Graffiti vandals armed with glass-etching acid struck hundreds of windows along College and Telegraph avenues on two consecutive nights this past week, inflicting hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. 

“They went at least 20 blocks along College, w ell into Oakland,” said John Moriarty, president of the College Avenue Merchants Association. “It was wanton destruction.” 

“It’s really a horrible instance of vandalism,” said Karoline de Martini, president of the Telegraph Avenue Association. “It’s awfu l, and it’s not funny in any way.” 

The taggers also used paint along both streets. 

The vandals appear to be the same gang who have left a photographic record of their earlier works on the Internet at haywardgraffiti.com. The signature “Bely” that appear s in the Berkeley attacks is present on many of the website photos. 

Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies said the were reports of “60 to 70 cases of vandalism involving etching” during the two-day spree now under investigation by the Property C rimes detail. 

“The investigation is being coordinated with the patrol officers, and we have notified local merchants in hopes they can take steps to prevent further incidents,” he said. 

Okies declined to provide further specifics, “because it could jeop ardize our ability to put together a successful case and prosecution,” he said. “We are doing everything we can to make arrests and we are coordinating with other agencies.” 

City Councilmembers Kriss Worthington and Gordon Wozniak both said that they had been told that two suspects had been arrested very early Wednesday morning, but Okies said no suspects had been arrested in the acid-etching incidents. 

“There’s a lot of frustration on the part of business owners, because this is going to cost them a lo t,” Worthington said. “Very few people have insurance on their windows, because it’s very expensive—about half the cost of the windows themselves.” 

Wozniak said he had heard that two suspects were arrested on Durant Avenue about 4 a.m. Wednesday with spr ay paint. 

Damage estimates were hard to come by Thursday. Moriarty said that costs to owners along College Avenue in the Elmwood district were going to be steep. “It’s going to be in the tens of thousands at the very least,” he said. 

Another merchant wh o asked not to be quoted by name said police had estimated that the combined costs could be high as a million dollars. 

While police had told the councilmembers and several merchants about the connection to the Hayward website, Okies declined to comment on the matter. Both councilmembers said they were told by police that the department was seeking stay-away orders against suspects. 

Graffiti vandalism is a recurring problem in Berkeley, and Worthington said he has asked police to do targeted enforcement along Telegraph Avenue. 

The vandals hit two buildings owned by Rasputin Music owner Kenneth Sarachan, the music store at 2403 Telegraph and the glass-fronted Bear Basics building at southwest corner of Telegraph and Durant avenues. 

Sarachan said he carr ied no insurance on his windows. He said replacement of the twelve-foot-high curved glass windows at the front of his building would cost tens of thousands of dollars to replace. “They’re made in Montreal,” he said. 

The Telegraph Avenue merchant was angr y at police. “If there was vandalism on College the night before, they should have been out in force the next night,” Sarachan said. “They could have caught them if they had.” 

Roland Peterson, executive director of the Telegraph Avenue Business Improveme nt District, counted 12 etched windows on the west side of Telegraph in just the one block stretch from Dwight Way to Haste Street, which he estimated would cost $15,000 to $20,000 to replace. 

“When the acid graffiti first appeared a few years ago, I con tacted a South Bay glass company that specializes in repairs, and they said that in every instance, buffing out the damage weakens the glass to where it becomes unsafe. We’re telling merchants to replace the glass,” he said. 

Tad Laird, owner of Bolfing’s Elmwood Hardware at 2951 College Ave., said a glass buffing specialist has been telling Elmwood merchants that he could safely buff their windows for about a fourth or less of the cost of replacement. 

“Even that is going to be hard for some of the struggling business,” he said. 

Laird said Elmwood merchants have had a hard time getting police to respond to tagging complaints. Usually they don’t come out at all, and when they do, they tell us ‘Well, that’s life in the big city,’” he said. “But right now there’s a cop car parked in front of the store waiting to tag cars turning left from Ashby. Of course that’s a revenue generator. But at least this time they actually came out and took photos.” 

Laird said that police told him they had arrested a pair of suspects early Wednesday. 

“I’d like to see the city take this more seriously and devote some of its computer expertise to documenting where and when the attacks happen and then grouping the incidents by their content and design,” he said. “Maybe that way they could predict when attacks might happen.” 

“We’ve been hit by graffiti before, but this is the first time they used acid,” said Oliver Wise, a supervisor at A.G. Ferrari Foods at 2905 College Ave. 

Laird said awnings were also hit, and he has repeat edly urged fellow merchants to eliminate the painted tags as soon as possible. “If they don’t, within days you’ll find two or three more at the same place,” he said. 

Police told several merchants that they suspect the same group of taggers hit businesses in Oakland a week ago. Multiple calls to the Oakland Police department went unanswered Thursday. 

Sarachan suggested that police recruit the homeless to keep watch for taggers. “They make pretty good undercover people,” he said. “I have a friend who’s homeless who has kept an eye on my businesses.”?e

Margaret Breland, one of Berkeley’s toughest political fighters, has succumbed to her long struggle with cancer. She died in her sleep at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley Thursday morning. She was 69.  

Breland, who represented West Berkeley on the City Council from 1996 through 2004, had a reputation for fighting tooth and nail for programs to serve her district and for putting her faith first on a council that often resorted to partisan bickering. 

Breland batted breast cancer throughout her second term in office. For several months in 2003 and 2004 she called into council meetings from her home while recovering from surgery. Breland looked strong as she finished up her term last year, but her health quickly declined this year, her daughter Mary Breland said. 

Breland had been hospitalized at Alta Bates for the past three weeks due to complications from cancer, her daughter said. 

“Margaret was a strong, courageous woman,” said her pastor Rev. Marvis Peoples of the Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church. “She came from humble beginnings, the odds were against her, but she overcame all of that, and she was always a giving person.” 

Born in Beaumont, Tex. in 1935, Breland came to Berkeley as a young girl. The oldest of four children, to divorced parents, Breland was counted on to help her mother run the household. “She always had a lot of responsibility,” said her daughter. 

Breland graduated from Berkeley High School and worked 27 years as a licensed vocational nurse. She took early retirement in the late 1980s to care for her mother, who suffered from multiple strokes. 

Her first forays into public life came through her church work. As chairperson of Liberty Hill’s scholarship committee, Breland, who didn’t attend college, raised thousands of dollars every year to guarantee that every church member attending university received at least $1,000, according to Peoples. 

Breland also chaired the congregation’s Christian Social Concern Committee that kept the church informed on community issues. In one of her first forays on the city stage, she led a successful drive to install a traffic light at Ninth Street and University Avenue, where she said children going to and from Liberty Hill Church, located near the intersection, faced unsafe crossing conditions. 

Breland also chaired the city’s Human Welfare Action Committee and the West Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corporation. Her friend Willie Philips remembers first meeting Breland when he accidentally walked in on a development corporation meeting, thinking it was the Peace and Justice Commission. “She signed me up for the commission on the spot,” Philips said. “You couldn’t tell her no.” 

After losing her first bid to for the City Council in 1994, she won office two years later, in an election that gave the more progressive side of the council a majority that they have not relinquished since.  

“Her election signified that the city had moved left,” said Mel Martynn, her former legislative aide. “It was really important to have a progressive force in West Berkeley and that is what she represented.” 

In her first term, Breland set out to garner funding for her district, which she believed the city had long neglected. She helped secure $500,000 for the West Campus Pool, $450,000 for facade improvements for San Pablo Avenue shops and $400,000 for the Over 60 Health Clinic in her district.  

“She got more money for her district in her first term than any councilmember I’ve seen,” said Councilmember Kriss Worthington. 

“She was a woman committed to her responsibility as a public servant,” said Chuck Robinson, who lived in Breland’s district. “Whenever we brought a need to her attention she always followed up.” 

Even while Breland was ailing, Martynn said she demanded daily briefings and made efforts to go to City Hall and give a voice to the concerns of her constituents. 

“She loved being a councilmember,” Mary Breland said. “She loved doing things for other people and making people’s lives a lot better.” 

Her faith was at the heart of her commitment to public service, Martynn said. “She took from it a Christian sense of helping people and caring for people,” he said. 

Rev. Peoples said, “She would seek faith to guide her in decisions and rely on her faith to guide her to do things she knew wouldn’t be popular.” 

Although Breland was a consistent progressive vote on the council, on some matters of fate she diverged from the Berkeley mainstream. Last year Breland was the only councilmember not to endorse a resolution supporting same sex marriage. 

Like her mother, Breland was divorced and raised her children on her own. “She always told us we could do whatever we wanted to and to always stand up for whatever we believed was right,” Mary Breland said. 

Breland is survived by three children, Mary, Rosetta and Alphonzo, three siblings, Robert Lee Parker Jr., Alvin Lee Parker and Yvette Ladd, nine grandchildren, Alphonzo Breland Jr., Nickalas Breland, Brandy McMurry, Frederick Hives II, Danielle Breland, Jonathan Breland, Franklin Crim, Reshenda Coleman-Smith and Renisha Coleman-Smith, three great grandchildren, Areyana Hay, Ke’Shawn Smith and Ke’Oni Smith and two sisters-in-law Classie Parker and Mary Parker. Her daughter Willa Mae Hives died in 1997 of a blood clot near her heart. No memorial services have yet been planned. 

Berkeley teachers took their increasingly rancorous contract dispute back to the Berkeley Unified School District board meeting Wednesday night, filling the Old City Hall Council chambers with union members and supporters chanting “Fair Contract Now!” 

Berkeley Federation of Teachers President Barry Fike admonished board directors to “put down that draconian contract proposal you are holding over your head and threatening to impose on us.” 

He said that BFT members “of course don’t want to strike, but if you leave us with no other choice we will certainly have to.” 

Several demonstrators balled up leaflets outlining the district contract position that had been laid out on the seats in the council chamber for the public, derisively tossing them into the center aisle toward the directors. 

Berkeley teachers and Berkeley Unified officials are in the midst of state-mediated contract talks, with teachers demanding compensation increases and the district insisting that such increases are not possible without harming educational programs. 

The next mediation session is scheduled for April 21.  

In biting remarks during Wednesday night’s public comment period, Cynthia Allman, a first-grade teacher at Malcolm X Elementary, compared the district administration and board members to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has been under fire from teachers for cutting support to education. 

“To us, you look like Arnold,” Allman said. “You look like his local surrogates. Like him, you go after retirees. You attack our benefits. You minimize our value.” 

The two sides in the contract dispute sparred over how much—if any—district money is available for teacher raises in next year’s budget. Fike said that the district is expected to receive a 4 percent increase in state money next year. 

“How the board chooses to spend that 4 percent increase is at the heart of this dispute,” he said. Fike said that after district-identified expenses are deducted from this expected increase, “the district will still have roughly $2 million in new money. That’s money that can go to cost of living increases to teachers.” 

Superintendent Michele Lawrence agreed that the district will receive increased state money next year, but she said that “increased expenses will eat up those revenues overnight.” 

Lawrence added that a teacher pay raise is “well-deserved, but we have to look for alternative and creative ways to balance the budget while compensating our employees.” 

All six board directors commented on the union charges. 

Director Shirley Issel criticized the teachers for “staying outside and chanting while we’re being told the fiscal situation of the district. You don’t want to know the facts. We’re being portrayed as a bad guy in a movie, but there aren’t any bad guys here. It’s just a bad situation.” 

Director Joaquin Rivera said that fiscal responsibility had to come first, before any possible raises. 

“We’re on the brink of being taken over by the state if we don’t balance the budget,” he said. “One of my top priorities is to make sure this district doesn’t go bankrupt.” 

And calling comparisons of the board and superintendent to Schwarzenegger “deplorable,” Lawrence told teachers that “if you don’t believe the district’s budget figures, look at the reports of our auditor, or the state controller’s office, or [the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team], or the county office of education. Cuts are inevitable, whether or not we give compensation increases. It can’t be ‘don’t cut here, and give us this.’” 

Most of the union demonstrators left the meeting before the board directors’ and superintendent’s remarks. 

Berkeley PTA Council President Roia Ferrazares told meeting participants she was “urging both sides to please come to a conclusion because the children are suffering. A strike would be very bad for this district.” 

Earlier, some 250 teachers and their supporters rallied in front of Old City Hall, carrying banners reading “We Support Our Teachers,” “Hands Off Our Health Care,” and “Give Us Our Fair Chair.” To the sounds of drivers passing by on Martin Luther King Jr. Way honking their horns in solidarity, demonstrators spoke in support of the ongoing teacher “work to rule” action which has ended homework and paralyzed after-school activities in some schools. 

Willard sixth grade teacher Sharon Arthur told the crowd, “I love my job and I love to do it, but I refuse to be trampled on by my district and by my state.” 

While teachers used Wednesday’s meeting to rally support for raises, the district administration spent the time highlighting BUSD’s ongoing financial challenges. After submitting a budget ruled “positive” by the county education office for the first time in several years, BUSD quickly slipped back to a “qualified” status in its first interim budget report this year after expected state revenue did not come through. A “qualified” status means that while the budget is balanced this year, a deficit has been projected for the following years. 

At Board President Nancy Riddle’s request, Alameda County School Superintendent Sheila Jordan and Associate Superintendent Carlene Naylor spoke on BUSD’s budget situation in light of tightening state fiscal reporting requirements. 

BUSD “definitely has a deficit spending pattern that needs to be addressed,” Naylor said. She added that while Berkeley has been operating for the past year under state law that relaxed the reserve requirement, “you must restore your reserve to 3 percent when you submit your budget for 2005-06.” 

And in a notice that the district needs to be careful in its contract negotiations, Jordan said that last year’s school administration law AB2756 “compels the county office to enter the situation earlier to ensure any significant revenue expenditure called for in a new contract can be afforded.” 

Board members also considered the superintendent’s proposed list of budget cuts for the 2005-06 budget, approving further study without committing themselves one way or the other. Included in the proposed list was reduction in the high school athletic program, closing the Community Theater to outside use while a year-long financial study is done, expanding the walk-to-school zone beyond its present one mile, and reducing the number of high school campus security officers and classroom instructional assistants. 

Lawrence called all of the proposed cuts “intolerable,” and Board Vice President Terry Doran said he wanted to “caution the public that these are just suggestions. Nothing has been decided. We just want staff to cost these things out to see if any of them are cost effective.”›

For urban gardeners and several neighbors of the Thai Buddhist Temple, it was the Berkeley chainsaw massacre. For the temple it was a new beginning.  

And for the few who bore witness last month to more than a half-dozen Buddhist monks, dressed in saffron robes and sandals, chopping down trees and otherwise leveling what for 17 years was the South Berkeley Community Garden, it was almost surreal. 

“It was beautiful in that it was so incongruous. The combination of saffron robes and the chainsaws,” said Adam Broner of the Berkeley Tool Lending Library, which abuts the former garden. 

“It freaked me out,” said one neighbor on an adjoining property, who declined to give his name. 

Last year, the temple bought the 11,000-square-foot L-shaped lot at Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Oregon Street for approximately $500,000 from the trust of Weston Havens, the last of an old Berkeley moneyed family. 

The temple intends to plant new trees, said Head Monk Manat Suk. 

“We will try to do a new landscape so everything will be nice and new,” he said, adding that he planned to consult a landscape architect. He did not say why the temple was unsatisfied with the previous landscaping. 

Gardeners said temple leaders graciously gave them plenty of time to take what they could from the plot, but were shocked by how quickly after the temple’s March 1 deadline for their departure that the monks arrived with their chainsaws. 

“They gave the impression that they would have a minimum impact on the garden,” said Daniel Miller, executive director of Spiral Gardens, which had run the plot. Miller said gardeners were broken hearted at seeing the once lush plot reduced to dirt and tree stumps. 

“It’s not about whether they had the legal right to do it, it’s about the fundamental understanding of what was there,” said Lisa Stephens, a Spiral Gardens volunteer. 

Where last month 13 fruit trees and four coastal live oaks once stood, just one oak remains, Miller said. Chainsawing the oak trees remains a bone of contention since city law prohibits the removal of healthy oaks whose trunks are greater than one foot in diameter. Miller said two of the fallen trees were around the size where the prohibition would take effect. 

Head Monk Suk said temple leaders had not decided what to ultimately build on the plot, which sits just behind its sanctuary on Russell Street. Neighbors and gardeners said that they have gotten conflicting reports about what might become of the lot, including reports that it will be a site for a dormitory for monks, a second temple, a garden, and a parking lot for worshippers and patrons of the temple’s Sunday brunch. 

Neighbors, meanwhile, have contacted city offices to complain about the clear cutting. 

“We’re all shocked and appalled,” said Rosemary Vimont, who lives beside the plot and contacted the city’s forestry office about the fallen oak trees. “It has really made us antagonistic towards the Buddhists.”  

Vimont, a supporter of the last November’s failed tree initiative, said she now has more reason to lament its defeat. 

“If that was law, they would have had to have asked permission before they cut down those trees,” she said.n

Several Berkeley library employees contend that a stepped-up effort to thin the library’s collection in the past year has been so rushed that valuable books were carted off in dumpsters. 

“There was pressure to do it quickly,” said Anne-Marie Miller, a 34-year library veteran, who added that management had a stronger than normal role in going through the collection. “In all my years working there I had never seen a book weeding project done that way.” 

Book weeding is a continuous process to keep collections current and relevant. In Berkeley, library officials said there had been minimal weeding in recent years since the central library returned to its larger main building in 2002. However, this past year has been an opportune time to eliminate outdated and unwanted books because the library has had to remove every volume from its shelves to tag them with palm-sized radio antennas, which this July is scheduled to replace bar codes as the library’s book tracking system. 

According to librarians, unlike past rounds of weeding when librarians scoured shelfs looking for damaged or irrelevant books, the latest round forced librarians to make quick decisions on truckloads of books that staff members responsible for tagging books with the radio devices pulled aside for being in bad condition.  

Andrea Segall, a librarian in the art and music department, said she was overwhelmed with trucks of books to consider removing from the collection, which she said didn’t give her enough time to properly inspect them. 

“I couldn’t leave truckloads lying around,” she said. “I had to make snap decisions. It was much too hasty a process.” 

The radio devices and a reorganization plan that includes staff layoffs have sapped morale at the library and contributed to a growing labor-management divide that Library Director Jackie Griffin thinks might be behind the criticisms over weeding. 

“Some people at this point are trying to create negative feelings about library management in any way they can,” she said. 

Several of the library staff interviewed said although there wasn’t a quota they felt pressure to remove more books from the collection this year than in past years. One of their most pressing concerns, they said, was the condition of the social science collection, which faced the most severe reductions.  

But Francisca Goldsmith, the library’s collection manager, countered that librarians have had amble time to thin out their sections, faced no pressure to remove more books than usual, and that the final tallies showed minimum upheaval to the library’s roughly 500,000 volume collection. 

Over the past year the library removed about 2 percent of its collection and about 4 percent of its social science collection, she said. About one-third of those books have been replaced, she added. While the final tally this year shows more book removals than in recent years, Goldsmith said it is less than the 8 to 10 percent the library averaged ten years ago. 

Goldsmith said she expected the library’s collection, despite the recent weeding would remain consistent at around 500,000 volumes and that the library had the capacity to add more volumes. 

For Patrick Regan, a library aide, his concerns about book weeding and management are interconnected. “It’s a big deal to people like me who think the people in charge are making so many bad decision so why should they be trusted with weeding,” he said. 

Regan said he has taken six undamaged books off the weeding pile, including a book about anarchist Emma Goldman and books by children’s author Daniel Pinkwater. “It bugged me to see his books there, because he’s great.” 

Regan said there is a perception among library employees that aggressive weeding may be motivated by the library wanting to save money on radio tags that cost around 50 cents apiece. Library management said that was not the case. 

Book weeding has sparked controversies at other libraries. In 1996, the San Francisco Public Library set off a firestorm when it moved into its new building with fewer books than it had previously. The issue is at the core of a larger debate over the mission of public libraries. 

Alan Bern, a reference and teen librarian at the Berkeley Library, said he saw nothing wrong with the recent weeding process, and said he favors the practice. 

“It’s not our mission to give people anything and everything,” Bern said. “That is the job of a research library. We have to balance the needs of the community and what they want to read.” 

The weeding practice mostly targets books that are either out of date or so worn that they are no longer of value. Moldy books are instantly removed, Goldsmith said, because mold spores could spread throughout the shelf.  

Older reference books must also be removed because they may contain information that is no longer relevant or factual, Goldsmith said. She added that the social science section, which lost the greatest number of books, is home to numerous reference guides like Nolo Press, a self-help guide to the law, and investment manuals, that all needed to be updated.  

“An investment guide from the 1980s isn’t going to be helpful because the market has changed considerably,” she said. 

Goldsmith added that weeded books are typically recycled because Friends of the Library rejects rejects them for sale in their store because the books are either out of date or in no condition to be sold. Typically the store accepts extra copies of former best sellers that no longer have widespread appeal. 

Goldsmith also said library management started pressing librarians to pay more attention to weeding last January—eight months before the library started removing books from the shelf to tag with radio devices. 

“This process was not more hurried,” she said. 

Goldsmith added that the Children’s Department, for example, weed books consistently so they could proceed more slowly. Other departments, she said, hadn’t weeded books in the three years so they had one year to do three years worth of work. 

Library protocols, she said, call for a team of two to three librarians to go through shelves and discuss which books should be removed. Their selections are then passed through managers for final approval. 

Library rules call for each librarian to spend one hour a week weeding and three hours a week selecting new books. Librarians interviewed said the recent urgency of installing the radio devices and chronic staff shortages have made it difficult to adhere to all of their tasks.  

Reference Librarian Jane Scantlebury said, “We’re so understaffed now that none of us is doing our job particularly well.”

Firefighters withdrew from their round-the-clock watch outside the Drayage warehouse Tuesday evening, one day after being fired upon from the warehouse by a pellet gun. 

The complex at Third and Addison streets is the scene of a dispute between about two dozen residents, many of which are artisans, who want to remain and city officials who have ordered them to vacate by April 15. 

On April 1, Deputy Fire Chief David Orth dispatched the fire company to watch over the West Berkeley live/work complex, which he had declared “an extreme fire hazard.” 

“The owner of the building didn’t want the fire company there, and now for the safety impact on my people, I don’t want them their either,” Orth said. 

No one was injured from the single shot fired, but Orth said the incident was enough to pull out the fire company. “A pellet can break the skin, it can destroy an eye and it can be deadly,” he said. 

Orth added that police believed they knew which resident fired the shot, but did not have enough evidence to make an arrest. 

Instead of the fire company, Orth has ordered the building owner, Lawrence White, to post two security guards with fire suppression training inside the Drayage. Orth said the new measure would cost White less than the fire company, for which the city had been billing him more than $5,000 a day. 

White called the pellet gun incident “unfortunate” and said he didn’t know how much money he would save by the fire company’s departure. 

The shooting didn’t reflect the attitude of most Drayage residents, said Maresa Danielsen, who nevertheless said she didn’t understand why they were stationed outside her home. 

“Having the truck just across the street was unnecessary considering the fire station is just five or six blocks away,” she said. “They seemed bored too.”  

Danielsen said tenants were continuing to work with the Northern California Land Trust to possibly buy the warehouse and with politicians to give them more time to get the building up to code. The issue is expected to be debated at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.›

The Alameda County mental health worker who was accompanying a 16-year-old girl at the time the teen slashed the throat of a Berkeley woman last month was arraigned and charged as an accessory to the attack Thursday, Berkeley police said.  

According to the district attorney’s office, Hamaseh Kianfar, 30, gave surrendered herself to Oakland Police Wednesday and was released on $15,000 bail. Kianfar, who works in the guidance center at Alameda County Juvenile Hall, was walking with the 16-year-old outside the Rose Garden at the time of the attack. 

The victim, a 75-year-old Berkeley woman, did not suffer life-threatening injuries. 

After the slashing, police say, Kianfar and the girl left the woman bleeding on the ground and fled in a BMW M3. Kianfar did not contact police about the incident and later issued an initial statement claiming to be a passerby, Assistant District Attorney Wendell Jackson has confirmed. 

Kianfar was placed on paid administrative leave two weeks ago after county officials learned she was under investigation in the attack. 

The 16-year-old remains in custody at Juvenile Hall awaiting the results of a psychiatric exam. 

The Creeks Task Force unanimously approved a work plan Monday asking the city for $100,000 as it begins work to recommend a new creeks ordinance. 

Berkeley’s current creek law has been criticized both by creek advocates, who don’t think it offers enough protections to creek watersheds, and homeowners who argue that it unfairly infringes on property rights. 

The present law forbids the construction of roofed structures within 30 feet of an above or below ground creek that runs along its natural course.  

Initially, the task force had considered asking the City Council for $200,000 for consultant to study creek conditions, but several task force members feared the council, struggling with an $8.9 million budget shortfall, would deny the request. The task force plan is scheduled for review by the Planning Commission on Wednesday and then will go to the council. 

At the request of Planning Director Dan Marks, who said city brass opposed hiring more staff, the task force dropped a suggestion to use $100,000 to hire a Creeks Coordinator to gather data and implement the new law. 

The work plan calls for the task force to begin by determining which waterways will be regulated as creeks, how far new construction should be set aside from the waterways, and what type of structures should be permitted. After a consensus is reached on those issues, the task force will consider opportunities for unearthing creeks that have been driven underground in concrete culverts and establishing policies to manage creek watersheds. 

“It’s a working plan, not a recipe that we have to follow step by step,” said Diane Crowley, member of the task force. “As work proceeds we can make changes.”  

The task force is scheduled to reconvene May 2. It has until May 2006 to recommend a new ordinance.

