body’s agenda. To put it yet another way: It’s a lot easier for the chair to rule someone out of order at a public hearing than at a workshop.  

So if you wanted to put a project on a fast track, you would opt for a public hearing. Regrettably, that’s exactly what the Planning Commission did on Dec. 15. Commissioner Helen Burke, appointed by Councilmember Linda Maio, did move to hold a public workshop to facilitate full community discussion before setting the matter for a hearing. Her motion was immediately opposed by Mayor Bates’ Planning Commissioner, David Stoloff. “Workshops turn out to be negotiating sessions,” said Stoloff. “I don’t know what would be gained.”  

It was a shocking statement. Obviously, what might be gained from “a negotiating session” over a controversial project would be a solution acceptable to all parties. But Stoloff wanted to move the project forward as quickly as possible.  

So did Councilmember Wozniak’s appointee, Commission Chair Harry Pollack, who came up with the idea of holding a public hearing that was run like a workshop, to allow for dialogue without slowing down the process.  

This hybrid form was what the Commission finally approved, in large part due to the testimony of City Attorney Zach Cowan. Burke, fairly new to the Commission, asked Cowan, “Legally, what’s the deal here?” He never answered her question. A public hearing, he stated, could be held “in the identical manner as…a workshop.” Cowan said nothing about the quasi-legislative character of a hearing or the requirement that it culminate in official action. Thus misled, the commission approved a hearing.  

Now the commission needs to make good on its commitment to run that hearing like a workshop. This means more than allowing dialogue. If the meeting is really to proceed like a workshop, it needs to be open-ended. Everything is up for grabs. And it needs to involve “negotiations.”  

Specifically, the hearing-cum-workshop needs to negotiate the details of the project itself, and to consider the merits of the originally proposed, 27,000-square-foot market. On Dec. 15, Commissioners Stoloff and Pollock opined that the Planning Commission’s purview is limited to ruling on the amendments to the city’s General Plan, Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map that are entailed by the new Bowl, and on the initial environmental study’s conclusion that these changes do not require an environmental impact report. The project itself, they asserted, was beyond the commission’s, and thus the hearing’s, scope.  

Of course, formal approval or disapproval of the project falls to the Zoning Adjustments Board. But if not for the project itself, staff would not be proposing these amendments to the General Plan, Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map, much less considering the need for an EIR. So the specifics of the proposed West Berkeley Bowl need to be on the table, along with any other reasonably relevant matter.  

To make sure that this happens, the Jan. 26 hearing should begin by establishing that the ensuing discussion will have the format (give-and-take) and the substance (open-ended and in-depth) of a genuine City of Berkeley commission workshop. After that, everyone involved—commissioners, neighbors, applicant, architect-developer, and city staff—should work toward a neighborhood-friendly West Berkeley Bowl.  

Zelda Bronstein is a former chair of the Berkeley Planning Commission.  

?

A quarter-sheet flier can cause a lot of fuss. 

Madelyn Mackie, associate production manager of the Berkeley Repertory Theater, and her staff raced up and down the street Sunday, Jan. 16, ripping the small quarter-page fliers off the sidewalk where they’d been neatly placed between panels of poetry, offering “because of the event” as her excuse. 

A Heyday Books representative, publisher of the poetry book being celebrated at the event, apologized for the theater manager’s behavior, clarifying that the manager was not acting on Heyday Books’ behalf. 

Sherry Smith, former chair of the Berkeley Arts Commission, spent half an hour ripping up another 100 fliers from the streets, stating, “this is my free speech” when questioned. 

David Snippen, current chair of the Berkeley Arts Commission, apologized for her behavior. 

The flier in question stated, “Hey poets and poetry lovers, next time don’t pimp poetry for rich people’s property values. Art should benefit us all,” or sometimes ended with “Art should stay hungry, like the rest of us,” with a signature. Hardly a call to arms, but clearly a gentle criticism of the peculiarly cozy nature of the sidewalk poetry art project and the Downtown Berkeley Association, some of whose members own property on Addison, now much more valuable with its publicly funded enhancement. 

Robert Haas, the project’s curator, bristled with indignation that anyone would flier the event, and refused to shake the flier writer’s hand. Some poets implied that opportunities for poets are so few that if a little graft gets into the mix, it should be ignored. 

Perhaps. But other poets welcomed the fliers, expressing interest in the so-called Arts District’s curious origin and the issue of funding disparity. Some of them managed to appreciate that no one was protesting poetry, or books, or anyone in particular. A few of us manage to agree that opportunities to participate in and experience the benefit of art projects ought to be equitably shared by everyone. 

And someday, one hopes, everyone can agree that a tiny flier of protest, and the unexpected viewpoint it may illustrate, is as precious as poetry.

The Rockridge Soccer Club Running Rhinos of the Jack London Youth Soccer League were crowned state champions Sunday in the under-12 boys division of the California Youth Soccer Association (CYSA) Tide American Cup.  

After winning their preliminary round games in Sacramento in early December, the Rhinos advanced to the final rounds at the Ripon soccer complex near Modesto.  

The Rhinos advanced to the semi-finals defeating an skilled team from Clovis, 2-0, and then advanced to the finals defeating the East Fresno Sacred Heart Vikings, 4-1. These teams had beaten their previous Tide Cup opponents by a combined score of 27 goals to 2. In the finals, the Rhinos defeated the Fig Garden (Fresno) Jets, who came into the game having won all 37 of their games this season. 

The final game was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation time and was decided on penalty kicks after two sudden death overtimes were scoreless. 

Now in their sixth year, the Running Rhinos started as first-graders at Berkeley’s Emerson School. Last year, the team added players from Oakland’s St. Teresa’s school. 

The current Rhinos are mostly 6th graders at Berkeley’s Willard and Oakland’s St. Teresa’s school and include: Luca Castelloto, Joey Catanzarite, Fidel Felipe, Mikhael Gustin, David Lindheim, Nate Mills, Andrew McFann, Max Potter, Justin Passek, Ryan Tower, Dillon Tuckner, Adrian Villalpando, and Peter Walton. 

Dan Lindheim is the coach of the Running Rhinos. 



