(No charges were filed and the City of Berkeley paid some claimed damages -- See The Berkeley Daily Planet, November 11, 2005.) 

Berkeley police officers sorted through hundreds of used bikes Wednesday as they searched for hot wheels at a well known cyclery. 

The platoon of uniformed officers, accompanied by a plainclothes detective or two from the Stolen Property Unit, were execu ting a warrant served on Karim Cycles at 2800 Telegraph Ave. 

On its Internet site, the store advertises “the largest selection (of used street bikes) in the San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley area.” The store is also featured on “Bike Berkeley” page of the city’s website. 

Though the store was closed when officers arrived, officers summoned a locksmith, who made short work of the door. 

“The search warrant was based on the earlier recovery of three stolen bikes from the shop,” said Berkeley police spokespe rson Officer Joe Okies. 

Officers tagged the more than 500 bikes in the store’s inventory, marking down the serial numbers and checking them against the state registry which records the numbers bicycle owners report when their wheels are stolen. 

Officers from Property Crimes, the department’s bicycle unit and other details were assigned to the search. 

By the time the search was completed, 17 bikes had been hauled off to the evidence locker, including one confirmed set of hot wheels and 16 others with il legally removed, obliterated and altered serial numbers. 

Owner Ali Karim wasn’t present during the search, but detectives later made contact with him, said Okies. 

No arrests were made, and the case is still under investigation. 

Neighbors who stopped to look as the search progressed said they weren’t surprised by the raid. 

Visitors to the ‘bikes for sale’ section of the Craigslist.org website left their comments about the raid, as well as photographs they took of the officers in action. 

Readers at ano ther website advised the owner of an expensive stolen bike to search for his bicycle at the Telegraph Avenue shop. 

While one of the craigslist writers urged those who have had bikes stolen to contact Berkeley Police to see if their wheels had been spotted during the raid, Okies demurred. 

“The important thing is for bicycle owners to write down the serial numbers and then report the numbers to police if their bikes are stolen,” he said. 

Officers serving the warrant had only the serial numbers of stolen bikes already reported before the raid, he said. 

“If you haven’t reported the number, there’s not much we can do,” Okies added. 

Two weeks after signing a landmark deal with UC, the City Council returned Tuesday to a Bronx cheer. Two or three dozen neighborhood activists, along with a few politicians, filled out the council chambers to slam the deal they see as a sell-out to UC Be rkeley. 

“They gave away the store,” said former Mayor Shirley Dean at a rally outside of Old City Hall. “It’s a bad agreement and the secrecy of it makes it worse.” 

Inside council chambers the protesters dominated the public comment session and directed a smattering of “resign” chants at Mayor Tom Bates. 

The critics insisted the deal, which increases campus payments for city services from approximately $540,000 to $1.2 million a year and commits both sides to draft a new land-use plan for the downtown, offered the city too little money, didn’t address neighborhood concerns and gave the university too much power in the city center. 

Protesters also denounced a confidentiality agreement signed between the parties that kept the deal secret until its appr oval.  

“Of course we couldn’t come before you sold out, because we didn’t know when that was going to be,” Sharon Hudson of Berkeleyans For A Livable University Environment told the council. 

When the council got down to work it agreed on a plan to slightly reduce the number of meetings for 23 city commissions, ordered planning staff to hold off for a week on issuing administrative permits to tear down illegal apartments at a West Berkeley warehouse, raised several city fees, and received news that they would have over $700,000 more to spend next year. 

City Commissions 

With little debate as the clock approached midnight, the council voted 7-1-1 (Worthington, no and Spring, abstain) on a deal to scale back city commissions.  

The new rules, drafted Mond ay by Councilmembers Laurie Capitelli, Darryl Moore and Gordon Wozniak, will combine the Disaster Council and Fire Safety Commission and cut back on meetings from 11 times a year to 10 for 23 commissions. The commissions will be able to petition the counc il to hold extra meetings. 

Design Review Housing Advisory, Landmarks Preservation, Personnel Board, Planning, Police Review and Zoning Adjustments are not affected by the change and will continue to meet on their current schedules. 

The new rules also re quire commission secretaries to inform the council when commissions fail to reach a quorum at consecutive meetings. They must also submit annual reports summarizing how many commissioners attend each meeting, how many members of the public attend, how man y people speak during public comment and how long the meetings last. 

The council chose the plan instead of an alternative proposal from city staff that would have allowed several commissions to experiment with preparing their own agendas and meeting minu tes. City Manager Phil Kamlarz has argued that assigning city staff to Berkeley’s 44 citizen commissions takes too much time away from other duties. 

The council struck from the new plan a section that would have prohibited commissioners from serving on m ore than one board or from serving more than eight years on a commission within 10 years. They are scheduled to reconsider this issue in July. 

The Drayage 

The owner of the East Bay Drayage warehouse will have to wait until at least next week for a permi t to demolish the two dozen live-work units that tenants refuse to leave. 

The council ordered city planning staff to hold off on issuing the permits until it considers next week whether such permits require a hearing before the Zoning Adjustment Board, w hich the tenants have asserted. 

“The notion that a permit to demolish my home could be issued without a public hearing is outrageous to me,” said Maresa Danielsen, who lives in the Drayage. 

The permits are vital for Drayage owner Lawrence White. The cit y is fining him $2,500 a day for failing to evacuate the building, but city law limits his options for evicting the tenants. The demolition permit would give him “good cause” to proceed with evictions without having to invoke a state law that could preven t him from turning the building into condominiums. 

Under Berkeley law, the destruction of residential units requires a use permit issued by the ZAB. However, Berkeley Zoning Officer Mark Rhoades told the council that in the case of the Drayage the permits did not need ZAB approval because the units were built illegally. 

When pressed about a similar case two years ago at 2750 Adeline St. when Rhoades required the owner to go before ZAB to demolish illegal units, the zoning officer replied the cases were different because there was one legal unit at 2750 Adeline St., whereas all the units at Drayage are illegal. 

City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque warned the council that requiring the hearing would set a sweeping precedent. 

“You could not be able to enfor ce the zoning ordinance because once someone built something it would be legal,” she said. 

“This would open up a Pandora’s box,” said Councilmember Wozniak.  

Councilmember Moore, who represents West Berkeley, disagreed, citing the fact that the Fire Dep artment had inspected the warehouse for years without citing it as a safety hazard. Fire Department officials have said they never inspected the individual apartments until this year. 

Fees and Budget 

The council Tuesday passed fee increases for recreati on programs, garbage collection and the Berkeley Marina. Also the council established new fees for environmental inspections and traffic engineering services for developers. 

Fees on parks and traffic engineering also passed unanimously. Wozniak opposed f ees for environmental health, the marina and garbage pick-up, while Councilmember Dona Spring also opposed the marina fee hike. 

Of the fees that passed, only the garbage fee increase of 8 percent received serious scrutiny. When asked why the fee wasn’t m ore in line with inflation, Public Works Director Renee Cardinaux replied, “Unfortunately the majority of costs we have are labor, fuel and equipment and those things aren’t going down.” 

The council postponed until next week discussion—user fees on the B erkeley Farmers’ Markets. The Ecology Center, which runs the markets, voiced concerns about the city’s proposal, which would increase the group’s fees by roughly $3,000 a year. The center protested that the regulations would require it to provide public r estrooms and extra-wide lanes for fire trucks at the markets. 

With under two weeks left to pass a balanced budget, the city announced it has an extra $742,000 to spend from money returned by the state and the city’s tax on property transfers. Councilmembers, however, have requested nearly $1.6 million in spending. The council will revisit the budget next week. 

c

Although they live at what city officials believe to be one of Berkeley’s most harrowing intersections—at least for pedestrians and cyclists—residents around Hillegass and Ashby avenues are fighting a proposed traffic light at the spot. 

More than 40 neighbors have signed a petition urging Caltrans to reject a grant request by the city that would pay for nearly the entire project, said Jonathan Jaffe, who lives on Hillegass. 

“I feel pretty confident it would increase traffic on the street,” he said. He said he feared that a standard traffic signal at the intersection would invite more motorists on Hillegass who could cross Ashby on a green light, rather than waiting for traffic to clear. 

Peter Hillier, the assistant city manager for transportation, said that if the city received the grant, it would likely install a specialty signal that would discourage car traffic on Hillegass. 

The city has sought to install a signal at the intersection since it approved its bicycle boulevard plan in 2000. Hillegass is one of the city’s bicycle boulevards, but cyclists and pedestrians on the street have no signal or stop sign to help them cross the busy Ashby thoroughfare. 

“It’s one of the most dangerous crossings we have,” said David Campbell, a city transportation commissioner and the president of Bicycle Friendly Berkeley. 

Besides concern that a traffic light would draw more motorists to use Hillegass, George Beier, president of the Willard Neighborhood Association, claims city officials approved the grant application without informing residents. 

“The city is piecemealing changes that have big implications for our neighborhood,” Beier said. 

The neighborhood has called for a moratorium on new traffic lights and other transit changes until the city comes up with an area plan approved by the neighborhood group. 

The City Council will vote on a proposal next week from Councilmember Kriss Worthington requiring the city to involve residents on transit changes to the neighborhood. A neighborhood meeting on the signal has been scheduled for June 30. Caltrans is expected to rule on the application after the state passes its budget, scheduled for the end of the month. 

Heath Maddox, a Berkeley Transportation Planner, said the city would plan for the light installation if the grant is passed. “We’re not going to spend scarce time and effort until we know we really have the money for it,” he said. 

The city has not yet performed detailed traffic studies documenting traffic flow or accidents at the intersection, he added. 

The South Campus neighborhood has battled with city officials over traffic lights previously. In 2002, neighborhood leaders and city officials feuded over where to install two new signals. Although neighbors requested signals at Stuart Street and Telegraph Avenue and at Russell Street and Shattuck Avenue, the city put both new lights on Telegraph, one at Stuart and the other at Russell, leaving many residents furious. 

Brier said he feared the proposed signal could escalate into another fight. 

Willard residents say they get the brunt of traffic turning off of Ashby, because the neighborhoods directly to the east and west have barriers to through traffic. If Hillegass has a standard traffic signal, Jaffe feared, more drivers would choose the street as an alternative to College Avenue. 

In February the council applied to Caltrans for a $189,000 grant. The city would pay $21,000 towards the project. Caltrans rejected the application last year, but city officials are hoping for a different decision this time. 

Although tensions over the signal are running high, all sides appear ready to compromise. Bicycle advocates and neighbors said they were open to a pedestrian-operated signal that would turn green for cyclists and walkers crossing Ashby, but force drivers to turn right onto Ashby. 

“We don’t want more traffic on Hillegass either,” Campbell said. 

Maddox said the city and residents would review the options for signals and other modifications that would discourage motorists from using Hillegass. 

“This is a bicycle boulevard. The intent of the signal is to foster through movement of cyclists, not drivers,” he said.  

As a phalanx of registered nurses paraded outside the Watergate Office Tower in Emeryville Tuesday, inside a delegation of officials from the California Nurses Association confronted one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s major fundraisers. 

The CNA, the union which represents registered nurses throughout the state, has emerged as one of Schwarzenegger’s most formidable foes, and even Kristin Hueter, the GOP fundraiser who was targeted in Tuesday’s action, told CNA reps “You are doing God’s work. It isn’t anything personal.” 

Hueter has been one of the governor’s most effective fundraisers, and a CNA protest outside a Citizens to Save California (CSC) fundraiser at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco in March upstaged his appearance inside. They did it again last month at another Hueter/CSC event at the Ritz-Carlton.  

The CNA has taken a lead role in challenging Schwarzenegger’s initiative that would give him the power to slash the budget passed by state legislators at any time during the year. 

“It’s the auctioning off of public life in California,” CNA Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro told the Emeryville protestors. “We don’t believe human lives should be privatized.” 

“The pharmaceutical industry is spending $100 million on the special election,” declared Martha Cool, a CNA member from Oakland. “The state’s cost will be $800 million—money that would be better spent on patient care.” 

“Is this a corporate state or a private state?” asked DeMoro. “The governor wants to deny the right to public health care and he wants to deny the public right to education. He’s an affable spokesman for the extreme right, and his agenda is privatization.” 

The governor first incurred the nurses’ wrath when he tried to block implementation of a law that reduces the ration of patients per nurse from six to five. 

Schwarzenegger’s declaration that nurses were simply another special interest, coupled with his announcement that he intended to “kick their butts,” generated outrage and late-night talk show ridicule. 

A CNA delegation composed of nurses Abbie Stewart of Oakland, Joan Rudolfo of Summit Medical Center and Robert Marth then entered the Watergate Tower, followed later by DeMoro and CNA Communications Director Charles Idleson to confront Hueter. 

The epistle, signed by CNA President Deborah Burger, condemned “the wasteful and unneeded election you are helping the governor bankroll ... just one of the many examples of how the non-stop fundraising by this governor, with your assistance, is corrupting the political process in our state, endangering the public, and undermining our democracy.” 

The irony of Schwarzenegger’s transcontinental fundraising effort has not escaped the attention of political cartoonists and columnists, who recall that the Austrian immigrant was elected in a recall election he waged in large part based on condemnations of the smaller fundraising efforts of then-incumbent Gray Davis. 

Also on tap for the governor’s fall initiative campaign is a measure that would strip the legislature of its redistricting powers and hand them over to a panel of retired judges—a group which includes a large number of conservative former prosecutors.l

For 27 years, Nat Courtney and Frank Alvarez, former classmates at St. Mary’s High School, fixed cars at Jim Doten Honda. Wednesday they were among 24 current and former technicians picketing outside the dealership accusing the new ownership of union busting. 

The workers, represented by the East Bay Automotive Machinists Lodge Local 1546, said they plan to picket until the new owners agree to rehire the workers they dismissed upon taking over the dealership. 

The first negotiating session between the two sides is scheduled for today (Friday). 

“A lot of us have been here for decades and now they’re trying to break us up and cheat us out of our pension,” said Alvarez, 48, who began working at the dealership in 1978. 

Steve Hayworth, new general manager of the dealership, now called Berkeley Honda, said that management was willing to talk to the union and that it has offered workers a more lucrative package without a union contract. Despite having more than half of his mechanics and machinists walk off the job, he said the service department remained open and reported no service delays. 

Upon purchasing the dealership at 2600 Shattuck Ave. on June 1, the new ownership group headed by Stephen Beinke, a Danville businessman, made all employees reapply for their jobs. In the repair shop, management rehired 10 Local 1546 members, but let 12 go. 

One of the mechanics released was Courtney, a 31-year veteran of the dealership and the union’s shop steward. Local 1546 has filed unfair labor charges against the dealership, alleging that Courtney was not rehired because of his position in the union. 

“They called me Memorial Day weekend and said, ‘You’re simply not going to work for us, you’re free to go on with your life,’” said Courtney, whose father, also a mechanic, worked for the Doten family’s original Pontiac dealership on Telegraph Avenue. 

The new management’s proposals to staffers who agreed to work without the union contract included more money and similar health benefits, but replaced pension contributions with a 401K individual retirement plan. 

“These guys know the value of their pensions,” said Michael Cook, a business representative for Local 1546. The pension plan, part of a regional pool that includes over 20,000 auto parts workers, guarantees them a lifetime annuity with an option for their spouses to continue receiving money after they die. 

“I don’t know of any 401K plan that does that,” Cook said. 

Courtney said he was two years away from qualifying for a full pension. Alvarez, who was rehired, said he was four years away. To safeguard pension contributions temporarily and preserve the jobs of the whole Doten staff, Cook said the union requested a one-year interim contract, which management rejected. 

The union was working under a four year contract set to expire at the end of June. However, that deal was exclusively with Doten Honda and does not transfer to the new ownership, Cook said. 

For years the dealership was a member of a regional association of dealerships that bargained with the union on behalf of all its members. The association would come to an agreement with the union on a contract, and all the dealers would accept the deal. 

In 2001, however, Doten dropped out of the association and decided to bargain with the union directly. 

The new ownership group was under no obligation to rehire the workers. However, since the auto shop, at this point, is comprised of a majority of union workers, management is required to deal with the union for a certain period. But if more non-union workers are brought in and make up a majority of the auto shop employees, the workers can call to decertify the union. 

“It’s our belief that we’re being used to train the new guys and over time they’ll find more of them to take our jobs until it’s not a union shop,” Alvarez said. The union fears that management is screening new hires for union sympathies. So far none of the new hires have joined the union, Cook said, even though they were offered the option of paying nominal dues. 

Hayworth said management had no intention of ousting any more long-term employees. 

“We want them to stay here,” he said. “That’s why we offered them salaries and benefits that far and away exceeded anything they could get from their bargaining unit.” 

In the Bay Area about half of the dealerships have union repair shops, according to a report in Ward’s Auto World, an industry newsletter. In Berkeley, McKevitt Volvo and Nissan is a union shop, while Weatherford BMW Berkeley and Toyota are not.  

Four decades after it was abandoned and nearly a century after it was built, a landmarked former grocery store is back in business—this time as housing. 

In his first foray into the realm of development, Berkeley architect David Trachtenberg has reincarnated the dilapidated landmark and transformed it into a gem. 

In a rare show of unanimity between two often-divergent arms of city government, Trachtenberg’s plans won the unanimous assents of both the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) and the Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB). 

The result is the reincarnated Rose Grocery at 2211 Rose St., this time as a pair of upscale condominiums which stand resplendent in the place of the ruins of a 1908 store built by a German immigrant. 

Only a few aged boards remain of the original structure—the Rose Grocery sign, the corbels above it and the carved wooden pilasters on either side of the two-copper-sheathed garage doors that now stand where George Hunrick’s windows once displayed his fresh produce. 

Hunrick came from Germany to study banking under A.P. Giannini, founder of Bank of America. He moved to Berkeley in 1904, and opened his store two years later. 

At the time, the building was located in what was known as the Berryman Station shopping district, named after the streetcar and railroad hub a block to the north. 

Hunrick ran the store until 1923, when he transferred operation to a store at the corner of College and Ashby avenues. 

The Rose Street store continued to operate under various guises until 1966, when it was shuttered forever. 

By the time the LPC bestowed the “structure of merit” designation in 1988, the store’s structural decay was already advanced, and when Trachtenberg bought it a year ago, collapse was imminent. 

Trachtenberg is a well known architect whose commissions have included the Berkeley Bowl on Shattuck Avenue, Cody’s Books on Telegraph Avenue and the latest addition to Solano Avenue, the unique two-story corner building at 1820 Solano Ave. 

By the time he bought Rose Grocery, “it was already considered a ‘demolition by neglect’ because it was more than 50 percent collapsed,” the architect said. 

“It was a complex process to work with Landmarks and the Zoning Board to come up with a solution,” he said. 

The architect lauded LPC member Carrie Olson for her help in formulating a project that met the requirements of the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. 

He gave special praise to former LPC chair and project neighbor Robert Kehlman, who was a strong advocate for the project and helped organize neighbor support. 

“We received 37 letters of support from neighbors and none in opposition,” he said. 

Also offering major support for the project were Berkeley Planning Manager Mark Rhoades and then-ZAB member and now City Councilmember Laurie Capitelli, “who helped expedite what could have been a very lengthy process.” 

Trachtenberg’s townhouses are light and airy, with 10-foot ceilings and floors of sustainable Brazilian cherry wood. Complimenting the elegant interiors are the gardens and flagstone and gravel exterior spaces designed by the architect’s brother, Robert Trachtenberg of Garden Architecture. 

“We think of ourselves as a team,” said David Trachtenberg. 

The two-story 1,500-square-foot townhomes will sell for big bucks, and the additional 500-square-foot above-garage studio that goes with the first unit puts the cost of that dwelling close to the $1 million mark. 

Two realtors on hand for a reporter’s tour of the dwellings told the architect his homes had the finest detailing they’d ever seen. The proximity to Shattuck Avenue’s Gourmet Ghetto will also help with sales. 

“All the neighbors are thrilled with what we’ve done,” Trachtenberg said. 

“The neighbors, who have lived near a neglected property for decades, are ecstatic to have something that fits into the neighborhood and retains a piece of Berkeley history,” said Kehlman. “This is a sensitive reconstruction that turns the building into an asset for the neighborhood.” 

As required under the landmark code, the street facade retains the look that made the grocery store a memorable part of Berkeley history. 

The Mission Revival facade with its false front parapet bears the same profile as the older building, though the front structure is reduced in depth to accommodate the two dwellings behind it on the 5,000-square-foot lot. 

The copper garage doors stand in place of the large plate glass windows, and where the entry once stood is a small memorial to the building’s history, complete with a plaque.  

Editor’s note: Information on the history of the Hunrick Grocery Store is drawn from the research of Susan Cerny, posted on the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association website (www.berkeleyheritage.com).›

Congress dealt medical marijuana users their second blow in as many weeks Wednesday, defeating a proposal that would have barred the Justice Department from prosecuting medical pot growers and users in states with medical pot laws. 

The amendment to the Justice Department’s appropriation bill received 161 votes, more than in the past two years, but 57 votes short of the 218 needed for passage. Last year the amendment, authored by Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) and Maurice Hinchey (D-New York), received 148 votes. 

After the vote, Oakland resident Angel Raich, a plaintiff in the case decided by the Supreme Court last week, said in a prepared statement that she believed Congress would eventually reverse its position of medical marijuana. 

“I hope that the federal government will one day show compassion for patients like me,” she said. 

The high court ruled 6-3 that medical marijuana laws in 10 states did not preclude federal agents from enforcing federal drug laws. 

Marijuana is classified as a schedule 1 drug under the Federal Ccontrolled Substances Act, meaning the government considers it to be addictive and have no medicinal properties. 

Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) released a statement after the vote calling on Congress to protect medical marijuana users from federal prosecution. 

“The federal government has better things to do than prosecute sick people who are following their doctor’s orders and obeying state law,” Lee said.

Two East Bay street fairs celebrating local and national history and showcasing regional artists, musicians, and businesses are taking place this weekend. 

From noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday the Temescal Street Fair offers the opportunity to see and hear performers on two outdoor stages. Local merchants, craft, and community booths will line Telegraph Avenue between 51st and 48th Streets in Oakland. 

“It’s a celebration of community,” organizer Karen Hester said. “It came about because the neighborhood wanted to see a street fair. With help from the local merchants it all came together.” 

This is the second year for the fair. Last year was “tremendous success” with more than 5,000 attendees, according to organizer Kenny Mosttern.  

Due in part to last year’s turnout, a children’s stage has been added this year. It will feature Jeremy the Juggler, the Mixcoatl Anahuac Aztec Dancers, Madame Ovary, Opera Piccolo and the Oakland Library book mobile, among others. Entertainers on the main stage include the Stairwells Sisters, La Familia, and performances from the Aikido Institute. 

Destiny Arts, a violence prevention center for children ages 3 to 18 located in the neighborhood, will present an original piece by The Destiny Arts Youth Performance Group on the main stage. The group combines theater, dance and martial arts to educate children about violence prevention. They collaborate annually with professional performance artists to create a new and unique experience, executive director Sarah Crowell said. Saturday’s presentation is a 15-minute selection from the most recent piece, titled “Tomorrow is Today.” 

Also appearing on the main stage is the international Caribbean music group Junglz Apart. The group is lead by resident Tony D., owner of The International Caribbean One Stop Music Entertainment Center, which “houses everything needed to take an artist from concept to finished product.” 

In addition to the musical performances and the arts and crafts booths, a section of the fair is dedicated to the work of local fine artists, and a food court will offer food and beverages from local restaurants, including pizza and beer from Lanesplitter Pub. 

“It’s an opportunity for the residents and larger community to celebrate the Temescal,” Hester said. 

If that’s not enough local color and community, the following day is Berkeley’s annual Juneteenth Festival. 

On June 19, 1865, the Union troops reached Galveston, Texas, with news of the end of the Civil War. Citizens and heard for the first time of the Emancipation Proclamation, more than two years after Abraham Lincoln signed the law declaring all persons free of the bonds of slavery.  

Celebrations commemorating that day are called “Juneteenth” and are observed across the country. This year Berkeley marks the day with its nineteenth annual street fair on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. between Adeline Street and Alcatraz Avenue. 

Described as “a fun day, a family day,” by committee chairperson Sam Dyke, the festival features local artists, craftsmen and musicians. It is an alcohol-free event sponsored by the city of Berkeley. Vendors from non-profit organizations are a special part of the festivities, and with 20,000 people at last year’s festival, Dyke calls it a “kind of Christmas in June for the restaurants and merchants.” 

“It’s really just a good day for everyone,” he said. 

Like the Temescal street fair, Juneteenth boasts two stages, one for adults and one aimed at children. The main stage will host local groups Aceba and the Park Place Blues Band, but the biggest draw might be to the youth stage for “American Idol” semi-finalist Donnie Williams from Livermore. 

For more information on the Temescal Street Fair, call 593-9831. For the Juneteenth Festival, call 655-8008. 

Almost a quarter century ago, HIV attacked John Iversen—but it didn’t knock him out. Already a seasoned activist for social justice, Iversen kicked back with a vengeance.  

Over the years, he’s battled barriers confronting those who would live—and live well—with HIV/AIDS. Iversen’s lobbied Congress, written articles, organized demonstrations, gone to jail for affordable medicines, appropriate treatment, decent housing, needle exchange and he’s attacked the stereotypes that ostracize those with HIV/AIDS and their families.  

These days he’s using his organizing skills to raise funds for children in Uganda who have lost their parents to the disease.  

Iversen learned about the Good Spirit Support and Action Centre when he went halfway across the world to share his knowledge of activism at the October, 2003 Global Network of People Living with AIDS conference in Kampala.  

That’s where he ran into Vincent Wandera and learned about the Good Spirit Support and Action Centre, which Wandera and other HIV posi tive persons helped establish.  

A group of 12 people had come together in 1995 to support one another as they lived with HIV/AIDS, but their attention soon turned from their own needs to those of the orphaned children of friends and relatives who had die d from AIDS. Responding to the critical need, the group founded the center as an orphanage in 1997 with 37 children.  

As they cared for the children, 90 percent of whom had not contracted the virus, they came to realize that the children were being stigm atized by the disease that had killed their parents. Wandera told Iversen that the children at school would tease the orphans mercilessly, saying things like, “‘Ha, ha, your parents died of AIDS—you’re going to die of AIDS.’”  

“Children can be cruel,” I versen said. So the center added a school to the project and also a public education component: Wandera and the others in the group go out into the villages near the Good Spirit Centre to educate people about AIDS.  

The biannual conference that drew Iver sen to Kampala—this year it will be in Peru—aims at developing leadership among people living with HIV/AIDS.  

The workshop Iversen presented with South African Denis Matwa, from the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa, taught participants how to mo unt a campaign to achieve a limited, tangible goal. Iversen used as a model an initiative he organized to pressure Alameda Country officials to provide a larger space for an HIV/AIDS clinic. “I used that example because it was a concrete action on the gro und that could be replicated (and) didn’t involve civil disobedience where someone might get shot in another country,” he said.  

Participants learned the basics of soliciting endorsements, writing press releases, putting together background information, taking out paid advertisements and lobbying public officials.  

It was significant that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni spoke at the conference. Under the Museveni administration, there has been a drive to educate Ugandans on the spread of HIV/AIDS a nd advocacy for abstinence, fidelity and the use of condoms. The HIV infection rate has dropped in Uganda.  

When Vincent Wandera invited him to visit the Good Spirit orphanage in Mukono after the conference, Iversen said he was ambivalent, fearing that it would be depressing to be among the 300 orphaned children. But he was so impressed with Wandera’s selfless “love, earnestness and pride” in the center that he agreed to go.  

“(Wandera) spoke about children like he spoke of God—he sees God in children,” Iversen said. “I saw God in him.”  

And so, when a mud-splattered Iversen finally arrived there—the first leg of the 22 mile trek was on a paved road, but the second half was through a dirt road whose crevices forced the group to dismount from the hired car to push on several occasions—he saw why Wandera was so excited about the project. The children, in spotless uniforms, were proud of their school and the vegetable garden they planted to supplement their diet of mostly cornmeal porridge and the vanill a beans they grew as a cash crop.  

And they were happy to show off the new school building under construction. Some 60 volunteers came in on the weekends to build it, including making their own bricks. It was completed last July.  

The older children ar e housed on the site and the younger ones stay in homes in the surrounding countryside. Iversen says he feels compelled to help fund the project. “A small amount of money goes a long way,” he said. The salary of a teacher at the school is $50 per month; $ 25 buys bread for breakfast for 200 for four days. $100 buys enough corn flour to last four days.  

Iversen is holding two simultaneous fundraisers to help support the center. One is a benefit at the Unicorn Restaurant, 2533 Telegraph Ave., where the owne r is giving 25 percent of the tab to the center. Lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is priced around $10; dinner is 5-10 p.m. and costs about $25. The restaurant serves a mélange of Asian fare.  

The second fundraiser is a silent auction. A lis t of auction items appears on Craigslist at www.craigslist.org/eve/78853643.html and includes offerings as diverse as lunch for two at the Chez Panisse café, yoga classes, CDs and more. One can bid online (instructions are on Craigslist) or in person on June 22 at the Unicorn Restaurant.  

The fundraisers are co-sponsored by City Councilmembers Max Anderson, Darryl Moore, Linda Maio and the Priority Africa Network, ACT UP East Bay, Global LightWorks Foundation and others.  