The City Council will meet Monday, April 11 at UC Berkeley’s foothill dorms to discuss the university’s proposal to suspend a pedestrian bridge over Hearst Avenue to connect the two halves of the residential community. 

The meeting, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at 2700 Hearst Ave., will include a public comment period. The council is then scheduled to vote on the proposal at its regular Tuesday meeting. 

UC Berkeley contends that the bridge is necessary to safeguard dorm residents from the hazardous pedestrian intersections at Hearst and La Loma and Hearst and Highland Place and open the La Loma Dormitory on the north side of Hearst to wheelchair-using students. 

But the university needs city permission for such a change. In the face of neighborhood opposition university officials have aborted three previous attempts to win a variance from the City Council. As an incentive to approve the plan, UC Berkeley has offered the city $200,000 towards infrastructure improvements around Hearst Avenue. 

Bridge opponents argue that the bridge would be an eyesore and that the university has failed to consider less obtrusive solutions, such as a pedestrian tunnel or street-side improvements. They also contend that the dorm’s steep surroundings would still render it unpopular with disabled students. 

Additionally, New Education Development Systems, Inc., the owners of 2717 Hearst Ave.—listed on the National Registrar of Historic Places—have come out against the bridge. They say it would obstruct their bay views. 

Should the council grant the university a permit, the company will file suit to stop the project, according to a letter from its attorney Alan Seher.

In one of its more rancorous sessions, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) was attacked by citizens accusing it of obstructionism, and in turn assailed Planning Commissioners with the same allegation. 

The attacks on the LPC stemmed from the Battle of the Maybecks, triggered by a Buena Vista Way homeowner’s March 3 request that the commission begin the process of evaluating whether three houses on Buena Vista, his own and two neighboring houses, should be designated as historic resources. 

Some of the neighbors objected and turned out in force with friends and allies at the March 7 LPC meeting, only to have the hearing delayed another month after the session reached the midnight hour and the commission was forced to leave because the North Berkeley Senior Center requires it to vacate at that time. 

Several speakers did get in a few angry words during the public comment session at the opening of the March meeting and left angrier when the commission postponed the hearing. 

They were back in force Monday, determined to be heard. 

Robert Pennell, owner of the residence at 2730 Buena Vista, initiated the landmarking process for his own home and the houses at 2750 and 2760 Buena Vista after architect Thad Kusmierski, the owner of 2750, filed plans for an addition to his home, which was designed by legendary Berkeley architect Bernard Maybeck. The home at 2760 is another Maybeck 

Pennell said Kusmierski’s proposal would overshadow his own home and possibly endanger redwoods near the property line. Kusmierski denied the allegations and in turn challenged the Maybeckian credentials of Pennell’s house. 

Evelyn Rantzman, who lives at 2753 Buena Vista, was the first to comment Monday, and her target was the LPC itself. 

“This commission should not allow itself to be used to block projects. We’ve seen this over and over again. Once a project is approved, the Landmarks Commission is used as a last-ditch effort,” she said, decrying a process “when you reach a point where everything in the city seems to deserve landmarking.”  

Kusmierski presented commissioners with copies of a March 17 San Francisco Chronicle column by architectural critic John King in which the writer blasted the commission for designating Celia’s Restaurant at 2040 Fourth St. a structure of merit, the lesser of two historic resource designations the panel can award. 

King wrote that in doing so, the LPC had created “a symbol of why the historic preservation movement is in danger of losing its credibility.” 

Pennell’s contention that his own home was also a Maybeck had triggered a strong response from Kusmierski and others who charged that there was no proof that the architect had done anything more than design the fireplace. 

“There should be more work by the commission to make sure that a structure is designed by the architect in question,” said Anna Berger, Kusmierski’s wife. She adding that, in any event, landmarking should be left in the hands of the property owner. 

Pennell withdrew his application for designation of his own home after the March meeting, because, he said, it “has created some antagonism and hostility in our neighborhood that we did not anticipate.” 

Because no one had yet filed a complete application to designate the other two houses, the next step following initiation, commissioners voted to withdraw their initiations, with only new member Ted Gartner—appointed by Councilmember Darryl Moore to replace Aran Kaufer—abstaining because he hadn’t had time to listen to the tape of the March meeting. 

Commissioners then took up Pennell’s application for his home, giving critics their second shot at Pennell and the LPC. 

“The Pennell application is a sham, there’s no substantiation” that Maybeck designed it, Kusmierski said. “I like preservation. I just wish it were done in a good way.” 

Berger added, “Pennell told me one occasion that Maybeck designed the fireplace but that [his parents] were too poor to have him design the house.” 

John Edginton, owner of 2733 Buena Vista, rose to speak in defense of Pennell, who, he said, had left the March meeting “a very disillusioned man because of the personal nature of the attacks,” citing “one person who followed him to his car, shouting abuse. This is not a good guy/bad guy thing. What you have to decide is what are the merits, and the merits of all three buildings are beyond dispute.” 

Robert and Norah Brower of 2701 Buena Vista were the last to speak.  

“I’m bothered by the divisiveness caused by the landmarking process,” said Norah Brower. “I don’t think the landmarking commission is the appropriate process. I think the zoning board is the proper venue.” 

Robert Brower faulted the Pennells. 

“There were many attempts to see if they could adjust” to Kusmierski’s plans, he said, adding that “it should be quite clear that Maybeck did not design that house.” 

Commissioner Carrie Olson proposed delaying any final decision on Pennell’s home for a month to allow further research on its architectural credentials, but when it came time for a final vote she sided with the commission majority in voting to withdraw the initiation altogether. Only Leslie Emmington voted no and Gartner abstained. 

By voting for withdrawal “without prejudice” in all three cases, the commission left the door open to future landmarking applications. 

Landmark Ordinance Revisions 

Commissioners then shifted their focus to the status of the Planning Commission’s handling of the LPC’s proposed revisions to the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. 

At issue are conflicts between the California Permit Streamlining Act (PSA) and Berkeley’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance, which now allows the LPC to postpone demolition of a designated landmark for a year to allow time for possible compromise, after which the city’s Zoning Adjustment Board can grant or deny the demolition permit. The PSA mandates that cities must under normal circumstances give permit applicants, including demolition applicants, a yes or no within six months or less after an application is complete. The LPC worked for more than three years with City Attorney Zach Cowan and Planning Department staff on the revised LPO draft, which would deal with the PSA-LPO conflict by allowing the LPC itself to approve or deny the demolition application within the PSA’s period, instead of waiting for ZAB to act. The revised draft is now before the Planning Commission for an advisory review before it is presented to the Berkeley City Council.  

Planning Manager Mark Rhoades said on Monday that a Planning Commissioon subcommittee will present recommendations to the full Planning Commission on April 13, with a hearing on the proposed revisions to follow on April 27. 

“We anticipate that the ordinance will go to the City Council for action in July,” he said. 

At Monday’s meeting, Landmarks Commissioners criticized the Planning Commission’s handling of the ordinance to date. 

“I just feel like talking to the Planning Commission is like talking to a brick wall,” LPC member Olson said. “I don’t feel the staff is supportive of our position, and I don’t know what staff will recommend in the end.” 

“There’s certainly a lack of appreciation for the landmark process here in Berkeley,” said commissioner Lesley Emmington. “Every landmark has raised the city’s economic base.” 

“There are huge amounts of developer pressures and all kinds of spin-doctoring, and it’s all so that we lie down in front of the developers,” said Patricia Dacey, a commissioner. “There is a tremendous drumbeat, and I am stunned by the sheer loudness and it’s been very successful. We need to fight back.” 

“Celia’s is an example where the perception is that this commission is being used to stop development,” said James Samuels, a commissioner who had voted against the designation. “It certainly gives the public that impression. What we were faced with is a site with three derelict restaurants.” The commission voted not to designate Brennan’s, the second restaurant on a proposed West Berkeley development site. The third restaurant on the site, now closed, was located in the previously designated Southern Pacific station. 

“I almost feel like this is a reaction to this commission and the way it votes rather than to focus on historic preservation,” said Jill Korte, commission chair. 

Two Berkeley landmarks have been singled out recently for recognition, one a Craftsman creation and the other the embodiment of Art Deco. 

In its March issue, Gentleman’s Quarterly—aka GQ—listed Bernard Maybeck’s First Church of Christ, Scientist, at 2619 Dwight Way, as number six out of 25 of “the most beautiful and important structures in America.” 

Maybeck’s 1910 building was the first landmark recognized by the city (December 1975) and was declared a National Landmark a year later. 

The second honor was bestowed by the Art Deco Society of California on the J.W. Harris house at 2300 Le Conte Ave. The effusive monument to the Art Deco style remains largely as it was designed in 1936 by architect John B. Anthony. The structure was declared a Berkeley landmark in 1976. 

The Art Deco Society will present its award at the society’s 20th annual Art Deco Preservation Ball on April 30. The event will be held at Sweet’s Ballroom in Oakland, which the society honored with a similar award five years ago.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched a major public corruption investigation of alleged misconduct involving welds in the construction of the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge. 

“The complaints consistently allege a pattern of substandard welds affecting a number of (concrete) pilings intended to support the new Eastern span,” said San Francisco FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Mershon in a written statement. 

The investigation is being jointly conducted with the Inspector Generals’ offices of the Departments of Labor and Transportation. 

Mershon said the Oakland Tribune, which first published the story earlier this week, had held off publication at the FBI’s request to allow the bureau to pursue “sensitive and sophisticated investigative techniques” before the story broke. 

Assemblymember Loni Hancock said she is closely following the investigation. 

“This raises a lot of questions, and my concerns are the physical safety of the people who will be using the new span, the enormous additional expenses that come with more construction delays and the integrity of the public works process,” she said. 

Costs of the project have escalated enormously, with the current figure set at $6.2 billion. 

CalTRANS awarded a $1.4 billion contract to KFM Joint Venture for the first phase of the project, which included the concrete pylons now suspected of housing faulty welds that could jeopardize the seismic safety of the structure. 

KFM, CalTRANS and the Cal-OSHA have all stated that the welds were properly done, but welders on the project told the Oakland Tribune that they were told to cover up numerous inadequate welds rather than repair them. 

“This raises questions about the competence of CalTRANS to oversee the project and the integrity of a major corporate contractor,” Hancock said. 

“I feel confident in the FBI investigation, but the Legislature needs to evaluate the public safety issues and the implications for the immediate construction project,” she said. “How many faulty welds are there, and can they be inspected? What about the ones buried under water?”  

The Bay Bridge is the largest public works project in California history.

In the film The Ambassador, human rights workers and former victims of torture in Central America sometimes look straight into the camera when they talk about former American ambassador to Honduras John Negroponte. 

“I want to use every possible medium to make Negroponte tell hundreds of families of dead and disappeared in Honduras where they are,” says Bertha Olivia, sitting beside pictures of those who were killed or disappeared under Negroponte’s watch. 

This scene and several others are an attempt by Norwegian filmmaker Eriling Borgen to retell the history of what he suggests is Negroponte’s involvement in many of the events that tore Central America apart during the 1980s. 

Using interviews with victims of the violence, community activists and another American ambassador to Honduras, Erling tries to tie Negroponte to events such as the training and harboring of the Contra Army that overthrew the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. In Honduras, he follows many of the people who accuse Negroponte of cracking down on them for speaking out against the Contra war. 

Released last December, the film was meant to coincide with Negroponte’s appointment as ambassador to Iraq. This weekend, the film will be screened in Berkeley to coincide with another move by Negroponte. Nominated by President Bush to be the director of national intelligence, a position that oversees the United State’s 15 security organizations, Negroponte could be confirmed during Senate hearings next week. 

“I’m amazed by the lack of uproar and indignation that his appointment [to director of intelligence] has engendered,” said Bonnie Hughes, the director of the Berkeley Arts Festival, which is organizing the screening.  

“Here is a person who presided over years of nefarious schemes that the government was carrying out in Central America and now he is going to be the head of all our national and international intelligence,” she said. “I don’t think those are particularly good qualifications for that job.” 

There will be a panel discussion following the showing, featuring Iain Boal, a social historian at UC Berkeley’s Institute of International Studies, and Mary Jo McConahay, Latin America editor at Pacific News Service, who has lived in and written about the area for more than 20 years. 

The Ambassador will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. The event is free, but donations are suggested. 

Laurette Goldberg, pioneer, prime mover and doyenne of early music in the Bay Area, died of heart failure Sunday morning in Alta Bates Hospital where she was undergoing treatment for other conditions. She was 73.  

If one woman were to be chosen as outstanding contributor to the Bay Area’s musical life over the past 50 years, it would have to be Laurette Goldberg. Prominent among her achievements was her founding the Philharmonia Baroque in 1981 and guiding America’s first full-time professional and leading early instrument orchestra through its first five seasons. At that point, in 1986, she gave birth to another original inspiration, MusicSources, a center for historical performance in Berkeley that contains a museum of early keyboard instruments, a library of historical performance practice documents and a school focusing on historically informed performance.  

Her viewpoint embraced all aspects of the art of early music, with one dominant, overriding idea that these elements be brought together. Mrs. Goldberg insisted that the five ingredients—the devoted listeners, the scholars, the instrument builders, teachers and performers—were essential to an early music community. A founding member of the San Francisco Early Music Society, she was an activist, a magnet drawing the prominent harpsichord builders here, drawing aspiring harpsichordists to her studio at home and of course, through Philharmonia Baroque, creating the institution that made it possible for a corpus of skilled players to come her to work and stay.  

Nicolas McGegan, whom she selected to take over the Philharmonia’s podium (it played without a conductor for its first four years), said that Laurette Goldberg “was the only reason why I am in the Bay Area. It was she who invited me to come. I have everything to thank her for. She was the mother of us all in the sense that, along with Alan Curtis, she began the big early music activity here which has flourished so it is one of the two big centers, along with Boston. It was Alan for his scholarship and Laurette through her boundless energy, founding Philharmonia and teaching at the Conservatory, generations of students, and then MusicSources. Her non-stop enthusiasm practically single-handedly created the conditions for early music here. She planted the garden and the flowers have produced a particularly fascinating show. Of Laurette, the most incredible quality was that she could found something like Philharmonia and sort of like a good mother, let it grow up and find its own way.”  

Peter Strykers, a Berkeley physician and pianist who became a harpsichordist studying with her, recalled the first inklings of Laurette Goldberg’s Philharmonia Baroque idea. “‘Peter,’ she said, ‘have you ever heard a baroque orchestra live? You know I haven’t either.’” And so just like that, she started it with Strykers as its first president and a board that included the architect Peter Winkelstein and the Honorable Marie Collins, Superior Court judge. “In the beginning all these people (the musicians) came from Holland and we started basically with a Dutch orchestra,” Strykers said, a native of Holland himself. “Her enthusiasm was one thing, her feel for style another. She had a sticker on her car that said ‘Articulate.’ I’ve never forgotten that.”  

Gilbert Martinez, artistic director designate of MusicSources, knew the woman he is to succeed since he was 13. Recalling his studies with her at the San Francisco Conservatory, he described yesterday her greatness in “challenging students’ intuitions about pieces. It was all about documenting our intuition, not accepting someone’s word about music.” Just last month, MusicSources produced an event designed to re-create Zimmerman’s coffee house in Leipzig where Bach held his Collegium and its performances. Intended as a fund-raising event, it became in effect the last celebration of Mrs. Goldberg by her friends and colleagues.  

Born Laurette Kushner-Cantor in Chicago, she began musical studies at four, made her debut at 12 playing Beethoven’s C major Concerto with a college orchestra. Her first great teacher was Rudolf Ganz at the Chicago Musical College, and later she was to study at Mills College with Egon Petri. Inspired by Wanda Landowska, she took up the harpsichord and by the 1960s, was teaching harpsichord on the instrument the Oakland Symphony’s conductor, Gerhard Samuel, encouraged her to purchase. She was performing with the Oakland Symphony as its keyboard artist and accompanying the Oakland Symphony Chorus. Her next inspiring teacher was Alice Ehlers, then Ralph Kirkpatrick, America’s first scholar/virtuoso harpsichordist.  

The most critical influence was probably Gustav Leonhardt, with whom Mrs. Goldberg was to work at length in Holland, and through whom she developed close ties to the other Dutch leaders in early music performance, Franz Brueggen, Anne Bylsma and Jaap Schroeder, relationships that were to shape the nature and style of the early music circle that formed around her. The soprano Anna Carol Dudley recalled Mrs. Goldberg’s passion about Bach during her Oakland Symphony days as a pianist, “learning to play the harpsichord because of that passion. It was wonderful to see the transformation of her keyboard technique when she came back from studying with Gustav Leonhardt." She was an accomplished player, but increasingly turned her attention and energy to teaching and promoting the cause of Baroque music performance. She wrote her own edition of J.S. Bach’s preludes and fugues, J.S. Bach Open Score, The Well-Tempered Clavier.  

Through all of her careers, she remained devoted to the audience and to youth. It was only natural then that she served as president of the Junior Bach Festival for several years. In later years she served the American Bach Soloists as advisor, and was still a board member at the time of her death. A former board member of Early Music America, she was awarded the Howard Mayer Award for lifetime achievement in the field of early music by that organization.  

Laurette Kushner-Cantor married Solomon Goldberg in February 1954 and they had three children before separating. She is survived by these three children, Daniel, Ron and Raquel, and her second husband, Alan Compher. Members of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra are working with MusicSources, the San Francisco Early Music Society, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to present a tribute and concert in her memory.  

This article was first published on the San Francisco Classical Voice website (www.sfcv.org).?

BORDER PATROL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

White guys with guns, volunteers patrolling the Arizona-Mexico border, smacks of the rebirth of old west vigilantes. Extremists with guns patrolling our southern border—since when did this become law? It sounds like immigrant hunters being allowed to act out their racism. Where are their white robes? President Bush called this one right by saying “I’m against vigilantes in the United States of America.” 

Ron Lowe 

Nevada City 

• 

DUE PROCESS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

If I were to ask you, Becky O’Malley, or you, Russ Mitchell, if you believe in due process, I am sure that your answer would be, “Of Course!” Yet both of you seem to support it for everyone except for teachers, the individuals who need to impart an understanding of this very important right to the next generation. Public school teachers have no due process rights during their first two years in a district. At that point, they gain what is popularly called tenure but is, in fact, the right to due process (university tenure is substantially different). Tenured teachers can be (and are) fired. The Education Code of the State of California lists some fourteen reasons for firing a tenured teacher; these include incompetence, unprofessional conduct, and failure to obey reasonable administrative directives. Tenured teachers are, however, entitled to a hearing at which the charges against them must be substantiated. The Berkeley Federation of Teachers is legally required to defend the right of a member to due process; it does this. It does not defend the actions (or inactions) of a teacher who has been charged under any of the 14 listed causes. Furthermore, the BFT works with the district (under BPAR) to help teachers who are having problems to either improve or, failing that, to understand that perhaps a quiet resignation would be in their interest. Finally, action against a tenured teacher must be filed by the district; it is not within the legal power of the union to initiate charges. Unfortunately, the district does not always act in situations in which a teacher should be fired. We all suffer as a result. 

Judith Bodenhausen 

BHS teacher 

Past president, BFT 

• 

TERRY SCHIAVO 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

One perspective of the Terry Schiavo incident that has not been addressed by the media nor the disabled community is whether the government or the individual has the right to make family health care decisions. No matter how well intended government, religion or society may be, the right to decide whether you or your family members are immunized, given chemotherapy or force fed through a tube is a personal responsibility and birthright. Have we become so irresponsible, so ignorant, so fearful that we are ready to allow others make these important decisions for us?  

Michael Bauce 

• 

TEACHERS’ UNION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Russ Mitchell is dead wrong in suggesting, in his recent letter to the editor, that the Berkeley Federation of Teachers is somehow an obstacle in dealing with the very serious issue of teacher quality.  

In fact, the BFT was the driving force in the establishment of a peer assistance and review program in our district. This program provides struggling teachers with a year of coaching and assistance. At the end of this year a panel made up of both union and district representatives makes recommendations to the Superintendent as to what further steps, if any, are needed to assist the referred teacher. The panel can also recommend to the superintendent that the teacher be dismissed.  

This panel of eight people takes its responsibilities very seriously, and an incredible amount of effort has been put forth in the last five years to create a program with integrity and substance, even in the face of very limited resources. The BFT is committed, as is the district, to directly confront the need to hold all teachers to very high standards of performance. To do any less is a disservice to our common mission.  

In addition, as was pointed out by another commentator in last week’s Daily Planet, the BFT has argued for more evaluations by principals of teachers, while the district has argued for fewer. Clearly, it is unfair to say that the teachers of Berkeley have a union that “stubbornly resists” efforts to hold all teachers to high standards.  

Cathy Campbell  

• 

DEATH WITH DIGNITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Many of the disabled oppose AB 654 which would give Californians the same right to die with dignity that mentally competent, terminally people have in Oregon. They believe that such a law would enable HMOs to pressure handicapped people into suicide. 

There is no evidence that anything of the kind has happened in Oregon. In the several years since the bill was passed about 130 people have actually been helped to die, but many others have said that knowing that they had that option was a great comfort. 

One thing we should all be able to agree on is the need for durable power of attorney for health care.  

Nancy Ward 

• 

IMMIGRATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

What’s wrong with this picture? We already have millions of American citizens who are already homeless, and yet at the same time, we’re inviting millions of mostly poverty-level immigrants to make their homes here. But don’t expect any of these liberal “homeless activists” to address this obvious issue. Likewise, we’re paving endless miles of open land to try and provide housing for these endless immigrants, its the biggest single threat to what’s left of America’s environment. But don’t expect any of these liberal Sierra Club “environmental activists” to address this obvious issue. These liberals are so hilarious. They’ve got it completely backwards: They put their pea-brained liberal rhetoric ahead of the actual reality. And then they wonder why their end-result is so useless. i.e. more homeless and less of our natural environment every year. Liberalism truly is a mental disorder. Followed by conservativism, which may be even crazier. Surely there’s a third way.  

Peter Labriola 

• 

GORE TV 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Al Gore’s latest brainstorm, the coming “Current” cable television news/culture network, which is scheduled to debut on Aug. 1, may turn out to be just another bump in the road in the increasingly irrelevant corporate mainstream media. The Gore plan is to take over and eviscerate the Newsworld International channel offerings broadcast from Canada, which is the best and the most thoughtful of the corporate news channels, and to replace it with a hip MTV-like version of cable news with snippets and “pods” of short and oh-so-hip news clips.  

Al Gore freely admits that he is not trying to create a television version of the brilliantly successful progressive liberal Air America radio network. No, the chronically unhip Al Gore is trying to create a nebulous new hip youth-oriented cable network show modeled after MTV. Well, thanks, but no thanks. MTV and its imitators such as VH-1 and BET have almost single-handedly destroyed whatever political relevance that rock-and-roll music ever had in the late 1960s and early 1970s and have replaced it with vile vulgar voyeuristic entertainment along the lines of “hip-grinding” for corporate greed.  

What we do need is a national progressive liberal cable news network that would be a television version of the brilliant successful Air America Radio Network, which is growing by leaps and bounds, recently completed its first year of operation and which currently broadcasts to a majority of the country’s major media markets. I fail to understand the motivation of Al Gore and his financial backers with their “Current” cable television project in its plan to ape the vulgar MTV music video format. Like Al Gore’s short and lame attempt to grow and sport a gray beard, this “Current” project may also come over as lame and ill-fitting.  

Al Gore is a brilliant progressive thinker, writer and speaker; he would undoubtedly do very well at hosting a cable news discussion program that would focus on recent events. It is too bad that he and his backers seem to be going off on a tangent with MTV-style programming adventure. 

There certainly is a crying need to create a progressive liberal cable television news network to act as an antidote and as an alternative to the present awful mainstream corporate cable television lineup of Fox (faux), CNN (the second-most distrusted name (after faux)) and MSNBC (Microsoft monopoly filters information to keep you safe from reality), which almost always parrot the reactionary bush regime line. 

Maybe Air America will take the plunge into producing a progressive cable television news network in the near future. Here’s hoping.  

James K. Sayre 

Oakland 

• 

RFID 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Knowing that the Berkeley Public Library is implementing an RFID tracking system, I found it useful to read Robert O. Harrow’s book No Place to Hide. It documents the growing reliance on high tech surveillance methods and potentials for abuse, including RFIDs. More specific to libraries is the new blog website: www.libraryrfid.net, a resource of current published material on the use of RFIDs in libraries.  

Josephine Arasteh 

• 

TEACHER PAY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

On April 6 at the Berkeley School Board meeting, Berkeley teachers, parents, and community severely criticized the school board and the superintendent on their proposal to cut teacher pay and their refusal to honor maximum class sizes. I find it ironic that the board members were upset that many of the parents and teachers left before they could respond to the criticism when: 

1) The school board has been unilaterally mailing and e-mailing district propaganda and preventing any response from the community that is in support of the teacher positions. 

2) The district has stonewalled any positive communication by stalling negotiations for over two years with its employees. 

I would urge the school board members to listen to their own words and compare them to the rhetoric given by any large corporation exploiting its workers. “We’d love to compensate you properly but we have to cut your pay because we don’t have enough money,” “the workers have the numbers wrong” and “It’s not fair to threaten to strike even if we aren’t paying you properly!” 

If the board is so sincere and is committed to equitable compensation, as they vehemently claim, why do they not address the request that the pay cut for teachers would only be suspended if increased funding actually materializes?  

Berkeley teachers work hard and don’t deserve a pay cut as the board proposes. I understand that money is tight, but it seems reasonable that if increased funding actually comes from the state, some of the money is used to offset increased healthcare premiums the teachers will be paying over the next several years. 