Berkeley Symphony’s inaugural Young Artist Award recipient Nigel Armstrong, a 14-year-old violin prodigy from Sonoma with invisible braces on his teeth, will perform his first professional concert with the Berkeley Symphony on Wednesday at Zellerbach Hall. 

It is not coincidental that Season Concert No. 3 is also Associate Conductor George Thomson’s subscription debut as conductor with the Berkeley Symphony. 

Armstrong’s mother, Kristen, played the violin at home when she was pregnant with Nigel, so he has always heard violin music. From age 3 Armstrong remembers hearing students playing violins across the street at Leta Davis’s Suzuki classes and concerts on Saturdays. At the ripe old age of 4, Armstrong asked his parents if he could start violin classes, and was told it was too early, he was too young, and it wouldn’t be good. So he waited until he was five and a half, and like many of us, went to his first lesson crying big tears for mommy. 

Then unfamiliar with Suzuki methods of learning basics and techniques, Armstrong “expected to learn to play a new song every week.” Mastering holding the violin just right and working with other students were new concepts that seemed at the time to hold back this eager boy.  

Armstrong kept being paired with another student, would pass that student in accomplishment, move on to another, and finally ran out of students in Davis’s locally well-known classes. (Davis’s “Little Fiddlers” play “in concert” on bales of hay at the Glen Ellen Village Fair every year.) 

Armstrong continued to work with Davis until he was 10, moved on to study with Daniel Kobialka, and then with Zaven Melikian, retired faculty member from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.  

According to Armstrong, Melikian helped him “remodel technique, and taught me the fundamentals of professional violin playing,” taking him from “little-kid style to playing a major repertoire.” After six years, Armstrong found that he needed a different approach to his music and that he no longer felt inspired by Melikian. 

Since June, Armstrong has been studying with Li Lin of the San Francisco Conservatory’s preparatory department, which is open to students at the pre-university level. 

Meanwhile, back in Sonoma, Armstrong has been on public school-directed home schooling and independent study since fourth grade, which he skipped. Technically now a tenth grader, he takes twelfth-grade math, eleventh-grade chemistry, English, world history, and P.E., with credits given for violin. 

At last Sunday’s Sonoma Community Concert benefiting tsunami relief, 10 bands played, but the applause thundered when Armstrong walked out on stage to improvise accompaniment to gray-haired guitar-plucking Michael Castle’s Ghost Highway. Sonomans enjoy occasional appearances by Armstrong fiddling, playing country music, or jazz at local events. 

Always having felt socially like “the other kid,” Armstrong is beginning to look around and see there is more to life, and maturely contemplates his future, asking himself, “Why am I here? Is there more to life? What do I want to be?”  

But the thrill of performance and succeeding at learning a new bar keeps him extremely focused on his music. Armstrong is happiest, he said, “when I am performing, and making progress on the violin,” remaining amazed at “what I have done. I enjoy making music with others and learning from them, and discovering with them.” 

Armstrong met George Thomson when Thomson was Music Director at San Domenico in San Rafael and Armstrong studied there under Malikian. Thomson invited Armstrong to solo with students “touring” Berkeley schools to introduce elementary students to music as a language. 

Armstrong is auditioning soon to enter the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where at least one of his parents would move with him. His preferred next step appears to be going to an arts high school in Boston so he can study with renowned instructor Donald Weilerstein at the New England Conservatory of Music (and live in a dorm). 

Armstrong’s greatest thrills, he said, come from playing “any music—getting to respond to it, adapt to it, and let me become part of me. It enriches me.” 

On Wednesday, Armstrong will solo with Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor. The Berkeley Symphony Wednesday concert program includes Hector Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9, Charles Wuorinen’s Symphony Seven, and Carlos Chavez’s Symphony No. 2 (Sinfonia India). 

Tickets are $22-$49 or $10 for students. Show begins at 8 p.m. www.berkeleysymphony.org or call 841-2800 for more information and tickets. 

FRIDAY, JAN. 21 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, “Seduced” by Sam Shepard opens at 8 p.m. at the Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck at Berryman, and runs Fri. and Sat. through Feb. 19. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

"Bridge & Tunnel" workshop performances by Sarah Jones at 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 7 p.m. Sun. through Feb. 20 at Berkeley Repertory Theater’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. Tickets are $30-$40. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theater, “The Mousetrap” Agatha Christie’s classic mystery Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. through Feb. 19 at 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito. Tickets are $10-$15. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

FILM 

“Operation Free Mohawk: A Retrospective” Video installation and performance by Pete Kuzov and Edie Tsong at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Community Media, 2239 MLK, Jr. Way. Cost is $5-$15. 848-2288. www.betv.org 

David Thomson History of Hollywood: “The Crowd” at 7 p.m., “Sunrise” at 9 p.m. at Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Indie Film Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Ward Churchill talks about “Kill the Indian, Save the Man: The Genocidal Impact of American Indian Residential Schools” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Oakland East Bay Symphony, mostly Mozart at 8 p.m. at Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway. 625-8497. www.oebs.org 

Peking Acrobats at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$42. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Los Cenzontles at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Lecture and demonstration at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Hali Hammer singer/songwriter at 7:30 p.m. at Fellowship Café, Cedar and Bonita Sts. A donation of $5-10 is requested. 

Jamie Laval & Hans York, Celtic fiddle and guitar, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Real Thom Thunder, Lucy at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10-$15. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

The Rulers, El Faye at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Clairdee & The Ken French Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Monkey Knife Fight, original funk-jazz, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

All You Can Eat, Challenger, Gift of Goats, Abi Yos Yos at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Bobby Hutcherson All-Stars, with Nicholas Payton, James Spaulding, George Cables, Dwyne Burno and Lewis Nash at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $16-$26. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, JAN. 22 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Colibri, traditional and original Latin American music, at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

Salon at the Giorgi “Mood Swings” a black-light puppet show, at 2 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. at Ashby. 848-1228. 

FILM 

David Thomson History of Hollywood: “Heaven’s Gate” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

THEATER 

“Mathematics of Change” with Josh Kornbluth at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. tickets are $18-$30. 848-0237, ext. 110.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rhythm & Muse featuring Patrick Fitzgerald, pianist at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. Admission is free. 527-9753. 