Iversen hasn’t given up on the militancy for which he is well known. His arsenal of organizing tools is as diverse as the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and the orphans they leave behind.  

He recalls the weeks he spent in the hospital in the early 90s during a very low point i n his life, when he had lost one-third of his body weight, weighed 116 pounds and was too weak to walk. “I know the suffering. It’s not something anyone should have to go through,” he said. “That motivates me.”  

Fundraiser for Good Spirit Support and Act ion Centre: June 22 at Unicorn Restaurant, 2533 Telegraph Ave. Dinner reservations suggested: 841-8098. Donations accepted at Act Up East Bay, P.O. Box 8074, Oakland, 94608. For information call 841-4339. ›i

The issue of fiscal oversight continued to provide the major heat at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Peralta Community Colleges Board of Trustees, this time with one of the more veteran board members lighting the fire. 

Three-year Trustee Linda Handy lit into Chief Information Officer Andy DiGirolamo’s revised report on $4.1 million in pending district-wide information technology projects. Handy told him, “I have no idea what these figures represent.” 

DiGirolamo’s 13-part PowerPoint presentation was a response to his May 24 budget presentation that four newly-elected members—Nicky Gonzalez Yuen, Cy Gulassa, and Bill Withrow—questioned. 

At the May meeting, Yuen voiced complaints when a spreadsheet report on the Measure E bond account contained bottom-line dollar figures without any details on how the money would be spent. The spreadsheet included a $1.4 million line item for Vista College New Building Networking and another $950,000 line item for the second phase conversion to PeopleSoft’s online management system. 

Measure E was the Peralta District’s $153.2 million repair, renovation, and construction bond passed by Alameda County voters in 2000. $128 million of that money has either been spent or committed to projects. 

DiGirolamo told Handy on Tuesday that the report was only intended as an overview of the planned projects, and that he would return to the board with the requested details at the time his office was actually requesting trustees to approve Measure E expenditures. 

Handy replied that she would prefer that DiGirolamo provide the board with the details earlier “just like we get from other staff members, like Sadiq [General Services Director Sadiq Ikharo] so that we can approve these expenditures in advance like we do with other Measure E funds.” 

When Harris called that a “reasonable request,” Handy replied that “I’ve been asking for that information since last September. It’s now June.” 

Handy said that she had been receiving queries from some of the district’s four colleges about unfinished Internet technology projects. Holding up DiGirolamo’s spreadsheet, she said “if we had a more thorough report, I could answer those questions” about what projects were still pending and what projects had been permanently dropped. 

Saying that he was unaware of many of the unfinished IT projects himself, DiGirolamo explained that many of them had been initiated by his predecessor “and we didn’t get some of that information passed on to us when I first came on board.” 

Trustees also closely questioned, but ultimately approved, close to $430,000 in extra costs associated with the $65 million Vista construction project. About $252,000 of that was for work done by HP Inspections over and above the San Jose company’s $300,000 contract. The extra inspection work had been done without prior approval from Peralta. 

General Counsel Thuy Nguyen confirmed that the HP work was a violation of the firm’s contract, which required prior approval of such extra work. 

General Services Director Ikharo told trustees that the inspections were federally-mandated for the type of building being constructed for Vista College, and that much of the extra billing covered overtime for inspection of steel that Peralta had requested be delivered early. Ikharo said that the early delivery had cut two months off the projected completion date of the project. 

“This translated into a saving for the district of between $2 million to $4 million,” he wrote in his report on the item. 

When Gulassa asked what type of precedent would be set if the board approved such an out-of-contract addition, Chancellor Harris said that it would only say to contractors “that you should proceed at your own risk. We will review such requests on a case by case basis. You may get it, or you may not get it.” 

Harris said that “even though the district may not be legally liable” to pay the money, he had recommended approval because “these were only technical violations of the contract” and “the work was necessary, and the district benefited from it.” 

Only Yuen voted against the HP additions, saying that “I don’t want to send a message to contractors that they can go out of budget and we’ll cover it. That’s irresponsible.” 

In action in closed session, trustees reported that they have approved the rehiring of Odell Johnson as interim President of Laney College for another year, or until a permanent president is found. Johnson has been serving on an interim basis after a previous stint as president of the college. Last month, the district narrowed the search for Johnson’s permanent replacement down to four finalists, none of whom were ultimately hired..

http://www.jfdefreitas.com/index.php?path=/00_Latest%20Work

CHAPELA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I was one of the authors of a letter that was critical of the research by Dr. Chapela regarding transgenes in Mexican corn. In our letter, we suggested that Dr. Chapela was probably correct in his assertion that there is contamination of native corn with transgenic corn—gene flow between the U.S. and Mexican corn is inevitable and has been going on for many years. Our critique focused on his assertion that the transgene had been moving from place to place within the genome. Because we are maize geneticist and do this kind of work all the time the flaws were pretty obvious. While subsequent studies may have shown that there is transgene contamination in Mexican corn, no one has shown that the transgenes move from place to place within the genome, nor has anyone shown the “contamination” has resulted in any loss of biodiversity. Our concern was not with discrediting Dr. Chapela, but with correcting a patently flawed analysis. What should we have done? Should we have ignored it, remained silent because Dr. Chapela was on the side of angels?  

Should some science get a free pass if it tells us what we want to hear? Sadly, Berkeley (and Washington D.C.) is full of people that do just that. They trust science only the extent that it reinforces their own preconceptions. 

Damon Lisch 

• 

HETCH HETCHY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Thanks to the foresight, hard work, and taxes paid by San Franciscans a hundred years ago, the Bay Area enjoys the sweetest, cleanest drinking water of anyplace on the planet. Go drink the water in any other big city and see if it doesn’t taste like treated sewerage compared to the cool, clear water from our Hetch Hetchy reservoir. 

I can only shake my head in astonishment at the mis-named “Environmental Defense” organization and others who campaign to destroy the O’Shaughnessy Dam, in order to “restore” Hetch Hetchy to its previous condition. Isn’t the environmental movement concerned with preserving and improving the quality of our air and water? For these Environmental Defense people, nothing good can be enjoyed, not even a refreshing glass of pure water. 

Bruce Joffe 

Piedmont 

• 

EXPLETIVES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

A few years ago, a respected newspaper would never have considered printing the expletive that appears in a letter of the June 14-16 edition of Daily Planet (“Pinkman in Paris”). 

I miss those days. 

Joan Mikkelsen 

• 

LIBRARIANS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Eric Knudsen, in his column June 10 commentary “What’s in a Name?”, correctly points out that upon entering a library, many patrons falsely perceive any staff member within the library walls as a “librarian.” He goes on to say that library management should recognize and embrace this misperception by changing all job titles to various levels of the word “librarian.” Knudsen feels that such a title change will help all library staff to treat their colleagues with more respect than they currently receive under an organization that assigns some staff “lesser” titles such as “aide” or “assistant.” 

I wholeheartedly agree with Knudsen that all library staff should indeed value and respect each other, since the shared goal of all staff is to serve the needs of patrons. I would, however, like to point out a glaring omission in Knudsen’s column. What he fails to inform the reader is that the job title “librarian” is reserved for those staff members who hold a Master of Library Science (MLS) degree. Like most master’s degrees, the MLS is a post-baccalaureate program that typically takes two years or more of specialized study to complete. Library staff members with MLS degrees have been trained in areas such as reference, cataloging, management, children’s and young adult literature, and collection development. 

Titles such as “technician,” “aide,” and “assistant” are thus used to designate those staff members, who, while they may have years of experience and extensive knowledge of library processes, have not completed an MLS course of study. Without an MLS, these staff members are generally prohibited from obtaining a number of higher level positions. 

While library staff members do work for a common cause, not every member of the staff shares the same qualifications. Knudsen’s advocacy for an egalitarian use of a professional title is therefore misguided and unfair not only to those who have worked hard to achieve it, but also to patrons, who have a right to know that trained specialists are available to them. Similar to titles like doctor, engineer, or attorney-at-law, the title “librarian” should be reserved only for those who have earned the professional degree. 

Caralee Kahn 

• 

FLYING COTTAGE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your reference to “ZAB’s approval last month of the ‘Flying Cottage’ at 3045 Shattuck Ave.” is incorrect. The 3045 Shattuck proposal per se was not up for hearing; the ZAB voted only that the application could be approved at staff level. 

We have appealed the subsequent staff-level design review decision to the Design Review Committee, and it is on the DRC’s agenda for June 16. Whichever way the DRC votes, its decision will be appealed to the ZAB, the ZAB’s decision to the City Council, and perhaps the council’s decision to the Alameda County Superior Court. 

Since there is no design review of residential projects in residential districts, the project at 2901 Otis is quite different. The neighbors are lucky the developer didn’t ask for the full six stories the zoning code allows. 

The ZAB could have reined in the project by enforcing the code’s restrictions on locating parking spaces in the required yard, as they have many times over the years. Unfortunately, the ZAB threw away that important tool when it ignored the law to rule that 3045 Shattuck could be approved at staff level. Until the City Council takes action on this matter, we will see a string of similarly inappropriate “popup” buildings. 

Robert Lauriston 

• 

ELDER ABUSE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am writing in response to your publication of Ms. Helen Rippier Wheeler’s commentary in the June 14 edition of your paper. In her article, Ms. Wheeler seems to assert that Berkeley Public Library has weeded its materials on the topic of elder abuse. In fact, when I checked our holdings, I discovered that we have several relatively new books on the topic, as well as some that are more than just a few years old. The books are located throughout the system, including in Central’s circulating collection, in the Reference collection, and at branches. 

One powerful tool Ms. Wheeler does not mention employing in her search for materials on elder abuse is speaking with a librarian. Had she done so, she would have been presented with literally dozens of books that address the topic. An example of that type of book is the multi-volume Gale Encyclopedia of Health. While the library’s paper copy does not circulate, its full contents are available online, through our database subscriptions. Staff at all sites retrieve articles for patrons who cannot or do not want to work online. 

Several other factors seem to have come between Ms. Wheeler and her discovery of these materials. In her letter, Ms. Wheeler supplies a description of how she explored Berkeley Public Library’s catalog in its “Subject” mode, which requires the use of Library of Congress Subject Headings, and how she explored Alameda County Library system’s catalog apparently in “Keyword” mode, allowing her search terms to find a greater range of materials. In fact she could employ the Keyword strategy in Berkeley’s catalog as well as the two catalogs are constructed in the same way. 

Certainly Ms. Wheeler’s difficulty alerts us to the need to provide more and better subject headings. And certainly we want to hear from those using the library’s collections to compose resource lists who find our holdings substandard. We welcome suggestions for purchase both in writing or through the catalog’s opening screen link to “Suggest a Purchase.” Ms. Wheeler has shared her difficulties through your paper but has presented us with no specific suggestions for purchase. 

I hope that Berkeley Public Library users gain a better understanding of the fact that asking staff for research assistance can enrich the resources found to respond to their information needs, and that users become more aware that they are, indeed, empowered to make specific suggestions for improving what we can offer the public through our collections. 

Francisca Goldsmith 

Collection Management Librarian 

• 

UC SETTLEMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Peter Mutnick’s letter regarding Dean Metzger’s and my article on the UC settlement agrees with us on the big point: The city has entered into a ”miserable agreement.” 

But on one critical point, he does not see the deal as being quite so bad. The issue relates to what would happen if the Legislature or the courts suddenly allowed us to tax the university. Mr. Mutnick seems to think Berkeley would get the benefit of the change. But Section III-D of the document says that if the law changes the monetary obligations of UC “the parties shall renegotiate [to] maintain the same total amount of allocations, inclusive of any new obligation.” Since the “total amount of allocations” is $1,200,000, it is hard to see how the city could get more, even if the Legislature or the courts change their minds. The city has basically agreed to cap UC’s contribution for the next 15 years, while Santa Cruz, for example, has kept its options open. 

Mr. Mutnick also urges the city to violate the agreement, thereby forcing it to terminate, and ridding us of “bad rubbish.” While this may turn out to be an attractive alternative, we need to pay close attention to the “poison pill” provision. If the ultimate result is a challenge to the long range development plan, the University may be able to make us pay for its lawyers (of which there are many). 

It is a shame that none of this came to light during debates before the settlement was approved. But unhappily, the council kept everything secret until after it voted, depriving itself of Mr. Mutnick’s views, as well as our own.  

David Wilson. 

• 

MEDICAL MARIJUANA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

While seeing the issue of medical marijuana in the pages of the Daily Planet is appreciated, the pessimistic tone in “Medical Pot Users’ Hopes Dim After Ruling” (June 10) deserves rebuttal. 

While multiple petitions to reschedule marijuana have been rejected by the federal government, the article fails to mention the petition filed in 2002 and  

currently in front of the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Secretary Mike Leavitt recently stated that HHS would provide a decision on the rescheduling petition by August 2005. 

In addition, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the nation’s largest medical marijuana patient advocacy organization, filed a petition in 2004 with HHS through a little-known administrative vehicle called the Data Quality Act. This Clinton-era policy allows people to challenge the data on which regulatory agencies rely. Since the federal government has ignored for decades the mountain of studies and evidence illustrating marijuana’s medical value, ASA is challenging HHS on the flawed data it uses. 

A poll released shortly after the Gonzales v. Raich decision (by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C.), showed that 68 percent of people said the federal government should not prosecute medical marijuana patients even though it has been given approval to do so. 

And in perhaps the plainest terms that describe the significance of this issue and the resolve by patients and advocates to persevere, days after the Raich decision came down, the Rhode Island Senate passed a medical marijuana bill by a vote of 34 to 2. So, even without the help of Congress and the Supreme Court,  

states will continue to pass legislation and initiatives to legalize medical marijuana. 

By no means is the fight over or lost. Just stay tuned! 

Kris Hermes 

Legal Campaign Director 

Oakland 

• 

CHANGING THE RULES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Do you change the rules at the end of the game because you don’t like who has won? 

Two years ago, a group of parents and teachers at Jefferson School decided they wanted to change the school name. They asked for the School Board’s policy for changing a facility name, and they followed the required procedures. At several points, the PTA. the principal, and pro-name change groups asked the board for interpretation of the policy. 

The question of student voting was one of those points. None of the groups at involved at the school site wanted the students to vote, but Superintendent Lawrence declared that the policy required student voting and, and so, there was student voting. The written board policy was followed every step of the way. 

The policy was not designed by anyone at the Jefferson School site. The current policy was adopted by the School Board in 1999, and was used in the renaming of Columbus as Rosa Parks School. If there were problems with the process, that was a quite recent opportunity for that school board to observe them and, later, amend the policy. 

A policy is changed before or after its implementation, but not during it. A question has been asked as to whether the broader community should have a voice in the process. Whether or not it should be involved in the process is not he issue before us now—the issue is following the current board policy. 

Now that staff, students and parents have voted, and Sequoia has been selected by each and every group as the new school name, the results have been presented to the School Board. Two School Board members have stated that they will follow district policy and approve the chosen name. The policy does not ask the board members to vote on the name; their role is to oversee the democratic process. Director Selawsky said, “The board should not be an endorsement of the school name; it should be based on whether or not the school community followed the board policy in reaching this vote.” 

Why are some other board members now suggesting violating their own process? If they do, it will send a clear and racist message that no matter how carefully certain people follow the rules, they cannot create peaceful, democratic change in the Berkeley Schools. Although the pro-name change group used talking, persuasion, and reason; although they affected people’s hearts and minds; although they prevailed in the selection of the name, certain board members would like to ignore and override their own policy... because they do not, personally, like the result of this democratic policy.  

Beverly Thiele 

Jefferson/Sequoia School Teacher 

• 

ALTA BATES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I used to hear conflicting reports about Alta Bates Summit Medical Center but my experience at this hospital have made me question the credibility of most criticisms against this hospital. 

My wife’s eight-day sojourn at this hospital shed more light on their competencies. The Labor and Delivery nurses/doctors are amazing. Everybody takes responsibility. 

My wife underwent intense labor after induction which was dramatic to me being a first time dad but the professional approach of the nurses/doctors gave me courage that it would end well and definitely it ended well. This same wonderful treatment was meted out to us by various nurses and doctors at the recovery section. 

I know many people might have different opinions which ultimately we all have right to but I think it is paramount to sift the facts from fictions before making a conclusion or judgment about the competency vis-à-vis adequacy of Alta Bates. 

Kudos for job well done to everyone there, we are now enjoying our little gorgeous girl Jordyn. 

John Tanwani. 

Antioch 

• 

FAITH 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Could it be that all the rancor over the Berkeley City Council’s “secret sellout” or “closed-door capitulation” vis-à-vis UC Berkeley’s 2020 Long Range Development Plan is overblown? 

I too originally saw the council’s vote on May 24 as a thoroughly embarrassing and humiliating action—more evidence that “the gown” really is swallowing this town. 

But then came the epiphany: What we really have witnessed is a faith-based settlement! 

Yes, UCB is a wonderful higher-education “door of opportunity” for tens of thousands, but it requires a municipal doormat to function properly. 

And that, in turn, requires a compliant council majority which has faith in the recommendations of their attorneys. 

And they, in turn, require constituents who have faith that their elected officials will do the right thing behind closed doors. 

And Berkeley as a whole requires citizens who faithfully believe their mayor’s assertions that the settlement is “the single best agreement between any city and public university in this state,” “a giant step forward towards a lasting and equal partnership,” and “will guide revitalization of the city’s core, protect historic resources, and encourage transit-friendly development.” 

Even for those who remain faithless doubters, there is still hope: The council’s vote on May 24 indicates that things are gradually turning your way. 

Note that in July 1990, the current council’s predecessors voted 9-0 to support UCB’s LRDP for the 2005/06 time horizon. This time, the vote was 6-3. In other words, you doubters picked up three votes in less than fifteen years!  

At this rate, doubters should have a solid majority by 2020. Have faith! 

Jim Sharp 

• 

DRAYAGE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It appears that the only action taken to ameliorate the alleged “problems” at the Drayage artisan community live-work space over the past two and one-half months has been the jack-booted assault upon it by the city’s over-zealous code-enforcement storm-troopers. 

Where are the planners, builders, designers, community assistance representatives, and other capable professionals within the city’s bureaucracy who are dedicated to furthering the city’s oft stated goals of protecting the ever dwindling affordable rental housing stock in this city? Is the true goal of our city fathers and mothers to transform Berkeley into Blackhawk? It sure seems more and more like that’s the plan.  

From me to the city officials, a succinct but serious message: Don’t just condemn it; rebuild it! Fix it! Love it! To date you have only taken totally negative and destructive action towards the Drayage community—do something positive! Slash and burn is not a housing policy. 

Dan Spitzer 

Kensington 

• 

JEFFERSON SCHOOL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It seems the Jefferson School name controversy still continues, whether to replace Jefferson (a bad, bad man) with Sequoya (presumably a good man, although some say only Jesus was truly good). 

According to Webster’s Biographical Dictionary, Sequoya (c. 1770-1843) was a Cherokee who took the name George Guess, so wouldn’t Berkeley honor him better by giving the school the name he himself preferred, Guess rather than Sequoya? 

The name “Guess School” would do double duty by honoring also the current pop fad of using Multiple-Guess tests to determine the worth of students and schools. 

Another option is to avoid name controversies entirely by just numbering the schools, as New York City does (PS117, etc.). My friend Veronica suggests Berkeley use BS (”Berkeley School”) for its school numbers. In my own school days I attended Berkeley schools BS 3, BS12, and BS 15. 

David Eakin 

Richmond. 

• 

TRAFFIC CIRCLES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

As a resident of the Oceanview area of West Berkeley, I have a comment on the recently built traffic circles in this section of town. 

While walking home the other day after a morning’s shopping, I noticed that a “short/stubby” Company 6 Fire Truck (headquartered on Cedar Street) had to proceed rather slowly around one such circle, not on an emergency. Its driver could barely negotiate the circle. 

Suppose its crew had been “on call,” necessitating a speedy response? Further, suppose this smaller truck had been a much longer “hook and ladder.” Would the longer truck have had to drive over the circle, or would its driver have been obliged to take a pre-determined alternate route? 

My questions: What bureaucratic genius came up the this idea? Was it buried in the budget summarily passed by our all-knowing council? 

Please be particularly attentive in covering West Berkeley fires. The lawsuit which may ensue could/will cost us plenty, especially if I file it. 

Phil Allen 

• 

FRED LUPKE 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

You are correct that the “... keeping a warm water pool available” was a priority of the late Fred Lupke. However, Fred’s feelings on the pool as a project had evolved over time. I am a member of the BUSD Citizens Construction Oversight Committee. Fred attended our meetings regularly. He was an active participant in our discussions on the future of the high school’s south campus. Shortly before his death, Fred told our committee that he was concerned how the rehab of the building might impact the operation of the pool. He suggested that it might be preferable to consider relocating the pool rather than having to close it during construction. 

I do not know how the city and the district share responsibility for this pool but the existing building apparently has serious deficiencies that cannot be blamed on deferred maintenance and the pool itself supposedly needs significant work. If this is so then the recommendation in the south campus master plan that the existing warm pool be replaced with a new pool and building across the street seems worthy of further consideration, especially considering Fred’s desire that the warn pool’s operations not be interrupted. 

Carl Bridgers 

• 

MODERN-DAY SLAVERY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am in complete agreement with Robin Berry’s May 31 letter. According to Kevin Bales, the author of Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy, there are at least 27 million slaves in the world today. 

We must educate ourselves about this issue and find out how to start bringing an end to this practice through boycotts and other means. Mr. Bales has established an American branch of “Anti-Slavery International” under the name of “Free the Slaves.” Please access his website www.freetheslaves.net. 

Carol Beth 

• 

AC TRANSIT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It is pure outrage that recent AC Transit election rhetoric featured the plight of seniors with regard to the adequacy and availability of public transit. We the electorate were given to understand that support for AC Transit meant support for seniors. Sustaining AC Transit meant sustaining seniors—providing for a reliable bus service, safe and accessible. Without such a service, many cannot live independently. 

I ride the bus almost daily and there has been a noticeable drop in the number of seniors choosing to make the trip. Who can blame them? The new Van Hool buses (common on our route) are a nightmare for anyone frail, anyone using a cane, or for that matter for any short adult toting a few grocery bags! Instead of sinking gratefully into the front seats, a less-than-able passenger is forced to negotiate a crowded aisle to reach the few spaces provided for the elderly. As this is a journey of many steps, with almost nothing to hold onto, finding one’s place could prove daunting, to say the least. Even then there is no guarantee that those spaces will not be fully occupied by passengers in wheelchairs. In order to continue the ride, what is recommended that the frail passenger do? Risk life and limb hoisting oneself up onto one of the wondrous “crow’s-nest” seats (a Van Hool specialty)? Cling desperately to the nearest available rider? Give up and sit on the floor? 

I refuse to believe that anyone charged with making the decision to purchase these new buses devoted even one moment’s thought to such things! And that is scandalous. All of us deserve better. 

Karen Keene 

Oakland 

• 

SPECIAL ELECTION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

There is nothing altruistic about Gov. Schwarzenegger’s special election and it will do nothing to help working families or residents of California. Schwarzenegger’s special election is about increasing GOP power in California. This election is about power and politics, stupid. 

At his election proclamation speech Arnold said California is destined to have $22 billion deficits, higher car taxes and the threat of bankruptcy if we don’t follow his lead. Now the special election has turned on Proposition 13 as he warns elderly homeowners they could lose their houses to taxes if Democrats and union leaders get their way in the fall. This seems to be straight out of the Bush-Rove playbook. Scaring little old ladies, Arnold basing his campaign on fear-mongering, is there anything more pathetic?  

Republicans are giddy with anticipation over the prospect of a special election. Democrats and Californians need to wake up and see this for what it is. 

Ron Lowe 

Nevada City 

• 

VOTING MACHINES 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am extremely disappointed to learn that Gov. Schwarzenegger has disregarded polls and feedback and decided to have a special election in November 2005, despite indications that the majority of Californians oppose such an election. 

The special election brings up an important question: Will Californians be using the same electronic voting machines that we used in the circus of a recall, when we either did or did not elect Schwarzenegger to replace Gov. Davis? Then-Secretary of State Kevin Shelley made a highly controversial decision that Californians would not be using electronic voting machines in future elections until the voting machines could provide a voter-verified paper trail. However, Shelley has since resigned, and I have not heard much regarding his successor, whom Schwarzenegger has appointed. 

I call on the California Legislature to assure that during the special election in November 2005, Californians use voting machines that provide a voter-verified paper trail. One wonders why Schwarzenegger is pushing ahead with the special election in the face of such opposition and at such an expense. A very real possibility exists that one reason Schwarzenegger wants to have a special election is to force a vote on his initiatives before California has a more transparent voting system, and this possibility has dramatic implications for the health of our democracy. 

Lara Wright 

• 

KPFA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Matthew Artz’s piece, “Former KPFA Employee Charges Sex Discrimination,” may address Dennis Bernstein’s curious behavior with me several years ago. I called him about a story I thought he might be interested in. He said he was, indeed, and suggested we attend a rally together in San Francisco. I thought that was unusual, but it was a cause I supported, I figured he didn’t have much free time, and we could talk there. 

So we spoke about my story, but I wasn’t sure how much he was listening. When we BARTed back to the East Bay Bernstein suggested we stop for a bite at Pasta Pomodoro. This seemed more like a venue for discussing the story and we did so and not once did I get chummy or much off topic and we certainly didn’t discuss literature. So I was a bit shocked when Bernstein asked me to his apartment to listen to him read his poetry. I declined as nicely as possible and I never heard from him again. 

Kathleen Roberts

Jefferson, Washington, Longfellow, Emerson, Malcolm X—how much do our school children really know about any of these famous figures? Have they memorized any of Emerson’s poems? Can they quote Longfellow? Everyone is familiar with the “I Have A Dream” spe ech, but are our kids learning about Martin Luther King’s stance against the Vietnam war or the common ground he shared with Malcolm X? And speaking of Malcolm, have our students ever actually listened to his powerful oratory in their classes? Have they d iscussed the reasons for his rage or how his perspective shifted after his pilgrimage to Mecca? How meaningful are any of these school names? 

The parents, staff and students at Jefferson Elementary School have voted to trade in old Thomas for some Sequoi a trees. I probably wouldn’t be proud of attending a school named after such a hypocrite either. How could a man who wrote “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal” reconcile his advocacy for individual freedom with his owne rship of almost 200 human beings? Not only that, but with his fathering of five children with his own very personal property, Sally Hemmings—all of whom he kept as slaves until shortly before his death. Jefferson didn’t free his other slaves. Claimed he couldn’t afford it. Too much debt. So, they stayed and suffered and toiled and were sold off to other slave owners.  

In this regard, Jefferson was not unlike that other famous slave owner and Berkeley school namesake, George Washington. George Washington, along with his wife, Martha owned 317 human beings. Ninety-eight were children under the age of 12. Ninety-five were females age 13 and up. Eighty-four were males, age 13 and up. Some of these enslaved people were inherited, others were purchased. Washin gton is said to have believed in the “gradual abolition” of slavery. Unlike Jefferson, Washington did not free his slaves upon his death. He wanted Martha to be comfortable, so it took another three years until after her death before these 317 human being s would be freed from the shackles of slavery. 

I understand that Sequoia won out over Cesar Chavez, Ralph Bunche, Sojourner Truth and Florence MacDonald. Why is that? Were these brave activists too controversial? Too meaningful? Too reflective of the Berkeley community? And just what does Berkeley stand for, anyway? 

Well, it seems that Bishop George Berkeley, for whom our fine town is named, was a philosopher, mathematician, minister and—surprise!—just like Jefferson and Washington, a slave owner. Born in Ireland, George Berkeley developed a philosophy commonly referred to as “theological idealism.” Simply put, he believed that we exist in an immaterial world of ideas wherein everything is generated by consciousness. Perhaps the notion that blacks and I ndians were people, too, was beyond the realm of his consciousness. Berkeley supported slavery and came up with the bright idea of kidnapping Native American boys and taking them to Bermuda where he planned to indoctrinate them into Christianity without t he interference of their parents. He failed to get funding for this project so instead he bought a farm in Rhode Island, named Whitehall, and set up residence there with his wife, sons and slaves. Years later, he returned to England and left his farm, hom e and slaves to Yale University. Yale used the profits from free slave labor to fund scholarships for students excelling in Greek and Latin. These Berkeley-slave scholarships are still being awarded to this day. 

Does this bit of history mean that we shou ld change the name of our city as well? How about some of our streets, like Dwight Way for example? Timothy Dwight—coincidentally, a former Yale president—also owned a slave, a young girl. Imagine the terror in a young girl’s mind, standing alone before a n alien adult male who is greedily looking her over from head to toe, wanting her and then deciding to purchase her for his own private, unregulated use. I’m not saying that Dwight was a pedophile or a rapist but it did happen—was common, in fact, for sla vers to purchase girls and boys for their sexual fulfillment. Where do you think all of the “mulattos” came from? 

If we’re going to go through the time, trouble and expense of a public school name change, let’s make it meaningful! Of our 14 public school s, only one is named after a female. That school, Rosa Parks Elementary had to go through a name change, too. The meaningful word here is “change.” Like most schools across the nation, our schools were named for white males chosen by other white males. It is past time to update our definition of heroes to include more females and people of color and perhaps to discard some who do not measure up to today’s standards. If the idea behind Sequoia is to embrace a Native American tribe, that is not sufficient. It would be better to choose the name of an accomplished Native American individual than to select a name most people will identify with trees. But if Sequoia it is, let’s make it more meaningful by actually planting more trees in the working class neighb orhoods of West and South Berkeley which are seriously lacking in trees, parks and open space.  