I would like to thank the many parents and community members who came out to support the teacher protests and actions against the proposed pay cut. Teachers are doing everything they can to avoid a strike, which would be devastating for students and teachers alike, but ultimately, teachers have families to support and will not work if the district insists on cutting their pay even as the cost of living in the Bay Area continues to rise every day. I invite the board to drop their polemics and really address the issue—are they willing to drop the pay cut if increased money materializes from Sacramento. 

Gen Kogure 

Berkeley teacher 

• 

CUTTING DOWN TREES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

After buying two lots facing both Oregon and M.L.K, the Thai Buddhists, like Pacific Lumber, have clear cut their land, taking down trees, bushes, plants and three Coastal Live Oaks. Where there was once green beauty, producing much needed oxygen for our neighbors, habitat for small creatures, and food for urban farmers, there is now a flat, ugly plain. It’s said they plan to landscape, but if their other lots are any indication, that means rose bushes in wine barrels which will hardly hide the parking lot and temple they apparently plan. 

Oregon Street is zoned residential and an enlargement of their restaurant, parking and another temple hardly seem residential. One wonders where their plans are—in the Planning Department, floating around the Zoning Department, still with the architects? 

The neighbors are dismayed both about what has happened and what may happen and want some answers from those in charge at the Temple. 

Jeanne Burdette 

• 

JEFFERSON SCHOOL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am shocked regarding the renaming of schools bearing the name of Thomas Jefferson who was probably our greatest American patriot. 

Out third president’s literary skills created the Declaration of Independence. Her was a proponent of freedom of worship, public education, reform of the penal code, and civil rights. Yes, he was a slave owner as were most wealthy land owners of that era, including George Washington. (Will the names of those schools also be considered for change?) Jefferson was one of the first to propose the emancipation of slaves. His greatest accomplishments as president were the Louisiana Purchase and support of the Lewis and Clark expedition which brought about national expansion. He was a true intellectual, a fine musician and architect who promoted those causes. He was committed to peaceful diplomacy, education and belief in the rights of man. 

It is a disgrace that this great man’s reputation is being questioned. Haven’t the parents and student been taught about his great accomplishment and devotion to his country and its people? 

Bonnie McPherson Killip 

Oakland 

• 

POPE’S DENVER VISIT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

With world attention focused on the pope, I thought your readers might possibly be interested in my own personal papal experience. My big chance came in 1993 when I had an opportunity to be blessed by the pope in Denver. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.  

Although the pope would manage to arrive on my birthday, I felt obliged to miss the occasion because I was too emotionally torn up by what I perceived to be a Serious Gopher Situation prior his arrival.  

It was decided that the best location to accommodate the crowds would be an area out near Chatfield Dam. The only disadvantage to this choice was a huge colony of gophers which had lived there peacefully for years. The city fathers gave up any idea of exterminating the gophers, fearing demonstrations by animal rights groups and environmentalists might mar the solemnity of the papal visit. 

Accordingly, somebody located a specially qualified gopher expert who assured the city that he could deal with the gophers in a humane manner that didn’t require extermination. 

Sitting at the breakfast table reading the morning paper, I was amazed at the gopher expert’s plan. It seems that he owned a special gopher vacuum cleaner which would suck all the gophers out of their tunnels. The gophers would then be caged and transported to a less holy place where they would be released. 

Then, after the pope departed and the gophers meanwhile had become fairly comfortable and adjusted to the new location, this same humane gopher expert would once again suck his little friends out of their new homes and return them to the heavily trampled field near Chatfield Dam. There, presumably, he would attach the hose to the other end of the vacuum cleaner and blast them all back into their former tunnels. 

I completely lost my appetite for breakfast. All I could think of was those poor innocent gophers. Undoubtedly, many of them would develop BGS (Battered Gopher Syndrome). I could visualize their little bodies all aching and wracked with pain—known in the vernacular as “gopher broke.”  

I wondered how this self-styled “humane” gopher expert could avoid blowing them all into the wrong burrows. Mothers might be cut off from their helpless little ones, devoted couples could be separated forever, and innocent young gopher females might accidentally be blown into a tunnel of dirty old male gophers.  

No matter how helpful being blessed by the pope might be for the sinful person that I am, I could not see myself standing in that field to make it happen. 

Anne Folsom 

?

Click here to view the latest work by Planet cartoonist Justin DeFreitas

It appears that with a full two years still left in his term, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown is going the aging rock star route, giving us a sort of nostalgic farewell tour, complete with “the best of Jerry” retrospectives by local media as he waves his way out the City Hall door. Our friends at the San Francisco Chronicle have been leading the pack, absolutely gushing over Mr. Brown as they describe the “success” of the mayor’s promise to bring 10,000 new residents to downtown Oakland (“Downtown Brown,” March 20), his increasingly law-and-order stances as he bucks up his credentials for California Attorney General (“Tough Penalties For ‘Sideshows’—Mayor Proposes Curfews For Those Convicted Of Reckless Driving,” March 30), or his wedding to Anne Gust (too numerous to mention in one column). 

You have to read deep into the Chronicle’s “Downtown Brown” article before you get what we used to call “critical analysis”: “But experts say that Oakland’s urban core won’t gain critical mass until new stores and restaurants arrive in meaningful numbers,” reporter Dan Levy writes. “The lack of a true urban buzz has been the main shortcoming of Brown’s 10k vision. Major retailers have so far shunned downtown Oakland, preferring the big- box stores and shopping centers of neighboring Emeryville, commercial real estate brokers say. The tomb-like Sears department store at 20th and Broadway is a conspicuous example of downtown’s retail failure.” 

Even when they are (slightly) critical of Mr. Brown, local journalists—who should know better—miss the point. In a March 11 column on “Brown Looks To Life After Oakland,” Chronicle columnist Chip Johnson writes: “Reviewing [Mayor Brown’s online] calendar from May through last week shows why some critics would contend that Brown has reduced his mayoral presence for a law-and-order campaign that would vault him to his next position as the state’s attorney general. … Nearly two-thirds of all of Brown’s scheduled appearances—106 of the total—were consumed by trips outside of Oakland, radio talk shows in Los Angeles and the Bay Area or media interviews with national magazines, newspapers or television news shows.” The problem is, some of us have been reviewing Mr. Brown’s online calendar for years (and even written columns about them), and it is difficult to see much change from the beginning to the middle to the beginning-of-the-end of his administration. Mr. Brown has never been as interested in Oakland as he is in the rest of the world, if you judge by the public time he says he puts in our town. 

The further you get from Oakland, the gushier it gets. “A Match Made In Oakland” in the Sacramento Bee this week starts out with “Anne Gust must be one heck of a woman,” and fills space at the end with speculation as to whether or not Mr. Brown’s old girlfriend Linda Rondstadt will be at the wedding (Ms. Gust says Mr. Brown has invited her, and she approves), and whether or not there will be a wedding waltz to one of Ms. Rondstadt’s tunes. For Oaklanders who think all of this free publicity is good for our city, they might want to think again. In its only description of Oakland, the Bee article notes that Brown and Gust currently “cohabitate in a loft on a gritty street in downtown Oakland.” (Note to Cynthia Hubert at the Bee: there are many areas in Oakland that one might describe as “gritty.” However, the corner where Mr. Brown and Ms. Gust live is not one of them.) 

And when there have been articles about Oakland’s problems, at least recently, they manage to put Mr. Brown in the position of the exasperated father who cannot understand why the teenagers have not gone to sleep after he has repeatedly gone up to their room and urged them to do so. In an article this week on reports of Oakland’s 52 percent public school dropout rate, reporter Nanette Asimov of the Chronicle writes: “It’s astounding and unconscionable,” said Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown. “It’s a crisis that’s been going on for decades. Oakland is trying hard. They need money. They need leadership. It’s quite daunting, and it’s going to require a lot more truth-telling and honesty than has been forthcoming in recent decades.” 

They? 

What Ms. Asimov appears to have missed is that for the past five years, since Oakland voters passed Measure D, Mr. Brown has had the privilege of appointing three members to join the seven elected members of the board of directors of the Oakland Unified School District, making him by far the most powerful individual shareholder of that institution (if OUSD were a football team, Mr. Brown would be Al Davis). A fair reading of recent Oakland history might be that before Mr. Brown came on the scene, Oakland schools were solvent and making slow, but steady, progress. After Mr. Brown won the right to make 30 percent of the school board appointments in 2000, the Oakland school system virtually collapsed, went into state receivership, and students and parents are streaming out by the busload. Unconscionable? Yes, indeed. There is an irony there that, apparently, most of our news outlets have not caught. 

Other low points of the Brown administration? 

If you’re talking development, you might look at the fact that while obsessing with downtown for six years, Mr. Brown has failed to understand where Oakland’s commercial potential actually lies. Oakland has a series of marvelously successful local commercial districts that could have used the “star power” and push that Brown gave to his 10k plan: Piedmont and College Avenues, Grand Avenue and Lakeshore, Montclair Village, Fruitvale, the Laurel District, and Chinatown come immediately to mind (we’ll return to Chinatown in a moment). Meantime, commercial centers like the Jack London Gateway Shopping Center (formerly the Acorn Shopping Center) in West Oakland and the Foothill Center in East Oakland are hanging on, but suffering from neglect (Foothill just announced its losing its anchor supermarket, Albertsons). 

Even if you’re talking about downtown development, Mr. Brown’s vision appears to have looked the wrong way. He has focused on uptown, helping to win city subsidies for the Forest City project which is (again) slated to attract a lot of “new” residents into Oakland. Meanwhile Chinatown, which long ago figured out a way to successfully mix commercial and residential in downtown Oakland, gets little official attention or notice. A better plan for the last six years than the uptown dream might have been a project to link lower downtown past the Civic Center with Chinatown and the Jack London Square area, figuring out a way to move the depressed and depressing public buildings (jail, police station, coroner’s office, et. al) in between to another location nearer to the judicial center around the Alameda County Courthouse on Fallon. 

There’s more, of course, but we’ve run out of room, just as the administration of Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown is slowly running out its time. 

Buena Vista Blaze 

Firefighters rushed to a home at 3075 Buena Vista Way at 5:06 p.m. Wednesday and arrived to find flames pouring out of the second floor windows. 

The main part of the blaze was quickly extinguished, said Deputy Fire Chief David Orth. The fire did considerable damage to the roof as well as the second floor. Orth said the fire apparently resulted from wiring in the first floor which quickly spread to the upper floor. 

Two firefighters sustained minor injuries while battling the flames. 

The structural damage is estimated at $500,000. The fire also destroyed an estimated $50,000 worth or property in the house. Among the personal belongings firefighters were able to save was the urn with the ashes of the owner’s deceased husband.  

$70,000 Blaze 

A fire that began shortly after 8 p.m. the same evening did an estimated $70,000 in damage to a residence at 1779 Sonoma Ave. 

Fire crews arrived to find a rear bedroom ablaze, with the flames rolling over the ceiling. Once the blaze was extinguished, Deputy Chief Orth and another investigator determined that the blaze started at an electrical outlet. 

Apartment Fire 

After a 7:01 a.m. call Thursday, firefighters rushed to an apartment at 2819 McGee Ave., where a cooking fire spread from the kitchenette to a shared living room. 

Though the flames were quickly quenched, the fire managed to inflict $20,000 in damages to the building and an equal amount to the contents.  

Decisions about public libraries should be made publicly. But just as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in library books can be secretly read and tracked, the Berkeley Public Library (BPL) installed RFID technology with little public awareness or discussion. Indeed, it appears that BPL did not tell the library’s governing body about known problems with RFID at other libraries before RFID was approved in April 2004. We think this gives the Board of Library Trustees (BOLT) ample reason to reconsider and reject RFID in Berkeley. 

Our review of documents the library provided in response to our information request, and three years of BOLT agendas and minutes at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/library, shows the following: 

1. RFID never appeared on any BOLT agenda for discussion or action in the three years before BOLT discussed and approved selection of the RFID vendor in 

March and April 2004.  

2. The issue of RFID privacy concerns appeared only once in three years of minutes. No other problems of RFID were discussed, according to the minutes.  

3. There is no evidence that BOLT was told about the potential health risks of RFID, which have been raised by the EMR Policy Institute, San Francisco Neighborhood Antenna Free Union (SNAFU), and others. By contrast, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors took the potential health risks seriously in July 2004 when it refused to unconditionally fund RFID at San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) and instead required SFPL to come back in six months to explain how it would handle privacy threats and potential health risks. 

4. There is no evidence that BOLT was told about RFID’s huge security weakness: that books can be taken from the library, undetected by the RFID system, if a person uses household aluminum foil to block the radio signal. 

5. There is no evidence that BOLT was told about the ongoing costs of RFID-tags cost far more than bar codes and magnetic strips now in use, especially for certain non-book materials like CDs and videos. 

RFID Problems Elsewhere 

The library documents we obtained also show that BPL staff researched other libraries’ experience with RFID and found a host of problems. The Eugene (Ore.) Public Library reported “collision” problems on very thin materials and on videos as well as “false readings” from the RFID security gates. (Collision problems mean that two or more tags are close enough to “cancel the signals,” according to an American Library Association publication, making them undetectable by the RFID checkout and security systems.) 

Many libraries reported problems with so-called “donut” RFID tags, which are flat labels with a hole in the middle for use on CDs. Three libraries said, “Donuts don’t work.” Another library said, “Many CDs have metal in them; this is a problem since RFID will not work.” Libraries also reported that donut tags did not stick to the CD and could not be read easily.  

These problems with donut tags undermine one of the supposed benefits of RFID in libraries: that patron self-service check-out of CDs and videos will relieve staff of the need to remove the security cases often used with magnetic-strip security systems. Indeed, one library that implemented RFID reported that the self-service check-out rate declined from 20 percent to 15 percent—contrary to repeated claims that RFID implementation would dramatically increase self-service check-out rates. 

BPL’s staff report described a multi-part problem with RFID tags at a Checkpoint Systems installation, writing that the library “is finding the metallic inks in book jackets to be a serious problem for checkout/checkin/security. Ironically, the book tagged for me in TS as a demo had metallic inks and would not self check out or set off the security gates....” 

Some libraries criticized Checkpoint Systems, which is supplying Berkeley’s RFID system. One library noted, “Items added cannot be recognized by Checkpoint system for check-out/security until nightly synchronization between III [the library’s computer system] and Checkpoint.” Another library said, “Checkpoint system needs a totally separate server that must be synchronized at night. This is a bad idea.” A delay in matching the server’s records to the library’s own computer records could make it very hard to enforce borrowing limits that help make library materials available to more patrons. We have heard informally from staff that borrowing limits will not be enforced once RFID is implemented.  

Did the Board of Library Trustees know about these problems? Unfortunately, the agendas and minutes do not show that RFID problems were presented or discussed in any meaningful way, or that the public had advance public notice that RFID was being considered. We therefore question the library administration’s claim that the decision to adopt RFID was a truly public process.  

Finally, we note that the library’s contract with Checkpoint Systems can be canceled on 30 days’ notice for any reason or none, and with no penalty. Section 3.d. of the contract states: “If city terminates this contract for convenience before Contractor completes the services in Exhibit A, Contractor shall then be entitled to recover its costs expended up to that point plus a reasonable profit, but no other loss, cost, damage, expense or liability may be claimed, requested, or recovered.” 

We think the library should cancel this RFID implementation and stick with a system that has worked well and cheaply for many years. The many issues associated with RFID—serious privacy threats, potential health risks, a big security hole, many technical problems, lack of interoperability among vendors, and potentially high operational costs—make the use of RFID at BPL a very bad idea. 

Peter Warfield is executive director and co-founder of the Library Users Association. Lee Tien is a senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a long-time Berkeley resident. 

I would like to pose several questions and also state a couple of facts that were left out of your article discussing public safety overtime in the City of Berkeley.  

Why did the Daily Planet feel the necessity to publish individual names in the April 5 article? It appears that the Daily Planet has a specific agenda rather than a desire to include all the facts and produce an objective report. If the people listed in the article were offenders of a crime, or there was any benefit to their names being published, I would understand. But in this case, I cannot think of one reason why the article would not have been just as effective if written in a non-specific fashion, simply stating rank and salary earned. These employees are now fearful of harassment and retaliatory actions by angered readers that have been given a biased view of the current overtime situation in our department.  

Would this story have been worded differently if the majority of the overtime had been split more evenly amongst more than three of our members? The numbers would not have been so impressive; I wonder if the story would have even been published? Remember that these individuals spent more than 1200-plus hours each (in addition to their normal 56-hour work schedule) during that year earning overtime; it didn’t just get handed to them! 

When discussing public safety overtime you have to keep several things in mind: First, we are mandated to keep a certain level of service available to the city 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That means that whenever someone is on vacation, off on sick leave, injured or retires and creates a vacancy that takes time to fill, it creates an open position that has to be backfilled by an employee, who will receive overtime pay. This is not an option for us. If there are no volunteers for the open position(s), then we get what is called a mandatory overtime assignment. When this occurs, we (firefighters) have no choice but to stay and work….no matter what other personal obligations we might have at home. The frequency of this occurrence in 2004 was at an all time high—as a direct result of understaffing, combined with our regular vacation and sick leaves. 

A firefighter works 24-hour shifts compared to the normal 8-hour day. Let’s compare the numbers: A 40-hour employee works eight hours a day, 160 hours a month and 1920 hours a year (not including vacation or holidays). A 24-hour employee works 24 hours a day, 212 hours a month and 2,912 hours a year (again, with no vacation or holidays). So, a firefighter works a minimum of 992 (24.8 weeks) MORE than a 40-hour worker, not including any overtime hours! 

The Fire Department has become a multi-discipline profession. We are who you call when don’t know what to do, when city offices are closed, when you don’t have the resources at home to deal with a situation. We are trained in firefighting operations, paramedicine, hazardous materials response, basic water rescue, structural collapse rescue operations, tactical emergency medicine and act as liaisons from citizens to available city/county services. Many of us have the knowledge of two to three entirely separate professions (each of which would pay 50-60K in the private sector); we train hard, put many volunteer hours in to career development and deserve what we earn in salary and benefits! Not to mention that a significant number of us retire and pass away within two to six years from job related illnesses, mainly cancer. 

The city has been aware of the increase in our PERS (firefighter retirement plan) costs. The spike was projected some time ago by the state organization that manages our plan (CalPERS). The article states the police overtime budget was projected at 2.4 million, the Fire Department budget was projected by our administration (apparently at a lower number), is there a possibility that the numbers were simply projected incorrectly? 

We are here to protect and serve this community, period. All Berkeley citizens should be aware of that fact. Yes, we might require a large budget when retirement costs temporarily rise, but I live in this city, and I am more than willing to pay for that protection! Firefighters and police officers are the people that you never want to see pulling up in front of your house. But when you need us, we can’t get there fast enough! When you need us, wouldn’t you want us fully staffed, to have all our stations open 24/7 and for us to be trained and equipped with the latest technology!! Before making any judgments about the firefighters or police officers in your city, please investigate and gather all the facts. Don’t take the opinion of one side —this is a complicated issue. 

David Sprague-Livingston is a Berkeley resident and firefighter.  

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A memorial service for Maria King scheduled for Saturday, April 9, has been postponed. The memorial will now be held at 4 p.m. May 15 at St. Joseph The Worker Church. King, a homeless woman, was stomped to death earlier this year.?

FRIDAY, APRIL 8 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Between Dimensions” Large sculptural paintings of the atmosphere by Ruth von Jahnke Waters. Reception at 5 p.m. Gallery 940, 940 Dwight Way at Ninth St. 

“Color-Full” works by Jane Norling, Renata Gray, Aiko Kobayashi Gray, and others. Reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at WCRC Gallery, 5741 Telegraph Ave. 601-4040. 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, “Working,” inspired by Studs Terkel, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman. Through May 7. Tickets are $13-$15. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Albany High School Theater “Wit” and “Benefactor” Thurs. at 7 p.m., Fri. at 8 p.m. and Sat. at 2 and 8 p.m. through April 16, at Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd., Albany. Tickets are $5-$10. 558-2500, ext. 2579.  

Aurora Theatre, “Blue/Orange” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m., 2081 Addison St. through May 15. Tickets are $28-$45. 843-4822. www.aurora.theatre.org 

BareStage Productions “She Loves Me!” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. through April 24 at Choral Rehearsal Hall, Cesar Chavez Student Center, UC Campus. Tickets are $8-$10. http://tickets.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley Repertory Theater “For Better or Worse” at the Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. and runs through April 24. Tickets are $20-$55. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Laney College Theater, “Legacy for LoEshe” in memory of a girl slain in West Oakland, Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m., through April 21, at 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Tickets are $5-$9. 464-3544. 

“Proof” by David Auburn, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. through May 7 at The Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Tickets are $13. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

Shotgun Players “The Just” by Albert Camus. Thurs.- Sun. at 8 p.m. at 1901 Ashby Ave. through April 10. Tickets are $10-$30. 841-6500.  

“Side-By-Side by Sondheim” by Theater on the Hill, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. Reservations required. Tickets are $20-$40. 525-0302.  

FILM 

An Evening with Frederick Wiseman: “Central Park” at 7:30 p.m. at Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Oriah Mountain Dreamer describes “What We Ache For” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Free. 845-7852.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Sweet Honey in the Rock at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$46. 642-9988.  

UC Jazz Spring Concert at 8 p.m. at International House, Piedmont Ave. at Bancroft. Tickets are $5-$10. 642-5062. 

Bustin’ Out, the best of hip hop, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $17-$20 at the door. www.juliamorgan.org  

Bobby N. Barrett Night of Music at St. Mary’s College High School, 1294 Albina Ave. Reception at 6:30 p.m., performance at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30. 526-9242.  

Rythms in Reason A collaboration with Naked Souls Artist Alliance at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7-$10. 849-2568.  

Samba Da and Universal Language, Latin dance groove at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054.  

Uday Bhawalker with Manik Munde at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Jill Knight at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

The Cheat, Foreign Telegram, Barefoot Bride, rock, at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5-$7. 848-0886.  

Rock Lotto at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082.  

Kevin Seconds and his Ghetto Moments at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10.  

Sasha Dobson Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

DJ & Brook, jazz trio, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Blowfly at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $7-$10. 548-1159.  

Will Bernard & Motherbug at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Light’s Out, Our Turn, The First Step, Right On at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Dave Holland Big Band at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Fri. Cost is $14-$20. 238-9200.  

SATURDAY, APRIL 9 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Bonnie Lockhart at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Plant Portraits: The California Legacy of A. R. Valentien” An exhibition of watercolors at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts.  

“Memories of Southeast Asia” by Andrea Fumagalli, at 4 p.m. at 4th Street Studio, 1717D Fourth St. 527-0600.  

THEATER 

Cuentos: Voices for (Our) Stories: “Poch@” with Madmedia at 8 p.m. at La Peña. Tickets are $7-$10. 849-2568.  

FILM 

Crying in Color: “Moulin Rouge” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Oriah Mountain Dreamer discusses her book “What We Ache For” at 7 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St.  

“Julia Morgan: The Paris Years” with Ph.D. candidate Karen McNeill at 4 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Cost is $15. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Kirov Orchestra “Russian Spectacular” at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $36-$72. 642-9988.  

Trinity Chamber Concert “Three Trapped Tigers” recorder music at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Cost is $8-$12. 549-3864.  

Philharmonia Baroque “Cathedral of Toledo” at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana and Durant. Tickets are $28-$62. 415-392-4400. 

Pacific Boychoir Academy Spring Concert at 7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 2619 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $20. 452-4722.  

Piedmont Choirs, early music concert at 8 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. 547-4441.  

Bustin’ Out, the best of hip hop, at 8 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $17-$20 at the door.  

Barbara Higbie at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Shiftless Rounders, Naked Barbies at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

Sister I-Live, Razorblade, reggae, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054.  

Jaime Wyatt, West Grand, Abandon Theory, rock, pop, alt at 9:30 at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8-$10. 848-0886.  

Angel Magik at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $15. 548-1159.  

Brindl, singer-songwriter, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Fred Zimmerman at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

The Rio Thing at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473.  

Gospel Extravaganza at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373.  

Helen Chaya at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10.  

Flaming Fire, Faun Fable, Sevenly Virtues at 9 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway at 2nd St. Cost is $10. 763-1146.  

Meli at 7 and 9 p.m. at Spud’s Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $5. 597-0795. 

Peter Barshay’s Pit of Fashion Orchestra at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Kill Your Idols, Forward to Death, All or Nothing at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

Andy Bey Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $15-$18. 238-9200.  

SUNDAY, APRIL 10 

CHILDREN  

Charity Kahn and the JamJamJam Band at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054.  

“The World in My Neighborhood: Asian Cultures” family day from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Phoebe Hearst Museum, Bancroft Way at College Ave. Cost is $3-$4. 642-7648. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Narrating Moral Models” Lecture at 2 p.m., guided tour at 3:15 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. 642-0808.  

“Berkeley Police Department: A Century of Innovation” reception at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley History Center, 1931 Center St. 848-0181.  

“Space is the Place” Installations by Sarah Cain, Christian Maycheck and others. Reception from 2 to 4 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. 644-6893.  

FILM 

“For the Love of It” Annual Festival of Amateur FIlmmaking at 8:10 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642- 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with Alan Williamson and Jeanne Foster at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852.  

Berkeley Literary Women’s Revolution at 3 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Volkert-Walther Trio at 2 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. Preconcert lecture at 1:30 p.m. 444-3555.  

Philharmonia Baroque “Cathedral of Toledo” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana and Durant. Tickets are $28-$62. 415-392-4400.  

Tekla Cummingham and Jonathan Rhodes Lee perform music by J.S. Bach and sons at 2 p.m. at Music Sources, 1000 The Alameda. Tickets are $10-$15. 

Organ Recital with Jason Abel at 6:10 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way at Ellsworth. 845-0888. 