The Kids of the Dayton Tribune present the newest issue of “The Dayton Tribune,” a youth written and edited magazine, at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

www.codysbooks.com  

Redmond O’Hanlon describes life on a fishing boat in “Trawler” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

www.codysbooks.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Four Seasons Concerts presents the Gryphon Piano Trio at 7:30 p.m. at Calvin Simmons Theater, 10 Tenth St., Oakland. Tickets are $25-$35. 601-7919. www.fourseasonsconcerts.com 

Ivan Ilic, piano, at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St., between Bancroft and Durant. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864. http://trinitychamberconcerts.com 

American Bach Soloists perform J.S. Bach’s early cantatas at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. 415-621-7900. www.americanbach.org  

Peking Acrobats at 2 and 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$42. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Ras Midas and the Bridge and Root Awakning, roots rock reggae, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Darcy Menard, singer-songwriter, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Blue and Tan, electro-acid-jazz funk at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Oak, Ash & Thorn, a capella, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Annual Pat Parker Tribute and Celebration at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Moment’s Notice a monthly salon for improvised music, dance and theater at 8 p.m. at Western Sky Studio, 2525 8th St. 415-831-5592. 

Bad Habittz, Sequenced Mindset, World Wide Sickness, metal, hip hop at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8-$10. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Extensions Jazz Quartet at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12. 845-5373. www.jazz- 

school.com  

Crater, The Nels Cline Singers with Ben Goldberg at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Helen Chaya’s Acoustic Showcase at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10.  

The Arlington Houston Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Mike Park, Colossal, Dan Potthast, Short Round, Shinabu at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, JAN. 23 

CHILDREN 

Ralph’s World Full Band Show at 3 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $15. 925-798-1300. www.juliamorgan.org  

EXHIBITIONS 

“Salvador Donkey,” an exhibition of recent drawings and paintings by Michael Dooley and Kathleen Henderson from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. 841-6500.  

FILM 

David Thomson History of Hollywood: “The Shop Around the Corner” at 5 p.m. and “Shampoo” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“How Photography and Film Shaped Memory of the Vietnam War” at 2 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. in conjunction with the exhibit “California and the Vietnam Era.” 238-2200. www.museum.ca.org 

Sister Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking,” will introduce her new book, “The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions” at 7 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose. St. Tickets are $10-$12. Benefits Pace e Bene and KPFA. www.kpfa.org 

Poetry Flash with Beverly Burch and Jeanne Wagner at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Renée Fleming, soprano, at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $34-$72. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Bandworks featuring local youth bands at 3 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $4. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Art of the Trio with Taylor Eigsti at 4:30 at the Jazz- 

school. Cost is $12-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Ronny Cox, singer-songwriter cowboy, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $16.50-$17.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Odd Shaped Case, Balkan music brunch, at 10 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

MONDAY, JAN. 24 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Celebrating African-American Artists with Disabilities” Exhibition opens at NIAD Art Center at 551 23rd St., near Barrett Ave., Richmond, and runs through Feb. 25. 620-0290. www.niad.org 

“The People and the Book” Paintings and rare books from the collection of the Magnes Museum opens at 2911 Russell St. www.magnes.org 

FILM 

Seeing through the Screen: Buddhism and Film at 3 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Page to Stage, a conversation with playwright Charles L. Mee and director Les Waters at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Repertory Theater, 2015 Addison St. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Ronald C. White, Jr. examines “The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Jane Anne Staw and other writers describe “Unstuck: A Supportive and Practical Guide to Working Through Writer’s Block” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry Express with Garrett Murphy from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Songwriters Symposium at 8:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Big Belly Blues Band at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, JAN. 25 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Serving the People - Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party Photographs” opens at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. and runs to March 19. 981-6100. www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org 

“The Art of Living Black” Ninth Annual Bay Area Black Artists Exhibition opens at the Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Ave., Richmond, and runs through March 20. 620-6772. www.therichmondartcenter.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Dublin Carol” the Aurora Theater production which opens Jan. 28, will be discussed at 1 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

The McKassons, fiddling and piano in the Scottish tradition, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50- $16.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Carlos Oliveira and Harvey Wainapel at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

McCoy Tyner wiith Stanley Clarke and Billy Cobham at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $25-$35. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

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

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

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 26 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Acting Out” Photographs by Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore opens at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way, and runs to Aug. 7. Admission is $5-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu  

“Blind at the Museum” An exhibition probing the nature of blindness and the visual arts opens at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way, and runs to July 24. Admission is $5-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Tino Soriano “La Zafra–The Sugar Cane Harvest” photographs from Haiti. Photographer’s talk at 5 p.m., followed by reception, at CLAS Conference Room, 2334 Bowditch St. 642-2088. 

FILM 

Film 50: History of Cinema “Edison to Early Griffith” at 3 p.m. and “Games People Play” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Peter Carey describes “Wrong About Japan: A Father’s Journey with his Son” at 7:30 p.m. at at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Kate Coleman describes “The Secret Wars of Judi Bari: A Car Bomb, the Fight for the Redwoods, and the End of Earth First!” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert, with The Mendelssohn String Quartet at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, with Nigel Armstrong, 14 year old winner of the BSO Young Artist award on violin, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$49. 841-2800. www.berkeleysymphony.org 

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

Ron Hacker & The Hacksaws, Daniel Castro Band at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Happy Turtle, jazz-funk-lounge, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Gomez-Mendez Duo, guitar and piano tango duets from Buenos Aires, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50-$16.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Folk Revival with Saddlecats, Mercury Dime and Grizzly Peak at 8:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

THURSDAY, JAN. 27 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Celebrating African-American Artists with Disabilities” Reception for the artists at 6 p.m. at NIAD Art Center at 551 23rd St., near Barrett Ave., Richmond. 620-0290. www.niad.org 

“Blind at the Museum” Curators’ talk on “What Does it Mean to See?” at 12:15 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way, and runs to July 24. Admission is $5-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Preschool Art Show works of over 200 preschoolers. Reception at 5 p.m. at Habitot Children’s Museum, 2065 Kittredge St., at Shattuck. 647-1111, ext. 16. www.habitot.org 