And if we want to change any more school names, I vote for Sally Hemmings High or perhaps, if it’s not too late, Hemmings-Jefferson Elementary School. By hyphenating the two, we acknowledge the two worlds from which they came—the owner and the slave—irreparably interwoven, each with their own contradictions. Not unlike the rest of us. 

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In an Internet discussion that followed one of my columns on Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown’s recent proposed “arrest the sideshow spectators” ordinance, one observer called my views on the subject “shameless nonsense” and “callous, illogical and overly fixated on Jerry Brown. …The inability to see the trauma inflicted on neighborhoods by this kind of criminal activity [the sideshows] tells me that Jesse must be so anti-Jerry Brown that he can’t think straight. If the mayor were to suddenly become in favor of legalizing sideshows, Jesse Douglas Allen-Taylor would probably be his biggest critic.” 

I do find myself generally opposed to Mr. Brown’s Oakland policies. That doesn’t grow out of any personal dislike for the mayor—if I have obsessions, he isn’t one of them—but is probably attributable to the fact that I have a basic disagreement with what I believe is Mr. Brown’s overall vision for Oakland. 

It appears to me that the mayor is one of those many people who come to Oakland, look around, and think, man, this would be such a great place, except for some of them damn Oaklanders. I’ve never heard Mr. Brown actually say that. I’m just deducing it from the fact that so many of his policies seem specifically designed to drive whole sections of Oaklanders out of Oakland, either directly or indirectly, to be replaced with people who don’t presently live here. 

Oakland needs to make many changes, true. Some of our city policies need to change. And some of us sure need to change, as well. But first and foremost, before benefiting anybody else, I think those changes ought to make things better for those people who already make this city their home. 

That’s where me and Mr. Brown differ, I believe. And that’s why I don’t see the sideshows as a problem. I see them as an opportunity. 

No matter which side of the argument you fall on, most people would agree that a good portion of Oakland’s potential civic progress in recent years has stumbled over conflicts with our African-American youth. The city’s two most successful community festivals, Festival at the Lake and Carijama—you could even say that these were two of the most successful community festivals in the state, in fact—were both abolished after street clashes between black youth and Oakland police. And leaving aside the horrific loss of human life (which I do not ever mean to minimize) and the disruption of our communities, the next greatest casualty of Oakland’s staggering murder rate—anchored by young black men killing young black men—is Oakland’s image. It’s hard to get investors excited about a city where newspaper articles total up shooting deaths like other cities tally touchdown passes or home runs. 

If you take a few minutes to talk to young black people in Oakland, you’ll find out that they’re catching it from both ends. They’ll tell you that it’s a small, hard core of knuckleheads and troublemakers that are fueling the city’s violence. It only takes two people to start a fight, after all, or one person to pull out a gun and start shooting. But it’s the general black youth community that suffers a triple hit, first as the primary victims of both the violence and the climate of violence—how do you think it feels, being always you might get shot or beaten up merely because you went to a high school dance?—then as targets of stereotyping both by the police and the general public, and finally when activities catering to black youth are curtailed or eliminated altogether because adults think that if you stop the gatherings, you’ll stop the problem. 

That, after all, was how the Eastmont Mall era of the sideshows got started in the late ‘90s—black youth looking for a safe place where they could gather with their friends, show off their cars, and not bother anybody. And before the Oakland police pushed the sideshows out of Eastmont and over to Pac’N’Save on Hegenberger and then onto the city streets, it worked pretty good. 

City officials themselves give a grudging acknowledgment to this history. In her background report prepared for the mayor’s “arrest the spectators” ordinance, City Manager Deborah Edgerly wrote earlier this month that “the Police Department has always understand that a sequence of ‘innocent activities’ are touted as the root of the ‘Sideshow.’” And former Police Chief Richard Word at least twice said publicly that pushing the sideshows off the parking lots and into the streets was a “mistake.” 

Although there are no guarantees, putting Oakland on the path of searching for a safe, sanctioned, legal version of the sideshow might help do several things. 

First, it might reverse that “mistake” which former Chief Word admitted, starting the sideshows on the road back towards that original vision of “innocent” social gatherings both free of violence and blending in with other community activities. 

Second, setting up sanctioned sideshows might allow Oakland to nurture—and take advantage of—many of the skills being displayed during these events. 

As just one example: Spinning a donut in a car in the middle of the street has always seemed to me a dumb thing to do. I’ve never seen the purpose of it. But I’ve talked with longtime sideshow participants about the maneuvers, and come away deeply impressed with the knowledge that many of them possess of mechanics, and physics, and aerodymamics, some of it explainable, some of it simply intuitive. I have no idea where such knowledge might have practical application. Space travel? Rapid transit design? This is far outside my area of expertise. But I can see that there are some bright young minds making dark circles round and round in our city’s pavements, and if we were smart enough, we would figure out away to put those minds to some beneficial use, both to the possessors of those minds themselves, and to our community at large. 

Another set of skills growing up around Oakland’s unsanctioned street sideshows is an entire video production industry. Some of the productions are trash but some of them—I cite the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Award winning Sidewayz as one of the most positive examples—show tremendous potential. With the Wayans brothers presently considering making Oakland a headquarters for their film production companies, Oakland might easily figure out a way to reforge ourselves into a nationally recognized film production center, with local talent at its center. 

But perhaps the most important reason for Oakland promoting a sanctioned, legal sideshow alternative is that it might give many African-American youth a stake in the development of this city, and that would help turn a huge Oakland negative into a positive. For those who would like to push out of Oakland all the elements they don’t particularly like, that won’t be much of a help. But for those of us who want to make Oakland better for the Oaklanders who are already here, it’s the best reason of all. 

For that reason alone, it’s worth a shot. 

?

Strong-Arm Carjackers 

The strong-arm robbery of a Berkeley man by a pair of teenage bandits at his Wheeler Street residence Monday afternoon turned into a carjacking when the robbers used his keys, which they stole, to make off with his Dodge Caravan, said Berkeley police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies. 

Robber’s Second Thoughts 

The knife-wielding robber who confronted another woman outside the Andronico’s Market in the 1500 block of Shattuck Avenue Tuesday afternoon apparently had second thoughts when she discovered her would-be victim was 80 years old. 

The robber abandoned her crime and her would-be victim departed with all of her belongings. 

Shirt Heist 

A tall man with a hankering for a new shirt fought off a Berkeley Mart employee who tried to stop him as he absconded with his new garment Wednesday evening, transforming a comparatively mild shoplifting charge into a far more serious count of robbery. 

The felonious booster fled the 2430 Shattuck Ave. shop with his ill-gotten gain, and no arrests have been made. 

Injured Cyclist 

A motorcyclist sustained minor injuries when he collided with a car at the intersection of Ashby Avenue and Ashby Place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. 

No one has been charged in the accident, said Officer Okies. 

Botched Robbery 

A Berkeley man successfully fended off a gang of five teenage robbers who accosted him near the corner of Sacramento and Cedar streets about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Flames seared several acres of the Albany Bulb Tuesday evening before crews from the East Bay Regional Parks District were able to bring them under control. 

Capt. John Weitzel of the Albany Fire Department said no one was injured in the blaze, which began about 5:30 p.m. 

The Bulb, which is currently owned by the City of Albany, is in the process of being transferred to the Eastshore State Park.

An article on the settlement of the Berkeley High expulsion discrimination lawsuit in the June 7-9 issue misidentified Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action. S

On May 9, over 200 residents filled the North Oakland Senior Center for a meeting called by the city’s Redevelopment Agency on expanding the existing MacArthur/ Broadway/San Pablo Redevelopment Area north to the Berkeley border so as to abate the “blight”.  

Declaring most of North Oakland, including the Telegraph and Broadway commercial corridors, “blighted” seems absurd. Even the agency’s “poll” of those present revealed a 60 percent to 40 percent majority against redevelopment. But the Redevelopment Bandwagon continues as if the meeting never happened. What gives?  

North Oakland is not “blighted.” Private capital is flooding in, from smaller projects like the Nomad Cafe to the Lawton Associates’ condominium tower in Temescal. Three hundered and fourteen units of privately funded condominium units are in the pipeline or underway along San Pablo Avenue from 40th Street to the Berkeley border .  

Oakland Councilmember Jane Brunner ardently embraces the concept of the transit village at MacArthur BART—the centerpiece of the existing redevelopment area and impetus for expansion. Paradoxically, Brunner did allow in a May 25 letter to constituents that the expansion area under consideration was “without significant blight.”  

This transit village is little more than a concept, having been through many iterations and developers, including having a Target as anchor. (The state frowned upon trip-generating big box retail, so good-bye Target.) Current plans call for 500 to 1,000 units of housing. Underground parking alone has been estimated to cost $25 million.  

The attraction for Redevelopment staff of the areas of North Oakland where single family homes are selling for $400,000 to $800,000, many doubling or more in value the last five years, is not to correct “blight,” but to capture “tax increment” money as the reassessed value of property greatly increases.  

A Dec. 22, 2004 memorandum from Redevelopment Agency staffer Kathy Kleinbaum succinctly lays out the reasons for adding these areas:  

Expanding the boundaries would result in a significant increase in tax increment revenues which could help fund the major projects that are currently planned including the MacArthur Transit Village or Telegraph Streetscape improvements. Staff estimated that over the life of the project, the present tax value of tax increment revenues to the city from the amendment area would be approximately $385 million. The existing area is projected to generate $155 million over the same period.  

Expanding the boundaries would create a more stable tax increment base from which to issue tax increment revenue bonds. Bonding entities are concerned when there is too large a concentration of ownership among a few property owners. 

Even an expanded redevelopment area doesn’t solve the funding problems of the MacArthur Transit Village. Bonds can be issued for no more than 10 times the annual income from the area, currently projected to be $4.9 million in the next five-year project cycle.  

Is it NIMBY to quibble about elected officials and staffers, many of whom live in single-family homes with yards on tree-lined streets assuming those less fortunate want to live like sardines on noisy, polluted arterials?  

The new $100-million-plus Fruitvale Transit Village, funded by local, state, and federal sources, is the local lodestar of transit villages, even though office space is still apparently unleased, some of the 47 housing units are unrented, and some ground floor fast food has folded. On a recent weekend, people soaking up the sun preferred unredeveloped International Boulevard to the Fruitvale Village mall.  

The Fruitvale Transit Village, with 47 housing unit,s is not a “transit village.” With offices for everything from non-profits to a city senior center and library, the “village” is more a satellite government outpost.  

Redevelopment is being unabashedly pushed as the magic wand for every urban ill, including shortages of cafes and police. To hear Redevelopment staff tell it, their product may even cure the common cold. But those who rashly gulp the redevelopment Kool-Aid are going to be in for a rude shock: Their pet projects are nothing next to the 5,000-pound money-sucking sponge of a transit village!  

Staff sidesteps the quasi-permanent nature of redevelopment: 45-year terms that are easily extended. The money that redevelopment captures is money that otherwise would have gone to the city’s chronically strapped General Fund. The areas of the city that are too wealthy to “qualify” for redevelopment like Rockridge or Temescal end up disproportionately paying for the services—police, fire, schools, libraries, sidewalks—that the General Fund supports.  

The issues of fairness and starving the General Fund are the reasons the Piedmont Avenue Neighborhood Improvement League (PANIL) steering committee voted to oppose expansion.  

Draconian redevelopment tools like eminent domain are glossed over. Project Area Committee (PAC) minutes since 2000 reveal an ongoing, unsuccessful effort by members and residents to add protections for single family residences. Staff refused, suggesting waiting “until the appropriate time” for such language to be included.  

At the May 18 meeting, Jane Brunner seemed surprised housing wasn’t protected at the time of the inception of the PAC and redevelopment district, although she has suggested curbs on eminent domain were left out to target MacArthur Boulevard motels.  

The Dec. 22 Kleinbaum memorandum makes explicit the status of eminent domain:  

“The primary concern about redevelopment for most neighborhoods is the potential uses of eminent domain on residential properties. The Broadway/MacArthur/San Pablo Redevelopment Plan does not place any restriction on the use of eminent domain. If this is a major concern voiced by the community, there are a number of policy options for the new amendment area that can be adopted...”  

Eminent domain IS a big issue: Housing exists on all the arterials and some like Market and West Streets are predominantly residential. Shattuck Ave. in Oakland is also mostly residential. Even residents of side streets face the impacts of large projects on major corridors.  

View a local example of redevelopment: the ranch-style housing at Stanford and Adeline, a redevelopment zone from the 1970s that displaced most of the residents and demolished their “blighted’ housing. Then compare the sales prices and curb appeal of the “ranchers” to those of the remaining Victorians and Craftsmans nearby.  

Robert Brokl is a North Oakland resident.?

The City of Berkeley recently entered into a settlement with the University of California regarding the 2020 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). In the aftermath of this agreement, there have been many opinions expressed on this issue. As someone actively involved in the LRDP process, I wanted to offer my perspective on the settlement and the impact that it will have on the future of Berkeley.  

Many residents were optimistic that the city’s lawsuit over the LRDP would address our mutual concerns over development and transportation issues. However, in reviewing the settlement agreement there are some glaring omissions.  

Throughout the planning process, many residents expressed strong concern over the dramatic increase in parking proposed in the LRDP. Nevertheless, the plan did not proposes ways of minimizing the impacts that new parking spaces will bring to Berkeley’s already congested streets.  

UC’s New Century Plan commits to reducing the drive-alone rate by 5 percent every year. Yet, building 2,300 new parking spaces will not meet this objective. The university did not make a commitment to a zero net increase in single occupancy vehicle trips. Why could the City of Berkeley not incorporate this goal in its settlement?  

In order to minimize the traffic impacts associated with new automobile trips, the university had the ability to dedicate funding to address these problems. Local residents and UC staff suggested that the university fund a free and universal BEAR Pass program. Also, many community members advocated for a BART pass program for both faculty and students. Nevertheless, the university and the city overlooked these suggestions in the settlement.  

UC Berkeley must not only be a leader in higher education but also in transportation planning. While the city negotiated a reduction in the number of parking spaces from 1,800 to 1,275 in the settlement, there is no firm commitment that UC will not build more parking spaces in the future. Also, this is contingent on the implementation of a rapid bus service down Telegraph Avenue. If other cities or even AC Transit fail to agree to this, then the university will proceed with building 2,300 spaces.  

Additionally, the 1.2 million dollars in the settlement is a little over the 1.1 million initially offered by UC in January. While I am happy that the city and UC will also collaborate on a new Downtown Area Plan, I have two concerns. I am concerned over the scope of the development that may be proposed in this plan. Also, the plan could fall apart if UC simply rejects it.  

Also, the entire process excluded residents from having their voices heard. While there were countless public hearings, very few of the 300 comments offered by Berkeley residents and students were incorporated in the final plan. Also, the signing of a confidentiality agreement excluded the public from commenting on the settlement before it was approved. While the mayor strongly opposed this move, I urge the City Council to set a policy so that this will never happen again. 

While I want to commend Mayor Tom Bates and the city government to bringing the lawsuit to resolution, I ultimately feel that the city settled for too little and too fast. While settling this dispute is a positive step towards building a collaborative relationship between the city and UC Berkeley, ultimately the citizens of Berkeley gained very little from this agreement and UC will continue to build without bringing all sides to the table.  

Jesse Arreguin is the ASUC city affairs director and a Berkeley city official.  

I live in North Berkeley near Hopkins street. I observed Berkeley Unified School District personages cleaning up and repairing a school yard at Hopkins and Josephine street over the Memorial Day weekend. I commend them on their efforts to work both Saturday and Sunday of this weekend, but question some of their actions. 

On the Hopkins Street side of this school yard, the fence is dilapidated and supported with 2x4 lumber to keep it from falling down—and yet, these same BUSD personages repaired the interior of this fence—very nicely I would add—but did not repair the fence on the street side, or repair the fence posts so the fence may stand on its own without support. Why repair the interior of a fence, that must have cost close to $1,000 for wood and labor, and yet is in great disrepair and will founder under the slightest wind against this fence? I inquired and was told this was a temporary arrangement as the fence would be replaced within a few months time with a chain-link fence! So again, why spend $1,000 to repair a fence that is to be torn down and replaced entirely? This is ludicrous and someone in the BUSD administration is lacking brain cells! Is this the kind of school district we want? To repair and spend money on a fence that is to be torn down, to pay for weekend (overtime) maintenance/gardener wages, to see these persons waste their time?? 

If this is how the BUSD management runs things, perhaps we should have a new management in those offices on MLK Way!  

Furthermore, I do not believe it is wise to replace this partially repaired fence with a chain-link fence. There are small children in that yard, and such open visible exposure to the street might be unwise. Since half of this same fence is repaired—the interior side of the fence—why not replace the fence posts and exterior street side—and this would cost less than having these same personages spend another (overtime) weekend to remove the old repaired fence and replace it with a chain-link fence.... this is utter stupidity in my opinion to spend such money and time only to tear it down and replace it entirely. If this kind of management thinking occurs throughout BUSD, no wonder our schools need more money, as they throw it away like the weeds they removed from this same yard.... 

Karl Jensen is a Berkeley resident. n

In a lowdown cellar bar, a bartender, bleary-eyed and mumbling in German, slams on the lights and opens the heavy iron door for a piano player, who’s just come down the stairs and rapped. Not a word’s spoken as the pianist sits on the piano bench and looks long at the bartender, hunched over in a chair, then wielding a pushbroom, finally opening the door as two younger men pile downstairs. 

A pair of sad eyes appears at the grille in the door, opening to admit Jenny, anti-heroine of The Threepenny Opera and Mahagonny, played by Bebe Neuwirth (of TV’s Cheers) in a confabulated, well-staged song cycle of Kurt Weill’s extraordinary tunes, Here Lies Jenny, through June 26 at San Francisco’s Post Street Theatre. 

The staging is the brainchild of Roger Rees, who also directs. 

Neuwirth plays the Jenny Diver-Pirate Jenny character from the Brecht-Weill “musical theatricals,” singing, dancing and playing her way through an amazing 21 numbers that span Weill’s career, from Weimar Republic Berlin to Broadway, with lyrics by such poets and lyricists as Bertolt Brecht, Langston Hughes, Ira Gershwin, Ogden Nash, Alan Jay Lerner and the medieval Spanish Hebrew poet Jehuda Halevi. 

With particularly strong support from Broadway stalwarts Angelo Fraboni and Dennis Stowe as John and Jim and excellent Martin Vidnovic as bartender Jeorge making a fine male chorus and corps-du-ballet, Neuwirth takes her Jenny character through “Bilbao Song,” “Je ne t’aime pas,” “The Tale of the Soldier’s Wife,” “The Saga of Jenny” (while the men sing “Don’t Be Afraid” and part of “The Army Song” to her) without a storyline or word of real dialogue. The production lets the songs speak—through the actors, the staging, the set itself, the values of the production. Even San Franciscan pianist Diane Hidy is in character, adding much both musically and as a sometimes silent presence. 

In some ways, it’s too much of a good thing. The impressive range of the material, from shows widely separated in time, theme, if not always in musical flavor and an underlying sensibility, overwhelm Neuwirth’s talents as a comedienne and her ability to focus on the often ironic, bittersweet lyrics that pose as being conversational, tossed off. She gamely runs the gamut, but her thin, nasal, palettized singing can’t do the numbers justice—and she makes the mistake of trying to act through the songs, not letting them act through her (an old complaint of Elizabeth Hardwick’s, about the New York theater of 40 years ago). Often, her most eloquent moments are the static, silent ones at the end or between the numbers.  

Naturally, taking on such an ambitious project would expose any performer to comparisons with Weill’s widow, Lotte Lenya, whose knowing, world-weary recitation originated many of these tunes in both German and English, with what many think their definitive rendering. But even a few weeks ago in Berkeley, mezzo Joan Morris, giving the Bloch Lectures at UC with her husband and collaborator, composer William Bolcom, at the keyboard, showed what it means to make a song one’s own by opening the final lecture (on American Cabaret style) with Brecht and Weill’s “Surabaya Johnny,” in the same translation (Michael Feingold’s) Neuwirth sang, but bringing out every nuance, from tenderness to rage, of this haunting, contradictory tune.  

“Surabaya Johnny” was one of Bebe Neuwirth’s finer numbers; but as “An Actress That Sings” (the title of Joan Morris’ unpublished memoir), she tends towards the “bitty.”  

Some moments—like Jenny exclaiming “You can’t just let a man walk over you!”—are striking, but finally don’t resonate with the others. In the end, there’s less a sense of a song cycle than of a series of sketches, or the sketch of a bigger musical theater project. 

Roger Rees is a talent to watch; this kind of vaudevillized chamber play, compressing so much into a small space and short time, may yet see him in top form. Bebe Neuwirth—a talented and very professional actress—unfortunately sings with just the top of her voice, lacking flavor, leaving only impressions of what might have been. 

Here Lies Jenny runs through June 26 at the Post Street Theatre, 450 Post St., San Francisco. $45-$60. (415) 771-6900 or www.poststreettheatre.com.m

Being a condemned prisoner, I’m viewed among the least able to qualify as a promoter of redemption and of peace. But the most wretched among society can be redeemed, and find peace, and reach out to others to lift them up. Real redemption cannot be faked or intellectualized. It must be subjective: experienced, then shared. 

— Stanley Tookie Williams 

from the preface to his autobiography, Blue Rage, Black Redemption 

Selections from Blue Rage, Black Redemption and other books by Stanley Tookie Williams will be read by San Francisco supervisor and former mayoral candidate Matt Gonzalez, Williams’ editor Barbara Becnell and others at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Moe’s Books on Telegraph Avenue. 

The event, co-produced by Amnesty International, is part of the Monday At Moe’s reading series. Williams was, as a teenager, co-founder of the Crips gang in South Central Los Angeles, and, since incarceration on San Quentin’s Death Row, has been an author and advocate of gang intervention and self-rehabilation. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature. 

Williams has published eight books, subtitled Tookie Speaks Out Against Gangs, for elementary school students since 1996 with subjects like “Wanting To Belong,” “Neighborhoods,” “Violence” and “Drugs.” 

His book for middle school students, Life in Prison, which was honored by the American Library Association, “tells what a day in prison is like, disabusing the reader of any romanticizing of what, to so many kids, has become a badge of honor,” said Summer Brenner, a literacy tutor for at-risk children and teens in West Contra Costa County and an organizer of the reading. 

Brenner said the books are useful tools in teaching and have led to a television film Redemption about Williams’ odyssey through gang violence and the legal system to self-awareness and intervention. The film, available on DVD, was produced by Becnell and stars Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx as Williams. It has been shown to U.S. military personnel in Iraq. 

“His time in prison becomes an interior journey,” Brenner said. “He learns to read, becomes a writer—a direct message of what it means to have the time to get to know yourself without the distractions of drugs, violence, social disinformation.” 

The book Blue Rage, Black Redemption, for high school students and adults, was released in April of this year and is already being used in schools. 

“In Chicago, the vice superintendent created a program around it for the principals of the 25 most at-risk schools,” commented Becnell. “They in turn took it to their teachers, who will work with their students using it.” 

Summer Brenner characterizes Blue Rage, Black Redemption’s evolution of emotional tone: “it ranges from anger to self-awareness, with a sense of the loss of childhood love of curiosity beaten out of him by his environment ... a step-by-step evolution of a human being from a defensive to an offensive stance.” 

“He insisted the book come out first in paperback, so prisoners, who can’t receive hardcover books sent to them, could read it,” said Becnell. 

Williams has been incarcerated since 1979. Becnell said he has “had nothing to do with the spread of the Crips and other gangs to the national level during the crack cocaine explosion in the ‘80s.” 

His appeal has been denied by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. His petition is currently before the Supreme Court. If the Court refuses to hear his case, or doesn’t grant Williams a new trial, “a date for execution will be set,” said Brenner, “possibly late this year.”  

She said, “He’s never denied the criminality of his background, but protests his innocence of the charges he was convicted of.” 

Williams has attracted the attention and respect of the member of Swiss parliament who nominated him for the Nobel Prize, educators and literature professors who’ve taught his books, and advocates of a moratorium for the death penalty from all over the political spectrum (including members of Congress and state legislatures). 

His own dedication is clear in a passage from Blue Rage, Black Redemption: “To poor people, prisoners, slaves and the disenfranchised everywhere—through faith and theories put into practice, you can bend the most oppressive circumstances to your will, to make the impossible possible.”

FRIDAY, JUNE 17 

THEATER 

Antares Ensemble “Hellenic Image” choruses and monologues from Greek tragedies at 8 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club. Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. through June 26. Tickets are $10-$35. 525-3254.  

Aurora Theatre “The Thousandth Night” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. 2 and 7 p.m., through July 24, at 2081 Addison St. Tickets are $36. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley Rep, “Honour” opens at the Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. and runs through July 3. Tickets are $20-$39. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

California Shakespeare Theater, “Othello” at 8 p.m. at Bruns Amphitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., between Berkeley and Orinda, through July 3. Tickets are $10-$55. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Grand Kabuki Theater of Japan at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $40-$125. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Shotgun Players, “Arabian Night” Thurs.-Su. at 8 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. until July 10. Tickets are $10-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

Subterranean Shakespeare “The Taming of the Shrew,” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center in Live Oak Park, through June 24. 276-3871. 

Traveling Jewish Theater, “Cherry Docs” at the Julia Morgan Theater, Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m., through June 19. Tickets are $12-$35. www.atjt.com 

Un-Scripted Theater Company “The Short and the Long of It” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., through June 25 at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St., Oakland. Tickets are $7-$10. 415-869-5384. www.un-scripted.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Hip-Hop Culture, Politics and Social Justice” a discussion with with authors Adam Mansbach, Jeff Chang, Tricia Rose and Bakari Kitwana at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Celebrating the Summer Solstice with Vierne’s “Pieces de Fantasie” David Hatt, organist, at 7:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. Suggested donation $10. 444-3555. 

Ruth Botchan Dance Company “More Matters of Life and Death” at 8 p.m. at Western Sky Studio, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $18-$20. 848-4878.  

La Peña Community Chorus celebrates La Peña’s 30th Anniversary at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$15.. 849-2568.  

Robin Erickson and Rebecca Boblak, violin and piano, at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. 845-6811. 

Graham Richards, Ellen Robinson Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Carolyn Aiken at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Drunken Spacemen, The Ghostt, Bad Habitz at 9 p.m. at The Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $8-$10. 763-1146. 

Jennifer Berezan at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Hicks with Sticks, CD realease party, at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Quddus Sinclair, hip hop, at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. www.epicarts.org 

Live And Unplugged, acoustic music showcase, at 7 p.m. Unitarian Universalists Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. 703-9350. www.LiveAndUnplugged.org 

Mike Lipskin Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Francesca Lee & Ben Storm at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Lady Mem’fis at 7 p.m. at Maxwell’s, 341 13th St., Oakland. 839-6169. 

Vince Wallace Quintet at 9 p.m. at Cafe Van Kleef, 1621 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Cost is $5. 763-7711. www.cafevankleef.com  

Vinyl, Latin percussion, electric funk at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $8-$10. 548-1159.  

Carne Cruda, Los Surf Cumbieros at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Lights Out, Allegiance, Lion of Judah, at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Diane Schuur with the Caribbean Jazz Project at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, JUNE 18 

EXHIBITIONS 

Tapestry Weavers West 20th Anniversary Exhibit at the Nexus Gallery, 2701 Eighth St. Reception from 4 to 7 p.m. 

THEATER 

Grand Kabuki Theater of Japan at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $40-$125. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

FILM 

American Outlaws: “Bloody Mama” at 7 p.m. and “DIty Little Billy” at 9 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Bill Lee reads from his new book, “Born to Lose: Memoirs of a Compulsive Gambler” at 3 p.m. at Eastwind Books of Berkeley, 2066 University Ave. 548-2350.  

Phil Lesh reads from his memoir, “Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Kym Flynn reads from “Thugged Out” at noon at Uncommon Cafe, 2813 Seventh St. 845-5264. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Ruth Botchan Dance Company “More Matters of Life and Death” at 8 p.m. at Western Sy, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $18-$20. 848-4878. www.berkeleymovingarts.com 

Golden Gate Boys Choir & Bellringers Spring Concert at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary Magdalen Church, 2005 Berryman St. Donation $5-$10. 887-4311. www.ggbc.org 

San Francisco Choral Artists “On Wings of Song” at 8 p.m. at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, 3534 Lakshore Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $17-$22. 415-979-5779. www.sfca.org  

Kotoja, Nigerian music at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $11-$13. 525-5054. 

Jason Martineau, Robin Gregory Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ.  

Apollo BRG Style at 8 p.m. at Black Repertory Theater., Adeline St. Cost is $5-$10. 652-2120. www.blackrepertorygroup.com 

Chris Cotton, Piedmont Blues, at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Mitch Marcus Quintet at 9 p.m. at Cafe Van Kleef, 1621 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Cost is $5. 763-7711.  