Wayne Shorter Acoutic Quartet at 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$46. 642-9988.  

Four Seasons Concerts, Mauricio Nader, piano, at 4 p.m. at Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $25-$35. 601-7919.  

East Bay School for Girls Concert “Inspiration” at 3 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $10-$25. 849-9444.  

Jyota Kala Mandir at 5 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $10-$15.  

Sara Ayala & Los Flamenquitos at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Horacio Salinas at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568.  

Faye Carol at 6 and 8 p.m. at Black Rep, 3201 Adeline St. Donation $20 benefits Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors. 465-1617. 

Noxa, Lowki, Maxwell Adams at 4 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8. All ages show. 848-0886.  

Jazzschool Big Band at 4:30 at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373.  

Vance Gilbert at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Acoustic Singers-Songwriters at 7:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10.  

Champion, Blue Monday at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

MONDAY, APRIL 11 

EXHIBITIONS 

Annual Quilt Show opens at the North Berkeley Public Library, 1170 The Alameda, at Hopkins, and runs through May 21. 981-6250. 

FILM 

The 5th Annual United Nations Association Film Festival “Values of Tolerance” with two documentaries “In Rwanda We Say” and “talk Mogadishu: Media Under Fire.” Reception at 6:30 p.m., films at 7 and 9:30 p.m. at Pacific Film Archive. Tickets are $8-$10 at the door. 849-1752. www.unausaeastbay.org, www.unaff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“The Lost Kingdom of Siam: The Art of Central Thailand, 1350-1800” a slide lecture with Asian Art Museum docent Jo Anne Erickson at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

The Cross Gender Caravan cutting edge fiction and poetry at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Poetry Express, featuring Gypsy the Acid Drama Queen from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Brubeck Institute Jazz Sextet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, APRIL 12 

CHILDREN 

Storytelling Performance with Randel McGee protraying Hans Christian Anderson at 6:30 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

EXHIBITIONS 

40th Annual Student Art Show featuring artwork by middle and high school students from the West Contra Costa Unified School District at the Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Ave., Richmond. 620-6772. www.therichmondartcenter.org 

FILM 

Alternative Visions: Devotional Cinema Screening and reading by Nathaniel Dorsky at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Marc Ian Barasch introduces “Field Notes on the Compassionate Life: A Search for the Soul of Kindness” at 7:30 p.m. First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Suggested donation $10. Sponsored by Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Sandy Boucher discusses her biography of Buddhist teacher Ruth Denison, “Dancing in Dharma”at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Mutabaruka, reggae dub poet, at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Oslo, The Girlfriend Experience, Harold Lies, indie rock, punk, alternative, at 9:30 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5-$7. 848-0886.  

Dead Meadow, Jennifer Gentle at 8:30 p.m. at Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. 

The Movement Spring 2005 Showcase at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $7 at the door.  

John Mackay Duo at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Swingin’ Doors, The Shut-Ins, Gayle Lynn and the Hired Hands, hulabilly, at 9:30 p.m. at The Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $5. 444-6174.  

Hiromi, piano, at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200.  

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

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13 

THEATER 

“Bright River” A hip-hop retelling of Dante’s Inferno, at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Tickets are $12-$35. 415-256-8499. www.inhousetickets.com 

FILM 

Cine Contemporaneo: “La Cienaga” at 7 p.m. in the CLAS Conference Room, 2334 Bowditch St. 642-2088. www.clas.berkeley.edu 

Best of Banff Mountain Film Festival at 7 p.m. at Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. Tickets are $12-$15 available at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

History of Cinema: “The Day I Became a Woman” at 3 p.m. and Marina Goldovskaya “Solvoky Power” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Robert Polhemus talks about “Lot’s Daughters: Sex, Redemption, and a Woman’s Quest for Authority” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Alice Carey reads from her memoir “I’ll Know It When I See It: A Daughter’s Search for a Home in Ireland” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

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. 

Café Poetry with Kira Allen at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Donation $2. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Janet Stickman introduces “Crushing Soft Rubies” at 7 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. www.belladonna.ws 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert, with Ting Chin, cello, at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Music for the Spirit with Ron McKean on the Rosales Organ at 12:15 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555.  

Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $28-$48. 642-9988.  

Ned Boynton Trio at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Bernard Anderson and the Old School Band at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing dance lesson with Nick & Shanna at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054.  

Los Rumberos, salsa, at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Enion Pelta and Jamie Stillway Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Babatunde Lea with Steve Turre at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com

Several years ago on a visit to Los Angeles I passed a woman who seemed to me quintessentially Californian. She wore immaculately tailored jeans, a crisp shirt, her burnished hair flowed luxuriantly, her complexion glowed, she was the very picture of health and elegance. And she was swinging along on rollerblades.  

Some time after that I was fortunate to make the acquaintance of another southern Californian, a woman who on entering a room made her northern counterparts feel just plain dowdy. She too had an insouciant disregard for her own elegance. With a passion for photography, she thought nothing of grovelling through muddy swamps and thorny thickets to capture on film her prey. Unusual attribute though this seemed to me, it was as nothing compared with her ability to achieve her goal. 

For just as it did for Henri Fabre, the great French entomologist, nature positively leapt into her orbit wherever she was. While adjusting her camera to focus on a grass seed, butterflies—not just one, but flocks—would flutter out of nowhere and settle on her hat. Once she invited me to go with her to visit a certain pond, I forget why. On arrival, we found the pond crammed with frogs. There was no space at all between them, a thousand eyes bulging out to greet her. On another occasion she casually turned over a leaf. Beneath was a spotted lizard, so rare that it has barely been described. It was with mixed feelings that I said goodbye when she left the area. She was a little too eldritch for comfort. 

She did however leave a legacy in that I tried to be more scientific in the garden I had at that time. The passion vine for example that smothered a chainlink fence may have been an infertile species, but it hosted a veritable soap opera of insects. Conspicuous was the gulf fritillary butterfly, whose burnt orange and silver wings gloriously complemented Passiflora jamesonii’s coral-pink flowers. I felt a trifle silly measuring the fritillary caterpillars that feed on the vine, yet it added a dimension to the spectacle to discover that on reaching a precise length, they pupate. Furthermore, they do so dramatically, hanging from their hind quarters and swinging violently from side to side before splitting and shedding their skins. At their most vulnerable at this time, naturally they attracted attention, and wasps constantly patrolled the vine, often snatching chunks of caterpillar presumably for their own children. 

The most extraordinary encounter I had with an insect was, however, indoors. One morning I noticed a large thread-waisted black and yellow wasp wobbling through the open bedroom window, like a husband returning from a night on the tiles. Tracking it, I discovered it had started to build a cluster of mud cells on a corner of a picture frame. Each cell was a perfect clay pot, laid down coil by laborious coil, journey by laborious journey to and from the duck pond below the window. I left this open until the day came when each pot had a lid, and a coating of mud had been smoothed over all. Only she and I knew what was hidden inside, that each pot contained an egg, with food added to nourish the larva when the egg hatched. 

After a little research (it is useful to live in a university town) I learned that the wasp was the well-named mud dauber, Sceliphron caementarium, and was able to calculate when the first offspring would emerge. Mindful of my southern Californian friend, I was determined to photograph the event. 

The great day arrived and I was in time to capture on film what was resting on the picture frame near an open cell. I was so surprised by what I saw that I nearly dropped the camera. For, instead of the black and yellow mud dauber I had anticipated, here was a chunky fly of brilliant metallic blue. I later learned that it was a large blue cuckoo wasp, Chrysis coerulans, and its parent had indeed played cuckoo, imitating the European bird which lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. Several more of these interlopers emerged, and also, I was thankful to see, a sufficient proportion of mud daubers. 

I’ve always felt that Fabre had the right idea when he bought a plot of land and spent his life observing the interplay of insects therein. Edwin Way Teale, in his The Insect World of J Henri Fabre, described Fabre as poor, subsisting on raw vegetables and potages, writing up his daytime observations each night. Provided he had enough, and health, I’d call him rich.  

›

FRIDAY, APRIL 8 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Toru Kumimatsu on “The Current Japanese Economy and Culture” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $13, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For reservations call 526-2925 or 665-9020.  

Communities of Color and New Models of Organizing Labor A Symposium, sponsored by the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law & Berkeley La Raza Law Journal, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Booth Auditorium, Boalt Hall, UC Campus. To register, see http://boalt.org/BJELL/activities.html 

Bay Area African-American Health Summit from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Downs Memorial Church, 6026 Idaho St., near 60th & San Pablo, Oakland. Cost is $10. 654 5858 ext. 10. 

“So How’d You Become an Activist?” with Matt Gonzalez and Steve Jacobson at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St., at Bonita. Suggested donation $5. 528-5403. 

“Forces of Nature: Earthquakes in Turkey” a lecture and film screening with Ross Stein, geophysicist, at 7:30 p.m. at Chabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. Cost is $12-$15. 336-7373. www.chabotspace.org 

Helmet Safety Day for Toddlers with helmet decorating and fitting at Habitot, 2065 Kittredge St. Cost is $5-$6. 647-1111. www.habitot.org 

Radio Camp Build an FM trasmitter and learn the fundamentals of micropower broadcasting in this 4-day workshop in Oakland. Class runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., April 8-11. Cost is $150-$200 sliding scale. For information and to register call 625-0314. www.freeradio.org 

“Remaking Economic Strengths in East Asia” a two-day conference at the Lipman Room, Barrows Hall, UC Campus. For details see http://ieas. 

berkeley.edu/events/eac2005 

Ministry as a Vocation A conference at Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Senic Ave. To register call 800-999-0528, ext. 1253. 

Berkeley Critical Mass Bike Ride meets at the Berkeley BART the second Friday of every month at 5:30 p.m. 

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. 

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. 845-1143. 

Meditation, Peace Vigil and Dialogue, gather at noon on the grass close to the West Entrance to UC Berkeley, on Oxford St. near University Ave. 655-6169. www.bpf.org 

SATURDAY, APRIL 9 

Spring Ponds We’ll learn about srping life cycles and capture and release naiads and nymphs, at 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Gardening with East Bay Native Plants, with Lyn Talkovsky, landscape gardener, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $15-$25. Registration required. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

“Gardening from the Ground Up” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Bay-Friendly Demonstration Garden, 3589 Pacific Ave., Oakland. To register call 444-7645. www.bayfriendly.org 

Rhododendron Flower Show and Plant Sale by American Rhododenron Society. Sat. from nooon to 5 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lakeside Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave, Lake Merritt Park, Oakland. Free. www.CalChapterARS.org 

Spring Veggies and the Edible Landscape at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. www.magicgardens.com 

Transportation and Land Use Summit Strategy and training sessions on a wide range of topics, including promoting transit villages, bicycle and pedestrian issues, and stopping unjust fare hikes and service cuts. From 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Laney College Forum, 900 Fallon St. at 9th. Cost is $10, includes breakfast, lunch and materials. Register at www.transcoalition.org  

“The Ambassador” A documentary film account of the nefarious career of John Dimitri Negroponte as Ambassador to Honduras, 1981-85. At 7:30 p.m., at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Discussion follows with Iain Boal, social historian from the Institute of International Studies, UCB and Mary Jo McConahay, Central American editor for the Pacific News Service. Donations accepted. www.berkeleyartsfestival.com 

Eggster Hunt and Learning Festival with arts and crafts, learning booths and entertainment. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Strawberry Creek Lawn in front of Valley Life Sciences Bldg., UC Campus. Free and open to all families and children. www.eggster.org 

“Qi, Feng Shui & Life” with Professor Lin-Yun of the Yun-Lin Temple at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, Community Room, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6136. 

Women of Wisdom Health Walk at 11 a.m. at Cesar Chavez shoreline parking lot, Berkeley Marina. 704-0565. 

Philosophers Forum on “Humble Greatness: Neo-Existentialist Zen” with UCB lecturer Americ Azevedo at 2 to 5 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Free. http://philosophersforum.net/ 

“Hotel/Hospitality Overview” from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Vista Community College. 2020 Milvia St. Cost is $13. RSVP to 981-2931. 

Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine College Open House from noon to 6 p.m. at 2550 Shattuck Ave. RSVP to 666-8248, ext. 106. 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

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, APRIL 10 

Early Morning Bird Walk Meet at 7 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center to learn about what is new in the science of birdsong. 525-2233. 

Life Underground Meet at 1 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park to learn about what goes on below the soil surface. 525-2233. 

Thank You Party for Senator Barbara Boxer for her courageous leadership on the election challenge, ANWR fight and more from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Montclair Women’s Club, 1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Hosted by NWPC, Wellstone Club, EB for Democracy. All welcome, $50 benefits Senator Boxer’s PAC. www.nwpcan.org, ncskinner@earthlink.net 

Green Sunday: The Climate Change Crisis and You with Tom and Jane Kelly from KyotoUSA and Danielle Fugere of Blue Water Network at 5 p.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th. 

Free Sailboat Rides between 1 and 4 p.m. at the Cal Sailing Club in the Berkeley Marina. Bring warm waterproof clothes. www.cal-sailing.org 

Hands-on Bicycle Maintenance Class from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $85-$100. 527-4140. 

“The World in My Neighborhood: Celebrating the Diversity of Asian Cultures” in a program created for all ages. Activities from 1 to 3 p.m. at Phoebe A. Hearst Museum, Bancroft at College. Cost is $1-$4. 643-7648. http://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu  

“Thinking of Becoming a Doula?” at 2 p.m. at Change Makers, 6536 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. www.changemakersforwomen.com 

“The Children of Chabannes” a film about a village in France that saved the lives of 400 Jewish refugee children, at 2 p.m. at the BRJCC. 848-0237. 

“A Taste of Judaism: Are You Curious?” Learn about Jewish spirituality, Jewish ethics, and Jewish community. Held in Richmond. Free, but registration required. 839-2900, ext. 347. 

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 Donna Morgan on “Tibetan Yoga Outdoors” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, APRIL 11 

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 

The 5th Annual United Nations Association Film Festival “Values of Tolerance” with two documentaries “In Rwanda We Say” and “Talk Mogadishu: Media Under Fire.” Reception at 6:30 p.m., films at 7 and 9:30 p.m. at Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft. Tickets are $8-$10 at the door. 849-1752 www.unausaeastbay.org, www.unaff.org 

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers interested in helping in Berkeley Public Schools at 5 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

Student Homeownership A forum from 3 to 5 p.m. at Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Presented by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. To register email ljones@peralta.edu 

West Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corporation “Get Down to Business” an evening of panel discussions and presentations for entrepreneurs and artists, at 6 p.m. at the West Berkeley Senior Center. 845-4106. www.westberkley.com 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people 60 years and over. New session begins today at 9:45 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Join at any time. Cost is $2.50 with refreshments. 524-9122. 

“Neo-Liberal Economic Policies in Latin America” with Prof. Beatriz Magaloni, Stanford Univ., at 1:15 p.m. at CLAS conference room, 2334 Bowditch St. 642-2088. www.clas.berkeley.edu 

TUESDAY, APRIL 12 

Early Morning Bird Walk Meet at 7 a.m. at the end of Rifle Range Road, in Wildcat Canyon to look for birds of the woods and willows. 525-2233. 

Bird Walk along the Martin Luther King Shoreline to see marsh birds at 3:30 p.m. for information call 525-2233. 

“Wanderlust of a Sierra Rock Climber” a slide presentation with Heidi Pesterfield of Alpine Skills International at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $85-$100. 527-4140. 

“The Art of Music” Berkeley Symphony Orchestra’s Spring Gala at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Tickets are $250. For information call 841-2800. 

“The New Americans” Episode 1, at 7 p.m. at Albany High School, 603 Key Route Blvd. in Albany. Sponsored by Embracing Diversity Films and Albany High School PTA. 

“Islam, Religious Pluralism, and Interreligious Dialogue” with Imam Warith Deen Mohammad at 5:30 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Free but reservations requested. Reception to follow. 649-2426. 

“Good People in an Evil Time” with Dr. Svetlana Borz, granddaughter of the former Yugoslavia’s Marshall Tito at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley Ave. www.ahimsaberkeley.org  

Water Resources Center Lecture “The Influence of ENSO Phase on Floods & Sediment Transport in California Coastal Streams” with Edmund Andrews of U.S. Geological Survey at 5:30 p.m. in 105 North Gate Hall, UC Campus. 642-2666. 

“Supermarket Savvy: Shopping for a Healthier Planet” at 7 p.m. at Jewish Family & Children’s Services, 828 San Pablo Ave., Suite 104, Albany. To register call 558-7800. 

Introductory Buddhist Meditation Class at 7 p.m. at Dzalandhara Buddhist Center, in Berkeley. Suggested donation $7-$10. For directions call 559-8183.www.kadampas.org 

An Evening with Rabbi Steven Greenberg at 7 p.m. at Badé Museum, Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. 849-8206. www.clgs.org 

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 digital images, slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

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. 

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

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13 

AIDS Town Hall Meeting to discuss the future of care, treatment and prevention, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Oakland Marriott CIty Center, 1001 Broadway. Sponsored by the American Foundation for AIDS Research. www.amfar.org 

“From Hot-Boxing to the Slammer: The Blunt Truth About the Drug War and Racial Justice” with the Berkeley ACLU Drug Policy and Racial Justice divisions at 6:15 p.m. at FSM Cafe at Moffitt Library, UC Campus. fsm-info@ 

library.berkeley.edu 

“Unprecedented” and “Votergate” two documentaries at 7 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. 393-5685. 

ACTransit Public Meeting on proposed expansion and changes to Transbay Bus Service at 7:30 p.m. at the North Berkley Senior Center. 891-4854. www.actransit.org 

Introduction to Judaism with Sarah Gershman, at 7:30 p.m., April 13, 20 and May 4, at the BRJCC. Cost is $40. 848-0237. 

New Jewish Literature with Laura Bernell at 11:30 a.m. at BRJCC. Cost is $5. 848-0237. 

AARP Free Tax Assistance for taxpayers with middle and low incomes, with special attention to those 60 years and older. From 12:15 to 4:15 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. This service will continue through April. Appointments must be made in advance. 526-3720, ext. 5. 

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters meets at 7:15 a.m. at Au Cocolait, 200 University Ave. at Milvia. For information call Robert Flammia 524-3765. 

Poetry Writing Workshop with Alison Seevak at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720. 

“Know Thyself…and the World You Live In” a free lecture at 7:30 p.m. at New Acropolis Cultural Center, 1700 Dwight Way. Call to register 665-3740. www.acropolis.org 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Action St. 841-2174.  

Sing-Along every Wed. at 4:30 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

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. 548-9840. 

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 

Camp Gan Israel Information Night at 8 p.m. at Chabad of the East Bay, 2643 College Ave. 540-5824. 

THURSDAY, APRIL 14 

“Panoramic Hill’s Sierra Club Legacy” at 7:30 p.m. at Grace North Church, 2138 Cedar St. Cost is $10, available from Berkeley Architectural Heritage at 841-2241. www.berkeleyheritage.com 

No War Tax Day Event A desert potluck at 7 p.m. and granting of resisted tax dollars at 7:30 p.m. at 2220 Sacramento St. 843-9877. www.nowartax.org 

Older People United A discussion group for elders over 75 at 1:30 p.m. at Berkeley Gray Panthers, 1403 Addison St. 548-9696. 

Ocean View Neighbors Meeting with Mayor Bates and representatives from Pacific Steel and the Air Quality Resources Board at 7 p.m. at James Kenney Park, 1720 Eighth St., between Virginia and Delaware. 981-7100. 

Grizzly Peak Flyfishers Skills Fair with demonstrations of casting, fly tying, knots and insect identification at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Community Center, 59 Arlington Ave. in Kensington. 547-8629. 

“French Anti-Semitism” with journalist Marie Brenner at 5:30 p.m. with dinner. Cost is $75 plus donation to the Jewish Community Federation. For reservations see www.jfed.org/choices2005 

“Driving & Aging” panel discussion at 4 p.m. at Jewish Family & Children’s Services, 828 San Pablo Ave., Suite 104, Albany. 558-7800. 

“To Dust You Will Return” Jewish Perspecties on Dying, Death and an Afterlife with Rachel Brodie at 7:30 p.m. at BRJCC. Cost is $5-$8. 848-0237. 

CITY MEETINGS 

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon., April 11, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St. 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

citycouncil/agenda-committee 

City Council meets Tues., April 12, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Commission on Disability meets Wed., April 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Don Brown, 981-6346. TDD: 981-6345. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/disability 

Homeless Commission meets Wed., April 13, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Jane Micallef, 981-5426. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/homeless 

Library Board of Trustees meets Wed. April 13, at 7 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, Jackie Y. Griffin, 981-6195. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/library 

Planning Commission meets Wed., April 13, at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Janet Homrighausen, 981-7484. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/planning 

Police Review Commission meets Wed., April 13 at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/policereview 

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., April 13, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. Cliff Marchetti, 644-6376 ext. 224. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/waterfront 

Community Health Commission meets Thurs, April 14, at 6:45 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. William Rogers, 981-5344. www.ci.ber 

keley.ca.us/commissions/health 

West Berkeley Project Area Commission meets Thurs., April 14, at 7 p.m., at the West Berkeley Senior Center. Iris Starr, 981-7520. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/westberkeley  

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., April 14, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/zoning  ?

Fourteen Berkeley firefighters took home more than $30,000 in overtime last year, while six earned more than $50,000 over their base salary, city records show. 

While Fire Department overtime is projected to cost the city $2.4 million this fiscal year—about 25 percent higher than original projections—city officials contend that soaring overtime costs are the product of bad breaks, not bad management. 

“It’s just a number of bad circumstances coming together,” said City Manager Phil Kamlarz. He said an unusually high number of retirements and military, parental and sick leaves had left the department undermanned since the second half of 2004. 

The City of Berkeley projects spending $6.5 million on overtime this fiscal year, 75 percent of which will go to police and fire, according to a city report. Police overtime, also slated to cost $2.4 million this fiscal year, is in line with budget projections. Most of the remaining overtime costs is in the Public Works Department for emergency repair jobs, Kamlarz said. 

“Overtime is a serious concern,” said Councilmember Gordon Wozniak. “When firefighters make over $2 million a year, that’s a substantial chunk of change.” 

In order to reduce $1.2 million fire overtime expenses next fiscal year, Berkeley’s Fire Department is preparing to shut down up to two fire companies at a time and reduce minimum staffing levels from 34 to 28 beginning in July. 

The Fire Department’s top overtime earner for 2004 was Firefighter/EMT Mark Caldwell, who pulled in $77,042 on top of his base pay of $81,642. Following Caldwell was Firefighter/EMT Sheppard Lewis at $72,177 and Fire Apparatus Operator/EMT Charles Wong at $69,952. Wong topped the department’s salary scale last year, taking home $176,322. By comparison, in 2003, City Manager Phil Kamlarz made $173,733, according to city records. 

“For fire it’s a difficult question of how do you staff for keeping companies open,” Kamlarz said. Current city policy, he added, is to recruit new firefighters after five retirements. Soaring pension benefits have made relying on overtime more cost effective, Kamlarz said. This year, pension contributions will cost Berkeley 40 percent on top of salaries for every police officer and 25 percent on top of salaries for firefighters. 

Last September the department had 18 firefighters on leave and seven job openings, Deputy Fire Chief David Orth previously told the Planet. Since January, the department hired six new firefighters and returned several others from leave, but the department remains understaffed, Chief Debra Pryor said. Due to more retirements and promotions, the department currently has six vacancies and four employees on workers compensation. 

Pryor said city budget issues have so far kept the department from filling vacancies. If she gets approval, Pryor said new recruits would take three months to train. Pryor added that between $100,000 and $150,000 in overtime expenses would be reimbursed through a training grant with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

Much of the overtime worked last year was forced on firefighters, said Gil Dong, president of the firefighters union. From July 2004 through this January, he said there were 270 instances when a firefighter was ordered to work because of a staffing shortage. For the previous year, Dong said there were only 27 such cases. He attributed much of the forced overtime to the lag in training new firefighters to replace those who retired last year. 

“If we want to get out of the overtime issue, we need to hire people as soon as we get vacancies,” he said. 

The Fire Department uses a volunteer list for overtime sign-ups, with priority going to firefighters who have logged the fewest overtime hours, Dong said. When nobody volunteers, the department orders firefighters back to work. The maximum shift is 72 hours. 

Dong added that several injuries sustained by firefighters last year were caused by collapsed gurneys carrying injured people. In one rescue, Dong said, two firefighters needed shoulder surgery after the gurney collapsed. The gurney issue has since been resolved, Pryor said. 

Despite the system which seeks to disperse overtime hours, Caldwell, Sheppard and Lewis have been among the top five department overtime recipients every year since 2000, according to city reports.  

Overall, police and fire overtime hours are down, city reports show. Police worked 19.5 percent fewer overtime hours last year than they did in fiscal year 1999. And, until this year, firefighter overtime hours had also been on the decline from just under 40,000 hours in fiscal year 2002 to just over 25,000 hours last fiscal year.  

However pay increases for both departments have increased costs. In 2004, of the city’s 116 firefighters employed throughout the year, 90 earned over $100,000. In 2000, only 38 firefighters earned more than $100,000. For police, 85 out of 180 officers who worked the full year earned over 100,000 in 2004, compared to 32 in 2000. 

Four police officers earned over $30,000 in overtime last year. The top recipient was Sergeant Edward Spiller, who took home $40,686 in overtime pay. According to city reports, 38 percent of police overtime is attributable to shift extensions and backfilling for officers on leave. Other main causes for police overtime are holidays, special events, vacation, and court appearances.  