FILM 

David Thomson History of Hollywood: “Magnolia” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Tragos” a cyber-noir thriller by Antero Alli at 8 p.m. at 21 Grand, 449-B 23rd St., Oakland. Filmmaker in person. Cost is $7-$12. www.verticalpool.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

William Powers describes “Blue Clay People: Seasons on Africa’s Fragile Edge” at 7:30 p.m. at at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Taigen Dan Leighton discus- 

ses his translation of the works of Eihei Dogen, a 13th century Zen master in “Dogen’s Extensive Record” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with featured readers Matt Wolf and Julia Vinograd followed by an open mic, at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Paquito d’Rivera & The Assads, Cuban-born saxopho-  

nist, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$42. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Henry Kaiser & Grooves of Mystery at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Cheap Suit Serenaders, ragtime and jazz, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Golden Shoulders, WIllie Wisely at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082 www.starryplough.com 

Showrinho, from Brazil, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Amy & Karen, Jug Free America at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10.  

Brian Kane, solo guitar, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Selector at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277.œ

Following a complex move from Golden Gate Park and a hiatus in public exhibit programs, the California Academy of Sciences has been back in action for some months in abbreviated quarters in downtown San Francisco. 

The 152-year-old institution temporarily occupies a converted building south of Market on Howard Street, just around the corner from the Moscone Center. It will be there until at least 2008 when construction of a new and permanent academy building is finished in Golden Gate Park.  

Although the temporary facility is a bland concrete box on the outside, the inside is a treasure chest of creative exhibits and activities. 

The academy has worked out the bugs from the move, so to speak, and is once again a prime place to visit and a good reason to make a rainy day trip or weekend excursion to San Francisco, especially since the temporary site is just two blocks from a BART station. 

Although many aspects of the old academy are not on display—there are no wildlife dioramas or big astronomy, anthropology, or geology displays as there were in the park, and no planetarium—this can be considered a strength at the temporary location, where the compact format allows everything to be seen within a morning or afternoon. 

The absence of exhibits in some fields doesn’t mean the academy has abandoned those disciplines. Upper, non-public, floors house the academy’s splendid array of research collections and working scientists. 

There are three main parts to the public face of the temporary academy, spread out over two floors. Let’s take them in order, from the entrance. 

First, and most entrancing in some respects, is the “Ants” exhibit, on display through May, when a new exhibit on Chocolate is planned. 

There are lots of great elements to the exhibit, including cases of wood munching carpenter ants from the Sierra and chambers of “honey-pot ants” in which individual adults, their distended abdomens adapted into living storage containers, hang like tiny, golden, champagne grapes.  

Most of the displays show both ants on the surface and ants underground and are provided with magnifying lenses for really “up close” examination. 

There’s a colony of familiar, household, Argentine ants, amusingly arranged with a stack of dirty dishware on which the tiny creatures opportunistically scavenge food scraps, a scene reminiscent of more than a few Berkeley student apartments.  

Hanging, sculpture-like, models augment the living ant displays and show the complex structure of chambers and passages of typical colonies if you could extract them intact from the ground. 

Further on, a really intriguing display explores remarkable symbiotic or predatory connections between ants, thorn trees, blind snakes, butterflies…and anteaters, of course. 

The exhibit show stopper is the leafcutter ant display, spread out over one wall.  

At the right end is a chamber swarming with creatures relentlessly defoliating tree branches in a scene that’s like a tiny diorama depicting Bush administration forest policy.  

To the left, a vertical panel contains nests where the ants “plant” the decaying leaf fragments and “farm” them to raise a fungus that is their food. 

Between the two chambers, a long cabinet contains an ascending, artificial “branch.” Up it, like an entomological Birnam Wood, marches an endless legion of large, amber-colored, ants carrying segments of leaves. 

Temporarily unburdened ants descend in the reverse direction from nest to the cutting yard for new loads of leaf (note that, in an unequal division of labor, some make the trip with tiny leaf fragments while others hoist huge burdens).  

The activity is at once frenetic, purposeful, and mesmerizing. 

Further along, legions of tropical Army Ants occupy two room-sized Plexiglas cases visible from all sides. Pillows are thoughtfully provided so children can sprawl on the floor and watch.  

This was supposed to be the star attraction of the exhibit but took a wrong turn months ago when beetles hitch-hiked in on the cricket food supply and gradually killed off the ants.  

The exhibit has now been revamped, sans beetles, and stocked with two new Army Ant colonies, freshly collected in Central America by academy staff wielding portable vacuums (there’s a video showing the collection work).  

The Army Ants swarm over a landscape of logs, soil, and plants. Mostly they patrol for food, but periodically they “bivouac” into large, seething, masses of tens of thousands of ants clinging leg to leg, with the queen sequestered at the center. 

A further part of the ant exhibit asks Bay Area visitors to collect and identify ants near their homes and send information to the academy to help compile an accurate Bay Area ant survey. 

Beyond the ants is the temporarily transplanted Steinhart Aquarium. 

Steinhart staff managed to bring together miscellaneous small and mid-sized aquariums and several huge, cylindrical, metal tanks—with large Plexiglass windows inserted—to put on display a good part of the collection that was visible in Golden Gate Park.  

Along with fish, the penguins and the coral reef from the old Steinhart successfully made the journey, the latter in a vertical tank viewable from three levels.  

There’s even an alcove for the ever popular “flashlight fish” plus a piranha tank, although there is no alligator “swamp”, open-ocean Fish Roundabout, or marine mammal display. 

Some of the tanks in the makeshift quarters are too high for children to easily see; others have suitably low viewing windows. A “touching pool” provides smaller children with the opportunity to examine various tidepool creatures up close. 

Many of the fish have been compactly grouped into creative displays such as a “Colossal Tropical Rivers” tank that houses truly heroically sized creatures from the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong.  

Upstairs, there’s an astrobiology display that profiles some of Earth’s harshest natural environments to examine what conditions—including those suitable for life—might be like on other planets and moons. We went quickly through this section, which didn’t quite come together from my perspective; your time, like ours, may be more enjoyably spent amongst the ants and fish. 