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

FiddleFest with Bobbi Nikles, Cathie Whitesides, Betsy Branch and Michael Stadler at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

A Night of Voices, featuring Duckmandu, The Invisible Cities, Fire Wrecks the Forest, and others at 6 p.m. at Comic Relief, 2026 Shattuck Ave. Free. www.altgeek.net/voices 

A Band Called Pain, Alexic, The Agency at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8-$10. 848-0886.  

Michelle Amador and the True Believers at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com  

Quetzal, Chicano band from L.A., at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Lua, a quartet of voices, percussion and strings at 6:30 p.m. at Cafe Valpariso, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 841-3800. 

Steve Smulian, orchestral acoustic guitar, at 7 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

Bellyachers, Loretta Lynch, The Famous at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

Quddus Sinclair, hip hop, at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. www.epicarts.org 

Marcus Shelby Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

David Jeffrey Quartet with Brendan Millstein at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Clorox Girls, The Observers, Shadow Boxer at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, JUNE 19 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Blind at the Museum” guided tour at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“From Life” Plein air and figurative paintings by Iris Sabre in the Foyer Gallery, Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. Reception for the artist from 4 to 6 p.m. 524-1577. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash “In A Fine Frenzy” Poets Respond to Shakespeare” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Ruth Botchan Dance Company “More Matters of Life and Death” at 8 p.m. at Western Sy, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $18-$20. 848-4878. www.berkeleymovingarts.com 

The Christy Dana Quintet at 8 p.m. at The Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $12-$15. 524-1124. 

Chamber Music Sundaes with SF Symphony violinist Geraldine Walther at 3:15 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $7-$19. 415-584-5946. 

Julian White, piano, at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Piano Club, 2724 Haste St. 528-4959. 

Carlos Oliveira and Brazilain Origins, featuring Harvey Wainapel at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

“Ace of Spades” Acoustic Series at 1 p.m. at MamaBuzz Cafe, 2318 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Free. 

Me Without You, Make Believe, Veda at 4 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10-$12. All ages show. 848-0886.  

Americana Unplugged with Seventh Day Busters at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 655-5715. 

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

MONDAY, JUNE 20 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Getting There” works by artists with disabilities and members of East Bay Women Artists opens at NIAD Art Center, 551 23rd St., Richmond, and runs to July 24. 620-0290. www.niad.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Arthur Blaustein and Kris Novoselic talk about citizen action and civic engagement in the age of Bush at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Christy Campbell reads from her scientific detective story, “The Botanist and the Vinter: How Wine Was Saved for the World” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry Express with Charles DuBois at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Tom Duarte, guitarist, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Songwriters Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $5. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Faye Carol at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$15. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, JUNE 21 

THEATER 

Shotgun Theater Lab “The Pawn” Tues. and Wed. at 8 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through July 6. Tickets are $10. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

FILM 

Jean-Marie Teno “Africa, I will Fleece You” with the filmmaker in person at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Bob Laird, Director of Undergraduate Admissions at UCB, discusses his new book “The Case for Affirmative Action in University Admissions” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Gail Griffith describes “Will’s Choice: A Suicidal Teen, a Desperate Mother, and a Chronicle of Recovery” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Ronnie Gilbert at 1 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

Garden of Memory Solstice Concert with thirty diverse composers and musicians from 5 to 9 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $5-$10. 415-563-6355, ext. 3. 

San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers, traditional and contemporary Celtic music, at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

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

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

Jason Martineau, David Sayens Duo at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ.  

Jessica Williams Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200.  

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

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22 

EXHIBITIONS 

“From Isolation to Connection” works by artists with psychiatric disabilities at the Berkeley Art Center. Workshop with the curator and artists at 2 p.m. 644-6893. 

“Getting There” works by artists with disabilities and members of East Bay Women Artists. Reception at 6 p.m. at NIAD Art Center, 551 23rd St., Richmond. 620-0290. www.niad.org 

FILM 

Seventies Underground: “Space is the Place” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

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. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Music for the Spirit” harpsichord concert at noon at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555.  

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

The Fourtet Jazz Group at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473.  

Calvin Keys Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Elijah Henry, Karen Geyser at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8-$10. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

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

Sonic Camouflage at 8 p.m. at Cafe Van Kleef, 1621 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. 763-7711. 

Kurt Ribak Trio, CD release Party, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Jez Lowe & James Keelaghan at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Jessica Williams Trio at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200.  

THURSDAY, JUNE 23 

EXHIBITIONS 

“The People and the Book” A curator’s tour with Elayne Grossbard of paintings and rare books from the Magnes collection at 6:30 p.m. at the Judah L. Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. Cost is $4-$6. 549-6950.  

FILM 

International Latino Film Festival “Step Forward” at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $8. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Jean-Maire Teno: “Chief!” with the filmmaker in person at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Nathaniel Rich will show video clips and talk about his new book “San Francisco Noir: The City in Film Noir from 1940 to the Present” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

John Dicker describes “The United States of Wal-Mart” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Word Beat Reading Series with Marianne Robinson, Randy Fingland and Sholeh Wolpe at 7 p.m. at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“The Beggar’s Opera” at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Campus. Tickets are $56. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

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

The People’s Jazz Quintet with Donald “Duck” Bailey, drums, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. 

The Twots, Riot A-Go-Go, The Sweet Nothings at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082.  

Tin Cup Serenade at 9 p.m. at Cafe Van Kleef, 1621 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Cost is $5. 763-7711. www.cafevankleef.com  

Katherine Peck, Crystal Eastman with Fil & Dave, alterna-folk, at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. www.epicarts.org 

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

Charles Lloyd with Geri Allen, Eric Harland, and Larry Grenadier at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Self-Not-Self at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Early morning on Ocean View Boulevard is peaceful but not solitary. It’s a wonderful time to be out. The salt tinged air is fresh and the turquoise waves crash along the rock-crusted shore of Monterey Bay. Distinctive tapping draws my attention to an already busy sea otter, using the rock on his chest to open a breakfast mollusk. Nearby two more otters swim in tandem, like friends chatting and planning their day. Walkers and their dogs greet me with smiles and “Good morning.” A group of surfers, both young and old, listen to rock music from a truck radio, gearing up to ride the waves. We’re all savoring this beautiful coastal path as we begin our day in Pacific Grove. 

Located at the northern tip of the Monterey Peninsula, Pacific Grove is nestled between its two famous neighbors. To the south, the tourist-oriented and usually crowded town of Carmel and to the north, larger and more commercial Monterey. It is often described as a quaint town in a spectacular setting, but I see much more: a strong community working toward the future while retaining the traditions of the past, a steward to the rugged Pacific coastline, the Marine Gardens Fish Refuge and hundreds of species of resident flora and fauna. 

Pacific Grove got its start in 1875 as a Christian summer retreat. Lured by fragrant pines, fresh sea air, and moderate climate, many Methodists soon traded their crude summer tents for permanent dwellings. By 1889, the town of Pacific Grove had been incorporated. 

Over the years, I’ve returned time and again, with my family and on my own. What draws me back? What gives Pacific Grove its unique character? On a recent weekend I walked the town and the coast, looking for answers. 

The rough camp tents are physically gone but remain in spirit, and in a few cases, in pieces of canvas caught in the board-and-batten cottages built directly over them. Using a Historic Walking Tour pamphlet I picked up at the Chamber of Commerce, I followed the route entranced by beauties both large and small, bearing plaques identifying them as historically significant buildings. It was hard to imagine the lovely pink cottage with exquisite flower stained-glass windows, in its former camp life. On a larger scale, I dreamed about owning handsome Victorian mansions, many in Queen Anne style, with carved wood doors, decorative cut-outs, fish scale shingles and distinctive peaked cupola affording views of the bay. Many, like Seven Gables, named after Hawthorne’s novel, now operate as popular inns. 

Along Lighthouse Ave. pre-1900 storefronts, formerly housing the tiown pharmacy, tobacco shop and bank, now offer an interesting collection of boutiques and galleries, many specializing in home furnishings and décor.  

Ready for a coffee break, I entered Juice N’ Java, symbolic of the small town charm and sense of community in Pacific Grove, as well as providing great coffee drinks, smoothies, pastries, and light lunches. Here well-spaced tables and chairs beckon you to take your time, as do the sofa and arm chairs across from the stone fireplace. Around me people were chatting, reading, writing, and studying. Always welcoming, this is just the place to feel at home. 

Like Pacific Grove itself, my next stop, the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, is small but special. Its permanent displays pay tribute to Monterey Bay’s cetaceans, 400 species of local birds, geology, Ohlone Indians, and, of course, the monarch butterfly. Sorry to have just missed the annual wildflower show, instead I marveled at nature photographer Jenny Ross’s exhibit “Bears! Icons of the Wild.” Almost feeling like an intruder, I was transfixed by rare, personal glimpses into bear life, almost unreal in detail and lighting. The accompanying panels read like a college course in bear biology. Whenever I’m in Pacific Grove, I make a point to visit the museum for its current special exhibit, always of the highest quality. 

Across the street, on Grand Avenue, I entered Back Porch Fabrics, where owner Gail Abeloe and her talented, friendly staff, honor the past while they stretch its limits into the present. This is not your grandmother’s quilt shop. Twenty-foot ceilings and large windows allow the sun to light up the room and its eye riveting displays. I turned slowly ogling walls covered with sample quilts and projects, many corresponding to classes offered throughout the year; I wanted to try them all. Fabrics with bold colors and large patterns line the shelves, tables hold over 1,600 “fat quarters” in a wild spectrum of hues, and over 600 books fill bookcases. In the back room, I loved the freedom of the quilt exhibit “Thinking Outside The Block” and thought it appropriate to this unique shop and the innovative quilters in Monterey County, described to me by Gail. You don’t need to be a quilter to appreciate the talent displayed at this special shop. 

Another type of craft was displayed at Pavel’s Backerie, on Forest Avenue, where proprietor/baker Paul Wainscoat follows in the tradition of his father, creating European style breads and pastries. Never to busy to chat, Paul told me of his family’s history as I struggled to choose among a glistening cinnamon raisin brioche, a huge bear claw, and an exquisite fruit Danish. Bakers from Europe would visit his father and share their expertise, which Paul, his brother and sister, continue today. 

BookWorks, on Lighthouse Avenue, a great, small town bookstore seemed to call out “Come in, enjoy a book, stay awhile.” This ground floor space, with bright windows, comfortable lounge areas, and honor bar for coffee and pastries, resembles a private home with books. Displays of local authors, monthly book club meetings and literary events, a bright cheerful children’s area, and a steady flow of customers with special requests describe this business that values service to its customers and provides just the place to discover a new book. 

On my second day I explored the natural beauty of Pacific Grove’s four-mile Drive, from Lover’s Point Park to Asilomar State Beach. Perfect for a bike ride or a walk, and free of charge, this route along the carefully conserved yet fully accessible coastline and bluffs is testament to the commitment of this community. 

Lover’s Point Park is a lovely spot to spend time, either taking in the views from the grassy bluff, grilling sausages in the picnic area, or getting wet at the small, sandy, protected beach; this is also a popular spot for scuba divers. For the more active, there’s a sand volleyball court and kayak rentals and lessons. 

Anticipating the surprises ahead I followed the coastal path past white-sand beaches, rocky coves, and hundreds of tide pools and wasn’t disappointed. Seals and sea lions draped across the rocks. Sentinel-like cormorants. Graceful brown pelicans gliding just above the water. A Great Blue heron bobbing on a giant kelp bed. Sea stars and anemones exposed in tide pools. Along the trail, landscaped with native plants, are benches with dedications: “pause friends and relax”, “may the beauty of the sea give you peace.”  

Up Asilomar Boulevard is Point Pinos Lighthouse, the oldest continuously operated lighthouse on the West Coast, its 50,000-candlepower beacon shining since 1855. Attractively situated along the public golf course, this small, white, Cape-Cod style, clapboard building took me back in time to the days when this light, once burning sperm whale oil, was the only deterrent to a ship’s crashing on the rocky coast. Inside I followed the tour guide through two Victorian era rooms and learned about Emily Fish who ran the lighthouse in the 1800s. 

As the day neared its end and the sun began its descent, I reached Asilomar Beach, with 100 acres of white dunes, a long wide sandy beach and tide pools rich with marine life. Greeted again with “hellos,” the cries of gulls and the happy bark of frolicking dogs, I walked the boardwalk path as it led me past crashing surf and rocky coastline. What better way could there be than to end the day with a walk on this beach, lingering to appreciate the spectacular display of sand, water and sky. 

Pacific Grove, offering a refuge of charm and natural setting, will haunt you with its presence and taunt you with its absence. You might find yourself, like its famous winged residents, wanting to return every year. 

Getting there: 

Pacific Grove is 120 miles from San Francisco. Take 101 south through San Jose, then 156 west to the coast at Hwy. 1. Follow Hwy. 1 south to 68-exit west to Pacific Grove. 

Where to stay: 

Monterey Peninsula Inns, 1100 Lighthouse Ave. (800) 525-3373. www.montereyinns.com. 

Four inns at affordable rates, doubles from $79. 

Centrella Inn, 612 Central Ave. (831) 373-3372 or (800) 233-3372. ww.centrellainn.com. Victorian rooms from $159. 

Where to eat: 

Toasties Café, 702 Lighthouse Ave. (831) 373-7543. 

Country restaurant serving breakfast ($5 to $8) and lunch ($4 to $9). 

Peppers MexiCali Café, 170 Forest Ave. (831) 373-6892. 

Fresh Mexican with hint of Central American influence, Beef, chicken, seafood entrees from $8 to $17. Open for lunch and dinner.  

Fishwife at Asilomar, 1996 Sunset Dr. (831) 375-7107. www.fishwife.com. California seafood, pasta with Caribbean accent. Serving lunch ($8 to $13) and dinner ($8 to $17). 

What to do: 

Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, 165 Forest Ave. (831) 648-311. www.pgmuseum.org. Open Tues-Sun, 10-5, free. 

Point Pinos Lighthouse, Lighthouse Avenue off Asilomar Boulevard. (831) 648 5716. www.pgmuseum.org. Thurs-Sun 1-4 p.m., free. 

Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce, 584 Central Ave. (831) 373 3304, or (800) 656-6650. www.pacificgrove.org. 

FRIDAY, JUNE 17 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Jaleh Pirnazar on “Iran Struggles for Democracy” 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. 

“Take Back Our Schools” Day On the 51st Anniversary of Brown vs. Board. Rally at noon at Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland. Followed by activities and teach-in. 289-3318, 593-3956. 

“Hip-Hop Culture, Politics and Social Justice” a discussion with with authors Adam Mansbach, Jeff Chang, Tricia Rose and Bakari Kitwana at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

“Awakening to the Divine in Everyday Life” with art therapist Deborah Purdy at 7:30 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. www.sos-ca.org 

Berkeley Chess Club meets Fridays at 8 p.m. at the East Bay Chess Club, 1940 Virginia St. Players at all levels are welcome. 845-1041. 

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

Kirtan, im provisational devotional chanting at 7:30 p.m. at 850 Talbot, at Solano, Albany. Donation $10. 526-9642. 

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

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

SATURDAY, JUNE 18 

Summ er Solstice Celebration and Crafts Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, Center St. at MLK, Jr. Way. 548-3333. 

Temescal Street Fair from noon to 6 p.m. on Telegraph Ave. between 51st and 48th Sts. Music, performances, craft and community booths, and food. 593-9831. 

Berkeley Alliance of Neighborhood Associations meets at 9:15 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Sproul Conference Room, 1st Floor, 2727 College Ave. www.berkeleycna.com  

Berkeley Garden Club Spring Plant Sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 547 Grizzly Peak Blvd., top of euclid. 524-7296. 

Building and Planting for the Birds from 9 a.m. to noon at the U.C. Field Station, Richmond. Help is needed to assemble and paint potting tables to help expand our native plant nursery. Tools provided, but you are welcome to bring your own. Pre-registration required; youth under 18 will need a waiver signed by their parent or guardian. Sponsored by the Watershed Project. 231-5783. www.thewatershedproject.org  

“Recycling, Waste Reduction and the Zero Waste Household” Class includes hands-on activities and a tour of Berkeley recycling facilities. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call for location. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Project Learning Tree A program on forest ecology and environmental issues, design ed for teachers of grades K-12. From 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Cost is $45-$51. Registration required 636-1684. 

Talking with Turtles Meet our resident reptiles and learn about their behaviors at 11 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Butterfly Trading Cards Create your own set of cards to take home, and learn about these insects and the plants they need to survive. From 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. For ages seven and up. Cost is $3-$5. Registration required. 525-2233. 

Walk in the Wild The 12th annual fundraiser for the Oakland Zoo with gourmet foods and wines. Cost is $75-$85. For reservations call 632-9525. www.oaklandzoo.org 

Growing Subtropicals in Bay Area Gardens at 10 a.m. at M agic Gardens, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. 

“Resistance in Haiti” with Haitian-American activist, Lucie Tondreau at 7 p.m. at St. John’s Community Center, 6500 Gladys Ave., El Cerrito. 483-7481. 

Black Community Forum from noon to 3:30 p.m. at the African Ameri can Museum and Library, 659 14th St., Oakland. Sponsored by the Third Baptist Foundation of SF and the Gibbs Community Foundation of Oakland. www.gibbsmagazine.com 

Create a Spiritual Business Plan with Pat Sullivan from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Unity of Berke ley, 2075 Eunice St. Cost is $125. Registration required. 530-0284. 

Child Car Seat Check with the Berkeley Police Dept. from 10 a.m. to noon at the UC Garage on Addison at Oxford. 647-1111. www.habitot.org 

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

Walking Tour of Old Oakland “New Era/New Politics” highlights African-American leaders who have made their mark on Oakland. Meet at 10 a.m. and the African American Museum and Library at 659 14th St. 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

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 

Historical and Botanical Tour of Chapel of the Chimes, a Julia Morgan landmark, at 10 a.m. at 4499 Piedmont Ave. at Pleasant Valley. Reservations required 228-3207.  

New TaKeTiNa Intensive with Zorina Wolf, from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at The Wildcat Studio, 2525 8th St. at Dwight. Cost is $95. 650-493-8046. www.taketina.com 

Faith and Feminism: “Awakening the Energy for Change: The Black Madonna and the Womb of God” a conference from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at GTU, Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. Cost is $95, includes lunch and materials. 849-8268. www. 

gtuss.org/courses/conf.html 

“Inner and Outer Peace Though Meditation” at 3 p.m. at Barnes and Noble Bookstore, Emeryville. 547-0905. 

Kol Hadash Interfaith/ 

Intercultural Picnic from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Terrace Park, Albany. Bring picnic and BBQ items. Sodas, paper goods and grills provided. RSVP to event@kolhadash.org 

SUNDAY, JUNE 19 

Juneteenth on Adeline from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. between Alcatraz and Ashby with live music, arts, crafts, food and cultural activities. www.epicarts.org 

Year of the Estuary: San Pablo Bay Hike Meet at 2 p.m. in the public parking area at Pacific Ave. and San Pablo Ave. in Rodeo to explore the natural history of Lone Tree Point. 525-2233. 

Berkeley CyberSalon “Citizen Journalism” with Dan Gillmor, Becky O’Malley, and Peter Merholz at 6 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St.  

“The Impact of the War on Iraq’s Workers” with two members of the General Union of Oil Workers in Basrah at 6:45 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Sponsored by US Labor Against the War. Donation $5, no one turned away. http://uslaboragainstwar.org 

Hands-On Bicycle Clinic from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Free. 527-4140. 

Father’s Day Campfire and Sing A Long Bring your hot dogs, buns, marshmallows and long sticks at 5:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Dress for fog. We will walk uphill to the campfire circle. Call for disabled assistance. 525-2233. 

Family Violence Prevention Fund 5K Run with the Oakland A’s an d Macy’s at McAfee Coliseum Creekside Parking Lot, north end of D Lot. Registration at 7:30 a.m., run starts at 9 a.m. Cost is $25-$35. www.endabuse.org 

“Darwinism and Religion” with Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist C hurch of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302. 

“Mahatma’s Experiments with Christ: Gandhi and Christ” a discussion with Bharathi Nuthalapati, a doctoral student at the Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena at noon at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 310 0 Telegraph Ave. 848-8821. 

Berkeley Oakland Lesbians Diners Dinner at a Berkeley restaurant. For more information and to join BOLD, please go to http://groups.yahoo.com/ 

group/BOLDiners 

Introduction to the Alexander Technique from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

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 

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 Sylvia Gretchen on “Healing Pain” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Multicultur al Shavuot Festival with food, crafts, workshops, music and dancing at 1 p.m. at BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

MONDAY, JUNE 20 

Arthur Blaustein and Kris Novoselic talk about citizen action and civic engagement in the age of Bush at 7:30 p.m. at Black O ak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Summer Solstice Gathering at 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Interim Solar Calendar Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley Marina, including a brief astronomy workshop led by Tory Brady, Exploratorium Teacher Institute. 

Summer Scie nce Week “Insects and Plants” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mon. - Fri. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $160 Berkeley residents, $176 non-residents. Registration required. 636-1684. 

Cancelled: “RFID: What's It All About?” a Community Informational Forum at 6:30 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Sponsored by the Berkeley Public Library. 981-6195. 

“Citizen Action and Civic Engagement in the Age of Bush” with Arthur Blaustein and Kris Novoselic at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books, 1491 Shattuck Ave. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Tenant’s Rights Workshop at 6 p.m. at the Long Haul Info 

shop 3124 Shattuck Ave. www.barringtoncollective.org 

Conflict Resolution Skills Class at 7 p.m. at Oscar Wilde Co-op, 2410 Warring St. Learn about different appr oaches to conflict, your conflict style, active listening, effective communication, and the basic philosophies that aid in transforming interpersonal conflict. www.barringtoncollective.org 

“Story Tells” A story swap with storytellers and story listeners a t 7 p.m., special guest Mary Ellen Hill, local professional storyteller at 8 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Jack London Square, 98 Broadway, Oakland. 527-1141.  

“Honoring Our Parents: Two Jewish Sons Remember” with journalists and authors Ari Goldm an and Samuel Freedman, at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Netivot Shalom, 1316 University Ave. 549-9447. 

Summer Reading Game “Search for Dragonfire” open to children of all ages at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. The reading game continues through August 20. 5 26-3720. 

Philip Roth Book Club meets at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $10. Registration required. 848-0237, ext. 110. 

TUESDAY, JUNE 21 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers Join a few slowpoke seniors at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot near the Little Far m for an hour or two walk. 215-7672, 524-9992. 

Summer Solstice Words and Music Bring your guitars, drums and poetry from 11 a.m. to noon at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

“Cuba: 45 Years of Struggle against U.S. Imperialism” at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Unitarian Fellowship, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Donation $3-$10 benefits the ongoing work of the Committee to Free the Cuban Five. To reserve free childcare call 415-821-6545.  

“The Case for Affirmative Action in University Admissions” with Bob Laird, Director of Undergraduate Admissions at UCB, at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books, 1491 Shattuck Ave. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

“History of the Tele Times” a screening and discussion of the underground magazine with BN Duncan, Claire Burch and Ace Backw ards at 7 p.m. at Book Zoo, 2556 Telegraph Ave. 883-1332. 

Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation at 10 a.m. at 6230 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Advance sign-up needed 594-5165. 

Poetry as a Spiritual Practice with Roy Doughty at 7 p.m. at Unity of Ber keley, 2075 Eunice St. Free. 271-8318. 

“Pacing Yourself for Optimum Functioning” at noon in the Mafly Auditorium, Alta Bates, Herrick Campus, 2001 Dwight Way. Sponsored by Arthritis Foundation/Fibromyalgia. 644-3273. 

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

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22 

Return of the Over-the-Hills Gang Hikers 55 years and older who are interested in nature study, history, fitness, and fun are invited to join us on a series of monthly excursions exploring our Regional Parks. Meets at 10 a.m. To register call 525-2233.  

Insects for Kids A free class for children ages 5-10, at 9 a.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. www.barringtoncollective.org 

Walking Tour of Historic Oakland Churches and Temples Meet at 10 a.m. at the front of the First Prebyterian Church at 2619 Broadway. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. www. 

oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

“Wildly Successful Plants of Northern California,” a slide show with Pam Peirce at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-2220. 

Jefferson Elementary School Proposed Name Change Public Hearing at 6:30 p.m. at at Old City Hall Council Chambers, 2134 MLK Jr. Way. www.berk eley.k12.ca.us 

Berkeley Unified School District Public Hearing on the 2005-6 Budget at 7:30 p.m. at Old City Hall Council Chambers, 2134 MLK Jr. Way. www.berkeley.k12.ca.us 

Dine Out and Silent Auction for African AIDS Orphans at Unicorn, 2533 Telegraph Av e. Co-sponsored by Priority Africa Network, ACT UP East Bay and others. For reservations call 841-4339. 

“Zar-Reet!” a documentary of two Moroccan woman, by Albany resident Khadijah Chadly, at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 16. 

“Lethal Medicine” a documentary on the myths of animal experimentation, at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Free, but $5 donations accepted. 925-487-4419. 

“Planning Ahead: Sparing Your Heirs with a Living Trust” at 1:30 p.m. at North B erkeley Senior Center. Sponsored by Berkeley Gray Panthers. 548-9696. 

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

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

THURSDAY, JUNE 23 

Wellstone Democratic Club at 6:45 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Social hour at 6 p.m. Don Hazen from Alternet.com w ill speak about a national progressive strategy. 

Beginning and Intermediate Computer Workshop for all ages, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Long Haul, 3124 Shattuck Ave. Free, but registration required. call after 6 p.m. 540-0751. 

Local Legends Series with Judy G rahn on women’s spirituality and lesbian feminism at 7 p.m. at Belladonna, 2436 Sacramento St. 883-0600. 

Easy Does It Disability Assistance Board of Directors’ Meeting at 6:30 p.m. at 1744A University Ave. Open to the public. 845-5513. www.easyland.org 

St eps to Buying Your Own Home at 7 p.m. at Shaw Properties, 400 45th St., Oakland. Includes the process of pre-approval for financing, including income requirements and credit issues, and finding a realtor. www.barringtoncollective.org 

American Red Cross Mobile Blood Drive, 1 to 7 p.m. at St. Mary Magdalen, 2005 Berryman St. To make an appointment call 1-800-448-3543. www.BeADonor.com 

ONGOING 

Summer Camps for Children offered by the City of Berkeley, including swimming, sports and twilight basketball, from June 20 to August 12, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 981-5150, 981-5153. 

Free Lunches for Berkeley Children beginning June 20, Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Frances Albrier Center, James Kenney Center, MLK, Jr. Youth Services Center, Strawberry Creek, Washingt on School and Rosa Parks School. 981-5146. 

CITY MEETINGS 

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board meets Mon. June 20 at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, Pam Wyche, 644-6128 ext. 113. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/rent 

Creeks Task Force meets Mon. June 20 at 7 p.m. at t he North Berkeley Senior Center. Erin Dando, 981-7410. www.ci.ber- 

keley.ca.us/planning/landuse/Creeks/default.html 

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon., June 20 at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St. 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

citycouncil/agenda-committee 

City Council meets Tues., June 21, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Citizens Budget Review Commission meets Wed., June 22, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7041. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/budget 

Civic Arts Commission meets Wed., June 22, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Mary Ann Merker, 981-7533. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/civicarts 

Disaster Council meets Wed., June 22 at 7 p.m., at the Emergency Operations Center, 997 Cedar St. William Greulich, 981-5502. www.ci.berkeley.ca. us/commissions/disaster 

Energy Commission meets Wed., June 22, at 6:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Neal De Snoo, 981-5434. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/energy 

Planni ng Commission meets Wed., June 22, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Janet Homrighausen, 981-7484. www.ci.berkeley. ca.us/commissions/planning 

Police Review Commission meets Wed. June 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-4950. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/policereview 

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., June 23, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. Mark Rhoades, 981-7410. www.ci.ber 

keley.ca.us/commissions/zoning?n

The latest addition to Berkeley’s growing “popup” house collection got the go-ahead from Zoning Adjustments Board members Thursday despite nearly unanimous neighborhood opposition. 

A trio of developers won approval of their plan to turn a single-story Victorian cottage at 2901 Otis St. into the upper floor of a three-floor trio of three-bedroom condos that will rise above the other homes on the block. 

A poll conducted by neighbors counted 47 residents opposed, four in favor and one ambivalent—numbers that developer Eric Geleynse blamed on “one of the neighbors (who) has effectively whipped up the neighbors into being strongly opposed.” 

Earlier, Geleynse said, “most people were happy that blight was going to be removed.” 

“The only four residents who said they were in favor are all connected with the developer,” charged neighbor David Raymond. 

Neighbors tried to stall the project by presenting a petition calling for a landmark designation for the property, but the effort failed at a short-handed Landmarks Preservation Commission on June 6, where the proposal managed to win a majority of members on hand but failed to capture the five votes needed for passage. 

The Otis Street popup follows in the wake of ZAB’s approval last month of the “Flying Cottage” at 3045 Shattuck Ave., where another modest cottage was raised up atop a two-story plywood shell. 

Neighbors also charged that the structure was out of character with the neighborhood, overshadowed nearby homes and posed the threat of yet more parking on seriously overcrowded streets. 

In both cases, neighbors were thwarted in their attempts to stop the development by municipal zoning codes that allowed such changes. 

In the case of the Flying Cottage, the issue was zoning along the Shattuck Avenue commercial corridor, where three-story buildings can be built at will. 