This year’s fire department overtime bill pales in comparison to 2001 when 14 firefighters earned more than $40,000 for extra work. That year, Fire Prevention Inspector Richard Ellison topped the department by earning $120,860 in overtime over a base salary of $73,439, followed by Lewis with $101,945 and Caldwell at $96,103 in overtime pay. 

Foes and fans of a Berkeley developer’s plans for a Las Vegas-style casino resort pleaded their cases before federal and Richmond officials last week. 

Formally called a scoping session, the public forum served as a vehicle for gathering concerns to be addressed in a joint state and federal environmental document that will be used to decide if Point Molate should become a tribal reservation eligible for Indian gaming. 

A final decision on the project is expected in about a year. 

Thursday’s gathering yielded 27 speakers opposing the project, compared to 16 supporters. 

Looking for economic salvation, the Richmond City Council agreed to sell the former naval refueling base to a consortium assembled by James D. Levine, a Berkeleyan who made his fortune at the helm of one of the nation’s leading private toxic cleanup firms. 

Richmond bought the land for a dollar under federally mandated terms that require the city to use the property to generate jobs and new economic activity to replace the losses caused by the base closure. 

The city eventually had two suitors for the site, Levine’s Upstream Development and ChevronTexaco, the petro-giant whose Richmond refinery is the community’s dominant economic force. 

The oil firm entered late in the game, offering $80 million deal with delivery of $55 million within days of inking a deal, as opposed to Upstream, which was promising only $20 million up front backed by the promise of additional payments city officials said would be worth over $350 million, if. . . 

If the 4-3 council majority was right in its belief that the Guidiville Rancheria of Lyttons—the tribe chosen by Levine—could win reservation status for the land and clear the federal and state gambling approval. 

Thursday’s meeting, convened by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and the City of Richmond, marked the first step in the greenlighting process.  

Before the transfer can begin, the project must pass through both the state and the federal environmental review processes, to see how the project looks through the lenses of the California Environmental Quality Act and the National Environmental Protection Act. 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which has the ultimate say, will base its decision on the combined federal Environmental Impact Statement and state Environmental Impact Report. The BIA, in turn, hired Sacramento consultant William C. Allan to oversee the process. 

Allan is playing the same role in another local casino evaluation, the Scotts Valley Pomos’ proposed Sugar Bowl casino in unincorporated North Richmond. He presided over a similar scoping session for that project last July. 

“We’re here to find out what the environmental issues are and what reasonable alternatives the public may want us to review,” he said. 

If the BIA bestows its blessings on the casino, the National Indian Gaming Commission must also approve the contract between the tribe and the company it chooses to manage gambling operations, said John Rydzik, chief of the Environmental Resource Management and Safety Division of the BIA’s Pacific Division. 

The first five speakers represented the core of the environmentalist opposition to the casino project. Arthur Feinstein, conservation director for the Golden Gate Audubon Society, led off. 

“It’s naive to think that the number of people this will attract will not impact the adjacent natural resources on the site,” he declared, referring not only to the shoreline environment but the offshore eel grass beds—the Bay Area’s largest. “This is growth-inducing and will encourage development all along the shoreline and the remaining wildlife will disappear from the North Bay. 

Robert Cheasty, chair of Citizens for East Shore Parks (CESP), challenged the legitimacy of the scoping session itself in light of two ongoing lawsuits which have challenged the legitimacy of the city’s sale of the property to the Levine consortium. 

“It’s an abominable project,” Cheasty declared, bringing unwanted urban gambling. “It’s a bad use of the BIA. It’s simply a device by which Nevada gaming interests get around California law.” Cheasty also faulted the project for not including dedicated public park space and wildlife habitat protection. 

“The Sierra Club opposes this project and will do everything it can to defeat it,” said Norman LaForce, the club’s statewide coordinator on gambling issues. 

“If it goes into (BIA) trust, there will be an utter and complete loss of further control by local government on any new projects on the land,” he said, adding that the Sugar Bowl site is a much more appropriate casino location. 

CESP member Sylvia McLaughlin, a Berkeley resident best known as a founder of Save The Bay, declared the site “totally inappropriate.” 

Margaret Hanlon Grady of the Coalition to Save Point Molate raised the issue of the casino resort’s impact on the oft-congested Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, adding, “We don’t need this blight in our community.” 

Unlike most speakers, she asked for specific issues to be addressed in the Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report, including full details on the ongoing toxic waste cleanup of the site—“We want our kids to be able to eat that dirt”—and asked for a listing of other potential casino sites explored by the tribe and the developers. 

“I understand that the tribe and Upstream have been reservation shopping for quite some time,” said Thomas Grady. “I understand they looked at Antioch and Hercules. Why didn’t they look at wealthy communities like Danville and Blackhawk?” 

Many opponents came from the ranks of the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), including City Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin, who took her seat after the council had already voted to approve the Upstream accord. 

“I am here because I have huge concerns,” McLaughlin said. “The public was not consulted on this sale, and it is flat-out wrong to continue. I am personally opposed to casinos because they don’t create any products and they create no wealth. They simply move money around.” 

Other RPA opponents offered their testimony against the project, including Andres Soto, Soula Culver, Tarnel Abbott, Mary Oshima and Jerome Smith—who appeared briefly in a tiger mask and read a Native American poem before he launched into his critique. 

Fairfax City Councilmember Frank Egger also spoke against the project, citing traffic pressure on the bridge generated by Marin County residents headed across the Bay to gamble. “Who is going to pay to widen the bridge? Who will reimburse Marin County for the roadway and service impacts?” 

Egger also asked the environmental impact document authors to address the visual and environmental impacts, as well as the impact of shoreline lights at night. 

Michael Ali, a Richmond resident and a Cherokee, led off the proponents, declaring, “There is no more time for fighting. Your people must learn to give up your arrogance. You have the gift of material power. Can you share it?” 

“The Indians deserve the land at Point Molate to get out of poverty and uncertainty,” said Rita Oliver, who said she was speaking on behalf of six neighborhood councils representing 18,000 residents. “Urban gambling is not new to California, so why not give Richmond a piece of the pie?” 

The one issue that did concern her was traffic. “I wonder if it will run all day and will the (bridge) be accessible to commuters?,” she asked. 

While Richmond Planning Commissioner Zachary Harris offered no position on the project itself, he asked if the environmental impact documents would discuss traffic alternatives. “I also want to know the level of detail incorporated into any design documents.” 

Jim Russey, president of the Richmond Firefighters Association Local 188, based his support for the project on public safety grounds: “Richmond is the number one most dangerous city in California and it won’t get any better by keeping it a shoreline park. The city needs the revenue.” 

Richmond Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mel Davis praised the project as an antidote to Richmond’s economic depression and the source of jobs and recreation opportunities. Addressing critics who charged that the casino would prey on those least able to afford to gamble, Davis said, “I don’t think the developer will put this much money into a project that relies on poor people to support it.” 

Mike Padilla praised the project, while expressing concerns about environmental impacts. “I believe it’s a good project, and I support the return of ferry service” which developers have promised when the project opens. 

“Gambling is not new to the Bay Area,” he said. “In case you haven’t seen, there’s a very large race track right down the road.” 

Lee Jones said he was offering support for the casino on the part of 3,500 North Richmond residents and 17 churches. 

“A lot of my friends have been losing jobs, and the city is in dire straits,”” he said. “I’m looking for the casino to bring in new jobs and some revenue to fix our potholes and build new recreational facilities.” 

“It’s nice to talk about alternative uses,” said supporter Susan McHarg, “but we don’t have people with money in hand talking about alternative uses. (The developers) have been very up front, and they have shown us their plans in detail.” 

Marshall Walker III, a 55-year city resident, said he had solicited over 200 signatures from men and women between the ages of 18 and 25 who support the casino. 

“They all said that if it’s going to bring jobs, let them bring jobs,” he said. 

Others said they wanted to open businesses to supply the daily needs of the casino and hotel complex. 

Ted Smith, an African American supporter of both the Point Molate and Sugar Bowl projects, ridiculed opponents, declaring that “most of them don’t even look like me.” Levine’s project, he said, “will be the greatest thing to happen to this community since World War II. It will put us on the map like World War II.” 

Entwine Cloird, a lifetime resident of Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood, said the project would offer an positive alternative to young people’s “coke dreams and pipe dreams. Upstream is giving us hope.” 

With the end of the testimony, Richmond Principal Planner Lori Reese Brown said the draft EIR documents should be ready in late September, followed by a 60-day public comment period, with the final report due 90 days after the close of comments, sometime in March 2006.

Environmental activists and North Berkeley residents told Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory officials Thursday night to leave intact an unused building full of toxic and low-level nuclear wastes on its present four-acre site atop the Hayward Fault in the Berkeley hills. 

The activists and neighbors said the alternative—tearing down its long-abandoned particle accelerator and carting the waste out of Berkeley in tarp-covered trucks—was unacceptable. 

That was the conclusion of a public scoping session held by the lab last week at the North Berkeley Senior Center as a first step in a long-in-the-planning process to demolish the Bevatron and its surrounding building. 

The largest machine in the world at the time of its construction in 1954, the 180-foot diameter, 11,000-ton Bevatron was used for the next 40 years for atomic and subatomic experiments and discoveries. Use of the Bevatron ended in 1993, and LBNL officials say they have been trying, unsuccessfully, to get federal money for the demolition project. 

Terry Powell, LBNL community relations officer, said that Bevatron demolition money was recently released by the Department of Energy and placed in this year’s department budget. 

LBNL literature says that it no longer has any use for the building or the accelerator itself, and says that because of “the significant contributions in the fields of particle and nuclear physics that were made there,” the building is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. 

Under California law, the LBNL has the authority to approve the demolition project itself, but must first complete an environmental impact report (EIR) after giving the public the chance to give information, raise questions, and suggest alternatives. Last week’s scoping session was the first in that series of mandated public input processes. 

Margaret Goglia, Project Manager for the Bevatron demolition, said Thursday night that the accelerator and its surrounding building contain such toxic wastes as asbestos, PCBs, mercury, lead, and machine oil, as well as low level radioactive waste, which she called “low even for this category.” She said the lab would “address the specific level of radioactive waste in detail in the EIR.” 

If the demolition project is approved, Goglia said the lab plans to remove several tons of concrete blocking surrounding the accelerator, dismantle the Bevatron, demolish the surrounding building, remove layers of soil from the site, and re-soil with fresh earth. 

Goglia said that “a lot of the demolition work will taken place indoors,” inside Building 51 that houses the accelerator, and that the waste and soil would be removed in “several thousand one-way truck trips” on a route from Hearst to Oxford to University Avenue and then to Interstate 880. Goglia said this route was “preferred by the City of Berkeley.” 

She also said that the demolition project would operate with 50 employees at its peak, far fewer for most of its duration. The project is scheduled to last between four and six years. 

While Goglia said that the lab has no new plans for building on the site, Community Relations Officer Powell said, following the meeting, that this does not necessarily mean there won’t be such plans in the future. 

“We’re moving forward now because we have the money from DOE and we feel the site needs to be demolished,” Powell said. 

But a string of community speakers told LBNL officials Thursday that leaving the Bevatron intact was preferable to demolition. 

Jim Cunningham, a North Berkeley resident who said he has taught at the university, said that a further discussion was needed “on the alternatives of demolition versus allowing the radioactive material to decay in place.” Cunningham also said he wanted verification of the level of the radioactive waste on the site to be done by “someone other than lab officials.” 

Mark McDonald, a member of the Berkeley-based Committee To Minimize Toxic Waste, said he was “concerned about the airborne contaminants” that would be released during the demolition. 

“LBNL should be on the cutting edge on demolition and disposal of these types of structures,” he said, “but they’re still doing this in the same old sloppy way.” 

A leaflet put out by the Toxic Waste Committee prior to the scoping session criticized the demolition, stating that “an alternative to demolition and removal would be to allow the Bevatron and its containment to remain onsite in relative containment.” The leaflet called on residents to express their concerns to the LBNL “if you don’t want Radioactive Asbestos Dust in your neighborhood, stores, or at bus stops, or in a truck next to your car on the street.” 

Berkeley resident L.A. Wood criticized the lab for moving the Bevatron demolition ahead of its long range development plans, suggesting that “maybe it’s being rushed ahead to duck” the added scrutiny called for in a formal LRDP.  

“Maybe the Bevatron should be preserved and made a shrine to the 1950s when the lab put these things in place in our community, with no community involvement, because they could,” Wood said. 

Speakers suggested various measures should the demolition be approved, such as, “leave the site fallow after demolition so it can heal itself,” use an alternate route for trucks up Grizzly Peak to Highway 24 rather than going through the heart of the city, restore the network of creeks presently running under the structures in culverts, hire an independent agency to supervise the cleanup, and organize a field trip so that residents and activists can view the Bevatron site itself while the EIR process is going forward. 

LBNL officials said public comment on the project would be accepted through April 16, and all questions raised would be addressed in the draft EIR, which will then be presented to the public. Documents concerning the proposed demolition have been placed on the LBNL’s website at www.lbl.gov/Community/env-rev-docs.html. 

A noon rally of angry UC Berkeley workers in front of California Hall last Friday had a surprise result—a chance sidewalk encounter between union leaders and Chancellor Robert Birgenau in which Birgenau agreed to a formal, fact-finding meeting with worker representatives. 

The Coalition of University Employees (CUE, clerical workers), University Professional and Technical Workers (UPTE), and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME, service workers) called the joint rally to protest what it called the university’s “stalling” on contract negotiations with the three unions. 

A CUE representative said that the union’s representatives are still negotiating the 2003-04 contract, and have filed unfair labor practices charges against the university over its tactics in negotiating the still-unsigned 2004-05 contract. 

Birgenau did not attend the rally but happened up just as it was ending on his way to another meeting at California Hall. He spoke for about 10 minutes to a semi-circle of union leaders and rally participants until he was hustled away to his meeting by a security officer. He fielded questions and asked some of his own about pay and working conditions for UC Berkeley support workers, and eventually agreed to a meeting after union representatives told him “your people are badly misinforming you about the facts.” 

Birgenau said that the meeting would be for informational purposes only. “I’m not authorized to negotiate with you and I’m not going to negotiate,” he said. 

One worker told the chancellor that she had been employed at UC Berkeley for three years “and factoring in inflation, I’m making less now than I did when I was first hired.” 

Union leaders later called the encounter “a stroke of luck.” 

Earlier, a crowd of some hundred workers and student supporters marched in a circle in the hot sun in front of California Hall, chanting “UC, UC you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side,” holding signs reading “[UC President] Dynes takes a pay cut—library workers get 17 percent raise—April Fool!,” “It is not a budget crisis—it is a distribution crisis,” and, simply, “UC Sucks.” Some protesters wore UC blue-and-gold colored dunce caps, and one man appeared in a paper-maché pig’s head with dollars bills dribbling off of his tongue. 

Several rally speakers criticized the university for giving bonuses to department heads and administrative officials while freezing pay for support staff. 

Stephanie Dorton, a CUE member and an administrative assistant at the UC Law School, said told marchers that she had two children, “one of them a 17 year old who is just graduating from high school, and I can’t afford to send her to the school where I work. That’s unacceptable.” 

Kathryn Lybarger, a UC Berkeley gardener and an AFSCME member, said that “university workers have to take second jobs or even pick up cans to make ends meet.” She said that “92 percent of AFSCME members across the state voted in favor of a strike if negotiations break down.” 

She said that an AFSCME strike is a possibility. 

CUE Local 3 Executive Board member Amatullah Alaji-Sabrie, a Law School legal assistant, said following the rally that if one of the three unions strike, “the rest have pledged to honor their picket lines.” 

“UC’s profit margin is going up; they had a $786 million profit last year, and they have $5.2 billion in reserve,” Alaji-Sabrie charged. “They’re telling us that they can’t give us raises because of the state budget problems, but only 16 percent of the university’s money comes from the state budget. The rest comes from research and other outside money that isn’t subject to the state budget crisis and cutbacks.” 

Alaji-Sabrie said the three unions plan to send a delegation to legislative budget hearings in Sacramento on April 7 “to inform legislators of the current situation in our contract talks, and to ask them to put in place more processes to hold the university accountable in their negotiations and in their budgeting.” 

Another pro-union rally is planned for April 14 in Sproul Plaza. 

A hydraulic crane pulled a runaway construction truck out of the side of a house in the Berkeley hills Monday afternoon. No one was in the house when the driverless vehicle went barreling into the side of the structure. The 17,000-pound truck held equipment for a crew that was re-paving part of a private driveway about 100 feet up the hill. Although Berkeley police found that the parking brake was engaged and the truck was in gear, it managed to roll several feet before it went over a curb and into the house. Neighbors on the two streets below the house were evacuated until the truck was pulled out. One room of the house was destroyed. The damage was estimated at $50,000 to $100,000..

“Reuniting families, protecting refugees, encouraging diversity and cultural exchange—that’s what our country is supposed to be about.” 

This was Congresswoman Barbara Lee talking about immigration policies. About 60 people gathered at St. Joseph the Worker Church last Saturday to hear from immigration experts and to get one-on-one help with their immigration problems from a panel of lawyers who volunteered for the event. 

Motivated by Rep. Lee (D-Oakland), the meeting was organized by BOCA, Berkeley Organizing Congregations For Action, an organization of 12 congregations of different faiths to develop grass roots action on issues of, in their words, “justice, equity, dignity and democracy for every member of our community.” 

Of the many requests for help Congresswoman Lee gets from constituents, an overwhelming number of them, she said, come from people asking for assistance with immigration problems. The meeting brought together the people who needed help with teams of lawyers specializing in immigration and dedicated to this kind of community service. 

Lawyer Julia Markus explained, “I’m fascinated by people from different cultures and I wanted to make a difference,” she said. “Here you deal with one person at a time.”  

Another lawyer, Fariba Faiz, said, “I came here because I love community meetings, that is the time that as an attorney I get to help people who otherwise wouldn’t go to an attorney because they find the cost prohibitive. But at a community meeting you get to see actual people. Sometimes it’s a small problem easy to help.” 

Mark Silverman, with the Immigrant Legal Resources Center, frequently organizes and participates in meetings like this one. 

“We do meetings with two goals in mind,” he said, “to provide people with information about their immigration options so that if they have options they pursue them under current law and to warn people away from scams where they end up spending thousands of dollars and exposing themselves to getting deported. And the other reason ... is to draw people to the meetings so the people can get involved in actively changing immigration laws. I think we’re in a critical point in U.S. history where immigrants for the first time can play a key role in changing the laws that affect and often separate their families.”  

Separation from their families is a big issue for many immigrants. Marta Higuera has been trying to get a green card (permanent residence) for seven years. The mother of a 8-year-old son in school here, she works, pays taxes, has a Social Security number. She said she would like to take her boy to visit family in Mexico but without a green card she would not be able to come back into the U.S. once she left. She said she has gotten no response to her appeals to the immigration service. 

Mac Jatto came to Berkeley from Nigeria 9 years ago on a student visa. He too, has family abroad. He has been studying for the ministry and will graduate with his doctorate this May. He had been able to travel back and forth to see his family in London but, he said, “Since 9/11 it has become a problem.” 

Jatto said he would like to regularize his immigration status and his pastor at the McGee Avenue Baptist Church applied on his behalf almost three years ago but he said he has gotten no response. He said he knows of several other ministerial students from Africa who are in the same situation. 

“People who came to study and after study they want to be a part of America,” Jatto said. 

In spite of streamlining, with the United States immigration service, formerly INS, now USCIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services), promising easier access, people are finding themselves in limbo for long periods of time. From observations made by lawyers and clients at Saturday’s forum, it was apparent that the fear of terrorism since 9-11 has made things much more difficult. 

Too often, immigrants are being dealt with almost as though they are suspected terrorists, many said. There is legislation before Congress, legislation that would extend principles of fairness and justice to immigrants, Barbara Lee pointed out, but there are also several bills being proposed that she called mean spirited and contrary to what our nation stands for. 

Lee said she hoped that the conference, and others like it, not only help those with individual immigration problems, but also encouraged immigrants to participate in community actions to reform immigration policies.(

The University Students Cooperative Association voted last week to appeal a small claims judgment won by neighbors of the student co-op, Le Chateau. 

The appeal will be heard in Alameda County State Court. Last month, commissioner John Rantzman awarded 15 neighbors a total of $63,250 in damages for, among other things, “The loss of the right to quiet enjoyment.” 

On the same night as the board vote, Berkeley police cited the co-op for excessive noise during a party. Since it was the second such citation within 60 days, police issued a citation that calls for a $500 fine, Officer Steve Rego said. 

Meanwhile, at 6:30 p.m. tonight (Tuesday) the USCA is holding a town hall meeting at the International House to discuss neighborhood concerns regarding student cooperatives. 

“I don’t think anyone can argue that there are problems between Le Chateau and its neighbors,” Proper said. “The verdict doesn’t solve the problems. This meeting gives us a chance to get people talking to remedy the situation.” 

Proper said he didn’t know of problems with neighbors at any of the association’s 19 other cooperatives. 

George Lewinsky, the lead plaintiff in the Le Chateau case, said he would not attend the town hall meeting now that the USCA was appealing the verdict. 

“I’ve had 15 years of meetings and I see no point in having another one until the USCA lives up to the court decision,” he said. “Until they give us indication that they plan to change management of Le Chateau, this is pointless.” 

Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Michele Lawrence joined religious and health leaders and education and children’s activists at a downtown press conference Monday to announce support for a statewide California for Healthy Kids (CHK) campaign. 

CHK is a collaboration of the 100% Campaign (Children’s Now, Children’s Defense Fund, and The Children’s Partnership) and the Pacific Institute for Community Organization California Project. Legislation supporting the group’s goals were introduced in the state legislature this year by State Senator Martha Escutia (D-Norwalk) and State Assemblymember Wilma Chan (D-Oakland) under the respective numbers SB437 and AB772. 

At the time she introduced the legislation, Chan called it an “innovative, practical solution to save taxpayer dollars and help insure our children.” 

The campaign seeks to extend health care coverage to children of working class families who are not covered through their employers, and for low-income children who are eligible for state coverage but who have been unable to receive it for bureaucratic reasons. 

“With the support of statewide efforts like Californians for Healthy Kids and our local community agencies, we can provide access to health insurance for every Berkeley child,” Bates said. 

Berkeley Unified representatives say they are seeking federal funds currently available for health insurance outreach, as well as looking to take advantage of recent state legislation making it easier for school districts to enroll students in public health insurance programs. 

With Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Michele Lawrence calling the district’s budget situation “precarious,” the Berkeley public will get its first look at the possibility of a slightly leaner face of public education in the city when the district directors consider “Anticipated Budget Reductions and Program Modifications” at the school board’s meeting Wednesday night. 

The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. 

BUSD is in the midst of contract negotiations with the Berkeley Federation of Teachers union, which is holding a “work to rule” action in the schools in a demand for increased compensation. Union representatives plan to make a presentation to the Board Directors at the meeting. 

In addition—like every other school district in the state—Berkeley is facing cutbacks in state school funding. 

To meet those competing fiscal demands, as well as to bring the district up from its present “qualified” budget status, Superintendent Michele Lawrence says that “another round of budget cuts are inevitable.” 

Lawrence has planned a board discussion Wednesday night on possible “reductions in services or cuts in programs to [BUSD] students or schools.” Lawrence has not yet made a recommendation on areas for cuts, but included in the budget-balancing discussions will be the possibility of: 

• Reduction in the high school athletic program; 

• One year closure of the Community Theater to outside users during an assessment of costs; 

• Expanding the school walking zone beyond its present one mile; 

• Eliminating the hiring of substitute classified workers until the second or third day that a classified worker is off the job; 

• Reducing the number of classroom instructional assistants and high school campus security officers; 

• Assigning one principal to two small schools; 

• Increasing the cost of student and teacher daily lunch meals. 

In her message to the board calling for the discussion, Lawrence said that the listed budget cut suggestions “each require greater analysis in order to assess the true on-going savings and the strategies to implement the reductions.” 

Two major East Bay casino debates are scheduled for today (Tuesday), one in Washington D.C. and the other in Martinez. 

In the capital, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, is conducting a hearing on legislation by Sen. Diane Feinstein that would force a reconsideration of the proposed Las Vegas-scale Casino San Pablo. 

Closer to home, Assistant Contra Costa County Administrator Sara Hoffman told city and federal officials gathered for a hearing on the Point Molate Casino that County Supervisors would meet today to discuss a resolution that calls for a ban on any new tribal reservations with casinos in the county. 

Written by board members John Gioia and Gayle B. Uilkema, who represent the board’s two easternmost districts, the measure wouldn’t have binding effect on the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which has final say on new reservation lands. 

Hoffman said the board would provide the city and the Bureau of Indian Affairs with written comments after the vote. 

East Bay Assemblymember Loni Hancock, who has led the opposition to the San Pablo, is scheduled to testify at today’s Washington hearing, as is Sen. Feinstein. 

At issue is legislation by East Bay Rep. George Miller, which bestowed retroactive status on the Lytton Rancheria band of Pomo Indians’ acquisition of the Casino San Pablo card room. 

By backdating the acquisition, the tribe was allowed to develop a casino without undergoing the hurdles faced by two other tribes planning casinos in Richmond and North Richmond. 

McCain has been strongly critical of Miller’s legislation, and Feinstein legislation (Senate Bill 113) would force the Lyttons to undergo the same review as the other two projects.

Click here to view the latest work by Planet cartoonist Justin DeFreitas9

AIR QUALITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is nice after a rain to clear the air. I have asthma and ride a bike to and from work. Riding up Delaware is an experience akin to being downwind from a chimney. Please people, don’t burn wood. There is enough pollution from vehicles, cars and trucks which have in adequate emission controls. Woodsmoke has triggered asthmatic reactions. It is not a healthy practice to burn. Not everyone travels around in a climate-controlled bubble, Arnold. 