Much of the upper floor is given over to a large, staffed, child-friendly Naturalist Center, brimful of books, computers, microscopes, models, and natural artifacts from animal skins to fossils.  

A creatively arranged—and heavily used—play area for toddlers is off in another corner of the floor, and an adjacent classroom is lined with older wooden furniture, artifacts, and photos from the various eras of academy history.  

The whole facility seemed well adapted to younger children, while still retaining considerable interest for adults. The level floors, open display layout, and elevator access also seem amenable to wheelchair users. 

Back on the ground floor near the reception desk you’ll find an extensively stocked museum store and a restaurant promoting “a socially responsible food supply.” 

The menu—sandwiches, salads, hot and cold beverages and so forth—looked good and reasonably priced, but the seating capacity is minuscule, so don’t count on having a sit-down meal there during the busier hours. 

Also on the ground floor and ascending the staircase wall is an elaborate collage of photographs documenting the academy’s field research activities throughout its history. 

Three other aspects of the public areas are worth mentioning. The displays are decoratively minimalist, but creative. Academy designers did a lot with modest materials and a bare-bones budget and facility. 

A good example is the sculptural “Snake Alley,” with walls and ceiling composed of sinuous ribbons of bent plywood boards that filter light from above. 

Second, much of the exhibit care occurs out in the open.  

We weren’t there for the announced feeding of the Army Ants, but as we wandered the amphibian area a staff member appeared with a container of fruit flies which he expertly transferred into a tank of vividly blue and green poison dart frogs. As a cluster of children and adults gathered, entranced, he cheerily explained what he was doing and answered questions about the habits of the hungry frogs. 

Third, the exhibit texts pull no punches when connecting to world events. Aquarium displays, for example, explain just how, where, why the fish they showcase are now extinct or threatened in the wild by human actions.  

In the insect area, displays document how now-ubiquitous Argentine Ants—accidentally brought into North America around 1908—may have contributed to the extinction of the Bay Area’s Xerces Blue butterfly early in the 20th century, and currently endanger desert horned toads by displacing their native ant food supply.  

The academy can be a fairly quick visit—we were through in two hours—and I was pleasantly surprised to see what had been in accomplished in a building that is small and inhospitable compared to the institution’s grand, historic, quarters in Golden Gate Park. 

Steven Finacom wrote about the last days of the old Academy of Sciences facility in the Dec. 26, 2003 Daily Planet. 

8

FRIDAY, JAN. 21 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Ludmilla Kutsak on “The Fabergé Egg.” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $13, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020.  

San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival Fri. through Sun. on Mare Island in Vallejo, celebrating the annual migration along the Pacific Flyway of hawks, shorebirds, ducks and geese and even monarch butterflies. 707-649-WING(9464) www.sfbayflywayfestival.com 

“Until When...” a documentary by and about Palestinians, refugees in their own land, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Dr. Jess Ghannam, one of the film’s producers, will answer questions. Cost is $8. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Parent Equity Forum: “Leading My Child to Excellence and Equity” with Enid Lee, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Alameda County Office of Education, 313 W. Winton Ave., Room 142, Hayward. Free to parents in Alameda County. 670-4163. www.acoe.k12.ca.us 

Family Literacy Night Celebrate Dr. King’s Dream with Daaimah Waqia reading her book “A Different Kind of Beautiful,” at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley YMCA, 2001 Allston Way. 665-3271. 

Berkeley Chess Club meets Fridays at 7:15 p.m. at the East Bay Chess Club, 1940 Virginia St. Players at all levels are welcome. 845-1041. 

“Three Beats for Nothing” meets to sing 16th century harmony for fun and practice at 10 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 655-8863, 843-7610. 

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. 548-6310, 845-1143. 

Meditation, Peace Vigil and Dialogue, gather at noon on the grass close to the West Entrance to UC Berkeley, on Oxford St. near University Ave. Sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. 655-6169. www.bpf.org 

SATURDAY, JAN. 22 

Dog Walk for Mud Puppies Bring your canine friend for a hike along South Park Drive. Bring a leash and baggies. Meet at 2 p.m. at the closed gate at the bottom of the South Park Drive near Botanic Garden. 525-2233. 

Ohlone Dog Park Clean-Up from 10 a.m. to noon at Grant St. and Hearst Ave. Sponsored by the Ohone Dog Park Assoc. www.ohlonedogpark.org 

Kids Garden Club For children 7-12 years old to explore the world of gardening. We plant, harvest, build, make crafts, cook and get dirty! From 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $5-$6, registration required. 525-2233. 

Pt. Molate Walk with Berkeley Path Wanderers Explore Richmond’s historic and surprisingly wild Pt. Molate, with beaches, native grasslands, and a former Chinese fishing community, whaling station, and the world’s largest winery. Meet at 10 a.m. Take the Pt. Molate exit from I-580 (last exit before Richmond Bridge). Where the road divides in three, take the middle road; in about a mile park at the abandoned visitors center on the right, across from very large buildings. Easy walk, but dress for cold, wind, or rain. Bring water; lunch may be purchased at the diner at quaint San Pablo Yacht Harbor. 549-2908. zemeralds@aol.com 

Junior Rangers of Tilden meets Sat. mornings at Tilden Nature Center. For more information call 525-2233. 

Rose Pruning at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. www.magicgardens.com 

Emergency Response Training Class on “Responding to Terrorism” from 9 a.m. to noon at the Public Safety building, 2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. To register call 981-5606. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/fire/oes.html 

“Playing to Learn” An educational conference on floor time and drama therapy with Barbara Kalmanson, Ph.D. and Charla Cunningham, RDT, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Cost is $135, some scholarships available. 845-8542. www.juliamorgan.org 

Celebrate Jewish Earth Day Tu B'Shvat Seder led by Rabbi Michael Lerner from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1027 Cragmont Ave. Please bring a main course vegetarian dish to share with 12-14 people. RSVP required, 528-6250. 