In the case of the Queen Anne house on Otis, the issue was R-4 zoning, which favors multiple-family residential structures. The developers’ plans fell well within the code’s provisions, which allow three-story units without a use permit and up to six stories with a permit. 

Though some ZAB members—most vocally, architect Robert Allen—said they didn’t like the idea in concept, only Allen and Dean Metzger voted against the project. 

“If I lived in the neighborhood I’d be upset,” said Allen, “but we’re here to administer the zoning code, which is terribly inadequate... It’s clearly zoned for that height.” 

Allen ridiculed the code’s notion that inhabitants of each of the units would restrict themselves to one car, “even though we know that that’s not going to happen.” 

Finally, he found fault with a design that replaced the present home’s graceful Victorian porch and entry with a more mundane entry, flush with the wall. 

Still, he said, “the architect has done a very good job, unlike another flying house I won’t mention by name.” 

The project, developed by Geleynse and partners Xin Jin and Danny Tran, calls for 4,436 square feet of housing on a a 5,015-square-foot lot. 

Neighbor David Raymond, who lives next door to the project at 1930 Russell St., charged that the actual lot was closer to 4,984 square feet, which would make it too small to meet the 5,000-square-foot minimum the code requires. 

City records support the larger measurement. 

Geleynse defended the plan’s inclusion of only three on-site parking slots because, he said, “our belief is that the owners will be transit-oriented families” who will take advantage of the Ashby BART station two blocks to the south. 

“If that were true of our neighborhood, our neighborhood would have adequate parking spaces,” said neighbor Dean Mayeron. 

Ross Blum, who lives on Russell Street across from the cottage, charged that “with three spaces on the lot, there’s going to be more (cars) on the street,” and even more if parking fees are imposed on the BART lot. 

Geleynse depicted the project as a boon for the city, which would more than double the property taxes while removing urban blight and “adding three units of affordability with a block of BART.” 

The developer said he estimated that each of the units would sell for about half-a-million dollars. 

“Who is it that thinks this is an affordable home when you have to pay $500,000 for a condo?” scoffed ZAB member Jesse Anthony, who is African American. “Are they trying to drive us out of this town? Something is wrong when they say $500,000 is low-income. Puh-lease!” 

Critics in the audience applauded his comments. 

“The idea of demolishing this house is a very painful and unpleasant idea. It shouldn’t happen. It should be repaired and used as housing for a family,” said ZAB member Carrie Sprague. 

“There are no development standards for units in R-4,” lamented member David Blake. “It’s wide open.” But, he acknowledged, “by the spirit of the code, it fits the code and because it’s a corner lot, I don’t see how we’re going to change it.” 

Allen proposed delaying the vote until the developers submitted designs for an entry that was more in character with the existing structure, and Geleynse declared that he would do just that. 

Things got testy when chair Andy Katz said, “It’s really clear to me that the project falls within the inclusionary ordinance because it falls within the R-4 zone and it could support five units.” 

The inclusionary ordinance is a provision in state law that requires affordable housing units in all new developments of five of more units. 

Allen criticized Katz for raising the issue. “It’s politically motivated,” he declared. 

“It’s not motivated by anything other than meeting the goals of the General Plan and meeting the needs for affordable housing in this city,” Katz responded, adding that inclusionary standards would call for six-tenths of a unit—closer to a whole unit of affordable housing than not. 

Allen called Katz’s comments “counter to everything the neighbors have asked us to do. It’s really obscene.” 

“We know that we’re being cheated out of affordable units,” declared Anthony.  

But the conditional approval passed, with only Metzger and Allen in opposition. The rest said they felt bound by a code that clearly allowed the project to go forward.

The City Council will yet again Tuesday be asked to weigh in on the fate of 11 artisans refusing to leave their homes at an illegal live-work West Berkeley warehouse. 

In an effort to speed up evictions at the East Bay Drayage, the owner, Lawrence White, last week submitted plans to demolish the warehouse’s two dozen interior units. City officials have said the permit can be granted within a week and without a public hearing. However, Councilmember Dona Spring is asking the council to require the Zoning Adjustments Board to rule on the permit, a process which could take several months. 

Spring has failed in previous attempts to ask the council to intervene in city planning matters. 

Joan MacQuarrie, a city building official, said White’s permit submittal last week was flawed, but if he resubmitted it early this week, the city could rule on it within by the end of the week. 

Time is of the essence for both sides. Having incurred over $100,000 in city fines for not evacuating the warehouse by April 15, White is eager to obtain the demolition permit to hasten eviction proceedings. Meanwhile, the tenants hope that by stalling the process they can pressure White to accept an offer on the property from the Northern California Land Trust, which has pledged to bring the building up to code and give residents the opportunity to buy their units. 

According to Jeffrey Carter, the tenants’ legal advisor, White and the Land Trust have resumed sale negotiations after talks stalled last month. 

As for the interior demolition permits, Spring and the tenants have argued that the zoning ordinance requires that the demolition of rental units go before the ZAB. However, Berkeley Zoning Officer Mark Rhoades contends that since the residences were never legally established they are not subject to the requirement for a public hearing. 

Commissions 

The council Tuesday will also consider a new compromise plan to slightly reduce the number of meetings scheduled for several of the city’s 44 citizen commissions. The plan, submitted by City Manager Phil Kamlarz, calls for the meeting for 15 commissions to be reduced from 11 a year to nine, with the right to request a tenth meeting.  

As part of a pilot program, 12 more commissions would be permitted to prepare their own meeting minutes and agenda to relieve the burden on city staff. If the experiment proves successful, Kamlarz said, he would extend it to other commissions.  

According to Kamlarz’s report, the city spends $200 to staff a commission meeting. The proposal would also combine the Disaster Council with the Fire Safety Commission, which city officials have maintained serve similar purposes. Disaster Council members have argued that a merger would overburden them and harm the city’s preparedness for an earthquake or fire. 

Budget 

With the council required to adopt a balanced budget by the end of the month, Tuesday’s meeting features several proposals from councilmembers for initiatives they would like to see funded. Although the city is cutting expenses to close a $8.9 million general fund deficit, an unexpected windfall from property-based taxes has given the council some extra money to fund programs.  

The council wish list includes a $50,000 request by councilmembers Linda Maio and Darryl Moore to build a fence at a soon-to-be-constructed four-block bike path running from Delaware Street across University Avenue. The fence had been promised to neighbors concerned that the bike path would invite burglars at night, but rising steel prices have made the original design at University Avenue unfeasible. 

Councilmember Maio, in response to several neighborhood complaints of train conductors sounding their horns too loudly, is also asking for $120,000 for the city to install warning signals at train intersections that would make less noise than the train horn. 

Councilmembers Laurie Capitelli, Gordon Wozniak and Spring are asking the council to approve $80,000 to pay for the Berkeley Guides for one-half year. They hope that the Downtown Berkeley Association by then will have raised enough money to pay for the rest of the program, aimed at serving patrons of downtown businesses. If the DBA doesn’t raise the money, Councilmembers Moore and Wozniak have proposed that the city pay for the entire year at $163,000. 

Councilmembers Moore and Max Anderson are asking for $50,000 to study the creation of a youth center in South or West Berkeley. 

Also on Tuesday, representatives from city-funded non-profits will make presentations to the council regarding the budget. 

Parking  

The council will be asked Tuesday to approve $61,418 for a consultant’s report on real-time signs alerting motorists about available parking spaces in Berkeley lots. The city has been moving ahead with the program, estimated to cost $1.2 million to install and $212,000 a year to operate. The city hopes to share the costs with private lot operators and UC Berkeley. 

The council will also vote Tuesday on whether to refinance bonds for seismic upgrades of the Center Street and Sather Gate parking lots. By refinancing the bonds, issued in 1994, the city expects to save $1 million to use for parking improvements. 

›

With a proposed tax increase on wealthy Californians no longer in play and a comprehensive education plan by legislative Democrats yet to be released, education leaders are divided on what concrete commitments they actually have from State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata on education funding. 

“We got some face time for Berkeley educators with the state senator, which is always good,” incoming Berkeley PTA Council President Wanda Stewart said of a meeting earlier this month between Perata, and representatives of the Berkeley and state PTA organizations. “But the specific education legislation is still to be determined. We all agreed to work together for educational funding in a general way. It was real general stuff.” 

In an e-mail released following the Perata-PTA meeting, Berkeley PTA Council Legislation Committee Chair Cynthia Papermaster said that “Sen. Perata will let [the California State PTA Legislation Chair] know by Friday what the proposed plan is. ... We will have a very short period in which to lobby legislators, especially those who are reluctant to be associated with a tax hike.” 

Papermaster continued, “Alternatively, the plan may be to put an initiative on the November special election to ask the voters to approve the increased education funding.” 

At the end of the meeting, Perata (D-Oakland) signed the California PTA “Make California Schools Great Again” agenda which included a general call to ensure public education is the “number one budget priority” in California, preservation of Proposition 98, and support for a plan to put California schools among the top ten in the nation by 2015. 

Proposition 98 is the 1996 California voter-approved California Constitutional amendment that was supposed to guarantee minimum funding for the state’s public schools. Last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made what he called “temporary cuts” to those education funding guarantees. The governor is now proposing to make some of those cuts permanent. 

While Stewart called the goals of the proposed California PTA agenda “good,” the added that it was vague enough that “anybody could have signed it.”  

Perata told meeting participants that his office would release a “Make California Schools Great Again” legislative plan by the end of next week, and was working on plans to put a $2 billion to $3 billion education tax on this November’s special education ballot targeted specifically towards Californians with incomes over $250,000. 

Both the legislative plan and the proposed tax increase ballot measure were in response to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cutbacks in the state’s education budget. 

But a report in the Matier and Ross column in the San Francisco Chronicle said this week that at the request of the state’s “education lobby,” the proposed tax-the-wealthy measure will not go on the November ballot. In addition, the “Make California Schools Great Again” plan is a week late, and no details of the proposal have yet been released. 

Local education leaders believe that the “Make California Schools Great Again” plan at least initially included the proposed ballot tax measure. 

Incoming Berkeley PTA Council President Stewart said that Perata told the group that “Republicans were not expected to support the tax increase on the wealthy proposal, and Democrats did not want to hold up passage of the state budget by pushing for it.” 

Stewart added that Perata reported that “Arnold said we could put it on the ballot.” 

A spokesperson for the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), the AFL-CIO affiliated state teachers union, said that his organization had asked Democratic leaders to pull the wealth-tax proposal out of this year’s budget, but only for “pragmatic reasons.” 

CFT “has always supported a fair and progressive tax policy,” CFT Communications Director Fred Glass said in a telephone interview, adding that Republican governors Pete Wilson and Ronald Reagan “both supported temporary tax increases for the rich during economic crises in the state.” 

Glass said that while his organization was in favor of a “tax on upper income Californians to fund the gap between what Gov. Schwarzenegger promised for education and what he actually put in the budget ... we weren’t going to get it passed, and that would have pushed the budget past the deadline.” 

Representatives of the 335,000 member California Teachers Association—the rival organization to the CFT—could not be reached for comment for this story, but in the past they have been critical of State Sen. Perata’s recent positions on public education funding. 

After Perata said last February that Prop. 98’s automatic funding increases was hurting other important parts of the state budget, calling it an “escalator without a pause,” the CTA sent mailers into the senator’s East Bay district stating that “In siding with Governor Schwarzenegger, Don Perata is breaking his promise to support funding for local public schools.” 

In addition, the organization put up posters on fences and telephone polls throughout the district stating “Shame On You Senator Perata. Stop Caving In To Governor Schwarzenegger And Protect Public School Funding!” 

In response, Perata sent out a letter to constituents late last month saying that while “I have always fought for increased educational funding ... California faces a five billion dollar budget shortfall. Under Proposition 98, regardless of our revenues, 40 percent of our state’s budget goes to education. ... Regrettably, Proposition 98 pits education against services for the blind, disabled and elderly. ... Currently, we are in the untenable position of choosing between providing the bare necessities to the sick and opportunity for our young.” 

That would seem to indicate that Perata still has concerns about Prop 98. But the representative of the CFT—which did not have a hand in the CTA posters, saying “we favored a more subtle approach”—said his organization believes that Perata is now a supporter once more of Proposition 98. 

While “initially it was true” that Perata wanted to cut the Prop. 98 guarantees, CFT’s Glass said, “We think he has moved off of that position. He’s now clear that Prop 98 is important, and he’s staunchly defending it.”›

Several Berkeley residents living near the railroad have a message for train conductors who blast past their homes night and day: “Don’t blow your horn.” 

“It’s a piercingly loud sort of sound, like someone leaning on the horn of an old Ford,” said Rudi Widman, who lives on Seventh Street. 

Some engineers just lean on the horn along the whole corridor, said Sandy Simon, who lives on Fifth Street. 

“Their message is ‘I’m awake and the rest of Berkeley should be too,’” she said. 

Now, Councilmember Linda Maio is proposing that the city spend $120,000 to install less invasive warning signals at three North Berkeley railroad crossings—Gilman Street, Cedar Street and Hearst Avenue. 

Currently train conductors have no option other than to sound their horns, said John Bromley, spokesperson for Union Pacific Railroad. 

Federal law requires that trains issue a warning of at least 96 decibels—slightly louder than a lawn mower—when approaching a crossing. 

Neighbors insist some conductors sound their horn louder than required. Maio said conductors quieted their horns for several months last year after the city conveyed its concerns to Union Pacific, but recently the horns have been blowing louder and complaints have been increasing. 

“There’s always this uneven response,” Maio said. “For a while it gets better, but then it’s bad again.” 

Her proposal calls for installing a device at railroad crossings that would play a recording of a train horn. Although the sound would still be at 96 decibels, it would be concentrated directly on the street, so that motorists might be shaken, but residents on nearby blocks would be spared. 

Since the train has to blow its horn a quarter-mile before it hits the intersection, the noise typically rattles several blocks. 

“If that makes it less loud, it would be great,” Widman said. 

Bromley of Union Pacific said the new horns have proven successful in Fremont and Riverside, but in those cities, as well as Berkeley, the railroad won’t pay for the upgrade. 

“It’s a quality of life issue for cities to deal with,” he said. “If they want a more advanced system they should pay for it.” 

Bromley said Union Pacific has faced an increasing number of horn complaints across the country, a phenomenon he chalks up to increased development near railroad tracks. 

“It’s always surprising to us that people buy homes near train tracks and then complain about noise,” he said. 

Recent developments in Berkeley are housing more residents close to the tracks. The latest project, proposed by Urban Housing Group, is a condominium project slated to hold over 200 units at Fourth and Addison streets. 

Railroads first ran cars along Third Street in West Berkeley in 1877, a year before the city became incorporated. Although there were homes already clustered around the tracks when they were laid, Lesley Emmington of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association said that the oldest home currently in West Berkeley dates back to 1878.

The Zoning Adjustments Board’s decision Thursday to approve a use permit for remodeling the recently landmarked monolithic block building at 2750 Adeline St. marked the end of an era for South Berkeley. 

Like the Drayage in West Berkeley, the 12,417-square-foot three-story Adeline Street building is a former warehouse that was transformed into low-rent live/work units for artists. 

And in both cases, a sale spelled the end of what tenants regarded as a uniquely creative community. 

While the sale of the Drayage fell through, inspections by the Fire Department and city building inspector resulted in demands for evictions from units that failed to meet city codes. The West Berkeley warehouse is the location of an ongoing battle between the owner, city officials and renters as most live/work tenants have gradually and reluctantly departed. 

In the case of Adeline Street, a court battle and ensuing evictions resulted from the sale of the building to Sasha Shamszad, a photographer and property developer, who plans to move a catering service and school into the first floor and his photo studio with wife Meredith’s future office and art therapy class space on the second floor. 

For ZAB members, the most controversial part of his plan involves the existing third floor and his plan to add a partial fourth floor on the roof to form a 5,000-square residence for himself. 

But for Natasha Shawver, the real issue has always been the eviction of her family and tenants of four other live/work units after Shamszad bought the building in May 2001 for an undisclosed sum. 

The structure had a long history as an artists’ haven, and its former occupants have included noted underground comic artists R. Crumb and Dori Seda. 

Shawver, who lived in the building for two decades and fought her eviction in court, was on hand Thursday to protest the permit. Her protest stirred an angry retort from Shamszad, who spent a lot of his time complaining about the former tenants and the intricacies of Berkeley bureaucracy. 

The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), regarded by many developers as a stumbling block to well-laid plans, has already signed off on the project, giving their permission for Shamszad to install large areas of windows along the street facades. 

Known to the LPC as Frederick H. Dakin Warehouse, the structure—built in the wake of the disastrous 1906 earthquake—features the fireproof building block which was manufactured by the warehouse’s builder and namesake. 

Designed by noted Berkeley architect Walter H. Ratcliff and George T. Plowman, the building was designated a city landmark on Aug. 9, 2004. 

When it comes to the interior of the landmark—something over which the LPC has no sway—Berkeley planner Steve Solomon told ZAB that in the city staff’s opinion, “the 5,000-square-foot single-family unit is possibly inappropriate, too large,” and they preferred two units in the space instead of one. 

“If you agree with staff, the cleanest solution is to get rid of the fourth floor,” he said, adding that they ultimately gave a reluctant approval to the plans. 

Solomon said he considered Shawver’s complaints irrelevant, “because in staff’s opinion there were no legal tenants because the [live/work units] had never been sanctioned by the city building department.” 

City officials raised the same argument in the context of the Drayage. 

Shamszad’s tenants were evicted under provisions the state’s 1986 Ellis Act, which gives landlords the right to evict tenants when they remove their property from the rental market. 

Rent Board member Jesse Arreguin appeared at Thursday’s meeting to protest “the loss of affordable artist space and housing,” a subject he said planning staff had failed to address in their report. 

Arreguin urged ZAB and staff to consult with the Rent Board whenever projects involved the loss of rental housing, noting that the rent board and planning ordinances contain conflict definitions of legal housing units. 

Asked by ZAB member David Blake why there wasn’t a parking space in the building for his own residence, Shamszad initially contended that the buildings structure prevented installation of an internal parking space—only to be contradicted by his own architect. 

Member Bob Allen found no flaws in the developer’s plans. 

“It’s a total dog of a building, and I am totally mystified as to why (the LPC) should have any say over ugly buildings,” he said. “It will do a lot for that neighborhood and a lot for the street.” 

When Blake said he was ready to approve the building as submitted, without the parking space Blake requested, the board majority agreed, approving Shamszad’s plan by a seven-two margin, with only Katz and Rick Judd in opposition. 

Picketers gathered outside the main gate of UC Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station (RFS) Monday morning—but unlike other protests there, this one wasn’t directed at the toxins polluting the site. 

Monday’s protesters were members of the Coalition of University Employees (CUE), participating in the third such walkout by UC unions since mid-April. 

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees held their three-day strike starting on April 14, followed by the University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Worker of America on May 26. 

While CUE is currently negotiating with the university over a new contract, the union’s statewide steward and UC Berkeley library employee Margy Wilkinson said this week’s walkout concerns the union’s 2003-2004 contract. 

Union members haven’t seen a contract increase since October 2002, said Wilkinson, despite an independent arbitrator finding that “[t]here is no question that the university is in a position to afford a wage increase for the clerical employees.”  

Arbitrator Gerald McKay held recently that the system’s “claim that it does not have the money to spend on them is not supported by the evidence.” 

But that doesn’t mean campus unions are ignoring the toxins at the Field Station, which is slated for massive construction efforts as the shoreline facility is redeveloped as a corporate/academic research park. 

Unions seek toxin info 

Joan Lichterman, Occupational Safety and Health officer for UC Berkeley members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), said the CUE filed a formal request in April asking the university for information including names and amounts of toxic chemicals at the site. 

CUE, which represents UC clerical employees, is also asking for a list of past and present workers at the site. 

Lichterman said the union has already identified one worker who has tested positive for mercury in her system and said a second case of possible toxic exposure is also under investigation. 

Lichterman said the university had not responded to the request by last Friday and added that other campus unions are planning to file similar requests. 

The UC Field Station—or Bayside Research Campus as it has been renamed for its latest planned incarnation—is built on the site where a manufacturing plant turned mercury into blasting caps over the course of a century. Mercury is toxic to the nervous systems and is known to cause birth defects in cases of large exposures. 

In addition, the neighboring Campus Bay site houses a massive quantity of toxins, now buried under a thin concrete cap. 

Previous protests at the site drew members of Bay Area Residents for Responsible Development and the Richmond Progressive Alliance during their ultimately successful campaign to force the state to give cleanup jurisdiction over both sites to the State Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). 

Lichterman said UC supervisors took names of RFS employees who attended a May 19 meeting at the Field Station featuring Contra Costa County Public Health Director Dr. Wendel Brunner and Dr. Richard Kreutzer, chief of the Environmental Health Investigative Branch of the state Department of Health Services. 

After the meeting, Lichterman said, “all the Field Station people were notified that they were not to spread rumor about the site next door (Campus Bay) or talk about environmental hazards or they would face discipline.” 

UC Berkeley officials didn’t respond to questions about the warnings by deadline Monday.  

Several RFS workers approached by a reporter have refused to comment on the subject. 

Cherokee Simeon Ventures is the developer of Campus Bay and has been selected by the university as the proposed developer of the UC site. 

The firm is a special purpose corporation formed by developer Simeon Properties and Cherokee Investment Partners, an international financing company that specializes in building projects on cleaned-up toxic waste sites. 

Cherokee’s plans for a 1331-unit housing unit at Campus Bay have been temporarily shelved pending the outcome of further toxics investigations at the site and a ruling by DTSC of the suitability of building a high-rise condo project atop a mound of 350,000 cubic yards of buried waste. 

Some of the toxins generated by the manufacture of pesticides, acids and other chemicals at the Campus Bay site are also present at RFS in addition to the mercury. 

State actions 

DTSC spokesperson Angela Blanchette said her agency is currently gathering information on toxins at RFS and Campus Bay. The state recently allocated money for a study of possible soil gas intrusions into the existing buildings at the Campus Bay office park, which should commence by the end of August. 

Blanchette said the agency is closely monitoring investigations by the state Department of Health Services and the Contra Costa Health Department of an RFS program that has students working on restoring a section of the field station’s shoreline march. 

“Our understanding is that the area has been remediated by the (San Francisco Bay Regional) Water Control Board, but we are following things closely,” she said.  

No strike impact, says UC 

Noel Van Nyhuis, spokesperson for University of California President Robert C. Dynes said Monday that the union walkout isn’t legal because it’s being conducted while union officials and university representatives are in the midst of negotiations for a new contract. 

Van Nyhuis said that of the system’s 17,000 employees only 600 to 700 didn’t report to work Monday. 

“The strike is having no effect on university operations,” he said. 

UC Berkeley spokesperson Noel Gallagher said only scattered pickets have appeared on campus. “We’ve been able to keep classes going, and nothing has been shut down because of the strike,” she said.›

The longtime manager of the Berkeley Community Theater has reportedly been placed on administrative leave, but because the Berkeley Unified School District will not comment on the reported action or even confirm it, there is no official word as to how long the leave may last, and what might be the cause. 

Berkeley High School staff members reported that a notice was placed on the office door of Theater Manager Judd Owens last week stating that Owens was on administrative leave, with no further explanation. 

Owens was not on campus and was not available for comment. 

BUSD Superintendent Michele Lawrence said by telephone that she could not comment on any personnel matters. 

BUSD Public Information Officer Mark Coplan also declined to comment on the administrative leave question, although he did release brief information about Owens’ employment history. 

Owens has worked as theater manager for three decades. In recent years, the position was transferred from the district to the Berkeley High School budget, according to Coplan. He said that in addition to managing the high school’s Community Theater and Little Theater, Owens also provides “facilities support” for the high school. 

“He sets up the large meetings that we have in the high school library, for example,” Coplan said. 

Coplan said that Owens also worked “for several decades” in the BUSD Facilities Department. 

Recently, BUSD officials have expressed concern about the cost of running the 3,000-seat Community Theater, which is used for high school, community and commercial events. 

Earlier this year, Superintendent Lawrence proposed restricting the use of the theater to the high school while the district studied the theater’s finances. But that proposal was put on hold, Coplan said, after staff indicated that the theater’s reported losses might actually be coming from its use by the high school.

BERLIN—Berlin’s annual Turkish-European Street Festival tries to bring a dose of Near-Eastern culture to a stubbornly white European town. You can buy kafta and börek in the booths and pretend, for one afternoon, that the “Strasse des 17. Juni” is a boulevard in Istanbul. But this year, in the wake of three decisive elections in Europe—two defeats for the E.U. constitution, plus a regional victory for the German right—the street fair’s motto, “We Are Europeans,” had a forced multicultural spirit that not even the festival-goers believed.  

“I have a German passport, but I’m still a foreigner,” said Aynur Aktürk, a woman of about 40 with hay-colored, gray-streaked hair, who moved to Berlin from Turkey as a teenager and now has two German-born kids. “My husband and I have jobs, we’re lucky. But if we lose our jobs, I don’t know what will happen. Germany is my home now, but it could change.” She munched thoughtfully on a sandwich. “Germany could change again. The people aren’t happy.”  

The mood at the fair was subdued, compared to previous years, Akturk said. “It’s not as full as it normally is. And you don’t see many Germans.”  

The frustrations that handed Gerhard Schroeder’s party a defeat last month in North Rhine-Westphalia, and forced him to call a snap national election in the fall—high unemployment, welfare reform—have sent Germans as well as Turks to their nationalistic corners. Schroeder and Jacques Chirac both championed the idea that Turkey belongs in the EU, but voters didn’t like it. The drubbing both men received at the polls last month has been read, not just by Turks, as a fear of immigrants.  

“The elections in Germany and the referendum in France are the first signs,” wrote Turkish columnist Emin Colasan in the Istanbul daily Hurriyet. “Europeans do not want us, and they are making it more clear with their choice now ... Slowly parties that say ‘No’ to Turkey will take over governments in Europe.” The Economist magazine reckoned that both the French and Dutch EU referendums showed “growing hostility around Europe ... to the idea of taking in poor, big and Muslim Turkey.”  

But Turks here, like other immigrants to Europe, still do the sort of work most natives try to avoid. Aynur and Sezai Aktürk have factory jobs. He works in a Berlin aluminum foundry, she works for Bosch-Siemens. They came to Germany about 25 years ago—separately—because their fathers had been guest workers. Hundreds of thousands of Turkish men settled here between 1961 and 1974, while West Berlin had a labor agreement with Ankara. They were a cheap work force that fueled West Germany’s “economic miracle.”  

The guest workers were allowed to bring in wives and children; now Berlin has the largest concentration of Turks in the world outside Turkey. Around 2 million Turks live in Germany, about 2.4 percent of the population. But they’re not integrated, and they don’t feel secure.  

“You feel at home in your homeland, not in some other country,” Sezai said, squinting up the Strasse des 17. Juni and wiping his mustache with a napkin. “If things get bad for us here, perhaps we’ll go back.”  

“I’d rather stay,” said his wife.  

The state of Turkish Germans now might be compared to the status of unintegrated Italian-Americans in the 1950s: The parents are traditional, heavily accented, sometimes religious. Their kids speak German, act cool, and try to fit in. (Aynur and Sezai make up a middle generation.) But nothing in German or European history guarantees that a third or fourth generation of Turkish Germans will adjust to Berlin the way Italian-Americans have adjusted to New York. America has never been a nation-state, for one thing; and the most interesting side of the EU project—the idea that Europe could move beyond its nation-state traditions and become more integrated, more open, more American—is stuck in the economic mud.  

Besides, becoming German has never been exactly cool. The surprise of the afternoon at the Turkish-European fair was that even a table of modern teenage girls, all speaking fluid German and wearing jeans and red T-shirts—each with a different spangled letter on the front—was so full of defiant ethnic pride.  

“We’re all Berliners, but we miss Turkey,” said Banu, from the Black Sea province of Samsun, who was brought here by her parents. “We go back every year. And we’re proud of being Turkish. That’s why we’re here.”  

What did their T-shirts spell?  

“Türkiye!” they shouted.  

“We’re cheerleaders,” blurted Melek, from Istanbul, who seemed as chirpy as any mall-raised girl from California. “No, just kidding.” 

Michael Scott Moore is a novelist and reporter living in Berlin. His first novel, “Too Much of Nothing,” is out from Carroll & Graf.  

›

Peralta Community College Trustees will consider the growing cost of building the new Vista College this week 

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, 7 p.m., at the Peralta Administration Building, 333 East Eighth St. in Oakland. 

Two construction cost overrun items that were postponed three weeks ago while Peralta Chancellor Elihu Harris gathered more information are back on the agenda this week as consent items, this time with the chancellor’s recommendation of approval. 

At the board’s May 24 meeting, Peralta Director of General Services Sadiq Ikharo had asked for the approval of $176,000 in additional fees for Vista designers Ratcliff Architects and another $252,000 in additional fees for HP Inspections for steel-testing services. 

After a representative of the Vista construction manager told trustees at the May meeting that some of the HP Inspections work had been done as early as last December, Harris said that he’d only been informed of the overrun requests the week before, and told Swinerton senior project manager Michael Raven to “tell me who was supposed to contact me, and we’ll hang him in the morning.” 