BC Martin 

Alameda 

• 

CHOICE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Portugal, seven women went on trial for having self-inflicted abortions. This is a glimpse of BushAmerica if he and Congressional Republicans have their way and eliminate Roe vs. Wade. Criminalization of a whole gender thanks to home grown religious fanatics. How can any woman support George W. Bush and his insidious goal? European anti-choice forces are taking after inquisitors in America.  

Choice is the basic ingredient of life; choice is the right of every human being. Religious right-wingers want to take this essential freedom away from half of the American population. There is a good old fashion Middle Ages crusade going on in America. Wake up! 

Ron Lowe 

Nevada City 

• 

NURSE STAFFING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Unbelievable! California nurses are under attack again. The hospital owner’s lobby (the California Hospital Association) and their shills are again cranking-out propaganda trying to convince you that safe staffing won’t work. These TV ads and newspaper articles, written by slick ad agencies, are designed to inject cold fear deep into your heart. Do they really think we are so stupid that we’ll see their commercials and start clamoring for the return of unsafe staffing? They cry about California’s nursing shortage but will never admit that their own greed caused it or that the ratio law is rapidly curing it.  

The hospital owner’s are worried because the 5:1 patient ratio law is so simple their high-priced lawyers can’t get around it. That’s why this powerful lobby and their hired-gun governor are trying so hard to kill it. Many hospital owners will undoubtedly cut the nurses’ support staff, again putting their bonuses before patients’ lives; and Gov. Schwarzenegger, not yet used to being typecast as the “loser,” will surely put the full force of state agencies to task trying to save face. Unless you own a hospital, these people are not your friends.  

As always, trust your nurse. 

Mike Kirchubel 

Fairfield 

• 

CRITICAL THINKING 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

March 29 Critical Thinkers Day on the Left. First, Commondreams prints two thoughtful pieces by Naomi Jaffe and Mark Polit dissenting from that herd of independent minds on the Party Line Left as regards the slow, drawn murder of Terri Schiavo. Then a nuanced piece on Counterpunch by Dr. Teresa Whitehurst warning of a downside for the Left on this despite current opinion polls. I’m an atheist and pro-abortion choice but I’m with the pro-life crowd on this one. I have no desire to see ACLU type Judges promote some nefarious “right to die.” Nature already takes care of that, thank you. 

Nor am I sympathetic to many of my fellow libertarians and Objectivists with their usual Party Line No Government Intervention mantra. We are supposed to be protected from arbitrary killing once we leave the womb and I cheer on whomever does it, private or public. 

I can’t even really discuss this with my partner, and I was getting SO depressed with the formulaic crap on Air America and KPFA on this issue. 

Keep on thinking ! 

Michael Hardesty 

Oakland 

• 

NEVER AGAIN — AGAIN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Here we go again with the “never again” cycle.  

Because we, the world community, have decided that a mournful, post-facto “never again” pledge is simply more convenient than the action required, Darfur will take its place in history. History textbooks will find “Sudan” between “Rwanda” and whatever site the next genocide will ravage as we busy ourselves watering these most recent killing fields with our crocodile tears, long after the chance to save a single life has passed. 

Although Sudan has been plagued by civil war since its independence in 1956, this most recent outbreak of violence in Darfur dates back only to February 2003, when rebel groups began to instigate attacks against the government in Khartoum, which, in turn, dispatched the Janjaweed militia as a counter rebellion force. 

The wrinkle in the conflict that is so deeply divisive for the Sudanese is the racism that divides the two sides. Since February 2003, a militia known as Janjaweed (men on horseback) has been engaging in a genocidal campaign to displace and wipe out communities of African tribal farmers in Darfur, Sudan. More than one and a half million people have been displaced, forced from their homes as their villages are torched, water supplies poisoned or destroyed, livestock stolen or killed, and women raped and murdered. Government air raids have frequently preceded or followed militia attacks. This is the stark reality created by the international community’s refusal to act in this crisis. 

Unfortunately, most of the discussion surrounding Darfur revolves around what we should call the crisis, rather than what is actually happening. In September, the US government labeled the crisis genocide, but the international community has done little more than to call on the government in Khartoum to end the conflict and threaten the use of sanctions. Thus, while the international community wastes time on semantics, genocide continues.  

Certainly we could be doing more to end this violence, but many governments, with the U.S. at the forefront, seem content merely to label the situation as genocide. Even invoking the Genocide Convention has not spurred the rest of the world to take decisive action. Could this mean that the US views the Genocide Convention as just another meaningless agreement?  

But in the end, the burden is, and can only be, on the leadership of the international community. The U.S. resolution is certainly a step in the right direction, and the Bush administration must take even further stewardship on the issue by publicly and openly pressuring member nations to take action. 

What’s going on in Sudan isn’t only Sudan’s problem. It is humanity’s problem, and certainly it doesn’t hurt to remind our elected officials of this fact. 

Each orphan that starves in a refugee camp, each woman that survives a brutal rape, each family that is destroyed by the murder, displacement and savagery that has enveloped Sudan underscores the hypocrisy, the cruel mockery of the “never again” memorials we place on the headstone of each holocaust past. The time for “never again” is too far in the past, and too far in the future. If the day eventually comes and genocide in Sudan ends, will we regret our inaction? “Never again” means to act now, in the present.  

Sandra Murcia 

Antioch 

• 

JEFFERSON SCHOOL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I read the article regarding Jefferson School with great interest. Several issues seemed important for us all to consider. 

The school community is defined as the current parents, students and staff of the school. Who has defined it this way? Who else might be appropriately considered part of the school community whose voice should be heard? Those of us who are alumni? Those of us who are neighbors? Perhaps most pertinent, those of us who fund the school through our taxes? Jefferson school is part of our larger community and I disagree with the exclusionary assumption that we are not part of its community. 

The comment is made that students are likely to choose the name of Cesar Chavez because “they’ve all studied him, it’s a name they are all familiar with.” If the students are being treated seriously as voters then it seems to me they should be treated seriously as thinkers. We don’t hold elections in which only one of the candidates has been allowed to campaign. Time should be taken to educate students about each person being considered, including Thomas Jefferson. 

The key issue though is Dora Dean Bradley’s statement that Jefferson didn’t write the Declaration of Independence for her. I think every reader must recognize and sympathize with the pain reflected in that statement—the sense of injustice and exclusion.  

I want to encourage a broader perspective which might lessen that pain. As we know, when Jefferson wrote that document the assumption was deeply embedded that a very few would, as a matter of course, rule the majority around them. That practice had held for generation upon generation, century upon century. Thomas Jefferson was one of a handful proposing a huge change. Jefferson spent his life working to disseminate power more equally. He supported immigrants’ rights in Virginia and worked tirelessly for religious freedoms. He was not just a liberal but a radical in his time. Yes, we can look at him and see that he did not fully embody his own principles but what he did accomplish is more astonishing and more enduring. And it is his work upon which others would later stand in order to bring about broader freedoms such as emancipation and suffrage. Without that first compelling statement of essential rights on what would others have based their efforts? It is not fair to someone taking the first step to accuse him of not having taken all the steps we would like. He opened the way for so many others to follow. The ideas he articulated have served not just our country but the world; countries in South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa have used his document to call for their own freedom from repression. Consider the amazing force of the sprout bursting through the hard seed case and out of the darkness into the light and you will not denigrate it because it has not yet flowered fully.  

Every citizen benefits from that Declaration and from our Constitution. Our parents and our grandparents have as well. And yes, those documents were written, as it turns out, equally for each one of us now living.  

Kathleen Davis 

• 

CLEAN MONEY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

With all the discussion and debate around reform in Sacramento, it stands out to me that an essential element is missing from both the executive and legislative agendas: Clean Money. 

Clean Money is full public financing of election campaigns. Clean Money is real reform that reduces the fundraising pressures on politicians, and restores control of politics to people. Voters, rather than special interests, pay for campaigns. This is a proven and effective way to bring real change to California’s government. The Governor said it best himself during his campaign: 

“Special interests have a stranglehold on Sacramento. Here’s how it works. Money comes in, favors go out. The people lose.” 

• Real reform efforts must include Clean Money public financing of election campaigns. 

• Without Clean Money, reform efforts are just “moving the boxes around.” 

• If the governor for whatever reason cannot make good on his campaign promises to get special interest money out of Sacramento, then the Legislature has got to pass AB 583, the California Clean Money and Fair Elections bill. 

And actually, as a matter of good policy, the Legislature should pass AB 583 in any event. 

Thank you for the opportunity to comment. 

David Jaber 

• 

EDWARD ROWLAND SILL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I enjoyed the piece on Edward Rowland Sill. There are those among us who remember having to read or even memorize poems such as “Opportunity” or “The Fool’s Prayer.” I had almost forgotten him and had no idea he figured in local history. 

Jenifer Steele 

• 

DOWNTOWN 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I recall how back in 1993 near the beginning of our building frenzy, I heard planners, pundits and politicians talk about a “revitalized downtown” where renovated/retrofitted older buildings would be interspersed with new, well designed, built-to-scale (three to five stories) infills with quality shops and services at ground level, apartments and offices above. With trees and green space, public art and sidewalk cafes, downtown would be a pleasant place to bike or walk and would be designed to serve the carless downtown residents, public transit commuters (both to The City and UC and from the neighborhoods) and visitors and tourists via BART. A kind of Fourth Street for the masses. 

For the past 10 years, downtown has been in a state of permanent construction. Virtually every east/west street between Oxford and MLK has been closed or one-laned more than once for months at a time in order for building to take place. This has created an ever-shifting maze that combined with a constant shrinkage in parking, short term meters and increased congestion on feeder streets like Shattuck and University frustrates drivers. Walking is even worse since you have to either make long detours to avoid construction or pick your way alongside building sites and be assaulted by the din of the jackhammers and fumes and dust from the concrete and tar that burns the eyes and coats the lungs.  

It is no surprise that downtown businesses are failing. Downtown, with car or without, is not a pleasant place to be. Many small merchants near construction zones where I used to shop have closed defeated by a drop in foot traffic on their blocks along with the parking problems and high rents. There are more and more empty storefronts, fewer shops, less variety. And while many of the renovated buildings are nicely done and there are jewels among the new ones, they are hard to enjoy. Green space (along with parking) has disappeared. Trees have been replaced by concrete. And the new behemoths which received extra height because of ground floor commercial and/or cultural use manage to block the sun and funnel the wind while contributing little to street level life. Downtown Berkeley with its empty, darkened storefronts, its narrow streets, construction zones and cavernous walls has become an eerie place, particularly at night.  

Nor will the new downtown be completed anytime soon. With all the new projects in the pipeline, it looks like at least another 10 years of life in a construction zone. (Particularly vulnerable to the next spate of activity will be businesses in some of our most recently completed sections like the Arts District and Center Street.) At the rate we’re going, when construction is completed, all of the businesses except for fast food chains will have moved out. Despite our Brower Centers and eco-friendly rhetoric, it looks like we are recreating simply another urban downtown. 

Joanne Kowalski 

• 

PACIFIC STEEL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Regarding the Pacific Steel story: This is exactly what this paper needs. A story like this really needs to be told. I’ve had many experiences in the West Berkeley area relating to the odor with major concern. I can’t wait to see what will happen next. Credit to you, Daily Planet. 

Brant Bellamon 

• 

THE BIG LIE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Letter-writer Helen Burke (March 29-31 edition) echoes the Big Lie that there is a conspiracy of “outsiders” trying to take over the Sierra Club. Far from it. The real conspiracy is that of club insiders led by Director Carl Pope to keep the organization from dealing with the country’s population explosion and environmental decline caused by runaway immigration. Here, in California, we are paving over the finest agricultural land on the planet for stripmalls and highways and driving to extinction species as we bulldoze habitat to provide for 600,000 immigrants and their children each year. 

I urge Sierra Club members to cast their vote for the independent petition candidates with real courage: 

James McDonald, Alan Kuper, Gregory Bungo, Robert Roy van de Hoek. 

In doing so they will honor the memory of David Brower, the late giant of the environmental movement who resigned from the Sierra Club board because of its craven refusal to confront population problems. At that time he admonished, “Overpopulation is perhaps the biggest problem facing us, and immigration is part of that problem. It has to be addressed.” 

Tim Aaronson 

El Cerrito 

• 

SIERRA CLUB ELECTION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Mark Johnson’s letter in response to Helen Burke’s letter on the Sierra Club elections misstates and mischaracterizes the issue on the Sierra Club ballot in this election. The ballot initiative would change Sierra Club policy to support further restrictions on legal immigration. It does not change existing Sierra Club policy on population, which supports population reduction and the need to reduce birthrates but is neutral on immigration levels. 

Restrictions on immigration do nothing to reduce the root causes of overpopulation or worldwide population levels.  

I urge Sierra Club members to vote no on the initiative to change Sierra Club policy to support reductions in legal immigration and to vote for candidates Bosh, Catlin, Ferenstin, McGrady, and Frank, who oppose the initiative and are committed to the club’s core conservation agenda supporting parks and open space, clean air, clean water, and clean and efficient energy. 

Alan Carlton 

Alameda 

• 

AC TRANSIT BUSES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Planet correspondents have covered most complaints about the new AC Transit busses, but so far none have mentioned the Velcro upholstery. Once one recovers from negotiating the alp to senior seating, it is time to prepare to alight. This means pinpointing the whereabouts of a nearby button to punch for a stop, and analysis of attendant contortions to attain it. Unfortunately, the upholstery now has one in its death grip. Can one achieve the button and be released from the clutches of the seat in time to get off at one’s stop? Suspense mounts. Will the driver allow one to simply holler out one’s street? Pleasant drivers will, but I know of a sullen female who insists on correct protocol and doesn’t care how many extra blocks you have to walk back. A lot of civic agony could be eliminated if designers had to actually use their designs and the bureaucrats who order them had to personally try them out first. 

Nancy Chirich 

• 

WORK TO RULE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I have been very saddened over the feuding between the Berkeley Federation of Teachers and the Berkeley Unified School District. While I fully support the teachers in this battle, it is very disheartening to see the harmful effects of the “work-to-rule” action on both the teachers and the students. Teachers are slower at grading our tests or are not available to help us with our questions before-school, during lunch, or after-school. It is very frustrating for the student who can’t get back the results of his/her tests for several weeks and who can’t see teachers regarding a confusion they have with their course. Teachers also suffer from this. They come to work very stressed out and feel that they can not teach to their full potential. 

The school district initially said that they have no money for a teacher raise. However, a couple weeks ago they came up with money to offer senior teachers a 1.2 percent raise. Where did this money come from? I do not believe that the school district is intentionally holding back a cost of living wage increase to the teachers. It is just as the school district says. The money is just not there. However, I believe that if BUSD spent their money more wisely and efficiently, we would not be in such a mess. I think that a great solution to this problem would be to set the salary of an administrator to be no higher than that of a teacher.  

I encourage everyone to e-mail and call the school board directors at 644-6550 and encourage them to offer the teachers what they deserve. Only then will the students be able to learn in the best environment possible. 

Rio Bauce 

• 

TEACHERS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Russ Mitchell, in an April 1 letter, states that “The main issue is why the union goes to such great lengths to protect the job of the all-time worst teacher.” 

The reason why is very simple, and is founded in very basic principles both of civics and of labor-unionism: In a world where there are plenty of people who will beat up on the worker, it is the role of the union to advocate for that worker. This is exactly as it should be. 

The union sees too it that when someone such as Ms. O’Malley makes up her mind that a teacher is the “all-time worst” she has known, and perhaps takes that opinion forward, there is someone to tell that teacher’s side of the story. 

After all, people have all sorts of reasons for deciding that a teacher is “bad” and should be fired.  

Maybe he is, indeed, a bad teacher. But perhaps she simply gave the little darling of someone influential the failing grade that he deserved. Perhaps he talked back to a school board member. Or she wrote a letter to the editor of the Daily Planet that wasn’t very popular. Perhaps, like Dr. Churchill out in Colorado, he expressed an unpopular academic opinion using rhetoric that irked many taxpayers. Perhaps she insists on discipline in the classroom, even from those students who don’t get it at home. Maybe he just looks funny. Maybe some parent doesn’t agree with the teacher’s sexual orientation. Then again, maybe she really is a bad teacher. 

Like a good defense attorney, who doesn’t help the prosecution make the case against her client, the role of the union is not to take the side of the forces that would see one of their members fired. Their role is to stand with their dues-paying member. Their role is also is to negotiate processes that make it very difficult for the ‘squeaky wheel’ or the tide of public opinion to get one of their members fired based on subjective criteria. 

There are, as we’ve seen in the rhetoric of the past week, plenty of other individuals and bodies to say bad things about a given teacher or about teachers in general, without the union taking on that role.  

Indeed, Mr. Mitchell should fear ever getting that for which he appears to be asking. Because it would mean the end of academic freedom, it would mean the end of teachers being in charge of their own classrooms, and it would turn the academic world, from top to bottom, into a popularity contest. 

Solidarity means solidarity. 

Greg Bullough 

Pennsylvania 

• 

TUPPER & REED 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Sorry to sound a sour note on your article on Tupper & Reed, but some of the reason they are closing may be bad service. BUSD re-instituted its music program and it has stayed active, although your article only mentioned their cutting it. When I tried to rent a cello there for my daughter, they would not accept my credit; the cards were shared with my husband and only his name showed on their computer, so they required him to be there to sign the rental agreement. Later on, I had no trouble renting a cello from Ifshin. 

More recently, I had tried to order sheet music through Tupper & Reed. About half the time they did not notify me when the item arrived (once I found it in the public sale area), nor did they notify me when they found out that they were unable to order it. 

Berkeley is blessed with a number of music stores: Ifshin and Forrest on University, 5th String and Musical Instrument Exchange on Adeline, and checking addresses in the phone book, one new to me, Starving Musician on Shattuck. For sheet music, SheetMusicPlus.com has not let me down. Berkeley is also home to many musicians working in many styles, and many people making instruments. Although one store did not make it, music is alive and well in Berkeley. 

Barbara Judd 

›

It was by coincidence that I was catching up with Eleanor Vincent a day after Terri Schiavo passed away and at the start of National Donate Life Month, but the significance was not lost on either of us. Thirteen years ago Eleanor’s daughter Maya was declared brain dead by her doctors after a freak accident left her in an irreversible coma. At the request of Maya’s neurosurgeon, Eleanor made the life affirming decision to donate Maya’s organs to others in need. Last year her memoir, Swimming with Maya: A Mother’s Story was published by Capital Books. In it, she describes this heart wrenching event, and the repercussions Maya’s death has had on her, Maya’s younger sister, Meghan, family members, friends, and the recipients of Maya’s organs.  

At Roos Café on upper Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, Eleanor and I sat down and discussed her book and the recent news on the Schiavos, the Schindlers, the pope, the right to lifers, and how a devastating accident can forever change many lives. 

Since the publication of her memoir Eleanor has become a national spokesperson on the affirmative effect of her decision to donate Maya’s organs. Her appearances include transplantation symposiums at Stanford University, in-service transplantation seminars for nurses and doctors, and keynote speeches at donor recognition events, as well as appearances at bookstores and libraries. She has received a Community Service Award from the California Transplant Donor Network for her work raising awareness of the healing impact of organ donation. 

In 1992 Eleanor was a single, working mother, living in a small apartment in Lafayette. High-spirited, talented 19-year-old Maya had just been accepted into the Theater Arts program at UCLA and she was home from Santa Barbara City College to celebrate. While Eleanor was at work and Meghan at school, Maya and three friends drove to Morgan Territory in Eastern Contra Costa where, on a dare, Maya climbed a fence and jumped on the back of a grazing horse. The animal reared, Maya fell, hit her head and never regained consciousness. For several days she lay in a coma at John Muir Hospital where Eleanor agonized by her bedside. When she learned that Maya was brain dead, and doctors were withdrawing life support, Eleanor’s decision to donate her daughter’s organs provided her with a bittersweet sense of solace. “Organ donation was an opportunity to make something good come out of this tragedy,” she says softly. “The cycle of life would continue.” 

Maya’s heart was given to a man with a wife and two young children. As time went by Eleanor struck up a relationship with the recipient and his family. “Meeting them made my grief bearable,” says Eleanor. “It gave a larger meaning to what had happened. A family was able to stay together because of Maya’s heart. I would have done anything to keep another family from going through the terrible loss our family experienced.”  

Approximately 83,000 Americans are awaiting organ transplants. By telling her story, Eleanor Vincent illustrates the unique relationship between organ donors and the recipients of their gifts, and the healing power of that connection. Since Maya’s death Eleanor has completed the MFA program in Creative Writing at Mills College and gone on to teach a graduate level class there entitled the Craft of Creative Non-Fiction. “We examine how the writer confronts and structures strong and often ambiguous or conflicting emotions in a skillful way,” says Eleanor. Having read her book, and met the woman in person, I can attest to Eleanor’s firm grasp of this subject matter. Swimming With Maya is a memoir that confronts controversial subjects, reflects upon difficult situations, and deals with issues that are currently capturing our national collective conscious.  

Eleanor Vincent will give a presentation on the healing impact of organ donation and sign books on Wednesday, April 13, 6 p.m., at the First Church of Religious Science, 5000 Clarewood Dr., Oakland. For more information on Swimming With Maya and for an extensive list of links to organ donation, transplantation, grief and bereavement organizations, go to www.swimmingwithmaya.com. ?

Theater Heist 

Police arrested a 20-year-old employee of the Oaks Theater at 1875 Solano Ave. minutes after midnight Thursday morning on suspicion of grand theft. Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Steve Rego said the man had $500 in his possession, the amount reportedly taken from the till. 

Slow Crooks 

An alert Blake Street resident called police Thursday afternoon after spotting two men, one armed with a pistol, near the corner of Blake and San Pablo Avenue. 

Police set up an area perimeter and conducted a search, finally spotting the suspects, who started running with the officers in close pursuit. 

The folks with the badges proved fleeter of foot, and nabbed both suspects. A quick frisk turned up not only the pistol but some loot that had been stolen in a Piedmont burglary two hours earlier, said Officer Rego. 

The not-so-dynamic duo was escorted to the local lockup, where they were booked on charges of receiving stolen property and resisting arrest. 

Robbed or Not? 

Police were called to the corner of Shattuck and Durant avenues at 1:17 p.m. Thursday, where a very confused woman reported that she had been assaulted by person or persons unknown, and who may or may not have stolen her wallet. 

Purse Snatch 

A 22-year-old woman called police Friday morning to report that another woman about her own age had shoved her and grabbed her purse. 

Boom Box Bust 

Police arrested a 44-year-old man on suspicion of larceny and parole violation after he walked out of the 2058 University Ave. Goodwill store in possession of a boom box not his own. 

Register, Clerk Hit 

The clerk working the midnight shift at a business in the 2800 block of College Avenue called police at a minute after midnight Saturday to report that a middle-aged man wearing a dark hoodie had slugged him in the chest, then scooped up the contents of the cash register before fleeing westbound on College. 

King Pin Donut Theft 

The owner of King Pin Donuts at 2521 Durant Ave. called police Just after midnight Saturday after he discovered that $7,000 had vanished from his cash register over the past three months. 

Heistus Interruptus 

An anxious clerk at Ledger Liquor, 1399 University Ave., told police the timely entrance of a customer at 8:37 Saturday evening may have discouraged a robber before he could begin his dastardly deed. 

The clerk smelled foul deeds when a man started to walk into the store with his face hidden behind a black ski mask. At the very same moment, a customer walked in, frightening the masked man, who turned around and beat pavement westbound on University. 

Police searched the area and were able to learn the identity of the masked man, said Officer Rego. 

Homeless Slasher 

A dispute between two homeless men took a nasty turn late Saturday night when one produced a box cutter and tried to slash the other’s throat. 

The victim, a 49-year-old transient, received a non-life-threatening wound, and his 52-year-old assailant was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and escorted to new accommodations. 

Home Invaders 

Residents of an apartment in the 2600 block of Ridge Road called police Sunday morning after two masked men forced their way into the dwelling and proceeded to rob them. 

The bandits were gone by the time police arrived, along with the three marijuana plants the apartment dwellers had been carefully cultivating.  

No arrests have been made, said Officer Rego. 

Drayage Pellet Gunner 

Police raided the Drayage late Monday afternoon after someone fired a pellet gun at firefighters who are conducting a fire watch at the site, said Deputy Fire Chief David Orth. 

No one was injured, and police were unable to find the shooter or the weapon, Orth said. 

The illegal apartment and live/work complex at Third and Addison streets is the scene of a dispute between residents and city officials, who have ordered the tenants to vacate a structure Orth has declared an extreme fire hazard. 

Fire and city building inspectors found more than 255 code violations at the building. The final eviction date has been set for April 15. 

I appreciated reading your article on the laptop computer that was stolen from UC Berkeley’s Grad Division—it answered some questions I had that the UC-generated press releases and web info lacked, such as if there was any encryption/password protection on the computer at all. I am a graduate student at UCB, and received a notice from the university that my data was among that stolen with the laptop. 

It is very disturbing to me that my data was not better protected by the university, and now that this computer is floating out there, with press coverage about the importance of the data stored there, it seems it would not take much to get at it if someone wants. With nearly 100,000 people’s addresses, Social Security numbers, and birthdates listed, we are now relatively easy pickings for identity fraud at any time in the future, since most of that ID data stays with us for life. 

It seems cavalier to me that the university highlighted that they were required by law to contact us after this breach of security; I wish that they had done more to proactively ensure it was not stolen and moved quickly to inform us once it was. Waiting two weeks to inform us that our data is out there seems very callous, as if the two weeks gives a thief plenty of time to steal in our names. The time and effort it takes to recover after identity fraud occurs could be a real hardship for someone hoping to focus on finishing their degree fast, especially in this climate of drastic fee increases. Thank god for that law—who knows how quietly UC would have released the news (if at all) without it! 