Auditions for the San Francisco Boys Chorus from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the Interstake Center, 4780 Lincoln Ave., Oakland. To schedule an audition call 415-861-7464. 

Pre-School Storytime for ages 3-5 at 11 a.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext.17.  

SUNDAY, JAN. 23 

Dynamite History Walk Explore Pt. Pinole’s explosive and peaceful past on this flat, easy-paced walk from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reservations required. 525-2233. 

Feeder for Feathered Friends Learn to make different feeders to hang in your garden for over-wintering birds. From 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

“Winter Blooms!” Free garden tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park at 2 pm. 845-4116. www.nativeplants.org 

War Tax Resistance Information Find out more about this form of conscientious objection. Potluck and discussion at 4 p.m., basic information about war tax resistance at 5 p.m. at 2311 Russell St. Donations accepted, not required. 843-9877.  

Sister Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking,” will introduce her new book, “The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions” at 7 p.m. at King Middle School, 1781 Rose. St. Tickets are $10-$12. Benfits Pace e Bene and KPFA. www.kpfa.org 

“Another World Is Possible” a documentary of the 2002 World Social Forum along with protest films documenting the last two years of resistance in the Bay Area. From 3 to 5 p.m. at the Parkway Theater, 1834 Park Blvd., Oakland. Free. 601-8000. www.picturepubpizza.com/special-events/sunday_salon.html 

“A Beautiful Blend: Mixed Race in America” a documentary about Swirl, a national organization providing support to mixed race people, at 3 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Berkeley Cybersalon, with Jay Harman, founder and CEO of PAX Scientific on “Alternative Energy,” from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar, between Spruce and Arch. Cost is $10. 

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

Tibetan Buddhism with Bob Byrne on “Longchenpa: Master of the Nyingma Lineage” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Personal Theology Seminar with Cathleen Cox Burneo on “Jesus, A Peasant with Attitude” at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302. 

MONDAY, JAN. 24 

Tea and Hike at Four Taste some of the finest teas from the Pacific Rim and South Asia and learn their natural and cultural history, followed by a short nature walk. At 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park. Cost is $5-$7, registration required. 525-2233. www.ebparks.org 

Berkeley High School Site Council meets from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the school library. On the agenda are a report on recycling and a proposal by the Academic Choice Program. bhs.berkeleypta.org/ssc  

Derby St. Field Construction Plan Community Meeting at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Alternative High School Multipurpose Room, 2701 MLK Jr. Way. 644-6066. www.berkeley.k12.ca.us 

“A Conversation about Creeks and Culverted Creeks” hosted by the Friends of Strawberry Creek from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Central Library Community Meeting Room. jennifermaryphd@hotmail.com or caroleschem@hotmail.com 

“Service Learning and the Development of Volunteerism in Chile” with Sebastián Zulueta, director of the Service Learning Center at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, at noon in the CLAS Conference Room, 2334 Bowditch St. 642-2088. 

“At the Wizard’s Table: Shaman’s Altars in Peru” lecture and slide show by Douglas Sharon, director of the Phoebe Hearst Museum, at 3:30 p.m. at Pacific School of Religion, Chapel Room 6, 1798 Scenic Ave. 849-8201. 

Tu B,Shvat Seder with Rabbi Yehuda Ferris with song and stories at 7:30 p.m. at Redwood Gardens, 2951 Derby St. Cost is $8-$10. 540-5824. 

El Cerrrito Library Book Club meets to discuss “Cold Mountain” by Charles Frazier at 7 p.m. at the El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave. 526-7512. www.ccclib.org 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people 60 years and over meets at 9:15 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. 524-9122. 

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

TUESDAY, JAN. 25 

Bird Walk in Tilden Meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Little Train parking lot, Lomas Cantadas and Grizzly Peak Blvd. to look for birds of the grassland and great views. 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. Meet at 10 a.m. at Sobrante Ridge to explore this ecosystem and visit a rare stand of Alameda manzanita. Registration required. 525-2233.  

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

“The Future of Education Funding in California” with Ken Hall, Chairman, School Services of California at 7 p.m. in the Berkeley High Library, corner of Addison and Milvia. 644-8549. www.berkeley.k12.ca.us 

Best Ski Tours in the Sierra and Beyond with Marcus Libkind, founder of Snowlands Networks, at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

“Epiphany West 2005: Truth and Dialogue” a conference with theologians exploring issues facing the Episcopal Church today, through Jan. 29, at Church Divinity School of the Pacific, 2451 Ridge Rd. 204-0720. www.cdsp.edu 

Ralph Nader, Matt Gonzales and Guests “End the Iraq War and Occupation” at 5 p.m. at St. Marks Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. Cost is $5-$10. 213-1569. 

Mills College MBA Open House at 7 p.m. at Reinhardt Hall, Mills College. For information call 430-3173. 

“Getting Along with Your Adult Children” a participatory workshop at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $35-$40. 848-0327, ext. 110. www.brjcc.org 

Berkeley PC Users Group Problem solving and beginners meeting to answer, in simple English, users questions about Windows computers. At 7 p.m. at 1145 Walnut St., near corner of Eunice St. All welcome, no charge. 527-2177.  

Organic Produce at low prices sold at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon Streets every Tuesday from 3 to 6 p.m. This is a project of Spiral Gardens. 843-1307. 

Family Story Time at the Kensington Branch Library, Tues. evenings at 7 p.m. at 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

School Age Storytime for ages 5 and up at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext.17.  

Brainstormer Weekly Pub Quiz every Tuesday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Pyramid Alehouse Brewery, 901 Gilman St. 528-9880. 

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  

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. 

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 26 

Winter Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes and a warm hat. Heavy rain cancels. 548-9840. 

“Children of the Dirt” and “The Tour, Baby!” Special screening of two great bicycling films at 7 p.m. at Berkeley High School Community Theater, enter on Allston Way across from Civic Center Park. Cost is $10, proceeds benefit the NorCal High School Mountain Biking League. 325-6502. www.norcalmtb.org 

“The Downside: No State Money, Crumbling Cities” with Terri Waller, Research Coordinator, Assemblywoman Loni Hancock’s office and Phil Kamlarz, Berkeley City manager at 1:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Sponsored by the Berkeley Gray Panthers. 548-9696. 