Last January, after hearing repeated requests for more money for the $65 million Vista construction project, trustees passed a new policy mandating increased board oversight for requests. 

For one neighborhood in North Oakland the national battle over abortion has been delivered to their mail boxes. 

Anti-abortion groups in Kansas and Texas have been blanketing the Oakland homes for the past seven months with fliers, one of which depicts a bloody fetus strewn on a table.  

The campaign is targeted at one of their neighbors, Dr. Shelley Sella, who performs abortions at clinics in Concord and Wichita, Kan. 

“She came on to our radar screen because she flies in here twice a month to kill pre-born babies,” said Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, a Wichita-based anti-abortion group, which has spearheaded the mailings. “She’s an abortionist and we’re exposing what she’s doing.” 

In Wichita, Sella works at a clinic run by Dr. George Tiller, who has been the frequent target of Operation Rescue protests. In 1993, he was shot by an anti-abortion protester. 

Nevertheless, Sella’s partner said from her home Sunday that the family did not fear for their safety. 

“They [Operation Rescue] don’t appear to be violent,” she said. “The only concern is that they could incite someone to do something.” 

Sella is in Kansas this week and could not be reached for comment. 

Recently anti-abortion advocates, in town to protest a medical convention in San Francisco, staged a brief demonstration outside her home, she added. 

Mitzi Sales, the vice president of the Planned Parenthood clinic in Concord, said Sella also works in Wichita because the city has few services for women who want to terminate their pregnancies.  

“She’s helping women who are in desperate straits,” Sales said. 

The latest flier, produced by a company in Denton, Tex. and delivered to neighbors within a few blocks of Sella’s home, raised unsubstantiated claims that Dr. Tiller had failed to report incidents of child rape. It urged recipients to “Stop collaborating with ‘Tiller the Killer’ in protecting child rapists and participating in the murder of innocent pre-born children through abortion.” 

A telephone number listed on the flier to file complaints was out of service. Previous complaint numbers, neighbors said, directed them to Tiller’s clinic. 

When Michael Allaire received the first flier last November, he left a note at Sella’s door offering support and leaving his phone number to call in case she felt threatened. 

“The neighborhood won’t tolerate this,” he said. “It stirs up fear that someone could come from outside and incite violence against your neighbor.” 

Allaire said he informed the FBI of the mailings, but federal investigators determined that the fliers did not seek to incite violence. 

“This is classic free speech,” Newman said. “If you don’t like something your neighbor is doing you should talk to them.” 

Neighbors can’t do much to stop the fliers, Oakland Councilmember Jane Brunner said, because Operation Rescue doesn’t include a return address. Brunner has asked neighbors to trash the cards, and has produced pro-choice posters they can hang in their window. 

“I think it’s backfiring on them,” Brunner said. “What it has done is brought our community together in support of her.” 



If would-be developers and neighborhood activists find the inclusionary and density bonuses hard to understand, they’re not alone. 

The bonuses, which award extra height and size to buildings that include housing for lower-income tenants, are proving just as inscrutable to the folks charged with administering the code. 

“The density bonus law is clearly a mess,” said Zoning Adjustments Board member Bob Allen at ZAB’s Thursday night meeting. 

Allen is one of the ZAB members assigned to a subcommittee that is seeking to understand the laws and developing standards for working with them. 

Fellow panelist Dean Metzger said he is currently “trying to computerize the whole zoning code book. “I am still convinced it can be solved with mathematics. It’s difficult and complicated, but not insoluble.” 

But colleague Rick Judd, a land use attorney, said, “I don’t think it will ever be clear to the public until it’s changed.” 

Judd said that the subcommittee’s attempt to apply the city planning department’s mathematical model “didn’t make me feel I understood it any better.” 

“Getting clear answers to one calculation threw off the numbers in another,” said panelist David Blake, who added that it would take another subcommittee meeting for him to be able to report back to the full board about just how he sees the process. 

Meanwhile, at the direction of the City Council and Mayor Tom Bates, the Planning Commission has appointed its own subcommittee to look at the code. The two groups will then work together to come up with recommendations for clarifying the confusing stretches of legalese. 

“You know that as soon as you guys resolve this issue in Berkeley, the state law will change completely,” said ZAB member Chris Tiedemann. 

“It may be only a few meetings before we can come back with a clear explanation of how to apply the code, but that is only the first step,” said Allen. 

“The density bonus law is clearly a mess. If we’re really serious, this is a very long-term effort that will then be taken over by the Planning Commission,” Allen said. “Is it fair? Or is it a quagmire?” 

“First Vietnam, then Iraq, then the Density Bonus,” quipped Blake.

Proud traces of Berkeley’s building and construction trades abound in a little-known niche of the urban environment: our sidewalks. 

At the end of the 1800s, builders promoted concrete as a modern replacement for brick or board pedestrian walkways. Back then it was called “art stone,” and contractors set their names like a cattle brand in the fresh mix as a mark of craftsmanship. 

The number of stamps proliferated during the East Bay building boom that followed the 1906 earthquake, and a majority of the ones remaining date from the 1930s and ‘40s. Many of these stamps have suffered slow attrition due to the inevitable succession of root-damage repairs and curb cuts, and each new city campaign of sidewalk paving has the potential to put even more of these stamps at risk. 

Stamps were good advertising, and some contractors added addresses, and later even phone numbers. Some cities required stamps in order to track faulty work, but most were set during a less litigious era where pride in craft mattered. Some of Berkeley’s oldest stamps are from prominent contractor/developer John Albert Marshall, Sr. One of his 1899 stamps graces the front steps of an old home at 1670 Dwight St. Very few contractors now use stamps, although some do. The sidewalk in front of the recently refurbished California Theater on Kittredge Street bears a 2002 stamp from the SBI Construction Group. 

Most stamps were modest, with just a name in simple type. Others were more elaborate, integrating heraldry crests and labor symbology; there’s even a delightful artistic pair of fleur-de-lis stamps at 1210 Bonita St. and a lucky horseshoe for Ensor H. Buel at 1843 Cedar St. Many included the year and even the month of pouring. This was an open trade that did not require a large capital investment, and the ethnic surnames echo the immigrant waves of the past: Anaclerio, Barale, and Fadelli (now Berkeley Cement); also Dahlquist, Hierkildsen, and Lindstrom. 

One can also trace evolution in the family business, from single owner-operator “Paul Schnoor,” later “P. Schnoor & Son,” and finally “Schnoor Bros.” Some stamps for the same contractor change over time, allowing for subtle clues about age. The stamp of the venerable firm of J.H. Fitzmaurice has gone through at least four variants. 

Some stamps reflect not the contractors, but the trades that represented them. Right in front of Virginia Bakery and at Freight and Salvage one can find the distinctive crossed tools mark of the earliest union stamp, that of the American Brotherhood of Cement Workers (ABCW), whose president was Olaf Tveitmoe. 

Olaf was a classic colorful California labor leader hero of his time, both a working-class heavyweight who got elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and first president of the racist Asiatic Exclusion League in 1908. More recent union stamps belong to the Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons International Association, AFL-CIO, whose logo not only includes the number “594” of the East Bay local, but proudly notes by number the master finisher who did that piece. 

A good example is in front of Bancroft Clothing on Bancroft Avenue, where a Hal Bennett contractor stamp is accompanied by the cement finisher’s union stamp, Master Number 258. 

A few cities have adopted policies to protect the historical heritage reflected by these stamps. Citizens in Normal Heights (San Diego), arranged for the old stamps to be cut out and re-set in fresh sidewalks when they were replaced. A homeowner on North Berkeley’s Fresno Avenue had an endangered stamp neatly set into the driveway when repaving. 

The City of Berkeley is undergoing one of its many sidewalk repair projects, and the Planning Department indicates that they will leave them in place if they are in good condition and if homeowners request it.  

A tribute to these stamps and link to a photo archive of hundreds of local examples can be found at http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/~lcushing/Stamps/SidewalkStampHome.html. 

Lincoln Cushing is a cataloger and electronic outreach librarian at UC Berkeley’s Bancroft Library. 

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RADICAL BERKELEY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

In the past issues of the Daily Planet, I have seen a number of letters lamenting about what happened to “radical” Berkeley. As a lifelong Bay Area resident who is also a student of history, I’ll hazard some answers to this question. About 30 years ago, in the wake of Vietnam, the powers that be, that is government, business, and academia (both Democrat and Republican), took it upon themselves to put the American public back in line. In their own words: more “moderation” was needed in the public debate, because the public had become “ungovernable.” At the same time, many former “progressives” went into these institutions convinced that one could change the system from within. They soon found out that centralized power is very selective about who it admits to its ranks. Those who advocated radical ideas were marginalized, ignored, and than forced out. Also, these people were faced with student loans to pay, children to raise, and the general pressure from family and society to “get on with your lives.” Economic downturns and the cutting of government benefits completed the process of coercing the young. At this point the ex-radicals must have become aware of the realities of power, about who actually rules, and by what means it is done. Lakota poet and activist John Trudell best described it as “being caught between living a lie or not living at all.” In other words, go with the system, or starve. Beset upon by these forces, the former “progressives” compromised and eventually capitulated to the establishment. This process of absorption became complete when Bill Clinton (who was just as enthusiastic in helping corporate America as Bush) was sworn in 12 years ago. It is these same forces of co-option that are responsible for the demise of “Radical Berkeley.” Let us now hope that the present generation of activists can learn from the past and avoid the trap of being taken over and controlled by the powers that be.  

John F. Davies 

Kensington 

• 

FREEDOM 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Perhaps I have lost track of which book was flushed. And was that toilet at Guantanamo or the White House? In a June 9 New York Times article, “California Father and Son Face Charges in Terrorism Case,” Dean Murphy and David Johnson write: “They have been charged with lying to federal investigators…..” I thought that speech was protected in my country by the First Amendment. A Federal Court even gave corporations the right to lie in advertising under the First Amendment. If lying to federal agents is a crime, only a fool would talk to an FBI agent. You might be innocent and still get charged with lying. Of course there is no shortage of fools in the world, but some of us will advise our grandchildren don’t count on the FBI or the media to protect your freedoms. The Times might point out that under this fabulous democracy people are charged with specific crimes. 

Marc Sapir 

• 

CARS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Cars, Cars, Cars. I’d love to be able to impress upon car users just how awful those carbon monoxide fumes emitted from cars really are to the health and well being of the human and other living bodies. But whatever I said would probably not be too very much noticed. I am not a scientist and I cannot produce many many years of careful examination to prove the point. Only thing is...somewhere in each of us, we know it. And every time I hear of yet another death or another person suffering horribly with cancer...something in me wants to cry out. Is it too much trouble to not inflict disease? 

Look at yourselves, car users. Look at yourselves. Stop using petroleum to fuel your freedom. We, all of us, are enslaved to the marketplace in many ways. This automobile stuff has gone too far, however. We believe the truth of global warming. No one ever talks about using their poisons and them killing each other and ourselves. Intricate sentences won’t convince anyone. 

Perhaps the voice of the soul will. Refuse to use their tools of destruction. 

Iris Crider 

• 

PINK MAN IN PARIS 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Have you heard of Pink Man? Hopefully that’s a silly question, as for years I’ve been called “a Legend” by all the papers in the Bay Area. As a matter of fact, if you asked practically anyone in Berkeley which performance artist has had the most positive impact, you would hear my name come up most often (please refer to countless stories on my site: www.pinkman.net). For almost 10 years I have ridden and danced and sung in “the most progressive city in the United States.” And for free. Unless you count getting punched, and dragged along side a car, and all sorts of stuff thrown at me. But I love doing what I do, that’s why I do it for free. 

But now I am terribly desperate; I am in Paris to spread the joy, to sort of represent the States and California in a positive way. But due to a lack of planning on my part I am frightfully close to sleeping on the streets. Like, tomorrow. I am not kidding. I’m scared, Berkeley. And my fear is making me angry. You see, I have already e-mailed people on the City Council pleading for some emergency financial help via paypal on my website. To my horror, I have not received even an e-mail in reply. My life has become a movie, and right about now Berkeley hangs on the edge of being portrayed as, well...we’ll see how it goes. 

I’m currently on TV around the world on the Discovery Channel’s “Lonely Planet.” I have already been on TV around the world, it’s exciting, but I haven’t gotten a dime for it.  

Mary Steenburgen, in Paris filming the DaVinci Code with Tom Hanks, came up to me and gave me a great big hug; “Pink Man! What are you doing here?!!” Just another fan of something good and worthwhile. But I need help, Berkeley. Surely you can afford something. 

Please at least be decent enough to e-mail a “fuck you.” I’m sorry. Again, I’m scared, I don’t know what else to do. Busking has proven ineffective, maybe because I stink from not having done laundry in so many days. Pathetic, isn’t it?  

Your turn. 

Michael John Maxfield, 

Your superfolkin’ hero 

• 

KPFA CONTROVERSY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It comes as no surprise to read of the sexual harassment lawsuit against Dennis Bernstein, host of KPFA’s Flashpoints News Magazine, and further allegations of sexual discrimination against him by other women. Anyone who has heard incessant Israel-basher Bernstein’s rants either on the air or in various colloquiums knows that he either denies or refuses to discuss the gender apartheid, honor murder or other forms of abuse so widespread against women in Palestinian society in particular and Arab culture in general. Given these accusations against Bernstein, perhaps we might now realize why he is so reluctant to discuss sexual discrimination elsewhere. 

On another matter, letter writer Robert Blau proclaims that Bolivia’s probable nationalization of oil and gas will benefit “the indigenous and poor people” of that country. A red flag (pun intended) should be run up in Berkeley every time the word “benefit of the people” is evoked. But then again, erstwhile progressives usually prove themselves deficient when it comes to history, as Mexico’s nationalization of oil has for nearly three quarters of a century proven to be as corrupt and inept as any industry existent in the Western Hemisphere. Ever since nationalization, Mexico has experienced a staggering siphoning off of profits by avaricious bureaucrats and labor leaders who make Enron’s corporate thugs appear benign by comparison. As a consequence, the “people” of Mexico have benefited but little. 

Dan Spitzer 

Kensington 

• 

UNDERMINING AMERICA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your article about the KPFA snakes and mongooses poses a cruel dilemma for the progressive community. Two ardent ideologues of the left are now undermining a major mouthpiece of the anti-American community. On the one hand, we have the Jewish Kapo who wants deprive Jews and Israel of our minuscule homeland. In an earlier incarnation this saintly figure would have been pushing Jewish children into boxcars on their way to Auschwitz. On the other hand, there is an equally saintly figure of the new left, who devotes her time and our airwaves to propaganda on behalf of a notorious cop killer. 

Poor KPFA is caught in the middle. All KPFA has ever discriminated against are people who do not subscribe to its political philosophy that the good consists in taking other people’s property without paying for it. KPFA has benefited from the self-destructive goodhearted instincts of liberal America which has allowed Pacifica/KPFA to use the public’s airways for free in order to undermine America. 

Alan Wofsy 

• 

UC-CITY DEAL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

The angry June 10 commentary of Dean Metzger and David Wilson is well intentioned but poorly reasoned. All the settlement agreement says in subsection III.D. is that, should state law be changed to alter the financial obligations of the university toward the city, the parties will try to renegotiate the settlement to keep the total amount the same, inclusive of the new obligations. That is not inconsistent with what Mayor Bates, et al., wrote in their commentary. If the university were assessed the full $13.5 million or more, that it owes, then obviously the parties would not be able to keep the total amount the same while including the new obligation. Metzger and Wilson have strained at the gnat and swallowed the camel. The camel is this: Both parties are promulgating a deceptive lie concerning the law as it now reads. 

The following is from the commentary by Tom Bates, Linda Maio, Laurie Capitelli and Max Anderson: “no court could have compelled the university to pay a penny to the city for basic services.” Here is what the real authority in the matter, the California Supreme Court, has to say: “On the other hand, when one tax-supported entity provides goods or services to another, neither the California Constitution nor decisional law exempts the public entity from paying for these goods and services” (San Marcos Water Dist. v. San Marcos Unified School Dist. (1986) 42 Cal.3d 154, 161). The university cannot be charged for special assessments, which means basically capital improvements, but it can be charged for basic services. The myth that it cannot be so charged is apparently one of the big lies that has come to be accepted as reality by a docile and legally unaware public. Citizenry in a participatory democracy requires more. 

I should add that there is an attempt to permanently exempt the University from parking taxes and sewer fees in subsections VI.B. and VI.C. of the settlement agreement, but there is actually a nice little provision at the bottom of section VI. to the effect that if either of these subsections are violated, the settlement agreement terminates. Good riddance to bad rubbish, as we used to say in grade school. All we have to do to end this miserable agreement is charge them what is really due, and by the language of the agreement, the whole thing automatically terminates. Wonderful! Let’s do it immediately, or as soon as the City Council comes to its senses. There will still be the struggle to reinstate the original lawsuit, but that is not an insurmountable problem, either. It is in the works, as we speak. It might help if the City Council would join the fray on our side, for a change. 

Peter Mutnick 

• 

HILLS FIRE STATION 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Your article of June 10-13 regarding the Hills Fire Station is a horrible example of bad reporting. A news article should answer the simple question, “Why?” Why is the Hills Fire Station over budget and behind schedule as your headline trumpets? It is so surprising that a project originally estimated at $2.5 million (if that is in fact the original estimate) should have escalated 13 years later to $6.7 million? Absolutely nothing is said about the relentless lawsuits filed by one neighbor, that was the primary cause of the delay. Instead, the implication is that somehow Berkeley can’t manage its budgets, or spends money recklessly, or doesn’t pay attention to neighborhood opinion, unlike our neighbor Oakland. 

There are other subtle hints in this article that imply that somehow the prejudices of the writer, the editor, or the publisher account for the choice of “facts” left in or out. Why are objections of some neighbors hashed through once again, when the support of hundreds of residents who spoke for this project in endless hearings, letters, meetings is not mentioned? Why is nothing said about the citizen’s committee that worked for years to support this needed and very popular project? What are the unanswered critical questions one neighbor claims the city neglects to answer? Is there anything that has not been answered about this project in the hundreds of hours of public time devoted to it?  

Myrna Walton 

• 

ETHICS AND MEDIA 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Is an act good because the gods say it is or do the gods say an act is good because it is?  

The Bush network has a knack for changing its goals to suit whatever means it may be deploying at the time. For example, the military is currently helping Iraqis develop a democracy but it started out to protect us from mushroom clouds. This Orwellian practice of adjusting ends to suit on-going means perverts the basis of ethics whereby the good (or evil) lies in the act itself. In order to get away with it the Bush network has enjoyed full media collaboration.  

It justified unprovoked war by lying and the media collaborated by blaming faulty intelligence. Although the decision, sui generis, to remove Saddam Hussein was taken a year before the fabricated justification the media concluded (sheepishly and reluctantly): Sure, that’s the Bush style, but it’s no “smoking gun.” In other words, there’s no murder if there’s no smokin’.  

How absurd! No wonder so many people distrust the media.  

Marvin Chachere 

San Pablo 

• 

JEFFERSON SCHOOL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

I am surprised and pleased to see the Berkeley School Board exhibiting wisdom and leadership on the Jefferson School issue. All great men (and women) have their faults. Slavery, when Jefferson lived, was largely an unquestioned part of human existence and had been since the beginning of time. Choose any culture at any time in recorded history and you will find slavery, strict class hierarchy and in many cases horrific and brutal religious ceremony. It seems inappropriate to render moral judgments on the worth of a person’s life based on moral standards of today and which did not exist at that time. 

It is well documented that many “free Negroes” were slave owners themselves and , indeed the U.S. census from 1860 reveals that nearly one third of the “free Negroes” in the city of New Orleans owned slaves. Of course, the original slaves taken from Africa were captured and sold by their own black brothers. There is no monopoly on slavery and in fact it still exists today in Africa, India, and Asia.  

It is fair that the School Board include the larger Berkeley community in the debate over the name change. The teachers have, certainly, brainwashed the students who are too young to make a thoughtful and historically contextual decision. The parents are only affiliated with the school for a short time and because of the forced diversity aspect of Berkeley schools, many do not even live near the campus. The teachers and principal come and go and may not even live in Berkeley. 

There is a larger concern though; Where does it end? If we decide to change the name of Jefferson School because he was a slave owner, we must then change the name of our own city as well. The City of Berkeley is named for Bishop George Berkeley. Berkeley bought and owned slaves on his Rhode Island Plantation “Whitehall.” When Berkeley returned to Europe in 1731 he donated the profits from the plantation to Yale University for a set of scholarships. The “Berkeley Premiums,” as they came to be called, are still awarded today. Berkeley High is named after a slave owner. Martin Luther King Jr. school is named after a drunken womanizer and self-proclaimed communist. (It is against the law to advocate communism in California public schools today.) Malcolm X was a petty criminal who did time in prison. We do not judge them on these aspects of their lives but on the great accomplishments of their lives which have positively affected all of our lives today. 

We all sit here today thinking that we are smarter and more sophisticated than the barbarians of the past. We constantly ask how societies could have accepted such behavior in the past. We are so much better than that now. Are we really? Are the cheap and plentiful products we buy today produced by virtual slave labor? Is that chicken or burger that we salivate over on the grill the result of a cruel and pain-filled life? Do we care? Out of sight, out of mind. 

Nazi Germany was populated by an educated and intelligent people. How could a nation like that allow the mass murder of millions of Jews? Politicians demonized the Jews and blamed them for the woes of the country. Good people did nothing and the result was the Holocaust. Are we so different today? Howard Dean, the powerful leader of the Democratic Party and former presidential candidate, is publicly demonizing “white Christians” and blaming them for the country’s woes. This blatant racist and anti-Christian statement was uttered by the leader of the self- described party of intellectuals. My guess is that most Berkeley leftists agree with him. Let us not judge others before we judge ourselves. There are more important things to do than to change the names of our towns and institutions to fit a changed revisionists view of history. I know we are in Berkeley but let’s try living in reality for a while. 

If the name of the school must be changed, I have a solution which may save money on stationary and signs and also satisfy malcontent MargueriteTalley-Hughes. Change it from Thomas Jefferson to George Jefferson. 

Michael Larrick 

• 

OREGON PAPER TRAIL 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

Well, it’s time for Americans to hit the trail—the Oregon Trail. The Oregon Paper Trail. 

Please explain to me why Congress is so hot and anxious to circle the wagons and spend billions of dollars on voting machines that don’t work when they can follow the example of voting pioneers in Oregon and just have everyone mail in their votes. Why spend our hard-earned bucks on Diebold when we can chose the Pony Express instead? 

And here’s another Oregon (paper) Trail that needs to be looked at carefully. There was, according to prominent Republicans, a lot of cross-party vote switching going on in Florida. Oh really? Why is that? Abortion issues. Gay issues. “Moral” issues,” the Republicans tell us. But those same issues are present in Oregon too. Many Oregonians think a lot like Floridans regarding these issues. For instance, Oregon just passed an anti-gay-marriage ordinance. And a friend of mine who just moved there told me that she was surrounded by right-wing evangelical types. And yet despite all this potential for vote-switching, Kerry still won in Oregon.  

After noticing the pronounced differences between Oregon vote-switching patterns and Florida vote-switching patterns despite similarities in voter attitudes, it becomes obvious that we need to check out the Florida Trail too. However, in far too many cases, there isn’t any trail to check out. How sad for Americans. How convenient for Bush. 

Our George is always talking about how much he needs more money to buy weapons with. Well. If Bush really wanted to save more money to give to his scalawag friends in the weapons business, he would jump right on this here band wagon—or, in his words, “catapult the propaganda”—in favor of mail-in ballots. They are safe. They are accurate. They are cheap. 

When it comes to eliminating vote fraud, acting like a free country and saving tons and tons of money, the rest of America needs to dump those high-falutin’ lily-livered voting machine varmints in Washington and hit the Oregon Trail! 

Jane Stillwater 

• 

IMPEACHMENT 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It will be a beautiful peach of an Impeachment: the coming impeachment, trial, conviction and removal from office of President Bush and Vice President Cheney for their high crimes and misdemeanors against the American people and the United States Constitution.  

Predict the exact date of the coming final and complete collapse of the illegitimate Bush regime. Win big prizes: freedom and democracy for all Americans! Help end the hated Bush war on Iraq. Bring our boys and girls back home. Help end the illegitimate grip of Diebold Corporation and ES&S Corporation, two privately held right-wing run electronic voting machine manufacturers, on our elections, with their miscounting our votes in private with proprietary secret software. Create the return to honest elections with traditional hand-counted paper ballots. Help right our badly listing ship of state.  

Currently the corporate mainstream media is holding the Sword of Damocles over the continued existence of the Bush regime. When the corporate mainstream media finally tires of the Bush regimes endless monkeyshines, they will quickly pull the plug by broadcasting some of the truth about how the Bush gang stole the 2000 Presidential election in Florida, how Dick Cheney and his neo-con idiot buddies were complicit in letting the 9-11 terrorist attacks proceed as originally planned (the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) stated that they needed “a new Pearl Harbor” to implement their imperialistic plans to dominate the Middle East in the 21st century; some 52 warnings to the FAA about how the al Qaeda terrorists planned to use hijacked airliners as weapons, and the FAA just could not be bothered to simply seal off the airliners’ cockpits and thereby prevent any airliner hijackings), how the Bush gang told a pack of lies about Iraq and WMD before launching its illegal criminal war on the Iraqi people in March 2003 (see www.downingstreetmemo.com), how the Bush gang stole the 2004 Presidential election by having its thugs and technicians hack and rig electronically attack insecure Diebold and ES&S electronic voting machines and vote tabulating machines on November 2, 2004 and flipped several million Kerry votes into Bush votes, how the Bush administration funneled billions of taxpayer dollars into Halliburton Corporation with its infamous “no-bid” Iraq “reconstruction” contracts and how right-wing Texas energy corporations, such as Enron and El Paso Natural Gas, conspired to rig and game the California electrical energy market and steal billions of dollars from California ratepayers with the phony energy crisis.  

Any regime, which bases its continued existence upon lies, fear, election rigging and public complacency, will fall sooner or later. This illegitimate Bush regime will fall sooner than later. Help grease the skids for this coming collapse by getting the Impeachment Ball rolling. Hold an Impeachment Ball in your neighborhood, city, county or state. Have a Ball. Have an Impeachment Ball. Create your very own Im-Peach-Mint website. Watch the coming collapse of the Bush house of cards. Help pull the dark curtains of secrecy aside and reveal the inner machinations of this pathetic bunch of cowardly chicken-hawks. Bring on Impeachment. Bring it on.  

The winning date will be the day that the House Judiciary Committee approves articles of impeachment against President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.  

Pick out which media outlet broadcast will be the final straw that breaks the camel’s back, as it were. Will it be Air America Radio, Pacifica Radio Network, NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, CNN or perhaps even Fox?  

Submit your entry as a letter-to-the-editor to local newspapers, regional newspapers and national newspapers. Post it on your own personal web site. 

Submit your entry to progressive web sites. Submit your entry to reactionary right-wing web sites (thereby increasing their paranoia level). Submit your entry to the mainstream corporate media outlets. Note: This Impeachment Revolution will be televised. Mission accomplished.  

James K. Sayre 

• 

EQUALITY 

Editors, Daily Planet: 

It isn’t quite clear to what equality H. L. Blash (Letters, June 7) aspires, or how he or she would like the “playing field” evened. What is clear, however, is that H. L. Blash could be outdone by a freshman student of rhetoric or informal logic. My goodness, we could almost pick and choose among most of the so-called informal fallacies of logic...say, non causa pro cause or petitio principii (the latter commonly known as “begging the question,” which bears no relation to the way in which journalists and talking heads use the expression) in the argument presented. We’ll leave it to H. L. Blash to look up, and perhaps even ponder, these terms in regard to his or her protestation. 

What I find offensive in his or her plaint is not necessarily the implied demand that women on Medicaid be given medications (and, if they exist, why not?) to improve their sex lives so as to receive treatment comparable to the dispensation of Viagra. And neither am I entertaining the possibility here that one unstated (O.K., subtext, we in Berkeley seem to be fond of this term) intent of the letter was to whine about taxpayer’s dollars going for what might be deemed by him or her for something to which layabouts on Medicaid are not entitled. 

What really offends me is the silliness of the implication (subtext!) that men and women are physiologically identical sexually. I see this silliness as part of the lingering fog of critical theory through which people still wander, even though they may never have heard of, in fact, critical theory. Some of us...especially in Berkeley!...know that the intellectual revolution of, say, the years 1965 to 1985 produced volumes of fascinating and challenging theories, pronouncements, and ideas. Some of these were based on critiques of political economy and difficult to disprove (who can forget Marcuse’s analysis of how the state minimizes the opportunities for sexual opportunity in order to keep the gears of industry grinding?), some were based on the linguistic movements that sprang up around the turn of the century, and convinced us, for example, that it was tres degoute to enjoy a novel for its narrative features, and feminist critical theory bought into the idea, counter-intuitive even at that time, that the sexual behavior of men and women was largely and most importantly constructed by environment....nurture....pretty much to the exclusion of nature. Hence, their enchantment with Sartre and his pronouncement that “A baby is a mere puddle of vomit,” i.e., a blank slate waiting to be shaped by the vagaries of environment. Parenthetically, think with what outrage lingering adherents of feminine critical theory would act if one were to attribute, in the manner of Christian fundamentalists, homosexuality to a life-choice, with the implication that that life-choice had been environmentally shaped.  