I still have questions for UC: 

With encryption software so common and cheap, why was encryption not yet installed on these computers? It seems a rather suspect coincidence that the computer was only days away from getting encryption, as your reporter was told. If it was known that this computer wasn’t yet encrypted, why wasn’t it locked up until it could have its data encrypted? When I worked in the Graduate Division, my impression was that sensitive student data was stored on a central server with password access that I assume was locked away somewhere in Sproul Hall, not on portable equipment. 

Why was all this information stored on a laptop that was unsecured? I own a laptop, and for $35 I bought a thick metal cable lock that secures it to tables, desks, etc. via a security slot. I use this lock all the time- when my computer is at home and if I go to a cafe or the library. You can buy similar locks for about $10 on eBay virtually anytime lately. 

If an employee saw the person walk out of the area with the computer, why wasn’t the person stopped sooner? The Graduate Division is three floors above the UC Police offices—couldn’t the response time have been almost immediate if a call was made? 

Are those desktop computers/servers currently storing student information locked to furniture or otherwise secured so they can’t walk off? If staff are not willing to stop someone if they witness stealing, it seems perhaps the equipment should be made harder to remove. 

Given that the computer stored people’s information that was up to 30 years old and UC is finding it hard to contact them since addresses have changed, are they going to provide an easy way for graduates to update their current contact information after graduation, in case there is some security issue they need to inform us of in the future? Perhaps a few secure and encrypted archival storage drives would be a good idea rather than keeping all that data on a laptop that’s in use. Does the Grad Division access 30-year records very often? 

Given all the measures that it seems weren’t taken, it looks to me like this was an accident waiting to happen. Paradoxically, I believe I keep my own personal computer’s data more securely than UC did theirs, and the stakes for the loss of my own machine are much lower. I’ve met many competent and knowledgeable tech people while working on campus, and surely there is a lot of knowledge that could be better harnessed to prevent this kind of impact on students. 

AGSE, the grad student union, is looking into this issue, and my hope is that they aren’t the only campus-related group that has swung into action. My sense of the information I’ve seen from the university is that they are putting a lot of the burden for mitigating the damage on students. It seems to me the university could act much more accountably in this situation. 

If I were a friend to someone and lost their wallet with their driver’s license and Social Security card, I wouldn’t wait two weeks before letting them know. 

Irene Nexica is a graduate student at UC Berkeley. 

I, Zachary Running Wolf, provide leadership and effort on behalf of 85,000 Native Americans here in the Bay Area (the second largest urban native population after Oklahoma City). 

Gaming is a sovereign right, dating back thousands of years in historical and cultural connections, because my people traditionally used gaming to hone their intuition in hunting. 

California has a unique situation like no other state: The tribes have compacts with the governor, that the tribes will donate 8.5 percent of the profits from gaming to the state. I applaud the tribes, since they do not have an obligation to negotiate with the governor, nor are they required to pay taxes on the gaming profits, because the tribes are sovereign states. 

The fact is that California Native Americans are offering to pay these self-taxes, which will amount to billions of dollars to state coffers. This is a gift and should be appreciated, since the federal government is removing billions of dollars by either corporatizing or financially starving basic resources such as schools, libraries, hospitals, clinics, and other badly need institutions. 

I realize that there are arguments and concerns regarding gaming, which are weak at best (no one is forced to patronized a gaming casino), and seem downright racist (white-operated casinos have flourished without interference for a very long time in this country). 

Furthermore, the argument that gaming is going to be brought to the urban environment is specious. I have to inform you that your concern is too late: There are scratchers and the state lottery in every corner store, as well as the race track in the East Bay, and many card rooms dot the Bay Area.  

As for the specter of increased crime, let me ask: When you are at South Lake Tahoe, or the Oaks Card Room, do you see people getting mugged, or robberies being staged? What makes you think such activities are going to be permitted at Indian casinos? As a matter of fact, Indian gaming places across the country have an excellent safety record. 

Impoverishing poor people is another argument raised against Indian casinos. Why are poor people going to be any more impoverished by Indian gaming than by gaming clubs run by white people—to say nothing of the lottery? I have not seen crowds of poor people at casinos—it is usually middle-income and wealthy people who patronize them. The large donations to the state, to be used for the deteriorating public institutions, and the many jobs provided by gaming will aid the poor people in the long run.  

With regard to the concern about addiction, one of the latest surveys concludes that 3 percent of gamblers have a serious addiction problem. That is too many—any addicted persons are too many. California Indian gaming makes major contributions to Gamblers Anonymous and does commercials warning against addiction. Addiction is regarded medically and psychiatrically as a disease, to be treated—and that includes addiction to alcohol, drugs, fatty foods, sugar, anorexia, and other substances and behaviors. Why are critics suddenly picking on gaming, especially Indian gaming, as a topic of major concern? 

Finally, increased traffic has been cited as a problem with some Indian gaming locations. If you’ve ever tried to drive on 80 or 580 when racing season is on, you can understand the concern. But the race track has not been closed down because of traffic problems. An offer by a Native American tribe of $25 million to push forward the already-planned highway and traffic improvement project should be accepted, rather than using the already existing traffic problems as an excuse to deny the establishment of the gaming site—which would also be reachable by public transportation. 

By the way, this country has not kept its side of almost any treaty made with Native Americans in some 450 years—a pathetic and scandalous record. And now that Native Americans have found a way to get a small piece of the pie, through gaming, there is every effort being made to deprive them of even that. 

I put it to the discerning reader that Indian-owned gaming casinos are a boon to California (the fifth-largest economy in the world). And as California goes, so goes the nation. 

Zachary Running Wolf is a Berkeley resident.›

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As a handsome young man, Karol Wojtyla was a playwright and an actor. In the course of his life, Wojtyla sensed as much about the role of the actor as Chaplin or Garbo or Winston Churchill. He was one of the great theatricals of the century.  

During the final years of his role as Pope John Paul II, he lost a great deal of control of his person, but he never lost control of his performance, or of the attention of his audience.  

No one is a pope through and through. It is a role to be played in any of several ways. Karol Wojtyla took the role in a robust way, manly, more warrior than ascetic; never fussed with his skirts.  

He played the pope for the age of television, and fully one half of the people alive on the earth remember no other in the role. Cardinals and diplomats as stage supernumeraries; the planet his audience. He seemed never without an intuition of the camera. Kissing the tarmacs of airports!  

Puritans, who do not trust the value of the theatrical, scorned the pop vulgarity of some of the trappings of his papacy—the “pope-mobile,” for example. It didn’t matter. The pope-mobile served him, as did the pop music, the lights, the robes, the staging—religious convocations modeled upon rock concerts. Indeed, the other night, Peter Jennings said of him, “he is not only the pope, he is a rock star.”  

Jennings, of course, meant Superstar—the concept formulated by the pope’s fellow Slavic genius, Andy Warhol. The pope was famous everywhere.  

John Paul was a much better pope to the world-at-large than he was to his Church. He was such a vast contradiction, this fiercely conservative pope (within his own church) who was also a liberal regarding the affairs of the world.  

We knew John Paul was critical of Jesuits in Latin America (we saw him wag his finger at an offending priest on camera) for confusing the mission of the church with politics. We must set that example alongside John Paul’s own astonishing role in undermining the Soviet Union’s grip on Eastern Europe.  

The anti-totalitarian pope worked within the Vatican to centralize his own power. He silenced dissident voices within the clergy as efficiently as any dictator.  

The church flourished under his patrimony, especially in Africa and Asia. The church suffered and repined under his paternalistic rule, especially in Western Europe and North America. Indeed, he was a more effective pope to the Third World than to the materialistic and secular West; much more at ease in his televised meeting with Castro (a man who smelled like a man, in a country that smelled like a country), than he was with Clinton or Bush.  

Like the shrewdest of modern celebrities, he fully comprehended the uses of the curtain. He did not grant interviews. He never responded to questions from journalists. He spoke when he wanted to speak. When he spoke, there was silence.  

He understood better than any of his pop rivals—better than Jagger or Bono—that the young are in pain for lack of hope. He addressed young people seriously, never pandered. But neither did he spook them; they drew near.  

During his reign, as more and more churches in Europe emptied and slipped into museum status, Pope John Paul II looked to the South to find the future. He brooded over the advance of Islam into Europe and the spread of evangelical Protestantism in Latin America.  

He defended the world’s poor at the conferences of international foundations and First-World leaders who imagined birth control to be the answer to all the world’s ills. He defended the sanctity of work, of every sort of work. He criticized capitalism.  

He enchanted stadiums full of believers and non-believers. He disappointed more nuns and priests and Vatican-II Catholics than the secular press ever reported or understood.  

He could not reverse the declining numbers of men entering the priesthood—even in Ireland, the seminaries emptied. A priest friend of mine believes John Paul would sooner have watched the Church fall down around him than ordain women.  

He criticized the West. He spoke out against abortion and birth control and homosexuality. And yet, when sexual scandal in the rectory was exposed in Europe and North America, this pope was silent.  

The theologically conservative bishops he had appointed proved themselves incompetent and worse, moving molesting priests from parish to parish, then covering up their mistakes, then selling off parish properties to meet court settlements.  

And, after 40 years of Vatican II blather—You are the church, this is your church... —the contraption of the Church slammed shut in our faces. The bishops would take no advisement on the scandal. When the chairman of a U.S. investigatory committee accused the hierarchy of obfuscating, the chairman was replaced.  

And yet: The cameras watched as he entered the synagogue of Rome to pray; watched him approach the Wailing Wall. The cameras watched when the pope was shot in St. Peter’s Square. The cameras watched when, months later, the pope visited the cell of his would-be assassin.  

As pope to the world, John Paul II spoke words of apology: to Jews for the Church’s anti-Semitism; to the Islamic world for the excesses of the Crusades. He apologized for the persecutions of Luther and Galileo and the forced conversions of Indians in the Americas.  

In her last decade, when her famous legs failed her, and her famous beauty was all unstrung, Marlene Dietrich hid herself from the sight of the world in her Paris apartment. She foolishly attempted to protect her role from her humanity.  

Pope John Paul II was a cannier theatrical. He was willing to portray himself even in suffering, to the bitterest end. He showed the world what it means to be old and dying. Ecce homo. Even when he was dragged in on a wagon, drooling, he found the spotlight. The only comparable public suffering I can think of was that of another anointed Superstar, Princess Diana.  

The pope’s last stage was his bedroom window, a perfect proscenium: The curtain opens. The old man is wheeled into the light of the open window to utter a benediction—his arm flailing uncontrollably, clutching his forehead in a simian gesture, his mouth opening and closing in tortured silence. The microphone is quickly withdrawn. The curtain begins to close as the figure recedes.  

Here was Lear; here was Olivier; here was Samuel Beckett; here was life as theatre, here was something more real than anything we see on a public stage—real suffering.  

When word of his death was broadcast, the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, at first hesitated in silence and then began to applaud—that ancient Roman gesture under that mild Roman sky. The applause continued for more than 10 minutes.  

Even those of us who harbored misgiving and bitterness in our souls concerning the state of our Church could, in the face of his extraordinary understanding of his role, claim this old actor, and join the prayer: Bravo.  

Richard Rodriguez is an essayist and author of, most recently, Brown: The Last Discovery of America (Viking, 2003). Rodriguez is working on a book about religion.  

Closing April 16 at the California Historical Society (678 Mission, at Third, San Francisco), “Poetry and its Arts, Bay Area Interactions 1954-2004,” celebrates the visual arts wrapped around the poetry heard at the San Francisco State University Poetry Center. 

Ruth Witt-Diamant founded the Center in 1954 in the midst of The San Francisco Renaissance, a scene of poets such as Kenneth Rexroth, William Everson (aka Brother Antoninus), Philip Lamantia, Robert Duncan, Jack Spicer, Helen Adam, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Weldon Kees. Yet to come was the marketing of the Beat Scene, that wave of the arriving easterners (Kerouac, Ginsberg, Corso) and the other youths (Gary Snyder, Michael McClure, Lew Welch, Philip Whalen et al). 

The Poetry Center presented a broad range of poets both academic and uncoventional—Auden, Roethke, and later Bunting and Oppen, to name a very few. The list is both long and steady; usually, the reading was taped. Hence the center has one of the great archives of recorded poetry in the U.S. 

This show emphasizes the visuals amongst the poems. Opening with Kenneth Patchen paintings and Rexroth pastels, it features the complex work of Jesse Collins, the longtime companion of Robert Duncan, the photos of Harry Redl, the paintings of Fran Herndon, and the assemblages of George Herms, Bruce Connor and Wallace Berman. Especially poignant is the poster Jack Spicer assembled for his book Billy the Kid; quite amusing is the lame but expressive calligraphy Lew Welch committed with “a poorly prepared quill.” Secure within special collections, these unique items are rarely seen or published. 

The show occupies three rooms and involves some 100 artists, from Juvenal Acosta to Will Yackulic, including Helen Adam, Frances Butler, John Cage, Barbara Guest, Lou Harrison, Clarence Major, Arthur Okamura, Mary Oppen and Philip Whalen. Steve Dickison, formerly of Small Press Distribution (one of Berkeley’s invaluable publishing resources) and now director of the Poetry Center, curated the exhibit.  

Norma Cole, poet and translator, prepared “Collective Memory,” a three-part installation. At the front of the lobby she has furnished “Living Room Circa 1950s”: sofa, chairs, shelves with excellent and varied books, and a desk where she presides during the show’s hours (Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 4:30 p.m.). A slide show of her local photos runs quietly and continuously. It’s a delight to stop and chat, see the exhibition, and then return for conversation; the first day I went, I met Robert Bertholf, professor at SUNY (Buffalo) who has helped preserve the Duncan/Jess “household” at his university. 

At the front of the exhibit is the wall installation, “Archive Tableau,” a bank of tapes and audio/visual equipment miming the modestly funded, but precious archive at San Francisco State. Further to the right and making a graceful exit from the show is the installation, “House of Hope,” consisting of 426 strips of cloth with a line of poetry printed on each. Norma Cole chose these poets; Suzanne Stein organized the assemblage of the frame and the hanging of the strips. You’re invited to move amongst the strips and read the poetry. A printed broadside (in smaller type) containing all the lines is free at the door. Last Thursday when I photographed the installation, I pulled up a strip to drape around Norma. Quite curiously it was the line by Robert Creeley who had died two days earlier: “Nothing will fit if we assume a place for it.” 

TUESDAY, APRIL 5 

CHILDREN 

Puppet Company “Trickster Tales” at 7 p.m. at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Betwen Dimensions” Large sculptural paintings of the atmosphere by Ruth von Jahnke Waters, opens at Gallery 940, 940 Dwight Way at Ninth St.  

Contemporary Japanese Calligraphy with Keiji Onodera at 5 p.m. at IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St. 642-2809. 

FILM 

Alternative Visions: “A Darkness Swallowed” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Ronald Wright discusses “A Short History of Progress” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Keith Devlin describes “The Math Instinct: Why You’re a Mathematical Genius (Along with Lobsters, Birds, Cats and Dogs)” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

“American Labor and the Cold War” with authors William Issel, Kenneth Burt and Don Watson at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6100.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Claudia Schmidt at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Mudbath, Aroarah, alt pop rock, at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5. 848-0886.  

“Bright River” A hip-hop retelling of Dante’s Inferno, at 8 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Tickets are $12-$35. 415-256-8499.  

Baby Buck, Cowpokes for Peace, Bob Harp, alt country, at 9:30 p.m. at The Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $5. 444-6174.  

Maria Muldaur at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200.  

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

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6 

THEATER 

Laney College Theater, “Legacy for LoEshe” in memory of a girl slain in West Oakland, Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m., through April 21, at 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Tickets are $5-$9. 464-3544. 

FILM 

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

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Zac Unger describes “Working Fire: The Making of An Accidental Fireman” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Cara Black reads from her new mystery novel, “Murder in Clichy” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

Josh Kearns, UC student and contributing author reads from “What We Think: Young Voters Speak Out” at 2:30 p.m. at the Cal Student Store. 642-7294. 

Ross Tobia reads from his new book “Grand Unified Theory, Physics for a New Age” at 7 p.m. at the Albany Public Library Meeting Room, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 

Berkeley Poetry Slam at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert “Jazz and Vocal” at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Za’Bava! Izvorno at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054.  

Ravi Abcarian Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Claudia Schmidt at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Whiskey Brothers at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473.  

Julio Bravo, salsa, at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159. 

Dave Holland Big Band at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Fri. Cost is $14-$20. 238-9200.  

THURSDAY, APRIL 7 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Drawn by the Brush: Oil Sketches of Peter Paul Rubens” guided tour at 12:15 and 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“North by Northwest” new and experimental works on paper by members of Seattle Print Arts. Reception at 6 p.m. at Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977. www.kala.oeg 

“Jewish Life and Culture in Norway: Wergeland's Legacy” Reception at 7 p.m. with Jo Benkow, former President of the Norwegian Parliament, at Townsend Center for the Humanities, 220 Stephens Hall, UC Campus. RSVP to 642-5355. 

THEATER 

Albany High School Theater “Wit” and “Benefactor” Thurs. at 7 p.m., Fri. at 8 p.m. and Sat. at 2 and 8 p.m. through April 16, at Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd., Albany. Tickets are $5-$10. 558-2500, ext. 2579.  

FILM 

Marina Goldovskaya: “The Prince is Back” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Free screening. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Lunch Poems with Suji Kwock Kim at 12:10 p.m. at Morrison Library in Doe Library, UC Campus. 642-0137.  

“A Mirror of Threads: Weaving and Self-Representation in Mexico” with Alejandro de Avila from Oaxaca at 5 p.m. at Phoebe Hearst Museum, Bancroft Way at College. 643-7648. 

Grace Marie Grafton reads her poetry at 7 p.m. at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Amy Prior reads from “Lost on Purpose: Women in the City” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

Prof. Robert Ogilvie discusses “Voluntarism, Community Life, and the American Ethic” at 1:30 p.m. at the Cal Student Store. 642-7294.  

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with Nancy Wakeman and Jeanne Powell at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985.  

Stan Goldberg explains “Ready to Learn: How to Help Your Preschooler Succeed” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Berkeley Live and Unplugged Open mic featuring music and spoken word at 7 p.m. at 1924 Cedar Str. 703-9350. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Emam & Friends, world music, at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Kelly Joe Phelps at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Old Time Square Dance with Amy and Karen, and the Barnburners at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

Peter Barshay & Weber Iago at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

FRIDAY, APRIL 8 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Between Dimensions” Large sculptural paintings of the atmosphere by Ruth von Jahnke Waters. Reception at 5 p.m. Gallery 940, 940 Dwight Way at Ninth St. 

“Color-Full” works by Jane Norling, Renata Gray, Aiko Kobayashi Gray, Susie Wallerstein and Charlotte Tall Mountain. Reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at WCRC Gallery, 5741 Telegraph Ave. 601-4040 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, “Working,” inspired by Studs Terkel, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman. Through May 7. Tickets are $13-$15. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Albany High School Theater “Wit” and “Benefactor” Thurs. at 7 p.m., Fri. at 8 p.m. and Sat. at 2 and 8 p.m. through April 16, at Albany High School Little Theater, 603 Key Route Blvd., Albany. Tickets are $5-$10. 558-2500, ext. 2579.  

Aurora Theatre, “Blue/Orange” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m., 2081 Addison St. through May 15. Tickets are $28-$45. 843-4822. www.aurora.theatre.org 

Berkeley Repertory Theater “For Better or Worse” at the Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. and runs through April 24. Tickets are $20-$55. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Laney College Theater, “Legacy for LoEshe” in memory of a girl slain in West Oakland, Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m., through April 21, at 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Tickets are $5-$9. 464-3544. 

“Proof” by David Auburn, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. through May 7 at The Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Tickets are $13. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

Shotgun Players “The Just” by Albert Camus. Thurs.- Sun. at 8 p.m. at 1901 Ashby Ave. through April 10. Tickets are $10-$30. 841-6500.  

“Side-By-Side by Sondheim” by Theater on the Hill, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. Reservations required. Tickets are $20-$40. 525-0302.  

FILM 

An Evening with Frederick Wiseman: “Central Park” at 7:30 p.m. at Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Oriah Mountain Dreamer describes “What We Ache For” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Free. 845-7852.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Sweet Honey in the Rock at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$46. 642-9988.  

UC Jazz Spring Concert at 8 p.m. at International House, Piedmont Ave. at Bancroft. Tickets are $5-$10. 642-5062. 

Bustin’ Out, the best of hip hop, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $17-$20 at the door. www.juliamorgan.org  

Bobby N. Barrett Night of Music at St. Mary’s College High School, 1294 Albina Ave. Reception at 6:30 p.m., performance at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30. 526-9242.  

Rythms in Reason A collaboration with Naked Souls Artist Alliance at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Samba Da and Universal Language, Latin dance groove at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054.  

Uday Bhawalker with Manik Munde at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Jill Knight at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

The Cheat, Foreign Telegram, Barefoot Bride, rock, at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5-$7. 848-0886.  

Rock Lotto at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082.  

Sasha Dobson Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

DJ & Brook, jazz trio, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Blowfly at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $7-$10. 548-1159.  

Will Bernard & Motherbug at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Light’s Out, Our Turn, The First Step, Right On at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Dave Holland Big Band at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Fri. Cost is $14-$20. 238-9200.  

SATURDAY, APRIL 9 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Bonnie Lockhart at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Plant Portraits: The California Legacy of A. R. Valentien” An exhibition of watercolors at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts.  

“Memories of Southeast Asia” by Andrea Fumagalli, at 4 p.m. at 4th Street Studio, 1717D Fourth St. 527-0600.  

THEATER 

Cuentos: Voices for (Our) Stories: “Poch@” with Madmedia at 8 p.m. at La Peña. Tickets are $7-$10. 849-2568.  

FILM 

Crying in Color: “Moulin Rouge” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Oriah Mountain Dreamer discusses her book “What We Ache For” at 7 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St.  

“Julia Morgan: The Paris Years” with Ph.D. candidate Karen McNeill at 4 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Cost is $15. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Kirov Orchestra “Russian Spectacular” at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $36-$72. 642-9988.  

Trinity Chamber Concert “Three Trapped Tigers” recorder music at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Cost is $8-$12. 549-3864.  

Philharmonia Baroque “Cathedral of Toledo” at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana and Durant. Tickets are $28-$62. 415-392-4400. 

Pacific Boychoir Academy Spring Concert at 7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 2619 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $20. 452-4722.  

Piedmont Choirs, early music concert at 8 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$15. 547-4441.  

Bustin’ Out, the best of hip hop, at 8 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $17-$20 at the door.  

Barbara Higbie at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Shiftless Rounders, Naked Barbies at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

Sister I-Live, Razorblade, reggae, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054.  

Jaime Wyatt, West Grand, Abandon Theory, rock, pop, alt at 9:30 at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8-$10. 848-0886.  

Angel Magik at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $15. 548-1159.  

Brindl, singer-songwriter, at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Fred Zimmerman at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

The Rio Thing at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473.  

Gospel Extravaganza at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373.  

Flaming Fire, Faun Fable, Sevenly Virtues at 9 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway at 2nd St. Cost is $10. 763-1146.  

Meli at 7 and 9 p.m. at Spud’s Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $5. 597-0795. 

Peter Barshay’s Pit of Fashion Orchestra at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Kill Your Idols, Forward to Death, All or Nothing at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

Andy Bey Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $15-$18. 238-9200.  

SUNDAY, APRIL 10 

CHILDREN  

Charity Kahn and the JamJamJam Band at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054.  

“The World in My Neighborhood: Asian Cultures” family day from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Phoebe Hearst Museum, Bancroft Way at College Ave. Cost is $3-$4. 642-7648. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Narrating Moral Models” Lecture at 2 p.m., guided tour at 3:15 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. 642-0808.  

“Berkeley Police Department: A Century of Innovation” reception at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley History Center, 1931 Center St. 848-0181.  

“Space is the Place” Installations by Sarah Cain, Christian Maycheck and others. Reception from 2 to 4 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center. 644-6893.  

FILM 

“For the Love of It” Annual Festival of Amateur FIlmmaking at 8:10 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash with Alan Williamson and Jeanne Foster at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852.  

The Berkeley Literary Women’s Revolution at 3 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Philharmonia Baroque “Cathedral of Toledo” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Dana and Durant. Tickets are $28-$62. 415-392-4400.  

Tekla Cummingham and Jonathan Rhodes Lee perform music by J.S. Bach and sons at 2 p.m. at Music Sources, 1000 The Alameda. Tickets are $10-$15. 

Organ Recital with Jason Abel at 6:10 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way at Ellsworth. 845-0888. 

Wayne Shorter Acoutic Quartet at 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$46. 642-9988.  

Four Seasons Concerts, Mauricio Nader, piano, at 4 p.m. at Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Tickets are $25-$35. 601-7919.  

East Bay School for Girls Concert “Inspiration” at 3 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $10-$25. 849-9444.  

Jyota Kala Mandir at 5 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. Tickets are $10-$15.  

Sara Ayala & Los Flamenquitos at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Horacio Salinas at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568.  

Faye Carol at 6 and 8 p.m. at Black Rep, 3201 Adeline St. Donation $20 benefits Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors. 465-1617. 

Noxa, Lowki, Maxwell Adams at 4 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8. All ages show. 848-0886.  

Jazzschool Big Band at 4:30 at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373.  

Vance Gilbert at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Champion, Blue Monday at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926.