“Radical Islamist Thoelogy: What Does it Mean for the Jews” with Yitzhak Santis of the Jewish Community Relations Council at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. 839-2900, ext. 211. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers interested in helping in Berkeley Public schools at 7 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

“Dead Man” Jim Jarmusch film of an accountant on a spiritual quest at 7 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Free, $5 donations accepted. 393-5685. 

Artify Ashby Muralist Group meets every Wed. from 5 to 8 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, to plan a new mural. New artists are welcome. Call Bonnie at 704-0803. 

Stitch ‘n Bitch Bring your knitting, crocheting and other handcrafts from 6 to 9 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198. 

Gelateria Naia Blood Drive from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 2106 Shattuck Ave. To make an appointment, stop by the store or call 883-1568.  

Tap Into It Jazz and Rhythm Tap classes at Montclair Recreation Center, 6300 Moraga Ave., Oakland. Experienced at 6:30 p.m., beginners at 7:30 p.m. 482-7812. 

“Radical Islamist Ideology: What Does it Mean for the Jews” with Yitzhak Santis at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $5. 848-0327, ext. 110. www.brjcc.org 

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

vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, JAN. 27 

“The Death Penalty on Trial” with Cold Case Files executive producer and American Justice anchor Bill Kurtis, author of the new book “The Death Penalty on Trial” and UCB law professor Frank Zimring, author of “The Contradiction of American Capital Punishment,” at 6:30 p.m. at The Independent Institute, 100 Swan Way, Oakland. Cost is $15 for non-members. Reservations required. 632-1366. 

Black August Organizing Committee Fundraiser with Fred Hampton Jr., Chairman of the Chicago Chapter of the POCC, and Tarika Lewis, the first woman to join the Black Panthers, at 6 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. 658-7079. 

Berkeley Gray Panthers Older People United discussion group for elders over 75, at 1:30 p.m. at 103 Addison St. 548-9696. 

“Seeds of Learning: Creating a Biblical Garden” with Shirley Pinchev Sidell at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $5. 848-0327, ext. 110. www.brjcc.org 

ONGOING 

Albany Berkeley Girls Softball League is looking for girls in grades 1-8 to play girls softball. Season runs March 5-June 4. Scholarships available. To register call 869-4277.  

Dance Access & Dance Access/KIDS! offers creative dance classes for children and teens with and without physical disabilities. All classes are held at Eighth Street Studios, 2525 Eighth St. Pre- registration is required. 625-0110. alisa@axisdance.org  

Youth Speaks Winter Workshops in writing and spoken word begin Jan. 24 in Berkeley and Oakland. For more information call 415-255-9035. www.youthspeaks.org 

Docent Training for the Magnes Museum for those interested in Jewish culture, history, and art. Classes will be held on Thursday evenings starting Feb. 3, at the Museum, 2911 Russell St. For more information contact Faith Powell at 549-6933. 

“Half Pint Library” Book Drive Donate children’s books to benefit Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland. Donations accepted at 1849 Solano Ave. through March 31. 

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

CITY MEETINGS 

Solid Waste Management Commission Mon., Jan. 24, at 7 p.m., at 1201 Second St. Becky Dowdakin, 981-6357. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/solidwaste 

City Council meets Tues., Jan. 25, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

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

commissions/civicarts 

Disaster Council meets Wed. Jan. 26, at 7 p.m., at the Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. William Greulich, 981-5502. www.ci.berkeley.ca. us/commissions/disaster 

Energy Commission meets Wed., Jan. 26, at 6:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Neal De Snoo, 981-5434. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/energy 

Planning Commission meets Wed., Jan. 26 at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Janet Homrighausen, 981-7484. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/planning 

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs., Jan. 27, at 7:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Oscar Sung, 981-5400. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/housing†

Wow. We never thought the city of Berkeley was such a major philanthropic organization. You probably didn’t know that Berkeley citizens annually provide scholarships to at least 1,100 UC students, but this figure was confirmed last week by Chancellor Birgeneau himself. He told the Regents that if UC Berkeley paid $3 million toward what it costs the city of Berkeley to host the University of California, that would mean depriving 300 UC students of an education. You can do the math, no matter whether your S.A.T. math scores would have gotten you into Cal or not. Since the city actually subsidizes the University to the tune of more like $11 million in uncollectible property taxes, according to Birgeneau’s figures we are now providing 1100 students with a education that they’d have to forego if UC paid its own way, as do other universities like the University of Michigan, Stanford and Yale. If we take the population of Berkeley to be in the neighborhood of 110,000 (give or take a few thousand for ease of calculation) that means that every man, woman and child in Berkeley contributes about $100 a year to this scholarship fund. Pretty generous, wouldn’t you say?  

Administrators like Birgeneau aren’t quite as public spirited as Berkeley citizens. They expect to be paid, and well paid, for their contribution to education. The recent flap over the cushy job offered to the partner of the newly hired UC Santa Cruz chancellor spotlighted the handsome compensation packages now being delivered to University of California administrators. UCSC Chancellor Denton will be paid $275,000, and her domestic partner will get an administrative position created just for her and worth $192,000 a year. The couple will also get a total of $118,750 in moving costs, for a grand total of pretty close to half a million dollars, enough, in fact, to fund about 50 students at Birgeneau’s rate.  

UCSF’s LGBTI Resources Director Shane Snowdon rightly criticized the lurid headline the San Francisco Chronicle put on the story: “Post for Santa Cruz Chief's Lesbian Lover.” In a letter to the Chronicle’s editor, he complained that “I have never seen the hiring of a husband or wife receive similarly prominent mention.” He asked “Will UC spousal hiring be front-page news under headlines like, ‘Post for Chief's Sexual Consort’?”  

It’s not the public’s business what UC administrators do in bed, but it’s very much the public’s business how much they’re paid, and if their partners are part of the package. If this particular partner hadn’t been describable as a “lesbian lover” the deal might not have made the news at all.  