Even at the time, science knew this thesis to be way off the mark, but many scientists were shouted down, ostracized, and labeled as social Darwinists. Today, we have the benefit of genetic and cognitive science to provide hard data to push the “nature” argument back to its much smaller, though justifiable, position. There is an explosion of research in these fields today (most of the researchers are women) providing the data that delineate the “hard-wired” differences between men and woman....sexually and otherwise. One might pick up the latest issue of Scientifiic American, for example, and read about the intriguing discoveries of the differences in our amigdallae, and the consequent differences in behavior of men and women. 

Finally, there are many woes of women, gynaecologically speaking, with which men are not bedeviled.. But I can’t think of many that actually prevent a women from having copulative sex, except perhaps vaginismus, for which treatments exist. Men, on the other hand, H. L. Blash must know, almost always need to achieve and maintain an erection to have an orgasm. Copulation for women may be a wonderful, or ho-hum, or terrible experience. But nothing happens to them, with age, that prevents them from having a go at it. The obverse situation in men, I believe, is why (whoever) has decided that drugs like Viagra should be paid for by some medical insurers, justifiably or not. 

Latin language courses always begin with what the textbooks call “conjugal rites” (How many thousands of seventh-graders have had a giggle with that one?). I recommend to H. L. Blash a course in conjugal rites as the phrase is more typically connoted. And remember, begging a question will always invite a question from those who are paying close attention! 

Peter Hubbard 

In a March article in The New Republic, Robert Reich bemoaned the failure of Democrats to control four essential American stories. Two of these are myths with hopeful themes, “the triumphant individual” and “the benevolent community.” The other two portray powerful images of fear, “rot at the top” and “the mob at the gates.” The latter describes how, “the United States is a beacon of virtue in a world of darkness, uniquely blessed but continuously endangered by foreign menaces.” Reich observed that after 9/11 the Bush administration skillfully turned this metaphor to their advantage: al Qaeda became the barbarians at the gates, heathens preparing to pillage the American heartland. 

In the immediate aftermath of the dreadful attacks, the Bushies played to “the mob at the gates” (TMATG) theme and used fear-based propaganda to terrorize the populace. From this emotional platform they bullied Congress into passing the Patriot Act. Then the administration launched a poorly planned military campaign in Afghanistan; one where they employed Afghani mercenaries to do the bulk of the ground fighting with the result that key al Qaeda operatives, including Osama bin Laden, were able to escape. And, of course, George Bush and company re-stimulated the nation’s trauma in order to justify the invasion of Iraq—a country that was full of bad guys, but which had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. 

Over time, the nature of TMATG image gradually changed. For the first year, the barbarians were members of al Qaeda. In the run up to the invasion of Iraq, the composition of the mob subtly shifted and became in succession, “Wahabis,” “Islamic terrorists,” and then all Middle-Eastern opponents of democracy. Accompanying this broadening of scope was a surge of anti-immigrant hostility directed at those who appeared to be Arabs. Brown-skinned men and women, citizens and visitors alike, were jostled by strangers and hassled by the police and immigration authorities. 

Despite the vitriol generated by this campaign, in the past year TMATG theme lost traction. While al Qaeda threatens Westerners throughout the world, there have been no recent attacks on American soil. Meanwhile, the Bush administration claimed that it was eradicating terrorists in Iraq so that our soldiers wouldn’t have to fight them in the United States. The public seemed to have swallowed this tortured logic, as well as the Bushies’ claim that the total number of terrorist attacks has decreased—that the world is a safer place—even though statistics argue the contrary. 

In the meantime, domestic circumstances have turned against the Republicans: The economy is unstable, millions are unemployed or under employed, one-third of all Americans have no health care, and there is general dissatisfaction with the administration—only 35 percent feel that the country is headed in the right direction, while Bush’s approval ratings have dropped below 50 percent, to historic lows for a second-term President. As a result, the Republican spin on TMATG metaphor has lost its appeal. The average American finally has realized that al Qaeda wasn’t to blame for home foreclosures, plant closings, or reduced health care benefits. 

In response to this setback, the Republican propaganda machine shifted the image of TMATG. Barbarians were no longer portrayed as members of al Qaeda, or as Islamic Terrorists; instead, they became all immigrants. Conservatives launched a new wave of attacks on non-citizens. California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and former Colorado governor, Dick Lamm, among others, recently gave major speeches where they blamed America’s social problems on legal and illegal aliens—particularly Hispanics. According to this polemic, if an American doesn’t have a job, it’s the fault of newly arrived foreigners. If citizens feel unsafe on the streets, it’s also because of these immigrants.  

This is a sadly familiar conservative strategy: when economic times get tough they blame people of color and non-Christians. At the turn of the century they fumed about the “yellow peril.” During the depression their wrath showered on “Bolshevik Jews” and “colored people.’ More recently, in the Southwest, their ire has been directed at “illegal aliens,” meaning Hispanic immigrants.  

Despite its historic success, this strategy has some obvious shortcomings in the economic reality of 2005. While social conservatives may fear immigrants, business conservatives employ them. From coast to coast, captains of industry understand that they need non-citizens in order to get their work done. For example, American universities do not graduate the engineers needed to fuel our high-technology industry—if we didn’t have immigrant engineers then this sector would slow down. In agriculture, aliens do work that no one else wants to do. 

Conservatives whine that immigrants have filled all the new jobs created since 2000. However, experts such as Georgetown professor Henry Holzer dispute this; immigrant employment is concentrated in a handful of industries, while large job shifts have occurred in other sectors. 

Immigrants are not the root cause of America’s social problems. When conservatives rant about the latest version of the mob at the gate, they are simply seeking to divert attention from the real problem, “rot at the top”—the continued ineptitude of the Bush administration. 

Bob Burnett is a Berkeley writer and activist. He can be reached at bobburnett@comcast.net.›

Almost a year ago, a Kaiser Permanente medical equipment contractor suggested that Ralph use a device other than a head array to control his wheelchair. The head array uses an infrared beam and somehow, when Ralph moves his head in various directions, his wheelchair slides in and out of a variety of gears: forward, backward, up, and down. It is a miracle in modern technology that doesn’t often work as it should. 

One of the conveniences of using a head array is that Ralph no longer has a chin-controlled joystick in front of his face. The joystick made it impossible to get near Ralph, to put my arms around him, or give him a kiss. The head array was supposed to fix that. However, with the head array in place we quickly learned that if Ralph moved slightly in any direction while receiving a kiss, the wheelchair could leap forward or backward at the precise moment the kisser was leaning into him. There were safety issues. I could be fatally injured trying to get near him. His wheelchair needs to be in the right gear in order for him to be touched.  

But kissing or not kissing Ralph is not the biggest problem. A more pressing concern is that the head array makes the wheelchair too tall to fit into our van which we use to take Ralph to meetings and doctor’s appointments. In order for Ralph to get into the van, he has to put the wheelchair into recline mode. Then he has to switch into drive mode. It’s like steering a car or boat up a ramp while lying down. He can’t see where he’s going. And where he’s going is into a very small space that does not accommodate the length of the wheelchair when it is in recline position. There have been many accidents. Either the head array snaps off because he’s not down low enough to pass through the sliding door entryway, or his feet jam into the far side of the van because he’s too long. Always concerned with fiscal matters, we have opted for feet jamming over head array snapping. Going to the podiatrist is cheaper and faster than trying to get the damn wheelchair fixed. 

We agreed with the wheelchair expert that we should try the shoulder control gizmo. He told us it might take several weeks to process the order. We are accustomed to waiting. We gave him three months. When we didn’t hear back from him we called. He’d forgotten about us. So we met with him again. Now he wasn’t sure that the shoulder control was a good thing. After all, he noted, Ralph didn’t get out of bed much, and learning to use a shoulder control takes practice. 

I pointed out to him that the reason Ralph didn’t get out of bed often was because sitting in his wheelchair for more than four hours per day had caused bedsores that required years of care, and major reconstructive surgery. I reminded him that at our initial meeting the issues discussed had been Ralph’s comfort, safety, and health, not how often he lay prone versus sitting upright. He agreed to order the part that he had forgotten to order before. We made a tentative follow-up appointment and then waited. Later, the appointment was canceled. We were told the part had not yet arrived.  

It’s been over nine months since we first discussed and agreed to try the shoulder control. I could have conceived and had a baby. I could have taken a trip around the world, redone my kitchen, written a best-selling novel.  

According to the rules of Ralph’s health insurance coverage, every five years Ralph is allowed to get a new wheelchair. It’s been 11 years since his accident. After the first five years we ordered a new chair. It took almost a year to get it. I think I’ll call Kaiser and start the process of ordering another chair. But I won’t cancel the shoulder control. Why? Because in the end, I’m an optimist. Someday that part will come in and the wheelchair guy will remember to call us.  

@

Garden tool brandished 

Berkeley police arrested a 46-year-old woman on one count of brandishing a deadly weapon shortly before 2 a.m. last Tuesday after she allegedly confronted another woman with a forked gardening tool, said Berkeley Police spokesperson Officer Joe Okies. 

The affronted woman, 47, called police after the tool wielder departed, and the fork offender was then taken into custody. 

Alert janitor spots felon 

Two hours later, a janitor called police to report that he’d spotted someone inside the Orchard Supply store at 1025 Ashby Ave. 

Okies said officers arrived just as the fellow was about to depart the scene, sparking a brief foot chase that ended with the 50-year-old suspect facing charges of burglary, possession of stolen property and resisting arrest. 

Ashby BART heist 

Two teenage strong-arm bandits grabbed an iPod from a 24-year-old woman as she was walking along Martin Luther King Jr. Way across from the Ashby BART station. 

Drug team raids home 

A lengthy investigation by the BPD narcotics unit into complaints of drug dealing in the 1600 block of 63rd Street ended in a Wednesday afternoon raid on one of the houses in the block, said Officer Okies. 

By the time officers completed their search of the residence they had discovered heroin and cocaine packaged for sale, along with methamphetamine and equipment for making false IDs. 

Four men and one woman, ranging in age from 19 to 46, were arrested on a total of eight charges, Okies said. 

Belated report 

A 27-year-old woman called Berkeley Police Friday to report that a strong-arm robber had made off with her purse five days earlier as she was walking in the 2600 block of College Avenue. 

Seasons robbed 

A middle-aged man claiming to have a gun walked into Seasons Clothing at 2035 University Ave. about 5:15 Saturday afternoon and demanded the contents of the till. 

The clerk complied and the bandit departed, said Officer Okies. 

Major rat pack 

After a citizen called to complain that a group of 10 to 15 teenagers had robbed him of his cash and personal items near the Ashby BART Station just before 9:30 p.m. Saturday, officers arrived in time to stop a group and teens and arrested two of them as suspects in the heist.

Disaster Averted 

An 11:19 p.m. call on June 6 brought firefighters rushing to an apartment building at 2218 Seventh St., where they arrived to find a fire in the basement. 

Deputy Fire Chief David Orth said the flames, which started when objects piled on top of an electrical cord caused the wires to spark, caused an estimated $15,000 in damage. 

Things could have been a lot worse, because a plastic gasoline container kept for a lawnmower spilled its contents after the plastic melted from the heat. 

Fortunately, firefighters arrived before the gas could ignite. 

As it was, the fumes from the spoilt fuel forced the evacuation of the building, and the Red Cross provided Day’s Inn rooms for the six tenants who were displaced for the night until the fumes has dispersed, Orth said. 

Range fire 

Firefighters were called to a home at 1639 Fairview St. at 2 p.m. Sunday, but when they arrived they discovered that the occupants had already extinguished a kitchen fire that was confined to the area of the range and its hood. 

Orth estimated the damage at $5,000.›

Appended to the Berkeley Public Library June 8 Action Calendar memo to the Board of Library Trustees from the director of Library Services, Subject: Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Adoption is a “Service View-Adult Services Fiscal Year 2005 Summary.” The second bulleted item consists of the following in toto: 

One of the first big work projects was a thorough weeding of the adult collection; as a whole the collections had not been reviewed for some time and the exercise accomplished much in the way of finding damaged and dated materials, and helped to facilitate ordering new replacement copies for classic titles and completely new material for neglected subject areas. Adult selectors were placed on new teams with the hope of engendering more communication and discussion between branch and Central librarians as we try to find a more holistic approach to building the Berkeley Public Library collections. Librarians also began doing nearly all of their selection with online utilities like Title Source II, and BWI. [sic] 

Last fall I coordinated for/at the North Berkeley Senior Center a well-attended meeting on the subject of elder abuse, as the term is commonly used. I provided a handout that listed resources for this neglected subject area. I have always stressed borrowing books and the accessibility of titles from public libraries, especially “our” Berkeley Public Library. Over the last few months, I have had phone calls and e-mails from persons who attended or who otherwise received a handout copy: They report inability to obtain materials related to elder abuse, in particular woman-related elder abuse. 

I loyally respond with how-to suggestions that include using the Berkeley Public Library catalog. It responds to requests for materials on elder abuse with the news that one should use the established subject-heading: Older people, abuse of. O.K., a cross reference is good thing. But this one provides zero titles! I persevere, suggesting inputting key words elder and abuse, which generates two titles: an Alzheimer’s caregivers’ handbook and a reference book of articles mainly on childhood domestic violence. 

The Alameda County Library system catalog, relying on the same established subject heading and keywording (Boolean algebra) approaches, generates several titles. One, Elder abuse: A Decade of Shame and Inaction, is an antique report from the House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Health and Long-Term Care of the Select Committee on Aging; its 1990 publication date is revealing. 

Helen Rippier Wheeler is a Berkeley resident.

Suddenly the proposal to change the name of Berkeley’s Jefferson School because Thomas Jefferson was a slaveholder is at full boil. First broached over a year ago, the idea seems to have lain fallow until about a month ago. In a very short time the process for deciding the question has leapt forward with virtually breakneck velocity. 

The proposed change may be the right thing for Berkeley. Our community—and most particularly our children—may gain more than will be lost if we make such a change. Or maybe not. In any case, the question has already had its “first reading” at the School Board, where the decision will ultimately be made. 

There are some, I know, who feel as I do that such a decision should engage the larger Berkeley community—not just that tiny minority who happen today to be directly affiliated with Jefferson School. It would be well for the School Board to hear from them pronto. The accelerated clock hasn’t quite made the decision for us yet. The larger community, including the current “Jefferson School community” and, importantly, the School Board, deserve the time to achieve a fuller understanding of this complex issue than I think has been possible to date. 

When I first learned of the proposal last year, I prefaced some published comments (Berkeley Daily Planet, March 2-4, 2004) by noting that the shame felt by those whose ancestors held slaves must be nothing beside the pain of those whose ancestors were slaves. This is a reality that I believe Americans considering this difficult subject should never forget. Indeed, the dark legacy of slavery is a subject we neglect at our peril. 

The process for deciding the name-change question would certainly have interested Jefferson himself, champion of democracy that he was. What is that process? 

Following some internal deliberations at the school but apparently without any organized informational process or effort to engage the broader Berkeley community, a poll of the school’s current teachers, students, and their families was held in April to select a favored alternative in the event that the name-change proposal were to go forward. The name “Sequoia” was selected from a list of other alternatives. 

Finally, on May 17, with minimal publicity, an “informational” meeting was held at the school. 

Out of my interest in the subject, I attended that meeting, the stated goal of which was to provide “An opportunity to have thoughtful, inclusive, and informative discussion on a provocative question, and to hear as many divergent perspectives as possible within the timeframe.” The agenda promised 15 minutes each for prepared presentations by those favoring “Changing the name to Sequoia” and those favoring “Keeping the current name: Jefferson.” Not surprisingly the meeting was largely an occasion for those who favor renaming the school to air their case against Jefferson. 

Those favoring the change offered a well-prepared and moving case based on Jefferson’s ownership of slaves and on their impression that he had not acted to end slavery. In their 15 minutes they quoted from Jefferson’s own account of his ordering an offending slave flogged and from writers who have faulted Jefferson for not acting effectively to end slavery. At the core of their presentation were the strong feelings of a teacher at the school, who regards the school’s name as an affront to herself and to all members of the school community who are black. There is of course no arguing with feelings, and hers are shared by several others—both white and black—who endorsed her position. 

The 15 minutes allotted to “keeping the current name” were wholly given to Robin Einhorn, a rather antic UC historian, who breezily announced at the outset that she did not intend to “make the case for Jefferson” but informed her listeners that those who make that case base it on the Declaration of Independence. She misinformed them that the Declaration was written not by Jefferson but “by a committee,” read from the Declaration, and—perhaps six minutes into her allotted 15—sat down. It was by any standard a feeble gesture, veering witlessly close to mocking the gravity of the subject. Although there were several there who favored “keeping the current name,” the occasion’s organizers had not secured anyone to prepare that case and in the considerable time remaining for that purpose none were invited to extemporize it. 

In the wake of the meeting’s oddly unbalanced presentation, it was, naturally, difficult for those who favor keeping the name to speak out. Most of those attending are not scholars of the subject and had doubtless come simply hoping for some information. 

They might of course have been told the truth—that Jefferson did in fact write the Declaration of Independence, that its final form does indeed embody a number of revisions by the committee of which he was a member as well as by the full Continental Congress, that among their revisions were the removal of Jefferson’s language calling for an end to the slave trade. They might have been told that Jefferson wrote and supported legislation against slavery on numerous occasions throughout his life, probably more deliberate legislative efforts in that cause than were made by any of his contemporary “founding fathers.” “This abomination must have an end,” he wrote. “And there is a superior bench reserved in heaven for those who hasten it.” They might have been told that Jefferson regarded slavery as an “abominable crime,” an “infamous practice,” that he agonized over his having inherited a role in the “evil” system and declared that “there is not a man on earth who would sacrifice more than I would to relieve us from this heavy reproach in any practicable way.” They might have been told that Jefferson felt that by taking unilateral action—freeing his slaves—he would merely diminish his own influence without achieving the broader purpose of universal emancipation, that so long as slavery persisted his duty was to work where he could for “the deliverance of these, our suffering brethren,” and to “endeavor, with those whom fortune has thrown on our hands, to feed and clothe them well, protect them from all ill usage, [and] require such reasonable labor only as is performed voluntarily by freemen.” 

Those attending the meeting might have been reminded that it was Jefferson who insisted that the U.S. Constitution include a Bill of Rights, that the very processes that have most dramatically moved our democracy forward—including such landmark achievements as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965—grew directly out of Thomas Jefferson’s thought, his insistence on broadening democratic institutions at every opportunity. They might have been reminded that Jefferson’s words were tellingly invoked by both Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King in their struggles for racial equality, Lincoln most famously in the Gettysburg Address (1863), King exactly a century later in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963). 

Would such facts have counterbalanced the facts about Jefferson the slaveholder and the strongly expressed feelings of those favoring the change? It’s hard to say. In public discourse feelings have a way of trumping facts. 

Less than a week after the meeting the “Jefferson School community”—again consisting only of current students, their families, and teachers at the school—were asked to choose between retaining the name Jefferson or exchanging it for Sequoia. The larger Berkeley community—interested citizens in general, including former Jefferson students, parents, and teachers—were not asked their views. 

What should our larger Berkeley community, which devotes so much time and energy to encouraging fair and open process, do about this? For over two hundred years Thomas Jefferson has been generally regarded as the world’s leading apostle of democracy. It seems at the very least worth noting how shabbily democracy was served on this occasion. 

And what about the feelings of those like the Jefferson School teacher who so movingly stated her case? I think we honor those feelings by doing all we can to create an educational climate that acknowledges the complexity of human experience. The case of Jefferson is not simple. It does a severe injustice to our children to lead them to think so. As thoughtful citizens, as parents, as teachers, we have a job to do. The job is not to hand our children a politically correct point of view. The job is to help them open their minds to realities, even to sometimes contradictory, painful, ambiguous, or conflicting realities, to help them to think for themselves. That is the job that Thomas Jefferson foresaw when—as the first statesman to do so, not just in the US but in the world—he promoted universal publicly supported education as an essential foundation of democracy. In his lifetime he failed to bring that vision to fruition, just as he failed to develop a workable plan for universal emancipation. It is foolish, and dishonest, not to honor him for the attempt, just as we honor him for so much else that is best in our imperfect but not perhaps utterly hopeless heritage. 

All this leaves us with some questions: 

• Should the name-change process involve only those who happen to be associated with the school at a given time or should it involve the larger Berkeley community? 

• Should the only “informational” public meeting about the name-change question be held at the end rather than at the beginning of such a process? 

• What role, if any, should children in kindergarten through fifth grade play in the process? 

• If the contemporary—and temporary—“Jefferson School community” is indeed the appropriately exclusive group for deliberating on the question, should they be given balanced information and more than a week in which to come to a decision? 

• Should the School Board give itself time—say six months or so—to hear from the wider community, in hopes of understanding all the issues on a very complex question, before concluding this process? 

Changing the name of Jefferson School to that of a tree would certainly not be the worst thing Berkeley ever did. It may even be the right thing to do. But to do it on the basis of partial or wrong information or out of a process that lacks broad-based community consideration would, I think, be unwise. 

Rob Browning is a Berkeley resident and former editor of UC Berkeley’s Mark Twain Papers. 

E

A white divan (modern) backed by tiers of screens on which multiple images of a camel are projected: This is the simple set on the Ashby Stage on which the Shotgun Players’ production of Arabian Night will spin a tangled web. 

Roland Schimmelpfennig’s play (translated by David Tushingham) is a comedy of missteps, second-guesses and asides. Its subject is the banality of an evening in an apartment block, reflected in the windows of other, identically anonymous buildings, caught in a dark, fleeting undertow of the fantastic. 

The “action” finds the characters running up and down concrete stairs, wandering down corridors, tempted by open doorways, attracted by the siren sound of vaguely familiar voices, dreaming dreams of exotic landscapes peopled with remembered faces. 

While Franziska (played by Christina Kramlich), just out of her nightly shower, dozes in the sultry heat on the divan, her roommate Fatima (Carla Pantoja) waits for Khalil (Roham Shaikhani), her lover, to come by for their tryst. Meanwhile, Hans (Richard Louis James), the building super, roams the corridors and in and out of the apartments, in search of water. He can hear it, but it’s stopped running on the top floors. And also adrift among the blank walls of the passageways is Benjamin (Peter Karpati), waterless tenant of a facing tower, who’s caught a glimpse of Franziska drenched in the bath, and is irresistibly drawn to try to find the precious water—and her.  

Like particles in a cloud chamber, then a cyclotron, they’re all brought together in passing by forces of attraction that are beyond their (and the audience’s) comprehension, then pulled apart in vortices like whirlwinds—or desert sandstorms from the arabesque tales that give this play its wry, singular title.  

Khalil gets stuck in the elevator; Fatima’s locked out while looking for him down a stairwell. Franziska dreams strange dreams of being a virgin promised to her guardian in a far land, while the men, who happen on her, one by one, as she slumbers on her sofa, find themselves translated to other places to continue their searching (one to the desert for water, another to be the genie of a cognac bottle, the third to be unwilling serial seducer--or seduced), trapped by the curse Franziska dreams is attached to her lips. “If someone came and kissed her, that might be the end of these nights!” 

This particular night seems to end variously, both happily and hysterically sad—slight acquaintances embrace passionately, a knife’s drawn, there’s the sound of shattering glass. 

The Shotgun cast fares well in their intricate courses, talking their way through each situation in monologues a little like subliminal thoughts spoken out loud. The story accrues from these modular units—as modular as the apartment building, echoing like the corridors and stairways, coalescing into a multifacetted tale from the simultaneously apprehended quanta of hints and repetitions in speech and action. 

Sometimes the movements, executed crisply enough, seem static, like mime exercises (running in place, unlocking a door). One of the intriguing features of the play’s structure is a contradictory combination of the stasis of tableau with reversals of plot, “coups de theatre.” 

Shotgun’s got an offbeat hit on their hands, particularly for those who like that body of fiction loosely grouped together as “Magical Realism,” the offspring of Edgar Allan Poe, via Jorge Luis Borges, Italo Calvino, Milan Kundera and a host of others who charm their public by the interpenetration of the everyday and fable. Arabian Night boomerangs through the exotic parallel universes of String Theory right back into the ordinary milieu of an urban apartment house, residing in the banalities of the New World Order.

TUESDAY, JUNE 14 

CHILDREN 

“Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds” Start the summer reading program with ventriloquist Randel McGee and his little dragon at 6:30 p.m. at Kensington Branch Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

FILM 

Alternative Vision: “Cats, Bugs, and Perverts: The FIlms of Martha Colburn” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Bob Levin discusses “Outlaws, Rebels, Freethinkers, and Pirates: Essays on Cartoons and Cartoonists” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

Matt Tabbi describes the 2004 election in “Spanking the Donkey: Dispatches form the Dumb Season” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

The Whole Note Poetry Series with Louis Cuneo and Geri Digiorno at 7 p.m. at The Beanery, 2925 College Ave., near Ashby. 549-9093. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Symphony with the Bay Area debut of Linda Watson, soprano, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $22-$49. 841-2800. www.berkeleysymphony.org 

Claudia Russell at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $16.50- $17.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Singer’s Showcase with Ellen Hoffman Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Eric Swinderman, jazz guitar, at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Miguel Zenób Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Sage Jazz Group at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

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

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15 

EXHIBITIONS 

Tapestry Weavers West 20th Anniversary Exhibit opens at the Nexus Gallery, 2701 Eighth St.  

“Vanishing Species and More” recent mixed-media paintings by Rita Sklar opens at the Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter, 101 Eighth St., Oakland. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. 464-7773. 

FILM 

Seventies Underground: “Thundercrack” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Betsy Leondar-Wright talks about “Class Matters: Cross-Class Alliance Building for Middle-Class Activists” at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Norm Stamper, former chief of the Seattle Police Dept. describes “Breaking Rank: A Top Cop’s Street-Smart Approach to Making America a Safe Place for Everyone” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

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

Café Poetry hosted by Paradise Freejalove at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Donation $2. 849-2568.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Music for the Spirit” harpsichord concert at noon at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555.  

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

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

Harley White Jr. Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Dry Branch Fire Squad at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50- $19.50. 548-1761.  

Sonic Camouflage at 8 p.m. at Cafe Van Kleef, 1621 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. 763-7711.  

Calvin Keys Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ.  

Whiskey Brothers at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473.  

Sloppy Meateaters, Parkside View, Transit War at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $7. 848-0886.  

Miguel Zenób Quartet at 8 and 10 p.m. Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, JUNE 16 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Blind at the Museum” guided tour at 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. 642-0808. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Luis Alberto Urrea reads from his new novel “The Hummingbird’s Daughter” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Word Beat Reading Series at 7 p.m. with Mark Schwartz and Yosefa Raz at Mediterraneum Caffe, 2475 Telegraph Ave. 526-5985. 

Live and Unplugged Open Mic at 7 p.m. at Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. 703-9350. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Summer Noon Concert with Misturada at the Berkeley BART Plaza, Shattuck at Center St. 549-2230.  

Dream Dance Company “Dig Us Now” at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$20. 849-2568.  

Ben Adams Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ.  

Dr. Abacus at 9 p.m. at Cafe Van Kleef, 1621 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Cost is $5. 763-7711.  

Fairport Convention at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761.  

Alektorophobia, Molehill Orchestra at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. 

Pete Madsen at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

John Mackay and Michael Wilcox at 8 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Diane Schuur with the Caribbean Jazz Project at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Machine Love at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

FRIDAY, JUNE 17 

THEATER 

Antares Ensemble “Hellenic Image” choruses and monologues from Greek tragedies at 8 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club. Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. through June 26. Tickets are $10-$35. 525-3254.  

Aurora Theatre “The Thousandth Night” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. 2 and 7 p.m., through July 24, at 2081 Addison St. Tickets are $36. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley Rep, “Honour” opens at the Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. and runs through July 3. Tickets are $20-$39. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

California Shakespeare Theater, “Othello” at 8 p.m. at Bruns Amphitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., between Berkeley and Orinda, through July 3. Tickets are $10-$55. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Grand Kabuki Theater of Japan at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $40-$125. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Shotgun Players, “Arabian Night” Thurs.-Su. at 8 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. until July 10. Tickets are $10-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

Subterranean Shakespeare “The Taming of the Shrew,” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center in Live Oak Park, through June 24. For reservations call 276-3871. 

Traveling Jewish Theater, “Cherry Docs” at the Julia Morgan Theater, Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m., through June 19. Tickets are $12-$35. www.atjt.com 

Un-Scripted Theater Company “The Short and the Long of It” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., through June 25 at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St., Oakland. Tickets are $7-$10. 415-869-5384. www.un-scripted.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Hip-Hop Culture, Politics and Social Justice” a discussion with with authors Adam Mansbach, Jeff Chang, Tricia Rose and Bakari Kitwana at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Celebrating the Summer Solstice with Vierne’s “Pieces de Fantasie” David Hatt, organist, at 7:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. Suggested donation $10. 444-3555. 

Ruth Botchan Dance Company “More Matters of Life and Death” at 8 p.m. at Western Sky Studio, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $18-$20. 848-4878.  

La Peña Community Chorus celebrates La Peña’s 30th Anniversary at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$15.. 849-2568.  

Graham Richards, Ellen Robinson Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Carolyn Aiken at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Drunken Spacemen, The Ghostt, Bad Habitz at 9 p.m. at The Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $8-$10. 763-1146. 