Earlier this year, PBS ran (in its usual annoying fashion, all three episodes back to back) a documentary about American English, with Robert MacNeill traveling around the country and reporting on the state of the language. It was in part an elegy for dy ing dialects (Southern Appalachian, Gullah) and in part a forecast of linguistic change (the Northern Cities Vowel Shift, the lingo of rappers, skateboarders, text-messagers). 

Americans aren’t unique in having dialects, of course—I learned that hitchhiki ng around Britain years ago, and having mutually unintelligible conversations with Scots, Welsh, Yorkshiremen, and Londoners. Nor are humans. The existence of local song dialects in birds has been documented for quite a while. Much of what we know about t he phenomenon comes from the work of Luis Baptista, who was curator of birds and mammals at the California Academy of Sciences until his untimely death in 2002. 

I only met Baptista once, at one of the Academy’s open house nights when members get to go be hind the scenes, meet the scientists, and smell the formaldehyde. But he must have been a remarkable individual. He had emigrated from Macau in 1961 to study at the University of San Francisco and UC Berkeley, and it was at Berkeley that he discovered his key research subject, the white-crowned sparrow. More than half his 120-odd technical publications dealt with the sparrow and its song dialects.  

He had an amazing ear for birdsong. “Luis could stand in [Golden Gate Park], hear a call, and declare that ‘the white-crown had a Canadian father and a California mother.’” a colleague remembered. “It has half an Alberta accent and half a Monterey accent. The parents probably met at the Tioga Pass near Yosemite.” Baptista’s love of music—he was an early fan of Astor Piazzolla—meshed seamlessly with his research interests; his last project was a study of the biology of music and its relationship to bird song.  

Baptista (and other researchers like Donald Kroodsma) found that white-crowns have to learn their loc al version of the species’ song. Their “song tutors” are either their own fathers or males holding neighboring territories. Biologists believe that like other songbirds, they’re born with a built-in auditory template, a generalized sketch of what their so ng should sound like. But there’s a critical period, from 10 to 50 days after hatching, during which they need to hear an appropriate model in order to get it right. White-crowns reared in isolation or exposed only to the songs of other species never prod uce a normal song. In the wild, they begin practicing at about 5 months of age, playing with variations but eventually settling down to the version they heard from Dad. 

It turns out that dialects can be highly localized, with audible differences in sparrow populations only a few yards apart in the same patch of habitat. Males with territories on a dialect boundary can be bilingual. Getting the song right makes a big difference in their social lives, since females are more responsive to the local dialect. And genetic differences seem to mirror song differences. Since song “inheritance” seems to be patrilineal, I have to wonder about Baptista’s bird with the half-Monterey/half-Alberta accent; maybe he was just pulling his colleague’s leg. 

I thought of Luis Baptista and his white-crowned sparrows when I heard a National Public Radio report on some new research by Gary Rose at the University of Utah at Salt Lake City, and later tracked down the report in Nature. Rose and his colleagues set out to study the mechanics of song learning. They knew that sparrows that had been exposed to only isolated phrases of their species’ song were unable to produce a normal song. But when they broke the song into pairs of phrases (AB, BC, CD, DE), they found that sparrows exposed to the sequence of pairs were able to put them together in the right order. And if the sequence was reversed (e.g., BA, CB, DC, ED), the sparrows assembled a “backwards” version of the song (EDCBA), which, as played on NPR, sounded decidedly odd. 

How does this all work in the sparrow’s brain? Earlier research had identified specialized cell groups in the forebrains of songbirds that were associated with song learning and production—the “song system.” Neurons in the song system light up when a bird hears its own song played back. And there is a stronger response to paired song phrases in the correct order than to phrases in isolation. 

It’s not clear at this point whether the neural pathways are laid down when the bird first hears a “song tutor,” o r when it practices its own song during the developmental period.  

Donald Kroodsma’s research on Bewick’s wrens in Oregon suggests that the song tutor may be a neighbor rather than a parent. After leaving the nest, a young male wren abandons his father’s song and picks up the prevailing dialect surrounding his new territory.  

All this has interesting implications beyond the world of sparrows and wrens. There may be commonalities between the neural architecture of learning in songbirds and in humans. And without getting too Chomskyan, we may have our own innate templates for language. Maybe someday I’ll be able to explain, on a scientific basic, how I got out of Arkansas without acquiring an accent, except for that tendency to pronounce “greasy” with a Z, and “Baptist” with two B’s.PA

TUESDAY, APRIL 5 

Mid-Day Meander in Briones to see the spring migratory birds. From 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. For details call 525-2233. 

Bird Walk along the Martin Luther King Shoreline to see marsh birds at 3:30 p.m. for information call 525-2233. 

“California Wild” A slide presentation with author and photographer Tim Palmer at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Free. 527-4140. 

Robert Reich on “How Unequal Can America Get Before We Snap?” at 7 p.m. at Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. Free, but tickets required. 642-9988. 

“American Labor and the Cold War: Grassroots Politics and Postwar Political Culture” with authors William Issel, Kenneth Burt and Don Watson at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Central Library, Community Room, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6100.  

“Advice for Small Business Owners” with Susan Urquhart-Brown, author of “The Accidental Entrepreneur: Practical Wisdom for People Who Never Expected to Work for Themselves” at 7 p.m. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave. 526-7512. 

“Resolving Conflicts Through Dialogue” with Drs Jerry Diller and Meshulam Plaves, Tues. April 5, 12, 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC. Cost is $40. 848-0237, ext. 110. 

Berkeley Salon Discussion Group meets to discuss Tax Reform from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. Please bring snacks and soft drinks to share. No peanuts please. 601-6690.     

“Will Your Bones Carry You into the Future?” with Beverley Tracewell, CCRC, at 4 p.m. at Jewish Family & Children’s Services, 828 San Pablo Ave., Suite 104, Albany. To register call 558-7800. 

Introductory Buddhist Meditation Class at 7 p.m. at Dzalandhara Buddhist Center, in Berkeley. Suggested donation $7-$10. For directions call 559-8183. www.kadampas.org 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your digital images, 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. Introduction to Legal Assistance at 11 a.m. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6 

Tilden Tots Join a nature adventure program for 3 and 4 year olds, each accompanied by an adult (grandparents welcome)! We’ll discover plant parts from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Bring a plain, light-colored t-shirt. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 636-1684. 

Great Decisions 2005: “Global Water Issues” with Prof. Isha Ray, Energy and Resources Group, UCB from 10 a.m. to noon at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. Cost is $5. For information and reservations call 526-2925. 

“The Forest for the Trees: Judi Bari vs. the FBI” a new documentary at 7:30 p.m. at La Pena, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. Benefits Forest Defenders’ Pepper Spray Q-tip lawsuit. 849-2568. 

“When Hate Happens Here” a screening and community discussion of a new documentary at 7 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, Oakland. Sponsored by KQED and The Working Group. Free, but please RSVP to 415-553-3338. ylee@kqued.org 

Quit Smoking Class from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and April 20 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 2326 Tolman Hall, UC Campus. Sponsored by the City of Berkeley. to register call 981-5330. 

St. Paul’s Episcopal School Community Outreach Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. at 116 Moncito Ave., Oakland. Reservations required. 285-9613. 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Action St. 841-2174.  

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

WomenFirst Open House and introduction for volunteers to assist women in transition to self-sufficiency, from noon to 2 p.m. at 7200 Bancroft Ave., Suite 260, Oakland. Please RSVP to Yasmeen at 729-6236. 

Home Buyer Assistance Information Session at 6 p.m. at 1504 Franklin St., Oakland. Sponsored by the Home Buyer Assistance Center. Reservations required. 832-6925, ext. 100. www.hbac.org 

AARP Free Tax Assistance for taxpayers with middle and low incomes, with special attention to those 60 years and older. From 12:15 to 4:15 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. This service will continue through April. Appointments required. 526-3720, ext. 5. 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. 548-9840. 

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6:30 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. 848-1704. www.ecologycenter.org 

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. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Station at 6:30 p.m. www.geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

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

THURSDAY, APRIL 7 

Early Morning Bird Walk in Tilden Meet at 7 a.m. opposite the Pony Ride for a Gorge Trail tramp. 525-2233. 

Tilden Tots Join a nature adventure program for 3 and 4 year olds, each accompanied by an adult. We’ll discover plant parts from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Bring a plain, light-colored t-shirt. Cost is $6-$8. Registration required. 636-1684. 

“Seafood Watch” a lecture with Jennifer Dianot of the Monterey Bay Aquarium on depletion of fish stocks around the world and health of the oceans at 7 p.m. at the Zimmer Auditorium, Oakland Zoo. Cost is $8-$10. 632-9525, ext. 142. 

“Know Your Soil” with Richard Strong, soil scientist, at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Salvemos Nuestros Pueblos at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Donation $5-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

BUSD West Campus Site Planning Meeting on “Alternatives to Development” at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria, 1222 University Ave. 644-6066. 

Berkeley Partners for Parks meets at 7:30 p.m. at The City of Berkeley’s Corporation Yard, 1326 Allston Way, Assembly Room-The Green Room. All welcome. 649-9874. 

Diversity Films: “Beauty Before Age” at 6:30 p.m. at Ellen Driscoll Theater, Frank Havens Elementary School, 325 Highland Ave., Piedmont. Discussion follows. Free. 599-9227. www.diversityworks.org 

“Invest in Yourself and Your Community” Information on credit unions, loan funds and other financial services that help local communities at 7:30 p.m. at BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Free. 839-2900, ext. 261. 

Commemorate Oakland Docks Anti-War Picket A benefit for Willow Rosenthal injured on April 7, 2003, at 7 p.m. at Café Van Kleef, 1621 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. 

“The Future of the U.S. and Mexico: The Role of Education” with Juan Ramón de la Fuente of the National Autonomous University of Mexico at 4 p.m. in the Lounge, Women’s Faculty Club, UC Campus. 642-2088. www.clas.berkeley.edu 

“Medicare, MediCal & Long-Term Insurance?” with Bruce Feder, attorney, at 7 p.m. at Jewish Family & Children’s Services, 828 San Pablo Ave., Suite 104, Albany. To register call 558-7800. 

National Alcohol Screening Day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Options Recovery Services, 2020 Milvia St., fourth floor. Call Ellen or Celeste for an appointment 666-9900. 

“The Rhythm of Life’s Transitions” Learn exercises and ritual at 7 p.m. at Changemakers for Women, 6536 Telegraph Ave. Cost is $15-$25. RSVP to 286-7915. 

East Bay Mac User Group from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Expression Center for New Media, 6601 Shellmound St. http://ebmug.org 

FRIDAY, APRIL 8 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Toru Kumimatsu on “The Current Japanese Economy and Culture” 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.  

Communities of Color and New Models of Organizing Labor A Symposium, sponsored by the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law & Berkeley La Raza Law Journal, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Booth Auditorium, Boalt Hall, UC Campus. To register, see http://boalt.org/BJELL/activities.html 

Bay Area African-American Health Summit from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Downs Memorial Church, 6026 Idaho St., near 60th & San Pablo, Oakland. Cost is $10. 654 5858 ext. 10. 

“So How’d You Become an Activist?” with Matt Gonzalez and Steve Jacobson at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St., at Bonita. Suggested donation $5. 528-5403. 

“Forces of Nature: Earthquakes in Turkey” a lecture and film screening with Ross Stein, geophysicist, at 7:30 p.m. at Chabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. Cost is $12-$15. 336-7373. www.chabotspace.org 

Helmet Safety Day for Toddlers with helmet decorating and fitting at Habitot, 2065 Kittredge St. Cost is $5-$6. 647-1111. www.habitot.org 

Radio Camp Build an FM trasmitter and learn the fundamentals of micropower broadcasting in this 4-day workshop in Oakland. Class runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., April 8-11. Cost is $150-$200 sliding scale. For information and to register call 625-0314. www.freeradio.org 

“Remaking Economic Strengths in East Asia” a two-day conference at the Lipman Room, Barrows Hall, UC Campus. For details see http://ieas. 

berkeley.edu/events/eac2005 

Ministry as a Vocation A conference at Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Senic Ave. To register call 800-999-0528, ext. 1253. 

Berkeley Critical Mass Bike Ride meets at the Berkeley BART the second Friday of every month at 5:30 p.m. 

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. 

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. 845-1143. 

Meditation, Peace Vigil and Dialogue, gather at noon on the grass close to the West Entrance to UC Berkeley, on Oxford St. near University Ave. 655-6169. www.bpf.org 

SATURDAY, APRIL 9 

Spring Ponds We’ll learn about srping life cycles and capture and release naiads and nymphs, at 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Gardening with East Bay Native Plants, with Lyn Talkovsky, landscape gardener, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $15-$25. Registration required. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

“Gardening from the Ground Up” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Bay-Friendly Demonstration Garden, 3589 Pacific Ave., Oakland. To register call 444-7645. www.bayfriendly.org 

Spring Veggies and the Edible Landscape with Novella Carpenter at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. www.magicgardens.com 

Transportation and Land Use Summit Strategy and training sessions on a wide range of topics, including promoting transit villages, bicycle and pedestrian issues, and stopping unjust fare hikes and service cuts. From 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Laney College Forum, 900 Fallon St. at 9th. Cost is $10, includes breakfast, lunch and materials. Register at www.transcoalition.org  

“The Ambassador” A documentary film account of the nefarious career of John Dimitri Negroponte as Ambassador to Honduras, 1981-85. With discussion and musical performance at 7:30 p.m., at King Middle School, 1781 Rose St.  

Eggster Hunt and Learning Festival with arts and crafts, learning booths and entertainment. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Strawberry Creek Lawn in front of Valley Life Sciences Bldg., UC Campus. Free and open to all families and children. www.eggster.org 

“Qi, Feng Shui & Life” with Professor Lin-Yun of the Yun-Lin Temple at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, Community Room, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6136. 

Women of Wisdom Health Walk at 11 a.m. at Cesar Chavez shoreline parking lot, Berkeley Marina. 704-0565. 

Philosophers Forum on “Humble Greatness: Neo-Existentialist Zen” with UCB lecturer Americ Azevedo at 2 to 5 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck Ave. Free. http://philosophersforum.net/ 

“Hotel/Hospitality Overview” from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Vista Community College. 2020 Milvia St. Cost is $13. RSVP to 981-2931. 

Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine College Open House from noon to 6 p.m. at 2550 Shattuck Ave. RSVP to 666-8248, ext. 106. 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

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, APRIL 10 

Early Morning Bird Walk Meet at 7 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center to learn about what is new in the science of birdsong. 525-2233. 

Life Underground Meet at 1 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park to learn about what goes on below the soil surface. 525-2233. 

Thank You Party for Senator Barbara Boxer for her courageous leadership on the election challenge, ANWR fight and more from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Montclair Women’s Club, 1650 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. Hosted by NWPC, Wellstone Club, EB for Democracy. All welcome, $50 benefits Senator Boxer’s PAC. www.nwpcan.org, ncskinner@earthlink.net 

Green Sunday: The Climate Change Crisis and You With Tom and Jane Kelly from KyotoUSA and Danielle Fugere with Blue Water Network at 5 p.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th. 

Free Sailboat Rides between 1 and 4 p.m. at the Cal Sailing Club in the Berkeley Marina. Bring warm waterproof clothes. www.cal-sailing.org 

Hands-on Bicycle Maintenance Class from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $85-$100. 527-4140. 

“The World in My Neighborhood: Celebrating the Diversity of Asian Cultures” in a program created for all ages. Activities from 1 to 3 p.m. at Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, Bancroft at College. Cost is $1-$4. 643-7648. http://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu  

“Thinking of Becoming a Doula?” at 2 p.m. at Change Makers, 6536 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. www.changemakersforwomen.com 

“The Children of Chabannes” a film about a village in France that saved the lives of 400 Jewish refugee children, at 2 p.m. at the BRJCC. 848-0237. 

“A Taste of Judaism: Are You Curious?” Learn about Jewish spirituality, Jewish ethics, and Jewish community. Held in Richmond. Free, but registration required. 839-2900, ext. 347. 

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 Donna Morgan on “Tibetan Yoga Outdoors” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, APRIL 11 

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 

The 5th Annual United Nations Association Film Festival “Values of Tolerance” with two documentaries “In Rwanda We Say” and “Talk Mogadishu: Media Under Fire.” Reception at 6:30 p.m., films at 7 and 9:30 p.m. at Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft. Tickets are $8-$10 at the door. 849-1752 www.unausaeastbay.org, www.unaff.org 

“Neo-Liberal Economic Policies in Latin America” with Prof. Beatriz Magaloni, Stanford Univ., at 1:15 p.m. at CLAS conference room, 2334 Bowditch St. 642-2088. www.clas.berkeley.edu 

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers interested in helping in Berkeley Public Schools at 5 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people 60 years and over. New session begins today at 9:45 a.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. Join at any time. Cost is $2.50 with refreshments. 524-9122. 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. 548-0425. 

ONGOING 

Bike Chain Response is organizing an interfaith bike ride from the Nevada Test Site to Los Alamos National Laboratory, June 19 to July 17, to raise awareness of alternative modes of transportation and the tragedy of the nuclear weapons industry. 505-870-2-ASK. www.lovarchy.org/ride/ 

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

CITY MEETINGS 

Commission on the Status of Women meets Wed., April 6, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Tasha Tervelon, 981-5347. www.ci.berkeley. 

ca.us/commissions/women 

Fire Safety Commission meets Wed., April 6, at 7:30 p.m. at 997 Cedar St. David Orth, 981-5502. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/firesafety 

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

us/commissions/environmentaladvisory 

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

ca.us/commissions/housing 

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

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon., April 11, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St. 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

citycouncil/agenda-committee?

It seems that the suggestion in this space and in a letter or two that some teachers somewhere might be less than optimum touched a nerve. We’ve received and printed a number of very defensive letters from teachers, many of them zeroing in on one sentence in a long editorial which was generally supportive of teachers’ demands for better pay and smaller classes. This is the offending sentence: 

Sometimes seriously inadequate teachers who really should move on to another profession are protected by the union for much too long. 

From a math teacher, one whom I remember as having an excellent reputation when my children were at Berkeley High, now more that 20 years ago: 

If I were to ask you, Becky O’Malley, … if you believe in due process, I am sure that your answer would be, “Of Course!” Yet … you seem to support it for everyone except for teachers, the individuals who need to impart an understanding of this very important right to the next generation.  

From a union official and junior high teacher: 

Becky O’Malley’s latest editorial demonstrated a surprisingly shallow understanding of the current contract negotiations between teachers and the Berkeley Unified School District and the realities of teaching in Berkeley. Ms. O’Malley suggests that teachers’ unions are protecting “seriously inadequate teachers,” though she doesn’t make it clear whether she thinks this applies to Berkeley. The Berkeley Federation of Teachers (BFT) does not want the teaching profession to be undermined by people who do not have the capacity to meet the challenges of the job. The BFT initiated and is working diligently to implement a Peer Assistance and Review program, which is a nationally recognized approach for dealing with ineffective teachers. 

Several other letters spelled out details of this program, which sounds admirable if it works as planned. One or two teachers suggested that it wasn’t working as well as hoped, but that the fault for its lack of success lay with the school administration, not with the union.  

Did the Planet come out in favor of summary firing without due process for any teacher about whom complaints have been received? Of course not. But school children are very vulnerable to teachers’ performance lapses, and if a student misses out on, for example, all of seventh grade math, it’s hard to catch up. I’m not talking here about the teacher who can’t control a large class, or the one who lacks good knowledge of the subject matter he or she is supposed to be teaching. Such problems can be handled by peer assistance over a period of years. The union official I referred to as a bad teacher didn’t show up for weeks at a time, leaving the class to substitutes, and didn’t read any of the homework until the end of the year. By the time a Peer Assistance and Review Program is able to respond to this kind of serious failure, the year’s over, and the student has missed it.  

We’ve heard from a number of parents and students who believe that the teachers’ work-to-rule campaign which is now underway is having the same kind of irreparable effect on many children. We’ve printed some of the letters, but some correspondents say they’re afraid to let their names be used for fear of reprisals against their kids. There are two ways to analyze the work-to-rule tactic. One is that the kids won’t be hurt because they don’t really need the services that they’re missing out on. The other is that they will be hurt, because the services the teachers are withholding are essential. The truth lies somewhere between the two extremes. But you don’t have to be a public relations genius to determine that work-to-rule has the potential for PR pitfalls.  

We haven’t heard that either side in the contract dispute is polling the public to see how they’re reacting to the news that’s come out of the negotiations. The unfortunate probability is that the first poll on the performance of BUSD’s administration and its teachers will be the election less than two years hence when taxpayers will once again be asked to support the Berkeley Schools Excellence Project (BSEP), a supplementary local school tax started in 1986. BSEP funds have provided nearly 10% of the Berkeley school district's total budget. The BSEP tax Measure B was one of the few winners in the last election, but if either teachers or administrators or both come out of the current negotiations looking bad, that could change. 

A lovely spring weekend sparked an impromptu trip to see wildflowers last Sunday. Pinnacles National Monument is about an hour and a half south of the Santa Cruz grandchildren, so it seemed like the right destination. We spent Saturday night in Santa Cruz in order to leave by 7 a.m. on Sunday, though daylight saving and the five-minute rule (add five minutes to departure time for every person in the party) got us going with our five adults and four children at about 10 instead. While we were waiting for everyone to get organized, we had an unusual opportunity to read the fat Sunday edition of the metro daily, something we usually skip because the ratio of ads to interesting content is unappealing.  

Prominently featured on the front page of the travel se ction was—what luck!—a major piece on a trip to Pinnacles to see wildflowers. But although it contained some interesting information on the program which is releasing captivity-bred California condors in the area, the title (“Luxury inn softens journey to see condors soar over wildflowers at Pinnacles”) indicated that the piece wasn’t exactly a guide to the trip we were planning. The travel writer enthused that the inn where he stayed “has whirlpool tubs and gas fireplaces in nearly every room, and seems custom-made for those seeking outdoor adventure by day and high-thread-count sheets at night—the aging baby-boomer ‘soft adventure’ market…” Our motley assortment of flower-fans was variously too old, too young, or too poor to be part of that ideal demogr aphic, so we would have to forego the inn part of the program.  

The drive south, when we finally got started, provided a good chance to see what was happening in the region which used to be just south of the San Jose sprawl. Our family (great-grandparent s on both sides) moved to Santa Cruz with the University of California in the mid-’60s, so we’re accustomed to thinking about the Gilroy-Salinas-Watsonville triangle served by highways 101 and 1 as farm country. Pinnacles is reached from the west by heading due east on Highway 146 from Soledad, a dusty town on 101 which is surrounded by agribusiness lettuce fields and supported mainly by the state prisons which are located there.  

On 146, as we headed east, we could see that the new agribusiness in the area was commercial wine-grapes, covering hillsides in martial rows with scorched bare earth between the vines. We saw one attractive vineyard which the agricultural expert in our party identified as organic because grass was allowed to grow between the v ines, but most were clearly factory-style monocrop outfits. Our expert told us that California’s fabled wildflowers have survived mainly in areas which aren’t much good for farming. On the lush valley floors, herbicides have long-since wiped out natives in favor of food crops.  

As the rocky spires of the Pinnacles’ volcanic geology came into view, regimented vineyards gave way to horse ranches. The terrain changed from flat valley floor to rocky hills with interesting trees, lots of wildflowers and the promise of fauna in arroyos running with spring water--an interesting and unusual ecosystem. The road changed from two-lane to one-lane with bumps and potholes. But then, at the end of the one-lane road, just before we expected to arrive at the park’s wes tern entrance, there was another stretch of marching grapevines and metal fences, with a new pseudo-Spanish structure on a hill beside the road, complete with paved parking lot. We were passing the inn which was written up in the Sunday paper.  

The write r had described it as adjacent to a vineyard, which we’d looked up on the Internet before we left the house. The vineyard’s website said it is “perched in the remote Gavilan Mountain Range, 1,800 feet above California's Salinas Valley, at the base of an extinct volcano bordering the Pinnacles National Monument… one of the few wineries in the U.S. growing grapes in limestone-based soils, the same as in Burgundy” with “ spare, well-drained ground, limited rainfall and low crop levels” all in service of the company slogan: “Producing some of the worlds’ [sic]most hedonistic [sic] wines.”  

Exactly. Hedonism is the philosophy which says that the purpose of life is the pursuit of pleasure. That little voice which started up in my head when I read the travel ar ticle began to nag again.  

Line of thought: There’s nothing wrong with comfortable beds near parks, especially for the older folks. Yosemite has the Ahwanee Hotel, after all. There’s nothing wrong with nice wine. But here’s where it gets complicated.  

At the park we discovered that our government no longer thinks it can afford the little printed leaflets that correspond to the numbers on the interpretive trail. And a substantial percentage of the visitors we saw on the trails were speakers of languages other than English: many of Spanish, but also of Japanese, Korean, German. The few signs and the one small pamphlet available were all English-only. Small things, perhaps, but symptoms of the way this country is being re-organized: for the pleasure-seekin g of those who can pay their way at luxury inns, while regular citizens get less and less for their tax dollars, and foreign guests are not welcomed hospitably.  

And is it really right to destroy obviously unusual ecological terrain at the foot of a unique volcanic park just to produce “hedonistic wines” for a few wealthy palates? Fine, even excellent wine grapes can be grown in less-sensitive environments, leaving room for wildflowers. 

On the trip back from Pinnacles, we noticed that Salinas, formerly a shabby market-town not unlike Soledad, is booming, with farm fields replaced by big housing developments for commuters to Silicon Valley, vast shopping malls with all the major chains, even its very own Walmart. But what Salinas thinks it can no longer afford, despite this apparent prosperity, is a public library. Priorities—we’re getting them all wrong lately.