Snowdon noted that “it is routine for academic institutions to hire the spouses and partners of those whom they recruit for critical positions.” Maybe so, but UCSC union leaders, as quoted in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, don’t agree with the practice. “Arrogant…unethical…insulting” were some of the adjectives they chose to describe the Denton deal, even though big compensation packages for all concerned seem to have become routine in the UC system. 

UC administrators are fond of citing the number of jobs the institution provides for the city of Berkeley as an excuse for not paying a fair share of the city’s costs. But jobs just create demand for housing and services, particularly the poorly paid jobs that the unions represent. Since the city of Berkeley is now subsidizing the university to the tune of $11 million a year, more jobs just mean more unreimbursed expenses. Housing for workers with families has been tight for years, though we’re already suffering from a glut of the kind of fancy dorms (aka “luxury student apartments” or “cash register multiples”) which quickly become tomorrow’s slums. Case in point: the ugly building on Telegraph familiarly known as BOB (Big Orange Building) which was developed and sold to students’ parents as condos. After the first couple of ownership generations, the condos got harder to sell, and they’re now rented out by an assortment of absentee owners who don’t much care about maintenance or tenant behavior, if you believe the neighbors. Since most UC workers aren’t paid well enough to live in Berkeley, and since UC does little or nothing about subsidizing their transit costs, they drive to work, and the city pays, in the form of traffic and air pollution.  

Birgeneau revealed that the city of Berkeley’s “demands” on the University, although touted by the politicians (with major spin) as very gutsy, actually amount to not much more than $3-$5 million tops, and cheap at the price. Even so, he says, he won’t pay. That’s why it’s time to get a full accounting of what the University actually owes the cities it’s in, and to press the legislature for real compensation. 

Citizen organizations to oppose university expansion have been formed in both Berkeley and Santa Cruz. They’re asking civic leaders to hold out for genuine comprehensive environmental impact reports which will reveal the full extent and document the actual cost of University of California expansion in their towns. But some Berkeley citizens are starting to fear that our mayor and council have just been using the threat of a lawsuit over the EIR for U.C.’s Long Range Development Plan as a bargaining chip in a small-stakes deal. They’re afraid that the politicians are preparing to settle for a million or two on the bottom line to bail out Berkeley’s current deficit for a year or two. That would be a major mistake. According to a widely believed story, it’s the same one made by then-Mayor Loni Hancock and then-Assemblyman Tom Bates when they agreed to settle with then-Chancellor Mike Heyman on the 1990 LRDP. If true, that’s what got the city of Berkeley into the budget hole it’s in today. Let’s not do it all over again.  

—Becky O’Malley 

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Although I’ve lived in California for more than half my life, I’ve never gotten used to the way the seasons crowd each other here. In the Midwest, where I spent my childhood and 12 years as a young adult, winter meant a decent respite from the seductions of the natural world. There was no stigma attached to sitting at home next to the fire with a good book, no feeling when you looked out the window that life was moving on and if you sat still you’d get behind. Here in idyllic northern California the narcissii, the first garden flowers in more normal climates, are part of the Christmas decorations. Our Christmas tree is still green, and we’re slow to want to take it down, but outside the salvia wagneriana and the primroses are in the midst of their spring show. The tree next door that I see from my desk is in full bloom. The rainy intervals are welcome, because it’s hard to reconcile yourself to indoor work when there’s so much going on outdoors. 

Another impediment to sober reflection on the meaning of life is the constant barrage of information on the state of the world which is available to anyone with a radio, television, newspaper or Internet connection. In case you’ve managed to miss it, the state of the world is pretty dire right now. Tsunamis in Asia, genocide in Africa, war in the middle east, terrorism everywhere—if you’re inclined to worry about such things, it’s hard to know where to start worrying. The number of deaths of innocent humans is immense, unimaginable for those of us who have been blessed with lives free of real contact with such events. Hearing about the enormity of these catastrophes feeds the natural urge to hibernate, to escape. 

It’s hard, therefore, to focus on the meaning of the death of a single human being who was in no way distinguished. The State of California this week executed one Donald Beardslee, who most likely killed two and possibly three women. As compared to the numbers of innocents who have died around the world this week, one more death seems hardly to make a difference. It’s all the more admirable, then, that a few hardy souls were willing to gather outside San Quentin this week to make the point once again that every death diminishes all of us.  

The struggle against the death penalty has been going on for as long as I’ve been politically conscious. My 1961 graduating class at Cal picketed its own graduation ceremony in caps and gowns because the speaker was Gov. Pat Brown, who had failed to halt the execution of Caryl Chessman despite pleas from around the world. Since then, most of the rest of the world has seen fit to abolish the death penalty as unnecessary and cruel, but it lingers in most U.S. states, perhaps a legacy of our cruel Puritan founders’ obsession with sin, sinners and punishment.  

Revenge seems to be the major reason for state-sponsored killing these days, since there’s no practical reason for states to choose the death penalty any more. Amnesty International and a host of other organizations have documented the fact that capital punishment is far more expensive than life imprisonment. One study done in New York estimated the cost of an execution at three times that of a life sentence. Capital punishment is more costly even if the post-trial appeal process is excluded from the calculation, if decent care is taken during the investigation and trial to prevent as many fatal errors as possible. Even with all that expensive caution, a lot of mistakes have been made which have lately been uncovered by researchers in New York, Chicago and other places. 

The anti-abortion and pro-choice forces are gearing up for a big protest and counter-protest in San Francisco on Saturday, the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade. It would seem that if the anti-abortion people, who are coming in bus loads from all over the state, are really sincere in their respect for any and all human life, more than a few of them should be carrying posters mourning the loss of the life of Donald Beardslee and calling for the abolition of capital punishment. The pro-choicers ought to do the same, regardless of their differing beliefs about when human life begins. Both sides ought to be able to agree that revenge killings of mature human beings are no longer necessary or humane.  

In California’s eternal spring, it is all too easy to forget that being pro-life, as both sides claim to be, should also mean being anti-death. Perhaps those same stalwarts who kept the vigil outside San Quentin on Wednesday would be willing to set up a recruiting table at the event, as a reminder that all those who claim to care about human life in the abstract should take responsibility for caring about each and every human life.  

—Becky O’Malley?