Jennifer Berezan at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The Hicks with Sticks, CD realease party, at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Quddus Sinclair, hip hop, at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. www.epicarts.org 

Live And Unplugged, acoustic music showcase, at 7 p.m. Unitarian Universalists Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. 703-9350. www.LiveAndUnplugged.org 

Mike Lipskin Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

Francesca Lee & Ben Storm at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Lady Mem’fis at 7 p.m. at Maxwell’s, 341 13th St., Oakland. 839-6169. 

Vince Wallace Quintet at 9 p.m. at Cafe Van Kleef, 1621 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Cost is $5. 763-7711. www.cafevankleef.com  

Vinyl, Latin percussion, electric funk at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $8-$10. 548-1159.  

Carne Cruda, Los Surf Cumbieros at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Lights Out, Allegiance, Lion of Judah, at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

Diane Schuur with the Caribbean Jazz Project at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, JUNE 18 

EXHIBITIONS 

Tapestry Weavers West 20th Anniversary Exhibit at the Nexus Gallery, 2701 Eighth St. Reception from 4 to 7 p.m. 

THEATER 

Grand Kabuki Theater of Japan at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $40-$125. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

FILM 

American Outlaws: “Bloody Mama” at 7 p.m. and “DIty Little Billy” at 9 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $4-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Bill Lee reads from his new book, “Born to Lose: Memoirs of a Compulsive Gambler” at 3 p.m. at Eastwind Books of Berkeley, 2066 University Ave. 548-2350.  

Phil Lesh reads from his memoir, “Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852.  

Kym Flynn reads from “Thugged Out” at noon at Uncommon Cafe, 2813 Seventh St. 845-5264. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Ruth Botchan Dance Company “More Matters of Life and Death” at 8 p.m. at Western Sy, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $18-$20. 848-4878. www.berkeleymovingarts.com 

Golden Gate Boys Choir & Bellringers Spring Concert at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary Magdalen Church, 2005 Berryman St. Donation $5-$10. 887-4311. www.ggbc.org 

San Francisco Choral Artists “On Wings of Song” at 8 p.m. at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, 3534 Lakshore Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $17-$22. 415-979-5779. www.sfca.org  

Jason Martineau, Robin Gregory Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Apollo BRG Style at 8 p.m. at Black Repertory Theater., Adeline St. Cost is $5-$10. 652-2120. www.blackrepertorygroup.com 

Chris Cotton, Piedmont Blues, at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Mitch Marcus Quintet at 9 p.m. at Cafe Van Kleef, 1621 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Cost is $5. 763-7711. www.cafevankleef.com 

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

FiddleFest with Bobbi Nikles, Cathie Whitesides, Betsy Branch and Michael Stadler at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

A Night of Voices, featuring Duckmandu, The Invisible Cities, Fire Wrecks the Forest, and others at 6 p.m. at Comic Relief, 2026 Shattuck Ave. Free. www.altgeek.net/voices 

A Band Called Pain, Alexic, The Agency at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $8-$10. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

Michelle Amador and the True Believers at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com  

Quetzal, Chicano band from L.A., at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Lua, a quartet of voices, percussion and strings at 6:30 p.m. at Cafe Valpariso, 3105 Shattuck Ave. 841-3800. 

Steve Smulian, orchestral acoustic guitar, at 7 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

Bellyachers, Loretta Lynch, The Famous at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Quddus Sinclair, hip hop, at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. www.epicarts.org 

Marcus Shelby Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810. 

David Jeffrey Quartet with Brendan Millstein at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Clorox Girls, The Observers, Shadow Boxer at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, JUNE 19 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Blind at the Museum” guided tour at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum, 2625 Durant Ave. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“From Life” Plein air and figurative paintings by Iris Sabre in the Foyer Gallery, Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. Reception for the artist from 4 to 6 p.m. 524-1577. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry Flash “In A Fine Frenzy” Poets Respond to Shakespeare” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. Donation $2. 845-7852.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Ruth Botchan Dance Company “More Matters of Life and Death” at 8 p.m. at Western Sy, 2525 Eighth St. Tickets are $18-$20. 848-4878. www.berkeleymovingarts.com 

The Christy Dana Quintet at 8 p.m. at The Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $12-$15. 524-1124. 

Chamber Music Sundaes with SF Symphony violinist Geraldine Walther at 3:15 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $7-$19. 415-584-5946. 

Julian White, piano at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Piano Club, 2724 Haste St. 528-4959. 

Carlos Oliveira and Brazilain Origins, featuring Harvey Wainapel at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

“Ace of Spades” Acoustic Series at 1 p.m. at MamaBuzz Cafe, 2318 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Free. 

Me Without You, Make Believe, Veda at 4 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10-$12. All ages show. 848-0886.  

Americana Unplugged with Seventh Day Busters at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 655-5715. 

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

MONDAY, JUNE 20 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Getting There” works by artists with disabilities and members of East Bay Women Artists opens at NIAD Art Center, 551 23rd St., Richmond, and runs to July 24. 620-0290. www.niad.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Arthur Blaustein and Kris Novoselic talk about citizen action and civic engagement in the age of Bush at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

Christy Campbell reads from her scientific detective story, “The Botanist and the Vinter: How Wine Was Saved for the World” at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

Poetry Express with Charles DuBois at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. berkeleypoetryexpress@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Tom Duarte, guitarist, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Songwriters Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $5. 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Faye Carol at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$15. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

.

What caught my eye was the color contrast: something bright red crawling along the green garden hose. It was a creature I had never seen before, a thumbnail-sized spider with a black cephalothorax and a red abdomen, a huge pair of forward-facing eyes, an d a glint of green about its mouthparts. Distracted from watering, I followed it around the lawn as it maneuvered through the grass blades, following one to near its tip where it suddenly pounced on something small, brown, and shiny. 

My find was a jumpin g spider, most likely Phidippus johnsoni, sometimes called the red-backed spider (no relation to the notorious Australian species, an antipodean relative of our black widow). From its coloration, it must have been a male; females have black markings on th e red abdomen. And I learned that it and its relatives in the family Salticidae are no ordinary spiders, if there is such a thing. Phidippus and other jumping spiders have remarkable visual skills and perform elaborate courtship dances; and some of them d o things that you would never expect from a mere arachnid. 

P. johnsoni seems to be common throughout the West; most of the research on it was done here in Berkeley in the ‘70s by arachnologist Robert R. Jackson. Jackson, now in New Zealand, must be a tru ly dedicated scientist. He speculated in one article that johnsoni’s bright color might signal its unpalatability to would-be predators, like the orange of the monarch butterfly. His conclusion: “There is no evidence that their coloration is aposematic, a lthough information concerning this is limited. They do not taste bitter or noxious to humans (personal observation).” 

Since jumping spiders have color vision, the red abdomen probably plays a role in courtship. Male salticids dance for their mates. P. johnsoni’s choreography consists of the linear dance (walking toward the female, then backing away), the zigzag dance (walking side to side while facing her), and gesturing (moving his forelegs forward and up, then down and sideways). In the 19th century, a Wisconsin couple named Peckham studied a whole range of jumping spiders and described fancier footwork, although a later author’s comparison to the hula, the tango, and the highland fling may have been a stretch. For dancing spider videos, check out htt p://tolweb.org/accessory/Jumping_Spider_Image_Gallery?acc_id=59. Males of some species also produce a buzzing or purring sound by twitching their abdomens while dancing. 

Female jumping spiders are tough audiences. The Peckhams introduced two successive m ales to a female Phidippus morsitans, who killed and ate them after “they had only offered her the merest civilities.” But males don’t depend solely on their dancing. When courting a female in her nest, they perform a tactile routine, tweaking her web wit h forelegs and mouthparts. If a male gets a positive response, he enters the nest for mating. When the female is not yet sexually mature (I’m not sure how he can tell, but apparently he can), he builds an annex to her nest and moves in until the time is r ipe. 

Both sexes stalk their prey like eight-legged cats. Unlike some spiders, whose vision is rudimentary, jumpers are sight-hunters. Salticids, typically for spiders, have eight eyes. The six along the side of the carapace, the secondary eyes, are simpl e light-and-motion detectors. But the huge, forward-facing principal eyes are something else again. They’re not compound eyes like those of insects: they’re like a built-in pair of binoculars. Each eye is a long tube with a large corneal lens up front and a second lens in the rear. The front lens has a long focal length and the rear lens magnifies the image from the front lens. Four layers of receptors in the retina allow for color discrimination. In the rearmost layer, a small region called the fovea res olves fine visual details. 

All this appears to be standard jumping spider equipment, good enough for spiders like Phidippus to recognize prey and mates from a considerable distance, for a spider. After his early work on P. johnsoni, Jackson moved on to a new subject, a genus of Old World jumping spiders called Portia. Jackson says Portia’s visual spatial acuity is much better than any insect’s, comparable to that of some mammals. Portia is a spider-hunting spider, and its vision is acute enough to differentiate between a spider and an insect, and between different species of spider; it can also tell whether another spider is holding an egg case.  

And act accordingly. The truly outstanding thing about Portia is the versatility of its hunting tactics. If a potential victim is encumbered with an egg case, it makes a frontal assault; otherwise, it sneaks up from behind. It will approach its prey by circuitous routes, using detours which remove the victim from its line of sight. And it employs what can only be called trial-and-error tactics to hunt spiders ensconced in their own webs. Like a courting male Phidippus, Portia tweaks and tugs the strands of its intended victim’s web. It may in fact be mimicking a male’s signals, with specific messages for differ ent species of prey. Depending on the response, it varies the pattern of tweaks until the victim, expecting to find a suitor at the door, ventures out within pouncing distance. And Portia even uses background noise, like leaves rustling in the wind, to ma sk its movements on the victim’s web. 

All this from a spider? Salticids have comparatively large brains, for spiders. But they’re still operating on a handful of neurons, and their eyes have only 10,000 to 100,000 receptors, compared with over 100 millio n in the human eye. Small doesn’t equate to simple, though. Robert Jackson and his collaborator Stim Wilcox aren’t afraid to use loaded words like “problem solving” and “cognition.” Thinking spiders? There’s clearly a lot more going on down among the grass blades than we would ever suspect.  

l

TUESDAY, JUNE 14 

Early Morning Bird Walk Meet at 7 a.m. at the Bear Creek Rd. entrance of Briones to look for Redwinged Blackbirds, White-crowned Sparrows and Western Bluebirds (It is Flag Day!) 525-2233. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers interested in helping the public schools during the summer, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

Beyond Oil II with Joanna Macy and Richard Heinberg at 7 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison St., Oakland. Sponsored by the East Bay Post Carbon Solutions Group. 496-6080. 

Peace Corps Information Night with volunteers and staff at 6:30 p.m. at Rockridge Public Library, 5366 College Ave., Oakland. RSVP to John Ruiz at 415-977-8798. jruiz@peacecorps.gov 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers Join a few slowpoke seniors at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot near the Little Farm for an hour or two walk. In case of questionable weather, call around 8 a.m. 215-7672, 524-9992. 

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  

Buddhist Meditation Class at 7 p.m. at The Dzalandhara Buddhist Center. Cost is $7-$10. For directions and details please call 559-8183. 

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

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

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15 

Berkeley School Volunteers Training workshop for volunteers interested in helping the public schools during the summer, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

“The Emotional World of Farm Animals” a documentary, at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Donation $5. 

Walking Tour of Oakland City Center Meet at 10 a.m. in front Oakland City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

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

Berkeley Communicators Toastmasters meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 7:15 a.m. at Au Cocolait, 200 University Ave. at Milvia. For information call Robert Flammia 524-3765. 

JumpStart Entrepreneurs share information at 8 a.m. at A’Cuppa Tea, 3202 College Ave. at Alcatraz. Cost is $5. 541-9901. 

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

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

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

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 

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

THURSDAY, JUNE 16 

Berkeley’s Conservatory Unearthed Gather at the base of Observatory Hill, just north of Memorial Glade and Doe Library, UC Campus at 7 p.m. to walk through the excavation site, viewing the uncovered remains, followed by lecture at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15, available from Berkeley Historical Society at 848-0181. Berkhist@SBCGlobal.Net 

Attorney General Bill Lockyer speaking on what’s happening in Sacramento at 7:30 p.m. at Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Hosted by the Berkeley Democratic Club. 612-1249. 

“Growing Old in Gay Culture” a video and panel discussion at 1 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190.  

Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation at 7 p.m. at Unity of Berkeley, 2075 Eunice St. Sliding scale donation $10-$25. 528-8844. www.unityberkeley.org 

FRIDAY, JUNE 17 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Jaleh Pirnazar on “Iran Struggles for Democracy” 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. 

“Take Back Our Schools” Day On the 51st Anniversary of Brown vs. Board. Rally at noon at Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland. Followed by activities and teach-in. 289-3318, 593-3956. 

“Hip-Hop Culture, Politics and Social Justice” a discussion with with authors Adam Mansbach, Jeff Chang, Tricia Rose and Bakari Kitwana at 7:30 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 845-7852. www.codysbooks.com 

“Awakening to the Divine in Everyday Life” with art therapist Deborah Purdy at 7:30 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. www.sos-ca.org 

Berkeley Chess Club meets Fridays at 8 p.m. at the East Bay Chess Club, 1940 Virginia St. Players at all levels are welcome. 845-1041. 

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

Kirtan, improvisational devotional chanting at 7:30 p.m. at 850 Talbot, at Solano, Albany. Donation $10. 526-9642. 

“Three Beats for Nothing” a small group meeting weekly at 10 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center to sing for fun and practice, mostly 16th century harmony. No charge. 655-8863, 843-7610. dann@netwiz.net 

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

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

SATURDAY, JUNE 18 

Summer Solstice Celebration and Crafts Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, Center St. at MLK, Jr. Way. 548-3333. 

Temescal Street Fair from noon to 6 p.m. on Telegraph Ave. between 51st and 48th Sts. Music, performances, craft and community booths, and food. 593-9831. 

Berkeley Garden Club Spring Plant Sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 547 Grizzly Peak Blvd., top of euclid. 524-7296. 

Building and Planting for the Birds from 9 a.m. to noon at the U.C. Field Station, Richmond. Help is needed to assemble and paint potting tables to help expand our native plant nursery. Tools provided, but you are welcome to bring your own. Pre-registration required; youth under 18 will need a waiver signed by their parent or guardian. Sponsored by the Watershed Project. 231-5783. www.thewatershedproject.org  

“Recycling, Waste Reduction and the Zero Waste Household” Class includes hands-on activities and a tour of Berkeley recycling facilities. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call for location. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Project Learning Tree A program on forest ecology and environmental issues, designed for teachers of grades K-12. From 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Cost is $45-$51. Registration required 636-1684. 

Talking with Turtles Meet our resident reptiles and learn about their behaviors at 11 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Butterfly Trading Cards Create your own set of cards to take home, and learn about these insects and the plants they need to survive. From 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. For ages seven and up. Cost is $3-$5. Registration required. 525-2233. 

Walk in the Wild The 12th annual fundraiser for the Oakland Zoo with gourmet foods and wines. Cost is $75-$85. For reservations call 632-9525. www.oaklandzoo.org 

“Resistance in Haiti” with Haitian-American activist, Lucie Tondreau at 7 p.m. at St. John’s Community Center, 6500 Gladys Ave., El Cerrito. 483-7481. 

Faith and Feminism: “Awakening the Energy for Change: The Black Madonna and the Womb of God” a conference from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at GTU, Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. Cost is $95, includes lunch and materials. 849-8268. www. 

gtuss.org/courses/conf.html 

Black Community Forum from noon to 3:30 p.m. at the African American Museum and Library, 659 14th St., Oakland. Sponsored by the Third Baptist Foundation of SF and the Gibbs Community Foundation of Oakland. www.gibbsmagazine.com 

Create a Spiritual Business Plan with Pat Sullivan from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Unity of Berkeley, 2075 Eunice St. Cost is $125. Registration required. 530-0284. 

Child Car Seat Check with the Berkeley Police Dept. from 10 a.m. to noon at the UC Garage on Addison at Oxford. 647-1111. www.habitot.org 

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 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland “New Era/New Politics” highlights African-American leaders who have made their mark on Oakland. Meet at 10 a.m. and the African American Museum and Library at 659 14th St. 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

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 

Historical and Botanical Tour of Chapel of the Chimes, a Julia Morgan landmark, at 10 a.m. at 4499 Piedmont Ave. at Pleasant Valley. Reservations required 228-3207.  

New TaKeTiNa Intensive with Zorina Wolf, from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at The Wildcat Studio, 2525 8th St. at Dwight. Cost is $95. 650-493-8046. www.taketina.com 

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. 

Kol Hadash Interfaith/ 

Intercultural Picnic from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Terrace Park, Albany. Bring picnic and BBQ items. Sodas, paper goods and grills provided. RSVP to event@kolhadash.org 

SUNDAY, JUNE 19 

Juneteenth on Adeline from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. between Alcatraz and Ashby with live music, arts, crafts, food and cultural activities. www.epicarts.org 

Year of the Estuary: San Pablo Bay Hike Meet at 2 p.m. in the public parking area at Pacific Ave. and San Pablo Ave. in Rodeo to explore the natural history of Lone Tree Point. 525-2233. 

Berkeley CyberSalon “Citizen Journalism” with Dan Gillmor, Becky O’Malley, and Peter Merholz at 6 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St.  

“The Impact of the War on Iraq’s Workers” with two members of the General Union of Oil Workers in Basrah at 6:45 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Sponsored by US Labor Against the War. Donation $5, no one turned away. http://uslaboragainstwar.org 

Hands-On Bicycle Clinic from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Free. 527-4140. 

Father’s Day Campfire and Sing A Long Bring your hot dogs, buns, marshmallows and long sticks at 5:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Dress for fog. We will walk uphill to the campfire circle. Call for disabled assistance. 525-2233. 

Family Violence Prevention Fund 5K Run with the Oakland A’s and Macy’s at McAfee Coliseum Creekside Parking Lot, north end of D Lot. Registration at 7:30 a.m., run starts at 9 a.m. Cost is $25-$35. www.endabuse.org 

“Darwinism and Religion” with Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302. 

Berkeley Oakland Lesbians Diners Dinner at a Berkeley restaurant. For more information and to join BOLD, please go to http://groups.yahoo.com/ 

group/BOLDiners 

Introduction to the Alexander Technique from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

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 

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 Sylvia Gretchen on “Healing Pain” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Multicultural Shavuot Festival with food, crafts, workshops, music and dancing at 1 p.m. at BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

MONDAY, JUNE 20 

City of Berkeley Walking Group walks Mon.-Thurs. from 5 to 5:30 p.m. Meet at 830 University Ave. All new participants receive a free pedometer. 981-5131. 

Summer Solstice Gathering at 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Interim Solar Calendar Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley Marina, including a brief astronomy workshop led by Tory Brady, Exploratorium Teacher Institute. 

Summer Science Week “Insects and Plants” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mon. - Fri. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $160 Berkeley residents, $176 non-residents. Registration required. 636-1684. 

“RFID: What's It All About?” a Community Informational Forum at 6:30 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Sponsored by the Berkeley Public Library. 981-6195. 

“Citizen Action and Civic Engagement in the Age of Bush” with Arthur Blaustein and Kris Novoselic at 7:30 p.m. at Black Oak Books, 1491 Shattuck Ave. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

“Story Tells” A story swap with storytellers and story listeners at 7 p.m., special guest Mary Ellen Hill, local professional storyteller at 8 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Jack London Square, 98 Broadway, Oakland. 527-1141.  

“Honoring Our Parents: Two Jewish Sons Remember” with journalists and authors Ari Goldman and Samuel Freedman, at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Netivot Shalom, 1316 University Ave. 549-9447. 

Summer Reading Game “Search for Dragonfire” open to children of all ages at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. The reading game continues through August 20. 526-3720. 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group for people 60 years and over meets Mondays at 10:15 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. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

Philip Roth Book Club meets at 7:30 p.m. at the BRJCC, 1414 Walnut St. Cost is $10. Registration required. 848-0237, ext. 110. 

ONGOING 

Summer Camps for Children offered by the City of Berkeley, including swimming, sports and twilight basketball, from June 20 to August 12, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 981-5150, 981-5153. 

Barrington Collection Free Skool holds summer classes in the East Bay. Classes including “Buying Your First Home,” “Beer Brewing,” ”Grant Writing,” and classes for children. http://barringtoncollective.org/FreeSkool 

Free Lunches for Berkeley Children beginning June 20, Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Frances Albrier Center, James Kenney Center, MLK, Jr. Youth Services Center, Strawberry Creek, Washington School and Rosa Parks School. 981-5146. 

CITY MEETINGS 

City Council meets Tues., June 14, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Citizens Humane Commission meets Wed., June 15, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Katherine O’Connor, 981-6601. www.ci.berke 

ley.ca.us/commissions/humane 

Commission on Aging meets Wed. June 15, at 1:30 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. William Rogers, 981-5344. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/aging 

Commission on Labor meets Wed., June 15, at 6:45 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Delfina M. Geiken, 981-7550. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/labor 

Human Welfare and Community Action Commission meets Wed. June 15, at 7 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. Kristen Lee, 981-5427. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/welfare 

Design Review Committee meets Thurs., June 16, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Anne Burns, 981-7415. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/designreview  

Fair Campaign Practices Commission meets Thurs., June 16, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Prasanna Rasaih, 981-6950. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/faircampaign 

Transportation Commission meets Thurs., June 16, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Peter Hillier, 981-7000. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

commissions/transportation 

Creeks Task Force meets Mon. June 20 at 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Erin Dando, 981-7410. www.ci.ber- 

keley.ca.us/planning/landuse/Creeks/default.html 

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon., June 20 at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St. 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ 

citycouncil/agenda-committee 

City Council meets Tues., June 21, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci. 

berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Today my 3-year-old granddaughter will enjoy what she calls “gradulation.” This is the little party at her home day care center for which the teacher bakes cupcakes to mark the departure of the four oldest children for “real” pre-schools. Even though it’s a small group, only about 10 kids, most of whom are too young to talk much, she’s taking it very seriously, insisting on wearing the elaborate tulle ballerina dress which a cousin gave her to the party. She’s been ready to move on for a long time now. Ever since she was 2 and a half, she’s told people that she was 3, stamping her little foot and furrowing her tiny brow if anyone dared to contradict her. 

To coin a phrase, kids grow up so fast these days. It’s always been that way, really. But the pressure they feel to decide early what they want to do in life has gotten even stronger lately. My granddaughter announces that she wants to be a “princess doctor” when she grows up—in other words both glamorous and professional, a tall order for anyone, but typical of the challenges young women are facing. And athletic to boot—she woke up in the middle of the night recently and told her mother that she was already “the team manager for the princess soccer team,” and she doesn’t even play on a soccer team yet. She is, however, already a princess. 

Since it’s the end of the school year and it’s California, we’ve seen a lot of the first-cousins-once-removed this season. These are the 20-something student offspring of our many first cousins (I had 18) out to see the world. One of them came to Berkeley for her architecture degree, and is now ready to start trying to be a “princess architect.” Another one wants to be an English professor, though he wonders if he can ever make a living at it. A third, the one most interested in saving the world, is starting with a stint working for a Midwestern legislature, and then she’s going on to law school or academia. They’re all concerned about the serious mess this country is in, which is reassuring for those of us who are getting tired of worrying about it as much as we’ve had to. A fine bunch, and we appreciate their help with the job. I hope some of them have a few new ideas, because things look pretty bad at the moment. 

On the national scene, we have now seen conclusive proof, via England, that the Bush administration’s plans to invade Iraq pre-dated the supposed weapons-of-mass-destruction excuse. And what’s worse, as we’ve said many times in this space, we told you so. It’s appalling to think that while hundreds of thousands of sensible people were in the streets shouting fraud, both the national press and the Congress believed (or pretended to believe) that Bush was telling the truth. And then there’s Tom DeLay, lying, cheating and stealing right out in front of everyone, while Congress looks the other way, perhaps fearing that their own peccadilloes will be exposed next. 

Here in California we have Schwarzenegger, who has turned his back on the conventional political process in favor of a populism run amok. He’s raised so much money that he can disdain the time-honored tradition of buying a few legislators to promote his agenda, instead planning to buy a whole election. Just like in the movies, he gets what he wants by stomping on little guys, teachers and nurses. 

And when Howard Dean speaks up about all of this in the mildest possible way, the nervous nellies in his own Democratic party start to quiver with anxiety. They’re shocked to hear that the Republicans are mostly white Christians? We could tell them even worse things Dean might say about Republicans, but unfortunately also about many Democrats.  

The captive U.S. press continues to fiddle away while the country burns. The Hearst daily today ran a couple of letters complaining that its front pages are now devoted to massive photos of hugging gurus, while the disintegration of the nation is a small item in the back pages. It didn’t seem to be possible to dumb down that paper any further, but they’ve managed to do it. The common excuse is that young people are too simple-minded to read a real newspaper, but the young people I’ve been seeing don’t fit that stereotype. It might just be that they’re too smart to read trash. With the Internet, they now have serious choices. 

Will the new generation of young adults be able to straighten out the world? The ones I see might not be a representative sample, but at least they’re planning to try. Good for them, and good luck to them—and to the rest of us. We need their help, because we’ve got things pretty messed up on our own.  

Monday’s voice mail carried a request that the Daily Planet print the full text of the rejected European constitution, as a follow-up to the Pacific News Service analysis we printed last week. E-mail transmitted a suggestion that we reprint the full text of the agreement between UC Berkeley and the City of Berkeley. Unfortunately, our page count, which is determined by the amount of advertising we have for each issue, doesn’t allow us such luxuries, though we can and will make such documents available to our readers on the Internet via either links or full texts.  

It’s interesting that there’s been a major change in the expectations of readers. They now seem to distrust the role of the media in telling them what’s happened. The word “media” itself is from a Latin word meaning “middle,” and the approved role of contemporary media, now including not only print but also electronic means of transmission, is to bridge the gap between events and observers. Cognate English words like “intermediary” and “mediate” suggest the proper role of today’s media: not to shape the news, but simply to transmit it. 

The term is a relatively new one, absent from my fine-print edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, and “severely condemned” when used as a singular noun in my 1981 American Heritage dictionary. The older usage was “the press,” derived from the word for the equipment on which the news was printed, with no representation regarding content or transparency of transmission.  

Reading about the no votes on the European constitution in the British press, mostly in the Guardian, a bit in the French papers, I got a better understanding that it’s still the role of the European press to interpret the news, not just to transmit it. The Guardian carried three or four short bylined pieces the day after the votes, each with a somewhat different take on what happened, none pretending to be comprehensive. When Tony Blair’s Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced that the U.K. referendum on the European constitution was being postponed, interpretations in the British press multiplied even more.  

In the European press I saw no New York Times-style long article which purported to be “the news” or “the truth” about what was going on, but by taking the average of the multiple voices I got a pretty good idea of the various public opinion currents which contributed to the votes and the postponement. The bottom line, as I sorted out what I read, is that people in the various European countries still like their own style of doing things better than they like the economic fiats imposed by the transnational Brussels bureaucrats, thank you very much. Does this mean that the concept of a united Europe is doomed? Probably not, but it will have to be re-imagined, perhaps outside of Brussels. 

I don’t think reading the full text of the defeated draft, which I haven’t done, would add to my understanding of what happened. I don’t have the background in the subject matter which most of the commentators I read have. Similarly, I don’t think that our local readers will understand the substance of the UC-CoB deal better if the Planet reprints all 19 pages of the agreement (which can be found on the mayor’s press website). Instead, if they read all the many comments we’ve received from people who have made it their business to be on top of the situation, they can get some sort of balanced understanding of what’s happened, even though we don’t seem to have gotten many comments from citizens who were happy with the outcome. 

It’s sometimes confusing to decide who “our readers” are, anyway. Based on the letters we get, a lot of them ride busses. They care about nature, judging by the letters we receive from the fans of the Tuesday back pages. They have strong opinions about what the various levels of government are doing, and about the arts, especially about the role of public art.  

Thinking along these lines about who our readers might be, I find it hard to understand a comment which one of our advertising sales reps recently passed along. She’d gotten it from the advertising coordinator of the highest profile, best-funded local independent theater. His management doesn’t want to advertise in the Planet, he says, because “your readers are not our target audience.” That’s a hard one to interpret. Does he mean that we shouldn’t review or preview their productions? Surely not.  

Does his quote tell us more about his audience or about our readers? Perhaps his management is aiming at what used to be known as “the carriage trade”—people who arrive at the theater in expensive cars from the hills and the suburbs. Maybe our readers, bus-riders and armchair arts critics that they are, are thought not to be affluent enough to be able to spring for a night at a play. I think that’s a mistake. 

Based on the letters and phone calls we get, our readers are a pretty good cross-section of the Greater Berkeley population. They’re by no means a homogeneous crowd. You can gauge that, among other ways, by how often they’re at each other’s throats. How they could be perceived as uniform in their theater tastes and unlikely to patronize the theater in question escapes me.  

They can read the whole UCB-CoB agreement at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Mayor/PR/UCAgreement.pdf. 

They can read the full text of the draft European constitution at http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:C:2004:310:SOM:EN:HTML. 

They can find out what’s playing at local theaters by reading the Berkeley Daily Planet’s Friday Arts Calendar. 

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